The Bodog Blogger Tournament series that has as its grand prize a WSOP Main Event package will hold its final qualifying tourney next Tuesday, June 3, at 9:05 PM ET. At the moment I am in 14th place on the leaderboard, and only the top 18 finishers will qualify for the Tournament of Champions to be held Tuesday June 10. Anyone who has earned even a few points in the series so far could conceivably jump into the top 18 with a win or high finish next week. I hope we have a big turnout and an exciting conclusion to the qualifying series.
I played in last night's game in hopes of earning some points to cement my place in the TOC. I had to join late because of an important meeting at my son's school, and by the time I took my seat I had already lost 200 of my 3,000 starting chips to the blinds. Still, 2,800 is plenty to work with and I felt comfortable coming in with that amount.
Unfortunately, the cards didn't cooperate and I dumped off a fair amount of chips within a few orbits of starting out. The few playable hands that I got, I ended up folding most of the time to raises or bets when I missed the flop. The blinds kept gnawing at my stack, and I busted in 18th place when my TT ran into BuddyDank's QQ. Now I have one remaining shot next week at making sure I move on to the TOC.
As far as I know, the Tuesday night Bodog blogger game will continue after the WSOP series is over. This series seems to have been a success, so it won't surprise me if Bodog puts up some more incentives in the future to make it even more worth our while to play every week. Of course, the Tuesday night game is only one of a truckload of tourneys and cash games that Bodog offers every day. Many of the tourneys, especially the guarantees, have fabulous overlays. I have been concentrating most of my Bodog time on the Tuesday game, but I plan to branch out and play more of the other tourneys. There is a lot of soft play out there and I intend to take advantage of it.
Before I finish this post, I must once again give props to Smokkee for selling the Bodog folks on hosting the Tuesday blogger tourney. Thanks to him, we have had these great games and fantastic prizes to shoot for, and even some Bodog pros sitting in with us, and he deserves many kudos for his efforts. Thanks, man.
See you next week for the final chapter in the Bodog Blogger qualifying series, and hopefully the following week in the TOC!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
A Matter of Trust
CJ over at Up for Poker asks a pertinent question: Given the scandal at Absolute Poker and other shady activities at various poker sites, why do you play where you play, and are you worried about cheating?
In answer to the first question, I currently play at three sites: PokerStars, FullTilt, and Bodog. In the past I have also played at Party Poker and the old Doyle's Room.
I play at PS, FT and Bodog because I happen to have funds on all three sites. If I were to go bust on any of them, there is a good chance that I would stop playing there rather than try to add money, unless the UIGEA goes away and it gets easier to do so. I try to practice good bankroll management and hope that I never do get so low that I can't play anything but freerolls and play money.
Does the reputation of any of these sites influence whether I chose to start playing there, or to continue to play there? So far, that hasn't been a major factor. I never had an account on Absolute Poker so their stupid actions have had no effect on me. I have not heard of anything questionable on the sites I frequent now that has made me think about giving up any of them. I do feel pretty comfortable with the integrity of all three, at least to this point. If I heard of a scandal at one of these sites along the lines of the superuser foolishness at Absolute, I would immediately stop playing there and get ready to withdraw my money if it became clear that the site wasn't taking strong, decisive steps to rectify the problem.
CJ posts a quote from Bill Rini where Bill says that cheating will always happen in poker. I have no doubt of the truth of that statement. What is important to me is how the parties in charge react when it occurs, and what those parties do to try to prevent such problems. As long as PokerStars, FullTilt and Bodog, do their level best to maintain the highest standards of integrity and honesty, I will be happy to give them my business.
In answer to the first question, I currently play at three sites: PokerStars, FullTilt, and Bodog. In the past I have also played at Party Poker and the old Doyle's Room.
I play at PS, FT and Bodog because I happen to have funds on all three sites. If I were to go bust on any of them, there is a good chance that I would stop playing there rather than try to add money, unless the UIGEA goes away and it gets easier to do so. I try to practice good bankroll management and hope that I never do get so low that I can't play anything but freerolls and play money.
Does the reputation of any of these sites influence whether I chose to start playing there, or to continue to play there? So far, that hasn't been a major factor. I never had an account on Absolute Poker so their stupid actions have had no effect on me. I have not heard of anything questionable on the sites I frequent now that has made me think about giving up any of them. I do feel pretty comfortable with the integrity of all three, at least to this point. If I heard of a scandal at one of these sites along the lines of the superuser foolishness at Absolute, I would immediately stop playing there and get ready to withdraw my money if it became clear that the site wasn't taking strong, decisive steps to rectify the problem.
CJ posts a quote from Bill Rini where Bill says that cheating will always happen in poker. I have no doubt of the truth of that statement. What is important to me is how the parties in charge react when it occurs, and what those parties do to try to prevent such problems. As long as PokerStars, FullTilt and Bodog, do their level best to maintain the highest standards of integrity and honesty, I will be happy to give them my business.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Movin' on up, a bit
I made the final table in the Bodonkey last night, and busted in eighth place when 55 < AA. But I earned some much needed leaderboard points, which pushed me to ninth in the standings going into next week. I have been second-guessing my decision to push with 55 and an M of about 5, thinking maybe I should have folded that and hoped for something better. Just my bad luck to run into rockets with Presto.
I can't play in next week's tourney due to family obligations, so I have to hope that those just below me in the standings don't all make the points and pass me up. I should be back for the last two tourneys, although I may be late for the one on May 27.
Not much poker playing for me otherwise. I played in back-to-back $2.25 two-table SNGs recently and didn't cash in either one. I think I will try another FT $3.30 DSTKO tonight while my son does homework.
I can't play in next week's tourney due to family obligations, so I have to hope that those just below me in the standings don't all make the points and pass me up. I should be back for the last two tourneys, although I may be late for the one on May 27.
Not much poker playing for me otherwise. I played in back-to-back $2.25 two-table SNGs recently and didn't cash in either one. I think I will try another FT $3.30 DSTKO tonight while my son does homework.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Good news, bad news
Good news: last week in the Bodonkey, I made a good laydown of two pair on a flushy board.
Bad news: I didn't make the laydown of my KQ when the board came A-K-x and Instant Tragedy went all in, with me only covering him by a few chips. His A beat me and I was short stacked.
Good news: I'm still in the top 18 on the Bodog Blogger Leaderboard.
Bad news: I haven't earned any points in a few weeks and could be in danger of dropping out of TOC contention if I don't pick up some points between now and the end of the series.
Good news: I am a few cents ahead in the micro-stakes cash games that I have played over the past couple of months.
Bad news: I haven't cashed in a SNG or tourney in over a month (except $0.35 that I won in a $1.25 single-table Razz SNG).
Things could be better, could be worse. At least I'm not on a big losing streak. I'm hoping that the Bodonkey tomorrow will go well for me.
Bad news: I didn't make the laydown of my KQ when the board came A-K-x and Instant Tragedy went all in, with me only covering him by a few chips. His A beat me and I was short stacked.
Good news: I'm still in the top 18 on the Bodog Blogger Leaderboard.
Bad news: I haven't earned any points in a few weeks and could be in danger of dropping out of TOC contention if I don't pick up some points between now and the end of the series.
Good news: I am a few cents ahead in the micro-stakes cash games that I have played over the past couple of months.
Bad news: I haven't cashed in a SNG or tourney in over a month (except $0.35 that I won in a $1.25 single-table Razz SNG).
Things could be better, could be worse. At least I'm not on a big losing streak. I'm hoping that the Bodonkey tomorrow will go well for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)