Louisiana Hold’em

I was cleaning-up my hard drive, and stumbled upon this game variant from some time back. Lets give it a shot at our next cash game.

There’s a new game in town… and it’s chock-full o’ suck outs. As you burn your way through a single deck at a time, and the River rises quickly, this game’s designed for insanely fast play… and some mighty fine pots.

During our traditional weekly post-game email exchange, Hirp, Marneus and I stumbled upon an idea for a new game that’s turned out to be quite fun. As we waxed poetic about the seemingly endless string of River suck outs we’ve all endured at one time or another, we pondered whether or not we should devise a game where you skip the Flop and the Turn… and head straight down to the River to deal with the inevitable draw out.

Hirp and I had a chance to try this new gem of a game out through two rounds of tournament play on Saturday night (the lil’ beyotch owes me $2).

Here’s how you play:

- With it’s limited betting opportunities, the game absolutely has to be played no limit to enable bluffing and sizable pots.
- Similar to traditional Texas Hold’em, you start out with two cards down, bet and wait for the Flop.
- What’s different between this game and how it’s played in its neighboring Texas is, that the Flop consists of one card, which also serves as the River and the last round of betting.
- The game is played with a single deck at a time, so Blackjack players and card counters will have a slight advantage over those with short-term memory disabilities.
- The game can be played in either cash or tournament formats.
- In tournament play, the blinds go up each time you burn through a deck.
- In cash game play, you play through a deck and reshuffle when you don’t have enough cards for another round. It’s recommended that you burn through at least three decks before the end of the game and the pass of the deal to a different format cash game.
- Information is king in this game. With a single deck in play at any one time, knowing what cards have been played will allow players to make better decisions later in a round.
- If all players check at the River, all must show their cards. If a bettor is not called, he need not show his cards (nor would the players who folded their hands).
- With three cards, Full Houses and Quads are not possible, nor are simple straights or flushes honored. However, to add some spice, the Straight Flush is in play – and as such beats Three-of-a Kind, a Pair and High Card.

OST 6: Resistance Is Futile

You people really should listen to me more. I don't bluff.

Yesterday afternoon I called a Marneus/Holy Mohly heads-up match to end the night, and that's exactly what we got. If only I could see the future of my own cards so well.

If you have any recap to offer on the night's play, feel free to use the Comments section below.

Your top four for OST 6 were:
1) Marneus -$250
2) Holy Mohly - $130
3) Space.Jam - $60
4) Skrawg - $20

OST 7 will be back at my place on Tuesday, July 15.

Rock God

Okay, so this is a bit of a change of pace. But you've got to check this kid out (and watch all the way to the end).

I suck bad at Guitar Hero, but I can appreciate those that can throw the silicone hammer down. This kid supposedly holds the Guiness World Record for highest single Guitar Hero score at 97% and some insane number like 840,000 points for strumming to this song from a band called Dragonforce ("Through The Fire And The Flames"). He breaks that record, hard.

Mad, stupidly sick skills. I've got my work cut out for me if I'm going to put Guitar Hero God on the resume for the job search.