Well, as promised, this will be the final blog here “At the poker table.” In June 2005, I was the first live blog that the Times Herald-Record ran, believe it or not, and it shows with the amount of spam comments that are on some of the original posts.

I started this as a dumb add on to a story I wrote, for a section that doesn’t exist anymore, for an editor who doesn’t work at the paper anymore, about the weekly Texas Hold Em tournament my friends and I play for $10 or $20 a time. And those friends - the guys who come to poker week in and week out - are the reason I kept at it for so long.

You know who you are - John Cabrera, Jason Hurban, Charlie Tausk, Ryan Jordan, Paul Cabrera, Jim Silva, Dave Colabella, Johnny Gartiser, Mike Lamar, Nishan Mohammad and on a less frequent basis, Rob Sckalor, Eric Harris, Jason Foster, Harry Gomez, Leara Tausk, Shawn Chichester, Mike Fontana, Dennis Lussier and probably a few other people that I’m forgetting.

I don’t know how many people outside of the ones who play in this game actually read this blog. Probably no one. I’ve never had the balls to ask how many hits I get or spell check or reread it. But, because you guys told me you liked it, I spent way more time on this then I ever thought at the beginning.

And, in turn, I’m a better poker player for it. Sure, my golden poker achievement is probably placing 19th out of 130 people on a Monday morning at Foxwoods, but the guys I play with every week are really great players. We’re not pros by any means and not one of us could ever do this for a living, but playing with this same group of guys week in and week out has helped me so much. We’ve also had a ton of fun and will continue to do so.

Sure, there’s been some yelling, some fighting, some email drama, some terrible beats, some vicious suckouts and a whole lot of money won and lost. But in the end, without these guys I could never slow play a set of Aces, comfortably make a raise with small suited connectors or fold three of a kind with a possible flush or straight draw on the board. Because of this game, in the past two years or so, I’ve always been in the black when it comes to poker winnings.

I think we’ve all made each other better players and hopefully by reading (or writing, in my case) this blog, so have one or two others.

And on that note, I’m all in. It’s the right move every time except the last time and this is that one time. Thanks for reading and keep playing poker. Sure it’s not as fashionable as it was a few years ago, but it’s still one of the greatest games in the world.

If you ever want a game, shoot an email to germstanyu@yahoo.com. I’m out like a donkey at the Rio.

The final live blogged poker game was certainly an exciting one. And I would have blogged about it earlier but the snow came, as did the new year, and I was lazy. But - here’s what happened.

And I’ll do one final reflective blog before putting “At the poker table” on the rail for good.

10. Paul (rebuy)
9. Eric (rebuy)
8. Nishan (rebuy)
- Paul (rebuy)
- Paul (rebuy)
7. Jim
6. Ryan
5. Josh
4. Jason F
3. Me
- Eric
- Nishan
2. Dave
- Paul
1. Jason H

Early on, it was the Dave show. He was calling big bets with Q2 and hitting two pair and Paul, who got 99 twice in a row, was sent to rebuy city twice before he knew what hit him. Nishan, making his first appearance in a long while, had a similar fate. He three bet all in on the flop and got one caller, Jim, with a flush draw. Running 10’s gave Jim trips and beat Nishan’s top pair.

The hand of the night happened soon after and cemented Jason H’s chip lead. He raises preflop and gets two callers. Flop comes A, Q, 7. Paul checks, Jason moves all in, Jim calls as does Paul. Paul has trip 7s (hence his check) Jim has A9 and Jason has AK. It looks like Paul has it locked up, until J, 10 comes on the turn and river giving Jason a straight and tripling him up.

After Paul lost for the third straight time, he began to heat up. Got AA a few times, hit another set, and knocked out a few players. One player he didn’t knock out was Eric, who finally won a hand by playing Q10. So, on the following hand, I get Q10. It folds around to me and - as usual, because I’m stupid - Dave is sitting to my left. In the small blind, I decide to get saucy and move all in. He quickly calls with A9. I’m murdered and just like that, a night of solid poker ends because I simply can not figure out what Dave is going to do when I’m in a hand.

For example, this play. Paul makes it 3000 preflop, Jason H (the big stack) folds A10 and Dave calls. Flop comes AK9. Dave best 1500, Paul reraises all in. Dave thinks for a while and calls with J9. Paul flips 66. What a great call with bottom pair. But, Paul was heating up and on the river came the third 6 of death, taking about 10000 chips away from Dave. After that, he was on tilt, made a huge bluff with 7 high and was out in third place.

Heads up between Jason and Paul took forever. It looked like Jason was going to win easily, but with a board of KKA66, which is normally a chop, Paul moves all in and Jason calls, playing the board. Paul has a flush, beating Jason’s 2 pair and crushing him. He battled back though, calling all in with a flush drat a hitting it, then having 55 vs. Paul’s 44 and winning that. Finally, as was the theme of the night, Jason’s A9 all in is dominated by Paul’s AJ. But the worst hand wins when a 9 comes on the flop and Jason - who had been icy cold for the past several months, wins the final tournament of 2008.

And a partridge in a pear tree.

Poker this week was Holiday themed as Dave’s mom went all out and had the thing catered. So not only were we all gluttonous with our eating, we doubled the buy in to boot and I blogged less, simply because I was eating and concentrating on getting *this* close to winning the huge pot.

11. Charlie (rebuy)
10. Jason H (rebuy)
9. Harry
- Jason H
- Charlie
8. Jason F
7. Ryan
6. Dream
5. Eric
4. Paul
3. Jim
2. Me
1. Dave

First thing you’ll notice is we had an overstuffed table too. So because of that we decided to limit rebuys, which lead to an early hand where I folded a nut flush draw on the turn. With AKc I raise and get two callers. Flop comes rags with two clubs. Two checks, I bet and Jason F check raises me. I call. Turn brings a blank and this time he bets big. I think for a while, know the final rebuy is coming, but realize i don’t need to throw it away on an early hand. So I fold. Rabbit hunting reveled that the flush did come, but no matter.

Final rebuy hand Paul is in the big blind. Charlie moves all in. Jason moves all in and Paul calls. Charlie has 48 and we all laugh. Jason has J3 and we all laugh again. Paul flips AA. Wow. Talk about the time to wake up with the best possible hand. It of course holds up and he knocks out two players. A little while later, Paul had lost a bunch of chips so when Dave makes a big raise, Paul reraises all in. He’s at risk again. And Jason H calls, as does Dave! All in three handed sucks…unless you pick up AA again! Which Paul does, Jason has rags and Dave has KK! The Aces hold.

From here, I didn’t really write much down until it got three handed. I was the short stack and Dave was the big favorite. He folds on the button, Jim calls and I check with 34. Flop comes 567. Bingo bango. Jim moves all in and I quickly call with my flopped straight. He had top top, A7 and can’t believe what he walked into.

Heads up, even with that knockout, I’m behind. However Dave makes a move with a suited Ace and I just happen to have AK, which doubles me up. I do the same back to him with A3 and he calls with Q10. If I win this, I win. Flop comes Q, 10, x. I double him back up. Finally, I get him to call my all in raise with 99 with Q3. I’m way ahead and looking to double up again. However, with the home felt advantage and the good karma of two pizzas, fifty wings, a six foot hero and more, the poker gods bring two Queens on the flop for the victory.

What did end up mattering.

As this poker blog slowly comes to its end, because our game is doing that, we picked up another regular: Jason F, who has played in the past. When Jason F. isn’t playing poker, he runs a successful outdoor type business that includes plowing. So…if you’re a Simpsons fan, then you probably know who won tonight based on the title.

7. Jim (rebuy)
6. Paul (rebuy)
- Paul
5. Jason H
4. Charlie
- Jim
3. Me
2. Harry
1. Jason F

I knock out Jim early with one of my better reads…ever. I raise to 200 with KQ and two people call. Flop comes JQ3. Jim bets 800, Charlie folds and the action is to me. Jim was in the big blind so his call could be with QJ or AQ or 33. But, with those hands, I feel like he probably would have checked on the flop cause he’s so far ahead. So I feel like my hand is just good enough to make me the favorite. (Does that make sense? Basically, if my hand was stronger, I would have just called, but because it was not a strangle lock, I felt strong) So I raised him big. And he pushed all in. And when he did that, I figured my read was wrong but had to call for like a few hundred chips more. In fact he had Q9 and I double up early.

Paul goes out to Mr. Plow when his flush and straight draws don’t come and then, his top pair runs into bottom set and he decided two bust outs are enough for him.

The tournament was pretty much decided though when Jason H comes in for his first raise of the night, 1200. Charlie reraises to 3000 and Harry moves all in. I die laughing because Jason picked the WORST spot ever to finally raise. He does decide to call, as does Charlie. Its 66 for Jason, AJ for Charlie and KK for Harry. The Kings hold up and both Jason and Charlie are out in one hand.

With a board of 10, 10, 10, K, K, Jim holds a King and Mr. Plow holds a 10. Ouch.

Last week I talked about riding a rush. Well, I started my own rush with this hand. I raised to 1800 with KQ and got two callers. So, it’s a big pot. Flop comes 843 and I’m on the button. Both players check and, even though I have nothing, I push all in. They both fold and I’m healthy. I win with pocket 6s, pocket 9’s and then knock out Jim with pocket Kings. The following hand, now the obvious chip leader, I get QQ. I make a raise, Harry moves all in and I quickly call. He has AK. Let’s ride the rush! King! I get chopped down huge and am back down to my original 4000 chips. Harry then knocks me out when I move all in with K9 vs. his A7.

Heads up between Mr. Plow and Harry goes for a good 20 minutes until it’s pocket 2’s vs. pocket 3’s and Mr. Plow hits a two. Game over.

Have you ever had six of your friends scream in your face all at once? How about on three separate occasions, within 10 minutes at the poker table? That happened to me at poker last night. And I’ll explain why….

8. Charlie (rebuy)
7. Jim (rebuy)
6. Me (rebuy)
5. Jason
4. Ryan (rebuy)
3. Paul
2. Leara
- Charlie
- Jim
1. Harry
- Me
- Ryan

I took a lot of notes tonight on some great hands and I’ll give you some of the highlights, but really I’m going to write about the dilemma I faced that resulted in the mass screaming.

Early on, it looked like Harry was unstoppable. He knocked out Charlie and Jim right off the bat and took a huge pot off of me too. Jason played a fantastic hand against Jim when he rivered trip Aces, checked it and Jim moved all in. Unfortunately, Jim had the case Ace and a better kicker knocking him out.

The story of the screaming really started after Jim folded the winning hand three times in a row. He ends up saying “I’m calling with anything,” I look down and see pocket Aces. So I basically pretend like I have nothing cause I know he’s going to call, and it ends up being a huge hand where I triple up. I got KK a few hands later and won yet another big hand. So basically, the momentum had swung to me as I then knock out Leara and Charlie back to back.

At this point, I’m the monster chip leader and decide that tonight - with these chips - I want to win. So when there’s a raise and a call, I fold K6. The flop comes KK6 and not only did Harry have a K, Ryan had a big pair. So I would have won the tournament right there. A few hands later, again, a raise and a call and I fold K8. Flop comes 884 and both the other players end up all in - my trips would have held up winning the tournament. A few hands later Ryan moves all in, Harry reraises all in and even though I had limped with 33, I fold. I’m behind right? Of course I’m right - its 99 vs. A10. The flop comes 344 making me a full house and, again, I would have won the tournament.

This is where the screaming comes in.

The screaming began because everyone A-Wanted me to make these calls cause I would have ended it and B-Because they felt like I had so many chips I should call everything, especially after folding the winner two times. I maintained, though, that I was playing my cards, the situation and the players around me. I believe in rushes and I believe in riding them when they happen, but I don’t believe in pissing away chips because you would have flopped a full house two hands ago. Pocket 3’s against pocket 9’s and A10 is NOT a good hand. I don’t even want to think of the odds of not only hitting one of the two 3’s left, but also the board pairing and it being a full house. It’s not good odds. So I was getting yelled at. And I started yelling back. And I continued to just play my cards. But the rush was over. Ryan started getting good hands and though I fought valiantly, I ended up in 2nd place when my two pair ran into his straight.

It’s an interesting argument - do you just play anything with a big chip stack, raises in front of you and a good string of luck? Or do you sit there, nurse the stack and play your game. I decided on the latter, it didn’t work out but I have NO REGRETS at laying down those hands, even if everyone was yelling at me.

This evening marks the beginning of my short December vacation, which basically means - I don’t feel like blogging.

So here are tonight’s results. I won’t even bitch about how I totally felt like it was my night when I had pocket Kings and 2 all ins in front of me, only to get 2 outted on the river. Or when I was all in, turned a straight and was boated on the river. No. I won’t talk about that. I won’t talk about how once A-F’N-GAIN I finished four. Nope. And I certainly won’t talk about how Jason H easily played the best tonight but simply could not touch the luck of Paul who, heads up, was behind before the flop literally 10 times and won. Nope - I’ll just list the results and then make an announcement.

7. Jim (rebuy)
6. Me (rebuy) - (thank you pocket Kings)
- Jim (rebuy)
5. Jason H (rebuy)
4. Jason F (a good 90 min after the above)
3. Ryan
- Jim
- Me
2. Charlie
- Jason H
1. Paul

So that was tonight. And, for reasons that will come out soon enough, I’d like to say this.

I AM GOING TO STOP WRITING THIS BLOG AT THE END OF 2008

I dare you not to come back here next week.

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, poker was all about family. My younger brother Dennis was in the house and everyone was playing “babies,” which is poker terminology for small cards. Some of that worked out, some of it didn’t. Here is the tale.

8. Charlie (rebuy)
7. Dennis (rebuy)
6. Ryan (rebuy)
- Ryan
5. Jim
4. Me
3. Paul
- Charlie
2. Jason
- Dennis
1. Dave

My brother said he hadn’t played poker in a few months and that rust showed at the beginning. He called all the way to the river with a 9 high flush against Jim whom, we all know, always has a king. He was knocked out soon after by me when my J8 in the big blind hit top pair against his middle pair of 9s. Charlie - the defending champ - was also out early when three people made big preflop calls and he reraised all in, only to step in the bear trap of Dave who had pocket Kings.

Some ups and downs later, Dennis limped, Charlie limped, Jim made it 1900, Dave called, my brother reraised all in, Charlie and Jim all called. We have about a 10,000 chip pot pre-flop. Charlie has 44, Jim has 99, my brother has A8 and lord knows what Dave had. Long story short, without anyone holding a K - the board of AQJJ10 favored my brother’s lone Ace and he quadrupled up nice.

My night ended in the middle of the pack, as usual, after winning a few hands earlier, my cards went cold and moved all in to steal a some blinds with KJ. Paul had AQ, called, and took me down. Using those new chips, Paul raised 2400 pre flop and Charlie called. Flop comes J56. Paul moves all in with pocket 9s and after thinking for a long time, decides Paul doesn’t have a pair and calls with his babies. He’s way behind. Then BOOM a 3 comes on the turn and Paul was done.

The hand of the night though was between Charlie, Dave and Dennis. They each found themselves all in preflop. Charlie had A5, Dave A9 and my brother QQ. Right in the window is a Q making my brother a set and making him a HUGE favorite. But it was the Q of hearts. Two more hearts on the flop and Dave’s A of hearts gives him a flush draw. A FOURTH heart on the turn makes him his flush, which crushes the trips. As my brother and I chanted “pair the board” the river brought a blank and Charlie was out, my brother was crippled and Dave was flush in more ways then one.

Jason went out fairly unceremoniously after that and it was heads up between Dennis and Dave. My brother ended up making a strong showing, raising pre-flop and eventually gaining the chip lead. One hand in particular, both he and Dave had straights - just my brother’s was to the Q and Daves was to the J. Finally though, after a 10 minute seesaw battle, Dave flopped a set of Kings, my brother rivered a set of 4’s and heads up it’s impossible to say “no” to three of anything. Dave just happened to have a better three and two more to go with it. He took it down.

Though only six played last night, it was just another opportunity for Charlie - who is leading in Player of the Year - to add to his lead. And he did so with some luck and great play.

6. Paul
5. Me
4. Jim
3. Ryan
2. Jason
1. Charlie

This game was very slow moving early on. Paul had a huge chip lead, then went out first. Charlie set up his night with a great call against Ryan that went a little something like this: At the 200-400 blind level, Charlie makes it 1000. Ryan and Jim call. Flop comes KKQ. Charlie bets 1500, Ryan moves all in and Jim folds. Charlie thinks for a long time and calls with QJ. Ryan has Q10. The reasoning behind Charlie’s call was he knew Ryan didn’t have a King, cause he would have just called the 1500 and if he was outkicked (QK, QA or QQ), Ryan would have reraised before the flop. Great poker logic and a great call.

My night, which was going well, went down the tubes when Charlie again made it 1000 to go at the 2-4 blind level and with J9 suited, I figured I’d call and hope to hit a flop. I knew he made that bet with QJ before so didn’t think he was THAT strong. Flop comes JKx. I decide to bet out 1500 and he reraises all in. I know my Jack isn’t good, so I fold. He shows me pocket Aces. It was a good laydown by me, however, it let me short stacked, and he knocked me out soon after.

Charlie then knocked out Jim with 10,9 and Jason knocked out Ryan when Jason hit an Ace vs. Ryan’s flush draw that didnt come.

Heads up didn’t last long, but the swings were huge. Charlie won a big pot in which he slow played trip 9’s then Jason got him back with Q4 against J4. Charlie hit Jason back with AJ vs. K8 and finally all the money went in with a flop of KQx with three spades. Charlie had a Q, Jason had a K and two spades. Jason was way ahead. The turn brought a blank and the river brought a Q of diamonds making Charlie three of a kind and giving him the title.

Aggression wins pots. That’s what everyone says and early on Dave was proving it. However, a few crazy hands later his momentum slowed and shifted over to some other players. We joked he was betting “strong, to quite strong” just like Greg Focker’s portfolio, but it wasn’t enough.

7. Ryan (rebuy)
6. Jim (rebuy)
5. Jason (rebuy)
- Jason
4. Charlie
3. Paul
- Jim
2. Dave
1. Me
- Ryan

So like I said, Dave was pushing the action early and gained a good amount of chips. One example was a 200 chip preflop raise and four people called. Flop comes 463. Dave bets out 650, Ryan calls and everyone else folds. Another 4 comes on the turn. Ryan bets out 1200 and Dave just calls. An 8s on the river, bringing a 3rd spade. Ryan checks and Dave pushes all in. Ryan thinks for a while and folds. Dave had 64 for a full house. Ryan went out soon after again to Dave when Dave called him down with middle pair again Ryan’s bottom pair.

After his rebuy though, Ryan wins a MONSTER hand knocking out both Jim and Jason in one shot. Both rebought, but Jason got busted soon after, moving all in with AQ and Paul called with 88. A Queen hit the flop but Paul turned an 8 and knocked him out.

I won a big hand with pocket 5’s against a few guys and after Ryan knocked out both Charlie and Paul in one hand for his second double shot of the day. Two players have limped, Charlie makes it 1500, Paul moves all in with 3700 and Ryan calls. Charlie has KJ, Paul has QJ and Ryan has 67. SIX SEVEN?!? He said that, he figured two all ins meant they were sharing face cards and with such a huge chip stack, he had a good shot at knocking them out. Well, he hit a 6 and knocked them both out.

I played a few other decent hands and after Ryan’s big stack play knocked out Jim and Dave I found myself heads up with him, way down in chips. But I battled back to almost 2-1, winning with some steady aggression but I was bound to get caught - and I did. Earlier I had folded QJ in many positions, just not feeling good about it. Well, riding a little bit of a rush I raised 4000 preflop and got called by Ryan. Flop comes 393. I bet out 4000 and Ryan raises another 7000. I know he has a piece - either a 9 or maybe like pocket 7s or something (definitely not a 3 because he wouldn’t have raised and definitely not an overpair, cause he would have raised me preflop). So I figured my over cards were good and for another 8000 (my entire stack) I could win 24000, which was 3-1. My percentage was lower than that but, I felt like it was time to take my shot. So I called. He did have a 9, no J or Q fell and I lost.

Scan down this page. Notice something? I always finish fourth. I don’t know why. I just do. And fourth is the worst because, the way my friends and I play it means I don’t get Player of the Year points (those go to the top 3) or cash (top 2). It’s the ultimate bubble and basically says I’m the best, worst player every week.

This week, it looked like I was going to burst that bubble. But - in the end - things worked out the way they do.

7. Paul (rebuy)
6. Charlie (rebuy)
5. Jason
4. John F.
- Charlie
3. Me
2. John C
1. Jim
- Paul

At this point in the year, it’s all about Charlie and Jim as they are the top two in a tight player of the year race. So there was a big hand that happened semi-early on that had huge implications in that. After a small raise preflop Charlie bets out with top pair and gets reraised all in by Jim. Charlie is holding AQ and the board is Q10x. Charlie thinks for a long time and calls. Jim flips K9 for a semi-bluff gutshot straight draw. If Charlie wins, as he should, he’ll eliminate Jim and gain some breathing room. But on the river comes a K and Charlie gets decimated. That King was a huge card. On the following hand, Jim folds QQ after the flop comes 236 sniffing out that John C had a flush draw. How he folds against a DRAW is beyond me, and everyone else, but it was smart as the 4c came on the turn giving John his straight flush!

Meanwhile I had played a few decent hands and things had slowed down. Then I make it 1800 to go with pocket 9’s and get reraised all in by Jason. It goes around and I decide that his huge reraise was meant to take down the pot, not to heads up, so I call with my pair. My read is right - he has AK. The flop comes K88 and I’m crushed. But a two outter 9 on the turn gives me a full house and completely cripples him. I’m now the chip leader. Two knockouts by John C later and he’s right there behind me.

I raise to 2000 with pocket 10’s and Paul moves all in for 6000. Predictably, Paul has been very quiet since going out early. However, again, I feel like I’m in a coinflip and you need to win a few of those to win a tournament. I call. Again, I’m up against AK and again, a K comes on the flop. But no ten and Paul doubles up huge and brings me back to the middle of the pack.

My final hand might seem like a bad one, but I stand by it. In Texas Hold Em you have to play the player, not the cards sometimes and that’s what I did. With pocket Jacks I raise to 2500, about half my stack. John C, who hasn’t played in a while and is enjoying a dominating chip stack, calls. The flop comes AKx. What a terrible flop for pocket Jacks. He bets 2000. Now, if I fold, I have maybe one good bet left but this is John C. He hasn’t played in a while, has a lot of chips, and is well documented as playing any two cards very strong just because he likes to play big pots. I also take into consideration that he hasn’t been around in a while and loves to slap me around on the felt. So I call, putting him possibly on a straight draw or lower pocket pair, which he showed numerous times earlier in the night. Not this time though, he flips A10 and I’m out. Charlie said it was a bad call, but read about the next hand.

Paul bets 3000 and John insta calls after winning all my chips. Flop comes 483 and Paul moves all in. John INSTA calls again with 34. Three Four! He has bottom pair. Paul flips over Pocket Kings and crushes John. He was out in the next hand. So, though I lost my hand, I feel I made the right read.

Heads up, Paul simply had too many chips for Jim to deal with and took it down fairly quickly. Jim gets points and money, Paul plays slow and steady and wins and I finish on the bubble after having the chip lead. Yup. Just another night of poker.