Slugger's Tales from the Rails

2011-11-09T21:48:00.001-05:00

2011-11-09T20:52:00.001-05:00

Penn State, the whole world is watching

Back to the Trail

2011-07-06T20:58:00.003-04:00

A lot has happened since my last post here. Congress has gone out of the way to make life difficult for people who play poker. A few good people have died. Borders bookstores filed bankruptcy and closed down my local brick and mortar bookstores.

Injury and illness disrupted a very promising AAU season for the 6th grade team. The 8th grade team had a promising start with some talented ladies but injury and softball intervened. The high school season hasn't really gotten running and time keeps ticking on the summer clock.

But each time you are knocked down you have to get back up. Quitting is the only way to lose.

I'll be back around here. Hope to see you.

Drama returns to the boards at Pocketfives

2010-09-24T00:28:00.004-04:00

No, not Johnny Drama, drama drama. When we last visited the frailties of the human condition, our friend Chaz and his Big Red cohort were grilling their way to a bodacious 10k.

Now the seldom visited Poker Discussion forum on the site may very well be watching a misplayed con blow up in the member's face. Justin Weitzman, aka amandaw111, aka runningthisg333 aka justin bieber's bff?, started a thread claiming that embattled online poker site Ultimate Bet had stolen approximately $40k from him. While dodging requests to provide proof for his claim, Justin revealed instead that he had colluded in online play and had played on more accounts than the number of police cruisers Lindsay Lohan has ridden in. The story is ongoing and you can read more about it here and also improve your game too.

Welcome to the Scandal

2010-02-06T14:41:00.001-05:00

welcome to the scandal
we've got chaz n scams
we've got everything you need
we know the address
We know the phone number and
When the pizza will come
If you got the money buddy
Don't Ship it online

Chorus:

In the scandal
Welcome to the scandal
Watch it bring your account to z-z-z- eroooooooooooo, see
I wanna watch you bleed

Welcome to the scandal
It's updated each day
If you think the check's coming
I don't know what to say
If you'll stop by Treasures
It is easy to see
You can get in the door
But you won't get in for free
In the scandal

Welcome to the scandal
I can't Feel my, my, my knee
I, I wanna grill your meat

Welcome to the scandal
It gets worse here everyday
Ya learn ta live like a criminal
In the scandal everyday
If you got a debt for winnin' a league
You'll get it eventually
It was guaranteed you see
But you better go ahead and breath

Chorus

And when you think it's over
The Check'is on the way, here's a pic so you will see

You know where you are
You're in the scandal baby
You're gonna cry
In the scandal
Welcome to the scandal
Watch me cook on my g g g g grilllllllll, grill
In the scandal
Welcome to the Chaz scam
Feel my, my, my left knee
In the scandal
Welcome to Chaz's scam
Watch me grill some steak Get the da da da da door please
In the scandal
Welcome to Chaz's scam
Watch him spend your winnings
Their gonna get you clown!
Ha!

Charles Kraynak Scandal on Pocketfives.com

Online poker Scandal

2010-02-05T20:22:00.005-05:00

Since shortly after thanksgiving, there has been a revelation of an online scam by a member of the community who was previously highly revered. The community is pocketfives.com"

Personally, I was stunned when the allegations first surfaced and then saddened when a confession was issued.

Pocketfives.com is a great site and the OT community is second to none on the internet. I hope that people don't hold this sad event against the many good people there.

2009-08-16T12:32:00.002-04:00

I find that as more time passes, that the goals and achievements I once thought necessary for a successful life are unlikely to happen. I do find that the one consistent accomplishment is helping people through rough times and lifting them up in their time of need. It makes the difficult times bearable knowing that at some time I will have a stranger or friend who needs to hear that someone else has been through what is happening to them now and came out the other side.

Peace and Love

The smokescreen by the MLB Player's Union

2009-08-09T12:39:00.003-04:00

Watching the David Ortiz press conference yesterday, I was struck in particular by a couple of things. First, the union attorney who came to assist Ortiz didn't think enough of the event's importance to comb his hair. Second, his attempt to put up a smokescreen on behalf of the players who tested dirty was pathetic.

The union asked the Court to seal the list and the results that it allegedly shows. Now the Union is saying, "we'd love to go into this in detail, but the Court Ordered us not to." Pathetic. All the union has to do is petition the court to unseal the record. There's no reason the Court would want to keep it secret. The results would be public and the matter could be better dealt with. This is a transparent stalling tactic. The more time that passes, the more likely we are to hear that people don't want to talk about the past (Hi Mark McGwire. You'll need a ticket to get in Cooperstown just like me now) or that people shouldn't care because the test was so long ago.

Baseball has lost its way and is close to losing its soul. The game's connection with history means more to baseball than any other sport. Why is baseball so unconcerned about the statistical break with history that steroids has created?

IMG00322.jpg

2009-08-08T09:37:00.000-04:00

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2009-08-08T09:32:00.000-04:00

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2009-08-08T09:27:00.000-04:00

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2009-05-27T11:15:00.001-04:00

2009-05-27T01:20:00.000-04:00

Online Poker Age Verification Works

2009-05-16T13:20:00.002-04:00

One of the arguments used against online poker is that of children playing. It is a canard used by opponents who would take away the freedome of others without good cause. Please take a moment to read this article by The Engineer of the Poker Players Alliance don't believe the lies.

Wretchy on CardplayerTV

2009-05-14T17:30:00.003-04:00

Bloomberg on Legalizing Internet Poker

2009-05-13T11:43:00.002-04:00

WVUMANIAC2 Final Table

2009-05-12T22:21:00.002-04:00

Congrats to Jacob who playing as wvumaniac2, final tabled the PokerStars Nightly Seventy Grand on 05-11-2009. Jacob won $980.00 for finishing 9th out of 1382 entrants. Great job sir!

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

2009-05-11T19:29:00.003-04:00

I am very happy to wish Happy Birthday to a really cool guy and rabid Duke fan, Pratyush "FenwayKing" Buddiga. I have gotten to know him a lot better over the past few months at pocketfives. Pratyush is a very talented young man and one of the great group of writers at freebillsimmons who is fortunate that his birthday falls the week after finals. If you haven't had a chance to read his writing, do yourself a favor and check out the site today.

I hope it is truly a great today and the first of many more! Don't worry the doctors will soon come up with a cure for the rapidiness :)

In this undated photo Pratyush visits the Duke Library for a picture to send to his parents to convince them he is serious about his studies. It is believed but unconfirmed at this time that this was his only trip to the Library.

Major Flooding hits Southern West Virginia

2009-05-10T18:36:00.004-04:00

My part of the world was hit hard early yesterday morning by heavy flooding. We have had heavy rains all week and the result was a lot of people suffered a heavy loss in their lives.

Thanks to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the National Guard. Flooding isn't unheard of here and these groups have shown again that they can be counted on during tough times again.

Some news coverage of the flood can be found WSAZ-TV,WCHS-TV, TV59 and Register-Herald.

Poker News

2009-05-10T13:40:00.005-04:00

PokerNews is reporting that Actor Don Cheadle, one of the founders of the Ante up for Africa charitable organization, has been signed as a friend of FullTiltPoker.
Read more about it by visiting Poker News Daily.

Congressman Jim McDermott, (D-WA), introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, HR 2268, this week. This is a companion piece of legislation to Barney Frank's previously introduced bill for comprehensive internet gambling regulation.
For more on these proposed pieces of legislation, visit Poker News Daily and Poker News.

To help support the efforts to keep online poker legal, visit Poker Players Alliance.

2009-05-08T18:13:00.004-04:00

Below is a very nice picture of a plane which serves as Air Force One when the President is on board flying over the Statue of Liberty. While it is a very nice image, for some reason I don't think it was worth the $328,835.00 the Air Force ended up spending to get it and terrorize a large part of New York City.

Do you?

RIP Dom DiMaggio

2009-05-08T11:56:00.007-04:00

Former Boston Red Sox All-Star Dominic "Dom" DiMaggio died this morning at the age of 92. Dom was the last surviving member of the trio of DiMaggios who roamed major league outfields beginning when older brother Joe's Hall of Fame career started with the New York Yankees in 1936 and ending with Dom in 1953 in Boston. Older brother Vince, also an All-Star, played 10 seasons in the National League.
Dom hit .298 over the course of his eleven year career which began in 1940 and saw him selected to seven All-Star teams. He served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II. The loss of those three years may have cost Dom his own election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Dom was prominently featured in the book "Teammates" by renowned author David Halberstam. The book details the friendship between former teammates Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr and Dom. Like all of Mr. Halberstam's works, it is a read that is well worth your time. I had the good fortune to see Dom interviewed when the book was released in addition to features on ESPN and ESPN Classic about Ted, Joe and/or the Boston-New York rivalry. From all accounts, Dom was a true gentleman who was widely admired.
If you are a prayerful person, please remember Dom's family and friends and take a moment or two today to be grateful for the presence of a good man. Baseball lost a good one today. RIP Dom.

For a more detailed story on Dom, please visit either ESPN.com or the New York Times.

Wretchy's Pwnage moves to FullTilt

2009-05-08T01:24:00.004-04:00

Seemingly tired of winning the $100 rebuy tournaments on Pokerstars, Dan "Wretchy" Martin moved over to FullTiltPoker to win the $22 rebuy last night. The tournament field consisted of 404 players and Wretchy won $5,870.00 for taking down first place.

It has been an impressive week on the virtual felt for The Wretched One who is currently ranked as the 19th best online tournament player in the world at pocketfives.com. A win in an FTOPS event would be a great addition, as would a victory in another triple crown event would be a great way to cap an awesome week.

Great job sir and continued success!

FullTiltPoker gets Weined!

2009-05-08T00:14:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Wein for wading through a huge field cashed in the FullTiltPoker FTOPS Event #1 on 05-06-2009. Playing as "ChasingIdiot", Wein not only made the final table but was dominating the tournament before the double headed monster of the apocolyspe, cold deck and bad beat, conspired to knock him out in third place.

Wein won a very impressive and jealousy inspiring $81200.00 for finishing 3rd out of 4445 entrants. Fantastic work sir! Very well played. Wein has been making impressive runs through tournament fields for some time now, so this isn't a surprise. Look for Wein to appear at a final table near you under some of the most inspired screen names that would make the members of Monty Python proud.

Rename each of the Stars $100 rebuys.

2009-05-06T16:35:00.003-04:00

Any form of $100 rebuy on Pokerstars shall henceforth be known as the Wretchy Open. Dan "Wretchy" Martin crushed the field in a couple more of them last night.

In the early $100 2 rebuys + 1 add-on event, Wretchy made the final table. He finished 6th out of 108 entrants and won a prize of $1600.00.

In the evening $100 rebuy $20,000 guaranteed tournament, Wretchy took down the title and won an impressive $23431.50. This tournament had 279 entrants.

What else can be said? The Wretched One owns this tournament. Congrats Dan and I look forward to making the same post tomorrow.

Jason Koon in the Poker Zone

2009-05-06T16:08:00.003-04:00

Cardplayer Magazine's Poker Zone featured Jason "NovaSky" Koon aka JAKoon1985 in its latest edition. Jason has had an incredible year so far and is a really great guy. Look for him to have much success in WSOP this year.

Enjoy the video here.

This Guy Gives Police Officers a bad name

2009-05-05T15:57:00.001-04:00

Pokerstars needs to run more $100 rebuys says Wretchy

2009-05-04T09:17:00.006-04:00

May 3, 2009 saw Wretchy dominate some of the largest no limit hold em tournaments on the web, the $100 rebuy tournaments on PokerStars. In the first $109r, $300,000 guaranteed, Wretchy finished second after getting heads up for the title. There has been a lot of discussion in the poker forums about the chop talk after Wretchy and Mogilni were the final two. There is a lot of dispute regarding the Stars chop procedure and whether chat chop talk is binding without support present and whether the faillure to sit out voids any agreement to chop. Wretchy earned bringing in $52986.15 for finishing 2nd out of 1089 entrants. If you would like to read more about the controversy, you can read more at pocketfives.com and twoplustwo.com. Also, here is a thread by Wretchy explaining his point of view at P5s.

Wretchy bounced back from the set back to win the late PokerStars $109+R NL Hold'em tournament, $150,000 guaranteed, on 05-03-2009. Wretchy won $36518.00 for beating 539 other entrants.

Congrats Wretchy. Great play sir!

College Football Hall of Fame

2009-05-01T09:35:00.008-04:00

Yesterday's announcement of the 18 members(16 players, 2 coaches) of the 2009 class of the College Football Hall of Fame brought good news to the people West Virginia and particularly to those of my hometown. Pineville High Alum Curt Warner was among this year's inductees. Curt was a fantastic running back and I was very lucky to be old enough to appreciate how talented he was. It was amazing watching opponents try to devise a scheme with all eleven defenders with the lone goal of stopping him, then seeing him break through or run around them like a man playing against boys. Curt had a great career at Penn State, leading the Nittany Lions to their first National Championship after an undefeated season and victory over Herschel Walker and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in 1983, and was on the way to having one in the NFL when he blew out his knee in a game against Cleveland. Curt was a two-time All-American at Penn State. He was a three time NFL All-Pro and gained more than a 1,000 yards in four different seasons for Seattle.

It was also great to see former WVU Quarterback Major Harris among the selected few. Major was a marvelous talent who combined elusive speed with a strong and accurate arm. It was during his time as quarterback that the West Virginia football program returned to national prominence.
Major commanded the Mountaineers to an undefeated season in 1988 and a match up against Notre Dame for the national title in the Fiesta Bowl. Unfortunately, Major separated his throwing shoulder on the Mountaineers' third play of the game and we never got to see how the same QB who had brilliantly led the team throughout the season would do against the Fighting Irish as the Mountaineers fell 34-21. Major was selected as an All-American and finished in the top five in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy twice.
Perhaps Major's most memorable game was in Morgantown against long-time heated rival Penn State. The Mountaineers beat Penn State 51-30 with Major outgaining the entire Penn State team 301-292. The run shown below through almost the entire Penn State defense is still one of the foundest Mountaineer gridiron memories.
Major is the sixth Mountaineer to be selected to the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Coach Don Nehlen,former WVU halfback Ira Errett Rodgers and tackles Bruce Bosley, Sam Huff and Joe Stydahar.
Congratulations to Curt and Major and to the other members of the Class of 2009.

Bill Simmons

2009-04-29T18:47:00.003-04:00

Bill Simmons is the best sportswriter/columnist working today. I hope ESPN is smart enough to keep him around for a long, long time. His work is insightful and funny. Either quality is pretty rare today, the combination is as rare as valid Yeti encounters. Read his latest gem on the NBA Playoffs here

Fans of Bill Simmons will also enjoy freebillsimmons.com. This site was founded by five sports fans who bring a non-company line/pc view of the sports world. Visit their site. You will not regret it.

Good luck at the tables everyone.

Congrats BAX!!!

2009-04-29T17:57:00.004-04:00

Congrats to online poker legend and WSOP Bracelet winner Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy. JohnnyBax won the $1,000 NLHE Tourney on PokerStars last night. He beat out 346 other competitors to win $68,250.00.

From all accounts Bax is a great guy and in addition to being a fantastic player. So, since it isn't going to happen to me, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Well Played Sir!!!

Froch v Taylor

2009-04-27T16:57:00.005-04:00

One of the best fights of the year happened Saturday night and you didn't have to shell out pay per view dollars to see it.
Showtime showcased the 168 lb super middleweight bout between undefeated WBC champ Carl Froch and former champ Jermain Taylor.
The action packed fight saw Taylor knock down Froch early and control most of the early and middle rounds.
The champ stepped up the pace in the latter rounds, pressuring Taylor who had shown in recent fights that his stamina was questionable. Froch, behind on two of the judge's cards, knocked Taylor down midway through the twelth round. The clearly hurt Taylor got back up and gamely continued. But Froch was too much. Pinning Taylor against the ropes, Froch unleashed a flurry of punches that dropped Taylor's hands and closed his eyes. The referee, Michael Ortega, wisely stepped in and halted the fight at the 2:46 mark of the final round.

I was disappointed that Showtime's announcers implied that the fight should have been allowed to finish and that the ref should have allowed it to play out the final 14 seconds. However, both fighters and the ref handled the questions well and did a great job of explaining what had happened. Clearly Taylor was defenseless at the time of the stoppage and would have endured close to a dozen hammering blows were the fight to continue.

Pics from www.boxingplanet.net
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NFL Draft and the Dallas Cowboys

2009-04-26T12:20:00.004-04:00

Dallas traded away the team's only pick in this year's draft yesterday. That certainly took away must of the interest in the draft for me.

It has been a very active off-season. Jon Kitna was acquired and T.O. and Roy Williams, the saftey, were released. Mike Shanahan and Bill Cowher were not hired to replace Wade Phillips.

Kitna's acquisition is certainly an upgrade at backup QB and, while I have been a fan of Tony Romo's since he became the man, I now have a nagging doubt that makes me wish Dallas had moved up to get Mark Sanchez.

I cannot let go of the shot of Romo smiling from ear to ear on the field during a break in the action in the season finale while Philadelphia was kicking his ass and knocking the Cowboys out of the playoffs. For a team that started the year with such high expectations, watching the QB act like going home instead of going to the playoffs has really made doubt Romo is the guy who will take Dallas to the Super Bowl.

As I write this, on day two of the draft, Dallas has attempted to address needs in CB, WR and Safety by drafting a linebacker and a defensive end. I am not saying these guys can't play or that they are bad picks, but these positions are important and Dallas needs help there in a big way. I miss Jimmy Johnson.

When to walk away and when to stay

2009-04-23T16:01:00.005-04:00

Tuesday even I bled money at the tables and was crushed in the tournaments and sit-n-gos. I was really frustrated and discouraged and was looking forward to a fresh start on Wednesday.
Wednesday started off the same way. I lost half my cash game buy in what seemed like two hands but was really a couple of rounds. So I signed up for a couple of sit-n-gos. In less than two minutes time, my flopped two pair was drawn out on to elimate me.
I turned off the computer and walked away. Briefly I understood the reason why people believe internet poker is rigged. Tuesday's bad beats made the feeling exponentially worse. I turned on the TV. I tried not to think about it. But, I couldn't.
I hate to lose. Bad results bother me. Then it dawned on me, bad play should bother me. Bad results shouldn't be a problem that lingers. I thought back to Tuesday's blood bath. Cash game. Cut off tried to steal my big blind. I flopped good and re-raised him. Flop missed him. I put him in. He called. I was right he had a bare ace and a gutshot. I was right, the river was wrong. Ace for the joker.
Bad result is not the same as bad play. Now tilting off another buy-in after that was wrong. Aggressive for aggressive's sake won't usually get the job done. I thought about the plays that busted me out of the sit-n-gos. Kings ran up against Aces.
Bad luck, not a bad play.
AK all-in vs A9. 9 hits the flop.
Bad luck. Bad result.
When the breaks go against you, it is hard to believe that the breaks will even out or that good play will eventually make up the difference. But I remembered some pretty good advice I read, don't quit playing because you have lost or are down, quit playing because your play is off. Looking at my play, the last half of the cash game was poorly done but the tournaments were played well. I was doing a good job of deciding where I was in the hands. Playing more wouldn't be an invitation to diaster, it is what I should be doing while playing well.
Good things happened. I final tabled a sniper tournament to end the night due to a mixture of good cards, good luck and good decision making.
I really think that this is kind of a milestone in my development by consciously shifting my focus to analyze my play from a decision making perspective rather than simply looking at the results.
I hope I remember and that maybe others will get it quicker than I did.

Good luck at the tables.

Congrats to Wantagolf

2009-04-23T00:36:00.004-04:00

Congrats to Mike aka Wantagolf, a proud member of the United States Navy. Mike made the final table of the $10+1 NLHE tournament on PokerStars. There were 3771 entrants into the tourney and Mike finished 3rd. He won $2,451.16 for his great effort. Mike played great and was knocked out when his KK lost to AK.

Fantastic job sir! Be safe and thank you for your service to our country.

Anchors Aweigh!

Congrats to Chaz

2009-04-22T21:18:00.003-04:00

Chaz playing as RevMental on LockPoker, a skin of the Cake Poker network, did another great job in the $10 rebuy NLHE tournament last night. Chaz finished 3rd out of 373 entrants to earn a very nice $1,006.00. Chaz played great and had an all-star rail headed up by former Crew member and WSOP braclet winner Gank. Chaz is a great guy and becoming a force on the felt. Continued good luck sir! Very well done.

Good Luck Alex!

2009-04-22T14:28:00.003-04:00

Best of Luck to Alex "Assassinato" Fitzgerald. He is currently 4th of 16 players remaining in the PokerStars.com EPT San Remo event. Alex is a great player and really cool guy I would love to see him win this tournament.

UPDATE: Alex has made the final table which will start tomorrow. EPT final tables are comprised of only eight players. Alex is currently sitting in 5th place.
Good Luck tomorrow Alex Take this down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Teacher Definitely Can!

2009-04-18T14:49:00.004-04:00

There is an expression that is as wrong as it is old that says "those who can do and those who can't teach." It is silly and online poker teacher extraordinaire Jennifear shows on a regular basis that she definitely can play the game.

Playing as PunkinBear, Jennifear made the final table of the PokerStars $11 NL Hold'em on 04-17-2009. This tournament had a $30,000 guarantee and Jennifear won $2640.00 for finishing 3rd out of 2745 entrants.

Great job Jen! Very well played!

If you want to improve your game, contact Jennifear for help here.

FTOPS

2009-04-17T23:06:00.004-04:00

May will see me enter my first FTOPS event. I entered a seven card stud high low tournament earlier. I didn't realize it was a satellite event for the FTOPS. There weren't many entrants in the tournament but I was able to win one of two satellite entries. I am pretty happy to say the least.

Back to Back Final Tables at UB

2009-04-17T18:09:00.004-04:00

Today's tourney only had 79 entrants, but I was able to beat 76 of them. The deck hit me in the mouth early at the final table but unfortunately I kept gettting outkicked once we were down to three and then found top pair up against an over pair on the hand that knocked me out.
It has been a pretty good run lately. In four out of the last six tournaments I played, I have cashed and have two final tables that were both top three finishes. I should have one the one I made it to heads-up play, but I am pleased with how things are going in the tournaments now. This was definitely a good way to start off the weekend.

Good luck at the tables everyone.

Peace and Love all around

Triple play for iLLNuGWichee and Final Table for Mathclub

2009-04-17T12:06:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Zac, who plays online as iLLNuGWichee had an awesome day yesterday. He made the final table of the FullTiltPoker $75,000 Guarantee, winning $2338.95 for finishing 7th out of 503 entrants. Zac also final tabled the FullTiltPoker $33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a), winning $742.50 for finishing 9th out of 123 runners.

Over at PokerStars Zac's good work continued. He final tabled the $109 NL Hold'em [turbo - $15,000 guaranteed], cashing for $1759.50 for a finish of 5th of 306 players. Great playing sir!

Shaun aka Mathclub playing as ktpie on FullTilt, final tabled the FullTiltPoker $19,500 Guarantee (Rebuy) on 04-16-2009. He won $1642.13 for taking 5th place out of 266 runners. Congratulations Shaun! Well played sir!

Congrats to ChazMental

2009-04-17T00:44:00.007-04:00

Congrats to Pocketfives.com legend and all around great guy ChazMental. Playing on the Cake Poker network, Chaz made the final table of the $10rebuy tournament earlier last night/this morning. Chaz earned $360.00 for finishing 7th out of 338 runners in the tourney.

This was Chaz's second final table this week.

Great job Sir!

Shaunne and Chaz

Final Table at UB

2009-04-14T11:49:00.003-04:00

I played in the UltimateBet $4 sniper tournament last night. I got enough good cards and got lucky enough to make it to the final table and then heads up. I started off heads up with a chip lead. Lost it. Then got it back. Then I was inpatient and tried to steal a blind w J5 when I had no business pushing, lost the hand and then lost the tournament.

It was so cool to get to the final table but I am really disappointed in not being able to finish off the tournament. I got some nice rail action from Pocketfives.com's Dr.GHouse, who was also nice enough to make a rail thread when I made the final table. I hope to seal the deal next time.

Good luck at the tables everyone.

Overnight Updates

2009-04-13T10:40:00.003-04:00

While most of the East Coast was asleep last night, several top online poker players were raking in the cash with both hands.

Dan "Wretchy" Martin made two final tables last night/early this morning. He finished 5th out of 3626 entrants in the FullTiltPoker $750,000 Guarantee which began on 04-12-2009. Wretchy took home $31050.00 for that great performance.

Wretchy also made the final table in the FullTiltPoker $75,000 Guarantee which started last night. For finishing 6th out of 856 in this tournament, he won $5778.00. Great job sir!

Jason Koon aka JAKoon1985 aka NovaSky won the FullTiltPoker The Sunday Mulligan which started on April 12, 2009. The win earned Jason $53020.00. He finished 1st among 1205 entrants. It has been a great week for Jason and he bounced back from a horrendous beat in the SCOOP $10,000 main event in which what should have been a triple up for him turned into a runner runner flush for a dominated opponent. Well done Jason!

Finally, Jared Hamby aka TheWacoKidd final tabled the FullTiltPoker $200,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) which began play on 04-12-2009. Waco won $8063.10 for finishing 7th out of 514 players. Good to see Waco at the final table again. Excellent play sir!

Final Table updates!

2009-04-12T18:41:00.002-04:00

Congrats to Alex Fitzgerald aka TheAssassinato. He made the final table in the FullTiltPoker $60,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) on 04-11-2009. Alex won $6481.50 for finishing 5th out of 263 entrants.

Jennifear, playing as PunkinBear, made the final table in the PokerStars $109 NLHE [|turbo| - |$35,000 guaranteed|] on 04-11-2009. She won $2328.75 for finishing 5th out of 405. Congrats Jennifear.

JAKoon1985 gets paid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-11T11:53:00.006-04:00

CONGRATS to West Virginia native Jason Koon. Playing as "jakoon1985", Jason won the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) event number 17 on PokerStars which started last night and finished play this morning.

The $2,100 buy-in No Limit Hold Em with 1 rebuy and 1 add-on ( NLHE [1R1A]) had a guaranteed prize pool of $1,000,000.00. For his win, Jason recieved the top prize of $302720.00.

Jason beat out a field of 267 other players which included most of the biggest names in online poker. Great job Jason!!!! Very well played sir!!!

2009-04-10T19:02:00.000-04:00

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Wretchy in PokerPro Magazine

2009-04-10T13:49:00.004-04:00

PokerPro Magazine interviewed Dan "Wretchy" Martin in the April Edition of it's Pros Speak Column. It is great to see Wretchy get some of the recognition he deserves for his play over the last couple of years. Dan and several big name online stars were asked to comment on multi-accounting and online poker.

If you would like to read the article, click here

Congrats Dan!

Congrats to Old School OTers

2009-04-09T09:56:00.005-04:00

Congrats to Michele aka -AG- who, playing as ArmyGirl on FullTilt Poker, made the final table of the FullTiltPoker Daily Double - B on 04-08-2009. She won a very nice$350.35 for finishing 6th out of 1001. Very well played mam!

Also congrats to Nick "Agriffrod" Mithcell. Griff made the final table of the $5,200 No Limit Hold-Em, 6 max, buy-in SCOOP event, event number 14. This event had a guarantee of $1,250,000. He finished 6th out of 331 players and banked a very nice $66200.00 for his effort. Excellent work sir!

2009-04-08T18:22:00.001-04:00

Full Tilt Poker Game #11579663732: Table Rochelle - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:12:32 ET - 2009/04/08
Seat 1: Sittinghawk7 ($50.45)
Seat 2: romandandy ($23.25)
Seat 3: whooqplayer ($7.33)
Seat 4: XXL2008 ($11.90)
Seat 5: Hero ($20.15)
Seat 6: xaviaru ($5)
Seat 7: icashmeout ($53.97)
Seat 8: sarahtonie ($9.71)
Seat 9: andromeda19 ($25.13)
romandandy posts the small blind of $0.10
whooqplayer has 5 seconds left to act
whooqplayer posts the big blind of $0.25
sarahtonie posts a dead small blind of $0.10
sarahtonie posts $0.25
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Td Tc]
XXL2008 folds
Hero raises to $0.75
xaviaru folds
icashmeout folds
sarahtonie folds
andromeda19 calls $0.75
Sittinghawk7 calls $0.75
romandandy calls $0.65
whooqplayer calls $0.50
*** FLOP *** [Th 8h 4h]
romandandy checks
whooqplayer checks
Hero bets $1.75
andromeda19 calls $1.75
Sittinghawk7 calls $1.75
romandandy adds $1.75
romandandy folds
whooqplayer adds $4.50
whooqplayer folds
*** TURN *** [Th 8h 4h] [8s]
Hero bets $4
andromeda19 raises to $8
Sittinghawk7 has 15 seconds left to act
Sittinghawk7 folds
Hero raises to $12
andromeda19 raises to $22.63, and is all in
Hero calls $5.65, and is all in
andromeda19 shows [4d 4s]
Hero shows [Td Tc]
Uncalled bet of $4.98 returned to andromeda19
*** RIVER *** [Th 8h 4h 8s] [5h]
andromeda19 shows a full house, Fours full of Eights
Hero shows a full house, Tens full of Eights
Hero wins the pot ($42.42) with a full house, Tens full of Eights
andromeda19 adds $20.02
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $44.65 | Rake $2.23
Board: [Th 8h 4h 8s 5h]
Seat 1: Sittinghawk7 (button) folded on the Turn
Seat 2: romandandy (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: whooqplayer (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: XXL2008 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Hero showed [Td Tc] and won ($42.42) with a full house, Tens full of Eights
Seat 6: xaviaru didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: icashmeout didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: sarahtonie folded before the Flop
Seat 9: andromeda19 showed [4d 4s] and lost with a full house, Fours full of Eights

Winning $40 Million and then losing it

2009-04-08T15:16:00.002-04:00

Congrats to Tranquil Chaos and WVUManiac2

2009-04-08T15:05:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Jacob,who playing as wvumaniac2, made the final table in the FullTiltPoker $35,000 Guarantee on 04-07-2009. Jacob won $2922.24 for finishing 4th out of 1522 players. Extremely well played sir!

Congrats also go out to Devin "TranquilChaos" Porter. Devin playing as "tobias fuke" on Pokerstars, final tabled the PokerStars $109 NL Hold'em [|$50,000 guaranteed|] on 04-07-2009. Mr. Porter won $1620.00 for finishing 8th out of 720 runners. Great job Devin!

Huge Pot from the latest High Stakes Poker

2009-04-06T17:35:00.004-04:00

High Stakes Poker on GSN (formerly the Game Show Network), channel 309 on DirectTV, is one of my favorite shows. This is a hand from last night's episode.

Braves to Honor Greg Maddux

2009-04-06T17:13:00.005-04:00

The Atlanta Braves have announced the organization will retire the number 31 in honor of Greg Maddux on July 17 in a game verus the New York Mets at Turner Field. Maddux, one of the best pitchers of all-time, was a member of the Braves for 11 years. During his time in Atlanta Greg won 4 Cy Young Awards.

I had the pleasure of watching Greg pitch in 3 different stadiums (Riverfront, Three Rivers and Turner Field) during his time with Braves as well as countless times on TBS and ESPN. I loved watching him pitch. He always seemed like a really nice guy and usually gave a demonstration on the way pitching should be done. I am pretty sure he was a great teammate too. He respected the game and treated the fans well. I hated seeing him leave the Braves, although that seems to be more because of the team rather than Greg.

Five years from now it will be a joy watching him enter Cooperstown.

If you would like to read a very intersting story about Maddux on CNN from Joe Posnanski, please click here.

Braves win Opener!

2009-04-05T22:43:00.011-04:00

Atlanta started the season with a 4-1 win at the home of the defending world champion Philadelphia Phillies. Derek Lowe pitched brillantly in his Braves debut, giving up only 2 hits in eight shutout innings.
Brian McCann provided a two run homer in the top of the first.

Jeff Francoeur and Jordan Schafer each homered in the top of the second off Phillies' starter Brett Myers. Schafer's home run came was a bomb to center and came in his first major league at bat.Chipper added a couple of hits. This team looks like it will be much more competitive than last year's squad if injuries can be avoided by the starters and the bullpen can avoid meltdowns like the one Mike Gonzalez teased Phillies fans with in the bottome of the ninth.
This is the first season opener since I became a Braves fan that Skip Caray isn't with us. I always loved listening to Skip and he and the rest of the crew were like members of the family when TBS was showing the Braves. I miss ya Skip. I'm sure you are smiling tonight. RIP sir!
GO Braves!

Help Catch a Serial Killer

2009-04-05T22:17:00.005-04:00

Help solve 'The Grim Sleeper' serial killer case

For more than two decades, a serial killer has stalked the streets and alleys of south Los Angeles. Police have linked 11 slayings through DNA and have the eyewitness account of the sole survivor of his attacks. But the killer's identity remains a mystery, and now police need your help in finding the man dubbed "The Grim Sleeper."

Follow his trail in this CNN.com multimedia presentation here

2009-04-05T17:13:00.004-04:00

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 7 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $22.17
UTG+1: $86
MP: $49.20
CO: $65.42
BTN: $23.80
Hero (SB): $27.22
BB: $23.95

Pre-Flop: 9 9 dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG calls $0.25, 4 folds, Hero calls $0.15, BB checks

Flop: ($0.75) T 9 6 (3 Players)
Hero checks, BB bets $0.50, UTG calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.50, BB calls $2, UTG folds

Turn: ($6.25) J (2 Players)
Hero bets $5.50, BB calls $5.50

River: ($17.25) Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $16.75, BB calls $15.70 and is All-In

Results: $48.65 Pot ($2.43 Rake)
Hero showed 9 9 (three of a kind, Nines) and LOST (-$23.95 NET)
BB mucked Q T (two pair, Queens and Tens) and LOST (-$23.95 NET)

2009-04-05T15:27:00.001-04:00

Congrats to Jennifear!

2009-04-05T15:03:00.006-04:00

Jennifear aka PunkinBear won the $120 Tourney on UB yesterday to the very James Bondish tune of $7,007. She beat out 244 other players to win the tourney.

Congrats Jen, very well played!

Jennifear is also a fantastic teacher who can really help your game. Visit her site Jennifear's Poker Palace here.

You can also read a conversation with Jennifear from May, 2008 here.

Badugi

2009-04-04T21:22:00.005-04:00

I have no idea why, but I love Badugi. I have to make myself stop playing after awhile because I would sit there all evening.

It has been a good last 24 hours on the carbon felt. I cashed in a micro Stud High/Low tourney on Pokerstars last night. I got an early start in tourneys today on UB, playing two bounty tournaments. I made the final 3 tables in both and supplemented the prizes with 7 bounties. Definitely an enjoyable day.

The first game in the final four was a bit of a surprise to me. Michigan State is a very good team and I am a fan of Tom Izzo, but I really expected UConn to win. They have played very well this year. Of course the connection to the Big East made me pull for UConn.

Congrats to UConn Women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma. Geno won the Coach of the Year award today. His team is undefeated and seeking a 6th National Title. As a fellow Italian-American, I always pull for Geno unless his team is playing WVU.
Good luck in the Lady's Final Four Geno.

TheAssassinato slays competition again

2009-04-04T12:18:00.005-04:00

Congrats to Alex "theassassinato" Fitzgerald for another big win on FullTiltPoker. He won the FullTiltPoker $40,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) on Thursday, April 2, 2009. For winning the tourney and beating out 317 other runners, Alex won a very nice $31150.00. Very well played sir!

You can read about the life of a poker pro and see other cool pics he has taken by reading Alex's blog here

Nuggy wins again!

2009-04-02T14:23:00.004-04:00

Congrats to iLLNuGWichee. He won the FullTiltPoker $25,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) on Aprils Fools Day, 04-01-2009. For dispatching 387 other players, Zac won $10845.00.
Great job sir!

Congrats to Mathclub

2009-04-01T15:24:00.004-04:00

Playing as ktpie on FullTiltPoker, Shaun aka "mathclub" finished 2nd out of 358 in the FullTiltPoker $22,500 Guarantee last night, this morning or next Wednesday (I have a hard time keeping New Zealand time straight)but it was apparently March 31, 2009 in the Eastern United States. He won a nice $3952.32 for making it heads up.

Very good job sir and well played.

Congrats to Wretchy

2009-04-01T14:57:00.005-04:00

Congrats to Dan "Wretchy" Martin. He won seat in the 2009 World Series of Poker on FullTiltPoker last night. Wretchy was one of only three people to qualify. Congratulations and here's to hoping for a good run and a final table.

Congrats to The Assassinato

2009-04-01T14:47:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Alex "TheAssassinato" Fitzgerald for winning the TheAssassinato the FullTiltPoker $30,000 Guarantee on 03-31-2009. He earned $7800.00 for beatint out 324 other players.

Another great performance by a great player. Well done sir!

2009-03-31T16:09:00.002-04:00

2009-03-31T11:17:00.000-04:00

2009-03-30T21:05:00.002-04:00

Congrats to illnugwichee

2009-03-30T14:25:00.001-04:00

Congrats to illnugwichee for final tabling the Bodog $25K Guaranteed (DS) on 03-29-2009. He won a sweet $5000.00 for finishing 2nd out of 108.

Well played sir

Congrats to Maridu!

2009-03-28T18:43:00.005-04:00

Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck, one of the most dedicated Calvin and Hobbes fans ever, is one of the newest Team Pokerstars players. I spoke to Maridu earlier today and she told me that she officially became a Pokerstars pro yesterday. It would be very difficult for this to happen to a nicer person. Maridu has long been a valuable member of the pocketfives.com online community and a valuable part of the poker scene. I am very happy for her and hope that nothing but success awaits her.

Good luck Maridu

If you can read Portugese, you can read Maridu's blog here or you can Google "Need an Ace" and click on the translate tab in the search results.

Peace and Love

Big wins for Sicktight311 and Mathclub

2009-03-23T17:21:00.002-04:00

Congrats to both Sicktight311 and Mathclub for taking down tourneys yesterday.

ST311 took down a $8 turbo on Pokerstars to the tune of $3k. Mathclub won the UB Sunday Major for $39k. Both are great guys and well deserving of the wins. Look for more final tables and victories from these poker fiends.

NCIS

2009-03-21T22:33:00.008-04:00

The more I watch this show the more I think it is the best show on TV right now. The characters are so well written and acted that even in the few episodes where the crime to be solved is not compelling, the show is still very interesting.

Jethro Gibbs is one of the best leaders on TV and probably the best advertisement for the Marine Corps since John Wayne. The interaction between Tony and Ziva has developed well over her time on the show and, according to imdb.com, will be the focus of the final four episodes of the season.

Abby is a unlike any other character on network TV and is very likable.
The changes in the cast over the run of the series, first involving Agent Todd, then Gerald and finally with both the appearance and the departure of Director Shepard, have kept the show fresh by offering different cast interaction in addition to the plot points which brought about the changes. The growth of the characters, evident from the first season for Tony, McGee and Gibbs, has been handled well and makes each new episode like a visit with a valued friend.

The use of "semi-regular" recurring characters, especially FBI Agent Tobias Fornell, retired agent Mike Franks, and Army Colonel Mann, have been a great benefit to the show. These valuable additions have added to the real feeling of the series.

Tuesdays nights at 8:00 p.m. on CBS is one of one only two times I make a point of being near a TV. If you like action/mystery series TV, check it out.

Wretchy breaks the bank

2009-02-02T20:39:00.001-05:00

Dan "Wretchy" Martin chopped the $109rebuy on PokerStars yesterday heads-up for a cool $58,000. A great job by the Wretched One who is a great player who is going to be get even bigger in 2009.

Snow at the West Virginia Capitol

2009-01-30T11:27:00.002-05:00

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2008-12-29T16:42:00.001-05:00

2008-12-25T19:06:00.001-05:00

Paul Harvey's Man and the Birds Christmas story can be read here

Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative

2008-12-20T05:31:00.002-05:00

I woke up in the middle of the night, in pain from a knee that seems like it will never get better. I had fallen asleep with the TV on USA Network, so that is where I started when I decided that sleep wasn't coming back anytime soon. I was surprised to see a church service underway. It was a service, I would learn, in the Abrahamic Faith tradition, a service of Christians, Muslims and Jews emphasizing the common ground of the Three Great Religions and urging peaceful co-existence.

I enjoyed the service and am sorry that I have been unable to find the entire service online to see the part I missed.

You can visit the site here
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2008-12-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/03/11/madrid.anniversary/

2008-12-09T16:02:00.002-05:00

The Times online has details about the Mumbai attackers in a story published today. You can read it here.

The election of Barrack Obama for President of the United States seems to be causing a great deal of optimism for progess and a new direction in the war on terror. A panel of former top international officials comment on President-elect Obama and Iran in a story from The Jerusalem Post here.

2008-12-09T10:03:00.003-05:00

Recently I have been reading a lot about terrorism and the middle east. It seems like the number one non-economic threat to the United States. I ran across a great story on foreignaffairs.com by Philip H. Gordon. You can read it here. Also, this story in the New York Times about the Indian Muslim reaction to the Mumbai attacks makes me hopeful that a Muslim backlash against the terrorists may be beginning. You can read that story here.

Multimedia message

2008-12-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

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http://www.doubleqcountry.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=38&num=4279&printer=1

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2008-10-27T13:33:00.000-04:00

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2008-10-27T13:31:00.001-04:00

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2008-10-27T13:31:00.000-04:00

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2008-10-27T10:46:00.000-04:00

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2008-10-27T10:42:00.000-04:00

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2008-10-27T10:37:00.000-04:00

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2008-10-25T18:21:00.000-04:00

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2008-10-25T18:19:00.000-04:00

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The Smokies

2008-10-25T17:53:00.000-04:00

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Great win for WV

2008-10-24T10:50:00.000-04:00

The Mountaineers got a big win over SEC foe Auburn and continued to show marked improvement last night. The offense got a huge effort from Noel and was much more effective at throwing the ball downfield
The defense continues to get better as they get more experience
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Another nice win for JAKoon1985

2008-10-23T11:42:00.001-04:00

Fellow Mountaineer jakoon1985 wonthe PokerStars $109 NLHE [2X Chance - |$50,000 guaranteed|] yesterday. For finishing 1st out of 369 players, he won a very nice $9750.00.

Congrats Sir! Keep up the awesome work!

Jakoon1985 smashes the field at Stars.

2008-10-21T14:29:00.002-04:00

Jason "jakoon1985" Koon, WVU fan extraordinaire, kicked major ass in the PokerStars $11+R NL Hold'em [|$80,000 guaranteed|] yesterday. He beat out 2051 other players to win the event and take down a cool $17k. Fantastic job by a great player.