Hungry Like the Wolf

Now back to the good part!

2011-09-27T15:10:00.001-07:00

Comment for GnightMoon

2011-07-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Wolfy Recommends...

2011-03-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

PCA Trip Recap Part 1

2011-01-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

Hello from Paradise mon! Tings ave ben goin jas fine doon 'ere.

Tings we brought this year that we did not bring last year:

1. Food

Everything is so expensive that we thought it would be a good idea to bring some of our own food. Original credit for this idea goes to Matt and Mandy who had a suitcase full of goodies in 2010.

We brought 2 boxes of dark chocolate almond bark (Thank you Willy Wonka and the gang!), a box of saltines (4 sleeves), a gigantic block of Tillamook sharp cheddar, 1 insanely large bag of sour patch kids, 1 pack of skittles, 1 pack sour watermelon gummies (Cloat Cloat MFer!!), 15ish emergen-C packs, and 6 diet cokes.

2. Games

2 packs standard playing cards, 6 multicolored ping pong balls, skill ball marble game, Uno H2O, about 50 trivial pursuit cards, catchphrase electronic game, yahtzee pads and dice.

3. Movies

Amistad from Netflix, a bunch of Hitchcock - Strangers on a Train, Psycho, Life Boat among others, Bullitt, Dr. Strangelove, Sunshine and a few more I'm sure I'm forgetting but am not willing to get up and see.

4. Warmer clothes

After the 'blizzard' that was last year we both packed for all types of weather this time around. The first half of the trip has been much more tropical than last year although it's supposed to be cold (68-70F) these last couple days so we're happy to have jeans and a light jacket.

Day 1

The toughest part of this day was asking Patrik L. for a ride to the airport at 3:45am in the morning. She graciously agreed to be our chauffeur and we arrived at DIA without incident. Our flight left on time and we arrived in ATL on time and ready for Bahamas. The plane to take us there did not arrive until about 30 minutes later. Upon boarding we were immediately greeted by a few familiar faces (Gambler, MasterJ, and Seth) and it felt like the trip was really underway. Punkypickle and I breezed through customs, getting there ahead of a large horde of young males. Matt S. had arrived a few minutes earlier and the 3 of us took a cab to the Cove at Atlantis.

After arriving at the room around 430pm, and getting unpacked, we went down to Seaglass and joined a group of our friends (Seth, Carolina, Joe, Master J, Matt, Mandy, and Joel) who had commandeered a number of couches. Seaglass has the best, and possibly the strongest, mojitos I have ever had, and I did not hesitate in getting two. Pickle ordered a pomegranate marg. After drinks we went back up to the room and debated what to do for dinner. We decided it would be a good idea to pick up some Cap'n Morgan's and then have dinner. We arrived at the off-site liquor store around 7:00pm but it had closed at 6, so instead we stopped and got a coconut rum cake and decided to do room service. We split the turkey club and enjoyed the rum cake for dessert. Both of us were pretty exhausted so we went to bed early.

Day 2

A gorgeous day with a high around 80. (The Cove is the structure on the far right in the picture.) After catching up on some much needed sleep we met up with Mandy, Seth, Carolina, Joe, and Joel, at Seaglass. I ordered a ham and cheese panini to go and Michal had the tuna melt she has been dreaming about since last year. We ate about 20 feet away from the ocean and spent some time lounging by the Cain pool, sipping the 'world's best' pina coladas. They really are delicious.

Saturday was Day 1a of the PCA Main Event but only 2 of 'our' people were playing it. Thomas and Matt, both of whom busted before dinner. After fueling up, the rest of us hopped into tubes and did a couple cycles on the lazy river. I bought a small nerf football, a steal for only $7.99, and Joel had found a large beach ball. The football was lost to the jungle about 20 minutes into our float trip but that did not deter us from multiple trips down the waterslides.

The group decided to do dinner at Chopstix. We were joined by Master J and Jason Senti. I ordered the seafood fried rice and Michal had sweet corn egg drop soup and the Dim Sum sampler. The food was good, but for the prices I would have to say only mediocre. The service was absolutely terrible - so bad that we didn't even want to leave an extra dollar on the automatic 15% gratuity that is added to every food service bill. I was pretty steamed by the time we left and needed to get a good nights rest before playing the event on Sunday so we did not join the group for craps. Chopstix is close the the poker room so Michal and I went over there so I could register for the main event and pick up my swag backpack full of Pokerstars goodies. She liked the hoodie a lot so I ordered a size M. The long walk back to Cove (about 15 minutes at a quick pace) alleviated any residual frustration I had been harboring over dinner.

Day 3

We woke up around 10am and went to the marina village for Jamba Juice before Day1b kicked off. I arrived at my table feeling refreshed and ready to play. For more a more detailed report of how the day went feel free to check my Twitter account (VoyeurWolf). I had built my stack to 34,000 from a starting stack of 30,000 but lost a large pot as an 80% favorite with 1 card left to come. Winning that would have put me at around double the starting stack but instead I was left with less than 20,000 chips. Boo.

Michal met me in the poker room for my 75 minute dinner break and we quickly headed back to the room so I could shower while she picked up sandwiches from Seaglass.
I had the roast beef and swiss panini (my favorite!) and then had to hurry back across the property for more poker.

I played a few medium size pots and hovered around 16,000-24,000 for most of the rest of the evening, eventually getting short when the blinds had risen to 500-1000 and shoving from the button with Kh5h for about 12bbs. The small blind called with Ad3d and we were off the races. The flop of Jd7x5d put me in the momentary lead, but not feeling optimistic, and the turn sealed my fate as another diamond peeled off and I busted from the main event around 1030pm.

When I arrived back at our room, Michal was deep in a $10 1r1a so I fired up some tourneys and joined her on the bed. She got down to the final 50 or so but busted and I was left single tabling a late night FTP $10 rebuy. I played until around 4am eventually going out in 11th of 650 players. It doesn't make much sense, but busting from that tourney was much more annoying than busting from the main. Stayed tuned for part 2...

Return to Paradise and Blogging, Mon

2011-01-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

Stayed tuned over the next few weeks...

Woof Woof

2010-08-04T16:29:00.001-07:00

Wolfy Recommends...

2010-06-24T01:58:00.000-07:00

Replay by Iyaz

Teh Winnar!

2010-05-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

The results for the Elephant Graveyard Guessing Game are in and we have a winner! Someone guessed the number of KOs exactly and is now entitled to 100 ounces of delicious drunken slushy.

Congrats to..........

81TRUCOLORS!!! (with a guess of 15 KOs)

See you in Vegas for some good times buddy.

Elephant Graveyard Guessing Game

2010-05-19T01:18:00.000-07:00

This is the largest tournament, in terms of field size, I have ever won. In honor of this, Hungry Like the Wolf will be sponsoring it's first ever guessing game for prizes.

How many of the 1852 runners in this tournament did LindaJohnson pelt? The person who comes closest to guessing the number of people I knocked out will receive a free visit to Fat Tuesday's in fabulous Las Vegas. And if you get it exactly right I'll buy you the 100oz Fat Tuesday beverage. 1 guess per person.

WTF

2010-05-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

Early in the $215 SCOOP (M) from Sunday...

Seat 1: xtravisxohc (4351 in chips)
Seat 2: xticoulxouc (2302 in chips)
Seat 3: xThexGravxeWolf (12890 in chips)
Seat 4: xAoxStars (7580 in chips)
Seat 5: xK6xplaya (11815 in chips)
Seat 6: xto0dxey (12210 in chips)
xtravxisohc: posts the ante 10
ticxouloxuc: posts the ante 10
ThexGravexWolf: posts the ante 10
xAoxStars: posts the ante 10
xK6xplaya: posts the ante 10
to0xdeyx: posts the ante 10
ThexGravexWolf: posts small blind 50
xAoxStars: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ThexGravexWolf [Ac 7c]
K6xplaya: folds
to0xdey: folds
travixsohc: folds
ticoxulouc: folds
ThexGravexWolf: calls 50
AoxStxars: raises 300 to 400
ThexGravexWolf: calls 300
*** FLOP *** [5c 6h 4c]
ThexGravexWolf: checks
xAoxStars: bets 625
ThexGravexWolf: raises 1175 to 1800
xAoxStars: raises 5370 to 7170 and is all-in
ThexGravexWolf: calls 5370
*** TURN *** [5c 6h 4c] [Qs]
*** RIVER *** [5c 6h 4c Qs] [Jh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ThexGravxeWolf: shows [Ac 7c] (high card Ace)
xAoxStarsx: shows [Jc 2s] (a pair of Jacks)
xAoxStars collected 15200 from pot

MTT Tragedy

2010-04-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

$30++. 4am. 13 left. Average 32k. CL 65k.

Full Tilt Poker Game #20042160881: $12,500 Guarantee (1r+1a) (153458916), Table 3 - 800/1600 Ante 200 - No Limit Hold'em - 5:42:05 ET - 2010/04/13
Seat 1: xxktownxkillazxx (4,799), is sitting out
Seat 2: xx888xAAKKxx (24,215)
Seat 3: xxTablexCaptain24xx (65,017)
Seat 4: xxRiverxloserx (15,093)
Seat 7: xxCountingx xBodiesx (32,509)
Seat 8: x8-SnixpeR-8x (54,243)
Seat 9: xxLindaxJohnsonxx (62,352)
xktownxkillazx antes 200
xx888xAAKKxx antes 200
xxTablexCaptain24xx antes 200
xxRiverxloser antes 200
xxCounting xBodies antes 200
xx8-SnipxeR-8x antes 200
xxLindaJohnson antes 200
xxTablexCaptain24x posts the small blind of 800
xRiverxloserx posts the big blind of 1,600
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to LindaJohnson [Kd Ks]
xxktownkillazxx has reconnected
xxCountingx Bodiesxx folds
xxktowxnkillaz has returned
xx8-SnipeRxx-8 folds
LindaJohnson raises to 4,152
xxktownxkillaz folds
xx888xAAKK folds
xx8-SnipxeR-8: lol
xxTablexxCaptain24 has 15 seconds left to act
xxTablexxCaptain24 raises to 12,260
xxRiverxxloser folds
xxktownxxkillaz: fking connection
xLindaJohnson has 15 seconds left to act
xLindaJohnson raises to 22,000
xTablexCaptain24 raises to 64,817, and is all in
xLindaxJohnson calls 40,152, and is all in
xTablexCaptain24 shows [Kc Ah]
xLindaxJohnson shows [Kd Ks]
Uncalled bet of 2,665 returned to xTablexCaptain24
*** FLOP *** [3d Td Qd]
*** TURN *** [3d Td Qd] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [3d Td Qd 8h] [As]
xxTablexxCaptain24 shows a pair of Aces
xxLindaJohnson shows a pair of Kings
xxTablexxCaptain24 wins the pot (127,304) with a pair of Aces
xx8-SnipeRx-8: ewww
xxCountingxx Bodies: puke
xxLindaxJohnson stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 127,304 | Rake 0
Board: [3d Td Qd 8h As]
Seat 1: ktownkillaz folded before the Flop
Seat 2: 888AAKK (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: TableCaptain24 (small blind) showed [Kc Ah] and won (127,304) with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: Riverloser (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Counting Bodies folded before the Flop
Seat 8: 8-SnipeR-8 folded before the Flop
Seat 9: LindaJohnson showed [Kd Ks] and lost with a pair of Kings

MTT Comedy

2010-03-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

Throw ya Fangs Up!

2010-03-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Congrats to GORBAG/Baggageclaim for his recent final table in the Miniftops 2day event!! He fang popped a lot of dreams yesterday.

Possible Stars Avatar Change

2010-03-18T00:57:00.001-07:00

Thinking of switching to...

Thoughts? Other suggestions?

Gogogogogo Gnightmoon

2010-02-23T16:10:00.001-08:00

Thomas Fuller (Gnightmoon) crushing the NAPT Venetian. 14 left - first is 800k!

WBCOOP 2010!

2010-01-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! Bloggers can register for to play for free in the WBCOOP, if you don’t have a PokerStars account you can get your Poker Download here.

Registration code: 618795

I have never cashed in this bad boy in 3 years trying but I'm feeling like this is my lucky decade.

Go ahead an' break'em off a little preview of the remix...

2009-06-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

I will be posting tourney write ups from Vegas. Get excited.

Toot. Toot.

Wolfy Nostalgia Post of the Week

2009-04-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

This particular entry took me FOREVER to find. I kept looking for something titled Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit. I remember reading this post and enjoying it on multiple levels.

I give you GnightMoon blogging about luck, health, wealth, karma, and rabbits.

Kismet

Sixth grade was by far the worst year of my life, so when my English/Social Studies/Geography teacher started talking about a standby good luck charm, I was all ears. She said that if you say “rabbit rabbit rabbit” as your first words of each new month, you will have good luck for that month. I instituted this superstition immediately, and my life improved right away. Ever since I have tried to make “rabbit rabbit rabbit” the first three words out of my mouth starting each month. Although I am always paranoid of butchering it and saying something else first, I often screw it up. Sometimes I whisper to myself as I head to the bathroom at the beginning of the day. Occasionally something inadvertent happens (such as being awakened by someone and responding with speech) and I blow it. I’m not quite sure exactly how to do it, either. Wikipedia says “rabbit rabbit white rabbit” is the most common vernacular. Some of the “rules” and specifics are pretty unclear. Part of the problem is I’m always awake at midnight of the last day of the month, and I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say it right then or wait till I wake up the next day.

The first time I told this to friends, they couldn’t tell if I was being serious or making the whole thing up. I assure you, I’m completely earnest. Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit is my most urgent application of superstitious beliefs. I’m not saying I believe saying it definitely affects my life, but I can’t say it doesn’t. Like punching in that doomswitch code in Lost Season Two (please no spoilers), I’m too afraid to stop doing it.

I try to pay attention to my luck each month and compare it to how well I executed the rabbit saying at the beginning of the month. I know that in October, when I made the EPT final table, I nailed it perfectly. January was a rough month of poker and I remember butchering it horribly because people were staying at my house after the New Year’s Eve party. I rebounded in February with a flawless execution and won the Tilt 1k Monday four days into the month. In May I botched the saying, had my finger broken in a freak accident the second day of the month, and basically suffered through a month of miserable small-scale luck. I knew June would be the most important month of my life to date as far as pure luck is concerned, yet I screwed it up terribly on my way to the bathroom in a suite at the Rio. I thought I was in the clear a week into the month after two big, luck-aided early runs, but since then the poker has been a nightmare. I try to avoid whining on this blog and won’t tell bad beat stories here, but it has not been pretty. I took extra special care last night and did not say a word between midnight and when I got out of bed in the morning and said it.

In my WSOP preview I wrote “I know it is possible for the best players to have a losing WSOP. I am certain that the only way I can lose this summer is if I am extremely unlucky. Everything else has been accounted for.” Although I do not consider myself one of “the best players”, I still believe the rest of it (except for the over/unders – those were way off). Everything in that preview remains true. I have consistently played well and exhibited none of the usual symptoms of a poker downswing. There has been no stack-dumping, very little negative attitude, no tilty play, just the best poker of my life day in and day out. I made a couple mistakes in the $1500 shorthanded I finished 12th in. Since then I’ve been happy with almost every decision.

Players in a rut often say how much they hate poker. They keep playing because they feel desperate to get the money back, despite a hatred for what they are doing. I still love poker. I just hate losing. Every day I get up excited to play in another tournament, and I’ve enjoyed every one. I like playing the game as much as ever. As long as I feel that way, I’ll keep playing.

Frequent readers of this blog know how much stock I put into things like destiny, karma, “Plans”, dreams, spirits, outside forces, and so on.

Commenting on my WSOP preview, Joe Pelton wrote “under on your results vs your expectations your story arc needs a high level bracelet or an epic fail at this point…” This comment struck a chord with me as I tend to believe that everything that has happened and is going to happen is part of a preordained Plan. At this point, it makes little dramatic sense for this part of the story to end with a quiet exit from the main event. This doesn’t seem like the time for a boring WSOP to end with three cashes, no final tables, and no big result good or bad. It seems like the time for the climax – whatever that may be.

The last fortune cookie I ate, cracked right before I left for Vegas in May, said “You are blessed with good health. That is your form of wealth.” My health has been perfect throughout the World Series. Most people I know out here have had some major illness or other health issue – the Castle has had two hospitalizations so far – while I haven’t even had a sunburn. Whether you believe this is a result of kismet, variance, or simply a healthy lifestyle, I think we can all agree good health is the finest form of both luck and wealth. I am indeed a wealthy and lucky man.

****************************************************************
Comments

Tyler said...
Great post. Good luck in the main.

3:06 PM

Jeremy said...
"'Rabbit, rabbit' on the first
I hold my breath"

http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Jawbreaker/Jinx-Removing.html

5:18 PM

TheGraveWolf said...
I suggest you seek a new mantra.

Something along the lines of "Coin purse, ummmm, what's a coin purse!?"

Perhaps the first thing you should say is "This month I will not exercise Byeaaaaaaaad JUDGEMENT!!!"

Or maybe an internal dialogue?

Moon1: Good morning Mr. Moon!
Moon2: Mr. Moon! Good morning to you as well. And good monthing.
Moon1: heheh yes I anticipate great things this month Moon2.
Moon2: That is excellent to hear Moon1. I also anticipate great things.
Moon1: Indeed
Moon2: Indeed

1:48 PM

PunkyPickett said...
LOL. I was going to say something but then I read Wolfy's dialogue and completely forgot what I was going to say

3:44 PM

PunkyPickett said...
Oh yeah. I was gonna say that I do the "rabbit rabbit" as well... though I consider it a victory if I get it in at some point in the am of the 1st. These days my first words are usually to Dexter and so I usually botch the stricter rules. Never tracked my luck-o-meter with it though.

3:46 PM

Wolfy Recommends...

2009-04-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

you

So, what's it gonna be, star? What are the people gonna be screaming when Jamaica takes the hill?

I say we call her, 'Cool Runnings.'

Beautiful, I like that.

Very strong.

Very nice, but what exactly does it mean?

Cool Runnings means... peace be the journey.

Wolfy Nostalgia Post of the Week

2009-04-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

My next selection is an introduction to the GRADES posts. A few more of which will be profiled in this nostalgia series. I do not claim to have started the grade posts, only to have perfected commenting upon them. :)

From July of 2007
Grades of WSOP Grades, and other miscelleneous
WSOP Grade Grades:
Moon Grades: C-
Not nearly as entertaining as in past years. Self-delusion and grade inflation at an all time high, especially in regards to vehicular topics. Picture of Pimaster and suckiness disclaimer save this from a D or worse. Eggs over medium really the only interesting/unexpected grade given. One other thing, if you did Friday and Saturday night RIGHT then you would know Sunday afternoon is anything but relaxing. Angry asssssssssss.

Bag Grades: A-
Witty and interesting with a good mix of serious and whimsical topics. The Roberto's explanation one of the all time best. Points taken for not mentioning Cindy's fake tits. Grades almost downgraded to C for having the audacity to claim a D- luckbox after winning over four thousand dollars playing video poker - however, hilarious pictures and sheer volume of quality comments prevented this from happening.

A few extra grades that were not included or additions to grades given:

Lake Mead: A
An awesome day that saved me from leaving Vegas even earlier than I did. Amber's chicken curry is the best I have ever had.

Spud: B
An awesome guy to have around - he partied his nutsack off and slept on a single pillow with another dude in a room no bigger than a closet with 6 other dudes - sounds super tight. Points deducted for stealing the spotlight from my irish jigging techno moves with his funky chicken dance. Points also deducted for not hitting the pretty bridesmaid. Points also removed for knocking on my door at 7am to ask if I wanted to join him at the home of snaggletooth.

MasterJ: A
I cannot speak the rest of the trip but the Master provided the most entertaining poker table I have sat at in awhile. Drunk off at least 13 cosmos (seriously!) he buuuned the crap out of everyone and pissed the shit out of the dealer's in the process with his slow creep of chips and his incessant splashing of the pot.

Capo's: A
This place is freakin sweet. Friendly service and really tasty food in a very unique environment.

Cab driver who could not pronounce Capo's: B-
Could not pronounce CAH - POHS but did provide us with a lot of entertainment as he attempted to get the address from his dispatcher.

Flamingo/Cindy/Suites: A
Goddam I love this place. They treated us like high rollers and were very hospitable and attentive. My suite WAS bigger than bags - but I'm sure with time his degeneracy will provide him with one as well.

Nappy/Nappy's: A-
Was very gracious to host us all and hooked me up with a tasty dinner. Demerits for a non inflated inflatable mattress and strange taste in mexican swimming trunks.

Popeyes Chicken: A+
THANK YOU POPEYE. The popeye's rhizzle so much more satisfying than the vegan rhizzle.

Scott/Sue Wedding: A
Tasteful and short, but still with all the meaningful parts left in. Thanks for getting a DJ who actually played requested songs.

Anderbois: N/A
Cannot be graded does not compute error error error

Diamond in a Day: A+
Got wasted. Hit 4 Jacks. Made Money. Free Food. Ballers. Owned.

Weather: F
What the eff David Blaine???!?! SO hot.

Venetian Deep Stacks: C
Structure starts off super awesome but eventually develops into your typical online crapshoot. Also must deal with douchbags in person as opposed to behind a screen. bad beat.

Alphabetical Order: F... B C A D

***************************************************

GnightMoon said...
MasterJ33 at live low limit NLHE: A-
Having to take a cab to Capo's: D+
Nappy's choice in Mexican swim trunks: unnecessary and unwanted info

12:31 PM

CeCe said...
How in blazes did YOUR Crazy Aunt Stephanie find you here?!! I need your address to mail your Long Overdue gifts!! Thank GOD I don't take this long with library books and movie rentals...Hummmm, OR do I! (Laughing)
The lengths I will go to find a relative! (It's OK, you don't have to claim me...most of my other relatives don't want to either!!)
Email at cecetop@msn.com Thanks Dude.
Aunt Stephanie

1:13 PM

Bag said...
hahahhahaha

3:23 PM

Kwicky said...
Ok Wolfy, I've given it some thought. I promise to start commenting more if you promise to post more. You've got nothing better to do most of the time, so you have no excuse!!! :)

8:33 AM

Wolfy Nostalgia Post of the Week

2009-03-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

My next selection comes from a man I consider the Blogfather. Maybe he hasn't been posting as long as some, but his was the first blog I ever read and have continued to read to this day. His posts are always well written, varied, often humorous (sometimes intentionally), and usually opinionated (This quality might be what keeps me coming back for more). I give you Thomas Fuller.

This particular selection is from February of 2007.

Idiot

I do some stupid shit. I really do.

I forgot to bring my clothes on this trip. I left them all in a hamper in my room. I realized that this morning.

I didn't check the fluids in my car before embarking on this 1,000+ mile road trip. This became a rather pertinent issue shortly before I crested Emory Pass, the surprisingly high and harrowing gateway between Truth or Consequences and Silver City. The engine oil pressure light went on, accompanied by a chilling beep. There wasn't enough oil in the engine.

It's not that I'm an idiot. I don't do this stupid shit beacuse I don't know better or I can't process information. It's that I'm lazy in the brain. I know you're supposed to check the fluids in your car before a long trip and I know you should check the rooms in your house for forgotten items before leaving for over a month. I just don't do a lot of this elementary stuff a lot of the time. I don't think it through. I get easily distracted by mundane tasks and I don't make them a priority, regardless of their necessity.

Most of my poker friends are like this. Most of them are even worse than me I think. I'm not sure what causes this disability of organization. Does our gaming prowess come from a deficiency in basic task completion, two different intelligences requiring opposite forms of thought? Did our quick rise to financial success make us forget the importance of basic societal skills? Or are we just lazy, and that is why we became attracted to the gaming, gambling lifestyle?

It's getting to be embarassing. I can just buy some new clothes, and I appear to have taken care of the oil problem. But eventually this little problem is going to cost me dearly.
_

I got to Tucson at midnight. Spencer and I went to a park nearby and shot hoops. There was a lot of snow on Emory Pass, but that was the end of my winter. It's in the sixties as I write this, and I won't be north of Vegas till mid-March. I made it through the winter, and I couldn't be more excited about that.

***********

And now the inevitable slew of comments:

cviox said...
You need a wife (or a Truman). BTW Truman that's a compliment that you can actually keep Paul somewhat together.
9:12 AM

Cyrus said...
man i wish my winter was over =[
12:12 PM

Kevin said...
Classic Fuller. I love it.
1:45 PM

Bag said...
Thomas Fuller, ummmm.
1:53 PM

gamblegambel said...
I lost my backpack so many times in college that I literally stopped bringing anything besides one pencil and one piece of paper to class.
2:25 PM

TheGraveWolf said...
Some people forget their bathing suit, some forget socks or dress shoes...you forgot CLOTHES. Good lord sir. How many times would you have left your head on top of the car if it weren't attached to your neck?? I don't think it is fair to blame this on poker. You and Cadet Fish (rank: space) seemed to have these issues before poker as well. Enjoy your time in the sun - hopefully it will be warm enough that you don't need CLOTHES.
3:00 PM

Jeremy said...
not to have too much fun at your expense, but this was just about the most fun i've ever had reading one of your blog entries. it made me think of the packing bet between you and kevin. i'd like to think that winter is ending most places. it's 42 here today.
3:06 PM

Kwicky said...
wow tom, that takes a lot of talent! i must say, though, reading this post and the wolf's inevitable response to it brought tears to my eyes as i was laughing so hard. maybe our forgetfullness serves a greater good - namely bringing smiles and wonderment to other people's lives ;)
7:35 PM

***************

Post Script

"It's getting to be embarassing. I can just buy some new clothes, and I appear to have taken care of the oil problem. But eventually this little problem is going to cost me dearly."

Moon's predictions proved all too true as he has since lost a laptop to the asphalt of Broadway and Table Mesa (Do those intersect?) when his computer failed to stay on the roof of his vehicle at speeds in excess of 30mph. GnightDoubloons.

Wolfy Nostalgia Post of the Week

2009-03-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Our next post comes from a blogger whose work will be on display many more times. The post presents an interesting question, but the comments steal the show. From early 2006, I give you the Kwickfish.

January 2006

Enlighten me - Master vs. Addict
I once heard that, in order to master a trade, such as dancing, skiing, or poker for that matter, one must put in 10,000 hours. My question is, at what point is the distinction made between an addict and a master of a certain trade. I mean, couldn't you say that all those people "mastering" dance or skiing were just addicts? Being addicted to something has such a negative connotation associated with it, whereas mastering something is elevated to the noble status, and it baffles me. When I tell people I play a lot of poker, they just give me the look, and I can tell exactly what they are thinking, "oh, another poker junkie, how lame". Maybe once you stop sucking at whatever your passion is, it's not addiction anymore and it morphs into mastery?

GnightMoon said...
I'll enlighten you - you are not a master of poker. You're not even a master of cash game no limit Texas hold 'em.
3:36 PM

Bag said...
Things you have spent 10,000 hours doing and are therefore a master of:
Sleeping
Masterbation
Breathing
Thinking about how sexy Bag is
Waiting tables
Minesweeper
Being drunk
Playing Counterstrike and Starcraft

Tru said...
While addiction definitely happens before mastery, the chief difference I see is that when it's an addiction, it controls you. When it's mastery, you control it.
Addiction is slavery, mastery in enlightenment.

Kwicky said...
Wow, well put tru, I like your definitions. And bag, you forgot that I'm a master of owning Wolf's little sister in your list there
********************************

Speaking of addiction Mr. Fishycake, I couldn't help but notice that you also mention my little sister in your first ever blog post. Asking me to "send her your way when she is legal". Very classy my man, very classy. Welcome to MY world Gramma.

Wolfy Nostalgia Post of the Week

2009-03-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

There will be no blog this week.

Instead I give you THIS:

picture courtesy of Craig Corbman

Discuss.

Wolfy Nostalgia Post of the Week

2009-03-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

A classic never dies. My next selection comes from a poster whose blog inspired some of the greatest poker one liners (In fact, this post starts with one of my favorites.) and some of the world's greatest comments. At this date, it would seem he is temporarily retired from blogging but his name will live on forever... Lazypoo!!

(From May of 2006)
Big Stack Little Stack

You hear about stack sizes on Tv, from your friend, your family, and they are in your worst nightmares. What does stack size have anything to do with poker? Well in tournament games you can play so many more hands because you are risking a smaller percent of your stack compared to a short stack who is risking about 10% of his chips to see a flop; most of the time. Another thing you hear about being the "big stack" is that they bully people around. Because they are good? Probably, but thats not the reason. The reason is to put you all in and if you lose a 50 50 you're out of the tournament and you get no pay or a lot less than if you just waited. So big stacks are in essence the big dick at tables.
In cash games... from commen sense you can probably calculate the odds of someone having 6x the buyin from being a passive agressive or loose player. I think 90% of the time they are going to be loose in some sense if not all. I was playing against a person today and got into two big hands with him and one medium sized one.The first hand: I saw that he was a big stack and that he had bluffed before so I decided to slowplay. I think I might slowplay a little too much but I can get off of my hands a little bit easier than most people. Anyway so here is how it went down.

Seat 3: ForkaDork ( $1146.78 )
Seat 9: SDeeSU ( $344.79 )
Dealt to SDeeSU [ Ks As ]
Work4Fish420 folds.
maya0 folds.mantler folds.
SDeeSU raises [$7].
GrannyJean50 folds.
MilkLeg folds.
Flyboy94 folds.
ForkaDork calls [$7].
andyg9 folds.
lil_bo_poop folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, Kd, 4c ]
SDeeSU bets [$8].
ForkaDork raises [$16].
SDeeSU calls [$8].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4d ]
SDeeSU checks.
ForkaDork bets [$35].
SDeeSU calls [$35].
** Dealing River ** [ 5c ]
SDeeSU checks.
ForkaDork bets [$149.37].
SDeeSU: looks like u hit a 4
SDeeSU calls [$149.37].
ForkaDork shows [ Th, Ad ] a pair of fours.
SDeeSU shows [ Ks, As ] two pairs, kings and fours.
SDeeSU wins $414.74 from the main pot with two pairs, kings and fours.

I decided to slowplay this hand because he reraised on the flop. This is a standard move to scare your oppenent into thinking you hit. With a king up there I could be holding anything from 88 to qq to AQ or AJ suited. I thought about it and I knew he didn't have shit so I was just going to call this hand down. On the river though, it got me thinking but the only thing he could really have had was a set. So I called and won 200 on something I would usually get paid nothing or lose a lot on.

The second hand: I had top pair and wasn't betting too high then came a 1 card for a st8 and he bet pot on the river so I folded. He showed the 2 4 for the bluff. Ass :)The third hand: This hand was extreamly tough on me. With 500 at stake against a large stack isn't the kind of position that you want to be in especially with nothing. Here is how it went down.

#Game No : 4291565522
Seat 3: ForkaDork ( $1276.47 )
Seat 9: SDeeSU ( $525.66 )

Dealt to SDeeSU [ Qc Jc ]
maya0 folds.
azukar folds.
SDeeSU raises [$7].
MasterLee32 folds.
MilkLeg folds.
DivisnByZero folds.
ForkaDork calls [$7].
andyg9 folds.
PapioPapio folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Tc, 8d, 5s ]
SDeeSU checks.
ForkaDork bets [$15].
SDeeSU raises [$30].
ForkaDork raises [$50.75].
SDeeSU calls [$35.75].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Js ]
SDeeSU checks.
ForkaDork bets [$796.36].
SDeeSU is all-In [$452.91]
** Dealing River ** [ 5c ]
ForkaDork shows [ Ks, 7d ] a pair of fives.
SDeeSU shows [ Qc, Jc ] two pairs, jacks and fives.
ForkaDork wins $343.45 from side pot #1 with a pair of fives.
SDeeSU wins $1051.32 from the main pot with two pairs, jacks and fives.

I mean right there it seems like a good play by me but there was no way that I knew that he was THAT dumb. Haha. I assumed he wanted a fold after rrr then going all in so.. I guess a pro would have made this call easier because I really couldn't put him on QQ KK or AA. So basically the only hands he could have done that with was with two pair. Could have gone either way I think, oh well what do i care I'm 500 dollars richer :).

Today: +500 Year to date: 6000

I made and lost money other than this... lost with trip 2s to trip jacks. Damn set over sets.. but I do that to people too. :)

***********************************************
The first post featured in Wolfy's Nostalgia Post of the Week did not receive any comments back in the day - shocking, I know. But all Nostalgia posts will also feature any comments made at the time of the post. There were two for this one.

Julian Silvain said...
"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response was there anything that could even be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

TheGraveWolf said...
Haha, damn dude...you stuck a fork in ForkaDork...that guy got owned. Also, very interesting commentary on big stacks in tournies - I think you make some good points about how they have big dicks.Anyway, don't forget to keep slowplaying against those aggro guys eh eh?

Wolfy Nostalgia Post of the Week

2009-02-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

According to Newton's third law of motion, and I'm paraphrasing here, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. With that thought in mind, the universe requires a reaction to the Moon Blog "Settlers of Catan Life Analogy of the Week".

To counteract the horror that is those posts I will be scouring our old blog archives and selecting one post a week to share.

The first selection comes from the creator of Observe the Ownage. My favorite chode dragger, señor Baggins. All the way back from October of 2005.

Little Red Riding Fish

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Kwicky who lived in a village called Louisville. Whenever he went out, the little boy wore a red fisherman's jacket, so everyone in the city called him Little Red Riding Fish. One morning, Little Red Riding Fish asked his mother if he could go to visit this girl he had met online.

"That's a good idea," his mother said. So they packed a nice basket for Little Red Riding Fish to take to this girl.

When the basket was ready, the little boy put on his red jacket and kissed his mother goodbye.
"Remember, go straight to Catie's house," his mother cautioned. "Don't dawdle along the way and please don't talk to strangers! The city is dangerous."

But when Little Red Riding Fish noticed a poker game being played along the way, he forgot his promise to his mother. He played a few hands, had a beer and a shot, and played a few more.

Little Red Riding Fish was owning the game so hardcore, that he didn't notice a dark shadow approaching out of the corner behind him...

Suddenly, the Wolf appeared beside him.
"What are you doing out here, little boy?" the wolf asked in a voice as friendly as he could muster.

"I'm on my way to see a new prospect who lives in Denver," Little Red Riding Fish replied.

Then he realized how late he was and quickly excused himself, rushing down the road to Catie's house.

The Wolf, in the meantime, took a shortcut...

A few minutes later, Red Riding Fish knocked on the door. The Wolf jumped into bed and pulled the covers over his nose. "Who is it?" he called in a cackly voice.

"It's me, Little Red Riding Fish."

"Oh how lovely! Do come in, my dear," croaked the Wolf.

Red Riding Fish thought something was not right...
"Catie, what a large amount of hair you have!"
"All the more for you to brush my dear," he replied.
"Catie, what a smelly chode you have!"
"All the more reason for you to sniff it dear," he replied.
"Catie, what a white, hairless ass you have!"
"Damn, I am so &*$%ing tired of hearing that. I was born that way! Get over it!" another voice replied.

At this moment Fish realized that this girl was not a girl, but was instead the Wolf and his cohort Bag pretending to be her.

Fish was heartbroken. It did not last long however, as his sorrows were satisfactorily drowned in tequila and a power hour.

THE END

A Lesson in Composure

2009-02-17T15:48:00.000-08:00

Choose Wisely

2009-02-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

William Sharpe handed the completed forms to the trooper outside the door. He fell in step behind the man. At least, he assumed it was a man. These days it was damn near impossible to tell with those full body suits and wraparound lasersights. Will was careful to remember the exact route they took through the long, painfully clean corridors – he had gotten this far through the screening process and an almost picture perfect memory was a big part of that. After passing three security checkpoints – the last staffed by an actual Gamesman – Will found himself in a sparsely furnished waiting room. He sat in the one chair against the wall. It faced a door across from the one he had entered. He wasn’t fooled by the meager seating options. The man outside had been a Gamesman, although of low rank, but it was still a big fucking deal. Some people never saw a Gamesman their entire lives, except on the vids - but everyone watched the vids.

OR

Henry moved to New York City to escape the incessant screaming as soon as he could scrap together enough money. He moved into a dingy one room flat with roaches and an overhead fluorescent that buzzed and flickered constantly. He couldn’t have been happier. Henry rarely left his flat and when he did it was only to go down to the factory where he worked packing sawdust and turning it into plywood. The job paid well enough and for some reason he always felt good among the stacks of wood that just sat there and made no sound at all – as wood should. He only occasionally heard the faintest of cries whispered when the wind blew just right. And Henry could live with that.

Twas Brillig

2009-01-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

Where Blogs Go to Die

2009-01-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

Nominations

2009-01-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

The bulk of this post has been taken from the comments section of Wayner's Movie Musings (link can be found in the blog links section).

I know I have discussed with many of you the vast superiority of books as compared to movies. Without delving too deeply into the differences between books and movies and how they aren't comparable blah blah blah, (considering the traffic I don't think I want to put in that kind of effort) I do want to compile a list of movies that MAY be as good as the books from whenst they sprung.

Candidates for movies as good as/maybe better than the book and remember they are just candidates:

Shawshank Redemption (Originally a novella by Stephen King called Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption)

The Green Mile (Originally 6 different novellas by King compiled into one anthology)

The Shining

Basically anything by Stephen King

Jurassic Park (Although I would strongly disagree I know some people who believe this to be true.)

The Godfather

Lord of the Rings (Obviously the books are amazing but some would argue too long and meandering)

Bridget Jones' Diary (Haven't read the book - any opinions here?)

The Silence of the Lambs

Fight Club

A Clockwork Orange

No Country for Old Men (Another I would disagree with but the movie is very good)

Blade Runner (Book was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)

Princess Bride (Although the book was hilarious)

Please use the comments section to nominate other selections and to agree with/bash selections appearing above.

Wolfy Recommends...

2009-01-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

that you watch this video.

Wolfy Recommends...

2008-12-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Definitely in the running for best song of 08.

The fiiiiiinish liiiiiine....is just around the bend.

POY Update

2008-11-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

It's the homestretch for our Player of the Year bet. Here are the updated results. I will also be listing the odds Pimaster gave at the beginning of the year... mainly for entertainment purposes.

MasterJ:
7:1

1. Bill Edler XXX
2. Scott Clements 1096
3. Kevin Saul XXX
4. Ryan Daut XXX
5. Travis Rice XXX
6. Ted Lawson 1114
7. Kirk Morrison 380
8. David Baker 1944
9. Roy Winston 1218
10. David Fox 268
11. Mike Matusow 1194
12. JC Alvarado 432
13. Dutch Boyd 892
14. Roland de Wolfe 792

Total: 9330

This team has gained less than 1000 points since the last update in July. No player is above 2000 points and 4 of the top 5 picks are scoreless. Just as a reference - the top player in POY rankings has almost 7000 points.

Shaniac:

17:1

1. JC Tran 3067
2. Alex Kravchenko 81
3. Tom Dwan 1912
4. David Singer 1734
5. Cory Carroll 1440
6. Alex Jacob 352
7. Chad Brown 29
8. Steve Billirakis 888
9. Nick Schulman XXX
10. Shane Schleger XXX
11. Alex Bolotin 1520
12. Haralabos Voulgaris XXX
13. Eugene Katchalov 480
14. Marco Johnson 1976

Total: 13479

Team Green just hasn't put in the hours. A risky 2nd round pick has not paid off and 3 other horses are scoreless - 4 if you count the 29 point total of Mr. Browned.

Gambler:

5:1

1. James Van Alstyne 36
2. Michael Mizrachi 2949
3. Jonathan Little 510
4. David Daneshgar 1824
5. Theo Tran 1776
6. CK Hua XXX
7. John Cernuto 1573
8. Gus Hansen 2657
9. Chris McCormack 144
10. Tony Ma 239
11. Nick Binger 1930
12. David Levi 681
13. Alan Myerson 312
14. Steve Wong 236

Total: 14867

Gambler has made up some ground but still has core problems. With only 2 horse above 2000 points and none above 3000 this team will have to settle for middle of the pack status.

PiMaster:
3:1

1. David Pham 2822 (1200 from PCA deducted)
2. Danny Wong 919
3. Robert Mizrachi 1199
4. Scotty Nguyen 1904
5. Anna Wroblewski 609
6. Jared Hamby 120
7. Eugene Todd 570
8. Randy Holland 876
9. Matt Brady 3649
10. Scott Fischman 720
11. Kevin Song 1116
12. Jimmy Fricke 1392
13. Alex Kamberis 1962
14. Kido Pham 760

Total: 18618

This is one of only two teams with all players scoring points. The bad news is that half of those players have less than 1000 points. A lack of break-outs this year has hobbled this team.

Bag:

13:1
1. Justin Bonomo 3041
2. Daniel Negreanu 2187
3. Erik Cajelais XXX
4. Barry Greenstein 1686
5. Steve Sung 2278
6. Erick Lindgren 3459
7. Sorel Mizzi 740
8. Phil Hellmuth 1590
9. Lance Allred 460
10. Thomas Fuller 192
11. Jason Stern 766
12. Joe Hachem 177
13. Phil Ivey 2844
14. Chris Reslock 846

Total: 20266

This team was competitive through July but has only picked up about 2ooo points since then. A solid showing but I don't think these horses have any gas left for the finish.

Moon:

3:1

1. Gioi Luong 1733
2. John Phan 6704
3. Joe Sebok 185
4. Allen Cunningham 2360
5. Darrell Dicken 1068
6. Gavin Smith 2240
7. Joseph Cappello 1476
8. Joe Tehan 752
9. Chris Bjorin 1908
10. Matthew Casterella 240
11. James Mackey 2458
12. Matt Graham 1254
13. Jeff Madsen 505
14. John Racener 1600

Total: 24483

This team has made quite a run since July picking up about 7000 points. A huge score from Gavin Smith and another big finish from POY leader John Phan had this team in the lead until October.

Wolf:

11:1

1. Nam Le 3425
2. John Hoang XXX
3. Men Nguyen 3662
4. Michael Binger 3792
5. Hevad Khan 2616
6. Humberto Brenes XXX
7. Nenad Medic 3210
8. Max Pescatori 2464
9. Francois Safieddine 285
10. Bertrand Grospellier 3010 (2400 from PCA deducted)
11. Tom Schneider 381
12. Marcel Luske 1644
13. Gavin Griffin 2855
14. Annette Obrestad XXX

Total: 27344

This team was in danger of dropping out of the top 2 before a monster October garnered about 7ooo points. An amazing acheivement at Festa al Lago as Bertrand Grospellier took first, Nam Le second, and Nenad Medic fourth. Then a few days later Hevad Khan bulldozes his way to first place at the Caesars event. Hopefully they are offering a $1500 HORSE at the 2009 WSOP.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T02:20:00.001-07:00

From left to right: Ser Wolf the Hairy, Ser Kwicky the Quick, Ser Bag the White

Wolfy Recommends...

2008-10-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

Dead and Gone by TI Featuring Justin Timberlake

Wolfy Recommends...

2008-10-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Again by Janet Jackson

Wolfy Recommends....

2008-10-23T00:01:00.001-07:00

Top 10 Fruit Candy

2008-09-11T03:27:00.000-07:00

Honorable Mention. JOLLY RANCHERS

Many a school teacher would hand these out as a reward for a correct answer. Many flavors and varieties. Some of the best being Fruit Punch, Watermelon, Grape, Tangerine.

10. BLOW POPS

If you've never swallowed the gum inside a blowpop you aren't a hardcore fan of this candy. One of the best things about blowpops is that every flavor is amazing.

9. AIRHEADS

An upgrade on the old school Laffy Taffy. Best flavors include Orange, Mystery, Cherry, and "Blue".

8. RED MINI SWEDISH FISH

The other flavors aren't worth jack. Red Swedish Fish are the only way to go. Do NOT buy the jumbo fish. They do not compare.

7. MINI SOUR WATERMELON

More addictive than crack. As with the Swedish Fish do not buy the large size. Only this low on the list because of lack of variety.

6. SOUR PATCH KIDS

The perfect blend of sweet and sour. Best flavors are obviously Red and Orange.

5. ORIGINAL SKITTLES

Taste the rainbow Mofo. Shocking to see them at only #5. You don't love them if you haven't lacerated the roof of your mouth eating too many. If you truly love Original Skittles try dumping a bunch into a bottle of Sprite or Sierra Mist. Watch what happens then drink/eat.

4. TROPICAL SKITTLES

Yes, I think they are better than the originals. Standouts include Mango Tangelo and Pineapple Passionfruit.

3. JELLY BELLY SOURS

One of the best candies in the world. The only thing holding them back from a top ranking are the two green flavors - Sour Watermelon and Sour Apple.

2. CALIFORNIA FRUIT STARBURST

The best tasting candy there is. Not to be confused with Calfornia Baja Starbursts (which replaced them). California Fruit Starbursts were perfection. Flavors included: red cherry, strawberry-watermelon, raspberry and plum-passion.

1. ORIGINAL STARBURST

The king of all fruit candy. Perhaps not as overall perfect as California Fruit (because of lemon) but impossible not to put at #1.

Queen Ball

2008-06-20T13:57:00.001-07:00

1 Queen

Two Queens

3 Queens

Four Queens

Fear the Claws

2008-03-06T00:13:00.000-08:00

StretchyClaws

POY Update (Because I'm winning...)

2008-02-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

Gambler:

1. James Van Alstyne XXX
2. Michael Mizrachi XXX

3. Jonathan Little XXX

4. David Daneshgar XXX

5. Theo Tran XXX

6. CK Hua XXX

7. John Cernuto 187

8. Gus Hansen XXX

9. Chris McCormack XXX

10. Tony Ma XXX

11. Nick Binger 30

12. David Levi XXX

13. Alan Myerson 80

14. Steve Wong XXX

Total: 297

Coming in at a dismal 297 points Gambler trails the field. The good news? John Cernuto, a much ridiculed pick, is singlehandedly carrying the torch. The bad news? I'm just not sure how many more $300 stud events are left until Ho-ho-hold'em in November.

MasterJ:

1. Bill Edler XXX

2. Scott Clements XXX

3. Kevin Saul XXX

4. Ryan Daut XXX

5. Travis Rice XXX

6. Ted Lawson XXX

7. Kirk Morrison XXX

8. David Baker XXX

9. Roy Winston 258

10. David Fox XXX

11. Mike Matusow XXX

12. JC Alvarado XXX

13. Dutch Boyd 260

14. Roland de Wolfe XXX

Total: 518

Master J also had a poor January with only two horses pulling in any points. And what amazing horses they were at that. The oracle and the actual insane guy. Look for more to come from Dutch - perhaps an ear biting incident or a naked bellagio fountain run. If cardplayer keeps tweaking the scoring system they might include such endeavors as point worthy.

Bag:

1. Justin Bonomo 400

2. Daniel Negreanu XXX

3. Erik Cajelais XXX

4. Barry Greenstein 78

5. Steve Sung XXX

6. Erick Lindgren 579

7. Sorel Mizzi XXX

8. Phil Hellmuth XXX

9. Lance Allred XXX

10. Thomas Fuller 192

11. Jason Stern 96

12. Joe Hachem XXX

13. Phil Ivey XXX

14. Chris Reslock 252

Total: 1597

According to the Pi odds the Bag should be in a solid last place... thanks to the heroic efforts of Thomas Fuller this is not the case! With almost half his horses cashing in for POY the Bag is still waiting on a big score but isn't in too bad of shape. Luckily, Justin Bonomo and Sorel Mizzi have been seen entering the same tournament on multiple days so this team has the capacity for rapid point growth. The unfortunate death of Lance Allred in September of '07 has the Pi oddsmakers frantically trying to come up with a prop bet on whether or not Lance's carcass will get any points. Make sure to have Barry wear a pink armband so he is not mistaken for the dead guy.

Shaniac:

1. JC Tran XXX

2. Alex Kravchenko XXX

3. Tom Dwan 1410

4. David Singer XXX

5. Cory Carroll XXX

6. Alex Jacob XXX

7. Chad Brown XXX

8. Steve Billirakis XXX

9. Nick Schulman XXX

10. Shane Schleger XXX

11. Alex Bolotin 480

12. Haralabos Voulgaris XXX

13. Eugene Katchalov XXX

14. Marco Johnson XXX

Total: 1890

Shaniac talked a lot of smack during the draft but apparently his horses didn't get the same memo. Good thing Durrr is carrying the team or he'd be in the cellar with the likes of John Cernuto and Dutch Boyd. Tied for the team with fewest horses cashing he still sits in the middle of the pack. To be blunt about it, with the likes of Shaniac, Alex Jacobs, and MrSmokey this team has the potential to get extremely high in the rankings.

Moon:

1. Gioi Luong XXX

2. John Phan 117

3. Joe Sebok XXX

4. Allen Cunningham XXX

5. Darrell Dicken XXX

6. Gavin Smith XXX

7. Joseph Cappello 960

8. Joe Tehan XXX

9. Chris Bjorin XXX

10. Matthew Casterella XXX

11. James Mackey 160

12. Matt Graham XXX

13. Jeff Madsen XXX
14. John Racener 732

Total: 1969

Last year's champ sits in third place at the moment with strong showings from his 7th and 14th pick! Congrats on the victory sir - I'll spare you any trash talk just this once.

PiMaster:

1. David Pham 1200

2. Danny Wong 384

3. Robert Mizrachi XXX

4. Scotty Nguyen XXX

5. Anna Wroblewski 249

6. Jared Hamby 120

7. Eugene Todd XXX

8. Randy Holland 112

9. Matt Brady 168

10. Scott Fischman XXX

11. Kevin Song XXX

12. Jimmy Fricke 120

13. Alex Kamberis XXX

14. Kido Pham XXX

Total: 2353

With more then half his horses garnering POY points pimaster is in great shape. The obvious number 1 draft pick is doing the expected and has already racked up 1200 points. Small cashes from many other horses show this is an active team that could make a run for the title in '08. Apparently his picking skills exceed his handicapping skills. And yes, I know it's still early. Gotta talk my shit whilst I am winning!

Wolf:

1. Nam Le 120

2. John Hoang XXX

3. Men Nguyen 1952

4. Michael Binger 1028

5. Hevad Khan 240

6. Humberto Brenes XXX

7. Nenad Medic XXX

8. Max Pescatori 33

9. Francois Safieddine XXX

10. Bertrand Grospellier XXX

11. Tom Schneider 144

12. Marcel Luske 60

13. Gavin Griffin 2400

14. Annette Obrestad XXX

Total: 5977

With 8 horses cashing in for POY points the Wolf sits in a solid first. Men the Master, a much maligned pick by some, has poured Corona on the haters with 4 final tables and 2 10ths already. Gavin Griffin, a late "home-run" style pick has hit one out of the park early on and sits with a monstrous 2400 points. Michael "the Machine" Binger also has been quite active. Picks 6 through 10 could be the weak point in this teams armor. Let's hope this team can, in the words of Wolf horse number 5, KEEEEEEEEEEEP GOIIIIIIIIING!!!! BULLDOZER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Edit

Moon correctly pointed out that the 1200 points for David Pham do not count as they occured before the draft. However, in the time it took for this error to be recognized Mr. Pham was able to rack up 540 additional points. So Pham should be listed at 540 points. With the new scores tabulated this would put Pimaster (3:1) only slightly ahead of the Bag (17:1).

Mystery Woman #22

2008-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

Small pic...but you guys constantly amaze me.

Mystery Woman #21 / Score Updates

2008-01-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

Updates Scores:

Moon 10 (This horse is still leading the pack, although he seems to be falling off the pace a bit thanks to some down undah time. Back in town now so we shall see what happens)

Bag 6 (Someone injected this horse with some type of illegal drug because he has really turned it on. Branching out from old dead white ladies Bag is now king of any old dead lady. See...he's no rascist cough cough.)

Pickett 3 (Apparently this horse broke her leg and had to be put out to pasture :( Perhaps she can stage a miraculous comeback)

Reitking 1 (This horse is a 50-1 shot but that hasn't stopped Truman and Kwicky from putting their whole sports betting role on him)

Sorry, I don't blog 1 (This horse should reveal themselves! Who are you? And perhaps you and Bag could happily voyeur together?)

Kwicky 0 (Buying an actual horse doesn't mean you get any points in this game. Sorry.)

Gambler 0 (Probably busy engaging in lewd sexual acts with United Airlines)

Mystery Woman #20

2008-01-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

Last chance to get on the board before the score update!

Mystery Woman #19

2008-01-16T12:00:00.001-08:00

Score update coming at #20.

Mystery Woman #18

2008-01-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

Mystery Woman #17

2008-01-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

Another picture will follow later today if needed.

Welcome to 2008 my n00blets (#16)

2008-01-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

Mystery Woman #15

2007-12-19T15:14:00.001-08:00

FU Family Guy. Good luck n00blets.

Mystery Woman #14

2007-12-18T12:36:00.001-08:00

This one is tough. Although you guys constantly prove me wrong when I say that.

Mystery Woman #13

2007-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Updated Scores:

Moon 8 (Still holding onto a sizable lead due to photo finishes, spank bank depth, and Betty Crocker pwnage)

Pickett 3 (A clutch pull of Jodi Foster and subsequent claiming of the bonus point for the little known, but very excellent children's film Candleshoe, puts her in a distant but not desperate 2nd.

Bag 2 (A massive and slightly creepy knowledge of "old bags" allows him to play on McDuff.)

Kwicky 0 (Not sure this horse made it too far out of the starting gate. Although comments upon comments suggest he is still lurking in the wings.)

Gambler 0 (Proving you can't spell Degenerative without negative since 2006.)

Mystery Woman #12

2007-12-14T12:40:00.001-08:00

This one is tough, but you are familiar with her. More helpful pics to follow later. Good luck.

Mystery Woman #11

2007-12-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

Updated scores when I post #12.

Mystery Woman #10

2007-12-12T13:57:00.000-08:00

This mystery is easy, however, there is a bonus point for figuring out where the picture is from.

Mystery Woman #9

2007-12-11T14:19:00.001-08:00

This one is pretty easy...I think.

Mystery Woman #8

2007-12-09T12:43:00.001-08:00

One of the absolute best faces ever.

Mystery Woman #7

2007-12-07T12:57:00.001-08:00

After an extremely close finish in the quest for the identity of Woman #6 it was Thomas Fuller who just edged out PunkyPickle for the victory. We'll start this round off with these photos...

Mystery Woman #6

2007-12-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

Another one of my old school favorites.

Current Standings

Moon 3 (A love of fine women makes him a favorite, but will lazyness prevail??)

Pickett 1 (congrats on getting on the board, will your star continue to rise?)

Bag 1 (Don't worry Bag, more older chefs soon to come)

Gambler 0 (Keep fighting the good fight sir)

Mystery Woman #5

2007-12-04T02:33:00.000-08:00

Considering my reader base this will be tough...but really this should be one of the easiest ones on here. More pictures to follow if needed...

Mystery Woman #4

2007-12-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

Another easy one but she deserves to have her pic up here. As we progress I am only going to give one picture at a time. If no one can get it with one picture I will post another more recognizable photo. Trust me, it WILL get harder.

Mystery Woman #3

2007-11-30T15:54:00.001-08:00

Small pictures - Big Hotness

Mystery Woman #2

2007-11-29T13:26:00.000-08:00

Although not as easy on the eyes as #1, she is still very guessable.

Mystery Woman #1

2007-11-23T00:40:00.000-08:00

We'll start things off easy...

Go Rockies!!!

2007-10-15T23:31:00.001-07:00

lol_Blogaments

2007-10-04T22:49:00.001-07:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 6780899

Twisted Tea Knight

2007-10-04T00:12:00.000-07:00

Sent to Twisted Tea...Look for Bag to appear in a store near you shortly!

My New Cellphone Background

2007-09-16T03:07:00.000-07:00

PWNED!!

Almost replaced Claire on the laptop...almost.

Brave Call No reward

2007-09-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

Seat 5: j7w1c8 ( $316.23 )
Seat 3: TheGraveWolf ( $430 )
Seat 2: Wumph ( $383.80 )
Seat 4: kylling2 ( $99.10 )
Seat 6: RobJacobi ( $945.90 )
Seat 1: ACE_HEART__ ( $191.80 )
kylling2 posts small blind [$2].
j7w1c8 posts big blind [$4].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to TheGraveWolf [ Jc Ac ]
RobJacobi folds.
ACE_HEART__ folds.
Wumph raises [$16].
TheGraveWolf raises [$50].
kylling2 folds.
j7w1c8 folds.
Wumph calls [$34].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qc, Kd, Jd ]
Wumph checks.
TheGraveWolf bets [$66].
Wumph is all-In.
TheGraveWolf calls [$267.80].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 5c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
TheGraveWolf shows [ Jc, Ac ] two pairs, jacks and fives.
Wumph shows [ 6d, 7d ] a flush, king high.
Wumph wins $770.60 from the main pot with a flush, king high.

Some people may be thinking how can he be upset about this?! he called an All-in with just low pair on a super scary board. That is the exact reason this hand is so sad. I made the right read, made the kwickfish-esque bravecall, and was not rewarded. A little insight into the hand...this guy and I had been going at it on multiple tables. He loved the $16 raise and I had been coming over the top of him repeatedly. I figured his flatcall and then insta-shove of my flop bet to be a frustration move and made the call.

Clearly this player had SOME outs - that's the nature of the game blah blah blah. However, these kind of hands can be very demoralizing (at least temporarily).

Grades of WSOP Grades, and other miscelleneous

2007-07-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

WSOP Grade Grades:

Moon Grades: C-
Not nearly as entertaining as in past years. Self-delusion and grade inflation at an all time high, especially in regards to vehicular topics. Picture of Pimaster and suckiness disclaimer save this from a D or worse. Eggs over medium really the only interesting/unexpected grade given. One other thing, if you did Friday and Saturday night RIGHT then you would know Sunday afternoon is anything but relaxing. Angry asssssssssss.

Bag Grades: A-
Witty and interesting with a good mix of serious and whimsical topics. The Roberto's explanation one of the all time best. Points taken for not mentioning Cindy's fake tits. Grades almost downgraded to C for having the audacity to claim a D- luckbox after winning over four thousand dollars playing video poker - however, hilarious pictures and sheer volume of quality comments prevented this from happening.

A few extra grades that were not included or additions to grades given:

Lake Mead: A
An awesome day that saved me from leaving Vegas even earlier than I did. Amber's chicken curry is the best I have ever had.

Spud: B
An awesome guy to have around - he partied his nutsack off and slept on a single pillow with another dude in a room no bigger than a closet with 6 other dudes - sounds super tight. Points deducted for stealing the spotlight from my irish jigging techno moves with his funky chicken dance. Points also deducted for not hitting the pretty bridesmaid. Points also removed for knocking on my door at 7am to ask if I wanted to join him at the home of snaggletooth.

MasterJ: A
I cannot speak the rest of the trip but the Master provided the most entertaining poker table I have sat at in awhile. Drunk off at least 13 cosmos (seriously!) he buuuned the crap out of everyone and pissed the shit out of the dealer's in the process with his slow creep of chips and his incessant splashing of the pot.

Capo's: A
This place is freakin sweet. Friendly service and really tasty food in a very unique environment.

Cab driver who could not pronounce Capo's: B-
Could not pronounce CAH - POHS but did provide us with a lot of entertainment as he attempted to get the address from his dispatcher.

Flamingo/Cindy/Suites: A
Goddam I love this place. They treated us like high rollers and were very hospitable and attentive. My suite WAS bigger than bags - but I'm sure with time his degeneracy will provide him with one as well.

Nappy/Nappy's: A-
Was very gracious to host us all and hooked me up with a tasty dinner. Demerits for a non inflated inflatable mattress and strange taste in mexican swimming trunks.

Popeyes Chicken: A+
THANK YOU POPEYE. The popeye's rhizzle so much more satisfying than the vegan rhizzle.

Scott/Sue Wedding: A
Tasteful and short, but still with all the meaningful parts left in. Thanks for getting a DJ who actually played requested songs.

Anderbois: N/A
Cannot be graded does not compute error error error

Diamond in a Day: A+
Got wasted. Hit 4 Jacks. Made Money. Free Food. Ballers. Owned.

Weather: F
What the eff David Blaine???!?! SO hot.

Venetian Deep Stacks: C
Structure starts off super awesome but eventually develops into your typical online crapshoot. Also must deal with douchbags in person as opposed to behind a screen. bad beat.

Alphabetical Order: F... B C A D

David Blaine Style

2007-05-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

PRESTO CHANGO! ABRACADABRA!!! BLEEEEOTCH!

ANNNND NOW I LOOK EERILY INTO YOUR SOUL

WHAT THE F!!!

2007-05-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

gogoogogogoogogogogogogogogogogogogooggogogogogoogogogogogogogoggggggggogoogogogogogogogogogogooggogogoogogogogogogog

go go go go go gog og og go go go go go go go go go gog og go go go gog ogogo go gogo gogo go go go go go go go go gog ogo go go go go g gogogo gog go go go g go gog go go og og og og og og og og go go go go go go go go go go go go ggo og og og og og og og og og go go go go go gog og go

Favorite Vegas Restaurants

2007-04-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Having just arrived back from Vegas I am inspired to list my favorite places to eat and drink.

5. Vic and Anthony's - This place has a great old school Vegas atmosphere and huge delicious steaks.

4. Diego - The first time I ever came to this place they were giving away free fancy pens and the complimentary salsa was seriously the best I have ever had. The food was also insanely delicious - especially the lobster tacos. The last two visits have been less than stellar however...So I think I will give this place one more chance and then drop it off the list.

3. Fiore - I've only been here once but it was such an awesome experience I'd go again in a second. Great food and great service - Our server really made this a memorable experience. Not to mention it was during my first Vegas trip.

2. Roberto's!!! Open 24 hours, authentic style mexican food, super cheap, super good, ridiculous selection of condiments, if this place came to Colorado I'd be in Heaven.

1. FAT TUESDAYS - Guaranteed to start, continue, and end the party. If you have never been then I probably have never met you personally because I go here everytime I'm in Vegas. I freakin love this place! If this place came to Colorado I'd go to Hell.

R.I.P. Ava - Seriously one of the coolest bars I have ever been to. A relaxing place to kick back and enjoy a drink amongst all the madness that is Vegas. It was situated in the middle of the Mirage but you could hardly tell for all the waterfalls and foliage. I will miss it.

The Tax Man Buuuuneth

2007-03-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

Goodbye to Paradise, Mon!

2007-01-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

I have just returned from an awesome trip to the Bahamas and have compiled some lists illustrating the highs and lows.

Best "Tings" 'bout da Bahamas, mon:
1. Rum in a Coco (awesome drinks obtainable on the beach served in a coconut)
2. Picturesque Beaches (White Sands/Blue Waters)
3. Convenient Location (We lived within a 5 minute walk of pretty much everything)
4. Dela, da Original Bahama Mama
5. The Ruins/Gardens (A truly magical place)
6. Hearing Island Accents, mon
7. The Ridiculously Gaudy Atlantis Resort (To look at and explore anyway)
8. Listening to people mention Conch a lot and then pretending like you heard them say something else. Example: Truman - "Wow, I really love Conch!" Wolf - "Yeah Truman, you really are a Conch Master..." Or Amber - "We just went and got some Conch under the bridge!" Wolf: "Wow. You guys took down some Conch under the bridge? Wow."
9. Very Cheap Hard Liquor
10. Chillin with the Villamates and Playing some fun games
11. Insane Seagull Mob Scenes

Worst 'Tings bout da Bahamas
1. Roulette
2. Martingale System
2a. Martingale System
2b. Martingale System
2c. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
3. Extremely expensive food (especially in Atlantis)
4. Da Italian (A very lazy "supposed" drug dealer)
5. Getting locked out of the Villa (although that turned out to be pretty fun)
6. Continental forgetting to put my luggage on the connecting flight home
7. Waiting for said luggage
8. The crazy drivers
9. The taxi rides to and from the airport
10. Leaving

A really great trip. I think I got to know all my Villamates on a much better level and would definitely do it again. (Maybe next year?) Poker was talked about a lot, but I really didn't play too much. Now that I am back I plan to put in a decent amount of time at the tables and try to get back into a routine for 2007.

No specific goals per se, but I do want to try and play more and be more focused when I do pull my sessions. Obviously these are pretty standard goals for everyone, but there's a reason for that.

No trips planned for anytime in the near future, but goodluck to the guys Down Under. Enjoy the 80 degree weather because as I look out the window it is STILL snowing.

Next Stop: Bahamas!

2006-12-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

The trip out to Vegas was one of the best yet - Seeing and staying at Kwicky's awesome house, eating at great restaurants every night, going to KA (a cirque show), meeting a bunch of new poker people, playing late night low limit NL at various casinos with everyone.

Next up on the travel filled agenda: A trip to NC right around X-mas time. A quick return to CO before a raucous New Year's bash and then after recovering from the hangover, a lovely trip to the BAHAMAS!

Rest assured poker is being played in the interim but right now I am way more excited about the various trips and parties.

In other news: Today marked the beginning of the 5 Diamond Main Event and it is the last BIG opportunity for players to earn POY points. As things stand now it looks like I will be relishing a Moon bought beverage under a large umbrella. We also conducted the POY draft for next year. I think my team has a good shot to win and I'm excited to see how the next year pans out (check Gnightmoon's blog for more info). Probably won't be much to report between now and the Bahamas so in the mean time - Happy Holidays!