So I can talk about the countless final tables coming up short in the past month, but that can only come off as whiny. I can talk about my inadequate performance at times, but that would deny that the fact that I've learned a lot. I just want to talk about the battlefield that is my own mind.
First off, I've just passed my two year mark of living in Las Vegas and earning my living by playing countless hours of poker. This is not video poker or something with a house edge, but a mind game between individual players where the outcome of the contest is determined by both skill and luck. I've won a lot of tournaments, made a bunch of final tables, and have not cashed in probably close to 85% of the tournaments I've played. That being said, I'm a consistent winner in the long run, which is all that matters in the game. The problem with the long run meaning more than the short run is that we live in the short run. My daily emotions are focused on the short run. My competitive desires strive for the present. Certainly, I've blogged about my long run goals and what not, but every day, I wake up and have to go compete. The ultimate determination of my long run success relies on my mindset as a competitor.
I play primarily tournament poker where the prizes are top heavy and 1st place is the only thing that feels great most of the time. I've walked out of the World Series of Poker with a 3rd place finish and over $90,000. At the time, I didn't want to talk to a soul. I went to a celebration dinner and night out, but all I wondered was why I didn't win. When I went to bed at night and woke up in the morning, I was haunted by being so close. Winning a WCOOP bracelet a few months later felt better for less money because I won. Over the last few months, I pondered what was next. Surely, winning a WCOOP bracelet and being so close to the greatest prize of them all had to mean something towards my talent........
So now, I've come to a realization. To take this thing to the next level, I need to control my mind. My mind has become a constant battlefield between snap judgment and reaction vs. the thoughtful right reaction. It has become a battle between good habits and a few bad habits. It has become a battle between curiosity (paying off players on hands that make no sense) and the correct decision. The battle lasts to the point where it's all about positive energy versus negative energy, the I can versus the I don't think I can. To really take this thing to the next level, I have to conquer my own mind. My goal for the next 6 months is to play the best possible poker 100% of the time. My A game needs to be my D game, and my D game needs to be my A game.
I'm writing this blog because something has been bothering me. When snap emotional decisions make up what is anything in my life, I've found it to be a harmful force overall. I've taken up the practice of yoga along with the meditation that I've talked about in the past. I've always succeeded at everything in my life, and maybe have never faced enough resistance in my own mind. This is a battle that I think we all have to fight at some point in our life. I'm glad I've found mine within the scope of a game I love to play and call my profession.
I took at class at Miami University that was a special sports psychology class. I often draw upon the things that I learned from this class, but now I think I fully understand how it relates to what I need to be. We are only as strong as our weakest thought or negative impulse. I'm going to be better.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Get knocked down 7 times, stand up 8
It's Monday. It's also known to me as the day after Sunday. Yesterday was a awful mess of a poker day. While over the course of a poker day involving roughly 25-30 tournaments, I'm going to make mistakes. Minimizing those mistakes and being consistent are the keys to staying in position. Yesterday was simply one of those days where I kept getting knocked down. Even when it seemed the clouds were breaking, another bad beat or tough break. Countless big pairs into big pairs in situations where the average good player always goes broke. The number of bad beats and horrible hands that could have left a mark in my memory are gone now. It's Monday and time to stand back up. October is most likely going to be a negative month. I didn't really win anything this month and likely won't be playing too much until Sunday.
The takeaway from yesterday though is my overall demeanor. Even when the last bad beat took hold in the Sunday 500 on Pokerstars while we were in the money (QQ vs K2 with a shocking K on the turn), I stood up and was ready to live another day. I've had plenty of bad days since being a professional and even since playing poker. If you let them affect your confidence or your self worth, that's when it becomes a problem. Sometimes long periods of time don't go well. I've even had 4-5 months where it has felt like this. Then all of a sudden being able to manage the losses and staying focused leads to big cashes and those tournament victories when all the luck finally changes.
If you want to play poker even semi-seriously, you just have to learn to accept that losses are part of the game.
November starts the final FTOPS of the year, which is Full Tilt's big series. I've joined a 1,000 per man leaderboard competition for Nov 1-Nov 11 to really motivate me to play long and play well over those days.
On another positive note, I did get a 4 day trip to the Bahamas for the WCOOP bracelet ceremony. I'll also be working hard on satellites to the Pokerstars Carribean Adventure, which is the 10k main event down there. It's probably the 3rd biggest tournament of the year. They also have a full schedule of other tournaments that looks intriguing. The tournament takes place Jan 5-Jan 12.
The takeaway from yesterday though is my overall demeanor. Even when the last bad beat took hold in the Sunday 500 on Pokerstars while we were in the money (QQ vs K2 with a shocking K on the turn), I stood up and was ready to live another day. I've had plenty of bad days since being a professional and even since playing poker. If you let them affect your confidence or your self worth, that's when it becomes a problem. Sometimes long periods of time don't go well. I've even had 4-5 months where it has felt like this. Then all of a sudden being able to manage the losses and staying focused leads to big cashes and those tournament victories when all the luck finally changes.
If you want to play poker even semi-seriously, you just have to learn to accept that losses are part of the game.
November starts the final FTOPS of the year, which is Full Tilt's big series. I've joined a 1,000 per man leaderboard competition for Nov 1-Nov 11 to really motivate me to play long and play well over those days.
On another positive note, I did get a 4 day trip to the Bahamas for the WCOOP bracelet ceremony. I'll also be working hard on satellites to the Pokerstars Carribean Adventure, which is the 10k main event down there. It's probably the 3rd biggest tournament of the year. They also have a full schedule of other tournaments that looks intriguing. The tournament takes place Jan 5-Jan 12.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Reflection
There must be something that biochemically changes in my brain when enduring a long car or plane ride (more so on car rides because I'm not worried about any time sound change likely signaling a plane crash in my mind). I just got back from visiting a few of my long time best friends in Arizona. In the midst of my ride home, I asked myself some of the following questions:
What happens if my car breaks down and a violent dust storm erupts for 3 days?
Why do we think that other intelligent civilizations in the universe would even be able to build spaceships?
If aliens came from a barren, desert planet, wouldn't Las Vegas or an Arizona type climate be the first place they would try to land?
If the Twitter generation takes over, are people ever going to talk to each other again?
Will text messages eventually become obsolete just like so many other forms of communication have in the past?
and most importantly as related to the blog,
Why did I not win another huge tournament this month?
The answers flooded my mind with all sorts of words popping into my mind; fatigue, focus, skill, luck, real estate, stocks, money, pressure, competition, rigged, etc. Those floods of words were enough to answer the question in and of themselves. My mind just needs more breaks.
Truth be told, I had a unbelievable month in poker in June, took most of July off with a few tiny tournament and cash game sessions, and have come back to Vegas in August to probably my worst month in my poker career. I've engulfed myself in trying to better understand the real estate market here for my first home purchase while simultaneously studying options trading strategies and attempting to put them into practice. All in the meantime, I still have to focus and worry about my actual primary source of income, poker HELLO!!!
I've talked in the past about meditation and how a book titled The Joy of Living has driven me to practice meditation. I practiced several of the exercises in this book throughout April-May-June and made a point to meditate during the World Series of Poker on breaks, after tournaments, etc. My meditation has since been non-existent, while in the meantime, all I'm doing from 6:30am-roughly 9-10PM is immersing my mind with new data points, information, numbers, and strategies involving all 3 of the tasks I'm trying to accomplish. These all add up to a poor month.
I'd like to also throw in a little disclaimer as well in that it's almost impossible in the short run of poker to determine how much luck is playing a role in the results, so 20 days of a month doesn't tell much. When it comes down to it though, there have been days where I knew I was simply too inundated with information and not putting my mind in poker 100%. You can't win online nowadays doing that.
So going forward, the WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) starts Sept 2nd-Sept 20th. Historically in this event (2 years), I have 0 final tables. I do have two final two table finishes and a 30 something place in the 7200 person event last year. I won't be playing every event in this series, but plan on playing as many as possible.
Focus and success coincide with a mind that is clear from distraction and free to innovate on its own.
What happens if my car breaks down and a violent dust storm erupts for 3 days?
Why do we think that other intelligent civilizations in the universe would even be able to build spaceships?
If aliens came from a barren, desert planet, wouldn't Las Vegas or an Arizona type climate be the first place they would try to land?
If the Twitter generation takes over, are people ever going to talk to each other again?
Will text messages eventually become obsolete just like so many other forms of communication have in the past?
and most importantly as related to the blog,
Why did I not win another huge tournament this month?
The answers flooded my mind with all sorts of words popping into my mind; fatigue, focus, skill, luck, real estate, stocks, money, pressure, competition, rigged, etc. Those floods of words were enough to answer the question in and of themselves. My mind just needs more breaks.
Truth be told, I had a unbelievable month in poker in June, took most of July off with a few tiny tournament and cash game sessions, and have come back to Vegas in August to probably my worst month in my poker career. I've engulfed myself in trying to better understand the real estate market here for my first home purchase while simultaneously studying options trading strategies and attempting to put them into practice. All in the meantime, I still have to focus and worry about my actual primary source of income, poker HELLO!!!
I've talked in the past about meditation and how a book titled The Joy of Living has driven me to practice meditation. I practiced several of the exercises in this book throughout April-May-June and made a point to meditate during the World Series of Poker on breaks, after tournaments, etc. My meditation has since been non-existent, while in the meantime, all I'm doing from 6:30am-roughly 9-10PM is immersing my mind with new data points, information, numbers, and strategies involving all 3 of the tasks I'm trying to accomplish. These all add up to a poor month.
I'd like to also throw in a little disclaimer as well in that it's almost impossible in the short run of poker to determine how much luck is playing a role in the results, so 20 days of a month doesn't tell much. When it comes down to it though, there have been days where I knew I was simply too inundated with information and not putting my mind in poker 100%. You can't win online nowadays doing that.
So going forward, the WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) starts Sept 2nd-Sept 20th. Historically in this event (2 years), I have 0 final tables. I do have two final two table finishes and a 30 something place in the 7200 person event last year. I won't be playing every event in this series, but plan on playing as many as possible.
Focus and success coincide with a mind that is clear from distraction and free to innovate on its own.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Letter to State Representative
I know I mentioned this letter in my Twitter. I've stayed very active in writing members of Congress at the federal level and sent this to my state officials.
"The U.S. Congress is considering legislation to license and regulate online poker. This legislation allows states to opt-out of the provisions of the bill. As a constituent, voter, and poker player, I ask that you support online poker rights by advocating against an opt-out by our state.
Poker is a proud American tradition. I believe the heart of that tradition is Las Vegas. Many residents here including myself now play online poker and poker in the many casinos in the state for a living. I thank this state for giving me that opportunity. It's an opportunity I hope will continue as I become a homeowner in Nevada.
The bill in Congress is U.S. House Bill H.R. 2267. It provides for sensible regulation of Internet gaming and puts the U.S. in charge of safeguarding its citizens. The bill mandates rigorous safeguards against underage participation and protections for those with excessive gaming habits while providing consumer protections for the millions of Americans who play online poker every day. This bill will also allow American gaming companies to participate in the world's Internet gaming market, bringing needed jobs to our state, one that is well positioned in that market.
What's most important to me is your support for my rights. Please respond to this letter and let me know you will support my freedoms. I will be watching your actions on this issue closely. I hope that I, along with my over one million fellow Poker Players Alliance members, can count on your support.
Thank you for your consideration."
For what it's worth, I have a blog I've been working on that will cover the WSOP. I'm writing a version of a highlights/interesting moments blog.
"The U.S. Congress is considering legislation to license and regulate online poker. This legislation allows states to opt-out of the provisions of the bill. As a constituent, voter, and poker player, I ask that you support online poker rights by advocating against an opt-out by our state.
Poker is a proud American tradition. I believe the heart of that tradition is Las Vegas. Many residents here including myself now play online poker and poker in the many casinos in the state for a living. I thank this state for giving me that opportunity. It's an opportunity I hope will continue as I become a homeowner in Nevada.
The bill in Congress is U.S. House Bill H.R. 2267. It provides for sensible regulation of Internet gaming and puts the U.S. in charge of safeguarding its citizens. The bill mandates rigorous safeguards against underage participation and protections for those with excessive gaming habits while providing consumer protections for the millions of Americans who play online poker every day. This bill will also allow American gaming companies to participate in the world's Internet gaming market, bringing needed jobs to our state, one that is well positioned in that market.
What's most important to me is your support for my rights. Please respond to this letter and let me know you will support my freedoms. I will be watching your actions on this issue closely. I hope that I, along with my over one million fellow Poker Players Alliance members, can count on your support.
Thank you for your consideration."
For what it's worth, I have a blog I've been working on that will cover the WSOP. I'm writing a version of a highlights/interesting moments blog.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Best of the WSOP blog
I know it's been quite a while coming, but I wanted to take a look back at my favorite moments and hands from the WSOP.
I played 16 events at the WSOP including the main event. I recorded 3 cashes and one final table. The 3 cashes came in the 5000 NL Hold 'em 6 max, 2500 8 game mixed event, and 1500 Pot Limit Omaha. 3 cashes in 3 different games in 3 different buy in levels is kind of cool looking back at it. My best finish was 3rd place in the Pot Limit Omaha event where I recorded my biggest live cash and second biggest ever cash of a little over 96,000.
Best bad beat I gave:
This one is too easy. In the 6 max tournament near the end of day 1, I was at a tough table with several primarily online guys. A very good online player "Bill Ivey" flat called an early position raise and I looked down at 88 with 16 big blinds and shoved it in. The raiser folded and "Bill Ivey" called and showed QQ. Crap. Flop 8Q8. Easy game.
Toughest Table at any one moment in a tournament:
This one also comes from the 6 max tournament. Seat 1 was an older European who I wasn't terribly familiar with but had a ton of chips and wasn't afraid to play pots. Seat 2 was me. Seat 3 was Rory "mafews" Mathews from Scotland. This guy wasn't afraid to mix it up with anyone and basically made a soul read on Shannon Shorr that left the entire table stunned. I consistently had to worry about being 3 bet if I came into a pot with this guy as he was right to my left. Seat 4 was "apestyles." I've played with him in so many online tournaments that it was nice to finally meet him and I actually won a coin flip 33 vs A4 to stay alive against him on day 1. I got knocked out shortly after he moved to the table, so we didn't get to play many hands. Seat 5 was Shannon Shorr. I've probably read his blog for the last 3 years or so, but I still didn't quite know where I was at in many hands against him. He mixes up his game so well and isn't afraid to do anything at the table. That makes him a very a dangerous opponent, especially when he has more experience than all the opponents at the table. Seat 6 is Online Player of the Year for the last 2 years on Pokerstars, Shaun Deeb. Although he sort of went nuts with a straight draw for against me, I know he's a very good player He is another player who goes out there and plays poker. If he gets chips, he's not afraid to do anything.
Most heartbreaking beat:
This comes from the toughest table. Let me set up the scenario a bit. We are playing for 1 million dollars in probably the toughest tournament field in any event aside from Event #1-40,000 NL Hold 'em, which I didn't play. I fought all day to build my chips and played solidly throughout day 2. While I don't know the exact details, I have a pretty good idea in the hand. Shaun Deeb raises in early position to some 10k at 2k/4k. I look down at KK and reraise to 29500 after seat 1 calls. This is a small reraise, and I did this on purpose. First off, I was in position, and I want value from my hand. I don't want to flat call here because we were deep enough at the time. I believe I had roughly 250k at 2k/4k, and he had me covered. Flop comes down JT5. Deeb checks to me and I bet something close to half the pot or a little over it. He check raises me and I thought for about 30 seconds about the situation. Clearly, I gave him odds to hit a set with JJ, TT, or 55, but a check raise with these hands didn't seem as likely as other ways he would play the hand. I actually just think I caught him in a situation where I got a perfect flop for him to do something that isn't profitable when playing as deep as we were. I moved all in and he called and showed KQ. The 9 was the first card off on the turn and I lose. 550k would have put me in 3rd with 55 to go and 1 million to first. No big deal.
Hand I've talked about the most:
This hand came in the 8 game mixed tournament in limit hold 'em. I was just beginning to rush at my new table when I raised 6 9 of spades on the cutoff and was 3 bet by Bryan "badbeatninja" Devonshire. I called. Flop 7s8s2h. Uh-Oh. We put 5 bets in on the flop. Turn card 3 of not spades. He bets and I just call. River T of diamonds. Bingo! He bets with headphones on I might add. I take a second and decide not to be an idiot and look back at my cards like I do too much when I have the nuts. I go to put in a raise and announce raise, but put out probably 1.2x the bet instead of 2x because I simply didn't have any more big denomination chips. In order to make the full bet, I had to grab a stack of 40 100's chips at the time, which is not easy to maneuver without two hands. He thinks I just called because he had his headphones on and tables 88 for a flopped set. The dealer instantly grabs his hand and puts it into the muck. He rightfully flips a switch and gets the floor over demanding his hand back. When he gets the correct ruling that they can retrieve his hand, the floor guy asks him "Do you want to call the bet?" At that point, in a weird way, he said "well yeah." I table the straight, and he blurts out a priceless "F*%& my life!"
Best Celebration in a Loss
In a 2k NL Hold 'em event, I went from the 6k chips early up to around 35k without much trouble. After dinner break, I went completely cold. I couldn't hit a flop or get a hand or do anything until I was slowly down to around 6k. Blinds were 300/600 and I was under the gun with KJ off suit. I decided to push in as 2 players had left early for break. I'm in Seat 1 to the left of the dealer, but my stack is clearly out there. The SB says call and lobs 300 more chips in the middle. The dealer says his verbal declaration is binding and makes him call 6000 total or so. The player in the big blind (BB) sees that the player in the small blind (SB) is so angry at this point that he shoves in his stack with AQ. The SB folds another 5k or so with 9 4 off suit face up. The BB shows AQ with the Ace of spades. Flop comes KhJs and some low spade. The turn card is another low spade giving him any T or spade except for the K of spades to win the hand. The K of spades comes on the river and he screams "YEAHHHHH" while clapping his hands as I laugh on the inside knowing I won. The dealer points out to him that he actually lost. I triple up. (Unfortunately, this was one of the tournaments where I missed the money by about 2-3 tables when I had KK vs AA)
AA vs KK count
I had KK twice run into AA and lost both times. One was in the shootout where you have to play to win your table. I'm never folding, and neither is probably anyone good. The other time was the 2k near the bubble and I'm never folding and neither is anyone good.
I had AA vs KK one time in the 8 game mix to double up in a nice pot in NL Hold 'em.
Bad Tournaments
The one tournament I regret was the 2500 NL Hold 'em right after I had final tabled the Pot Limit Omaha. I made a couple of wretched plays and got most of my chips in with 89 suited on a 8 6 6 board against AA. I simply wasn't locked in this tournament. This was a lesson that is so valuable to learn in poker. After a big win, there is no guarantee the next tournament will be an easy ride to the final table. I didn't respect the concentration needed every single moment for this one tournament. When looking back, I think this was my only egregiously bad play in a WSOP tournament.
The hand that won me 90,000
The stage is set. 18 players left. I'm in the middle of the pack with around 200k in chips, and my first final table painfully close. The small blind raises 24k on my 8k big blind. I looked down at AKsTs2 and decided to defend my blind. Flop comes down AhKh5c. The raiser checks. I bet 28k. He calls. Turn card is a 7h. He immediately fires out a pot sized bet. At this point, it's a decision for all my chips. My mind starts racing like Phil Ivey's in the commercial. This is one hand where every single thought that matters crossed my mind. Of course, the pressure is completely amped up being so close to a World Series Final Table. In the end, I eventually shoved the rest of my chips in and stared at the board in silence as the player took about 4 full minutes to fold. From there, I was able to take control of the situation and give myself a chip lead going into the final table.
It was really a great World Series for me and I can't wait until next year.
I played 16 events at the WSOP including the main event. I recorded 3 cashes and one final table. The 3 cashes came in the 5000 NL Hold 'em 6 max, 2500 8 game mixed event, and 1500 Pot Limit Omaha. 3 cashes in 3 different games in 3 different buy in levels is kind of cool looking back at it. My best finish was 3rd place in the Pot Limit Omaha event where I recorded my biggest live cash and second biggest ever cash of a little over 96,000.
Best bad beat I gave:
This one is too easy. In the 6 max tournament near the end of day 1, I was at a tough table with several primarily online guys. A very good online player "Bill Ivey" flat called an early position raise and I looked down at 88 with 16 big blinds and shoved it in. The raiser folded and "Bill Ivey" called and showed QQ. Crap. Flop 8Q8. Easy game.
Toughest Table at any one moment in a tournament:
This one also comes from the 6 max tournament. Seat 1 was an older European who I wasn't terribly familiar with but had a ton of chips and wasn't afraid to play pots. Seat 2 was me. Seat 3 was Rory "mafews" Mathews from Scotland. This guy wasn't afraid to mix it up with anyone and basically made a soul read on Shannon Shorr that left the entire table stunned. I consistently had to worry about being 3 bet if I came into a pot with this guy as he was right to my left. Seat 4 was "apestyles." I've played with him in so many online tournaments that it was nice to finally meet him and I actually won a coin flip 33 vs A4 to stay alive against him on day 1. I got knocked out shortly after he moved to the table, so we didn't get to play many hands. Seat 5 was Shannon Shorr. I've probably read his blog for the last 3 years or so, but I still didn't quite know where I was at in many hands against him. He mixes up his game so well and isn't afraid to do anything at the table. That makes him a very a dangerous opponent, especially when he has more experience than all the opponents at the table. Seat 6 is Online Player of the Year for the last 2 years on Pokerstars, Shaun Deeb. Although he sort of went nuts with a straight draw for against me, I know he's a very good player He is another player who goes out there and plays poker. If he gets chips, he's not afraid to do anything.
Most heartbreaking beat:
This comes from the toughest table. Let me set up the scenario a bit. We are playing for 1 million dollars in probably the toughest tournament field in any event aside from Event #1-40,000 NL Hold 'em, which I didn't play. I fought all day to build my chips and played solidly throughout day 2. While I don't know the exact details, I have a pretty good idea in the hand. Shaun Deeb raises in early position to some 10k at 2k/4k. I look down at KK and reraise to 29500 after seat 1 calls. This is a small reraise, and I did this on purpose. First off, I was in position, and I want value from my hand. I don't want to flat call here because we were deep enough at the time. I believe I had roughly 250k at 2k/4k, and he had me covered. Flop comes down JT5. Deeb checks to me and I bet something close to half the pot or a little over it. He check raises me and I thought for about 30 seconds about the situation. Clearly, I gave him odds to hit a set with JJ, TT, or 55, but a check raise with these hands didn't seem as likely as other ways he would play the hand. I actually just think I caught him in a situation where I got a perfect flop for him to do something that isn't profitable when playing as deep as we were. I moved all in and he called and showed KQ. The 9 was the first card off on the turn and I lose. 550k would have put me in 3rd with 55 to go and 1 million to first. No big deal.
Hand I've talked about the most:
This hand came in the 8 game mixed tournament in limit hold 'em. I was just beginning to rush at my new table when I raised 6 9 of spades on the cutoff and was 3 bet by Bryan "badbeatninja" Devonshire. I called. Flop 7s8s2h. Uh-Oh. We put 5 bets in on the flop. Turn card 3 of not spades. He bets and I just call. River T of diamonds. Bingo! He bets with headphones on I might add. I take a second and decide not to be an idiot and look back at my cards like I do too much when I have the nuts. I go to put in a raise and announce raise, but put out probably 1.2x the bet instead of 2x because I simply didn't have any more big denomination chips. In order to make the full bet, I had to grab a stack of 40 100's chips at the time, which is not easy to maneuver without two hands. He thinks I just called because he had his headphones on and tables 88 for a flopped set. The dealer instantly grabs his hand and puts it into the muck. He rightfully flips a switch and gets the floor over demanding his hand back. When he gets the correct ruling that they can retrieve his hand, the floor guy asks him "Do you want to call the bet?" At that point, in a weird way, he said "well yeah." I table the straight, and he blurts out a priceless "F*%& my life!"
Best Celebration in a Loss
In a 2k NL Hold 'em event, I went from the 6k chips early up to around 35k without much trouble. After dinner break, I went completely cold. I couldn't hit a flop or get a hand or do anything until I was slowly down to around 6k. Blinds were 300/600 and I was under the gun with KJ off suit. I decided to push in as 2 players had left early for break. I'm in Seat 1 to the left of the dealer, but my stack is clearly out there. The SB says call and lobs 300 more chips in the middle. The dealer says his verbal declaration is binding and makes him call 6000 total or so. The player in the big blind (BB) sees that the player in the small blind (SB) is so angry at this point that he shoves in his stack with AQ. The SB folds another 5k or so with 9 4 off suit face up. The BB shows AQ with the Ace of spades. Flop comes KhJs and some low spade. The turn card is another low spade giving him any T or spade except for the K of spades to win the hand. The K of spades comes on the river and he screams "YEAHHHHH" while clapping his hands as I laugh on the inside knowing I won. The dealer points out to him that he actually lost. I triple up. (Unfortunately, this was one of the tournaments where I missed the money by about 2-3 tables when I had KK vs AA)
AA vs KK count
I had KK twice run into AA and lost both times. One was in the shootout where you have to play to win your table. I'm never folding, and neither is probably anyone good. The other time was the 2k near the bubble and I'm never folding and neither is anyone good.
I had AA vs KK one time in the 8 game mix to double up in a nice pot in NL Hold 'em.
Bad Tournaments
The one tournament I regret was the 2500 NL Hold 'em right after I had final tabled the Pot Limit Omaha. I made a couple of wretched plays and got most of my chips in with 89 suited on a 8 6 6 board against AA. I simply wasn't locked in this tournament. This was a lesson that is so valuable to learn in poker. After a big win, there is no guarantee the next tournament will be an easy ride to the final table. I didn't respect the concentration needed every single moment for this one tournament. When looking back, I think this was my only egregiously bad play in a WSOP tournament.
The hand that won me 90,000
The stage is set. 18 players left. I'm in the middle of the pack with around 200k in chips, and my first final table painfully close. The small blind raises 24k on my 8k big blind. I looked down at AKsTs2 and decided to defend my blind. Flop comes down AhKh5c. The raiser checks. I bet 28k. He calls. Turn card is a 7h. He immediately fires out a pot sized bet. At this point, it's a decision for all my chips. My mind starts racing like Phil Ivey's in the commercial. This is one hand where every single thought that matters crossed my mind. Of course, the pressure is completely amped up being so close to a World Series Final Table. In the end, I eventually shoved the rest of my chips in and stared at the board in silence as the player took about 4 full minutes to fold. From there, I was able to take control of the situation and give myself a chip lead going into the final table.
It was really a great World Series for me and I can't wait until next year.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
First WSOP Final Table Thoughts
When I ran track in high school, there was a feeling before every race that can only be described if you have it. I'm assuming anyone who has competed in some sort of sport or game knows the feeling. That's basically what how I've felt for the last two full days. Going for the ultimate goal in poker, a WSOP bracelet, was every bit of what I hoped for. Falling two players short actually makes me understand how precious that title is to so many people.
After finally getting a chance to settle down emotionally and read through some of the hands on the live updates, I'm very pleased with my performance. I would say the key hand of the tournament came with two tables to go. I was in the middle of the pack with around 220,000 in chips and had Ad Ks Ts 2s. The SB raised to 18k at 3k/6k blinds and I called. The flop came Ah Kd 7d. He checked and I bet 25k which he quickly called. The turn was a 5h. He immediately bets the pot for 86k. Now at this point, I had a little over 100k in addition to that bet. It didn't really look to me like he could fold many hands when he makes this size of a bet. Then I ran through the options. He can't have the nut flush draw for obvious reasons because I have the Ad. I am most worried about some sort of set, but nothing like that made sense. AA or KK or 77 pretty much needs to try to protect that board with either a check raise on the flop or a pot bet on the flop. AK would probably bet as well. I just basically decided to go all in after thinking for about 2 minutes, and then he thought for about 3 minutes and folded. That gave my stack a nice boost and I was able to play lots of hands and put pressure on the table before the final table.
The final table was exciting. As everyone who knows me knows, I love competition and this is the closest I've been to both the coveted prize and 230k. I'm happy with my final table play and would actually say I was a little card dead and less aggressive than I'd hope to be early on, but I wanted to feel out the table. I had only played against two of the players at the final table for a good period of time, so I wanted to feel it out a little. I basically maintained a decent stack with a couple of rivered full houses and good value bets as well as the occasional bluff. After I knocked out a player in 7th, the eventual champion Jason went on a huge rush. He busted out several players and had a big stack get all his money in against him with 2 outs, which is rare to do in PL Omaha. Then we got to 3 handed and I found myself in 3rd place with around 700-750k I believe with the other two stacks somewhere close to 1.7 mill and 1.2 mill. The momentum wasn't on my side at the time and I think a short stack has a huge disadvantage in PL Omaha, so I made a move on a decent flop with KKJ3 thinking that I get a fold a good amount of the time and even against top set, I'm still 30%. Of course, he had top set and won. The cash is my biggest live tournament cash and gives me lots of room to play events I want in this WSOP.
I was excited and exhausted about it all, but am ready to get back to another final table. The next event will be a $2500 NL Hold 'em event on Friday. I'll keep doing the Twitter updates from my icekevin name. I can't say enough about all the people that supported me throughout this. The text inbox was full and getting home and reading the people following really meant a lot. I'm sure there will be more to follow at some point.
After finally getting a chance to settle down emotionally and read through some of the hands on the live updates, I'm very pleased with my performance. I would say the key hand of the tournament came with two tables to go. I was in the middle of the pack with around 220,000 in chips and had Ad Ks Ts 2s. The SB raised to 18k at 3k/6k blinds and I called. The flop came Ah Kd 7d. He checked and I bet 25k which he quickly called. The turn was a 5h. He immediately bets the pot for 86k. Now at this point, I had a little over 100k in addition to that bet. It didn't really look to me like he could fold many hands when he makes this size of a bet. Then I ran through the options. He can't have the nut flush draw for obvious reasons because I have the Ad. I am most worried about some sort of set, but nothing like that made sense. AA or KK or 77 pretty much needs to try to protect that board with either a check raise on the flop or a pot bet on the flop. AK would probably bet as well. I just basically decided to go all in after thinking for about 2 minutes, and then he thought for about 3 minutes and folded. That gave my stack a nice boost and I was able to play lots of hands and put pressure on the table before the final table.
The final table was exciting. As everyone who knows me knows, I love competition and this is the closest I've been to both the coveted prize and 230k. I'm happy with my final table play and would actually say I was a little card dead and less aggressive than I'd hope to be early on, but I wanted to feel out the table. I had only played against two of the players at the final table for a good period of time, so I wanted to feel it out a little. I basically maintained a decent stack with a couple of rivered full houses and good value bets as well as the occasional bluff. After I knocked out a player in 7th, the eventual champion Jason went on a huge rush. He busted out several players and had a big stack get all his money in against him with 2 outs, which is rare to do in PL Omaha. Then we got to 3 handed and I found myself in 3rd place with around 700-750k I believe with the other two stacks somewhere close to 1.7 mill and 1.2 mill. The momentum wasn't on my side at the time and I think a short stack has a huge disadvantage in PL Omaha, so I made a move on a decent flop with KKJ3 thinking that I get a fold a good amount of the time and even against top set, I'm still 30%. Of course, he had top set and won. The cash is my biggest live tournament cash and gives me lots of room to play events I want in this WSOP.
I was excited and exhausted about it all, but am ready to get back to another final table. The next event will be a $2500 NL Hold 'em event on Friday. I'll keep doing the Twitter updates from my icekevin name. I can't say enough about all the people that supported me throughout this. The text inbox was full and getting home and reading the people following really meant a lot. I'm sure there will be more to follow at some point.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
In the money, Day 2 tomorrow
I'm exhausted, so I'm not going to say much more than I've logged my first WSOP cash this year and have 78,600 in chips going into Day 2 tomorrow. It should be a lot of fun. The winner of this tournament will get 230,000.
Again, I'm updating everything at this Twitter site and you can follow along there. It also feeds into Facebook as well.
Again, I'm updating everything at this Twitter site and you can follow along there. It also feeds into Facebook as well.
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Long Stretch Begins..
I'm back in Las Vegas for about two weeks of getting into the poker groove again followed by the World Series of Poker through June and hopefully late into July. The tournaments that comprise the WSOP are most likely the best value of all tournaments out there. With improved structures and all sorts of games outside of Hold 'em, I couldn't be happier with what's to come. My mindset towards poker and life has really never been better. I want to give credit to both hard work and support from family and friends. I give a heartfelt thanks to all the people that have supported me over the past 1-2 years through my poker journey. To all the people that call or text for updates, listen to my jumbled poker-related thought processes, get excited when I win, dream with me, follow me on the poker sites, genuinely ask and wish to learn about the game, and those that ease my mind and challenge me about the future, I can't thank you enough. The support of my family and friends is what keeps me going and often what I miss so much living out here.
To all those that continue to follow, look me up on Twitter by clicking that link and hitting follow on my name. Twitter is a great social media tool that continues to explode in popularity, but for me, it's an easy way to update everyone throughout the WSOP.
To all those that continue to follow, look me up on Twitter by clicking that link and hitting follow on my name. Twitter is a great social media tool that continues to explode in popularity, but for me, it's an easy way to update everyone throughout the WSOP.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Catching Fire
I had to cool off today after catching a string of fire.
I got to LA to play some of the California State Poker Championship. The online series at Full Tilt is also going on during this time. Nearly every tournament has an overlay meaning extra money is in the prize pool. I have thus been playing in the morning events along with a few other tourneys. If I busted, my plan was to drive to the Commerce for the live tournaments. I went deep in so many tournaments that I only played one tourney at the Commerce. I have since done the following:
1. Deep in the 100 rebuy during the day for 10th.
2. 2nd in the Friday Night Fight on Full Tilt for 20k.
3. I had a 6th in the Pokerstars Nightly for around $5k.
4. 1st in the UB Sniper for 6k
5. 1st in the UB 50 Rebuy for 4k which was on a Sunday to save my day.
All of this has led to a nice swing in the negative variance into the positive for me. It has been so nice going deep in something every day like I'm supposed to. I've been working on playing more creatively and adding different strategies to my game depending on the tournament. I'm feeling very confident and will be playing hard the next couple days before a much needed trip to Chicago.
I've also been twittering lately at Twitter with tournament updates for those who want them. Basically, if you like to watch online, just follow me on this site and then visit the site to see if I've updated my status. You can also follow friends, celebrities, news stuff, etc. The only disclaimer is that you get some really random people following you. Good thing there is a block button.
I got to LA to play some of the California State Poker Championship. The online series at Full Tilt is also going on during this time. Nearly every tournament has an overlay meaning extra money is in the prize pool. I have thus been playing in the morning events along with a few other tourneys. If I busted, my plan was to drive to the Commerce for the live tournaments. I went deep in so many tournaments that I only played one tourney at the Commerce. I have since done the following:
1. Deep in the 100 rebuy during the day for 10th.
2. 2nd in the Friday Night Fight on Full Tilt for 20k.
3. I had a 6th in the Pokerstars Nightly for around $5k.
4. 1st in the UB Sniper for 6k
5. 1st in the UB 50 Rebuy for 4k which was on a Sunday to save my day.
All of this has led to a nice swing in the negative variance into the positive for me. It has been so nice going deep in something every day like I'm supposed to. I've been working on playing more creatively and adding different strategies to my game depending on the tournament. I'm feeling very confident and will be playing hard the next couple days before a much needed trip to Chicago.
I've also been twittering lately at Twitter with tournament updates for those who want them. Basically, if you like to watch online, just follow me on this site and then visit the site to see if I've updated my status. You can also follow friends, celebrities, news stuff, etc. The only disclaimer is that you get some really random people following you. Good thing there is a block button.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
I've been doing twitter updates for tourneys. My site is http://twitter.com/icekevin
I just had a disappointing finish in the NL 535 Shootout on Full Tilt. 1k cash after having a rough second table.
I just had a disappointing finish in the NL 535 Shootout on Full Tilt. 1k cash after having a rough second table.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Did I forget how to play Hold 'em?
After a considerable slow and dragging downswing, I had several decent results this past week.
3rd in the Full Tilt $75 on Wednesday for about $5k which resulted in a net profit of $3500 on the day because I blanked in all the other majors.
1st in the Pokerstars $215 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo for $7k giving me about a $5k profit on the day because Saturdays are also expensive and I bricked in all the Hold 'em events.
4th in the Pokerstars $215 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo for $3k giving me about a break even Sunday after I bricked my first 19 tournaments. I bricked 19 straight tournaments. This is leading me to believe something is seriously flawed with my early stage Hold 'em game.
Before I hit the panic button, I have ran considerably bad on Sundays in the past month or so. There were probably 12 tournaments that I really felt I played fine in on Sunday and it just wasn't meant to be. Because I do a great job of managing my bankroll, all it really takes is one win to give me a great month or 2 month period, but it just hasn't happened lately. The shortcomings of my tournament results have really given me a lot of drive to get better. I've watched countless videos and tried to read about poker whenever I'm not playing. Then I have brief spurts of playing really well followed by some calling station atrocities. These are essentially when I decide to lose my mind and become a calling station. I'm not totally discouraged by my hold 'em game because I don't believe it to be bad as a whole. In fact, I played extremely well in the 3rd place finish on Full Tilt using my big stack to my advantage and finding great points of the tournaments to pick up and slow down the aggression. When I don't have a huge stack though, I'm probably just a little too tight in a lot of situations. I'm going to be doing everything I can to figure this out and try to get better.
3rd in the Full Tilt $75 on Wednesday for about $5k which resulted in a net profit of $3500 on the day because I blanked in all the other majors.
1st in the Pokerstars $215 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo for $7k giving me about a $5k profit on the day because Saturdays are also expensive and I bricked in all the Hold 'em events.
4th in the Pokerstars $215 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo for $3k giving me about a break even Sunday after I bricked my first 19 tournaments. I bricked 19 straight tournaments. This is leading me to believe something is seriously flawed with my early stage Hold 'em game.
Before I hit the panic button, I have ran considerably bad on Sundays in the past month or so. There were probably 12 tournaments that I really felt I played fine in on Sunday and it just wasn't meant to be. Because I do a great job of managing my bankroll, all it really takes is one win to give me a great month or 2 month period, but it just hasn't happened lately. The shortcomings of my tournament results have really given me a lot of drive to get better. I've watched countless videos and tried to read about poker whenever I'm not playing. Then I have brief spurts of playing really well followed by some calling station atrocities. These are essentially when I decide to lose my mind and become a calling station. I'm not totally discouraged by my hold 'em game because I don't believe it to be bad as a whole. In fact, I played extremely well in the 3rd place finish on Full Tilt using my big stack to my advantage and finding great points of the tournaments to pick up and slow down the aggression. When I don't have a huge stack though, I'm probably just a little too tight in a lot of situations. I'm going to be doing everything I can to figure this out and try to get better.
Friday, April 3, 2009
SCOOP Day #1 and #2
So there is good news and bad news.
I played Day 1 and Day 2 of the SCOOP and will be playing likely every day for the rest of the series. On Day 1, I had nice stacks in both the 5 rebuy and 55 rebuy, but cashed in neither. I cashed in both the 11 and 109 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or better and made a grand total of $21 on Day 1. Fortunately, I've been using all W$ that I won initially off of a $44 satellite. Basically, I just keep playing tourneys to win W$, which can buy into any of these major events. In essence, I'm paying no cash out of my bankroll to play, but I get paid in cash.
On Day 2, I cashed in the PL 5 card draw $11 and failed in the 109. I played all 3 NL Hold 'em tourneys or 16.5, 162, 1575 (I won a w$ satellite into this one through a 280 turbo). I got around 420th in the 162 good for $0 as it paid 414. I ran AQ into AK in both big ones in completely standard plays with under 10 bb and with the blinds going up at such a rapid pace. All in all, it was a negative day, but Day 2 is probably the biggest joke games of the series as it's on a Friday when no one plays anyway.
I'm also in a leaderboard contest on Pocketfives with over 40 teams. It is 3 man teams with the top 15 scores of the group counting towards a final point total. It is for all the Low events. There are really two links to this. The most important one is probably here with the final scorings even though it is lagging behind. My name on there is iacog4.
SCOOP contest scoring
SCOOP contest rules and team listings
I played Day 1 and Day 2 of the SCOOP and will be playing likely every day for the rest of the series. On Day 1, I had nice stacks in both the 5 rebuy and 55 rebuy, but cashed in neither. I cashed in both the 11 and 109 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or better and made a grand total of $21 on Day 1. Fortunately, I've been using all W$ that I won initially off of a $44 satellite. Basically, I just keep playing tourneys to win W$, which can buy into any of these major events. In essence, I'm paying no cash out of my bankroll to play, but I get paid in cash.
On Day 2, I cashed in the PL 5 card draw $11 and failed in the 109. I played all 3 NL Hold 'em tourneys or 16.5, 162, 1575 (I won a w$ satellite into this one through a 280 turbo). I got around 420th in the 162 good for $0 as it paid 414. I ran AQ into AK in both big ones in completely standard plays with under 10 bb and with the blinds going up at such a rapid pace. All in all, it was a negative day, but Day 2 is probably the biggest joke games of the series as it's on a Friday when no one plays anyway.
I'm also in a leaderboard contest on Pocketfives with over 40 teams. It is 3 man teams with the top 15 scores of the group counting towards a final point total. It is for all the Low events. There are really two links to this. The most important one is probably here with the final scorings even though it is lagging behind. My name on there is iacog4.
SCOOP contest scoring
SCOOP contest rules and team listings
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Hmmmmm....
Sometimes you just have to wonder. I'm in the midst of the first sit n go session of the day. This is the 3rd set over set where I was on the bottom end. It just makes you wonder sometimes. After posting my best sit n go session of my life last night, it seems convenient to have 3 set over set hands. Enjoy!
PokerStars Game #26605790684: Tournament #152497880, $25+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2009/04/01 12:27:37 ET
Table '152497880 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Crisper (1670 in chips)
Seat 2: quinitto (2570 in chips)
Seat 3: GoeliO1 (2945 in chips)
Seat 4: danzin79 (1830 in chips)
Seat 5: iacog4 (730 in chips)
Seat 7: periko77 (1420 in chips)
Seat 8: hansapils82 (1260 in chips)
Seat 9: Trudoy (1075 in chips)
quinitto: posts small blind 25
GoeliO1: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iacog4 [Qs Qh]
danzin79: calls 50
iacog4: raises 680 to 730 and is all-in
periko77: folds
hansapils82: folds
Trudoy: raises 345 to 1075 and is all-in
Crisper: folds
quinitto: raises 1495 to 2570 and is all-in
GoeliO1: folds
danzin79: folds
Uncalled bet (1495) returned to quinitto
*** FLOP *** [2d 7s 8c]
*** TURN *** [2d 7s 8c] [Qc]
*** RIVER *** [2d 7s 8c Qc] [Ad]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
quinitto: shows [Ac Ks] (a pair of Aces)
Trudoy: shows [As Ah] (three of a kind, Aces)
Trudoy collected 690 from side pot
iacog4: shows [Qs Qh] (three of a kind, Queens)
Trudoy collected 2290 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2980 Main pot 2290. Side pot 690. | Rake 0
Board [2d 7s 8c Qc Ad]
Seat 1: Crisper (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: quinitto (small blind) showed [Ac Ks] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 3: GoeliO1 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: danzin79 folded before Flop
Seat 5: iacog4 showed [Qs Qh] and lost with three of a kind, Queens
Seat 7: periko77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: hansapils82 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Trudoy showed [As Ah] and won (2980) with three of a kind, Aces
PokerStars Game #26605790684: Tournament #152497880, $25+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2009/04/01 12:27:37 ET
Table '152497880 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Crisper (1670 in chips)
Seat 2: quinitto (2570 in chips)
Seat 3: GoeliO1 (2945 in chips)
Seat 4: danzin79 (1830 in chips)
Seat 5: iacog4 (730 in chips)
Seat 7: periko77 (1420 in chips)
Seat 8: hansapils82 (1260 in chips)
Seat 9: Trudoy (1075 in chips)
quinitto: posts small blind 25
GoeliO1: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iacog4 [Qs Qh]
danzin79: calls 50
iacog4: raises 680 to 730 and is all-in
periko77: folds
hansapils82: folds
Trudoy: raises 345 to 1075 and is all-in
Crisper: folds
quinitto: raises 1495 to 2570 and is all-in
GoeliO1: folds
danzin79: folds
Uncalled bet (1495) returned to quinitto
*** FLOP *** [2d 7s 8c]
*** TURN *** [2d 7s 8c] [Qc]
*** RIVER *** [2d 7s 8c Qc] [Ad]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
quinitto: shows [Ac Ks] (a pair of Aces)
Trudoy: shows [As Ah] (three of a kind, Aces)
Trudoy collected 690 from side pot
iacog4: shows [Qs Qh] (three of a kind, Queens)
Trudoy collected 2290 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2980 Main pot 2290. Side pot 690. | Rake 0
Board [2d 7s 8c Qc Ad]
Seat 1: Crisper (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: quinitto (small blind) showed [Ac Ks] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 3: GoeliO1 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: danzin79 folded before Flop
Seat 5: iacog4 showed [Qs Qh] and lost with three of a kind, Queens
Seat 7: periko77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: hansapils82 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Trudoy showed [As Ah] and won (2980) with three of a kind, Aces
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Slowly gearing up for the SCOOP
The SCOOP is coming ladies and gentlemen. I'll basically be in a one tracked mind the first two weeks of April. This series is the best series I've seen an online site put together because it has three different target audiences. Every main event for the SCOOP (on Pokerstars) has low, medium, and high buy in. If the low starts at 10, multiply it by 10 to get the medium event, and multiply that by 10 to get the high event. I plan on playing basically every low and medium event. I'm working on playing step sit n gos at the moment to win my way into the bigger events as I'd love to participate in them. Aside from that, I have some aunts and uncles and cousins coming into town which is always good. It's tough being far away from family a lot of the time.
The past few weeks, I've been playing a very small tournament schedule. I've played most Sundays and Wednesdays and a few days in between, but I want to be totally focused and in gear come time to play the SCOOP. The Bellagio has another series coming up, but I only plan on playing one or two smaller events unless I ship a monster tourney in the SCOOP. I'm feeling pretty good despite no notable results.
One thing I've really wanted to address lately is my emotional control. I've been reading a book called The Joy of Living and also following some of the meditation practices in it. The self-awareness of how my own mind works has been quite enlightening to say the least. I plan on continuing the practices in this book. Everyone knows that I've had an ability to get caught up way too emotionally in the game of poker to the point where it's probably not even good for my health as far as the stress goes. For the last 4 days or so after putting a lot of this into practice, I've understood what my mind does in situations and how it often resorts to negativity which then spirals out of control to the point where it almost always ruins my day. As a tournament player, most days end in disappointment, but they don't have to always affect me. I would recommend this book for basically anyone, but especially poker players.
The past few weeks, I've been playing a very small tournament schedule. I've played most Sundays and Wednesdays and a few days in between, but I want to be totally focused and in gear come time to play the SCOOP. The Bellagio has another series coming up, but I only plan on playing one or two smaller events unless I ship a monster tourney in the SCOOP. I'm feeling pretty good despite no notable results.
One thing I've really wanted to address lately is my emotional control. I've been reading a book called The Joy of Living and also following some of the meditation practices in it. The self-awareness of how my own mind works has been quite enlightening to say the least. I plan on continuing the practices in this book. Everyone knows that I've had an ability to get caught up way too emotionally in the game of poker to the point where it's probably not even good for my health as far as the stress goes. For the last 4 days or so after putting a lot of this into practice, I've understood what my mind does in situations and how it often resorts to negativity which then spirals out of control to the point where it almost always ruins my day. As a tournament player, most days end in disappointment, but they don't have to always affect me. I would recommend this book for basically anyone, but especially poker players.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
I'm Zonked
14 hours later after about 20 tournaments, I bubbled both the Sunday Major HORSE Final Tables with a 10th and 11th. I'm playing that mix of games very well right now. I also ran fairly good in both to get that far, but just ran like absolute garbage near the final table bubble. I cashed in a couple of other tournaments and felt like all day I was just getting coolered hard and losing lots of races. It has been an absolutely long day. I'm a slight loser on the day, but I'm still fighting. It has been a rough few months, but despite all the bad that has come of it, I'm still not in too bad of shape for the year. It's probably likely I go on about a 120k heater in the next two months, so be prepared for good news.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sit & Go Grind and some Cleveland talk
With the big tournaments not going quite as planned lately, I've sat back and started multi-tabling the 27-38 dollar sit & gos on Pokerstars. I actually got 5th in the high orbit leaderboard for an extra $200. YAY! In all reality though, I just wanted a new challenge and to free my mind from the pressure associated with always needing to win a tournament. So far, I've done fairly well. I almost got my second Full Tilt HORSE title as well last night coming in 3rd. It made me a $1200 winner on Sunday, which I can't complain about at all. My plan for March is to keep the tournament volume relatively low. I played a ton in January and February, and a change of scenery was definitely needed. With the SCOOP coming up on Pokerstars, I want to be ready to go every day for 2 weeks when April starts. Getting a huge cash in the SCOOP makes the WSOP and some of the April WPT events a lot easier to justify playing.
I just wanted to spit out a few sports observations.
Cleveland Cavs
I don't know how this team is going to beat Boston if Boston gets the one seed and we have to play 4 there. If we get the one seed, I still think it will be an epic series. To me, Boston is the best team in the NBA until someone else proves otherwise. We haven't done that yet. Lebron needs to stop Paul Pierce if we are going to win in June. So far, Lebron has failed to show up against Boston on the road. I still like our chances and think that we are one of the best run organizations in professional sports. Our front office actually gets it. No trades to do anything crazy at the deadline. Lebron is happy even though everyone thinks he is leaving. Let's just break the Cleveland curse and win one and he'll never leave.
Cleveland Indians
When does baseball start? It seems like forever since I rooted for a game, but it's a combination of the idiocy of that league that restrains my excitement I once had as a youth. Steroids, A Roids, no salary cap, corruption, and what else is new.... I still think the tribe has a chance every year.
Cleveland Browns
I already love our front office. I don't love the fact that we are basically in rebuild mode. We have only signed players that will give our team more depth in crucial positions. I loved Kellen Winslow as a player, but since he only played about half of the games, getting rid of him was kind of a wash for me. I don't think he really every fit into the system in Cleveland.
As far as Braylon Edwards is concerned, everyone wants to trade him, but I'm not on that bandwagon. He had an off year last year. I'm expecting him to return to his form next year with the discipline of the new staff and a new QB behind center. Trading him in a fire sale isn't going to get us anywhere. We also have some upside in keeping him because if he sucks, we will get picks for him when someone signs him based on how the NFL rules work. I'm not exactly sure of all the details, but I think the best case scenario is 1st and 3rd rounders in 2010. If he's good, our offense will be explosive again just like it was two years ago. He is that good when he plays at his best. I just hope he keeps his mouth shut and does his playing on the field.
I'm looking forward to the draft. We will take the best player available. It appears Aaron Curry will be gone by number 5. If he's gone, I like Orapko or Andre Smith. Either player builds one of the interior lines.
Shaun Rodgers, please just stay and stop complaining. Every fan in this city loves you.
I just wanted to spit out a few sports observations.
Cleveland Cavs
I don't know how this team is going to beat Boston if Boston gets the one seed and we have to play 4 there. If we get the one seed, I still think it will be an epic series. To me, Boston is the best team in the NBA until someone else proves otherwise. We haven't done that yet. Lebron needs to stop Paul Pierce if we are going to win in June. So far, Lebron has failed to show up against Boston on the road. I still like our chances and think that we are one of the best run organizations in professional sports. Our front office actually gets it. No trades to do anything crazy at the deadline. Lebron is happy even though everyone thinks he is leaving. Let's just break the Cleveland curse and win one and he'll never leave.
Cleveland Indians
When does baseball start? It seems like forever since I rooted for a game, but it's a combination of the idiocy of that league that restrains my excitement I once had as a youth. Steroids, A Roids, no salary cap, corruption, and what else is new.... I still think the tribe has a chance every year.
Cleveland Browns
I already love our front office. I don't love the fact that we are basically in rebuild mode. We have only signed players that will give our team more depth in crucial positions. I loved Kellen Winslow as a player, but since he only played about half of the games, getting rid of him was kind of a wash for me. I don't think he really every fit into the system in Cleveland.
As far as Braylon Edwards is concerned, everyone wants to trade him, but I'm not on that bandwagon. He had an off year last year. I'm expecting him to return to his form next year with the discipline of the new staff and a new QB behind center. Trading him in a fire sale isn't going to get us anywhere. We also have some upside in keeping him because if he sucks, we will get picks for him when someone signs him based on how the NFL rules work. I'm not exactly sure of all the details, but I think the best case scenario is 1st and 3rd rounders in 2010. If he's good, our offense will be explosive again just like it was two years ago. He is that good when he plays at his best. I just hope he keeps his mouth shut and does his playing on the field.
I'm looking forward to the draft. We will take the best player available. It appears Aaron Curry will be gone by number 5. If he's gone, I like Orapko or Andre Smith. Either player builds one of the interior lines.
Shaun Rodgers, please just stay and stop complaining. Every fan in this city loves you.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wynn Poker Classic Event 1
So I played event 1 of the Wynn Poker Classic which was a 545 buy in and attracted 450 players. Overall, I love playing the first event of tournaments because they attract a wide range of skill levels and generally generate the most excitement aside from the main event of any particular series. After a horrendous run in LA, I was confident and ready to go. Day 1 actually was painful. I've never seen more atrocious play in my entire poker playing career barring the first week on Party Poker. I was slightly amazed because although almost every single live tournament is pretty horrendous in play, they are usually never this bad. Actually in LA, I had a couple of decent first few tables from what I could witness. One guy had accumulated about 130k in level 4 from starting stack of 10k. The hands of consequence were extremely rare. I was playing extremely passive the entire day because when I was actually in a hand with someone and would just call with a solid hand, they would proceed to fire every single betting round. There were probably 4 pots where it went bet call, bet call, bet call and I scooped good size pots. They were the type of players that tended to think that as long as no one raised, their hand was good. Anyway, after a painful AK lay down right before the dinner break on Day 1, I battled back and ended the day with around 85k which was good for 20th out of 50. I actually survived an AK vs JT all in right before the bubble. Coming into Day 2, I was thrilled because I knew I had around a 20bb stack with blinds being at 2k/4k and that was plenty of chips against this field.
Day 2 was hell. I got there and notice that they had colored us up to the next level of chips and raised the level. The floor said that we only had a minute left at the lower level and they wanted to save time and color us up the night before. Color up is a term used to describe the removal of certain lower denomination chips as blinds go up. I could have sworn we had 20 minutes left in the level. The kicker was that there were two day ones playing down to 25 each day. The first Day 1 ended on 3k/6k while we ended on 2k/4k. Moral of the story is that they shouldn't have done this in the first place, but they definitely shouldn't have jumped to the higher level of the two. So while I'm expecting to go in with 20bb, I actually have around 14. Anyway, my table wasn't all that tough from the people I recognized from the day before. There was a solid girl about my age that was across the table that was at my table from Day 1, but with both our stack sizes, I knew if we collided, it would likely be in a situation neither of us could avoid. We lost 20 players rather quickly and I was dealt nothing the first level. We move up to 4000/8000 with a 1k ante and I still have around 80k because of a few timely shoves. Then some guy from Paris, who had easily won 20 pots on Day 1 and 2 by sucking out on someone shoves 280k from the cutoff. LOL!!! This guy tended to bet the amount that correlated to the strength of his hand. He was just precious. I look down at black kings and shove my stack in the middle from the small blind. He rolls over black queens and proceeds to beat me with a better flush.
WAIT WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????????????? That is correct. The board rolls out T 9 8 all spades giving him more outs (jack or queen). The turn is the J of spades and his straight flush knocks me out of the tourney in 29th. It was actually my first big pair of the entire tournament. I did not see JJ-AA until that point. With 65,000 to first and a stack that would have handily put me in contention, I had nothing to feel but the urgent need to dropkick a slot machine. I did my standard quiet, "good game" and walked to the parking lot trying not to swear under my breath as I am trying extremely hard to quit swearing. Anyway, this is the type of thing that makes me never want to play poker, something that is currently my career.
Poker is just super funny. The last time I felt this confident about my abilities in something was when I used to ace finance tests in college. With some inevitable pressure involved (grades), I would sit down with full confidence and just get in the zone. If I made a mistake, it was likely just something that was lazy. Even when the problems weren't completely clear, I could eliminate a few options and proceed as follows. After playing now full time for a little over a year, I feel like poker is extremely similar. The pressure has changed because of the money and competition, but the overall confidence and methodical rationality it takes to succeed is exactly the same. Unfortunately, unlike in college where the Scantron would reward me for the correct answers, the poker deck does not always follow the precision of a multiple choice test. Either way, I'm prepared for downswings, but today was just an ugly, ugly beat.
Day 2 was hell. I got there and notice that they had colored us up to the next level of chips and raised the level. The floor said that we only had a minute left at the lower level and they wanted to save time and color us up the night before. Color up is a term used to describe the removal of certain lower denomination chips as blinds go up. I could have sworn we had 20 minutes left in the level. The kicker was that there were two day ones playing down to 25 each day. The first Day 1 ended on 3k/6k while we ended on 2k/4k. Moral of the story is that they shouldn't have done this in the first place, but they definitely shouldn't have jumped to the higher level of the two. So while I'm expecting to go in with 20bb, I actually have around 14. Anyway, my table wasn't all that tough from the people I recognized from the day before. There was a solid girl about my age that was across the table that was at my table from Day 1, but with both our stack sizes, I knew if we collided, it would likely be in a situation neither of us could avoid. We lost 20 players rather quickly and I was dealt nothing the first level. We move up to 4000/8000 with a 1k ante and I still have around 80k because of a few timely shoves. Then some guy from Paris, who had easily won 20 pots on Day 1 and 2 by sucking out on someone shoves 280k from the cutoff. LOL!!! This guy tended to bet the amount that correlated to the strength of his hand. He was just precious. I look down at black kings and shove my stack in the middle from the small blind. He rolls over black queens and proceeds to beat me with a better flush.
WAIT WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????????????? That is correct. The board rolls out T 9 8 all spades giving him more outs (jack or queen). The turn is the J of spades and his straight flush knocks me out of the tourney in 29th. It was actually my first big pair of the entire tournament. I did not see JJ-AA until that point. With 65,000 to first and a stack that would have handily put me in contention, I had nothing to feel but the urgent need to dropkick a slot machine. I did my standard quiet, "good game" and walked to the parking lot trying not to swear under my breath as I am trying extremely hard to quit swearing. Anyway, this is the type of thing that makes me never want to play poker, something that is currently my career.
Poker is just super funny. The last time I felt this confident about my abilities in something was when I used to ace finance tests in college. With some inevitable pressure involved (grades), I would sit down with full confidence and just get in the zone. If I made a mistake, it was likely just something that was lazy. Even when the problems weren't completely clear, I could eliminate a few options and proceed as follows. After playing now full time for a little over a year, I feel like poker is extremely similar. The pressure has changed because of the money and competition, but the overall confidence and methodical rationality it takes to succeed is exactly the same. Unfortunately, unlike in college where the Scantron would reward me for the correct answers, the poker deck does not always follow the precision of a multiple choice test. Either way, I'm prepared for downswings, but today was just an ugly, ugly beat.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Back in Vegas
LA was fun, but not profitable. In the end, I cashed in nothing. I played 5 or 6 events and a satellite with nothing to show for it. I got put into a lot of tough spots in the tournaments, but in general, got slowrolled often. The deepest run I made was in Wednesday's 500. I busted around 68 with 54 paying. The bust hand was really quite complex. I raised UTG +1 with black fives to 2200 with 400/800 blinds at an 8 player table. The big blind can best be described as the exact stereotype of a player that plays live tournaments often. He plays fairly loose, so it wasn't a shocker that he decided to call. He has me covered with his stack slightly bigger than my 32,000. Flop comes down 7 6 4 rainbow. He leads out into me 4000 chips. I quickly called the flop bet. The turn was a K of hearts. It put two hearts on the board, but I wasn't worried about a back door flush too much because of his lead out bet. He bet another 6k on the turn. With this bet, I almost raised all in on the turn. This weakish turn bet seems nothing close to the nuts and almost certainly is scared by the K. At this point, I was kind of confused. Let me explain the confusion how I see it. He bet 6k into a pot that is probably 13-14k. The bet size to me could make sense for either the super strong hand or marginal hand here. On one side of the argument, the smaller bet could be a way to get more money in the pot with a set type hand with a K being a decent payoff card. The smaller bet could also be because the K is a scare card in a way. It turns AK into a better hand over 88 or 99 at this point. I really thought through it at this point for about a minute. I counted out my chips and wanted to see what my options were. I decided to call. I was basically drawing with implied odds to get paid off from a set or resigned to just fold and save myself the last 19k. The river comes an 8 of hearts. It is my money card.....oh wait. He fires 8,000. At this point, I have around 11k left. I nearly just called here. What made me change my mind was the fact that I really thought he would instantly call with any of the sets (not likely against an average good online player). I also could put him on absolutely no hand with hearts. I shoved my chips. He waited about a minute to slowroll me with 5 6 of hearts for the flush. His hand makes perfect sense now. It was a critical mistake in a way, but also probably for close to the chip lead.
Monday, February 16, 2009
In the Zone, Pump Up Blog
First off, I'm not going to complain about anything.
I'm only going to get in the zone. This is the Pump Up Blog.
Tomorrow starts my second trip around at the LA Poker Classic. Basically, I drove 280 miles from Las Vegas to LA where I am going to play at the Commerce Casino. I was just looking at the remaining tournaments in the LA Poker Classic I will be playing this week. Tomorrow is a $335 NL Hold em tournament. The chips looks short and the structure looks good. Basically, it's going to strategically mean that you may get involved in several large pots early. I'm planning to just feel out the table pretty quickly. I expect it to be extremely weak tomorrow. It's President's Day and Americans and foreigners alike will spend those paper rectangles with President's pictures on the front them. Some have Franklin. Some have Washington. Some have paper ones printed with a top hat guy with a cane. They will likely be heading to the Commerce to play the great American past time poker. I have confidence tomorrow. I have been making deep runs, but have not been closing. I've been losing key pots deep and sometimes having bad days; however, I'm due. I've worked hard. I've studied the game. I've played thousands of hours over the last year alone. If I'm going to reach my potential in this game, it's going to come soon.
I've had a few live tournament finishes that were noteworthy. The most disappointing of those came in the $500 event at the Borgata. With $80,000 on the line, I played great poker when it counted, but got my money in with AA vs KJ after a JT8 flop for approximately 2nd-3rd place. The turn was a J and I was sent home with not even a five figure cash and lots of disappointment. The next tournament disappointment was the Belligio tournament last April. A 6th place finish in my biggest live final table was largely a lack of me never playing a hand. When I folded AQ off suit on the first hand of the final table, I think it may have been my only chance to alter the tournament. I folded to an early raiser with AQ off from the button. I had 90k chips with 3k/6k blinds at the start. You can read about that here I didn't realize we still had 2 minutes of time left in the 2/4k round. This makes kind of an interesting debate. In knowing that my stack is going to move from a range of over 20 big blinds (bb) to maybe 10bb if I call and lose the hand, do I play tighter or looser here. I say tighter, and I did fold. It was a pretty tough decision for my first hand at a final table with 6 figures to the winner. You can't help but wonder what might have flopped, or what would have happened if I just shoved. I heard he had 88.
The past is the past. I've had several big wins online over the past year, but I want success in live tournaments. I want people to know that I can look them in the eye and still beat them. This is the pump up blog. I'm pumping myself up for tomorrow and the rest of this week. It starts tomorrow.
I'm only going to get in the zone. This is the Pump Up Blog.
Tomorrow starts my second trip around at the LA Poker Classic. Basically, I drove 280 miles from Las Vegas to LA where I am going to play at the Commerce Casino. I was just looking at the remaining tournaments in the LA Poker Classic I will be playing this week. Tomorrow is a $335 NL Hold em tournament. The chips looks short and the structure looks good. Basically, it's going to strategically mean that you may get involved in several large pots early. I'm planning to just feel out the table pretty quickly. I expect it to be extremely weak tomorrow. It's President's Day and Americans and foreigners alike will spend those paper rectangles with President's pictures on the front them. Some have Franklin. Some have Washington. Some have paper ones printed with a top hat guy with a cane. They will likely be heading to the Commerce to play the great American past time poker. I have confidence tomorrow. I have been making deep runs, but have not been closing. I've been losing key pots deep and sometimes having bad days; however, I'm due. I've worked hard. I've studied the game. I've played thousands of hours over the last year alone. If I'm going to reach my potential in this game, it's going to come soon.
I've had a few live tournament finishes that were noteworthy. The most disappointing of those came in the $500 event at the Borgata. With $80,000 on the line, I played great poker when it counted, but got my money in with AA vs KJ after a JT8 flop for approximately 2nd-3rd place. The turn was a J and I was sent home with not even a five figure cash and lots of disappointment. The next tournament disappointment was the Belligio tournament last April. A 6th place finish in my biggest live final table was largely a lack of me never playing a hand. When I folded AQ off suit on the first hand of the final table, I think it may have been my only chance to alter the tournament. I folded to an early raiser with AQ off from the button. I had 90k chips with 3k/6k blinds at the start. You can read about that here I didn't realize we still had 2 minutes of time left in the 2/4k round. This makes kind of an interesting debate. In knowing that my stack is going to move from a range of over 20 big blinds (bb) to maybe 10bb if I call and lose the hand, do I play tighter or looser here. I say tighter, and I did fold. It was a pretty tough decision for my first hand at a final table with 6 figures to the winner. You can't help but wonder what might have flopped, or what would have happened if I just shoved. I heard he had 88.
The past is the past. I've had several big wins online over the past year, but I want success in live tournaments. I want people to know that I can look them in the eye and still beat them. This is the pump up blog. I'm pumping myself up for tomorrow and the rest of this week. It starts tomorrow.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Quick LAPC update
My LA adventures can be summarized with hardly any results.
Tourney 1- $545 Shorthanded No Limit
In summary, I folded a straight flush pre-flop when neither player had any business playing their hands the way they did. I lost AQ vs QQ short stack and 99 vs JJ short stack to basically cripple me out of the tourney.
Tourney 2- $545 Stud Hi/Lo and Omaha Hi/Lo mixed
I continuously missed in Stud Hi/Lo, and they hit. I didn't lose any chips in the Omaha portion but played big pot after big pot in Stud. It was the best structure at a live tournament that I've seen for a mixed game.
Tourney 3--$545 No Limit
I went from 4,000 to 15,000 in the first two hours by winning AA vs KK and set over set 99 vs 77. I proceeded to pick up several pots for the next 2-4 hours. I then when into an Iacofano frenzy and eventually was called by a guy who "just wanted to gamble" with the King Ten. I had 99 and lost the elusive race.
Online
Chewy's dog (my friend who I'm staying with) lived up to his owner's nickname and shredded my power cord. We think his dog's masochism is awkward as the cord was plugged into the wall while being chewed up. This likely means he was continuously receiving a 120? volt charge in the mouth.
When I got my new power cord back, I played a bunch of tournaments yesterday. I had a notable 14th place finish in the Stars nightly when I went into a super aggressive and failed to win lots of races with low pairs. I also took 2nd in the first round of a shootout. This is about the same as a bubble in a tournament because the 1st place person moves on and 2nd place gets nothing.
I'm playing the $1k with a rebuy today at the Commerce. Here's hoping that I have to skip the Sunday online tourneys.
Tourney 1- $545 Shorthanded No Limit
In summary, I folded a straight flush pre-flop when neither player had any business playing their hands the way they did. I lost AQ vs QQ short stack and 99 vs JJ short stack to basically cripple me out of the tourney.
Tourney 2- $545 Stud Hi/Lo and Omaha Hi/Lo mixed
I continuously missed in Stud Hi/Lo, and they hit. I didn't lose any chips in the Omaha portion but played big pot after big pot in Stud. It was the best structure at a live tournament that I've seen for a mixed game.
Tourney 3--$545 No Limit
I went from 4,000 to 15,000 in the first two hours by winning AA vs KK and set over set 99 vs 77. I proceeded to pick up several pots for the next 2-4 hours. I then when into an Iacofano frenzy and eventually was called by a guy who "just wanted to gamble" with the King Ten. I had 99 and lost the elusive race.
Online
Chewy's dog (my friend who I'm staying with) lived up to his owner's nickname and shredded my power cord. We think his dog's masochism is awkward as the cord was plugged into the wall while being chewed up. This likely means he was continuously receiving a 120? volt charge in the mouth.
When I got my new power cord back, I played a bunch of tournaments yesterday. I had a notable 14th place finish in the Stars nightly when I went into a super aggressive and failed to win lots of races with low pairs. I also took 2nd in the first round of a shootout. This is about the same as a bubble in a tournament because the 1st place person moves on and 2nd place gets nothing.
I'm playing the $1k with a rebuy today at the Commerce. Here's hoping that I have to skip the Sunday online tourneys.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Correction
In the last blog, I claimed to win the prop bet for 3 or more unanswered scores by either team by picking NO. There were 3 unanswered scores. The safety counted as one for Arizona, but I couldn't believe the guy at Red Rock. He went in the back and looked everything up for me. I really love that casino because I'm sure that even though he was 100% sure they wouldn't mess up, he went to check for me anyways and get a detailed list of the scores. That casino is really one of the best. On a side note, it's very close to Red Rock Canyon where I went for a hike last weekend. This is probably one of the best parts about Las Vegas. The hike was unbelievable. I'm hoping to do some more hikes in the near future.
Saving the Sunday
After watching another exciting Super Bowl, I was manage to save the day with a 2nd place finish in the $215 Omaha Hi/Lo on Pokerstars for 5100. I got simply drilled heads up and am just going to chalk up the deck to my misfortune as I got scooped on several crucial pots. That brought me net on the day to about 2500 in the black as I blanked out of every other tournament. It was an absolutely dreadful Sunday. I probably lost every key pot but two that I can think of on the day. I can't complain though.
The real complaints come with watching Pittsburgh win the Super Bowl by having both my alma mater represented at QB for the Steelers and favorite team represented in the Super Bowl MVP. That last Miami U to OSU connection is going to haunt me for a long time. Since I pretty much will never get to see the Browns win a Super Bowl, all I have left is to hope for pain in Pittsburgh. Tonight, they once again figured out a way to win. It's something that team does so well. It's something I've only seen on my 7-9th grade basketball teams and the Mentor Cobras, my travel soccer team that just couldn't lose.
Good news from the game comes in the sports bets I placed at the Red Rock. I won 3/5 of them.
Winners: Arizona +7, Over 46.5 points, and "No team will have 3 unanswered scores or more"
Losers: Larry Fitzgerald 1st TD of the game, Arizona TD in 1st quarter
I'm heading out to LA tomorrow to play some live events at the Commerce Casino. I plan on playing 3-5 events depending on how far I get in certain events and which days tournaments fall on. I'm definitely playing Tuesday in the $500 shorthanded no limit event. If I can, the $500 Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud 8 or Better mixed tournament on Wednesday. If I can, the $500 No Limit Hold Em tournament on Thursday. Saturday is the $1000 with a single rebuy. I'm going to check the structure for this and see if this is a tournament where I will end up putting in $3000, $2000, or $1000. This depends on how they run their single rebuys. Wish me luck and I know I'll be winning something.
The real complaints come with watching Pittsburgh win the Super Bowl by having both my alma mater represented at QB for the Steelers and favorite team represented in the Super Bowl MVP. That last Miami U to OSU connection is going to haunt me for a long time. Since I pretty much will never get to see the Browns win a Super Bowl, all I have left is to hope for pain in Pittsburgh. Tonight, they once again figured out a way to win. It's something that team does so well. It's something I've only seen on my 7-9th grade basketball teams and the Mentor Cobras, my travel soccer team that just couldn't lose.
Good news from the game comes in the sports bets I placed at the Red Rock. I won 3/5 of them.
Winners: Arizona +7, Over 46.5 points, and "No team will have 3 unanswered scores or more"
Losers: Larry Fitzgerald 1st TD of the game, Arizona TD in 1st quarter
I'm heading out to LA tomorrow to play some live events at the Commerce Casino. I plan on playing 3-5 events depending on how far I get in certain events and which days tournaments fall on. I'm definitely playing Tuesday in the $500 shorthanded no limit event. If I can, the $500 Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud 8 or Better mixed tournament on Wednesday. If I can, the $500 No Limit Hold Em tournament on Thursday. Saturday is the $1000 with a single rebuy. I'm going to check the structure for this and see if this is a tournament where I will end up putting in $3000, $2000, or $1000. This depends on how they run their single rebuys. Wish me luck and I know I'll be winning something.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
January
The first month of the year has gone pretty well in poker. I've had 8 final tables and two wins. The two wins were both for about $3,000. I've had several close calls at big final tables, but haven't been able to cash in to the big tournaments. I've drastically increased my volume. I've been playing around 15-20 tournaments per day including some satellites. I don't quite know how I feel about this process just yet. First off, there are basically no breaks from playing starting at around 11am and playing until hopefully towards midnight when I put in a large volume day. This creates problems in both focus as it's very tough to maintain over 9-12 hours. It also creates problems with the amount of tables up at once (9-12). Furthermore, I get extremely hungry, so I usually wait until I'm down to 3 tables or so and then go make dinner, which is another distraction. Hunger is a greater distraction though, so I just suck it up and try to be quick and eat healthy to get ready to close out the night. I think that these large volume days might be better to limit to days like Saturday and Sunday. Also, from a bankroll perspective, if you are going to play this many tournaments in a day, it's going to cost around $1500-$2000. That means that you need several large cashes or at least a top 6 finish to just break even. The multi-table tournament game is about living on the big cash. The 5 figure cash is the goal. As a result, I want to add another goal to my list of goals for the year.
I want to record 17 $10,000 cashes. I had 14 last year including both online and live. I have just 1 so far this year. When putting in a lot of volume though, these are how you make money and have big months. Having at least 1 $10,000 cash per month when not playing live tournaments will basically give you a profitable month if you do even ok with a few cashes in between.
That's the update for now. It's been nice to start with some small wins and be in the positive for the year.
I want to record 17 $10,000 cashes. I had 14 last year including both online and live. I have just 1 so far this year. When putting in a lot of volume though, these are how you make money and have big months. Having at least 1 $10,000 cash per month when not playing live tournaments will basically give you a profitable month if you do even ok with a few cashes in between.
That's the update for now. It's been nice to start with some small wins and be in the positive for the year.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
5th Sunday Mulligan
Welcome to Sunday! $13k cash will get me out of the initial short term red for the year and into the black. I just took 5th in the Sunday Mulligan against a tough final table. Here is my knockout hand.
Full Tilt Poker Game #9994251120: The Sunday Mulligan (73518065), Table 57 - 10000/20000 Ante 2500 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:34:53 ET - 2009/01/12
Seat 2: BLUFFforRENT (1,481,939)
Seat 3: kice32 (427,611)
Seat 4: mman_status (658,613)
Seat 5: qjuice14 (297,716)
Seat 8: stpauli111 (389,121)
BLUFFforRENT antes 2,500
kice32 antes 2,500
mman_status antes 2,500
qjuice14 antes 2,500
stpauli111 antes 2,500
BLUFFforRENT posts the small blind of 10,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 20,000
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kice32 [Ad As]
mman_status folds
qjuice14 folds
stpauli111 folds
BLUFFforRENT calls 10,000
kice32 has 15 seconds left to act
kice32 raises to 65,000
BLUFFforRENT calls 45,000
*** FLOP *** [4s 3c Jh]
BLUFFforRENT checks
kice32 bets 60,000
BLUFFforRENT has 15 seconds left to act
BLUFFforRENT raises to 128,000
kice32 has 15 seconds left to act
kice32 calls 68,000
*** TURN *** [4s 3c Jh] [Qh]
BLUFFforRENT checks
kice32 bets 232,111, and is all in
BLUFFforRENT calls 232,111
kice32 shows [Ad As]
BLUFFforRENT shows [Jc Qc]
*** RIVER *** [4s 3c Jh Qh] [6d]
kice32 shows a pair of Aces
BLUFFforRENT shows two pair, Queens and Jacks
BLUFFforRENT wins the pot (862,722) with two pair, Queens and Jacks
kice32 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 862,722 | Rake 0
Board: [4s 3c Jh Qh 6d]
Seat 2: BLUFFforRENT (small blind) showed [Jc Qc] and won (862,722) with two pair, Queens and Jacks
Seat 3: kice32 (big blind) showed [Ad As] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: mman_status folded before the Flop
Seat 5: qjuice14 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: stpauli111 (button) folded before the Flop
I'm pretty happy with the finish to the day as I was pulling out my hair earlier in the day. I know I got lucky in several spots and had several key hands hold, so I won't complain too much. I'm still trying to think if I should have shoved the turn in terms of would he have paid me off with just a J8, J9, J10 type hand, or is the turn shove -EV. I don't know, but I feel like if I shoved the rest on the flop there is a slim chance he folds given my chip stack. Either way, I can't say that I saw a Sunday Major final table on Full Tilt all last year, so it's a good start.
I'll be playing the rest of the UBOC events mostly on the Absolute interface with my name on there being BINGORAT even though no one really knows this. I don't like how they merged the sites and I would have preferred to keep my normal name Absolute, but I wasn't given the option. Quite frankly, the Absolute interface is now far superior to UB. I've been unable to type bets in when playing multiple tables or type in the chat box. As for now, I want to get refocused and do some damage in some of these UBOC events.
Full Tilt Poker Game #9994251120: The Sunday Mulligan (73518065), Table 57 - 10000/20000 Ante 2500 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:34:53 ET - 2009/01/12
Seat 2: BLUFFforRENT (1,481,939)
Seat 3: kice32 (427,611)
Seat 4: mman_status (658,613)
Seat 5: qjuice14 (297,716)
Seat 8: stpauli111 (389,121)
BLUFFforRENT antes 2,500
kice32 antes 2,500
mman_status antes 2,500
qjuice14 antes 2,500
stpauli111 antes 2,500
BLUFFforRENT posts the small blind of 10,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 20,000
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kice32 [Ad As]
mman_status folds
qjuice14 folds
stpauli111 folds
BLUFFforRENT calls 10,000
kice32 has 15 seconds left to act
kice32 raises to 65,000
BLUFFforRENT calls 45,000
*** FLOP *** [4s 3c Jh]
BLUFFforRENT checks
kice32 bets 60,000
BLUFFforRENT has 15 seconds left to act
BLUFFforRENT raises to 128,000
kice32 has 15 seconds left to act
kice32 calls 68,000
*** TURN *** [4s 3c Jh] [Qh]
BLUFFforRENT checks
kice32 bets 232,111, and is all in
BLUFFforRENT calls 232,111
kice32 shows [Ad As]
BLUFFforRENT shows [Jc Qc]
*** RIVER *** [4s 3c Jh Qh] [6d]
kice32 shows a pair of Aces
BLUFFforRENT shows two pair, Queens and Jacks
BLUFFforRENT wins the pot (862,722) with two pair, Queens and Jacks
kice32 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 862,722 | Rake 0
Board: [4s 3c Jh Qh 6d]
Seat 2: BLUFFforRENT (small blind) showed [Jc Qc] and won (862,722) with two pair, Queens and Jacks
Seat 3: kice32 (big blind) showed [Ad As] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: mman_status folded before the Flop
Seat 5: qjuice14 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: stpauli111 (button) folded before the Flop
I'm pretty happy with the finish to the day as I was pulling out my hair earlier in the day. I know I got lucky in several spots and had several key hands hold, so I won't complain too much. I'm still trying to think if I should have shoved the turn in terms of would he have paid me off with just a J8, J9, J10 type hand, or is the turn shove -EV. I don't know, but I feel like if I shoved the rest on the flop there is a slim chance he folds given my chip stack. Either way, I can't say that I saw a Sunday Major final table on Full Tilt all last year, so it's a good start.
I'll be playing the rest of the UBOC events mostly on the Absolute interface with my name on there being BINGORAT even though no one really knows this. I don't like how they merged the sites and I would have preferred to keep my normal name Absolute, but I wasn't given the option. Quite frankly, the Absolute interface is now far superior to UB. I've been unable to type bets in when playing multiple tables or type in the chat box. As for now, I want to get refocused and do some damage in some of these UBOC events.
Friday, January 9, 2009
2009 Goals
After much thought and reflection, I've come up with some of my goals for 2009.
1. Win 1 major online tournament series event including the UBOC, FTOPS, WCOOP, SCOOP.
2. Final table 2 major online tournament series tourneys including the UBOC, FTOPS, WCOOP, SCOOP
3. Win a World Series of Poker Bracelet
4. Win a live tournament
5. Win 10 online tournaments
6. Play a satellite to every live tournament main event where I enter a preliminary event
7. Reach 80 final tables including all events with over 50 entrants (not including sit and gos)
8. Win an entry to a European Poker Tour event and go play it.
9. Play at least 5 events in every live tournament series I enter where there are at least 20 events.
10. Win 1 Sunday major from the following list of tournaments: Sunday Brawl, Sunday Million, Sunday 500, Sunday Warmup, Full Tilt 750k or 1 mill, UB 200K, Full Tilt Mulligan, Stars 200 Rebuy
1. Win 1 major online tournament series event including the UBOC, FTOPS, WCOOP, SCOOP.
2. Final table 2 major online tournament series tourneys including the UBOC, FTOPS, WCOOP, SCOOP
3. Win a World Series of Poker Bracelet
4. Win a live tournament
5. Win 10 online tournaments
6. Play a satellite to every live tournament main event where I enter a preliminary event
7. Reach 80 final tables including all events with over 50 entrants (not including sit and gos)
8. Win an entry to a European Poker Tour event and go play it.
9. Play at least 5 events in every live tournament series I enter where there are at least 20 events.
10. Win 1 Sunday major from the following list of tournaments: Sunday Brawl, Sunday Million, Sunday 500, Sunday Warmup, Full Tilt 750k or 1 mill, UB 200K, Full Tilt Mulligan, Stars 200 Rebuy
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