Back to "normal"

I hesitate to use the term "normal" for the show but that is what I am going to do.

This weekend I am looking to go back and do a "normal" show. I don't want to set too many expectations on what the podcast is supposed to be - we want a certain amount of flexibility to allow us to grow and improve.

Having said that I need Stacks back to make me look good and a show without the Prof just doesn't have credibility!

Thursday night a few of the Admirals will be meeting to play some low blind NL Holdem. I plan to bring the lav mics to interview Mark about the feedback we've received (specifically from Ray) and give him a chance to respond.

Speaking of Ray I forgot to post his email - I'll rectify that this week (worst case I'll post it with Mark's rebuttal).

But what of the quality!?

Our Sunday show is up and available.

Some random comments:

a) Due to time commitments Brent and I recorded via Skype to Skype rather than a double-ender. None of those "blips" that plagued us a few weeks ago returned, although they are still there on the skype to phone recordings. I need to figure out what those are.

b) I am experimenting with a lower sound quality to save bandwith/download time. I noticed Adam Curry records at 128kbps and compresses to 64 and he plays music. I have been recording at 128 and compressing to mp3 at 128. It is likely a waste of space for a show like ours (that's what the Prof says) and this week we tried 96.

c) As Iggy noticed I have not yet built a proper archive page to link to the torrents Tor is building for us. I am working on a portal web page with some details. I am also looking for a new host that will allow me to keep the mp3s around.

This week's show will be a North Ontario special. As Mrs. Cinci and I will be on vacation I'll bring up the portable studio and have Mark and I do a "cottage special".

A Guest Appearance

This week I made an appearance on The John and Wayne Show. This is a comedy podcast out of Oklahoma City that I've been enjoying recently.



Wayne is heading off to Vegas next month and thought he'd ask me some questions about sin city. I don't know how much help I was but it sure was fun.
The guys are hilarious and I can't recommend their podcast enough.

While talking to Wayne I found out he has been recording his interviews via Skype on the same PC he is running the S/W on. I didn't think this was possible on a PC without virtual cables. In talking with him I realized my Skype version was behind a few updates. Now I know I can use one PC for playing and recording if I use my Audigy but can I do it with my Tascam in the mix? I'll have to give it a go...

Another Golden Nugget

I have finally been able to upload the three short segments Stacks recorded at our heads-up tournament last week. If they provide any value it can be found in the quality the i-river external mic provides.

For those of us familiar with the personalities involved it can be fun listening to the babbling of the losers about how their dreams of a Gold Chip fell apart. For others it is probably of minimal interest - but that is why it is not in the main show and only a mid-week segment.

This upcoming week's show should be a good one. Dr. Pauly will be back as he prepares for his gig in Vegas covering the WSOP. Naturally the Poker Prof is expected. I also plan a hand review with Mark focusing on a tactic explained in SSH.

Congrats to the Mad Doctor...

Inferno the Mad Doctor from Kingston Ontario won the Lord Admiral 2005 Club Championship.

Brent managed to make some recordings on his Iriver and I had hoped to have them up Friday night but it never worked out. I should have them up next week for our second inter-week "Golden Nugget".

Thanks to Mark for a well-run tournament.

How about this micro-limit hand from CnR.

Check n Raise Poker Game #2245245: Hold 'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.20)

Sat May 07 22:40:49 EDT 2005

Table 'Ponchielli' Seat #5 is the button

sabastien78: posts big blind + dead small $0.30

Seat 1: sabastien78 ($12.60)

Seat 2: lady_luck04 ($19.30)

Seat 3: Tunisie ($6.15)

Seat 4: izelenski ($22.10)

Seat 5: sagewaIker ($27.05)

Seat 6: TorontoKid ($38.55)

Seat 7: acgail ($24.75)

Seat 9: hookem33us ($14.95)

TorontoKid: posts small blind $0.10

acgail: posts big blind $0.20

*** HOLE-CARDS ***

Dealt to TorontoKid [TH JH]

hookem33us: folds

sabastien78: checks

lady_luck04: calls $0.20

Tunisie: calls $0.20

izelenski: folds

sagewaIker: raises $0.40 to $0.40

TorontoKid: calls $0.30

acgail: calls $0.20

sabastien78: calls $0.20

lady_luck04: calls $0.20

Tunisie: calls $0.20

*** FLOP *** [7H 2H 6D]

TorontoKid: checks

acgail: bets $0.60

sabastien78: calls $0.60

lady_luck04: folds

Tunisie: folds

sagewaIker: folds

TorontoKid: calls $0.60

*** TURN *** [7H 2H 6D] [4H]

TorontoKid: checks

acgail: bets $1.75

sabastien78: calls $1.75

TorontoKid: raises $10.15 to $10.15

acgail: raises $22 to $23.75 (all-in)

sabastien78: calls $9.75 (all-in)

TorontoKid: folds

*** RIVER *** [7H 2H 6D 4H] [7S]

*** SHOW DOWN ***

acgail: refund $12.25

acgail: shows [5H 3H ] (a flush, seven high)

sabastien78: shows [8H 9H ] (a flush, nine high)

sabastien78 wins ($35.60) with a flush, nine high

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $35.60 | Rake $1.85

You may be wondering why I folded. Was I scared of a higher flush? Of course not - the problem was my little java button window went black and I had no event buttons to press - the disappeared!! I was suddenly watching my time run out frantically trying to find the call!!

You can only buy in for $20 with this table and I had built the stack to almost $40. There was $35 in the pot and I only needed another $10 to call and the interface craps out!! I was so angry I left the table to prevent my inevitable tilting.

I also sent a message to CnR to notify them of the bug. I am not asking for money back (it really isn't much) but what if that was serious coin?

I'll let you all know what they say.

Two more days...

Two more days until the Lord Admiral Heads Up tourney.

My plan is to bring the mobile mics and see if there are some snippets I can record. I don't plan on recording the game or having a Mike Sexton-like blow by blow. I thought perhaps a small interview with one or more of the players about their strategy or the general play. If it works I can use it for another Golden Nugget.

Oh - and yeah there is something up with my archives on the blog but I can't seem to resolve it simply. I am still working on it.

Thank-you to everyone who has subscribed to the show. Our numbers are looking healthier and I am going to try to get some more poker personalities on a future episode.

If you listen to the show and don't yet subscribe please consider subscribing to our rss feed at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cardclub This rss feed keeps stats making it easier to get people on the show. If you sub to our old userland rss please take a moment to convert.

Cheers all.

What is your limit?

First off - new show is up.

Last week's audio "blips" on the Skype connection bothered me so we went back to the "double-ender" - that means having Brent and I record our ends on our own PCs and mixing them together.

On the personal game I was re-reading some of Mason's Poker Essays. Somewhere therein is the comment that you need to be comfortable with the limits your playing. This is from the point of view of the amount of money involved affecting your decisions. You don't want to be scared of raising because of what you are scared of losing.

Normally this is never a problem for me because I am a low-limit hack. I play in the lower limits and the money is only for keeping score. At least I thought it didn't affect me. Recently I noticed my play slipping from ideal and when I thought hard about why I had been making bad decisions I realized it was a fear of losing - not the money but the bankroll!! Because I am so intent in not depositing again in certain sites I play the bankroll as if it is the last money I have in the world. I then find myself playing higher limits to make it exciting. The problem is I am playing the higher limits incorrectly because I am too scared of being aggressive.

In the end, if I am not going to throw more money into a site, I need to look at my bankroll and decide on what limit is appropriate and play my A game. Already I have been enjoying poker like I did back when I started.