Incredible Billiards Video

Anyone who enjoys playing pool will love this video of Semih Sayginer. He's a world class 3 cushion billiards player and it's unreal what he does in this video.

New add-on lens for macro shooting

I'm getting used to my Raynox DCR-250 macro lens and wanted to share a shot here. I'm trying to find interesting things to shoot for a macro feature here so this is the first in what will be a semi-regular thing.

This is a hand held, non-cropped, full frame shot at 21x magnification with my Canon S3 IS. I'll reveal what this actually is after a few people take some guesses. As always, I'm using thickbox so you can click on the image for a larger view.

Sat. Night Home Tourney

Went to a friends house for a semi- regular tournament this past Saturday night. 8 runners showed up for the $30.00 buy in tourney. There were 2 players I had no experience with so my strategy was to play this like a Sit & Go; tight early playing only premium hands with some c-bets thrown in to keep the weak passives/donk bettors honest.

The blinds started at 1/2. First hand I'm in the Big Blind and was running late so I didn't get to play it. Next hand, in the SB I get 77 and raise it up to 7 and get 2 callers. The flop comes Q 9 6 which doesn't help me and I check. Normally this is a spot I c-bet when playing in cash games but I know one of the players likes to bet (usually 1/2 pot or less) with any piece of the flop so I check with the intention of calling. No such luck as it's checked around. The turn brings me a 7. The card is great for my hand but brings a possible straight so I protect my hand by betting 2/3 pot and I take it down. Nice start.

I pretty much sat back from there and waited for opportunities to come up to gain some chips. Most of the hands I played I opened in the CO or button and would take it down with a strong c-bet. The general feel I got was that my aggression was going to pay off in the right spots. Most of the players don't really have a good concept of how to properly bet, or assess their opponent's ranges except NeonBlack whose always dangerous in terms of poker play.

A good example was one of the unknowns is in middle position. UTG opens to 4, and he min. raises to 8. All fold except the opener who is getting great odds here with any two cards. Flop comes Axx with a flush draw out there. Unknown openly groans and starts shaking his head. I knew right away he had KK. So UTG leads for a bet and Unknown calls. Turn comes a deuce and UTG leads again. Unknown shoves and loses when UTG shows A2. He's not happy but if he raises more pre-flop he gets him to fold.

So I noticed that the UTG guy will be susceptible to some light 3-betting since I'll have absolute position on him. I get to do it to him twice. One time he outright folds pre-flop. Next time he calls and checks the flop. I had like QT off , miss the flop completely and give him a stiff c-bet. He tanks for a few minutes and stares at me saying "I know you have AK. I don't think I can call though." Thanks. You just told me you have maybe mid pair with a weak kicker. If you call here I'm double barelling you 'cuz I know you're folding that weak sauce. Too bad he folded.

Nothing else really happened except when we got to the bubble. 3 places pay. 3rd place gets their buy in back and 2nd gets double that. I have a nice stack after earlier knocking out NeonBlack, who was getting pretty low on chips. He shoves in early position and I'm on the Button w/ 77 again. I know he needs chips and will shove a huge range here so call, as the blinds were on life supprot and hanging on for dear life. He shows KQ spades and I send him to the pool table when he doesn't improve.

The chip leader has a giant stack so my play now is to avoid him for the most part and punish the shorties. Thanks to Ryan's Sit & Go videos and my Mini Mastermind group at Poker Dynasty for improving my bubble play a lot. I knock one of them out and am in the money. I get it to Heads Up and start shoving any 2.

The blinds are now 20/40 and I have right around 11 or 12 BBs so I'm not folding much. I get no action when I shove. We go back and forth for a few hands until he finally open shoves. I know he doesn't have a pocket pair, as he LOVES to trap people with big hands. I figure I'm a 60/40 with my T9 os and call. He shows A7 os. Just about what I figured he have. I hit a T on the flop to take the lead. If this holds up I'll be in great position to win my third tourney here. ( I've won twice and placed in the money 4 out of 5 times ). Sadly an ace hits the river. I'm sure I a case could be made for folding the hand since my M was right at 11 and my calling range should be really tight. I went with my read here so I'm not worried too much about it.

I did stack him in the cash game that followed, although he only bought in for 10BBs. What is that weak sauce buy in after winnig the lion's share o fthe money? LOL. We played 1/2 NL. I bought in for 30 BB and was one of the biggest stacks on the table. Most everyone else bought in for 10- 20BBs I had 88 UTG+1 and raise it to 6, get one caller (10BBs). I hit my set and lead/ call his shove for the win. The cash game didn't last too long though and I made a little bit more so all in all it was a good night.

Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand....

Sweet Emotion....

I’ve been listening to the P.O.T.U.S. ’08 channel on XM Radio lately (I know, politics is boring) and heard an interesting piece during the news segment that got me thinking a bit about poker. Okay, I think about poker quite often so this was another excuse.

Since I’m in sales I know that a lot of purchases are based on emotion. If you can get your customer emotionally involved in the product you’re presenting your closing rate shoots through the roof. In the news piece, the reporter was talking about a study that was done to see how emotion can affect your spending habits. They showed a control group a short movie about a boy and his mentor where the mentor dies horribly in the end and found that customers -feeling very distraught after the show- were willing to purchase bottled water at 4 times the normal rate. Another group was shown a different movie and they refused to pay such an exorbitant price. Their reasoning skills weren’t affected by their emotions at all while the other group clearly was.

What does this have to do with poker? Since we play this game for money it means everything. If you can’t control yourself after someone hits a 4 outer on the river to beat you it will cost you more money than the hand you just lost. I’m guilty of it and I think we all are to some extent.

Think of it this way. You just lost a little on that hand. How much more do you want to lose because of it? Let your emotions fly and you’re guaranteed to lose like no other. Reign them in, stay focused and patient, and the money begins to flow your way. Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand…..

Wow! Some Amazing Guitar Work! (Rodrigo Y Gabriela)

This song is from Rodrigo Y Gabriela's latest CD and it's titled Tamacun. Watch the way Gabriela strums the triplets here. She is creating all the percussion sounds you hear by hitting the strings and the face of the guitar. If your toes aren't tapping to this tune you have no soul. Enjoy.

A Belated Resolution

One of the things I really want to work on this year is improving my patience. Not just in poker where it is absolutely essential for success but also in my personal life. I've been trying to focus more on this recently, like not yelling (too loudly) at the idiots that seem to go 10 mph slower than the speed limit every day on my way to work, and learning to let the minor irritants that happen every day just slide off. I don't think this is something I can master in a few weeks but it is really something I need to address to improve myself. I'm sure a lot of other people do as well.

I think patience is a very important trait to have while playing poker also. Being impatient has cost me dearly. One way has been by reacting to opponents bets and not thinking through the situation clearly. That leads to bad decisions, which we all know is the start down the road to ruin. Another way for me personally is by trying to force action with less than strong hands. I play a pretty tight game so the mistakes I make after the flop hurt a lot more since I don't play 24-28% of my hands. Patience and sound reasoning will vastly improve my play so I'll start now. One thing I'll try to remember is "don't sweat the small stuff.... because it's all small stuff."

Thanks for reading and may the good cards hit your hand...

Coolers And Bad Play Last Night

I lost 4 buy ins last night in under 300 hands. I played like a pay off wizard and had some coolers thrown in for good measure.


Does anyone fold this hand? Villain was pretty horrible but I felt even worse here.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter



MP: $40.45

CO: $6.90

BTN: $14.65

SB: $41.95

BB: $13.25

whodat (UTG): $24.90



Pre-Flop: J J dealt to whodat (UTG)

whodat raises to $0.85, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.85, SB folds, BB calls $0.60



Flop: ($2.65) 8 A 8 (3 Players)

BB checks, whodat bets $2, BTN calls $2, BB folds



Turn: ($6.65) 8 (2 Players)

whodat checks, BTN bets $0.50, whodat calls $0.50



River: ($7.65) 2 (2 Players)

whodat checks, BTN bets $11.30 and is All-In, whodat calls $11.30



Results: $30.25 Pot ($1.50 Rake)

BTN showed 8 K (four of a kind, Eights) and WON $28.75 (+$14.10 NET)

whodat mucked J J J J (a full house, Eights full of Jacks) and LOST (-$14.65 NET)



This hand was right before I realized how much on tilt I was. I had notes on this guy that he only bets with strong hands. I called for time before finally saying 'screw it'and losing a bg stack. Funny thing is I was telling myself not to call because of stack sizes, so the "Spidey Sense" was right. I just chose to ignore it and it cost me a bunch. I hate myself for even posting this hand but I must be honest with myself here. My losses would've been manageable if I let this hand go...

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter



SB: $27.15

BB: $25

UTG: $62.35

MP: $35.35

CO: $27.80

whodat (BTN): $46.25



Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to whodat (BTN)

UTG calls $0.25, 2 folds, whodat raises to $1.10, SB calls $1, BB calls $0.85, UTG raises to $62.35 and is All-In, whodat calls $45.15 and is All-In, 2 folds



Flop: ($94.70) A 9 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)




Turn: ($94.70) 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)




River: ($94.70) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)




Results: $94.70 Pot ($3 Rake)

UTG showed K K (a pair of Kings) and WON $91.70 (+$45.45 NET)

whodat showed Q Q (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-$46.25 NET)



Here is more of my stupidity. I'm beat when he raises this river but I barge right in with the worst hand. Not to mention it's an unraised pot and I forgot my own Golden Rule: Big river bets are big hands.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter



UTG: $25

MP: $42.35

CO: $50.80

BTN: $24.65

SB: $13.60

whodat (BB): $24.90



Pre-Flop: T 6 dealt to whodat (BB)

4 folds, SB calls $0.15, whodat checks



Flop: ($0.50) 9 5 4 (2 Players)

SB checks, whodat checks



Turn: ($0.50) 7 (2 Players)

SB bets $0.25, whodat calls $0.25



River: ($1) 8 (2 Players)

SB checks, whodat bets $1, SB raises to $5.50, whodat raises to $24.40 and is All-In, SB calls $7.60 and is All-In



Results: $27.20 Pot ($1.35 Rake)

SB showed J T (a straight, Jack high) and WON $25.85 (+$12.25 NET)

whodat showed T 6 (a straight, Ten high) and LOST (-$13.60 NET)





So I had a great night! Played, and lost like a total a donkey but I really didn't feel anger afterwards. It's noone else's fault that I chose not to read hands this session or try to put these guys on a range of hands and I got what I deserved.

Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.

A Little Poker, A Few Bikes......

Being a ninja, in the poker sense of the word, is the reason I joined Poker Dynasty. I feel that with the resources available to me here there is no reason I can't be successful. One of the best features is the Mini Mastermind. You meet with a group of like-minded people and discuss poker theory, go over hand histories, and/or, watch a member play a table explaining why he does what he does, all the while receiveing positive feedback on what he's doing correctly and what he may need to do to improve his game to reach the next level. It's starting to improve my game a lot and if you're interested in doing the same please click the link above and tell them whodatdare sent you. You won't be sorry you did.

The shot above was taken at Barber's Motorsports Museum in Leeds, AL, and is the "world's largest collection of vintage motorcycles and Lotus racing cars"( taken fromtheir site). It is 5 floors filled with motorcycles from around the world. The oldest one I found in my brief tour ( because this was a Christams party with free food and booze, and I llike free stuff!) was a Harley Davidson from 1908.

The racetrack here is considered to be one of the top 3 in the world. Rumor has it when Mr. Barber first built the track he had some world class racers test the track for him and give them their assessment. They said it was definitely a great track and was one of the the top 15 in the world. Mr Barber had the whole thing ripped up and redone.

This shot above was taken from the 3rd floor. You can only see 9 of the 15 bikes in this column. There are columns on each corner of a glass elevator. The second bike form the top inthis column is, you guessed it a Ninja!

This one really caught my eye because of the color and then I realized it had Michael Jordan's logo on it. He apprently loves racing and co-owns a team . If you click on this link goto gallery and pick a track for some awesome pics.

Hope you like these shots. I even talked a little poker too. That hasn't happened here in a while ;-)

Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hityour hand.

Some Great Blues Work By The Fat Man

I love Blues music and growing up in Chicago gave me lots of access to it. I went to school with Muddy Waters' kids and he would play the occasional free concert in my high school, or at the local festival in the fall.

This version of the Howlin' Wolf classic was always a favorite of mine when the Grateful Dead came to town. Jerry really shines on this song and Bob Weir's voice just seems to fit really well with this style of music.

Wing, Wing, Wing....

Whodat? Dat you? Yes, it is yours truly on the wing of a KC-135 Stratotanker used by the Alabama Air National Guard for air re-fueling. My brother-in-law was gracious enough to give us a tour of this air craft, which has a crew of three. He's the boom operator and handles all the in air re-fueling. He actually lies on his belly in the rear of the plane and looks through a window to do his job and communicates with the pilot up front, the pilot waiting for fuel, while making sure the boom doesn't damage any of the jets. It is remarkable what he does. You can find more info here.

Below is a close up shot of the back of one of four engines used on this bird. Each engine creates 22,000 lbs. of thrust and it is feasible that the aircraft can fly on one engine. I wouldn't want to find out if this is true.

Thanks, Pip, for your time and for giving my 7 yr. old nephew the experience of a liftime! Ring the bell, and the next round is on me!