The New Me?

I have a new strategy. The hell with my stupid chasing everything, playing a lot of different games, losing multiple buyins every night. I lost down to $278 from $400 the other night. I have decided I need to stop this shit if I am ever going to be a serious Poker player. So here is my latest attempt at discipline. I shall play no more than 3 hours a night. However many nights I want. I will be an NL specialist. Only 25/NL. I will only risk one buyin a night. We shall see how long this lasts. Tonight was easy. I won $100 playing NL and was more than happy to leave.

Now to the bad move that paid off for the night. I would like some constructive feedback on this. I do not think it was a horrible play.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (10 handed) converter

MP2 ($54.3)
MP3 ($24.5)
CO ($58.42)
Hero ($104.61)
SB ($29.45)
BB ($54.9)
UTG ($51.7)
UTG+1 ($81.03)
UTG+2 ($31.9)
MP1 ($27.29)

Preflop:

Hero is Button with J:heart:, A:club:.
SB posts a blind of $0.25.
1 fold,
UTG+1 raises to $1
3 folds
MP3 calls $1,
CO calls $1,
Hero calls $1
BB calls $0.50.

Flop: ($5.25) 5:heart:, K:heart:, T:heart:
(5 players)
BB checks,
UTG+1 checks,
MP3 bets $5
CO folds
Hero raises to $20
BB folds,
UTG+1 folds,
MP3 raises $3.50 (MP3 All in)
Hero calls $3.50.

Turn: ($33.75) J:spade (2 players)

River: ($33.75) 3:heart: (2 players)

Final Pot: $33.75

Hero Wins $33.75 with a K high flush

I felt really bad because this was against a fellow blogger. I did suckout somewhat. I do not think I played this horribly and here is my thinking behind the hand. I get bet five bucks after the flop. I have many outs for my straight, Ace overcard and flush draw (14.5 outs maybe). Not incredible amount of outs but enough that I could expect to win ¼th of the time I think.

I have a HUGE stack. In NL I believe this is an advantage. If I lose 25 bucks I will be sad but I can pack it in with 3x my buyin and then some. I will have made a profit for the day and that is all one can ask.

So I am looking at the board. I do not think someone with a flush would bet five bucks into the pot. If he has a flush, especially the nut flush, I am dead and we would not be talking about this. So with the five dollar bet I put him on TP something. I sort of can rule out AK because he did not raise pre-flop. I would *think* he would have jacked it to a few bucks pre-flop if he had AK. So I decide to put the pressure on. I raise him his entire stack. If he has TP then he SHOULD fold it. I could have trips, two pair, something good, or even a baby flush maybe. He goes into the tank and considers all of the possibilities. He decides (I assume) that I am trying to steal and calls me. I end up spiking my flush on the river and win the hand.

In checking out the odds converters, if I knew his hand, which would make Holdem a lot easier, then I was something between a 54-58% favorite pre-flop. I think my thinking was sound for a change. I did get a little bit lucky but that is part of the game. Perhaps I will do alright in the NL world. Either that or go broke faster.

The Mortal Nuts

***** Hand History for Game 1660142475 *****
$1/$2 Hold'em - Sunday, February 27, 23:15:17 EDT 2005
Table Table 11330 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: vtgbpfn1 ( $23.88 )
Seat 5: ferstl ( $43.25 )
Seat 8: bornagain_13 ( $10.75 )
Seat 10: katerville ( $32.12 )
Seat 3: FWALGMan ( $55.5 )
Seat 6: PokerPike68 ( $100 )
ferstl posts small blind [$0.5].
PokerPike68 posts big blind [$1].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FWALGMan [ Jd Ad ]
bornagain_13 folds.
katerville calls [$1].
vtgbpfn1 folds.
FWALGMan raises [$2].
ferstl folds.
PokerPike68 folds.
katerville calls [$1].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Td, Qd, 4c ]
katerville checks.
FWALGMan bets [$1].
katerville calls [$1].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kd ]
katerville checks.
FWALGMan bets [$2].
katerville raises [$4].
FWALGMan raises [$4].
katerville calls [$2].
** Dealing River ** [ 4s ]
katerville checks.
FWALGMan bets [$2].
katerville calls [$2].
FWALGMan shows [ Jd, Ad ] Royal Flush.
katerville shows [ Tc, Kh ] two pairs, kings and tens.
FWALGMan wins $22.5 from the main pot with Royal Flush.
booyah
the nuts!

Sweet!! Really weird day. Up and down. All around. Too much playing I think. I placed 27th of 1700 in a Freeroll. Umm. Just two out of the money. I had 13K with 6K blinds. I had a choice. Wait. Possibly make the money but be blinded down to nothingness. Other choice was all in with AJ. Unfortunately I was up against QQ. Oh well. I went out dead last in the TP open too. Combo of stuff. Played some O8 with Al. Played some O8 tourneys. 3rd in all of those.

Had a fun hand of 25/PL. I sat down by accident. I am dealt KK. I get raised all in when the flop is Jxx. I call. Beat KJ, and double up. I then left, cause I do NOT play PL. Had horrible luck in a 9/1 qualifier and an SNG. I had QQ, AA and some other dominating hand beated by JJ, 99 and some other crap. I was doing pretty well in the SNG too. Ah well. Up to around 400 today. Not so bad.

Bloggers are Gay

First off a message brought to you by the number 7, and the number 2 and the letter Booyah!

***** Hand History for Game 1648977029 *****
$1/$2 Hold'em - Friday, February 25, 23:53:01 EDT 2005
Table Table 11427 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 3: Sixes ( $29.25 )
Seat 5: Paatygirl ( $63.5 )
Seat 6: FWALGMan ( $68.5 )
Seat 8: goldencrema ( $15.25 )
Seat 10: Sirus395 ( $16.5 )
Seat 1: spookykid77 ( $17 )
goldencrema posts small blind [$0.5].
Sirus395 posts big blind [$1].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FWALGMan [ 7s 2d ]
FWALGMan: you gotta tell me in email or something what you had in that hand against golden child..
spookykid77 folds.
Sixes folds.
Paatygirl folds.
FWALGMan raises [$2].
goldencrema folds.
Sirus395 calls [$1].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4d, Kh, 4s ]
spookykid77: lol yeah maybe
Sirus395 checks.
FWALGMan bets [$1].
Sirus395 folds.
FWALGMan shows [ 7s, 2d ] a pair of fours.
FWALGMan wins $5.5 from the main pot with a pair of fours.
Vn


It just goes to prove a point, perception is better than reality. When I raised so much pre-flop, obviously everyone jumped to the conclusion I had one of (x) number of hands. AA,KK,QQ,JJ,AK,AQ,AJ maybe. When I came out firing after the flop it became clear I had AK. Right? So it really does not matter what cards you play.

Poker is still frustrating sometimes. I have not decided what I want to play yet. I have been hitting the ½ 6-Max, sometimes it’s really good, other times it gets sickening when people call your bets with 26o and beat your AA. Someday maybe I will learn acceptance. Someday. Maybe.

I played 4 SNGs, and placed 3rd a few times and out once. I think I ended up breaking even about. I played some ½ 6-Max for the hell of it. Sat down at a BB table for the fun of it.

I then went to my meat and potatoes money maker: Blogger Tables! Woo Hoo! I had a good night and cleaned up. Ended up around 75 bucks in the positive. If it wasn’t for this one biatch at the table who called down my every hand with crap and rivered me several times I might have been up A LOT more!!

The funniest thing is my big money maker for the night was 88, when I went all in vs AK when Mr. Sister types into chat "No Limping" and raises me two bucks. I kinda put him on AK,AQ or something and was a bit tired of the no-limping rule, so I say "Fine, No Limping!!!" and go all in. I sorta expected him to fold like a newspaper, but he calls me and I win the coin toss.

I think my biggest blunder was putting Poker Geek in for his entire stack when I had AQ. I say "All in jedi!", because he went all in on a pseduo bluff last hand and lost. It turns out he had AA and was more than happy to double up off me.

So the net for the day was like 5 bucks. Lol. This is what kills me about Poker. I might switch to NL. At least it is exciting betting all in and seeing what the cards say. I also want to become more of an MTT expert like the Poker Geek. I also have to go back to my fail safe: LOOK AT DOUBLEAS BANKROLL! DAMMIT!

So we shall see what happens in the next few months. It’s really funny sometimes. I know all the right things, it’s implementation that is the hard part in Poker. Consistent implementation of Da Rulez!

Back in the Saddle

Well.. I got tired of waiting so I took 300 out of my Elance account and deposited to Poker Stars. Much thanks to Aequitas for the 20% deposit bonus. Go visit his Blog or something.

I played ½ 6-Max. I wanted to clear my bonus so I played a bit too long. I ended up $5 on the games and $60 on the bonus. It would have been nice to have called it a night when I was up $80 on the tables, but you all know me.. I never know when to leave. At least I cleared 420 hands in one night. lol! Believe me it is not easy to do.

Tomorrow at 3:00 is TPs tourney. Not sure how many people are going to signup. I will keep you posted though.

I saw Pauly playing some 25/NL. He took a huge pot against a tool on a flush draw. Way to go! He also played the Aussie 1M or something. Not sure how well he did there. Ask Texas, she was watching.

I got to play a bit with Hella and saw some other people. You have all been great. I am hoping to get back to a decent bankroll soon. I think it turns the women on when my bankroll grows.. oh wait, that’s not my bankroll..

April’s Blog gets at least 500 unique visitors every day! What the hell am I doing wrong? I thought I was a big dog. *sigh*. Oh well. I guess I will have to make due. So I am back in the saddle, have a little buffer, and I am feeling good. We shall see what happens.

I need a fix

Poker. Poker. I think I am jonesing. I was reading on Aprils Blog (Not a Poker Blog) a comment about how juicy the ½ 6-MAX is. If it is anything like the 5/10 6-MAX then this is probably true. So end of March I am going to buyin for $300 (I know too little) and play that for a while.

I need to figure out how to not let my bad habits kill me too. I think for me a time limit for play is a good idea. I.E. 3 hours twice a week. Once the three is up no matter if I am a penny up or twenty down I leave. I have to get less result oriented and just play the game. I also want to work on leaving when ahead and starting to slide back down. It kills me when I am up 80 bucks on a nice juicy ½ 6-Max and then lose it because of some bad hands or bad play with good cards, suckouts, whatever.. I really just need to treat the game like any other job. Put my hours in. Submit my timesheet at the end of the week. Get paid if I had a good week or not get paid if I had a bad week. I guess the “submit the timesheet” thing would be posting my current bankroll to the site. I think if I see progress over time I can at least take baby steps and start looking week by week instead of minute by minute.

I will be playing in the Talking Poker game this Sunday around 3PM on Stars. I will signup sometime soon. Talking Poker is a great forum with some really good people. I really respect TP, Chip Fish, Aequetis and several of the other members. TP has a nice set of Signup bonus’s on his landing page www.talkingpoker.com. In the forum under General Poker is a sticky message about the tourney. Besides the guys I mentioned it is a mix of good and bad players. So it can be a very fun experience. I also think they are going to try and get a monthly game going or something along those lines. So if you have not visited give it a look, and if you’re a member I hope to see you there.

Its a Beautiful Morning

It is just great to have parents. I get a call from my mother this morning.

“You have to drop the charges against your sister” she demands

Apparently she has another court date this Friday and my mother does not want to be stuck taking care of her son.

“Umm.. Sorry, but it is CitiBank not me.” I say.

“So you wont drop the charges”. She says

“Umm.. I am not CitiBank, and I do not have 1500 bucks laying around (anymore, Damn bankroll!), umm… what do you expect me to do?” I ask.

“She only wrote one check to a car dealer and they did not cash it”, is her reply.

“umm.. why don’t you ask her about the 4 other checks” I say.

“oh, well your dad is sick, you have to drop the charges”, she says.

Now I think I know my dad is dieing of cancer. Thanks for reminding me. Anyway, I decided not to drop the charges. I think you can kind of see the reason my sister is all messed up. She never had any consequences. Well I know I am not her dad, but she needs to learn a lesson. I really think spending a month or so in jail would be good for her. I would hope she would realize that her actions have effects, however I think she will probably just come out blaming me for the whole thing. Who knows? Well that concludes my morning. Hope you’re off to a fine day too.

Poker - I Hardly Even Knew Her

So no Poker lately. Thus no posts. Per her entire life my sisters seems to be getting off of the charges. However hopefully she will be forced to take some psychiatric treatment. Who knows? I think a few months in jail would teach her the right lesson though.

I have been filling my poker less time with a lot of side work. A few C# projects, some JavaScript, some web work. I actually got a call from a former employer with some work for a large tight company that shall remain nameless but has deep pockets. So anyway I guess I will be getting some cash built up and should be able to easily buy in at the end of the month for whatever amount I feel is appropriate. Hopefully I can find my game again and not waste it.

Next poker post will be at the latest Sunday when I enter the Talking Poker Tourney. Like I said before it is mostly easy money with a few good players. If you’re not a member you should join just to play in this tourney. I hope we get a good turnout!

Fuggly Jail Vixens 7

Something good happened to me finally, and it wasn’t a back alley whore in Taiwan either. Ok. Well. It’s not that good but beggars can’t be choosers. My Sister is now sitting in Woburn District jail! Why is this good? It will probably help her in the long run. I would like to see her spend a few months in jail actually. The most recent act that got her sent to jail was stealing 1500 bucks from my Visa account. It’s actually the second time so I am not tooo surprised. The problem with my sister is that my family has always covered for her stupid acts. When she stole, they paid her bills. When she got pregnant out of wedlock, they took care of the kid a lot of nights and weekends. She was in her 30’s and still living at home. Every immature and stupid act she did they covered for her. Now me, I was always on my own. I was out of the house by 18, and never really looked back. My hope is really that she figures out that her actions have consequences. I think with eight outstanding warrants for her arrest, and more charges coming when I finish the Visa report she has a good shot at hitting a stint in prison. Hopefully she will be “Scared Straight”.

As far as Poker goes next action will either be a freeroll on PokerStars or the Talking Poker Tourney on the 27th. You all should go and sign up for it. They are much easier than the Blogger tourneys. Except for Bad Blood. Heh. It’s a 10/1 tourney and the more people the better payoff! Just post a few messages and ask for the password. www.talkingpoker.com. I think I am going to wait until the end of March to buy in for 300. Look around for some monthly bonus around then.

It is funny how badly a downturn can kill you. Intrepid Card Player was playing for months, like me, and he lost his roll and is out. I think he might get lured back in, but you just never know when a downturn will happen, or a stupid night of lack of discipline. Hopefully the Poker Gods will forgive me and send me some cards!

And for those ladies (or guys) out there interested:

http://www.sexinfo101.com/kb_penissize.shtml
http://www.edu.uni-klu.ac.at/~amiklaut/dr_nick/answer19.htm

If anyone wants to share what percentile they fall into I will be glad to post. I couldn’t find out what the average Boob size was.. do they measure vaginal deepness? Hmm.. or tightness, now that would be better.. so do your keigal exercises ladies!

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

The good: I survived 2000 other players.
The Bad: I made no money
The Ugly: I went all in with 77 and lost

I was in late position in a freeroll on Party. Poker Geek had abandoned me to my fate, and I was left with Texas. I had 1600 chips and the blinds were 75/150. There was about 1K in the pot from limpers. I decide to try and take it all. One nagging though in the back of my mind: The 9K stack limped in and will possibly call me. Everyone folds. The big stack calls me like he should after going into the tank forever. FOLD YOU BASTARD! We flip our cards and he shows KQ to my small pair. I am ahead. Not way ahead. But ahead. Six outs. BAM! King on the flop and no help afterwards. Sir goes down in flames.

I do not think this was a horrible play. Bad maybe. If the Geek had finished his tourney lessons than maybe I woulda figured out what to do. I only downloaded 3/4ths of his vast knowledge. If I could change one thing about this move, I think I might have bet ½ my stack and seen the flop. If it was a non-scary flop I could have bet all in there. If it was scary I could decide if I wanted to bluff, fold, or go all in.

So.. whadda ya do? Whadda ya do? Join another freeroll of course! Dummy!

The good: I am out of Party Poker Points
The Bad: I am out of Party Poker Points
The Ugly: AA loses to K3o!

Well this is starting well. AA. I bet 3xBB. 2 Callers. Flop K3x. I bet. Someone raises me. I cold call. One folds. He bets 200 on the turn. I call. He checks the river. I check because I feel something. He shows k3o for the win.

Oh well, K3o man is out. Another AA got cracked by 44 too. So I don’t feel so bad. I think the Poker Gods are mad at me for using G+. I have sworn off of it!! Take me back Poker Gods! I will live in superstitious ignorance! Please take me back!

Well.. back to crappy cards. Cool. Cannot lose too much with those. Well maybe I can. Oh wow! JJ. I get raised in front of me, and so I re-raise to 3xBB. I get 7 callers. Yikes! The flop is KQ9 and I am sooo confused I check, and then raise, and nobody folds. A Q hits the turn. So I have 380 left. I can either bluff it all (it is still early), check, or fold. I am sooooo confused.

Lost everything except 75 on 33. Probably shoulda gone all in pre-flop before Q4 hit his trips. Bah again! Went all in with 9’s. Bah again! Guy after me has QQ. I beat KJ though if that’s any consolation.

Oh well. Now I am out of Party Points and money so I am stuck with Poker Stars Freerolls? At least Texas now believes me that the Poker Gods hate me, although Poker Geek is skeptical. Well I only outlasted half the field this time. Not very impressive. That JJ move was bad, and the AA loss to K3o kind of put me in a bad position. If I played the JJ stronger maybe I take that pot and I am talking about a better finish at least.

Poker Geeks Triumph!

I got to watch an amazing performance from Poker Geek this weekend. Those that can do watch, right? He was fearless. It was very interesting. I would have liked to see how he started the tourney. I started watching with April frum TEXAS and the Geeks girlfriend when there were like a hundred left or so. The Geeks gf was very cool. I asked her what her hand was doing in the picture on his site, and she didn’t even smack me! Heh. Now geek is another story! April tried to keep me in check but sometimes..

So anyway the thing I saw the geek do over and over again that was cool was being willing to risk half his stack on pure bluff blind steals. I saw him put over 100K of his 200K into the Pot with Ace high nothing! It burned him a couple of times but over and over again he was able to survive and build his stack up. He was willing to put his money in on a bluff when he sensed weakness and willing to walk away from a ton of money when he sensed strength. It was truly a magnificent performance. I am sure he wrote a much better write up, but it really showed me a lot about NL tourneys. I was disappointed by his finishing 3rd. He kept saying looser things like “Hey, I made 500 bucks”. I tried to keep him focused on the goal! I guess 3rd is alright but I had much higher goals for him! Heh.

He was the chip leader and went all in with 92o after losing a bunch on another bluff. Unfortunately AKo called him and nobody improved. I do think when you’re down to three you need to slow it down a little. Any high card is fine, but 92o! However since I would have never made it as far as he did I concede that maybe he did the right thing. Either that or he got bored of my incessant chatter and decided 2K was enough and decided to call it a night. Anyway congrats man! It was fun to live vicariously through you.

Down and Finally Out

Ahh well. No Money. I guess I should be happy. At least my life has balance now. It all sucks. I have no idea when I forgot how to play cards. Somewhere along the line I turned off the path or something. I wish I could remember what I did originally to win. I sure as hell am not doing it now. Not sure where I am going from here. I have a tourney on Stars at the end of the month that I want to do. So I will buy into that and see what happens. Not sure how much Blogging I can do without a bankroll. We will see. If you want to donate to Fund-A-Looser to ensure that your work productivity stays low I will give you my Empire and/or Party account names. I guarantee 0% return on your investment, but at least you can get a chuckle at the new ways I figure out how to lose.

Last night was a comedy of errors. Twice I hit the flush only to be beaten by a boat. Guess it happens. A lot. Once I get called all in when I have TPTK and the other guy has a pair of two’s. Guess what the turn is? Of course it is a two. Your talking about me! Some days it seems like nothing goes right. Oh well.

If I do decide to make a comeback I am going to wait a month or so and buyin at $600. I want to be fully funded for my return. I will play a mix of 10/1 SNGs, ½ Limit, and 25/NL with this money. If I am able to wipe this out then I think I will absolutely quit for good. I probably should anyways because I am really not having much fun. Maybe I can figure out what I broke in my game, besides my bankroll. Oh well. It just goes to show you all it takes is one night of lack of discipline to lose it all.

What do you do? What do you do?

Here is a question I had from last nights NL game. I am playing in the BB. I have A6, and limp in. The flop is AKx. I put out the customary pot size bet to try and take the pot. I get a bunch of folds and one caller. The turn is a rag that probably helps nobody. Now at this point I can not decide if he has an Ace, hates his kicker, or what. What is the correct move here? What I did was throw out another small bet. About a buck. The pot might have been six bucks or something at this time. He calls me. The river is a 10. I throw another small bet out, he calls me, flips over K-10 for the rivered two pair. Is this bad luck? Does anyone think I can throw a larger bet out on the turn and scare him out? If I do that am I setting myself up to get trapped by someone with a really good hand? How would you have played this?

I think the BB in NL can cause you alot of problems. If you limp in with hands you normally would never play, you are then faced with tough decisions on how to bet and protect your hands. It can cause some problems.

Progress? Maybe.

Just a quick post tonight. I have been staying away from the tables except two nights a week. I have also switched my game from limit to NL. Why? Because the fishies in .50/1 are driving me too insane. I mean 9 people in every hand, 5 to the river, sorry, but that is NOT poker.

Top 10 other Reasons to play NL:

10. Raising a buck doesn’t get your adrenalin going as fast as ALL IN!
9. If Bad Blood can do it than anyone can
8. I can lose my money twice as fast
7. Need Practice for the Blogger Tables
6. All the good tourneys are NL
5. Its hard to win with “The Hammer” in Limit
4. The Fish get there just rewards quicker
3. Nothing Sounds better than “Im All In”
2. One bad read and a lucky flop can double me up
1. Look at DoubleAs Bankroll!!!

Anyway you all would be proud of me tonight. I left five bucks down. I decided to stop at midnight and that’s where I was at. I was just not getting any cards. Getting blinded down. Not much fun. Some good hands though.

I had 55, limped in. The flop is Axx. Everyone checks around to me, and I throw out a 2 buck bet and take the pot.

I witnessed this one. Someone has AJ. HU with another player. The flop is J10x with two spades. So the first tool goes all in with seventy bucks! The second guy makes the right call. They flip. It is AJ vs J10 and J10 is way ahead. Until the turn spikes an Ace and kills the better player. Ha! That must have sucked.

The Eagles have Landed

Burn Eagles Burn! Well that was one ugly game. Coyote Ugly. I mean gnawing your arm off to get away FUGLY! Why was it so ugly? Well partly because I think both defenses were incredible good! The Birds look like they got a little tired out at the end or something. However they did themselves proud for most of the game. I think Donovan really blew it for the Eagles. I think he is a good QB but he lets his nerves get the best of him. I really appreciated the commentary from the game. It was especially good of them to point out the times when Donovan kept his eyes on his receiver the whole time. You can see Rodney Harrison salivating, as he beads in on the receiver Donovan is telegraphing to, just before picking off the ball. Unfortunately they Birds were good enough to cover the spread. I have no idea what the Patriots were thinking with no deep help on the last score of the game for the Eagles. I know they hate to cover the spread, but cmon! Bill was swearing after that one. Anyway a win is a win and we are the champions once again

So my betting was mixed. I think I actually lost both bets but we will see. I lost $25 on the game to Talking Poker. The forum is cool so I guess donating a little is fine. I was really looking forward to that though!

I think I also lost my bet to Al. Well, yeah, he has to buy me a round of drinks at Foxwoods in May. However I think the best outcome of that day might be slight Alcohol poison and worse case death. God I am in trouble!

As far as all of the Dynasty talk I find it interesting. The Patriots are definitely the best team of the past five years. Winning 2 Bowls in 3 years is an accomplishment. It is especially hard in the age of parity the NFL is trying to create. I think that the parity thing might backfire however. What happens when you get a team with the reputation of winning Super Bowls? Well, the best players in the league are willing to play for that team for reduced salaries. So you end up getting talent like a Cory Dillon and probably others to come for the pure reason of winning the ring. I am not sure if we need talented players to win but it sure could not hurt.

So do we rank them up with the Dallas and 49’ers of yesteryear? I am not sure yet. Another Super Bowl or at least some dominance in the league for another few years and I guess so.

I do want to give a round of applause for TO too. The man has heart. He worked his ass off to get into this game and he was a factor. So drink a round to him! While were drinking lets give a shout to the dejected Eagles fans too. You guys were at the Bowl in numbers! You almost had enough people to give Philly a home field advantage. Whenever I hear cheering it was loudest for the Eagles.

I might as well go out on a limb and give some predictions for next year. I think the Eagles have nowhere to go but up. I think next year is going to be his one chance for a Super Bowl ring. Why? I think the Patriots are going to have a down year. We are losing our 2nd and 3rd best coaches on the team. I do not think losing Cornell and Weiss is the death knell for the Patriots but it will take some time to adjust and I think we are due for a down year. Who knows though, we are probably going to return with the same core players intact. A couple of big names are up for free agency but its not like a mass exodus. I guess I just have a problem being a winner. Heh. Oh well. I will go back to the tables and remedy that.
Since were talking about Poker a little bit I am announcing a change in my site. I am no longer going to provide daily updates of my bankroll. I think it is harmful for my career. I think I will do monthly updates unless I bust out. I think in some ways seeing change over a time span will be good for me. Baby steps. Day to Day up to Month to Month and someday maybe Year to Year or Decade to Decade. Someday.

Wellll.. the night started out slow and ended up pretty much even. I had some fun though. I know I promised but this is too much. Highlights of the early part of the night:

Vs AQ, flop QQ, turn x, River Q. I think the Poker Gods Hate me. That one was 3-Bet pre-flop too.

QQ vs 88. Runner-Runner straight.

AQ. Q on the Flop. Runner Runner straight.

#*&#*(#*#*&@*#@&#(*@&#(*@&#(&#(*

I admit I lost my temper tonight. I said “nh”, then I type “You fucking lucky Faggot! That’s what I meant to say but nh sounds better”. I think maybe I am better as a mean player. At least it cheers me up a little.

So I decided to play some NL. I sit down at a table, and Glyph is there. I did not even look before I sat. Cool. I like Glyph. He’s weak. Heh. Just kidding!

One play that bugs me: Was this too weak or a good fold? I think either way call/fold is a good bet. Not sure if I did the right thing though.

***** Hand History for Game 1542418186 *****
$25 NL Hold'em - Friday, February 04, 22:05:27 EDT 2005
Table Table 11402 (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 5: St_Glyphic ( $57.6 )
Seat 6: Yags68 ( $43.12 )
Seat 2: FWALGMan ( $51.75 )
Seat 1: scooterb316 ( $72.98 )
Seat 8: sleeper52 ( $21.85 )
Seat 4: OtisIggyGRob ( $19 )
Seat 9: allimcbeal ( $51.15 )
Seat 3: MisterKing1 ( $72.85 )
Seat 7: run_dog ( $21 )
Seat 10: CanWeStop2P ( $24 )
OtisIggyGRob posts small blind [$0.25].
OtisIggyGRob: yeah, won't need the points.
Yags68 posts big blind [$0.5].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FWALGMan [ Ah 4h ]
OtisIggyGRob: I'd give 10 lol
run_dog folds.
OtisIggyGRob: 31-17 Eagles
sleeper52 folds.
allimcbeal folds.
CanWeStop2P folds.
scooterb316 calls [$0.5].
FWALGMan calls [$0.5].
OtisIggyGRob calls [$0.25].
FWALGMan: 31-13 pats
Yags68 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Jd, 3h, Kh ]
OtisIggyGRob bets [$2].
Yags68 calls [$2].
scooterb316 folds.
FWALGMan calls [$2].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 2s ]
OtisIggyGRob: I figure if the Dolphins can beat the Pats... so can we
AlCantHang: 6 - 3 Eagles
OtisIggyGRob is all-In [$16.5]
FWALGMan: god you make this tough
Yags68 folds.
FWALGMan: i got so many outs its gonna hurt to fold
OtisIggyGRob: sorry
OtisIggyGRob: I'll take it back
FWALGMan folds.
Yags68: rabbit hole
OtisIggyGRob does not show cards.
OtisIggyGRob wins $24.1


After the hand I was told 2 of my hearts were taken up, and if I paired my Aces I would have won. I was also sure I was beat by at least a pair. Just wondering if I am letting my small roll make me too cautious. Oh well. I think I might try some more NL. It seems like more fun than limit right now. I think maybe I need a switch.

Last Whiny Post .. for Now..

BEGIN VERY LITTLE POKER CONTENT

Ok. Since I like whining I guess I will put up this post I wrote a while ago. It has nothing to do with Poker, and I was debating putting it up, but I am in one of those kind of moods so too bad. Before we get to that though I guess I should share my plans for tonight:

1 – Party Poker Multi-Table Step. What the hell. Seems like a good ROI for an 11$ investment.

2- Blogger NL table? Sounds like fun anyways.

So my loses for tonight will be limited to $36 bucks. A little over a 3rd of my roll! Woo Hoo!. BTW – I have a $25 bet on the Pats for Sunday, which gets directly transferred to Empire. So if I win I am back in business over there.

Anyhoo, back to the whining. Hopefully this will clear it out of my system and you will not have to hear any negativity for another week or so.

END POKER CONTENT
BEGIN: WOES ME

My Father is going to die. I know this statement has been true for a very long time, probably since I was born. However now that it is more imminent I guess I have to avoid it more actively. I do not really have a lot of great stories about how he taught me Poker or anything for that matter. I guess the best thing I can say is: He was around, sometimes. I am sure that will sound great as the Eulogy.

He was a smoker for his entire life and the cancer stick finally caught up with him. I am not sure how much longer he has. He is in his last phase of chemo and they will not be doing another round. It started with a lump in his lung. Every few months when they do the CAT scan they find a few cells here, a few there, basically signifying that he is pretty screwed. The most interesting part of all of this is I have no idea how I will react. We are not estranged, but I would not say we are close either. I assume I will miss the old guy.

He was hardly a horrible father. A little too much with the belt on occasion but beating your kids was the norm back then. Instead of taking them away they gave you a pat on the back. Nowadays if you take the kids X-Box away the cops are coming to arrest you. He had a drinking problem like his father, and his father before him. He was able to give it up however which I assume takes a lot. I would ask Al but he is probably passed out somewhere. “Drinking, I have no problem drinking! It’s stopping I have a problem with!” I guess the reason we probably never bonded was the fact that he was not around much when I was younger. He drove trucks for a living and was always on the road.

So we shall see what happens. He has lived a fairly long (early-to-mid 60's I think) and full life. A lot of crap has happened in it. His mother left. His father was a serious alcoholic. He was in Nam flying choppers over the poo-tang or something like that. He has had more jobs than – well more jobs than I have in MANY different fields. Soldier. Fisherman. Mechanic. Trucker. The list goes on. It makes other people think he is interesting. I never really got that either.

On the up side we have been spending a little more time together. I spent like ten years barely talking to my parents except on holidays. Now we talk on the phone more and have done some small trips together. I do not see this bringing us close mostly because I do not have much desire to do so. It is a little too late for that. I have spent too many years stuffing my emotions down to start the whole lovey family thing. We shall have to see what happens when he is gone.

Scary!

If I had to sum up my life right now in one example it might be this morning. I hop in my car and head off to work ready to tackle the daily rigors of paper pushing and bureaucracy for yet another day. I turn up the road to the main street. The day has started all right. Besides the wife being a bitch about the Poker loss there were no major problems. So I hit the end of the street and start driving on the main road. All of a sudden I am choking. I cannot breath. I wretch several times almost puking in the car. I am still driving but not breathing too well. I grab my can of Coke and take my last swallow of the precious nectar. I swish it around in my mouth and the phlegm caught in the back of my throat dissipates and I can breath again. Does anyone else almost die in the morning because there snot decides to climb down the back of there throats? The only question I have left in this life is was I Genghis Khan or Hitler in my past life. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be Sir.

Life Sucks and then..

I think Poker likes me. Ya, I really do. You see it wouldn’t take so much time trying to fuck me if it did not really like me a lot. It is trying to break me so badly that I will not care about any poker hand/session. I will just play my allotted hour or two, either win or lose, and shut it down. Well screw you Poker! I am stubborn too!

So in case you have not gotten the point Poker still is kicking me in the nuts. I think .50/1 is driving me slowly insane. I mean I like when people call me to the river with the 3rd pair, but do they have to river trips every single time? Cmon, can’t we get a two pair once in a while?

At least I have been good about playing less. Not that this has helped me yet. I busted out my final $75 at Empire, so now I am a one-site wonder. I got about $90 at Party Poker and after that I am out. One thing I am proud about, instead of calling the bitch who rivered her trip 2’s a fucking cock sucking whore bag slut, I just grinned and took it up the ass like a real man. Or something like that. Next fun date: Friday night. Not sure what I want to play. I might try and hit the Blogger tables if they kick up. Might as well have fun losing my money.

I think people who know nothing about Poker have more fun playing it. We “pro’
s” tend to think our AA deserves to win when we raise it pre-flop. At least I do. It makes the A4 spiking his trip 4’s on the river a little more painful. If I was oblivious to the odds and did not feel I was entitled to win more than the person who sees 95% of the flops I think I would be happier. If I was a Poker Retard I would be blissfully happy. Oh well. Life sucks. Deal.

** UPDATE: I almost forgot. I finished a pathetic 52nd in the Poker tourney. Better than most of the Bloggers! Do you not have any pride! However far short of anything nearing even the bubble. Oh well.

I hate NL!

Well, this is about Online Poker Thoughts and right now I think #@**$#(*#&*(#(&*#*(*(#&#*(&*(#&*(#&*(#&*(!

I have about 2K left in the WPBT Tourney. I get a small raise before me, so I re-raise and I get an All two all In’s. I call and they flip. AK vs my AQ vs 88. So I am pretty sad and I am going to get screwed. I have nothing. Then the flop comes. It was the BEST flop I could have wanted: QQx! YES! No Flush Draw, Nothing. I am in the money, right? The Turn is a K. Ok. That’s not so good. So what. The river is a freaking K!!!! Jesus!!!! What the hell do I have to do to win sometimes!!!!!!! So anyway I went out a couple hands later. Q-10 vs KQ and I did not get a 10-10 runner-runner. I am just annoyed right now.

Tonight.. Tonight.. I can not wait for Tonight!

I cannot WAIT for tonight’s tourney. It should be a LOT of fun. I have had the normal pre-game dream of me winning. Head to head with a mysterious stranger. Kicking his butt even though he had me out chipped 3:1 when we started. Should be fun whatever happens. So since I actually want to win some money: GET YOUR ASSES DOWN THERE!

Feb 2nd, 9pm EST
PokerStars
$20 buyin, NL tournament
Password: thehammer
Listed under the Private Tournaments tab as
WPBT Poker Tourney or something like that..
Open to Bloggers and readers. Yeah, reading this qualifies!

I am glad that I switched to Party Poker too. They seem to have kept on growing where Empire is kind of dead. What I mean by this is they have some cool new idea’s. The Bad Beat Jackpots are awesome. I cannot wait to get to the 2/4 level and play some of those. The step tourneys are a great way to risk a little and potentially, with a great run, make a lot. I am definitely going to hit a step-1 and see how far I can take it. I like the mult-table ones better. I think the payoff is just outrageous. As far as I can tell I can put 11 bucks down, and if I make it to top 5 of the 5th level I am raking in 2400 or so. Something like that. Shove that in your ROI pipe and smoke it!

We shall have to see what happens. I still want to get to the Royal Flush level on Empire. I hear you get a TV or something once you accumulate 25K points as a Royal Flush member. That is pretty cool. It does seem like Party is getting the hint thought and setting up there own VIP club. Interesting stuff.

Knowlege from the F-Train..

I was reading my man Asphyxnia at Riding the F-Train and he mentions something I had been mulling over a lot lately. You’re in a situation. You have AK. You raise pre-flop. Get a caller or two. Bet the flop. Turn. You have your Ace with the top kicker and bet the river. WHAM! You get raised on the river and end up losing to K2 when they hit their two pair. It was starting to dawn on me that checking the river is not such a bad idea. Asphyxnia brings up the pro’s of this very well. In my mind I was mulling over for the past week or so: Is this too weak, or is this right? I tend to like this play especially when playing against good players because they tend to have the sense to not pay your river bet off. I can see exceptions to this in the low limit hell I have sent myself to, where second pair WILL ALWAYS pay you off. He can never conceive of a reality when you really do have TPTK.

As an offshoot of his posting it kind of dawns on me why you should raise the turn if you think you have the best hand. I have slow played NUT hands before. I try not to do it very often but sometimes I will. Slow playing the turn is a mistake though. You have to figure whoever is betting has a reason to be in the pot. If you raise the turn and he still has a draw that he thinks will win the hand for him your going to collect that extra bet you probably lose on the river anyway. If you’re lucky he will check-call your river bet too. I always kind of thought it was silly to throw that extra bet in so early. Now I am thinking it is smart. A lot of little things to save you bets over time. Interesting.