The Blog is Gaining Momentum

One of the big wigs at the Poker Road forums is amused by one of my blog posts. It's nice to get some acceptance in the poker community.

BTW - Had some success in winnig three SnGs to push my bankroll to an all-time high. Have been struggling in cash games at 5/10c NL hold 'em.

Sick of Busting with AA or KK

I keep reraising with these two hands, keep getting called and then pokerstars keeps two-outing me. How do you break the cycle?

Back-2-Back PLO Final Tables

I played two $8 PLO tourneys last week and finished 3rd and fifth which was good for about $110 next profit. I haven't been playing much, or blogging much, and it seems to have helped. I'm pretty focused while in a tourney and not just going through the motions. However, I need to play more if I'm ever going build my bankroll. It's the old catch 22.

DiFi is an uptight bitch

Check out California senator Diane Feinstein's response to my PPA Letter. What a sorry excuse for a democrat.

Dear Mr. Staples:

Thank you for writing to me regarding Internet gambling. I appreciate you taking the time to contact me on this important topic, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

There is no doubt that the Internet and related technologies have had a remarkable effect on the U.S. economy in recent years. The flow of commerce on the Internet has enhanced American industry's ability to distribute goods economically and efficiently. The continuing development of this technology in California has provided hundreds of thousands of new, well-paying jobs, and I am committed to strengthening online commerce and preserving and expanding this vital job base.

While the advent of the Internet has its benefits, I believe the same cannot be said for Internet-based gambling. Internet gambling has become too easily accessible to minors, subject to fraud and criminal misuse, and too easily used as a tool to evade state gambling laws.

I understand your thoughts on internet gambling, and as you may be aware, I have supported legislation aimed at curbing Internet gambling during my tenure in the Senate. For example, I supported the SAFE Port Act, passed into law as Public Law 109-347, which included the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

Please know that I have read your letter with interest and value your thoughts. While we do not necessarily agree on this particular topic, be assured that I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind should this issue come before me during the 111th Congress.

Again, thank you for your letter. I hope you will continue to keep me informed on issues of importance to you. If you should have any additional comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841.

Best regards.

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

The Goal For August....WCOOP

Pokerstars is running it's WCOOP (World Series of Online Poker) next month and offering a lot of satellites to get into these big tourneys with large guaranteed prize pools. My goal for August is to use my FPP points to get into a couple of these tourneys for free. I'm focusing on the the 8-game mix, the the 500k PLO - which both run in early September.

The Curse is Broken

I hadn't cashed in an MTT in quite awhile. It had been a combination of poor play, bad luck and entering some stupid NL hold 'em tourneys with 5,000 people. I wasn't too concerned until I looked at my PokerDB stats and realized it had been 28 tournaments! Considering PokerStars pays 15-20% of entrants, it's pretty hard to go 0 for 28. During this stretch I remember bubbling twice - including finishing 55th when 54 got paid and 8th when 6 got paid.

I thought I might need to sacrifice two chickens and a goat, or even more dramatically, switch to full tilt - but luckily the curse was broken last night. I finished 17th in a $4 limit hold 'em tourney. 586 entered so I banked about $12 profit. I think I'm about to get on a roll.

So Pissed

Nothing tilts me more than a bad internet connection right in the middle of a tournament. Tell me how I can have internet then it goes right in the middle of a hand and comcast can't fix it. $13 down the drain and all I can do is chew out the comcast dipshit

Stopped the Bleeding a Little

Update from my last post. I've won a couple sit-n-gos and done alright in cash games (triple draw) over the last 24 hours to stablize my free fall. Slight difference in how I've been playing NL hold 'em, I've been much more patient instead of trying to run over the table. I've also went back to playing 9-handed instead of 6-handed to force myself to be patient. I'm just trying to let the donks make mistakes and give their chips to me. It has worked for 24 hours.

Big Downswing

Over the past several days it seems I can't win anything. Not a sit-n-go, and I haven't come close to cashing in a tourney. I'm back playing NL Hold 'em after the mixed games expierment. I know this game goes in streaks, but at this point I'm pretty frustrated. I've lost almost 10% of my bankroll.

Mixed Games

I've been playing the 8 game sit-n-gos tonight. They switch games every six minutes so it keeps you on your toes. I feel like I'm decent at all the games except stud. I'm getting pretty good at triple draw and Omaha H/L and feel like I have an advantage over most people at these stakes.

Final Table

I made a final table today in a $2 quintuple shootout. 1024 people enter and you play at tables of four someone wins and then you moved to the next round. I've probably played this event 15 times and never even cashed until today. To cash, you have to win two rounds. I won my first four tables, and was really playing well. In the final four I 3 bet all in with KK and a donk calls with AK - he hits an ace on the flop and I'm out in fourth place for $81. Not bad, but I would have won the whole thing if I won that hand.

Just Folded QQ Preflop

It was three bet and, even in a $2 tourney I was positive sure I was beat. Usually I never fold QQ in these donk tourneys but for some reason I was sure this time. Two dudes went all in and one showed KK. In other words, I feel like I'm in a good zone right now. I played a shoot out yesterday and should have cashed (I never run good in shootouts) but I blew it heads up. My NL hold 'em game is rounding into shape for the main event.

Almost...

...Won a NL Single Draw tourney. I finished second. I had a huge chip lead most of the final table and going into heads up. But, it's a volitile game. I'm a little dissappointed but I banked $63 for the runner up and pushed by PokerStars bankroll back into four figures.

I also played a lot of NH hold 'em cash games today and am ready to move up to 10/25 cent next session.

Back Grinding

Finally back playing poker. Just played a couple sit n gos to get my mojo back. I won one of them. I'm trying to get back in the swing after being out of town for much of the last week and a half.

On a seperate note, I started reading Mike Matusow's autobiography. It's very good so far.

I'm back

I took a much needed vacation in Hawaii. I thought I'd miss playing poker while over there but I actually didn't think about it to much. I did follow the WSOP updates but I didn't even think of loggin on to Pokerstars.

Speaking of pokerstars, so my money is now frozen:

I think it will get worked out, the PPA (poker players alliance) is working on solving this issue. Until then, the only thing to do is try to build my (frozen) bankroll.

Bad Beats

This is why I'm not a pro. I play so good but Pokerstars fucks me. Check this two hand sequence out:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $5.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com


CO (t15811)
Hero (Button) (t6650)
SB (t7399)
BB (t5375)
UTG (t3590)
MP (t19540)

Hero's M: 22.17

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
UTG bets t600, 2 folds, Hero calls t600, 2 folds

Flop: (t1500) 4, 3, 6 (2 players)

UTG bets t2000, Hero raises to t4000, UTG calls t990 (All-In)

Turn: (t7480) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t7480) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t7480


Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
UTG had J, J (three of a kind, Jacks).
Outcome: UTG won t7480



PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $5.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com

UTG (t15811)
Hero (MP) (t3060)
CO (t7299)
Button (t4975)
SB (t7680)
BB (t19540)

Hero's M: 10.20

Preflop: Hero is MP with A, Q
UTG bets t400, Hero raises to t3060 (All-In), 4 folds, UTG calls t2660

Flop: (t6420) 4, 6, 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t6420) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t6420) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t6420

Results:
UTG had A, 4 (one pair, fours).
Hero had A, Q (high card, Ace).
Outcome: UTG won t6420

I'm a 90% in the first hand and about 72% in the second, I had a 2% chance of losing both. Unbelievable - oh and I'd won both I would have been in the chip lead.

Pretty Deep Run In Omaha Last Night

Last night I finished 11th out of 300+ people in a $4 PLO hi/lo tourney. It was good for about $30, which is nice because I've been dry in tourneys for more than a week. Also, it's my best performance in an Omaha tournament to date. The structure was four-handed so that made it much easier. I like the game because it's so complicated. It forces me to pay super close attention and analyze everything. Sometimes in Hold 'em I'm on auto-pilot.

Oh and my bust out hand. Turned the nut straight and moved in, guy calls and hits his flush on the river. I thought it was a bad beat until I looked up the hand on an odds calculator. He had the nut low and was freerolling for the hi (with his flush draw). If I'd known that I would have checked!

Poker Circles

Maybe I should get this tattoo'd on my forearm:

Sunday Afternoon and Evening Poker

I played three tourneys on Pokerstars and bricked on all three. I mixed it up a bit and played a $3 HORSE, a $5 PLO Eight or better and a $2 NL hold 'em.

I was looking good to cash in the Omaha until I got coolered with a full house against rivered quads. Oh well.

What's better than making a straight flush?

When you hit the straight flush and some donkey check raises you. This is how you go from stuck to ahead in one hand.

PokerStars Game #28766968968: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2009/05/29 18:41:56 ET
Table 'Urania IV' 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: icelonewolf ($12 in chips)
Seat 2: -WinsLucky- ($10 in chips)
Seat 3: bouf1000 ($6.85 in chips)
Seat 4: Ihavedeuces2 ($9.25 in chips)
Seat 5: batmanrobin7 ($3.25 in chips)
Seat 6: drewstapes ($6.10 in chips)
Ihavedeuces2: posts small blind $0.05
batmanrobin7: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to drewstapes [8c 9c]
drewstapes: calls $0.10
icelonewolf: folds
-WinsLucky-: folds
bouf1000: folds
Ihavedeuces2: folds
batmanrobin7: checks
*** FLOP *** [9h Tc Jh]
batmanrobin7: checks
drewstapes: bets $0.15
batmanrobin7: calls $0.15
*** TURN *** [9h Tc Jh] [7c]
batmanrobin7: checks
drewstapes: bets $0.30
batmanrobin7: calls $0.30
*** RIVER *** [9h Tc Jh 7c] [6c]
batmanrobin7: checks
drewstapes: bets $0.60
batmanrobin7: raises $2.10 to $2.70 and is all-in
drewstapes: calls $2.10
*** SHOW DOWN ***
batmanrobin7: shows [2c Kc] (a flush, King high)
drewstapes: shows [8c 9c] (a straight flush, Six to Ten)
drewstapes collected $6.25 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $6.55 Rake $0.30
Board [9h Tc Jh 7c 6c]
Seat 1: icelonewolf folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: -WinsLucky- folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: bouf1000 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Ihavedeuces2 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: batmanrobin7 (big blind) showed [2c Kc] and lost with a flush, King high
Seat 6: drewstapes showed [8c 9c] and won ($6.25) with a straight flush, Six to Ten



This is an example of how soft these games are. By the way, I'm still expermenting with poker hand converters.

Cash Games

Even though I've had some recent success, I've come to the realization that it's very difficult to stay profitable playing only tournaments. The fields are just to big and NL hold 'em is to volatile. So, I'm trying to make an effort to play more cash games. Never one to risk too much, I've been cutting my teeth at the 5/10 cent NL tables on Pokerstars. The games are pretty soft at that level and I've won four of my first five sessions. The only problem is that I buy in for $8 and it takes a long time to grind out even a $3-4 profit.

The obvious answer is to move up in stakes to the whopping 10/25 cent game. I think I'm close to doing that. I'd buy in there for $25. I think a good goal for me is to get comfortable play $1/2 where I can win $100 or in a session.

My WSOP Prop Bet

All the professional players have been busy over the last few weeks making huge prop bets on field sizes, their chances to win a bracelet and everything else. Being an aspiring poker player, I knew I had to get into the act.

So, I've made a bet with a fellow member of the Pokerroad forums. I'm betting $10 on Michael Binger to win more money at the WSOP than Justin "Boosted J" Smith. Both guys are great players and should be in a lot of events. Michael Binger used to live in the Bay Area and got his PhD from Stanford, so there is the local connection.

It does seem a bit weird to bet $10 with someone I know only as "Red Cloud." But, that's the way the poker culture works. The loser will simply ship the money to the others Pokerstars account.

Rough Day Yesterday

Here's my day yesterday:

Decided to play Pokerstars Daily 30 Grand. It had about 4100 entries and I played extremely tight for about an hour and a half and was in decent position to at least cash. I got QQ under the gun and raised it up 3x. I got one caller and the flop came Q 10 9. Top set! I bet out about 3 quarters of the pot because of the draws and my opponent insta raised all-in. I decided to call, figuring even if she had KJ I still had outs. She (I'm assuming she was a chick). She turns over J 10. An 8 gives her a straight on the turn and I'm out. I actually wasn't too upset - even though doubling up there would have given me an above average stack and I probably would have cashed. At least I got my money in as a 72% favorite.

I've been reading the PLO section in Super System and have been wanting to play more Omaha for awhile now. I entered and $8 4-handed PLO tourney. It was brutal - I lasted 28 hands and didn't win a pot. Right after I jumped in a $4 PLO hi/low tourney and did a little better. I made it through about half the field. I get a little scared when people raise in PLO, I know I shouldn't because they can't be more than a 60/40 favorite - but still - it freaks me out a bit. I guess I have more reading and more practice to do to get decent at this game.

Later I played two $6 six-handed NL hold 'em sit and goes. I got second in the first for $6 and was feeling like my game was locked in. I decided to play another and had JJ about 5 minutes into it. There was a raise and three callers (me being one of them). Flop comes J109. Scary flop, but long story short I get it all in with top set against QQ, and once again an 8 comes on the turn. That's twice today I had top set and twice I lost. Fucking Pokerstars.

WSOP Starts Today...I won't be there

The poker world is heading to Las Vegas for the start of the 40th annual World Series of Poker today. Me, I will be following the action from sites like PokerNews.com. Once again, I won't be participating this year. In the past I've thought about scraping together the money for a $1500 donkament, but have decided I'd rather build up my bankroll the right way. The only problem is, building up a bankroll has been tough. Overall I've had a good month on Pokerstars, but with about $947 in my account, I'm still a long ways from the WSOP. However, I'm setting a goal to make it to next year's even and have one year to get there. I'm starting this blog to chronicle my progress.