I had a really good day today. Two of my bentrilo buddies picked me up this morning and we volunteered at a homeless shelter in the Vegas ghetto where we helped serve lunch. It just took an hour but it felt good to get out and actually help out a bit. We then headed back to golfer's house, played some RockBand and then headed off to play some golf. Golfer was a onetime golf pro and I have not played golf since highschool, so we were obviously a good match. It was fun just to get out and whack the ball though. Tonight, I went to Target and bought an alarm clock which I think will make it easier for me to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow I am going to go deposit my check, and then head off to the RIO to play the $1500 PL Holdem event.
I am surprising my wife by flying to Santa Barbara and meeting her there this weekend. I told her I wouldn't be able to come because there are too many good events this weekend, so it should be a nice surprise. I think it will give me a nice break from Vegas as well and will let me recharge the batteries and end the month raring to go.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
WSOP Event #11 Recap
** Warning ** This post is going to be long and have a lot of poker hands in it. **Warning**
I will try and recap as best as I can, but to be honest after three days of play and little sleep in between a lot of the hands that I played have been merged/forgotten. All of the WSOP this year start with 3x your buy-in in chips. So I started day 1 with 6k in chips and very early on chipped up. I was paid off w/AA, flopped a set of 88 against AK on a K8x flop, and picked up a flush on the river against what I am imagining was either a set or two pair against Court Harrington within the first two hours. So I was quickly up to somewhere around 20k in chips when I had my first table move.
My next table had Michael Craig, a FullTilt pro, seated two to my right. I know his game pretty well since I have played with him quite a bit online. I quickly bled chips away at this table due to bad beats and lost races - my 55 lost to 44 and TT lost to TKs all-in pre against short stacks, so I was pretty quickly down to like 10k in chips with blinds at 200/400 when I finally won a flip against Michael Craig when my JJ held against his AK all-in pre. Bill Gazes, another well known FullTilt pro, was then moved to our table and after basically just maintaining my stack I was able to almost double through him when my 88 won a race against his TJ all-in pre.
My last table move of the day placed me directly to the right of Tom McEvoy who won the Main Event 20ish years ago and is a pro for PokerStars - he also recently won the Tournament of Champions. We never really got involved in many hands. I must say that all of these pros/higher profile players were all extremely approachable and seemed like decent guys - guys who almost anyone would enjoy having a drink with and just shooting the shit. My big hand at the new table was fairly soon after I had been moved to the table when the button who had about an even stack with me raised and I was dealt TJs in the BB. I am guessing blinds were at 400/800 and both of us were probably right around 25k in chips. He raised to like 2500 and I reraised to somewhere around 8k with the thought that I would often take the pot down right there, or I could shove almost any flop if he called as a bluff. Instead, he put me all-in but I was getting right around 2:1 on my money (probably a little better) and since he had me covered he could easily be using his stack to try and bully me so I really thought that my hand had over the 33% equity it needed to justify a call. I called, he had 66, and I won that race which propelled me to my ending stack that night of somewhere around 65k.
Day 2 began with just over 200 players and 171 got paid. I got a very fortunate table draw because I was the chip leader so I was able to bully the table quite a bit, especially as we got nearer and nearer to the money bubble. When there were only 177 players left I was able to force a guy with about 25k in chips to fold QQ preflop when I had AJ just by using my stack as a weapon. After he reraised me, I put him all-in and he wasn't willing to take the risk of busting out with only 6 players. So by the time we hit the money and our table got broken up I was probably up to about 100k in chips.
My next table was very very chip rich, the player immediately to my left is an internet wonderkid named benba who had me outchipped and he used his stack very very aggressively - which meant if I wasn't willing to play a marginal hand against him, it was better just to open-fold. I chipped up a bit against him when he 3 bet me and I 4-bet jammed him with AQ. He then got involved with another very aggressive German guy named Olav directly to my right in a huge pot where Olav got sick of benba's 3 betting and just jammed with QKs only to have benba turn over AA. Unfortunately for benba (and fortunately for me) the flop came 3 diamonds and Olav flopped his flush. Soon thereafter I won a big pot when I hit a set of 9s against another good internet kid who either had a big pair or trip Qs on a 9QxxQ board. I then won a couple of nice medium sized pots and just maintained a decent stack for the next couple of hours. By the time we were playing the last couple of levels we were down to like 36 players and had been playing for over 10 hours. I had made two marginal calls against shorter stacks and run into better hands so my stack was down to about 200k when another good young internet player who had been playing very tight openshoved for 15 BBs. There was quite a bit of drama in the hand because Olav did not hear the all-in declared and no chips were pushed forward so when it folded to him he raised a small amount and was forced to keep those chips in the pot even though he did not know that there was an all-in player in front of him. He folded but was pissed and began arguing vociferously with the floor and basically telling the dealer she was a stupid old cow. Meanwhile, I wake up with AJs and had a really really tough decision. I know that if I can put the all-in on a range of hands like A8s+/any pair/QK/some suited broadways that my AJ is ahead and should call. However, he had been tight, so if his range was more like AT+/88+ then I should fold. I took quite a while and ended up calling. Hand wise it ended up being a bad call as he flipped over AQ but I think I ranged him well. Results wise it was a great call when I binked a J on the turn. That was basically it for that night and we played down to 25 players. At 3 am we bagged our chips and were told to come back the next day at noon. I ended the night with just over 400k with blinds starting the next day at 8k/16k.
We only had about 7 hours to sleep that night (since it took another two hours to drive there and back, shower, and eat) but I was pretty amped up and nervous so I only slept like 4 hours. I finally realized that I would not be able to get back to sleep so I just woke up, and continued what had been my daily routine the past two days - I went for a 20 minute jog, ate a bagel and some fruit, took my shower, and headed off for the final day. I was tired, but I knew that the adrenaline would pull me through, and it did.
There were enough short stacks to start day 3 that players dropped pretty fast. And pretty easly on I should have been one of them. The button opened raised and I woke up with 99 in the BB. I reraised which was about 1/3 of my stack so when he 4 bet me I couldn't fold and was not a happy camper when he turned over QQ. The late suckout karma came through for me though as a 9 was the first wheel card on the flop. That hand propelled me to 800k and gave me enough chips to lose a bad beat against a shortstacks 79 when I had AK and then win a race with AQ versus another short stacks 88. Before we knew it, we were down to 10 players and off to the big lights of a tv final table.
I guess the final table was televised on ESPN360.com and from what some people have told me, I had quite a few people railing me and cheering me on. I have been asked if I was nervous but I really wasn't. The whole thing was sort of surreal. I knew that it was a big deal, but for whatever reason it didn't stress me out at all. I was really focused on just playing good poker and letting the results happen. Somewhat early on at the final table I picked up 88 in the cutoff and the very aggressive kid who had come into the table as the chip leader raised from early position. Blinds were 15/30k and he raised to 80k. I had just under a million chips and decided to take a flop with him in position as I felt I could outplay him postflop. The flop was 2x8cTc and he checked to me. He had bled quite a few chips and I knew he was waiting for a good spot to get some back, so I decided to bet small because I felt it was likely that he would check/raise me. He complied and reraised my 100k ish bet to 275k. I was then left with the decision of whether just to call or shove all-in. A call had the advantage of allowing him to keep spewing if he was bluffing, but if he wasn't bluffing and had the T or an overpair or a flush draw, then I could very well lose value by calling because he would call a shove on the flop with those hands but might fold them if a club, a non-club or overcard came on the turn depending on what he had. Anyhoo, I decided to shove and he folded so I think it is pretty clear he was bluffing and the better result would hav been to call, but that doesn't mean my decision at the time was wrong. I maintained that stack for a while but then was coolered when a short stack woke up with KK when I had TT and that took me down to a stack where really all I could do was wait to reshove on what I thought were light raises or fold. I never got that opportunity and the blinds increased so I was then forced into a push/fold stack with 20 BBs because 4 of the 5 other players at the table had about the same stack as I did and I was not willing to raise/fold at that point. On my 3rd openshove I was finally called with TT when I had QK and I wasn't able to win that last race and out I went in 6th place.
Other than 2 marginal calls (which really weren't that bad) I think I played the tourney pretty mistake free so I am very happy with my result and my play. I had to get very lucky to make the final table (two suckouts late in the tourney) but I also had to withstand quite a few bad beats (AK lost to 79, 55 lost to 44, TT lost to TK) and lost races along the way as well. So I feel the luck factor evened itself out (although I did get lucky when I needed it most), but I also made some really good plays.
The aftermath is just a really nice boost to my bankroll and confidence. It is also a nice boost to my reputation on parttimepoker which is the site I used to get my financial staking. I know from my previous big score that it takes me a couple of days to settle back down, so even though I was exhausted last night I still only got about 6 hours of sleep. So I just was super lazy today and surfed the web, I am watching the Lakers game now, and will get a better night's sleep tonight. Tomorrow I am planning on playing an event at the Venetian because I just don't have it in me to grind 3 more days in the $2500 WSOP event which starts tomorrow.
I would like to give a big thanks to Adil, christaborg, and scgolfer for railing me the whole way yesterday. And although Adil might have enjoyed himself a little too much on Friday night he gets an even bigger shout out for railing me from Friday night all the way to the end. Quite a few of the posters from flopturnriver and parttimepoker also came by to rail me at the final table and I really do appreciate that as well. Lastly I heard I had quite a contingency following my progress online - the reason I even bother with this blog is for you guys so I hope I put on a good showing.
I will try and recap as best as I can, but to be honest after three days of play and little sleep in between a lot of the hands that I played have been merged/forgotten. All of the WSOP this year start with 3x your buy-in in chips. So I started day 1 with 6k in chips and very early on chipped up. I was paid off w/AA, flopped a set of 88 against AK on a K8x flop, and picked up a flush on the river against what I am imagining was either a set or two pair against Court Harrington within the first two hours. So I was quickly up to somewhere around 20k in chips when I had my first table move.
My next table had Michael Craig, a FullTilt pro, seated two to my right. I know his game pretty well since I have played with him quite a bit online. I quickly bled chips away at this table due to bad beats and lost races - my 55 lost to 44 and TT lost to TKs all-in pre against short stacks, so I was pretty quickly down to like 10k in chips with blinds at 200/400 when I finally won a flip against Michael Craig when my JJ held against his AK all-in pre. Bill Gazes, another well known FullTilt pro, was then moved to our table and after basically just maintaining my stack I was able to almost double through him when my 88 won a race against his TJ all-in pre.
My last table move of the day placed me directly to the right of Tom McEvoy who won the Main Event 20ish years ago and is a pro for PokerStars - he also recently won the Tournament of Champions. We never really got involved in many hands. I must say that all of these pros/higher profile players were all extremely approachable and seemed like decent guys - guys who almost anyone would enjoy having a drink with and just shooting the shit. My big hand at the new table was fairly soon after I had been moved to the table when the button who had about an even stack with me raised and I was dealt TJs in the BB. I am guessing blinds were at 400/800 and both of us were probably right around 25k in chips. He raised to like 2500 and I reraised to somewhere around 8k with the thought that I would often take the pot down right there, or I could shove almost any flop if he called as a bluff. Instead, he put me all-in but I was getting right around 2:1 on my money (probably a little better) and since he had me covered he could easily be using his stack to try and bully me so I really thought that my hand had over the 33% equity it needed to justify a call. I called, he had 66, and I won that race which propelled me to my ending stack that night of somewhere around 65k.
Day 2 began with just over 200 players and 171 got paid. I got a very fortunate table draw because I was the chip leader so I was able to bully the table quite a bit, especially as we got nearer and nearer to the money bubble. When there were only 177 players left I was able to force a guy with about 25k in chips to fold QQ preflop when I had AJ just by using my stack as a weapon. After he reraised me, I put him all-in and he wasn't willing to take the risk of busting out with only 6 players. So by the time we hit the money and our table got broken up I was probably up to about 100k in chips.
My next table was very very chip rich, the player immediately to my left is an internet wonderkid named benba who had me outchipped and he used his stack very very aggressively - which meant if I wasn't willing to play a marginal hand against him, it was better just to open-fold. I chipped up a bit against him when he 3 bet me and I 4-bet jammed him with AQ. He then got involved with another very aggressive German guy named Olav directly to my right in a huge pot where Olav got sick of benba's 3 betting and just jammed with QKs only to have benba turn over AA. Unfortunately for benba (and fortunately for me) the flop came 3 diamonds and Olav flopped his flush. Soon thereafter I won a big pot when I hit a set of 9s against another good internet kid who either had a big pair or trip Qs on a 9QxxQ board. I then won a couple of nice medium sized pots and just maintained a decent stack for the next couple of hours. By the time we were playing the last couple of levels we were down to like 36 players and had been playing for over 10 hours. I had made two marginal calls against shorter stacks and run into better hands so my stack was down to about 200k when another good young internet player who had been playing very tight openshoved for 15 BBs. There was quite a bit of drama in the hand because Olav did not hear the all-in declared and no chips were pushed forward so when it folded to him he raised a small amount and was forced to keep those chips in the pot even though he did not know that there was an all-in player in front of him. He folded but was pissed and began arguing vociferously with the floor and basically telling the dealer she was a stupid old cow. Meanwhile, I wake up with AJs and had a really really tough decision. I know that if I can put the all-in on a range of hands like A8s+/any pair/QK/some suited broadways that my AJ is ahead and should call. However, he had been tight, so if his range was more like AT+/88+ then I should fold. I took quite a while and ended up calling. Hand wise it ended up being a bad call as he flipped over AQ but I think I ranged him well. Results wise it was a great call when I binked a J on the turn. That was basically it for that night and we played down to 25 players. At 3 am we bagged our chips and were told to come back the next day at noon. I ended the night with just over 400k with blinds starting the next day at 8k/16k.
We only had about 7 hours to sleep that night (since it took another two hours to drive there and back, shower, and eat) but I was pretty amped up and nervous so I only slept like 4 hours. I finally realized that I would not be able to get back to sleep so I just woke up, and continued what had been my daily routine the past two days - I went for a 20 minute jog, ate a bagel and some fruit, took my shower, and headed off for the final day. I was tired, but I knew that the adrenaline would pull me through, and it did.
There were enough short stacks to start day 3 that players dropped pretty fast. And pretty easly on I should have been one of them. The button opened raised and I woke up with 99 in the BB. I reraised which was about 1/3 of my stack so when he 4 bet me I couldn't fold and was not a happy camper when he turned over QQ. The late suckout karma came through for me though as a 9 was the first wheel card on the flop. That hand propelled me to 800k and gave me enough chips to lose a bad beat against a shortstacks 79 when I had AK and then win a race with AQ versus another short stacks 88. Before we knew it, we were down to 10 players and off to the big lights of a tv final table.
I guess the final table was televised on ESPN360.com and from what some people have told me, I had quite a few people railing me and cheering me on. I have been asked if I was nervous but I really wasn't. The whole thing was sort of surreal. I knew that it was a big deal, but for whatever reason it didn't stress me out at all. I was really focused on just playing good poker and letting the results happen. Somewhat early on at the final table I picked up 88 in the cutoff and the very aggressive kid who had come into the table as the chip leader raised from early position. Blinds were 15/30k and he raised to 80k. I had just under a million chips and decided to take a flop with him in position as I felt I could outplay him postflop. The flop was 2x8cTc and he checked to me. He had bled quite a few chips and I knew he was waiting for a good spot to get some back, so I decided to bet small because I felt it was likely that he would check/raise me. He complied and reraised my 100k ish bet to 275k. I was then left with the decision of whether just to call or shove all-in. A call had the advantage of allowing him to keep spewing if he was bluffing, but if he wasn't bluffing and had the T or an overpair or a flush draw, then I could very well lose value by calling because he would call a shove on the flop with those hands but might fold them if a club, a non-club or overcard came on the turn depending on what he had. Anyhoo, I decided to shove and he folded so I think it is pretty clear he was bluffing and the better result would hav been to call, but that doesn't mean my decision at the time was wrong. I maintained that stack for a while but then was coolered when a short stack woke up with KK when I had TT and that took me down to a stack where really all I could do was wait to reshove on what I thought were light raises or fold. I never got that opportunity and the blinds increased so I was then forced into a push/fold stack with 20 BBs because 4 of the 5 other players at the table had about the same stack as I did and I was not willing to raise/fold at that point. On my 3rd openshove I was finally called with TT when I had QK and I wasn't able to win that last race and out I went in 6th place.
Other than 2 marginal calls (which really weren't that bad) I think I played the tourney pretty mistake free so I am very happy with my result and my play. I had to get very lucky to make the final table (two suckouts late in the tourney) but I also had to withstand quite a few bad beats (AK lost to 79, 55 lost to 44, TT lost to TK) and lost races along the way as well. So I feel the luck factor evened itself out (although I did get lucky when I needed it most), but I also made some really good plays.
The aftermath is just a really nice boost to my bankroll and confidence. It is also a nice boost to my reputation on parttimepoker which is the site I used to get my financial staking. I know from my previous big score that it takes me a couple of days to settle back down, so even though I was exhausted last night I still only got about 6 hours of sleep. So I just was super lazy today and surfed the web, I am watching the Lakers game now, and will get a better night's sleep tonight. Tomorrow I am planning on playing an event at the Venetian because I just don't have it in me to grind 3 more days in the $2500 WSOP event which starts tomorrow.
I would like to give a big thanks to Adil, christaborg, and scgolfer for railing me the whole way yesterday. And although Adil might have enjoyed himself a little too much on Friday night he gets an even bigger shout out for railing me from Friday night all the way to the end. Quite a few of the posters from flopturnriver and parttimepoker also came by to rail me at the final table and I really do appreciate that as well. Lastly I heard I had quite a contingency following my progress online - the reason I even bother with this blog is for you guys so I hope I put on a good showing.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
WSOP Final Table!!
Wheeeeeeeeeee!!
I made my first WSOP final table today and ended up in 6th place for just over $92k. I am being staked for this series so I don't get to keep all the $$, but I get a nice chunk of it and am very happy.
Supposedly I made it on internet tv as well. I am just relaxing with some of my poker buddies from ventrilo who railed me at the final table today and being a karaoke master playing rock band.
I will try and do a big update tomorrow detailing the whole experience.
I made my first WSOP final table today and ended up in 6th place for just over $92k. I am being staked for this series so I don't get to keep all the $$, but I get a nice chunk of it and am very happy.
Supposedly I made it on internet tv as well. I am just relaxing with some of my poker buddies from ventrilo who railed me at the final table today and being a karaoke master playing rock band.
I will try and do a big update tomorrow detailing the whole experience.
$2k event update
I have made it to day 3 of the $2k event with a little over an average stack. I have 411k with blinds starting at 8/16k tomorrow. It starts at noon tomorrow and it is 3:30 now, so I am going to try and get some zzzs.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Made it to day 2 of the $2k event
I made it to day 2 of the $2k event.
I have just over 65k and the average stack is just over 40k. Blinds are 600/1200 to start tomorrow so I have some wiggle room. I think we are somewhere around 70 from the money - there's like 240 left and 170 get paid.
I played with Court Harrington, Bill Gazes, Michael Craig, and Tom McEvoy today.
I am tired and want to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow so I'll try to recap today when I wake up tomorrow.
I have just over 65k and the average stack is just over 40k. Blinds are 600/1200 to start tomorrow so I have some wiggle room. I think we are somewhere around 70 from the money - there's like 240 left and 170 get paid.
I played with Court Harrington, Bill Gazes, Michael Craig, and Tom McEvoy today.
I am tired and want to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow so I'll try to recap today when I wake up tomorrow.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
A little longer but still no dice
I made it to level 5 yesterday. I made one bad/marginal call w/TKs but played fine other than that and lost a race when I was down to 20 BBs w/AJ < TT.
I am in the 2k event today which means we start with 6k in chips so it should give me some opportunity to play some hands. Hopefully I can keep getting a little deeper in each tourney I play until I finally take one down.
My friend from ventrilo, Adil, has made the money in the 6 max tourney which started yesterday and he has a decent stack heading into today so hopefully he can get through one more day and get a nice Final Table.
I am in the 2k event today which means we start with 6k in chips so it should give me some opportunity to play some hands. Hopefully I can keep getting a little deeper in each tourney I play until I finally take one down.
My friend from ventrilo, Adil, has made the money in the 6 max tourney which started yesterday and he has a decent stack heading into today so hopefully he can get through one more day and get a nice Final Table.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Quick first day
I met up with a whole bunch of PTPers this morning before he fun began which is always nice. When I actually got seated I had a sort of a fun table to start off. Doug Lee and Humberto Brenes were both at my table but we really didn't mix it up much (Humberto squeezed me at one point early and I mucked 88).
I got dealt AA very early on and it was my only raise pre that actually took down the blinds. I actually chipped up to a little over 6k at one point just by outplaying (and flopping) my opps postflop.
My bustout hand was AdTd during level 3 which I raised from the HJ and got called by the HJ who was a bigstack and tried to outplay me everyhand postflop and by the button who really didn't mix it up much.
Blinds were 75/150 and my stack was the smallest of the 3 with about 5k. I raised to 450 so the pot was like 1500. Flop came 4d5s8d and I checked, the CO also checked and the tightish button bet 400. The play is so bad in these things that I really didn't know if he had a monster or nothing and it didn't really matter with my hand either so I raised to 1800 which left me with maybe 2500 behind and he pretty instantly put me all-in with a set of 5s and I didn't hit my diamond.
Tomorrow is a 6 max $1500 tourney.
Busting sucks, but it does feel good to be back and see how bad the play is. I got most of my chips from the old guy to my right who was a classic limp/caller. And there was another guy who made a "world series" fold when he minraised me pre when I had raised from the CO w/A6s and the guy who could never fold on my left came along as well. I actually folded the A6s to the minraise because he had so few chips left but the guy to my left didn't. Flop came 9TQ and the minraiser put in over 1/2 his chips and then folded to a shove w/JJ and I just sat there smiling.
I will probably play online tonight and then back at it tomorrow.
I got dealt AA very early on and it was my only raise pre that actually took down the blinds. I actually chipped up to a little over 6k at one point just by outplaying (and flopping) my opps postflop.
My bustout hand was AdTd during level 3 which I raised from the HJ and got called by the HJ who was a bigstack and tried to outplay me everyhand postflop and by the button who really didn't mix it up much.
Blinds were 75/150 and my stack was the smallest of the 3 with about 5k. I raised to 450 so the pot was like 1500. Flop came 4d5s8d and I checked, the CO also checked and the tightish button bet 400. The play is so bad in these things that I really didn't know if he had a monster or nothing and it didn't really matter with my hand either so I raised to 1800 which left me with maybe 2500 behind and he pretty instantly put me all-in with a set of 5s and I didn't hit my diamond.
Tomorrow is a 6 max $1500 tourney.
Busting sucks, but it does feel good to be back and see how bad the play is. I got most of my chips from the old guy to my right who was a classic limp/caller. And there was another guy who made a "world series" fold when he minraised me pre when I had raised from the CO w/A6s and the guy who could never fold on my left came along as well. I actually folded the A6s to the minraise because he had so few chips left but the guy to my left didn't. Flop came 9TQ and the minraiser put in over 1/2 his chips and then folded to a shove w/JJ and I just sat there smiling.
I will probably play online tonight and then back at it tomorrow.
Let the run good begin!!
Since my younger brother woke me up everyday when I was in L.A. around 7 a.m. I am back on a getting up early schedule so I got up around 8 today (I normally wake up around 10) and have already got a run in and plan to take a little swim before I head off to play.
I don't feel nervous like I did last year, but I will admit that I am amped to play - I have been having dreams of making a final table. Hopefully I am not getting my hopes up too high.
Since I am an unknown it is very unlikely that any of my hands will be mentioned unless I am up against a well-known pro, but you can try checking at pokernews.com. Otherwise I will try and update here daily.
You can also click on the WSOP RAIL in the upper right hand corner of the blog to check on how I am doing overall.
I don't feel nervous like I did last year, but I will admit that I am amped to play - I have been having dreams of making a final table. Hopefully I am not getting my hopes up too high.
Since I am an unknown it is very unlikely that any of my hands will be mentioned unless I am up against a well-known pro, but you can try checking at pokernews.com. Otherwise I will try and update here daily.
You can also click on the WSOP RAIL in the upper right hand corner of the blog to check on how I am doing overall.
Monday, June 01, 2009
In Vegas
I made it to Vegas with no real problems. My rental for the month looks nice and is just a 5-10 minute drive from the Rio where the WSOP is held. I have already registered for tomorrow's event and am getting excited to play now. I will be at Table 112 in the Amazon Room tomorrow to start if anyone is looking to do some live railing.
Tonight I am just planning on getting some groceries and hopefully a good night's sleep.
Tonight I am just planning on getting some groceries and hopefully a good night's sleep.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Vegas Time
Well I am off today to L.A. to spend a couple of days with my fam before heading off to Vegas on Monday. Last year, I was raring to go as it was my first WSOP experience. This year I am a mixed bag of emotions. I am definitely excited that I have the opportunity to play over 10 events for the whole month of June and I feel that I am playing very well and am due for a big score, so hopefully I can come home with the bankroll a little fatter.
I am also a little hesitant because being away for a whole month will be emotionally draining and I am starting to stress a little but about my dwindling bankroll especially as unexpected life expenses (Chula's surgery, air conditioner being fixed, etc.) keep popping up. One big score and all that stress is relieved though. So here's hoping for a good WSOP.
I am bringing my wife's laptop and the place I rented has WiFi so I hope to be updating this pretty regularly. Wish me luck.
I am also a little hesitant because being away for a whole month will be emotionally draining and I am starting to stress a little but about my dwindling bankroll especially as unexpected life expenses (Chula's surgery, air conditioner being fixed, etc.) keep popping up. One big score and all that stress is relieved though. So here's hoping for a good WSOP.
I am bringing my wife's laptop and the place I rented has WiFi so I hope to be updating this pretty regularly. Wish me luck.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Almost perfect poker
I got 4th in the $30 rebuy and FT bubbled the Sniper when I lost a race and then took a bad beat with QQ < AQ to go out in 10th. I made one semi-spewy bluff at the Final Table of the rebuy, but if it worked it would have been stellar. I really am playing good - thought I might get rewarded tonight and although a positive night is nothing to gripe about, I still had thoughts of winning both tourneys outright and digging myself out of my monthly hole. Oh well.
Tomorrow I take Chula to get her stitches out, and then I need to finish cleaning up the house. I will probably play one last time on Wednesday before I head out to L.A. on my way to Vegas.
Tomorrow I take Chula to get her stitches out, and then I need to finish cleaning up the house. I will probably play one last time on Wednesday before I head out to L.A. on my way to Vegas.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Still shaking my head
Wow the downswing continues. My yearly ROI has plummetted from 86% on April 13th to 24% now over around 300 tourneys. Meh - so much for volume being the answer. The crazy thing is I feel so good about my game but am starting to doubt myself even though I really can't find many mistakes when I review my HHs. I feel like I am starting to press when I get a stack - but then when I back off and tell myself to be patient I never win the races I need. I am going to put a full session in tomorrow and then I might play on like Wednesday next week, but other than that I will not be playing again until Vegas just to take a mental break from the game and to get the house in order before I leave.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
I need to race better
Sigh. I got deepish in the quarter million when AK lost to 88 on a K8xA board. I just can't win the big races when I need them. After getting a decent stack after I finally sucked out on someone, my KK ran into AA, my nut flush + A over draw bricked against top pair, and then my AK hand knocked me out. It's got to turn at some point. The agonizing thing is that as I get deep in these mofos I start to think that tonight is the night it will turn around - and I just keep getting my hopes repeatedly dashed. Tonights final table would have gotten me out of the hole for the month and winning would have basically set me up for my goals for the year - when it's snatched away with a hand that you think is likely ahead it just hurts. I'm taking tomorrow off and then I'll be back at it this weekend.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Maybe I talk too much about anklegrabbing
So I decided to allow ads onto this blog because I figured if it works, free money is never a bad thing and if it doesn't work, then who cares.
Supposedly the ads are chosen through some sort of program that "reads" your blog. So the fact that the first ad is now about anal fissure treatment just made me laugh because that's what I feel I need after getting reamed every session.
Supposedly the ads are chosen through some sort of program that "reads" your blog. So the fact that the first ad is now about anal fissure treatment just made me laugh because that's what I feel I need after getting reamed every session.
A sliver of hope
I actually final tabled the Sniper tourney last night and got 4th for a positive day. I know I should be happy with that result, but I am not. I was actaully pretty frustrated. I had a ginormous stack and got involved with the table luckbox/idiot who had the second biggest stack when we were down to 4 players and just could not win a race late. I had Ah7h and my retard opp had 8sTs on a Th9h2x flop and he couldn't fold to my all-in raise with top pair 8 kicker and the board bricked out for me. So that hand decimated me and then I couldn't win a last race to try and get back in it and out I was in 4th. I am fine with how I played, since winning that hand locks up the tourney for me. But 4th doesn't get me out of the hole for this month, and 1st would have, so that of course was what I was thinking of as I went to sleep last night.
Monday, May 18, 2009
More Multiaccounting Drama
One of the top MTTers, Dan "Wretchy" Martin, has been outed for mutliaccounting and banned for a couple of months on both PokerStars and FullTilt. I have to admit that the more these types of stories come out, I don't really feel angry or outraged - I just feel old. I mean, let's face it, the vast majority of online players are young males, and that has always been a pretty prolific target group of weasels. Does it surprise me that young guys, who are playing a largely anonymous game will try and cheat if they can? No. Does it remind me once again that I am an old fart in a young man's game? Yes. I am playing this game for a living because I like making my own hours and I actually enjoy the game when it is not crapping down my throat. But most of these kids who are playing are doing it because it is an easy way to make decent money and with little expenses they can live a "balla" lifestyle. So does it surprise me that these kids will try and take every advantage they can? Absolutely not.
What does surprise me is that once they are caught, the most common reaction is for the cheater to come out and make a post excusing his behavior on some well-known poker forum. The excuses have been "it was my grandma's account," "it was my girlfriend's account," etc. but the one common theme is that the cheater's rarely apologize. Instead they try to excuse their behavior by saying "everyone does it." Again, given that the ones who are doing this are young, immature kids, it shouldn't surprise me that this is their response, but it does. I've done plenty of stupid crap, even cheated a couple of times on tests at school - but if I was ever caught, my reaction to lie or excuse my behavior ended when I was in middle school. By the time I was in college I was man enough to say - oops, I fucked up - give me your punishment.
Anyhoo, poker is still going poorly. Tonight was particularly bad. I was going to give it a break - but I want to get my 200 tourneys in for the month. So I keep grinding, and keep suffering.
What does surprise me is that once they are caught, the most common reaction is for the cheater to come out and make a post excusing his behavior on some well-known poker forum. The excuses have been "it was my grandma's account," "it was my girlfriend's account," etc. but the one common theme is that the cheater's rarely apologize. Instead they try to excuse their behavior by saying "everyone does it." Again, given that the ones who are doing this are young, immature kids, it shouldn't surprise me that this is their response, but it does. I've done plenty of stupid crap, even cheated a couple of times on tests at school - but if I was ever caught, my reaction to lie or excuse my behavior ended when I was in middle school. By the time I was in college I was man enough to say - oops, I fucked up - give me your punishment.
Anyhoo, poker is still going poorly. Tonight was particularly bad. I was going to give it a break - but I want to get my 200 tourneys in for the month. So I keep grinding, and keep suffering.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Chula's home
She actually seems to be in less pain this time than last time. She is keeping her conehead on so I am just not going to bother taking it off for now.
Poker is continuing to go poorly although I feel I am playing mistake free.
Poker is continuing to go poorly although I feel I am playing mistake free.
Chula update
She had her re-surgery yesterday and I get to pick her up this afternoon. I just feel so bad for her. If this time is like last time, she is in lots of pain these next few days and she looks pathetic with her shaved ass for a good 6 weeks. They put in a heavier gage suture this time, so hopefully it holds. If it doesn't she is just going to be 3-legged.
Pokerwise I made yet another final two tables yesterday only to get knocked out by a guy who made a retardo bad call of my 20 BB reshove w/9To and got there against my AQ. Obviously I want him to make that call there, but it woulda been nicer if I had actually held.
Pokerwise I made yet another final two tables yesterday only to get knocked out by a guy who made a retardo bad call of my 20 BB reshove w/9To and got there against my AQ. Obviously I want him to make that call there, but it woulda been nicer if I had actually held.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Starting to pull my hair out
I am playing really really good poker and just can't get the run good going in any way whatsoever. I got deepish in the 75k tonight on Tilt after clawing my way back from ruin early when my 2 pair got counterfeited without ever getting AK, KK, or QQ, the entire tourney and the only time I got AA was early on. So I got deep even without cards, but at some point you need to win a flip or you need a hand to hold up to get a stack. And I just can't do that lately.... ever. And it's eating away at me.
I start to look at the other tables when there are 5 table or less and I can't help but think, well if I can FINALLY get another top 3 score here I will actually be back in the black for the month. If I can FINALLY win one of these nightly big tourneys I will actually be way up. And then it just doesn't happen.
Imagine if you did your job perfectly and as a result your boss took money from you - well that's what is happening to me day after day lately.
The added stress of chula getting resurgerized tomorrow and I am leaving for Vegas now in just a couple of weeks isn't helping either. I am just so strung out right now but there really isn't anything to do except keep playing and hope for the best.
I think reading this thing must be as fun as going to the dentist, so I am not going to post about poker again until I finally break through and take something down. So if the posts on here are few and far between that simply means I am continuing to grab my ankles but don't think you want to keep hearing about it.
I start to look at the other tables when there are 5 table or less and I can't help but think, well if I can FINALLY get another top 3 score here I will actually be back in the black for the month. If I can FINALLY win one of these nightly big tourneys I will actually be way up. And then it just doesn't happen.
Imagine if you did your job perfectly and as a result your boss took money from you - well that's what is happening to me day after day lately.
The added stress of chula getting resurgerized tomorrow and I am leaving for Vegas now in just a couple of weeks isn't helping either. I am just so strung out right now but there really isn't anything to do except keep playing and hope for the best.
I think reading this thing must be as fun as going to the dentist, so I am not going to post about poker again until I finally break through and take something down. So if the posts on here are few and far between that simply means I am continuing to grab my ankles but don't think you want to keep hearing about it.
Monday, May 11, 2009
pobre chula take 2
chula has been sing all four legs when she walks slowly but not when she goes at any pace. It turns out the suture they put in her knee is either broken or stretched out so they want to do the surgery over again. None of us are really looking forward to that. Not only the cost - another $2k, but just how pathetic she is recovering. The whole vet saying she should be back running and jumping when she recovers is also not that reassuring this time around since it didn't happen the first time.
We have scheduled her surgery for Thursday and we'll just see how we feel on Wednesday I guess.
We have scheduled her surgery for Thursday and we'll just see how we feel on Wednesday I guess.
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