Monday, September 29, 2008

September 29, 2008

I didnt play much poker yesterday. I played in a freeroll and won $75. I was getting tilted and pushed hoping for a coinflip, but ended up getting in with an underpair and busted. That's ok though...

My roll is steadily growing. i need to log some hours in october...it would be nice to start to acheive some of the bonuses the sites offer and i just miss making any of them due to not playing quite enough. If i could just play an extra 2-3 hours per week I think I could get there. Most of my play is logged in 2-3 hour increments at night. I play very little during the weekend. I think if I could log at least one session per night, then at least 3 on weekends that I would be just fine.

anyway, not sure if i will get any in tonight...

started up 6-tabling. not much going my way tonight...i hope it changes. playing pretty well. not too much in terms of cards. i hope my luck turns.

Struggling to get any hadn to hold up...getting in better aces and losing...just tough. Fired up a $33+3 by accident...hope to take it down...maybe play a few more tonight.

Truly horrible run of cards...its gotta turn at some point...i just need to keep my head. I am continuing to play well and am in the money on one...still alive in my 36 and gonna take a break and fire up some more.

keep losing the big ones...lost KK to AK when he hit the ace on the turn...playing well with no reward..dropping buy ins!!

well, down about 200...horrible night for suckouts...i cant count the number i lost on the river in critical situations. I was running over tables and getting runner runnered regularly. lost to 3 outters twice heads up...lost to 2 outters twice on teh bubble...infuriating especially when you are working on building the roll...but, i played well and kept my head...One thing that really confuses me is how many people just do not understand bubble play. in the hand where i lost to a 2 outter, i had about 5k in chips, BB had 4500, and the other two were very short. blinds were 200/400 and i was on the button. I potted it for 1400, sb folds and bb calls. I have A2o and the flop comes AK8. He pushes...i called and he shows K9o. I turn the 2 and he rivers the king. stupidity is really paying off tonight.

These sorts of night must be expected. it just doesnt seem right, but they happen...and too often for my liking...but its part of the game and you have to learn to deal with the downs as well as the ups...that is the hardest part about poker. I need to keep it in perspective. i watched some guys drop hundreds of thousands of dollars on one hand and they keep at it...its part of the game from the beginner to the most experienced players and if you want to play poker well, you need to learn to deal with variance. today was a big dose of it and I handled it....well, just ok. my play was solid, but i did get frustrated.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

September 27, 2008

Playing great...ok results...about break even. getting roughed up heads up...lost KK to A8 on the river ace, then lost QQ to 96 when he turned the straight...been getting in good, so i am happy. once the cards turn back my way i should have a nice upswing...just being patient and trying to play my A game.

As I was writing this, I lost to runner, runner flush...so it continues. I am going to finish my set, relax and grab a beer, and fire up 4 more. I finished the last sng of the set and took it down. amazingly I am up for the night about 3 buy ins. I am very pleased with my play and the results. including rakeback, my roll is up to over 42 buy ins. Quite a run I am on considering I had my whole bankroll on the table at the beginning of the month.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

September 24, 2008

The night started rough...hands werent holding up. however, i kept playing and my luck turned. My hands were holding up and i was sucking out like a champ. In one sng i got it all in with 88 up against JJ and i flopped quads...he hit the jack on the river...so I needed every bit of it. Later in that sng, on the bubble i got it in with 55 v 99 and spiked the 5 on the river. I ended up taking a nasty beat ITM, but that was owed to me...but I took it down. I ended up on a great streak...but need to turn in or I would continue playing. I need to keep playing when I am on a hot streak and shut it down when i run cold...i know it really doesnt matter over the long term, but i guess you are making better decisions when you are winning (most likely).

Anyway, out for the night...teaching tomorrow so no poker...will be a nice day off!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

September 23, 2008

Played quite a few tonight and won a little. I am playing well...but my big hands are not holding up lately...once they start to I think I will make a nice run. Been playing well, but my ROI has dropped to a more reasonable level..10%. I need to get my volume up.

Monday, September 22, 2008

September 22, 2008

Playing well but definitely coolered tonight...running into decent hands at critical times and not getting lucky. Lots of bad players getting lucky tonight...still doing ok. had a nasty bubble and am playing pretty well...just need the cards to fall.

Well, rough night. i thought i played relatively well. Races didnt ever go my way and ended losing quite a few hands where i was dominating. Couple that with my big hands getting cracked and there isnt much you can do.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

September 21, 2008

I played quite a bit over the weekend. Had a good session on Saturday night, though I lost about $175. I did play a lot of sngs and then had a nice 5 sng session tonight and won back most of what I lost. Bubbled and came in 3rd on sngs that I should have done better in, but still managed to make a little money.

Things sure have been busy lately with work and teaching. I am not sure how many sngs I will be able to play, but I am going to do my best. We are trying to put together a decent workstation at home, but time and space is at a premium. Hopefully in a few weeks things will start to fall into place.

Other than that, nothing too exciting to report...still playing.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

September 16, 2008

I havent had a chance to play very much lately. Last night I was not in the mood to play for anything significant, but I burned some FPPs on Poker Stars and qualified for their Million Dollar freeroll at the end of the month. That should be fun. Plus, I almost won another seat, but found out that you lose it if you already have one, so I busted out of the tourney 1 place before the seat was given away and got 1000FPPs, so i pretty much qualified for free.

I hope to log some hours tonight, but I need to head out and run when I get home. I also start teaching on Thursday, so I will be pretty busy this week preparing as I also have a directed study student under my watch...might not get a chance to play much this month.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

September 13, 2008

I fired up a set today and had it going early. I got to the bubble in 3 of the 4 sngs i played, but I ran into some tough beats with good hands. I took 1 3rd which was very disappointing, but i knew i was playing well and fired up another set. I played well again and this time the variance was coming my way...a few hands of note...

Blinds were creeping and the 2nd stack was on my left. I was 3rd and i limped A9s from the SB hoping he would make a move, i would push and get 900 chips from him...it happened just as I expected, but he tabled AK and i was nervous. I spiked the 9 on the turn and flushed it on the river. shortly after this hand, on another table I was in A2 v AK and I hit a deuce to take that hand down as well. So, in my last set i took 1, 9, 1, 1. I like that!!

Friday, September 12, 2008

September 12, 2008

I didnt play last night, but I did on the 10th. Played 11 sngs and won just over 4 buy ins...

I am feeling very confident about my starting hand selection early, on the bubble, and ITM. My finish distribution has been excellent with a lot of 1sts. I take 1st more than any other place, which is great. I am coming around and now need to start to log a significant number of sngs. I am easily able to play 12 sngs on any session, so my goal is to reach 300 in a month. that is pretty ambitious considering the load I have on my shoulders and the obligations I have for my time, but I think it is doable. We are looking to set up a home office, which will allow me to add a second monitor and therefore play 6-8 tables more easily. that will make my goal of 300 very attainable and then I can shoot for 400.

My bankroll started at $600 and I lost half of it. Then, I was slowly losing down to about $250. At one point, I had my entire bankroll in play. Now, I am back up to over $600 and looking to make a push for $1000. That will give me over 40 buy ins and the confidence I need to not worry about my risk of ruin. Once over $1200 I feel like I will never have to even consider stepping back down to the $12.

I think the major difference between my game now and the one I was playing a month ago is that I am being more aggressive nearing and on the bubble. I will reraise/push to late position raisers. That is a huge move because it will often add a very substantial amount of chips and you never go to showdown. The second adjustment I made is that I am being more aggressive as the blinds creep up in proportion to my stack. I had gotten lucky a few times pushing marginal hands when I have say, $1000 chips and blinds are 60/120. I will push now in middle to late position and when I get lucky it provides me enough chips to play out the rest of the sng without the urgency and need to push and double again. Both of these adjustments have turned september into a very nice month for me and I look to continue my success and log more tables.

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Played a set of 4 tonight making it to the bubble in each. I took 2, 2, 3, 4. I played awesome. A little loose early and pulled it in. Picked up big hands, many didnt hold up, but played very patient and should have moneyed in all 4. I called a lot of pushes on the bubble and was in ahead every single time. The bubbles were brutal tonight with the shortstack doubling though the big stack several times on a few tables, which means there is a new shortstack, but nothing so short it is only a matter of time before they bust. I got very unlucky on both sides of the race many times to bust people...but feel fortunate to be up a solid amount. I am almost at the 30 buy in threshold which many people use to say that is the number of buy ins necessary to reduce your risk of ruin...I like to be closer to 50 because i do not like to drop down buy ins to win money half as fast as you lost it.

I am excited because i am starting to put together many consecutive winning days like i used to...

anyway, my roll is growing and so is my confidence...not sure if i will fire up another set tonight...but looking to log a lot of tables this weekend. the play on full tilt is just sickeningly bad and i need to play more. i thought/heard the earn on sngs is tough these days, but i am finding them amazingly loose and crazy. hope it continues...

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

September 9, 2008

As it has always been with me and poker, things are progressing slowly. I am struggling to find the time to play and the short sessions have been very up and down. I am looking to start to make a push for some clarity about the poker situation. I know I am profitable at sngs. My goal is to grind the $22+2s on FT and I have a few hundred in right now. I am going to either flush my entire roll or start building...Let's see where my roll goes!