I am going on vacation from December 29th - January 11th. Wish me well :)

Think I should have smooth called in this spot? That flop is kinda scary. I wanted to avoid someone with like A 4 or A 5 catching that straight card which is why I raised like I did. Oh well. Maybe the best thing would have been to call. If he had come out betting on the turn as well I probably would have raised the minimum at that point, maybe a little more. I'm pretty sure he had TT JJ QQ or KK. Would have been nice if he could have made his set on 4th or 5th street :)

***** Hand History for Game 1335184953 *****
0/0 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Wed Dec 22 19:43:33 EST 2004
Table Check and Mate (Real Money) -- Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: RiverBoa ( $45.25)
Seat 2: ArneBjarne ( $37.65)
Seat 3: Token428 ( $32.25)
Seat 4: reyzorxxx ( $37.15)
Seat 5: bobbullwinkl ( $41.5)
Seat 6: twis10 ( $50)
Seat 7: McKim ( $38.85)
Seat 8: Suited_YNot ( $49.1)
Seat 9: NTL888 ( $53.1)
Seat 10: Boonaru ( $74)
Suited_YNot posts small blind (0.5)
NTL888 posts big blind (1)
twis10 posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to McKim [ As, Ad ]
Boonaru folds.
RiverBoa folds.
ArneBjarne folds.
Token428 folds.
reyzorxxx folds.
bobbullwinkl calls (1)
twis10 checks.
McKim raises (3.5) to 3.5
Suited_YNot folds.
NTL888 calls (2.5)
bobbullwinkl calls (2.5)
twis10 calls (2.5)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 3c, Ah, 2h ]
NTL888 bets (4)
bobbullwinkl folds.
twis10 folds.
McKim raises (15) to 15
NTL888 folds.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $32.4 | Rake: $1.1
Board: [ 3c Ah 2h ]
bobbullwinkl balance $38, lost $3.5 (folded)
twis10 balance $46.5, lost $3.5 (folded)
McKim balance $52.75, bet $18.5, collected $32.4, net +$13.9
NTL888 balance $45.6, lost $7.5 (folded)

So I played at a friends place today. $20 tournament. You start with 2000 in chips. Blinds were 25 25, 25 50, 50 100, etc etc. 9 players to start with so pot of $180 (top 2 got paid, $120 for 1st, 2nd received $60). I did not play many hands, won a few pots here and there, largest pot I was in was with me all in with AK vs this guys 44. I caught a K for a much needed double up.

It came down to 3 players. I had about 2500 in chips, guy A had about 5000 and chip leader Guy B had the rest (bout 10500). Blinds were 200 400 at this time with 25 ante. I am dealt AJo UTG. Now let me give you all a little recap about the players left. Player B was a decent player. Guy A was raising everything, going all in with 22 44 in the regular game, got lucky several times and turned his stack of 500 into 5000. He was very lucky to still be in the game, but suffice to say, it's better to be lucky than good. Anyway, so Blinds are 200 400 and I get AJo UTG. I call (obviously I'm predicting guy A to raise outta the BB because he is like that and had done it several times before.) Guy B calls and BB checks. CRAP. Flop comes J 9 2. Guy B checks guy A checks. I think awhile, then go all in for about $1900 more. Guy B (chip leader) thinks for a min then calls. Guy A (crazy mofo) folds. We flip and he has 10-8 for the openended straight draw (I wanted to shoot myself at this moment). Turn comes a blank. He hits a 7 on the river for the straight.

So I know what you are all thinking, if I had gone all in like I should have preflop I would not have been drawn out on. You might be correct, but blinds were about to raise, I had to make something happen, I wanted to try and get as much money as I could from that hand. Both players didn't take my bait and I got screwed in the process. Oh well.

Only thing I can take away from this is what I have said for the past year and a half, I absolutely hate finishing on the bubble :(

Think I should have just called, or maybe just raised the minimum? I just didn't want like overpair of like 99 to catch a 9. And who knows, maybe he had the 24 and was on the draw? :) You never know with these players on Party Poker.

***** Hand History for Game 1332523440 *****
0/0 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Wed Dec 22 01:52:42 EST 2004
Table Rubber Boots (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: MrShmoo ( $77.3)
Seat 2: Horsechoker9 ( $48.5)
Seat 3: Feeney08 ( $68.2)
Seat 4: iveywhite ( $59.75)
Seat 5: McKim ( $38)
Seat 6: TeinGuy ( $47.5)
Seat 7: MRnibble ( $36.4)
Seat 8: tbarker018 ( $80.85)
Seat 9: slogomez ( $53.65)
Seat 10: PENNYPlNCHER ( $124.59)
McKim posts small blind (0.5)
TeinGuy posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to McKim [ 8s, 8c ]
MRnibble folds.
tbarker018 folds.
slogomez calls (1)
PENNYPlNCHER folds.
MrShmoo calls (1)
Horsechoker9 folds.
Feeney08 folds.
iveywhite raises (4) to 4
McKim calls (3.5)
TeinGuy folds.
slogomez folds.
MrShmoo folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 8h, 3c, 5s ]
McKim checks.
iveywhite bets (10.45)
McKim raises (27) to 27
iveywhite folds.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $46.9 | Rake: $1.55
Board: [ 8h 3c 5s ]
iveywhite balance $45.3, lost $14.45 (folded)
McKim balance $53.9, bet $31, collected $46.9, net +$15.9

Preflop, do you think I made the right call? I don't know... please post comments!

***** Hand History for Game 1328646919 *****
0/0 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Tue Dec 21 01:52:29 EST 2004
Table Rubber Boots (Real Money) -- Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: quercus1 ( $31)
Seat 2: Da_ig ( $119.3)
Seat 3: HQL888 ( $58.35)
Seat 4: merced00 ( $42.5)
Seat 5: McKim ( $41.4)
Seat 6: crazy_nhcat ( $56.35)
Seat 7: tmacsj ( $27.93)
Seat 8: MikeBraniff ( $50)
Seat 9: robhill68 ( $58.45)
Seat 10: Ganyard16 ( $50)
Da_ig posts small blind (0.5)
HQL888 posts big blind (1)
Ganyard16 posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to McKim [ Th, Td ]
merced00 calls (1)
McKim raises (4) to 4
crazy_nhcat calls (4)
tmacsj raises (8) to 8
MikeBraniff folds.
robhill68 folds.
Ganyard16 folds.
quercus1 folds.
Da_ig folds.
HQL888 folds.
merced00 calls (7)
McKim calls (4)
crazy_nhcat folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 2h, Tc, 6d ]
merced00 checks.
McKim checks.
tmacsj bets (19.93)
tmacsj is all-In.
merced00 folds.
McKim calls (19.93)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Ts ]
** Dealing River ** : [ 3d ]
Creating Main Pot with $67.36 with tmacsj
** Summary **
Main Pot: $67.36 | | Rake: $3
Board: [ 2h Tc 6d Ts 3d ]
McKim balance $80.83, bet $27.93, collected $67.36, net +$39.43 [ Th Td ] [ four of a kind, tens -- Th,Td,Tc,Ts,6d ]
tmacsj balance $0, lost $27.93 [ Qd Qc ] [ two pairs, queens and tens -- Qd,Qc,Tc,Ts,6d ]

I played at a friends house, $10 buyin blinds are $.10 $.20. In about an hour and a half I am at $35. The first hand I am dealt QQ. Some guy raises to $.80, I reraise to $2. He calls. Flop is KJT. I check. He bets $.60. (less than his raise before). I call. Next card is an Ace. I bet like $1.50. He calls. River is blank. I bet $2, he raises $2. I think about it (but not really) then go all in, he calls with like K shitty kicker. Double up first hand.

Many hands go by, I'm winning some small pots, not getting into too much trouble. I'm at about $35 when this hand came up.

I have AT and I raise preflop as BB to $1.00. Two callers. Flop is AhTc8h, I bet $3, guy to my left raises min. Guy to his left calls immediately. I think very hard about this, I'm trying to determine if one of them has a set. I decide against that and I raise $15 (this puts them both all in.) They both call. Guy to my left has A8 for top and bottom pair, other guy has Kh2h (WTF?). An 8 comes on the turn to give the guy to my left a boat and he takes the pot.

Great, my $35 stack is now at about $15. Few hands later I have AK suited UTG, I bet to make it $.80, some guy raises me little more than the min, i reraise my stack he calls with pocket T's, I hit an Ace then he hits a T.

Overall I played very well tonight. I am not at all upset with my play. However, I do want to mention that I hate poker, and I do not know why I keep playing. Maybe it's just for those nights when I do well, I love those nights much more than nights like this :)

***** Hand History for Game 1323301656 *****
0/0 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Sun Dec 19 21:43:52 EST 2004
Table Fast - Money (Real Money) -- Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: bkmerch ( $56.25)
Seat 2: marcdl ( $35)
Seat 3: FlaTech ( $49)
Seat 4: grappler625 ( $56.45)
Seat 5: McKim ( $120.25)
Seat 6: njpoker21 ( $62.8)
Seat 7: THESLOTHS1 ( $20.1)
Seat 8: Stapher1 ( $50)
Seat 9: And__1 ( $67.25)
Seat 10: lionxking2 ( $53.4)
lionxking2 posts small blind (0.5)
bkmerch posts big blind (1)
Stapher1 posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to McKim [ Ah, 3s ]
marcdl folds.
FlaTech folds.
grappler625 folds.
McKim raises (4) to 4
njpoker21 folds.
THESLOTHS1 calls (4)
Stapher1 folds.
And__1 folds.
lionxking2 folds.
bkmerch calls (3)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 2d, 2h, 4s ]
bkmerch checks.
McKim bets (5)
THESLOTHS1 folds.
bkmerch calls (5)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 5c ]
bkmerch bets (5)
McKim raises (10) to 10
bkmerch raises (42.25) to 47.25
bkmerch is all-In.
McKim calls (37.25)
** Dealing River ** : [ 2c ]
Creating Main Pot with $115 with bkmerch
** Summary **
Main Pot: $115 | | Rake: $3
Board: [ 2d 2h 4s 5c 2c ]
bkmerch balance $115, bet $56.25, collected $115, net +$58.75 [ 2s Ac ] [ four of a kind, twos -- Ac,2s,2d,2h,2c ]
McKim balance $64, lost $56.25 [ Ah 3s ] [ a straight, ace to five -- Ah,5c,4s,3s,2d ]

9 outs... I think. That sucks :( I made the raise mid position to mix up my game, I obviously did not want to be called on the flop. When I made my wheel and he raised me, I did not put him on 2,4 or 2,5, I thought MAYBE he had pocket 4's or 5's, but I didn't believe it. I called and saw I was winning, then disaster struck. Oh well.

It was my brothers birthday December 16th. We had several friends over on the 18th and we played a two table $5 tournament. Blinds started at 1/2 and we had 285 in chips. Took 4 hours but in the end it was myself and my father headsup. My dad had a rather large chip lead, but I offered a split and he graciously accepted. I figured he knew the money would be going to my tuition anyway. :)

There was only one really interesting hand my entire tournament, and really, it wasn't much. It was 4 handed (top 3 placed so loser would finish on the bubble). I was at about 800 chips with blinds 25/50. I am UTG and I raise to 200 with AJo. Fold, then my dad, as the small blind, raises me another 500. BB folds. I was trying to figure out what my Dad would be so confident about (his demeanor was very calm.) I finally put him on AQ and folded. He later told me that he had AK, good for me, I made the right decision.

I'll post later about a hand that my dad was in where he got outdrawn by a one outer. Those suck.

***** Hand History for Game 1269516666 *****
FatBubba has left the table.
$.50/$1 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Tue Dec 07 01:08:38 EST 2004
Table Jail haise rock (Real Money) -- Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: wcb1humboldt ( $115.9)
Seat 2: McKim ( $51.55)
Seat 3: spank4luck ( $65.85)
Seat 5: DoorBell ( $90.4)
Seat 6: BigSkyConf ( $49.4)
Seat 7: RKDR22 ( $51.6)
Seat 8: bigcheese270 ( $79.15)
Seat 9: m8rearc ( $55.75)
Seat 10: Pigsoooieee ( $22.5)
wcb1humboldt posts small blind (0.5)
McKim posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to McKim [ Jc, 7d ]
spank4luck calls (1)
DoorBell folds.
BigSkyConf folds.
RKDR22 folds.
bigcheese270 raises (2) to 2
m8rearc folds.
Pigsoooieee folds.
wcb1humboldt folds.
DoorBell: Quack Quack Rule!
McKim calls (1)
spank4luck calls (1)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Kh, 5c, Ts ]
McKim checks.
spank4luck checks.
bigcheese270 bets (1)
McKim calls (1)
spank4luck calls (1)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 8h ]
McKim checks.
spank4luck checks.
bigcheese270 checks.
** Dealing River ** : [ 9s ]
McKim bets (9)
spank4luck raises (18) to 18
bigcheese270 folds.
McKim raises (39.55) to 48.55
McKim is all-In.
spank4luck calls (30.55)
Creating Main Pot with $103.6 with McKim
** Summary **
Main Pot: $103.6 | | Rake: $3
Board: [ Kh 5c Ts 8h 9s ]
wcb1humboldt balance $115.4, lost $0.5 (folded)
McKim balance $0, lost $51.55 [ Jc 7d ] [ a straight, seven to jack -- Jc,Ts,9s,8h,7d ]
spank4luck balance $117.9, bet $51.55, collected $103.6, net +$52.05 [ Js Qd ] [ a straight, nine to king -- Kh,Qd,Js,Ts,9s ]

This is how NOT to play poker guys. I clearly wasn't paying attention to the hand when I made that all in bet. Actually, I clearly wasn't paying attention when I made that call on the flop. Overall, this was a horrible hand and I never want to be reminded of it again.