I need a little help

Since I am a bit of a webtard, my freeroll posting doesn't look right. I just did the copy / paste per instructions from Pokerstars, but it made everything look different. I think it has something to do with the width, but it also put dotted lines around my previous post. Any help would be appreciated. You can send suggestions to brainmc dot poker over at my gmail. Thanks in advance.

Pimpin' Freerolls

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 6720889

Am I addicted to Tivo?

Stacie and I just got back from a business trip to Orlando. It was cool that we both got to go at the same time. It also helped the company save money since we drove and obviously shared a hotel room. The two things I missed most for the week were Dundee and Tivo. Holy crap, I just can't watch regular TV without it anymore. Every time I am not at home I realize how my attention span isn't made for having to watch what is "just on" or wait for something I am interested in watching. It made me remember how I got to this point.

Many years ago while I was still working for the cable company, I had a coworker buy a Tivo. He used to hammer on me everyday about how I needed to get one. After he told me what it could do, I really wanted one. I asked him how much it costs and it ran about $600 after the lifetime membership. This made my decision to pass much easier. After all, one of my benefits was free movies on demand and my VCR still worked great. As the years progressed,I worked more hours and Tivo started to drop in price. I started seriously thinking about getting one but this was around the time that I quit my job so the money was to be spent elsewhere.

Since I was no longer getting free cable, we switched to DirecTV because it was cheaper. I kinda screwed up and didn't get the DirecTV with Tivo when it was offered. Now the funny part is I have loads of free time while I am looking for a job. This is when I want Tivo the most because daytime TV just sucks. I started checking on the price and they were running around $300-$400 for the receivers. I was really jazzed about the combo DirecTV/Tivo receivers versus the standalone Tivos for 2 reasons. First, with the combo unit, you could watch one program while recording another or record two programs at once. Second, since it was broadcast digitally, it doesn't have to encode again and the picture looks the same as if you were watching it "live." Since I had no job, this purchase definately wasn't happening. I finally wore Stacie down enough that she allowed me to purchase one when I got a job.

Shortly after this agreement I started working in the warehouse of her company. With my first check, you guessed it, the first thing I did was go on Ebay and bought a used one. At the time only "new" customers could purchase them in stores. I bought one for around $500 with a lifetime membership already paid on it.

Shortly after I got it, DirecTV changed their agreement program with Tivo and my lifetime membership got wiped out. I wasn't terribly upset because they were only charging around $5 a month for the DVR service. I was really enjoying the Tivo, but I was selfishly recording and watching just the things I wanted to see. This prompted Stacie to decide she wanted her own. I found this funny since she didn't even want me to get one in the first place, but now she can't watch TV without it. By this time, you could buy them as existing customers, so I headed up to Hifi buys and bought a new one for $250. The great thing about doing it through DirecTV is that it is one charge no matter how many of your receivers are DVRs.

Things were going well until my receiver died. Now I have to get it replaced because its driving me nuts, so I go back up to Hifi buys and buy a 100hr floor demo for $200. See a pattern, but at least they are getting cheaper. This satisfied me until DirecTV started really marketing the recording service. They started offering 80hr Tivos for free after rebate. Well for free, I can give it to Stacie and this will replace her 30hr version. This was a pretty easy sell since it cost nothing.

Then my next desire was DirecTV HD with Tivo. These puppies were going for $1000. I gave myself a $250 price point for this unit. Here we are two years later and I found a new one on Ebay for $425 with free shipping and a $200 rebate. Cha-ching, it's $25 less than I was willing to spend. This was around the beginning of February I had just won some good money in Wil's Tuesday game so I rewarded myself with this frivolous purchase. Realize at the time, I only have 2 TVs in my house but 4 Tivos (8 tuners), with multiple boxes on the big screen in the bonus room.

I was screwing around too much with my oldest receivers while it was on and I killed it. It just will never get past the booting screen. Now I'm down to a more reasonable 3 Tivos with 2 TVs, so We decided to move one in the guest room. We now have the ability to record 5 programs at one time. This sounds excessive, but it came in handy on a recent Thursday because many of the season finales were overlapping. It is also my overflow Tivo because I have filled up the HD one since I haven't been watching it fast enough lately. I had some serious watching to do two weeks ago since I was gone last week, but most of the shows are now in repeats so the demand for space won't be as high.

I think this is the closest I have every come to having an addiction.

Who is Spyder Dobrofsky?

This is an extension of the wrecked Enzo story. Unlike S.T.B., I really think this article is neat, of course I just said "neat" so what do I know. Originally for Spyder, I had a mental picture of some 36 year old guy with 3 cameras hanging around his neck, cap on backwards, and a heavy metal t-shirt scarfing down food from stands on the street corners. What a surprise to find out he is only 14. This kid reminds of when I used to go to the Exotic Cars dealership in Arlington, VA while visiting my mom in the early 80s. I still have the photos and disc negatives from my visits to see the Ferrari 328 when it first came out. The guy bought it before he saw it, because it was just the next Ferrari in his collection. I think about those visits to this day and wonder how many cars that guy now has in his collection.

Stacie and my friends will still make fun of me when I can identify a car by its exhaust or headlights off in the distance. I am not as good at it as I was when I was younger, and it seems cars change styles faster so that also makes it harder. I'm sure there will be more to come with this story, so stay tuned.

The Funniest Blog....not for the kiddies

Warning! It is not poker related, but it is some seriously funny stuff. Check out Crystal. Start back at the beginning of the archives. I am only 3 months in to the posts, but I have already had multiple laugh out loud moments at work. Thanks to Kathy / Psycoma for the link. Yes the title caught my eye because I really like 2 of the 3 things. For some reason, I thought this might really appeal to Waffles and Bloody P.

Sometimes Things Happen for a Reason

Stacie is a good daughter and went up to her mother's for the weekend. I went down to my Dad's for the weekend. Yeah, I know it's Mother's Day weekend, but don't get me started on that shit.

I was planning on taking the trip to south Alabama on my motorcycle, but questionable weather made me wuss out and I drove the car. I went down Friday afternoon and wasn't in too big of a hurry so when I saw a sign for a scenic area, I decided to check it out. I have been down this road many times over the past 18 years and this sign looked new. It was a short little walking trail that went through a swampy area with boardwalks, bird blinds, and a tall observation deck. It was a nice place to take a mid drive break and stretch my legs. Not much wildlife was out, but the weather was awesome. I am horrible/great at pulling off the rode during vacations to take pictures or try new trails and see new stuff. It can turn a short trip into a medium to long ride. Life is the journey, not the destination right. Blah, blah, blah!

It turned out to be a good thing I didn't ride the bike. When I got back on Sunday, I needed to run a few errands. The weather was still great so I got suited up to do them on my bike. I started to back out of the garage and noticed it was not moving easily. I was down to 10 PSI in my back tire. Sometime late last week, I picked up 2 small shards of metal and now have a slow leak. Unfortunately this is a fairly new tire with less than 700 miles on it. The bad news with motorcycles is when this happens you gotta get a new tire. Patches should only be done for emergencies. Good-bye $200. While I was checking other things out, I noticed I was low on oil. When the hell did that happen? Hopefully I haven't screwed anything up with it. I think I will go ahead and get the major service done when I take it in for a new tire after I get back from Memorial Day weekend. It's not due for another 400 miles, but I'm ready to have it done. Once that is done, I am planning some trips to Nashville, Huntsville, Knoxville, Greenville, and Mudville (where there is no joy.)

Stacie and I will be going away to Orlando on business next week so I am going to miss a good BMW rally in Huntsville next weekend. I think this is something I will reserve time for next year. Since I am a little behind with house stuff and will be away from my computer next week, I probably won't be posting or playing until the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Good luck at your tables, and I hope everyone has a good 2 weeks and enjoy the upcoming holiday.

Staying up Late for the Mookie

Because I had such a good time during the WWDN Tuesday night, I decided I would stay up late again and play in Mookie's Wednesday 10 PM EST game. I tried to be a little more patient and play better hands. I wasn't doing a very good job at that. Another one of the problems was everytime I bet, someone would go over the top of me and I didn't like the way the board looked. As usual, when I wussed out preflop by not calling $10 when I'm SB, I just look in dismay at my perfect flop. I don't know why I get into hands I shouldn't be involved in, but when I want to tighten up, I do it at the wrong times. I haven't learned the difference between being afraid of monsters under the bed and running through obvious stop signs. Definitely something I need to look at for improvement.

The hand that knocked me out was my best shot of a double up. I had 2 pair on the flop and Carmen called my allin when she also had a good piece of it. Not as good as I had, but I certainly understand her call because I was short stacked and she had a good hand. I tried not to feel too confident, but I really hoped it would hold up. The River Gods had other plans as Carmen made a higher 2 pair on the river and IGHN. After my 30 seconds of filth, flarn, filth and flarn I was better. I realize it was just bad luck on my part. I would do it again if I had to. I really think Carmen is sweet and she is so fun to mess with. I'm sure she was happy to get the chips and still felt guilty about the suckout. I will have to use this against her next time. This is what happens when you get yourself short stacked and you no longer have threating powers to flex. The good news is I went to bed at 11PM.

The other good news is Surflexus continues to dominate. Congrats to him on the win. I have been trying to put together an Atlanta bloggers home game, but....gulp, I am starting to regret it. I know I will be the fish in that shark tank. Hopefully playing with high quality players like him, mow, 23skidoo, and weak will make me better. I'm sure the lessons won't be cheap, but maybe I can use any new found dark side powers against other poor shmoes online to keep me funded for future blogging games. Speaking of future blogging games, feel free to invite me to any voice chats, I promise I'll try to keep from talking so much.

I hope he doesn't take this as an insult, but FishyMcDonk seems to be the closest blogger to me as far as variance, mood, and experience, but he's got better skills. It could also be I had my best month and 2 good finishes in tournaments that either was named after him or I played against him heads up at the final table. I really like it when he's at my table and I enjoy reading his blog. If you like anything about mine, check him out as well.

Heroes and Villians

Disclaimer: I love reading poker blogs and respect the players in the blogger tourneys.

One of the things I don't understand is how brilliant the "hero" is when he / she bluffs someone and induces a fold, yet when the "villian" goes allin with their A,Q or 7,8 suited and the hero calls with pocket kings, the villian is an idiot that got lucky. I actually play very little and need to continue my book education, but come on, if bluffing is good enough for you, then it should work for others. Sometimes you get caught bluffing and lose your stack and sometimes you get lucky. I agree someone calling your J,J allin preflop with 10,4s and gets runner, runner, runner flush got real lucky and I don't quite understand the call. I know more than one of us has pushed with the hammer only to pull a flush out of our ass to crack someone's pocket pair.

Sometimes the circumstances are a little different. Maybe you call that "maniac" while your holding A,10 because you "know" he's been stealing the blinds. This time, he has a pocket middle pair that hold up. This is one of the parts that I am trying to learn. When do you feel you need to stop contributing to the blinds thief and when do you let it go?

I'm not calling anyone out or trying to justify my play, although maybe I'm laying the groundwork for my defense if I start playing more. It is beginning to sound a bit Hellmuthian out there at times. I know I will learn one step at a time, one MTT at a time, one dollar at a time, and one book at a time. I am not alone in this process, until then, I realize that not everybody will like my play. I am fully open for advice, good natured ribbing, and helpful tools, but please be tolerant of those not as successful and qualified as you. Not everybody is the friggin genius that you are, just kidding. I will continue to read my usual blogs and hope to continue to learn and enjoy your adventures.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox, now on with the bad beat stories.

Odd Man (or Woman) Out

I've had a bit of a revelation this week. Our numbers are dwindling. The number of our group of friends that have no children, that is. Most of our friends have children. It's to be expected. We're thirtysomethings, and it's the natural progression of life. First it's getting married, then buying houses, getting a pet, having children... We've held our own in all of these categories but one. I had gotten used to it because it's been happening one by one for a while. No big deal. But last week my closest friend had her first child, and though I am extremely happy for her, I have to confess that it has been a little odd for me. It's different now. I'm okay with that, but it is different and understandably so. Then last night I had dinner with a group of girlfriends, and halfway through dinner I realized that I was the only one out of the five of us that doesn't have a child. I realized this because the majority of the conversation was about -- you guessed it -- kids! I was fine with it. I enjoyed hearing about their children, but I had absolutely nothing to contribute. So most of the night I was very quiet, which is unlike me! A couple of times I started to break in with a "Dundee did the cutest thing" story, but no one really wants to hear about your dog when they have children. Oh well! That's life. They have cute kid stories to tell and I don't. I have quiet nights when they don't. I sleep all night when they don't. It's just interesting being the odd one out.

I Have Never Laughed So Much At a Memorial

In the Blue Veiner Memorial, CarmenSinCity had expressed earlier that she thought my dog avatar was cute. I told her "doggie wished her well." This was her response and Mookie's follow-up that got lots of laughs from the table. This rivals some of my favorite sayings from my coworker.



It turned out funnier since I didn't say "Dundee wishes you well." Just too perfect. I can only imagine how quiet she was once the words sank in. She was a very good sport and hopefully Don won't kick my ass if I ever see them next time I'm in Vegas.

Congratulation to sniperboy543 for winning the "intimate" game. This guy is a machine. He and mookie99 had a good heads up battle. Even though I got knocked out in the middle, I had alot of fun playing tonight. That was as much needed as a win for me.

At Least I Got 1st in Registration

In the hopes of being in a better place, I have already signed up for the Blue Veiner Memorial. I felt it was a good sign if I could guess the password on the second try. That really makes me feel like a winner, good job Brian, now go get 'em. Am I a dork, or what? See ya tomorrow night.

Filth, Flarn, Filth, and Flarn

That sums up tonight's WWDN. I can't effin believe Quatloos had a hand every single time I played! When I did fold before the flop, it almost always turned out to be the nuts. I know you're not supposed to be results oriented, but other than chatting with Psycoma, that wasn't even a good time. I know it's my fault and my play, but if I don't get better, I'm gonna cash out a buy something fun. I'm sure I'll see you next week because I just can't help looking forward to this damn game. Oh well, back to your lives and I will crawl back in my hole.

25 Things about Vino Queen

1. I love to write.
2. My love of writing drove me to get a B.A. in English.
3. I have had some poetry and short stories published.
4. I've been working on a novel for too many years now. I just can't seem to stay motivated enough to finish it. Maybe one day.
5. It's a good thing I have a job where I get paid to write (even though it's not exactly exciting stuff).
6. I'm far from being a slacker, but I'm not overly ambitious either.
7. I really enjoy drinking wine.
8. The only thing I drink more of than wine is water (80-100 oz/day).
9. I started drinking lots of water when I was in college and figured I could save money by drinking water all the time. Eventually I became addicted to it.
10. I also love food -- cooking it and eating it.
11. Most people are amazed at how much I can eat for my size (I'm rather petite).
12. I don't eat eggs or drink milk.
13. I am a Gemini, but my evil twin doesn't come out unless provoked.
14. I enjoy poker, but I hate gambling. If I play for money, I feel sick to my stomach whenever I'm in a hand.
15. Despite how I feel on the inside, I generally don't have any tells.
16. I've decided to leave the poker playing to my husband. I am a loyal supporter.
17. I am a huge college football fan, particularly my alma mater, Clemson.
18. I love Fall -- the crisp air, the colors and football. I always look forward to September!
19. I am in complete awe of tigers. If not for the legal issues and the dangers, I would own a one.
20. Since I can't have a tiger, I'll stick to my dog. I LOVE my dog. Yes, I am one of those people.
21. When I was five, I got a new pair of Sesame Street shoes. I loved them so much I slept in them. The next day the kids at school made fun of my shoes. I wouldn't wear them again. Kids can be so mean!
22. I had my heart broken when I was 17. Boys can be so mean!
23. I'm on my second marriage. The first almost seems like it never happened, but I learned much from it.
24. This time I married for love and laughter. So far it's paying great dividends.
25. That's enough about me for this go round.