So, I'm somewhat recovered from my latest adventure in Laughlin, NV.
Since I was most likely overserved and under dealt during much of the stay, there is only one real standout hand to tell you about. We stayed at Harrahs and only played there during this trip.
Now, the table has been tight, but lots of verbal jabbing from a very sassy schoolteacher from the I.E. (Inland Empire for those of you not in SoCal). Apparently many of the 10 players at the table were also at the same table the night before and were yapping at each other all night. I decided to be a bit quiet and just listen and learn a little about them for the first couple of hours, but couldn't do it all night and became involved in some of the talk (I can't help it, I'm a better smartass than a poker player). I bought in for $100 at the 3/6 w/a kill table and like I said this happened after I had won about 3 hands in two hours. The pots were all pretty smallish in the $30 to $40 range, and I was pretty much seen as tight and aggressive at this point. I believe I was UTG +2 here as well, but like I said the memory is hazy from the other events that evening.
I decided to go have smoke just outside the room but in full view of the table and as I walked I asked to be dealt in. A couple of minutes later the Dealer (Victor) looked up and asked what I wanted to do. I yelled out "CALL", and got back into my conversation only for him to ask me again. "CALL AGAIN" I said, and I was now hearing a bit of laughter from the table as I knew I better get my ass back to the table before I called away too many chips on a lark. Since everyone is now giggling about my insanity calling blind I decided to go ahead and make the following announcement...."I'm going to go ahead and play this one blind". More laughter ensues and as you can imagine there are 8 players in this pot for two bets pre-flop. The flop comes KQ7 all hearts and everyone looks at me immediately. "WHAT??? I'm not UTG, look at him instead. I told you I'm not looking!" two bets to call when it gets to me, and so I decided to mess with them a bit and raised them.
Now the table comes alive...."YOU WHAT???", "Raise one more, you guys are finally coming to life and it's worth it". 6 callers but no re-raises and we see the turn....K. Again all eyes on me....and by this time I'm getting a bit nervous with the bets I've put in and decide to announce that I will go ahead and look, and what I see is the most beautiful thing I've seen on a table.....Two Black KINGS!!!! Once again there is two bets when I act and purposely act strong (since they would most likely think the strong means weak tell) and say "Raise!"
Two players drop, and one re raise later I call the capped bet......instantly everyone starts getting a bit noisy, and other tables are gathering araound ours. The smartass teacher asks... "so you got the flush, huh??" I answered that I didn't think I did, but I have a great hand, why else would I raise with it blind on the flop?? Everyone makes the call, but I was hoping the Flush to my right would raise...no such luck. The river was a rag, and by this time the room was humming....but surprisingly NO ONE put me on this hand, they were talking about everything else I could have but not my beautiful cowboys. Again two bets by the time it gets to me, and I pop it again but this time everyone just calls and as the last caller puts his bet out I toss the boys on the table and say, "don't bother showing kids, Daddy has Quads". Huge eruption from the entire room and the huge pot was pushed and I also get the $50 jackpot for one of their jewel hands.
Let's just say there was a LOT of conversation on that hand for the next hour or so, I got pretty much no callers for a while and everyone loosened up and started actually betting their hands.
So mission accomplished, they loosened up and I got the nice boost in chips, and a great memory.....
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Friday, February 03, 2006
A great msg I got today, and damn if it isn't a fact!
THOSE BORN BEFORE 1980
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the front passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
We ate chips/fries, stodgy puddings and drank fizzy juice with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and
no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have Playstations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.
We had friends - we went outside and found them.
We played ball games, and sometimes that ball really hurt!
We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law suits.
We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
We played chap-the-door-run-away and were actually terrified of the owners catching us.
We walked to friends' homes. We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood, even in winter.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of...They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
>>>>For those born AFTER 1980<<<<
You are all Pussies, or at least the system turned you into a pussy.
Love, Diablo
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the front passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
We ate chips/fries, stodgy puddings and drank fizzy juice with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and
no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have Playstations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.
We had friends - we went outside and found them.
We played ball games, and sometimes that ball really hurt!
We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law suits.
We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
We played chap-the-door-run-away and were actually terrified of the owners catching us.
We walked to friends' homes. We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood, even in winter.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of...They actually sided with the law.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
>>>>For those born AFTER 1980<<<<
You are all Pussies, or at least the system turned you into a pussy.
Love, Diablo
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Finally let loose on the poker room.....
Five words sum up my no limit experience on Friday night: Paddle Ball with my junk.
I didn't know it then, but apparently there is some conspiracy posted on either the internet or local network affiliates to make sure I get kicked in the junk when playing no limit. "Here he comes, shhh...wait for it....wait for it....kick him in the junk!!!!"
I didn't know it then, but apparently there is some conspiracy posted on either the internet or local network affiliates to make sure I get kicked in the junk when playing no limit. "Here he comes, shhh...wait for it....wait for it....kick him in the junk!!!!"
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Two. Day. Hangover.
Well, it could have easily gone horribly wrong. A day of rest was sorely needed by the whole family the next day. Beer, Tequila, Wine, Champagne......four words that should never be uttered in one night......take it from me.
I have the Poker Jones something fierce right now. Haven't played live in over a month, and online has not been good to me lately. I GOTTA get out to a casino soon. Soccer season starts this weekend, and we're losing a couple of really good guys, so I hope I can pick up the slack before my mates drink themselves silly after losing matches this season. We should do pretty well, but not expecting huge victories.
I'm done writing....now beat it....
Have a good 06
Diablo
I have the Poker Jones something fierce right now. Haven't played live in over a month, and online has not been good to me lately. I GOTTA get out to a casino soon. Soccer season starts this weekend, and we're losing a couple of really good guys, so I hope I can pick up the slack before my mates drink themselves silly after losing matches this season. We should do pretty well, but not expecting huge victories.
I'm done writing....now beat it....
Have a good 06
Diablo
Monday, December 19, 2005
12 Bars - 20 drinks
12 bars of christmas...... I feel like I just got back from a week long bender in Vegas. Every year about 40 or so of my closest friends and acquaintances all get together for one event: 12 Bars.
It's always the place that you can guarantee that you will see at least 80% of your friends. The first 2 bars are spent saying hello to everyone and catching up as much as you can, then the other 10 are for flat out boozin and other shenanigans. Some bars come and go each year, but most of them are really accomodating and friendly to us as we donate tons of dough to their cash register.
The catching up part is always the most fun for me. I am constantly amazed at what my group of degenerates come up with every year. For instance, you will find out which friends had babies, which one is now gay, and which of us are still married.
What is surprising isn't that these things happen every year, it's WHO they happen to. It's kinda like finding out your Minister who you've known for 20 years now dresses as a woman, is banging chickens, and is sought by the authorities for a five state shooting spree.
More details could be posted about this lovely event, but for the sake of the 5th Amendment and other city statutes we'll just leave it there. The lovely Mrs. Diablo and I cabbed it home with a couple of close friends and obeyed most state laws so I guess we're in the clear so far.
The most important part is that no one went to jail this year......wait, did they???
DB
It's always the place that you can guarantee that you will see at least 80% of your friends. The first 2 bars are spent saying hello to everyone and catching up as much as you can, then the other 10 are for flat out boozin and other shenanigans. Some bars come and go each year, but most of them are really accomodating and friendly to us as we donate tons of dough to their cash register.
The catching up part is always the most fun for me. I am constantly amazed at what my group of degenerates come up with every year. For instance, you will find out which friends had babies, which one is now gay, and which of us are still married.
What is surprising isn't that these things happen every year, it's WHO they happen to. It's kinda like finding out your Minister who you've known for 20 years now dresses as a woman, is banging chickens, and is sought by the authorities for a five state shooting spree.
More details could be posted about this lovely event, but for the sake of the 5th Amendment and other city statutes we'll just leave it there. The lovely Mrs. Diablo and I cabbed it home with a couple of close friends and obeyed most state laws so I guess we're in the clear so far.
The most important part is that no one went to jail this year......wait, did they???
DB
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Too Drunk To Call--my own little story
My own "Too Drunk to Call story" and a nice parlay.
Mrs. Diablo and I were in the Harrahs Laughlin during the last Kentucky Derby. We decided to check out the race, but got to the sportsbook a bit early. We figured that we better get there early to get a seat as it's pretty small and gets packed pretty early.
We get there, get two seats and a few horse guides for each of the tracks we'll be watching and sit down. The Mrs. is going through the Horses and I'm just enjoying my first beer of the day when....WHAAAP!!! The Mrs. found a sweet horse...."My Trusty Cat". Now I'm sure none of you know this but we have two 13 year old Diabetic cats. Yep 2 cats and both Diabetic. We have to shoot them with insulin 2x a day and yes, Virginia, it IS a pain in the ass. Since our cats are not trusty, and we are the King/Queen of irony and sarcasm, of course we sprinted to the window. The Mrs bet $3 each to Win and Show, and your hero decided to not be a pussy (not that she was)and go $10 each on win/show.
Now, up until the race started the room was pretty quiet with a lot of handicappers and semi pro horse dudes, but with us in the room it was only a matter of time until the riotous laughter ensued. We were laughing our asses off when the race started....."they're Running"......our bag of glue starts off a bit slow, prompting me to start cheering him on with the ever popular "Cmon, you big fucking bag of Dog Food, RUN!!!" Of course long story short, the bastard won by three lengths. Damn I love that horse, a very exciting 2 minutes. Even now it brings tears to my eyes. The wonderful, strong, and beautiful beast paid roughly $ 147 total on my bets, and I believe $ 60 something on the Mrs' bets.
Much giddyness ensues, with laughter unstoppable at this point. All handicappers (except one) instantly start asking
"how did you get that winner" to which our response is "we bet him because he thinks he's a fucking cat, and they're fast, right???No one told him he wasn't a cat" Their response is much like the one you give your wife when she wins the Super Bowl pool by choosing the team with the prettiest helmets, except the guy to our left who waits til they sit down and whispers in my ear "always bet a horse with cat in it's name, it's a great bloodline" I respond to this with "yeah, the sonofabitch thinks he's a fucking Cat!!!". He wasn't amused.
Needless to say we laughed our ass off for the next few minutes literally not able to breathe, when in the corner of my eye, I see a beautiful thing. All my wife sees is me jumping out of my chair and running to the counter. She's a bit scared and asks me what the hell that was about. I respond "Belmont-fifth race, Ten Dollars on number 3 to win straight up----IT'S A LOCK!!". As she looks up at the screen, the race starts....the horse you ask? "Spongebob Horsepants". You know I have to bet that. More hilarity ensues when we start screaming again "cmon Horsepants, you bastard!!!!" Lets just say he went wire to wire and as I recall he paid $ 86.50. Wacky horses are my bag, baby.
Two months later, we're in the same sportsbook and to make a long story short, I won another $46 on a Mule Named "Blinky". We didn't realize it was a Mule race until we saw the bastard come out of the gate. Of course I initiated the yelling once again...."come on Blinky, you magnificent Donkey Bastard!!!". The lovely Mrs. Diablo points out that it is in fact a Mule, BUT I am in no way persuaded to not yell "Go Donkaaayy" in my worst Shrek voice.
The morale of this story is that it's always +EV to drink early, often, and bet on the Mule!!
Diablo Blanco
Mrs. Diablo and I were in the Harrahs Laughlin during the last Kentucky Derby. We decided to check out the race, but got to the sportsbook a bit early. We figured that we better get there early to get a seat as it's pretty small and gets packed pretty early.
We get there, get two seats and a few horse guides for each of the tracks we'll be watching and sit down. The Mrs. is going through the Horses and I'm just enjoying my first beer of the day when....WHAAAP!!! The Mrs. found a sweet horse...."My Trusty Cat". Now I'm sure none of you know this but we have two 13 year old Diabetic cats. Yep 2 cats and both Diabetic. We have to shoot them with insulin 2x a day and yes, Virginia, it IS a pain in the ass. Since our cats are not trusty, and we are the King/Queen of irony and sarcasm, of course we sprinted to the window. The Mrs bet $3 each to Win and Show, and your hero decided to not be a pussy (not that she was)and go $10 each on win/show.
Now, up until the race started the room was pretty quiet with a lot of handicappers and semi pro horse dudes, but with us in the room it was only a matter of time until the riotous laughter ensued. We were laughing our asses off when the race started....."they're Running"......our bag of glue starts off a bit slow, prompting me to start cheering him on with the ever popular "Cmon, you big fucking bag of Dog Food, RUN!!!" Of course long story short, the bastard won by three lengths. Damn I love that horse, a very exciting 2 minutes. Even now it brings tears to my eyes. The wonderful, strong, and beautiful beast paid roughly $ 147 total on my bets, and I believe $ 60 something on the Mrs' bets.
Much giddyness ensues, with laughter unstoppable at this point. All handicappers (except one) instantly start asking
"how did you get that winner" to which our response is "we bet him because he thinks he's a fucking cat, and they're fast, right???No one told him he wasn't a cat" Their response is much like the one you give your wife when she wins the Super Bowl pool by choosing the team with the prettiest helmets, except the guy to our left who waits til they sit down and whispers in my ear "always bet a horse with cat in it's name, it's a great bloodline" I respond to this with "yeah, the sonofabitch thinks he's a fucking Cat!!!". He wasn't amused.
Needless to say we laughed our ass off for the next few minutes literally not able to breathe, when in the corner of my eye, I see a beautiful thing. All my wife sees is me jumping out of my chair and running to the counter. She's a bit scared and asks me what the hell that was about. I respond "Belmont-fifth race, Ten Dollars on number 3 to win straight up----IT'S A LOCK!!". As she looks up at the screen, the race starts....the horse you ask? "Spongebob Horsepants". You know I have to bet that. More hilarity ensues when we start screaming again "cmon Horsepants, you bastard!!!!" Lets just say he went wire to wire and as I recall he paid $ 86.50. Wacky horses are my bag, baby.
Two months later, we're in the same sportsbook and to make a long story short, I won another $46 on a Mule Named "Blinky". We didn't realize it was a Mule race until we saw the bastard come out of the gate. Of course I initiated the yelling once again...."come on Blinky, you magnificent Donkey Bastard!!!". The lovely Mrs. Diablo points out that it is in fact a Mule, BUT I am in no way persuaded to not yell "Go Donkaaayy" in my worst Shrek voice.
The morale of this story is that it's always +EV to drink early, often, and bet on the Mule!!
Diablo Blanco
First thoughts and ramblings
First of all, I'm not a very eloquent writer, my grammar is crap, and I can't promise how often I'll post, so before you think about complaining: Go Fuck Yourself.
This blog will exist to insult anyone possible, and share my idiotic opinions and views on Poker (with trip reports), English Football (mostly complaints about Man Utd), and life in general(and the crazy junk that I go through daily).
I would also like to thank in no particular order the following people for great reading (and have been following religiously) throughout the last few years:
Felicia Lee - A wonderful human whom I respect for overcoming adversity. She is always forthcoming and very patient in answering poker questions I have had.
Linda Geenen - Pokerworks is a great read and insight into what it is like to deal poker at the Bellagio (and to the best/highest limit players in the world) I enjoy Linda's writing immensely.
Dr Pauly - Tao of Poker and many other publications too many to mention. A hilarious read and an incredible writer. HST would be proud. Pauly, a drink is in order on my next Vegas trip, I'll buy.
Alcanthang - Even though he supports Chelsea(Bastards), his blog is hilarious and would be a welcome drinking partner for our group of degenerates. Apparently you should never give him your phone # or you will get a Dial a shot (could Be worse...lol).
Poker Prof - LasVegasVegas - Up to the minute Poker and Las Vegas news with great pics.
The Tiltboys - Phil Gordon of Celebrity Poker fame, and his degenerate friends. The Godfathers of Trip Reports to Vegas. These are my favorite Vegas stories other than the stories in which I was involved.
These are just a few of the people who make the blogger community interesting to read (and more importantly, Less Geeky!!), so check them out if you get a chance.
Diablo Blanco
This blog will exist to insult anyone possible, and share my idiotic opinions and views on Poker (with trip reports), English Football (mostly complaints about Man Utd), and life in general(and the crazy junk that I go through daily).
I would also like to thank in no particular order the following people for great reading (and have been following religiously) throughout the last few years:
Felicia Lee - A wonderful human whom I respect for overcoming adversity. She is always forthcoming and very patient in answering poker questions I have had.
Linda Geenen - Pokerworks is a great read and insight into what it is like to deal poker at the Bellagio (and to the best/highest limit players in the world) I enjoy Linda's writing immensely.
Dr Pauly - Tao of Poker and many other publications too many to mention. A hilarious read and an incredible writer. HST would be proud. Pauly, a drink is in order on my next Vegas trip, I'll buy.
Alcanthang - Even though he supports Chelsea(Bastards), his blog is hilarious and would be a welcome drinking partner for our group of degenerates. Apparently you should never give him your phone # or you will get a Dial a shot (could Be worse...lol).
Poker Prof - LasVegasVegas - Up to the minute Poker and Las Vegas news with great pics.
The Tiltboys - Phil Gordon of Celebrity Poker fame, and his degenerate friends. The Godfathers of Trip Reports to Vegas. These are my favorite Vegas stories other than the stories in which I was involved.
These are just a few of the people who make the blogger community interesting to read (and more importantly, Less Geeky!!), so check them out if you get a chance.
Diablo Blanco
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