Brutal

3 games down tonight. I did place in one of them as 3rd. I need to bluff less at lower levels, however I was pretty happy with my play on a whole.

$133.00

I am playing 5% of my bankroll so usually $5.50 SNG.

I didn't play at all yesterday.

No more CASH.

Today December 9th 2008 starts my quest to see if poker is going to remain a focal point in my life at this crossroads. I will quit cash games and only play tournaments until further notice. My goal is to have made remarkable improvement over 3 months in the tournament world, this includes online SNG, tourneys and live tourneys. I will put every effort I have into this for 3 months and report every day about my results. I am starting with a balance of $140.00 and some change.

In the past I thought I knew poker, I realize I knew nothing and now it's time to prove I have learned something.

the curse of 3rd

Lately I have been hitting 3rd and 4th in tournaments I have played even though I am 2nd in chips and the best skilled player at the table. Its not them its me. I recently played the 10k guatranteed 1st place at trop in ac making it to the final three just to call off 2nd in chips stack to chip lead lag with 33

A difference of 1000 for 2nd and 9000 for first.

I have to learn to keep my emotions out of it.

It also has to do with my last post not paying attn to my stack size and others and bet sizes.

A real goal would be to break 1500 mark as I have not been able to do this for 6 months.

I am sure this is what I want to do. I love to play poker. But I need more money and I need to start playing live again.

I am in control of the game except bad beats and I have to minimize those.

Urbana As house

For the last month or so I have been having the same outcome. Do really well then take what some would call a severe beat or a cooler. I knew there was a lesson intended and will always know its divine in origin.

The hand:

Table is 2-5 pretty loose passive. Just had to make a tough laydown. UTG+1 look down at 97o. I have been limping these types of hands out of position all night and getting pot odds to play against weaker players.

I limp so do 4 others late pos raises to 25 he's a lp I have played in the past. TP utg calls I call so do 2 others

130 in pot preflop

Flop:
7s 7h. 3d

Utg bets out 50 which makes me a little nervous still he could have 8s. I call wanting the lp to raise if he has an overpair. Lp goes all in for 202 folded to tp utg insta call I now reason he must have a 7 either 78 76 A7 maybe 33. Guess ill find out on turn call

Turn:
Kh

Utg tp goes allin I look at the pot 130+606+230 1066 and it costs me 230 all in to call 4.5 to 1 I feel the pot odds are enough and call

River:
Jd

Showdown:
Me 97
Tp 33
Lp AA

I lose and leave spend the whole drive calculating the odds. Basically if I put him on 33 I have 3 9s 1 7 3 Ks 7 outs roughly 15% which is 5.5 to 1 which makes my call correct if I put him on either 78 76 or A7 I have 3 9s 3 3s 2 Ks to chop 220 or win entire pot still worth it. SO its not a bad call on turn.

Lesson:
So I racked my brain how could I lay this down I can't on turn I'm too comitted and there it is the answer to my problem.
The time to lay this hand down was on the flop not the turn. There are only 5 possible hands I can see tp holding 78 76 A7 33 AA. This is why I missed the laydown, I am beating 3 of them and my thought was find out on turn

Plan:
Start looking at bet size compared to stack size get in habit of always knowing physically cut it out in live play and know ratio online

Guess whos back....

I have decided to start blogging again. Mostly for a way to vent my frustrations and update my progress. It has been almost a year. Shuffle up and deal.

Os Club

Played poker last night and ended a long losing/breaking even streak. Most Wednesdays I play the house game in Kensington but I just decided that it's not worth it, as far as the drive and the money I make from it.

But you know me, I have to play poker on a Wednesday.

So, last night me and my girl stopped by the Os Club. I haven't been there in a while because I have been spending all my time with her.

When we pulled up there were cars galore, which is a sweet sign. The tournament was still going and there were open seats at the cash game, and this is at 10:30PM. Which is just awesome.

I buyin with 200. 10 hands later or so I get dealt 95 suited in the small blind and decide to guage the table.

Limp, Limp, Limp, Limp I make it $20.00

Call Call Call Call

Well shit, this table is fantastic.

The flop is Q84, I check trying to represent a possible set :P
Guy in mid bets out and guy after him min raises him. Mid thinks about it and says
you must have 2 pair or a set or 4s. He folds the guy shows down Q8s, and I say I had jacks. Oh my god I'm in heaven.

I was not happy I couldn't show down my 95s bluff.

So I raise it up with 43s a little later, and continuation bet the flop with two callers with is Q high and a short stack goes all in for 31 more and I say I am pretty sure I have you beat but I can't call and show my 4 high. He laughs and claims we play alike, which I highly doubt.

I grind it out for a few hours and finally get KK in late position.

Limped pot to fish who bets out 17$, call, call, make it $70.00.
Fish calls and everyone else folds.
I'm all-in in the dark.
The flop is 222
Fish says I can't lay down a full house and calls with his 77.
Ship it.

Now I'm superstacked which is sweet, I just take down pot after pot and play very aggressively, and pretty much everyone is scared to call me on anything.

Until.....

I get AA in mid pos,
Make it $25 to go
fold fold fold, what's this Fish calls again, he has 77 again...
Is this a repeat?
J high flop
check to me I bet 50 he goes all in for 105
CALL
I just have aces. Ship it.


Time to go, nothing but regulars, I cash out 605 after buying in for 200.

It is worth noting that I had 95o and 95s over 30 times this session.
The dealer didn't believe me until I started to show him my hands.


Blue

Break Even Steven

Yea so I played 2/5 last night. I played terribly. I lost 250 made 300 lost 250 and made $315.00. Putting me up $15.00 for the night.
So laugh as you will 49985.00 to go....

Os club tonight.

Blue

My Best Bluff.

A couple of Sundays ago I venture over to the big daddy of them all, Borgata.
I have played here a couple of times, but am not well known at all like the Trop, Caesars etc.

I buy in for 200$ at 1/2 table, look around and realize everyone at the table is a pretty decent player. How the hell am I going to make money here? So I decide to try something different.

It is innate to my style to always tell people I am a fish. Tell them it's my first time, of course they never believe me. But this day I set out to make them believe I was a fish.

I started out by purposely missing my blinds each time until the dealer told me and staring dumbly at him. I through in a five on occassion and said I meant to bet 5, only to have the dealer tell me it was a string bet. I talked with the guy next to me about blackjack and how I had won this money on the tables and thought I would give poker a shot.

I raised all my suited connectors / pocket pairs to $4, and told them I had a good hand. They all assumed aces or better, becauseo on occassion I would show aces or kings etc, after raising to $4. I bitched how an Ace hit when someone had QQ and how I would have gotten lucky. AND THEN.........

I'm in the small blind, I look down and see 45o, I make it $12 to go which I have never done, and always bitched about someone raising to a "lot" of money. Everyone folds, to a super tight guy, he reraises to me $25.00. Great, my first bluff I'm up against aces. I call the $13 hoping I out flop him, but deciding I can out play him.

The flop comes down 249
I fire out 50 without hesitation.
He calls
The turn is a 8
I check he checks behind me.
The river is my miracle card, the hand he is putting me on, the magical King of Hearts
I look at the board, my hand starts shaking, and FIRE OUT $75.00.
He looks me dead in the eye, and says I KNOW YOU HAVE A SET OF KINGS and
folds aces face up.
I then turn over my 45o and say nice fold sir, Lets play some poker boys.

I did very well on the table, and everyone called me down to pay me off.

As I left, I said Blue has come to the Borgata.