Sleep With the Fishes, Dine on the Whales

There are a couple other just terrible spots with passive players willing to call off stacks with weak holdings so I know I got time. A big chipleader on my left and I mixed it up a couple of times. He won more hands but I won the biggest pot. I raised an unopened pot with pocket fives. In the SB he thought about it and called. The BB called too. The flop was King high with a 5. A set, I almost forgot what it was like to flop them. We all check the rainbow. The turn is an Ace. Okay one of these guys has to have an A or a King. If it's just a king that might kill my action a little bit but let's hope not. Check, check to me. I put out a nice bet (have an ace, have an ace, have an ace). The chipleader pauses for a while and puts out a raise. Other guy folds. Yes, he has an ace. Then I mull maybe he's trying to bully. Okay, I feign some weakness just in case he is, subtle almost imperceptible movement, not a great acting job but if he is on a bluff maybe enough...

The IP has really outdone itself and it's a shame more people aren't there to experience it. The tables are all brand new, the space redone, and the dealers all competent or better. Great structure and a well run event. John P and I signed up and agreed to exchange 10 per cent of each other. I thought about doing a last longer bet but he's relatively inexperienced so that wasn't fair. Exchanging 10% even if it was -ev for me seemed like it could make it more fun for him if I cashed and the same for me if he did. The last longer would have been over in one hand. John flopped a boat, on the turn a flush draw got there and he got it all in hoping the guy hit his flush. He didn't. He held pocket queens. River queen ball. Okay, at least John had me to sweat after doing everything right and getting crushed. Later that night in a cash game I told the table my buddy busted on the first hand. A reg asked "How do you bust on the first hand." Flop a boat, ...

I won some pots early and built up my stack a bit. Southpaw Rounder, Tex and his friend Merle were also in the field. So too, Dave Anderson. I saw Alex Wood as well so I knew that there were some real players signed up, that plus the normal 10 to 20 folks that usually make the final table, and it wasn't your typical donkley. Fewer and fewer weak spots. The field had swollen to over 100 which I love but many of the extra players can play, so that's not necessarily a good thing. Early on Davey busted out I believe it took a two or three outer for his opponent to pass him. He came over and we caught up. I looked down at KK in the Big or small blind. There was a hefty early raise, a quick call from early position and then Larry Price, a very good tournament player who came in second in one of the New Orleans main events recently ( I think ), who paused and put in a bigger reraise. I considered just taking it down with a shove or at least isolating Larry. I mulled it over. ...

Very happy with all the positive feedback we've gotten from Lake Charles to Florida. The mag has popped up in a ton of places and we've gotten a lot more hits to the site. Good stuff, keep the compliments (and critiques) coming. That's the positives. The negatives... We've run into only one place that won't put it on their magazine rack. Remember we are giving these away. We were, frankly, stunned. So, if you can't find it where you play and you ask if they got it, and they say no they don't carry it, you'll figure it out. We've gotten some criticisms from folks too, but that's more a positive then a negative because we appreciate those and can improve. It's a start, we can't be Cardplayer from the word go and we didn't aim to be. However, we hope to grow with the poker community and one day who knows. Going forward, we are excited about the event at the IP and finding our next cover story, a local like Tyler Smith, going on...

You could argue Auburn's shafting a few years back to another overhyped Pac 10 school, was the death knell of another short period of disrespect thrown at the league nationally and things have kind of flipped (if anything it might be given too much respect today--funnily, the Big 10 with the least amount of respect right now is also given too much respect). So, in this environment seeing fans of other schools cheering for league rivals is a head scratcher unless you understand the history. I know this sounds like a complex round about way to justify me rooting for LSU when it doesn't hurt Auburn but I'm not. I'm merely stating I'm not alone. Leagues that feel solidarity in being overlooked or shafted like the A10 or MVC or CAA (in basketball) and once upon a time SEC football (even if it was 70 years ago) develop that esprit de corps. The Big East had it a couple of years ago, when Rutgers fielded a D1 competent football team, and the wheels had yet to come of...

Despite my in-laws rabid love of the purple tigers my kid will not grow up rooting for any football team but the Auburn tigers on the college level. Not going to happen. The first sporting event I went to as a kid was Auburn football at Wake Forest. My brother still has the orange and blue pom pom when the visitors made the place feel like it was Jordan Hare. My grandfather was a stud athlete at Auburn and both my parents went there. The only sporting events either of my parents care about, on their own, is Auburn football. Yeah, the only time either one of them voluntarily decided to put a game on TV was when it was Auburn football. Not really the sports types. Seeing my mom who used to cheer when the other team would score when I was a kid, thinking any basket was a good thing, ask about the Auburn football game, made me know it was something important. She told me a story of her church in rural alabama many times. Every sunday they would alternate an Auburn fan and an Alaba...

But if I can't be swayed this year, shaping up to be one of the Saints finest (drew brees has this super bowl or nothing look in his eye), what year could I elevate the black and gold. But here's where things will change... I do forsee that one day when my kid sips the kool aid and roots for the team that's on TV every week and plays down the road vs. the team that's on TV every week (lol... America's team is always on TV) but plays all the way in Texas. How can I not root for the team my son is going be wrapped up in. I mean I want to brainwash him to root for all the correct squads but at the same time I want him to be able to choose at least one of his own. Likely it'll be the local team, and I'll be fine with that. Gear, tickets and all else will be cheaper because I can go down the road to the Dome and not have to travel to Texas. I'll allow him to pick the Saints if he wants but if my kid has the balls to be a fan of the non-local team, god b...