February 8, 2007

I have not seen a poker table in over a week. I want to start playing, but have a new woman in my life and just have no time. She doesnt have internet or any cable of any kind at her place...so there is no watching TV or messing around online...i must admit i wish she had internet, but i dont really miss it. And as for TV, that is awesome! I dont miss it one bit and when i do have a chance to sit down and watch some TV, i realize what a waste of time it is...I am glad that i no longer am addicted to mindless entertainment. However, I need to get back to playing poker...hopefully in the next month or two i will get settled down and back into a normal routine.

January 31, 2006

Bad start but good finish tonight. I bubbled and took a 2nd and 3rd in my final 3 sngs...ran into a big hand with my AK on the bubble...unfortunate...and lost a couple bad ones when i got ITM on the other 2. I have been playing well...a bit tighter tonight than last, but still playing well. I am tired, so i am gonna call it a night.

January 30, 2007

I just played a set of 3. Played well and took 2, 3, and 5th. ugh, i played great tonight and feel like i was owning the tables. Its amazing what people will call you with late in sngs. You really must stay disciplined and play your strong hands aggressively because you will get action. I took 2 str8 75:25 beats when we got to the money. That would have set me up with a dominating chip lead heads up, instead i was out in 3rd. I ran into aces with my AKs late in a sng...id do it again if in the same situation. And I took a few nasty ones in the one i took 2nd in...overall, good night and i might play a few more.

One thing i did a bit more of in this set was playing back at raisers. If there is a weakish raise and you are yet to act, i find that if you read any weakness or if they are the big stack, you can make a relatively modest raise and take it down. I think they feel like the smallish reraise is a sign of strength and they let the hand go...i need to start using this more...i am super tight early in sngs, so its best used the in the middle to later part when blinds have creeped up and my table image is definitely tight.

January 24, 2006

so far i have lost 3 buy ins...lost to an opened ender, horrible preflop call with Q10 and he hit...i lost AA to 22 and also lot 1010 to AK on the river ace...never fails! just lost A10s when i flopped a nut flush draw to K10 and i took one of his outs with the K of diamond...and he hit the 2 outter on the river! i lose every fucking coin flip...i fuckin hate poker. just lost kk to AA...not my night...

i am not in the right place right now to play poker...between the issues with online payments to the horrible beats and endless suck outs...i am gonna take a long, maybe permanent break from poker...if things open up a bit and the restrictions let up, i might start again, but right now i just dont have the desire to play...

bubbled when my set lost toa 4 flush. won another and heads up in another...won two...back to damn near even...im a stud again! :o)

January 18, 2007

I am a bit concerned about the news regarding Neteller. They are really making this hard on the casual player to fund their accounts. I am worried about how quickly this will affect the player pool and how difficult it will become to make some $$ playing poker. I hope the casual player is more hardcore than I think they are...willing to open up new accounts at online financial intermediaries to stay ahead of the US government...what a shame and waste of resources.

On to the tables...

January 16, 2007

I am playing periodically. I have decided to make one last ditch effort to pick up playing again. In doing so, I have allowed myself to gamble a bit. I am playing with a modest bankroll of just under $500 bucks and figured I would pick up my play and either crap out or start to make some money. One nice benefit is the money comes in faster and motivates you more, but one short slide and its all over. I dont think i would reup at this point...But I have been playing great since committing. I have won about 200 in 2 days...starting to build my bankroll, work on my game and starting to see the results. I am cashing regularly and taking a few too many bubbles for my liking, but it's a great sign that i continually get there. Time to adjust and play a bit tighter game...

Overall, promising. Periodic updates to follow...

I just ran some numbers and I am truly gambling by stepping up to the $36s. I only had about 14 buy ins...so that is definitely something I would tell others to avoid doing. If you add my current bankroll with the rakeback I have in my account, I now have about 23 buy ins. I dont feel comfortable until I have about 30-40 and truly comfortable when I have 70 or more. I have seen too many swings to feel comfortable with any less then 50.

Part of my game I need to work and focus on is my bubble play. I know how important this stage of the game is, but I have been a bit donkish lately on it...bubbling far too often and regretting some decisions I have made. I was shortstacked when I made these moves, but I was forcing the issue and cost myself some $$. The more regularly I play, the more I will be able to tighten up this bubble situation...repetition is key for me. These decisions must come quicky and be second nature if I am ever going to start to add more tables.

January 8, 2007

I havent played any since the first day of the month. Today I decided I am going to play the $36s and just stick with those to see if I make it...If I dont, I can quit poker for a while...I need to move up because I am getting frustrated at the lower levels.

I did play a few bubbles poorly...I need to make sure I play a better game on the bubble...I am getting a little loose at times. I guess that is a balance because being too tight on the bubble leads to blinding into 4th place, or at least making it difficult to money. So, I need to evaluate whether it is bad luck or bad strategy. I guess I was on the bubble with AK vs K6 and lost to my 3 outter...so it is more bad luck than anything...I like the way I am playing and think it will all come around...excited to be playing the $36s.

January 1, 2007!!

Well, a quick few thoughts before I start playing. I am going to try to grind as hard as possible for as long as possible. I need to see what I am capable of because I need to either give up poker or focus on it, but this half-assing has got to stop. I know I can make a good amount of money doing this, but the question has always been if my level of commitment is there. I am going to test that in 2007.

I am halfway to getting a new monitor to start 6-8 tabling. I would like to log about 500 sngs this month while I start to work out as well. Time to bring some discipline back into my life. I am going to try to clear my Full Tilt bonus as quickly as possible. I have been nickel and diming it down, but its time to clear it and start raking up the rakeback.

Here is a quick review of my revised goals for the year...

1. DISCIPLINE!!!!
2. Stay employed at my current job. I am starting a new job and would like to have some stability. As long as I am not going to be a full time poker pro, I might as well keep a decent day job.
3. Win at least $20,000 playing poker (not including rakeback!)
4. Enter at least 1 WSOP event - or play is larger buy in online tourneys with regularity.
   
5. Move up to playing $109 sngs
6. Hit my goals of playing 400 sngs a month. Moving up to 500-800 sngs a month as my game progresses.
7. Enjoy my life more
8. Appreciate my friends and family more
9. Work out!!! Getting too fat!!
10. DISCIPLINE!!!!

There is just so much to say about the past year and my plans/ambition for the new year. I have a great mental state of mind right now. The past year was interesting and I have learned a hell of a lot about myself. The one thing that I have internalized is that I need to work a little harder at my game, concentrate harder while playing, and be much more disciplined in everything that I do. I suppose those are fairly generic statements, but I think we often know how we are supposed to live our lives, but executing the plan is often difficult. I allow myself to be distracted too easily and end up losing a week of my life doing absolutely nothing. I need to quit wasting time and starting looking towards the future. That is why my blog will take a different tone because there is a new level of intensity I am hoping to bring to my game. I have been so lazy at the tables that I feel I owe it to myself to play proper and log the tables. My previous posts were typically afterthoughts...a bunch of yammering about bad beats and just venting frustration. Those are going to go away and I am going to start to focus on the progress I have made because I used to play at a significantly higher buy in than I am now. Now, its time to get back there and get over the next hump...

Full Tilt is down right now, but as soon as it gets back up to 25k+ players, i will start to 4-table.

I got my first 10 sngs in 2007 finished. I am down, but playing disciplined. Still surprised by the aggressive CALLING range that I see. I was called by 89 on the bubble. I think tightening up on the bubble might be in order due to this wide calling range...I also see a lot of King hi calls with kickers all the way down to 2. Getting in ahead and playing well...just need to keep doing what I am doing and I think I will be fine.

Took a beating tonight. Hoping that things will take a turn for me in the next few days. I think today I was able to play solid from the start...donked one sng off with a loose call early. I am finding that I get myself into good +EV situations, so I will take that as a good sign and continue to play this style. One thing to note, I often play slightly too loose when I first sit down...I need to be careful to sit down in a focused mindset...otherwise it takes me a set to realize that I need to pull back a bit. As I increase my volume of play, I am excited to see a hot streak all the way through. I often quit after a hot set...but it would be nice to keep playing and hopefully catch fire. Often, it isnt just the cards holding up, but you just get in the zone...I would like to see what happens when I log 3 hours in the zone :)

December 27, 2006

I have been steadily getting my bankroll back after a big night of losses before i went home at christmas. This game can be so infuriating when you are constantly trying to build...at some point it will feel good to have a certain bankroll and maybe skim every month...that would be ideal. but, until i get to that point, I will be obsessing over every loss.

I had a few unlucky situations tonight...I never sucked out and lost quite a few coin flips. i had a nasty one...i had QQ on bubble and was up against a pusher that just had me covered. I called, but the BB called too and he had us both covered. He turns over KQ and hits a river king. so, i ended up taking 4th...totally screwed! I didnt even spend enough time to think about it...i moved on to the next sng...i am even for the night...so gonna relax for a bit and maybe log some more sngs.

started a set...got to the bubble on each, bubbled on first 2 getting very unlucky....itm in the other 2...playing great! Just took one down...heads up in another...about even chip stacks. would be huge to take it down! my 88 lost to J9...so my final set was solid...getting too late to fire up any more...lets see where i stand. I won about $80...those bubbles sure did hurt. i am playing very patiently and laying down a lot of hands...

I am laying down big hands preflop into crazy aggression. I am not going to the coin flip early...I have laid down 10 10, 9 9, AQs, and various other smallish pocket pairs.

I am soo confident that I c ould add 2 more tables with very little drop off. I only think that i would struggle if i started to bubble in all 6 of them...which would be an awesome problem to have. still grinding away towards my new monitor...about halfway there.

Now that I am not messing around with less than 4 tables...I find that I can log a very high number of sngs...I cannot imagine 8-tabling...averaging 10-12 turbos an hour. I know some people 16-table...but i need to bask in the glory of 8-tabling and thinking about the numbers that landmark means. I cant wait until I move up levels and 8-table...baby, the cash will be coming!!

December 24, 2006

Played a little most of the nights when i have been at home. Done pretty well and my game is heating up right now. I have cashed in the last 4 sngs, going 1, 1, 3, 2. I am just over double my initial stack in the FT $35k Guaranteed. I am starting to concentrate a little more on my game...I hope I can use this focus to take my game to the next level again...I feel like I am going to be able to replicate what i did before...and that was build a very nice bankroll that i will no longer need to pull from...so i am very excited at the thought, but being realistic - I dont think I had the focus to pull it off. This break has been so good for me...i totally understand why people say you need a break or the value in taking one...

Anyway, i am doing well early in the tourney, updates to follow.

First break, I have 3210 in chips - just below the average of 3470. 584 of 1341 still remain...pays the top 216.

I needed to get some cards and I waited too long to be able to open it up a bit...so i ended up in a pretty good hand, but i did lose it. I had A8o in the bb and had one limper. 8 hi flop, we both checked, another undercard, I bet he calls, another undercard and i push, he calls with pocket 8s. Ugly one...i was obviously hoping he was holding a strong ace...
Now i realize why that was such a bad assumption. I should have known he wouldnt have played an AQ or AK like that preflop. that left overpairs, which he would also have bet preflop, so most likely middle pairs. I should have realized that most underpairs would have caught their sets or made a straight, so i should have either moved on the flop, which was fatal, or just fold to aggression...which i probably should have...which means i should have checked my hand and folded if he raised...which was originally the plan, until he checked...which i should have just checked it down...folding to any bet.

2006 Goal Revisited

As we close out 2005, my head is spinning how fast this year has gone by. All in all, it has been a good year. But, looking forward to 2006, I am so excited. I have a new job, set a lot of goals for myself, and a better attitude and perspective on things. So, as we start 2006, I wanted to list my goals and wish my friends a happy new year. My 2006 goals are as follows:

1. DISCIPLINE!!!!
2. Stay employed at my current job. I am starting a new job and would like to have some stability. As long as I am not going to be a full time poker pro, I might as well keep a decent day job.
3. Win at least $25,000 playing poker (not including rakeback!)
4. Enter at least 1 WSOP event
5. Move up to playing $109 sngs
6. Hit my goals of playing 250 sngs a month. Moving up to 400 sngs a month as my game progresses.
7. Enjoy my life more
8. Appreciate my friends and family more
9. Work out!!! Getting too fat!!
10. Get the software program I have been brainstorming moving along.
11. DISCIPLINE!!!!

Good luck to all those setting goals. I hope we all achieve everything we set our minds to.

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I remember making this post. Ah, how I was into the game and had so much enthusiasm. It has faded a bit as the highs and lows have taken their toll on me. I know i havent logged as many sngs this entire year as some have in a month or two. thats part of my problem, the volume of play just isnt there yet, which is dedication, which is Discipline. so the real question is do i want it??

That is a great question. I cant even begin to answer that. i think the structure that a day job brings me is important, but I see other ways that i can obtain structure in my life...this year i am going to find out how deep my dedication and desire for poker is. right now, i have to say i have a 50/50 chance of making this post again next year. it isnt that i cant play or that i will crap out. i honestly believe that i can play this game profitably. the only question is can i log enough sngs to make it worthwhile, and in doing so, will it require more time than i am willing to give...those questions will indeed be answered later this year!

December 15, 2006

Tonight, I plan on logging some tables. I have been slacking this week. I guess I have been preoccupied thinking about going home and connecting with some friends I havent seen in a while...Plus, work has been pretty heavy.

However, that is no excuse. This weekend I plan on logging a bunch of sngs and hope to make back everything I lost last weekend during my terrible saturday night/sunday morning. I made back a little, but lets see if i can continue to get some luck and keep my play solid. I am just nervous until I can get my account up over the $1k mark because at that point I will finally feel confident that I will not crap out...until then, i feel like I am gambling and I dont like to gamble when poker is concerned...blackjack is one thing, but poker is not meant to be gambling.

December 14, 2006

there is a little party at work, but it doesnt start until 7 or 7:30...not sure if i want to stick around or not. I am past the phase where I feel like i am missing out...ive been to soo many parties and get bored pretty easily at them. I have hung out with hot drunk girls and stupid drunk guys before and the novelty has worn off...plus, I really dont want to be driving home wasted. Plus, its work-related. sure, i work in the corporate office, so none of the people I actually work with will be there, but word travels fast...and doing stupid things here is actually more like a badge of honor than something to hang your head in shame over...still on the fence.

As for poker, I need to get my tables in. I really wanted to qualify for one of the iron man challenge freerolls on full tilt...i made great progress, but the last few days off have pissed it away. I am still on target, but with the holidays coming up, who knows if i will be able to finish the month off strong. I am kinda looking forward to playing on stars too, so i need to clear the FT bonus because it is an amazing rakeback deal...and stars has no rakeback, so it would be silly not to clear the bonus before bailing...lets see what happens tonight.

December 10, 2006

Horrible luck is holding off until after teh bubble tonight. i have taken two nasty ones when we get into the money...lost A10s to A5o and JJ to A10s.

I figured I am going to continue to log a decent number of sngs every night until I either crap out or make a good run. Obviously, i hope not to crap out, but then again, unless i dont start to make some progress i might be better off doing something else with my very limited free time.

I need to keep things in perspective. I have never been able to log as many sngs as many of the 2+2 posters. they show their monthly stats and their downswings can often number more sngs that i log in a month...however they have huge upswings as well. I just need to hang in there and go with the flow of the game. I feel underbankrolled...so i am gonna stick with the $24s until I hit $1200, then i will start splitting up my tables...half 24s and half 36s. I am happy with the number of sngs I have logged so far...i would say close to 100. i am trying so hard to get my rakeback up to $300...right now it stands about $100, but if i can clear that full tilt bonus soon, i will continue to play there until i get $300 and then move to Poker Stars.

December 9, 2006

Not a great start...still at it. Going through card dead stretches. Tonight, i have been staying out of the way because I am not getting a lot of quality starting hands. The action is fast and furious, making me even less likely to open or enter a pot. but, even when you are a spectator you experience variance. lots of double ups for the small stack. Again, i am continually amazing with the level of play. people calling pushes on the bubble with Jack high. I took 3rd when my K7 was called preflop by J10. I hit my king, but he hit runner runner flush.

not sure if I am going to continue playing tonight...thinking about it. I think i am gonna take a break and fire some up later.

I just cant believe this shit...i raise with AQ and get called. I flop an ace...on the turn i get him all in and he shows QQ...I hav eAQ, and he hits the 1 outter!

Up and down...getting in good, so cant be upset with my play. just lost my JJ to AQ...i wish they could just flop the Ace...actually I had a flush draw on the turn...and the queen hits on the river. gotta stay focused and keep grinding...volume is the key, so variance is a part of the game...this is a heavy dose...so i just gotta get used to it. you know, i am realizing that playing is learning to deal with it every day, not just every so often...when you play 20-30+ sngs a day...you run into it more often than you can avoid it!

The queen on the river has FUCKED me so many times tonight. I was on the bubble, 2nd stacked and the big stack min raised...i called. flop is all blanks and i hit my 9 on the turn to give me a set...i push, he calls with QQ. FUCKING QUEEN ON THE RIVER AND I BUST! i just dont understand how this can keep fucking happening. I better go on one hell of a winning streak to make up for this bullshit!

Truly unreal tonight...i bubble every time as the shorty keeps sucking out on the bubble and i get fucked! full tilt is fucked!

I dont know if i can play poker...i just dont know. i can play the tables, i can get in ahead, i can log a shit load of time and get my volume up, but these nights where idiots make plays and get paid all night long are just insane. I know it isnt the site...i mean, come on, but it just doesnt seem right. i can believe how bad these players are. i should be dominating them and i just dont know what to do anymore. i will play a shit load tomorrow and either crap out or make some back.

December 7, 2006

horrible run so far tonight...every donk is hitting their hands. called with 76 on bubble and i hit my pair only to get sucked out on...just terrible. trying to stick with it, but i think im down at least 10 buy ins already.

rough night...i keeplosing the important hands...on the bubble or near it when i get in good and my hands dont hold up...sticking with it...still playing well. i was playing poorly early, but i adjusted and now am getting deep in most sngs...trying to dig outta the hole.

Took one down...so cashed in a couple tonight...gonna fire up a few more.

wow, I quite possibly had the best finish to a night. I fired up 4 sngs to try to dig out of the hole...# $22s and a $36. I took 2nd in the $36, 2 firsts and a third i believe to finish the night up. I wsa down a lot...i would say over 250, not quite sure, but i won like 4 bucks, and released a $20 bonus, so ended up over 24 bucks...not a lot, but considering the start, pretty amazing...plus rakeback baby!

December 2, 2006

I am not happy with this sng software I bought. It doesnt pick up all the sngs that I play. I paid $40 bucks for it. Not that it is a lot of money, but i should have known better. I should have went with a more polished product, but i was trying to support the community. i didnt realize, or take time to think, about how tough it is to create and maintain a poker product that imports hand histories. The sites are continually making changes to their format, so keeping up with it is pretty difficult.

I think I also need to buy that software program that tells you which hands to push against an estimated range. I know I play too tight...way too tight. It is solid for me in sngs though. I realize that if I get all in as a 60:40 favorite that I will win more often than I lose. but, that edge is so marginal on any one hand. Against these donks playing the $24s and $36s on Full Tilt, I would like a bigger edge because I can afford to be patient. Thing is, I am continually AMAZED at the range in which I am being called. If I push on the button, against a shorty or even someone with a similar sized stack, i am getting called with hands like J8o. I would never put that in a calling range, but I guess I would have to. Thats just amazing to me that someone will call off all their stack with J8o. I mean, you got this far, just pick a better spot.

So, tonight I logged 13 sngs. 4 tabling, thats about 2 hours works. I cant wait until I get my rakeback up to $300 so I can buy myself a new monitor. then, the next $300 will be for another. Then I should have a killer set up to really test myself. Outside of playing a +EV game, volume of play is the most important stat to monitor. the more tables I can log in an hour, the more my $$/Hr will go up and the more money I will make.

I have been reading that many players experience the same problem as me...only able to log 150-200 sngs a month. We are the guys with full time jobs or other commitments. The young college kids can devote 5-6 hours a day while 8-tabling and log mass quantities of sngs - making tons of money. I would really need to have a full year of $10k plus months before I would consider quitting my job. I could make that amount without the stress of having to win it. I admit that my job keeps me disciplined and I believe if I was a pro poker player, I would follow in the steps of Stu Unger, but just not nearly as good.

Winning night to start off my December...Let's continue to build on it!

December 1, 2006

I keep trying to play more poker, but outside interests and demands are not allowing me to have the time to do it. I want to push myself, but then realize I am not playing my best game. I am usually tired and not able to play as well as I would like. I did play about 150 sngs this month. I think I can hit 200 and as soon as I get about $300 in rakeback, I am going to cash it out and get a new monitor to start 6-tabling.

I am grinding away. I dont want to set goals right now because poker is not my first priority. My goal is to play as much as I can and play well. I need to work on playing more when I am playing well, but often times I am tired and just want to go to bed...feeling good after a winning session. I know that if I continued to play and started to lose my winnings, I would not be able to sleep. right now, I just do what works for me. I had a marginally profitable month. I won a few hundred and made a little in rakeback...nothing spectacular. I would like to build my roll and play the $33+3 exclusively before I move up. Once I am able to move up to the $33+3s and start to build my roll at that level, I will start to investigate playing on Poker Stars. they do not have nearly as many intermediate levels, they dont have $30-something sngs.

I am being more realistic about poker. I know it's just a hobby right now, but if I can slowly build my roll again and learn to tolerate high volume play, then maybe it could become something more.

November 26, 2006

tonight is the night i get sucked out on.. having a bad run...all the draws are coming in on me...still working on it though.

November 24, 2006

Doing ok, maybe down a buy in or two. Played a $36 tonight. I will fire one up when playing well. bubbled again for my 2nd str8 bubble in a $36. short stack doubled up once and then i took a stab and got caught...just unlucky. Still in 2 sngs...lets see how they finish up.

Just called a bubble push with A7s and dude pushed 24 into me and he caught runner runner straight...fuckin unreal! Last night my hands held up, tonight they dont even come close and the suck outs are in full effect...hoping i can ride it out...lets see what happens.

Well, I did some good things tonight and and some bad things...first lets talk about the good things. I played a pretty solid game tonight. A few beats put me on tilt, but i can feel it coming and i do my best to control it. I play by emotion, so when i feel in my gut to call or raise, I play by feel. However, since I can feel my frustration growing inside me, I know that I must switch gears and play by the book. So, I was able to keep myself in check, which kept the bleeding to a minimum. However, my frustration manifested itself in another way...I opened up 3 $36 sngs. I told myself I wasnt going to do that until I was properly bankrolled, but my performance in those has been excellent outside of bubbling the last few...my play had been good enough to money. so I figured lets give it a shot and see how it turns out. I won 2 of them and finished out of the money on the third, but still had a velry nice chip stack in the 3rd one...got it all in as a slight favorite nearing the bubble and got drawn out on...if that hand holds up, i believe I could have moneyed...playing good poker again!