Making a hand before leaving

Maybe the first sign the trip would be successful was at the airport. We had decided to try and catch an earlier flight by going stand by. Though we were assured there was plenty of room, there was a crowd up by the gate. But the attendant quickly issued us a seat and we were good to go. Catching a flight to get you into Vegas 3 hours earlier is just like scooping a sizable pot.

I survived the flight and the 60 year old horny woman behind me. I could tell she was from the south side of Milwaukee by the number of times she said "yooz boyz". She was determined to have a blast and walk around a casino in her night gown. That was a sight I didn't want to see.

We checked into the Excalibur rather quickly using their check-in kiosk. Damn good machine. I don't know why others were standing in line waiting for a human. We were in and up the elevator within 5 minutes. Then again, maybe this isn't the best idea. Check out the beautiful view we had.

Some get a strip view, we got the great 4th floor brick wall view. Then again, we weren't going to spend time in the room. I was there with my friend Cor and he wanted to play some poker. More specifically, a tournament. The Mandalay Bay 6 was in about an hour so we started to walk on over.

When we got there we were informed it was already sold out. They also mentioned to get there early for the morning tourney too. What? Apparently their tournies are selling out fast now. I was disappointed as I recall them being nice and soft. Instead, I was sitting down at a 4/8 with a 1/2 kill while Cor took a seat at the 2/4.

Things started slowly and I didn't get anywhere. Kings ran into a set of Jacks but I bailed on the turn knowing I was beat. I played loose at first but then tightened up quickly. I like to play some pots early to settle in and project a weak image. This will usually get me some bigger pots later.

As I dipped down, Cor took down a bonus jackpot with quad Kings. Bastard didn't even tell me!

I watched as one old grouchy guy with retarded maniacal smile got pissed at a solid player. He claimed he checked when he didn't. Got really pissed about calling the bet. Yep, 8 dollars pissed him off. He kept crabbing about it for the next orbit. Meanwhile, two other players disappeared. This is something that I would see a lot of. The locals liked to just be in the poker room. Doesn't matter if they play. Put their chips down, play some pots and then walk around for the next hour. But at Mandalay, they have a 3 man walking rule. If a 3rd person gets up, they lose their spot. The floor will rack their chips up and give away their seat. So if you had to piss bad, you were kinda screwed.

The table changed players up a bit. The only solid guy left for the tournament only to return 20 minutes later and be a victim to the Hammer. The table was getting boring so when the Hammer showed up, I decided to drop it on them. Got two callers. Flop came A J 7. I bet it again. One guy folded, and the solid guy looked at me, said he wanted to see one more card and called. Turn was a rag and I bet it out. He quickly folded. I slammed the cards down and yelled "Hammer!". Solid guy gave me credit and didn't take offense. Others were confused and whispering with each other.

We played just a couple of hours before hunger set in. I cashed in up a couple of bucks and we headed out to get something to eat. Cor wanted the Luxor buffet so we ate there. It wasn't bad. Wasn't great either. It did sit in my stomach taking up precious room that had been reserved for beer.

After dinner and an impatient blackjack session, it was off to the Excalibur poker room to play the spread game. During one of the numerous sessions at the castle, I learned that they may be moving the poker room. Word is the sports book is taking the space in the poker room. Where the poker room is going is unknown. Supposedly it is not going where the sports book is. Why they want to move a nice active poker room is a mystery to me.

The play in the castle is so soft. Like a stripper's ass soft. I doubled up in a couple of hours playing a tight game. I probably came off like an asshole to one guy too. Just as I sat down, this guy who claimed to be an "ex-everything" (like a Marine, weapons specialist, cow farmer, other bullshit) said he wanted to kick Michael Vick's ass. I told him he was a fool. Vick would beat him senseless. He responded that he would get him from behind. Yeah, Marine my ass!

I talked with the guy on my left a bit. He was from Chicago sporting the Walter Payton jersey. He was getting some good hands busted on the river. But he wasn't going to leave because the other black guy on the other end of the table was terrible. He called down many hands. Time after time he would fold on the river. I kept betting into him like a madman and taking his chips. That is until I went card dead and folded for what seemed like forever. It didn't matter much as we were having a good time.

Somehow the conversation turned to cow tipping. We argued whether it was real or not. I know people who claim to have tipped cows but I myself never have. The dealer and Payton insisted it could be done while ex-everything, who lived on a farm with cows, said it was an urban legend. Either way, it was fun arguing with this drunk guy and taking his chips away.

I called it a night around 3 when the table broke up. I had doubled up so I was content. I knew I would be back. This table would be a reflection of how the Excalibur would play out.

UP NEXT: Checking out the Trop, playing blind, suckout session at the Aladdin and the moron at Monte Carlo.

Successful Vegas trip

Just got back from Vegas where I had a very nice run at the poker tables. I didn't make major mad money but did very well. In fact, I didn't have a single losing session.

Hell, I even played the Crazy Pineapple tournament at Ballys and came in 2nd. There will be more of trip report coming later. But to sum it up quickly:

The games are softer than ever in Vegas.

Turn that frown upside down

After much delay, I finally had purchased Poker Tracker and put it to use. It took me a while to understand what some of this really meant. I guess that is the reason I should buy the Poker Tracker Guide sometime soon to make sure I am getting the optimal use of the software.

But after feeding it my Party Poker, Full Tilt and PokerRoom hands, it gave me that green frowning face. It said I was Semi Loose Aggressive/Passive. I took it that because it was a frowning face that it wasn't good. I saw there was a smiley face that meant I was aggressive after the flop.

So after I started playing on PokerShare, it showed I was still a frowning face on there site too. And I had to admit they were right. There were too many bets I was giving up on the turn or river because of possible flushes, straights, or feeling my opponent had a set. But what I realized was I could also bluff it out, making them believe I was the one who hit it.

Then I started to watch the icons that were being generated for others. Soon I was able to use their tendencies against them. I then began taking better notes. I like to think my play improved as I got use to a more aggressive style, but Poker Tracker helped as well. A good example is one player in particular. Table after table, I somehow got the button to his BB. I tend to steal but usually with a good hand. I noticed that no matter what, he would raise me back from the big blind. He was willing to defend it to the death. Or so it seemed. I would give the continuation bet on the flop and see the automatic raise. I noticed the pattern and started to simply call. But on the turn, I would again bet out, but re-raise his raise. It worked again and again. Needless to say, he is one player that I have taken a lot of money off of.

But not as much as the guy who is seeing over 77% of the flops. He showed up at a table with me tonight on my right. Again and again I raised him and took a nice amount off of him. Finally I have someone I can search out and beat up.

So after tuning my game, a great thing happened yesterday. My green frowning guy turned into a smiley face. I celebrated by going out for buckets of beer with a friend. Best yet, though I didn't play great at times tonight, he never frowned.

My great run at the UB skin PokerShare continues. I am up over a grand there. I feel my game is pretty good at the 3/6 tables there. Time to move up to the 4/8 soon and check out how different the game is there.

But I also am curious at to what the best icon truly is on Poker Tracker. Do you want to have the money bag or eagle? I have seen players with them and they seem like they may be too tight and only aggressive with big hands. Any feedback on the optimal icon for PT is appreciated.

In less than a week I should be chatting up Linda at the Bellagio where I intend to try the 8/16 game. I also hope that a slower pace live game can result in the same gains as playing online. It would be rather discouraging to sit down, see a bunch of crappy hands and toss them away, just to see good hands cracked. But I am confident of some good sessions.

Less than a week to Vegas. Friday will suck.

Losing aggression and sucking out

Got back on the winning track yesterday. But it was ugly at first.

I came to realize unless I develop a greater sense of discipline, I will never move up levels and be successful. I took big dips with my starting stacks chasing draws and playing second pair. Worse part is I knew I was wrong. I knew I was beat. But after playing online for quite some time, you begin to think that second pair is going to win with all the knuckleheads that online.

Well, I was one of those knuckleheads last night. Thankfully I pulled my head out of my ass and straightened up to make some money.

I got there with 2 good hands and one big suckout. The 2 good hands netted me $164. One was A A, the other A Q. Both were against the same opponent. I played the A Q well. But this was after I misplayed the A A.

I should have had each street capped with the A A. It was capped preflop. Capped on a flop of 4 5 8. But when a 3 hit the turn, I just called the raise. A 10 on the river and I checked fearing he hit a set. I called the bet to see his K K. I can't believe I let this one go down like that. Why was I fearing a set? Capping with a baby pair preflop? Some idiots may do that but I should have read this correctly. This was screaming overpair. I should have kept raising. He didn't have me on A A. I left about $30 on the table in that hand.

Thus when two hands later I had A Q, I played the same guy heads up more aggressively when the Q hit the flop. With no overcards, I kept raising him back as I was confident my Q was good. At least I learned about that opponents tendencies and used it to my advantage.

Meanwhile on the other table, I sucked out to get back to the positive. I may have not had pot odds on the turn, but I had huge implied odds- which I messed up. I was in the BB with 9 7 off. 3 people limp. MP raises. The cut off and button call the two bets. I figure at least one of the limpers if not 2 will call as well. I have to see a flop here. They all call. Flop is 7 8 A. It checks to the bettor who starts the action again. Both cut off and button call. I have bottom pair with no flush draw and a backdoor straight. I figure the bettor has just an ace. I want to see another card on the cheap here to see if I can suck something out. I believe I have pot odds here for the call so I do. Only one of the limpers in EP stays. Turn is a 5. I now have a gutshot straight draw. Same action. Bet. Call, call, call. I call as well. I count myself for 9 outs that are good. The EP go away. River is a 6. I hit my gutshot. But then I screw it up and bet. I should have gone for the check raise. If someone else is playing 9 10 in this spot, power to them. But I should have squeaked out another bet from each of the 2 that called me. Sure enough, one had A K while the other had......4 4 ???? WTF?

This time next week, the tour of Vegas card rooms will be in full swing. Time cannot go fast enough right now.

Kings cracked- Twice!!!

Nothing can ruin a good run that having a good pair cracked twice. Within 15 minutes.

That was the difference between a winning and losing session. The second time I could see. Guy had limped in mid position with J 10o and flopped a straight. Problem here was the EP limper who had A Q did not raise. If he raised, there is a slight chance that guy does not call two bets or even the third when I raise it behind him. I say slight as the guy was probably playing the hand no matter what. So he flopped the straight, slow played the flop, and raised the river. He got an extra bet out of me on the turn when I realized the clown played J 10 and paid him off. It would have been so sweet to see the board pair up and send the joker home.

It was the first K K I lost with that pissed me off. I was in the BB with the cowboys and re-raised the button. Flop came Q high rainbow. There is no draw out there. I bet and he calls. Turn in the dreaded A. I bet and he calls. River is a rag. I bet and he calls to show A 10o. I can see the steal, but to draw to 3 outs? Correct me if I am wrong, but with 3 outs, he doesn't have pot odds to make that call (yeah I could look it up but don't want to. I rather bitch).

Overall I can't complain too much. The loss wasn't that much and I got out before I tilted away a lot more.

In one week from today, I should be finishing up an all night poker session in Vegas. I can see the transition from Lite to Maker's Mark to Baileys and coffee happening already.

Mixed reviews

I had a strange weekend of poker. While I couldn't catch cards to save my life on PokerBlue and tilted away cash like there was no tomorrow, I was making more to cover the losses over at PokerShare.

What is that? PokerShare?

A site I discovered while perusing the news. For each player point you earn, you earn "shares" of the company. Or shares that are in a trust representing 40% of the company. If they go public- as they intend to do- you could end up with stock of a real listed company. In the meantime, they promise to pay out dividends over the year. I will probably add a banner or two for them.

Interesting enough, they are basically an Ultimate Bet skin. They offer the Aruba trip tournies just like UB and the points you earn are Ultimate Points. Finding tables is not a problem either. I have been playing 2/4 and moved up to 3/6 where I am doing pretty good. My initial deposit of $250 is just under $900 at this time. They are also offering the 100% bonus up to $250. Collecting points seems to be quite easy as well. In the past it always sounded like clearing UB bonuses were difficult. This one doesn't seem so. At the very least, it is easier to clear than Full Tilt.

I may move away from Poker Blue where I took a hit. I think because the players are pretty loose that I lost some discipline and started playing too many draws and second pair, paying off way too many hands. It also hurts to have your Aces cracked by the guy who sucks out with the river river flush. I may continue to play just to get entry in the Sunday freerolls but considering I won't be around for the next two, I may just go away.

Playing all the limit has me feeling pretty confident about Vegas. Only a week away now. I can see it now, spinning the wheel at the Excalibur or taking down some bonus money with my quad 5s at the Monte Carlo or Mandalay Bay.

If only it were this easy all the time

Here is a hand that Dr. Pauly would be proud of:

I was playing 2/4 last night. I am in the BB with the Hilton Sisters. UTG raises. It folds around to me and I bump it up. He caps.

The flop comes 7d, Jc, Qc. I flop my set. I bet. He raises. Nice! I re-raise and he caps. I like this.

Turn is the case Q. Sweet mother, the entire Hilton family! I bet it out (There is no way he is dropping this hand the way he has bet it so far). He raises, I re-raises and he caps again.

River is a 10h. At this point I must admit I had pegged him for A A or K K. But I really don't care what he has. We go through the dance again with it getting capped.

He turns over A K. Of clubs. I win a $94 pot.

It isn't until I replay the hand that I realize potentially dodged a bullet. He was drawing to a Royal Flush. If he hit that 10 of clubs, I would have suffered a bad beat and not collected anything.

Worse yet, just before I called the final bet, I type in "you are going to feel stupid". I would have been the stupid one if that 10c hits.

Thankfully, it didn't.

Movie stars

Saw this on Iggy's site and had to post it as well.

the Poker Geek and Dr. Pauly in a starring role. Damn funny.

Of course I post something like this because I have nothing else to add. Haven't played much over the last two days. Been busy with other things. That will change though.

Vegas is less than 2 weeks away. Thoughts of going through Excalibur, MGM, the Mirage and Bellagio are swimming through my head. I can feel the felt below my finger tips.

Until then, I will continue to hone my skills at the virtual tables.

Stuckeness- crappy play digs a hole

No, I am not talking about my opponents on PokerBlue. I need to step forward and say it.

I stunk tonight.

Flat out stunk the joint up. I had to open windows in my house to get some of the stench out.

And yet, I squeaked out a ten dollar profit. Over 2 hours. Huge profit!!!

I got the majority of it with the Hiltons. Always easy when you flop a set that includes a K or A. But when you fill the boat by the river and someone else is so excited to cap it, you can cover up all the mistakes you tried to make to your bankroll.

But after playing some great poker for the last couple of weeks, the weekend wasn't so kind to me. I need to take step back and look at what went wrong. As much as I would like to claim the bad beats, suckouts and the clowns calling 3 bets with crap, I know a good part of the loss was my own fault.

At least tonight I was able to realize what I was doing and come back out of a hole. Being stuck for $150 playing 2/4 sucks. Coming back to eke out a couple bucks feels good. I just need to prevent the stuckeness. Hey, I created a word!!! Feel free to use it but give me a bit of credit.

Freerollin' again on Blue

I am a sucker for the freeroll. I was quite happy to see PokerBlue continue to have Sunday freerolls for anyone playing at least 4 hours during the week. With their WPT promotion over, they now have a $3000 prize pool up for grabs.

First prize is $1000. Only 85 people are registered so this should be a cashing opportunity. Especially when the table starts with just 9 people and 3 aren't even online. Even if I make the second table, I can still pocket 50 bucks.

Things start slow. I win a small pot with 6 6, lose a bigger pot with 8 8. I take down some small pots with A K and the monster hand of K 4 off.

Things are going slow when my table abruptly closes. I get kicked out to the lobby. I try to get back to my table but it comes up blank. Visions of Poker Morgue go through my mind. Then a message comes up stating the prize pool has been figured incorrectly and the tournament will restart soon. It does restart but with just 3 of us at the table. Soon others show up again. Now I am at a table with 9 people, of which 5 aren't online.

And apparently they want to play every hand. Which is ok with me. But I don't like rasing with A K suited and having the big blind call to see a board of all diamonds. Then I have to fold 7 7 to the all in bet.

Somewhat stupid play on my part here. I have the A Q suited in clubs and catch two of the suit on the flop. I make the follow through bet and get called. I make the turn bet, not my suit and get raised. Damn. I now think I can push my last 800 in and go finish dinner (never try to make dinner and play poker at the same time), or I can fight my way back. My stomach wins out and I push, a play I never believe in making. I get lucky and see a beautiful 2 of clubs on the river. I double through.

QQ takes a nice pot when I bet out the flop of J 7 7. I get one caller. I push on the rag turn to take the pot down right there. I figured him for just an ace and was surprised he didn't call.

I lose a chunk of chip with A 10 off on the button. I go for a steal and raise it up 4xs the blinds. The small blind calls. Flop comes 9 10 J, two clubs. SB bets the pot. I feel he has nothing but a draw. I think my 10s are good and push him in. He calls showing K 6 suited but a Q spikes the turn giving him a straight. WTF?!?!!? I hate the suckout! It is bad enough he called with a crap hand but to not even hit the draw he was thinking sucks.

Then I push it all with a flush just to run into quad kings. So much for an easy cash.

A breakthrough?

I played just under an hour yesterday on two tables. I believe I netted a whole $27. Yet I believe it was one of the more successful sessions I had.

What, 27 bucks isn't a lot for a 2/4 game?

Yep, it isn't. I may have played 4 hands out of 67 at one table. That is why I think I was successful.

I was disciplined. I was smart enough to continue to hit that fold button, no matter how bored and frustrated I was getting, over and over again.

I thought I wanted to play poker, not watch. The cards I was getting sucked. When you feel tempted to play that J 7 suited in late position, even to a raise, hoping to catch a flop, you know the discipline is gone out the door. But I didn't play it.

I did play a J 3 soooted from the big blind though. It was raised from early position and 3 others called. For 2 bucks I was 9 to 1 on my money. Then I sucked out on the river to scoop a pot.

The only other hand that I played well was 3 3 on the button. It folded around so I raised. I can't recall where I read this play. Basically if you are going to be the first to enter the pot from the button, you always enter with a raise. Always. So I did. The BB called. Flop came A 4 6. He bet and I raised, following through on my pre-flop bet. He folded quickly. I should have shown the treys but didn't. Maybe I would have gotten action on my A K suited the next hand.

But I sat there for just under an hour folding crap hand after crap hand. Didn't play the connectors or two faces out of position. Stayed with the game plan the entire way. The result was a winning session. Not of high dollar proportions but of patience. I don't think you can win at poker without patience. Last night I may have proved it. Just another lesson learned, but one important one.

Hopefully that means my next session will be all action because folding again and again really sucked. But it had to be done.

Suckers!

I have been mixing my play between Poker Blue and Full Tilt lately. To me, there is not better place to play ring games than FTP. I like the layout, the graphics, sounds, basically everything. Yet, I can't stay away from the fishiness of Poker Blue and the hope they have another freeroll promotion for a WPT or similar event.

Only problem with PB is the number of players on the site. Unlike Poker Mountain Morgue (which I logged onto this weekend to find 8 people playing free games), they usually have about 500 people logged in. Not much but enough to have some games going. Unfortunately there are just 2 tables at 2/4, with a big waiting list on at least one. It seems people sign up and never play. I jump on anything with 6 players so it doesn't matter too much but I would rather play two tables. I am up over $200 there in a week (roughly 8 hours of play) and would like to play more. Maybe I should take a stab at the 3/6. That usually is running with 7 players.

I ran into a bad spot last night. Did ok instead of very well. The problem was getting value bets in on the river. I ran into two beats that set me back a bit. With A K I raise up from late position and the limpers call. Flop of K J 7. I bet and two call. Turn is a rag. I bet, they call. River is a 6. I bet, they call. The clown playing J 6 soooted takes down the pot. Now I didn't like that but I didn't mind it either. That told me a lot of what this guy was doing. Same with the guy who called down every bet with 5 5 and all overcards on the board. People just cannot fold a pair no matter how many overcards are on the board.

The issue I now noticed was that I was not making that final bet on the river anymore because of that damn J 6 sooooted. It probably cost me 4 or 5 bets. I found myself fearing players hitting their second pair on the river and check raising me. It took about 5 hands to get over it.

I then went to Full Tilt and proceeded to get my act together. However, every time I put that value bet in, I found myself losing to the suckout. Thankfully, they weren't raising me. If it weren't for one bad hand ( K K losing to A Q with me paying off the damn A on two streets), I would have had a great night.

But when it was all said and done, I learned a lesson. If you think you have the best hand, you must bet it. You are going to win the pot more times than not. When you don't, move on. That extra bet can be the difference between profit and losses because they will add up.
Don't let the suckouts change you game.

Trying to ride the Bike.

I played in the PokerBlue Bike freeroll today. 138 started. I ended up in 4th. No trip for me.

My A K ran into A A. That was it. I won't be in L.A. next weekend. Maybe I should have realized something was up with the limp, push on the raise move.

On the flip side, the play in this tourney was pretty pathetic. Lots of strange pushes, calls, etc. I didn't even try to understand what the heck these people were trying to accomplish.

Hopefully they will have more of these freerolls in the future. The play at PokerBlue is very soft and I am using it to hone my ring game. Results have been very encouraging. At the least I will be in good shape for Vegas next month.

That was different

After encountering some extremely passive players at the 1/2 tables at PokerBlue, I experienced the opposite at the 2/4 tables. Not that they were any good, just aggressive.

I noticed things would be different right away. I usually will post right away to enter the game unless the blinds will hit me within 2 or 3 hands. Basically that is what happened last night. It showed me what to expect. 3 bets pre-flop and capping on the flop were common. I had no problem with that. I had two tables open and was ready to ram and jam.

I had the deck hit me silly on one table and quickly doubled up. It is easy when you get pocket rockets back to back. I scooped a nice pot with a full house and got a smaller one on a river fold. But I noticed some interesting stuff. Some of the big stacks were trying to bully people out. Pre flop raises with K 8 off or in EP with K J off. They would call the re-raise but fold to the flop bet. Or they would cap the turn and fold on the river. I would have played for a while longer but the bad beats started happening. When the clown called 2 bets with Q 3 suited and hit his flush to beat my flopped set, I was done. I cashed up 12 BB.

Unfortunately I wasn't as lucky at the other table. I cashed down 14 BB. Here I couldn't get a hand to save my life. A K would see ragged flops and the guy with second pair would call me down. When my two pair got crushed by quads, I knew it was time to go there too.

But overall it was encouraging. I know I can hang here. I hope to make this just a quick stop before heading up again. I have the bankroll to do so and need to really find that comfort zone.

After losing 10 bucks on the ring game, I made it up by coming in first in a $10 SnG. I was about to go double or nothing and pop it into a $30 SnG but decided that my one beer wouldn't last me that long. Rather than go through withdrawal, I decided it was time to call it a day.

Been thinking

Traffic really shoots up when you get a rec from Dr. Pauly. Best part is that I met Pauly in June and was told to hit up the Imperial Palace room. He said it was soft. He wasn't kidding. He had also given me a vote of confidence in the WPBT at the final table. For those who read him, he is a good guy. Buy him a Red Stripe when you see him.

If I could somehow rig the internet to give free beer, I would. Wouldn't that be a feat? Open your CD-ROM and pop a glass in. Free beer. Ah, if only.

But "D" got me to thinking with what he had to say. I may be holding myself down at the limit I play right now. But that is for two reasons. First, I am trying to get my ring game in better shape. I feel I am succeeding there. Second, I need to feel comfortable playing bigger limits or bigger buy in tournaments. For some reason, I prize my online bankroll more than any money I make in live settings. I may play 1/2 online, but I usually will play 5/10 or 6/12 live. Next month in Vegas I will try the 8/16 at Bellagio. I feel comfortable at those levels, but not online. It could be with so many more hands, I just cannot handle the swing at this time. But I am sure the comfort level will develop.

To get there, I realize I should start playing more 2/4 at a minimum. I did well clearing the August bonus at Party Poker. That should tell me something. I think it is time to kick it up a notch. While playing at PokerBlue yesterday, I was shocked at how passive people were. I watched as one person called down with A A. No pre-flop raise, no raise on any street. Just calls. They were lucky to win that as the flush was there on the turn. I kept betting out with the Hiltons but that a-hole took the pot I built. Granted, I am not complaining. I could have lost more on that hand, but I can't help but wonder why some people play. One person in particular had me flabbergasted. Calling station all the way. Except when they raised pre-flop, you knew they had a monster. But they did bet out one other time. On a gutshot straight. I already had my set, but didn't like seeing the scare card on the turn. I called and then bet out the river just to see them call with A high.

Again, I am not complaining about how the passive play. I sure the hell don't understand their thinking. Do they think they are being tricky by slow playing? Slow playing in limit is pretty stupid to begin with. There are some places you can do so, but every time? Just like check-raising. The same players do it every time. You sure are fooling anyone. Instead you are winning smaller pots. Nice move, especially when you flop your set of 2s, and lose to the higher set because you waited to check raise the river.

"D" also brought up Potowatami. I can't say I have been down there since last fall. I should go out there again soon. I watched the 20/40 game once. One guy practically ran over the table, though it was only 4 handed. I was told the 10/20 game is much tougher than the 20/40 at the Pot. I do like the game plan. Maybe I should take some cash and head down just to get a taste when I get back from Vegas.

Thanks for the encouragement "D".

Clicking on though the good doctor

Thanks Dr. Pauly for the shout out. I hope anyone that has clicked on through Pauly's site isn't expecting the high level of writing that he puts out there on a daily basis. I am just a hack trying to improve my game and have fun doing so. This is more to amuse myself than anything else. And that I do.

Blue

After reading Iggy's last post about Poker Blue and their WPT freeroll, I knew it was just a matter of time before I would deposit there. I wouldn't be able to participate in the last two freerolls but could get into one of them. Plus with 100% deposit bonus, it would help me work on my ring game.

I have decided to focus on the ring game with the Vegas trip on the horizon. I want to dominate the tables in the castle. I haven't felt this good about my ring game ever. Reading the Sklansky, Malmouth, Miller book has really helped.

So I finally popped some cash into Poker Blue and started playing. Overall reaction is mixed. The software is just like any other for the most part. But they do not allow notes (that I can find) nor does it make a sound to alert you to your turn. When I am on a bad streak of cards, I like to get stuff done between hands. Whether it is making dinner, getting the laundry going, or using the bathroom, it is nice to have some sound telling you it is your turn, and not that your turn is just about up. Another thing I like is the choice to show my hand or not. It seems to be set on automuck. Oh well.

The players so far have been pretty bad as well. As fishy as Party. Last night there were over 1000 logged in and it didn't take long to get a seat in a full 1/2 game. One thing I noticed right away was that any ace was going to be played. No matter what rag may be with it. Plus, that ace wasn't going to fold. No matter what. Thus I didn't like having my K K or Q Q busted by the turn A even though they had no reason calling that flop bet.

The blinds were just about always in the hand as well. It was like they figured if they had 50 cents in there already, that calling 1.50 more, without pot odds, was always the smart thing to do. Hey, your Q 5 offsuit may just flop two queens and take down the A A being played from UTG. Yeah, I am still smarting from that beat.

Aggressive plays works like a charm so far. In playing two hours, I don't think I saw one single check raise. Even with the trip queens above. He bet the flop and I raised him. Never did he raise me on the turn or river. Actually, I checked the river as did he. The players are very passive. And they are willing to call down with bottom pair.

So I may sit here for a bit and play Poker Blue to see how it works out. My hope is that the WPT freeroll is replaced by a very similar promotion soon and that the frequent player points I accumulate clearing the bonus may be used for something better. Otherwise there is nothing too special about playing there. I rather play at Full Tilt for the ring games or Party Poker for the Bad Beat Jackpot.

Borgata or Bust

I started the tourney up with a belly full of beer and Hooters wings. Now that I was in the proper mindset, I had to get to work.

246 started. 4 seats awarded. 5-7 pay cash. I am a bit surprised it got another 90 players from when I checked this morning.

Right away I notice a guy at my table who was on my right in the SnG I won to get here. He is a pretty aggressive player. Will have to remember that and use it to my advantage.

I start with a couple of hands that don't hit. J 10 suited catches no flop. K J off no flop. It has to get better. And it does. I am dealt K K and chip back above the starting count of 2000.

A Q off gets me some chips on a flop bet and I am the early chip leader at my table.

7 7 get a caller on the raised flop. The board of 3 3 2 looks good too. No action on my flop bet.

A K off. I re-raise the EP guy. He just calls. I like that. Flop of J 10 7, two diamonda. He checks. I figure him for a pair, Q Q tops, but most likely 8s or 7s. I check behind him. Turn is a rag. I bet half the pot and get no action.

A couple hands later, I have Big Slick again. But no action. Even the EP limper bails. But now he looks angry. Oh no!

Table is feeling pretty soft. Or maybe I am actually getting some respect? With J 10 off I raise preflop from mid position. Only the BB calls. A high flop. Yuck! Bet just over half the pot. He folds. I will have to try that again.

Don't play any hands for a while. Then the snowman come to visit. My 8s meet a flop of 9 9 2. The two guys who called don't want to throw snowballs around and fold to my bet.

I finally run into a bad spot. A K in the BB. I raise it up and get called by a limper. Flop comes J 10 8. I bet and he calls. Wait! That isn't suppose to happen. The turn is a rag. I check. He checks. River is a rag. Crap! I bet 500. He raises. Damn. I fold and get back to where I started.

Soon I get moved to a new table. Only a couple bigger stacks here. Not too bad. I get A K off on my second hand. Raise but no calls.

At the first break, I have just 2670 (up from the starting stack of 2000). I had doubled up to 4010 but the A K hand hurt. I am sitting in 81st place with 144 left. I have basically played my style so far so I am not unhappy. I feel good that I can chip up and be a factor.

I get K J off after the break in the small blind but I have to fold the push monkey UTG who puts in his last 1075. I soon get A K off again. An A high flop greets me and the BB. I bet he folds. Seems to be a theme there except for the one guy who didn't want to play by my rules.

I then put the pedal to the floor a bit. A 10 off. Raise. 9 10 suited. Raise. A J off. Raise. A K off in the BB again. Call a push monkey. Uh oh, he has 8 8. No help and I am down to 1600. Ouch.
I then see 5 5 on the button. Early raise and the same push monkey does it again. Pushes. I fold. Early guy has A A. Thanks monkey!

I watch one guy start to run over the table. Hitting top pair, sets. Getting ugly. I was about to take him on with 7 7 in the BB but the SB pushes. WTF? I can't play this and fold. The bully folds as well. Damn! I could have taken them chips. With blinds at 80/160 and only 1290 left, I need to make some kind of move.

Then the Cowboys come along. I am in the cutoff and just raise the pot size hoping to get some action. Nope, not this time. Next hand I do the same with K Q. No action again. Damn. At least the table seems a bit tighter. Maybe I can do some thieving. K Q UTG. Raise. Get raised by the BB. It will cost me 850. I don't think he has much. Or maybe it is I don't think. I call and see his A Q. An A on the flop hurts and I am crippled to 420. Hey, 420! Light up!!!

Next hand in BB I get K 8 suited. It folds around to the SB who calls. I raise my last 220 (blinds are 100/200). He calls with Q 2 suited. Flop is K K 8. Where was that last hand??? I double up. In the small blind, I get A 7 off. I just call, resisting the urge to push. Flop is A 7 3. I push but get no callers. Back up to 1240. A little breathing room but not much.

Blinds come flying around and I see the Hammer. I fight the urge to push and fold. Sorry guys but the guy who raised is pretty tight.

Then the jacks come. I am a bit scared of these guys after reading this (see the 4th paragraph). I push and get called by the SB. He shows A 5. I see the A right away on the flop and cringe. But then I notice the Jack of Diamonds and breathe a sigh of relief. Up to 2080. I soon get A J spades. A raise gets no action.

I now fold for a round. Blinded down a bit. I then see some 3s. I feel like pushing but the player on my right raises. Guess I will fold this.

Blinds go up and antes are in play. Gotta step it up again. A 10 suited. I push. Yeah this hand is deadly but I need to do something and don't mind being the aggressor with this hand. They all fold. Good. Back to 2335 but still need to double up. Here come the blinds. There go the blinds with my money.

I see some 10s and push. The guy on my right who had min-raised calls. He has only K J. The A on the flop is meaningless for once. I double up to 4300. I feel like I am just about back in it. Because I say "just", I fold my K J suited in EP. UTG raised to over 1000. I don't like that. I can wait for something a bit better. It folds around and he shows the A K suited. Whew!

I then get moved back to the table I started at. This is where the tournament leader is. Great! At least he isn't near me and I can make some moves on the blinds.

I try to chip up with A 10 clubs in the SB. But the BB then pushes. Damn! I feel he doesn't have a big hand as it takes him time to make a decision. But I don't like to see a flop with this hand when it cost me all of my chips. I fold. Then I push on the next hand with A J off. No action and I go back to 3300. Still need to make a move. Raise with K 10 suited and get the blinds. Back above 4k. Until the blinds take me down again.

Then the table push monkey starts again, pushing every hand. Great. I will probably go card dead for a while. No sooner typed than it happens. That isn't good. Maybe I should type, "I go on a killer rush" and see if it happens?

At the second break I have a total of 3850 and sit in 45th place with 51 left. Still alive. That is what matters. But on hand after the break, in the small blind, I raise it up with A J off. It had folded around to me. The BB then pushes. I know he has an A at best. I call to see his A 4 off. The flop comes with a 3 and 5, the turn a 2. His wheel knocks me out at 51. A bad beat sends me home.

At least I felt good about my play. A couple spots where I got caught were erased. I made a nice comeback, but a bad beat sends me to the showers. That's poker for you.

That feeling

You ever have that feeling. You know, that top of your game feeling.

Cards come around and hit you well. Most of your big hands don't get busted. When they do, it is only a small pot that is lost because some punter (see Dr. Pauly's letter from the Aussie) has only 5 bucks left at the 2/4 table and goes all in just to catch runner runner to win the $12 pot. You would have lost a lot more on your flopped set. But you didn't.

You have that top of your game feeling going.

That is how I feel this morning. Just played two hours at the Bad Beat tables on Party Poker and cashed out up $213. That is 25 BB an hour. Pretty good rate, eh?

Made some nice hands and got paid off well. The best part though, is the two tables I was playing. If I didn't have to mow the lawn, I would still be going at it. One table was super fishy, while the other table was half fishy but with cool people.

At the fishy table, I got knocked around pretty bad. My starting hundred went down to $26 before I made the comeback and cashed up a couple of bucks. My draws just weren't hitting. My big pocket pairs weren't dragging any big pots. But I knew if I was patient, and played very disciplined poker, I would make it back and then some. Bingo! Up 12 bones when done.

Meanwhile at the other table, I was kicking ass. I tripled my buy in. I only had K K cracked once. Every other time, I collected big pots with those hands. I watched in amazement as I got raised when holding the nuts. You can't ask for anything more. Even had my blinds pay off. 8 2 off in the big blind? No problem. Nice to see the 8 hit the flop and get checked around. I thank everyone for calling my bet when the 2 hits the turn. I want to shake their hand when a 8 hits the river and they pay me off.

I could bet people off pots. I could raise for free cards. I could bluff. There was little I couldn't do.

About the only thing that didn't happen was hitting the Bad Beat Jackpot. There is always later.
And this all occurs because of the August bonus. Hopefully I can carry this over to the Full Tilt tournament.

If only I didn't have to mow the lawn.

Still, its good to have that feeling.

Making the satellite chip pay off

I put that satellite chip to use tonight. After playing some ring games and suffering a nasty beat (doofus play A 2 off, going for the gutshot wheel, and hitting runner runner 2s for trips), I decided it was time to put that $26 dollar value to use.

The only tournament was starting at 9:30 CST and was a multi. I didn't know whether I wanted to play a multi or try a SnG to get into Saturday's Borgata Open tournament. I settled on the SnG because there were 6 already registered and it shouldn't take much time for 2 others to show. Sure enough, they were soon there and we were on.

After about an hour, I won my seat. I pissed someone off early when my open ended straight was filled on the turn. He went on about how I was dominated after the flop (he claims he had two pair). I don't think I was quite "dominated" there. I was behind, but with the open ended draw and two over cards, I can't be that far behind. He was playing two rags and shouldn't have been in there. When he made the wimpy flop bet, I had an easy call.

That chipped me up early. A half hour later, I was the chip leader. I would never give it up either. The play at the table was fantastic. People pushing on their draws, calling all ins with a low pocket pair. Sweet action!

The winning hand was a draw. I had K 4d in the BB and saw a free flop. Came A 6 8, one diamond. He checked, I checked. Turn is a diamond. He thinks and bets the pot. I am pretty sure he doesn't have an ace. He may have a lower pair. I feel my K is pretty good and I have the flush outs as well. The call is only 1200 and I would be behind in chips by about 1000 if I don't hit a card. I also recall a comment he had earlier in the tournament when he bet the pot. He said he had to push out the draws. I was confident that is what he was trying. I call. River is the 10 of diamonds. He checks. I bet 2000, trying to make it look like I am buying it. He pushes all in. Whaaaaat? Hell, it don't get any easier than that. One push of the button and I have my seat for Saturday. My nut flush beats his flopped set of 6s. Nice slowplay.

Looks like they will only be giving out 2, maybe 3 seats. Worse yet, I may not be able to get those days off if I somehow win the seat. My Vegas trip in the beginning of September could hinder it. But I will worry about that bridge when I come to it.

I have a tournament to win on Saturday! And don't forget to read Truckin'.

Einstein he is not

"It was your lower cards that beat me"

Yes, that is what a player said to me after I scooped a pot in Razz. Wow, you think so?

More satellite fun

I was playing some limit at Full Tilt. Things were going my way. I was playing some disciplined poker and achieving some good results. I was quite happy with my play. Until my A A got busted on the flopped straight and I lost to A K. Not a bad beat but I knew the third player in the hand had K K. If the flop was better, I would have cleaned the other buy out. The fact he actually had a hand here was surprising considering the crap he had played already.

But after being a bit restless (it has been hot and humid lately and my air condition aka Lake Michigan hasn't kicked in yet), I felt I needed a tourney fix. So I loaded up PokerRoom to see what they had going on. They usually have their $5 tourney going on. But not tonight. It may have started earlier because I didn't see it. Instead I saw something that intrigued me even more. A satellite to the WPT Bellagio stop. Sweet. It was stage one of three. Always willing to climb a mountain, I signed up. For every 9 players, one seat in the second stage is award. Works for me.


107 people started. I double up on the 3rd hand with J 8s in the big blind. Someone in EP raised to just 50. 4 players had already called. Pot odds told me to call and see a flop. Well what do you know? I flopped a flush. I was going to be it out because I didn't have the nuts. If I could get at least one caller- guaranteed I would- it would be profitable. I was about to bet just above the pot, when I felt I should push instead. I did and was called by the K of spades. No other spade and I double up quickly. In hindsight, I should have bet a smaller amount and pushed a on a raise or the turn.

A number of hands later, I re-raise the UTG bettor with J J. But he then pushes. Oops. Though he may have A K here, I don't feel the risk is good. Hell, with the jacks, I should just call here and see a flop.

But the quick double up is all that happened for the next half hour. I stay even by playing some hands aggressively to make my blinds back. But instead I chase a 6 outer and give chips back. I am back where I started. Why? Cuz I am not focused on the game. The Motley Crue I have playing in the background is more interesting than the cards I am getting. Plus a table switch didn't help me much. The fish were swimming on the old one.

Must focus. A Q looks good. Raise to 500. No callers. Oh well. Send me the blinds. But from there I wimper out. Blinds come around and I can't defend. Then I push with 9 9 just to run into K K. Ouch. I toss my last 180 in as the big blind with 6 3. Out at 33.

I played pretty poorly here. The Motley Crue had me going too.

Quad Ducks- Was it misplayed?

No, I am not the one that had the deuces. I was the one who lost the pot. But I didn't lose much.

It is 1/2 on Full Tilt. I am in the BB and am dealt 10 7 off. UTG+1 limps. Everyone else folds. Flop comes 2 2 10,rainbow. I check, he checks. Turn is a rag. I bet, he calls. River a Q. I bet, he raises, I call. He shows the pocket 2s.

Then he proceeds to type in chat about his big hand. How great he is, blah, blah, blah.

I sat there, perplexed. Not about how I lost the hand (my two pair looked good considering someone is EP just limped, how would they have a 2? A 2 or 2 2 is about it), but how the guy could brag when he only won a small pot. What did he get, 6 1/2 BBs?

I mean he had quad 2s. On that flop, how the heck am I going to think he has that? I think he should have bet it. It would look like a steal. At the minimum, raise the turn. He may get more out of it. I play pretty aggressive at times. On this board, I would have to think my 10 is good. Unless the clown is playing all over cards this far, I have a good chance to win.

I would think with any quads 4s or less, you can bet it out, especially on a rag board like this. No one is going to buy it. What if someone has a pocket pair themselves? They may play their draw to a full house or again, think their hand is good. You can never put someone on quads.

I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Instead of trying to maximize this hand and get a bigger pot, this guy was slow playing, thinking he was the king of the world here.

Any thoughts?

Getting back on the horse

After a weekend away from online poker, I got back on the horse, firing Full Tilt up. I figured I would pick away at the 1/2 tables, getting my game back into shape.

At least that was the plan. I had two tables up, quickly dropping $30 right away on one on a series of bad beats, bad calls, and stupid play. All that while I was up a bit on the other table. What is did was serve as a huge wake up call.

I slapped myself in the face a couple times and woke up. I folded many hands, waiting to get the starters. I folded when the overcards were out or the draws were strong. In the end, I was up 8 BB after just over an hour. I was pleased.

So please I signed up for the 500 points satellite token freeroll, mainly to get back in the tournament swing. I am going to end up playing the satellites anyway in an attempt to win a spot in the WPT Borgata event, so why not used the points? All I had to do was make the final table.

Things started well. Built up a nice pile of chips, nothing huge. Was just over 3k at the first break. Saw a number of interesting hands. Got 8 8 three times, each winning a pot with a flop of two sets and one full house.

Played some hands pretty aggressively in the second session. But mainly, I took advantage of the idiots. The donkeys. The monkeys. Yes, the fish. I watched them try to bluff again and again, catching some cards here and there. Thus, when I got A A, I knew the push monkey would do something on a Q 9 4 board. He pushed with a pair of 9s. Nice. He gave me the fuel I needed. From there, I was able to bully the table.

A funny thing seems to happen on Full Tilt when the blinds get up a bit. Not very high but around the 120/240 mark. The tables are tighter than tight. No one plays to a raise. It is something I don't see as much at PokerRoom. Better yet, only a couple players realize this and adjust their play accordingly. I become the biggest crook in the world in this area of the game. And it works. Too many players think you are stealing too much. They call instead of raising. When you hit yours cards, you bet them out of the game. Just like taking candy from a baby.

Thus, I was quite happy to be in the lead at the second break. I figured I could hold my own, chip up a bit more and earn a token.

I didn't play many hands when we were down to two tables. I stole some blinds and antes here and there but rarely saw a flop. Basically, my cards sucked. Maybe this is the only time where going card dead may be a good thing. But if I wanted to make the final table, I needed to win at least one more decent sized pot.

I was getting a bit frustrated by one play in the end. Apparently they knew little about tournament strategy. They kept betting out, trying to bluff others out of the hand when one person was all in. More than once they ended up doubling the other person's stack. I was getting pissed, especially when the mental midget ended up on my right when we were at two tables. Man, I wanted a hand to bust them so badly. Especially when this push monkey kept pushing again and again.

Well, I got my decent sized pot out of the small blind with A 10. Two 10s hit the flop. I checked just to have the BB bet into me. He even pushed on my turn re-raise, showing K 3. I guess the 3 on the turn meant he was strong. Actually, it meant he was done. I didn't mind seeing this donk leave as he kept making stupid comments like stating he was laying down a strong hand to a re-raise when he had 6 6 in early position. Yeah, tough laydown there.

Then A A came along and I was able to knock out the push monkey. That felt good. It also put me back on top with just one person left until I get my token. I just had to fold in. I even folded K K along the way which sucked because the last person was busted on that hand. But it was nice to see that final table again. I mean it. The layout for the final table on Full Tilt is pretty cool. I like the studio set.

From there, I decided I just would wait for the Hammer and push with that. Or the Jackhammer. It seemed like forever but then the Jackhammer showed up. And went down in flames. Such is life.

Yeah the prize was just a satellite token, but it felt good to get deep in a tourney again. I just need to get my mojo going in the next tournament to get into the Borgata.

No raise em

Playing poker with people who only seem to have a passing interest in the game is always interesting, if not frustrating. Bluffing is over done by most, while they show no respect (or intelligence) to any raises. Much like playing on Party Poker. All you can do is bet your solid hands and hope that someone doesn't draw out of you, or is playing way too tight.

That is the only way to explain the poker games around the campfire this past weekend. It was a series of 6-8 player SnGs. I only played in 3 of them as I was pretty hooched one night and I wasn't too interested in playing poker this weekend. I was trying to get away from it for a bit. But I got sucked back in.

And it wasn't too pretty. When the best hand you see all night is pocket deuces, you know it will be a long one. Thus K Q looks good to try and get some chips only to be called by A x. Same thing was occurring during the second night. Card dead until halfway through the game, I just puttered along. I played my strong hands strong. I got just enough luck to stay in. Like when I pushed with the Hilton Sisters against K x suited. The K hit the flop but a lucky lady showed on the river to keep me alive. That was the turning point. I would throw A J against K K and get the A on the flop. Some aggressive play in the right spots would get me a victory.

But the toughest spots were watching people get damn lucky. Hitting two and three outers with regularity. Out of the group, there was one person who I considered to be a good player. One person who puts some time in and wants to play well. Of course, after a day of drinking I had to be a total ass to him (Randy, if you read this, I apologize) about playing. But the rest of the group basically are those who play just when people get together. They want to have some fun. For 5 bucks, the price is right. Nothing wrong with that. But it does get frustrating when you watch people just call with A A or K K. No, I don't feel bad for them when they lose to Q 3 offsuit. That is your own fault. Likewise, I don't feel bad when you call a big bet pre-flop just to fold right away.

Over the course of a 2 hour game (yeah they run long too), there will be maybe, yes maybe, 5 preflop raises. If Randy or I are out, there will be none. Like when I busted K K with A J, the kings didn't raise. Or when the aces were cracked, he didn't raise. Apparently he didn't look either. Big hands were knocked about by the two soooooted cards. Ugly.

All it does is lose my interest in the game. The luck factor increase five fold. The poker skill factor approaches neglible. I find myself getting very aggressive early out of boredom. If I bust out, I can sit back by the campfire and drink. If I get close to the money, I can be patient and earn a little. But most of the time, it is just a place to swat bugs and toss cards around.

But I did come out ahead by 5 bucks! Whoo hoo!

Rules

I like to play by some simple rules. One rule is quite simple. Never play ring games after a night of drinking. Except if you are in Vegas of course.

But I broke that rule last night, pissing away half of my FTP bankroll. If it was a series of bad beats, I would be upset. But last night, I donked away a portion of it as well.

That is the part that hurts.

Yeah, it doesn't help when you are two tabling 2/4, see Q Q on one, K K on the other, and see a big A hit the flop. Guaranteed that the guy in EP who called has an A as well. I laid one down to a river bet, the other I called down to see his A 10 suited.

I did flop quad queens. That is like a Hilton gang bang. I did collect a nice pot on that one.

But in the end, half of my cash was gone. Remember kids, stick to SnGs after a night of drinking. You will be happier the next day.

On the good side, I should be booking a Vegas trip for the Labor Day week. Probably staying at Luxor or the Castle. Either way, between Mandalay and Excalibur, I feel I can hit some kind of jackpot or wheel spin.

Gettin better

Ever feel you are on the edge of a breakthrough? That is how I feel. Though I am a low limit player, I can feel my ring game is getting better. I am seeing things at the table that I hadn't noticed as much before. There are pots that I am taking down that are bigger than what I used to win because I have extracted extra bets out.

It is a damn good feeling. On the down side, I still see some holes that are quite closed up. Last night I paid off a couple hands on the river even though I knew I was outkicked. That caused me to also lose some pots when I folded with a medium kicker just to see it would have taken down the pot. Such is poker.

I am also feeling better about my aggression. There are spots I know I can push people out just with continuation bets though the flop has totally missed me. But at times that same aggression gets me trapped. In the end though, I am coming out on top. It may not be a lto but it is a positive.

And it feels good.

Felicia, thanks for the laugh. I may be getting a little smarter on this game, but I still donate to the better players. Unless you can point me to a good resource on playing stud games...

Which is what Easycure has apparently done. Making some coin on stud. Nice! It seems like a lot of people are taking little vacations from hold em to play other games. Whether it be Razz, Stud or Omaha, it can be good to take a break.

Enjoy your vacation Iggy. Somehow I get a feeling I may actually get some work done. My boss is going to wonder what the hell is going on with all the stuff I am getting done. Also, congrats on your sponsor. To say you deserve it is a understatement. In Iggy's absence, maybe everyone can take a turn at their own uber-post?

I am thinking about making a serious run at winning a WPT seat. I see Full Tilt is running tables for Borgata. I may have to take a couple hundred and set it aside towards winning a seat. Any other suggestions on sites to try and win a seat are appreciated. I was thinking of trying on Bodog but they don't have anything going there right now. Plus, I am sure the swag FTP gives would be much better. The FTP hat I got at the WPBT Aladdin hat is nice. Thanks to Hank on that one.

Yo Yo

My weekend at the tables started out rather poorly. As I lamented on Friday, I got knocked around pretty good. Saturday morning was much better. I tried on 2/4 table on Full Tilt to try and get something back. I have run 2/4 over at Noble and have done well. I figured the same would happen at FTP.

Not quite. I didn't play too well, and had my share of bad beats. I found myself calling too far with just over cards, playing second pair and paying off top pair. I realized I was playing bad poker. When my J J was beat by K 7 suited when a K spiked the river, I walked away. I was stuck on the weekend for $160. My profit at FTP was gone and then some.

I sat there and steamed a bit. I had to make a decision. My answer wasn't necessarily the correct one. I loaded up Noble Poker and played 2/4 there. After bouncing around for a bit, I finished up 6 BB in 30 minutes. Just felt the need to notch a win and get out while I could.

I later played the Lucky Dollar and was out in 800 something. I was never a factor there. It was a waste of time to sit around playing a game I was mentally into.

Being late on Saturday afternoon, I got in touch with some friends about going out that night. Though it was raining buckets, there was a festival to hit up when the skies cleared. But that wasn't for a couple of hours. Here is the smartest thing I did all weekend.

I picked up a book. Winning Small Stakes Hold Em. Right off the top I liked what they were saying mainly because they hit on some principles I already was thinking. One thing they hammered home was that the majority of the people you will play against in the small stakes arena are going to be bad players. I have already mentioned how I have given players to much credit. This book said to not give them any. In fact, take advantage of them. Yeah, that is such a simple thought but it needs to done. It also mentioned another very simple fact. You will fold a lot of hands. Only play the best. A very simple concept that few follow.

I hadn't gotten to any actual play and I was feeling more confident about my game already. The next morning, I woke up, ran some errands before hopping to play. As I played (or should I say folded), I kept reading the book. I was now on pre-flop hand selection. Like most books, they layed out the best starting hands. But they backed it up with why. They also pointed out where to raise and when to lay back. I have seen this in other books but not in such detail. I sat there reading, looking up to raise or fold, and just blasting away when I had a good hand.

I kept my sessions somewhat short. Only about an hour or so. But I was playing 2 tables at once (I have noticed my results dip when I try to do 3). After watching a movie and agreeing to meet some friends for dinner, I played one more quick session.

After a sweaty meal at Hooters- never go somewhere to eat hot spicy food when the air conditioning isn't working well and it is near 100 degrees- I came home to play some more before vegging out to the Simpsons. I usually do well with beer and wings in my belly. I played for roughly an hour before the toons were on.

I thought I was done for the night. After trying to sleep, I found myself wide awake at 1:30 in the morning. Instead of laying around in a warm room, I decided to go play some more. That might make me sleepy. After about 45 minutes, I turned off the pc and went back to bed.

The end result was making half of my money back. I am basically just above where I started. Each of my sessions on Sunday resulted in winning sessions. Best yet, I felt pretty good about how I played. Forgetting some bad beats, I played pretty solid. At spots where I got sloppy, I quickly learned why I shouldn't be making that play and stopped it. I folded hands I knew my opponents would play. Extremely few of those would have taken down a pot. The hands I did play, I played aggressively. If I knew I was beat, I got out. I mucked a flopped straight, feeling pretty strongly that the raiser had the big end of it. Having the dummy end can lose quite a bit of money for you. Plus it didn't hurt that the turn made higher straights possible as well.

So what the hell does all of this mean? It is all about goals and getting back to basics. One goal I was going to focus on was to improve my tournament or ring game play. I think that by improving my ring game, it will make me a better player overall, thus making my tournament game stronger. I can be very patient in tourneys. I just need to learn to be as patient in a ring game.

I would suggest if you are running bad, go back to your bookcase and pull down a book and read. Poker can be like major sports. When baseball teams are playing bad, what do they do? The practise the basics- fielding, hitting, throwing, bunting. Same thing with basketball players. They practise their jumpers, free throws, etc. after the team workout. Ok, maybe not basketball players, but you get the point. It doesn't hurt to regroup yourself and relearn basic skills.

I guess there was a reason I was playing Razz

I didn't play any Razz yesterday. Instead, I focused on the Full Tilt 1/2 limit hold em game. I was running well in it. After work, I got home, worked out a bit and loaded it up. Went on a nice run, playing for about an hour and ending up 25 BB.

I played my big hands aggressively and they paid off. I was a bit shocked at how many people were paying off with 3rd pair. Of course it didn't hurt that I defended my big blind and hit some big hands. It was even better when one guy started going off on me.

For example, I have 4 5 off in the big blind. UTG limps. Mid position raises to 2. Cut off and button call. I have odds to see a flop. Plus, I believe Brunson mentions something about playing low connectors every once in a while because if you hit it, it will pay off big. So I call. Flop comes 2 3 K. Original raiser bets and everyone calls. Being open ended, I am willing to see another card for just a buck. 8 outs, probably 6 clean as I have to assume someone has an A out there, if not two. Turn is my jackpot card, a 6. No flush possibility. I have the nuts unless the board pairs up. I check raise it and we lose two players. River is an A. Sweet card. I bet out and just get called. I show my straight and take down a nice pot. Original raiser had A K. He starts typing in the chat ROFL. I ask what was so funny. Of course he asks how I could call with that. My response is how could I not call with that?

Same player would give me more action, but would fold if I was betting on the turn or river. Later, with 4 6 off in the BB again, I would hit another straight and take down a big pot again. The cards were hitting me well.

Then I went off to the bar to have a couple of beers. I believe the FTP hangover was officially done. Yes, the FTP hangover. You do very well for a couple of sessions and then give it all back in one horrendously bad run. In that run, people will suckout on every good hand you have, will hit runner runner to beat you, will crack your aces with deuces, will do anything imaginable to totally frustrate you and your bankroll.

I came back, fired Full Tilt up again and got smacked around like a red headed step child. I get my K K cracked by Q Q when it goes runner runner hearts, putting 4 on the board. My flopped set runs into a runner runner straight. My J J gets beat by K Q on a river Q. Now that one truly pissed me off. I hate getting beat by the clown who stays in with the over pair, no pot odds, and nothing but a hope and a prayer. My A Q would get nothing on a flop of J K 9. I would give the continuation bet, see a rag on the turn, bet it, get called, and give up on the river just to get beat by 7 7. Yeah, all those over cards mean nothing to his 7 7 and I should have fired that last bullet on the river but I gave up. I was frustrated.

I should have been playing Razz with the cards I was getting.

But I made a bit up on a SnG, coming back from a tiny stack to make the money. I took a bad beat when I filled my straight with J 9. Only hand that could beat me was K J. Yep, he had it. But I played my small stack well and took 3rd for some cash. Hopefully that will be my turnaround point.

I suck(out)

Was playing Razz tonight with the lovely MrsCantHang. The deck hit me silly about the time she sat down. I quickly moved up to doubling my buy in before people started to leave the table. Early on I had played one hand like a total donk and again it got me action. I then watched some guy get all pissy because he got drawn out on twice. Hell, that is Razz for ya!

But the hand of the night for me had to be this one. I had made my 8 on 5th. My opponent was showing 9 8 . I had him pegged for having made just a 9. Thinking I was ahead, I even typed in "I feel a suckout coming". On 6th he raised my bet. Seeing he had little left, I raised him to put him all in. Then his cards were shown. I was behind. 8 5 to 8 7. Ugh! But a nice 4 slid my way and so did the pot.

Yep, there was a suckout. But instead of being the suckee, I was the sucker. I hang my head in shame. But I did walk away with double my buy in. That after just about doubling up in 1/2 while playing Hold Em.

Reading

I got 3 new books the other day (the ones previously mentioned). I finished the Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King. Funny thing, I have no clue who they are referring to as the Suicide King. I did like the book, but it left me asking questions. Like why did Andy Beal insist on raising the stakes to such high levels with the intent of getting the pros out of their comfort zone? He wasn't in it to make money but to defeat them at their game. Wouldn't defeating them at their game be at their customary level of 4000/8000? Or playing in mixed games? Also, why show up during major tournaments? Again, trying to get slight advantages, but then not giving in to some of their demands?

Money doesn't matter to Beal in this case. All it took was one winning week and he could have seriously hurt the pros, possibly hurting live games in Vegas for a time. A couple good rushes or suckouts and he is a winner. The one hand where he made his miracle boat on the river to beat Todd Brunson in one hand is a great example.

It was still a good story, one that may not be truly over. Plus they give you some background on the pros involved in the game. Things the WPT won't mention.

Next up is Harrington on Hold Em, Vol 2. I started reading this on Sunday and got through just one chapter. Vol 1 was great, a must read if you want to do well in tournament poker. Right off the bat I am having the same problem with 2 as I did with 1. As I read, I want to go play right away. I read, learn and then want to put something into action right away. Having no restraint whatsoever, I usually put the book down and hit the tables.

Lately I have been playing low limit Razz on Full Tilt. I can tell I am getting better slowly already. That or people truly suck at the game. At the very least I am having a blast playing. I love to play one hand really stupid and show it down. Do that once or twice and everyone thinks you are the biggest fish at the table. You will get lots of action when you hit your hands. People will chase you down with a 9 or 10. Then you make a stupid comment to totally piss them off. Fun stuff.

Beyond playing Razz I have been playing ring games, usually 1/2 or 2/4. After I finish Harrington, I will get back on the tournament trail. I will be keeping an eye out for one of the WPT event qualifiers, either Borgata or Foxwoods. Time to shoot for one of my goals.

Party Poker Half Mil

There were 2334 players starting. $816k up for grabs with first paying over $170k. There are fireworks right away on the first hand- AA beats KK. Before I am able to get comfortable one guy is already out. Nice.

On the second hand, I see A J suited. I raise it up but fold to the re-raise. Yeah, I am feeling pretty tight at the start here.

Red aces come along. I get one caller who fold on my half pot bet on the K high flop.

Out of the BB, I call min raise with A 6. Catch 6 on the flop, J high. Bet it and get called by 2. Bet the turn and river to take down a small pot.

K Q in the small blind nets me a nice pot too when a K hits the flops and I have the open end straight draw. Guy was trying to bluff out on his busted flush.

It seems like forever before I play another hand. K Q in EP looks good so I raise it up to 70. Get one caller, the busted flush guy. Flop of 9 4 4. I bet it and he folds. Pretty tight table so far. Except for busted flush, no one is playing many hands. Makes me wonder if I really am on Party Poker. Wait, there are a ton of min raises going on so I know I am on Party.

I go card dead, not playing a hand for 20 minutes. It seems I get a 2 every time. WTF?

I then get Phil Hellmuth's favorite hand, two black 9s. I call the raise to see a flop of K 4 2. The raiser just check. So I fire a bet out to see where I stand. He folds. Interesting. The K scared him?

I try to buy some pots but just bleed out chips. At the first break I am basically back where I started. 1710 still remain. That seems surprising as I would have expected half the field to be gone.

Still not playing many hands. I get some back witch J J. I just called the preflop raise. Again, no call of my flop bet. Then I get 10 10. UTG limps. I bump it to 225. The loose guy and UTG call. Flop comes 9 9 3. It checks to me. I bet 400. Loose guy folds, but the limper pushes. Huh? Right away I wonder if he limped with aces or kinds. Or does he have a 9? I take the time bank and think. Do I have the best hand? I am not sure and fold. I don't want to go out if he has the 9 or overpair. What it does is put me on a short stack with just 900 now.

I steal some blinds with K Q. Then when I am in the BB I get big slick suited in diamonds. UTG limps as does another and the small blind. I push. UTG folds. The second limper thinks and calls. SB fold. He shows Q J diamonds. Nice call. Then a J comes flying out of the deck. Shit! But the A of hearts hits the river and I am alive!!!

An orbit later I get big slick again in the SB. But I fold it. There was a huge bet out there and my gut told me I was beat. I would basically have to re-raise all in at this spot and would rather wait for a better opportunity. Maybe not the best move, but I am comfortable with it.

My pocket 8s net me the blinds. Then I get them again, but lay them down to a raise. Glad I did as the flop came A J J. Guy showed an ace when folding. At the second break there are still 876 people playing. I am still on the short stack and need to get to 220 to cash.

I get red 9s and call the all in bet ahead of me. This push monkey was going on any ace. He shows A K. Unfortunately for me, a K comes out right away and I am crippled. I soon push with 5 5. That promptly runs into the Hilton Sisters. I am done in 810 place. No cash today.

I feel I played ok. Not great, but not terrible either. I did make some bad calls, but I don't think the push on the 9s was one of them. Maybe next time.

10,000 Bodog bones

I had gone out to get the emissions checked on my truck yesterday just to find the place closed. Since there was no one at the bar, I headed home to play some poker. I had seen Full Tilt had a 24+2, $2000 guaranteed pool starting at 7 that interested me. As I waited for it to begin, I fired up Bodog to see what they had going on. They had a 25+2, $10,000 guaranteed pool starting at 7:30. Hmm...simple math tells me the Bodog tournament is much better. And not just with the prize pool. Play is pretty soft in Bodog land. Patience pays off big time here. I just had to get through 355 to take down $2500.

My game doesn't start well. I misplay A J early on by raising and calling a re-raise. Flop misses me and I have to fold.

Play K 10 to a weak player in the BB. Flop comes K high and doesn't improve. I bet the pot on each street and get paid off. Nice.

I then get A J again and raise it up again since it worked so well the first time. Two callers. Flop comes 9 9 J. I bet the pot to force out the flush draw. The guy to my left raises all in. Hmm... I figure he doesn't have a 9 (playing A 9 or K 9 to a raise?) and has a lower pair. I call, while the other folds. The pusher shows the Hilton Sisters. WTF? No re-raise preflop? A blank on the turn and a sweet J on the river give me the boat. He re-raises preflop and I may be gone. Or with a bet on the flop I may go away too. Instead, he is out of the tournament.

Here is an interesting hand. It folds around to me in the SB. I call with Q 9 suited. BB checks. Flop comes A K 6. It checks around. Turn is a K. I bet the min and get called. River is a K. I bet the min again and get called. He turns over K 4 for the full house. What, no raise on the river?

I fold a number of hands, steal some pots until the Hilton Sisters come to visit. UTG raises to 100 (blinds 20/40). UTG +1 calls. I pop it up to 700, feeling pretty good that I have a better hand that either of these two. It fold around to UTG who pushes all in for 765 total. The other one folds. I instacall. His 8 8 is not match. Thank you Nicki and Paris.

There is a guy at the table named Scuba_Steve. I inquire if he knows AlCantHang. Nope. That would have been interesting if he was Al's pal.

After the break, I start with about 2500. There are 172 left. I defend my BB with K 8 to a min raise. Flop comes K high. My opponent bets out 300. Not trusting my kicker, I raise it right there. He thinks and thinks and folds. Back over 3000.

I have watched one player go from 5 all the way to 465. Beyond lucky on some hands, like flopping a full house. I'll give him credit. He had some patience and waited for some hands and got lucky.

I go through a couple table changes, not playing much. Suddenly I am put to the left of a huge stack. Crap. The table in general seems very aggressive. Raises, re-raises, chips flying all over the table. Blinds are now 75/150. UTG I get Big Slick, raise it up but get no callers. In the BB I get A 7. I am ready to defend on the min raise, but the button pushes. I have to fold. Min raise had A K while the button had K 9. WTF? Of couse, I would have won the pot with 2 pair. A couple of hands later I try to steal but run into a push monkey.

I feel lucky when I get away with a bone headed play. With 10 10, there is a limp, and a min raise to me. I push. I should have raised to about 1200, instead of putting all my chips at risk. I breathe a sigh of relief when they both fold. The re-raise was from the chip leader.

I see K K in the small blind. I am begging for limpers and a raiser to jump in. 1 limper and a min raise. Yes! I bump it to 1800 to go. Fold and a push. Yes! I instacall. My black kings are met by his red kings. Damn!!!

My A Q runs into 10 10. I raise it up and called his push. Though I flop an A, a 10 hits as well. The A on the turn give him a boat. No Q on the river to save me and I lose half my stack. Next hand I get K J suited. It gets checked back and forth until the K hits the river. I push just to get called by Q 10 off, who has the straight. Done in 95th.

I felt I played well, but got too antsy in the end. My patience went out the window.

WSOP thoughts

Quick go over to Dr. Pauly to see the chip count.

I am a bit surprised that of the 27 left, only 3 are recognizable pros (no slight to anyone on the list I do not know). I am not surprised that those 3, Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, and Greg Raymer are in the top 10. Anyone who doubts Raymer's ability is a moron. The guy can play.

Of the 3, I am rooting for Matusow. Yeah, he is a loud mouth and can be a total ass (or at least that is how TV portrays him) but the real story is he is a great guy who does anything for his friends. Even jail time.

Of course, it would be great to see Phil Ivey win it as well. True class at a poker table.

The good Dr also linked up the cutie he has been working and partying with, Sherry at Let's Poker. All I can say is yum! I am jealous of Pauly.

Also go listen to the Dr. Pauly and Otis Show at Up for Poker. Hilarious.

One final comment...am I the only one that thinks to say that this year's WSOP champion beat out 5600 other players is incorrect? Let's think about it. They had 3 first day flights. About 1870 people per flight. Thus you didn't have to survive against 3700 of these people. None of them put your chips at risk. I like this to a big tournament online. I have played against 2400 before, more than what you go against in the WSOP this year. Maybe I am the only one that thought about this. Amazing feat in the end still.

It has been awhile

I just busted out of a Party freeroll. Amazing how stupid play in these. If you have patience and play the freeroll like a real tournament, you can win some decent money. In this case, 1st place was $525.

I went out at 105. After I did, I was angry. I was the victim of a bad beat. Not the baddest of beats mind you but I still wasn't happy. With a below average stack, I raised the bet to 1800 (blinds 300/600) with K 10 off. The table has been on the tight side and I have stolen a number of blinds from all over the table with K 10 already, never showing. It had been the second best hand I had seen over 3 hours. A Q being the best.

Anyway, I wasn't too happy to have 2 callers. I know right away that if I don't hit the flop I will be folding and playing the push game. If I do hit the flop, I need to make the continuation bet. So the flop comes 8 7 K, two diamonds. I push my last 2500 in. They both call. Turn is a rag. They both check. River is the A of diamonds. I figure the flush draw hit it and get ready to go. One guy shows K 9 suited while the winner shows A 8 off. WTF? Staying in on second pair, let alone calling with crap. The mudderfugger sucked out on me.

Then I realized it has been a long time since I have had a bad beat. So what the hell am I complaining about anyways?

I don't have a friggin clue! I played pretty well again tonight and I am happy with that. I just need to do some damage on Sunday.

Playing poker for a good cause

WPBT "Charlie" Tournament

When? 6PM EST Sunday July 17th

Where? PokerStars

How Much? $20 - every penny goes to charity

What Do I Get When I Win? The comfort of knowing you're doing something good for someone else. No, Really... No. Really.

All proceeds to go to wherever Charlie Tuttle's family wants them.

The tournament is open to bloggers and readers.

Go sign up now. If you don't have an account at Poker Stars, go check out the blogs on the right. If they have a Poker Stars banner, click through on it. Give one of the bloggers some credit. Dr. Pauly has a banner and has been working his ass off to give good reports from Vegas on the WSOP. Just scroll waaaaayyyy down on the left. You'll find it eventually.

Back to the Party

I played in the Half Million Qualifier on Party today. To hit one of my goals, I need to play these qualifiers more often. Where better than where all the fishes swim? 115 plopped down $15+1 to win a chance at big money. 4 places got a seat in the big game with the next 3 getting some cash.

I mixed it up quite a bit in the beginning. I was fortunate enough to double up when someone limped with K K and could let it go. My A 10 from the BB flopped two pair. Why he called it down with an A on the board, I will never know. Oh wait, this is Party. Nevermind.

I had a good lay down midway through the game. I laid down my 10 10 when the UTG limper pushed on my raise. I was covered and wasn't quite sure I had the best hand. I am also sick of falling to that move every time. Better safe than sorry here.

I never really held any chips early in the tournament. As we got below 30, I was still above average but not by much. Any opportunity I could get, I would use to double up. Then one came. I had my A Q called by Q 10 with about 20 to go. WTF? Why call with Q 10 off?

I just about push with 7 7 UTG but instead raise it 3xs to 1200. Maybe not the best move to bet just under half of my chips but I figure a push might get callers while a regular bet might look like I have a bigger hand and want callers. I get one loose caller. Flop comes A K K. CRAP! He checks. I push and he folds. Whew!

I chip up again from the big blind with A 3 when a 3 hits the flop. I bet the turn when the board pairs to give me two pair. I also bet the river though queen hit. Small pot but I need the chips.

With 15 left, I am in 12th place. I have room to move as blinds are 300/600 and I have 5600. We are 7 handed at the table. I need to find spots to steal blinds until I get a real hand. K 10 suited gets me the blinds. I post the BB just to have it fold around. I like that.

I also like a glitch in the software that allows the BB to pass right by you. The guy on my right posted the BB. There was no small because he got busted out. Next hand, the button passed directly to the guy who just posted the BB putting me in the small blind. Sweet!

I don't play a hand for what seems like forever. Nothing is coming my way. When I get decent cards, someone else is raising in front of me. I don't want to be forced in to playing A anything but I feel I must do so soon. Blinds kill me as 9 3 off to a raise is beyond stupid. I pick up a small pot with 9 10 in the small blind when we see a flop and he fold on my bet.

Back to 5xs the BB now as blinds have been bumped to 400/800. There are just 5 at my table and the blinds are flying around. A huge stack is on my left and he isn't interested in playing much so that is good. Looks like I need to win a coin toss soon unless a big hand comes my way.

Then someone on the other table gets busted and we hit the final table. I have a little room to work with as the blinds won't hit me for 4 hands. 9 7 off. Not good but I accidentally hit the call button. F%&#!!! Flop comes 7 8 5. I push which is basically a pot size bet. I get called by 8 5. Damn. But a 6 comes out of nowhere on the river to save me and more than double me up. I pulled a Homer!!!

I am in 8th place right now. 7 pay off. Then one of the big stacks loses it all when he plays Q 6 suited from mid position. Huh? Pays off the trip aces in the end. How stupid can one be to play Q 6 suited late in a tournament? Maybe as stupid as one of the leaders who is still playing hands left and right. He can fold to a seat in the big one if he is smart enough.

As I type that, the Hilton Sisters come by for a visit. I bump the bet to 3000 and get called by the BB. The flop is all rags. He bets out and I push. He folds and I am over 12k and in 4th place with 8 left. Then pocket 10s show up. The big stack UTG+1 raises. Damn. I don't want to play here so I fold them instead of being a potential bubble boy.

Now I get cold decked. Just need one more to drop and I can't catch a card. Meanwhile the big stack keep raising any time I have a worthy stealing hand. I don't mind it as much because he could bust the last person out, but from a strategy point of view, the guy is a total idiot.

I try to play a hand by raising with K Q off just to have someone move over the top all in. Damn! Crap in the blind and I bleed some more. I feel like I have a big target on my forehead as I am getting pushed around. Enough. Time to push back!

After a break, I get K J off. The big stack limps. I push my last 4200 in. One of the bullies calls me and the big stack goes away. He shows J 6 off. WTF? The K on the flop was beautiful. Just play donkey. I am back over 10k. Meanwhile the small stack keeps pushing once per orbit and no one is taking him on.

I try to take out a small stack with A Q. My read on the guy is a ragged ace, no pair. I called his all in bet to see A 10. But the board pairs up twice for a spit pot. Then the small stack double up twice making this game seem that much longer to end.

I push from the small blind with 6 6. The former small stack had raised to 3000. It is another 3k for him to call and he does quickly. He shows K K. Ouch! But a 6 shows on the flop and I double up. Finally the 8th place person busts out on a big blind special.

I then get 10 10 UTG+1. The big stack on my right limps in. I bump it up to 5000. He calls. Flop comes Q high. He checks and I push to take down a decent pot. I am over 20k. I get A J and raise it up to take the blinds. Then A 10 to get another small pot. I am in a spot to play little and capture one of the seats to the Half Million Tournament. And all along, the big stacks cannot help but go to war with each other. I just don't get it.

I finally knock one of the small guys out when he pushes his last 7900 out. I have K Q off in the big blind so I have to call just 5k more. The K on the flop and the Q on the turn is good enough to send him packing. I am now just under 30k and in 2nd place. Watch this folding machine work. The other funny part is how much respect I am suddenly getting. The mini rush worked. No one is questioning my bets. And the former big stack on my right- yes FORMER- is now the low. Serves him right.

My position at the table is pretty bad. Both small stacks are to my right. I can put any real pressure on them. The big stacks on my left may play back at me. I get a couple A x hands and raise it up. Both times they take their time before folding. I hate that.

Ouch! Damnit! Leg cramp! I hop up trying to walk it out dropping F bombs left and right. Enough to make even Mike Matusow blush. I wonder how many penalty minutes I would have racked up for the number of times I just said "fuck".

The table is very tight now. There are two small stacks getting blinded down. One is able to go on a rush when he catches A K and then A A. The other isn't so lucky. Yep, the FORMER big stack on my right is bleeding away. I put him out of his misery when he pushes and I have J J. He flips up 3 3. See ya!

I could even claim I won the tournament. Because the 4 all received a seat, I expected the game to end right there but it didn't. We played a couple more hands until 3 of us went all in on one hand just to end it. My 3 4 soooted caught the flush on the river. Then I pushed in with J 10 soooted to win. Yes, I won again!!! Now if only I knew how to print the screen and show it on this blog. Help anyone?

WSOP

The main event of the WSOP has started. So why are you reading this?

Go read Dr. Pauly for blow by blow action! And hookers.

Also check out Otis and the PokerStars crew.

I also stole an idea from BG. I took some of the money won and put it to good use by buying some poker books. Dan Harrington Pt 2, Winning Small Stakes Hold 'Em so I can improve on my ring game, and based on Iggy's comments, The Professor, The Banker, and the Suicide King. I always like books based on true stories so my guess is I will love this one. If it is anything like Positively Fifth Street or American Roulette, it will be done in a day.

I see someone hit the Noble SnG Maui Jackpot. Congrats to that person. Now Noble has stepped it up. I really need to focus on that one.

Why you still here? Go read about the WSOP already.

2nd Quarter report

Wow, what a helluva quarter that was for me at the virtual tables! Even the real ones in Vegas!
Needless to say I did very well, blowing away some goals I had set for myself by year's end. I now look back at what I typed in March:

I am trying formulate some goals for the rest of the year. I would like to see
my bankroll at least hit the $1000 mark. I would like to think that may be
easy considering the first 3 months but that would be too presumptuous.

With some luck and decent play, I have over $4500 online. Yeah, small potatoes for some of the big boys, but I am still learning here. The bulk came from a second place finish at Noble that was good for $2k and another $800 for 3rd at Bodog.

Let's see what else I was trying to accomplish:

I want to win a multi. A big multi with over 300 players. The buy in doesn't
matter. I want to cash in some good coin and take one down.

I accomplished that one as well, winning a tournament with over 344 players. Buy in was just $5 but it was the win I was aiming at more than the money.

I even had some success in Vegas. I am quite proud of my 7th place finish in the WPBT Aladdin Classic. I wish I could have pulled it out for those who had some money on me. A couple days later I would win a small tournament at the Imperial Palace that paid over $700.

Still the best thing about Vegas was meeting some great people. You know who you are as you see me lurking on your blogs. It was a fantastic weekend. Can't wait until it happens again.

Now I am beginning to formulate some goals for the 3rd quarter. Winning another multi is on top of the list again. I have come up short lately with 2nd and 3rd place finishes. I may be overly aggressive preflop, which may be hurting me. That is the one leak I may have in my game right now. I am not quite sure it is a leak but I have been pissing away decent leads by trying to steal too much as of late.

I guess another goal is to now cash over $2k in an event. Of course winning my way into a trip to a WPT event is still on the radar. I just need to start playing those qualifiers.

I also am trying to improve my ring game play. I see holes that I have right now that can be filled.

Or do I stick to tournaments? That is where I am stronger.

Finally, I want to say thanks to all of those who have expressed words of encouragement. It is nice to feel support from others working towards the same goals. Thank you. I hope I have been able to reciprocate that encouragement back to you on your blogs.

Now let's go play poker!

Lucky dollar indeed

I spent my day off playing quite a bit of poker. I played a couple of the Maui SnGs at Noble to little avail. Made my money back except for the juice. Either you get a table that has such craptacular play where 3 people bust out in the first orbit, or you get one that is extra tight where there are 6 people left and blinds are 100/200.

I had a taste of both. In the first half the field was gone in the first 10 minutes. An ugly beat sent me home there. Then I got very loose at the tight table and started to ram and jam. An ugly beat sent me out in 3rd when I raised all in with A K off and 4 of the 5 remaining players called. J J was ahead early but an A came on the flop. Another player called with A 9 suited (WTF?) while the 4th had K 10 (double WTF? both of these players could have folded). I looked golden- having all players covered- until the 9 hit the river giving both 2 pair. I pissed out on the next hand.

The scary thing was that I wasn't getting any cards to play in either. Lots of folding that made me force certain hands out there.

Seeing that I was getting crap, I of course went to PokerRoom to cash in some points and play a SnG over there. Came in 3rd again. I like what PokerRoom has done with their tourneys. Showing the percentages on the showdowns is great.

From there I went to Party to take advantage of the bonus (Bonus code IGGY!!!). Played there for 20 minutes only because I had noticed PokerRoom had a Lucky Dollar starting up. They pop extra cash into these so if you make the top 5, there is a decent payout. This one had an extra $1000 added. Not bad but the Saturday afternoon always has an extra $2500, giving first place in excess of $1500. Not too shabby for beating out 2000 players.

The Friday tourney started with 1265 players. I took my time early on. I actually was getting some nice starting hands. Kings came by twice for me and I chipped up. My best hand though came with Q J spades in early position. I raised it up on the tight table. Get 2 callers. Flop comes A K spades and a 9. Nice. I bet it and only one caller. Turn is a rag. We both check. River is the 10 of spades. Sweet, a Royal Flush. I bet just over the pot, trying to make it look like a steal. No dice as he folds. I show it for the oohs and aahs at the table.

That appeared to be the highlight for a while. First break would come and go with me just under the middle of the pack. Second break had me even lower. At the third break, we were in the money (it pays a lot of spots) and I was sitting 30 out of 40. I had gotten this far mainly on some lucky blinds play. Stuff like 8 3 offsuit hitting two pair on a free flop.

Once we got back from the break I was able to make my move. I go from 30th to 10th in 2 hands. 3 hands later, I am sitting in first! Q2 flops me two pair and I shove my stack in- around 6k- and get enough callers to pop me to 24k. I hit another big hand with two other callers to pop me to 80k. Then K K comes along again. I raise it up UTG a standard 3xs the BB. The big blind pushes. His 10 10 is no match for my Cowboys and I am on top of the mountain.

I slow down my play as we get closer to two tables, then one. I pick off the blinds here and there but avoid major confrontation with the big stacks. I drop a bit to 4th when I catch no flops. I get decent staring hands but the flops are missing me. J J would see a flop with two overcards. My opponents were too predictable too. An A on the flop would guarantee someone would push. Big connectors weren't hitting me either. I felt sick raising it up, then folding to a big re-raise on the flop.

At the final table, we are slowly moving along. With 6 left, the table is extremely tight. No one is playing, just folding. I start to raise a bit with mediocre hands and get some blinds. I have a chance to put this one away and have a commanding stack when I see K K and just give a min raise. The big blind pushes with 9 9. A 9 hits the flop. I go from being over 1 million in chips to a short stack right there.

I need some cards again. 10 10 doubles me up. I knock a guy out when Big Slick comes through. We get down to 3 and then it happens again. I go flop dead. Again. This is painful because the short stack is pissing away chip and then getting lucky. When we are down to 3, the short stack keeps winning his all in bets. Just can't get knocked out. Q J beats A Q. Then he gets A K up against A Q. He hits everything to stay alive.

Me? I piss it away on a missed flop and then push instead of being blinded out. Finished 3rd which was good for $185.73. The weekend Lucky Dollar would have paid me another $500 which would be nice. I will settle for the $185 though.

I felt pretty good about my game, mixing it up, speeding up and slowing down. It gives me some encouragement to play some bigger tourneys this weekend.

It also had me thinking of some things that I will have in a different post. I am beginning to wonder if table image really matters online. My answer right now is no. More thought later on that one.

A pro will win

Have you noticed the number of events the pros are winning at the WSOP? Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson win their 10th bracelets is great. Plus the pros and hitting final tables and winning tons of cash. Of course you know this because you read Dr. Pauly's updates and are reading the Poker Profs recaps as well. I am now waiting for Phil Hellmuth to win his 10th this year.

I am going out on a limb here...a pro will win the big one. The internet players (the majority of them will burn and crash. A known name will win the 10k buyin. I won't venture a guess but I think someone like Phil Ivey or John Juanda will win it. The amateurs do not have a chance this year.

It is simple. The pros are much better. They learned a lesson last year and changed their games up. TJ Cloutier played a lot of online poker to adjust his style. He won another bracelet this year as a result. I wouldn't be shocked if others did the same kind of "training".

Seeing that it is the end of the 2nd quarter, I need to review how things went and give a status report. I know that the quarter was excellent. Won a nice sum of cash but also met some fantastic people in Vegas. That is worth more than the cash. Look for that summary shortly.