Hand History Answers

In the first hand the Villain had 10h 9h and took it down when he made his straight. I think the only thing he did wrong was to 4 bet his hand preflop. Even though the pot was big I don't think he had the right odds to call. After the flop he had an open ended straight draw and he was willing to call my raise and he completed his straight with the turn card.

My biggest leak in this hand and with many hands I lose is that I don't slow down and take the time to figure out what hands my opponents are on. If I want to move up in Limits I am going to have to really concentrate on this part of my game until I have it down cold. I never saw the straight coming as I was too quick on clicking on that raise button. I know this is a leak and I have yet to correct it. I may need an intervention.

Using Poker Odds Calculator, I had 46% chance to win this hand preflop while the Villain only had 11% chance. After the flop I had a 50% chance to win with my Kings but the Villain had jumped up to 25% chance. His chances increased dramatically on the flop. When the turn hit he was almost a lock to win this hand. One other player had called with pockets 7s and had made his set so his beat was worse than mine as he would have taken me down with his hand, too.
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In the Second Hand the Villain had Ah 7s and he won the hand when the turn card completed his straight. I pretty much figured he had gotten the straight with his betting pattern but I needed to call him down as he was a real Lagtard and could have been bluffing or calling with just a pair. I was willing to give up some money to gain information on his play as I felt I could get it back from him as long as he stayed at the table. He didn't play much longer but I know who he is and will look for him in the future.

Preflop I was 98% to 7% favorite to win this hand. My odds dropped to 67% after the flop and by the turn I was drawing dead.
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I may do some more of these in the future.

Warning - Hand Histories with commentary

Here are the two hands that affected me the most on Bodog and gave me the feeling that Bodog is the new Party Poker since the Online Poker Bill went into effect.

Might as well get right to them.

Hand One: Bodog .25/.50 Limit Holdem (10 handed)

Preflop: Wolverine Fan is in UTG+1 w/ [Kh, Ks]
UTG folds, Wolverine Fan raises, MP1 folds, MP2 calls, LP folds, LP+1 3 bets, Cutoff folds, Button folds, SB calls, BB caps it. Wolverine Fan Calls, MP2 calls, LP+1 calls
I didn't mind capping the action here but I didn't like that there were so many in the pot. Someone has to have an ace which tops my Kings if one shows up. My Kings are better heads up or against just two others so having 5 players willing to cap was worrisome. I wanted to see low cards on this flop.

Flop: (pot=$9.50) [8d, 3d, Js] 5 players
SB checks, BB bets, Wolverine Fan Raises, MP2 calls, LP+1 calls, SB calls.
This is a good flop for me and I raised here in hopes that I could get some folds and narrow the field but I was unable to lose anyone. Not too worried as this is an uncoordinated flop with possible flush draw and my Kings are looking good.

Turn: (pot=$14) [7h] 5 players
SB checks, BB checks, Wolverine Fan bets, MP2 calls, LP+1 calls, SB raises, BB folds, Wolverine Fan calls, MP2 calls LP+1 calls.
This is where I should have slowed down and asked myself what hands could he have to check raise with. I'm going to call anyway as I am getting too good of pots odds not to with a $14 pot.

River: (pot=$20) [6s] 4 players
SB bets, Wolverine Fan calls, MP2 calls, LP+1 calls
No flush to worry about but the check raise scared me so I only called here instead of raising. My Kings are looking pretty good except for the SB may have gotten his set as his betting pattern indicated he was willing to cap with a pocket pair and maybe the flop or turn gave him his set. He didn't check/raise the flop but he may have waited until the turn so that he was getting double the money with his check/raise. I do that quite a bit when I have a strong hand after the flop.

So who did I lose to and what hand did he have?? Answer to follow Thursday.
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Hand One: Bodog .25/.50 Limit Holdem (10 handed)

Preflop: Wolverine Fan is in MP w/ [As, Ac]
UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, Wolverine Fan raises, LP folds, LP+1 folds, CO folds, Dealer Calls, SB folds, BB folds.
This is exactly what I was hoping for as the dealer was a real lagtard and he had played every hand up to this point and called every preflop raise. He won some and lost some so his bankroll was staying even at this point. The only downside is you have no idea what kind of hand he is calling with.

Flop: (pot=$1.35) [9s, 8h, 6c] 2 players
Wolverine Fan bets, dealer calls
Flop is very nice for me. It is coordinated but with all low cards. If dealer is calling with high pocket pair or A/anything I am in good shape at this point.

Turn: (pot=$1.85) [5c] 2 players
Wolverine Fan checks, dealer bets, Wolverine Fan raises, dealer reraises, Wolverine Fan calls
I check raise here to try and get as much money out of the dealer as I can. He reraised me and that kind of took me by surprise so I only called it. On other hands when he was played at and didn't have anything he folded right away so now I have to believe he has a hand of some sort. He could have completed a set, pocket pair, or got the straight. He is the type that he could be calling with just a pair and trying to bluff me or extract as much money from me as he may think I have A/high card and his pair is good but I have a bad feeling at this point that my aces are getting cracked.

River: (pot=6.85) [9h]
Wolverine Fan checks, Dealer bets, Wolverine Fan calls
I just check here because I am still thinking he has me beat but I have to do the crying call to see his hand so I can gather all of the information I can on him.

What hand did he have? Answer to follow Thursday.

Best Round Ever and some Poker Stuff

I shot my best round of golf ever today. On a warm fall day, November 27th, 2006, at Briar Ridge Golf Course I shot a 76. My previous best was a 79 that I made earlier in the summer.

My round included 4 birdies, 6 bogeys, one double bogey and 7 pars. The double bogey occurred when I missed a 3 footer for bogey. I was doing everything well today. My drives were straight and far and I hit 8 greeens in regulation so I had some good iron play. My chipping was better than it had been all year and my putting was absolutely magical. The best I have putted all year.

In the last 3 days I have shot a 46 for nine holes, an 87 for 18 holes and today's 76 for 18 holes.
What a great way to end the year and now I am really looking forward to next year.
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I was a loser this week-end at Bodog with my Limit Challenge and I have to drop back down to the .25/.50 Limit Holdem from the .50/$1 Limit Holdem. I need to win $10 dollars before I can move back up. I am still in the Black and have earned 81 Bodog points so I only need 119 more to get my PSO bonus. So it wasn't a complete loss anyway.

I liked my play for the most part except for a couple of hands and I really can't say that variance did me in this week-end. My losses came mostly from Donkeys that called to the river to get their flush or gut shot straight. Or that ignored any preflop raises to call with 9/10 Suited or worse. I'll post a couple of hand histories tomorrow to show you what I mean.

I need to tighten up a bit more and push a little harder when I have the best of it. After 380 hands my VP$IP is right around 30% and it should be closer to 20%. That will give me something to work on this week.

7 Sultans Challenge et Morte

My 7 Sultans Poker Challenge is dead. In the space of three days I managed to lose my entire bankroll ($7) on the 7 Sultans Poker site and have declared this Challenge as finished. I have no plans to reload at 7 Sultans as there are other sites I would rather put my money into to clear a new bonus.

Variance, bad beats and some tilt is all it took for me to lose my Challenge bankroll. I thought I was on my way but I played way too many hands and that is what essentially did me in. It was an excellent learning experience, though. Hopefully I will remember it for a long time as it was not a good feeling to know I had failed.
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Why is it that when I am going bad, I go bad at every site I play? I played Limit Texas Holdem at Bodog Poker and 7 Sultans Poker and 1 Table SitNGos at Absolute on Friday and at every site I lost. Not only did I lose but I lost by the worse suckouts imaginable. I didn't get any quality cards at all three sites and when I did they would get cracked. I have to think that part of it is me but I can't make the guy holding A/6 (and gets his 6 on the river for two pair) not call my preflop raise when I have A/K suited and get an Ace on the flop for top pair/top kicker. I can't make him not call my check/raise. So is it all me or is it fate, too, or variance? Probably a combination of all three.
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My Limit Challenge at Bodog Poker is still on its way up. I dropped $4 yesterday but made it back plus more today. I am $3 away from moving up in limits now. The first three hands I was dealt on Bodog today were winners. A/Q, K/K, and Q/J suited all held up to put me up $7. I added another dollar to that and cashed out after about 30 minutes of play up $8.
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It was 50 degrees today in Michigan so I played nine holes of golf. I shot a 46 and was very happy with that because my downfall came on the greens as they were very slow and bumpy because of not being mowed in a long time and getting a lot of play. The course was packed which is good for the owners and it was the first time I had even swung a golf club in a month so I was very happy with how I was hitting the ball. I could very easily have had a 42 with just a couple of better putts.

I plan on playing again tomorrow as it is suppose to be just as nice as today was. May be my last golf of 2006.

Training Videos & Challenge Update

I have been on the internet trying to find as many free Texas Holdem Training videos I can. right now I am watching several at 2 + 2 Forums. A lot of the time the videos are quite boring but I try to keep a close eye on them as I am always picking up new information to help my game.

I especially like it when there is a good explanation as to why they bet/raise/fold during that hand. I am probably going to have to invest in some good training videos if I am going to move up in playing limits. I think the combination of watching training videos and reading the quality poker books will help make me a better player.
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I have two challenges running right now, one on Bodog Poker and one on 7 Sultans Poker. My Bodog challenge is, in a way, a continuation of my original Limit Texas Holdem Challenge that I was doing when Titan Poker pulled out of the U.S. market.

I decided I would restart the challenge at the .25/.50 Limit and move up from there as I hit monetary landmarks. So far I am up $18 (including the $10 Bodog Poker bonus) and have to earn $7 more to get to the $25 dollar mark and will then move up to the .50/$1 Limit Holdem tables. In my first challenge I was able to turn $25 into $250 after about two months of play. Lets hope I can do that at Bodog.

Its a little early yet but Bodog reminds me a lot of Titan when I was doing my Challenge there. I will see the same players quite a bit so I am taking good notes on them.

My 7 Sultans Poker Limit Challenge is going to be just like the Bodog challenge except I am starting with lower limits. It is going to take me a bit longer to catch up to Bodog as I have to play the .10/.20 limits until I can get my bank roll built up to $15 and there are a lot of fish that call with any two suited cards or, sometimes, any two cards and oftentimes will hit the flop to break my good hands. I just have to be patient there and not try to bite off too big a chunk. I'll just slowly crawl my way up the mountain until I get to a higher level.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Variance vs Bad Beats vs. Donkey Play

A couple of posts ago I reported that variance had reared it ugly head and I had a losing session that day. Variance, to me, is when you get dealt good hands like A/Q, A/K, J/J, Q/Q, etc. but when the flop/turn/river are all done you don't hit your overcards or your high pocket pairs don't hold up. That is what I term variance and it will always be around in poker.

A bad beat happens when you get pocket aces and you raise/reraise and re-reraise, hit your Ace on the flop for a set only to have that one opponent who is calling all of your raises and reraises with pocket 2s or with 3/6 unsuited and they hit the wheel to crack your aces with a straight. That's a bad beat. A lot of times the bad beat isn't much different from a Donkey Play.

A Donkey type play is when you raise and/or reraise and have top pair/top kicker or a set and your opponent calls all the way to the river to turn his 3/6 suited hand into a flush. That's the type of play a donkey makes and you hope he keeps playing that way as he won't always hit that flush and you will win a lot of money.

I have run into all three of these in the last week. Today it was a few Donkey Plays but I was able to overcome them and turn a small profit in my 7 Sultans Challenge. I played .10/.20 Limit Texas Holdem today and, while up over $2 dollars at one point, cashed out up over a dollar to start my way back from Monday's losing session.
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I restarted my Limit Challenge today on Bodog Poker. I am going through Poker Source Online for their 900 Bonus Points at Bodog Poker. I have to generate 200 Bodog points (I am given 50 Bodog points just for joining so I only need 150 more). You get Bodog points for raked hands. I started my Limit Challenge there at the .25/.50 Limit Texas Holdem tables and will move up. I turn a small profit of $6 today and garnered just 3 Bodog points. I will move up in limits as I hit certain dollar marks. The next one will be $25 so, with Bodog bonus, I just have $9 to go before I move up to .50/$1 Limit Holdem table.

Goodbye Bo

Today was the memorial for Bo Schembechler at the Big House, Michigan Stadium.

Ann Arbor police estimated that 20,000 people had braved the November cold to attend the public memorial service.

He will be missed.

There were a lot of Bo stories and most demonstrated how outstanding a person he was.

Crashed and Burned at Challenge

I crashed and burned today at my 7 Sultans Challenge. I played the .10/.20 Limit Texas Holdem table and was down then up then down again. I was playing pretty tight and was getting good cards but they just didn't hold up today as I had Q/Q cracked twice, once by King high flop and once by Ace high flop. I misplayed A/K for a pretty big loss and ended up the day when my pair of Jacks were taken down. Overall I lost $2 of my $4.80.

I'll try to pick it up again tomorrow.
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I played in a $1 + .10 tourney at Absolute Poker where I was playing pretty good and was in 12th position out of 126 people (top 18 in the money) when I was dealt A/A in EP. We were at level 11 with $200/$400 blinds and $50 ante and I was sitting on $5721 dollars in chips so I raised it up to $1200. I get one caller and the flop is 6h 10d 8c and I go all in. The villain turns over Jd & Qc and he has me covered by $260. The turn is the Jc and the river is the 9c completing his straight and I am out in 22nd place. Hell, I could have folded my way into the money but I wanted final table.

That was the way my morning had gone as none of the cards were dropping my way when I had all of my money on the line.

7 Sultans Challenge

I cashed out my deposit from 7 Sultans poker on Thursday and left $16 in my account to play around with. I was going to see if I could raise it up to a respectable amount. I was two tabling the .25/.50 Limit and .50/$1 Limit games and received a series of bad beats that put me on tilt. I had a set of 6s lose to a set of 10s, I had two pair A/K lose to a flush, and it just kept going. Well before you know it I had donked the whole $16 away. So much for building up a respectable amount to cash.

Well, today I remembered that I had built up a bit of Frequent Player Points or Loyalty Points (whatever they call them there) and I started to look into how I could use them. I found out you could use them on SitNGos but it looked like no one was playing any of the games. Finally I decided to join a Heads Up SitNGo table for 50 points. In no time another player had joined and after about 10 minutes of jockeying around I took them down and won $1.

I had enough points to play another so I immediately sat down and was able to take down another SitNGo when my flush beat my opponents pair of aces. Now I had $2 dollars!!

Now I had something to work with. We all have heard the story of Jesus Ferguson turning $1 into $20,000 at Full Tilt so I thought I would try to emulate him. I took my $2 dollars to a .10/.20 Limit HoldemTable and proceeded to turn it into $4.80!

I was playing extremely tight but still had lost .65 cents to blinds when I got Ac8s in Middle Position. I limped in and about 4 others did to. The flop was 10h, Ah, 8c. A very favorable flop but I am yelling at my computer that I didn't want to see another heart and guess what the turn was..................................yep.......................................a heart, the 8 of hearts!!

Now I had a full house and I was hoping someone else was in there with a Flush and a high Ace. We 4 bet the turn and the river was 4d and we bet out the river and I took down the pot to double me up. Now I was up to $4.35.

I played some more and I was down to 3.30 when I found pockt 5s. The flop had a beautiful 5 in it along with an Ace. What more could you ask for? There were 3 of us on the flop and just two on the turn after raises and reraises. I took it down with my set for a nice little $1.50 win. I played a few more hands after that and quit with my bank roll sitting at $4.80.

I'll keep you posted on how the 7 Sultans Challenge goes as I try to move up and turn my Loyalty points into some real money.

One for the Ages

I never thought my Michigan team would score 39 points and lose the game. I didn't think our defense would ever let up 42 points to any team but Ohio State earned it. Jim Tressel put in the perfect game plan to beat Michigan and had the players to pull it off.

It was a game of halves where Ohio State won the first half and Michigan won the second half. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes had a 3 point edge in their half.

It would have been nice to win it for Bo but it was not to be. Only time will tell where we end up next. I'll get back to blogging about Poker now.

Michigan 35 - Ohio State 21

That's my prediction. Enough said, the time for talking is over and now its time for the game.

Be Schembechler 1929 - 2006

The sun stopped shining in Michigan today at 11:42AM when the heart of a great man decided to stop beating. Glenn E.”Bo” Schembechler, University of Michigan Head Coach from 1969 until 1989, passed away today just before doing his Televison Show on Big 10 football.

One of the last things Bo had done was to give a pep talk to the Michigan Wolverine Football team on the eve of their great game against Ohio State. I hope those players remember what this man had to say forever.

Bo's Michigan teams never won a national championship, they were known for a fundamentally sound, physical, and fierce style of play. Under his watch, the Wolverines traditionally featured strong defense, dominating offensive lines, and a power-running attack. Though somewhat combative during games — he was prone to sideline outbursts — Schembechler was widely regarded as a coach of great personal integrity.

My condolences go out to his family and loved ones. There will always be an empty spot in my heart and my soul when I watch my beloved Wolverines and know that Bo is no longer with us.

I think right now he is telling Woody Hayes in heaven how the Wolverines are going to put a pounding on the Ohio State Buckeyes to the tune of 35 to 21.

T Minuse 3 Days and Counting

The line on the Michigan-Ohio State game is 6 & 1/2 points. That seems to be a bit high for the number's one and two teams going at each other. I realize that Ohio State gets a least a field goal for having home field but I think a more realistic line is 4 or 4&1/2 points. Ohio State has shown a very, very good offense to go along with a dominating defense so that may be why the point spread is so high.

Michigan Offense reviewed: Michigan will start the game trying to establish the run with Mike Hart. They may throw a few passes in the first 10 plays but I am willing to bet it will be 60-40 or 70-30, run to pass ratio. Michigan rarely throws the ball to establish the run but will, instead, attempt to run the ball to set up the play action pass.

The biggest concern for the Michigan offense is if Mario Manningham is back to 100%. He ate up Notre Dame with 3 touchdown catches in the 1st half. He had to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee and hasn't played much since.

Just having Manningham on the field clearly opened up the Michigan's previously struggling offense against Indiana. Early in the second quarter, quarterback Chad Henne stared down Manningham as he streaked down the left sideline then turned and fired a 62-yard strike to Steve Breaston down the other sideline. "The safeties have to worry about him," said Hart. "They can't come into the box to get me." Still, it would greatly benefit Michigan if they can use the Manningham -- who had nine touchdowns of 20 or more yards in his first six games -- as more than just a decoy.

Look for Steve Breaston to be a big factor on Punt and Kick-off returns. He was able to break a punt return for a Touchdown against Indiana, his first this year. While Ohio State has Ted Ginn, Breaston can play with the best of them when it comes to returning kicks.

Michigan's tight ends are healthy for the first time since early in the year so don't be surprised if you see one of their tight ends streaking down the middle of the field to catch a pass on a big gainer.

The key to all of the running and passing is the front line of Michgan. They have to give Chad Henne a chance to throw the ball. Give him the time he needs to hit his receivers.
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I have been fighting for almost a month with River Belle Poker to get them to return $97.16 I had won there before they locked out my account due to being from Michigan. River Belle is a prima site and, although it lets Americans play, it blocks out sites from 11 states of which Michigan is one. I think I was finally able to get the right person on the phone and my money should be deposited in my Neteller account within the next couple of days. They were very nice but still it is a pain to have to jump through hoops to get your own money after they decided to close out my account.

>Guinness and Poker R.I.P.

Michigan vs. Ohio State: T minus 4 days and counting

This Blog will be mostly a Football Blog until Saturday.

The National Title hopes of the Ohio State Buckeyes come crashing down on them this Saturday, November 18, 2006, at 3:30PM. The Michigan Wolverines will be putting a real hurt on the Buckeyes.

The biggest reason UM is back on top, look no further than new defensive coordinator Ron English. He has infused the nation's third-ranked defense with a swagger that was missing in 2005. LaMarr Woodley and the nation's best front seven, and English (who is rumored to be in line for the Michigan State job) should get major credit for UM's revival. Michigan's D is stacked from front to back, but its success starts with a dominating front line (ends LaMarr Woodley, Rondell Biggs and Tim Jamison, tackles Branch and Terrance Taylor and hybrid LB Shawn Crable).

That front seven makes Michigan better equipped than any team in the country -- and certainly better suited than they were the past two years -- to contain Ohio State star QB Troy Smith.

Tomorrow: Offense
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I have 12 more hands to play to finish up my Poker Rewards/PokerSavvy bonus. I have played 488 hands at .25/.50 and .5/$1 Limit Texas Holdem and have made a profit of $95 dollars so far. If I can break even for the next dozen hands I will not only clear $95 in bonuses but will have my $95 dollars earned at the tables for a nice addition to the bankroll of almost $200.

Read, read, read, read!!

I just finished reading Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. 1: Strategic Play and then turned right back to the front and started to reread it again. I have read Phil Gordon's Little Green Book twice, Sklansky's Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play almost three times and a couple of lesser poker books. Harrington's book may very well be the best of the three but it is close as each is an excellent book in their own way.

If you want to be a serious poker player, whether it be on-line or at Brick and Mortar joints, you should be reading and studying as many poker books as you can and especially Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. 1: Strategic Play as it may well be one of the best books written on Poker. What makes this book so good are the problems at the end of each chapter. They really explain how to play this game and how to look at every hand and the possibilities that are there.

Then you need to play. The more you read, then play, then read again, the better player you will be. I have seen a few videos on how to play Limit and No Limit Poker and I like them very much but I don't own any. I own the books so I can pick them up and read them at any time. What is nice about poker books is after you have read them once you can pick them up and go to any section or any page and start reading. You don't have to always be at the beginning of the book to learn something new or re-emphasize things you have already learned.

If you want to reinforce how to play the blinds then you can go to that section and read up on it. If you want a refresher on starting hands or what hands to play in early position, you can jump around and read up on the different areas that pertain to what you want to restudy.

Now sit down with tha book, give it a once over and then hit the tables. You will be a better poker player because of it.

No. 1 vs. No. 2

Saturday is the game Michigan Fans have been waiting for all year. We go into Columbus, Ohio to knock the Buckeyes off their Pedestal and then head to the Bowl Championship game. It isn't going to be easy but this Michigan team is so much like the 1997 National Championship team that I have a good feeling about this game. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and it will be a crisp fall day in Columbus.

I expect it to be low scoring but you never know what will happen when these two teams meet. It may possibly be the greatest football rivalry of all time. There is so much tradition with these two teams.
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I have been playing some very nice Limit poker at Poker Rewards.
Poker Rewards is a Prima Poker Site so I am playing against people that I have seen for the last couple of months and I have some very nice notes on them. This morning everything went my way and on one hand I even turned Quad Queens for a nice little pot. This afternoon the stars and moon aligned against me for a while and I was losing every hand to a donkey that played every hand and always caught something by the river. Finally, I was able to turn that around and closed out with a small profit. The big thing is that I was clearing raked hands toward my bonus. So far I have almost 350 raked hands out of the 500 I need for my Poker Savvy bonus. Should have that done by mid-week.

A Little Blog House Cleaning

I felt the need for a little house cleaning on the blog today and deleted a couple of Poker blogs that were dead in the water and added a few new ones that I read. I will try to add some more new ones each week.
In the meantime, check out the following Poker Blogs for some good reading on Everything Poker.

High On Poker
Grinders Warehouse
All-in In the Dark
Carmen Sin City
Wicked Chops Poker


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I had another good hour long session at Poker Rewards .50/$1 Limit Holdem table today. There was a maniac playing every hand, especially any Ace/rag and any two suited cards. I was able to get quite a bit of his bank roll. He donked off over $25 dollars and then left. I built my $10 up to over $20 and then cashed out at $15 after playing some questionable hands. When I am going for a bonus I will play a lot more marginal hands and will even call a raise just to get the pot high enough to qualify as a raked hand to help me clear the bonus. I was playing on a .25/.50 Limit Holdem table at the same time and I ended up breaking even there.

I cleared 50 raked hands and made a small profit of $5 dollars. Nothing to write home about but a profit none-the-less and good experience playing. I made a ton of notes on my opponents as I will be seeing them again over the next ten days. I have 200 hands done and 300 more to go.

Come December I am going to decide which sites are going to be my "Main" sites to play on and restart my Limit Challenge. I was playing my Limit Challenge at Titan Poker until they cut off American players. The Limit Challenge was very successful for me in that it helped me to learn how to play Limit Holdem and, at the same time, I was able to navigate the higher limits and build my Challenge bankroll from $25 to over $250. I am debating on whether to start with the lower amounts again and work my way up or to continue where I left off at Titan.

Stay Tuned, more to come on this topic!

Love Those Aces

I was playing 7 Sultans Poker Limit Holdem today and was dealt Aces (Pocket Rockets) three times in less than 15 hands and they held up each time. It was that kind of day at the Prima site. I also got pocket queens that held up. I was able to sit down for less than 30 minutes and cash out a nice little profit.

I only had a short time to play and I wanted to get some raked hands in to go towards my bonus and this was better than I ever could have expected. I know these days are special and don't come that often so I felt really great when I exited the tables.

I'm still not that enamored with my play at Limit Holdem. It is just that the Prima sites are so full of fish that I am able to be a winning player on those sites. I am looking forward to finishing this bonus and then in early December I am going to find a site to continue my Limit Holdem Challenge on. I feel that by playing the higher limits I am becoming a better player. Right now all I am doing is treading water to clear bonuses. Sure, I want to win and, so far, I am a winning Limit player but I am not growing in my game as much as I would like.
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On Tuesday the State of Michigan voters passed Ballot Proposal 2, which was to do away with affirmative action programs in Michigan. The vote was 58% to 42% in favor of abolishing affirmative action. The first legal challenge -- and the promise of a second -- cam on Wednesday, one day after voters overwhelmingly approved Proposal 2.

My question is why hasn't anyone challenged UIGEA in the courts?? I know one is a state amendment and the other is a federal law that was passed but you would think that a Poker Site or Online Casino or an individual would still try to get an injunction from a favorable judge to put the law on hold until it could be debated or ruled on or whatever..................

Can any of you Lawyers out there or layman tell me why no challenge at this time?

The Times They re A-Changin`

Come writers and critics

Who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide

The chance won't come again

And don't speak too soon

For the wheel's still in spin

And there's no tellin' who

That it's namin'.

For the loser now

Will be later to win

For the times they are a-changin'.

Come Senators, Congressmen

Please heed the call

Don't stand in the doorway

Don't block up the hall

For he that gets hurt

Will be he who has stalled

There's a battle outside

And it is ragin'.

It'll soon shake your windows

And rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin'.

The immortal Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, first voiced those prophetic words in 1964 and now they are back in the year 2006. The Poker Bloggers are the writers and critics and they were losers because of UIGEA and now will soon be the winners as it was the tremendous votes of the Poker Players of the USA that ousted the incumbent Republicans. Our hopes are that the newly elected Democrats will do a carve out for Poker and we will once again be able to play from the sanctity of our homes and in our pajamas!!
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7 Sultans e-mailed me to inform me they had made a mistake and my $25 will not be forthcoming. Oh well. I will probably withdraw my money from there as I am now working on Poker Rewards bonus and need 500 raked hands to get it. I am just at 150 raked hands today so have a ways to go.

Libertarian Party

I voted today. I voted almost a straight ticket for the Libertarian Party. You ask why? You ask if I wasted my vote?

Libertarians believe that you have the right to live your life as you wish, without the government interfering -- as long as you don’t violate the rights of others. Politically, this means Libertarians favor rolling back the size and cost of government, and eliminating laws that stifle the economy and control people’s personal choices.

Libertarians agree with conservatives about freedom in economic matters, so we're in favor of lowering taxes, slashing bureaucratic regulation of business, and charitable -- rather than government -- welfare. But Libertarians also agree with liberals on personal tolerance, so we're in favor of people’s right to choose their own personal habits and lifestyles.

In a sense, Libertarians “borrow” from both sides to come up with a logical and consistent whole -- but without the exceptions and broken promises of Republican and Democratic politicians. That's why we call themselves the Party of Principle.

Couldn't no more waste my vote than to vote for Democrat or Republican. Neither will ultimately do what they say anyway.

If the Libertarians had a better press agent or if mainstream media would include them in their debates and political stories, most Americans would look inward and agree with the Libertarian stand on policies. They just never get heard. Its a shame but maybe we can hope that our antiquated two party system will succumb to their own immorality and demogoguery and the Libertarian Party will rise to the forefront. One can only hope.

Vote Tomorrow!!

Tuesday, November 7th, 2006 is the day the Poker Players of America let it be known that we have clout and can't be taken advantage of. If the election of 2000 was for the Soccer Moms, lets make the election of 2006 be for the Poker Dads (and Moms) and show them we can make a difference and vote out the signers and backers of the co-sponsors of HR 4411 and HR 4777, the precursor to the UIGEA. Check out this article for some excellent information: Online Gambling Bill Co-sponsors Are Vulnerable for Re-election

Check out these sites for more information regarding the vote tomorrow: Poker Players Alliance and Poker Players Alliance Blog.

Read this: U.S. Mid-Term Elections – Voters are called to preserve freedom of choice on Election Day

An Embarrasing 10 and 0

My Michigan Wolverines just eked out their tenth win of the year and now stand at 10 and 0 for the year. It was an embarrassing game in that the undefeated Wolverines, number 2 in the Nation had to work extra hard to get past a very, very game Ball State team that had only won 2 games all year.

The defense had some major breakdowns after only letting up 19 points in the last 3 weeks, they let up several 30+ yard gains to Ball State after not having done that all year. The Wolverines did not look like the second best team in the nation today but a win is a win.

The offense rushed for over 300 yards and scored 34 points but still untimely breakdowns led to this game being closer than it should have been. A lost fumble for a safety, an interception returned for a touchdown, several dropped passes and untimely penalties made this game less than memorable and shows that Lloyd Carr has a lot of work to do before facing Ohio State in two weeks.
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Hot Rumor: Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker to Announce Merger Monday
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Check out these radio podcasts: Hold’em Radio
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March on Washington D.C. information here: Online Gambling Rights

7 Sultans Poker

A couple of days ago I had a post that said if you wanted to make easy money to play the Prima Poker sites.

7 Sultans Poker is a Prima Poker site and I just received this e-mail from them.

Dear Wolverine Fan,

Congratulations, you have been placed in the top 1,500 for the $40,000 Poker Points Challenge.

You have earned 255.00 points for the month of October, which took you to position 379. Check your account: xxxxxxxxxx, and you will see that we have deposited $25 into your poker account.

The November clock has been set, good luck!

- The 7Sultans Poker Team

I played a total of 3 days in the Month of October at 7 Sultans and raked about 144 hands. I loaded the site via PokerSavvy on Sunday morning, Oct. 29th, played that day and played on the 30th and 31st. I played .25/.50 and .50/$1 Limit Holdem and for that I finished in 379th place and get a free $25 dollars deposited in my account!!

There is a God!!

Today I finished up with my 250 raked hands for my PokerSavvy Points and won about$10 dollars to boot. Variance wasn't as prominent as it was in the last couple of days but I still lost some nice hands to a higher Kicker. And we're not talking A/7 losing to A/K, we're talking A/10 losing to A/J and A/Q losing to A/K. Then ther was the K/J hand where I flopped a King and lost to a donkey limping in with A/A.

Overall though, I liked my play and my good cards were holding up so I was able to end my session with a nice $10 dollar profit. Plus clear my raked hands for another $45 dollars from Poker Savvy. And lets not forget, my $25 dollar bonus for the Month of October.

Kiss of Death

It seems like making any comment in one's Blog on how well the game is going right now is like the Kiss of Death. A few days ago I wrote about playing the Prima Poker sites and how I was a winning player on Prima sites. Big Mistake!! Making any mention as to how my game was going seems like it was the kiss of death and now I can't seem to win a hand. I have been eaten up by Ace/Kings the last two days and my Ace/King garners me nothing. I have lost when my set of sixes was bested by a set of eights. I have lost when my set of queens was cracked by the 10/Jack/Queen/King/Ace straight. I have lost when my top pair was beaten by the rivered flush or the runner-runnner flush.

I know this is just variance rearing its ugly head but it sure doesn't take much of that to put one on tilt or to have you second guessing yourself, wondering if you will ever win at this game again. I have to admit that the tilt button did get pushed a bit yesterday but when I realized it, I backed off and quit. Today I started pretty good but was soon losing hands to some pretty lucky rivers and then I did tilt on one or two hands where I made the crying call, knowing full well that I was beaten. Oh well. There is always tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will sit down at my computer and fire up 7 Sultans and I will wait for the premium hands and play them as aggressively as I can. I have played long enough now to know that if I play the game correctly, I will be a winning player. I have no doubt that that last statement is the absolute truth.

A Few Leaks

I have come a long way in my Poker playing. I have read several excellent poker books, Sklansky's Small Stakes Hold’em: Winning With Expert Play almost 3 times now, and have played a lot of games on-line. That being said, I still have a very long way to go and here are a few of the leaks I have to work on.

1. The hand that gets me the most is when a card will come on the turn or the river that will give me a very, very good hand, sometimes almost the nuts, but at the same time will also improve my opponents hand to the point that I can't win the hand. It doesn't happen very often but when it does I am just devastated. Yesterday I was playing .50/$1 Limit Texas Holdem at 7 Sultans Poker trying to clear the raked hands I need to get my PokerSavvy Points. I am in LP when I get dealt the Hilton Sisters, Pocket Queens. I raise Preflop and get two callers. The flop is a beautiful 3, 7, 10 Rainbow. Villain checks and I bet and both call. Turn is a Jack! Another beautiful card as my Queens are still looking very good. I just hope one of the callers has Ace/Jack or Ace/Ten so I can get maximum amount of money. Villain checks, I bet, second caller folds and villain calls. Now I am heads up against just one player. Turn is a beautiful Queen. Oh baby, come to papa.

Villain leads out with a bet and, BAM!, I raise it. He calls my raise and..............................turns over Ace/King for the straight and I am sent packing. That beautiful queen that I thought was my friend turned into the bitch that made the villain's hand. And I walked right into it when he bet. I should have known then something was wrong but I hit that raise button so fast I think my mouse almost melted. I should have slowed down and asked myself why, all of the sudden, was he leading off with a bet when he had checked all the way to the river? I still would have called his bet but I sure wouldn't have raised it. He should have checked raised me to get the maximum amount of money from me.

2. Sets. Sets are my second hardest hand to spot but they don't devastate me as much as the above hand although I do lose quite a bit of money to them. It can be a set of dueces up to a set of Aces that I very rarely recognize. Once in a while I will put someone on a set, especially if I have played them quite a bit and have notes on them that they are a TAG or a TAP. I keep my eyes on them more. Trips don't get me as much as sets unless it is trip aces and then it seems like I keep betting just because when there are two aces on board I have a hard time believing there is one in the Villain's hand. I'm usually wrong and end up paying for it.

3. Large pocket pairs, A/A and K/K that limp in. When the hand is all done and they show the pocket pair of Aces or Kings, I just can't believe it. Especially if they limp in. I must admit that this does not happen very much to me but I see it happen to others when I have folded my mediocre hand. Today, on 7 Sultans, there was a limper with Aces that won the pot but there were 3 clubs on board and when it was all said and done I was really wishing that someone would have gotten the flush to crack his aces. I can't bring myself to limp in with Aces or Kings. I always raise preflop.

Just a few things I have to work on in my game. If it got to the point where I didn't have to work on my game it would be pretty boring now, wouldn't it?