Pop Goes the Cherry

So I’ll bet when you woke up this morning, or perhaps even late afternoon/evening - depending on the level of your gambling and drug addictions - you least expected to think about the music group the Proclaimers in any form. Well neither did I, but the voices of Charlie and Craig Reid were the first lucid sounds that made it through my ear canal and into my brain thusly.

You remember these guys right? From the early ninety’s - they did that ‘500 Miles’ song:

“I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk 500 more...just to be the man who’d walk a thousand miles to fall down at your door…” (I’ll get back to that obvious italic shortly).

The song is intoxicating, frankly. Go ahead, rolls some eyes, but if you should find yourself alone in the car someday in the not-so-distant future, god help you if it should pop-up into a thirty minute, commercial free, fabulous flashback block on your radio. Or in my case, in bed past noon with the TV station stuck on VH1 Classic after a late night of vintage Queen concerts. Either way, you will sing along…oh yes, you will sing along.

When I was about eleven this song was a surprise hit because of the movie "Benny and Joon" starring today’s Jack Sparrow (for the kids).

I can’t help but smile when I hear them say thousand. Not only is the pronunciation comical, but this is the very word that spawned my first bet.

My best friend at the time was convinced that the line ended:

“..Just to be the man who’d walk five hundred miles to fall down at your door..”

He clearly forgot to add. (500+500=1,000)

Realizing at this point that, A - my best friend was incapable of simple arithmetic. And, B - The timing was perfect to use his simple oversight against him.

Oh, who could blame me? He wouldn’t let it go, he was so sure he was right! So very sure. So what do these weather conditions create? An eleven year old boy making - and winning his first bet. We went as far as calling the local Top 40 radio station to confirm. (No Google yet!)

Devious for such a young kid or not, I carry this idea with me each time I’m at the felt. It just takes one little oversight. I'm always looking for it and paying attention to that inevitable lapse in my opponents' judgment and trying to remain aware of my own. And if I can get someone to put their money where there mouth is - at just the wrong time - it sure pays off.

Then again, as it approaches 1PM, I can’t really start paying attention to much of anything until I get outta this bed.

Big Flops, Bigger Pots,
Del

A Rare Sighting

When I woke up yesterday, I could count how many times I have held a straight flush on just two fingers - today I'll need three.

Much like car accidents and phone calls from long distance relatives, straight flushes occur when they are least expected. Although I have no children, I imagine discovering a straight flush in your hand is much like the miracle of birth. Sheer joy. Not just the knowing that you unequivocally have THE NUTS in the hand, but that you've got the 'odds' right by the balls! No matter who you are or how many hands you've seen, there is truly nothing like it - like a Bigfoot sighting of sorts.
(No worries - I've run out of analogies!)

But the joy is fleeting - I still have a hand to play after all! My goal hasn't changed much: extract as much money from my opponents as possible - this was particularly interesting given the circumstances...

I went into the hand on the Button, unpaired - Js/8c; the flop came 5c/6c/Jd.

I was pleased to hit top pair and honestly hoped to take the pot down right then, because my kicker was terrible and there were two clubs out. This didn't work; I still had two players to the turn, which was 7c. I still might be ahead with top pair, but after they both call another raise - I am sure I'm dead to a flush and can envision folding on the river.

Just before the river was dealt I heard that nutty little voice in my head, "Hey, four of clubs gets you a straight flush - one outer! one outer!" I can hardly believe it myself, but instead of being the bearer of salt for my wounds - this little voice was Nastra-freaking-domis. River: 4c.

I managed to get one of the two players left to donate more chips. It turns out I rolled over a pocket pair of Kings that had evolved into a King high flush.

With a smile still firmly attached to my face, I marked my calendar - next one is due August, 2010.

Delik

(Snap shot of this hand available below, in my "Grease the Rail" section. )

Look out Ukraine, here I come!

What comes to mind when you hear or read the word 'Ukraine'?

For me, I am reminded of a very significant country in the game of Risk. "The gateway to Asia" we'd call it growing up. Truth be told, I've never given the country too much more thought and don't know much more about it than its capital (Kiev). Then something happened that made me give Ukraine another look...

I've made quite a few friends through my recent (and very late) introduction to MySpace. One such friend is a woman named Olga from Ukraine. We met primarily due to our mutual love of poker and struck up a few conversations right from the start. My interest was peeked when I found out she was the editor-in-chief of Hroniky Azarta, a gambling magazine in Ukraine - 'the first and best' she says dutifully.

A few random chats later came a surprise for the ages, she's working on having a 'dynamic and bright dialog' with pro players that have some character and will share their experiences and opinions with her readers ...I guess Mike Matusow was busy? Apparently poker is getting big in Ukraine, but they are far behind in the world of poker magazine availability and lack ways of exposing more readers to the game. So there you have it, I'm being profiled in a Ukraine gambling mag - wow.

So I'm not really sure how I will be perceived by my friends to the East, or if they'll care much - but hell - the chance to enlighten and interest people about poker on the other side of the globe is pretty exciting. After reading...strike that, translating - then reading a few of her past articles of a similar nature, I was relieved to find a smart author with well composed articles; so I agreed.

We had our first 'interview' a few days ago and plan to wrap up in the coming days. So far it's been really fun and the questions are like none I would have expected - truely interesting. I'll next need to decide which pictures I'd like to have displayed for print next to my thoughts and sarcasm. Nothing too dramatic - maybe a red teddy on a bed of roses... really get those issues off the shelves!

Big Pots and Bigger Flops,
Delik


Check out Hroniky Azarta online.

And if your in Eastern Europe anytime after July - check out their bilingual version: Hazard Chronicles.

Poker vs. Bowling

Superstitions can be good in some types of games.

I remember when I was thirteen and on a bowling league - you run into some hardcore superstitions when you’re in a bowling alley. We've all heard of a pitcher wearing the same socks throughout a winning streak, but the pure lunacy that encompasses bowlers every second of the game is just startling. Bowlers get new superstitions after every frame because they are attempting to do the EXACT same thing twelve times in a row! Having the same exact plan and execution twelve times back to back to back is what makes champions in bowling. Now, it goes without saying that this is a complete improbability in poker, and yet, you'll run into superstitions all around the felt in every state in the nation and country in the world. What's yours? There are so many... how you look at your hole cards, how you stack your chips, or what if you get your 'favorite hand'?

Maybe the hand you 'always lose with'…
“Damn this Jack-Ten, I'm in the small blind with no raisers, but I always get screwed on the river with Jack-Ten...fold – done!”

I decided right from the get-go, that I was not going to have any superstitions in poker. It is just not good for your bankroll to make crucial decisions based on ‘how many times you tap your chips between hands.’ Of coarse, I found out almost as quickly as I decided not to have superstitions- that they are unavoidable.

Or are they?

Well, it just so happened that the answer was right in front of me...
Taking after the old adage, I decided that I would be 'superstitious to superstitions.'

You see a black cat for instance- and boom, your running to the other side of the street. Something bad might happen right? Well, if I start paying attention to lining my card protector up straight between hands - boom, I change my focus to mentally counting the chip stack of the player in seat four. After all, I would hate to accidentally develop a superstition…I always get screwed on the river when I have a superstition.

Delik

Side Bet

So I'm chatting online with a friend I know from Phildelphia last week...hey Jerry! We've never actually met in person, but have played many online games together since stricking up a conversation months ago after outlasting a pool of 90 players in a free sit & go to make it heads up in what ended up being a very long session.

Jerry doesn't play for real money at all outside of once a month with his uncles, but he is a true fan of the game and likes to dabble in Full Tilt Poker. Now, although the bulk of my poker income comes from flesh and blood cash and tounement play, I love places like PokerStars and the afore-mentioned FTP to try out new strategies and work out some of my short comings...luckily on one of these nights I gained a friend on top of insight.

Since Jerry's pride and often frustration, comes from his 'play money' bankroll, he was flabbergasted when I told him about an article in Bluff Magazine (Jan issue) regarding the amazing streak Gus Hanson had online racking up $1.4 million dollars in about 48 hours. After a year Jerry hasn't even come close to that because of the extreme swings and iratic players seen in play money rooms - and in my opinion - his being liberal in places he would never be if real cash were at stake...if not for this 1.4 million wouldn't be a problem at all.

As with most gamblers, this conversation ended in a bet...

I figured that it were possible to take a rock bottom bankroll of $1000 and turn it into one million in three months with the specific stipulation of being a 'casual player' (defined below) to which he claimed he may not be able to reach one million, but could earn more than myself in the same period of time if he could play as often as he wished. And so with that, the challenge...

Who can make more money in THREE MONTHS?


The rules:
1.) We must reset our balances to the base of $1000 on our accounts.

2.) I can play no more than an average of 3-4 days a week (casual player); Jerry can play unlimitedly (dedicated player).

3.) Cash games and tournament play are both allowed.

4.) We can rebuy as often as needed, (Due to the severe swings that come with this type of play), but the total at the end of the three month period is what counts.

5.) We must share our cashier totals atleast once a week.


Wish me luck!
Delik

Pitter Patter

I'm lucky enough to have a girlfriend...no wait - fiancé (still trying to get used to that title), that has been forever supportive of my poker career. Truth be told, I could ask for no greater support system in this department than her. This week however - it all became more clear...

I get a call mid-day with the usual, "miss you much" kind of stuff followed by a "guess what!?"
Well, without a moment to take that guess, she tells me about a local tournament coming up that she thinks would be perfect for me to take full advantage of. Apparently, this annual function boasting the 'biggest grand prize yet' pulls in hundreds of local players each year to battle it out for cash prizes as well as some heavy merchandise ranging from big screens to shopping sprees. Then, I hear the first prize and I know I have no choice but to enter and WIN this tourney... first place gets a '08 Mazda CX-9...oh joy.

Call it an early Birthday present, Christmas gift or Anniversary gesture...but however you look at it - this car MUST be hers. I guess since she puts up with all my shit the least I can do is jump into a lion's den of locals for a few days to get a chance to ride away with an automobile that makes her heart go pitter-patter.

I'll keep you posted on the results.

Delik

The Magic Combination

I recently ran into a pretty brutal table in the way of vicious exchanges just recently...

I find there is no better exercise of patience quite like a low stake internet game. You tend to see some pretty unpredictable plays from weak players that will toss curveball after curveball, most of which make no sense whatever and can provide the sort of stings that you won't get at a table full of moderate to good players. The reason: I'm playing with a sense for pot odds, position and betting patterns - none of which can be counted on in the slightest from anyone else sitting across the virtual felt in these games.

As previously stated- this table, on top of all these poor players and even worse plays, there was some serious trash talking. The first five hands was an all out war of words in the classic "I'm better than you are" style. It's in this situation that you just want to shut up the antagonists and bust them quick and painlessly...well, quick anyway. Unfortunately, in the game of poker it can take a while before you exact your revenge, though not on this night.

In the sixth hand I was pleased to see two black Kings promptly dealt at just the right time. Just as would be expected, the three primary name-callers were not cautious at all to my pre-flop raise and we went together to the flop where I hit trips (X-K-8); more betting. The turn was a blank (X-K-8-X), but this time the damage to two of my foul-mouth friends was too much for them to continue - however the last one was all too happy to keep going and called another bet. The river was a wink from the poker Gods, eight to pair the board (X-K-8-X-8) giving me a full house, which solidified the end of Big Mouth #1. Two to go.

The very next hand I got pocket AA's, but other than a low raise pre-flop, I squeezed no more chips from the table and took it down on the flop.

Hand number eight: Pocket Jacks. Now since I didn't show the Aces when I won the last hand I decided to make it look like I was getting over-confident and running a string of bluffs by putting out a small, but solid raise before the flop. Very quickly Big Mouth #2 and #3 bit the hook and when a third Jack soon followed, I reeled them in and busted them both with the help of their own egos.

It turns out I got my 'quick', but they were unlucky with the 'painless' part.

Delik