Cleaning up...it's been a while. Have played little online, alot live at Lucky Chances, but mostly just breaking even there with little to talk about. Also been to Tahoe...

Well, been to Tahoe about three times, seen FLB put their computerized tables in(which make people just lose their money faster methinks), been to Tahoe a few times for skiing(once), bachelor party(once), getting pissed(every time), and playing poker and crap and Paigow and blackjack, and whatever other table they let me sit on. It's been fun.

This last weekend, I went with four friends. NO skiing, because Tahoe has puddles for snow, but it's good old Gung hei fat choi time at the old casinos. I wish I could stay there all week. Chinese New Year at any casino on the West Coast is packed up. And people are throwing money around...sometimes right at you. Tables were full everywhere. We played some craps, and I won about $150 at that because I let my buddy THE PUTKA roll. He makes me money at the table...I just lose with everyone else. We just stand around and watch the other people and drink while they take their turns screwing each other outta money. PLayed some PaiGow poker as well...Greg was at the table with me and showed me what the true meaning of the game really was. I've never seen a guy shoot out of the gate with two king high and a jack high out of his first four hands. Even I would have left that seat...and I never know when to quit. He lost so much money betting the freaking minimum at that table in less than an hour. Dealer was dealing himself crap too...ace high something like twelve tries. Greg pushed them all...now that's special.

Played poker at the Nugget in North shore Tahoe. 3/6 LHE with a 6/12 option bet on the river. Games is full of lunatics. One of my favorites showed up...Martine. It's been my privilege to watch someone like him for about 4 years now...the man is just as bad as the first time we played. Sadly, the putka tabled with him...I could move. But, luckily I made a nice $133 score at about 3:30am against a local idiot who just can't stop raising. Wish that table stayed open all night.

Went to south Lake Tahoe the next day, about 3pm. Played poker for a long while...and could not make any money...was playing the weakest table, but I think I was having a Long Island every round...or every time the waitress came back she had one. Was down about $140 when I moved to my buddies Mike and Q's table. Was just sitting there, finishing my 230947 drink, played about five games, and I'm talking it up with Mike, telling him his game is crap and I can raise better, and muttering other stuff....So, I decided to straddle, and half the table agreed to do it too...although they didn't; wankers. I got killed that hand, but then I won in the BB after rivering two pair and raisin it up like crazy on the flop. Then I pick up my monster in the BB: 66. Mike raised UTG+1 and I knew he was full of shite, so I reraised, he 4-bet it, and I cap. Five of us, see the flop of AQ3, two diamonds, which I got none of, but it's OK, because I bet in the dark. Mike raised, two callers, I 3-bet, Mike 4-bet, two cold calls again, and I capped that shite...yep, drunk. Turn was a 7, so I bet it...that didn't help Mike. Mike raised, the two idiots folded, and I reraised, and he smoothcalled. River was an 8, no diamond, so I bet, and Mike called with KJ. VALUE TOWN! I flipped my hand and I got people looking at me like I'm naked. Everyone sort of decided to man up there after that hand...which was a good thing too because of the next hand...I have to put this one into form because it was a little tite IMO although easy as hell of course.

10 players 3/6 LHE live at Harvey's

Me on the button with . Mike(UTG) straddles, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls, MP folds, MP+1 calls, MP+2 folds, CO calls, I raise, blinds cold call, everyone calls. Seven to the flop. 21 SB's.

Flop is . SB bets out, BB calls, Mike raises, UTG+2 calls, MP+1 calls, CO calls, I 3-bet, SB 4-bets, BB calls, Mike calls, UTG+2 folds, MP+1 calls, CO calls, I cap, all call. SB is all in. 6 to the turn. 53 SB's?

Turn is . BB checks, Mike checks, MP+1 checks, CO checks, I bet. BB calls, Mike calls, MP+1 raises, CO calls, I reraise, BB folds, Mike calls, MP+1 calls, CO calls. 39.5 BB's, four to the river.

River is . All check, I bet, Mike folds, MP+1 calls, CO folds.

Hero wins with a full house, 41.5 Big bets. SB had J7.

I won the next hand too, turning a straight, and was, after straddling, up about $140 after being down at about $220 at one point. Freaking monkey poker. I pretty much broke even though because I donked it all away calling off raised turns with six high gutshots, but after I went and played craps again, I won about $100 back again, and ended up a decent amount ahead at poker, crap, and even blackjack. I gave my buddy $200 as a wedding present, and came back ahead after expenses about $200, so I can't complain too much. Just can't remember what I bought in for during saturday because I was red at about 7pm, and when I turn red, that mean alcohol poisoning for most other normal folk.

Drove back to the cabin at about 5:30am in a big snowstorm with my friends and crashed right before 7am. Tahoe is the best...hopefully I can get out there and ski next time.

So, another weekend at Tahoe...with my family. And that meant everyone, including my nephew who at 18 months can scream the doors off a SUV. Which he did. REPEATEDLY.

Only more reason to escape to the infantless safety of the casino for long periods of time. So, I played poker and craps and blackjack but no pai gow poker(damn high end limits). My skill at poker goes up pretty slowly, but I think I'm coming into my own as a professional craps player. I arrived at Tahoe on Friday, sometime around 3pm and went to the casino around 6:45pm...Brian went straight to the casino when he got to the state line and watched the Kings play(they sucked again) and signed us up for the Nugget poker tournament at 7:30pm. Sadly, ribs were being prepared at my place, and if I left I wasn't going to get any, but I went to the game anyway. Afterall, when you have a chance to play the worst poker has to offer, you take it every time. $55 buyin, no rebuys or addons, 1500 chips and blinds start at 25/50(18 players). Yep, a crapshoot. Alos, right before the tourney started, Brian and I joined an eight man last longer bet for $10 each with six other people...this was a good investment IMO. I folded the first five hands, then raised with AK in EP and won the blinds. The guy to my immediate right managed to end up with 150 left playing horribly, and it folds around to him in the SB and he limps. Before I look at my cards I just put him in and my K6>T3s. Five hands goes by and I get 77(blinds now 50/10). UTG limps, I push because if I raise I feel it going to be hard to get away from, and the limp was pretty weak, and I took it down preflop. Right before I was dealt my BB, I was moved to the other table which I promptly folded about four hands before they joined us together into one table. I missed the BB two times in a row and then won the button when we redrew for the finall seating. 20 hands in a row without a blind...good times. Two hands into the final table, someone limps in MP with A6s, I push 2100ish with TT(blinds 100/200) and he calls of the rest of his chips, and it holds up. Brian was also cruising, pushing almost every opportunity. He had 6200 and I had 4800 when he raised UTG to 1200 w/ (blinds 200/400 8 players left). He got three callers. Flop was , and he open pushes, woman to his immediate left calls instantly, and the other two players fold. He sheepishly says, "I need a club." But not to worry, the woman who called off 80% of her chips did it with ! Yep, looks like the field is talented tonight.
Brian takes it down with the ace high. Binds were then at 400/800 and I pushed in with . Women who gave Brian those chips calls with , but woman next to here calls with . Dannyboy is in trouble, but on a flop of , I tag the turn with the ! I fade the last card, and now I'm almost even with Brian. At this point there are still four of us who are in the last longer bet, and five of us total. The guy who set up the bet loses with QJs to the lady with KK, and the lady eliminated the other last longer candidate when he was down to only two BB's. After the lady and Brian pushing and taking chips from me and me folding 9 highs for five hands, the lady, who has me outchipped again, raises OTB with 33, and I push with KT, and she calls. I flop a measly TT6, and after that hand, Brian takes her out, so it's heads up, with Brian having a 65/35 chips lead. We immediatley chop the last longer bet and then I tell him I want ribs so let's chop the money so I can go back to the house and eat. He says no(even though the blinds are 800/1600 and there is maybe 22K total in play. I tell him fine, and I push my first hand and he calls. My is greater than his and I'm the chip lead. Then he pushes OTB and I call. His > and he's chips leader again. I push with K5, and he calls with 37. And he wins, so I can finally freaking eat. He collects $425 and I get $255(each of us got $40 too for the chopped last longer bet). After ribs, I come back to Brian drunk and I sit down to play LHE(3/6, 6 or 12 on the river round). I win some money, Brian leaves because he wasted and raising every hand he sees, and my friend Q goes down and comes back to win a very good amount against complete morons, and also claimed a pot by calling a straddler down with K7 on a board of AQJ64. That was so sick, but he felt he was right. I didn't mind too much because this was the same guy who would raise my blind, I would protect, and then I would checkraise with second or third pair ALOT. He was horrendous. I have a value town hand against him as well which I will post. Anyway, this guy made two trips to the ATM and about five buyins to our game, so when he left, I left. Wow, he was a donator of the highest order. The good news is I played no one, except Brian and Q who I thought was even slightly good at the game. Q, who used to be very impatient and reckless when he started, played a set on the flop so beautifully, turning the FH and when getting CR'ed on the river when a straight card came out, made the 3 bet and took down a really big pot. It's good to see someone uses what I know, even if it isn't me. But, I could help winning this weekend, every player seemed blufftastic or would bet on any piece of the flop, and it was really easy to crush them. There was one bet I called on the river that I didn't want to(flush hit on the river heads up and the pot was big), and another hand where I called to with a 43 on a 7653A board agains the SB where I was sure he had me beat and he showed me the 98(but it was his fifth hand at the table and I had no read; it was just the way he fired out on the turn when the 6 hit on the 753 flop).

Here is a hand I think I played decent, opponent was a player at the Nugget, my read on him(from sessions past) was he could easily bet and bluff on ugly boards with draws and scare cards, and would see way too many showdowns and show down some pretty weak hands.

Hero is in CO with

2 folds, UTG+2 calls, MP calls, fold, Hijack calls, Hero raises, button folds, SB calls, BB(Villian) calls, rest call. Six to the flop. ($36)

Flop is . SB checks, Villian bets, 3 folds, Hero raises, SB calls, villian calls. ($54)
Turn is . SB checks, Villian bets, hero raises, SB folds, Villian 3-bets, hero calls.
River is . Villian bets $12, Hero calls.

Villian shows .

This went on ALL WEEKEND. Blufftards galore. In all, I won about $528 on poker playing 3/6 LHE and coming in second in the tourney and also about $400 playing craps because I roll GOOT.

I'll go and post my Value town hand now...and then rest after being in the car for about six hours...blizzard conditions suck when you are driving.

I played Wednesday. Got into a 3/6 LHE game and was completely smooshed. Raising hands I was 1/9 holding up, and the one that held was the smallest pot of course. I didn't 3-bet with AJo in the BB, and bet the whole way once with nothing, making these people think I was on an overpair obv. because they actually all folded the river...I should have left then because I was tilting from not hit anything on the flop EVER. I can't remember a day when every hand I came in with did not improve, but this was the day. Sadly, after I lost with QQ and AA consecutively, although it was a juicy table, I decided to get up and leave before I made any more bad decisions, tilting as I was. It was just one of those frustrating times...probably the combination of uber donks I was playing added to the fact that one guy at our table, the drunk guy of course, was the big winner.

Total -$149 in 4 hours. I need to go back this weekend because those night games are really really juicy.

Went again to play poker tonight. 3/6 LHE at AJ's...I wanted to try and retrieve some of the money I lost there Wed. Was winning right out of the gate, and up about $60 buck after the first hour when the two seats emptied to my right and in came two guys who had a beer bottle in each hand and were finishing shots while walking up. They were swearing and hollering the whole night; it was fun. They got into it with this black guy across the table a couple hours later talking about home towns, how Philly is better than St. Louis and vice versa. It got to the point one of the cardroom managers pulled up a stool and watched the table about 80% of the time(not that there was anything else to do as a manager, let's face it). After a while, we get so loud, someone somewhere else said something I imagine and he comes to the table and says, "You guys are cut off." The loudest drunk asks who he means and he points to this guy and his friend and ME. I got cut off...even though I had no drink and wasn't being loud(I usually am loud and talkative, but all I did was crack up and listen this night...I couldn't overtalk these guys). First time I got cut off without drinking though, that's a record.

Also took down $51 as a win...hard to do when you aren't hitting cards at the end and these guy are literally betting out with nothing every hand and hitting...it was pretty sick they had any money at all when I left. Maybe they'll be there tomorrow morning...I'll go check.