Detroit is up 2-0, and while Pittsburgh has plenty of “reason” to win this game, they are not huge favorites to win. As such, the Red Wings are getting a favorable price on the +1.5 puck line. I would bet this at smaller amounts up to a price of +1.5 -275.
I bet the following price:
Detroit Red Wings +1.5 (-265)
% of Bankroll: 1.08%
Here we are just a couple days away from June and the Tampa Bay Rays are still holding onto first place in the American league East. I know I wrote about this a couple weeks ago but it’s worth touching on again. Because not only are the Rays leading the AL East but they’re also leading the entire Major Leagues.
That’s right. The Rays have the best record in baseball. They are currently tied with the Chicago Cubs with a .596 winning percentage. And the Rays are still a half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox.
If we get into June, we need to at some point admit to ourselves that this isn’t madness. Sure the Rays could dive and finish in the basement but with each passing night that’s looking less and less likely.
The Rays are actually beginning to look like the Detroit Tigers of 2 years ago. They are coming out of no where to grab a firm hold on the best record in baseball. Of course the Tigers faded in Septemeber that year. But then they regrouped to go from winning the Wild Card to winning the American league and appearing in the World Series.
It would be amazing if the Rays were able to do something similar. Especially since the mighty Red Sox are right their breathing down their necks.
Meanwhile, soon it won’t be a surprise to see teams like the Detroit Tigers, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets wallowing below .500 or even in the basement of their divisions. Once it gets past Memorial Day, a team pretty much is what it is.
Sure, one or two teams always turn either up or down every season but there’s no guarantee that any of those three teams will be able to turn things around. Sure, they all have injuries and pitchers who are expected back soon and who will help them in games. But there troubles go beyond those injuries.
But we will see. In the meantime, it will be a joy to watch the Rays and absolute misery for fans to watch the Tigers, the Yankees, and the Mets.
Well the early voting for the All-Star game is in and all I can really say is “so what?”
Let’s get one thing straight here, the All-Star game is a popularity contest and nothing more. That’s all it is. And it’s a popularity contest amongst people who barely follow the game.
How can I know this? Well, there are a couple ways.
First, look at last year’s voting and this year’s voting. Which team leads the voting? The team who went to the World Series. Gee could that be because more people watch the World Series and those are the only players they remember.
Secondly, these players that are at the top of the list are all very good players but not all of them are doing very well this year. And shoudn’t they be?
Look at third base, A-Rod leads the voting in the American league but he’s been hurt for most of the season. Even when he has played he’s hitting under .300. How is that All-Star worthy. For this year? Sure, I get it. He’e the best 3rd baseman in the MLB but he hasn’t played enoug this year.
Further proof can be gotten by looking right beside A-Rod. The Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter leads the voting at his position and he’s batting just .282 with only two homers so far this season. Again, I get it. And I love Jeter, I really do. He’s class act and he’s been the heart and soul of the Yankees for many, many years. But does he deserve to be leading the voting this year.
My final piece of proof really gets me fired up. Gary Sheffield, yes that Gary Sheffield who still isn’t hitting his weight and who has almost single-handedly ruined about 20 innings for the Tigers, is in the top 5 of the voting for DH.
Do we need more proof about how insane the voting is? Do we need anymore proof about how insane the voters are? They recognize the name “Sheffield” so they click on it. They don’t bother to make sure he’s actually hitting the ball this year. Because if they did, he wouldn’t even get one vote for this year’s All-Star game.
With Memorial Day being celebrated all over the United States, the unofficial start to summer has arrived. And now is when the games really begin to have a little more meaning. And so do the standings. If a team is still around at this point they have to be seen as a contender. And if a team is at the bottom of their division then that has to be considered real as well.
And that’s why the Tampa Bay Rays have to wake-up feeling pretty good about themselves today. They are back in fist place in the AL East – a half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox. The Rays have won four straight and they do look like a team that just might still be around on Labor Day.
And that’s also why the Detroit Tigers have to be considered a huge failure. They lost again on Monday and dropped back to 9 games under .500. If not for the Royals being on a 9 game losing streak, the Tigers would be alone in the basement of the AL Central.
And there is a lesson to be learned here.
Two years ago the Tigers went to the World Series. They did it with very strong pitching, a couple All-Star players, and a bunch of role players. Last year they had basically the same roster and they had the best record midway throught the season. The injuries decimated them and caused them to fall back and miss the playoffs.
For some reason the Tigers figured they had to do somethign different. So they did what never worked for the Yankees. They traded away very good young talent – mainly Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin – for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. They thought they’d be one of the best hitting teams in the Majors. Instead they are horrible.
The Tigers got shutout in 12 innings on Monday. That’s their 8th shutout in 51 games. What? That’s right. They are being shutout 15% of the time. That is horrible. In fact, you could pretty much put a Triple A team out there everynight and expect to socre at least one run more than 85% of the time.
But this just proves that you can’t buy wins. You can’t buy team chemistry. And you can’t buy heart. And I know Jim Leyland, the Tigers manager, claims they’re all working hard to right the ship but I don’t buy it. Sure, they might be going through the motions but they aren’t really working hard. If they are then everything I’ve ever been taught and seen in sports is wrong. Talent + hard work + heart = success. That is a winning. So since the Tigers aren’t hitting at the plate then there is something missinig and it isn’t talent. So it’s either hardwork or heart. I suspect it’s a lot of both.
But the lesson here for other clubs is not to mess with a good thing and don’t trade away young talent for older talent. It just doesn’t pay. Just look at the Tigers.
These days everyone seems to be hooked on online poker and the majority of the new generation of poker players almost exclusively play online and have probably never seen or played in a live cash game. Back in the days before poker became a global phenomenon it was only played in brick and mortar cardrooms, in casinos, or in illegal cardrooms, there was no internet poker and the game was played in its original normal fashion. Although Internet Poker may be convenient, easily accessible and extremely fast paced, all factors which allow you to maximize your profits efficiently and quickly, there is just simply nothing like a good live game of poker. Personally I need to get away from the constant hustle of online poker every now and then and get my much needed dosage of live poker, Whether it’s the fact you get to socialize and meet new people or maybe because you can read and analyze your opponents more accurately, poker is a game that is enjoyed most while you are playing live. If you’ve never played a live cash game or haven’t been to your local casino in a while then there are some adjustments you will have to make to your game before you step into a live game of poker.
The First adjustment you will have to make is to tighten up and not play too many hands, in online poker the pace is very fast and you get to see about 50-70 hands per hour, whereas in a live casino you usually have a dealer and you will only see about 20-30 hands per hour. What does this mean for you?, well as an online player you are probably used to the quick pace and perhaps play more than 1 table which means you’re used to seeing over 150 hands an hour. Out of these 150 hands the majority are folded and you probably win around 4-5 big pots in a couple of hours, but in Brick and mortar casinos were the pace is much slower you will maybe only win 1-2 big hands in a hour and get garbage hands for a whole hour straight. So you will have to be a lot more patient and adjust to the slower pace, you cannot get bored and start playing too many hands. A lot of tight internet players will approach a live game and get involved in a large number of hands with weak holding just because they are sick of folding. If you cannot adjust to the different pace of the game then you will be giving up a significant part of your edge and giving the other players at the table a considerable advantage.
If the slower pace causes you to be impatient you should do something to occupy yourself, start Talking to the other players around you, go for a dinner break, or practice your hand reading skills on the hands you’re not involved in. You may even want to start reading a book or playing your PSP if it is allowed in the casino, also you should keep an eye on players that have become impatient with the game or are on tilt and are starting to make rash decisions, these are the players you would like to target.
The next thing you should be ready for in live poker is some ridiculous bad beats, I don’t know if it’s the atmosphere in the casino or something else, but people tend to gamble a lot more when they are playing live. Don’t be surprised to see people chase gut shot straights or call you till the river with pocket 4s and then hit their set on the river to crack your AK, loose players in the casino will chase long shot draws and if they miraculously suck out on you shouldn’t immediately go on tilt. Remember in the long run your stronger hands will hold up against these loose players and eventually you will collect a lot more money than them, the luck factor in poker always evens out so continue to play a solid game and you will reap the rewards. A good way to counteract the bad players at the table is to loosen up your hand selection pre-flop, you may want to start playing with suited connectors and suited aces and face cards a bit more. These hands will fare well in multi-way pots because if you hit your straight or flush you will get a lot of callers and take down a huge pot.
Another adjustment you will have to make is to bring your poker face and reading abilities to the table. In online poker you have around 30 seconds to make a decision on each street and obviously you cannot see your opponents, this takes out a big factor of play in poker, you are unable to read and analyze your opponents based on their reactions and behaviors (also known as tells), hence you usually have to make a decision based on the strength of your cards unless you have previous knowledge of whether the player is loose, tight or aggressive ( Poker Odds Calculators can help you obtain this information).
In live poker there are a lot more factors to consider, in a live game, a large part of a good player’s edge comes from reading his opponents hands based on a “feel” or instincts about what’s going on in the hand, and sometimes this can take awhile so take your time and analyze your opponents correctly. Often in a live game you will know if you can bet your marginal hand for value or whether your opponent has flopped a very strong hand simply based on their physical behavior and betting patterns, so be weary of this and train yourself to read and analyze your opponents accurately, this is one of the main factors in becoming a successful Live Poker Player.
So if you were wondering why you can make a killing of online poker, But end up going bust every time you go and play in a live cash game. Then make some of these adjustments and you should see a major improvement in your overall live poker play.
For more great poker strategy articles and tips check out Poker Room Hustle, online poker blog covering Sit-N-Go Poker, No Limit Cash Games, Poker Tournaments and general updated poker Information.