Aces cracked, tournament hopes dashed

My opponent pushed pre-flop. When I saw the 8 on the flop, I knew I was doomed. The quiet summer night was interrupted by my loud and prolonged anguished howl, but other than that, I took it pretty well.

Blogger freeroll

Thank you, Pokerstars, for inviting me to play in a special "WCOOP Bloggers Freeroll" being held on Sunday, August 30, at 12:45 ET.

This special invitation-only freeroll will award 18 seats into the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Event #6, a $109 event which has a $1 million guaranteed prize pool.

In other news, I have hired a life coach to help me get out of my current slump. He is well-known on the West Coast, and sleeps in the bunk above me.

Primm and proper

Last weekend I ventured down to Buffalo Bill's in Primm, about 35 miles south of Las Vegas. They have a $2-$6 spread limit hold'em game in their little poker room, a pleasant change from the popular albeit hectic no limit genre. I was fortunate enough to be playing at the table that participated in a bad beat jackpot and won an extra $790. Good times.

SoxLover wins the T-shirt

Congratulations to SoxLover who correctly solved the set over set over set conundrum posed in the previous post. Another way of looking at it is :

There are C(46,3) total possible flops = 15180

Of these, 2 * 2 * 2, or 8 will contain the requisite match

Therefore the probability is 8/15180 = 0.000527

SoxLover, if you change your mind about the T-shirt, send me your neck and member size.

Set over set over set on the flop

I was witness to a huge pot when 3 players went all-in on a flop of

Q 7 3

As it transpired, each had flopped a set. Given that 3 players have 3 different pairs and see the flop, what is the probability of each flopping a set?

The first correct answer will win a designer T-shirt (see below).

The second nuts

Why do I bother to play J7? True it was late position and I was up against a loose aggressive bluffer. The flop came

8 9 T rainbow

and we got it all-in on the turn. I lost my stack when the fuckstick showed his QJ.

2009 Bodog Mini Poker Series

Didn't finagle your way into the WSOP Main Event? Couldn't make it out to Vegas for the 106 degree oven heat? Fret not, online poker comes to the rescue. The 2009 Bodog Mini Poker Series comprises a series of 13 $10+$1 tournaments that run from Friday, July 3rd to Wednesday, July 15th 2009. The top 30% of finishers in each qualifying tournament will earn points based on their finish and these points will be used to rank players.

The prizes range from a 2010 WSOP Main Event Seat down to T$162. Naturally, a Tournament Leader Board will be available throughout the course of the series, which will provide the point totals for every player that has played in the qualifying tournaments.

And for those of you degenerates who would still like to place prop bets on the current WSOP, look no further than here.

Sponsorship

Next month (July 12) I'm taking part in a charity bike ride to raise funds for Mute Tourette's Syndrome. A friend of mine has a 6-year-old son that suffers from this and we are raising funds to pay for a year's therapy.

Mute Tourette's Syndrome has long been hidden in the shadow of its more "famous" sister-disease, "Tourette's Syndrome", and although much rarer, is even more tragic in its consequences. While a child suffering from Tourette's has difficulty in containing his anger and frustration, a child with Mute Tourette's suffers a worse fate, and is unable to express his true feelings.

The Mute Tourette's Foundation is using radical new art therapy techniques to help combat the frustration and loneliness of Mute Tourette's. However, their work can only continue with your help.

Just 50 cents will keep a child supplied with crayons and paper for a whole day. $3 will provide them with enough art supplies for a week. I would be extremely grateful for any help toward such a deserving cause.

Below is a picture demonstrating how the donations received so far have been put to good use.

WSOP Main Event?

Desperately short of funds, I am frantically trying to satellite my way into this year's WSOP Main Event. Using all the connections I have in this town, I managed to land a part time job at the Las Vegas Zoo last week and can be partially seen in the photo below. It is taxing work but I should have enough for one satellite by June 28th.

Volunteerism

In between lengthy poker sessions and probation appeal hearings, I still find time to volunteer for worthy causes.

Free at last!

Sorry for the lack of posting, but I was just released from a mandatory 20-day holding period in the Clark County Detention Center after the trumped up charges of "impersonating a poker player in the generic sense" were finally dismissed.

I wish to thank my legal team, the local Salvation Army, and the detainees who listened patiently while I expounded daily on the merits of the Independent Chip Model (ICM).

Suited Straights and Suitors

I had a wild Easter weekend punctuated by a high hand jackpot for a club straight flush, and a badly misplayed hand in which my set and stack went down to a straight.

In other financial news, I have it on good authority that the successful suitor for Chrysler will be IKEA.

Conservation of Poker Mass

For every nice person I meet at the table, there is always a jerk or angleshooter acting as a counterbalance.

Tequila

They say you should never drink while playing poker. After last night, I say you should never drink, period.

Capitalism at its finest

Las Vegas is being hit hard by layoffs. In the case of Wynn, management makes every effort to prevent laying off workers by reducing work hours and other belt tightening measures. MGM Mirage management, on the other hand, does not consider making any personal sacrifices and has decided that all the others underneath them shouldn't either, so they have no compunction in letting hundreds of workers go. Different philosophies which are reflected in MGM's declining employee morale, local patronage and share price.

Happy Square Root Day

Today (03/03/09) is Square Root Day. The next one will be in 7 years (04/04/16).

On a completely unrelated note, I have been charged with impersonating a poker player in the generic sense, and am raising funds for a prolonged legal battle.

Dog for sale

A friend has asked me to help sell her pet, an excellent guard dog. She can't afford to feed him anymore, as there are no more drug pushers, thieves, murderers, or molesters left in the neighborhood for him to eat.

Most of them knew him as 'Holy Shit'.

Still struggling

Sorry for the break in posting, but not much happening here. I made some money last week volunteering for a medical outfit testing a new drug for insomnia. I don't have insomnia but needed the money. Fell asleep like a baby so everyone was happy. I spend most weekends sign twirling for a brothel in Pahrump. Unfortunately these revenue streams are only sufficient to ward off hunger and I'm still unable to scrape together a minimum buy-in for a decent $1-$2 game.

Trivia

Q: What is the capital of Iceland?

A: $25.

Stimulus package

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo may demand the return of $4 billion in bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch & Co just before it was acquired by Bank of America.

Here is a leading Harvard economist expounding on current events :