Big business and taxes

Even big business knows the power.....



The Hammer!


Here's a couple of tidbits on taxes from the good folks at CNN, the full article is located here

Playing card tax: If you want a deck of cards in Alabama, be prepared to shell out an extra dime. The state government has levied a 10-cent tax on the purchase of a playing deck that contains "no more than 54 cards," plus the retailer must pay an annual license tax of $3 and a fee of $1, according to the Alabama Department of Revenue.

Wagering tax: Speaking of cards – and bets – most people know they have to pay tax on their gambling winnings. But some places, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, and Oklahoma, exact a wagering tax on casino or track owners,whether you gamble or not. It can get passed onto customers through the cost of casino amusements.

Illinois forces casinos to charge a $2 admission price, which is essentially a tax since it must be remitted to the city and state.


save me a seat at the final table

Thank the Presidents

Thank you Abe & George

Too bad Mr.FullHouse didn't have a full buy-in at the table.I think his slowplay backfired a bit.

save me a seat at the final table

It is like crack

MTT at FTP
Blinds are 30-60, I get J-J mid position. I raise 300, yes 300 and get called in one spot.
Flop is rag frickin club, rag frickin club, rag frickin club.
Caller has Kc-10c, I'm crippled.

Fold, fold, fold, fold. (re-seated at another table)

That's all I do for a while and of course the ironic hand of pissy fate slaps me upside the head with J-J. As I wait for the action to get around to me, (I'm already snickering to myself, it's kind of like knowing the end of the story just not knowing the details). I already know I'm pushing the last of my stack all-in. One caller, Q-Q.

J-J is like crack, I wish they would take those sob's out of every deck. Other than that it's been a great weekend.

Move

Yeah, I know it's been a while sorry to leave both of my readers in the lurch. Anywhoo, here's the skinny. FTP is is treating me well I'm crawling through the bonus, but some of the players there more than make up for the slow bonus.
I'm easily impressed, so I absolutely love that table rotates to put you in the same spot when multi-tabling. Just show me something shiny, like pasties....damn did I type that out loud.

I am continually amazed at how many bad some poker players there are. I am by no means a high-rollin-taking-the-tour-by-storm-wonderkid, I'd say average to slightly above average poker player. Don't get me wrong, I love these, I will bluff you out of the pot, all-in callin with second pair, missed draw attempting to buy the pot, players.

That why I'm in a dilemma, a conundrum, a quandary if you will.

What "light-bulb" moment did you have that, made you move up in levels?
(aside from having the bankroll to do it)
At the level I'm playing I typically double my buy in, and almost never finish a session down.
(I don't say this to brag or boast, just to give a frame of reference, many of you play better & higher than I do).

What clicked? Did you jump in the pool, or just dip a toe in?
I need your insight, I need the omnipresent-booming-voice of the poker blogger community, to guide me past this crossroads.
In other words.....Y'all got any advice on moving up in levels?

Recent-run-of-good-cards-while-playing-poker-music

Etta James-Rocks The House
Neutral Milk Hotel-Aeroplane..
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds-Murder Ballads
Robert Earl Keen-Picnic
Outkast-ATLiens
Slim Cessna's Auto Club-The Blovdy..
Metallica-Kill'em All

save me a seat at the final table

Cinnamon rolls FT style

(if that last post didn't make much sense to you, sorry that's what happens when I swill down 4 beers & then start in with the gin & tonic) onward....

With the recent good run of cards I'm experiencing and it's direct correlation to my bankroll, I decided to make sure Hank keeps his job ;) and fire up an account over at FTP. I don't bonuswhore (like I should) plus I hear it's a bitch to clear FTP's bonus. Nonetheless, I needed a change of scenery. I figured to start it up with a small amount and see how things go. I figured to 2-table some .50/1 and get familiar with their software. I sat down with 10 at each, and figured to fold away the junk and build a little while getting a gauge on how long it would take to clear their bonus.
I was getting killed, (well as killed as you can get at .50/1) dropped one buy-in almost instantly when Mr. happy frog hit his 2 outer on the river. No big deal, rebuy the min & grind away right?

Table #2 slow and steady bleeding, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever win a hand. Down to 2 on the second table. This site hates me (lol). Holy hell, I check the progress of clearing the bonus, I should have it done by the time I retire.I have not been playing bad, just getting sucked out on like I kicked a puppy or slapped someone's grandma.

I typically don't play 50/1 limit anymore (not that I'm some high roller, I just like the 25NL tables, too much bad bluffing makes me smile). Anywhoo, I take a break after dropping 30 worth of buy-ins, get another cup of coffee and sit down with Ms. Uwannabet? for some fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon rolls.

Back at it... except this time one table 25 NL and as I type this all is right with the world and I have quintupled up. One of the biggest hands was a three way pot 6-6,
flop was 6-A-7
A-weak kicker led out with a big bet,trying to take it down right there
A-K raises
I come over the top and push the rest all in
A-weak kicker folds
A-K calls and gets that sick feeling in his pocketbook.

Err, scratch that earlier remark i've septupled up, thanks to A-A vs A-10, poor dude he only got to play one hand, sometimes TPTK is not a good thing. I guess the cinnamon rolls did the trick.


save me a seat at the final table

Runnin well?

I'll have to admit the cards have been running well. Anisotropy mentions a Hank-ism, "light bulb moment" and I'm feeling the same way lately (the good run of cards sure helps). If you practice at any type of activity, cards, golf, table tennis, skeet shooting, whatever, your skill level will progress. This progression varies but no matter what rate you amass the skills, it's inevitable..... you will plateau. This is typically where good players make a subconscious decision, is all the time, money, and sweat worth pushing further? It's not a clear cut decision, for most they become complacent with their level of competency, and continue to toil in the land of average.

Think of any sport or diversion, now think of the "best ever" at that skill.
Ali, Jordan, Babe, Unitas, Picasso, Miles.

Guess what? They too were at that same plateau. Beethoven probably hit his plateau at 2 but you get the idea. Every skilled activity has a gaggle of average or good participants. Many times people say things like, "oh, Johnny is such a gifted basketball player.." well he may be, but when it's midnight and you can still hear him shooting freethrows in the back yard, that's not a gift. That's dedication and that's practice.

Fast forward to the PBB (Poker Blogger Boom), guess what 90% of the blogroll on the right side of this page will hit that plateau, and suddenly become "too busy with work." "too busy with (insert your excuse here)." I'm a part of the PBB, I still consider myself a newbie, I haven't even hit a year on this sad excuse of a site.

(stepping down off the soapbox now)

Am I proclaiming to be above all of you? Not for one second. Am I going quit blogging and hang up the average poker skills? That remains to be seen.

As for right now... it's midnight, I'm Johnny in the back yard and I'm pretty sure that you can hear me still shooting freethrows.

save me a seat at the final table

For what it's worth....

My prediction

New England 31
Philly 21
OVER

(sorry AL, for your sake I hope I'm wrong)

My new bestest buddy

This is the condensed hand history from last night This guy might rival "BoB" the bad part is I didn't get may playable hands.

UberFish is all-In [$25]
UberFish is all-In [$25.75]
UberFish is all-In [$26.5]

UberFish shows [ 4s, As ] a pair of tens.
Uwannabet? shows [ Jh, Jc ] two pairs, jacks and tens.
UberFish wins $3.25 from side pot #1 with a pair of tens.
Uwannabet? wins $45 from the main pot with two pairs, jacks and tens.

UberFish is all-In [$24.75]
UberFish is all-In [$25.5]

UberFish is all-In [$26.25]
UberFish shows [ Qd, Ks ] high card
acekiller shows [ Kh, Kc ] a pair of kings.
UberFish wins $19.85 from side pot #1 with high card
acekiller wins $12.9 from the main pot with a pair of kings.

UberFish raises [$14.75].

UberFish is all-In [$19.85]
cnak shows [ Tc, Td ] a pair of tens.
UberFish doesn't show [ 4s, 4c ] a pair of fours.
cnak wins $38.95 from the main pot with a pair of tens.

UberFish: wow

UberFish: watha beating

UberFish is all-In [$25]

UberFish is all-In [$24.5]
Tim7 shows [ As, Qd ] three of a kind, aces.
UberFish shows [ Th, 9c ] a pair of aces.
UberFish wins $12 from side pot #1 with a pair of aces.
Tim7 wins $25.2 from the main pot with three of a kind, aces.

UberFish is all-In [$25]
Tim7 shows [ Js, Jd ] three of a kind, jacks.
UberFish doesn't show [ 6c, 6d ] a pair of sixes.
Tim7 wins $48.75 from the main pot with three of a kind, jacks.

UberFish is all-In [$24.5]
UberFish wins $12 from side pot #1 with high card ace.
HAOPE wins $24.95 from the main pot with high card ace with king kicker.

UberFish is all-In [$26.15]

UberFish: know when to fold em

UberFish is all-In [$17.75]
UberFish is all-In [$19]

UberFish is all-In [$15.25]
HAOPE wins $38.75 from the main pot with a straight, nine to king.

UberFish: if you want me to stay sing a song

He ran through 5+ buy-ins in the short time I was at the table, I think I might add him to my buddy list what do you think??

save me a seat at Uberfish's table

47?

I though I'd check out Poker Mountain see what's what. DOH 47 players, 47. I didn't deposit or play, I watched a game for about 15 minutes. Yawn. The dealing was lightening fast, the lay out rather generic. 47 DOH.

Start
Control Panel
Add or Remove Programs
etc.

This post has 200 more letters than they have players.

save me a seat at a full table

How to make coffee come out of your nose...

Rawley has raised the last 5 out of 7 hands, I'm just begging for something better than 9-2 os to bust him.


NL Hold'em
Level:5 Blinds(100/200)

Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 3
Seat 7: rawley ( $3200 )
Seat 6: Uwannabet? ( $3265 )
Seat 8: TheKingS ( $1535 )

Trny:Level:5Blinds(100/200)

** Dealing down cards **

Dealt to Uwannabet? [ 4s As ]
TheKingS folds.
Uwannabet? calls [100].
rawley checks.

** Dealing Flop ** [ Ad, 3s, 5s ]
(sweet I've got top pair, (shitty kicker) & the nut flush draw)

Uwannabet? checks.
rawley bets [600].
Uwannabet? raises [1200].
rawley is all-In [2400]
Uwannabet? calls [1800].

** Dealing Turn ** [ 4h ]

** Dealing River ** [ 3h ]

Uwannabet? shows [ 4s, As ] two pairs, aces and fours.
rawley shows [ Jc, 3d ] three of a kind, threes.
rawley wins 6400 chips from the main pot with three of a kind, threes.

That's the easiest way to make coffee come out of your nose.

save me a seat at the final table

29 and the fate of the free world

Wow what a turnout! 151 thats pretty impressive for a bunch of degenerate gamblers with not much to do on a Wednesday night. I'm not particularly happy with finishing 29th, I possibly could have folded my way to a money finish but that's not what it's all about. The WPBT event in more about bragging rights than about the cash, well it is for me.

Looking back at my demise... Ac Kc vs. Q-Q (them damn Hiltons). Workz's Hiltons held up and I was banished to the rail (which contained a few big names to my surprise). To win any tournament regardless of size, buyin, live or online, you must win those "race" or "coinflip" pots. Just ask Raymer. I did win a few of those throughout the tourney 5 out of the 8 for 62% of the hands that went to a showdown. I looked back at the numbers from tournament, I definitely need to be involved in more hands.

27 out of 189 hands = 14%
Pots won at showdown 5-8 = 62%
Number of times dealt the HAMMER 1
Number of times I raised and won with the HAMMER 1
Number of ALL-INs 6 (it works everytime except once)


I also decided to do a little research on "29" here's what I found

29 is a prime number (that & 80 cents gets you a bad cup of coffee)
29th-President Warren G. Harding (didn't know him but I heard good things)
29th-Super Bowl San Francisco 49, San Diego 26 (It's not the Cowboys so who cares?)
1929-Guy Lombardo plays "Auld Lang Syne" for the first time (Betcha he got sick of playing that tune)
1929-The first Academy Awards, or Oscars, are distributed (I didn't win one of these either)1929-St. Valentine's Day gangland massacre in Chicago (Ac-Kc vs Q-Q for all your chips)
1929-World Series Philadelphia A's d. Chicago Cubs (It's not the Reds so who cares)
1929-The Museum of Modern Art opens in New York City (Future site of a Pauly painting?)1929-Penicillin is first used to fight an infection (Here eat this moldy cheese, I swear It will make you feel better)
1929-Stock Market Crash (Ac-Kc vs Q-Q for all your chips)
1929-Start of the Great Depression (Ac-Kc vs Q-Q for all your chips)
29-Satchel Paige's jersey number for the St. Louis Browns (It's Satchel friggin Page dude)
29-Eric Dickerson's jersey number for the Indianapolis Colts (It's Eric friggin Dickerson dude)29-The atomic number of copper (Unless they start making WSOP bracelets out of it who cares?)
29-The number of bones in a normal human skull (That's a one in 29 shot at a skull fracture)
29-The number of days February has on leap years ( One of my friends was born on Feb 29th)29-The number of letters in the Finnish and Norwegian alphabets (they needed to add extra letters to explain why Norwegian chicks are so hot)
29-John Smoltz's jersey number for the Atlanta Braves (Hate the braves, but damn they had the pitching)
29-Rod Carew's jersey number (It's Rod friggin Carew dude)
29-Iowa was the 29th state (Whew! we just beat Wisconsin to the punch)
29-Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin (Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time)
29-Bruce Willis - The Return of Bruno (Maxim's 30 Worst Albums of All Time)
29-Current temperature in Denver (Denver I'll see your 29 and raise you five)
29-Exit Number you take to get from JFK Airport to the Double Tree in jersey City (I got nothin' for this one)


So you may ask what does all this mean? What's the relevance? What's the deeper meaning?
I need to be more aggressive in tournaments, I'm so sick of "just hanging on" in a tournament, looking to fold my way to a higher place. From this day forth, I shall make it my number one goal, play every tournament like someone just slapped your momma. Push, force players to make decisions. Give up no easy pots.

Easier said than done, but we all must evolve as players.

Next time save me a seat at the WPBT final table.

An eerie quiet....

It's kind of strange, no chest beating, no challenges, little bravado. The WPBT is a mere day away and it's an eerie quiet. Are you guys/gals putting on your gameface, chugging raw eggs for breakfast, and doing mouse-clicking finger exercises? Well maybe it's a little serious this time?

I'm happy to see that the Good Doctor has put up some challenges for the tourney, and by the way if you haven't read his post from Monday go do yourself a favor. He gets it, he's good people.

Speaking of the Doc we happened to be sitting at the same NL table the other day, (pure coincidence mind you), we took turns busting chump after chump, adding fish to the stringer. We were only involved in one pot heads-up (his A-K vs. my J-J). Both wary of the other, not much money made it into the pot, but my J-J held up and garnered a "lucky focker." It was a good table for a while, until the slow swimmers busted out and the table filled up with boulders. A make-baby-jesus-cry min. raise chased 99% of the table out of the hand. I remarked how tight the table had turned shortly before the debut of the "Kentucky Hammer" 6-7os (Doc gets naming & copyright credit).

** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Uwannabet? [ 6h 7d ]
Jack11 calls [$0.5].
Dr. Pauly folds.
Taylor9 folds.
garfield folds.
ggrem folds.
Uwannabet? raises [$3].
might9 folds.
duron folds.
wirps folds.
Jack11 folds.
Uwannabet? shows [ 6h, 7d ] high card seven.
Uwannabet? wins $4.25 from the main pot with high card seven.

And that didn't didn't get the rocks to change their grinding behavior any. Oh well, I'll take the more than double the buy-in profit.

save me a seat at the final WPBT table