Trip to Louisiana, Part 1

I decided to spend my 4th of July holiday Cajun style in Louisiana. Primo and I rented a car for the trip to Lake Charles. For those who don't know, they have three big casinos in the immediate area. Isle of Capri and LaAuberge du lac are in Lake Charles and then you can drive about 30 minutes to Kinder, LA to get to Coushatta Casino and Hotel. As far as poker rooms, Isle and Coushatta have big rooms and there is nothing at LaAuberge which is a shame because it is a great casino.

Primo and I left Thursday afternoon and made it to Lake Charles in relatively good time considering we hit Houston in rush hour traffic. Around 8 PM, we cruised into town and went straight to our motel to check in. Since it was late in the evening, we decided to stay in Lake Charles and hit up LaAuberge du Lac. This casino has been open for a few years now and I had never been there. Since Hurricane Rita, I had only been to Lake Charles once and didn't make it to LaAuberge. At the time, Harrah's Lake Charles was the only place I went because of their poker room. Sadly, it didn't survive Hurricane Rita and didn't reopen afterwards as Harrah's decided against it. We decided to keep it light, so we just played some craps and blackjack that night as well as drink a little bit. We both did very well and managed to leave the casino with more money than we came with that evening. Anytime you leave a casino with money is a win-win situation. We called it a night about midnight and went back to our motel.

The next morning we decided to head out to Coushatta to get some poker playing. It is about a thirty minute drive from Lake Charles to Kinder. I am very familiar with the Coushatta Poker Room as I have done well there in the past. I was anxious to get there and get a seat at one of the cash tables. It being a holiday, I knew the tables would fill out fast. When we got there, they have a few tables going. Primo and I bought our chips and sat down at the 2-5 NL cash table. For being early afternoon, the action was at a fast and furious pace. After a short time, I managed to double my original buy in. I was on the button with Q-4 of clubs and it was a family pot. I decided to speculate and called on the button as there was about $30 in the pot before the flop. To my delight, I flopped a king high flush with my little Q-4 of clubs. I played the hand as tricky as I could and got paid off very well for it. It is a nice feeling to have over $700 in front of you in a short time. From that point on, I was in control and dictated the action at the table.

We spent the rest of the day at Coushatta and decided to play in their Friday $20 re-buy tourney. I should have just stayed at the cash tables because I didn't fair too well in the tourney. It wasn't because of bad play or anything...I just couldn't any cards to make a move and gather chips. I busted out shortly after the re-buy period was over...disappointing to say the least, but I was still up big from earlier session. We left Coushatta around midnight after spending a marathon 10 hour day there. Primo and I both left with more money than we came with earlier in the day. I did my winning at the poker table and he hit a few slot jackpots which put us both up big after only our first full day.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our my Louisiana trip and I'll finish up with the rest of the story...

Another Seat

The Main Event 2008 is upon us...

Yours truly managed to win another seat to play in the biggest tourney on the planet. However, I decided that I would take the cash instead of trying to roll the dice against 8,000+ other rounders this weekend.

I played in the Full Tilt 150 seat tourney a few weeks back and made it into the top 150. That got me a $12K prize pack to the Main Event. They gave me the option of taking the money and playing in the tourney. The catch was that I would have to do all the leg work myself. I'd have to get my flight, reserve my room and buy myself in the tourney. Now, I come from the old school before sneaky laws were back doored on the last night. When I won my first seat, all that work was handle for me and I just had to show up. The other option was to not play and take the prize money in tournament dollars. I could later convert that into hard cash at a cost of 5% (thanks to Full Tilt last software upgrade).

Let's think about this for a minute. The first time I won a seat back in 2006, I never saw that money. It was just passed on right through to Harrah's and all I got was a receipt. This time around they are giving me the option to take the cash. If I choose to play in the Main Event, I am making the decision on my own to risk $10,000. Like I said, last time I never saw the money and the decision was made for me. This time around I really had to take some time to think about what was the best option for me at this time and place.

Needless to say, it was a no brainer to take the cash and pocket $12K. That to date is my biggest cash ever in my poker career. Good luck to all those playing this weekend from the Texas Poker Club. Next year maybe I can win two seats, that way I can play and pocket the cash from the other one.

Poker on TV

Do you still watch poker on TV?

These days I find myself watching less and less poker on television. I just don't find it interesting like I used to in the past. Maybe it is because the market has become saturated with poker shows. Every channel has a poker show now and the rest are scrambling to put on into their lineups. Almost anytime of the day you can surf to find re-runs of various shows that have already been broadcast. There is only so much you can do to change the game and make it interesting. Every station has done their best to change the game and get you to watch their show.

The newest show to debut was Poker After Dark. I must admit that I was fairly interested in this show. I didn't entirely understand the concept of the show, but it had Shana Hiatt hosting it. The show finds six poker professionals each putting up $20k in a winner take all match. After all the dust settles, one player will be left with $120,000 prize at the end of the week. This a pretty interesting concept because it boils down to a single table tournament. They film one tourney at a time and then cut five episodes that run during the week. On Monday, you can tune in to see who started and by Thursday who is left still battling. After watching the first week, I can honest say that I can take or leave this show. I didn't find anything new and exciting about it. It is just six pros doing what they do best. There is nothing different nor are their any twists. It is just a single table tourney and the winner gets $120k.

With this being said, I submit to you...Is poker on TV dead?

A New Year

Happy 2007!

I realize that this is my first new material in several months. What have you been doing? Have you sworn off poker? Well, I have been taking a break for the last several months from poker. After the World Series last summer, I was really burnt out from playing, writing and even talking about poker. It is just one of those things that happens when you commit to something so deeply. In truth, I have been playing a little here and there over the last few months. However, not at the level I was prior to the WSOP last year. I just needed a break and get back to the things that are fun about poker. I needed to find a renewed sense of purpose for my game. So, I just decided to unplug from the blogging world and quit writing for a while.

It is a new year and time to get back to the things that I love to do. Last year, I set some New Year's Poker Resolutions. They were to get better and play in a major tournament. I met both of those goals when I got to play in the Main Event at the World Series of Poker. It was a great experience and it made me hungry for more. Once you play in a major buy-in tourney, there is no other feeling like it. Just the idea of winning huge money will make forget about everything else. The buzz and energy surrounding an event like the WSOP is the most intoxicating thing ever.

This year, I want to set some more poker goals...

1) Get more consistent in my play
2) Make my way back to a major event
3) Win my first big tourney

Whatever your poker goals maybe, best of luck in reaching them this year.

Lack of New Material

Wow! It has been almost a month since I posted anything new. I am sorry about that as I meant to do a whole series on my experiences at the Main Event last month. However, I just kind of fell into this impromtu vacation and haven't been writing at all. Which really sucks because I like writing this blog. Since I haven't been writing, what have I been doing? Well, I have been playing a ton of poker lately. From big buy in tournaments to cash games, I have really played it all. How have I been doing? Not well. I have just taken a lot of bad beats lately and it is starting to ware on me. I know that they are part of the game, but a person can only take so much. The last draw came over the weekend when I was playing in a 2/4 NL cash game on the internet. I last a huge pot when my pocket kings got cracked by jacks. The other fellow spiked a jack on the turn. We got all our money in on the flop and the very next card was the one that did me in. That set me off and I realized that I needed a break from poker.

For at least the next couple of weeks, I am going to take a playing vacation from poker. I need to recharge and clear my head a bit. I just need to clear those crushing defeats out of my mind. I know in the long run I will win more than I have lost. However, the short run really sucks and wares on you mentally and emotionally. I don't know how much I will be writing over the next few weeks. I haven't decided whether my break will include writing about poker. I know that I won't be playing, so that kind of cuts my material in half. Whatever may happen, I promise to be back with a vengenance. I just don't know when that will be or how long my break will last. Whatever happens...I'll see ya soon.