Beer City Poker

Go Team Wheelchair!!!!

For the background on the wheelchair story, check out my other blog.

I am disappointed. I had a chance to add another trophy to the mantle by becoming the Skittles Champion of Green Bay. But I came up short, running a lesser two pair. I was so close to dominating the Candy Poker Tour. Now I need to regroup.


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I am won't be able to listen to a bit later today but I can't wait. To say this should be interesting is an understatement.

“Press release” from bloggers Falstaff and Special K

Gambling Tales Podcast is now available. Join Falstaff (John Hartness) and Special K (Curtis Krumel) as we take you through the best in lies and legends about gambling today and through the ages. . Show #001 with Badblood and the origins of gambling is available immediately. New shows are scheduled to appear every two weeks. Guests scheduled to appear in future shows include Dr. Pauly, Lee Jones, Dr. David Schwartz (UNLV – Roll the Bones)


The podcast is available at http://www.gtpodcast.com


RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GamblingTalesPodcast


Available on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=339814710.

It will be searchable on iTunes by the weekend.


Email address for Questions, Comments, and Suggestions: gtpodcast@live.com

It is Monday so of course I am tired. Sleep was elusive once again last night. Besides drinking beer and watching some bad football during the day, I did get to enjoy a very satisfying Dallas Cowboys victory last night. If only the Badgers had won on the ice Saturday night, I would be clutching Drizz's mobneys, gettign ready to taunt his varmint hockey team. But it wasn't to be.

I have tried to put my finger on what made the game feel so good. What it a win against a tough team on their home field, a place the Cowboys have been knocked around consistently? Was it Tony Romo winning a big game? Was it the defense coming up big by stuffing McNabb for no gain on 4th and inches. Was it unknown receiver Kevin Ogletree making two big plays on screen passes? Was it Marion Barber and the offensive line delivering the needed yardage to close the game out with over four and a half minutes left on the clock?

It was a little bit of it all. Sure the Cowboys didn’t look perfect but they didn’t need to. They just needed to play their game, prevent the big play, and not get down on themselves. They kept the crowd out of it. The Philadelphia fans seemed shellshocked and quiet for chunks of the game. I know they felt the Eagles were going to unload at some point. When they scored the go ahead touchdown to start the third quarter they probably thought the game was over.

But the Cowboys defense thought otherwise.

A big interception and soon the game was tied. A last grab for an ankle by rookie linebacker Victor Butler prevented McNabb from gaining at least 20 yards and whipping the crowd into a total frenzy. Then the running back said he the game was done. Coach Phillips challenged the offensive line to go win the game. Barber told the D thanks for the job and go to the locker room.

Yes the victory feels good and makes for a tired Monday to be bearable. But that is only the halfway point of the season. The Packers getting embarrassed in Tampa makes the game at Lambeau that much tougher. The Cowboys will need to keep their heads clear and not get ahead of themselves. They need to continue to play well.

After all, December games have not been cancelled.

Thanks for the advice on the mac vs pc purchase. I will be going the mac route and now need to decide whether to keep it simple with a macbook or go for a bigger screen on a macbook pro.

Anyone have advice on where to buy? The Apple store may seem like the easy route but I have seen some other sites that offer discounts on what appears to be the same machine. Do people usually buy their mac straight from Apple?

Drizz: You and your dirty varmints on ice are going down this weekend! It is on!

It has been a couple weeks since I last played some poker. Work and other responsibilities have been getting in the way. When I have had some time I just haven't been interested in playing. When I have been interested I have arm wrestled with my pc to keep the game flowing. Too many times I have been playing 2-3 tables where I try to play some music just to have the system go into total lockdown mode. It pisses me off when it happens and I can only think how it perturbs the others at the table.

The pc is around 10 years old. I have tried to clean it up the best I can (read: best I know how) but think it is time to put it out to pasture. Especially now that the monitor seems to be breaking down as well going into a yellow screen mode. Seriously, how can I play poker and watch porn if the screen goes yellow?

So do I make the big jump to a Mac? I am leaning that way. Would rather spend the extra dollars and have something that I can rely on. People I know with Macs rarely have anything bad to say. But pcs are so much cheaper. Word is Windows 7 is much better and reliable.

Do I go laptop vs. desktop? Laptops are convenient but I get more with the desktop. Considering the iPhone is like a little laptop makes me lean to a basic iMac.

One thing I have considered is how easily I can play poker on a Mac. According to PokeronaMac.com, Full Tilt and Poker Stars have access but Bodog does not. It is enough to keep me going while plugging in the pc elsewhere when needed.

Given the option, what would you smart people do? Mac vs. pc? Lap vs. desk?

I was killing time on Saturday before going to the bar to watch the Badger football game. I had logged in to PokerStars to play some 2-7 Triple Draw. As I plodded along shaking off the rust, I started to play a little bit of Badugi as well. I stuck to the play money game to get a sense of what was going on.

I ended at a small profit on the TD game when my mind started wandering. The Badugi game was kinda fun but worthless as everyone stayed in and kept drawing down no matter how bad their hands were. Just what I expected for play money.

Before I would log off I had to slide over to check the lines on Sunday's games. There were two games I was interested in. I took a look at the line for the Panthers/Redskins game first. Carolina was giving 3.5. Looked good as I expected the Deadskins to get trounced.

I then stared at the other game. I looked and felt strong about it but in the end couldn't pull the trigger.

Dallas Cowboys -8.5 vs the Kansas City Chiefs.

I wanted to take the Chiefs and the points. But went against the core of my beliefs. I logged out instead of placing any bets. Like many others, I don't bet on my own team no matter how tempting it may seem.

See, in the end the odds are against you. No, not any kind of gambling odds. Odds of staying sane. Let's think about the outcomes, of which only one is good.

1. I take the Cowboys and they lose outright. I am pissed off that they lost to the Chiefs and out the money I put on them.
2. I take the Cowboys and they win, but don't cover. Happiness is offset by the hole in the bankroll.
3. Take the Chiefs and hope they cover. The only spot that is a true winner. Cowboys win and cover netting me a profit in the head, heart, and wallet.

1 of 3 chances leads to pure joy. Not worth it.

I felt the Cowboys would have problems in K.C. It was this nugget that started it. The visiting team had never won in this series. Not once. Now granted they don't square off against each other too often but that led to nugget number two. K.C. is the type of team that gives the Cowboys trouble. It doesn't matter what their record it. They give the 'Boys problems. Same with the Detroit Lions. I am glad the Cowboys are not playing the Lions this year because once again the Lions would give them fits. Cincinnati does it to Dallas as well.

Nugget #3 has more sanity to it. Injuries. WR1, RB2, and SS were all out. RB1 was still not 100% and C was iffy. Too many holes to fill after a rough loss. Thus I felt the Chiefs and the points looked good.

Oh and I forgot. Someone needs to tell the Dallas Cowboys that the fourth quarter is like the other 3. It lasts for 15 minutes. Not 13. Hopefully the defense can figure that out on the bye week.

Instead Cowboys fans are left with a small sense of relief. But that relief isn't good. This win feels like a loss. And with just 16 attempts at feeling good on a Monday (or Tuesday or Friday) it hurts to not get that good day after when you should.