Best not to talk about...

So, in short, a summary for my trip to AC.

Cash: -$290

Set over set at a 2-5 table took me to this amount on the final night, and I was up $200 before.

WSOP Satellite -$190

Lasted to 14th when my 9's did not hold up against k7 when a straight filled on the turn. 5 got seats.

WSOP Omaha8 event -$345

Totally unimpressive, played horribly, was out in 4 hours.

and the one bright spot...

Borgata $100 +20 15k guarantee +$160

I came in 16th, two after the bubble broke, shoving my short stack with 6's against KK.

My run of luck was bound to end, and considering my November wins, this whole thing was kind of a freeroll anyway...I actually only managed to play two WSOP events due to bad money management (i.e., I don't know my daily debit card limit - fail).

I did meet some wonderful people on my trip, though. But that's for a blog I don't currently write. :)

Stupid is as stupid does

Greetings from Harrah's, where I have committed a huge error in judgment.

I planned on playing today's event, got here last night, played some cash(see below) but neglected to remember that my bank card has a maximum withdrawl per day and I didn't come with cash - and therefore could not enter the event today! Woops. There is a 6-max $345 tomorrow, but I've nevr played a 6-max tournament, and while I love playing 6 max cash, 6-max while protecting your stack and quicker orbits...not so much, i.e. I've never even tried to play it. So, aside from an attempt at sattying into the Main Event, I might not play a single woo-sop while I am here. Oh well! I look at it as fate.

Now, to cash. The Harrah's poker room, since it is the site of the woo-sop, was hopping like I had never seen it, with almost every table filled with hoodies and ipods and PLO spreads, it was nuts.

I sit down with $200 at a 1-2 table. Let's just say my day was SWNGY, starting at about 5pm. Once again I failed to be Jordan and didn't take notes, but I ended up being felted twice and caught myself down 400 with 625 total bought in at about 11pm. The pivotal hand that got me back up to even.

Limpy table. Comes around to me in the SB with AKos. I raise it up to 20, four callers, old smug dude, emaciated Hank Azaria and hoodied Lieve Schrieber lookalike. The flop comes A-Q-3, two spades. Decent flop for me, but I check, knowing that I am going to get some kind of action - both of these guys liked to splash. Old guy checks, Liev throws out 25. I make it 50. He calls. Two folds. The turn is another 3, and I check. Liev pushes out 85. I don't think he just calls with AQ, and no way he has a 3 so I feel like I am still good, and I flat call. The river completes the flush, but with a spade 3. Now, if I didn't telegraph that I had an A with the min-raise, this is a great position. I can only hope he thought I was second-best or drawing to the flush, but even with a queen I have some kind of boat....so I was at a loss with what to do here. All I have to fear are quads, AA or QQ and I feel like based on his line, none of the three are possible, and conclude he has been drawing to a flush. Here is the conundrum...do I check and potentially lose value, or do I bet out and possibly induce a fold? Based on the two hours I was with him at the table, if he had the perceived nuts he would always bet the river, so I pretended to miss, and checked. Sure enough he puts me all -in, and I call. He mucks 2s6s. And boom, back up to even.

I drop some chips for an hour and then pack it up, down 15 for the session. You do the math and say, hey, you DO have enough money for the buy-in today! Well, I paid for Bill's Burger Bar with cash. Fail! More to come after today's antics.

Bodog f**ks us all in the ass pardon my French.

What might very well be the most ridiculous software update since Windows Vista, Bodog has succeeded in alienating every skilled poker player, flung open wide an inevitable wave of collusion, and reduced the game of poker to an arcade game in one fell swoop.

If you don't know already, EVERY POKER table on Bodog has gone anonymous - in other words, no more names, just seat numbers. No indication of who is sitting there, which eliminates a HUD's usefulness, or the ability to take any notes. What's more, the update looks and sounds like very little thought had been put into it.

But I see where and why this 'update' has taken place.

Read this statement from Bodog's VP. An abridged version of this article is basically, screw the grinders. On the surface, this whole 'recreational poker model' looks, sounds, and literally reeks of short-sighted judgment. If you read 2+2, players are withdrawing in droves, crying foul at this unannounced plundering of one of the few US-friendly poker sites remaining. Why lose all this business? they will certainly lose mine, as I'll be pulling my substantial bankroll there as fast as their processors will let me. But I think this radical move runs deeper.

Merge has already felt the crunch. They halted accepting US players, and blocked play from 'dangerous' states like New York and Kentucky. Bodog's poker traffic since Black Friday jumped 97%. This 'revolutionary game-changer' that is the Bodog update is not meant to progress - it's meant to eradicate. They know exactly what they are doing - they want the grinders off the site so they don't get in trouble with the DoJ. I highly doubt they even want poker to remain part of their model at all. If they do, they want it to be a game of chance, not of skill - how to do that? Eliminate the edge by making everyone anonymous. What is incredibly frustrating to those of us who enjoyed playing on the site, is that it seems so incredibly asinine to make such a business move - but in the big picture, this is exactly what Bodog needed to do to keep their sportbook and casino intact, and stay viable for the US market in the long term. they'll make more money on all the Super Bowl bets they will take then they would in six months of collecting poker rake -- not to mention that comparatively, poker is 'honorable' in comparison to sports bettors. Words like win rate and BB/100 don't apply to sports and casino bettors...they keep their balances online - fewer withdrawls means less risk, and more $ in the long run for Bodog's coffers.

So, it's sad, but ultimately understandable. I've investigated other options, but Merge is locked for me, and no other site comes close in terms of volume. It looks like my online pay might very well be coming to an end.