We began 2008 with $2,824 in our pretend Yahoo poker chip stack.
As of this posting, we're at $10,613.
Wow -- a gain of almost $7,800! We've more than tripled our total! How did that happen?
We actually drooped to a low for the year of $1,890 on May 7. But we rallied to above $3,100 in late June.
On July 3 we dabbled in Yahoo blackjack, and had a big gain of $661. That put us above $4,000. We did it again August 7, and gained $1,500 in one fell swoop -- pushing us to almost $6,000. Another $800 came September 1.
But since Labor Day, almost all the gain has been from poker -- a jump of about $3,500. We think it's because we play at small tables (3-6 players), fold bad hands before the flop (you'd be surprised how many online players don't), and get away while we're ahead.
In real tournaments, we had first-place finishes at Lil Kim's Cove in January and December, seconds in April and July, and a couple of thirds as well. Six "podium finishes" in 32 nights?! Not bad.
May you have even better success in 2009!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Show and Tell II
We wondered what you thought of the ClubWPT.com "bluff chip."
It strikes us as an interesting gimmick -- and sometimes a dream come true. But we'd want to hold it until it's absolutely necessary. For instance, if things look like a showdown between two big hands or big bets.
Ecclesiastes 3:6 says there's a "time to seek, a time to lose...." If a bluff chip is in play, we'd sugegst choose that moment of "seeking" carefully -- as in seeking the information about your opponent's hand. Else you might make yourself a target, and your ability to bluff might be diminished.
It strikes us as an interesting gimmick -- and sometimes a dream come true. But we'd want to hold it until it's absolutely necessary. For instance, if things look like a showdown between two big hands or big bets.
Ecclesiastes 3:6 says there's a "time to seek, a time to lose...." If a bluff chip is in play, we'd sugegst choose that moment of "seeking" carefully -- as in seeking the information about your opponent's hand. Else you might make yourself a target, and your ability to bluff might be diminished.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Show and tell
We were watching the "ClubWPT.com" marathon on Fox Sports the other night, and saw something which was new to us -- the "bluff chip."
Each player has one, that can be used anytime in the game. Throw the bluff chip at your opponent, and he/she has to turn over hole cards so the entire table sees them.
Good idea? Bad idea? Our thoughts on it are coming shortly.
Each player has one, that can be used anytime in the game. Throw the bluff chip at your opponent, and he/she has to turn over hole cards so the entire table sees them.
Good idea? Bad idea? Our thoughts on it are coming shortly.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
H-2-No
Quickly updating a couple of items:
1. Club H2O will NOT have poker on Wednesday night, December 31. The club's web site is promoting a year-end party with a $10 admission fee. (Their poker nights are always free to play.)
2. With no local tournaments available for us on our best nights to play (Wednesday-Thursday), we're sticking to Yahoo online games. Our updated total is $10,245 - up $107 in a week.
1. Club H2O will NOT have poker on Wednesday night, December 31. The club's web site is promoting a year-end party with a $10 admission fee. (Their poker nights are always free to play.)
2. With no local tournaments available for us on our best nights to play (Wednesday-Thursday), we're sticking to Yahoo online games. Our updated total is $10,245 - up $107 in a week.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
A "boat" and pairs
At our online table Monday, a player whose ID begins with "wood" won a pot with a full house.
"The ol' wooden boat," we wrote to congratulate.
A few hands later, that player did it again.
"Fleet of wooden boats!" we wrote.
"All that and Noah!" the winner replied. Now that's the way to turn the discussion Biblical.
"Well, he really only needed one," we noted.
"Right on!" came the reply.
"And he had much more than two pair."
If you're puzzled by this post right now, we invite you to review Genesis 6-9. Noah built a boat to save the human race, because he was obedient to God. Then pairs of unclean animals and sevens of male and female clean animals entered the ark, and God preserved them as well.
We're not sure how the full house in poker gained the nickname "boat." But one of the most full "boats" which ever sailed made it possible for us to write this -- and for you to read it. Noah's obedience mattered that much. Are you obedient to God that much?
"The ol' wooden boat," we wrote to congratulate.
A few hands later, that player did it again.
"Fleet of wooden boats!" we wrote.
"All that and Noah!" the winner replied. Now that's the way to turn the discussion Biblical.
"Well, he really only needed one," we noted.
"Right on!" came the reply.
"And he had much more than two pair."
If you're puzzled by this post right now, we invite you to review Genesis 6-9. Noah built a boat to save the human race, because he was obedient to God. Then pairs of unclean animals and sevens of male and female clean animals entered the ark, and God preserved them as well.
We're not sure how the full house in poker gained the nickname "boat." But one of the most full "boats" which ever sailed made it possible for us to write this -- and for you to read it. Noah's obedience mattered that much. Are you obedient to God that much?
Monday, December 22, 2008
One card later
It occurs to us that we gave this blog the wrong name. It shouldn't be On the Flop. It should be On the Turn.
A lot can happen on the "turn card," you know. Hopes for a flush can disappear -- for instance, if two spades are on the board and you're holding a third. But if you're holding the right pocket pair, the turn card can give you three of a kind. Or even quads.
The Christian life centers around a turn as well. Turning from a life of sin, to a new life in Jesus Christ. Some call it the "conversion" process.
We've written an article about that, and posted it online. Find a Bible, and take a little time to read it. One good "turn" deserves another, you know.
A lot can happen on the "turn card," you know. Hopes for a flush can disappear -- for instance, if two spades are on the board and you're holding a third. But if you're holding the right pocket pair, the turn card can give you three of a kind. Or even quads.
The Christian life centers around a turn as well. Turning from a life of sin, to a new life in Jesus Christ. Some call it the "conversion" process.
We've written an article about that, and posted it online. Find a Bible, and take a little time to read it. One good "turn" deserves another, you know.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Poker Night #52: Better Late Than Never
First the bad news: The Thursday night poker action has changed at Lil Kim's Cove. There's now a tournament doubleheader -- first game at 7pm, second around 9:30pm. So when we showed up at 8:20pm, the action was already down to three tables. All we could do was watch.
Now the good news: we WON the nightcap! With about 30 players taking part, we survived to the final two. Then we split the prize money with a young man, who looked like a college student. We win $30; he gets $20 and the "bucket of beers" we don't drink. But we had a 2-1 chip lead when we settled, so we can claim victory. (Or at least we're going to!)
Several big bets did not go well for us early. But then several all-in moments did. One with pocket aces gained us a double-up of 9,000 chips, which gave us enough cushion to hold on to the final table. We also were helped by the fact that a couple of players quit early for the evening, and "shared the wealth" with everyone else when they did. We're calling this "Barack Obama rules."
At the final table, we started with a rather small stack. So we bided our time while a couple of players ran out of chips and patience. Then the pocket pairs came in bunches. In one case, our pocket Kings led to a third on the board -- and we sang a poker version of "We Three Kings."
In another case, we took out two players at once:
BLINDS: 5,000/10,000
IN THE POCKET: 10-10
A woman to our right goes all-in with 30,000 chips. We dare to call it. Then a third player goes all-in. Both our opponents have the same hand: A-J.
ON THE FLOP: Other stuff. They were turned over so fast that we couldn't take notes -- but the 10's held up, to knock the field down to four.
A couple of hands later, we had pocket 7's when a man across from us went all-in. A third 7 came on the turn, and he was gone.
We'd like to declare our recent live tournament slump over. This was our first final table since late September at The Roadhouse, and our first time in the money (top two) since July.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Two players had a look at our "Jesus as your Savior" coin. One woman quietly agreed with the message, saying nothing. We never could ask the question to the second person -- a man who had a scorpion in a tiny plastic case for his card protector. He explained it was a horoscope thing.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 22 final tables in 52 nights (42.3%) - 7 cashes (13.5%).
We should note Lil Kim's Cove will be closed the next two Thursday nights for holidays. (We had work commitments, anyway.) We're assuming Club H2O will be closed for Wednesday night play December 24; we'll have to call about December 31, because we're not sure.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $10,138 - up $531. (Off $130 from our record high, set Dec. 17.)
Now the good news: we WON the nightcap! With about 30 players taking part, we survived to the final two. Then we split the prize money with a young man, who looked like a college student. We win $30; he gets $20 and the "bucket of beers" we don't drink. But we had a 2-1 chip lead when we settled, so we can claim victory. (Or at least we're going to!)
Several big bets did not go well for us early. But then several all-in moments did. One with pocket aces gained us a double-up of 9,000 chips, which gave us enough cushion to hold on to the final table. We also were helped by the fact that a couple of players quit early for the evening, and "shared the wealth" with everyone else when they did. We're calling this "Barack Obama rules."
At the final table, we started with a rather small stack. So we bided our time while a couple of players ran out of chips and patience. Then the pocket pairs came in bunches. In one case, our pocket Kings led to a third on the board -- and we sang a poker version of "We Three Kings."
In another case, we took out two players at once:
BLINDS: 5,000/10,000
IN THE POCKET: 10-10
A woman to our right goes all-in with 30,000 chips. We dare to call it. Then a third player goes all-in. Both our opponents have the same hand: A-J.
ON THE FLOP: Other stuff. They were turned over so fast that we couldn't take notes -- but the 10's held up, to knock the field down to four.
A couple of hands later, we had pocket 7's when a man across from us went all-in. A third 7 came on the turn, and he was gone.
We'd like to declare our recent live tournament slump over. This was our first final table since late September at The Roadhouse, and our first time in the money (top two) since July.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Two players had a look at our "Jesus as your Savior" coin. One woman quietly agreed with the message, saying nothing. We never could ask the question to the second person -- a man who had a scorpion in a tiny plastic case for his card protector. He explained it was a horoscope thing.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 22 final tables in 52 nights (42.3%) - 7 cashes (13.5%).
We should note Lil Kim's Cove will be closed the next two Thursday nights for holidays. (We had work commitments, anyway.) We're assuming Club H2O will be closed for Wednesday night play December 24; we'll have to call about December 31, because we're not sure.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $10,138 - up $531. (Off $130 from our record high, set Dec. 17.)
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