Oh man..

Well.. the MTTs failed me tonight, but I took $50 to the 5/10 tables and ran that up to $250 in about 5 minutes. So not a bad night at all. I am starting to formulate a new stupid plan. Play $50 on a 5/10 table every night.. hmmm.. I mean $50 is WAYYY in my bankroll limit. If I get just a few good hands I can run that up to a nice stack. Not risking too much.. hmm..

Anyway, I need to take a day or two off to heal my back. I have been having upper back pain around the neck for 2 weeks. Hurts. Ouch. See how much I give to you guys.. I will return soon..

Plans

Figured I would get a quick update while being bored at work. Hopefully work picks up because that is always a bad sign for a consultant. Not much to report. I had a great 1250 game that ended poorly. I was a HUGE chip leader most of the game.. I was able to hold on to take 4th. The biggest problem I had is I just went card dead. I had a decent stack and could not even get a pair of s00ted connectors to scare someone on. It was nice to be the chip dog, but when you get cold cards at 6K blinds even the big dog must fall. I still took a $95 profit out of that. So I am not complaining much. I did see visions of a first place finish there for a while though.

I might start a new experiment since the last one did not work out. I might try and grind it out at the 2/4 tables for a week or more. See how that works for me. Keep my risk down to $100 a day and see if the bankroll can take a jump. At the very least it is a less dangerous experiment.

Another thing I want to do is get into the 10K and 25K this month. I would possibly buy into the former, and try and win a spot into the later. One annoying thing Titan has been doing is canceling the 25K Qualifier with 11 or even 21 people in it. I mean come on guys! If ten people make it you should be obligated to run the damn thing.

The other thing I have been contemplating is buying back into Party Poker. The things I like on Party are the SNGs and the MTTs baby. The Bad Beat Jackpot might call my name eventually.. oh yeah, and if I really want to loose money: BLACK JACK! I think I will wait until I get my bankroll to 2K, then cash out $400, and buy back into Party Poker for $200. I can then play SNGs and low level limit games to build the roll up to a workable amount.

98% Is not enough

What did I do in a past life? I have 2700 in chips. The blinds are high. I get Aces. You know, the rockets, our friends, the ones that have lost for me 4 out of 5 times lately. So anyway, a guy pushes all in. I call. I mean why not, right? So here is the situation. I have no idea what amazing statistical percentage ahead I am but on the tunrn he has not made a draw or anything. No Flushes. Nothing. I think I am damn near 98% or more assured to win. There are 23 people left in this damn thing. I have 8K in chips if I win. Instead the river comes as a seven and thats it for me basically. I swear, you people out there, who keep challenging me, and saying how much you want me to be at your table. Well.. if I did not have incredible skills that would scare you silly, then all of this bad luck I get would have lost my entire bankroll ages ago. So know this, I am better than you, and your just going to get lucky.

I played my second set of matches in the HU. It is currently tied 1-1. I overplayed against some Kings and lost, then after a great second battle, and one suckout by my opponent, I finally put him away. The suckout was a 2-outer also. See. I am good. Now if only someone could knock Veneno out, because I CAN NOT BEAT THAT CHICK! DAMN!

The Grind

DuggleChicken said I understand why you might not appreciate "the grind.". I do not think that I do not appreciate the grind. Here comes some deep insight into poker people.

I think my first year playing poker ruined it for me. At the very least it has made it hard for me to adjust to the “Real World”. I was WAY too successful. Unreasonably, Unsustainably, Irreproducibly, totally successful. These were my formative years. The years I learned to walk and talk, and they were great.

So, as BadBlood spoke about in a past post, I have a sense of entitlement. Poker is not about that. Your Aces, your best hand ever, the ALL IN starting hand, loses 20% of the time. One out of five. You get really angry when that happens. Why? Because you feel entitled to win.

I have very interesting tilt criteria. I know some of you who read this must think I am in a constant state of tilt. Not so. I am always looking for the quick, easy, score. That is not necessarily true either. The problem with me is that I KNOW that winning every night is not an option, but I feel entitled to it. If I grind out $5 bucks every night I would be happy. The bankroll would grow. I would have no feelings of tilt. I am playing better poker than the people at my table and I am winning. That is how it is supposed to work. That is what I am entitled to. WAKE UP PEOPLE! Poker does not work that way. I know this in my soul, unfortunately my emotional side will not keep up. The things that kill me in this game are losing consistently. If I lose a dollar a day for a week that has a chance of putting me on tilt. I am supposed to win, right? WRONG! It has nothing to do with the money at all.

Poker works in weird and mysterious ways. Sort of like women. One day it makes you so happy you can not stand it, and the next day it crushes you like an insect. You can go a week, a month, a year and win like crazy and then all of the sudden you go cold for a week or a month. It is in the nature of the margins Poker players grind out. The good players, the ones who survive and make a living at it, these guys understand that. They take the long term picture. They know that eventually the cosmos will align again and they will start winning.

In a way this is why the experiment would work. I can compartmentalize that $300 outside of my bankroll and trying to build something that will last. I can take it as a shot with no EXCPECTATION of winning, just a little hope to get lucky, and when I lose I can deal with it no problem. If I win then I have a larger bankroll and can play more comfortably at the levels I want to be at.

So there you are, a little insight into my distorted thinking, just remember you’re not entitled to anything. The margins are thin. Over time is where you make your money.
Oh and yeah, try not to go crazy like me.

Veneno, Good Job

Veneno, 108th of 2500 in the Party Poker 40K! Go Baby! She will get them next time. I think that paid off about $50. Sir had a decent night too. Scored 9th place in the 1K turbo. Man is that a fun game. It is shoot-and-pray at the start and then the real poker starts. I could have probably folded into a better position, but with low chips, and a KJ I decided to risk it. I was up again AJ and never improved.

However, with the lull in my MTT finishes. This is the first one in three days, I had a nice night at limit making around $100 to bring the MTT fund back to 1050. Not bad. I will keep the experiment going. I know I am going to cash big soon.

Replies to current comments

We interrupt your regularly scheduled insanity for some actual content from the comments I have gotten.

First by cmitch: What is the scoop on Titan.

LOVE IT! It drives me crazy when I loose focus, but it is a fish fry. You have a ton of people buying in for the 100% bonus and losing it just as fast. I can not tell you how many times in limit I have had AK, raise pre-flop, flop is 3KQ, bet, bet, bet, turn is a T, bet, bet, bet, river is a 3, oopsie, I lost to T3o.

It IS that good. The tourneys are smaller than on other sites. With great overlays. The 3K guaranteed.. ten bucks for a shot at $1K! You need to beat 100 people. Hell, you could suck at MTTs and get lucky and you would at least finish ITM. Last night my favorite beat was the J6, two pair on the flop, A8 calls and all in!! What in gods name was he thinking? LMAO! Ok, so he turned the trips and kicked my ass but that is exactly what you want in a site. DISCLAIMER: IF you are a shark reading this, please be advised you can not find enough people to quad table and the software sucks so please stay away.

Second by DuggleChicken: Is that really working for you?

I assume by the question you are asking has poker in general worked for you? Has being insane worked? I dunno. I do not think this plan is actually insane. Possible a little aggressive and naïve but not insane. It is different but has some merits. Poker in general has been mixed. I have talked to many people. The majority of people have LOST money playing poker their first few years. MANY MANY people I know who Blog have yet to make money playing Poker. So I feel like I have been doing something right. Making 500-600 bucks in almost two years of playing is better than losing I suppose. I just have greater expectations for myself. I have lost some patience and discipline (if I ever had any) but I do not see myself as a lost cause by a long shot.

Anyway, as always, I am happy to have posted this content. At the very least it generates conversation and hopefully causes people to think about the WHY of their actions. It has been entertaining so far at least.

Day 1: Part Duex

I regularly post on the Talking Poker Forum, not a bad place. I have started a thread about my challenge and am getting some fun responses. The thing I like ALOT about the thread is it is bringing out alot of discussion on WHY we live with these restrictions. One Forum member asked if I would be so willing to throw away $300 in the trash if it was sitting in a bank. He equates his bankroll to real money all the time. Gordo stuck up for me (sort of), but I think it brings up a good point. I absolutly do not think you should see your bankroll as cash. I really think it leads to weak play and playing scared. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Gordon has it right. Let me ask you this. If you sit at a table of 5/10, and you put $250 down and you lose it. Do you think, "Man, I just lost a car payment?". No you think oh well, my bankroll dipped a little. If I thought of my money as "money" I would never want to play anything.

All having fun aside, I do not think it is healthy to see your bankroll as a mortgage payment or a car payment. (Even though $300 covers neither of those things in Boston). I think it leads to playing scared. Just my opinion. Now, I am not saying my way is totally right either, seeing it as nothing at all. I can compartmentalize things though. If I take $5 from my bankroll, run it up to $300, and try and run it up to $1K I can deal with that. It only effects my bankroll -5$ and possibly effects it +1K which allows me to play games that mean more to me on a consistant and more bankroll safe way.

The update for the night. Cash Games Good / MTTs Bad. I played in 3 of them tonight. The closest I came for the night was 45th place. I flopped 2 pair, J6 and pushed. A8 calls. Turns and ace for the trips. Ouch. Oh well. I played it the best way I could. The very next hand my pair of tens ran up against aces.

On the good side I made over $50 in cash games, so it paid for all the MTTs and then some. I got on a nice .25/.50 NL table and scored $30 quickly. I also scored another few bucks at another table. I then played a heads up match with a blogger and smoked him for a nice $20 profit. It is currently tied at 1 each in that particular matchup.

Will update you all tomorrow night on the Brian Experiment: Day 2. I also told the Real Deal I would mention his blog. It is a good one!

Day 1 of 5: The Great Brian Experiment

I am commencing my experiment tonight. As a recap: Win $300-$400 in a cheapo MTT, use that for a little 30/60 hit-and-run action. Quit if I triple up. The MTTs I have chosen are the 3K for $10, that one is a rebuy, and the 25K Qualifier for $5. The 25K is a goal I have. I want to win an entry!

No huge expectations for Day 1. Either I make my goal or do not. Either way is fine. If I bust out of the 3K I might try something else. I may have to pass on the 25K qualifier IF I am doing well in the 3K.

I know I have lost patience in doing things the “right” way.. who knows, maybe I will go back to being a real grinder sometime.. I just feel like I should explore other avenues of thinking sometimes.. Who can say what way is the right way?

I once had a theory that if I could play blackjack every day I could win. All I needed to do was wait for the deck to take the inevitable swing in my direction and cash out after those few hands where I made money. Every day. The way casinos make money is keeping you there long enough for the odds to average out in their favor as they always will. Now I know this thinking is flawed, since some days it will never swing upward, and potentially the days you make money will be far fewer than the days you lose..

BUT why not take a few shots. Try something new. Change the parameters a little. Who is to say the established thinking, the safe, solid, reliable, way is the only way, or the best way? The basis of the safe, solid, grinder type play seems to be this: Risk little, Gain little, over time. Winning a buyin to a higher level and playing it for a short period of time seems in essence the same idea. Risk very little EXCEPT take a shot at winning a lot.

One other thing that makes me think this is a good idea. Half the people I have seen playing 30/60 on Titan have been low-bankroll people trying to score a hit. Not SHARKS. Not GOOD PLAYERS. Just people sitting down with the minimum and trying to make a few bucks. If I saw tables full of sharks then I would be more concerned. Playing people like me does not scare me at all.

Alright, so scream and rant, and tell me I am stupid. It is fine. All I ask is that you back it up with some solid reasoning. Instead of just saying it is wrong, tell me why. Where are the flaws in logic? Do not just fall back on the old “Play within your bankroll” adage. Back it up. Be intelligent. Articulate the real problems with doing this.

** DISCLAIMER: I am special and I do not recommend anyone else trying this. You are not me. You probably will do better grinding out a living. I take no responsibility for your doom.

Crazy Idea or Why the Hell Not?

So here was my idea. I have been playing a ton of MTTs lately. You pay like 3-20$, and you get a chance to score 200-3000$. So here is the hair brained part. I am going to play MTTs all week. I am going to try and win one for around 300-400 bucks. I am then going to take the score from that one game and sit on a 30/60 table for a little and see if I can run it up to 1K or more. If I lose it, hey, its only three bucks. If I hit a good hand and score, then aewsome.

If I am going to be a maniac I might as well embrace it. It does not effect my online bankroll at all. Anything can happen in a short period of time at a table. So anyway, I am thinking about doing this. I will let you know how it works out.

I guess the best possible outcome would be to score a whole bunch of little wins and see my bankroll spike up by the end of the week, but never hit the big one for the 30/60 table. Not the most fun, but probably the best.

I have to tell you. The 30/60 tables are like crack cocaine. I mean FINALLY a place where you can actually make money that is worth writing home about. Playing 5/10 every night hinted at the possability of actually making money that matters playing poker, but 30.60 is crazy ass money!!

If I worked at McDonalds then the levels I play at might be worthwhile.. but until I have a stroke from the stress that is not going to happen. Wow, thats a fun though.. Hrrrrowwwrrr wrelcome tooo Mcdooonalds, I usssed to be smaaarrtttt untlll my strawwwwwkkk fuccckeeedd me upp, howwwww mayyy I hlp uuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Damn. My future awaits me.

Its Hammer Time

Mad out props to Trauma Poker of 100-2-infinity Blog. I am hanging around in my undies, lamenting the end of my Stars tourney. So what do I do? Hop on the 30/60 table! Woo hoo! Oh wait, not, I did do that, but only for a minute. Oh yeah, I remember now. Scott of Dead Money Inc, and patient employer of Texas, is entered into the 750 Guarenteed TURBO on Titan. So I am like screw that

I hate turbo games, however, I might like to rub it in the face of that X-Box winning scum, so I do it! Long story short, I just keep pushing all in whenever I get a decent hand. Not really poker. I end up chipping up. I make the final table. Trauma is there. Scott went out 20th. Boo hoo, cry me a river X-Box scum! Ok, so I wanted an X-Box. Scott is a good guy but thats my X-BOX!!!!

So anyway. Me and Trauma are sitting there 5 left. He has ALOT of chips, and a donkey with alot less chips is there. So basically he could have folded into 4th. NO WAY! My hero kicks ass! He pushes with the HAMMER! Unfortionatly it is against AQ. Who hits an A. And a Q. DOH! Go by and give him props though. That was a balls up move.

I ended up going out next with AT vs A4. He spiked his 4 on the river. Boo hoo. Oh well. $79 score for a $3 buyin and $4 add-on. Not so bad.

Fish I hope you die

FUCK!FUCK!FUCK! 656th Place. I have pocket Kings. I get called by pocket 3's for a 1200 dollar bet. Her first mistake. Then the flop is 3 hearts. She pushes. Her second mistake. I KNOW she does not have a heart. I call. She actually does have a heart. It is a 3. She has Pocket 3's with 3 overs on the board. So she is drawing to a 3 of hearts. Of course my two kings are black as night. See where this is going? She hits her heart. I say "Well played", she says "Thanks". Fucktards!

The Pain Continues

Still running wayyyyyy cold in everything except MTTs. I had a chance to score in the 1500 freezout. I made one mistake 8 to the money. A loose, lagtard, pushed, and I put him on Ax, which he had pushed with before. So i call with my pocket 7's and do not improve. I lasted a few more hands but could never recover.

I did score in the 497 person depositors freeroll. For a whole .75 cents or something.

I had a good game with Scott last night too. I am thinking about a few tweaks he gave me pointers about. Although, I would say, I am still getting more than my share of half ass loses and suckouts. Scott doubled up at this table, I lost $40 though... sooooo...

The bankroll is down to 944 from its previous glory of 1500. Just been running REAL cold the past few weeks. No real tilting and playing the 30/60 level. I guess thats good. Or maybe I should.. hmm.. nahh..

HU Challenge: Round 1

Wow. What a weird one. I played Willy Wonkah in the HU challenge. Go to the HU Challenge board for more information. You can also go to Willy Wonkah's board and taunt him. Just Kidding! He played aewsome!

I do not want to give away too much of my strategy HU, but I felt I both played a great game AND got extremely lucky. Both can happen. Here is a weird hand though. First hand of our HU. I get dealt T2o. We both limp. Feeling each other out. The flop is T2K. YES! I am going to get him. So I bet. He raises. I re-raise, we end up all in on the first hand. Now in retrospect I am not sure either of us should have been all in with two pair. KT was a real possability. We both flip, and we BOTH have T2. UB is RIGGED! heh.

So match one lasts a while until I call min raise or 3-bet with J3o. Why? In HU I like to be aggressive and I do not allow myself to be pushed around. The flop is K33. Sweeeeeeet! Before I can figure out how to make the most of this hand Willy is raising me. So I re-raise, we end up all in, and I win. WOOT! On to the next match.

This one was not even close. The cards kept hitting me well, every flop was good until he was down to 500 chips. I then just applied pressure every hand. When he was down to 300 he pushed with Q9. I hit a straight with AT, and he rivers a flush.

On we go. I keep the pressure on. I get pocket jacks. We are all in again. I flop a set, and barely after I can get the victory yelp off my lips, he rivers a straight. @&*#@&*&@. What do I have to do in order to get rid of him? I played T2 again, hit two pair, but he folded this time. Finally one of my hands held up and I took it.

Willy is an excellent player. Even though he kept telling me how bad he was. If I had one suggestion it would be to fold a little less. I was able to raise pre-flop many times in a row and never get a call, which inspired me to raise pre-flop more. In addition I was able to raise pre-flop alot, and if any high card was on the board, take down the pot by betting it. Some of this could be because he was cold decked in the second game, but I think in HU you have to take a few more risks, and you have to be more aggressive. My 2 cents to a worthy foe.

What do I have to do..

I have BEYOND a doubt the WORSE luck of ANYONE EVER! If I had normal person luck, I would be winning twice as many tourneys. However, since I have fucktard luck, I lose everything. Here are some examples of tonights fun:

88. I push. I get THE best call I could EVERY want. A8. 3 outs baby. If even. Hmm. 3 hearts. 4 hearts. Ummm.. how come he hit an 8 high flush?

AA,KK,QQ all cracked by 2 outers on the river.

45 flops the NUTS straight and is runner-runner rivered by a straight 1 card higher. 2 outs again, since THE only card he could get to win was a 4, and I had a 4 in my hand. At least I got to see that fucktard lose his 400 bucks. SWEEET!

My favorite though was less of a suckout. It was in the 3K. I flop a nice 2 pair on the flop. So what do I do? Push. I put the guy with 960 chips, in a freezout tourney, all in. What does he do? Calls. Catches a flush of course.

At least I joined in the fun for one hand. I have AQ, and make a large raise. J9o calls me. The flop is QJJ. Tough hand. Should lay it down. So I bet the pot. I get cold called. Now I see alot of draws and stuff and can not put him on a hand. So I push. And guess what. I catch MY 2 outer, hitting a Q over J boat on the river. Cya.

*SIGH*

Its a tough road being a Poker Player. If I was not so good I would never win.

Big Weekend

It is a big weekend for me in the MTT circuit. First up: The Titan Poker, depositor, freeroll. 1K up for grabs. Probably works out to $300 or so for first place if I remember right. I came in second place for the first deposit I made. I think I need to do better this time. It is nice of them to have this freeroll for me again.

The second thing is the scorge that is taking over Poker Blogs everywhere. If you have not entered the marketing genius contest that is the Poker Stars Blogger Freeroll then you should. It is free. The first prize is 12K. Nuff said.

The way I have been scoring in these low-limit MTTs, I am hoping to continue the trend. I have been 3-4 in the last 3 days. Pretty good if I can keep it up. I am not scoring a huge amount in each of these ($30-$200), but it is fun to win, and the amounts are decent relative to my bankroll. My next goal is to try the 10K and 25K on Titan. I will try and win my way into both. I may just buy into the 10K though. It is $50. Not outside the scope of my bankroll. The 25K is a hundred, which is close to 10% of my roll which would not be very good. Each qualifier is $5.50 which is WELL in my means. There are usually 20-30 players in these so it is not too hard to get to the final table. Once there anyone has a shot.

7th Place in the 3K

I am somewhat dissapointed I did not place higher. I make a risky move against a wild player. I had A4 s00ted, he had 33. He caught a 3 and I never improved. So I ended up in 7th place for 134 smackers. Oh well. I tried.

Here is the bad thing though. Besides my dumb play when I had alot of chips. (less than 10xBB but 40K in chips). I get A7 with my 1900 chips left. 6K blinds. I push. Two callers. The flop comes and then one guy says to the other one "Lets call him down"!!!!

FUCKING CHEATERS!

It is an unspoken thing that usually you will call the all in guy down to get a better chance to knock him out. HOWEVER it is WAYYYYYY past the line to actually say it. I AM PISSED!

I reported him to Titan but I doubt those losers will do anything. They "Protect" me by not giving me my money until I send them a credit card scan that they can see clearly EVEN THOUGH I am taking my money out through Firepay. Yet, I tell them someone is cheating and they could fucking care less. Thanks guys!

MTT Ya You Know Me

Ok, Sorry for the dorky title. I am tearing up the MTT circuit now. It is a good thing too, because my cash game has gone south. I placed 4th in an Omaha Hi tourney today and am going to try and score in the 3K again tonight. I have something like 5 out of 9 finished ITM on Titan, with two second place finishes, a 4th, a 7th and I think one more. I also have bubbled. So far so good.

Slow Week at Work

Damn, I wish I had more time to surf at work. I used to have THE definitive blog listing. I mean it was the balls. I should start that puppy up again, since Poker blogs grow faster than rabbits. The list I had is probably very old now.

Speaking of rabbits, I thought I would respond to WillyWonkah’s about why it was a big mistake to play my Queens so hard. He writes some good stuff and it is worth taking a trip by his blog. The ladies are a hard hand. Especially in one of these wild rebuy tourneys. Does he have AK or KK? JJ maybe? Some other crap hand. It really gets to be knowing the player and deciding if you should respect a move by that player.

I thought it was a mistake because of details I did not put into my post. Details such as the player being decent, strong player. Details like me putting in a large bet and her coming over the top of me. I still have problems with laying down large pockets to huge raises. Usually, again depending on the person, a large raise after you have raised means high pockets. Especially when the other person has a decent stack and it is early in the game. It really comes down to the feel of the game in NL. In reality, on paper, the QQ vs KK is just bad luck. However, if you take everything in consideration it was one of the worst moves I made all game.

Having said that, I think I played exceptionally and made very few mistakes. I hung in there, and my good hands held up. All of the factors came together to give me a decent win. Skill AND Luck make a good tourney player. You can not win without both.

Veddy Interesting

Weird times. So as you all probably know my sister is facing a possible 6-month jail sentence. It is still up in the air right now. She calls me every few days saying “If you just call Citibank and Say that I will pay the bill they will not send me to jail”, read between the lines: If you tell Citibank that YOU accept responsibility for the charges then Michelle can screw you on the money later. Homey is not getting involved. She made this mess she can deal with it.

So my mother calls to give me the guilt trip, ohhh, what are we going to do with Michelle’s son? Where will he live? I recommended a good foster home. He would probably be better off than with my sister. She doesn’t even watch him most of the time anyways. She ships him off to my mothers house, which he calls “home”, every weekend anyways. It must be nice to have no responsibility. I wouldn’t know. I have been living on my own and working since I was 18 and have never looked back.

Anyway, it is not unusual that Momma the Enabler calls and asks me to get my sister off the hook. She then asks me why I never call her. I retort, Why should I? I have never done so before. She says “Maybe you should..”.. Hmmm.. A very interesting answer. She then goes on to ask if I like her. I quickly lie. Ok, it’s not a total lie, but after 36 years of being ignored and watching my sister be favored I am a little distant from my mother. So we shall see if this develops any further. Not sure if I care or not.

2500 Guarenteed or something..

So. Freaking. Tired. SirFWALGMan.. the Wafflenator, has just placed 3rd in this fine contest. +300 in the bankroll. I would amaze you with my wonderous wins but basically I had a jackass at my table. He rebought 6 times. He gave me 4 of those. I made an early mistake pushing QQ vs KK. Ouchie.

I chipped up slowly. Had 4K after the break. Hung in there until 20 left. Doubled up with A4o. I was a small stack. K9 called me. Hung in until final table.

Got some nice hands which got me as high as 2nd chips stack. Went all in with 22 when I had 48K, 4K blinds. I was second chip stack. KQo caught her Q. No 2 for me. That hurt me. I hung in until the 4th guy went out. I then pushed with AK vs KK and even though I made 4 spades for some excitement, I never caught the Ace to take second. So I ended up out in 3rd. A well played game for the most part.

** DAMN I MUST OF BEEN TIRED, I POSTED THIS IN THE WRONG BLOG LAST NIGHT. ENJOY.

Dreams..

Do you think it is a bad sign when you dream of being bad beat? I have never really had vivid dreams of Poker. However, with the past few days I ended up having a nasty bad beat dream. It sort of mirrors my usual luck. It is weird to dream about getting your ass kicked though.

Lately has not been good or bad. It is that plateau state you hit before you climb way up in limit. You know what I am talking about. You get stuck around 1K or 2K. Just shy. You really want to get firmly entrenched at the next marker, however everything you play seems up and down and you just break even. You start questioning what you are doing. Which is a good thing. Then like a cork released from a bottle, you suddenly surge up and leave that last marker way behind. It is soon forgotten as the next signpost for your bankroll is reached.

I am hoping to reach 3K again by the end of the year. This is really the first time since the big bust in January that I am actually confident I can do it. So I guess that is a good step.

FRY FISH FRY!

Well, this is how it went for sir. A9h. Min raise. I call. The pot is $600. I flop two pair. I bet 1K when 1 guy bets 120, and the other guy in calls. I mean perfect. I get a caller. Ok. So I push my final 500 in on the turn, knowing I am ahead. If I am not it is not going to matter anyways. He calls. His final chips. The river is a J and I KNOW it means doom. Yup. He called off his entire stack with AJ. He had an Ace with a decent kicker, and three outs to beat me. Very dissapointing.

10K Qualifier

I took a seat in this. First or second. I will never know because they do not let you finish Mano-E-Mano. Anyway, the game is at 4EST today and has 60 people registered currently. Wish me luck!

Veneno, the Godess of Poker

Damn. Heads up. Second match. She beat me playing well the first one. First hand. Flop xx9. I bet, she raises, I push. I say "Got a 9 Veneno", she calls. K9 vs J9. I am WAYYY ahead. Until the J falls on the turn. Damn!

Back to the past..

It is really funny. I like reading my old posts. I still suffer from some of the same weaknesses. However I can see places where I have improved vastly as a player.

I was talking to Iggy last night (yeah, I am big and important and Iggy like me.. Nah Nah!), about the merits of playing 10-sided vs 6-Max. I would be interested in other people's comments on the games. As I stated the last time I thought about switching fromm 6-Max to 10-sided, there is just more damn money in them hills!

http://sirfwalgman.blogspot.com/2004/08/another-day-another-post.html

Every hand is a potential monster at the ten game. The raising flush draws, and pushing your good draws really works at these games because so many people will call you to the river with as bad of a hand as an Ace-nothing draw. Of course your weaker hands are going to get sucked out on more often. So what? You want chasers and posers and as long as you can FOLD to the right people.

SO again I ponder, do I want to stay in the action oriented, junky, crack land of 6-Max, or switch it up and give 10-sided some loving? We shall see.

Showdown

I was cruising around, reading some blogs, and happened over to Gary's part of the world where I read the following:

DuggleBogey: Careful playing so often with SirWafflesAndFriedChicken. I think he's contageous.

Enough is enough. So I laid down this challenge on his site:

SirFWALGMan: Thats it! I am calling you out! Me and you! Any table! Any time! Then you can see first hand what a SirWaffle can do.

So we shall see. We can play 10-sided, 6-Max, Heads up. A single buyin. Any level. Whoever is ahead at the end of a pre-determined period of time get bragging rights.

Nuff Said

Gary again

Played some 2/4. Won a little. Played a tourney. Lost a little. Played an SNG. Won a little. So I decide to try out a 5/10 table. I played for a few hours. Getting my stack down to $30 at one point. Until I hit some good cards and brought it back to $251. For a nice profit of $1.

I then see my favorite fish on. Gary Cox! Just kidding. He is a decent player most of the time. I decide to sit down with him. He did not do too well that night. Too much calling down with second pair or something. I can see why he did this. We had a very fishy, bluffing table. For instance here are two hands in a row. I get KK in the EP and raise it. It gets 3-bet and capped. I am HU with a REALLY bad player. I cap a low-card flop, I cap the turn, I bet the river and he calls. I win.

Next hand. Veneno is at our table. She gets Rockets. Same guy. She pounds the pot. His K6 beats her ass when it flops two pair.

So which play was right? Both. Sometimes the fish get lucky though. Not last night. Not with me. I have another fish. He keeps raising me. Bluffing his ass off. So I am doing fairly well, up over $50 at this point. Doubling my buyin. I have QT s000ted. The flop gives me a gutshot. I bet out, he raises, I re-raise. Turn gives me a flush draw too. He bets, I raise, he calls. River is an Ace. I bet. He cold calls. My Q high wins. What the hell? I fully expected to lose, especially with the river call, but I value bet and won. Weird. He must have been on the lower straight draw. The one which my straight would have kicked in the junk.

It was that kind of night on that table though. I ended up trippling my buyin, and after a quick hit-and-run this morning the bankroll stands at a nice 1400. Now all I need to do is send 3 drops of blood so Titan can identify me and they will send me a check.

DONT STEAL MY BLINDS!

Ouch. Always the bubble boy and never the bubble. Or something like that. To top it all off I get hamstrung by my good buddy MEEK! Now I do not blame him. I screwed myself the hand before. Before we get to that. I went out 11th place. All I needed to do was wait. However, instead of that I went too far with QT against Meeks AK. Bastard.

The hand that I played wrong however, the one that got me into the QT situation, and busting out with K8, was when I had AQc. I did the ole, should I make the money or play my goddam hand. I decide to cold call a min raise. The mistake? I ABSOLUTLY needed to push there. I ended up folding the flop. Screw trying to stay in for 10th place. It is a loser mentality. The two times I started thinking that way I lost because of bad plays like that. So I could not be too mad when Meek crippled me.

Damn, I am distracted. GCOX is at my table. There is a MEGA agro, bet, raise with nothing, crap, suckout king at my table. It went something like this after he raised and stole my blinds a few time.

Sir: I am warning you. If you try to steal my blinds. I will raise you. Just on the principle of it. So back off.

Eerie silence follows. Then a few hands later. I am the BB and he is the SB. Here is how it goes down.

He bets.
I Raise like I said I would.
He re-raises.
I call.

I have AT here.

I type in the chat “I told you not to raise my blinds:. The flop is a crappy 8JK mix.

He bets.
I raise.
He 3-bets.
I cap.

The turn is a nothing 3.

He bets.
I raise.
He calls.

The river is a nothing card too.

He checks.
I bet.
He calls.

My AT stands up against his T7 draw.

Sir:I told you not to F with my blinds.
Sir: Go steal someone else’s blinds. A lot of other people will fold to you. Really.


Where was I. Oh yeah. The 2/4 game for SOME reason is kicking me in the balls. I keep consistently getting sucked out there and losing a $100 buyin. Three nights in a row. Does not make the tilt monster happy. I ended up letting him a little loose on the 3/6 table. I hit a REALLY nice hand based on a read. I called 4 bets pre-flop. Because Everyone was in. I had 9’s, and I could stop my loses at 12 bucks. The potential pot was going to be huge though. So the flop comes 9Qx. The initial capper bets, I raise, he re-raises, and it gets down to just us. I keep pounding the pot. Why? Because I am SURE he overvalues hands. I am praying he has KK or AA instead of QQ. The rest of the board is not very scary. We end up capping the turn and betting the river. He flips KK. I win a nice $200 pot. Ahhh well. What is a guy to do?

So I ended the night up around $90. I am still playing with GCox at a ½. So I might lose it. I am however extremely happy with my ½ play so far.

Justice Served?

Poker has been slow. Up. Down. Down. Up. Running at $1230 right now. Down from $1300 after the cash. Of course in order to cash out you need to send your 1st child to Titan Poker. It's ok, he is a bit of a trouble maker anyways. Just kidding!!! I love that kid!

Before I commence with a little personal update, can anyone tell me why the Wiggles look like retards from a Star Trek convention? No? Good.

So I am working away, toiling, and making money programming the other day when I glance over at my cell phone. I have a message. Ok. So I start listening and it is my mother. She starts telling me that the court wants to lock my sister away for six months and I have to stop them and do something.

Now, for those of you who have read this Blog, you many remember around Christmas. It was then that my sister took a credit card receipt from a gift I gave her and started charging up 2K worth of stuff on my card. Umm.. ok. My parents would have paid the bill and let her get off without so much as a wrist slap. Homey doesn’t play that game though. I called Citibank and the police and pressed charges. After all of these months it seemed like the amazing Houdini was going to escape once again. However there seems to be a slight chance she will have to face up to the consequences. This is something my parents never made her do. I have some hope it will smarten her up. A month in jail has to change you somehow. However she will probably just come out blaming me for her misfortune. Woes her. So should I visit her in jail?

In my typical fashion I am ignoring the situation, returning no calls, and waiting for this thing to resolve itself. I really get annoyed that my mother would even consider asking me to do anything. I also am not sure how dumb she is thinking that, even if I was inclined to step in, I could do anything. It is out of my hands. It is in Citibank and the courts hands. I will keep you posted.

Hanging

Well, not much to report. Titan is still good. I peaked over 1500, so, following my plan, as I seldom do, I cashed another $200. The bankroll now stands at 1347. Not too shabby.

I have been playing alot of .25/.50 6-Max. Why? I figure there is very little chance to tilt (or lose) at those tables so why not. So far I think I have had one losing session and that was only for $5. I hit the 1/2 today for a little also. Had a nice session. If I had bought in short like I was doing then I would have lost my buyin. However I was able to hang tough, and bring the stack up from $16 to cashout at $80. I would have made alot more, except J8 s000ted caught his flush against my set. I had the Q high flush draw and the boat draw but I never improved. Ahh well.

Go say hi to Meeks Bankroll before someone takes it. Heh. Meek is a good guy. He sweated me in the 7500. He is also a solid player. His Bankrolls blog is at http://www.meekspbr.blogspot.com/. He might even write a guest post himself someday.

7500 Guarenteed

Boy that break lasted a long time. Here is what happened. Titan Poker calls me on the phone and asks that I play in the 7500 guarenteed. Well, since Mr. Poker called me what could I do? So I played.

I made one mistake the whole game. I only went in with a hand that was behind once. It was AQ vs AK late in the game. I was ITM and had about 10bb. I pushed and the guy next to me called with AK. I got really lucky when the board double paired and we tied.

The rest of the game I played really well. I got some suckouts. Like when I pushed with AK vs AT and the guy calls his whole stack and sucks out a straight on the river. That guy actually went out 8th. Yours truely went out 7th with J8o. I had no choice really. Had less than 2 blinds left. Had to push. A4 won. So at least it was a 33/66? Ok, so I dont really know the odds. I scored $303 minus my $60 for the buyin and Add-on and WALLA! The bankroll teaters at 1471. Go Sir?

*Sigh*

You know it. Play 2/4. Lose 150. Play 5/10. Lose 250. Play 20/40. Win 1200. What is my problem. How come I only make money when I tilt. Oh well.. commence the hammering.

I am going to take a few days off of Poker. Try and get my head back on my shoulders where it belongs. Good luck, and keep the fish poor while I am away!

A little off track..

Well.. I started good. Then I decided to play some 5/10. With $250. At least I was properly armed. It ws not because I had tilted or lost alot of money. I just like the 5/10 game on Titan. It rocks! I mean it is really good. It seems the right mix of players who will fold sometimes, and players who try and suckout the two outs they have. So you make money from the guys who buyin for $100 and try and suckout a win and leave (hmm, sounds familiar), and you trade money back and forth with the decent guys. So far I have played 5 sessions and won 4 of the 5, two for decent amounts of money. So anyway, I should probably stay away but they are calling me.. Hopefully I can wait at least until I get to 2K. I could then take some stabs at 5/10 with enough buffer to keep me from going crazy about losing a buyin. I really hope to get up to 3K soon and then play 5/10 on Titan exclusively. It is a sweet game.

So for those who keep score:

1028 bankroll.

A winning Poker player again (about $400 over 2 years, so not wildly ahead, but not behind which is something).

Bust Outs stay at 9. Ok, I made that up, it could be more or less. Most of those being buyins and free money of under $200, building up to decent stacks, and then busting out on tilt.

Current Tilt Status: Moderate to low chance of tilting today and tomorrow, leading into the weekend we will just have to see.

Just an Average Night.. (PHEWHHHWW)

No excitement tonight folks. Continue along. Nothing to see here. Thank God. I just did what I should do every night. Risked $50 by playing 1 20/3 SNG, taking 3rd for four bucks. Playing 1/2 Limit. Taking $25. Playing a different table of 1/2 and taking $10. Grinding away.

Then playing a 10/1 10-Sided SNG and taking first. That was pretty exciting. I just kept hitting hands. I chipped up to almost 4K with 6 people left and did not go crazy with power. I kept out of the way. Every 10-15 hands I would do a blind steal with a moderatly good hand. Keeping myself about even. It finally got down to four players with two of us having 9K and the other two having 1K combined. Once we each dispatched on enemy we set upon each other. It started as a love feast. He was complementing me on my great play, I was telling him how he made a great comeback after losing some chips to me. Kiss. Kiss. As I took his chips. I got some damn good hands. I slow played some kings, and ended up flopping a set and turning a boat. That was cool. I played even. I let him take my blinds several time. Finally the flop was 553 and I had T3. I know it is not a great hand but I had a feeling. So when he pushed I called and he turns over a straight draw. I hold out and that is all she wrote.

So we are up a nice $89 or so for the night. Topping just over 1K again. About even with what I had when I hit-and-ran the 30/60 table. So we continue to grind. We shall see how it goes.

I am trying to keep myself in check by only risking $50 a night. I can spend it any way I want. SNGs, Ring, Tourney, whatever. Once I lose the $50 it is over. If I win, I can buyin for that much more in a ring game or whatever I like. I have tried this method before. It is very hard for me, but we shall see.

A night in the life..

Session Start (SirFWALGMan:Kip): Tue Oct 04 19:55:15 2005
[19:55] SirFWALGMan: sup
[19:56] Kip: whats happening gamblin man!!
[19:56] Kip: just kidding you!
[19:56] SirFWALGMan: playing some 1/2 for a change
[19:56] SirFWALGMan: of pace
[19:56] SirFWALGMan: i am the gambooler incarnate
[19:56] Kip: lol
[19:58] SirFWALGMan: p;laying a dirty dozz
[19:58] SirFWALGMan: all in with ako
[19:58] Kip: those are fun
[19:58] SirFWALGMan: a7 sucked out on me
[19:58] Kip: :(
[20:00] SirFWALGMan: k9 sucked out on my a6
[20:00] SirFWALGMan: lol
[20:01] SirFWALGMan: that guy is buddy listed for sure

[20:04] SirFWALGMan: last night was wild though man
[20:04] Kip: sounds like it
[20:04] SirFWALGMan: id love to have the bankroll to play 30/60
[20:04] SirFWALGMan: thats some real money
[20:05] Kip: yeah it is
[20:05] Kip: thats almost make a living playing poker amount
[20:05] SirFWALGMan: I think I will work on 5/10 first though
[20:05] SirFWALGMan: if you could win consistantly you could definatly pay the bills
[20:05] Kip: yes
[20:06] Kip: were you live at?
[20:06] SirFWALGMan: boston area. MA
[20:06] Kip: thats right i remember
[20:07] Kip: I met so many people last few months from blog I forget
[20:07] SirFWALGMan: lol
[20:07] SirFWALGMan: bloggers are cool

[20:14] SirFWALGMan: im down 25
[20:14] SirFWALGMan: time to hit the 30/60
[20:14] Kip: lol no!!
[20:15] SirFWALGMan: only down 17 now, phweehhwww
[20:18] SirFWALGMan: 23 now
[20:18] SirFWALGMan: wow
[20:18] SirFWALGMan: my buddy is getting luccccky
[20:19] Kip: haha
[20:19] SirFWALGMan: rivered a 3rd 8
[20:19] SirFWALGMan: lol
[20:20] SirFWALGMan: i at least want to outlast him
[20:22] SirFWALGMan: he was up to 100, and is down to 70 now
[20:22] Kip: whenever I sitout a hand a pair of 6's wins but I play my fucking pair of aces get stomped by some moron that gets a set of his pocket 2's
[20:22] SirFWALGMan: 90% of his wins have been moderate to high suckouts
[20:22] SirFWALGMan: lol
[20:23] SirFWALGMan: just cracked aces with 44
[20:23] SirFWALGMan: doubled up
[20:24] SirFWALGMan: so I typed, Min Raises make baby jesus cry
[20:24] SirFWALGMan: cause he min raised his hand
[20:24] Kip: lol

[20:34] SirFWALGMan: my fish just said Wow! to a bigger fish
[20:34] Kip: lol
[20:38] SirFWALGMan: my fish is down to 50
[20:43] SirFWALGMan: I think it is true that the WSOP spawns fish
[20:43] SirFWALGMan: the flock to the tables
[20:43] Kip: lol

[20:49] SirFWALGMan: im gonna play the 2500 guarenteed and call it a night
[20:49] SirFWALGMan: 10 bucks
[20:49] Kip: bleh I dont like rebuys
[20:50] SirFWALGMan: me either, but titan has mostly that
[20:50] Kip: they always sux me in
[20:50] SirFWALGMan: plus 10 bucks to win 750+
[20:50] SirFWALGMan: usually if your doing well its 20 because of the buyon
[20:50] SirFWALGMan: all ya gotta beat is 80
[20:50] SirFWALGMan: not bad odds
[20:51] SirFWALGMan: i just took 10th in a 120 person one
[20:51] SirFWALGMan: not good money for 10th though
[20:51] Kip: no
[20:54] SirFWALGMan: 20 places pay in this one so far
[20:54] SirFWALGMan: 102 registered

[21:01] SirFWALGMan: i just called him a fish
[21:02] Kip: lol
[21:02] SirFWALGMan: Im like "Dont show me your hands, I already know your a fish"
[21:02] Kip: haha
[21:02] SirFWALGMan: he goes into the hand with T2o
[21:02] SirFWALGMan: and bets the T
[21:02] SirFWALGMan: then shows what a good player he is
[21:03] SirFWALGMan: by showing his great hand
[21:03] SirFWALGMan: but he never raised it once
[21:03] SirFWALGMan: even though I bet the river
[21:06] SirFWALGMan: down to 9 bucks
[21:06] SirFWALGMan: when his K5 nails a runner-straight against my K7
[21:06] SirFWALGMan: i love this guy
[21:07] SirFWALGMan: 4 people out of the rebuy already
[21:07] SirFWALGMan: see you should have joined
[21:07] Kip: yeah
[21:11] SirFWALGMan: i think I am doomed at this Cash table
[21:11] SirFWALGMan: 6 bucks left[21:11] Kip: lol
[21:11] SirFWALGMan: my boy took me out
[21:12] Kip: /_[21:13] SirFWALGMan: i buddied him
[21:13] SirFWALGMan: I will get him later
[21:13] Kip: good idea
[21:17] SirFWALGMan: i have the worst luck lately
[21:18] Kip: heh
[21:18] SirFWALGMan: HU
[21:18] SirFWALGMan: so I decide to try a blind steal with my A7
[21:19] SirFWALGMan: I get re-raised
[21:19] SirFWALGMan: I hit my 7
[21:19] SirFWALGMan: call him to the river
[21:19] SirFWALGMan: he has KK
[21:21] SirFWALGMan: i quit
[21:22] Kip: lol
[21:22] Kip: you out of tournament?
[21:22] SirFWALGMan: no
[21:22] SirFWALGMan: but I lost 100 in cash tonight
[21:22] SirFWALGMan: and 50 in SNGs
[21:22] Kip: :(
[21:22] SirFWALGMan: down to 952 now.. :(
[21:22] SirFWALGMan: really bad hands and sorta bad play
[21:23] Kip: it happens

[21:23] SirFWALGMan: KJ calls my QQ
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: flop has an Ace
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: I bet out
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: he calls
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: turn is a K
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: I bet
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: he calls
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: river is a something
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: He puts me all in and flips it
[21:23] SirFWALGMan: just bad
[21:24] SirFWALGMan: i quit for the night
[21:24] SirFWALGMan: SNG or bust

[21:24] Kip: all right have good night
[21:24] SirFWALGMan: well I am trying to win the SNG still
[21:24] SirFWALGMan: but no more cash games for tonight
[21:24] Kip: oh ok
[21:29] SirFWALGMan: im all in with 88 in tourney
[21:29] SirFWALGMan: gonna make money or bust
[21:29] Kip: gl
[21:29] SirFWALGMan: vs 44
[21:29] SirFWALGMan: yes
[21:29] SirFWALGMan: hit an 8 too
[21:30] SirFWALGMan: 1510 chips
[21:30] SirFWALGMan: 95 left
[21:30] SirFWALGMan: 28 mins left in rebuy period
[21:31] Kip: make it to that
[21:31] SirFWALGMan: imagine if I hit 750 tonight
[21:31] SirFWALGMan: that would be wild
[21:32] Kip: yeah it would
[21:33] SirFWALGMan: fuck
[21:33] SirFWALGMan: cunt hits a 7 on the river
[21:33] SirFWALGMan: down to 850 now
[21:33] Kip: lol
[21:33] SirFWALGMan: i was tempted to call her 480 on the river too
[21:34] SirFWALGMan: but all I beat at that point was a 5
[21:34] SirFWALGMan: and ace high
[21:34] Kip: sorry thought cunt statement was funny
[21:34] SirFWALGMan: i dunno
[21:34] SirFWALGMan: I shoulda folded
[21:34] SirFWALGMan: I coulda been behind the whole time
[21:35] SirFWALGMan: this is so not my night
[21:36] Kip: i am up 16 does that help?
[21:36] SirFWALGMan: helps you
[21:39] SirFWALGMan: 83 left
[21:39] SirFWALGMan: 60 to the money
[21:39] SirFWALGMan: rebuy period has not ended either
[21:43] SirFWALGMan: im tired
[21:43] SirFWALGMan: went all in with ATo
[21:43] SirFWALGMan: no callers
[21:44] SirFWALGMan: i need an actual good hand
[21:45] SirFWALGMan: flopped the nut straight
[21:45] SirFWALGMan: it held up
[21:45] SirFWALGMan: 2280
[21:45] Kip: nice
[21:45] SirFWALGMan: guy had a3 spade draw
[21:46] SirFWALGMan: 81 left
[21:46] SirFWALGMan: 13 mins left in rebuy
[21:47] SirFWALGMan: its nice when your BB special flops the nut straight
[21:47] SirFWALGMan: T7o
[21:47] Kip: lol
[21:48] SirFWALGMan: there might only be 50 left after the rebuy ends
[21:48] SirFWALGMan: as it is I only have to wait out 50 people
[21:49] SirFWALGMan: chip leader is at my table though
[21:51] SirFWALGMan: its amazing almost 40 peiople are out of a rebuy tourney before the rebuy is over
[21:52] SirFWALGMan: LMAO
[21:52] SirFWALGMan: the cunt calls an all in
[21:52] SirFWALGMan: with A6
[21:52] SirFWALGMan: and spiked a rivr 6
[21:52] SirFWALGMan: to beat A7
[21:53] SirFWALGMan: 2500 chips
[21:53] SirFWALGMan: 71 left
[21:53] SirFWALGMan: 5 mins left in rebuy
[21:55] SirFWALGMan: cant beleive the cunt has more chips than I do
[21:55] Kip: lol
[21:56] SirFWALGMan: she just drew to a 4 card Q high flush and beat a tool who drew to a 5 high
[21:57] SirFWALGMan: JJ in da BB
[21:58] SirFWALGMan: I was gonna do a risky move
[21:58] SirFWALGMan: but I decided against it
[21:58] SirFWALGMan: THANK GOD!
[21:58] SirFWALGMan: you will never beleive this
[21:59] SirFWALGMan: Flop Q7x
[21:59] SirFWALGMan: I fold
[21:59] SirFWALGMan: the two other guys have QQ and 77 for 2 sets
[21:59] SirFWALGMan: rebuys over
[21:59] SirFWALGMan: I got 2K
[21:59] Kip: wow
[21:59] SirFWALGMan: +1K rebuy
[21:59] SirFWALGMan: 64 left
[22:00] Kip: you buying?
[22:00] SirFWALGMan: yup
[22:00] SirFWALGMan: I always do the rebuy if I have a decent amount of chips
[22:00] SirFWALGMan: gives me that much more chance
[22:01] SirFWALGMan: 186 buyins so far and probably gonna be 63 add-ons
[22:02] SirFWALGMan: cant wait to see the final payout structure
[22:03] SirFWALGMan: i think these low-entry tourneys are aewsome
[22:03] SirFWALGMan: great chance to score a big hit with little risk
[22:03] Kip: yes
[22:03] Kip: very good chance
[22:03] SirFWALGMan: ive taken 2nd once
[22:03] SirFWALGMan: and 10th
[22:04] SirFWALGMan: so now its time for first
[22:04] Kip: you will get it
[22:04] SirFWALGMan: would be nice
[22:04] SirFWALGMan: the other nice thing is less people than on Party, so these things last like 2 hours instead of 20
[22:05] Kip: thats a big bonus
[22:05] SirFWALGMan: 40 add-ons so far
[22:05] SirFWALGMan: the 405 stack decided not to add-on
[22:05] SirFWALGMan: probably not a bad decision since the blinds are 100/200 now I think
[22:06] SirFWALGMan: i got a toughie here
[22:06] SirFWALGMan: TT
[22:06] SirFWALGMan: i pushed
[22:06] SirFWALGMan: not sure if it was a good idea
[22:07] SirFWALGMan: AJ called
[22:07] SirFWALGMan: so far good
[22:07] SirFWALGMan: YES!
[22:07] SirFWALGMan: 5700 chips!!!!
[22:07] Kip: nice
[22:07] SirFWALGMan: there were like 6 limpers
[22:07] SirFWALGMan: so I wanted to make it HU
[22:07] SirFWALGMan: and none of the limpers had me totally covered
[22:08] SirFWALGMan: and I have more chips than the cunt
[22:08] SirFWALGMan: if I play a little safe now, that might just buy me a seat at the final table
[22:08] Kip: yeah
[22:09] SirFWALGMan: not gonna play weak, just a little wee safer
[22:10] SirFWALGMan: you ever consider the qualifiers on Titan.. to the big games?
[22:10] SirFWALGMan: KK
[22:11] SirFWALGMan: took 3 blinds with a 1K bet
[22:11] SirFWALGMan: 6200
[22:11] Kip: once in awhile I try no success yet
[22:11] SirFWALGMan: it seems like a cool idea
[22:11] SirFWALGMan: big stack is 15K right now
[22:12] SirFWALGMan: with 56 left
[22:12] SirFWALGMan: 55 make it, cunt took someone outy
[22:12] SirFWALGMan: shit she has 9K now
[22:12] SirFWALGMan: Id like that 9K
[22:13] SirFWALGMan: id put it to better use
[22:13] SirFWALGMan: im 9th out of 54
[22:14] Kip: thats great keep it up
[22:15] SirFWALGMan: Ako
[22:16] SirFWALGMan: damn
[22:16] SirFWALGMan: I called all in
[22:16] SirFWALGMan: AK vs QJ
[22:16] SirFWALGMan: he got a Q and J
[22:16] SirFWALGMan: 3310
[22:16] SirFWALGMan: asshole
[22:16] Kip: ouch
[22:17] SirFWALGMan: at least it was the right call
[22:17] SirFWALGMan: im pissed at that fucker
[22:18] SirFWALGMan: im such an angry loser
[22:18] Kip: you dont say :p
[22:18] SirFWALGMan: 30 to the money
[22:18] SirFWALGMan: he says poker is 96% luck
[22:19] SirFWALGMan: so I said its 99% for him
[22:19] SirFWALGMan: im so screwed now if I dont get a hand soon
[22:21] SirFWALGMan: just won 900 with K high
[22:21] SirFWALGMan: 3910 now
[22:21] SirFWALGMan: 47 left
[22:21] SirFWALGMan: 300 blinds
[22:21] Kip: lottsa time yet
[22:21] Kip: wait a good hand
[22:21] SirFWALGMan: y, but I got 10BB
[22:21] SirFWALGMan: so I need a nice hand sooooooooooooooooooooooon and the blinds are going up in 2 mins
[22:22] SirFWALGMan: the cunt just keeps getting lucky and winning pots
[22:23] SirFWALGMan: OMG
[22:23] SirFWALGMan: the idiot that sucked out on me
[22:23] SirFWALGMan: calls all in
[22:23] SirFWALGMan: TJ vs QQ
[22:23] SirFWALGMan: flops JJ
[22:24] SirFWALGMan: i think I made a critical mistake
[22:25] SirFWALGMan: OMG
[22:25] SirFWALGMan: I WON!
[22:25] SirFWALGMan: 8860!
[22:25] SirFWALGMan: with KT
[22:25] SirFWALGMan: and an ace on the board
[22:25] SirFWALGMan: and 3 hearts
[22:26] SirFWALGMan: I am 6 of 43
[22:26] Kip: nice
[22:26] SirFWALGMan: cunt lost alot of chips too
[22:27] SirFWALGMan: I got her covered now
[22:28] SirFWALGMan: this guys gotten all aggro now
[22:28] SirFWALGMan: I have had to fold 2 good hands pre-flop
[22:29] SirFWALGMan: 20 to the moooonayyy
[22:30] SirFWALGMan: 17..
[22:30] SirFWALGMan: im tempted to slow the game down a little
[22:30] SirFWALGMan: but I need to chip up a little
[22:32] SirFWALGMan: 16K is enough I think
[22:32] Kip: yeah sounds about right
[22:32] SirFWALGMan: raising AT in EP
[22:33] SirFWALGMan: trying to buy a hand
[22:33] SirFWALGMan: think it worked
[22:33] SirFWALGMan: yup
[22:33] SirFWALGMan: KT in da BB now
[22:34] SirFWALGMan: the small stack went all in 1200 to call
[22:34] SirFWALGMan: im gonna let it go
[22:34] SirFWALGMan: too many people left to act
[22:36] SirFWALGMan: 7860
[22:36] SirFWALGMan: 600 blinds
[22:36] SirFWALGMan: 34 left
[22:37] SirFWALGMan: 20 pay
[22:37] Kip: going to be close for you unless you can double up
[22:37] SirFWALGMan: yup
[22:37] SirFWALGMan: 33
[22:38] SirFWALGMan: min chips is 1K
[22:39] SirFWALGMan: i got to skip the blinds
[22:39] SirFWALGMan: but my table only has 7
[22:39] SirFWALGMan: 31 left
[22:40] SirFWALGMan: cunt came and joined me
[22:40] SirFWALGMan: she only has 1400 chips though
[22:40] SirFWALGMan: 865 now
[22:41] SirFWALGMan: a6o now
[22:41] SirFWALGMan: he turned qq
[22:41] SirFWALGMan: damn
[22:41] SirFWALGMan: 4790
[22:41] SirFWALGMan: where is the A when I need it
[22:42] SirFWALGMan: hadda take a shot at it though
[22:42] SirFWALGMan: 29 to go
[22:43] SirFWALGMan: im gonna stall
[22:43] SirFWALGMan: just a little
[22:43] SirFWALGMan: 28
[22:44] SirFWALGMan: 800 blinds
[22:44] SirFWALGMan: i keep forgetting to stall
[22:47] SirFWALGMan: stalling now
[22:47] SirFWALGMan: just slightly
[22:47] SirFWALGMan: 1 all in at my table
[22:47] SirFWALGMan: he lost
[22:47] SirFWALGMan: 27 left
[22:48] SirFWALGMan: big fight going on
[22:48] Kip: you are going to cut it close
[22:48] SirFWALGMan: im getting crap hands so close is the only way I can cut it
[22:49] SirFWALGMan: 3700 left after this blind
[22:49] SirFWALGMan: 26 left
[22:50] SirFWALGMan: i think if nobody plays I am gonna push with A9o
[22:50] SirFWALGMan: i pushed
[22:50] SirFWALGMan: probably gonna get 1 caller
[22:50] SirFWALGMan: a7 vs a9
[22:50] SirFWALGMan: he bhit the 7
[22:51] Kip: good run
[22:51] SirFWALGMan: that sucks that he hit the fucking 7
[22:52] SirFWALGMan: I was right there
[22:52] SirFWALGMan: and woulda had chips if he hadnt

OMG I am fucking Stupid

ME: OMG! Michele! Guess what happened?
WIFE: What?
ME: Well, normally I play 1/2 and 2/4. So I get a little cocky and decide to put $100 on a 3/6 table. I lost it.
WIFE: Oh.
ME: Yeah, so then I decide to win it all back at a 5/10 table.
WIFE: Okkkaayyy.
ME: So I lost another 250.
WIFE: oh.
ME: SO then I am so fucking pissed off I take my last 460 bucks and put it on a 30/60 table.
WIFE: And you lost your whole bankroll again?
ME: Fuck no! I made 1K in 5 minutes when I flopped a nut flush! BOO YA!
WIFE: Nice!!

So you can see my readers.. I am SO FUCKING STUPID.

Disagree? Who me?

"takes criticism at face value? now there's a peanut gallery. you are talking abot a guy, who, if you held $10,000 out in your hand and told him, "all you need to do is reach out with your right hand, and take this money, and it's yours." he would sit for a minute, say, "no you are wrong, i'll will take it with my left hand." and he will lose it . . .

i have first hand experience with this person. i have interacted with him face to face, and i have seen him interact with many people (mostly unrelated to poker), and it's always the same. if he has a question about something, any feedback or answers he receives are met with, "that's not true." "i'm not sure if that's right." "hmm, well i'll try it this way, because i think it's better."

LMAO. I wonder two things. Who the heck are you, and what comment did you reply to? If you want to leave your initials and the initals of where we worked together that would be interesting otherwise you can keep being a pussy.

This is kind of a catch 22. If I disagree about me disagreeing all the time then I am making his point? If I agree then I lose anyways. I will say there is some truth in this from a superficial point of view. Do I like to argue? Damn straight! It is fun. I actually enjoy the mental exercise of making people explain there positions, of taking contrary positions just because I can. The funniest part about me though is I do take criticism. Perhaps not outwardly but I am very contemplative and if you bring up a point I may seem to dismiss it, or make you think your reasoning out to a deeper level, but I will also take it to heart and fully consider all sides. So anyway.. some truth to it? sure. No where near enough insight on the subject though.

Poker..

I enjoy Poker. I like it when I get it. When the suckouts mean nothing except the fact that I will make money. I truely have moments when I see this clearly and accept the ebb and flow of the game. Other times are like last night. It gives me a little hope that someday I might overcome my inherent weaknesses and become a good player. Just a little hope, not too much.

I figure I might as well post my strategy on limit 6-MAX games. I take no responsability if this does not work for you. I am unique.

A. Starting hand selection is where it all starts. I am looking for good drawing hands or hands that can stand up by themselves. I basically use the SSHE reccomendations for loose games, basically playing any of the early position hands in any position. Especially if the table is weak and never raises. The thing I like about these hands is that they are all drawing hands or stone cold made hands. The drawing hands stop around the 9 kicker (I.E. Q9,K9,J9). On the tables I have been playing if you have a 9 kicker with top pair you are usually good. So even if you miss the flush or straight draws you still have a chance with TPTK. Obviously you play all the pairs and AK stuff you would normally play also. Raising the hands that warrent it. It is very important to raise pre-flop. You need to get all the money out of your good hands as possible.

B. Do not be scared. If you flop a K with a 9 or higher kicker and someone at one of these tables is calling your bets 50% of the time they have 2nd pair, 25% a draw, probably runner-runner, and you are usually good. Adjust this thinking depending on the player, respect the few good ones, rape the others. You MUST get as much money out of these TPTK hands as you can. You will get sucked out on alot and if you do not get paid with your day-to-day hands your toast.

C. Change it up. I like to call down second pair or a busted runner-flush draw just to make the table think I am a fish. I can then tighten up and get called down on every single hand. Paid. Paid. Paid. Play some weird cards every once in a while. Call down 3rd pair sometimes. Just mix it up so they never know if you have the nuts or a crap hand.

D. Know when to fold them. I am still getting a handle on this. It is hard to fold sometimes when the guy who calls down third pair suddenly raises you. Pay attention. If he is a weak fish that never raises he probably has at least two pair. Watch what people are doing and be prepared to react appropriatly.

Just a few thoughts on the 6-MAX tables at Titan. I would stick with being tight in the ten sided game. The more people the better chance you actually are outkicked. The 6-MAX game is all about suckouts. Your opponents will suckout on you. Try not to go off the deep end like me when it happens time and time again. You will eventually win if you make them pay every cent for the suckout attempts. You might not win tonight, but buddy list them and take them out later. It works. Really. Keep tough and you will win, even if you are only a moderatly good player. Good luck out there!

Brought to you by the letter T..

T.. as in Tilt. As in what the hell are you doing? So the past few days my good streak has turned downward. No so much. I was maybe down to 520-550 from my high of 630. Nothing to tilt about, right? WRONG! See I have this problem. I hate to lose. I need to win every day. I know. It sucks to be me. I try and break myself of this habit. Stapling my eyeballs to the chair doesnt help. See I do not need to see the cards to play! I am that good.

So anyway, the nasty suckout monster had been eating at my heals for a few days and I just lost it. I decided to take half my roll and hit a 5/10 table. Six max of course. Well.. to make a long story short, I won some, I lost alot, I won some more, and ended up the night ahead ohhhhh.. 300 bucks or so. SO the tilt monster has hidden under the keyboard again and all is right with the world. The bankroll is a very healthy $800 bucks> I am playing limit. I am enjoying myself most nights. I will also say I CAN NOT WAIT to have the roll to play 5/10. It is VERY sweet at Titan. VERY MUCH! Oh yeah, and thanks to April for the frosting on the cake.. no sooner does she wish me luck then do I take down a 110 dollar pot with pocket queens.

This public service announcement has been brought to you by the letter T. Please do not try this at home. This has been done by a trained ass monkey and should not be attempted without years of busting out.