Vegas Baby!

I just got back from a week in Vegas yesterday and will have a full accounting of the trip shortly. In the meantime, here are a few pics. First is a million dollar pile of bills, then Bellagio at night and finally the canals at the Venetian.

Another Winning Session

I hit the Borgata again yesterday and sat in a $2/5 No Limit game. I observed a few hands before I was dealt in and I knew there were some loose-aggressive players that would build big pots but would also be dangerous as it is hard to put them on hands since they play such a wide range of cards. I was patient and mostly folded for the first 30 minutes. I won one nice pot but was really biding my time and waiting for the big kill I knew I could make with these kinds of players. After raising with a pair of eights and then folding when I was re-raised pre-flop, I looked down at a couple of tens and made it $20 to go. Three players called my bet and we saw the flop. The poker gods were smiling on me as the first three cards appeared on the felt: 10-6-6. I had flopped a full-house, an absolute monster! Knowing how agressive the other players were I slow played and let them do the betting for me. I checked and a player bet out $50, another played called and I just called, as well. The turn was a 2 and I checked agian. The first bettor put out a $150 stack of chips, the second player folded and I re-raised another $235, and was all-in. The other player called and when I turned over my hand he practically threw his cards in the muck. He was drawing dead, the last card was meaningless and the dealer pushed me a pile of nearly $1000 of chips! This was in the first hour of play!. I played for about another hour then racked my chips, cashed in and headed to dinner.
My confidence is high as I prepare to leave for Vegas this weekend!

Back to Borgata

Tuesday was my first day back to the poker room at Borgata since I started dating Lauren and I was anxious to see if I could get my focus back. I decided to play conservative and sat at a $2/$5 No-Limit game that had just started before I got there so there were no big stacks yet. I folded my first hand (King-Ten, under the gun) but did play my next hand which was Ace-Eight suited, in diamonds and I was in the Big Blind. I got an ace on the flop but there were three clubs on the board. I bet out and the player to my left made a minimum re-raise, a weak move here. I called and the turn was a non-club rag. I checked and he checked behind me which confirmed my suspicion he had a single club and was looking to hit his flush. The river was another ace, giving me trips and I checked again to see what he might do. He gave up and checked and I took down the pot. A nice opener for sure.
The very next hand, in the Small Blind, I looked down at pocket fours and the whole table limped in and I limped, as well. The flop came 4-K-T and I was first to act and checked. Another player bet $30 and three others called. I thought about raising but decided to smooth call. The turn card I believed was meaningless and I checked again. This time the first better moved all-in and it was folded to me and I called instantly. He turned over King-Ten for top two pair and I showed him my set of fours and he sighed in disappointment. The river didn't help him and I doubled my buy-in on the second hand! I played for about another hour and then took the money and ran. A $540 profit in an hour and a half, not too shabby. Looks like I have a new lucky charm!

I Hit The Jackpot!

I haven't played poker in a week. Like CNN before me, I have been struck by the love bug. It's like hitting a Royal Flush in Hearts on the river to win a monster pot, to put it in poker parlance. My new girlfriend is amazing and I've never been happier! I'm sure it will have an incredibly positive impact on my game when I do get back to the action this week. We've been out every night for the last 11 nights and having a great time together. Just wanted to shout it from the rooftops!
Here's a pic of her from Halloween. Her name is Lauren:

Like the Sands of The Hour Glass...

Thursday night they imploded the Sands Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. Lots of history in that place and not just for me. Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack actually use to hang out there. I learned how to play craps there and I had my first $10k+ win playing poker there. It was also where I competed in my first major, televised poker tournament ($10,000 buy-in) with one of the toughest professional fields ever assembled at the time in AC (if you had Fox Sports Net at the time you could have witnessed it on Thanksgiving Day back in 2003!. Lucky for me my bro in San Diego taped it for me!). I can even remember skipping school back in 11th grade and taking one of those bus trips down there to play blackjack!
The Sands was a place where you could sit down at a table and they greeted you by name because they actually knew your name. Those days in AC are gone for good now I think.

After a brief fireworks display it all came down in 18 seconds.

The One Pounder

Yesterday afternoon I accepted the challenge thrown down by Dave Guthrie that I couldn't eat in one seating, the 20 oz. monster cheeseburger at Cheeburger Cheeburger. Well, below are the before and after pics and my image now appears on the wall of fame at the route 202 location.

Flagged!

This photo is probably just as blurry as the subjects' memories of yesterday. That is none other than Ted, CNN and CNN's big bro Don standing outside John's Bar & Grille shortly after Ted and CNN were flagged! I have never seen Ted get flagged from any bar (although he came close in downtown Saratoga) let alone John's, but he took it like a true drunken gentleman. His futile attempts to argue a logical case with the bartenders for more shots were quite entertaining to witness, as well.

Punta Cana Photos

While my personal memories of the Punta Cana trip are still a bit hazy, I am relying on the generosity of other, less alcoholically-challenged, travelers who had the forethought to even take a camera with them to submit their photos to me. I did manage to take a few shots with my trusty camera phone and I present them here now for your immediate enjoyment.
The first image is of the Punta Cana International Airport. Even with a thatched roof and mule-driven baggage cars, this facility is 1000% more efficient than Philthadelphia's billion dollar fiasco!
The remaining images are of the beach at the resort, the beautiful pool (I was unable to photograph the swim-up bar due to security issues, mainly my own) and the two talking parrots that would roam the grounds looking for food handouts and behaving in a generally annoying fashion. They'd throw you some false compliment to put you at ease, then go right for your wristwatch! Damn parrots!

Back In the USA

It's good to be back in the US and A and my return from the Carribbean was quite timely as I beat Hurrican Dean's arrival by just a few days.
Punta Cana was alot of fun with great beaches, good food and even better rum. While I didn't get to play any poker on this trip, I did manage to get in a few sessions at the craps table and even some blackjack. My blackjack Basic Strategy was a little rusty, but its like riding a bike and soon I was hitting, splitting and doubling down like a seasoned pro. It was a very small casino with only two blackjack tables, a craps table and a roulette wheel, but it was fun and the only place open until 3 am (other than the disco which was a little cheesy for my tastes).
I am anxious to get back into the action as it has been about two weeks since I played live poker. I plan to get back in the game at Borgata some time this week.

Toga! Toga! Toga!

The road trip to Saratoga this weekend was a successful blend of excessive drinking, swimming, eating and horse betting that exceeded all expectations. Ted and I got a late start Friday on the drive and the trip up was a painful six hours with traffic. Once we got there the margaritas and beer were flowing and Kro's beautiful new pool provided a needed late night cool down. Making the trip up were Goose, Weist and Ray along with their wives, and Ted and I made up the single contingency. CNN and JFTB both backed out at the last minute and were missed by all.
Saturday morning we arose early for breakfast and to get ready for the big day at the track. Wendy and Ray had secured a prime picnic location in the wee hours of the morning while we all slept off our margaritas. We packed up the food and beer (after a few of Goose's bloody marys) and hit the track just before noon, with the first race scheduled for 1 pm. The long shots were having a field day in the early races and it was tough to pick winners, but as the day progressed and the beer intake increased we started to hit some winners, at one point going 4 for 4 with the #5 horse! In the tenth race we had the 29 to 1 longshot across the board and it was the most exciting race of the day. He almost won the race wire to wire, but faded in the final stretch and came in second for a nice payday that more than made up for the earlier disappointments and losses. We left after the tenth race and missed the eleventh race as it was after 6 pm and the sun and beer had taken its toll on us. All we wanted to do was get back to Kro's and jump in the pool.
After some dinner and even more beer I was content with the evening prospect of hanging at Kro's house playing some beer pong and chilling, when the subject of going Down Town was broached. One by one we conceded and before I knew it we were piling into Wendy's car as she had graciously offered to drop us off Down Town. It was after 10 pm as Kro, Goose, Ted, Ray and I (Weist stayed back at the house) made our way into the first bar of the night. By 1 am we had hit four different establishments, including a rowdy college bar with a drinking game table at center stage, a fifth floor rooftop bar and a reggae bar that had sold out of Red Stripe!
We settled in at the fourth stop with a couple dozen hot wings and a couple pitchers of beer. Around 2 am we decided it would be smart to call a cab and head home. The waitress told us she called a cab and we closed our tab and proceeded to wait outside. The town streets were packed with people and we figured it would be a bit of a wait, but after thirty minutes we were really getting impatient and a few of us ventured back inside to wait at the bar. When I strolled back inside I found Ted and Ray with a fresh round of margaritas and Ted was beginning to work his magic on the juke box with a montage of AC/DC & Van Halen selections. I ordered a 'rita myself and settled in at the bar. A few minutes later Kro strolled back in and a few minutes after that Goose finally figured why should he be waiting outside for a cab while we were all inside drinking!? Within minutes we had our full drink on and we were feeling no pain!
At one point it appeared that our cab actually pulled up out front but another drunk person jumped into it before we could get to it or even put down our drinks. By 3 am, and many margaritas later, Kro was getting worried that we might not be able to get another cab, and that fear was confirmed when the bartender tried to call us one but all the cab company phone lines were busy. When the bar employees began turning off the lights and mopping the floor around us we got the picture that they wanted us to leave and we headed out into the street in search of a cab and/or more drinks (after I argued with them for not staying open until the advertised 4 am closing time). At this point Ted made it clear to us all that "we still have a solid hour of drinking ahead of us". We went in search of an open bar to continue the festivities and Kro finally called Weist to come get us when the true impact of a potential hour long walk home sunk in with the rest of us. Weist was happy to oblige which made us want to stay and drink even more, but somehow the voice of reason prevailed, although I did not recognize the voice at the time, and we were soon enroute back to Kro's. All in all it was a great trip Down Town!
I awoke Sunday morning to the wafting aroma of bacon and eggs. My eyes were as red as my sunburned scalp and my head was pounding. Only Goose's patented bloody mary could bring me back from the depths of hangover hell. After breakfast Ted and I said our goodbyes and hit the road for home. The ride home was not nearly as bad at just under four and a half hours and it was good to be back in Media. Of course I can't wait until next year's trip!

Vegas, Baby!

My airfare is booked, my two bedroom, two bath villa is reserved and I am looking forward to my next trip to Vegas! I'll be heading out the week of Thanksgiving (Sunday to Saturday) for some fun in the desert. I want to rent a car to get me around to all the different casinos and poker tournaments that week so I am investigating my options and have it narrowed down to two choices. The Lamborghini Gallardo Spider or the Ferrari Modena Spider. Which do you think is the best choice for me?

Saratoga

This weekend is the start of the races at Saratoga and a group of us are heading up to visit Krotow and his family and of course we will be attending the races on Saturday. This has always been one of my favorite trips (along with the Pocono trip) and I am looking forward to relaxing, drinking and making some money on the ponies! My good friend Street Sense (who won me a bundle at the Derby) will be racing on Saturday, too!

Summer Concerts

The Borgata is not just a gambling mecca, it is also a world class entertainment destination! Check out these upcoming shows and let me know who's interested.

July 31...311 w/ Matisyahu
August 2... The Beastie Boys
August 25... Velvet Revolver

In The Money!

FINALLY! After what seemed like an unbearable dry spell (and no, not what you're thinking) I finally broke the curse and cashed again in a poker tournament! I was at Borgata Thursday with the goal of winning a seat in the the $5k buy-in main event of the Borgata Summer Open through a satellite tourney ( a cheap way to get into the bigger buy-in events). We started with 180 players at 20 tables and the top 17 would get seats with18th place paying the leftover cash. Well, six hours later I was the short stack with exactly 18 players left. Next one out didn't get a seat, but a nice cash consolation prize. I was trying to hang around for one more player to get knocked out as I really wanted to play in the event this weekend: first place in that one should pay more than $600k! I had to make a move and put in all my chips with a marginal hand (6-9) and while I made two pair on the board, my opponent made a better two pair and I was out in 18th. What really sucks is that some of the other players were actually organizing an effort to collect an extra $100 from each player left to allow me to get a full buy-in (along with the cash prize I was guaranteed) but the action happened too fast and I was all-in before they could get agreement from everyone!
Oh well, I played great poker and I guess I really can't be disappointed.
Hopefully I got my mojo back, baby!

Borgata Bust Out

Yesterday I entered the Limit Hold em event of the Borgata Summer Open. I busted out a bit over five hours into the tournament. Disappointing, but I really only played premium hands and just got unlucky on a few big hands where I started with the best of it. I hit the Waterfront at Harrah's for dinner and then headed back to the Borgata for some cash game action. There was open seating for $1/2 No Limit and I bought in for $200. I picked a good table and got hit by the deck from the first hand. I made a straight on hand one for a small pot. Flopped top pair and the nut flush draw on the second hand, then it was pocket aces on the third hand and an early player raised into me. I reraised and we ended up getting all the money in pre-flop. He held jacks, but had less money than me, so it was a decent pot but not a full double up. Now the table was worried about me. A few hands later I accidentally flipped up one of my hole cards and exposed the 2 of clubs. I hadn't seen my other card yet but I quickly made a comment that there was another one just like it underneath. When I looked I couldn't believe it. There was another 2 giving me a pocket pair. The flop came with a 2 and two hearts. I bet out and another player raised me. I reraised and he thought about it for a minute. I thought: didn't he see what happened before the flop? After a minute he moved all-in and I quickly called. I guess only the observant players at my end of the table saw my exposed card and heard my comment. He turned over pocket nines and I turned over my set of dueces. My hand held up and for the first half hour of play I was up over $560!
I played for another hour, cashed out with a nice profit and headed home. Thursday I will be back trying to win a seat in the $5000 buy-in main event which starts Saturday and runs through Tuesday.

Streak Comes to a Crashing Halt at Belmont

My winning streak in the Triple Crown series came to a bitter finish Saturday when Imawildandcrazyguy failed to finish in the top four. The final order of horses was 7-3-2-6 and I had bet 7-3-1-6 so a big goose egg for me. Now 3 out of 4 ain't bad, but JftB won't even speak to me anymore!
This weekend I got to experience the cycle of life firsthand by attending the first birthday party of my friend's daughter and then proceeding to another friend's 60th birthday party. Both parties were fun and the weather was great, too.
So this week the saga continues and I will be back at the green felt table tomorrow. The Borgata Summer Open starts Wednesday and I am planning to play at least two of the events next week.

Friday is the much anticipated Media 5 Miler party at Ted's and that should be an awesome time!

Belmont or Bust!

The bets are down and we can only wait and see what happens now. I drove out to the Turf Club and put my money where my mouth is trying to continue my current 2 for 2 streak in the first two legs of the Triple Crown. I played the 3-6-7-1 Superfecta which is Curlin, Hard Spun, Rags to Riches and Imawildandcrazyguy. I boxed the bet so if they finish in any order in the top four we have a winner!
I also played the 3-6-7 and 3-6-1 Trifectas for a total investment of $288.

On the poker front, after my bad beats of Tuesday night, I headed back down to the Borgata on Wednesday and was able to more than recoup my loss and come out with a nice win. I got lucky on two hands in particular to win big pots, but I am entitled to suck out a few times, too! They were closing the room at 11 pm for maintenance so it was a brief session. Including my hour and a half dinner, I was there for about 5 hours. Actually I got a little reprimand for taking so long at dinner since I had locked up my seat and there was a waiting list to get into the game and they were just about to bag my chips and give someone else my seat when I sauntered back into the room. I apologized to the other players and then proceeded to triple my chip stack in the following 2 hours of play, and when I felted one player in two consecutive hands he stormed off in disgust.

Good Luck to anyone betting the Belmont. I'll have an update Monday.

Thoughts on Belmont

While I won't be in attendance, like CNN and JftB, at this weekend's Belmont Stakes, I have some preliminary thoughts on the outcome and how to bet it for maximum value.
There are 7 horses running including a filly, Rags to Riches. I think the two favorites, Curlin and Hard Spun will perform as expected even though Hard Spun has a new rider. Then you simply box them for win and place and wheel Tiago, Imawildandcrazyguy, CP West and Rags to Riches for the show and you have almost every combo covered for only a $16 minimum bet. I will watch more closely over the next two days and see how the money falls and what the odds drop to before deciding for sure, but this looks like a race you can certainly make money with!

Borgata Brutality

I got a late start yesterday so I headed to Harrah's for Dinner before playing to mix up my routine a bit. After some sushi and a little Mongolian BBQ, I walked into their poker room hoping to find a decent game. There were a few small games going but they only had a list of interest for the bigger game I was looking to play. I drove over to the Borgata where you can always count on the action.
I sat with a few recognizable faces and started to play. I won a nice pot early when I called a pre-flop raise with pocket fours and turned a full house while my opponent made the nut flush. You can't ask for anything more than that. You have the nuts and your opponent has the second best hand! I was still stacking chips when I looked down at two aces and raised it up pre-flop with one caller. I bet out with two clubs on the flop thinking I might be sweating a flush draw, but he called anyway. The turn was a rag and I bet again, he raised and I thought he might have hit a set (three of a kind) but I called and he had a set of fours so I kissed two thirds of my newly constructed chip stack away on that one.
I kept my cool as best I could after that one, and just tried to make the best of it. I was able to get back to even with a few nice pots and then the final hand came. I was in the pot for free in the blind and flopped three tens. I checked, a player bet and several more called so I pumped it up when it got to me and had one caller, coincidentally it was the same guy who had cracked my aces earlier. I checked the turn and he bet, I moved all in and he asked me if I had aa full house? I didn't say a word but now I knew he was on a drawing hand. He called and the jack on the river gave him the straight he was looking for. I was down to the felt and decided to call it an early night and head home. I was back in Media before 10 pm.
Hoping to turn things around on Thursday!

On the Belmont front, I am thinking about playing a trifecta with Curlin and Hard Spun and a few of the other notables. They will be favorites, but if we can get Digger or Tiago in third we might make a real payday. I'll update you with my final decision as they announce the post positions today.

Bday Stuff

Thursday was my bday whether I liked it or not. I started off the day with an early run to the Borgata where I was blessed by both the poker gods and my innate skills to end up winner for the day after about 8 hours of play. I had dinner at Harrah's Steakhouse, which was awesome! I started off with some oysters on the half shell, then some lobster bisque, the rib eye ( of course) and topped it off with creme brulee which they torched tableside. The tab? A whopping $0! Happy Birthday to me! They scored an A+ in all areas, even if the steak was a little smaller than the 36 ouncer at Borgata's Old Homestead.
From there I headed home in a food coma to meet up with CNN, Ted, MoC and Goose for some mandatory beers out in Media and even a car bomb at Quotations! Thank you guys! Saturday, my friend Chris from Cali was in town and we went out in Media along with Tedman. The town was quiet as most respectable folks were probably at the shore. Sunday I got in some pool time and got a little too much sun without the benefit of SPF protection! Ouch!
Sunday night was a little cookout at Tedman's, whose ribs were awesome!
Monday was a day of rest and relaxation and yesterday, after being up for most of the session, at about 11 pm I got all my money in the middle with two other players. The odds were worth the gamble and with two cards to come I was about 34% to make my flush with two hearts in my hand and two on the flop, but alas, no more hearts fell on the turn or the river and I left loser for the day.
Thanks again to all for the bday wishes and festivities!

Preakness Update

I know I should have posted something prior to the race for those of you who'd like to ride my horse handicapping success to the winner's window, but you wouldn't have done as well on this one anyway because the three favorites finished in the top three. Street Sense, the horse that did so well for me in the Derby, went off as a low-odds favorite this time so the payoff was less. I played the 7-8-4 trifecta (Hard Spun, Street Sense and Curlin) and the payoff was $50 for every $2 bet (compared to $440 for every $2 bet for the winning trifecta in the Derby).
the Belmont is in three weeks and we'll have another shot at the money then. I'll keep you posted, but I am feeling good about going 2 for 2 so far!

Kentucky Derby Update

Friday afternoon I drove out to the Turf Club to place my wagers on the Kentucky Derby. I had narrowed my picks down from the 20 horse field to four horses that I liked (see last post). I bet on #7 Street Sense "across the board" which means if he comes in first, second or third I still win. Since he won I get paid on all three wagers. He went off at 9-2 odds, so its a decent payout.
I also bet the Trifecta, which is picking the the first three horses in the order they finish. I chose the #7, #8 Hard Spun, the local favorite, and #2 Curlin. I "boxed" the bet which means I paid extra so that any combination of those three horses would make me a winner. Well, guess what? The horses finished in that order and I had a very nice payday. The Trifecta paid out $440 for every $2 wagered. Too bad I didn't try the Superfecta (top four horses in order) that one paid out over $29,000 for every $2 wagered!
I was almost ready to tear up my tix as the horses made the last turn my horse was in 19th place! Out of a 20 horse field! Then he made his move along the rail and squeezed through a few horses to take the lead from Hard Spun. He finished two lengths ahead of the local favorite.
It was quite a rush and I celebrated with a few pints at Sligo.
I'll be working on handicapping the Preakness, the next leg of the Triple Crown, which will run on May 19th in Baltimore, and I will keep you posted on my picks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOJO!

Guess Where I was?

OK, you get three guesses where I have been and the first two don't count. I had what I will classify as an uneventful day at the tables yesterday. Yes, I lost, but after the last few winning sessions I cannot complain. Besides, this game is just a continuation of one long session from January through December and I am still in the black for the year. For those of you who have not had the good fortune of actually seeing inside the Borgata poker room, I have included a snapshot here for your viewing pleasure.
So nothing too exciting to talk about. I was thinking about playing in the Opie and Anthony poker tournament at the Showboat later this month, I just can't stand those guys and if they are actually present it could affect my play! Borgata has a $250k guaranteed event this month, too.
Last weekend we saw AKJN off to Cali with a nice dinner at CNN's. I thought she would have some pics up by now, but she is probably still nursing the Stella headache she woke up with last Sunday. Good thing I am a responsible drinker or Ted, CNN and Jenny from the block would have been stranded at the Plummer!
Tomorrow is the running of the 133d Kentucky Derby. There is a large field of 20 horses running, but I have narrowed it down to four that I like. Hard Spun #8, Scat Daddy #14, Any Given Saturday #18 and Street Sense #7. I'm still undecided about the favorite, Curlin #2. I will be heading out to the turf club today to place a few bets and I'll keep you posted.
It's Friday and that is a plus, hopefully I will have something more blog-worthy come Monday.

Bill to License Online Gambling Introduced

Yesterday morning, Rep. Barney Frank introduced legislation in the House that calls for online gambling to be licensed and regulated in America.
This bill goes directly against the intent of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that was passed late last year, which forced many online sites and online gambling-related businesses to cut off customers located in the U.S. The UIGE Act was snuck into a must-pass bill designed to increase the security of the nation's ports at the twelfth hour.
Frank has been an outspoken opponent to the UIGE Act. He believes that the UIGE Act tramples individual freedom.
“The existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone,” Frank said.
The Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Can Internet gambling be regulated to protect consumers and the payments system?” at a date to be determined in June.
I'll keep my fingers crossed but won't bet on it passing.

Guess How Many Chips

OK, this is a take on the jelly-bean jar contest. Guess how many chips ( $ amount) I have in front of me without going over. At Borgata red chips are worth $5, greens are $25 and blacks are $100. Closest to correct total without going over wins!
Winner shall receive a free pint at Sligo!

Weekend Update

After being sick for three days this week I thought I'd better get my ass down to the Borgata and get some time in at the tables, so I headed down before noon on Saturday (a feat in and of itself). I sat immediately upon arrival in a no limit cash game and summed the table up fairly quickly. Fishy, fishy, fishy, fish! There were two other players that seemed to have a modicum of poker sense so i was careful to play pots with them, but the rest of the table was easy pickings and I quickly tripled my starting stake in under two hours. I played until about 6 and then headed over to the Pier at Caesars, initially intent on dining at Buddakhan, but ended up eating at Phillips, the seafood house from Baltimore. It was very good. While my stomach cried for steak, I instead opted for the bounties of the sea, starting with a half dozen Malpeque oysters on the half shell and then easing into my entree, which was a humongous steam pot, placed in the center of the table and overflowing with a whole lobster, mussels, king crab legs, potatoes, corn on the cob and colossal shrimp. I washed it all down with two pints of Phillip's Amber. It was a huge feast and I nearly finished it all. For dessert it was chocolate-pecan pie. Then back to Borgata where I decided to sit in a bigger game and barely avoided donking off my entire day's profit in a brutal game of raises and reraises among some seasoned pros who had the run of the table.
Sunday I took it easy, but on Monday, with the power out in half of Media for who-knew-how-long, I headed back down to my home by the shore once more. I sat in a lower stakes game and went on one of the best card runs of my career. The odds of being dealt pocket aces are 1 in 221 hands. I had them three times in one fifteen minute period alone, and a total of 8 times for the session! One of the times I was last to act and I sat in awe as the first player raised, the next player re-raised all-in, the next player called and then it was on me with pocket rockets. I had to pinch myself to make sure this wasn't some vivid erotic dream before pushing my stack in to the center of the felt. Lucky for me, one player dropped out to my re-raise, and that player showed his pocket nines when he folded. I was up against two players with all our money in the center and five cards to come. My opponents held Ace-King and Ace-Nine respectively, and were huge underdogs to my monster hand. My pair held up through the flop, the turn and the river and I took down a huge pot, but when a nine came on the flop, I knew that I had narrowly escaped execution and was happy that the other player had folded. That set the tone for the session and just a few hands later I had the aces again and built another nice pot with one opponent. I spiked an ace on the flop to make trips and took down yet another big pot. I saw more pocket pairs than I have ever been dealt before in a single session. Kings, Queens, jacks, tens, nines, eights, sevens, sixes, just about every pair possible was dealt to me. I am actually afraid of the next session because mathematically I am sure to get screwed with crappy cards! When I announced that I was playing one more hand before heading to dinner the table resounded with a sigh of relief and I was sure I would look down at two rags and get up and walk to the restaurant. No, I looked down at pocket aces and my raise was seen as a bully tactic by the others and I was called by several non-believers. A moment later I stacked my new chips and headed off to dinner laughing (dinner was prime rib and roast pork with chorizo sauce and several glasses of Bachus Cabernet).
Upon my return my first hand was pocket eights and my very next hand was pocket queens, so I quickly showed the table that my streak was far from over. In the last two hours I played after dinner I actually got aces twice more! I had played from noon until 11pm and I was ecstatic when I left. I'm going back down tonight to test the poker gods yet again!

Separated at Birth-The Poker Edition

Tuesday at Borgata

I have been trying to play as much as possible lately, both because I am running well and I am trying to build up maximum comps for Vegas. Turns out that My Borgata Rewards points are actually good at the Bellagio and MGM properties out west so it will be sweet to use those comps for all my gourmet dining while I am out in Vegas.
I sat in a smaller no-limit game last night and played for about 7 hours, cashing with a profit of close to $50/hr. Not too bad, but not enough to get my juices flowing either. It was a bit of a grind and took alot of patience to deal with some of the fish at the table. Dinner was rare lamb chops ( ireally wanted medium I think), the first of which was awesome, but the second was actually so rare it had a Hannibal Lecter/Silence of the Lambs appearance to it and I couldn't even eat it. My new favorite dessert down there is the Oreo Parfait and I had two of them last night. (In retrospect it is actually my second favorite as nothing compares to the Creme Brulee at the Old Homestead!)

Travel Updates

For those who keep track of such things, I have recently firmed up some travel plans and just thought I would spout off about them here for no particular reason other than I am slightly bored at the moment. Aside from the mandatory Vegas trip during World Series of Poker (which will run from June 1 thru July 16 this year, for those of you who keep track of such things), I will be heading to the beautiful blue waters and white sand beaches of the Caribbean and more specifically, the always sunny, western side of the Dominican Republic known as Punta Cana. It's for a family friends' wedding and I will be staying in a stunning, oceanside villa at the Secrets resort the week of August 9 - 16. I have already mapquested the area casinos and I will pack accordingly. I also have checked the travel advisories: Only drink bottled water and stay away from any Haitian-Homosexual-Hemopheliac-Heroin users!
I also have firmed up plans for a Thanksgiving in Vegas! Yes, I will be heading west again in November (16th to the 25th) for some round the clock poker and turkey with all the trimmings. While the condo has been booked, I actually haven't firmed up the turkey part yet, but there are so many great restaurants to choose from and I'm sure I will be fine!
And that is about it for the travel plans that I know of at this time. I will keep those of you who keep track of such things updated of any additions to my itinerary as neccessary.

Happy Easter

After an impromptu blogger meeting I was inspired to post this weekend. CNN, Chuck, Ted and I met for a few pints at Sligo on Saturday night (CNN had slightly more than a few, but that may be an entirely different blog entry) and the mood was festive and blog-inspiring, as was Isabella, the newest addition to the wait staff.
While Chuck left us early for a prior committment somewhere on the main line, CNN, Ted and I remained for a few more and even made a trek down the street to Quotations for some warm Hoegartens.
on Friday I headed down to my second favorite city and logged about 10 hours of play at the table. The Borgata poker room was overflowing due to the huge turn-out for their $50k guaranteed tournament so open seats were hard to find and I headed over to Harrah's to wait out the rush. I hadn't been there in at least six months and the new expansion was impressive. I sat in a new no-limit game that was forming and played for about four hours before heading back to the Borgata for dinner. I only managed to play a few hands in the four hours, with one stretch of at least an hour and a half without playing a single hand. I took advantage of the few playable hands and left the game winner.
After a little filet mignon and pecan encrusted salmon at Borgata I made my way to the poker room and was seated right away at a no-limit table. I doubled up my stake fairly early on when I flopped a set of eights, got all my money in with one other player and I survived his nut flush draw. Later in the night I got involved in a big hand with the same player and he was able to extract his revenge on me by getting lucky enough to make two pair against my top pair. That hand alone cost me about $1600 and since it was approaching 1 am, I decided to call it quits for the night and head back to Media with a small loss for the night thanks to my earlier win at Harrah's.
So now it is early afternoon Easter day and I am awaiting the start of the Masters coverage where I will be rooting for Tiger to take down yet another green jacket.

A Wee Bit of Guinness

I stopped by Sligo for lunch on Friday afternoon and ended up staying until 10pm! The Guinness was going down way too smooth, as were the Jameson's and the Irish Car Bombs! There was a steady stream of friends arriving and leaving throughout the day including Ted, CNN and even MoC! Of course, this put quite a damper on my actual St. Patrick's Day celebration as I wasn't able to get out of bed until about 3pm Saturday. I managed to rally and when I heard that CNN's flight to Florida was "canceled" I ended up picking her up at the airport and we went and met Chuck down in Olde City. It was a zoo down in the city and once you actually managed to squeeze your way into bar there was barely enough room to stand and lift your beer to your lips. All in all it was a fun weekend from what I can remember!

More Poker

I played at Borgata yesterday. Same game, No Limit Hold Em. The table had a few strange players so I played very carefully early on. I also managed to get some great cards and showed some big hands which enabled me to take down some pots with nothing a few times. After being up for a while I lost alot of chips on a big hand when I played my pocket kings strong after the flop and ran into a gambler who stayed in against me with rags and got lucky to catch two pair. It hurt and while I don't usually let hands get to me, this one was for alot of money and I had to get up and go for a walk to cool down. I had $20 in free slot dollars courtesy of the Borgata, so I sat at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine and loaded in the free money. I have never hit the "spin" reel so many times before. I was up over $100 in no time. I cashed out with my new found $100 and feeling a little better, headed back to the poker room to rejoin the game. A pivotal hand that actually meant the difference between me going home loser or winner came up later that night. . The hand was raised by the player on my immediate right, I reraised and he went all in and I quickly called. I was the one who needed to get lucky this time and did so by catching a queen on the river to make trip queens against the monster pair of kings my opponent held. Winning a hand as a 4-1 dog feels a hell of alot better than losing one as a 20-1 favorite! That hand sent that player for a long walk, too!
Dinner was delicious as always. I had grilled lamb chops and an Oreo parfait for dessert.
I didn't get home until almost 1 am. I am headed back down tomorrow, as well.

High Steaks Poker

Last night I was back in AC at the Borgata. My intention was to enter the 7 PM tourney so when I arrived at 5:30 I sat in a no-limit cash game to pass the time until the start of the event. By 7pm I was up a couple hundred so I decided to bag the tourney as I had a better expected profit in the cash game. The table was full and there were maybe 3 or 4 decent players with the rest of the field pretty weak in their play. One memorable hand I played from the Big Blind with hole cards of 10 and 2. There were several players in the pot and no raises so I checked and we saw the flop. 10-2-2. What a beautiful sight. I slow-played and checked and sure enough had players betting into the pot. I merely called and then checked the turn, as well. A player bet and it was folded to me. I re-raised him and he called. On the river I bet out and he called. I turned over my full house and scooped a nice pot.
I played until about 8 pm when I decided it was time for dinner. I was still up a few hundred and hadn't eaten at the Old Homestead in a while so I headed there. I walked past the long line at the entry and was seated immediately. I ordered the Gotham Steak, their signature 36 ounce rib eye and a glass of Bacchus cabernet. The steak was awesome and I even saved room for a little dessert: creme brulee. The dinner ate up half my profit for the night, but it was worth it.

I got back to the table around 9:30 and immediately went on a card rush. The second hand I played after sitting back down was an A-Q. I raised and had one caller. The flop came with an Ace and a King, but I didn't put him on A-K since he had only called my raise. I bet out and he raised me big. I thought about it for a minute and called. On the turn I checked and he moved all in. Now I had a big decision to make. I was looking at a nearly $600 pot and I didn't have the nuts, but I did feel in my gut that he didn't have A-K. He was sitting there solid as a rock and I couldn't really get any tells from him, but I just wasn't buying what he was trying to sell me. I called and when he hesitated to turn over his hand I knew I had him. My A-Q had trumped his A-J! The dealer pushed a huge pile of chips to me and the other players commented on how great a call I had made. One player even said, "that was the best call I've ever seen." I don't know about that, but it was pretty good!
It got even better after that. A few hands later I was dealt pocket fours and the flop came Q-4-J with two hearts. I bet out to try to keep out anyone chasing the hearts and was immediately raised. The next player moved all-in, but he didn't have alot of chips. There was no way the guy had pocket queens or jacks, so the best he could have was two pair or the flush draw. I said, "all-in" and he went into the tank. I really didn't want him to call at that point as if he did have the heart flush draw I would have to sweat nine outs with two cards to come. I told him it was going to cost him to try to suck out on me and he put it together pretty quickly that I had flopped a set. He thought about it some more, but finally folded. The other player turned over Q-J and my set held up. Turns out the player who folded had the same hand, Q-J, so in hindsight that was the best possibility for me and I wished he had called afterall. My chips were growing into towers now and I had at least 4 times as much money as the next player at the table. The very next hand I looked down at pocket tens and raised. Another player moved all in and I called. He turned over A-K and my hand held up again. I now had a three-story tower of chips that had to be intimidating as hell to the rest of the table. I used my table image and chip stack to take down several more pots with bets and raises that no-one dared to call. I started to rack my chips and left the table about 10:30 with one of the best profits I've ever made in an hour of play and cashed out with a four-figure win!
The World Series of Poker Circuit is coming to Caesars on March 5 so I'd like to get a few more sessions in before the tournament starts. My confidence is high and I can't wait.

Mountain Getaway

This weekend was the much anticipated Pocono Mountain Getaway. It's been a year since the last trip and there was a record turnout this time, with 10 people making the trek to Lake Wallenpaupack. Not even a raging fondue party in Media could keep the likes of Granger, Dibs or the infamous Maxwell from attending this year.
There were no special stops on the way up this time (except for a quick beer at the Totem Pole Inn near the cabin) so the early crew (Myself, Paul, Ted and Granger) arrived at the cabin around 4pm to begin digging out the driveway from the almost 2 feet of snow. Guthrie and Maxwell were the second string and they arrived around 7pm. The six of us headed out to Crazy Fingers for dinner since the others wouldn't be arriving until even later. This was probably the last time we will ever eat at that establishment in our lifetimes. The first round of drinks were pathetic margaritas served in tiny martini glasses! They got the pitchers of beer OK, but not enough glasses! They finally switched the margaritas to larger glasses, but we were so focused on drinking that we didn't even realize we had no food in front of us until at least an hour after we ordered. When it finally came it was either cold, overcooked or undercooked, depending on what you may have ordered. I even had to send a drink back it was so weak! The bill was nearly $200 which added more insult to injury.
but we did manage to get Ray's meal taken off the bill ( he ordered a steak "rare" and it arrived so charred that it crumbled into ash when he tried to cut into it) and he got a token for a free drink on his next visit.
The Third string crew, consisting of Krotow, Huey and Dibs, were getting close, so we gave them directions to the nearest beer distributor and headed back to the cabin to meet them.
Weist wouldn't make it up until Saturday morning so the nine of us partied until the wee hours, except for Granger who went to bed about 10:30. The bottle of Cabo Wabo was gone in the first hour, but we had at least three cases of beer in reserve. Everyone had a great time.

We all seemed to miraculously awake at 8 am and Guthrie got us jump-started with some spicy Bloody Marys. Then we headed to Hawley for breakfast at the diner. We took a scenic route through the woods and stopped to admire a frozen waterfall. Breakfast was a hilarious scene as we took over the back room of the diner. The waitress seemed to remember us, but I'm sure the locals were wondering just who in the hell this boisterous group of drunken out-of-towners was.
I don't know what it is about the mountains, but I always seem to have a heartier appetite when I am up there. My breakfast consisted of 2 eggs over-easy, scrapple, hash browns, corned-beef hash, toast, creamed sausage gravy over a large country biscuit and a Belgian waffle. I figured it would be a good base for the day of drinking ahead of us. After teasing the waitresses and hassling a local man sporting a NY Jets jacket, we headed across the street to Pat's Bar. It was only 10:45 and while the place was open for business, we were the only customers at the time. We drank, played pool, domineered the juke-box and probably made the bartender's day with our jokes, jeers and healthy tab of drinks.
Weist finally made it up and actually met us at the bar where we enjoyed a few rounds with him before heading back to the cabin. We stopped at the beer distributor (we only had a few beers left from the night before) and the market, where we stocked up on steaks and snacks.
Three more cases of beer, 2 large bottles of vodka and a few bottles of wine would be available for consumption on this second evening on the lake.
We kept a good drinking pace going throughout the rest of the day and after watching Fast Times at Ridgemont High for the third or fourth time in a row, we had dinner. Steaks done on the grill, mashed potatos and ring-dings for dessert. Everything always tastes better in the mountains.
Another great night and we partied into the early morning hours again. We didn't linger long in the morning as many of the attendees had families to get back to, but we stopped at another diner on the drive home, in Hamlin this time, and we had a great breakfast. My stomach still hurts, not from the food or the alcohol, but from all the laughing. It was just non-stop the whole trip and that is what makes it such a great time. I think everyone caught equal amounts of heat throughout the weekend, although I think Guthrie's truck getting stuck in the snow gave us enough material for a long time to come.

I hope we can do it again next year!

Interesting Bet

Phil Ivey, one of the best poker players in the world and often referred to as "The Tiger Woods of Poker" has challenged none other than the "Phil Ivey of Golf" to a heads up match. Phil has actually challenged Tiger Woods to a heads up match at Shadow Creek golf course in Las Vegas, one of the most beautiful courses in the world, for the sum of $5 million!

Here's the details of the challenge:

Ivey will tee off from the ladie's tees, Tiger from the tips.

They will play a match-play format, dead even, no handicaps.

Tiger may not use a putter, he must use his driver to putt.

Iv'e seen Phil play golf and he is way in over his head on this bet.

Night at the Borgata

I just switched to the new version of Blogger and while I don't see anything really different from my viewpoint I'm sure it was for the best and this is my first post under the new version.
I stayed at the Borgata Thursday night. Played in their regular Thursday night tourney with a $120 buy-in. There were about 150 players and I felt that I played well, but missed the money by a few seats. I was knocked out in 26th place with 18 seats getting paid. The last two events I played I realized in retrospect that I had been playing a bit "scared", concentrating more on surviving than trying to win. I went into this event with a different mindset. I have been dominating the cash games lately and I planned on using the same style of play that was working for me in the ring games. It worked. I had built my chips up to almost $20k in the first few hours and really only made one big mistake when I lost 1/3 of my chips on a hand. I had King-Ten and the flop came 10-Jack-7 with two hearts. There were three players in the pot including me and the first player went all-in with his last $3200. I still had a player behind me and I put the first player on a heart draw. I thought about it and called, as I didn't want to totally commit to the hand with the player still to act behind me. I could tell he was torn about his decision and he respected my play, laying down a pocket pair in an earlier hand to me pre-flop when I made a large bet. He reluctantly called and I actually put him on a straight draw at that point. The ace on the river gave the winning hand to the first player, who had been on a heart draw with the ace of hearts and made top pair on the last card. I lost the hand but had a good read on the players.
The other mistake I made was in miscalculating the number of players left in the event when I moved all-in. I thought there were 4 tables left when there were actually only three. The "fourth" table I saw was a separate single table tournament and had I known how close I was to the money I might have waited for a better spot. I was in the hand with Queen-Ten and the flop came with a ten high. I bet out, everyone folded but one player who moved all-in. At best I put him on a ten but with a lower kicker, or a lower pair. This hand would give me a substantial amount of chips to make the final table so I called his bet and he turned over Ten-Seven. I was a 4 to 1 favorite with two more cards to come. He caught a seven on the turn to make two pair and I got no help on the river and was knocked out. Disappointing, but I was still happy with my play and my decisions were right the majority of the time.
I enjoyed a nice dinner and went to the room to chill. Friday morning I slept in until about 10am and then played in a cash game from noon until about 3pm. I made about $200 profit and checked out and headed back to Media. I ended up playing Friday night in Media and won a bit more.
While I didn't cash in the event I did get a confidence boost from my play and will try to keep the momentum going while I prepare for the World Series of Poker Circuit event which is coming to Caesars Atlantic City next month.

Why It's Important to Smile in Pictures!

What's New & Stuff

OK, last Wednesday's tournament at Borgata: I thought my Ace-Ten was good when I moved all-in after two more tens came on the flop. Actually, I bet out, was raised and then moved all-in, but regardless, I was called by an inferior hand (Queen-Ten) and the bastard got lucky on the river and I was sent packing. End of story on that one. John "Johnny World" Hennigan, the former Philadelphia pool shark, once from Brigantine and now hailing from Las Vegas, won the main event and the $1.6 million first prize Tuesday night.
Saturday morning I awoke with a craving for Dim Sum and since CNN hasn't posted about it yet, I am going to now.
As I said, I awoke with a craving, a hankering if you will, for some Chinese Dim Sum. And as we all know the best place for Dim Sum in Philadelphia is the Imperial Inn in ChinaTown, I headed there with CNN (after much hemming and hawing about her not being ready yet) and another friend who does not like to be mentioned in these blogs but often is, Bill G. (is that anonymous enough for you Mr. Granger?)
Anyway, we head downtown and go directly to the Imperial Inn. We are quickly seated and the room is abuzz with late-morning/early afternoon diners. The Dim Sum carts came around quickly and within minutes we had several small plates of assorted delicacies in front of us. My favorite was the steamed barbeque pork buns. Bill and CNN liked the fried dumplings. I was forced to try the chicken feet and found no enjoyment in them at all. We sampled spare ribs with black beans, curry chicken, taro and shrimp, crab claw and numerous other goodies. The coconut pudding was excellent, too! So after the food and a few Tsing Tao beers, we were on our way.
While I thought we were headed home, we decided to hit Olde City and have another drink. We started at The Plough & Stars, then hit the historic City Tavern, then Sugar Mom's and then back to the Plough & Stars where we now found our buddy Randy behind the bar!
By this point I was ready to go as the quick trip for food had turned into a five hour pub crawl, plus I was the designated driver and really couldn't drink anymore. So back to Media we went.
All in all in it was a fun day and I'd like to do it again with Jojo next time and maybe we can stop by the Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute or the Auto Show. Who's game? Please RSVP in the comments section.

Borgata Cheap Seat Tournament Tonite

I'm heading back to the Borgata this afternoon for a 5 pm event (#34). It is a cheap seat satellite tournament where we will be playing in a two tier structure for a seat in the $10,000 buy-in main event. Tonight's winners come back Thursday and play for the $10k seats (1 seat for every 10 entrants). I'm taking it easy on the food today, so far I've only consumed a Carnation Instant Breakfast drink!
I'll give you an update (good or bad) tomorrow!

Disney's Gone Too Far!

The Winter Poker Open at Borgata

Sunday I entered the $500 Buy-in Limit Hold 'Em tournament at the Borgata. It was event # 6 in the Winter Poker Open series which is now part of The World Poker Tour. I drove down early and registered around 9:30 am. Then I headed off for breakfast to kill an hour before the tournament started. For breakfast I had eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits with sausage gravy, melon and cantalope, a banana, a belgian waffle with banana's foster and a hunk of beef brisket.
Then I waddled into to the tournament area and looked for my table. I started off well and stuck to my tight strategy for the first few hours, letting the weaker plyers drop out and watching the thinning field. I had started at table #16 seat #3 (out of 26 total tables) and played there right up until the dinner break at about 5 pm when they broke the table and redistributed the players to other tables left in the room (there were about 14 tables now). This wasn't a good thing because over the last 6 hours I had learned how the other players at my table acted and I felt I had a pretty good read on them. Now I was seated with new players who I had no idea how they played. I played one hand at the new table (table #3 seat #4) before we broke for dinner.
For dinner I had a nice steak, some lamb with mint jelly, shrimp, pasta and chicken. I went back to the table feeling a little stuffed and a little tired. It had been a long day so far considering I drove down to AC at 8 am.
For the next two and a half hours I didn't play a single hand. Every hand was raised pre-flop and I just wasn't getting any cards. My chips started to dwindle as the aggressive play at the table effectively locked me out of getting involved in any hands. When I finally made a move with a suited Ace-Jack I was called by a big stack player who held an inferior Queen-Nine. He caught a straight and I was soon retrieving my car from the valet and headed home.
I will be back down there Wednesday for another event and then will take a shot at winning a seat in the $10,000 buy-in main event which will be televised for the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour later this year.

Happy New Year

May peace break into your house and
May thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and
May laughter assault your lips!
May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and
May happiness slap you across the face and
May your tears be that of joy.
In simple words ............

May 2007 be the best year of your life!!!