I'm Back, Maybe

It has been six months since I sat down at a poker table, I've quit before but never for this long. I just started playing on the internet again althougt I've switch from Carbon to Doyles Room. I couldn't say if its good or bad for you to be away from the game for that long but, to speak for myself history has shown that I made my two biggest runs on come back sweeps. I think maybe it changes your perspective on your ability level when you take a break. I mean when I quit I had just lost the most money ever at one sitting. I felt bad about my ability as a card player. Not that I believe I've learned anything from being on a break but your self confidence is so important to your game and that returns with time. You either have to play through it or forget, and being the wealthy person I was at the time I could not afford to use option #1. I have started my comeback by just playing super big quick draws and then with the few sents I make every night playing small sit-n-gos. Over a two day period of 4 or 5 games I'm up to a grand total of $2.55. Which doesn't seem like and in fact is not a lot of money, but even so I believe that the value of money is increased the minute you put it on line. An example being how many people wouldn't bend over and pick up a quater on the street but then turn around and complain about the $.25 rake on a hand. I actually may have my first real job in over a year and a half so maybe I can make a deposit online or just maybe find a decent bar game.

Cops Are Cracking Down

On June 6th 2008, a bar owner in Tuscaloosa, AL was charged with illegal promotion of gambling. For the past two years, one night a week he had host a tourney at his bar. Participants payed ten dollars and the top three split the money with the bar owner not taking any of the profits. Now my understanding of the law was as long as the establishment didn't take a "rake", such as a casino would do, that it was legal. Apparently this is not the case in Tuscaloosa with the bar owner being fined and issued a misdemeanor citation. In the article I read it stated that an under cover officer had watched the games take place for several weeks before getting a warrent. I am bringing this to your attention so that you can be more aware of where you are playing. Keep an eye out for suspious looking people, especially if they are present more than once. I have played at a local place before and witnessed a guy hanging around until closing for several weeks watching us before it was raided by the ATF. Just a thought to keep in your head while playing.

I want to crawl under a rock for 6 days

The next time I hear alrounder complain about a bad beat in a freeroll I’m going to punch him in the throat and show him what a bad beat is (Editor Note: There will be no throat punching). I just got through playing the Sunday $20,000 guaranteed (second chance) on Carbon Poker. This is only the third time I’ve forked over the $60 entry fee and that’s only because 10 minutes before it started I won 2 $20 heads up matches. So I ended up only paying $20 to play. On about the third hand I flop a set and put out queen high. (what the @#$% he’s thinking I don’t know). I didn’t really play the next 40 or 50 hands until I have KJs and raise 3x after a guy had limped which he had done the previous 100 hands or something like that. The flop comes 2 2 K. The donkey check raises me all n. I call and have him dominated he had K6 sooooted. A queen on the turn and were splitting it but then my jack comes on the river and I have about 9000 chips sitting in the top 10. I don’t do anything crazy and make it to the top 20 with about 15,000 chips. Not good cause I’m getting close to the 10bb mark. Then I get 46o in the small big blind and a guy limps utg with pkt3s ????? I flop a straight and check, he goes all in and I call and win the hand. I’m now the chip leader, with around 40- 45k . With 13 people left and top 20 getting $200 and 10th getting $300 I have pkt 5s in the small blind utg once again limps, the flop is 5 9 x, I check and the big blind goes all in with J9 I call and am fixing to have 120k with 12 people left about 40k more than 2nd place. The turn is another 9 and I now have a boat. At this point i'm not sure how many nines are left in the deck, but i think it is one. You guessed it 9 on the river. So I double this bitch up and am down to 40 something thousand again. I play kida aggressive and get my chipstack back up to 80k by check raising. Now were down to 7 players. 7th wins $800 and I am 2nd or 3rd in chips with about 90-100k I raise 3x with aj both blinds call. Flop is an ace, check check and I shove it in with top pair into an sizeable pot. The small blind thinks and makes the call with a6. Oh look at that a 6 on the turn and this @#$&* takes almost all my chips. I should have knocked her out and had six players and 180k in chips. I could have easily coasted to the final 2, and made at least $3600; with the winner taking home $5400. But no, I battle my way into the top six and bust out with kqo against 67o and cash for $1000. I have never in my life been so mad about winning $1000, I mean I’ve never even won $1000 before now. I just felt like it was my time for a big cash but I guess it was not meant to be. I think I will go hide under a rock. Hopefully no donkeys will find me there.

-dmoney67

New Internet Writer dmoney67

I decieded I should add another writer to alrpoker that plays a lot more internet games. Mabye this will spike interest.
-ALRounder

Why Does Thou Burn Me?

Often after playing online poker I think to myself why? Why do I always get beat on the river. O and yes I'm glad to be writing again, I know everyone missed my indepth articles filled with poker genius found nowhere else but on alrpoker. Ha. Anyway I just finished a freeroll provided by the good people at Rounders Radio on Carbonpoker.com. To make a short story even shorter after about an hour of play I was comfortable sitting in the top 10 with 6,800 in chips when I'm dealt death also known as pocket QQ's. The blinds were one 75/150 and I raised to 450 on the bubble. Three seats down a guy calls with 375 left and the guy seated next to him pushes for about 5,500. He had pushed once before with 10's so I thought and made the call. He flips JJ's over and to my suprise my computer didn't crash with excitement that I was ahead in the hand. The other guy, by the way, held rags. The flop and turn miss us both and you guessed it J on the river. Next hand he puts me out with KK's when I pushed with A 10 and he called 1,500 with K 5. I threw that in to give you an idea of what a donk he was. Anyway looks like I'm back to the same old crap, drowning in the river every freakin time. Kind gets old, but like I was told after the tourney atleast I didn't have any real money out there. But to tell the true, in some situations money isn't everything. Losing a pot or a game to someone who is a total idiot and has no idea the true meaning of poker can really hurt.
- ALRounder

Under Renovations

I have been out of commission for a while, sorry bout that! Ahh well I've just had a lot going on since I started my lawn care business but I am "planning" on getting back into the swing of things by June. I should be able to put my bank roll (which I spent) back to gather by then from the money I've made in my business. Hopefully if everything works out I will be allowed back into a bar that I favor for a regular weekly tourny and ring game. I just have to make a few phone calls before then to make sure I'm welcome (if you know what I mean). With that being said I hope reader ship will pick back up again with my updated site. Check back at the begining of June for updates.

-ALRounder

Some Thoughts

Have you ever talked to yourself. I unfortunately do it a lot. Talk to myself that is, apparently I do it much more than I though because I don't know if anybody really reads what I write. So if they don't I am in turn talking to myself. Right? I guess maybe? I believe poker to be something that has to be finessed and cared for, especially in tournament form. If its not perfectly set-up with the blinds, and chip count, and everything else it will fail. This is why most tournaments do not reward first place to the best player in the room, its usually the luckiest. I have never played in a well run tournament. Most of the games I play in start out with either way too many or not enough chips and then start skipping two or three blinds in a row when the guy that runs the place is put out. I need to get out and play more in other places away from my usual haunts. I think it will help my game, sure can't hurt.

Burning Money

Last night I played in a $50 buy-in charity event in the back round of a Mardi Gras association building. Ya it was a little weird. There were re-buys for a little over an hour which was a nice change, from the usual 3 hours, but manly the same drunks there. I had a nice stack in the making after the re-buys were over. I had a little over twice the 5,000 we started with. The one big hand that I won before that point I had 10h Qh and the flop hit Jh 2d 4h. I had flopped four to the flush and I bet the minimum to build the pot so I could draw to it later. The Turn is a 9s which adds a open ended straight to my draws. I bet again 500 and get two calls. The river is a heart which makes my flush and i bet 500 again because my flush card was lower than the boards and I am re-raised another 500 and everyone in the hand calls. The show one and two pair hand and I raked in about 4,000. After the re-buys were over about four hands in I lost about 5,000 in one hand were I hit another flush on the turn but I folded. This was the right move because I had the losing hand (he had hit the bigger flush) but I still had invested a lot into the hand. A few hands later we combined tables and I was put out, my pair of J's by a pair o Q's. The guy that put me out took most of my chips that night. He was not a skilled player but on the flop he always re-raised my "information" bet that I made with middle pair. He did this to me several times. If I would have been playing "smart" I could have easily trapped this guy and conversely not bet into him with middle pair. But like I said I wasn't thinking right. I really can't blame anybody for losing this game except but myself. I just didn't get a lot of opportunity's to play do to the bad blind structure that these people love to use.