If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you already know that this past week I have been traveling Hawaii. Only one more week to go!

So far, I have been to Oahu, Lanai, and Maui. Hawaii is as beautiful as I had heard (my first time here) and I have enjoyed each island. Next island is the Big Island. Flying home on Thursday.

When you are visiting Hawaii, you MUST:

1. Stay in ocean front room at the Royal Hawaiin in Waikiki
2. Eat at Alan Wong’s on South King Street in Honolulu (Call weeks ahead for a reservation)
   

   “My friends thought I was nuts opening a restaurant in Hawaii on the 3rd floor of an office building with no parking and no ocean view.” (AW) Yet nearly 15 years later, the unique location of Alan Wong’s Restaurant Honolulu continues to be the heart of where it all started and where it all happens.

   Google Map to Alan Wong’s in Honolulu

3. Stay at Four Seasons Manele Bay, Lana’i City, for 3+ nights. Watch dolphins and whales playing right in front of your ocean front room. Take the shuttle to the Four Seasons Lodge to do non-water sports activities like skeet shooting and horseback riding.
   Google Map to Four Seasons Manele Bay

Ooops, time to go… I’ll continue later. Aloha…

This morning I opened my e-mail to find an offer from Phil Hellmuth’s Poker Brat Clothing Company. Phil’s online store is offering a 15% discount off any in-stock item through December 31st. No one in my immediate circle has the interest and enthusiasm for no limit hold’em like I do, so, shopping for poker paraphernalia was not on my list of things to do today. Then I remembered that I do reviews on books, videos and DVDS here, so, I thought, heck, buy one or two DVDs. Get 15% off and do the reviews. Niiiiicce.

Not knowing which DVDs might draw the most favorable reviews, I hopped over to amazon.com and searched for Phil Hellmuth DVDs to see what kinds of reviews had been posted. I was underwhelmed. The reviews are not flattering. SO, I decided to compare prices to see if there was a financial reason I could use to rationalize a purchase. Here’s what I found…

The best deal I saw was on the Supercourse. However, the reviews (only 2 btw), are so negative, that I don’t want to invest my time and money in ordering, having to watch, then having to write reviews. (I didn’t base the decision on just those 2 reviews; I read all the reviews for all the other DVDs/videos as well.)

This little research task helped me realize that I want to give good reviews. I at least want to start out with the premise that the material will be good. So, Thank You Phil Hellmuth for bringing this prejudice to light and helping me understand that I need to re-visit my review strategy. Afterall, a review is a review. I need to be truthful, present the facts, and detached from the outcome.  

And, Thank You Phil for the discount offer. I won’t be taking you up on that this year.

Have you seen any of these videos/DVDs?  Use comments to tell us your review.

Happy Friday!  Thought you’d enjoy a little entertainment after a hard work week…

Here’s another guitar solo by Gary Moore. No vocals. Starts out slow, but, ramps up to an unbelievable frenzy. Grab your coffee. It’s about 10 minutes. Worth evey second. He’s quite a technician. Feel like I was taken back to school on this one.

Gary Moore – Live – Messiah Will Come Again

Got a favorite performance? Share in comments…

Last night I played my eleventh EPT (Eastern Poker Tour) No Limit Hold Em tournament in Milford MA. I wanted to win so that I could secure entry into the Eastern Poker Tour’s Championship event in January. I came SOOOO close…but it wasn’t meant to be.

Played heads-up. Heads-up play started out looking good for me. First hand, my A 5 o beat my opponent’s pr K.  I had my opponent out-chipped almost 6:1 (like $290K to 50K). Then it was over in a matter of 4 - 5 hands. I got my money in with the best cards every time…and the boards favored him. 

Here’s how the reversal of fortune played out…

One hand…I’m in the Small Blind. Blinds were 20K and 40K. Other player is down to the felt and goes All In with 9 2 o. I had K 6 o and figured I had to call with any two cards in order to finish this up. I’m favored…and he gets two pr and doubles up.

Another hand…I was in the Small Blind. Blinds still at 20K and 40K. Other player goes All In with 5 4 o. I called. He gets a straight and doubles up again. I learn that he is going to shove with any two cards.

The very next hand… Blinds still at 20K and 40K. I was in the Big Blind with a pr A. Other player had Q J o and went all in. I called. Board came with K ? 9. Forgetable card on the Turn and the River was a 10. A miraculous hit! He doubles up again!

Came in 2nd. Won $25.00. Earned 122 points for the event, and my average points earned per tournament is at 65+.

After 6 Eastern Poker Tour tournaments, I was in 134th place in the Season’s Top 200 for the Central Massachusetts Region.  This was my eleventh EPT No Limit Hold Em tournament, so, once the numbers are upated, I should move up substantially. Cut-off ranking for the Championship is currently at 63rd place.

Not too many posts. Been working on adding pages. Added:

1. 2009-2010 WSOP Circuit Schedule
2. Events remaining on the 2009-2010 WPT Schedule
3. List of Poker Hall of Fame Members

Wednesday night I played my tenth no limit hold em tournament with the Eastern Poker Tour (EPT). I was out before the end of the second level. Call it 28 minutes. Saddest part is that it took me longer to drive to the venue than the amount of time I had played.  Attempting to salvage my drive, I hung around for the “bad beat” table. I blinded out of that in 15 minutes.

During regular playI really wasn’t getting good cards. Not that that should stop me, but, I believe that if you are going to make a play, you should have a hand that has some possibility of hitting.  I was not getting those types of hands.

The first hand that put a dent in my stack depleted it by $4.1K. (I probably had 9.4K in my stack.) The blinds were at $100/$200. My opponent check-called all the way to the River. On the River he bet $1700. There was $6900 in the pot.  

Hummm… I had Ks Up – a pr Ks and the pr Qs on the board. Had he slow-played As? Ks? Could he possibly have another Queen?  I made a comment about the 2 Qs spooking me and he responded with something vague. As he did, he leaned back in his chair in a micro second of self-assuredness. (Thank you Joe Navarro!) So he had the Q. I called the $1700 in case my read was wrong, I didn’t want to leave that big a pot to someone without a fight. Got my tail whipped but my read validated.  Guess that is the cost of doing business.

The second hand…Blinds were $200/$400. I was UTG. After the flop, I had 2 pr – Ks and a small Pr. My opponent was in the Big Blind. He bet the minimum on each round (which I called thinking that I was going to make a move on the River), until the River when he bet enough to put me all in. Hummm… The River brought another J, so now there were 2 Js on the board. Is it possible that he has a J in his hand? Oh YEAH, it was possible. He had played J 7 from the Big Blind, and I let him get the win by not raising on the Flop or the Turn. One J came on the flop, but, I think he would have given it up then since I was playing really tight and had opened the pot from UTG. BUT – You have to think it through then and there and pull the trigger. I was slow playing Ks up and got burnt.

September 2009 was the first month that I played no limit hold’em tournaments with the Eastern Poker Tour. So how’d I do?

September stats for PokaPaloma
I played in 8 tournaments and placed in the top sixteen 5 times. I earned 519 points for the month. I played in two regions: Central Massachusetts and Worcester City, so, I have a rank in both regions.

For all tournaments (combined regions), I placed 72 out of the top 100.

For Central Mass., I placed 49 out of the top 100.

For Worcester Region, I placed 31 of out the top 100.

I am looking forward to my trip to Mohegan Sun Saturday night. I’m hoping for better results than my trip in April. You’ll recall…

• Poker Debut at Mohegan Sun
• My Poker Lesson at Mohegan Sun

I think the recent live play experience with the EPT will  be a big help, and it has taught me even greater patience. I’ll have to remember that the recent live play has been in no limit hold’em tournaments, and, although I’ll be playing no limit hold’em, it will be straight live play. No need to feel pressured to go All In.  Take the other players in. Pace myself. Move when I can. 

Some friends will not be joining me as the word on the street is that Mohegan Sun is not giving any winnings, well, not as frequently as Foxwoods… Hummm…I am hoping to prove them wrong!

I will write up a new review of the Poker Room (old review is Moghegan Sun Poker Room) and recount the events in the blog on Sunday.

Wednesday night I played the No Limit Hold’em tournament held by the EPT in Milford, MA.

My goal this tournament was to place in the final 4, and in the meantime, keep an accurate chip count of my stack, the pot, and the other player’s stacks.

I got some decent hands from time to time. I played cautiously with mediocre hands because there was a belligerent drunk two to my left whose only move for a while was All In. He was scooping lots of pots because no one wanted to put their tournament on the line when the blinds were at $100/$200, $200/$400, $300/$600.

Curiously enough, both times that I got pocket Aces, the final two in the hand after the flop were me and the same other player. So, once I won a big pot and the next time he won the big pot. Fair enough.

I got pocket rockets two times! One time they held up and the other they got beat by a Q 9 two-pair suck out on the Turn. The time that they held up, I got congratulations from the other players at the table; not just for having As, but, for playing them so well. I had intended to play them so that they had no idea I had As — and they didn’t. I didn’t slow play them, but I was patient. I called the other player’s raises, re-raised modestly, and won the hand.

I had played As the Friday night before. Won the hand and got a similar reaction from my table mates. I couldn’t help but think about the results of the Donkey Test that I had taken back in May 2009.  My comment about the profile the Donkey Test had created for me was:

My Big Pair play is my best skill. My score is better than 85.69% of all persons taking this test.

I’m thinking that maybe there is more to that Donkey Test than I had originally thought.

Anyway, I was grateful to be getting better cards than Sunday night, even though I was feeling a little stifled with the one-play drunk on my left.

I made it to the final 16 (<– milestone for the Eastern Poker Tour tournaments. Anyone who places 16th or higher receives bonus points). When we got down to 16, my table was split, and I joined a table with serious but fun players, two of whom, I had played with before, and the drunk guy was shuffled off to the other table.

Final Hand
I sat through a whole round without getting beyond the flop. Then I was in the Big Blind again. My stack was about $21K. It was the last hand at the $600/$1200 level. Everyone limped, so, I checked my option with a Q 6 offsuit. Flop came 9 Q Q. I checked and the other two left in the hand checked. Turn came something like a 3 or an 8. I bet 3x the Big Blind, $3600. One player folded and the other raised All In. Hummm. What do I know about this player? I had only played him once before. As I recalled, he would have the goods. So, I knew he had a Q. The question was whether he was slow playing a Full House, or whether he just had a poor kicker. I decided that he would not slow play a Full House, so he had to have a lousy kicker. But was it lousier than my 6?

The pot had $28.6K. I had $4800 invested. If I folded, I’d have $16.2K; 10x the Big Blind (starting the next hand). If I went for it, I would double up and he would be down to the felt. The River was still to come, and we had equal chances to hit a Full House. If the River did not make a Full House for either of us, there were 6 cards that could beat me [7, 8, 9, T, J, K]. I called.

As soon as I put my money in the pot, he flashed a Q at me with a big, wide grin. So, I returned the favor and flashed my Q at him. That got the table’s attention! That big grin instantly turned into a furrowed brow, and he was genuinely concerned. Sheepishly, he turned over a T. I showed my 6. The table breathed a sigh of relief to have their “regular” player win the hand.  I thanked everyone for a fun hand and bid them good night.

I placed 15th out of 32. Gained 43 points. Missed my goal to come in 4th or better. Practiced counting the chips to a greater degree of accuracy.

Sunday night I played in my 7th No Limit Hold’em tournament held by the EPT in Worcester, MA. There was a low turn out (only 13 runners), so, I expected to excel… Oh yeah… The whole night was frustrating. I had come to play and just was not getting any cards. I don’t need stellar cards, but, something to give me a little fight. I spent the night practicing patience. It felt like I only played 5 or 6 hands in the roughly 2 hours I was there. Maybe that was good because I made it to the final table.

Final Hand
After a night of lousy cards, I finally got a pair of 8s. I was thinking “Finally something to play with!“  So what happens? The Under the Gun (UTG) went All In with $7600 in chips. Everyone folds to me. I was out of position with $7800 in chips. I was thinking that this was the best hand I had seen all night – yet I have 4 on my left to act. Not a good idea…Blinds are escalating…Do it…Don’t do it… I decided that I had to take my chances, hoped that the UTG had 5s or 6s and everyone else would fold, and went All In – and the Big Blind calls. (Queue the Jaws music now.)

The UTG turns over a pr 7s. I turn over my 8s, and the Big Blind turns over a pr of Qs. BAM! Just like that. The board brought a bunch of blanks. No one improved and the Big Blind took the pot.

I placed 8th and gained 80 points.