Money where my mouth is

One of my father's day presents was a little cash to go play in a tournament at one of the local poker halls. There are two big ones in town (not to mention all of the bars and restaurants that have tournaments all the time). At some point I'm sure I'll become a club member at Full House Poker in downtown, but on Saturday, I'm going to play in a tournament at Royal Flush Poker (really creative names, I know), which is in a different part of Eugene.

The last tournament I played was when we were in SoCal for the kids birthdays and my father-in-law hosted a tournament for about 14 of us. I took second. I haven't played a casino/card house tournament since i took 17th at Pechanga, and that was long before I even moved up to Oregon.

Needless to say, I'm excited. I walked in and checked out the beginning of the tournament last Saturday, and there seemed to be about 50 or so people. At a $35 buy-in, the prize pool will probably only be around $1700, so first place will probably pay around 700. It would be pretty sweet to make the final table and be in the money again.

I posted the Mullets, because they have turned into my lucky hand. At Pechanga, I went all-in and was called by pocket aces. My pocket sevens held up when i hit a straight on the river, knocking out a very pissed off guy who had his aces cracked.

I also had a monster hand at a home tournament, I held the walking sticks and saw a flop with two other players. The flop came out 7-7H-QH. I slowplayed my quads, trying to keep the other two guys in, hoping they might both have a heart-draw. After the turn and river both brought hearts, I made a comment saying "one of us has the Ace of Hearts, one of us has the King, and one of us is full of crap". Both other players went all in, I called, and sure enough, I was right. One had the Ace of Hearts, one had the king, and I knocked out both flushes with my quads. It was beautiful.

Missing the GSAC

Just saw one video on Youtube of the APU at Biola game last year that APU won with 5 second to go. They brought out a fake Eagle to pump up the crowd then he ripped off a red shirt to reveal a Cougar 'Blackout' shirt underneath. BRUTAL, but funny. I can't believe how much I miss the rivalry. I also miss Ken Ammann and Concordia Basketball a bit. Finally found this clip, too:

Best.Song.Ever.

A while back I did a list of my favorite songs of all time. Of course, a ton of U2 songs were on there, along with Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah, Comfortably Numb, I Walk the Line, Sympathy for the Devil, Garth's "The River", and a handful of Beatles songs.

I'm not sure where exactly I had Imagine on the list, probably somewhere close to the top, but under U2's "One". Well, as of today, I'm making it #1 on my list (sorry, Mr. Hewson). I've always loved the song. Now I have a strange reason to bump it to #1. Imagine has stood the test of time, and is such a damn beautiful song, that I believe it is impossible to cover poorly. I have not heard a bad version of it. On Tuesday the Instant Karma Darfur benefit CD was released, and it included three versions of the song: Jack Johnson, Me'Shell NGodechello, and...Avril Lavigne. Now, I kinda like Avril (guilty pleasure), but she doesn't have a stellar voice. Her cover of Imagine......AMAZING.

So that got me thinking: Are there any bad covers of Imagine out there? A search on Itunes found me some possibilities: A Perfect Circle, Dolly Parton, Ruben Studdard, Rick Springfield.....Antonio Banderas. Every single version sounded good, even Banderas (no, no, no...too sexy!!!).

Find me another song that can be covered by ANYONE in any style and still sound incredible.

Update

Negreanu finished third in the shootout. The 5K No-Limit Hold 'em event started yesterday and after the first day, Jennifer Tilly is fourth in chips. I just don't get it. She is a braclet winner (the 2005 Ladies event), but every time I've seen her play, she comes off like a bigger donkey than me! And her "teacher" is Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, who I think is one of the most overrated players in poker.

Then again, I read both of their columns in Bluff Magazine every month, and they are both rather intelligent about the game. But then again, so is Phil Gordon, one of the greatest Poker minds out there, who NEVER produces on the felt. He has ZERO braclets, but has taught me more about poker than any other pro (probably because I haven't read Supersystem yet).

The countdown is on: six days until the best new event of the year: The World Championship Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'em!

Negreanu: Final Table

My favorite professional, Daniel Negreanu is at the final table tonight of the two-day No-Limit Hold 'em Shootout. This event is unique in that there are three "Rounds" of sit-and-go shootout tournaments. If you win your table in the first round (90 of the 900 entrants) then you are automatically in the money, and you move onto the semifinals (9 tables, ten people on each). Negreanu is one of the nine guys to win in that round, and will play the final table tonight, going for his third braclet. He's got a formidable foe in Erick "E-Dog" Lindgren, who also has some braclets to his credit.

I love the shootout, because you have to play heads up twice before you even get to the final table, and it's the most similar thing to the home games I'm used to playing.

Eleventh Heaven

Odelay is official turning into PokerBlog for the summer. I live vicariously through the participants in the World Series of Poker, following everything intently on the internets, just wishing that I was able to go there and play.

Phil Hellmuth Jr. has just won his record-breaking 11th World Series of Poker braclet (the big prize, in addition to a huge mound of cash, that you get for winning one of the 50-odd events in the World Series of Poker). With #11 he breaks the tie that he had with other legends Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson.

Hellmuth takes a ton of heat as the "poker brat" as he has been villified in this day and age of 24-7 televised poker. He truly is an arrogant prick, and he has the biggest ego in poker. But here's the thing: Everytime he says that he is the "greatest no-limit holdem player in the world", He's RIGHT. All 11 of his braclets have come in the event. He was the youngest main event champion of all-time (Beating Johnny Chan in 1989 to keep Chan from getting his third straight title), and he now holds records for most braclets and most cashes at the World Series. He is unbelievably good.

I still don't like him a whole lot, but my hat is off today to Phil Hellmuth for winning #11. Now lets just hope Doyle Brunson can win another one!

If you're missing Lost already...

Sawyer S.O.B. Ever notice that Sawyer from Lost is the expert at delivering a certain line?

July 10th, 2007 - - Could It Come any sooner!?!?

And a bonus link
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Sq3D039JCY

Angels 19, Dodgers 4

What a great weekend, huh!?!?!?

Ok, One More

Best. Idol Moment. Ever.

The Last Idol Post

This season has been just boring enough that I am official just as sick of writing about American Idol as you are of reading what I have to say about it. Thus, this will most likely be my last post on the subject until after the finale. A few things floating around in my brain:

• Bottom line is: All four of these singers could win this thing, even Lakisha if she shines like she used to over the next few weeks


• I think that Jordan should and will win but, of course, you never know.


• Blake put together an epic performance last week. I now have him ranked just slightly above Melinda for my #2 spot, simply because I want to see him in the final. A Melinda v. Jordan finale would be rather repetitive and boring. Blake would give it some diversity and some vigor.


• Melinda doesn't need to win. She's the Daughtry of this year in that way. Of course, all four of 'em will have careers regardless.


• Final Four: The time when upsets become the norm: LaToya London, Chris Daughtry, Tamyra Gray, Anthony Federo...ok, maybe not that one. So will someone shocking go home this week? I ask "What would be shocking"? Jordan would shock everyone, but honestly, it's all so close that nothing would suprise me.


• Why the heck are they doing "Boogie" night for the top-four? I almost don't even want to watch. Are they that desparate that they have to invite a Gibb?!?!

Top Six and a New #1

#1 Jordin Sparks - Another phenomenal performance and I finally move her up to #1. It's fun to see how much she has blossomed this year. I have had her in my top-four all season, but it's time to face reality: No matter how technically brilliant Melinda is, she is a niche performer with little cross-over appeal (More on that below). Jordin is the perfect American Idol and is by far the most marketable performer. Oh, and she was freaking incredible last night.

#2 Melinda Doolittle - Not to take anything away from Mindy-do. She is the most polished, technically sound, talented performer at this stage in the competition that Idol has probably ever seen. But is she a good American Idol? Here's how I look at it: Who are the most successful of the past American Idols? I would say Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Who are the least commercially successful? Ruben and Fantasia. Why? Cross-Market appeal. Both Ruben and Fantasia are limited Genre performers. They just aren't going to have a big hit that will rise to #1 on the R&B, Gospel AND Pop charts. Kelly and Carrie can have the same song on the pop charts, the rock charts (Kelly) the Gospel and Country Charts (Carrie) at the same time. It's all about that cross-over marketability. Doolittle, I believe, will fall into that later category, where she is HUGE on the R&B chart, or the gospel chart, but struggles to maintain pop success. A long justification for bumping her to #2, but it was needed, especially after she sang such a big powerful God-Lovin' Faith Hill song last night, that I totally loved.

#3 Blake Lewis - The only one with any true upset potential (because Lakisha has been fading so fast) left in the competition. I respect the guy for going with one of my all-time favoritist songs (Lennon's Imagine), but there is just something a little wierd and a little off when he just sits and sings a straight slow ballad and actually just sings. I can't even put my finger on it, it's just....wierd. I dunno. We haven't had any beatboxing in a while, either. At first I was afraid (i was petrified) that he would over-kill it, now I think he's been underutilizing an entertaining aspect of his performance repertoire.

#4 Lakisha - Did she really cover past American Idol winners two weeks in a row? Obviously, the single baby-mama is an inspiration to her, but really? A Fantasia song on a night like Idol-Gives-Back? Really?

#5 Chris Richardson - I will shoot myself in the head before I put him higher than the four above, but the dude had a GREAT performance last night. Great song for the night, great performance. Great voice. I have nothing to criticize about the performance.

#6 Phil Stacey - Dude butchered a GREAT Garth Brooks song. I thought he would do a solid country ballad a little justice, but, NOPE. It was wretched. Time for the Weekly World News' Bat-Boy to take a hike!

Idol Top Seven

1. Melinda Doolittle
2. Jordin Sparks - She just keeps getting better and better. Melinda is more polished, but this kid SHOULD be the next American Idol.
3. LaKisha - My girl has been weak the last few weeks. Mind you "Lakisha Weak" is a billion times better than "Chris Richardson Strong"...
4. Blake Lewis - I wanted him to bust out something more upbeat on Country night, that he could lay down some beatbox to, so I was disappointed. Instead, he sang a song that really needs a redneck twine to sound good.
5. Sanjaya Malakar - I was hoping for one of the sillier Shania Twain songs from him (Man, I feel like a woman?). Another creepy/entertaining performance.
6. Phil Stacey - Nothing entertaining about it. I'm just not a fan. I'm extremely indifferent about him. He adds NOTHING to the show.
7. Chris Richardson - Every week I talk about wanting to kick him in the balls, or punch him in the face. I've run out of places that I want to physically hurt Mr. K-Fed/Timberlake.

Idle Top-8

So for all of the zero people that still read my blog, I'm changing up my idol ranking tonight. There are three categories: The Good, The Bad and the Sanjaya. There are just four performers that I remotely care for, three that I really don't like and then, well, Mr. Vote for the Worst.

Like I've said before, at this point I just want him to stick around for the entertainment value of it all, seeing him try to tackle all of the genres. I watch T.V. to be entertained and I can't get angry about the results of American Idol. Honestly.

So first for the Good:

1. Melinda Doolittle - I was finally able to come to a decision and rank my front-runner after last night. Not that Melinda was all that super (read boring and dated), it had more to do with LaKisha making a really bad song selection and just facing that Melinda is flat better.

2. LaKisha

3. Jordin Sparks - I think she has the best "pop" hope to actually be a bankable start out of this competition, at least of the womens. Melinda and LaKisha, like Ruben Studdard before them, are very niche - old school soul performers when it comes down to it.

4. Blake Lewis - I still like this guy. Do I think he's a great singer? No, but he's darn perfect to be the American Idol regardless. And he had the only performance last night that has stuck in my head at all!

The Sanjina has to rank #5 by default. That is how far I want to see him get into the competition. Of course, I care so little this season about who really wins it, that, if he gets this far, even I might start voting for him. I would be pretty darn funny to see him get to the finals!

And now the BAD, and at this point, I just want to lump them all together: The Whore, the Wannabe and the Freaky Bald Dude. Hailey might have covered herself up a little bit better this week, but she compensated by throwing on the street walker eyeshadow and lipstick. Way to go! (SIDE NOTE: Thank you Simon for saying what everyone else is thinking: You're voice can't compete, so keep taking off your clothes every week to get the vote) I am back to wanting to kick Chris Richardson in the balls, especially after he destroyed a good Carlos Santana/Rob Thomas song. and Powder err...Phil Stacey, he just adds zero entertainment value to the show. He's lame.

For your viewing pleasure

Idol Nine

1. DoKisha LaMelinda - I just can't pick a front runner still. My head says MindyDo, but my heart is still with Kiki. They were both nails last night as always. Dial-Idol, which was finally accurate again last week (the text-messagers didn't vote for Chris Sligh either), says that one of our lovely ladies takes a hit this week, so we'll see...

3. Gina Glocksen - She had such a great performance that I just can't move her down. I want to see her do well in the show. I could lose Jordin and not be sad, I could lose Blake and not care, but if Gina leaves, that blows.

4. Jordin - Last night she finally had a performance where I never though of her as the 17-year old baby. She held her own with the older contestants. Imagine how this girl is going to be in eleven years when she's the same age that Melinda is now?!?

5. Blake Lewis - Great all-around performance. Not the perfect vocal, but it was still alot of fun.

6. Chris Richardson - Only moves "Up" out of default because i had to move the next guy down. Timberfed had a decent performance. I'm not hating the guy as much anymore, he's a nice enough kid, I am just completely lukewarm about him.

7. Phil Stacey - I'm over Phil.

8. Sanjina - You read that right. I moved him up a spot. He isn't going anywhere for a while, so it's nice to at least be entertained by him every week, and I definitely was entertained last night. His vocal, insidentally, was the best that he has shown YET in the semifinals and finals. Still mediocre, but not terrible like usual.

9. The Whore - Hailey Scarnato just really needs to dissappear and this week, finally, I think it might happen.

This is cooler than R2D2 Mailboxes!

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32140

Opening Day

Angels win, Dodgers lost. What could be better? Oh, and Gary Matthews Jr. is staying off of my "Spit list" for now. How refreshing was it to see a center fielder who ACTUALLY KNOWS HOW TO MAKE PLAYS ON THE BALL!?!?!? It's so nice to have Friggin banished back to leftfield again!

In other Angels news: Percy official retired as an Angel yesterday.

This got me thinking about how they haven't put anyone in the Angels Hall of Fame in a while, or retired any numbers. I think the next no-brainer for BOTH is #31 - Chuck Finley. I'm suprised it hasn't happened yet. C'mon Arte, get 'er dun! Percival, I think, should be in the Angels HOF, but not have the number retired. We'll see....eventually.

AI6: Top-Ten

1. Mindy-Kisha Doolittle - A Pair of Donna Summer songs - The Top two stay the same this week. I just can't pick a favorite anymore between the two of them. I feel more attached to LaKisha, but Melinda is just a little better performer/singer.

3. Gina Glocksen - I'll Stand By You - If she keeps making these perfect song choices, she's going to stick around for a while. Heaping piles of praise from the judges won't hurt either. I am liking her more and more. Hopefully she'll stay consistent.

4. Jordin - Hey Baby - Her performance was an absolute mess. This has been my problem with her that I've said over and over - Because she's so far behind Mindy and Kiki, she HAS to pick the perfect song every week. This wasn't it.

5. Chris Sligh - He REALLY took a hit this week. He picked the right song, but couldn't nail it. Looking so unprofessional at this stage is not a good thing. I love the guy, but he's not going to be around very long with stuff like this.

6. Blake Lewis - The Cure's Love Song - I'm still not sure what I think about his performance last night. He has a great voice and it was cool to see him strip away the gimmick and just sing a ballady song for once. It was a restrained performance and you could see that/feel that. You could tell that he was uncomfortable holding back like that.

7. Phil Stacey - Every Breath You Take - I'm suprised the judges didn't rip him for unoriginality. He once again showed what a great voice he has and this was a very strong night for him.

8. Timberfed - Don't Speak - I still want to punch him in the face. I hated his Boy-Band version of a No Doubt song. It just felt wrong.

9. Haley Scarnato - True Colors - With Sanjina getting all of the VFTW help, I can't believe that THIS CHICK hasn't been booted yet. Am I the only one who is sick of her whoring it up to cover up the fact that she can't sing?!?!? She is the poor man's Katherine McPhee. All Style, no substance.

10. Sanjina - It's just comical at this point. Gwen Stefani ripped on him in her video clip, Simon virtually said "I give up, America likes you for some strange reason". And Ryan ALMOST alluded to the vote-for-the-worst help. He said something along the lines of "To vote for Sanjaya, for a number of reasons, dial......" It was a subliminal slip, if you ask me. And to be quite honest - Although he is absolutely TERRIBLE, he sure is fun to watch every week and as long as it's mediocre people going home and not great people, I don't care if he sticks around anymore. You don't want to watch, but you can't look away!!