PokerStars Free Bonus Gifts
POKERSTARS MARKETING CODE   |    POKERSTARS BONUS CODE  |    POKER FORUM
What's a PokerWonk?

Poker Blogs by Popularity

Footer

Poker Blogs by Type

Footer

Poker Blogs by Wonk

Footer

Recent Blogs

Footer

Poker Articles by Blog

Footer
Write about Poker. Read about Life. PokerWonks, the Poker Blog Community.

Hella Hold'em    Friends

Crack?

Date: Mon, Feb 8, 2010

I'm playing Rush Poker on Full Tilt for the first time and I feel like I'm on crack!

Not that I've ever tried crack but my lord this must be what it's like! Holy hell!

Gone are my carefully crafted, detailed notes on each player. No more wondering what that other guy had. It's mildly insane.

I chose to play Limit for my first time. It seems best suited for that, at least the way I play limit, which is pretty much by statistics and straight up math.

It feels almost primal to just go back to numbers. Glorious numbers.

I think I might like it.....

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Scratch That Gambling Itch

Date: Mon, Jan 25, 2010

It’s mid-winter in Chicago. After a brief snow melt (and nearly a month under snow cover), those white flakes are flying again. I missed the recent WPBT blogger convergence on The Mecca (aka Las Vegas), and I am jonesing - both for casino action and for warmth! The internet can’t much help with the warmth part, but it can help with the casino action. How about online casinos?

When it comes to gambling online, it “pays” to do your research - even if you’re playing for fun and not for money. Visiting a casino online and playing for free is a great way to branch out and learn new games. You can learn the rules in a no-risk environment before trying your luck in Las Vegas or at a casino online. It’s also a great way to practice and improve your skills in games you already know how to play. (Heaven knows I’m still “practicing” at no-limit hold’em!)

If you’re looking to research your online gaming options, check out the web site Online Casino Spotlight. There, you can find introductory lessons on a variety of games like video poker, hold’em, baccarat, and PAI GOW! (Crayola digestion is optional). Explore some new games and broaden your horizons.

You will also find recent online gambling news, with up to date and relevant information. For example, you can find information on a Help for Haiti poker tournament hosted by a UK online casino.

The site offers easy-to-follow navigation icons, categorized by the various casino games - poker, blackjack, roulette, slots, craps, and video poker. Explore these games, or use the global search box (with the magnifying glass icon) to search deeper. The Featured Online Casino area offers welcome bonuses for cash players, and the top 10 online casinos are listed with reviews, including features, contact information, languages supported, and currencies supported.

Scratch that gambling itch and check out a new online casino. You might even make some money, if online gambling is legal where you live.

Good luck!

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Is it just me...?

Date: Mon, Jan 11, 2010

Is it just me, or is Full Tilt disconnecting a lot lately?

Playing in an online league game at the moment. Feeling a bit more aggressive than usual, kind of like I want to tear a few peoples' heads off. Hmm. Not sure if this is good or bad for my game.

A couple of us 'round here are trying to get a little midweek home game going. Nothing crazy - just a casual game to scratch the itch, so to speak. I'm hoping that'll work out. I miss live cards.

In other news, since going organic, I've started attempting to cook... and with that, I've added another food blog to the universe (as if we needed more of those). You should check it out, because as I add recipes and tales of my adventures, there will most definitely be something there you can make fun of me over. I promise.

Epic Organic - http://www.epicorganic.net

I've had pocket 8's three times tonight. There's so much snow on the ground outside that I have no desire to deal with snowmen indoors.

Break time! We're playing shorthanded so not much time to type. Wish me luck :) Laters!

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Happy New Year, and 5 years of HellaHoldem...

Date: Sun, Jan 3, 2010

First off, Happy New Year! Here's to a happy, healthy, and productive 2010 to all!

With that out of the way, I suppose I should recap my resolutions for the year. None are really poker-related, as - while I still love the game - I am no longer maintaining a casino bankroll for live play, and that relegates the sport to hobby status in my grand scheme of things. Don't get me wrong - if I had the money, I'd be right back in it, as I absolutely love live poker. For now, though, the funds just aren't there, and any spare cash I've got is being sunk into my other major hobby, photography - with the hopes that I can turn that into a profitable venture in short time.

No, this year's resolutions center mostly around self-improvement, and while that tends to be the case every year, I feel I've got a better shot at success this year due to the fact that I made some big changes a month ago and am starting 2010 already on the right track. I "went organic" in late 2009, cutting out fast food and soda, and eating almost entirely organic and natural foods. (This happened after I watched the documentary movie, "Food, Inc." - Don't watch it unless you want to be shocked and appalled at the industrialized food business in the US and the scary food-like substances you're eating every day). Terrifying stuff, really.

So, my resolutions include continuing to eat organic, and learning to cook. I plan to explore some local farmer's markets in the spring, and vow to try at least 10 new foods this year. (I'm kind of a picky eater, traditionally). I've also taken up yoga, so another resolution is to continue that, expand my exercise habits, and lose weight. Third on the list, I'd like to come to a decision on going back to school, and possibly start down that road - likely for another masters degree, and likely in photography. Lastly, I'd like to save for and take at least one trip this year. There are 3 on my current list of possibilities: New Mexico in February, for a portraiture workshop; San Diego in August, for the annual world conference of my guild in Ultima Online; or, of course, Vegas.

2009 was a pretty good year in my world. There were a few bumps (some water damage at my house, a little cancer scare of the girl-parts variety, turbulence with one of my side-jobs that ultimately led to my departure, and some man issues), but there were a few high points too (an all-clear with the cancer scare, beating out a speeding ticket, a few nice little road trips, a trip to Vegas with CA April, and some potential good things to come at the day job). All in all, even the bumps in the road worked out for the best, or at least the best for now, and that's about all I can ask for.

I matched last January's performance at the Trojan Wars game again late in 2009, coming in 2 spots or so out of the money. That tends to be my MO there - go just deep enough to bubble. One of these times, it will be mine. Man I hate rebuys!

For what poker I did play, 2009 was actually a profitable year. I certainly can't retire on my winnings, but I was able to make enough to help with the bills at some crucial times. I played more poker in 2009 than I did in 2008, and I'd like to even play a little bit more in 2010. It keeps my brain ticking, and I feel like there could be a decent win out there for me this year :)

So, as I look back on 5 years of writing this blog (yes indeed, folks - hellaholdem was founded on Jan 2, 2005), I can say with certainty that poker has found a permanent place in my list of things to do. I haven't made it out to the WPBT Vegas tourneys in a few years (I could have this year, but instead decided to spend that money on a set of Alien Bees studio strobes, and set up a portrait studio in my house), but I think of you all often and have even started back up reading my doggone Google Reader feeds. (Sorry, slacked most of 2009 on that). We will meet again!

With that, I'm off to hit up a SnG on Full Tilt, and enjoy the last week of the holiday break before I have to go back to work.

Thanks for reading, and for your support these past 5 years! Here's to many more :)

Read Full Poker Blog Post

It's not your day when...

Date: Sun, Dec 27, 2009

It's not your day when you're down to 10xBB and finally get a playable hand in the form of AA...


... and Full Tilt disconnects, even though your web and IRC connections continue to run just fine.

Grr.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Happy Christmas, everybody!

Date: Thu, Dec 24, 2009

Happy Holidays from HellaHoldem.com!

My your holidays be safe and bright!

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Quickie Thanksgiving Dessert

Date: Wed, Nov 25, 2009

If anybody needs a quick and easy dessert to bring with to Thanksgiving dinner, here it is! It might just be my favorite part of the holidays.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
* 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 cup peanut butter
* 1 cup milk
* 1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
* 2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crusts

1. Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.
2. Spoon into two 9 inch graham cracker pie shells; cover, and freeze until firm.


Read Full Poker Blog Post

SnG's and Xmas lights

Date: Sun, Nov 22, 2009

The state of being too tired to do anything substantial but the time too early to go to bed without feeling like dinosaur... that's me, right now. So I'm playing a single table sit n' go on Full Tilt and chatting with you!

Well, not chatting, so much, as talking at you. Well, not talking, so much, as typing at you.

Anyway.

So, how many of you have turned on your outdoor Christmas lights? I admit, I'm one of those people that has occasionally turned them on the weekend before Thanksgiving (this weekend). But this year, I have refrained. I did hang the lights 2 weeks ago (because the weather was lovely), but I have not turned them on yet. And I just might hold out until after Thanksgiving, despite quite a few neighbors beating me to it this weekend.

Wow, I'm so exhaustedly restless that I almost just played K3 of spades in early position. hahahaha!!!!

I don't believe I blogged about the Trojan Wars game. What can I say - I'm not fan of rebuys, even when I make it through without having to rebuy. I went out 7th or 8th or something like that (out of 26 or 27 or something like that). Top 4 spots were slated to pay, and the top 5 ended up chopping. As per usual, Ryan put on an excellent game, and as per usual, I didn't take home any pie. (Then I gave away the rest of my money limping into pots and folding in the cash game). I do wish I'd brought my notepad - there was some insanity going on (and, Ed folded a CLASSIC quadruple-up all-in rebuy hand! I think hell froze over that night). Ryan mentioned the possibility of hosting a non-rebuy game in the spring, and I will look forward to that gleefully (as it will probably be the next live poker I play).

What about Vegas? I dunno. I lost half of the incentive to get my butt out there when my presence was no longer vital for room-sharing purposes, and the lure of buying a set of studio strobes for my burgeoning photography work is currently winning out in the desire category. Sure, I'd love to see everybody, as it has been way too long, and I'd love to play hours on end of poker, but... well, I'm not ruling it out, but I'm jonesing for a set of studio strobes pretty bad.

On a totally unrelated note, don't you hate it when you realize that someone in your life is a lot more important to you than you are to them? Damn it, anyway.

Oooh, pocket 10's! Raise and take it. Not a bad outcome.

Then give it all away with suited connectors on that, "Aww, what the hell..." attitude with a gutshot. LOL!

Then double up by flopping a straight after pushing all in and seeing I was totally dominated!

Wow, the poker action is flying around here. Well alrighty then, I'll chill out, since I'm back at the same chip count as when I started that fiasco. Hopefully somebody noted that I'm a donkey that'll chase anything, and it'll pay off for me later.

Who am I kidding? Nobody actually pays attention at this level.

Back to the Christmas thing. I spent the weekend in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Just an overnighter trip... fun place if you like Christmas. (I do, generally speaking). I managed to finish a research paper on photographer Richard Avedon in the car on the way home (thank goodness for mobile broadband, yay Sprint!) But back to Frankenmuth - check it out if you like Christmas. The Bronner's Christmas store was pretty cool, and the little main street area was nice. Lots of neat little shops. We stayed at the Bavarian Inn Lodge, which - while a bit theme-y - was quite nice too. I just wish we'd have had time to partake in the indoor miniature golfing.

Do I play too many suited connectors and one-gappers? Probably.

Since I upgraded to Snow Leopard, my version of Poker Copilot doesn't work anymore. I have to upgrade to the new version of that software for it to work with Snow Leopard, and I haven't gotten around to that. So who knows what my stats are.

Damn you, push-or-fold mode.

Well, that didn't work out so well, even with the nut flush draw. Nice typing at you all, though! :)

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Riddle me this

Date: Fri, Nov 13, 2009

Riddle me this:


So, when a hyper-aggressive player tries to bully by re-raising with third pair, and then gets put all in... and calls... and loses.... does he/she kick himself for the bad move? Or is that just normal cuz it happens to them all the time?

Playing a 90-player KO sng on Full Tilt. Practicing for tomorrow's Trojan Wars game.

Whoa. The board just flopped 666. Wild.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Reform and such

Date: Sun, Nov 8, 2009

So, while the US passed health care reform tonight, I'm celebrating with a SnG on Full Tilt. I wanted to play one of my favorites... the 90 player turbo deep stack knock-out SnG, but that's a little too much commitment for this sleepyhead.

Several people have inquired if I'm going to Vegas this December for the bi-annual blogger tourney. I was planning to go, but recent developments have me thinking I might want to sink the grand I'd like drop in Vegas on a set of photography studio strobes instead. I haven't decided yet (and if I come across a flight under $250, I could be swayed in that direction), but making money from my new passion (photography) seems more of a +EV proposition than my old passion (poker), which tends to be -EV.

That said, I really need a vacation. I wish I would have had the cash on hand to drop on Dave Matthews tickets when they went on presale to the Warehouse fan club. That would have guaranteed my trip. (He's playing with Tim Reynolds the same weekend as the blogger tourney, and in all of the 32 Dave/Dave Matthews Band shows I've seen, none have been of the Dave & Tim variety. I'd really love to see a D&T show.

There we go. First hand VPIP, first hand won.

I forgot how many all-in scoobies play at this hour.

I've finally had some time to play Ultima Online lately. The Halloween quest is pissing me off. I've run it 32 times and I cannot for the life of me get the dream wraith costume reward. Grr.

I went to Starved Rock State Park today in Utica, IL. Beautiful place. We had some unseasonably warm weather here in Chicago today - topped out near 70. Probably the last nice weekend of 2009... and the last nice weekend for many months. The only saving grace I see to look forward to is that the Farmer's Almanac is predicting less snow than usual this year, and after being bombarded the last 2 winters, I'll take it. I hate the cold, too, but in these parts, the world doesn't stop when there's a foot of snow on the ground. It's business as usual - just with a much longer commute.

So, back to Starved Rock - took some pictures. They're up on my Flickr:
Starved Rock Nov 2009

Had some Photoshop fun with one of them - I love it. Feels like it's all tripped out in the 70's:

starved_rock2-20091107-4

No, I cannot call a 4xBB PFR with QTo.

Good thing I only played a single table SnG. I'm getting antsy already.

Not much else exciting in my world. Guess I'll talk photography while I blind out of this damn SnG. I'm pretty certain (like 91%) that I'm going to end up going with a set of Alien Bees lights. All of the feedback I've read and heard from people has indicated that they're good lights at a reasonable price, with great customer support. And, they're made in the USA, which to me is a good thing.

Wow, guess you guys really don't want to hear photography talk. The world has saved you - I'm out of the SnG. :P

Ahh well. Scratched that itch. Time to go read a little bit more about the physics of light, and pass out. :)

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Regular games

Date: Fri, Oct 30, 2009

The availability of regular poker home games in my world has dwindled. Ryan still holds an annual game, and that is awesome, but the more frequent games have dried up. The only regular poker action I'm getting lately is by an online game, a couple times a month, with a group that has their own home game tournament bracket. I found this game through a friend-of-a-friend type thing, and while I'd love to join the tournament, I'd have to travel 800 miles each way to play. Not likely, so I'll have to settle for the bi-monthly online games.


An interesting thing happens when you play with the same people regularly, and that is, you start figuring them out - their strengths, their weaknesses, etc. In some cases, I find that I play differently with different groups of people. That's probably a weakness of mine, except for the groups by which I play my best game.

I've done fairly well with this online group. I think I've played in 4 games now, and took 2nd place twice. Not bad. I'm starting to get some numbers on them, and starting to get a feel for who I need to watch out for in that game.

Ryan's 2009 game is quickly approaching. Actually, this will be the 2nd Trojan Wars game in 2009, as he held one in January of this year. Ed's getting married, so we will send him off well with some donk-i-licious rebuy poker and hopefully a strong game to follow. I'd like to send him off by skinning him some of my 1st prize winnings :) hehe.

There are pro's and con's to playing with the same people. It's kind of like hanging out with the same group of friends. It's comforting, on one hand, to know them and their tendencies, but on the other hand, it can be quite liberating to hang out with a bunch of strangers who have no preconceived notions or expectations of you, and don't know your own tendencies. The latter allows one to reinvent themselves, so to speak.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to the next Trojan Wars game, to finally get some live poker back in my life. And, it will be good to see my poker friends... crazy tendencies and all :)

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Run Little Doggie

Date: Sat, Aug 15, 2009

I've been enjoying this last week off of work with a little bit of poker, and Full Tilt has been decently kind to me of late. I just sat in a little turbo SnG while killing time before I have to go get ready to head to a home game. Took 2nd (and got the honor of knocking out the aggro-donk of the table). That felt good :)


I'm not entirely sure what tonight will entail. A friend of my mother's is throwing a birthday party for her adult son, and there is a poker game in the evening. Her son usually runs their home game, so it sounds like I've been enlisted to play so that I can help people with the rules and whatnot (so that her son can relax and enjoy himself). I guess I'll find out soon enough!

I was chatting with my friend Patrick the other day and we were lamenting the loss of the random home games that used to pop up amongst our group of friends. I miss them too. Everybody's so busy with... life, myself included.

But, I finally painted my loft (aka the upstairs living room) so that the walls no longer resemble the colors of human excrement (what were the previous owners thinking? I have no idea, but ewww), so now I can type to you surrounded by a tranquil and relaxing shade of gray. :)

Read Full Poker Blog Post

This one time... at band camp...

Date: Mon, Aug 10, 2009

The true indicator that summer is almost over is that I have almost cleared out all of the poker show re-runs on my TiVo.

An alternate indicator is that I've actually been able to play a little poker lately, and when not completely card-dead, I've been doing alright the past couple weeks. Thank goodness - the August bills will be a little tight, so I will need to invoke the Cash-Out Curse on Full Tilt...

Poker has settled into its own little niche in my life. I don't pore over poker books obsessively like I used to, though I do pick up a good one every now and then, and occasionally re-read ones I've got. I still thoroughly enjoy watching poker on TV - but not *any* poker. I won't waste my time with the more poorly done shows, just because it's poker. But High Stakes Poker or Poker After Dark still hold my attention. And I love playing, whenever I can - even more if I can get out to the casino.

I like thinking about poker. I do still pore over statistics, and review plays, and think about how I might have done things differently. I love debating poker strategy. The thinking part of poker is right up my alley.

I've come to accept that I'll never really be great at poker. I don't have the proper intuition to read players consistently. I can read situations, but when the situation falls outside the realm of predictability, and into the mind of a crafty opponent, I'm generally lost. I'm not aggressive enough, and at the rate that I have gained aggressiveness over the years, I'll be 98 years old before I play with acceptable quantities of aggression.

No, I'll never be great, but it is nice to run well enough to pay a bill or two every so often. And really, that's about all I ever wanted out of my investment in learning the game.

I do love that there's always something new to learn. I've been fascinated lately with Tom Dwan. I'm typically not a fan of the punk ass kids, but something tells me he is smart enough to adapt and grow with the game - because I'm sure once everybody plays like him, and everybody figures him out, he won't be successful anymore. But that whole notion of adapting makes me think of Gus Hansen. He had this wild, crazy image for so long, but very quietly tightened up his game - all the while, people playing him like he's insane. The smart ones make like Gumby and bend. I think Dwan is going to prove to be one of the smart ones.

And he's from Jersey, and though I only lived in Jersey for a brief handful of years, it's kind of like the home I'll always long for. That was a pretty amazing time in my life, way back when.

Really, this blog post is all about procrastinating a gargantuan task I'm about to undertake. I've got about 100 books stacked on my poker table right now (see the tie-in?), from when I had my upstairs living room painted. I want to move the bookshelves and books downstairs... but oy, they are heavy, and there are many of them... so I've been putting this off for weeks, but alas, I need my living room back. And so it goes...

I hope everybody's doing well - I certainly don't make it out to Vegas as often as I'd like, but I do think about ya's often....

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Multitasking

Date: Fri, Jul 3, 2009

Let's see: can Shelly play in a 90 player KO Turbo SnG on FTP while Skyping while typing a blog post? We shall see!

I like the deep stack turbo's - particularly the knockout part. Most of the time, I'll make a few bucks back at least, even if I don't make the money - so nicer payoff potential for less investment. Good times!

Not much doing so far. Nearly doubled up on the first hand, and all has been quiet since - though I tend to find myself suddenly short-stacked very quickly in these things!

My summer is about to begin... a couple more weeks! I've got tickets to Dave Matthews Band in Milwaukee (Alpine Valley), Indianapolis (Noblesville), and Chicago (Tinley Park) this year. w00t!

I have 2 extra tickets to Night 2 at Indy if anybody is looking - August 1st. Tweet me or email me or call me!

I'm looking for some new tailgating ideas. I'm currently looking into whether my fondue pot takes a voltage low enough to be powered by my car. :) Any other cool ideas? I'm almost ashamed to say I saw some tasty looking appetizers on Rachel Ray the other day. (Hey, it's summer, I catch some daytime TV....)

Well, first break and I'm nearing the 10xBB push-zone. Maybe this multi-tasking thing doesn't work so well after all...

Read Full Poker Blog Post