Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Triple AA

Our regular homegame tournament...

This evening I had AA, pocket rockets, American Airlines three times, winning with them each time. The last time I apologized insincerely for it, the opponent had QQ and had indeed made a comment about "uh, he doesn't have it again". And one time when I won a pot with "only" one ace on hand I first only showed that one and then the deuce underneath. And hilarity ensued.

Nevertheless, I finished third of four because of tremendous outdraws by the final winner. Flop a set and he rivers a flush. Flop a flush and he rivers a full house, kings full of aces to really rub it in. Well, the winner and host was kind enough to give us each a tumbler with Islay whisky.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Drinking, gambling and chasing girls

What about that for a headline, eh? Drinking, gambling and chasing girls.

Well, this weekend I, my brother-in-law and some of his friends went on an organized bus tour to a whisky tasting exhibition where you had a selection of hundreds of whisk(e)ys to choose from. Me, I deviated from the single malt scotch purists and sampled the Jack Daniels, Four Roses and Jim Beam Single Barrel Bourbons in addition to some fine Bowmore and Caol Ila, confirming my opinion that I prefer Bourbon and/or Islay.

From there, the tour went on to the casino for a three-course meal and then gambling. I've never played Hold'em at a real casino before but I know how to behave, so I went to the poker room and politely asked the brush if there was room for me at a low-limit table. I was put on the waiting list and sat with the guys at the low stakes Black Jack table for a while (a slight profit there), then went and asked again. And again. Then a spot opened up and I could sit down, provided that noone above me on the waiting list arrived within fifteen minutes.

How nice and cool it was to sit at a Real Poker Table with a Real Dealer! In a black suit and plaid tie. I couldn't do it for long and grind all night since the bus tour leaves at eleven thirty sharp. Pity, because I took a hit on my stack with my King-high flush against Guy With Diamond Earstud to my right who had the Ace flush. Oh well, we must do it again some time.

Now, what about the "chasing girls" part of the headline? My nice little niece celebrated her first birthday this weekend and although she doesn't walk unsupported yet, she can achieve high speed crawling. I helped out with the party with approximately ten other kids from four months to five years. I was in charge of the fish pond, translating video games and general herding.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

More overlay

In yesterday's post, I told you about PokerBlue and the overlay.

They day after, participated in a similar tournament, i.e. a $10 tournament with $100 added and this time as well there were only thirty participants. Finished fifth then (in the money) and this time I did even better. Third place.

Whooped up some real doozies (I have only a vague idea what that means). For example, had AA, the flop comes KKA and I could milk the others until the river where my bigger bets were called. Ka-pow, up to first place on the leaderboard and on it (shows 1st to 6th largest stacks) I stayed the whole tournament. Fold, fold, fold, steal blinds, fold, fold, fold, bully, fold, fold, draws and outs hit, fold, fold, fold, bluff, fold, wait for shortstacks to knock or blind themselves out, fold, fold, and win.

With only three evenings played, I've already more than doubled up my initial deposit (fresh fish daily indeed) and I've got a seat at this Sunday's freeroll where a $10000 WPT or WSOP seat is up for grabs.

If signing up at Pokerblue, use my bonus code Marthynor this PokerBlue link.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

PokerBlue



I started playing at a fairly new site, PokerBlue. Since it's new, there aren't many players, on a typical day maybe 700-800 logged on (as compared to the bigger sites with (tens of) thousands. And this is good how? Well, not much competition in tournaments. The key word here is overlay. I participated in a multitable tournament with $10 buyin with $100 added by the site and there were only thirty participants meaning the prize pool was $400 instead of $300, that's a big difference. Yes, I finished in the money.

Also (as the banner above says) fish. At a fixed limit table I saw one player capping the pot a few betting rounds and at the river there were four hearts on the table. Showdown and the opponent shows a heart face card, winning. The capper/loser? King and Ace of spades. "Gee golly gosh, they say you should raise with Big Slick, huh?" Yeah, preflop... And look at the board will you?

Some facts:

  • A 100% up to $600 signup bonus which you fulfill by playing raked hands (Frequent Player Points).
  • Big Fat Weekly Freerolls. To be eligible, simply open an account with $100 or more, then play four hours on PokerBlue.com at $1/$2 limit or higher or any no-limit game. Then you get invited to a freeroll in which you can win a $10000 seat at a WPT or WSOP live tournament. This offer is open until October 16 2005.

To get this, use my bonus code Marthyn or use this PokerBlue link.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Hubris

Don't get cocky... Our regular homegame and we were only four. One by one I made all the other three make a rebuy and thus had a massive chip lead. When the blinds were higher I got a lot of draw hands (suited connectors, pairs, ace+face and so on) that didn't hit anything and my stacks were munched up. Final hand I had 99, there are two sixes on the table and the river is an Ace. Opponent makes me go all in (shortstacked) and I have two pair, so I call, thinking he is bullying me out. Nope, he had the ace and I finish second, but still gaining money since I was the only one without rebuy. Humph!