Closed-circuit for Columbus, GA poker players:
The talk of the tables Thursday night was that The Dawg House had stopped four-night-a-week poker tournaments.
We called The Dawg House today, and an employee made it sound like a temporary thing -- with games to resume next week.
We also called the Columbus Vice Squad, to see if any action was taken there this week. An officer said we'd have to contact the Captain "who can release a statement" - but he won't be in until Monday.
Make of all this what you will.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Poker Night 244: King Me
It was a fairly good day in online poker -- a top-100 finish in a tournament with 641, then an $1,820 pretend cash game gain. So did that mean our final table slump would end at Lil Kim's Cove tonight? A key moment came early....
BLINDS: 25/50
IN THE POCKET: K-Q of clubs
We won a small early pot, so our chip stack stands at about 5,300. A player ahead of us raises to 350, and we call with our suited connectors. Several players at the full table join in.
ON THE FLOP: J-2-7 (Jack is a club)
Not quite a direct hit, but we have 60 percent of a royal flush. The other players at the table do us a favor by checking.
ON THE TURN: 2c
The board pairs -- but now we have a real flush draw. A man to our immediate right makes a really serious bet of 600. It's about a tenth of our stack, but something tells us he doesn't have a 2. We decide to take the chance and call. No one else does.
ON THE RIVER: Ks
We miss the flush, but gain two pair. Yet our opponent doesn't slow down, betting 1,800. Now we stop to think for a moment. Could he have three of a kind after all? We're not really sure -- but cautious play hasn't worked for us lately, so we go for it.
"I'll call. Do you have a 2?"
"You win." Our opponent mucks his cards - clearly a sign he was bluffing! We show our K-Q to claim a big pot.
"He sucked out on the river," another player says. OK by us.
That put our stack above 9,000 -- and then we ordered a tasty cheeseburger for 6,000 more. But alas, two big bettors started dominating the table. We should have stayed out of the way, but we lost a couple of big pots trying to challenge them.
Eventually we put 1,000 chips in with A-10, then watched a big spender bet 5,000 on a flop of A-5-6. We called -- then went all-in when the turn was 6. Trouble was, the big spender had 6-5 for a full house. The river was 4 and we were no more -- tied for fifth at our table. Our slump of misses in local tournaments grows to a record 13.
MINISTRY MOMENT: The man who took us out led us into a fascinating discussion of God tonight, before the cards were even dealt. We carried a small candle, to note Jesus's instruction to be "a light to the world" (Matthew 5:14). "Do you believe in Jesus?" we asked.
"Yes and no," the man answered. "I have my doubts." Why? Because even though the man was dragged to church by his parents every weekend, he says he's become a logical thinker.
"If God has all power and can do anything," he asked, "why can't he make a rock he cannot lift?"
How would you answer this skeptic's question? We'll tell you what we said in a future post.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 94 final tables in 244 nights (38.5%) - 15 cashes. We checked the records, and we've had "one in 13" streaks a couple of times. Maybe we're due for a comeback?!
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 130 point wins in 633 games (20.5%), 47 final tables, 4 cashes. We've earned points four days in a row, and finished sixth in a Senior Championship qualifying game Wednesday.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL CORRECTED: Pretend cash games - $44,797, up $1,070. (Updated, as the website shows we haven't topped $45,000 after all.)
UPDATE 1/1:45am 4.29.11
BLINDS: 25/50
IN THE POCKET: K-Q of clubs
We won a small early pot, so our chip stack stands at about 5,300. A player ahead of us raises to 350, and we call with our suited connectors. Several players at the full table join in.
ON THE FLOP: J-2-7 (Jack is a club)
Not quite a direct hit, but we have 60 percent of a royal flush. The other players at the table do us a favor by checking.
ON THE TURN: 2c
The board pairs -- but now we have a real flush draw. A man to our immediate right makes a really serious bet of 600. It's about a tenth of our stack, but something tells us he doesn't have a 2. We decide to take the chance and call. No one else does.
ON THE RIVER: Ks
We miss the flush, but gain two pair. Yet our opponent doesn't slow down, betting 1,800. Now we stop to think for a moment. Could he have three of a kind after all? We're not really sure -- but cautious play hasn't worked for us lately, so we go for it.
"I'll call. Do you have a 2?"
"You win." Our opponent mucks his cards - clearly a sign he was bluffing! We show our K-Q to claim a big pot.
"He sucked out on the river," another player says. OK by us.
That put our stack above 9,000 -- and then we ordered a tasty cheeseburger for 6,000 more. But alas, two big bettors started dominating the table. We should have stayed out of the way, but we lost a couple of big pots trying to challenge them.
Eventually we put 1,000 chips in with A-10, then watched a big spender bet 5,000 on a flop of A-5-6. We called -- then went all-in when the turn was 6. Trouble was, the big spender had 6-5 for a full house. The river was 4 and we were no more -- tied for fifth at our table. Our slump of misses in local tournaments grows to a record 13.
MINISTRY MOMENT: The man who took us out led us into a fascinating discussion of God tonight, before the cards were even dealt. We carried a small candle, to note Jesus's instruction to be "a light to the world" (Matthew 5:14). "Do you believe in Jesus?" we asked.
"Yes and no," the man answered. "I have my doubts." Why? Because even though the man was dragged to church by his parents every weekend, he says he's become a logical thinker.
"If God has all power and can do anything," he asked, "why can't he make a rock he cannot lift?"
How would you answer this skeptic's question? We'll tell you what we said in a future post.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 94 final tables in 244 nights (38.5%) - 15 cashes. We checked the records, and we've had "one in 13" streaks a couple of times. Maybe we're due for a comeback?!
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 130 point wins in 633 games (20.5%), 47 final tables, 4 cashes. We've earned points four days in a row, and finished sixth in a Senior Championship qualifying game Wednesday.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL CORRECTED: Pretend cash games - $44,797, up $1,070. (Updated, as the website shows we haven't topped $45,000 after all.)
UPDATE 1/1:45am 4.29.11
Five for Five
More than 500 players regularly enter the National League of Poker's weekly video poker championships on Sunday evenings. The top seven win money, so the odds of cashing are steep. Yet we've now done it three times in seven months!
After making second place in October and first place in early January, we finished fifth this past Sunday to earn five dollars. We actually tied in points, but apparently won a tiebreaker with a bigger single hand. (Sixth place also won five dollars, so there's no real disappointment either way.)
So how are we doing this -- especially since a computer deals the cards to every player, presumably at random? This big hand offers a clue. We were dealt three Aces, and held them over. Four Aces earns you 2,000 points if the "kicker card" is a 2, 3 or 4. (Higher cards mean a smaller payoff, such as 800.)
You can watch the "leader board" on the screen, and see what the target numbers are as the 100-hand tournament moves along. If someone makes a royal flush (and it happened very early Sunday), it's time to "go for broke." We only save cards which can bring us maximum scores. After all, eighth place earns the same as 508th -- nothing.
But we'd add this: we also pray for God's will to be done before a weekly championship....
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you. - I Peter 5:6-7 (KJV)
Does it always lead to a payday? Nooooo -- remember, we've missed the money 90 percent of the time since last October. But ten percent is well ahead of the overall odds. And as some preachers would say, we're glad about it.
After making second place in October and first place in early January, we finished fifth this past Sunday to earn five dollars. We actually tied in points, but apparently won a tiebreaker with a bigger single hand. (Sixth place also won five dollars, so there's no real disappointment either way.)
So how are we doing this -- especially since a computer deals the cards to every player, presumably at random? This big hand offers a clue. We were dealt three Aces, and held them over. Four Aces earns you 2,000 points if the "kicker card" is a 2, 3 or 4. (Higher cards mean a smaller payoff, such as 800.)You can watch the "leader board" on the screen, and see what the target numbers are as the 100-hand tournament moves along. If someone makes a royal flush (and it happened very early Sunday), it's time to "go for broke." We only save cards which can bring us maximum scores. After all, eighth place earns the same as 508th -- nothing.
But we'd add this: we also pray for God's will to be done before a weekly championship....
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you. - I Peter 5:6-7 (KJV)
Does it always lead to a payday? Nooooo -- remember, we've missed the money 90 percent of the time since last October. But ten percent is well ahead of the overall odds. And as some preachers would say, we're glad about it.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Heads-Up Championship Week 2: Mellower Mouth
Apologies again for posting so late about the Sunday NBC Heads-Up Poker telecast. We had another busy weekend -- but hopefully that will change in coming weeks.
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow didn't do well in Sunday's match, losing in the opening round. NBC's Ali Nejad read him well, saying he didn't seem ready. In fact, Matusow seemed downright quiet while on camera -- not sounding boastful, except for one small moment when he won a pot.
Perhaps age is mellowing "The Mouth" a bit. But you're never too young to learn this lesson from the apostle Paul....
You could win a massive pot at the World Series of Poker, but still wind up losing the tournament. And ultimately, you can't take poker winnings with you beyond this life. The only hope for an eternal win is through a relationship with Christ Jesus....
So what has Christ done for you lately? The comments are open.
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow didn't do well in Sunday's match, losing in the opening round. NBC's Ali Nejad read him well, saying he didn't seem ready. In fact, Matusow seemed downright quiet while on camera -- not sounding boastful, except for one small moment when he won a pot.
Perhaps age is mellowing "The Mouth" a bit. But you're never too young to learn this lesson from the apostle Paul....
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. -- Galatians 6:14
You could win a massive pot at the World Series of Poker, but still wind up losing the tournament. And ultimately, you can't take poker winnings with you beyond this life. The only hope for an eternal win is through a relationship with Christ Jesus....
....who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." -- I Corinthians 1:30-31
So what has Christ done for you lately? The comments are open.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Poker Night 243: A Time to Panic
We changed our poker schedule this week due to a special Holy Day, and made a Tuesday night visit to The Red Barn. We won two early pots to jump above 9,000 chips. And then....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: 7-8 of diamonds
We sit in the Small Blind, and have lost a couple of mid-sized pots to drop to about 6,400. We limp in with suited connectors, but the Big Blind raises to 500. We join about three other players in calling.
ON THE FLOP: 6s-9h-10h
Now that's a nice order of cards -- a straight on the flop! We decide to slow-play to maximize our gains, and the Big Blind bets 300. After other players call, we're tempted for a moment to go all-in. After all, two hearts are showing and someone could be on a flush draw. But instead, we make a modest raise of 1,000. Only the Big Blind calls.
ON THE TURN: Ah
Uh-oh -- not the suit we want to see. We cautiously check, and the Big Blind bets 2,000.
"Can you beat a flush?" he asks us. "If you can't beat a flush, don't bother calling."
We've heard trash talk like this before, and we conclude he's trying to chase us off the pot. We call 2,000, leaving 2,250 in our stack.
ON THE RIVER: 5h
Oh no!!! Now four hearts are showing, and our straight looks like a dead-end street. We check again. Our opponent bets 2,000 again.
"OK, I'll fold my straight," we say showing our cards.
"I had the flush," the pot-winner says. But he never shows the cards to prove it, and he asks moments later why we called his pre-flop raise in the first place. (Our "suited connectors" explanation seemed to satisfy him.)
So did we completely misplay this hand? We're not really sure. Other players at The Red Barn tend to buy more bar items than we do, giving them an automatic chip advantage due to bonuses. So our opponent had more chips to play with than we did.
But if we had pushed for 5,250 more chips after seeing the straight on the flop, the table probably would have presumed we had a huge hand and folded on the spot -- or someone like Mr. Big Blind with a huge stack might have decided to take us on, and in the process potentially take us out. What would you do?
We never recovered from that big loss -- eventually going all-in with A-9 after the one-hour break. A woman called with 3-2. So what happened? The flop was 3-3-2, of course. She made a full house, and sent us home shaking our head -- sixth place out of six at our table.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "That looks nice," the Tournament Director said after looking at our "Lord's Supper" card protector. He hadn't seen it before. Here's a quote from that famous supper which you may have overlooked....
When we lost that big straight to the presumed flush, the pot winner and another man exchanged a "knuckled bump" across the table -- right in front of our nose. No one ever seems to offer that to us. The paranoid/persecuted thinker might conclude from that the other players are out to get us. It's not "killing," but a targeted elimination.
It's the nature of a poker game, of course. The only way you win is by eliminating everyone else. But why might we be on a "hit list" of sorts?
By comparison, a much more Christ-like attitude was displayed by the woman who hit that unlikely full house to eliminate us. "I still love you," she said as she shook our hand -- even though she offered it a touch early on the turn, when running Aces didn't come.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 94 final tables in 243 nights (38.7%) - 15 cashes. The slump stands at 12....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: 7-8 of diamonds
We sit in the Small Blind, and have lost a couple of mid-sized pots to drop to about 6,400. We limp in with suited connectors, but the Big Blind raises to 500. We join about three other players in calling.
ON THE FLOP: 6s-9h-10h
Now that's a nice order of cards -- a straight on the flop! We decide to slow-play to maximize our gains, and the Big Blind bets 300. After other players call, we're tempted for a moment to go all-in. After all, two hearts are showing and someone could be on a flush draw. But instead, we make a modest raise of 1,000. Only the Big Blind calls.
ON THE TURN: Ah
Uh-oh -- not the suit we want to see. We cautiously check, and the Big Blind bets 2,000.
"Can you beat a flush?" he asks us. "If you can't beat a flush, don't bother calling."
We've heard trash talk like this before, and we conclude he's trying to chase us off the pot. We call 2,000, leaving 2,250 in our stack.
ON THE RIVER: 5h
Oh no!!! Now four hearts are showing, and our straight looks like a dead-end street. We check again. Our opponent bets 2,000 again.
"OK, I'll fold my straight," we say showing our cards.
"I had the flush," the pot-winner says. But he never shows the cards to prove it, and he asks moments later why we called his pre-flop raise in the first place. (Our "suited connectors" explanation seemed to satisfy him.)
So did we completely misplay this hand? We're not really sure. Other players at The Red Barn tend to buy more bar items than we do, giving them an automatic chip advantage due to bonuses. So our opponent had more chips to play with than we did.
But if we had pushed for 5,250 more chips after seeing the straight on the flop, the table probably would have presumed we had a huge hand and folded on the spot -- or someone like Mr. Big Blind with a huge stack might have decided to take us on, and in the process potentially take us out. What would you do?
We never recovered from that big loss -- eventually going all-in with A-9 after the one-hour break. A woman called with 3-2. So what happened? The flop was 3-3-2, of course. She made a full house, and sent us home shaking our head -- sixth place out of six at our table.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "That looks nice," the Tournament Director said after looking at our "Lord's Supper" card protector. He hadn't seen it before. Here's a quote from that famous supper which you may have overlooked....
They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. - John 16:2
When we lost that big straight to the presumed flush, the pot winner and another man exchanged a "knuckled bump" across the table -- right in front of our nose. No one ever seems to offer that to us. The paranoid/persecuted thinker might conclude from that the other players are out to get us. It's not "killing," but a targeted elimination.
It's the nature of a poker game, of course. The only way you win is by eliminating everyone else. But why might we be on a "hit list" of sorts?
They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. - John 16:3
By comparison, a much more Christ-like attitude was displayed by the woman who hit that unlikely full house to eliminate us. "I still love you," she said as she shook our hand -- even though she offered it a touch early on the turn, when running Aces didn't come.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 94 final tables in 243 nights (38.7%) - 15 cashes. The slump stands at 12....
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Slump-Buster?
For the third time in seven months, we won money tonight at the weekly video poker championship of National League of Poker. In fact, it was our third "top five" finish -- fifth place out of 523 players!
How did we do it? We'll show you and reveal some of our strategy.... later this week in another post. We'll also share our thoughts on today's second week of the Heads-Up Poker Championship on NBC. But not now -- we're under time restrictions for the seventh Day of Unleavened Bread.
How did we do it? We'll show you and reveal some of our strategy.... later this week in another post. We'll also share our thoughts on today's second week of the Heads-Up Poker Championship on NBC. But not now -- we're under time restrictions for the seventh Day of Unleavened Bread.
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Next Shoe Drops
First came the shutdown of several online poker sites. Now ESPN executives are talking like they might stop showing poker on its networks, after this year's World Series main event.
Of course, the poker sites are big advertisers. But don't people eat enough beef jerky to justify keeping those games on cable?
Of course, the poker sites are big advertisers. But don't people eat enough beef jerky to justify keeping those games on cable?
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