Just some thoughts

Went out 21st in the latest Mookie. Best finish so far in the BBT5 but it wasn’t nothing to crow about as I never went above 7100 chips. Sat around and watched it for awhile. Interesting final table in the fact that except for RGC, who led the tourney most of the way the other 8 runners were all within a couple thousand chips of each other and even he was only about 15K or so ahead. About as balanced a final table as I’ve seen. Lots of chip movement for awhile before Mondogarage made the first mistake and depleted his stack and eventually left the table first. As it went along it seemed that a different person built his stack as someone went out so that the table stayed very balanced until it came down to RG and Tripjax. Sorry to say I missed the finish. Got up to take a whiz and swallow a couple pills and by the time I got back it was over. GG to the table and nice win Tripjax.

Looking over the schedule for this year’s WSOP. I see they’ve replaced the 50K HORSE with a 50K 8 game mixed and calling it The Player’s Championship and awarding the Chip Reese trophy to the winner. Sounds nice but unless you’re in Vegas you ain’t seeing nothing but NLHE. Seems ESPN coverage is driving things again and ESPN likes nothing but NLHE. Seems ESPN wouldn’t cover the final table unless it was only NLHE and a lot of the players are going along feeling that the TV coverage will up the participation. I don’t mind watching the NLHE but I really enjoy the other games. While I enjoy playing them I like to see how the pros do it. LCD screws me up again. Bad enough half of TV is made up of reality shows these days even poker is caving in to the wish of the masses. Is nothing sacred? Besides the game gives advantage to the NLHE specialist at the final table instead of favoring the all around player as a Player’s Championship and a trophy named after Reese should. Seems the WSOP forgot its roots, when it was something for the players not a TV event that caters to the masses. Big money wins out again. Kind of reminds me of coverage of the Olympics used to be like. All you saw were the events that the US did well in or had major followings. Well that’s what the people want to watch and what gets the ratings. True, but the people aren’t ever going to change their tastes if they aren’t exposed to different things. It’s funny, they won’t try different things elsewhere but they keep trying to cram soccer down our throats after years of failure. There goes that different drummer again. Since it seems my plans for Vegas aren’t going to work out I’m stuck with ESPN which means NLHE.

Enough for now. Thanks for the listen.

Another Mookie down the drain

Mookie starting. Not many familiar names at the table, Buddy Dank to my left and Bad Blood across the table but that’s all I recognize. Start OTB with Q-9. Not suited, easy fold. Suited, otb, I like Q-9, it’s the ultimate suckout hand. Xkm1245 notices that there are three monkey avatars in a row and brings up the see no evil, …, line. As I’m the third one I have to disabuse him of that notion as I definitely speak a lot of evil. Played two earlier tourneys and cards sucked in them and not much better here. Went out both of them when I ran pocket paint, J-J and Q-Q, into K-K. Can I make it a 3fer?

So far this game my cards would be a donkey’s dream, lots of sooooted. Right now, lots of folding. Tried to push the Hammer and it cost me. Back to folding. Damn, folded suited Q and flop brought the flush with OE straight flush redraw and two pair to one guy and set to another. What a haul it would have been. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Now it went from sooooted to weak aces. Need more patience because I can’t manufacture dick at this table, always a call if not a raise. Can’t even play my blinds, every one has been raised and none worth defending. Talk about being cold decked. Looks like I’m going to see how far folding can get me. Got some chips back. Had flush draw on a paired flop. Put out a value sized bet as a blocker from utg and it actually took down the pot.

Hey, finally, a real hand. Called bigdav’s raise pre with A-T and flop came x-T-T. He lays out a little over half the pot and I call. He checks the turn and I go about 3/4s and he folds. Hooray. BadBlood screws me up. In BB with 8-9 suited and first two guys limp. Just what I like, multi-way pot with suited connectors in the BB. Gold if you hit the flop, easy to get away from if you don’t. Blood spoils it all by shoving his short stack. Short maybe but still too big for a call at this stage. The suited cards keep coming, at least 8 straight hands suited. At least there was a K-Q and A-T among them. Nice pot off of Kajagugu. A-K in the BB with 3xs raise in front. Kaja calls as do I. Flop comes 3-3-6 and we all check. Turn a 9 and another check and Kaja bets slightly under half. I don’t believe he has the 3 and at best hit the 9 so I take a flyer and call. River brings a K and I check figuring on a trap but when he bets about 3’4s I chicken out and just call. K is good and I chip up a bit. Next hand is 8-8 but a preflop raise and all overs on the flop sends them to the muck.

Just gave most of my winnings to OMGItsPokerFool. Draw heavy board with flush and straight possibilities but can’t force him off his weak ace once he hit it on the flop. Gave up after 2 bullets. One of these days I’m gonna learn to fold once that ace hits. Couple hands later I’m forced off my BB with J-8 off with a 4xs raise and 2 callers. Flop is 9-T-Q rainbow. It figures. Q-Q in the BB. It’s either going to get folded to me or I’m seeing Ks. Glorioski Sandy, Flip74 raises and bigdav calls. Good chance there is no huge pair out there so I shove. Flip folds but bigdav has chips and calls with K-Qd. Good, only one over. Flop comes 9 hi but with two diamonds. Shit, make me sweat. Turn another 9, good. River a blank and I’m still alive, both figuratively and literally. Doctor once said I was going to stroke out playing poker. Made a liar out of him, I learned to relax at the poker table. I was asleep when I had the stroke. Still feel a rush during certain hands though.

Why does Shabazz Jenkins always wind up at my table in these blogger games? Not that I have any problems with him, or it, it just seems funny that with all the players in these games he consistently winds up at my table sometime during the game. Cue the Twilight Zone theme. Suited connectors and I think about raising but fold instead. Could have been a good fold as Mondogarage and bigdav get into a pissing match in a battle of the blinds. Mondo raises, dav reraises and Mondo tops him. Was there a real hand here or was it just a testosterone show? Dav folds so we’ll never know.

Make the second break though I’m scratching felt. Best I’ve done in any of the BBT5 tourneys so far though. Can’t seem to really add to my stack. Get up around 6 to 7K and then give a couple grand back. Very aggressive table tonight.

I swore I wasn’t going to mention Josie in this post but Tilt decided to put her right at my left hand. So much for good intentions. She dumps a lot of chips early when she calls an all in and it’s her A-6 suited against A-A. Gets them back from Shabazz though when she shoves A-K. Shabazz hasn’t played a hand since he sat down calls with K-Q. He gets a Q but Josie hit Broadway and doubles. And I go out. I get a couple decent hands and shove since I’m under 10 BBs but no action. Otherwise it’s weak aces and sooooted cards. Finally shove A-Q off into Columbo’s raise. He calls and it’s a race against his 9-9. Oh well, never was much of a racing man. It was fun as the Mookie always is.

Thanks for the listen.

Tonight's Mookie

Gonna try something different tonight. Am going to try live blogging of the game, as far as I'm concerned at least. May go further after I get KOed but not committing to anything. Hell, might not be able to keep it up as far as my participation goes but we'll try.

It's 15 minutes to start and 95 runners at the gate so far. Will we break 100?

We start with 114 runners and I find myself at a table with Josie and Riggs for familiar names

A lot of folding early but Josie has lost about half her stack to NYRambler.

Lose my first hand of playable cards to Riggs. Lousy flop so not a lot of damage

Seems Waffles is at the table and I just recovered some of my chips thru his good graces (hah)

Seems Waffles donated again. I'm going to get ripped if this keeps up.

Tough fold. Raise in position and get reraised by niktak. Flop gives me TPTK but niktak bets out fairly strong. Too early to push, overpair probable.

Riggs scores double KO, including Josie when he turns a set of Ks

Pick up some chips from Mattazuma when my A-Q turns out better than his K-Q on a A-K-J-x-x board

KK, gets no action from a 3xs raise. Oh well.

Waffles has just informed me he has a feeling I'm going out before him. Hey, anything is possible.

Just split a pot with Jamyhawk. PP9s lead all the way until we both river a straight. Called down with A-9. I then get called by Waffles on a J-8-8 flop with A-K. Doesn't anyone believe me when I bet?

Well, it's better than Monday night. I made first break and even have some chips. At least the poker gods ain't playing tricks tonight (except that split pot) On the whole the cards just suck so I'm folding a lot.

NYRambler just dropped the hammer on me with a reraise to my raise. Thing is, I wasn't a whole lot better.

Damn, K-K again, in SB, and all fold. BB folds to raise.

Take some chips off MaggieO. She minraised my BB and I call on general principle and smack the flop. She calls flop and turn bets and folds to value bet on river. Was I called down by another A-x?

Waffles shoves and called by myself and Jamyhawk. I hit the flop and bet and am called. Turn brings a 3rd spade and even tho I have top pair with nut flush redraw I check and Jamy shoves. I fold, he has Q-Q, Waffles A-T. River a 3 and Waffles is gone, so much for his feeling tho it was almost a draw. I lose half my stack.

Jamyhawk just takes out VinNay. He's on a roll. Called VinNay's shove of his raise with A-8 to VinNay's 3-3 and caught a straight.

I'm out. A-K shove with about 11 BBs. MaggieO had raised and Chippy McStacks called and both called my shove. MaggieO, with Q-J catches a J and Chippy with 7-7 and my A-K go begging.

I find CK has taken my seat and as she is live blogging, and does a much better job at it than I, I guess I'll shut down for the night.

Thanks for the listen.