Happy Halloween!!

From the Brain Trust at NPP!

TTT Trinidad - Faldo's Full-bodied Cigar Choice!

This brand was introduced in the United States in 1997. It is designed to garner the same respect as it’s namesake in Cuba.

From the Website: “The dark Ecuador Sumatra wrapper encloses a rich Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and a filler blended from Dominican, Nicaraguan and Peruvian tobaccos. This creates a smoke that is rich and powerful, without being over-whelming. Pure smoking satisfaction!”

Faldo agrees. This is the first full-strength cigar I have truly enjoyed.

I now have my “favorite” trio complete.

Golf course front nine and early day: Licenciados
Golf course back nine and afternoon: La Flor del Caney
After dinner, after dark or after the first two!: TTT Trinidad

This won’t stop me from trying others and of course reporting the results. But these are my “go to” cigars right now. I will always have some of these in my humidor.

Caption This Photo!

"Miss, let me get that lint off of there for you."

Your turn.

BigDaddyTman Wins His 3rd NPP Event!

He would have more wins if he was able to play more. A nice steady diet of creative poker was played by BigDaddyTman against the other sixteen who made it to the NPP felt tonight. As he was kind enough to point out, this is not an easy group to wrestle chips away from, but he did it tonight.

In addition to welcoming back BigDaddy (and letting him have his way with us – twss), we also saw the return of Duder1123. Duder picked up points his first night back too.

I was as pleasantly surprised with the returnees as I was disappointed by the point getters who were no shows tonight. A missed round wins you exactly a free "zero" points.

Playing the tourney… usually...I say usually gives you a better chance of getting points. I’m just sayin’.

Oh well, it will leave the NPP final seats up for grabs until the end and nobody has pulled away yet.

On to the action:

29 min: Derf-63 (17th) runs into Tomservo2’s three aces!
36 min: Absea98 (16th) sees his (88) run into Mikeniks-Faldo’s (AA).
39 min: ThePunk75 (15th) sees his (JJ) run into Tomservo2’s (AA).

(AA) held up pretty well tonight - all night!

45 min: Bblbtt (14th) loses with a king high flush to Wingsfancurt’s ace high flush! Ouch!
47 min: A SS Kingbing420 (13th) has to go with (KT) and a flop with a [T] and runs into BigDaddyTman’s (AT).

51 min: A SS LittleRedElf (12th) has to go with (A9) and is called by Tommydoo’s (Kd Qd). A [Q] hits the board.

1st break:
Tomservo2 5807
BigDaddyTman 5307
Wingsfancurt 4444
T3chlady 2665
Tommydoo 1878
Duder1l23 1325
K9isadog 1284
Mikeniks-Faldo 995
95corolla 770
Douge2 735
8thmile 290

65 min: 95corolla (11th) with (QQ) gets run over by BigDaddyTman’s straight.
72 min: Douge2 (10th) blinds out for the 3rd straight week.
73 min: A Ss 8thmile (9th) has to go with (88) but runs into Duder1123’s flush.
75 min: Two short stacks collide as Mikeniks-Faldo has to go with (KQ) and Tommydoo (8th) has to call with (AJ). Tommy hits a [J] on the flop, but Faldo hits a [K] on the turn!

87 min: Wingsfancurt (7th) hits a flush but Tomservo2 hits his full house!
90 min: T3chlady (6th) hits two pair, but loses to BigDaddyTman’s trips.
94 min: K9isadog (5th) has to go with a two pair but Duder1123 hits trips.

2nd break:
BigDaddyTman 12227
Tomservo2 7099
Mikeniks-Faldo 4286
Duder1l23 1888

102 min: A SS Duder1123 (4th) hits his ace with (A6) but Tomservo2 has (A9)!
130 min: Mikeniks-Faldo (3rd) with (AK) hits a pair of kings but BigDaddyTman has (AA).

Heads up BigDaddyTman 15000 Tomservo2 10500
150 min: BigDaddyTman 17900 Tomservo2 7600
155 min: BigDaddyTman 13700 Tomservo2 11800

160 min: Tomservo2 (2nd) gets killed by back to back (77) of BigDaddyTman! Tom first has (AK) and a board of [69K], but then an [85] runner-runner for the straight and Tom is crippled.

The next hand, Tom has (T9) and can’t win the coin flip. Oh well, that’s poker!

Congratulations to BigDaddyTman on his 3rd NPP win!

1st – BigDaddyTman – 5.3 points
2nd – Tomservo2 - [3.7]
3rd – Mikeniks-Faldo – [7.7 pts]
4th – Duder1123 – 2.6 pts
5th – K9isadog – 2.4 pts
6th – T3chlady
7th – Wingsfancurt
8th – Tommydoo – 2.8 pts
9th – 8thmile
10th – Douge2
11th – 95corolla – 8.9 pts
12th - LittleRedElf – [7.3 points]
13th - Kingbing420
14th - Bblbtt – 2.2 pts
15th - ThePunk75 – 4.8 pts
16th – Absea98 – [10.3 points]
17th - Derf-63 – 3.2 pts

The total point standings are on the right side of the blog! Remember the top 3 point getters in this 12 round league, get a seat in the NPP Finals!

And also remember already [qualified players] are not counted and Faldo is not eligible for the final. So plenty of chances to jump into contention for a seat in the Finals!

Douge2 Humor Corner - Women ask Too Many Questions

…and Screw Things Up! Or Unscrew Things?

On his 74th birthday, a man got a gift certificate from his wife. The certificate paid for a visit to a medicine man living on a nearby reservation who was rumored to have a wonderful cure for erectile dysfunction.

After being persuaded, he drove to the reservation, handed his ticket to the medicine man and wondered what he was in for.

The old man handed a potion to him, and with a grip on his shoulder, warned, “This is a powerful medicine. You take only a teaspoonful and then say '1-2-3.' "

When you do, you will become more manly than you have ever been in your life and you can perform as long as you want."

The man was encouraged. As he walked away, he turned and asked, "How do I stop the medicine from working?"

"Your partner must say '1-2-3-4,'" he responded, "but when she does, the medicine will not work again until the next full moon."

He was very eager to see if it worked so he went home, showered, shaved, took a spoonful of the medicine and then invited his wife to join him in the bedroom. When she came in, he took off his clothes and said, "1-2-3!" Immediately, he was the manliest of men.

His wife was excited and began throwing off her clothes and then she asked "What was the 1-2-3 for?"

And that, boys and girls, is why we should never end our sentences with a preposition, because we could end up with a dangling participle.


Today's Word is.......Fluctuations

I was at my bank today; there was a short line.

There was just one lady in front of me, an Asian lady who was trying to exchange yen for dollars. It was obvious she was a little irritated . . .

She asked the teller, "Why it change? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla fo yen. Today I only get hunat eighty? Why it change?"

The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fluctuations."

The Asian lady says, "Fluc you white people too"

Play a SNG With Faldo

My personal trainer said, "You were a bad Faldo!!! A very bad Faldo!"

I needed to write a poker article for the blog, but I also wanted to play some poker after doing a little (very little) yard work. I couldn’t do both. Or could I? These play chip SNG’s are loaded with good players. On to the action:

9 –player – 1500 chips - Blinds open at 5/10

3 min: I call with (KT) in early Position. I bet the flop, turn and river with a board of [6 K 4 8 2] and lose to the button with (K6). What??? Down to 1250 chips.

7 min: Called in the small blind with (AT) with six callers. Folded to bets when I missed the flop. 1185 chips.

20 min: Seven players left. 1060 chips.

22 min: Blinds at 15/30 – My (66) holds up and I win my first pot! 1415 chips.

25 min: Blinds 20/40 – I raise in middle position with (99) and got re-raised and called in three spots, so I folded. 1295 chips.

28 min: Six players left. 1180 chips.

35 min: Blinds at 30/60. I tried to eliminate the short-stack with (Ah 6h, but it backfired. 680 chips left.

45 min: All in with (44) and 600 chips, and ran into some rock’s (AA).

Finished 4th in the next SNG, and 2nd in the third!

I am down a third of a buy – in but I plan on getting that back, plus profit after the next SNG session - AFTER the session with my personal trainer that is.

An Open Letter to Democrats

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1930's for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course.

Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. Then we conservatives will give you first pick! Can’t get any better social justice than that!

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.

We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.

We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street.

You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens.

We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, FOX News, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times and Hollywood.

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.

We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon, electric car and moped you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem." I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine," "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," "Kum Ba Ya" or "We Are the World.”

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.

Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

You would agree to this, right? After all, except for us not there to pay for it, it is everything you say you want. Have at it.

In the spirit of friendly parting, we conservatives are willing to talk with you in 5 years and see which one of us is dong better. Until then, good luck to you liberals.

Sincerely,

The Tea Party

P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Barbara Streisand, & Jane Fonda with you.

P.S.S. And, don’t worry. You won't have to press 1 for English when you call our country.

95Corolla Wins His 1st NPP Event!

And he earned it! He had to face one of the greatest NPP players of all time – LittleRedElf - in an epic heads up match! The action and incredible final hand is below.

95corolla becomes the 64th person to win an NPP tournament!

It was a great night of poker action as NPP is almost back to normal. Many regulars returned and were present and accounted for – except for Douge2.

Twenty players of the twenty-three on the roster made it to the felt tonight and that made Faldo happy!

Of course PokerStars saw this and fixed Faldo’s temperament early – and late - as you will see. PokerStars, you can’t deal one AA vs KK hand in two hours??? Anything to cost Faldo – in chips or sleep!

On to the action:

2 min: KingBing4220 (20th) sees her (AK) get run down by Cigar4john’s (AQ) with a [Q] on the river! Ouch!

7 min: K9isadog (19th) is eliminated by BKrywkol.
9 min: Mikeniks-Faldo (18th) with (AK) loses a coin flip to BKrywko1’s (QQ).
13 min: Absea98 (17th) goes with (88) and runs into Derf-63’s (AA)!
14 min: While I was watching that, ThePunk75 (16th) was eliminated.
24 min: A short-stacked (SS) Wingsfancurt (15th) is double-teamed by T3chlady and Tommydee804. Tommy wins the hand with a flush.

25 min: Suetman123 (14th) loses to LittleRedElf’s three kings!
32 min: A SS Tomservo2 (13th) has to go with (AJ) and runs into 95corolla’s (AA).
37 min: 8thmile (12th) – I missed it on a beer/bathroom run.

1st break:
LittleRedElf 10205
BKrywkol 4925
Derf-63 3050
95corolla 3025
T3chlady 2525
Bigbrimar 1980
Cigar4John 1620
Tommydee804 1183
Pre01 967
Douge2 535

65 min: Nobody leaves for a while until a SS Pre01 (11th) runs into Tommydee804’s QUAD JACKS!!

67 min: Douge2 (10th) blinds out for the 2nd straight week.
76 min: T3chlady (9th) pulls a Faldo and loses a coin flip with (AK) to Derf-63’s (55).
78 min: Cigar4John (8th) runs into a Bigbrimar full house!
98min: BKrywko1 (7th) and Bblbtt (6th) are a double kill by LittleRedElf’s full house!
101 min: Bigbrimar (5th) has to go with a big pair but Tommydee804 has two little pair (twss)!

102 min: Tommydee804 (4th) happiness is short-lived as his (JJ) runs into LittleRedElf’s (AA)!

105 min: Derf-63 (3rd) with (AK) gets double-teamed by LittleRedElf and the hand winner 95corolla who makes the straight with (98).

Heads up LittleRedElf 5700 95corolla 24300
110 min: LittleRedElf 5630 95corolla 24370
115 min: LittleRedElf 3360 95corolla 26640

2nd break:
95corolla 26620
LittleRedElf 3380

Ten minutes of heads up play and the chips are the same! But that turns out to be a sign of things to come (twss). What is below is not a mis-print!

125 min: LittleRedElf 4865 95corolla 25135
130 min: LittleRedElf 2300 95corolla 27700
131 min: LittleRedElf 5700 95corolla 24300
135 min: LittleRedElf 5600 95corolla 24400
140 min: LittleRedElf 5200 95corolla 24800
145 min: LittleRedElf 5200 95corolla 24800
150 min: LittleRedElf 6700 95corolla 23700
155 min: LittleRedElf 8200 95corolla 22800
160 min: LittleRedElf 12400 95corolla 17600
165 min: LittleRedElf 11400 95corolla 18600
170 min: LittleRedElf 11200 95corolla 18800
3rd break: LittleRedElf 13425 95corolla 16575
185 min: LittleRedElf 14400 95corolla 15600
190 min: LittleRedElf 15700 95corolla 14300
Finally a lead change after 85 minutes of heads up play!
195 min: LittleRedElf 11600 95corolla 18400
And change back again.
200 min: LittleRedElf 14600 95corolla 15400
205 min: LittleRedElf 11800 95corolla 18200
210 min: LittleRedElf 11600 95corolla 18400
215 min: LittleRedElf 5900 95corolla 24100

218 min: Incredible heads up battle!!! A SS LittleRedElf (2nd) has to get all his chips in with (52) and a board of [7 3 4 A 4], but 95corolla (65)!

Congratulations to 95coroll on his 1st NPP win! Kevin, you are on the NPP walk of Fame, placed in front of all the one time winners that are no longer playing in the league.

1st – 95corolla – 8.9 points
2nd – LittleRedElf – [7.3 points]
3rd – Derf-63 – 3.2
4th – Tommydee804 – 2.8 pts
5th – Bigbrimar – 2.5 pts
6th – Bblbtt – 2.2 pts
7th – BKrywko1
8th – Cigar4John – 2.3 pts
9th – T3chlady
10th – Douge2
11th – Pre01
12th - 8thmile
13th - Tomservo2 [ 0 ]
14th - Suetman123 – 6.1 pts
15th - Wingsfancurt
16th – ThePunk75 – 4.8 pts
17th - Absea98 – [10.3 points]
18th - Mikeniks-Faldo – [4.7 pts]
19th – K9isadog
20th – Kingbing420

The total point standings are on the right side of the blog! Remember the top 3 point getters in this 12 round league, get a seat in the NPP Finals! And also remember already [qualified players] are not counted and Faldo is not eligible for the final. So plenty of chances to jump into contention for a seat in the Finals!

Who Won the Big Rivalry Game This Weekend???

Nevermind. I think I know.

Nice way to settle a bet. Doing a little sewing, fixing a button.

That is what she is doing, right?

A Classic

The Community Card Review - the 4th Estate is Bankrupt...and Corrupt

Something dangerous happened in secret, and no one is giving it a second thought. The Obama Administration took the life of an American citizen without the benefit of a trail. It’s not the first time this has happened (Ruby Ridge, Waco, etc.).

The military conducted a death strike on Anwar Al Awlaki, an American citizen. The White House had two lawyers draft up a 50 page brief explaining the ‘legal’ justification for killing Awlaki, and by this action they admit they knew they were crossing a line. Anwar Al Awlaki had been convicted of nothing.

The American people need to get an explanation from Obama and/or Eric Holder as to why Awlaki was targeted and killed, and the legal justification used for it. This brief needs to be published.

I am not saying it was wrong to carry out the strike, but the justification needs to be make public. Don’t you agree with that at least? What secret briefs will be written someday to whack....oh, I don't know.....poker players?

When is the left wing media going to question the war time policies of King Obama?

They also need to ask why the wire taps the Obama complained about as a candidate were used to carry out this assassination.

The liberal press also needs to ask Pharaoh Obama why over 2000 terrorists have been killed by drones without due process. After all these are the questions they asked when Bush43 was in office.

They won’t ask and the de Fuhrer Obama won’t tell.

The media will save all these questions for when a Republican is in the White House.

The liberal “peace” demonstrators only appear with a Republican in the White House.

Is the liberal press ever going to ask the Obama Administration about Fast and Furious? It was the secret operation to sell American guns to Mexican drug lords and then blame the 2nd Amendment when the bodies of US and Mexican citizens started piling up.

The third part of the plan worked to perfection – a first for the Obama Administration. The bodies did begin piling up. Hundreds of Mexican citizens, some American citizens and a US Border Agent were killed and people are still dying by the use of these guns.

The second part of the plan is still being implemented as “tougher” gun laws are being enforced in the southwest states.

But even though the plot by the White House to openly attempt to grow a movement against the 2nd Amendment is now known, there is no attempt by the left wing media to actually do real journalism with a Democrat in the White House.

Is the left wing media going to ask why Dictator Obama is sending troops into Africa without consulting Congress? If you remember (and liberals won’t), Bush got overwhelming approval from a Democrat Congress to enter Iraq. And you still hear liberals caterwauling about that act of war.

Only you can change this by complaining to and then never watching anything but FOX News… and listening to the Rush Limbaugh Show. These are the only places left to get any semblance of the truth anymore. Pure and simple.

IT

It, quite frankly, is the disgusting, embarrassing and treasonous thing that no one wants to admit is there. It is the family holiday dinner with a “funny uncle,” the always drunk cousin, slutty dressed aunt, multiple out of wedlock baby producing daughter, farting grandma or the lecherous grandpa.

But it is much MUCH worse than that. We just pretend it is only a slight embarrassment. It is actually more in line with an abusive mother to an infant, an incestuous father, a son who is a rapist, a daughter who murders for life insurance or a brother who robs and kills the elderly.

We all know it is there, but no one talks about it. We simply carry on like everything is normal. I speak of course about the managers, engineers and working professionals producing product in the automotive industry. We simply pretend the UAW is not “really” as bad as all that.

We actually take on the persona of the Chinese people. They have a saying; “Governments come and go, but the Chinese people endure.” Yes, that is how we look at it. The nation needs cars – and we build cars. And we do it with every road block possible placed in our way by the government, the UAW and the people running the company - who could not run a two-bicycle parade effectively. Car people simply endure so we can continue to do what we do.

Who is running two of the three auto companies? Socialists and communists appointed by the current government who push the Democrat/Communist agenda and hand money to the communist union. Who then donate it back to the Democrat Party. The union then tells their enslaved members how they “fought the tough fight against management” to protect them.

The fact is it is actually the same people negotiating with themselves! Wow, that’s some impressive lying.

Car professionals are then forced by their government captors to build cars no one wants, subsidized by the taxpayers and by the profits from the building of the cars people do want. This of course sucks up any company profit for investors, which explains the fall of the automotive stock price.

How is the stock supposed to go up when the people running the company openly state that “profit” is a bad thing and gas needs to be at $10 a gallon so people will be forced to buy cars the company actually loses money on??? The entire nation is poorer because of this.

The UAW runs the daily operations at the plant…until things really start going bad. Then they back out and tell management to “fix it – but we’ll tell you what you can change, and blame it all on you to the workers.” All the while the union bosses back-seat agitate and arm-chair quarterback the entire time. Top management (Democrats) meanwhile simply threaten the Car Professionals with their very livelihoods in order to keep this warped business model moving forward.

Car professionals work long hours sandwiched between a hostile management (Democrats/UAW), a hostile UAW workforce and an increasingly tough global market. Some day the car professionals will say “Enough!” (Look up “Who is John Gault?”) But that time is not yet here I guess. Our families need our pay checks. We simply try to look as humble and weak as we can as to not upset our masters in the UAW. The cancer in the company is simply tolerated by the car professionals as it stands right next to us.

The UAW meanwhile takes up big chunks of prime office space, filled with feather-bedded union cronies who have the job of looking tough, important and involved - with their feet up on the desks and conference tables. What they really do is interfere, antagonize, waste time and money, have different UAW slogan shirts printed – then they leave for a golf outing, a junket somewhere or just because they want to do something else with their day besides lounge around the plant and drink coffee.

UAW propaganda is distributed everywhere plant wide. No opposing opinion (actually called “the truth”) is allowed to be uttered, let alone printed, posted or distributed like the UAW propaganda is. No freedom of speech allowed unless it is union/Democrat speech. This is how dictatorships are formed.

What makes me smile to myself is this: If things remain as they are, I wonder if the union bosses have looked ahead to the day their goal is achieved, capitalism is dead and the government runs all businesses (this is called communism by the way). Have they given this any real thought?

What do they think the government will do to anyone interfering with their “business” once they have complete control? How will the government handle strikers, work stoppages or even the union sponsored protests on Wall Street or anywhere for that matter AFTER you useful idiots (another term you should google) help the Democrats achieve their goal?

Union supporter, you may want to consult a history book for the answer. Or google “Stalin’s purges” on the Internet. You will get the idea.

No charge to you for the education, Mr. or Ms. Comrade UAW Supporter.

Faldo Wins this NPP League Night

Of course you do Sara. Now you know why Miss Underwood shows Faldo the nub!

It was a weird one. Faldo’s best hands lost and the bad cards turned into monsters at just the right time. Faldo had so many big hands cracked he would have been an early exit usually. But my ‘bad’ luck only seemed to happen after some incredibly good luck. But I guess it was just my night.

We welcome one new player tonight – Bblbtt – to the NPP family. Welcome Carol!

And many old-timers returned to the NPP felt tonight – Bigbrimar and Cigar4John. Welcome back guys!

We also have K9isadog signed up but didn’t register in time and Douge2 registered but never played a hand (same as Tommydee804).

Oh well. We still had our biggest turnout since the re-start - 13 players.

Many weeks left and the race for the seats remains wide open with only Suetman123 opening any kind of cushion. Most of the other point getters already have seats locked up.

On to the action:

35 min: Tomservo2 (13th) sees his two pair lose to KingBing420’s flush.
36 min: LittleRedElf (12th), who’s chip stack seemed to yo-yo up and down constantly, sees his pair of kings run into KingBing420’s pair of Aces.

45 min: Pre01 (11th) hits a pair of kings with (K8) and a flop of [KQ2], but KingBing420 is holding (22)! Three knockouts for this lady already!

38 min: Bblbtt (10th) – Missed it as I was busy misplaying my own hand.

1st break:
KingBing420 9130
Cigar4John 2925
Absea98 2685
Mikeniks-Faldo 1905
Suetman123 1240
Bigbrimar 1035
8thmile 440
Douge2 115
Tommydee804 25

65 min: Tommydee804 (9th) and Douge2 (8th) blind out.
69 min: A short-stacked (SS) 8thmile (7th) has to try with (AT) and hits a flop of [QA3] against KingBing420’s (QT). But a [Q] appears on the turn! Ouch!

86 min: A SS Bigbrimar (6th) has to call with (AK) but Mikeniks-Faldo flopped two pair.
104 min: A SS KingBing420 (5th) has to go with (Qc 9c) and Cigar4John (4th) is there with (AK), but Mikeniks-Faldo has (TT) and flops trips!

2nd break:
Suetman123 11540
Mikeniks-Faldo 5885
Absea98 2075

Notice it is a 54 minute battle before the next player falls!
158 min: A SS Absea98 (3rd) goes with (J9) but runs into Mikeniks-Faldo’s (AQ).

Heads up: Suetman123 3300 Mikeniks-Faldo 16200

165 min: Suetman123 2200 Mikeniks-Faldo 17300

169 min: A SS Suetman123 (2nd) calls an all-in bet with (Ts 9s) but runs into Mikeniks-Faldo’s (QQ).

1st – Mikeniks-Faldo – 4.7 pts
2nd – Suetman123 – 6.1 pts
3rd – Absea98 – 10.3 points
4th – Cigar4John – 2.3 pts
5th – KingBing420
6th – Bigbrimar
7th – 8thmile
8th – Douge2
9th – Tommydee804
10th – Bblbtt
11th – Pre01
12th - LittleRedElf – 3.4 pts
13th - Tomservo2

The total point standings are on the right side of the blog! Remember the top 3 point getters in this 12 round league, get a seat in the NPP Finals! And also remember already qualified players are not counted and Faldo is not eligible for the final. So plenty of chances to jump into contention for a seat in the Finals!

Chess Magic – Rent is Not Free!

Women always love to watch Faldo play chess!

Solitaire Chess is a great way to study. What you do is take some published games in a book or magazine and peek to see who wins. Then you cover up some moves near the end of the game (3 to 6 of them) and then see if you can guess the winning moves that were played.

I arbitrarily also cover five moves near the center of the game and the last six moves of the game.

Let’s say it was a 40 move game with Black resigning without making a 40th move. I would cover up moves around 20 thru 24 – or close to that where the book or magazine make it easy to do, and try to see if I can follow along with the winner’s logic or plan.

But when I get to the last six that is where I try to really get them right. After all, the win happened and I need to see if I can see it too. I would start with the first 3 moves and then as you start getting 2 or 3 right most of the time, expand to more moves from the end.

Here is what is called a miniature game because it was over in less than 20 moves. It was eighteen in this game to be exact. For miniatures, I just cover up the last three moves or so. Again what ever I can easily cover in the magazine or book without page flipping.

In this one try and guess the last three winning moves for White!

1. e4 d5

This is called the Center Counter Game. Black challenges White’s control of the center immediately.

2. exd5 Nf6
3. d4 …..

Pushing the pawn to c4 to protect that extra advanced pawn is exactly what Black wants. But White knows his pieces are not developed enough to protect an opened up Queen side (twss).

3. ..… Nxd5
4. Nf3 Bg4
5. Be2 Nc6
6. c4 ..….

Now White can risk the pawn push because Black has to waste a move in order to remove his Knight from the attack.

6. ..… Nb6
7. 0-0 e6
8. Nc3 Be7
9. d5 exd5
10. cxd5 ...…

Isolated pawns are usually not a good idea, but White has a plan.

10. ….. Nb4
11. Qd4 Bxf3
12. Bxf3 Nc2
13. Qxg7 Bf6
14. Qg4 Nxa1

Did White just blunder away a rook (the rental property)?
Uh…..no.
Find White’s win in three moves after …

15. Re1+ Be7

How does White win in 3 moves?

The answer is found in Chess Magic Revealed. Just scroll down and look on the right side of the blog.

Incoming Fire Has the Right of Way

Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch, is part Drill Instructor, and part standup comic. Here are a few of his observations on Tactics, firearms, self defense and life as we know it in the civilized world.

"The handgun would not be my choice of weapon if I knew I was going to a fight....I'd choose a rifle, a shotgun, an RPG or an atomic bomb instead."

"The two most important rules in a gunfight are: Always cheat and always win."

"Don't forget, incoming fire has the right of way."

"Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets. I may get killed with my own gun, but he's gonna have to beat me to death with it, cause it's going to be empty."

"If you're not shootin', you should be loadin'. If you're not loadin, you should be movin', if you're not movin', someone's gonna cut your head off and put it on a stick."

"Do something. It may be wrong, but do something."

"Shoot what's available, as long as it's available, until something else becomes available."

"If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. That's ridiculous. If I have a gun, what in the hell do I have to be paranoid for."

"Don't shoot fast, shoot good."

"You can say 'stop' or 'alto' or use any other word you think will work but I've found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someone's head is pretty much the universal language."

"You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. How long you live depends on how well you do it."

"You cannot save the planet. You may be able to save yourself and your family."

"Thunder Ranch will be here as long as you'll have us or until someone makes us go away and either way it will be exciting."

More thoughts:
The purpose of fighting is to win, not to fight fair.

There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either.

The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.

Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.

I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy, and not as reliable.

When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.

The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him 'Why do you carry a 45?' The Ranger responded, 'Because they don't make a 46.'

An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.

The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. 'Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?' 'No ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle.'

The true man fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.'

'Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.' ~ Thomas Jefferson

Remember, it is our 2nd Amendment that protects the rest!

Hat tip to Bigbrimar.

Absea98 Wins His 3rd NPP Tourney and Takes the League Lead - Again!

Cameron Diaz likes what she saw!

Absea98 won the 1st quarter before the shutdown if you remember. He has the lead in this one by winning this 11-player event. Nice job Absea98.

He overcame a tough field and even the curse of the Faldo Chips he kept winning from me. I think I lost 7 of 8 hands to him. Ouch!

We welcome a new player tonight - 8thmile. It’s great to have you here at NPP.

We have 21 players signed up right now but only 11 players made it to the table. Nice weather and the Tiger game probably hurt attendance. Faldo is not discouraged. NPP will re-build!

On to the action:

31 min: A short-stacked (SS) Tommylee804 (11th) loses to Absea98’s flush.
38 min: A SS Wingsfancurt (10th) loses with (QT) to LittleRedElf’s (KQ).
51 min: T3chlady (9th) loses with (AQ) to 8thmile’s (AK).

1st break:
8thmile 3300
Absea98 3060
LittleRedElf 2905
ThePunk75 2230
95corolla 1755
Tomservo2 1225
Mikeniks-Faldo 1045
Suetman123 980

63 min: ThePunk75 (8th) (As Qs) pairs his [Q] but Absea98 (Ad 5d) hits his flush.
105 min: A SS LittleRedElf (7th) has to try with (99) but loses to Mikeniks-Faldo (Ad Td) with an [A] on the turn.

2nd break (the 15 minute blinds lengthening the evening a little):
Absea98 6950
Suetman123 4580
Tomservo2 1740
Mikeniks-Faldo 1375
95corolla 1190
8thmile 665

122 min: 8thmile (6th) has to go with (AK) but loses the coin flip to Suetman123’s (QQ).
132 min: A SS Tomservo2 (5th) goes with (T8) and runs into Suetman123’s (A8).
140 min: A SS Mikeniks-Faldo (4th) moves in with (A2) but gets run down by Absea98’s (KQ) with a [Q] on the turn.

152 min: Suetman123 (3rd) goes with (A8) but runs into Absea98’s (AK).

Heads up: 95corolla 3500 Absea98 13000

153 min: Its over quick and silly! 95corolla (2nd) of course moves all-in with a flop of [797] holding (87)! Absea98 correctly calls with (T9).

The turn is a [9] – the river is a …………[9]!!!!!! A PokerStars special!

Congratulations to Absea98.

1st – Absea98 – 7.6 points
2nd – 95corolla – 3.40 pts
3rd – Suetman123 – 2.78 pts
4th – Mikeniks-Faldo
5th – Tomservo2
6th – 8thmile
7th – LittleRedElf – 3.4 pts
8th – ThePunk75 – 4.8 pts
9th – T3chlady
10th – Wingsfancurt
11th – Tommydee804

I do not like the top only point total, but adjust Faldo will!

Faldo Wins His 17th Internet Tourney - This Time on Rise Poker

Ana Hickman wanted Faldo to join her for an evening swim, but Faldo turned her down to play in this freeroll to win a seat in another tourney to possibly win a t-shirt.

Good thinking on my part because I ended up winning the 251 player tourney, the seat in the T-shirt Final on Tuesday Night AND an extra 1000 play chips. Good thinking eh?

I got card happy at the right time. A series of AK and AK-sooooooted held up against short stacks and one monster stack with QQ. hit the A on the flop and a K on the river to boot! I was in the coin flip zone and didn’t lose in four straight.

Then my AQ suited beat an AK with a Q on the river.

I got hurt when my KK lost to a decent stack with 77 that tripped on me. But I got him back with a QQ over JJ win later.

This is my first win in a 200+ player tourney since my 2008 win in a PokerStars freeroll with 10000 players in that one.

It was a nice way to start the October month.

Now I have to win the NPP Tuesday night SNG, keep score for the article – all while going t-shirt hunting on another site in another tournament.

Maybe that will impress Ana. She has not returned my calls or texts even after I left a message saying I won that tourney after not going for that swim.

Wonder why? I mentioned I would let her wear the t-shirt once in a while - if I win it.

Arturo Fuente – The #2 Family of Cigars

Why? I don’t know. My experience has shown that the Arturo Fuente family of cigars has more taste and personality than the Macanudo. Again, no knock against either family, but I have found more flavor and distinct cigar tastes in the Arturo Fuente brands.


The Arturo Fuente website shows;

Fuente Grand Reserva – comes in 9 sized and in three different wrappers

Chateau Fuente – Cedar wrapped in 8 different sizes.

Fuente Box Pressed and Mini’s

Fuente Magnum R – Lighter and smoother cigar in 4 sizes

Don Carlos – Cedar wrapped and aged 10 years in a rich and dark Cameroon wrapper in 7 sizes.

Hemingway – A line of shaped cigars in 7 sizes.

Montesino – Aged 5 years in 8 different sizes. Smooth, creamy with a hint of a peppery finish.

Anejo – Aged 5 years in a cognac barrel and cedar wrapped in 6 sizes. A rich, spicy and slightly sweet taste.

Fuente Fuente OpusX – the very top of their line in 7 sizes.


Faldo has smoked the Grand Reserva, Cheatau Fuente, Don Carlos and the Montesino, preferring the Montesino a lot more. It was milder, but tastier at the same time.

One of the fringe benefits of researching for these article is I learn some things myself. I see I have to investigate the other fine cigars in the Arturo Fuente line - the Magnum R, the Anejo and the OpusX.

Who knows. I might just find another “must stock” cigar. Oh the pain and agony of testing all those cigars. But somebody has to do it.