Wednesday, June 25, 2008

WPBT Winter Classic 2008 info and other updates

Quick update....

My wife and I spent last week on a vacation in Scotland, as chaperones with my son's high school band. Everyone had a fantastic time. I did not have an opportunity to play any poker.

I am fully immersed in rehearsals for "Laughing Stock" at the Runway Theatre here in Grapevine. With rehearsals every evening so far this week, I have had no chance yet to play any poker since I got back from Scotland. Maybe I can squeeze in an online game this weekend. Maybe. Rehearsals are going well and I think we are going to have a side-splittingly funny show.

According to a post from The Rooster, the 2008 WPBT Winter Classic gathering will be in Las Vegas the weekend of December 12 - 14. I have no idea yet whether I might be going, but I plan to keep the possibility open.

That's all for now.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Bodonkey TOC results

It's a well known saying, if not cold hard fact, that you have to win a race or two if you want to go deep in a tournament.

In the Bodog Blogger Tournament of Champions last night, I lost two coin flips that, had I won them, could have kept me going longer than I did.

The first was this hand:

Blinds are 50/100. Players and chips:

JD Schellnutt - 1,350
ScottMc - 7,075
cbags - 5,385
JL514 - 1,505
Drizztdj - 1,880 - SB
smokkee - 4,265 - BB
yestbay1 - 5,180
emptyman - 3,275

UTG, I pick up 9h 9d. I raise to 500. It folds to JL514, who shoves his 1,505 in the middle. Drizz and smokkee fold.

I have more than 3 times as many chips as JL514, and since it only costs me 1,005 to call to win the 2,150 in the pot and knock out someone, I call. JL shows Ad Kc. We're off to the races.

Flop: 2s 7d Ac
Turn: Kh
River: 3s

That knocked me down to 3,675, but with an M of over 20, I was still in good shape.

Unfortunately, the cards didn't come my way after that. Just about everything I got was an auto-fold due to crappy cards or bad position. Eventually, with blinds up to 125/250 and my stack reduced to 2,700, I push from UTG+1 with Ac Jh. ScottMc in the SB with 13,515 in chips calls me with 7h 7c. He catches a 7 on the flop, I can't catch runner-runner, and I'm out.

I feel like the great majority of my decisions were good. I may have played tighter/weaker than some people, and probably folded some marginal hands that others would have played. Unless my call of the shorty with 99 was poor, I think I did OK with what I was dealt.

I really enjoyed the Bodog Blogger series and my thanks go once again to $mokkee and Nadia for putting it all together and making it the success that it was. Congratulations to GoldenHammer who won first prize and the $12K WSOP ME package. Complete TOC results are here.

I will be away from the tables for a few weeks, because I am going on vacation next week and then rehearsing a play which will perform in July. I hope to squeeze in a game now and then, but my Tuesday nights are going to be otherwise occupied for the next several weeks. But when my schedule loosens up, I'll be back for more Bodog Blogger tourney fun.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Limping into the Bodonkey TOC

I played in the Bodog Blogger Tourney last night, the final game in the series with the grand prize of a WSOP Main Event package. I was very card dead the whole time I was in; I got KK once with no action, and that was about as good as it got. I misplayed one hand with 77 where I should have folded to Ingoal's bet after I missed the flop. Other than that, my decisions were easy because I barely even got any marginal hands that could have got me in trouble. I busted in 32nd place, well out of the points which I hoped to earn to make sure I stayed in the top 18. Incredibly, even with everybody gunning for him due to the T$270 bounty on his head, $mokkee finished first last night. GG, sir.

Fortunately, only a couple of people behind me in the standings picked up enough points to jump over me on the leaderboard. I got bumped from 14th to 16th in the rankings, but that is still good enough to move on to the Tournament of Champions next Tuesday night. The list of finalists is here. I congratulate everyone who made it to the grand finale, and I wish them all good luck, but not as good as mine. The competition will be tough, and the person who wins the WSOP package will certainly need to earn it. I'd love to take it all down, and a 1 in 18 chance is better odds than I may ever see again. I'll be studying and practicing as much as I have time for between now and Tuesday to maximize this opportunity.

I know that the Bodog interface is flaky sometimes, but I must say that I have enjoyed playing in this series. The players have generally been friendly and not quite as prone (although not immune) to the trash-talking and whining that has plagued some of the other blogger tourneys. The overlays have been enormous, which has been a great incentive to play in these games. After the TOC, I will be taking a forced break from the Tuesday night game for a few weeks due to other commitments. But I plan to use the T$ and cash that I have won to play in other tourneys and ring games on Bodog and see if I can build my bankroll there.

I am also entered in the BBT3 banner freeroll on Sunday, so I have that shot at a $2K WSOP prize. That tourney will be a mine field of craziness, so I will just hope to get lucky in that one.

Last note: I will be driving up to Tulsa, OK this weekend to geek out at the Trek Expo convention. While I am up there, I plan to play my first live poker since the WPBT Winter Classic, at the Cherokee Casino. I hear they have a very nice poker room; I'll try to remember to post a report about it when I get back.