Donkeys Always Draw

Finished 21st in the WPBT 2007 Event #1, with 61 players starting. Didn’t do anything too crazy, and played with a shortstack for an eternity until my 6-6 was busted by A-K when a king hit the river. More later on the tourney, but for now I need some sleep in a bad way.

So much for my proclamation that I was only going to play The Mookie. I had some downtime, so I hit the SnG’s a little bit this weekend, and finally cleared my Full Tilt bonus in doing so.

I recommend checking out Poker Source Online if you're looking around to sign up for an online poker room. PSO was established in early 2004 and has given out way over $6,000,000 in free gifts and free poker money. If you'd like an alternative to free gifts, PSO also offers rakeback. PSO has 24/7 live phone support, so if you have any questions, it's easy to get answers.

My Mookie Champion Profile is up over on Mookie’s site.

A couple of days ago, I decided not to play any online poker for a while except for The Mookie. The Mookie Gods have decided to reward my loyalty by allowing me to have The Mookie Crown placed upon my head this week.

Yes, I’ve won The Mookie.

I was really gunning for this one, having cashed in three of the previous four Mookies (2nd, 4th, and 4th). I knew that if it came down to it, I was gonna play my ass off to win this thing.

Here’s the recap, from my point of view.

On the very first hand of the tournament, I’m dealt AhKh in UTG+1. I pop it up 3x BB, and FishyMcDonk, immediately to my left,and hoyazo call. Flop comes Kc-10c-7s, giving me the often overplayed TPTK. Hoy and McDonk have position on me, but I can’t just check this hand. I bet out 175 into a pot of 315 to try and figure out where I stand in this hand. McDonk calls and Hoy folds. The turn is the 6c, putting three clubs on the board. In retrospect, I think made a very poor play by checking the turn. I should have bet here to protect my hand, but instead I give a free card. At this point I’m 90% sure I’m ahead in the hand, and I’m facing something like K-9, A-10, or possibly an underpair. For some reason, the club draw isn’t that worrisome to me. McDonk checks behind me, and the river brings the 4s, great card for me. I’m positive that I’m ahead in the hand. I’m doubting that a set or two pair would have checked the turn, so I make a bet of 225 into the 665 chip pot, hoping that was the right size to keep him from folding. He calls, and shows KdJd, and I’m the chip leader after one hand with T2125.

A little chipping up, and a little chipping down, and about five orbits later, I’m right back at the T2125 that I had after the first hand. Of course, I’m no longer the chip leader, but it’s still early.

The blinds are now at 30/60, and I’ve been moved to new table. On my fourth hand at the new table, I raise 3x BB with The Hammer, and take the pot down. The hammer would come back to haunt me later, but it’s sure fun playing it sometimes.

Two hands later, I’m in the BB with 7d3s when photojenn limps from the cutoff, and it’s folded to me. We see a flop of 6c-8h-9h, giving me a gutshot. For some reason that I can’t explain, I check-call photojenn’s 120 bet into the 150 chip pot. The turn brings the 4h, and we both check. The river is the Jc, and I decide to bet 340 into the 390 chip pot. This is a terrible play on my part, and I should have cut my losses right there, and checked it down. I guess I was thinking that photojenn was on a complete bluff, which was the only hand I had a chance of beating. Most bluffs actually would have beaten my ill-advised bluff. Of course, she calls and show 9c-7c, and takes it down, leaving me with T1605.

After another five orbits or so, things aren’t looking too good, and I’m chipped down to T890, and the blinds are at 80/160. I think there were probably 25-30 people left at this point, and I was right at the bottom of that list.

I pick up 7s7d in the SB and T890, and Mean_G, with T3655 raises it up to 480 from the button. There had been lots of uncontested blind stealing at this point, so I pushed, hoping that’s what he was doing. He types “I’m an idiot”, and being pot committed, calls with Qs9h. The flop comes 4h-Ad-10c, the turn is the Ah, and the river is the 4s, and I more than double up and I’m at T1940, and at least have some wiggle from from the blinds. Mean Gene has always been one of my favorite blogs.

Not much happens for a while. I steal a few blinds here and there, and have T1380 when the following hand occurs.

The blinds/antes are now 200/400/50, and there’s fewer than 20 people remaining in the tournament. My M is under 2, and I need to pick a spot real soon. From MP, I find myself staring at a pair of red aces. Couldn’t ask for much more at this point, could I?

I’m looking to get as much money into this pot as I can, but unsure of how to do it. I don’t have alot of room to work with and I know that any bet pretty much pot-commits me. There’s a couple of big stacks behind me, and I’m hoping that they both have some type of playable hand. I decide to min-raise it to 800 (leaving me with only T530). The two big stacks fold, but surflexus with T2355 in the BB calls me.

It doesn’t matter what the flop is, because I’m pushing no matter what comes. As it turns out, it’s Jh-2c-4d. surflexus pushes me all-in. Of course, I call, and he shows Ks4h. My rockets hold up as the turn and river are the 9s and the 5h respectively, and I’m chipped up to T3210. Still in bad shape, but getting better.

A little while later, we’re down to about 13 people and the blinds/antes are still at 200/400/50. I pick up KdJd UTG, and decide to push. If I’m gonna make any kind of run in this tournament, I need to start it quickly, and with blinds coming around so fast at a six-handed table, I can’t wait too long. weak_player, with T8791 calls from the button with is QdQc. Crap, there were six hands I didn’t want anyone calling with, and this was one of them. I’m about a 2-1 dog going into the flop, and after the flop of 9d-Jc-10h, I’m worse than a 4-1 dog. The lovely Qh comes on the turn completing my straight, and the 5h doesn’t help weak_player on the river and I’m up to T7120, in decent shape to get to the final table.

Four hands later, the blinds/antes have increased to 250/500/50, and we’re still at 12 people. I’m at T7270, which I think was about 4th-5th place at the time, when I look down at big slick in MP of a six-handed table. Looking to steal the blinds, I raise to 1750 from MP in an unopened pot. Mclarich pushes from the SB with his stack of 6646 chips. I have him covered, but barely. Losing this pot would essentially knock me out. My AhKc flops an Ace to best his pocket 7’s, and we’re now near the final table bubble, and I have T14,916 right near the top of the leaderboard.

Here’s Mclarich’s account of his knockout:

First hand after the break and I get 77 in the BB. NumbBono raises to 1750 on the button. Is this a steal attempt? He’s barely got me covered but I’m going to force him to make a decision. He calls with his AK and the flop is no good for me. I’m out in a respectable 12th, not bad for a 2nd timer, but the way I played tonight…it should have been more.

Three hands later I knock out HighOnPoker when my Jacks outlasted his 9c4c, and we’re down to 10 people, and my stack is sitting pretty at T18,914, just behind DuggleBogey who has T20,098, and just got moved to our table, immediately to my left.

A short while later, we cruise into the final table. Here’s the chipcounts.

1. DuggleBogey - 20,298
2. Numbbono - 17,364
3. lightning36 - 12,485
4. Maudie - 7,986
5. BrainMc - 7,206
6. GCox25 - 6,540
7. photojenn - 5,990
8. Don Morris - 2,325
9. OtisDart - 2,306

It took thirteen hands before BrainMc was eliminated in 9th place when his AcJd ran into Maudie’s QdQc.

Three hands later, Don Morris became the bubble victim of the week, when his AdKh was dominated by OtisDart’s AhAc. Everyone left was in money as the top seven paid. Here’s the chipcount at this point.

1. NumbBono - 19,439
2. DuggleBogey - 17,648
3. Maudie - 11,577
4. photojenn - 10,505
5. lightning36 - 9,535
6. OtisDart - 8,531
7. GCox25 - 5,265

Eighteen hands into the final table, I picked up a nice 3800 chip pot when my pocket jacks flopped a set.

On the 23rd hand of the final table, I decided to get cute, and raise 3x BB from UTG with The Hammer. GCox25 pushed from the cutoff. Seeing as I was pretty much committed to this pot, and it wasn’t going to dent my stack to severely, I called. His sixes held up, and he doubled through me, knocking my stack down to T17,374.

In the very next hand, it was was folded to Maudie in the SB, she limps, and I check my option and we take a flop. I flop top two pair with my Ks7s. Maudie bets 1200 into the 2200 chip pot. I raise to 5K. Maudie thinks for little bit before pushing her remaining 10K in the middle. I’m compelled to call at this point. Maudie has 3h5h, and the board is Kh-7d-6h, giving her a gutshot to go along with her flush draw. The 2s and the 10d are no help for her, and she’s out in 6th place as I scoop the 33K pot, and take the chip lead, which I won’t relinquish the remainder of the tournament.

By now the blinds/antes are up to 400/800/100, and here’s the count.

1. NumbBono - 34.3 K
2. DuggleBogey - 17.6 K
3. GCox25 - 12.4 K
4. lightning36 - 9.5 K
5. photojenn - 8.6K

I felt strong about my chances to win this thing at this point, as long as I didn’t do anything stupid.

So what I do a couple of hands later…lose a 20K pot to lightning36 when my 6h6s falls to his KcQs when a queen falls on the river. Down to 28K, but still have 9K chip lead.

Four hands later, the thirtieth of the final table, I made what I consider to be the best play I made all tournament. Here’s the chipcount before I dive into this hand.

1. NumbBono - 27.1 K
2. lightning36 - 18.8 K
3. DuggleBogey - 14.8 K
4. photojenn - 11.0 K
5. GCox25 - 10.7K

Blinds antes are at 400/800/100.

I’m on the button with AdKs, and it’s folded to me, I raise it to 3,300, and DuggleBogey pushes with his remaining 10,548. I go into the tank on this one, trying to figure what would possess him to risk his entire stack preflop. If he had AA or KK, he surely wouldn’t have done this. I finally figure him for a hand in the range of AK-A10, or a pair between 10’s and Q’s. Obviously, I like my chances against a big ace, while I’m racing against an underpair to my big slick. I figure it’s a 50/50 shot on which type of hand he has, and decide it’s worth the call. I’m not out of the tournament by any means if I lose this one, merely knocked down to third in chips with about 13K.

I call, and Duggle’s AhJs fall to my AdKs, and I’m 29K for the better, while Duggle is felted in fifth place.

So now I’m a huge chipleader, and pondering how to finish out. I keep saying to myself, “Just play solid poker man, don’t get crazy with all of those chips.”

Fifteen hands later, we’re at 500/1000/125, and I’m at 42.5K, about twice the nearest stack. I raise to 3750 from the BB with AcJd. This prompts GCox25, who had limped in, to push his entire stack of 6830 into the middle. I call, and crack his KhKd, when the beautiful Ace of Diamonds hits the turn.

The very next hand, I raise to 4K from the SB, and lightning36 pushes his 9K stack in the middle. I briefly ponder this, and decide to call with my pocket nines. hell, I’m on a roll, there’s no reason to think they won’t hold up, right? I figured I was up against at least overcards, but was happy to see his pocket fours. My nines did hold up, I was now heads-up with photojenn.

Here’s lightning36’s account of a hand that preceded this one.

Amazingly, almost all my hands held up at showdown. I took a few chances and caught some good flops. My one luckbox play came when the eventual champ, NumbBono, had a pair of 6’s up against my K-Qos. I thought that he was out stealing blinds. Luckily, I spiked a Queen on the river to more than double up.

Read lightning36’s account of his third place finish

blinds/antes - 500/1000/125

1. NumbBono - 60,040
2. photojenn - 22,460

We played twelve hands heads-up. There weren’t any huge chip-lead changing hands. I just played my game. I busted her when my KdJc flopped a jack to beat her Ah6d after we got all the money in before the flop.

It was (once again) a fun tourney put on by Mookie, and a nice boost to the bankroll, even if I don’t a have decent way of withdrawing it from Full Tilt.

After hanging out around the bottom of the leaderboard for the first 3/4 of the Mookie, I woke up with a few cards, a few moves, and a little luck, and took the thing down. More later.

For me, playing poker has mainly been for fun. There was a time last year when we were a little short of funds and my poker winnings helped pay a few bills right in the middle of a job switch/move for my wife and I. I’ve profited probably two grand or so in the last couple of years from online play. And had a nice score of about $800 in a live tourney, and enjoyed moderate success at the bi-weekly home game with a $25 buyin and about 25 people.

Currently I’ve got a roll of about $150 on Full Tilt. That’s pretty much it. I think there’s about $15 or so left in the PokerStars account, but I’ve pretty much stopped playing there.  I have around $50 scattered around on various sites, but I’m probably unable to retrieve any of it because it was all won from various freerolls over the last three years.  Apparently most poker sites don’t want you to win $10 in a freeroll and simply withdraw it.
Sooooo……

I’ve made the decision to stop playing online poker…well almost stop, but more on that later.

With a new child in the house as of four months ago, any time between 5:00 pm and the end of the day really needs to be spent doing something other than sitting in front of the PC while my wife and child are in the other room. It’s starting to strain my wife’s patience, and quite honestly, I don’t blame her.

I don’t rely on poker for any type of steady income. I’ve profited from it, but not regularly. I have a full time job, so I don’t need to worry about what little income that I could make playing low-limit SnG’s.

The sad part is, I just recently become a little more involved in a few blogger tournaments, and I’m not only having fun with them, but enjoying a moderate amount of success. Plus I’ve just now started to become a little more active in my own blogging endeavors.

So from now on, the only online poker I’m going to play from now on will be The Mookie on Wednesday nights. I really enjoy this tourney and have gotten to know a few of the regulars a little better. MTT’s, with a modest amount of players who know what they’re doing, are more fun for me now than anything else.

Most of the money I’ve made online has been at one-table SnG’s and Heads-up SnG’s, but those just aren’t as fun for me as they used to be.

I’m going to leave that $150 on FTP, and use it for playing The Mookie. If I’m lucky enough to increase that by any significant amount, then I’ll withdraw it (if the republicans will let me find a way), and leave some on FTP for future Mookie fun.

If I crap out, and don’t cash in any more Mookies over the next 14-15 weeks, then that’s it…I’m out.

So you may ask, is this move precipitated by the increasing republican pressure to end the evil sin of online gambling? Sure…a little. I don’t want to with whatever hassles will come with trying to withdraw and deposit in the future. I’m sure that sometime down the road, things will settle down, and there will be a stable online gaming industry in the U.S., but who knows if that will be months or years. My guess is the latter. (I can only imagine how juicy those games will be when the time comes)

But the main reason is priorities, and right now, grinding it out at the $5-$20 SnG level just isn’t a high priority for me.

I still love the game, and I’ll still play in the bi-weekly home game (it’s actually in dining room of a restaurant now) and The Mookie whenever I can. But no more nights of SnG after SnG.

As far as the blog goes, I’ll still write here, and it will still be poker-related. I’ll probably post Mookie results, maybe talk a little about the home game. Who knows what else. Most of the poker on television is crap (anyone catch that Pro-Am thing on ESPN? pure crap), but I do love High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark though. They cover two formats that have hardly been covered on TV. The cash game, and the Sit-and-Go. And it’s great that they’re presented with a minimum of distraction from announcers (particularly PaD).

Who knows what the future will bring.

See you at The Mookie.

With my third cash in four entries in The Mookie, I must say that I’m pleased with my results so far. But a victory is a must after coming so close now.

Wednesday’s tournament started pretty quickly for me. At a table with a few now-familiar names, managed to double through Kajagugu bringing me to T2895 on the sixth hand of the tourney when my KK held up against JJ.

With the blinds at 20/40, I increased to T3515 when I called 3.5x BB raise from HuntsVegas in middle position with KhJd. The flop cam 9-Q-8 rainbow, and I called 120 into a 460 pot. I felt he paired the flop with the 8 or 9, and getting 4-1 I had to call. also, based on his style of play at the table, there was a distinct possibility that he missed the flop with A-x and was seeing if I was the type of player that would get out of the hand if he even applied a small amount of pressure.

The turn brought a lovely Kd, giving me top pair to go with my gutshot and he checked to me. Not 100% sure where I was in the hand, I decided to bet 350 into the 580 pot. This was small enough to get a call, and I began to wonder if he flopped a set. The river brought the 7c, and we both checked, and he turned over 6s7h to show his busted open-ender.

Regardless, I’m now at T3515, and stay right around there for a while until it seems like every raise I made was being re-raised by more than one player. I bleed off chips in this fashion until I find myself at T1270, and the blinds/antes are at 140/280/25. I pick up 7h7c in MP and decide to push into an unopened pot in a semi-bluff-steal. I wouldn’t have minded a caller, but picking up the blinds/antes would have increased my stack by over 40%. cracknaces calls, and my 7’s held up against his AhQs, although I had to dodge a spade flush on the river. This puts me at T2905.

A few hands later, I pick up QsQd, and raise it up to 875 preflop. cracknaces calls, and I push after the flop comes 2d-5d-9s. He folds and now I’m at T4805, and making a push for the final table. by this time, I think we had maybe 15 people left. Top seven paid.

At 200/400/50, with T3815, I pick up a pair of red Jacks, and call NewinNov’s all-in bet of 2135. My jacks hold up and I’m in good position to make the money with T6400.

The final table looked like this when it started.

1. KrazyBangs 16,785
2. Dachrsty 11,783
3. lucko21 11,572
4. wwonka69 10,604
5. MrSubliminal 10,438
6. cracknaces 7,343
7. katitude 5,590
8. NumbBono 4,861
9. willwonka 3,434

Blinds/antes were 250/500/50

Two hands in, willwonka was eliminated, and we were on the money bubble, and I was the shortstack with an M of less than 4. Not a comfortable position to be in.

This is about the time when lucko21 took over the tourney. I had been at his table before the final table, and he was playing very aggressively. But at this point, he was raising nearly every pot for about 5-6x BB. Whenever somebody went along with him, he would win. I decided to stay out of any confrontations in this spot. lucko21 eventually amassed a huge chip lead, and was really rolling.

I did get a few chips off him that helped improve my finish. I pushed (the only move at this point) with red 10’s, and he called with As7s. Ace came on the flop, but I hit my two-outer for a set on the river.

I folded my way to fourth place, which I don’t consider too bad considering I never had over T8000 for the entire tournament. Making a final table is all well and good, but it’s a lot more fun when you can get there with enough chips to make some moves.
This was my third cash in four Mookies, so I’m pretty happy with that. I just need to win this damn thing someday.

Congratulations to wwonka69 for winning the tourney. Beating lucko21 was a pretty amazing feat, considering that at one point, with six players left, he held over 62% of all chips in play, and for the 39 hands that I saw at the final table, he won 19 of them.

I managed to take second of fifteen in the second chance tourney. I must say, Turbo Pot-Limit Omaha is not a game that I’ve played very often. It was fun, but my focus was on the Main Event. I had a huge chip lead early, and maintained it all the way to the end, when Mungo36 reeled me in. I don’t have any hands to relay from this one, but I burst the money bubbles in both tournaments within 20 seconds of each other, which was kind of cool.
It’s a great tourney, and many thanks to Mookie for putting it on every week, as well as live-blogging it.

I’ve only played The Mookie four times now, and although I haven’t won the damn thing yet, I can’t complain. I’ve cashed three times in the main event, and taken second place in a second chance tourney.

What follows is brief recap of my experiences in the Mook to date.

12/20/2006 - Rufus Rides Again

So I decide to try a blogger tourney. Sure, I have a blog, but I’ve rarely posted to it (that’s changed now). Sounds like fun though, let’s give it a shot. I end up 4/38. I didn’t play the 2nd chance tourney on this occasion. I honestly don’t have much of a recollection of this tourney except for one thing. With four left, and Waffles and I on the short stacks (close in chips though), I got a walk on my BB to push me slightly above him in chips. The very next hand, it’s a three way all-in pot. I have JJ, Waffles has QQ and bdidde turns up AA and has us both covered and stacks us. That walk in the BB moved me up a spot in the money, which I found remarkably lucky.

I’m pretty sure I played ABC poker for the most part in this one. Nothing fancy. I was a little put off by the fact that everyone seemed to know each other, and their styles, so it felt like I was coming in at a disadvantage. But it all worked out.

1/3/2007 - Fosheezy Bdidde

After a week off for the holidays, I can’t wait to jump in a again. This time there’s 42 of us looking to shake the post-holiday blues.

I know a few of the players a little better this time around but I honestly don’t think it mattered. Lot’s of Hammers being shown this time around, and I even got into it by successfully executing a hammer-bluff on Fuel55 early in the tournament. Didn’t faze him one bit though, as he went on to take the whole thing down.

Midway through the tournament, the deck hit me in the face for a 10 minute stretch that propelled me into the top 3-4 for most of the remainder of the tournament.

Heads-up, it was down to Fuel55 and I. Entering heads-up play, I had a 37k-27k chip lead. We battled for nearly a half hour, before my KK succumbed to his AQ which flopped an Ace (all the money was in pre-flop), and crippled me at 3k. i hung on for a few hands, but in the end it was Fuel’s moment.

I played the second chance tourney poorly, finishing 6/19. I don’t multi-table that often, and I didn’t want to hurt my chances in the Main Event, so that’s where my focus was.

1/10/2007 - Fuel Rules

The Main Event was forgettable for me. Didn’t even make it to the first break, and finished 37/57. I remember getting my chips in the pot ahead on my last two hands, then getting sucked out on both times. Not my night.

The Second Chance Tourney was an exercise in old fashioned hee-haw donkiness. This was an awesome display of poker on my part. On the very first hand, I turned two pair on a paired board, and before I knew it, most of my chips were in the pot, and I was up against a flopped set, which rivered a boat just to rub it in a little bit. Embarrassing to say the least. A terrible play on my part. Level One poker at it’s best. I ended up 14/14 in this one, and went to bed with my tail between my legs.

I’ll write up a summary of the 1/17/2007 Mookie in another post.

It appears that steps have been taken to enforce the anti-money laundering…errr…anti-gambling…errr…anti-have the right to do what you want in the privacy of your own home so long as it doesn’t hurt others bill.

I don’t keep anything (to speak of) in Neteller, just enough to keep the account active. I guess I’m wondering, like alot of you, if I don’t get my money out of Stars and FTP via Neteller now, how will I get it out once Neteller is officially unable to transact with those merchants.

I’m sure we’ll find a way, and I do believe that FTP and Stars won’t run off with my money. I don’t think Dutch Boyd isn’t working for them…

The system is breaking down, piece by piece. It will be built again, but when and how are the unknowns at this point.

How does The Christian Broadcasting Network come up with this headline for the same AP story run by hundreds of news outlets.

Billions in Online Gambling Proceeds Stolen

I don’t really read in the story where anything is stolen. The usual “money laundering” accusation is there, but in this application, it hardly equates to stealing.

Leave it to the religious zealots to try and make this sound like these guys were a part of some sort of organized crime ring.

Of course, right there in the AP story, is this beauty.

—————————

FBI Assistant Director Mark J. Mershon said the multibillion-dollar online gambling industry was “a colossal criminal enterprise masquerading as legitimate business.”

—————————

That explains why my Aces got cracked the other night in a $5 SnG. The gambling mafia did it to me.

Some days I’m embarrassed to be a U.S. citizen. Other days I forget about it all and do something fun, like play in The Mookie on Wednesday.

In case you’re were really interested, I’ve updated the About Page.

I’m really digging WordPress. Its so much better than Blogger ever was.

The Mookie

Last night’s Mookie didn’t go too well. Finished 37/57. Just wasn’t feeling too hot last night. No spectacular hands that I lost on, just bad timing, and I played a little too aggressive on a hand that I should have known better with.

So what do you do when you feel like crap, you’re tired, and a little tilty? Sign up for the Mookie second chance of course.

This was an awesome display of poker on my part. On the very first hand, I turned two pair on a paired board, and before I knew it, most of my chips were in the pot, and I was up against a flopped set, which rivered a boat just to rub it in a little bit.

Embarrassing to say the least. A terrible play on my part. Level One poker at it’s best.

I think this is the fourth week I’ve played The Mookie, and I’ve finished in the money twice (second and fourth), and I’ve placed second in a second chance tournament.

It’s a good game, and fun as hell to play in something other than a MTT SnG with a bunch of idiots, or $10 MTT that draws over 1000 players and takes just too damn long.