Up and Down All Around

Small tilt last night. Played some good poker and some really bad poker. The one thing that really annoys me about NL is you can spend the night making a nice pot, and then lose it all on one hand when your not quite the NUTS.

Last night was one of those nights where I had the following things happen. Trips beaten by Higher Trips (2x), Flush Beaten by Higher Flush (4x), 2 Pair with the high card beaten by two pair with the high card and a higher second card. I think is was Q3 vs Q7.

I had some good hands too. KK gets called to the river by a maniac on the 5/10 tables (this is the tilt part) and wins a huge pot. I found the best 5/10 table of my life, but my inconsistency only allowed me to take 5BB out. I mean this maniac was pre-flop raising on almost anything. He would raise you if he had an A and you bet on a flop with J-rag-rag. All the way to the river and then beyond, even though he did not have two cards to rub together. Unfortunately this lead me to a syndrome I like to call "He can't ever get a good card syndrome". I.E. Nahh, He doesn't have the boat. I am going to call him like a fish.

Anyway, I think I need more consistency. I see a lot of my nights going like 10 bucks up, 5 bucks down, 20 bucks up, 15 bucks down. I think it has to do a lot with getting too loose when I start winning. I need to buckle down. I really respect the people on the tables who never give anything back. While I am doing my best yo-yo imitation they steadily, 1 pot here, 1 pot there, build up a nice winning night.

The funny thing about last night was if I had quit at 12AM I would have had the same amount of money as when I did quit at 3-4AM. Anyway, working, working, working. I still like the $25 tables even though I took a little beating last night. I just need to be disciplined enough to say "I am going to lose/win 1 $25 NL, and 1 $40 1/2 per session." If I lose then so be it. If I win, then I take the winning and leave. Keeping a consistent amount every night is a good idea. I think it might even be good to say leave when I lose $65, leave when I get to $140, and then fall back $10. That way if I am riding a good table I do not just leave because I won some money. Anyway, going to play around. Probably a lot of nights I will leave just a little ahead. Still trying to catch the illusive $1200.

2500 Freeroll 7/29/2004

I think there is a $2500 Thursday freeroll tonight at Empire. If so, I am going to try and take 1st again. As some of my loyal readers may have noticed, I took 3rd last time for a nice $235 win to get me up to $950 again. This was very nice, since I had decimated my pot down to $615 while on a slight tilt playing levels I should not be in. Only one person gave me congrats on finishing 3rd in my first multi-tourney, so for him I am going to try a new feature tonight. I will update my Blog every 30 minutes with my current standing, any interesting new, etc.. So you can see how Sir does if he lasts more than 30 minutes this time. I am going to use the old fashion method of winning one of these: Fold most of my hands until the 4th round, and then try and make some money. Anyway, keep tabs on this post tonight. If I get to play in this one I will try my hand at some live reporting.

 
*** Update: No Freeroll tonight. Sorry. The next freeroll for playing hands is in August sometime. Playing some NL again. Winning again. Up to $1086.
 

Bits and Pieces and I love Anisotropy!!

Ok. First off I have a question for the experienced NL players there. I was reading Anisotropy and his success at $25 NL interested me. So I am down a little tonight. I decide I will go ahead and try it. I put my $25 in (sort of like playing $40 at a 1/2 table), and start playing. Now the cards were in love with me I admit. I flopped alot of good stuff. I even got some good draw hands, which is really hard in NL. Anyway, about 1/2 hour later I am up to $125 and loving it. The second to last hand I played against someone who kepy calling me a rookie. I had K9s and he had J8o or something. Scary flop of AQQA. He goes all in with like 14$. I decide to call because I want to lose and go to sleep. Anyway, I win with K high. He was SOOOOOOO pissed. Anyway, here are my two NL questions:

A) Does it make sense to see more flops in NL. If it only costs me .25 (I.E. Less than an Ante in 1/2) then should I not see if Q3 might flop QJ3 or QQ3 or QQQ or some other nice hand for Q3? I mean look at the pot odds. It cost me less than 1/4 of 1 bet, and if I make it the implied odds are infinate. I was called a rookie looser for getting Q3 two pair, and calling someone down to the river while he bet 2 aces at 4$ per round.

B) This one is a little more shaky. I go in with 9-2h. I get a nice flop with 2 hearts. Now, I am getting 3 people action in the pot. Each one is adding 4$ per round, and I am the Button. Now, from an Implied Odds and Odds standpoint, am I not correct in calling? It is one thing if they put me all in and I have not made my flush, or if they bet the pre-flop with 4-5$. However, am I not right in playing this if they keep it reasonable?

So anyway the lucky (true) rookie (true) left the tables with $100 profit. Like 50BB of what I usually play. Another question I have. Why do people get mad when you play flushes in general? I have made THE MOST money playing flushes. There are two big reasons for this: A. When I make it I am 90% of the time the best hand and can tell it. and B) NOBODY respect someone on a flush draw at Empire. I freaking had the 3 diamonds on the table, and I bet $5, and I get raised $15 with 2 pair!!!! I mean you do not have to be a chicken, but cmon! So anyway, this rookie, looser, idiot, lucky, fish, dummy is going to sleep. Have a nice night!

Uncle says "One Last Thing" -- I am going to play more $25 NL. I am going to treat it like a $20/1 NL Tourney. Either I win and make alot of money, or lose and hey.. I was on the bubble, and so be it. I figure it is a better use of my money than a tourney. I will probably play the $25 NL first, then a Tourney to keep in practice for the WSOP, and then if it has been a good night some limit.

Picasso I’m not?

Why is it that dedication to ones art is always so misunderstood? If I am learning to play Poker why is it not an art form? Is it not a type of art? Is there not an essence of creativity in the way one plays? The slashing strokes of a Phil Ivey, the beautiful and graceful calculations of a Slansky, the deep soul piercing gaze of a Lederer .. are these not masters of there art? No, these are degenerates, scum of the earth, sleazy hustlers to be scorned and shunned! Why can people not recognize that the artistic nature takes many forms. I consider many things to be art, Paulies paintings, computer programming, writing, and yes, Poker! It requires dedication, study, and yes, your own artistic flair to be successful. So why is it that Poker players are looked down upon? I have yet to see one cut off his ear (or poke out his eyes?), I mean talk about crazy! So all you Van Goghs and Picasso’s of the world keep it up. Even if I cant tell what side is up in an art gallery, I appreciate watching someone played like a Stradivarius on the Poker tables.

Good Discipline

Had a good night discipline wise. I lost about $50 and was able to walk away. Did not try and win it all back on 5/10. I think this is a good step. Just could not catch a break until the last table. I had my trips beaten by larger trips. After that a guy had his boat beaten by a higher boat. I did not feel so bad after that. Kind of a bummer that I have fallen a little below 1K but I am happy with my game. I think I tend to go on a tilt at key points, I.E. I made 1K, but then fell below! My “marker” of 1K was gone. I need to get back there. Start tilting to do it!!! Stupid. I am glad I was able to avoid it this time. Hopefully I have it under control.

The final table I was on was AEWSOME. Basically there was one maniac at the table. He would call a pre-flop raise on almost anything. Any two cards suited. Any potential straight. His strategy worked at times, but the variance was huge, and he kept busting out. He also refused to see when he was beaten. I had A2d and the flop was something like 4d5cJd. He had raised initially so the pot was a decent size. He bets. I call. Kd was the next hand making my flush. He bets. I raise. He raised. We top out the betting at 8 bucks each. Next card was some rag. He again tops it off. So now there is over $40 in a ½ pot with me holding the nut high flush. We turn over. He has two pair and I have the flush. The guy did this several times before slowing down and saying “Man, my wife is going to kill me, can you guys let me win one.”. Now I do not mind giving money away (ok, maybe I do), but why would anyone give money to a clown that is playing as badly as this guy. He went through $40, re-bought, and went through another $40 while I was at the table.

I have been playing more tourneys. I finished 3rd, 4th, and 4th last night. Just could not get the cards when I needed them. I think my strategy for the week is going to be to play a single $10/1 tourney and $40 at ½ each night. Play a few hours. Get some sleep. I will see where this leaves me at the end of the week. I am also going to see if I am enrolled in the Thursday Night $2500 free roll again. I have been playing enough raked hands that I think I should be. It would be VERY nice to place 3rd or higher again. I am going to take it easy thought, at least until we get to the money hands, and see what happens. Hopefully I will get the advantage of an empty table to being with again. It really helps starting with 10K!! You can basically cruise into the 60th spot with 600 people starting. It only pays $10 or something, but it is free money.

Talking about Tourneys – I think the proper strategy for me is to put it on AWAY for the first 3 levels, and let the poor players fight it out. Playing ring games has made me like flush draws too much. In a ring game, you make a lot of money when you make your draws. In a tourney, it costs too much to make those draw, unless the person has nothing, in which case it is not worth winning the draw. I read a strategy in my NL Hold em book that I like. It basically says to not play anything before the 4th level when the blinds become worthwhile, except JJ and higher pairs and AK, AQ, AJ. So basically you will not be playing much before level 4. Now this gives you two advantages. First, it makes you seem like a VERY tight player. The first few hands you play on level 4 you will get a lot of respect on. A bluff might not be out of the question. Second, it probably gives you above average stack. Usually in these single table tourneys by level 4 I see: 1-3 seats out, 1-3 seats with $500 or less, and 1-3 seats with 1K or more. So you are right there in the mix. I will let you know how this strategy works out.

AC Baby

Game is going well. Getting slowly back to 1100. Playing well. Keeping it under control. Good discipline. Not alot of chances to go overboard because I am playing well.

I am going down to Ocean City for Vacation -- Beach. Sand. Chicks. Wife? Oh damn! Anyway, the wife mentioned we should go for a night out in AC! So all you Bloggers out there with live experience in AC let me know where to go. I want the wife to enjoy, so it should either have a nice resterant or be near one I guess. Anyway, any tips would be appreciated. This will probably be my second live game, so even basic tips would be good. I think I am going to suck at live, but we will see.

I cannot wait for Patriots Season.. I mean football season. The pats are looking good in there division this year. I think we at least make the playoffs. Bad Blood has an EXCELENT write up on the NFC at his site. Someone should do an AFC one! Not me, I am not a good football handicapper.

 
*** Correction: It is not Bad Bloods site, it is Anisotropy . My appologies, but both sites are worth visiting. Not sure how I made that mistake.

Not the Cards

I am totally convinced that playing Poker has nothing to do with Poker. It has nothing to do with cards, or probability or anything else. Any given session can kick your butt even if you are the best player on the planet. Like the other night when I had my Ace High Flush with everyone in ($300 pot probably) beaten by a runner-runner boat! Can you believe that? The person playing is calling and raising with a pair of Jacks. Oh well.. if I see her again its payback time!

Anyway, back to the point. I think everything in Poker revolves around keeping yourself in control. In order to win, you have to be able to accept losing. You need to be disciplined enough to say “Not my night” and walk away down. You cannot fall sooo in love with your hand that you do not pay attention to what might be. You have to be strong enough to say, “Ok, this is not the flop that KK is going to win”. You need to know that a better hand is coming around the corner, and wait for it. Know your opponent and what his tendencies are. When you can read him like a book, he will always pay out for you. Patience. Discipline. Strength. Observation. These are the ingredients that make a good Poker player. Grinding it out day after day. You are the champions. So raise your glasses and drink a toast to all good Poker players out there!

Tiltman Strikes Again!

Arg! Frustrated! Bad Sir!! 5-10 for fun. Tilt. Down to 700. 10-20. Up to 1074 again. STUPID!STUPID!STUPID!STUPID!

Anyway.. thats my rant for tonight. Finishing up on a 1/2 table to see if I can get back to 1100 again. No big deal if I do not. I am pissed at my last of discipline. Oh well. We will see what happens tomorrow. Gotta stay away from the tempting tables for now..

Nice Table

Been at a nice table having a nice day. Up 32 bucks playing 1/2 right now. Got a RSF which was really nice. I like this table because I raise the first bet. I flop K's with Ace Kicker. Get everyone raising up to 4 BB. I then get Ace High Flush. I bet. They slow down, but keep betting me. Pay me all the way to the river. These guys are betting second and third pair to the river. One person had a pair of eights, and AJ9K or something was on the board, and they are calling and calling... sweet! I am up to $989. Not bad for an hour or so. Hope to clear over 1K today. When I get to $1200 I am going to cash $155 out. I am going to buy Poker Tracker and fix my leaks, and take $100 for a present. Only bad thing about this table is I have been rivered like 5 times!!!!

My game is still stalled a little. Still working on discipline problems, and trying to play consistent.  Not much to report here, but I wanted my two regular readers to get a little update.

Two last things: I really appreciate Chris Halverson giving advice. He has always been ready to put his 2 cents in, and there usually worth alot more.

Never do a top ten poker blog list!!!! WARNING: You will regret it. You will forget someone, number 11 will be sad because you forgot him, number 12 will think you abandoned him! The guilt alone is not worth it. So next time I list Blogs it is going to be the top 500!

Won a 5/1 and 10/1 tourney tonight to get my earnings up to $1046. I cannot wait until I hit 1200! Then I will be asking all you Bloggers out there how the hell to make any sense of Poker Tracker Stats.

First Multi Table Freeroll

So, I was logging into Empire just to check my balance, and all of the sudden I find myself enrolled in a Free Roll. Now I have NEVER played multi-table. So I get into this Free Roll I knew nothing about. First hand. J-10. I call. What the hell, might as well get in for a hand. Bang! Everyone folds. Wow! They must have heard of Sir! 7-2. Bang! Fold! Man I am good! Go Hammer! Fold. Fold. Fold. Ok. Something weird is going on. I am not THAT well known, or good. So I figure out nobody is at my table. Blinds keep going up, and I am at a nice 10K before I even figure out this is not an NL Free Roll! Imagine my surprise when the ALL-IN button did not show up!

Now, I am not very good at tourney coverage, so here are the highlight Sir style.

Played level and stayed mid stack for most of the game.

Level 10. Cowboys. 10's to trips. Went from 21K to 77K.Called down the river with my Cowboys by 77. 13th Place.

Folded a few hands.

Level 14. Nice Level. Alot of pairs that paid off.
Up to 110K. Big Stack!! Next stack is 75K. Not bad. Looking good.

8th Place. 3K Blinds!!!!

Level 15. Nothing good. Went in for a couple of flush draws.
Nothing good. 119K.

Second Place in chips, 7 people left.

Hope level 16 shows me some good stuff!

Level 16 going well. Up to 245K. KJ, picked up trip K's. Some idiot bets me to the river.Stupid bet on flush draw to the river. Oh well. 221K.

Ran down the river. Some bad calls. Had trips against A5 straight. Went out at 3AM. 3rd Place. $225. Not too shabby for a free roll. I think I did the Bloggers proud!



 

 

 

Ten Favorite Blogs

The following are the ten Blogs I enjoy the most daily. It has nothing to do with how good they are, and number 11 is not a bad Blog. I actually read all of the Blogs on my list on a regular basis and enjoy them a lot. Also, this is a good place to say that if you’re on my list and I have your site name mangled, or you would like to be listed differently, let me know. I will make changes as soon as I can.
I figured I would post these now, since my reading time will be going down. I took a support job after killing myself for over a year with a startup for nothing. Moral of that story: Make sure you get everything in writing.
So, support is usually a sucky job. You help people when things are going on, and twiddle your thumbs when nothing is happening. I never usually take support jobs
but I wanted to get out of the startup, and the support job was with a company I had done work with in the past, and wanted to keep a good relationship with.
Apparently my boss thinks I would be a good fit for their JSP/Struts/BEA work here. I am mostly a MicroSerf, although I do not have
blind allegiance to Bill and his megalomaniac dreams. I do some Java, but it is not my strong point. I will be doing all
of the Java work and support here for the near future. At least it is development again. Should be fun. Will definitely cut down
on my Blog Reading though. Here is the list you all have been waiting for:
 
 
10. Up For Anything
 
Excellent perspective and write-ups not just on his game, but on all of the happenings is the poker world. I enjoy the site a lot.
 
9. Poker Perspectives
 
I like reading Maudie’s perspectives. “Ain’t nuthin’  was especially funny! Her tourney descriptions are a very good read also.
 
8. Felicia Lee
 
Purrrrrdy! Heh. Just kidding! Although the nice picture of Felicia is a plus. Felicia plays a wide variety of games, and it is interesting to hear her perspectives on these. She travels all over the place playing live and it is great to hear about all of her adventures! I really like the writing style a lot.
 
 
7. Rymes with Joker
 
Lord Geznikor .. Sir FWA .. Comon! How would I not like this guy! Heh. His explanation of his name recently was very funny. I can relate. I played Baldur’s Gate too.. My name is from a video game also. I will post a full description in the future. If anyone wants to take a guess at what game my name is from go ahead. Excellent descriptions of his hands and how and why he played them. Very good reading.
 
 
6. . Al Cant Hang
 
I like Al’s life! Actually I like his Monkeys life, but that sounded too pathetic to lead off with. I think Al’s Blog combines a lot of different elements, not all poker, into a great end product. I love the breakdowns of other sites, and the links to good poker information. It is always interesting to read. I would move him up a few spots if his Blog weren’t so damn long! I only have a few hours to goof off Al! Do not deny it, I have proof: Al Word Count (3159), Sir (2300), and my post was longer than usual, and yours was shorter!
 
5. Guinness and Poker
 
Sorry for saying Al had long posts! Iggy (20,142) is the king! His site is great if you either want to hear about drinking, or what’s going on in the poker world. I enjoy his posts, even if I have to read them a few times to get all the way through. Keep up the good work!
 
4. Tao of Poker
 
Who wouldn’t like the Tao of Poker. Excellent writing. Good art work. Contests galore! There is always something new and exciting at Paulies site. Gambling of all weird types goes on here! Very enjoyable!
 
 
3. Chris Halverson
 
I always enjoy the writing in Chris’s site. It is always very good, and he changes up the subject all the time. One week its about his play, another about Hollywood Home Game, who knows what is next. I also appreciate the way Chris reaches out to other Bloggers. He was one of the first people to post a comment on my site, and encourages people to play poker and write about it.
 
2. Sloe Times
 
I like Sloejack. It seems like we are connected together by some weird Poker Karma. Sometimes it seems when I have bad days, he does too. He is always there with a nice word too. I think the appeal of his site to me is that Sloe and I seem to be on the same track. We seem to play around the same stakes. We seem to have some of the same success and failures. I would like to think our games might be similar, but it is hard to tell from a Blog. I think we are somewhere close to each other in our games, and it feels good to have someone there with you.
 
1. Table Tango
 
I love this site. It gives me a look into the world of poker that my fat Internet butt has yet to see. I hate to laugh about the jerks at the tables, because I know they cause the writer of the Blog pain, but it is sooo damn funny. I guess the site appeals to the voyeur in everyone. I feel your pain – but I am laughing too. One good side effect of this site is the fact that I will try and treat the dealers with respect and give some tips when I am doing well.

Nice Little Pickup Game

Not too much to report. The 1/2 fishies are still very fishie. I played very aggressively on the first game, and lost my initial $40. I then played a tiny bit less aggressive, which probably fits my style better, and won $95. So I ended up about $30, just peeking over $700. I also won 3rd place in a tourney. Could have won 2nd, but me and the 2nd place guy both went all in against 1st place, and lost. Oh well. I was happy to have played well enough to get to the end. My tourney game as been kinda weak lately, and I wanted to improve on it.

I played "The Hammer" tonight, just for the hell of it. Hit a straight on the river. Was slow playing my crap hand so I only made $5, but Go Hammer! I remember playing it because, it was .50, and hey, it's "THE HAMMER". ACEYOU22 is the jackass that is dissing my play. Here is the hand. Oh wait, I had nothing. Guess the Hammer scared people away. The river must have been another hand. Oh well, I told you they folded when I had a flush on the board:

***** Hand History for Game 770156413 *****1/2 TexasHT
GameTable (Limit)  - Tue Jul 20 23:55:20 EDT 2004Table Table  12704
(6 max)
(Real Money) -- Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: metsfanmo ( $34.75)
Seat 2: sheldon47 ( $61.75)
Seat 3: jsmcgruver ( $62.50)
Seat 4: SirFWALGMan ( $80.98)
Seat 5: reddogrs ( $6.50)
Seat 6: ACEYOU22 ( $11.75)
SirFWALGMan  posts small blind (0.50)
reddogrs  posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SirFWALGMan [ 2h, 7s ]
ACEYOU22 folds.
acemetsfanmo folds.
sheldon47 folds.
jsmcgruver calls (1)
SirFWALGMan calls (0.50)
SirFWALGMan: thanksreddogrs
checks.** Dealing Flop ** :  [ 4s, 3c, 9s ]
SirFWALGMan: thanks for letting me check to the river too, heh.
SirFWALGMan checks.
reddogrs checks.
jsmcgruver checks.
** Dealing Turn ** :  [ Ts ]
SirFWALGMan bets (2)
reddogrs folds.
jsmcgruver folds.
** Summary **Main Pot: $5 Rake: $0Board: [ 4s 3c 9s Ts  ]
metsfanmo balance $34.75, didn't bet (folded)
sheldon47 balance $61.75, didn't bet (folded)
jsmcgruver balance $61.50, lost $1 (folded)
SirFWALGMan balance $82.98, bet $3, collected $5, net +$2
reddogrs balance $5.50, lost $1 (folded)
ACEYOU22 balance $11.75, didn't bet (folded)

I played a guy on Empire. He was calling me an XXXXXXX because I went in on 7-5 suited and caught a straight on the flop. In 6 handed play, I am in for almost any flush draw. I should be raising, but I am too passive for that. If I make 4 to my flush, then I am calling/raising to the river if I have 2-3 people in. This has made me some HUGE pots.  It got so that people knew I played any flush, and if they saw a flush possability they would immediatly fold to any bet I made. It was nice. Anyway, I kind of get pissed off when people tell me that I am playing badly. I know it should not bother me, but I like the way I play. Hell, I was up $95 for the night, I must have been doing something right! I recently have read alot about being aggresive on draw hands when there are enough people in to make pot odds. Maybe this is an advanced concept for the people I play with? Why can they not understand this? Well.. more money for me.

One other thing about this guy, he said that I make poker less fun for other people. HELLO! I hope I do make it less fun. I hope I kick you butt so bad you go home crying to mommy. Jackass. Like it is my job to play badly like him so that he will have "Fun" playing. Jesus!

 

Jury Doodie

I had jury duty today! Ug! What a lousy way to spend a morning. Actually the morning was pretty good. I played ½ hour of ½ poker before my court date. I played fairly well. I ended up down 3 bucks for the session. Not so bad since I was down twenty when I started the table. I got up early because I was afraid they would fine me, or something, if I was late. I guess not. Mr. Showupattenthirty apparently did not get in trouble.
 
I have only been called once in my 35 years on this earth, and that is plenty! Now I know some of you more civic minded people out there are going to give me a hard time for this post, and I probably agree with you somewhat, but I have a low tolerance for boredom! There is a great reason for this, when I am bored things break, or burn, or do other bad things. If I have nothing to do I get very antsy and somehow things get hurt. I should have been smarter and brought a few books. I did bring, and finally finish my Hold Em book. After that it was all Regis and Kitty or whoever that dumb blonde is on his show now. We did get to hear an interesting story about a stupid juror. I am not sure if this was made up, but I can believe there are people this stupid out there. Basically she got picked for a trial. Apparently the trial was going to take a little time, and really did not fit in with her schedule. So she announces to the other members of the jury that she is not going to show up the next day. She doesn’t, they tell, and she gets whacked with a 2K fine and another turn at jury duty. Moral of the story: The Judges are not amused with non-civic people!
 
The judge who came and talked for 15 minutes about what a great person I was for coming before telling me to leave was kind of interesting. He was very happy that I showed up, like I had a choice, and thought I was a great guy. I bet he does not know I never even voted until I got married. At least it was only 15 more minutes.
 
I was finally released from jail at around noontime. Having sat in two rooms, one of which was really hot, and never even seeing any of the scum I was supposed to convict. Oh well, better luck next time.
 
I had a backup plan in case I got on a long superior court case. The main reason I would not want this to happen is that I am self-employed. I am a contract programmer, and I would not get paid for this week. So not only was I tortured today, but it cost me at least $200, talk about S&M! Apparently a judge would think this was a lame excuse. So my plan: Take on a Texan Accent, and say something like “Is this here one of them tharrreee Black Cases, cause if it is I recahhnn he is guilty or it is only a matter of time, so we had better lock him up anyway!”. This might have worked. Who knows? Glad I did not have to try it. Just in case anyone in this PC crazy world thinks I really am a racist, it is true; I think all Texas talk like that!

Man what a month

Well,
It has been a month or so since my initial $50 deposit into Empire. All in all it has been an interesting month. My puny $50 climbed the heights of almost 1K, and has fallen back down. If nothing else this month I am getting experience, and playing hands. I have been reading alot of Poker books. One thing that stands out in something I was reading the other night "It does not matter if your hand is the best or not, what matters is if your getting the odds to make the call". It had the usual formulae, etc.. but the point was if your going for a flush draw or straight draw make sure it counts. If you are against one person and have a single card to go for your flush, fold it, or check it down to the river if he will let you. Why put $5 into a pot, just to gain $5 at the most. You want to try and make your flush when 4-5 people are in calling you all the way to the river. Even in bluffing -- why bluff that you have the trips when a scary flop comes up? Do you need to risk your bet to take such a small pot? Probably not.
 
Anyway, I have some goals for the next month. Basically I want to play like I did after I came down from my tilt. I was playing 1/2 until like 4AM this morning, and doing well. I probably only took $20 out of the pot for a couple of hours of play, but I think I played pretty well. I was playing the premium hands for the most part, where the rest of the table was raising A3. I had great reads on the other players. I even called someone down to the river who was pretending they had trips, but did not even have a pair. It was one of those calls where you have a feel for how the guy bets, and something did not add up.
 
I want to stay away from the 5/10 table, and be able to have losing sessions without self destructing. My bankroll can stand losing $40 on 1/2 table. I can make that back. When I start losing $100 at a time, that is when it gets iffy. So hopefully we see less of Sir Tilt-Alot in the future. Discipline is probably 90% of poker.
 
I need to get back to good, fundamental Poker. I think swimming with the fishies has lowered my standards too much. A3o is starting to look good to me. This is not a good thing. Second pair is looking like a playable hand! I have just been very inconsistent.
 
Anyway, I keep reminding myself I am a newbie, and it takes time to really become a player. If it was easy, then everyone would be Phil Helmuth. I have reached a level of skill, but have alot to work on. I will not always be able to runner-runner straight my way out of trouble!
 

Sir "Tilt" Alot

Man I suck! I pissed away my 900, and now I am back at $660. What a maroon! I went on a major tilt. Was down as low as 300, and then went to 10/20 and played for a while and made it back. I did very well at 10/20. I had my full stash in there. I caught a flush on the river that payed out nicely. The pot odds were there. Everyone yelled at me again! I had 4 to a flush going in, and people kept making the pot odds better for me, so I went for it. The rest of the night I tried to mostly play premium hands. It worked well. Oh well, I am tired and pissed and am going to sleep soon..
 
I have decided it is best if I do not play 5/10 until my roll is up to like 2000 or more because I cannot handle the downturns. Oh well. Better luck tomorrow.
 
 

OMG!!!

Ok. Now I am not proud of this play. But my Bankroll took a LARGE leap.
 
Seat 1: asharooky ( $227)
Seat 2: Harley50 ( $106)
Seat 3: SirFWALGMan ( $98)
Seat 4: gordini ( $113)
Seat 5: crownjoolz ( $283)
Seat 6: eagle97 ( $177.50)
 
BTW - Put ashrooky on your list. He is not a bad player, but he does not respect a flush or straight on the board.
 
asharooky  posts small blind (2)
Harley50  posts big blind (5)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SirFWALGMan [ Th, Qc ]
SirFWALGMan calls (5)
gordini calls (5)
eagle97 calls (5)
asharooky raises (8) to 10
Harley50 calls (5)
SirFWALGMan calls (5)
gordini calls (5)
eagle97 calls (5)
** Dealing Flop ** :  [ 7d, 8h, Qd ]
 
Ok. Not a bad flop for me. Got high pair. Ass-Rookie flopped a set.
 
asharooky bets (5)
Harley50 calls (5)
SirFWALGMan calls (5)
gordini calls (5)
eagle97 calls (5)
** Dealing Turn ** :  [ 9h ]
 
Ok. Straight possible. I guess I will bet. Probably kind of on a tilt.
 
asharooky bets (10)
Harley50 calls (10)
SirFWALGMan calls (10)
gordini calls (10)
eagle97 raises (20) to 20
asharooky raises (20) to 30
Harley50 folds.
SirFWALGMan calls (20)
gordini calls (20)
eagle97 raises (20) to 40
asharooky calls (10)
SirFWALGMan calls (10)
gordini calls (10)
 
** Dealing River ** :  [ 6c ]
 
Ok. The pot was REALLY huge and I figured I would see the river card. I *SHOULD* have never called the raises, but the money in the pot is aewsome. So I hit the runner-runner straight on the river. Now here is where the rest of the people made mistakes. BTW - I am scared of the higher straight, but I am commited now.
 
SirFWALGMan checks.
gordini checks.
eagle97 bets (10)
asharooky folds.
SirFWALGMan calls (10)
gordini calls (10)
 
** Summary **Main Pot: $273 Rake: $2Board: [ 7d 8h Qd 9h 6c  ]
 
SirFWALGMan balance $306, bet $65, collected $273, net +$208 [ Th Qc ]
[ a straight, six to ten -- Th,9h,8h,7d,6c ]
 
I have done this twice to people btw. Mostly when on tilt. I USUALLY play better than this. Anyway, sharing my shame, but my bankroll is up to $950 or so. Ya!
 
By the way does anyone know what You XXXXXing XXXX XXX XXXXX means?
  
  
 

I like it Al!

A few posts back I asked the question "Raise, Check or Fold". Now, AlCantHang answered my question on his Blog. His answer was "Raise or Fold". He then said something about his wife kicking his butt in poker. Anyway, I took his answer as meaning that he played with aggression. I am normally not a very aggressive person or Poker player, but I have been trying to add this to my game lately. Here is what I have found at the limit games. Aggression Rocks! I now have a policy, if my hand is good enough to stay in, it is good enough to bet. I cannot tell you how many checks I have done, letting people see the next card. Now the only time I will check, is if I am going to fold to any bets ahead of me. I also will play my premium hands with a raise. I normally would just limp into the pot.
 
The best place I have seen aggression work (and this does not always work) on several tables is with scary flops or high cards. If I get 33Q on the flop, I suspend  all belief and bet on it. Sometimes this works. People will think I at least have the Q because I am betting. I have gotten people to fold MANY times with this. When they do not fold, or raise me I usually back off and fold. This works a lot better once you hit a hot streak and everyone is scared of you. Obviously, it depends on the table too, if people are calling stations, then it will not work on them.
 
The other sneaky place I like to try to steal pots is when a few small cards and one large one come on the flop. I bet into it even if I do not have it. At the very least it tells people "He has the High Card". It is the best when the high card pairs up on the turn or river. Nobody is going to want to call you.
 
Obviously you need the right cards for these methods to work, but I had a VERY profitable night at 1/2 doing these little things. I played 3 tourneys and lost all 3 for $25, and I am still up almost $50 from my ring winnings.
 
So thanks for the advice Al! Maybe I totally mis-interpreted you, but its working for me. 
 
** Just a little update: I was watching Hollywood Homegame or something like that last night. Howard Lederer was doing commentary. His exact words: "In Poker Agression is good".

Mild-Stone

Well,
 
My first Milestone happened last night. I finally cashed out some earnings. I was going to cash out $50 at $500, but then decided to wait until $600 because $500 seemed to take a while.. and then I said, well, lets wait till $650 so I can stay over $600. So here I am.. Fifty in the bank, and $605 or so online.
 
I was on a little bender last night. I do not think it was exactly a tilt, because I would play well, make some money, go somewhere else for some fun, and lose it, then make some more.. I was determined to break even I think! So after several hours I end up $5. Yay BB per hour!
 
High points of the night:
 
Flopped qaud 3's. Played them to the river. Then got someone to cap betting against me on the river, when he made his straight or flush or something. It rocks to flop quads. I have no problem slow playing them. The one time this does not work and I get beat by higher quads is ok with me.
 
Tried some $25 NL. I was up $25 at my 1/2 table, and figured what the hell. I found it to be rather boring at times. I mean the pots were .50/1 usually. I won a couple all in's, folded a straight because someone put me all in with 2 pair!! Then went all in with a lower two pair than someone else. Pretty much played poorly, but it was fun to try it. I may give it another shot at sometime. I was given the advice to wait .. wait .. wait .. until I have the NUTS and then always go all in, and some dummy would double me up. Guess I got bored waiting.
 
Took $50 to the 5/10 table after I won it at 1/2. The 1/2 tables were good tonight. Lost the $50 quickly when my straight was beaten by a larger straight. One hole I see in my game is getting suckered in when I *think* I have the NUTS, and some just keeps raising me. I need to slow down and think about what I am doing.
 
Took $100 to the 5/10 tables a few times. At one point in time I had my bankroll up to $700 and proceeded to pee it away! Like I said, I was determined to break even last night. I really should not be playing 5/10. I think I have the skill for Empire 5/10 fishies (I am slightly less fishy I think), but I really do not have the bankroll to sustain a few loses at that level. Once I get to like $2000 I will probably mostly play 5/10. At this rate that should be in about another month.
 
Took $10 to a tourney game. I went out on my first hand. I had A-10s, and two callers went all in. So I said wtf! That buys me a finish. So I see there cards. It is like KJo, and 55 against me. Not bad! Could I get a freaking Ace to help me? No. Is it just me or do other people always lose money with the premium hands? I cannot tell you how many times I have lost with Big Slick Suited.
 
I find my game is better at 5/10. At least for now. Here is why. I think I play better when I am at least a little scared. I tend to be more patient, wait for more cards, etc.. That is why I think at 1/2 I did well with a $10 stake. Once I get some money under my belt, then I get dangerous. Start seeing flops with K6o, A3o, hey, the last guy won with A high!! Why can't I! I think I have become used to 1/2, so 5/10 is the next logical step once the bankroll is up. I have had probably 15 sessions of 5/10 and would say that 10 of them were positive, and 5 negative. I am probably up 200-300 bucks in 5/10.  Hey, I finally found a reason to buy Poker Tracker! I need to know these stats a little better. Remember "Bankroll is not a good measure of how you are doing". Maybe I will buy that puppy now that I am playing more ring games.
 
Guiness and Poker had a picture of a couple of nerd playing poker. One of the nerds (I will call him Big Boned Blue Shirt Guy) looks like a buddy I knew a few years back. It is really funny. His name was Ron D. I wonder if it was him? I could imagine him doing this. We were big computer geeks in school, and played endless computer games, etc.. The next logical move is to Online Poker! Anyway, that would be really funny.. Ron, if your out there, drop me a line! heh.
 
 

Al Can Hang Anytime..

I know.. I know.. I am over Blogging. I had a really good post for tonight too. But I had to post this! I got a line on AlCantHang (Never know if I should put spaces in there somewhere).
Here is is:

"To SirFWALGMan's question about Raise, Bet, or Check? Raise or Fold! (Now do you understand why the wifey is better than me?)"

I am truely honored!

Nothing Much

Not too much to report. Had a decent night session that brought me just over $600, then got killed this morning. Lost $40. I was chasing a little too much. I did get some bad luck also. Sample:

Sir gets QQ55, beaten by QQ66. Damn! I hate that! What are the odds that someone will have Q6 and pair up, when you have Q5 and pair up? Here is an even better one. Sir has 77. Checking into the pot. Flops is 27A rainbow. Sir is doing well! Sir Raises as he should. He is called. 10s comes. No help to anyone. Sir Bets. 1 Guy in Calls. Aces on the river. Sir knows he is beat, but has to call the last bet to keep the guy honest. Whatever the hell that means. Anyway, that was the start of the morning.

So, in my usual tilt fashion, I go to the 5/10 ATM, and put $50 down. Take out almost $130 to get myself back over $600. Not bad. I have got to stop doing that. I would actually like to play 5/10 a little more often because A) It is no harder than 1/2, B) It is more profitable, C) I am crazy, D) All of the above. Anyway, I am not ready to play it regular. Once my stack gets over the 1K mark maybe more often. 2K then sure, why not.

On the nerd front I am thinking of making a web service for Poker Blogs. I spent way too much time going to a Blog only to see it has not been updated! Why oh why have you kept me waiting for a day Felicia!! The whole purpose of this service would be to check every poker blog I read daily, and see when they last updated their pages. It would then spit out an HTML page that had every link, and the last updated date. Possibly another method in this web service would be called with a date parameter and either return the ones that have been updated, or put a nice shiny star by them or something. Anyway, just nerding out and thinking of doing a small project. Anyone think this would be useful?

Two Table Tumble

Is it just me or is it hard to two table? I like to multitask. I tried it for the first time last week, and had wanted to write something up on it. I kept writing other things though. Maybe I write too much! It my Blog though, so I can ruin it if I want!

Anyway, I think two tables might be the wrong thing for me. I am the guy in the supermarket that gets pissed if you cut in the deli line, even if the line is not well defined. I am the guy who thinks it is extremely rude to drive 65 in the breakdown lane even if it is open. I do not like to make people wait. So, two tabling makes me tense! I am looking at my one table and suddenly the second table blinks. I have to get back there! I am holding people up! What a rude bastard I am! Then my first table starts blinking again! Arg! What to do! I am getting dizzy. Might as well bet my 6 high when there is a flush on the board. No time to look. Cannot think! Down $40 real quick!! Seacreast Out! Am I the only one who gets a bad headache when two tabling?

Good Night..

I had a nice night at the 1/2 and tourney. I placed 2nd, out, out in 5/1 tourneys. So was ahead by like 3 bucks there. Not so bad. Not so good. The first table I was at I took $20 and made it $50. I did the same on the second table. Or something like that. So now I am up to $582. Going to cash out $50 as a gift once I get to $600. I hear there is a cash out curse, but people have to do it sometime! The second table I was on I did nothing that required skill. I just got AEWSOME cards. Here is a sample:

***** Hand History for Game 750198883 *****
1/2 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Tue Jul 13 22:09:33 EDT 2004
Table Table 10839 (6 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: Flag2 ( $24.50)
Seat 2: SirFWALGMan ( $16)
Seat 3: Tghtgrl ( $49.50)
Seat 4: hoefertg ( $28.75)
Seat 5: Sodomizer ( $48.25)
Seat 6: thaiwin ( $28.50)
hoefertg posts small blind (0.50)
Sodomizer posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SirFWALGMan [ Jc, Tc ]
thaiwin calls (1)
Flag2 calls (1)
SirFWALGMan calls (1)
Tghtgrl folds.
hoefertg calls (0.50)
Sodomizer checks.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Td, 4s, 5h ]
hoefertg checks.
Sodomizer checks.
thaiwin checks.
Flag2 checks.
SirFWALGMan bets (1)
hoefertg folds.
Sodomizer calls (1)
thaiwin folds.
Flag2 calls (1)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Kc ]
Sodomizer checks.
Flag2 checks.
SirFWALGMan checks.
** Dealing River ** : [ Jh ]
Sodomizer checks.
Flag2 bets (2)
SirFWALGMan raises (4) to 4
Sodomizer folds.
Flag2 calls (2)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $15.25 | Rake: $0.75
Board: [ Td 4s 5h Kc Jh ]
Flag2 balance $18.50, lost $6 [ Ac Ks ] [ a pair of kings -- Ac,Ks,Kc,Jh,Td ]
SirFWALGMan balance $25.25, bet $6, collected $15.25, net +$9.25 [ Jc Tc ] [ two pairs, jacks and tens -- Kc,Jc,Jh,Tc,Td ]
Tghtgrl balance $49.50, didn't bet (folded)
hoefertg balance $27.75, lost $1 (folded)
Sodomizer balance $46.25, lost $2 (folded)
thaiwin balance $27.50, lost $1 (folded)

=============================================
Not sure if I could have done some check/raise
stuff at the end to get a bigger pot. I think
I played this with the correct aggression level
in betting once I got the 2 pairs.
=============================================

***** Hand History for Game 750201656 *****
1/2 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Tue Jul 13 22:10:27 EDT 2004
Table Table 10839 (6 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: Flag2 ( $18.50)
Seat 2: SirFWALGMan ( $25.25)
Seat 3: Tghtgrl ( $49.50)
Seat 4: hoefertg ( $27.75)
Seat 5: Sodomizer ( $46.25)
Seat 6: thaiwin ( $27.50)
Sodomizer posts small blind (0.50)
thaiwin posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SirFWALGMan [ As, 2s ]
Flag2 folds.
SirFWALGMan raises (2) to 2
Tghtgrl folds.
hoefertg raises (3) to 3
Sodomizer folds.
thaiwin folds.
SirFWALGMan calls (1)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 5h, 6c, 4c ]
SirFWALGMan checks.
hoefertg bets (1)
SirFWALGMan calls (1)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 3d ]
SirFWALGMan bets (2)
hoefertg raises (4) to 4
SirFWALGMan calls (2)
** Dealing River ** : [ Qd ]
SirFWALGMan checks.
hoefertg checks.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $16.75 | Rake: $0.75
Board: [ 5h 6c 4c 3d Qd ]
Flag2 balance $18.50, didn't bet (folded)
SirFWALGMan balance $34, bet $8, collected $16.75, net +$8.75 [ As 2s ] [ a straight, two to six -- 6c,5h,4c,3d,2s ]
Tghtgrl balance $49.50, didn't bet (folded)
hoefertg balance $19.75, lost $8 [ Qs Ah ] [ a pair of queens -- Ah,Qs,Qd,6c,5h ]
Sodomizer balance $45.75, lost $0.50 (folded)
thaiwin balance $26.50, lost $1 (folded)

===========================================================
Would have folded if I did not get the straight on the turn,
but I think I did well. One thing I did not like -- I checked
at the end. I probably should have raised. I could have been
up against the high side of the straight. This kind of hand
scares me a little, so I just bet 1 unit, and call and bets.
Probably need to play these stronger.
===========================================================

***** Hand History for Game 750208160 *****
1/2 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Tue Jul 13 22:12:34 EDT 2004
Table Table 10839 (6 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: Flag2 ( $20.50)
Seat 2: SirFWALGMan ( $33)
Seat 3: Tghtgrl ( $55)
Seat 4: hoefertg ( $18.75)
Seat 5: Sodomizer ( $44.75)
Seat 6: thaiwin ( $21.50)
SirFWALGMan posts small blind (0.50)
Tghtgrl posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SirFWALGMan [ 3d, 6h ]
hoefertg calls (1)
Sodomizer folds.
thaiwin calls (1)
Flag2 calls (1)
SirFWALGMan calls (0.50)
Tghtgrl checks.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 4h, 6s, 3h ]
SirFWALGMan bets (1)
Tghtgrl calls (1)
hoefertg folds.
thaiwin folds.
Flag2 calls (1)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 7h ]
SirFWALGMan checks.
Tghtgrl checks.
Flag2 bets (2)
SirFWALGMan calls (2)
Tghtgrl folds.
** Dealing River ** : [ 3s ]
SirFWALGMan bets (2)
Flag2 calls (2)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $15.25 | Rake: $0.75
Board: [ 4h 6s 3h 7h 3s ]
Flag2 balance $14.50, lost $6 [ 7s Jh ] [ two pairs, sevens and threes -- Jh,7s,7h,3h,3s ]
SirFWALGMan balance $42.25, bet $6, collected $15.25, net +$9.25 [ 3d 6h ] [ a full house, Threes full of sixes -- 6h,6s,3d,3h,3s ]
Tghtgrl balance $53, lost $2 (folded)
hoefertg balance $17.75, lost $1 (folded)
Sodomizer balance $44.75, didn't bet (folded)
thaiwin balance $20.50, lost $1 (folded)

================================================
Got the boat with 6-3's I limped in on! I mean I could
not lose a hand for a while at this table! It was really nice.
================================================

***** Hand History for Game 750219796 *****
Flag2 has left the table.
1/2 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Tue Jul 13 22:16:17 EDT 2004
Table Table 10839 (6 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 2: SirFWALGMan ( $42.25)
Seat 3: Tghtgrl ( $47)
Seat 4: hoefertg ( $30.75)
Seat 5: Sodomizer ( $50)
Seat 6: thaiwin ( $12.50)
thaiwin posts small blind (0.50)
SirFWALGMan posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SirFWALGMan [ Kh, Ah ]
Tghtgrl calls (1)
hoefertg folds.
Sodomizer raises (2) to 2
thaiwin folds.
SirFWALGMan raises (2) to 3
Tghtgrl folds.
Sodomizer calls (1)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 8d, Qh, Kc ]
SirFWALGMan bets (1)
Sodomizer calls (1)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 9h ]
SirFWALGMan bets (2)
Sodomizer calls (2)
** Dealing River ** : [ 8h ]
SirFWALGMan bets (2)
Sodomizer calls (2)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $16.75 | Rake: $0.75
Board: [ 8d Qh Kc 9h 8h ]
SirFWALGMan balance $51, bet $8, collected $16.75, net +$8.75 [ Kh Ah ] [ a flush, ace high -- Ah,Kh,Qh,9h,8h ]
Tghtgrl balance $46, lost $1 (folded)
hoefertg balance $30.75, didn't bet (folded)
Sodomizer balance $42, lost $8 [ Qd Ad ] [ two pairs, queens and eights -- Ad,Qd,Qh,8d,8h ]
thaiwin balance $12, lost $0.50 (folded)

===================================================
Big Slick Suited Finally payed off for me. I got another
one tonight and lost! I do not
know why, but Big Slick hardly ever pays off for me!
===================================================

***** Hand History for Game 750223057 *****
1/2 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Tue Jul 13 22:17:19 EDT 2004
Table Table 10839 (6 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 2: SirFWALGMan ( $50.50)
Seat 3: Tghtgrl ( $44)
Seat 4: hoefertg ( $33.25)
Seat 5: Sodomizer ( $42)
Seat 6: thaiwin ( $12)
Tghtgrl posts small blind (0.50)
hoefertg posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SirFWALGMan [ 9s, Ad ]
Sodomizer folds.
thaiwin calls (1)
SirFWALGMan calls (1)
Tghtgrl calls (0.50)
hoefertg checks.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 3h, Jd, As ]
Tghtgrl checks.
hoefertg checks.
thaiwin bets (1)
SirFWALGMan raises (2) to 2
Tghtgrl folds.
hoefertg folds.
thaiwin calls (1)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Ac ]
thaiwin checks.
SirFWALGMan bets (2)
thaiwin calls (2)
** Dealing River ** : [ 4h ]
thaiwin checks.
SirFWALGMan bets (2)
thaiwin calls (2)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $15.25 | Rake: $0.75
Board: [ 3h Jd As Ac 4h ]
SirFWALGMan balance $58.75, bet $7, collected $15.25, net +$8.25 [ 9s Ad ] [ three of a kind, aces -- Ad,As,Ac,Jd,9s ]
Tghtgrl balance $43, lost $1 (folded)
hoefertg balance $32.25, lost $1 (folded)
Sodomizer balance $42, didn't bet (folded)
thaiwin balance $5, lost $7 [ Kh Jh ] [ two pairs, aces and jacks -- As,Ac,Kh,Jh,Jd ]

=========================================
Nice Trips on an Ace, 9 hand!
=========================================

Anyway, sorry to bore you with my hands. I was on fire! I could not lose! Once I came back to earth, I dropped $10 of my winnings, and went home. It is fine to dominate a table!

The Feeling..

There is no better feeling than being on a super hot streak. A streak where nothing you do can go wrong. The hands you fold make boats, and the ones you keep make quads. You check on 2-3, and flop a boat! You know you are on one of these super streaks when even the fish start folding any hand you are in. You are a shark like shadow causing them to scurry in all directions. All bow down to the mighty power of SIR!

There is no worse feeling than being on a super cold streak. A streak where nothing you do can go right. Your trips are trumped by higher trips, your quads by a straight flush. Has anyone ever had their straight flush trumped by a Royal Straight Flush? You bet your Rockets hard and crash and burn. The cowboys ride off in the sunset. The Hiltons suck off your pot. The Hookers bleed you dry. You start trying to make something with A-2 because nothing else is coming up. You start playing your cards really slow, which slows the bleeding, but does not stop it. You become scared of every hand you play. Even the fish are feeding on your dead sharky carcass. All come and feed on the mighty SIR!

I prefer the average nights. You have your “A” game going on. You make the right decisions. Figure out when to lay down, when to bet more. Your pile fluctuates a little, but steadily it starts climbing, and before you know it your walking away with a nice pot. All come and watch the game played the way it should be.

Raise, Bet or Check

Anyone have any good guidelines on raising bets. I have up until now slow played alot of my hands. Especially AJ, AQ.. even AA! I would always bet AA, but not always raise it if I was bet to. I also was leary of re-raising a bet.

How do you bet A-10+, A-10+ suited, K-10+, K-10+ suited, Q-10+, Q-10+ suited, J-10+, J-J-10+ suited. How about 10+ pairs, 9 or less pairs? Suited Connectors? Un-suited? Do you raise any, raise to 2 bets, check, fold? How much does position effect this for you? Any good articles around?

I tried to be more aggresive tonight with mixed results. I lost my first $20 on a 1/2 table after going up and down alot. I was up like $20 at one point, and then got sucked out on the river for a huge bet. I probably should have slowed down as the bets were being capped on each level. The #&**&$ that got me had nothing except and inside straight draw until the river. ** Oh wait, I did that to someone once, $200 pot, hmm **. Anyway the second table I went to was MY table. WHATEVER I played came out. The first 6 hands I played were something like Flush, Flush, Boat, 3 Kind, 2 Pair. I folded 4-2 and
it flopped 4-4-3. I turned my $20 into $70 in about 10 minutes, and then left. It was getting late, and I was happy with the pot. The guys at the table were scared though. I had 4 to a flush on the turn and everyone folded out to my bet.

So my aggresive betting was mixed results, and too few hands to make much of. Hence, the search for information. I beleive I need to be more aggresive. Mixed results on handling losing too. I was going to stop at < $20, but did not. Probably should have. I was able to stop when I was ahead a bit. Will see what happens tomorrow.

Perspective

"The single greatest key to winning in poker is knowing thy enemy — yourself."
Andy Glazer

Grabbed that from Guiness and Poker. Excellent writing there. Although it is REALLY long. Anyway, that Andy guy could really sum things up. I have been thinking about my Poker playing lately. I think I am being a little hard on myself. I mean lets get real. I have been playing for about two months. Of course I have an inflated opinion of myself.

As I nursed my $50 up to $500 I thought "I cannot lose", "I am the best poker player of my generation". Ha! What it really says is I am a young poker player. Sometimes I am on my game, sometimes not so much. I am prone to making mistakes, and even one big mistake can kill you in a ring game or tourney.

It is nice to get back to earth. I hope to keep improving my game. I hope to get used to variance. Everyone gets it. Just because I did not see much of it on my rise (ha!), does not mean I am not going to have off times. So anyway, I need to keep playing, and keep trying to manage my money correctly.

One bad thing about internet Poker is it feeds my personality way to much. I was always that nerd kid, playing games in his dark basement for hour-upon-hour, Doom, Quake, Half Life, Warcraft! I would spend hours playing these games, literaly until my hand cramped up and I had to stop. Not sure what void I am trying to fill here, but that is another Blog. I think online poker has the same draw as video games. The money does not seem real. Need to play until I beat the game. Just a thought. It is kind of funny how Poker really makes you think about yourself, and the inner workings of people in general. Dr Freud signing off.

I love 5-10.. But Still a Moron

I have to tell you all, I am a tilt machine. I need to take a break from poker or something. Did my big yo-yo thing again. Took my $500 down to $200, and then back up to $500. Nice, huh? Anyway, I will say I have no fear of moving up to 5/10 once I have a bigger banroll. I have had 10 sessions at 5/10 and only lost during 2 of them. The others I have made between $100 and $300 each session. I really like 6 seated $10. I have a good plan in it. I play conservativly, and do not get drawn into bidding wars. I actually got drawn in a couple of times, and my flushes were beaten by houses. This caused massive drains to my winnings.

My sister got bailed out by her neighbor. I guess it might be interesting to let you all know why my sister deserves to do at least a little time, or hard labor. heh. She has always been a theif. She stole money from my parents. She stole my credit card number from her birthday gift, and ran up a grand. This is a 33 year old woman with a child who only moved out like 3 years ago. My parents have done nothing except bail her out everytime. I pressed charges against her, and got the charges taken off of my account. My parents paid the money back for her. Anyway, now she skipped a court date, so had a warrent out on her. The police called my parents house and told her to come down. They then booked her. I think the best thing for her would be like 6 months in jail or something.. but we will see..

Anyway, I am tired, dissapointed, and going to get some sleep.

On Another Note..

Had a good session. Not too tilty. I think I really HATE losing, and go on tilts more because of this than anything else. It is not the money. The $450 that I have made so far is like a days work for me, so it is not that. I decided to cool off a little and play a few 5/1 tourneys. The good thing is I get to play for a decent amount of time, and I do not risk much. Came in 3rd three times and out of the money once. So not too bad. Then took like 10-15 out of the 1/2 tables.

On a different note, my sister took a huge gamble and lost. I am not sure about the details, but she ended up getting arrested last night. She has always done what she wanted, without regard to anyone else, so I am not surprised she was arrested. It was just a matter of time. My parents have always bailed her out of these situations. They basically could not come up with the $250 bail. Her best friend would not lend it to her, so her neighbor bailed her out. Good lesson to you parens out there -- if your kids do something wrong, do not bail them out, it will teach them not to be jerks the rest of there lives.

What a doof..

Man.. I am such a freaking tilt head. Here are the shamefull details. So, I am going on full tilt. Lost like $80. So stayed up most of the night, lost some more, went to sleep.

Played alot this morning. Got some of it back, then lost alot. I then wasted $50 in a 5/10 ring game. Lost that. So I take $100 and try again. I am now down to $200 from my original $489. So I am playing, getting frustrated, nothing is working. So I call 3 raised with a J8c. I mean that is a FULL tilt move! Thirty bucks brings me down to $40 left. Flop comes 5c6h7h. So I have 4 to a straight and 3 to a flush. Bet. Raise. I put my $20 in like a FULL TILT IDIOT! Next card 10c. Ok. Four to a flush, four to a straight. Looking better. I already put my full $100 in. WTF. I do not care at this point. I call. Down to my last $10. BAM! Hit my straight on the river!!! Bet. Raise. Raise. Everything is in. I beat AA with J8c. You have NEVER heard so much swearing. In that one 3 way pot, I made $240, and got back to $440. If I was in a live guy, the guy with AA would have jumped over the table and torn my head off. I know I did the wrong thing, and just by shear luck got paid off, but I was laughing my ass off. What a fish I am becoming! Although, I have to say, if you have a single pair, and people are betting into you and not stopping, well, a pair is just a pair. I could have just as easily gotten 2 pair and beat him.

Anyway, this week I am going to focus only on discipline. Do not care if I win or lose. I will bet $10 per day. When it is gone I will stop. I really hate losing. I have to get used to the fact that I am going to lose. Some weeks are going to be better than others, and I need to keep things in control.

Back at Center..

I just realized that something I do leads towards tilts. I have received advice from Sloe and Chris that make sense. The way I have been betting is taking like $10, putting it in, trying to make something of it, and if I do not I buy in again.. now, when I am on a tilt, its just like 10 more.. 10 more.. 10 more.. which is REALLY bad as the tilt gets into full gear. I think I will start taking $40, and putting it all in, and when that is over then my 1/2 play is over for the night. I think $40 is enough for me to see how I am doing.

Anyway, had a better night so far. Made like $30 at the 1/2 tables. I am probably gonna play a little later when the kids are sleeping. Up to $449. Seem to be able to make about $50 a day at the 1/2's. I still want to do Tourneys because the WSOP is every Internet players fantasy!

One last thing on tilts. There is a nice article series on Tilts, and how to notice someone is on one, and take advantage! Also, how to keep away from them.. It is by Alan Schoonmaker who does alot of posts in the 2+2 psycho section. Not sure what I think about poker Psychology but it was a good read.

Alan Schoonmaker Articles

The Worst 40 of my Career

I HATE the tilt! It makes me feel like a 2 bit hooker with a bad heroin addiction. No offence to any 2 bit hookers with bad heriod addictions who might be reading this. Man did I have a bad night. The worst part about it is I am up $40. I have gone one three tilts in my short Poker career so far, and came out even or ahead on all three. I know this cannot last. I have the symptoms of the worst tilt. Deteriorating play, moving up levels to try and win it all back, etc.. etc.. I was thinking I was getting this part of my game under control to. I just could not stop last night.

Anyway the quick recap. It was a weird night. I was playing 1/2, and losing badly, and then playing worse. Talk about a fish! It was not all on bad calls. I had 2 boats beaten by higher boats, played some hight pairs to the river for some decent loses. I never really know how far to take a high pair. They seem to lose for more more often than not. I was the ATM tonight. I dropped $40 in like 2 hours. Also, I had the Hilton Sister twice. Know what those biatches did to me? Killed my cable connection! I swear it was spooky. The connection went out 3 times last night, twice in a row when I had the Hiltons! I should have gone to sleep the second time.

Anyway, losing $40 is probably not too bad. I then proceeded to have my best session every at 1/2. I turned my $10 into $110 in about an hour. Go! Go! So then I tell myself, "Let's cap it at $90 if I start losing". Ha! 80? Ok. 70? Well, $50 sucks, need to keep playing, ..40.. 20 .. 6.52.. 0? DAMN! Now is the time to REALLY tilt. I am down to $323, so I go and play some 4/6 for a while. Up to $60, lose it all. So I take $100 and go play some 5/10. Now I need to say I hate playing 10 sided, and love playing with 6 people. I seem to do much better, probably because the pace is faster, and smaller good hands hold up better. Needless to say, the 5/10 games have alot of fishies too. I ended up $220 in a very short time. Once my stack gets to $1000 I think I am going to take another $100 and see what I can do with it in 5/10. Probably want to have a good size bankroll before I play it regular.

End result I made like $40 last night, but it is the worst $40 I have made in my short Poker career. I wish I was down $20 instead.

Popular

So, as my self obsessed, nerd, wanna be the best type personality tends to
do, I start checking out the old search engine for my Poker Blog. I start
with the easiest search that could possibly come up, SirFWALGMan. Zing.
Several Hits. Ok, so there just links to posts I have made on 2+2, Sloe and
the Fat Guy.. but what the hell. At least it came up!

Let's try MSN and see what happens there. Pretty much the same thing. Same
sites. Maybe a few less. Ok. Not so promising yet. Then I go to Yahoo! the
best of the Search Engines -- and there it is "Online Poker Thoughts" the
SirFWALGMan site! Number one baby! When all of those surfers out there do a
search for FWALGMan there going to get me! Ya Baby! I can see the Amazon
royalties coming in.

Rising high like I just his quads in a huge pot, I decide to try a more
robust search sentence. "Online Poker Thoughts". I mean someone *MIGHT*
type that in a search engine, right? BAM! Number one again! Woo Hoo! I am
doing so well. I can bet anything now.

Obviously, here comes the tilt. I try a search for "Online Poker Blog". So
Im like 10 pages in, still no Sir.. well .. maybe 20? Nope. 100? Ok, I am
not THAT pathetic. Anyway, nice to see my Blog come up somewhere in the
world.

Are we all alike..

It seemed to me, looking through all the Poker Blogs today, that the type's of people writing Poker Blogs are somewhat similar. I counted at least 4 IT people (including myself), MANY MANY evil empire Yankee fans. *grumble* .. like beating Red Sox Fans better .. *grr* Probably my sample size is too small, but it was kind of interesting.

For you IT nerds out there, I was messing with an BHO today in C#. A BHO is a Browser Helper Object. Someone was paying me to design the framework of one for him, so I made one that increases the size of all Image Borders on every page I visit. It is very annoying, but cool also. Go figure. Now if I made all the images replaced by a nude [fill in the blank sexy person] then that would be really nice! Or maybe make everything beer? The sexy thing sounds like a really good joke on the boss if I quit someday. He would NEVER be able to browse again. That would rock! *evil* .. *taking* .. *over* *body* *must* .. *resist*.

Anyway, had a short session this morning. It has been great. My daughter has been waking me up at 6AM, and that gives me a good hour to play. Just pop the bottle in her mouth, and come up in an hour when I need to shower and go to work. Picked up another $20 this morning. I am looking forward to when my $50 finally becomes $500. It has taken about a month, maybe slightly more. After losing $200 while trying to learn the game, it is exciting to be doing well. When I hit $500 I am going to take my $50 out as a reward. Do not want to lower my bankroll by any substantial amount, but would like to see something come out. Anyway, will keep you posted. I think my next thing to try is playing multiple tables. The 1/2$ games all seem profitable, and you do not have to think that much, so why not 2 tables.. then 4.. see how it goes. Hope empire allows this. Oh well.

Still Working..

I want to thank Chris for his advice. It was excellent. He said that I should probably be going into these games 1/2 with $50. For now, I am going to ignore his advice, but he is absolutely right. The reason I am going to ignore him for now is my system is working well. I am having AEWSOME results.

I put $10 in tonight and made it $66 as we speak in like 10 minutes. The best hand of the night. I am just calling my middle pair along because people are letting me. I have K2d. The flop is a diamond. Ok. Everyone checks. Next card is a diamond. Someone finally bets. I say what the hell. Pot is nice. River is a diamond. I bet. Raise. Raise. Raise. Raise. Raise. All the way to full and I take a nice $40 pot with K high flush. I swear you cannot lose on these tables. You guys should come by and play with me (or at least watch).

I am hoping to put my pot over $400 tonight. Will keep you updated.

Just called AK down to the end with a pair of A's. Raising all the way to the river. Up to a 28$ pot. A lot of stress with one pair, but I figured it might stand up at these tables. Up to $68.30. Ok, you can lose a few hands here. That is why my $28 only got me up a buck. Oh well.

I have a pet hand now. It is 5-3. Also 7-2 is nice whenever I get it. 5-3 has given me a Boat and 2 Pair, and some big wins.

This table is like my ATM machine. I enter some numbers, sit around for a few minutes, and take some cash out. Really nice. If you every see jazzstepa, go to his table. He is a betting/calling station. Has paid me off well. I know whenever I check him, I am going to get bet against. Also, he is not going to consider anyone having better cards than him. If he has middle pair, he is betting all the way to the river. Of course I just lost to his AK.. oh well, A8 was not a great call. It was suited. Down to $52. Going to leave if I hit $50. Only problem with an EASY table is you start playing down to there level.

Just got beaten by 5-3 on the river. See, this is a powerfull hand. Does it have a name?
Payback. Open ended straight landed. Decent pot. Only one guy calling me to the river.
How do you call at the river with high card A? Not sure. Oh well.

I think jazzy is going to give me one last huge pot. I have that feeling.

Folded 5-3 by accident. 4 to a flush.. 5-3 makes the flush on the river! Now I am convinced that 5-3 rocks!! How to tell a table sucks -- Nobody ever folds on the flop. My man jazz called K6 on the river, with Aces on the board. WTF! He actually did win that one.

Made $22 on trip 6's. That was nice. Went on a little tilt. Hate playing down to the fishes level. Down to $44. Should leave. Waiting for one more monster hand. Folded A2, that would have killed a J4. Each of us had 2 pair. Oh well. Ended up at +30$ for the session. Not so bad. Kept chasing crap towards the end. So with my minus $10 for a tourney, I am up $20 for the night.

Just wondering for other people playing .50/1 or 1/2, what do you usually take in a night, playing between 2-5 hours?

Anatomy of a Poker Blog

1. Get excited about playing Poker
2. Decide you need to have a Poker Blog to track your progress towards your eventual WSOP win. This will make the book you write about your WSOP experience easier.
3. Start Blogging. Write some good stuff about your tilts, loosing money, how your getting better even though your losing a lot of money, etc..
4. Wonder why nobody reads your Blog. It is good, right? Who cares! I am doing this for myself!!! .. anyone out there .. ?
5. Read every Blog you can. Drop subtle hints like “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LINK TO MY BLOG”, so you can get some feedback on your writing.
6. Receive your first “BLOG COMMENT” this is a BIG day! You are now established. All Hail your Blog!
7. Decide, since your Blog is now famous, that it needs enhancements. Steal every good Poker Blog idea and put it on your site. Of course the change of the text from black to purple makes your implementation unique. Add the mandatory winnings counter, and “Blogs I Read” Sections.
8. Decide your Blog is sooo famous, you now have 5 comments, that you should profit from it. Add the Empire Poker Affiliate Link, as well as the Amazon.com Poker Book links.
9. Figure out you are an expert at Poker after a good night and start giving people advice.
10. Refer to Chris, Iggy, Lord Geznikor, and Felicia as your buddies. You have their utmost respect! Your with the IN crowd.
11. Run out of good material and start posting your hands on a nightly basis.
12. Really run out of things to say and start talking about your Cat Felix.
13. Really .. Really .. Really .. run out of good material and start doing lists.
14. Go on an amazing tilt, lose all desire to play Poker (Not to mention your money), and stop Blogging, citing “Amazing amount of work lately” or “My Cat Felix Died and I just cannot Blog anymore”.

Andy Glazer

I was reading all of the posts about Andy Glazer passing away. I had never read anything by him. I went by http://guinnessandpoker.blogspot.com, and they had an article posted there. Very good reading. The guy was an excellent writer and knew his poker if nothing else. I wish his family the best.

Idiots Abound

Someone tonight was trying to tell me that my flush call was bad tonight. I made the flush on the river. I could have been beat by 2 cards, AQ of Spades if that made a flush. The pot was $25 which is 12xBB. So I had 12xBB vs 4-1 odds to make my flush. I can see how someone would think this was a bad bet. It is most definatly not. The reason for this -- over the LONG run I am going to make my flush 1 of 4 times. So, if I am making 12 times by bet for the flush, I am going to be up over the long run. It is very important in limit Hold Em to see what the pot odds are. If you do not understand this then you should not play. I hate when people try to give me bad advice. Anyway, I ended up another $30 on 1/2$. I was up 47$ at one point. Probably should have left, but I was kinda pissed at mister advice.. so I decided to give him 17 bucks back. Good call. Oh well. I am still learning to curb my emotions.

Sweet Night

I am playing still. I started out slowly. Lost 1/2$ for $20. Placed 3rd and lost a 5/1 tourney. I then went to fish heaven. I mean A high calling my flush. I took $10 and made it $80 at one point, then sunk it to $70 before I left. Not bad for a night of 1/2. I just could not lose. It was one of those nights where you play 7-2 as a joke, and win! Every single time! I am very happy with my 1/2$ strategy. I take $10 and play it as long as I can. If I go out, I might buy in again for another 10 at a different table. If I get to 40 bucks, I cap my loses back off at $30. I then increase the bottom level for every extra 10$ I win. It has been a good strategy so far. Anyway, I am in a $10 Tourney now. Figure I would blow some of my winnings. If I have a good night tomorrow, I am going to try some 2/4 or 3/6 for a few hands (same strategy, but with $20 or $30 instead of $10). I will keep you posted on the results.

Some thoughts..

I think my tourney play has suffered recently as my ring game has gotten better. I think this is because the two are diametrically opposed. Now, the same kind of play, going in with good starting cards, etc.. works in both, but I think in tourneys you need to screw pot odds and think survival. I might be wrong about this. It seems though, that when I play more aggressively, I end up losing more in tourneys. In a ring game, it might be a good bet to try and draw out a flush, and take a large pot. In the long run you will win more. In a tourney, it might just cripple you enough to lose it all. When I play very conservatively in tourneys I almost always finish top 3. I loosen up when it gets down to the 3 final players, but it seems like playing super tight until the end pays off more often than not in the single table tourneys.

On the other hand, I think that ring games are FAR more profitable than tourneys. I can take out 10-50 a session in a 1/2 ring right now, where it might take a while to do that in tourney play. I do not think I will give up on tourneys. There is something to be said about being BIG DOG, numero UNO, better than the other 9 players! As far as making money though, I am going to focus on the rings more. Once I get my pot up a little I will probably move up to 2/4 or 3/6. I think my pot is a good size for 1/2. Not sure what the guidelines about this would be, but I want to take it slowly, especially until I get my desire to TILT way out of control out of the way.

Good Morning

Had a really nice morning. Up $56 in one session of 1/2. Best session of 1/2 I have had yet. Everyone at my table would call any pair down to the river and jump right in. I got lucky getting several flush and trip friendly flops that worked out. I got into the zone and pissed someone off. I had 45h, and made the flush at the river. The only reason I was in against his AKo was because I was up so much, and was going to leave, so wanted one more pot. It feels good when your on a lucky streak and cannot lose.

On another note, why do people get sooo mad about poor/bad play in 1/2$ Hold Em? Do you not expect people to call things to the river? Play badly. Raise crap? Why do you yell at someone who made his runner-runner flush when A) He had pot odds, and B) It's only 4 bucks to see it until the end? I really get annoyed when people in 1/2 get mad at bad play. It is to be expected by a percentage of people there. I always jab people who do this as much as possible. Especially when they lose with their J high awesome hand!

Same old..

I think my game is staying the same. I basically win, loose, go on huge tilts, win it all back, etc.. I would be satisfied if my play became more consistent, and also if I could stop going on tilts and loosing alot of cash. I have been lucky to win it back.

One thing I read in a book "Over a short period of time it is luck, over a long time it is skill". It seems to me that the internet is MADE for luck. I can log into the computer, play a few hands of poker (1/2, whatever), risk $10, double it up on my one good hand to $20, cash out, and go home. If I play a decent safe game I am usually going to get a good hand before my first $10 gets chewed up, and be able to double up or more. Since I do not have to drive anywhere to do this, I can consistently make some money. Anyway, something to think about.

Inconsistant

Well, another bad night. Lost about $20. Back down to $238. I played a tourney where I was the large stack. $3000 to everyone else being $600-$1000. I promptly blew this and went out like 5th. I was trying to add some aggresiveness to my game, but I think I chased a few things too far. I also kept getting raised all in when doing a larger than normal bet by the guy after me. This was aggrevating. I did not want to go $800 against him, and become short stacked, but I had some hands where I probably should have taken the chance. This is gambling, is it not?

I played some 1/2$ ring stuff too. I see why the ring play pays off more, and also can lose more. I find the hardest thing to do is to keep waiting for premium hands. I see sooo many people all in until the end, and taking the pot, with Ace high, and other assorted crap, when straights and flushes are on the board that I start playing down to my competition, and get nailed when someone does have the nuts. If I play my game I think I can do well in ring games. I look forward to when I have enough bank to play 5/10$ regualarly, because at least on Empire, the level of play still sucks.

My biggest weakness lately I think is chasing junk and thinking it is good. Pair of aces to the river, with people calling every bet. One pair does not make a great hand.

Back to Even..

I had a great night. Did not win much. Only $23 playing tourneys. However, my play was excellent. I was in each game until the end. I decided to quit after 2 tourneys to show a little self control. I placed 1st and 3rd in my two tourneys. The 3rd place finish was a good one. The big pot played SOO well. He was AGGRESIVE. Once he had a huge stack lead he would not let you see a flop for less than $500. Since everyone was 400-700$ stacks, he was able to take alot of pots away. It also made people feel like if they had anything they had to go up against him. He had alot of luck too. Made straights and flushes on the river, etc..

The second game, I only played the premium hands. I steadily went up, was able to fold some big pots when it mas marginal, and ended up large stack at the end. The second stack and myself kept going at it. Finally I called on 89s and caught an 8 and 9 on the flop. His night was over.

I did not win much, but I am happy with my play, and how I managed my chips, and leaving while I was up.

What a Dipstick..

MAN! What a tilt!! I started playing. I lost tourneys, 1/2, .50/1, everything. I finally get down to my last $100. So like an IDIOT, I go and play $5/10. Anyway, I met up with a total jerk, took like $100 from him. Got a few good hands. And Walla -- I am back to $230. I really need to control myself. I have a bankroll of $230, so I probably should have a goal of using 10% a night. So 4 5$ tourneys. 2 10$. Something else. Whatever. Just keep the losses down to about $20 a night. Of course when I am doing well I can keep winning as long as I want.

Just some notes on the $5/10. It is a mixed bag on Empire. I had the jerk guy yelling at me because I called him with 2's on the river. Now he had nothing. He was going for a straight, but putting $100 into a pot for a possible straight call, when I was checking you down to the river is just plain bad, am I right? The $5/10 on Empire at least does not seem to be very challenging. It seems like the same rules. Limit your losses. If you do not have the nuts, then consider bailing out. Push in as must money as you can when you have the nuts. There were some good players in $5/10, but basically it was just people calling with Aces high nothing.

Decent Night

Just a quick post today. Had a decent session last night, albeit short. I played from 10:30-12:00. I did two $10/1 tourneys. I got 2nd and 5th. Not too bad. I went all in with a pair of Q’s on one game, and got 4 of a kind. That was a nice touch. I then played a .50/1$ and lost $5. So at this point I was up about 3 bucks. I then tried 1/2$ again, since I did so well last time. The 6 player format really appeals to my game. I won about $24 playing. I flopped two flushes, which was nice, although I lost on one to a boat.

I was reading the local BLOGS and came across an interesting article about the stages of poker playing and growth . Interesting stuff. I am definitely thinking I am probably around stage 2. I have huge swings still, go off on tilts all the time, but at times play well and generally stay ahead. I really enjoy the times I can feel the game and dominate it.