Sleep With the Fishes, Dine on the Whales

Incorrect tournament listing: At the Beau's Spring Break Classic... they list this Saturday's poker tournament as a $340 buy-in on their site. Cardplayer has it listed as a $550. Honest Player called and they said it was $550. So plan accordingly. Celebrity Apprentice: Annie Duke's alpha-female took a back seat as a 6'9 tatooed man became the star of the show. Dennis Rodman had a Ruthie on the Real World Hawaii moment. The only difference was the producers of Celebrity Apprentice decided to air the train wreck that is Rodman's alcohol abuse, the incredibly awkard pseudo-intervention in the boardroom (instead of helping a guy they just took pot shots at him), and Dennis's denial of his problem as it was. The Real World on MTV always takes itself a little too seriously, ever since Pedro died with Aids (now they are cashing in again on his death with a movie), but despite it also being good TV when the producers step in, it also seems to be for the right reas...

The hoops fan in me won out over the poker nut in me. I decided to skip the first two Spring Break Poker Classic tournaments though I hope to get down there midweek or so. I got good news that a good player Eric S. who checks out the site had made the final table along with Clint Schafer. The Honest Player told me Clint ended up winning. Very happy to see the Heels make it to the final four. Villanova scares me. You could see them improve and grow in confidence. Prior to the Pitt game I didn't know who I wanted to win. After seeing Villanova pull it out... I think I'd rather they both lost. Short of the arena falling in on them I guess that's an impossibility. If UNC wins it all potentially I could have a lucrative bracket season. Tabbing MSU to come out of Louisville's bracket has vaulted me to the top of the leaderboard in three of my pools. I also had UCONN, UNC, and Pitt. Didn't think MSU would win today as Louisville looked so nasty a couple of days a...

No, I didn't mistype that and misexpress my true desire to be a naked mall rat. I do want to be like a naked mole rat. Though a naked mall rat would be an interesting French TV hidden camera practical joke. Walking around the mall au naturale and asking clerks if you can try on things. It'd be good on a couple of levels 1. You clearly can't buy anything, which is probably a step in the logic they'd miss distracted by your nudity... because you got no pockets for a wallet and 2. Nobody wants to buy an article of clothing after somebody else has ridden commando in them. Would they show you to the dressing room? I'd hope not. Similar to what I always think would be another good bit, when I walk into any store that has the sign, No Shirt, No Shoes, No service. Walk in pantless with a shirt and shoes. Don't they have to serve you? Obviously in our country, and most countries, obscenity laws would prevent this from happening but there has to be somewhere the laws are ...

Watch the complete episode here: http://theonlineplayers.blogspot/latest-high-stakes-poker.html www.gulfcoastpoker.net

Long weekend at the Beau. Played some poker, met up with some friends, watched some hoops, watched some friends play blackjack, and saw some oddities. Let's start with hoops. My bracket is garbage. Whose isn't? What's odd is I liked Arizona to do the annual "We're not Deserving? We'll win a couple of games!" jig and it still didn't help. I hope they continue to fare well against Louisville who almost fell to Siena. I, unlike the rest of America, think Louisville will not make it to the final four. Did I mention my bracket is garbage. The LSU game was everything I feared it'd be for the Tarheels. The Tigers were gunning for the Heels and kept hanging around. At any point it felt like Mamma Mo would be tipped too far to the Bayou Bengals favor. Fortunately, they got a little cold and the Heels prevailed. I think Gonzaga and Syracuse would both be terrible matchups for the Heels as well. Josh Hyvelt ate up Tyler Hansbrough like he was Funions after sm...

2-1-1 in the night session. Didn't get the late games in. Plus 6-1 in the day, and that's a pretty stellar 8-2-1. I'll take it. Headed to the Beau for the weekend tomorrow. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

Wow. If Western Kentucky loses they got hosed. Nothing is going right for them and the officials made the worst call I've ever seen. Went to replay and still got it wrong. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

Pretty good day so far. //Had Purdue winning but not covering. /Had UCONN covering /Had UNC covering /Took Lsu /Took Maryland XTook BYU /Washington is going to cover (actually I think that's now a final) Apparently, if I picked all my brackets like I was betting... I'd be 6-1 instead of my ESPN bracket where I'm 5-2, and in a couple of minutes I'd be be 7-1 instead of 5-3. Argh. Funny think is I almost made four changes to my ESPN bracket today: Butler v. LSU, Miss State v. Washington, Illinois v. W. Kentucky and Utah State v. Marquette. I decided against it because I was sure there was a good reason my gut picked it that way on the first go round. I just discovered, that oddly, one out of the four was changed and I forgot to reset it. Thankfully it was Miss St. which I had advancing two rounds in a fit of lunacy. So far all changes would have been correct. Therefore look for Utah State to not pull off the upset, same with W.Kentucky. BTW, my bracket is turgid. ...

Mike Montgomery can't coach his way out of a box. Gary Williams is coaching circles around him. Yeah... Gary Williams. That's ridiculous. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

Alright picking the next set of games. Due for some Ls. Washington vs. Mississippi St: Washington is favored by 6. I'm taking the favorite. Miss St. will go the way of Georgia last year. Washington by 10. Texas v. Minnesota: Texas -4. I think Minnesota could win this game. However, I think Texas will play up to their potential and win by 8+. Clemson v. Michigan: I love Beilien but he may be a year or two away. Clemson is favored by 5. Can't take all the favorites. I'll take Michigan to cover, but Clemson to win. That's a a small window huh? Villanova v. American: This game is in Philadelphia so is Villanova. American is a nice patriot league team. Bucknell has given people fits from that league but I'm going with the home court advantage. Nova by 20. Line is 16.5 Gonzaga v. Akron: Line is 13. I like Gonzaga in this too. However, impossible all favorites win this set of games. Well, not impossible but improbable. So, I'll take Akron to cov...

In the earliest call of a game I've ever seen... Clark Kellogg "North Carolina will meet LSU on Saturday." Time left in the game: 10:48. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

4 point Purdue lead. UNI on the fast break and they whistle a charge. Crowd goes nuts. Replay shows they make the right call. Purdue in the double bonus. 30 seconds left. Wow big three for uni. down 2. and not stealing cable. had to hook up the new box. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

One seed parlays looking alright. Uconn up by 18. UNC up by 19 at the half. Both have a little work to do, but no reason they won't extend the lead rather than lose it. Got the DVR box hooked up. Looking forward to rewinding if I feel like it. Northern Iowa's down 6 to Purdue with 10 minutes left. UCONN up 23 and all business. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

Trying to install a cable box during the UNC game. Not going wel. I'm smart. If I keep telling myself that, maybe I'll be able to get a signal. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

Thornton get's the benefit of the officials. Probably two offensive fouls on one play. Senior leadership on LSU coming out in the closing minutes. Memphis trailed for a bit and now looking to build a lead. Yeah, it's unravleing for CSNorthridge. LSU up 6 and looking to add to it. Bout a minute left. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

To publically reveal how bad I am at picking games... I'll take a stab during the halftimes at the next set of games: Purdue-UNI. Boilers favored by 8.5. I'm down on the big 10. Though the Missouri Valley was a little down this year too. I don't see Purdue blowing out anybody. This line is pretty good. I'll take Purdue to win but barely miss the cover. Would love to tease this one up and get some more points. Purdue by 7. UNC-Radford. 25 is a lot. I won't tell you which team is favored. Probably too much without Lawson. But since I do a four team parlay with the one seeds every year. I'll stick with Carolina. Carolina by 28. Cal-Maryland. Maryland +1.5. I know nothing about Cal or the Pac 10, other than UW has a point guard name Isiah Thomas. Alright I know a little more than that but not much. What I do know for sure is Maryland is up and down. They'll probably come out flat. Maybe they'll get it together by the end of the game. I'...

I guess with Poker taking over sports-viewing time, I'm not nearly the hoops head I used to be. When I was kid, starting in about 6th grade I'd get sick the Wednesday before every NCAA and I don't think I've missed the opening two days of the tournament since. Even when I've been working I haven't been working. I used to be able to name a player or two on every NCAA team. I'd watch all the conference championships and knew that shit cold. I used to win a lot of brackets back then. Could be like poker and on the variance side of things I ran good early and my knowledge didn't really apply. Nowadays, I have to admit I'm just like the rest of bracket filler outers. I know a couple of teams pretty well, and have misinformed opinions about a lot of other teams. I'll sit here and tell you I think Louisville is overrated in terms of winning it all, but unlike when I was a kid I got nothing to tell you why. I don't like conference champions as ...

LSU has let Butler back into it. Texas A&M crushing BYU, I'm not looking good taking the Mormons in that one. Just been accused of being "that guy" by parfait for being in a lot of pools and having both sides of a lot of the early games. Fair point I am that guy. Cal State Northridge doesn't look scared of Memphis at all. Nasty break away dunk. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

Big ass add on the blog. Trying to watch the Memphis game and the Texas A&M game on the computer. May cut down on the blogging. Cal St. Looking to be the first to bust a bracket leading Memphis 11-8. Texas A&M looking to repeat last year's 9-8 victory over BYU up 11-3 too. These early games snuck up on me. For the record I liked BYU to get their revenge and eke out a win vs. the Aggies. Line was -3, BYU. That doesn't look good. Memphis was -20 vs. CS-Northridge. They've won a lot of games in a row. Maybe they were due for a letdown. Won't make a pick on this one as the game's too deep and I hadn't thought enough about the line in advance to make a pick. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

LSU 9-0 less than two minutes in. It's a great start especially since it's vs. a young team but how many times have we seen the favorite (or name team) jump out early in the NCAAs only to have the underdog (or midmajor) whittle the lead down throughout the game and seize the momentum in the last couple of minutes to win. Important for Trent Johnson to stay on the team to keep them with their feet on their opponents throats. www.gulfcoastpoker.net

Madness is about to tip with LSU-Butler. Line last night was LSU -2. I kind of like the Tigers. Butler is always dangerous in March. They actually lost a lot and not much was expected of them. Had a great season with young players. The Tigers are a veteran group. Gotta think they win outright and maybe going away. Line -2. Prediction: LSU -8 + www.gulfcoastpoker.net

March Madness... I'm a UNC fan. I don't like the matchup with LSU. LSU is the type of team I'd like to avoid in a tournament. Good guard play, athletic and well-coached. If they don't try to run with UNC, and I doubt Trent Johnson will, it could be curtains for the tar heels. Yesterday was one of those rare days I pulled for Duke. I did so a couple of years ago when my good friend of mine, a Duke fan, passed. That really took the venom out of the UNC-Duke game for me a bit. This go around, I had to pull for Duke for my grandmother. She's in her 90s and though petite is one of the toughest people I know. About 10 days ago she fell and broke her other hip. I say her other hip because she broke the first one a couple of years back. That was shortly after I gave her a card saying she was "hip" unlike most grandmothers who break their hips. Yeah, I moosched her. Anyway, she's been in the hospital with a variety of complications. Seems like you can't go ...

That's what I am. So, no poker today. All March Madness. Two topics, nobody wants it and Sleepers... 1. NWI: Three potential number 1 seeds have already lost. The UCONN-Syracuse game was epic. I figured I'd catch the end of it, and ended up watching half of it. Last 5 minutes of regulation + 6 overtimes = 35 minutes of the total 70 played. UConn had a shot at the overall number 1 seed. Didn't want it bad enough. Couldn't help but be blown over by the amount of talent on that roster. They have a person at every position. Something seems off. They remind me a bit of the UCONN team that lost to George Mason. On paper it should be them and Carolina but like Carolina they just lack... something. 2. Sleeper: I've liked Syracuse as a sleeper all year for the NCAA tournament. They got 3 guys that can score, plus two other guys that can get hot--one an outside deadeye and the other a beefy interior presence. They played to their potential vs. UCONN last nigh...

1. Recently, I read on a couple of blogs, Shaniac's and Southpaw Rounders and somebody else's, the sin of blogging only when you win. I'm not sure the GCP.Net bloggers are guilty of this, I think we give a warts and all outlook on our games. In a moment of introspection, I think I write more about the hands I've mangled than I do about the ones I played well. In fact, mangled seems to be my favorite verb applied to a played hand. That being said I chopped the weekly at Harrahs on Wednesday. 97 runners. I will disect a couple of hands later. Was that just one big segue to brag pubicly about another win? Maybe. 2. Want to give a thank you to Monkey and a couple of the players we've profiled on www.gulfcoastpoker.net who, it's nice to find out, are readers of the site. I met a nice young kid, Alex, yesterday, who mostly plays online, and who like me barely made it into the chop. He had told me that Monkey, Gabe Costner and Claudia Crawford told him ab...

So last night, Annie Duke, poker's hope to mainstream the sport again showed she's smart, she's an alpha-female, she doesn't work well with others unless she's running the show, and like any of these contestants she's capable letting her own inflated ego get in the way of making good decisions. Last night she thought she and a briefcase holder from Deal or No Deal should script the advertising copy when she had an emmy award winning writer on her team. No put Joan Rivers on design. Also, she again called the shots despite someone else being a team leader. Her intensive study of the boardroom footage and the ears wide open to her fellow players was repeated again. You have to believe she's preparing a strategy to crush her opponents when she ends up in front of Trump fighting for survival. You gotta believe she'll be there a few times this season as she's made few allies. Team play is not a skill poker players develop... will it hurt her? As for t...

It's hard to root for Annie Duke. However, I know I should. It's good for poker for her to go as long as possible on the show, and for her to put poker players in a positive light. Them showing up, (Eric Seidel this week), and donating money helps to mainstream the game/sport/hobby--whatever it is--helps. Joan Collins--I'm sorry--Joan Rivers (the other grandmother whose face at any moment could unpop the stitches behind her ears and send her nose to california ina plastic surgery slingshot) I thought would be the Omarosa type that Annie Duke has become. But Rivers is actually coming off more like an endearing grandmother. She and Annie are probably headed for a bust-up. I have a feeling Joan's daughter and plastic surgery twin Melissa will get caught in the middle. Expect poker and Annie to become the butt of more jokes by Joan as the season progresses. That may be bad. Here's the good, Annie, is clearly a competitive woman and it's obvious from the start she is...