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!