Standard Bull

Trying to Find a Balance

2012-02-02T12:56:00.002-05:00

I woke up one morning recently to see that Phil Galfond had written a new blog (http://www.philgalfond.com/it-always-comes-back-to-balance-doesnt-it/). Unlike most poker blogs, I actually follow Phil’s because I honestly feel like I learn something every time I read it. This one wasn’t strategy related but more focused on how much relocation can affect a poker player’s life and most importantly, offset the delicate balance.

Playing poker for a living is without a doubt one of the coolest professions out there. We’ve found a way to make a living from something we truly love and enjoy. Sure, some days can be very frustrating and make you rethink your life choices but others are amazing and some of the best life experiences you can ever have (ie: WSOP this summer). The problem is when you string a few of those bad frustrating days in a row. For me, this has been almost 3 months. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had winning days in-between, but the majority of them don’t quite go as planned.

Phil Galfond brought up a really important point in saying that life at home during a downswing is sufficiently easier to handle than a downswing while you’re alone in a foreign country. Like anyone else, I have a few poker friends in the area but it’s just not the same as home life. I miss hopping into my car and driving to Chickfila, seeing the StandardBull crew, speaking English to everyone, and having a real address (one that isn’t 400 meters south of the old cemetery). When you can go out with your friends and focus on anything but poker, you get a true break from your occupation. Without that escape, poker can get very exhausting.

I definitely have an advantage over most poker players simply because I truly LOVE the game. I know so many guys who play poker for a living just because it’s something they are good at and can make money doing but that don’t even really enjoy it anymore. I still have that fire and passion (heart and commitment) that several have lost. It might just be that I’m young and it’s still new to me but that is fine because I don’t see poker as a lifelong occupation anyway.

To get back to Phil’s blog, the main point of the post was to stress the importance of truly getting away from poker for some period of time, especially during a downswing. It doesn’t have to be a year, a month, or even a full day but there has to be some point in your day where you do something that’s fun, relaxing, and takes your mind off of work.

“What I really need to do is leave the game and walk away into my real life, but I don’t have a real life to walk away into anymore.”

I feel like I can relate a lot to this and pretty much the whole post. I’m working on creating a more balanced life for myself here and starting out by taking next weekend off to FINALLY get to the beach after being here for nearly 4 months. Hopefully this trip will be the start of a new balanced life, and hey, maybe even an upswing.

Lastly, I’m going to LA on the 22nd to play the LAPC main event. I’m actually really excited about playing some live tournament poker as I’ve missed it since the WSOP. Hopefully I can pick up where I left off this summer.

I love and miss you all,

Vegas, WSOP, Toronto, AND Costa Rica

2011-09-22T00:17:00.003-04:00

It's been way too long boys and girls. I miss each and every one of you more than you know. Life has been a blurr since Black Friday but certainly a fun blurr. After spending a few days after April 15th sulking and watching the life we had known for the last few years crumble before us, we decided it was time to make some life decisions.

For each one of us, the decision was different. There was a lot of pros and cons to weigh with heavy financial implications. Jon Rash on the eve of excessively priced Duke Law School, CZ with a previously successful but now useless tournament stake on FullTilt, 'Ass' Hatley nearly half way through the supernova elite pursuit, and yours truly; grinding away on PokerStars and still hanging on to a college graduation dream.

It really was an odd time in life. Time stood still for at least a week after the DOJ shit on all of our incomes. I remember on Friday going to play golf with all the boys and jokingly contemplating suicide after every hole. A combination of how bad we are at golf and the disarray of our poker livelyhood. What will we do now? How will I pass the days away if not grinding? How can we go out and spend excessive amounts of money on lavish food and alcohol every night without an income? But most importantly, what will we do if we cant get the large percentage of our net worth stuck online?

Luckily, the last question was answered fairly quickly. As 3/4 of the StandardBull crew had money nearly exclusively on PokerStars, we had the bulk of our nest eggs back within a couple weeks. With my last exam completed, I decided what better of a time to go visit my favorite city in all of the world, Las Vegas.

I was planning on going in June and staying for a couple weeks to play my first World Series of Poker tournaments since I was finally turning 21 at the end of May. It's been a long road to finally being able to do what I've been doing since I was 18, legally. I was able to remove the 25 year old's ID I had been using from my wallet and take Mazin Khoury out for a spin. As always, I spent my entire Vegas stay with the infamous Mike Finn, better known as Grampa Finn. What started out as a trip for a few weeks ended up spanning nearly three months. I arrived on May 3rd and didn't look back until July 20th. I had only brought somewhere in the neighborhood of $10k with me. I had sold 20% of action for a tournament package including some Venetian Deep Stacks and various WSOP events.

I kicked off my first big (ish) live tournament with a bang. I played the Day 2 of the $340 Ventian DSE opening event. It drew a little north of 1300 entrants and was in the books as the largest tournament in Venetian history. Although somewhat disspointing at the time, it was nice to start my live tournament career with a 7th place finish for ~8k. From there my confidence was high and I never looked back. I final tabled another Venetian event this time finishing 3rd for ~24k, and then made a deep run in the 1500 6max WSOP event finishing somewhere late in day 2. After busting a few ventians inbetween, I asked the investors if we could add the 2500 WSOP 6 handed event since I was already showing a nice profit, they agreed, and we were off.

Before I knew it, I was sitting at the secondary featured table in the Amazon Room at the Rio under the shining lights at my first ever WSOP final table. We went to the final table 7 handed (ironically in a 6max event) and we were each introduced by a friendly tournament director. Some of my friends were able to watch the coverage streaming on WSOP's website this year and that was also really cool. I came in pretty short to the final table and never could really get anything going. Finally after the worst player at the table opened, I jammed AQ for 20bb only to be shown AA and watch the dream of winning a bracelet fade away with a 5th place finish for 121k. For those of you who don't play poker, I'm sure you don't feel bad for me. You'll point out that I made a lot of money and that's true but to anyone whos ever been deep in a tournament, especially on such a large stage, anything less than 1st place is absolutely devastating.

I remember right after it happened joking with Nick and Rash on the phone about how dumb poker can be. I had just won six figures and all 3 of us wanted to jump off a bridge from depression. Tournament poker is a crazy, crazy game. Hundreds of thousands of dollars can all be decided over the flip of a coin, the bad luck of the deck, or one small marginal mistake. The only consolation I had (besides the money of course) was that I felt I had played my best the entire event. When viewing poker in the long run, thats all you can hope for.

After this score, I became a bit complacent. I made a new schedule but skipped many of the events. I was really enjoying grinding 5/10 live at the Venetian and making my own schedule. Plus, I would be lying if I didn't admit to paying hefty sums in Rhino Tax and other club/partying adventures. But hey, I'm young, I'm dumb, and I truly had something to celebrate. With my biggest poker score yet behind me, it was time to focus on a new opportunity; the chance to play in the World Series of Poker 10k Main Event for the first time I was eligeble.

I had decided to play and registered for Day 1c; the 3rd starting day out of 4 available choices. I made the mistake of staying out late the night before and rolling into the Rio a few hours past the start. No harm done though, I started chipping up quickly and aggressively. I was fortunate enough to have built a decent stack before running KK into the AA of Steve Gross (gboro), a well respected online tournament pro. I bounced back and finished day 1 with almost double my starting stack. From there, it was off to the races. I quickly cruised up the leaderboard finishing higher and higher every day. Finally at the end of Day 4 I found myself 9th in chips going into the 5th day of such a massive event, deep in the money.

It was surreal. Never had I dreamed of having this good of a chance of winning the main event on my very first try. I had a chance at the youngest player to ever win record too and with a final table already under my belt, a chance at becoming well known. My friends tease me constantly that I care more about my reputation than any of the money in poker and though it's a gross exaggeration, they have a point. I do care about building myself up and someday being known for being great at poker. I'm super passionate about the game and think about it and ways to improve almost constantly. There aren't many people as obsessed with their job as I am.

Unfortunately, my main event came to a screeching hault when I made a questionable iso with TT over a short stack's shove only to run into David Bach's aces. Unfortunately, this is the only hand ESPN decided was worthy of their world series coverage so I'm sure I'll be forced to watch it over and over again for the rest of the year. Also, they butchered my name, but thats another story for another day. It was half way through Day 5, and all of a sudden I found myself out of the main event and devastated. In fear of sounding like a complete and total bitch, I wanted to cry. It was horrifying. I was sitting there in the lobby of the convention center at the Rio staring at the four dedicated railers I had the whole event dumbfounded. There truly were no words for what had just happened. Especially when it was a marginal shove that will haunt me for several years to come. Time heals all wounds though and I'm already pretty much over it. As my Dad has always wisely said "this too shall pass" and he's right.

It was time to take a break from Vegas. I had given it a hell of a run but it was time to return to my regular life. Well, sort of. While I was in Vegas, Nick had subleased an apartment in downtown Toronto and taken off to Canada to continue his grind. I was pretty excited about joining him in Canada and getting back to my life of grinding online poker. I hopped on a plane within a week of visiting my family and friends and home and was off to start a new life. We were only planning on staying in Canada for a month and a half more and then re-evaluating our location. I'd be lying to you if I said that Canada was a complete blast. We both grinded so hard all day that we really forgot to enjoy the city. I hope to go back sometime when I have more free time to troll around the city and ball out a bit, but at the time, working hard and maximizing our time out of the US seemed to be the priority.

When Nick finally reached supernova elite (on the last day of our lease) his family came to help him move out and begin the long journey home. With WCOOP just beginning, I needed to stay somewhere out of the US for the rest of the month. I had already finished 10th in the High Roller event (puke) and I was hungry for more. When I realized that all of the hotels had been booked in Toronto for the film festival and leasing a place for 2 weeks was going to cost me over 1100 per week, I decided it was time for a change. I had been speaking some with a nice lady from Pocket5s named Kristin who had been living in Costa Rica for several years. She's been working with P5s to create a program called Poker Refugees, helping US based poker players find their way to new countries to continue playing online. I asked her if she could find me a place on super short notice and she said yes. I booked my flight and the next day I was off to a new country I had never seen before. This isn't intended to be some type of long drawn out advertisement for Poker Refugees so I'll keep it brief: I don't think I could have come to Costa Rica and gotten set up as fast as I did without Kristin. She was extremely helpful in finding me a place, getting my cell phone, and meeting people here to aid with all my needs.

I arrived in Costa Rica on Sept 12th at night and checked into my hotel. I met up with Kristin and fellow poker pro Matt Stout who had also moved to Costa Rica for the WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker). We talked a bit about the flight and Costa Rica as a country but I was way too tired. I practically sleep walked to my hotel room and passed out for what felt like days. When I woke up the next morning, I moved into my new apartment for the next two weeks and let the WCOOP grinding begin. The weather here is amazing (70-80 degrees all day everyday) even now during 'rainy' season. It only seems to rain for an hour or two a day though so it doesn't bother me. I wish I could enjoy my surroundings more but I haven't let myself forget that I'm here to play poker. I'm planning on coming back to Costa Rica half way through October after a brief trip the states so I'll have more time to enjoy it then.

Unfortunately this series hasn't gone particularly well for me yet besides the High Roller so hopefully the break through will happen in the $5200 Main Event this sunday. I am really excited about playing it because it is the first year I've been properly rolled to take such a shot. Also not to brag too much, but I did finally win 2 Main Event Seats today so things are looking up.

I can't tell you how much I miss hanging out with all the boys in NC and I hope that you're all doing well. I can't wait to come home and visit but you should all do the same in October-Dec. Costa Rica truly is an amazing country. This has already dragged on for way too long so I'll pause here but I'm sure I'll have more word vomit at a later date.

Till then, do it to it.

Love,
MAZ-IN (NOT MAZE-IN)

Dream

2011-05-15T17:53:00.000-04:00

Thought you guys might get a kick of the dream i had last night.

i had the funniest dream last night

i know you wont think this is true but i promise it is

i was playing at the final table at some wsop event at the rio

and there were like 8 players left

and i was chip lead and some other dude was really close to me

but like everyone had chips

5:42 PM

except me and the other guy

fastasfire: Lol here we go

me: we had candy bars are as our chips

and we could get as many as we want

fastasfire: come on man

me: so its like we couldnt ever bust

fastasfire: I'm in tears over here

me: i swear that is 100% true

5:42 PM

fastasfire: Haha omg

Hahaha that's the most cn thing I've ever heard

me: and we played a pot together and we were betting candy bars

fastasfire: I assume you had tons if recese

me: nah

couldnt tell what kind of candy bars i had

fastasfire: I want to believe you

me: all of the bars had like red

5:42 PM

white blue stripes

fastasfire: I do so bad

me: i promise

this is 0 exaggeration

fastasfire: But this in unreal even for you

me: we played a pot together

fastasfire: Even for the cn dream

me: and i remember the hand so vividly

this is where it gets crazy

5:43 PM

and i can understand how you wont believe this part

but i promise its true

it folds to me bvb against candy bar man

and i have AJ

i ask him how many chips he has and he has 30blinds and we both bust out laughing

so i 3x

i dont remember the amount i just remember that i 3xed

5:43 PM

he called

oh i had AJhh btw

the flop comes A87r

but the ace of hearts was on the board

and i remember thinking this is some weird shit

so i bet

fastasfire: lol

me: and idk what the blinds were but i remember like not being able to tell how much was

5:44 PM

in the pot so i just said 17k

fastasfire: You always make 5 of a kind and shit like that in

5:44 PM

me: and there was like 15k in the pot

but i didnt know that until after i bet

so he was like damn thats a big bet

fastasfire: How many candy bars is 17k

me: and we both started busting out laughing

i dont remember exactly

i just distinctly remember

5:44 PM

sliding candy bars into the middle of the pot

and we had no chips just mountains of candy bars

but he calls

and the turn is the jack of hearts

so im like what the hell is going on here

and i remember just trying to figure out how much to bet

but like i couldnt figure out how much he had cause he just had

5:45 PM

his huge thing of candy bars

and then i woke up

fastasfire: Seriously

wtf

me: idk

fastasfire: Is wrong with you

me: i swear

not one piece of cn exaggeration

NFL DRAFT

2011-04-27T13:32:00.000-04:00

Countdown to the NFL Draft

As the NFL draft approaches and the anticipation balloons, we are all still asking many questions with very few answers. What will Carolina do with the #1 pick? Where will Cam Newton land? Who will be this year’s Aaron Rodgers or Brady Quinn? I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I’m going to try and come up with my best hypothesis for the direction of this year’s draft, as well as try and answer the questions that are lingering in the minds of all die-hard NFL fans.

Let’s take it from the top and get in the heads of the Panthers owners, coaches, and GM. We have all heard the Panthers may take any one of the following players: Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, or Marcell Darius. As a Carolina fan, I’m torn between the options. Is it better to bring excitement and sell tickets ala Cam Newton? Should we get the second round QB selection, Jimmy Clausen, some help with A.J. Green? Should we take the most NFL ready QB in the draft and take Blaine Gabbert? Or should we go defense and let Ron Rivera draft a piece that will have an instant impact on that side of the ball? It’s not an easy question, and on top of that you have all the debate on player values. Do you go for the consensus #1 player, Patrick Peterson? Or do you draft the player with the most upside, Cam Newton? These are all legitimate questions and it’s hard to decipher what is ultimately more important, but I’m going to take a shot. I’m going to go ahead and rule out Blaine Gabbert, mainly because I don’t think he’s that much more talented than Jimmy Clausen and at the very least Jimmy has a year of experience under his belt and has worked with fellow rookies Brandon LaFell and David Gettis. The next player I’m going to eliminate is A.J. Green. I understand he’s supremely talented, but 1. Carolina drafted two WR’s who showed promise last year. 2. They still have Steve Smith. 3. If you are going to take a player on the outside, then it has to be Peterson because he’s widely considered the BEST player in this draft. Speaking of Peterson, he is the next person on the chopping block and here is my reasoning. Ron Rivera is ultimately (if not this year) going to switch to a 3-4 defense and Carolina simply doesn’t have the personnel for that brand of defense. Furthermore, the center piece of a 3-4 defense has always been the Nose Tackle. Darius, with all the skills in the world and a 320 lb frame, would be perfect. Maybe I’m old school, but I’ve always thought it’s more important to stop the run first, and Darius will be able to eat up enough space to allow Jon Beason and company to run free. This should immediately help the panthers stop the run, and not to mention the fact that Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall are infinitely better at CB than Nick Hayden and Derek Landri are at DT; DT is a much bigger need. Now we are down to two, Cam Newton and Marcell Darius. I’m so torn between these picks that I can’t put it into words, but I’m leaning towards Newton for a few reasons. The first reason is because I simply don’t think Jimmy Clausen can get the job done. I watched every Panther game last year and Clausen just flat out missed some throws that an NFL QB must make. Furthermore, Newton, if nothing else, will sell tickets and get people in Carolina excited about their team again. We have to remember this is a business, and at least short term it will put money in the owner’s pockets. Also, the QB position has a much greater impact on the game than any other position on the field and if you can draft a QB with this type of talent then you almost have to. Plus, Jimmy Clausen and Cam Newton can push each other for the starting job, which ultimately should lead to them both working harder and playing better. Darius, on the other hand is perfect for our scheme and for a 3-4 defense. He also has all the tools and is a safer pick. Not to mention, we’ve all seen what a great DT can do for a team (N. Suh). But, ultimately, you have to go with the QB in this spot. I’m sure the lions are thrilled with Suh, but how happy are the Rams that they chose Bradford? Exactly. Therefore, the choice must be Cam Newton.

So now that we have the first pick out of the way, we should take a look at the remaining top 10 choices. At #2 I think the clear choice for the Broncos is Von Miller. I’ve heard all these comparisons to Clay Matthews, and that’s more than good enough for me. Denver needs a play maker on that side of the ball and Miller, who is the best pass rusher in this year’s class, will provide exactly that. Moving on to Buffalo, the Bills must take Marcell Darius. I know everyone thinks they need a QB, but QB is not the problem. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a more than serviceable player in the NFL and the passing game was just fine with him at the helm last season. Where do the Bills struggle the most? Versus the run. The Bills ranked dead last in the NFL against the run, giving up a league high 2714 yards and a whopping 4.8 yards per carry. Darius can come in and have an immediate impact on the defensive side of the ball and can help them improve dramatically against the run. At number 4 the Bengals have a few options, but I think the clear choice is Blaine Gabbert. Management should face facts and realize Carson Palmer will not be back in a Bengals uniform ever again. I don’t know if they don’t believe him or if they are in denial, but it seems to me the man means business. Gabbert could be the answer at QB and will allow the team to begin the rebuilding process and possibly move Palmer for more draft choices. At five the Cardinals have an easy choice with CB Patrick Peterson. CB is a need and he is also the best player remaining on the board; seems like a simple decision. Moving on, the Browns have a few needs: WR, DE, and DT among them. For me, the choice has to be A.J. Green. He is the best player on the board and he will also give Colt McCoy a viable option at WR, not to mention he will finally give the Browns the playmaker they have been longing for. At seven, the 49ers aren’t going to get either Gabbert or Peterson, so they should go with the next best option in CB Prince Amukamara. He is a talented kid with good speed and good ball skills. He has also been playing CB for only a few years so he will only get better. At the number eight pick we have the Titans, and what better fit for them than Nick Fairley. He has great feet, quickness, and hands. His game changing skills can immediately help the Titans in the middle. Also, if anyone knows how to deal with a DT with character issues it’s the Tennessee Titans (see Albert Haynesworth). Next, the Cowboys should select Tryon Smith from USC. Quite simply put, he is the best OT in the draft and OT is one of the Cowboys biggest needs. Finally, rounding out the top 10 are the Washington Redskins. Most people believe they should choose Julio Jones, and while I think this choice would be fine, I still believe Robert Quinn is a better choice. Imagine the possibilities when you put him on the other side of Brian Orakpo. He could potentially give Washington the best pass rush in the NFL, and that could do wonders for this struggling franchise. I’ll take a great pass rusher over a great WR any day.

Regardless of the direction the draft takes, and regardless of who is chosen where, one thing is for certain…this will be a draft for the ages. So much uncertainty and speculation creates for great drama. I, for one, cannot wait for tomorrow night and will not miss one second of this historic draft, not only because my favorite team has the first selection, but because it will make for great entertainment. Hope you all get the player you covet and happy drafting.

Zack

Job Caldwell

2011-04-22T17:36:00.002-04:00

Now that poker is out for me I am pursuing other options. I've had a few interviews over the last week and they have all gone pretty well. They've also helped me realize what I'm looking for in a career. I've always struggled with the idea of working for "the man" because everyone who I know seems to dislike their job. And by dislike I mean they either hate their boss, their coworkers, the nature of their work, or their pay. I have always wanted to freedom to make my own decision and make money based on how hard I work, not by how long I've been at a particular job. Although, I suppose a stable, reliable job that will kick start my life financially doesn't sound all that bad. I still one day would like to own my own business and be independent of all the politics and frustrations that the job environment creates. My ultimate goal is to become a financial analyst, even though my degree is in accounting. What most people don't realize is that the two have a great deal in common and I think my skill set is much more geared towards the analytical nature of finance. My friend Josh is also helping me out and trying to get me a job at RBC bank. I think this could be a great opportunity because it pays fairly well and it also will help me get my foot in the door and allow me to advance up the ranks. I'm very thankful for him, and my other friends, who are always doing what they can to help me out and they have my best interests in mind. Having said all that, I'm excited about my horizons and the prospect of being employed again. Hope things work out like I'm intending, and here's to new beginnings.

God bless

The day they took it all away

2011-04-20T03:46:00.001-04:00

Disclaimer: I never claimed to be anything close to Hunter S. Thompson in the first place, but this blog will be especially jumbled. Hope you enjoy anyway.

If you follow this blog you probably already know what has happened. If you don’t just read the two posts below mine.

I guess I’ll start by how this affects me. Barring any significant changes I will be moving to a new country very soon. When I tell people this they think I am crazy, which is understandable I guess, but everyone that plays online poker for a living completely gets it. Pokerstars has been blocked to all US residents and my account has been frozen. Pokerstars has expressed that account balances are safe, but the best/quickest way to get my account unfrozen is to move to another country and get a non-American address at a non-American bank. This will at least give me a chance to unlock the money in my account. This is very important because a huge % of my net worth is locked up in that account. Also considering I was going for Supernova elite I must at least finish out that goal to realize the equity I have earned this year. I don’t want to get into explaining why this is, but if you don’t understand just ask me some time. I basically have no idea how hard moving will be so if you have any details about immigrating to a country please let me know (nhatley@gmail.com).

Now for the sad part: Like most Americans I have been disappointed with the government and the general nature of our country in the past few years. The economy has been at an all time low since the great depression and this has had a direct effect on me. This put a bad taste a mouth. I started working hard at poker and have experienced a great deal of success this year. I was on pace to make more than I could have expected by receiving the degree I was on track, and I would be doing something I actually enjoyed. It gave me a sense of accomplishment to be doing well in a society in which most were not. These recent activities just make me feel like the government has failed me again. Maybe I’m just being overly sensitive but this is how I feel. When I walk around in public places I look at people wondering why they are not freaking out, but then I realize no one really knows anything about what is going on. Makes me realize how tiny of a blip on the radar every person really is.

Poker has taught me to have a very analytical mind so I have been spending a ton of time in the last few days just thinking about the motives of the DOJ. Usually behind any course of government action, in poker at least, there is some sort of company behind it. This indictment had nothing to do with any kind of company. This was not a move of anyone for financial gain. This was simply the DOJ proving that no one is above them and no one is outside the “law”.

On Friday the FBI shut down the domains of Pokerstars.com, FullTilt.com, and AbsolutePoker.com. No type of trial, no jury, nothing other than immediate shut down. This and the indictments forced all of the sites to cut off access to Americans and sent the millions of people who play poker for money in America into a frenzy. Wasn’t our country founded on the principle of “innocent until proven guilty”? Where in that statement lies, “ We’ll seize your domain and freeze accounts, but when you prove your innocence you can have them back.” The most upsetting part about this is that most legal minds estimate the chances of the DOJ winning this case to be low, but it could take years to finish the trial and get these pokersites back to the place they were Thursday. After reading more into how the FBI could even do this I learned that congress passed an act in 2006 that permits the FBI to seize domains, mainly the ones with unlicensed media, child pornography and other “illegal” websites. Online poker has NEVER been illegal. Anyone that tells you that is wrong. The DOJ is arguing that is illegal under The Wire Act. This has NEVER been proven in a US court. Actually it has been proven otherwise. How is this even possible? How can the FBI seize a domain and the DOJ indict under a pretense that US courts have already proven to be false? This I just cannot get past.

I’ll probably blog again in the next few days out of sheer boredom. Talk to you guys soon.

uhh guys?

2011-04-16T20:38:00.005-04:00

Make sure to read Zack's rant below.

"uhh guys?" said Rash as he pulled up PokerStars.com on the afternoon of Friday, April 15th. "What is going on with their site?" (checkout the site if you haven't seen the FBI seizure graphic). It was only 2:20 PM so I wasn't quite awake yet but I wiped the sleep out of my eyes to see one of the most troubling things I had ever seen. As Rash tried to pull up a table on stars he got a notice saying that due to government regulation our area was not allowed to play in real money games. We all immediately knew this was trouble for the near future.

Now more than 24 hours has passed since the original indictment and charges were released from the Southern District of New York. The DOJ (Department of Justice) has called for the indictment of owners/higher ups of Full Tilt, Poker Stars, the pathetic Absolute/UB, and others who coordinated the 'illegal' payment processors. All of this is a product of the 2006 UIGEA bill and the things the poker sites have done to circumvent these banking regulations against gambling.

Since the specific details and further coverage about the actual law suit are available all over the internet, I want to focus this blog on its impact to our group specifically. Since we have all played a great deal of online poker on and off for the last several years, the fact that we can no longer play comes with a huge cost. The best way to explain what has happened to us to the common person is to use college as an example. Say you complete college and go to medical school for 3 or 4 years. Upon your completion, you find out that your government no longer allows people to practice medicine in this country. Shocking right? We've all studied and played the game for several years up to this point where we were truly profitable and making enough money to seriously make us consider online poker as a profession. Now that we've reached this plateau, its seemingly all for nothing.

Although we don't know how long this law suit will last and what will come of PokerStars and Full Tilt, most reputable sources believe it could be months before we could get our money back, let alone play. Chances are that online poker will not be allowed in the United States again until it can be fully regulated by legislation passed in congress. Who knows how long that could take.

The most frustrating aspect of this poker catastrophe to me is that the rest of the world licenses and regulates online poker without any problem. It would be so simple for the United States to pass similar legislation, make tons of money through taxation, and create a safer environment for players all over the country. Thus far, they have refused to do so.

So whats next? Luckily for us, we're "students" (I use that term lightly but it's still true), we're single (obviously), and we're not stuck anywhere. The most logical choice is simply to move for the duration of the forced online poker blackout. Since the information is all so new, we don't know the extent of how this will affect us yet but if we find out it's going to be at least six months there will be a new trend on twitter from @nhatley and @msauce_, #packurbags.

I'll write again next week once we know more and have a better idea of what's to come. For now I'll leave you with my foreshadowing fortune from a PF Changs fortune cookie...

Coincidence?

Game, Set, Match

2011-04-16T20:12:00.002-04:00

As you all know, Friday April 15th at approximately 1pm poker in the United States was banned indefinitely. Pokerstars, Fulltilt, UB, and many other sites have been indicted on charges that range from money laundering to fraud. It's extremely frustrating and disheartening to have your livelihood taken from you in the blink of an eye. It's even more frustrating to have ignorant people tell you many times over that this is what people more or less "deserve" for relying on poker for a living. I can't explain the anger I feel every time I have to hear this for many reasons. 1. I'd bet my life that more people in the last 3 years have lost their day jobs than poker players have lost their jobs. 2. The economy is in shambles and yet I continuously hear "Just go get a job." If it were so easy to "Just get a job" then how come the unemployment rate is 9.2%? 3. At least when those 9.2% got laid off they were eligible for unemployement. I feel really bad for those poker players who have been playing for years and paying their taxes and giving the government "their piece" even though they weren't obligated to. Now, those same people are getting their only source of income snatched away from them with no prior notice or warning. Furthermore, the government has frozen and seized online poker bank accounts and therefore the sites cannot pay people out. It's basically the equivalent of a normal person being laid off on a random friday when they show up for work and also having their bank account frozen for an undetermined amount of time (probably anywhere from 2 months to 3 years) simultaneously. These people can't get unemployeement, and they also have to go out in the worst economy in 80 years and find a job. Awesome! It's so sad on so many levels. The US Government isn't concerned with the well-being of their citizens, or the morality of poker. They are simply worried about getting their piece of the poker pie. I guess they won't be truly happy until they tax every dollar down to nothing. This whole process has opened my eyes up to just how many things the government is probably doing every single day to millions of people that are unjust, unconstitutional, and ignorant. I wish, at the very least, people who had knowledge of the subject were the ones shutting poker sites down. I wonder how many hands of poker U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara has played in his life. I'd bet not many. He said poker sites were "tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others" to get illegal gambling money to people. It's hilarious to me that he thinks these people were "tricked." Nobody can be naive enough to believe that these people did anything they did except for the fact that they were being paid quite handsomely. My question is, why are the banks not being prosecuted? Why are the CEO and CFOs of these corporations not being charged with crimes? Why? Because the government is getting their tax dollars, and as soon as they get their hands on poker money they will leave us alone too. Oh well, I suppose I'll just got find a low paying, unfullfilling job that I'm probably over qualified for until I can go back to doing something I love. Funny to me that people can't do what they love because others are too greedy and ignorant. And please, please don't try and make the argument that the Government is "helping" people or that this is a morality issue. Let us not forget about prohibition. If alcohol, which kills countless people and ruins countless lives per year, is legal in the US then poker definitely should be also. And don't get me wrong, it will be legal again....as soon as the Government regulates it in a way that benefits them and nobody else. The only solace I take in this is knowing that everything happens for a reason and that things always tend for work out for the best so I'm just putting my faith in God and letting him guide me through this. Good luck to the rest of you and I hope this maddness can be figure out in a timely fashion. God Bless

Welcome to the Good Life

2011-04-13T01:50:00.003-04:00

Today I had a revelation of sorts. I was just hanging out and I read an email my Dad sent me yesterday and it really touched me and put things into perspective. The jist of the email was telling me how much he loves my brother, my sister, and myself and about things we did when we were younger that showed him what type of character we had. It was honestly one of the coolest, my sincere, and meaningful things I've ever received in my life and it came at a great time. Over the last month or so poker has been very so/so. I've made a few peanuts here and there, but for the most part I've run very very poorly and it's been getting to me. I suppose every man reaches his breaking point and although I fully admit mine comes sooner than most, it's still very frustrating. But anyways, my point is that I realized I've been fully focusing all my energy and attention into the negative things associated with poker the last month and have forgotten to concentrate on all the positive things in my life like my relationship with my family, my fiance', and God. It's kind of scary for me to thing of how good I have it and I think I often take for granted how amazing my life really is. I have everything in the world to be grateful for and have been blessed beyond measure and still I find ways to complain. When I put it that way it makes me feel pretty lousy. I vow, though, that I will try and be more positive and above all focus on the things that are really important. Poker is weird because it's so easy for it to consume you. Don't get me wrong, there are alot of great things poker brings to the table, but I often choose to focus on the bad things and I believe there in lies the problem. I'm going to continue to play, but I'm going to treat it more like a job and try and seperate it completely from the rest of my life. One thing I've been doing that has helped a bit when I play is to look at everything as an investment and try to ignore the outcome. I ask myself if I made a positive investment (aka the correct decision) and if I did then I just try and leave it at that. Win/Lose/Draw and it shouldn't matter because it's all out of my hands at that point. I guess one thing that bothers me alot is a feeling of helplessness and that's the essence of poker. I know one thing for certain, if I don't get my head right and control my emotions then I won't last long doing this.

One another note, I finally gave in and made a twitter account. You can follow me @ZackCaldwell. I think twitter is cool but I feel like a bit of a creep following all of these random people who I have never met. Either way, I try and tweet often about what's going on in any given day or in my life in general. But anyways, gotta run...going to watch Poker After Dark. They have a great line up this week and they are playing my favorite game (PLO). WOOOOHOOO!

Zack

2011-02-21T04:21:00.005-05:00

The best feeling sessions in poker IMO.

http://s1115.photobucket.com/albums/k547/nhatley11/?action=view&current=evengraph.jpg

Update

2011-01-15T06:40:00.002-05:00

Yo, just thought I would check in. I can't sleep and when I can't sleep I lay in bed and think about random stuff, mostly poker, and it motivates me to write it down.

Lately I have not been playing 6max NL. You might say oh you must be playing HUNL then? Wrong. Oh ok then your playing 6max PLO? Wrong again. Then you would say you went back to your degenerate route playing HUPLO? Sadly, no. Mtts? Superturbos? Double or Nothings? You would probably go through almost every variant of poker before you forced to me to answer. That answer is sadly Full Ring No Limit Hold Em. I realize that I have spent countless hours bashing Rash about playing Full Ring but I just couldn't handle the 6max grind anymore. Full Ring is very different than 6max and its just something to be said for playing a different game and getting away from the usual grind while still putting hands in. I imagine I will be back at 6max relatively soon, but something different than 6max is in my best interest for a while.

I've been on a little downswing lately and for the first and hopefully only time of my career been forced to deal with running a significant amount below all in expectation. This in turn has caused me to question my game and I just do not feel like I am playing all that well in the 6max lineups on Stars right now. A good reg told me once that it was something to be proud of to break even while 20 tabling 200NL. After my experience at 100NL I laughed at him, thinking that the terrible regs would breakeven just as they did at 100NL. 200NL is so much different. Its just difficult to beat the games when you are not playing your best, and I just have not been doing that lately. FR seems to be going ok in the very small sample size I have so far so I guess we'll see how it goes.

Tomorrow, or today I guess, we are going to celebrate StandardBull.com's very own Zack "CZ", "Mr. Jones", "Club Slinging", "Insert any word you can think of" Caldwell's birthday in sweet ole Kernersville. I'm sure we're in store for a night of buffoonery that will remind of us the Estate days of old.

Keep fighting the good fight,

Nick

Tilted

2010-12-27T15:15:00.004-05:00

If this keeps up, Rash will be back in the micros before day's end...

Boredom Kills

2010-12-27T14:34:00.002-05:00

Being home for the holidays is certainly nice. My dad's lame jokes, mom's overreactions, and my sister's delusional rambles all keep me entertained for a few days. There is something about family that is truly irreplaceable. With that being said, after a few days it gets really boring. Not that I'm bored of their company per say, but more that I'm bored of sitting at home with nothing interesting to fill my day. I know some of you are thinking "yeah mazin, but you never do anything no matter where you are" and you're probably right, but being around friends (the 1 or 2 that I have) and grinding online is usually enough entertainment for me.

At home, there's nothing. Not much grinding to be done on my tiny laptop, no friends close by, and not enough alcohol to make the day pass. I have had a couple crutches in dealing with this boredom though. My new iPad for one (yes, I know, I'm a sellout) and movies on demand for the second. Who knew you could spend twenty bucks on movies in just a few days without leaving the couch? Especially someone who already has a netflix account. But as time wears on I can't help but see the glimmering light at the end of the tunnel, Vegas! It's the only thing getting me through the boredom right now. The idea that in less than four days, I'll be grinding 2/5 and (hopefully) 5/10 at the venetian and preparing for a wild new years eve. There really is something about that city; the people in charge of marketing are geniuses.

In poker news, I'd be lying if I didn't say that the StandardBull crew has had some really close moments over the last few months. I've had some really deep warmup/million runs that led to pennies on the dollar, Nick took down an 11 rebuy, Zack finished 10th (disgusting) in the two-day mini FTOPS, and Rash has MADE IT OUT OF THE MICROS. We've had some of those "dare to be great" or "life changing" moments that have come up short. But hey, that's why tournament suck right?

Aside from this, not much has changed. The canes still continue their suck-streak, my dad is still running around the house telling me about how "good" the food my mom is cooking is, my mom continues to challenge me to debates, and my sister has run back to her home far far away. Now if only I could get the 10 minutes back from my life to write this and you could take the 2 minutes back to read.

Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year to all 3 you,
Mazin

A Mis-Guided Focus

2010-12-11T18:23:00.004-05:00

Hello, fellow degenerates! I am pleased to make my return to the StandardBull forum with a bit of a rant and rave.

As the 111th United States Congress nears the end of its lame duck session, advocacy groups on both sides of "Harrah" Reid's online poker bill are beginning to amp up their lobbying efforts in an attempt to secure an outcome that reflects the interests of those they represent. The poker community has afforded much attention to the proponents of Reid's bill (i.e. the PPA, current online poker clienteles, and land-based casinos) who, although varied in their degree of support, have all thrown their considerable weight behind this legislation. What people have not been talking about, however, are organizations like Focus on the Family, who have launched a massive onslaught of opposition to Reid's bill. Conservative groups like Focus on the Family are a powerful lobby in the United States, and represent a real threat to the future legitimization of the online poker industry.

The following is a link to a recent Focus on the Family "action alert" which urges its members to oppose any attempt by Congress to decriminalize internet gambling:

http://capwiz.com/fof/issues/alert/?alertid=20511676

Another interesting article by a Focus on the Family blogger:

http://www.citizenlink.com/2010/12/reid-pushing-lame-bill-through-lame-duck/

Focus on the Family contends that the legalization of internet "gambling" (they refuse to acknowledge that poker is not equatable with other forms of casino gambling) will result in the destruction of thousands of families and lives. This organization has long represented conservative Christians, who believe that any gambling, including poker, is inherently immoral and represents an evil of society that should be completely eradicated. Additionally, Focus on the Family, in the past three years, has taken an increasingly radical stance against poker - arguing, for example, that televised poker should be banned in the United States. They contend, again erroneously, that televised poker contributes to the development of uncontrollable gambling addictions. Their position is one of no-compromise, and one that refuses to listen to the contentions of those who oppose their stance against the game of poker.

For the sake of the purpose of this post, I will refrain from indulging the ignorance of this position with a critique of the reasoning that comprises its foundation. It will suffice to say that groups like Focus on the Family, who pride themselves as organizations committed to advancing liberty and freedom, find themselves hard-pressed to defend a policy that indulges the federal government's appetite to limit our personal liberties. Admittedly, my opinions represent a considerable libertarian bias, but I think I stand amongst the majority when I argue for the inherent rights of individuals to pursue whatever endeavor that they deem to be conducive to their own happiness - so long as that pursuit does not represent a threat to the well-being or happiness of others in a given society.

It is upon this principle that Focus on the Family defends their increasingly unpopular position against gambling. Their contention that poker is a societal evil, however, is flawed in that it based on the assumption that poker, in its inherent form, is dangerous. While it is undeniable that many a life and family have met their demise at the hands of gambling addiction, that in-and-of-itself is not a sufficient reason to argue for its criminalization. There will always be citizens in a free society who choose utilize their personal liberties in an un-wise manner. The faults of a few, however, should not limit the freedom the of the vast majority.

It is unfortunate that, in this debate, the opponents of internet poker have been able to fly under the radar. The opposition's arguments are both invalid and hypocritical, and represent a lack of logical dialogue in our modern-day debates about morality.

I urge the 3 or 4 people who actually read this to take a pro-active stance against Focus on the Family's opposition to the game of poker. Only when the ignorance of this opposition is open to public critique can we begin to weaken the lobbying interests that threaten the imminent legitimization of poker as a profession.

Thanks for reading my jumbled thoughts. Comments are welcome.

JRash

Reid Bill Drama and the "Status-Quo" of Online Poker

2010-12-09T03:18:00.004-05:00

Unless you've been under a rock the last few days, or you're just not an online poker player, you are well aware of the Harry Reid bill being tossed around the senate.

Nick "2plus2" Hatley did a good job summarizing the bill and the pros/cons in his earlier post so check that out two down for cliffs (or the ones on 2p2 here).

The short version is the bill will give a big edge to the land-based Vegas casinos and "blackout" online poker in the US for 15 months + additional time for stars/ftp + additional time till we are able to play with the international player pool again. Basically, in the short term, scary, scary stuff.

But what's more scary really? The fact that the game we all have held on to as our only source of income for a few years seems to be dying? Or the fear of losing online poker as we know it permanently with a chance for softer games on different sites later on? That question has to be answered for each person individually.

Personally, I've been torn over the last few days figuring out which side I really support. In a selfish way, I care a lot more about poker in the next few years than I care about the state of the game ten years down the road. However for the game I'm really passionate about, I fear what the DOJ is capable of doing in the next few years as far as prosecuting and closing down payment processors to a point where we can't withdraw from sites. It's all pretty horrifying in general that our government is trying to control this industry purely for monetary purposes. Anyone who thinks the government is trying to chase after gambling morality with the UIGEA is clueless. It's a billion dollar industry and one that Vegas casinos want a big piece of.

So where do we go from here? That's the real purpose of my post and I guess the answer is unknown at this time. We have no real timeline on when a final decision will be made about this bill (though people speculate it will be in the next 48 hours) and until then, we don't really know our future. It's pretty scary that thousands of hard working (well, sort of) Americans could lose their job at the flick of a switch by Harrah & MGM lobbyists and the senator they support. The best we can do right now is wait and hope, although I'm not even sure what we're hoping for at this point. Both outcomes have big downsides and the only real solution is to leave the country. This has become a really confusing ramble but the stress of all of this has me flustered.

In other life news I am heading to Vegas for New Years to meet up with the Finnster himself for a night of ecstasy at the Playboy Club. I suppose we will always have Vegas and hell, thats not so bad.

Enough is Enough

2010-12-08T01:19:00.002-05:00

The world is a funny place sometimes and I often times question why things are the way they are. The topic I'm about to discuss is something that I've given alot of thought and I think with a little insight into my world and my thoughts alot of you will understand why I'm so upset about this. As most of you have probably read Nick's post below, I want to take a dive into the infamous world of online gambling.

To begin, I want to first say that 99% of you don't know enough about the subject to have an educated and well informed opinion, and the 1% of you who do are most likely going to agree with everything I'm about to say. However, I want to make it clear I'm in no way trying to make anyone agree with me, I would just enjoy seeing uninformed people to take a step outside the box and take a look at what online gaming is from another perspective.

As a poker player I have had numerous people tell me I must get a real job and that I must conform to society as they and the rest of their family and peers have. In response to that I would just like to say that I don't tell anyone else how to live their live, what career choices they should make, or give them any other insight into how they should live their lives....so I think it's only fair they not try and pidgeonhold me. Furthermore, everyone deserves to pursue something that makes them happy and do something they love. I know most of you can't possibly understand how people can have a "talent" for poker or for other forms of gambling, but it does exist and it exists on a high level. I, along with alot of my other friends, use our God-given talents and pursue these types of endeavors because we are successful and they suit our personalities. Most of you would be shocked at how intelligent and well spoken alot of people who play poker are, and that's because it's an intellectual game, much like chess. You have to out think, out guess, out smart, and out study your opponents to be successful.

Another thing I'm extremely upset about is the fact that poker is viewed with such a negative connotation and how it has always carried quite an unflattering stereotype. Poker is everywhere now. It's not just in casinos, but rather it is on your television, in your homes, and on your computers. It's so mainstream and there are people of all ages, races, genders, and social backgrounds who partake. Poker is no longer only in the back rooms of our local bars, where it's 9 armed texans who are literally playing for their lives. Poker has so many recreational purposes and can serve as entertainment much like a movie, golf, or a night out on the town would. Everyone is under some weird dillusion that if you play poker you are a bad person or you are an addict, and that could not be further from the truth. To be honest, alot of people who play poker, especially for alot of money or at a high level, are some of the most trustworth people I've ever met, and I believe that alot of that stems from the fact that people who play poker for a living must have a certain disregard for money and so they are not emotionally swayed by financial decisions and problems. I would rather lend a large some of money to a poker player who plays at a high level whom I have never met, than a good friend who I have known for years who works a 9-5 job. It's just such a different dynamic that if you aren't apart of it you can't really understand it. Furthermore, the notion that everyone, or almost everyone, who plays poker is an addict is one of the most idiotic notions I've ever heard. That's like saying everyone that eats is fat, or everyone that has a drink is an alcoholic, or everyone who doesn't go to college is ignorant, or for that matter, people who do go to college aren't ignorant. Just people people act in a certain manner or chose a path off the beaten trail doesn't mean they are obsessed, addicted, wrong, dumb, sinful, or any of the other million issues people unfairly associate them with.

Think about poker players in this light...
Poker players make educated and informed decisions based on analysis of various situations and data they retreive from other players, their opponents tendencies, as well as mathematical probabilities. What poker players do and what people do on Wallstreet is absolutely no different. In fact, I believe poker is 100 times more skillful than investing in the market because the market is closed to insider information, while there is far more information to be gathered in poker to make decisions. It's evident that people don't have much of an edge in the market, the reason they win is simply because the market over the course of history has beared a 10 percent ROI. Any idiot can pick 50 random stocks, invest $50,000 and make money in the long run. Not everyone can put 50k down and win playing poker because it's a skill game. The biggest different between the stock market and poker is people's perception of it. The stock market is gambling last I checked, but people just think that it's a "good investment" and that what they are "suppose to do." The truth is, it is a very good investment, but for people who are skilled at poker, poker is also a very good investment. Alot of times it's an even better investment than the market is because the average return for the market, as I've stated already is 10%, while the top online poker pros can have an ROI over the long term of nearly 100%. If you could invest your money is a risk and earn an average of 10% or 100%, which would you choose? Yeah, me too. And there may be some of you out there saying well what about the rake they take and the fees that are charged to play poker? To that I say what about the broker fees and the trading fees associated with the stock market?

Furthermore, poker is not like craps, roulette, or blackjack where you play against the house and everyone is expected to lose over the long term. In poker you play against other players and if you are more skilled you will win in the long run. The problem with most of society is they cannot or do not distinguish the difference between poker and games like blackjack and craps.

I find it ludicrous and ignorant for people to try and ban online poker. The plain and simple fact is that the government wants to tax it just like they want to tax every little thing they can get their greedy hands on. It's just not right for them to disallow online gambling and then when it goes oversees and thrives, that they then decide they want their piece of the pie. The originally banned it because they believed it to be immoral and troublesome, but as soon as it earns billions of dollars oversees they all of a sudden want to regulate it. Sounds flawed to me. People should not support these greedy and callous government officials. Also, I hate those who say that online gambling is ruining marraiges and families. Credit cards, lies, and lust also ruin marraiges and families. So I guess logically we should say nobody is permitted borrow money, communicate, or associate with the opposite sex. This would be perfect because then nothing would get ruined. I mean come on, wake up and realize that people will be people; their flaws will show and everyone has their vices and that is evident by the fact that we are all sinners. Just because a few people make poor decisions doesn't mean that the majority should be punished, otherwise nobody would be allowed to partake in any endeavours.

I'm offically done with my rant and would like to thank those of you who stuck with me and read this entire blog. It's something I'm very passionate about and I hope that I have opened some eyes to another perspective.

God Bless,

Zack

Harry Reid's Poker Regulation Bill

2010-12-06T07:10:00.003-05:00

Most of you probably do not follow the details of online poker quite as well as I do so you may not really know what is going on with this Harry Reid poker regulation bill. If you didn't know Harry Reid is senate majority leader from Nevada and is trying to pass a bill that will legalize and regulate online poker. After first hearing about this I obviously was pumped and was ready to get back to the 2004 era of 20/BB win-rates and games more fishy than the Estate circa 2007. But, after reading more into this bill I desperately hope it does not pass. This bill is basically a piece of legislation providing a monopoly of the US online poker market to Harrahs and other land based casinos in the US. This should come as no surprise seeing as Harry Reid is a senator from Nevada. Nevada land based casinos primarily those named Harrahs have contributed greatly to Reid's campaign over the years. The bill states that any site operating in the US has 30 days to stop and return all players money. It also states that there will be a 15 month blackout period of NO online poker being played in the US legally immediateley after the bill passes. The sites that were previously open to US customers can then apply for a license after this 15 month period, but sites not taking bets could apply before then and be ready for business as soon as the blackout ends. Obviously this is a HUGE advantage for companies that do not currently accept US players and will generate enormous revenue for any company that just might be ready to enter the US online poker market (Harrahs). Also the bill states that it is unlawful for any US site to allow a non American to play on that site. So say goodbye to that fish from Estonia or that reg who is terrible from Russia (Flagelattor). On the brighter side the tax implications of the bill are VERY good and lead to a lower rake policy rather than a higher one that has been experienced in other countries that have freshly regulated poker markets such as France and Italy. To be fair the only copy of the bill that has been released publicly is not current at all so hopefully it will be a very different bill that passes.

Also to be fair this bill is probably good for poker in the next 20 years or so. It will lead to a regulated industry as opposed to one now that has cheating problems and a long history of cashout debacles. Also Pokerstars and Full Tilt will most likely be allowed back in the market after the blackout period. It is very scary to think of only playing with US players though, but most speculate that probably will not last either. If this bill passes the consensus seems to be that poker will be in a much better state in 5 years but still will suffer extremely in until then. Selfishly I plead for this bill not to pass. This bill basically eliminates poker next year and will kill almost any chance of a poker career for me (sick run hot Mom and Dad). Those of you who do not know much about the bill really need to look into it as it can effect poker VERY soon.

After reading more into this process I have been left with a really bad taste of how the US government works. I mean this is an obvious example of a congressman passing a bill to hugely benefit a company that finances his campaigns and other financial ventures. Harry Reid is someone is very against online gambling. It is easy to see what his motives are though after the bill is further investigated. The strategy of passing the bill is basically to slide it on the back of the Bush tax cuts or another bill that is scheduled to be voted on soon. This was obviously how the UIGEA bill was passed and is just a very shady process. Instead of putting time into a bill and really analyzing the effects it will almost certainly go unread by most congressman just as UIGEA did. I am just disappointed with the way the government works I guess, nothing new to see here. If you want to know more you can just 2+2 legislation forum or shoot me an email or something.

Good talk

This Year in the NFL

2010-11-11T06:14:00.002-05:00

Football, over the recent years, has evolved into the most highly publicized, entertaining, and fascinating game in the world. It has so many powerful dynamics working for it that it's almost impossible for any other sport to compete. How many people watched the Colts vs. Texans game instead of Game 5 of the world series? ALOT! One of the biggest reasons people love football is that each team plays once a week and this always leaves you wanting more. It's alot more important to watch each game when there are only 16 game for each team in a year instead of 81 or 162. Each game is magnified and we hang on every play because it can change a season. This isn't the case in other sports. I don't know about everyone else, but my Sundays from 1pm-11pm at set aside for football and as soon as the clock runs down on that final game Monday night the countdown until 1pm Sunday begins. Furthermore, the Fantasy Football is sweeping the nation. It's an epedemic, and it's the coolest thing that's happened to sports to date. It gives everyone a chance to be a GM and to be the guy calling the shots and making all the important decisions. It gives you an incredible sense of power, and in addition to that it makes games like the Broncos vs. the Bills meaningful. Whether you care who wins or loses, you have to see if Kyle Orton can get those 12 points that will win you your league. What could possibly be greater? It has expanded interest in the sport so much that it is incredible. Guys who didn't know who Emmitt Smith was now know how many touchdowns Steve Johnson (the 3rd receiver in Bufflo) has. If you stop to think about it, it's mindblowing. Also, the parity of the NFL today is great. This season in particular has been extremely competetive. I love it when there are 6 teams that are 6-2 instead of having 2 teams that are undefeated. Having parity sparks so much interest and debate as to who is the best team, and it feels as though everyone has a shot to win. Anyways, enough about how great football is and onto what's happening in the NFL today.

Mid Season Awards and thoughts....

Best Team-New Orleans Saints. I know this is probably a shock to some of you. So many people think the Ravens, Steelers, Pats, and Giants are the best teams but lets not forget New Orleans is 6-3 and primed to make the playoffs again and they are still the defending champs. When is the last time a defending superbowl champ started 6-3 and got as little respect as these guys do. Plus, they beat the Steelers (who many consider to be the best) convincingly two weeks ago and they were a 24 yard chip shot away (Falcons game) from being 7-2. All this without their best RB in Pierre Thomas, and their best playmaker in Reggie Bush.

Worst Team-Carolina Panthers. As sad as it is for me to admit this, the Panthers are far and away the worst team in the NFL right now. They have the worst 3 QBs in the NFL all playing on the same team and they can't run the ball like they could in the past. The defense has been respectable, but they are always on the field and they always have to defend short fields because the offense is so pitiful. The defense, honestly, doesn't have a chance to succeed. Alot of people think the cowboys are worse, but lets be serious if they played on a neutral field the cowboys would be 4-6 points favorites. At least the cowboys have a little bit of talent.

Biggest Surprise- Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are 5-4 and playing with confidence. Tom Cable is doing a great job and their young talent is flourishing. Richard Seymour has been a difference maker and with Darren McFadden finally living up to the billing, the Raiders look like they will remain a contender in the AFC West.

Most Overrated Team- The most overrated team in the NFL is the New England Patriots and it is not even close. What is there to like about this team? They have a great coach and a great QB, yes, but when is the last time Tom Brady had a good game? Since Moss left he has completing less than 60% of his passes for a barely over 5 yards per attempt. He just got embarassed by the lowly Cleveland Browns and a rookie QB. Furthermore, they have one of the youngest and worst defenses in the NFL. They are in the bottom 5 against the pass and their run D just gave up 189 yards and 2 scores to Peyton Hillis. Oh yeah, and their feature running backs are Benjarvis Green-Ellis (and undrafted free agent a few years ago) and Danny Woodhead (who released by the Jets to start to season). Plus, Wes Welker and Brandon Tate have been invisible since Moss left. I just don't see what other people see in them.

MVP-Phillip Rivers. Name one person who has done more with less than this guy? He loses his best defensive player from a year ago in Antonio Cromatie. Their run game has been less than stellar with Ryan Matthews hurt and inconsistent. He lost his best two WRs and THE BEST TE in the NFL. And oh yeah, he threw 4 touchdowns last week to Seyi Ajrotutu and Randy McMichael!!!!! Are you kidding me? Everybody says Peyton Manning, but I don't buy it. Rivers has a higher completion percentage, 3 more TDs, and 500 more Passing Yards. And as least Peyton still has Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon to throw to....Patrick Cryaton was Phillip Rivers #1 receiever last week. I realize the Chargers are 4-5, but they are still only one game back of first place in their division and if you took Rivers off that team it's very possible they are winless.

Most Improved- Arian Foster. I don't even need to qualify this, but I will anyways. He is leading the league in Rushing and Rushing TDs. He's second in the league in yards per carry and can catch the ball out of the backfield too. He's been a beat all year, plain and simple.

Rookie of the Year- Sam Bradford. I know Suh has been a manchild could easily win this award, but in my mind Bradford could easily be the best rookie QB in the history of the NFL. There have been plently of D linemen come in and make an immediate impact, but what this guy is doing at the QB position is unprecedented. The guy is on pace for over 3300 yards, 22 TDs and 16 INTs. Peyton Manning threw 28 INTs his rookie year and won 3 games...just saying. Bradord's team has won more games this year than the last two combined and 3 of their loses were by a combined 7 points! The Rams could easily be 7-1. Plus, Bradford has done all of this while throwing to a bunch of no named receivers. He made Mark Clayton and Danny Amendola stars...imagine what he could do with an Andre Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald type WR. The guy simply commands the huddle and is a fantasic leader. He is well respected by his teammates and will be a force in this league for years to come.

Coach of the Year- Tom Cable. Is lifing a franchise that has been very poor for almost a decade and bringing back hope and confidence to Raider football. He's got his players respect and they are buying into his system. The results: 5-4 record and a legitimate shot at their first division title since 2002.

Predictions for the rest of the season:

AFC Playoff Teams: Jets win AFC East, Pittsburgh wins AFC North, Chargers win AFC West, Titans win AFC South, Colts and Ravens win Wildcard spots.

NFC Playoff Teams: Saints win NFC South, Packers win NFC North, 49ers win AFC West, Giants win NFC East, Eagles and Falcons win Wildcard spots.

AFC Champs-Pittsbugh Steelers NFC Champions- Philadelphia Eagles

Superbowl Champs-Steelers

Give Boise a Shot...

2010-11-04T10:32:00.007-04:00

Let me first begin by saying that the BCS is the biggest joke in all of sports. Here is what the BCS has taught us.

1. You can jump an undefeated team that began the season ahead of you in the polls by beating exactly 1 ranked team.

2. The SEC, no matter how down they are, is always going to get the benefit of the doubt and the system is so far skewed in their favor that it's hard to fathom.

3. An undefeated and highly rated team from a non-BCS conference will NEVER get a chance to play for the national championship game.

4. What you've done in the past means nothing, it's all about now and how you played your last game. Which by all accounts means you can squeak by and squeak by and then have one big game and all of a sudden you're #1 (ala Auburn).

Lets look at the BCS as it currently stands.

1. Oregon 2. Auburn 3. TCU 4. Boise St. 5. Utah

Now lets break it down...
Oregon, Auburn, and TCU all began the season rated behind Boise St. and yet now they are all ahead. I can't possibly understand how this is justified. Lets begin by looking at each teams key wins.

Oregon- vs #9 Stanford, @ #24 USC
Auburn- vs #12 SC, vs #12 Arkansas, vs #6 LSU
TCU- vs #24 Oregon St, vs Baylor
Boise St- #10 VT, #24 Oregon St.
Utah- vs #15 Pitt

So based on quality wins and preseason rankings, someone explain to me how and why Oregon and TCU jump Boise St.? Auburn, yes, has some impressive wins, however they were rated outside the top 20 in the preseason and all of their key wins have come at home.

If pollsters considered Boise the 3rd best team in the country preseason, then how could they get jumped by a team with the same number of quality wins (Oregon) and a team with less quality wins (TCU). Furthermore, let me point out that Boise St. BEAT TCU and BEAT Oregon last year and Boise returned 20 of 22 starters!! How on earth can these two teams suddenly be better than Boise? TCU lost by far it's best player from last season's team in DE Jerry Hughes. Let's also not get caught up in Oregon's fancy offense. Oregon's offense is the highest scoring in the nation, yes, but who's number 2? Oh yea, Boise St. And Boise St also rankings 3rd in the defense while Oregon's defense is ranked only 17th.

It's ludacris and unjust to believe that these teams deserve to jump Boise. I understand the strength of schedule argument, but I just demonstrated that the schedules thus far have not been so different. Oregons win have come against some of the worst teams in the country in Washington St., New Mexico, Portland St. They beat Tennessee (the worst team in the SEC), UCLA (one of the worst teams in the PAC 10), they also needed 7 turnovers to beat Arizona St. And lets face it, if USC wasn't USC they wouldn't have been in the top 25 when Oregon beat them either. They are almost a .500 team this year.

And don't even get me started on TCU. They have exactly 1 win against a ranked opponent, and oddly enough it was the same ranked opponent Boise beat. They beat Oregon St. by 10 and Boise beat Oregon St. by 13, just for the record. They also got beat in the bowl game last year by Boise St.!!

All Boise does is beat whoever you put in front of them, whether it's TCU, Oregon, Oklahoma, or Glenn High School, they simply win every game. I just believe they deserve a shot at a national title and it's unfair for them to be so highly rated preseason and then get jumped for no apparent reason other than people living in the moment and not looking at a team for what it really is. I think college football would be a better place if a little guy got a shot. Everyone loves an underdog story and we all root for David vs. Goliath. I know everyone considers Boise David, but with Boise's body of work I'm not sure not if they aren't Goliath...

FTOPS Event #26

2010-08-13T15:56:00.001-04:00

Full Tilt Poker Game #23057784134: FTOPS Event #26 (167293302), Table 30 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 15:54:22 ET - 2010/08/13
Seat 1: phatchoy888 (11,225)
Seat 2: RBC123123 (11,048)
Seat 3: Seldoon (9,877)
Seat 4: MarkusG (3,588)
Seat 5: GLightfoot1974 (4,502)
Seat 6: xSeXci-BeBex (1,965)
phatchoy888 posts the small blind of 80
RBC123123 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RBC123123 [Kd Kh]
Seldoon folds
MarkusG folds
GLightfoot1974 folds
xSeXci-BeBex folds
phatchoy888 raises to 400
RBC123123 has 15 seconds left to act
RBC123123 has requested TIME
RBC123123 raises to 1,100
phatchoy888 has 15 seconds left to act
phatchoy888 raises to 11,225, and is all in
RBC123123 calls 9,948, and is all in
phatchoy888 shows [Qc As]
RBC123123 shows [Kd Kh]
Uncalled bet of 177 returned to phatchoy888
*** FLOP *** [Jd 3s 3d]
*** TURN *** [Jd 3s 3d] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [Jd 3s 3d 6h] [Ah]
phatchoy888 shows two pair, Aces and Threes
RBC123123 shows two pair, Kings and Threes
phatchoy888 wins the pot (22,096) with two pair, Aces and Threes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 22,096 | Rake 0
Board: [Jd 3s 3d 6h Ah]
Seat 1: phatchoy888 (small blind) showed [Qc As] and won (22,096) with two pair, Aces and Threes
Seat 2: RBC123123 (big blind) showed [Kd Kh] and lost with two pair, Kings and Threes
Seat 3: Seldoon didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: MarkusG didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: GLightfoot1974 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: xSeXci-BeBex (button) didn't bet (folded)

You heard it here first...

2010-08-11T22:08:00.002-04:00

Greetings,

I'm going to go through my list of predictions for this coming fantasy year. You heard it here first....

1. Brett Favre plays but has a QB ratings of less than 90 and the Packers win the division.

2. Matt Moore ends the season as a top 15 fantasy QB.

3. DeSean Jackson finishes outside the top 15 fantasy receivers.

4. Michael Turner finished the season with 1300+ yard and 15+ TDs.

5. Larry Fitzgerald has fewer than 10 TDs this season and less than 1200 yards.

6. Miles Austin comes back to reality.

7. Frank Gore finally stays healthy and finishes as a top 5 fantasy RB.

8. Felix Jones doesn't live up to the hype and Marion the Barbarian is still the man in Big D.

9. Matt Ryan finally has his breakout season.

10. Chris Johnson gets hurt and plays less than 12 games.

11. The Falcons win the NFC South and the Saints miss the playoffs.

12. Darrell Revis plays this season and the jets still don't get to the AFC title game.

13. Jay Cutler returns to fantasy relevance this year with Mike Martz.

14. The redskins finish BELOW .500.

15. Matt Staford continues to struggle and isn't a top 20 QB this year.

16. Vincent Jackson doesn't play a single snap for the chargers this year.

17. DeAngelo Williams is a top 10 back this year. 1300+ yard and 10+ TDs

18. Roddy White is a top 5 WR.

19. The Pats miss the playoffs and Randy Moss has his worst year since being in Oakland.

20. Roy E. Williams cracks 1000 yard receiving.

21. Jamaal Charles is a top 10 fantasy back.

22. Thomas Jones backs his bags.

23. The chiefs finish 8-8.

24. Dwayne Bowe is a top 10 fantasy receiver.

25. Steve Slaton leads the texans RBs in fantasy points.

26. Sidney Rice is a top 10 WR...with or without Brett.

27. Darren McFadden is finally labeled as the next Reggie Bush.

28. Mario Williams leads the NFL in sacks.

29. Shonn Greene starts less then 10 games for the Jets.

30. Big Ben plays the highest quality football of his career coming off his suspension.

To be continued....

FTOPS #18

2010-08-10T18:53:00.001-04:00

Full Tilt Poker Game #22987575985: FTOPS Event #18 (167287384), Table 187 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:51:49 ET - 2010/08/10
Seat 1: mossified84 (4,830)
Seat 2: RBC123123 (2,925)
Seat 3: w00t4d0nks (3,380)
Seat 4: saxrud (4,070)
Seat 5: Ram Vaswani (1,525)
Seat 6: das_rektumous (3,210)
Seat 7: RJK1027 (6,235)
Seat 8: Jonesie20 (4,775)
Seat 9: rexamillion (2,395)
mossified84 antes 25
RBC123123 antes 25
w00t4d0nks antes 25
saxrud antes 25
Ram Vaswani antes 25
das_rektumous antes 25
RJK1027 antes 25
Jonesie20 antes 25
rexamillion antes 25
RJK1027 posts the small blind of 120
Jonesie20 posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RBC123123 [3h 3s]
rexamillion calls 240
mossified84 folds
RBC123123 raises to 2,900, and is all in
w00t4d0nks folds
saxrud folds
Ram Vaswani folds
das_rektumous folds
RJK1027 calls 2,780
Jonesie20 has 15 seconds left to act
Jonesie20 folds
rexamillion folds
RBC123123 shows [3h 3s]
RJK1027 shows [Ks Ac]
*** FLOP *** [Qh 7s Qs]
*** TURN *** [Qh 7s Qs] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [Qh 7s Qs 5c] [Ah]
RBC123123 shows two pair, Queens and Threes
RJK1027 shows two pair, Aces and Queens
RJK1027 wins the pot (6,505) with two pair, Aces and Queens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,505 | Rake 0
Board: [Qh 7s Qs 5c Ah]
Seat 1: mossified84 folded before the Flop
Seat 2: RBC123123 showed [3h 3s] and lost with two pair, Queens and Threes
Seat 3: w00t4d0nks folded before the Flop
Seat 4: saxrud folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Ram Vaswani folded before the Flop
Seat 6: das_rektumous (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: RJK1027 (small blind) showed [Ks Ac] and won (6,505) with two pair, Aces and Queens
Seat 8: Jonesie20 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: rexamillion folded before the Flop

Fuck FTOPS #13

2010-08-08T21:03:00.002-04:00

Full Tilt Poker Game #22939648757: FTOPS Event #13 (167285964), Table 379 - 140/280 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:48:00 ET - 2010/08/08
Seat 1: -Apollo-86 (6,950)
Seat 2: vers (9,775)
Seat 3: SToTheO (8,939)
Seat 4: rrpamin (8,058), is sitting out
Seat 5: quaid the real (6,633)
Seat 6: RBC123123 (9,363)
Seat 7: dab125 (7,323)
Seat 8: Morphismus (5,615)
Seat 9: whoMikeB (5,570)
-Apollo-86 antes 25
vers antes 25
SToTheO antes 25
rrpamin antes 25
quaid the real antes 25
RBC123123 antes 25
dab125 antes 25
Morphismus antes 25
whoMikeB antes 25
whoMikeB posts the small blind of 140
-Apollo-86 posts the big blind of 280
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RBC123123 [Tc Ts]
vers folds
SToTheO folds
rrpamin folds
quaid the real folds
RBC123123 raises to 560
dab125 folds
Morphismus raises to 5,590, and is all in
whoMikeB folds
-Apollo-86 folds
RBC123123 calls 5,030
Morphismus shows [Kc As]
RBC123123 shows [Tc Ts]
*** FLOP *** [Kh Ah Kd]
rrpamin has returned
*** TURN *** [Kh Ah Kd] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [Kh Ah Kd 6c] [7s]
Morphismus shows a full house, Kings full of Aces
RBC123123 shows two pair, Kings and Tens
Morphismus wins the pot (11,825) with a full house, Kings full of Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 11,825 | Rake 0
Board: [Kh Ah Kd 6c 7s]
Seat 1: -Apollo-86 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: vers folded before the Flop
Seat 3: SToTheO folded before the Flop
Seat 4: rrpamin folded before the Flop
Seat 5: quaid the real folded before the Flop
Seat 6: RBC123123 showed [Tc Ts] and lost with two pair, Kings and Tens
Seat 7: dab125 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Morphismus (button) showed [Kc As] and won (11,825) with a full house, Kings full of Aces
Seat 9: whoMikeB (small blind) folded before the Flop

Story of my ftops thus far. Still alive in it though with 5k. Come backkkkkkkkkkkkkkk one time.

Top Ten QBs

2010-08-05T16:36:00.002-04:00

I'm going to do a little breakdown of the top ten players in the NFL at every skill position and I thought there was no better place to begin than at QB. Lets get right to it.

1. Peyton Manning- When it comes to consistency the discussion begins and ends with this guy. Based on stats alone he will certainly go down at the NFL record holder in almost every single statistical category for QBs, passing all the marks currently set by Mr. Favre. The guy has throw for at least 26 touchdowns every single year of his career and he has throw for 4000+ yards 10 of the last 11 years. A 95.0 career QB rating ranks second all time to Steve Youngs 96.8. Also name everyone in NFL history with at least 3 MVPs and a Superbowl, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. End of discussion.

2. Tom Brady- Mr. Clutch. I'm not sure if there is anyone in the NFL I'd rather have under center when the game is on the line, he just gets the job done. Brady lacks in the number department a bit, but he makes up for it in poise, leadership, and reliability. Oh yeah, and 50 TDs in one season is pretty good too. Tom Brady is the current day Joe Montana, although not quite as good as Joe in my eyes, he's the closest comparision. He has been slipping a bit as a late with a blowout loss to the Ravens last year and a superbowl loss to the Giants in 07', but if I need a last minutes drive with the game on the line I'm taking this guy.

3. Ben Roethlisberger- With the best ever QB rating for a rookie (over 98) and two superbowl rings in his first 4 years, Ben has made his mark on the NFL early in his career. He's got all the physical tools and leadership ability to put a team on his back and carry them. Last year the Steelers had no line, no running game, and no defense and he still almost lead them to the playoffs. He needs to get his act together off the field, but he still remains an elite talent on the field.

4. Drew Brees- Finally got his ring and showed that he belongs in the discussion with all the great QBs in the game. This guy just does and says all the right things. I find it very difficult to root against Brees because of his character, integrity, and work ethic. The guy was left for dead after a shoulder injury in San Diego and the Saints were the only team willing to take a chance on him, and boy did it pay off. Lead the NFL last year in QB rating at over 109 and was the undisputed physical, emotional, and mental leader of the Saints, a team who formerly had no idea how to win. Drew Brees is a guy who you just root for and he never seems to let you down.

6. Aaron Rodgers- This guy may be the most talented QB in the NFL today. He has a big arm, he's very accurate, his decision making ability is off the charts, and he can run, also. The Packers look smarter every single day by giving him a chance and letting Favre go. This guy, barring injury, will be a top 5 QB in the NFL for the next 10 years. I look for him to get his first playoff win this year and lets face it, he should have won one last year but the D gave up 51!! It's pretty hard to put up 45 points and lose a playoff game.

7. Phillip Rivers- He is the heart and soul of the chargers. The defense was in disaray last year and the running game was average at best and all Rivers did was lead them to a 13-3 record and first round bye. This guy is so close to turning the corner and with a little more help he will win at least one superbowl before his career is over. Lets also not forget how tough his is. This guy played in the AFC championship game a few years ago with a TORN ACL! He's a tough, natural born leader and he's a fierce competitor.

8. Eli Manning- The guy never gets any credit and yet continues to do his thing year in and year out. He's got the same number of rings as his brother and last year he took a group of motley receivers and threw for over 4000 yards. He's improved his decision making alot of the last few years and has proven that he can win big games. I know the giants were 8-8 last year, but lets face it, how can anyone over come a defense giving up almost 40 ppg the last 8 games of the season? There are all the doubters and haters out there but I'll take Eli on my team any day.

9. Tony Romo- Proved he can win in the regular season, now lets see if he can win in the playoffs. Tony has alot of talent and does a good job of spreading the ball and utilizing the abundant talent around him. I always question how bad he wants to win and whether or not he has the "it" factor to win a the big one, but as far as numbers and winning in the regular season you can't argue his value. IF he ever starts winning in the playoffs he could be one of the really elite players in the league.

10. Donovan McNabb- He has slipped as he has aged, but McNabb is one of the great players of the last decade. He's a 6 time pro bowler and a fantastic leader. The only thing that has always been lacking for McNabb is that ever elusive title. Now that he's in Washington and surrounded by inferior talent it saddens me to realize he may never get there, but he still had a great career and should be commended for his achievements and for the class he has always shown in the face of adversity.

GAMBLE

2010-08-05T04:08:00.001-04:00

Everyone read the post below me. I am just trying to get the gambling hotline ad to come back up.

GAMBLE GAMBLE POKER POKER BIG MONEY LOST GAMBLE CASINO BLACKJACK ROULETTE ALL MY MONEY IS GONE POKER GAMBLE ADDICTION GAMBLING ADDITION WHAT DO I DO GAMBLE POKER GAMBLE GAMBLE GAMBLE GAMBLE GAMBLE

FTOPS Babyyyyyyyyyy

2010-08-04T14:41:00.002-04:00

Before you get into this, Zack aka "CZ" aka "Wanna Get Slimed" aka "4 Pitchers" aka "Average Dick" aka "Fuck Money" Caldwell has made an elegant return to StandardBull highlighting his football picks this year. You should check it out, because just like Trey, he really has a feel for it.

Today is the first event of FTOPS action. It is a $216 full ring freezout. You start with 5k in chips and there is 750k in guaranteed prize monaaaay. I'm pretty excited to get into the FTOPS grind because I've never really played a full series before. I fully intend on winning all of the money.

Thanks to anyone dumb enough to still think I'm a winning poker player for investing in me. Let the run good begin...

Football Babyyyyy

2010-08-01T22:16:00.003-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...it is excellent to be back blogging. I know it's been a long time but with the arrival of football season and my beloved fantasy football league I felt as though I had to come with a post.

First off, I ran pretty hot to get the 2nd pick in the draft, however, I didn't keep it for long because I've been grinding the trade world hard. The first trade I did was send 19, 22, and 59 to Ryan for 5 and 45....then I traded 2 and 39 to Trey for 3 and 23. So I went from

2, 19, 22, 39, 42, and 59 to 3, 5, 23, 42, and 45

I really feel good about these trades and I think being able to get two elite running backs will be a huge advantage over field because I really don't think there are too many out there, especially in a half point per reception league. Either way, the league should be alot of fun and I really can't wait for the live draft. It's something new we're doing this year and it's gonna be a good chance for everyone to get together, hang, meet each other and have a good time.

Now I'm gonna pull a Matthew Barry and give my rundown of players and teams I love and hate this year....

LOVE:::

DeAngelo Williams- I know this may be a shock to some of you, but it's so quickly how we forget who the number one fantasy running back was two years ago. In 2008 he had over 1500 yards and 18 TDs. Last year through 10 games he had 986 yards and 7 TDs....extrapolate that over 16 games and he was on pace for 1571 yards and 11 TDs. The only thing that held him back was injuries, so if he can stay healthy he should have a big year. I hate how everyone say him and Stewart will split carries and they had the same numbers last year. The only reason Stewarts numbers got even close to DeAngelo's was because he missed the better part of 5 games, and during those games he was out or limited Stewart went nuts. In the first 10 games when Williams was healthy J-Stew had 465 yards and 6 TDs....during the last 5 games when D-Will was limited he had 589 yards and 4 TDs. Enough said.

Frank Gore- 5th rated running back last year and missed almost 3 games. If he stays healthy he has a chance to challenge for top fantasy RB this year.

Brandon Marshall- He's happy now and he has always had all world talent. He finally has a QB with a big arm again and we all see what he did with Jay Cutler 2 years ago. Yea Miami runs the ball alot, but when they decided to throw I think those 8 man fronts will give Marshall quite a bit of room to maneuver. I'll take a guaranteed 100 plus catches and 10 TDs any day.

Joseph Addai- Great guy in PPR leagues. Plays on a great offense and will always get his share of scores. Very consistent and Donald Brown did NOTHING when he had chances last year. Should be another solid and steady year for Addai.

Steve Breaston- Great hands and will get a lot of looks while teams focus on Fitzgerald.

Kevin Kolb- Ryan made a great point....kinda reminds you of Aaron Rodgers a bit doesn't he?

HATE:

Andre Johnson- Let me first say I do actually like him alot and I still think he's clearly the #1 receiver. However, it should be noted when Owen Daniels was healthy Andre averaged 5.4 cathes and 90 yard per game, but when Owen Daniels was out he averaged 7 catches and 109 yard per game.....just sayin. Plus he has a history of injuries and who knows if Matt Schaub will produce the same type of year this year that he had last year.

Larry Fitzgerald- Matt Leinart + Double Covered every play. Sounds kinda like what happened to Steve Smith. No thanks.

Jonathan Stewart- See DeAngelo Williams.

Hines Ward- No big ben for 6 games and another year older.

Vincent Jackson- Great talent, limited brain. Already out 3 games and talking about how he wants out of San Diego....I'll pass.

Steven Jackson- How many years in a row will this guy score single digit TDs and/or get hurt before people will quit wasting a top 5 pick on him. Talent-wise he clearly has it but on that offense even he can only do so much...

Anquan Boldin- Big difference in being single covered with Kurt Warner and double covered with Joe Flacco.

Tom Brady- Going to put up numbers similiar to Romo, Schaub, and Rivers and is going 2 rounds earlier.

Reggie Bush- LOL

Sleeper Teams:

NY Giants- Fell off the map the 2nd half of last year. I look for then to play more like their first half record of 6-2 this season. They have had all off season to correct the issues in the secondary and I think they have too much talent on the D-line to not be better agains the pass.

Panthers- Looked GREAT the last 3 games of the season under Matt Moore. Beat 3 quality teams in the Giants, Vikings, and Saints and if they can get off to a good start they always finish well. Great RBs and O-Line. If the D-line is even close to as good as it was last year the panthers are a playoff team. Plus as we all know, the worse people perceive them in the preseason the better they end up being...

49ers- Have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL, a very solid defense, and an offense that is finally set and ready to go. I'm interested to see what Alex Smith can do in a full year with a solid supporting cast like this one.

Tennessee-Finished 6-2 under Vince Young. Have the best running back in the NFL and fixed their defensive problems the second half of last year.

KC- Talent on both sides of the ball and they went out and got a touchdown machine and leader in Thomas Jones. Dwayne Bowe is one of the most talented receivers in the NFL if he can get his head straight and Jamaal Charles might be the next Chris Johnson.

Green Bay- They finally put it all together this year.

Overrated:

New England- Not even Belichick and Brady will be able to pull this one out. No Wes Welker, the defense from the 1992 Pro Bowl, and leading running back with fumblitis.

Saints- Superbowl hangover. Their severely overrated defense lead the NFL in turnover last year and I don't expect that to continue. They will have to win alot of games by outscoring the other team, which they can do....but it won't be a 13-3 superbowl year again.

Baltimore- Everyone's going crazy about Anquan Bolding being in town, but everyone forgets about the loses on the defensive side of the ball. Ed Reed is still the best safety in the NFL and without him the defense suffers alot. Plus, even with Boldin that offense still doesn't particularly excite me.

Washington- Not even a 6-time pro bowl QB has a chance in this offense. Plus their best player, Albert Haynesworth, doesn't even want to be there. People are high on them, but they won't be any better than a .500 team this year.

NY Jets- A second year QB who didn't show me much last year. A couple of knuckle head receivers who can't catch a cold. Got rid of not 1 but 2 high quality running backs....one of which had 1300+ yards and 14+ TDs two years in a two. And oh yeah, their best player, Darrell Reavis, is holding out. Sounds like a superbowl team to me.

I'll be back and posting regularly throughout football season and I'll probably touch on some baseball too as we get near the playoffs.

Zack

FTOPS Schedule

2010-07-29T18:26:00.001-04:00

Event #1 - $216 (August 4, 9pm)
Event #3 - $322 Shootout (August 5, 6pm)
Event #6 - $322 Super Turbo (August 6, 6pm)
Event #10 - $216 Rush (August 7, 6pm)
Event #11 - $129 KO (August 8, 2pm)
Event #13 - $322 (August 8, 6pm)
Event #18 - $216 Turbo (August 10, 6pm)
Event #21 - $216 Rush Super Turbo (August 11, 6pm)
Event #24 - $216 Cashout (August 12, 6pm)
Event #26 - $216 6max (August 13, 2pm)
Event #32 - $256 6max KO (August 15, 2pm)
FTOPS Main - $640 (August 15, 6pm)

Cool

2010-05-16T17:38:00.001-04:00

Last few days have been really fun...

April 27 Update

2010-04-27T13:34:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty convinced that Bryan is the only person who reads these but since apparently his job is worse than my writing, he insisted I post an update.

So far all is going really well with the staking arrangement. I've played 115700 hands now this month and am up ~7k and a little more including rakeback. My winrate for .50/1 is starting to come along which is great and 1/2 is just around the corner. I'm pretty excited about the month, it's always nice to play good and run good for several hands.

I played the $322 FTOPS the other day through satellites and it proved to be the most standard disappointing tournament in history. I chipped up early and kept some momentum going. I had above the average pretty much all the way to the money bubble. On the bubble I heroed someone on the turn with T8 on a 9877 board who ended up having AJo. Everyone has heard similar stories before. The river was a ten and I was crippled. I ran a decent stack back up and then jammed KJ BvB and the sb woke up with QQ. I think everything I did was pretty standard and it's too bad we didn't win that T8 hand because we really had a chance at going deep with that stack.

Anyway, today I'm going to play the FTOPS 216 Turbo but after that its back to the cash grind. I've got another 84k hands to play. I'm assuming about 50k of those will be at 1/2 so hopefully the move up will go well.

Wish me luck kids,
MDaddy

Cool. .25/50 PLO for the day.

2010-04-24T23:00:00.002-04:00

We Made It

2010-04-19T15:08:00.003-04:00

It's been a long (19 day) road but we've made it... I'll go more into details on a later day but for now all I have is the 100k hand graph. Enjoy.

Tough Session....

2010-04-16T17:42:00.002-04:00

I just had a < 400 hand session in 20 minutes where I won 5 buyins...tough session...

I haven't given you guys the full update in some time so here goes...

So far this month has been going about as good as it could be. I've played close to 89k hands now (sweet bet bryan) and I'm up a little more than 4k. 39k of these hands are at .50/1 and ~50k are at .25/.50. It feels good to have moved up and be winning (and running above EV at 50/1). The games are definitely tougher and there are some really solid thinking regs at 100nl. I've had to tone down my aggression a little bit and I'm only 3betting 5.2% as opposed to the 7.5% at .25/.50. I've also slowed down a bit on my cbetting. The good regs at 50/1 tend to raise flop a lot more with draws/air to balance and it makes betting scary boards a bad bad idea.

I'm really proud with my red line right now. For all the fish who don't know what that is, its non-showdown winnings on holdem manager. Although most say its not that important where your lines are as long as you're winning, it's definitely a good thing to have both lines up in the right direction.

Official tally thus far:
Hands: 88736
Winnings: $4170.75
EV: $3302.04 (tough life)

Enjoy!

Swing Swing Baby!

2010-04-05T18:44:00.003-04:00

Up big, down big, even and everywhere in between....that's the story on pokerstars for me right now. I'm down tons and tons playing PLO. Today I had the KKxx on the K1010 board....my man obviously had 1010. After that one I decided poker was gay and I decided I'm only going to play 6max NL until my roll is bigger. My account was up to almost 3k and now its down to 1500....it's pretty disappointing but I guess that's poker. The hardest part to deal with is how bad it makes you feel as a player...it makes you feel like you are a huge loser and have no chance to win. PLO is just too swingy to deal with right now and it's also a really tough game to win at when you're playing between 12 and 15 tables at a time. Right now I have no problem at all playing 20 tables of 6 max no limit and I've had several winning sessions in a row. In PLO I'm down almost 25 buy ins over my last 5k hands, which seems ludacris to me, but I guess it's to be expected. Right now I've almost unlocked a $650 bonus which will help alot. My ultimate goal is at least $2/4 by the end of the year an supernova elite....I guess only time will tell. I'll report back with an update in a few days.....Lets up we can ship a nice UPSWING!

Zack

April 1-5 Update

2010-04-05T17:44:00.004-04:00

As promised, here is the first update from April 1st through the 5th.

I've played 29,350 hands so far and am way ahead of 100k/month pace (I've been obsessing a little early). So far everything has been pretty great. I'm running good and playing good. I'm up $1604.65 so far and my EV is $1468.58 (tough life).

Here are some of my biggest hands so far: (tough life)

$0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com Hand History Converter

BB: $50.75
UTG: $127.80
MP: $55.90
Hero (CO): $139.45
BTN: $60.50
SB: $49.70

Pre-Flop: Ts Tc dealt to Hero (CO)
UTG raises to $1.50, MP folds, Hero calls $1.50, 3 folds

Flop: ($3.75) Td 6c 4d (2 Players)
UTG bets $2, Hero raises to $6.75, UTG raises to $16.75, Hero raises to $137.95 and is All-In, UTG calls $109.55 and is All-In

Turn: ($256.35) 5d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($256.35) Qs (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $256.35 Pot
UTG showed 6d 6s and LOST (-$127.80 NET)
Hero showed Ts Tc and WON $265 (+$137.20 NET)

=================================================

$0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $61.85
Hero (CO): $60.10
BTN: $98.25
SB: $70.15
BB: $135.35

Pre-Flop: 5s 5h dealt to Hero (CO)
Observer folds, UTG raises to $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, BTN folds, SB calls $1.25, BB folds

Flop: ($5) 7d 2d 5c (3 Players)
SB bets $5, UTG raises to $16.50, Hero raises to $58.60 and is All-In, SB raises to $68.65 and is All-In, UTG calls $43.85 and is All-In

Turn: ($184.30) 4h (3 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($184.30) 9s (3 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $184.30 Pot
UTG showed Td Ad and LOST (-$61.85 NET)
Hero showed 5s 5h and WON $177.80 (+$117.70 NET)
SB showed 4d 3d and WON $11.80 (-$49.80 NET)

=================================================

$0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com Hand History Converter

SB: $50.70
BB: $46.35
UTG: $108.40
CO: $50
Hero (BTN): $103.75

Pre-Flop: Qs Qh dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG calls $0.50, CO folds, Hero raises to $2.25, SB folds, BB calls $1.75, UTG calls $1.75

Flop: ($7) 7h Jh 4h (3 Players)
BB checks, UTG bets $7, Hero raises to $24, BB folds, UTG raises to $106.15 and is All-In, Hero calls $77.50 and is All-In

Turn: ($210) As (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($210) 4s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $210 Pot
UTG showed Jd 5d and WON $4.65 (-$99.10 NET)
Hero showed Qs Qh and WON $207 (+$103.25 NET)

=================================================

Mostly standard stuff where I've run pretty good and its played itself out. I'm running like 21/18 and 3betting 7.6% so far which seems to be optimal for this limit. I think I might be cbetting too much so I've been trying to get that fixed. I've also dropped a little over 1.2k in rake so rakeback should be nice this week.

Enjoy!

Pimpin Ain't Easy

2010-04-02T05:44:00.003-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgmbaQv3fCw

Hello world,

Check out that link if you are a hip hop fan. Not usually a huge NAS fan but it is a really good song. I'm planning on writing out a little longer post at some point. I've played a LOT of poker in the last few weeks. I feel like I'm getting really really comfortable at 6m NL. I mean I've played a lot of 6m hands in the past, but 75% of my play has been HU so I've had a few leaks that I had to fix like playing too many hands out of blinds, 3betting to much, calling to many 3bets, standard HU stuff (CR tight is right style FTW). I have a bet with Mazin booked on who can win the most money in the next 50k hands so that should be fun. Also I win a lot of $ if Tiger wins the Masters. I'm convinced I took a -EV bet, but who really cares. The guy is the best athlete this decade and I just feel like this being his first tournament he is just going to play really well. I promise I'll write out a longer posts later. Until then.

Grind on the Mind

2010-03-31T13:07:00.002-04:00

Before you read this post make sure you check out CZ's return to StandardBull below.

Ahhh, So it's been a while since I've blogged and thats mainly because my life has been really busy and hectic...Wait...thats definitely not it at all. I've had a light semester so far because I'm changing my major and in a bit of a transition phase. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I couldn't cut it in engineering, it's just that I realized I'm not interested in almost anything I'm doing in any of my classes. Lack of interest with my already less than stellar work ethic can't possibly be a good combination so I had to make a change. Although I'm not 100% sure what major I'm switching into yet I hope it'll be something I can really get into and hell maybe even enjoy.

Not too much else has really been going on in my life here in the boring Raleigh area. I find myself daydreaming about living somewhere nice all the time and keep thinking that eventually, hopefully, I'll be able to move. I think we've worn out this city enough. I've been begging the boys to go play golf (ironic since I'm by far the worst golfer of the group) but they're all too busy grinding to get out of the house. It's sad really.

I have to say though, all their grinding has gotten me a little bit motivated. For the month of April I've decided I'm going to man up and play 100k hands of 50nl 6max. It seems like too many hands for your average reader but most pro poker players play 100k a month without much of a sweat. From some basic calculations I've come up with, I'm going to have to play about 30 hours a week 12 tabling to reach this goal. It is a little bit of work but it is certainly attainable. I needed some help putting up my roll so Finn, Bryan, and a friend from online Kevin, have graciously contributed 500 each (getting 25% of profit + rb) to my account. On the side, I have also bet with Nick that my 100k hands will have a higher winrate than his 100k at the same limit, and I also have a small bet with Bryan that I will be able to play the 100k. Anybody else that would like to put up some money at even money against me playing 100k hands this month is more than welcome. I'll be posting weekly updates here to keep you fiends suckling at the teet and to keep my sanity.

Well that's all I can seem to come up with for now but for all of you who have continued to read this useless ramble for all these months, much love, respect, and apologies for wasting your time.

Yours Truly,

MSauce

Boom boom pow baby

2010-03-30T04:36:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I posted, but I figured I'd go ahead and try and resurrect this blog. Life's been pretty good since my last post. Family's still great, girlfriend's still great, and everything seems to be on the up and up. Been grinding tons online and although I've been logging long hours I feel as though I've been running badly and playing somewhat suspect. I don't think I've been playing BAD....just not as good as I could or should. I'm grinding stars and trying to get to supernova elite. If I can do it I can make a SICK amount of money in bonuses and rewards. The way I have it figured if I can somehow get there I will make about 120k in bonuses alone....however, this will also require me to move up to at least 1/2 relatively soon and since I'm only at .25/.50 right now I will have to work double time to get there. Kinda sucks too that my account is 1200 below EV since I started this whole thing...oh well. Hopefully we can start winning big and take advantage of this reward system. The system is pretty cool, and although it's back-loaded like crazy it's still really good. It's a pretty sick snowball affect. Nobody thinks it can be done and I'm trying to bet Mazin....we'll see how that goes. All this grinding has definitely taken it's toll on me...it's exhausting to play almost 12 hrs a day, but hopefully it'll be worth it in the end. In other news....I'm on a diet. And yes, I know I've said this millions of times and it normally only last 1 meal, but this time it's for real. Today is day #8 and it's been going really well. I've been eating alot of grilled chicken and special K. I took a sick beat today though...I somehow gained 2 pounds yesterday after losing 7 for the week. The weirdest part about it, though, is the fact that I only ate 1600 calories yesterday so I'm not really sure how that's possible...just water weight I guess. Anways, I weighed in at 199.2 on last Monday and I'm grinding this thing until I'm at least at 175...although ideally I'd like to get to 170. Well, I'm pretty exhausted and I have to be up in 3 hours so I'm heading to bed. Wish me luck at the tables tomorrow.

Zack

The Sunday 4?!!? Million

2010-02-21T15:34:00.004-05:00

As a continued effort to shit on any type of FullTilt guarantee, Stars has decided to make this weeks Sunday Million a guaranteed 4 million prizepool in honor of their 40 Billionth hand celebration. First place is a guaranteed mill. An hour from tournament start they've already met their guarantee of 20k players. Tough life stars. I think I'm the only person from the StandardBull crew playing (sick beat for them), but maybe we'll run good for once...

2010-01-25T01:20:00.000-05:00

"If It Wasn't for Skill....

2010-01-18T16:40:00.003-05:00

...You'd win em all" -Nick "Two Plus Two" Hatley talking to me.

A golden quote no doubt, although I'm sure it showed up first somewhere on 2p2, built from one of Hellmuth's famous rants. "If it wasn't for luck, I'd win em all" he said after busting out of another WSOP event. This remake of the quote was based off one of my standard blackjack heaters in Vegas. Obviously blackjack is much less of a skill game than poker and a game that you will always lose at over any large sample but hey, I GUESS I GOT A FEEL FOR IT.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on who you are), I don't have much else to talk about today. Enjoy your MLK day breaks and I'll write again soon.

Greetings and Hello from Las Vegas

2010-01-12T20:04:00.002-05:00

DISCLAIMER: This is a message from Mike Finn and does not necessarily represent the views/opinions of StandardBull.com.

Greetings and Hello from Las Vegas…If you’re reading this it means you really like me (thanks Mazin) or you’re really really bored (Rash). I don’t know how many guest blogs I’m gonna get on this rag of a website…so if you’re planning on finishing the whole thing…grab a Dr. Pepper, cheese balls, and strap in…because this is doozy of an update…and now without further Apu…

Before I get into what it’s like living in this city, I’d like to point out to anyone attempting the same feat…take every dollar you have…and burn it…pretty much what it takes to move across the country…stick a woman in the passenger seat and take every dollar you have…double it…and burn it…bingo. I have literally started my life over…my IRA, savings, everything is gone. This is without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do. I refuse to fail. PS, I’d like everyone to know that due to the financial constraints of a woman and new residence plus the fore mentioned “refuse to fail” attitude…my gambling has been nearly non-existent. Were it not for the (very) occasional $10 football parlay and two hour session of No Limit Texas Hold’em…I would have done more betting for dollars back in Raleigh…::sigh::

“You’re moving to Vegas Mike?? I could never do that…I’d die!” The rate of deaths to new residents in Las Vegas in inversely proportional to the intelligence of said new residents…if I have to explain that last sentence to you…I don’t recommend the road trip.

I’ve found that of the 2 million and three people who live here…one million hate it, one million love it, and three are undecided (weirdos). The people who hate it usually have zero dollars due to the 24 hour access of booze, boobs, dice, and boobs. The one million who love it make all their money off the one million who hate it…and the circle of life is complete.

Driving across the country in a Honda Accord Coupe towing a U-Haul only sounds like a barrel of monkeys. In reality it’s an epic journey requiring 18 tanks of gas and touching the speed limit only if you’re going downhill. The trip can be done in three days…but we decided to stretch it out over 3.5 days nearly missing the signing of the lease for the Vegas chapter of The Estate which would have been brutal considering the consequence was sleeping in the car for three nights…no spank you…

The house is nice as Jay, Birch, her Mom, my Mom and Dad, Trey, Laura, Mazin, Rash, and Bryan can all attest to…built in 1994 it’s a little different than what we’re used to…but after some TLC and the woman maxing out a credit card (mine) it’s quite the little dwelling. Open invite to anyone reading this…come visit…twice…

I started this residence as a transfer at the local Chili’s…literally making $34 a week. After numerous individuals explaining to me there’s no way I could get a job on the strip in Vegas without previous experience…I secured a job as a Race and Sports Book writer at Bally’s/Paris. Cool job, but after a week you’re pretty much maxed out in the “challenging” category. While continuing to get similar advice from people who “know” how this city works, “There’s no way you can get a poker job on the strip without experience.” I got hired at Mandalay Bay as a poker dealer after living here for 8 weeks. Yes it’s a brag and I’m pretty damn proud of it. Since the crux of getting hired in a poker room is you have to start at the bottom, I’ve only been getting 15-25 hours a week. The pay is great, but the lack of hours crushes the bottom line.

In an effort to supplement my income, I kept searching for another part time job. Somehow I’ve been hired by two more poker rooms (The M (www.theMresort.com) and The Venetian ß GIANT brag (www.Venetian.com)…which may spell the end of my tenure at Mandalay Bay considering my boss’ attitude on split availability has the approximate texture of stale toast. I’m doing what I can to take advantage of all this now as once dental school starts (Fall 2011?) there won’t be any time to work.

The visits of friends and family have been great. The first acquaintance from home to partake in the new chapter was Mr. Tony Rose…thanks buddy.

The most recent visit was by the Three Caballeros…better known as Jonathan “Legal in Wyoming” Rash, Msauce, and Bryan “Run Good” Robinson. This was my first opportunity to burn any liquid assets trying to dominate the city. Were it not for a run in with spearmint gum chewing jerk, literally the size of a Rhino and his two big round goons…we’d have been up on the trip…lesson learned…by the way guys…yesterday I sat in a 46 person tournament at The M and wound up chopping first and second…assuming you were all in for a cut…I owe you some flow (it means “cash” Zack)

The woman moved home to finish school…so we’ve hit the proverbial “pause” button on the relationship until she’s got the degree and I’ve had the opportunity to financially get back on my feet and can actually afford her (at least in principal)…which of course means that during this break she can do whatever she wants but I can’t…obviously ;-)

To keep in the rhythm of the previous posts…a few comments as well as 2010 “resolutions” of my own:

1 – I am now and forever assuming a piece of anyone selling action (Rash, Mazin, Bryan, Nick, Zack, Ebe, etc.) So keep a running tab and either ship the Full Tilt or send me a bill…seriously…don’t leave me out just because you don’t know if I want a piece…the answer is “yes”.

2 – I will run two marathons by April at a sub 3 hour pace…boom

3 – I will do the P90X in 89 days (aka get back into shape and stay in shape at or above the level of Jon Rash)…I love it…but I HATE it…

4 – Make 10K in poker without playing a hand because I will have bought 10% of the action on Mazin and Rash who’re going to cash for 50K+ each

5 – Rash…I’ve read the bible…it doesn’t get really really good til the end…

6 – Take a giant step towards Dental School (other than leaving my friends, family, and life to move across the country and start from scratch)…meaning acquire Nevada Residency, dominate any classes UNLV can throw my way…and simply crush all “Nay Sayers” (or “haters” in skreet speak) who doubt my ability to succeed…

7 – Be as cool as Mazin and sexy as Zack

8 – Watch the fountains of the Bellagio at least twice a month

9 – Simply eat three meals a day that consist of more than hot dogs and bagels

10 – Have more pennies to spend…and then don’t spend them.

11 – Be that 6 figure score and spread the wealth to all who helped me get where I am…you know who you are…and the spreading of wealth will be epic

12 – My house is always open to you…call me when your plane lands and I’ll be there to pick you up…simple as that…

Call late and call often, 702.556.6293, Mike@Finneran.Biz

143
Mike Finneran

Vegas: Day 1

2010-01-03T15:49:00.003-05:00

We ended day 1 of my first trip to Vegas on a pretty good note. Mazin and I spent the first part of the night playing 1/2 NL at the Bellagio. I won about $220 and Mazin lost like $350ish, putting us down a little as a team. Mazin ran about as bad as someone can run in this session in his defense. The games are unbelievably soft.

After Brian's arrival around 11:30pm, I decided to head back to Finn's and get some sleep while Brian and Mazin played 2/5. We chopped the action 4 ways between us three and Finn. I'm happy to say that as I slept Brian and Mazin made about $1,400 at the Bellagio...each of us up about $350 on the session.

I know Brian and Mazin went to Mandalay Bay and played poker/blackjack/craps/roulette (lol) late last night. I'll let him tell you how that went in a future post.

All in all, a good first day for us. The plan is to play 1/2 and 2/5 today and maybe a tournament or two. Hopefully we continue to make some dough.

JRash

2009: MEH 2010: OH YEAH

2010-01-02T01:44:00.002-05:00

First, everyone (by everyone I mean Finn) please go read Rash's much awaited return post below this one.

2009 was a roller coaster year for me. It started out really really bad, then got good, then got very very good and just slowly crept back to bad from fall towards the end of the year. I had a hell of a lot of fun though and made some pretty good friendships so overall it was a good year. I am very excited for 2010. I just have a new outlook on things the last couple weeks and hopefully it will show when I start grinding again. I had a pretty nice December but I was forced to stop playing (hey thanks Howard) but hopefully that situation will be soon resolved.

I was going to write out a long goal post, but I thought it would make me look like a huge douche. I read rash's posts and most of my suspicions were confirmed but I decided to write a few out anyway. If for nothing else it should make for some good laughs at the end of the year right? I don't have nearly as many goals as my tiny compatriot, but here goes.

1) TRACK EVERY SINGLE KIND OF MONEY EARNED OR LOST IN 2010. This isn't an issue with poker because of Hold em Manager, but to track all the money I lose sports betting (shipped a bet on NEW YEARS DAY THOUGH) and playing props with the run good captains I made myself an excel spreadsheet. I can also track profits from the game (huge lol) or whatever else I do.

2) Make 50k doing whatever in 2010. This will primarily be through poker I assume, but whatever I have to do hopefully I can look back with 50k profit at the end of the year. Like rash, I didn't make near that in 2009, but I've had months that put me on pace for that many times and with my staking arrangement I should be able to put in lots of hours.

3) Continue improving. I've gotten so much better in 2009. I want to start learning the mix games and improve my MTT game. I don't think I'm very far away in the MTT aspect but I will be starting from almost scratch in the mixed game aspect. Hopefully by the end of the year there won't be any mainstream (played on the internet) form of poker that I do not consider myself a favorite in an average lineup.

4) Lose weight. Who doesn't include this in the new years resolution amirite? This actually won't be that hard because of the track record I've set in 2009. If I can manage to literally get up and do anything I should be able to lose a few pounds. With this goes drinking more water. I used to hate water, but I have been drinking more and more water lately. Hopefully I can start by just limiting soft drinks or beers to just dinner. Speaking of this I am thinking about making a prop bet that I can't go one month drinking just water and milk. Hit me up if you want the price, I will be getting huge odds to this LDO.

5) Travel More. I love to travel but due to my financial state I haven't been able to really at all the latter part of 2009. This has to change.

1/2 of the Standard Bull family leaves for Vegas tomorrow. We'll see if my prediction of a HUGE 2010 for us gets off to a good start or not. Oh and in reaction to rash's predictions about us I will be handling all of those by summer. Except for the Ebe one. Well I think I can convince him to quit his job by then, but no promises on the girlfriend part.

Later on

2010: The Year of a Lifetime

2010-01-01T19:41:00.009-05:00

Well, after an extended absence from Standard Bull I've decided to make the first remarks of 2010....

2009 was like grinding 16 tables of $1/$2 full ring for 1.9 bb/100 and living off rakeback. Don't get me wrong - I really enjoyed the time I spent with friends and all the laughs we had throughout the year, but 2009 seemed like one big grind for me. Time flies when all you have time to do is study and play poker I guess. In school world, I was able to secure the 4.0 GPA for the year (brag) and keep myself on track to graduate on time. As far as poker is concerned, I feel like I have improved a ton this year. Most of my improvement I attribute to the time I've spent discussing hands and strategies with the other members of Standard Bull ( who have all gotten a lot better this year as well). I ended up a pretty big winner in the live games this year and an ever so small winner in the online world. Although I'm happy in the direction my game is headed, I know that I am a long way from being a great poker player and even further away from being as good as I think I can be. I look forward to seeing how we all improve over the coming year.

Each year has its ups and downs, but overall everything seemed to stay on an even keel in 2009. I look for that to change in 2010.

After a year filled with experiences that are barely worth mentioning, it's only appropriate that this coming year will probably be the most important one of my life thus far. It's the year I'll be taking the MCAT (March), applying to medical school (May), and hopefully playing in my first WSOP event (June, July). I know 2010 will be more demanding that previous years so I'm going to attempt to lay out a few goals and guidelines that I hope will make 2010 successful.

We'll start with life in general: Goals for 2010...

1) 4.0 GPA in 2010 (spring semester of my Junior year and fall semester of my Senior year).

2) Get a 30+ on the MCAT.

3) Submit my medical school applications on the first day schools begin accepting them.

4) Get accepted into at least two medical schools.

5) Finish p90x by the May (aka get in shape and STAY in shape).

6) Read the Bible in its entirety in 2010 and get back to focusing more on my relationship with God by taking time to read my Bible and pray EVERY DAY.

7) Eat a maximum of three fast-food meals per week, limit myself to one coke per day and eat healthier overall.

8) Be as cool as Zack and as sexy as Mazin.

9) Finish all of my schoolwork every day by 8pm. Take time to relax in the evening.

And now for some poker and financial goals...

1) 50k in total profits (live and online) in 2010. This would be considerably higher than what I made in 2009, but hey...if you're gonna have goals might as well make them tough to achieve. :)

2) Play at least two major online tournaments (i.e. Sunday Million, 750k, etc.) every week.

3) Buy more action and sell more action (aka don't miss out on one of your friend's huge scores).

4) Tithe 10% EVERY WEEK, save 10% of all of my winnings, donate AT LEAST 5% to a charity or a needy family.

5) Keep track of every penny I spend...SPEND LESS.

6) Play in at least 2 WSOP events and cash in an event.

7) Play AT LEAST 12 hours per week online (may seem like nothing, but that's a lot for ya boy).

8) Take two days off if I lose 25%+ of my roll in one session and/or day. I must take time to evaluate why I lost and look for ways to improve before I can play again.

9) Don't EVER comment on the play of other people while at the table, whether it be a friend or a stranger.

Those are just a few of the goals I've set for myself for the coming year. Although I am not naive enough to think that I will reach them all, I am smart enough to know that you'll never reach any goal that you don't set. So for 2010....gl me!

I really feel like 2010 is going to be a huge year for the Standard Bull team. Here are some of my predictions for the authors of this blog in 2010....

1) Someone will have a 6 figure score in a tournament.

2) Someone will final table a WSOP event.

3) Mike Ebert will quit his job and get a girlfriend (bring on the prop bets).

4) Someone (or all of us) will play 50/100 NL or higher online or in Vegas.

5) All four of us will have a new car by the end of the year (courteous of that 6 figure score).

Well I know this post was a little different... Hopefully the quality of the content made up for the lack of humor and sarcasm. I am very much looking forward to the 2010 and the excitement it will bring. And oh yeah...I'm leaving for Vegas in...ummm....about 9 hours!

Until next time, may the run good flow.

God Bless!

JRash

2010 and the Countdown to Busto!

2009-12-31T16:06:00.002-05:00

As I'm sure all of you know, today is the last day of 2009. I can't say 2009 was a thrilling year in general but I can't really complain about it either. Poker wise, although it started slow, the last year of the decade ended quite fruitfully. Now the real test of run good is on. Will 2010 be the year someone finally binks a big 5 figure score? Or are there still several years of pain and suffering till then? I guess we won't know till December of next year, but I suppose that's part of the fun.

For once in my life, I truly don't have much to say today. Rash, Bryan, and I are going to Vegas on the 2nd as I said before and we're all really looking forward to it. What we're gonna play there is still up in the air but I'm assuming it will consist of a few tournaments and the cash game grind. I really wish that I could play in some live tournaments while I'm there but being the 19 year old child that I am, I don't think I'm gonna risk it. I'll just have to take some pieces of Jonathan 'Ice Cold Cooler' Rash and Bryan 'Run Good' Robinson and watch them cruise to final tables and ship some ched to the children at home!

I'll try to update this at least once while we're in Vegas as well as posting some occasional brags on Facebook when necessary.

Happy New Year Everybody, May your 2010 be epic...

M

Christmas Break, PCA Sweats, and VEGAS baby!

2009-12-21T14:09:00.003-05:00

Before I get on with this post I just want to say I'm both in shock and in disbelief that Nick Hatley has made a glorious return to StandardBull.

A good bit has changed since I last wrote. Exams are over (brutality, baby!), everyone is home for the holidays, and I have no money online. Exams took their course and I pretty much did how I expected to do. Needless to say it's good to have this semester behind me and I'm looking forward to redemption starting January 11th. Being home, although sometimes rewarding to sleep in my old bed, can be very boring at times. I find myself sitting on the couch dazing away at the TV for hours without any plans of even moving during the day. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see the fam and spend some "quality" time, but it just gets old. Sucks I'm already saying this 3 days into break haha. Oh well. After a bad case of balleritis, I've cared less and less about good amounts of money over the last few weeks. In doing so, I've dumped a fair share of my winnings back into the poker community, withdrawn my roll, and decided to take a break over the holidays and get my head back.

Staking hasn't gone so well either. Although Nick has made a sick comeback in the stake and is proudly in the green, Zack "I bust rolls" Caldwell has decided to empty the clip of his plo stake into the hands of .50/1 regs. Although variance is part of the game, it's still pretty disappointing to watch that money burn. Hopefully I can ride the Hatley 'getrichyerdme' train into the sunset.

Although my bank account shows a good bit of depletion since the scores, not all of this has gone down the drain. I've bought up around 2k of PCA pieces throughout the 2+2 community. With players who seem like solid investments, I've bought anywhere from 1-5% of their main event action. Although it seems like a small amount if one of them somehow makes a deep run and binks off a win it will be a cool $30-35k for me. Not too shabby for a $120 investment. So, one time, gl me, etc.

Finally, I've just booked tickets to the beautiful and ever tempting sin city. Jan2-6 are the dates and it looks like the crew will be Rash, Bryan, hopefully Zack, and myself. We will be staying with the infamous Huckleberry Finn and shipping boatloads of run good in the live game.

Watch out Venetian! You may have stuck me (Nick's wallet) for 3 or 4 buyins before, but redemption is here.

Avatar

2009-12-21T04:34:00.001-05:00

Saw Avatar yesterday, it was unlike any movie I've ever seen. Go see it, preferably in IMAX. Thats it. Seriously go see it.

Hello World

2009-12-18T04:02:00.002-05:00

I know its been a minute since anyone with US born parents dominated a blog post so I figured I'd step up and try to give the blog some new life. I am coming live from the 704 from my parents living room. I should be here until around new years grinding the holiday circuit. This should be an interesting stay because I feel like I'm at the point where you're not really that sure if you are going to see all of your high school friends over break. Some no longer live in the area, some just aren't in town and some you don't really want to see. I know that there our certain friends I'll see for sure, but we'll see how it all works out.

I guess I can kind of go through the state of the union with the standard bull crew's poker career. I'll start with myself. Mine is slowly starting to sputter again. I've been grinding for about 3-4 weeks now. Full Tilt welcomed me back by slapping a fresh 1k downswing on me. Thanks for that Howard. I've now ground that back up plus the tiniest little bit of gravy playing HU PLO. If only I didn't suck at Hold'em, just kidding obviously, I'm great at hold'em. HU PLO is by far the funnest form of poker on the planet and I'm really enjoying playing it. I'm up a decent chunk and despite running pretty bad so far. I would talk about how I think that HU PLO is not nearly as variant as everyone says it is, but saying that would just be asking for a 20 buyin downswing so I'll digress. I've only played like 5k hands though so we'll see.

I don't see how anyone could have possibly not heard about Mazin's run, but just in case you've been hiding somewhere or just avoiding him, he has been on a pretty sick heater. He binked off a couple high tourney finishes and the heater has somehow made its way over to PLO. It obviously has to be the sickest heater of all time if hes winning at PLO right? I guess we'll see.

Zack is grinding his tiny little heart out. I heard rumor of him playing 10k hands in one day. He's came along way from playing 1 table of Absolute lol. Hopefully it goes well for him. Keep grinding homie.

Who really knows what Rash is doing in the poker world. He's still going out to the local live games and redeeming his cooler coupons nightly. Other than that who knows. I asked him if he was going to play online any over the break and he told me that no one could win online during holidays lol.

Thats it, I'll try to keep to updating this thing. If anyone still reads it give me a shout.

A Sick Sick Heater

2009-12-05T15:22:00.003-05:00

I know that when we first started this blog it was mostly to bitch about running bad, mediocre results, and getting crushed in the live games, but hey sometimes things change for the better. Don't get me wrong, I'm still getting crushed in the live games but I'm on some type of sick heater online. After nearly a year and a half without a 2k+ score online, this last week has been unreal...

Starting on black friday, I fired up the $163 75k on FullTilt and decided to just grind one tournament while hanging out with my family in Ohio for thanksgiving. Even though I was more than confident I was simply donating my usual $150 ($13 juice) to the prizepool, this tournament for a change, had a different purpose. As the clock passed into Saturday's AM, I found myself with a top 5 stack in the money. This is a feeling I'm all too familiar with. It's sometime in the next hour where I usually take some type of sick beat and mincash making the whole tournament a frustrating waste of time. Not this time. Every 20 hands was chased with AA or KK doubling everytime. I've never seen a run of cards like I had in this tournament. Before I knew it I had made it. I was at the final table and guaranteed around 1500 in prize money. I rallied the Raleigh crowd to get on and sweat and even got phantom rail appearances from both Jay Smith and Mike Finn. Although I wasn't able to punch it in for the win I scored a cool 7k for 4th place and turned on a fire hotter than the sun.

A few days later I fired up the $216 50k Turbo at 6 PM, a tournament I had always wanted to play but was just a little too high buyin for me. Another stunning final table and another 4th place for 6k. Somehow, I wasn't done there. The week long heater was still in the making. Yesterday I fired up the $117 super turbo, the $50r turbo, and the $109 turbo on stars. I final tabled all 3 events. Although I continue to fail at winning, my scores were 7th for 1.4k, 5th for 2.2k, and 2nd for 5.9k respectfully.

Now I know you're all saying "Not too shabby for 10 days of work" but you have to put this in perspective. I haven't had a big score in almost a year and a half. So although the winnings are sweet, the work that went into these scores was a lot more than the actual time playing these 5 events.

Now in boring life news: Finals are creeping up and this is going to be a true test of my dedication to school. I'm going to have to put poker aside on this sick heater and focus on school (good joke right?). Hopefully I can get through these classes and then enjoy break. Oh, speaking of break. I'm trying to qualify for the PCA so that I can go enjoy 7 days in the Caribbean while playing in a live tournament I can actually play (its 18+ instead of 21). I still need someone to come with me though and all of team estate is either too busto, busy with work/mcats, or just doesn't like me enough to come. Hopefully I can find someone to join me for alcohol induced comas at the beach and live tournament poker...

That's all I got for now but hopefully the run good will continue. For all of those who still read this from time to time, thank you so so much for your support. I really do appreciate it.

Mazin

Grinding FTOPS #10

2009-11-08T18:34:00.001-05:00

Just posting for some run good. FTOPS #10 ($322 NLHE) Tournament started at 6 and I'm in it to win it. Sattyd in for $75.

One time.

The Life Grind

2009-10-23T15:34:00.003-04:00

It's been a long time since anyone has really blogged about our lives and such but that's mostly because none of us do anything anymore...

I've been sick for the last few weeks as I wrote about earlier. After a hospital visit and some blood work they figured it out. I have mono. As you can imagine getting mono mid-semester is a pretty sick beat but at least you can only get it once...or so they say. Knowing how bad I run who knows. Almost as if it was planned ole Rashoid only 1 day before my hospital visit was rushed to the ER with appendicitis. The good news is we're both better now and back on the life grind.

The poker world is going better than expected as well. Not only have I grinded out my newly formed estate debt (yes Finn, I lose there even when you're gone), but I also somehow got staked online to play $26 tournaments (mostly 45/90 mans with some MTTs mixed in) and I can't even begin to tell you how good that's going. We agreed to do a 50/50 profit split with him putting up a $2600 (standard 100 buyins) roll for me to play. We're going to withdraw profits every 250 games and the stake is to last for 1000 games. It does kinda suck to have to ship out half of my winnings but the comfort of not playing on my own dollar and being actually rolled for the games I'm in is great. Also the guy is an extremely nice guy who gives me a lot of freedom in game selection. I can't really complain. So far after 150 games I'm up almost 2k on the stake so I'm off to a very hot start. Let's hope it lasts.

In the life world things are a bit tough right now. Since I missed a week or so of school I'm pretty far behind in all my classes and it's starting to catch up with me. Also being actually rolled online, I can't lie, is affecting my effort in school a wee bit. Hopefully I can get my shit together and finish up the semester on a good note.

Other than that not much has really changed. Nick still gets his day started around 3PM, Zack is still crazy in love, and Ebe is grinding out his 6PM-6AM work shift 4 days a week (sick life). If no one else is going to keep the blog alive, I'll write again soon. I feel like I've dominated the blog for the last few months, but who doesn't want to hear from the best AMIRITE?!

MDaddy

Day 1: Success

2009-10-15T12:44:00.003-04:00

The first day of my 60% 45 man staking arrangement worked out pretty well.

Although off to an extremely rocky start with some punishing late run bad, I was able to bounce back and win a couple at night to bring the day to a profit.

Final report of day 1.
--------------------
Games: 42
Net: +$384.41
ROI%: 35.2%
ITM: 16.7%
--------------------

Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

Always great to start your first day off with a win. We're also almost nearly half way through the staking arrangement already (played 9+ hours yesterday, lol school).

Hopefully today we can get a little fire burning and go on a sick run.

M.

$24/45 Mans on FullTilt

2009-10-14T10:09:00.002-04:00

The 60% staking arrangement begins today for everyone involved (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/135/staking/closed-shares-100-45-mans-weird-607096/).

I'll be getting back from class grabbing some lunch and settling in for a nice winning session. As my session start to add up I'll post some results here as long as some fun hands.

Wish me luck bitches,
M

A Week of Sickness and Bull

2009-10-09T16:46:00.002-04:00

As every school year typical goes for me, I'm selected at random to get sick at unarguably the worst times of the year. This semester, it's struck again. With only three days till fall break and two big tests on Tuesday and Wednesday, some type of weird viral infection was on.

As if the annoying pain and inability to get out of bed for more than a few minutes at a time wasn't bad enough, I had to deal with the ever frequent visits of Rash coming in to call me a bitch or share his fun plans for the day. Supportive friends I have right?

I saw an ENT Specialist on Monday and she had the quality insight of "Eh, It's probably just a virus, should get better soon." I had a pretty raging ear ache so I expressed concern that maybe I had an ear infection or some type of throat infection in need of antibiotics. She somehow tried to convince me I simply had a sore jaw and it was referring pain to my ear. Good Joke. Modern medicine truly works wonders.

After 3 days with minimal improvement, I went back to the same wonderful doctor to hear the always comforting "Well, it could still be a virus but it looks like you have some tonsillitis too." Although annoying news, at least she finally prescribed me some antibiotics and I think I'm starting to get better but I've only had 3 doses so who really knows.

Aside from missing two tests that I'm gonna have to make up, getting crushed in poker, and spending my fall break in bed, all is well on the Mazin front. Yeah, I'm sick and I realize this is an annoying rant but my life is pretty great after all so hopefully I'll get my white blood cells together and get out of this bull.

Till next time,
M

WCOOP Event #26 - A True Rollercoaster

2009-09-14T17:31:00.003-04:00

Adrenaline was pumping in our veins as we had finally cruised inside the top 200 of a field that started 10 hours ago with 9795 players. The prize pool stood pretty at 1.96 million with 1st a cool 274k in change. For the Standard Bull crew, this was destiny.

We've been nearing the glory of a huge score for some time now. Zack came up with a 27th place finish in the massive MiniFtops field with 1st close to 40k, I had lost a stack to a sick cooler in the 750k nearing the money with a top 30 stack, and Nick and Josh had come in the top 200 of the Sunday Million just a week before. Everything had built up to this moment. We had an above average stack, we were playing great, and we had one goal on our minds, a huge earned score.

It's easy to talk about where you are in a tournament once you're deep, but getting there in a major tournament is much easier said than done. Not only do you have to play pure for over 10 hours, but you have to run like Dustin Givens aka hotfire... So how'd we get there?

With Jonathan Rash run good at the wheel, we doubled in the 2nd hour with AA on QQ. Almost immediately after we lost a small pot KK < ATs but it didn't phase our grind. Once we had run up a decent stack by flopping a set and getting paid, it was time for our first pure bink of the tournament.

We raised up the A4s in mid position and gboro moved in for 15 bigs right behind us. Although personally I'm not a huge fan of the play, Rashoid decided he's moving in with worse a good percentage of the time and given our odds to call, we decided to pay. He had KK but everyone knows that 1 over is all you need. We found an Ace on the flop and rivered the nut flush for good measure. Our stack was building rapidly.

We continued our patient grind and always maintained 100 bigs or more. The structure was very slow and quite deep so it allowed for a lot of play. Our edge was glorious and it was paying off as we continued to make hands. In our biggest hand of the early stages, we called a UTG raise with TT and took the flop 3 handed. K 4 K was the flop and the raiser fired around 3/5ths of the pot. We were content to call one and re-eval on the turn when we turned the godsent miracle. T. "Did you say you had tens?" I asked from across the room unable to comprehend the fact that someone can run good enough to turn a set... Our villian checked to us and we checked back to ensure maximum value on the river. His stack was small enough that if he bet river we could still easily get it all. The river completed a flush draw and put a seemingly meaningless 2 of spades on the board. To our excitement, he led into us for 3/4ths pot with barely more than a minraise behind. We moved in and he tanked for a few seconds before calling with 22, a rivered boat.

What a rush and what a payoff card. We were running like hot fire and loving it. We had almost 300k in chips and were entering the money with a top 20 stack. "They aren't even going to make us work for it" We said. "They're just gonna let us cruise on in."

As if the doomswitcher on stars heard what we said (and yes, there is one of those), PokerStars was content to make us grind again as we lost KK to A9 for half our stack in a preflop bvb leveling war. We were back on the grind, and hard too. Not content with a laughable $500 cash, we were in it for the long haul. With only 140k in chips (still above average), we couldn't coast any longer. We raised up the button with AJ and the BB moved in for 22 blinds. After making sure that he was a winning player, Rash snapped off the all in and he showed K9 for the resteal. Although flopping a king, the doomswitch man let us ejaculate all over a warming Ace on the river.

The very next hand we looked down at AK of clubs, the rush was on. A raise ahead of us we put in a 3 bet and called off the shove. He showed QQ and held and we were back down to 200k just like that.

By now we were into the top 180 of the field with still a slightly above average stack. We decided with only 35 or so blinds, that we couldn't be as aggressive as we had been in the earlier stages. We let ourselves blind off a little waiting for a hand to double and finally make a deep deep run for a 6 figure score. We chipped down to about 177k when the most dramatic hand of the tournament took place.

The cutoff raised it up and we 3 bet the button with Kings (the dream spot). The small blind folded and the big blind who happened to be a whale, moved in for 400k. The cutoff folded and Rash instantly hit the call button and took off sprinting out of the room slamming the door behind him. "I can't watch" He said, "I won't do it." The big blind showed AQ and I was left alone in the room to sweat on my laptop. 2 6 8 flop. Bingo, we had finally dodged an Ace in the door. Two more pure streets of bricks and we're going to win this thing. Before I could even begin to relax about the satisfactory flop that left us all in as a huge favorite with 150 players to go, the Ace of clubs hit the turn and we were all but out. With only two outs to go the wind was emptied from my sails and a 4 hit the river securing our elimination.

I don't know how many of you have had shots at 6 figure prize pools this deep in a major tournament but I can tell you personally its the worst feeling in the world to lose that chance. It reminds me of Mike Matusow crying after his elimination in last years WSOP Main Event. With a field that large, you only get so many shots in a lifetime to take it down. Getting so close and not punching through is one of the most disheartening things in the world. Sure there were still 150 people left and so much can happen in that time, but if we win our hand, we have an above average stack and a chance. In general, we usually play much lower than $215 buyins, so this made it hurt that much more. I don't know how long it'll be till we're that deep in another major tournament because of our lack of volume.

It's only 1 day later so I'm still in a little bit of depression about the beat. Rash somehow didn't throw anything but he's hurting inside. Zack, although having the biggest piece of the buyin, doesn't seem to care that much but he hates money anyway so it's not that big of a surprise.

Someday we're gonna fade that ace harder than anyone has ever faded a card in their life... Until then...FML.

Mazin

WCOOP 1

2009-09-03T16:21:00.003-04:00

So we chopped the first WCOOP event and this happened. (image complements of josh lassiter)

The School Grind

2009-08-18T15:45:00.002-04:00

Another dominant summer is in the books and classes are right around the corner...literally. School will begin its constant dream of crushing my bottom starting at 3:35 pm tomorrow. And yes, the timing was by choice.

In poker news my brook has been flowing hard the last few weeks. I've paid back my dad (Zack) in full as well as the rest of the world (Minus Finn). Not only that, I was able to save a few pennies of my own to rub on my titties when it was all said and done.

I'm going to be dealing full time at The Estate this year, or as long as the lazy boys keep the game going. Standard .50/1 on Tuesday with .25/.50 on Wednesday possibly adding some higher stakes games here and there.

On the home front, I've finally moved in to my new place at USuites. It's not a mansion by any means but its a pretty solid living arrangement and not too far from campus. I love and miss all of you.

MSauce

Prop Bet

2009-08-14T00:45:00.002-04:00

I have a bet with zack and mazin that I can't wake up before 12 every day until next Tuesday so if you want to do me a favor give me a phone call from around 1130-12 AM it would be much appreciated.

Longer blog post coming soon.....

The Big Game

2009-07-28T16:34:00.002-04:00

Before I start my rambling I want to make sure everyone skips this post and reads Nick's first, it's a truly dominant blog session.

Tonight is the 2/5 game at the Estate. Somehow, I've fell off the poker world and won't be playing in this one like I did last time. Rash, last game's huge winner, will be playing again tonight and I have 1/4th of his action. With that being said he will guaranteed bust in the early portion of the night.

In order to entertain myself I'll be playing three FullTilt tournaments tonight and hopefully bubbling all of them. On a more serious note, I really hope I don't. It's starting to get frustrating to lose every flip at any point in any tournament. Maybe the tides will change as we head into another fall semester school grind.

On the life front, pretty soon Rash, Austin, Kevin, and yours truly, will be moving into USuites and finally having a baller pad of our own. Not that we can necessarily compete with the Estate but it'll be a place to hang our hats for sure. I'll write again tonight live from the estate with an update on Rash's busto-ness and a couple sick beats that I will have already taken in these three tournaments. ]

I love each and every one of you - especially Finn, Good Luck in Vegas Grandpa.

Big Dick - OUT.

OH Hey

2009-07-28T05:54:00.002-04:00

Due to the lack of substance in the blog lately I figured I would man up and actually post something that contains more than a suckout or some random whining about a tourney hand (we do run terrible in these god forsaken things though). I'm going to try to keep this blog post less about poker and more about life. I was thinking about what I want to share to these random people exactly what is going on in my life. But after I thought more about it I realized its not like we have random people actually reading the blog. We aren't getting 2 million hits a day or anything, a huge percentage of the people reading this are my close friends or family. So I guess I can open up a little bit.

This summer has been unlike any other in my life. I started the summer with no job and a tiny amount of money. Early-middle of the summer I had a job (that lasted like 3 weeks) and was playing poker more seriously than I ever had before and had the most money I had ever had. Then one of the turning points in my life happened. I became friends with Zack Caldwell and he convinced me to go Las Vegas, Nevada with him. We went to Vegas and balled out. I mean we spent boatloads. The trip was great and I absolutely would not trade it for anything. But needless to say all of us came back with a little (or a lot) less money. Not because of poker, just because we lived like millionaires for what was intended to be 4 days, but turned out to be 2 weeks. Poker didn't go great, but it wasn't awful either. I'm guessing I was anywhere from up or down a couple hundred, but boy were there some swings. It was a great trip though with countless stories that can be saved for another posts.

In the next week I will be moving in with Zack and Ebe into the Estate. I'm pretty pumped about this obviously and looking forward to helping run the game. Also Zack and Ebe are pretty cool characters, who I get along with, and this is the first year of my life where I won't be living with my family or Rash, so thats obviously pretty cool. (Kidding) I will begin taking classes again back at NCSU next fall and hopefully improve on my scholastic track record. I am planning on booking some huge bets GPA bets so if any of you clowns want some free money lets set something up. Also, I am freerolling Zack and Ebe for 20$ every time they catch me missing a class (I am allowed 3 absences in each class, but I have to pay when I go over). So hopefully I will actually try in school this year so I can have a future, and to avoid costing myself boatloads of ched. Honestly, going back to real school kind of scares me. I simply can not afford a semester of like last fall. I know I'm smart enough to dominate school its just that I am literally the laziest person to ever attend a university. But hey, if Zack made it this far I guess there is hope for me too. I have a few habits I have to change though. I'm notorious for going to bed at 7am and getting up at 4pm, and this absolutely has to change. (Check the time stamp on this blog for a good laugh) But hopefully all goes well. As far as poker goes, I really haven't been playing all. This is partly due to my semi-busto state and I just really haven't wanted to play. I've found that these long breaks really get you back in the mood to grind. So hopefully when I start playing again I will be putting in some actual hours.

Tomorrow is the 2/5 game at Finns. Thursday is Finns going away/ our move in party. And we move in this weekend. Also tomorrow I am finally going to the DMV to get my new liscense and hopefully talk to NCSU and register for classes. (I know I should have already registered, spare me)

Later Cats

STEAMED UP

2009-07-26T21:06:00.003-04:00

So we just busted the 750k. We raised QQ in mp and had the BB ship it in. We had a little less than average and obviously snap called. He had AJ and if I even need to say he binked an Ace on the flop. I mean this is really starting to annoy me. We played really good this tourney (standard) didn't make one mistake, and the guy just mindlessly ships it in with AJ. Oh well tourneys suck anyway. We are on the way to grind entourage at Finns and then maybe play a little home game. Later

We Run This Town

2009-07-26T19:34:00.003-04:00

I'm grinding out this new Jay Z/Kanye song and sweating FullTilt's largest weekly tournament, the 750k. Who am I sweating? Well, myself...In a weird way. Rash, Nick, and I decided to play a couple $48+2 luckfest satellites and try to win our seat in the $216 750k. On the second try, our K8 binked against KJ (Yeah, Mom) and we booked our entry.

I am at home in Durham vising the parents and grinding out Entourage Season 4. After dinner I'm driving back to Raleigh to watch tonight's Entourage episode and reconnect with the family. I swear deep down they miss me.

Don't have much else to say right now other than we have over 8k chips at 60/120 blinds with 2578 players left and the average at 5,125. So all is looking good for now, I'll post an update when we get into the money. And by get into the money, I mean bubble.

Ship it one time baby. We need this.

The Death of a Blog

2009-07-26T13:16:00.002-04:00

Well, since my last incredibly short post on Wednesday nobody else has posted. It appears as though the blog is dying, but in a heroic effort I intend to write a dominant blog today in hopes of saving this site. So here goes.....

Since thursday I've been hanging out in VA with my g/f and it's been pretty dominant and very relaxing. We went to the Brad Paisley concert on Friday night and it was surprisingly great. It wasn't that I didn't think it would be a great concert, but I guess I'm trying to say that I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I'm not all that firmiliar with Brad Paisley, but I had a blast at the concert and it was the most fun I've had in a long long time (Although multiple trips for beer could have had a little something to do with that). I've also been eating great....maybe a little too great. I think I've gained 8 pounds since Mindy and I started dating about 5 months ago, although I intend to drop that starting tomorrow because I'm going on a massive health kick. I've decided to devote a minimum of two hours to doing some type of cardio activity every day. I'm also going to eat no more than 2500 calories a day, and I'm gonna really try hard to only eat 1800-2000. I know some of you are saying "wow 2500, that's alot" and you might be right, however when I routinely consume 4000+, 2500 seems pretty low.

Oh, and yesterday we went to Mayberry to hang out with Ryan and Jenna. It was pretty good and very relaxing. We just hung out and lived the dream mostly. It was good to see them because since Ryan moved I really don't get to see him much. I feel like I've been out doing so much the last few days that I haven't played hardly any poker. I did play a short session online the other day while Mindy was in the shower and I managed to lose a quick 500 playing PLO. I won't bore you with the details, but now I can officially say I'm busto online. I didn't have much in there to start with because everytime I've taken a bad beat recently I've cashed out almost my whole roll....but now it sucks because I'm going to have to make a deposit. Oh well. I will say that lately I've been playing a lot more tournaments than cash games and I've really enjoyed it. I've also done pretty well and that might be the reason I've enjoyed it so much. The reason I switched the cash was for a few reasons....1. PLO cash games are great and I feel like there's boatloads of money to be made. 2. Tournaments are so time consuming and even though I feel like they are very profitable, they also take forever. 3. There's nothing in the world more frustrating than to beat 99% of a field and play for 5 hours to make $70. Don't get me wrong, I'll never complain about money, but it just seems like it's not worth all the time and frustration.

Today I think I might play the 1.5 million on Stars, but I really haven't decided yet. I've never done particularly well in that tournament for some reason, but I intend to change all that today. I'll keep yall posted on how I'm doing and hopefully I'll make a big score. Anyways, talk to yall later.

-Zack

Cool man

2009-07-22T02:19:00.000-04:00

http://weaktight.com/1319232

-Zack

Bad Run

2009-07-18T14:23:00.002-04:00

I just wrapped up a little session of PLO. I six tabled some $1/2 and lost almost 5 buy ins in less than an hour. This hand below sums up the session.

http://weaktight.com/1310529

On a brighter note though, Ebe and I are about to go grind the beach with some brew so the day is starting to look up.

-Zack

Two Interesting Hands

2009-07-17T03:16:00.001-04:00

Just played a quick session... have two hands to post that I feel like are fairly interesting.

First one. I feel like I can fold the flop here vs. this guy who is extremely nitty, but there are just so many wrap+ fds in his range. I feel like he rarely AA or 77 especially in a single raised pot and I have blockers. My plan on the flop was to call and then get it in on many blank turns. Looking back vs. the guy I think folding is the optimal play. On the turn I don't think I can ever fold. The only hand I'm behind now, that I wasn't on the flop obv, is like a wierd 53 combination hand, many of which he folds in the SB. Discussion appreciated.

http://weaktight.com/1307805

This guy is a wierdo. I timed down pretty far before calling. Flop and Turn are obv blocker bluffs. Its really hard for him to have QJ here I feel like, but its also really hard for him to have a hand that called twice and now be turning it into a bluff. It seems the only real bluffs he can have are sets, and two pairs+ FD, which I guess make up a decent % of his range. And I had two jacks in my hand so how can he possibly have QJ right?. Even while posting this I am in between a on what the optimal play is. I feel like he has to have QJ with no hearts, diamonds or even two pair to reraise flop or turn. I think this is a really interesting hand.

http://weaktight.com/1307826

One hand I thought was funny. The guy typed in chat after the hand, "sick cooler." I responded with, "Yeah tough to get away from that"

http://weaktight.com/1307830

In the non-poker world I'm heading back to Charlotte tomorrow to hang out with some old friends hopefully. Hit me up if your reading this and want to hang out.

Later

Out Here Grindin - Fo Real Tho

2009-07-15T04:13:00.003-04:00

I'm currently blogging live from the front of NC State's Talley Student Center. Why? That's actually a phenomenal question. It's 4:15 AM so there is absolutely no reason a man like me should be on NC State's campus, let alone with a computer in hand and connected to the internet. Well it all started as another standard night at College Inn.

We arrived home from The Estate just in time for the evening grind. Speaking of the Estate, I took my standard cooler there tonight. Raise from Nick in early position and 2 or 3 callers. I called in the small blind with J8s. Jc 8c 5h flop. I check, Nick checks, Teddy Ball Game leads for 11, I raise to 36, Nick shoves. I tank, and by tank I mean snap it off and say "Another sick cooler". Nick flips over JJ for top set and I'm all but dead. Thanks again dealers.

Anyway, so back to why I'm awake at this hour and on NC State's campus. I got back from The Estate with a degenerate desire for tournament grinding. Since I'm crazy busto I had to convince Rash to let me play on his account by freerolling him for 15%. It was a tiny 127 field with a $33 buyin and I got crazy deep before taking a sick beat (middle set on open ended straight draw, the butt naked kind) and then eventually blinded down and mincashed. Sweet. Standard Bull for me.

I then decided to play a couple sit and goes with my huge $49 winnings. Zack is at the beach and his internet kept disconnecting so he called Nick and had him jump in and finish up some terrible $33 HORSE tournament on Stars. As Nick started playing and I fired up my sit and goes, our internet went down. Hard. It was out cold and we had no choice but to run to the car. When I say run I don't mean speed walk down the stairs and jog to the car. Nick and I were in a dead sprint with laptops in hand. We drove to Talley, connected to NC State's internet, and here we are, grinding away. There was actually a point in the trip where I was playing while driving on campus. Multitasking at it's finest. Nick is still in the HORSE tournament and I just bubbled one Sit and Go and won the other.

If this isn't the definition of two sick grinders, I don't know what is.

Yet another day in the life

2009-07-14T18:57:00.002-04:00

So yesterday I got up just in time to grab some food and get to our 6:30 (PM) tee time at Knight's Play. We had a group that included the 4 standard bull legends, Josh, Mike and Long. We decided on playing a 7 man skins game. We handicap it by different players put up different amounts of $ per hole. I put up 10 (I'm getting screwed here) Rash- 10, Zack- 9, Josh and Fin- 5, Long-3 and the best golfer alive, Mazin- 2. We play no carry over and if two players tie they chop that total hole's prize pool. It's a pretty fun format. I went on a tear on the front and ended +45. The back was an entirely different story. I must have missed five putts that were less than 4 feet. I cost myself at least a 100$ on terrible putting. I hit the ball great though and managed to sink a around a 25 footer for birdie to cost Mazoid a pretty good bit of money. I still ended up a small amount of money, but I was still really disappointed with my putting. Oh well, it was fun.

After golf we went to grab some food and then went to Zack's to grind. I played some .5/1 PLO on stars and managed to win around 2 buy ins. I am in love with the PLO games on stars. It seems like every player is either the nittiest reg in history or a huge whale that plays 95% of his hands pre and has had his fold button removed.

I lost my wallet at Knight's Play so thats pretty annoying. Thankfully I did not have much cash in there but its going to be a pain to get new debit cards and IDs and such. Tonight we are headed to the Estate to bust our rolls and engage in the master leveling war.

I'm beginning to hate Omaha...

2009-07-13T17:45:00.002-04:00

Here I get it in great. I really hate the guys call on the flop. The bottom of my range is AAXX with hearts, and yet he's calling off 1/3 of his stack to try and bink some type of miracle. Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes I guess...

http://weaktight.com/1299937

Here, Binky McBinkerson makes a laughable call on the flop and hits a miracle, then I miss my redraw....cool. At least this pot wasn't too big.

http://weaktight.com/1299946

I'm really not sure how much I like my play here. I was basically thinking that if the guy doesn't have spades I'm in great shape. There was just so much in the pot I wanted to try and pick it up. He ended up having a monster, but I still have almost 42% equity vs his hand so I think my play is alright.

http://weaktight.com/1299948

Another brutal beat....at least the pot was small. I really like the way I played this hand, even though it's pretty standard.

http://weaktight.com/1300008

I ended the session after 200 hands of play. My all in EV was +$584, and I ended up down -$205....sick game

Life is good

2009-07-13T06:15:00.003-04:00

We just got done eating at IHOP and it was dominant. We decided to do this after Rash and I had successful tournament runs tonight. Today I thought I played pretty well, although in the last tournament I made one big mistake that may or may have no cost me a chance to win. In retrospect I can't believe I called, but I guess when you're caught up in the moment and you've been playing for 324938947 hours straight you don't always think right. Anyways, my day went like this...

-Played $750K guarantee on Stars and busted (-215)
-Played Sunday 1.5 Million on Stars and busted (-215)
-Played $33 HORSE tourny on Stars and came in 5th 240 person field (+325)
-Played the Super Tubo on Full Tilt and busted (-117)
-Played the $11+R on Stars and came in 4th (+4000)

Grand Total: +$3800 ish

I have to admit I ran pretty well in the 11+R. I won every flip to get to the final table, but I also lost every flip once I got to the final table. I will never complain about a big cash, although it is always a little disappointing to get so close and not win. But even so, I feel so blessed that God allows me to do so well and I give Him the most credit for my victory. People say I run good, and you know what....I think they're right. Anways, it's 6:30 in the am and I'm going to get about 14 hours of sleep. I'll catch up with you guys later.

Zack

OUR APPARTMENT IS STUFFED TO THE BRIM OF RUN GOOD RIGHT NOW

2009-07-13T02:46:00.000-04:00

that is all

Ship the cheeze whiz

2009-07-13T02:26:00.001-04:00

Just won a $5.50 1300-man "Ante-up" tournament on Stars. Ran like pure sexy gold babbyyyyyyy!!

Ship the run good!

Sick spot with queens

2009-07-12T16:27:00.009-04:00

I think I can probably fold this when the pre-flop raiser insta-flats the button shove, but I still chalk it up to a cooler. Please share any comments. Thanks.

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed)

UTG+1 ($82.20)
Hero (MP1) ($50.10)
MP2 ($50.45)
CO ($9.20)
Button ($28.95)
SB ($50)
BB ($25)
UTG ($26.95)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q, Q
1 fold, UTG+1 bets $2, Hero calls $2, 1 fold, CO calls $2, Button calls $2, 2 folds

Flop: ($8.75) A, A, A (4 players)
UTG+1 bets $3, Hero calls $3, 1 fold, Button raises $26.95 (All-In), UTG+1 calls $23.95, Hero raises $45.10 (All-In), UTG+1 calls $21.15

Turn: ($131.90) 6 (3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($131.90) 10 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $131.90

FYI

2009-07-12T16:19:00.001-04:00

I'm about to ship the Sunday 1.5 Mill on Poker Stars. Book it

-Zack

Clownville

2009-07-11T17:49:00.002-04:00

It was just another standard day in Clownville, NC. 2 PM and not a creature was stirring. Laptops thrown all over the living room floor. Zack sprawled out on the tiny couch with the smallest blanket known to man. Nick quietly absorbing the benefits of his "pillow game", and Rash enjoying his activity of the day where he isn't showing his depression, sleeping. Then something crazy happened...

Nick was somehow awake and in my room at 2:30 telling me I should wake up and come to lunch with them. If any of you known Nick, you'll understand how truly absurd this is. The guy has never gotten out of bed before 4 pm without being violently awakened. Later I found out the real reason for this early uprising was that there was some type of construction going on next door at the "insane" hour of 2 PM that awoke papa bear from deep hibernation.

We shipped some discount Chilis at 4 (thanks mikey) and then setup our daily tee time at knights play. In about an hour my first ball will be soaring through the air, and by that I mean rolling out of bounds or into the nearest water hazzard. Sick thing is, I've actually been playing golf semi decently as of late. Yesterday we played skins 4 ways but luckily I only had to put up $2 a hole to Rash and Nick's $8 and Zack's $6. And the sweetest part is I only somehow lost $9 instead of the expected $18 over 9 holes. Yeah that's right, I actually chopped the first hole. Boom.

In the poker world, all is relatively standard. Zack took a couple beats last night on Stars so he cashed out his whole roll. Nick's status online is questionable. The team nit, Rash, has money online..somehow...and hasn't withdrawn his entire roll yet. Although it is rumored that he has tried to withdraw his roll multiple times and stars wont let him. As far as I go, I was trying to steal blinds at .10/.25 last night to get enough money to play a $6.50 sit and go and got snapped off my K8...and it held... So back to busto for me.

Maybe I'll ship crazy ched in the golf world tonight. One can only hope.

-Mazin

Oh Michael, You've Gone Too Soon...

2009-07-09T18:35:00.004-04:00

Boredom has set in. In honor of my two good friends, Nick and Zack, I elected not to go to class this morning. I woke up around 1:30, went to Chickfila with Mazin and have been sitting at the apartment since. Just got done playing a little online. Played for about an hour and half and won a little more than a buy-in at 50nl full ring and then shipped Mazin $75 so he can owe even more...Actually, I have a feeling he might run this transfer up to large sum, but we'll see. His broke can't stay dry forever...I hope.

Not too much excitement in Raleigh as of late, which is why I haven't been posting a lot. Zack and Nick are out with some other guys today, busting their rolls betting on a golf match in Greensboro and Mazin went home so it's just me and Austin here (and I haven't seen Austin all day lol).

On a good note, this is the first day in like 2 weeks that Michael Jackson hasn't been the headline story on every news channel. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind hearing about his life for a couple days...I even watched his memorial service Tuesday, but I'm glad it's over. His memorial service, by the way was quite comical. First of all, you have virtually every major African American celebrity musician that is still alive perform. You have Stevie Wonder, Usher, Lionel Richie, Jackson's brothers and....John Mayer? He's white...very white. Don't see where he fit in. He did, however, have black background singers? Maybe that made it ok.

I also thought it was funny how every speaker mentioned that Michael Jackson "transcended racial barriers." I mean of course he transcended racial barriers. He was born a black man and died as a white man. Maybe that's why John Mayer performed...to honor Michael Jackson's white appearance. Another humorous moment... The good reverend Al Sharpton, speaking to Jackson's three children said, "There was nothing strange about yo daddy." (Wrong...C'mon Al...who can argue that this guy wasn't, at the very least, "strange.") Anyone that wears a white glove and mask and can somehow look like Josh Childress as a child and Celiene Dion as an adult....is more than strange. But, no matter what you think about MJ, no one can argue with his talent and with the amount of money and time he gave to help those who needed him.

Well that's all I've got for today. I'll keep you guys posted if anything exciting happens (not likely). Until then, God bless and Happy 9th!

-Jon-

Sleep is for the weak

2009-07-09T06:08:00.002-04:00

Yo,

So, its 6:27AM and I'm literally sitting in Zack's bedroom grinding online and watching him sleep (kidding....kinda). I've been laughing constantly because this guy talks a lot in his sleep. He just said, "She did it, she really did it, I can't believe it." (He sounded ectatic like someone just won some kind of competition.)Who knows what that means . The next one was the best though. He say's " Now that was a great game." Pause.... "I'm going to go dominate some golf tomorrow". Followed by random gibberish.

I've got this problem where I can't fall asleep now till around 6-8 (AM), most likely due to the fact I can't wake up until after 4 pm. If my parents somehow read this they will be crazy steamed. I'm staying up all night due to the fact we are leaving for Greensboro tomorrow around 12 to play golf with some friends. Proposed teams tomorrow are Me and Zach vs. Trey and Kyle for some fairly high stakes captains choice, so that will be fun.

Just finished up a session of PLO on Stars. Manage to literally bubble a small PLO tourney but did ok in cash games. Won a little under 3BI, ran I'm guessing a little below EV (didn't run HEM). I got a stack in 3way with a 5 card wrap vs. top two vs. top two on a rainbow board, and obviously bricked. I've played almost zero cash games on stars, but from this experience Stars is noticeably softer than FTP. It sucks stars doesn't offer rakeback or I would grind there full time. One guy managed to get 165BB in drawing dead to me. Sorry for unconverted hand, but I 3bet 9876 on the btn, flop 975 (how do i do it?) and he gets it in with the 6423 with no backdoor flush draws or anything. So that was cool.

I'll probably grind a little longer and then wake this clown up to go eat and then head to greensboro.

Later

Railing

2009-07-09T02:58:00.002-04:00

It's 3 am and Nick, Mazin, and myself are railing Mr. Trey Turner in the 50/50 on Full tilt. There are 17 people left and hes in 11th place....first place is almost 11k. I'm hoping he's gonna ship this ched for multiple reasons so lets hope team Legacy can pull one out.

-Zack

Brook Status: Still Dry.

2009-07-07T02:45:00.003-04:00

Standard Bull for me again tonight. Bought in short at Greggs 1/2 game because I'm laughably broke. I enjoyed a small upswing for the first hour. Yes, that's right, I was actually winning. But then it was back to brutality for me.

I had top and middle on Ted's crazy flush and that cost me a decent amount of ched. I then picked up what I like to call, bone central. Raise from a monster whale on the button and I look down at 2 black queens. "Come to me mama!" I screamed as I made a huge 3-bet to $22. Without the slightest bit of hesitation the monster fish snapped off my raise. "All we need now is a nice flop and all the money is goin' in, Mom!" I repeated to myself in my head. A 4 7 rainbow. Hm. Not exactly what I was looking for but hey, I've seen worse. I check, the guy checks back. Turn 3. I check again, just horny to get to showdown. $15 is the thrillingly laughable bet sizing that the clown comes up with on the turn. I grudgingly put in the call. The river is another A. I check again this time ready to snap off a bet. $20 from the man who apparently hates money/value is the final river bet. "Call" I announce and throw my chips across the table. "I got a boat, A3" says the monster whale. Thanks for the river Gregg.

Losing touch with reality, I had a troubling discussion with Jon "FlopASetEveryHandLiveandDoubleWhenWeArentChopping" Rash on the way home from the game. "I can't do it anymore" I whined. "I'm tired of losing and I'm starting to play bad because I just expect to lose every hand." He quickly told me to shut up and that I should just quit for a week and spend time relaxing away from poker. I love this idea and I told him I was going to do it. So immediately when I got back I bought some action of Zack's tournaments and begun grinding online. Meh. Well I'm going to take a break...Starting tomorrow...Maybe.

Well, we just min cashed in the Turbo Fiddy and now it's time to ship the Turbo Hundo. And by that I mean bubble.

-Mazin

No Limit FOLD EM

2009-07-06T22:57:00.002-04:00

So let me start this by saying that I hate no limit holdem cash games and they make me want to pull my hair out one by one. Ok, now that I got that out...we went to play at Gregg's tonight and I had my standard night of No Limit poker. I played two hours and here were my stats....
-$300, 0 pocket pairs, won 1 pot. It's so brutal and it doesn't even seem right. Rash flopped two more sets than I had pairs....how is that even possible? They started the night off by me losing to a guy who limp called a raise with 10 4 of clubs and found a flush when I had top pair...then on an A 10 5 board they gave me AK and him A5...sweet. Finally, after I folded 1 million 2nd best hands they deal me A4 on the A64 with two hearts board and deal rash 66. Cool. On a brighter note I got to spend a dominant weekend with my g/f and I was very happy about that. She's great and treats me like royalty even though I don't deserve it at all. I guess I just run good in that area of life. Anways, I'm about to play a session online so I'll let you guys know how that goes. Adios

-Zack

Who says FullTilt Support Isn't Responsive?

2009-07-06T14:18:00.002-04:00

Hello Mazin,

Thank you for contacting Full Tilt Poker Support.

Some players like to think that there is a button or switch at online poker sites that when flipped gives players terrible cards and horrible bad beats. The doom switch also has developed a counterpart known as the boomswitch which apparently gives players great cards and makes them unstoppable at the tables.

The whole concept of a doomswitch does not make sense for an online poker site. Please understand that a poker site makes its money off of rake which is a small portion of each pot played on the site. A poker site does not want to take your money because once you are broke you can no longer contribute rake. For a poker site, busting players with a doomswitch does not in any way increase revenue. If Full Tilt Poker made players who potentially would have spent many hours of happily playing raked hands on the site go bankrupt to bad beats they would be risking those players trying their luck at another site, or not playing for real money at all.

Conversely, giving great cards to all the players who are close to busting would also negatively affect profits. If the consistent players who play poker for a living were consistently losing to players who were getting fed the winning hands they would take their game to another site. This would cost a site a large percentage of players who play multiple tables forty or more hours a week. These players track their hands very closely and would be the first to recognize if there was a statistical discrepancy. Every high stake game you see being played is a statement by every player at the table that they trust the RNG at Full Tilt Poker.

Some players come up with more devious schemes for how this doom switch might operate in an effort to maximize profits for a poker site. However, these theories are no less speculative than theories about UFO's, secret societies, and mythical creatures. While it is easy to type up a reasonable motive for a poker site to rig action there is simply no evidence to support it.

The fact is that there are thousands of players who record every hand they play, and there has never been a manipulated shuffle discovered over a significant sample size. Players who have recorded a hundred thousand hands or more and taken the time to analyze the statistics simply do not write emails to poker sites accusing them of having a doom switch.

If there's anything else we can help you with, please feel free to ask. We're always here to help.

Regards,

Gearoid
Poker Specialist
Full Tilt Poker Support

My response:

So, in other words, boom switch enabled?

Thanks G.

ONE TIME HOWARD

2009-07-06T01:44:00.002-04:00

from	Mazin
to		support@fulltiltpoker.com
date		Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 1:44 AM
subject		ONE TIME HOWARD
mailed-by		gmail.com

Howard,

HAI BOI.

My bum bum is starting to hurt from all this brutality baby.

Ship the boom switch.

I love you and your laughable tournament books,

MDaddy

Micro Manager

2009-07-04T17:03:00.004-04:00

In an attempt to build my bankroll, I deposited $600 on Poker Stars and started grinding $4.40 180-man mtts. Through two days I'm winning about $225. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to be winning, but at this time I'm running at 120% ROI (return on investment) and cashing in 23%. These numbers, however, despite the unreal softness of these tournaments, I don't think will be sustainable. And even if I can sustain such a high win rate, my hourly is only working out to be $12.50 (lol) which is way too low for the amount of volume I have to put in. On the flip side, I am running a little below EV and have gotten coolered at some point at every final table I've been at. Maybe once I start winning a few of these, my hourly will look a little better. I'm thinking about just grinding .10/.25 nl. These games are noticably more soft on Poker Stars than they are on Full Tilt. I should be able to win at a great rate, improve my hourly and hopefully not have to put in near as much volume. Even though I'm a true nit at heart, playing these micro stakes is extremely monotonous and boring. I'd rather be playing higher, but...oh well. Sometimes you just have to crush the micros.

Right now my car is busto so we have no way of leaving our apartment at this time. It's either the battery or the starter (hopefully the battery). Maybe we'll run good and find something exciting to do tonight.

Happy 4th of July and Happy America!

-Jon-

Just a Quickie....

2009-07-04T01:29:00.002-04:00

Don't want to waste too much time typing right now because I'm so steamed that I could infact doo doo in my pants and not even care. If I take one more sick beat deep in a god forsaken 4/180 I'm going to go outside and throw rocks and pedestrians. I love each and every one of you. Please help spread the run good.

-MDaddy

First Few Days of HU PLO

2009-07-03T22:22:00.002-04:00

I don't want this to turn into a whine fest of a blog, but thats all I have for today. Today was the single worst (running bad wise def not money wise) day in my poker career. I know I played bad, but I'll go back and learn from my mistakes. HU PLO is the biggest test of tilt control there is. I usually dont recognize when I'm tilting and that could end up costing me boatloads. I'm very very tilted, but Rash just misclicked flatted an all in with 93 off deep in a tourney so that brightened my day a bit. Ran over 6 buyins below EV today. Yum.

Sick Session

2009-07-03T01:29:00.004-04:00

I just put in around a 2 1/2 hr. session. Things did not go well to say the least. I started out losing every pot playing 6max PLO so I went back to the game that made me, N HU. Things went even worse there. I was pretty disappointed with my NL HU play but I haven't played that in a while so I guess I can't be too upset. I then moved to the newest fad in the poker world, HU PLO. I really believe this game is going to take over the poker world soon so I'm trying to learn it as well as I can. I'm really comfortable with my PLO game in general but not so much at HU PLO. I four tabled for a bit, but then got in a crazy match vs. a crazy crazy opponent so I went to just one table.

This shows just how bad this guy plays. He was 3betting a small amount of hands but he was barreling almost every 3bet pot. His river call is laughable.

http://weaktight.com/1263560

I absolutely love the way I played this hand. I don't want to get a ton of money in on the flop but I'm pretty confident I have the best hand. Also, this guy was potting every time I checked back a flop.

http://weaktight.com/1263561

How do I get this turn card? Also lol at his play.

http://weaktight.com/1263564

This is the nuts vs. this guy. It sucks getting this much money in with only 60% equity. I could have flatted and folded some turns but I think I made the right play. He neve has AA here so I have the equivalent nuts. He could easily be dead vs. my range by I guess his play is fairly standard. Now if I could just get Howard to reverse my doomswitch.

http://weaktight.com/1263566

Heres a sick beat. Getting pretty tired of this bull. Whats sick is I'm only 68% here. HU PLO is such a sick game.

http://weaktight.com/1263567

Standard flipping spot. I would like to win here once.

http://weaktight.com/1263568

I tanked a long time before calling this river. I probably should fold but this is just such a sick spot vs. this guy. Hes bluffing a huge percentage of the time and might even value bet worse sets and even some two pairs.

http://weaktight.com/1263570

This is it. Dropped a decent amount of ched. Back to raping Tiger Woods and pounding some brews.

On the Grind Again

2009-07-02T21:01:00.000-04:00

New day, new plan, new roll. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you I’m any less busto than the last time I wrote. In fact, I’m more busto. I have precisely $49.25 in my wallet. That’s brutal man. We’re back on the grind today as usual. Woke up at 3:30, enjoyed a nice breakfast, busted our roll at the supermarket, and now Rash is grinding 180s on Stars and Nick is grinding Tiger Woods. Zack is missing from the squad today because he’s with the famous Byrdman (his girlfriend). I lost a nice healthy prop bet on the supermarket tab. Apparently chewy granola bars are cheaper than I thought.

To make matters worse, we decided it was a good idea to put a bottle of detergent in my trunk. For most cars, this is no difficult feat. For a trunk as tiny as a Ford Mustang with a large set of subs in the back (brag), it’s a bit more of a risk to put anything that can…well…explode in the trunk. When we arrived back at the shithole that is College Inn, I opened my trunk to find that the entire bottle of detergent had flooded the inside of my trunk. Sick beat. To make matters worse Rash berated me and reminded me that it was “my fault” because I drive like an idiot. While cleaning the soapy disaster, I locked my keys in my drunk. Could one man run any worse? Bottom line is I’m now stranded here till my Dad can come bring me my keys tomorrow.

In the world of poker, Jon has decided to make the best financial decision of his life and stake me to play 180s on Stars. Although it’s going to be brutal to play tiny buy-in MTTs, when one man is busto, he must do what he can to get unstuck. I’ll update you on my laughable scores and likely 50 buy-in downswing within the next few days.

RASH LIKES MAN WEE!

-MSauce

Hello World

2009-07-02T03:18:00.003-04:00

What up cats and cattettes,

We've got a pretty cool thing going here. I don't know if anyone actually enjoys reading it (except Finn) but we enjoy writing so hopefully we will keep it going. Everyone seems to have run to the keyboard and beat me to the punch in actually posting, but seeing as how busy I am (lol) its understandable. The last few days have been pretty standard. We played golf today, I played awful but compared to Mazin I was an above average tour player. We went to Logans Roadhouse per Josh Lassiter's recommendation, it was pretty dominant and then grinded out a mini session at the Estate. I somehow managed to win but most importantly I stacked Rash. But thats not what this blog is about really, on to the real subject in hand.

Tiger Woods 2010

Myself and Rash have been playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour since around 2006ish. We've bought every game and I would put any sum of money on Rash and probably me against anyone in the world. When are these clowns that create the game going to learn? MAKE THE GAME HARDER TO PLAY. I mean its unreal. We consistently shoot 55 or under on 18 holes. It isn't even that fun to play the PGA Tour mode because its impossible not to win a tournament. Today i was 14 shots behind the leader when I entered the final round after 3 consecutive simulations and I shot 53 and won. This is not in any sort an attempt of a brag, its just the game is too easy. But end rant, the game is still fun to play against your friends so its pretty cool.

As far as poker goes, I'm actually up a decent chunk of ched online and live this week so thats pretty cool. In other news my little brother got kicked out of some church camp and my parents had to drive 2 1/2 hours today to go pick him up, so if any of you guys actually no my dad you can imagine how steamed he was. I think I'm going to rewatch The Wire S2, so I'll see you guys around 3PM tomorrow.

FML...

2009-07-02T01:39:00.002-04:00

This sums up my last few days perfectly. I quit after this one...

http://weaktight.com/1260619

-Zack

Golf, Poker, Life

2009-07-01T20:26:00.003-04:00

Today Nick, Josh, Mazin, and I went to eagle ridge and played some golf. I had some world class driver play and still managed to shoot at least 10 over on the front (guess I need to work on putting and chipping). It's weird that I've been hitting my driver well and shanking all my other clubs...you would think it'd be the opposite. Oh well. Anyways, watching these clowns play golf is probably the funniest thing I've ever witnessed and all in all I'd say we had a great time and alot of laughs. Tonight we're going to Finn's to lose our rolls and then we'll probably come home and grind some online and Tiger Woods (surprise, surprise). Tomorrow I'm excited b/c I'll finally get to see my g/f after a 3 week hiatus. I've only seen her once in the last month + so I'm pumped she's coming into town. One thing I'm not as excited about is how terrible I'm running (and maybe playing) online. I was on a heater and killing and games, but now they wont let me win a pot. Whenever this happens I tend to just go crazy and cash out all my money so I don't steam it off, but this time I'm just gonna fight it and see if I can grind back some of the money I've lost in the last two days. I'm down 5 buy ins playing $1/2 since monday, which isn't a lot, it's just frustrating to never win an all in pot. I feel like I'm playing alright, but maybe I need to check out some hands and reevaluate how I'm playing. Either way, I can't complain...my life is pretty great right now. Take care, and I'll catch up with yall later....

-Zack

Gotta get dat boom boom...BOOM!

2009-07-01T16:11:00.002-04:00

4 guys...one bankroll. That's pretty much how it goes around here. The official Raleigh grind began last Monday when Nick and I moved back into College Inn. We had high hopes for our lives as poker players, but let's just say we did not get off to the best of starts. The week began with Mazin and I (mostly "I") losing $1,100 at one of the softest 1/3 nl games in the state and Nick losing another $200 online. "We've been here for 6 hours and we've lost more than half our bankroll," I told Mazin. This was not the start we had envisioned. These losses, of course, led to some crazy talk amongst the team. I told Mazin and Nick I was going to quit (funny). Nick told me and Mazin that he was going to look for a job (more funny). And Mazin told me and Nick that he was a pimp and that all the girls in the world love him (has nothing to do with the situation at hand, I know, but this is just what he says all the time...go figure). These were the bad times: total winnings: -$1,500ish. Ew.

Well, we plodded through the next couple days with nothing exciting to speak of. Then, one night, we got a break. It was me, Nick and Zack hanging out in our apartment. Mazin had run off to a "undisclosed location" for the night and would not be present for said "break" (a decision I'm sure he now regrets). It was about 1:30am when we decided to fire up a $75 tournament on Full Tilt and chop the buy-in three ways. Approximatley 7 hours later at around 8 in the morning, we had won $3,400 for our second place finish. $1,160 for me, $1,160 for Nick, $1,160 for Zack and $0 for Mazin....lol. This was the huge for us at the time. We got some confidence back, put some cash monies in our wallets and then slept til 4:30 in the afternoon. It was great. Total winnings: +$2,400

A couple days later, I won a $120 20-man donkathon at a home game in Cary for $1,100. Besides the fact that this tournament structure riviled that of an online super-turbo, there was not a single competent player in the field. This, accompanied with the fact that I run like pure, hot, sweet, sexy gold in live games (most of the time) allowed me to win. I took half and Mazin and Nick each got 1/4 of the win as we had agreed to do before the tournament. Total winnings: +3,500. These are the better times.

Since that time, we've a lost a little bit in some live games and won a little bit as well...making us about even over the past few days.

We've got a good thing going here. We've got the guy who runs better than anyone on the planet (Zack), a huge nit (myself), a calling station (Mazin) and a guy who is somewhere in between all of that (Nick). To top it all off, each of us thinks we are the best in the group which makes for a competitive atmosphere.

Nick, Mazin and Zack are playing golf right now (which actually means that Nick is playing golf, Zack is trying to play golf and Mazin is saying something about someone's butthole in the middle of their backswing) and I think and Austin and I are about to clean the apartment. We are all going to the Estate tonight to play some cards. I'm sure we'll be posting the results of tonight's session either tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully I'll cooler all these clowns and win some monkies.

God bless!

-Jon-

BOOM – An Epic All In from an Epic Guy

2009-07-01T14:19:00.001-04:00

So here we are, four standard college “students” with our entire lives ahead of us. Well, sort of. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you up front that we truly do live the life. Bred from many years of poker grinding and degenerate gambling we’ve developed something truly special. Nick, the self proclaimed nastiest 50nl heads up player in the world, will be returning to NC State for his junior year. Jon, or Rash as we call him, is the team’s official nit. Zack, the 6th year senior, is our grandpa in the poker world.

And then there’s me, Mazin. I’m not the slightest bit embarrassed to say that I’m by far the most busto member on the squad. I’ve been on the sickest downswing of my life for the last month and as I learned in church last Sunday, my “brook” is simply dry. My bank account has a laughable sum of money in it and I owe Dad (Zack) boatloads. I guess its no surprise that every poker player goes on a sick downswing, this just happens to be a terrible time in my life for this swing. I have a tiny tiny bankroll; and when I say tiny, I mean negative. It’s starting to get frustrating for the whole team. Anytime we chop any type of live poker, I immediately bust. I don’t even consider winning a pot. I am simply dealt some type of sick cooler or some epic suck out takes place. It’s getting old, but hey, its part of the game after all.

Last night we went to the home poker game that started it all for me, The Estate. I’ve been playing at this house for almost a year now and everyone else has been playing their even longer. It’s a tiny .50/1 on Tuesday and .25/.50 on Wednesday game that has become more of a social activity than a grind. I go there to have fun and typically, donate to the table. Last night, in my current state of busto, losing was simply not an option. I went there with grind on my mind and said, “Tonight, I’m going to play my A game.”

I picked up kings in early position and shot it up to $3.50. Rash went into the tank and made a good sized 3bet. It was hard to keep from busting my nut all over everyone’s legs under the table. It was the dream setup. I had a huge hand, I had been 3bet, and I was going to get an opportunity to stack Rash. I put on the Hollywood of my life and tanked for a minute or so before shoving my entire stack in. “Call” Jon said calmly before my chips hit the felt and turned over AA. I smiled. I told him the only way he ever wins is to cooler people. I berated our dealer, Mike, for some time about how he always coolers me at his place and then asked him for my usual “100 more.”

The grind was on again, I wasn’t going to let one sick cooler ruin the night. I ran a ludicrous bluff against a ludicrous player that somehow worked and then started to chip up a little again. I made two pair against the table’ maniac and let him somehow get there. I was card dead for the next 2 hours and my chip stack was once again laughable. I had $75 or so at the table and someone who was ready to go had opened all in for $27 the last few hands. A limp in early position and then his $27 all in took place again. It folded around and I looked down at the dreaded JJ in the big. I grabbed my small stack raised it high above the table, raised my hands above my head, released it from my hands onto the felt and yelled “BOOM!” as the chips fell everywhere. I was pumped to have picked up a reasonable hand. Once again, very calmly, the limper asked me if I was all in. I smiled and said “Yes” knowing that my bottom was about to be drilled. “I call” he said and flipped over KK. I later found out he limped UTG after only looking at one king, and he of course woke up with the 2nd one after all of my chips were in the middle. At this point, all I could do was laugh. At least I had gone out with a bang.