Zorag's World

So it's been a while

2010-08-30T09:46:00.001-07:00

Things have been crazy busy for me. I'm not really doing much on this blog, but I did write a quick poker article that should be up at www.beefbeerandpoker.com soon.

We are expecting Harlan's birth any day now.

Drinking songs

2010-04-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is just going to cause a lot of arguments, so I'm not going to present it as a definitive list. Let's just call it a rough draft. Here are 25 of my favorite drinking songs. I'll try to organize them some, but it really depends on my mood.

As part of my hard work and dedication as Beer Editor at www.beefbeerandpoker.com, I will be enjoying some craft beers while I work on this.

1. The Drunken Scotsman by the Irish Rovers.
2. I Like Beer by Tom T. Hall.
3. Drinkin' my Baby Goodbye by Charlie Daniels
4. I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink by Merle Haggard
5. Why Don't We Get Drunk by Jimmy Buffet

Not bad for the first 5. This is still in fun loving Drunken Zorag's wheelhouse.

6. I Love Her, She Hates Me (and I drink) by Darryl Worley
7. Your Cheatin' Heart by Hank Williams
8. Wish You Were Here by Mark Wills
9. She's Got You by Patsy Cline
10. He Stopped Loving her Today by George Jones

Yup, that set was the bring me down set. Need to have some sad songs on the list.

11. Shout by Otis Day & The Knights
12. Mony Mony by Billy Idol
13. You Never Even Called me by my Name by David Allan Coe
14. Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks (yes, I went there)
15. Family Tradition by Hank Williams Jr.

A bit more of audience participation style in that group. Boisterous and fun.

16. Cotton Eyed Joe by the Rednex
17. Electric Slide by Marcia Griffiths
18. YMCA by the Village People
19. Boot Scootin' Boogie by Brooks and Dunn
20. Cha Cha Slide, or whatever the hell it is, or whatever the current song taking its place is.

See, you gotta play the music that causes people to make fools of themselves. Without these songs, designated drivers would have to settle for free sodas instead of blackmail.

21. Mas Tequila by Sammy Hagar
22. Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly
23. Good Hearted Woman by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings
24. Five Dollar Fine for Whining by Chris LeDoux
25. Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton (I'd go with Sink the Bimarck, but not as many people know it).

The last five were just round offs. I left out a lot of music, and this list obviously skews towards my tastes.

Blech

2010-04-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

I had plans for switching my blog over. I worked hard at setting up the forums, now I can't remember how I did half the stuff. I don't have time to be the web guy (nor the time to even learn how). Anyone want the position? No pay yet, but lots of free stuff (as we get it).

I'm gonna work on an article and post it here later.

5 pound burger

2010-02-26T17:14:00.001-08:00

http://twitpic.com/15i8qz

There are several pictures of the beast. We made it using 5 pounds of ground beef and 2 cans of biscuits. We started cooking the beef in a bundt pan, which oddly enough, held 5 pounds of ground beef nearly perfectly. After a while, we took it out of the pan and turned up the heat.

Noms!

Forums are up!

2010-01-14T16:33:00.000-08:00

We haven't fleshed them out yet, but you can sign up for the forums here:

BB&P Forum

Everyone that signs up today will be invited to a special freeroll tournament in February.

More to come, and I will be moving my blog soon as well.

Took down a Limit Omaha High only MTT tonight

2010-01-12T19:23:00.000-08:00

Results

38 players in, $10 prize pool, only top 3 paid. So yeah, 3 hours of work for $5.

To be honest, I really didn't try early and was just goofing off. Somewhere along the line, I built up a huge lead. At the final table, I floated from 2nd to 4th. When we were three handed, chip leader had about 40k and the other player and I were sharing the other 26k.

I took a couple of bad hits, but kept at it. I almost had the chip lead 3 handed when I flopped a set of Kings vs a set of 3s. The river put a spade flush on the board, and I had two baby spades. He had a bigger flush and took it down.

I stayed patient and selectively aggressive. We got to heads up, and I had 39k to his 36k. A few hands later I had 45k, then a few hands after that I had 67k. The next hand ended it.

I qualified for the Ring Event, now I have to figure out what that is.
__________________

Took a shot

2010-01-06T21:28:00.001-08:00

There were a lot of higher level LO8 players on Stars tonight. I've been doing pretty good at the 3/6 full ring cash games, and I watched a 5/10 game for a while. I decided to take a shot at it.

Wow. The level of play went over my head. There were moves being made, but I had no clue what they were. I didn't know if a raise was a steal or a trap. I might have been giving a little too much credit but watching some of the hands that were getting to the river was pretty revealing.

I was able to see more of what was going on, since I could see the hands that were mucked on the river. I believe with enough time and patience, I could squeeze out a small profit at this level. However, I believe that the bigger edge I have at 3/6 means that I would make more money at the lower levels.

I bought in for $200 and cashed out for $143.50. I had a few hands that I missed on the river and one of them would have been a huge scoop that would have given me a winning session. I took my shot and fell short. I'll try again another day.

I did earn a lot of VPPs at the 5/10 table, and now have some numbers to look at for my comparison of the new rewards program vs the old ones.

My day in poker

2010-01-05T20:35:00.001-08:00

After my nap and eating a little bit of healthy food, I was feeling much better.

Here are my results for the year so far. I'm running all my play on a BAP at www.getastake.com. I'm doing this for several reasons, and I'll go into them as the year progresses.

Rail # Session ID Buy-In CashOut Net Profit
1 Cash 1-2-10 #1 $10.00 $3.75 $-6.25
2 Cash 1-2-10 #2 $40.00 $0.00 $-40.00
3 Correction $0.00 $54.50 $54.50
4 228069996 $3.40 $0.00 $-3.40
5 Cash 1-3-10 #1 $20.00 $0.00 $-20.00
6 Cash 1-3-10 #2 $0.80 $1.03 $0.23
7 Cash 1-4-10 #1 $120.00 $123.00 $3.00
8 228004402 $1.10 $0.00 $-1.10
9 227944211 $7.65 $0.00 $-7.65
10 Cash 1-5-10 #1 $40.00 $41.25 $1.25
11 Cash 1-5-10 #2 $40.00 $51.00 $11.00
12 Cash 1-5-10 #3 $120.00 $115.00 $-5.00
13 Cash 1-5-10 #4 $120.00 $149.50 $29.50
14 Cash 1-5-10 #5 $40.00 $50.75 $10.75
15 Cash 1-5-10 #6 $120.00 $136.50 $16.50
Totals: $682.95 $726.28 $43.33

I'll get back to this in my next post. For now, it's time to take a little drive up the road.

#procrastinationtuesday after all

2010-01-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

Not feeling very well today at all.

We've had 7 sign ups for Virtue so far, which means there are still 3 $5 sign up bonuses left for now.

Free money

2010-01-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

The first 10 people to register at Virtue Poker using BBPoker as the special bonus code get $5 free in addition to the 25% rakeback and freeroll entries. So far, 2 have claimed their money. Deposit bonus use the code VP1000.

This is a new site, and the play is very soft. They have 6 max Double or Nothings, all the way down to 0.11.

There are guaranteed tournaments with overlays, too.

Free poker!

2010-01-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

Want to play online poker for real money without making any deposits? go here:

Make sure when you sign up that you use the special code BBPoker
We offer 25% rake back and lots of freerolls, with many value added tournaments to come.

There is absolutely no risk to you, as you can look for the freerolls and private tourneys. After you have signed up, or if you have any questions, email me at beer@beefbeerandpoker.com. I will give you the info for the freerolls.

You might even find a few dollars in your account, since we randomly give our players money.

Coming soon aka the to do list

2010-01-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

Poker Stars has revamped their VIP program I need to do some math to see if I truly am better off.

For Christmas, I received a Mr. Beer home brew kit, I'll be blogging my progress. It's a one step brewing process, but I'll be doing other stuff, too.

The email address Beer@beefbeerandpoker.com is up and running for me. Poker and Beef are up for my cohorts. Forums and new blogs, along with super secret giveaways to come soon.

It's up!

2010-01-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

http://media.rawvoice.com/pseudopod/media.libsyn.com/media/pseudopod/Pseudo175_FlashOnTheBorderlandsII.mp3

My winning piece of micro flash fiction is up on this week's Pseudopod podcast. Ben Phillips was the narrator, and I wouldn't have chosen anyone else, even if I could.

My piece is in the first 1:10, so if it's not your thing, you can still check it out.

Wrap up

2009-12-31T05:16:00.000-08:00

2009 was basically a good year. My family is healthy, my business is strong, and life is good.

BeefBeerAndPoker is coming along. We'll probably have to start with a forum and blog. If there are any web site designers out there looking for some work and free publicity, contact me.

Christmas was a mixed bag. RazzBoy was up from Phoenix, and his visit went smoothly. We overspent, partially because we ended up buying for more people than we originally planed, but mostly because I went over the top with some of Tinkerfell's gifts. It wasn't too big of a deal, as I pulled money off of Poker Stars to cover it, but it really set my bankroll back.

The best presents I received, besides being able to take off a lot of time in December were a juicer and a home brew kit. The brew kit is a one-step Mr Beer kit, so there's not a lot of customizing going on, but it's a starting point.

On Christmas day, Tinkerfell dropped me off at my truck and took RazzBoy on to the airport. We both drove to Oklahoma City to see my friend and goddaughter. The roads around St Louis were a little snowy, but the people driving on them were the biggest problem.

As soon as we crossed the Oklahoma line, the roads got down right nasty. We ended up stopping in Claremore to stay at the Super 8. My truck spun out on the side road that was just a sheet of ice. I want to thank the owners of Swans Dairy in Claremore, OK for taking the time and effort to help me get my truck rolling again. There were a few more misadventures after this, but nothing horrible.

The visit in OKC was ok, but not really worth the drive for Tinkerfell. We would have been better off scheduling it for another time.

Looking forward to 2010 and plans that I've laid.

Woot!

2009-12-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

There was a contest over at the Escape Artists forums a few months ago for "Twitter" fiction. I ended up winning it. I found out today that my piece will be running on the Jan 1st, 2010 episode of Pseudopod. You can check out this outstanding horror podcast at www.pseudopod.org.

Content wanted

2009-12-19T05:50:00.000-08:00

Have a favorite beer? A great poker story? We're interested in anything that you might talk about at a home game, or just a night with friends.

If we use your content, you will receive some freebies, plus we're paying at least $0.01 for all content, you will be a professional writer!

Days away from big announcement

2009-12-18T06:18:00.000-08:00

Just a little tease here.

My big announcement is days away, I have to get some things finalized. I will tell you that there will be multiple $100+ freerolls and money added tournaments involved.

2010

2009-12-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

I've been quite lazy in following blogs recently, even lazier in updating my own.

I need to refocus and will be doing that in 2010. I'll be following fewer blogs and more forums. I plan on launching BeefBeerAndPoker this year and have a few plans for making some money, so I have to work on that.

To that point, there will be NEWS coming about BB&P. I'll post about it here as I get some verification.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-20T07:46:00.001-08:00

I'm posting this early because I'm going on an media blackout as of tonight. No internet until after Thanksgiving. I'm going to spend some time with my family.

Nonverbal training

2009-11-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

Joe Navarro is a former FBI agent and author that teaches with the WSOP Academy. He's written books on poker tells and body language. He has a wealth of knowledge and is a teacher at heart. Through Twitter, he's started doing free training. We watch videos and discuss what we see. We watch a lot of poker videos, but you don't have to know a lot about poker to learn from them.

Follow him on Twitter, @navarrotells, if you wish to take part.

2009-11-13T20:22:00.001-08:00

http://www.scienceofscams.com/

Technology

2009-11-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. Other than poker and trucking needs, I've actually gotten to the point where I'm ready to give up on the internet. There are cool things here, but I find myself caring less and less.

Technology is good, don't get me wrong, but I find myself yearning for simpler things. I see and hear about all the new tech that's out. I bought a new phone the other day, a basic Sanyo 3810. It does all I need and more.

Not a rant, just some thoughts.

Zorag's Intergalactic Tournament Series

2009-11-03T18:08:00.001-08:00

ZITS 5
Razz, 1.10 buy in
Wed, Nov 4, 9pm EST
Pwd: bustanut
Tourney #208031906

Spread the word!

ZITS 3

2009-10-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

kfellmy won ZITS 2 and picked 2-7 triple draw for event 3.

Tourney #200153720, 2-7 TD limit. October 14th, 20:30 Eastern. Buy in is 1.10, pwd is "bustanut".

I started this one a little later to accommodate some players. Maybe it will give us a bigger turnout.

In other news, I may be getting banned from one of my forums. Surprise, surprise.

ZITS #2

2009-09-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

9/30/2009 20:05 ET
PokerStars 1.00 + .10

Private Tournament Area
Z.I.T.S #2
(196089916)

p/w: bustanut

Spread the word!

Z.I.T.S. #1

2009-09-10T08:15:00.001-07:00

Zorag Intergalactic Tournament Series #1, Saturday, 10am EST, Poker Stars, 1.10 Limit O8.

PWD: bustanut Tourney# 194288352

Winner will pick the next game.

Might have just hit a 2 outer on the river

2009-07-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

To do list, figure out how to put HTML in this blog.

I sprung an air leak on my truck today. Air is very important in a truck, as several systems operate on air pressure. The most important of these is the brake system!

Luckily, I was unhooked from my trailer and already at a truck stop with a repair bay.

Long story short, it's the air line to move my transmission from low range to high range. My transmission was stuck in high range, so if I'd been hooked up to a trailer, it would have been very bad.

I don't know how much it's going to cost yet, but I bet the total bill will be less than the tow bill would have been had I been on the interstate.

Z

I'm in shock, will clean this post later

2009-07-11T21:04:00.001-07:00

OK, Poker Stars has these Ante Up MTTs. The blinds are 5/5 and they stay that way all the way through. The antes go up every round, so it pays to limp a lot.

100 registered, 15 paid, 17 left, I'm in 5th.

[flash=400,265]http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/flash/replayer.swf?pokerhandid=667880[/flash]

Chip leader had been a bully. He was up to 50k, then lost a hand, and dropped to 2nd. I had been playing a great game, picking up uncontested pots, hitting a few big ones, very few medium or big losses.

I felt like Mike McDermott when Teddy showed him Aces Full.

Edit: Flash isn't working for some reason, and I'm in no mood to figure it out:\

http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/view.php/id/667880

1000 games

2009-07-11T13:29:00.001-07:00

I've lost something like 30 in a row. I hate these. I think I might be hurting my game now.

I am still alive

2009-07-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

1000 game challenge is still on. I got a bit sidetracked. Won a seat to AIPS this month, and I plan on winning my 2nd Banana.

We're relocating to Pocahontas, IL the last week of July. It's about 35 miles out of St Louis, Mo for those of you who don't know the area.

Has anyone else noticed Walmart's new packaging? They've changed their store brand products to look more like the 80's generic packaging. Fits right in with their recent ad campaign. Being frugal is in now. Guess I was a bit of a trend setter.

Not a lot else to report.

Z

Escape Pod number 200

2009-07-03T05:48:00.000-07:00

HEINLEIN HEINLEIN HEINLEIN!!!!!!!!!!

http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=2696.0

Go there, click the link at the bottom of the first post. Do it now. Or earlier. Or later.

1000 games update

2009-06-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've played 100 of the 1000. I haven't played optimally in many of them. Hell, a lot of them I totally donked it up.

Here are the raw stats, I am too tired to break everything down now, but my rail is up at www.getastake.com

Bottom line, $25 in buy ins, 13.28 in profits for an R.O.I. of 53%. I can do better. I've had some dry spells and some stretches where I tried different things. Winning one of the 90 mans really helped, that was a profit of 5.95.

I am on pace to cash out $382.80 from $250. I have been profitable the entire time. Cashing in my first attempt was lucky, but I have managed to keep my bankroll above starting level.

I was going to push all in on the first hand for the next 100 games, but I'm feeling really good about the 90 man SNGs vs the 45 man SNGs, so I'm postponing that.

Here are all the numbers, for anyone that cares:

Rail # Session ID Buy-In Cash Out Net Profit
1 171241688 $0.25 $1.41 $1.16
2 171245972 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
3 171256924 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
4 171259545 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
5 171281222 $0.25 $3.49 $3.24
6 171282830 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
7 171286664 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
8 171305689 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
9 171297670 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
10 171311581 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25

11 171312086 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
12 171324265 $0.25 $2.42 $2.17
13 171325465 $0.25 $3.49 $3.24
14 171384300 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
15 171392507 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
16 171383833 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
17 171395445 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
18 171396321 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
19 171393391 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
20 171458990 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25

21 171620422 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
22 171621245 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
23 171718344 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
24 171721267 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
25 171721089 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
26 171720819 $0.25 $0.67 $0.42
27 171726580 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
28 171718866 $0.25 $1.86 $1.61
29 171725899 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
30 172222278 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25

31 172222832 $0.25 $0.39 $0.14
32 172320067 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
33 172320895 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
34 172353869 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
35 172353946 $0.00 $0.00 $-0.25
36 172354764 $0.50 $3.49 $3.14
37 172727192 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
38 172726055 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
39 172728080 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
40 172729820 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25

41 172728349 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
42 172733036 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
43 172733975 $0.25 $1.41 $1.16
44 172728491 $0.25 $0.67 $0.42
45 173084110 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
46 173085058 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
47 173088353 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
48 173086175 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
49 173086368 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
50 173085351 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25

51 173096068 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
52 173085908 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
53 173771853 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
54 173771900 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
55 173774978 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
56 173876553 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
57 173869553 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
58 173869970 $0.25 $3.49 $3.24
59 174048958 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
60 174052449 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25

61 174048355 $0.25 $1.86 $1.61
62 174108251 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
63 174110171 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
64 174108681 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
65 174109310 $0.25 $1.41 $1.16
66 174187830 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
67 174305047 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
68 174364025 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
69 174365823 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
70 174380844 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25

71 174382517 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
72 174380682 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
73 174393952 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
74 174382922 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
75 174550831 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
76 174553245 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
77 174551922 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
78 174554858 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
79 174634399 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
80 174634670 $0.25 $0.67 $0.42

81 174643695 $0.25 $0.39 $0.14
82 175071896 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
83 175072292 $0.25 $0.39 $0.14
84 175072098 $0.25 $6.20 $5.95
85 175184544 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
86 175184203 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
87 175183973 $0.00 $0.00 $-0.25
88 175199981 $0.50 $0.00 $-0.25
89 175199655 $0.00 $0.00 $-0.25
90 175201453 $0.50 $0.00 $-0.25

91 175199623 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
92 175202792 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
93 175201262 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
94 175201802 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
95 175202144 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
96 175207674 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
97 175213099 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
98 175212399 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
99 175208021 $0.25 $1.41 $1.16
100 175207272 $0.25 $3.16 $2.91

Totals: $25.00 $38.28 $13.28

Yeah

2009-06-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am 52 games in. I haven't necessarily been playing my best poker. I've been doing some experimenting and trying a few different strategies.

Starting Bankroll: $250
Current Bankroll: $256.30

I tried some 6 table action today. DID NOT WORK OUT. I was deep in one, with a huge chip lead, but got sucked out on when I had a guy dominated. Oh well.

Games 101 through 200 are all-in first hand, regardless of my cards.

Roller Derby tomorrow night!

This is the video for the text I put in last post

2009-06-14T20:06:00.001-07:00

Taking the high road

2009-06-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Instead of dumping my anger fueled tirade, I'll post the words of one of my heroes.

"Thank you. Thank you.

Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O’Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens:

To a few of us here today this is a solemn and most momentous occasion. And, yet, in the history of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.

Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition process you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other. And I thank you and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwark of our republic.

The business of our nation goes forward.

These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people. Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, human misery and personal indignity.

Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity. But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children’s future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why then should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?

We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding -- we’re going to begin to act beginning today. The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we as Americans have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?

All of us together -- in and out of government -- must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable with no one group singled out to pay a higher price. We hear much of special interest groups. Well our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries, or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we’re sick -- professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers. They are, in short, “We the People.” This breed called Americans.

Well, this Administration’s objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunities for all Americans with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work. Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs.

All must share in the productive work of this “new beginning,” and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy.

With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world. So as we begin, let us take inventory.

We are a nation that has a government -- not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the earth. Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the states or to the people.

All of us -- all of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the states; the states created the Federal Government.

Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it’s not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work -- work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it. If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before.

Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.

It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of Government.

It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We're not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.

So with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope. We have every right to dream heroic dreams.

Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes -- they just don’t know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter -- and they’re on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity.

There are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet but deep. Their values sustain our national life.

Now I have used the words “they” and “their” in speaking of these heroes. I could say “you” and “your” because I’m addressing the heroes of whom I speak -- you, the citizens of this blessed land. Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this Administration, so help me God.

We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your make-up. How can we love our country and not love our countrymen -- and loving them reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they’re sick, and provide opportunity to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory? Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic "Yes." To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I’ve just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world’s strongest economy.

In the days ahead, I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government. Progress may be slow -- measured in inches and feet, not miles -- but we will progress. It is time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles there will be no compromise.

On the eve or our struggle for independence a man who might’ve been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, president of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans,

"Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of. On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important question upon which rest the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves."

Well I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to insure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children. And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for our own sovereignty is not for sale.

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it -- now or ever. Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so, we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.

Above all we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.

I am -- I'm told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day; and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each inaugural day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.

This is the first time in our history that this ceremony has been held, as you’ve been told, on this West Front of the Capitol.

Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city’s special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand. Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man. George Washington, father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence. And then beyond the Reflecting Pool, the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Beyond those moments -- those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.

Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, the Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.

Under one such a marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the Western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy fire. We're told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, “My Pledge,” he had written these words:

"America must win this war. Therefore, I will work; I will save; I will sacrifice; I will endure; I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."

The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together with God’s help we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.

And after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans.

God bless you and thank you. Thank you very much."

President Reagan's First Inaugural Address.

Audio and visual can be found here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreagandfirstinaugural.html

Some updates

2009-06-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've played 13 .25ers so far. I've won 2 and placed 2nd once since the last update. I had the guy dominated in the 2nd place finish, but the guy had alligator blood.

Original Bankroll: $250.00
Current Bankroll: $257.56

I have an ROI of 586% during the 13 games played so far.

Rail # Session ID Buy-In Cash Out Net Profit
1 171241688 $0.25 $1.41 $1.16
2 171245972 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
3 171256924 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
4 171259545 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
5 171281222 $0.25 $3.49 $3.24
6 171282830 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
7 171286664 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
8 171305689 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
9 171297670 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
10 171311581 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
11 171312086 $0.25 $0.00 $-0.25
12 171324265 $0.25 $2.42 $2.17
13 171325465 $0.25 $3.49 $3.24
Totals: $3.25 $10.81 $7.56

Once my cash out total hits $250, the profits are guaranteed.

Tinkerfell booked the cruise today! We'll be on the Ante Up poker cruise.

1k update

2009-06-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

I played my first 4 games for my 1k challenge. I took 4th in the first one, for a cash of 1.41, and lost the other 3.

Starting Bankroll: 250.00
Current Bankroll: 250.41

Get A Stake happenings

2009-06-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, there's a lot about to kick off for me at GAS.

My King (or Queen) of the Mountain stakes are progressing. I've had one person make it to the top, but he elected not to play the $107 Triple or Nothing. I've had a few people stop playing for various reasons. So far, only 1 person has gone busto.

Thunder Dome, a 2 horse competition, is still taking applications. I will be staking 2 people to $250 for 2 days. The person who makes more money will get a cut of the 2nd place horse's winnings.

To be fair, I also offered Tiny Dome. I will stake 3 people to $25 each. They will be playing this Saturday and Sunday. The person who does best will get all of the profits from the other 2 horses. I've already picked 2 horses, Pointledge and Pokerriffic. I will pick the 3rd horse on Thursday. There are 3 applications so far that have a chance.

I've also lost my mind. I've put up a stock sale for $250. A stock sale is also known as a BAP (Buy a Piece). This is where you raise money to play certain tournaments or cash games (short version).

My stock sale is to raise the money to play 1000 .25 Sit and Go tournaments. I bought half the shares myself, so I'm really only raising $125. Snuffy pointed out that I could do this with $10 and just roll with the profits. I agree, but the point of this is to force me to play the 1000 games. I'm just going to escrow the investor's money.

I am taking side bets, up to $100 in total on the outcome of this challenge.

Tonight is AIPS on Poker Stars. This month's AIPS is an $11 deep stack 8 game mix tournament. (2-7 triple draw, Limit Hold'em, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha). The structure is really good, but I don't know if I'll have time to play.

I still have 9 of my 10 Daily Dollar tournaments to play for Ed, and I need to make time to finish them.

Z

Roller Derby

2009-06-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Tinkerfell, Megan, Heidi and I went to watch Roller Derby last night. In the national league, our Duke City team beat Dallas by a wide margin. Talked to some of the players after the game and they said Dallas never stopped hitting hard.

In the New Mexico league, D.I.A. (Derby Intelligence Agency) went up against the Santa Fe Derby Disco Rollers. Both teams were undefeated, and the winner would be guaranteed a shot in the championship in September. We decided to root for DIA and they ended up winning. A lot of the players from the Duke City team were on both of these teams.

Muffin was one of the top jammers last night, and Megan and Heidi had a chance to talk to her in between the games.

One of the Dallas players got LAID OUT. We saw her later and think she either tore a rotator cuff or dislocated her shoulder from the way they had her slinged up. When she went down, all the players and refs took a knee and the arena was quiet. It took some of the drunks a while to realize that they were the only ones talking.

During the second game, we moved forward to much better seats. Megan and Heidi got in free and the tickets were $12 each for Tink and me, not a bad price.

St Louis is coming to town in 2 weeks, so we might go back.

D-I-A D-I-A D-I-A!

A nice Friday

2009-06-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

Got our passport applications in, and I applied for a replacement social security card. Mine is 35 years old, and showing its age.

I took $50 in to the casino to play 2-6 spread limit hold'em, with a 1/2 kill. For those non poker players in the audience, this means the minimum bet or raise is $2 at any time, and the maximum is $6 at any time. The kill means that if someone wins 2 hands in a row, the game switches to $2 to $9 spread limit, and the person that won the 2 hands in a row has an effective super blind of $3.

Anyway, I had a few nice hands and things went well. I left with $167 after tips. I probably could have stayed and milked the table, but sometimes you just need to leave on an up swing.

Tinkerfell texted me while I was playing and told me that we could go to the New Mexico Wildcats Arena Football game for free. One of her coworkers has a relative who's husband plays. We bought some shirts and the girls got every cheerleader's autograph and a lot of the players. Our team was 1-9 before tonight and now they are 1-10. It was a blast. If you haven't gone to an arena football game and get the chance, go. This wasn't the AFL, it was semi-pro. There were about 500 people or so there.

Tomorrow we're going to Putt Putt and a bit more.

Have fun.

Z

Getastake.com Noob Blog

2009-06-04T15:41:00.000-07:00

I started a question thread at www.getastake.com (GAS) when I first started using the site. I asked every question I could think of. Mike was kind enough to answer all of my questions. Some of these may seem silly, but I wanted to include every question a NOOB might have.

There is a lot of information to process for newbies. I was unfamiliar with staking, much less specific rules for this site, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

I put my application for staking up, and was approved. This process is in place to ensure that you are trustworthy. You can be a lousy poker player and still be accepted. What matters is whether or not you have a "clean" past.

I applied for my first stake. It was an offer from Admin to run 4 x .25 Sit and Gos (SNGs). Admin staked me and I received a private message (PM) from StakeManager asking me to verify that Admin shipped me $1.00 via Poker Stars.

I clicked the button stating that I had and a Rail thread was started for me. A rail thread is where you post your results. Different stakes will have different requirements. Some stakes require first hand, swing hands (where your stack is affected by 20% or more) and bust hands. Others might just require bust hands.

I played my 4 SNGs and made a profit. I finished the stake with a bankroll of 2.42. The rail thread keeps track of your bankroll, so everything is automatic. I closed the rail, using the button at the very bottom of my rail thread.

I received another email from StakeManager. It told me to send Admin 1.71 (His original 1.00 plus 50% of the profits, 0.71). It also told me to send 0.04 to GAS for their 5% cut. I made 0.67 without putting up a dime of my own money.

Obviously, this was on a micro scale, but the math is simple moving up. Had it been a $10 stake, I would have made $6.70.

A couple of questions that may come up: What is makeup and what is stakeback?

Makeup: You don't return all of a backer's initial investment, due to losses. If you run another stake for them, that money is taken out of your final bankroll before profits are figured.

Stakeback: The backer's funds are returned before determining what the profits are. The percentages are then run from the remaining money. This is a standard practice.

Sometimes a stake will be offered with no makeup. In that case, the horse assumes no risk.

I'm going to stop this here for now, it will need editing.

Bad Zorag, no donuts!

2009-06-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've put off a lot of stuff I meant to do here. I need to put links up, but here are some:

www.anteupmagazine.com
www.pokersoup.tv
www.getastake.com
www.escapepod.org
www.pseudopod.org
www.podcastle.org

I bombed out of the King of the Mountain Challenge. I was playing when I shouldn't have been. I have another 210 FPPs that I will use to start this again, later.

I've got a post to work on for GAS, so that should be up tonight.

KotM update

2009-05-29T09:07:00.001-07:00

0 for 1 so far today. I'll edit this post instead of putting up multiple posts.

Edit: 0 for 3, but my system locking up was the biggest cause for the 3rd one.

King of the Mountain

2009-05-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

Over at www.getastake.com, I am running a series of stakes that will culminate in the horse playing a $107 90 player triple or nothing sit and go at Poker Stars. So far, 1 person has completely busted, and the others are still running.

Here's the plan:

Stake Details:
Step 1:

Start with 5 x 2.20 Satellites to the 1/4 million. As you win them, unregister from the 1/4 million for the $T. Run these until you reach $25.00

Step 2:

At $25, start playing $5.40 double or nothings. Do this until the bankroll reaches $60. If bankroll drops below $16.40, go back to Step 1.

Step 3:

At $60, start playing $11 double or nothings. If the bankroll falls below $40, go back to Step 2.

Step 4:

When bankroll reaches $118, congratulations, you can now play a $107 triple or nothing.

If you lose this tournament, you will still have $11 left. You may cash out or start climbing the mountain again. If you lose the triple or nothing, there is no shame. You went the distance, you just didn't claim the prize.

Upon reaching Step 4, you may opt out of the challenge and Ring the Bell. You will be a quitter. Your name shall be carved upon the list of washouts. We shall make fun of you. The shame may be too much for you to show your face in the forums again. But you can quit at this point.

At any time, you may play a Step lower than your current one. If you want, you can play the 2.20 satellites all the way up to $118 before playing the triple or nothing.

I am going to take this challenge myself, and will blog my results. I have started by taking some of my FPPs and playing a 210 FPP to the 1/4 million. I have unregistered, and have $11 in Tourney Dollars to start my climb.

If you go to www.getastake.com and sign up, be sure to type Zorag in for your referral.

Been busy

2009-05-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

OK. I've neglected my blog. Bad Zorag, no donut!

I've been trying to lose a bit of weight. I'm comfortable being 250 or less, but had crept up to 260. I'm 6'5, and if I get down under 220 I don't look healthy. If I get down to 200, I look like I need to be in the hospital. That's been frustrating, as I've basically been eating less in a day than I would at a big meal.

Trucking has been aggravating lately, but all in all, it's good.

Poker has been giving me a headache. Over at www.getastake.com (GAS) I have been doing ok with staking, but totally screwed my game up by playing no limit hold'em (NLHE) tournaments. I'm good at limit Omaha hi/lo. That is until I screw up my game.

Chad, OwnTheDream, and I are starting a new podcast, Beef Beer and Poker: Everything from Steaks to Stakes. It's basically going to be about the stuff you would talk about at a home poker game. We already registered the domain, so too bad!

Gotta go, heading home.

Z

Legislating online poker

2009-05-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

Can someone please provide me with a link to the full text of Barney Frank's recent bill to legislate online gambling? I can find reviews of it, but not the actual bill itself.

Z

8 years old

2009-05-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Megan's birthday was yesterday. She wanted to go to Taco Bell for Nachos Bell Grande for her birthday dinner. She has wanted those since I ordered them a few months ago.

Today is her party, and she's having a traffic party.

Not much else to update right now. I need to go back and get through my to do list.

Z

PodPeeves

2009-04-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

If you're going to put out a podcast, listen to it! Seriously, some of the 'casts I've tried recently have major sound issues.

I know if someone puts out a podcast they probably have a decent speaker system. This is not where you need to listen to the 'cast. Listen on a crappy set of speakers with some background noise. If it sounds good there, you're probably good.

Also, WATCH YOU LEVELS. I listen on headphones a lot. There is nothing worse than needing to crank the volume because the levels are in the mud, then WHAM a spike that nearly ruptures my eardrums.

Z

Down

2009-04-23T03:31:00.000-07:00

Dropped $20 or so yesterday in the team competition. Daggerzz dropped a chunk, too. My team mates picked up some wins, so we're still neck and neck with team hitman. Sif3506 has got some momentum now, so team misawaplayer is going to be a threat.

I really thought we'd have more bust outs by now. Only 3 people out of 15 are under the initial stake of $10.

That's it for now.

Z

GAS Team competition

2009-04-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the link to my rail for the team competition.

The important information for the nonpoker players reading this is in the first post. It will show each of my sessions in a chart, with how much I bought in for, how much I cashed out and the profit. There will also be a grand total at the bottom of it.

According to the rules of the contest, I have to post the hand history of the first hand in a session immediately. If all that stuff doesn't make sense, skip it. There will also be rail posts, these will show the buy in and amount cashed out.

Any questions with it, just ask.

As of right now, I'm the number 1 horse with $69.10. The initial stake was $10 and we started yesterday morning. At the very top of the page there is a chart that shows team standings.

z

2009-04-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

Need to put details up. Late into day one of getastake.com's 3 team competition, I have turned $10 into $38.85. Next closest is daggerzz with $27.55.

More later.

Blew my recent profit

2009-04-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sat down and played .50/1.00 LO8. Bought in for $20 and topped off later with another $10. Ended up down about $25 when I left. Sat down at a .25/.50 table and was doing ok. I think I was up about $8.00 and was about ready to leave when BurnsMyToast sat down. I was tired and should have left, but I didn't. I was dozing off by the time I left. And I was down about another $5.00. I haven't looked at my hand histories yet, but I know I was playing way too many hands.

It's not so bad as long as I learn from this and DON'T DO IT AGAIN! If I'm not playing well, I need to just leave.

Will get the links and beginner poker info up later today or tomorrow.

Lunch is over, back to work.

Bust a Nut!

Coming soon

2009-04-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

A list of poker books.
An offer to invest in a rock band's first CD.
Links to sites that I enjoy.

Where to go from here?

2009-04-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

I've been playing the .25/.50 and .50/$1.00, more of the former than the latter, Limit Omaha 8 games. I've been doing well with them. I haven't had a losing session yet. I'm up almost $30 after about 800 hands. I look in the lobby for the tables with the highest percentages of people seeing a flop.

I'm grinding these out, and trying to multi-table when the conditions are right. I'm going to work my bankroll up about another $100 before I move up a level. I might start playing more of the .50/1.00 before then, though.

My plan is to keep moving up levels slowly until I find a level where I don't have a huge edge. Then I'm going to step back one and see how much money I can make per month. I need to get PT Omaha or a similar program, and I plan on doing that next month.

Quads twice in three hands!

2009-04-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

I didn't get my quads, but I would have gotten them twice in three hands:

2nd hand of a .10 360 NLH SNG:

2 hands later:

Year of the pro

2009-04-10T16:37:00.001-07:00

Write it down, there will be at least 6 pros at the final table of the Main Event this year. Buy-ins by average Joes will be way down. Satellite winners may reach an all time high.

Not bad

2009-04-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

I won 2 of 10 and placed 4th once, for a total of 9 units. A couple of times focus became an issue.

Buy ins: $17.50
Cashes: $24.30
Profit: $6.80
ROI: 39%

I can do better. I think I need to keep playing these and not step out of this zone unless there is a very good reason, and I've planned on it. For instance, I want to play one of the SCOOP Limit O8 events, but I don't know about the timing. I have stuff to get done tomorrow.

After I get to where I am slaughtering these, I'll move up to the $3.40. The rake isn't quite so bad there. 16.67% for the 1.50 + .25 vs 13.33% for the 3.00 + .40.

I've got to get to where I'm multi-tabling at least 3 of these tournaments at a time if I expect to get a decent return on my time. I'm gonna put it at about 10 hours for the tourneys I just ran, for $0.68/hr. Eww. If I can triple that by running 3 at a time, and double it for jumping up to the 3.40 tournaments, that's about $4.00/hr. Still not great, but I should be able to get better payouts than I currently am.

If I can get 1 unit/tournament it'll look like this, I'm using 4 hours for my time investment:

1.75 tourneys=9.50 profit. $2.375/hour (2.50 in rake)
3.40 tourneys=20.00 profit $5.00/hour (4.00 in rake)
16.00 tourneys=110.00 profit $27.50/hour (10.00 in rake)

I don't think these numbers are unreasonable. I need to walk my way up the ladder doing this, though. Variance is gonna be a mother.

Z

Big step backwards

2009-04-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

After my miserable showing in my prop bet with Blazman and Rant2112 (10x$16 18 player SNGs), I decided to take a step back.

I played $10 in .25 tourneys and had a 50% ROI. It probably should have been higher, but once I was guaranteed profit I turned into a maniac. These things were sucking the life out of me when I was taking them seriously.

Now I've moved on to the next phase: 10 x $1.75 18 player SNGs. I'm going to concentrate on O8, but I may step over to something else to break up any monotony.

I played my first one last night, and took it down for $10.80 cash. I felt like I was on an entirely different level than most of the other players. I timed my bluffs well, made the right calls and laid down the 2nd best hand more than once.

I explained the payout structure for Poker Stars 18 player SNGs over at the Ante Up forums, but I'll break it down here.

Look at the payout as units. There are 10 units paid out:
1st=4 units
2nd=3 units
3rd=2 units
4th=1 unit

In the $1.50 + .25 that I'm playing now, each unit is worth $2.70. The rake is pretty brutal at this level, but you still only need to earn 7 units in 10 tournaments to show a profit. (At the higher levels, you can turn a profit with 6 units in 10 tourneys.)

I look at these as 4 different tournaments wrapped into one. Each tournament pays 1 unit. In the first tourney, it doesn't matter how many chips you have, you just need to place in the top 4. It progresses in this manner for each successive tournament.

The only advantage to having more chips is better positioning for the next event. This is obvious, but the subtle key to these is that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th tournaments are freerolls. You have to outlast 13 players in the first tournament to earn your buy-in back and a little more on top of it. Every place you move up saves you a buy-in and keeps you from having to deal with the field.

Here is the key to these tournaments, write it down and don't forget it: Do not plan your strategy on finishing first. Your strategy should always be to make it to the next level in the best position you can. If you're short stacked, tread water. Every time you outlast a person, you win more than you do for placing 4th, since you don't have to pay the buy-in.

Winning should be your ultimate goal, obviously. However, finishing 2nd and earning 3 units pays more than finishing 4th in 3 tournaments and earning the same 3 units. It's like a hybrid Double or Nothing. You need to worry more about outlasting people than building a big chip stack, but that big stack will earn you more.

Bonus info: DO NOT PLAY The $20 + 2 18 player SNGs. The $15 + 1 has a rake that is 6.66% versus the 10% in the $20. The $50 + 5 suffers from the same rake inequity, but at least it is a much higher buy in.

Z

It's a step

2009-04-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I haven't set up my own site, but at least I started a blog. If somebody bugs me enough, I might actually change the layout here some day.