The Online Rounder

No More Messing Around

2012-01-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

Ok back to my regular posts. I grinded my meager Cake Online Roll up to a point where I was allowed to withdraw some of it. You see on the Cake Network you can't make withdrawals of less than $500. So yesterday my roll was enough to request a check and still have some left to grind up some more. We will see how log it takes for me to get a check and if it clears in the bank or not. I will post progress on this in the coming week. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Last One of These Posts

2012-01-26T15:16:00.000-08:00

My hits are so much up from these posts that I can't help myself but to put another one up. Enjoy!

celebrity profile

Non-Poker Post

2012-01-25T15:22:00.001-08:00

On second thought let's try this experiment again!

celebrity profile

Poker Posts

2012-01-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

OK. After a brief commercial interruption we return to our normal scheduled programming, posts about Poker. BTW - My hits to this BLOG did go up after my last post of Holly Weber's picture. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Seo Test - Holly Weber

2012-01-23T15:56:00.001-08:00

Just wondering how many hits this picture will bring me? Enjoy.

celebrity profile

Another Ebook Sneak Peek

2012-01-22T04:38:00.001-08:00

Here is another, very rough draft, chapter from my ebook I am currently working on. Enjoy and please leave me a comment. Tony

Tommy Tootoria was having a bad week and he was in a foul mood. Just hearing the name makes my skin crawl up! Tommy lived in a suburb of Atlantic City called Absecon, where I happen to live in also. It is a small town with some really nice expensive sections and some cheap one filled with motels on Route 35, which is the area I happen to live in. Tourists/Gamblers use these motels to avoid paying $200 plus a night to stay in an actual Casino. Unless of course you are a high roller/big spender who gets their rooms comped, paid for by the casino. Of course if that’s the case you most likely lose 10 times the price of the room in order to qualify for it for free. Worse yet many of the motels in Absecon are paid for as a monthly rate by down and out gamblers. Also some are used to deal drugs or by prostitutes to conduct their business. So Absecon is a real contradiction in status. On the one side of town you have $1.5 Million plus houses on the other side you have roach motels. Back to Tommy, he owns a company that got the contract to pick up Atlantic City’s garbage. The contract was huge for 16 million a year and companies fight to for a chance to win it. You have to wonder why everyone wants the contract being garbage pickup is done all by Union workers some of which can’t be fired and make over 100K a year! Not bad for unskilled labor. So Tommy’s Company won the contract and on the surface it looked like he was on top of the world, just rolling in the dough. Behind the scenes things for Tommy were anything but great. In the previous football season he got totally beaten down. Losing a huge sum of money for the last 8 weeks straight of the regular NFL season. Then he chased his loses trying to make it back in the playoffs, only to fall deeper into a hole. The Super bowl was no better when a last second Interception caused his team to not cover the spread by a single point. That point put Tommy so deep into the hole that his business and house might be lost to the bookies. Of course he owed the money to one of the biggest mobsters in Atlantic City, NJ, and actually the whole country. The head of the Bubouts family the infamous Vinny! Indicted for every crime you can think of including 4 murders but none of them have ever stuck to him. Maybe it’s because the witness always had a way of changing their minds or disappearing at very opportune times. Tommy was in serious trouble the kind that your body could end up deep in the New Jersey Pine barons to maybe never be found again. He could end up like Jimmy Hoffa, rumored to be buried in cement under Giants Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey, but only the people responsible for his disappearance know for sure.

More Cake Poker Updates

2012-01-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

I have been doing very well playing Double or Nothing Sit-N-Gos. The Cash games have been very volatile. People keep on shoving on me after the flop. After I do my standard continuation bet they shove on me. Maybe I haven't been calling these moves enough? I don't know sometimes I call I they have a low under pair, makes me happy. Other times they are slow playing Aces or fast playing a set. It's such a hard position to be in to call these shoves. At least I am slowing winning and building up my roll. Happy snow day here in the North east. Don't shovel too much! Good luck at the tables. Tony

Ebook Sneak Peek

2012-01-18T15:52:00.001-08:00

Ebook Progress

2012-01-15T06:35:00.000-08:00

I have been writing my book for almost 10 months now. Let me tell you it's a lot of hard work. The beginning and end parts weren't that bad. It's the filling in of content to get to the end that is a real struggle. I have been making slow and steady progress. Am now up to 35K words but it's real rough. I will have much re-writing to do. The finished work will be worth waiting for. Hopefully a few more months and I will be done. "Trouble in Atlantic City". Read about the Poker Playing P.I. in the Atlantic City Area. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Cake Cash Games

2012-01-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

Things have turned around for me in the Online Cash games on Cake Poker this week. There seems to be more players and some slightly higher stakes going this week also. Usually they have one $.50-1 game and sometimes 1 $1-2 game going. The other game there were 6 $.50-1, 2 $1-2 and a $2-4 No Limit cash game going. Plus my bread and butter $.25-.5 No Limit cash had 15 tables going! I will continue the bankroll building grind today. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Online Poker

2012-01-10T16:02:00.001-08:00

Haven't had much to post about lately. Running pretty bad at the cash games on Cake Poker. Feel I am playing fine but losing coin flip after coin flip. It will turn around soon, I can feel it. Happy Primary night in New Hampshire. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Cake MTT Score

2012-01-07T07:05:00.001-08:00

2012 is going great for me in MTTs. Today I played my 2nd one of the year and cashed again. Granted it was only a 20 player field but a cash is a cash. I will take the 2.5 buyins win and be happy. Plus is offsets the beating I am taking today at the cash games, currently down 3 buy ins. Hopefully things will turn around for me at the cash tables. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Online MTT Score

2012-01-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

I'm starting the new year off right. Sunday morning I took 3rd in a bounty MTT on Cake. Most impressive is I won 6 bounties! In this tournament half the prize pool goes to the bounties. This changes the stratergy big time. I was more inclined to gamble on flips early whenever a bounty was at stake. Hopefully this can continue through out 2012. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Happy New Year.

2012-01-01T04:02:00.000-08:00

I was actually able to stay awake last night to see the ball drop. We watched the Dick Clark anniversary show on ABC. It was fun to see and hear the bands that played every year on his show for the last 40 years. We especially liked seeing all the bad styles from the 70s and 80s! Well 2012 is finally here. Let's home this is a better year for Online Poker than 2011 was! To all my loyal readers I have this new year's resolution for you: I will continue posting just as long as you continue coming here to read them! Thanks for reading and happy new year. Tony

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T04:13:00.000-08:00

Today is the last chance for you all to do something good in 2011. As for tonight we are treating it just like any other night. We may go visit the wife's parents and maybe mine too. Other than that we are staying home and fighting to stay up until midnight. Let's home 2012 is the year our government fixes the Online Poker mess. Happy New Year's Eve. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Online Poker

2011-12-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

Damn I hate the way idiots play! Six people limp as does the button. In the Big Blind I shove for 30BBs with A-Q of hearts. All fold to button who goes into the tank. He finally calls with Kings!!!! How could I see this one coming. Such a bad play in so many ways but of course I get stacked and have to rebuy. Bad players like this are poison to my bank roll. Most nights I would stay at this table and get it all back. Not tonight I finally gave up down 3 buy ins. Of well I will get them tomorrow. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Cake Poker

2011-12-26T02:11:00.001-08:00

Lately Cake Poker is the only Online Site I have been able to play on. Being I live in America it's the only site I have a roll on. The games are usually super soft. The stakes are low so I am just playing to pass the time. Thing I love is the Double or Nothing Sit-N-Gos run often and are super easy to beat. At the very least I use the site to keep my skills up so I don't get too rusty. It keeps me in "Shape" for when I get to go to Atlantic City or Foxwoods to play some live "real" Poker. It feels like the minor leagues to me now. Hope you all had a good holiday. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T05:01:00.000-08:00

I want to thank all my loyal readers for coming here and reading my scribbles. Everyone have a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays. Tony

Another Great BLOG

2011-12-24T05:55:00.001-08:00

This week I am continuing sharing my favorite BLOGS that I read regularly. The BLOG below is one of the best No Limit Strategy BLOGS you will find anywhere on the web. I've been reading it for a few years. Add it it your BLOG roll, you won't be sorry. Read and enjoy. Thanks for reading Tony

Thinking Poker

Great BLOG

2011-12-22T15:15:00.001-08:00

I have noticed a trend by Poker Bloggers this year. They are posting less and less. Makes sense with the lack of money to be made blogging. Plus people just move on to bigger and better things. Dr. Pauly hasn't been posting as often as he used to but his posts are still awesome. His BLOG inspired me to start my own 5 years ago! Check him out below.

TaoPoker

Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables.

P.S. - This was not a paid Post. The opinions expressed in this Blog are mine and nothing more.

Ebook Sneak Peek

2011-12-20T15:55:00.001-08:00

Ebook Progress

2011-12-17T03:03:00.000-08:00

I have been writing my book for almost 9 months now. Let me tell you it's a lot of hard work. The beginning and end parts weren't that bad. It's the filling in of content to get to the end that is a real struggle. I have been making slow and steady progress. Am now up to 30K words but it's real ruff. I will have much re-writing to do. The finished work will be worth waiting for. Hopefully a few more months and I will be done. "Trouble in Atlantic City". Read about the Poker Playing P.I. in the Atlantic City Area. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

More Blogging

2011-12-16T15:41:00.001-08:00

Thinking Poker

Cake Win

2011-12-13T15:38:00.001-08:00

My MTT win on Cake on Saturday felt really good. Even if I didn’t cash I would have been happy with my play. Didn’t get it allin and behind even once the whole tournament. Granted it was only a 19 man MTT but still a good feeling. I made some really good lay downs. In one I folded tens from early position when the under the gun tight player min-raised. I didn’t like flatting or raising here with all the players behind me to act. Sure enough the button shoved and the under-the-gun raiser snap called. I would have been far behind being the button had Jacks and the under-the-gun player had A-K suited. Dodging that bullet allowed me to survive to go on to win it all. Can’t wait for the day that online poker is back in full force in America. For now I pass the time playing for micro-stakes on Cake. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Great BLOG continued

2011-12-12T15:04:00.001-08:00

TaoPoker

Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables.

P.S. - This was not a paid Post. The opinions expressed in this Blog are mine and nothing more.

MTT Win

2011-12-10T06:45:00.001-08:00

It's been a long time since I took down an MTT. Feels good even if for micro stakes! Thanks for reading. Tony

Ebook Sneak Peek

2011-12-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

Another Great BLOG

2011-12-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Thinking Poker

Another Great BLOG

2011-12-04T06:08:00.000-08:00

He doesn't post as often as he used to. When he does it's a well thought out in depth worth reading post. Not really a Poker BLOG but more a Sports, Poker, Investing, etc. Worth reading for the once or twice a week rants.

Hoy

I will continue posting about good BLOGs to read this week. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Poker Ebook

2011-12-03T05:31:00.000-08:00

My hat is off to people who write books for a living. It's taking me a long time to finish my Ebook about a Poker playing P.I. I've been at it for 6 months and only have 28K words. My goal is 50K and then I have a lot of proofing and rewriting to do. Just want to bang out the 50K than will worry about the rest. I already know how it will end and that's easily the best part. The beginning was easy but the middle is taking me a long time. Character development is hard! Look for it in I guess 3 months. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables.

P.S. - Read my last post for a sneak peek.

Yet Another Ebook Sneak Peek

2011-12-02T16:20:00.001-08:00

More Blogging

2011-11-29T15:59:00.001-08:00

TaoPoker

Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables.

P.S. - This was not a paid Post. The opinions expressed in this Blog are mine and nothing more.

Blogging

2011-11-28T16:12:00.000-08:00

I have noticed a trend by Poker Bloggers this year. They are posting less and less. Makes sense with the lack of money to be made blogging. Plus people just move on to bigger and better things. One exception is Shamus who has a great BLOG and posts every weekday. Check it out you won't be sorry.

HardBoiledPoker

I think I will devote this week to pointing out the best Poker Blogs I know about. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables.

P.S. - This was not a paid Post. The opinions expressed in this Blog are mine and nothing more.

Holiday Poker

2011-11-26T03:20:00.000-08:00

When will I learn not to play Online Poker on or around a holiday? The biggest idiots play at this time. You would think it's the best time to make money but for me I`ve never had luck in this environment. The game really has an ultra amount of luck in this setting. Don't want to tell bad beat stories but yesterday was just brutal. Jacks or Queens were just useless. They were only good to set mine or to try to take down the blinds. The latter was rarely happening. I hate showdown Poker and that is what yesterday boiled down to. Things could have been worse, lost 4 buy ins, which is bad enough. I'm at it again today trying to make back some money. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Toy

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:56:00.001-08:00

The day is here, of course we are still cleaning and getting the house ready. Haven't started cooking yet but we have a lot of time. Told everyone to come at 4:00. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Tony

Holidays

2011-11-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for Thanksgiving has been crazy this year. I've already done shopping 5 times and I'm sure we forgot something. That and cleaning the house has been a ton of work. Than again it forces us to really do a good job cleaning. Everyone have a great holiday. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Another Trouble in Atlantic City Sneak Peek

2011-11-19T06:21:00.001-08:00

Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-11-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

I am making progress on my book "Trouble in Atlantic City". I am up to 25K words. As you can read below it's still in ruff draft form. Enjoy and leave a comment. Thanks Tony

Welcome to Atlantic City, faded seaside resort city and east coast Vegas, want to be. Playground to every jet setter, high roller, high stakes Poker playing smuck, sleazebag and little old grey haired lady trying to get a piece of the gamblers dream to make that one big score. This is my territory; my name is Frank Vagola, Atlantic City P.I. I’m an ex-cop from the New York suburbs of Ridgefield Park New Jersey. After putting in my 20 years of service to qualify for a full pension I retired from the police force. Things were getting too corrupt for my liking anyway. Things were getting too corrupt for my liking anyway. Also New Jersey Policies were starting to get to me. Over time we public servants have lost respect from the public we are paid to serve. Being there have been many scandals involving crooked cops I see why this is. These days I spend my time in private practice as a private investigator, have an office above my garage in a small house I rent in Absecon New Jersey. It’s not glamorous but it pays the bills and keeps me out/in trouble on a daily basis. Mostly spend my times following cheating spouses around to motels alone the major highways of New Jersey. Speaking of which I have lived in my whole life and intend on dying here too.
If you tell people, from other parts of the country, that you are from New Jersey they make some bad joke by stating, “Oh yea, which exit”? This joke is referring to the fact that Route 95, called the New Jersey Turnpike, is the main road most people associate with our great state. The reason for this is that the Newark airport is located on the New Jersey Turnpike. Also that area is full of many chemical plants that emit bad smells and tons of pollution into the atmosphere. So when people are driving or getting driven out of the airport they pass through this area and it makes a bad first impression on them. We all know how hard it is to change a bad first impression of anything. This is why it’s so important for restaurants to look clean and well maintained on the outside. If it looks bad from the outside people won’t even give it a chance. So New Jersey is like a rundown restaurant that may never get a chance to show off how good their food is being the bad first impression ruins it. Anyway I have gone off on a tangent about my lovely state of New Jersey back to the story of how I almost got killed investigating another routine case of a cheating husband for his wife. So I thought it was going to be another easy routine case for me.

What are you Waiting for?

2011-11-16T14:44:00.000-08:00

Have you signed this? Let's all try to do something about fighting our Government from taking away our rights to play Online Poker. In the next few weeks I will find links to sign petitions to get Online Poker regulated. Please click on this link and sign the petition. Maybe our collective voices can do something about this. Here is the link:

Petition

Leeann Tweeden

2011-11-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

Leeann Tweeden in Playboy this month, enough said!!!!!! Hot. Everyone enjoy. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Another BLOG Milestone

2011-11-13T04:21:00.001-08:00

My last post was number 1200 in this BLOG. There isn't any significance to that number but for some reason we all make a big deal about even numbers. When I started this BLOG I had no way of knowing if anyone would read yet. This was 5 years ago and thousands of people have read it. I started a sister BLOG "The Stock Rounder" and it's starting to get some following also. Thanks to every one's loyal reading of this hackers writing. I will continue to write as long as you all come here and read it. If you are playing Poker today beware of the donks. Something about Sunday brings the worst play out in people. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Pius Heinz

2011-11-12T03:58:00.000-08:00

I was so glad Pius Heinz won the main event. The kid has some sick Poker moves for sure. Maybe we will actually have a Poker ambassador this year. I hope he continues to play and gets move cashes. It seems in the last few years the winner just fades into the dust. Joe Hacham is the last winner that is still in the spotlight. Plus Strasco, even though only 35 just looked old to me. Maybe being I'm getting used to super young players winning the main event. Good luck at the tables. Tony

2011 WSOP Main Event

2011-11-10T14:31:00.001-08:00

Did you all watch the Main Event Final Table live on ESPN? Wow the coverage this year was the best I have seen in a while. Even though the players lacked any real personality they played a mean game of Poker. Plus everyone was professional, lack of asshats at this year’s final table. I think the November Nine has run its course and we may never see it again. I expect next year to maybe show the main event live with a 15 minute time delay. Maybe a day or two delay and then right to the final table. What do you all think? Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Elks Club Tournament

2011-11-06T04:03:00.000-08:00

Last night I played my first live Tournament in a really long time. Played the $120 MTT at the Elks Club in Tenafly. While some players got better in general the field was full of donks to try to avoid them getting lucky and knocking me out. First thing I noticed is the drinks were flowing before the tournament started. If you want to drink cheap the Elks club is the place to go. We had about 85 players with the top 9 getting paid off. I lasted for hours and made the final 3 tables. A hand that took most of my chips shows how bad the play was. Under the gun limps(With 10 Big Blinds) and so go the next 2 players. I look down to see A-9 suited on the button. I think perfect time to squeeze with my 18 Big Blind Stack. I expect to take down the pot 80% of the time in this spot. Under the gun snap me so fast I think right away he has Kings. Nope he has Ace-Jackoff a monster! He trapped me and couldn't wait to get all in with Ace Jack? I hate that play and couldn't suck out. I was crippled and could never recover. Went out a few minutes later. Next time I will be back to play in this weak field. Thanks for reading and enjoy the main event today. Tony

Petition

2011-11-04T16:08:00.001-07:00

Let's all try to do something about fighting our Government from taking away our rights to play Online Poker. In the next few weeks I will find links to sign petitions to get Online Poker regulated. Please click on this link and sign the petition. Maybe our collective voices can do something about this. Here is the link:

Petition

Poker BLOG

2011-10-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

I am trying to avoid making this BLOG into the "Trouble in Atlantic City" BLOG. That is the E-book I am currently writing, that should be available for purchase in a few months. Problem is without me playing much Online or live Poker my topics to write about are more limited. I have been crushing the Double or Nothing Sit-N-Gos at Cake again but don't want this to be a brag BLOG. I have been running really bad at Cash game No Limit on cake but don't want this to be a bad beat BLOG either. I guess I could write about the November Nine but it doesn't seam very exciting to watch this year. My BLOG is growing mature and I am struggling for things to write about. Don't you all worry this funk has happened to me before and I have always written my way out of it. Maybe I should write about politics or religion, NOT! Happy monday and thanks for reading. Tony

Yet Another Trouble in Atlantic City Sneak Peak

2011-10-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

I am making progress on my book "Trouble in Atlantic City". I am up to 22K words. As you can read below it's still in ruff draft form. Enjoy and leave a comment. Thanks Tony

Welcome to Atlantic City, faded seaside resort city and east coast Vegas, want to be. Playground to every jet setter, high roller, high stakes Poker playing smuck, sleazebag and little old grey haired lady trying to get a piece of the gamblers dream to make that one big score. This is my territory; my name is Frank Vagola, Atlantic City P.I. I’m an ex-cop from the New York suburbs of Ridgefield Park New Jersey. After putting in my 20 years of service to qualify for a full pension I retired from the police force. Things were getting too corrupt for my liking anyway. Things were getting too corrupt for my liking anyway. Also New Jersey Policies were starting to get to me. Over time we public servants have lost respect from the public we are paid to serve. Being there have been many scandals involving crooked cops I see why this is. These days I spend my time in private practice as a private investigator, have an office above my garage in a small house I rent in Absecon New Jersey. It’s not glamorous but it pays the bills and keeps me out/in trouble on a daily basis. Mostly spend my times following cheating spouses around to motels alone the major highways of New Jersey. Speaking of which I have lived in my whole life and intend on dying here too.
If you tell people, from other parts of the country, that you are from New Jersey they make some bad joke by stating, “Oh yea, which exit”? This joke is referring to the fact that Route 95, called the New Jersey Turnpike, is the main road most people associate with our great state. The reason for this is that the Newark airport is located on the New Jersey Turnpike. Also that area is full of many chemical plants that emit bad smells and tons of pollution into the atmosphere. So when people are driving or getting driven out of the airport they pass through this area and it makes a bad first impression on them. We all know how hard it is to change a bad first impression of anything. This is why it’s so important for restaurants to look clean and well maintained on the outside. If it looks bad from the outside people won’t even give it a chance. So New Jersey is like a rundown restaurant that may never get a chance to show off how good their food is being the bad first impression ruins it. Anyway I have gone off on a tangent about my lovely state of New Jersey back to the story of how I almost got killed investigating another routine case of a cheating husband for his wife. So I thought it was going to be another easy routine case for me.

More Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-10-28T15:38:00.001-07:00

Here is another sneak peak at the e-book I am currently working on. It's a first raw unedited version so the chapter may be different once I am done. I should be done and have it up for purchase within 6 months.(Amazon and Barnes & Noble.) Enjoy and leave a comment please, need some criticism. Thanks for reading. Tony

I need to go back in time to a few months ago when I met her and all the trouble started for me. Her name was Michelle, a relatively tall bleached blond young women of around 30 years old. I met her while doing my favorite pastime, playing Poker in Atlantic City at the low limit Holdem tables in my favorite Poker Room at the Atlantic Resort. I know it sounds like a corny name for a Casino by it is on the boardwalk next to the Atlantic Ocean so the name seems fitting. Meeting her in a $1-2 game of No Limit Texas Holdem should have tipped me off not to trust her. After all people always say that you can’t believe anything you hear around a Poker Table. I guess the games main idea of deceiving people about the strength of your hand sometimes rubs off on them into the real world. Back to Michelle, she was tall about 5 Feet 7 inches with a body that looked like she spent many hours a day in a gym. She had perfectly manicured nails from her toes to her finger tips. Red nail polish on both that matched her hot red lipstick. As soon as I sat down I noticed the Small spider Tattoo on her right ankle. Something about it just made the hair rise on the back of my neck. My instants were telling me to just move to another table and stay away from trouble. A seat had opened up next to her and the floor person called my name after I had waited an hour for it. The place was packed on this sunny perfect June day so why spend time on the beach when you can be inside playing Poker with a bunch of people you normally wouldn’t give the time of day too? Plus she gave me a smile while looking me up and down while I took the seat. Again I sensed trouble when I looked down and saw the wedding ring on her finger. I noticed she handled her chips like a seasoned player that had put 1000s of hours grinding at the tables. Grinding is a term for Poker players who put in a huge amount of time at the low limit tables trying to build up a Bankroll to play for serious money. So back to Michelle, she was wearing shorts and a tight tee shirt that both barely covered her slender toned body up. Which makes sense for a hot day in late June but not for a Poker room that has the air on so high that it’s as cold as a freezer. This was another clue that she was trouble and I just should have requested a seat change.

WSOP ESPN

2011-10-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Did you all watch the WSOP Main Event last night on ESPN? I thought the play was excellent and fun to watch. There were some sick re-raises going on among the final 20 players. I think many players have gotten better and the game is much tougher to beat. As for online play I am in a funk. Bead beat city but I don't want to bore you with the details. Bring on the November nine. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Another Sneak for Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-10-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

Online Poker in the USA

2011-10-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-10-18T16:15:00.001-07:00

Internet Connection

2011-10-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Some how my internet connection fixed itself. Time Warner isn't coming to my house until Wednesday so I am very lucky. Our phone service is still dead but we both have cell phones so we will live with it for a few days. I was itching to play some Online Poker this morning. I crushed the cash games at Cake's super soft tables. Donks calling my all in pre-flop shoves with pocket 4s and pocket 10s, so bad. In one case I had pocket Queens in the other pocket Kings. What did they think I am shoving 50BBs with A-K off? Even if so against my range they are way behind every time. Got to love bad players. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Bad Internet Service

2011-10-15T03:54:00.000-07:00

Haven't been able to post all week being my Internet connection keeps going down. Called Time Warner and they thought my cable modem was going bad. Replaced it and couldn't get on the net. Called them again and now they say the connection to my house is down. Of course they can't send anyone out for five days. Customer service just plain sucks these days. By chance my connection has come back but it comes and goes. Plus my Internet Phone service is just down period. I will post when I can. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-10-11T07:44:00.001-07:00

My BLOG

2011-10-07T15:02:00.001-07:00

To BLOG or not that is the question. I have noticed since Black Friday that many Bloggers have posted less often than they used to. I remember a few years ago when most Bloggers would post every day or every other day. I too am guilty of letting this BLOG fall from relevancy. The problem is without access to the major Online Poker sites there is just less and less for me to write about. That and the fact that we are all getting older so have less live games to play in with friends and relatives. Now that my dog had passed I will try to play in more live games in Atlantic City, Foxwoods, and Pennsylvania. Guess I should focus on posting about the live games. Plus the E-book I am writing is coming along nicely. Have a very rough draft of around 18,000 words. Already know how it will end so just have to write in the middle part! Hopefully you my loyal readers will be kind enough to purchase it. There is a ton of Poker in it played at the fictional Atlantic Resort Poker Room in AC. That and plenty of detective work make it a compelling story to read. Plus if everything goes the way I plan it the story should tie in well to the surprising end. Guess I do have things to Post about after all in this BLOG. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Never Fails

2011-10-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

It never fails whenever I write about running good at Sit-N-Gos I get killed at them. Sunday I lost 3 straight Double or Nothings right after doing my Sit-N-Go post. It's all good I crushed the cash games all day. Actually I been winning at cash all week. Of no I've said it again, now I will run bad rest of week. Good luck at the Tables. Tony

Online Sit-N-Gos

2011-10-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

Since Black Friday the Sit-N-Go action has dried up for us US players. I've managed to play Double or nothing ones on Cake Poker. The rake for the $10 ones is higher than Poker stars 7% instead of Stars 4% but with 33% Rake back it's almost the same. The level of play is so much lower on Cake! I am a really expert double or Nothing player but still with that rake it's amazing how badly I am crushing them. I am cashing in 80% of these for the last 6 months! My sample size is small being can only play a few of them a day. Will continue to monitor the situation but for now they are my cash cow. Yesterday I decided to try out the regular full table ones with top 3 getting paid. Players there are bad also! I cashed in my first 2 attempts. Will have to play some more of these today. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Please Sign this Petition

2011-09-29T15:30:00.001-07:00

Cake Tournament Score

2011-09-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a really long time since I have done a post about an MTT score. Since Black Friday I just haven't been playing in many MTTs. Yesterday I took 2nd out of 37 players in a Cake Knockout tournament. I only got one knockout on my road to 2nd. When down to 6 players I was the short stack. I just played turtle style while my aggressive opponents went to war with each other. The chip lead kept changing hangs but I didn't mind. When heads up I face a large 7-1 deficit, which never had a chance to come back from. It's ok I will take 2nd any day of the week. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Another Atlantic City Sneak Peak

2011-09-24T04:05:00.000-07:00

Real Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-09-20T15:50:00.001-07:00

Wow the title of my E-book is really relevant these days. A man and his wife were car jacked and murdered leaving the Taj Mahal the other day. This isn't the first murder at the troubled Seaside resort in recent times. Between muggings, fights, and murders I would think people would stop going there. The problem is they get the criminals and street people from the area and the boardwalk. I have never had these kind of risks playing at the Borgata. There security is top notch and they are away from the boardwalk. I will continue playing there. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-09-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peak at the e-book I am currently working on. It's a first raw unedited version so the chapter may be different once I am done. I should be done and have it up for purchase within 6 months.(Amazon and Barnes & Noble.) Enjoy and leave a comment please, need some criticism. Thanks for reading. Tony

I need to go back in time to a few months ago when I met her and all the trouble started for me. Her name was Michelle, a relatively tall bleached blond young women of around 30 years old. I met her while doing my favorite pastime, playing Poker in Atlantic City at the low limit Holdem tables in my favorite Poker Room at the Atlantic Resort. I know it sounds like a corny name for a Casino by it is on the boardwalk next to the Atlantic Ocean so the name seems fitting. Meeting her in a $1-2 game of No Limit Texas Holdem should have tipped me off not to trust her. After all people always say that you can’t believe anything you hear around a Poker Table. I guess the games main idea of deceiving people about the strength of your hand sometimes rubs off on them into the real world. Back to Michelle, she was tall about 5 Feet 7 inches with a body that looked like she spent many hours a day in a gym. She had perfectly manicured nails from her toes to her finger tips. Red nail polish on both that matched her hot red lipstick. As soon as I sat down I noticed the Small spider Tattoo on her right ankle. Something about it just made the hair rise on the back of my neck. My instants were telling me to just move to another table and stay away from trouble. A seat had opened up next to her and the floor person called my name after I had waited an hour for it. The place was packed on this sunny perfect June day so why spend time on the beach when you can be inside playing Poker with a bunch of people you normally wouldn’t give the time of day too? Plus she gave me a smile while looking me up and down while I took the seat. Again I sensed trouble when I looked down and saw the wedding ring on her finger. I noticed she handled her chips like a seasoned player that had put 1000s of hours grinding at the tables. Grinding is a term for Poker players who put in a huge amount of time at the low limit tables trying to build up a Bankroll to play for serious money. So back to Michelle, she was wearing shorts and a tight tee shirt that both barely covered her slender toned body up. Which makes sense for a hot day in late June but not for a Poker room that has the air on so high that it’s as cold as a freezer. This was another clue that she was trouble and I just should have requested a seat change.

Cake Poker

2011-09-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

Wow the No Limit action at Cake is wild right now. People stacking off with over 100BBs with A-K off! Got to love bad players. I want to get some of this free money while I still can. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Borgata HORSE Trip Report

2011-09-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

I lasted 8 and 1/2 Brutal hours in the tournament. For a $400+50 buy in we were given 15K chips with the levels lasting 30 minutes. A deep structure for sure, that's why 123 players still made this a 2 day event. My table was mostly solid players with one exception, a young uber-aggressive player that player almost every hand for no matter how many raises. He played super bad and loose but it worked for him. He had most of the chips at the table all day. An hour after they broke the table he was still one of the chip leaders. It was unreal he did everything against what you should do but kept building up a stack. Maybe you need to play like a donk to win a limit tournament? This one Razz hand illustrates what I am talking about. It folds to me and I have the low card a 3 showing so I steal raise with Q-2-3. He calls the raise with a 9 showing. I catch perfect, an Ace and he catches a brick 10. I bet he calls again. I catch perfect again a 6 he catches a Jack. I bet he calls again! So let me recap I have 3-A-6 showing and he has 9-10-J showing, hmm. I bet and he calls once more. I make a wise ass comment and ask the table, "We are playing Razz right?" I hidden pair up on sixth and he catches good. On the River I pair up again but bet anyway. He calls with his Jack low and I loss with my Queen low! He played that so bad but got rewarded. There were other badly played hands by him such as when he 4 bet pre-flop in Holdem with A-9 off. I had A-Q suited and the other player had pocket eights. He turned a nine and dragged down a huge pot! Donks are what donk do. I will post more about this tournament tomorrow. Thanks for reading Tony

Another Borgata Trip

2011-09-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

I am taking another trip to the Borgata this weekend. Tomorrow I will attempt to win the Bad Beat Jackpot once again. The real reason I am going on the trip is to Win the Sunday $450 HORSE Tournament. Razz and Hi/Lo Stud are my best games so I have some +EV in this MTT for sure. Look for a trip report either Sunday, if things go badly, or Monday if things go well. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Let's Do Something About Online Poker in USA

2011-09-07T16:31:00.001-07:00

Actual Borgata Trip Report

2011-09-04T04:13:00.000-07:00

We arrived yesterday at the Borgata around 1pm. Both got on the list for a $3-6 Limit Holdem table. My wife got bored and sat down at a $2-4 table. The action was great, super loose and super passive. A perfect table with rare raising pre-flop, except for my wife. She crush the game for 25BB in 3 hours. (Really she was playing for their Bad beat Jackpot which was a ridicules 440K!) I sat down in a really soft passive $3-6 which was perfect for my style. I was able to be the man at the table, in other words controlling all the action. Played a super TAG style. Played few pots but raising at every chance. They kept paying my monsters off. In 3 hours I flopped 3 sets that that got paid off down to showdown. I walked away up 20BB in 3 hours. All in all a good day for the both of us. We enjoyed the great Buffet that the Borgata has. The fried chicken was the best I have had in awhile. Beef Brisket was really tender and well seasoned. Also recommend their brick oven pizza. How can you beat the food for $18.95 each? Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

P.S. - HORSE Tournament next Sunday at the Borgata.

Borgata Trip Report

2011-09-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

Expect a Live Borgata Trip Report Saturday Night or Sunday Morning. With their Bad Beat Jackpot over 400K we are making a trip to play for it. Think I will take a shot at the 11am $180 No Limit Tournament tomorrow. Expect a good bad beat story with me getting knocked out 10 from the money. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Stand Together

2011-08-31T16:36:00.001-07:00

Hurricane

2011-08-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

We survived hurricane Irene! Our basement flooded but I got everything of value lifted to high ground before hand. All our area rugs had to be thrown out. I have been wet n dry vaching for 2 days. Got all the water out of the basement now. Went out and bought a de-humidifier for the basement. Got it running right now. Things could have been a lot worse. Just got the computer reset up and got my phone back too. Hope everyone else made out fine. Thanks for reading. Tony

Hurricane Report

2011-08-27T04:47:00.000-07:00

This is a call to all Poker Bloggers, who still have power. Please do a post about the Hurricane conditions in your area right now. I am in North NJ and the rain has just started, it's 7:47am eastern time. I will do some updates later as the rain and wind picks up. Everyone stay safe and dry. Good luck. Tony

R.I.P.

2011-08-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

Monday night we had to put our faithful pet Black Lab, Blacky down! She was the most gentle loving dog you could have. This dog wouldn't hurt a fly. You could take her food away while she was eating it and she wouldn't bite you. Old age is what got her. Her back hip and leg muscles basically shrunk away over the last year. It started with us having to carry her up and dog the stairs to take her out. It got worse and worse with her falling down and having trouble walking straight. Repeated trips to the Vet and medicine but her condition got worse and worse. It broke my wife and I's hearts to do it but last night we had to. She could no longer stand up on her own and she was crying yesterday. I stayed home from work to spend the day with her. Took her to the Vet last night and he gave her the shot. It was very peaceful with her going to sleep within 30 seconds with no fuss at all. We will miss her dearly. I hope there is a doggy heaven full of roasted Chicken and beef jerky for her! We will love you always Blacky! R.I.P.

Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-08-20T05:42:00.001-07:00

Here is the first really rough draft paragraph on the book I am writing, "Trouble in Atlantic City". Please leave me a comment. I need some criticism from my readers. Thanks and enjoy Tony

Welcome to Atlantic City; faded seaside resort city and east coast Vegas want to be. Playground to every jet setter, high roller, high stakes poker playing smuck, sleazebag and little old grey haired lady trying to get a piece of the gamblers dream to make that one big score. This is my territory; my name is Frank Vagola, Atlantic City P.I. I’m an ex-cop from the New York suburbs of Ridgefield Park New Jersey. After putting in my 20 years of service to qualify for a full pension I retired from the police force. Things were getting too corrupt for my liking anyway. Things were getting too corrupt for my liking anyway. Also New Jersey politics were starting to get to me. Over time we public servants have lost respect from the public we are paid to serve. Being there have been many scandals involving crooked cops I see why this is. These days I spend my time in private practice as a private investigator, have an office above my garage in a small house I rent in Absecon New Jersey. It’s not glamorous but it pays the bills and keeps me out/in trouble on a daily basis. Mostly spend my times following cheating spouses around to motels alone the major highways of New Jersey. Speaking of which I have lived in my whole life and intend on dying here too. If you tell people, from other parts of the country, that you are from New Jersey they make some bad joke by stating, “Oh yea, which exit”? This joke is referring to the fact that Route 95, called the New Jersey Turnpike, is the main road most people associate with our great state. The reason for this is that the Newark airport is located on the New Jersey Turnpike. Also that area is full of many chemical plants that emit bad smells and tons of pollution into the atmosphere. So when people are driving or getting driven out of the airport they pass through this area and it makes a bad first impression on them. We all know how hard it is to change a bad first impression of anything. This is why it’s so important for restaurants to look clean and well maintained on the outside. If it looks bad from the outside people won’t even give it a chance. So New Jersey is like a rundown restaurant that may never get a chance to show off how good their food is being the bad first impression ruins it. Anyway I have gone off on a tangent about my lovely state of New Jersey back to the story of how I almost got killed investigating another routine case of a cheating husband for his wife. So I thought it was going to be another easy routine case for me.

Poker Players Unite!

2011-08-18T15:42:00.001-07:00

Borgata Trip Report

2011-08-14T04:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since i've done one of these posts. Yesterday I made my first trip down to Atlantic City to play some live poker. We arrived early around 10:00 but there wasn't a lack of action. My father and I got seated right away at the same $3-6 Limit Holdem table. I could have easily played $1-2 or $2-5 No Limit, were plenty of games going at that time. My mother got herself a seat in a $2-4 Limit Holdem game right away too. The game was good but not as fishy as the last few trips i've made. It had a mix of 4 regulars, 2 new clueless players, 2 average players, myself and my father. My father couldn't fade the river all day. He had monster hands cracked on the river all day long. Me on the other hand keep flopping top pair top kicker that I would bet every street and it would hold up. Funny thing is I kept showing them the goods yet they kept paying me off on the river. This lasted all day and I went home with a nice profit. The Bad Beat Jackpot is at a record setting $380K for the Borgata! This had the effect of making the game even looser than normal. People wouldn't give up a pair or a suited connector pre-flop, no matter the action. All in all I look forward to going down and playing more live poker. Making a trip down in September to play in the HORSE event during the Borgata Open. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Trouble in Atlantic City

2011-08-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

There is Strength in Numbers

2011-08-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

Cash Game Report

2011-08-02T15:41:00.001-07:00

I played some Cash Game Poker on Cake last night. I had bought in for the minimum at the next higher stake than I usually play. Had an uber-donk on my left that kept re-raising me. So action folds to me in the small blind and I bring it in for 3x knowing the Donk will re-raise me. He snap shoves and I snap call with A-J off. A hand I hate but against this Donk’s range should be golden. Cards exposed he has A-9 off, what a super Donk. The flop comes 8-9-10 rainbow. He out flops me but I have a ton of resuck outs. I blank on the turn and river. Damn I hate getting stacked by a Donk. I rebought and played at that table for a few more minutes. The Donk left with my money a few hands later, figures. Always seems whenever I move up in stakes I run extra bad. Of well tonight will be at it again. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

We Need to Stick Together to Get Things Done

2011-08-01T15:42:00.001-07:00

Wedding Day

2011-07-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

Big shout out to my cousin Neil, he's getting married in a few hours. This is the same Neil who throws the kick ass Poker nights at his house. Good luck and congratulations! Tony

Cake Poker Update

2011-07-30T04:01:00.001-07:00

Wow I am running bad this week. I have lost in cash games 5 out of the last 7 days. Thankfully I am softening the blow by crushing the Double or Nothing Sit-N-Gos. I have won 10 of my last 13 of them.The action in Cake's No Limit Cash games has picked up lately. They regularly have $2-4 and $1-2 No Limit Cash Games going on week nights. As for the Micro Stakes levels, .05-.10, .10-.20, and .25-.50 there are hundreds of games going. Of course deposit options for American players are limited. That is why strict bank roll management for me. I have a major announcement coming up in this BLOG. It won't be for a few weeks but at least it will give my readers something to look forward too. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Sign This Online Poker Petition

2011-07-26T16:28:00.001-07:00

Double Up Sit-N-Gos

2011-07-24T04:50:00.000-07:00

This week things are going great for me on Cake Poker playing Double Up Sit-N-Gos. I just cashed in 8 of my last 10. The rake is higher at Cake than it was at Poker Stars but the players are way worse. They play these like a regular Sit-N-Go, don't make the proper adjustments. Double ups are all about survival not chip accumulation. Squeaking into the money is right up my alley. Still miss playing MTTs on sundays but I am coping the best I can. When will our government get it's act together? All this money they could be bringing in to reduce the deficit is just slipping through their fingers. Right now they have more important things to worry about like raising the debt ceiling. The way our government gets things done is just a joke. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Let's Band Together to Get Something Done

2011-07-23T05:22:00.001-07:00

WSOP Horses Results

2011-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

My cousin and I both had 2 of our Horses make the final table. Not bad considering we choose when there were over 140 players left. For him Phil Collins and Ben Lamb made the final table. For me Pius Heinz and Ben Lamb made it. So the bet is a wash and no one wins anything. It was a fun sweat and am sure we will do it next year. Bring on November when we get to see the ending to this story. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

WSOP Horses

2011-07-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

Every year my cousin and I make some Main Event picks. Here are my 10 horses for the Main Event Final Table.

David Bach
Byran Devonshire
Kyle Johnson
Sam Barnhart
Ben Lamb
Andrew Brokos
Thomas Grey
Sebastian Ruthenberg
Pius Heinz
Jean-Robert Bellande Winner!

Here are my cousin's picks:

Ben Lamb
Phil Collins
Daryl Jace
Frank Calo
Christian Harder
David Sands
John Robert Bellande
David Barter
Tony Hachem
Sami Kelopuro (Winner)

As you can see I am going out on a limb with my winner pick! May the best Donk's picks win. Enjoy watching the Main Event today on ESPN2 or ESPN3. Good luck at the tables. Tony

WSOP Main Event Inspiration

2011-07-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

I have been watching ESPN's live coverage of the Main Event for the last 2 years. It's awesome, am surprised they haven't done this years ago. I believe it's on a 30 minute time delay with hole cards shown after most hands. Also they are showing hand after hand so the flow of the game is not interrupted. It's on ESPN2 and ESPN3 until 10:00pm eastern time tonight also on again at 12:00 midnight. If you can watch it don't miss, it's must watch TV. As for the Inspiration I played in a 76 man low limit No Limit MTT this morning on Cake. I cashed in forth place for 7.5 buy ins. It's my first cash in awhile. Felt I played tight aggressive poker great today. Being I am out of practice it felt good to cash. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Poker Players Unite!

2011-07-11T16:06:00.001-07:00

WSOP 50K Players Championship

2011-07-09T00:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post about the 8-Game Players Championship Results. It's been a crazy busy holiday shortened week. Basically had to get 5 days worth of work into 4 days! IMHO Phil Hellmuth blew his chance for a 12th braclet. Calling all in with an under card flush draw with a big stack is a bad move in most cases. In the one hand he shoved with it, which do to fold equity wasn't that bad. Brian Rasst made a great call with A-K unimproved vs. 9-6 suited which actually had more outs being 3 sixes and 3 nines were good too. The other 2 all in calls by Hellmuth were really bad being he called with 2 cards lower than the board, to a flush, both times. I don't know what he was thinking but maybe he wanted to win so bad that he didn't think it through. The one hand they had 9 million chips each and he called off into a pot that only had 1 million to begin with as a 2-1 underdog. Still he did have 3 impressive 2nd place finishes in non-holdem events this year. Plus he had 5 cashes overall and most likely will win player of the year too. Overall I think he has nothing to be ashamed of for this WSOP. Thanks for reading adn good luck at the tables. Tony

New Streak

2011-07-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

I am starting up a new streak on Cake Poker. So far 3 winning days in a row. Also doing well at the Double or nothing Sit-N-Gos. Something weird happened, lost 3 in a row for the first time in over a year. It's all good being I won the next 5 straight to make up for it. Still miss the big MTTs on Stars and Full, what can you do. Happy forth of July to everyone. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

End of a Good Run

2011-07-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Winning Streak is over. I didn’t want to post about it but just went 14 days straight without a single losing one on Cake Poker. Granted it’s just micro stakes No Limit but it feels good to win every day for 2 weeks straight. On top of it have been putting in a lot of volume so my Rake back has been decent. Haven’t been winning a ton like ½ buy in to 2 buyins but is starts to add up over time. Now I am almost ready to move up to the next level, which will still be micro stakes but almost low stakes, lol. I miss playing for real money at the Razz and Hi/Lo Stud tables on Poker Stars. Really miss playing in large field MTTs for the big bucks. Oh well I thought we lived in a free country! Don’t get me started about the BS tactics of our short sighted politicians running our lives and this country. Everyone have a happy Fourth of July Weekend. Be careful if playing with fireworks. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Let's Do Something About Online Poker Ban

2011-06-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

Live Poker

2011-06-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

I miss playing live Poker! Oh how I yearn for the feel of clay chips between my fingers. The live tells are so sweet and easy to spot on new players. I wish I lived closer to a Casino. If only Atlantic City wasn't 2 hours away. Hopefully my cousins will have a home game soon. Of course I miss the WSOP even more. This is the first year since 2004 that we aren't going to Vegas in June for the WSOP. Oh well there is always next year. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Poker Players Must Ban Together

2011-06-20T16:48:00.001-07:00

Cake Double Up Sit-N-Gos

2011-06-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have been crushing these Sit-N-Gos. These are the equivalent of Poker Stars Double or Nothings. 10 players enter and 5 double up their buy ins. So far these are super soft I just won 6 of the last 7 I played in! Traffic seems to be picking up on Cake and the Merge Network Skins these days. Online Poker isn't quite dead yet. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Borgata HOSE Tournament Review

2011-06-12T04:52:00.000-07:00

They know how to run tournaments at the Borgata. The $350+50 HOSE event was run professionally yesterday. The turnout was a little low but there is a little Series running right now called the WSOP! 80 players showed up and we started with 15,000 in chips with the levels rising every 30 minutes. There was much play, didn't feel real pressure until 5 hours into this. At one point I was close to being the chip leader with 36K chips. Went card dead for 2 hours and maybe tighten up too much to bring me back to average around 22K. I really felt I played great only making a few mistakes here and there. One hand that crushed me was making Aces and Kings on the river in Stud after betting every street. I acted first and my gut told me to check but I bet into the young aggressive player. He took a long time and finally raised me. Knew I was beat but had to see his hand. His board had nothing going at all with 2 clubs. He turns over 3 clubs in the hole for a hidden flush with puts me on temp. tilt! From that point on I had to struggle off elimination. Lasted down to 18 players with 9 making the money, first paid almost 10K! So frustrating I played for almost 9 hours and went home tired with nothing to show for it. Oh well I will try next time. Happy Sunday. Tony

Borgata Summer Open

2011-06-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

Oh how I yearn for the feel of real Poker chips in my hands! The bad live play is just so much fun. Haven't played "Real" Poker for so long. All this will change starting tomorrow. I took off from work and am making a Borgata trip! Better yet I am playing in one of their Summer Open Events. I am a limit specialist so HOSE is the right game for me. Playing in their $400 HOSE event on Saturday. If you are around stop in and say hi. You should see a trip report either Saturday night or Sunday morning. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Cake Poker Update

2011-06-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

The cash games at Cake at really soft now. I am talking about the Low Limit No Limit games. I have been crushing them since Black Friday. Plus the 35% Rake Back I get every Wednesday is nice too. As for their MTTs they are really easy but I am running way under expectation. Keep getting close to cashing but something bad always happens. Either I get coolered or I lose a big flip. These are low limit, less than $10 and usually have 100 or less players in them. Just read this morning that the Merge Network will stop taking American players for a few weeks. On the surface it sounded bad but the details are that so many US players have signed up that they can't keep up! They will play catch up and than things should be back to normal. Wish I was going to the WSOP this year! The coverage on ESPN3.com has been so great. Happy Sunday. Tony

Phil Ivey and Full Tilt

2011-06-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you all have been following it but damn we have some drama at the WSOP this year! You can't make this stuff up, Ivey not playing and suing Full Tilt for 150 million. On the Poker side of things Gus Hansen is in the last 4 players left of the 25K Heads up tournament. I would love to see him get a bracelet in this event. TGIF. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony