Fourth place finish at a Shark tourney at Absolute. After getting my butt kicked repeatedly by the Shark Army, I am now cashing and finishing well on a regular basis. Last hand: Got pocket 7's and went all in. Unfortunately, someone else had pocket J's.

K9 Poker Tour Ready to Roll

This Friday, September 1, will be the first Hold Em tournament sponsored by the K9 Poker Tour, one of the new kids on the block. I've asked ShaggyTrav, the founder of K9, to answer a few questions about this exciting new poker tour.


Why did you decide to start your own poker tour?

I started my own poker tour due to my love of the game and love of business. I thought to myself, "Why not do both?" Help to protect the game of poker and provide safe places for people to go and play and also have fun doing it.

I had been wanting to do something in this industry for some time now. I met a good friend of mine in Las Vegas a few months back and we began to talk about different businesses within the industry. He said, "You could see the wheels turning in my head." I couldn't sleep after those discussions that we had. After returning, I talked with my wife about possible options for a business and we just started running with it. But, we wanted to do this right. We just didn't want to start with smaller payouts and a unnavigable site. We got our resources together and really think that we have put together a product that people will be proud to say that they are a part of. I know I am!


Why would someone want to join?

They would want to join because not only do we have some of the best places to play and the best players to play, but we also have some of the most lucrative payouts for a new tour on the market today. Our very first tournament is a $500.00 Freeroll. Ask ANY other poker tour if their first tournament amount was that size.

We also offer three separate tours to compete in. We have a Freeroll Tour (which costs nothing to play in and you can win large amounts of cash), Money Tour (which are buy-in events that pit some of the internet's best players against one another), and a Heads-Up Champions Tour. To this day, I'm not sure if anyone else has this type of format.

K9 Poker Tour also offers a Heads-Up Challenge to it's monthly leaders to compete for additional money against myself or the K9 crusher, Desser. We give away weekly prizes in our forum, poker chip card guards, jackpot hands, staff bounties and many other items throughout our site.


What great things are coming up in the near future?

WOW! There is so much to mention. Let me let this blog in on a secret... "We will have some type of SPECIAL prize for our monthly leaders." This will be something in addition to the Heads-Up Challenge and qualifying for the Finals. This will be a great prize. Let me just say BLING! and not just on the site.

We are currently in talks with casinos from around the nation and world to offer trips, boot camps, tournaments, prizes, meals, etc. strictly for K9 Poker Tour Members. K9 Poker Tour is also having discussions with a large school about having some of our members attend. We are talking with some additional poker sites to provide some of the largest freerolls on the market as well as some EXTREMELY lucrative Buy-In Events.

K9 Poker Tour will expand to include a High Roller section as well as a Ladies Only Club. We want to gather a broad base of clients and satisfy everyone's needs.

This tour is for our members. If they want it, we will try to get it. We will do whatever we can to make things within the poker industry accessible to all K9 Poker Tour members.

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Sounds great, doesn't it? Go to k9pokertour.com for some excellent poker action.

Thanks Trav -- and best of luck!

Hey - a win is a win, right? New (I guess) online poker room - The 3D Poker. Small tourney with only nine people.

Another third place finish -- at a CheckRayz buy-in at Noble. Slithered my way into third here. But still, a cash is a cash.

I actually cashed in a rebuy tournament? Don't know why I played this since I hate rebuys. I did not rebuy nor buy the add on. After the rebuy/add on period was over, I was down to 500 chips. Amazing that I was a card away from making the final table.

I have been making it in the money in a pretty good percentage of my tournaments lately. Next step is to be taking some first and second place finish money. If nothing else, these decent showings will send me off to Las Vegas with a good deal of confidence.

Cashed in two out of three of my poker groups tournaments today - both 7th place finishes. Chased a flush draw at Titan in the Cardschat.com Sunday Special and didn't get my club on the turn or river, leaving me out of the money. Cashed in the OPT tourney at Fair Poker and the Shark tourney at Titan. I was never a threat to win either one, so I guess that I should be happy that my play landed me as high as it did.

It appears that I can't break through beyond third place recently. Finished third Sunday evening at this OPT event at Poker.com. Got great cards and had a little luck. Unfortunately, my A-10 (with three players left) ran into Q-Q. If only that second Ace had come up ...

Getting ready for my next trip to Las Vegas on September 2. I plan to log in many hours at Luxor, Bally's, and maybe some at MGM. I'll try to play one or two tourneys at the Sahara, and plan to play at least one of the Caesars noon tourneys.

A sad note to this trip is that it will be my final time staying at the Stardust. The Stardust has been very good to my brother and me, giving us free or discounted rooms over the past six years. Looks like we'll have to find a new Las Vegas "home." We'll have a couple nights at Stardust and a couple nights at Harrah's. Harrah's, of course, is in a much better location, right toward the middle of the Strip. I'd better get ready for the hookers, who prowl inside and outside Harrah's and the Imperial Palace late at night. I got solicited at 3am in the Stardust last trip, so you never know when and where the ladies of the night will show up!

As for online poker ... I decided to list my top five poker rooms. They are:

4) tie - Kiwi and Noble: I do okay at these sites and feel comfortable there.
3) Poker Host: My old "home" has been good to me in 2006
2) Absolute: This site has often given me outrageously great cards in SNGs.

And # 1 ...

1) Poker.com: By far my most favorite site. Great tourneys, great support, fun at the ring tables.

I was ripped off ...

Went to see the Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows last night at the Illinois State Fair. I had seen the Goo Goo Dolls twice before and was looking forward to see what Counting Crows had to offer.

Talk about disappointing. The Goo Goo Dolls came on first (huh?) and muddled their way through the first 45 minutes (Hey John - you have to hit those notes once every so often), butchering songs like Slide (one of my favorite), and even doing a subpar job on Iris. The last 25 minutes were okay. Surprisingly, their last encore song, Give a Little Bit, was their best of the evening.

Counting Crows? Geeeeez, they sucked. Adam Duritz - I want my money back! Big Yellow Taxi was terrible, and they didn't even perform Mr. Jones and Accidentally in Love. What other groups go on tour and don't play popular fan favorites?

Thank goodness the ticket was cheap. I am paying almost three times that amount to see Chicago in November, and I will almost certainly feel like I got the better end of the deal.

Before the concert, I stopped to eat dinner with an old friend, John. He had the Paris Hilton video on his computer, so I saw that for the first time. Seemed to me like the video was on par with the concert.

John told some stories about his recent travels to Europe and showed me some of his souvenirs. Surprisingly, his stories provided much more entertainment that Paris's sex video and the crappy concert. Who'd have figured?

The Circle of Life

Today was one of those days when I remember that poker is just a game and really unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

My father passed away two years ago today. In some ways it seems so long ago, and in others, so recent. I wore one of his White Sox shirts to work today. He would have been so thrilled to see the Sox win the World Series last year. However, my family feels so fortunate that he passed away before dementia robbed him of his very core. I miss you Dad, and I'll never forget all that you did for me while I was growing up.

I hope I have some temporary relief of my own fears today. Several weeks ago, I was injured in a collision in a softball game. My chest x-ray not only showed my cracked rib, but a shadow on my lungs. Several trips to the clinic and many tests later, it is hoped that what is showing on my x-rays is either harmless or was caused by the the collision. Nothing in my personal or family health history indicates the likelihood of something terrible, and I have felt perfectly healthy (except for the cracked rib, of course) for some time. I am hoping that the potential problem with my lungs was caused by the trauma of the collision. I'll get new x-rays and be reexamined in three months. I hope the news then is all good.

Until then, I'll continue my quest to get better and better at poker. I will be going to Las Vegas in just over two weeks, and can't wait to get on some real tables and take a break away from these frustrating online "learning experiences."

Oh yeah - got great cards tonight at a Shark tourney at Absolute. Almost like someone picked them out for me. Dad??? lol

Was in the final three. Chip leader had about 13,000 and I and the other player each had about 4,500. Blinds were getting big. I was dealt 3-3 and thought that I would go for the blinds with this, not expecting a call. Unfortunately, the chip leader had J-J and sent me to the rail in third place.

Would anyone have played it differently? If no call, I win the blinds. If I fold, I get nothing but stay in the game. If I get a call, I am guessing that someone will have two high cards, and I am in a race. I did not think that merely calling or putting out a small raise would do anything except make me depend on a two-outer. The big chance I took, in my eyes, was that someone would get a big pair, which is what happened.

Inching even closer ... I feel the need for a Poker.com win ...

Getting closer. Played a tight game but probably misplayed my last hand.

Blogger Report

Celeb Poker - Finally received withdrawal after nine short days

Purple Lounge - Received money

Mixed bag today. I was the bubble boy in the CardsChat.com Sunday Special at Titan. Finished in the middle of the pack in the OPT buy-in at Titan. Got into the Poker.com $10,000 Guaranteed via a $2 investment in a satellite. Finished 17th for $100. Final table would have been nice, but I hung around the bubble for quite some time, so I guess I should at least be glad I didn't bubble again.

Blogger Report

Made a couple more withdrawal attempts.

Hollywood Poker - Got my money within 24 hours

Purple Lounge - Request in, still waiting.

Well ... some days things do work out right ...

POCKET ROCKETS

Call 'em what you want -- pocket rockets, American Airlines -- they have been deadly for me lately.

Case in point: CheckRayz freeroll at Celeb Poker (quickly becoming my most unfavorite site). After going out first the week before, I play a little tighter tonight. I get A-A in the big blind. There is a raise to 150, and I reraise to 400. The flop is Q-rag-rag. Next thing you know, I am put all in, wondering if in fact my opponent has the hand that will crush me: Q-Q. I bet against it ... W R O N G ... and make a quick exit.

Seems like the last several times I have gotten my rockets, the other person hits a set on the flop. Is this just bad luck, or what??? I got burned recently when I was slow playing them (yeah - I live dangerously!), and hopefully learned my lesson.

Another bad pattern: I get a pocket pair, usually small or medium, and I don't catch my set on the flop. There is a big post-flop bet, and I fold. The turn: The card that makes my set! I can not believe how many times this has happened.

Blogger Report

I recently withdrew some money from a few sites. Here is my evaluation:

Poker Host - Fastest payment of all. Very fast, trouble free. Kudos!

Poker.com - Next fastest. Very good, except that they sent an e mail with the subject "Poker.com Transaction Limits Exceeded." The body of the e mail just said that my withdrawal was being processed. This happened before. I'll contact them about this.

Absolute - As always, payment received within 48 hours.

Celeb - One week and no money. E mailed customer support at Web Dollar. Received a quick response saying "Due to some technical issues all Neteller withdrawals has been delayed. This will be solved in the very near future. We appologize for any possible inconveniences this may have caused you."

Ah ... just another reason to love Celeb ...