Comments on Kajagugu Poker: BBT3? Chop-suey?

i'm late to this party, but just realized you aske...

2008-03-25T18:54:05.943-04:00

i'm late to this party, but just realized you asked a question i could answer. you can log into both ftp and stars from the same ip address as long as the tournament has more than a certain number of players. i can't remember what the number is, but on ftp it won't let you register for the tournament if the number of registered participants is too small and someone from the same ip address is already registered. (stars may be the same, not positive)

i've heard rumors of big time players colluding over im and sharing hole cards and the thought of anyone doign that, much less bloggers, makes me throw up a little. personally i'd be stunned if this was happening in blogger tournaments, but who knows.

as for the chop, i wasn't watching chasers, but i heard about it shortly after, and it just seemed silly. i have no idea why swimmom would do that, perhaps he or she just doesn't care that much about 100 bucks or is a super nice person, etc. etc. sucks for other people who get heads up with someone who is close to being a 2k seat winner for sure, but sounds like scottmc just got lucky and took advantage of it. nothing wrong w/ that on his end as far as i can see.

Ha ha - this "controversy" makes me laugh. Let's s...

2008-03-25T15:34:06.609-04:00

Ha ha - this "controversy" makes me laugh. Let's see ... we play a game that traditionally has been full of cheats. We sometimes suspect that the RNGs aren't quite so random. We now know what a superuser account is. People know about JJProdigy and ZeeJustin. People have side conversations on girly chat while in a tournament. Some of the bloggers have already chronicled their past history, including various incidents of illegal behavior.

Is it so hard to imagine that things might not always be as innocent as they seem?

Oh yeah - my state's former governor is in prison. The current governor appears to be heading in that direction -- sometime in the next 2-6 years.

Nothing surprises anymore.

Girlie chat is such a sexist name.Zed's dead, baby...

2008-03-25T15:16:09.138-04:00

Girlie chat is such a sexist name.

Zed's dead, baby, Zed's dead.

It's rather easy to see everyone's perspective here, but aren't we really creating unnecessary controversy over bitching over what someone wants to post in their blog?

A couple of years ago, this wouldn't have even bee...

2008-03-25T14:31:20.760-04:00

A couple of years ago, this wouldn't have even been a question. Yes, people have been in chat rooms during games but they never spoke about hands or gave advice on how to play someone.

Seriously, how sad must you be to have a backer in a blogger tournament? If the monkey can afford to buy their way into the dance, they don't deserve to dance.

Good post man. You have no shot at winning anythin...

2008-03-25T13:27:27.492-04:00

Good post man. You have no shot at winning anything so don't sweat it. ;).

Scott ended up winning?I'm still shocked from read...

2008-03-25T09:49:34.019-04:00

Scott ended up winning?

I'm still shocked from reading that. :)

Good post Kaja. It's your blog, and you can freel...

2008-03-25T09:42:23.566-04:00

Good post Kaja. It's your blog, and you can freely voice whatever thoughts or opinions you have here. I too can't possibly believe it's planting the seeds of doubt in anybody's mind. You either trust the bloggers, or you already have that seed. This post would have done nothing to change that.

That said, I trust this group to be honest at the table. We can snipe at each other, talk behind backs, and start big giant high school dramas, but when we get to the felt, I hope the only dishonesty is bluffing and slowplaying.

As for the chop - I'd have taken it in a second. Plus, if I already had a seat and found myself HU, I'd sell it to second without a thought, but for a much better price.

What we need now is a battle of bloggers, spouses ...

2008-03-25T00:32:18.148-04:00

What we need now is a battle of bloggers, spouses edition. Couples only!

Sign up OhCaptain and OhCcuntess!

I just wanted all to know that I took out Aniguy t...

2008-03-24T23:57:20.069-04:00

I just wanted all to know that I took out Aniguy tonight in the Hoy, and yes it is my husband, he plays upstairs and I play downstairs, so no colusion here....

Fired me right up Kaja!Comment went too long, so I...

2008-03-24T22:46:14.405-04:00

Fired me right up Kaja!

Comment went too long, so I posted it instead. Hope you take the time to have a read.

You might get to see,
"what-wee-todd-did."

Donkette - I was just giving examples of situation...

2008-03-24T22:23:47.106-04:00

Donkette - I was just giving examples of situations that could or couldn't be marginal. I tried to emphasize that I was not pointing fingers at anyone and any names I used were for illustration purposes only.

I'm sorry if this upsets you, but clearly I am not the only person thinking this way. I mean, I have an option not to play if I feel I am being cheated, right? And I still play when I have the chance.

It's clearly time to bring out the gimp.

2008-03-24T20:34:37.700-04:00

It's clearly time to bring out the gimp.

If you really wanted to discuss the absurdity of o...

2008-03-24T20:31:30.128-04:00

If you really wanted to discuss the absurdity of of the chop, that's what you should have focused on just that, but instead you brought doubt into the minds of others, and it's one thing to have something in the back of your mind and another to publicly question by name or group whether those people would play objectively against each other. Also you asked people to comment on this post and you sure stooped to some pretty low comments to those who did respond.

I knew I would eventually piss some people off. Li...

2008-03-24T17:30:49.842-04:00

I knew I would eventually piss some people off. Like I tried to say in my post, I'm not outing anyone and I have no hard evidence against anyone. I play these games because I enjoy the virtual company of these people and I like reading about their experiences. It's also a consistent group which I have reads on and have a familiarity with the way they play.

Did I plant a seed of doubt? I'm not sure I did. Anyone who hadn't thought about this before is probably more naive than me.

The reason for this post was two fold:
1) To try to point out the absurdity of this chop.
2) To put a thought from my head in writing.

I don't think I crossed any lines or offended anyone and if I did, then I'm sorry but that was not my intention.

Anyway, CK, your bloggament record speaks for itself, so you are pretty much in the clear :-)

It's a bit disheartening to see you call out peopl...

2008-03-24T17:15:57.366-04:00

It's a bit disheartening to see you call out people in this manner.

I will admit to the following:

1. I have been in private girlie chat with fellow bloggers during blogger tournaments.

2. I have been on the telephone with F-Train while playing blogger tournaments.

3. I have been on IRC with a group of bloggers while playing blogger tournaments.

4. I am probably a member of one or more of the blogger "cliques" of which you speak.

Do I think that any of these activities are grounds for questioning if I have ever engaged in less than savory activities that would affect that outcome of a poker tournament / ring game?

No.

But have you planted a seed of doubt in others' heads by writing this?

Perhaps yes.

What is the whole point of the post, other than to question the integrity of people with whom you play on a regular basis?

If you feel that there is suspicious activity going on, you have two options: (1) deal with it or (2) play elsewhere.

Chops happen all the time. People make deals all the time.

Just because it was not the deal that *you* would have made, I don't think that necessarily means that there was collusion.

Nothing is ever certain in poker. Not even a 2:1 chip lead heads up. Not even a 6:1 chip lead heads up. Waffles proved that to all of us.

ScottMcM - From reading your blog I know you would...

2008-03-24T17:09:37.689-04:00

ScottMcM - From reading your blog I know you wouldn't offer a deal like that and I did see Swimmom was not the backer. But I think there was a lot more at stake for her here. It's not only $47.50. It's the leaderboard points (with two wins and some decent showings she would be in contention to take down the monthly TLB 2K seat). And obviously there is the fact of not having you to play against in the TOC. There's a huge incentive in having fewer people at the TOC and anyone who already has a seat needs to try to cut down the field as much as they can. I mean even if she's tired, she can just jam every hand and flip for it, right?

I am happy for you that it went down the way it did. I identify with your family situation and commend you for making the decisions you've made. I hope you not only go to the big show, but make a huge splash while you're there. Good luck!

I would just like to say that chops and deals happ...

2008-03-24T17:05:47.293-04:00

I would just like to say that chops and deals happen all the time in poker, and just because there happens to be backing arrangements (in Scott's case) or familiarity with other bloggers (e.g. riverchaser players) there's no reason that aspertions on an entire group of people should be cast. And just for the record, I am a riverchasers player both live and online and from what I hear so is swimmom and I could tell you that if I tripped over her on the street I wouldn't know it was swimmom, I don't have a clue who she is. Also the bloggers that we play with are ruthless when it comes to winning cash so I can promise you that the people I'm closet to are the ones who take me out most of the time.

I was wondering when a post like this would hit! :...

2008-03-24T16:49:27.716-04:00

I was wondering when a post like this would hit! :)

about 5 minutes after the event was over I put up my post. I was sure the deal was going to have some ripples. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew Swimmom was not the backer.

there was no one more shocked in the world than me when the deal was offered. If you recall there was about 10 minutes of heads up play where we were both sitting out because I did not know what to do...

I ' ll give you the scoop right here, NO WAY IN HELL would I have ever offerd a chop that sweet to anyone myself. if it came heads up with my own mother I would take the bitch out before offering even a slightest chop. I know it all sounds silly a few days after the fact but anyone that knows me closely and knows my brand of poker knows that I am as cut throat as they come.

NO telling what swimmom was thinking. Maybe it was simply what it was, late and not much in it for her. She already had a seat and if you were watching the game close you could see even at a 2-1 chip lead I was not giving it up easily. I could have made that last a long time and for her it was only an extra $47.50

for the record, Swimmom wasn't his backer, fi oyu ...

2008-03-24T13:50:22.352-04:00

for the record, Swimmom wasn't his backer, fi oyu dont already know.

I dont know that it makes a difference though...

and just a little info on FT.

if two people are on two separate clients, logging in from the sames IP, they will not allow you acces to STT's, or ring games, but they will allow you in to the same MTT...

very wierd indeed

for the record, Swimmom wasn't his backer, fi oyu ...

2008-03-24T13:49:57.006-04:00

Cardma is a bitch, for sure. I updated some links....

2008-03-24T11:00:59.374-04:00

Cardma is a bitch, for sure. I updated some links.

Fuel55 - Next HU you're going down suckah!

Lucko - I'm sure you won't make a bad deal.

Captain - You were never under suspicion. I am a very trusting guy.

Loretta - You're one of those with gender bending names, but I still trust you.

Shit, I trust everyone.

good post kaja. I thought the same thing when I wa...

2008-03-24T10:50:16.591-04:00

good post kaja. I thought the same thing when I was watching.

I think you have to let the chips fall where they ...

2008-03-23T22:46:14.130-04:00

I think you have to let the chips fall where they may and let Karma screw with the unethical ones, which I think are few and far between!

I worry about the same thing.I've also played a to...

2008-03-23T21:53:43.393-04:00

I worry about the same thing.

I've also played a tournament or two with my wife online as well. I know how we play, we are both super competitive. I actually watched her final table from across the room, with my headset on, the entire time trying to get it to work so I could get on BDR.

I don't like knowing her hole cards and she doesn't even ask for advice. But what do other people do? I don't know.

I see the posts about the girlie chat. I'm not an 'A' lister, so I'm usually not in on the conversations. There are a couple of bloggers I've chatted with. I personally don't talk about the hand I'm in. To me its unethical. But what do other people do? I don't know.

The game of poker has one big weakness and that is ethics and guranteeing ehtics. How is this going to be accomplished. You could check the machine running the poker client, but if people are as big a geek as I am, I have several devices they could chat on.

I guess, we just have to believe and play our best.

There are a decent amount of people that I would m...

2008-03-23T15:22:16.716-04:00

There are a decent amount of people that I would make a deal with before going after my third TOC seat. I wouldnt make as bad of a deal as swimmon did tho.