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Poker Blog established in 2003 as the first stop for poker news, poker stories, and bad poker advice.

October 30, 2005

When Bloggers Collide

by Luckbox

"You're not the only one who gets to play with the bloggers."

Those were my words to Otis cards went into the air for the Poker Princess Invitational. It was a collection of eight poker bloggers who gathered in Austin with pride and money on the line. You see, unlike those pansy bloggers in South Carolina, we don't have to pretend we're playing for "points."

Assembled for this titanic battle were:

Seat 1: Heather
Seat 2: Scott
Seat 3: John (Slayre)
Seat 4: Kat
Seat 5: April
Seat 6: Gus
Seat 7: CJ
Seat 8: Adam

Adam was our tournament director, and, armed with a countdown clock that beared a remarkable resemblance to a microwave, we got started with T1500, 20/40 starting blinds and 45 minute levels. I think Otis would approve.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Tournament Action

October 29, 2005

For the new reader....

by G-Rob

There are many stories about the beginning, from the mythical "Big Bang" of male physicist fantasy, to the light switch creation of Genesis. Different cultures each have their own tale, often passed down to wide-eyed children, some, like the "Day of the Vacuum Fart" are told only to children with giant hoops around the neck. I'm not sure which story, if any, is true. I DO know from whence poker came.

This is the story of O-TIS.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | G-Rob's Thoughts

October 28, 2005

The Up4Poker Invitational--Updated

by Otis

Crow-eating update in extended entry

So, I was concerned when I didn't see CJ's name appear on the registration board for the WWdN #3: Up4 Poker Invitational. So, I dialed his cell phone. He answered on the first ring.

He sounded like I was committing the cell phone version of coitus interruptus.

"You are interupting," he said, "the Austin Bloggers tournament."

CJ doesn't live in Austin. I wasn't sure I understood, and if I did, that I believed him. Getting CJ out of bayou country is difficult. Only women, music, and poker pull him away from work. Of course, Austin has all three of those things.

Perhaps he heard it in the tone of my voice. I heard him pull the phone from his face.

"Everybody say hello to B. Otis. W.!"

The room exploded into a cheer. "Oooootisss!"

He returned to the phone. "You're not the only one who gets to play with the bloggers," he said in a smug tone.

So, if you came here tonight looking for the man behind the WWdN Invitational tonight, rest calmly in that he is playing with real chips in a room full of hooligans tonight. As my relatonship with PokerStars precludes my playing the event, G-Rob is playing for the team tonight as GRobman.

I'd appreciate it if you cracked his aces with quad fives then typed, "Thems quads beeeetches" in the chat box.

Good luck to everyone, and thanks to Wil for running these fine events.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Tournament Action

October 27, 2005

Otis Booked

by Otis

Um...yep.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Las Vegas

She Is "The Nuts"

by Luckbox

The guys at Up For Poker are pretty easy. I'm not going to lie. And when one self-nominee for "The Nuts" used this line:

I'll hike up my skirt and stick my leg out

We were sold. Please go say hello to change100 at Pot Committed. She's another one of those LA bloggers, but I won't hold that against her.

By the way, there were many fine nominees, and I will be trying to get as many of you in the spotlight as possible. And for those looking to get on the blogroll, consider it done (as soon as I have a minute).

Permalink | Poker Blogs , | The Nuts

October 26, 2005

OPEN THE SOUL

by G-Rob

There's a very kind woman, a weathergirl, at a local TV station, who has a problem with e-mail. Let's call her the "brick." She moved to the South from a small midwestern town, and had no premonition of the impending culture shock. Her interview with the station, where she's on the air right now, went well. She's incredibly qualified for the job, has all the seals and certifications, and the other employees, her co-workers and new friends, thought she was a joy to be around.

So why isn't she happy?

E-mail is a bitch.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | G-Rob's Thoughts

Camera awareness and the Steve Dannenmann response

by Otis

They call them lav mics. It's short for lavalier mic. A lavalier is a small stone or pendant worn like a necklace. A lac miv is a tiny little microphone you wear clipped to your short, tie, or lapel that is so easily forgotten that you can walk in the bathroom, sing "Strangers in the Night," take a quick pee, and walk back before ever considering there is a room full of people listening in.

I should know. I spent nearly a decade wearing one.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Poker on TV

October 24, 2005

Are You "The Nuts?"

by Luckbox

Why aren't you on my blogroll? Okay, I'm sure it's my fault. You sent me an email awhile back and I meant to add you and forgot. Or you left a comment hoping I'd see it and put you on the list. Well, now's my chance to right that wrong.

Please leave me a comment with your poker blog and, if you'd like a special spotlight, tell me why you should be "The Nuts." By Wednesday, you'll be on the roll and I'll pick a new winner. And sorry, but you're not getting any cool PokerStars gear out of this. Up For Poker has no budget. Although I'm thinking of merchandising... but that would only confirm fears that my ego is too large (check the comments).

On a completely unrelated note, I've now managed to redirect UpForPoker.com and UpForPoker.net. Makes it a lot easier to tell people how to get here. Next step will be moving this over completely... but that's way down the road. I'm an idiot, it was hard enough to figure this out!

Permalink | Poker Blogs , | The Nuts

October 23, 2005

Um...

by Otis

Should we all be screaming blog thief?

UPDATE!
Heath, with the Blog Bunch, has removed Up For Poker from his listing. If other poker bloggers wish to do the same, I'd suggest sending an email.

Permalink | Otis' Thoughts

PokerStars Blogger Championship

by Otis

Indeed, I'm not playing, today, but I'll be there to watch everybody. Here are a few details.

PokerStars Blogger Championship
4:00pm ET.

CJ will be playing under the name Up4Poker
G-Rob (if he's not working) will be playing under the name GRobman
Otis will be making special appearances.

Wanna watch? You can download the client for free by clicking here. Then go to Tourney/Private and scroll down the the PokerStars Blogger Championship (it's in green).

Have fun everybody.

Permalink | Tournament Action

October 21, 2005

Cowboys Over Snowmen

by Luckbox

I think this is close to what it was like when I got seated at wil's table (click for larger):

I few hands later, I threw away a bunch of chips and found myself relatively shortstacked. Then I lucked into K's and won a nice pot. And then it happened. A few hands later, it's Cowboys again and wil pushes all in in front of me for about half my stack. I push all in to eliminate one caller and my K's hold up over his Snowmen. (wil liveblogged the tourney over at Card Squad.)

You never really feel bad about winning a big pot, but I didn't want to put wil out if I didn't have to. I managed to carry that stack all the way to 10th place before making a stupid call with KQ preflop. I lost to J's and was out. I would have made the final table had I just folded, but that's the way it goes.

Congrats to Sparky for holding up blogger pride and winning the whole thing! I also enjoyed playing with Chris and, of course, the Poker Princess.

It was a blast, and because I was lucky enough to bust him, wil named next week's tourney at Pokerstars the Up4Poker Invitational. Make sure you sign up and play!

Permalink | Tournament Action

Missed it...

by Otis

by that much.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Tournament Action

October 20, 2005

Tournament Structures Good and Bad

by Otis

I'd made a rule for myself during my first beer. I would not under any circumstances play the nightly 11pm $225 WSOP second chance tournament. The little $10/$20 cash game was running just fine. Maria and her ex-beau were chatty as always. The dealers were in rare form. I stood to win a little money.

John the Omniscent Cocktail Dude appeared behind me like the Great Gazoo.

"Bud Light." he said, picking up my empty and replacing it with a full one. I toked him as he walked away, took a slug from the bottle, and made a rule for myself. Unless I was up by $300 or more by 10:30pm, I would not play the 11pm $225.

"Bud Light." The Great Gazoo was behind me again. Too few minutes had passed in the interim.

"John," I said, "deliver my next one to Table 23. I'll be in the $225."

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Tournament Action

October 19, 2005

High and Tight

by G-Rob

Let's get the manditory truth out of the way up front, I am a horrible poker player. If poker skill were playa moves, I'd be some middle-aged dimwit slouched on a couch with a laptop for a lap.

Somehow, I think I just proved chicks dig great poker players. Which is silly. I have MUCH better TV hair.

How about this?

If you could stack all the stupid at every poker table... it would be about 6 foot 5.

6'10" with the hair.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Poker Theory

October 18, 2005

Win Your Trip to the Caribbean!

by Luckbox

If you're a blogger and you haven't signed up for the Online Poker Blogger Championship, then you're just plain crazy. I don't really have to list the reasons, do I? Sure, there's a big cruise you could win (which I won't) and some fancy monitors (which I don't need), but I'm going for these:

Did I mention it's free? And, really, most of those bloggers don't have a shot in hell, so use that to your advantage. Plus, the more successful we make this, the more likely PokerStars will be to repeat this and the more likely other sites might be to replicate it. It's a win-win for bloggers!

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Online Poker

October 16, 2005

Booked!

by G-Rob

I'll be in Las Vegas from:

Thursday December 8th
until
Sunday December 11th

God help us all.

Permalink | Las Vegas

It's Time!

by Luckbox

I've delayed the start of this thing long enough. I figured I had to give many of you time to practice, but your time is up.

The WPBT Euchre Tournament has begun. Eight brave teams signed up. And after randomly assigning numbers, here are the first round matchups:

Game 1: CJ and Heather vs. Matt and Megan (from Austin)
Game 2: Drizztdj and BG vs. Patrick and Danny
Game 3: The Donkey Feltchers (Maudie and Daddy) vs. Lefty and Jason
Game 4: GRob and Uncle Ted vs. Jim and Bob (from Detroit)

The first and second rounds will be best of 5 games. All to be played on Yahoo Games. No cheating, please. The winners of Game 1 and Game 2 will play in the semis as will the winners of Game 3 and Game 4. You have this week to play. Please get in touch with your opponents or leave contact information in the comments. Good luck!

Permalink | Tournament Action

October 15, 2005

A Story Seldom Told

by G-Rob

Eight months after I finished college I was working as a waiter at an O'Charlie's restaurant in Knoxville. I dressed like a professional, with dark shoes and a pressed white shirt, then covered it with a long maroon apron, which I could never keep clean. I wasn't good at my job either. It's odd, knowing you're not good enough to succed at one job, but are destined for something more challenging. It was after a long shift slinging yeast rolls and "salads," that I made a phone call that changed my life.

By comparison, television is easy. I've gotten pretty good at the business lately, good enough to get by, but I never forget how it started.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Home Games

October 14, 2005

Al would be so proud...

by Otis

I'm learning, Al. I'm learning.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Tournament Action

October 13, 2005

Tales from the (Pool Table) Felt

by Luckbox

It is, perhaps, the most expensive poker table I've ever played. If you figure your full-sized tournament pool table runs well over a thousand dollars, I have to figure not even the casinos have to pay that much. And it's really rather functional, too. It comfortably seats 12 and has 6 big cup holders.

Last night we had just 11 to start, but that was plenty. The usual mix of fish and moderately skilled players had assembled to throw caution (and $10) to the wind in a Texas Hold 'Em shoot out. My game has been tight which means I was likely to bust out in the first five minutes.

Permalink | Home Games

October 11, 2005

Risk Reward

by G-Rob

I keep the cellphone in the car. I hate the damn thing. For awhile, after the last one was stolen, I was swept away by all the features, even downloading "Rock Lobster" as the official Otis ringtone. Now the whole thing's passe. So I missed the Mark's call on Monday night. I would have missed the game, but Mrs. Blood called the house.

Monday night, I played for real stakes and I'm more confident than ever in my game.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Home Games

October 9, 2005

Diary of a Rubber-less Traveler (Continued)

by Otis

AKA-- How to go broke without ever playing a hand

Continued from here.

I don't carry rubbers when I travel. I pack with slightly more clothes than the Accidental Tourist would recommend. I carry a suitcase, a garment bag, a backpack, and whatever I shove in my pockets. Nowhere in any of the bags or pockets will you find a condom. The reason is pretty simple. As Daddy always said, "Don't point a gun unless you plan to shoot it."

My random target shooting days ended about ten years ago.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Otis' Thoughts

October 8, 2005

Good Morning!!!

by Luckbox

Biggest.
Tournament win.
Ever.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Tournament Action

October 7, 2005

Back Roads

by G-Rob

I love the mountain drive, especially from Asheville to Nashville. It's an interstate, but it winds along the plateau and snakes past some of the most breathtaking valleys in the world. CJ once totalled a car there when the rain slicked roads made the sharp turns impossible. But on this one trip, this one 6 hour drive to a farm near Nashville, I couldn't see the mountains for the music.

My wife sat next to me fingering through a ream of paper she'd printed from the "official" Bonnaroo website... a list of performers, schedules for each state, and all the other camp goings-on. We made a schedule of our own. By the time we met our friends in a hotel, just 60 miles from the big music show, we had every action, ever breath, planned to the minute.

You should ALWAYS be prepared.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Poker Theory

October 5, 2005

That Felt Good

by Luckbox

11 players, $10 entry fee, T1200 starting stack, 25/50 blinds double every 20 minutes.

Just 47 minutes later I won $70.

I doubled up on the first hand when KJ called my AJ on a J-high flop. Won a nice pot on the second hand when JT filled a straight on the turn. Knocked two more out on the next hand when AT beat AK and KQ on a 10-high flop. Finished them off when I knocked out the last two players when my JJ beat their A8s and 33.

Also scored a 2nd place finish in the 3rd game. A5 vs. A4 heads up and it split, dammit. Then my A6 got caught by A9 and there was no split. I was crippled and it was over when my HAMMER lost to AT.

All in all, a good night.

Permalink | Home Games

Bloggers = Dead Money

by Luckbox

The Online Poker Blogger Championship is filling quickly. Hundreds and hundreds (er... thousands?) have signed up. And when you do, buy clicking the link above, remember we sent you. After all, there's $25,000 in prizes at stake and it's free to enter.

But who are all these people? You might be surprised...

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Online Poker

October 4, 2005

You Played What?!?!

by Luckbox

How many times have you thought that in the past week? Month? Year?

When I first started playing poker, I never thought that. I was the guy on the other end. I was playing Q3 because it was suited. I was calling that gutshot straight draw on a hunch. That was ME.

I had a girly-thingy IM conversation with Heather the other night and I was whining about the fact that I was in a Wednesday night poker slump. She asked me the most important question, "Was I playing poorly?"

You see, when I started playing Pool Table Poker down here is Leezy-anna, I was surrounded by about a half-dozen people who were dreadful players, a few players who were bad and a few who had seen enough World Poker Tour to get by.

Things have changed.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | Poker Theory

October 1, 2005

Tire Swing

by G-Rob

It's always been true on this chosen profession, there are long periods of nothing at all, followed by a few hours of crushing insanity. I'm bored now, which should be obvious, because the show is a few hours away and the producers shoulder the burden now. Usually, it's in times like these where everthing goes berzerk.

More in this Poker Blog! -->
Permalink | G-Rob's Thoughts