Couple of deep runs at UB

The last two nights, Wednesday and Thursday, I ve had very deep runs in the 8:30 $5 mtt at UltimateBet. The first night was a huge tourney due to UB giving away a ton of free entries. There were more than 1800 players in a tourney that usually has between 300-400 players due to the $1500 guarantee. I was chipleader with less than three tables left but was unable to make the final table, mostly due to a mistake w AQ v AK, and busted out in 14th.

Last night I busted out in 12th and once again it was AK v AQ but this time I had the AK but a queen on the flop ended my night.


Looking forward to tomorrow's WVU-East Carolina game. Hoping the Mountaineer defense continues its improvment and the offense hits on all cylinders.

September turn around on Stars

After a frustrating end to August, September has seen me have some good results on Stars. I was able to have a finish of 13th and an 11th in a couple of $1 tourneys and bubbled the final table in a $5 tourney when my JJ was beaten by an Ace Duece off suit.

The Cowboys and the Mountaineers have been winners so far. WVU's defense looked good against Maryland and may be better than it has been in a long time.

GL everyone

Great opener for the Mountaineers

WVU had a great opener, a win and no injuries vs Western Michigan. White and Slaton were sharp as ever and I was impressed with what I saw of Noel Divine. The defense was able to pressure the QB well early and that's a good sign. Look forward to another good effort this weekend.

Tough week of playing poker with a couple of really good runs mixed in: 11th ina 2025 player tourney at PokerStars and a 19th at UB.

Short Stack Judo Philosophy

"A post on Pocketfives.com last week made me think a lot about short stack strategies. The original post in the thread was "questioning" the strategy used by a well known poker player, who I will call "Bubba", late in a tourney after he became the short stack. The poster disagreed with the player's conservative play at the final table while short stacked. Most of the players who responded that it was wrong to hold for Tank to fail to push his stack in and try to double up. It was generally believed that Bubba was either incorrectly waiting for a very good hand or just passively holding on to move up a spot or two in the money. Either option was mostly thought to be very wrong. I believe otherwise. When I am in these situations, I think back to an interview I saw a few years ago with a poker pro at the world series of poker who said that patience was the key in these situations becasue it was important to get in with a hand that had a good chance to not only double you up but to keep you in the game as well. Each hand that is survived gives another opprotunity to catch another hand that may be the one to double you up or more, especially in this situation because most of the other players will put you on a desparation hand like A rag, a suited K or a small pair. While there is definitely a time to push with these hands, I don't believe that it is as early as most profess. It seems that those players want to push and hope that a single hand will hit and provide momentum. I believe that by being patient you give yourself a chance to catch more than a single good hand to push in a short period of time and go from short stack to a stack that you can work with and make a serious run to the final table.

In this tournament from AbsolutePoker, I found myself with a short stack following a stretch of being card dead and having a couple of hands not go my way. I waited a couple of rounds to either find a good hand to push and get heads up or a pair. The early positions were opening almost every pot and putting me in a position where I would be up against at least two other people. I wanted to avoid that if I could.


Stage #872337188 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $300 - 2007-08-27 00:08:25 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($3630 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($5900 in chips)
Seat 3 - CHASIN 3S ($12565 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($575 in chips)
Seat 5 - RIVERSCREWED ($4340 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($16510 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($2740 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($5050 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($5805 in chips)
Ante $25
SLUGGERWV - Posts small blind $150
RIVERSCREWED - Posts big blind $300
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [9c 9h]
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
ZEROPLUS - Folds
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
CHASIN 3S - Calls $300
SLUGGERWV - All-In(Raise) $400 to $550
RIVERSCREWED - Calls $250
CHASIN 3S - Calls $250
*** FLOP *** [2d 3h 5s]
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
CHASIN 3S - Checks
*** TURN *** [2d 3h 5s] [8h]
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
CHASIN 3S - Bets $300
RIVERSCREWED - Calls $300
*** RIVER *** [2d 3h 5s 8h] [5c]
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
CHASIN 3S - Checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SLUGGERWV - Shows [9c 9h] (Two Pair, nines and fives)
RIVERSCREWED - Shows [6d Kh] (One pair, fives)
CHASIN 3S - Shows [Qc Jd] (One pair, fives)
RIVERSCREWED Collects $600 from side pot-1
SLUGGERWV Collects $1875 from main pot

Sure there is an element of luck here, but I was able to put my tournament life on the line with a pocket pair; something that I believe is more
advantageous than a lone ace when I know I am going to get called. This hand led me to a hand with a lone ace, although suited, which gave me
the chance to get all of my chips in first and have some fold equity. I believe that the table having seen me be patient and get my chips all in with a pair
right before this helps me to get a fold here.

Stage #872339539 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $300 - 2007-08-27 00:10:21 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($3580 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($5850 in chips)
Seat 3 - CHASIN 3S ($11665 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($1850 in chips)
Seat 5 - RIVERSCREWED ($3890 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($15260 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($2690 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($6575 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($5755 in chips)
Ante $25
INCRDRNKHULK - Posts small blind $150
H2O_MAN - Posts big blind $300
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [6s As]
ZEROPLUS - Folds
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
CHASIN 3S - Folds
SLUGGERWV - All-In(Raise) $1825 to $1825
RIVERSCREWED - Folds
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
SLUGGERWV - returned ($1525) : not called
Seat 4: SLUGGERWV collected Total ($975) All-In

This move adds 675 chips to my stack, more than a third of its prior total. On of the measures I have heard before that I do use in these
situations is if an all-in move will increase your chip total by fifteen percent, then it is an appropriate bet size, you are not overbetting the pot and
risking too many chips.

This is the next hand I played, I folded my rags from my big blind because there were already three people in the pot for an amount for which I had no fold
equity.

Stage #872346270 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $400 - 2007-08-27 00:16:14 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($6380 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($4950 in chips)
Seat 3 - LITTLEPEEWEE ($2780 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($2875 in chips)
Seat 5 - RIVERSCREWED ($2990 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($13870 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($4980 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($5275 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($5005 in chips)
Ante $50
SLUGGERWV - Posts small blind $200
RIVERSCREWED - Posts big blind $400
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [2d 2s]
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
ZEROPLUS - Calls $400
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
LITTLEPEEWEE - Folds
SLUGGERWV - Folds
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
*** FLOP *** [Kc Qd Ac]
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
ZEROPLUS - Bets $400
RIVERSCREWED - Folds
ZEROPLUS - returned ($400) : not called
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ZEROPLUS Collects $1450 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($1450)
Board [Kc Qd Ac]
I didn't feel that pushing into at best a coin flip was beneficial here. I was close enough to getting into the money that passing on this marginal hand was
an easy decision for me.

Here's the hand everyone wants with a shortstack. I wasn't ready ahead of time with a decision whether going all in was the best move to get a call or a limp hoping for a raise that I can go over the top of for my stack. There is a fine line when your bets will be believed and the time when someone wants to look you up because their hand is worth a gamble. No takers here but at least I bought myself a round of cards to look at with the winnings.
Stage #872343087 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $400 - 2007-08-27 00:13:35 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #9 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($6730 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($5700 in chips)
Seat 3 - LITTLEPEEWEE ($3530 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($2375 in chips)
Seat 5 - RIVERSCREWED ($3140 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($14960 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($2090 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($5425 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($5155 in chips)
Ante $50
NIGHTHAWK01 - Posts small blind $200
JIMMYBEAM37 - Posts big blind $400
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [As Ac]
LITTLEPEEWEE - Folds
SLUGGERWV - All-In(Raise) $2325 to $2325
RIVERSCREWED - Folds
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
ZEROPLUS - Folds
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
SLUGGERWV - returned ($1925) : not called
SLUGGERWV Collects $1450 from main pot

I stayed alive long enough that I now get the hand that gives me a real stack.
Stage #872350503 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $400 - 2007-08-27 00:20:11 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #7 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($5780 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($4350 in chips)
Seat 3 - LITTLEPEEWEE ($2580 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($6615 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($14070 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($4180 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($5325 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($6205 in chips)
Ante $50
ZEROPLUS - Posts small blind $200
ROOKIEG49 - Posts big blind $400
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [Qd Qs]
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
LITTLEPEEWEE - Raises $1200 to $1200
SLUGGERWV - Raises $3200 to $3200
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
ZEROPLUS - Folds
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
LITTLEPEEWEE - All-In $1330
SLUGGERWV - returned ($670) : not called
*** RIVER *** [10h 4h 3c 9s] [8c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LITTLEPEEWEE - Shows [As Qh] (ace high)
SLUGGERWV - Shows [Qd Qs] (One pair, queens)
SLUGGERWV Collects $6060 from main pot

No action for awhile. Then I decide that the pot odds are right to call and there's a chance I might be good. I was, all the way until the flop.
Stage #872388297 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $800 - 2007-08-27 00:53:37 (ET)
Table: 40 (Real Money) Seat #9 is the dealer
Seat 1 - DA_BLANK ($18830 in chips)
Seat 2 - SLUGGERWV ($7795 in chips)
Seat 3 - MBUNN66 ($46352.50 in chips)
Seat 5 - HHRJOHN ($25047.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - PGHMICK ($3322.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - JOHNNYRTRACK ($9290 in chips)
Seat 9 - MASTERB8 ($14042.50 in chips)
Ante $75
DA_BLANK - Posts small blind $400
SLUGGERWV - Posts big blind $800
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [Kc 9s]
MBUNN66 - Folds
HHRJOHN - Folds
PGHMICK - All-In(Raise) $3247.50 to $3247.50
JOHNNYRTRACK - Folds
MASTERB8 - Folds
DA_BLANK - Folds
SLUGGERWV - Calls $2447.50
*** RIVER *** [10s 7s 3c Jh] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SLUGGERWV - Shows [Kc 9s] (One pair, threes)
PGHMICK - Shows [10c 7c] (Two Pair, tens and sevens)
PGHMICK Collects $7420 from main pot

The very next hand is the coup de grace.

Stage #872389558 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $800 - 2007-08-27 00:54:52 (ET)
Table: 40 (Real Money) Seat #1 is the dealer
Seat 1 - DA_BLANK ($18355 in chips)
Seat 2 - SLUGGERWV ($4472.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - MBUNN66 ($46277.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - BEERDOC ($24030 in chips)
Seat 5 - HHRJOHN ($24972.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - PGHMICK ($7420 in chips)
Seat 7 - JOHNNYRTRACK ($9215 in chips)
Seat 9 - MASTERB8 ($13967.50 in chips)
Ante $75
SLUGGERWV - Posts small blind $400
MBUNN66 - Posts big blind $800
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [Ad Kh]
BEERDOC - Folds
HHRJOHN - Folds
PGHMICK - Folds
JOHNNYRTRACK - Folds
MASTERB8 - Raises $2400 to $2400
DA_BLANK - Folds
SLUGGERWV - All-In(Raise) $3997.50 to $4397.50
MBUNN66 - Folds
MASTERB8 - Calls $1997.50
*** FLOP *** [8s 9h 3c]
*** TURN *** [8s 9h 3c] [7d]
*** RIVER *** [8s 9h 3c 7d] [6d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SLUGGERWV - Shows [Ad Kh] (ace high)
MASTERB8 - Shows [Ac 10h] (Straight, six to ten)
MASTERB8 Collects $10195 from main pot

I thought my play put me in a position to final table this tourney. The last two hands, especially the final hand, were certainly hands that could have
grown my stack. I believe that, while I was fortunate with the first hand, once I got it and it held up, I was always in a good position to chip up."

The Bodog Freeroll plus rebuys + add-ons

Last night I played in a tournament on Bodog with an unique format. Bodog runs a $1K guarantee free-roll with rebuys and add-ons. Five thousand players entered with only 99 spots being paid. Like most rebuy tourneys, this one had a lot of loose, aggressive play early on. Doubled up early w AQ v KK and an ace on the flop. Won a big pot when my gutshot hit on the river after I called a small bet on the turn planning on stealing. After doubling up again with a set, i was in a good position to play selectively. I didn't get a ton of cards througout the tourney. I was only dealt KK once and do not remember being dealt aces. A few big hands that kept me alive coming down the bubble stretch were: 99 v AQ which hit a set on the river but the AQ was unimproved until then, KTs which turned into a straight on the river and 33 all-in preflop, which was held up vs A4s and another caller who was pushed out of the pot when two diamonds hit the flop. But the 33 held up unimproved.

I missed a big chance to more than double up when I had a slightly above average stack later in tourney. I was dealt 86 in the bb but folded to a raise and a call from two monster stacks. Unfortunately, there were two eights on the flop and they both ended up all in. The pot was won with a pair.

Even though it didn't pay much, I was really happy with a finish of 54th.

Chipper Jones is killing the ball for the Braves. Hopefully he will stay hot and the Braves pitching will improve down the stretch.

Why does being drawn out on hurt more than making a bad play?

Bubbled yesterday in 12 bounty tournament finished 23 with 20 playing. Played a $2 bounty tournament earlier today and lost because I didn't believe that the guy two to my left had aces twice in five hands. Then this:
"Hand #45684548-46 at Thu6pmBounty-005 (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 23/Aug/07 18:51:19

WILDHENRY is at seat 0 with 2940.
Harpoon is at seat 1 with 8065.
SluggerWV is at seat 2 with 1840.
kingakings420 is at seat 3 with 2435.
billyc1234 is at seat 4 with 730.
puga7 is at seat 5 with 1275.
boodzie_8 is at seat 6 with 2665.
IWINBABY is at seat 7 with 870.
HHHR is at seat 8 with 6680.
happyric is at seat 9 with 2835.
The button is at seat 4.

puga7 posts the small blind of 30.
boodzie_8 posts the big blind of 60.

SluggerWV: Qc Qs

Pre-flop:

IWINBABY folds. HHHR folds. happyric folds.
WILDHENRY folds. Harpoon raises to 210. SluggerWV
calls. kingakings420 folds. billyc1234 folds.
puga7 folds. boodzie_8 folds.

Flop (board: 8c 2s 8h):

Harpoon bets 185. SluggerWV raises to 600. Harpoon
re-raises to 1015. SluggerWV goes all-in for 1630.
Harpoon calls.

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
Harpoon shows Ah 9d.
SluggerWV shows Qc Qs.

Turn (board: 8c 2s 8h Ad):
River (board: 8c 2s 8h Ad 9s):
Showdown:

Harpoon has Ah 9d 8c Ad 9s: two pair, aces and nines.
SluggerWV has Qc Qs 8c 8h Ad: two pair, queens and eights.

Harpoon wins 3770 with two pair, aces and nines.
---------------------------------------------------------"
Now I have played with this guy before. He absolutely loves overcards so the call pre-flop was to avoid an ace. It is so frustrating to have this happen. Am I the only one who takes no solace in the fact that he made a horrible play? The injustice of it all outweighs any satisfaction from playing the hand well.

good luck at the tables

Congrats to Agriffrod (again)

Agriffrod just took down the 30r on FullTilt to the tune of 6K while he was at the final table of another tourney at UB, the $120 Bounty tourney where he ended up 3rd for $2900.
Very well done, and once again Griff shows that he is a very talented player who is often deep in the big tournaments.

Griff's page on P5s


Great job and continued good luck

Good Breaks for a change.

The bad beats finally went my way at UB tonight. Three key hands turned into straights when I was behind to allow me to reach, and then stay at, the final table. It was a welcome change. A fourth hand would've been a huge suckout but I folded TT when the action was down to the final two tables after an all-in and an all-in over the top in front of me. A third all in behind made me think I had made the right move. Pre-flop I was right as a pair of aces and a pair of queens were turned over, along with an AQ. But a ten high flop and no other help for anyone else made me wish I had pushed and more than tripled up. I was able to finish 7th thanks to a another three way all-in at the final table. AQ v. QQ v. 99 saw the 99 river a diamond flush to eliminate the other two in the action.
My earlier tournament went really well until I pushed JJ against the player to my left who had recently sucked out w JJ to crack my aces. This time the aces he had held up. This hand will, and to an extent in the later tournament has, help me not to push so hard with hands like JJ.
Every day you learn something is a good day. Good luck at the tables everyone.

J. R. House

Congrats to Baltimore Oriole J.R. House for hitting his first major league homer over the weekend. J.R. was a record setting quarterback in high school at Nitro, West Virginia and is a former WVU quarterback. His career has been set back an arm injury and it is good for him to make the big leagues relatively early this year.

Congrats to John Smoltz

Congrats to John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves for passing Hall of Famer Phil Neikro and setting the Braves franchise records for strikeouts with 2,920, eight more than the previous mark. Smoltz has always had great stuff on the mound and injuries have prevented him from reaching this mark sooner. It has been great watching John pitch all these years and I am sure that he will be enshrined in Cooperstown after his days as a Brave are through. Well done sir and good luck the rest of the year.

Pretty Good day today.

The day started off well with a 95th of 1666 in the midnight madness tourney on FullTilt. Then I ran well at UB, chip leader with less than 30 left. But a couple of bad hands, one a bad beat and the other a bad decision, left me out in 13th place. Busted out around the first break in another tourney at UB but finished the night with another cash in the Bounty Tourney. Runner, runner suckout kept me alive in the middle but I was very happy with the way I played until my last ten hands when I was too aggressive w pocket fives, I wonder why?, and my last hand saw me get all in w AQ v 77 and 33. Both opponents flopped sets and I was out in 20th. I must say that I was pleased overall with my decisions today and hope to do even better later this week.

Congrats to Dhubermex and Agriffrod

Late last night Dhubermex and Agriffrod both final tabled tourneys at PokerStars. Agriffrod finished 2nd out of 216 in the PokerStars $109+R NL Hold'em on 08-18-2007, bringing in $16975.00.
Dhubermex finished 3rd in the $3+R for a cool $1,769.80.
Great efforts by both guys and a common occurrence for both as well.

Continued success guys.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to all around good guy and Pocketfives.com legend Chazmental. Hope it is a great one and considering what the plans you had were, I'm sure it will be.

At the rail with Wretchy

Dan Martin is an accounting major at Southern Oregon University. Dan “Wretchy”
Martin is a poker fiend tearing up big tournaments across the internet who can be found mostly at PokerStars and FullTilt Poker. Wretchy has been nice enough help a lot of players, including me, with their game. He’s never too busy to discuss a hand history (“HH”) or stop by and rail his friends in a tournament. Recently his younger brother Kurt "Mr.Sp0ck" has started playing and has benefitied from big brother's advice. Wretchy agreed to be the very first interviewee here at the Rail.
Wretchy thanks very much for taking the time to answer some questions. It's very much appreciated.
Wretchy: No problem. LOL

"Who taught you how to play?
Wretchy: My best friends dad really took my game to another level to begin with, then I had a few big time scores. At that time I went to Vegas for spring break and met up with Waco who basically gave me an 8 hour cram lesson on poker. I played all the majors with him and learned a shitload. Now, I have all sorts of people helping me out, MattG, Sketchy, Agriffrod, Anbessa, and a few others look over HH's for me."

"What place do you love to play live?
Wretchy: I had a real good time playing at theVenetian live, but f their bad beats, I enjoy the Peppermill in Reno also"

"What's your favorite Vacation Destination?
Wretchy: Mexico has been the funnest place I've been but I was young and it was because I could go get wasted. I was over the 4 foot mark so every bar served me. Lately, it was Las Vegas where I got to meet a bunch of online guys that I had never met before. I_Blade_U, Ricestud, Str8frush, MattG1983,Apestyles, SCTrojans, Atimos, Amak, StPauli, Grinder444, Chaz, and the list goes on and on. Had a blast and can't wait to do it again"

"What is your favorite Sports Radio show?
Wretchy: I don't list to sports radio unless its on Madden 08 for 360"

"Who is your favorite singer?
Wretchy: Probably the group The Academy Is,
although Tom Petty could really be #1." Yeah Tom Petty has been great for such a long time and he still seems underappreciated.

"Which songs on your I-pod do you listen to the most right now?
Wretchy: All the RHCP(Red Hot Chili Peppers), alt, and Everlast, depends on the ipod though, I have 2, one for rap and one for rock/alt"

"Which place you would like to go that you haven’t been to yet?
Wretchy: Bahamas, somewhere really warm, F the snow, seriously." I've been to both Freeport and Nassau and can say that both are fantastic places to visit.

"Most tournament’s cashed in a row?
Wretchy: Not sure, one day I final tabled 3 tournaments in a row and won 2 of them though, that was a 20k day plus" Wow. That's very impressive and would be a great year for most online players.

"What movie can you watch over and over again?
Wretchy: Office Space or any Will Ferrell movie."

"Steak, Chicken, Seafood or vegetarian?
Wretchy: Meat baby, I will take a steak with a side of seafood any day, <3 Seafood buffets"

"Dogs or cats?
Wretchy: Dogs ftw"

"What’s your Favorite book?
Wretchy: John Grisham's "The Rainmaker"" Grisham does such a good job of writing books that are interesting and hard to put down. I've read The Firm three times.

"Blackjack or Craps?
Wretchy: Wow, craps, I'm amazing its sick"

"Norman Chad or Vince Van Patten
Wretchy: Vince, Normal just sucks" LOL.

"Best poker tip you’ve ever been given/discovered?
Wretchy: Check raise flush draw awwwww in <3 Waco"

"How did you find out about Pocketfives.com?
Wretchy: My best friend showed me, I decided to become the forum whore."

"What is your favorite sport and why?
Wretchy: Playing, would be basketball, I was all state / confrence in high school and just enjoyed it all together. Also track because I owned the shit out of everyone who ran against me."

"James Bond or Jason Bourne?
Wretchy: Bond, obv"

"X-box 360, Wii or PS3?
Wretchy: X-box 360, Wii or PS3? Have a 360 and Wii, 360 pwnz though."

"Most successful sports bet?
Wretchy: I once went 13/14 on sports action during last years football season, other than that I went 12/14 in NCAA games with the spread during March Madness when I was like 14." That is an incredible run.

"Which player do you like to watch who plays a style very different from yours?
Wretchy: Cue all the Annette's... I_BLADE_U I like his style and watched him in Vegas play, he's going to be sick good."

"What poker player plays most like you?
Wretchy: I try to follow in Waco's ownage but if someone plays like me I'd have to go with Slugger, Chaz, CubbieRae, Deadmoney, and a few others I've taught some things to along the way."

"Best hand you ever played?
Wretchy: There is never 1 hand, although when I lost AA vs AKsooted on a Ak4 rainbow board and somehow managed to lose the biggest pot of my life, it sucks"

"Favorite College Team and why?
Wretchy: Uh, a sick toss up. I used to love the Ducks, now I am a Oregon State Beaver fan, but I still root for both of them.... I couldn't pick a team if I had to."

"Barry Bonds: Steroids/HGH or innocent?
Wretchy: Guilty as proven but the guy still hit all those homeruns, nobody can take it away from him, I say go for it."

"Sports memorabilia you would most like to own?
Wretchy: Barry Bonds HR ball? obv."

"Jessica Alba or Jessica Biel?
Wretchy: Jessica Biel sfobv.... sigh"

If I see her, I'll let her know. Thanks for your time Wretchy and good luck at the tables.

The Bourne Trilogy

I had not read the Bourne books before I saw the Bourne Identity, but I thought it was a very good movie. I was happy when The Bourne Supremacy was as good as the first one. Now, after having seen The Bourne Ultimatum, I would say this is the best triology overall I have seen. The third Godfather Movie was so far below the first two that it knocks that triology out of contention and the original Star Wars triology was good throughout, but I believe that Bourne is better.
Bourne Ultimatum was almost a pure action movie. There was really nothing about it that I wouldve thought could have been better. The series has been interesting and believable. I won't go into much detail so as not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I will say that you should do yourself a favor and get the first two and watch them if you haven't already and then see The Bourne Ultimatum.

Saturday Night ...

.. was the first time since Wednesday when I had much a chance to play a few tournaments. Thursday we went to the West Virginia State Fair so I didn't play any tournaments. Friday was a busy day at work and the first tournament didn't go very well so I called it a night early. The first tourney at UB was a bounty tournament and I busted 15 away from the money. I went deep in a $2 tourney on PokerStars and believe I would've gone much further if I hadn't over bet the a couple of hands, the nut flush and a set.
I finished up the night in the top 100 (95th of 1666) in the midnight madness tourney at FullTilt. The tourney seemed like it was going to end poorly after an early hand found me w JJ in the small blind. There were three limpers ahead of me so I raised up to four times the big blind. The only caller was an UTG +1 limper who called. The flop was A 3 x. I bet out 2/3 of the pot and was flat called. Another 3 on the turn saw action of check check. The river was an ace which made me feel better about the limper not having an ace, but I was wrong to the tune of half my stack. The player had limped in w A 4 off suit and called 4 times his limp. It still surprises me that people think that a baby ace is worth playing in those situaitions. I saw the limper play Ace rag several more times. Ironically, he was busted later in the tourney w AQ vs AJ which hit a straight. I usually hate getting the big pocket pairs early in the tournament because you don't win big pots with them but still seem to be able to lose big pots with them. It also seems like a missed opportunity in light of the few times those hands come along in a tourney.

The Braves lost tonight in spite of getting two home runs from Jeff Francoeur and one each from Chipper and Andrew. It would have helped if the opposing pitcher hadn't hit two homers of his own.

Only a few weeks until the start of college football. WVU has been ranked in the top five of every pre-season poll I have seen. Hopefully everyone will stay healthy as they will be loaded offensively.

I can't believe it.

Was having a great run in a tournament at UB. I was in top twenty much of the time. Play was in the money and I picked up the following hand:

"Hand #45446420-176 at Wed745pmBounty-003 (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 15/Aug/07 22:23:00

SluggerWV is at seat 0 with 9310.
LukeKelly is at seat 1 with 5270.
Lemons is at seat 2 with 17690.
delucks is at seat 3 with 19950.
bigedstud is at seat 4 with 30390.
cchills is at seat 5 with 10105.
gazzauk78 is at seat 6 with 6360.
Falkor is at seat 7 with 0 (sitting out).
RalphTWL is at seat 8 with 12660.
The button is at seat 4.

SluggerWV posts ante (75).
gazzauk78 posts the small blind of 300.
RalphTWL posts the big blind of 600.

SluggerWV: Td Tc

Pre-flop:

SluggerWV raises to 1900. LukeKelly folds. Lemons
folds. delucks folds. bigedstud folds. cchills
calls. gazzauk78 folds. RalphTWL folds.

Flop (board: 3c Qh Th):

SluggerWV bets 2200. cchills calls.

Turn (board: 3c Qh Th Kh):

SluggerWV goes all-in for 5135. cchills calls.

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:

SluggerWV shows Td Tc.
cchills shows Jh Kc.

River (board: 3c Qh Th Kh 9s):

(no action in this round)

Showdown:

SluggerWV has Td Tc Qh Th Kh: three tens.
cchills has Jh Kc Qh Th 9s: straight, king high."

That is the fourth time in 2 days that KJ has taken me down after a pre-flop raise. I guess I should have put him all-in on the flop but I truly believe now that he would've called anyway. It is so frustrating and takes all of the pleasure out of a tournament that was played pretty well up until the last hand.

Field of Dreams

I ran across the movie "Field of Dreams" a couple of days ago while surfing the channel guide. It had been a couple of years since I had last watched it and after seeing it close to a dozen times all I can say is that it still is a great movie. Some of it meant even more to me now that my Dad is gone but there is so much about several aspects of life throughout the movie that I doubt it will ever get old to me.
Then I ran across the video below again. It shows Dick and Rick Hoyt. If you don't know their story. Please read this: http://www.trifuel.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2879 Be warned it will make you cry.
The video is to the song "I can only imagine" by MercyMe.

BTW, I won the sit n go the other night and had a good cash game session last night but the bad beats are still flowing in the tourneys. The worse part is that it makes me feel like I was only lucky during the times when I have had really good results in a tourney. But carrying on is the theme of the day.

Good luck everyone Have a great day

The punch in the gut

The worst part about downturns or running bad is it makes me feel like the times when I have had good results were only the result of a good run of cards. Self-doubt is probably one of the most crippling things to have hit you in life, much less poker, and the effects aren't easy to deal with.

The last time I was down at UB, I set an amount that I had to win in Mtts and sngs and I didn't play ring games until I reached that amount. It seemed to sharpen my sng game and I was able to get back on a postive run quicker than I expected.

I'm going to try add some interviews with some well-known members of Pocketfives soon. Off Topic (OT) has been a fantastice place to visit the last couple of years and there are some very cool people there.

The downswings

They are inevitable. We all know it. Downswings, variance, whatever you call it, it is the most difficult period to handle in poker. The frustrating part this time is that the downswing has hit on each site and has taken different forms: being card dead, being sucked out on and getting in with the lower kicker are the ways that chips are flying away at the present time. Ring games, sit n gos, and mulit-table tourneys all are hitting me hard. So not much good has happened on the felt recently so there hasn't been much to write about here. Friday night Griff and Waco both went deep in tourneys. Waco's was at a lower than usual buy in courtesy of having a friend select the tourneys for him while he was heading home from the casino. Hopefully the last sit n go of the evening will end out well and tomorrow will be a better day.

Short Stack Judo Action and the Lure of the Bounty at UB

Played the $6.50 Bounty tournament at UlitimateBet today. In the third hand I was dealt AA. I raised 3 times the big blind and had 2 callers in additon to the blinds. The flop was J high and it was checked to me and I bet a little more than half the bot. I was called by the button. The turn was a second diamond so I bet out strong again and was raised, I re-raised all-in. The button called with J8s of diamonds. Of course the river was a diamond to make his flush and leave me with 65 chips. I was less than happy. The blinds were about to change from 5-10 to 10-20. The next hand I played was w 87o after 2 limpers and big raise. I thought that hand would be good against someone heads up, the there were two callers and I was sure I was done. But I caught second pair on the flop and miracously A rag bet everyone else out of the pot. I guess the bounty worked in my favor there. My pair held up and I was up to 240. I was patient and moved in a couple times with Ax from late position in unopened pots and w TT twice, and was able to get my stack to 600 chips. I went over the top of a raise when dealt QQ and was insta-raised all lin by two to my left and thought I was in bad shape when he turned over T8o. The lure of the bounty saved me again. Q on the flop and didn't even have to sweat the hand. I was now back to almost where I started. I eventually got my stack up to 9500 and finished in 29th of 385 with 40 places paying. I won't go through any more hand histories but I am so happy with the way I played after that bad beat it's hard to sit still and not go around screaming while jumping up and down. It is surely difficult to beat the feeling of playing a tournament well. Good luck at the tables everyone. Please pray for the families of the Miners trapped in Utah and the soldiers in harms way.

Phil Hellmuth

I was listening to the ESPN telecast of the NLHE final table event and cannot believe how annoying Phil Hellmuth's act has become. It is so sad because whenever people talk about the away from the table Phil, they say he is a great guy. He is a bully and an ass at the tables. Worse, he has developed the habit of making the same statment over and over again. I cannot believe this image is something that is making him money with advertisers. The only joy is watching and seeing the whining after he is busted. On a happier note, when you have a chance, visit Nassau. Great place and I look forward to the time when I can have an extended stay there.


Good luck at the tables everyone.

$12 bounty tourney at UB

The great thing about the tournaments at UB, aside from the structure, is the fact that you don't have to be massive fields each tourney to have a chance to win. The most frustrating thing about tourneys at UB is that, because the fields are so small, there aren't a lot of spots in the money. I played two five dollar tourneys, one a bounty, and finished a table away from the money in one and donked my way out of the other in mid-stream.
I played the $12+1 bounty tourney and battled around for quite a while. The best hand I was dealt was the one time I got QQ. Aggressive pushes gained me enough chips as the bubbled neared kept me alive until I got lucky on the hand below, which kept me alive until I was knocked out in 16th, 4 in the money:
----------------------------------------------------------------
Hand #45205766-128 at Tue645pmBounty-006 (No Limit tournament Hold'em)Started at 07/Aug/07 20:52:42
SluggerWV is at seat 0 with 2000.
Tjunit is at seat 1 with 12145.
fyewiks is at seat 2 with 5235.
nevets8 is at seat 3 with 11975.
Gunn Smoke is at seat 4 with 3030.
ROBB17 is at seat 5 with 6470.
devaney22 is at seat 6 with 9350.
DonnaMae44 is at seat 7 with 4405.
scottyclark is at seat 9 with 6145.
The button is at seat 0.
SluggerWV posts ante (25).
fyewiks posts the small blind of 150.
nevets8 posts the big blind of 300.
SluggerWV: 3c As
Pre-flop: Gunn Smoke folds. ROBB17 folds. devaney22 folds. DonnaMae44 folds. scottyclark folds.
SluggerWV goes all-in for 1975.
Tjunit folds. fyewiks goes all-in for 5210. nevets8 folds. fyewiks is returned 3235 (uncalled).
Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
SluggerWV shows 3c As. fyewiks shows Ks Kh.
Flop (board: 8h 2c Ac): (no action in this round)
Turn (board: 8h 2c Ac 3s): (no action in this round)
River (board: 8h 2c Ac 3s 6c): (no action in this round)

Showdown: SluggerWV has 3c As 8h Ac 3s: two pair, aces and threes.
fyewiks has Ks Kh 8h Ac 6c: a pair of kings.
SluggerWV wins 4475 with two pair, aces and threes.

I ve been working harder at concentrating on my games and avoiding surfing Pocketfives while I'm playing. So after I busted it was really nice to find a couple of personal messages (pms) letting me know that the Braves were having a great game against the Mets in game one of a key series. As I write this, Chipper has a couple of hits. Jeff "Frenchy" Francoeur has 4 hits including 2 doubles and a homer. Go Braves!!!!!!!

Big Powerball Jackpot tomorrow night

Jackpot was more than $140 million this afternoon and will probably get around $155 before the drawing. If I win then it's

Short Stack Judo Mode turns into win at UltimateBet

Was very shortstacked in PL Omaha 8b mtt at UlitmateBet. Was about twelve off the bubble when i pushed from the button w a hand including a pair of sevens and a suited ace. Two callers. Flopped quad sevens. Winning high hand kept me alive and if not for a low card on the river wouldve scooped. After a round of blinds I picked up a hand that I felt gave me my best shot at staying alive:

Hand #45138105-92 at Sun115pmA-003 (Pot Limit tournament Omaha 8/b)
Started at 05/Aug/07 15:11:29
VladMux is at seat 0 with 9800.
MissHumble is at seat 1 with 1965.
SluggerWV is at seat 2 with 480.
MrDeadwood is at seat 3 with 8315.
kidcrusher is at seat 4 with 16650.
djbell is at seat 5 with 895.
CV_Don is at seat 8 with 3790.
icey is at seat 9 with 8145.
The button is at seat 5.
CV_Don posts the small blind of 150.
icey posts the big blind of 300.
SluggerWV: Qd Kh Ts 9h
Pre-flop:
VladMux calls.
MissHumble calls.
SluggerWV goes all-in for 480.
MrDeadwood calls.
kidcrusher folds.
djbell folds.
CV_Don folds.
icey calls.
VladMux calls.
MissHumble calls.
Flop (board: 8c Jd 7s):
icey checks. VladMux checks. MissHumble checks. MrDeadwood checks.
Turn (board: 8c Jd 7s 3h): icey checks. VladMux checks. MissHumble checks. MrDeadwood checks.
River (board: 8c Jd 7s 3h 2d): icey checks. VladMux checks. MissHumble checks. MrDeadwood checks.

Showdown:
icey shows 6d Ks Ah Jc. icey has Ah Jc 8c Jd 7s: a pair of jacks (high). icey has 6d Ah 7s 3h 2d: 7 6 3 2 A (low).
VladMux shows 6s 2h 5s 3s. VladMux has 2h 3s Jd 3h 2d: two pair, threes and deuces (high). VladMux has 6s 5s 7s 3h 2d: 7 6 5 3 2 (low).
MissHumble shows Kc 5c Ac 9s. MissHumble has Kc Ac 8c Jd 7s: ace high (high). MissHumble has 5c Ac 7s 3h 2d: 7 5 3 2 A (low).
SluggerWV shows Qd Kh Ts 9h. SluggerWV has Ts 9h 8c Jd 7s: straight, jack high (high). SluggerWV has no qualifying low hand.
MrDeadwood shows As Tc 4s Qc. MrDeadwood has As Qc 8c Jd 7s: ace high (high). MrDeadwood has As 4s 7s 3h 2d: 7 4 3 2 A (low).
Hand #45138105-92 Summary:
SluggerWV wins 1275 with straight, jack high (high).
MrDeadwood wins 1275 with 7 4 3 2 A (low).---------------------------------------------------

I was literally the tournament short stack with 35 people left. I was fortunate to catch some hands to chip up to the point I was away from the bubble and could be more patient. This was that hand:

Hand #45138104-127 at Sun115pmA-002 (Pot Limit tournament Omaha 8/b)
dedmunny1 is at seat 0 with 5300.
SluggerWV is at seat 1 with 4060.
blimi is at seat 2 with 0 (sitting out).
MrDeadwood is at seat 3 with 38380.
VladMux is at seat 4 with 0 (sitting out).
Jamaica Plain is at seat 6 with 19910.
Hoeker is at seat 7 with 10635.
laeddie is at seat 8 with 6735.
CaptainS is at seat 9 with 15040.
The button is at seat 4.
Jamaica Plain posts the small blind of 400. Hoeker posts the big blind of 800.
SluggerWV: Ac Qh 3d 4d
Pre-flop:
laeddie folds.
CaptainS calls.
dedmunny1 folds.
SluggerWV calls.
MrDeadwood folds.
Jamaica Plain calls.
Hoeker checks.
Flop (board: 4c Qd 4h):
Jamaica Plain bets 800.
Hoeker folds.
CaptainS folds.
SluggerWV goes all-in for 3260.
Jamaica Plain calls.
Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
SluggerWV shows Ac Qh 3d 4d. Jamaica Plain shows Th Ad 5c Qc.
Turn (board: 4c Qd 4h Kd):
River (board: 4c Qd 4h Kd As):

Showdown:
SluggerWV has Ac 4d 4c 4h As: full house, fours full of aces.
Jamaica Plain has Ad Qc Qd Kd As: two pair, aces and queens.

SluggerWV wins 9720 with full house, fours full of aces.

I had a very good table image. I hadn't lost a showdown and I believe the players knew I wasn't making a lot of plays. I was able to use that to my advantage.

Hand #45138104-138
SluggerWV is at seat 1 with 7720.
Jamaica Plain is at seat 6 with 20250

CaptainS posts the small blind of 400. dedmunny1 posts the big blind of 800.
SluggerWV: 2d Ac 4h 9d
Pre-flop:
SluggerWV calls. MrDeadwood calls. GreenJeens folds.
Jamaica Plain calls. Hoeker folds. laeddie folds.
CaptainS calls. dedmunny1 checks.
Flop (board: 6c 9s 7h):
CaptainS checks. dedmunny1 checks.
SluggerWV checks. MrDeadwood checks.
Jamaica Plain bets 1000.
CaptainS folds. dedmunny1 folds. SluggerWV calls. MrDeadwood folds.
Turn (board: 6c 9s 7h Kc):
SluggerWV checks. Jamaica Plain bets 800.
SluggerWV calls.
River (board: 6c 9s 7h Kc 3d):
SluggerWV goes all-in for 5120.
Jamaica Plain folds. SluggerWV is returned 5120 (uncalled).

SluggerWV wins 7600.

I was very happy with my hand selection and decisions coming down the stretch. Posting any more hands would probably drive off anyone else who migh still be reading. It was great winning an Omaha 8b tourney at UB. I won 3 at Doyle's Room before they ran off all American players. This was by far the biggest field I was successful against.

And of course the Braves won today while I was playing so that made it even better. Big game for Chipper and Francoeur scored the winning run after doubling in the ninth.

Good luck at the tables everyone.

Congrats to MrSp0ck

Fantastic job by Kurt "MrSp0ck" Martin, brother of poker legend to be Wretchy. In one of his first tournaments MrSp0ck made the final table as the chipleader in the PokerStars $10 20k guaranteed last night/early this morning. He showed a lot of skill and who knows how big this 18 year old will become at the tables. Wretchy has helped me a whole lot with my game so I can only imagine how much help Kurt is getting from his big brother. Very well played sir.

Congrats to Agriffrod

Congrats to Nick Mitchell aka Agriffrod for making the final table of todays $8rebuy at PokerStars. Griff had a big stack and would have definitely gone much deeper in the tournament except for losing hands to a couple of very questionable calls. Griff is a ranked player at Pocketfives.com and has blown up the tables for the last year. Expect big things on the felt from this talented young man. Well played Griff.

Final Table at UltimateBet

The day certainly ended much better than I expected. The day's last tournament found me at the final table in the $5 tourney at UB. Was happy to even get in the money considering I had 1k in chips at first break. I was fortunate to flop trips in the first hand at the final table and more than tripled up in a hand w 5 limpers and one caller for my all. There were 46 hands dealt without an elimination and then two people were knocked out in the 47th hand. I limped with an ace trying to trap and was trapped with top pair vs a flopped straight. Fifth place was nice though.

I really wish that UB allowed observer chat at the final table. There was absolutley no talking going on and I hate no talking.

The Braves scored 7 in the first against the Astros tonight. The offense has come to life recently. Great to see. I would love to see them in the World Series again this year. It has been awhile and this team has a lot of talent. I do think there would be a downside if they made it to the series. I think Bobby Cox, and may GM John Scherholz, would retire if they get there again. But it would be great to send them out on top if that happened.

Good Night everyone and good luck.

Bridge collapse in Minnesota

Terrible tragedy in Minnesota. So many hurt and quite a few dead too. Please pray for the families of those hurt and killed, but also be thankful because there could have been a lot more people on the bridge when it fell or that bus could have fallen instead of stopping where it did. God bless.

The streak is dead. Long live the streak.

I cashed in a dollar tourney on bodog after the earlier Stars tourney so I was feeling a little better about things, but as Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend."

Was a few hands in the 7 o'clock tourney on PokerStars when my connection went out after I made a continuation bet w AK. Lost that hand to something, I ll guess I ll never know. But things were ok until this:

PokerStars Game #11258903696:
Tournament #56614184 $1.00+$0.10 Hold'em No Limit -
Level II (15/30) - 2007/08/01 - 19:24:21 (ET) Table '56614184 84' 9-max
Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: DJ_Glas (2060 in chips)
Seat 2: Kaaki (2160 in chips)
Seat 3: L_Goose52 (1470 in chips)
Seat 4: cam62 (2375 in chips)
Seat 5: DTAxeman1 (1180 in chips)
Seat 6: creo (1245 in chips)
Seat 7: paul454ssr (1390 in chips)
Seat 8: SluggerWV (1070 in chips)
Seat 9: kudzuJudd (1970 in chips)
kudzuJudd: posts small blind 15 DJ_Glas: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to SluggerWV [7s 7h]
Kaaki: folds
L_Goose52: folds
cam62: folds
DTAxeman1: folds
creo: folds
paul454ssr: calls 30
SluggerWV: raises 90 to 120
kudzuJudd: calls 105
DJ_Glas has timed outDJ_Glas: folds DJ_Glas is sitting out
paul454ssr: calls 90
*** FLOP *** [8d 7c Kh]
kudzuJudd: checks
paul454ssr: checks
SluggerWV: bets 180
kudzuJudd: folds
paul454ssr: calls 180
*** TURN *** [8d 7c Kh] [Kc]
paul454ssr: checks
SluggerWV: bets 330
paul454ssr: raises 760 to 1090 and is all-in
SluggerWV: calls 440 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [8d 7c Kh Kc] [9s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***paul454ssr: shows [9d Kd] (a full house, Kings full of Nines)
SluggerWV: shows [7s 7h] (a full house, Sevens full of Kings)
paul454ssr collected 2290 from pot

I am going to try a tourney on UltimateBet. Good luck everyone.

At least the streak is broken.

Was lucky enough not to have much work today so I played a tourney at PokerStars. Small buy-in($3) tournament with a ton of people allowed me to break my string of busting out. Was fortunate early to pick up AA in bb and have sb re-raise the button's steal attempt. I went all in and he called w TT. The only other big hand early saw a guy w a small stack try to steal after my utg raise w KK and he had A3o. No ace so it was a nice pick up. Busted out much later in the money with AQs from bb when button raised me and I went over the top all in. He had 77. Two clubs on the flop gave me hope, but the turn and the river snuffed it out. Still Im happy to finish in the money again.

Good luck at the tables

Not sure what to say

The midnight madness tourney started off well and i was able to build a big stack early. Lost a third of it w AK when a king it flop and guy hit a set of threes. But this hand was the one that got me. I guess I am done for the night and probably should take a day off and see if that helps.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3119018135: Midnight Madness! (23304345), Table 102 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:21:47 ET - 2007/08/01
Seat 1: fivecardjohnny (2,840)
Seat 2: DangerMouse4 (5,455)
Seat 3: ezlivin57 (4,542)
Seat 4: sinner50 (3,240)
Seat 5: Neely13 (5,560)
Seat 6: mountainvalley (3,929)
Seat 7: SluggerWV (1,645)
Seat 8: Leroy623 (4,161)
Seat 9: usingh123 (1,810)
SluggerWV posts the small blind of 80
Leroy623 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to SluggerWV [8d Th]
usingh123 folds
fivecardjohnny calls 160
DangerMouse4 folds
ezlivin57 folds
sinner50 folds
Neely13 folds
mountainvalley folds
SluggerWV calls 80
Leroy623 checks
*** FLOP *** [8c 8h Qh]
SluggerWV checks
Leroy623 bets 480
fivecardjohnny folds
SluggerWV raises to 1,485, and is all in
Leroy623 calls 1,005
SluggerWV shows [8d Th]
Leroy623 shows [Jd Qs]
*** TURN *** [8c 8h Qh] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [8c 8h Qh Jh] [Jc]
SluggerWV shows a full house, Eights full of Jacks
Leroy623 shows a full house, Jacks full of Queens
Leroy623 wins the pot (3,450) with a full house, Jacks full of Queens
SluggerWV stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,450 Rake 0
Board: [8c 8h Qh Jh Jc]
Seat 1: fivecardjohnny folded on the Flop
Seat 2: DangerMouse4 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: ezlivin57 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: sinner50 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Neely13 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: mountainvalley (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: SluggerWV (small blind) showed [8d Th] and lost with a full house, Eights full of Jacks
Seat 8: Leroy623 (big blind) showed [Jd Qs] and won (3,450) with a full house, Jacks full of Queens
Seat 9: usingh123 didn't bet (folded)

Good night and good luck everyone. God Bless

Tournament ended quickly and poorly

Didn't turn things around with this tourney. Below is the hand that busted me. I read the raiser for two high cards and saw the bet as a continuation bet. Of course the river smacked me in the mouth

PokerStars Game #11246324033:
Tournament #56614076, $2.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit -
Level II (15/30) - 2007/07/31 - 23:27:21 (ET)Table '56614076 157'
9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: Leolozon (1325 in chips)
Seat 2: DarkLady (3790 in chips)
Seat 3: whamp23 (2205 in chips)
Seat 4: lil BCE (1820 in chips)
Seat 5: che-la-luna (1700 in chips)
Seat 6: lukesteen (2675 in chips)
Seat 7: ModernMarvel (3615 in chips)
Seat 8: SluggerWV (1260 in chips)
Seat 9: pokerlarry (1160 in chips)
Leolozon: posts small blind 15DarkLady: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to SluggerWV [8s 8h]
whamp23: folds
lil BCE: raises 60 to 90
che-la-luna: folds
lukesteen: calls 90
ModernMarvel: folds
SluggerWV: calls 90
pokerlarry: folds
Leolozon: folds
DarkLady: folds
*** FLOP *** [7s Tc 2c]
lil BCE: bets 210
lukesteen: folds
SluggerWV: raises 960 to 1170 and is all-in
lil BCE: calls 960
*** TURN *** [7s Tc 2c] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [7s Tc 2c 3d] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lil BCE: shows [Ac Jc] (a flush, Ace high)
SluggerWV: shows [8s 8h] (a pair of Eights)
lil BCE collected 2655 from pot
Would love to hear thoughts on whether a call and then an all in on the turn would have had a better chance of making him lay the hand down.

Big Night in Atlanta

On the same day the Braves picked up First Baseman Mark Teixeira, they pounded the Astros 12-4 in Atlanta. Kelly Johnson hit two homers. Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann each hit bombs as well. Francoeurs three hits in five at bats pushed his average to the .300 mark. He has really matured as a hitter this year. Hate seeing Saltalamacchia leave Atlanta. He looks like he is going to be a great big league hitter and it seems switch hitting catchers are increasing rare.
The Braves also picked up Kansas City reliever Octavio Dotel to add a quality pitcher to a battered bullpen.

I am playing in the eleven o'clock tournament at PokerStars. It's been a bad couple of days in tournament play and I am hoping that a good run there will help turn things around.

Good Luck everyone.