Fanatsy Sports Live and My Tourney Challenge

I’m gonna play MTTs only for a while. I’ll stick with the $5 tourneys or lower until I make a nice score and then I will increase the stakes. I’m using $150 as a base line and will track my finishes, ROI, ITM and so on and see how it goes. The idea is to stay with tourneys that have between 200 and 700 players so I basically have nl tourneys to deal with. I may throw a few 90 peep sngs into the mix but I’ll stay away from the razz and horse tourneys unless there is a field of at least 150 in those. I’ve seen a couple of horse tourneys that big but not many. Anyway, I’m hoping to get back to the form I had earlier in the year when I was hitting final tables at semi regular intervals.



I’m still keeping my head above water play FSL. I don’t have much money on there so my bankroll there is fluctuating like crazy. I did have a good night last night by winning a heads-up event and another event while bombing out in a third. Give this thing a try and if you use the bonus code ”pokere” you get a nice little free bonus with your deposit. Up to $30 free depending on the amount you put in. You can play with that free money and then pull out your deposit so in reality you can win money without risking any of your own. How can you pass it up. Free fantasy sports that can win you money. Hell, some of the events pay half the field so you don’t even have to be that good to win a little money. I’ve been playing 2 or 3 events, everyday for about a month and I’m playing on house money. You can do it too. Just click on the link and you are on your way to a big score playing at Fantasy Sports Live.

I'm So on Tilt it Sucks

I’ve had two mantras that have influenced my work/home life. Do not live for my house and do not live for my job. I will do the necessary things around the house like mowing the lawn and any mechanical thing that I am able to do but I don’t want every last dollar to go into the house payment. I’ve known many people who have this wonderful house that they can’t put furniture in because they are flat broke. I also don’t want a job that runs my life and causes me to work on the weekends or put in 70 hours work weeks. I enjoy the time I have with my family and together we have to much going on for me to take on a job that requires much more than 45 hours of my time.

At 2:30 PM ON Friday I got a call from one of our customers. Actually, this was a huge customer and was the main reason I was hired. So their purchasing manager asks me a few questions about the product he is looking for and I tell him the truth…I know we made some stuff for him but I don’t know what we made. My job is to make sure it passes all specs, but I’m not the scheduler. I transferred him to his customer service person and went to find out if we made the product he was looking for. I found the supervisor and he says we made zero.

Now this isn’t the answer I was hoping for and I knew he was ready to chew my ass even though it isn’t truly my responsibility. So I hurried to the customer service area and the agent said he wanted to talk to me. I told her to forward the call to the production manager and headed to his office.

A week before we had a conference call with this customer and agreed to have 25 parts made by the last Friday. Apparently, the production manager didn’t know this because he was surprised when I brought it up just before his phone rang. I don’t understand why because customer service should have relayed the information to him. Anyway, when we got on the phone he had no response for the customer. Thinking fast I responded that we’ll get the product to him on Monday morning so that we don’t shut them down. Our customer was very upset but they needed product and the production manager didn’t want to make a commitment.

Together the production manager and I devise a plan that involved mandatory maintenance done on Saturday followed by an early work day on Sunday. I hate to work weekends but it was absolutely necessary with the extreme screw up so I was ready to do my share.

Saturday I’m on the phone all day long as we work through the maintenance issue and I finally take my last phone call at around 7 pm. The funny part of all this is that the production manager is in charge of maintenance but left at 10:30 am because he had plans to go to Chicago. I have nothing to do with maintenance but yet I stayed involved all day long.

Sunday morning came and we had a brief meeting at 7 am to set up the days work. We all had our jobs and we progressed through the day. At 1:30 he left with 30% of the product done while 4 of stayed and finished the job. Well, I did leave for home around 7 pm just before everything was finished but that only involved loading things into the bosses SUV so he could catch a flight to New Mexico to drop the stuff off.

“What we have here is a failure to communicate”($5 to the person who IM’s the name of the movie with that line by 10am Monday morning). The customer service agent didn’t forward the info to the manager and the manager didn’t bother to ask what the priorities were. The worst part is that if we lose this customer there is no longer a need for me. I was hired because they required things I have to offer in the quality management field. They also don’t need a production manager because there wont be enough work to justify the position. A supervisor could do the job. The company would continue on as a distributor but the production part of the company would slowly fade away into oblivion.

I’m so on job tilt right now. The kicker is that I was going to this customer’s plant on Wednesday this week. I’m expecting to get my ass chewed out and will probably have to take my kneepads because I’ll have to suck the whole place off to get back in their good graces. So as I protected my job, I didn’t hang the production manager out to dry but I did have a long discussion about the lack of communication between production and customer service. This incident was avoidable but necessary to improve the company as a whole. Hopefully we can learn from the mistake and grow.

I Made a Final Table...It's been a While

I had forgotten what it was like to make a final table. I had also forgotten what it felt like to make it deep in multiple events on the same night. At the same time, I had forgotten how to change up my game to make going deep possible.

The key to making deep is being aggressive and passive and making good reads and getting lucky. If you can do all of these you have it made.


This is a great example of the luck needed at time. The action was such that I saw the flop for cheap. With trips on the flop he checked and I bet bigger then pot to push out a 4 flush draw and he called. I could have thrown the hand away if he pushes but with his call I get to see another card. The 4th club scares me but he checked so I saw a free river card. The beautiful case 5 hits and he makes a value bet into me. I know he has a flush but is it big enough to get him to call my push. He called and I doubled up.

This hand put me into a position to go deep. I had made a decision to play pocket pairs for cheap every time and I got paid well. I hit a set five different times but threw away the mother of all pocket pairs when I got pocket 3s. I would have quadrupled up if I had stayed in the hand but the action dictated a fold.

Oh well. Have a great weekend.

A Job is a Job?

I had the job interview yesterday and met with Dana the HR lady. She had that whiskey and cigarette kind of voice that you here from women who spend most of their life sitting on a bar stool in dive bars looking for their next husband. She was a pleasant person and asked some outstanding questions so I think she may have been fighting a summer cold. Anyway, after 40 minutes of tough questions I gut to meet Julie who could become my boss if I end up with the job.

Julie had the position in question before being promoted and thus I would be replacing her if I got the job. She had the un-nerving ability of avoiding eye contact and speaking with her eyes closed when I was trying to show interest in her redundant questions. She reminded me of a blond Olive Oil without the charm and charisma. Will I be Popeye, coming to her rescue by eating a can of spinach when she needs help with a problem.

The position has some attraction to me. My role will be much more defined with specific tasks instead of random request that have nothing to do with my job description. It would be a slight step back but would offer me a chance to move up and to control quality at a corporate level. All-in-all I think I’m over qualified and that they won’t give me a sniff at the position even though I felt the interview went very well. We’ll see what happens.

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I spent much of my evening sitting in a meeting at church. As Moderator of the Church I have to run monthly council meetings and attend other meetings as required by circumstance. I have 5 more meetings before my tenure is over and I can’t wait. It has been a great experience but I’m ready to get away from it for a while.

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It is Friday so I will probably play a little tonight. You’ll find me playing A few low buy-in tourneys like the $5 HORSE and maybe a couple of $5 NL ones. I’m thinking of a tourney challenge where I’ll play 20 $5 tourneys and see where I’m at when it is over. These are real donk events so I should fit in just right.

Have a great weekend.

I Love Full Tilt

You have to love it when you are on the bubble of a tourney and it takes 1 ½ hours for the bubble to break. I was sitting there last night, in position to make a deep run, the first deep run in a while when the bubble just wouldn’t break. Six from the money I waited and waited and waited until Full Tilt made the decision to cancel all of the tourneys for the night. So I get my money back and maybe a bit more but not the big payday that was going to end up in my pocket. I was also sitting in a Razz tourney witht the chance of going deep but it wasn’t going to happen last night.

I played the 7:15 Horse tourney last night and had a nice stack. It was getting late in the tourney when I see JJA in stud and bump it up with 4 callers. I catch a J on 4th street and raise a bet and we get heads up. Now with the bets at 300 I’m happy cuz I’m going to gain a crap load of chips and be in great position as my opponent seems to miss card after card. Eventually I get all my chips in on 6th street and see he has a gut shot draw and a pair of 4s. He fills his gut shot and I’m done. I really like Horse because these players are not good but you have to be ready to get hit in the balls. I’ll be back for that guy later cuz I know he’ll pay me next time.

I’m leaving for my job interview in about an hour. It is a job similar to the one that I have but without the hassles of being the boss and but getting higher pay. It is a job with growth potential vs. the one I have that will not grow. And it is half the distance travel wise. If the pay is right then I am all-in.

Why do I play the Game and the Cost of Having Kids

Friggin ugly would describe the little bit I played yesterday. I didn’t want to get to involved so I played a few low buy-in sngs on UB and Full Tilt. The moronic skills I employee at times make me wonder why I play the game. Actually, I only made one really bad mistake when I caught top pair on the flop and hit top 2 on the river but got suckered by a guy chasing an open ended straight draw that happened to hit when I got my second pair. I keep forgetting that these lower level players will continue to chase even when they don’t have the odds to do so. It’s probably because guys like me will pay them off when they catch their hand.

Anyway, Considering I didn’t catch anything for cards I think I played well over all. Its funny when a shorty goes all-in and the sb calls, then you push will a pocket 10’s, trying to isolate the short stack and the sb calls with the all might K8 off suit. It’s even funnier when he hits a boat on the flop giving you no chance to win the hand and knocking you out on the bubble. I laughed real hard at that one. Now I could have just called and thrown away my hand after the flop but I didn’t think he was strong and I was right. But those are the breaks.

I’d like to play the Mookie tonight but instead I’ll be watching the free roll from the BBT. It should be fun watching the action as these players battle for the blogger championship and the bragging rights of the invisible friends league.

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Softball E. needed a new softball bat so I did a search on line to find out which weapons were the best and what the relative cost were for each item. After an extensive search I narrowed it down to a few bats based on price and quality and came up with this. I took I picked it up at Sports Authority on the way home and she is good to go. One of the girls on her team had a smaller version of this bat and it had some real pop so she should be good to go. We still have to get her a new gloves because she has been using mine and even thought it is a good glove, I bought it back in 1989 and it is in dire straits. I’ve had it repaired a few times but it is on it’s last leg. All told we will spend around $300 or $400 on ball equipment after the season is over. I don’t think I spent that much money on equipment for me in my life.

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I went down to the ball park last night after my amazing showing on the virtual felt. Some friends were playing and I had not made the trip all season. I watched much of the first game chatting with an old timer about the state of men’s fastpitch in the United States and the player movement over the past two season since I retired from the game. I read a post on a forum posted by a friend of mine who talked about how they predicted the demise of the game 20 years ago. How there would be no place to play and nobody playing the game. His point was that he could play every day of the week if he wanted to by traveling no farther then maybe an hour to do so. He named all the leagues within 40 miles of his house and the days that they played and he was right. The game isn’t dead…it’s just not feeling as good as it could.

Reading some of the reports on teams going to the world tourney, it looks like 8 or 10 teams have a shot at winning the ISC championship this year and that is good. It means the talent has spread some and that the laws of supply and demand have made it easier for the lower budget teams to compete. There are still a few powerhouse teams but they don’t have the same strangle hold on the top like in the past. It would be a good time to be in the game for me but I think most of my time has past.

Anyway, I left the field and picked up the kids at bible school and asked if they wanted to go watch the second game. They did, so we went back to the field and I watched a group of guys I played with get ready to take the field. They needed another guy but I was in jeans and a pull over with my dress shoes. Not really the uniform of choice so I politely turned them down. It would have been fun but I know I’d be hurting today.

I got to talk to a friend who’s daughter is playing for one of the teams SE is trying out for so she has an in with the team. He is a board member of their association and thus has the power to help her get on the team but I told him to let her earn her way… you know, the ethics thing. Anyway, this team would be a good fit for her for the next two years if she makes it.

That’s it for today. Have a great day.

My Poker and FSL

The little bit of poker I’ve played lately has been non productive. I’ve been stuck in this limbo where I don’t go up or down but spin in a circle and get nowhere. I’m also in one of those fazes that sees me making the correct call time and time again and seeing my efforts thwarted by random chance. For example, I’m in the BB with a nice stack and a short stack pushes. I call getting better than 3-1 with AT vs. J8 and lose. I chip back up and call the same short stack getting better than 3-1 with Q9 vs. 79 suited and lose. I get my chips back and call another raise by the short stack getting 5-1 with 23 vs. AQ. All of these are the correct play with my stack vs. my opponent yet I lose them all. Someone finally busted the dude but it wasn’t me. Anyway, I did cash but it was a frustrating game.


Fantasy Sports Live is going strong and I think it is a great idea. I’ve been playing with the $10 I got for free and though I’m not winning much I am making some headway. With the different types of games you can play you have the ability to research the way you want to. I like the low cap games because it makes you look at the younger players who don’t have huge salaries. I also like the idea of having the $1 specials. This allows new players to try out the game without having to risk a lot of money. If you want to give it a try click on the link to the right and make sure you use bonus code pokere to get your free $10 with a $50 deposit. Also, you are under no obligation to spend any of the $50 you deposited…you can play with the $10 they give and withdraw the $50 after you have played the $10. It is a no risk possible reward scenario. I’ve played close to 20 events on that initial $10 and have a full slate of game to day so give it a try.

I really have enjoyed play on FSL. It is getting me back into the game in ways I haven’t been in years. I’m learning more of the players and have an interest in many more of the games.

That’s it for today. Have a great day.

Best in State

It was a weekend to remember in many ways.

I turned 40 on Saturday and though that is not a monumental task, it is a milestone that will not be forgotten. Softball E. had a tournament that happened to be a state tourney as in the winner is the state champ. So we headed out early Saturday morning and her team played her games and the coaches took the players to see a movie after they were done. This meant that all the parents were lucky enough to check into the hotel and hang around the pool while our other kids swam. And while they swam, we drank…and drank…and drank. It was a great time and we were all feeling good about how the girls started the tourney. When the kids got back we ordered some pizza and they surprised me with a cake and singing “Happy Birthday”. I got a call from Okie-Vegas and did a shot over the phone and went to bed kind of early because we had an early game on Sunday.

Of coarse when I went to bed, the room next to our started having a party with kids screaming and swearing. This wouldn’t have bothered me except that it was past midnight and it actually sounded like they were in my room. And when the sounds from the neighboring room is to loud to hear Sports Center then I have an issue. It eventually died down and I woke up with no hangover but maybe a little crabby.

Sunday the girls did what they had to do and ended up winning the tourney and the State championship for their division. The highlight was hearing my daughter’s name called for the all-tournament team. She had a great tourney batting almost .700 with the highlight being the homerun she hit for the game winner in one of her games. It was a great weekend.

When we got home Sunday night I opened some gifts, including a pizza maker that I had talked about a month or two earlier. I never thought I would like one of these but after seeing one in action it became my gift if choice and my family came through with flying colors.

Thanks Mrs. Enthusiast. I love you bunches and even though I can be an idiot sometimes I do appreciate the things you do.

Moving on…

Now that the season is over we have to prepare for next year. SE has one week off before heading to tryouts. There are four teams on the list, including the one she plays for, and basically she will be going like crazy for the next few weeks. She has to go to two tryouts a day on the 11th and 12th and one on the fourth and 5th. Then we will see which teams she makes and make a choice.

Speedy E. is going to tryout for the local 12U travel team in two weeks. She improve a lot this year and she wants to play like her sister. I think she can make the team but it will be tough. They have a solid team and all the girls are returning. We’ll see what happens.

Ethics...What Do I Do?!

So what do I do.

I was asked to coach the 14U travel team for YYBS, the governing board for baseball and softball in my town. This is the same group that gave me the chance to run the 12U travel team last year before handing it to a friend of the program for this season. Anyway, the current 14U coach was the only person to put there name into the hat and the board decided they don’t want her running the team next season. So I know become a friend of the program.

When I was first contacted about this opportunity I was excited to have a chance at running a team again. But after reflecting I realize that the reason Softball E. is playing someplace else this year is for the same reason the asked me to coach, in a sense. You see, there is a protocol that should be followed. You need to put in an application and have the board vote on who will run the team. They informed me that I didn’t have to apply and only had to meet with the executive portion of the board to be approved. Now if you remember back a year ago I was running the 12U team bur was circumvented from coaching this year by the coach of the 10U team who went to the board and said none of the girls who moved up would play for anybody but her.

So, what is going to stop this from happening again? I don’t want constraints placed on me and how I am going to coach these children. The whole reason they want to replace the existing manager is because a board members daughter didn’t get to play as much as he would like. Hell, his daughter was one of the players who kept SE from moving up. When he called me about the position, he complained about his daughter only playing right field and pitching. In truth, his daughter isn’t that good and the only reason she pitched and made the team was because he was a board member. It sounds like sour grapes but it is a fact. I’m not willing to compromise my integrity by have daughters of the program make the team even if the are not good enough. Every child is given a chance to play but playing on a travel team should be earned…not given because your father is a board member.

Now it is time to make the decision and I think I have to turn it down. I don’t like people circumventing the system. The system was put into play to avoid these situations and it is being ignored. If they had asked me a month ago to but my name in the hat I may have done it because then I could have filled out an application and gone through the proper steps but now I have to say no.

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I’d like to say congratulations to surf on chopping 1st place in a live tourney down in Tunica. He was on an epic journey with tripjax to the famed Okie-vegas event and met up with DB for a mid trip poker frenzy. Way to go man.

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Tomorrow is my birthday and I will spend it like I have spent the last 20 or so birthdays. I will be at a softball tourney. The only difference is I wont be playing for a change. I will be turning 40 tomorrow and ready for the next 40.

As far as poker goes, I will start again next week after my WoW trial is over. I have come to the realization that I am not addicted to poker but addicted to action. I would have no problem switching time consuming endeavors to a game like this. Is there room in my life for a WoW blog?

Have a great weekend.

Sometimes

When I got home last night I didn’t have any intention of playing poker. I was going to play WOW with waffles and have a great adventure. But on the way home I talked to Surf and he told me about a link to watch the final table of the WSOP so I fired up the laptop when I got home and got the link from SLB. So as I watch I fired up a $5 MTT and then signed up for a Horse MTT. Then Surf convinces me to play The Monkey on Stars so I go from not playing to being over loaded. So let us start with the first tourney.

I chipped up nice and had a better the double stack after the first 30 minutes of play. The best hand was catching an over flush vs. a guy who doubled me up nice. I made a few plays at pot but started to dwindle down a little when I find kings in the SB. UTG limps and all fold to me. I throw a 4x raise out there trying to take it down or get heads up but the BB calls as does UTG. The flop is 10 high but semi coordinated so I tank a bit on how to play this. I put UTG on AQ, AJ, KQ,KJ and maybe QJ. I figure the BB to hold a small pocket pair. I push to make myself look weak and to protect against a gut shot cuz these monkeys will call with gut shots. Anyway, the BB folds and UTG tanks. After using most of his time bank he call. What do you think he held? AQ or should I say the nuts? I’m ahead to 3 aces or running cards. So after a good start and a great opportunity to chip up I’m done when and A hits the river.

As for The Monkey tourney, I climbed the ladder slowly but made a bad play vs a short stack when he value bet me and I felt he was weak. It was a weak hand but just stronger than mine. Anyway, I chipped back up and on the final table bubble I get KJ on the button and raise it 3x and the SB calls. The flop is Axx and he bets out. Now I’ve made this play before with a weak ace so I re-raise him thinking he has to fold a weak ace to my pre-flop raise. He pushes his chips in and I have to call for value and he did have a weak ace. It was still better tan my hand but I’m not sure I could call there. So I end up on the Final table bubble.

On to Horse and what a game. I play patient solid poker and moved up us the game went along. A little before the bubble I called a raise in stud while holding a version of the stud hammer as in 772. 4th street pairs my 2 and 5th street gives me a boat and I bust the guy to move into the chip lead. On the bubble I lost a big chunk of chips when I had an OESD, flush draw and a draw to the low in stud h/l but it didn’t come in. If I win that hand I am way out in front but instead I have to fight to get to the money. I cashed and got my money in with the best hand but was out drawn.

After that I played some WOW and leveled up my new character so waffles and I can play tonight.

Also, this is the last weekend for softball for a while. There may be a fall league but we’re not sure yet.

Have a great day.

WoW, Poker, and Softball

Waffles convinced me to play some World of Warcraft the other day so I went to the website and started the download for the 3+ gig file. After about 3 hours I was ready to play. I knew where he had started so I created a similar character in hopes of meeting up with him. By the time I found him, three days later he was way to high a level and didn’t want to fight the monsters I could beat. We have talked since and we will probably start new characters at the same time and do it all over again.

I haven’t played much poker. A couple of SNGs here and there but no real effort has been spent at the tables. A little break from the game might be good but I know I would have played if not for WoW.

Softball is winding down with this weekend being that last tourney on the schedule. It sounds like there is only going to be a couple of teams in it so hopefully we’ll be done in time for Softball E. to play in an all-star game she was asked to attend. After the season we will sit down and evaluate the season and discuss what we are going to do next year. She has three or four choices so we will go over the pros and cons of each and create the plan of action. More than likely she will try out for four different teams and we will pick the one that is the best fit for her. She would like to stay with the same team as it moves up to the next level but right now I don’t think it is the best choice and here is why.

The coaches for her team have created a group that can beat weak teams but not good teams. They insist on using one of the pitchers(coaches daughter) against good teams because she throws strikes. Good team hit the ball all over the place on her and run up the score because everything they hit is hit hard. Another example of stupidity is taking a girl who had never played 3rd base and having her play there in a tourney game. At the same time they took the regular 3rd baseman and had her put her at 2nd base. So you have two girls playing positions that they are not use to playing. The sad part is that they teach the girls well with all the drills and stuff but they have no idea hoe to work a line-up. They took the girl who has lead off every game of the year and has stolen more bases than I can count and put her behind the slowest player on the team. So they took the biggest weapon they had and nullified it. They also have the two best hitters on the team batting 8th and 9th. Both of these girls have the ability to drive the ball through the outfield and each is hitting .500 or better. And finally, the thing that pisses me of is that they quit using my daughter as a pitcher cuz nobody could catch her and that she was had to be used at short stop. The thing they don’t understand is that a good pitcher makes your defense better.

So know that the rant is all but over I’ll put together a list of things that I think they need to improve on as managers so they can actually do their jobs correctly.

Fantasy Sports Live

Check out this new site. It isn’t a gambling site but does allow you to play fantasy sports against other people for money. Fantasy Sports Live allows you to use your skills vs. other people in contests every day and gives you the chance to take the big prize. There are many different versions of fantasy sports and though it is baseball season now, they will have other sports as these playing seasons change.

Check it out and use the bonus code “pokere” to get a free $10 instant bonus when you deposit $50, $20 for a $100 deposit and $30 for a $200 deposit. These are instant deposits and can be use right away. If you decide to withdraw your funds before using the deposit the you will lose it so the only obligation you have is to bet the amount of the bonus. Not a bad deal.

So if you like fantasy sports you have to try Fantasy Sports Live and win like the pros.

The All-Star Game and Some Poker

Last night was going to be a non poker night except for the rain that canceled both of Softball Enthusiast’s games. We have an easy dinner at home and I settle in for a night watching the homerun derby on ESPN. But then the wife and kids head to a friends house and my degenerate minds says” lets play poker” and I fall into the trap.

I started well in Razz by hitting some hands early and moving into the top10. I maintained my stack well into the second hour and waited for the hand that would put me into the big stack arena. But it never came. My stack slowly dwindled and my big draw bricked as I left meekly a table or so from the money. I worked hard and made a few good reads but catching cards late is much better than catching cards early.

I also play one cheap tourney and had a nice stack but couldn’t make it to the money. I felt like I opened up my game some and this helped but I could get any traction. I eventually got knocked out when my 99 lost to A7 when my opponent flopped 2 pair. I was on the small blind and over bet a medium stack, knowing I’ll call a push. I will make this play at this stage every time.

Mingle² - Mingle

G ated sucks donkey balls.

I got this rating. I can’t believe this fucking shit.

That should change it a little.

Actually, I don’t see the need to add colorful text to get hits on my site. I don’t get any hits anyway.

Tonight I’ll watch the All-Star Game and that is about it. Mrs. PE is working so I will cook dinner and take care of the kids. Yes I can cook and take care of the kids.

I Forgot About Razz

I made a few deep runs over the weekend and the difference was the amount of focus I had. I came up just short of the money in one when I raised to isolate a small stack. I held AK and I knew the shorty would push with almost anything like a weak ace. So I push and a mega stack calls with 68 sooooted and hits a flush to send me to the rail. It was only 10% of his stack as he was getting hit in the face with the deck so I guess I can’t blame him. Anyway, I had another deep run into the top 50 of a different tourney so overall my NL game was solid. I did get lucky at one point when I called a raise and busted AA with my 44 when I hit a straight.

I also jumped back into the Razz tourney I like to play and just missed a final table. I have stayed away from that tourney for the last couple of months but now realize I need to go back to it. I also had a real nice run in Horse to end the evening last night. The only bad tourney I had was a money maker because I split my action with Surflexus and he cash while I floundered with KK seeing ace high flops and none of my pocket pair hitting sets. The best hand of the night may have been T8 sooted when I flopped an OESD and the flush draw. I bet out with all my outs and took it down.


I had an off weekend softball wise for a change. So we went to see a movie Friday night and went to a wedding on Saturday. So with all this time left to our disposal what do you think we did? Yard work…no. Lounge around and do nothing…no. We went to the ball park and watched a friend’s daughter play ball. We did the same thing on Sunday. Our one weekend away from the game and we still had to be around the action. We are softball whores.

New Realizations

Tonight is a normal poker night so I’m sure I’ll spend some time on the virtual felt. But I’ve come to a realization. That poker and me, in the summer time, is not a good combination. For most of the first five months of the year I was doing well and maintained my focus. Since the middle of May I’ve been losing the battle with the game. Sure, I’ve had some bad beats and I’ve made some bad plays but I went through the same stuff earlier in the year. Now the problem is bigger because I’m not playing as much and I’m losing the focus that I had. I’m in a mode of unbelief when someone comes back at me and I’m unable to throw away good hands. If I don’t change my ways I will be done without a way to get money back into on-line poker.

Another realization I’ve had is I still want to play ball. I enjoy watching the kids play but I’d like to get back on the field and play. But I probably won’t. If I go back and play it will be a full time schedule and not just for fun. I’m not sure my family could handle me playing ball again.

A Little Tourney Fun and More

I played a little on Tuesday night. Full Tilt was down so I jumped onto UB and found a tourney that just took off. I sat on the waiting list for about 10 minutes and I was in the game. During the second orbit I got AA and won a nice pot when 4 players called my 1st raise of the tournament. I bet out on the flop and all folded. The very next hand I look down at KK and realize that something is wrong and that I will probably go broke on this hand. I don’t go broke and bust a guy in the process. I chipped up nice and decided to open another tourney. It was one of their bounty tourneys and if I bust 2 players I’ll get my buy-in back.

So with two tourneys going on I chip up in both. In the first I make some moves with my growing stack and move into the top 15. I eventually lose my stack on a stupid play when I slow played trips and ran into a river straight. He called my bet after the flop when I held 44 and when the 4 hit the turn I checked hoping to check raise. He checked and when the river gave 3 to a straight, 6 high I check raised him into losing my stack and his 2,3 off suit. I’m not sure this guy would have fold his open ender but I should have minimized my losses.

In the other tourney I moved up and up and busted 6 player until I ran into my nemesis. He had my number and I gave him most of my stack twice. I was sitting in 8th place when I gave him my first set of chips. After chipping back up I gave him another stack and he became the chip leader and I went home.

I also played a couple of SNGs but had trouble staying awake so I quit for the night.



We went to the Chicago Bandits game on Tuesday night. They are a professional fastpitch softball team based in the Chicago land area and have Jenny Finch and Vicki Galindo from the National Team on their roster. It was a group outing for Softball E’s team and all the girls had a blast. They got autographs from many of the players and had a good time hanging out.

That’s it for today. Have a great day.

SNG Challenge So Far

So, I started my sng challenge earlier this year and I’m in positive numbers. I took a look at some of my tendencies and would like to throw them out for comments.

To start I’d like to look at VPIP. I’m sitting at just under 20% at this point. I think this is a solid position and reflects a tight early game strategy that opens up in later rounds when the blinds go up. Do you think that this is a good number or should I work on mixing it up a little more?

I’ve also looked at first in raises and I’m sitting at 4%. I think this may be a little low but it is also and indication of tight early round play. I am less likely to play a marginal hand early in a sng then later when I can put maximum pressure on my opponents. Should this number be higher.

My aggression factor is just under 3.0. I like to have this number a little higher but I think that this is workable. The final number is being influenced by a lower pre-flop aggression number. My post flop aggression is very consistent. Should my aggression factor be higher?

Overall, I think I’m playing a solid game that needs a few tweaks. Many of the numbers I have are influenced by the type of table I’m on. If I’m at a passive table then I raise more but I tighten up at a loose table. And with the levels I’ve been playing it is more than likely that a table will be loose so my numbers should be tighter.

Tonight I will dissect my tournament play for the first 6 months of the year and see how I’m doing. As for cash games, I don’t play them enough to make it worth my time.

A Weekend Trip to Remember With Lots of Breaking News

It was a weekend of craziness as we sat around the softball field.

Friday night was the championship game for Speedy E. and as we entered the 7th inning we were only down a couple of runs and had the top of our line up coming to the plate. The girls came out swinging and hit the ball hard but in the end we came up short. I can’t complain to0 much about 2nd place and I know they girls had fun and they all got better so it was a good season.

Softball E. had a tourney that started on Friday night and they started out with a 16-5 victory. SE had 2 hits and play her steady game at SS.

Saturday morning we headed back to the tourney for an 11:30 game. During the first inning there was a high pop up and SE camped under it. At the last second the ball moved into the sun and she missed catching the ball with her glove but caught it with her nose. As Mrs. PE and I sat behind home plate we waited for her to get up off the ground to confirm that she was ok. Then we saw the blood gushing from her nose and we dashed onto the field to come to the aid of our injured child. We moved he to the bench and saw a little gash on the bridge of her nose and blood was flowing like a water fall from her nostrils. We left our son and dog with parents of the team and rushed her to the emergency room that wa but 4 minutes from the ballpark.

Once inside, she was inspected by the on-call doctor and had a session of x-rays done that showed a small chip had broken off. Nothing more needed to be done with that so it was a matter of a couple of stitches and we were on our way back to the field in under an hour. The doctor said she was lucky that it bled like it did because losing all that blood would keep her eyes from swelling a lot. She didn’t play anymore that day but the girls picked her up by winning that game and tying one later to earn the 2nd seed on Sunday.

Sunday morning came and she was ready to play. No real swelling and both eyes were clear so she wanted to play. The team went 3-0 to win the championship and she played with no ill effects from her injury. The first play she got was a pop-up the she moved under and caught without any issue. Once she got by that we felt a lot better and knew she’d be fine. She even ran into a player knowing that it was interference play and knowing she’d get an extra base. It was a heads-up play made by a gamer.

On the way home from the tourney our van broke down and we had to have it towed. It was a great weekend for all of us.