Going to Riverside

Today I will be trying my hand, for the first time, at poker in a casino. I will be going to Riverside Casino & Golf Resort. [Evil] Dan and I will be heading there after I get off of work today (1pm). I'm hoping to get a few hours of poker in. Although I have not been able to find any reviews of the poker room (or the casino in itself) it is a basically brand new casino. The resort opened September 1st of this year. They have 14 poker tables (so I've read) and I hope to have a seat at one of them for some time. I assume that Dan will be sitting at the blackjack tables so I may join him for a bit. I am not a particularly good blackjack player, but I enjoy it and will be more than willing to give it a shot. I'll post again later with the results.




Today is the 5th event in this season of the Blogger Poker Tour. Today's event is Shorthanded No-Limit Texas Hold'em. It is hosted by Skinski and The House of Poker Blues. Head over there for info and password (password is "bbking"). This is the current top 10 as it stands after 4 events.

Irongirl01	637
Poker Athletes Blog	506
Peetscheet	501
Poker Pub	452
Royal Poker	439
Gamingology	429
Freerollcalendar Weblog	416
Alex	410
11ave.blogspot.com	374
Skinski's Blog	366

With Skinski currently sitting at 10th overall, look for him to move up the leaderboard after this event. With his bonus for hosting, a good placement should help him move up the ranks. A final table could easily put him in the 3. Also, 11th - 14th places are tightly packed and most likely eagerly awaiting a chance at the top 10. With how close the points are between these players and Skinski in 10th, this event could be essential.

elc3105s blog	360
astinaguys poker blog	354
Counting My Outs	344
5TH Street Forum	340

Also, there are currently 2 people tied for 20th place with 265 points (EgonOlsen and BobbyOlsen). These 2, along some others that trail by only a few points, will need to place well to ensure their place in the top 20. With only 2 events left it is essential that they play well enough if they wish to compete in the grand final on Dec. 23rd.


My Exploits
Yesterday I was the runner up in one of the $10 NLHE tournaments. There were 59 competitors and a first place prize of $170. Overall my play was pretty solid. I made a few bad calls and got lucky, but I feel happy with how I played. HOWEVER.... the one hand that I am steamed about came during heads up play. I had my opponent covered in chips +8k or so and I picked up pocket queens (no doubt I was quite pleased). I raised (but not too much) and was called. Flop came ace, 8, 6 rainbow. I bet out. I wanted to check for an ace (fold to a re-raise here). I was simply called. Turn gives me a third queen. Planning to check-raise,I check to my opponent thinking he has an ace. He checks as well (which surprises me). When the river brings a 5, I think I'm golden. I bet out with my set and am immediately re-raised all in. I call without hesitation and am very dismayed when he flips over his 79 and shows a straight. I hadn't even considered the possibility that he was on a draw. I don't think I gave him odds to call on the flop. I know (now) that I should have bet out again on the turn, but remember I have him pegged for an ace. There wasn't too much left for me after that. He had my little stack of about 8k dwarfed by 40k plus. I doubled up a hand or two later but it was just not to be. Lost when my pocket sevens ran into a higher pair. Oh well, $118 for a second place is nice for my bankroll which currently sits at about $220.