Sleep With the Fishes, Dine on the Whales

This is always a sad time of year for me. On one hand it's Carnival and part of the reason I moved to New Orleans was the pit stop on my way to L.A. was to include Superbowl, Mardi Gras, and Jazzfest, well it was too much fun to leave. One of the first friends I made here, during Mardi Gras, was taken from us in a still unsolved crime. Basically it was a hit and run or vehicular manslaughter late on the Saturday night before Mardi Gras. I fear the driver doesn't even remember his actions after ten too many drinks. Nonetheless black pick up trucks with tinted windows will always enrage me if they act the slightest bit out of line. I will be going to Disney World this year with my fiancee's family but I do want to give out a few public service messages for those enjoying themselves. One, this Mardi Gras season don't get behind the wheel drunk, impaired, or even tired. It's an oft-repeated and much ignored message now but still an important one. It may take fore...

Considering I'm a partner in a website, a blogger, and an internet junkie, I'm pretty naiive about a lot of things internet related. I'm adding Digg to the site and to my blog. Feel free to digg us. Will probably add some RSS Feeds and all that other crap that is on every other website. Not sure what that does for us, except publicize Digg, newswire, etc. If anybody wants to fill us in. Feel free. What's the best service, is it worth it, etc. etc. Why should we have all these little boxes on our site. As I should always try to work in some poker on a poker blog. Here's another hand I sucked out on. I try and track them all because like Mikey Matasow I think Gene and I get run down more by bad players with bad hands then anybody else. As people that think that are incredibly annoying I'm trying to convince myself that is not true. As a tight player sometimes I have to make a stand, especially when my blind is getting attacked relentlessly. There is def...

So little sleep this past weekend. No sleep (with the fishes) and dinner for the whales is a more appropriate blog title for me. Let's get the recap started with Friday night, I got off on the wrong foot (a foot fetish joke comes to mind) when I played on the last chance table with several friends and a few solid players from around the country. I was immediately wary of Cleveland's own Greg Rauch who came into battle with two loaded guns. One was the chip stack he amassed the other was the Vodka he brought. He shared it with Houma's Summerall as the rest of us milked beers. I played fairly tight to start. Adam from Nantucket seen in the pic got short stacked pretty early on after yet another bad beat. I think Adam has made every Dead Money Tournament since winning a seat in the second one. Every year on the last chance table I watch him suffer a bruttle beat. It looked like this year would be no different. His day started miserably. Booking his travel way in advance, he wa...

At the Dead Money Tournament in Houma, I was glad to see Dinger take it down. He's a great guy and likes to mix it up. It was the first time me and him weren't playing a side tournament after getting knocked out early. As Ruttley mentioned, I got over my "final table" hump (with 17 players that's not saying much) but I could never get started. Have to give some respect to Parfait and Davey (that f'ing smartass :) )who were at my and Gene D's table. I felt like they were able to capitalize on the table's tightness the best. I didn't like my spot at all. If Gene D didn't lead out, Parfait usually would, since they were both on my right I had to muck a lot of betting hands that didn't qualify as calling hands and were borderline enough I didn't want to resteal when I felt like they stealing. My tightness was my own best enemy. Early on I bumped multi-limped pots with legit hands in the blinds or on the button. Would have liked at least a o...

Today I played at Harrahs I had KK popped a raise and folded to AK after an Ace hit, he showed. I had QQ and folded to AK again, after a K hit. I thought he might have KJ but he was convinced AK was good. I don't know why people get married to top pair top kicker. They radiate strength like they got the borderline nuts. Not that it mattered, but it made it easier for me to fold. I walked into dog poop, again, with pocket 88s by betting only to get a guy with AAs going grossly over the top all in. I folded. I thought back to Gene D laying down 88s last night to me in a similar situation. I only had AK and just min-raised but I was short stacked enough I was prepared to get it all in. He laid down thinking I had the type of hand my opponent had today. Middle pairs are so dangerous. Then I had AJ and raised, only to have KK go way over the top all in. I folded. Short stacked I reminded myself I always go deep in the Wednesday tournament after bleeding chips early but this ...

Amped up for the Dead Money Tournament. We have a table in Houma on Tuesday and the last chance Friday. I've come in second on a qualifying satellite more times then I care to remember. However, I've run pretty bad on Houma's tables not even making the top 3. I'm hoping to end my little slump as it's about time for me to play on a final table. In the years past we've had some talented players win this event and go on and do admirably at the World Series. We've probably had some prevail, at least as far as making the final table, where luck might have had more to do with it than anything. This year for the first time we have a returning overall champion defending his crown, again beating his table Captain: blogger Shoats, in heads up play. Both years Shoats had a chip lead, though last year it was only 10 to 1. Speaking of good runs, three years ago Shoats made a final table and finished in the top 3. Speaking of returning players, Austin Martin, anot...

Been trying to do a 1000 things at once. Going through the hard part of buying a house, inspections, estimates, all that crap. Also, planning a wedding, hosting family, putting the finishing touches on the dead money final table and trying to get the satellites off the ground. So, I haven't been playing much poker and missing some juicy sessions at Harrahs. I heard the Ohio State fans were looking to donate money. The Hawaii fans were really nice and the Georgia fans also pretty generous. Today I saw a guy in an O-HI-O T-shirt looking beaten down. He had a small stack of reds at a black jack table and a beer. I'm guessing he missed his flight. They say when you are down you should avoid the casino, from the looks of things he should have. Played in the Wednesday tournament and my time off really sharpened my concentration. I was in tune on every hand and I felt like my opening table was an open book. I saw everybody's hands before they turned them over. I need to...