Two Days, Two Tournaments, Two Cashes Part II

Be Warned this is long.

Day two of tournament splendor came on Monday evening, well early Tuesday Morning. Since I can no longer contain my joy lets just say that come December I will be enjoying a 7-Day Card Player Cruise to Mexico. Oh Yeah Baby! Oh, and my wife will be there too. :)

Going into the freeroll I was anticipating making a good showing but the Cruise would just have been icing on the cake. I made the mistake of telling my wife that the first prize was a cruise so she pretty much made it clear that all the hours I spend playing needed to start paying off. Starting with winning this tournament. Really she has been beyond supportive of the hours I spend playing and has been very patient in dealing with me. I am glad that I can finally make the hours payoff in a way that we both can get enjoyment out of it.

Enough of that, lets talk tournament. This was the first tournament I've ever played at Party Poker. I spend a lot of time on the ring games there but I've never even played a single table tourney at that site. I had no idea what the starting chip stack would be or the blind structure so there was no plan of attack going in. I was a little disappointed when I was only given 1000 chips and the blinds started at 10/20. I would have liked to have seen 5/10 blinds to start with but my cards were good in the first few rounds and I managed to start building a stack early. At the end of the first level I managed to be up over my original starting stack and I never dipped below that amount again.

I eliminated my first player when the blinds stood at 25/50. I had built my stack up to 2,605 at the time and my opponent only had 190 in the small blind. Really it was a matter of having to push in for him and it was an easy call for me holding K10o. The board brought me two pair and the win on the river. The first break came and the 2,745 chips I had gave me the lead at the table. I felt very comfortable in this position and had learned enough from the other players that I could start pushing pots a bit more than I had been.

Shortly after the break I was able to eliminate my second player. Preflop my opponent held a 73% to 33% advantage over me. The mistake he made though was limping in preflop with his AJh when his stack only stood at 690. The blinds were 50/100 at this point and he was on life support already. I limped in as well from the CO with A8c and the big blind checked for 3 of us to see the flop. The board brought Q88 and I was now a 93% favorite to win the pot. We all checked the flop and when a J hit the turn he still did not make a move so I bet enough to just about put him all in. The BB folded and my opponent finally pushed all in. It was to late though as he only had 3 outs and the 2s on the river wasn't one of them.

My first All-In came during the 100/200 round. I held AKd in MP and it was folded to me. I made a standard raise of 600 hoping for a few callers and it was folded to the button. The button pushed all-in in for 4,490 which had my 3,800 covered. With the blinds folded I figured my opponent didn't have K's or A's since I held one of each. I also knew since I was suited that at worst it was a coin flip. With the need to double up for the the long haul necessary I made the call and hoped for the best. What I didn't expect to see was the J10c flipped over by the button. He must have thought he could force me to fold and just picked the wrong time to move all in. Preflop I had him 61% to 39%. I don't know if I'd say he was dominated but he sure didn't want to see my cards. The board didn't improve either of us and I doubled up nicely to take the table chip lead again.

I managed to build my stack to over 11,000 but gave some away when I held KK. I called an all-in raise preflop and my opponent showed me his AQs. Having him over a barrel the A came on the turn and I lost the pot. The second break came right after this hand but I still had the chip lead at the table. Immediately after the break the chip leader was moved over. She held 16,209 chips and my 8,970 seemed very small. I had become accustomed to having the lead at my table and seeing this big stack unnerved me a little. I knew that if I wanted to play with the big dogs in the end I would need to amass a lot more chips.

This knowledge did little to help me though and I quickly became card dead. I finally had a hand I felt I could play when I found A7d in the small blind. The pot had been raised the minimum before it got to me so it was an easy call. The flop came JQJ but with two of my suit. I checked and j3koo who had raised initially bet out 1,000. I called this which looking back was a mistake. My initial thinking was that I had the flush draw and an overcard so I should have pushed the flop a little to see if j3koo would be willing to let it go. He may have been on AK or A10 and a sign of strength from me may have been enough. As it was though we saw a 5s hit the turn which couldn't have possibly helped him. Again I made the mistake of checking and calling a 1,500 bet. The 7s hit the river giving me a baby pair but I was resigned to missing the flush and giving it up. We both checked and j3koo showed me his Q4h. I suppose I could have lost a lot more on this hand but I still feel I played it wrong.

With the blinds now at 400/800 I was crippled with only 3,370 chips left. In less than three rounds I would be blinded out and I hoped a decent hand would find its way to me in time. Fortune was on my side and AJo was dealt to me the very next hand. I managed to steal the blinds and bought myself another round. I had to fold for two rounds and with the blinds now 500/1,000 I sat UTG with only 1,770 chips. I knew it was now or never and if a face card came I was going all in. This was probably going to be my last hand. We were down to 30 players and I was in the money so I had that going for me.

When the cards were dealt I looked to find K4c. This was it and I raised all-in. The pots were all usually more than my raise so I expected callers. As luck would have it I got two. j3koo who I gave money away to earlier and MSUcougar. Usually when dealing with all-ins the computer turns the cards up and deals the board at light speed. The chips are then sent to the winner and the next hand begins. If your lucky you get a glimpse of what you won or lost with but since I was covered by both players my wait was extended. The flop came 728 with two clubs and my hopes rose ever so slightly. A check by MSUcougar, a bet by j3koo, and the subsequent fold brought J3koo and myself heads up. A beautiful K on the turn and club on the river gave me two wins over j3koo's A7o. I tripled up but still was lost deep in the woods.

I stole the BB and a bet when I raised from the SB with K3o two hands later. I knew I had to accumulate chips fast if I wanted to make a run for the final table and now was the time to do it. The payout scale stayed the same for the first 10 positions paid so tight play to survive to the next level was expected. Two rounds later I held 55 in the SB. All folded to the button who made a minimum raise. With the BB already all-in due to his small chip stack I went over the top and raised all-in. I expected to take it down right there figuring the button for a steal raise. He decided to call even though he was also a small stack and we saw all three hands. wchlhockey in the BB held 53o. This all but killed my chances of making a set and with MSUcougar showing A9o for his hand we were in a coinflip situation. No one improved and now having slightly more than doubled up I was about average stacked at 15,950. I added another 7,650 chips to my stack at the expense of j3koo again when I later flopped a full house.

When the final table was assembled johnnypuma had the chip lead with 62,357. I held fourth largest with 44,700. I sucked out on MiniBen and he was the first to exit the final table. On the flop he was a 92% favorite to win the hand but instead of pushing in he tried to slow play it and I took the lead in the betting. He called me down to the turn when I put him all in with a flush draw. He held two pair and was still and 81% favorite but my club came on the river and I moved into second in chip stacks. Two hands later I sent number 9 to the rails. LadySiren went all-in preflop from the BB with 20,958. This represented a little more than 1/3 of my stack but even if I lost the hand I would have more chips than half the table. If I won I would have a solid chip lead and so with my pocket 9's I called. LadySiren held A3s and I was a 66% favorite going into the flop. Her A or spades never came and I took the lead with 88,738 in chips. Second was JohnnyPuma with 63,857 so I had a nice cushion.

When we were down to six I was the first player to go over a 100,000 and somehow just knew I'd be there at the end. When we got down to four things started to get a little weird. From what I can gather of the remaining four players I was the only one who actually wanted the cruise. Why these other players would even bother to play if they didn't want first prize was beyond me but that's the info I was getting. Shaky_Sonia was eliminated next when her AK fell to johnnypuma's J9. It seemed as though she just gave up at this point because if she was playing for the win she should have pushed with that hand as we were only 4 handed. Instead she called to the river and then pushed in resigning her chips. This is an inexcusable act as far as I'm concerned. If you don't want to win don't play. Someone who wanted the win would have been better served in that position. They also would have provided better competition making us all better players in the end.

With three of us left paeron was the short stack and he decided to make a stand with Q4c in the BB. He went down to johnnypuma and then we were two. The chat got really hectic at this point. There was a lot of noise from the railbirds and I turned my attention to the official chat room PSO was holding during the tournament. Mike J, our tournament host, seemed adverse to deal talk earlier and was quite upset that some players would get this far and not want the trip. I don't know johnnypuma but as I understand it both he and paeron are from Sweden. Even the same town which seems rather odd since they were both in the final three. I'll chalk it up to coincidence but I could understand how it would be cost prohibitive for them to fly to the US to take a cruise. Again they really shouldn't have been playing but I've covered that earlier. At any rate Mike was now willing to talk deals and johnnypuma did not want to dump the tournament, but he also didn't want the first place prize. I didn't care about first or second but wanted the prize.

After certain conditions were agreed upon we decided that no matter what happened I would take the cruise and johnnypuma would get the $250 second place money. Since there was no point for me to continue and I wanted to celebrate I called an all-in bet and johnnypuma took my chips with two pair.

Needless to say I have never won anything this big before. PSO has the cash value listed as $.01 but in reality with plane tickets it's over $2,000, probably more. The wife and I have never been on a cruise so we are going to use this opportunity to celebrate the honeymoon we never had. It will be odd being away from the kids for 8 days but I'm sure well manage. I owe a big thanks to PokerSourceOnline.com for hosting this great tournament and providing a great experience.

hmmm....Two Days, Two Tournaments, Two Cashes, maybe it's time to turn pro. :)

Two Days, Two Tournaments, Two Cashes Part I

As the title eludes I had some great success earlier this week in tournament play. I wish I could say the same about my limit play but we'll discuss that in a later post/posts. To the topic at hand the Monty Memorial Blogger Tournament was played on Sunday night and the PokerSourceOnline.com Poker Cruise Freeroll on Monday Night. I managed a 10th in the Monty and a win in the Cruise. Needless say I have been on cloud nine for days now but lets get down to business shall we.

Sunday night 77 players put down $22 of Pacific Pokers hard earned money. (for explanation see this post) I was excited and hoping that my three weeks of tournament play prep was going to pay off. Starting out at table #2 I found myself seated with the man himself and a few other bloggers of note. One thing that has been eluded to in other writeups of this event was that the play was extremely tight. I don't have a count but you probably wouldn't have to take your socks off to count the hands that went to showdown in the first few levels. I was fortunate to be in one of those hands that went to showdown when my pocket 10's made quads. This just about doubled me up and I was feeling very confident in my control of the situation. At one point Iggy made an attempt at trash talk when he made mention of the slow play of the table. I believed I responded with something about kicking his ass (chipcount wise). Boy would this come back to haunt me.

At the first break I held t1768 up from the original 1500. With the first hand back I managed to steal the blinds holding AJ. A few more blind steals came my way over the next few rounds to put me back up to just over an average size stack. I was getting ready to settle in when my virtual likeness was promptly moved to Table #8.

After the move was complete the pocket 7's that shown before me found their long lost brother on the flop. This provided a nice double up opportunity. My cards seemed to dry up after this and playable hands were becoming few and far between. At one point I found the hammer in the big blind. I was able to check the flop and every betting round after that. I took the pot down when a 7 hit the river giving me best pair. I never bet it, but I can say I took down a hand with "the hammer".

I had found myself in 10th place and what should have been the final table. That is if Pacific Poker's software actually used all 10 seats available at the tables. For some bizarre reason known only to the Great And Powerful Oz the entire tournament was played 8 handed. As play progressed my favorite hand of the night was dealt to the screen. 77 in the small blind and as stated earlier I doubled with this hand. I had also won a pot with a pair of sevens while holding the hammer. If memory serves I was the shortest stack remaining and I decided this was a good time to double up. When we went to the flop I was heads up against f2aler. My sevens were a big underdog to f2aler's nines and the board of J9888 sealed my fate and finish position.

I finished in the 10 spot and Pacific deposited the $30.80 into my account. The iggster went on to dominate the final players and took it all down. There was much discussion about Pacific Poker guaranteeing an additional $500 into the pot. This money did not show up when the tournament started but the next day I did receive an email telling me that they had to do the addition manually and that another $10 had been deposited as my share of the added monies.

I want to thank Iggy for the fine tournament and barring a nuclear holocaust I plan to be playing in the next one. Pacific Poker was up and down in their handling of things with this tournament. Overall the experience was mediocre but only because of the 8 handed play. They recovered from their original tournament scheduling snafu and the added money was apparently always supposed to be done manually. This wasn't enough though and I don't see myself playing there anymore. Tomorrow will be a bit more detailed writeup of the PSO tournament. Since we played that one at Party Poker I actually have hand histories. (Another drawback of Pacific) At any rate, until tomorrow.....

An Odd Evening

I fried my template...AAARRRGGGHH!
Anyway normal post below

Things started out pretty well as I played a SNG at Absolute and managed a third place finish. I was card dead through most of the late rounds and I decided to push in with a flush draw on the flop as an attempt to steal the pot. The chip leader folded but the other player had a higher flush draw and called. No flush came but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I took my small winnings and headed to Party for some limit play.

When I sat down at the table I was recognized for the first time by someone because of this blog. It was flattering yet stressful at the same time. I may have played other players who have read the blog before but no one has ever said anything to me. I instantly felt like I had to play an "A" game or I would be revealed as a complete fraud. I had never considered being recognized before. I don't keep my ID a secret and I always secretly wanted to be noticed. (yeah the ego factor) I just never really thought it would happen. A few short weeks ago I was only getting about 6 hits a day but my readership has more than doubled in the last few weeks so I suppose it may happen more often now. Fortunately for me I was hitting everything I played and I was just about to double my buy-in when things went sour. I was still playing well it was just that the flops were missing me or others were completing their draws. When the table broke I was still up 8 BB's and feeling good.

Finding another table I sat down with no less than two maniac players. These guys were playing everything to the river, raising with nothing, and either paying big or hitting big. I really wanted a piece of the action but in the 40 minutes I sat at the table I found one, yes one, playable hand. I was getting complete crap and couldn't risk the loss with speculative hands. The playable hand I had was AKo. I had to fold it on the river when a straight came and I left the table down 5 BB's. I really wanted to stick it out but my eyelids wouldn't cooperate. These late nights of poker when I have to get the kids up in the morning for school are starting to take their toll.

It was logged as a win for the day but I'm not happy with it. Two winning sessions have been strung together at the limit tables but I'll need a few more before I can declare my bad run officially over. With the big Monty Memorial Tournament this weekend I'm going to get in some more multi-table tourney play tonight. I'll probably take Saturday night off so my mind will be clear. (I must center my Chi before battle)

A Hunting I Will Go

With the Monty Memorial Poker Blogger Tournament back from the abyss I shall hunt down all of my prey and hang their heads on the wall as trophies. In further preparation for my inevitable victory I played a $5 No-Limit Hold'em Tourney at Absolute Poker. The field consisted of 86 of the top pros in the poker world today. (well maybe not but on the internet everyone is anonymous so you never know) My first victim was felled on the very first hand of the event. I held KJs and flopped the top two pair. I didn't slow play it but bet small enough to ensure callers. As I so skillfully knew I would, I had a player call me to the river where we ended up all in. The first trophy was dominated as he only held a pair of Kings. With the chip lead I again took out another as my pair of 5's flopped a set. An additional two victims at once were retired when my straight came on the river. All this before the first break and I was on fire.

As often happens in these long hunting expeditions the prey became aware of my existence and did their best to avoid me. Only those with a keen sense of danger dared venture into my sights. With the massive chip stack before me blocking my vision, I decided to disperse it to my quarry. (OK, that's just a nice way of saying I was starting to let the power go to my head. It was like I was giving it away though.) At the first break my chip count stood at 3,260 up from the original 1,500.

Half way through the second round is when I made a nearly fatal mistake. Holding AK preflop I decided to push the issue when all low cards came on the flop. I had the feeling I was against a set but ignored my instincts and forced an all-in call. Escaping with his life and most of my chips the hunter had now become the hunted. Using my finely honed survival skills the second break came with 13 players remaining. My chip stack stood at 7,510.

When we came back from the break the software in it's infinite wisdom placed all the large stacks on one table and all the shorter stacks on another. I went from being a big fish in a small pond to the smallest fish in what was a very big pond. I managed to survive but with the larger stacks able to stalk me I was barely able to hold on till the final table. When the dust settled I found myself out in 9th place but in the money.

Aside from a few key mistakes that stemmed from a lack of concentration on my part I feel I played flawlessly. I also managed a win in a SNG tourney so I continue to feel real good about this upcoming tournament on Sunday.

Speaking of the tournament my hat goes off to Pacific Poker. I don't know if they read my post on Monday but Pacific gave everyone $25 in their account which will pay the entry fee for the $20 tournament. In addition they are adding $500 dollars to the prize pool so they have recovered in the best way possible from the earlier mistake. Word has it that we will be playing with 1500 chips instead of the standard 800 that the site normally starts you with. This will make the tournament more about skill and less of a crapshoot. (that will probably work against me).

My limit game took another turn south as I managed to lose $35 last night. I'm still up for the week but I need to put several winning sessions together in a row before I feel good about my game again. Well I'm off for some target practice. See you in the jungle.

There's No Business Like Poker Business

As I'm sure most of you know there was no Monty Memorial Blogger Tournament last night. Pacific Poker claimed that technical difficulties were to blame but that has done little to appease the angry blogging community. I did rec. an email stating "I can assure you that this matter is being fully reviewed by our technical department, and you will be contacted by our Promotional department regarding this matter as soon as possible. We do appreciate that this has caused great inconvenience to yourself and the other players, and will be taking this into account." If their idea of taking the inconvenience into account translates to a freeroll with them putting up what would have been a $1500 prize pool then I'm sure all can be forgiven. If not I'm pretty sure no tournaments will be played there in the future.

In preparation for the tournament that was not I spent the entire weekend of poker playing in SNG NLHE tourneys. I'm still holding my own in these and did fairly well in the two table varieties at Pacific. As I did not play any limit poker over the weekend I capped off the week with 3 straight down weeks. The loss to the bankroll hasn't been to severe as the three losing weeks came to a total loss of only $109.77 . A solid week or two of play should have that wiped out easily. The question is when will that solid week or two come.

Since the tourney was a no-go I decided to empty out the Pacific Poker account and head back to Absolute to play a SNG for the challenge. (see sidebar for current challenge status). I was caught early and found myself short stacked but patience proved the better part of valor and I finished up in second place. ( I know it's "discretion" is the better part of valor but it's my blog and I'll change sayings if I want) I was eager to play in another but Pacific Poker was not the only site having "technical difficulties" last night. All of the tournament pages would no longer load so in an attempt to get back in the proverbial saddle that is limit poker I headed to Party Poker.

After about ten minutes of play I was questioning why I ever leave that site. In 65 minutes I doubled my $50 buy-in and have now nearly cut in half the 3 weeks of previous losses. Nothing like a good win to revitalize the poker libido. (that was an icky metaphor) I do believe the last few days spent playing no limit has helped me refocus on the limit style of play. I'm able to better differentiate the styles now and I am going to attempt to have continued success in both.

If the blogger tournament manages to get off the ground again I'll be there so make sure you get in on the next one.

A Rut's A Rut (an exercise in whining)

Yeah that's right. My limit game is in a massive rut. I'm really starting to feel somewhat despondent about my limit play lately. I had a bad run back in early July but that was just a bad run. I recovered and went on a nice little run right afterwards. This time everything is different. I wish I could attribute this to a bad run, and maybe that's what it is, but its not acting like any I've had in the past. As I stated a week ago I went on tilt in a bad way. I was in the process of recovery, but the recovery is now marred in a massive tarpit and I don't have a line to pull myself out with. It seems that for every winning session I will have two down ones. The proverbial one step forward two steps back scenario.

In an attempt to shock myself out of this I'm going to quit playing limit games for the time being at Absolute Poker. The table selection is horrible and even though I've crushed the games there before it's just not happening this time around. I have funded my Pacific Poker account in anticipation of the blogger tourney this weekend so I'm going to move my base of operations there for the rest of the week. I haven't played there in a very long time and the venue change can't hurt me any. (famous last words)

(end whining)

On a positive note my single and multi table tournament play has continued to improve. I played another freeroll on Monday night and finished 35 of 1000. My best finish to date but I know I still have some things to work out. I find myself with to short of a stack in the endgame so I need to correct that before I can win one of these. After donating money to the limit tables last night I played two SNG tables and finished 2nd and 3rd. I was on track to win the first one but incredibly my headsup opponent made a straight and two full houses (he didn't even have pocket pair either time) on our final three all-in hands to take me out. I was just to tired to continue playing in the other one so I'm happy with the 3rd there.

I'm going to continue to play the freerolls and single table tournaments at Absolute but I'm going to look for greener pastures for my limit game. Sorry guys but you won't have me to kick around anymore. :)

P.S. for those of you who are interested my Pacific Poker handle is "hotlead". Say hi to me at the tourney!

The Tournament Progress

I'm happy to report that my multi table tournament game is coming along very nicely. As I posted about my emotional crisis I have been trying to recover from a large self destruction. I managed to correct my limit game through the remainder of the week and although I ended with a small loss, it is leaps and bounds above where I stood on Tuesday. The flow of the game has come back to me and I posted solid albeit modest wins over the last three days played.

With the limit game being my bread and butter and I became really worried that I was making toast there for a while. With things appearing corrected though the limit tables took a back seat role this week to the multi freerolls. With the Monty Memorial Poker Blogger Tournament coming up I've been dilligently working on this aspect of my game. I entered 7 tournaments this week and my finish position improved with each one. (Barring PLO8 annomoly) The results and games played are:
NLHE - 463rd of 1000
NLHE - 461st of 800
NLHE - 439th of 1000
NLHE - 241st of 1000
PLO8 - 315th of 1000
NLHE - 179th of 1000
NLHE - 41st of 1000

As the results indicate I'm pretty happy with my progress. As well as the multi's I have played a few more SNG tables as well. I'm up in the challenge and I'm concentrating on winning not just placing. I still feel the "big sigh of relief" though when the 4th person is eliminated and I'm in the money. I suppose this feeling means I still need to work more on only shooting for the win but maybe not. Who knows?

Anyway head over to Iggy's and sign up for the blogger tourney. I don't have the fundage to offer a bounty on my head but I'll sing your praises in this blog if you knock me out.

First Triple Play

Last night was my first night of the triple play. I fired up the ring game first and played a short 49 minute session. I would have played longer but Absolute locked up on me. I had to close the table window down and when I tried to rejoin my seat was already taken. Since the NLHE tourney was about to start I decided to call it quits and finished up 8.63BB.

The tourney started and I wanted to take notes so I could do my first tournament write up. The problem is I was card dead through 98% of the dang thing. At the first break I had dropped my stack down to t910 from the starting t1500 and the big blind was scheduled to be t100 when we resumed play. The only pair I rec. during the first hour was 5's and it only won a small pot. The big stack was pushing every chance he got and I had nothing to push back with. I was on the button when we started back up and when I went all in three hands later no one would call me. I sat through the blinds and when I was scheduled to be the CO the software moved me to a new table. The new seat was scheduled to be the BB next hand so I was royally screwed over as the blinds chopped me down to respirator level. Before the blinds came around the next time I was able to double up when my pocket 10's made 4 of a kind on the flop. When the BB got to me I went all in with AQs and was called by a big stack holding pocket 3's. I got no help and went out in 241st place out of 1000. Better than most but I never felt like I had a chance to play.

I then continued onto the SNG challenge and found my cards much better at the start. I hovered around 2 or 3 biggest stack for about an hour and then lost several hands in raised pots to make myself short. I ended out at 5th.

A small profit for the night but I wish I could have had a better finish in the SNG. A top 25% finish in the tourney but still not very satisfying. It was my 3rd highest finish percentage wise though so I should have something to build on. Hopefully tonight I can fare better and have a real writeup.

An Emotional Crisis or How I Gave Up And Started To Have Fun

I haven't posted in a while and for that I apologize. Last week was a busy time in the personal life so I only played a few days. My oldest son had to go back to his mom's and subconsciously I wasn't in the right frame of mind to play. I thought I was unaffected emotionally but as I tend to internalize my feelings I played like complete crap for several days afterwards. My play has moved to Absolute Poker since they were handing out several reload bonuses. I thought I would find the same weak/tight tables I had experienced before and I was right. The problem was I kept coming up short with second best. Even when I had a full house I would lose to a bigger one. This wreaked havoc with my play and I quickly found myself pissing away a 1/4 of my bankroll in three days. Tilt doesn't begin to describe my play and bad cards can only account for so much. When I stated in the previous post that you create your own luck, I left out the chapter on creating your own bad luck. Truly a tilt worthy situation has the propensity to due just that.

As every story should have a happy ending I have been able to find a light at the end of the tunnel. In an effort to just play cards for fun I rediscovered the freeroll multi tourneys. I've been trying to play in a NLHE tourney and a PLO tourney when they are available to me. After dabbling a little at the Omaha8 play money tables I've discovered that I truly enjoy PLO. I haven't played any Omaha8 tourneys but the PLO's are great. A solid grasp of the game can get you far in these events and that certainly serves as a confidence boost. In staying with the tourney mentality I have also began to play the SNG tourneys. Since I devastated my bankroll I didn't want to commit any substantial amount to them but since Absolute offers $2+$.20 tables I have taken up the SNG challenge. I am refering to the challenge where you commit 10 buyins, and move up or down in levels in relation to the bankroll fluctuation. Since I only had to commit $22 to the endeavour it has been a nice break and I'm holding my own after 4 tourneys. I've been able to finish 1st and 2nd with two eighths thrown in. I'm adding a section on the right to track this progress as well as my normal limit progress.
With the new endeavor I'm trying to split my time between the limit games, freeroll multi's, and Sit-N-Go's. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up since I must eventually sleep. As long as I'm finding it fun though I'll stick with it. I'm also on a mission to at least break even at Absolute before moving my limit play back to Party. This may take a while unless I go on a tear but I'm dedicated to staying patient so no worries.
I also need to start posting more again. It seems the less I post the worse I play. Writing really does help my game. Now if I could just stop time I could also build this thing I've been thinking about and this other thing and....

Luck In Poker: The Myth Revealed

According to our dear friends at Merriam-Webster the word "luck" can be utilized as either a noun, or a verb. The definitions for these uses are similar but enough of a difference exists so that the word may only relate to poker in one of it's forms, and then only slightly. The other is only used by misguided fools who shouldn't be near a Hold Em Poker table, let alone giving their money away at it. It is the former though that many of us derive a steady bankroll increase. It is to those players that we owe a hearty "Thank You, and Come Again".

For the purposes of this writing we refer only to community card games in which their is no draw or selection of cards. The reason for this distinction is because everything that happens in these games is preordained. The outcome, as far as the cards are concerned, has been decided before the first card is ever dealt. Once the deck is shuffled and dealing has begun their are no outside forces that may change the cards you will be playing with. This is what truly signifies the "Any Two Cards Can Win" philosophy. This is not the case when playing draw poker as the number of players past the opening round, and the cards they elect to take, will randomize your cards drawn. Also in stud games if someone folds during the betting rounds the cards you receive will change.

In order to differentiate the winners from the losers let's first delve into "luck" in it's improper form.
Luck
Function: intransitive verb
1 : to prosper or succeed especially through chance or good fortune -- usually used with out
2 : to come upon something desirable by chance -- usually used with out, on, onto, or into

The player that says "He lucked out" or "That was a lucky draw" does not fully understand the game of Texas Hold'em. While it is fashionable to say these things they rely on a perceived outside force that changed the cards dealt. As we know the cards cannot be changed so this is an incorrect assumption. With the thought of "luck" as an outside force playing havoc with the cards no one can beat the game in a long term struggle. In fact those that believe luck is a factor in the outcome of the game should never play the game. If one persons luck is stronger than another then the second can never win. If luck won't be on your side then why play. This player doesn't think in these terms though. The lucky player always believes, nay, has to believe, that luck will come his way. He knows that he will "luck out" often enough to stay in the game. This player will pay over and over to see the cards because the next one just might be the "lucky" one.

Now that we know luck as a mysterious outside power is not really in the game of poker, we can make our own luck.
Function: noun
1 a : a force that brings good fortune or adversity b : the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual
2 : favoring chance
The first definition is the one that applies to the game of poker. To break it down the "force that brings good fortune or adversity" is yourself as a player. Your ability to "read" the other players can give you an edge. The ability to force your will upon a table allows you to bring your own luck. Forcing others to fold by bluffing also is a way of creating your own luck.
To aid in this cause we look at the "b" definition. "... events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual" is our betting. The act of placing chips into a pot are the "event" that can aid or hinder you as a player. In conjunction with your read of the table betting is what makes your luck happen. We can have no bluff without the bet, no control without the bet, without eachother one cannot survive. It is this symbiotic relationship that makes up the game of poker and allows you to create your own "luck".

If we expand this further the word luck becomes interchangeable with the word skill when looked at in its proper usage. My personal preference is not to use the word luck at all when thinking about the game of poker. It is a players skill, his abilities to maximize the situation in his favor. Knowing when he/she has the best of it, or getting out when they don't. Understanding your outs and the odds of achieving them. Although the cards have decided the outcome of the hand before the first one hits the felt it is the players skill that may determine the eventual winner. If you think the game of poker is just a game of "Lucky draws", and "Lucky players" then do yourself a favor and quit playing the game before it's too late. If you are willing to take the time to develop your "skill" then the game can be "lucky" for you. Just remember where the "luck" comes from and you'll prosper.

Week Ending 07/31/04

What an up and down week this has been. I was all over the map this week and even though I played 5 nights, only one of those nights was spent playing from home. My adventures taught me a few things about playing while traveling.
1) Make sure you know your bandwidth limitations
2) Make sure you will stay in service
3) Make sure you are prepared for disconnects

And so the story goes..
Sunday
Played while at my Mom's house. She has a cable modem with a wireless network and I cruised along nicely for a nice win.
54 minutes, 24.75BB, 63 hands, 39.29BB/100

Monday
Camping=no poker

Tuesday
Now hold the phone, er cellphone. We went camping from Mom's house so I had my laptop, cellphone, car charger adapter for laptop, cable to connect cellphone to laptop, and cell service. Everything I needed to play was available and I convinced my wife to let me climb in the van after everyone was asleep in the tent so I could play. I had never tried playing through a cellphone connection and I knew I was only going to get about 14.4kbps but I gave it the old college try. Much to my suprise I was able to connect to PartyPoker with very little lag. I'm so used to playing with poker tracker running and downloading hands, and using the game time window that I fired those up and tried to incorporate them. The problems started to arise when poker tracker went to check my pop 3 account. I hadn't checked my email in about 48 hours so I had over 400 messages. All but about 25 were spam and poker tracker wanted to scan through them. This sucked the bandwidth and before I knew it I was timing out at the table. This continued for what seemed like a millennia as each message scanned one at a time. I'd get a few hands in and then time out and miss a few.
I then got the bright idea to download the email into outlook so I could have a clean inbox for tracker to scan. I know, stupid, stupid, stupid, I was thinking I would only have to suffer the bandwidth loss once this way but it was taking so long it was ill conceived. Needless to say I began to get pissed at myself for the huge delays and missed hands. This led to an awful night of play.
73 minutes, -18.75BB, 58 hands, -32.33BB/100

Wednesday
Got some play in but then we received some bad news as my Mother-In-Law was going to have heart surgery Thursday morning. We drove all night and everything turned out ok.
134 minutes, -7.42BB, 132 hands, -5.62BB/100

Thursday
No Poker

Friday
Found out my in-laws have DSL service and their modem doubles as a wireless router. After some setup I retired to the 5th-wheel trailer in the back yard. (My in-laws trailer where we were staying) All in all a good night of play.
86 minutes, 22.75BB, 66 hands, 34.47BB/100

Saturday
Cellular experiment number two. After passing St. Louis on the way home to the Kansas City area I decided to try playing again while traveling. Verizon was supposed to have service through all of I-70 and the wife took the wheel for a while so I could play. It was working rather well. I learned my lesson from Tuesday and only had partypoker fired up. The 14.4 zipped right along with one table going and I was having a good time. My cards were not joining me in my jovial state though. I wasn't getting dealt much of anything. If I could see a flop it would miss me. The only two pair I rec. was 2's and 4's. Neither made trips on the flop. I tried to push a few players off of pots but was unsuccessful (I know, what was I thinking..but I wanted to win a hand damnit). I played for near 45 minutes before winning my first pot. I thought I was on the verge of a card turnaround when I was disconnected. I couldn't get back on and I found out that Verizon has the interstate covered but not necessarily with their own towers. Since I needed a Verizon tower to get on the internet through them I had to pack it in with a loss. It was enjoyable though and if I get the chance to do it again I will. I'll just make sure to verify the type of coverage in the area.
63 minutes, -14BB, 54 hands, -25.93BB/100

Totals
Despite the wild fluctuations during the week I still managed to finish up a little ahead.
6.83 hours, 7.34BB, 373 hands, 1.97BB/100

I meant to do it last week but with everything that went on I didn't have time so on Wed. I should have my write up on "luck in poker" posted to the site.

Week Ending 07/24/04

This has been a very bad week for me. I still managed a profit because of one great night but my weakness returned for a few days and that hurt. A while back I spoke of chasing cards as my kryptonite. I had managed to avoid this trap for almost two months but alas I reverted to my old ways. The thing is I was doing it for different reasons this time. I had to withdrawl $200 from my bankroll to address some unexpected bills and I wanted that money back in a bad way. My play loosened up to much and I married to many hands. I even disregarded my self imposed loss limit on two days and nearly met with disaster for the week. But like a good little poker player I found the leak and once again patched it. This time hopefully I used concrete instead of scotch tape to seal it.

Sunday
This is day one of the meltdown. After clearing the bonus at Absolute I sent back to my mainstay at Party Poker. I had scheduled the transfer of the $200 that morning so we all know what happened. I met my loss limit on one table and then instead of quiting I met my loss limit on another. I knew I was doing everything wrong and went to bed pretty pissed that night.
104 minutes, -36.44BB, 82 hands, -44.44BB/100

Monday
I decided to log onto UB and found that I had a $34 bonus that I still hadn't cleared. I don't know how I had overlooked that but UB was to be the site of choice for the rest of the week. Things started badly as I met my loss limit again. And again I ignored my own rules and joined another table. Things faired better this time though and I made back the earlier loss and a little more for a small win.
175 minutes, 18.13BB, 222 hands, 8.16BB/100

Tuesday
Played solid poker and managed to make back a little more of the Sunday loss. I table hopped a little to find the right fit for my play but a good night overall.
123 minutes, 16BB, 149 hands, 10.74BB/100

Wednesday
Meltdown number two. I just needed a decent night to erase what was left of Sundays bad play and I blew up again. I played to within a few dollars of my loss limit (this way I could say I didn't play to my loss limit before leaving. Stupid..Stupid..Stupid) left the table and found one that broke up 8 hands after my arrival. Joined yet another table and chased to my loss limt.
134 minutes, -28.5BB, 154 hands, -18.51BB/100

Thursday
Finally kicked myself in the ass and resigned myself to accept what was happening. The planets aligned, I played well, others didn't play well, a perfect combination that led to a perfect night of poker. I erased my bad nights was finally profitable for the week.
135 minutes, 42.63BB, 164 hands, 25.99BB/100

Friday
This was supposed to be my night to lock down a decent week but instead spent most of it in the emergency room. My oldest son decided to jump down, instead of slide down, a big carnival blow up slide. He walked off the ride then winced in pain. A close by pediatrician thought it might be broken so off to the Children's Hospital we went. Turns out it is only a bruise with a possible sprain and all is well.

Saturday
Since Friday night was spent away from home all night we had several movies due back to Hollywood Video on Sunday. We watched these and thus no poker played.

Week Total
11.18 hours, 11.81BB, 771 hands, 1.53BB/100

Never Judge A Book By It's ....

This was supposed to be a write up about how a "loose/aggressive" player can win out over a "rock" at the $1/$2 LHE 10 seated level. The idea sprang forth because I found myself seated at a table with a well known blogger over the weekend. I have no idea if he knew who I was but I said nothing and neither did he. I was seeing allot of flops that night, around 34% and he wasn't seeing any. The flops he did see brought no action and although I'm sure it appeared I was on the verge of being a "maniac" as my stack would fluctuate 5BB's at a time I was still winning. The other player was slowing bleeding away chips. This could all be attributed to bad cards on his part but the more I thought about it the more I realized I was seeing allot of this from other players as well. After 54 hands this blogger had bled away about 3.5BB's and had only seen two hands to showdown. Of those two hands he lost one. I was up 8.75BB in the same span of hands. Again this could just be a bad run of cards and no single session can be a determination of anything. My curiosity was piqued enough though to follow up and thus here we are.

In order to have some semblance of credibility I went to Poker Tracker for my statistical analysis. I've played 6,212 hands at the 1/2 level but that encompassed allot of players. 1,295 unique players to be exact. Needing a way to dwindle this down I chose to only include players I had seen 100 or more hands against. This doesn't represent any magic number but for percentages I thought this number of hands should give some general idea of individual playing styles. The number that had seen 100 or more hands was 99.

The next step was to determine the criteria by which the players would be filtered. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel I searched the Internet for someone who had broken down Poker Tracker numbers into a style of player types. This should have been easy, but wasn't. I kept reading reference to a 2+2 forum post regarding percentages and playing styles. A search of the forum yielded nothing and so I was left to my own devices. That was until while reading an unrelated thread, I stumbled upon a direct link to the post. The post was written by MS Sunshine and described his breakdown when determining player types. Certainly more time and effort was put into his research than mine so his numbers were adapted for my use. The breakdown as he presented it is as follows:

For ring games:

very tight(under 15%sf)
tight(16-21%sf)
med tight(22-26%)
med loose(27-33%)
loose(34-50%)
very loose(over 50%)
nutball(with the exact% in note)

very passive(never raises preflop)
passive(< 3%pfr)
med ag(3-6%)
ag(7-10%)
very ag(11-15%)
above 15% I write very ag with %

I assume that the numbers above are for seeing the flop and not VP$IPF(Voluntarily Put Money In Pre Flop) as Poker Tracker presents it. To adjust the figures we need to consider the big blind. For the most part we can see the flop when in the big blind without further cost. To account for this I decreased the above percentages by 2% pre flop. That would bring a VP$IPF for a tight player to 19%. Pre flop aggression is the other key factor in filtering out the players but now I have a problem. Through observation and common sense we know that a player that tight will not want to raise every time they are in a pot. The cards may very well warrant this action and some players will always call but many others will fold if paying any attention at all. This forces the tight player to camoflague the starting hands buy limping in a majority of the time. This has led for a PFR%(Pre Flop Raise Percentage) that really has no significance for me and won't be used for this purpose here.

I had considered myself a rather loose player and although I had no intention of using my own numbers in this analysis things no longer jive. If going off the figures represented above I am not a loose player. I am not a tight player either but fall into the medium loose range most of the time. In fact right now my VP$IPF is at 24.95. That is a point or two lower than usual but still puts me at the low end of loose or high end of tight. My aggression matches the above numbers but when looking at players in the range as above the study becomes a different beast entirley. Poker Tracker will only let me choose a greater than or less than number when filtering player data. In order to be accurate for loose numbers the players need to have a VP$IPF of between 32% and 48%. These figures are very broad and represent 20 players if we include the 100 hands played criteria. Now in considering aggression we can put the PFR% figure back into the equation because alot more hands are being played. I want to look at aggressive players so using the 7-10 range the players are now reduced to 3.

Every one of these three players are a loser in the hands I've seen. In order to bring this back into the realm originally intended though the numbers will have to be reworked. A true loose player is not a winner according to my statistics. If I rework with numbers matching my own which would be the medium tight to medium loose range of 24% to 27% while maintaining the 6-10% aggression pre flop the number of players moves to 4. Still not a large enough sample base but now we see one winning player. This players winnings outdistances the loosers making for a positive expectation in the long run but still nothing indicative of a loose player type being better.

In fact what I have been able to determine while reviewing all of the data is that a vast majority of players at the 1/2 level play incorrectly. Those that play loosely are either to aggressive or not aggressive enough and the majority of tight players are to weak post flop. I know this is ground breaking news and you'll want to rush out and tell everyone. In fact the conclusion makes the whole excercise rather pointless. People have been professing this for ages yet I still had to sift through the data in order to come to the same conclusion.

With that said I need to look at my own play. As stated previously I never intended to use my own numbers in the study but now they become relevant. I am a winning player at this level even though many tight players cry that the 10 seated 1/2 can't be beat. My stats show that a tight player can in fact beat this level and does so at a pretty good rate. My looser style also beats the level and I attribute it to post flop play. I know I push sometimes to hard and can loose big ones but I win bigger ones. To beat a dead horse post flop play is everything. To put the numbers down the tight player criteria mentioned above averaged to the following numbers:

# hands 3,619
VP$IPF 14.98
PFR% 4.73
BB/100 4.19

For comparison here are my numbers:

# hands 6,212
VP$IPF 24.95
PFR% 6.37
BB/100 3.46

So is Loose better than Tight. Not when looking at this data. Is Tight better than Loose. It appears so but more importantly you need to find your comfort level and exploit those at your table to maximize your gain. If you are going to choose a loose or tight style you need to know how to play properly. Both can win... It's up to you to find out how.

Layout Change

Well I finally decided on a layout change. It looks alot more streamlined and a bit easier on the eyes than the previous one. I need to update the links but that will have to wait until later. Thanks to Cheap Thrills for recommending w.bloggar. It's easy to use and a nice editor for the blog.

When I Grow Up I Wanna Be A …

Sorry it's been over a week since my last post but other than rehashing things I've said before there was nothing to report.  This brings me to what I want to do with this blog.  There has been much discussion lately and even some press about blogger burn out.  I am not at this point but I could see how it happens.  It becomes a chore at times to sit down and come up with things to discuss.  I have concentrated solely on my play with this blog to date and I've been happy with the results on a personal level.  With that said though when you hear people complain (bitch) about poker blogs they seem to describe exactly what I do.  This is to talk about what I did last night or show a hand history to a big pot or etc..
 
Now I don't want to bore anyone, especially myself, so 've decided to take a departure from this style.  I want to write solely about poker but rather than rehash what I did in specifics I'm going to start writing about poker in general or items that I feel relate to my play in an observational or breakthrough way.  This may or may not interest my six regular readers.  I assume you come here for the purpose of scoping my play since I presently write about only that.  I will not completely abandon this and will dedicate a weekly post at the end of each week, which will serve as a recap of play and a status of bankroll.
 
To go along with my new direction a new layout is due.  I will be taking the next two days to come up with this change of appearance and work on my first article. I've decided to address the differences in style as well as the differences in winning which I have observed at the 1/2 level.  Specifically the mannerisms of a "Rock" as compared to my style of "Loose/Aggressive". I hope you will all stick around for this change and help me with the growing pains as I try to find my way yet again in the blogsphere.  As always comments are wanted and appreciated.

An Excellent Week

I have just completed my most profitable week of play. It’s been a very good two weeks as last week I had my biggest single day. There’s no better cure for the doldrums a bad run brings I can assure you.

Week – 11.05 hours, 74.94BB, 6.78BB/Hr, 642 hands

The play at Absolute Poker is what’s made all the difference this week. I encountered the same play as the night before with many of the same players. I don’t know how long I can keep this up but I was able to double my buy-in again last night. I was well on my way to another record night when Mr. Loosey Goosey joined the table on my immediate left. He wouldn’t lay down anything and was catching everything so I decided to call it a night early and secure my nice win. I was in a good mood and my wife was enjoying watching me win so it was best not to press the issue any longer.

I more than likely won’t be playing over the next two days since were going to spend some time at the lake. I’ll have broadband access but the family will need all of my attention. My deposit bonus at Absolute should be cleared after another 2 days of play so I’ll have a decision to make. The software is atrocious but the games are so good I may try to live with it for a while. It seems the same players are there every night so I’m sure they will try to slow me down before to long.

Until next week this is one happy poker player signing off…..

Evolution

First off I’d like to give a hearty Thank You to JD over at Cheap Thrills. JD offered a workaround to the Absolute Poker software problems. Fortunately I didn’t have to use it last night but the software seems to have a memory leak that grinds it down to a slow crawl at times. Speaking of grind (nice seguay there) last night was a big success.

I titled this post Evolution because I realized this morning that I have evolved. Evolved as a poker player that is. I mentioned in the last post that the players at Absolute seemed to be weak/tight and last night I found more of the same. The difference for me though was that I knew how to exploit it. Now I know that I’ve exploited table tendencies before but last night was different. I actually played some hands “incorrectly” to help foster my image and maintain control over the table.

I’ll try to elaborate and well see how this translates. I sat down and started playing my normal tight/aggressive game. It didn’t take long to figure the tendencies of each player at the table out. For the most part any opening raise in the late position would win the blinds. Also a raise would limit the field and often produce heads up or three way action to the flop. Now this is a pretty big departure from Party Poker and the “No Fold’em Hold’em” we hear about and experience. Also it became evident that several players at the table were paying attention to the action.

Comments began between two players in particular that I was on a good run and that I was getting good cards. To foster this table image I began showing my strong hands when everyone would fold to me on the flop or the blinds would fold to a raise from me when I had a big pair. I’ve never done this before and I wouldn’t do this every time but often enough so that those who were paying some attention would believe that I “only” played premium hands. This allowed players to lay down their hands to me and feel confident that I had the best of it. Knowing this, I was able to bluff at several pots at the right time and do an extraordinary amount of blind stealing.

As it inevitably happens though I was caught with “my hand in the cookie jar” when I bet into a player who I knew would lay down a marginal hand when I had second pair. He had the top pair though and I was forced to show the hand. It was then that I changed up a little bit. I was able to select about three hands where I would raise in late position with nothing and if I was called I would fold to the flop bet. It sounds stupid but at this table, with these people, I was able to reassert that I was only playing solid hands and would lay down anything marginal.

The average pot size I won last night was around $8. Definitely a small number but I was able to foster an image that allowed me to steal so many blinds and pots on the flop that I doubled my buy-in in two hours winning $59.75. This night was certainly a light bulb night and I feel better and more confident for it. I deliberately molded others to my will last night and it was good. I know it’s not something I can do all the time or even very often, but now I believe I can recognize when the opportunity presents itself.

Absolute Poker…not quite

Since Absolute Poker has reworked their bonus structure and they were now offering a 20% reload bonus I headed back. When I fired up the program I should have known I was headed for trouble. The software had not been used in a while and needed to self-update. This wasn’t too unusual but the amount of time it took was. The Absolute server was taking fffoooorrrreeeevvveeerrr to download. I kid you not when I say that I spent upwards of 10 minutes waiting for the process to complete. If I was using dial up I could understand it but my cable connection always solidly reports at over 2Mps.

I blew this off and went to make a deposit. No errors or slowdowns occurred and the bank properly showed the deposit and bending bonus. The software looked no different than when last used so I don’t know what they were updating. The lobby page presented two active 1/2 tables and I joined the wait lists.

A few minutes of wait and I was seated. I found myself at what had to be the tightest table I’ve ever seen. It was rather common to have only the blinds see the flop. I was able to take advantage of this and within about 45 minutes was up 10BB. That’s when it happened. No warning and no signs of impending danger but it happened. We were heads up going into the river and my opponent doesn’t act. His little time bar expires but nothing happens. No fold, no check, no nothing. The quiet table just sits there not responding in any way. At first I thought the cable went out, nope. The laptop crashed, nope. Absolute crashed, nope the lobby still works. I find the table name and click on it, the list of players comes up without me. What the hell?!? I double click the table name and up pops the table in a second window with everyone playing right along without me. I still have a window up showing the same table with no activity though and when I try to close it a warning pops up, “If you leave the table now your hand will be folded.” Well I’ve got news for you, you already folded my hand like five minutes ago.

I close the window down and rejoin the table I never really left. Now I’m perplexed and a new player at the table wants to see about every flop. I get a hand and he of course sucks out the flush on the river to my flopped set. Normal stuff at any poker site but for some reason I want to punish him. Yes it’s tilt but not in my normal tilt fashion. I’ll still play a good game but not if sucker is in the pot. Then I’m stupid because he must be punished. Problem is he’s not a sucker, after calming down and actually watching his play he was just on a good run at the time and he’s a decent player. As I usually the the case when tilting I realize this after it’s to late and I’ve not only given back my 10BB profit but I’ve squandered another 15BB.

Absolute doesn’t freeze up on me anymore but the table graphics and sound get excruciatingly slow at times and others complain about it as well. The poker may be good but “Absolute” poker it is not.

I calmed down and started winning again. I ended the night up 4.29BB for two hours work so I’m happy about it. The table was very weird though. One hand almost everyone would see the flop and on the next only the blinds would be in. The poor guy to my right was getting a little frustrated with me. When he would be the small blind and it folded to him he would about always raise it. If I had something I would reraise in the BB but if I didn’t I would still call. On the flop I would lead out and he would fold 90% of the time. It was easy blind stealing and he commented at one point that I needed to give him a break. I responded that the flop always seemed to hit me. I don’t think he bought it and I left shortly thereafter so I didn’t get to test him again.

I figure I’ll need about five days of play or so at my current rate to clear the bonus. I’ll be there for a week, but if they don’t fix the problems with the software I’ll cash all out and head back to Party. (until the next reload bonus anyway)

Not a Repeat

Well the big win from last week could not be duplicated. (yet!) I took the weekend off from poker due to the holiday and work but I still managed to get some play in. I played on Friday, Monday and last night.

Friday was mixed as I started out nursing a big loss. The table I was at had players bailing out like they were on the Titanic. I know I wasn’t the one driving them away because I was sucking eggs. After 14 hands we were down to 3 players from the original 10 and I was down 5 BB. Normally I would just leave the table when this happens, but as I had just arrived, I thought I would give my short game a try. The only thing that stuck in my mind was to be aggressive. This to my detriment was the “only” thing that I was thinking. Not be aggressive with a good hand, just be aggressive. I was heads up by hand 16 and my opponent must have felt like it was Christmas. No lumps of coal for him this year, no siree, I’ll just fill his stocking with chips. I was being decimated by my own hands and soon even I had to jump ship.

The next table wasn’t fairing much better. At least this time the table lasted 40 hands before we were short. I was determined to play shorthanded though and avenge my earlier loss. This time I decided to pay attention and use what knowledge I had. I was able to laydown a hand now and push it when I was best. I was able get back to just over even when my opponent had had enough and left me all alone.

Feeling rejected and unneeded I joined what would be my last table of the night. This table rocked and actually stayed at full strength throughout my stay. I was able to extract a nice win which took care of my first table loss and then some.

Table One – 16 minutes, -16.88BB, -63.28BB/Hr
Table Two – 61 minutes, .63BB, .61BB/Hr
Table Three – 100 minutes, 24.13BB, 14.48BB/Hr
Overall – 177 minutes, 7.88BB, 2.67BB/Hr

Mondaywas a bit of a downer as I couldn’t get anything going. I took the loss but I didn’t feel bad about it. Come to think of it I don’t know why I don’t feel bad about it, or good about it. I’m just indifferent to the whole experience. Very odd.

141 minutes, -5.63BB, -2.39BB/Hr

Tuesdaywas a trip back to the winning ways. I shouldn’t be cocky about it though because I was on auto pilot for the short time I played. The family and I had just finished watching Disney’s Haunted Mansion, (good film but to scary for little ones), and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I was definitely just playing my cards as I couldn’t concentrate long enough to pay any more attention than that. Fortunately that was good enough and profits came my way.

51 minutes, 9.38BB, 11.03BB/Hr

I would be remiss if I didn’t say thank you to Iggy and John-Paul for their kind comments last week. I would also like to make a little addendum to my year in review post from last week. I didn’t get into the specifics of deposits and withdrawls for the year but I am very happy to report that none of my current bankroll is my own money. I was able to withdrawl my original buy in a few months ago so everything is profit. Wow that is nice to say.

The Big One

I am happy to report that last night I had my biggest single winning session ever. What makes it even better is that I almost had to quit because I was dangerously close to my loss limit.

Our story starts with a logon to Party Poker and no tables to play. Everything was full so I had to go the “beggars can’t be choosers” route and put my name on the waiting list. A few minutes later I was able to join a table that featured a lot of tight players. I settled into my chair expecting a long slow grind and that’s what I got. Things started out badly when my first hand, in the big blind, was A5d. Not a bad hand to have in the blind but the fifth card for the flush never came and I lost $5 right off the bat.

Crap cards were the norm for the next two rounds but then I found myself with J3o in the Big Blind on the third rotation. Truly a hand to be mucked but when I checked preflop to see two Jacks hit I was on cloud nine. I slowplayed the flop and started pounding the turn and river only to be raised and reraised. I expected a monster pot to come my way but another player also had a J. His kicker was a K and I dropped another $13.

For about an hour after that I floated up and down as AK lost but JJ held up and As would never give the flush. (gave to a lot to others, just not to me) I found myself down as much as 15 BB but then the patience began to pay off. My solid hands began to hold up and my chip count began to steadily increase.

About half way through the session I was dealt AJo in middle position and it held up when an A flopped. The small blind kept pumping the pot with his pocket Jacks and the pot paid me off $32. This put me up $34 from my buyin and there I stayed for an extended period of time. A few small wins and losses had me treading water until the breakout began.

Enough players had come and gone that I now had a nice mixture at the table. This combination of players, and cards holding up, led me to have my most profitable stretch of 4 hands ever. It started and ended with pocket 8’s. I had three pots within the stretch that brought in $84.75. My first hand brought me trips on the flop and they held up for $30.50. The next hand I was UTG with Q8d. I decided to fold preflop and then in the BB I receive QQ. This holds up unaided and another $17.25 comes my way. The final hand was not as pretty as the others. I actually sucked out on someone to take the pot but it was the biggest pot at the table for the entire time I was there. I feel the player that I sucked out on miss played his hand. His flop action was correct but his turn play was a huge mistake. I had the pot odds to call the bets but he should have been pounding the pot. I’ll post the hand below.

Party Poker 1/2 Hold'em (9 handed) converter

Preflop: lifesagrind is SB with 8s, 8c.

UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls, MP2 calls, MP3 folds, CO calls, Button raises, lifesagrind calls, BB calls, MP1 calls, MP2 calls, CO calls.

Flop: (12 SB) 4d, 4h, 6d (6 players)

lifesagrind checks, BB checks, MP1 checks, MP2 checks, CO bets, Button raises, lifesagrind calls, BB 3-bets, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, CO calls, Button calls, lifesagrind calls.

Turn: (12 BB) 5c (4 players)

lifesagrind checks, BB checks, CO bets, Button calls, lifesagrind calls, BB calls.

River: (16 BB) 7c (4 players)

lifesagrind bets, BB calls, CO calls, Button folds.

Final Pot: 19 BB

lifesagrind shows 8s 8c (straight, eight high).

BB shows Tc 4c (three of a kind, fours).

CO shows 5s 7d (two pair, sevens and fives).

Outcome: lifesagrind wins 19 BB.

After this I sat through one final orbit and lost a little when my AQs didn’t improve and I had to fold the turn. My profit for the session was $97. This destroyed my previous best of $78.

Stats – 127 min., 48.5BB, 22.91BB/Hr, 143 hands

This helped boost my BB/100 at the 1/2 level to 2.97. If I have another night like this tonight I might just start playing the SNG tourneys earlier than planned.

State of the State of my Poker Career Address

Poker career? Can one call it a career if only played part-time. I’m certainly a rank amateur at best although I have used poker as a means for added income at times. An experiment that started out brilliantly and then suffered due to consecutive weekly losses. So perhaps the word career is a bit premature. In the future it may not be but for now lets retitle this entry “State of the State of my Poker Hobby Which Brings Forth Funds Address”.

That’s much better. Why an address you ask? Well I officially completed my first year of playing online poker on June 19. I figured since I’ve been in a rut at the tables lately that I should look back, check my progress, and prepare a road map for the future. It seems like just yesterday I was playing the .01/.02 tables at UltimateBet. Since then I’ve used the “build a bankroll” technique to move from one level to the next. I tried my hand at multi-table tourneys, and sit-n-go’s as well. What better way to chart the progress than give a recap of all my numbers.

2003
Online play is really my only experience. This whole thing started out as just something fun to do. I didn’t have much money to invest so I was just looking to see what I could do. My play was very sporadic during 2003 and I rarely played more than 2 or 3 times a week. Approaching the end of the year I decided to take the game seriously and see what I could do. The breakdown of the levels are:

.01/.02 – 15.15 hours played, 862 hands, 10.38BB/100 hands (If only I could do that at 15/30 without having a clue what I was doing)
.25/.50 – 113.77 hours, 6871 hands, -3.58BB /100 (The fact that I had no clue what I was doing became very evident. I was holding my own at first but I quickly lost money after that. I think I read Sklansky’s Advanced Hold’em during this period which only made things worse for me. I took everything as literal and didn’t know how to apply it to my game.)
.50/1 – 9.5 hours, 761 hands, -7.88BB /100 (A horrible attempt to spend a week at a level I wasn’t ready for.)
SNG - $5.50 buy in – 14 plays, 1 first, 2 second’s, 5 fourth’s - -$22 (Just call me bubble boy)
Multi-Table Tourney – 6 tourneys, -$37, best finish 62/400 no money places

2004
I plunged headlong into 2004 really determined to improve my game. I started reading everything I could find on the internet and started devoting much more time to the game. I came across Poker Tracker and this has proven to be an invaluable tool. Breakdowns:

.25/.50 – 19.71 hours, 1405 hands, -2.65BB /100 (This level has proven to be my nemesis. I just can’t overcome the players. I haven’t tried to go back since improving my game so it may be different now but getting killed doesn’t begin to describe this train wreck.)
.50/1 – 107.47 hours, 7943 hands, 4.71BB/100 (I finally hit my stride and the game became much clearer to me when I moved up. I’ve played more hands at this level than any other and I’m confident that I can always make money here if I have to.)
1/2 – 65.7 hours, 4233 hands, 1.92BB/100 (This is my current level and as you can see I’m not enjoying the same success I had at .50/1. I’m still close to the 2BB/100 mark though and this includes a bad run that I had for over two weeks. I’m only now starting to recover from that so the BB figure is a bit skewed. I’m quite confident that over the long term I will have success here.)
SNG – 23 played over varying levels of $2, $5, and 2 $10, 3 first’s – 2 second’s- 4 third’s, -$29.50 – (I took two months off of playing these and when I played three last week I finished in the money in all three of them. I know my no limit game has gotten better but I’m not ready to devote much money to these yet.)
Multi-Table tourney’s – 7 tourney’s, -$92.13, best finish 10/129 – (My tenth place finish was my only money win but it only gave me a profit of $1.37 since it was a two dollar tournament.)

Future
For the short term I want to keep myself out of the dark place my game went recently. My wife is going back to work next week so my bankroll is my own again. No more bleeding off the profits so I can build up and move on. The wife doesn’t want to keep working though so I’ve decided to set a goal. I have no set time frame in mind but I want to be able to supplement her income by playing poker. She wants to be home with the kids and I want her to be as well.
To accomplish this I’m going to try to go into overdrive and soak up as much knowledge into my shriveled brain as I can. I will need to take home $400 dollars a week to do this. Now in order to be a good citizen I need to take taxes into account. This will be 27% federal and 7.84% state. A good win of about $600 a week should pay the taxes and allow the $400 in profit to go into the bank. Allowing for family time I will more than likely only get an average of 13 hours a week to play. At a single table I would need to beat a 15/30 game for a decent win rate to earn this money. I could multi table a lower level and get the same money so I’ll have to see how it goes. At 15/30 I will need a bankroll of $9,000 so I’m a long ways away at this point. I want to be able to make the money and still have some leftover to continue to grow the bankroll so I’m probably a year or so out for this goal.
I also want to spend some more time on the SNG tables. If I can get these under reasonable control then I’ll move more seriously into multi-table tourneys. I’m going to hold off for a while on this one as well since I need to build a cushion for myself at the 1/2 level first.

Well there it is. Past, Present, and Future. I know I have a lofty goal to have the wife at home but it’s not an unattainable one and I’m under no pressure to do it right away. Any way that’s it. Comment if you have any suggestions.

Vacation

I will be out of town for a wedding until the 28th. Be back on then with more updates.

Ding Dong the Streak is Dead, the Streak is Dead, the Streak is Dead

Losing streak that is. Granted it was a shortened week of play but not one losing session out of the last four makes me feel good. I even played a few sit and go’s with success. I don’t usually play them but things worked out.

Saturday night I sat down to play and found that on the weekends Aztec Riches puts a lot of no limit tables up but not many limit ones. With only one 1/2 table available I had to join the wait list. I was anxious to play so I checked out the SNG tables and decided to try a $5.50 table. I haven’t played no limit in months and I wasn’t even a break even player when I did. Feeling frisky though I figured it was worth a shot until my regular table opened up.

Several bloggers I’ve been reading are playing the SNG tables regularly. They’ve been saying that early you need to play it very tight because many players will go all in early. I adopted this strategy and before long people were exiting. I wasn’t staying unless I was extremely confident I had the nuts and was even able to eliminate 2 players in one hand. I held the chip lead through most of the play and only started to sweat when it got down to two of us. Again I called upon the teachings of my fellow bloggers and went aggressive. I made sure I never folded the blind unless it was complete crap and raised when prudent to do so. My opponent happened to be the table “expert” as he chastised all non-conventional play. This played into me and he layed down a lot. He felt I was getting “lucky” on him and took every opportunity to tell me so. Even after beating him he continued to whine. Victory was indeed sweet.

With the confidence of the win I joined the limit table and continued to have success. I wasn’t going to break the bank but solid play helped me take a profit from the table and that’s all I ask of the game we love.

Sunday Was more of the same but I finished 3rd in the SNG instead of 1st. Still money won but I don’t think I will begin to play them regularly yet.

Saturday $5.50 Sit-N-Go, 1st place, $19.50 profit
Saturday Table – 105 minutes, 6.5BB, 3.71BB/Hr, 84 hands

Sunday $5.50 Sit-N-Go, 3rd place, $4.50 profit
Sunday Table – 50 minutes, 6.77BB, 8.12BB/Hr, 45 hands

Week total
SNG’s $24.00 profit
Tables – 5.97 hours, 29.02BB, 4.87BB/Hr, 349 hands

Almost…Not Quite

Another win last night and I’m feeling pretty good. That’s only two wins since my losses, so I’m not ready to call an end to the slump yet, but things are looking good.

Another night of Aztec Poker and I found a table composition I hadn’t run into before. 9 out of the 10 players were playing very tight. I wouldn’t say they were all rocks as some were making mistakes but certainly not the loose tables I’m used to there. It was easier to get some of them to lay down hands on bluffs so that was fun to do every now and then. I feel I could have done better as I rocked back and forth between up and down for a while. A few table “experts” provided some amusement but they hurt more than they helped the table.

Stats – 138 minutes, 9.25BB, 4.02BB/Hr, 155 hands

Back From The Beyond

It’s been a while since my last update. That’s very unlike me but I’ve had the week from hell and I haven’t played any poker until last night. To start things off we have a massive Thunder Storm on Friday night. We discover on Saturday that we have lost allot and I do mean allot of equipment due to a lightning stike. I spend 34 hours straight at work and then my mom falls, shatters a disc in her back and breaks her foot. Between work, hospital, and trying to catch up on sleep, I have had no free time whatsoever.

Since I couldn’t finish through the weekend I ended a second week down although it was only -$17.25. Last night I decided to forgo sleep (which I still need desperately) and play some more at Aztec Riches. I had a hard time focusing but managed to make some money in the hour at the table. I don’t know if I’ll have time tonight to play but I need the adrenaline boost a good weekend at the tables can give.

Total – 65 minutes, 6.5BB, 6BB/Hr, 65 minutes

I have enabled a site feed now so newsreaders can pick up my posts. See the link in the links section.

A Change of Scenery

More of the same last night as the Party players handed me my ass hand after hand. I’m getting frustrated and pushing the issue to many times. You’d think I would learn that I can’t push a player off a hand if he’s holding the nuts. Oh well.

After reaching my loss limit yet again I decided to check out the 1/2 games at Aztec Poker. I forgot to mention that over the weekend I received my chip set from PokerSource for signing up at Aztec. It really is a nice set and I was pleasantly surprised by it’s quality. The aluminum case seems sturdy enough but it did have some minor cosmetic flaws when it arrived. A little ding and a chip in the case but it was free so I’m not going to be complaining. I will complain about Aztec Poker’s cashout process though. I tried to remove some money from the account and they wanted a copy of my drivers license and a utility bill to verify who I was. I just wanted the money deposited back into the original neteller account that it came out of so I feel this is unnecessary. I faxed them a copy of my license and they wrote me back to tell me it was illegible. I’ve heard others have had this problem as well so I’m just going to scan what they need and email it to them. Hopefully that will correct it.

Back to poker I sat at an Aztec table and really had a solid effort. I’m not usually one for superstitions but Party has been killing me the last week and a half so I’m going to go ahead and play Aztec for a little while. (At least until I can get some of my money out of there.) Poker Tracker now imports prima hand histories so I have no reason for not switching for a while.

Party:
Table One – 14 minutes, -11.5BB, -49.29BB/Hr, 17 hands
Table Two – 78 minutes, -19.63BB, -15.1BB/Hr, 83 hands
Aztec:
103 minutes, 15.63BB, 9.1BB/Hr, 107 hands

Total – 195 minutes, -15.5BB, -4.77BB/Hr, 207 hands

A Tilt By Any Other Name Is Still A Tilt

I wanted to write a glorious tribute to my return to profitability but I can’t. I played for an hour on Monday night and did well. Tuesday night I did really well, and Wednesday night I gave back every penny I earned on Tuesday.

I was up early on Wednesday but soon found myself down to my loss limit. Instead of judiciously calling it a night I started to chase. I wasn’t chasing cards as I was still able to lay down a hand. I was chasing my money. I’ve stated before that chasing was my kryptonite and this just confirms it. Chasing is chasing.

Monday – 56 minutes, 7.75BB, 8.3BB/Hr, 57 hands
Tuesday – 93 minutes, 23BB, 14.84BB/Hr, 82 hands
Wednesday – 104 minutes, -23BB, -13.27BB/Hr, 109 hands

Tilt Is A Four Letter Word

I’ve just had my first overall loss for a week since moving to the 1/2 tables. My loss was not as great as last weeks win but close enough to make me worry. As those of you who have been following along know the entire week had been a struggle. I had managed to hold my own though and keep the losses to a minimum. That all changed on Friday night.

To set things up a player two to my right stated that he was having a problem chasing cards. Everyone chimed in on the chat and I stated something to the affect that it’s fine as long as I’m not in the pot. The comment was in jest but I should have taken it as a sign of things to come. Another player who was seated across from me was chatting freely and often showing his cards or telling everyone what he had when he was in a pot. The chatter seemed a little loose but was always talking and showing good cards so he appeared to be on a good run.

I decided to play tight (as it turns out a bad weak/tight) in preparation for the chasers play but was receiving a horrible run of cards. Looking at Poker Tracker I see that I got just about every combination of hands I could get with very few duplicates. I was not doing a good job of holding my own and found myself approaching my 20BB stop loss.

I saw what appeared to be a questionably played hand by the earlier chatter and decided to look at the hand histories. It turns out that the chatter had been lying about his hands a majority of the time and I was laying down to him. This started the tilting process as I knew I was being ignorant for taking him at his word. I wasn’t tilting because of the other player, I was tilting because of myself. He was deploying a strategy to hook the fishes and I was right there with them nibbling at the bait.

There was now no way I’m going to lay down to this guy and it would have been a sound strategy. I say would have been because this is also the time that the chaser decided to come alive. I would beat down chatter only to be beaten down by chaser catching his flush when 4 hit the board or making his bottom pair a set or any other possible suckout you can think of. I literally started yelling at the screen for the first time in months and actually was poised to throw my mouse at one time. If the week had been different up to that point I might not have reacted so harshly but enough was enough.

I blew through my loss limit and gave away the entire $50 that I sat down with. A sane and normal person would have stopped at that point but I was pissed and fired up another table and another $50. Then the amazing happened. My tilting led to aggression which led to pushing the table around which led to pots. I found myself on a roll and I took down the biggest pot I’ve ever had at $52. I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth and after calming down I decided to call it quits for the night. I had not recovered my whole $50 loss yet but close enough that I could feel alright with it.

Saturday night would be more of the losing as I met my loss limit in a very uneventful manner. I can truly attribute Saturdays loss to cold cards and I don’t think I ‘ve really been able to do that up this point. I usually can pinpoint something I’ve done wrong but Saturday was played the way I play my game. In order to try to pull a winning night out I’m going to try to tighten up my starting hand selection. This should help minimize my swing and hopefully give me a confidence boost. I didn’t play Sunday night and as I’m at this moment on a plane headed home I don’t know if I will play tonight either. I really don’t want to take two nights off but a two day break may be in order.

Friday Night:
Table One – 108 minutes, -25BB, -13.89BB/Hr, 130 hands
Table Two – 82 minutes, 18.86BB, 13.81BB/Hr, 97 hands
Total – 190 minutes, -6.13BB, -1.93BB/Hr, 127 hands

Saturday – 98 minutes, -21.5BB, -13.16BB/Hr, 91 hands

Big Pot of the Weekend

Party Poker 1/2 Hold'em (10 handed) converter

Preflop: lifesagrind is SB with Ad, Jc.

UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls, MP1 calls, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO folds, Button calls, lifesagrind completes, BB checks.

Flop: (5 SB) Jh, 5s, 8h (5 players)

lifesagrind bets, BB calls, UTG+2 calls, MP1 calls, Button raises, lifesagrind calls, BB calls, UTG+2 calls, MP1 calls.

Turn: (7.50 BB) Ac (5 players)

lifesagrind bets, BB raises, UTG+2 folds, MP1 calls, Button calls, lifesagrind 3-bets, BB caps, MP1 calls, Button calls, lifesagrind calls.

River: (23.50 BB) 2c (4 players)

lifesagrind bets, BB calls, MP1 calls, Button folds.

Final Pot: 26.50 BB

lifesagrind shows Ad Jc (two pair, aces and jacks).

BB shows Ah 5c (two pair, aces and fives).

MP1 shows As 5d (two pair, aces and fives).

Outcome: lifesagrind wins 26.50 BB.

Not What I Had In Mind

Well this entry will be short and sweet. I played a good game last night but couldn’t come up with the break out night I feel I need. I sat at one table and rec. 3 decent starting hands right off the bat but lost each of them. Then the table broke. I never got a rhythm and had to move on. The next one was better but I was only able to recover the loss from the first. I feel I played well and I wasn’t the victim of any unusual bad beats, I just didn’t get the cards I needed to have a good night.

I think I’m having a bad run but I don’t feel down and out. Last night was pretty much just cold cards. I have faith that I will still breakout this week.

Table One – 11 minutes, -6.5BB, -35.45BB/Hr, 12 hands – Told you it broke up fast.
Table Two – 160 minutes, 6.25BB, 2.34BB/Hr, 149 hands
Total – 171 minutes, -0.25BB, -0.09BB/Hr, 161 hands

A Gamblin’ Good Time

I lost $12 last night and I feel good about it.

How’s that for a statement. I had such a good time with the family last night that when I sat down to play poker my good mood carried over and I wanted some action. Adopting a more loose and fast style I just sat and had fun playing the game. In retrospect I should have gone to a lower level to do this but what the heck.

My stack was in a constant state of flux. I would go from –18BB to +1BB and back down again. Over and over the cycle would continue and I really was enjoying myself. Normally around 11:30 pm my eyelids start to feel heavy but not last night. Before I knew it the clock was showing 2 am. And of course instead of being at the +1BB of the rotation I was at the negative end. Since it was late and I really did not want to log a –19BB loss for the night I became one with the “Rock”.

The entire table was loose but not stupid. It didn’t take long for them to catch onto my change of pace. It was actually quite amazing. I had been watching them but I hadn’t realized how closely they were watching me. After a few orbits my raises started carrying a lot of weight. I was super tight but aggressive and very few of my hands were making it to the river. In honor of my new found status I began to loosen up a little bit. I still had good starting hands but with some relaxed post flop play. After a few hands I ran into someone with the best of it and unfortunately the table realized what I was doing. I kept to strong hands but a few chasers kept me from getting back to even. At 3:20 I had to call it a night. I wasn’t tired but I knew the wake up time was fast approaching and if I wanted any sleep now was the time.

As with any endeavor one should learn something from ones experiences. Last night I realized just how crappy K10o can be. I don’t recall really getting this hand a lot in the past but last night it seemed like I was getting it about every other rotation. In light of my loose play I was playing it everytime I got it. I won with it a few times but overall it seemed to really be a crappy hand. If I remember correctly Sklansky recommends only playing it in late position. I’m going to have to agree. (like he needs my agreement)

Anyway, tonight will have to be back to serious play. The loss last night makes it seem like I’m having a bad run (5 losses and 5 wins in last ten)so I need to rectify that with a good night tonight.

Stats: 268 minutes, -6.07BB, -2.72BB/Hr, 279 hands

PS. I just checked my K10o stats in Poker Tracker and I in fact had the hand 7 times which was the most of any hand. Interestingly though it was an overall winner earning me .01BB for the night. Just thought I would point that out. Once again perception and fact don’t match up exactly. Also it was a loser from late position (4x) but a winner from early(2x w/ once in the BB as loser). Go Figure.
Overall, of the 9,143 hands I have in Poker Tracker I’ve rec. the hand 75 times. This has resulted in a -20.25BB’s. That tells me last night was a rare upswing for the hand and I need to be careful about when I play it. My biggest losing hand of all time so far is KJo for a -34.41BB’s. I’ve had it 111 times and need to be careful with this one also.

My Kryptonite

Faster than a small child.
More powerful than your Grandma.
Able to leap tall blades of grass in a single bound.

Look! At the Computer Desk!
It’s a white collar worker, it’s a short fat guy, it’s lifesagrind!

Yes! It’s lifesagrind – strange visitor from
Kansas who came Earth with powers and abilities
far beyond those of mortal fish. lifesagrind who
can change the course of mighty pots, bend chips
with bare hands, and who, disguised as an online
poker player, System Manager for a Metropolitan
Tote Company, fights the never ending battle for
Pots, Bankroll, and the American Way.

So what could possibly stop this behemoth of a man you ask? Chasing hands! That’s right viewers, his weakness known to few mortals is of his own doing. Can he overcome such a mighty foe! Will he be able to bounce back! Stay Tuned! Don’t Touch That Dial! More To Come!

Ok, perhaps I went a bit overboard. But, really, I went from feeling like superman to being brought down to earth with a crash. Monday night was a complete failure as I met my loss limit and Tuesday didn’t start out much better. I played down 10BB at one table then went to the next. As I started the next table the truth of my downfall washed over me like an acid bath. I couldn’t blame the cards or the players. I was the culprit.

It started out innocently enough. I’d have A10o and limp in. The flop would be rags and I’d convince myself overcards were enough to keep going. A 10 would come and I’d still feel I was good enough. Another rag on the river and I’d think, “They can’t bluff me off this pot!” Lo and Behold I wouldn’t have squat compared to the other player and I’d see 4 or more BB’s leaving my stack. I’m not sure what caused this behavior but I’m sure glad I was able to realize it.

The next table faired much better and I was able to recover the loss from the first one. I ran out of playable time and the table dried up before I could recover from the previous night though.

Monday Night – 118 minutes, -19.5BB, -9.92BB/Hr, 123 hands
Tuesday Night
Table One – 15 minutes, -12.75BB, -51BB/Hr, 16 hands
Table Two – 85 minutes, 20.13BB, 14.21BB/Hr, 90 hands
Total – 100 minutes, 7.38BB, 4.43BB/Hr, 106 hands