A new poker site...well, "new" to me anyway

I usually play poker using the Ultimate Bet software. The interface is really easy to use, they have constant tourneys and sit n gos, and Krazy Kanuck is just fun as hell to watch play.

I recently gave Poker Stars a shot, mainly because they have huge (I'm talking HUGE) tournaments that run throughout the day. To give you an idea, Ultimate Bet has the Krazy Kanuck special tournament every Sunday. It's a $500 buy in tourney which usually attracts a little more than 100 entrants. Top prize usually ends up around $20,000. No small potatoes, for sure, but get a load of this. The last Sunday of every month, Poker Stars has it's own $500 buy in tourney; this past Sunday, over 700 entrants were involved with the top prize hitting over $97,000!!

Now that's a big tourney. The size buy in tourneys I pay ($5-$20) usually attract over 1,000 entrants at Poker Stars, making the paydays pretty substantial, thus worth a look. :-)

I'll let you all know how I end up doing.

The Right Way To Deal With Terrorists

To be honest, it's really simple; kill them before they kill you. All the terrorists are interested in doing is killing as many of us as possible; to stop them, we must kill or, if possible, capture all of them. This is not some group that has any demand other than the complete rule of Islam over the Earth. There is no room for compromise, no offer that can be tendered; it is our submission or our death that is wanted.

I for one refuse to give into these demands and, to show that, refuse to vote for any politician that does not take this threat as the serious matter that it is.

An Interesting Piece with Michael Moore

Evan Coyne Maloney runs the great web site Brain Terminal. Evan has the most unique take in blogging in that much of his site actually has videos that he has taken himself then edited for presentation on his web site. This video, in which he scores a coup by interviewing Michael Moore on the street, asks a very interesting question up front, yet in the end the realization that Evan comes upon, strangely enough with help from Michael Moore, is surprisingly simple, yet powerful.

Conservatives need to stop whining about the liberal bias in Hollywood and instead work through that bias and create conservative films and TV shows that are so good, not even the liberals running Hollywood can turn them down. Moore actually agrees with this and uses his own experience of just going out there and making a good film to help Evan come to this realization.

Moore's views are so out of whack as to be dangerous, which is a shame because, judging from this video, he would appear to be a pretty nice guy otherwise. When it comes to world affairs, however, you simply cannot tolerate the "nice" guy that will do the country damage, a la Jimmy Carter.

The Good News Series Continues

I'm sure if you're reading this, you've already heard about the "Good News from Iraq" series of posts. If not, you owe it to yourself to check out volume 4, then go back and read the other 3. Some amazing things are being and have been done in Iraq, and the fact that the mainstream news media isn't covering even a sliver of these events is outrageous.

A little late, but it deserves a look

I've provided a link to the Day by Day cartoon series on the right side of the blog, but even I'm not able to check it daily (which is a shame because it's so good).

One day of the strip, here, has a very poignant reminder of why Reagan (The Great Communicator) will always be more revered than Clinton (The Communicator without a message). Clinton may be the Democrats Reagan, but he will never, ever reach and effect the American public the way Reagan did.

Well that's no fun

Yesterday playing poker, I ran into a classic situation of a very, very bad play beating me due to luck.

I had 6 7 of spades in the big blind. It was checked to me, so I checked to see a flop. Out came Kc 10c 8d. For those of you not that "into" poker, this was a pretty darn good flop for me. I had an inside straight draw (if a 9 came out, I would hit it) and a flush draw. There were four of us in the hand; we all checked to the button, who made a pot sized bet. I wasn't about to fold, figuring him for a pair of K's or 10's at this point. I thought I'd pay to see one more card, and if I didn't hit get out of the pot. Well the turn comes the 5c. So now I've hit my flush and have a possible straight flush going. I decide to check to try and extract a few more dollars from him, and, like clockwork, he makes another pot sized bet. I go over the top and raise it by about the pot amount. He doesn't even think and calls. The river brings the Jc; this is one of those situations where, even though you know you're beat, you have to call simply because of the pot odds involved. Sure enough, he shows the Ac with a 10d (pair of 10's on the flop, just like I thought), and he collects a pretty large pot.

In thinking about the hand, there was nothing I could have done differently except perhaps raised on the flop when I only had my draws. This may have kept him from leading out on the turn, figuring I had the flush, but I have a feeling he would have called regardless and gotten lucky anyway.

There's always next time.

Moore's latest lies

I haven't seen Michael Moore's new film, so I can't say whether it's any good or not, but Christopher Hitchens seems to make many points I think I would make if the scenes he describes are even close to correct in this devastating piece. And remember, this is coming from Christopher Hitchens. (Hat tip to Powerline).

Brother suffers a bad beat

There are few things in the world more annoying than a really, really bad poker player getting extremely lucky. One thing that is more annoying than that is when that really, really bad player thinks they are really, really good.

My brother was in a poker tournament just yesterday and was one of the chip leaders with about 60,000 in chips. To his right was the overall chips leader with about 75,000 in chips. After the chip leader limped in, my brother posted a huge raise before the flop. The chip leader called. The flop came out, and my brother bet another 15,000 in chips. The chip leader thought for a second, then called. The turn came out and my brother went all in for the remaining 19,000+ chips he had. The other guy is sitting there thinking and thinking, and both my brother and I knew he was on a draw. The guy calls.

My brother shows his hand - K K. The guy shows his hand - 5 6 of hearts. Guess what happens next? The river brings a third heart to the board and my brother is out of the tournament holding K K against 5 6 suited.

What really burned me up was the guy exclaiming, "Yes!" after his suck out was complete. That told me he thought it was a calculated risk that paid off.

In reality, if you had seen the hands my brother played during the tourney and paid attention, you'd see he was playing only premium hands, most often pocket pairs of Jacks or higher. The guy should've folded before the flop, then on the flop, then on the turn, but he didn't, risking almost his entire stack on nothing more than a draw.

We'll get him next time, bro.

For all the talk of empires....

One of the most annoying charges you hear from the people opposed to the war in Iraq is that it's just another example of American imperialism (Michael Moore went so far as to call the terrorists in Iraq the "minutemen" of today, fighting against the bad imperialists.)

For an example of what imperialism looks like, read this. In less than 10 years, China has taken Hong Kong from being a free state with popular elections for all public offices to a state in which the populace can not vote for their leader, first, followed quickly with the inability to vote for ANY lawmakers.

But handing over power to the interim government of Iraq and forging ahead to meet our stated goal of having nationwide free elections in that country by early next year (LESS THAN TWO YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF SADDAM!) is being called imperialism.

The dividends, in full view

It was only 60 years ago when Japan was a powerful enemy that had struck America on it's own soil. Today, the Japanese have pledged to keep their troops in Iraq in a show of solidarity with America.

Before the warlords of Japan were defeated in World War II, you would have been called a fool by the American public if you said that one day, during their lifetime, they'd see the Japanese and American militaries working together towards a common goal.

Think of what you're hearing today about the prospects of a free Iraq becoming a model for the rest of the middle east; you'll hear that it's a utopian vision that can never come about (to which I say we're not looking to recreate Eden, we just want a stable, democratic Iraq to come out of all this), or even the statement that "the people of the middle east don't want/can't handle democracy (which strikes me as a borderline racist viewpoint)."

If the words that have been spoken recently by the interim Prime Minister of Iraq are any scale of what the majority of Iraqis believe, I think the dividends of this fight will become as apparent as have the dividends of dispatching with the warlords of Japan. We will, in time, gain a friend in the middle east that will shine the example of liberty and freedom for all other middle easterners to view.

It just means we're winning

By all accounts, the violence will get worse the closer we get to the June 30th transition of power in Iraq, and this story is just the first of many more we'll hear about. It must be remembered that in all wars, the last ditch efforts of those about to perish always makes the situation look bleaker than it really is. What we have here are some desperate terrorists trying to derail the transition process by any means. So long as we stand firm and do not let these cowards dictate the fate of the country, you will see a stabilization of Iraq after June 30th, until it is time for the general elections scheduled for early next year, when we'll again see an uptick in attacks. This type of thing will occur for years and years, have no doubt, but with firm guidance and a resolve to finish the job, Iraq will become much more like Afghanistan than it is today.

Weekend Poker Update

I'm going to try and present a weekend poker update every Monday, considering the weekend is when I'm able to play the most poker (I do have a "real" job, you know). This weekend was pretty successful in that I finished 4th in a rebuy tourney which netted me about $400 (1st was $2,000....next time, next time). Other than that I entered some satellite tourneys which could have gotten me in the big tourney that the site runs, a $500 entry on Sunday nights (1st prize for that tourney is usually about $20,000). My best showing in the satellites I entered was 16th, but only 6 places paid an entry unfortunately (next time, next time). I'll keep you updated whenever a significant event occurs.

If you had any doubts

In this story, the methods used by the terrorists in the world are shown to have come to our shores. Blowing up shopping malls, with kids aplenty, is exactly what this scum would love to be able to do. Do not ever forget; this is a war in which our enemy has sworn to kill each and every last one of us. For those that don't believe we should be on the offensive in this war, I ask you to consider how many of these "blow up a mall" type plots will slip through the system now, and how many do you think would slip through if we weren't actively chasing down terrorists in the Middle East right now?

New name, same blog

For anyone that has read this blog, of which I think I am the only one, I just wanted to point out the new name of the blog will not really change the blog at all. What I've found is that when people learn you're a Dodger fan, that doesn't make them want to talk about the Dodgers. However, when you say you're a poker fan, people like talking about it whether they actively play or not. Thus the name change, plus you can expect more poker related news, obviously.

A toy maker that DOESN'T want a deal with Disney?!

Wow, this has caught everyone off guard in "The Biz." As the article mentions, companies are usually tripping over themselves to be able to manufacture and distribute toys for Disney.

Either Disney was asking for way, WAY too much money and/or control over the products, or Applause has just made a really big blunder. My instincts tell me Disney is pushing hard to up its bottom line to cover for some of it's other divisions (TV being the biggest problem at the moment).

There they go again

I would love to get the real story behind this story.

If the sentiments from the people of Iraq match those given in the story, then I can't help but believe that the Iraqi people are an ungrateful bunch. However, if, as I firmly believe, most Iraqis are more prone to think along the lines of their interim prime minister, Allawi, then this is yet another case of the media trying to do everything they can to undermine the effort in Iraq.

I personally can't believe that most people in Iraq think America is responsible for their current power woes; simply being from the Middle East doesn't negate common sense in people, no matter how hard the American media tries to put things in that light.

To all those naysayers of the '80's

Of all the wonderful tributes being written about Ronald Reagan, this has to be among my favorites. What I really like about this article is how it points out how very wrong President Reagan's detractors in the 1980's were, to the point of re-printing articles from these detractors from the 1980's and showing how they are now trying to cover their respective bums. As Rush Limbaugh said today on his program, this week is going to incense President Reagan's detractors because their failure at revising the history of Reagan's presidency will be shown over and over and over for the entire week.

Farewell, Gipper

Yesterday brought sad news of the death of Ronald Reagan. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Reagan family.

If any one man deserves credit for showing America and her people of the greatness they could achieve, he is that man.

Coming on the heels of President Nixon's resignation and President Carter's apologistic incompetence, President Reagan gave America new hope in a very troubled time of it's history. He led the charge against the Soviet empire at a time when appeasement and detente (at the least) were the fads of the day. He never wavered in his unbridled support of freedom the world over.

I feel a personal connection with President Reagan because I fervently believe my family was able to accomplish what it has because of his policies and belief in the American people. Neither of my parents went to college, but through good old fashioned hard work and discipline have been able to give to their family the opportunities for success that America promises to anyone willing to work for it. My parents, of course, get all the credit for working hard to make their dreams a reality, but I have felt, for quite some time, that the policies instituted by President Reagan had an absolutely direct impact on my parents ability to reach their dreams.

I was only 10 years old when President Reagan took office, but it was when he took office that I started to pay attention to the greater issues in not just politics, but life.

I know I am not alone.

Reality vs. the Liberals

There's enough evidence of the left's desire to paint Iraq as an unqualified disaster from which there is no return to choke a horse, which is why reading this article from Victor Davis Hanson is a must.

In bullet point fashion, he brings up the major issues always pointed to by the left as failures, then calmly and almost poetically shows why these arguments are wrong.

Hanson expands on the new Tet thinking that is permeating the media these days, and it is a welcome expansion indeed.

Psychological Explanations

In this article, Victor Davis Hanson tries (and succeeds, in my opinion) to explain what many people, including myself, have wondered for some time; how can so many people change their views on whether the war in Iraq was a good and moral decision? You've seen the polls, and Hanson mentions some numbers in his article.

This article helped me understand the "swing" voter and make logical sense of it; Hanson has a way of doing that to me.

Tiananmen 15 years later

Not everyone has forgotten the brutality unleashed at Tiananmen Square. Please read the entire article, as the main point of this anniversary isn't explained until the final line:

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed on the night of June 3-4, 1989 when People's Liberation Army soldiers backed by tanks shot their way through intersections blocked by Beijing residents and wrested control of the square.

Shooting people block by block, for wanting a say in their government.

How about $5.79....per gallon!

When I first read this article I thought they goofed, but there it is, $5.79 per gallon for gas in England. In reading the article, I was amazed to see that the government has a $3.30 per gallon (PER GALLON!) tax on fuel. They tax gas in a higher amount than I pay, and I live in Southern California where prices have hit $2.40 per gallon.

So for all those wanting to socialize everything under the sun....don't buy an SUV.

The Reality of Fallujah

An excellent point in the presentation of the war by the administration has been written by Robert Kaplan. For the short form, must read part, visit Powerline here.

By focusing on Fallujah, which is what the media would hope to make the poster child for all the reasons why President Bush shouldn't be re-elected, Kaplan makes a very compelling argument for the need in the military of, in essence, a P.R. division that would be able to explain clearly why we are succeeding in the various missions being carried out. Remember watching the images of the SMART bombs being seemingly driven into a specific building? I know I was in awe, and it made it very easy to believe the reports we heard of less than usual civilian casualties, etc. That kind of presentation should become the norm.