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.
Monday, May 11, 2009
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.
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