Feb
13
Still poker-ing it up
Filed Under Gambling | Leave a Comment
I know y’all are probably going to start thinking I have a gambling problem, but you will notice that last week’s game was a $10 buy-in and today’s was a $3 turbo rebuy tournament that I got into for the minimum allowable rebuys and add-ons and totaled $9.
Living Large!
Had another good night, navigating through 215 people to get to the final table and finish in 5th for a $128 profit. For the uninitiated, rebuys and turbo tournaments are pretty much crapshoots. Either you get cards or you don’t, there’s no real skill involved. This was both a turbo and a rebuy. A total minefield.
Click to embiggen:
Feb
7
Playing poker with the bloggers
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I stayed up much too late. I rarely play poker tournaments anymore, especially tournaments that start at 10 pm. But this is a regular game for the poker bloggers, and I just got a wild hair to plunk down my $11. Plus, it’s just great entertainment playing with bloggers.
Anyway, not a bad hourly rate (click to embiggen):
Yes, my screen name is what you’re reading in that image. This is my legacy poker blog. “Big Slick” is the nickname of a two-card hand in Hold ‘em containing an Ace and a King. “Nuts” is the best hand possible.
All other meanings are a result of your dirty mind.
Feb
5
Jacksonville Poker Getting Better
Filed Under Gambling | Leave a Comment
Last summer, the state of Florida approved raising the betting limits for poker games played in pari-mutual facilities. Last fall, the Orange Park Kennel Club received approval to open a poker room, which will complement the poker room located at the St. Johns Racetrack.
I’m reading that they’ve hired 100 dealers out of 1500 applicants, and will be open for business on April 1.
Will I stop in and play?
Is Charlie Crist orange?
Note: If you are opposed to poker, I respect your opinion. I just don’t feel the same way. Let’s leave it at that.
Oct
15
Blogger poker championship
Filed Under Florida Vacation, Gambling, Great Blogs, Orlando, Theme Parks | Leave a Comment
So, I played in the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker yesterday. If you’re interested in poker, you can check out my posts about it over at my poker blog. If not, just know that I played against 1,337 of my closest friends, lasted 6.5 hrs and about 500 hands (it takes about 24 hrs to play 500 hands in real life), and finished 16th because I was stupid. I won an xBox Elite for my trouble, which I’ll be selling so I can take my kids to Disney World for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas. I’ve done better in bigger tournaments, but this was a tough tournament with big stakes and it’s taken a toll on me mentally and physically that I wasn’t prepared for. Holding that level of concentration for so long has fried my brain.
While I’m disappointed about the way I finished, I have to admit that I’m pleased to have played so well and finished so high. I have high expectations when I play because I know the game I’m capable of playing, and while it hurt not to take it down after lasting so long, I know it was a hell of an accomplishment regardless. I don’t play much poker anymore, so when I play I tend to concentrate better than I used to when I played every day. But, given the toll this took on me, I think it will be a while before I play again.
I had a couple railbirds late in the tournament. Mr. Fab said he’d let people know to stop by and give me a little support, so if you were one of his flock, I thank you for the support. Each time my energy waned, someone popped in and gave me a shout-out and it gave me boost - and thanks to you, Fab.
Oct
3
Fancy a game of Texas Hold ‘Em?
Filed Under Gambling, Great Blogs | 1 Comment
PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!
For those that don’t know, my original blog, my baby, is a Poker Blog. Each year, Pokerstars, the largest online poker room in the world, hosts a special, free, poker tournament just for bloggers. Niche doesn’t matter, so yes, Cereal Blogs and The Best Humor Blog in the World are eligible. Completely legit and legal, no deposits necessary. I’ve participated in this tournament for several years.
The link above takes you to my poker blog, for more information.
Aug
20
It’s been so hot down here in Florida, you can cook an egg on the sidewalk and bacon in your bikini
Filed Under Great Blogs, Humor | 1 Comment
What, don’t believe me?
Ok, I think I can get away with pimping my own post over at the poker blog, especially one as good as this.
Jun
29
To paraphrase late-night talk-show host Craig Ferguson, it’s a great day in Florida.
For those that want to get their gamble on, a new law goes into effect on Sunday raising the betting limits for poker played within parimutuel facilities from $2 to $5 per bet for limit games, and allows no-limit games to be played with a maximum buy-in of $100.
I’m an avid low-limit poker player with a modestly successful poker blog, so obviously I’m in favor of this new law. Opponents of expanding gambling say it increases the potential for compulsive gambling, but the fact is that the data does not support their argument. Harvard just published a study of 40,000 gamblers and found that gamblers moderated their behavior based on losses, amount of time played, and several other factors. In other words, the more people lose, the less they play.
Unlike booze, where the more you drink, the more you drink.
Personal experience: I’m a winning poker player over my lifetime. For a period last year I moved up in stakes and continued to win with an ROI that was as solid as at lower limits. After less than two months, I cashed out a winner.
Why?
Psychologically, I was uncomfortable with the swings. Most people assume that people on win streaks will keep gambling because they can’t help themselves, and people who lose will chase losses to bankruptcy. This is simply not true.
Perhaps they are projecting their own weaknesses and addictive personalities?
I don’t know. What I do know is that no one has ever put a gun to my head and said “Gamble”. Compulsive gambling, like other addictions, has been shown to have medical roots and should be treated as such.
Dopamine agonist therapy was associated with potentially reversible pathological gambling, and pramipexole was the medication predominantly implicated. This may relate to disproportionate stimulation of dopamine D(3) receptors, which are primarily localized to the limbic system.
The argument should be about personal freedoms.
And with personal freedom comes personal responsibility:
Florida Times-Union:
Barlow, who started playing as a way to stay in touch with friends, offered a more blunt suggestion over a round of poker.”Anyone who plays with rent money shouldn’t be playing with cards.
It’s nice to see the government begin treating it citizens like adults, for once. It’s nice to see the “Nanny” mentality amongst our lawmakers dissipate a little.
Make smart choices. Hope to see you at the tables some day. Fun stakes only, of course.
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May
2
Will I be able to play poker for more than $2 a bet in Florida soon?
Filed Under Gambling | Leave a Comment
From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
But the bill (HB 1551) is just one of a host of gambling measures that appears likely to be approved by the traditionally gambling-shy Legislature this spring. Just four hours after the council vote Monday, the House also approved a series of gaming measures, including bills that would raise wagering limits in poker rooms and loosen regulations at the four Broward County facilities allowed to operate Las Vegas-style slot machines.
Critics called the combined package a testament to the influence in Tallahassee of the gambling industry, which annually showers hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions on state candidates and committees.
Records show that horse and dog tracks, jai-alai frontons, Indian tribes and other gaming interests funneled more than $2.5 million to Florida’s ruling Republican Party during the 2006 election cycle and more than $1.2 million to the Florida Democratic Party.
Technorati Tags: Gambling, Florida
Apr
23
Only in FLA
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Woman trampled to death by camel
Trump settles $25M lawsuit over… a flag?
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Apr
22
Not safe for work…
technorati tags: florida, spring-break, bikini
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