Coping with Changes in the Online Poker World

Life After Black Friday

We are now five weeks past Black Friday, the day that the world of online poker in the USA was turned completely on its head. Instead of focusing on the related issues such as the status of money at Full Tilt Poker, I instead wanted to focus on the day-to-day reality of the change.

How has it affected me? For starters, it has increased boredom in my life. After a hard day's work I used to look forward to spending some time on Full Tilt Poker, be it playing in one of several blogger private tournaments or messing around at the cash tables. Like many, I really liked playing at Full Tilt. Now it was gone. I have been able to still play at some of my less favorite sites, like UB, Bodog, and Cake, but it is just not the same.

I find that I have been watching more televised sports, especially since post-season play in the NHL and the NBA has been so spectacular. I have watched a few movies and have spent more time cruising around the internet.

What I have really felt, however, is a loss of some of the closeness with some of my blogger friends. Without a regular weekly tournament like the Mookie/Dank, I find that my communication with other bloggers has greatly decreased. Just after a great event like Survive Donkey Island invigorated the blogger community, it is now like we are in a period of extended vacation. Thankfully, some of the bloggers have continued to post on a somewhat regular basis. At least posting and commenting on posts keeps us connected. But, to tell the truth, I really miss the regular routine. A couple of the play money tournaments have been okay, but they are just not the same.

Softball Update

Is it really May? My last softball game was played in frigid, windy conditions. I only got two at bats but went 1-2 with a single (naturally), bringing my batting average down a bit to .714. Ha ha -- I love that -- bringing my average down to .714!


My trip to Las Vegas is getting a little closer and the desire to play some live games is again on the increase. A road trip this weekend might be in order.

Quick Tuesday Thoughts

* Worked on my federal tax form last night and finished it except for paying and e-mailing it via Turbo Tax. It is amazing how simple the task was with this system, which I used last year for the first time.

* My friend who is battling Stage IV breast cancer recently posted pictures on facebook from her trip to Hawaii. I am humbly reminded today that I have been blessed with a great life.

* At some point I might give my views on Survive Donkey Island. I am glad that the people who were involved seemed to have a good time. Frankly, I am glad that it is over so that we can hopefully get to BBT6. Al -- are we still on, bud?

* I hope to find time tonight or tomorrow to post an update on Chicago professional sports teams. Quite a mixed bag, they are ...

* Midwest weather means never having to store away your shorts or your jackets. It is currently 50 degrees and will get up to 80 degrees by Sunday. After that? Back in the 60's and mid to high 50's.

* Today might be the first grilling day of the season. Can the burner make it through one more season? I will find out tonight.

Catch ya on the virtual tables ...

Night of Wonder at Survive Donkey Island

I decided to play the Sunday night Survivor game as I watched the Fighting Illini unsuccessfully play for a seat in the NCAA Men's Basketball Sweet Sixteen versus Kansas. I swear, I saw things there that I have never seen before. Well .. not grouped all together like that, it seems. I was involved in one of them:

Believe it or not, my Aces held! The funny thing is that I was on my daughter's wireless network, having a few issues, and I didn't even see the final pre-flop all in betting, the turn, or the river! I had to sort through my open windows after the hand was over to see the result. I then had to go to the Full Tilt options to see the previous hand to see how I got so many chips.

However, I made a poor play at a trap attempt and spewed most of my chips to TheNeophyte, who used them to glide into second place while I bubbled for the second blogger tournament in a row. I flopped two pair but there was a flush draw on the board. Instead of making the correct play and pushing, I put out a small bet to try to get Neo to perhaps re-raise me, then I would come over the top. Well, he outsmarted me by smooth calling, then hit his flush on the turn. The next thing that happened was that the wireless network delayed for a second, and I was a tad confused. Anyway, feeling confident that I had the best hand (ha ha), I pushed all in but did not suck out on the river. Well played, Neo. My bad. It was bubble time again.

I hope others in the game show some hand histories or some screenies. If you ever believed that the RNG at Full Tilt is screwy, tonight confirmed it!

Linking the Latest Poker News

It seems like today is a rather busy day for poker news. For example ...

Dr. Pauly writes about the closing of the Sahara Hotel and Casino. Many of us have played the inexpensive Sahara poker tournaments over the years. Even though the poker room and the casino itself were largely dumps, the action there could still be fun. Heck, I even chopped my first tournament I played there!

The big online/b&m news, as reported at Wicked Chops Poker, is Full Tilt Poker's new ONYX Cup , a b&m series that no one but the true bluebloods of poker can afford. Yowsa!

On the local online front, Survive Donkey Island had an interesting multiple entry tournament last night. Jamyhawk was ousted as the tournament wore on. Very Josie has post that describes the remaining Sunday tournaments. Badugi, anyone?

Pretty busy poker day for a Monday. Catch you on the virtual felt!