Year: 2009

From time to time I write about my experiences playing real-money poker online, so I thought some of my readers might be interested in this… My favorite online poker room, PokerStars.com, has just made a huge increase to their first-time player deposit bonus, as well as their reload bonus for current players.

For players new to the site, PokerStars is now offering a 100% bonus on deposits up to $600. They way it works is, the more hands you play, the more player points you earn… as you accumlate player points, the bonus is released into your account, in $10 increments. You can then play poker with it or withdraw it as you choose. You can make the deposit in up to 3 increments, although subsequent deposits must be made within 60 days of the first one.

For those already playing on PokerStars, they’re offering a reload bonus of 50% up to a maximum bonus of $300. Again, you can make the deposits in 3 increments, but all must be made within 90 days of each other, and you have 6 months to collect the full bonus. For a poker player, this is the equivalent of a company match to your 401(k). It’s free money.

When I first got into online poker, I tried several poker rooms, but kept coming back to Stars. Here are a few reasons why it’s my favorite:

– They have micro limit tables. Even if you don’t have much to risk, you can find a table at your price range. There are tables with 1 cent small blinds/2 cent big blinds, so if you buy in for 100 big blinds and lose it all, you’re only out two bucks. As your skills progress, you can move up to higher levels. I currently play the 50 cent/$1 level most of the time, although sometimes I’ll step down a level or two if I want to limit my losses while I try out different strategies.

– They have a large number of “fish,” recreational players who play just for fun and who have never studied any theory on how to win at poker. All they know about the game is what they’ve seen on TV. These people are great to play Texas Hold’em with because they have no idea whether they hold a good hand. In online poker rooms, you make money by swimming with the fish, not the sharks.

– I like their interface better than other poker rooms. You can upload your own profile pic. My profile pic, by the way, is not a pic of me, but a pic I selected to give the others at the table the idea that I can’t even spell “poker,” much less know how to play. Thus they’re more inclined to try and bluff me with less-than-premium hands.

– Because there are so many PokerStars members, there’s always action. I can log on at 5 in the morning and find a cash game or a tournament if I choose. (Actually, late at night is a GREAT time to log on, because a lot of the fish are playing drunk, which makes their already-bad play even worse.)

– They have one-table sit’n’go tournaments. You sign up at the buy-in level you want, and then sit down with 9 or 10 other players. It usually takes less than 5 minutes to fill a new table (less than 1 minute in peak hours), and the tournament starts immediately, with progressive blind structures just like on a real Hold’em table. Top three places land in the money, which is usually split 50%/30%/20% among the top three. There are also “double or nothing” tournaments, where the first 5 of 10 to lose all their chips get nothing, and the 5 that remain get double their buy-in back. You can buy into these with as little as a dollar. I usually do $10 buy-ins for regular sit’n’go, or $20 for double or nothing. Tournaments tend to last about an hour on average, although there are also “turbo tournaments” with more aggressive blind structures that move faster.

– You can watch games without participating in them. This is called railbirding in poker, as you’ll see people leaning against the rail watching live games. This is a great way to learn proper poker play; search for the celebrity players on PokerStars (Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker, and others) and railbird their tables to learn good poker play. You can’t learn it from watching them on TV. TV is all about the ratings and only shows the highlights, the all-ins, the bad beats. It doesn’t show the pros folding before the flop 80-90% of the time, which is what actually happens.

– They have a lot of games I haven’t tried yet. There’s also Omaha Hold’em, stud poker, HORSE, and several more poker variations. There are also multi-table tournaments which you can buy into for cheap; the prizes for these can be pretty substantial. There are also multi-table tournaments where the prize is an all-expenses paid seat at the World Series of Poker. When I worked at the City Schools a co-worker of mine won one of these and got to spend a week in Vegas on PokerStars’ dime. If he’d made it to a featured TV table or the final table, he would’ve been given huge bonuses for wearing PokerStars gear.

I’ll mention that you can also sit down at play-money games on PokerStars, but I actually don’t recommend these as a way of developing your poker skills. People will bet and raise and go all-in with almost anything, because if they go bust they can just request more play-money chips. You’ll learn a lot more about correct poker play at the 1 cent/2 cent real money tables than you will at the play money tables. I suppose the play-money tables are good for getting familiar with the PokerStars interface, so that you’re comfortable before you make your first real buy-in.

If that all sounds like a good deal, scroll up, click on one of the banners, and sign up.  Maybe I’ll see you at the table, although with the profile image I use, you may not know it’s me.

No poker for me tonight, though.  It’s trivia night.  Sierra Nevada Pale Ale… finally a decent Fire Sale to drink during trivia.

South of Beale, the “gastropub” on South Main near Talbot, has their website up.  You can check out their food and wine menus and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.  Click here to check out their site.  Rumor has it they will open this week, assuming everything goes OK with their beer board hearing tomorrow.

The Majestic Grille has run several exhibits by local artists in its Innovators Room over the past year. For the next exhibit, they’re keeping it in the family. A lot of talented artists and musicians work at the Majestic, and on Wednesday, August 12, they get the chance to show off their talent. From 5:30 to 7:30 there will be music by Keisha Moore-Alston, Kimberly Millburn, and Mark Akin, and the works of AnnElizabeth White, Amelia Huff, Anna Helton, AJ Gutierrez, Mario Palmer, and Deni Reilly will be on display from that date through October. Free admission, and there will be complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

An update on the Pomeranian that was found on Mud Island… I received an e-mail saying the dog may belong to a man who lives on the Island, who is currently in the hospital, and friends are taking care of his three Pomeranians. The person who responded gave me an e-mail address for his father, who I e-mailed, but so far I haven’t received a response. If any of my readers know this person and can confirm that it is/is not his dog, I’d appreciate it.

If the owner is not found, I’ve also received an e-mail saying, “If no one claims him, I want him.” So one way or another, the dog is going to be all right… in fact, he’d end up with a loving family, children to play with, and some of the best table scraps in town.

Update on the Elvis pub crawl scheduled for Saturday the 15th: The Hard Rock had to drop out, but I hope to brainstorm with the people there about an event for Downtowners in the near future. The Saucer, Blue Fin, and the Red Rooster are definitely on board, and we’re working on recruiting a fourth bar, hopefully a place on Beale. Note that Party City does not carry Elvis costumes in their stores… Costume City is a place where you can order Elvis gear online, and of course there’s Graceland’s gift shop. Blues City General Store on Beale sells Elvis sunglasses and sideburns and other stuff to help you get your Elvis on.

Thanks to everyone who read my post about artist Sarah yesterday. She’s already been contacted by a couple of people interested in her work. Also, she was thrilled that her blog had 221 hits yesterday, and I know she’s going to keep posting.

I know a lot of people who read this blog are involved with nonprofits, either as employees or volunteers… those who are may want to check out this CA article about a PR class for nonprofits planned for the U of M next Tuesday, August 11.

Tonight is National Night Out. Communities all over the country are organizing block parties tonight, to emphasize the importance of working together to keep our communities safe from crime. Uptown Memphis is having a party at Uptown Park (Greenlaw and Uptown Streets) starting at 5:30 PM. Fire truck rides, mini-carriage rides, golf cart service for the elderly, food, fun. Not sure if there’s an event going on in South Main this year.

Looks like the August 11 South Main Association meeting at the Happy Mexican will be a big one. Changes to the by-laws will be discussed, Congressman Steve Cohen will speak, and so will Jimmy Tashie, the chairman of the Memphis & Shelby County Film Commission, and Senior VP and General Manager of Malco Theaters. 6:00 social, 6:30 meeting. Cash bar, complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up. IMPORTANT NOTE: I just learned that Congressman Cohen will show up late, around 8 PM, due to another meeting he has to attend.

Trivia night at the Saucer tonight, 7 PM.  I hope they don’t torture us with Turbo Dog on Fire Sale like they did last Tuesday.

This post is about a friend of mine, Sarah, who is trying to raise some money through the sale of rings and artwork. Earlier this year, she went through a divorce, which left her with $7,000 in credit card debt and a Toyota 4Runner whose lease expires this month. After getting divorced, she went back to the only way she knew to earn money – being a bartender. However, due to her debt load, the job isn’t quite paying all the bills, so she needs to sell some stuff to raise money.

She’s selling her engagement ring, pictured below, and her wedding band on eBay. The engagement ring has been appraised at over $11,000, and the ring and band together at $13,500. She’s starting the bidding at $5,000, so this is a good deal for someone. Click here to view the eBay auction for the rings.

I empathize with Sarah because she’s someone who has a lot to offer the world, once she’s no longer weighed down by debt. She graduated from the U of M with a degree in Fine Arts, then studied Art Therapy in graduate school. She’s spent a lot of time working with kids (see pics below), and once she’s financially stable she hopes to join the Peace Corps or a similar organization to help others in need. She’s previously volunteered with refugee children from Afghanistan, Sudan, and other countries.

Sarah is an accomplished artist. You can view her gallery on Facebook here, and you can see an example of artwork she did for a local bar in the pic below. She also has two works on exhibit at Blue Fin, although they’re signed under her married name which she no longer uses.

If you want to purchase any of Sarah’s work, or if you want to commission her to do a custom piece of artwork, shoot me an e-mail at paul@paulryburn.com and I’ll get the two of you in touch.

Sarah also has a blog. She has a very interesting and deep perspective on life, having seen and lived through a lot in her 25 years.

Thanks for reading this post… I know what it’s like to have big dreams, only to have financial concerns stand in the way. I figure one of the best things a person can do in this world is help others get closer to their dreams.

Yesterday morning about 10:30, I went on my Mountain Dew run to Walgreens.  It was raining cats and dogs, and even though Walgreens is only a quarter block from my front door, I was soaked.

After that I fired up PokerStars and started feeding my addiction.  I tried single tables, multiple tables at the same time, Sit’n’Go tournaments, and Double-or-Nothing tournaments (the most boring things ever – 10 players, first 5 to lose get nothing, the other 5 are declared the winners and double their money).  I kept thinking about going out, but every time I said to myself, “One more game.”

Finally, at 1 AM, I decided it was time to go have a beer.  I put clothes on, loaded up my camera, my iPhone, pens and keys in my pockets… but where was my wallet?  It wasn’t on my kitchen counter where I usually leave it.  I ran to my bedroom and checked all my jeans and shorts pockets.  No wallet.  “I must have left it at Walgreens,” I thought, “or worse, it fell out of my pocket as I ran home in the rain this morning.”  I started frantically thinking about the things I would have to do.

Made me think… maybe this would be a good public service announcement for my readers… if you lost your wallet, would you know what to do?

• Would you know how to get a replacement driver’s license, and what forms of ID you’d need to bring?  If you’re in Tennessee, details here.
• Do you have the phone numbers of your bank and any credit card companies stored in a safe place, so you know who to call to cancel credit and debit cards?
• Do you have enough cash stashed away to live on for about a week, until your new debit card arrives?

Just something to think about… better to be prepared.

After about 20 minutes, I remembered that I hadn’t folded the shorts I wore to Walgreens yesterday morning and put them away… they were soaking wet, so I hung them over a chair to dry.  I pulled the now-dry shorts off the chair and checked the back pocket… and there was my wallet.  Crisis averted.

Heading to brunch shortly.  I’ve been a hermit too much this past week.  No poker today.

Coming later today – a post about a local artist who is blogging, selling her artwork, and taking orders for custom jobs.  She’s also selling an engagement ring and wedding band, and it could be a good deal for someone.

One of my blog’s readers found the dog pictured below running loose on Mud Island yesterday.  Male Pomeranian, clean and well-trained, definitely someone’s pet but no collar.  If you know whose dog this is, e-mail me at paul@paulryburn.com and I’ll get you in touch with the person who has him.

Possibly the coolest vehicle ever – the VW Bus.

The interior of the Bus.

Here’s a pic of the Nuh-Uh Girl eating.

The BBQ team now has its own cornhole boards.

People hanging out on the Main Street sidewalk

The Nuh-Uh Sister, Eric and Misty relaxing.  Note that in the background, the Nuh-Uh Girl is going back for another helping of food.

It was Frank’s birthday last night.

By 7:30 quite a crowd had gathered.

Around 8 a lot of the gang left for Kooky Canuck for Frank’s birthday dinner.  I walked down the street and checked out Mpact Memphis’ new office at 506 S. Main.  The place was packed and was by far the biggest party on the street.  Mpact has really made a comeback the past year and they have some really good people taking the initiative these days.  Very happy to see it.

Then I walked over to the SMA cookout.  The grill had already shut down but there was still Boscos beer.  People told me the Nuh-Uh Girl had been by.  “Now we understand why there are so many photos of her eating in your blog,” one of the members told me.  “She eats all the time!”  Yep.

About 9:45 I headed north.  The plan was to meet up with the birthday group at the Flying Saucer.  However, the Saucer was packed – dudes, dudes, dudes everywhere.  It gets that way on Friday nights but it was far worse than usual.  I got about 10 feet in the front door before I realized I most definitely did not want to be there.  Later I learned that Downtown is unusually crowded with guys this weekend because Pi Kappa Alpha is having their national convention here.

So I walked up Second and ran into Air Traffic Mike.  We decided to go to the Goose, but it was way crowded.  Then we hit Bardog, but it was way crowded.  So we walked back down Main.  “Circa?” Mike suggested.

“Perfect,” I said.

And it was perfect.  We got there right as their reverse happy hour started.  There were a fair number of people at the bar, but it wasn’t overcrowded, and you could carry on a conversation without shouting.  The dinner rush had passed, and John Bragg came out and talked to us for a while.  We ate some delicious soft shell crab and proscuitto asparagus rolls, and did shots of Jameson in these skull glasses:

Later in the evening I ended up at Bardog again, then Paula & Raiford’s.  “Just once I’d like to be sober enough by the time I get here [Paula & Raiford’s] to remember what happens,” I commented to my friend Nick.  Last night wasn’t the night for it though.

No idea what I’ll get into tonight.  Who knows, there may be more pics.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to get Off, can you help me?”

WOOOOOHOOOOO! After 17 years, King Willie has finally stepped down. Myron Lowery is the new mayor as of 12:01 AM. The best commentary I’ve seen on the matter was a comment left in response to this CA article. Scroll down and read what cherryblossdotorg wrote on July 30, 6:13 PM. It’s time for Memphians to think about who we want to be.

Don’t forget that Sole Restaurant has a fish monger onsite every Saturday from 8 AM to 3 PM selling fresh fish. This week’s special is Hawaiian barracuda. You could hit Sole and then the Memphis Farmers Market and have all you need for a great dinner. If you’re not on Sole’s e-mail list, you’re missing coupons at the bottom of their weekly e-mails.

Circa is having their 2nd birthday celebration on August 27. They’ll have live music, a cocktail buffet, and drinks from 6 to 7:30 PM, and then there will be happy hour prices at the bar until 10 after that. Half price wine in the dining room all night. Cocktail buffet? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

More details on the Bravo Memphis kick-off party, also on the 27th of August, at Main and Huling. Performances by Ryan Peel and the Blazing Tangerines. Huling Row businesses will be featured, including ArtFunction by Ed Vining, Memphis Downtower Magazine, Hannah Davis Gallery, Marketing Strategies LLC, Joysmith Gallery, Shannon Lazek Personal Training, and the Jack Robinson Gallery. Drinks by D. Canale, and hors d’oeuvres by Whole Foods. Wow Bravo is getting healthy this year. Free food in two locations on Main Street on the same night… guess the Nuh-Uh Girl will be riding the trolley. More info about Bravo here. If you’re between 21 and 45 and you enjoy the arts and want to meet people, this is worth checking out. Kick-off party is free to the public.

The South Main Association now has a group on LinkedIn. Look them up if you’re on LinkedIn and are an SMA member.

The SMA will be serving free Boscos beer and grilling hot dogs and burgers for its members tonight for the South Main Trolley Tour. Not a member? You can join at the entrance, just bring $25. Free burgers and hot dogs? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up. I believe she’s a member of SMA.

Down the street, MPACT Memphis will show off their new digs at 506 S. Main with a grand opening party tonight. Live music, the MPACTini, and food. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up. Actually, she’s already responded “attending” to their event listing on Facebook.

It should be a fantastic night for Trolley Tour – according to the Weather Channel, the forecast is high 84, low 69, with only a 10% chance of rain. It’s rare to get such a nice trolley tour in the month of July, when it’s usually 99 and humid. The galleries will be open and lots of people will be out, so come on down.

Happy birthday to my buddy Frank… we’re having a Trolley Tour porch party in his honor tonight. Air Traffic Mike said he’s making gazpacho and some other people are bringing food as well. Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Earlier this week I mentioned an Elvis pub crawl in the works… somehow Mike King and I got drafted to coordinate it. Details to come. The date has been changed to Saturday, August 15, and it will involve barhopping among 4 of the best bars in the Downtown core in Elvis gear. Tentatively the lineup will be the Saucer, Bluefin, Hard Rock Cafe, and the Red Rooster, although Mike and I still have to get with some of the bars and finalize plans. Stay tuned for more info.

I went to Calhoun’s for the poker tournament last night. After getting short-stacked early on, I clawed my way back to a respectable third place. I have no regrets about the way I lost either… with three of us left, I got dealt suited Ace-King, and went all-in. Bartender Michele called me and had a queen… I was winning until the river, when a queen showed up and killed me. How can you not go all in with Big Slick when only 3 people are left, though?

I’ll be at Trolley Tour not long after 6, probably splitting my time between my friends’ porch party and the MPACT party, with an occasional swing by SMA for Boscos beer.

Not a whole lot of news to report, but let’s see what we can do.

Visible School, a music and worship arts college, has leased the space at 200 Madison that has long been vacant. This Tuesday from 4 to 6 PM, they’re having an open house from 4 to 6 PM to let people get a look at the place. There will be live music and refreshments will be served. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up. More info in this CA article.

On October 27 the city will have a special election (I hope, I hope) to determine who will be our new mayor. Uh-Oh. RiverArtsFest is the weekend before, October 24 and 25. I hope that doesn’t turn RiverArtsFest into a highly politicized event where mayoral candidates are running around all over the place, detracting from the reason the festival takes place. I have a feeling that’s what will happen though.

What to do tonight, now that rooftop party season has ended… it’s the poker tournament at Calhoun’s, and you never know who you might bump into there, or who might bump into you. I may just stay home and take another crack at PokerStars though. Last night’s bad beat aside, I think I can make more online than the $15 first prize certificate at Calhoun’s. Besides, Otto is the god of poker and will win anyway. If you do go to Calhoun’s, be sure to try the wings.

In other Thursday night activity, there will be country music on Beale, some band will be playing the Saucer, some other band will be playing the Rooster, lots of people will be out at local bars getting drunk, it will rain a lot, and there will be plenty of bums out asking for change.  The trolley will run until around 11, unless it breaks down, which it often does.  And that’s all for now.  Trying to find info on whether the Jim Rome Circus/Jake “The Snake” Roberts show at the New Daisy for tomorrow got canceled – someone told me on Twitter that it did…