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.