Poker Stuff

I'm planning on playing this Sunday. I played the first one and went out 13th of 22. I am hoping to improve upon that this week. It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to playing there again.

My work schedule makes it difficult for me to play many of the blogger tournaments so when I get a chance to play one I jump all over it. The starting time for this tournament is 4PM EST in the states.

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I am sorry that Neteller is pulling out on our neighbors to the North but at least they get a 10 day period where they can withdraw their funds. I wish Neteller would have done that for us Americans. I wonder if I will ever see my poker money again?

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A pet peeve of mine is the shape of the Yoplait Yogurt containers. They are shaped like the construction barrels you see on the interstates, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. It makes it very hard to get all of the yogurt out of it.

Prairie Creek Back 9 holes

The back nine holes at Prairie Creek are very similar to the front nine except that there is a long walk from green to tee between holes 12 and 13 and holes 13 and 14. I mean at least 1/8 of a mile walk from the green of 12 to the tee at 13. Fortunately it is downhill so the walk is none to difficult.

Hole 10 - 380 Yard Par 4
This hole is very similar to holes 1 and 9 where there are trees lining both sides of the fairway. The last 150 yards are up hill to a nice size green with a bunker on the front left.

Hole 11 - 506 Yard Par 5
This is a nice par 5 with the tee being elevated so your drive is helped by a nice slope all the way to the 150 yard mark. After that it goes up hill again. The green is long and narrow so you want to approach it from a straight on as you can.

Hole 12 - 330 Yard Par 4
This is an easy driving hole except it is up hill all the way. A good drive should still leave you with a short iron to the green. There is water in front of the tee box but it shouldn't come into play with any kind of drive at all. This green may be one of the hardest to hold as it is crowned and elevated so you must fly it. The best play is to come in high with a wedge so it will stick this green.

Hole 13 - 125 Yard Par 3
Short par 3 with water all around the green. You have to know your club distance as you can't be short or long or you will be wet. Not quite an island green, but almost. Really plays havoc when there is a wind of any kind. Green is flat and quite large.

Hole 14 - 330 Yard Par 4
This hole is very similar to number 12. It is an easy driving hole as it is very wide. Green is good size. Hole is perfectly flat so you should be hitting a short iron into this green most of the time.

Hole 15 - 140 Yard Par 3
This hole is a challenge as the green is 20 yards higher than the tee and is quite small with steep hill in front and pine trees in the rear so you must be precise with your distance. Green is small and undulating so is hard to putt.

Hole 16 - 368 Yard Par 4
This hole is just a nice hole to play. Pretty wide fairway to hit with some trouble on the left so you should keep your drive to the right if at all possible. Green is guarded by large bunker on the right and is quite large.

Hole 17 - 381 yard Par 4
This is a tough hole as you have to have a straight drive because of the tree lined fairway and there are two bunkers guarding a generous size green. A good drive here still leaves you with a mid iron to a green guarded by bunkers in the right front and the left rear.

Hole 18 - 559 Yard Par 5
Long finishing hole that plays up hill from the 200 yard mark to the green. This is a very hard hole to reach in two strokes but if you keep your drive to the left and hit a nice fairway wood for your second shot you should have a short iron or wedge into a good size green that is mostly flat. There is a bunker guarding the right front of the green. This is a nice finishing hole that takes 3 good shots to reach the green. Birdies here will be few and far between.

This is a nice course over all with some easy holes and some challenging holes. It plays 6028 Yards from the white tees and 6384 yards from the back tees. All of the distances are from the white tees. Most of the greens are of a nice size with few being flat so the putting is a challenge.

Prairie Creek - my new Golf Home

I became a member of Prairie Creek Golf Course lockated right inside the Dewitt, Michigan city limits. Dewitt is located just north of Lansing. Prairie Creek met all of my criteria for becoming a member.

1. It is pretty close to my home

2. It is a challenging course

3. The price was right

There are a couple things that Prairie Creek has over my old golf course, Briar Ridge in Montrose. Prairie Creek has greens that have a lot more break and character than the Briar Ridge greens. And Prairie Creek has a lot of hills so there is a lot of elevation changes on the different holes. Briar Ridge is as flat as a pancake.

I've played the back nine twice at Prairie Creek and today I played the entire course. I am not keeping score yet as I am just using these as practice rounds to help get my game in shape and to learn the course. The greens are a bit dimply still from being aerated late last fall. I figure in about a week they will be pretty smooth and I will start keeping track of my scores to establish a handicap at this course.

Here's a break down of the Front 9.

Hole Number 1 - 458 Yard Par 5

Straight away shortish par 5 with trees lining both sides of the fairway. Must hit the ball straight here or you will be chipping back out to the fairway. Last 150 yards is up hill.

Hole Number 2 - 313 Yard Par 4

Short par 4 with a sharp dogleg right that offers high risk/reward if you attempt to cut the corner of the dogleg. A good drive has to clear a fairway bunker and some trees to set you up for short approach shot. Narrow, smallish green.

Hole Number 3 - 155 Yard Par 3

Elevated tee looking down on a very small circular green. Water protects the front so you have to carry the ball almost all the way to the green.

Hole Number 4 - 337 Yard Par 4

This hole is a slight dogleg left with a row of towering Elms making it almost impossible to cut the corner of the dogleg. The right side is guarded by another row of trees. Unless you can drive it straight or with a draw, you are hitting anywhere from a 7 wood to a 3 wood here. Green is nice size guarded by bunkers right and left.

Hole Number 5 - 122 Yard Par 3

Very Short Par 3 with a humongous green. Should be no problem to land this green but you need to be a good putter because this green is so big you could be 20 yards from the hole but on the green. Large bunker guards the front.

Hole Number 6 - 402 Yard Par 4

Very tough driving hole with out of bounds on the right and water on the left. Second shot is into a decent size green with a bunker guarding the right side. One of the toughest holes on the course because of difficult fairway to hit.

Hole Number 7 - 451 Yard Par 5

Another short par 5 but unless you can hit your driver 250 yards consitantly you will have to lay up with your 4 iron or 7 wood as there is water on right and left at the 200 yard mark with just a narrow isthmus to transverse. The long hitters will be rewarded with a mid-iron to the green but unless you can carry 240 yards or so (accurately) you will be laying up short of the water off of the tee.

Hole Number 8 - 300 Yard par 4

One of the easiest holes on the course. A good drive should set you up for a birdie chance every time. Green is good size, being longer than wide.

Hole Number 9 - 411 Yard Par 4

Another tough driving hole with narrow fairway guarded by trees on right and left. Hole plays uphill from tee to green and plays longer than its 411 yards because of this. A good tee shot will still leave a mid to long iron to the green.

I'll describe the back nine tomorrow.

Book Review: The Prop by Pete Hautman

The Prop by Pete Hautman is definitely +EV. Mr. Hautman describes has book as “is a semi-comic quasi-thriller crime caper/mystery thing about a professional poker player who finds herself involved in duplicity, drugs, deception, and death. Poker knowledge is NOT required. “

Peeky Kane is a prop player at an Arizona casino owned by the Santa Cruz tribe. The book follows her through about one week of the most turbulent time in her life. There is a Casino Robbery, several deaths and she finds out her daughter is heavy into crack cocaine.

This book is a fast read and has a plausible plot. The poker is excellent and only adds to the book, never distracting from the story line. Poker is Peeky’s profession as well as holding a minor addiction over her. When confronted with a very trying time in her life she heads off to the casino to play poker.

As she puts it, “I really shouldn’t be here. My daughter is missing, my house is a disaster, and I don’t have enough money to be playing $15-30 holdem. But the alternative – going home – is too much to bear. I need the rhythm of the cards.
I let the game flow through me. Ace-king, I raise from middle position.
The other players look at me and throw away their hands”

This story could have been told using Peeky in any of the casino positions but making her a Prop player utilizes a lot of the psychology of poker and really adds to the story. She has that inane ability to read people, obtained from her poker background. But even she confesses that she is unable to read her daughter and missed a big read on her boyfriend.

Another great thing about this book is that Peeky doesn’t win all of the time. In fact, she takes at least one devastating loss when her …….. I’ll let you read the book to find out what happens.

Pete Hautman has written over a dozen books and at least two of them use poker in the story line. I am looking forward to reading more of his books as Mr. Hautman is definitely +EV.

R U Stoopid??

found this compliments of Drowned at the River who was much, much less stoopid than I am.

Neteller News

There is some new news from Neteller and we may be getting our money back, although a long way down the road. The article, NETELLER Takes Positive Step Towards Returning US Customers’ Funds states, in part:

Wednesday, 21 March 2007 – The NETELLER Plc Group (LSE: NLR), the leading global independent online money transfer business, today announced that it has signed agreements with each of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“USAO”) and Navigant Consulting, Inc. (“Navigant”).
On 8 February 2007, the Group announced that it was in discussions with the USAO to manage an orderly return of funds to US customers and that it was contemplated that a forensic accounting firm would be engaged, at the Group's expense, to assist in this process and to examine the Group's financial position.
The Group is pleased to announce that on 20 March 2007, it signed agreements with the USAO and Navigant which, among other things, outline terms and a timeline under which NETELLER will work toward the orderly distribution of funds to its US customers. Per the agreements, the Group anticipates that within the next 75 days it will announce a plan by which the funds will be distributed to US customers. Navigant will also provide a report to the USAO on the Group’s current financial condition.

I can afford to wait. I just hope to have my money by the 4th of July. That gives them 75+ days to get my money back to me.

6th out of 577 at Full Tilt

I played a $5.50 Multi Table Tournament last night at Full Tilt Poker and I finished in 6th place to take home a nice profit of $144 dollars. The highest pocket pairs I was dealt was J/J until I got to the final table and then I got Q/Q and A/A. I was able to win with all 3 of them. For the most part I got dealt a lot of A/K and A/10 and suited connectors and they all seemed to hold up when I needed them to. I played very tight for most of the night and really tightened up in the last 2 to 3 tables and let the other more aggressive players take each other out.

The one thing I did a couple of times is really defend my blinds to let the table know that I wasn't going to be pushed around and I think that helped garner me some respect. The other thing that happened was that I won a couple of nice pots and, because they went all the way to the river, the table got to see what cards I was playing and when they saw that I was raising preflop with some nice A/K, A/Q and A/J hands they began to respect my raises after that. I didn't play a lot of hands but, when I did, I seemed to hit every flop. That really helped me to get deep into the tournament.

One hand in particular put me in excellent position after the first hour of the tournament when I wsa in the BB with Q/10 suited and the flop was Q/Q/9. I went all in and was called by one other player with pocket 9s. That hand doubled me up and made me the table chip leader with more than twice as many chips as anyone else. The person that doubled me up went on a heater after that and made the final table with me. I can't remember if he went out before me or not. Being the chip leader at the table (and in the top ten overall) allowed me to take down quite a few blinds when everyone folded to my raises.

The final table had all seven of us within $25,000 dollars in chips and two with lesser amounts. Almost every hand was raised preflop. What crippled me was when I called an all in for about 1/3rd of my chips only to have two others reraise all in which would have put me all in. I had A/K and I folded them, which was a good thing, because no Ace or King came on the board and pocket queens (I think) took one out and crippled another when he made his set. I never recovered from that and finally had to go all in with a lesser hand and finished in 6th.

It was so late when my play ended that I forgot to make printscreens of my finish. This is my best payout to date in an MTT.

The Way of the Wise Guy

No Poker Content:
I grew up with a strange addiction to everything Mafia. I read the book The Godfather by Mario Puzo before the movie came out and then fell in love with the movie as it was one of the few movies that was loyal to the book. The Godfather was one of my favorite movies growing up (I was 17 when it came out). From that point I read and watched everything relating to the Mafia. I came from a little town in Northern Michigan and was as far removed from the life of the wiseguy/Mafia that you could possibly get. I probably thought it was so what being a man was about. Not taking any crap from anyone, living life on the edge, having this glamorous looking life. All the things young people think is cool. And, of course, they got to go to Las Vegas.

From The Valachi Papers by Peter Maas to Casino by Nicholas Pileggi to The Sopranos. I devoured books, movies and TV shows on the Mafia and about Wiseguys.

My second most favorite books and movies about Wiseguys has to be Donnie Brasco by Joseph Pistone. I guess I like this book because it is real life, not some glorified view of the Mafia and wiseguys.

Joseph Pistone, AKA Donnie Brasco has now written 3 or 4 other books involving his life as Donne Brasco. I just finished reading The Way of the Wise Guy by Donne Brasco AKA Joseph P. Pistone and I think I have come full circle with my fascinaton with Wiseguys and the Mafia. Now I just think of them as being pretty much low lives, taking from society and never putting anything back in. Hurting innocent hard working people and society because they can.

I'll still watch The Sopranos and keep reading about Wiseguys and the Mafia but I guess I really don't want to be one anymore.

Katja Thater of 50 Outs in Final Table of EPT

Katja Thater of 50 Outs has made the final table at the Warsaw Event of the European Poker Tour (EPT). She is 7th out of 8th at this time but hanging in there as she has doubled up a couple of times.

50 Outs is a blog my blog friend Jan writes. Katja is his fiance.

UPDATE: Katja finished fifth place.

Jamie Gold on Raw Vegas TV and Wicked Chops

Jamie Gold has an interview with the folks at Wicked Chops Poker (Just scroll down a bit to find the interview) and is also on Raw Vegas TV talking about his World Series of Poker win and his life since then.

Check out the other content in both of these sites as they are lots of fun and entertaining.
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I played a little poker today on Poker.com and Absolute Poker. I finsihed 3rd in a low buy-in SitNGo on Absolute. I doubled up early when a donkey with 10/10 on a raggy flop went all in only to have me call with my Pocket Rockets. I made a preflop raise of 4 times the BB and he was the only caller in the BB. When the flop came out with just low cards I bet $200 and he immediately went all in. I'm sure he hadn't read me having Aces.

After that I pretty much just tread water until I knocked outhe 4th place player to make it into the money. It was kind of funny, too. He had been complaining that when the game got down to 4 and 5 handed it went really slow so I typed in the chat that we should go all in on the next hand and typed, "You start." Lo and behold the next hand he did go all in and it just so happened that I was dealt A/Q suited and so I went all in, too. He had A/J off, didn't improve on the board, and I took him out and doubled up.

After that it was pretty tight until all the money went in preflop with my A/7 up against K/J. A king came on the turn and IGHN.
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My game at Poker.com was like a roller coaster ride as I was up early then loss my profits plus some and then came back to end my session with a modest profit. It was typical low limit Holdem where my Aces held up but my Jacks didn't. I played too many hands and didn't hit enough flops until I won a couple in a row to put me up for the day so I logged out at that point.
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I hit my Lob Wedge again today but it was just a bit too cold and windy for me to stay out long. I took my club and shag bag to the little park by me and hit about 40 balls. I was pretty happy with my swing for the most part. I chunked a couple but when I really wanted to hit a good one, I did. I am just happy to be out doors and hitting a golf club again. I'm looking forward to hitting my mid and long irons at the range. I am going to work on drawing the ball consistently this year. That is my goal every year but am hoping I can play a nice little draw this summer.

Thing Looking up for Online Poker??

Bill Rini is reporting that Congressman Barney Frank is working to overturn the UIGEA and that has been confirmed by FT. He, also, has a story that the sudden jump in gaming stocks may be attributed to rumors that the DOJ will drop its case against Neteller.

There may be light at the end of the tunnel yet.

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Spring is starting to come to bloom in southern Michigan. Yesterday I hit a golf ball at a target for the first time since December 30th, 2006. Three months of winter has left me a bit rusty. I just took my shag bag and my lofted Wedge out to a park and hit some 60 yard shots. Hit some good and some not so good.

It was nice to swing a club with the intention of launching the golf ball at a known target 60 yards away. I hope to go to a driving range in the next week or so.

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I am in the process of trying to find a new "home" course to join/play at my new home in Lansing, Michigan. Briar Ridge, my old course, is over an hour away so I won't be playing there this year. I have quite a few to chose from in a 15 mile radius of my house and hope to make a decision before April 1st.

Stardust Imploded!!

The Stardust Casino in Las Vegas was imploded early this morning. Check out the video here Las Vegas Review Journal Stardust Implosion - March 13, 2007.

There were tons of fireworks that lasted for what seemed at least 5 minutes or more and then there was a countdown on the side of the building and then, boom, it was gone. Falling in upon itself, leaving just a pile of bricks and tons of dust.

The Stardust Resort & Casino was located on 63 acres along the famed Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The original resort was conceived and built by Tony Cornero, though he died in 1955 before construction was completed. When the hotel opened, it had the largest casino in Nevada, the largest swimming pool in Nevada and the largest hotel in the Las Vegas area.

In 1966, Howard Hughes attempted to buy the Stardust for $30.5 million but was thwarted by government officials on the grounds that his acquisition of any more gambling resorts might violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Siegfried & Roy got their Las Vegas start at the Stardust with the help of mob associate Frank Rosenthal after he gave them Allen Glick's Rolls Royce.

At its peak size, the Stardust contained 100,000 square feet of gambling casino including 73 gaming tables, and 1,950 slot, keno and video poker machines. The conference center was 25,000 square feet and could accommodate meetings and banquets for groups of 25 to 2,000

Poker Musings

Back in February I discovered Cardplayer TV and now it appears that Grinder has discovered it, too, and has promoted it on his blog.

Cardplayer TV has some excellent videos on playing strategy, ongoing tournaments and (my favorite) legal counsel Allyn Jaffrey Shulman and her take on the UIGEA. Her latest video is about the new PPA Chairman Senator Alfonse D'Amato and his role with the PPA.
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Found this while reading Katitude's Blog


What's your nerd score?
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Check out Haley's Poker Bl-Auggh!! She has some really good stuff and I encourage you to read it. I'll be adding a link for this blog in the near future.
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Check out this site, too: Beyond the Table brought to you by Holdem Radio.com

Senator Alfonse D'Amato Joins the PPA

ALLYN JAFFREY SHULMAN of Card Player Magazine has a couple of articles about Senator Alfonse D'Amato , one being an interview, about the new Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).

Basically the new Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) says he is going to try and educate our congressional leaders about online poker and attempt to convince them that regulation will achieve what they want as far as stopping minors from playing on-line poker as well as generate tax revenue by regulating not banning. He stated a couple of times about Horse Racing and Lotteries and Fantasy Football being exempt and that the skill level in any of them is nonexistant. If these are carved out why can't poker?

The last thing he says is: Reach out to friends. Join the PPA. Write to Congress. Call your senator. Don’t give up. We need a strong presence — loud voices. Why should the industry be driven underground like Prohibition? Ensure that it’s a fair game! Why should I be deprived? Why can’t I use a legitimate bank? I want regulation! Make your voices heard!.
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The best tip I can give the golfers out there that read this Blog is to work on stretching out your golf muscles during this time of the year when we are mere weeks away from hitting the links. That would inlcude your torso, shoulders, pecs and lats so that you increase your range of motion. This will allow you to get a full turn during your golf swing which will help to generate more power.

Check out the videos and instruction here The Golf Channel Fitness Academy

Absolute Problem is Fixed and Poker Source Online ROCKS!!

After neary one month of phone calls and e-mails, my troubles with Absolute are fixed!! I was on the phone for one and a half hours yesterday with no help and I was at my wit's end when last night I finally receive and e-mail telling me what to do to fix my account at Absolute.

I am in and everything is back to normal. I already played 3 SitNgos and have shown a tidy profit.

I have to give a very, very big thanks to Poker Source Online for their willingness to help me with this problem. I did a post in the forum section asking if they could see if their Absolute Poker representative would be able to assist me and they went out of their way to help with this. I can't say enough about Poker Source Online and their willingness to go out of their way to help me.

Poker on a Mac Tourney Canceled

The Poker on a Mac free roll was canceled (voided) due to Full Tilt having trouble with connectivity. Poker on a Mac had this to say:

Bad Beat for BloggerPods

Unfortunately Full Tilt Poker’s server was down when this tournament was scheduled to start, which automatically cancelled the tournament. I had no control over it. And although tempting, I will not keep the iPods.

I am trying to get another tournament created for next sunday at 7pm. Everyone who already qualified will automatically qualify for the rescheduled tournament. I talked with a few bloggers and we agreed this was the best solution. I’ll post updates throughout the week on this page.

I'm all for that. I can play next Sunday.

Grossly Over-Betting Syndrome or GOBS for short

Chipper recently had an interesting article about the new style we are seeing in MTTs and SitNgos that he has called "GOBS" for Grossly Over-Betting Syndrome. In short, players going all in without trying to build a pot. Just, Boom!, all in immediately. This 'strategy' allows for just a couple of outcomes, taking the blinds, doubling up or busting out.

Chipper of Chipper's Poker World explains it much better than I have but I have a great example of this.

I was in a low buy in 2-table SitNGo on Poker Stars (18 players) when on the sixth hand of the tournament, this happened. (I play as lzfsb3)

Dealt to lzfsb3 [Kh Kc]
Villain 1: raises 1490 to 1510 and is all-in
Villain 2: calls 1480 and is all-in
Villain 3: folds
Villain 4: calls 1410 and is all-in
lzfsb3: calls 1470 and is all-in
Villain 5: folds
Villain 6: folds
Villain 7: folds
*** FLOP *** [6c 8d 2h]***
TURN *** [6c 8d 2h] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [6c 8d 2h 5c] [7h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Villain 1: shows [Tc Ts] (a pair of Tens)
villain 2: shows [3d Ad] (high card Ace)
villain 1 collected 20 from side pot-2
lzfsb3: shows [Kh Kc] (a pair of Kings)
lzfsb3 collected 180 from side pot-1
Villain 4: shows [8h As] (a pair of Eights)
lzfsb3 collected 5670 from main pot

This hand quadrupled me up and gave me the chip lead. I went on to win the SitNGo from there. 2 players were willing to gamble with drawing hands, and not very good ones at that.
At least one was suited so had a chance for a flush.

I played another SitNGo on Full Tilt that I was fortunate enough to win with only one suck out of a hand. I was really lucky with the following hand and that break allowed me to win the Single Table Tournament. We were down to the final 3 players, and I was second in chips, so I was already in the money when I was dealt this hand.

Seat 1: lzfsb3 (3,390)
Seat 4: sugarolls (7,160)
Seat 6: joblessnow (2,950)
lzfsb3 posts the small blind of 80
sugarolls posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to lzfsb3 [8c 8s]
joblessnow folds
lzfsb3 raises to 320
sugarolls raises to 7,160, and is all in (He had just won a big pot with Pocket Jacks. I thought he was bluffing, trying to use his big stack to steal the blinds)
lzfsb3 has 15 seconds left to act (you can see it took me quite a while to decide to call)
lzfsb3 calls 3,070, and is all in
sugarolls shows [Jd Jh] (back to back Pocket Jacks. I thought he Had A/K, A/Q or similar hand)
lzfsb3 shows [8c 8s]
Uncalled bet of 3,770 returned to sugarolls
*** FLOP *** [6h 9d 9s] (thought I was gone now but flop gives me hope for straight)
*** TURN *** [6h 9d 9s] [3s] (now my straight draw is gone)
*** RIVER *** [6h 9d 9s 3s] [8d] (The miracle card appears)
sugarolls shows two pair, Jacks and Nines
lzfsb3 shows a full house, Eights full of Nines
lzfsb3 wins the pot (6,780) with a full house, Eights full of Nines

Sugarrolls still had $3770 so he wasn't totally crippled but I really did suck out on him. I did not put him on a pocket pair at all. In fact, he came back to become the chip leader once again before he lost a couple of hands and I took him out with a pair of nines when his A/Q didn't pair.

Mac poker online

Don't forget to play in the Poker On a Mac free roll at Full Tilt Poker on Sunday.