Ok, been too long, but I've played a little. Just been collecting at the Blackjack tables for a net profit of bonuses and washover of $1028. I still have to do the Crypto ones and aslo a couple of others like the big Golden palace one, but it's pretty much done. Didn't lose a dollar on the slots...because I never started them...guess that's I what I get for being slow...either way, the Bjack is still pretty cool.

Signed up at Paradise poker yesterday, played a little and lost a stack and a half, one to AA vs KK(Me = KK), and a shortstack that I just decided to give money with second pair. Too bad too, this guy was really bad IMO. And just couldn't get anything going. ON the plus side, I got $150 in bonuses added to my account. They have a rule at Paradise about not depositing for two bonuses within 24 hours, so I screwed that up. Didn't know that...but will figure out the T&A better from now on.

Went to Artichoke Joe's tonight and lost $86 at 3/6 limit. Played against some really bad players who were getting monster hands. Everyone all night had AA or KK or sets or quads or FH's. It was sick...because I wasn't getting my share. Was mainly card dead the whole night...then I had JJ on the button. Loose guy in MP raises after a limper, folds to me and I reraise to $9. SB, who's game I respect some 4-bets to $12. I am sure I am behind, although dont' know what bigger pair he has. BB calls three bets cold first limper calls, MP cold calls the two bets, and I just call(could have capped...bet and five raises).

Reads: SB is smart, but holds onto big pairs but doesn't get position too well. BB is a gambler, but has some type of big card hand(and he thinks he's good at the game ). MP player is LAggy...and will call down with a piece or a draw alot of the time.

Flop is . Me like it. 20 SB's.
SB checks, BB bets, UTG folds, MP calls, I call, SB raises. At this point I am possibly thinking AA for him, but still not sure. BB calls, MP calls, I call.

Turn is . 14 BB's. SB checks again, which seemed pretty weak(and his body language screamed I am very afraid of the board). Checks around to me and I bet. BB hollers at me, "WHY DID YOU BET? Didn't you see the SB Checkraise already?" This just in...BB has no clue about my hand...that is for sure!
SB then checkraises...which was weird. Now I really don't think he has AA. I think he has something else and the BB has an ace especially because of the comment(someone who doesn't want to pay for the draw IMO). The BB calls the two bets cold and says to the guy next to him, "I still have alot of outs. (HA! I know your hand! You have x suited you donk! TYVM!) MP calls the two big bets cold as well. And then, I reraise! That felt nice. MP was really ancy about making the cold call, and when he did, I just started stacking another raise out there all the while thinking(If SB has AA, then GG and god bless, but BB's sorry ass is getting raised on his BIG DRAW!!!) And then the SB shows his cards to his neighbor on the left, and folds! LOLLERSKATES! (Later he told me it was QQ, that was sick how he played it...I don't think I've ever played a hand that bad. EVAR!) BB calls my 3-bet, as does MP. And I am getting ready to collect until..............................

River. 25 BB's. #$%&****

BB takes one look at the board, looks at me, and bets. I think I felt pain. I show my hand and call, sort of numb to it all. I got pretty riled up too because this guy thought he was brilliant and it pissed me off. NOt as much as losing that pot though. Sadly, I had to call getting 26-1...if I had folded and posted this hand, I might have been banned.

Anyway, stayed another round and left because I have to go to a funeral tomorrow for a friend of my parents. Another person caught in the headlights of the bus known as cancer. He was diagnosed something like 5 weeks ago and now is gone...absolutely no chance for recovery when they found it. His wish for his funeral was for everyone to wear hawaiian shirts at the funeral because when he went to a funeral like that, he said the event didn't seem so sad and depressing which is nice. People should celebrate the life of a person rather than weep for their own loss, but it's hard to do...very few have the capacity for fond rememberance so close to the loss. And many can't even remember without pain for most of their lives. I hope this event turn into fond memories, and I pray for his family and their times ahead.

JB, God bless you.

Dan, sucks that you lost that hand. I've had my boats counterfeited a few times and I feel your pain. One question. When the SB raises on that flop with that many players, why aren't you reraising there? In my mind, I'll slow play a hand like yours on the flop and wait to start jamming it until the turn but when someone shows flop strength in a multi-way pot like that, it's time to start jamming with a middle set. In the end you may have still lost this particular hand but there's a chance you could have driven out the BB with more aggressive play early.

Well, I got older. 32 now. Don't feel different, just feel like life has slowed down a little. Anyway, as a present to myself I played at Artichoke Joes on friday and won a tidy profit, $84 at the 3/6 limit tables. I also watched the NL $2000 min buy in table they had there and I'm starting to recognize a few of the regulars. One guy in particular I have seen there a few times is...I believe the name is Sam Bartshon, a man who made the final table in 2004 when Thomas 'thunder' Keller won his bracelet in NL Hold'em. When I start recognizing people from the ESPN coverage, then I'm probably watching too much TV.

My first hand I had KK in middle position and everyone limped to me so I raise...and everyone called. The old woman in SB bet on a flop of JT4(2 clubs), so when it got to me, I raised. On the turn when a Q hit, she bet into me again. I realized I was behind because she didn't strike me as someone who bet out alot unless she had a monster...she struck me as a CS type as well. Sadly, I got trapped in with my draw on the turn, and called a single bet on the river because no one else did. She had TT. Over the next 30 hands, every time she bet, alot of people would fold, but she called down with ace high once and bottom pair a few times as well...and was trying to play 4 card straights, not so good. She did beat me three times when I raised though, flopping on me every time. I guess it's fine though because I made the money back on a FH with AA in my hand and three 7's on the board and a couple of nut flushes where I would have two callers by the river. I lost my first hundred really quick, but made it all back up furiously.

Had one hand though I mentioned where I think I played it too passive on the river...mainly because of the preflop action. I'll post it later and get reactions, and everyone can tell me how I missed out on a couple of bets.

Ok, I finished my bonus. Word to the wise: Do not try to finish a bonus in two days during a heat wave. It sucks. I am drenched in my room right now, and finished with a large 2.5 hours to spare. And I actually made some money finishing the bonus.

upi $103.49 over the last two days due to some nice cards and bad opponents. Really didn't take a bad beat either except for a top set I hit on the turn that turned a straight for opponent. He min raised me on the river and me being the donk I am called, although I did have the second best hand, behind only the straight. Still, calling min raises is a horrible idea...I probably saved a buyin not doing that at all the past few days. Just chuck it and move on.

I also was trying some raising with SC's in position and a couple of time OOP just to get my PFR% and VPIP% up some. I really didn't hit any hands with them, but I did take down about 75% of the pots I CB'ed on with them. Position is so damn important in NL.

Anyway, back to working on my Paradise bonus and seeing if there are any other casinos I should hit up on this week or next. And also, I am thinking about calling my buddy and going up to AJ's on Friday and maybe maybe maybe Tahoe at the end of the month(although I'm pretty sure I am going.)

Went to the casino today after playing tennis at Artichoke Joe's. Profited $284 at the 3/6 limit tables there tonight with some pretty tight play. My fourth hand at the table(folded the first three), I raised w/ QQ in MP. The SB, a super loose fellow, reraised me and when it got back to me I 4-bet. In between four other people called the 4 bets so six to the flop. Flop came and SB bet out of course. Three people called in front of me, and I called because I slowplay too much. Then, a LP player raised. I had seen this guy showdown two hand already, with Q2o and 76o that he hit two pair on and won with. So, I had this guy on two pair type of hand or otherwise dominated by me. Everyone called the raise, and I called. Turn was . SB checked, and it checked around to LP guy who bet. Two people called and I checkraised. I probably should have played it fast on the flop, but these people call with one pair most of the time, and I can accept losing to a flush. Everyone who was stil in called my raise and five of us saw the river which was . It checked to the LP player again who bet. The SB called, and I was the last player to act here(others had folded). I should have raised at this point again, but I called down like a chicken. LP showed KQ for top two on the flop and my set held up. I think I played the hand very poorly because I probably should be raising that flop, and if three bet, checkraising the turn or 4-betting the flop. It's all a question of who I can chase out, but if there is any draw on the board, chasing people out becomes impossible most of the time. Calling stations call...it doesn't matter what the action is unless you show down a good amount of solid hands...then they sometimes get intimidated and fold. Nobody having any idea how I play at all being four hands in, they are calling every bet made. I guess this is the problem with raising on the flop: when you make that pot big on the flop and slow everyone down, you are the only person making a bet on the turn, and everyone is calling. But if you make a raise on the turn, at least you make some people pay a higher price for their draws which is what you want to do on the turn.

I think I almost won or chopped every hand I raised except for two probably...and I raised about 12 times which is pretty high for me. I had the nuts a couple of time, but the greatest thing about my table was the calling station mentality that everyone hand...people who just not throw hands away. And when you hit some hand you are going to make the bucks against this type of competition. I even had quad aces on the river against an opponent who literally was just trying to beat me because I had claimed a couple of pots from him where he had led off the betting. Guy called with K8 on a board of A J 2 8 A with three clubs. I love these guys.

It's been a couple of weeks. Went up to Sacramento with Emmasdad, parleyed it into a trip to Tahoe that weekend and won $181 that Friday in Sac and lost $131 in South Lake Tahoe that Saurday, July 22nd. Then, the power went out in San Jose in my area for something like 3 days, and waited it out at my parent's house up the coast until Wednesday, came back to my place, finished my golden Palace bonuse collecting $307(horrible cooler...I bet $1 every time, so it took forever, but still a good profit), went gambling Thurdays at GC and made $87 and got ready to take a trip Friday...to Tahoe, for a friend's birthday who was visiting from Oregon and with a couple other people. Jetskied on Lake Tahoe(choppier than I've seen it in a while and great fun), did a miniscule amount of gambling, won $10 at BJ and lost about $190ish at poker getting card dead the whole weekend while some of my other friends got totally smashed and then all fell asleep. Played again on Monday at AJ's in the SB and lost $114 for a horrible run the last week or so. Very depressing.

Played Wednesday, Aug.2 again at a buddy's surprise party/poker game his wife held for him at their new house which is really a nice place and location I must say. Played alot of friends and some acquaintices, and if I got to play in this game full time with all these people...I wouldn't ever have to worry about money. Everyone only bought in for $20 for a .25-$1 spread limit game and their were 11 people, so I sat out for about 25 minutes or about 18 hands...which is all it took for one of my friend's brothers to bust out completely for $40(I though it was only $20 until someone informed me otherwise). The kid was pretty convinced he was going to clean up too, complained it wasn't NL, and I took his seat. Great game. It was fun to play with friends again because I enjoy their company, and alot of them play pretty badly. Some played really well, and it was reverse variance day because those who pretty much always lost won and visa versa. I pulled down a $50 win because I could put my huge pocket pairs face up and they wouldn't fold to me...I must look like a bs artist. Anyway, it was an interesting night.

I'm hoping to go to Tahoe again in the next couple of weeks and then celebrate my nephew's 1st and my mom's b-day. Also been reading alot of Raymond Feist books...if you have any interest in fantasy stories Feist writes a great story. He has many many books dedicated to a certain world called Midkemia IIRC and the first four he wrote starting with Magician:apprentice will grab you and suck you in. Very excellent storyteller.

NOt alot of online play have I done in the past week...also read most of ONe of a Kind, the Stu Unger Auto/(bio)graphy. It's both which is strange but a well done book...and it sure doesn't pull any punches.

So, my goal this weekend is to play some online games, sign up for another site and start working on a bonus, and start the Willian Hill BJ bonuses, since I left them for last for some reason....

Going to actually get to some of my goals this week like winning money online, checking out rakeback at certain sites, and finishing up the BJ bonuses.

Went to AJ's Sunday and lost. Sadly, I didn't get alot of cards and at some point I was actually even winning a hand for a nice pot. Top pair was pretty much the extent of my wins at this level, and I really didn't miss any bets that I can think of although I might have bluffed off $9 to get some free cards. Sometimes when I really want to see what will develop with a marginal call and I have position, I will raise on the button with gutshots and such just to give a little image, although most of the time, it matters not. And tonight it didn't matter, so I should have played ABC. Anyway, folded KK on the flop on a board of T98 two clubs against heavy action, even though I 3-bet and raised that flop. CO cold called my raise, SB CRed 3-bet, and UTG, who I raised, 4-bet the flop. He had also raised PF, so I was thinking, set and straight. But, UTG had the flop straight and raised with QJ, SB had T8 and cold called two bets with it, and CO had A7 with a backdoor flush draw! Idiots...and I'm happy to play them every week if I could. Turn came and SB bet and the other two called down the rest of the way...pretty disgusting, but that's poker. Gotten back into being tighter than tight, although one guy out tighted me at the table...and then blew his stack on AT after a raise and reraise by me, the other tight guy. What a dumb move, even though it almost paid off for him. I just don't empathize with the impatience at limit games that some people obviously have.

Will try and get information Monday about rakeback, sign up for other bonuses and being an online degenerate whoring playa the rest of the week.