You know that old saying...

measure twice, cut once.

that is all.

nh- steeler. gg- too short material for poker table.

Two views from the button.

Another Monday and another Farmer's game.

I sat at the kiddie game where poker is actually being played. The control was fine and it was a pretty easy game. For the night I took a suckout that cost me money but ended up +$25 which sucks, but I'm in the money.

There were two hands from the button that were of interest...

1st Hand

I was dealt 9sTs. I like this hand. Most poker players I know like this hand. So when someone in early position raised to $15 and 1 caller I decided to call the bet. The SB decides to raise $15 to $30. With two other callers I call in position. The pot now lays around $120. Four to the flop...

7s 4s Ks

The SB now checks his hand and the other 2 callers also check. I had $140 left and pushed all in and everyone folded with the SB showing me AsKc. Later he asked me if I would have called with his hand. I told him no. The pot was laying $260 and it would cost him $140 to chase, what he had to think, was only 7 good outs. He was roughly 28% to catch but only getting around 2:1 on his money. This would not have been a good call and at this point he would have been gambling.

2nd Hand

Again from the button. This was the 2nd to last hand of the night. Everyone is playing super tight and hoping to just cash out what they have but there are a few that wanted to gamble. I was dealt AhKh and had 2 limpers to me. I raised to $15 and the 2 same limpers suddenly realized the value of their hands and called. The flop...

Ac 3s 9s

Andre, who plays a loose/aggressive game, pushes all in for $100. I was gonna call when the guy to my right reraised all in. He had around $600 and now i'm stuck. What the hell to do? I hadn't played with this guy all night since they condensed the tables a few hands prior. I begrudgingly folded. Andre had As 2s for top pair and the nut flush draw. Other guy had Ad 7c for top pair, seven kicker. The board blanked out and I would have won a huge pot. Still kinda miffed at that but I felt I had to be beat. Sometimes folding the best hand is the best play. Statistically I was a slight dog on that flop.

-s247

Today

It is absolutely the prettiest day of the year outside. Current temp is 74d with no wind and a few scattered clouds. The sky is very blue and its just too pretty outside. I'm gonna take the kiddo's to the park today when they get off of school. I'm gonna miss this kinda stuff when I start working. Its why i'm leaning to teaching and summers off.

I saw a few sales oppurtunities in this area on Monster.com. Lately i've seen tons of action in this area and I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and diving into the job market again. I'm feeling upbeat about a few things now.

I may play poker tonight at the farmer's game. I had a series of bad plays/beats this weekend and on Friday and I'm still not up to it. I get this way. No worries.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been in a limo only once.

Saturday wrap up

Saturday was Little League baseball tryouts. Alex hasn't played since we left San Antonio and wasn't really interested in trying out this season - or so I thought. I asked him a few weeks ago if he wanted to play but he didn't seem too interested. I wanted him to play but I wasn't going to force him. So during the week he decided, out of the blue, that he wanted to play now. Great. Hello late fee. I'm kidding.

So at 3pm on Saturday, we go out to the ballpark. It was windy and chilly and not exactly the best field conditions for fielding/running/throwing a baseball. I walked in the room and signed both Alex and Thomas up and asked if they needed help with any coaching spots. They told me that Managers are booked for several years! WTF! When we got to the field I saw the motley lot of "coaches". I knew each of these guys and none of them ever played baseball in HS or beyond. I appreciate their dedication to the sport but they were mainly there to coach/start their own kid, and if other kids learned some valuable baseball info then all the better.

The managers have the 40+ kids line up in the field and each kid was to field 3 ground balls and one fly ball and then throw to 1st base. After this they would rotate over to 1st base and catch the throws of the fielders. This was the extent of the fielding.

When all the kids were done, they each grabbed a bat and took 3 pitches from one of the managers. Whether it was a strike or not, you only got 3 pitches. Nice. Since you can't make a good judgement on talent with this tryout, I heard, more than once, the managers asking each other "who's kid is that?". I love baseball politics.

For the record, Alex was one of the few kids who caught all the ground balls. He muffed the pop up. Two hands son, two hands. He did make all 3 catches at 1st. I was proud. When it came time to hit, he hit two really good shots back at the pitcher. Again I was proud. Had the coach tried a curve it would have been a sad day for Alex. Luckily the coach went with some cheese over the middle. Remember to rotate those hips son!

They'll let us know in a week or so which team he's on.

When I told Thomas he was playing T-Ball he said - "ok". What a sport.

Time to sell my poker advice...

Since i'm a 7x in the money player at the WSOP events I'm going to start selling my advice on poker*.

And this guy cudd517 thinks he's good cause he flops hands hard. He's a tool. He's the Tiffani Williamson of online poker.

* i'm not really a 7x in the money player.

-s247

Cooler's continue...

Ever play a session of poker and be up tons and then all of a sudden you look down and wonder where the chips went? Happened to me last night in the brother's game. We added 3 new players last night- all for the better. The new guys are the dealers from the Farmers game and now we have a really tough group. Standard buyin of $20 with blinds of .50/1.00. Within 1hr I was up around $250 thanks to some really good O8b hand scoops against WildBill.

Then the coolers* started happening...

Playing 8 handed I get QQ in MP. One of the new guys, Darren, raised preflop to $5. I decided to reraise to $15 to isolate and push Bill out. Everyone folds and Darren completed the bet. Jack high flop and Darren leads into me for $15. I'm thinking AJ and decided to reraise to $40. He thinks long and calls and this started to worry me. Turn brings another Jack and now i'm thinking he doesn't have AJ. He checks to me and now I'm wondering what to do. I bet $40 and he pushes all in for $100 more. I really didn't think he had the jack but now i'm thinking KK or AA. I show him my QQ and fold and he shows KK. That sucked, but at least I didn't pay him off. Prior to folding this hand I showed it to Bill and he couldn't believe I would fold with one card to come. I told him I felt I was beat and thats why I mucked. I was glad Darren showed his hand. Bill was silent.

A few hands later in O8b I get AA45. WildBill raised to his standard $3 and 4 callers and I reraised to $13. Everyone folds but Bill. Here is where the shit starts. Flop comes A99. I flop top boat. Bill bets $15 and I just call. Turn brings a Jack and Bill checks. I decided to check behind him since there is not going to be a low hand. River brings a blank and now Bill bets $20. I reraise him to $40 and Bill says he's all in and I call immediately. He has 99 for the quads on the flop. It was really the first time I had ever felt like Mike from Rounders. I was stunned. I lost every chip I had on that hand.

So I rebuy for $60 to get me back in this thing. I'm now stuck $80. I build it up to around $120 or so and the final cooler of the night gets me. One of the new guys, whom i've never seen play, raises UTG to $4. I have KK and reraise to $14 and everyone folds to him and he just calls. Flop comes 947 rainbow and He bets $20. I reraised him $20 more and he calls. Turn comes a 5 and this time he pushes all in. Now i'm stuck. I have no clue. I didn't think the board helped him and I'm hoping he has QQ - I mean really hoping he had QQ. I debate for like 5 mins and Bill is getting impatient and making comments. I decided to call. Of course he has AA and busts me again. Another effing rebuy.

Brian (brother) commented that It was about time I was on the other side of the luck. I told him it had nothing to do with me being lucky against people cause I can generally fold big hands and therefore less susceptible to bad luck. Others at our game can't fold.

So I get $40 more and I rally big time. I started catching hands and having them hold up. By the time Bill left I was up $65 over my buyins. I really had to rally to get this and even though I was up on the night I still felt gutshot. I was all over the place.

-twenty 4 seven

*hands in which 2 or more players are dealt really big hands as if the deck was set up this way.

cooler at the FTF table

I folded preflop to all the action. For the record, IlliniFan folded TT and its on his blog as well.

Damn RNG*.

(random number generator - the little mice that make FTP tick)

FTF SUCKOUT ON LEUKEMIA

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 26TH

ON FULL TILT POKER

17:00 EST 5PM $10 + $16

No Limit Hold Em Tournament

PASSWORD: playforjill

You will find this tournament under the tournament/private tabs on the FullTiltPoker lobby!!

Erik Seidel & Steve Brecher are already registered. We expect Fulltilt Pro's John Juanda, Andy Bloch, Jesus Ferguson and John D`Agostino among others to join as well.

DONT MISS OUT!! To find out more about this fundraiser, go to fulltiltforum.com

Calories, Schmalories...

If it can be deep fried in animal fat I'd pry eat it.

Pry.

Steeler the Dealer

Monday night Farmers game and over 40 people at the game. Tommy was short a dealer and asked me if I wanted to deal. I said sure and he put me at a NLHE table. They pay $40 for the night which isn't all that great but you get/expect tips. For the night I made $140 in tips. I think I'm gonna deal all the time now! Felt I could cut my table up if I played, but positive cash flow is always the best bet. I'm actually glad I dealt- Its a whole new perspective from this side of the felt.

<*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}><

Completed another poker table for the game just in time for Monday delivery. Another $425 in the bag. This is turning out to be a sweet deal for me. I've now made 7 poker tables in the last 7 months or so. It keeps me busy and I like doing 'em. I'm actually pretty good at it. I figure if I can draw it, I can build it.

<*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}><

Lidia brought Allison over this morning. Seems Sissy didn't want her momma to take her to school and instead wanted her daddy to take her. So being that it was 7:30am, I decided that Allison and I would sleep in! We slept till 10am and I got dressed. Allison went to watch cartoons and then decided she wanted to go to Pizza Hut. Being that she already knows her colors I decided that one day of pre-school education could be missed - and we were off to the land of greasy pizza. She ate 2 'pre-pa-ronti' slices and drank lots of tea. I was having a field day spoiling this little girl. I haven't had her all day in awhile and it was a real treat for both of us. After this I took her to Wal-Mart and bought her a mermaid-bubble-blowing-shell-thingy that goes in the bathtub with her.

Lidia was real pleased that Allison skipped school. Real pleased.

She'll get over it.

<*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <*}}}><

I've had a very good week of live poker. Last Monday I was up nearly $200. Friday I won almost $200. Saturday I got 5th in the tourney for $420 and this past Monday I was dealing cards and made $180 more. Not bad for me. My online play has sucked. I'm torn between NL and Limit. I've made a real effort to play the $1/2 Limit but I don't log nearly enough hours to overcome variance. In the last week i've played about 2hrs a day of online poker and the majority is Limit. I'm getting turned off more and more with the online game.

-twentyfourseven

February 20, 2000

6 years ago today, Thomas Ray Rosa came kicking and screaming into this world. He hasn't slowed down since. He fits the definition of 'boy' to a T.

Thomas likes to crawl on his knees till his pants get holes. He wipes kisses off with his hand. He likes chasing bugs and playing in the dirt. He loves his brother and hates his sister, until its time for bed then he wants them both close to him. He thinks his daddy's truck is the coolest ride in town. He can get to the 4th level of Jak 3 all by himself. He wants to be a fireman when he gets big, loves ice cream, thinks his grandpa "is older than dirt", loves Ed Edd and Eddie, can make me cry when he cries and he can make me laugh when he laughs.

I'll never stop loving this kid. Not for one second.

Happy Birthday Thomas.

Chat from a $10 HU SnG

This started out with this idiot who felt 99 was unbeatable. The chat never stopped...

First hand of Heads up and I get 9T and he has 99. I catch top pair Ten and he calls to the river and said I got lucky. I raised preflop and he just called...

FORWARRIORS: so lucky
FORWARRIORS: stop betting with nothing because u dont no how to
steeler247: are we playing poker or bingo?
FORWARRIORS: lol

Now I make my set and take a huge stack from him. He called me down with K high.
FORWARRIORS: your a fuuckin joke
FORWARRIORS: im wasting my time here
steeler247: K high?
steeler247: wow

Funny hand - I had A7 and he had A8. Flop comes AKQ and he pushes with a little over 400 chips and I call. Turn 4 and River 4 and we chop.
FORWARRIORS: lucky biitch
FORWARRIORS: runner runner
steeler247: yep

Now he's getting pissed cause during heads up play I raise nearly every hand preflop. He pushes all in when I have A3o and I folded and he shows QT.
FORWARRIORS: lol i love what your rasiing with
FORWARRIORS: u fuuckin tool
steeler247: only cause i can out play you
steeler247: i fold
FORWARRIORS: no u cant u just get lucky biitch

Now i'm rubbing it in on him. I'm raising every hand preflop and showing him. He's getting upset and I tell him good game...
steeler247: gg
FORWARRIORS: ??
steeler247: if i forget later. gg
FORWARRIORS: your fuucked up
steeler247: yep

Now he's raising every flop with around 500 chips and I tell him not to try and play my game and concentrate on his own.
steeler247: don't think you can play my game
FORWARRIORS: its not that hard fuucekjr
FORWARRIORS: your such a joke to poker
steeler247: i agree
steeler247: but what does that say when you lose?
steeler247: lol

Final hand. I get AA and he's still talking noise. He pushes all in for 500 chips so I'm now gonna slow roll him...
steeler247: gg
steeler247: i wait the whole time
steeler247: pausing for effect
Dealer: steeler247 has 15 seconds left to act <--- slow rolling this tool
FORWARRIORS: dont suck out you pussssy
steeler247: no suckouts. i promise
Dealer: FORWARRIORS shows [As Th]
Dealer: steeler247 shows [Ac Ad]
steeler247: :)
steeler247: gg
steeler247: you played well
FORWARRIORS: your so fuuckin lucky
steeler247 (Observer): yep
FORWARRIORS (Observer): im going to fuuck u up
steeler247 (Observer): promise?
FORWARRIORS (Observer): im wsting my time my accounts over 1000
FORWARRIORS (Observer): you low limt puussy. you can never beat me
steeler247 (Observer): i'm playing at another table. and i just did
FORWARRIORS (Observer): if i se you i will fuuck u up
steeler247 (Observer): promises promises

I love internet death threats. I'm really surprised he didn't challenge me to a $1000 Heads Up match.

-247

Saturday Night Fever

The first Saturday night game at the farmers and I was pretty excited about it. This format was exactly what I was looking for - 100 BBs to start. Although the blinds double, I was fairly confident that I would do well. Prior to the start I had a good feeling I would be at the final table. These type of tournaments are right up my alley and favor better players.

The turnout was nice for a Saturday night. There were 3 tables and a total of 31 players. The buyin for the tournament was $200+20 + $20 for a bounty chip. The bounty was a chip that you collected from someone as you busted them out. I wasn't expecting the extra $40 but no worries. So we start the tourney and I had a few nice pots and one small suckout against me and by the first break I still had around 5000 chips. Early in the tournament I get a call from Donnie (knighty81). He asked what I was doing and I told him that I was playing the farmer tournament and it made him laugh that he caught me playing with Farmers. It was pretty funny. I told him I'd call him back later and he wished me good luck. He's a good guy.

As we went to break I saw that WildBill showed up. He told me he came to check on his money. Funny. Anyway, Bill was a little sauced and started giving me advice on how to play the game...

"I don't care how much they bet, you gotta see a flop" - WildBill

Thanks Bill. I got it from here. After the break, Bill decides to sit next to me and wants to see my hole cards. So I oblige him for awhile and he's getting pissed when I start folding J7s etc... It was actually funny and everyone at the table knew that he had staked me for this tourney.

Funny hand...

I was dealt A5s on the button. Blinds were at 400/800 and everyone folded to me. I raised to 2000 and the BB had 2500 left in chips but just calls. Bill wants to see my cards so I show him...flop comes down A59 and Bill kicks the shit out of me under the table in excitement. I just started laughing and everyone noticed it and started laughing...the other guy goes all in and I call. He had A2 and I busted him and take his bounty. After this hand I told Bill to go play some cash games and he left and told me good luck. He's a nice guy but I was glad to be rid of him.

The Payout:

1st - $2300
2nd - $1700
3rd - $1100
4th - $680
5th - $420
6th - thanks for playing

So I start building some chips and get a few big hands - AA & KK. We finally get down to 10 players and one table. I was around 7th or so in chips and the very first hand I was dealt 99 from middle position. Blinds were 500/1000 and I had 8000 chips. Most of the table was pretty short stacked in relation to the blinds. Now the guy to my right, who was the table chip leader with around 25k in chips makes it 5000 to play. This was gonna commit me to this hand if I play it... I thought for awhile and folded and he had the low stack guy in the BB call. Chip leader had AKs and the BB had KTo and the flop came down AAK! I'm glad I folded. Now there were 9 players left. I jokingly asked for a 9 way split but no takers. I needed chips fast! Blinds now at 1000/2000 and I still have 8k in chips. I get dealt KQs UTG+2 and bet 4000. I only have 4k in chips left and someone asks me why I didn't push all in. Another guy says it was because I had a huge hand and wanted a caller so everyone folds including a guy with with pocket 8s. Phew!

Now I let an orbit or two go by and I pick up the blinds again. We now get down to 6 players and I was 5th in chips. Blinds at 2000/4000 and I have 12k in chips. UTG I pick up the 2 red Aces and push all in. I really wanted a caller and the BB obliged with KK. I doubled up and was feeling good. Now the table was still sitting six players and someone mentioned that we take $100 off of 1st and 2nd and pay the 6th place finisher. We all agreed. I was glad everyone agreed to this and you could tell everyone felt better. These farmers are some of the nicest people I've met. We get down to 5 players and I'm 4th in chips. One guy was extremely short stacked but wasn't going to play a hand. With blinds now at 4000/8000 he had 6200 and was in the BB. I was dealt AQs UTG and just called. The SB also completes the bet. The flop comes down Q77 and I check and the BB checked as well. The turn was 3 of hearts and I checked and the SB bets 8000. Damn. Now I was wondering if he had a 7 but I call anyway. The river was a blank and I check and stare menacingly at the SB and he checks too. I show AQ and the SB also has AQ. The BB guy didn't even look at his hand and turns them up and he has KK! WTF!!!

So he triples up and I am now in the BB paying 8000 chips. I am now the low stack guy with around 18k in chips. Everyone folds to me and I pick up the blinds. Sweet. I let one orbit come up and UTG i pick up A8s. I push my last 18k in chips and get 2 callers. Flop comes KQ7 and I knew i was done. I didn't improve and bust in 5th place. I was actually pleased with the way I played. Anytime you leave with more than you came with is always good. I divy up the $420 and give WildBill his cut and I leave with $210. Nice.

-247

Looking for something to read?

I saw on CNN that a huge mudslide in the Philippines possibly killed as many as one thousand people. These people have little forewarning systems in place and basically this mudslide totally engulfed their town and killed them in their sleeps. It reminded me of a short story I once read entitled And of Clay Are We Created by Isabel Allende. Allende is a Hispanic author not commonly known in most circles but her stories are told with extreme detail and emotion and I found this particular short story fitting.

If you have a chance please read it.


Isabel Allende

Brutha's Report

Standard cast of clowns for the Brother's game. For the night things were moving along very badly for me. It didn't take me long to get stuck $100. I was miserable - having hands cracked and then playing weak hands to try and get back in it. Not a good strategy.

"If i don't play a weak ace then who will?" -
Hrbek

Hrbek didn't say that. But i'm sure he's thought it several times. I kid.

As the night progressed I found myself down $160 and to make things even worse - Wild Bill was calling it a night. So the game went from 8 players to 4. Myelf and both brothers and one kid who isn't very good. The kid was pretty nervous about playing short handed. He had a sizeable stack and was scared of losing it. He has never been a profitable player and the thought of playing against stronger players was weighing on him. First hand of the short handed session I flopped a straight against the kid and took a good chunk of chips from him. He counted down and cashed out right then. Too bad for me.

Since I was still down around $120 I wanted to keep playing but I could tell both brothers weren't exactly too keen on the idea. They were up a little and didn't like short handed play but I goaded them into playing. They would soon regret it.

There were really 3 huge hands of note.

First Hand

I was dealt 99 on the button. I raise to $4 and Little brother folds. Now Brian (big brother) reraises me to $8 and I think long and hard on this and decide to just call. I actually had no clue what he had. I was thinking a big Ace or some pocket pair. The flop came A72. He checks to me and now i'm wondering why he did that. I decided to check my hand. The turn was a 8. Again he checks to me and now I'm thinking he doesn't have an ace. I put him on a pocket pair but I was wondering if my 9s were good. I bet $6 and he raises me $20 straight. I had $38 left and now I'm in a pickle. I start replaying the hand over and over - all the while watching Brian. I started to pick up that he was worried about this bet and that he was bluffing. I finally decided that my 9s were good and pushed all in. When he didn't immediately call I knew I had him. He looks at me and reluctantly makes the call and shows 55 and I double up. He was actually a little miffed that I would push like this. He thought my play was lucky but the storyline just wasn't adding up and I decided to trust my reads. I really feel I'm getting better at reading people and this made me feel great and I could feel the momentum shifting in my favor. I now had $120 and was only down $40 on the night. Brian had around $80 left and John had around $100.

2nd Hand.

In the SB I was dealt my first and only pair of AA for the night. Brian was on the button and folded so I decided to just slow play the AA and just call the BB. John decides to raise me to $3. I look at him and reraise to $13. He immediately pushes all in and I call quickly. He shows JJ and I knock him out. He was pissed. I'm the luckiest bastid according to these guys. He even questioned why I would only call from the SB with AA. He told me it was a dumb move. Perhaps he's right.

I admit that I got lucky on this hand but most of the time I put myself in position to allow luck to favor me. I now have $220 and I have my first profit of the day.

3rd and Final Hand.

Brian and I go heads up for nearly 1 hr and a few times I get him severely short stacked but I couldn't finish him off. I had around $180 chips and he had $120 when this final hand came up.

I was dealt AT spades and raised the hand to $4. Brian reraises me to $8. I call. The flop comes down QT3 with one spade. Brian bets $7 and I call with middle pair. The turn brings a blank but another spade. Now I have a spade draw and and 2nd pair. Brian bets $10 to me and I figure it was possible I was playing against AA, KK, AQ or KQ and maybe even JJ. I didn't think he had a set of Qs since he bet the flop. He typically plays his sets slowly. So now I have to think about this call. The pot is laying around $40 so I'm getting 4:1 on my call and with as many as 14 outs it was a very close decision. (14 outs = 9 spades, 3 aces, 2 Tens). I decided to call. The river card came the 4 of spades and I ran out the flush. Brian, oblivious to the flush, bets $15 and I reraise all in and he calls immediately. He shows KK and I take every chip left at the table. He was incensed. Not at my play but at the way his luck was running. I'm sure he was a little peeved at my call on the turn too. Oh well.

He doesn't have all the money to pay me and has to go write a check. He comes back to tell me that this game my be over. His wife was pretty upset and she doesn't like him losing this much every week. Funny thing... both brother's won tons last week in my abscence and yet neither attribute it to me being gone. Tools.

For the night I ended up +125. I feel really good about this.

SIDE NOTE:

Tonight is the first Saturday Night Farmer's Tourney. They decided to have a $200 buyin, No rebuy tourney. Blinds are still the same - 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 200/400, 500/1000 etc... but now we start with 5000 in chips. I was thinking about possibly not playing, but last night Wild Bill asked if he could pay my buyin and split the winnings. I said yes of course. This is the first time I've ever been staked at a tourney and makes me feel like I'm a seasoned pro. I hope to post the results tomorrow.

busy times

I've been very busy the last couple days and thus my posting has suffered. I'll update soon.

My table image

I didn't make anyone's "Person's I think kick ass at poker" lists on the forum. So my table image is now very loose.

Dealer: You have been dealt [Qh Qd] I've had AA and KK cracked at this table
Dealer: AmSlim22 calls $0.25 He limps. He beat me with 92s earlier all in preflop against my AA.
Dealer: allout2324 folds
Dealer: COLOREDUP checks
Dealer: TomFornelli calls $0.25
Dealer: steeler247 raises to $1.75 I only wanted one caller.
Dealer: atreyuisonfire folds
Dealer: dimmy folds
Dealer: Dekker11 folds
Dealer: AmSlim22 calls $1.50 Now i think he has a small pocket pair
Dealer: COLOREDUP folds
Dealer: TomFornelli calls $1.50 Thinking the same with Tom.
Dealer: The flop is [5s Jh 9c]
Dealer: AmSlim22 checks
Dealer: TomFornelli bets $3
Dealer: steeler247 calls $3 don't know why I only called this. Normally this is a raising position.
Dealer: AmSlim22 calls $3
Dealer: The turn is [8h]
Dealer: AmSlim22 checks
Dealer: TomFornelli checks
Dealer: steeler247 bets $9 Now i bet hard to push the heart draw out.
Dealer: AmSlim22 calls $9 I was thinking he had a set. I thought this was an odd call and figured i was either looking at set or A5 of hearts.
Dealer: TomFornelli folds
Dealer: The river is [Th] Flush makes. But I also hit the straight.
Dealer: AmSlim22 bets $17 Big bet. This bet confused me. I still felt that I had the best hand.
Dealer: steeler247 raises to $39.60, and is all in I felt he would have had to have A5h to beat me. It was the only hand I could put him on that beat me. The other hand was QT and that is a chop.
Dealer: AmSlim22 has 15 seconds left to act
Dealer: AmSlim22 calls $13.75, and is all in
Dealer: Uncalled bet of $8.85 returned to steeler247
Dealer: steeler247 shows a straight, Queen high
Dealer: AmSlim22 mucks He mucks his hand. He had 93o.
Dealer: steeler247 wins the pot ($91.35) with a straight, Queen
high

Am is a solid player but he slightly misplayed this hand. I thank him.

-247

Meet Jenny Potter

Since Hrbek wouldn't...

Team USA Women's Hockey

Position: Forward

Height: 5'-4" Weight: 145

Jenny notes that during the offseason she likes lumberjacking, playing WNBA and is an avid UFC participant*

Go Team USA!

* i'm teasing. she really hates UFC.

The Dick

Dick Cheney shot a guy while hunting quail in Texas this weekend. Personally I love to bird hunt. I have a nice Remington 20 ga and I've been dove hunting for several years. I'm not one of those uber-liberals who wants to ban all guns - just the assault rifles. But being a Texan I believe people should be able to hunt any game they decide. I just hope they eat what they kill.

With that... bon appetite Dick. I'm thinking that old guy will be real tough meat.

nh Dick. gg Old Republican Lawyer.

-steeler247

AC trip cont...

Not gonna get into all the details since most of you have already read the forum. Few things that stood out...

• knighty, rawl and atreyu do not know how to change a flat tire. They would never make it in Texas. Either that or I'm really gullible.
• slyselea will not see a flop in a live game with KK if he has tons of chips.
• atreyu is a very giving person. not just with his chips but with his compassion. He bought a grouchy bum a cup of coffee.
• Nor'easter's suck.
• I can survive playing 15hrs of poker a day with little or no sleep.
• Jason aka thehugeguy (his words not mine) is a freaking poker maniac and I dig this guy. Wish I would have had more time to get to know him. Nothing kinky just a little spooning.
• atreyu sucks at pool and air hockey.
• atreyu can eat 4 double cheeseburgers at one sitting

"when I saw the documentary Supersize
Me it made me hungry for McDonalds" - atreyu

-247

Atlantic City Trip - Friday

EDITED FOR DEEMON

My flight was leaving Houston Hobby at 8am. Since the airport is 115 miles from Edna it was a very early morning for me. I had been looking forward to this trip for some time and the weekend couldn't come soon enough. Rob (rawl316) picked me up at the airport and we were on our way. For the record Rob is a great guy for picking me up. It was out of the way for him yet he still took the time to pick me up and make the 70 mile journey eastward.

Rob and I get into AC around 2pm and I called John (slyselea) to tell him we are all meeting at the Borgata - we were going to hook up with Shawn and play some cards. Shawn was playing 2/5 NL but I did not want to get stuck for that much cache so early. So without checking into the hotel Rawl and I start playing $1/2 NLHE. Around the 4th hand I got dealt JJ in middle position. Rawl was UTG (i think) and limped so I made it $15 to play and get one guy behind me to call. Play moves to Rawl and he reraises to like $60. Now I'm confused and have to think about it for a few minutes. Figuring I must be beat I begrudgingly mucked my hand. The other preflop caller decides to call with 99. The flop comes all rags and rawl continues his betting with $100 or so and wins the pot. He showed AA. It was a good laydown on my part but it was indicative of how my Borgata session would play out. During this session I was dealt pocket 4s or 5s several times but never once hit a set and I was stuck not knowing how to play them - whether it be a raise or limp. I tried aggression early but the cards and the table wouldn't cooperate and the big hands I did get (QQ/ JJ) would meet A or K high flops with aggressive bettors in front of me. Rawl saidI was playing "weak/tight". I would have to agree in some ways but the cards just weren't coming. After losing $300 I was done with the Borgata. The casino and poker room were both very nice. Donnie (knighty81) and Adam (atreyuisonfire) showed up around an hour after we started our session and played the Limit games. Jason (thehugeguy) sent me a few PMs that he would be in around 9pm or so that evening...

L to R: rawl316, knighty81, atreyuisonfire, steeler247 & thehugeguy

I'm cool...i think.

According to the latest Billboard Magazine's Top Pop Albums, this guy right here has the #1 Album in the U.S.

Grandma's and geeks all over the world are united in song! After all, he writes the songs that make the whole world sing.

I'm now proud to say that I have 3 Barry Manilow songs on my iPod.

Keep your comments to yourself Dee. :)

-s247

OJ Did it.

There are 3 big events in my life that I remember exactly where I was when i heard the news of the event: Challenger explosion, OJ verdict and 9/11/01.

In 1986, I was a freshman in HS. I remember it being around 11am in the morning and the principal came over the intercom to tell us that the space shuttle had exploded. He also commented that they had spotted parachutes and that it is believed that all astronauts survived. When the bell rang we ran to the cafeteria and saw the replay of the explosion and we all knew then that there was no way in hell anyone survived. I even remember some of the students crying when they saw the news. It was almost as if watching a scene from Hollywood.

In 1995 I was sitting in the Student Union building at SHSU. I was having lunch with my very good friend Natalie when we saw tons of students running to the TV. We just sat there and knew the verdict must be coming shortly. All of a sudden we heard a huge crowd of people clapping and cheering and I knew that OJ got off. It made me feel sick to my stomach that someone so obviously guilty was found innocent. One black student commented that whites had been killing blacks for years and getting off and it was their due. MLK rolled over in his grave. I have no doubt he didn't intend for his Civil Rights Movement to go this way. Eff OJ.

On 9-11-01 I got to the office early and always look up CNN.com. I remember seeing one of their red bannered headlines saying "Plane hits World Trade Center" and initially thought that a small plane must have hit the building. Then one of the office ladies came in and said she heard a plane hit and I told her I just read that on CNN and that it had to be a small plane. I used the CNN streaming audio and started hearing the story break and the entire office ran into the breakroom to watch on TV. The president of the company actually closed down the office that morning but no one left because we didn't want to miss anything. I have never felt more sad and at the same time, more patriotic at that moment.

-247

Farm Report

With 40+ players at the tournament, this was shaping up to be a nice payday. I have been running real well lately and I figured to play tight and get aggressive with my big hands. Pretty standard. We start with 1000 chips and the blind structure is fast: 25/50; 50/100; 100/200 & 200/400. At the end of the 200/400 there is a break and the final add-on period. At the break they announce 6 paid spots with first place getting $2700 and second $1975. Not too bad.

I actually had a nice seat. There was a young kid who sat to my right who played every hand, bar none. He told me earlier that he had a live game in a nearby town and that he was killing the game. I gave him the benefit of the doubt but his play told me he was a fish. First hand of the tournament I got JJ UTG+2. I raise to 175 and get two callers including the guy to my right. Flop came AA7 and kid makes a 50 chip bet. I push all in and the other guy folds. Kid shows me K3s and folds. So I pick up the first pot and we are on our way. I play maybe 5-6 other hands before the break and had AA 2x and both times the kid paid me off. He's in the tournament for $300 now and the penultimate hand before the break I was dealt KTo in the BB. With blinds at 200/400 I was hoping to see a flop for free. One guy calls the BB and everyone folds to the kid to my right who just calls and I check. The flop came AQJ and i flop the nuts. Kid checks his hand to me and I bet 1200. Other guy folds and kid as loud as he could looks at me and says "i'm all in" and he pushes his last 2800 chips. No brainer. I call. He had AQs for 2 pair and told me I got lucky. Well no shit I got lucky. He gets up from the table and goes to talk to his friends and the dealer deals again and everyone folds to the BB and now its break. Kid comes back and wants to buy in again but they tell him too bad cause he let a hand go by and he's now officially out. Funny thing, one of the farmers tells him its a good thing that he save his money cause he had no chance of winning. So I'm only in the tournament for $50 and I have 6000 chips. There is a $50 add-on that will get you an additional 2000 chips so i get the 2k so that I can make a run. With blinds at 400/800 after the break I needed to make a run quickly.

About 8 hands into the next session I was dealt AKs hearts. I raise to 2400 chips and get one caller in the BB. The flop comes up K73 with two clubs and she checks to me. I push my last 5600 in the pot and she calls immediately. She has A6s of clubs. Turn was a 7h and river was 4c to knock me out. She was actually the 2 time defending champ in this tourney. I see how she did it now. So i'm out of the tourney and I'm waiting for others to bust so we can start the ring game.

About 30 minutes later the game starts and I buy in for $100. I was making a nice run when I lost a big pot and was down to around $80 in chips. By now, WildBill sat down and the action picked up. There is also another guy named John who will play every hand no matter what. At one time he was up $500 but lost it all by the end of the night. The table was raising preflop big and tons of people were calling with anything. Then the hand I dodged 20+ outs came up. I was dealt 99 in LP. The UTG player raised to $20 and 2 callers before it got to me. These guys would play anything and i really didn't wanna see a flop with this many people and I still had some fold equity with my chip stack so I pushed all in and made it $80 to go. WildBill was to my left and immediately called. John immediately called. UTG called and UTG+1 called. Great. There was $400+ in the pot now and I had 5 callers. Flop comes up up QT3 with 2 hearts. With 2 overs I knew I was beat but the table checks all around. The turn was a 7 spades and now there is two flush draws on the board and two over cards and again everyone checks around. The river card was another 7 and again everyone checks. I didn't wanna turn over my cards since I knew i was beat but WildBill says he missed his OESD and flush draw (KJh). John had A6s spades and missed his flush draw and over card. Another guy had 98s and missed his Jack for the straight and the last guy had A3 and missed an Ace and another 3. I was in shock! I turned over my 9s and couldnt' believe that it held up. For the record I dodged 25 outs on the river: 8 spades; 9 hearts; 1-A, 2-K, 2-J, 2-6 and 1-3 . With only 35 cards left there were only 10 cards that could help me. Amazing. It was a $400+ pot.

-247

Weekend happenings...

Had Thomas this whole weekend. He's a good kid and his best buddy Sebastian lives next door. So Saturday night, Thomas and I bought a big pizza and then we had Bomb Pops. Those red/white/blue popsicles kick butt. So Thomas and I are playing video games and he says he needs to go peepee so he goes in the bathrooom and he flushed the toilet. But not before he throws his popsicle stick down the toilet as well. Well, needless to say a damn popsicle stick can make a toilet stopped up. I tried for about 30mins to get it unclogged but to no avail. So the next morning I called my Dad over and he brought over some plumbing tools. I go outside to meet him and to help him get the tools out. When we get back inside, Thomas has assumed his position on the throne. NOOOOOOO!!!!! Damn kid.

Well anyway my Dad brings a closet auger with him. An auger is a long tube with a hook on the end that can grab whatever is in there and you can pull it out. Well, the auger let me feel what was in there but it wasn't coming out. I decided i would just break the stick with the auger and then we started plunging and it finally worked.

Thomas wasn't impressed.



Tonight is the Farmer's Tourney. The buy-in is $50 and there are unlimited rebuys for the first hour. Then an additional add-on at the break. They have also added a $20 headhunter bounty where each player is given a chip and if you are busted you have to give up your chip. If you are busted out then you only have to give up your chip and any extra you are allowed to cash out. So not a bad deal. I'll play $120 worth in the tourney and if i lose this i'll try and win it back at the side games.

Home Depot

Got a call today from my friend Tommy who runs the Farmer's Game. Seems like they want me to build them another poker table for their ever expanding poker game. Nice. Keeps me busy. So I get Thomas in the truck and we head to Home Depot in Victoria (25 miles). When I get there I ask one of the guys working in lumber where I can find the folding picnic table legs. I've made several of these poker tables and each time i've gotten the materials at this location. He gets this glassy-eyed look and tells me to look in Hardware and only points the way. A bit miffed, I head over to Hardware to search for these legs and couldn't find em. So I find the guy again and ask him if he could help me. So we look around and finally he says "oh yeah, there in Flooring" and points the way. Not so fast buddy, you're going with me. So now i'm walking with this guy and i'm thinking to myself 'why in the hell would they be in Flooring?'. We get to Flooring and the original guy says "ok, what is it you're looking for again?" I look at the Flooring guy, who is just some 21 yr old kid who is sitting around talking with other 21 yr old kids who work there. And so the following conversation goes down:

247: I'm looking for folding picnic table legs.
kid: why?
247: huh. (this caught me way off guard and now i'm getting pissed)
247: cause i wanna build a space shuttle. why else would i want picnic table legs.
kid: sorry, i was just fooling around.
247: well, i'm not. (now i'm pissed)
kid: we don't have picnic table legs.
247: i bought them 4 separate times last year.
kid: from this Home Depot?
247: no, from the one across the street.
kid: and you don't remember where in the store you got them?

I walked away at this point. Went to another area and found the box of legs I was looking for. So I take the box and walk back to Flooring and the kids are still sitting around. One of em points out that I'm coming back and the kid turns around...

247: See these? These are called picnic table legs. Can you say it with me?
kid: Sorry sir. I didn't know we carried them.
247: When you don't know something ask someone. Its your job to know where these are not mine.
kid: sorry.
247: Can I talk to you for a second. (now i take him by himself)
kid: yessir.
247: If you ever try and talk shit to me again in front of those guys I will forget where I am and beat your ass. Do you understand me?
kid: yes
247: Yes sir. I'm older than you.
kid: yes sir.

So now i'm still pissed and I ask him to call the manager over. He calls the Flooring manager but I want the damn Director of the store. The guy shows up right away and I tell him the whole thing. He asks the kid if this was the truth and the kid answers that it was. The manager then tells him to go clock out and go home. Now I tell the manager I didn't want that to happen and he says that he had no business talking to someone like that and apologizes to me again. I think about it for a second or so and agree.

Eff that kid. Don't mess with old people who wanna spend money. They're the ones putting spinner hubcaps on your truck and buying your Milwaukee's Best.

Where the eff did customer service go????

EDIT:
Virge told me that i went over the top by telling the guy i was gonna beat his ass. Telling him i'm gonna do it is different than actually doing it. I'm a 5'7 mexican guy and he was like a 6' country boy. So the odds were pry in my favor.

You're right, it was over the top. But i meant it.

-247

Friday Night Report

Another Friday and another Brother's game. When I showed up at 6pm they were already in full swing. This was the biggest game we have had to date. Not in $$ but in people. We had 8 players. Before I left for this game, I talked to Will (willw9) and told him there is no reason I shouldn't pwn these guys weekly. Last week I broke my consecutive win streak by trying to play damn near every hand with horrid results. Last night I took the ole iPod and decided to play super tight and aggressive with hands. Brian (brother #1) decided he was tired of losing $100 every week and now has made the initial buyin $25 with the other $5 going to the house. No worries. The juice made me more determined. No real big hands I remember. I won the pots that I was supposed to and played very aggressively in the hold em rounds.

"How come whenever we get heads up you always beat me?" - Wild Bill

This was a funny comment from Bill and my only answer was silence. He wouldn't understand. For the night I cashed out $135 for a $110 profit. We actually broke up the game around 10pm. We had 4 guys leaving early and the remaining players did not want to play 4 handed. I told them that if we continued to play I would have every chip at the table. I was somewhat joking and somewhat dead ass serious.

I bought some new headphones for my iPod on Thursday. I spoke with my brother, Lee, who is a very big electronics guru. I guess that comes from working for Siemen's Corporation. Anywho he told me that I should get the Bose Tri-ports. These bad boys are awesome but they cost $150. I didn't wanna really go down that route and I kinda wanted the smaller earbuds so he suggested another product by Shure. I bought the Shure earbuds for $99 and they are the most complicated pieces of equipment I've ever purchased. They come with multiple ear insert sizes but none of the pieces fit comfortably and I hate them. So i'm taking the Shure's back to Best Buy all earwaxed up. Funny.

Talked to willw9 yesterday and he also has the Bose Tri-ports and said they are the best headphones he has ever used. I told him that I would buy some if I won money in the Brother's game. Guess I'm getting those today.

I've been visiting Monster.com lately. I actually got my last job on this site and I like it. In my previous job, I was the contact for all new clients and it was my job to sell our company to prospective clients across the US. Each contract was in the neighborhood of $1,000,000 - $8,000,000 and I like to think I was very good at this. My title was Development Coordinator and thats exactly what i did - Develop properties all over the US. Most of these new clients would show up with just a survey of the property and it was my responsibility to layout buildings following all the Building Codes for each different municipalities. I'm no architect but the projects I designed were very good looking and two of them won National Awards for Construction. Some properties are easier than others. If there were issues with zoning, I would schedule meetings with zoning commissioners and sometimes City Council members. I would research if properties were in flood zones or historical districts and if so I would have to meet with the correct people to get this project moving. Some of the funniest moments were building in San Antonio in Historical Districts. With all the spanish missions in San Antonio, you can't seem to build anything without causing some stink with some neighborhood preservation club. Nothing worse than getting told off by some 80yr old woman - on the record. I never had a project not go through and this made me proud. I have a knack for making people comfortable and feel at ease in any conversational setting be it Farmers or Financiers. I'm thinking I may want to go back in some type of selling only cause the $$ is so good. I have a friend who has mentioned pharmaceutical sales and I know a few people who do this now. This may be an option.

EDIT:

Here's a sketch of the last project I worked on for Artistic Builders. This project is now under construction in San Antonio and It's kinda depressing not being able to be a part of this project to the end. The owner, Mark Skeans, was one of the friendliest guys and best client we had. We got along wonderfully and I consider him a friend. When I told him I was leaving he was sincerely sorry for me leaving and then offered his entire portfolio of knowledge in development to me and for this I'm grateful. This project is a 90,000 sf self storage facility with 32 mini offices. Its a very nice design (imho) and should garner some National Awards in its field.

-247

Poker Tourney win

Played in the Scabbed Llama tourney tonight and it lasted almost 2 hrs. In the end it was Bkrbabe, khanwoman and myself.

Here's the hand that won it for me. The tournament was over 2 hands later.

Full Tilt Poker Game #415762527: Scabbed Llama (2607657), Table 1 - 250/500 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:40:19 ET - 2006/02/01
Seat 7: khanwoman (7,052)
Seat 8: steeler247 (18,448) I have a commanding lead. We've been heads up for about 20 hands or so
khanwoman antes 50
steeler247 antes 50
steeler247 posts the small blind of 250
khanwoman posts the big blind of 500
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to steeler247 [6s 7h]
steeler247 calls 250
khanwoman checks
*** FLOP *** [6d 4s 9h]
khanwoman bets 1,000
steeler247 calls 1,000 I have bottom pair. Not too strong but not bad either heads up.
*** TURN ***
[6d 4s 9h] [5c]
khanwoman bets 1,500 Now i think she has top pair with weak kicker.
steeler247 calls 1,500 I call with the intent to push on river. maybe i can get her to fold. this smooth calling of mine has to freak her out.
*** RIVER ***
[6d 4s 9h 5c] [Kc]
khanwoman bets 2,000 I didn't wanna see this bet, but she only had 4000 chips and this looked awfully suscipicious. why not go all in?
steeler247 raises to 15,398, and is all in Felt i could get her to fold now.
khanwoman has 15 seconds left to act
khanwoman folds
Uncalled bet of 13,398 returned to steeler247
steeler247 mucks
steeler247 wins the pot (10,100)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 10,100

-steeler247

Three funny video's

These are funny for different reasons. You may have seen these before but another quick peek can't hurt*.

This badger song is addicting and was given to me by my friend rjs...

http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/

Here's the 2 chinese students singing Backstreet Boys. Funniest part is their roommate in the background who never turns around.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6739710473912337648&q=chinese&p

This last one was given to me from my friend topanga... God have mercy on her soul.

http://www.ritilan.com/archives/images/2004/10/29/llamasong.swf

* yes it can

Disturbing photo on the streets of California. Say no to crack.

-steeler247

Funny thing...

This morning Thomas coughed and at the same time he farted. Seems he has very little sphincter control. We laughed. He was embarrased. Then he was proud.

Here's a photo of me and Thomas during picture day for last seasons YMCA baseball. He's a good guy. Not to interested in baseball as chasing bugs, but thats just how Bill Doran started out. I hope.