I feel like a sadistic madman that I have an incredible story to tell. First, for all that followed the boomer, life is grand. I have a gorgeous 5 month old that took me off the poker felt, and a darling 2 year old who I adore. Both great reasons to withdraw from my passion. That and Money. I took a new gig and thank heaven and crushing it - making more money in 6 months than I have in any year - going very well.

I realized that for the time I spent - poker was sucking money out of me. I could have been working - making it work for my family…and instead had a 100$ poker habit bi-monthly. Not to mention - the time I spent away from “working” after hours ….so I retired from Poker….or so I thought.

Everyday - we eat at this little Greek Diner with a rather quirky energized waiter who always fills us in on his latest and greatest. I asked him how it was going the other day - and he said “GREAT” really fired up…I wondered why. I pressed him and he said he was making great money in his “other job” of POKER. I was like WOW - this guy loves poker. He then told me about www.pokerstrategy.com and how they give away money…I was skeptical. I was a doubter.

You basically have to pass a test (easy) and then sign up at a new room - and low and behold FIFTY BUCKS in real money hits your account. I have it - I believe.

So I am pushing it - lets get it on. I have a link here which I hope all you broke people will use - it nets me an extra ten if you sign up with it…so hit it. I was actually impressed with the site as well - free articles - videos and software. CHECK OUT THE LINK BELOW….

http://www.pokerstrategy.com/u99933

I ran across an interesting series of articles on John McCain’s ties to the Native casino industry. I’m no McCain supporter, far from it, but I thought I’d post these if people were interested in his history with the gaming business.

Apparently he’s a gambler himself, though not a poker player - he prefers the craps tables.

“McCain forged close ties to Las Vegas, Tribal Casinos” - Boston Globe

http://tinyurl.com/4v5oh8

“John McCain’s gambling habit could alienate Christian Republicans” - Daily Telegraph

http://tinyurl.com/4zrevb

Don’t forget to vote. - Adam

I haven’t gotten to play any cards here, but I have seen lots of gambling.  Some old guys in Malaysia were playing good ol’ three card Monte, a cool Indian guy I met plays gin in a private club on the beach in Varkala, and in other rural areas I have seen something that looks like craps, but that is played with rocks instead of dice. 

Anyway, I will be back to the USA at the end of September.  I have been playing cards and making art full time for the past two years, but as my husband is taking a new job that pays much less, I will be looking for more steady work.  Hopefully I will be able to make time to go up to Commerce everyonce in a while, get to know the card rooms in San Diego, and find a new home game.  I had such a  great home game in Chicago.  It is one of the things I am going to miss most.

In “WTF” news, I won a PLO SNG without knowing how to play PLO. I guess there’s a luck element? I had some money left on Full Tilt and decided to play a bunch of SNGs, which I almost never do. I accidentally registered for a one-table Omaha sit-and-go, froze up when I saw four hole cards in the first hand, and proceeded to luckbox my way to flop a lot of sets and top 2 pair hands to beat my opponents. I’m not sure my opponents knew much more than me, I played pretty straightforward tournament poker and caught a couple of nice hands early to grab a chip lead.

I’ve also started a twitter feed for the micro-updates under my Stars SN.

The final table consisted of some of the legends of poker. Barry Greenstein, Lyle Berman, Huck Seed, Eric Lindgren and Scotty Nguyen. Also included were great cash game players Matthew Glantz, Michael DeMichele and Patrick Bueno. I was stoked to watch this unfold.

We barely saw Bueno as he busted very early on the show in a razz hand to Lindgren. Next to go was Huck who got beat in a stud 8 hand by DeMichele. Then we lost Greenstein who got a nasty slow-roll by Scotty Nguyen. This was only an inkling to come. We then lost Lyle Berman in 5th to DeMichele who won a nice pot against him and Scotty in razz. This was after Scotty was acting very strange in a hand against Lyle earlier that appeared to cripple Lyle but who knows when they edit this stuff. Then the highly underrated Glantz departed in 4th in a O8 hand to Scotty.

This is when things started getting really out of hand and really who is to blame for this besides Scotty, none other than Harrah’s and the tournament directors working the final table. Scotty was acting abusive, drunk, belligerent and unsportsmanlike to both players especially DeMichele who he seemed to take a serious exception to his “celebrating” some hands he won earlier. DeMichele repeatedly apologized and said he meant no disrespect and that he won’t do it again and he kept his promise but for some reason this didn’t sit well with Scotty. He cursed at him, goaded him repeatedly, lied about his hands trying to induce calls and was just a jerk. Harrah’s needed to do something but because it was Scotty they didn’t and that is a shame. I’m not sure what could have been done but they really should have at least assessed him a penalty and maybe even kicked him out of the tourney for his behavior. If was a lesser tournament or a not so hi profiled player, they would have been given numerous warnings and penalties. His “friends” (backers) in the audience were just as bad especially Layne Flack who was obviously inebriated himself and acted very poorly. At one point, Lindgren even had to ask the TD to stop Layne from doing what he was doing. I loved it when Eric busted in 3rd and didn’t hi five Layne as he was standing there and then said he “couldn’t beat a drunk and hoped the kid wins.” Scotty went on to best DeMichele after a quick HU battle and took home almost $2 million in cash and a gaudy trophy in honor of Chip Reese.

Overall a lot of people will say this was entertaining and some will even say good for poker but this was a disgrace, a total train wreck and was anything but good for poker. It will only continue to accentuate the negative sterotypes the general public has of poker and the people who play the game. The so called “Ambassador of Poker” and “Prince of Poker” Scotty Nguyen looked pathetic and frankly beat up. Everyone can say what a dark year he has had after his famous collapse with 12 to go in the 2007 WSOP Main Event but that is no excuse for what transpired at that final table. At a time where poker gathered to remember the greatest player ever Chip Reese, Scotty’s antics ruined the moment and sadly stole the show. Nobody will talk about Reese or the quality of poker played, just Scotty and that is the last thing poker needs. Scotty has had a history of dealer abuse and verbal assaults on other players but since this renaissance in TV poker, the american public hasn’t seen this. They have only seen the “yeah baby” and gregarious Scotty and for the most part I’m sure he is like this but a dark truer picture of the man emerged and only time will tell if his reputation and image can rebound. I’m sure it will as the poker world and American public have forgiven much worse.

Lastly, I do want to say that I was glad ESPN didn’t do fancy editing to make Scotty look good and showed it how it was…my only request is to show more than 2 hours of this event like they did last year.

I am happy to say that something has finally clicked here on my end and I am starting to play better, probably better than I ever have before. I have turned into “that player.” You know the one, it’s the player that you really don’t want at your table. I have been playing a semi-LAG style now and I think I have finally gotten the hang of it. My VPIP has climbed up to about 30% and my PFR has been about 25% (6max NL cash.) I have become much more aggressive after the flop, raising my AF from 1.8 to about 3.5 or so. I am playing a style that is hard to counter. I am raising enough that you know I can’t have it every time, but not enough to know if this is the time to come after me or not.

How has this change come about? Well, I have really decided to work hard on my game. I have been reading a lot of posts over at the 2+2 forums, seeing how other people play their hands and just getting other people thoughts. This has helped me with the “standard line” type of play quite a bit. I was also contacted on the stox poker forums by Paul, another member who was looking for a study buddy. We now IM each other a couple times a week to talk about hands we have played and poker theory in general. It is a little difficult catching each other because he live in Australia and there is a 14 hour time difference so it seems like every time we chat one of us is eating breakfast and the other is getting ready for bed. It did feel pretty cool to get my first authentic “gday” though.

I have also been studying more videos over at Stoxpoker.com, really paying attention to how the instructors were playing. The thing I tried to work on most is reading hands. If I can put my opponent on a hand I can make a better guess about how hard it will be to make them fold. The videos have also helped me sell my bluffs better and identify boards where I should just give up. I am getting a much better read on my opponents and why I am getting called. This has really helped me on the river. I have been able to steal a lot of pots with hands like eight-high when I can put my opponent on something like a busted straight draw that might have me out high-carded. I am also getting better at bluffing scare cards on the river and sizing my bets to get my opponent to believe me. In general I have just been doing better at picking up on my opponents and what they are most likely to do.

The third thing that has helped me is Cash Plays with Bart Hanson. It is a podcast over on Pokerroad.com that is all about cash games (Short-Stacked Shamus’s review can be found here.) The thing that I have really gotten from this show is mixing up my play against opponents. I have been able to get reads on my opponents thoughts about my play and use it against them. Here is a good example of what I mean-

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 4 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

BB: $4.75 (19 bb)
Hero (CO): $25 (100 bb)
BTN: $18.90 (75.6 bb)
SB: $23.40 (93.6 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is CO with 6d 3d
Hero raises to $0.75, BTN folds, SB calls $0.65, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.25) 7h 7d 5h (3 players)
SB bets $1.50, BB folds, Hero calls $1.50

Turn: ($5.25) Qd (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $4, SB calls $4

River: ($13.25) 9c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Results: $13.25 pot ($0.65 rake)
SB showed Kc 5d (two pairs, Sevens and Fives) and won $12.60 ($6.35 net)
Hero mucked 6d 3d (a pair of Sevens) and lost (-$6.25 net)

OK, here I was just kinda lost so I shut down on the river. I don’t know if he was going to call me down with the 5’s or not if I fired the third barrel but I decided not to push it. Anyway, that hand led up to this one-
——————–
HAND #2
——————–

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold’em Cash Game, 6 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

CO: $18.45 (73.8 bb)
BTN: $16.75 (67 bb)
SB: $26.15 (104.6 bb)
Hero (BB): $25 (100 bb)
UTG: $17.05 (68.2 bb)
MP: $24.65 (98.6 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is BB with Jh As
UTG folds, MP calls $0.25, CO folds, BTN calls $0.25, SB folds, Hero raises to $1.50, MP calls $1.25, BTN calls $1.25

Flop: ($4.60) Ah 4h 8d (3 players)
Hero bets $2.25, MP calls $2.25, BTN folds

Turn: ($9.10) 9s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks

River: ($9.10) 9c (2 players)
Hero bets $7.50, MP calls $7.50

Results: $24.10 pot ($1.15 rake)
Hero showed Jh As (two pairs, Aces and Nines) and won $22.95 ($11.70 net)
MP mucked Js 8s (two pairs, Nines and Eights) and lost (-$11.25 net)

I was trying to go for a check-raise on the turn but he didn’t bet for me. I decided to make a good size value bet on the river and he snap-called me with a pair of eights. I knew he thought I was full of crap and I used that to take him to valuetown. Overall I am just much more aware of the flow of the table and I am playing much better. I am hoping this swing is really over and I have learned my lesson. Only time will tell.

Anyway, it would have been cool to make it to Macau but it’s closer to Beijing which were both not driving distance.  Maybe another time if my brother lives out there at anytime.  haha We’ll see though.. can’t even think of that now.. so glad to be back.

Upon my return I could not wait to play poker again.  It had been too long.  I brought my books for the plane, Card Player, and podcasts.. My head was totally into poker but I couldn’t play.

As soon as I got back (and I mean day of arrival) I placed 1st in a Full Tilt tournament for about $200 and then racked up some cash game winnings too.  Overall, it was a nice break, relooking at important skills and definitely helped my online game.  I went to Commerce right after work today to play too but my head wasn’t into it after an argument with my boyfriend.  I just shouldn’t have played I guess.  Sometimes it takes my mind off things to play but I guess not today.  I found myself playing passive and taking stupid risks.

Recently, I’ve had issues cashing out on Full Tilt.  I’ve tried to get a paper check sent twice and both times they had to refund my cash out and also gave me a bonus for my troubles both times (1st time it was equal to my cash out!)  They have a new option now for “Cash Pick Up”.  I read about it on 2+2 and it sounds like a great option.  I submitted my request yesterday and am still waiting for the approval and reference code.  I’ll post if it works out.

I am a good-hearted person who plays poker, and I naively assume that people are the same way–generally good intentioned. For the most part, the individuals in the poker world that I have befriended are great, especially those I know from the Dallas and Chicago, the towns I’ve lived in, but it’s easy to forget that the poker world can be seedy.

The day I left Vegas, a friend of mine from Dallas pulled me aside and said, “You know that older lady who’s been playing a lot? Well, when you and I were at the same table last night she walked over to our table and started talking in Farsi to one of the other guys. I guess she assumed no one else could understand, but I could. She looked at you and said, ‘I hate that f$#*ing Bitch, she’s taken all my money, but I have to hand it to her, she’s a pretty good little Omaha player.”

Coming from this kind, motherly woman, who I had helped and talked with so much, and even began to play straightforwardly against, this really hurt. It made me regret that I let my guard down to the people I play cards with. I clearly liked this woman much more than she liked me, and in fact she did not like me at all. I felt duped, out played, and then I wondered if I should trust this other friend who just told me this story. After all, I met him on the circuit as well. I don’t need people at the table to like me, but it’s also always a little disconcerting when you realize that your sense of reality is not the actual reality.

Grocery stores make money by doing a similar thing.  They earn the majority of their profits by investing, not by simply selling goods for a higher price than they bought them for.   Here’s an example. A store gets an invoice for a flat of toilet paper on the day they received the shipment.  That invoice isn’t due for sixty days, but you or I buy a package of rolls when on the shelf, one or two days after the shipment arrived. The grocery store then invests the money they got from you and me for the 58 or so days between when they get our money and when they have to pay their bill. After 60 days, they pay their bill, and the profits they made in the interim just keep growing and growing.

The moral of this story is that there is a lot of money to be made off of other people’s money.  This makes me wonder who is making money off of the final table proceeds while it is just sitting there until November. At a very reasonable daily interest rate of 3%, the $23,626,746 that is waiting to be handed out, should reap a profit of $200,000 between July 15 and November 10.  That’s a lot of money, and if I was sitting at that final table, I’d want my interest.  By pushing the table back several months, Harrahs is costing the final table, as a group, all the interest they could be earning on the their money. And with some savvy investing, it could potentially costing them a lot more than $200,000.

And here’s another crazy idea…it seems like players should start pushing internet poker sites to keep our online funds in interest bearing accounts.  After all, our online accounts are little more than checking accounts that we make rapid withdrawals and deposits from.  I’m no genius, but I’m guessing that if every industry out there has figured out how to turn profits using idle customer money, that the poker sites have as well, and we should ask for our cut.

The basic gist of the idea was that a lot of poker players focus on logging hours no matter the circumstances, when oftentimes playing when you’re in a bad mood or when there are no good games going is giving you diminishing returns to the point where you would actually make more money by just not playing.

After the WSOP left, the games here have been shit. Just total, absolute, utter shit. The Bellagio, Venetian, Wynn, and Caesar’s all had 10+ 2/5 games and 4+ 5/10 games going during the series on a weekday and maybe 1.5x that on a weekend. Now, there are 3 tables going on Friday night at the Wynn, which I have never seen in the 6 months I have been living here.

A lot of local grinders are leaving town to take a little vacation post-WSOP. I’m starting to think that might be a good idea.