High On Poker

The Hole homegame last night was a success. First off, it was a great time, without a doubt. It turns out that Randy Hole spent some time reading this humble blog yesterday for the first time that I’m aware of. I’m counting my blessing that I didn’t talk smack about him in the last post. Of course, I wouldn’t talk smack about Randy, but the point is, a very extroverted forum like this could be problematic if the wrong people read up. Even so, I’ll do my best to give you unedited content, because that’s what I do.

I ended up bubbling out of the first of three tourneys at Casa del Hole. It was a 6-handed game, and some time in the first orbit, we had four people all in on the same hand. Hold your breath, because you are going to be shocked when you see what hands they held. Pete: QQ; G-lan: KJ (I think); Randy: KT; Rob: AT. Yep. All-in in a tournament in the first orbit with those hands. A rivered Ace put Rob as the monster chip leader, and I just scrambled to stay alive as long as possible. Hole took down the tourney, Roose took 2nd.

In the second tourney, I played a lot smarter, and chipped up slowly. It got down to Robbie Hole and I, heads up, and he had the chiplead. Wifey Kim had called me on my cell during a particularly important heads up hand. It went like this.

I look down to J7o. Robbie Hole was the dealer, heads up. He limps, I check. The flop is AA8. I check, he tentatively checks. Meanwhile, my phone is vibrating, but I ignore it. Rather than leaving a message, wifey Kim decided to call back right away. Well, I’m in the middle of a hand which will take all of 2 minutes, so I figure I will call her back in a second. But she calls a third time. Now my mind is racing. It must be an emergency. Meanwhile, the turn comes off as a Jack. I bet 500 (blinds were 100/200 or 200/400). He re-raises to 2,000. Now I’m thinking, what the hell does he have. My cell rings (this is that third call) and I say, “I’m all in” as I pick up the phone. Wifey Kim is in a tizzy. I can hear a panic in her voice, but meanwhile I’m counting out my chips. I can’t deal with this, so I say, “Someone count my chips” while I walk into the nearby hallway.

“What is it honey?” “I can’t get the TV to work. It’s stuck on mute and I want to watch Lost.” THIS IS THE EMERGENCY! I have to admit, I got a bit short. It was mostly frustration. Basically, to fix the problem, you need to hold down to keys on the remote until a light lights up, power off the cable box, which takes some doing when you are simultaneously recording, restart the box, and record ASAP so you don’t miss too much. Wifey Kim wasn’t getting it, and meanwhile, the most important hand of the game was occurring. I finally worked it out with her, and when I returned to the table, I looked down to a pile of chips. Hole had Q8, and called me. I was the huge chipleader, and went on to win it.

In the third tourney, I went out in the middle, mostly because of high blinds and ignoring the old adage: Don’t bluff a calling station.

In one last interesting hand, check this out. It was three players in the hand, Roose, Hole and I. I had KJ. Roose went all-in for his remaining 250 or so, and Hole and I called, because we had him well covered. The flop is 887. We both check. The turn is a 7, for 2-pair on the board. Hole raises large and I fold. Folks, he had 63. SIX THREE!!! WHY GOD WHY! He knew that Dave wasn’t pushing with 5-high and it was the only hand he could beat. Why push me out and let a dangerous player like Roose stay in the game. The only reason would be in the hopes that the river is an Ace or 8 or 7 and no one could beat the board, so he’d only have to split the pot 2-ways. Whatever! That play still baffles me. But it did give me an opportunity to discuss strategy with Randy. That’s probably the best part of the game. It’s okay to discuss hands and strategy, and in a way, we are all helping each other improve.

That’s pretty much it for my evening. I won $15 total, but it’s better than losing.

Tonight is the HUC3 Round 1 matches on Full Tilt. If you feel like a good time, check out the HUC3 blog for information on “private” tournaments set up at Full Tilt at the same time, in conjunction with the HUC3. Buy-in is just $5 or so, but I’m sure HUC competitors tilting fresh off their loss (to me) will be heading there.

Maybe it was being turned away from the live game at Straddle last night. Maybe it was cashing in two 60+ person tournaments recently, or my two cashes in my recent single-table SNGs at Full Tilt. I don’t know what it is, but I’m dying for some poker.

It’s been a looooooooooong day, not by time, but by momentum. It’s just dragging. Tonight, I plan on hopping a train to Queens for a Robbie Hole homegame. I love these games, mostly because it is a laid back atmosphere, and I am poker king there. There are some good players. Roose is a solid player for sure, and I don’t like to tangle with him too much, if I can avoid it. Robbie Hole is one of, if not THE, trickiest players to get a read on. He’s as likely to hold AA as K2s in a given hand. Notice I didn’t say AA or 27o. It’s not that he plays every hand. It’s just that he has an interesting range, and I just can’t put my finger on it. Aside from those two, there is Randy Hole, who is also an enigma like cousin Rob. The rest of the crew are a random assortment, but overall, I have a good idea about how each of them play.

I also get respect there, mostly from two players who are pretty green in their play, Peter and Scotty. Pete recently won his first tourney at the Hole home game, and was as excited as a kid on Hannukah. His play could still use some work, but he is there to have fun. Scotty is a red-headed Santa Claus, both by looks and by generosity. His play has vastly improved from his original game, but he still is able to keep it light. He’s a recreational player, like most of the Hole players, so when I’m there, I’m usually having fun.

Scotty even offered to partially stake me in a WSOP event in the future, based on, as he put it, the fact that I am serious about the game. It’ll have to wait until the 2006-2007 WSOP Circuit starts, but once the schedule is out, I’m going to sit down with a calendar and ledger and plan my first foray into big time poker. Of course, I’ll be starting with a $500 event, but that is still 5x the amount I’d normally be willing to spend in a live tournament. If I can get Scotty to bankroll me a hundred, that’d cut down on my exposure and force me to play smarter. The bottom line is that I need to play an event like that, because it’s time to really think about where this game is taking me.

I need to make a step up. My bankroll is hovering at $800, but not long ago, it was hovering at $300, so I’m greatful about the improvement. I’ve been a $300 bankroll guy for so long, I almost don’t know what to do with myself. I suppose playing $20 single-table SNGs isn’t unreasonable. The only problem is that I am so damn comfortable at $10 SNGs. I think, ultimately, I’ll start to mix in some more $20s, but stick with a majority of $10s. Hell, it wasn’t too long ago that I was at the $5s. Now, they feel like chump change. OOH YEAH! I’m the big man on the poker campus now!

Tomorrow is Round 1 of the Heads Up Challenge 3. I was the original creator and commissioner of the HUC 1 and HUC 2. This time, I passed the Commissioner title to Veneno, a Heads Up enthusiast. She originally asked me to plan the HUC3, but with the 45-Player SNG Challenge going, I didn’t think I had the time. I asked V to do it, and she has just blown me away! Not only has she set up clear brackets, along with an interesting structure, but she also is having a special card protector made for the ultimate winner. My match is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday, March 23) at Full Tilt at 10pm. It’s a 4-person HU elimination tournament with the winner moving on to Round 2. Lucky me, my bracket consists of Veneno herself, along with Todd Commish and L’Artiste. Heads Up poker is not my strong point, but I’m not too shabby either. I look forward to using my awesome smack talking, card showing personality to win the day. The winner of our bracket, dubbed the TiltMonsters (presumably after my mean skillz), will face the winner of the Squirrels bracket, which consists of TripJax, FairNBalanced, DrewsPop, and Aussie Dave. I’m hoping Trip wins it. Easy pickin’s in Round 2!

I have to commend Mookie99. I didn’t know of the guy when I heard that he was holding private blogger tournaments weekly. But I saw him at DADI events, and I look forward to making it to one of his Wednesday games. This poker blogging thing is really about community, and this community loves itself some private tournaments. That’s why Trip and I started the DADI events, and that’s why Mr. Wheaton‘s events are so damn fun. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, play in one of these aforementioned events. It’s a place where competitiveness is encouraged and good poker play is the standard. It’s the closest thing to live poker you’ll find online too. Just read my last post for those details. Plus, I have to admit, I still get a smile when former Star Trek the Next Generation star and all-around good guy Wil Wheaton said, “High On Poker is here” when I popped into his room during the WWdn event.

Trip is also working overtime to set up the next DADI event. I have to admit that I am out of the loop a bit. I mean, DADI was my baby and Trip and I have raised her together. I know that she is in good hands though. Without a doubt, this one is going to be the biggest DADI ever, and when it happens it will be due mostly to Trip’s hard work. So, to that, I say kudos Trip. I’d love to announce some of the surprises in store, but I’ll leave that to my comrade.

So, let’s recap. If you want to play poker with fellow bloggers/readers, you have several options. You can await the next DADI event, which will likely be scheduled for the last week in April. You can play on Tuesdays, at 8:30 EST on Stars in the WWdn events (password: monkey). You can play on Wednesdays in the weekly Mookie events (see his site for passwords). You can play in the Thursday night WWdn events, which I believe start at 11:30pm EST (it’s a West Coast-heavy event). Or you can keep an eye out for another one of my Challenges.

Poker, poker everywhere and not a drop to think.

I had plans last night. Big plans. I was finally returning to the underground NYC poker scene for a new club that just openned. The email advertised a $50 no fee tournament, and since my live bankroll is meager, I was all over it.

Upon my arrival at the Straddle Club, I was fairly impressed. The location is easy to get to. The room is nicely furnished with flat screen tvs, couches, and about five or six tables. Three tables were going. Closest to the door were the 500-max 1/2 NL games. There were two. In the back was the No-max 5/10 NL game.

To play in the 1/2 NL games in NY, you need a massive bankroll to match your massive cajones. It’s not that the players are particularly good. I kept calling their weak plays and hands. Rather, its just that the players are highly bankrolled or just don’t give a shit about their money, your pick. Common preflop raises of 25$ and such, at 1/2! It happens, but it ain’t right. But remember. These players are willing to find out about an illegal establishment, travel there, and play with strangers in an unregulated environment that could be raided by the police at any moment. In other words, of course you are going to have action junkies showing up. That’s the majority personality type that is willing to go through all of that crap for poker.

But I wasn’t there for the cash games. I know my role. I’m there for the tournament. Roose was with me too. Otherwise, though, it didn’t look good. All in all, they never had more than 7 players willing to play the tournament. The club didn’t seem particularly eager to start either. Why should they? In a land of $10/hr fees with three active tables, our no fee tournament was a drain of resources. Fuckers. I still am pissed though. After all, they advertise and then don’t pull through. It was like being a second-class citizen.

Who am I kidding? I might go back tonight.

After that sad occassion, I headed home, hoping to score points with wifey Kim. “See honey! I didn’t play so that I could see you!” Of course, the WWdn was about to start at 8:30pm, so I decided to go with another strategy: “Since I couldn’t play live, I’m going to play in the Wil Wheaton tourney.” As I occassionally do, I made the rounds online to see if I could convince any of my blogger bretheren to join. Mowenumdown gave the thumbs up, as did Prez Lee, who joined the tourney late (gotta love that PokerStars).

I’ll give you the cliff notes version. I was chattier than usual. I came to realize that playing in the Wheaton (or any blogger) tournaments is the closest thing I can get to a live game online. The reason is simple. Generally, online, when you play in a tournament, people ignore what you type in the chat box, or will only rarely interact. This interaction is a vital part of my game. First, it helps me stay interested in the game at hand and helps me concentrate, ironically enough. Second, I use chat to feel out players in different ways. When I’m live, I’m always talking and getting reactions.

My smack talk got the better of me at one point, though. With Mookie on my immediate right and me giving more action then a sorority girl on queludes, I decided to call his SB raise with my measely 9To. The flop was J9x, and Mookie bet out big. I decided to put his to the test and pushed all-in. If I lose, I’m down to 300 or so. He calls…with KK. But I rivered him for a suckout, and sent him to the rail. Sorry Mookie.

After that, my play continued to be loose, but slightly more smart. I stayed in the top 5 for most of the tournament, but got a player to go all-in with AK v. my QQ preflop when we were down to 14 players. I had him covered, which was why I was willing to gamble it up. He hit his Ace, and I was down to 4k, in 12th out of 14. But, as I do, I scrambled my way back up, and eventually went out in 7th out of 63 players, for a cash in the WWdn. I love that tourney. Prez Lee must love it too. He took down 1st.

Thereafter, I decided to play a single table SNG on Full Tilt. I donked off most of my chips early, to a bluff I wouldn’t let go of. With 300 left, and no one out, I scrambled, and eventually lasted until I placed in 2nd. I’m dangerous on a short-stack.

A good night of poker. Tonight, wifey Kim is watching a show with a friend, so I plan on playing live. I also suggest you check out Mookie’s Wednesday tourney if you are looking for some blogger tourney goodness. I won’t be there though. But soon. Very soon.

Let’s have fun picking over Jordan’s play, shall we (you judgmental bastards)? What we have here is the Thirtiest edition of You Decide. For earlier You Decide posts, click THIS LINK. Please share your thoughts and opinions, and together we can grow as poker players and as a civilized society!

So, I’m playing in an MTT on Doyle’s Room. I have just short of 9k in chips, with blinds of 200/400, 50 ante. There are about 12 to 14 people left, and 9 spots pay. I’m the second chipleader at the table and maybe 3rd overall, with one guy at the table ahead by 400, and one guy behind me for 10 or so.

I’m dealt QQ in the Big Blind. JHawk, who is the gentleman with all of10 chips less than me, raises from UTG+1 from to 1200. I’ve been playing with him for a while and we have a good rapport. On a couple of hands, I raised preflop to his call out of position, only to win with a continuation bet and in one instance, a bluff re-raise on a AK4 flop. In both instances, he claimed to have KQ, and I lied, claiming that I had AK on the AK4 flop and pocket 9s on a useless flop that he checked to me. In truth, I had crap both times, but he doesn’t know that. In fact, as he put it, “You got my number.” My response: “Lady luck has good timing.”

So JHawk raises in UTG+1 from 400 to 1200. Everyone folds to me and I raise to 4000 total. He pushes all-in to $8855 total. If I call, I’ll be committing all of my chips essentially, leaving a whopping 10, which won’t even cover the next hand’s ante.

So, here is the question. In this situation, is it smart to call off the rest of your chips with QQ preflop, so near the money when you had a huge chiplead. If you fold, you’ll still be middle of the pack.

On one hand, he is showing strength and AA or KK will end the tourney for you before you get to the money. If he has AK, it’s almost a coin toss against one of the only players that can effectively take you out. Against a shorter stack and its a no brainer. Against this guy, it’s a game-changing moment.

Yet, if you take the hand, you have a monster chiplead. What to do?

I’m going to do things differently today, and ask that you give your responses before I post what the result was. If you think that any of my play was foolish, do tell. Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing.

God Damn! Brother Jordan needs a break. I even contemplated calling into the office sick today, so I could sit at home, eating soup and watching The Price is Right, like I did so many times as a young kid in elementary school. But, in the end, I had to succumb to responsibility and get my ass out of bed.

My GERD is apparently under control. For the first time in a while, I actually had “a good day” yesterday. Basically, “a good day” is one in which I am not suffering from heart burn and I can’t feel my stomach lining trying to escape my body via my esophagus. I mean, I felt it a little, but that is a VAST improvement. All said, though, I even had some questionable food for dinner (quesadilla with steak and jalapenos) and didn’t feel a thing. Praise the Lord!

I also had the pleasure of playing a $20 MTT yesterday on Absolute Poker. I placed 3rd out of 66, netting about $120 profit. I needed it too, since Doyle’s Room is whooping my ass in 1/2 and 2/4 limit. I mean, slaughterhouse style. I’ve lost probably $200 there this weekend, before making my MTT comeback and winning another $30 or so playing .10/.20 NLHE on Doyle’s site. I’m not too far from finishing Doyle’s Room’s bonus, so once that is done, I’ll have to re-evaluate my play there. Bottom line, I’ve un-learned how to fold in the face of blatant strength when I’m holding a solid, but non-nut, hand. The result is countless bets I could be saving.

My MTT was a rush, though. I have one hand in particular which I will make my next “You Decide”. Hopefully, I’ll have that prepped for you later.

The 45-player SNG Challenge is moving along swimmingly. I’ve, honestly, been avoiding the 45-person SNGs, after my recent lack of placing. I’m hoping a little break will bring me some perspective, and it doesn’t hurt knowing what I need to do to catch up with the rest of the crew. Current leader board is DrewsPop in 1st, Kaellinn in 2nd, and Poker Champ in 3rd.

Congrats to Gracie! She took 1st in the WPBT WSOP tourney and will be representing bloggers in a $1500 WSOP event of her choosing! That’s damn cool. I wasn’t there, mostly because of my allegiance to the Sopranos (what an episode!), coupled with the fact that good buddy Jefe came over to watch. I can’t be pokering it up with company over!

Rumor has it, the next DADI may be for a WSOP seat. It might be a bit higher than the usual buy-in, but for a chance to play in the WSOP, its worth it!

I’m doing my best to make it to Okie-Vegas. Right now the prognosis is: Maybe. Sorry guys. I wish I could say definitely, but those who need to, know what’s going on.

If you blog to make money, good luck. But you just don’t get it, do you? You probably never will.

That’s all for now. You go on with your bad selves.

Yeah. Well, I played a 45-player SNG last night but busted with my 88 v. QQ. Oh well! I then proceeded to play some 2/4 on Doyle’s Room. I decided that it was time to move up after reading about FairNBalanced‘s move, which has returned good results. I think, generally, that he is right about the quality of play at 2/4 v. 1/2. It’s not so much different. The swings however…that’s another story.

I donked off 95$ before signing off (which I now realize is only 25 BBs, or so). I reloaded some more money onto Doyle’s, hoping to finish the 7k points I need to earn my $75 bonus. An interesting thing happens sometimes when I bonus chase. I’ll spend $200+ earning $75. I wonder if my time would be better spent sticking to my SNGs. I know the answer. It is plainly yes. But I want to be an all-around good player, so sometimes lessons are expensive.

The bottom line is, I am probably being too hard on myself. The truth was, I was merely pushing strong with great cards that were running into amazing cards. For instance, my KK v. AA, capping most of the way because the player was loose. Or, my AK v. AJ, with an AJ flop. Same loose player. How about my QQ running into runner runner flush! I even laid down JJ with all undercards because the board had hit a three-flush on the turn and there were three other players in the hand. The flop was all unders, but one guy stayed in, even after my initial raise, with 5c8c and hit his flush.

I’m a little upset about the financial loss, but I’m not too upset with my play. These are the breaks. Should I have signed off earlier, when I saw what I was consistently running into? I don’t think so. I was reading the table, and I knew that I could make money if I had an infinite amount of time to let luck level out. As it were, I did spend a good amount of time at the table, but it didn’t reach infinity, and the luckboxes kept luckboxing away. $100 is a significant loss for my $800 bankroll, and I plan on returning to $1/2 probably to finish my run at Doyle’s.

In other news, I forgot to mention that I went to the G.I. (gastro-intestinal) doctor yesterday. It was 11am, and I had a client meeting at 2pm. Fortunately, my G.I. is nearby. I went in, told him what was wrong, and he told me that he would have to do an endoscopy. Basically, they put a spaghetti-sized camera down your throat and into your stomach. Well, he wanted to do it right then, and I hadn’t eaten for the day, so nothing was stopping us. They put me to sleep (that stuff is goooooooooood), and when I woke up, I got the diagnosis. Hell, I don’t remember what it is called, but its essentially an extreme form of GERD (acid-reflux) that reaches up to my esophagus and throat. Instead of taking a week to resolve, the doctor said it would take months. Lovely. But, the good part is that I know what is wrong with me (in that department, at least). So, yeah for me!

I’m also in 2nd place in the NCAA pool hosted by Mowenumdown and TripJax. Who woulda thunk. I know nothing. Have a great St. Patty’s day!

I have to give a hearty round of applause to Felicia Lee. Felicia is one of those bloggers who I read once a week or every other week, but whenever I do read her blog, I’m always gobbling up information like a Hungry Hungry Hippo on a Poker Knowledge Marble binge.

Recently, she started a series of posts titled the Psychology of Poker. You can read Part 2 through THIS LINK. What an insight! Let me add this to all bloggers out there: if you don’t want to discuss strategy on your blog for fear of improving your reader’s skills, you have your priorities backwards. I’m no pro, but I like to think that by sharing my strategies and thoughts, I am (a) processing my game better, (b) eliciting opinions to help my game, and (c) sharing the game with likeminded people who I enjoy and not with the general masses I see online or in the poker room.

With that in mind, I’d like to discuss my psychology at live casino poker games. I guess the best way to start is by taking an excerpt from Ms. Felicia:

I try to remain quiet and small. I like it when I come across a table where the men try to crowd me out of my space, so that I am more and more shrunken. I don’t talk, I don’t try to gain any attention. I usually just put my bets and raises out with one, silent motion. I’m the tiny, little mouse who crept up and stole their cheese.

Felicia, apparently, is the alpha to my omega. It is not that I like to act big and loud. That is hardly the case. But when I’m playing at a table, I can’t help but mix it up with the table.

The truth of the matter is that I don’t do it intentionally. I get to the table and I can’t help but be social, usually making friends with my immediate neighbors and making an enemy across the table within the first hour. By hour four though, I’ve usually broken down all of those barriers, and everyone is my pal.

Is it an act? Not in the least. I like people…when they are playing poker (otherwise, they can all fuck themselves). Here are a bunch of fellow self-destructive degenerates playing a game for real money! Hey, let’s all have fun. A side-effect is that I appear as one of two people. Sometimes, I’m the drunk loose crappy player who is there to gamble. In truth, I’m still playing relatively tight (I’m tighter live than online) and I get action when I want to as the drunk fun guy. Hell, I don’t even need to drink to become this guy. It’s all about the rush I get when I’m playing the game. When it’s live and I’m in a big hand, I can’t help but feel, well, high. That is where the name High On Poker came from, after all. In times like this though, I let my comments flow, but I keep my card selection good. People think that friendly and loud and talkative equals loose and/or stupid. They don’t get fancy. They don’t try to push me off of hands. And they will often call my bets because even though I’m playing tight, all they notice is that I am constantly mixing it up with other players. The fact that I folded doesn’t register as quick if I’m also chatting and jokingly ragging on my opponents. A little quip here and there and they don’t think, “Hey, he hasn’t played a hand in two orbits, but now he is raising.” Instead they think, “Hey, here’s the loud fun guy, playing for the hell of it. Let’s call him and see what’s up!”

Then there is the other side of it. As a showboater, I don’t mind showing cards, especially if I think it will get respect from the table. A perfect example happened on my last AC trip. My table-buddy, who I just met, was sitting on my right. He was on the button and I was in the BB with QQ. There were a few limpers, and my table-buddy, Pat, raises with KK. I don’t know this, so on the button, I re-raise to 22 (1/2 blinds). Only Pat calls. The flop are all unders. I check. He bets 20. I raise to 50. He looks down and goes all in. I fold face-up, showing the QQ. He showed his KK. This is the other Jordan. This is the Jordan that says, oh, by the way, I’m here to take all of your money. I guess the best time to whip out this gem is when you want to show the table that it isn’t monkey-time poker. It’s a good way to combat people trying to push you around. Make a good play. Show it. Let them think about it. I know in that instance I had a lot of people impressed at the table. It’s not my goal to impress them with my skills, but it is my goal to control them psychologically.

I guess, then, where Felicia likes to disappear into the table, I like to run the show, but not as an overlord. Rather, I’m like the carnival clown, keeping things light and fun. When I need to curb some action or show that I’m not just a clown, I can calm the table down by showing my plays. Let them see that there is a brain working behind this idiot’s mask.

It’s all about tempo, setting up the table, bending them to your will. I want to mix it up with the players because I want them to be mixed up. I want them to have fun and to enjoy losing their money. I want them to think that its a fun game where calling with a less-than-optimal hand is all in good fun. And when I don’t want this anymore, when I want them to avoid me, I’ll show some strength.

I guess there is nothing new here. I want to get out there for some live poker so I can think about this in a real world setting.

I want to make something else clear, though. I appreciate Felicia’s style. In a way, I wish it were mine. It’s not easy playing the cruise director, yucking it up. But it is what comes naturally. In the end, that’s the best advice I can give. You can’t act like someone else. You have to be an extension of yourself. That is the way to success.

Last night, I bolted from my office at 5:55, once Robbie Hole called me from the All-In Party at the ESPN Zone. According to his sources, they were starting at 6:30, and I didn’t want to miss a minute of the action.

Of course, his source was a moron. In all actuality, the doors didn’t open until 7pm, but I was glad to be there scouting the scene. The bottom floor of the ESPN Zone was roped off. There were probably 30 poker tables of varying shapes and sizes scattered throughout the room. At about 6:30, we returned to see a crowd forming by the velvet ropes in the entrance portion of the restaurant (it is 4 or more floors). We wanted to move into position, and I scouted a table near the end of the ropes. That, I figured, would be the registration table. We moved into position just before they started the registration set up. Thankfully, I was right. At this rate, we’d be among the first 10 people inside. But then the announcement came: “Could everyone please form a line outside of the building to the left.”

Now, when something like this happens, you can do two things: (1) Bitch and moan and try to get them to let you stay in the front, or (2) book your ass to the outside line. Hole and Roose, my partners in crime, didn’t move right away, but I sure as hell did. Out the doors and onto the new line, we moved into about 15th place. Roose and Hole came out a couple of minutes later, glad to see that I was in position.

We finally entered the party room at about 7pm. I was surprisingly NOT on the guest list, even though I got the invite from Bhu, All-In’s owner. But I was able to finagle my way inside with Roose and Hole, and once I got ahold of some free stuff, all was forgotten.

The first stop was the bar. Free drinks! I started with a Coors Light, because of my weak-ass throat. I went to my assigned poker table, and sat down. Fortunately, it was right by the kitchen’s entrance, so I had a steady stream of appetizers coming out. Sliders (mini-burgers), chicken fingers, egg rolls, wrap sandwiches, and skewered beef made up my dinner. Roose and Hole were right behind me. As you can tell, I was moving quick all the while, trying to get mine in a world of free stuff.

The tourney was slow to start, and because of delays, they started at the 2nd blind level, 50/100. Each played had 2500 in chips, so it wasn’t a complete push fest. I have to admit, though, that the prize selection was poor. First place got an X-Box 360. 2nd and 3rd got i-pod Shuffles. 4th through 10th got Party Poker chips. I mean, come on. I can earn that stuff on PSO with less effort! But free is free, and for that, I could not complain.

I played a reasonable game. If I were a little looser in the first couple of hands, I would have flopped top pair twice with KT and won the hands. But I was trying to play seriously. Once I found out what the prizes were, though, I changed my mind. I convinced a waitress to get me three shots of tequila, even though shots weren’t allowed. I guess tipping (I was one of the few that did) helped a bit. That and my devastating charm. Shots for Roose, Hole and I, and then more beer and a rum & coke, the official casino drink of High On Poker. I asked for Capt and Coke, but she returned with Bacardi and Coke, and asked if that was alright. I’m not picky, so I thanked her. She then mentioned that she brought another Coors if I didn’t want the Bacardi. I’ll take that too, thank you.

I didn’t get any good hands. In the end, I was in the BB with 2100 chips, with 800 in the pot as my BB (i.e., 1300 left). One player from early position raised to 2k, and I pushed all-in. He called with 33 v. my T5. I fail to double up, and I’m out. Hole was out before me, Roose was out after. On a side note, they gave seats based on when you entered, so we were all at the same table. At first, I thought this was bad, but now I realize that it was about having fun with the people you were with, and not winning an X-Box.

With some time to kill, I went to the front registration to sign up for a free one-year subscription. More freebies! When I got there, I noticed “goody bags” being handed out to people leaving. I took mine early to ensure that it didn’t run out. The booty included a Party Poker hat and collared shirt, a deck of cards, a key-chain, and an issue of All-In. Free free free.

After Roose pushed with AQ preflop and lost to TT (he admittedly was ready to go) we all headed our separate ways. There were some shortcomings to the party. The begining was poorly run, the prizes were weak, and there were no celebrity poker players. But the free stuff makes up for it all. Thanks, All-In.

On a side note, let me add that the party was open to all subscribers, so I guess the blog thing doesn’t make me THAT special. But, it did help Bhu find and invite me, so I’m still chalking this up as an event I got through this lovely blog contraption. See Ma! I’m not wasting my time! And put down that bottle, it isn’t even noon!

When I got home, I spent some much-needed time with wifey Kim. For the first time in a while, the GERD felt like an annoyance, rather than a crippling affliction. We watched a bit of American Idol until I couldn’t take it any more. I signed online and jumped into a 18-person $10+1 SNG with Mowenumdown and Surflexus. Let me just say that I have had a great time online lately, because the bloggers have been getting together a shit load for SNG action. The 45-person SNG Challenge is partially to blame, but otherwise, I think it is simply this: poker is more fun when its with people you know and like. Thanks, fockers! As it turned out, I won the gosh darned thing, netting a little over $60 profit. Thank Jebus! Mow took 3rd. Go us!

Finally, Veneno is the acting Commissioner for the Heads Up Challenge 3. She is changing the format slightly, and making a bracket of 32 players. I believe there are 5 or less spots left, and she’s amassed an awesome list of participants. So if you are interested, check out the HUC3 blog or Veneno’s blog. Come play with the best!

Thanks for the comments regarding yesterday’s post. A big thanks to BSN, who apparently has GERD and told me that my symptoms match up. Thank god!

I’m looking forward to tonight, when I go to the All In Magazine premeire party at ESPN Zone cohosted or sponsored or something by Party Poker in NYC with Dave Roose and Robbie Hole. I got an email from Bhu Srinivasan, the partial owner of the mag, emailed me about my NY based blog to invite me to the soiree. I can appreciate anyone who treats bloggers like real life media! Hell, that’ s because, in some ways, we are. In the end, we bloggers/blogs are a mix between a local self-published magazine or newspaper, and a knitting circle of gabbing ole ladies playing canaster. As many people in the marketing field know (I hope, unless I’m talking out of my ass, in which case, excuse my breath), sometimes word of mouth can be more powerful than a written ad campaign. All In Magazine gets it. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to rub elbows with other poker bloggers. Unfortunately, I know so very few by site.

I’m hoping they have a freeroll tourney. I don’t see how they can’t. I’m not 100%, but I’m going to give my GERD the works tonight, with free food and booze.

On the 45 SNG Challenge front, DrewsPop (aka CJ) is taking an early lead with 2 cashes in 6 games. I’m holding 2nd with my one 4th place finish. GCox has 3rd with his one 5th. Of course, many players have yet to really get going. One side effect is that whenever I go online lately, there is someone looking for a 45 SNG to play, and I’m usually game. Hell, BSN and I even entered one yesterday only to realize after we entered that we were playing in the same one.

That’s all for today folks. Keep an eye out for my recap of the festivities tonight (or at least as much as I can remember).

I’m on the board. I think it only took about 5 tries, but 4th place is a good start. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, CLICK HERE.

PokerStars Tournament #21339105, No Limit Hold'emBuy-In: $6.00/$0.5045 playersTotal Prize Pool: $270.00Tournament started - 2006/03/14 - 22:42:43 (ET)

Dear HighOnPokr,

You finished the tournament in 4th place.A $30.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

Congratulations!Thank you for participating.