MissT74

My Photo
Name:
Location: United States

Too much about me to list here...read my blog...you'll get to know me quite well.

Friday, June 23, 2006

WSOP or Bust

In a few short hours I will be departing for my first of many different trips to Vegas for the WSOP.

If you scroll down a bit, you will find my entire itinirary on when I will be there, although there have been a few adjustments, the majority of the schedule is still true.

Luckily, I have secured a laptop to take with me on my travels and will be doing daily blog updates, as long as I am able to. So, for those who can't make it to the Promised Land this year, feel free to live vicariously through me.

I will try not to have too many adventures and I will try not to have TOO much fun.

No, stop laughing, I'm serious.

; )

Thursday, June 22, 2006

CheckNRaisePoker.com: Check, Fold

As most of you internet people already know, CheckNRaisePoker.com (known herein as CnR) sent the following email out to 10 of it's players last week (6/12/06):

QUOTE:

We regret to inform you that CnR will be unable, at this time, to make a lump sum payment for the 10 WSOP seats that were won this year through the “CheckPoints to Millions” and “Freeway to Vegas” promotions on ChecknRaisePoker. However, we plan to make this up to you over the coming months. We will deposit into your player account 5% or more, as cash flow permits, of the value of your entry in monthly installments starting July 31st , 2006 until 110% of the cash equivalent is paid in full.

Unfortunately our cash flow did not allow us to set aside sufficient funds from the time that you won your seat in March. If you plan to attend the WSOP in any event, we wish you the best of luck and we are sure you will have a great time.

Please accept our sincere apologies for having to break this news to you just weeks prior to the event we promised you. Please do not hesitate to contact us by return email, if you have any questions or comments. If you would like to speak to us by phone, please suggest a convenient time and provide a phone number and we would be happy to call you and provide more details and answer any questions that you may have.

Best Regards,

XXXX and the ChecknRaise Team

END QUOTE

WOW! Talk about SCANDAL!! An online site, guaranteeing 8 different WSOP seats, then being unable to meet the financial requirements to buy these 8 seats (40K). Who on earth would continue playing on a site such as this??

(There is additional history to CnR, they used to be known as Dynamite Poker years ago, and had a private "community" group known as Victory Poker that has had some serious drama issues over the year which is why I left them pretty quickly after joining a few years ago)

THEN, a miracle occurs. Another website, completely unrelated, not even in the SAME network (OnGame Network, CnR is just a "skin") comes out with the following:

QUOTE:

Poker.com saves the day for World Series of Poker hopefuls

The home of online poker, Poker.com, has generously offered to provide the WSOP packages won by ten ChecknRaisePoker.com members who have been told that ChecknRaisePoker.com is unable to fund their World Series of Poker prize packages as previously won through their website promotions.

According to various press releases surfacing on online gaming news sites, ten ChecknRaisePoker.com members that had won World Series of Poker seats have been informed that their prize packages are not to be honored. Via an email from ChecknRaise management they have instead been offered a series of small payments over the coming months.

Poker.com has attempted to contact ChecknRaisePoker.com management by email and telephone to confirm this situation and offer to cover the prize costs, but as yet have been unable to get a response.

Both the tournament entry fee and spending money according to the terms of each promotion will be provided by Poker.com if any of the affected players come forward.

Poker.com Director of Gaming, Paul Cherry said, "I don't want to comment too much at this time, as we are yet to obtain confirmation that the reported situation is accurate. But if the story is true, we are happy to help these players however possible.”

”From most players’ perspective, this is a chance of a lifetime, and I can’t think of anything more upsetting than to be told you are not going to Vegas, after having already won the prize. It’s only a few weeks away and the players may have already planned and paid for their travel arrangements.”

”Our own players are like family to us and we'd hate to see these ChecknRaise players miss out due to no fault of their own. That’s why we are offering to help them get to Vegas as a part of the Poker.com family and enjoy the trip they have won and earned. A trip that includes the chance to win a World Series of Poker bracelet!”

”I know that at Poker.com we keep all guaranteed tournament prizes and player funds in escrow, separate from operational funds to avoid such a situation ever occurring.” Mr Cherry said.

Poker.com has released this information in an attempt to resurrect the WSOP dreams of the ten players affected. If you have contact information for any of these players, please forward this offer to them and ask them to contact Poker.com to arrange their compensation package. Spread the word to help us make sure that these players get the World Series of Poker experience that they deserve.

For anyone else with WSOP dreams, Poker.com has now decided to offer another seat to this year’s main event for free via a special freeroll tournament. Simply sign up at Poker.com and make your first deposit using coupon code WSOPFREEROLL before July14, and you will be given a 100% deposit bonus as well as entry to a World Series of Poker main event freeroll on July 15.

END QUOTE

WOW! Check, RAISE Poker.com, you go ON with your bad self. How smart was this move? A $40K PR/advertising move that has already generated players interest and talk about this site. Kudos to them!!

3 of the 10 players are actually in our ITH community, so this was most welcoming news as the original news was simply devastating, as I'm sure you can imagine. Not just the fact that the players won their seats, were all excited, an adventure coming up, etc. But they also had already made travel arrangements, bought airline tickets, booked hotel rooms, requested time off from work, etc.

A few last thoughts:

1. I will and would never, EVER play at CheckNRaisePoker.com again (Not that I ever did, but this certainly makes me not even want to DOWNLOAD their program. Icky)

2. Poker.com may and probably will get some of my business. (I actually found out I already have it downloaded on my computer and didn't even know it, LOL)

3. CnR responded to Poker.com stating that they would work with them to give them the 10 players information and would also STILL continue making their payments to the 10 players. While this is a nice move, "nice" does not make up for the original scandal and thought that an online poker site can guarantee prizes, then not come through with them due to financial reasons. SCARY.

So, congratulations to the 10 players from CnR and congratulations to Poker.com.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Full Tilt Report

I haven't really played much on Full Tilt, the most exposure I've had to it was during the RGP events.

I decided to check out their WSOP events and deposited $200 into my account yesterday. I played about 7 tournaments and ended winning a $75 tournament chip and while I was playing my tourneys, I decided to play a little 3/6 LHE.

Now, we all know I'm not a cash game player, but I do enjoy playing a little cash game every once in awhile, as long as it's low limits. : )

UP 46 BB later (That's $278!!) I stopped playing and bought in directly to a WSOP qualifier for a $1500 event. Top 5 got a package, 6-7th got cash, and I got 17th place. Sigh...so close!!!

So all in all I ended up ahead for the night a few dollars, but had a great evening of entertainment.

Today is Tuesday and I've already sat at one 3/6 table, where I doubled my buy in of $100 to $200 in 5 mins, and left quickly.

30 mins later I sat down at a table where I got my K high flush beat by the nuts, and my two pairs of Kings and 10's beat by a flush by the same guy, and just like that, I'm down $100.

It's now another 30 mins later and I'm currently sitting at another 3/6 table and will see if I can turn my $100 buy in back into $200. I'm at $130 now, so I'm feeling pretty good about this table.

I will report back later on how I did for the night. Not sure if I'll play any tournaments, I'm kind of liking this break from tournaments with a little low limit cash game.

Cruise Trip Report

So after carefully wrapping up my two bottles of premixed watermelon martinis with my bathing suits and clothes, I was all packed by Thursday night.

We hit the open road as bright eyed bushy tail travelers at 4:30am on Friday. Found out on the way to the pier that I didn't have the right directions so 4 phone calls later to my brother in law and my sister who live in CA, I finally headed for the 10 West from the 15 South to get to the 705 South which is where the Pier was.

We were considered VIP's due to the wedding party and were able to check-in in our own special line that was only about 10 mins of wait time. NICE! After that we were the first people allowed to board the ship, found our cabin, and then headed to the Lido Deck to grab something quick to eat before the ceremony started.

The wedding itself was beautiful and of course, there were a few tears, I just absolutely love weddings and that damn wedding march song gets to me every time.

The ceremony was nice and simple, and then we headed over to the reception area...can you say "Open Bar"?? I think I only had about 5 drinks, but I did get the bride (Heather) and the groom (Chris) to do a shot with Bill and I, and after 2 hours, the wedding/reception was over and we were set to cruise.

The boat left around 5pm and Cherissa and I watched it from the top deck. We also enjoyed the Calypso band that was performing on the Lido deck near the pool. Apparantly so did the camera crew that filmed different parts of the cruise in order to pimp it on Channel 19 in the rooms, in order to get people to buy the DVD of their cruise.

Turns out the camera crew seemed to like how I did the Electric Slide, and wouldn't leave me alone. Now, I knew they were there, but I had no idea why. I didn't realize that what they were filming was going to be played on Channel 19 ALL WEEKEND LONG. I found this out Saturday evening after being recognized all day long, even while we were docked in Ensenada.

So back to Friday night, after getting Cherissa checked in with her Teen group, I headed over to the nightclub, called Rex, and danced and drank until about 2am. I was actually ready to go to bed around 11pm and found myself falling asleep in the club. I was getting ready to leave when I ran into some of the wedding party and they convinced me to stay with them and do some more drinking and dancing until I just couldn't stay awake anymore. I couldn't figure out why I was so sleepy but then it dawned on me that getting up at 3:30am that day with only 4 hours of sleep the night before can do that to you.

Saturday had us docked at Ensenada and Bill and I headed out for some sightseeing and shopping while Cherissa stayed on board to meet up with the friends she had made the night before. Bill and I stayed in town until about 2pm, then got back to the ship in time to play Trivia where we both bombed. Who the hell knows what cartoon character has a sister named Red Rose?

After the ship set sail again, I checked out the poker room. Carnival cruise lines offers 4/8 and 5/10 LHE on two different tables, sitting next to one of my favorite bars that I found on board. I ended up exactly even that night, then headed over to the club again where I danced until about 2 am again and headed to bed.

Sunday was the fun day at sea and I enjoyed myself by sitting on the Lido Deck in the smoking area, right next to a bar, from 10am until 6pm. People watching, talking with new friends, just getting buzzed and staying that way for the whole day. It was relaxing. I did find a new drink, So Co Lemonade, and thought of Big Al while drinking them. I have decided that I like Southern Comfort. : )

Sunday night found me playing poker again and all in all over the course of the cruise, I won about $200. I then headed over to Rex again and this time I stayed a little bit later, but still did not close the club down like I normally do. It was actually kind of weird, I'm usually always the one there until the end, closing the club down but not ONE time on this cruise did I do that.

Monday AM we woke up around 6:30am and packed to leave. It took about an hour to get off the ship, we carried our own bags off the ship, and were on the road by 10:30am.

We stopped in Rancho Cucamonga to drop off Cherissa, she will be staying with my sister Jennifer until July 5th. Bill and I then continued on home and arrived around 3pm. I hopped right into work and here it is Tuesday, another dollar, another day.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Viva La Mexico!

5 hours from now I will wake my lazy ass up, take a shower and get ready to drive the 5 hours to the Long Beach Pier.

Our 4 day 3 night cruise starts tomorrow, with my step daughter getting married first at the Queen Elizabeth, and then we are OFF to Ensenada.

I shall see you upon my return.

CST: Oh who the hell am I kidding, the quitting smoking shit is HARD. I probably had 17 today, but had more yesterday because I went to the damn bar. Sigh. I CAN DO THIS. I CAN. I just have to keep telling myself this. ; )

Monday, June 12, 2006

My Summer Schedule

Here it is, in writing, my schedule for the summer. VERY busy! I will be home sometime in September, LOL.

6/16-6/19 Mexico 5 day/4 night cruise for step daughters wedding with Bill and Cherissa.

6/27-7/2 Las Vegas WSOP
(Event #2 and #4)

7/2-7/4 Chicago/Milwaukee for Mary J. Blige concert with Bill

7/7-7/9 Las Vegas WSOP
(Event #13)

7/10-7/14 Mexico 4 day cruise with my sister Patti for our much needed "Thelma & Louise" trip.

7/14-7/16 Las Vegas WSOP
(Event #23 and #25)

7/21-7/25 Las Vegas WSOP
(Event #31, #33, #35, #37)

7/30 Las Vegas WSOP
(Main Event, IF I qualify, I will choose Day1C, then go home once the day is done)

8/2 Las Vegas WSOP
(Day 2 of Main Event, IF I'm still in, then go home once the day is done)

8/4-8/7 Las Vegas WSOP
(Day 3 of Main Event, IF I'm still in. Otherwise Event #40, #41, #42)

8/10-8/13 Las Vegas ITH Convention
(www.InternetTexasHoldEm.com my 2nd home on the internet.)

8/15-8/19 Las Vegas BARGE
(www.RecPoker.com my 1st home on the internet.)

8/24-8/28 Family Vacation with Bill and Cherissa in Greer, Arizona. (In the White Mountains)

Cherissa's Summer Schedule:

6/16-6/19 Mexico 4 day cruise for step sisters wedding with Mom and Dad.

6/19-7/5 Vacation at Aunt Jennifer's house in California.

7/9-7/15 Summer Camp with cousin Nicholas in Phoenix

7/16-7/31 Vacation with Grandma to Canada for Polesky Family Reunion

8/15'ish 8th grade starts!

8/24-8/28 Family Vacation with Mom and Dad in Greer, Arizona.


Busy! Busy!!


CST: 17

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Sunday PS $215 Million Guarantee Report

Well, close to nothing in my PS account, but I did have enough to play 3 $29 SNG satellites for the big event today so I decided to give it a whirl and won my way into the event.

Played very well, IMO. I got a little too aggressive on my last hand and thought the SB was trying to bluff me with his preflop raise, so I pushed with K,10 and he instacalled with A,K. OOPS.

Here's my stats:

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 205 hands and saw flop:
- 16 out of 24 times while in big blind (66%)
- 8 out of 22 times while in small blind (36%)
- 15 out of 159 times in other positions (9%)
- a total of 39 out of 205 (19%)
Pots won at showdown - 9 of 11 (81%)
Pots won without showdown - 13

Pretty decent, IMO. Oh well, next time. 912th place out of 4829 players.

SMOKING UPDATE:

I had a backslide that started Friday. I smoked 2 more then I should of, then yesterday I gave up when me and Mom went out clubbing. (Yes, I got my mom to dance in the cage at Time Out Tavern, a local bar. We had a BLAST!! Got my mom drunk. : )

Anywho, I am human, I will backslide, but I get right back on the horse. New updates starting tomorrow. It's a new day, right?? Right.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Time For Another Dryspell

Seems to happen all the time. Win a tourney, go a few months without winning, then win another, rinse and repeat.

The last tourney I won online was in April, $1900. The last tourney I won live was in St. Maartens, $4K.

I get so TIRED of going for such long stretches without winning, I must become more consistant! I HAVE to in order to get to where I want to go.

However, I also realized that I play a LOT of satellites online, more then cash prize tourneys and I think too much of my bankroll is being spent on those so I'm not "allowing" myself the opportunity of winning cash. I must control that better.

This weekend will be a poker filled weekend on BoDog. I plan on winning my seat into the Main Event this weekend, so wish me luck in that endevour!!

One of the good things about my reducing/quitting smoking is the fact that I am going to be posting way more often, LOL. Every night, in fact, to post the number of cigs I smoked for the day. I find it keeps me in check.

CST: 15

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Nightmares

Do you remember when you were kid and you would have a horrible nightmare and you would wake up screaming and then simply continue screaming until your Mom or Dad would come in, give you hugs and make you feel better until you could fall asleep again without fear?

Does this still happen to people?

Am I the only adult that still suffers from nightmares? I wonder sometimes. I also wonder what causes them. I have them way more often then I should, way more often then other adults (that I know of) and yet even though I'm old enough to calm myself down and fall asleep again without fear, I can't help but wish my Mom or Dad was still in the house, and that I was still a child, to soothe my anguish away.

Last nights nightmare was a doozy. It woke me up around 4:30am and I was scared to go back to sleep for quite some time. I was so tired, but yet so scared to close my eyes again for fear that the dream would instantly come back. I thought about getting up and just writing it all out on my blog, but as dreams are, they make no sense when you try to describe it or tell the story.

Needless to say it is but a distant memory at this point. I remember some key points, but not the whole scenario as I did when I woke up.

So I ask, does anyone else still experience nightmares or "bad dreams" and what do you think it means when someone has so many, so often? My last nightmare was just Monday and I had TWO of them back to back, not just one. Completely different dreams and I even woke up in between the two.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN????

CST: 17 (That's TWO less then yesterday TYVM)

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Non Smoking Please

I have made the decision to quit smoking. I know it will be difficult, and I also know that it would be almost impossible for me to quit "cold turkey", so I have a plan.

I am keeping track of the number of cigarettes I smoke per day. Every day, I am going to reduce the number I smoke by 1.

Eventually I will be down to 10 a day, then 5, then none. I am currently at about a pack a day.

I have had a lot of advice on RGP about how to quit smoking, but this is what I think will work for me and it's how I want to do it. I do not like Nicorette or patches or pills to do this, so I will do it on my own.

The toughest part will be to see if Bill can do it with me as well, as I know that having a smoking spouse in the house will make it more difficult for me, but I am determined to do it.

Therefore, I will be posting NIGHTLY, before I go to bed, the number of cigs I smoked that day. This will help keep me honest and in check.

GL me!!

Cigarettes Smoked Today (from now on known as "CST"): 19

$100 MTT on PS

Another post for the night, how lucky art thou?? This might be hard because this one will be running at the same time as the $33R, but I'll try to manage.

Set up: $100/$9 buy in, NLHE, 256 players, first is $7K.

Level 1, 10/20.

BB: All fold but the SB, he limps in and the flop misses me so I fold to his bet.

SB: J,6. No raises, so I limp, miss the flop and fold to a bet.

(Just busted out of the 33R, so making comments won't be so hard now, eh? LOL)

Button: A,9 os. All fold to me, so I raise to 80. Blinds fold, I win a hand. Wow.

UTG +1: 6h7h, I limp. LP raise to 80, Button calls, blinds fold, 60 for me to call, I call. Flop comes 9h,3h,6. I check. Initial raiser bets 140, Button folds, I call. Turn is 2h, I check. He checks. River is ugly 10h, I check, he checks, shows AA but NO heart and I win 550 pot, at 1820 now.

BB: AhKs. 2 limpers, I raise to 100, MP calls. Flop is 8, 10, 4. I bet 100, he folds. 1940 now.

SB: Kd3d. 1 limper in front of me, I limp as well. Flop is K, 10, 4. We all check. Turn is 6, I bet 60, 1 caller. River is 5, I bet 80, he folds and I'm at 2040.

Level 2, 15/30

BB: 10,J. Now, usually I like this hand but with a raise AND a reraise in front of me, I have to fold. Flop comes 4,5,7, guy moves all in so I'm thinking GOOD FOLD!!!
(OMG, guy CALLS his all in with AK and the guy that moved all in...has AK. What donkeys)

SB: 9,5os. 2 limpers in front of me, so I limp call. Flop is A,3,3. I check as does everyone else. Turn is 3, I check and fold to the bet.

LP: K,10. 2 limpers in front of me, I limp as well. Flop comes K,Q,Q. All check to me, I try a bet of 90. SB calls, the rest fold. Turn is 2d. He checks, I check. River is 7, he checks, I check. I thought about betting but figured if he called it was only because he could beat me or tie me. He shows AJ, I win and am at 2190 now.

MP: A,7. 1 limper in front of me, I decide to limp, 1 limper behind me. 5 in hand, flop comes 7,9,Q. SB bets 30, limper in front of me raises, I have to fold. Limper behind me goes all in, the original raiser calls and shows KQ while the first all in guy shows 9J and loses when he gets no help.

BB: Ad8s. LP raises to 90, I call the 60. Flop comes J,K,3. I check, he bets 90, I fold.

SB: Qh8c. LP raises, I fold, weird for me, huh? LOL

LP: AQos, MP raises to 90, 1 caller behind him, I reraise to 270. I'm tired of messing around. BB calls, original raiser calls. Flop comes J,2,7. He bets 210, I call. Turn is x, he bets again, I have to fold now. DAMMIT. At 1575 now.

NEXT hand, AJ, raise to 90 in front of me, I call. SB calls as well. Flop is 2,8,6. SB bets 120, I call. Turn is 10. SB bets all in, I have to fold and am at 1365 now.

MP: 10,Qos. I limp call, blinds limp, 3 in pot. Flop comes 2,Q,7. SB bets 60 ,BB calls, I raise to 210. both blinds call. Turn is 6. They check I bet 325, both blinds call (heart draws?). River is 7. They check, I have to check as well and SB shows KQ and I lose. FUCKING DAMISST, I HATE THAT HAND. 800 now.

I don't know if I like this chronicling of my hands now, I feel like I'm playing horribly and everyone gets to see it. Talk about putting myself out there, geesh.

Maybe I'll go a round or two without making any comments and let's see what happens.

Well, we're at break now. I was able to get my stack from 750 up to 2600, but am down to 1600 now. Sigh. I really hate this game sometimes. LOL. Still, at least I'm still in it and have increased my stack from the 750. TIME for another drink!!! LOL

Back from break and I am in push mode now. Just calculated that I have 10.6BB, so I am PUSHING the good ones! GL me!

I decided to push with 6,6 after a mini raise by a MP. He called with 10,K and my hand held up. Whew!!! 3275 now, avg is 3555, I feel good now!

Bleh, lost a major hand with TP, and am in push mode again. I choose to go all in with 4,4 and am called by the BB with AK. K on the flop and IGHN in 94th place.

Sigh.

$33R WSOP Qualifier

To keep myself in check, and less bored, I am going to chronicle my playing in tonight's (Tuesday 6/6/06) $33R WSOP Qualifier on PokerStars.

It is currently break time, and I am not going to bore anyone with the hands I had BEFORE the break, as we all know that this tournament doesn't start until the rebuy period is over. I will only chronicle hands I play, no need for you to know all the crappy cards I get and have to fold with, LOL.

Ok, here's the set up:

216 players joined, only 127 remain at the break. Only first place wins, and that is a 12K WSOP Main Event package. I have 7850 in chips, after my addon. I am going to be on the SB when we return.

Level 5, 75/150 blinds.

SB: Qc 4s, I call the 75 to complete. BB checks, UTG had called as well. Flop completely misses me, I check and fold to the BB's bet.

Button: 9c Jh, all fold to me, I raise to 450, BB calls. Flop comes 8, 10, A. He checks, I bet 600, he folds.

5,5 UTG +2, I raise to 450, 1 caller. Flop is A, K, J. We both check. Check the turn, check the river, he wins with 7,7 in the hole.

Next hand, UTG, I get 9h10h, I limp, miss the flop and fold to a bet.

BB: 2, 10. I fold to the raise.

SB: A, 8. All fold to me, so I raise to 600, BB thinks and folds.

Button: Qh, 9c. Raised before me, so I fold.

LP: 2,2. All fold to me, so I raise to 600, all fold behind me.

(Getting ready to play the $100/$9 simultaneously, will be doing a blog entry for that one as well and will try to manage both blog entries.)

BB: 7d9d, UTG flat calls, button calls, SB folds, I check. Flop is 10c, 5h, 4d. Button bets, I fold.

SB: 2,3os. No raises to me, so I limp call, 4 players in the pot. Flop comes Q, 10, 2. I bet 450, 1 caller. Turn is J. I bet 600, same caller. River is 9, I check, he bets 1200, I fold. At 6500 now.

(Very next hand has 2, 2, 3 on the board. Damn flop lag, LOL)

Level 6: 100/200

LP: 2,2. 1 limper in front of me, I raise to 600, he calls. Flop is A, 7. 4. He bets 200, I call. Turn is 9, He bets 200, I call. River is x, he bets, I fold. Sigh. 5500 now. What a donkey I am.

UTG + 1: 10, Q. I limp call. 4 players in the pot. Flop comes 8, 6, K. SB bets 200, I fold.

UTG: 6c7c, I limp call. (I can't help it, I love suited connectors) 3 players in the pot, Flop comes 8, 10, 3, 1 club. LP bets 600, I call. Turn is A. I bet out 800, he raises me to 2000 total, I have to fold. At 3700 now, and in trouble.

BB: 8dJd, SB calls, I check. Flop comes K, Q, 6. He bets 200, I fold.

SB: 6,9 os. 2 limpers in front of me, I limp call. Flop is 9,7,3. I bet out 1000. Button raises me to be all in, I call, and he shows Q,9. No more help to me and I am out in 106th place.

What a donkey, eh???