NewEgg goes after Crypto Coin miners

If you have checked E-Bay lately for AMD Radeon video cards you will see that prices have been going up.  These cards have become hard to get and now people on E-Bay are taking advantage.  They buy up any stock they can find from online retailers.  Then they turn around and sell them on E-Bay for even more.  Well now even one of the biggest online retailers is getting into the game as well.  Just last week I was looking for a good mining card on Newegg.com when I came across this card on their site. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150694  When I first found the card it had a price of $659.99.  Before I was able to even purchase the card it had sold out.  When I tried to go back to the link for the card the price had already been increased to $719.99 and the status was out of stock.  I clicked the link to notify me by email once they were available again.  However, before I was ever notified the price had changed again to $799.99.  Now less than 5 days from finding the card listed for $659.99 I get a notification by email that the card is back in stock.  I click on the link only to find that the card is now being sold for $899.99.

When I saw this 3rd price increase in less than a week I was outraged.  It was bad enough to search all of the other 79xx series cards they sell only to find them well over the MSRP.  But, then to watch how they just kept going up even when they didn't have any of the cards in stock.  Maybe Newegg.com is trying to change their business model.  Perhaps they should just start running and auction site on any items that seem to be in high demand. 

Up until this incident I was a loyal customer of Newegg.com.  I felt that they usually had very good and competitive pricing.  But, this is just going to far.  You can't tell me that the price of these cards has go up $240 in a 5 day period.  To me this looks like not more than another company trying to cash in on Crypto Currency miners.  I would love to hear from someone at Newegg.com that could explain why the huge increase.  Until then I will not be supporting a company that feel they can just take advantage of the loyal customers that made them who they are.

Is player analysis software cheating

I have been an advantage blackjack player in Las Vegas for over 15 years now.  I have played in almost every good game in town over those years.  I know that it is illegal for a player to use any device that would help them count and beat the casinos.  So why isn't it illegal for the casinos to use software that analyses how well someone plays?  Why isn't this considered cheating by the casinos?  Doesn't this give them an unfair advantage over the blackjack player?  Why should they be able to use this type of software to limit play by anyone that could possibly beat the games they offer?  They already have full control of the rules for each table.  Are they really that scared of AD players?  Why not just change the table rules instead of spending so much time and money into finding AD players.  It seems to me that they should not be allowed to use a computer to figure out how well others play. They should have the same limits as the players.  If they want to find AD players then they should be forced to train their personnel to spot AD players on their own.

The Poker Attitude

So I was out this weekend playing blackjack at one of the local casinos here in Vegas.  I will not state the name to protect the not so Innocent.  Anyway I was sitting at this table playing heads up with the dealer.  We were chatting a bit.  Then this guy and girl come and sit down at the table.  The guy bought chips for himself and the girl.  The two of them looked like they did not belong together at all.  The dealer deals the first hand to both of them.  The girl acted as though she had never played double deck blackjack in here life.  The guy used both of his hands and looked at his cards as if he was looking at his hole cards at the poker table.  The dealer said something about it to both of them.  The guy then tried to show the girl how to actually take a hit.  She acted like she was as dumb as a rock.  So, as they played I could hear them talking.  It was quite apparent they they did not really know each other.  At this point I am assuming she is a hooker.  The played for about 20 minutes then left the table.  I then started talking to the dealer again.  She started going on about how she hated poker players.  She made reference to this poker player attitude that they all had.  She said she could always spot a poker player.  She said "They have this attitude like they are always trying to bluff you."  I wasn't sure exactly what she meant by that.  All the while I just allowed her to go on and on about how horrible poker players were.  I was having a hard time holding back that I have been a poker player for over 20 years.  I wanted to ask her why she could not tell that I was a poker player as well.  But, I resisted the urge to say anything and just listed to what she had to say.  She even went as far as to say that most blackjack dealers hate poker players.  I never did tell her that I was a poker player.  However, it did make me wonder what was different about me that she could not tell.  I just thought this was an interesting conversation and wanted to share it with all of you.  Until next time thanks for stopping by.

Blackjack patterns

I have been playing poker for over 20 years now.  I have also been an advantaged blackjack player almost as long.  When I say advantaged I mean that I am a card counter.  I normally play double deck games where the dealer hits soft 17 and penetration is around 80-90%.  I am not a player that will continue to play if the deck gets to negative.  I will either get up from the table and take a walk or just sit out until the shuffle if others are at the table. 

Over the years I have come to notice patterns.  Some of which may be more than just coincidence.  For example I have noticed that if I run bad in poker, I will normally do well in blackjack.  Another thing I have found is when a deck keeps running negative, cutting near the bottom of the deck will turn the count in my favor faster.  This seems to be tied more to how the decks get shuffled.  So this may be more shuffle tracking.  I'm not sure because I have never learned anything about shuffle tracking. 

I used to question the whole concept of card counting.  Mainly because I would find myself with very rich decks in which I would loose every big bet I made.  Then I would have other days in which the deck would always stay negative, yet I would have long runs of winning hands.  I then started to very how many hands I was playing when the deck was killing me.  It seems that in a lot of cases that by adding an additional hand I would start winning.  

Has anyone else who plays blackjack seen similar patterns?  Has anyone seen any other patterns that I have not mentioned?  Please leave a comment on what you have seen.  Thanks for your comments. 

Sucked Out or Out Played?

So I get to the Wynn and sit down in a $1/$3 NL Hold em game.  There were no really large stacks at this table.  Maybe 2 people over $500 when I sat down.  I buy in for my normal $500 which is the max for the game.  So I lose my first hand that I played to a guy with a pair of queens that he never raised with pre-flop.  I had flopped a pair of jacks and bet them on the flop and turn.  So that was the extend of the history anyone had on me in the game so far.  I then changed seats and continued to play.  After about 30 min I get Ad Qd UTG+1.  I make a standard raise to $15 and get called in 3 spots.  Now the flop comes Ks Qc 4d.  At this point I am first and make a C-bet of $35.  I get one caller.  This guy is one of the larger stacks at the table.  He reminds me of Sylvester Stallone.  Kind of big and dumb looking.  So I figure since he just called that I will take another shot at the pot on the turn provided noting that looks bad for me hits.  The turn card is 8h.  That card looks OK to me so I fire out a $70 bet.  Now I'm pretty sure at this point that if he calls then he most likely has be beat with a K.  He does make the call.  Now at this point I decide I am down with the hand unless the river helps me.  Sure enough the river is a Qs giving me 3 queens.  Now I make a bet of $100.  He immediately starts talking about how that was a horrible card for him.  Then he makes the call.  I turn over my AQ and he shows the AK. 

Right away he starts saying that I sucked out on him.  Saying how I had no idea that I was beaten in the hand till the river.  I responded saying I out played him.  Based on game theory he is making a mistake every time he plays his hand differently than he would if he could see my cards.  Well he had 3 opportunities to raise me and take control of the hand or make me fold.  He never 3 bet pre-flop.  He never raised me off my hand on the flop or the turn.  He let me control the hand the entire way.  It's not like I was calling his bets and then caught the river.  So I ask you do you think I sucked out or did I out play him in the hand?

Loose or Tight Image, You can't have it both ways.

I was playing in this $1/$3 No Limit Hold em game at the Wynn the other night.  It was early in the morning maybe around 3am when this guy sits down in the game.  He immediately starts talking to the dealer about how much he had made playing in this short handed game.  A game where some tourist would wonder in out of the blue and sit down.  He was basically bragging about how good he was and how bad all these tourist were. 

I noticed that he was playing a lot of hands and raising a lot before the flop.  This is nothing new, I see this type of play all the time at the Wynn.  He was on my immediate right which is where I like to be for this type or player. 

So as the game progresses there comes a hand in my small blind.  Everyone had folded to the button where our loose aggressive player raises making it $15.  I look down and see 6h 6s.  Now considering what I have seen from this guy I don't put him on much more than ace high so I call.  We are heads up on the flop or 2s 4d 7h.  I felt this was a pretty good flop for my hand.  I check and he bets $35 I called.  The turn card was the 5c now giving me an open ended straight draw.  Now I am sure that a lot of the more aggressive players would have bet out at this point.  But, once again I checked to him.  He bet $75 this time and I called.  The river card was the 8s giving me a straight.  At this point I bet $150.  He complained that that was a horrible card for him on the river as he called the bet.  Once I showed the straight he said "What did you think I had? ace king?".  He turned over his hand to show two kings.  He then told me how bad I played.  But, not as nicely as this.  I just let it go as I knew he was upset about having his kings cracked.  Even though I felt his call on the river was just as bad as anything I had done in the hand. 

My point here is more about his table image than the play of the hand.  By being so loose aggressive in his play before this hand it made it hard for me to put him on a real hand.  He is playing LAG so that he can get action and try to control the table.  Then when he has his Kings cracked he gets all upset about it.  I just don't think you can have it both ways. 

Let me know your opinions on this topic.  Do you think I am wrong or right here?

To share or not to share?

Hello everyone,  I was checking out all of the many applications for tracking poker wins and losses for iPhone and android.  I found a couple I liked and downloaded to try them out.  As I was setting them up I cam across features that would allow you to post your session results to your Twitter or Facebook accounts.  I thought to myself that this could be a fun and cool way to show my friends on a session by session basis just how well I do.  It always seems that when I try to tell them just how much I make playing poker that they do not believe I am being truthful.  So I figured this would be a cool way to show my friends just how well I do playing poker. 

But, then I started to think about what other ways this information could be used.  I remembered watching shows about how they convicted a murderer with information gathered from his Google searches.  They talked about how Google and other sites save your information forever.  That got me thinking about the IRS someday deciding to subpoena Facebook or Twitter for the information that I uploaded.  Then they could use these records against me in a tax audit.  I therefore, decided not to use these features from the poker applications.

The two applications I tried that I liked the most were Poker Journal which is only for the iPhone and Poker Income which has both iPhone and android versions. I prefer both of these apps because they both have a screen that keeps track of live sessions as they are played.  They allow you to hit a button each time you toke someone.  You can also track your re-buys and expenses from the same screen.  If anyone has an app that you like, please share it with everyone here.  I am always open to checking out new ideas.  Thanks for viewing and see ya next time.