So we all know that AceTenBomber and the BombSquad have been working hard to win the Victory Poker next pro contest. But as of Sept 1,2010 we have another reason to visit Victory Poker. They have moved there online poker site to the Cake network and with that have brought in some great changes.  First and foremost you’ll notice the change in the look of the software, the color scheme is great and very user friendly. Secondly the amount of players online has greatly increased therefore giving us more options of tables to sit at and tournaments to play. Whether your a ring game player, sit & go fan, or big tourney player, Victory Poker has something for everyone!
One of my fav features is the ability to show your cards when you fold if your last to act in the hand! great way to give your opponents different kinds of info.

So if you haven’t played on Victory yet make sure you go to www.victorypoker.com and download the new software to get started. Once your on there make sure you look me up so we can grind it out together!
username: FeltGrinder*  (that’s a star at the end of my name)

As always we want to make sure we are voting everyday until October 31,2010 for the AceTenBomber and the rest of the BombSquad to win the Victory Poker next pro contest!

Time To Grind!

  Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to formally introduce everyone to Dakota “Bad Beat” Basta. Though he isn’t one of the original basement league badboys, he has definitely found his way into our ranks. The Bad Beat, if you don’t already know is one of the BombSquad’s 3 contestants in Victory Poker’s Next Poker Pro contest. So, without any further delay, let’s get things started…

I was born in Barrie, Ontario but have been currently living in Orillia, Ontario for the last 15 years. I am currently working as a barback a few nights a week at a bar up in the Muskokas. Being a steady poker player means a lot of time sitting in front of your computer, at the poker table or even just driving to different home games in the area. So I try to keep active by playing pick-up hockey in the winter and by playing in a soccer league in the summer. 

1)      What do you think makes a good poker player? Do you think you fit that description?

It’s amazing how much poker player’s progress when playing for a while! When I first started playing hold’em I called with everything thinking any two cards could win … I used to think that K5 was a good starting hand because if the board comes all high or low I could hit a straight LOL! When I figured that I was finally ready to take my game to the next level I read Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book and learned so much! I never knew there was that much strategy! Pot odds, position, and the cards you should play in each position… learning these strategies will definitely take you to the next level and will help develop your game more then you could realize!! A good player knows and uses these strategies and knows when to lay down the worst hand, even if it looks like the best. For example… the other night at the casino I had top pair 5-6 hands in a hour and laid them all down because I knew I was beat … A good poker player picks there spots and waits for the right opportunity to take down the big pots!!

2)      Who is your favorite poker player? Why? Do you try to emulate their style?

My favorite player is definitely Daniel Negreanu just because of the crazy reads he makes! I work on reading people as much as I can from their facial expression when they look at their cards to the size of bet and what position there in. From the size of bet that my opponent makes from whatever position they’re in, I can usually get a pretty accurate read on their holding. If I think they’re bluffing or trying to make a move I’m not afraid to re-raise them to see where I stand.

3)       Where/how did you learn the game of poker?

I started off playing 5 card draw on my dad’s computer when I was 10; I always played deuces wild and that’s how I got into it! The next thing you know, I’m 15 years old was playing poker with friends for DVDS and almost anything you could gamble… lol

4)       Lol…We know you like poker, but what is your favorite game? RAZZ, Omaha, Stud, Limit/ Pot Limit/ NL hold’em, HOSE, HORSE, 5/7 card?

Mainly just No Limit Texas Hold’em. However for those times that I find myself getting bored playing NL or if things are just not working out for me I like to mix it up with Pot Limit Omaha Hi and Stud Hi.

5)      Are there any other players that you like? Why?

I really enjoy watching Tom Dwan play simply because he promotes constant action at any table he sits at.

6)      If you had to classify your style of play, what would it be?

My style is kind of unique and I mix up all the time… I do bluff a lot that’s for sure! lol. Well if I am playing cash game I generally play pretty tight and stick to position and continuation bets… getting in with the usual strategy calling with suited ace and pocket pairs preflop.. AA KK QQ.. I am very aggressive to prevent bad beats…For tournaments I adjust my play depending on the level. For the early stages of tournaments I play pretty tight and then adjust my level of play once the blinds start getting to a higher level playing position all the time to take the blinds down and maintain my chip stack!!
   

7)      What is your Dream table? Any 6 players that you’d love to play against?

Antonio Esfandiari, Tom Dwan, Phil Laak, Daniel Negreanu, Sammy Farha, Patrik AntoniusThese guys are not afraid to try and get players off of made hands; guarantees a great game of poker! To play with this bunch you need the skills and the ability to get accurate reads to compete with these guys!!
It would also be fun having Helmuth and Matta as substitutes.

8)       Where is your favorite place to play poker?
 

The Bomber’s Basement and Casino Rama! Party Poker when I play online!

9)      Where would you like to play poker some day?
 

Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me as my goal is to play poker for a living. Once I am able to establish a good bankroll, I will play online and live about the same amount of time. I will play anywhere!

10)   ..And finally… What is your most memorable hand?
  

Well it’s kind of hard to pick a most memorable hand…. there have been so many since I play poker probably close to 5+ nights a week lol… So I am just going to tell you about last night at Casino Rama playing $1-2 no limit because it turned out to be quite an interesting night…

Alright, so I bought in for max $200.00 and am just card dead all night but somehow manage to stay even after about 6 hours … I have Qc 9c , First guy to act raises to $10.00; I call along with 5 others! All of a sudden small blind re – raises to $25 and big blind calls along with the rest of the bunch… so 7 players to the flop and $175.00 in the pot (CRAZY)! The flop comes: Kc ,8c, 3c … I can’t believe it, pretty much the only flop I was hoping to hit…. small blind fires out $20.. The big blind calls the $20 and now it’s my turn to act… I am happy with the pot right now and push ALL IN for my remaining $165. Action goes: fold, fold, the big stack calls the $165 and when the action gets to the small blind he pushes all in for $750.00!!! This scares off the player who called my all in ….Heads up action … small blind flips over pocket 8’s…. Turn 5d River 3c…well that’s just my luck another bad beat in the books…. So I leave the table and have 30 bucks left in my pocket and head over to roulette to try and win another 200 so that I can buy back into the poker room… I put my $30 on black; I hit … and won 60. I let it ride and hit it again! So now I’m up to $120 then figured why not and let it ride again and hit again amazing! I got my buy in back and head back to the poker room!! I buy in for 200 again… I am first to act and thankfully I posted lol…. first hand I look at is J,J so I just check since I am first to act and hoping someone raises so that I can re raise …. Well that plan failed miserably! There were 8 players to see the flop and $16 in the pot… FLOP    Ks, Jh, 6h. I check it; player to my left raises 15 … next player re-raises to 30…. Now there is potential flush draw and straight draw so I re-raise to $80 and quickly both other players involved in the hand push ALL IN … I FLIP over my set of Jacks! Next player flips over a set of sixes and third player flips over JACK 6 for 2 pair!! They were both drawing dead! There were no sixes or Jacks left in the deck!! It couldn’t have worked out any better!! Now finally up 400+ after a long 10 hour session!!
 
BAD BEAT BASTA

Bomber

Bomberette

He did it!!!! Ladies and Genlteman, at present time the AceTenBomber officially broke the 5000 vote barrier!!! With just over 2 months of voting left in the Victory Poker Pro contest the Bomber isn’t showing any signs of slowing down!!! At this rate we should end the contest with a cool 7000-7300 votes!!! Incredible! But…this news shouldn’t deter any of us from slowing down the rate at which we cast our votes. Keep the votes coming!!  Forget 7000 votes! I want us to try and get the Bomber’s votes up over the 8G mark….IT CAN BE DONE!!!

Not to take anything away from the efforts of the other BombSquad members involved in this contest it should be noted that “BadBeat” and “Wheels” are also having great showings! Dakota the”BadBeat” Basta is currently in 3rd with 2557 votes and  Aaron “Wheels” McGarvey is holding down the 10th spot with1546 votes. 3 members in the top 10….just goes to show that the BombSquad and the BomberNation aren’t to be taken lightly. …. Don’t sleep!!!  We Takin’ Over!!!

till the next update…..

peace.

Buhda

Two nights ago I was asked to sit and watch a tournament that the FeltGrinder was involved in. He has been making some good runs as of late and this was no exception. He made a healthy Return on Investment. So I, being proud of his latest showing asked him to send me a blog about his thoughts on the tourney…this is what he sent back…enjoy!

I was playing in the Full Tilt $24+2 $35,000 guarantee last night The field was a total of 1,567 people I knew I had my work cut out for me to make the cash which was top 162. The very first hand I was dealt in the big blind inspired me to write this blog about a great tool the Bomber showed me. Something he calls “Show Down Value” The first hand I am dealt in the big blind is AK off. I have 3000 in chips with the blinds at 15/30. Guy in middle position makes it 75 to go, button calls and so does small blind. Since I already have action and I am playing small ball poker I just call. Flop comes 3,A,10 rainbow, small blind checks I bet out 125 to see where I am, the original raiser min raises me. The small blind calls and I do as well. Turn comes 3, the small blind checks, I decide to keep the pressure on and bet out 275. The original raiser folds and the small blind calls, the river comes 2 and the small blind checks. Now chances are I have the best hand here, but I am still losing to any 3 or ace 10 or pocket aces, which are all still possibilities. There is a great chance my opponent has AJ or AQ and if I bet here I will probably get called. But since the pot is already 1600 and I have been controlling it throughout the hand there is no reason for me to risk any more chips incase I am beat. I have “Show Down Value” I am not turning over garbage, I am turning over a great hand, but it still has the ability to be beat. I checked and my opponent shows AQ, I know I could’ve got paid on the river but like I said there was no reason for me to risk anymore chips when there was already a nice pot out there.

Now as for how I did throughout the rest of the tourney, I grinded very hard sometimes getting down to as little as 3 big blinds. But I kept my concentration I made some huge folds when I felt the time wasn’t right and after a long six and a half hours I finished in 7^th place for a very nice profit and definitely my deepest run in the $24+2. A big thanks goes out to Thirsty Buhda who stayed on the virtual rail all night and kept me company on my long grind!

Time To Grind!

    First things first, I should appologize for releasing this a bit late. But as you can imagine things have been a bit busy for the BombSquad and the Bomber Nation. Victory will be ours! Enough about that for the moment…it’s now time to focus our attention on what’s already 6 days late…the Monthly Player Profile.

    This Month’s feature player is none other then Jayme Newman (Jaymino). He is one of the original members of the Basement League Boys which later morphed into the BombSquad. So without further ado ladies and gentlemen here we go.

     I was born in Orillia, Ontario but grew up on the reserve of Rama with my 3 brothers and sister. I work locally for the band, on the reserve and play poker wherever I get the chance. Growing up I always wanted to be a musician, making my own beats and recording tracks with my friends. Music will always be a passion of mine, but on the other hand poker always came to me first. There’s no better feeling then when I’m looking down at a pair of kings. I started playing poker at home games on the reserve and then went to play in town at Bomber’s and grew to love the game more then I could have imagined. Any chance to sit down and play I’m there to take a seat, with chips on the table and cards in front of me. There wouldn’t be any other place I’d want to be.

1. What do you think makes a good poker player?  Do you think you fit that description?

I think a good poker player should have no fear when they sit at a table: Math is a good skill to have, but the player should also be attentive. These are just a few of the skills that I use to my advantage; but every game I play, I learn just as any other player.

2. Who is your favorite poker player? Why? Do you try to emulate their style?

 My favorite poker player is Phil Ivey. I like his table image and how he represents himself. I don’t find myself trying to copy his style.

3. Where/how  did you learn the game of poker?

I first learned to play poker at home from the games that I watched on T.V.  I started playing with friends soon after.

4. Lol…we know you like poker, but what is your favorite game? RAZZ, Omaha, Stud, Limit/Pot Limit/NL Holdem, HOSE, HORSE, 5/7 card?

My favorite game is no limit Hold-em. I prefer a tournament format, but I also like to play cash games.

5. Are there any other poker players that you like? Why?

I also like Tom Dwan, they way he plays is great, spectators love it! There’s never a lull in the action when he’s at the table.

6. If you had to classify your style of play, what would it be?

 If I classified my style of poker it would be as a tight player… sometimes. (hehe)

7. What is your dream table? Any 6 players that you’d love to play against?

 If I got to sit at a table with 6 players of any choice it would have to be: Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Helmuth, Acetenbomber, ThirstyBuhda, and Crazyindian213.

8. Where is your favorite place to play poker?

My favorite place to play poker, for the moment, is at the Bomber’s house.  

9. Where would like to play poker someday?

 I would love to be able to sit and play on Poker After Dark.

10. … And finally.. What is your most memorable hand?

 My most memorable hand would have to be one that involved the Bomber. It was still the first blind structure when I looked at my holding of A4 of hearts. The Bomber, I later found out was holding pocket 2′s. The flop came 6 h, 5 c, 3 h; the Bomber opened with a bet on the flop which I obviously called. The turn was the 2 of hearts. The Bomber made a bet of 600 here so I raised the minimum and was called immediately. Seeing as I had already made the nut flush, I was comfortable that I could extract more money. The river was a 5 of hearts giving me a straight flush and pairing the board to give bomber the full house. He makes the all in bet on the river…. u can all imagine the rest, that’s right another BOMBER BLOW_UP!!!!!

While vacationing this week, poker pro Phil “The Unabomber” Laak has been injured in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident in Oregon.

News of the incident was passed along not only by Laak, but also by his best friend Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari via their Twitter accounts. Earlier this week, the duo teamed up with a group of friends for fun and adventure in the wilds of Oregon. According to a Tweet from Esfandiari on August 1st, “Leaving Tahoe to meet the boys in Oregon for a 1wk outdoors extravaganza!! @RealPhilLaak @AllAmericanDave (friend David Swanson) @AlecTorelli + more !! CAN’T wait!”

Over the past few days, the crew enjoyed the Oregon woods, delving into rafting and camping. Laak passed along a Twitpic of the entourage preparing for the rafting portion of the journey, jovially Tweeting, “Hmmm… My crew. Going rafting.” Esfandiari seemed to be enjoying the trip just as much as Laak, Tweeting on August 4th, “Words cannot describe the day we had yesterday. Packed our gear headed upstream on foot and had the most unbelievable adventures 1 can have.”

The trip seems to have taken a turn late yesterday, when the group decided to head out in the wilderness on ATVs. At approximately 8:00pm last night, the first Tweet was sent reporting the incident on the trails and Laak’s injuries. Esfandiari was at the hospital in Oregon, Tweeting, “At hospital with poor @RealPhilLaak in Oregon. We went a little 2 crazy atv’ing in the doons. Broke 7bones. Ouch,” and including a Twitpic of an injured Laak in his hospital bed.

From the photo – which Laak also included on his Twitter account – the accident was fairly serious. “The Unabomber” has severe lacerations around his right eye, with a significant amount of swelling and some bruising. His right arm is immobilized in a temporary cast and the fractures appear to be internal and not compound, which bode well for recovery. In the photos, Laak appears to be in good shape overall, but could also be under some medication to alleviate any pain issues.

For his part, Laak was in good spirits during the ordeal, Tweeting throughout the event. “ATV accident, massive arm injury and lacerations to eye in Oregon. Life is good,” Laak stated around the same time as Esfandiari. He kept a good spirit up throughout the evening, Tweeting about an hour after the incident, “Stitches forthcoming. Could have been worse… I’m lucky to be in one piece.” There have been hundreds of replies to his Twitter account wishing him well and several threads on poker message boards passing along good wishes.

ATVs, in the hands of inexperienced riders, can be quite dangerous. Most common accidents on an ATV are tip-overs (where the ATV flips after getting off balance) or bouncing accidents (where the ATV bounces on hard ground and becomes uncontrollable). There are no details from either Laak or Esfandiari as to what happened to cause the accident.

The web safety group ATVSafety.org reports some startling statistics when it comes to ATV safety. The group has information on ATV deaths and hospitalized injuries that date back to 1985, when there were a reported 251 deaths and 105,700 hospitalizations from ATV accidents. 2008 was the most recent year of compiled statistics, with an estimated 410 deaths and 135,100 injuries. In a period from July 20th to August 2nd of this year, ATVSafety.org compiled news reports of 18 deaths from ATV accidents, with five  of those fatalities being children under the age of 16.

 Bomberette

The Casino de Montréal proudly joins the Foundation Vincent Lecavalier once again on the occasion of a charity poker Texas Hold’em tournament on Wednesday, August 25, 2010. Many personalities from the entertainment and sports worlds are expected go be on hand at the Casino de Montréal Poker Room to go head-to-head in this event that is sure to be most convivial.

Well yet again the Acetenbomber will be working on another poker project as the (MAIN TABLE-SPOTTER) for the Vinney Lecavalier Charity poker tournament down in beautiful Montreal! This will be my fourth big poker gig and can’t wait to get onto set! Working behind the scenes and on the front-lines as a table-spotter keeps me close to the action even though I’m not playing. I have been very blessed to have been given this role from my very good friend Mr.Michael Charbon almost 2 years ago! Michael has put together a great team and working along side everyone on these poker projects is always lot’s of fun. See you all soon in Montreal!!!!

Popular Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier will preside as honorary president as some 200 poker players compete for a worthy cause, beginning at noon. A total purse of $60,000 will go to tournament winners.

Interested parties will need to defray the $350 registration fee. During the tournament itself, players can purchase or add chips to their stakes for a $150 fee. Play starts at noon. Registrants can sign up at the Casino de Montréal poker reception counter or by calling 514 392-2720 or 1 800 665-2274.

http://www.vinny4.com/offtheice.html official website of Vincent Lecavalier