Here are the goals from 2008 with the explanations of what I accomplished.
1. Win 15 multi table tournaments online.
Actual Result: 8 wins. The biggest was the Ultimate Bet Sunday Major for 45,000 followed by the Absolute Poker Saturday Major for 37,500. What is nice here is that my wins were all over 10k except for 1 tourney.
2. Win a 100 Rebuy on Pokerstars.
Actual Result: I didn't make a 100 rebuy final table on Pokerstars and largely quit playing the 100 rebuy throughout the year. I did win the 100 rebuy on Full Tilt which is a little bit easier field because it is a 6 handed tournament, but it pays more than a typical 100 rebuy on Pokerstars. So I'll call this one a wash.
3. 100 Final tables in multi table tournaments.
Actual Result: I'll count everything that I did throughout the year. 54 final tables is what it came down to online. I made 2 live final tables throughout the year not including satellites. 56 total for the year.
4. Live tournament win.
5. WPT prelim event win
Actual Result: Best finish was for 6th at the WPT Bellagio prelim 2k event for both above goals.
6. WSOP event final table
Actual Result: Best finish was for 53rd in the $2500 no limit.
7. 10 Live final tables.
Actual Result: 2 for 6th and 9th and not nearly enough money.
8. Final table Sunday Million on Pokerstars.
Best Finish: 274th
9. Win the Sunday Night HORSE tournament on Full Tilt.
CHAMPION!!!!! Take that Diego!!!
All in all, I had a solid year monetarily and in the goal department. I think my goals were quite lofty, and I'm going to get making them lofty. I think that I could attain all the goals above in a year with a little more hard work. On the live tournament side, I didn't really make these that realistic in the sense that I didn't know how much I would be playing live tournaments. I played maybe around 40-45 tournaments all year and to final table 10 of these would be an astonishing rate. I think a more realistic goal would be maybe 4 or 5. Even then, the talent of live fields has drastically increased in the smaller buy in events and even the WSOP. As always though, I'll look to get better and find a niche in the live tournaments I enter. Part of the problem that I've always said with someone not being staked in live tournaments is maintaining a proper bankroll. Since a lot of the buy ins are drastically bigger and putting in one tournament for 2,000 is equivalent to maybe 2-4 days of online buy ins, the variance is so much higher.
In the online arena, I had a blazing first half of the year from January to June followed by a little lull in the action until a big 2nd place finish in the Wednesday $300 on Stars. My only second half outright 1st place came as part of the HORSE tournament for a little over $10k although that wasn't my biggest cash of the second half.
In retrospect, I think my best results came at the times of the year when I was focused and locked in to poker without any external distractions. Distractions started to include a number of things that I wouldn't want to be distractions. Playing when I was visiting back in Cleveland didn't turn out as well as I would want. The focus wasn't there. I think I changed that by really only playing a small amount and sit n gos when I was home this time so I wouldn't be committed to playing. I think on a larger scale I can accurately comprehend where I need to improve in my game for next year as well as the scale of variance that a professional player has to go through. Some months or stretches of the year, it's going to be great. One win for $30k plus can really carry the focus and momentum. Other times, it feels like nothing will ever go right.
Stay tuned for goals for 2009.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
I know everyone is sad that.....
The Cleveland Browns are finished this season. I am too. At least we get to watch the Buckeyes one more time. I wanted to chime in with some Browns talk. Let me first say that I think the fault of this team is in Randy Lerner. The owner has no clue how to run a football organization and is nothing like any other good organization. How many times have you seen the guy? Could you pick him out in a crowd? I could certainly pick out Jerry Jones, Dan Rooney, or Robert Kraft even though. Lerner has no rules named after him. Do you wonder if Jerry Jones connects with the guy in order to rob him of draft trades every year? That being said, it's easy to fire guys like Savage and Crennel when things go wrong.
Savage probably had too much on his plate out of his niche ability of picking talent. There are really three moves that sealed this guy's fate in my opinion.
1. The Derek Anderson saga
I think this selection ruined this team this year after it was apparent that he failed to win the big games last year. The move came too late in the season even after Anderson failed to lead the team in any matter early in the year. It also makes me wonder who made this choice. Savage's hubris led him to always place blame on others. An NFL team is exactly that, a team, not something we throw blame on a coach, or even a few players.
2. Donte Stallworth
He really helped this year. I don't want to look up his 6 year 45? million contract because it will make me puke when I see it. Here are the key stats for Stallworth. 10.0 Yards per catch!! WOW!! Except he had 17 catches for 170 yards and 1 TD. Of course, Stallworth can't be blamed for everything on offense because when Mr. "I'm from MeatChicken" Edwards drops every pass no one needs to double cover him. Ask Leroy Hoard from Michigan how much the fans truly cared about him being from Michigan when he consistently ran people over throughout his career.
3. F U Text
Just search Phil Savage and F U Text if you need more details. This is just unprofessional.
As for Crennel, he's not head coach material. I like the guy and think that he'll be another Super Bowl contender defensive coordinator if given the chance because that's what he does. Some people just don't have head coach in their genes. I wish him the best and if in some dream scenario, we could keep him as a defensive coordinator to give us some continuity, I would be happy.
As for the future, we need a game-changing defensive player at a linebacker position. You know what I'm thinking of too if you ever heard me describe any linebacker I liked in my life. A Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher vicious type that loves chewing on little babies arms. I truly think our offense can get to the right point with both better coaching and leadership from a player like Brady Quinn. I want someone to give the guy a chance to throw the ball down the field and give our playmakers a chance. I know that Derek Anderson has a cannon, but he doesn't have the leadership of an NFL QB. That's what I'm looking for in this team. Leadership on both defense and offense. I think we saw some from the defense before it's backs were broken late in the season by both injuries and the offenses inability to stay on the field for more than three plays. Rodgers was really a great trade in retrospect as he made several huge plays throughout the year.
I'm done with the Browns until the draft comes closer or until other big offseason moves come and go.
I love watching the best team in Cleveland basketball history every night they play. If this team doesn't win a championship, then I can honestly say to myself that we will never win a championship in the city of Cleveland in any sport other than at St. Ignatius.
As for poker, I'm not going to the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure. I tried to qualify, but that didn't pan out, so I'll be back in Vegas early January and ready for the UBOC. That's a big online series on the new Cereus Network of sites. Both of these sites have lots of issues in their past and also with current software updates. I just sent a nasty email because you can't play one table tournaments without having your one table pop up to the front of the entire screen every half second. You can't even type in your bet amount. It's absolutely absurd how poorly that site is run. If and probably when US sites come into the market, that site is going to get blown out of the water.
I'll do a goal update at the end of the year as I still have a couple more days left. Then it's on to new goals for the New Year. Happy New Year!
Savage probably had too much on his plate out of his niche ability of picking talent. There are really three moves that sealed this guy's fate in my opinion.
1. The Derek Anderson saga
I think this selection ruined this team this year after it was apparent that he failed to win the big games last year. The move came too late in the season even after Anderson failed to lead the team in any matter early in the year. It also makes me wonder who made this choice. Savage's hubris led him to always place blame on others. An NFL team is exactly that, a team, not something we throw blame on a coach, or even a few players.
2. Donte Stallworth
He really helped this year. I don't want to look up his 6 year 45? million contract because it will make me puke when I see it. Here are the key stats for Stallworth. 10.0 Yards per catch!! WOW!! Except he had 17 catches for 170 yards and 1 TD. Of course, Stallworth can't be blamed for everything on offense because when Mr. "I'm from MeatChicken" Edwards drops every pass no one needs to double cover him. Ask Leroy Hoard from Michigan how much the fans truly cared about him being from Michigan when he consistently ran people over throughout his career.
3. F U Text
Just search Phil Savage and F U Text if you need more details. This is just unprofessional.
As for Crennel, he's not head coach material. I like the guy and think that he'll be another Super Bowl contender defensive coordinator if given the chance because that's what he does. Some people just don't have head coach in their genes. I wish him the best and if in some dream scenario, we could keep him as a defensive coordinator to give us some continuity, I would be happy.
As for the future, we need a game-changing defensive player at a linebacker position. You know what I'm thinking of too if you ever heard me describe any linebacker I liked in my life. A Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher vicious type that loves chewing on little babies arms. I truly think our offense can get to the right point with both better coaching and leadership from a player like Brady Quinn. I want someone to give the guy a chance to throw the ball down the field and give our playmakers a chance. I know that Derek Anderson has a cannon, but he doesn't have the leadership of an NFL QB. That's what I'm looking for in this team. Leadership on both defense and offense. I think we saw some from the defense before it's backs were broken late in the season by both injuries and the offenses inability to stay on the field for more than three plays. Rodgers was really a great trade in retrospect as he made several huge plays throughout the year.
I'm done with the Browns until the draft comes closer or until other big offseason moves come and go.
I love watching the best team in Cleveland basketball history every night they play. If this team doesn't win a championship, then I can honestly say to myself that we will never win a championship in the city of Cleveland in any sport other than at St. Ignatius.
As for poker, I'm not going to the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure. I tried to qualify, but that didn't pan out, so I'll be back in Vegas early January and ready for the UBOC. That's a big online series on the new Cereus Network of sites. Both of these sites have lots of issues in their past and also with current software updates. I just sent a nasty email because you can't play one table tournaments without having your one table pop up to the front of the entire screen every half second. You can't even type in your bet amount. It's absolutely absurd how poorly that site is run. If and probably when US sites come into the market, that site is going to get blown out of the water.
I'll do a goal update at the end of the year as I still have a couple more days left. Then it's on to new goals for the New Year. Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Vacation
Cold weather is much more brutal than I remembered, but the family and friends have been worth it. I'm enjoying being out of Vegas and not being entirely focused on poker for a while. I know it's going to pay dividends in the long run. I'm planning on doing a goal wrap up for 2008 after the year is over as there will likely be a poker club or two before the year is over. (Poker club is friend lingo for when a bunch of my friends meet up and play online together while usually watching sports and laughing at each other's outlandish reactions to bad beats, especially when Jay cries, Keith or I slam a computer or Mike does a duck and cover scream similar to when some misaligned, psycho 1st grader was pummeling him and the recess aide in 2nd grade). Other than that, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukkah and Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
New Games
Every time my mind gets caught up in one thing, it gets a little tedious and boring. Lately, I've been still playing a few NL hold em tournaments, but I've also mixed in some Omaha Hi/Lo cash games and tournaments. I had a positive Sunday after a 2nd place finish in the Pot Limit Omaha tournament on Pokerstars for about 4k. Other than that, I've had a bunch of small cashes in tourneys here and there.
I have been studying up in Omaha Hi/Lo and really trying to perfect my cash game skills. It's not quite as exciting as winning a huge tournament, but I'm hoping to make it a profitable avenue to turn to when things get too boring. I think anyone who plays should always consider learning new games or new forms of the game. If you play heads up all day, go play something else. I would recommend that cash games players bored with the game to turn to tournaments.
Other than that, I've been reading a lot and laying low enjoying the Cavs. What a start to this season so far. I hope we can keep it up.
A couple of shoutouts:
I got 2nd in the 55 rebuy Pot Limit Omaha event which I now title the Ben Smola Championship since he won this event a few weeks ago.
Congrats also to the Mossman on his upcoming retirement!
I have been studying up in Omaha Hi/Lo and really trying to perfect my cash game skills. It's not quite as exciting as winning a huge tournament, but I'm hoping to make it a profitable avenue to turn to when things get too boring. I think anyone who plays should always consider learning new games or new forms of the game. If you play heads up all day, go play something else. I would recommend that cash games players bored with the game to turn to tournaments.
Other than that, I've been reading a lot and laying low enjoying the Cavs. What a start to this season so far. I hope we can keep it up.
A couple of shoutouts:
I got 2nd in the 55 rebuy Pot Limit Omaha event which I now title the Ben Smola Championship since he won this event a few weeks ago.
Congrats also to the Mossman on his upcoming retirement!
Friday, December 5, 2008
I'm surprised the computer survived this one......
$75 Knockout on Full Tilt, 14 left. I'm in 1st place. Winner gets about $6,000.
I haven't played a single pot bigger than probably 8 big blinds. I'm picking up tons of chips all over the place.
Full Tilt Poker Game #9330847872: $23,000 KO Guarantee (70401032), Table 37 - 2500/5000 Ante 600 - No Limit Hold'em - 4:55:34 ET - 2008/12/05
Seat 1: becomelegendary (88,220)
Seat 3: flounderfish_jr (45,603)
Seat 4: serbie (49,788)
Seat 6: MUPokerPlayer (99,273)
Seat 7: ShunChef (53,992)
Seat 8: kice32 (185,971)
Seat 9: barni-hsv (97,632)
becomelegendary antes 600
flounderfish_jr antes 600
serbie antes 600
MUPokerPlayer antes 600
ShunChef antes 600
kice32 antes 600
barni-hsv antes 600
kice32 posts the small blind of 2,500
barni-hsv posts the big blind of 5,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kice32 [Ts Tc]
becomelegendary folds
flounderfish_jr folds
serbie folds
MUPokerPlayer folds
ShunChef folds
kice32 raises to 14,000
barni-hsv has 15 seconds left to act
barni-hsv raises to 97,032, and is all in
kice32 calls 83,032
barni-hsv shows [Td As]
kice32 shows [Ts Tc]
*** FLOP *** [5c 5d Qs]
*** TURN *** [5c 5d Qs] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [5c 5d Qs Ks] [Jh]
barni-hsv shows a straight, Ace high
kice32 shows two pair, Tens and Fives
barni-hsv wins the pot (198,264) with a straight, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 198,264 | Rake 0
Board: [5c 5d Qs Ks Jh]
Seat 1: becomelegendary folded before the Flop
Seat 3: flounderfish_jr folded before the Flop
Seat 4: serbie folded before the Flop
Seat 6: MUPokerPlayer folded before the Flop
Seat 7: ShunChef (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: kice32 (small blind) showed [Ts Tc] and lost with two pair, Tens and Fives
Seat 9: barni-hsv (big blind) showed [Td As] and won (198,264) with a straight, Ace high
I would have put myself in first with 270k vs second place who had 150k with 13 to go. I'm a virtual lock to get top 3 money in most circumstances.
This has been poker for me the last two months. I can't count the number of situations where with 2-3 tables left this stuff has happened to me. I have consistently played huge pots way ahead 70/30 here and lost. When you don't win or finish in the top 3 at least 3-4 times a month, you won't be a winning player. When I consistently get deep in these tourneys and come out with meaningless cashes, I won't be a winning player. Then all I have is stories to tell and no money. The game is such a joke sometimes. It can just keep bashing your face in despite everything. I don't really fault the guy for the way he played the hand either. I probably do the same thing knowing how I was playing against him.
Two months of frustration is a lot in this game. It's really funny when people ask me how I'm doing in poker. After these two months, that last thing I would want to say is good, but quite frankly, I've probably played better in these past two months than I have in a while. When I was winning last January, I could probably say I was playing like garbage.
Cliff Notes: I run like Derek Anderson late in poker tournaments.
I haven't played a single pot bigger than probably 8 big blinds. I'm picking up tons of chips all over the place.
Full Tilt Poker Game #9330847872: $23,000 KO Guarantee (70401032), Table 37 - 2500/5000 Ante 600 - No Limit Hold'em - 4:55:34 ET - 2008/12/05
Seat 1: becomelegendary (88,220)
Seat 3: flounderfish_jr (45,603)
Seat 4: serbie (49,788)
Seat 6: MUPokerPlayer (99,273)
Seat 7: ShunChef (53,992)
Seat 8: kice32 (185,971)
Seat 9: barni-hsv (97,632)
becomelegendary antes 600
flounderfish_jr antes 600
serbie antes 600
MUPokerPlayer antes 600
ShunChef antes 600
kice32 antes 600
barni-hsv antes 600
kice32 posts the small blind of 2,500
barni-hsv posts the big blind of 5,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kice32 [Ts Tc]
becomelegendary folds
flounderfish_jr folds
serbie folds
MUPokerPlayer folds
ShunChef folds
kice32 raises to 14,000
barni-hsv has 15 seconds left to act
barni-hsv raises to 97,032, and is all in
kice32 calls 83,032
barni-hsv shows [Td As]
kice32 shows [Ts Tc]
*** FLOP *** [5c 5d Qs]
*** TURN *** [5c 5d Qs] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [5c 5d Qs Ks] [Jh]
barni-hsv shows a straight, Ace high
kice32 shows two pair, Tens and Fives
barni-hsv wins the pot (198,264) with a straight, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 198,264 | Rake 0
Board: [5c 5d Qs Ks Jh]
Seat 1: becomelegendary folded before the Flop
Seat 3: flounderfish_jr folded before the Flop
Seat 4: serbie folded before the Flop
Seat 6: MUPokerPlayer folded before the Flop
Seat 7: ShunChef (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: kice32 (small blind) showed [Ts Tc] and lost with two pair, Tens and Fives
Seat 9: barni-hsv (big blind) showed [Td As] and won (198,264) with a straight, Ace high
I would have put myself in first with 270k vs second place who had 150k with 13 to go. I'm a virtual lock to get top 3 money in most circumstances.
This has been poker for me the last two months. I can't count the number of situations where with 2-3 tables left this stuff has happened to me. I have consistently played huge pots way ahead 70/30 here and lost. When you don't win or finish in the top 3 at least 3-4 times a month, you won't be a winning player. When I consistently get deep in these tourneys and come out with meaningless cashes, I won't be a winning player. Then all I have is stories to tell and no money. The game is such a joke sometimes. It can just keep bashing your face in despite everything. I don't really fault the guy for the way he played the hand either. I probably do the same thing knowing how I was playing against him.
Two months of frustration is a lot in this game. It's really funny when people ask me how I'm doing in poker. After these two months, that last thing I would want to say is good, but quite frankly, I've probably played better in these past two months than I have in a while. When I was winning last January, I could probably say I was playing like garbage.
Cliff Notes: I run like Derek Anderson late in poker tournaments.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Validation
I finished "The Fountainhead" and immediately tried to apply every aspect of the book to my own life like I always do. After reading through my comments though, I found that Jim is not quite the fan. In case you don't want to look, this is what Jim wrote:
According to Rand, the individual "must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life." Hmmmm, sounds a lot like the fiscal conservatives of the Republican party. Rand didn't believe in religion so I guess the social conservatives would find her offensive. Rand gives greedy people a rational for their repugnant behavior. It is especially helpful to those who have huge advantages at birth such as white males with rich parents.
Rand does believe what Jim said, but I don't think her point should be easily misconstrued as allowing greed and the pursuit of money, fame and fortune control a person. In fact, she makes this quite clear as one of her characters does just that an ultimately is one of the most defeated characters. Rand definitely doesn't give greedy people a rational for any immoral behavior. In most cases, the greedy people in the world have sold out more than anything to that culture. I give this quote in response from a speech in the book by the main character.
“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received—hatred. The great creators—the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors—stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.
“No creator was prompted by a desire to serve his brothers, for his brothers rejected the gift he offered and that gift destroyed the slothful routine of their lives. His truth was his only motive. His own truth, and his own work to achieve it in his own way. A symphony, a book, an engine, a philosophy, an airplane or a building—that was his goal and his life. Not those who heard, read, operated, believed, flew or inhabited the thing he had created. The creation, not its users. The creation, not the benefits others derived from it. The creation which gave form to his truth. He held his truth above all things and against all men.
“His vision, his strength, his courage came from his own spirit. A man's spirit, however, is his self. That entity which is his consciousness. To think, to feel, to judge, to act are functions of the ego"
Especially because I chose an unconventional path after college of focusing solely on poker and all the people that have said I couldn't do it, I like this part of the book. Even when reading and learning about real estate and seeking out opportunities, I've heard probably 50 doubters. I know that I seek validation with so many people for what I'm doing. When someone asks me what I do for a living, I usually cringe inside because I know the standard response. The collective mind of society has never progressed society. I probably won't either playing the game of poker or investing in real estate to rent to people; however, when the ideas that I am looking for to change the world come into my head, I hope I have enough courage to not listen to standard response of all the people I usually seek validation from.
I believe Lil Wayne interpreted Ayn Rand in a different manner.
"They say I couldn't play football I was too small, they say I couldn't play basketball I wasn't tall, they say I couldn't play baseball at all; now everyday of my life I ball!"
The whole speech I took that part from is at this link
On an end note, I don't know how many people watched the 60 minutes online poker special, but it certainly didn't help my attempts to validate myself to the people of the United States of America. While I'm sure I've been cheated in many different ways in online poker, it's part of the risk and until the US government stops treating online poker like alcohol in the 1930's, I'm sure more scandals like this will keep popping up.
You can watch the video here.
According to Rand, the individual "must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life." Hmmmm, sounds a lot like the fiscal conservatives of the Republican party. Rand didn't believe in religion so I guess the social conservatives would find her offensive. Rand gives greedy people a rational for their repugnant behavior. It is especially helpful to those who have huge advantages at birth such as white males with rich parents.
Rand does believe what Jim said, but I don't think her point should be easily misconstrued as allowing greed and the pursuit of money, fame and fortune control a person. In fact, she makes this quite clear as one of her characters does just that an ultimately is one of the most defeated characters. Rand definitely doesn't give greedy people a rational for any immoral behavior. In most cases, the greedy people in the world have sold out more than anything to that culture. I give this quote in response from a speech in the book by the main character.
“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received—hatred. The great creators—the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors—stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.
“No creator was prompted by a desire to serve his brothers, for his brothers rejected the gift he offered and that gift destroyed the slothful routine of their lives. His truth was his only motive. His own truth, and his own work to achieve it in his own way. A symphony, a book, an engine, a philosophy, an airplane or a building—that was his goal and his life. Not those who heard, read, operated, believed, flew or inhabited the thing he had created. The creation, not its users. The creation, not the benefits others derived from it. The creation which gave form to his truth. He held his truth above all things and against all men.
“His vision, his strength, his courage came from his own spirit. A man's spirit, however, is his self. That entity which is his consciousness. To think, to feel, to judge, to act are functions of the ego"
Especially because I chose an unconventional path after college of focusing solely on poker and all the people that have said I couldn't do it, I like this part of the book. Even when reading and learning about real estate and seeking out opportunities, I've heard probably 50 doubters. I know that I seek validation with so many people for what I'm doing. When someone asks me what I do for a living, I usually cringe inside because I know the standard response. The collective mind of society has never progressed society. I probably won't either playing the game of poker or investing in real estate to rent to people; however, when the ideas that I am looking for to change the world come into my head, I hope I have enough courage to not listen to standard response of all the people I usually seek validation from.
I believe Lil Wayne interpreted Ayn Rand in a different manner.
"They say I couldn't play football I was too small, they say I couldn't play basketball I wasn't tall, they say I couldn't play baseball at all; now everyday of my life I ball!"
The whole speech I took that part from is at this link
On an end note, I don't know how many people watched the 60 minutes online poker special, but it certainly didn't help my attempts to validate myself to the people of the United States of America. While I'm sure I've been cheated in many different ways in online poker, it's part of the risk and until the US government stops treating online poker like alcohol in the 1930's, I'm sure more scandals like this will keep popping up.
You can watch the video here.
Monday, November 24, 2008
I blame the Cleveland Browns for Sunday
I wish I could come up with something better to say for myself on Sunday, but congrats to my buddy Gary, who won the Sunday Mulligan on Full Tilt. He one-ups me in this tournament as my best finish was second, but we all know who won the MarioKart tournament at Memorial Junior High.
I went to watch the Browns utterly dismantle any hopes I had for our organization ever being good. After that, I probably shouldn't have touched a poker tournament, but despite a couple of mistakes, I generally didn't think I did too much wrong today. It was one of those Sundays where I went deep in a bunch of things, but seemed to finish just short of the money in every one. All told, I've had worse Sundays, but I probably did go about 0 for 12. If I had to be completely honest with myself, I really do think I need a break. I've played poker probably 97% of the days this year and after running through another Sunday of 9-10 hours of straight poker, I won't be prepared to play my A game in online tournaments unless I get a break of some sort. I'm looking forward to December when I head to Cleveland/Chicago and can actually have good reason to take days off, but until then, I will be either completely bored if I don't play or feel like I'm not doing my job. This is a weird feeling that I have recently felt for the first time. In college, poker was a secondary hobby/priority. I always put my studies, fraternity, friends, other clubs ahead of poker. Now, I feel like I need to always play. I totally don't think this ruins the excitement and competitiveness, but I would be selling my talents shorts if I didn't pay respect to what it can do to your mentality. I remember having this feeling at times near the end of a track season where after so many races and hundreds of miles of training, I just needed to take a few weeks and do absolutely nothing.
Hopefully, that something can come in my first book I'm attacking since going to the library. The book is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It's 700 pages of pure literary and intellectual muscle that I intend on defeating.
I went to watch the Browns utterly dismantle any hopes I had for our organization ever being good. After that, I probably shouldn't have touched a poker tournament, but despite a couple of mistakes, I generally didn't think I did too much wrong today. It was one of those Sundays where I went deep in a bunch of things, but seemed to finish just short of the money in every one. All told, I've had worse Sundays, but I probably did go about 0 for 12. If I had to be completely honest with myself, I really do think I need a break. I've played poker probably 97% of the days this year and after running through another Sunday of 9-10 hours of straight poker, I won't be prepared to play my A game in online tournaments unless I get a break of some sort. I'm looking forward to December when I head to Cleveland/Chicago and can actually have good reason to take days off, but until then, I will be either completely bored if I don't play or feel like I'm not doing my job. This is a weird feeling that I have recently felt for the first time. In college, poker was a secondary hobby/priority. I always put my studies, fraternity, friends, other clubs ahead of poker. Now, I feel like I need to always play. I totally don't think this ruins the excitement and competitiveness, but I would be selling my talents shorts if I didn't pay respect to what it can do to your mentality. I remember having this feeling at times near the end of a track season where after so many races and hundreds of miles of training, I just needed to take a few weeks and do absolutely nothing.
Hopefully, that something can come in my first book I'm attacking since going to the library. The book is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It's 700 pages of pure literary and intellectual muscle that I intend on defeating.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Random Blurb Blog
Disclaimer--I will be writing about as many topics as I can think of without dedicating more than 2 minutes of my thoughts towards each individual topic. You are certainly allowed to skip topics that don't interest you.
My Poker Career Lately
It's been a lot of close but no cigars lately. I wish I had more exciting things to report about, but it's been a lot of the 7th-25th place column. On another fun note, I looked up my Online Player of the Year Ranking on Cardplayer yesterday and I was at 212th. I'm at kind of a disadvantage in this area because I don't play the 100 rebuy every day, which almost always qualifies for points. Maybe I can make a run and crack the top 100. It might take a big score. I'm basically winding down for the year as all the major online events are over until the Ultimate Bet events in January. I'll be pushing for a PCA seat so I can go to the Bahamas in January.
World Series of Poker Final Table
That was fun to watch, wasn't it? I much prefer as a spectator to watch it without knowing who wins. It's almost impossible to avoid spoilers as I received only one when I clicked through to PokerXFactor and saw who got 4th. I think when you put a final table into 2 hours, it's really tough to do the game any justice, but I understand that not every poker fan wants to watch 25 hours of boring poker footage. It is tough to examine hands though without knowing many of the variables leading up to the hands. That being said, I don't take much stock in some of the plays that we were shown. There were, however, some incredibly bad mistakes made throughout the 2 hour broadcast. It's probably nerves, and I won't bash anyone too much because I can't even begin to imagine what it's like.
Peter Eastgate
I survived an all in against the champ. Peter Eastgate raised on day 3 to about 2.7 big blinds, and I gave him my 19 bb pile with A10. He called and showed the same hand, and we split the pot. I was pulling for this kid the whole time because he impressed me tremendously in the 5 hours I played with him on day 3. He is absolutely fearless. Every player at the table probably was paying extra attention to this guy. That's the kind of player I want to be.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The best team in the NBA is led by King James. 8 games in a row and a team that Lebron calls his best squad since he's been there. Might this be the year that the King finally takes his throne? I think it will be. I've never felt confident in a Cleveland team since James has been here, but this team really has championship potential. We play great defense, have a lot of depth, and good coaching. Give Mike Brown credit for what he has done with this team early on in the year.
Cleveland Browns
In light of the current week, we need less players from Michigan. We need more players from Ohio State. Phil Dawson deserves that game on Monday Night Football. That guy has sure been through a lot in Cleveland and to punch a 56 yarder in for the lead must have felt great. Brady Quinn is hands down the better option for the Cleveland Browns at QB. He came up with the plays that we needed that Anderson has failed to bring all year. He did it last week, and he did it this week. Now if we only had more Buckeyes on defense, we might be something.
OSU vs. MeatChicken
Joke provided courtesy of Mike Z.
"Hey did you hear that Michigan canceled their travel plans to Ohio State this week?"
"No. Why?"
"Because they couldn't get past Toledo"
Zinggggggggggggggggg
Go Bucks! This one won't even be close. My prediction. Ohio State 72-Michigan 3
Books
I applied for a library card a couple of days ago, but haven't gone to the library. I'm finishing up the book Freakonomics. Reading is probably a hobby that I should pick up again. I've been reading real estate books and all, but I want to read some actual good novels. It's been awhile since I've read anything fiction. Leave good suggestions in the comments section please.
Shout out to my Dad
Every time my Dad tells me he has a feel, I seem to knock down a big tournament. Last time he told me and really meant it, I got 2nd in the 50 rebuy, 2nd in the 300 and 3rd in the 163 in a week. While it may be hard to fathom what this feel entails, I have learned to respect and use the momentum of the feel to my advantage. A little superstition never hurt anyone. The over/under for the shout out to my mom is 3.5 years.
Best Movies I've Seen Lately
In no particular order...
1. Michael Clayton
2. The Dark Knight
3. Capote
4. Saving Private Ryan
THE HOUR OF BAUER
Jack "God" Bauer returns to Fox on Sunday. Look out for several airplanes blowing up, people dying, and Jack Bauer generally saving the day. That is to assume he didn't jump off the cliff like a wuss at the end of last season.
That's all I got for now.
My Poker Career Lately
It's been a lot of close but no cigars lately. I wish I had more exciting things to report about, but it's been a lot of the 7th-25th place column. On another fun note, I looked up my Online Player of the Year Ranking on Cardplayer yesterday and I was at 212th. I'm at kind of a disadvantage in this area because I don't play the 100 rebuy every day, which almost always qualifies for points. Maybe I can make a run and crack the top 100. It might take a big score. I'm basically winding down for the year as all the major online events are over until the Ultimate Bet events in January. I'll be pushing for a PCA seat so I can go to the Bahamas in January.
World Series of Poker Final Table
That was fun to watch, wasn't it? I much prefer as a spectator to watch it without knowing who wins. It's almost impossible to avoid spoilers as I received only one when I clicked through to PokerXFactor and saw who got 4th. I think when you put a final table into 2 hours, it's really tough to do the game any justice, but I understand that not every poker fan wants to watch 25 hours of boring poker footage. It is tough to examine hands though without knowing many of the variables leading up to the hands. That being said, I don't take much stock in some of the plays that we were shown. There were, however, some incredibly bad mistakes made throughout the 2 hour broadcast. It's probably nerves, and I won't bash anyone too much because I can't even begin to imagine what it's like.
Peter Eastgate
I survived an all in against the champ. Peter Eastgate raised on day 3 to about 2.7 big blinds, and I gave him my 19 bb pile with A10. He called and showed the same hand, and we split the pot. I was pulling for this kid the whole time because he impressed me tremendously in the 5 hours I played with him on day 3. He is absolutely fearless. Every player at the table probably was paying extra attention to this guy. That's the kind of player I want to be.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The best team in the NBA is led by King James. 8 games in a row and a team that Lebron calls his best squad since he's been there. Might this be the year that the King finally takes his throne? I think it will be. I've never felt confident in a Cleveland team since James has been here, but this team really has championship potential. We play great defense, have a lot of depth, and good coaching. Give Mike Brown credit for what he has done with this team early on in the year.
Cleveland Browns
In light of the current week, we need less players from Michigan. We need more players from Ohio State. Phil Dawson deserves that game on Monday Night Football. That guy has sure been through a lot in Cleveland and to punch a 56 yarder in for the lead must have felt great. Brady Quinn is hands down the better option for the Cleveland Browns at QB. He came up with the plays that we needed that Anderson has failed to bring all year. He did it last week, and he did it this week. Now if we only had more Buckeyes on defense, we might be something.
OSU vs. MeatChicken
Joke provided courtesy of Mike Z.
"Hey did you hear that Michigan canceled their travel plans to Ohio State this week?"
"No. Why?"
"Because they couldn't get past Toledo"
Zinggggggggggggggggg
Go Bucks! This one won't even be close. My prediction. Ohio State 72-Michigan 3
Books
I applied for a library card a couple of days ago, but haven't gone to the library. I'm finishing up the book Freakonomics. Reading is probably a hobby that I should pick up again. I've been reading real estate books and all, but I want to read some actual good novels. It's been awhile since I've read anything fiction. Leave good suggestions in the comments section please.
Shout out to my Dad
Every time my Dad tells me he has a feel, I seem to knock down a big tournament. Last time he told me and really meant it, I got 2nd in the 50 rebuy, 2nd in the 300 and 3rd in the 163 in a week. While it may be hard to fathom what this feel entails, I have learned to respect and use the momentum of the feel to my advantage. A little superstition never hurt anyone. The over/under for the shout out to my mom is 3.5 years.
Best Movies I've Seen Lately
In no particular order...
1. Michael Clayton
2. The Dark Knight
3. Capote
4. Saving Private Ryan
THE HOUR OF BAUER
Jack "God" Bauer returns to Fox on Sunday. Look out for several airplanes blowing up, people dying, and Jack Bauer generally saving the day. That is to assume he didn't jump off the cliff like a wuss at the end of last season.
That's all I got for now.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Barack Obama is President-Elect Blog ......
and of course what I liked about election night.
Like the majority of the USA, I'm excited about Barack Obama being elected President. It's obviously huge progress for America when a man that wouldn't have been allowed to vote fifty years ago. On top of that, the Republicans have finally been held accountable for their failures in the last 8 years. On a personal note, online poker regulation in the US will never go anywhere with a Republican as President, so I'm also happy about that.
I really enjoyed thinking about this election for many different reasons. I basically realized that I am not too strongly in support of either party. I'm probably more moderate than I even care to believe. Whenever I argued with people about issues, I was able to take a deeper look into things and really think about them. Above all, I think I've accepted that personal freedom in the United States is the most important individual quality that should apply to government. I also think that a large government is inherently inefficient and bad (neither party appealed on this issue). Of course, we need some things done by government (national defense, roads, schools, social services, etc.) I firmly believe that when the government infringes upon individual freedoms, democracy loses. The goals of this Obama administration should be to restore individual freedoms and be fiscally responsible. I believe that if the Democrats do these two things in every way they can, the Republican party won't win in the United States for a long time.
On a sad election day note, I am upset in seeing several measures pass putting a ban on gay marriage. I firmly believe that our government was set forth to allow personal freedoms and personal choices be just that, personal. If a personal choice is made that does not harm society as a whole, it should be allowed. In terms of gay marriage, those individuals are seeking their right to pursue happiness. It's a basic tenant on which our country was founded upon. It's the civil rights issue of the next fifty years. When we look back at that point, it will be clear that we all made a mistake. I'm not surprised that these bans passed. Most people fear what they don't know and what they aren't. Most people are heterosexual. Our country is always supposed to protect the minorities. In this case, I feel that we are failing as a country.
Republicans booing John McCain's comments at his concession speech was really the highlight of my night. It summed up this party over the last 8 years as a divisive, intolerant, selfish entity of American government. You didn't see people booing at Kerry's concession speech despite severe displeasure with the administration. Democrats have impressed me in being able to be tolerant of both viewpoints when it matters. I hope they do the same when they are in control because that is what the US needs.
Alaska. Seriously?!? Come on!!! You reelected a Senator that was just charged with corruption in the form of 7 counts related to lying about gifts received. This guy deceived America and used his office for personal gain. His actions have no place in American democracy, but somehow, Alaska puts him back in office. Way to go Alaska! You seriously fail as a state and are embarrassing to the this country.
John McCain
I thank this man for his service and graceful, humble concession. If we had more of this real McCain in the election, it might have been closer. Republicans have always made him the sacrificial lamb when it's convenient. I hope he gets back to work in the Senate the way he has before. He's completely wrong about the war in basically every regard, but bless his heart.
Barack's Speech
I was almost brought to tears listening to his acceptance speech last night. It was what America is all about. I take him at his word as well as he enters an extremely tough time in American history.
Anyone else notice how attractive the four women (Palin, Biden, McCain, Obama) are? So much for having an ugly wife and running for President.
Like the majority of the USA, I'm excited about Barack Obama being elected President. It's obviously huge progress for America when a man that wouldn't have been allowed to vote fifty years ago. On top of that, the Republicans have finally been held accountable for their failures in the last 8 years. On a personal note, online poker regulation in the US will never go anywhere with a Republican as President, so I'm also happy about that.
I really enjoyed thinking about this election for many different reasons. I basically realized that I am not too strongly in support of either party. I'm probably more moderate than I even care to believe. Whenever I argued with people about issues, I was able to take a deeper look into things and really think about them. Above all, I think I've accepted that personal freedom in the United States is the most important individual quality that should apply to government. I also think that a large government is inherently inefficient and bad (neither party appealed on this issue). Of course, we need some things done by government (national defense, roads, schools, social services, etc.) I firmly believe that when the government infringes upon individual freedoms, democracy loses. The goals of this Obama administration should be to restore individual freedoms and be fiscally responsible. I believe that if the Democrats do these two things in every way they can, the Republican party won't win in the United States for a long time.
On a sad election day note, I am upset in seeing several measures pass putting a ban on gay marriage. I firmly believe that our government was set forth to allow personal freedoms and personal choices be just that, personal. If a personal choice is made that does not harm society as a whole, it should be allowed. In terms of gay marriage, those individuals are seeking their right to pursue happiness. It's a basic tenant on which our country was founded upon. It's the civil rights issue of the next fifty years. When we look back at that point, it will be clear that we all made a mistake. I'm not surprised that these bans passed. Most people fear what they don't know and what they aren't. Most people are heterosexual. Our country is always supposed to protect the minorities. In this case, I feel that we are failing as a country.
Republicans booing John McCain's comments at his concession speech was really the highlight of my night. It summed up this party over the last 8 years as a divisive, intolerant, selfish entity of American government. You didn't see people booing at Kerry's concession speech despite severe displeasure with the administration. Democrats have impressed me in being able to be tolerant of both viewpoints when it matters. I hope they do the same when they are in control because that is what the US needs.
Alaska. Seriously?!? Come on!!! You reelected a Senator that was just charged with corruption in the form of 7 counts related to lying about gifts received. This guy deceived America and used his office for personal gain. His actions have no place in American democracy, but somehow, Alaska puts him back in office. Way to go Alaska! You seriously fail as a state and are embarrassing to the this country.
John McCain
I thank this man for his service and graceful, humble concession. If we had more of this real McCain in the election, it might have been closer. Republicans have always made him the sacrificial lamb when it's convenient. I hope he gets back to work in the Senate the way he has before. He's completely wrong about the war in basically every regard, but bless his heart.
Barack's Speech
I was almost brought to tears listening to his acceptance speech last night. It was what America is all about. I take him at his word as well as he enters an extremely tough time in American history.
Anyone else notice how attractive the four women (Palin, Biden, McCain, Obama) are? So much for having an ugly wife and running for President.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Slumpbusters
If you somehow clicked through a love or dating site after seeing this title, you should probably stop reading now because this is a poker blog.
To my loyal readers,
I can happily say that I have slammed through my recent downswing in the past week. To start, last Monday, I placed 2nd in the 55 rebuy tournament on Stars for something like 8k. Then on Wednesday, I placed 2nd in the Stars Quarter Million for around 33k. This is probably one of the biggest tournament on the entire internet that isn't on a Sunday. I would have loved a win, but I felt that I was up against a formidable opponent in shaundeeb with a 500k to 1.8 mill chip disadvantage heads up. I have some hands below that I need to discuss of course because they were tough decisions and left me thinking. Then to top it off, I got third in the Full Tilt nightly tournament for around 9k again. After struggling and complaining about how bad I've ran and everything that was against me, I finally stopped complaining and put together some nice results. I'm not exactly sure what to attribute my success to, but I have a few possible explanations.
In a lot of ways, I was able to let the game slow down for me. After playing the 1k at Caesar's Palace, I sat around for 12 hours watching situations and just really thinking about things. I'm a great rational thinker with great analytical skills. I always have been. When playing 8 tables online, the thinking can sometimes elude the massively robotic nature of online plays. I was able to seriously analyze my opponents and pay attention to the hands that were actually going on. Poker is a game about your opponents. It's about assigning the right ranges of hands to a player based on how tight or aggressive the player is playing. Then, it's about coming up with the best strategic response to that player to answer the math problem that is the hand. Some players are exceptionally good at confusing your assessment of them, so this is a skill that is developed over thousands and thousands of hands. The live tournament just gave me a chance to get back to my understanding. Being in a slump was shoving my negative emotions to the forefront of my mind, and not giving me a chance to think clearly and just enjoy what was going on.
I did play fewer tables and focused immensely on the final few tables of these three specific events. Pressing the registration button for every tournament possible is probably not profitable for me or any player.
Luck played the final factor in all of this. You can't do well in tournaments without luck and I think the absence of bad luck was a major factor in my success. There was a run in that last Full Tilt tournament where I went from being crippled after losing a K6 vs Q2 hand to winning with 55 vs an overpair. 9 4 off suit against KJ and QQ vs AA and 88.
I'm going to talk through one hand that occurred at the final table of the 300 because it really is complex and has been bothering me for a while.
PokerStars Game #21422845493: Tournament #113896173, $300+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level XXIII (6000/12000) - 2008/10/23 5:14:01 ET
Table '113896173 58' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: rivermanl (424219 in chips)
Seat 3: GotURead (305510 in chips)
Seat 8: shaundeeb (688335 in chips)
Seat 9: iacog4 (1002936 in chips)
rivermanl: posts the ante 1200
GotURead: posts the ante 1200
shaundeeb: posts the ante 1200
iacog4: posts the ante 1200
GotURead: posts small blind 6000
shaundeeb: posts big blind 12000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iacog4 [Th Ad]
iacog4: raises 16550 to 28550
rivermanl: folds
GotURead: calls 22550
shaundeeb: calls 16550
*** FLOP *** [4c Ac 3h]
GotURead: checks
shaundeeb: checks
OK. So 3 way action in this hand. I get called by both players. Both players are not tight and I'm probably the second tightest at the table behind these two. I flop an ace with a ten. This is weak kicker, but there are both flush and straight draws on board here. I can easily check here for pot control, but I don't love doing this on draw heavy boards because then something falls on the turn and I have no clue where I'm at against either player, so I decided on betting.
iacog4: bets 48550
GotURead: folds
shaundeeb: calls 48550
*** TURN *** [4c Ac 3h] [Qh]
shaundeeb: bets 130000
I get called by shaundeeb. Then he fires out an extremely large bet in this situation. At this point, I'm not exactly sure what to do. I'm low on the time bank and trying to consider what hands he can do this with. I'm not afraid of AK or AQ because I would expect a raise preflop. I'm not afraid of A4 or A3 because I would expect a raise on the flop with that draw heavy board and him knowing the possibility of me having AK could get him all my chips. The combo draw hands (both straight and flush) like 56 67 57 clubs or hearts seem possible. There is also the possibility here of 33 or 44 that are now worried about giving a free card to two flush draws. I decided to call here because I considered the likelihood of a combo draw to be just as possible as a set.
iacog4: calls 130000
*** RIVER *** [4c Ac 3h Qh] [8s]
shaundeeb: bets 322500
He fires a huge bet here. So what do I read into this bet. It's either a huge value bet with a monster hand that now can't be slowed down by a flush draw or a missed combo draw bluff that believes my hand to be too weak to call the river bet. I decided to call.
iacog4: calls 322500
*** SHOW DOWN ***
shaundeeb: shows [4h 4d] (three of a kind, Fours)
iacog4: mucks hand
shaundeeb collected 1092550 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1092550 | Rake 0
Board [4c Ac 3h Qh 8s]
Seat 2: rivermanl (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: GotURead (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 8: shaundeeb (big blind) showed [4h 4d] and won (1092550) with three of a kind, Fours
Seat 9: iacog4 mucked [Th Ad]
In retrospect, I've thought about this hand a lot. I still don't think I know the correct answer, but I'm not afraid to stick my neck out there and go with my gut. I thought he could easily be making this play with those missed draw hands and decided to go for it. It probably also ended up costing me because he had a huge chip lead going heads up. If I fold the river and make the correct decision, I probably have a more formidable stack to play against him with. You aren't always correct in poker. I wasn't here, but I would love to hear other opinions on the hand because it is pretty complex.
I know that I'm far from being the best hand reader in the game. As good as I can try to become at this skill, it sometimes doesn't matter. Some decisions are so tough that it really just comes down to your gut. This time, my gut was wrong.
I've broken the slump. The Cavs are 0-1, but I'm excited they are back. The Browns are 3-4 with a huge game Sunday against Baltimore, and I get to go to Chicago for Halloween Weekend.
For those people that are PocketFivers, I have this blog at http://kevinice.blogspot.com and I will continue posting on both sites. I think the PocketFives new blog feature will be a huge positive for the site in the future, and I'm excited to contribute.
To my loyal readers,
I can happily say that I have slammed through my recent downswing in the past week. To start, last Monday, I placed 2nd in the 55 rebuy tournament on Stars for something like 8k. Then on Wednesday, I placed 2nd in the Stars Quarter Million for around 33k. This is probably one of the biggest tournament on the entire internet that isn't on a Sunday. I would have loved a win, but I felt that I was up against a formidable opponent in shaundeeb with a 500k to 1.8 mill chip disadvantage heads up. I have some hands below that I need to discuss of course because they were tough decisions and left me thinking. Then to top it off, I got third in the Full Tilt nightly tournament for around 9k again. After struggling and complaining about how bad I've ran and everything that was against me, I finally stopped complaining and put together some nice results. I'm not exactly sure what to attribute my success to, but I have a few possible explanations.
In a lot of ways, I was able to let the game slow down for me. After playing the 1k at Caesar's Palace, I sat around for 12 hours watching situations and just really thinking about things. I'm a great rational thinker with great analytical skills. I always have been. When playing 8 tables online, the thinking can sometimes elude the massively robotic nature of online plays. I was able to seriously analyze my opponents and pay attention to the hands that were actually going on. Poker is a game about your opponents. It's about assigning the right ranges of hands to a player based on how tight or aggressive the player is playing. Then, it's about coming up with the best strategic response to that player to answer the math problem that is the hand. Some players are exceptionally good at confusing your assessment of them, so this is a skill that is developed over thousands and thousands of hands. The live tournament just gave me a chance to get back to my understanding. Being in a slump was shoving my negative emotions to the forefront of my mind, and not giving me a chance to think clearly and just enjoy what was going on.
I did play fewer tables and focused immensely on the final few tables of these three specific events. Pressing the registration button for every tournament possible is probably not profitable for me or any player.
Luck played the final factor in all of this. You can't do well in tournaments without luck and I think the absence of bad luck was a major factor in my success. There was a run in that last Full Tilt tournament where I went from being crippled after losing a K6 vs Q2 hand to winning with 55 vs an overpair. 9 4 off suit against KJ and QQ vs AA and 88.
I'm going to talk through one hand that occurred at the final table of the 300 because it really is complex and has been bothering me for a while.
PokerStars Game #21422845493: Tournament #113896173, $300+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level XXIII (6000/12000) - 2008/10/23 5:14:01 ET
Table '113896173 58' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: rivermanl (424219 in chips)
Seat 3: GotURead (305510 in chips)
Seat 8: shaundeeb (688335 in chips)
Seat 9: iacog4 (1002936 in chips)
rivermanl: posts the ante 1200
GotURead: posts the ante 1200
shaundeeb: posts the ante 1200
iacog4: posts the ante 1200
GotURead: posts small blind 6000
shaundeeb: posts big blind 12000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iacog4 [Th Ad]
iacog4: raises 16550 to 28550
rivermanl: folds
GotURead: calls 22550
shaundeeb: calls 16550
*** FLOP *** [4c Ac 3h]
GotURead: checks
shaundeeb: checks
OK. So 3 way action in this hand. I get called by both players. Both players are not tight and I'm probably the second tightest at the table behind these two. I flop an ace with a ten. This is weak kicker, but there are both flush and straight draws on board here. I can easily check here for pot control, but I don't love doing this on draw heavy boards because then something falls on the turn and I have no clue where I'm at against either player, so I decided on betting.
iacog4: bets 48550
GotURead: folds
shaundeeb: calls 48550
*** TURN *** [4c Ac 3h] [Qh]
shaundeeb: bets 130000
I get called by shaundeeb. Then he fires out an extremely large bet in this situation. At this point, I'm not exactly sure what to do. I'm low on the time bank and trying to consider what hands he can do this with. I'm not afraid of AK or AQ because I would expect a raise preflop. I'm not afraid of A4 or A3 because I would expect a raise on the flop with that draw heavy board and him knowing the possibility of me having AK could get him all my chips. The combo draw hands (both straight and flush) like 56 67 57 clubs or hearts seem possible. There is also the possibility here of 33 or 44 that are now worried about giving a free card to two flush draws. I decided to call here because I considered the likelihood of a combo draw to be just as possible as a set.
iacog4: calls 130000
*** RIVER *** [4c Ac 3h Qh] [8s]
shaundeeb: bets 322500
He fires a huge bet here. So what do I read into this bet. It's either a huge value bet with a monster hand that now can't be slowed down by a flush draw or a missed combo draw bluff that believes my hand to be too weak to call the river bet. I decided to call.
iacog4: calls 322500
*** SHOW DOWN ***
shaundeeb: shows [4h 4d] (three of a kind, Fours)
iacog4: mucks hand
shaundeeb collected 1092550 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1092550 | Rake 0
Board [4c Ac 3h Qh 8s]
Seat 2: rivermanl (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: GotURead (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 8: shaundeeb (big blind) showed [4h 4d] and won (1092550) with three of a kind, Fours
Seat 9: iacog4 mucked [Th Ad]
In retrospect, I've thought about this hand a lot. I still don't think I know the correct answer, but I'm not afraid to stick my neck out there and go with my gut. I thought he could easily be making this play with those missed draw hands and decided to go for it. It probably also ended up costing me because he had a huge chip lead going heads up. If I fold the river and make the correct decision, I probably have a more formidable stack to play against him with. You aren't always correct in poker. I wasn't here, but I would love to hear other opinions on the hand because it is pretty complex.
I know that I'm far from being the best hand reader in the game. As good as I can try to become at this skill, it sometimes doesn't matter. Some decisions are so tough that it really just comes down to your gut. This time, my gut was wrong.
I've broken the slump. The Cavs are 0-1, but I'm excited they are back. The Browns are 3-4 with a huge game Sunday against Baltimore, and I get to go to Chicago for Halloween Weekend.
For those people that are PocketFivers, I have this blog at http://kevinice.blogspot.com and I will continue posting on both sites. I think the PocketFives new blog feature will be a huge positive for the site in the future, and I'm excited to contribute.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Two 2nds
In the last two days, I took a second place in the 50 rebuy on Stars and then last night for 33k, 2nd in the 300 on Stars. This really helps me come out of a rather painful downswing. Attitude is really everything in this game. Staying positive and trying to just keep improving through all of a downswing is really a tough thing to do, but it's all you really can do. I'm really happy right now and about to go play the HORSE tournament at Caesar's. Hopefully, I'll have good news when I update next.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Michael Phelps, Caesar's 1k, Props to PPA
I must admit that I'm extremely excited to see someone as much of a public figure as Michael Phelps begin to enter poker tournaments as visible as the Caesar's tournament. Not only was there a buzz in lots of poker rooms in Las Vegas that may create short term interest in tournaments, but I think lots of long term effects can help poker. Poker has been shunned by legislatures and federal agencies all across America lately. We have done the standard American thing and pretended like it's simply not there. Millions of people don't play online every day and if you just put a .net at the end of your poker website, it removes all the legal problems your poker site can face. When someone as visible and loved as Michael Phelps takes up the game seriously, it can easily make more people understand that the game is more than just your standard gamble. Of course, there will always be people that don't understand poker is a long term skill game. I hope more people that are visible, intelligent, successful people replace the obnoxious people we have in our game today. I was pretty sad to see Phil Hellmuth parading around with Michael Phelps at the Bellagio. Talk about two completely different people for the game. While Hellmuth has progressively lost his mind with each tournament, blog post, commercial, whatever he's embarked in, Phelps maintained the standard swagger of a champ without being too cocky, but just backing up his swagger with golds. Of course, Hellmuth has many WSOP bracelets and those can't be taken away from him. I just find the contrasting demeanors funny. So anyway, good luck to Michael Phelps and other public US figures that can do positive things for our game.
I voted yesterday before heading to Caesars to finish 23rd in the 1k with 18 getting paid. I got knocked out at 12:15 over 12 hours after beginning to play with nothing to show for it. It was one of those tournaments where you are just put to the test so often. On the third hand of the tournament I had AQ and called from the SB the 150 raise in a 5 way pot. Flop came Q 4c 5c. It checked to the raiser who bet 250 into the 750 pot. I called out of position because I don't raise for information or play huge pots with top pair this early in the tournament. David Plastik called behind. The turn was an A of hearts. I checked to the raiser again and he bet 1500 this time. Now, I had the option to raise here, but really didn't see much value in doing that. My hand was disguised. I was a little intimidated by the size of the bet because it felt at worst he could have AK of clubs or AK. AA or QQ or 55 or 44 were the really concerning hands in his range here. The river was an 8 of spades. I checked to him again and he fired 4000. I hated my hand but called and he showed 55. I don't know if I can fold here. I call online all day and even get it in on the turn sometimes. I've actually struggled with this hand a lot because there really isn't much I'm beating here.
I folded with my 4k stack for about an hour and a half then raised to 600 UTG with AQ to get called by a tighter nice old man UTG+1. The flop came QJ5. I bet 800 and he moved in with AK. I held. I basically then didn't play any big pots. I played the ultimate small ball game and eventually built my way from that 4k stack to 20k after the 4th level. There really weren't that many notable hands, but I did make some lay downs where players would show and I was right 3 times. When I got moved to a new table, I played the short stack for about 3 hours. I probably put my stack in the middle 10 times without getting called in this period of time. There was one pot where a player raised to 2400 with probably 6500 total chips. I had about 10k in chips at 400/800 and looked at KK in the big blind. I just assumed that he couldn't fold, so I pushed in and he mucked. I mean I guess I can flat call here, but come on people. I eventually pushed with KJ off in the cutoff with 16k at 800/1600 with 200 ante. I got called by 88 and won the race. At this point, I felt I was picking up steam and started opening finally. I had a great image . Now for purposes of the fact that I haven't told anyone what I had on this hand. I opened for 4k under the gun with 800/1600 and I had around 40k. I was flat called on the button. The flop came K Q J. I bet 5500. I was soon raised 13000 more. So at this point, I had either AK AA AQ QJ. I was on the verge of pushing my chips in when the player said "I'll show." At that point, the alarms went off in my head. I just felt like I was actually being leveled into a call. Why would anyone ever say that to someone? One the first level, they want you to fold. On the second level, they want you to think they want you to fold to get action. On the third level, they know you think them saying that means you will think they think they want you to fold. So before I confuse myself anymore, I really felt like he was saying this to get me to put my chips in. I folded my hand and he showed KJ. After blinds go up, I'm again around 10bbs and we get to shoving time. I played the patient short stack again until I shoved A5 of hearts and was finally called after like shove 15 with 99. I lost that and still had 2 bb's when I no looked 6 9 of diamonds and was isolated by 66. I can't even be angry about anything. I really think I played well. Confidence in live tournaments can go a long way. After playing at the WSOP this year, I kept making consistent good decisions without many results to back it up. Then I would come home and play online and had my best month of the year in June with big wins. I'm hoping the same theme continues. I'm still deciding what to play next at Caesar's. They have a 2k on Wednesday, but I really want to play the 500 HORSE on Thursday even though they have another great 1k. The 2k on Wednesday has 20k in starting chips and hour levels which means we could play down to the time of 2am and still not be at the final table. By the same token, I'm really pissed about how HORSE worked out at the WSOP.
Props to the PPA (Poker Players Alliance) for putting out the Congressional scorecard. It literally changed my vote to support the Republican in my district. He's in a tight race and his A rating by PPA changed my mind. If more voters follow these things, I can see PPA making a big mark in many tight races that hopefully lead to the proper changes in poker legislation in America.
I voted yesterday before heading to Caesars to finish 23rd in the 1k with 18 getting paid. I got knocked out at 12:15 over 12 hours after beginning to play with nothing to show for it. It was one of those tournaments where you are just put to the test so often. On the third hand of the tournament I had AQ and called from the SB the 150 raise in a 5 way pot. Flop came Q 4c 5c. It checked to the raiser who bet 250 into the 750 pot. I called out of position because I don't raise for information or play huge pots with top pair this early in the tournament. David Plastik called behind. The turn was an A of hearts. I checked to the raiser again and he bet 1500 this time. Now, I had the option to raise here, but really didn't see much value in doing that. My hand was disguised. I was a little intimidated by the size of the bet because it felt at worst he could have AK of clubs or AK. AA or QQ or 55 or 44 were the really concerning hands in his range here. The river was an 8 of spades. I checked to him again and he fired 4000. I hated my hand but called and he showed 55. I don't know if I can fold here. I call online all day and even get it in on the turn sometimes. I've actually struggled with this hand a lot because there really isn't much I'm beating here.
I folded with my 4k stack for about an hour and a half then raised to 600 UTG with AQ to get called by a tighter nice old man UTG+1. The flop came QJ5. I bet 800 and he moved in with AK. I held. I basically then didn't play any big pots. I played the ultimate small ball game and eventually built my way from that 4k stack to 20k after the 4th level. There really weren't that many notable hands, but I did make some lay downs where players would show and I was right 3 times. When I got moved to a new table, I played the short stack for about 3 hours. I probably put my stack in the middle 10 times without getting called in this period of time. There was one pot where a player raised to 2400 with probably 6500 total chips. I had about 10k in chips at 400/800 and looked at KK in the big blind. I just assumed that he couldn't fold, so I pushed in and he mucked. I mean I guess I can flat call here, but come on people. I eventually pushed with KJ off in the cutoff with 16k at 800/1600 with 200 ante. I got called by 88 and won the race. At this point, I felt I was picking up steam and started opening finally. I had a great image . Now for purposes of the fact that I haven't told anyone what I had on this hand. I opened for 4k under the gun with 800/1600 and I had around 40k. I was flat called on the button. The flop came K Q J. I bet 5500. I was soon raised 13000 more. So at this point, I had either AK AA AQ QJ. I was on the verge of pushing my chips in when the player said "I'll show." At that point, the alarms went off in my head. I just felt like I was actually being leveled into a call. Why would anyone ever say that to someone? One the first level, they want you to fold. On the second level, they want you to think they want you to fold to get action. On the third level, they know you think them saying that means you will think they think they want you to fold. So before I confuse myself anymore, I really felt like he was saying this to get me to put my chips in. I folded my hand and he showed KJ. After blinds go up, I'm again around 10bbs and we get to shoving time. I played the patient short stack again until I shoved A5 of hearts and was finally called after like shove 15 with 99. I lost that and still had 2 bb's when I no looked 6 9 of diamonds and was isolated by 66. I can't even be angry about anything. I really think I played well. Confidence in live tournaments can go a long way. After playing at the WSOP this year, I kept making consistent good decisions without many results to back it up. Then I would come home and play online and had my best month of the year in June with big wins. I'm hoping the same theme continues. I'm still deciding what to play next at Caesar's. They have a 2k on Wednesday, but I really want to play the 500 HORSE on Thursday even though they have another great 1k. The 2k on Wednesday has 20k in starting chips and hour levels which means we could play down to the time of 2am and still not be at the final table. By the same token, I'm really pissed about how HORSE worked out at the WSOP.
Props to the PPA (Poker Players Alliance) for putting out the Congressional scorecard. It literally changed my vote to support the Republican in my district. He's in a tight race and his A rating by PPA changed my mind. If more voters follow these things, I can see PPA making a big mark in many tight races that hopefully lead to the proper changes in poker legislation in America.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Has software ruined me?
I was talking with a certain friend today. This certain friend has a grandmother with a certain vase I may have broke. He said that he believes my recent struggles in the online poker forum could be due to the use of software. Now, I use software to essentially tell me how other opponents play. It records the hands and gives me hundreds of statistics to sort through that could influence my decision one way or the other. The question that remains simple. Is poker really a game about software and definitive math?
Most online players have been able to sort out the variance, that is the fluctuations of random luck from expectation, by playing a high volume of tournaments. The idea would be that the larger the sample size of tournaments, the more likely the expectation would float towards the probable result. This software helps players keep track of their opponents. Undoubtedly, opponent's tendencies are certainly important. Is this software though really helping me out in the long term? I questioned my friend's idea, but began thinking about it more in depth. Is it possible that I'm giving away my edge by thinking the software will allow me to play more tournaments at once than I am truly capable of? Ultimately, I've essentially trained myself to make spot on decisions based on hundreds of variables over the past few years learning poker. I've removed the importance of a single decision and replaced it with the idea that the long term range of these decisions will ultimately prove profitable. At the same time, I've probably allowed myself to play so many tournaments at once that I truly lose the feel of how one particular set of opponents is playing.
This idea that the software is hurting might not be a bad once. While my friend suggested that the numbers the software was giving me was hurting my decision making ability, I think what is really hurting me is that the software is giving me definitive numbers, but removing the intangible variables. Do the best players in the world appear to be overtly mathematical and reliant on statistics only? Surely, they are nowhere near that description. I think my conclusion coming out of this thought process is that while the software may give me more statistical information, it's covering up the instinctual processes that are so important to learning and developing as a poker player.
Most online players have been able to sort out the variance, that is the fluctuations of random luck from expectation, by playing a high volume of tournaments. The idea would be that the larger the sample size of tournaments, the more likely the expectation would float towards the probable result. This software helps players keep track of their opponents. Undoubtedly, opponent's tendencies are certainly important. Is this software though really helping me out in the long term? I questioned my friend's idea, but began thinking about it more in depth. Is it possible that I'm giving away my edge by thinking the software will allow me to play more tournaments at once than I am truly capable of? Ultimately, I've essentially trained myself to make spot on decisions based on hundreds of variables over the past few years learning poker. I've removed the importance of a single decision and replaced it with the idea that the long term range of these decisions will ultimately prove profitable. At the same time, I've probably allowed myself to play so many tournaments at once that I truly lose the feel of how one particular set of opponents is playing.
This idea that the software is hurting might not be a bad once. While my friend suggested that the numbers the software was giving me was hurting my decision making ability, I think what is really hurting me is that the software is giving me definitive numbers, but removing the intangible variables. Do the best players in the world appear to be overtly mathematical and reliant on statistics only? Surely, they are nowhere near that description. I think my conclusion coming out of this thought process is that while the software may give me more statistical information, it's covering up the instinctual processes that are so important to learning and developing as a poker player.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Cleveland Browns
Too often on the shores of Lake Erie, we end up complaining. We end up disappointed and heartbroken at another blown season, another blown playoff game, another embarrassing performance in front of a national crowd. Finally, we have a moment that makes Cleveland proud. The Browns beat the Super Bowl champion New York Giants in front of a home crowd and a national television audience as a huge underdog going into the game. Not a single sane person would have picked this team to win after the tough start to the season and anemic offense led by Derek "just playing catch with DBs" Anderson. All those sane people, however, proved to be wrong. The Browns made a statement during this Monday night game. It was a statement that should ring loudly through Cleveland and the entire NFL. The Cleveland Browns can play some football. While everyone in the league was ready to cut the cord on Anderson and Crennel after the 1-3 start, the team didn't panic or give in to outsiders and came away with one of their best performances in 5 years. It was a moment where as an avid fan, I finally started to understand the genius behind the team. The offseason moves to bring in some lineman that can actually hold their own and cause trouble for defenses finally paid off. The Browns rarely got to Eli Manning, but their defense caused trouble enough to force Manning into looking like that good old fashioned Gomer Pyle rather than the Super Bowl MVP. The highly drafted secondary made big plays to inhibit any momentum from building against the team. The lineman protected Anderson brilliantly and gave him time to throw. The offensive plays showed creativity and even a rare simplicity that allowed Anderson to succeed. It proves that you don't necessarily need an all star behind center, but just someone who can manage the game and not make any mistakes. The lines on both side of the ball played tough and made a highly touted defense look like an average NFL defense. As far as the Browns go for now though, this is the team that the fans wanted. This is the team that we love. The underdogs, the doubted, the team that no one really cares about in the NFL is a team that is dangerous. Of course, any NFL coach with the talent that Crennel has behind his roster should be able to prepare and put up a good showing against anyone with two weeks between games. What really matters though is that from the opening kickoff to the last snap, the Browns played like a team that cared about each other and a team that wanted to win. Since they have had that attitude, they are 2-0.
When you can't dodge a brick, you can't dodge a ball......
PokerStars Game #21181731065: Tournament #113517901, $100+$9 Hold'em No Limit - Level XV (1000/2000) - 2008/10/14 3:04:14 ET
Table '113517901 9' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: DonkCommited (41580 in chips)
Seat 3: STROMBONE1 (196819 in chips)
Seat 4: nightman1234 (25388 in chips)
Seat 5: LIDER1417 (96389 in chips)
Seat 6: wolfbluffer (42812 in chips)
Seat 7: Coach4U (83553 in chips)
Seat 8: iacog4 (182663 in chips)
Seat 9: flewPT (46974 in chips)
DonkCommited: posts the ante 200
STROMBONE1: posts the ante 200
nightman1234: posts the ante 200
LIDER1417: posts the ante 200
wolfbluffer: posts the ante 200
Coach4U: posts the ante 200
iacog4: posts the ante 200
flewPT: posts the ante 200
STROMBONE1: posts small blind 1000
nightman1234: posts big blind 2000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iacog4 [6c 8s]
LIDER1417: folds
wolfbluffer: folds
Coach4U: folds
iacog4: raises 2799 to 4799
flewPT: folds
DonkCommited: folds
STROMBONE1: calls 3799
nightman1234: folds
*** FLOP *** [6h Qh 8c]
STROMBONE1: checks
iacog4: bets 9588
STROMBONE1: calls 9588
*** TURN *** [6h Qh 8c] [6s]
STROMBONE1: checks
iacog4: bets 21555
STROMBONE1: raises 21555 to 43110
iacog4: calls 21555
*** RIVER *** [6h Qh 8c 6s] [Kc]
STROMBONE1: bets 56000
iacog4: raises 68966 to 124966 and is all-in
STROMBONE1: calls 68966
*** SHOW DOWN ***
iacog4: shows [6c 8s] (a full house, Sixes full of Eights)
STROMBONE1: shows [Qd Qs] (a full house, Queens full of Sixes)
STROMBONE1 collected 368526 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 368526 | Rake 0
Board [6h Qh 8c 6s Kc]
Seat 2: DonkCommited (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: STROMBONE1 (small blind) showed [Qd Qs] and won (368526) with a full house, Queens full of Sixes
Seat 4: nightman1234 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: LIDER1417 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: wolfbluffer folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Coach4U folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: iacog4 showed [6c 8s] and lost with a full house, Sixes full of Eights
Seat 9: flewPT folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Table '113517901 9' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: DonkCommited (41580 in chips)
Seat 3: STROMBONE1 (196819 in chips)
Seat 4: nightman1234 (25388 in chips)
Seat 5: LIDER1417 (96389 in chips)
Seat 6: wolfbluffer (42812 in chips)
Seat 7: Coach4U (83553 in chips)
Seat 8: iacog4 (182663 in chips)
Seat 9: flewPT (46974 in chips)
DonkCommited: posts the ante 200
STROMBONE1: posts the ante 200
nightman1234: posts the ante 200
LIDER1417: posts the ante 200
wolfbluffer: posts the ante 200
Coach4U: posts the ante 200
iacog4: posts the ante 200
flewPT: posts the ante 200
STROMBONE1: posts small blind 1000
nightman1234: posts big blind 2000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iacog4 [6c 8s]
LIDER1417: folds
wolfbluffer: folds
Coach4U: folds
iacog4: raises 2799 to 4799
flewPT: folds
DonkCommited: folds
STROMBONE1: calls 3799
nightman1234: folds
*** FLOP *** [6h Qh 8c]
STROMBONE1: checks
iacog4: bets 9588
STROMBONE1: calls 9588
*** TURN *** [6h Qh 8c] [6s]
STROMBONE1: checks
iacog4: bets 21555
STROMBONE1: raises 21555 to 43110
iacog4: calls 21555
*** RIVER *** [6h Qh 8c 6s] [Kc]
STROMBONE1: bets 56000
iacog4: raises 68966 to 124966 and is all-in
STROMBONE1: calls 68966
*** SHOW DOWN ***
iacog4: shows [6c 8s] (a full house, Sixes full of Eights)
STROMBONE1: shows [Qd Qs] (a full house, Queens full of Sixes)
STROMBONE1 collected 368526 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 368526 | Rake 0
Board [6h Qh 8c 6s Kc]
Seat 2: DonkCommited (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: STROMBONE1 (small blind) showed [Qd Qs] and won (368526) with a full house, Queens full of Sixes
Seat 4: nightman1234 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: LIDER1417 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: wolfbluffer folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Coach4U folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: iacog4 showed [6c 8s] and lost with a full house, Sixes full of Eights
Seat 9: flewPT folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Enjoy Buckeyes....
Here is a Wikipedia entry from this past Saturday that has since been edited.
Go Buckeyes..
"Rich "Rod" Rodriguez (born May 24, 1963 in Grant Town, West Virginia) is the head football coach at the University of Michigan. Prior to moving to Michigan, he was the head coach at West Virginia University for seven seasons. He is the only Michigan coach to have lost to a MAC team, which is a sign of mental retardation.[1][2]"
Go Buckeyes..
"Rich "Rod" Rodriguez (born May 24, 1963 in Grant Town, West Virginia) is the head football coach at the University of Michigan. Prior to moving to Michigan, he was the head coach at West Virginia University for seven seasons. He is the only Michigan coach to have lost to a MAC team, which is a sign of mental retardation.[1][2]"
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Where did I go......??
Hey everyone....(all 8 of you),
I'm back to talk for a little bit. I wish I could say poker is going well, but I haven't really had any good results lately. I had a period in there of about 2 weeks where I think I acted unprofessionally. I let things get out of hand emotionally when I never should do that. There are times in playing as a professional when things hit real hard. It always seems to come in the midst of a losing streak when I'm making deep finishes, but they aren't deep enough. When it comes to my emotions, I feel like I need to attain the level of a player like Chip Reese, RIP. Chip was known for being one of the classiest players in the history of the game. I remember reading one of Daniel Negreanu's blogs after Chip's death that said the toughest part about Chip's game was that his A game was his D game. In effect, he never strayed from his game no matter what happened at the table. He could control his emotions and be on the top of his game at all times. It's so tough to do in this game. The game breeds a culture of negativity because there is only one winner out of the hundreds or thousands of players. If you are competitive and driven, not winning hurts. I think I'll grow professionally when I can change my state of mind in these situations. I've been taught well in life by coaches and parents to name a few. My dad always taught me to keep my cool throughout sports. Coach Mackar, Simko, Green, Jeckel all had emphasis on staying focused and patient throughout adversity. I need to remember these lessons and bring them to the forefront of my mind. That will help me progress. I know I'm extremely talented at poker, but this comment is assuming my competitive emotions and focus are in check.
I have to subtly brag about my fantasy football team. After losing my first two weeks and starting QB Tom Brady, I've put together 3 straight winning weeks. Ronnie Brown, Michael Turner, and a late pickup Jason Campbell have allowed me to keep it close and win games. In my league, which is one of the best leagues in the history of fantasy sports (mostly my family and friends), I will never be the best player. My Aunt Tracey deserves all the props for being the best fantasy player I've ever seen. In fact, I would be afraid to invite her into any other leagues. I can't think of someone who consistently picks sleepers, puts together good teams, and always stays at the top year in and year out. She basically taught me all I know and I still remember getting those dollars from our first combined fantasy baseball team. That was a long while back when I knew every single player and team in and out. She also knew every single player in and out, so on draft day when we picked the best team and stayed with it, there was no doubt we were going to win it all. I hope I can stick around in this league and regain the title. I haven't had it for a while now. In fact, the year I won, my Uncle called me up at 8 in the morning on a Labor Day. On a scale of 1-10, I probably had football knowledge at a 4.
The Cleveland Browns have looked terrible this year. I don't expect anything to change on Monday night against the Giants, but I'm glad I don't have to drive to a sports bar to watch them. The funny part about Vegas is that I can never get lucky and get a Cleveland or Ohio State game on TV. I went to the casino the other day to watch the Buckeyes game in the sports book and it made me excited about the future of Buckeye's football.
I just watched the Presidential Debate. If you've read the blog, you know I like Barack Obama and why. I think it's a virtual lock that he wins the election. I'm looking forward to the next four years in office. I love this site that I follow all the time.
www.electoral-vote.com
I'm back to talk for a little bit. I wish I could say poker is going well, but I haven't really had any good results lately. I had a period in there of about 2 weeks where I think I acted unprofessionally. I let things get out of hand emotionally when I never should do that. There are times in playing as a professional when things hit real hard. It always seems to come in the midst of a losing streak when I'm making deep finishes, but they aren't deep enough. When it comes to my emotions, I feel like I need to attain the level of a player like Chip Reese, RIP. Chip was known for being one of the classiest players in the history of the game. I remember reading one of Daniel Negreanu's blogs after Chip's death that said the toughest part about Chip's game was that his A game was his D game. In effect, he never strayed from his game no matter what happened at the table. He could control his emotions and be on the top of his game at all times. It's so tough to do in this game. The game breeds a culture of negativity because there is only one winner out of the hundreds or thousands of players. If you are competitive and driven, not winning hurts. I think I'll grow professionally when I can change my state of mind in these situations. I've been taught well in life by coaches and parents to name a few. My dad always taught me to keep my cool throughout sports. Coach Mackar, Simko, Green, Jeckel all had emphasis on staying focused and patient throughout adversity. I need to remember these lessons and bring them to the forefront of my mind. That will help me progress. I know I'm extremely talented at poker, but this comment is assuming my competitive emotions and focus are in check.
I have to subtly brag about my fantasy football team. After losing my first two weeks and starting QB Tom Brady, I've put together 3 straight winning weeks. Ronnie Brown, Michael Turner, and a late pickup Jason Campbell have allowed me to keep it close and win games. In my league, which is one of the best leagues in the history of fantasy sports (mostly my family and friends), I will never be the best player. My Aunt Tracey deserves all the props for being the best fantasy player I've ever seen. In fact, I would be afraid to invite her into any other leagues. I can't think of someone who consistently picks sleepers, puts together good teams, and always stays at the top year in and year out. She basically taught me all I know and I still remember getting those dollars from our first combined fantasy baseball team. That was a long while back when I knew every single player and team in and out. She also knew every single player in and out, so on draft day when we picked the best team and stayed with it, there was no doubt we were going to win it all. I hope I can stick around in this league and regain the title. I haven't had it for a while now. In fact, the year I won, my Uncle called me up at 8 in the morning on a Labor Day. On a scale of 1-10, I probably had football knowledge at a 4.
The Cleveland Browns have looked terrible this year. I don't expect anything to change on Monday night against the Giants, but I'm glad I don't have to drive to a sports bar to watch them. The funny part about Vegas is that I can never get lucky and get a Cleveland or Ohio State game on TV. I went to the casino the other day to watch the Buckeyes game in the sports book and it made me excited about the future of Buckeye's football.
I just watched the Presidential Debate. If you've read the blog, you know I like Barack Obama and why. I think it's a virtual lock that he wins the election. I'm looking forward to the next four years in office. I love this site that I follow all the time.
www.electoral-vote.com
Thursday, September 25, 2008
This is a steam post.....
Full Tilt Poker Game #8216924919: The Fifty-Fifty (61686870), Table 104 - 6000/12000 Ante 1500 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:29:43 ET - 2008/09/25
Seat 1: SHIP_it_toO_ME (146,390)
Seat 2: eb226 (218,027)
Seat 3: Stipe (137,290)
Seat 4: kice32 (148,735)
Seat 5: SAFETY SCHMEET (195,040)
Seat 6: theonewith24 (301,912)
Seat 7: MUMIN (138,022)
Seat 8: eLquA (623,608)
Seat 9: ranji (198,976)
SHIP_it_toO_ME antes 1,500
eb226 antes 1,500
Stipe antes 1,500
kice32 antes 1,500
SAFETY SCHMEET antes 1,500
theonewith24 antes 1,500
MUMIN antes 1,500
eLquA antes 1,500
ranji antes 1,500
Stipe posts the small blind of 6,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 12,000
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kice32 [Td Ac]
ACE 10 for those of you counting at home
SAFETY SCHMEET folds
theonewith24 folds
MUMIN folds
eLquA folds
ranji folds
SHIP_it_toO_ME folds
eb226 raises to 216,527, and is all in
Stipe folds
kice32 calls 135,235, and is all in
eb226 shows [9c 7c]
NINE SEVEN SUITED, IF YOU REVERSE IT 7 9 THAT'S MY BIRTHDAY, HOW CAN I LOSE TO MY OWN BIRTHDAY?
kice32 shows [Td Ac]
Uncalled bet of 69,292 returned to eb226
*** FLOP *** [5d 6s 4h]
*** TURN *** [5d 6s 4h] [3c]
And I was controlling my emotions so well on the night.
*** RIVER *** [5d 6s 4h 3c] [9d]
eb226 shows a straight, Seven high
kice32 shows Ace Ten high
eb226 wins the pot (313,970) with a straight, Seven high
kice32 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 313,970 | Rake 0
Board: [5d 6s 4h 3c 9d]
Seat 1: SHIP_it_toO_ME folded before the Flop
Seat 2: eb226 (button) showed [9c 7c] and won (313,970) with a straight, Seven high
Seat 3: Stipe (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: kice32 (big blind) showed [Td Ac] and lost with Ace Ten high
Seat 5: SAFETY SCHMEET folded before the Flop
Seat 6: theonewith24 folded before the Flop
Seat 7: MUMIN folded before the Flop
Seat 8: eLquA folded before the Flop
Seat 9: ranji folded before the Flop
This really sums up the last few months in a nutshell. I get deep in some tournaments where I have to be the favorite. I've played twice as many tournaments as any player. I have a higher ROI than any other player. I come in short fighting my way from some great plays. Granted I got lucky at times with KK vs AA, but seriously, I don't want $800. Knock me out 3 hours earlier so I don't have to deal with this garbage every tournament.
On a more serious note, the hardest part about playing poker as a professional and not one that has already achieved the status of the few out there is having to deal with these types of beats. With $10,000 to first place, I essentially salvage the last few months. With the chip stack I win in this 60/40, I can't ever see myself winning less than $4000 (3rd place). So in essence, I took a $3200 beat. Now I know I deal with these numbers all the time, but $3200 still means something to me. In the life of a player sustaining their bankroll on mostly tournaments, cashes like these build confidence. They also give me a chance to extend my bankroll a little more in tournaments coming up like the Bellagio and Caesar's where the six figure cashes are only 200-300 players away as opposed to 3,000-5,000 as online. Now, I know that I have run above expectation in big tournaments earlier in the year. I outright won a big Sunday tournament and a 100 rebuy and another big Saturday tournament. In fact, the amount of times I placed first was probably a little off. I think I should average around 3rd-4th in any given final table. So by the same token, these last place (9th) finishes in tournaments where I outlast over a thousand people suck.
On a good note, at least I'm not the Cleveland Browns.
Seat 1: SHIP_it_toO_ME (146,390)
Seat 2: eb226 (218,027)
Seat 3: Stipe (137,290)
Seat 4: kice32 (148,735)
Seat 5: SAFETY SCHMEET (195,040)
Seat 6: theonewith24 (301,912)
Seat 7: MUMIN (138,022)
Seat 8: eLquA (623,608)
Seat 9: ranji (198,976)
SHIP_it_toO_ME antes 1,500
eb226 antes 1,500
Stipe antes 1,500
kice32 antes 1,500
SAFETY SCHMEET antes 1,500
theonewith24 antes 1,500
MUMIN antes 1,500
eLquA antes 1,500
ranji antes 1,500
Stipe posts the small blind of 6,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 12,000
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kice32 [Td Ac]
ACE 10 for those of you counting at home
SAFETY SCHMEET folds
theonewith24 folds
MUMIN folds
eLquA folds
ranji folds
SHIP_it_toO_ME folds
eb226 raises to 216,527, and is all in
Stipe folds
kice32 calls 135,235, and is all in
eb226 shows [9c 7c]
NINE SEVEN SUITED, IF YOU REVERSE IT 7 9 THAT'S MY BIRTHDAY, HOW CAN I LOSE TO MY OWN BIRTHDAY?
kice32 shows [Td Ac]
Uncalled bet of 69,292 returned to eb226
*** FLOP *** [5d 6s 4h]
*** TURN *** [5d 6s 4h] [3c]
And I was controlling my emotions so well on the night.
*** RIVER *** [5d 6s 4h 3c] [9d]
eb226 shows a straight, Seven high
kice32 shows Ace Ten high
eb226 wins the pot (313,970) with a straight, Seven high
kice32 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 313,970 | Rake 0
Board: [5d 6s 4h 3c 9d]
Seat 1: SHIP_it_toO_ME folded before the Flop
Seat 2: eb226 (button) showed [9c 7c] and won (313,970) with a straight, Seven high
Seat 3: Stipe (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: kice32 (big blind) showed [Td Ac] and lost with Ace Ten high
Seat 5: SAFETY SCHMEET folded before the Flop
Seat 6: theonewith24 folded before the Flop
Seat 7: MUMIN folded before the Flop
Seat 8: eLquA folded before the Flop
Seat 9: ranji folded before the Flop
This really sums up the last few months in a nutshell. I get deep in some tournaments where I have to be the favorite. I've played twice as many tournaments as any player. I have a higher ROI than any other player. I come in short fighting my way from some great plays. Granted I got lucky at times with KK vs AA, but seriously, I don't want $800. Knock me out 3 hours earlier so I don't have to deal with this garbage every tournament.
On a more serious note, the hardest part about playing poker as a professional and not one that has already achieved the status of the few out there is having to deal with these types of beats. With $10,000 to first place, I essentially salvage the last few months. With the chip stack I win in this 60/40, I can't ever see myself winning less than $4000 (3rd place). So in essence, I took a $3200 beat. Now I know I deal with these numbers all the time, but $3200 still means something to me. In the life of a player sustaining their bankroll on mostly tournaments, cashes like these build confidence. They also give me a chance to extend my bankroll a little more in tournaments coming up like the Bellagio and Caesar's where the six figure cashes are only 200-300 players away as opposed to 3,000-5,000 as online. Now, I know that I have run above expectation in big tournaments earlier in the year. I outright won a big Sunday tournament and a 100 rebuy and another big Saturday tournament. In fact, the amount of times I placed first was probably a little off. I think I should average around 3rd-4th in any given final table. So by the same token, these last place (9th) finishes in tournaments where I outlast over a thousand people suck.
On a good note, at least I'm not the Cleveland Browns.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Been busy
I've been all over the USA it seems in the past few months with what I would like to call a mediocre focus on poker. I always remember staring at a sign in Mrs. Stuckey's 11th grade English class that had a quote about mediocrity. Whenever I think about doing something not full go, I get nightmares about that sign. It's time to step up again in poker. October is a month where I get to mix in the live play again here in Las Vegas. There are two big events. Caesar's and Bellagio both host a good variety of tournaments. I'll be playing more events at Caesar's because of the variety of games available that I want to play (HORSE, PLO), and the lower buy ins which generally have given a better value in the past in terms of structure. The Bellagio has done a lot of great things with the structure in the recent months.
I've been working on getting my computer updated again. I found myself deep in the World Championship of Online Poker Event #1 when my hard drive crashed. I missed a good 15 minutes while getting my other computer up and trying to figure out what was wrong. I ended up getting 39th out of 7200+ players which was devastating considering the 214,000 first place money. I haven't been this close to this kind of score online in a while. To have the outside factors get shoved in my face was a little unnerving. Since then, I've played a few other events with only one cash in Razz. I really haven't been able to maintain a bankroll on Pokerstars, so I've been limited in playing lots of events in this series. It's really frustrating being in the USA and having what I would like to call an annoyance of trouble in getting money online. It's not hard getting it on, but it's more of an annoyance to a serious player looking to play in the biggest series online in history. A player used to be able to transfer back and forth from sites with ease using Neteller or Firepay, but since some spotty legislation has been passed by 4 members of the government, we are all inconvenienced.
In an ounce of good news today, a bill introduced by Barney Frank was marked up and passed through committee which would limit enforcement of the UIGEA to those sites accepting sports bets. This would be a great compromise if all sites could start doing business with the USA again and free flow of capital from site to site would work again. I ultimately stand with the Poker Players Alliance in hoping for taxation and regulation of online poker because I believe it's best for the long term interest of the industry and for the United States to finally gain their hands into the revenues of these sites. With the impending collapse of our economy, I can only imagine another revenue source would be welcomed.
I want to start putting some more poker stuff here soon, so if I get into some sticky situations in tournaments, I might start posting on the blog more. I'll try to keep updating more often while I'm playing live. Sometimes though when playing multiple tournaments online, it's hard to track all the huge hands.
I've been working on getting my computer updated again. I found myself deep in the World Championship of Online Poker Event #1 when my hard drive crashed. I missed a good 15 minutes while getting my other computer up and trying to figure out what was wrong. I ended up getting 39th out of 7200+ players which was devastating considering the 214,000 first place money. I haven't been this close to this kind of score online in a while. To have the outside factors get shoved in my face was a little unnerving. Since then, I've played a few other events with only one cash in Razz. I really haven't been able to maintain a bankroll on Pokerstars, so I've been limited in playing lots of events in this series. It's really frustrating being in the USA and having what I would like to call an annoyance of trouble in getting money online. It's not hard getting it on, but it's more of an annoyance to a serious player looking to play in the biggest series online in history. A player used to be able to transfer back and forth from sites with ease using Neteller or Firepay, but since some spotty legislation has been passed by 4 members of the government, we are all inconvenienced.
In an ounce of good news today, a bill introduced by Barney Frank was marked up and passed through committee which would limit enforcement of the UIGEA to those sites accepting sports bets. This would be a great compromise if all sites could start doing business with the USA again and free flow of capital from site to site would work again. I ultimately stand with the Poker Players Alliance in hoping for taxation and regulation of online poker because I believe it's best for the long term interest of the industry and for the United States to finally gain their hands into the revenues of these sites. With the impending collapse of our economy, I can only imagine another revenue source would be welcomed.
I want to start putting some more poker stuff here soon, so if I get into some sticky situations in tournaments, I might start posting on the blog more. I'll try to keep updating more often while I'm playing live. Sometimes though when playing multiple tournaments online, it's hard to track all the huge hands.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Seriously Media Stop
I know we made a huge deal when Barack Obama said this because now that an inexperienced, sexy 42 year old woman is running and she tells jokes instead any talking about any real policy matters, it might offend people.
I will give this to Republicans. They are brilliant at running campaigns. They play perfectly to the fears of the ignorant base in the United States. This campaign should be a 70-30 lock by the Democrats after 8 years of failed governing that have led to a recession and economic crisis. They are almost up in some polls because they just flat out lie. How can you win a campaign based on pushing for the "Bridge to Nowhere" then in the next campaign claim you defeated it.
This campaign I'm extremely sick of it, and I wish the media would just report real news listed below.
1. Policy proposals
2. Polls once every month
3. Debate topics
4. Records of those running
Everything else is sludge that is usually just a giant lie. One side lies more than the other because they desperately have to in order to win.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Some Political Wisdom
When I was 5 years old, I had a President book. I studied this book day in and day out. I was simply fascinated by all the white men over the years of history that represented this country in its most important office. I learned about their wives. I learned about their cats. I learned about their big accomplishments and the records they held. I even knew most of their middle names. George Herbert Walker Bush was President at the time although my book only took me to Reagan. I liked knowing their political parties, and when I asked my parents what political party they voted for, I would never get a straight answer. They voted for the candidate that they thought was best. While I'm sure they leaned certain ways on some issues, I thought that was a reasonable response. I remember holding a mock election in 2nd grade where we voted for Perot, Clinton or Bush in the 1992 election. Of course, my friend Mike Z. led one mob chanting "Ross is the Boss" leading Perot to victory in our class. We couldn't tell you the first thing about the issues or Perot's ideas. We just wanted to be a mob. As I watched tonight, I couldn't help but think the same thing about the Republican party. In a convention night that heard several "USA" chants along with "Drill baby drill!" chants, I couldn't help but be embarrassed by a party that understands itself about as much as a 12 year old girl first experiencing her period.
I'll tell you flat out that I'm not going to bash the Republican party in this post anymore than they deserve. In fact, on many issues, I flat out agree with the Republican party. Free trade, limited government, and a balanced budget are among the strong Republican ideals I support. Wait a minute. The Republican party has done nothing of the sort over the last 8-15 years. The idea of a balanced budget and limited government has fled the main party platform for newer and fresher birds. Believe it or not Republicans, the last true patriot of the balanced budget was Bill Clinton. Don't believe me? See what Alan Greenspan says in book "The Age of Turbulence." It doesn't bother me all that much anyway that Republicans use this tenant as part of their fundamental ideology. What bothers me is that the Republican mob doesn't quite realize it. What bothers me is that there is not a single ounce of accountability in the Republican party. When McCain's ads pop up on TV, I think they are Obama ads. They say things like Washington is broke. John McCain knows that. Well if he knows that, where the hell has he been for the last 20 years? I'm so confused by the political process. We can no longer get an honest response from a politician about anything. Anytime a politician tries to give an honest response, we write it off as insecurity. When Obama tries to answer complicated questions with thorough responses that aren't 4 word answers, he's written off as indecisive or inexperienced. The fact that maybe some of his ideas are worth considering is out of the question. How can this Republican party still try to get away with a complete lack of non-partisanship? My main truth here is that Republicans essentially bash Democrats for raising taxes and increasing spending, but they just lower taxes and increase spending. So what is better for the long term health of the economy? I'll take the latter. What needs to happen in Washington is both parties have to agree on balancing the budget (an idea proposed at the beginning of W's term, but flatly rejected for the broad range of tax cuts that spiraled our government from surplus to deficit).
Now, my next qualm relates to the experience issue. I basically laugh the idea of the experience issue off most of the time. If someone has the leadership ability and potential to win a main party Presidential primary, then he or she has the ability to lead the country. You can't win the primaries without thorough support from major players across your party. These major players, superdelegates or major endorsements, don't give you support if you can't come across to them as knowledgeable about an array of topics and as a leader. How can you really prepare someone to be President of the United States anyway? The only real way is to have someone super close to a previous effective President. So by that notion Al Gore should have been super experienced. Was he? Probably not. Experience is just a word thrown around in a slogan. Just because you are old doesn't mean you are experienced either. An effective Senator doesn't necessariliy make them ready to be President. This goes for both Obama and McCain.
Now on to Sarah Palin. Let me first say that I'm excited that both genders are or have been represented in the primaries and now the main ticket. I'm also proud that both parties decided to put someone up other than a white guy. It makes me think that actual progress is taking place in our society. I would also like to say that it's not by mere chance that women or non white males had a chance. It was by knowledge, vision and well-run campaigns that caused both Hillary and Obama to be in the hunt. So let me tell you why Sarah Palin is on the Vice Presidential ticket. She's likeable. She's likeable. She's likeable. Since the Republicans have brought forth nothing of real value or substance over the last 8 years, it only makes sense to win back the masses through likeability. McCain is likeable. I mean I have liked the guy since he ran against George W. Bush in the primaries. I've liked him even when he was a huge proponent of the Iraq War. Who doesn't like a POW war veteran? Palin proved it again tonight when she spoke. She's likeable. The speechwriter made sure of it through everything she said. The GOP knows they are in trouble. They are up against a candidate that people are finally passionate about, Obama. This isn't John Kerry and this isn't Al Gore. It's someone that inspires not only Democrats, but Americans. That's why the GOP needed to announce a shocker after Obama's stellar acceptance speech where he didn't just attack Republicans, he laid out a vision for a greater United States of America. The Republicans don't offer that to people. Instead, they speak to only the people that see the world as a big globe of good vs. evil. They speak to the mob of people that will believe anything they say despite what the last 8 years have truthfully brought forth. You won't balance the budget Republicans. You haven't done it in 8 years. You have dragged our country down by failed policies right after 9/11. You have made it only possible and feasible to lump together support of country, support of war, and support of troops.
I can't remember who said this tonight at the convention, but it stuck with me. He said that the American people know that the Republicans are correct and strong on social values, but they have lost it on economic policy. He was truly correct about his second statement. As for the first statement, I don't think you can argue that abstinence-only education is correct. I don't think a debate will ever be settled in America about a women's right to choose. Despite the continuous scientific findings regarding the fact that the Earth is well over 6000 years old, we may never all agree on that. We probably won't all agree on what should be taught in schools creationism or evolution even though we should teach actual science. We won't agree on the right or wrong of homosexuals (even though I'm certain in 100 years, it will be a far better picture as all civil rights battles need to be fought). I quite frankly don't think that the majority of these "social values" even matter in the long term of political progress. What does matter is that the Republican party wakes up to the reality of its principles. Limited governemt and conservative economic policies can pretty much define what this party means politically. As for the other stuff, it should probably be sorted out on Sunday, or in the privacy of a worship group and family or with one's own personal conversation with God before bed. If we voted simply on what candidate's message is being the most honest, a value that I think everyone admires in a person, this race wouldn't even be close.
I'll tell you flat out that I'm not going to bash the Republican party in this post anymore than they deserve. In fact, on many issues, I flat out agree with the Republican party. Free trade, limited government, and a balanced budget are among the strong Republican ideals I support. Wait a minute. The Republican party has done nothing of the sort over the last 8-15 years. The idea of a balanced budget and limited government has fled the main party platform for newer and fresher birds. Believe it or not Republicans, the last true patriot of the balanced budget was Bill Clinton. Don't believe me? See what Alan Greenspan says in book "The Age of Turbulence." It doesn't bother me all that much anyway that Republicans use this tenant as part of their fundamental ideology. What bothers me is that the Republican mob doesn't quite realize it. What bothers me is that there is not a single ounce of accountability in the Republican party. When McCain's ads pop up on TV, I think they are Obama ads. They say things like Washington is broke. John McCain knows that. Well if he knows that, where the hell has he been for the last 20 years? I'm so confused by the political process. We can no longer get an honest response from a politician about anything. Anytime a politician tries to give an honest response, we write it off as insecurity. When Obama tries to answer complicated questions with thorough responses that aren't 4 word answers, he's written off as indecisive or inexperienced. The fact that maybe some of his ideas are worth considering is out of the question. How can this Republican party still try to get away with a complete lack of non-partisanship? My main truth here is that Republicans essentially bash Democrats for raising taxes and increasing spending, but they just lower taxes and increase spending. So what is better for the long term health of the economy? I'll take the latter. What needs to happen in Washington is both parties have to agree on balancing the budget (an idea proposed at the beginning of W's term, but flatly rejected for the broad range of tax cuts that spiraled our government from surplus to deficit).
Now, my next qualm relates to the experience issue. I basically laugh the idea of the experience issue off most of the time. If someone has the leadership ability and potential to win a main party Presidential primary, then he or she has the ability to lead the country. You can't win the primaries without thorough support from major players across your party. These major players, superdelegates or major endorsements, don't give you support if you can't come across to them as knowledgeable about an array of topics and as a leader. How can you really prepare someone to be President of the United States anyway? The only real way is to have someone super close to a previous effective President. So by that notion Al Gore should have been super experienced. Was he? Probably not. Experience is just a word thrown around in a slogan. Just because you are old doesn't mean you are experienced either. An effective Senator doesn't necessariliy make them ready to be President. This goes for both Obama and McCain.
Now on to Sarah Palin. Let me first say that I'm excited that both genders are or have been represented in the primaries and now the main ticket. I'm also proud that both parties decided to put someone up other than a white guy. It makes me think that actual progress is taking place in our society. I would also like to say that it's not by mere chance that women or non white males had a chance. It was by knowledge, vision and well-run campaigns that caused both Hillary and Obama to be in the hunt. So let me tell you why Sarah Palin is on the Vice Presidential ticket. She's likeable. She's likeable. She's likeable. Since the Republicans have brought forth nothing of real value or substance over the last 8 years, it only makes sense to win back the masses through likeability. McCain is likeable. I mean I have liked the guy since he ran against George W. Bush in the primaries. I've liked him even when he was a huge proponent of the Iraq War. Who doesn't like a POW war veteran? Palin proved it again tonight when she spoke. She's likeable. The speechwriter made sure of it through everything she said. The GOP knows they are in trouble. They are up against a candidate that people are finally passionate about, Obama. This isn't John Kerry and this isn't Al Gore. It's someone that inspires not only Democrats, but Americans. That's why the GOP needed to announce a shocker after Obama's stellar acceptance speech where he didn't just attack Republicans, he laid out a vision for a greater United States of America. The Republicans don't offer that to people. Instead, they speak to only the people that see the world as a big globe of good vs. evil. They speak to the mob of people that will believe anything they say despite what the last 8 years have truthfully brought forth. You won't balance the budget Republicans. You haven't done it in 8 years. You have dragged our country down by failed policies right after 9/11. You have made it only possible and feasible to lump together support of country, support of war, and support of troops.
I can't remember who said this tonight at the convention, but it stuck with me. He said that the American people know that the Republicans are correct and strong on social values, but they have lost it on economic policy. He was truly correct about his second statement. As for the first statement, I don't think you can argue that abstinence-only education is correct. I don't think a debate will ever be settled in America about a women's right to choose. Despite the continuous scientific findings regarding the fact that the Earth is well over 6000 years old, we may never all agree on that. We probably won't all agree on what should be taught in schools creationism or evolution even though we should teach actual science. We won't agree on the right or wrong of homosexuals (even though I'm certain in 100 years, it will be a far better picture as all civil rights battles need to be fought). I quite frankly don't think that the majority of these "social values" even matter in the long term of political progress. What does matter is that the Republican party wakes up to the reality of its principles. Limited governemt and conservative economic policies can pretty much define what this party means politically. As for the other stuff, it should probably be sorted out on Sunday, or in the privacy of a worship group and family or with one's own personal conversation with God before bed. If we voted simply on what candidate's message is being the most honest, a value that I think everyone admires in a person, this race wouldn't even be close.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Oh Obama
I thought the Democratic National Convention was a big success for Democrats. I think we picked the right candidate and given the circumstances of the Republican's main attacking point (national security), I think we picked the right Vice-President in Biden. I don't really have that much to say on the convention other than the speeches were moving and watching this convention made me feel closer to the United States of America. We do all get bogged down in our daily lives to realize there is more out there than we are accustomed to in our everyday lives. Being a professional poker player probably distances me further from that reality in a lot of ways because working from home online limits contact with people other than friends or family. Going to tournaments and playing gives some contact to people, but not that often to people that struggle in the world. Not that often are there that many people that are even pleasant to be around. In fact, most of the people I enjoy being around in the poker world play online most of the time. Stories of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan serving the country and coming back to poor treatment is flat out wrong on so many moral and human levels its disturbing. I know that I am truly lucky after hearing a lot of this. I'm lucky enough to play a game and make good money doing it. Only professional athletes and people on stock exchanges can usually say the same thing. Either way, I'm looking forward to the election.
One more big mention is that if you care at all about online poker, the Democratic ticket is really the only way to go. McCain is a staunch opponent of online gambling most likely to please the conservative base. Several members of the PPA, democrats and republicans alike, demanded that the Republicans strike language from the RNC platform regarding the prohibition of online gambling. When the RNC agreed and removed it, it was put back up shortly after by the McCain train. The only sound argument that can be put forth by Republicans is that gambling is bad, immoral and ruins society. While we only hear about the extreme cases related to gambling, Republicans often forget that they support gambling on horse racing and state lotteries. You can't have it both ways. Please write your Senators and Congressmen. If you are too lazy, go to this website http://capwiz.com/pokerplayersalliance/home/. They have a letter all set for you and will even tell you all the representatives that matter. It takes two seconds, but politicians do eventually listen. The PPA has made good progress. They haven't made great progress until online poker is legalized and regulated.
As for me and poker, I came back to Vegas and have been pretty happy with how I'm doing so far. Since being back, I've had some good results including a $3000 win on Ultimate Bet in their 30 rebuy. I got 2nd in the Absolute Sunday tournament for $10k. I had another small second on Absolute. I also got ninth in the Pokerstars daily with a disappointing finish. To be honest, I've actually probably ran a little below average at these final tables as well. I've had consistent deep runs in tournaments, but I feel like my tournament game continues to improve. I know I have a long way to go until I become the best, but with hard work and more dedication, I believe I can get there. On a negative note, I had one poor high stakes cash session at $50/$100 HORSE. I played this game because of my success at lower limits in the past month. After playing for a while, I believed that I had a little edge over my opponents. Whether that was the case or not, the results didn't show for it. It will be a while before I try another experiment like that. Playing consistent multi-table tournament schedules with a lot of focus has been paying off this year, and I want to keep that going.
One more big mention is that if you care at all about online poker, the Democratic ticket is really the only way to go. McCain is a staunch opponent of online gambling most likely to please the conservative base. Several members of the PPA, democrats and republicans alike, demanded that the Republicans strike language from the RNC platform regarding the prohibition of online gambling. When the RNC agreed and removed it, it was put back up shortly after by the McCain train. The only sound argument that can be put forth by Republicans is that gambling is bad, immoral and ruins society. While we only hear about the extreme cases related to gambling, Republicans often forget that they support gambling on horse racing and state lotteries. You can't have it both ways. Please write your Senators and Congressmen. If you are too lazy, go to this website http://capwiz.com/pokerplayersalliance/home/. They have a letter all set for you and will even tell you all the representatives that matter. It takes two seconds, but politicians do eventually listen. The PPA has made good progress. They haven't made great progress until online poker is legalized and regulated.
As for me and poker, I came back to Vegas and have been pretty happy with how I'm doing so far. Since being back, I've had some good results including a $3000 win on Ultimate Bet in their 30 rebuy. I got 2nd in the Absolute Sunday tournament for $10k. I had another small second on Absolute. I also got ninth in the Pokerstars daily with a disappointing finish. To be honest, I've actually probably ran a little below average at these final tables as well. I've had consistent deep runs in tournaments, but I feel like my tournament game continues to improve. I know I have a long way to go until I become the best, but with hard work and more dedication, I believe I can get there. On a negative note, I had one poor high stakes cash session at $50/$100 HORSE. I played this game because of my success at lower limits in the past month. After playing for a while, I believed that I had a little edge over my opponents. Whether that was the case or not, the results didn't show for it. It will be a while before I try another experiment like that. Playing consistent multi-table tournament schedules with a lot of focus has been paying off this year, and I want to keep that going.
Monday, August 18, 2008
9. Win the Sunday Night HORSE tournament on Full Tilt.
Goal number 9 for 2008 is complete. In a thrilling comeback victory, I won the Sunday Night HORSE tournament on Full Tilt.
Here is the first hand heads up chip counts.
Seat 2: kice32 (106,800)
Seat 8: Diego Cordovez (469,200)
Diego Cordovez posts the small blind of 5,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 10,000
I have 10 BB's to his 46BB and end up coming back to win. I was thrilled. Not to mention I get the $200 pro bounty and t-shirt as Diego Cordovez is in red on Full tilt. It was a little over $10,000 for the victory giving me a decent Sunday as I played fewer tournaments. I had a great weekend with my girlfriend and family and this topped it all off.
I'm heading back to Las Vegas tomorrow to get back to business for a while. I'll hopefully have more good poker updates. The FTOPS is over and I don't think I cashed in a single event. Despite this victory, everything else over my break in Cleveland really didn't go that well. I plan to have a great WCOOP. I'm playing tons of games well and should be playing a good amount of events.
Here is the first hand heads up chip counts.
Seat 2: kice32 (106,800)
Seat 8: Diego Cordovez (469,200)
Diego Cordovez posts the small blind of 5,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 10,000
I have 10 BB's to his 46BB and end up coming back to win. I was thrilled. Not to mention I get the $200 pro bounty and t-shirt as Diego Cordovez is in red on Full tilt. It was a little over $10,000 for the victory giving me a decent Sunday as I played fewer tournaments. I had a great weekend with my girlfriend and family and this topped it all off.
I'm heading back to Las Vegas tomorrow to get back to business for a while. I'll hopefully have more good poker updates. The FTOPS is over and I don't think I cashed in a single event. Despite this victory, everything else over my break in Cleveland really didn't go that well. I plan to have a great WCOOP. I'm playing tons of games well and should be playing a good amount of events.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
It's time for a sports blog
It's been a while since I talked about anything but poker, so it might be healthy to get some good thoughts out there about Cleveland sports and the Olympics. I've been playing poker at a minimum lately. I've basically been following the FTOPS main events around when I have time to and playing cash games when I'm bored here in Cleveland. This has giving me some good time to watch some Olympics and enjoy the games all day, while hardly ever exercising and typically eating too much.
Cleveland Cavaliers Trade
Cleveland hit the trade market hard again acquiring Mo Williams from the Bucks. We finally have our point guard. I can't say I know very much about Mo Williams because I really don't. If Mo Williams is even a slightly above average point guard who can play a lick of defense, it will make this team better. Damon Jones is only a loss if you enjoyed laughing at him over the past few years. I would like to thank him though for that shot in the Washington series three years ago. It was one of the most exciting moments in Cleveland and all Amon Ones ever did (NO D and No J) was want to be good. I hope that one play was enough. Joe Smith was the real loss. He provided solid depth at the big man position throughout the playoffs. He was a guy who did everything right. I think the best thing about losing him is it gives a chance for all the younger guys to develop into that role. It does leave a small hole in our front man rotation. If our old players (Z or Wallace) go down, we might be in trouble. My only other big concern about Mo Williams is that I've read a few places that he might be a selfish player. We don't need another Larry Hughes, so our coaching staff better be very direct with how they coach Mo Williams. He better be ready to work and win titles or you can kiss LBJ good bye in two years.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns are going to be good this year. How good? 10-6 again good. Our record range will be 8-8 to 10-6. I don't see this team going any different than that range of records. Our offense is probably in the top 4 in the NFL. I can think of NE, Indy, and maybe Dallas as those that our ahead of us. We just have weapons in every area. We have two all-pro receivers and Braylon Edwards is still underrated. We have one of the best receiving tight ends in the league in Winslow. Lewis looks pretty solid and behind the best offensive line in the AFC North, we'll win the division. Expect to be playing at home in round one of the playoffs against a team like Jacksonville or Denver. I expect a fall out in Pittsburgh this year. I think the team will hurt bad after losing Alan Faneca at guard.
Olympics
We need to check China!!!! China is really showing the dichotomy of its messed up nation. It puts on this unreal display at the opening ceremonies following a decade of unbelievable growth, yet it's partially fake. They leave out the fact that they put up a 7 year old girl prop in place of the real singer who was deemed to ugly for TV. How many 7 year olds are really ugly? Let's be honest. It's impossible to be ugly at 7 unless you are one of those 7 year old gymnasts on China's team. I really have a growing dislike for gymnastics because I think it's rigged and finally realize it is. China is not following the rules, and they would have never lost the gold at home. The USA would have never lost the gold at home in '96 either.
One thing I love about the summer Olympics are the great sports you never watch but are absolutely awesome come Olympics time.
1. Swimming--I would never watch this sport, but it's fun come Olympics time because medals are cool and the USA is usually dominant. Watching Michael Phelps has been real fun this Olympics, and I expect him to win all 8 golds. He will for sure win the two individual races barring lots of drugs injected into some crazy Chinese athlete. Can you even trust anything China does? They just went 1-2 in the 100M Butterfly. Is there any doubt they weren't drugged up like Marion Jones and Barry Bonds son?
2. Beach Volleyball--Fun to watch, but more fun to play. I love this sport and USA is sweet at it. Not to mention that I love the name Karch.
3. Track and Field--I watch this all the time when it's on, but your average American doesn't. This is going to be exciting this Olympics. You can't miss the 100M dash with Tyson Gay from the USA. He recently sprained his hamstring in the trials, so it will be interesting to see him compete against Jamaica's top dude. The 400M is going to be my favorite race with Leshawn Merrit and Jeremy Wariner. Here is there race from last Olympics, but since then Merritt has beat Wariner. This is the best race on the track hands down.
4. Table Tennis--Watch it live for NBCOlympics.com
5. Handball--See number 4
The worst sports at the olympics include women's sabre, anything involving rowing, trampoline and rhytmic gymnastics. Can't we seriously put golf in place of one of these? I have another idea. Let's make the PGA Championship travel to the Olympic city once every 4 years and play it there. It will be both the PGA Championship and the Olympic event. It will give the world a chance to see the biggest chokes out there including but not limited to Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.
That is all for now. I'll be back with more later.
Cleveland Cavaliers Trade
Cleveland hit the trade market hard again acquiring Mo Williams from the Bucks. We finally have our point guard. I can't say I know very much about Mo Williams because I really don't. If Mo Williams is even a slightly above average point guard who can play a lick of defense, it will make this team better. Damon Jones is only a loss if you enjoyed laughing at him over the past few years. I would like to thank him though for that shot in the Washington series three years ago. It was one of the most exciting moments in Cleveland and all Amon Ones ever did (NO D and No J) was want to be good. I hope that one play was enough. Joe Smith was the real loss. He provided solid depth at the big man position throughout the playoffs. He was a guy who did everything right. I think the best thing about losing him is it gives a chance for all the younger guys to develop into that role. It does leave a small hole in our front man rotation. If our old players (Z or Wallace) go down, we might be in trouble. My only other big concern about Mo Williams is that I've read a few places that he might be a selfish player. We don't need another Larry Hughes, so our coaching staff better be very direct with how they coach Mo Williams. He better be ready to work and win titles or you can kiss LBJ good bye in two years.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns are going to be good this year. How good? 10-6 again good. Our record range will be 8-8 to 10-6. I don't see this team going any different than that range of records. Our offense is probably in the top 4 in the NFL. I can think of NE, Indy, and maybe Dallas as those that our ahead of us. We just have weapons in every area. We have two all-pro receivers and Braylon Edwards is still underrated. We have one of the best receiving tight ends in the league in Winslow. Lewis looks pretty solid and behind the best offensive line in the AFC North, we'll win the division. Expect to be playing at home in round one of the playoffs against a team like Jacksonville or Denver. I expect a fall out in Pittsburgh this year. I think the team will hurt bad after losing Alan Faneca at guard.
Olympics
We need to check China!!!! China is really showing the dichotomy of its messed up nation. It puts on this unreal display at the opening ceremonies following a decade of unbelievable growth, yet it's partially fake. They leave out the fact that they put up a 7 year old girl prop in place of the real singer who was deemed to ugly for TV. How many 7 year olds are really ugly? Let's be honest. It's impossible to be ugly at 7 unless you are one of those 7 year old gymnasts on China's team. I really have a growing dislike for gymnastics because I think it's rigged and finally realize it is. China is not following the rules, and they would have never lost the gold at home. The USA would have never lost the gold at home in '96 either.
One thing I love about the summer Olympics are the great sports you never watch but are absolutely awesome come Olympics time.
1. Swimming--I would never watch this sport, but it's fun come Olympics time because medals are cool and the USA is usually dominant. Watching Michael Phelps has been real fun this Olympics, and I expect him to win all 8 golds. He will for sure win the two individual races barring lots of drugs injected into some crazy Chinese athlete. Can you even trust anything China does? They just went 1-2 in the 100M Butterfly. Is there any doubt they weren't drugged up like Marion Jones and Barry Bonds son?
2. Beach Volleyball--Fun to watch, but more fun to play. I love this sport and USA is sweet at it. Not to mention that I love the name Karch.
3. Track and Field--I watch this all the time when it's on, but your average American doesn't. This is going to be exciting this Olympics. You can't miss the 100M dash with Tyson Gay from the USA. He recently sprained his hamstring in the trials, so it will be interesting to see him compete against Jamaica's top dude. The 400M is going to be my favorite race with Leshawn Merrit and Jeremy Wariner. Here is there race from last Olympics, but since then Merritt has beat Wariner. This is the best race on the track hands down.
4. Table Tennis--Watch it live for NBCOlympics.com
5. Handball--See number 4
The worst sports at the olympics include women's sabre, anything involving rowing, trampoline and rhytmic gymnastics. Can't we seriously put golf in place of one of these? I have another idea. Let's make the PGA Championship travel to the Olympic city once every 4 years and play it there. It will be both the PGA Championship and the Olympic event. It will give the world a chance to see the biggest chokes out there including but not limited to Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.
That is all for now. I'll be back with more later.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Cleveland
I've had a lot of fun so far in Cleveland with my family and friends. I've finally been able to golf since I haven't had a golf partner in Vegas. I've gone perch fishing on Lake Erie. We even made a trip downtown over the weekend that was a fun night overall. I'm heading to the Brown's preseason game on Thursday, so expect a pretty in depth Brown's blog coming up as I know we have some Cleveland fans reading out there.
On the poker front, I had my worst day of the entire year on Sunday financially, but I'm not all that upset about it. I had a pretty standard tournament buy in schedule and probably played too many tables. I think on Sundays, I'm going to limit the max tournaments I'm in to 6 at one time. I might even think about moving down to 4. The only problem with going to 4 is that I don't get a chance to play a lot of the lower buy ins that attract huge fields. These tournaments like the 11 rebuy I won can really help out a bankroll if you are consistently playing every big buy in on every site every Sunday. I have also had a mixed record in the cash games since being home. While I've beat the 2/4 pot limit omaha game, I dumped it all back in one horrendous session at pot limit omaha 3/6. Furthermore, I've had a couple of 25/50 PLO sessions where I went in short stacked with 1k and failed to do much. When this stuff happens all on Sunday, it compounds. Take away the Sunday and I'm actually up since I've been home playing a limited amount of tournaments and mostly different cash games.
The tentative future schedule of big things to come is
August 6-18. Full Tilt Online Poker Series. I'll probably be playing about 6-10 events depending on what is going on at home. When I'm at home with the family, it's often tough to make committments to play tournaments.
September. WCOOP. This is the Pokerstars big annual tournament series. I never have been able to commit to playing a lot of these events, but I'm planning on playing more this year. I know there will be a few Sundays though that I will miss in here for a wedding and of course Browns games. My Borgata plans for this year won't be coming to fruition. I love the tournaments there, but it will just have to wait for a different time.
October--Aruba??? We'll see if I can satellite into the tournament. WSOP Europe. We'll see if I can satellite into the tournament.
Other than that, I had a great comment about my personal poker leaks. Leaks are flaws in poker strategy that players should all strive to "plug up."
I decided I'll try to identify a leak in each blog and how I can fix it.
In my tournament game, I think that lately there have been times where I felt it was necessary to gamble when the optimal strategy at the time was to continue to play small ball poker. One example comes to mind when I was deepstacked with about 40,000 in the 100 rebuy on Full tilt. This is a shorthanded tournament where I was steadily picking up chips without winning too many big pots. Most of my confrontations were in pretty good shape preflop or small pots after the flop. I had KJ of hearts and called the under the gun raiser for 2100. He had 35,000 chips. When the flop came 8h 7h 7d. He bet out 4k. Now at this point, I just decided I was going to play for it all no matter what, so I put a good raise in, he reraised all in, I called and he showed QQ. I was then cripped and out shortly after. A similar hand came up in the 2k at the WSOP with KdQd on a two diamond board against a pretty large stack who had AA. Both times I missed and regretted my decision after. Let me first say that I think this play is sometimes optimal. Picking up a big draw has lots of value when you can get your opponents to fold their hands. Playing aggressively is almost always better than playing passively in poker. At times though, if I feel I'm in pretty good control of my table image and position at the table, I think it can be a big leak to just be ready to get in there and gamble. Poker is ultimately a strategy game. One component of strategy though is the propensity to gamble. Varying factors will contribute to how much a player should consider gambling in a tournament including stack sizes, relative skill levels, blind structure, payouts, etc. There are times though where I think it's a leak in my game when I take these situations where I'm in good control of lots of factors of play and waste them by gambling in possible 50/50 spots.
I hope that explanation is a good one and thanks for the questions/comments as always.
On the poker front, I had my worst day of the entire year on Sunday financially, but I'm not all that upset about it. I had a pretty standard tournament buy in schedule and probably played too many tables. I think on Sundays, I'm going to limit the max tournaments I'm in to 6 at one time. I might even think about moving down to 4. The only problem with going to 4 is that I don't get a chance to play a lot of the lower buy ins that attract huge fields. These tournaments like the 11 rebuy I won can really help out a bankroll if you are consistently playing every big buy in on every site every Sunday. I have also had a mixed record in the cash games since being home. While I've beat the 2/4 pot limit omaha game, I dumped it all back in one horrendous session at pot limit omaha 3/6. Furthermore, I've had a couple of 25/50 PLO sessions where I went in short stacked with 1k and failed to do much. When this stuff happens all on Sunday, it compounds. Take away the Sunday and I'm actually up since I've been home playing a limited amount of tournaments and mostly different cash games.
The tentative future schedule of big things to come is
August 6-18. Full Tilt Online Poker Series. I'll probably be playing about 6-10 events depending on what is going on at home. When I'm at home with the family, it's often tough to make committments to play tournaments.
September. WCOOP. This is the Pokerstars big annual tournament series. I never have been able to commit to playing a lot of these events, but I'm planning on playing more this year. I know there will be a few Sundays though that I will miss in here for a wedding and of course Browns games. My Borgata plans for this year won't be coming to fruition. I love the tournaments there, but it will just have to wait for a different time.
October--Aruba??? We'll see if I can satellite into the tournament. WSOP Europe. We'll see if I can satellite into the tournament.
Other than that, I had a great comment about my personal poker leaks. Leaks are flaws in poker strategy that players should all strive to "plug up."
I decided I'll try to identify a leak in each blog and how I can fix it.
In my tournament game, I think that lately there have been times where I felt it was necessary to gamble when the optimal strategy at the time was to continue to play small ball poker. One example comes to mind when I was deepstacked with about 40,000 in the 100 rebuy on Full tilt. This is a shorthanded tournament where I was steadily picking up chips without winning too many big pots. Most of my confrontations were in pretty good shape preflop or small pots after the flop. I had KJ of hearts and called the under the gun raiser for 2100. He had 35,000 chips. When the flop came 8h 7h 7d. He bet out 4k. Now at this point, I just decided I was going to play for it all no matter what, so I put a good raise in, he reraised all in, I called and he showed QQ. I was then cripped and out shortly after. A similar hand came up in the 2k at the WSOP with KdQd on a two diamond board against a pretty large stack who had AA. Both times I missed and regretted my decision after. Let me first say that I think this play is sometimes optimal. Picking up a big draw has lots of value when you can get your opponents to fold their hands. Playing aggressively is almost always better than playing passively in poker. At times though, if I feel I'm in pretty good control of my table image and position at the table, I think it can be a big leak to just be ready to get in there and gamble. Poker is ultimately a strategy game. One component of strategy though is the propensity to gamble. Varying factors will contribute to how much a player should consider gambling in a tournament including stack sizes, relative skill levels, blind structure, payouts, etc. There are times though where I think it's a leak in my game when I take these situations where I'm in good control of lots of factors of play and waste them by gambling in possible 50/50 spots.
I hope that explanation is a good one and thanks for the questions/comments as always.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Some WSOP Thoughts
After getting away from it for a week and from poker in general, I thought it might be a good idea to give some final World Series of Poker thoughts.
I came into the WSOP with a specific bankroll planned that was essentially out of my yearly winnings. It was a number that I basically decided was going to keep me comfortable at all times. I wanted to play around 8 events including the main event, but if I did well early and made a big score, go for player of the year. While I know I'm not deeply experienced in every single game, I don't think the average player is either. With my online experience in every game, I felt pretty confident with this plan.
What began was a 1500 PL Hold 'em event where I immediately realized our chip stacks aren't going to allow much play, and with a couple of set up hands I was out. This kind of left me flustered as I didn't really know what to do. Should I keep taking small shots at these or play the bigger buy ins/rebuys? I decided against rebuys because I don't feel comfortable without 8k in the 1k rebuy to go. I don't even feel comfortable in the 100 rebuy half the time because I'm not ready to go off for 800 on any night in one tournament against a field of tough players.
After that, I played the 2000 No Limit Hold 'em and played considerably well. An AA vs 99 vs 88 all in hand crippled me when an 8 appeared on the flop.
Still after two events, I felt I played considerably well and did my best.
Then came event 3. It was a shorthanded event, 1500. 3000 chips in a shorthanded event can go awfully quick especially when you don't have the correct mentality. In retrospect, this was my worst tournament by far. I made several untimely plays. I wasn't patient when short stacked, and I just kind of failed at concentrating.
I came back later that night to try my hand at the 2500 Omaha Hi/Lo /Stud Hi/Lo mixed event. I got off to a great start. I cracked 10k fairly early from the 5k starting chip stack. The deck ran so super cold after level 4 that I had to kind of think through my hands again to see if I played bad or not. I think I played fine, but really ran extremely unlucky in Omaha Hi/Lo. This is a game where when dealt certain starting hands and hitting certain flops, you just won't be able to fold until the river if at any time. I had similar situations here and am happy with how I played.
So a quick poor start had my spirits dampened. If not for a 21k score online followed by a second place in the heads up championship on Pokerstars, I would have been phased just a little.
Another 2k event where I again played great poker up until a critical mistake before dinner. I got moved to a new table. Getting moved is sometimes a curse and sometimes a blessing as any player knows. Moving from my previous tables were both curses. I had a good understanding of several online players from playing against them online. I don't think they knew who I was giving me a significant edge. The other players weren't all that tough. I had a good image and everything was fine. When I got moved, I immediately caught in a bluff for some chips killing my image. Then I made probably the biggest mistake of my entire WSOP. I raised it up with 8 9 suited and was called behind. The BB moved all in for what was 4600 total I think after I put in a 1600 raise. I just called where I should be pushing all in all day to isolate. If I'm going to call, I might as well just take a shot. I think this was the only point where I made a critical mistake. If I shove here, I win the pot outright with all the dead money increasing my stack to an above average pretty close to the money. This situation can give me some good bubble opportunities. Either way, aside from that big mistake, I played well. In the end, it came down to me not winning a race 66 vs AQ.
The biggest disappointment of the whole series was the 3000 HORSE for me. I played both the 1500 and 3000. In both tournaments, I ran so incredibly bad that I left demoralized and shaking my head. In the 1500 event, it's tough to recover from running bad. The 3k HORSE though is an event that I should be able to find good spots. It's just frustrating when nothing go rights in games that I typically do very well at online.
Two more 1500 tournaments and losing races along with losing the 5 6 vs QQ after the 6 5 2 flop with the Q hitting the turn card were both crushing.
Then came my first cash ever. 53rd in the 2k event following a crushing beat of A10 vs A8. This tournament was a lot of fun in retrospect. It was really what it was all about. I felt great throughout. I made a couple of aggressive plays and thinks just went my way. I hit a couple of big river flushes on big draws that propelled me. Other than that though, I tended to get my money in very well. What hurt me in the end was the KQdd vs AA after the two diamond flop and I missed. I couldn't have felt worse about winning 11k. While this would guarantee a main event seat within my bankroll, I really felt that if that A10 holds against A8, I'm a lot richer right now.
The Main Event is an unbelievable experience. This was my second main event. I was not half the player I was 2 years ago when I played. I'll probably think the same thing in 2 more years about how I played now, but the gap is just so much farther. My ability to control the situations at my table this year was what I was most proud of. Even after getting short stacked early, I fought back with a nice 44 vs AK after a 4 10 K flop. The end of Day 1 saw me make an outstanding fold. Go read about it if you haven't yet.
Day 2 was a great experience. I had two tough internet players, an absolutely wild table, and I fought hard all day. I was up and down and up and down. I really and truly grinded through this day. I went into Day 3 feeling strong. I also had the possibility of being on TV with a 2 hour featured table stint. That's still to be determined even though I hope I don't end up on the cutting room floor.
Day 3 couldn't have gone worse. I couldn't get any hands. I couldn't steal a single pot preflop. I patiently waited and waited and eventually made a move that I think was fine with A9 suited, but was overcalled by a player with little experience with AQ off (even though I saw he finished pretty deep). I was really devastated after losing. All my goals and dreams for the entire year were shattered. I felt that I lacked a sense of validation and still do today. After all, my live cashes have no been impressive. I've made far more money online than I have in live tournaments. To be completely honest with my live play, I think it's been just a matter of not catching the right breaks at the right times. Every deep appearance usually ends by something out of my control. What a lot of people don't understand about poker is that many of the people they see on TV as the big time money winners and big time players wouldn't last over thousands of tournaments. Several of them don't have a dollar to their name. Some of them have tons of talent, but no money. Some of them have very little talent and lots of money. There are tons of ranges of skill levels and success stories. Where a player falls along the spectrum relies on both talent and luck. If you have the best luck though in your 10 dollar online tournaments, you won't be on TV, you won't be made of millions. If you have your best luck in one 10k event, you win a million and are instantly respected. When going to play with players that are considered big time, you can't go in thinking they are fabolous players. I've made this mistake before. You need to go in and evaluate exactly how they are playing and make your decisions accordingly. Sometimes it's just easier playing against players you don't recognize because your blueprint of their play is drawn in from scratch.
One final thought. To win any poker tournament where several good players are entered in the field, you need a few things. You need to get free chips. Free chips occur when the deck sets you up with them. You need to have good table draws. You need to have a thorough understanding of every stage of the tournament. You can only control one of those things. There are expanses of concepts in the thing you can control and learning more and always striving to learn is the best way to succeed in this game. The luck will even out in the end and I have no doubt that with the proper amount of tournaments played at the World Series or in live play, I'll have my victories.
Again, thanks for the support from everyone throughout. The next few months are big online months. An FTOPS and WCOOP are in August and September. These are just like live events like the WSOP with various games and such, but usually a better structure. I'll be playing lots of events in both. I think I'm due for a big victory in one of these. Let's hope it's soon.
I came into the WSOP with a specific bankroll planned that was essentially out of my yearly winnings. It was a number that I basically decided was going to keep me comfortable at all times. I wanted to play around 8 events including the main event, but if I did well early and made a big score, go for player of the year. While I know I'm not deeply experienced in every single game, I don't think the average player is either. With my online experience in every game, I felt pretty confident with this plan.
What began was a 1500 PL Hold 'em event where I immediately realized our chip stacks aren't going to allow much play, and with a couple of set up hands I was out. This kind of left me flustered as I didn't really know what to do. Should I keep taking small shots at these or play the bigger buy ins/rebuys? I decided against rebuys because I don't feel comfortable without 8k in the 1k rebuy to go. I don't even feel comfortable in the 100 rebuy half the time because I'm not ready to go off for 800 on any night in one tournament against a field of tough players.
After that, I played the 2000 No Limit Hold 'em and played considerably well. An AA vs 99 vs 88 all in hand crippled me when an 8 appeared on the flop.
Still after two events, I felt I played considerably well and did my best.
Then came event 3. It was a shorthanded event, 1500. 3000 chips in a shorthanded event can go awfully quick especially when you don't have the correct mentality. In retrospect, this was my worst tournament by far. I made several untimely plays. I wasn't patient when short stacked, and I just kind of failed at concentrating.
I came back later that night to try my hand at the 2500 Omaha Hi/Lo /Stud Hi/Lo mixed event. I got off to a great start. I cracked 10k fairly early from the 5k starting chip stack. The deck ran so super cold after level 4 that I had to kind of think through my hands again to see if I played bad or not. I think I played fine, but really ran extremely unlucky in Omaha Hi/Lo. This is a game where when dealt certain starting hands and hitting certain flops, you just won't be able to fold until the river if at any time. I had similar situations here and am happy with how I played.
So a quick poor start had my spirits dampened. If not for a 21k score online followed by a second place in the heads up championship on Pokerstars, I would have been phased just a little.
Another 2k event where I again played great poker up until a critical mistake before dinner. I got moved to a new table. Getting moved is sometimes a curse and sometimes a blessing as any player knows. Moving from my previous tables were both curses. I had a good understanding of several online players from playing against them online. I don't think they knew who I was giving me a significant edge. The other players weren't all that tough. I had a good image and everything was fine. When I got moved, I immediately caught in a bluff for some chips killing my image. Then I made probably the biggest mistake of my entire WSOP. I raised it up with 8 9 suited and was called behind. The BB moved all in for what was 4600 total I think after I put in a 1600 raise. I just called where I should be pushing all in all day to isolate. If I'm going to call, I might as well just take a shot. I think this was the only point where I made a critical mistake. If I shove here, I win the pot outright with all the dead money increasing my stack to an above average pretty close to the money. This situation can give me some good bubble opportunities. Either way, aside from that big mistake, I played well. In the end, it came down to me not winning a race 66 vs AQ.
The biggest disappointment of the whole series was the 3000 HORSE for me. I played both the 1500 and 3000. In both tournaments, I ran so incredibly bad that I left demoralized and shaking my head. In the 1500 event, it's tough to recover from running bad. The 3k HORSE though is an event that I should be able to find good spots. It's just frustrating when nothing go rights in games that I typically do very well at online.
Two more 1500 tournaments and losing races along with losing the 5 6 vs QQ after the 6 5 2 flop with the Q hitting the turn card were both crushing.
Then came my first cash ever. 53rd in the 2k event following a crushing beat of A10 vs A8. This tournament was a lot of fun in retrospect. It was really what it was all about. I felt great throughout. I made a couple of aggressive plays and thinks just went my way. I hit a couple of big river flushes on big draws that propelled me. Other than that though, I tended to get my money in very well. What hurt me in the end was the KQdd vs AA after the two diamond flop and I missed. I couldn't have felt worse about winning 11k. While this would guarantee a main event seat within my bankroll, I really felt that if that A10 holds against A8, I'm a lot richer right now.
The Main Event is an unbelievable experience. This was my second main event. I was not half the player I was 2 years ago when I played. I'll probably think the same thing in 2 more years about how I played now, but the gap is just so much farther. My ability to control the situations at my table this year was what I was most proud of. Even after getting short stacked early, I fought back with a nice 44 vs AK after a 4 10 K flop. The end of Day 1 saw me make an outstanding fold. Go read about it if you haven't yet.
Day 2 was a great experience. I had two tough internet players, an absolutely wild table, and I fought hard all day. I was up and down and up and down. I really and truly grinded through this day. I went into Day 3 feeling strong. I also had the possibility of being on TV with a 2 hour featured table stint. That's still to be determined even though I hope I don't end up on the cutting room floor.
Day 3 couldn't have gone worse. I couldn't get any hands. I couldn't steal a single pot preflop. I patiently waited and waited and eventually made a move that I think was fine with A9 suited, but was overcalled by a player with little experience with AQ off (even though I saw he finished pretty deep). I was really devastated after losing. All my goals and dreams for the entire year were shattered. I felt that I lacked a sense of validation and still do today. After all, my live cashes have no been impressive. I've made far more money online than I have in live tournaments. To be completely honest with my live play, I think it's been just a matter of not catching the right breaks at the right times. Every deep appearance usually ends by something out of my control. What a lot of people don't understand about poker is that many of the people they see on TV as the big time money winners and big time players wouldn't last over thousands of tournaments. Several of them don't have a dollar to their name. Some of them have tons of talent, but no money. Some of them have very little talent and lots of money. There are tons of ranges of skill levels and success stories. Where a player falls along the spectrum relies on both talent and luck. If you have the best luck though in your 10 dollar online tournaments, you won't be on TV, you won't be made of millions. If you have your best luck in one 10k event, you win a million and are instantly respected. When going to play with players that are considered big time, you can't go in thinking they are fabolous players. I've made this mistake before. You need to go in and evaluate exactly how they are playing and make your decisions accordingly. Sometimes it's just easier playing against players you don't recognize because your blueprint of their play is drawn in from scratch.
One final thought. To win any poker tournament where several good players are entered in the field, you need a few things. You need to get free chips. Free chips occur when the deck sets you up with them. You need to have good table draws. You need to have a thorough understanding of every stage of the tournament. You can only control one of those things. There are expanses of concepts in the thing you can control and learning more and always striving to learn is the best way to succeed in this game. The luck will even out in the end and I have no doubt that with the proper amount of tournaments played at the World Series or in live play, I'll have my victories.
Again, thanks for the support from everyone throughout. The next few months are big online months. An FTOPS and WCOOP are in August and September. These are just like live events like the WSOP with various games and such, but usually a better structure. I'll be playing lots of events in both. I think I'm due for a big victory in one of these. Let's hope it's soon.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Chicago to Cleveland
Sorry I haven't been updating lately, I'll be heading to Chicago and then Cleveland for the next month. I just got back from San Diego with my family and will be leaving shortly. I had a nice finish in the Full Tilt Nightly before I left for a little over $13k. I lost an all in for the win with AJ vs A8 on the 8 9 9 xx board.
Other than that, Carson Palmer will eat his words.
Other than that, Carson Palmer will eat his words.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Out of Main Event
I was reraised non stop, card dead all day, and out of the main event around 950th place. Again, I'm about 300 short of the money and in some pain. I played as well as I can, but just wasn't allowed to win big pots or get chips easily. You have to get lucky to win this tournament. With the great structure, skill can only take you so far. If you miss every single flop, you can't win.
The bust out hand came when I was down to 30k with 15 big blinds. An aggressive player opened two from the button for 5200. I was on the button with A9 of hearts and reshoved. The big blind called 30k of his 70k stack with AQ off. The other guy folded. The board bricked out and I was eliminated. Would have been nice for a little bit of justice from the 2k event with a river 9 or something, but it wasn't meant to be. It is just one tournament and when you have to battle as the short stack for pretty much 18 out of 24 hours, the tourney can get boring. Today, I hung around and tried to find a good spot. I thought my play was completely standard and normal even though I was behind. The guy was opening plenty of pots and I wouldn't play it any other way. For AQ to overcall takes a real strong read. I wasn't given any respect from this player all day though and he will likely muppet off all his chips to the other good players at the table.
Thanks for all the support along the way. Who knows if I'll be back next year. No need to think about poker for a while. I'll probably be updating less in the next month or so as I'm going to be in San Diego, Chicago, Cleveland and playing very little poker. I might make a trip somewhere in there to another casino possibly Atlantic City or something.
The bust out hand came when I was down to 30k with 15 big blinds. An aggressive player opened two from the button for 5200. I was on the button with A9 of hearts and reshoved. The big blind called 30k of his 70k stack with AQ off. The other guy folded. The board bricked out and I was eliminated. Would have been nice for a little bit of justice from the 2k event with a river 9 or something, but it wasn't meant to be. It is just one tournament and when you have to battle as the short stack for pretty much 18 out of 24 hours, the tourney can get boring. Today, I hung around and tried to find a good spot. I thought my play was completely standard and normal even though I was behind. The guy was opening plenty of pots and I wouldn't play it any other way. For AQ to overcall takes a real strong read. I wasn't given any respect from this player all day though and he will likely muppet off all his chips to the other good players at the table.
Thanks for all the support along the way. Who knows if I'll be back next year. No need to think about poker for a while. I'll probably be updating less in the next month or so as I'm going to be in San Diego, Chicago, Cleveland and playing very little poker. I might make a trip somewhere in there to another casino possibly Atlantic City or something.
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