Dannie: I’m All-In

Pokerstars hosts several “VIP” tournaments each week.  In order to get a ticket to these tournaments, you must be a “VIP”.

VIP Club level is based on your monthly PokerStars real money play. At the heart of the new program are VIP Player Points (VPP). You earn one VPP every time you earn a Frequent Player Point (FPP) playing in a real money ring game or tournament.

You achieve BronzeStar, SilverStar, GoldStar and PlatinumStar tiers by earning a certain number of VPPs during a single month. As you play on PokerStars, you will earn both FPPs and VPPs. FPPs are yours to spend as you please in the VIP FPP store or to enter special FPP freerolls. VPPs are how you track your VIP status; they can not be redeemed and have no other value.

Your monthly VPP counter resets at the beginning of each month. To achieve (or maintain) a certain tier in the VIP Club, you must earn the required VPPs during that month. Once you reach a VIP tier you instantly receive everything that tier has to offer for the remainder of the month, and for the month following it.

A friend of mine, Larry, recently reached Supernova. Supernova is a high status on Stars and is the 2nd highest only to Superstar Elite, which only 4 (out of hundreds of thousands poker players) members at the moment.

Yesterday, a freeroll (free tournament for cash prizes) was held for Supernova players.  1033 players signed up.  Unlike most tournaments, this is unique because there are very few, if any, bad players.  It’s a tournament of some of the best players on Pokerstars.  Larry manages to get to the final 15 players and calls another players all-in.  Larry held Ace-King and the other player held Ace-Jack.  Larry was about a 60% favorite.  Of course, a jack flops out and my friend is knocked out of the tournament just short of GREAT money.  

 For his efforts, he scored $280.  Good job, Larry. 

Since I was about 9 I’ve played poker, specificially Holdem and 5-card stud. For several years now I’ve played poker in both traditional casinos and online.  For the first few months of online play, I would get frustrated with the obvious poor play of onliners.  I’d make a few hundred at B&M tables, then lose online. Then I picked up tournaments.  Interestingly enough, I had the opposite results.  Live tournaments seemed to be much more difficult than online tournaments.  For about 2 years I spent 85% of my online time focused on tournaments and would take those winnings to the cash tables.  For a while, I had an amazing record for tournament finishes.  In 2006, I made 16 final tables but seemed to NEVER to solve the puzzle for finishing better than 2nd in larger tournaments (1k or more players).  Then the poker solution was solved, at least for cash tables when I made a lot of money 5/10 and 10/20 a few hours each day. It seemed while I was a NL purist, I had found my speciality.  I believe I’ve found a good balance - production (earning $$) via 10/20, with good days moving up to 15/30 and sometimes 30/60 Limit - balanced by only playing satelites to larger tournaments.  We’ll see how successful that approach becomes..

Last year I seen that Pokerstars had a Blogger’s tournament. Now this year I hope to get a ticket. Will you join me?

 

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!   

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

 

Registration code: 4411868

I officially made it on ESPN for the annual WSOP coverage. It’s too bad the only spot I noticed myself was when some other guy dressed up like a devil (or jester depending on who you ask) was bagging my chips. Mike (http://www.mikecompton.com/blog) was KIND ENOUGH to record it for me. Sorry, but I lost his link….
We had 3 nieces/nephews over last night. It was fun having a bbq (even though timmy didn’t show up). During the bbq, I won a few bucks at poker helping to set a record 2 month run. I would share that amount but I don’t want to upset others

This weekend I’m going to take the family to Iowa for a mini-vacation. We’ve not had much time this summer to get away, so I wanted to do something small before school starts. Friday night I am invited to play cards with an IRC buddy and the following two days we’ll spend at a water park hotel.

And also, Brian is a b*t*h. Yes, I said it. Abe can kiss my ass. You know who you are and that you are in fact a P.o.S.

Sometimes things don’t make sense. While battling with Pokerstars to figure out where my withdraw is sitting after 11 days, which I might add is a fairly large amount, I decided to start my tax filing.

Tax time is always an annoying time of year. I tend to get grumpy. With the new house and additional child this year, I was expecting a refund of a few thousand.

HOWEVER: seems I’ll be getting back a LOT this year. Seems I paid in a LOT more than I needed to. Nice.
Two hours and $140 later in TurboTax fees, seems I’m getting back the largest refund yet. Let’s just say it will be enough to a) eliminate a tax situation from a few years ago and b) fund a vacation.

Today is my oldest son’s birthday. He’s officially a two-digit kid - 10 years old.

Donovan - happy birthday, we’re proud of you. Excellent grades + birthday = mountain bike.  Good job, sir - good job.

Today David turns 4 years old!  Happy Birthday, David!  He’s going to be suprised when he opens up all the cool gifts tonight.

I flew home from Salt Lake City yesterday.  Work is still insane and it is beginning to get on my nerves.  The build up for a return audit by Internal Audit has the politics in full-swing and everyone is running for cover. It’s fun to watch people try to throw everyone else under the bus.  Too bad there is so much at stake.

At least after work I will spend some quality time with my kids and wife after spending four days in Utah.  We are going to have cake and ice cream, watch David open presents, and hopefully have a wonderful evening.

David - if you only knew how wonderful life is at 4…

So that song is awesome - but it is fitting for my blogging efforts over the past month. I’ve neglected this site for awhile while I’ve been busy with work. And - that’s an understatement. Work has been simply insane.

We have an upcoming audit review and it’s been a 3-ring circus trying to get everything remediated, start a new department with the RIGHT people while removing the WRONG people, traveling back and forth to Salt Lake City, and just dealing w/the politics. But, for what it’s worth, we’ve made a large impact to date, which is good.

I did hire a former consultant who I respect a great deal. That was very fine choice… we’ll make great strides soon.

I’m not entirely thrilled with my wife’s work situation — it’s a break-even rate w/the daycare expense, but it keeps her sane, I suppose.

Soon, I hope to take a week of vacation time and just relax.  Maybe even get out to Vegas if work permits.  We’ll see.

Anyhow, i’ll work on my blogging updates… keeping up can be a real challenge… we’ll see how I do next few weeks…

Last night a gunman went on a rampage in the same mall where I had lunch last week and killed five peope in what appears to be a senseless act of violence.   It makes no sense.  Read about it: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5216389?source=rv

So I posted a few times over the past week in an effort to catch-up on nearly 3 weeks of laziness, or being too busy - depending on your outlook. Then moved servers - oops.

Anyhow, so I went to Utah (again), enrolled Dannie, Jr. into daycare, wife started back to work (ok, so tomorrow technically) and managed my way through some difficulties at work.  I hired a great resource, Terry, and am actively recruiting another - to be nameless until he accepts my offer of working at a real firm.  When you find people that are both great members of a team and are fun to work with, you have to bring them along.

Tomorrow should be fun with somewhere between 3 to 8 inches of snow.  Oh, and I’m finalizing a presentation to be given to 250 people.  No pressure.

I need a raise.

Today was fun. We watched the Bears squeeze out a victory against the Seahawks. In the 4th Quarter, my favorite liberal decided to make negative comments against the President in one of the IRC rooms I hang out in. Being from Texas, from the same community as President Bush, I obviously took a bit of offense and therefore responded.

We debated a few points to no ended. Then Mr. Censorship decided to bash President Reagan. Here’s what happened next:

[15:03]  xy_goat: fucking reagan... a hero...
[15:04]  ImALLin: damn right.
[15:04]  xy_goat: have you been reading rivisionist history again
[15:05]  ImALLin: haha
[15:05]  ImALLin: have you?
[15:05]  ImALLin: "bush is evil"
[15:05]  xy_goat: was he a hero when he destroyed the economy?
[15:05]  xy_goat: or was it when he destroyed the foreign policy
[15:05]  xy_goat: i am confused
[15:05]  ImALLin:ended communism.
[15:05]  xy_goat: ohyea.. i forgot about that
[15:05]  ..
[15:05]  xy_goat: made the rich richer
[15:05]  made the poor poorer
[15:05]  haha
[15:06] ImALLin: i love the liberal views.
[15:06]  xy_goat: made it hard for single mothers and ethnic groups to get government help in education
[15:06]  xy_goat: me to
[15:06]  xy_goat: yea reagan ruled.
[15:06] ImALLin:  he did.
[15:06] *** `nata2 sets mode: -o+b ImALLin *!*Tasty@71.194.*.*
[15:06] *** ImALLin was kicked by `nata2 (Requested Kick)

Aren’t liberals the ones who demand the right to be the voices of disagreement? Don’t they shout during demonstrations the right for the minority views to be heard? Seems not. Stupid liberals are always full of contridictions and hypocrisy.

BUT, just like the poor souls with mental handicaps, the liberals don’t mean it…