Shaking the rust off Rush Poker

Today I began my first of hopefully seven days of Rush Poker play for the current bonus promotion.

Even though I played Rush Poker a lot more when it first came out earlier this year, I have a new approach for this time around. It's not apparent, since Rush Poker is an extremely fast game, but I almost think that Rush is a nittier game than regular ring tables.

I think that way because Rush is a game in which you can fold all kinds of hands and I think people at the lower limits just fold and fold and fold until they come across a big hand like KK or AA.

So I almost think that many people playing Rush Poker play like: Big raises = big hands. Big bets = big hands. Why would people want to sit in the tank and think through a questionable hand when they can just jettison it and wait for AA?

You have to really play a lot to develop the kind of data you'd like to have to sift through which players are LAGgy and which players are just nitty. I've seen plenty of nitty ones.

But this is a good thing as when you hit your hand that's not a big premium starting pair, you're more than likely to get paid off. They'll stick with their big hand over the flop and you'll have the goods.

It's also good when people open raise you in the blinds. A 3-bet may imply to them you have a very good hand and will force a fold.

I'm playing less tables than I normally would but even for those, Rush is a very fast game. It takes a lot more concentration to keep up with it all.

Las Vegas hotel room savings!

Way back in October, I thought I'd locked up a pretty good deal for my second weekend in Las Vegas (during bloggers) after New York New York Hotel and Casino offered up $67 for Friday night and $82 for Saturday.

But then I forgot about the post-Thanksgiving weekend sales. I saved about 20 percent (rooms $55/night) by booking the casino/hotel right across the street, the Excalibur, on hotels.com.

The website has a 10-day winter Las Vegas sale that ends on Dec. 2.

I quickly booked the Excalibur day, then cancelled my reservation at New York, New York. I figure the more money I save on rooms, the more I can use for play!

Cadence raising and the no-huddle offense

Today at one of my tables I found myself waiting a while before I open-raised. After getting a bunch of folds, I decided to quickly raise with AA versus the blinds.

The big blind instantly 3 bet me. I decided to min 4 bet him quickly, and he bit, pushing his entire stack pre-flop with 99.

Sometimes switching up your cadence will throw off players who are used to betting patterns.

Rush poker week is back!

Full Tilt is offering its $250 bonus program starting Monday through Dec. 5 for playing Rush Poker games.

The way it works is it depends on how many points you play playing Rush Poker tables:

Bronze (10 Full Tilt Points):

Earn at least 10 Full Tilt Points per day on any four days to receive $5
Earn at least 10 Full Tilt Points per day on all seven days to receive $10
Silver (100 Full Tilt Points):

Earn at least 100 Full Tilt Points per day on any four days to receive $25
Earn at least 100 Full Tilt Points per day on all seven days to receive $50
Gold (1,000 Full Tilt Points):

Earn at least 1,000 Full Tilt Points per day on any four days to receive $125
Earn at least 1,000 Full Tilt Points per day on all seven days to receive $250

Can't wait.

et in Atlanta ego

Then about the meridian of that day we came upon the judge on that rock there in the wilderness by his single self. Aye, and there was no rock, just the one. Irving said he'd brung it with him. I said that it was a merestone for to mark him out of nothing at all. He had with him that selfsame rifle that you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he'd given it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et in Arcadia Ego. A reference to the lethal in it. Common enough for a man to name his gun. I've heard Sweetlips and Hark From the Tombs and every sort of ladys name. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics.
-Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian

The judge's name Et in Arcadia Ego stands not for his gun and not for himself, but rather for murderous humankind on this very real killing planet.
-Gnosticism and mccarthy's blood meridian

So I was at the fiancee's place, sitting on a wooden chair at the kitchen table, digressing about our Catholic marriage prep when I heard a distinct percussion: Two cracks. A pause. And then one more. And then the sound of furious running down the stairwell outside her place.

It's the kind of combination of sounds that makes you shrink deeply into the middle of your apartment. I immediately started to think of the likely construction methods of a modern, three-story apartment complex and what kind of materials (wood, concrete?) would protect us from harm.

Below us, next to us, we could hear a woman crying, softly. The fiancee called 911.

"We got it," they said, having already been notified. Already you could hear the sirens. When enough sirens were in our reach, we ventured outside after a little bit of discussion. We opened our door about the same time as a cute perky blond with her dog. She was in the shower and hadn't heard a thing. But she was ready to find out.

As we rounded the corner, I winced wondering what my car might look like since it sounded like it was right where we heard the shots. It turned out the sirens were at the building right next to us, we could see part of a fire truck and a red siren through one small entranceway. A third neighbor had seen a dark car race off, slamming into the deep drainage grate in the middle of the parking lot that everyone else knows to avoid.

The blond wanted to know. She took her dog and disappeared where the sirens were.

A few minutes later she came running back. Someone had been shot. She also was able to glean from police that they were dead. A stone's throw away. After a few minutes the fire truck came our way and left. A TV truck came and we all disappeared back into the building.

I've covered these things many times and it was weird to be on the other side, the ones standing aimlessly on the sidewalk as the TV trucks roll by. You never want to be the story.

When I read Blood Meridian a few years ago and came across the name of Judge Holden's gun, I had to know what it meant. Commonly, it's a phrase that is the title of a Nicolas Poussin painting from the 17th century. Residents of the paradise Arcadia come across a gravestone with the phrase etched upon it.

It's a reference to death, a reminder, "Even in Arcadia, I exist."

It's stayed with me as a message to myself to always be careful that you never know what might happen, that things might play out like the Sopranos and "you'll never see it coming." The scary thought is that good chance is sometimes just a matter of timing. We'd been home from being out for about 20 minutes. Who knows if 20 minutes here or there would have flipped our fate that way. This is the news account of what happened.

And when I write et in Atlanta ego, it's with a bit of sarcasm, since this place (even as I love it) is hardly paradise.

Free wi-fi to Vegas! (and elsewhere) Update

Earlier this month I mentioned that Delta is offering free wi-fi on its flights through Jan. 2.

Its competitor, AirTran, also is offering free wi-fi through the same day.

It would be awesome if free wi-fi becomes a permanent option in the future. But at the very least your poker skills won't get rusty on the way to the bloggers weekend.

Vegas for nothing (Canadians only?)

Saw this on the blog Loyalty Traveler today -- an awesome deal on Expedia.com involving a 300 Canadian dollar discount off an air/hotel package to Las Vegas, Cancun or Manhattan that must be booked through midnight tomorrow (Pacific Time).

That means in many cases the discount makes the total package price only a few dollars, or in some instances I've seen, nothing at all.

Of course, what made the deal initially sweet is that it looked like the coupon code worked for non-Canadians and it subsequently made its way to a brisk FlyerTalk discussion.

But now it looks like it really is only for flights originating from Canada. But especially with bloggers coming up, perhaps a few people can take advantage of this great deal.

What I've been doing this month

I've been keeping up with my Iron Man points on Full Tilt, but I've also been playing a lot of Fallout: New Vegas.

It's interesting that the iconic Stratosphere tower has been chosen as one of the symbols of the future in this video game.

In the game, I've also played my share of roulette, using Gnome's system, and a hand or two of blackjack. The currency of choice in the future is bottle caps.

But the future's card game of choice is not poker, but a new creation called Caravan. I haven't gotten the hang of it yet.

Betting out your hands

It doesn't seem like a great idea to just smooth call your made hand with a flush draw possible and a guy behind you.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - View hand 1016840

DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter



UTG+1: $18.55

MP1: $59.25

Hero (MP2): $51.15

CO: $66.95

BTN: $73.85

SB: $50.00

BB: $19.75

UTG: $19.90



Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP2 with T J

3 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, CO calls $1.50, BTN calls $1.50, 2 folds



Flop: ($5.25) 4 9 Q (3 players)

Hero bets $4.25, CO calls $4.25, BTN calls $4.25



Turn: ($18.00) 8 (3 players)

Hero bets $14, CO raises to $61.20 all in, BTN folds, Hero calls $31.40 all in



River: ($108.80) 2 (2 players - 2 are all in)



Final Pot: $108.80

Hero shows T J (a straight, Queen high)

CO shows 4 4 (three of a kind, Fours)

Hero wins $105.80

(Rake: $3.00)

Flying to Vegas? (free Wi-Fi)

Delta Air Lines is announcing free Wi-Fi on its flights from Nov. 20 through Jan. 2.

Perfect for the poker bloggers weekend in Las Vegas! My dream to finally win money before I reach the NL tables could become true!

And, oh yes, I'm flying on Delta for the Rock'n'Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon and the poker bloggers weekend a week later.

HOTD

I don't like being in early with three people behind me deep stacked. Sometimes you are forced to go on a hunch.


Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em $0.10 Ante - 5 players - View hand 1014706

DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter



BB: $48.05

UTG: $146.15

CO: $98.95

BTN: $235.40

Hero (SB): $102.70



Pre Flop: ($1.25) Hero is SB with K A

UTG raises to $2, CO calls $2, 1 fold, Hero raises to $7.95, BB calls $7.45, UTG calls $5.95, CO calls $5.95



Flop: ($32.30) T K 2 (4 players)

Hero bets $20, BB folds, UTG folds, CO raises to $65, Hero requests TIME, Hero raises to $94.65 all in, CO calls $25.90 all in



Turn: ($214.10) 5 (2 players - 2 are all in)



River: ($214.10) 5 (2 players - 2 are all in)



Final Pot: $214.10

CO shows 6 7 (a pair of Fives)

Hero shows K A (two pair, Kings and Fives)

Hero wins $211.10

(Rake: $3.00)

A "playback" raise

Here, a quick 3 bet of a blind stealer puts me in a good position when the stealer thinks that I'm trying to steal the pot on the flop.


Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 4 players - View hand 1009217

DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter



SB: $54.15

Hero (BB): $50.00

CO: $21.15

BTN: $27.00



Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with A A

2 folds, SB raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $4.50, SB calls $3



Flop: ($9.00) 9 2 J (2 players)

SB checks, Hero bets $5.25, SB calls $5.25



Turn: ($19.50) 3 (2 players)

SB checks, Hero bets $12.75, SB raises to $44.40 all in, Hero calls $27.50 all in



River: ($100.00) 8 (2 players - 2 are all in)



Final Pot: $100.00

SB shows A J (a pair of Jacks)

Hero shows A A (a pair of Aces)

Hero wins $98.00

(Rake: $2.00)

HOTD

It's been a while since I've posted one but getting two players all-in is decent enough...


Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 1008125

DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter



MP1: $50.00

MP2: $56.15

CO: $57.95

Hero (BTN): $50.00

SB: $20.50

BB: $50.00

UTG: $50.75

UTG+1: $49.00

UTG+2: $29.70



Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with J J

5 folds, CO raises to $1, Hero raises to $4.95, SB calls $4.70, 1 fold, CO calls $3.95



Flop: ($15.35) 4 2 J (3 players)

SB checks, CO bets $4, Hero calls $4, SB raises to $15.55 all in, CO calls $11.55, Hero calls $11.55



Turn: ($62.00) K (3 players - 1 is all in)

CO checks, Hero bets $20, CO calls $20



River: ($102.00) 8 (3 players - 1 is all in)

CO checks, Hero bets $9.50 all in, CO calls $9.50



Final Pot: $121.00

CO mucks J Q

Hero shows J J (three of a kind, Jacks)

SB mucks Q Q

Hero wins $59.00

Hero wins $59.00

(Rake: $3.00)