"Six for a Taco"

Primo and I went and played in a charity poker tournament this weekend. It was part of the San Antonio Rodeo BBQ Kickoff. It was a huge event on the grounds of the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. The main attraction was a BBQ cookoff where 200 different teams participated. Each team was trying to capture first prize and the prestige of having the best bar-b-que in town.

All the money raised from the tournament went to the college scholarship fund. It was a great event with about 80 players who decided to try their luck. There was no prize money awarded for the event. The better you did in the tournament, the more raffle tickets you received for the drawing. In addition to poker, they had free food and booze all night long.

The tournament started with Primo and I sitting at the same table. It was a pass the deck game, so action was very slow. In fact, we only went around the table twice in one hour. I had one good hand that I got beat on which crippled me. I was dealt pocket nines and made a raise of 3 1/2 the big blind. My goal was to thin down the field and try to get as many players out as I could. Well, I got four callers who wanted to see the flop and I ended up flopping a set of nines. One guy led out with a bet and I raised hopping to thin the field again. It didn't work...I got four callers and we saw a turn. I first guy checked and I move all in for my last chips. Again, everyone called and we saw the river. The last card didn't help me, but I didn't need that much with a set. There were two players who saw the river and one bet into a dry side pot. The other folded his hand and it was show down time. I turned over my set of nines confident that the main pot was mine. The other guy flipped over pocket jacks and had made a set on the turn. I couldn't believe that he stayed in the hand with jacks. The flop came out two over cards and I raised on the flop. Surely that would signal to any rational player that his jacks were no good. I lost a huge pot to a set over set hand. I was pissed off, but it was for charity. The hand left me chipless, so I rebought. I busted out of the tournament right after the break.

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The next night, they had a Casino Night back at the same place. Primo got free passes and chips because he sponsored the hold'em table at the event. We decided to go check it out and have some fun. Again, they had food and booze all night long. Some of the guys from the SAPC showed up for the casino night. We played blackjack, poker and even shot craps for awhile. They had a great crowd and raised a ton of money for scholarships. The SAPC got some great exposure and I think they even got some new members out of it.

Chez, Don and Rook were shooting craps at the end of the night. They went on some tremendous runs and everyone at the table was having a great time. Out of nowhere someone drops some tacos at our table. I had no idea where they came from. Later on, we just started shouting "six for a taco." Even the dealer was having a good time. He let a hard twelve bet roll for three straight throws. Eight people bet 500 chips on that square and if it had hit would have paid 30 to 1 odds.

Primo and I didn't get any raffle tickets, but we had a great time. We got some exposure for the SA Poker Club. We also got to hang out with some of the members. It was the first time that I had met some of them. Hopefully, I can make more of their games in the future. I pretty sure win or lose, it will be a great time.

SAPC Tourney / Rodeo Poker

Last night, I played online in the weekly SAPC Online Poker Tournament on Bodog. We had only eight sign up and play. I wish more could have played, but we'll get more next time. Look for it in two weeks and I'll post the details here. The tourney was crazy from the start. We had major connection problems throughout the event. Players were getting booted and would sign back on, others couldn't sign back on and gave up. Action was really slow and choppy the whole way. One player who had given up, but was still seated in the tourney. He was getting blinded down and eventually was all in. The only problem, we couldn't knock him out. He won four or five straight all in hands and wasn't even playing. The worst part was he getting sick hands to play...A-Q, K-K. One hand, he had K-2 in the BB and was all in. The flop came out K-4-K and crushed the three of us who were still playing. It was the craziest thing that I had ever seen. We couldn't knock him out to burst to the money bubble. Eventually, we knocked him out and the remaining three of us made the money. I ended up taking 1st place when I had a royal flush draw on the last hand and made a higher flush to win. It ended up being great fun and next time hopefully we'll get more players.

Tonight, Primo and I are going to play in a charity poker tournament for the S. A. Rodeo. The rodeo is coming to town for the next two weeks. To kick things off, they are having a charity poker tournament and casino night this weekend. Primo and I are going to play because he sponsored a table for the event. Our goal is to attract some new players to the SAPC and get some name recognition as well. This is the second year that the tourney has been held. I didn't play, but Primo played last year and won a nice prize. Instead of money, they are giving away raffle tickets as prizes for the tournament. The tickets will be used for the drawing to win different prizes. The better you do in the tourney, the more tickets and chances you have to win a prize. They are also having free food and booze, so it should be fun no matter what happens. Tomorrow night, the casino night takes place and they will have the drawing for the raffle prizes. All in all, it should be a fun weekend for some poker.

Look for my recap post later on this weekend or early next week...

Online Poker Session

I played some online poker this past weekend at UB. I logged on Saturday afternoon and played for about 2 hours. I have a massive bonus that UB has given me, so I decided to work down that bonus and turn it into real money. The best way to work down the bonus is by playing in a cash game. I bought into the 1-2 NL cash game on UB for about $100. My strategy going in was to play tight-aggressive. I didn't want to get involved in any coin flips. I wanted to commit my money with the best hand. I just wanted to get paid when I had hands and not get drawn out on.

To start off, I was the first player to sit down at the new table. At UB, the first person to sit down at a new table gets a 25% point bonus. While everyone else was getting .50 UB points, I was receiving .63 points. Not a huge increase, but I will take it none the less. Playing short handed, I got some sick hands with very few people playing. I was flopping sets or two pair with only two players even sitting at the table. I was worried that I would be card dead once the table filled up. I even flopped quads on one hand. I had pocket kings and the flop came out 4-K-K. Needless to say I was checking and checking to try and induce a bet. I got him to bluff at it once and then he checked. I bet on the turn and then he folded his hand. I won a $25 pot with four kings three handed. During this early stretch, I was just trying to buy time until the table filled up. I didn't want to lose my original stake, so I could have enough for later.

Once the table filled up, the real poker playing started to go down. I had started one of the loosiest table that I had ever seen in the online poker world. People were literally playing any two cards that they were dealt. They were playing their hands hard as well. I was able to take advantage of this and quickly doubled up my original stake. I continued to get some ridiculous hands and the players paid me off for having those hands. One hand, I had K-4 offsuit in the big blind and just limped in checking my option. The flop came out Q-4-4, I had flopped a set with a great kicker. I checked the flop and the player behind me bet out the size of the pot. I check raised and made it $48 to go. He thought about for a few seconds and went all in. I quickly called and had him crushed. He flipped over A-Q for top two pair. The turn card was no help to either one of us and the river king card gave me a full house that I didn't need. I played on for awhile then the card streak ended. I started getting some of the worst cards that I have ever been dealt. I just folded and bought my time while this run of bad cards was happening. I would mix in a steal attempt sometimes just to keep my image honest. I didn't was to have that rock image where I would not get any action for my big hands.

Now, I had been playing for a little over an hour and a half. I managed to get my roll over $250, up $150 for the session. Then the table shifted dramatically from when it had started about an hour and half ago. Everyone had become really tight. We even had some of the people sitting out. Now at first I played on and had set a goal to quit. I wanted to get to a certain point and be done for the day. I was getting tired and restless for sitting so long. Also, I didn't want to do anything stupid like lose all of my money. I had decided to play a few more rounds and then stop. The button would pass and I said to myself last hand. However, I just keeping good cards. I got pocket kings, aces and queens twice in the last two rounds (about 15 to 20 hands). How can you stop when these cards are coming at you. I made a standard raise when I got queens the first time and everyone folded. I got kings and raised 3 1/2 times the big blind. Again, everyone folded around to me. I was started to get really annoyed. Then the aces came, so I limped and tried to give a new look. I managed to get to the flop bet and once again the player folded to me. That pot pushed me over the $300 mark for the session. I got queens one more time and again they folded to my raise. At this point, I realize that the jig was up on me. One of two things had happened, either no one wanted to get risk getting in a hand with me or my image had turned to a tight one.

Either way, I finished up the last hand and promptly left the table. I realized that I would no longer get any action from the table. So, I ended up $200 for the session and managed to earn 100 UB points. The 100 points earned me $10 in real money from my bonus. All in all not a bad session after playing for two hours.

Slow Week

It has been a slow week poker wise, I haven't really played any online at all. I have been busy doing some other things. If don't know by now, I am a huge Spurs fan. I have season tickets and their were a couple of games this week. They did win both of them and are back on the right track after a disappointing loss to Detroit last week. I love going to Spurs games and cheering them on, but it cuts into my poker time. That's alright...I'll trade one passion for another.

I have been working on a project with my buddy, Primo. He is the owner and one of the three founders of the San Antonio Poker Club. Myself and another buddy are the other 2 founders. It is a local group that we started in our home town about a year and half ago. It has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few months. All the credit goes to Primo for his ideas and implementation of them. I have recently taken a more active interest. As a result, Primo and I are working together on a project to take it to the next level. We should be ready to go live with it in the next few days or so.

Poker communites have sprouted up like weeds since the poker craze began. There are numerous online communites across the nation where poker players from local towns gather to share and exchange information. Card Player magazine even had an article about them in their most recent issue. These communites gather in a forum enviroment to share information and even form their own home games. There is always a place to find a game anywhere in the United States. If you are part of any online poker community out there other than the SAPC, drop me a line in the comments section. I would like to hear from you and maybe visit your site.

This weekend, I will probably finish up some of the final details on the project for the SAPC. I also have a massive bonus still left on my UB account. I will probably try and work some that bonus money down. Hopefully, I can do it without losing my own money, but you never know when it comes to online poker.

Last Friday

We played the mixed game last Friday. Although, it wasn't what I expected the game to be. Instead of a cash game, we had a shootout mixed game style. There were some problems and the game never really came together. We ended up playing a shootout tournament with both Texas and Omaha Hold'em. It was more fun than I thought. The Omaha rounds were difficult, all the pot calculations and who can what. We had a good time nonetheless. My buddy, Chris, ended taking the shootout and winning all money. He is a quite more experienced Omaha player than the rest of us rookies and that is where he excelled the most.

Primo and I had an interesting hand that ended up knocking me out. I raised under the gun with J-J-Q-10, not a bad starting hand I thought. The action went around to Primo who re-raised the size of the pot. Now back to me, I just called figuring to see a flop and look at my options. The flop came Q-10-4 with 2 diamonds. Not a bad flop for me, but Primo was first to act and bet all in. I had him covered by 20 chips and called. He had A-A-9-9 with the A9 of diamonds. I had top two pair and he had the nut flush draw. Going to the turn, we were even with Primo being a slight favorite. Well, the turn brought another diamond completing the flush. I was down to needing a Q or 10 on the river to give me a full house. The last card was a blank and I was crippled the rest of the way. All in all it was fun and we got some experience playing Omaha.

Yesterday, I played in a $10 SNG on Pokerstars. I was doing really well in the tournament. We got down to three handed and I was already in the money. UTG, I was dealt A-K and raised. The SB moved all in and the BB called. I called as well leaving me $120 more chips than the 3rd place guy. If we both went out, I would get 2nd place. The flop was a rainbow and I threw in my last chips. I had A-K, SB had 10-10 and the BB had A-A. The BB was the chip leader and had us both covered. The turn and river cards were blanks and the SNG was over. What a hand three handed, A-K, 10-10 and A-A.

Mixed Game This Week

My buddy, Primo, is having a mixed game tomorrow night at his place. It will be Omaha and Texas Hold'em with an alternating round of each, so it should be fun. I have never played in a mixed game much less have I played Omaha regularly. I am excited and look for my posts about the game in the next few days.

On another note, I have been busy adding some new tools for this site. Yesterday, I mentioned that I have added feeds for Google and My Yahoo. I have also started a Google Group for my blog. It's purpose will be simply to annouce my new posts to all the members of this list. Each time I publish a new post, an email will be sent to the group letting them know that a new entry is available. I still want you to visit my site as often as possible, but this is just another tool to further interest in my blog. If you want to be added to the group, send me an email and I will add you to the list.

New Tools and Toys

With 86 visitors and a total of 139 hits since I started this blog last November. I have decided that it is time to add some new tools and toys to this site. To the right of this post at the top of the right column, you will notice 2 new buttons (Google and My Yahoo). These buttons will add a syndicated news feed to your popular news service, so you can receive the contents of my blog directly into those personalized services. You will be able to pick up my recent posts and browse older ones as well just like any other news stories. Right now I have only added links for Google and My Yahoo, but I do have the ability to add others if necessity requires it.

I will also be adding other tools in the next few days. Keep checking back for them...

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Omaha Game

This weekend I am going to an Omaha game that a buddy of mine is hosting. He is going to have this game for the first time. If it does really well, he is thinking about starting a regular mixed game. It would be a round of Texas Hold'em and then a round of Omaha. I am excited about the game because it really the first serious Omaha game that I am going to play in. I had always played for fun or in those free games online.

Ever since I started seriously playing poker, all that I have played was Texas Hold'em. It is the game of choice right now and the hottest thing on TV. As you know there are numerous other forms of poker out there. A skilled poker player is really good at all the variations and can hold his own in any game. I want to get some experience playing Omaha because it is very different from the Texas version. There are some many different hand combinations and starting hand values.

I will post some of the memorable hands here for your input and enjoyment. Check back often for the posts.

Happy New Year's 2006

Happy New Year to everyone...

As I mentioned earlier this week, I wanted to give you my poker resolutions for 2006. Here they are in no particular order.

To qualify and play in a major event...

I want to play in a WSOP or WPT this year. I have never played in a tournament that size before. It would be a great measuring tool to see where my game is currently. There are so many poker tournaments now these days and with numerous satellites on the internet that I will have many opportunities. It will be fun to sit in a tournament and just play poker. Many of the big touraments have great structures where you have a lot of starting chips and low blind levels. This is great to just sit and learn how to play real poker. Most small stakes tournaments end up being crap shoots where the lucky players get the prizes.

To continue to improve and learn from my mistakes...

This is probably my biggest one to follow. As poker players, we must constantly improve our games. If you don't learn and improve, you should not be playing this game. You will continue to make the same mistakes that have plagued you so far. We must learn and stop making those errors in order to be successful.

I want to continue to work on my aggression. This is a key detail that all good players must have to be successful. Aggressive players get the chips and the money in the tournaments. It is important to learn how to take down pots when no one wants them. I have said it before, if you can learn to do this then you will be ahead of the game.