Check It: GCox25 | OkieVegas | TripJax | Jordan

 



Karmic Retribution
Friday, September 28, 2007

Just so you know, I'm an older guy. In fact, I'm a little bit older than the most beloved Hippy in all of poker bloggerdom. Rock on Al and Happy Freaking Birthday bro!

Back to the story for today. I drive an older model Dodge pickup. I don't drive fast generally, I drive the speed limit for the most part, mainly because my truck gets an extra 1 mile to the gallon when I drive the speed limit. Anyway, I take off at 6:30 am this morning on my way to work, whistling a semi-happy tune and I hit the highway. I pull out into the slow lane at exactly 60 m.p.h. when a large, new Cobalt Blue Ford pick-up comes screaming up behind me. Now, before you say, Gary, did you pull out in front of this guy? Nope, he was a good quarter mile away when I entered traffic.

Anyway, he comes roaring up behind me flashing his lights, laying on his horn and presumably, cussing me up one side and down the other. So, I take a look in my mirrors and notice that there is not another soul on the freaking road. He has three completely empty lanes of traffic in the faster lanes to pass me and instead, he is being a huge fuck-tard and giving me hell.

What do I do? I proceed to slow down, in my not so subtle attempt to let him know that I am not pleased with his antics. After another mile or so, he flies out into the other lane of traffic, narrowling missing my bumper and pulls up along side and starts giving me the business. I politely flipped my cigarette out the open window, rolled up my window and sped up. He comes up beside me a couple of times and acts as though he is going to swerve into my lane and hit me. Dude, my truck is paid for, if you want to come across that yellow line and hit me, be my guest. I want a new truck.

After a couple of miles of this jackassery, he gives up trying to get my goat and screams off in to the distance and presumably out of the rest of my day.........until...........I make the turn onto the other highway to head for my exit to work. Looky there, on the side of the road, it seems my new friend has a flat tire on the drivers side and he is out trying to jack up his truck right near the yellow line of traffic. He he.

Dude, that was me that nearly clipped your back leg as I went by honking and waving. By the way, I pissed my pants I was laughing so hard at your poor fortune. Fuck you very much for the good laugh this morning, I needed it. Now, go straight to hell and while you are there, tell my ex-wife to kiss my ass too!
--
See you at the donkament!
G

posted by GaryC @ 4:17 PM, ,




Blogging Is Hard Work
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Blogging every day, especially blogging about poker every day, can become very tiresome and a real chore in a very short amount of time. If you aren't careful, it can sneak right up on you and your blog can become a freaking job.

I have never claimed to be a writer in any way, shape or form. I'm not the kind of guy that can entertain you with wonderfully spun stories that keep you on the edge of your seat. I am also not a good enough poker player to regale you with strategy posts that will open your eyes or make you sit back and think, man, this guy knows what he's talking about! Not me, never claimed to be.

What I am and what I am extremely happy to be is an accepted member of this little poker-blogging community. Accepted, because of the likes of Jordan, Maudie and DuggleBogey originally and then TripJax, DNasty, SteelerJosh and WillWonka soon after that. I've always felt like a member despite my struggles with writing and lately, my struggles with this game we all love to play on a regular basis.

I slipped into a real funk with the blog shortly after my work cut off my access to blogger. I had originally been allowed to blog at work the next morning following a long night online. It was very easy to crank out post after post while it was still fresh in my mind. Then, after surf patrol hit the computers at my job, it became much more work to remember the hands, etc. from the night before. I began to type up posts in an email and then send them to my home computer to copy and paste into blogger. That worked, but somehow it wasn't the same. That is still the way I blog now, with the occasional exception of typing out a post at home.

The next funk I slipped into was this past January or February when I began to experience the coldest run of cards and results in the nearly three years of playing this game. I found it harder and harder to type up anything on the previous nights' play that didn't continually sound like a whiney, bitchy, sore loser. Bad beats aside, it really became work to come up with anything that even semi-interesting and to top that off, I was losing money on a very consistent basis.

I feel like I may have tunred a corner recently, not only in my poker play, but with the blog as well. It has been much easier to use the written word to describe not only my play but my results as well. Of course, that coincided with a turn around in results at the table and I know that has a lot to do with my attitude and my turn around on this here blog, too.

I still don't feel much like a writer most of the time, but I do feel better about my play and therefore better about telling you all about it. Although my recent play in blogger events has been as donkish as ever, my results in other tourneys and cash games have been very good of late. I would imagine that as long as this little run of good variance lasts, I will have more to talk about here on the blog. I am trying, so don't give up on me.

--

My two cents on the Mike Gundy situation.

I'm sure you've all seen the blow up on YouTube or ESPN where the Oklahoma State head football coach, Mike Gundy, went ballistic on a local reporter.

Let me first say that this reporter, who I shall not call out here, has long since been banished from my daily reading. I have never read anything by this reporter that made me stop and think, man, this person really knows what he/she is talking about. It just so happens that she is a female reporter and she is a sports journalist for our local paper, The Daily Oklahoman. I've seen nothing in the last two years from her that would warrant my attention and don't plan to start reading her columns any time soon.

Having said that, I definitely went back and read her column from this past Saturday. Again, typical rhetoric designed to sell newspapers and increase their readership. Poorly written, in my opinion, and nearly a personal attack on a guy, who by all accounts, is a great kid. He goes to class, makes good grades and is a great person to be around. He is quite simply, not quite as good as he was made out to be when he was recruited and signed by OSU. He was ballyhooed as the "biggest" name recruit to ever sign at OSU. Taking into account that Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas and Leslie O'Neal have played their college football in Stillwater, that was a bit of a stretch in my opinion, although none of those players were as highly regarded as Reid coming out of high school.

Mike Gundy could have most definitely handled the situation better. I have no problem with him defending his players or even the route he decided to take in defending his player. I just thought that he could have chosen a better time, following what was arguably their biggest win in two years or so. He certainly carried things a bit too far and, by his own admission, he could have worded things better, but the fact of the matter was that he felt like the reporter was taking a cheap shot at one of his players and he acted accordingly. I have no problem whatsoever with that. Much like many of the coaches I have heard interviewed on the subject, nearly every one of them had nothing but good things to say about Mike Gundy and his tirade.

The media, on the other hand, seem to think that this is a travesty, that a football coach could somehow decide to attack a member of the media about something they had written. That's all a bunch of bullshit, in my opinion, and it is high time that somebody stood up to them and called them on the carpet when they are in the wrong.

Was this an over-reaction by Mike Gundy? Yes, somewhat, but again, he felt like he was defending his player and in the long run, this will do nothing but win him points with his players and his University.

Was the article in question a personal attack on Bobby Reid? I don't think she intentionally set out to attack Bobby Reid, but the article could have definitely been written in better form as to clearly distinguish between facts and the opinions of a chosen few reporters at the Oklahoman.

Too many of my friends, OSU fans, feel like the Oklahoman is biased to that Other University in our state that has had much more success on the football field than their orange counterparts and articles like this only enhance their arguments. I am an OU fan, crimson and cream through and through, but I root for OSU in every game they play except one, every year and in every sport. I'm an Oklahoman and I am proud of what both schools have accomplished in all sports, but to make this an OU/OSU issue is a bit beyond me.

This issue is between Mike Gundy and Jenni Carlson and I will take Mike Gundy's side on this one. He certainly could have handled it better and worded his argument better, but the fact of the matter is he is in the right on this one. Give em hell Mike.

--


Last but certainly not least, the Good Reverend has added $100 to the prize pool for tomorrow night's Donkament, hosted by the lovely and talented, Katitude. It just so happens that I have to work on Saturday morning, so I will most certainly be in town on Friday night and be finding my way to play in the $1 Rebuy Madness that is Kat's Friday Night Donkament. I already have the Southern Comfort and the shot glass sitting on my desk in anticipation.

Until next time, I fold.

G











posted by GaryC @ 3:28 PM, ,




Blogger Tourney
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

I got home last night with my sights set on earning a $24 + 2 token and entering the WPBT event on Full Tilt. What I found out, soon after arriving home was that I had no internet connection. It had been raining all afternoon and unfortunately, one of the side effects of rain is a lousy internet connection. Last night was the worst side effect, absolutely no internet connection.

After a quick call to the cable company confirmed the outage, I set up shop on the bed and watched the Rangers game on TV. Somewhere around the 3rd inning, my picture went from a wee bit fuzzy to perfect and sure enough, the connection was back on. I hit up Full Tilt first, but reckoned I didn't have enough time to get through a two table token SNG, so I opened up Stars and signed up for a Stud H/L sng. I've been playing alot of Stud Hi/Lo lately, to varying degrees of success, but have steadily climbed upward playing these sng's and the small stakes cash games.

I would term my strategy nut-peddling, but my opponents of late seem to think I have a lucky streak. Despite only entering pots with extremely strong starting hands, playing somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20% of all the pots and almost always coming in for a raise when I enter a pot, they cannot for the life of them fathom why I would call to the river with a made low and then suck out a winning straight on them to scoop.

One particular opponent remarked that I was the "luckiest SOB he had ever seen at Stud." I replied with something along the lines of "Thanks, I just started playing a week ago."

Anyway, after winning that SNG, I was suddenly not in the mood and feeling extremely tired, so I shut if off and hit the sack. I am finally starting to get over the flu that has been whipping my ass for the last two weeks, but I still cannot seem to get enough sleep at night to feel refreshed the next day. Believe me, I have tried, going to bed at what would be termed early by my standards nearly every day for the last two weeks, but I am still fighting that lazy, sleepy feeling all day at work and not feeling like doing much of anything when I get home.

I have probably played less in the last two weeks than I have in any other two week period over the last two years, but I think I have made more money over the last two weeks, than in any two week period in at least the last 6 months. Patience has been my friend and I've been rewarded thus far for my patience with very good cards at very key times. It's so nice when a good plan finally comes together.

I look forward to the Mookie tonight, as long as I can stay awake, and you should plan on joining as well. Come and get my chips or fold and get the hell out of my way, the choice is yours.

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 3:32 PM, ,




Monday Pimpin' and Bankroll Management
Monday, September 24, 2007







If you aren't already signed up for this, you should be. I am and there is nothing like $26 worth of dead money already in the pot. Bring it biotches!











--

What: WPBT Event #9, NL-DS

When: Sept 25th - Tuesday


Time: 9:30pm EST Tuesday night, tomorrow, I will probably be here,

Where: Full Tilt unless I can't win a token tomorrow night.


How Much: $24 or token

Restrictions: Bloggers only, please.



--


Wednesday night, just in case you live in a cave or under a rock somewhere, the Mook!





If you don't already know about this, there might not be any hope for you.






--


The world famous AlCantHang Memorial Donkament?? Oh, I am so IN. Thankfully, I have to work on Saturday morning, so I will be staying in town this friday night and will be available to join in on this lemur-filled fiasco. The Southern Comfort is already on my desk, as is my shot glass, awaiting the first of what will probably be many dial-a-shots, IM-a-shots and Chatbox-a-shots. I am SO IN.

--

Having read Kat's and 23Skiddoo's latest posts regarding bankroll management, I realized right off that I was and am still right there with them as of this point. I've taken alot of money off-line from the juicy games on UB, FT, Stars etc. But, still, as of this point in my game and life, right now, I have to exercise extreme caution with my bankroll for fear of going broke again.

I've been broke twice this year, the first two times that has ever happened to me since I started playing on-line more than three years ago. Granted, the main reason for that was that I withdrew alot of money for other things, vacation, Okie-Vegas, etc. But, the fact remains, that I left myself with too little money on-line to support the games I was trying to play......and it cost me, both times.

Lately, after running pretty hot for a while and then fucking that all up by talking about it right here on this blog, I have been very protective of my little roll. It has grown to almost three times what it was just a few months ago, not all due to my poker play, but most of it because I have tightened up and gone back to grinding small profits, rather than continually taking the "big shot."

I've gone back to almost exclusively (blogger games notwithstanding) playing the $5 sng's and the .25/.50 Stud Hi/Lo games. I know full well that I can beat these games on a regular basis and until I have worked my way up the ladder some more, I plan on staying put right where I am comfortable for the time being.

I want to play higher limits and I want to play bigger buy-in tournaments, but I do not want to risk going broke again any time in the near future. In fact, I would go as far as to say that, at least at this point, I will NOT go broke again for the foreseeable future. I've managed to build a couple of playable stacks of bankroll on two sites and I am working on a 3rd one as we speak. As long as I stay fairly disciplined in my choice of games, I will be fine for a long time.

I would like to be able to get some money onto a couple of different sites, but without the ability to do swap/transfers with other bloggers on the likes of Bodog and Poker.com, I will remain patient and build away where I am at right now. I'm hoping that depositing becomes easier in the near future and the ability to move around and bonus-whore comes back, if not to the point it was before the laws were passed, at least to a point where it is still profitable to move your money around every so often.

Patience is a strong suit of mine and I will continue to work away at my lower levels, trying to build the roll one donk at a time. So far, so good, at least lately.

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 3:46 PM, ,




GNUF Dice Roll
Sunday, September 23, 2007

Check it out if you have time.

Gnuf have just launched a rather cool promo on their site, for the world’s biggest dice roll. You can check it out at http://gnuf.com.

They’ve also created a dedicated c9ampaign site for “The World’s Biggest Dice Roll”, which includes a behind the scenes look at how they set up the promo etc. The dedicated campaign site is http://campaign.gnuf.com/diceroll/

G

posted by GaryC @ 10:56 AM, ,




Riverchasers
Thursday, September 20, 2007


Riverchasers Tonight:
Tournament: Riverchasers Online Poker Tour
When: Thursday September 20th, 21:00 ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: Riverchasers
--
From the live-blogger himself, Mookie:


9:13 … GCox turns the wheel but TripJax gets the 6-high straight and the Okie is crippled. Gary is gonna have to rely on all his magical mullet and Keystone powers to get back in the game.

9:17 … Mullet power! GCox doubles up with QQ vs. NumbBono’s A6d.

9:30 … Holy cow! GCox jams with the Hammer and pushmonkey72 is in there with TT. Ten on the flop, but Gary goes runner, runner for the heart flush. He’s back near 3,000 now. Never doubt the power of a mullet and a suitcase of Keystone Light.

9:39 … The run is over…GCox has JJ but runs into TripJax AA. cpoke also runs into AA and finishes in 43rd.

In the immortal words of Howard Cosell "down goes Frazier!"

A whirlwind 39 minutes, I want to tell you. I haven't played that many hands in 39 minutes in my life. The funny thing is that I thought I was slow-playing TripJax twice during this run and both times ended up getting my ass handed to me.

The first hand, I raised in LP with A-K of hearts and turned a wheel. Unfortunately, Trip had a 6 in his hand and there must have been only one reason he didn't put me all-in right there ...... he felt sorry for me.

From there, I must have shoved it all-in like 6 or 8 times until NumbBono finally called me with A-6. For the record, I had an insane rush of cards there and knew somebody would have to eventually call me. I think I had K-K twice and A-A and Q-Q once each.

The hammer hand against PushMonkey, I thought I could get everybody to lay their hand down, since I had been jamming and getting no action, plus, with the hammer, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Never under-estimate the power of the hammer and/or the power of the mullet.

On the last hand, Trip and I both called a raise from Stl_phily in EP and saw a ragged, low flop. I was planning on check-raising all-in and was allowed to do that when Trip bet it out. A-A, you dog, I would have been pissed, except I seem to remember limping in one time a while back with A-A and then calling your push, so I guess we're even.

All in all, a good time and I still got to bed at a decent hour. You can't beat that with a stick.

Stay tuned to your favorite stations tonight as I donk it up again with a bunch of people I know at the Riverchasers event. I should be good and lubed up for this one as well, so come and get my chips.
--
I have to admit that while I was in the midst of the last downswing, I had many doubts arising on an almost nightly basis. Doubts in my ability and doubts about whether I could ever be a winning player again. It seemed that with every two-outer or cooler situation I found myself in, over and over again, I could not beat the game anymore.

I am happy to say that those doubts have been put away. While they were present, I played like scared money and, as we all know, you cannot win playing with scared money. Since my recent uptick, I have played more confidently and made better reads on a nightly basis and it all goes back to my attitude and my demeanor.

I've talked about being in the right frame of mind before beginning a session before, but it has been magnified ten times in my play of late. I actually WANT to play poker again, rather than feeling like I needed to sit down and play. I am actually looking forward to getting home from work and putting in a few hours, donking it up with all the other kids in their mom's basement.

Too often, I've rushed home, changed clothes, iced down the beer and I'm check-raising or check-calling the river before I've even caught my breath. That is no way to go about it. Oh, I'm still rushing home, but before actually playing a hand, I sit back and try to soak in a little information about the rest of the table. I check out where the players are from and try to distinguish who the aggressive and passive players are at the table. Rather than jumping right into the fray, I am wading in slowly and preparing myself mentally before slinging chips around with abandon.

It's working too, as my results would indicate lately. I'm still donking around at the micro limits basically, but until I have my bankroll built up to the "very comfortable" range, that is where I will be staying. I know I can beat the $5 and $10 sngs on a regular basis, I just had to prove it to myself again. Thankfully, it appears to me that many bad players are starting to reappear at the online tables.

I, like many, noticed a distinct difference after the Laws were passed last year. When Neteller shut its' doors to us, not only could I not move money around as freely as I once could, but the fish, who are losing money on a regular basis, could not reload their accounts either and the games got tougher. At least that's the way it appeared to me at the time. The games tightening up occurred at almost the exact same time as my latest downswing, right around the first of the year.

I have gone busto twice this year, for about $200 each time, and through the kindness of friends online, I have been able to reload by swapping mobneys on PayPal with them. I appreciate all who have helped a brother out and hopefully, in the near future, I will be able to return the favor. I'm not there yet, but I'm on the right track.

It's amazing to me to sit down at a table now and feel a sense of calm as I fold away the garbage and pot-raise the primo hands when not so long ago, all I felt was anxious as soon as the first cards were dealt. Anxious about my raises and about limping in, anxious of the flop that always seemed to miss my hand and anxious as I am raised all-in, holding A-A, knowing full well that my opponent had flopped a set. It happened over and over again and I am so glad that it finally appears to be over.

So, although I am most certainly a losing player this year, I still feel like I am a winning player overall. I know I am monetarily and hopefully, with a few more good showings in the near future, I will begin to play like a winning player again on a more regular basis. I know my attitude is finally right, I just need a little cooperation from the cards.

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 3:19 PM, ,




WPBT Winter Classic and the Mook
Wednesday, September 19, 2007


Jordan's latest post got me to thinking about December and the annual WPBT winter gathering. I am in for sure again this year and my hope is that the lovely and talented MrsGCox25 will be making the trip with me this year. She has neither confirmed or denied yet, so she might be a game time decision, but I will be there for sure.

I plan on flying out some time on Thursday in the AM and arriving in Vegas some time around lunch time. This will probably mean a bit earlier flight on Sunday home, but after the shenanigans from last year on Sunday evening, that will probably be a good thing for me. I also plan on using a hotel room on at least two occasions this year, as opposed to the "drink everything you can and don't sleep" mantra I stood by last year. Perhaps I am feeling more comfortable around this group or perhaps it is that I am just getting old, whatever, I do plan on sleeping this year while in Vegas, unlike the 72 hour bender of last year.

I'm not sure where everybody else is staying, but I plan on staying at the IP again this year. With its' central location on the strip and the fact that the wife and I stayed there on our honeymoon, it works out good for us. Plus, we really don't care how nice the rooms are, we don't plan on being in them for very long anyway.

There is always a possibility that the wifey won't be able to make the trip and I will be solo, in which case I will be looking for a roomie for at least Friday and Saturday night.

Right now, about the only itenerary that I have listed as even somewhat probable is drunken Pai Gow on Thursday night at the IP tables, mixed game shenanigans at the MGM on Friday night and the tourney at (wherever Falstaff decides to have it) on Saturday.

After my trip to the Rio last year, I would also highly recommend their buffet for a dinner trip, however, be warned, you need to pretty much be ready to sleep before going to that buffet, because that is the state you will be in when you leave the Rio. Consider yourself warned. Also, it's a tad pricey, but the food and selection is outstanding and well worth the cost of admission.

I also plan on playing some poker on this trip. Last year, I got caught up in meeting everybody and drinking with everybody and I actually did not play very much poker at all. In fact, besides the tournament and about an hour at the mixed tables on Friday night at MGM, I didn't play at all, other than a couple of orbits with Iggy's money at the IP on Thursday night. So, my plan will definitely include more poker this trip.

That's about all I have for today, be sure and sign up for the Mookie tonight and see if you can be the one to take my mobneys.

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 2:57 PM, ,




Two Tips
Monday, September 17, 2007

Okay, so I've come out and told that I was running hot, I should be dodging and ducking the evil Gods of Poker and the vengance they shall surely rain down on me, right? If yesterday was any indication, that might be a good idea.

I have played cards long enough to recognize a good and bad run of variance. Believe me, I know exactly what a bad run of variance looks like and any time I start to run good again, I just automatically assume that is a good run of variance.

I honestly haven't done anything differently than I ever do, it just seems that my reads have been really good lately, except in blogger games obviously, and when I have gotten my money in lately, I am always ahead or, if it is a coin flip, I'm winning my coin flips. Those would be my two helpful hints of the day to enable you to play better, more winning poker:

1.Get your money in ahead every single time.

2.When you take a coin flip, win the coin flip.

If you can do those two things, you will be a winning player. Bet you didn't already know that, huh?

That's all for now, I'm still sick and don't feel like playing for very long periods of time.

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 2:53 PM, ,




Psst!!!
Thursday, September 13, 2007

Um, just between you and me and please, keep this to yourself, I'm fuckin' runnin' hot!

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 6:55 PM, ,




Bad Blogger
Wednesday, September 12, 2007

I've been a bad blogger and extremely remiss in not pimping this tournament. I simply assume that anybody that stops by here on any type of regular basis is already playing this tournament every week.

So, just in case you are living in a cave or under a rock, come on out to Full Tilt Poker tonight and join us for the Mookie!


Full Tilt Poker-Private Tourney Tab
9:00 pm CST
Buy-in: $10 + 1
Password: vegas1

I am going to do my best to play tonight, but I make no promises. I am still sick as a dog, but I have stocked up on Keystone Light and will try to last that long.

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 3:11 PM, ,




The Bug
Tuesday, September 11, 2007

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug."
-Mary Chapin Carpenter

I am officially "the bug" right now. After hunting saturday morning, cracking open the first beer at 11 am for the kick-off of OU-Miami, traveling around the lake for the boat races all afternoon and then setting up and running karaoke until 12:00 am, I am/was spent. I awoke late Sunday morning feeling like a flu-stricken hung-over varment. It has continued and the last two days at work have been hell because of it.

I definitely have my first cold in more than two years and it has been a doozy so far. I got home on Sunday afternoon, early enough to put in a little time at the tables were I so inclined. Not so much, more like reclined. I turned on golf and laid down for about, oh, three solid hours. When I awoke, it was almost time for the Cowboys game Sunday night.

I jumped in the shower and ate a quick bite (another tell-tale sign of me being sick, I have absolutely no appetite) and prepared for the football game. I was asleep again by halftime and awoke feeling worse yet the next morning for work.

I toughed it out all day and when I got home, I thought I was in the mood to play poker and I was.....for a bit. I fired up a 2-table peep on FT to try and acquire my token for the HOY last night, as well as a 2-table standard SNG on Stars at the same time. I managed to take 2nd in both sng's and acquire my token for the HOY, at which point I promptly logged off, took more medicine and passed out at 8:00 pm CST.

It looks like more of the same for tonight. If I don't start feeling better soon, I am afraid a doctor visit and a shot are in my future. I hope everybody else is tearing it up and I hope to be back for the Mook on Wednesday night, but I make no promises.

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 3:19 PM, ,




New Game For Me
Monday, September 10, 2007

I have never considered myself to be much of a heads up player in the past. I was lucky enough to finish 2nd in the original HU Challenge that Jordan ran, losing to TripJax in the finals, but I basically luck-boxed my way into the finals and caught some insanely good cards along the way. I honestly felt like I was over-matched in every single match, but was lucky enough to catch some great hands and limp into the finals.

Taking that for what it is worth, I have also always been the kind of guy that produced better or played better when I felt like I was an underdog. That is basically the mindset I took into all those matches way back when and it worked out well for me at the time.

Fast forward to the last two nights and with my Stars bankroll on life support yet again, I decided to join a 4-person HU shootout. I know many of you already know this, but damn, those things are a gold mine. I am sure it is just some short term variance, but between 5 of the shootouts and 5 single table HU matches, I have won 9 of 10 so far. The one that I lost was a two-outer with my Queens against his 8's and all the money in the middle on a harmless flop. He would have been left with scraps but for the two outer on the river, but it was not to be.

The opponents that I have run into are basically very bad players. After about 10 or 15 hands, they can basically be divided into two categories: 1) passive non-raisers looking for a monster (which includes me, btw) or 2) over-aggressive idiots that overplay every single hand dealt to them.

I usually start out slow and cautious and try to get a feel for the player I am up against and play alot of small pots. After determining the style of the player and whether or not I think he or she can lay a hand down, I try to adjust my play to best suit the situation. (That right there is an original brainstorm, huh?) More times than not, the opponents in these situations become frustrated rather quickly with small ball and are almost always looking to gamble it up for the quick score.

I am still basically playing ABC poker and almost always trying to trap my opponents at this level and so far at least, it has worked out well. I am sure that above the $5 levels the play gets better and the opponents get stronger, but for now, I will hang out here and continue to try and build that roll back up.

My individual play is going through some changes right now as well. I am caught somewhere between being too overly cautious and overly aggressive. I am having a hard time, as evidenced by my recent showings in the blogger tourneys, of finding some type of balance between the two styles.

I find myself getting respect at these tables when I raise, but then over-extending myself with a mediocre hand in LP. A-J for example, is very tempting to raise with in LP when it is folded or limped to me. It is also a piece-of-shit hand that I cannot win a pot with, so when I get played back at, it is usually an auto-fold.

My timing is off as well. Those "golden" times when a squeeze-raise always seems to work are few and far between and it seems like I am running into more than my share of K-K vs A-A and J-J vs Q-Q type of hands lately.

The good thing about my play right now is that my old buddy Tilty McTiltalot has seemed to vanish lately. I seem to have finally figured out that steaming after a beat is bad for not only you, but your bankroll as well and have gotten much better at closing the window and either taking a break or logging off completely rather than continue to spew chips like a Mr. Moneybags slot machine on a roll.

Progress in the right direction is being made, albeit at a slow and steady pace, so, I, uh, have that going for me. I also want to send out some thank you's to everybody that commented and wished the wife and I a happy anniversary. We had a great weekend at the lake, celebrating with friends and I might, maybe, post a little video some time in the near future, if somebody can help me figure out You-tube. Trip, I am looking at you.

--

New Hobby For Me

I also have taken up a new hobby. When I was a youngster, my Dad and I fished all the time and he took me deer hunting a couple of times with him as well, but as far as being a hunter, I've never been much of one. I've fired deer rifles (30/30's and 30.06's) but up until last weekend, had never even held a shotgun in my hand.

My buddy Bill, down at the lake is an avid hunter and he has been after me for a while now to go hunting with him. He hunts everything, ducks, geese, deer, turkey, you name it, he hunts it, kills it and his wife cooks it up.

Last weekend was the opening weekend of dove season here in Oklahoma and it is also considered a "free" weekend. That means you don't have to have a hunting license or any type of governmental stamp to hunt on Saturday and Sunday. We both got down to the lake on Thursday night after work and immediately started tending to yard work, trash hauling and general clean up after the mild hurricane that passed through our state about 3 weeks ago.

You read that right. That hurricane that hit down in Texas several weeks ago made it all the way to central Oklahoma. We were hit with 70-100 mph swirling winds and you could see the eye as clear as a bell on the weather radar. It also dumped buckets (read:13 inches in 6 hours) of rain all over the area, washing out roads and bridges and flooding every creek and lake in the region.

Luckily, the only problem we had was a 2 inch coat of dust and mud on everything on our porch. So, after all the work and cleaning, Bill and I sat down and had a few beers Thursday night on the porch. Okay, we had about 30 beers on the porch, but that is beside the point. He started in on me again about going dove hunting with him on Saturday. With a slight buzz on and thinking of absolutely nothing I had going on for Saturday morning, I finally agreed.

We went up to his farm-land on Friday evening with some clays and some shotguns and I proceeded to learn how to shoot at a moving target. 100 rounds and about 3 "kills" later, he finally set up some still clays in the field and I hit every one of them. It is much harder than it looks on TV hitting those things flying across a field.

5 am came damn early on saturday morning, but I was up and Bill, his brother and his daughter, and I took off on my first ever dove hunt. God damn, how much fun was that? We got to the field just as the sun came up and I realized one thing right off the bat......I can't tell the difference between a dove and every other freaking bird in the sky, so somebody had to tell me when a dove was flying by. That usually went like this: bird.BANG......bird.BANG.BANG. Needless to say, I didn't get to take a shot for a while.

Finally, after about an hour, Bill's brother and I started off walking to an adjacent field, trying to stir up some birds. We got to the end of the other field and realized we were sitting in a pretty good spot, with hunters on three of the four sides of us, shooting and sending birds flying our way.

His brother set me up for my first shot. A dove landed on a dead tree branch (apparently they like dead branches, who knew?) and he realized instantly that it would be a perfect opportunity for me, since the bird wasn't flying. He pointed out the dove and I took position and BANG, down went my first dove on the first shot I ever took. It was exciting and fun at the same time and I retrieved my bird.

Not ten minutes later, with his brother on the other side of the fence from me, I hear "bird" BANG BANG! I take position and bird flies right across in front of me and squeeze one off. Down goes Frazier and I had my 2nd bird of the day and was 2 for 2. Of course, beginner's luck was claimed and proven throughout the rest of the day as I failed to down another single bird! Beginner's luck was correct, but I have already bought my hunting license, all the permits and even decked myself out in some camo and I will most definitely be heading back out this weekend.

After wrapping the dove up in a piece of bacon (you hear that Al, Daddy?), with a jalapeno and some cheese tucked inside, Bill's wife baked them in the oven and they came out fantastic. It was my first time to eat dove, as well, and they were delicious. I probably won't ever be the guy with deer heads and antlers on his wall or stuffed animals all over the house, but I do like to eat, so that is good enough reason for me to hunt. That and the fact that I like being out in nature and I don't mind shooting a gun all adds up to there being one new hunter out this year in Oklahoma.

Thankfully, I was grand-fathered in for my hunting license and was not forced to take a hunter safety course. That's what happens when you are as old as I am. Also thankfully, Bill and his brother more than taught me all I need to know about safety last weekend, so I am ready to go this weekend.

--

The new issue of Truckin' is out, go give it a read.


Truckin' -- http://mcgtruckin.blogspot.com/

September 2007, Vol. 6, Issue 9And we're back... on time once again!

1. Monk's Siberian Dream by Paul McGuire Brain dead. Deep into the sixth day of a foggy bender, I had forgotten the day of the week. Frisatursunday? I’d successfully lost time. The demoralizing result was that my conversational skills had dwindled down to a few muttering sentences... More

2. The Rubber-less Traveler by Brad "Otis" Willis Breathless, confused, and sick to my stomach, I arrived at the British Airways gate and looked at the departure board. The flight was delayed for an hour. This is how I travel. I run to nowhere to fly to somewhere where I see little, do much, and find myself asking questions like, "Why do they sell condoms in airport bathrooms?" ... More

3. It's Not Like I'm Dishonest; Honest by May B. Yesno I'm a private investigator. A damn good private investigator. I have a wife, a very expensive wife. She likes the good things in life. We're matched. I like good things too... More

4. Coming Home by B Kemp Some of my former friends think that she is using me for my money. It doesn't seem right to them that a man my age would "throw it all away," leaving my career for a life of unpredictability and adventure. My old friends are naturally suspicious of younger women wanting to spend their money, rightfully so I suppose... More

5. The Confetti of Life by Sean A. Donahue I read the love letters that my grandfather sent to his wife. I could see the tears in my grandmother's eyes as she read them, touched them for one last link to him. I shed many a tear today, ones that no one saw, because I left the room before they fell... More

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 3:08 PM, ,




Riverchasers
Thursday, September 06, 2007

Tournament: Riverchasers Online Poker Tour
When: September 6th, 21:00 ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: Riverchasers

Be there or be square.

G

***This post proudly sponsored by the good folks at GNUF poker room. Drop by and see them***

posted by GaryC @ 3:42 PM, ,




The Ballpark Trip
Tuesday, September 04, 2007

I've extolled the virtues of my wife many times on this "Poker" blog, but at this time of the year, I feel the need to explain it yet again. If you tire of these types of post, tough shit!

For the folks that got to fly in here for Okie-Vegas, they already know when I say that my wife is the coolest woman on the planet, that I am speaking the truth.

This year marks 13 years of marriage for us and I have already mentioned that on our honeymoon, she took me to Vegas for the first time in my life. I'm going back just 12 years this time, to the date marking our very 1st anniversary.

She had been very secretive leading up to the actual day, but I knew that I needed to be through with work by 2 pm and that I needed to be waiting at the house, packed with casual clothes for her arrival.

She got home at 2:05, we loaded up the car and we headed south, straight down I-35. I had no idea for what. There were no casinos down there, we were past the airport and getting closer to Texas with every passing minute and I still had absolutely no idea where we were going or what we were going to do.

We kept driving and kept driving and finally, we hit Dallas, right in the middle of fawking rush hour. Jebus, I think you could have timed this better honey. She was driving and I was watching every sign and taking in every exit that she took all the way to................Arlington, next right. WTF?

Most of you know that I am a Texas Rangers baseball fan. A BIG fan and I watch them at every opportunity at home. They have always been my favorite team and probably will always be my favorite team. She knew this and had planned this trip out for weeks beforehand.

This was also the time when the Rangers were making the playoffs, so they were pretty good and their ballpark, The Ballpark In Arlington, was just a year or two old at the time.

As we pulled into the parking lot, two full hours before game time, we drove up almost to the front entrance of the ballpark. It was like a shrine for baseball. When I got out of the car and looked up at the brick facade framing that beautiful ballpark, I had goose-bumps over every part of my body.

As we walked in that front gate and up that ramp, we emerged one section above field level and were looking directly out at the entire playing field, from behind home plate. I almost cried, it was so beautfiul.

I've been a ballplayer all my life and I've played in some pretty nice venues, nothing major, of course, but still, some pretty nice parks. Back in 1997, there was not a prettier ballpark anywhere than the Ballpark In Arlington. It was like a religous-baseball experience for me.

We made our way around, grabbed some hot dogs and some beers and found our seats for batting practice. Our seats were 9 rows behind the first base dugout, with a perfect view of the entire playing field. The first base dugout just happens to be the Rangers dugout and I was shouting distance from the guys that I watched on TV every single night they were on.

Will Clark. Pudge Rodriguez. Juan Gonzales. Rusty Greer. John Wetteland.

They were pretty good back then and if it weren't for the damned Yankees, they might have made it to a World Series back in those couple of years.

We sat there, in almost complete silence, the entire game. I took it in and I enjoyed every second of that night. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience for me. Oh, we've been back and seen alot of pro games live, but that first trip, walking into that stadium on my 1st anniversary and knowing that the sweet lady beside me made it all possible, it was most definitely a night that I will never forget.

She did that shit for me, yo! I must be doing something right.

Until next time, I fold.

G

posted by GaryC @ 4:29 PM, ,