Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Tuesday

On Tuesday's at the Casino we have been doing two of the $2 tournaments in a row. Once we get done with one we are setting up for the second one and it has been accepted by the players so it looks like we will continue these.

We started out and things progressed well into the tournament. I was dealing on the number one table today as it is the final table once we get down to ten players.

Things started to change for me. When we have a couple people going all in it is fine but today everyone was either getting great cards or they were just wanting to get done. I was having four to five players going all in with different chip amounts and it was getting hard to figure things out in a hurry. It did make the tournament go faster but the mental side of being a dealer was being put to the test.

At least I made it through this and everyone was happy. At least the players that cashed.

Yesterday I went to the doctor to discuss what has been happening with my diabetes. My hands are starting to feel numb and it is not feeling comfortable. I need to change some things about my diet and get some of this weight off. Hopefully it will make a change in my hands.

We are also going to do some testing to see if this is peripheral neuropathy and will this go away with some changes that need to be made. Right now I need to get this done. Wouldn't it be nice to get on the "Biggest Loser" and get some help. Changing lifestyle is so hard to do and especially when we have tried this before and we don't stick with it.

I need a nutrition specialist with me to let me know what I can eat and then a training person to get me more active. I know that is asking a lot but somehow I need to do this on my own.

Some how, some way.

Have a fun day.......

Monday, March 26, 2012

Seniors Event

I got to work yesterday and we were unable to get a tournament going. We decided to get a live game going and spend the time doing that instead. We had it going all the way to 3PM and then the Senior's satellite for the seat at Wildhorse started.

I was able to get off the clock and play in this event. I had qualified for my seat the 2nd of March and was anxious to try for my seat at Wildhorse. I plan on playing the tournament at Wildhorse so this would be nice to be able to win the seat and save some money from the entry.

It was a nice tournament playing with the 50+ year old individuals. It is a different game than what the younger generation will play at times. I played in one of the seniors events and it was different than the other tournaments I had played. I ended up placing 10th at the final table. Didn't get as far as I wanted but I was happy to have a chance.

Today is my day off and I went to the casino to play in the morning $2 tournament. We ended up with 20 players. I started off getting some good cards and was able to build my chip stack. Not all of them were winners but I was able to stick around and get to the final table.

Once to the final table anything can happen. I needed to catch some hands and win some all ins with my stack to keep going. I did get 3rd place in this tournament and it paid $40. Nice day at the table.

This casino has spoiled me, I am used to playing down to the final and paying the top three spots. Chopping is something that usually was not done and it wasn't expected. I know we would give fourth place money back but then play it down to the winner. Chopping the pot at fourth place seems to be the norm here at this casino.

Now, when someone doesn't want to chop they are then singled out and people will let everyone else know about what took place. As a dealer I do offer the chop when I am in position to win money just for the sake of customer service. It doesn't matter to me right now but if and when things change that could change as well. Playing to heads up and winning is something everyone should strive for as it will help your game when you get into a bigger game and you want the money and the win.

I am not sure about playing tonight at the casino. I have a doctors appointment today to talk about some of my issues with my diabetes. We will see what happens.

Have a fun day.......

Sunday, March 25, 2012

A Day to be Playing

Yesterday was the day to be a poker player sitting in one of our chairs at the live table.

I was dealing the live game and we were going along just fine. In my gut I had a feeling we were going to be giving away a Monte Carlo. On Friday and Saturday if you get a set or trips you are given $5. We were doing that and that is not unusual.

Then right before I got out of the box I dealt the Quad Aces. That was worth $460 to the lucky person. My feeling was right and we had dealt the Monte Carlo for the day. I was then pushed out of the box for another dealer.

As we were getting ready to get the paperwork done for the quad's the dealer leaned over and told us he just dealt the Regressive Bad Beat. This one was worth $500 with $300 to the looser, $100 to the winner and then $100 to the players at the table that were dealt a hand at the beginning.

Now we have more paperwork to fill out and get that one done. As we were about to get the stuff completed we were then notified that we had Aces Cracked for a $100 payout. On the Odd days it is the Black Aces and on the even days it is the Red Aces. This became more paperwork.

We did continue to give out the Sets and Trips for the $5 and our day was moving along in a quick fashion.

By the end of the day I had dealt in the live game as well as the three tournaments. I was pretty tired and anxious to get home and eat. I almost stayed at the casino since they were playing a live $3-$6 Limit game. This is a game I enjoy to play and have done well in it. With my mind and my body so tired I was afraid I would become the fish at the table and would not play optimally. Hopefully they will do that again.

Today I will be dealing in one tournament and then I will be playing in the senior's satellite for a seat at the Wildhorse Casino in April. My plan is to play in this tournament either way but winning a seat would be great.

Have a fun day.......

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Take a Seat

I will usually read two or three poker books at a time. I will try to find some common ground in the books that help me build my strategy when I get a chance to play tournament poker. It is one of those things that you are always learning and I am constantly working on my game.

I tend to go back and forth between Live play and Tournament play and there is a difference in how I approach them. I have to sit down and then think about my goals in the game before I start.

One of the first things I do is look around me in tournament poker. Who am playing with at the table? Are these players older or younger? Have I played against them before and what have they done against me.

Another area is looking to my left and right two players away. Usually these will be the players I will be playing against most of the time. The same questions go through my mind about these players.

I like to make friends at the table and if I can get someone to talk with me then I feel I might learn something about them. This goes a long ways into understanding what they are trying to do when they play.

The first two or three levels I am not wanting to play unless I have a very good premium hand. I am saving my chips for the higher levels when I need to start making plays. I am not someone that will bluff but I have been known to try and get the pot if the board looks like it might help me. Doesn't everyone?

The new book I am reading is Jonathan Little's book Volume 1. He has a new book out Volume 2 and I do plan on buying it as well. My delimma right now is do I purchase as an eBook or get the hard copy? I still haven't decided to get the Kindle Fire yet so waiting to purchase the book. Just can't make that decision yet.

Well, it is off to work today. Will be dealing possible 3 tournaments and some live play. Will be pretty tired by the time I get home.

Have a fun day......

Friday, March 23, 2012

Saddle Up

The horse I was riding was gone. When I picked myself up from the ground, after being bucked off, I turned around and could see the horse running away from me. I was sad to see that horse leave. It had given me a lot of rides through the country side seeing the things that were beautiful and it was so comfortable. Yes, the saddle was gone as well. I knew I would never see that horse again.

Now what was I going to do? The horse was gone and I needed to find a new ride. I decided to stay put just in case another horse came along that I could ride. Sure enough a horse did wonder by and I was able to climb aboard and I rode this horse without a saddle for just a little while.
I knew the horse wasn't going to stick around very long as it would wander in the evenings and come back in the mornings. I didn't have a way to corral the horse to make it stay with me.

Sure enough one day he was gone. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to this horse. I didn't have a saddle on him so letting him go was a little bit easier than the horse before. Having no horse to ride again left me in a different spot and now I really didn't have a way to get around.

I was left to wander in the country side for quite some time. Seeing the green grass and the trees on foot left me feeling good though. I was able to smell the air and see things that really was important to me. It wasn't about having a horse, all the time, to go where I thought I should go. Actually having the horse is important but the horse needs to be content with where your at as well.

During this time another horse came by and this one had a saddle on it as well. I thought to myself this is great since this horse wanted to stick with me and stay by my side. This horse had some tricks that had been learned during its time with another owner. In fact it was fun to ride this horse and learn the new tricks. This horse was making me have fun again and I was able to get out and see some new parts of the country that I hadn't seen before.

This horse and I have ridden together for quite a while now and both of us have become comfortable with each other. I am able to jump into the saddle and together we take off and every day is a new day for both of us. Things are going along so well for us that we sometimes forget to look around the corner and see what is waiting for us. We were not looking for the dangers that could affect our ride.

I know that someday this horse is going to get old and may not be with me anymore. I know that things change even in a horses life. If this horse decides to move on then I will have to let it go. I won't take the saddle off and I will be sad to see something happen to the horse but I will continue to walk the country side looking for another ride.

So, this horse is still with me. I will ride this horse until I am no longer able to sit in the saddle. This story is still continuing on and we will see what decisions this horse will make.

Have a fun day.......

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Happy Factor

I dealt two final tables yesterday and was kept busy at both of them. I was glad when I was done and we closed up the area and went home.

I was trying to make up my mind whether to go back for the evening bounty tournament. I keep hearing about how good this tournament is and I am usually not available to play Wednesday evening. The decision was made about 45 minutes before the tournament started to go ahead and try it out.

I am glad I did. It was a fun tournament dealing with the bounty button. We had re-buys available so for the first two rounds I waited for spots to go all in and try to double my chip stack. I ended up loosing the chips and did one re-buy and started to get serious about playing. I wasn't too far behind at this point.

I did make the final table and from there I started winning some pots and at the end we chopped the total purse four ways and we each made $100. Not a bad night and this also adds to the bankroll. I also got $5 for each bounty taken out and I cashed in four of them. One of them was mine.

I have a number that I wanted to reach for my bankroll and last night I reached it. I am very pleased and now I am going to go after the next number I want to achieve before the end of the month. Is that setting goals?

I was reading an article out of "Bluff" magazine last night talking about the happy number. The way they referred to it was as $H. What is your $H number? If you don't like what your doing you have the decision to change that and be happy. Mine is poker right now. I enjoy the game and what it gives me. I also enjoy being with my friends and family and I do that as well. Taking time for friends and family is important to me and I will not play poker if I have the opportunity to be with them. So, having a $H is important to keep some balance.

Have a fun day......

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Lingering Thoughts

Usually when I am done with a hand in poker I forget about the scenario and move on. I don't let poker hands bother me if I played or not. Now if I have a hand that I feel I could have won I start to think about it and then go over it in my mind to see if I could have done anything differently during the hand.

I am talking about the hand I played in the tournament the other night. It just goes through my mind that I was bluffed off of a situation where I could have taken him out since I had more chips than him. I still feel I had the better hand but why didn't I call. I guess it comes down to position and he put me to the test first. Could I push all in behind him and risk my chips? I guess not. He won by what he did.

This reminds me of one other time that I was bluffed and that was in a Wildhorse Round-up event. I had just gotten out of the tournament and decided to play a live cash game. I had about $200 in front of me and the person on my right went all-in with about $300. I knew I was ahead with Aces but what I didn't know was if he had two pair. Again I was put to the test of the all-in move and I backed down. Again I knew he was bluffing me but I couldn't make the move. He had early position and was making me make the hard decision.

So, this hand will linger on my mind just a little bit longer or forever since I know now I lost two hands that I should have called. It is important to make great decisions at the poker table.

I am wondering what it takes, and how much time it takes, to make a good money producing poker player. I know you have to study and you need to be able to play. The bankroll is important. Having someone critique your game is nice as I have had a couple of online coaches help me with my online play but now it has to be at the live tables.

Everytime I watch the blog on "The Dan's Plan" of making the professional golf tour in 10,000 hours I keep wondering what about the plan for making it as a poker player? Does it exist? Can it happen? I really believe so but you have to find it and get the proper quidance. I am searching as I know my situation is going to change and I am trying to be ready with my bankroll intact to start the next journey.

Having a group of people around you to discuss poker and the hands played has helped. Finding that group is the hard part and keeping in touch with those that play when situations change will make it hard as well.

This is an ongoing project for me. I am thinking of ways to set my quidelines and the rules of engagement. This should be fun.

Have a fun day.......

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Sick? Stay Home!!!!!!!

I was trying to write the blog at night and then I didn't make it. I quess I will stay with the mornings and give you the story next day.

Monday was my day off so I decided to get to the casino and play the 10am tournament. We did get a live game going and I was up about $8 when the tournament started. I used it to add on to my chips in the tournament. I really didn't get to far into the tournament and was taken out.

I decided to go back to the casino in the evening and play some live as well as the 6pm tournament. I got into the live game when I arrived and played for about 45 minutes. I was able to increase my stack by $20 by the time the tournament started.

The tournament started right off for me on the first hand. I had top pair on the board and I did a continuation bet. I was called and we saw the turn. It was a low card that I felt only helped me. We then looked at the river card and again it was a low card but I still felt I was in the lead. He went all in and I tanked for a few seconds to figure out if I really was beat. Even though I had enough chips to call him and still have some left over I wasn't sure if I wanted to put everything on the line right off the bat.

Did he really have some sort of straight? Would he have played junk cards like this? I was in the blind so I had just called to see the flop with the blind. My decision was to muck my cards and fight another day and stay in the tournament. Good thing I did. I ended up cashing in the tournament at the end.

I was in seat nine and we had a player in seat seven who was sneezing and coughing at the table. Not covering up when he did sneeze. You could see spray on the table. I was totally not happy. I told the person in seat eight that if I get sick I will be very upset. When I got home that night I went directly to the medicine cabinet and loaded up on vitamin C and then used spray on my hands. I did that at the casino as well because we were touching the chips of this guy. I say again if you are sick stay home. We don't want what you have.

My diabetes issue has not changed and I will discuss next week after I see my physician. Could be changes in my life starting at the end of March. My goal right now is to build the bankroll as high as I can.

Have a fun day.......

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Good Day!!!!

Dealing on Saturday was going to be a big day for the dealers. We were supposed to deal the early morning and then the noon tournament and at 3:30pm was the tournament that was to draw in a lot of players.

This tournament was a $500 guaranteed at $15 buy in with T$2000 in chips and 15 minute rounds. We ended up having over 40 players sign up. This would have been nice to play as well, but I am dealing. I sit down at table three and prepare the table to deal.

Everything was so loud today I just tried to get into my little zone and push everything out except the players and what they were doing. Remember the other day I had an issue with chips and five all ins. This was on the back of my mind and how was I going to handle my first big push from the players.

Well it happened. I ended up having six players push all in and two of them were for odd amounts. I took that deep breath and then started working the numbers in my head. First I took the even amount and multiplied it out and then I took the odd amount and doubled and added and got the remainder of the main pot. I then took the second pot and put it together and what was left was the third pot. We continued with the hand and it played out correctly. Most of these players know that I have had trouble with this and when I got it done they told me that I did good.

I even had one guy stand up and say to the table that he was impressed in the way I handled it and everyone agreed. This was a big step for me in dealing with all ins and breaking down the chips. They even did it again later and I was able to get it right again. They were not sure about it so we called the floor over and I went over what I did in breaking down the chips and it was correct. I then told the table that I did have it correct the first time.

I know it takes a bit to get the trust of the players and I am hoping I am doing that. I am trying to get the trust of the dealers as well that I can handle the situations that come up. It is a learning process for me and I will get there.

I did play some live $2-$6 Spread in between the tournaments. We were unable to get the required amount of players for the noon tournament so we sat and took turns dealing the live game. When we weren't dealing we were making sure the table was full with dealers in the game. I am not a fan of playing this way as I will usually throw away my $20 to $40 I put up. I play so differently than when I sit down with my bankroll. I need to just sit there and wait for good hands but I also try new things when I am sitting there to see if something might work. Maybe use it in a live game with the bigger buy in. Also to see if players will play against me with certain hands and the position I am in. This is a leak in the game and I am more interested in growing my bankroll right now than letting it go.

I have mentioned on here about me having diabetes. I am scheduled to visit my doctor in a week. I am having some diabetes related issues and will talk about them later. I may start documenting these issues to keep track of what is going on.

I know this blog is about poker related topics but sometimes branching out a little bit about the things that are going on sometimes relates to what is happening at the table. I am a poker player, dealer, a diabetic and a little bit overweight trying to keep all things together. I have a family and just went through my Mom passing away and now dealing with all the paperwork and keeping up with Dad. A lot in my life and I don't mind sharing some of what is happening.

Have a fun day.....

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Day Off

I had a day off from dealing and I was able to make the phone calls I needed to try and finish up my Mom's financial stuff. I still have to talk with Social Security with my Dad this next week but other than that we are just about set to continue on as time will move forward.

I did have my eyes examined and the good news is that they haven't changed since 2009. I am wearing the same prescription as I started with that year. What an accomplishment for someone with Diabetes and I have been fighting everything else so this is good.

I am pretty tired today and I know I will be dealing the 10am, 12pm and the 3:30pm tournament today. I got all of my sleep I was supposed to get but my body is tired. Let's hope I don't mouth off to someone today. Let's just have an easy button day.

Have a fun day......

Friday, March 16, 2012

I Had Enough!!!!

I was sitting at the final table dealing the tournament and was moving along smoothly. I still have some issues with making sure the chips get divided the correct way with more than two individuals in the all in pots. I am getting better at it and will continue to get that skill down. The hard part is when the players start throwing numbers out at me and then I start getting confused.

After the floor came over and we got the thing figured out it came out alright. This was the first time I had five people go all in and with three different chip counts. To top that off the two with the least amount of chips ended up chopping the pot and another got what was left.

Now we start the next tournament. I was doing fine going along and getting the cards out. We were nearing a blind change and also looking at loosing one more player to get to the final table. I was at the second table with five players and the final table at six players. Someone was talking behind me at the table mentioning a pause to combine.

I turned around to see if we were to pause or if I was to keep dealing since I had just completed a hand on my table. One of the players said for me to continue the deal since he was on the clock and that I needed to hurry. At this point I started fuming. It took me about three hands later and then the table was to break for me to finally say what I have been wanting to say for a long time.

I told the table in general but directed it to the person that had said hurry up to me. I said that I bet that if they were to time me to see how long it took me to shuffle and deal the cards I could beat them with the time it takes them to make their decisions if they were going to play the cards or not. He tried to counter with something and I repeated myself about three times and then I told him I was done with the conversation. My point was made.

In the end he did cash at the final table and he decided not to leave a tip. Let me work this one out. Four dealers splitting his tip of $5 would egual $1.25 each? I think I got my point across.

Last night I went in and played $2-$10 Spread Limit. I started out playing too many cards and it cost me about $40. I need to play tighter when I walk in and sit down. For the next two hours I was up and down with the chipstack but in the end after two hours I was at a minus $40. See, if I would have been smarter at the beginning I may have been on the other side of that column.

On my Birthday I did play a tournament and won a seat for a sattelite into the Seniors Tournament. That would be a fun one to get since I am planning on playing in that one anyway. It would be nice to earn my way into it and spend less money. This will come at the end of the month.

I got a letter from the County yesterday saying that my Mom was to report for Jury Duty in April. Do you think that is going to happen? Where do they want the Urn to sit?

Have a fun day.......

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Time Change

Don't you just hate it when the time changes? I know I do and it is hard to get accustomed to each time it happens.

I am trying to switch over to an evening blog but having a hard time remembering my new itenerary for the evening. I am trying to cook more at home in the evenings, putting in some walking or exercise time and then I will study poker and read and then write the blog. I quess you could ask me "How is that going for you"? Not!!!

I am trying to switch over to evening blog writing since that would be the easiest for me. The mornings are tight time wise and if I get going on the bus again it will even be shorter. The idea there is to save some money on gas. The other is trying to be home in the evening and I will try to make dinner since we have gotten to eating out alot.

The restaurants are fun to spend time at since we are given everything and we don't have to fix the meal. Of course, we have to pay for the meal and that costs as well. I was looking at our financials last night and just about all of the expenses out of my account are restaurant related.

I have been trying to improve on my poker skills. I was able to watch a dealer yesterday that comes with 20 years experience at Foxwoods. Watching her deal the cards and move around the table was nice and smooth. Her presence at the table was control of the game. She gave me a couple of tips and I will start to practice them today. I told her we needed to have a technique type of class with her. We are all at different levels and maybe she can help us reach our potentials.

Also watching the players a little bit more. There are certain people who get to the final table more than others. What are they doing? How are they playing so if I happen to play against them what can I watch for? Some of the perks of being a dealer and being a dealer that deals to them on a daily basis.

Got to go to work.

Have a fun day.......

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Weekend

Everything went very well for the Memorial for my Mom. We had a lot of help from family and friends that even made it better. Overall it was a good experience for all and now we have to move on since time does move forward. My time and efforts will now move over to my Dad and make sure he is taken care of when and how needed. Not that I haven't already but he is the only one left now and my efforts will be totally there.

I was called late Saturday night to see if I would work a shift in the poker room on Sunday night. I did agree since my family was leaving on Sunday morning. I got to the casino around 5PM and at the time the tournament was to start we had 6 players so it was decided to cancel the tournament. We then decided to sit down and play a live game to see if we could get anyone interested. This consisted of three dealers and two players.

I am not a fan of playing this way but figured I would help. I bought in for $60 and over about a 30 minute time span I was at zero. We had a new player that was hitting cards by playing 72, 83, so forth. We has dealers try to be soft with each other but sometimes we get in our own way trying to do that. That is a whole different story.

On Monday I delivered my sister to the airport and she was able to catch her flight home. I went over to the casino to see if I could catch a tournament at Noon. While I was waiting for the tournament to start I went over and played Ultimate Texas Hold'em and that was a mistake on my part. I was back and forth until it wore me down and I lost my $60 playing that game. I know better but I did have fun. Not one I will play again.

The tournament started with two tables. I was up and down with my chips at the start but was able to keep going when I needed to. We made it down to the final table and I would go all in when I had to keep the chips coming in and I could go another round of blinds. By letting the other players take each other out and being patient I was able to make it with players left and at that time one of the players asked for a chop. We all agreed and we made $40 per person. Almost broke even for the day. I did feel good about the final table play and another dealer that was playing made it as well. Two out of the five were dealers.

We watched the Biggest Looser last night and I must say it is getting interesting now. Loosing weight and feeling better is a goal of mine but like them it is hard doing this by yourself. I need to have someone push me and make appointments for exercising and trying to figure out meal plans. All of this is hard to do. Will try to get back on track.

Have a fun day......

Friday, March 09, 2012

Friday

As I have said previous I am off until next Tuesday. Tomorrow is the Memorial for my Mom. My wife has done a lot of work getting the pictures ready for the service. Everytime I look at it or read my letter to my Mom I just have a hard time. I keep saying I will get through this and I will be there for my Dad and help him as well.

Right now my mind is not on poker. I did have a good day yesterday dealing the tournaments and dealing some live.

Dealers playing against dealers. That should be one of my posts next week. Have a good weekend.

Have a fun day......

Thursday, March 08, 2012

You Played What!!!

Yes, I hear that all the time when I am in the box dealing cards.

I was given the opportunity to play in the $2 tournament in the morning since we had too many dealers for the amount of players. I let them know that I was willing to play in this one and not work.

This tournament has T$1,000 in chips and you can increase your chips by buying more at $1.00 per T200 chips up to $5 for T$1,000 more. I did that since I want to have as much as possible to give me more room to play with the chipstack.

I have learned that I don't just limp into the pot anymore unless it has been raised and then there are calls and sometimes depending on the cards I will call. Now, I know that is not a limp but still it hasn't eliminated any players.

In this case I raised the pot and got a couple of callers. On the flop the cards where in my favor with no flush draw, straight draw and all mid t low cards. I had QQ in my hand. I raised it up and the guy next to me went all in. I thought he could have a set or a small pair. Nothing else scared me so I went all in as well. He turns over A2. You know what happened, he caught an Ace on the river to beat me.

This is the style of play in this type of tournament. I would play my hand the same next time and probably win. I am not frustrated about the outcome but still the question why did you play the A2?

Today is the last day of work till Tuesday. I will have 4 days off for my Mom's memorial coming up on Saturday. My family will start coming in today and everyone will be here on Friday. We are making a schedule for meals and hoping everyone gets taken care of.

Have a fun day......

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Poker

I know that lately I haven't talked too much poker on this blog. I guess you could say I am a little preoccupied. This weekend will be my Mom's memorial and we have been preparing for the service. In the meantime I have been continuing to work at the casino to not only keep up with working but to keep my mind busy as well. I get home in the afternoon and I start thinking about Mom and it still hurts. Hopefully I can get through the weekend and start this healing process for myself. She will always be in my heart.

I am still reading the book "Decide to play Great Poker" by Annie Duke. This book is a good read and has helped me stop and think about the decisions I need to make at the table. I have cashed in a couple of tournaments lately and I know it is due to what I am learning in this book.

I have taken the Pre-Game and Pre-Flop chapters and have studied them. I guess that is why I am slow in getting through the book. I am taking my time with each one and implementing each chapter before I move on. That would sort of make it strange in the end on the river since I don't have the knowledge of how to think about the river card and betting but if I know what I want to do in the beginning then when I get there I will have the thought process there to play the end.

One of the things that is helping me greatly is not limping into the pots. Again making the decision to raise if I want to play and if the cards are just not in my range then get rid of them and wait for another two cards. Especially the suited and non suited connectors. I have made the decision that I won't chase straights but I still will take a look at flushes if I have an Ace that would give me the nuts. Of course everything else would have to look good as well on the board.

I am getting close to finishing the chapter and will move on to the next one soon. I am also anxious to get back playing the live game and I am starting to feel good about my tournament play again. I am looking at playing at Wildhorse Casino in April in one of their events. That would be a good test for me.

Off to work I go today and tomorrow then four days off.

Have a fun day......

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Road Trip

Today I took my Dad on a road trip. We needed to purchase some CD's and couldn't find the singers in this area. I called down to College Place to see if they might have the group available on CD. Sure enough they had them and they also had the volumes I needed.

I picked up Dad from the Assisted Living apartment and we headed off for the one hour trip. He enjoyed getting out and seeing what is new and being built around the area. He hasn't been on this type of a drive in about 3 years. Seeing all of the new apartment complexes and houses and the size of the housing struck him.

As we left the city and got out into the country he was even more excited to see what has changed. We drove on the new 4 lane highway and he thought that was pretty good. We used to drive these roads alot back in the early 80's and they were all 2 lane back then.

We arrived in College Place and picked up the music. I took him to lunch and noticed how run down the area was becoming. The city fathers want the area not to grow but then again the infrastructure takes a hit as well. They are tearing down a mall. We were totally surprised. We drove around and then we headed home.

We had trouble on the way back. I don't know if it was the travel for the first time or the food. We both had the salad and I was fine. He threw up twice on the way back. I was sure happy to get him back to his room and he wanted to take a nap. Maybe a little too much travel.

I did not play poker on Monday at all. We are getting closer to the Memorial and items need to be taken care of. I am putting in my time for the next 3 days at the casino and then will have 4 days off for family and friends and my Mom.

My question is how does one train for poker? You got to play the games and study the books. How do you know you can be a winner at the tables? Things I will be thinking about. I am building my bankroll and will be using this to keep pushing for better play.

Have a fun day........

Monday, March 05, 2012

Longest Day

This was the longest day I have had to stay at the casino to work. Starting at around 10:30 and getting things set up for the noon tournament. In the meantime we also get a live $2-$6 game going and we usually get the 10 players and we have fun till the tournament starts.

By Noon we ended up with 3 tables and some alternates. That takes us almost to 2:30 to finish and then we get that live game going again. We do well with the live game and people are interested in us getting back to it as soon as we can. We like to have at least 5 players so the Monte Carlo's are in effect for the players.

At 3PM we are ready for the next tournament. This one is te Player of the Week tournament. Since we did not have the tournament last week the money was carried over to this one. It ended up being over $500 being added to the buy ins. We had 4 tables with alternates for this one and I actually left when I was relieved and that was at 6:30PM to go home.

I had a player say something to me during the tournament that I couldn't understand. He was upset but he wouldn't talk with me. Later after we had broken the table and moved them to the final table I was walking past the pit area and one of the dealers informed what was going on. He was complaining that we are not keeping with our policy of keeping players back off of the tables and behind the ropes. I understand this and went over to the floor and told them we needed to either do this or not. But at least be consistant. The floor moved the players back.

I am very happy that my bankroll keeps climbing right now. I did not play today so the tips were the ones that increased the numbers. I do have a number in mind and I am trying to push as quickly as I can to get to that number so I can start working the tables again.

Today I am off and I am headed to Walla Walla to pick up some music my mom enjoyed so we can play it at the church. So much to do right now since family is due in at the end of the week. It will be good seeing everyone.

Have a fun day......

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Sunday

We had a very busy day at the Casino yesterday. I arrived at 9AM and didn't get out of there until 4:30PM. It was long but it was productive. I was kept busy the whole time.

I ended up dealing a couple of tournaments and then we settled in to a live $2-$6 spread game. We alternated every 30 minutes which was better than the every hour the day before. Gets tireing after awhile.

The other day I saw something I hadn't seen before. The dealer was going through the motions of dealing the cards but didn't stop at the river but dealt one more. Would you call that the ocean card? He even went as far as using it to help the person win the hand. We did let him know to pull that card back and relook at the cards.

We are now getting started in giving away 3 seats to the Wildhorse event in April. One Womens, one Senior and one Main Event seat. That should be fun and I don't think I will try for any of them and just play or work the tournaments. If I do play it will be at Wildhorse. It is good to get in via a satellite but right now I have no desire to try for one.

I was talking to a friend the other day and he knew of a trainer that could help me set up some workout regimens and they are easy enough that I don't have to kill myself going to a gym. I will be starting on these real soon as I would still love to loose 50 pounds right now. Total weight is 225 and started at 243 and would like to continue to loose. Need the motivation to continue on after this memorial for my Mom.

I am going on a road trip to College Place tomorrow with my Dad to pick up some music for the Memorial. It will be good to get him away for a day. See the old stomping grounds. Could be hard since Dad and Mom lived there for quite some time. We will see the houses they lived in and where we worked. Might be good for us.

Have a good fun day.......

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Poker Birthday

With the day off and I finished some of the stuff I set out to do before next week it was time to hit the casino as a player.

I arrived early so I could sit in on the Live $2-$6 game. This game will run prior to the next tournament which costs $2 to get into. We get about 30 players and makes for a nice fast tournament like a MTT Sit-n-Go.

Back to the cards. I did real well and caught a couple of flushes that built my chip stack. I started with $40 and closed out the session when the tournament started at $110. Nice start for the day.

The tournament started and I didn't get very far and busted out early. This allowed me to go get lunch and then get back to the casino to play some more live poker before the next tournament.

During this session I did drop back the stack of chips to being + $20 over the starting buy in from this morning. I couldn't hold on to the whole amount. So now I am at $20. Time to go and start the tournament.

This tournament is an $8 buy in with T$4000 starting chips. You are able to rebuy for the whole amount if you are felted. I started off real well by tripling up my stack with two other people. I had the nut flush and one other person had a lower flush and the other person had two pair. I do like trying for the flushes if the price is right and the chips in the pot are worth going after.

I then started playing the table more since I had the chip stack to do that. Eventually getting to the final table and working on my chip stack. We got down to 8 players and that is when I started letting people know what the chop amounts are. When we got to 6 players I told the group again and one person said no, which is fine with me because I was just letting them know.

When we reached 5 players I was winning pots and my chip stack growing to be second in chips and the first person said he would chop if he got the biggest amount. This has happened to me before and I don't feel it is fair. I told him that with me winning the last few pots that "I was coming" and working on his stack. When I won the next stack he looked over and said that he would chop. I told him I would do it if he took a lesser amount and we took a more fair chop. He agreed.

I am not a fan of chopping but I am less of a fan of giving someone more money with more chips because that can change in an instant as that was happening real fast last night with me building my chips. Plus I needed to get to an appointment in 15 minutes but didn't want them to know that.

Overall my Bankroll moved up $80 for the day. Happy Birthday to me. After this we went to Red Lobster with our son to celebrate the day.

Off to work I go and have a fun day......

Friday, March 02, 2012

This is my Birthday.....

As far as poker went yesterday it was a good day. I did the usual of dealing one tournament and then two of us continued on dealing the live game until around 4PM. That means the live game went about 5 or more hours. In between dealing and being able to play to keep the game alive I did double up my buy in. In the end I gave some of it back but overall it was a productive day for me.

Once upon a time there was a Prince and Princess who lived far far away in a land of dirt. This is where they got the chance to know each other. One day they made the agreement that they would join forces and be married to one another. The Prince who was now King went away for awhile to serve the mighty country they lived in. The Princess who is now Queen stayed home and prepared their home for his return. They even moved to an area where trees were plenty and the rain came down most of the time.

When the King came back from overseas from his long battle he was able to stay home and not go back. The Queen liked that and from that time forward they decided to have a family. After the family was started they moved to a different land of sand. The King would would work in the big buildings with others and earn the gold that would support his family.

Their first born was a son and he liked to work in the fields. They named him Stacy. He grew up to be a traveler as well and spent time working on the land. He eventually settled down with his family and now works in a building and spends his time teaching kids to play a game with a round ball.

Their second born was a son as well. They were expecting a girl and there was a surprise when a boy was delivered to the King and Queen. They didn't have a name picked out for the little boy but did have a girls name. The name was supposed to be Stephanie Kimberly and since they didn't know what to do they changed the name to Steven Kim. Steve was not a person who enjoyed being outdoors working on the land. One time in the land of dirt the King decided to plant cherry tomatoes. We worked the land after our hours studying in school. Steve eventually worked in the Health Field and spent many hours working on Neonates after they were born. He is now involved in a game with cards.

The third child to the King and Queen was a girl. Her name was Kristi. Even though the Queen would make her look pretty she still hung around with the two brothers and we would play in the dirt. She moved on in time to also work in the health field and eventually staying home to help take care of her grandchild.

Now, while we were in the land of dirt the King and Queen had one more child name Jana. During her time of growing up she was strong willed and anything she wanted to do she would do it and don't get in her way. She would eventually grow up and work in the entertainment area building things to make people happy.

As you can see the King and Queen had 4 children and they all grew up to be able to take care of themselves. The number two son always tried to make sure the King and Queen was near and that they would be happy and safe from harm. The other children would also make sure that if anything was needed it was available to the King and Queen as well. We love the King and Queen of our world.

Today is the Birthday of the number two son. He is now 56 years old and during this time he is taking care of the Queens affairs to make sure they are completed. Your life was happy and we are proud to have you as our Queen.

Have a fun day......

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Leap Year

I can just imagine all of those people that were born on the 29th of February and having a birthday every four years.

My story goes like this. My Mom was pregnant with me in 1955-56 and since I was due to come at any moment the doctor wanted to induce my Mom on February 29. Now I am sure they were not thinking about the leap year but were thinking about me and it was time to be born.

My Mom and Dad said no, of course, because they didn't want to have a leap year kid. They wanted me to come into the world when I was ready.

In the early morning of March 2 I was born to my parents into this world. A world with no promises just dreams of what you can accomplish.

So, there you have it. I outlasted the leap year and get to have a birthday every year. Every leap year I wonder what it would have been like though to be born on that day since I was so close.

I am playing a little bit of live cash in the morning with some of the regulars before we get started with the tournaments. So far I have been up $20 each time. Ok, I will grow the bankroll slow. A win at the table is a win and will take it no matter what.

I always say that Spring starts for me on March 1 each year. I don't want to be a winter baby. So welcome to Spring even if it is cold. Today is sunny and cold. At least half of it is right.

Have a fun day......