definately time for a long break from poker - AA loses to AJ and then my AJ loses to T4 - I'm under the nagging suspicion I should be satisified with my 2006 wins and let things go for the year.

One last important purchase - I got myself a CPU cooler that's silent - I realized my hearing was taking a tremendous beating from what I thought was the PS fan but was the CPU fan - now I'm 20 db quieter in here - holy moly - sounds of silence.

Just realized today History will call these the First Iraqi War and the Second Iraqi War - you'd think we'd have learned by now that we didn't get it right the first time and shouldn't waste a 2nd attempt - aye aye...

word from Felicia is that her blog is going into limbo - links will stay up till I darn well feel like it - LOL

up next week - house choosing - I let my lease go and gotta figure out what the heck I'm gonna move into in two months -

Poker will return - but time to get some 2006 business done - I heard REM's "Bad Day" again on the radio yesterday - starting to think a bad yr. - please don't take a picture :)

rb

couple interesting observations -

1 - I have totally lost the capacity to let the bad beats roll off me - now that I'm in a slump, every bad beat is now affecting me more personally then before - and the best part - I'm slumming it in LL again - playing .50/1 - and sometimes as high as 3/6 - but even the 50 cent beats leave me cursing and fuming - $6 and I'm mad - why?

because I have broad goals - reaching ahead and up and losing here means losing later, I guess, but I had a hell of a lot more fun playing 3/6 horse on Pokerstars then ever -

2 - contrary to previous speculation - I will not be making the WPBT Winter Classic - stretched way too thin financially in Nov. and Dec. -

pax
rb

so one day, Whiskeytown bought a disposable camera for his first trip to Las Vegas -

two yrs later - he notices the expiration date on the camera is next month - (expiration date? WTF - film expires?)

good times -

from my first trip -


2+2 gettogether- notable bloggers Glenn and Felicia Lee there next to Mason Malmuth in seat 9, as well as Ed Miller on the other side of the dealer in seat 1 - tough game actually - this was the game where a guy went to the floor complaining after I raised post-fold - we were playing with a double blind straddle and I forgot to put it in before mucking UTG - threw it in as the action was halfway around the table and holy hell broke loose cause one guy (who took Ed's seat) was someone not part of our group and didn't know the rules -- but because we were our own group - the Mirage let it go that ONE time ;)

so yes, I have raised after I folded in Vegas - I was drunk - profoundly at this point, actually - LOL

I think I waited to take this picture for when I saw Mason dragging a pot -

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ah yes - the addiction that is online poker - unbeknownst to us all - that fuckwad Bill Frist is actually not concerned with the morality of online poker but instead the dangers of food contamination



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where I am at playing online poker (laptop style) when I'm not cooking - there is now a picture of Townes Van Zandt above the Samurai Sword display - (cheap pieces of shit )



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and a few rounds of spot the blogger....from last yr's WPBT - I"ll spare you the fat drunk head shots I was taking of myself between 2004 and 2006 ;)-

Got to meet Amy C. at this gig -



who the hell is this degenerate? and what is he doing hanging out with Pauly?



I'm a star trek geek who was reading Wil's posts when he was just a slashdotter and not at all the professional poker blogger he is now - I didn't realize it, but truth is I've waited 10 yrs for this picture.



and last but not least - everyone's favorite Stu Unger bio writer - Nolan Dalla -



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way to ruin the pic there Dalla - stare INTO the bright light next time ;)

ended up giving this shirt to a coworker - I think I need another one.

hope to see ya all in Dec.
rb

ah man, where to start -

been a long week - going to be longer next week - been promoted at work - may someday have a real life again and be out of a vampire existance - but not right away -

hey - when is the WPBT winter classic? - don't wanna miss it - might be our last time...

my 2/4 limit game took some weird beats - so bad that when I moved up to 3/6 I was almost relieved to raise and see one caller instead of the usual 4 or 5

back to some conservative bankroll management for awhile - I'm a bit out of practice and quite frankly, who knows how long I got - now is the time for online poker players to get some good hrs in -

I will be so happy after election day if Nancy Pelosi becomes speaker of the house....damn straight.

rb

ach - I just busted out of a 600 player tourney the first round - with 10 min. left -

it was a live tourney - 30 min rounds -

screw this - I'm NEVER playing live poker again - LOL

rb

I retract my previous post....

I am going to deposit about 1K into a site - one where they have talked to lawyers and agree that the legislation isn't clear yet - and where they're offering a bonus. In fact, hmmm...I believe one such site may have an ad on this blog...

so that's where I'm gonna hang out for awhile.

I will not run from these jackasses - I will not modify my behavior if I believe it should be legal and allowed in the privacy of my own home. besides, GWB is infamous for those sweeping signing statements - I could see him forgiving online poker - LOL - Doyle, buddy? - call some TX friends?

but nope, I figure if you can't trust poker players, who can you trust - I wrote a big civil disobedience and rah rah rally the troops on 2+2 - but of course, god forbid, that could bring me a visit from the damn Federal mafia.

but I'm gonna try to get my downpayment for my house online - :) Let's see if I can turn 1K into 2K with a nice bonus :)

You know something....

I left the church because I was tired of people telling me what to do -
I left Christian music cause I was tired of people telling me what to do
and now I find - I am running out of places to run - the theocrats are creeping in closer and closer - almost a stroke of a pen away -

if I drop off the planet - you guys raise holy hell- cause without Habeus Corpus I could be held indefinately - without possibility of contacting a family or lawyer -

we deserve this actually - as we have sown, so we have reaped - we let them do it to others, and now they will do it unto us.

fuck
rb

ok - what the heck - I'm up -

stupid noob poker players :D

what struck me during this most recent live trip was the number of times players tried to play and justify their plays -

"I knew you had that but I had to call"
"I'm sure you got the straight on the river but I gotta pay to see it"
"I mean, I was ahead 3/4ths of the way"

what's best is these nooobs may or may not have had something - they may have won a few chips or what but it was apparent with all their show antics one thing - they didn't have a clue as to what I was playing.

wasn't the first time I heard the 2nd one - but that's the first time I might have heard it after turning a full house with my flopped set -

one interesting disadvantage - as they do this often enugh, after about the 3rd time we now have a running joke but in everyone's head, the mentality is I'm a much tougher player only playing good hands - and it's reinforced now pretty much to all at the table.

that complicates things with guys who think they're tricky players with tricky reads they like to call out on the table and checkraise a lot more - really just another symptom for fancy player syndrome -

I'll say this - I have learned one thing after 7 yrs of poker - took me a hell of a long time but you can't win without it

discipline.

but crud, you lose your whole friggen day - gotta play the 8 hrs - so that means it's time for me to seriously consider some limit changes - when I can prove that I should :)

rb

I decided to go to bed on a lopsided schedule last night so I could have Tuesday Day free - I'm now going to probably be hurting for work tonight, but I'm a vampire - I'll survive.

My point for doing so was a quick swing thru Canterbury on Pocket A's Tuesday - - next week is the Fall Classic and in the past I've played a couple of their cheap tournaments - (including my first where I met the man who I knew only as the organizer of the Tournament of Champions and a pro in his own right, now face for the WPT - Mike Sexton )

playing 4/8 limit again was a challenge - because it was a passive table I probably limped in a lot more SB's then usual with bigger hands - almost always guaranteed a value call on the river - but in the end a few 15 outers didn't come in and I left only 43 bucks ahead -

I miss the social aspect - I will probably start going back again more often - I've (not by choice) centered my house shopping around a southern area, keeping me closer to the card room then ever -

plus, I think the skills I've picked up working on my tournament poker this year will pay off in Canterbury - live games are as easy as any Party Poker game, though you do have to watch out for a few sharks - but I'm starting to appreciate the live limit environment -

truth is, it was partially Vegas that was getting out of line for me - Canterbury generally retains a good degree of civility -

I think it's time I established myself as the king of Canterbury - LOL - and it would have to start with a $1200 bankroll at 2/4 to really do it right -

I am doing the micro limits again on the last of my accounts - I must confess sometimes I feel like I'm beating up on kids - won two SNG's in a row, but they were like 55 cent SNG's - playing those was simplicity itself - as long as the best hand held up -

but I love creating something out of nothing - gives me great mental stimulation - and trying to rebuild a BR out of a buck in spare change on three sites may be the best I can hope for at the present time -

I would say I am 10 weeks away from seriously considering closing - therefore it is time to put the pedal to the medal - these two Canterbury tourneys will probably be my last big tourneys for the year -

would be nice to get a piece of a downpayment - ;) -

rb

I'm reading thru some seller disclosure agreements, since I'm looking at houses -

did you know ther is no duty to disclose the fact that a property I purchased was the site of a suickde, accidental death, natural death, OR (I love this) - PERCEIVED PARANORMAL ACTIVITY -

you have no obligation to tell me if a dead woman's spirit is walking thru the hallways of the house I wish to purchase - LOL -

you know that had to put that in there because someone sued about it ;) - hilarious.

rb

so...what's new with poker -

saw my stats at the end of Jan at the bottom of the screen - hilarious - in the end I've come out about 3K ahead in my tourneys, and I am barely even on my limit game,

but seeing as how if the ban kicks in I'll be back to live limit, I'd best start making it my game - plus I'm liking the lower time commitments again for a good limit game - at least lower time commitments online ;)

been doing other stuff - shopping for a house - working on the album - playing $.50/1.00 Holdem and learning life's hard lessons all over again (bluffing is less effective in limit unless the pot is so small you barely want it) - so that took a few bucks - ;) - really I should try the OIC again -

time to go on a run ;) - just for fun - shoot - I only got 17 bucks left anyways - LOL -

rb

I have gone over in the blog an ad nauseum number of times my love for Jesus, but my disgust with the fundamentalist/OT mindset of Christian that seeks to legislate his beliefs in the US Government.

I have been reading "American Gospel - God, the Founding Fathers, and the making of a nation" - by Jon Meacham - There were wingnuts in the 1776 era too - wanting loyality oaths to Christianity - but the founders thought free will and freedom to choose was more important. Sometimes Faith has played a prominent role in our leaders (Abraham Lincoln), but the founders always meant it to be seperate - the wall of church and state that seperates and protects the Church from the corruption of money and politics.

In a way that is unimaginable to me previously, this knowledge and understanding comes forefront in the recent attempts by Bill Frist, the aspiring Presidental candidate for 2008, to include an online gambling ban within our bill on Port Security.

In a way I could never explain or ever fully convey to you from my experience with the mindset, you are now aware of what it can do - it wants your contraception too - and that's not an idle threat. They would try to ban it -

And by They, I mean this wingnut Republican drone who's new banner cry isn't "fiscal responsibility" or "deregulation" but the Morals Values voters who cry "Abortion is Murder" while taking no responsibility for the poor who are "created" out of former Middle Class participants under this Republican Party Platform.

In many ways, Online poker was SALVATION from Bush Administration Policies - the slowdown in the economy under his command sent some skilled laborers to the PC to make a living playing online poker - fortunately, one I know lives in Canada where he is not only making a living, but not being taxed for gambling winnings ;)

The hypocrisy of such a man - a man who is facing charges related to license renewel - the charges of these men who would let a pedephile continue to go after White House Pages so as to preserve their majority in the House of Representatives?

Don't come to me with your false morality - you are hypocrites who live in glass houses, and you have thrown stones thru your own walls trying to peg us, and now you live in a house with broken glass all over the floor and you will deserve to get your feet cut to shreds, just like Bruce Willis in Die Hard - but then you'll cry and mamby pamby about how Bin Laden is dead cause we chased an old man with Kidney Failure into the mountains and outlasted him after 5 friggen yrs - wonderful triumph - and that's still assuming you GOT him - there's still no evidence, but I expect that to be the Oct. Surprise they were preparing.

no one deserves to lose power like the Republicans do - it couldn't happen to nicer people - seriously - it COULDN'T - but they deserve to lose every seat they have up for office this year.

I hope in protest, Online Poker players make a vote to the next viable candidate this year - throw the bums out - or if you like the lesser evil bums, (starting to like Barack Obama myself) - then put more of them in power, but these ones right now -

This "Christian Dominionism" thing - it's starting to become a severe thorn - let's cut it and pull it before it becomes worse -

I have a calling from God to vote Democrat this election again - hallejuah - and I need no other reason now then to see the forces at work, as I feared, coming after us who don't give enough money to their Church.

The biggest problem I have is many who vote Republican are just scared - if your pastor tells you "I don't think you're a Christian - how can a Christian vote Democrat and not care about those 1 million babies this year and this holocaust of 40 million" - that's spiritual blackmail and abuse by the Clergy - they should be removed - but mostly I think if you look at it in perspective, the Democratic platform is more conductive to the Christian viewpoint.

Good news is, I'm seeing notes about the internet gambling ban on Slashdot, Huffington Post, and other sites - people are asking me about it - and I'm prefacing everything with "That asshole, Bill Frist, is just doing it to pander to the religious base by sticking his dick into us and his religious pork into a port spending bill to pander to the Religious Right for a 2008 run - throw all the Republicans out, because as Leader of the Senate, Bill is speaking for all those Drones who would just try to take away more of our rights as an American -

furthermore, they all have interests in defense companies and won't end the war until they absolutely have to - time to end that conflict of interest by removing the one piece we can - the ability to maintain the war thru a 50.1 percent majority.

notice the part about pandering to the Religious Right - The Left does it too and the "Religious Left" - (Humphrey went after Tobacco in MN for a run at Governor) - but this is the worst kind of pandering - moral preachy religious pandering in a deceitful and underhanded manner, and it's in line with their failed attempts to write discrimination into the constitution. They knew it would fail, but they have to try to rally the base - it's deplorable and not worthy of the men we should have running the country.

let it be your battle cry - a lot of people may be interested in our new situation - we are now respectable - let's not let them treat us like criminals - I will not vote for a political party that would have me jailed for smoking weed, using a condom, or making poker illegal again -

stupid politicans are the worst of the stupid - blind leading the blind - liars and hypocrites who deserve to be prosecuted if they were involved in coverups - time to end this sick reign before it takes on that insidious ugly form it sometimes takes called religious fascism. - it's getting every bit as bad as Taliban in here folks - I'd be looking for states that preserve the rights of it's citizens to play online poker.

and I'd be looking for online proxies and other ways around the system ;)

but all the same, good thing I'm working on bankroll management - besides, haven't you heard? I can't keep a lot of money in my account right now - "That asshole, Bill Frist, is doing this to pander to the religious base by sticking his dick into us and his religious pork into a port spending bill to pander to the Religious Right for a 2008 run - throw all the Republicans out"

rb