State of the CheckRayz site address...

Now that I've kept everyone waiting long enough, we can get down to business. I promised a "State of the CheckRayz site Address," so I shall deliver. That being said, here we go...

The state of the Rayz site is strong. We went "live" three short months ago, worrying about whether or not our database was going to be in place before our first tournament (that had me both scared and irritated). Now, the "Death Star" is fully operational. Since our January start, we've held 31 tournaments (scheduled 35 - four cancellations/postponed) and placed over 120 people on the leaderboard. We gave away over $3100 in freeroll and money added dollars for the first quarter alone. For the second quarter, I plan to double the amount of poker tournaments we offer and double the free money we offer. Expect to see anywhere from sixty to seventy five freeroll and/or money added poker tournaments during the second quarter.

When the quarter began, we really weren't sure who our "go to" poker rooms were going to be. Clearly, River Belle Poker have stepped forth and rose to the occasion. River Belle became our Leaderboard Sponsor, and continues to offer us top notch support and great tournaments. Their affiliate reps are among the best in the industry, and CheckRayz will continue to do bigger and better things in the future with River Belle Poker. They are definitely part of the "master plan."

Hollywood Poker is a once a month stop for our tour. It has proven to be among the favorite "spots" for several of the members. We'll continue holding our once a month buyins there, with the intentions of driving numbers to justify having two monthly tour stops there.

Poker rooms such as Kiwi and Titan poker have also helped contribute to our growth. I look forward to continuing to work with them as well.

Despite or previous challenges, WE WILL hold monthly heads up MTTs at Celeb Poker, with the first one scheduled to go off without a hitch on Wednesday April 12th. Once we get this kicked off properly, it will prove to be a fun event, in addition to a learning experience for all. Did I mention that we have a special first time deposit bonus at Celeb, which is exclusive to CheckRayz members?

In the month of March, we welcomed Poker4ever as our newest member to the CheckRayz site. Poker4ever are a brand new poker room, both to us and to the online poker world. They have a good understanding of the business end of things, and I believe them to be a long term successful poker room. In addition to the normal menu of tournaments they've offered us, they also have agreed to a monthly $500 freeroll poker tournament for all who rake 1000 hands in a given month (we need 20 peeps to hold the tournament). They will continue to get the support of CheckRayz. As we grow together, there will be growing pains along the way. But, I expect them to be a key player in our long term growth.

This month, CheckRayz will be holding three member appreciation tournaments for the first quarter. River Belle plays host to these tournaments. The first of three is designed to "reward" the members who have accumulated leaderboard points during the first quarter tour. By design, this tournament rewards our members for their hard work, and for playing tough from start to finish in our tournaments. The second, our leaderboard shootout, shall crown the first quarter champion by taking our top ten for the tour, and putting them in a steel cage. Last man/woman standing shall emerge victorious, the first ever CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour Champion. This comes as no small task, as each and every member of the top ten are straight up monsters on the virtual felt. Finally, the "challenge" tournament will allow me to reward those who have stepped up and took my challenge by either referring three people to the rayz tour, or showing thanks to our leaderboard sponsor (river belle) and raking 250 hands. Winner of this will take down $100 and receive a purchased and activated copy of poker tracker.

Looking to the second quarter and beyond

Going forward, we will continue to proudly represent the Shark Powered Network in our endeavers. My personal goal is to help drive the membership through the roof to make the network the biggest on the net. In order to do such a thing, however, Sharky and I need your continued support through tournament participation, forum activity, play-through, and building and maintaining the electricity surrounding our Network. I'm certainly able to speak for the both of us when I state we're committed to continuing to offer top notch events at the best poker rooms on the net.

In the second quarter and beyond, I remain committed to going further, one step at a time, with helping our new and experienced members alike in improving their game. I'll continue to talk strategy regularly here in the Poker Pub, and additionally, I will commit to at least one game per month where we can, as a group, discuss hands as they play out (thank you Sandi for this idea). I have been... and continue to be very proud of the strong, tight, aggressive, and solid level of play in the CheckRayz tournaments. I embrace the idea of being known as the site who holds events with smaller, tighter fields and will work hard to maintain that image. Working with our newer members will assist greatly in accomplishing exactly that.

Finally, I plan on providing further incentives to our membership to support our poker rooms. Details are in the works, but expect something big. I am happy to say CheckRayz is now "on the map".. and bigger, better things are yet to come.

Mike




CheckRayz Announcements
Poker News

*Splat*

With little time to do a "real" post today due to some personal things goin on today, I leave you with this thought...

Many people fall in a "pile" and come out smellin like a rose. "SuperDonk" however, starts off smellin like a rose, and then falls into a pile. Stated another way... SuperDonk wins the $500 first prize in the Freeroll at the local pub. Approximately 24 hours later, SuperDonk and I are en route to the same pub, to qualify for the monthly $1000 freeroll for April, when his timing belt soils itself. Approximate cost of repairs: $500.



Poker Stories
SuperDonk, Poker Idiot Saga
Horrible Poker Play

"Super Donk" takes down huge freeroll at local pub...

I was originally scheduling the "State of CheckRayz" address for today's column, however something happened this weekend that I really feel the need to write about my friend Kyle, who by day is mild mannered "that guy." However, put a clay chip in front of him and a deck of cards, and "that guy" can be seen running to the outhouse to change into his alter-ego "Super Donk," the supreme hero of the horrible play and subsiquent suckout. Anyways, Kyle found himself in the monthly freeroll at this local pub we've been playing and I wanted to write a bit about this tournament.

Kyle had placed fourth in one of the weekly events. Those who place 1-4 at any weekly events play in the "last sunday of the month" (note: the last sunday in the month fell in april by this pub's calendar). To spell out exactly how this works, those who placed 2-4 start at 2pm. The top 8 gain entry to the 4pm event, which combines these players with everyone who had finished first place. $1000 dollars would pay over 4 places, and the potential to win a sweet car was on the line (one of those lucky hands type of things where the final hand had to match exactly the cards in the envelope --- never gonna happen).

While we were waiting for the event to begin, I was taking side bets... not for money, just for comedy value. The over/under was 5 on how many people would show up 1 hour late, because they did not set their clocks ahead and hand no clue that this was to occur. It should be noted that several regulars who play in this event are the type that are not inclined to watch the news or read the papers, so this is quite possible. I felt I was being generous by setting the over/under at five and had a gut feeling it should have been closer to ten.

Anyways, the doors opened for the 2pm start time. Kyle quickly ran to the outhouse and emerged as Super Donk, sporting his cape, ready to suck out. I was perched in such a manner that I could see the entire room, as my chair was on the riser that held the dj booth. Play was a bit tighter than normally experienced in this event. Kyle and I had discussed strategy before the event. The blinds format is one that I'm not real comfortable with, having a starting stack of 50 and blinds elevating from 1/2, 2/4, 4/8, 5/10, 10/20, 20/40, etc. every fifteen minutes. Its such a format that one almost has to make a move in the first two rounds, else lose betting power. I told him the standard... respect position, avoid playing junk, have the wisdom to know when your raise is not going to accomplish what its intention is, etc. Ideally, a semi-tight passive style is probably most appropriate preflop, switching to a tight aggressive style post flop. Picking one's spot, however, and respecting position is of paramount importance.

Kyle folded around and pretty much observed early on, seeing how the table reacted. His table appeared to be more passive than previous tables, which of course throws the above off. Peeps
were actually taking down steals preflop and continuation bets causing folds... This was something never seen before at previous events. Could it be the table or was it the five ten peeps missing cuz they had no clue on the time change?

Blinds increased a few times over and SuperDonk is still alive and kicking. 3 tables of eight remain and as a courtesy to the table, I began calculating avg. stack and sharing it with those at SD's table. This statistic is more important than M, in a sense, as top 8 is the goal. Just as I say this, one of the players (Dave) has his Aces cracked by two pair. This move seems to cripple him, as he has about ten chips remaining. Fast forwarding, Dave later wins his BB via default and folds his SB. Other notable folds by Dave during this critical, crippling situation were JJ and AK. Yes, you read correctly, he folded AK from an early position and JJ on the button, because in his mind, survival was most important. People do actually fold hands of this nature preflop near the bubble. I personally could never do it, as my goal is never to "barely cash," but in this case, his strategy paid off.

I was preoccupied and did not see what hand took kyle out, but he placed 12th, and thus was 4th alternate in the 4pm event. Kyle's table had five peeps of the eight who qualified for the 4pm event, which came as no surprise.

Final event starts, and kyle gets the last seat (4 no shows). I wasn't happy with where he was seated. He had a few players from his previous table, combined with the drawing know it all, Peanut who was probably among the best players in the event, and "Mr. I'll See your two and raise you seven... come on let's gamble." Fortunately, this guy is seated to Kyle's right. Unfortunately this guy's voice is obnoxious annoying irritating enough to drive a man insane. Kyle cranks his mp3 playa up to 11, it should also be noted that the "loudest band in the world," Spinal Tap's amps also go to 11... just like Super Donk's MP3 player. In a seemingly shady move, this guy was the dealer, trying to see and raise, and spills his chips on the floor. He bends down to grab his chips, taking the entire deck of cards with him... well, what was left of them. One of the players, Peanut, heard me mumble that this should be declared a misdeal. The cards should never leave plain sight of the table, and never drop below the table.

Fortunately, moronic man wouldn't stay on for long, thus Kyle didn't need the 11th setting on his dial, as the idiot saw two, and raised his ass right out the door, being the first to be launched from the tourney. His ever so famous last words were, "Its about time! I was trying to leave from the first hand" (read: I'm seeing double cuz I drank too much and raising my ass back to the corner bar a block over). While blaring his music, Kyle had not played a hand. His volume came down as everyone at the table commented as to what a relief this it was to have this idiot gone from the table.

Kyle made up for lost time and raised to a steal a pot or two. (fast forwarding a bit) Tables merged from three to two, with 18 players remaining and Kyle on the short end of average. Players began moving with urgency as the blinds rose and Kyle found himself on the final table
as the second shortest stack. To my surprise, with only one exception, Kyle played a perfect final table. This did not cause me to sit unworried though. While I'd occasionally offer him advice on play between hands, I did not talk to him during his hand (after the deal), nor did he "pocket cam" me.

Acting under the gun, kyle limps. I cringe and silently vow to beat his ass if he doesn't have one of three hands. 1 more limps after him, when "allin" comes from across the table. Late position calls, kyle reraises to allin and the limper behind kyle folds. Kyle has two people allin, and flips over pocket aces, looking at me and saying, "See, I can learn." His aces hold up, and I am thrilled to death with him using this move. Suddenly, shorty is second in chip count and six remain. Very next hand, Kyle's heated up, and gains a steal, only to donate chips a hand later returning him to the middle of the pack. He didn't have the hand to continue and smartly laid her down.

(Fast forwarding a bit more)Its bubble time. Five players remained, SuperDonk who was playing as if his super powers had been immobilized by an influx of poker iq. To his left sat a player who had been on his table for both events. This guy was tough, but not a "smart" poker player, which I'm sure we'll hear more about later. To smarty's left, sat the callstation. I'm not sure, but I suspect he is the middle aged son of Ma Bell. Ma Bell's baby boy sat with the chip lead, and was known for his call, call, call, call, call type of play. I told kyle he'd not stand much of a chance stealing from the button. To Kyle's right sat a semi-tight aggressive player who was second in chips. He spoke with an accent of sorts, which is really totally irrelivant. He had not been a cheap date, from what I observed, as people were often made to pay heavily for the privledge to chase when he was in the hand. Two peeps to Kyle's right sat a wirey, aggressive player who seemed to be playing the players and position moreso than the board and his hand.

So to the bubble we go. I tell kyle that the button is not going to give him a steal, the short stack is the most likely to move with shit, and if he moves against the short stack, he's likely going to get a call if shorty has a hand. Surprisingly, I was wrong on one account, as the heir apparant to the telephone empire went into a shell and folded to a 20 chip, allin raise while he was in the big blind putting out 100 chips and last to act. Wow... 20 chips to call 270 would not have broke the bank here and was an appropriate call with 2-7o (read: worst laydown of the day, bar none).

BB moves to Kyle, who is the second largest stack. SB is the short stack with about 250 chips. Action folds to the SB, who raises 100, leaving 50 left in his stack. Kyle looks at his hole cards and calls cleanly. Flop comes, SB pushes allin and kyle folds. This was his one bad play, where he was surely asking for a mulligan. He should have either reraised to allin, as the guy was pot committed or he should have folded. Either would have been correct, but folding was incorrect. Kyle at this time had about 400 chips prior to the play. Next hand Kyle moves allin on the small blind, his queens hold up against Baby Bell and Kyle's back to second in count.

I move in and tell kyle between hands the short stack is to his left now. I let him know that first to act, he can profitablly make a move with 10-8 and above profitablly, providing he moves allin. Action moves around, and Kyle's back in the SB as the second shortest stack. He looks into the hole and discovers 9-7s. He's first to act, so he pushes allin, hoping for a call from the short stack big blind. The big blind calls with KQo. Kyle hits a seven on the flop, turn comes blank, and the river blanks as well. The bubble has burst and kyle's 9-7 takes the pot down!

Dude is irate. The table pauses for a bit, and I tell kyle that he had made a good play. He knew he'd be a dog if called, but the odds were worth it, as this guy had about sixty chips beyond his BB. I tell him once again the play was perfect and to keep it up. Dude overhears me and says "Are you f'ing kidding me? That was not a perfect play." I tell the guy that it was a profitable move as he's only a slight underdog... and by slight I mean less than 1% preflop from the average hand. The guy obviously didn't get it, as he says "no one moves allin with a 2-7."

I concede, as I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed individual, so I politely correct myself and tell the guy, "you're right. Even though it was a 9-7s and a bluff, no one 'calls' allin with that hand and no one bluffs, especially not against the short stack and on the bubble. My bad, what was I thinking?" I tune the guy out, as he's mumbling something that can only drop my poker iq, whereas I stand no chance of raising his. While the commotion is going on, out goes the tough guy from kyle's right, via 99 v 88. Then out goes Ma Bell's baby boy by virtue of a duece (kyle called an inexpensive allin with k2s v a9) after wirey dude had softened the offspring of Ma Bell up quite a bit.

Heads up and Kyle had a sizable lead. Chips went back and forth back and forth and were about dead even. Fortunately, there was a dealer on the final table who was both knowledgable in the game and also a former dealer at a casino, as the final hand was somewhat controversial. Wirey guy pushed allin preflop. Kyle knocked. Kathy, the dealer, asked is that a call? Kyle responds yes. Flop is turned over, kyle tries to push allin, apparantly not realizing he was already allin. He flops two pair NH GG, cubs win Austin wins Super Donk wins!

Coming at no surprise, the magic hand misses the board, no car... However, I have to say that I was proud of "SuperDonk." Generally speaking, I cheer against him, due to his horrible play. I could not have been more proud though, as he finally decided to play smart poker. Because of his play, I honestly could not have been happier if I had personally played and won the event. To me, its very rewarding when my advice is used and a player trusts enough to improve his or her game, especially when they get positive results. He and I will be going back again tonight, and then to another bar tommorrow to play, which will probably be the last monday-tuesday we can qualify for anything, considering soccer starts up again next week.

More tommorrow,

Mike





Poker Stories
SuperDonk, Poker Idiot Saga

"Last Call" and the Mailbag...

Last Call for Leaderboard Points…!!!

One tourney remains, to crown the points Champion of CheckRayz. Who will finish first in the “two horse race” for bragging rights to the points championship? Will it be yer drunken hero, the beer guy? Or will Bob, BC4547 close the gap. Stop by River Belle tonight. Deposit, register, and play in the $100 added, $5+.50 buy in tourney. This is your final opportunity to score Leaderboard points, which can potentially make you eligible for two of the three end of the quarter CheckRayz Leaderboard events. Don’t miss the 11pm EST “Last Call” for Leaderboard points tonight at River Belle Poker.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention this. In an effort to help out Bob, there will be a twenty dollar bounty on my head tonight. Oust me from the tourney, collect a twenty spot… its that simple.
As for the end of the quarter festivities, marking the end of our inaugural and very successful first quarter CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour (sponsored by River Belle Poker), we are having three huge tourneys. There is still time to qualify. The tournaments, all held at River Belle Poker, are as follows:

CheckRayz Leaderboard Shootout - CheckRayz Top Ten Shootout to crown the first quarter CheckRayz Leaderboard Champion.
Wednesday April 5, 2006 11pm EST
$200 Freeroll with an additional $50 to be transferred to the winner, courtesy of imhere4beer.
Prize Pool: $200 (courtesy of River Belle Poker)

Note 1: I will send invitations from my personal email account, which I need responses to NO LATER THAN Monday April 3 at 10am EST.

Note 2: The “rainout date” for this tourney is Thursday April 13 at 10pm EST in the event logistics do not work out between River Belle and myself.

Note 3: The “top ten” is not yet set in stone. 150 Leaderboard points go to the winner of tonight’s event. The tenth spot is currently occupied by “Belz,” who has 215 points. Those of you who have 65 or more Leaderboard points can still potentially make the top ten with a win tonight at River Belle for the buy in. Take a shot!!! (“hard sell” noted).


CheckRayz Leaderboard Rewards - Freeroll for all who have accumulated CheckRayz Leaderboard points in the first quarter of 2006 to reward members for their finishes.
Saturday April 8, 2006 6pm EST
$200 freeroll - invitation only.
Prize Pool: $200 (courtesy of River Belle)

Note 1: Mike will send invitations today. Response is necessary NO LATER THAN 10am EST April 5th, no exceptions!

Note 2: If you do not receive an invitation, but believe you earned Leaderboard points, you must let me know NO LATER THAN Monday April 3rd at 5pm EST. Additionally, you MUST provide the tourney date, poker room name, your screen name at that poker room, your checkrayz screen name, and where you finished in the tournament. I have all the tournaments on record and will verify this information, letting you know my findings.


CheckRayz Leaderboard Challenge - Private Freeroll tourney for all who successfully "answered" the challenge. Winner takes all.
Friday April 14, 2006 10pm EST
Prize Pool: $100 (courtesy of IMHERE4BEER), pokertracker program with activation key (courtesy of IMHERE4BEER)

Qualify via one of the three ways:

1. Win either the Shootout, or the Rewards event.

2. Rake 250 hands (any blind level) at River Belle Poker (only applies if you’ve downloaded and registered via a CheckRayz link). If you did not download through me at River Belle, you may register and rake 250 hands (any blind level) at another CheckRayz endorsed poker room. To qualify via another poker room, you must first email me to have the request “approved” and must be “one of mine” at that given poker room. This rake requirement is good for raked hands played between March 1 and April 6.

3. Refer-a-friend. Refer three friends to CheckRayz. Have them sign up via the CheckRayz site, being certain they list you either by name (first and last name), or by your CheckRayz screen name. Additional requirement is that they download one new poker site from the CheckRayz site to “verify” their existence.

Note: Invitations will be sent as people qualify. If you qualify… or believe you qualify via the refer a friend path or at a poker room other than River Belle (approval required first), send me an email alerting me of such facts. Deadline for qualification is April 6th at 11.59pm EST. RSVP no later than April 11th for this event. I reserve the right of final say on qualifications.

Mailbag

With the announcement seemingly out of the way, we move to the mailbag. With our first letter coming from Clay in Minnesota:

Beer,

JEEZ!! Now you've called me out on the carpet!! I haven't played a leaderboard event in like a month...but I can still whoop you and Bob if I house it and you donks don't get points. Looks like I'll have to sign up and defend my honor tonight. lol.

P.S. - Someone from Minnesota wins the leaderboard shootout event and then houses the winner take all Challenge. 4 of the top ten currently on the Checkrayz Leaderboard are from Minnesota!! So I got good odds here, hehe

I respond: Clay, I "eyeballed" the leaderboard numbers and failed to carry the one. My bad. The above announcement and email that it was "copied" from should read "three horse race for bragging rights of first quarter champion between Bob, Clay, and Beer." No disrespect intended in the oversight, just a non-math major semi-bluffin his way through math class. Good call, teach! That being said... Gary is the hottest player on the tour right now and I see him housing any event he gets his arms around until he chooses not to. If he's from MN, then my money is with you. Though I will give my formal predictions as the field unfolds.

From no fewer than 16 people:

Where do I find the password for (insert CheckRayz tourney of choice here)?

Log onto the CheckRayz site, once logged in, go to the tourney schedule page. "Click here to play!" Look up, top center of screen... get a visual lock on the password. Go to corresponding poker room, find tourney, click register, type password exactly as it appears.

From no fewer than seven people:

Can you please email me the password to (insert CheckRayz tourney of choice here)?

Its my policy to not send passwords via email or messenger, except under rare, extreme circumstances. I'll gladly educate on how to obtain password, sending instructions that I really should pre-script via a FAQ, but send a password I will not.

Hand delivered to me on the poker tables:

Beer, I don't mind the later starts, but the late finishes are killin me. Can you help yo brothaz and sistaz out?

I got your back. We'll begin starting, for the most part, our freerolls and larger tourneys at 10pm EST, while I like the buyins starting at 11 more often than not. This gives somewhat of a time lapse between the shark events and the checkrayz events so that the start times do not conflict. I'll be making adjustments as appropriate, so keep me posted as to who is wanting what, and when.

Finally, I'm going to end the mailbag with a link to what the author describes simply as "Bad play of the day" --- nuff said there.

No blogging tommorrow and probably not Sunday either, as the Beer Guy has a wedding to attend this weekend. We'll be back Monday with the State of the CheckRayz address and some freeroll & money added poker tourneys to announce.

Mike


CheckRayz Announcements
CheckRayz Mailbag

Offtopic: Live freeroll poker play at a Local Pub...

Before I get the "hate mail" stating that live poker play at a bad is not "offtopic," I'm going to preemptively disagree. Only once have I ever witnessed such a grossly horrible absence of poker skill from my collective opposition as I witnessed over the previous two Monday night sessions at my friend's bar. By the way, unless anyone is keeping score, the only other time I've seen worse... or as bad, I should say is when I was playing "SuperDonk" heads up.

So Monday night I roll in from my live session "down the street" and the "Bat phone" rings, as SuperDonk is calling, wanting to know if I'm going to play tonight at the bar. I tell him that I'm going to go and get hands dealt, but I highly doubt that I'll actually be "playing" there. SuperDonk is a bright guy, but he didn't get that one, so I sell him a clue and inform him that in case he's forgotten, its rare that with the ridiculous "play" (very loosely used term in this context) that anyone with half a poker brain will ever make the final table there. This totally goes over SuperDonk's head as he retorts, "Well, I made the final table last week!" Point proven... Actually, I did as well, and I was quickly put out of my misery (thank god). So, I tell him I'll meet him there in twenty.

A word about the tourney structure...

To preface my commentary here, I know that these tourneys are just for fun. Additionally, one should not expect to run into "professional" or top notch play here. That being said, first place pays out, top four make it to the "monthly final," which is this weekend... I'll be going to amuze torture myself on Sunday to watch the "monthly final."

The blind structure leave a lot to be desired. Starting chip stack is 50 chips, each worth 1. Blinds are 1/2, which starts ya out a bit short stacked, and very shortstacked if you've not made a move by round three. As a sidenote, it is rare that people will "recognize" a move when they see it. For example, round two of the second tourney blinds 2/4 (they run two tourneys a night on mon and sat), a good poker player (there are a few that play there... but only a few), raises preflop with ace ten, and gets one caller of said raise (the big blind). Flop comes 10-5-2. BB min. bets. The good player pushes allin. She had just doubled up on a set of aces a few hands prior. So, she pushes out 100 plus chips, giving the min. better horrible odds to call. There's 26 chips in the pot from preflop, he bets 4, making it thirty... So, with her allin bet, he is putting his tourney life on the line to win a minimum amount of chips. He of course calls, though he wouldn't "have to." He flips over queen five offsuit, pulls a queen on the turn and takes down the pot. Didn't quite have the odds for him to call, but I don't think he had a clue... oh well.

So, my partner in crime was ousted from the tourney. We had fun though, as we purposely sat down at the same table to surround this one moron in particular and just torture him. We indeed did torture him. Though, the price to pay by sitting at his table, was to sit at the same table with every other "poker lawyer" in the place. They all seem to sit at the same table and litigate, arguing every single little thing. I think they just like to argue and hear themselves explain how right they are.

(note: if this post seems somewhat unorganized, that's because the game as a whole was unorganized. Which, apparantly thinking about that game has thrown my story-telling pace off as well).

I managed to outlast most of the "table lawyers" at this table. Blinds went up and I was again "shortstacked" and slid allin with J-10s. I got not one, not three, but five callers. Flop comes Q-10-10. Turn is a two, and river is a nine. I'm ousted by a boat, twos over tens. NH gg... Other hands of note in this donk-fest: K-7o, KQo, 7-5s, 6-6.

Tommorrow is the mailbag and some more info on the leaderboard tourneys. Two more tourneys remain before the end of the first quarter CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour. Tonight, a freeroll at River Belle Poker, and tommorrow the "Last Call" $5+.50, $100 added tourney, also at River Belle poker. These two events are the final chance to obtain leaderboard points for our big end of the quarter events.

Mike




Poker Stories

More live poker ring talk, with a bit more "strategery," and dates set for CheckRayz Leaderboard events...

We've set some dates for the three big CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour first quarter events. The CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour will be holding three private freeroll poker tournaments at River Belle Poker, the official host of the CheckRayz Leaderboard.

On Wednesday, April 5th 11pm EST we’re set to crown our first quarter champion in the CheckRayz Leaderboard Shootout. This is a $200 freeroll, with $50 additional goes to the winner via the Beer Guy. To qualify, you must be in the top ten on the CheckRayz Leaderboard as of March 31, 2006. I’ll be emailing the invitations on March 31st at the conclusion of the “Last Call” tournament and will need a response from them no later than Monday morning at 10am EST.

On Saturday April 8th at 6pm EST, we’re rewarding everyone who supported the first quarter CheckRayz tour via the CheckRayz Leaderboard Rewards tournament. This event is a $200 freeroll and all who have CheckRayz Leaderboard points will qualify. I will be sending out invitations to this event on March 31st at the conclusion of the “Last Call” tournament and will need a response no later than Tuesday April 5th at 10am EST.

Friday April 14th will be the CheckRayz Leaderboard Challenge with $100 and a pokertracker program with key added on the line to the winner to the winner, bought and paid for by the Beer Guy - not redeemable for cash). Qualify by either winning events 1 and/or two, raking 250 hands at River Belle poker, or via the CheckRayz Leaderboard refer a friend campaign. I’m extending the deadline to qualify to April 6th for the refer a friend (refer three or more friends, using the "forward to a friend" button... be sure to tell your friend to name you in the "referred by" column at the checkrayz registration page, and they must download at least one of our pokerrooms from the checkrayz site to verify), and for the raked hands paths (rake 250 hands at river belle poker between march 1st and april 6th at any level). I will send invitations to this event on April 7th and will need a response by Monday April 10th at 10am EST.

Live play continued...

I had such a blast on Sunday, that I decided to make a run of it on Monday, so back "down the street" I went. I get there to see a nearly empty poker room, seeing three tables with action on them. Two of the tables are 1/2 NL (yuck) and the other is 2/4 limit. I put my name on the 2/4 list (2 in front of me), and also ask to be placed on the 3/6, 4/8, and 5/10 limit "waiting list." This request was granted with the promise that "we'll call you... most likely on Friday to ask if you wish for your name to carry over to the weekend." Apparantly, short of a holiday, the game selection I see in front of me is "as good as it gets" during the week.

I walk around with my friend, watching the 3 card poker game. I'm thinking I'd like to read more to... as he says "take the fun out of it" (he refers to my passion for the stats of the game as taking the fun out of the game). My buzzer goes off, and I take my seat at the 2/4 table. Once again, I start out strong, with the cards matching my hand pretty much no matter what, and I'm off to an early double up of buyin. I make conversation at the table, and realize my friend from last month (I believe I wrote about him, in reference to the Larry Bird look-a-like). This time, Larry is to my immediate left, as opposed to three to my left. The table didn't have "too bad" of a makeup, but was nothing like the one that was present yesterday.

About two hours into the game, I'm dealt pocket fours in the SB. New guy in the mid position raises. I call cleanly, sensing a family sized pot. I was a bit off, as 8 of us saw the flop. I figure this to be a decent sized pot thus far. Flop comes rainbowed J-9-4. A set! I know that I need to begin "telling my story" immediately though, as the next card could very well hurt me, and a slowplay is not appropriate here. So, I lead out with the small bet. BB (larry bird) raises it to two bets. This is something he'd do, as he often tests on the flop and turn by either check raising or raising a bet. The cutoff reraises, and I cap. Bird calls, as does one other and the cutoff, with those who called the first bet getting out of dodge.

Turn brings an 8. I'm not necessarily "happy" with this turn card, but I'm not feeling "totally beat" quite yet. Definitely needing to protect my hand no-less. I bet out, and am once again greeted with a two bet by Bird. Mid position folds, Cutoff reraises. I look at him and at Bird and comment that for some strange reason I feel like I'm a bit behind, as I cap. Both of them call. I make note that the pot is too big at this point to lay down, and am hoping for a paired board come the river (1 out on my four, possible three outs each on the 9, 8, and jack... no chance of a flush here, so that's somewhat of a relief... so, I'm looking at ten possible outs). River card is insignificant, a three. I bet out, Bird raises, cutoff reraises, I'm certain I'm beat but cap regardless, hoping to either steal here or that I'm incorrect, but both are relatively unlikely and I do need to play this one out, given the pot size and the slight possibility I'm up against either jack nine, or ko-jack and hoping against the queen ten. Showdown plays out, and indeed I see both those hands, ko-jack and queen ten, with the q-t belonging to the cutoff. Nice hand and beautiful pot!

A few hands later, I'm dealt sixes utg. I raise taking on two callers. The small bind (winner of the big pot) looks at me and says "we might have the same cards, so I'll reraise"), BB calls cleanly, as do the two others and myself. I'm hesitant on building the pot too big at this point, wanting to cut down his odds if I hit my set and he misses what I am very certain are aces. I'm eying up the small blind as the flop comes. By his reaction, I didn't even need to see what exactly the flop was, as his body jerked something fierce when the cards were exposed. He shakes as he grabs for his chips. The BB calls. I look at the flop and decide that despite the board reading A-6-8, two spades on the board and no spades in my hand, I'm folding my set before things get too ugly. He drags everyone else to the river, calling all the way and flips over AA, just as I had thought. Nice hand and great read.

Overall, I booked a loss for the session, due mostly from that pot building set of fours, but still fun no less. Tommorrow, I'll be giving thoughts to the freeroll live pub game I played this past Monday night.

Mike



Poker Stories

Stories from playing live, with a little "strategery"

For starters, the first quarter CheckRayz Leaderboard chase comes to an end this week, with Friday being the "last call" to obtain leaderboard points and qualify for the three huge leaderboard events held in the poker room of our leaderboard sponsor, River Belle Poker. Details can be found here on the huge first quarter CheckRayz Leaderboard poker tournaments.

Playing Live this past weekend...

I decided to both change things up... and to "get away" on Sunday and Monday, so what better place to go than to the poker room "down the street", which is really about an hour away. Sunday, I ventured up there, and found my table of the day ($3/6 limit). I had previously vowed to not go up there on the weekend, due to the table being what I called "too fishy"... but, I had "a good feeling" about this, not to mention a plan in the event we were seeing the pond overstocked with guppies. Surprisingly enough, the table was "perfect" for me... not too fishy, not too tight. I'd get action when I wanted it, but not so much that I was doomed. Plus, I can lay down a hand too, can I not?

I'm saying my hellos to the people sitting within a few seats of me, and while in the cutoff, when the BB says to me "here we go..." in reference to the UTG raise. I fold, never even looking at my cards, but instead wanting to watch what is going on. Five deep and raised once, the flop comes Kh, 7c, 3d... SB checks, BB bets 3 into the $30 pot. UTG calls, I notice the BB rolling his eyes like he knows what is coming. The field narrows down to three, as two late positions fold, the SB calls. Turn brings the ace of hearts... SB bets out, BB bumps it to two, UTG makes it three, SB calls, BB caps, UTG and SB each call. River card is the five of hearts. Bet from SB, BB raises, utg three bets, SB caps, three to the showdown. UTG proudly displays his 2-9 suited to hearts, this compared to the two pair each from BB and UTG (BB had AK, sb had ace three). I'm informed that UTG has been "playing shit and sucking it all the way" and of course, I make a few mental notes.

Later in the day, after taking down some quite monsterous pots (I was up a "shitload" of big bets by the end of the first hour, and by "shitload" I mean that my initial buyin had been doubled a few times over without having to throw more $$$'s onto the table --- said another way, I was winning). "92 red" contunued to also "suck out" regularly, having no consideration for cards and position, so I decided to have some fun with him. He UTG raises, which gets several moans from his "fanclub"... having the table image, I decide to re-raise him. He reraises me, I cap and we're seven deep going into the flop. The flop comes KK2, with one of the kings and the two being suited to spades. Anyone who has ever met me in person knows that I can often become very "animated" when I'm "telling a story"... And this was a "story" I was telling at the table. I grab my back and act like the hand... and his bet broke me, as he bets out. People on the table become slightly suspicious of my reaction and they fold to a single bet around to me.

I "look" at my hole cards, to "see" if I can handle his bet. I raise, saying "gosh, i don't know," as I'm throwing out my bet and calling for the raise. The guy to my left quietly begins to ask me if I even looked at my cards, as he now notices that while I went through the motions, I did not see the cards. I tell him to "shhhhh" and wink at him, which brings him to fold. UTG and I are heads up, he three bets, I four bet. He tries to "cap" but is informed that there's no cap heads up, to which he says "i'll cap" anyways (note: if there was a cap, it was my four bet, not his, but who's getting technical here, right?) Turn brings a third spade. I raise the eyebrows at him, again "peeking" at my hole cards as he bets, I raise, he makes it three. I make faces in his direction again, watching him all the way and smiling... I raise, he "caps" which now means "call his four bet" apparantly. River comes a fourth spade. He checks. I throw my chips, smiling all the way and say "1", signaling 1 bet. The dealer and the guy two to my left begin discussing what hands they have me on. I'm sure the dealer is somewhat on to what I am doing here. I begin whistling a song from the Muppet Show "Mah Na Mah Na" for some reason as "92 red" is audibling at the line of scrimmage shuffling his cards in his hand. Someone asks if that is from the muppet show. I tell them yes, and that my kids and I were watching the muppets yesterday afternoon. (that song first appeared on some italian soft-porn back in the 60's, but who is really keeping score).

As my song is playing out, "92 red" asks if his "set of kings is any good now." I rhetorically ask if he thinks I'd bet like this if they were, citing it was obvious he had AT LEAST kings. The dealer and the guy two to my left are convinced I boated on the turn and have made this known. "92 red," in a shocking move, throws his king face up into the muck pile, while telling me "nice hand, you beat me" and never called my bet. The dealer begins shifting chips my way and asks what I had... I inform him that I don't know and wonder if he... and everyone else would like to find out (P.S. - I know this was a "dick move"... but I felt like the table was behind me on this one and just had to see it through). I flip over a 5-3 of hearts to my surprise, as well as to the surprise of everyone at the table. 92 red is absolutely positively irate at this point, and I guess rightfully so, which then begins a dialogue that goes something like the following:

92 red: how could you play that shit?

me: I wasn't aware that my hand wasn't the best hand on the flop.

92 red: you couldn't tell by the way that I was betting that I had you beat?

me: I really had no way of knowing.

92 red: I had a set on the flop!

me: I didn't know what you had on the flop... and honestly, I didn't know what I had on the flop! I could have been better than you.

92 red: yea right, how could you not know what you had on the flop?

me: I think I've only known what I had on the flop twice today.

92 red (now in the dealt bb): Don't you look at your cards?

me: Not really, who does that? Besides, I'm too busy watching you (as action folds to me).

(at this point, my spidey sense is tingling, sensing the presence of security close by)

dealer (to me as he's half-ass chuckling): sir, its your turn, three to play.

me: raise!

(note: I'm stacking my chips, no clue what my cards are, not even having pretended to look at them, as they sit at the north end of my chips, which i am still stacking... action folds around to me and I take down the pot preflop).

92 red: That's horrible, you can't play like that.

me: Like what?

92 red: without looking at your cards.

me (to the dealer): People actually look at their cards preflop? Do I "have to?"

At this point, 92 red tells the dealer he'll be back and folds his sb out of turn. I feel bad, looking back... but it was just one of those things I "had to do." I spent the next hour or so giving everyone else action and entertaining myself in a more friendly way, which did drop my stack a bit, but on the other hand, it was a whole lot of fun... and you cannot possibly put a price on fun of that nature.

To put a bit of strategy into this post... I do not... repeat: DO NOT try this. I did so, only because :

A. I could have afforded to book the loss.

B. The guy was one of those "know it alls" (see: the people who really "chap my ass") and in dire need of "education" on the table.

C. He is familliar with sucking out on a good hand, and may... just may realize that someone sucked out on him.

D. The board was progressively more and more scary.

E. I felt I had the "table image" at this point to pull it off, as I had taken down some nice pots, showing down strong winners.

F. I felt the urge to do this.

G. I had made the pot so big that it would not have made mathamatical sense to "let it go"... even if I believed I was drawing dead, if there was a chance... a slight chance, that he'd lay her down. His desire to constantly "cap" suggested to me he did not have the nuts, and thus was eventually needing to worry about if I in turn did.

H. I am known to do some outragious, "over the top" things from time to time, often being the last man standing in the "Beat the Dead Horse" campaign.

I. Insert justification of choice here.

Well, more live stories that involve substantially less "dick moves" and more actual play.

Mike



Poker Stories

Leaderboard reminder and blog notes...

River Belle Poker, the official sponsor of the CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour, will be hosting (in conjunction with CheckRayz.com) 3 big events with over $600 in cash and prizes to be awarded. These three CheckRayz Leaderboard events will take place in the month of April to crown our first quarter CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour champion.

These three events will take place at River Belle Poker. Full details of the three big events are as follows:

Event 1 - CheckRayz Leaderboard Rewards: $200 freeroll, qualify by scoring Leaderboard points at one of the CheckRayz tourneys held during the first quarter of 2006. Said another way, make the top nine between now and the end of March at any of our eight remaining freeroll poker tourneys or our buy-in, with money added poker tourneys, and qualify for this event. This event is expected to hold in the first or second week of April.

Event 2 - CheckRayz Leaderboard Shootout: $200 freeroll ($50 added goes to the winner via the Beer Guy in addition to the already sweet prize pool) to crown the first quarter CheckRayz leaderboard poker tour champion, qualify by finishing in the top ten for leaderboard points at the end of the first quarter (March 31, 2006).

Event 3 - CheckRayz Leaderboard Challenge: $100 winner takes all tourney (pokertracker bought and paid for by the Beer Guy will be awarded to the winner, in addition to the cash prize - pokertracker not redeemable for cash). Qualify by either winning events 1 and/or two, raking 250 hands at River Belle poker, or via the CheckRayz Leaderboard "refer a friend" campaign (please follow link, as *terms and conditions apply for the "refer a friend" campaign.

Additional CheckRayz "swag" will be awarded to the top raked hands at River Belle. Three ways to enter this event, don't get locked out!

That being said, there are still 8 poker tourneys remaining in the first quarter of the CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour. The leaderboard can now be expanded to display everyone who currently has leaderboard points. Take a look by clicking the link.

Bare with me as the Poker Pub is going through some renovations, in my effort to organize everything exactly the way I want it... Comments may be delayed (or not "count up") and catigories may not yet be fully functional. I hope to have these all fixed and a few added features in the near future, so hang in there and thanks for reading!

Mike

CheckRayz Announcements

Poker Thoughts: Tilt Management or Be Careful What you Wish for...

If the quest for poker zen is anything like what "they" say regarding Buddhism and the quest for enlightenment, I think i am a step closer as of this week. If I recall correctly (I was a Philosophy major in college, but I'm actually not looking this one up), a prince was troubled by all the suffering he saw around him and renounced his life and claims to the throne in an attempt to understand... well, to seek understanding.

After six years, he finally achieved "enlightenment" (understanding). He was then known as the Buddha, meaning "one who is awake"). In summary, (this part I am looking up) "he realized that everything is subject to change and that suffering and discontentment are the result of attachment to circumstances and things which, by their nature, are impermanent..."

I'll stop there, as that part ties into my daily thought. But first, let me clarify... In case anyone is wondering, I'm not renouncing my position as either the Chairman of Beer FC, the President of CheckRayz, nor am I surrendering my position on top of the CheckRayz Leaderboard. I am, however, renouncing the effect tilt has on my life and specifically in my poker game.

Many a peep have written on the topics of tilt, tilt management, zen and poker, etc. In fact, I was reading a post on the Psychology of Poker entitled "Learn to think like a fish." First of all, I regard Felicia as by far the best writer and most valuable poker blogger I've come across in terms of keeping me interested in her work, checking for updates, and relating to her postings. Her writing style is friendly to both the seasoned vet at the poker table and the newbie. I highly advise anyone within shouting distance to visit her blog, bookmark it, commit to reading her blog daily. And no, she is not aware that I'm posting this, its not a paid endorsement either. In fact, she and I have never spoken, I don't believe she's ever read me or is aware I read her blog. I will, however, be sending her a thank you letter today detailing how she has impacted both my poker game and my mindset.

Her "Learn to think like a fish" entry really hit home across the board, however 1 paragraph really nailed me between the eyes (more specifically, 1 sentence). She writes "But at this point if you are truly angry and upset, you are the one with the problem, not the fish" - Felicia's Poker Blog.

I was stunned when I read that, my body going into shock. At that very moment, EVERY bad beat story still bouncing around in my brain, haunting me came to the surface. I was overwhelmed with emotion, irritation. Said another way, my ass was ever-so-chapped. As a sidenote, I'm not sure how the "recall" of others can be, but one of my historical problems has been my "recall" of "emotionally heightened" events. Ten years later, when the situation warrants and my memory is triggered, I can recall, with damn near exact details, the events that were emotionally significant in my life as if they just occured. This has always been a double-edged sword, as it comes with both the good and the bad side of said events. So of course, when beat after beat are playing in my head simultaniously, I'm feeling like a beat dog... And boy am I mad!!! Everything from one outers on the river to "SuperDonk" and his totally moronic plays all polluting the surface of my mind at once, almost as if a trash barge capcized and the "junk" is all washing up on the ocean shores.

As I'm cleaning up the once beautiful, now polluted ocean shore, it looks so overwhelming... so polluting, so... yuck. In sifting through the "junk" in my efforts to clean my once beatuiful beach, I realize that its not all the same. It is not all "junk," but instead mixed into the useless, smelly rotting trash is also things that can, and should be recycled. I'm coming across empty beer cans, old aluminum siding, milk jugs, and (insert recyclable of choice here), in addition to the standard trash one might find should he or she come across the scene of a trash infested beachfront thanks to the capcized trash barge. Gosh, whoever loaded this barge really didn't do a good job of seperating the garbage from the recyclables, did they? What pigs!

If I am going to clean this now polluted beach, I probably should begin sorting the recyclables from the garbage. This is my mind... my beach, so I guess that's where I should start. I should take that which needs to be thrown away and put it in one pile, and that which can be re-used or recycled in another pile. In the interest of continuing this analogy, I finally get the majority of the "trash" seperated and hence the beach is clean.

"What the hell Beer Dude? You still drunk from last night?" Haha, you'd think so, wouldn't ya? Nope... No drunky drunky here. For starters, I don't drink when in the house and/or around the kids, and second, do ya think I'd admit or realize the above if I was drunk? OK, I'll give ya that the mental picture of the polluted beach is not necessarily something "the normal mind" comes up with. But really, I've never... not one day claimed to have a normal, average, or ordinary mind. When I "allow" myself to, I often see things that are not nearly as clear to the untrained eye as they are to me. And with Felicia's indirect and unknowing help, I realized that these "bad beats" that were haunting me were one of two things:

1. Trash, or
2. Recyclables
(washed up onto the beach).

Said another way, they were:

1. My own damn fault, or
2. Exactly what I wanted!

OK, I'll bite, how do you figure most of the bad beats are either your own fault or exactly what you want? You're one sick dude if you really want to be sucked out by runner runner duece vs your aces when the idiot in the BB couldn't bring himself to lay down a weak ass pocket pair like that!

Don't take me so literally here... And really, don't look at it how it "appears," as taking things at simply face value is both entirely too easy and often not totally accurate. The mindless, the undisciplined, those who let emotion lead the way, and those who are too connected in "the moment" can easily get caught up in the actual beat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going "holyer than thou" on anyone. I'm not preaching... Instead, I'm trying to share my ounce of wisdom with those who seek it... as well as to write to later on remind myself that this is the "correct" posture to take next time "SuperDonk" sucks out on me.

Let's replay a hand or two that I'd have previously mindlessly considered either trash or bad beats and been pissed about to see if I'm correct.

Hand 1 (playing Limit):

I'm on the button, utg limps, I raise... wanting 1 to two opponents to play ball with. The small blind calls, BB folds, and utg calls cleanly, giving me what I want... Raised pot, two players in addition to myself.

----- FLOP ----- [3s Ah Qd] - giving me a set of aces.
SB throws out a bet, both UTG and myself call. My intentions are to not arise suspician that I've hit a hand, and hoping that someone has hit ace small.
----- TURN ----- [3s Ah Qd][9h]
Shit, a flush... But that's ok... I have outs and options, and I'm probably wanting to push at least one player out here, and/or take down the pot if I can, but I'm not TOO worried about the flush. SB bets out, UTG calls, I bump it, and both peeps mindlessly call.
----- RIVER ----- [3s Ah Qd 9h][6h]
This has to be the worst card that could hit... or at least among the worst, both players check to me. I figure there's a great chance that I can get one of the two to fold if I bet and can't let the tool holding the 2 of hearts win the pot uncontested, so I bet. Both these idiots call.

----- SHOW DOWN -----I have [Ac As] (Three of a kind, Aces, Queen high)
Small blind had two pair on the turn (Q-9), but no hearts
UTG had... get this [3h 8h]

Oh yea, tilt in da house. Think about it though. I make the raise preflop and what do I want? I want two players who will call with weak hands, lesser hands. I'd prefer to isolate, but I'd gladly take one semi-legit caller who actually pushed money in the pot of his own free will, and a person who feels pot committed when he throws in a blind, be it small or big. Additionally, if you told me "Mike, I'm giving you pocket aces, you're going to get two callers, one having Q9suited to clubs, and the other holding 3-8suited to hearts before the hand began..." and then told me, "If this is not acceptable to you, I'll never deal you pocket aces again..." I'd take this matchup as many times as I could on each and every day ending in Y. I'm 65% favorite preflop. Would I take 65% before the flop? Hell yea I would!

Hand 2: The infamous hand that transformed mild mannered "that guy" into the hero and tool "SuperDonk." (tourney play, middle of live "monthly game").

UTG min raises, with an M of about 16. Action folds to me, sporting an M 15 or so. I'm sitting in the small blind and I reraise to six times the blinds, thinking this will be enough to either be heads up or steal the pot. "Superdonk" calls cleanly in the BB, giving UTG sufficient odds to also make the call. Superdonk's M was closer to 20 at this point.

Flop brings an ace, jack two. I check, wanting to see what those behind me are going to do. Superdonk bets about 20% of the pot. UTG calls, and action is to me. I'm irritated at this point and can't let go of my queens, so I reraise, pushing allin as no one has shown strength, and each of the two players could be holding anything from ace small to king jack. Bottom line, I'm knowing I had the best hand preflop, and the betting did nothing to convince me that I don't have it now. AK-A10 would have justified a reraise, as would jacks utg. "Superdonk" calls and UTG folds. "Superdonk" turns over A3o to my queens. His hand holds and he ousts me from tourney play. UTG reveals he had sevens and was convinced post flop he was beat. 20% was ok to continue, but he wasn't continuing with the allin bet.

I was pissed, and went on and on about this for a month and change. Once again, if I was asked if I was willing to put my tourney life on the line with my queens and would be against A3o and 77, would I do it at this stage of the game, I'd do it every time. Once again, I want lesser hands to call me. However, I think I'd have pushed allin with the UTG caller in this situation if I had the opportunity to do over, as opposed to just putting in a strong raise.

So really, I got what I want, though I did misplay... but really, I got what I wanted.

Let me bottom line this, as I could go on and on and on all day long here. Everything we do in a given hand is for a reason. We throw hands away that we do not want. Sometimes we get caught up in the "so I was in the small blind and I was suited, so I figured what the hell." These are the trash hands, hands that we use, should learn from (don't fall in lust with a hand just because you're in the blinds) and then throw away. These are hands that are to serve its use, its purpose, teach a lesson, and then never again played in that way. Hands that were a result, in full of my mistake, no one elses.

And then there are hands that I'd take every day. Hands that I make a move (raise to get two-three handed). I get exactly what I want out of the raise, and unfortunately go belly up. When I raise, I WANT LESSER HANDS TO CALL ME INCORRECTLY. If I get hands weaker than I to call me, and they suck out, I still want this. I still want them to call, and would even moreso want them to play ball with me if I had the benefit of seeing their cards beforehand. These are the peeps who are gonna pay a brotha over the long term. Identify these people, learn who they are. Tag them, put them in the recycle bin. Don't get mad when they suck out... and they will suck out on ya. Don't force them to play better against you. Don't let the beat, as costly as it may have just been, cause you to play worse, especially against them.

Keep your head in the game. Strive for poker zen. Let the beat that just happened enlighten you. Learn from it, embrace it, play right on through it. Make adjustments as necessary and appropriate, but do not let this throw you on tilt.

Have a good weekend everyone. May your game bring you exactly what you want.

Mike



Poker Stories

Thoughts on Poker
Poker Strategy

CheckRayz Leaderboard Chase and the Mailbag...

The CheckRayz leaderboard chase is heating up. Bob, BC5457 has closed the gap, with only 21 points seperating him from the elusive Beer Guy on top of the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Prince Sheba and texas dan crack the top ten. With only five tournaments left in the first quarter, there's still time to either crack the top ten, or fall from glory. Tonight, CheckRayz shall hold a $5+.50 $100 added poker tournament at River Belle Poker. Password to this money added poker tournament can be obtained by logging into the CheckRayz site and going to the poker tourney schedule page. Not a member? No problem, sign up and play poker at CheckRayz now!

Mailbag

First letter comes from Bonnie, who writes: I placed in one of your events at Hollywood Poker, but I'm not on the leaderboard, can you help me out?

Ask and you shall receive, Bonnie. For future reference... when one makes the final table, I highly suggest that if I am present you tell me what your CheckRayz name is, so that I can give you credit for leaderboard points. Additionally, if I am not there, or I don't say for example "I got ya..." I'd send me an email through the rayz site to ensure that I have the screenname association goin on.

Bonnie did her homework, saw that she was overlooked and brought it to my attention, thus she gets rewarded. By policy, I do not go out of my way to track peeps down. That being said, if I owe ya points, it would be wise to email me immediately to let me know who you are on CheckRayz, what tourney I owe ya for, and what your screenname was in the tourney. I'd also not wait til March 31st either. I'd check and email me this weekend. Once the quarter ends, its gonna do ya no good to email me, cuz I cannot help.

Next, we move to my favorite of all emails, which I think is going into the CheckRayz mailbag hall of fame.

Beer, I can't find the password to (insert tourney of choice here. Can you send me the password?).

Beer responds: I "can" send the password, but I "won't" send it. An educated CheckRayz member makes for a happy beer guy. I send ya the pw, I am doing nothing to help, as I'll get messages from the same peeps every event, and eventually I'll get sick of it and just ban a brotha for asking. However, if I teach you how to find it, you'll never be without a password.

That being said, here are the instructions on how to find passwords for our poker tourneys.

Speaking of passwords (note the smooth segue), Beer Dude, you're out of your skull with these passwords for the tourneys. What the hell you trying to do, make us have doctorates in passwordology to enter your tournaments?

If you read my user's manual, you'd clearly see that being "out of my skull" on certain things is a "known issue." That being said, I like to make sure that people have to put SOME sort of effort to enter the events. You'll never see pw's such as cat, dog, 1234, or (insert mindless pw of choice here) out of me. I figure there's entirely too much unauthorized password sharing going on industry wide, so I'd prefer to make sharing said passwords just a bit more difficult (also the reason why I don't just "give" passwords out via email).

Next item comes from... wait a minute, did I read this correctly...? Wow. Next email comes from "SuperDonk" himself.

He chimes in: Mike (we're on a first name basis... I'm "Mike"... he's either "Superdonk," "tool," "that guy," or "shithead"): That tourney we were in Monday night (at the pub) had by far THE WORST play I have ever witnessed.

(I think we all know how I am gonna respond to this... but, oh well...) Hey tool, you ever watch yourself play? Nuff said there...

From horrible play to awesome play we go... Though, this is more commentary than mailbag material; but is a great way to close the mailbag for the week...

Last night, I was talking to a friend... who we'll call "Michelle." Now to fill in the blanks here, Michelle was going through a bad run of cards over the last few days. I slightly suspect she often has a hard time seeing herself as the player I objectively see her as.

She is, in my opinion, the strongest, most consistant tourney player on either the shark tour, and/or within the CheckRayz organization. Bad run of cards happen to all of us, even the best of us as "Michelle" proves.

So everyone understands, a bad run of cards does not mean that one has to tweak or adjust their game... or "lay low" for that matter. Sometimes bad cards just happen. There's three types of flops, flops that help us, flops that do nothing for anyone one way or the other, and the flops that hurt us. Sometimes it just takes the cards not working against us to break out of this "funk."

Other times, it might be something technical in our game that is helping the cards work against us. With "Michelle" its simply that the cards are working against her through the period of time in question... nothing more. She is as "technically sound" as they come, and does a phenominal job of reading her opposition and can lay down a hand when appropriate. She is more than capable of great things in the poker world, and I am convinced she will accomplish them.

So to you, "Michelle"... ride this one out, and don't change a thing. You're as awesome in tourneys as I aspire to be and will do just fine, cards willing.

Update: at the time of this writing, "michelle" just mowed down her competition in a blaze of glory and won her satellite seat, proving me right once again (as if there was any doubt). WTG "Michelle!!!"

Tommorrow, my intentions are to add a special strategy discussion on "tilting" and "bad beats."



CheckRayz Mailbag
Thoughts on Poker
Poker News

Chase for the Leaderboard Championship Continues

River Belle Poker have signed on as the official sponsor of the CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour. River Belle, in conjunction with CheckRayz will hosting three huge end of the quarter Leaderboard events to crown the first quarter 2006 CheckRayz Leaderboard Champions.

Event 1 - $200 freeroll CheckRayz Leaderboard Rewards: all who have CheckRayz Leaderboard points will qualify.

Event 2 - CheckRayz Leaderboard Shootout: $200 freeroll ($50 additional goes to the winner via the Beer Guy) top ten on the CheckRayz Leaderboard as of March 31, 2006 will play for the CheckRayz Leaderboard Championship of the first quarter 2006.

Event 3 - $100 winner takes all CheckRayz Leaderboard Challenge: pokertracker program with key added to the winner, bought and paid for by the Beer Guy - not redeemable for cash). Qualify by either winning events 1 and/or two, raking 250 hands at River Belle poker, or via the CheckRayz Leaderboard refer a friend campaign. *terms and conditions apply.


That being said, six freeroll and money added CheckRayz Leaderboard tourneys remain prior to the end of the quarter. There’s still time to qualify for the three huge end of the quarter events!

Our Leaderboard sponsor, River Belle Poker, will play host to 4 events in the next two weeks. Download River Belle Poker now! (registration code “CHECKRAYZ”).

Thursday March 23 11pm EST - $100 freeroll - registration now open!

Friday March 24 11pm EST - $5+.50 $100 added freeze out - registration now open!

Thursday March 30 11pm EST - $100 freeroll.

Friday March 31 11pm EST - $5+.50 $100 added freeze out.

River Belle have a first time deposit bonus of 50% up to $100 and an additional $25 bonus for depositing via e-wallet! Use deposit code CHECKRAYZ.

Titan Poker

Tuesday March 28 9pm EST - $100 freeroll. Limited to 300 entries. Registration will open on Sunday at 5pm, when the password appears on the CheckRayz site.

For those who have not downloaded Titan Poker yet, they may do so via the link, deposit code “CHECKRAYZ”

Poker4ever

CheckRayz welcomes newest member to the CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour, Poker4ever! Poker4ever will host the first of a series of events at 11pm on Wednesday March 29th.

Poker4ever are a new and innovative poker room and offer a $40 deposit bonus with a deposit as little as $20 (once again, deposit code CHECKRAYZ)!!! Additionally, you’ll find regularly scheduled freeroll tourneys, the $1000 guaranteed (there has been a consistent $500 overlay in this event), and state of the art software. Download Poker4ever now, registration is now open for this freeroll, with password available through the CheckRayz site:

There’s still time to crack the top ten and/or score Leaderboard points. Lots of action to keep everyone busy and in the hunt. Don’t get locked out. Register, play, rake, refer a friend now!

CheckRayz Announcements
Poker News

Strategy: Hey SuperDonk, A Trained Chimp Can "Play" Poker,,,

So Monday night, i found myself heading to a local pub (owned by a friend of mine) to play in a freeroll. The freeroll was to be "winner takes all" format with the top four playing in the monthly finals this weekend. Two of my friends, "Gerg" and "Superdonk" (when not saving the world, superdonk's secret identity is mild mannered security guard "that guy") acompanied me on this poker playing endeaver.

We arrived early, and registered for the event. I was told they were expecting nearly 70 people this week, which was a new record for them. So apparantly, they're doing well in holding these event (twice a day on monday and saturdays). We grabbed our respective beer of choice and took a seat to talk, as we had about an hour or so to kill. And of course, the talk turns to poker (what else is there to discuss, right?).

Superdonk and I were discussing some of the play from the day prior at our "monthly" game. He has been haunted since his garbage call against me from a few months ago, when he called me preflop with his Ace three to my queens and sucked out on me. I went on and on about his play for the entire month several times daily and really messed with him about it. "Superdonk" had expressed concern that despite being 1 table away from him, back to his table, I was able to tell whether or not he had a legit hand. It started off with hearing him say "raise"... As a side note, superdonk had been the topic of conversation at our table for a while. Any time he was in a bigger, contested hand, our attention would be partially turned to that table. Anyways, he calls "raise"... I look at the hostess and say to her, "superdonk has tens"... She laughs. This had been the first time this afternoon I had made a prediction on what he was holding, so of course, I had to leave my table to see what was going to happen. The board hit hi, bigtime scare flop. He threw a continuation bet, which was reraised. He laid down his hand, later disclosing to me that he had sixes. I was close.

Later on, actually in the second game, first hand of the second game, as a matter of fact, I'm camping out in the big blind. The utg player raises. Superdonk makes a call in the late position. A clean call of a 7.5 times blind raise. I knew the utg player had something good. Flop comes J-x-x. UTG bets the pot, superdonk calls. Turn comes blank again. UTG betting, superdonk calling. River is a ten. UTG pushes allin, superdonk calls. UTG flips over his pocket kings, and superdonk mucks. GG to superdonk, as he's gone in record time.

He later tells me he had AJs and flopped top pair. He rationalized it that he overheard "T" talking, saying he needed to get home to the wifey and was going to play LAGG. Rule number one, never... and I mean NEVER believe such things. I mean hell... superdonk always talks about how he's planning to play tight, yet comes up with some ass-nine calls. He asks, "well what would you have done? I had a hand, I played it... what else was I to do?" Which leads me to my topic of the day... even a trained chimp can "play" poker.

A trained chimp can be conditioned or trained to raise when he sees aces, kings, queens, etc. He can also be trained to call with those hands when someone raises before him. He can be trained on "what to do," given a set of instructions through conditioning. So theoretically, a chimp can be taught to "play" poker over time. A trained chimp, however cannot be trained as to "why" he is doing what he was trained to do. Apparantly, neither can a superdonk?

Superdonk and I broke down his hand and the play. The initial raise came in the first hand and was 7.5x's the big blind. I asked superdonk what he thought when action came to him and he looked at his cards. His reply "I saw AJ and wanted to play."

"So you called," I asked? "I mean, you did see me sitting in the BB, and a few tough opponents yet to act after you. Did it occur to you to that you gave everyone behind you better odds?

"Your hand... was it a strong heads up hand? Was it a multi-way hand? What were you trying to accomplish by calling? How did you think your hand ranked against his?"

Superdonk thinks for a minute... and he said he believed he had the best hand preflop. I asked what he thought that T had UTG? No response... "I don't know, I had the best hand, I thought."

"OK OK, let's go one question at a time... You're a smart guy, but I'll go slow for you.

"He's first to act, knowing there are seven people yet to act, and he raises 7.5x's blinds. Is this an 'any two cards' type of move or one showing strength?" Superdonk agrees it is a show of strength.

"Action folds to you in the late position... having the cutoff, button, and blinds still waiting to act. The cutoff is as technically sound as they come and will play the odds if justified. The button is a calling machine and will play hands even when odds do not favor him. The SB LOVES to play out his blinds in defense. I'll call or maybe even reraise in the BB if the environment justifies it. Your call, what was its purpose? Were you doing so wanting to be heads up, three way, multi-way? Were you wanting someone to reraise?"

"I wanted to see the flop heads up. I thought I had the best hand."

"OK, sooooo... you called. Riiiight."

"But I flopped top pair," superdonk adds, seeking my approval. I remind him we're not yet to the flop.

I ask, "How did you know that you had top hand? Could you see his cards?"

"No, I just thought I did."

"funny... I never once thought you had the strongest hand. Is a call a show of strength or weakness, typically speaking?"

"Ummm... I thought I had the best hand." I can see superdonk is getting a bit nervous, so I rephrase my question.

"Look, you thought you had the best hand preflop and wanted to be heads up. Would a reraise of some sort helped to convince me you had a great hand preflop?"

"Ummmm, I guess so."

"OK, so do you think that a reraise might have helped to convince him and others you had a great hand, as well as to help reassure yourself that you were best," I asked? Once again, I get the standard "ummmm, I guess so" response. As a sidenote, superdonk is very bright, so he is capable of understanding, comprehending and implementing these things.

So, we go back and pretend he reraises. I go on to ask what would happen if he takes down the pot right then and there (not a bad thing), what he'd do if someone (specifically the utg raiser) came over top of him, and what he'd do if he was called cleanly. I also asked him how he'd feel if he folded preflop.

"What, fold AJs preflop? Are you kidding me," superdonk asks.

"No seriously, what if you folded that hand? I mean, its the first hand of the game, blinds are 2/4, you have 600 chips to superdonk around with... You bitch cuz your AQ and AKs never hold up, so you call and commit with AJs?"

"I guess that is a possibility, especially considering I lost the hand."

"Losing the hand has NOTHING to do with it, oh niave donk of all donks. Remember, we've not yet flopped the hand, we're still sitting preflop."

So finally, he asks me what I would have done. I tell him I'd have either re-raised a small amount to get a read, or I'd have folded, and folding would happen about 70% of the time in the first hand of the game with the UTG raising 7.5x's blinds preflop. There's plenty of time for me to play, and AJ is dominated by JJ, AQ, AK, and I'm a dog to AA, KK, QQ, while at the same time a favorite to KQs, 1010-22. I could be in trouble if the board does not hit me hard, and I don't "need" to be in trouble that early in the game. Essentually, I told him I'd do anything but call with that hand, having action fold to me after the UTG raise and four to act behind me.

Bottom line is that Superdonk saw the ace, and mechanically had to be in that pot. If he had A3o, he'd still have called. He'd have re-raised with AA-1010. But why," you ask? Its because he has committed to learning the game in the manner the trained chimp would be inclined to learn. He knows how to "play" poker. He constantly craves theory and knowledge behind why one would do what they're doing, but he fails to apply the theories and concepts behind his actions to his game.

If one is serious about his or her poker game, they must invest the time and the effort to understand the hows and whys of poker and how each and every action is deliberate, looking to accomplish something specific, rule out possibilities, and to "tell a story" (no, I do not mean a story such as "I was in the big blind and got sucked out" either - I mean, "I'm betting to show you I have the best hand, prove me wrong" type of story). David Sklansky defines perfect play as one in that you'd make the identical play you made if you knew what your opposition was holding. It takes patience, understanding, thought and dedication to think in that manner. If you strive to be a craftsman, a master of the game, you must commit to understanding the why's and how's of the game... the theory; not just knowing what you do, but why you do it.

Mike



Poker Strategy

Stragegy: Keep your head up!

Playing live for me is SOOOOOO much different than playing online. Having started playing somewhat serious poker online, I am often overwhelmed when playing live. Mechanically speaking, there's too much stuff I must remember playing live that I don't ever need to focus on while playing online (putting pants on, showering, etc.). Really, I'm just looking for a reason to talk about the "monthly game" from this past Sunday, but hey... its my blog, so I can do that.

A quick sidenote: I'm attempting to catalog the blog, but its gonna take some time, so bare with me here and just ignore the "tag" links below for the time being. For starters, they don't yet work and I do know that (you'll not make the mailbag by giving me the heads up on the tags).

OK, we got that note out of the way, and established my lucky boxers require pants over them to play live... I went into the "monthly" tourney with a few items on the agenda. First, I was THRILLED TO DEATH with the new and improved blinds structure. I'm not saying the old structure was "bad"... it just didn't cater to my play. Before, the blinds went 1/2, 2/4, 5/10, 10/20, 25/50 5 ante... I can stop right there, because that jump from 10/20 to 25/50 5 ante kills my M. Typically, I'm sitting "appropriately stacked" at 10/20, having taken my starting chip count from 410 to 650 playing in the green zone, to having an M of 6 in one level without moving my stack. I'd find myself having to be mindful of this jump, and would try (though not go out of my way) to get to a level where my M can be 20 for that jump. Never happened though.

This time, blinds progressed more naturally and deliberate... starting out with 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 5/10, 10/20, 20/40, 25/50, 25/50 5 ante, etc. A much more natural and dileberate progression. Chip count also went up, so I knew I could "play" comfortably for quite a while. My "pregame agenda" was as follows:

• Play my game with respect to the "Zones,"
• Avoid situations where my ego was more engaged in battle than appropriate,
• Vary my preflop raises, bets and overall play,
• Show hands that improve or support my image,
• KEEP MY HEAD UP ON THE FLOP,
• Be mindful of my "posture" and the "posture" of others at the table.

The first four points are standard practice for me, but still something I remind myself constantly before playing any game. The last 2, however, are something new to me. I do admit though, it was far easier to pay attention to my "posture" and my oppositions' posture than it was to keep my head up. I've grown quite used to watching the monitor when the flop comes, seeing it... reflecting on it, analyzing it. What I am not used to doing, is studying the other player's reaction when the flop comes.

I'd watch the action go around the table preflop, studying them... looking for a sign of what they might be holding. I'd go through my routine, counting the chips in the center (even if I knew how many there were), looking at the stacks of those who are "in" already, sizing up the stacks of those who are yet to act, look at my stack. I'd then come to a rest and reflect (or at least appear to). THEN, I would look at my cards for the first time. Once I committed them to memory, I once again "check down" those who are "in" and those yet to act, appearing to be looking for a sign of some sort (regardless of my hand). It was then that I'd announce my intentions (usually monotone - "fold," "call," "raise," "re-raise," "allin," etc.). This routine, I find, is most effective for me. For one, typically a person or two who are on the table, will get caught up in my routine, which in turn takes them off their game. Second, if I go through this all the time, someone who "has something" might look a bit nervous, or excited, or give some sort of tell, tipping their hand. I like this advantage. And besides, it makes me harder to read. Though, I do think that it causes the people who are acting before me to think harder about what they intend to do. They might see me calculating, and think they have to do the same. I have no problem with that at all.

So anyways, I go through my motions, and act somehow. I continue to watch everyone else act, whether or not I am in the hand. When I see the last person to act, I tell myself "OK Mike, here comes the flop, keep your head up and pay attention." And of course, given how deliberate and specific my preflop routine is, you'd think this would come easy. BUT NO! Flop comes, and where is my head and my eyes, you ask? They're glued to the damn flop!!! Unbelievable...

Didn't I just tell myself two seconds ago to keep my head up and be mindful of my surroundings? Of the hands I saw all day, I counted six times... yes, EXACTLY SIX times that my head was up and away from the flop. It shouldn't matter what those cards are to me until it is my turn to act. What SHOULD matter to me, however, is how everyone else reacted to that flop, while THEIR eyes were glued to it. I should be paying attention to how hard they're staring at it. Did they immediately see the flop, reflect for a quarter of a second, then look at their cards? Did they appear interested, nervous, confused, happy, irritated? I'm leaving so many clues on the table by not keeping my head up. This is something I need to work on much more. I think when playing online for the next month, I am going to get into the habbit of looking away from the monitor... perhaps at a photo of my kids, until its my turn to act, once the flop comes down.

Onto the "good stuff"... The actual tourney play. For the second straight month, I avoided drawing the same table as "SuperDonk." In fact, second month in a row, most of the LAGGS and Loose passives were on one table, and the TAGGs, and tight passives were all at my table, generally speaking. The hostess and I were pondering how this happens, considering we "draw" for tables. My best guess is that the cards don't get mixed up as well as we think when drawing. And thus, all the type-A's generally get grabby first, and grab from the top of the pile, or the top left corner, thus they all end up together. While I'm a type-A as well, I prefer to make "an enterance." I'd rather be the person who the players are saying "oh shit, here comes so and so" as opposed to already sitting at the table and being the person saying "oh shit, here comes so and so."

I didn't win or hit the money in this tourney, and quite frankly, with the cards I got... I am embarrassed. I had aces once, kings twice. I had queens, jacks, eights, sixes, twos once each and nines three times. I had AKs, AKo... Basically, my cards couldn't have been better, and I lost. Such is poker, however.

I was doing well early on in the tourney, as I should have, given the cards I was getting. I knocked the last month's winner out early with the "sharky" limp reraise move from early position. Near the middle of hour number three, I was in the big blind, and the host of the tourney raises to allin preflop. I looked at his stack, knew his M was low. I also knew that he is well versed on Zone play, as he is the one who put me onto the Harrington series (i also knew he knew how I'd interpret this move). Action folds around to me, I look down and see 8's in the hole. My thoughts are as follows:

• Pot odds "justify" a call here, especially being last to act,
• He "could" have anything in this position being in the Red Zone,
• He knows how I will interpret this "move" of his,
• He's comfortable making this "move" knowing that I am a factor, being in the BB,
• His hand is probably stronger than the average minimum "requirement" to make this "move" (read: allin'ing 10-8 with first in viggorish is profitable, but its more likely he is taking into consideration my stack size, the fact that I am partially vested in the pot, could be last to act, and likely to call with correct odds if I have so much as 1 live card)
• If I call and lose, I am in the low end of the green zone, if I win, my chip lead is far superior to the next closest stack.

I call. He flips over A-Q, which is not surprising. Flop misses, turn comes ace, river comes queen. Great move by him. I'm definitely not disappointed with this, as my expectations were in line and we were both "correct" in our plays. I'm not crippled, though no longer the chip leader. Nice hand and well played.

My cards get cold just as there is an incoming player from the LAGG table. He sits down and proceeds to raise, raise, raise, raise, raise... Had every hand during this raise fest not included a duece, I'd have likely played ball with him, however, I could not.

Blinds begin taking their toll on me, as they're increasing and my unplayable hands continue. I find myself sitting just above red when we move to the final table. It took 1 hand for me to be ousted from the final table. I'm in the BB, holding 7-3s. Three handed and blinds unraised, flop comes down K-7-8. SB checks, I check, and the cutoff checks. Turn card comes a ten, giving me third pair, and a flush draw. SB checks, I think for a second and decide to try for a steal via the semi-bluff, convinced that the cutoff will try the same if I check. I'm also pretty certain that only two hands (9-6, 9-j) "can" call me here. However, I think that both of these guys would have bet out with these hands, throwing out at the very least, a value bet or something. So, I push allin. Cutoff folds. SB calls (oh shit). He turns over the 9-j, river misses me, nh gg.

Looking back, I probably should not have made this move, though I'm not irritated at myself for doing so. I knew that pushing like this would result in a steal ONLY if I was not against either of those two hands. I understood that and made the move. I got a call, which came from one of those two hands. That being said, I got what I expected and lost (probably negative EV on that move).

Sidenote: CheckRayz member jack40 went on to win the tourney, taking down his first "monthly game" victory, making an amazing comeback heads up. He had about 25% of the total chips when he sat down to heads up play. Congrats jack!!!

CheckRayz free poker tourney at Titan Poker is tonight. Tommorrow is the $200 added $5+.50 event at Titan. Anyone depositing in anticipation of that event should use the deposit code CHECKRAYZ.

More tommorrow!

Mike

Poker Tournament Strategy

Tourneys of interest to me and poker news...

Poker Tourneys for the week of note:

The tourneys of the week that I will be either paying attention to or participating in:

River Belle Poker - official sponsor of the CheckRayz Leaderboard Poker Tour use deposit code "CHECKRAYZ"

Monday - 3.30pm EST - $19,000 Guaranteed - $10+1

Tuesday - 3.45pm EST - WSOP Omaha hi/low Super Satellite Qualifier - $5.90+.50

Tuesday - 8.45pm EST - WSOP Shorthanded Super Satellite Qualifier - $25+2

Wednesday - 3.45pm EST - WSOP Shorthanded Super Satellite Qualifier - $12.50+1

Wednesday - 8.45pm EST - WSOP Shorthanded Super Satellite Qualifier - $25+2

Thursday - 11pm EST - CheckRayz $100 freeroll - register for free poker tourney here

Friday - 11pm EST - CheckRayz $100 added - $5+.50 - register for money added poker tourney here.


Titan Poker

Monday - 5.45pm EST - $2500 Guaranteed - $20+2

Monday - 11.30pm EST - $3500 Guaranteed (six seat) - $15+1.5

Tuesday - 9pm EST - $100 Freeroll - register for free poker tourney at CheckRayz

Wednesday - 11pm EST - $200 added CheckRayz tourney - $5+.50 register at CheckRayz


Poker4Ever - best new poker room on the net - deposit code CheckRayz

daily at 6pm & 11pm EST - $1000 Guaranteed - $30+3

daily at 2pm & 8pm EST - $400 Freeroll

PokerStars

Whichever MissT74 WSOP Qualifiers I can get into

Poker.com

Sunday - 5.15pm EST - $10,000 Guaranteed - $50+5

T.B.A. - Blogger Poker Tour - click link to sign up now! Open to all bloggers, poker related and not poker related. Great poker play, 8 great freeroll poker tourneys, winner shipped off to the WSOP!!!




Poker news:

Party Gaming to name new CEO

Continued Legislation Attacking online gambling

Poker Player's alliance accepting new members in support of keeping poker legal

Blogger Poker Tour kicks off this weekend, still taking registrations

CheckRayz announces Leaderboard championship play



Poker News