BREAKING NEWS - Pitbull Poker loses its bark?

It is being reported that struggling online poker/gaming site Pitbull Poker has not only shut down but that its Directors have been arrested in Costa Rica.

We have logged into Pitbull to check out the scene. Everything appears to be up and running until you get into the site a little. As you try to get into the Poker Room you find that no tables will load and one's account information (available money, player points, etc.) also does not load.
Apparently PokerScout is also showing that there have been "0" players in the last 24 hours.

On the other hand - the "Casino" portion of the site still appears to be fully functional - so you can keep playing blackjack and casino war if you want. Karaoke, though, is thinking he won't ever see the $40 he has there, but since that was an increase from the free $10 he was given when he signed up it's not a loss of any kind. Pitbull did, however, have a very cool logo and tag line:

Pitbull Poker - Sit Stay Play

NewLife Durand Takes CPL Week 3!

Greg NewLife Durand is the winner of the Week 3 of this Fall Session of the CPL! Greg had a pretty mild night until he started to get some chips during the middle rounds...then he turned on the NewLife jets and used those new found chips aggressively to build and build his stack!

In the end NewLife was heads up against Unabomber with a very significant chip lead...and it was all over in a few heads up hands. A great win for NewLife!

Congrats to Unabomber for another fabulous finish in the CPL! This weeks 2nd place finish keeps Unabomber on top of the CPL Leaderboard!

Kenji finishes in 3rd place after surviving several "all in" moves! Nice job during week 3 for Kenji! Wanda Wicked1 ends the night in 4th! Wanda also survived a few all in moments and moved her way nicely into the fourth place!

Nemesis, James, and Nick rounded out the CPL points. Congrats to the CPL point winners!

CPL Quote of the Week:

"You would fold this hand even if those were 3 Aces!"

--Verbal to Blind Me Down as Blind Me Down was on the point bubble with Nick all in before him.

CPL Leaderboard (Unadjusted)

CPL Points Awarded During Week 3

Monday Madness on Full Tilt tonight at 8:30pm Central

Password is CPL as always....

Site Numbers and "Thank You" Norman Chad

The site numbers are in for Aug 16 to Sept 16. We're down a smidge on visits at 419 (down from 428 last month), but up in city visits (up from 99 to 115) and in countries (22 to 24) - both of those (we believe are new records for us). Same standard top four - Circle Pines moves into 5th place and Fargo, ND readership moves from 8th to 6th (and looks like it'll be 5th for the next reporting time frame). Here's the site map many of you love:
Speaking of records - CPLPoker wants to say "Thank you" to ESPN's WSOP commentator Norman Chad. In June we congratulated Norman on his first ever WSOP cash - a Stud8 event (#53) and opined that we hoped we'd hear some reporting on it.

Well, on Tuesday's Main Event episodes on ESPN they went hog wild in mentioning it (mostly cryptically). Obtusely enough that dozens of people are going to the internet to find out about it - and landing on our pages. Since Tuesday, at least 50 search referrals have come in with variations of "Norman Chad cashing WSOP". On Tuesday, we reached a new record of unique visitors (not visits) with 22 - that was surpassed on Wednesday with 26 unique visitors. We didn't break the daily visits record and the interest (while still there today) seems to be fading - but, we wanted to add a "Thank you, Norman" - in addition to "Congratualations."

Suck Out! A Horse with No Name Recognition (Part VI)

Suck Out! The CPL's own Docu-Series continues....Part One can be found here (Forward/Intro), part two here (Staking), part three here (Backer's Perspective), the Horse's Perspective (part IV) here and the Match 1 results (part V) here..enjoy!

Match 2 - Omaha Hi/Lo (OH8) - Single Table SNG
Karaoke Phil

For match number two I chose a single table Omaha8 (Omaha Hi-Lo) sit-n-go. I was the sixth player (9 needed) to sign up and number 7 came in right behind me. Then, in what seems odd to me, Steamroller left our table and signed back up on an empty table. Why would he do that? I've played Steamroller before and had notes. I wonder if he had notes on me and decided I'm too much competition. Maybe this is a harbringer of things to come.

I tried Stud8 in my first match. I probably should have done this - played OH8. While I'm happy with my Stud8 abilities it's pretty much the "youngest" game that I've studied and learned, having begun to play it in earnest less than a year ago. OH8 is a stronger game for me. Let's see what transpires. We'll start with 1500 chips and 9 players in the SNG.

I start out well, nailing a full house on hand 4 to put me up to 1710 in chips. On hand 10 I get a nice A/2/2/6. Donkeypro777, who has played every hand, has three bet (I had raised). I go ahead ans cap the action with position. The flop brings 2/3/5 - all clubs. It's checked to me so I bet it. Donkeypro777 check raises me. I slow down and just call as it seems like he has a flush or an A/4 for the nut low (and a straight). A Q comes on the turn - it's bet/call. Another Q comes on the river. I know have 2s full of Qs and an A/2/3/5/6 low. Donkeypro777 bets out and I raise. At worst I'll split the pot and may well have the best of both sides. Indeed, Donkey does have a nut flush but my boat beats that and he has no low - I scoop and things are really looking good early. At this point I have 2070 chips and am in 2nd of 9.

Several aggressive players in this sng and then there's Donkeypro777 who isn't necessarily aggressive but will play EVERY hand. We loose our first player (AlCapone23) on hand 22. And, Donkeypro777 is kicked out on hand 24.

Hand 27 sees me in the BB with A/3/6/6. Several players limp in so I check my option. The flop is 2/2/6 for a flopped boat of 6s full of 2s. I decide not to slow play this one at all since at least two of the players (Pokerdegree and Coo Saw) in the hand are very aggressive. I think they'll raise my bet and then I can then smooth call to feign weakness. Pokerdegree does indeed raise and I smooth call. The turn is a 5 - giving me the current nut low as well. I lead out again, figuring Pokerdegree will raise again. But, this time Hankitup 2-bets (the other player still in the hand at this point). Pokerdegree 3-bets and I cap with the second nut high and the nut low. I'm thinking I'll scoop or 3/4 this pot. Oh boy, the river brings a 2. Now, I'm in trouble to a 2. I check call (as does Hankitup). Yes, Pokerdegree has a 2 (hitting a three-outer for the high, a 7 would've helped him as well). Hankitup and I split the low and I get 25% of the pot instead of the 75% I was expecting. I hope this isn't an indicator of shifting winds.

I lose several more hands and drop to 765 chips (4th of 7 remaining players). On hand 47 I'm dealt A/3/6/6 in late position. The flop comes 2/4/9 - giving me 4 cards to the nut low. Pokerdegree and Coo Saw (the two most agressive players) are in the hand. Pokerdegree bets out, AHill58509 stays in the hand. The board pairs the four on the turn. I check call hoping for a miracle card - as I now have less than a bet left. BOOM - I spike the 5 on the river for the nut low and a wheel. I sccop the pot and move up to 2185 in chips. That puts me into 3rd place and the tide seems to be changing. We lose DCL on the next hand leaving us with 6 players remaining. After hand 50 I'm knocked down to 1165 in chips but we lose IamJoe829 in 6th place.

In hand 60, I'm dealt 2/2/3/J in the small blind. I'm able to limp in and the BB checks his option. The flop is A/7/9 giving me 4 to the nut low. I bet out and get 2 callers (AHill and Hankitup) . The turn gives me the nut low when a 6 comes out. I bet out and get put all in (again) by AHill58509. A Ten of clubs come out on the river - that gives me a flush as well (one of my 2s and the 3 are clubs). I scoop the pot and move into 2nd place with 3345 in chips.

By hand 70, I'm back down to 4th (of 5 players remaining) but positions 2 through 5 are all within 400 chips of each other. Pokerdegree, by far the most aggressive player in the tournament, has 5155 and leads us all as we head into break.

Three hands after break I get A/4/5/5 (two hearts A/4). I limp in. The flop is 2/4/K with two spades. I call a bet. The 8 of hearts comes on the turn. Coo Saw and AHill are both staying in. Coo Saw bets it up which will put me all in. I click "time" and have 20 additional seconds to decide what do to. I have A/2/4/5/8 for a low and am four flushed for the nuts. This is for my tournment life though and going out in 5th won't be pleasant. I'm down to 5 seconds. You've got to take some chances to win. Plus, I have outs and, maybe, already have a good low. I put in the last of my chips. The river is maybe a miracle - it's the 3 of hearts giving me both the nut low and the nut flush. The worst I can do is nail down 3/4 of the main pot. I scoop the pot and Coo Saw shows a 9 high flush. I'm up to 6165 in chips and am the chip leader.

Two hands later I river the nut low and the second nut high flush to scoop that pot and move up to 7965 in chips. Hankitup is down to about 200 chips and Coo Saw is crippled with about 260. I feel victory coming now. I'm going to take this baby down.

We quickly loose Coo Saw in 5th place and Hankitup in 4th. We're in the money now. AHill58509 is now very shortstacked with about 700 chips. I have 9300 to Pokerdegree's 3500. Pokerdegree proceeds to eliminate AHill58509 and we're heads up (me with 9353 to his 4147).

The blinds are at 400/800. Pokerdegree is able to take the lead about 7 hands into heads up. And, after only getting a quarter of the pot on hand 8 we have reversed the chip stack positions that we started out with. We slug it out and got back and forth over the next 10 to 12 hands, including one hand where he had me all in. Blinds move up to 500/1000. I finally get a couple of solid hands and force Pokerdegree out to even us up and then take another 9K to 4.5K lead over him. I'm able to get him all in with A/2/3/J - I hit a boat, but we split the pot and he stays alive. I get him all in again when I'm dealt 2/3/3/4. I hit the nut low (wheel) but he gets a higher straight to stay alive with the chop.

Pokerdegree's aggression gets him to nearly even. The blinds also now move up to 600/1200. I'm able to steal a hand and move up to 10.4K to his 3.1K. I call his raise with 2/4/8/Q and flop a nut low draw. Two bricks give me nothing, but he has only 194 chips left when he goes all-in. I call (and lose). It evens us out again (and he takes a small lead the next hand). He proceeds to get me all in again, but we're able to chop it up.

We've been going at this heads up see-saw battle for nearly 20 minutes. I think I've earned some respect from him and I also think I've largely figured out how he plays. I'm dealt 3/4/8/9 on our 39th hand heads up. The flop is 8/9/K (all clubs - I have none). He leads out with a bet, but I'm going to see where I'm at and play off that I have the flush. I 2-bet. If he raises me, I'll know I'm in bad shape in the hand. He only smooth calls. The turn brings a 7 - I think I'm ahead so I move all in again hoping he'll fold. He doesn't. I'm ahead on the high and he only has a nut low draw. The river is another 9 - giving me a boat and a pot scoop. Yes! I'm back ahead about 9K to his 4K.

On our 40th heads up hand, I'm dealt 3/6/8/8. He raises it up. I call. The flop is 7/7/T giving me gut shot straight draw and a two pair. He leads out - I call. I'm very bad to a 7 or T but I'm banking that he doesn't have either. There's a 4 on the turn. I call his bet. Another 4 comes out on the river. He bets all in. I've come this far. If I can fade him having a 4, 7, T or a pair higher than my 8s then I'm good. He has none of them (showing only 3/5/J/K) . It's all over - the game is done and I've taken it down.

Pokerdegree's aggression took him a long way, but not all the way. I take down $45 for first - putting me $5 short of the stake (Mark - the backer - has said that the "cake" will be for $50, not the full $55).

The rest of the way is now basically a free roll.

James Wins CPL Week 2!

Congrats to James Aguilar who survived the field of 16 CPL members to take the top spot during CPL Week 2!

In a week that can only be categorized as "Reckless Abandon" poker, massive chip leads moved from player to player to player throughout the night...and once the music stopped James was left with the chips!

Earlier in the evening it looked like Bud "Monster" Abbott, Nick Kamholz, and Mike "Unabomber" Bowman would control the night, however once the tables collapsed down to one and a few players dropped the chips just did not want to stay in front of anyone for very long.

Monster and Unabomber had a huge chip lead....then Monster slid chips to Unabomber to give him a 'Jamie Gold' type stack. The Unabomber then went on a destroying mission to take out the remaining 4 players in quick order and instead lost all of his chips and went out in 4th.

Nick Kamholz was the beneficiary of Unabombers implosion and after Monsters exit in 3rd place, found himself heads up against James with a 7-1 chip stack advantage...and thought it was all over.

But the evening was not over....and James would not go down without a fight....and after a few early double ups, James had Nick on his heels and pounded him into submission until James had Nick all in and took him out to take down CPL Week 2!

Congrats to Mike "Blind Me Down" Behr, Greg "NewLife" Durand, Bill "Comeback Kid" Lanoux, and Kelli Gunderson for all making it into the CPL points for the week!

CPL Quote of the Week:

Are you two related? You look alike. --Sarah Heath to Verbal and Blind Me Down.

CPL Leaderboard (Unadjusted)

CPL Week 2 Points Awarded

BREAKING NEWS: UB and Absolute Poker scandal results

Nearly two years after the "super user" account scandal rocked Ultimate Bet, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission - the tribal entity that oversees many online poker rooms - issued a report on it's findings. The full 11 page report can be found here.

In all, UB was fined $1.5 million and has refunded more than $22 million "to players adversely affected the cheating incidences."

This follows the report on Absolute Poker (who was fined $500,000) can be found here, from earlier this year.

Monday Madness - HOE - 9/14

Tonight's Monday Madness game is HOE - password: CPL

The Directors will be at the Twins game, so enjoy - and, don't forget to read the Suck Out! series - below.

Suck Out! A Horse with No Name Recognition (Part V)

Suck Out! The CPL's own Docu-Series continues....Part One can be found here (Forward/Intro), part two here (Staking), part three here (Backer's Perspective) and the Horse's Perspective (part IV) here...enjoy!

Match 1 - Stud H/L (Stud8) - Single Table SNG
Karaoke Phil

I'm taking a little bit of a conservative start to my matches. My first goal is to make a dent in the stake so that I can play for the "big money" without the added pressure of the stake yoking me. A single table sit-n-go is a good way to make half to nearly all of the stake back - with a first or second place showing - in a format that I do well in. To increase my odds (in my thinking) I am going to make the first match Stud H/L.

I saw Jennifer Harman recently on an episode of "Poker After Dark" (I think that was the show). Jen busted out in third or fourth and the interviewer asked her if No Limit Hold 'em is her favorite game. Harman's response was that she preferred the games that, she felt, others don't know all that well: PL OH, OH8, Stud, Stud8, Razz, etc. Indeed, she ranked No-Limit Hold 'em as her 10th favorite game. To some extent, I feel the same way. I believe that I play Stud8 and OH8 better than many other players. I think I have an edge in those games. I don't place No Limit Hold 'em in 10th, but depending on my mood it may fall as low as third or fourth. So, we start with Stud8. Let's win some money.

As fate has it, the CPL's own Mike "Blind Me Down" Behr (BMD) has joined my table. I don't believe he knows that this is my first "Suck Out!" match. He ends up seated immediately to my right. It may be beneficial to have a somewhat known quantity next to me as this match progresses.

Early on I'm dealt several quality hands - including 2/6/7, 3/5/8 and A/A/9 (Aces underneath). They all fail me misearbly. On the first hand I get a 3 on fourth and then three straight bricks. I nail an A on fourth and a 2 on fifth with the second hand (giving me 3/5/8/A/2). It fails to improve and I lose to a 5/7 low on seventh street. And, the Aces? They do not improve - no low, no other pairs and I drop the hand after 6th street. A good move as Homestar hit a full house and Janmike had trip 7s. I'm below 1000 chips after 11 hands.

I'm able to limp in on hand 16 with 5/3/3. My next two cards are 2 and 7 giving four to low (2/3/5/7) and a pair with two cards to come. However, the action gets heavy on 5th street. Mike (BMD) leads out with a bet after pairing his Qs and well on his way to a flush (3 diamonds showing). Thaifayta2gzz, showing 3/7/6/A two bets and Janmike who's still in the hand with 2/5/6/A showing calls. Mr. Mike (BMD) 3 bets. Now, I still have two cards to come but my 5/3/3/2/7 is looking bad to me. Mr. Mike (BMD) is pushing that high hand and either trip Qs or flush have my pair of 3s dominated. On the low end, I'm still drawing with a 2/3/5/7, but the other two players in the hand (Janmike and Thaifayta) are looking good. Janmike's up cards look better, but Thaifayta is raising like he's made a great low. I decide to drop the hand and I'm down to 478 chips. The last two streets are dealt and both Janmike and Thaifayta show 5/6 lows (Janmike's 2 plays for him for a better low) and BMD had the flush. I think it's a good laydown but I'm in very bad shape.

After 18 hands I'm now down to 448 chips. I've only gone to showdown once (and lost the hand). In fact, I haven't won a hand yet. I'm reminded of a RAZZ tournament I played a while back where I lost the first 32 or 34 hands before winning one. I then proceeded to lose the next 8 hands, won one more and then got knocked out on the hand after that. Ahh, yes. Winning two hand out of the 43 or 44 or so hands played. Great run of cards and a run that had me questioning if I'd ever play another RAZZ tournament. I think I have only played straight RAZZ only one time since then.

Hand 20 brings something new - a winning hand. I'm dealt A/2/5 (all clubs). I get a K on fourth and a 4 of clubs on 5th street. At this point, BMD is showing 2/6/8 with Homestar showing A/4/8 and a likely diamond draw. I slow it down and Homestar takes the lead in betting. BMD folds his hand. I nail the straight flush with the 3 of clubs on 6th street and get all in with Homestar. That's not all that hard since I only have 88 chips left at this point. Homestar has a low and the diamond flush, but my straight flush scoops the pot and I move up to 1486 in chips - just about starting stack.

We finally lose our first player on hand 31 and I'm in 5th of the remaining 7 players with about 1300 in chips.

Four hands later we have lost Janmike. I'm dealt 3/4/5 and complete the bet in a heads up match. Adler folds and I move my chip stack up to 1374. It's only the 4th hand I have won of the 36 played, but I think the tide is going to start to change for me. Indeed, by hand 42 I have moved up to 1649 in chips.

I'm able to knock Thaifayta2gzz out on hand 47. He's short stacked when I'm dealt 6/3/4. He also has a good low hand but we both miss lows and my two pair (6s and 2s) beat him. I'm now in 3rd place with 2184 in chips and our own Mike "BMD" Behr is leading the sit-n-go with 3757 chips. This is my first match ever being staked and I'm playing a little tighter than usual but things are starting to look up.

I score a few chips in hand 54 to bring me up to 2294 (still in 3rd of the 5 players remaining) but by hand 65 I'm back down to 1046 in chips and in 5th place. I'm still not going to count myself out. Stud8 is the type of game that you can scoop a pot and triple or quadruple up in a single hand. On the next hand (hand 66) I'm able to chop the pot and move up to about 1300 in chips. It's not a lot, but give me more confidence that this will end up fairly well. I'm a shortstack on chips, but my gut is telling me that I'll be able to back door my way into 3rd place for a smallish cash. I can take that for the first match. We lose Shyster within the next couple of hands and as we head into break I have 1600 in chips.

A few hands after break ends I'm dealt about the best hand you can get - A/2/3. I'm heads up against an 8 showing. I get a K to his T on fourth street. Fifth street gives me a 3 for A/2/3/K/3 - while my opponent receives a J (showing 8/T/J on the board). He's the table shortstack and moves all in. I call and he has....nothing. He's on a gut shot or runner/runner for a low and my 3s are ahead. Sixth and Seventh street do nothing for me while he hits his gut shot with a 9 on 7th street. I'm now down to 255 chips.

I'm able to score a chop and then on hand 76 I'm dealt 3/4/K. I decide to make a stand and move all in (not quite a complete bet). I'm heads up with Pokistry who is showing a "2". I'm hoping he has nothing and will fold but he's probably priced in to call me and try to knock me out. He does make the call (and has nothing) with 9/Q/2. The cards play out - neither of us get a low and he hits a pair of 6s to beat my K high. I'm knocked out in 4th place.

It's certainly a disappointment, especially with the horrendous run of early cards I had (the first 18 or so hands). I'm not sure what I'll go for next, but I don't think it'll be Stud H/L. I may go for an OH8, match of some sort, but we'll see. At this point all I know is that I'm going to need to buckle down now with only four matches left to play. For those "BMD" fans out there - he went out in third.

Unabomber Takes CPL Fall Session Week 1!

Mike "Unabomber" Bowman survived the field of 15 during Week 1 of the CPL Fall Session to capture a huge point prize! A great start for Unabomber! The numerology of the evening was obvious (9-9-09). This played out all the way to the final hand as Unabomber's pocket Nines (The Murano) beat Mark "Verbal" Cardenas who had A-7. Even though Verbal took the lead on the flop when an Ace spiked...numerology would not be denied...and the 3rd 9 hit the River to give Unabomber the win.

It was definitely a great evening of poker as the CPL welcomed 6 new faces to the CPL family and CPL Headquarters was lively with the sound of the 80's and plenty of poker! Run time on the match was only 3 hours and 15 min...however with a late start and longer than expected breaks the final hand did not occur until 11pm. I believe we lasted the entire first 3 levels before anyone was escorted to the rail...but after the second break...folks started falling quickly and the chip leaders became more and more defined.

In the end two new CPL members made it into the CPL Points including Kenji who finished 3rd and Dave who finished 6th! Congrats to Kenji and Dave for a great first week finish!

It was a great evening for the CPL Directors as Mark "Verbal" Cardenas finished in 2nd place after going into 3 handed play with 1/2 the chips on the table, and "Karaoke" Phil Fuehrer finished in 4th place after taking a beating early in the night.

Mike "Blind Me Down" Behr pulled off his normal magic tricks and somehow made it to 5th place after blinding down all the way to 100 chips before making his way back.

Voni "The Rookie" Khang made her return to the CPL known as she finished in 7th to round out the CPL point winners.

CPL Quote of the Week:

"I'm dating Mike's girlfriend." --Dave's response when asked how he knew Mike Behr.

CPL Leaderboard (Unadjusted)

Podcast and Suckout!

The newest podcast episode is undergoing the technical aspects of putting it together - look for it to be posted tonight or tomorrow (see the player on the left hand side). This show will have a Casino Review of: Casino Royale, Las Vegas. Also, review of the new CPL session, music from MN's "8 Year Weight" and the first audio installment of Suck Out! - including audio of the first of 5 matches.

Speaking of Suck Out! A Horse with No Name Recognition - the next text update (the results of the first match will be posted this weekend).

Suck Out! A Horse with No Name Recognition (Part IV)

Suck Out! The CPL's own Docu-Series continues....Part One can be found here (Forward/Intro), part two here (Staking), and part three here (Backer's Perspective)...enjoy!

The Horse: Save a Cowboy, Ride this Horse
By Karaoke Phil

I've been called a donkey. Now, I'm a horse. Mark (my backer) and I have fantasized about the WSOP and tried to develop schemes to get there. Haven't we all? Many times I have talked about selling "pieces" of myself to raise the needed money to play (only half in jest). No one ever took me up on any such ideas. Til now.

"Really?" I think I actually said that out loud to myself during that CPL Monday Madness game. Mark told me to check my email because as he wrote in the table's chat box, "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." Yeah, surprised is as good a word as any.

Okay, sure, Mark and I are friends. We go way back - to about the time of the transition from Carter to Reagan. For you younger readers those were Presidents last century. This stake is for $55. I know Mark would just give me the $55 if I really needed it. But, he didn't have to make this offer - let alone actually transfer the money over (within minutes) when I said "sure." Yes, I am surprised, but I am also honored. Mark likes to play cards himself, but he's entrusting this money to me.

I must, obviously, enter this with a plan. Foremost, I cannot let Mark down. I am taking this as a very serious business arrangement and I want to make good on my end of the bargain. As I do with many such things I'll have staged goals. First, I need to "break even". At the very least I don't want any "cake" weighing me down and giving me poker diabetes. Beyond that, of course, is the desire to earn some money.

FullTilt Poker offers plenty of games selection from which to choose. I will certainly play a Midnight Madness on the 4th or last tournament. It's a big field with a total guarantee of $15K and always ends up with about a $17K prize pool. If things don't go well that Midnight Madness shot will be the attempt to make things right (and, likely, the best shot at "big" money).

There are numerous No-Limit Hold 'em (NLHE) full and short table tournaments from which to choose. And, there are daily Stud H/L and HORSE tournaments that look quite appealing. Then there are the Sit-n-goes (SNGs): NLHE offers 1, 2, 3 and 5 table options - 9 handed of course. Finally, there are Matrix SNGs for HORSE, OH8 and Stud H/L that may not make much money for anyone, but are a good bet for not losing much. That's a conservative route I won't likely take.
Upon deeper reflection my one wish is that I had a little more flexibility, but my backer set the parameters at 5 - $11 tourneys or SNGs - my choice of which ones. It would have been nice, however, to poke around at the regular $8.80 tourneys where I have had some good success. There also seems to be more variety at the $5.50 level including 2 table HORSE SNGs which are a favorite of mine. I think Mark would certainly alter the terms but, I can work under these parameters. We have our marching orders and I have a plan. Let's shuffle up the cards and start the dealing.

.

Laboring Madness - Monday Madness back 9/7

It's a Labor Day edition of Monday Madness!

9:30 pm ET (8:30 Central) - It's no-limit hold 'em.

Password is - CPL

See you on the felt.

Suck Out! A Horse with No Name Recognition (Part III)

Suck Out! The CPL's own Docu-Series continues....Part One can be found here and part two here....

The Stake: A Backers Perspective

by Mark Cardenas

When I said the words "I want a piece of Phil!" it just sounded right. You know...the kinda sound that rolls off the tongue and warms your heart with the knowledge that you are doing something good in this world. It was that kinda sound. And I said it again, "I want a piece of Phil!" and I heard Karaoke's theme song in my head (Legend In His Own Mind...check it out on our podcast from 10-28-2007) and less than 15 min later with determination, with no second thoughts, like I had been given a prophecy....I had transferred him the money.

Ok, let me try to give you some perspective on where I'm coming from. I have been playing real poker (holdem) for about 3+ years, and I can tell ya that playing regularly online, at the casinos, and in a weekly poker league, it teaches you a thing or two (or ten) about your poker playing skills. And although I have improved dramatically from the first few months of playing...I have not improved nearly as much as Karaoke Phil.

This is partly due to the fact that Karaoke was sooooo bad when he started playing (yes...I said bad...and yes, this directly contradicts Karaoke's statement in the previous Docu-Series post that he was an 'ok' poker player when he started), but also due to the fact that Karaoke has honed his skills of reading players well beyond my current level. I've seen this guy make "Kid Poker" type reads over and over again when he is 'tuned in'. Then again, I've seen him completely talk himself out of a hand.

So why stake someone like Karaoke who is at this level and consistency?

There are many reasons that I am excited to Stake Karaoke Phil in his quest to become a Poker Pro. I've listed the main ones below:

• Karaoke is simply a better player than I am. As such, I have a better chance of winning if Karaoke is playing with my money! It is a no brainer to me. Every day people give stock brokers money to do what they feel is right to make us money. I look at this similarly. I have trust that my poker money in Phil's hands will be managed well.
• I have seen truly great poker playing of Karaoke, both live and online. I know that he is approaching a turning point in his early career and I am looking to help him turn that corner.
• This is one of those fabulous 'win-win' scenarios...Karaoke gets to play without risk and I get to possibly earn some cash along the way.
• Both Karaoke and I knew this would make a great blog....so if nothing else it is entertaining!
• If this turns out incredibly well....'Mr. Karaoke Phil' may make his best friend, who supported him through the early days, his own personal Poker Manager.

But until Karaoke hits it big...I am holding the purse strings and calling the shots...and trust me...I want some tangible results or I am hitting the road.

I am confident that my backing of Karaoke Phil is a good move and a smart investment. On a personal note, I think it is exactly the type of activity that Phil needs to get over the 'hump' and make a run at something big!

I am excited to be the "Backer", the "Cash", the "Money Clip", or whatever else you would like to call it. I am also excited for Phil to participate in this opportunity!

Good Luck Karaoke Phil! I've got a piece of you! And you've got Irons in the Fire! Now bring back the goods!

Mark

Updates: Monday Madness and Suck Out!

First - apologies to our fandom. Life doesn't stop and we can't (yet) make the CPL our full-time gig.

Update #1 - MONDAY MADNESS - is NOT dead. We put in requests every four weeks and blew getting it in last week. Hence, no game this past Monday. We have already received word and here's the schedule for the next several weeks:

(09-07-09) - NLHE - Tournament #105983111
(09-14-09) - HOE - Tournament #105983753
(09-21-09) - NLHE - Tournament #105983793
(09-28-09) - PL HA - Tournament #105983863

So, we'll be back in action and hope to see you there - as always, the password is " CPL ".


Update #2 - "Suck Out! A Horse with No Name Recognition". Our docu-blog series continues shortly. Mark (the Backer) will soon have his post: The Stake (A Backer's Perspective).

That will be followed shortly by Phil's post: The Horse (A Player's Perspective) and additional posts in the series. We hope you enjoy it.