Saturday, February 28, 2009

Standard Golf Terminology Not Heard on the Golf Channel

Golf has given us some unusual and colorful terms to describe shots such as:

"Shank" - Sent the ball sideways
"Chili-dip" - Big divot taken
"Skull" - Line drive an iron shot
"Duck-hook" - A shot that bends severely and quickly
"Worm-burner" - A shot along the ground (not a putt)

Here are some new ones to add to your vocabulary:

“Paris Hilton” - a very expensive hole.
“NY Times” - putt that's impossible to read.
“Rock Hudson “ - it looked straight, but wasn't.
“Saddam Hussein” - from one bunker into another.
“Yasser Arafat” - butt ugly and in the sand.
“John Kennedy Jr.” - didn't make it over the water.
“Elephant's Ass” - it's high and it stinks.
“Rodney King” - over-clubbed.
“O.J. Simpson” - got away with it.
“Princess Grace” - should have used a driver.
“Princess Di” - shouldn't have used a driver.
“Condom” - safe, but didn't feel very good.
“Brazilian” - shaved the hole.
“Rush Limbaugh” - a bit too far to the right.
“Nancy Pelosi” - way too far to the left.
"Barbara Streisand" - ugly, but still working.
"Teddy Kennedy" - goes in the water, but jumps out.
“Peewee Herman” - too much wrist
“Sonny Bono” - straight into a tree.

Hat tip to Bigbrimar and Douge2!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Punk Has Got His Groove Back

I don't know what has happened but since winning the NPP tounry two weeks ago, Ive been running good online.

[Ed. Note. Hanging with the players at NPP is good for anyone’s game. Word up to all peeps.]

The latest came last night. I bought into the Full Tilt Doubles tourneys, and finished 3rd in "B". I would of cashed in both "A" and "B" but I took a beat on a terrible call.

But back to the highlights, I was actually down to about 750 chips at one point and worked my way back and caught pocket aces at the right time against two all-ins.

I was running good most of the night after that. My big pockets weren't getting run down, and I always seemed to have a better kicker when I needed it.

At the final table I was middle of the pack, and worked into the chip leader for a little while, Eventually it ended up with three of us left, and I got QQ and raised, got reraised all in from the BB and I insta-called. A-3 showed from him and he ran down that damn Ace on the river.

That hurt. But I ended up with about 93 times my buy in, so it didn't hurt that bad. – The Punk75

Nicely done Punk75!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Faldo Wins His 1st NPP Tourney in a Year

It was the first victory at NPP – Poker Stars for Faldo since February 26, 2008. So it happened again exactly one year later. See you all at the end of next February, I guess. Even I can figure this read.

We tied the record for the most players ever, welcoming three new players: Frace08, Gumby888 and Wwsatando. More talent added to the NPP stable. No wonder it took me a year – and it will probably be a longer stretch now!

Onto the action:

1 min: Once again a quick exit prevented any late arrivals from getting seated as Duder1123 (27th) lost to GuSu2009’s straight. This all-in pattern – right at the start -happens at the start of play after the two breaks too! Weird.

14 min: CrackBuyer (26th) is gone. No info.
15 min: Frace08 (25th) sees his (22) get run over by Wwsatando’s (AA).

21 min: Mistermusic5 (24th) has a rough minute as his trip 5’s lose to Nixi44’s trip 7’s and then his pair of Jacks loses to ThePunk75’s Queens.

33 min: Acesovru (23rd) is gone next.
37 min: Theedouble*d (22nd) follows.

46 min: Nixi44 (21st) has her (TT) get run over as Suetman1 sees a flop of [8QQ] while holding (AQ).

48 min: A short-stacked Whilden (20th) panic move runs into Mikeniks-Faldo’s (AA).

53 min: RKidder51400 (19th) gets ganged up on as both 7Jokers and UMichPoker call her all-in and UMich wins it with (JJ).

Break:
Gumby888 4065 (new player with chip lead!)
UMichPoker 3695
Absea98 3555
Mikeniks-Faldo 3175
Suetman1 3140
Douge2 2565
GvSu2009 2505
Kensik 2455
Smookie27 2450
TheNewY2K 2270
Wwsatando 2195
ThePunk75 2125
Akensi 1465
Tigercub8189 940
Sirgash 775
Biglou93 770
7Jokers 745

61 min: 7Jokers (18th) is gone quickly. So fast, I never saw it.
62 min: Sirgash (17th) has to move with (77) and Biglou93 has to call with (Ad Qd) and an [A] hits the flop.

66 min: The husband and wife team exit as a pair as Akensi’s (16th) straight is one card shorter than UMichPoker.

69 min: Kensik (15th) hits a [AKJ] flop with (Ah Th) but Smookie27 is holding (JJ).
76 min: Tigercub8189 (14th) has to try it with (A7) and sees UMichPoker has (A9).
87 min: A short-stacked Douge2 (13th) tries it with (JT) and can’t catch TheNewY2K’s (99).

97 min: Wwsatando (12th), a veteran of the Wednesday MI Forum Tourney, but an NPP rookie, makes a good showing, but in the end his (A6) cannot catch Absea98’s (JJ).

102 min: Our league point leader Rennzzo (11th) tries to make his 5th straight NPP final table, but his (AQ) can’t catch Suetman1’s (TT).

106 min: The bubble position went to a rookie with another great showing in his first NPP battle. Gumby888 (10th) is double-teamed by Mikeniks and UMichPoker with UMich winning her second straight threesome with trip fours. There has to be a joke in there someplace.

112 min: UMichPoker was not finished with threesomes. Her, Absea98 (9th) and Biglou93 (8th) get all the chips in the center and UMich is holding (AA). Wow! Women always win in threesomes, it seems.

113 min: ThePunk75 (7th) gets punked as his (AJ) is run down by Suetman1’s (KJ) as two [xKKxx] hit the board.

119 min: But the deck returns the favor to Suetman1 (6th) as her (K5) has TheNewY2K’s (K2) dominated, but the [2] hits on the river.

Break 2:
GvSu2009 13175
TheNewY2K 7707
UMichPoker 8478
Mikeniks-Faldo 6925
Smookie27 4215

121 min: Again with the all-ins after the break. Smookie27 (5th) doesn’t believe Mikeniks-Faldo’s big bet and moves all-in with (QJ). Faldo calls with (AK) and it holds up. Two starts for Smookie and two final tables. Another NPP stud!

127 min: TheNewY2K (4th) goes with (99) and is called by GvSu2009 with (JT) and the flop is [J74] with no change in standing on the turn and river. By the way, Y2K easily has the Points per Round lead! Show off!

135 min: UMichPoker (3rd) makes a bluff all-in with (97) and runs into Mikeniks-Faldo’s (AA). Bad timing is all.

GvSu2009 has a 25,000 to 15,500 chip lead on Mikeniks-Faldo.
140 min: Even now in chips.
145 min: Still even in chips.
147 min: Faldo takes a big lead as his (K7) beats GvSu’s (JT)
148 min: Back to almost even as Faldo has his (KQ) run into GvSu’s (AA).

150 min: Finally, GvSu2009 (2nd) has to go with (98) and Mikeniks-Faldo calls with (A9). The flop of [xA8] and Faldo holds on and wins his 1st NPP tourney in EXACTLY one year!

1st – Mikeniks-Faldo 20 points
2nd – GvSu2009 14 pts
3rd – UMichPoker 10 pts
4th – TheNewY2K 7 pts
5th – Smookie27 5 pts
6th – Suetman1 4 pts
7th – ThePunk75 3 pts
8th – Biglou93 2 pts
9th – Absea98 1 pt

League standings on the right side of the blog!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Conversations Between NPP Co-Founder Dave "Fourputt" the Dog and his Caddy

1. Dave the Dog: "Think I'm going to drown myself in the lake."
Caddy: "Do you think you can keep your head down that
long?"

2. Dave the Dog: "I'd move heaven and earth to break 100 on
this course."
Caddy: "Try heaven, you've already moved most of the
earth."

3. Dave the Dog: "Do you think my game is improving?"
Caddy: "Yes sir, you miss the ball much closer now."

4. Dave the Dog: "Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?"
Caddy: "Eventually."

5. Dave the Dog: "You've got to be the worst caddy in the
world."
Caddy: "I don't think so, sir. That would be too much of
a coincidence."

6. Dave the Dog: "Please stop checking your watch all the time.
It's too much of a distraction."
Caddy: "It's not a watch - it's a compass."

7. Dave the Dog: "How do you like my game?"
Caddy: "Very good, sir, but, personally, I prefer golf."

8. Dave the Dog: "Do you think it's a sin to play on Sunday?"
Caddy: "The way you play, sir, it's a sin on any day."

9. Dave the Dog: "This is the worst course I've ever played
on."
Caddy: "This isn't the golf course. We left that an hour
ago."

10. Dave the Dog: "That can't be my ball, it's too old."
Caddy: "It's been a long time since we teed off, sir".

11. Dave the Dog: "You can tell me. What is the problem with my golf game?"
Caddy: "Well sir, you are always too close to your ball AFTER you hit it."

Hat tip to Douge2 for the hidden tapes of the conversations.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Little Red Elf Can Multi-Win

While going deep in our NPP tourney before losing a coin flip hand to your host, Little Red Elf was winning a Razz tourney – at the same time!

Who in their right mind would play against Faldo and not give their full attention to that task – let alone win that event while out playing Faldo? Little Red Elf, that’s who! I’ll let him tell it:

Little Red Elf: “I won a Razz tourney that had 48 players. I won $15X my entry. It lasted 4 hours and 40 minutes. The final table lasted about 1.5 hours and heads up play lasted about 20-25 minutes.”

Nice job LRE!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Faldo Wins Wednesday MI Forum Tourney

When it is rolling - it's rolling. A 1st and a 2nd - back to back for Faldo.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was mired in a slump that seemed endless. It wasn't of course, but as that college commercial says "The mind is a terrible thing! We must eliminate it in our time!" Something like that.

Well, my mind's attitude at the time was a terrible thing. I was wondering why I could not catch a break (when I thought I should 'zig', I should have 'zagged') or some cards. Of course now I am getting both.

The best advice I can give - which I am pounding into my own head now from the up side as I had tried from the down side - is you are never as bad as you think you are when you are when you are in a slump; and you are never as good as you think you are when you are on a streak. That goes for golf, softball, etc.

I bested 20 players (see MI Poker Forum and scroll down this blog), many of them NPP regulars, for my 1st win in that league.

The highlight of the tourney was a 10-15 minute heads up battle - back and forth - between Faldo and Whilden, before an incredible run of cards enabled me to win it.

Even so, the talented "Sir" Whilden and Nixi44's 'understudy', Sirgash, have a strangle hold for the Wednesday 1st Round Tourney title.

Sirgash has to win - and if he does, then Whilden has to finish at least 4th to still edge Sirgash out. All us NPP players should tune in (and play) for this one!

As for me, two weeks ago I needed someone to pull me off the ledge. Now I need someone to pull me out of the clouds! But that is poker - pure and simple.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Nixi44 Wins Her 1st NPP Tourney – Beating the Biggest NPP Field Ever!

I think it was revenge against the guys – especially your host – for the married couple golf joke I posted. My bad - not that I learned my lesson or anything.

Nixi44 becomes the 2nd woman (Nahanni74 the other) to win here at NPP. Guys, we didn’t lose to a beginner. Like Nahanni, this lady can play. Remember she won the Heads Up tourney in December 2008 to close out the year!

A BIG welcome to our new players; MJMorrison, Smookie27 and TheHaacker – with a welcome back to Bighousea2!

We set a new attendance record as 27 players play tonight – beating the old record by three – and we almost beat it by five! On to the action:

2 min: Kensik (27th) got knocked out by tonight’s biggest killer, as you will soon see, Rjmech. I could not see the hand with a record 4 tables going, and this quick knockout prevented the late arriving Addictedtoem and Whilden from joining in.

23 min: RKidder51400 (26th) was next and I could not see who did it.

25 min: Suetman1 (25th) had her (AJ) run into Rjmech and his (QQ). He is only getting started folks.

35 min: Acesovru (24th) is next out. No info.

36 min: Akensi (23rd) had her (KK) run into Smookie27’s (AA). I so do hate when that happens.

45 min: I missed Umichpoker (22rd) and her ‘No Poker Stars Nub’ night.
46 min: Ditto for a tired, overworked and stressed out Tigercub8189 (21nd)

48 min: Sirgash (20th) was having a rough night running into set vs set early in the evening. His (AT) does not improve against Mikeniks-Faldo’s (66).

49 min: While playing the last hand, I failed to see Douge2 (19th) go out.

56 min: The Poker Stars Break Monster begins his work. Bighousea2 (18th) does not get his (KJ) to improve against Absea98’s (88).

58 min: MJMorrison (17th) cannot get his (AQ) to pass Theedouble*d’s (99). The smaller pairs holding on tonight – until the LAST hand of course. But I am whining way ahead of time.

59 min: While watching the previous hand, I fail to see McGuiness007’s (16th) Break Monster demise.

Break:
Rjmech 6627
Theedouble*d 5820
Smookie27 5510
ThePunk75 3400
LittleRedElf 3360
Nixi44 2355
Nahanni74 2180
Crackbuyer 2115
Absea98 1978
GvSu2009 1660
Rennzzo 1405
Mikeniks-Faldo 1355
Biglou93 1330
Hlam14 880
TheHaacker 525

60 min: We open the 2nd hour with a three-way all-in fest. Poor Hlam14 (15th) of course puts his short-stack in with (KK) – only to see Mikeniks-Faldo move (AA) as does Rjmech (99). My top pair hang on – for once.

67 min: The short-stacked TheHaacker (14th) tries with (A5) and Biglou93 calls from the blind with (Jd 3d) and hits two pair.

75 min: GvSu2009 (13th) has to try with (AJ) but Thedouble*d calls with (KT) and hits a [T] on the flop.

86 min: Biglou93 (12th) takes a tough beat as his (Ac Tc) gets run down by ThePunk75’s (A9) as an [A9x] appears on the flop.

88 min: Short-stacked Absea98 (11th) has to go with (8s7s) and runs into Rjmesh with (As 4s). That is three he has taken out that I have seen and is not done yet!

103 min: The point bubble spot – usually reserved for Faldo – is taken by Crackbuyer (10th), who bluffs with (Q2) and is called by Rjmech with (44). That’s four knockouts for RJ! This starts an avalanche of action!

104 min: Point Leader Rennzzo (9th) is next to go just as the final table arrives and I miss the hand.

105 min: A shorter stacked Nahanni74 (8th) goes all-in with (77) and is called by Theedouble*d with (AQ) and an [A] spikes on the river.

107 min: New player Smookie27 (7th) tries it with (AQ) and cannot overtake Rjmech with (99). That is five victims by RJ, but a nice run for the 1st timer at NPP, Smookie27. We got another good one in the NPP stable!

116 min: The smoke cleared for a little while before ThePunk75 (6th) moved all-in and put Mikeniks-Faldo into tank mode. Both of us on the shorter side of the chip count with about equal stacks in the 4th-5th area, with me holding the slightly bigger one in the big blind with (AT).

I put him on AK, KQ or a small pair – and I knew the small pairs had held up all night against over cards. I honestly decided it was a small pocket pair he held and was hoping they were ‘due to lose’ a coin flip to over cards – and it was coin flip time. He had (Kc Jc) - which put me in better shape than I thought – until the flop. [T2K]

Ouch! But an [A] spiked on the river putting the ‘ouch’ on The Punk. Sorry there Punk. I know “Nothing is due but the rent and taxes,” but I felt it was time to gamble.

2nd Break:
Rjmech 11280
Mikeniks-Faldo 10310
Theedouble*d 9830
LittleRedElf 5670
Nixi44 3410

121 min: Everyone attacking Faldo right after the break. The ever dangerous LittleRedElf (5th) – who won a Razz tourney on Poker Stars while kicking our butts at NPP at the same time! (incredible!) – raises from the button or SB.

I have (Ah Kh) in the SB or BB and re-raise all-in hoping he does not have the pocket pair I think he does. I am hoping they are small enough for him to fold but (TT) is not. But I hit a [K] on the flop. Faldo getting NUB down the stretch, which you just have to have against this group.

I too play multiple tourneys and multiple games too LittleRedElf….only unsuccessfully.

131 min: The ever aggressive Rjmech (4th) tries a move with (J7) and finds a dance partner in Theedouble*d with (33) and the pairs hold up AGAIN! Nice run though RJ.

132 min: No time to bask in that hand victory as Theedouble*d (3rd) tries it with (KQ) against Nixi44 holding (AJ).

134 min: Mikeniks-Faldo (2nd) just captured Nixi44’s 27900 – 12600 chip lead on me at the heads up time. I was preparing to write down where we would be at the 135 min mark when I go all-in with (66) expecting a quick fold.

Nixi instead calls with (K8) and spikes a [K] on the flop! Congratulations to Nixi44 on her first NPP win!

1st – Nixi44 20 points
2nd – Mikeniks-Faldo 14 pts
3rd – Theedouble*d 10 pts
4th – Rjmech 7 pts
5th – LittleRedElf 5 pts
6th – The Punk75 4 pts
7th – Smookie27 3 pts
8th – Nahanni74 2 pts
9th – Rennzzo 1 pt

League standings on the right side of the blog!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Golfer Goes to the Dentist

A man and his wife walked into a dentist's office.

The man said to the dentist, “Doc, I'm in one heck of a hurry. I have two buddies sitting out in my car waiting for us to go play golf, so forget about the anesthetic, just pull the tooth, and be done with it. We have a 10:00 AM tee time at the best golf course in town and it's 9:30 already. I don't have time to wait for the anesthetic to work!”

The dentist thought to himself, “My goodness, this is surely a very brave man asking to have his tooth pulled without using anything to kill the pain.”

So the dentist asks him, “Which tooth is it sir?”

The man turned to his wife and said, “Open your mouth Honey, and show him.”

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

ThePunk75 Wins His 2nd NPP Tourney in a Marathon!

It was a marathon after the 2nd break. No, we didn’t make a record 3rd break, but I don’t think we ever had such long gaps in between eliminations as we did this tourney. It is more proof that we have some serious poker players in this league.

We had 20 players make it to the virtual felt tonight – including two new players – GvSu2009 and Rjmech. Welcome Jacob and Randolph to the NPP league. On to the action!

9 min: Crackbuyer (20th) thinks it is safe to take a stab at a big pot holding (KK) and finds Addictedtoem had the case (6). That is not the last flop the lady nails on a great poker player. Who could that be I wonder? I’m just say’in.

15 min: GvSu2009 (19th) gets the patented NPP welcome for new meat. I didn’t see it but I know it almost always happens.

20 min: Jager244 (18th) I heard had his (44) killed off by RKidder51400’s flush after being called in four places! Talk about schooling and a feeding frenzy!

30 min: Short stacked LittleRedElf (17th), our current point leader, is treated rudely this evening as his (T6) is met by Akensi’s (A8) after a flop of [268].

32 min: Suetman1 (16th) has her (AQ) run into ThePunk75’s (AA). Must have been sitting in an ex-Faldo chair, Momma Sirgash.

39 min: Whilden (15th) has his (TT) get squashed by Kensik and his (AJ) with a [J] on the flop.

43 min: Theedouble*d (14th) blinds out here. His (44) had lost a coin flip to Douge2’s (AK) earlier and was too short-stacked to continue.

46 min: In a battle of two other short-stacks, Absea98 (13th) has his (TT) get bowled over by Tigercub8189’s (AJ) with an [A] on the flop AND river.

1st Break:
Douge2 6685
ThePunk75 3720
Kensik 3670
RKidder51400 2835
Akensi 2530
Rjmech 2305
Tigercub8189 2070
Mikeniks-Faldo 1905
Biglou93 1665
7Jokers 1120
Addictedtoem 970
Rennzzo 575

64 min: I, Mikeniks-Faldo (12th) refuse to believe Addictedtoem has hit the flop – HARD. I over-play my (QQ) and am shown that my Ray Charles - Stevie Wonder – Helen Keller - opponent reading ability is still on full display. The flop is [87A] and she has (A7), instead of the open-ended straight draw or flush draw I thought I was up against. I thought the [A] on the river was a nice touch also.

65 min: While doing primal screams and sticking pins in a Poker Stars voodoo doll after my debacle, I missed Rjmech (11th) and his tale of woe. Making the break is a nice showing for an NPP 1st timer.

68 min: I also missed Tigercub8189 (10th) and his bubble finish. You took my spot bro!

72 min: A short-stacked 7Jokers (9th) goes all-in with (Ts 9s) and is called by ThePunk75 with (KQ). Even though a [9] hits the flop, a [Q] is in there too.

79 min: Addictedtoem (8th) took a big hit earlier (that is what happens when someone holds Faldo’s ‘lucky’ chips) and is extremely short-stacked. She makes her stand with (A4) and is called by Rennzzo with (K2). She gets a [4] on the flop, but runner –runner [2][2] come on the turn and river. I think it is my chips that did her in.

80 min: RKidder51400 (7th) has her (A4) run into ThePunk75’s (AT).

With six players left, we battle on here for 15 minutes.

95 min: Interesting hand here. After a flop and turn of [598][7], Douge2 (6th) moves all-in with (87). After using just about all his bank, BigLou93 makes the call with (99), and the river changes nothing.

With five players left, we battle on for another 17 minutes!

112 min: The shortest stack Kensik (5th) has to try it with (Ad 6d) and a flop of [634]. ThePunk75 makes the call with (55) and a [2] hits the river again.

119 min: Fearing the Poker Stars Break Monster is a real concern. Short stacked Akensi (4th) goes all-in with (93) and a flop of [3J4] and is called by ThePunk75 with (QJ).

2nd Break:
ThePunk75 16327
Rennzzo 9268
Biglou93 4405

Ok, the big stack should make quick work of these guys, right? Uh….no - 15 minutes later….

135 min: ThePunk75 12500, Biglou95 8500 and Rennzzo 7500. What a battle!

147 min: Rennzzo (3rd) survives a couple times, but finally his (JT) is crushed by ThePunk75’s (AT)

Rennzzo’s effort here was unbelievable and shows why he is the current point leader. Due to family duties at his house, he sat out 45 minutes of the 1st hour and was down to 300 chips! He came rocketing back to finish 3rd. Great job, Rennzzo.

Heads up: ThePunk75 17500 – Biglou93 12500

155 min: Biglou 16700 - The Punk 13300

160 min: ThePunk 16000 - Biglou 14000

165 min: ThePunk 18500 - Biglou 11500

Yeah, another marathon battle of 19 minutes before:

168 min: Biglou93 (2nd) calls all-in with (JT) and sees ThePunk75’s (A8) hit two pair on the flop. Just a great fight by these two fine players and congratulations to ThePunk75 on his second NPP win!

1st – ThePunk75 20 points
2nd – Biglou93 14 pts
3rd – Rennzzo 10 pts
4th – Akensi 7 pts
5th – Kensik 5 pts
6th – Douge2 4 pts
7th – Rkidder51400 3 pts
8th – Addictedtoem 2 pts
9th – 7Jokers 1 pt

Current standings on right side of the blog!

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Full Tilt Poker Back on Faldo’s Good Side

I finally got my cash out – which is really what it is all about. Oh the trials and tribulations a US citizen has to go thru, simply because the government has not figured out how to get THEIRS. If you think gambling laws are there to protect people, I want some of what you are drinking because it has to be strong stuff.

I asked for a cash out from Full Tilt Poker in mid-November, doing a transfer. My bank had changed hands since the last time tried to do this, but the account number was the same. I didn’t expect a problem.

Well, after three weeks, the money was nowhere. Not in my bank and not in my Full Tilt Account. Emails to Full Tilt Poker’s 24/7 support team got me no response for two weeks! This did not give me a ‘warm fuzzy’. Now I was even worried about the cash still left in Full Tilt.

Finally, I got a response saying the money was on hold at their bank for some reason and that my cash out would be arriving soon. For my wait, they loaded 10% of my cash out back into my account for my trouble.

After Christmas, I got another email stating the money would be back in my account soon. In mid-January, the money re-appeared as promised and another 10% was added to my account for the delay!

I then asked for a check, and they asked for a fax of my driver’s license and some utility bill statements. Once they accepted that, the check arrived this early February. So it took two and a half months from start to finish, but I think the slide is greased for the next time and I will ask for a check.

Ok, in Full Tilt’s defense:
A) My bank did change and maybe their policies were different.
B) Maybe my bank never contacted me that there was a deposit they were not accepting
C) They added 20% to my account (10% a month) for my trouble – a nice ROI

What Full Tilt did wrong:
A) Their 24/7 support was awful, pathetic and disgraceful. Not to answer an email about someone’s money for five weeks is unacceptable.
B) Their lack of follow up emails for another month is not good either.
C) Full Tilt said it was their bank that was the hold up, but never explained why.

Bottom line is that money in limbo is never a good thing, and Full Tilt needs to be more responsive in their customer service. Their 20% ‘apology’ is generous now that I received the cash out, but a daily return of emails should be their policy, since they don’t have a phone line.

Anyway, Faldo returns to playing on Full Tilt and will be working hard to build up to another request for a check.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Little Red Elf Heated Up in January

Tales from the Poker Stars wars! NPP players kicking butt!

Let Little Red Elf {Dave} tell it:

“I've been fortunate to win 3 tourneys and finished 2nd in two others on PokerStars in this past January.

The first win was in Pot Limit Omaha on the 8th. There were 90 people paying the entry and it lasted about 5 hours before the final hand was played. I took down 20 times my buy in for my efforts.

On the 15th, I won a Limit 7 Card Stud tourney. There were only 56 people, (not many stud players out there). The payout for that event was 17 times my buy-in for about 3.5 hours work.

The last win was on the 20th and the event was Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. There were 108 players. This tourney lasted 5.5 hours before I was able to take down the 23 times entry prize.

And finally, on Feb. 4, I entered a Razz tourney at 7:45 PM Tuesday, 15 minutes before the NPP league. It was just over 100 players and just finished after 6 hours. I got 2nd place. My payout was 17 times the buy-in.”

Wow! I win two or three tourneys a year and LRE wins that many in a month - with 3 seconds!

The other thing that is special is that LRE plays all the games, just like Faldo does – only successfully!

Nice job Little Red Elf!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Jager244 Wins His First NPP Title!

The second largest field in NPP history was no problem for Jager244 tonight.

Round five of the new season welcomed new players, CardHockey15 and Wrongwayman, and an old player and past tourney winner McGuiness007. Welcome and welcome back gentlemen.

On to the action:

17 min: A family pot ensues with six limpers. What a nice friendly table this is. Mr. Action, Mikeniks-Faldo folds. The flop is [5h Kc Ks]. Maybe my AK-suited was worth a call there. Oh well.

Acesovru (23rd) makes a pot size bet and only McGuiness007 calls. The turn is a [Qh] and McGuiness leads out with a baby bet which is called. The river is a [Th] and they get all-in and 007 has the higher two pair.

34 min: The talent at NPP is undeniable as it takes twice as long for our next exit as 7Jokers (AA) and McGuiness007 (QQ) eliminate Wrongwayman (22nd). Don’t take it wrong, man. We treat all newcomers this way. Jager244 met the same fate his first round.

37 min: Douge2 (21st) is out and I didn’t catch it.

42 min: Nixi44 (20th) had her (JJ) run into Mistermusic5’s (QQ). She must have had Faldo’s seat at another table. Ouch – but it is called poker.

58 min: The Poker Stars Break Monster works overtime to eliminate CardHockey15 (18th) and Sirgash (17th).

1st Break:

Whilden 4214
Biglou93 4085
McGuiness007 3695
Absea98 3690
Mistermusic5 2920
Mikeniks-Faldo 2405
7Jokers 2363
Theedouble*d 1860
Jager244 1715
Tigercub8189 1515
RKidder51400 1433
Hlam14 1300
Rennzzo 1275
LittleRedElf 1126
Suetman1 505
Crackbuyer 399

A new record for the number of players alive at the break! Wow!

63 min: Theedouble*d (16th) tries it with (AJ) and sees 7Jokers (88) hit an [8] on the flop.

65 min: Last week’s champ CrackBuyer (15th) is short stacked and makes a stand with (Ah 2h) against another short stack – Suetman1 with (Ac Jc), and loses and goes out soon after.

74 min: McGuiness007 (14th) has been bleeding chips since the break and gets a chance to load up as his (KK) all-in is met by LittleRedElf’s (A8). The cards stay sour for him as LRE hits his [A] on the flop. Ouch!

77 min: The valiant short stack battle of Suetman1 (13th) ends cruelly as her (QJ) loses to Rennzzo’s (35) call as [55x] falls on the flop. Carnage begins for 3 minutes.

82 min: Two more short stacks collide as RKidder51400’s (12th) call with (Ah Th) gets run down as Tigercub8189’s bluff with (96) in the blind as [875] falls on the flop. Wow!

83 min: Whilden (11th) has his (44) run into Tigercub8189’s (KK) AND Mistermusic5’s (AA).

84 min: This made Tigercub8189 (10th) have to try with (KJ) but he cannot over take Jager244’s (77). And then calm fell over the poker final table.

97 min: Hlam14 (9th) has his (JJ) run into to Jager244’s (QQ).

100 min: Absea98 (8th) has his (AJ) run into Jager244’s (AK). Can you feel the rush coming?

108 min: Our short-stacked 1st quarter point leader Rennzzo (7th) has to try with (A4), but 7Jokers runs him down as his (KQ) gets help from a [Q5Q] flop.

113 min: Mikeniks-Faldo (6th) goes with (Ad 5d) only to see that 7Jokers is holding (AA).

2nd Break:

7Jokers 9063
Mistermusic5 7839
Jager244 7463
LittleRedElf 6730
Biglou93 3405

125 min: BigLou93 (5th) goes it with (KQ) and runs into LittleRedElf’s (JJ).

130 min: A seesaw hand sees Mistermusic5 (4th) with his (AT) spike an [A] on the flop against LittleRedElf’s (KK), but Poker Stars wants the table and a [K] arrives on the river.

140 min: LittleRedElf (3rd) with (Ah 6h) cannot run down Jager244’s (A8).

Heads up with Jager244 (24000) and 7Jokers (10500).

145 min: Just getting ready to get the chip counts for the next update when after a flop of [T6J] 7Jokers goes all-in with (T8) and is called by Jager244 with (Q9) and the open ended straight draw – which hits!!! Ouch to 7Jokers, a nice comeback to LittleRedElf, and congratulations to Jager244 and welcome to the NPP Walk of Fame!

1st – Jager244 20 points
2nd – 7Jokers 14 pts
3rd – LittleRedElf 10 pts
4th – Mistermusic5 7 pts
5th – BigLou93 5 pts
6th – Mikeniks-Faldo 4 pts
7th – Rennzzo 3 pts
8th – Absea98 2 pts
9th – Hlam14 1 pt

The point standings are on the right side of the blog.