Built my biggest cash game pot ever!

I go to Shorty's Casino tonight since its the last 12 days of Christmas promotion where they were giving out awesome prizes by drawing players names. Things that were given away are TVs, Ipads, Poker Chip Sets, cash prizes and the grand prize was a 4 wheeler. Well I didn't win any of that but did sit down in the 5 5 NL Game that I am still thinking about so I will write this quick blog to get it off my mind.

I buy in for $285 and there are some very LAG players in this game that also call very light. In other words I was loving the easy money at the table. I played a semi loose game but mostly had position on the very LAG players that would straddle every time and only bet when I connected. I worked my initial buyin up to $728 quickly. When this hand came....The biggest pot I was ever involved in. A guy that has DEEP pockets and loves to gamble at the table had been running over the players raising pre flop and just betting players off their hand. So when he raised his straddle from $10 to 30, Me and about 5 others call and there is $240 in the pot before we even see a flop. I am holding Jc7c and know that at best he raised with 2 overs but he has been raising really light the whole time. Flop comes 10s 9d 8s! Jackpot, I flop the straight and the original preflop raiser Bets $75. I raise to $150 thinking it will get us heads up and then suprisingly it goes Call, Call, Call, Fold and Call.....wow There is now almost $1000 in the pot and I have $530 behind. Turn is the 4d giving another flush draw to the board and I know I have to get this pot NOW so I shove all in. One guy contemplates....shakes his head, then throws his cards in the muck. The other guy is in the tank when the original raiser says I CALL out of turn....I think to myself...there is NO WAY he has the higher straight..I'm thinking flush draw at best or maybe 2 pair and just playing like an idiot. Well the guy who is in the tank says you call too?? they tell him he's not committed to it yet since he said it out of turn, The guy in the tank finally calls for $465 and then out of turn original raiser Calls also....wowowowowow wtf? I know I have the best hand. The guy who made the call first says he has a set and shows 88. The other one...the original raiser....the out of turn caller.....he hides his card, and like a donk Calls off most his stack on a draw, as I suspected. (He isn't the type to slow roll if you don't slow roll him.) I beg the Dealer to put a 2c to just end the hand and let me take down the biggest pot I have ever been involved in.....I say one last time...... Deuce of clubs please!!

The river?....

Queen of diamonds and Original Raiser says WOO HOO SEND IT MY WAY BABY!! and turns over Jd 10d and I just watch my biggest profit ever slip through my finger tips to a crappy suck out on the river. I'm not too pissed off only being in the game for $285....I just wish I could have held. At least I know in the long run I will win that pot more often then not.

Odds of each player winning                  Flop            Turn
Me with flopped straight                         41%             48%
Guy with set 88                                        30%            21.5%
Guy with Flush and open ended draw      6%              20.5%

^Approximately, had chances for chopped pot^

So yea....thanks poker gods.Instead of going home with a nice $2,500ish I leave with -285...sigh. Show me some love next time as these moments don't happen often.

Last Day In New Orleans! Unbelievable Game! and stupid long grind before heading home.

This is it. The game I have been waiting for all season, but before I even get to sniff the excitement, The record breaking numbers, the nonstop chatter and yelling, and the feeling of losing my voice for 3 days straight, I had to wait for my crew to arrive in New Orleans and around the Mercedes Benz Superdome. So what better way to kill time then to go grind 1 2 until they get into town.

I bought in for $150 and played with about 3 guys at the table earlier in the week and the rest, well, they were enjoying themselves, I'll just say that. I make some decent pots, double up once and hover around $350-500 when my friend finally starts to text me. I take a hit and get knocked down to about $80 when they were just pulling into the parking lot by the dome and I knew I wasn't going to end this session a loser and also promised some of the guys drinks since I was having a good trip. So I added $200 to my arsenal and continued to grind. I fought my way back to about $500 when I got involved in a good pot to out bluff this woman who was playing extremely timid the whole time we were at the table and she had about $330 in front of her at the time.

I had raised in Mid Pos with KhJh to $12 (My standard raise that would get multiple callers) Timid lady, Old man who called my all in light, and newer guy who played pretty good and great psychological player called. Flop Fell QJ8 and good player and myself check and the Timid lady bets $15 into a $50 pot. Old man calls, Good player calls, then I reraise to $60 thinking this would be the perfect squeeze to represent the flopped straight. Timid lady contemplates and nervous about committing the chips...(So I smell blood) and then calls. The other 2 players fold. The Turn comes a 10 with a rainbow board and I have a feeling she either has AK, AQ, KQ, or even as strong as two pair, but I don't see her being that afraid of me with a set. but then again its a very wet board and I am showing aggression so I can understand if she did. I bet $80 into a pot of about $210 and is a little bit under half her stack, but still pot committing her if she calls. She squirms, winces, peaks at her cards one last time, then throws her hand in the muck. I play for about 3 more revolutions before finally getting up from the table with a nice +200ish profit then go meet my friends at Walkons down Poydras St.

It was PACKED in this place, and pretty much everywhere we went.

As I am walking down Poydras from Harrah's Casino, The closer I get to the SuperDome, the more waves and flashes of people wearing Red are passing me by. I am loving the sight. Just the fact that so many Ragin Cajun fans are invading New Orleans for such an awesome event has me invigorated! There was a $10 charge to just get into Walk Ons but they also gave a $10 voucher for food or drinks so It wasnt that bad, just more to assure that you are going in there to buy something and not just use the bathroom. Well you could barely walk the place was flooded with Cajun fans, ESPN 1420 was doing their radio show inside and Everyone was having MORE than a good time before the game. I sat down with the guys, told everyone to order some beer and was just in time to order food with everyone else. The table had 3 draft taps that we could choose from and it charged by the ounce. So I told my buddies that I will put a $100 limit on 5 of us (The ones that wanted to drink) and we all got a glass, the waitress turned on the tap and we started filling up! It was pretty cool. We even created our own mixed brew that Jacob Viator and Brandon Menard named my creation the Hazel Moon! There was a tap for Blue Moon, a tap for Abita Purple Haze, and a tap for some other weird beer I never heard of and no one drank. Well at first I got just Blue Moon and the other guys and Tommy's Lady got Purple Haze. Then I remembered when my friend from Baton Rouge brought me to this place where they mixed Purple Haze with Andy Gator. It really wasnt that bad and got me feeling good quickly. So I got to thinking, and then the alcoholic light bulb lit and I said. What if I put half Blue Moon and Half Purple Haze. They were reluctant to try it but I went for it and It was amazingly good! just the right amount of Orange and just the right amount of Raspberry! I felt like the freaking Willy Wonka of Beer!! I said this is great, but its nothing without a name so we started brain storming. Blue Haze...nah, Purple Moon...nah, Indigo Harvest....close...getting warmer, Hazel Moon! Perfect. So yes, I recommend you go try that beer and Represent the new mix of deliciousness!!

We get our food and I asked for no red onions and instead get a Mountain of fried onions, laugh of how that happened, and devoured it since I didn't eat anything before hand since the previous night! I didn't wanna die of a heart attack, I guess cause I knew what the game had in store? so I ate most of it and barely any fries. We wrapped up, filled up one more time, paid for the food and drinks and bought a guy a beer for saving my buddies ass when he dropped his ticket in the bathroom. Cajun Nation watches out for each other. Waitress told the guy to sell it (Obviously from New Orleans) and the guy remembered walking into the bathroom after Jacob and Tommy and was nice enough to ask us what row we were on etc. to make sure we didn't drop our ticket. We were extremely grateful of his kindness, and he asked us to meet him across the street where a little tailgating party was going on so he can change his shirt and we met him after playing frogger from all the vehicles and congratulated him with his beer.

Standing on the balcony walkway near the SuperDome!

We made our way to Championship Square, where all UL fans were having a Tailgating party equipped with 8$ canned beer and a band for your enjoyment. When we arrive, It was unspeakable to how many people were there having a good time and reppin' the Ragin' Cajuns (so I will let the pictures speak for themselves. UL's Cajun Field's Max Capacity is 31,000. We eclipsed that number twice in the history of the program and it was due to the part that smaller state schools brought huge number of fans thinking they can upset us. One accomplished that feat (McNeese in 2007 attend. 33,828) but the other didn't come close (Southern in 2009 attend. 41,357) I would say both crowds had about 60% Cajun fans, But tonight, the ratio of Ragin' Cajun fans vs. SDSU fans had to have been 95:5. One of the records that were broken were the Attendance record thanks to the 40,000 fans (I predicted 35k) sporting that Ragin' Cajun Vermillion and White. The previous record was about 31,000 and this year the total attendance was 42,841 and after 41 years of waiting for this day, you could hear it everywhere, you could see it everywhere, It was such an awesome experience.

First arriving at Champion Square

The walk way up to the dome

We decide to walk into the dome cause the beer lines were ridiculous and we could barely hear ourselves talk. Once we get in, The team is already warming up, the crowd is already rowdy and not even half of them are in their seats, and the band is doing a great job pumping everyone up for game time. Our seats were 6 rows up from the feild and right on the Goal Line and there was a Microphone for espn right in front of our section (I was thinking it was for the band but noticed every chant we yelled you could hear perfectly in the broadcast). By Half Time I could barely yell but that wasn't going to stop me and I am pretty sure that the other 39,999 fans were thinking the same thing. The game started at 8pm so this was a late one and The game went down to the wire. I saw the Receivers make some of the craziest catches I have ever seen, Just left my jaw dropped for a couple of them, The one that took the cake was this amazing catch by Daryl Surgent (Who also had an awesome Punt Return for TD earlier in the first half)

If you thought that was Pass interference (Which it was, but who cares right?) then you should have seen the 2 in a row when Gauthier tossed it up for L. Green in the endzone and the SDSU corner basically dry humped him for both plays and got no call from the refs. It was sick how one sided so many calls were going all game, but the Cajuns didn't stop, They wanted it more. UL jumped to a 19-3 lead early. The fans were raging, the players were confident, and strength coach Whitt's head was dripping with blood from headbutting players like a boss. The Cajuns wanted it more. SDSU drove down and fought back and pulled within 2 points to get the score 17-19, but the Cajuns answered when Gauthier threw a quick pass across to allow Lawson to get his second score of the night and go along with his 193 yard performance. If you watch closely after this TD you will see me clapping my ass off when they go to the fans haha, 5 seconds of fame! Then SDSU came fighting back with 2 minutes left. Our secondary dropped about 5 or 6 interceptions all game and had trouble stopping the pass all together, but what they did do was hold the Leading rusher of the nation, Ronnie Hillman who averaged 139yds per game to only 55yds on 23 carries! An amazing job by the defense to shutdown their number one weapon and another huge key to the victory! But that didn't stop the insistent Aztecs to picking apart our secondary and Again, Scoring and making a field goal to take the lead with only :35 seconds left and The Cajuns having No time outs left 30-29. So many people thought the game was over (alot of the Cajun fans, and almost all of the SDSU fans. But for the fans that witnessed The greatest comeback in Cajun history, for the players that held on to the rope until the whistle ended the game, for those that believed until there was 00:00 time left on that clock, They knew the Cajuns had it in them, and that it was gonna be a fight until the finish.

Gauthier composed, leads his troops onto the field after the ball is returned to the Cajuns 35 yd line. I turn my hat inside out and yell, Remember ULM, Never Give Up!!!" Hear a chant of "Lets Go CAJUNS (clap clap, clap clap clap)" and Join in until the band drowns us out with the fight song and all the fans sing along. Gauthier methodically moves the ball down to the Aztec 40 yd line with only 4 seconds to go. It is time for Mr. Clutch, Baer Nation, Mr. Special Teams to take the feild and put all the weight on his shoulders to carry the team across the finish line. The crowd is quiet, (instead of the 2000 Aztec fans that can barely be heard) and then Yellow flags go flying in the air. Referees announce "Illegal Stemming" trying to get our players to jump off sides and then they move the ball up to the 35 yd line. The Crowd quiets once again, I have my rally cap on, everyone is tense with fear and excitement. and then it happens!


THE CROWD GOES WILD!!! Brett Baer hit his career long 50 yd field goal to win one of the biggest games in Ragin' Cajun football History. It Felt like the saints won the Superbowl vs. the Colts in 2009!!! I am hugging everyone in an arms length radius around me and the crowd is filled with a sense of Euphoria that you knew Bourbon was going to be filled with Ragin' Cajuns for the rest of the night! I didn't want this moment to end, and am so glad that I can say I was a part of that moment, I was there, yelling my ass off. I ended up staying up until 7am losing -300 at the poker table after the game with a few poker buddies but I can not put into words how great this night will be and hopefully this will be just the beginning to a new era of excitement and winning in Cajun Country!

Hope you enjoyed the read!

Matt Stroud

Winter Bayou Poker Classic Day 3 Recap (Another Profitable day)

Dude looked bad ass. Had to get a picture with him. More details below!

I arrived at Harrah's around the same time as the day before and again just waited around doing nothing for a little while, but today I felt like being a Degen, so I put $180 on 3 card Poker. Got my ass handed to me until he busted the table and nearly myself (Got down to $50) then played the Dealer head up and worked my way back even. Told the dealer it was fun now I'll go try some Mississippi Stud....well that was a mistake and lost it all just in time for the $175 Mega Freeze out into the Main Event. I probably would have sold the Chips cause I was going to the New Orleans Bowl that night.

The structure was pretty fast. Started with 6k in chips after the DTS and blinds went up every 20 minutes. I also had a pretty tough table with Kenny Milam, Bill Phillips, and Danny Dorcey at my table with a couple other aggressive players mixed in. I couldn't get anything going and kept running into AA or KK when trying to double my stack so I was out pretty quickly and down to only $55 of what I brought for the day to allow myself to play. I can't do crap with $55 in the poker room so my only other resort was to hope to get lucky on a damn table game.

Remembering that I profited about $60 on a Roulette machine Yesterday, I decided to put $50 on Roulette and try the same strategy I was using on the machine. I basically bet 2 of the Thirds and 2 of the Rows. they pay 2 to 1 so if I hit both I was getting a nice turnaround for my money and if I only hit one I would only lose a little bit. I was also keeping an eye out for patterns like 6 black in a row or 5 or 6 Even in a row then bet the opposite. I quickly work it up to about $140 and go sit down to make myself comfortable. Well I had to sit right next to some Ghetto woman that took the trolly from the Ghetto to Harrah's who was pretty hilarious to sit next to, but one of those people you didn't want to be on her bad side.

She told me she loved me like 4 times and that I was her good luck charm so I didn't worry about that. It's always refreshing when someone tells you, "Yo wife got her a good man AND A GOOD BABY DADDY!!!" I nearly lost my shit when she said that haha. Her luck would eventually turn, and she would blame it on another ghetto woman that would borrow her phone or beg her for money and would curse her under her breath, Then the person spinning the ball would miss her number like 8 times in a row and she was saying "I'm gonna FIND you making me lose like that, we gonna meet in the parking lot!! Take your foot off that pedal back there, I'm ON TO YOU Mother $*#4#@!!" Everyone else at the table was laughing at her and rolling their eyes. She even went to the bathroom for like 20 minutes and left her purse at the table asking me to watch it.....and of course I did.... She comes back and a guy is standing in her spot and she starts talking the same shit to him as he quietly scoots over hahaha.

Well back to my Roulette degen grind. I am Consistently hitting Both spots and occasionally hitting what I have hunches about! when the 0 came twice, I had felt it was coming and put A $5 chip there. I bet $50 on Red and hit, Bet $50 on Even and hit. After about 4 hours of playing I colored up $510 off of $50 and was almost back even for the day!!

I told my buddy John C what I managed to pull off and he asked, "Time to grind the cash game?" I was reluctant to answer at first but went walk to the Tournament room to see what they had going in there. I didn't really feel like playing a tournament so I replied "Sure why not" And bought into 1 2 with another $200. Of course I went up against a Harrah's Reg who knew all the dealers 3 hands in a row and he happened to have the better hand against me all 3 times, It was annoying but I knew he wasn't the better player than I am so I rebuy for my 300 and this Asian guy Immediately gives me $150 the next hand when he tries to bluff me off my hand on a paired river but I read him for having the flush draw and missing as he bet $100 over betting the pot. I make the call with AJ on 10J5510 board and he shows 88 then mucks.

I later pick up AhKh preflop and raise to 15 sitting with about $550 behind when a guy with $100 re-raises to $35. I figure at best we are racing and I don't mind racing for $100 in this pot so I put him all in and he calls and shows KK.....woops. No worries though, flop falls 543, turn gives me the flush draw as well, River 2 giving me the straight putting me at 650. I shake my head in disbelief and scoop the pot.

From there I pretty much played table captain and got alot of respect when I bet. I moved seats to get position on the reg to my left but after about 30 minutes, he moved seats to get position back on me. I felt like we were mainly competing against each other and the other 7 were just there paying us to watch the show. We got into it and took pots off each other but made most of our money on the others.

I had a good time and cashed out $1025 to get the profit I lost yesterday and had a pretty productive day for getting down so much earlier in the day.

Also I ran into this awesome specimen of a human that I had to get a picture with. He had like this perfect Mohawk Mullet thing going on, and was in a nice suit. I was impressed with his style, and complimented on the dude but had no idea who he was. Well hope you like the picture!

Matt Stroud

Bayou Poker Classic Day 2 Recap

I got to the Casino at about 1030 am and of course, nothing is going on in the Poker Room, Nothing is going on in the Tournament room, and I don't feel like playing table games, so I go in my truck and take a nap until about 1130. I'm no bum but drove from Destrehan so I wasn't about to go back for just a little while. When I walked back into the Casino I noticed there were about 5 people waiting to start a Satellite so I go run to see what's going on in the Poker room with cash games....pretty much nothing still so I go buy into the Satellite and pick the 9 seat (10 to a table) the buy in was $125 and top 2 got $500 in tourney chips and 50 in cash. It still took a while before the satellite got started, so I went goof off on a Roullette machine and won half the buy in back when I put $25 in and cashed out $85 (Small victory already!)

Noticed some Free advertisement on the way into the Casino.

Initially the Table seemed to be very easy to pick spots and take down pots as it was mostly older gentlemen that are casual players with some pretty solid players mixed in as well. A guy that looked Like Jesus Ferguson's skinny twin brother was pretty much shoving in everyone's blind, and pretty much sucking out when they called.I managed to Knock Out a couple people and double through Jesus twin and then watched him knock two out at the end to get me the chips and cash and tipped the dealer $15 to pretty much free roll tournaments for the day!

I registered for the 1PM $350 buyin tournament and hated my seat draw. First I get my ticket and was placed in the 1 seat and a Super Aggressive player had position on me. As the late registration continued and the players came in late, I had Will "Poker Monkey" Souther (who basically hated the table draw as well and practically busted on purpose -so it seemed that way- to get on another table) Bill Phillips and Danny Dorcey were all to my Right.

I got down to 7000 after losing a few pots then made a really good call against the Super Aggressive player who is friends with Wunstel and Barousse but not sure of his name. He was a Super LAG player but reminded me alot of Bertrand Grospellier. I got in a raising war against him early when I had 22 preflop and didn't want to get it in with such a low pair, so I surrendered when I missed the flop. Then later he minraised preflop (as he did every single hand practically) and since he had position on me and it was folded to me, I flatted. Flop fell 383 and since he has such a wide range I really didnt feel that he hit any of the board so I checked with Q10s and he cbet as I expected. I decided to float to see if I either connect on the turn or if I could out play him on the turn. Turn is the Q and I have a feeling I take the lead and know he is going to continue to be aggressive. I put out a small bet and he raises me again. I'm not sure exactly how strong my queen is here and don't want to shove into a monster so I decide to just flat again. River is a blank and I am liking where I am at, but still unsure of my kicker. With the amount of hands he was raising, it was just highly improbable that he also paired the King with a higher kicker so I was willing to call whatever he bet. I believe he knew what I was thinking and truely put me to the test when he committed himself...and myself with a tournament life decision. I call and have a worse hand and be crippled. shove and lose, or flat, win the pot and get a good portion of chips. Well I make the call and he has A high and My queen is good.

I continue to pick some pots up but not much when I get involved in a huge hand and come out on the wrong end. I raised 2.5 with 8h 6h and got 2 callers (Extremely tight old guy and old guy that has a big cash in a circuit event.) Flop came out As 8d 6d and both players checked to me. I bet 675 into 1250 pot and get shoved on by super tight old guy and I know he has pair aces big kicker. Then the other old man goes into the tank, then with about 9.7k he goes allin over the top and I am thinking I have the best hand for sure as he is probably shoving a strong flush draw here or maybe a pair with nut flush draw. I am now wondering if I should just fold out of fear of being drawn out since its so early in the tournament, or make the call and hope I hold up to basically triple up again in this $340 buyin tourney. Well I make the call after some thought and I see AhJh from the first shover and 7d 5d from the other...and I hate how many outs he has and of course right there on the turn is the 4c giving the old man the straight. I dont fill up and my stack goes from 14.3k to 4.5k. A part of me wishes I would have just folded and waited for a better spot in the tournament but I know to win tournaments you have to win those kind of situations. It is still meddling in my head though.

After the 1st break I didnt last much longer as I get into another raising war with the Super Aggro and open with QcJc and super aggro min 3bets AGAIN and guy who turned straight on me just flats. I shove all in for 4.4k and then Super Aggro SHOVES for 6.7k. I am kind of annoyed but kind of happy because he gets the other guy to fold and what does he show.....Kd10d. I knew he didn't have much, but surprised he didn't give me much respect for a hand as well. It was a virtual Coin flip and I got completely out flopped as board ran out 10 10 9 Q J improving his trips to a straight and sending me to the exit. I didn't feel like investing another 350 into the tournament that ended up with 88 players so I decided to go sit down at the 1 2 NL game instead.

I buy into the game for $200 and get some decent small pots but my first big pot I hit a set with QQ and a guy decided to chase the flush and paid me about Half his stack for $150. I had to have seen AcKs or vice versa about 3 times and all 3 times I won the hand. I couldnt believe it. The session turned out really well and I cashed out $822 for a nice $622 profit. So having a nice profitable session in cash and still having $200 in tourney chips, I let a buddy borrow $125 to play a satellite and then bought into the 5pm $230 Omaha Tournament...which was basically a mistake. I literally played 3 hands in 2 orbits before I was out. First pot I check Called Flop and Turn with 2 flush draws and an inside straight draw and made the 2nd nut flush on the river, Checked it and of course the guy had Nut flush. Next hand I lost a small pot and on the Final hand I had Ad 9s 8s 7d and with blinds at 100 200 I raise to 500 and get 2 callers. I only have 4500 left and we started with 8000. flop falls 7 4 3 and I bet 1k into a 1500 pot.this leaves me with 3500. 1 guy calls and the turn is the 6 giving me open ender for the nuts and still top pair. I shove all in and he calls and shows two pair 8 7 6 2......on a Straight Board....I laugh in disbelief and need an A 10 9 8 or 5 to win the pot, but for some reason I have ran like shit so far when playing Omaha tournaments and completely whiffed as the river paired the 4.

So feeling a little tired, I decide to go back to cash game instead of just calling it a night and finishing with a good profit for the 2nd night in a row. I sit at 1 2 one more time. The first hand I played I get trip nines Ace kicker on the river and get check trapped when a guy played his runner runner boat sneaky and lost over half my first buy in right off the bat.
The last hand I played, I flopped top two with AQ on a Ah Qh 3h board and run into Two Flushes and some dude that reminded me of The Soloist with Jamie Foxx cause he kind of looked and dressed like him in that movie and was saying all kind of crazy shit at the table that gave me some good laughs the whole time. Well I dont Fill up agian. figured out that I actually managed a miniscule profit (Like $50 or 60 bucks) for the Day when I decide to get up from that horrid table. It all went down hill after the Omaha Game though. Well after I get some rest, I have one more full day to grind the tables before one of the Greatest Ragin Cajun's Football games I have ever witnessed to cap off such an awesome week.

To be Continued...

Matt Stroud

Bayou Poker Classic Trip Day 1 Recap

It finally came time for my Trip to Harrah's Casino for the Winter Bayou Poker Classic and after seeing a bunch of my fellow Acadiana Poker Player friends make some decent cash in tournaments previously in the week I was feeling confident I would have some success of my own. I am glad to say that I only had one day of this whole trip that I ended up in the Negatives and the only reason why is because I stayed up until 7am pretty much just staying even throughout the whole game after watching my Cajuns win a dramatic game at the very end setting the SuperDome into a frenzy. But I will get to that later.

Day 1, 5 pm $230 Buy-in.

I Arrived in New Orleans just in time for the 5 PM tournament. I looked around in the Tournament area and it seemed sparse. After talking with some of the players, I find out that the casino didn't advertise the events much at all. There was a small amount of players in almost every event and the structures of the tournaments really weren't that bad (other than the satellites and nightly's which is normal since they are meant to be quick.) I had bought into this tournament twice as the initial buy in I played horrible, over valuing top pair, having 2nd best in flush vs. flush, not listening to myself when making reads, and just spewing chips. I lost within an hour but it was a Re Entry tournament, so I got up and registered again and refocused and sat at a Table with an Aggro Reg from Shorty's Casino and Wild Bill of GCP. I also find out that there is an idiotic rule of a 1 round penalty if a player exposes their hand, even by accident. Yes so if it happens to get a gust of wind underneath, felt sticks the corner of the card, hits the dealer's hand when going into the muck, poker gods don't care, poker gods make you sit on the rail for a round.

This made me more confident and relaxed and started to play alot better. I stayed patient and picked a few spots to keep a pretty much even stack with what I started with when we moved tables and the Chip Leader came sit at my table. I was card dead for 5 - 6 blind levels and traded 3 1000 chips with the chipleader for some Good Luck chips and got a good laugh out of that. Well Right before the break happened I had about 7,500 in chips and the blinds were 200 400 with a 100 ante and it was folded to me on the button. I shoved 7500 into the blinds and was instantly called by BOTH of them as I say awesome and laugh.
SB shows 10 10, BB turns over AK os and I turn over K7 like a true donk! Before the dealer turns the flop I say "7 7 flop please" and to my amazement the board runs out 7 7 6 5 K and I triple up to 23,700!!

We get down to two tables and guy who limped with a big hand earlier did it again.I have 88 and raise as it folds to the big limper who shoves all in. The way he played it, I figured him for two overs like Ace Face or KQ KJ etc. and it is for 1/3 my stack to knock him out, so I decide to make the call. He shows AJ os and flop falls 33A....shit, no worries though 8 hits the turn to get me the Boat and I am relieved and then the other 8 falls on the river for good measure to knock the guy out.

The next big pot I won involved this very solid old guy who just ran like absolute dog shit at the end of the tournament. 3 pots in a row he got either 2 or 3 outed to cripple his massive stack that he worked up and I got the last bit of it. Old Solid guy limps button, I limp small blind and BB checks. We see a flop that falls 6 8 4 and I lead out 1/4 pot. BB folds and Old solid raises 4000. I think for a bit to try to figure out what he could possibly have and from how he was playing earlier I was thinking A8 or over pair to give him top  pair. I call and Turn is the 6 giving me trips and I have a strong feeling I pull ahead right here and decide to trap him. I check and he shoves all in. I make the call after some deliberation and had him covered by about 3000. He flopped the nut straight which caught me by total surprise and I think I make a huge mistake when yet again! the 8 hits the river to give me a full house knocking him out!! I now move up to 56k in chips with about 16 players left.

When we make the Final table, the guy I traded chips with said "Those lucky chips worked out for you huh?" I laughed and said, "It appears that way huh haha" I have to battle Blake Barousse, Corrie "bigslim" Wunstel, and Bill Phillips. Some New York Cash game player and a very timid young guy who was previously the chipleader was begging for a 9 way chop for about $1000 each. I knew Blake doesn't like to chop and Wunstel was also saying no chop. Bill Gets knocked out in 10th when his 99 loses a flip vs. AK GG sir. Then New York cash gamer gets his AA cracked buy a guy's KK and sends him steaming and missing out on the cash since top 5 were getting paid. There were only 48 entrants. As I try to grind to the money, I end up having to make some folds in a couple spots knocking my stack to 26k with blinds at 600 1200 and 100 ante and as we get down to 6 players I continue to try to convince big stack Wunstel and blakeb to chop. Wunstel informs the remaining players that Blake has to get a good share too since he is the backer so I figured 2600 would be good for first place and I was willing to take off 140 of mine since I was short stack to Blake giving him more than the others. They wanted $5000 which I thought was a bit much since we were all deep enough to play it out and 1st and second was $5500 when added together. If anything we were willing to offer them 1st and 4th instead. Then I started giving Blake a guilt trip to just cut me a break this one time since we go back and we agree on $4,600 so my share of the chop along with 3 others was $1,178 as I tipped $8 to the dealers including the two $10 dts for a $28 total tip. Blake got $2,200 and Corrie Got $2,400 and I also paid Blake back $100 for a loan from way back when that he wasn't in a hurry to get back but I had it for him if he needed it.

Original Payout
1st, $3,500
2nd, $2,000
3rd, $1,550
4th, $1,230
5th, $990

Chopped 6 ways
1st Corrie "Big Slim" Wunstel $2400 - $2600??
2nd Blake Barousse $2000-$2200?? whatever they decided
3rd-6th Me and some other guys $1178
It was a perfect start to a great week and I appreciate it big for giving me a break (even though I could have probably min cashed, the extra $200 was even better.

Matt Stroud

Cajuns to New Orleans Bowl, Hudspeth update

It's been a while since I wrote anything and unfortunately haven't been able to play much poker other than a .25 .50 cash game I hosted and had a bad session when I made 1 wrong decision that took away a profitable night in Omaha. Misread an aggressive opponent and had less outs than I though I would for a huge pot.

If you haven't noticed The UL Ragin' Cajuns accepted an invite to the R&L Carrier's New Orleans Bowl for their first bowl game in 41 years and First official bowl game since the creation of FBS and FCS rather than Div. I and Div II football! This is so awesome as the Cajuns finished the season with an 8-4 record (should have been 9-3 but the refs who officiated the Arizona game was truly giving the wildcats home field advantage by either blowing call after call on the Cajuns or making up bogus calls in key situations of the game to hand them the loss 45-37. If atleast two of those calls were taken back, then The Cajuns would have ended up with the win. But screw it. I can not describe how excited I am for this bowl game and cannot wait to be screaming in the stands. This will practically be a home game for UL as we are expecting atleast 25-30k to go watch the Cajuns take on the recently announced San Diego St. Aztecs who also finished 8-4 in the Mountain West Conference! It will be a really good match-up as they have a beast of a running back who has 1900ish total yards and almost 24 total TD's roughly. So this also means that they must have one hell of an offensive line as well. If you are wondering who the hell San Diego St. is, they recently started gaining more success in football again and some big name football alumni are Marshall Faulk and Kyle Turley, both of which have New Orleans ties.

For everyone who plans to attend, or at-least visit New Orleans, expect to see a sea of RED down Bourbon St. as the weekend approaches for Dec. 17th game! It will be some wild and crazy Cajun fans yelling and screaming for the Ragin' Cajuns on their way to a rapid growth in the UL Athletic community and Their first Cajun Bowl victory!! I expect there to be an awesome New Orleans Saints atmosphere in the Super Dome and if I would make a prediction on the game, I would say UL Ragin' Cajuns 35 San Diego St. Aztecs 32!

Other Sun Belt and Louisiana Match-ups
TCU vs. Louisiana Tech in the Poinsetta Bowl
...La Tech has done great this year but I Don't see them beating TCU
Arkansas St. vs. Northern Illinois in the Godaddy.com Bowl
This is the MAC champ vs. the Sun Belt champ and I think Ryan Aplin is a beast so I'm going with Ark St.
Florida International vs. Marshall in the Beef O' Brady's Bowl
This game is played in Florida so upside to FIU, who was the favorite to win the Sun Belt and Marshall has a good offense but I think FIU is the better team and will have no problem with the Thundering Herd.
LSU vs. Alabama in the BCS Championship
So this is what everyone is waiting for and honestly I think Alabama is extremely hungry for revenge but it wont be easy as LSU has one of the best defenses I have ever seen in college football (But I'm only 26). I am confident to say that Alabama, though it will be another nail biter, Will be Triumphant and piss off alot of Ok St. fans saying, "That should have been us" as the Crimson Tide will be the New #1 and get their revenge!! I can't wait to watch the rematch (The one the LSU Tiger fans didn't want cause honestly they're scared). Alabama FTW! Roll Tide...

So yes, Sunbelt....the conference everyone thinks they can walk allover will be 3-0 in Bowl games and Alabama will be the BCS Champs

More about College football, There have been alot of coaching changes and Rumors around Mississippi. Ole Miss HC Houston Nutt was fired, Southern Miss HC was a huge candidate, with all the controversy wrapped around Penn St., It was rumored Miss St. HC Mullen was a huge candidate for that job with the Nittany Lions but Mullen claimed to never get a call, happy where he is in the Sun Belt (Who would want to leave the best Conference in the Nation for that mess anyway?? Well With so many Job openings around Mississippi, or even the drama starters that wanna mention the job opening at Poo Lane University, There began to have talk with Mark Hudspeth as a huge candidate with all the sudden success he has been having at UL on the FBS level. He has had previous Head Coaching Experience at North Alabama and Delta St. but that is on lower college football levels and not the "Big Stage". Well If you are a Ragin' Cajun Die Hard this is a disaster, soap opera, and heart-breaker all wrapped up in one because We finally have an opportunity to turn the corner, possibly move up to a better conference with all the craziness going on with conference realignments, and be a huge competitor in Louisiana with the other Div I universities (ULM, La Tech, Tulane, LSU) Right now LSU is on top of a Mountain and looking down and laughing at UL with their big hopes, but They will start shitting bricks when we start competing with them athletically soon. By soon I say within 3 or 4 years soon.

Well after about a month of sweating rumors on Message Boards from Arizona, to South Louisiana, to Tennessee (Memphis), to Mississippi, Coach Mark Hudspeth Reassured his Fans and Ragin Cajun Community that he will DEFINITELY be a Ragin Cajun Next year and Scott Farmer, University Athletic Director, stated the goal is to make Hud the Highest paid Coach in Sun Belt Conference! I was so delighted to hear this news and hope Hud continues to Hold on to that Rope that he encouraged all his players, staff, and Fans to hold on to because he is one of the major contributors to the rapid growth of success and support in this community and an abrupt change in coaching position would mean a Train Wreck to the university and the momentum it has going for them. So thank you Coach for choosing Lafayette, LA to start a historical Career and I hope you fulfill every goal and dream you have with the University of Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. Thank you for seeing the same potential in this Community and Fan base that many of the die hard's shared. Can't wait to see you and the rest of the Team in the SuperDome December 17th!!!

Well that's all I got for now but I'll have another update soon with details on my trip to New Orleans for the Tournaments at Harrah's and of course the New Orleans Bowl!!

Thanks for Reading,
Matt Stroud

Heads up Tourney, Sunday Tourney, and APP domain name purchased!

Well last week was pretty busy for the most part. I am excited to say that I Purchased the Domain name and web hosting for 2 years for Acadiana Poker players, but I will get to that towards the end of the blog.

Heads Up Tourney
Saturday was my first shot at hosting a Heads up tournament and I found that the structure was great for a little home game but the turnout was kind of disappointing. I had enough room for a 24 person bracket, (Top 8 seeds get 1st round bye) like I talked about in a previous blog. But multiple people were either busy or not interested, so only 9 showed up to play. Had a handful of maybes but they never attended a game at my house before so the ice breaker is always tough, but don't be afraid, I don't bite, and I am not a poker mastermind apparently lol. Well anyway, my match was long and drawn out as I pulled against an opponent who had a similar style of play as me. Solid/Aggressive and we were really cautious of each other and not really getting too crazy. I misplayed one had when I had QQ and raised pre, bet the flop, but let her catch the river for the flush and had to muck, Then later I floated a couple bets on the flop and turn then threw out a bet on the river cause I smelt weakness and was right as I got her to fold with a decent bet. It wasnt towards the end of the match where we actually started showing down hands. The hand that crippled me, I had flopped top pair Kings and bet, she flatted. Turn gave me a K high flush draw as well, but made straight possibilites. I put her on a small flush on the turn when she bet all in, I actually thought I had her covered by more as well so that was a misread on stacks but I liked the spot as it could have went either way. I made the call and she showed the Jhigh straight. I ended up missing my flush to catch up and get shanked from 6250 to about 450.

The next hand I look at didn't really matter because the blinds were 200 400 at that point (We started with 6000 in chips and blinds went up every 12 minutes.) so I told her I'll be all in in the dark and she said well ill call obviously haha. I turned up J6 and she had A9. Right in the window the 9 rears its ugly head, then I miss the turn. Last desperate call I yell JACK and boom there is the Jack!! we laugh and I say can I go 2 in a row??
The next hand I post my 200 and look at Q9 suited and put 900 in the middle. Lets go!! She calls again and shows AJ and says GL...I laugh and say I dont have that much luck lol flop and turn are blanks again, I take a deep breath and yell QUEEN!! Boom Queen appears and I give my signature "Woo Hoo!" at the end of the hand lol. Very Next hand I look at 77 and now have 1800 and starting to creep back in it! She limps and I raise All in going for the trifecta and She calls with Q10 having 2 overs. Flop of course falls J 9 3 bleh. Turn was the 3, and then river crushed my dreams with an 8 giving her the Straight...gg me
She played a good match but ended up placing 4th and we paid out top 3
Congrats to her husband though for winning $300 beating the LuckBox Leprechaun (IDK How he pulled that off lol) It was fun and I'm sure we'll get more interests next time I have it.

Sunday Rebuy Tourney at Shorty's
The Sunday tournament I had mixed feelings about, I was feeling Confident but wasnt sure if I wanted to stay home and be lazy or drive out there and play. I already told a couple friends I was gonna go play so I got dressed and headed out the door. It started out slow and The first hand I actually won was Jack high when a supper aggro ATM was shoving all in every hand (It was unlimited rebuys for the first hour and a half so I was just waiting for big hands or trying to isolate vs. the ATM when I did get hands.) I finally got a hand where I wake up with AA on the bb and watch a waterfall of allins before I even get to act! I was loving it. I put a stack of about 7100 (busted a couple times and double rebought for 6k finally deciding to play patiently) Was in the tournament for $135 overall which isnt bad. Back to the hand there were 3 other players that were all in showing AQ off, 10 3 off (ATM), and K9s (yea idk). Flop was J 7 4 and I was feeling extremely confident as they didn't even connect. Turn and River also missed and I scooped a pot of nearly 30k. The ATM Fed me another 12k in Rebuys then the first break finally hit. I had about 45k and was sitting pretty nice but there was alot of poker to be played. I have been in this position multiple times, usually making the final table as long as nothing stupid happens, like coolers etc. but thats all a part of the game.

Well after the break I am hovering around 35-50k and just card dead, then I get involved in two hands against a guy that is on a stupid heater where won like 7 hands in 2 revolutions. Against me alone, he beat me with KK once and Turns a flush against me as well. Unfortunately I lost about 12k to him with the KK hand where I miss my flush on the river and knew if I hit, he was going to pay me off. I threw a blocker bet on the turn and was suprisingly raised, but only minimum. So at the point on the turn, it cost me 4k to win a pot of about 24k so I'm never folding there to draw out....well I missed Grrr. Then, I raise with Ah 9d as the table tightened up a bit once the ATM got ko'd by someone and got the same guy to call. the board came 9s 5h 4h and I bet out about 1/3 the pot to 3500. I believe the blinds were 500 1000 at this point and I raised 2500 preflop. He flatted and of course the turn is the 7h. He bets 3500 into me and I have the Ah and again he is giving me a good price to draw out. Well the river is a As and he bets 3500 again. It was one of those players that is tight enough to make it hard to take him out and makes it obvious when he has something, but dumb enough to not understand Bet sizing for shit. Well I hated this bet and felt like I had to donate again so pay to see his flush and he shows 10h 8h....bleh NH

I now have 24k and shove all in pre or fold for about 4-5 revolutions and post blinds. My stack hovers around this size when I get dealt Jd 7d in the cutoff and since it was folded to me (or maybe there was a player who limped early that I knew I could get to fold) I shoved all in. Of course, I run into KK, and the lady that beat me heads up...at MY house had it on the button lol. I have the worst timing some times and that is probably where one of my leaks lie sometimes, but I thought it was a good spot. Anyway I get a flush draw on the turn but unable to draw out and just kindly said NH and left to go check on my Fantasy Football scores.

Fantasy Football Update
I pretty much gave up in my $50 Bayou Fantasy Football League, but in Monkey's $100 FFB league I have quietly went on a 3 game win streak and last week earned an extra $25 for getting the most points in one week. BTW Will "PokerMonkey" Souther went on an awesome run at the Venetian in Las Vegas to get 2nd for $15k recently last week so congrats to you Sir!! I have a good shot of making the playoffs in that league as long as my guys stay healthy, I have JUST enough depth to get past a few others in the league but its a real close race and I play my division leader next week, If I beat him I can almost sure myself a Playoff spot with only 2 weeks left to the regular season (FFB Season ends week 13 and playoffs are 14, 15, and 16)
In the BFFL I made a few dumb trades in the very beginning and then the injury bug just kept attacking me for the rest of the year. This week Adrian Peterson and Shonne Greene along with AJ Green graced me with injuries to gaurantee yet another loss putting me at 3-7 lol I love it.

AcadianaPokerPlayers.com coming Soon!
Ok I am really excited and can't wait to start working on the website! My partner and I have some ideas and a layout of what we would like to display on the website but still are in the process of finallizing a look that will be attractive to the viewers eye and wont be too stressful for the reader! I will also have an online store with Shirts, Hoodie (Eventually), Coffee Mug and coozie updated as well, constantly working on shirt designs! The website will mostly consist of:

-Local Casinos in driving distance of Louisiana (5 hours or less)
Occasional Poker Room Reviews outside of driving distance.
-Casino Poker Room Reviews
-Blogs from Louisiana Poker Players
-News updates from Louisiana Poker Players' Success
Occasional random news in the poker world
-Bios of Louisiana Poker Players
-Link to the Facebook group (Just search Acadiana Poker Players)
-Online Store for great Merchandise

If you would like to have your blog on the website please let me know!
If you would like to advertise on the upcoming website please let me know as well!
I will basically be looking or advertisers with anything poker related and will discuss the advertisement package details to those interested. To start they will be very good deals but as the site gets more popular, the prices may go up so get em while you can!

I will set the goal to launch the website by February 1, 2012 so look for a blog soon!

Thanks,
Matt Stroud

Challenging the Big Leagues (took a shot last night)

OK, so I know I am comfortable playing 1 - 3 NL both financially and mentally. But last night I wanted to play some poker, and was pretty confident in my game lately. So being that it was Wednesday night and that means weekly tournament night at Shorty's, I knew there was at least ONE no limit game going on......And there was....The game I always try to avoid....The game where I have had more horror stories then success stories simply because I am not rolled for this crazy game. The 5 5 NL Holdem game at Shorty's is so juicy, So much money is on the table, but the players are the Loose Aggressive kind that will bet at you just to see you fold. The hands that I saw last night were unspeakable... It wasn't normal poker....not to say the least. This was regulars that knew each other and were making big bets and even bigger calls in BIG pots. The best way I can compare it is....Remember when you first learned what poker is, you had a hand full of change (quarters, dimes, pennies) and you and your friends would get together and just have fun, play around and make some crazy bets on pretty much nothing, but just want to see if you can out bluff one another??? Well yea, Try that but with $5 blinds and $10 straddle and the standard raise varied between $40 - $75.

As I was playing "tight" while watching all these calling stations and LAG Maniacs go at it, I was quietly dodging bullets, over stepping mines, and planting a few booby traps of my own. Of course the very first hand I play was AA on the button where I open to $25 and this was when the game was more of a $5 -5 game and not a $5 5 10 raise 40 game (but I'll get to that later). I get a caller from the BB who is this really old TAG player and some Asian dude in EP. flop comes 10 9 8 and I C-bet to $40 (Bought in for $200 initially and had 180 at this point) BB calls and EP folds. Turn falls an ugly J giving a 4 card straight on the board and I know he hit alot of it but not sure how much. So I check and BB bets $75 and I go in the tank for a while then look at him. He frowns triumphantly with his nose in the air, and waves his hand as if he was dismissing me and says "I got you son, go ahead and lay it down" Usually this is an ACT of strength but I took it as honesty (wont tell you why though, you'll just have to read one of the books on psychology and tells that I suggested in a past blog when I was suggesting Poker Literature ;) ) and showed my AA as I folded. He showed 10d 8d and scooped the pot. I was like NH, hope this isn't a sign lol. Very next hand in Late position alot of people (6 players) limp to see a flop and I have Qs 3s and figure OK lets give it a shot (have 115 behind) flop is Q 3 2!! sweeeet guy in early position bets out $65 into a $35 pot LOL I think it was because there was a flush draw out there and he wanted them out of the way. So I shoved over the top and he instantly called and showed Qc 2c for a cooler. I held and doubled up now with $240

As we continue to play and my stack goes back down to $180, the guy directly to my right has been known to be a super loose aggressive calling station....pretty much what you wanna get involved against when you get a big hand. Well he is in the SB and I am in the BB look down at Ad Qd and people limp as he raises to $50 with about 35 in dead money already in the pot I figure this would be a perfect squeeze play so I shove for $180 to either take the pot right there or go for a double up. Well needless to say he wakes up with AA and happily calls to take my stack. Horrible spot by me lol. This isn't the last time we tango in the blinds.

I felt like a kid in a Candy Store last night.

The next time I am in the BB vs a straddle of $10 and about 4 limpers, super LAG Raises to $95 preflop this time. I look down at QQ and think about re raising but this is a huge bet (I re bought in for $300 and now have about $580 after playing a few hands) I figured to just flat call and hope to spike a queen or give a wet board with good outs. Surprisingly another player flats behind and it is 3 to a flop with about $320 already in the pot. I have about 380 behind and the flop comes K 9 4. I hate this flop and hate it even more when the SB bets out $300. I instantly put him on AA or KK and say NH and fold. Other guy tanks then finally folds and Super LAG laughs and shows his Kd after saying "Pick one" with a smile.

The Final Time we got into it in the blinds (yes 3 times, 3 big hands) I have a stack of about $410 and SB raises to $65, I kinda roll my eyes and look down at......QQ again...wow I KNOW I'm ahead this time and instead of flatting I min raise to try to get him to shove on me preflop. Well he looks at me and says "REALLY?? well I guess you're ahead this time...definitely if you have a pair..." Then he calls the $140, Again it is heads up to the flop, Again the flop comes and it is K 8 6. But I am sticking to my read and put him on the range of 1010 or 99 or just air trying to push me off as he saw me folding often and figured me as a timid player. He bet $300 and I have $270 left. I laugh and told him, "dude if you really got me again then I guess tonight is not my night, so here take my chips." and I made the call. He was like, "wow, you really got QQ again?!?! I turned over my Queens and he kept his hidden. The turn was the Ac completing the flush and giving another over card and I said...well shit I guess you win...he said "Nope, I need to hit your queen"
I laughed and said "Oh, OK" (that means he had J10 and was just trying to push me around). I scooped the pot of $820 and now have a profit of about $320.

Well Like I said earlier they were straddling $10 almost every other hand and they wanted me to join in but I kept refusing. So Super LAG to my right said, What if we do it for one round would you agree to that? I said sure if every one does it I will too. Of course this was during about 2 hours of just getting cold decked and no cards so my $820 stack was decimated to $465 after losing a few pots that were either second best or missing about 11-16 outs twice. Well I was trying to stay patient (Thanks Mike Fontenot fellow APP'er  for keeping my head composed as well...he chopped 5 ways in the weekly tournament for a nice $900 profit) and then the mega hand I was waiting for came to reward me of my patience. I folded suited weak aces and weak kings in early and mid position spots 3 times and saw them make the flush for a monster pot but didn't let it get to me, just kind of annoyed that the times that I chose to play I would miss lol. Well I get dealt Ks 9s in Late position and an EP raiser who was playing fairly LAG raised to $20 preflop. it folded to me which I called and 3 others called behind. $105 in the pot and one player behind me) The flop comes 7s 8h 5s giving me a gut-shot straight draw with the flush draw and two overs, but I think I rather see a K hit and not the 9 hit) well it is checked to me and I bet $40 into the $105 pot. A guy behind me calls and the EP raiser calls. The turn is a 4c and it is checked to me again. I bet $140 representing my straight now (But still have a lot of outs vs. a made straight, set, or 2 pair and surprisingly BOTH call. This swells the pot to $645 and I have $235 left. The river gives me my spade but it is the 4s pairing the board. Even though This card was scary, I had committed almost all of my money for this card and if someone called all the way down with 2 pair or a set on the way I played the hand then I was willing to give them my chips but As played I was still representing my straight. I shoved All in and the guy behind tanks for a while again...then finally puts in the $230, and AGAIN the EP raiser Check calls $230 (She has been calling light for the whole night so I wasn't worried about her hand and put the guy behind me on a straight) Guy behind shows his 7 for the straight and before the EP raiser turned over her hand I showed my K9 spades for Second flush and they both shook their heads and threw the cards in the muck! Finally got the taste of a pot over $1k and tipped the dealer a couple redbirds for the gift on the river!!

How I felt after winning that huge pot!

I go order food then come back and play for a few more rounds win a few pots, lose some pots Before I start winding down my game there was a ridiculously huge pot that 2 out of the 3 players had no business being in and basically donated to the guy with a legitimate hand. But its like I said Earlier....This was not normal poker, lol. There was a pre-flop raise of $65 vs a $10 straddle and I was pretty much the only one that didn't call the raise looking at 10 4 off lol. Pretty much every one was licking their chops to this pot that didn't even see a flop yet at about $450. The flop was Q 8 4 with 2 spades and the lady that paid me off earlier was again in EP (She had no since of position and plays often lol) bets $95. 2 fold then it gets to a very aggressive guy to my left who raises to $250 (has about $1150 to start the hand) an older gentleman after him opts to Just call the $300 (has about $1400 to start the hand) and the lady in EP was all in for $245. At this point everyone was huddling around the table as the main pot has now swelled to almost $1200 and the side pot had $110. The turn fell a red K and the Aggressive guy to my left shoved for his remaining $650. This sent the guy in LP in the tank for a good while as this was a huge decision and if he were wrong, he'd be left with about $300-400. They were all regulars and the super aggressive started saying "I got you beat, You should fold." "I don't want your money, Just fold and let me take this pot, I got you beat" "You're gonna regret it if you call, don't do it." IDK if the LP just wanted to gamble or just didn't believe him, but he slowly slid in the $650 for the call and the pot had well over $2500 in it. The river was a club and the Aggressor showed a Set of Queens as the other two mucked their hand!!

I checked my phone and saw it was now almost Midnight.(I arrived at 6:20 and was on call so didnt want to be stuck in a tournament if I got called out) I figured it was time to call it a night even though I wanted to stay at the table cause the game was perfect and I adapted to it well. I was in for $500 and ended up cashing out $1450 and for once I can share a success story and not a horror story from the crazy 5 5 NL game at shorty's that plays like a 5 5 10 and sometimes 5 10 20 game! I could have won my last hand but every one knows the dreaded last hand play so I chose not to get to fancy with 10d 6d even though they were betting crazy and my 10 on the river would have scooped another $500ish. I was very satisfied with my night and hopefully the next time I sit at that game, I will be properly bankrolled to play it, but sometimes you just gotta take shots to get where you want to be.

Hope you enjoyed the read
Matt Stroud

Acadiana Poker Players dominate WSOP Circuit Biloxi!!

I am so happy for all of the guys who made Final Tables this past week at the WSOP Circuit at IP Casino and Resort. The Cash games were juicy and seeing some nice pictures from friends and their mountains of chips and Benjamins. There were also the great performances put on by some local players and good poker buddies.

First was Mr. Gene Dudek (Gene D) of Houma, LA who started out the avalanche of destruction as he finished 3rd place in Event 2. This was only the start of his phenomenal performance as he also went on to get 3rd place in Event 9 and came even closer to claiming his first Circuit ring in the $1k Event 10, but got 2nd for a nice $20k score. Overall Gene D earned $40,318 in 3 Tournaments and 95 circuit points which could earn him the Casino Champion and automatic Qualification for the Circuit National Championship played in Las Vegas!!


Next in Event 4, a regular at Shorty's Casino, Mr. Casey (Jordan) Andrus of Lafayette, LA placed 5th in Event 4 for a nice score of $3,660

I have already written about Ricky Romero of New Iberia, LA and his first WSOP Circuit Ring he earned for Event 5. What I did not tell you is that he Made another deep run vs. a very talented Final Table in Event 12. He was unable to over come many great pros but had a respectable finish of 6th place to get 5th overall in the Casino points leader board and earned $14,605 for his efforts along with some great hardware to show off!


The very next Day. Event 6 was the Six Handed NL Holdem and another familiar face claimed the title to this event! 21 Year old Caufman Talley III of Lafayette, LA displayed his phenominal aggressive skills as he battled his way through 197 even outlasting pretty tough pros like Mark Rose, BJ McBrayer, and Tim Burt. This is Caufman's 2nd win and 1st WSOP Circuit Ring as well and he earned $14,555 for this Triumphant victory!


You know how I told you about Gene D's dominate performance at this years WSOP Circuit. Well his partner in crime Mr. Bill "Wild Bill" Phillips of New Orleans, LA also did some destruction of his own. First Final Tabling the $1,000 Event 10 and placing 8th. He did not stop there as he continued to steamroll and went on his greatest tournament performance and earned his largest score of his career in the $1,600 Main Event. He almost pulled off the unthinkable and won the Championship and Automatic Qualification of the National Championship but lost a coinflip race Heads Up instead giving him Runner Up and a great story to share with his friends. He netted $73,531 in just 2 tournaments and Also got top 5 in the Casino points Leader board for the Circuit events. I'm pretty sure he will be making the trip to Vegas with Gene D regardless as well!


Jacob Naquin of Houma, LA also had a very impressive run at the Circuit Main Event as he made some spectacular plays and once held the chiplead at the final table! He had 2 unfortunate hands that would later cripple him and then eventually go on to take 3rd place earning a nice score of $50,862. This is the second time Naquin was extremely close to tasting victory only to have the fate of Luck steal it away (First time was Event 43 in Las Vegas for a WSOP Bracelet) but as phenomenal of a poker player he is, the time will soon come for him to be reigned champion! Great show sir.


There were many more Locals that cashed throughout these events, But I also want to congratulate the following for their great efforts!
Blake Barousse - won the opening Nightly event for $2k
Randal Dubois - 28th in Main Event for $3,187

here are some fun hands from the Main Event by Jacob Naquin and Bill Phillips via PokerNews.com
Bill Phillips hands
Jacob Naquin Hands

See you at Harrah's in December!
-Matt Stroud

Poker vs. Ricky Romero! (Congrats on first WSOP Circuit Ring) s/o to Caufman Talley also!

Ricky Romero

As I often do, I check the results of local tournament circuits and events across the gulf coast. (Mostly Biloxi, MS and along Hwy 90 of Louisiana) Recently I was excited to see a long time poker rival and friend got his first WSOP Circuit Ring at the IP Casino in Biloxi, MS. Ricky Romero (New Iberia, LA) was always a solid poker player with good understanding of the game and even though he wasn't the superstars you would see playing on ESPN or read about in Magazines, he was very patient and picked spots wisely to take advantage of his opponents weaknesses. Romero beat out 160 players in a $345 buy in tournament for a Prize of $12,208 and the Circuit Ring (See picture!)Event 5 Results

I first met Ricky when I was 18. I was going to college at UL and was invited to a Home tournament with a bunch of old guys (ages 40-70) with 2 tables for a $30 buy in. These guys have been friends and playing against each other for a long time and the best part about it was they didn't allow women at their game haha. It was a guys night, talking about guy stuff and not having to worry about offending anyone. They were good people and it was good fun so I started playing there consistently as they had a point system. I never really worried about the points and just wanted to make the money when I played (Didn't play there as often as the others) but Ricky was one of the better players of the group. He was good at getting into his opponents heads and throwing them off their game. I allowed him to do this to me at times but now I don't even pay attention to what he says since I know why he is doing it. Well one day it got down to me and him heads up and every now and then we chop to split first and 2nd place money but I wanted to play him heads up. We were even in chips, but when he asked if I wanted to chop I told him I kinda want to play it out so if I win "I could beat a local poker legend". I said this kind of jokingly but he is a good player and I always love the challenge of beating solid poker players. Romero already had a few cashes from Tournaments at Tunica, MS and also the Seven Clans Tournament at Coushatta in Kinder, LA and also had alot more experience then me but I was still wet behind the ears and like a sponge soaking up as much knowledge as possible (still try to today as the game is always evolving) I go on to beat him in the Heads up match and I think it kind of irked him and that is when our Rivalry began.

Since that day We have always tried to outplay each other at the table no matter where we are at. Whether at a friendly house game, or at the local Casino in the weekly tournaments. We definitely respect each others game but we never back down to a challenge either. We have even shared advice with each other and roomed in Biloxi, MS during a tournament Circuit (when I was being a bum). Ricky is a very humble and friendly guy but he is also very competitive to say the least. I am proud to have gotten to know this man over the years and Since some days he has had my number, and other days I have had his, I am confident that one day, I too will be able to get to the final table of a Circuit event, and one day, I will get that Circuit Ring as well. Seeing Ricky share his story with the regulars yesterday at the weekly tournament at Shorty's Casino was fun to listen to and everyone congratulating him on his victory. He has built up a nice resume in tournament success and hopefully this can lead to even more success, but I can also say that once my Bankroll is in order I hope to be right there with him. All it takes is one big score but it is no easy feat.

Speaking of the Tournament at Shorty's
I went play because I got 10 out of 13 right on the football pick'em contest so I was thinking I had a chance to win some money....well yea I was completely mistaken but In the tournament it started out really slow.
The first table I was at, the best hand I saw was 77 preflop and got no action (thankfully) but there were multiple spots where I bluffed to steal pots to keep me above my starting stack. Even though at one point I got down to 4k (starting stack is 8k) by the First Break and Add on Period, I worked my stack up to 10.7k so after the add on I had 18.7k which was good to do some work with. At the new table I got involved in a hand where I raised in EP with A7 Suited to 1800 at blinds 300 600 (I hate the Wednesday tournament structure btw....way too fast) and get a caller from the SB who usually just plays big cards and doesn't get out of line. the flop comes A Q J and SB checks to me so I continue to bet 2400 and she doesn't take long to call. Then the turn peels off a 7 giving me 2 pair and there is now about 10k in the pot. I think I have the best hand at this point then bet 6k and SB calls again. River is a 5 and she shoves all in. This was an odd play as I put her on something on the flop but I think she would have reraise me sooner with a Set and checked again if she had the straight to let me hang myself....then I look at her and she is just staring at me aggressively. This gave me the feeling that she didn't want a call with the (Act Strong mindset) she was giving me. I made the call and she shows AK for top pair top kicker. she had me covered by 1900 chips and "Couldn't believe I made that call" but I wasn't about to tell her that I picked up the tell on her.

After that I got huge respect from the table and was getting nice hands and picking good spots to work up the CL at my table. But I was also getting tired (For some reason don't play my best after being at work all day) and kind of lost interest and started bleeding off my stack. First made a bad decision to call a super short stack for about 1/10 my stack to try knock out a pretty good opponent. I had 87 and he showed KK and I hit my 7 but nothing more than that. Then an overly aggressive older gentlemen that was wearing multiple women's rings for some odd reason went all in UTG for 12k. I had 37k and put him on a hand like 33-99. I figured QcJc was good enough to make the call and got the others to fold. He turned over 66 and the flop was Ac 10d 9s giving me open ended draw with 2 overs....well I completely miss and more of my chips disappear. At this point I felt like I was just going through the motions and should have like stepped away from the table or stood up and stretched or something to wake my ass up. I guess my head just wasn't into the grind last night. I get 66 in the bb at blinds 1000 2000 with a 200 ante and I have 23k in my stack. It is folded to the SB who raises to 5k (He has 27k in his stack) If I would have really thought about it, Him as well as most others at the table would bet small when they wanted a call and bet big when they didn't. Only 2 people did not do this other than myself at the moment. Well instead I went over the top of him all in since I had 10-11 bbs and figured if he has 2 overs I like this spot. Well he snap called and I knew I was facing an over pair instead. He turns over QQ and there is no 6 to save my life So I collect my things and walk out. I started out playing very well but kind of lost momentum as I felt myself getting fatigued.

I just found out another Poker friend of mine, Mr. Caufman Talley III (Lafayette, LA) just won a Circuit Ring as well in the 6 handed $345 buy in for $14,555!!! Event 7 Results This is Caufman's 2nd Live tournament win and 3rd Final Table. His Live debut was in New Orleans where he played 2 tournaments and final tabled both of them. Only being 21, this kid as well as his poker mentor Blake Barousse have phenomenal poker skills and feared at the table regardless of where they play! This is making me want to be in Biloxi, MS so bad but I must wait until December when I go play the Winter Bayou Classic at Harrahs Casino from Dec. 8 - 18. I am so happy my Acadiana Poker Player buddies are having success in Biloxi and hope they continue to crush!

Caufman Talley III

- Matt Stroud

UL 7-2 Next stop ULM at home! (+179 at 1-3 nl)

Well unfortunately I reduced my cable plan from cox to save $50 a month with the baby coming in, and this upswing in poker has definitely been helping. But, basic cable SUUUUUCKS and I didn't have any good sports channels so I couldn't watch my Ragin' Cajuns play MT on Cox Sports Network. I thought I had the plan all figured out and was going to go to my buddy Tommy's house and watch it on his Big screen because he was going to rig it up where he put ESPN3.com on there and we just watch it as usual. Well turns out the ESPN network wanted to regionally black the game out to the only area in America that really gave a crap about it and that's where the Sun Belt Conference was....I think it was because It was being televised on another network. I found this crappy information out at about 3pm and the game started at 6:30 pm, so I had to find out a new plan and do it quick. I called the poker room to make sure they had the channel and asked if my buddy wanted to go to the Shorty's Poker Room to watch the game and play some cards. This way I could get paid to watch UL go for their 7th win. He found a babysitter for his little girl and we were off to the Casino!

We get into the room just in time and I ask for them to turn on the game and put my name (and Tommy's name) on the 3 6 12 and 1 3 NL list. There is a new Cashier in her 40s or 50s that acted like she never counted money before in her life (I think she was just extremely nervous...for what idk) so that was annoying. I noticed there are 2 open seats at 3 6 12 limit. I really hate this game but didn't want to be bored out of my mind so I sit down and watch the game. I am absolutely card dead and get 3 big pocket pairs get cracked by sets and after losing $113 I decide not to risk anymore money on this game and cash out like $55 and just wait and see if a 1-3 NL opens up. UL quickly gets up to a 14-0 lead and people in the poker room are surprised The Cajuns are on TV! So far Tommy and myself have opened up the bandwagon even more to the depths of the St. Mary Parish and I am proud to say that I assisted in this. By Half Time the score was UL 21 MT 0 and the Cajuns were rolling and in control on the Blue Raiders home field (which was freezing in Tennessee from what I understood) So I was loving this. Tommy also cashed out being down $60 as we both enjoyed watching the new cashier cash out our chips and recount our money about 3 times. We decide to go play Flop Poker for the hell of it during half time and go back into the poker room to watch the 2nd half of the game. Tommy started out with $80 and I started a little bit later with $50 and we both just win hand after hand, then split pot after pot, and before we knew it, we both won back the money that was lost in 3 6 crap poker.

Alonzo  Harris

My buddy Beaver is a Limit poker guru apparently because every time he plays that game he ends up profiting $100-200 and I just don't fathom how he runs so well in the game of bingo haha. I can pull a profit every now and then, but not as consistent as I can in NL Holdem. Well we go get some grub and check the stats of the UL game and find out that Alonzo Harris already has 160 yards and 1 TD. The dude is a Man Child and only a Freshman. He was recruited as a FB and some people were thinking he was going to be put on the defensive side of the ball as a LineBacker but I'm glad they didn't because that would have been stupid in my eyes since we struggled so bad the past few years at RB. Having 2 beastly freshman, and others that are either red shirted or incoming We will be unbelievable on offense for the next few years! BTW Devon Lewis-Buchanon, a senior Linebacker, gave UL their 6th INT for Touchdown of the season which is leading the Nation! Harris finished the game with 189 yds and 2 TDs!

The game starts up again and my buddy and I are still waiting to play NL when we continue to watch the Cajuns Destroy the Blue Raiders. I was loving it and I was loving even more that those everyday LSU fans were cheering on the Cajuns in the poker room and in awe by the dominant performance that was being displayed for everyone tuning in. I also learned that the game was being shown in the Off Track Betting room and one of the bars of the casino as well! Just goes to show that getting wins will fix all the problems an athletic program encounters. UL had the talent for many years with Rickey Bustle. Even though Bustle had a great football mindset, he did not have the motivational speeches, the intense personality, or the high spirit to encourage others to believe in his program. That is what was needed at UL. That is the final piece of the puzzle to Turn this program into a great one that can compete with bigger programs and possibly move up to a more reputable conference! By the end of the 3rd Quarter the score is 38-7 and I am seeing myself standing in the Super Dome for UL's first bowl game since 1970 surrounded by a sea of red. This was the first time UL has gotten 7 wins since 1993. It's such a great time to be a Ragin Cajun.

As the 4th Quarter is about to begin they FINALLY call people to start the 1-3 NL game.I go to the cashier with $165 and as for $40 in white (1 dollar chips) and the rest in Red (5 dollar chips). She proceeds to say "OK so you want a stack of Red $100 and 2 stacks of white $40??" I just looked at her with this face like...you're kidding me right? then basically walk her threw counting the chips to make sure she doesn't short change me. Then she tries to give my buddy an extra $20 when he as for $20 in white and $80 in red lol it was hilarious! There were only 2 people that I recognize (as regulars). The rest are your mediocre poker players (even had a guy call me down with bottom pair for an $80 pot lol) after that hand He was the first fish I wanted to get involved with. Then I noticed a guy over bet a pot where I flopped 2 pair and after I called he froze and checked it down then mucked when I showed....so Fish number 2 targeted. Finally There was a hand where a player raised to $13 (standard raise) and I had position on him and called with 5h 6h and then the BB reraised to $25 (this guy was overly aggressive but with skeptical hands, very readable) The original raiser only had $31 so I called cause he couldn't reraise and the 3 bettor called. with $93 in the pot the flop came Qs 6c 2h and I get this gut feeling that I could be ahead but wasn't 100% sure. Then the 3bettor immediately goes all in. He has an additional $94. He did this multiple times before but didn't have to show and I just had a really good feeling about my hand. Either that I was ahead or that I was going to draw out and improve. I had about $210 at this point and didn't want to risk half of my stack on a hand I was unsure about so I folded and told him I really think I have the best hand. He turns over Ace Jack and the all iner had J 10 so I would have held and won the pot bleh... I just didn't have the right pot odds with my read (I was thinking he had a pp from AA, KK, JJ, 1010, 99. If I would have even put him on 2 overs I wouldn't have been 100% comfortable with my read and sweat out half my stack. I just didn't want to gamble at that point since I was so confident I could out play the opponents on later hands. I made a decision that would help me play profitable in the long run and that is what made me satisfied with my play. I continued to pick good spots and the table was respecting my bets. I ended up cashing out $344 for a profit of $179

There is also a little NFL Pickem Contest that Me and Tommy played and so far we only missed 2 of the games. If you get the most picks right and have the tie breaker, 1st gets $500, 2nd $400, 3rd $300, 4th $200, 5th $100. The best thing about it is all you need is a players card and to be there when they announce the winners. I only would go if I get 10 or more right out of 13 games. and so far I missed the Saints (cause who would have picked St. Louis to win?? seriously) and the Panthers. If the Eagles and Chargers win I will have 11 out of 13 right...but so will Tommy and the tie breaker is guessing the point total for the MNF game. I guessed 48 and Tommy guessed 49 lol so that should be interesting! hopefully I can pull some bonus NFL pickem money as well though!

Geaux Cajuns!!

White out Cajun Field vs. ULM! Hope to see you there!!!

-Matt Stroud