R.I.P. Poker Legend David 'Chip' Reese

Title says it all. I am still curious to see the cause, but it is unfortunate nonetheless. I am sure we all wish we could be half the poker player he was.

BFFB Week 13 Win

I have now joined Zeem as the only two who have repeat wins in the BFFB. I have essentially moved into third overall because Blinders doesn't count because Fantasy Sports Live is his site.

Top of the BFFB Leaderboard ($100/$50/$25 Bonus)
jek187 583.36
Blinders 491.80
bonds 438.49
jmathewson_III 407.11
Miami Don 387.18
HermWarfare 384.72
love_elf 359.82
bayne_s 343.16

jek187 is going to be hard to catch, but I think I have a good chance of making into 2nd. There are 4 weeks left so anything can still happen.

Onto poker...

Not alot to talk about, but I have been showing a slight profit in $10nl. The stakes are so low and most of the opponents so bad it is hard to get very motivated. I've played a couple $50nl sessions and that has gone well, but I can't afford too much of a down streak there. I really want to work on building my bankroll so I can afford the higher limits.

I haven't played as many BBT2 tournaments as I would have liked, but I have done pretty poorly anyways. I made 1 final table, but have barely made it halfway through any others. A combination of bad luck (like set under set the 3rd hand), bad play (like going broke with A-K on an all low flop), and just not getting anything going. I hope to make a good run tonight in the Mondays at the Hoy. I am off to win a $26 token.

My Blog and I Are Like...

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

and then this

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

and then really!?!

Cash Advance Loans

Nothing seems to be going right

...in poker anyways.

I have watched my bankroll just fall and fall over most of the last couple months. I'm sure much of it is due to bad play but sometimes it doesn't seem to matter how good I get my money in. I haven't really wanted to post about bad sessions or unlucky ones, but maybe I should start posting when I play badly. Maybe that will help encourage me to play better.

It seems sometimes that wanting to win is a sure way to lose. We all want to win, but sometimes I only want to win and not want to play well or want to learn. Playing well and learning should be more important. If I play well and learn how to play better winning will be there.

I have been enjoying playing the BBTwo. I did manage a 7th place, but otherwise I have been mid pack every other time. I can't really afford to play the Mondays at the Hoy, but I still have twice. I enjoyed the 6-man version, but couldn't really get things going.

I need to play some disciplined bankroll building poker. Building my bankroll was high on my list of poker goals for some time. I have really let that slip away. I have been enjoying playing tournaments and even though opr shows me profiting over the last 120 days, most of that was nearly 120 days ago.

I did finally manage to double cash in one of Full Tilt's Daily Double tournaments. I didn't finish very deep in either one though. So I did manage a $38 payout for the double cash plus $19 and $29 for the cashes.

Quick goals:

1. Post more often to my blog. I think it will help me think about poker in a better mindset.
2. Only play BBTwo and bankroll building poker. That will be $10 SNGs and $10nl for me.

BFFB week 7

I came in 2nd this week at the BFFB. I'd say almost first, but I was a ways back. I won my 6 (or 5) man contest for $36. I usually get in while there are still 10-man contests, but I had intermittent Internet this weekend. I didn't get to enter a team until Sunday. I have moved up to 6th place I believe for the season points. I am going to Colts-Panthers game this Sunday. I hope we don't get our ass kicked.

Onto the BBT2. It was kicked off yesterday. I didn't play the Big Game as it is a little high for my roll, but I'm looking forward to tonight's MATH. I won a token last week and have signed up. I am really surprised but Full Tilt has added a page for the BBT2 here. It seems like it good be great idea to get alot of new faces on the Blogger tour. I was kinda hoping for an easier route to the Tournament Of Champions.

Good luck to everyone tonight at the MATH.

BBT squared

So I've never played any blogger donkaments, but I guess it is about time. If you are reading my blog and don't know about the assortment of weekly blogger tournaments it is time you found out. There are 3 regular weekly private tournaments on Full Tilt.

Tournament: Mondays at the Hoy
When: Every Monday. 10pm ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $24+2
Password: hammer

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Every Wednesday. 10pm ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: vegas1

Tournament: Riverchasers Online Poker Tour
When: Every Thursday. 21:00 ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: Riverchasers

I've always planned on playing one sometime, but never got around to it. Now through the help of Full Tilt and Al Can't Hang one blogger will be headed to Melbourne for the Aussie Millions. Check out the details at Al's blog.

As far as an update I've mostly been stagnate. I've been playing alot of Omaha and been liking it alot. I haven't actually been profiting much at anything though.

BFFB Week 5

I took down week 5 of the BFFB. I am also now up $5 at fantasy sports live. I was really optimistic about my team and easily cruised into first in my 10-man. There is alot of the season left, but I hope I can make a run at the top 3 for the season for some extra $. I have also earned a spot in the Tournament of Champions. I'm not quite sure what it is, but I'm assuming it will be a freeroll during the playoffs. There could be as many as 17 people as 1 can earn entry every week.

I have played very little poker lately. I should get some time to play this weekend. Weekend poker is turning more into Saturday poker since Sunday is for football. Go Panthers!

Royal Flush

I just hit my second Royal Flush. It was quickly followed up by a straight flush King high on my other table. Thank you "Troms" for letting this happen.

I love Omaha. Seems like most people are clueless. "Troms" was really just a bystander. He seemed to be not like the others.

So Little Time

I have been so busy for a while I've not really played much poker at all. I've also obviously not done any posting either. Fantasy football has taken some time, but most of all I just got married and took a cruise for our honeymoon. Even though I spent much less time than my wife or her mother for the wedding it did and still does take up some of my time.

The cruise was fantastic. I would recommend one to anyone. Our ship was the Royal Caribbean, "Freedom of the Seas". It is the world's largest cruise ship. There were tons of things to do, but the dining was the best part. Well, maybe not the best, but I thought they did an excellent job with all the food.

For those of you reading this, but don't know about the Blogger Fantasy Football Battle, you should check it out. You can also see the website Fantasy Sports Live.

I hope to find some more time to get back into poker. I know I will. I'll update on some of my goals when I get a chance.

August 2007 - Goals

First a review of my July 2007 goals.

1. I have grown my bankroll to over $600. This is largely due to my 2 MTT final tables.
2. I did play above my bankroll a couple times and lost $ every time.
3. I did not make the $500k. FT has also removed the $1 rebuy super sat.
4. I also didn't play 100 SNGs.

So not too good on meeting my goals last month. Let's see what we can do for August.

1. Increase my bankroll to $1000.
2. Stop playing above my bankroll.
3. Play the 50/50 twice. I'll obviously have to sat. in.
4. Profitably play 50 $20 SNGs.
5. Purchase PokerAce HUD.

So $1000 my be a bit hopeful if I don't play above my bankroll. I hope I can make the 50/50 and cash. Cashing deep in a MTT will help increase my bankroll, but making a final table doesn't come too easy.

I really hope to continue my SNG success. I have moved up to $20 because my bankroll can now handle it. I don't really see much difference in skill level, but I do see more aggression. I have so far done poorly in the 9 I have played. I have cashed 3 times, but they were all 3rd place. I have sharkscoped many of the final 3 and found so many of them to be very losing players. This has become frustrating as I know I am a better player than my opponents, but still going out in 3rd. I know if I continue playing well I'll find some 1st places soon.

I would like to try to start 3 and 4 tabling the SNGs. I think in order to do so I should get PokerAce HUD. If I do more than 2 tables now, my PokerTracker information will be hidden underneath another window.

$5 MTT Final Table

I took almost a week off of playing poker. I had some things to take care of and my fiance told me I was playing/reading/thinking poker too much. No big deal.

I returned to playing last Sunday. I had a terrible day. I started by doing something I am trying not to do; I played above my bankroll. I played some $50nl. I can afford to lose $50, but I can't withstand much variance. It was mostly uneventful until this hand.

6-handed

Hero - SB

Villain - BB

Folds around to me and I min-raise with 8-6 spades. BB calls. Flop is 9-7-5 with 2 hearts. I lead $1.50 into the $2 pot. BB raises to $6 and I re-raise to $19. BB shoves and I insta-call with the nuts. BB has J-9 hearts and of coarse he rivers a heart. ugh.

I take a break for an hour or two. I'm not looking to play more cash. I played (3) $10 SNGs and cashed in none. So Sunday sucked.

On to the good stuff.

Monday after work I was ready to redeem my losing Sunday and started off with the $1 rebuy. Always a fun tournament. I had wireless problems on my laptop and to make a long story short I ended up busting and not rebuying during the rebuy period trying to switch between my laptop and desktop. ugh, not a good start.

Just a little bit afterwards I registered for a $5 MTT and a $3 rebuy. I did rebuy more times than I would have liked, but finished something like 32nd of ~650.

The $5 MTT started off great. I quickly built up my stack to ~12k and was among the chip leaders before the first break. Not much seemed to happen over the next 1 or 2 hours and my still 12k stack was very small. I was able to abuse the bubble enough to stay alive, but not much more. I was able to do the same when we got shorthanded going from 3 to 2 tables and then again from 2 to 1. I made the final table 7th in chips.

I really need to double up soon to have a chance. I took a chance calling (2) all-ins from the (2) shorter stacks with 10-10. They showed A-K and A-J and I more than doubled up. I was still only 6th in chips, but I had much more time now. I really just hung around until we were down to 4.

There were 4 left for a while before my final hand.

UTG folds - BTN min raises to 16k - SB calls and I call 8k into a 44k pot with 4-6 spades.

Flop - Ac - 5h - 3s

SB bets 16k

I debated raising with the OESD, but with the original raiser still left to act I thought better. I thought about folding, but I wasn't looking to fold into 3rd.

I call 16k into a 68k pot leaving ~150k

BTN folds

Turn - 5s

SB bets 16k

Great turn for me as I now have OESFD. SB bet is really weak.

I raise to 78k

SB call the additional 62k. Damn I was really hoping to just take it down there and have the chip lead.

River is a brick - 8d

SB checks ??? really?

I shove my last 72k and SB calls showing A-9.

Was I too aggressive? I feel like I represented a 5. Are you calling this turn raise and river bet?

O Well. 4th is respectable and paid $262. MTT seem to be working out for me. I'm going to continue with the SNGs, but I'm going to move up to $20.

My First Fifty-Fifty

I started off well. I doubled up and won another pot in the first level. In the second level I picked up 10-10 and flopped a set on a J-10-7 board. There were 2 others who saw the flop and I had position on them both. The fist guy shoves for almost 3x pot. The second guy calls all-in. I have them both covered by alot and figure I'm ahead. I make the call to see 8-8 and A-K. So 8-8 catches a 9 on the river for a straight. I'm still an above average stack, but never really get anything going after that. I last 2 more hours and end up shoving back at the button raise. I have A-J and he calls with 3-3. Ugh, I don't improve and I'm out.

I hope to play many more of these 50-50 tournaments. There are a few sats I can afford. I still plan on focusing on the SNGs. They provide me with a good bankroll building opportunity. I think if I can continue playing them well I'll find my bankroll in the $1000's before too long. That being said I need to stop spending my bankroll on too many other things that keep it from growing faster.

50-50 sat

So once again I have taken my sweet time updating my blog. I guess that one time I could access my blog from work was a fluke. I haven't been able to since. When I'm home I'm usually much more interested in playing poker than writing about it.

Moving on... I have been playing mostly $10 STT SNG's. I started out on fire, but have cooled off over the last dozen or so. I've played about 25 so far, so 100 is going to probably be out of reach. I haven't decided to start the $20 next month or after I get 100 $10. Either way I look forwards to moving up.

So I decided to try to sat into the Fifty-Fifty. For those who are unfamiliar it is a daily FTP $50 $50k guarantee. I took out 2 people I the first 5 hands. I kept getting good hands and getting people to give me all their chips. Here I am the early chip leader.

I stayed near the top until we got down to about 30 people left. The blinds were getting high and just planned on folding into the $. I didn't fold every hand, but I wasn't risking my chips for many hands at all. Here I open fold A-K near the bubble for the second time.

I was last in chips when we finally broke the bubble. I pushed the next hand and only got like 2 callers. I got lucky and couldn't lose a hand. I out ran K-K with 8-2. I look forwards to the Fifty-Fifty later tonight.

I'm such a dumbass

I'm a little upset with myself. I entered a $1 rebuy super sat to the $500k. Unfortunately I will be going to NY and won't be able to play. I didn't even think about it before the super sat started. I thought about it about 1 hour in (they don't even last 2 hours). I ended up winning, but still don't think I can play.





The final hand...

Ozzy55 actually also won a seat. It took him like 4 hands to realize that I wasn't an idiot by pushing every hand. Maybe he wanted to try to beat me heads up.

I said I was going to post some about my $2 rebuy win, but I've had some problems with my FTP site. It hasn't let me download some of the images I uploaded from my desktop. I'll try to get something up, but it will be less than I planned.

Thank you NFulton for posting my first comment. I'd love to hear anything constructive from anyone else who stops by.

July 2007 - Goals

For starters I not only didn't post any June goals, I didn't make any goals for myself. Let's see how I did on my May goals.

1. I didn't make it to $500 in May, but I did top it once in June. After my $2 rebuy win, I played some $50 nl and jumped up before I lost most of it back.
2. I have continued to improve my choices in times and games to play. I can't say I haven't played sometimes lately without my 'A' game, but I have done alot better.
3. Still no $400k. Now Full Tilt has upped it to a $500k.
4. I played more than 50 SNGs.

Now for some July 2007 goals.

1. Continue to increase my bankroll.
2. Don't play above my online bankroll.
3. Satellite into the $500k.
4. Play 100 SNGs.

#2 is my most important goal this month; maybe I should have made it #1, but I wasn't really putting them in order. My realistic bankroll is really much higher than what I have online, but it would be much nicer to never add $ to Full Tilt again. #4 may be difficult for me; it really depends on how many days I'll get to play this month. I've never really done more than 2 tables at a time, and I'm not in a rush to.

Absence Apology

I have to apologize to anyone who has come here for new material to read. There are so many reason why I have not been updating. For one thing, I have not been playing much poker and therefore don't have much to talk about.

My office has added 'Websense' to our server. It is a pain in the ass. Apparently I can now, but originally all blogs were blocked from use. Websense is also smart enough to block all proxy servers and even information about proxy avoidance. Very annoying. I cannot visit CardPlayer.com either, because it is a gambling site. What is funny is I can actually gamble with no problem.

Enough complaining.

I won my first tournament (excluding freerolls) last night. It was a $2 rebuy. I will have more on that later this week. I am excited for my $400+ score though.

I again apologize for the lack of updates. Hopefully now knowing that I can visit the blog from work again as well as my recent win I will have more to write about and more opportunity to do so.

Not Much Poker Lately

I haven't been playing much poker lately. There are many reasons why, some good some not. I have been trying to play golf alot lately. We are having our annual golf outing here at work, so I am trying to practice so as not too make too much of a fool of myself.

The golf outing will actually be a best ball tournament. We will have players of all caliber playing. (well at least from terrible to pretty good. No pros or really even close I think.) I am not very good myself, but I don't suck either. I can hit the ball well alot of the time, but probably not even most of the time.

Golf is really difficult.

Moving on... I also have not been as motivated to play poker as much as usual. I gave myself a shot at the FT Daily Double last friday. I did OK, but didn't cash in either event. I was close in both, but close doesn't really mean anything.

I also lost three big hands when I was >90%. I don't recall them right now, but they were bad beats and I have to move on.

I will post soon on my goals for June and my results for May.

Other Blogs

Well before I ever started my own blog I was reading other poker blogs. Almost all of them have inspired me in some way. I am able to get some insight that would not be as accessible on a forum. It has also been nice to read the progression of some of the bloggers. Some of the blogs I read often and enjoy the most are:

Regularly Updated (At least more than mine):

AlCan'tHang
Blinders
Cracknaces
Fuel55
Hoyazo's blog
Loretta8
Pauly's Poker Blog
Rizen Poker
Smokkee
Tripjax

Others:

LUCKOWNAGE - Lucko21's blog.

sprstoner's blog

CBal's blog


This is what I have for now. I plan on updated this post from time to time and linking to it from the right side of this page.

Edited 1.10.08

Why First Place Is So Imprtant

I have been continuing to have success at the $5 SNG. I have now played 45. I started off only really playing 1 table at a time. I am now playing 2 table pretty comfortably. I plan to move up to 3 tables soon. I have been in the money in nearly half of the 45 so far. My ROI is 25.5%, but it still moves around an awful lot with each one I add. I realize that I have to play many more before that number is very accurate.

I noticed a couple days ago after I had played 5 SNGs that I had a losing session. It was disappointing because I cashed in 2 and bubble another. So I had finished in the money 40%, but my ROI was negative. I had finished 2nd and 3rd. I had already known the importance of finishing in 1st, but it really hit me there.

I also realized that overall I was not getting 1st enough. I feel like I have been very aggressive on the bubble and been finishing in 4th alot also. I have mostly been losing the heads up match at the end and coming in 2nd. I think I may be too aggressive at this point sometimes. I have been caught stealing and not wanted to play for all the chips too often.

My updated graphs:

A (dead) Link to My Blog

I often check to see how people have found my blog. Using my Bravehost Counter I can see what the referring websites are. I was surprised to see one that I was unfamiliar with.

http://omahahands.blogspot.com/

So thank you Brian for possibly giving me some more traffic. One of these days I'll start making some extra $ from my affiliate links.

Edit: The blog with the link was gone just as fast as it appeared.

Quick exit in FTOPS IV Event #3 Sat

Well, I'm not very happy with my quick exit. I picked up A-J of hearts in the BB on the very first hand. Flop was J high and bet all three streets. Someone had called with a flush draw and second pair even on the river. So great start right? Well yeah, but I blew that really fast. A few hands later our table was split up and I was off to a new table.

My first hand at the new table was the following:

Full Tilt Poker

Blinds: t20/t40

9 players

Converter

Stack sizes:

UTG: t1500

UTG+1: t1500

MP1: t1500

MP2: t720

MP3: t1455

Hero: t1945

Button: t1710

SB: t2940

BB: t2175

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is CO with jd jh 3 folds, MP2 calls, MP3 folds, Hero raises to t160, Button calls, 2 folds, MP2 calls.

Flop: 8s qh 3c (t540, 3 players)MP2 checks, Hero bets t300 (I was hoping the C-bet would just take this down now), Button calls (He took half of his allotted time and I was thinking A-K or pp, maybe 10-10 or 9-9) MP2 folds.

Turn: 5h (t1140, 2 players)Hero is all-in t1485 (well in hindsight this was obviously a total donk move, but I thought there was a good chance I was ahead and expected a call. I think a check would have been just fine, and again in hindsight, the right move.), Button calls all-in t1250.Uncalled bets: t235 returned to Hero.

River: 7c (t3640, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: t3640)

Results:Final pot: t3640

Hero showed Jd Jh

Button showed Ah Qs

I was really surprised to see A-Q. I really would have expected a raise from A-Q here. In the end I really blame myself for being such a donk, but I need to get over it.

At this point I was still in the tourny with a short stack. I needed to start pushing and hope to get lucky. Unfortunately this is what happened.

O well. Better luck (and decisions) next time.

Super Sat to FTOPS IV Event #3 Win

I won another of these 45 person $1 rebuy tournaments. I got off to a pretty poor start though. I was willing to rebuy a few times trying to double up with less than premium hands. I lost 3 all-ins pretty fast, 2 of which I was about a coin flip. The other one got 3 callers all with better hands than my K-10. I had decided not rebuy if I was busted again. I picked up J-J and get some more chips, but not quite a double up. Rebuy period ended and I did the add-on. I was amazed to see my ~4500 stack as high on the leader board.

Seems like few who play these tournaments have much of a clue of good rebuy or satellite strategy. Check out this screenshot from another rebuy:




It is about the end of the rebuy period and there are only 24 of 45 people left. Most of the people who left didn't even rebuy once. What I find most interesting is that they would be all-in with weak hands like they could rebuy, but then just leave.

I won a decent pot with A-A that I tried limping UTG. I only ended up winning a side pot and doubled someone up. I ended up winning a huge pot on BB with 7-8. I caught trips on the flop and slow played the flop. I played it fast on the turn and on the river I pushed and thought I was done when both players I was in the hand with called. Both of them had me covered. I had almost half the chips with 9 players left and never looked back.

Also the shorthanded shortstack play was just awful by most of the players.

Now hopefully I can win my way to the big event. I at least hope I don't get real unlucky like the last big satellite I was in.

SNGs Going Well

I haven't posted in a while. I wish I'd keep up with my blog better, but it's just not high on the list when I get busy.

I've mostly been playing just 1 table $5 SNGs lately. I feel like I'm doing well, but the money just seems slow. I've played 19 of them and have made about $30. I created a spreadsheet for them. Here are 2 graphs I made for them.

As you can see I got off to a slow start. Hopefully I can keep up my recent performance and continue to build my bankroll.

May 2007 - Goals

Quick review of April 2007 goals.

1. I did not increase my bankroll to $500. I in fact did not even profit in April 2007. My bankroll was reduced to a little over $100.
2. I think I was successful at playing only when I wanted and not just because I was bored. I still have some improving to do as far as doing more to always play my 'A' game.
3. I did purchase PokerTracker.
4. I did not satellite into the $400k, but did make the $50+5 satellite twice. The first time I learned for the future. The second time I played well and got sucked out on to loose half my chip stack. I am confident I will make the $400k in May.
   

Now my list of May 2007 goals.

1. Increase my bankroll to $500.
2. Play only when I am willing to put the effort forth to play my 'A' game.
3. Satellite into the $400k.
4. Play 50 SNGs.

I no longer think that #1 is conservative. I think it is easily attainable, but it is not the most important goal. If I play well the bankroll will come. I want to keep it as a goal, but not as much as forethought. I think that #2 is the most important goal and the hardest to achieve. I am very hopeful and confident to achieve #3. #4 is just something I have come up with for a change of pace. I'm not sure how achievable it is for me. If my ROI% is high it will be much easier.

Some moderate success

I finally had some moderate success yesterday. My plan lately was to try to satellite into the $400k guarantee. I also had some attempts at satelliting into a FTOPS event. After a couple tries and no success I decided I would use all but my last $100 to try to satellite into a large event. This left me about $20.

I did end up winning a 45 person $1 rebuy SNG satellite to the $50 +5 satellite to the $400k. I also entered two freeroll tournaments at almost the same time. One was a PPA $2500 freeroll. The other was a 315 person level 1 Main Event qualifier.

The PPA freeroll was actually played something like a real $ tourny by most entrants. I ended up placing in about 80th out of about 900 people. I never really got much going and was a shortstack for most of the way. It was easy to not get involved with less than premium holdings or less than desireable position while I was playing the two other tournaments.

I also ended up winning the 315 level 1 qualifier. These tournaments start off pretty crazy. I didn't keep notes on many hands and haven't figured out Poker Tracker enough to find the key hands. I played very tight for much of it, but was pretty much all-in if I had a hand for the majority of the tournament. I was just hanging in there until one hand where I pushed from UTG with a suited A and M=~4. I got 5 callers including 4 more all-ins (and was actually ahead of 3 of them). I ended up sextupling up when I caught my flush on the river. This gave me plenty of chips to make it to the final table where I proceeded to dominate the table.




So if nothing else I have got some confidence back. I hope I can use it to make the $400k and hopefully cash as well.

I do have some hand histories to discuss. Both good plays and bad. I'll need to spend some time reviewing them before I post them though.

Affiliates

I have added a link to Ultimate Bet. I have yet to deposit there so I really have no opinion to share yet. They do have blackjack which I like alot, but is not really very profitable for me. They also have some kind of blackjack tournaments. They have also just added R0ShamBo.

I have also just signed up for Amazon Affiliates. So before to long you'll see some Amazon links here. Please use them if you plan on buying anything from Amazon.

I have also moved the poker news section to the bottom of the page. I don't really know if I'll keep it. I have not really seen anything there that special.

As for poker lately, I have at least slowed the bleeding. I've really only been trying to satellite into major tournaments. I've had no luck, but feel my play has been acceptable.

Frustration

Sometimes I feel like I will never succeed at this game. As the losses pile up it gets much harder to find my 'A' game. As much bad luck as I have experienced the last couple weeks I know it would be detrimental to my game to blame it all on luck.

I feel right now if I keep playing like I have been I will exhaust my bankroll and have to take an extended break in order to replenish it. I really feel like I can (and need to) avoid that. I know that poker is a lifetime of learning. I know that everyday that I play I become more poker intelligent. I am finding it hard to deal with seeing people succeed that I see doing so many things poorly.

I am going to take the rest of the month very light. I don't plan on finishing up the Full Tilt Iron Man this month. I plan on ordering another poker book to read. I am still going to give another shot at a satellite entry into the $400k guarantee. Obviously if I can get into and cash in the $400k my confidence will skyrocket.

I need to get some confidence back as it has dwindled into little more than a total lack of confidence. I know what I am experiencing has happened to many people. I also know that it has happened to the best. I hope I can come out of it a better, more well rounded poker player.

As a side note if anyone reads this please let me know what you think about the Google News I have added to the right side of the page.

Lunch Poker is -EV

For a couple weeks now I've had the 'feeling' my lunch time poker had been going poorly. I would often spend about an hour playing poker during my lunch. I was regularly loosing. Usually small amounts that I would regain the same evening. A couple times the loses were more than just a little.

I had told myself that I should quit playing at lunch, but still many days I'd hop on and play some stud. With all my loses lately it was much easier to convince myself to not play. I have in fact not played very much during that last couple weeks.

I was just going through some of my data last night from Check Your Bets and came to a horrifying conclusion. Lunch was by far the worst hour on record. Nothing else really came close.

So now that I have backed up my "feeling" with cold hard facts, I am telling myself and you that I cannot allow myself to play at lunch anymore. Some of my coworkers will be disappointed. Some would come by and watch a little and try to learn something. (almost none of them have actually ever played for money so learning included what beat what for some)

On a side note my losses are still adding up. I played 4 SNGs last night. I finished 4th, 4th, 3rd and 9th. I'm not really disappointed in my play, but I got no breaks when they counted. I'm still pretty inexperienced in these SNG's, but I hope I can improve my results quickly.

Back to Square One

My losses continue to add up. My bankroll is now back to where I started this month. I can honestly attribute much of this lack of success to running bad, but I can also see where I have played hands poorly.
I played some $0.25/$0.50 NL cash last week. I was up and down. I lost a couple hands against (2) different players who bought in for the minimum ($10). I find that often when people buy in for the minimum they are hoping for at least one quick double up to earn some quick cash, or continue to push people off hands by going all-in quickly with any two.
Both the players I doubled up on their very first hand at the table. Both players were dealt K-K their very first hand. Both times I hit the flop reasonably and thought I was ahead.
Even with both these unfortunate hands I managed to stay near even for the session. I was down $15 until this hand.

Ooops, I guess I played the hand on my other computer. Maybe I'll get to post the hand later, but a quick overview.

6 handed max

J3 dealt 5-8 in the SB

Everyone limps so I am obliged to call. BB checks.

flop is 5 10 2

Everyone checks.

Turn is 5 (also putting up a second diamond)

Everyone checks again.

River is Q (no diamond so no flush or straight possibilities)

I bet $2 (about 2/3 pot)

BB raises to about $8 (quickly and with pot raise button I believe)

folded around to button (a player I earlier had doubled up who continued to play very poorly)

I raise all-in thinking unless someone has 10-10 and slowplayed the set on the flop and a turned boat I am ahead.

Both the BB and Button call.

BB shows A-5 to win the pot.

Button shows Q-7 and really thought he was good?

What I really learned from this session is that I need to do a better job of table selection. Most of the table had played solid thus far with the exception of the two players I double up. Neither one of those guys lasted very long both going broke before leaving. The other four players all were at least as good as I was if not better. I know I can find a table where I am far better than most. I need to realize when this is not the case and move to another table. I need to not be hard headed and egotistical thinking I can beat anyone.

I think I am taking a break from the cash games for a while to concentrate on SNG and MTT

Ups and Downs

So far this month has been positive. I need to keep reminding myself that when I have losing sessions. April started off very well. Before the last few days I had already nearly reached my goal of $500. I have since lost over $100 and am down to $345. I have a long ways to go to get where I really want to be. I need to remember to take it in stride.

I made a worthwhile attempt to satellite into the $400k guarantee. I entered a $7 + $0.50 STT super sat to the $50 + $5.

I got lucky early when my 8-8 beat J-J. I didn't play another hand until I pick up 4-4 OTB (On The Button) in an unraised pot. I raise not really wanting a call, but the short stacked BB calls. BB checks the flop and I put him all-in. He calls with Q-10 not giving me credit for anything. The 4's hold up and I am in the chip lead with (6) left. A few hands later someone takes out (2) people and it's down to (4).

A couple hands later I'm in BB w/ K-J. (1) limper and SB calls. I check to see a flop of K-J-9. I take someone out holding K-9. Down to (3). With (3) left I am very aggressive. The short stack is busted and its heads up with pretty even stacks. I have about 30BB so I intend to be somewhat patient as a seat is awarded only to 1st place.

I keep up my aggression and win every pot but (1) in which he re-raised my PF bet all-in. It was only about (5) hands into HU when my 5-5 beat his K-10 (with a 5 on the river) to take 1st place.

Unfortunately the $50 + $5 didn't go very well for me. I didn't really get much for cards, but that wasn't my only problem. I really misjudged this tourney all together. I had really believed I could play very tight and win my seat as ~23% get seats to the $400k. I continued to watch after I was busted to get an idea of where the tourney was when the seats were awarded. I watched Lee Watkinson patiently wait for the bubble.

What I learned from continuing to watch the satellite was that the blinds were nearly the size of the starting stack when the seats were awarded. I learned that I needed to be much more aggressive with some less then premium holding if I was going to last long enough. Otherwise I would just be waiting around hoping my all-in stood up like my first attempt.

This weekend Full Tilt will have a $750k guarantee. The buy in for this event is $500 + $35. A little steep for me to even sat into. So I will try again next week to satellite into the $400k.

April 2007 - Goals

First of all this weekend went badly. I had some unlucky bubbles and then went on to play very poorly. I put a big dent in my bankroll and am very disappointed in myself and my play.

To help combat my bad sessions I have decided to start some monthly goals. For April I have come up with the following:

1. Increase my bankroll to $500 (or more of course).
2. Do NOT play when I am bored. DO play when I want to play.
3. Purchase PokerTracker.
4. Satellite into Full Tilt's $400,000 guarantee.

I hope I can accomplish all these goals this month. My bankroll is around $250 now (after my bad weekend) , so I think #1 is conservative. I think #2 will greatly help my game overall.

#4 is the only optimistic goal. I really want to play (and cash) in the event, but will not kick myself if I fail to accomplish this the first month.

Software and Memberships to Buy

There is a ton of poker software and memberships out there for purchase. Some of which should be in any serious poker's arsenal. At this time I have yet to purchase any of these. For my level of play the cost of the software and memberships are alot. I do however realize how insignificant the cost may be if it helps me win more money.

Below are some of what I have found and been informed of, some descriptions of each and links if anyone would like some more information. (In no particular order)

SharkScope - A website that offers player statistics for SNG's (Sit 'N' Go's) from many major sites. They also have an option to search for registering SNG's with a 'rating' of how fishy or sharky. They do allow 5 free searches a day for free, which I often use. They offer both a monthly subscription plan as well as a fixed number of searches plan.

The PokerDB - (Now owned by Bluff Magazine.) A website similar to Sharkscope, but for MTT (Multi Table Tournaments). Now that it is being run by Bluff, it appears to be a very extensive database. The free version is very useful. You can have a watch list to track any number of players you'd like.

Poker Tracker - A software program for tracking your own statistics as well as anyone else you are playing against. Poker Tracker is available in (3) versions. They are Hold'em, Omaha and Stud. The Omaha and Stud versions work with all variations of each game. Hi, Hi-lo, etc.

PokerAce HUD - An add-on to Poker Tracker that adds a Heads Up Display. Basically it puts statistics of the players at your table on the table while you are playing.

Idle Miner - An add-on to Poker Tracker that gets hand histories of tables and players while you are not playing. It can run while you are not at home at all. Lets you choose what limits, table size, max and min players, etc.

Sit-n-Go Power Tools - A software program for analyzing and understanding your play during the bubble stage of SNG's. This understanding can be extrapolated to MTT final table play as well. During the bubble stage Pushing or Folding are often the only correct plays and this software can help you find which is the correct choice.

PokerXFactor - A website with a wide range of poker training and evaluation. For starters they have training videos made by Online pro's of their actual game play with a voice overlay. With membership you have the ability to animate entire hand histories into an easy to see table like view. They have just recently added some tools built into this with 'PXF Hand History Analyzer'

Now this list is far from exhaustive, but it does include some of the most usefull options I have come across. I plan to add most if not all of these softwares and memberships to my arsenal over some time. It may take some time as these add up to $100's.

I hope you have found this helpful. If there is anything you believe should be on this list just add a comment and I may add it at a later time.

Villain Fills Up

I've been trying to find a good hand converter. So lets see how this looks.


Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.25/$0.50
6 players
Converter


Stack sizes:
UTG: $8.10
UTG+1: $27.05
CO: $35.35
Button: $30.40
SB: $47.25
J3: $47.75


Pre-flop: (6 players) J3 is BB with :ac :9d
4 folds, SB calls $0.25 (pot was $0.75), J3 raises to $1.5, SB calls $1 (pot was $1.5).


Flop: :ah :3c :as ($3, 2 players)
SB checks, J3 checks.

(I am really thinking this is a good opportunity to trap. I have position on the villain, The flop comes rainbow and a straight draw seems very unlikely.)

Turn: :kc ($3, 2 players)
SB bets $2, J3 raises to $4, SB calls $2 (pot was $9).

(Now the King of Clubs gives reasonable straight draw and a flush draw so I raise. I believe my raise was too small here. )

River: :8c ($11, 2 players)
SB checks, J3 bets $6, SB raises to $15, J3 calls $9 (pot was $32).

(Here is where I make my biggest mistake. I didn't spend anytime putting my opponent on a hand after the river. I resorted to simple 1 level thinking. There are many hands that beat me. Any 2 clubs, a better A, or I could have been slowplayed with a flopped boat.)

Results:
Final pot: $41

I have also added a screen shot below showing the villain catching the 2 outer on the river.




I am not sure of how I can make this same situation profitable. Can it be profitable with calling the river here? I still believe this is a good opportunity for a trap. This was a battle of the blinds where I was in position.

My real problem with this hand was my thinking on the river. I think maybe some time with this hand on PokerStove will give me an idea of what range of hands I can have my opponent on and still profit with a river call.

Good call or desperate donk call?

Well, it has been an experience trying to find the hands I wanted to talk about from Wednesday's Daily Double. I had written myself some comments while I was playing so I could review my play at a later time. I need to figure out how to identify these hands better or this will continue to take me forever.

Any case I was able to find one hand. It was a very questionable play on my part that worked out well. As you can see here, I raised from mid pos. with 8-9 off. I was really hoping for a steal of the blinds, but was called by the SB. I caught second pair on the flop with a backdoor straight draw. When the SB bet the pot (which was 64% of his stack) I though long and hard. I felt he was weak by betting so much so I finally made the call.

Do you think this was a good call?

Unfortunately I lasted only 25 more hands, but did cash almost enough to pay for both tournies.

More Backround

I need to give everyone reading some background in my poker playing.

I have been playing online for about 18 months. I had played some before that for playchips on ESPN poker. I also took a break for a few months during the last 18 months because I had lost my bankroll and the holiday season was tighting up my wallet.

The very first week I played I deposited $50 to Party Poker and $100 to Full Tilt. I don't recall how long my $ lasted at Party Poker, but I really liked FT more. That may have to do with the fact that the very first MTT I played was a $20 +$10 Hurricane Katrina benifit tourny. I finished in the money and knocked out 'pro' Aaron Bartley and got a bounty worth the $20 entry fee (I also got a T-shirt in the mail).

For the first year or so I didn't keep track of any of my results, but had both some good periods and some bad. I wasn't until about (3) months ago that I started being more serious about improving my game. I starting using the Check Your Bets website to track my results. I have also discovered a plethera of sites like sharkscope and thepokerdb that track all kinds of MTT and SNG results. You can use these sites to lookup other players results. I have also recently discovered the Official Poker Player Rankings website. I owe most of these discoveries to the forum at Card Player.

Enough background for now. I will talk about some hands from the Daily double at Full Tilt that I played last night in my next post.

Introduction

This is my first post in what may be many. I have never done this sort of thing before, but hope it will be helpful in becoming a more successful poker player.

I hope that writing about my poker thought and experiences will give me the ablility to see situations differently.

I have yet to be even moderately successful in my time playing poker. That is not to say that I have not had profitable periods, but overall I am still a losing player. This fact really bothers me. I know I am a very intelligent individual. Math especially comes easy to me.

Whether anyone else will ever read this I look fowards to finding out. I also hope that I can somehow earn some affiliate cash through this blog.