Walker's "Any Two Cards" Poker Blog

Closing Down The Blog

2010-04-20T11:42:00.000-04:00

I have decided to no longer continue publishing this blog. It's been fun, and I appreciate everyone who contributed, but I have lost interest. If it's no longer fun, why do it, right? It will remain accessable for a week or two, but eventually it will disappear.

P.S. Jeff and Jessica... I'd really like to me you guys in person. If you see me out playing cards, please come introduce yourself! Thanks for contributing.

Poker Books

2010-04-07T10:40:00.000-04:00

Well folks... enough people responded to my previous post to encourage me to keep the blog going a while longer. Thanks to everyone who commented.

So what is your favorite poker strategy book? (Thanks Beth for the topic suggestion!) There are many many to choose from. Tell me which ones you liked, and which ones you didn't. I'll post my thoughts on this topic soon.

Maybe Not The End After All...

2010-04-01T01:27:00.000-04:00

Well, it appears that my association with ATC poker won't be over just yet. I'm going to stick around for a while and see how the new chip-up rules work out. Don't get me wrong, I'm still tired of playing poker bingo, but maybe I'll be a little more tolerant of it if it's not so easy to buy your way back into the game after you play badly.

That leaves the question of this blog. Do I continue? I will if you all want me to, but I need to hear from you. I mean, for all I know, Jeff, Mr. Franchise, Jessica, Wayne, and Lbrako are my only readers! How many others ar elurking out there? Tell me why I should continue!

This Is The End..

2010-03-27T17:29:00.000-04:00

The end of many things...

This will be my last post into this blog (unless you all convince we otherwise..). It's become more of a chore than a pleasure. I appreciate all the support I got from a few of you.. Mr. Franchise, Lbrako, Jeff to name a few who actually shared their name with us. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm done with it now.

I'm also done with ATC poker. The bonus chip situation has gotten way out of hand. I came to this realization last night at Mellow Mushroom. I spent $12 on food and got $1500 bonus chips. Fine. Later on, people spent $12 on shots and got $4000 in bonus chips. There's something wrong with that equation. You give people all those chips and it just encourages them to play badly. Last night someone called a raise of 12xBB with Q2 offsuit. That's not poker, that's bingo. If I wanted to play bingo, I'd join a ladies church club. I want to play poker damnit... real poker, not this sham of a game that ATC is promoting.

Having said all that, I wish Slade and the rest of the ATC staff nothing but the best. They are running their business in a way that best benefits their customers (the venues). I can't fault them for that. You may see me at an ATC game from time to time (I still have some house cash to spend), but I am going in search of a game that better fits my needs.

I wish you all the best.... Walker

I'm Tired...

2010-03-22T12:16:00.000-04:00

Folks... I'm tired of poker.. can you believe it? LOL

I've been getting outdrawn left and right this month, plus I've been extra-stressed from work. Consequently, I've not been playing my best game. I don't like to not play my best game. I'm going to take it easy for a while. I'll still probably play at least once a week, but I won't be playing 6 games a week like I was. Not for a while anyway.

Mr. Franchise has been having some great games recently.. take him out for me and post about it right here!

Walker

Betting When There Is A Player "All In"..

2010-03-17T19:52:00.001-04:00

There are three different types of situations that present themselves when another plays has pushed "all in" and you have called, putting him at risk. How you handle these situations after the flop largely depends on what stage of the tourney you are in. Let's talk about these. By the way, I'm not a pro, nor do I mean to present myself as one. What I offer below is just my opinion on how I think things should be handled. Obviously someone else may disagree. If you do, please present your side of the story. A person that stops learning, stops living.

1. The first situation is when a player is all-in and you have called, but no one else is in the hand. There is no strategy involved here. The cards will play themselves. It's the next two situations we are here to discuss.

2. You raise preflop, a player calls, and another plays is all-in for less than the amount you raised, creating a side pot between you and the first caller. Many believe that you should check down this hand just because there is a player "all in" and eliminating him/her will move everyone closer to the money/points. I do not believe that is correct strategy. There is a pot between you and the caller that the "all-in" player cannot win. You should fight for this pot! Taking out the "all-in" player is a secondary consideration in my opinion, even at the late stages of a game. During the late stages, you need every chip you can get! If you lose to the "all in" player you can at least recoup some of your investment from the caller.

3. You raise preflop, a player pushes "all-in" over the top, another player calls, and you call. Ah now.. here we are getting to controversial issue that causes so many players confusion. The "dry" pot! Unlike the last example, this time there is no side pot between you and the caller. The pot that is just between the two of you is empty, or "dry". How do you play this hand after the flop? In my opinion, the main consideratin here is twofold: what point are you at in the game, and are you confident you have the best hand? If it's early in the game and there are 30 players left, knocking out one player doesn't really make that much difference. Go ahead and bet if you have the best hand. If it's late in th game, say, on the bubble or at the final table, knocking out a player is generally a better result for you than winning that particulat pot. Why chase out the caller just to have the "all in" player win when he would have lost if you hadn't chased the other guy away?

Let's say you raise with 10-10, and player 1 pushes all in over the top. Player 2 calls, and you call. The flop is 9-6-2 rainbow. Do you have the best hand? Probably. Should you bet? NO! For the sake of argument, let's say you push all in after this flop and the other player folds and shows AK. The "all=in" player turns over AJ. and A falls on the river. You lose, the "all-in" player just doubled up, and no-one was eliminated. Look what would have happened if you had not chased out the other player though! His AK would have beat your tens and you would still have lost the pot, but the "all-in" player would have been eliminated! Even though you lost the hand, you still moved up in points! During late stages of a tourney, you should always check it down if there is a player all in and a dry side pot. The benefit of eliminating a player outweighs the benefit of winning the main pot.

One last thought on betting when there is a player "all in". I have seen many novice players try to bluff at the pot when they missed the flop in this situation! Why would you do that? You still have to beat the "all-in" player, he isn't going anywhere! If you are going to lose the pot anyway, at least let the other players stay in so there is a chance that a player will get eliminated. Chasing everyone out of a pot on a bluff when there is a player "all-in" will peg you as a n00b for sure, and likely make you some enemies as well!

Well that's my (long-winded) take on betting when a player is "all in". What do you all think? Agree? Disagree? Did I miss something? Let me hear from you!

Attention Lbrako!!!

2010-03-15T13:16:00.001-04:00

Slade asks the question in today's email concerning Lbrako.. "Can't anyone stop him?" ..

I have to admit, since he started playing with us in January he has done exceptionally well. On top of that, he's a really great guy. Welcome to the league!

Larry my friend, we're coming for you! You can't just waltz in here and steal all our glory without getting a fight in return! You're going down, sir! Come to Key West tonight and receive the first tast of your medicine. It will be bitter, but you'll get used to it.

All kidding aside... it's great to have a talented player who is also a nice guy to play against. Larry, I hope to see you at all my games.

Walker

I Need A New Topic..

2010-03-11T20:25:00.002-05:00

I need some ideas for forum topics. Anyone?

Blonde Quarterly Tonight

2010-03-10T12:49:00.001-05:00

Good luck to everyone playing in the quarterly at Blonde tonight! I will do my best to be there, but some pesky personal issues have come up and I may not be able to make it. We'll see...

Did You See This?

2010-03-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

This gives new meaning to the phrase "stealing the pot" !!!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588303,00.html?test=latestnews

Who Is Your Toughest Opponent?

2010-03-05T09:33:00.001-05:00

TD Ricky Durham has suggested this for a topic, so here it is!

Who is the one player that you can't seem to beat, no matter how well you play? Everyone has one, so let's hear who yours is.

I'll start things off... my toughest opponent has to be Chris "The Mayor" Henley (player #0004). I cannot read the man to save my life, and he gets the best of me most nights. I'm lucky that he doesn't play near as often as he used to!

What about you, who is your toughest opponent?

Ugly hand at Blonde last night..

2010-03-01T21:20:00.001-05:00

Player 1 raises preflop, player 2 pushes all in, and player 3 calls. Player 1 calls. The flop comes QTT. Player 1 pushes all in, player 3 folds. Player 2 turns over QQ and starts to celebrate flopping a boat, until player 1 turns over TT. The case Q does not come, and the full house loses to quads...

Nickname for James..

2010-02-28T12:09:00.001-05:00

James (Mr. Franchise) is a newly minted TD for ATC. Slade suggests in today's email that we need a new nickname for him. Let's hear your suggestions! (let's keep it clean please!)

Congrats to Thorn!

2010-02-26T19:28:00.002-05:00

I don't know if anyone else put together the clues in Friday's email, but I did! Congrats to Thorn on the birth of his son!

P.S. don't name him "Slade", we all know how badly THAT turned out....

Poker Etiquette

2010-02-21T12:17:00.000-05:00

Mr. Franchise posted a comment in the previous post about poker etiquette. I feel it deserves a topic header all its own. Here is his unaltered post:

New Food For Thought.............I would love to hear what people are thinking on the topic of poker etiquette. At one point or another we are ALL guilty of violating some form of unofficial rule we refer to as poker etiquette. However, some things stick out more than others. For me, it is slow rolling. I can't stand to be slow rolled. When it is time to turn up the cards, don't take forever. If you have won, turn up the cards and show. There is no sense in waiting to see what everyone else has first and then turning up your cards at the last second to claim a pot. It wastes time and creates hostility/hard feelings. Well, that is just my opinion anyway. I am interested in hearing everyone else's thoughts on the matter of etiquette, so please tell us what you think. Mr. Franchise

I Can Always Tell...

2010-02-14T22:01:00.000-05:00

I can always tell when it's time to take a break from poker. Anyone who knows me, or has been reading this blog for a while knows, I'm generally a pretty easygoing guy. Bad beats don't bother me that much, because I know they are a necessary part of the game. When I start wanting to verbally attack people who make bad plays, however, I know it's time for me to take a break. I almost let loose tonight at Blonde, although I'm glad to say I held my tongue (well, mostly..). Here's how it went down. We are watching this hand through the eyes of player 3, who has about 7000 chips. Blinds are 100/200. He has As2c.

Player 1, who is first to act after the blinds, calls 200
Player 2 calls.
Player 3 (you) call.
Player 4, on the button, raises to 600.
The blinds fold
Player 1, takes a moment to decide what to do, saying he is deciding whether to reraise or not. He elects to call the 600 and not raise.
Player 2 calls 600
Player 3 (you) call 600.

There is now 2700 in the pot and the flop comes Ad 3d 5h.

Player 1 checks
Player 2 checks
Player 3 (you) bets 600
Player 4 folds
Player 1 comments on what a weak bet that is into such a large pot, and calls
Player 2 folds

There is now 3900 in the pot. The turns brings 7d.

Player 1 pushes all in for 4000. Do you call?

Get Well Soon, Paula!!

2010-02-12T00:24:00.000-05:00

I just learned that one of the players I play with regularly had some kind of accident Wednesday night at Blonde (I wasn't there). Hopefully she is not seriously injured. Get well soon, Paula!

A milestone

2010-02-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

I finally completed one of my goals. I finished 1st in points for the month of Jan. I have finished 2nd several times in the past year, but 1st place always eluded me. Anyway, with that out of the way, I'm going to playing less this month. I played hard in January, and I need a break. I suppose I will still play a lot compared to most people, but it will seem like less to me!

See you all at the Dealer's game today. Good Luck!

Anti-Cheating Contract

2010-01-26T12:56:00.003-05:00

The issue of cheating has brought up way more responses than any of my previous posts. This shows me that it is a concern of many players, not just a select few. I have a feeling that there are many more "lurkers" who read and agree, but don't post.

I would like to start a grass roots campaign against cheating. I would like everyone to sign the contract below by posting your name. It doesn't have to be your real name, your ATC poker name will suffice. Let's see how many "signatures" we can get. Let's send a message to all the cheaters out there that we are fed up and we won't take it anymore!

By signing this contract, I agree not to cheat in any way during any ATC event, whether it is by stealing chips, misrepresenting the amount of money I've spent, or any other sneaky way I might get a dishonest edge over everyone else. Furthermore, I vow to be ever vigilant in watching out for other's that are cheating, and to report this behavior to the TD as soon as I discover it. I will not confront the cheater myself, that is a job for the TD.

If you are a habitual cheater, it's time you knew that we are on to you, and we will be watching!

More Cheating

2010-01-26T00:24:00.001-05:00

For those of you who haven't read the responses under the "cheating" post lately (see below), there has been a lot of action there. You might want to check it out again! I have a feeling this one is going to be more active than most.

Goodbye Dennis!

2010-01-22T18:04:00.000-05:00

I was shocked and saddened to learn of the death of Dennis "Cuz" Doerr. What a nice guy he was! I hadn't seen him around recently, and I wondered what he was up to. Condolences are extended to all his family and friends. You will be missed, my friend....

Team Challenge

2010-01-18T17:39:00.001-05:00

Well the Team Challenge is over now. My team made it to the third round before we got eliminated. I want to personally thank my teammates for doing such a great job. We really played well together, especially on day one. Even though we didn't win, we can take solace in the fact that we were the only team from the north to make it to day two.

It was a lot of fun, and I understand that a second team challenge is now in the planning stages, tentively scheduled for August. My whole team has already agreed to stay together and we look forward to a second opportunity to win this thing.

Congatulations to Rob Firester and his team for winning this time. Hopefully we'll get a chance to steal that title away from you sometime soon!

Cheating

2010-01-12T13:01:00.001-05:00

Mr. Franchise's comments under my previous post brought up a serious subject: cheating. As he says, we all may be playing "free" poker, but it's not really "free" now is it? Even if you don't spend any money at the venue, you have still spent gas money to get there and invested your time for that evening. Anyone who cheats in any way is robbing you of your investment and it should not be tolerated.

Recently at a venue I where I was playing, it was discovered that one of the decks was short 2 kings. The cards were checked and deemed complete at the beginning of play. Obviously, the TD cannot legally require players to be searched, but he did ask for everyone to voluntarily empty their pockets and roll up their sleeves. Almost everyone was happy to do so. Except one person. Later, after that same person made a trip to the restroom, the TD went in and found the missing kings in the trashcan. To this person, I have a message:

"We know who you are and the incident was reported to ATC management. We may not be able to prove it was you beyond a shadow of a doubt, but rest assured, if you show your face again, we WILL be watching." NOTE: I am saying this a member of the poker community, not as a representative of ATC. I am not an employee and cannot and will not speak for them.

Another much more common form of cheating involves stealing chips. I have a feeling that this is more prevalent than we think. I have seen it several times, and I know others that have seen it too. The TD's have enough to do without having to babysit those chips that aren't currently in play. I implore ATC management to come up with a better transportation system for the chips, something that involves a lock. This may seem like overkill for a supposedly "free" poker game, but to those of us who play regularly, this game is not "free". We spend money on gas and food every single night. It's almost like an investment, albeit a small one. I think I speak for all honest players when I say we would like more security on the chips.

Anyway, I have rambled on enough for today. Would anyone like to comment on what they have read here?

Walker

Good Luck At The Monthly Tomorrow!

2010-01-09T00:38:00.000-05:00

Good luck to everyone who will be playing in the monthly tournament tomorrow at TJ's. I hope to see all my friends there, and possibly make some new ones as well! If you read my blog, please come up and introduce yourself, I'd like to meet you!

What would you do?

2010-01-04T01:03:00.000-05:00

Blinds are 400/800. Two hands in a row you have raised preflop and gotten no callers and stolen the blinds. Third hand you get AdQd in first position. You raise 3xBB and the big stack pushes all-in. He has you covered. If you fold you will have about 6BB left, If you call and win you will have 19BB. If you call and lose you are out.

Do you call or fold with a suited AQ?

Poker in Athens, Ga.

2009-12-27T15:00:00.001-05:00

I have been asked several times why I would drive 40 miles (one way!) every night to play free poker when I can play in Athens. Well, there are several reasons, not the least of which is that I have made a lot of very good friends with ATC.

Back in April of this year, I decided to try out the league that operates in Athens. It's a small league, but I could play every night of the week within 10 miles of my home.

I HATED IT! Those of you who complain about the way AnyTwoCards conducts business have obviously never experienced life in a poorly run league. Let me tell you what you are missing..

1. POOR EQUIPMENT. The tables used were either fold up tables with no cup holders that were old and dirty, or were just a piece of plywood with astroturf stapled on top.
2. NO DESIGNATED DEALERS.. The deal went around the table with the button. As you can imagine, this lead to a very slow rate of play as not everyone could figure out how to make proper change or deal with multiple all-ins. This lead to mass confusion at many points during the game. Another side effect of having no single person in charge was that everyone made their own change. Most people were honest, but I saw a few cheat. Also, there was no one to keep the players from splashing the pot. They might say "I bet $600 and then throw a hanful of chips into the pot. How do I know they put in the correct amount? Once I asked someone not to splash the pot and the whole table turned on me, saying "chill out dude, this isn't Vegas..". (No, it certainly wasn't....)
3. BAD FOOD.. Most of the places I've played with AnyTwoCards had decent food (with a few exceptions..). The Athens league seemed to play in dumps exclusively. I couldn't stand to eat in any of them!
4. NO WEB SITE... The Athens league had no website where you could track your points. If you wanted to know how you were doing, you had to call someone and find out. Also, there was no posted schedule. If you wanted to know where and what time tonight's game was, you had to call.

All in all, the whole thing was a pain in the ass. Those who complain about the occasional snafu's that ATC makes really don't know how good they have it!

Happy Holidays

2009-12-21T18:04:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone has a GREAT holiday week!

What a weekend...

2009-12-14T01:02:00.000-05:00

What a ride the last few days have been!

Wednesday night.. chopped 5 ways at the Blonde quarterly
Friday night .... 2nd place at Blonde
Saturday afternoon... chopped 4 ways at the monthly
Saturday night... 2nd place at Blonde
Sunday night... 7th place at Famous Joes

All in all, I came away from those games with 750 points, $175 cash, and $40 house cash...not bad!

At the monthly, I flopped a straight flush! Yes, you read that right! I called an early position raise with 6d7d. The flop comes 5d8d9d !! The raiser continuation bets and I hollywood a little bit like I was trying to decide whether I should call or not. I was really hoping another diamond would come out, but it didn't. He tried a bigger bet after the turn, and I called. He tried a bigger bet after the river, I pushed all in and he folded. I didn't think he would call, but you never know! I nearly doubled up that hand when blinds were still 20/40.

Later on, I made a very bold move based on a read I got and doubled up. I don't remember the exact cards. but it was something like this: I called a raise with A7,, the flop is two face cards and a 7. I check, and the original better made a continuation bet. Something about the size of the bet combined with his body language made me suspicious. I decided that he didn't want me to call, so I pushed all in with bottom pair. He insta-called and I was sure I was going home (he had me covered). He turned over an open-ended straight draw! I was ahead! He missed his straight and I doubled up. Whew! He was shocked that I pushed with bottom pair, and in fact, I was kinda shocked too!

Getting late... gotta go to bed now. I hope everyone has a great week!

P.S. sorry I sucked out on you at Famous Joe's tonight Joel!

Blonde Quarterly Tonight!

2009-12-09T17:42:00.000-05:00

The quarterly for Blonde is tonight, wish me luck! (Well, I guess if you are also playing in it, you don't want me to be lucky, so those people are excused. Everyone else.. not excused! lol)

Introducing "The Death Squad"

2009-12-05T00:33:00.003-05:00

Now that we have registered, it's time to introduce my team for the North/South charity event to benefit "Operation Homefront Georgia". I'm going to post some stats so you can all see what you're up against! I hope you are up to the challenge, because we are coming for you!

APG = average points per game played (year to date)
T3 = pecentage of top 3 finishes (year to date)

I have specifically not included total points earned because I feel that it is not an accurate way to rate a player. It gives someone who plays a lot a bigger advantage over someone who just plays occasionally. In my opinion, using averages gives a truer vision of a player's skills

The Death Squad: (in no particular order)

Walker Bachman ("Walker" #2248) Team Captain
APG=70, T3=17.47%

Donnell Mcloud ("Dowwell" #1143)
APG=73, T3=15.29%

Frank Hunt ("Potraider" #0194)
APG=73. T3=16.03%

Matt Klepper ("Klepto" #1533)
APG=71, T3=11.67%

Dewain Pittman ("Raggin King" #2028)
APG=72, T3=12.90%

We also have an alternate, in case one of us can't play for some reason..

James Souders (Mr. Franchise #1134)
APG=57, T3=8.33%

For those of you who expressed interest in joining but didn't make it, I hope you will understand that it was not personal. We tried very hard to find personalities that we felt would work well together. This is going to be a team event, after all!

We will see you all in January for the first round of games. Look out South.. here we come!

Watch This Space!

2009-12-02T00:03:00.000-05:00

Keep watching this space for an announcement about a team I am joining to play in the North/South tournament to benefit Operation Homefront. The whole team is now assembled and as soon as we are registered next week, I will reveal the members. You better start practicing, we're going to be hard to beat!

Hand Review

2009-11-30T13:24:00.001-05:00

I have to tell you about this hand I played at the quarterly for Bottom Of The Cup on Saturday. I don't remember my exact position, but it was either the button or one off the button. There were a couple of limpers before it got to me. I limped in with KTo. One of the blinds raised, one of the limpers called, and I called. Everyone else folded. I ended up being last to act for future betting rounds.

The flop comes up AQJ rainbow. I flopped the NUTS!

The initial raiser made a continuation bet and player 2 called. I was concerned with having 2 players in the hand because I figured one or both just hit a set or 2 pair, and my straight was still vulnerable if the board paired, so I made a big raise, about 4x the original bet.

Player 1 thought for a moment and then pushed all in. Player 2 insta-called. There was no way I was laying this down, there was no way they could be beating me! I pushed all-in. Player 2 insta-called. I thought for sure now that one or both had 2 pair or a set, so I stood to triple up if the board didn't pair.

It was time to turn over our cards, since we were all all-in. Player 1 turned over KTo, and then player 2 turned over KTo !!!!

We all had the same hand and all three of us flopped the nut straight!!! Needless to say it was a chop, and we split the blinds three ways. ... I have seen 2 people have the same cards before, but never have I seen three people have the same cards AND flop the nuts at the same time. WILD! (and disappointing after thinking you are going to triple up..)

Elmo's Tonight

2009-11-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

Well, now that the holiday is over with, it's time to get back to the really important things.... like playing poker! I'll be at Elmo's tonight...

P.S. Isn't it great to have friends? One of the people I play with occasionally, knowing that I live alone, called me yesterday and invited me to have Thanksgiving with his family! Wasn't that nice? I couldn't take him up on his offer because, unbeknowst to him, I actually have family all over the place around here and I was spending time with them already. It's the thought that counts however, and I want you to know how appreciative I am of the effort you made (you know who you are!). Thanks again!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T01:31:00.000-05:00

I just got home from a successful game at Blonde in Gainesville. I finished second after sucking out several times when I was all in...

I hope everyone has a great Holiday tomorrow and I'll see you all somewhere on Friday!

Thanks Matt!

2009-11-24T13:50:00.000-05:00

I want to extend my thanks to Matt for allowing the final 4 finishers (me included) to chop the prize money at the Key West Quarterly last night. He had us all out-chipped by at least 4 to 1 and he didn't have to be nice.
Thanks Matt!

Sorry!

2009-11-20T17:04:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted this week so far. I haven't played since Monday. My mom's been in the hospital in Athens this week, so I've been staying close to home. She's doing better as each day goes by. Last I heard they were going to release her today. I'll see you all at Elmo's tonight!

Always Listen To The Voice In Your Head!

2009-11-15T16:58:00.001-05:00

... it's usually telling you the truth! One of the biggest holes in my game is not listening the voice in my head when he's telling me to do something. Sometimes he says "Raise", sometimes he says "Fold". Sometimes I listen, sometimes I don't. I usually regret not listening! I played two games yesterday, and both times I lost all my chips when I didn't follow my inner voice.

The first time was at the Monthly at Montana's. I had 3300 in chips, the blinds were 100/200, I was the BB. I was dealt KJo. There were five limpers into the pot when it came around to me. That's a third of my chip stack sitting on the table and no one had shown any real strength. My inner voice said to push all in and make everyone fold, but I didn't do it. I rationalized that I still had 15 BB's left and I could afford to be patient a little while longer. I checked and the flop came J72. The SB put out a feeler bet, and I then pushed all in. The player immediately to my left insta-called and everyone else folded. She turned over 72 and I didn't improve. If I had pushed, the 72 would be gone and I would have improved my chip stack by 33%!! (Why she would play 72 under the gun is beyond me, but that's another column...)

Later that night I played at Nacho Daddy's in Lawrenceville. There were a couple of loud, obnoxious, aggressive players at my table. They had been spending a lot of money and had bought themselves a really big chip stack. They had been raising a lot with some marginal hands. After one such raise, I called with Kh9h, hoping to flush him out. Instead the flop came down Kxx with no hearts. He lead out with a standard continuation bet. My inner voice said "Raise him and find out where you stand", but I ignored it and decided to call, even though I was sure he didn't have a K. The next card was a 4, he lead out, and again I ignored the voice and just called. The last card was another 4, he lead out, and I pushed all in. He insta-called and turned over A4 for runner runner trips!

ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE VOICE!! You may not always know why it's telling you to do something, but it's usually right!

Mellow Mushroom Tonight!

2009-11-13T18:07:00.000-05:00

I need to change it up a litttle as I haven't been doing well in my regular venues lately. I'll go to Mellow Mushroom tonight instead of Elmo's.

I'll also be at Montana's tomorrow afternoon for the monthly tournament. If you see me please say hi! I'd like to meet some of the people that are reading my blog. Good luck everyone!

Lack Of Interest...

2009-11-13T18:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted recently as I was waiting for people to chime in on how they would play the hand I was describing, but it seems they have lost interest. (Not to mention the topic was hijacked by Mr. Franchise! lol). For those of you that want to know how it turned out, here it is:

I called the $600 bet after the turn. The river brought the 9 I had been waiting for, The first player made a bet of about half the pot, I pushed all-in, the BB folded in disgust. The first player called and turned over 10-8 for the straight. I yurned over J-10 for the higher straight and took a huge pot. The BB showed his cards.. he had 9-5 and had flopped the straight!

My point in detailing this hand was how dangerous it is to slow play a big hand. You should always consider the pot odds you are giving your opponent, especially if you have more than one in the hand with you. If you make it too cheap, they will draw out on you!

How would you play this hand Part 2 (post-flop)

2009-11-04T18:35:00.000-05:00

For those of you new to this site, please read "How would you play this hand (pre-flop)" before continuing on...

So... we have four to the flop and I'm second to act. The flop comes 6-7-8 rainbow. (The suits no longer matter, so I will leave those out from here forward).

Player 1 leads out with a bet of $600 into a $2400 pot. There are 2 players to act behind me. What would you do? Let's hear it!

How would you play this hand? (Pre-flop)

2009-11-03T12:45:00.002-05:00

Let's do something a little different now. This is an actual hand that I played at Key West on 10/26/09. I'll set it up for you, and then you tell me what you would do, ok? After some people have given their opinion, I'll tell you what I did and why. Then we will move on to the next stage...

16 players left, blinds are 300/600. I pick up Jc10c one off the button. One player limps in, and then it folds around to me. The button and the blinds are still left to act. The player that limped has 19,000 chips, I have 15,000, and the blinds have less than 10,000 each. Do you fold, call, or raise?

P.S. Those of you who were involved in this hand, or witnessed it, please don't spoil the ending, ok?

November 2nd Recap

2009-11-03T00:44:00.001-05:00

Another good game tonight! November has been good to me so far. First place on the first of the month, second place on the second of the month... wait a minute.. I don't like where this trend ends up by the 30th! LOL

For the second night in a row, I flop a big flush and someone puts me all in! Gotta love it! Thanks for the chips Oncay! I tease him, but you all watch out for him, he's a good player!

OK off to bed now. I'm going to sit out tomorrow night I think... see you soon!

Listen Up !!

2009-11-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

Today an anonymous user posted a suggestion that one of the ATC employees be fired.

Let it be known that I will NOT allow this blog to degenerate into such foolishness. Right now, I am allowing you all the freedom to post whatever you like without me having to approve it or edit it in any way. If you can't keep your posts civilized, then I will have no choice but to change the settings so that I have to approve every post before the public can see it. I would rather not resort to this. We're all adults here, please act like it! That's all I'm going to say on this subject.

I wish everyone good luck in their games tonight. I'm off to Key West...

November 1st Recap

2009-11-02T00:55:00.001-05:00

Started off the new month in style by taking 1st place at Elmo's! I didn't do very well early on and lost about half my stack before the 50/100 blinds started. I hit a key hand when I limped in with A10 spades and flopped the nut flush. A player bet big into me, and I pretended like I was deciding whether to call or not. Of course I did. Another player after me called as well. The turn was a blank and the first better put me all in. The player after me called as well. The river was another blank and I tripled up. One player had top pair, and the other had middle and bottom pair. I was back in the game. After that I just played smart and started collecting chips. When we got down to about 5 players, I hit top pair on the flop about 5 hands in a row and collected massive amounts of chips. All in all, a very good game!

Feeling Lazy

2009-10-31T11:58:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling lazy... I was going to go to "Bottom Of The Cup" this afternoon, mainly because I thought the evening games would be canceled. It turns out that "PiZings" is still on the schedule, so I may go there instead. I may take a nap this afternoon....

October 30 Recap

2009-10-31T00:48:00.000-04:00

Strangely enough, my heart wasn't in it tonight. You would think after taking three days off (well, it's a lot for me..) I would be ready to play hard, but no. I played too passively and allowed two goods hands to get donked away by chasers. I was out before break.

I went down to Mellow Mushroom, where they were late getting started. Luckily I got in during the first round of blinds. There was some crazy betting going on, and again I played too passively. I made it to 12th at least.

I'll go play the afternoon game at Bottom Of The Cup tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to muster up some enthusiasm, if I don't cough up a lung because of the smoke....

Elmo's Tonight!!

2009-10-30T17:28:00.000-04:00

OK. I've taken 3 days off in a row... might be a new record for me! Everyone needs a change occasionally I suppose. I'll be going to Elmo's tonight. Wish me luck!

October 26th Recap

2009-10-27T00:52:00.001-04:00

Played Key West tonight and finished 2nd. I ended up all in with KhQh against JJ. I didn't improve and he had me covered by three chips. Good game Dan! There a was a big controversy when we got down to 4 players. I'm too tired to write about it right now, but I will fill you all in later this week (no names).

I'm going to take a few nights off I think....

October 25th Recap

2009-10-25T23:43:00.001-04:00

"Bottom Of The Cup" 1pm: Average game for me. Nothing exciting, finished 8th. There were some very interesting hands that I wasn't involved in. I will detail those in a post later this week.

"Elmo's" 7pm: I was hitting cards left and right. I took out a couple of players and built my stack up to 16K before break. After break, different story. I lost a big pot when my opponent rivered 2 pair on me. It was my fault for checking the turn... live and learn! It went downhill from there and I ended up going out 13th.

Key hand: Blinds are 40/80. Player raises preflop 3x BB and I call with A10 (suits are immaterial here). Flop comes AA9. Player bets, I raise, player goes all in. Damn, he's probably got me outkicked! Well, I'm not laying down my trip A's, so I call and sure enough he turns over AK. The turn is another 9, giving us a split pot. At least I won't lose a big part of my chips now! The river is a 10, and I take it down with a bigger full house! I think that was the last big pot for me, it was downhill after that....

October 24th Recap - Nacho Daddy's

2009-10-25T00:02:00.000-04:00

I always end up making bad decisions when I deal, and tonight was no exception. My table went through 2 dealers before blinds were 200/400, so I stepped up and did my turn. I went out 12th when I tried to steal the blinds from the button with pocket sixes by going all in. I got called by the big blind, who had pocket aces..

I don't know how you people that deal every game do it. I have the skills; I can make change, split pots, handle multiple all-ins, etc. It's just with all that going on I can't concentrate on my own game. Consequently I sometimes make poor decisions. Oh well, there's always tomorrow....

Nacho Daddy's Tonight!

2009-10-24T11:35:00.000-04:00

I'm going to mix things up a bit and not go to my regular Saturday night venue, which is PiZings. I'm going to Nacho Daddy's instead! Hopefully my friends CrazyAmy & Atlanta Kid can join me....

No More "Donkey Alert" PSA's ??

2009-10-23T09:46:00.001-04:00

In the interest of not offending anyone by accident, I am thinking of no longer be publishing my PSA's. They were meant to be a fun way to tease my friends, but I think maybe they don't come across that way. What do you all think? Should I stop?

Public Service Announcement #2

2009-10-22T22:52:00.003-04:00

DONKEY'S DISGUISED AS GOOD PLAYERS INVADE "BOTTOM OF THE CUP"!!!

It seems that A4 is the donkey hand of choice, so if you play here, watch out for it! No less than three times did I see a player with A4 chase a gut shot all the way to the river and complete it. In two cases, the players put in all their chips before they hit it. What's that? You want t o know who would do such a thing? Hmmm.. I don't know if I should say. These people are my friends, after all.

Oh, what the heck. POPS, HARPO, and BROKEN WING : You have now been outed! You don't have to stuff those long ears under your hats anymore, ok? At least SPUD had the grace to put me out with A8, but really that isn't much better, now is it?

October 22nd Recap

2009-10-22T22:40:00.001-04:00

8 Players. That's all that showed up at Johnny's Pizza tonight. Game was subsequently cancelled.

I decided to go to Bottom Of The Cup as an alternate. I should have gone home. I was going to describe the hand that took most of my chips, but I find that don't want to talk about it. See PSA #2 for a hint.

Johnny's Pizza Tonight

2009-10-22T12:39:00.000-04:00

I'll be at Johnny's Pizza in Jefferson tonight. I sure hope we get a decent crowd so this game doesn't get canceled. This will be the 4th game at this venue, and each time the crowd keeps getting smaller. C'mon people.. we had 3 tables at the first game! COME BACK AND PLAY!

October 21st Recap

2009-10-22T01:34:00.003-04:00

Once more I was short-stacked and card dead all game. Luckily I managed to make the final table with 3 chips left. Pocket aces first hand! Unfortunately, the blinds were 4000/8000 and I only had 3000. The aces held up, and I came away with 12,000. Two hands later I was in the big blind for 2/3 of my chips... Whitney put me all in. (I'll get you for that, girl!) My 83o didn't hold up against her AJ and I was out in 8th place. I feel that I made the most out the cards I was dealt, so I'm happy. I'll be back at it tomorrow!

I'm Addicted part 2

2009-10-21T18:16:00.000-04:00

Never, ever trust me when I say "I won't be playing". Sometimes it will be true, sometimes it won't. I took off early from work today and took a nap this afternoon. I'm ready to rumble! Look out Blonde... here I come!

Public Service Announcement #1

2009-10-21T13:15:00.003-04:00

From time to time, when I see the need to alert the public at large to something that is happening, I will be issuing these PSA's. Here is the first one...

NEWS FLASH! ... ATLANTA KID IS A DONKEY IN DISGUISE!*

At last night's game, Atlanta Kid got caught showing down a J4s when he wasn't even in the blinds!!! This from someone who will complain loudly to all who listen if you beat him with anything less than pocket aces (and sometimes even then...). When we (politely) inquired on why he would play such a hand, his only defense was "it was suited!". Just goes to show you that a donkey can be found anywhere.. even where you least expect it!

*This post should in no way be construed as an attempt to get back at Atlanta Kid for dealing my opponent quad 7's when I was all in with my KK. Honest! (wink, wink, nudge nudge)

October 20th Recap

2009-10-20T22:56:00.000-04:00

Ouch. I should have followed my instincts and stayed home! Nothing went my way tonight. I ended up all in preflop with my KK against 77. I lost. To quads. 'Nuff said.

I am absolutely, positively NOT playing poker tomorrow night. I mean it! Maybe.

I'm Addicted...

2009-10-20T17:55:00.000-04:00

OK, the time has come for me to admit it... I'm addicted to poker (as if there was any doubt..). Even though I said I wasn't going to play tonight, I'm going to play anyway. Off to Famous Joe's....

October 19 Recap

2009-10-19T23:10:00.000-04:00

Every time you play poker, you should learn something new. Here's what I learned tonight:

"Never try to push a guy with pocket kings off a pot when there is no ace on the table. Especially when you are on the bubble and he has you covered." Nice hand Oncay!! (For some reason his nickname always reminds me of some kind of dumb farm animal...not sure why...)

As far as my missing card protector is concerned... Apparently it was turned in to Scott Marshall, the TD. He put it in his box with the playing cards and new player sign up sheets for safekeeping. When he went to get it for me, it was gone. If someone was in his box and took it, PLEASE turn it in... it's not worth anything, but it has sentimental value to me. There'll be no questions asked.....

It's round and flat, black, 2 inches across, with a red dragon on one side and chinese symbols on the other side....

I'm taking the next 2 nights off from poker, but I'll probably find some reason to post here anyway! LOL

Where Is Everyone??

2009-10-19T17:39:00.002-04:00

OK you guys and gals.... where is everyone?? I'm sure some of you (other than Timmy.. thanks bro!) have been here since ATC posted the link on the front page, but I can't tell who. Please leave me a comment or suggestion. Just say "hi". Anything!

I know this blog doesn't have much substance right now, but I'm hoping to make it a destination for all my poker-playing friends and donks... help me out here with some ideas!

Tonight I'm headed to Key West. Last week I lost a really big pot at the final table when I was sure I had the best hand. I was so upset that I left my favorite card protector on the table when I walked out! I'm hoping someone grabbed it for me.. I'll let you know if I find it.....

October 18th Recap

2009-10-19T00:37:00.001-04:00

Played 2 more games today... just got home. Finished 15th at Bottom Of The Cup. I was card dead all game long, but played very tight and lasted as long as I could. I decided I needed to make a move since the blinds were starting to catch up to me, unfortunately I ran into a monster. Oh well, I tried!

Later, I played at my current favorite venue, Elmo's on the square in Gainesville. Somehow I always seem to do well there. Tonight was no exception, I finished 5th. I would never have made it except I made a massive suckout when I tried to buy a pot with nothing and tripled up when I hit a gut shot straight on the river. Everyone donks occasionally I guess! (Don't tell me you don't, I know you do! I've seen you!)

October 17th Recap

2009-10-18T00:29:00.001-04:00

2 games...... 2 final tables...... not bad! I finished 9th at Bottom Of The Cup. My pocket 10's were all in against Q8o and pocket 9's. A 9 on the river finished me off......

Later, I finished 4th at PiZings..... I was short stacked almost the whole game, but somehow managed to get a few chips when I needed them. Not exactly sure how I managed to make it to 4th, but turning a straight when I was all in with 97o helped a bit!

One further note...

2009-10-17T12:39:00.000-04:00

The layout is a little generic and boring right now. Rest assured I will be sprucing it up a bit in the coming days. Now I'm off to run some errands and the 2pm game at Bottom Of The Cup!

Welcome !!

2009-10-17T12:03:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone! This is a little bit of an experiment for me, as I've never done this before! I initially started out with the thought of keeping a private 'diary' about my poker games to track my progress and mindset, with the aim of improving my game. After discussing it with one of my friends, she suggested I turn it into a blog for all to see! I must admit I'm a little nervous about the whole thing, but we'll see how it goes. I'll try and post something every day, but I'm sure I won't succeed in that. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions if you like. Also, don't be afraid to be critical... I can take it! LOL