The road to Team Canada....

....is not paved, it is dirty and covered in loose gravel.

Well, I am playing in the tournament mentioned in the post below this one, however I use the term "playing" very loosely.

I received a bye for the first round, so here I sit until 416 players are knocked out.

I don't know if this is an advantage or not - my head isn't in the game like it was an hour ago, and I am working on beer number three as we speak. However, I may not be as burned out as some of the players for the next round.

Time will tell I suppose. I will update once there is more to write about.

Round 2
That was fast. I barely had time to chat with Rod and Pauly who were sweating me on the sidelines, and the match was over. (Thanks again guys - as well as to Don who visited me off and on too!)

The first seven hands were fairly uneventful, but hand eight was the deciding factor. I was dealt 3h 4h and called my opponents pre-flop raise of T180. Flop brought 3,4,6 rainbow. He raised, I re-reraised, etc until I was all-in (he had more chips than me at that point.) The river brought the magical four, giving me a full house and a very dominating position.

My opponent disconnected after that hand (I figured he threw his computer out the window) however he resurfaced just in time to call my pre-flop raise with Hilton Sisters. He raised all-in, and we both showed the same hand to the amazement and delight of my spectators. Tie pot, as neither of our suits made any progress.

Last hand - he bets pre-flop, I raise, he re-reraises all-in.
My pocket aces hold, and I take it down.

Victory is sweet my friend.

Round 3
Uneventful until I caught my gut-shot straight draw, only to lose to his draw which was one card higher. Sigh. It was an all-in call that I would not have made while playing a regular tournament, however, in a heads-up situation you have to put your chips in with the best of it.

Unfortunately, his "best of it" was better than mine.

Oh well - Thursday night I will try again.

World Cup of Poker

I am playing in an interesting tournament tonight. Pokerstars is hosting the World Cup of Poker (WCP) where 40 countries compete with 5-person teams in heads-up matches. To make the team for your country, you must play in a qualifier where first place automatically becomes a member of the team for that country. The entry is free, just 50 frequent player points to sign up. The 40 teams then play against each other online until there are only 4 teams left. The winning teams receive an all-expense paid trip to London for the finals, where there is a $125,000.00 prize pool and it will be broadcast on TV.

The first of two qualifiers for Canada will be held tonight at 8pm EST, the second one is on Thursday. I have no idea how many people will sign up, but the cap is 2048 players. All matches are played solely heads-up, the winner moving on to the next round. Blinds and starting chips double each new round. I watched the New Zealand qualifier last night (early this morning) during a bout of insomnia, and it was pretty cool. There were only 38 entrants for that country, and the tournament lasted for 5 hours and 9 minutes. I have a feeling it could be a long night....

I really don't expect to be in the top 10% for this tournament, let alone win it, but it should be fun.

Photos

I am testing out the photo site, so I have added some pics of our trip to Vegas. I completely forgot that we had the camera with us most of the time, so these are what we took either in or on top of the Mirage Casino. I have more to add, and will try to get them up this weekend.

Vegas Trip

The crowd in front of me parted and through the madness I spotted a cocktail waitress, expertly balancing her tray as several tourists bumped into her. People here were oblivious to anyone else’s personal space, only concerned about reaching the next cocktail bar, or more likely, the next blackjack table.

Her long, braided hair was as gold as the morning sunlight, and though I could only see her from behind, I could make out a headband wrapped around her forehead. I guessed that she wore this solely for the purpose of preventing any stray hairs from falling across her face as she would be unable to wipe them away while serving drinks, collecting tips, cleaning out ashtrays or performing crowd control - gently nudging some people out of the way, forcefully pushing others. Her right arm was up in the air, balancing the tray on fingertips the way only a professional waitress can, fingers splayed, the tray becoming an extension of her own arm.

Always interested in seeing the outfits the cocktail waitresses wore, my eyes followed the braid down her back to her jacket, tuxedo style, tapered at her tiny waist and tails reaching to the bottom of her black micro-mini skirt. Fishnet stockings covered her thin yet muscular legs, and I gasped in amazement as my eyes spotted the four-inch high-heeled shoes she wore. How she could walk in them, let alone work in them day after day, was beyond me.

There was something different about her, unlike all the other cookie-cutter waitresses that the casino employs, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it until she turned around. Staring back at me was a wizened old face, 70 if a day, and grandma just smiled and continued on serving her drinks.

Only in Vegas.

Well, it has taken me three days to catch up on sleep and get my body functioning on a regular schedule again. All in all it was an outstanding trip, and if I had any choice in the matter, I would still be there.

I flew into Seattle from Calgary last Wednesday, and expected a three-hour layover. Three hours became seven though, as there was something wrong with the electrical system on my connecting flight. To my great relief, they managed to move all of us over to another airplane and I made it in around 9:30pm. Bill had arrived at 3:30, so he rented the car, checked into the hotel, and went to Food For Less to stock up on an arsenal of drinks and snacks. He bought a case of beer, 6 bottles of champagne, several bags of Chicharrones (they dont sell good pork rinds in Canada) and beef jerky. Sustenance.

We proceeded to make our way through two bottles of the champagne, and decided to go check out the casino. We weren't up to playing much of anything, so we decided to just go to one of the lobby bars, play video poker, and drink some more champagne for free. When Bill sat down at his machine, it said "Manual cash out required, call attendant". He hadn't put money or even his players card in the machine yet, but when he asked the bartender what was going on, they sent over a sweet lady named Nicki who was the slot supervisor. Before he could tell her that it wasn't his payout, she handed over $54.75 and was apologizing profusely for any inconvenience that we may have encountered. She seemed to know that the money wasn't rightfully ours, but wasn't concerned about it. Ten minutes later, she brought over two free dinner coupons to us, and told us to go see her the next day and she would get us two more. True to her word, every day that we were there, she sought us out and gave us more free dinners.

Bill had several job interviews over the next few days, so we didn't do too much other than hang around the hotel and relax. Thursday night we managed to make our way downtown with the intention of going to Binions, but ended up at the Golden Gate Casino instead. We had an amazing prime rib dinner ($5.95 each) and settled in for some blackjack. We each bought in with $50, ($5 table) and played for several hours. Bill ended up going bust, but I almost tripled mine, so all in all we were up over $30 after tokes, tips for drinks, and our meal. Not exactly making the big-time, but certainly can't complain.

Friday night we decided to finally play some poker, so we checked out what the Imperial Palace had to offer. Their poker room has tripled in size since last May and it was packed full, so we were anticipating some pretty good action. However, the only options for tables were $1/2 no-limit, and $2/4 limit. We decided to play the no-limit tables, and each bought in for the maximum of $100. I wish I had a better story to tell, but needless to say neither of us did well. Bill did manage to drop the hammer, so I was very proud of him, but that really was the most exciting hand we saw. We both had the worst streak of cards we have EVER seen, but even when I did get good hands, they were ultimately cracked on the turn or the river. It was disappointing to say the least.

For the rest of the trip we just toured the city a bit, saw the show "Splash" which was quite good, and played the odd game. It certainly wasn't a weekend full of poker, but we were totally able to relax and just spend time with each other, which was the ultimate goal anyways.

And I am back!!....

....but I am waaaaay too tired to write anything right now. I will post more later on today.

27 Hours and Counting...

I apologize in advance.

This blog entry may be rather large, but since I am not going to be home for the better part of six days I feel the need to write a bit now while I have the time. That, plus the fear of being placed back on the dreaded languishing list of the Blogfather keeps the words flowing ;)

I went to the store last night and bought a notebook, so while traveling I could do some writing about the trip and whatever else comes to mind. Calgary to Vegas direct is only a three-hour flight, but due to a last minute scramble trying to get this trip booked, I didn't end up quite that lucky. My parents have volunteered to drop me off at the airport, but since they have plans tomorrow morning, I will be at Calgary International more than three hours prior to take off. Then my plane connects through Seattle, where I have a layover for another three. However, armed with my notebook, three poker books, and a novel (A Son of the Circus, John Irving) I won't have time to be bored.

I somehow doubt that I will even crack open the books though, as I am most looking forward to doing some writing. I don't deem it necessary to divulge what it is I write on here (if you really want to know, feel free to email me), but it is the process of actual pen-to-paper writing that I am looking forward too. Old school style. I can imagine that there is a collective shudder happening simultaneously among all those under the age of 23 who grew up knowing what the word Pentium was, not wanting to comprehend the actual process of completing a piece of work without the help of Microsoft Word or spell check. When I actually sit down and put pen to paper, it brings me back to a place before computers took over the world. I honestly go on a bit of a nostalgia trip back to the 80's. I can hear the Sex Pistols, The Cult and The Cure in the background. Musical Youth were Passing the Dutchie, though who really cares if it was on the left or right hand side, just pass the damn thing already! Before The Smiths faded and only Morrissey emerged, and they were known for more than just the theme song to the TV show "Charmed".

However, this blog is supposed to be about poker, so I digress....

I somehow doubt that I will do any online play while I am there since the real thing is at my fingertips so to speak, but the laptop will be fired up in my hotel room just in case I don't get quite enough action at the tables. Also assuming, of course, that I am not too incoherent to be able to focus on the screen. (Those damn free drinks.....) At the very least, the laptop will enable me to keep up with my blog reading while I have my morning acetaminophen and hair-of-the-dog cocktail.

I made a list of things I wanted to do while there this trip:

(1) I am planning to play in no less than two NLHE tournaments, but hopefully three or four if I can manage it.
(2) Since I have never seen one of the "big" Las Vegas shows (only Legends In Concert at the Imperial Palace which is an impersonation act), we decided to go see Folies Bergere. I am really looking forward to that, and can't believe how cheap it is. For two of us, including dinner, it is only $106.00. Crazy.
(3) Even though I have driven up and down the entire strip many, many times, I have never actually made it inside a casino South of Caesar's Palace, so that is another goal.
(4) Drop the Hammer during a live tournament, at least once
(5) Take advantage of some of the free sites - the Bellagio Fountains, Treasure Island's Pirate Show, etc. etc.
(6) Play something other than blackjack at Binions
(7) To NOT go to Hoover Dam (been there, done that....twice!)
(8) To have at least one of each of my favorite drinks - and not just drink beer the entire time - though maybe not all in one sitting ;) This includes SoCo shots, Tequila shots, Margaritas, Alabama Slammers, Lemon Drops, Harvey Wallbangers, Screwdrivers, Caesars (or Bloody Mary's to the Americans), well...the list goes on and on.....
(9) Play blackjack by the pool
and finally......
(10) To actually write something about my trip, do something worthy of "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", and remain just coherent enough to remember it ;)

Have a great week / weekend everybody. For the next 6 days Joanne will be missing, presumed drunk.

re: Post below

Within 2 hours of sending my complaint to PokerStars, I received an email stating that the situation was under review, and they would have an answer to me within 48 hours.

Within 8 hours of sending the original message, the entire amount was credited back to my account, and I received the following email:

Hello Joanne,

We have refunded your account with the amount of the buy-in (plus add-ons) for the tournaments you were involved in at the time of the problems. You can find this credit in your transaction history through the cashier window.Once again we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused, and thank you for your patience and understanding. Best Regards,

PokerStars Support Supervisor

Nice to be able to put your faith in an online site.

Let's see how they handle this one....

(copy of email sent to PokerStars support)

I am writing because of what happened tonight in the $11+R Turbo Satellite, #5285559, February 14 1:00EST.

There were technical problems that started just prior to the 30 minute cut off period, and when the rebuy period should have ended, the tournament continued on for the better part of an hour - with the tournament clock frozen.

I personally had more than enough chips at that time that I did not have to re-buy (or couldn't - for that matter). However since we were forced to play on with no end in sight, I ended up having to rebuy two more times which I never would have had to do had the tournament run as scheduled. I am sure that you can appreciate that we play these tournaments using a certain strategy, and that ability was taken away from us tonight when the server crashed (or whatever happened.) Being dedicated to the site, and hoping that the situation would be solved fairly, I remained at my table and continued playing throughout all the confusion.

I would like my entire entry, re-buys, and add-on (Total $71.00) credited back to my account, as I entered what was advertised as a Turbo satellite tournament, cut-off to any re-buys after 30 minutes, and that is not what I ended up playing. Furthermore, when the tables had been stopped entirely, the main tournament page showed a pop up window stating that the tournament had been "CLOSED". This was deceiving to all players.

The general consensus at the tables was that the tournament should have been cancelled entirely, with all money returned to the players that were entered.

I am a dedicated member of your site, and though I have had a few problems in the past, they have always been addressed quickly and professionally. I hope that this matter will be handled in the same way.

I continue to recommend players to your site, and have nothing but good words about the professionalism and fairness of the entire site. It is my hope that I can continue this faith with your company.

Thanks and best regards,
Joanne

player name: Joanne1111

Home Game Tonight! and Vegas on my mind...

Remember when you were a little kid, and it was the week prior to Christmas? The house was decorated, the tree was all lit-up, and underneath were shiny shimmering packages with your name on it? Remember the countless hours you spent holding each one, gently shaking it, running your fingers along the tape, wishing you could take a peek inside but knowing in your heart that it was worth waiting for?

That is how I feel today.

I am still so bloody excited about going to Vegas next week. This will be my fifth time there in the past four years, but it may as well be my first for how much I am looking forward to it. In my last post I talked about how I am, more than anything, looking forward to seeing my husband. Though it is the predominant reason, I am going to (mostly) set it aside for the moment because a.) I don't want to risk gushing on for hours about him, and b.) I am thinking of all the other reasons I love Vegas so much.

I found this link for poker tournaments: http://www.winninginlasvegas.com/pokertournaments.htm
I don't know how up to date it is, but we are going to check them out and hopefully play in some of the NLHE tourneys.

I have to admit, one of my favorite things about Vegas is the free drinks. Now, I have college education in marketing and advertising, and I DO realize that the drinks are not exactly free, and I know why they offer complimentary beverages. I willingly fall right into their trap when I lose $300 on the blackjack tables during a nine-hour stint when I can barely tell the difference between an ace and a deuce, however I simply don't care. "Bring another round, and make them doubles!" is my mantra in Vegas.

I suppose we have to be able to get away with it somewhere. I always feel let down when I go to a local casino and have to shell out $5 for my libation of choice.

The first three times I was in Vegas we stayed at the Stardust. $39.95 per night, including two free buffet meals, need I say more? However last year when we got married, our wedding package was at the Imperial Palace, so for two weeks that became our home. Great place to play cards? No.....I really don't recommend it. They had just opened their "poker room" - and I use the term loosely - when we were there, so I cant really comment on it since it was so new. It will be interesting to see what they have done with it in the past nine months though.

My favorite thing about the Imperial Palace is one of their restaurants. In a small, comfortable dining space, not a slot machine in sight, you sink into a booth and relax. For less than $10 per person, they offer not only an all-you-can-eat buffet, complete with endless coffee/juice/pop refills, but also an all-you-can-drink-help-yourself-we-aren't-going-to-pour-it-for-you champagne tap. Yep. Champagne on tap. Good champagne too - although by "good" I mean tasty - certainly not expensive. There is nothing like starting off your day (or ending it) with unlimited champagne. I don't know if I would recommend it for day-to-day life, but hell - this IS Vegas after all.

Needless to say, that is where we will be staying again. After an extensive search, I found out two things. First, we picked one of the worst weeks to go to Vegas. Most of the hotels were either sold out or had hiked up their prices to an astronomical amount. Second, don't believe the casino websites when they say that you will save money by booking online. The Imperial Palace website stated that they were almost sold out on the Friday and Saturday night, but if you would pay $142+ per night you could stay. However when I phoned them (and because I have their players card) I was immediately transferred to VIP Casino Reservations, and my room for $49 weekdays and $69 weekends was booked in minutes. "Welcome back Joanne, and enjoy your flight in. We hope that you have an excellent trip."

Well. Thank you. I am certain I will.

So on to more domestic news. My brother is having a home game tonight, which of course makes me extremely happy. I somehow don't get sick of playing poker, even though I devote most of my week to it. Looks like there will be either six or eight of us, so a good time should be had by all!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. For those of us who are home all the time, the day of the week doesn't make much difference, however I still love Fridays - the whole day seems to have a different feel to it.

Going to Vegas, and other non-poker related news

How can a post about going to Vegas be non-poker related? Well, it didn't start out that way.

I woke up this morning with the intention of writing a short entry about how I am ecstatic as all hell since I just found out I am going to Vegas next Thursday for 4 days. I sat down on the couch, coffee in hand, and went through my morning ritual of reading the news and the poker blogs I have bookmarked. When I found some news in particular, it changed my perspective on everything I was feeling today. (I don't believe that it is my place to reiterate it here, but if you read me, then you certainly read him and already know.)

The line that got me was - don't take anything for granted. Without getting into my whole life history, I had my daughter when I was 20, and was, from the beginning, a single mom. I had tremendous family support, but remained alone otherwise. Every day was a struggle in one way or another, either financially, mentally, or physically, but I wouldn't change a minute of it if I could, and always appreciated the good things I did have in my life. Four years ago I began dating a co-worker/friend of mine that I had known for several years. We fell in love, lived together for three years, and last May we got married in Las Vegas with my now-12 year old daughter as my maid of honor. We have bought our first house, live a comfortable life, and travel alot. I am able to play poker for a living, and have the freedom to write, paint, and do all the other things that make me who I am. I try daily not to take any of that for granted.

The honeymoon was over before it began though, as he is a computer contractor, and started a job 300 miles out of our city shortly after we got married. For three or four months we lived for weekends, as that was the only time we got to spend together. Things got worse however, when his next job was 2700 miles away, across the country. He has been there for five months now, and I only see him, at best, every three weeks. We are planning to move there (or wherever his work takes him), however we don't want to make a rash decision selling the house here until we know that the employment possibilities are at least semi-permanent. (Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys...or computer contractors.)

We decided that instead of him flying home, or my daughter and I going there this time, that just he and I would meet in Vegas for a bit of R&R. Other than obviously missing him and being excited about seeing him, one of my underlying thoughts was - cool, I can go play some poker tournaments as well while I am there. Though that was never the main reason I was excited about going, sometimes we need a reminder as to what is really important. I am sad that it had to be through someone else's tragedy that I was reminded about appreciating the time that we have with our loved ones.

Even though I know we will, I now honestly don't care if I touch a card or see a single sight the entire time I am there. I am just thankful that I get to spend more time with him, regardless of where we are.

Put some positive energy out there in the world today and see how far it goes. There are those who need it today, and when you are the one in need, it will find its way back to you.

Big Tourney Today

I am still debating whether or not I should play in the $350,000 prize pool MTT on PokerStars today. It starts at 4:30 EST.

Decisions, decisions.

** Update **
Turns out fate decided for me. I fell asleep on the couch, and when I woke up the tournament had been in progress for an hour. Oh well - there is always next week.

Success!

(This post is in reference to the one directly below it)
I played three FPP (frequent player point) satellites, to no avail. I actually came in second in one of them, but since only first place wins an entry, I was no further ahead than being 1st out.

However, I then joined an 11+rebuy satellite, and made the cut there! For $31 (buy in, one rebuy, and one add-on) I earned the coveted entry. More about the satellite later....it was crazy!

I don't know how the other sites work, but at PokerStars you have the option to either stay entered in the tournemnt, or "withdraw" your entry for, in this case, $215 tournament dollars. These tournament dollars can only be used to enter tournaments and SNG's, (not ring games) but any prize money you win is of course paid out in cold hard cash.

I decided to withdraw my entry for now, and see what I could do with the $215. I am currently playing a $11+rebuy MTT, (prize pool $49,660.00) so depending on the outcome of that I will decide what to do next. I find it kind of funny since the whole reason I entered that satellite was to win an entry for tomorrow, and the first thing I do is withdraw it. However if I don't place, that is alot of "money" that goes down the drain. Being a tournament and SNG player predominently, that $215 can go along way and make a lot of profit for me.

(It should be said, whatever balance I have left from the "tournament dollars" can still be put towards the big tourney tomorrow)

What would you do?

$215 NLHE - $350,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

Every Sunday on PokerStars, they hold a $215.00 buy in tournament. It used to be a guaranteed prize pool of $250,000, but due to overwhelming popularity the pool has grown to $350k, usually much higher.

On average the top 135 places pay. Nice way to start of the week.

I have decided that I want to play in the event tomorrow, so I am dedicating some time today towards winning an entry through all the satellites available. (I am too cheap to just shell out $215 in one shot!)

First attempt starts right now, at a 4-table, 27 player SNG. First place wins an entry chip, all other places win - absolutely nothing!

Is this a sign?

Hmmm….

Late Friday afternoon. 5:45pm. The whole night ahead of me.

I am, as per the norm, alone, so I decide that I will play some tournaments tonight. I check the tourney tab and there is one that is seating right away. $10 NLHE. I jump on the bandwagon, register, and within minutes I am seeing the first deal.

Lo and behold….Big Slick.

Now, for the record, I hate playing the first hand in a tournament. In fact, I hate playing the first 10 hands in a tournament. However this opportunity was too good to pass up, so in 6s, with two limpers in front of me, I raise the blind x 3. Two calls after me, and the original two limpers call as well.

Uh oh. Not a good sign.

Flop comes Q, 10, 6 rainbow. One player before me bets out a small amount, and after a few moments deliberation I call, as does everyone else at the table. Turn brings the magical Jack, completing my nut straight.

UTG bets 400. I raise to 900, hoping to scare off everyone and take the pot down right then. However, the small blind re-raises all in, so I call, praying that the river doesn’t pair the board.

Sure enough, another Ten. Buddy completes his full house with his pocket jacks, and I am out of the tournament faster than you can say wtf.

Serves me right for chasing a gut-shot straight draw, but I hope this isn’t a sign of what’s to come in my poker games tonight.

WPBT Results

It was 6:40pm (MST). I had twenty minutes to go before the blogger tourney.

I cracked open a beer and began flipping through the music channels on my satellite, trying to decide what I want to hear playing in the background. Finally deciding on a rock station, I sat down at the couch, took a sip of my beer, and opened a $100/$200 game on Stars so I had something to watch while I waited. (No, I don’t play those limits!)

6:50pm. Tick tock tick tock. I get up, adjust the lighting in the room and sit back down. I shake the Chris Ferguson bobble head figure sitting on my monitor, (Christmas gift courtesy of my brother, Tactix) amusing myself for a few minutes.

I get impatient and fidgety while waiting for a tournament to start, so I decide to check my email quickly. Hmmm….I can’t seem to open a browser to bring up my email screen. Closing all the other programs on my computer, I return to PokerStars, only to find that it has frozen as well. Oh great, I think to myself. I am going to have to reboot my computer now.

Trying to be patient as my computer goes through the rebooting process, I glance at the clock. Tournament has started. Oh well, I will only miss the first couple of hands. After what seems like hours, I am up and running, and I open PokerStars. The words “establishing connection, please wait” sit on my screen. I tap my fingers on the table, my eyes darting between the computer and the clock. Five minutes into the tournament already.

Just as I crawl under the table to check the Ethernet and DSL modem, the phone rings. On the other line is my brother, wondering why I am not at my seat. I respond somewhere in between hysterics and anger, telling him that my f***ing Internet connection is not f***ing working. Wisely, he lets me go and I toss the phone across the room, returning to the tangle of cords and cables and such, desperately trying to determine the problem.

Crawling back up from under the computer, I try to open Internet Explorer again, but to no avail. I can’t get online at all. I have high speed DSL, so I know it isn’t the phone lines. I decide to release/renew my IP address. Nothing.

For twenty more minutes I frantically try to get my computer running. Finally, the Poker Gods must have smiled down at me, because I instantly have connection again. I open PokerStars, delight in how fast it connects, log in, and my table is instantly brought up.

31 minutes in, and T195 down in blinds, I begin my tournament.


For the first 10 minutes I try to just get my head back in the game. My mind is so frazzled that I all of a sudden can’t remember how to play. Do I raise that hand pre-flop, or just fold? Should I check/raise, bet….oh hell. My game is going to the toilet before I even start. I drop down another 300, and sit for the better part of a half hour mainly just folding everything that comes my way.

After the break, I am feeling a bit better about the game, and grind it out until I reach T2235. Then, the following hand came up, which it what saved the entire tournament for me:

*********** # 118 **************
PokerStars Game #1162089911: Tournament #4684031, Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2005/02/02 - 22:22:11 (ET)
Table '4684031 3' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: anisotropy (3720 in chips)
Seat 2: LanceyH (2155 in chips)
Seat 3: jerge88 (4898 in chips)
Seat 4: pochen (2275 in chips)
Seat 5: RevmodPoker (1660 in chips)
Seat 6: ZeRat11 (2690 in chips)
Seat 7: Joanne1111 (2235 in chips)
Seat 8: on_thg (3655 in chips)
Seat 9: Riddim Killa (9139 in chips)
RevmodPoker: posts small blind 100ZeRat11: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Joanne1111 [7c 7d]
Joanne1111: raises 200 to 400
on_thg: folds
Riddim Killa: calls 400
anisotropy: folds
LanceyH: folds
jerge88: folds
pochen: folds
RevmodPoker: folds
ZeRat11: folds
*** FLOP *** [3c 7h 4s]
Joanne1111: bets 600
Riddim Killa: calls 600
*** TURN *** [3c 7h 4s] [Ah]
Joanne1111: bets 600
Riddim Killa: raises 600 to 1200
Joanne1111: raises 35 to 1235 and is all-in
Riddim Killa: calls 35
*** RIVER *** [3c 7h 4s Ah] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Joanne1111: shows [7c 7d] (three of a kind, Sevens)
Riddim Killa: shows [3s 3h] (three of a kind, Threes)
Riddim Killa said, "lol... nh"
Joanne1111 collected 4770 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4770 Rake 0 Board [3c 7h 4s Ah 6s]
Seat 1: anisotropy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: LanceyH folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: jerge88 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: pochen (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: RevmodPoker (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: ZeRat11 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: Joanne1111 showed [7c 7d] and won (4770) with three of a kind, Sevens
Seat 8: on_thg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Riddim Killa showed [3s 3h] and lost with three of a kind, Threes


After that I remained in the top 20 (or so) for the following hour. To make an extremely long story short, I ended up dropping down in chips considerably. It wasn’t due to bad beats or anything, just a lack of playable hands and not enough ammunition to cause any kind of threat. I watched as other player’s stacks grew, and managed to hold on just long enough to make the money. I finished 16th out of 151. After the terrible beginning, I was thrilled just to place. This was my second blogger tournament, and the last one I finished in 12th. Now if I can just get my act together on time, I may end up on the final table next time!

Thanks again to Iggy for hosting the tourney, and to everyone who makes this tournament what it is!

Blogger Tourney Tonight!

Looking very forward to the blogger tournament tonight, which happens at 9pm est over at PokerStars.

Though recently I have been more of a reader of blogs rather than an actual blogger (due to reasons I have mentioned too many times already to repeat it again), it will be great to see everyone and read the always-entertaining chat.

Good luck to all!