Miscellaneous thoughts on my 38th Birthday

1. Bodog continues to be a great site for me. PokerStars and Full Tilt....not so much. I withdrew most of the profits from PStars after my big cash last March. Mostly I withdrew because of the RE saga that my family and I finally got done in late Spring. I went on tilt after the BBT3 was over and blew out most of what was left of my bankroll on MTT's on both PStars and Full Tilt after that. I've had a couple of nice cashes in the Bodog 5K and 6K recently so it's a nice coincidence with the Bodonkey starting up again. Baby tilt is not good for a bankroll....I know a few of you out there know what I'm talking about.

2. I had Biggestron transfer me 10 buckaroos to FTP so I could play the Mookie last night. I had 35 in my PStars account left over but I kept getting a cryptic message from PStars about not being able to transfer 10$ because funds were uncleared or something like that. Kind of embarrassing...but last weekend I drunkenly transferred 50 to PStars and I guess it's not cleared. "Oh sure Dave....rip me off for 10 bucks and I'm still looking for a full time job! Take the food off my table so my kid can't eat!"-Biggestron. "This is embarrassing...I guess I'll give you the ten when we go to the HPT NLHE tournament!"-Me It was all in jest but still embarrassing as the transfer to my FTP account was already done. I'll pay you back dude...I swear! I could have just transferred the 10 right back but I guess I needed a good ol' fashion kick in the junk by playing the Mookie again.

3. Speaking of the freakin' Mookie. I can't get to a final table for the life of me. It remains the bane of my poker existence! I've met most of my poker goals for 2008 this year. Win a large 10.00 buy-in tourney for my biggest score-check. Win more than 2K (900 people entry for 2,250.00 on PStars) at the same time-check. Win more than 1.5 K in an online tourney (placed 2nd in the Bodog 10K for 1,550.00)-check. Win a friggen Bloggament (M.A.T.H for 550 or so)-check. Make a good showing in the BBT3 (1st, 2nd, 2nd in M.A.T.H) and cash north of 1K (1,200.00+)-check, Make a lot more final tables this year-check, Meet some more bloggers and play some poker-check, Cash out with a relatively large profit for the year (so far)-check.
Some things I didn't get to do this year but maybe next year: Cash in a Sunday major or a 100+ entry fee tournament, Cash in a casino tourney, play more live (having a toddler and a baby makes that one most unlikely), Win a 1,000+ person tournament, and play either a tournament at the two major series (World Poker Finals in Spring and Fall) at Foxwoods...or a WSOP donkfest. The last seems very unlikely this year or any year in the future for that matter but I did make it into the BBT3 T.O.C so one can always dream.

4. Wow...38 years old. My 20th High School reunion is this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend....that should be interesting. Seems so long ago but it went by pretty fast. College was 16 freakin years ago........fuck. If you asked me what events would happen in the future in 1988 I surely would not have ever thought that the : RedSox would win the World Series.....twice, The Patriots would win a SuperBowl.....3 times, I would have a wife and two kids and a sizable house, I would use this thing called the Internet everyday for multiple hours, I would see a Socialist regime elected who treat the Constitution like a piece of toilet paper (Well that hasn't actually happened....yet), I would care about anything outside of my little world other than sex, drugs/alcohol, heavy metal, video games, gambling, sports.....now that I'm typing this I realize I love all those things but the drugs..I cut that out a long time ago....but I digress. There is a lot more to care about after you figure out how the world actually works. Back in the day in '88 I would have only saw the day and situation I was in at the time with no thought of the future at all.

5. The Phillies just won the world series. Congrats to those Phans in the area. The Phillies were my favorite national league team back when I was in my prime baseball card collecting days. Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt made it easy to be a Phillies fan. Since we had no NL team in the area...I naturally gravitated towards them. Carlton was the best Lefty in that era...and I was a lefty pitcher in the little league. Seeing them win last night reminded me of Tug McGraw jumping for joy in 1980. I guess the Rays won their World Series when they beat the Sox this year. They will be a force to reckon with in the years to come though.....10 years of 1st round draft picks will do that for a team.

6. I have two daughters now....man am I in trouble in the future! I can only hope that they don't become a Massachusetts politician....that is my only fear. This state is a microcosm of what the United States is going to become. One party controls everything and they wield their powers with a force that overwhelms any of their constituents. I realize the last eight years haven't been a joy for most (it's really the last two years for those paying attention)....but I really do not want what I think is going to happen in the near future. I am not a racist for not wanting Barack Obama as my next president. I actually inform myself about candidates and what they do and have done in the past. I don't care if you are Black, White, Yellow or Blue. I want my next president to be a patriot....a constitutionalist...a leader I can trust that won't send our money to any country that hates us and what we stand for. What we stand for is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You have to work hard for what you want....

7. I would like to have many more birthdays but not more birthdays than my children........

8. I would also like to find out what I was meant to do on this earth other than the obvious.......

Bodonkey 2night

THE KEY IS....YOU HAVE TO REGISTER TO PLAY EVEN IF YOU'VE PLAYED IN THE TOURNAMENT BEFORE/AND HAVE A BODOG ACCOUNT...the link is at the end of this post!


Don't Miss Tuesday's Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament!
Start Time 9:05 pm ET.

Think you have what it takes to bust out a poker pro?

On Tuesday October 28th, 2008 professional poker player and author, Eric "Rizen" Lynch, will compete in the Bodog Blogger Tournament Series.

There will be a $75 bounty on Eric's head and the poker blogger who takes Eric's last chips in this tournament will receive a $75 credit to their Bodog member player account. This blogger will also receive a signed copy of Eric's book, Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time. If Eric wins this tournament, he will give the $75 credit to the poker blogger that places 1st runner up. That player will then receive the credit of $75 to his or her account.

This blogger tournament series is open to poker bloggers world wide and runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 9:05 pm ET.

More details available at the official blogger series site at http://www.bodogbloggertournament.com

If you are new to Bodog, please sign up at http://www.bodoglife.com/promotions/poker/blogger-tournament/

So what are you waiting for?

Register today and may the best poker blogger take the bulls eye on Eric "Rizen" Lynch!

You bunch of Hosers...eh.....

Well...OK....they don't talk like that in Iowa but there is something good coming out of the state besides corn.............


BEHOLD!!!!!!!!


Don't be fooled by the 'invitational' tag....anybody can play.....eh!

Bodonkey II....Another good reason to play Bodog

The Bodog Blogger Tournament is Back!
Start Time 9:05 pm ET.

You heard right, the rumors are true! The Bodog Blogger Tournament is back!

The Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series officially returns Tuesday October 28th, 2008 with special guest bounty player, professional poker player and author, Eric "Rizen" Lynch.

Bodog is proud to host it's second Poker Blogger Tournament Series, where poker bloggers worldwide are gathering Tuesday and Thursday nights in the Bodog Poker Room.

More details available at the official blogger series site at http://www.bodogbloggertournament.com

Sign up for this tournament at http://www.bodoglife.com/promotions/poker/blogger-tournament/

So what are YOU waiting for?

Register Early!

You can't LeTune a piano..but you can LeTune a fish

I didn't last long in the LeTune challenge freeroll (HA)courtesy of rakebrain last night. Here is last nights recap for the Letune challenge results. Of course I made up the excuse (in my own warped brain) that my daughter and baby daughter were keeping me pre-occupied. I got knocked out by this guy who has like 10 kids...so that excuse is out the window. I was pretty sure that he had either 10's or J's. Even though it was pot limit holdem at that point I had my Ad-Qd and the nut flush draw...with maybe two overs I was thinking....at the time. He pushed all in...I being a fish naturally called and lost. Damn you Mookie!!! I should have waited for that scenario in PLO...but I was impatient. So I'm a really nice guy and Mookie goes on to battle pvanharibo for 1st place. I heard the battle was epic. Congrats to pvan...she's a killer. Patience pays. I see Biggestron made a big comeback for a cash. I also see that the RedSox made a big comeback for a cash...coincidence? (Bdidde : "the Sox are all done" Me : "but what if they do win"?) I think not.....

If you want a laugh....

Check out this thread from 2+2.....you have to look through the whole thread. I was laughing uncontrollably after browsing through.....


Also this week along with the regular blonkaments....of which I probably won't participate comes this email :

Hey poker people,

Finally it’s again time for the RakeBrain blogger challenge on Full Tilt. It's been a long time and our previous blogger the infamous LeCheese has been replaced and now you are facing LeTune.

As usual it’s a freeroll, the first 32 bloggers that say they wanna play in an email to me will be added to the tournament. In total there will be 36 players (4 tables). So shoot me an email if you are able to play.

This blogger challenge freeroll is open to all poker bloggers with a full tilt account that have an active poker blog (writing for at least 6 months), I’m encouraging all of you to spread the word and have your blogger friends email me if they want to play. I don’t have contact info to all the good poker bloggers out there, so feel free to spread the word (and my email address) and if they are amongst the first 32 that contact me stating the blog URL and Full Tilt nick name, they will be in (if they have an active poker blog of course).

Prize pool will be $1000 and the game is Pot Limit HA as usual.

Time for the tournament is Thursday the 16th of October at 19.00 EST. (next week!)

If you want to see what bloggers participated in the last tourney with LeCheese way back you can see it here: http://www.rakebrain.com/blog/2008/04/15/time-for-le-cheese-revenge/

Hope to see a friendly tournament with lots of friendly poker bloggers.

Cheers,
Joe from RakeBrain

Smokkee's revenge

That was as awful a game as I've seen the Patriots play. That game reminded me and probably a whole legion of fans what it was like in the early 90's. Is there any doubt that Tom Brady is the best and smartest QB in the game? I can't believe the Pats are so bad this year. It's hard to grasp the fact that they have no pass rush, no good defensive backs, no offensive line, no QB that can at least grind out a close game.....and seemingly no balls this year. It's all too much for a football fan in NE.....and it's gonna get a lot worse. In my own words...I'll just have to "Deal with it"! The only thing keeping the football faithful from jumping off the bridge is the Red Sox. The Sox are a good distraction this year. Speaking of the Sox......
I said I wouldn't criticize Francona this year...wrong! As coach of the Red Sox you must be able to exercise your judgement on Josh Beckett. You must realize that you are lucky to have a lead after Beckett gave up the lead twice. You must be able to decode Beckett's stubbornness when you ask "How do ya feel out there buddy"? You must not go down that path that Grady Little went down in '03...please stop the bad decisions now. For the love of all that is good and baseball holy Tito....make good decisions going forward. Thank You.
I played in the 6K Guaranteed along with a slew of other tourneys on Bodog and PokerStars this weekend. Saturday night was alright with me cashing in most of them. I made a move at the 6K again and went to the final table. Last week I went out 5th...this week...5th. I say it again...the best low buy-in tourneys out there are the 10+1 5K guaranteed and the 20+2 6K guaranteed. The 6K has kept me profitable alone. I haven't deposited since the Bodonkey started up last Winter. The sit'n'go's are ridiculously easy as well. If you don't play on Bodog....especially if you are a tournament player....you just don't like money. The only thing keeping me from buying into the big Sunday 100K is a busy family life. The software may not be the best but it is getting a little better as of late. I would suggest they incorporate a couple of other games in tourney format besides Holdem though...that's what probably loses them (as a poker site) a lot of money. Word has it that the Bodonkey is coming back on Tuesday nights....that's the best news I've heard in last 3 months. So I end this post on a good note..and I will fight the temptation of posting my two cents on the next P.O.t. U.S.A.....
One or two last questions for those of you who are political historians. Was it a good thing to have no check and balance in the last administration-congress-house of representatives that was all Democrat. When was the last time this happened?

Another visit from Fitzy....

Smokkee you might enjoy this......

holdem poker starting hands

Holdem Poker Starting Hands

No matter if you play a freeroll at Full Tilt Poker
or a mid-stakes cash game
at PokerStars, you need good starting hand requirements if you want to
be successful. What are good starting poker hands in Holdem? There are a number of
different playable hands, depending upon your situation.

Big Card Hands

Big card hands have two cards in the Broadway Zone, between ten and
ace. The higher and closer, the better. Hands like AA, KK and QQ and AK
(especially suited) are monster hands that you will play from any
position and usually don?t mind getting it all in before the flop.

JJ, TT and 99 are strong hands that you can play from any position, but
very cautiously. Hands like AQ, KQ, KJ and QT are trouble hands. When
you hit your hand, you will either be far ahead and get no action or way
behind hands like AK, tied on for a lot of money.

You may want to raise up front with hands like AQ or KQ. However, its
okay to throw these hands away if there has been a raise in front of
you, especially in an early position. A hand like TJ or QJ is one you
would like to limp and see a flop with, hoping to make a straight, a
suited flush or big two pair.

Pairs

Pairs other than mentioned above are usually ones you would like to see
a cheap flop with and hope to hit a set. The problem with medium and
small pairs is that an overcard often hits the flop. If you do not make
a set, these hands can be difficult to play.

Suited Connectors

Hands such as 67 suited and 89 suited can be great to play in late
position, if you can do so cheaply. You are hoping to flop a
well-disguised monster hand and win a big pot. Throw these hands away if
you only catch a small piece of the flop and other players are
representing strength.

Bodog....

Damn...so close...I pushed with Jh-Qh...and I got called by Ah-4d........I was crippled after that flopaliscious debacle happened. I have no idea why 7 people are ahead of me while simultaneously finishing 5th. It's a Bodog phenomenon. I have to say the the 9:10PM ET NLHE tourney and the 20+2 10:30PM ET tourneys are just awesome. I HEART BODOG!!!

Fantasy Hockey League

Yahoo! fantasy hockey league 'BostonNeedsGoodHockey' (ID# 62170) is now a public league. I need 3 teams to complete the league before the Oct. 2nd 10:30 PM (ET) draft. It's a Head-to-Head fantasy league and there are no fees. Side bets may be encouraged!