Here's a direct link to my new blog:
http://www.tworags.com/blog/BadgerPro
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Moving the Blog
I'll be moving my blog from here to a poker site called TwoRags. You can get to my home page there by going to http://www.tworags.com/home/BadgerPro and within the next few days they are setting it up so you can get straight to my blog and I'll put a link up for that when it gets set up. For now though just go to my homepage there and you will be able to see my blog entries and click and read through them.
I should get more readers there and I know some of the other poker players who post over there.
Andy
I should get more readers there and I know some of the other poker players who post over there.
Andy
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Back on Track
Been in a bit of a downswing lately that's caused me to drop down to 1/2 nl limit again. Did some major evaluation of my play lately and plugged a few leaks that I found and changed up my overall approach to cash games and have seen some great success in my past 3 days of play since changing it up.
Almost had a really sick day today but I lost with AA all in preflop twice. Once for a $600 pot when I got it all in versus KK and a K turned and then again less than 5 minutes later for a $400 pot against AK when a K flopped and K rivered (3rd time I've lost AA to AK in the past 3 days). I had one other good sized pot where I lost with TT against K2 when the flop came JJ3 after being reraised a few times preflop and the guy just shoved the flop and hit a K on the turn. Those were the three biggest hands I lost and even despite that I still had a really good day.
Also been back on my normal work out and play schedule. Playing 2-3 hours when I first get up and then getting in a lift and some cardio followed by another 2-4 hours at night. My morning play has been pretty much all cash games and I've mixed in a few tourneys at night but it's still mostly cash at night right now also.
I played the Sunday Million on Stars over the weekend and finished in the money but well away from the big money. Despite not playing many tourneys lately I've had some great results and have been getting deep in a lot but coming up just short in most of them.
Almost had a really sick day today but I lost with AA all in preflop twice. Once for a $600 pot when I got it all in versus KK and a K turned and then again less than 5 minutes later for a $400 pot against AK when a K flopped and K rivered (3rd time I've lost AA to AK in the past 3 days). I had one other good sized pot where I lost with TT against K2 when the flop came JJ3 after being reraised a few times preflop and the guy just shoved the flop and hit a K on the turn. Those were the three biggest hands I lost and even despite that I still had a really good day.
Also been back on my normal work out and play schedule. Playing 2-3 hours when I first get up and then getting in a lift and some cardio followed by another 2-4 hours at night. My morning play has been pretty much all cash games and I've mixed in a few tourneys at night but it's still mostly cash at night right now also.
I played the Sunday Million on Stars over the weekend and finished in the money but well away from the big money. Despite not playing many tourneys lately I've had some great results and have been getting deep in a lot but coming up just short in most of them.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Sigh
Just a quick post since it's 4:30am and I'm really tired. Been playing a lot lately with mediocre results. Been putting in a lot of time at the cash games and I feel like my play is really improving despite not seeing the results I'd like.
I decided to take a break from cash tonight and jump in a few tourneys after being inspired by my roommate Eric's run last night as he took down 2 tourneys. Oh yeah, for those who don't know I've moved places (still in Madison) and I am now rooming with Eric, basebaldy, Baldwin.
I ended up playing 5 tourneys, a $33 rebuy, $11 rebuy , $55, $109, $33. I made one bad play in the $33r and then lost a coin flip to go out and I made a great call with top pair in the $11r with top pair weak kicker when I figured the other guy was shoving a flush draw... he was... and he hit it. Those were the only two tourneys that I didn't cash in. In the $55 I went out when I shoved with pocket sixes after getting short and ran into pocket aces.
Then came the two tourneys I made deep runs in, the $109 and the $33. I was at the final two tables of both tourneys at the same time with a nice stack in both and I felt like I had a great read on all of the players at my tables. In the $33 I was staying really aggressive since it felt like the table was way too passive and tight while at the $109 I was just sitting back and waiting for big hands since I knew I would get paid off since the entire table was playing way too loose and agressive.
In the $33 I made the final table and ended up losing with KK to JTo to go out in 3rd. I slowplayed the KK preflop and ended up losing when the flop came with two tens. I played the hand right though as the other player was way too aggressive (there were two at the $33 FT that were overly aggressive and spewy) and he would have bluffed off his stack no matter what the flop came.
In the $109 with 13 left I picked up AA and prepared to double up. I raised and immediately the guy behind me reraised huge and we got it all in. He flipped AKs, a much better hand than I even expected him to have, and I was a huge favorite preflop. However, two kings hit the flop and I couldn't catch a one outer case ace and I was out in 13th instead of having a top 3 stack and a shot at the $8k first place prize.
For those wondering my computer is back working great again. My iphone did break down though and I had to send that in to Apple. I just received a brand new one today though. Needless to say that over the last 3 weeks it has not been good to be an electronic device of mine.
I'll try to get back to posting regularly. The Sunday Million on Stars is a $530 buyin this week so hopefully I can win that and make a cool quarter million. Till then though... BADGER OUT!
I decided to take a break from cash tonight and jump in a few tourneys after being inspired by my roommate Eric's run last night as he took down 2 tourneys. Oh yeah, for those who don't know I've moved places (still in Madison) and I am now rooming with Eric, basebaldy, Baldwin.
I ended up playing 5 tourneys, a $33 rebuy, $11 rebuy , $55, $109, $33. I made one bad play in the $33r and then lost a coin flip to go out and I made a great call with top pair in the $11r with top pair weak kicker when I figured the other guy was shoving a flush draw... he was... and he hit it. Those were the only two tourneys that I didn't cash in. In the $55 I went out when I shoved with pocket sixes after getting short and ran into pocket aces.
Then came the two tourneys I made deep runs in, the $109 and the $33. I was at the final two tables of both tourneys at the same time with a nice stack in both and I felt like I had a great read on all of the players at my tables. In the $33 I was staying really aggressive since it felt like the table was way too passive and tight while at the $109 I was just sitting back and waiting for big hands since I knew I would get paid off since the entire table was playing way too loose and agressive.
In the $33 I made the final table and ended up losing with KK to JTo to go out in 3rd. I slowplayed the KK preflop and ended up losing when the flop came with two tens. I played the hand right though as the other player was way too aggressive (there were two at the $33 FT that were overly aggressive and spewy) and he would have bluffed off his stack no matter what the flop came.
In the $109 with 13 left I picked up AA and prepared to double up. I raised and immediately the guy behind me reraised huge and we got it all in. He flipped AKs, a much better hand than I even expected him to have, and I was a huge favorite preflop. However, two kings hit the flop and I couldn't catch a one outer case ace and I was out in 13th instead of having a top 3 stack and a shot at the $8k first place prize.
For those wondering my computer is back working great again. My iphone did break down though and I had to send that in to Apple. I just received a brand new one today though. Needless to say that over the last 3 weeks it has not been good to be an electronic device of mine.
I'll try to get back to posting regularly. The Sunday Million on Stars is a $530 buyin this week so hopefully I can win that and make a cool quarter million. Till then though... BADGER OUT!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Bad Beat
Yesterday was just all around bad. I dropped a few buyins playing 2/4nl 6max and then I jumped in a few tournaments at the end of the night since I felt like playing still but wanted to change it up and play something besides cash. I got deep in a 55 1r1a tourney but lost a big coinflip just before we hit the money. I was then deep in a $11 freezeout and was doing a pretty good job of taking advantage of the money bubble...
However, as we are about 10 from the money I pick up AK and make a raise and just as I do... BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!!?!?! Yup, my computer crashes and not the kind of crash that is easily fixed by restarting the computer. I spent the next hour trying a few different things that will usually fix the computer and get it running again but nothing was working. I finally called Dell around midnight and spent an hour and a half trying to fix the problem. In the end we were able to get the computer running but it's very limited right now. It looks like I will need to completely wipe the computer and reinstall Windows. It really sucks but at least I'm able to access my files and save them so I can restore them after reinstalling Windows.
I wasn't planning on playing this weekend anyways as I'm headed to Chicago tonight to visit with some friends. My Mom and Grandma then fly in from Hawaii to O'Hare airport on Saturday so I will be picking them up and brining them home in the afternoon. Then on Sunday is JJO (hard rock radio station in Madison) Band Camp, which has over 10 awesome bands performing throughout the day. Hopefully I can get the computer back up and running at full speed on Monday.
However, as we are about 10 from the money I pick up AK and make a raise and just as I do... BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!!?!?! Yup, my computer crashes and not the kind of crash that is easily fixed by restarting the computer. I spent the next hour trying a few different things that will usually fix the computer and get it running again but nothing was working. I finally called Dell around midnight and spent an hour and a half trying to fix the problem. In the end we were able to get the computer running but it's very limited right now. It looks like I will need to completely wipe the computer and reinstall Windows. It really sucks but at least I'm able to access my files and save them so I can restore them after reinstalling Windows.
I wasn't planning on playing this weekend anyways as I'm headed to Chicago tonight to visit with some friends. My Mom and Grandma then fly in from Hawaii to O'Hare airport on Saturday so I will be picking them up and brining them home in the afternoon. Then on Sunday is JJO (hard rock radio station in Madison) Band Camp, which has over 10 awesome bands performing throughout the day. Hopefully I can get the computer back up and running at full speed on Monday.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Hot August Start
I'm waiting for some laundry to finish before I go get my daily workout in so I thought I'd toss a quick blog up. My only goal for August is to try and get on a good playing schedule. I figure if I can do this and put a good number of hours in the success will follow. I'm going to try and get up before 11 most days and put a 2-4 hour cash session in, I'll then go get my workout in and/or run any errands I need to get done, which will give me a nice break, and after that I'll put another evening session in, hopefully 2-4 hours if I'm playing cash and if I'm playing tourneys it will depend on how I do in the tourneys. I figure if I am able to do this every day that would be 10 2-4 hour sessions but will probably end up being more like 7-8 sessions for an average week. I'll also be playing most Sundays and probably a few Saturdays so that will add in some more hours.
So today I was up around 9 and did some cleaning up and laundry and then put a nice little 2 hour session in while waiting for the laundry to get done. I felt like I ran bad but my stats showed otherwise at the end of my session. I finished up 4 buyins at 2/4nl, which is really good and felt like I played really well. The reason I felt that I ran bad is because I lost quite a few pots where I was a 3:1 favorite when all (most) of the money went into the pot and at the same time I didn't win any big pots where I was even a slight underdog or got all my money in on a straight or flush draw.
I played on Poker Stars today for the first time in awhile as I've been playing on Full Tilt as the games seem to be better there lately. When I first started my session I could already tell the difference in play between the two as the players on Stars were being much more aggressive than on Tilt and many of my raises were immediately 3bet back into me. I've really started to play a much more aggressive game and when I first start a session I start out very loose and then tighten up some after I have established a nice loose image. This seemed to work out really well as many of the players continued to 3bet my raises even when I had tightened up quite a bit.
So today I was up around 9 and did some cleaning up and laundry and then put a nice little 2 hour session in while waiting for the laundry to get done. I felt like I ran bad but my stats showed otherwise at the end of my session. I finished up 4 buyins at 2/4nl, which is really good and felt like I played really well. The reason I felt that I ran bad is because I lost quite a few pots where I was a 3:1 favorite when all (most) of the money went into the pot and at the same time I didn't win any big pots where I was even a slight underdog or got all my money in on a straight or flush draw.
I played on Poker Stars today for the first time in awhile as I've been playing on Full Tilt as the games seem to be better there lately. When I first started my session I could already tell the difference in play between the two as the players on Stars were being much more aggressive than on Tilt and many of my raises were immediately 3bet back into me. I've really started to play a much more aggressive game and when I first start a session I start out very loose and then tighten up some after I have established a nice loose image. This seemed to work out really well as many of the players continued to 3bet my raises even when I had tightened up quite a bit.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Back in Madtown
Just got back to Madison after a ridiculously long drive. I left Vegas with Eric and went to LA to catch a Dodgers game and stayed at Commerce Casino for the night. I didn't get a chance to play poker there but they have a huge poker room and from what I've heard it's a great place to play with a lot of really weak players. Don't ever go there to play blackjack though. There is some weird law that doesn't allow them to spread regular blackjack so they have these weird alternative blackjack games, which they charge you $1 per hand to play. I wouldn't recommend going there to play anything but blackjack
After LA we hit up San Diego and I went to check out the beaches with Ian, another poker player from Madison who's living in SD for the summer, while Eric picked up his girlfriend Mary, who flew in to SD to meet up with us. We then hit up a Padres game and after words went out in downtown SD. Petco is a really nice stadium and we had a ton of fun during and after the game. I don't remember what bars we hit up since we just stopped at wherever we could find right after the game.
I took off by myself the next morning and headed back to Madison while Eric and Mary went back to Vegas. I wanted to drive back a different route so I went from SD through Phoenix, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Des Moines, and up to Madison. It was a nice trip and while I had planned to stop somewhere along the way and get a room I never really got too tired so I drove almost straight through. I ended up stopping around 9am (pst) after driving 22 hours for a little 2 hour nap at a rest stop but then finished the drive getting into Madison around 1am (cst), which means the entire trip took exactly 36 hours (I left SD at 11am (pst). It took a bit longer than I expected, partly because of the nap but also because most of the times when I stopped for food I would sit down to eat instead of just getting it to go. I think getting out of the truck a few times on the trip helped me to keep going as it broke it up quite a bit. I also had two books on tape which made the first 2/3s of the trip go by much faster than just listening to music. Overall it was a nice drive and during the daylight hours it was nice to see the different landscapes and cities. I missed most of New Mexico and Texas since I was passing through them at night.
It will be back to the online grind now and I'll try to keep my blog updated at least once a week and hopefully as many as two or three times. I'm sure most people who have kept up with the blog know this is wishful thinking but I will do my best. I have gotten a few comments while playing online from people who have been reading and I appreciate all of the compliments. I haven't seen too many comments here on the blog but please feel free to post any observations, ideas, criticisms, or compliments as it's all welcome and will hopefully help me stay motivated to post more regularly.
After LA we hit up San Diego and I went to check out the beaches with Ian, another poker player from Madison who's living in SD for the summer, while Eric picked up his girlfriend Mary, who flew in to SD to meet up with us. We then hit up a Padres game and after words went out in downtown SD. Petco is a really nice stadium and we had a ton of fun during and after the game. I don't remember what bars we hit up since we just stopped at wherever we could find right after the game.
I took off by myself the next morning and headed back to Madison while Eric and Mary went back to Vegas. I wanted to drive back a different route so I went from SD through Phoenix, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Des Moines, and up to Madison. It was a nice trip and while I had planned to stop somewhere along the way and get a room I never really got too tired so I drove almost straight through. I ended up stopping around 9am (pst) after driving 22 hours for a little 2 hour nap at a rest stop but then finished the drive getting into Madison around 1am (cst), which means the entire trip took exactly 36 hours (I left SD at 11am (pst). It took a bit longer than I expected, partly because of the nap but also because most of the times when I stopped for food I would sit down to eat instead of just getting it to go. I think getting out of the truck a few times on the trip helped me to keep going as it broke it up quite a bit. I also had two books on tape which made the first 2/3s of the trip go by much faster than just listening to music. Overall it was a nice drive and during the daylight hours it was nice to see the different landscapes and cities. I missed most of New Mexico and Texas since I was passing through them at night.
It will be back to the online grind now and I'll try to keep my blog updated at least once a week and hopefully as many as two or three times. I'm sure most people who have kept up with the blog know this is wishful thinking but I will do my best. I have gotten a few comments while playing online from people who have been reading and I appreciate all of the compliments. I haven't seen too many comments here on the blog but please feel free to post any observations, ideas, criticisms, or compliments as it's all welcome and will hopefully help me stay motivated to post more regularly.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Little Dissapointed
Rather disappointed with the ME today. I thought I played pretty well but I couldn't get much going. I seemed to miss everything. When I had big cards the flops came low and when I had lower cards it was an all broadway flop. I'll put up a longer blog tomorrow trying to detail it out some more but I'm tired and need to crash.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Dinner Break
Well the first half of the day hasn't gone as well as I had hoped and I'm down to about 7k. Seems like if I have big cards and raise the flop comes small and if I have a small pair the flop comes all broadway. Average right now is probably a little over 25k so 2 double ups and I'd be right back in it with a good amount of play. Gotta head back to the Rio now and hopefully pick up some hands and get some momentum going.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Change of Plans
I was able to sell off some of my action and also get some more cash here in Vegas so it looks like I'll be playing the main event after all. I have to go sign up but I know they are sold out for Saturday and Sunday already so I will most likely be playing on Monday and then my second day will probably be on Wednesday. I'll put another post up this weekend with some more details about when I will be playing. Nice to get a shot at this event after seeing the players who were signing up yesterday I really felt like I was missing out.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Almost Made It
Well, not really but we started with 5k in chips and 50k would be the average when we hit the seats I figured. I got up to 15k real early in the tourney and then went completely card dead and lost a 40/60 to go out of the tournament. Might go try and play a few satellites the next few days. The main event starts tomorrow but you can register through Sunday since there are going to be four starting days.
Last Shot
Sorry it's been awhile since my last update but not too much exciting has happened in the poker world. No big wins lately and I've just been doing my usual grind.
I'm headed over to the Rio in 15 minutes for a $1k satellite to the main event. This will probably be my last shot to get into the ME. I'm sure they'll run some more sats over the next few days so I might take another shot but I think this will probably be the biggest one today, which means that it's my best chance to get in.
I played a little 2/5 over at the Rio yesterday and was up about $1k over about 6 hours which really helped my decision to play today. Didn't have too many really big hands but got paid off pretty much every time I did. Had one pot over $850 that I 4 bet a guy with flush and a got shot straight draw and got him to fold top pair. We would have been about even money had he called and considering he was getting over 2:1 at a 50/50 shot it was nice to get him to lay it down. His laydown was pretty close to correct though considering I'm only making that move with a set or a type of hand I hand.
Gotta run now but I'll put an update up later as to whether or not I had any success in the satellite today.
I'm headed over to the Rio in 15 minutes for a $1k satellite to the main event. This will probably be my last shot to get into the ME. I'm sure they'll run some more sats over the next few days so I might take another shot but I think this will probably be the biggest one today, which means that it's my best chance to get in.
I played a little 2/5 over at the Rio yesterday and was up about $1k over about 6 hours which really helped my decision to play today. Didn't have too many really big hands but got paid off pretty much every time I did. Had one pot over $850 that I 4 bet a guy with flush and a got shot straight draw and got him to fold top pair. We would have been about even money had he called and considering he was getting over 2:1 at a 50/50 shot it was nice to get him to lay it down. His laydown was pretty close to correct though considering I'm only making that move with a set or a type of hand I hand.
Gotta run now but I'll put an update up later as to whether or not I had any success in the satellite today.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Another Quick One
I'm definitely not getting my money's worth while playing in the World Series. Lasted about 30 minutes today and I got to the table 5 minutes late because mine wasn't in the regular tournament area.
Because the field is so large they put some tables in other areas. What they fail to do is put up any signs telling you where tables that aren't in the main area are. I knew my table wouldn't be in the main area because of the table number I had so I went to the first backup area (I actually thought there was only one back up area)... nope not there. I ask a guy and it's on the other end of the casino. Thanks for putting up a sign somewhere guys. So I have to walk all the back past the place where I came in to get to my table.
So I get to my table and raise the first hand with AJo and get called by the BB. Flop comes T9x and he check calls a bet, we both check the turn, and I call a small river bet when a J hits and he shows KQ for the straight.
Few hands later I make a big call with J9 on a Q96 A Q board when I thought a guy was floating me on the Q high flop and then he bet on the turn and river only to see that he went runner runner flush with T8. I then get knocked out when I limp and shove over a raise with 88 and lose to AK.
Don't really think I can play any of my hands differently. On the J9 hand I had such a strong feeling that the guy didn't have a Q or an A and that he was on a complete draw. I knew I was chopping if he had a 9 but I really felt he had a hand like JT or maybe KJ. He just got lucky to go runner runner for the flush and there's no way I can put him on that. One of these times they are going to miss their runner runners and their gutshot straight draws and I'm going to get a big stack... I'm just hoping that time comes soon.
I would like to play the $5k 6max next week but I'm gonna have to run pretty good before then to feel comfortable taking a shot in it. I'll probably play some $500 satellites at the Rio over the next two days and see if I can't win one or two and then take my shot.
Because the field is so large they put some tables in other areas. What they fail to do is put up any signs telling you where tables that aren't in the main area are. I knew my table wouldn't be in the main area because of the table number I had so I went to the first backup area (I actually thought there was only one back up area)... nope not there. I ask a guy and it's on the other end of the casino. Thanks for putting up a sign somewhere guys. So I have to walk all the back past the place where I came in to get to my table.
So I get to my table and raise the first hand with AJo and get called by the BB. Flop comes T9x and he check calls a bet, we both check the turn, and I call a small river bet when a J hits and he shows KQ for the straight.
Few hands later I make a big call with J9 on a Q96 A Q board when I thought a guy was floating me on the Q high flop and then he bet on the turn and river only to see that he went runner runner flush with T8. I then get knocked out when I limp and shove over a raise with 88 and lose to AK.
Don't really think I can play any of my hands differently. On the J9 hand I had such a strong feeling that the guy didn't have a Q or an A and that he was on a complete draw. I knew I was chopping if he had a 9 but I really felt he had a hand like JT or maybe KJ. He just got lucky to go runner runner for the flush and there's no way I can put him on that. One of these times they are going to miss their runner runners and their gutshot straight draws and I'm going to get a big stack... I'm just hoping that time comes soon.
I would like to play the $5k 6max next week but I'm gonna have to run pretty good before then to feel comfortable taking a shot in it. I'll probably play some $500 satellites at the Rio over the next two days and see if I can't win one or two and then take my shot.
WSOP Event #38 $1500 NL Holdem
No more craps for now... back to my 'real job' I guess. Playing in my first full ring WSOP event tomorrow. It's event 38 and looks like it will easily get over 2000 people and I wouldn't be surprised to see it get over 2500 people. Tourney starts a 12pm pst and the first day won't be over until 2am pst. I'll be sure to put up a quick blog whenever I'm done playing for the day.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
New Career
Played golf with Eric today at a beautiful course out here in Vegas call the Painted Desert. All the courses here are about 1/3 their normal price if you tee off in the afternoon because they have such a hard time getting people to play midday with how hot it gets here. It was about 95 when we started the round and got up to about 105 and stayed there for most of it. It's a really dry heat here compared to the high humidity we get in Wisconsin. I shot a 96 which is pretty high for me but considering we finished off 10 beers each during the round I'd say that's not bad.
We each went back and took a 3 hour nap after our round and decided to meet up at the Bellagio at 8pm for their $1k tournament. I ended up busting about 2 hours in and Eric busted about 10 minutes after I did. We've each played a ton of poker the past few days, him live, and me online, so we figured we play some table games and get free drinks. We were looking for a good craps table and decided to head over to the Palms casino since they would probably have some lower stakes than the Bellagio. When we got there though the only craps that was running was a $15 minimum and the table was full. So we settled for some $10 minimum blackjack. We each bought in for $200 and I ran mine up to $600 while Eric blew through his.
The casino then opened up another craps table at a $10 minimum, which is exactly what we were looking for, so we left the blackjack tables and started to roll the dice. We probably rolled craps for over five hours and when four in the morning hit we were each up about $4.5k. There were five ridiculous rolls throughout the night, two each by Eric and I, and we each pushed our bets during all of them. So after having such a great run I've decided that craps is much easier to beat then poker and I'm switching careers. I figure my arm may get a little sore but that's a small price to pay in my opinion. I figure at this rate the Maloofs will have to sell me the Kings by the end of June to cover all the craps winnings I'll take off of them.
We each went back and took a 3 hour nap after our round and decided to meet up at the Bellagio at 8pm for their $1k tournament. I ended up busting about 2 hours in and Eric busted about 10 minutes after I did. We've each played a ton of poker the past few days, him live, and me online, so we figured we play some table games and get free drinks. We were looking for a good craps table and decided to head over to the Palms casino since they would probably have some lower stakes than the Bellagio. When we got there though the only craps that was running was a $15 minimum and the table was full. So we settled for some $10 minimum blackjack. We each bought in for $200 and I ran mine up to $600 while Eric blew through his.
The casino then opened up another craps table at a $10 minimum, which is exactly what we were looking for, so we left the blackjack tables and started to roll the dice. We probably rolled craps for over five hours and when four in the morning hit we were each up about $4.5k. There were five ridiculous rolls throughout the night, two each by Eric and I, and we each pushed our bets during all of them. So after having such a great run I've decided that craps is much easier to beat then poker and I'm switching careers. I figure my arm may get a little sore but that's a small price to pay in my opinion. I figure at this rate the Maloofs will have to sell me the Kings by the end of June to cover all the craps winnings I'll take off of them.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Back to Back Nights
Won a $33 rebuy tournament on Full Tilt today. I got really deep in a lot of tournaments today and was lucky enough to take this one down. Feels great to be on a heater... maybe I can get this kind of stuff going in the WSOP now.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Owning Full Tilt on Mondays
Last Monday it was 4th in their $1k tourney for a $17k profit. This Monday I won a $75 tournament with 435 players in it. First place paid out $7.5k. I came into the final table in 5th or 6th place in chips but lost about 1/3 my stack really early and had to play the rest of the final table as one of the shorter stacks. I doubled up once we got 3 handed though and was able to really take advantage of the other two players weaknesses.
Nice to win a tournament after having such a disappointing day in the WSOP event.
Gut Shot
Was back in Madison over the past weekend for my buddies bachelor party which was a blast. Got back in Sunday night and had to go out with Justin for a few drinks because he took 3rd in a $2k WSOP event and made over a quarter million.
I was really excited for the $2500 6max event today. That faded quickly though when I only lasted 8 hands. I got a bad table draw and had Robert Mizrahi, the Grinder's brother, to my direct left. I knew he would be aggressive and wouldn't have minded having him on my right but to have him to my direct left wasn't good.
Second hand of the tourney I'm in the small blind, Robert in the big blind, it folds to me and I make it 175 at 25/50 blinds and 5k starting stacks with AJo. Robert obviously calls and the flop comes AT8r giving me top pair and I continuation bet 225 and Robert calls. Turn is a 9 and I check call a 500 bet to keep the pot small as I don't want to play a huge pot with just one pair or get blown off the straight draw I've picked up. River is another 9 and I check and he fires out 1100 and I take a few seconds and call and he shows me 67 for a turned gutshot straight. I say 'nice turn' and muck.
Eighth hand of the tourney I'm on the button, cutoff limps, and I look down to see the hand we all wait for, AA and make it 250 to go. Both the blinds fold and the cutoff calls. The flop comes AQ6r and the cutoff check/calls a 325 bet from me. Turn is a 9 and the cutoff checkcalls a 700 bet leaving me with about 1400 left to the river. A king rolls off on the river and the cutoff immediately puts me all in. I make the call and he shows me JTo for the rivered straight.
So in both big pots I played I flopped the other guys drawing dead to a gutshot and both times they got there. Really don't think I can play it any different. I thought I may have been able to fold to Robert's river bet but seeing the 67 means he was definitely going to make a play on me regardless of whether or not he hit his hand.
So it's back to grinding again for a bit. Not sure what my next tourney will be but I'll probably look to play another no limit event soon.
I was really excited for the $2500 6max event today. That faded quickly though when I only lasted 8 hands. I got a bad table draw and had Robert Mizrahi, the Grinder's brother, to my direct left. I knew he would be aggressive and wouldn't have minded having him on my right but to have him to my direct left wasn't good.
Second hand of the tourney I'm in the small blind, Robert in the big blind, it folds to me and I make it 175 at 25/50 blinds and 5k starting stacks with AJo. Robert obviously calls and the flop comes AT8r giving me top pair and I continuation bet 225 and Robert calls. Turn is a 9 and I check call a 500 bet to keep the pot small as I don't want to play a huge pot with just one pair or get blown off the straight draw I've picked up. River is another 9 and I check and he fires out 1100 and I take a few seconds and call and he shows me 67 for a turned gutshot straight. I say 'nice turn' and muck.
Eighth hand of the tourney I'm on the button, cutoff limps, and I look down to see the hand we all wait for, AA and make it 250 to go. Both the blinds fold and the cutoff calls. The flop comes AQ6r and the cutoff check/calls a 325 bet from me. Turn is a 9 and the cutoff checkcalls a 700 bet leaving me with about 1400 left to the river. A king rolls off on the river and the cutoff immediately puts me all in. I make the call and he shows me JTo for the rivered straight.
So in both big pots I played I flopped the other guys drawing dead to a gutshot and both times they got there. Really don't think I can play it any different. I thought I may have been able to fold to Robert's river bet but seeing the 67 means he was definitely going to make a play on me regardless of whether or not he hit his hand.
So it's back to grinding again for a bit. Not sure what my next tourney will be but I'll probably look to play another no limit event soon.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Finally!!!
About time I ended this downswing I've been on in tournaments. Played a whole bunch of satellites to the $1k tournament that Full Tilt runs every Monday. I ended up winning my seat, which is good because I probably spent $850 getting it. I was close to winning another seat two other times which would have gotten me an extra $1k in cash but I came up short. On Stars if you win a seat you don't have to play in the tournament but on Full Tilt you have to play your first one and then you get cash for any seats after that.
The tournament started out really well and it seemed like people were just giving me their chips early on. I got a few hands in a row and went from an average stack to a really big stack. I had a guy check raise me all-in when I had top set and he had a straight draw to get my first big double up. I then went on a run and got AK a few times against some weaker hands. I also had a big hand where I had 96 in the big blind and got a free look at the flop to see 965 for flopped top two pair. I led out and got called in two spots. The turn brought another 6 giving me a full house and I check raised the other two guys all-in and one called with TT and he failed to hit his two outer. This game me around a 12k stack and put me top 5 with about 150 people left.
My stack floated between 10k and 15k all the way down to about 30 people where I started to get a little short despite not really having my stack move much. The money bubble was at 27 and with about 29 left I had to make a big call with AT when the button who had me covered shoved and showed A9. I hit a ten on the flop and dodged his turned straight draw to double up to about 20k. Just after the money bubble burst I picked up KK in the big blind and a player in the CO who had been super aggressive open shoved for 40k and I quickly called and my kings held up against his 77.
I ended up sitting at about 40k then all the way to the final table. When the final table started I was 8th in chips out of the 9 players. One guy busted early on and with 8 left I picked up pocket tens. The chip leader raised and I shoved all-in over his raise and was instantly called by the guy on my left. I was hoping he'd flip AK and we would be racing but he had KK and I was way behind. I got lucky and spiked a T on the turn to double up and move up to 3rd or 4th in chips.
There were a few more quick bustouts and we got down to 4 handed fast. I floated between 2nd and 3rd in chips while we were 4 handed. In my bustout hand I raised with KTs and the big blind cold called and the flop came down QTT with two diamonds. He led into me and I raised him with my trips figuring I had to be way ahead and he either had a straight draw, a flush draw, straight and flush draw, or just a bare queen. He reshoved over my raise and I called to see QJs. He hit his 2 outer queen on the turn though and I was out. The pot would have tied me up with the chip leader and the other two would have been really short.
I sold some of my action toward the end of the tournament when there was about 17 left and I had an average stack. So while 4th paid out about 23k I got just under 17k. It was a good deal at the time and if I hadn't gotten lucky with my tens it would have been a great deal for me. It's nice to finally get a big score and while it was really disappointing not to have that hand hold but I was really happy.
There's a really good chance I'll be playing the $2500 6max event this Monday now. It's one of the events where the final table will be televised on ESPN so it should get a big and soft field.
The tournament started out really well and it seemed like people were just giving me their chips early on. I got a few hands in a row and went from an average stack to a really big stack. I had a guy check raise me all-in when I had top set and he had a straight draw to get my first big double up. I then went on a run and got AK a few times against some weaker hands. I also had a big hand where I had 96 in the big blind and got a free look at the flop to see 965 for flopped top two pair. I led out and got called in two spots. The turn brought another 6 giving me a full house and I check raised the other two guys all-in and one called with TT and he failed to hit his two outer. This game me around a 12k stack and put me top 5 with about 150 people left.
My stack floated between 10k and 15k all the way down to about 30 people where I started to get a little short despite not really having my stack move much. The money bubble was at 27 and with about 29 left I had to make a big call with AT when the button who had me covered shoved and showed A9. I hit a ten on the flop and dodged his turned straight draw to double up to about 20k. Just after the money bubble burst I picked up KK in the big blind and a player in the CO who had been super aggressive open shoved for 40k and I quickly called and my kings held up against his 77.
I ended up sitting at about 40k then all the way to the final table. When the final table started I was 8th in chips out of the 9 players. One guy busted early on and with 8 left I picked up pocket tens. The chip leader raised and I shoved all-in over his raise and was instantly called by the guy on my left. I was hoping he'd flip AK and we would be racing but he had KK and I was way behind. I got lucky and spiked a T on the turn to double up and move up to 3rd or 4th in chips.
There were a few more quick bustouts and we got down to 4 handed fast. I floated between 2nd and 3rd in chips while we were 4 handed. In my bustout hand I raised with KTs and the big blind cold called and the flop came down QTT with two diamonds. He led into me and I raised him with my trips figuring I had to be way ahead and he either had a straight draw, a flush draw, straight and flush draw, or just a bare queen. He reshoved over my raise and I called to see QJs. He hit his 2 outer queen on the turn though and I was out. The pot would have tied me up with the chip leader and the other two would have been really short.
I sold some of my action toward the end of the tournament when there was about 17 left and I had an average stack. So while 4th paid out about 23k I got just under 17k. It was a good deal at the time and if I hadn't gotten lucky with my tens it would have been a great deal for me. It's nice to finally get a big score and while it was really disappointing not to have that hand hold but I was really happy.
There's a really good chance I'll be playing the $2500 6max event this Monday now. It's one of the events where the final table will be televised on ESPN so it should get a big and soft field.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Upcoming Schedule
Didn't play too many tourneys on Sunday. I had a decent cash in the Sunday Million but couldn't really get too much going at any point in time. Gonna be playing a lot of cash games again this week and will probably play at home tonight and then at the Rio a few days during the week.
Justin, the only roommate not here yet, flies in tomorrow in the afternoon. I fly back to Wisconsin for a buddy's bachelor party this weekend. I fly out just before midnight on Thursday and then return Sunday afternoon.
Cash games have still been going really well for me this month and I'm up a good amount. Hopefully I can continue the run and if I'm up enough this week I'm looking to play the $2500 6max event next Monday in the WSOP.
Justin, the only roommate not here yet, flies in tomorrow in the afternoon. I fly back to Wisconsin for a buddy's bachelor party this weekend. I fly out just before midnight on Thursday and then return Sunday afternoon.
Cash games have still been going really well for me this month and I'm up a good amount. Hopefully I can continue the run and if I'm up enough this week I'm looking to play the $2500 6max event next Monday in the WSOP.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Short Stacking
Wasn't able to get much going in the 1500 today. We started with 3k chips and my high point was just over 4.5k. My first table was a pretty good draw as there were 3 bad players and 2 players who were over playing their hands, especially their draws, but had a good aggressive style working for them.
Our first table broke just before the end of the third level and my new table had 4 big stacks to my left and one short stack to my right. It seemed like the 4 bigger stacks were playing pretty solid poker and the short stack was the tightest of them even after he doubled up once so my position was pretty bad.
I shoved in on the bigger stacks twice after they raised my BB and I looked down to a decent ace and they folded each time allowing me to chip up my stack to my high mark of 4.5k. After about 4 rotations there the following sequence happened.
Raised Ad4d from the CO and got called by the button and check folded on a 789r flop. Next hand I raised AQo from the HJ and got called by the button, small blind, and big blind. The flop came 743r and I wasn't able to make a continuation bet again as it was another horrible flop for my hand and I didn't have the chips to spare so the flop checked around. The turn was an offsuit 2 and the small blind fired out a half pot sized bet, everyone folded and he showed 22 for a turned set. Next hand I picked up AK UTG and fired out the same bet as the last two hands and got a good laugh from the dealer and the table as it was my third hand in a row raising the same amount. It folded to the BB who chipped in a call and we checked a A63r flop since I figured he was way behind and I wanted him to catch up a bit. The turn was a 2 that put 2 spades on the board and the BB check/folded to my bet.
Two hands later UTG raised 4x and I looked down at AKo again and moved allin figuring I was at worst a coinflip and he might even call with AQ, AJ, ATs as this was the third time in the last few rotations I had moved in on him. He called and flipped QQ though and the board bricked out knocking me out toward the end of the 4th level.
Was a little frustrating to not get any hands though. My best hands were JJ twice and AQs once at my first table and I had to fold one of my JJs after getting 3 bet preflop and then missing the flop. Most of my other hands weren't even worth seeing a flop with which was rather frustrating during the early levels. I picked up a few big aces at my second table but most of my other hands were complete rags.
I was happy with my play though considering my complete lack of cards. I made a few moves and used my tighter image well to pick up chips where I could. Back to grinding the cash games again now though for a while. Not sure what my next tournament will be.
Our first table broke just before the end of the third level and my new table had 4 big stacks to my left and one short stack to my right. It seemed like the 4 bigger stacks were playing pretty solid poker and the short stack was the tightest of them even after he doubled up once so my position was pretty bad.
I shoved in on the bigger stacks twice after they raised my BB and I looked down to a decent ace and they folded each time allowing me to chip up my stack to my high mark of 4.5k. After about 4 rotations there the following sequence happened.
Raised Ad4d from the CO and got called by the button and check folded on a 789r flop. Next hand I raised AQo from the HJ and got called by the button, small blind, and big blind. The flop came 743r and I wasn't able to make a continuation bet again as it was another horrible flop for my hand and I didn't have the chips to spare so the flop checked around. The turn was an offsuit 2 and the small blind fired out a half pot sized bet, everyone folded and he showed 22 for a turned set. Next hand I picked up AK UTG and fired out the same bet as the last two hands and got a good laugh from the dealer and the table as it was my third hand in a row raising the same amount. It folded to the BB who chipped in a call and we checked a A63r flop since I figured he was way behind and I wanted him to catch up a bit. The turn was a 2 that put 2 spades on the board and the BB check/folded to my bet.
Two hands later UTG raised 4x and I looked down at AKo again and moved allin figuring I was at worst a coinflip and he might even call with AQ, AJ, ATs as this was the third time in the last few rotations I had moved in on him. He called and flipped QQ though and the board bricked out knocking me out toward the end of the 4th level.
Was a little frustrating to not get any hands though. My best hands were JJ twice and AQs once at my first table and I had to fold one of my JJs after getting 3 bet preflop and then missing the flop. Most of my other hands weren't even worth seeing a flop with which was rather frustrating during the early levels. I picked up a few big aces at my second table but most of my other hands were complete rags.
I was happy with my play though considering my complete lack of cards. I made a few moves and used my tighter image well to pick up chips where I could. Back to grinding the cash games again now though for a while. Not sure what my next tournament will be.
Good Day
Went with the other three roommates today to the Rio. They all played the $2k buyin event today but non of them had any success and they busted before the money. I played $2/5nl while we were there and had a nice day finishing up about $850. Was nice to run pretty good for once. I got paid off on most of the sets I flopped and only lost two of the bigger pots I played.
We then came back to the place and jumped in the hot tube and the pool for an hour or so. After that I jumped online and played some more $1/2nl and finished up about $700. I started out up and then made one bad call with a straight and lost to a flush that caused me to get down a buyin early but when I started to make hands I got paid off almost every time.
I really wanted to play the $1500 6max event tomorrow at the WSOP and I told myself if I won enough to cover the buyin today I'd play it so tomorrow I'll be playing in my first WSOP event. I'll make sure to put some updates up either after I'm done playing tomorrow or after I bust.
We then came back to the place and jumped in the hot tube and the pool for an hour or so. After that I jumped online and played some more $1/2nl and finished up about $700. I started out up and then made one bad call with a straight and lost to a flush that caused me to get down a buyin early but when I started to make hands I got paid off almost every time.
I really wanted to play the $1500 6max event tomorrow at the WSOP and I told myself if I won enough to cover the buyin today I'd play it so tomorrow I'll be playing in my first WSOP event. I'll make sure to put some updates up either after I'm done playing tomorrow or after I bust.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Half Way
Been playing a lot lately working my way through the 20k hands at 1/2nl. I'm currently 10k hands in and I've been running and playing pretty good. The play at 1/2nl is definitely a lot weaker than at 2/4-5/10nl and it's been a nice change of pace.
I played the $550 deep stack event at the Venetian on Saturday after we got in and didn't cash but it was a good tournament and I felt I played really well just went card dead and couldn't get any momentum at the end. I also played a little live 2/5nl and the play was pretty bad. I ended up down a little though after getting coolered in a few hands.
Eric took 10th in the WSOP $1500 event that started on Saturday and was a little disappointed to not make the final 9 and get on TV.
I get my place tomorrow and am excited to move into it and get my own room there after crashing on the couch at Eric's place the past few nights. Justin won't get in until the 12th but the other 3 roommates will be flying in tomorrow. Also looks like there is a good chance I'll be back on the weekend of the 16th for Terpstra's bachelor party. I'll probably only fly out for one or two days though so that I can get back since I'm looking to try and play the $2500 6max event on the 18th.
I played the $550 deep stack event at the Venetian on Saturday after we got in and didn't cash but it was a good tournament and I felt I played really well just went card dead and couldn't get any momentum at the end. I also played a little live 2/5nl and the play was pretty bad. I ended up down a little though after getting coolered in a few hands.
Eric took 10th in the WSOP $1500 event that started on Saturday and was a little disappointed to not make the final 9 and get on TV.
I get my place tomorrow and am excited to move into it and get my own room there after crashing on the couch at Eric's place the past few nights. Justin won't get in until the 12th but the other 3 roommates will be flying in tomorrow. Also looks like there is a good chance I'll be back on the weekend of the 16th for Terpstra's bachelor party. I'll probably only fly out for one or two days though so that I can get back since I'm looking to try and play the $2500 6max event on the 18th.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Road Trip
We left Madison at 3:20am on May 31st and got to Vegas at 8:00pm on June 1st. Overall it was about a little over 24 hours on the road. I drove out with Eric 'basebaldy' Baldwin who's another internet pro who plays only tournaments. He had just won $89k in the Stars new $1k buyin Super Tuesday tournament.
We were able to fly most of the way whenever on the freeways using Eric's radar detector. We did get busted in Nebraska though when Eric got lasered doing 13 over but the cop dropped it to 10 over and the ticket was only $69, which was pretty laughable.
The first day we drove for about 14 hours to get to Denver where we caught the Rockies game at Coors field. They lost to the Cardinals and while I had heard good things about the stadium I really wasn't very impressed. The stadium was pretty boring and there really wasn't anything special or interesting about it. Also, the fans didn't get into the game too much and it felt like there were more Cardinal fans there then Rockies fans.
We finished the drive to Vegas the next day, June 1st. The first two hours after we left Denver were amazing. The view while driving down through the Rockies was just ridiculous. I didn't have my camera out but if I go back the same way I'll make sure to stop at a few of the view points and snap some. When we finally go to Vegas we picked up two cases of beer, found the house Eric and some of his buddies are staying at, and then just relaxed as we were both pretty tired after the long drive.
I'll put another update up later today about our first day in Vegas. I get my place in two days on the 5th so I'm rooming at Eric's place until then.
We were able to fly most of the way whenever on the freeways using Eric's radar detector. We did get busted in Nebraska though when Eric got lasered doing 13 over but the cop dropped it to 10 over and the ticket was only $69, which was pretty laughable.
The first day we drove for about 14 hours to get to Denver where we caught the Rockies game at Coors field. They lost to the Cardinals and while I had heard good things about the stadium I really wasn't very impressed. The stadium was pretty boring and there really wasn't anything special or interesting about it. Also, the fans didn't get into the game too much and it felt like there were more Cardinal fans there then Rockies fans.
We finished the drive to Vegas the next day, June 1st. The first two hours after we left Denver were amazing. The view while driving down through the Rockies was just ridiculous. I didn't have my camera out but if I go back the same way I'll make sure to stop at a few of the view points and snap some. When we finally go to Vegas we picked up two cases of beer, found the house Eric and some of his buddies are staying at, and then just relaxed as we were both pretty tired after the long drive.
I'll put another update up later today about our first day in Vegas. I get my place in two days on the 5th so I'm rooming at Eric's place until then.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Moving Down
Been a rough few weeks for me. It's been impossible to get anything going in tournaments or cash games. I seem to be going on tilt real easy too since every time I do get a little momentum going and either get a nice stack in a tournament or get up a few buy-ins in a cash game I get coolered or sucked out on.
Besides the few times I've gone on tilt though I really think my play has been solid. Considering I seem to be letting the beats really get to me I've decided to move down from playing 2/4nl and 3/6nl to 1/2nl for a while. I'm gonna make myself play 20k hands there before moving back up. I figure this will help me work through the rut I'm in. Also, playing at lower stakes the money isn't as significant to me and when I get coolered or take a bad beat it's easier to just forget it and move on to the next hand.
I've already put in 3.5k hands and while I have done pretty well I still seem to be running horrible. Had 3 sets today lose to runner runner flush and another lose to an overpair that hit its two outer. I did get lucky today and get AA against KK but then got KK against AA twice. The play is much worse at 1/2nl though and it's been a nice change of pace from the 2/4 and 3/6nl games.
Sucks to be moving down right before Vegas but hopefully I can get a little rush going now and have it carry over to there. I leave early Thursday morning and will be driving through Denver to catch a Rockies game before continuing to Vegas.
Besides the few times I've gone on tilt though I really think my play has been solid. Considering I seem to be letting the beats really get to me I've decided to move down from playing 2/4nl and 3/6nl to 1/2nl for a while. I'm gonna make myself play 20k hands there before moving back up. I figure this will help me work through the rut I'm in. Also, playing at lower stakes the money isn't as significant to me and when I get coolered or take a bad beat it's easier to just forget it and move on to the next hand.
I've already put in 3.5k hands and while I have done pretty well I still seem to be running horrible. Had 3 sets today lose to runner runner flush and another lose to an overpair that hit its two outer. I did get lucky today and get AA against KK but then got KK against AA twice. The play is much worse at 1/2nl though and it's been a nice change of pace from the 2/4 and 3/6nl games.
Sucks to be moving down right before Vegas but hopefully I can get a little rush going now and have it carry over to there. I leave early Thursday morning and will be driving through Denver to catch a Rockies game before continuing to Vegas.
Friday, April 06, 2007
April... :(
All that excitement to be playing cash games again in April went out the door real quick. I played another session on Sunday after my last post and finished down quite a bit. I then continued to run bad on Monday and Tuesday and finished the three day stretch down about $5k. Usually when I'm down I like to play a ton and grind it out until I get back to even or get up a bit. During this three day stretch though it seemed impossible to get anything going and every time I thought I might be about to turn it around I ran into a cooler(my really good hands running into other slightly better really good hands) or a bad beat.
Wednesday it finally started to turn around though. I was busy most of Wednesday night but I did put in a pretty short session and finished up about $650. Not much compared to how much I was down to start the month but it felt great to finish up on the night. I played well, my big hands held up, and I didn't get coolered at all. Thursday I only played heads-up cash games instead of my usual 6max games. I ran and played really well and finished up about $1850 in just a few hours. So I got back about half of what I've lost so far in April.
I've been working out a lot recently. I think I caught that spring fever during the few really nice days we had and I've been itching to get outside but have had to settle for the gym because it's gotten so cold out again(or maybe just the stress from the bad beats that has me working out so much). Besides just lifting I've finally started running again after my workouts and am finally starting to feel like I'm back in pretty good shape. I probably won't post again until after Easter so... Happy Easter!
Wednesday it finally started to turn around though. I was busy most of Wednesday night but I did put in a pretty short session and finished up about $650. Not much compared to how much I was down to start the month but it felt great to finish up on the night. I played well, my big hands held up, and I didn't get coolered at all. Thursday I only played heads-up cash games instead of my usual 6max games. I ran and played really well and finished up about $1850 in just a few hours. So I got back about half of what I've lost so far in April.
I've been working out a lot recently. I think I caught that spring fever during the few really nice days we had and I've been itching to get outside but have had to settle for the gym because it's gotten so cold out again(or maybe just the stress from the bad beats that has me working out so much). Besides just lifting I've finally started running again after my workouts and am finally starting to feel like I'm back in pretty good shape. I probably won't post again until after Easter so... Happy Easter!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
April!!!
Well I'm rather excited for March to be over. I won my bet with John, TwistedEcho, in March even though it got really close at the end. I ended up winning by just under 100 points. Nice to make an extra $2k on the month. I finished up about $20k on the month despite a horrible downswing at the end.
I'm gonna continue to try and qualify for the WSOP Main Event. Other than that thought I probably won't be playing many tournaments. I played the Sunday Million today on Stars today but didn't cash. After I busted that tournament I put in a nice long cash session. Really couldn't get much going there though and I finished up about $400.
April will see me playing a lot of cash games though. I'll try to put up some interesting hands if there are some and I'll definitely post if I have any good days.
I'm gonna continue to try and qualify for the WSOP Main Event. Other than that thought I probably won't be playing many tournaments. I played the Sunday Million today on Stars today but didn't cash. After I busted that tournament I put in a nice long cash session. Really couldn't get much going there though and I finished up about $400.
April will see me playing a lot of cash games though. I'll try to put up some interesting hands if there are some and I'll definitely post if I have any good days.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Getting Worse
I didn't think I could run much worse than the past few days but apparently I can. I played quite a few tourneys again today and didn't get a cash in a regular tourney. Also, Twisted had a few more decent scores and has moved within 300 points of me on the month.
I played two $33 rebuy tournaments today where the winner of the tournament gets a $12k package to the main event of the WSOP this summer. They usually get around 170 people and the play is pretty bad. The only downside to them is that you have to win the tournament and even with bad play that is still pretty difficult. Well I made the final table in both of the ones I played today, which is a pretty tough thing to do in itself. I ended up finished 4th in both of them which actually paid out $650 but that doesn't really feel that good when first is $12k.
In the first one I had 12 outs with my flush draw and an overcard to the other players pair but missed and then ran KK into AA. In the second one I raised JJ on the button and got called by both blinds. The flop came KJ2 and they both checked to me and I bet about half the pot. The small blind folded and the big blind shoved and I figured he probably had a king or a diamond draw since there were two diamonds on the board. Well I was really excited when he flipped over Q8 for a complete bluff with no pair and no draw... well almost no draw. The turn was an ace and the river was a ten giving him running cards for a straight. The pot would have tied me for the chip lead three handed against two other players I felt I was a huge favorite against. When the money went in I was a 97% favorite to win. The only way to be a bigger favorite is to have the other person drawing dead.
I also lost a pot for a huge stack in my $22 rebuy when the other guy had 12 outs and hit. I would have had a top 3 stack on the money bubble which means I could really bully the other players and build my stack for a final table run. This happened at almost the same time as I missed my 12 outer at my first WSOP satellite final table. Always nice to lose with 12 outs at the same time you lose to 12 outs.
I'm going to try to push through this bad streak for the rest of the month but I'm really tired of tournaments right now and am going be very happy to get back to cash games in April.
I played two $33 rebuy tournaments today where the winner of the tournament gets a $12k package to the main event of the WSOP this summer. They usually get around 170 people and the play is pretty bad. The only downside to them is that you have to win the tournament and even with bad play that is still pretty difficult. Well I made the final table in both of the ones I played today, which is a pretty tough thing to do in itself. I ended up finished 4th in both of them which actually paid out $650 but that doesn't really feel that good when first is $12k.
In the first one I had 12 outs with my flush draw and an overcard to the other players pair but missed and then ran KK into AA. In the second one I raised JJ on the button and got called by both blinds. The flop came KJ2 and they both checked to me and I bet about half the pot. The small blind folded and the big blind shoved and I figured he probably had a king or a diamond draw since there were two diamonds on the board. Well I was really excited when he flipped over Q8 for a complete bluff with no pair and no draw... well almost no draw. The turn was an ace and the river was a ten giving him running cards for a straight. The pot would have tied me for the chip lead three handed against two other players I felt I was a huge favorite against. When the money went in I was a 97% favorite to win. The only way to be a bigger favorite is to have the other person drawing dead.
I also lost a pot for a huge stack in my $22 rebuy when the other guy had 12 outs and hit. I would have had a top 3 stack on the money bubble which means I could really bully the other players and build my stack for a final table run. This happened at almost the same time as I missed my 12 outer at my first WSOP satellite final table. Always nice to lose with 12 outs at the same time you lose to 12 outs.
I'm going to try to push through this bad streak for the rest of the month but I'm really tired of tournaments right now and am going be very happy to get back to cash games in April.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Ugly Two Days
Well Sunday definitely couldn't have gone any worse. I didn't cash in even one of the tournaments I played... and I played a lot of tournaments. I lost most coin flips, ran into a bunch of coolers, and took more than my fair share of bad beats. Mikey, one of the guys I'll be staying with this summer, did finish 4th in the Sunday Million Tourney and scored over $100k. He was well over due for a big score so congrats to Mikey.
Today didn't get going much better than Sunday for me. I didn't play as much but I still got in quite a few tournaments and only cashed in one and it was a really small cash. To add on to that TwistedEcho made two final tables today but luckily for me he went out early in each of them. He's now only about 500 points behind me (he was about 1200 before Sunday) and one good score would bump him over me.
I've been starting to play some pot-limit omaha (PLO) since it's probably the most popular game after no-limit hold em. It's been going pretty well so far and I really enjoy playing the game. I think learning to read people's hands in PLO will really help with my hold em game also.
This is gonna be a short blog today since I don't have any good news and I'm really tired since I went to bed really late on Sunday night (Monday morning) and got a call from my buddy Colin to go golfing this morning leaving me with very little sleep. Had a great time golfing though as the weather hit 82 today making for great golfing conditions. I shot a 48/42 (front/back) and for the first time out this year and was pretty happy with the score and how I played.
Hopefully the final few days this month I can run well again. I'll be glad to get back to mainly cash games after this month as tourneys can very frustrating as you can do great one day and then run horrible for long stretches.
Today didn't get going much better than Sunday for me. I didn't play as much but I still got in quite a few tournaments and only cashed in one and it was a really small cash. To add on to that TwistedEcho made two final tables today but luckily for me he went out early in each of them. He's now only about 500 points behind me (he was about 1200 before Sunday) and one good score would bump him over me.
I've been starting to play some pot-limit omaha (PLO) since it's probably the most popular game after no-limit hold em. It's been going pretty well so far and I really enjoy playing the game. I think learning to read people's hands in PLO will really help with my hold em game also.
This is gonna be a short blog today since I don't have any good news and I'm really tired since I went to bed really late on Sunday night (Monday morning) and got a call from my buddy Colin to go golfing this morning leaving me with very little sleep. Had a great time golfing though as the weather hit 82 today making for great golfing conditions. I shot a 48/42 (front/back) and for the first time out this year and was pretty happy with the score and how I played.
Hopefully the final few days this month I can run well again. I'll be glad to get back to mainly cash games after this month as tourneys can very frustrating as you can do great one day and then run horrible for long stretches.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Vegas - Summer 2007
I was tired yesterday so I didn't play much. Three small tournaments with no cashes. I tend to get a little lazy after a big score like on Tuesday. Not necessarily a bad thing tough. It's good to take some time and enjoy the big wins since they can be far and few between sometimes. I'm not sure how much I'll be playing the next few days but I'll definitely be putting at least a few sessions in. If TwistedEcho hits a big score in the next few days and pulls close to me again in our challenge I'll definitely be grinding the tourneys hardcore again but right now I don't feel much pressure as I have a comfortable lead.
Since I have nothing else to write about I'll share some exciting news for this summer. I've made plans with four other guys to rent a house for the WSOP this summer in Vegas! I met two of them, Justin and Mikey, when I was in the Bahamas for the WPT PCA event in January and the other two are good friends of Mikey. We have the house from June 5th - July 18th so a good month and a half. The Series starts June 1st and the final table of the main event is July 17th so we will be there for the whole thing.
I'm not sure if I will be flying or driving out there but right now I'm really leaning toward driving as I will have a lot of stuff to take out since I'll be there for so long and it would be a pain to take it all on a plane, especially a lot of the electronics.
I'm really excited for it though as it should be a an awesome time and great experience. It will be nice to live with other guys who play poker full time and hopefully all of our games improve from the opportunity to discuss hands and strategy every day. Having our own house and knowing Mikey and Justin well enough I'm expecting to have some really good times partying and all that other fun stuff... especially since we'll be in VEGAS BABY!!!
Here's a link to the house, Vegas House, it looks pretty sweet and I'm psyched to have such a nice place out there (good thing we got on it early... yes I, the procrastinator, planned ahead!).
Since I have nothing else to write about I'll share some exciting news for this summer. I've made plans with four other guys to rent a house for the WSOP this summer in Vegas! I met two of them, Justin and Mikey, when I was in the Bahamas for the WPT PCA event in January and the other two are good friends of Mikey. We have the house from June 5th - July 18th so a good month and a half. The Series starts June 1st and the final table of the main event is July 17th so we will be there for the whole thing.
I'm not sure if I will be flying or driving out there but right now I'm really leaning toward driving as I will have a lot of stuff to take out since I'll be there for so long and it would be a pain to take it all on a plane, especially a lot of the electronics.
I'm really excited for it though as it should be a an awesome time and great experience. It will be nice to live with other guys who play poker full time and hopefully all of our games improve from the opportunity to discuss hands and strategy every day. Having our own house and knowing Mikey and Justin well enough I'm expecting to have some really good times partying and all that other fun stuff... especially since we'll be in VEGAS BABY!!!
Here's a link to the house, Vegas House, it looks pretty sweet and I'm psyched to have such a nice place out there (good thing we got on it early... yes I, the procrastinator, planned ahead!).
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
3 Final Tables and 1 Win
Wow, apparently if you ask for it in your blog it will happen. I made 3 final tables today, two in $109 tournaments where I took 3rd and 4th and the final table of a $11 rebuy where I won. The 3rd place finish was worth $3.2k, the 4th was $2.4k, and I got exactly $14k for the rebuy tournament.
I had a chance to do a lot better in the first $109 but I lost AJ < KQ which would of put us heads up with about even stacks. I did get very lucky a few times in the $11 rebuy though so I'm definitely not going to complain. I've made the final table of that rebuy tournament 3 times and finished in 3rd both other times so it was nice to finally win. The 3 handed and heads up battles took forever as it was probably close to 3 hours from the time we got 3 handed until it finished.
We actually cut a deal in the rebuy when it was 3 handed. I had about 7.5m in chips and the other two had about 1.5m. I got $14k and they each got about $6.2k where the actual payouts were $14,255, $7,255, and about $5000. I was very happy to get the deal as it's nice to be guaranteed the $14k and giving up $255 for that was no big deal. I ended up winning first anyways when we played it out.
This should give me a big lead in my bet with TwistedEcho and could possibly seal the deal. Nice to finally run well after the debacle yesterday.
The screen shot is of the tournament lobby after my win.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Upswinging Again
I'm back up to $5k from cash games on the month after a nice session last night. I played 400nl, 600nl, and 1000nl. I ran really hot in 400nl and 600nl but was down some at 1000nl. Their seems to be a definite jump in talent at the 1000nl level and I've been running bad (getting unlucky) a lot at that level it seems.
Tournaments last night where a complete joke though. I got a huge stack early in the $55, 1 rebuy, 1 addon tournament but took a sick beat where I got it all in on a 974 flop with KK against an opponents Q7. He was just horrible but he spiked a Q on the river for a pot that would have given me the chip lead in the tournament. At almost the same time as that beat I got my aces cracked in the $109. I raised preflop from early position and got cold called by the small blind. The flop came jack high with two other rag cards with one of them being a diamond. The big blind checked and I bet about 3/4s the pot and he called. The turn brought another small diamond and he checked again and this time I bet a little over half the pot which was also just under half of his remaining chips. He then instantly check raised all in and while I was worried he might have a set I figured there was a really good chances my aces were still way ahead so I called pretty quickly. He flipped up AQ suited in diamonds and obviously the river was a third diamond giving him his backdoor flush. I found it rather funny that he called out of position on the flop with no pair and no draw, about the worst play in poker.
I'm hoping my luck in tournaments turns around as I'm going to need a few good finishes to win my bet with John (TwistedEcho) in March.
Tournaments last night where a complete joke though. I got a huge stack early in the $55, 1 rebuy, 1 addon tournament but took a sick beat where I got it all in on a 974 flop with KK against an opponents Q7. He was just horrible but he spiked a Q on the river for a pot that would have given me the chip lead in the tournament. At almost the same time as that beat I got my aces cracked in the $109. I raised preflop from early position and got cold called by the small blind. The flop came jack high with two other rag cards with one of them being a diamond. The big blind checked and I bet about 3/4s the pot and he called. The turn brought another small diamond and he checked again and this time I bet a little over half the pot which was also just under half of his remaining chips. He then instantly check raised all in and while I was worried he might have a set I figured there was a really good chances my aces were still way ahead so I called pretty quickly. He flipped up AQ suited in diamonds and obviously the river was a third diamond giving him his backdoor flush. I found it rather funny that he called out of position on the flop with no pair and no draw, about the worst play in poker.
I'm hoping my luck in tournaments turns around as I'm going to need a few good finishes to win my bet with John (TwistedEcho) in March.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Back to Blogging!
Well, I think this is attempt 3 at getting the blog going again and hopefully I can keep it up this time. Not sure why I feel like starting it again but I do... so I am.
This month has been a little bit of a roller coaster so far. I started out really bad in cash games and was down about $4.5k to start the month. Lately I've been playing a mix of $400nl up to $1000nl depending on which games I think are the best. After my quick downswing to start the month I went on a nice run and was up about $6k. I've had another little downswing though in the past two days again and am currently only up about $2k in cash games on the month.
I did win a $109 tournament on Poker Stars to start the month which was for a little over $7k so I am up about $5k from tournaments this month. It was nice to get a win early in the month since I have a bet with another tournament player for $2k to see who can do better on Stars during March. Currently I'm leading but he's not far behind and one good score by him could easily move him in front of me.
I also hit another Royal Flush yesterday in a cash game and got paid off pretty good. He raised preflop and 3bet him with AQs and he called. I flopped the Royal and checked to him and he just shoved all-in which rather shocked me. I of course called him instantly and won a nice $1.7k pot. The screen shot of it is up above.
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