Back to Work

I got a full session in today after taking yesterday off. I played fine, but no big scores. I also started coaching which I think is going well.

On the chula front - she is fine, the stitches are out and we can gradually start taking her on longer walks.

Bubbleboy

We got back home late last night and Charmian had to work today so I worked as well. I was the final table bubble boy in the 200k on UB. It's always disappointing to get that deep only to come up just a few spots short of a huge score, but I also know that there isn't anything else I can do except just keep playing and waiting for that score to come.

Tomorrow I take Chula to the vet to get her stitches out. She managed to jump up on the bed today without us, but she then tried to jump down and let out a little yelp so hopefully she didn't screw anything up.

I also should start my coaching this week, so it should be a busy week.

Protege update

I went through all of the applications today and couldn't winnow it down to just one, so I actually ended up choosing two students. I am hoping to start working with them next week.

If this goes well I will probably continue to take on more students in the future so we'll just see how it goes.

Thank you to everyone who did apply - I truly was not expecting the decision to be as hard as it was.

Vacation

We are off tomorrow to Santa Barbara for a week and we both are looking forward to it.

I did everything I could to try and get my 200 tourneys in this month but I am not usre it will pan out. I have played 144 tourneys so far, which means it would only take me about 4 more days to get 200 tourneys in but since I won't be playing at all next week I doubt I'll have enough time when we get back to get there.

April and May look promising though so hopefully April will be my first 200 tourney month of the year.

I didn't play today as I finished doing our taxes and cleaned up the house a bit... and watched a lot of NCAA basketball Chula is still 3-legged but she seems to be improving everyday - she no longer seems to be in pain at all.

pretty decent score

I got 3rd I the nightly 100k on Stars for a little over 14k. Which brings me back to positive for the month and boosts my ROI back over 70% for the year. Always a little disappointing not to win, but I really feel like I played about as perfect as you can. That's my second 3rd place in that tourney... one of these days I'll actually take it down.

Chula update

Our dog Chula tore her cranial cruciate ligament and her meniscus and had surgery on Friday. She is still very sore, but seems to be doing better today.

She looks pathetic were her shaved leg/hindquarters and she is still 3 legged, but hopefully she'll be back to normal in a couple of months.

On the poker front. I put in a half session today but am beat so will hang it up for the night. I got like 200th in the warmup and played great and although my downswing continues I am really happy with my play and feel like I am due for a heater. I am hoping to get in 4 real good days of volume this week (M-Thurs) and then we're off to Santa Barbara for a week of vacation and I'm ready to just not think of poker for a week.

I was surprsed at how many applications I have received so far (well over 20) so I will spend some of my vacation picking my protege as well.

Going to enter the coaching pool

So I have decided to finally do it. I am going to take applications from players who are interested in receiving my coaching.

WHO AM I?/WHY WOULD I WANT YOU AS A COACH?

My name is Adrian Dresel-Velasquez and online I go by the name chardrian. I play primarily on FullTilt and PokerStars but also play a bit on UB. I am 33 years old, married, and I am currently a full-time poker pro and I am also a coach/pro at PokerPwnage. Prior to playing poker full-time I was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin.

I started playing professionally in 2007 and I am a proven winner since then. I am a very low volume player but my stats are as follows:
2007 - 703 tourneys/ 425% ROI
2008 - 1167 tourneys/ 80% ROI
combined - 1870 tourneys/ 183% ROI

My biggest cash to date has been in the summer 2007 FTOPs Main Event where I got 3rd for just over $150,000. Even if you take that score out, I still have an 80% ROI over the last two years.

WHAT AM I OFFERING?

I will take on a student for two months starting in April through the end of May. I will start by reviewing some hand histories just to get a feel for your style of play. The bulk of the coaching will be through ventrilo (similar to skype) so you will need a working mic - this will allow me to watch you play and the student will watch me play as well.

WHAT AM I EXPECTING?

Really all I want is a dedicated student who is looking to improve his/her game. Obviously I am going to prefer someone who plays frequently so that we can get as many sessions in as possible over the two months.

WHAT'S My CUT?

Instead of charging an hourly rate, I am going to take a flat 10% of your MTT profits for April and May. If you don't end up profiting - I don't get paid.

HOW TO APPLY?

If you are interested, send me an e-mail at chardrian@hotmail.com and let me know why I should choose you. Your current bankroll, the games you are currently playing, and your online screen names are a good start. I will make my decision by the end of March.

standardments

I got semi-deep in the 1/4 million on Stars and then misplayed AJs 20 BB deep. I could have folded to the cash which wsa worth it and just went nutso without taking my time - impulsive plays are still probably my biggest leak.

Chula's surgery was moved back a day, so I take her back in tomorrow and then she has surgery on Friday and we pick her back up on Sat. So that means I am just playing another 1/2 day tomorrow and on Friday and will take Sat off. I'll get a full day in on Sunday and the rest of next week and then we are off to Santa Barbara next Friday.

baby steps continue

I got 4th in the UB deepstack tourney. Another FT is nice, but I feel like I truly muffed it at the final table going overagg retardo bernardo for no real reason. Frustrating, but nothing to do about it now. Tomorrow I take Chula to the vet for her surgery, so it will be a light playing day.

Baby Steps

I won the $109 PL Omaha/8 tourney that I've been playing (and never cashing in) the last two weeks. It wasn't a huge score - in fact it had an overlay today (only 54 entrants) but it was a win. And for now, that's a nice ego boost. Hopefully I can get a big score at some point these next two weeks...

Just grindin'

Nothing exciting to note. The downswing continues, but I am feeling good about my game. The one good thing is that I am getting my volume in finally. I took yesterday off, but I got in 60 tourneys last week, which is all I really am trying to do. We go on vacation next Friday so I am going to try and get in my 200 tourneys for the month before then. I am not sure it will happen because Chula has her surgery this week so I'll have to take some time off to take her in and pick her up, but I'll give it the old college try.

I haven't had a losing spell over 200 tourneys for the last 2 years, so I am hoping that that streak continues, but it is definitely in jeopardy right now as I am way down over my last 120 tourneys. If I can get a solid top three finish this next week I'll be back in the black. I am definitely due.

asdffdhgfjh!

wow. just wow. the sickness continues. From my last 3 sessions I have had a 15th, 2 19ths, and a 12th. I am just continuously left shaking my head. I am playing pretty incredibly. And although finishing 12th out of close to 2000 entrants is an accomplishment... I don't want to achieve that. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
If this is variance finally kicking me in the balls, I give. I surrender. I wave the fucking white flag. Read my ftr's avatar's eyebrows. Ok vent over, we now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Wanted to give a good update....

but the ankle grabbing continues.

Today was the second time this week that I've had a final table chip stack with like 16 players left and end up not even making the final table. Monday's was questionable since I didn't have to get involved in the hand. But today's was just ugly.


Second nuts to decimate me:

Full Tilt Poker Game #10985144625: $20,000 Guarantee (81665626), Table 17 - 1500/3000 Ante 400 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:17:06 ET - 2009/03/05
Seat 1: cautat (85,721)
Seat 2: bsilva21 (31,640)
Seat 3: cheats99 (68,256)
Seat 4: Mr Bombaloo (105,316)
Seat 5: PDCKID (61,876)
Seat 7: MrMudd76 (74,259)
Seat 8: chardrian (113,370)
Seat 9: dollarbaby3 (103,763)
cautat antes 400
bsilva21 antes 400
cheats99 antes 400
Mr Bombaloo antes 400
PDCKID antes 400
MrMudd76 antes 400
chardrian antes 400
dollarbaby3 antes 400
chardrian posts the small blind of 1,500
dollarbaby3 posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chardrian [Kd 9s]
cautat calls 3,000
bsilva21 folds
cheats99 folds
Mr Bombaloo folds
PDCKID folds
MrMudd76 has 15 seconds left to act
MrMudd76 calls 3,000
chardrian calls 1,500
dollarbaby3 checks
*** FLOP *** [Qc 7c Ts]
chardrian checks
dollarbaby3 checks
cautat checks
MrMudd76 checks
*** TURN *** [Qc 7c Ts] [Js]
chardrian has 15 seconds left to act
chardrian bets 9,000
dollarbaby3 folds
cautat raises to 21,000
MrMudd76 folds
chardrian has 15 seconds left to act
chardrian raises to 109,970, and is all in
cautat calls 61,321, and is all in
chardrian shows [Kd 9s]
cautat shows [Ks Ac]
Uncalled bet of 27,649 returned to chardrian
*** RIVER *** [Qc 7c Ts Js] [3s]
chardrian shows a straight, King high
cautat shows a straight, Ace high
cautat wins the pot (179,842) with a straight, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 179,842 | Rake 0
Board: [Qc 7c Ts Js 3s]
Seat 1: cautat showed [Ks Ac] and won (179,842) with a straight, Ace high
Seat 2: bsilva21 folded before the Flop
Seat 3: cheats99 folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Mr Bombaloo folded before the Flop
Seat 5: PDCKID folded before the Flop
Seat 7: MrMudd76 (button) folded on the Turn
Seat 8: chardrian (small blind) showed [Kd 9s] and lost with a straight, King high
Seat 9: dollarbaby3 (big blind) folded on the Turn

Followed by an ugly way to lose a race:

Full Tilt Poker Game #10985176822: $20,000 Guarantee (81665626), Table 17 - 1500/3000 Ante 400 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:19:05 ET - 2009/03/05
Seat 1: cautat (176,442)
Seat 2: bsilva21 (30,840)
Seat 3: cheats99 (67,456)
Seat 4: Mr Bombaloo (104,516)
Seat 5: PDCKID (68,776)
Seat 7: MrMudd76 (70,459)
Seat 8: chardrian (27,249)
Seat 9: dollarbaby3 (98,463)
cautat antes 400
bsilva21 antes 400
cheats99 antes 400
Mr Bombaloo antes 400
PDCKID antes 400
MrMudd76 antes 400
chardrian antes 400
dollarbaby3 antes 400
cautat posts the small blind of 1,500
bsilva21 posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to chardrian [As Jc]
cheats99 folds
Mr Bombaloo folds
PDCKID folds
MrMudd76 folds
chardrian raises to 26,849, and is all in
dollarbaby3 folds
cautat calls 25,349
bsilva21 folds
chardrian shows [As Jc]
cautat shows [9c 9h]
*** FLOP *** [Jd 3c 7c]
*** TURN *** [Jd 3c 7c] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [Jd 3c 7c 9d] [Ad]
chardrian shows two pair, Aces and Jacks
cautat shows three of a kind, Nines
cautat wins the pot (59,898) with three of a kind, Nines
chardrian stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 59,898 | Rake 0
Board: [Jd 3c 7c 9d Ad]
Seat 1: cautat (small blind) showed [9c 9h] and won (59,898) with three of a kind, Nines
Seat 2: bsilva21 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: cheats99 folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Mr Bombaloo folded before the Flop
Seat 5: PDCKID folded before the Flop
Seat 7: MrMudd76 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: chardrian showed [As Jc] and lost with two pair, Aces and Jacks
Seat 9: dollarbaby3 (button) folded before the Flop

I keep going into the days very positive. I keep leaving very negative.

Losing is not fun

This blog must be getting pretty boring to read since all I ever do is post about how hard it is to maintain my mental focus when I lose. But there isn't anything else really going on. I need to win more flips - that is all. The omaha tourney continues to frustrate the bejesus out of me. I have played it like 12 times now and I haven't cashed yet. I keep getting deep (like last 2 or 3 tables every time) but I can't for the life of me win the crucial hand deep.

Hopefully tonight is better...

another close but no cigar day

I got 12th out of 2000 in the $55 80k on Stars. I had a commanding chip stack with 2 tables left and got in a big confrontation in a hand where I turned trip Js and my opp happened to have the other J and a better kicker. Soon after that I lost a race and was out. I feel good about how I played but again am just frustrated with the finish. I didn't need to get involved in the hand that decimated me, but I also couldn't fold trips once I did so it just leaves me shaking my head.

Anyoo - tomorrow is another day I guess.

Still downswinging

I got to play a full Sunday and I didn't cash any of the 11 tourneys I played. I tend to press when I am on a downswing and start making overaggressive moves when I need to just relax and let things happen and start making the money. I should have done that in the $163 50k guarantee on Tilt today but other than that I played fine and just lost races/got bad beats/or had coolers.

I am finding myself get into the "I just can't win" mentality while I am playing so I need to get through that. I still haven't even played 200 tourneys this year yet, so this downswing is just a blip on the radar screen.

Charmian works a lot this week, so I'll just continue to get my volume in and things should turn around.