I had him pegged all along!!

The season finale of 'The Mole' was Monday night, but I didn't get to watch it because of my softball game (we lost 12-1, so that's it for softball this year). However, thank God for DVR! I got around to watching it last night. For those of you not familiar with the show, there's a group of contestants who try to complete certain tasks as a group for money. However, one person in the group is The Mole, and that person tries to sabotage the group's efforts to accomplish the tasks, therefore trying to keep money out of the pot. At the end of each episode, they have a quiz about the identity of The Mole, and whoever answers the fewest questions correctly is eliminated.

Since the first episode, I'd thought that Craig was the Mole. Craig was a likeable guy who nobody would suspect. He also wasn't in very good physical shape, so that alone would hinder a lot of the more strenuous physical challenges. Some of the contestants helped throw some of the challenges, just to throw off the other contestants in the quiz, but Craig just seemed to me like he was the Mole. Last night, I found out I was right! He was the Mole! Finally! I've been watching this show since the first year, and I've never been able figure out who it was until much later in the season. There's something fulfilling about watching a show all season and thinking that you know what's going on, and then have your suspicions confirmed! It was pretty exciting! Well, as exciting as watching reality TV can be. Now, it's just Big Brother!

Another frustrated Nationals fan - who'd have known?

Saturday was a pretty eventful day. I went to our company picnic at Mineral Springs park in Pekin. During the picnic, they held a scavenger hunt competition. And if you know me, you know that I am all about scavenger hunts. We divvied up into teams of no more than four, and they gave us a sheet of questions that we had to figure out by going through the park and finding the answers. The questions were like "How many pillars on the building at the pavilion?" and "Whose name is engraved on the plaque next to the kids climbing wall?" We answered all the questions, and in the end, we got 2nd place. Team Picken was first, and if you know the Pickens, you know they're more about scavenger hunts than I am. First place was $200 and second place got us $160, which, split four ways, isn't bad for an hour's work. It really was a lot of fun, and I hope they do another one next year!

Then after the picnic, I went to see Lewis Black perform at the Civic Center Theater. He's one of my favorite comedians of all time, and he didn't disappoint. He was hilarious! My buddy Brad and I each bought a CD and waited in a line of about 300 people to get his autograph. I figured, what's better than a Lewis Black CD, but an autographed Lewis Black CD! Lewis was pleasant to everybody he signed for, and he even took time to pose for some pictures with anybody and everybody who wanted one. When I got up there, he noticed my Nats cap, and hilarity ensued...

Lewis: So, what are wearing a Nationals' cap for in the middle of Illinois?

Tuck: Oh, I've been an Expos fan since I was this high - when they moved to Washington, my loyalty went with them.

Lewis: Yeah, I'm from DC and I'm unfortunately a Nats fan too.

Tuck: Yeah, they're not doing too good this year.

Lewis: They're the third team that's been in Washington - they'll probably leave sometime soon.

Tuck: Nah, they'll stick around I'm sure. They'll turn it around.

Lewis : Oh yeah!?, Well f@*! you!! Listen, we've got a brand new stadium, we get 30,000 people there every night, and blblblbll, we're 24th in payroll!! 24th!! You'd think they'd spend some GD money on the team! If they spent some money, then they'd turn it around...

He was getting really agitated and red in the face talking about it! It was great!! Then Brad's father came in and started commenting about part of Lewis' act - Lewis just turned 60 and he felt old. Brad's dad came up and said that's he's not old just because he's 60 - he knows lots of trees that are 60, and they're not old. They shared a laugh and parted ways, but our conversation was over. Just when it was getting good! He was ranting to me just like he does in his act. It's pretty easy to rant about the Nats these days. Who'd have thunk he was a Nats fan. I knew I liked that guy for a reason!!

Look ma, no stains!!

Our softball season, actually, is not over. We played in the sweltering heat Monday night and won our first tournament game, 15-14. It was an exciting game. We got ahead by 5 runs early, then fell behind by 4 runs later. Then we tied it at 14-14. In the last inning, we scored once, and they didn't score. Our next game is Monday at 7:00, so my Mondays won't be freed up just yet.

Last night was trivia night at Double A's, and there were at least 19 teams there. My parents and sister Kelly decided to come out and play, along with some of Kelly's friends. We had our usual cast of characters there (Dubby, Haney, Toby, Jeff, Scott and Mary) and we ended up winning! We really got lucky on a few questions - we totally guessed what fraction of an iceberg shows above water, and got it right, and we had a difference of opinion among our team on the question about which country has the largest coastline. We went with the right answer again. Things just happened to fall our way this week. I was also happy to see that Kelly's team got 2nd place. It was a fun time, as always.

I'm thinking I might take a half day off work on Thursday - I'm already taking Friday off to go golfing down in Findlay, so it would make an even longer weekend. Plus, I have be in Peoria by 4:00 to get my oil changed. When I bought my car, I bought one of those service packs where I get free oil changes and maintenance checks. That's a great thing, but the latest appointment they'll make is 4:00, and I work until 4:15, so I'm going to have to leave an hour early anyway - might as well make it 4, right?

And one more thing - I went to Kouri's for lunch today - I ordered the spicy BBQ wings, and I didn't get anything on me! Unbelieveable, huh? I know, I didn't believe it either!

Somebody's got a case of the Mondays...

Well, today is Monday, and for many years now, Monday delivers a specific schedule for me to follow. From the beginning of September to the beginning of April, bowling starts at 6:00. My Monday bowling league is going to be a lot different this year. We've bowled with the same cast of characters for a handful of years now, but this year, that cast is going to change. Sean and I will be returning, but gone is Kim, who's going back to school, and Craig, who is getting a new job. Replacing them will be Matt, Dubby, maybe Jeff and hopefully, we'll be able to find another bowler as well. We only have to have 4 bowlers each week, but having 6 on the team makes it easier for us to find replacements when we need them. The league is a lot of fun, and I'm sure it will be so again this year.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves, because it's not September yet - it's August, and on Mondays from April to August, I play softball for Community of Christ Church in Pekin. I've played on this team for maybe 8 years or so, and we've got a team full of great people. We've actually improved since we've played, but we're not exactly a powerhouse. Tonight will most likely bring an end to our season. The Pekin City Tournament starts tonight, and if (when?) we lose, our softball season will be done for another year. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself the next few Mondays. I'll be like a school kid on a snow day - not knowing what to do when his scheduled existence is taken from him. The schedule will return in September, but for now, it'll be nice to just wing it!

Speaking of schedules, I just realized that starting in September, I'll bowl on Mondays and Wednesdays in Peoria. That's not so bad, but this summer I've also been going to trivia night at Double A's in Peoria every Tuesday and Thursday, so my winter schedule's either going to be jam packed, or it's going to have to change. I can't see missing Tuesday trivia, but Thursday sports trivia might become expendable. I mean, I have to do laundry some time, right? We'll see...

Hand Statistics

I promised some more poker hand statistics, so here you go.

Here's my updated top ten hands. The number in parenthesis is where that hand ranked the last time I posted my stats - you'll see a few of them have changed)

1. AA +$278.00 - dealt 115 times (previously 2)

2. 88 +272.11 - dealt 110 times (1)

3. QQ + 259.15 - dealt 102 times (3)

4. KK +225.15 - dealt 97 times (4)

5. 99 +216.30 - dealt 117 times (5)

6. JJ +168.15 - dealt 105 times (8)

7. AKo +162.65 - dealt 220 times (7)

8. ATo +144.57 - dealt 241 times (6)

9. AKs +120.60 - dealt 77 times (9)

10. AJo +111.00 - dealt 233 times (-)

Some observations...

• Aces have finally overtaken Eights as my most profitable hand, as they should be.
• My six most profitable hands are strong pocket pairs, but tens are nowhere to be found.
• Of those 6 pocket pairs in the top ten, I've been dealt Aces more than any hand except 9's. That's a good thing.
• I ordered the list by total dollars won by the hand. If I had ordered the list by dollars won per hand dealt, QQ would be my most profitable, with +2.54 every time I'm dealt it. 88 comes in next at 2.47, and AA is third at 2.41.

And here are my worst ten hands.

1. JTo -64.70 - dealt 213 times

2. A8o -57.55 - dealt 240 times

3. 77 -55.72 - dealt 125 times

4. 74o -51.85 - dealt 218 times

5. 64o -51.25 - dealt 200 times

6. 97o -49.00 - dealt 226 times

7. 94o -48.80 - dealt 248 times

8. Q8o -46.50 - dealt 226 times

9. A5o -43.50 - dealt 235 times

10. 33 -41.65 - dealt 109 times

I was shocked when I saw this list. Some stuff is understandable - JTo I can understand, since it's a hand I play often, and times when I flop top pair with it, I'm often outkicked. Same with the small Aces - even if an Ace flops, I'm often still behind. Seven's surprised me being so bad, since Eights are virtually the same hand, and they're my second most profitable. But what really surprised me was the junk hands on the list (74o, 64o, 94o). These are hands I always fold preflop, but yet here they are on the list. The only way I'd ever see a flop with them is for free in the big blind - I must have seen some free flops, caught a piece, and eventually lost. This just shows me that even if I catch a piece of the flop with a crap hand, it's still a crap hand, and I should proceed with caution.

So there you have my poker statistics rundown. Exciting reading, I'm sure!

Home game recap

So Friday night, I hosted a Texas Hold'em tourney. It was your typical $10 entry, no rebuy tournament, and there were 14 people who attended. Hopefully everybody who came over had a good time- thanks to everybody who played! I didn't have very high expectations for myself in this tourney - this is only the second tourney I've played all summer, and in the first one I finished 6th out of 7 - not very good. My strategy was to play super tight and only enter pots where I held huge pre-flop hands. That way, I may not win the whole thing, but I'd last long enough so I wouldn't be one of the first to bust out.

Early on, I didn't get any of those huge pre-flop hands, but I was pretty fortunate on one hand in particular. Blinds were probably 15/30. I was dealt A8 of spades in the small blind. There were about 3 limpers, so I limped in as well, and the big blind checked. Flop came JQK, all spades. I checked and it checked around. The turn was an A. I think I put in 60 or so, and had 2 callers. The river was a blank and I bet 100. The big blind (Brett) came over the top and made it 300 to go. Third person folded to me - I made it 600 and Brett called with the straight. That got me over 2K in chips (starting stack 1500) and I was feeling pretty good.

The other big hand I played was calling Gordo's all in preflop for about 900 with ATo. Gordo doesn't have any problem pushing big stacks with a middle ace, so I called him. Luckily for me, he turned over A8o and my hand held up. However, looking back on the hand, it was a pretty silly call on my part. It worked out for me this time, but ATo isn't the hand I normally want to risk my tournament on. Gordo could have just as easily had AJ, or better. Of all the hands I played Friday night, that's the one where I look back and think that I played it wrong. It happened to get me the chip lead though, so it all worked out.

Once we got down to one table of 9, I had a pretty good chip lead. The very first hand at that table, I was dealt pocket 9s and raised preflop, which got the blinds and a limper (Jason) to fold. After that hand, I wasn't really dealt anything the rest of the night. I was able to play really tight and watch other people bust out, until we were down to four. By that time, Sheets and I were pretty short, and Toby and Zooks were way out in front, about even in chips. Sheets moved in with AJo and Toby called from the BB with 93s, which of course ended up winning. I was only able to last a few hands longer, when my K8 went up against Zooks' K7 - she was able to turn a 7 and I went to the rail in 3rd. Toby and Zooks split first and second - I think Toby had 10,400 and Zooks had 10,800 when it got to heads up, so a split was definitely the way to go. Congrats!!

I felt pretty good about the way I played. I don't remember playing in a tournament when I never got dealt any big hands pre-flop. The biggest pair I was dealt was nines, and they never saw the flop. I had AQ once and KQs once, but that's as good as it got. I played pretty solidly with my marginal pre-flop hands and made the most of each opportunity as it came. I guess, in the end, that's all you can do.

Back in the swing

Life's funny sometimes. Well, at least my life is. Back in January, I was a regular blog poster and a more regular online poker player. I was pretty much blogging every day, and playing poker even more often. In fact, I think I averaged about 4 hours a night on PokerStars during the week and more often than that on the weekends. In other words, I was a poker junkie. I couldn't get enough of it. I must have burned out pretty quick though, because as I write today, I went from the middle of January until the middle of July without even playing one hand of online poker, until...

...the Thursday night before our camping and canoeing trip, I was pretty bored. I got on the computer and noticed the PokerStars icon on my desktop and thought 'I haven't done this in a while, why not?' I played maybe about a half hour that night and won $20 playing .25/.50 limit hold 'em 6 seated. But more importantly, I think the desire to play had returned. For some reason or another, online poker had lost all it's enjoyment to me. I'm sure it couldn't have been the fact that I was playing 40 hours a week and burning myself out in the process... nah!

Anyway, now I'm a little older, and hopefully wiser. I've got the poker bug back, and this time around, I think I'll be going about things a little bit differently. I've been playing online here and there for the past couple of weeks, but never for more than an hour at a time. I'm playing lower limits (now up to $.50/$1.00 limit 6-seated) than I was back in January, and it's still really enjoyable. The results show that too. When I left the game back in January, I had $177 in my account. Today, I have $290 or so (had it up to $323 a couple of days ago, but took a few tough beats). The plan is to pace myself so I don't have any future long absences from the virtual felt.

Blogging again, poker again - it's just like old times!

By the way, I noticed back in January that I posted my best 10 hands, with a promise to post my worse ten. I'll do that sometime soon, with an updated list of my ten best.

Mud Volleyball!

This past weekend, a group of friends and I went up to Lena, IL to particiapate in a mud volleyball tournament. We got up there on Friday and camped out (in the rain), but Saturday was a beautiful sunny day and we did ourselves proud in the tourney. We won our first match 2-0 (each match was best 2 out of 3 games, each game was to 21). Last year, we didn't win any matches in the main draw - we entered a losers tournament and won a match there, but we were shutout in the main tourney. So the fact that we won a match was nice (if not amazing!).

Our second match was a different story. We got smoked 2-0. That team we played just plain whupped up on us. We didn't know if we'd get another match or not, but luckily we got moved to the consolation bracket of the tourney, meaning we still got to play another match. We won our third match 2-0, and lost our 4th match 2-1. So all in all, we got to play 9 games and 4 matches. Not bad at all - kudos to everybody who went and played and also to those who came out and supported us - it was a fun weekend! And thanks to Mary Brown-Gordon for allowing me to use her photos on my blog - I'll give you a percentage of the royalties!

Funny story - our team name was supposed to be Ritter's Bitches. We had T-shirts made and everything. We entered that with the coordinators of the tournament, but they said we couldn't have that as our name, since it was a family event. No worries - we'll just change it to Ritter's B's. Anyway, when we got there, you should have heard the other team names that were allowed... Anal Leakage, Snatch Maggots, Goat Roping Banjo Humpers, The Rusty Trombones, etc. It's a good thing they stopped us from having 'Bitches' in our name - we wouldn't have wanted to offend anybody! ;)

Warm up the barstool, here I come!!

So, most of you already know that I'm the memebrship VP for the Peoria Jaycees. As such, one of my duties is to try and recruit as many people to our organization as I possibly can. I've never been the salesman type, but I've done my best this year to try and sign up as many new members as possible. So far, I think I've had mixed results. Since the beginning of the year, we've got 8 new members, which isn't a big number, but they're 8 quality members who have been active within the organization and who I feel will be a part of it for a long time.

In January, I went to the state General Assembly of Jaycees, and they implemented a new program called 'Power of Ten'. Basically put, if a chapter can have ten more active members in January 2009 than they had in January 2008, they'll be given a suite at the 2009 Winter GA, as well as have a big bash thrown for them, including all we can eat and drink for free. It's been a goal this year to try and attain this, but like I said, we've only recruited 8 members so far this year. That's not bad, but then when you consider that we've dropped 11, that puts us at a -3 for the year, which isn't anywhere near that goal.

Recently, Linda (who is our President for those who don't know) decided that she'd do something to give our members more incentive to recruit more members. If we can get to +10 for 2008, she (a diehard Cubs/Bears fan), will don a Packer jersey or a Cardinal jersey to an event of our choice. That sounded like a good idea, so I threw out my own new member incentive. If we can get to +10 for 2008, the non-drinker in me will go away for an evening and I will actually drink a beer or two. There's a bunch of folks who have been trying to get me to drink for a while now, and I thought it would be worth it to do something like that for a good cause. I really wasn't too worried about it, though, because with only 8 new members so far this year and the fact that we're at -3, what are the chances we'll get to +10?

Well, evidently they're increasing by leaps and bounds. Last night was our monthly membership meeting, and we signed up two new members. Not only that, it looks like Victor is about to recruit up to 4 new members himself, and while karaokeing after the meeting last night, I received a text message from J.O. that she has recruited somebody as well. Basically, we've doubled our new members for the year in the course of one evening! Coincidence? Maybe so, but even if it is, it looks like we're well on our way to +10 now.

Has anybody ever got drunk by drinking just one beer? You may have to tune in later to find out!!

A Win-Win-Win Proposition

I love freebies. I always gain some sense of satisfaction when I can get something for nothing. That doesn't necessarily make me a cheapskate; however I'm sure there are some who may see me as one. I remember going to a McDonalds in Chicago a few years ago. After I ordered my Chicken McNuggets, I asked for some a couple BBQ sauces and the girl behind the counter told me that each one would cost me 10 cents. My jaw hit the floor! I told her there's no way in hell I'm paying 10 cents for BBQ sauce - I mean, there's just no way. Every McDonalds in the world gives away BBQ sauce with their McNuggets except this one. Does this mean that I'm cheap because I won't pay 10 cents for something that should be free? I don't think so. It's the principle of the whole thing. If Subway charged a quarter for a lid and straw for your Diet Coke, would you pay? If so, I've got some junk laying around my house that I could probably pawn off on you... really cheap I tell ya!! :)

Anyway, that's why tonight is so great! I'm going to watch the Peoria Chiefs play tonight... for free! Back in the winter, Dubby and Toby and I did Bowling for Kids Sake at Landmark, and I won a raffle for 24 free Chiefs tickets, so one of those tickets will get me through the doors tonight. But the goodness doesn't stop there! Tonight is one of 6 'Free Hot Dogs and Peanuts' nights at the ballpark this season! How can I go wrong - I get to go to the game with a free ticket, and I get all the free hot dogs and peanuts I want! What a country! Last time I went to one of these games, Matt King and I got into a hot dog eating contest. I told him I had eaten 8 hot dogs, so he outdid me and ate 9. Truth be told, I only had 4, but having Matt eat 5 dogs is not as much fun as having him eat 9, now is it? If I recall, the next day wasn't much fun for Matt either. Ah, you just can't beat free fun at the old ballpark!!

If they know what's good for them, they better not charge me for ketchup and mustard.

OMG WTF!! A Post?!?!

I know, I can't believe it either!! :)

This past weekend, we were at Turkey Run getting ready to canoe the next day (well actually getting ready to be rained out), when the topic of conversation shifted to my blog, or lack thereof. I decided to start this thing back up again. I really need to update it more often than once every 6 months. I don't know if I'll be able to post every day like I used to before - my life is pretty boring and I don't know if I have enough interesting things to say every day. But I will do everything I can to update from now on at least once every week (probably more often than that, but no promises!!)

Turkey Run was fun, but due to the rain, we were unable to take part in the canoe ride. The majority of us went to the swimming pool and spent the day either nailing folks upside the head with the pool toys, or being hit by them. Fun as that was, it couldn't replace the canoeing. It was so ironic that Saturday was such a beautiful day, and yet we were unable to canoe due to the weather. There's been some rumblings about another canoe trip later this summer - hopefully that materializes. I didn't even get a chance to tip the canoe over purposely by accident!! ;) If nothing else, I was introduced this weekend to Hillbilly golf. I'd never played this before, and it's really a lot of fun. Then again, anything with 'golf' in the name can't suck. Am I the only person who's never heard of this? There's these two little plastic balls connected by some string and the object is to throw the balls and wrap them around these little mini-ladders that are 30 feet away or so. The higher the rung you can wrap them around, the more points you score. It's great fun, let me tell ya.

Anyway, it's good to be back - talk at you later... I promise!!

Sorry

I haven't had the chance to write for a while - everything is still good with me. I haven't been abducted by aliens. I haven't been kidnapped by any hillbillies. I've just been a little busier than normal.

Things that have happened since my last post...

* Went to Decatur for Jaycees GA last weekend - had a great time! Didn't get much sleep, but had a lot of fun!

* I broke my temporary teeth last Saturday and had to walk around for 5 days with a 2-tooth gap in my smile. But yesterday, I got it fixed again. In 3 weeks, I go get my permanant bridge, so hopefully my tooth problems will be over with!

* The last 3 series I've bowled have all been over 600. I'm on a roll (literally)!

* Yesterday I lost $100 online playing poker. I'm not on a roll.

* My 2 favorite tennis players, Roger Federer and Daniela Hantuchova, both made the semis of the Australian Open, but they both lost there. I'll still probably watch the finals, but I don't care who wins now.

I'll try not to take so long between posts next time.

Here's today's trivia question...

I've got a package of Ritz Bits cheesy sandwich crackers in my hand. What is the listed as the main ingredient?

Good luck!

Statistics

Well, I've had PokerTracker now for over a month, and since I bought it, my account has gone from $150 to $465 and back down to $420 where it currently is now. I've played 16,935 hands in the past month (sounds like a lot, and it is, but most of the time, I'm playing multiple tables at a time). Last night I was checking out the stats of my play and I've found some interesting things. Here are the ten hands that I've won the most money on...

1. 88 (+$261.35 - dealt 82 times)

I don't know why this is my most profitable hand. I know at the beginning I won a couple of monster pots with pocket 8's - once I flopped K88 and beat pocket kings for a huge pot. But I play eights like any small pair - limp and see the flop for as cheap as possible and if I don't flop a set or 3 unders, I fold. That way, I'll either win a nice pot, or lose a pot I only invested one bet into. Still, or some reason, I've hit more than my share of sets with pocket 8s. But hey, I'm not complaining!

2. AA (+$229.35 - dealt 88 times)

This is the hand you'd expect to see at the top, but not for me. It's slowly gaining on the pocket 8s, and I'm thinking before too long, it will be my most profitable hand, as it should be. I obviously raise and re-raise with this hand preflop, but I will say this - I have a hard time folding this hand when I know that I'm beat. If I raise preflop with Aces and bet the flop and then somebody raises, I tend to still think my Aces are good. And sometimes they are, but a lot of times, I pay off a lot of better hands with Aces. Therefore, I win some nice pots, but I also lose pots where I've invested quite a bit of money, unlike the middle pairs, where I only lose small amounts. I'll still take Aces every time though.

3. QQ (+$197.95 - dealt 66 times)

This hand is more profitable for me than KK, and it really makes a lot of sense to me. When I play Queens, I always raise and re-raise preflop, but I know they're vulnerable. If any overcard comes on the flop, I'm probably behind, so I can fold and feel good about my decision. It's an easy hand for me to get away from. When I lose big pots with Queens, it's usually to a set or a late-made straight or flush. But it's still a premium hand which will win me a great deal of pots when I flop a set or the board shows 5 unders.

4. KK (+$172.20 - dealt 69 times)

This hand, as far as premium hands go for me, is a trouble hand. I play it like all the other premium hands preflop - raise and re-raise as much as I can - but this hand has the worst qualities of Aces, as well as the worst qualities of Queens. Much like Queens, if an overcard comes on the flop (in this case, only an Ace), I assume I'm beat, but for some reason, just like Aces, I can't seem to fold these guys as easily. Lately, I've made a concerted effort to fold this hand whenever an Ace is flopped, and I think it's saved me some money lately. But I know earlier, I lost some heavily invested pots when my Kings would call to the river, just to get beat my Ace rag with an Ace on the board. If I can keep this up, I would expect KK to be more profitable than QQ in the near future.

5. 99 (+$167.20 - dealt 81 times)

This hand I play exactly like 88, but it's about $100 less profitable. This just goes to show that poker involves a lot of luck. If you hit the flop, you'll look like a genius as you rake in the chips. If you don't, you'll simply fold and watch somebody else take it down. 88 has simply hit more flops for me than 99. Period. That's the only difference between the two hands. But this is still my 5th most profitable hand, more so than some other hands you'd expect to see up here, so don't feel bad for the 9s, they're doing just fine for me, thank you very much!

6. ATo (+$136.15 - dealt 173 times)

I'm a little surprised to see this hand here. I'm sure variance plays a little part - winning a few big pots will skew the expected results of a certain hand. But upon closer look, this makes some sense to me. I don't play ATo any certain way all the time. I play this way differently depending on certain factors - If I'm in early position at a loose table, I'll fold with it. If I'm in late position and nobody's entered the pot, I'll raise with it. That's what makes it so profitable for me. I don't have any preconceived expectations with this hand. If I think I'm ahead, I'll play it strong and if I think I'm behind, I'll fold. Optimally, every hand would be played this way, but sometimes, it's hard to lay down a monster hand when it's been cracked. This one is easy to lay down, which optimizes its profit.

7. AKo (+$130.60 - dealt 165 times)

This is another example of one of those monster-type hands that I stay in with too long. I play it like Aces preflop, raising and re-raising as much as I can. But when the flop comes and it's 3 unders, I tend to call a bet, and even sometimes a raise, with nothing but a draw. If I can turn a King or Ace, I'm good most of the time. But if I don't, I find myself invested for 3 or 4 bets in a pot where I have nothing. Again, I'll take this hand every time, but just getting dealt AKo doesn't promise anything - it is what it is - a drawing hand. A very strong drawing hand, but still a drawing hand.

8. JJ (+$126.00 - dealt 76 times)

JJ is a hand that I play strong pre-flop, just like all the bigger pairs. But after the flop, I play it just like a middle pair. If I flop a set or 3 undercards, I'll bet it strong. But if there's an overcard and somebody comes out and bets, I'll quickly fold. This hand sees flops with 3 unders much more than pocket 8's or pocket 9's, so I'm playing in more of those pots with this hand. That's a scary hand to play, as the overcard on the turn or river can (and usually does) beat me. I'm thinking that's why this hand isn't as profitable as those other middle pairs. But I can't fold JJ on a 3-6-T flop, can I?

9. AKs (+$94.00 - dealt 52 times)

This hand would be a lot higher on the list if I had been dealt it more. Of all the top ten hands, this one I have been dealt the least. But only the top 4 have a bigger per-hand profit margin than AKs. And that's obvious - this hand can make the nut straight, the nut flush, and TPTK, all of which win nice sized pots. And like AKo, it'll beat A-rag when an A comes on the flop, which on Poker Stars is huge, because it seems like everybody plays any Ace on that site. Of course it sucks when their A6 sees a 3-6-A flop - I can't and won't get away from that hand. But although it happens sometimes, the odds of it happening aren't very good, which makes AKs a great hand to have.

10. JTs (+$81.90 - dealt 61 times)

I like playing JT. Any time it makes a straight, it's the nut straight. Add to that the fact that it's suited, and you've got a really fun hand to play. Again, it's one of those hands that I play cautiously. I've folded this preflop, I've raised with it preflop - it's dependent on those same factors. However, this is a hand that seems to catch at least something on the flop. If the flop is all high cards, you've got a straight draw. If it's all low, you've got two overs. If it's in the middle, you've got either a pair or a straight draw. And the added benefit of being suited increases it's chances. It's a hand that if I see a flop, I usually see a turn and a river too, unless somebody's betting tells me I'm beat.

I'll post my top ten losing hands tomorrow - hope this is interesting reading. I know it isn't for some, but oh well - just live with it! :)

Today's trivia question...

If you added the number of major league baseball teams in California, Maria Sharapova's seed at the Austrailian open, and the number that Drew Brees wears on his Saints jersey, what number would you come up with?

Good luck!!

Weekend

Bingo Thursday was a great time - I wish I could tell you that I won a bunch of money, but I sadly cannot - in fact, I can't even tell you that I won any money at all. But J.O. got a bingo that paid over $100, and Keri got one that paid $100 exactly, so the Jaycees weren't shutout. Both girls won on the last bingo game of the night, so congrats to both of them!!

Saturday's home game was a huge success - we had 26 players!! I finally was able to put my pool table to use, I think it worked out OK as a poker table. I finished somewhere like 14th or so - I got my money in preflop with AQo against Gman's KJo and got outflopped. Congrats are in order for Gman, as he went on to win the whole thing. It makes me feel better that I lost to the eventual winner - he must have put my chips to good use! But don't feel bad for me, we played a cash game during/after the tourney and I ended up winning $65 dollars there, so I was up $50 for the night!! Win or lose, it was a great time, and I'm sure we'll do it again next month! Some interesting notes...

* The first two people knocked out of the tourney? Gordo and Ritter.

* J.O. got 5th place and finished in the money - pretty successful weekend for her between bingo and poker!

* Both Picken brothers got knocked out on the same hand!

Anyway, thanks to everybody who came over!

Today's trivia question...

As some of you may know, the Australian Open tennis tourney started last night. Who was the last player to defeat Roger Federer at the Aussie Open?

Bingo!

* I played in one $5 SNG last night - finished 8th out of 9 when my set of queens went all in against a 4-flush that came on the river. But then I played some .50/1.00 and won $30, so it was another good night of poker for me! I wish I could say as much for my bowling - I bowled awful last night - I think my high game was about a 170 - pretty sad when I'm averaging 195. At least I'm off next week, so the break seems to be coming at the perfect time - I could use a week off.

* Tonight is Bingo night with the Jaycees - hopefully I'll be able to post tomorrow about all my winnings! If you're in the neighborhood and want to join us, come on out! It's 6:30 at the Bingo Community Center in Peoria.

Here's today's trivia question...

What is the only city in the world located on two continents?

Good luck!!

Ouch!

$2,657.06

That's how much out of pocket I'll have to pay to fix my chipped bridge. Plus, my entire allotment of 2008 dental benefit will be used up. I figured it would be expensive to fix, but I never dreamed it would be that much. What do you do though? I can't walk around with a big hole in my teeth - although I will be for a couple of weeks until they can get me in and start working on it. I'm going to have to make up a good story - chipping it on a chicken wing just isn't dramatic enough!

Watched a couple of movies last night while playing poker - first was 'Next'. I didn't care for it all that much - like I said, I was playing poker while the movie was going on, so I might have liked it better if I had paid closer attention, but it just seemed too far fetched for me. Then I watched '3:10 to Yuma' which was great! I'm usually not much for Westerns, but this one was really good. If you haven't seen it yet, it's well worth the rental fee.

Played two poker tourneys last night - both single table 9 player SNGs (pays top 3) - took 1st in the first one and 4th in the latter (my AKs couldn't beat pocket tens and I ended up just out of the money - played well though!) . Things have been going my way lately online - hopefully it continues! I've been on bad streaks just as often though, so I know it will come to a screeching halt eventually - but until then, I'm going to ride it out and see how high I can get my bankroll - it's as high as I've ever had it and it keeps growing!

Today's trivia question (might be more than one answer - first right answer wins)

Which word contains each vowel (A,E,I,O,U) only once, and in the order they appear in the alphabet?

Good luck!!

Snaggletooth

* Went to Double A's for some dinner and to watch the NCAA Championship game last night - had a great time, but I lost $85 on the game (I took the under) and I chipped my front tooth eating some chicken wings. It doesn't hurt, but there's a pretty noticeable gap in my teeth right now. I've got a dentist appointment after work tonight - hopefully they can fix it up pretty quickly.

* Played some more online poker last night - I cracked Aces with my 56s and won a $40 pot, then susbsequently had my aces cracked when a river 9 gave some fish a set (J and K were on the board - how could he think his pair of 9s were good?) but oh well. Then played in a 180 player SNG - finished somewhere in the 120s when my pocket 5s saw a 5-8-9 flop - I got all my money in... against 6-7. Overall, I think I might have won a dollar or two, but nothing substantial.

Today's trivia question...

What 4-letter acronym best describes this?

Recap

* Friday's murder mystery party was a blast - our team didn't win (cause we ain't smart like that!!! :) but we had a great time. I was the one who ended up being the murder victim (you'd have thought I'd be able to solve my own murder!) Matt King killed me because I was married to LT but years ago I had an affair with Becky and had a bastard love child Toby and Matt raised Toby as his own son and saw that I had willed all my fortune to Toby so Matt killed me so Toby would share his fortune with Matt (or something like that - like I said, our team didn't solve it - but that sounds pretty close).

* Saturday I played 3/6 at the Isle of Capri in Bettendorf - I can honestly say I've never played any game like it before. Every flop saw 6-8 players and nobody raised pre-flop but me the whole time I played (8 hours or so). In the first 2 hours, I was down $300 by some pretty brutal beats (AA cracked by 48o and 45o in a matter of minutes, AK beaten by 38o even with my preflop raise and hitting an Ace on the flop, and some others), but then I started winning some hands and by the time I quit, I had won back $200 of my original starting stack. Even though I lost $100 for the night, I felt pretty good about the recoup. Then I played online last night and won about $60 in a couple of hours - played some .50/1.00 limit, 1.00/2.00 limit and 1.00/2.00 limit 6-max and won at each table I played. Online poker is funny like that - some days the deck hits you all over the place, other days you can't hit a flop for the life of ya!! My cash account is up to $330, which is as high as it's been for a few weeks!!

* Illinois' basketball team sucks!! I just bought a sweet Illinois hockey Jersey on eBay, but I don't know when I'll ever be able to wear it - I'd like to wear it after a win, but that might be a while!

Today's trivia question (might be a hard one... good luck!)

Which rock band has a song beginning with the word 'Little' on each of their 6 CDs?

Live

Me and my big mouth...

* Yesterday, I talked about how good I've been doing in the poker tourneys online. Well last night, I played in 3. The first was a 9 player SNG and I got 3rd (paid $9, net +$3.50), but I played in a 180 player $4.40 tourney and finished in like 90th place (didn't pay 90 spots - go figure!) Then to get my confidence back up, I played in another 9 player SNG and finished in 9th place when I flopped top 2 pair and ran up against a flopped flush - what do you do? I also lost $40 at the ring tables, so it wasn't a very good poker night for me. So you know what...

* ...my parents are planning on going to Iowa on Saturday night - getting a free room at the Isle of Capri and gambling the night away on the penny slots. I think I might have to join them, but I'll be spending my time at the 3/6 tables upstairs. I've been wanting to play a live ring game ever since I got that PokerTracker program - I really think it's a valuable tool, and hopefully I'll see some good results tomorrow night. If not, at least I can visit with my parents while I'm dropping my pennies in the machines!!

* Tonight's the Whodunit Murder Mystery party. I've always wanted to do one of these, so I'm pretty excited. It's a Caribbean Cruise theme, and since I went on one last year, I should be able to scrounge up a costume for tonight! Should be a lot of fun.

* Today's trivia question (straight from my scrabble calendar)...

What letter can you place in front of the letters AFT to make a word that means "to supply with a handle"?

Good luck!

Tiddlywinks

* I'm on some kind of roll playing online SNG lately. Since I bought PokerTracker last month, I've played in 19 SNG and I've cashed in 11 (5-1st, 3-2nd, 3-3rd). It's a good thing I've been doing well there, because at the cash game tables, it's not been that great. I've played 16,000 hands, and I'm up 5 cents. Yup - 5 whole cents. At least I'm not down, but I don't think I'm going to retire anytime soon!

* I finally saw Fletch, and truthfully, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I laughed a few times, which I didn't think would happen. I don't normally like Chevy Chase, but of all his movies I've seen, this one is my favorite. Props to Gordo for insisting I watch it, and thanks to Dubby for giving me the DVD for Christmas so I wouldn't have any excuses!

* I think I'm going to start a trivia contest on my blog. Every time I post, I'll have a trivia question - if you think you know the answer, post a comment and the first person to get it right will get a point. I may give away some kind of prize to the person with the most points for the month or year - depends on how it goes and what junk I can find in my garage!!

Here's today's question...

What is the large disk in tiddlywinks called?

Good luck!!