tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-303638742024-03-07T15:37:09.689-08:00Memoirs Of a Leather Ass GrinderLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-4645916647494342212008-06-16T22:14:00.000-07:002008-06-16T22:16:45.628-07:00This years fantasy teams<span style="font-weight: bold;">Buck</span> - Ivey, Rob Mizrachi, FBT, Tom Schneider,<br /><br />Benyamine, D. Williams, Jordan Morgan, Boyle,<br /><br />Scott Clemets, Humberto, Marco Traniello,<br /><br />BeLoW, R. Williamson, Mike Wattel<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FBT</span> - Seidel, Fergueson, grinder, Gavin Smith,<br /><br />Gracz, Efro, Kenny Tran, Todd Brunson, S.<br /><br />Fischman, Cassidy, Raymer, B. Baxter, Rafi<br /><br />Amit, Jeff Madsen<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Jesse</span> - Daniel, Barry, Singer, J.C. Tran,<br /><br />Johnny Chan, Nam le, David Bennefield, Carlos<br /><br />Mortensen, Brandon Adams, Danny Wong, Shawn<br /><br />Buchanan, Josh Arieh, Mark Gregorich, Jay<br /><br />Rosenkrantz<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Baker</span> - Helmuth, Lisandro, David Phan, Tom<br /><br />Dwan, Ted Forrest, Patrick Antonius, Matasow,<br /><br />Gus Hansen, David Chui, John Hoang, Eli Elezra,<br /><br />Paul Wasicka, J. Phan, Joe Tehan<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Ray </span>- Cunningham, Chad Brown, Edler, S. Sung,<br /><br />Theo Tran, Amnon, F. Deeb, Flack, Haralobos,<br /><br />Nick Shulman, Noah Boaken, Havad Khan, Steve<br /><br />Wong, Adam Geyer<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Josh </span>- Lindgren, Binger, ZeeJustin, Rizen, Andy<br /><br />Bloch, Juanda, Watkinson, Markholt, Jonanthan<br /><br />Little, S. Mizzi, Chad Batista, Scotty Nguyen,<br /><br />Marco, Bill ChenLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-61407159689929576852008-03-07T08:52:00.000-08:002008-03-07T08:53:06.642-08:00Stash! Must listen<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eHSnE8raC0U"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eHSnE8raC0U" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-1738965330404306542007-12-31T18:57:00.000-08:002007-12-31T19:03:00.918-08:00Phish<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oI8ThbWoS-s&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oI8ThbWoS-s&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />I think for the rest of my life the first thing I think about when New Year's Eve approaches is the band Phish. The band just took it to another level on New Year's. This is a version of The Sloth played on New Year's 1995 at Madison Square Garden. This show is considered by many to be the best Phish show ever.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-61740112525294200392007-12-25T22:51:00.000-08:002007-12-25T22:52:15.922-08:00YouTube/Butane Variations<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ZKUZOr-eRQ&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ZKUZOr-eRQ&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />I just learned how to post YouTube videos on my blog...here is oneLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-51399885334740798832007-12-15T10:06:00.000-08:002007-12-15T10:33:59.098-08:00Box Of Rain, One more Saturday MornWhile waiting to go play some football in sub 32 degrees weather I opened up my ITunes and decided to listen to "The Pod" by "Ween", I downloaded <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pod">"The Pod"</a> yesterday and have yet to give it a full run through, although I am familiar with many of the songs on the 23 track album.<br /><br />During the first track I lost a bit of concentration on the music, I was reading a preview of the Syracuse basketball teams match-up tonight vs East Tennessee State. When my attention returned to the music I realized my ITunes must have been set to shuffle. I had been listening to 90 seconds of a version of "Box Of Rain" by "The Grateful Dead" performed on New Years 1972. As I went to switch the music back to the "The Pod", I decided at the last moment before clicking the button that "Box Of Rain" is not the type of song u turn off 90 seconds in. It was a great version and man what an amazing song.<br /><br />While writing this blog I had this very important IM conversation with my friend Justin.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:12:53) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> well we didnt organize a game this weekend</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:13:00) </span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Justin:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">you gonna give woodrow the medicine again?</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:13:03)<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Me</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> but my friend is itching to go toss it around so I guess I am going to</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:13:13) </span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Justin:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">hook hook, stop and go?</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:13:13) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> nah Woodrow cant handle it</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:13:48) </span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Justin:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">i feel like the out and up is pretty much unstoppable in pick up football</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:14:06) </span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Justin:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">everyone loves to jump the out route</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:14:34) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> eh</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:14:45) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> some people just take away the deep ball all day</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:14:57) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> but u can get em for button hooks up the field</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:15:03) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> I played some QB last week</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:15:10) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> dominated the short game</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:15:15) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Pennington like precision</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:15:24) </span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Justin:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">lol, nice</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:15:47) </span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Justin:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">i would take away the deep ball all day i think</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:15:54) </span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Justin:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">most qb's aren't patient/accurate enough</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:16:01) </span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Justin:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">play bend but don't break</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:16:02) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> yea exactly</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:16:05) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> thats what I do</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:16:11) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> usually works</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:16:31) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> its a little lazy tho and clearly not optimal</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);">(13:16:39) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(22, 86, 158);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;">Me:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> it can be exploited but usually isnt</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(168, 47, 47);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(13:16:48) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Justin</span></span><b><span style="font-size:100%;">:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial;">yeah<br /><br /><br />Rights to the Ways and the Rules of the World!<br /><br />Go Pats<br /></span></span></span>Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-19309260025140124542007-10-19T07:04:00.000-07:002007-10-19T07:06:28.420-07:00How Does The Song Go?<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/19/a_mindbender_class/">Grateful Dead class at UMass!</a><br /><br /><br />I am headed home for the next couple days to see the Red Sox play games 6 and 7 of the ALCS at Fenway Park, I really hope we can pull it off.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-15311540845626461102007-09-10T15:16:00.000-07:002007-09-10T15:20:38.198-07:00Move Over ShaniacI think I just found the best blog ever...<a href="http://doctormooney.blogspot.com/">http://doctormooney.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />Please search through this thing. The downloads are simply incredible and the guy writes very well too.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-87542260017278979532007-08-24T11:18:00.000-07:002007-08-24T11:19:12.942-07:00Bo Knows<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=hAAgfY_NHzw">http://youtube.com/watch?v=hAAgfY_NHzw</a>Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-64595133041828303512007-07-23T12:17:00.000-07:002007-07-23T12:21:19.569-07:00TheHeavyPets.comI just returned from the midwest, I traveled with the band The Heavy Pets for 4 nights. These guys are a great up and coming rock and roll band, and luckily are all good friends of mine too. Here are my reports from the run that I posted on TheHeavyPets.com forum<br /><br /><br />REPORT 1<br /><br />Out in Minnesota, following The Heavy Pets. Show tonight at 9:30 sharp. Everyone is super excited and in good spirits.<br /><br />There is one slight negative piece of news from today that I will pass along. If u didnt know, Jeff and Mike each bought a new (sick) guitar amp Thursday in Warrenvillve, Illinois' "Guitar Center". Unfortunately while setting up for a mid-afternoon hotel jam session today, it turned out that Mike's doesn't work.<br /><br />Luckily Jeff's new amp still works, and they still have Jeff's old amp in the trailer. The band will be fine tonight, but a big FU goes out to Guitar Center and Fender for selling the band a lemon amp. Mike plans on picking up a new one tomorrow in the Twin Cites Area Guitar Center.<br /><br />The long drive from Chicago to Fargo, North Dakota was epic. Jim did the whole drive (12+hours), and Mike sat shot gun (shout out to both for a job extremely well done). I got to sit next to Ryan which was obviously a hell of a good time. He was as hilarious as ever, talking about "fucking cheddar eating gutter sluts" (in Wisconsin), and the Bob Weir smear campaign we are considering launching to get fans from his show during setbreak to come watch THP.<br /><br />Yesterday at the festival was pretty heady, promoting the band and meeting some cool people. Many seemed very interested in checking out the band, people out here and in the scene in general are definitely looking for new bands to listen to. The girls at this festival are much less attractive than I was anticpating unfortunately...if u were wondering. Food also is not as good as Langerado or other festies, altho their are some hidden gems. Moe was pretty good, SCI was somewhat lame (imo). This festival is ready for some band to come in and blow some heads away, that should happen tonight.<br /><br /><br />REPORT 2<br /><br /> What's up guys.<br /><br />The best thing about the show Saturday night was that a good number of people became instant fans of The Heavy Pets. The worst thing is that Bob Weir with Kimock was probably the worst act to be up against.<br /><br />The more I think about it, the time slot really hurt the band here. If Trey was around then it would have been better in some ways because some people resent Trey or are sick of him, he isnt a must see really. Most feel differently about Ratdog, they may not love the band but everyone loved the Grateful Dead and their songs and Ratdog does justice to a lot of it. They have a very professional clean feel to them, and were my favorite act besides THP at 10Klf (I didnt see Derek Trucks)<br /><br />The attendance at the show started off pretty good, and then right after a solid John Galt that kept everyone dancing throughout, a lot of people realized that Ratdog's 2nd set started and some people left. This definitely sucked some energy out of the room. The band has to be highly commended for keeping it going tho, and once Pleasure Tank started I don't think a person left the venue and many started trickling back in.<br /><br />From Rise to Pass It Down the place was rocking. It was amazing to see all the people blown away by this murders row of THP classics. I talked to a bunch of heads after the show and they will definitely be remembering the band and telling friends.<br /><br />I wish for the band that somehow we could have gotten such an energetic crowd for the whole show, these festivals are tough when u are 2000 miles away from home and noone has heard of u yet. Also, we all have been to festivals and it is like watching TV...wow this band is real good, but "I wonder what else is on". Its so hard to cement a festival audience, but they finally did it for the last 30 or so minutes.<br /><br />It was a tough assignment, but the band got the job done. A good indicator of that is the solid job of merchandise sales Alex, Rachel and to a lesser extent I managed to pull off. Selling over $200 of merchandise to random people who have never heard of u 30 minutes earlier is pretty impressive and a testament to the buzz THP can create.<br /><br />By the way, I had the absolute best time ever with these guys the past few days. It is really an amazing crew as we all know, and they all have the same goal in mind which is very encouraging. It is not easy what these guys are trying to accomplish, nor should it be, but we should all feel very lucky that we can be along for the ride.<br /><br />See everyone in PhillyLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-91950961097642353852007-07-16T23:16:00.001-07:002007-07-16T23:17:55.622-07:00East CoastI am back, it was a great summer. As all poker tournaments usually end there was a bit of dissapointment to close everything out. Shane made a great run, but ended up coming in 4th. One key "coinflip" and he probably wins the thing. Razor made an incredible run through the 6000+ WSOP Main Event field and ended in 12th.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-70877042275266219912007-07-15T04:55:00.000-07:002007-07-15T05:02:52.696-07:00WOWShane is at the final table of Bellagio Cup 3 WPT event tomorrow. First prize is 1.36 million, 6th is around 225K (I think). He goes in the final table in 2nd place. Behind Kevil Saul, an online crusher, and ahead of Mike Matasow, Danny Wong and 2 other guys I dont know. Its a tough table, but Shane is hungry and knows what to do in this spot. I will be rooting him on tomorrow starting at 4 PST.<br /><br /><br />Meanwhile, Rocking Ray Henson is 3rd in chips with 36 left in the Main Event! He had a sick day today, ending with 8.5 million chips (he started with 1.1). Its ridiculous how composed this guy is. He called a turn check-raise and river bet from Scotty Ngyuen with middle pair and it was GOLD BABY!<br /><br />I gotta go to sleep, but hopefully tomorrow is another succesful day for 2 of the people in poker I root for the hardest.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-57492513205782847752007-07-14T20:13:00.000-07:002007-07-14T20:18:42.481-07:00Man Alive!Justin just busted from the Main Event, finishing 83rd out of 6500 runners. It was a simply amazing run by him. He played great and got it in super good at the end. AKs vs Q9o. The action went small blind limps, Justin makes a sizeable raise in the BB and the SB goes in to the tank and finally takes the bait and shoves it in. Justin snap-calls and he is a 68 percent favorite in a huge pot. Justin took home 82,000 dollars for his troubles, not bad when u look back on it. <br /><br />The good news is Rocking Ray Henson is still cruising along. He is 4th in chips with 70 left. Him winning would be out of this world. I am headed down to sweat him now for the end of the day. First prize is 8 million<br /><br />Shane Schleger is quietly expertly dominating the Bellagio Cup 3 in the meantime. Shane and I have discussed how an expert always seems to have his coming out party at this tournament and with 18 left, Shane has a real shot. He is second in chips and feeling good. First prize is 1.3 million<br /><br />Gl to bothLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-35483527567568519172007-07-14T01:34:00.000-07:002007-07-14T01:36:37.856-07:00UpdateVery short update for now, maybe will write more in the morning. After watching them both for about 11 hours, Justin and Ray are still in the Main Event of the WSOP. 113 remain and average stack is 1.1 million. Ray and Justin both have right about 1.1 million left. They both played great today and I expect the same tomorrow.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-21021522752626804422007-07-13T07:15:00.000-07:002007-07-13T07:32:16.661-07:00JV - Razor (Who we are rooting for)I first met Justin Sadauskas in the winter of 2002. We were playing 15-30 or 20-40 limit hold em at foxwoods on some weekend night. Justin was to my left, and we probably played for 12 hours. He was on the end of a trip to Foxwoods with his Chicago crew. Our game was off the hook, and Justin and I shared some friendly chatter along with the rest of the people in the game. <br /><br />A year or more went by before the next time I chatted with Justin, I sent him a message on a poker forum about the new big thing, online poker. Justin had become a pioneer and I asked him if it was really possible to win, among other newbish questions. He claims to have saved this Message for blackmail situations. <br /><br />Justin has became over the years a great friend of mine, even though he often is way behind in any argument about life or sports, it is rare that I question his poker knowledge or instinct. I have even admitted that he is "kind of heady", not as heady as his girlfriend who is "super-heady", but I'm pretty sure he was honored by the mention. It's pretty cool how far we have come from those days of grinding 15-30. <br /><br />Anyways, Justin is still in the Main Event of the World Series. He enters Day 4 with 600K chips. Around 360 remain and the average stack is about 375K. Justin is a great player, and he is completely focused on the task at hand. He needs the relentless support of the east coast crew so he can win one for the good guys. <br /><br />Justin also is a Heavy Pets fan, and plans to attend the Chicago show.<br /><br />Ray Henson is also still in with 330K, another friend and amazingly nice person, among other qualities that makes him hard not to like and root for. Him winning the main event would be great for the poker world, just cause there wouldn't be one person who wasn't super pumped for him. <br /><br />Also Rep Porter has over 1 million chips...<br /><br />If I forgot anyone, I will mention them later, I need to go to sleep so I can get a full day of sweating in tomorrowLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-7218925161550473992007-07-12T15:18:00.000-07:002007-07-12T15:36:42.878-07:00Fantasy PoolsHere are the stats for the Fantasy WSOP pool we did in the beginning of the WSOP. 1st line is Money won, second is cashes, third is bracelets.<br /><br /><br /><br />Greg<br />$1,965,472<br /> 25<br />2<br />Jesse<br />$1,498,420<br />30<br />1<br />Ebo<br /> $862,207<br />21<br />0<br />Kyle<br />$782,889<br />30<br />0<br />Baker<br />$522,976<br />18<br />0<br /><br />Here are the teams<br /><br />Ed Moncada - J.C. Tran, Patrick Antonius, Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest, Kirk Morrison, Joe Tehan, Steve Sung, Joe Cassidy, Danny Wong, Jason Strassa<br /><br />Jesse Martin - Allen Cunningham, Gavin Smith, Greg Mueller, Nick Shulman, Jeff Madsen, Chad Brown, Scotty Ngyuen, Jordan Morgan, Jarred Hamby, Robert Williamson<br /><br />David Baker - Eric Lindgren, Johnny Chan, James Van Alstyne, David Singer, Chris Fergueson, Scott Fischman, Jen Harman, David Grey, Paul Wasicka, Lee Markholt<br /><br />Kyle Wilson - Mike Mizrachi, Nam Le, John Juanda, David Williams, Greg Raymer, Efro, Men The Master, David Pham, Kenna James, Mr Smokey<br /><br />Greg Mueller - Phill Helmuth, Daniel Negreneau, Roland De Wolfe, Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, Gus Hansen, Alex Jacob, David Benyamine<br /><br /><br /><br />It all comes down to the main event, althought Greg has locked up atleast a tie in bracelets, and Kyle and I are battling for cashes.<br /><br /><br /><br />Also, JV, Matt, Jimmy and I did a Main Event fantasy draft...here are our teams, better late than never.<br /><br /><br />Me - Allen Cunningham, Barry Greenstein, Nam Le, Scotty Ngyuen, Alan Goehring, Juanda, Wasicka, Kenny Tran, Antonio Esfandari, Mr. Smokey, Brian Townsend, Eric Lynch, Cliff Josephy, Gabe Thaler, Takeover, Tex Barch, David Singer, Joe Tehan, Steve Sung<br /><br />JV - Antonius, Erick Seidel, Grinder, Fergueson, Lindgren, Hellmuth, Doyle, Thomas Wahlroos, Shannon Shorr, Scott Clemetns, Jared Hamby, Chris Bell, Freddy Deeb, Sorrel Mizzi, Hoyte Corkins, David Plastick, Ian J, David Willaimds , David Benyamine, Devilfish<br /><br />Matt - Negreneau, Matasow, William Thorson, Raymer, Shawn Buchanan, Brandon Adams, Thor Hansem, Joe Hachem, David Pham, John Pham, Robert Mizrachi, CMack, Gavin Smith, Joe Sebok, Neverwin, Johnny Lodden, Tad Jurgensen, Michael Woo, Peter Feldman, Darrel Dicken<br /><br />Jimmy - Ivey, ???Jacob???, JC Tran, FBT, Jen Harmon, Michael Binger, C Brown, Jordan Morgan, Eric Fridberg, Tommy Hang, Shawn and Thomas Keller LOL!, Chip Reese, EFro, Shaniac, Noah Boaken, Theo Tran, Joe Pelton, Dave Baker, Matt SmithLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-83988386465014544892007-07-12T02:14:00.000-07:002007-07-12T02:56:54.242-07:00JV FTWWell for most of us today wasnt a great day, but luckily Justin Sadauskas is carrying the torch of the crew.<br /><br />Woodrow and Smaz both had close to 200K but ran in to some bad spots and are both now out.<br /><br />Justin, has 235K and seems poised to make a run. I think for now I am gonna stick around and see how he does on day 3, but I am definitely ready to get home.<br /><br />I played the Bellagio Cup 3, nothing really happened and I am out...it was an awful run of cards and there isnt much to say. Shaniac has 45K if u are looking for someone to root for. Also online player BeLoWAbove (Kevin Saul) is an absurd chip leader with like 130K more than second place.<br /><br />Anyways, thats it for now...besides Justin good luck to Ray Henson, David Wells and John Spahn in the main event, among othersLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-32550759645305995802007-07-10T06:27:00.000-07:002007-07-10T13:29:40.291-07:00Poker Is Fun For EveryoneI woke up at 11:00 AM this morning, unsure of what side of the country I would fall asleep on. I could either go back home and catch up with friends and rest up before Heavy Pets tour, or I could stay out here, see who makes a run in the main event and maybe play Bellagios WPT event. After talking to Ryan and Sonny, it didnt seem like there was much waiting for me in NY. Sonny seemed to have it right when he said, "if u can't make it back for Bobby in Central Park, there is no point in coming back during the week".<br /><br />I jumped online, checked some email, jetblue flights, and NYC's 10-day weather forecast (didn't look too promising). I quickly won 6000 on pokerstars playing 100-200 limit and the idea of playing the WPT Bellagio event that started in the next few days started to make more sense.<br /><br />I had a bunch of errands to do, including heading over to the Rio to take care of some things. While at the Rio, my buddy Matt Woodward happened to be at the feature table during his day 1 of the main event. The funny thing was that they were at the table because Phil Helmuth was at there table, but Phil didnt show up for over 2 hours. Anyways, Matt should get a lot of TV time and he ended the day with 95,000 chips! GO WOODROW<br /><br />Back to my day, I arrived back to the Bellagio and decided to check out the tournament room. A 1000 single table was filling up and I decided to play. It turned out to be the absolute WORST single table satelittle I have ever been a part of. We got to the 500-1000 level, without busting one person, this is very possibly a satellite record. Someone commented we all deserved some sort of trophy/ribbon for being in the nittiest sit and go ever, I agreed. Anyways I busted from that after 2 and a half hours, and I was pretty unhappy with my decision to play a 1 table satellite when I could have been grinding cash games.<br /><br />It was 6:00 when I got back to my room and there was a 10:00 super satellite on the horizon, I was about to lay down for a nap but I decided to jump on the computer first. I lost 4300 before I could blink and now I was up only $600 dollars on the day, I hated poker again, after loving life 3 hours earlier. I decided to take a nap and see how I felt when I woke up.<br />I woke up at 9 feeling great, as I normally do after naps (I really should nap more), and I headed down to play the Super Satellite. 125 people started, 18 people get a 10K seat. By the bubble I was the far ahead chipleader, I was moving in dark every hand and poker was fun again. I won my seat and will be playing the 10K Bellagio Cup 3, starting Wednesday.<br /><br />The best part of the day was right after the satellite when I started calling all my friends who had just got done with day 1d of the WSOP Main Event. I had a bunch of good friends all playing today and the updates were almost all spectacular. I am very pumped for them all, and I hope they make me stay out here for another week.<br /><br />Here are some chip counts :<br /><br />Justin Sadauskas 98,000<br />Matt Syzmaszek 97,000<br />Matt Woodward 95,000<br /><br />These 3 are some of my best friends in poker, Matt Smaz and I have pretty much mirrored eachothers poker careers since the days of grinding out $15-30 limit hold em, and him making a run would be so sweet (especially cause I have a little sweat piece taboot!)<br /><br />Even tho I am out of the Main Event, I am still super enegerzined about it cause I have small pieces of TEN left in the field. Most of these guys have above average chips, and all of them have above average talent.<br /><br />For you guys who check the updates, this is what my dream final table would look like.<br /><br />Matt Syzmaszek<br />Matt Woodward<br />Justin Sadauskas<br />David Wells (has 39,000)<br />Steve Giufre (has 48,000, another of my very best friends in poker, played Day 1C)<br />Kyle Wilson (has 97,000)<br />Jon Spahn (has 65,000)<br />Courtney Harrington (has over 100 I think)<br />Rocking Ray Henson (120,000)<br />James Gorham (67,000)<br /><br />Also I have a few friends who i do not have pieces of that I am also rooting for like Evelyn Ng, Carl Olson (top 10 in chips!) and Gavin Griffin to name a few...<br /><br /><br />Anyways thats enough rambling for 7 AM...moral of the story, there is still life after busting out of the main event.<br /><br />P.S. has anyone seen or heard from Al "SugarBear" Barbieri? Did he play the Main Event? The answer to this question is pretty important to me, so if u have any info, let me know.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-15055502348247285772007-07-07T22:50:00.000-07:002007-07-07T22:58:25.043-07:0016 Outs Once16 outs once, thats what Kido Pham had when he decided to gamble all in on a T962 board with 2 spades for 11,000 more chips. I was holding KcKs, for the lead in the 33,000 pot but the 9 of clubs on the river officially ended my WSOP 2007 and most likely my trip to Las vegas.<br /><br />Not sure what to write, I am bummed about busting out, but I thought I played fine. Today was not my day I guess. I played very tight in levels 2 and 3 after a level 1 that saw my chip stack yo yo around a bit. My tight image allowed me to make a few steals in the 400-800 round with a 50 ante and I was feeling extremely comfortable when the KK hand came up.<br /><br />On the bright side Kido seemed like a nice guy, and I wish him luck in the event. He also mentioned earlier than anyone he busts at our first table will be rewarded their money back if he goes on to win the event! (lol)<br /><br />Also on the bright side is I have a pieces of a bunch of friends still left in the event and I am basically guarenteed to atleast have a sweat of someone who makes it semi deep. <br /><br />Right now I feel like I am a little numb, I am not super depressed like I am after busting from some events, but I certainly wasnt prepared for this. For whatever reason I thought I would make it thru day 1 one way or another.<br /><br />See ya next yearLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-17819819180742626802007-07-06T22:59:00.000-07:002007-07-06T23:14:53.783-07:00I play day 1B of the World Series Of Poker Main Event starting tomorrow. I will be sure to report at nights end how I stand. I am very excited to get in there and play. I have always felt strong on Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event, making day 2 both times I've played it (and day 3).<br /><br />Today I spent at the gym, spa, pool with JV and then the rest of it in my room. I have been reading some poker books, hanging with friends who stopped by and even managed to win more than a WSOP Main Event buy-in screwing around playing some online poker.<br /><br />I should have no excuses this year, and look to play some expert tournament NL hold-em tomorrow. It is a privilege to be able to enter this event each year, and I plan to give it maximum effort. Yet again, and for the forseable future this tournament is the most anticipated, most enjoyable, most hyped and best value of any tournament on poker tour.<br /><br />At the beginning of my minor tournament successes a couple years ago, my good friend Eric suggested the nickname "Main Event Martin". It certainly hasn't stuck, nor did I hope it to, as it was quite pre-mature. However, if I can make a super deep run in this poker tournament, I might have to admit that Eric has a point when he says "it has a nice ring to it."<br /><br />wish me luckLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-63042942876748971592007-07-02T02:48:00.000-07:002007-07-02T02:49:23.936-07:0023rdI just wrote a long post about how I cashed in the 1500 NL for $25,000 and finished 23rd out of 3148, but it all erased and I need to go to bed for the 1000 rebuy. I am pretty dissapointed, but it was a nice run I guess. Greg Mueller, an exceptional player and good friend is at the final table and will probably win. I will write more when I have more timeLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-52983698263262853472007-07-01T02:44:00.000-07:002007-07-01T02:51:17.920-07:00Day 2 What It DoI made day 2 of the 1500 NL. We are already in the money and resume tomorrow with something like 250 players of the initial 3150. My stack is slightly below average but I still have some wiggle room with 23,000. I was extremely pleased with my play today. <br /><br />My focus was there and I followed my gameplan out all day, I lost 2 coinflips early and was starting to feel sorry for myself, but then I won a nice one and built some chips from there. I also concentrated on learning my opponents today more than I ever have before (besides maybe a few 10K+ events), and although I am still far from expert at it, I think I did a very good job reading my opponents today.<br /><br />I have my work cut out for me tomorrow, but I definitely have a shot in a relatively soft field, not to mention a nice boost of confidence heading in to the home stretch. I'm gonna try to get some rest.<br /><br />ILeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-45759093990530550562007-06-29T22:20:00.000-07:002007-06-29T23:00:51.185-07:00Ray AllenThe NL 5000 6 Max started off great. I built my initial 10,000 chip stack to 40,000 with relative ease and I really was looking like I had a shot at the first prize of 900,000 dollars+. Unfortunately things did not work out how I imagined. A combination of 1 or 2 poorly played hands, a lack of any cards for a couple levels, and a lack of any imagination from me when I was card dead led to my stack moving from 40K to 26K.<br /><br />I then ended up in a coinflip with KJo vs TT when my resteal of the cut-off was interefered with by the Big Blind. No K or J and instead of having 55K with 110 people left I am off to the rail. I came home and broke my no internet poker rule and ended up booking a small loss after being up 2000.<br /><br />Add to all this that the Celtics ended up with a 32 year old shooting guard who has been through multiple knee surgies as there draft pick this year and yesterday could have been better.<br /><br />Today I woke up at 11:15 and hustled over to the rio by noon. This violates the "Jeffery Lisandro Rule" of waking up exactly 90 minutes before a poker tournament, but I needed the extra sleep. I arrived at my table feeling good, and soon had 7500 chips. I felt as tho I was playing slightly too loose before the antes in previous big field events, and my new plan of lock down poker was working like a charm.<br /><br />I don't feel like going through the details...but I lost all my chips in the next 3 hours. A slowplayed KK hand was the biggest dent. I was and still am pretty dissapointed in my last 2 tournaments. I am playing ok, but I am not giving myself the absolute best chance to win.<br /><br />I think the biggest thing I need to work on is learning about my opponents more. I find myself paying off too many river bets lately, I need to be more confident in my reads so that I don't err on the side of caution so often and pay these no names off.<br /><br />Part of the obstacle with this is that with my ADD tendencies I find it hard to pay attention to the hands I am not involved in sometimes. I know many people have this same problem, but when playing live against no names we are giving up too much value by missing hands our opponents play. The best players are paying much better attention than I am. Although the series is almost over, I am going to do my best to learn as much as I can about the players at my tables over the next 2 weeks.<br /><br />When I got back to Bellagio today I was itching to play a live game. The 10-20 NL games are pretty boring so I was hoping a 25-50 NL was going with a decent line up, or a 200-400 limit. a 25-50 NL was going, but the catch was there was a $25 ante. This makes the game super big.<br /><br />I decided to jump in, and try to play super expert. I made some hands and at one point was up $9000. Unfortunately I started to slip down to 6000 and then ran a bluff for another 5K that didnt work out. There is obv much more to the story, but in the end I ended up +2700 or so.<br /><br />I definitely only played my B game at best, but I did think I understood the changes in strategy when playing a game with such a big ante better than most of my opponents and that probably gave me an edge. I really need to improve my overall NL game, especially my river play, it is far from sharp enough.<br /><br />The downswing in my session lingered with me and now that I already broke the seal of my "no internet poker"rule last night, I decided to try to win a couple thousand back online. I found some good games and booked a decent win, my recent live game upswing has definitely come at a good time. <br /><br />As for the Celtics, Ray Allen-Paul Pierce-Al Jefferson and 9 scrubs isnt the worst, but they arent going to win a championship either and it seems like Danny Ainge is now just managing the team to try to save his job more than anything else. It's really a mess, and very sad. Who would have thought 15 years ago that the Patriots would be the class of the NFL, everyone would love the Red Sox owners, yet the Celtics were the laughingstock of the NBA.<br /><br />For you NBA and/or Bill Simmons fans, <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070629">this column </a>is a must read if u havent got to it yet.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-48478709212393235722007-06-27T16:30:00.000-07:002007-06-27T16:48:40.032-07:00Update<a href="http://www.rawvegas.tv/watch.php?vID=4426a45643d2c38fdf8999f5325930">Check out this video on Vinnie Vinh</a> <br /><br />The short story on Vinh is that David Pham used to back him, but then dropped him when he didnt show up for a Final Table at Commerce earlier this year, after playing all day to get there the day before. <br /><br />Vinh has sinced found other backers (rumored to be Tommy Vu) and this video does a good job of updating his recent progress.<br /><br /><br />In other news, I stuck around for a while in the $2000 limit hold em tournament. Finally I was knocked out around 80th place of the 473 players that started when my 99 couldnt outrun ATo. <br /><br />Getting busted from the event turned in to a probable blessing disguise tho, because when I arrived back at Bellagio I jumped right in to a big limit hold em game and by 5:30 A.M. I booked my largest win in a live game ever. I ran pretty hot and was pleased with my play. Money wise the win doesn't do much more than clean up a few of my recent online blow-up sessions, but its nice to have a very positive result. <br /><br />I woke up at 4 P.M. today, and will probably head over to the gym pretty soon. Tomorrow is the 5K NL 6-max event. There is a ton of skill in this event, and most of the best players in the world will be playing it. I am looking forward to the challenge.<br /><br />Our Horse Fantasy pool is working out for me so far. With 16 people left, Matt and Ed are drawing dead with no team members left. Shane has Greg Raymer left, but Raymer is a short stack, while I have medium stack Barry Greenstein and top 5 stack David Singer (my pick at this point to win). Hopefully Fossilman goes busto soon. <br /><br />In other news a prop bet involving Erick Lindgren is the talk of the poker community on NL 5K 6-max eve. Here is the bet outlined by the fine people at wickedchopspoker.blogs.com.............<br /><br />We got a call from Gavin Smith last night saying that Erick Lindgren accepted a $100,000 prop bet with the following rules :::<br /><br />::: He had to play four rounds of golf at Bear's Best in one day.<br /><br />:: He had to walk all four rounds back-to-back-to-back-to-back.<br /><br />:: He'd be shooting from the pro tees.<br /><br />:: He had to shoot under 100 on all rounds.<br /><br />Within 15 minutes, Phil Ivey added another $200k to the bet, and with a few others jumping in since, the total is now close to $350k.<br /><br /><br />Reports are he finished 2 rounds and shot a 46 through the front 9 on his 3rd round.Leather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-37476259079000243072007-06-24T14:39:00.000-07:002007-06-24T15:22:58.774-07:00Not Leaving Las VegasIt has now been 25 days in a row living in Las Vegas, I have been off the strip twice so far. I can't say I am "sick of it" at all really. At this point I feel like I am in some sort of warped reality zone. If there was no end in sight it would be pretty scary, but as it is I am excited for what comes next. Everyday I have woken up out here I have been pumped up for the day that was in front of me. Although the trip has not gone perfect, I think that is enough of an endorsement to label my time out here far from a dissapointment so far.<br /><br />The latest thing I am energized about is mixed game poker. I went to the Gambler's bookstore out here a few days ago when busting a tournament early. The Gambler's bookstore is the one stop shop for any book u need on gambling. I set out to buy 7 different books for sure, and the store had every title. I am very impressed at the selection these guys continually keep in stock. A Chinese Poker Workbook, Ray Zee's Hi-Lo Split Book and Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas were among my selections. I also bought a few other books with the plan of learning more poker games.<br /><br />In the Bellagio poker room these days, it seems like the best game in the room most days is the 300-600 "mixed" game. They usually play a mix of Triple Draw, Badugi, Stud 8, Omaha with Razz, Stud and Hold Em making occasional appearances.<br /><br />As a professional poker player I must learn these games, and I plan to. For a while playing anything but hold em seemed like a waste of time to me, and I think I was right. The games were great and I was still building a bankroll. I am probably a few months to a year behind in making the transition, but I think I have reached the point that I must become a very good mixed game player. I put A LOT of time in to becoming a good hold em player, so the task of learning 4 others games is scary, but hopefully the learning curve will be much faster with my poker experience to date.<br /><br />Much of this urge to play mixed games for sure comes from the buzz created by the $50,000 HORSE WSOP event that starts today. Somewhere close to 225 runners will try to defeat defending champion Chip Reese and many other of the very very best poker players in the world today. This event has already turned in to a huge poker history making success in its 2nd year, and is highly anticipated by all players out here at the World Series whether they play it or not.<br /><br />With that in mind, Shane, Matt, Ed and I drafted our "teams" for the HORSE pool. Here is what we came up with, keep in mind that we had no time to prepare for our draft. It was all off the top of our head picking while we ate dinner at Fix. The team that wins the most money in the HORSE event wins. Here are the teams<br /><br />Shane - Chip Reese, Allen Cunningham, Thomas Wahlroos, Mike Wattel, Greg Raymer, David Oppenheim, Bill Gazes<br /><br />Matt - Patrick Antonius, David Benyamine, Gus Hansen, Erick Lindgren, John Dagastino, Joe Cassidy, Jeff King<br /><br />Ed - Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreneau, Greg Mueller, Nick Shulman, Chau Giang, Jen Harman, Kirk Morrison<br /><br />Jesse - Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, David Singer, Andy Bloch, Chad Brown, Minh Ly, Howard<br /><br /><br />I think David Oppenheim was the steal of the draft by Shane in the 6th round. I am a little upset I took Doyle over Allen Cunningham. I think Shane also had the worst pick in the draft with Thomas Wahlroos 9th overall. <br /><br />Notable omissions include Jeffery Lisandro and Ted Forrest. These guy are easily top 28 players in this field IMO. Also people like Cindy Viollete, David Levi and Allen Kessler have great chances of cashing and probably could have been good late round picks. <br /><br />The HORSE event will suck up much of the excitement in the room this week, but I still plan on playing a few events. My upcoming schedule will look like this, I am not including Day 2 or 3's of events, which would obviously overide a day 1 I was planning on<br /><br /><br />Sunday (Today) - 5 PM Mixed Limit and No-Limit hold em $1500 (3 day event)<br />Monday - Day Off<br />Tuesday - 12 PM Limit Hold em $2000 (3 day event)<br />Wednesday - Day Off<br />Thursday - 12 PM No Limit Hold em 6-Max $5000 (3 day event)<br />Friday - 12 PM No Limit Hold Em $2000 (3 day event)<br />Saturday - 12 PM No Limit Hold Em $1500 (3 day event)<br /><br />Writing out that schedule really reenforces how much oppurtunity their is still left in this WSOP. 5 events in the next week and then 3 or 4 more including the Main Event. I am gonna try to give each one 100 percent focus. <br /><br />Thats it for now, need to call room serviceLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30363874.post-20049631086556384322007-06-21T18:34:00.000-07:002007-06-21T18:53:09.181-07:00BlahIn the 3000 limit tournament I thought I played well, but busted at the end of day 1 around 2:30 AM. I promptly went the booth and signed in for the next day's event, the 1500 NL. After my 8 hours of solid sleep I woke up and rushed over the rio in time for the 2500 person tournament.<br /><br />My first table was ridiculously soft, but I got nothing going. Later I was moved to a tougher table, but managed to build 18,000 chips with some good situations after a few hours. 18,000 was quite a nice stack for that spot in the tournament. <br /><br />My stack was 3rd biggest at the table when I got involved in a pot with one of the bigger stacks. A tightish player limped UTG, and the big stack limped in late position with 30,000+ chips. It was up to me in the SB and I had AKo. My image was a bit more loose-aggressive than it normally is, and for that reason I briefly considered just completing, but instead chose the pretty standard move of making a pretty big raise.<br /><br /> I made it 3000 total to go. The Big Blind short stack folded, and it was up to the UTG player. He thought for 20 seconds or so and then disgustedly folded his hand. Now, the Big stack player calls the extra 2600 in a shot. My read was he was spite calling this 2600 chips, I put him on a pretty mediocre pre-flop hand, but that could be many hands, including a small pocket pair, suited connectors or random biggish cards.<br /><br />The flop was T85 rainbow and I bet 4600 in to a 7200 chip pot, leaving me with about 11,000 left. Again my opponent called fast. I really wasnt sure what he had, but I figured that if his hand was super big he might of just raised it there because it looked like I was pretty committed to the pot. <br /><br />My best guess was he had a hand like 44,66,77 and was calling the flop to slow me down. With this being my best guess, I decided the only logical thing to do is shove any turn card and hope for the best (him folding). <br /><br />Well, the turn was an 8, making the board T858. I shoved and he called instantly with 86 offsuit. <br />'<br />I was more dizzy after this hand then any hand so far this series. I could have done many different things in the hand. First I could have just called pre-flop in the SB, there are many reasons why to do this and why not to do this. I am not going to list all the pro's and con's but for you poker players I assume u already have considered them all. <br /><br />After the fact I also realized that a flop check, followed by a check-raise or fold if I really hate the spot is possibly expert. It is going to be tough for him to call this power move without a read. Unfortunately I never even considered this move, and im sure thats a leak of mine. We dont get many options in a poker hand, its probably right to explore each one (in this case 2, bet or check) before we make a move. <br /><br />In the end, my read of the hand was pretty accurate, and if he doesnt spike his 5 outer on the turn, he is going to be in a tough spot faced with basically calling off 18,000 chips with 86o after he flops an 8 vs an opponent showing maximum strength. <br /><br />In the end im pretty annoyed because I had a nice stack and was in a very good spot in a tournament field that was pretty soft. Our table was also most likely breaking soon, I was just about to ask the tournament directors about that. <br /><br />Ugh I wish I just completed my small blind one timeLeather Ass Grinderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16244553230087403704noreply@blogger.com1