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

Adding cushion to the Lead!

Last night we played 7 card Stud and had 17 players. It was a small buyin, but most of the players are just trying to accumulate points to make it into the Final 9. I'm playing for the bonus money as I am pretty much set for the Final 9 but can get $200 extra if I stay on top the leaderboards. The structure was pretty tough because it wasn't really fast paced, but you started with 50 big bets and if you played too many hands and didn't win many, chances are you were going to get eliminated quickly. So being selective is very important. I was happy with my play pretty much the whole night picking spots to be aggressive and though its not my best game I was familiar with it and was confident. That Confidence turned into a second place finish as we did a chip count chop at the end and the CL had a 3:1 chip lead advantage on me knocking out 3rd and 4th place simultaneously.

I have to give props to my boy Mike Silvas for pretty much Folding his way to the money as he was dealt shit cards all night but stayed patient enough to get 4th as the top 5 got paid. This poor guy seemed to have had to bring in almost every hand, it was sick. There was a streak where he posted the bring-in atleast 6 or 7 times in a row. As bad as I felt for him, it was pretty freaking funny. Towards the end of the tourney I was waking up with monsters in my bring-in, with Buried pairs, 3 card flushes and 3 card straights. Like I said before, I was feeling confident but then the words cash games was fluttering in the air and I wanted to jump in the action rather than fight for an Extra $20 for first. So I took $100 and the winner won $120 in a Chip Count Chop and we started a 7 handed .25 .50 cash game.

There were three guys already playing around and one guy just crushed the other two and as the new cash game started he was sitting with about $60-70 while everyone else bought in for $20-35. I had the 3 crazies to my right and the 3 solid Tight players to my left so I liked my spot at the table. It was also a bunch of my league players so we all pretty much have ideas of how we play so it makes it an even better game. The guy with $60-70 was up to his normal shit, 3betting, shoving on dry boards, He is a pretty good cash game player but has a wide open range so its really hard to place him on a hand, its either monster or air. well tonight it was air apparently as the Tilt monster got a hold of him after a couple of beats and he just couldn't catch up for the rest of the night. I made a hero call against the guy that I chopped heads up with and of course get rewarded by him catching one of his 6 outs on the turn.

I was in mid late position with 6c 5c and player in early position raised to 1.50 got a caller then a re-raise to $4 I am next to act and call knowing there will be atleast 2 more callers and I have $21 left behind. If I hit my hand it is well disguised and I can win a huge pot. Well the Button calls and the original Raiser and caller also call the $4 and there is $20 in the pot. Flop comes 6s 3d 3h and I am pretty sure I'm the only person to connect on that flop and the action is checked to the 3bettor who goes all in and has almost everyone covered. He has been playing pretty crazy loose and saying how he wanted to go and showing loose hands after scooping pots so I don't put him on much, but also give the possibility for 77-1010. But then he starts talking. Almost too much...Like he didn't want anyone to call. So then I started feeling more confident in my hand again. I figured he has 2 overs at best and just trying to take the pot down so if I hold I can win this knowing no one else will call as they were showing no interest and getting ready to fold their hands or not paying much attention to his actions. (I use alot of psychology in my reads and it usually helps. There is so much information a person's body gives off it's ridiculous) I call and show my hand and the villain flips over Ah Js. Before I can even Congratulate myself on making a good call, I burn then Turn, and the Jh appears to laugh at my face and stack me.

When I go back to watch them play I see The original villain has already lost the chips that I gave to him and working on losing the rest. I'm thinking to myself, "Man why did I have to lose that pot lol." It also made me want to jump back into the game because the money was flying and the action was good. I scrapped up another $20 and said OK last one. I started out pretty good winning a couple small pots then bluff off a portion of my stack when I just knew I messed up against an opponent that also makes good reads. I was chewing gum and while I was playing, I was chewing kind of fast and talking being relaxed, but in this hand I felt my jaw chewing a little bit slower and I think he picked up on this since I barreled 3 times for him to just smooth call with top pair weak kicker. It was my mistake and I don't normally chew gum but it was delicious and my breath was reeking so I had to freshen it up a bit heh. Well a few hands later I get locked up in a pot against the same player who made a good read on me. With the standard raise at about 3-4x preflop, he bets out 7x, for some reason this just yelled small pocket pair to me and he didn't want to play it. I look down at 10 8 suited and wanted to represent a bigger hand. I have $14 left and opt to shove all in. Everyone folds to him and he is the type of player to know he is behind but call to suck out and it is amazing how often this happens. Well he calls and shows 4 4 so my 10 8 suited is in good shape to draw out. Another player utters, "I had 10 9" and the flop falls J 10 9....Thank GOD! I hate when people say they have some of my outs but oh well BOOOOOM thanks for folding haha. the 4s don't catch up and it bumps me back up. I go on to make a small $25 profit in this game as the 5 players that stayed in the early AM all cashed out a profit which doesn't happen too often.

It was a good night of poker, KK AA and other big hands all held up leaving very little room for complaint. Hopefully I can keep this up and keep my confidence strong going into Biloxi, MS because I am due for a huge score!

Matt Stroud