If you are an amateur poker player then you know the feeling. It's the same feeling you get when Worm talks to Mike about going to AC, you know the whole "check raising stupid tourists" scene. It's the day before a trip to the casino. I'm supposed to be working, but all I can think about is that this time tomorrow I'll be walking through the casino at the Borgata headed towards the poker room and getting ready to play in the $300 event. It's almost the opposite of Buckner walking back into Shea. Last time I played in an event at Borgata I did well. Last time I played a cash game up there, I did well. So I'm almost afraid that the regression to the mean is going to catch up with me. But that's not a good frame of mind to be in, so I've tucked that little nugget into the darkness in the back of my head and proceeded to cover it up with positive thoughts.
I probably get a little too excited about these trips. But I'm a father of two and don't get many days to just play poker without anything else demanding my attention. Tomorrow I'll sit down at 11 a.m., plug into my iPod, start observing players, and really get to play some poker. Regardless of how I do in the tourney, I'll probably play until 3 or 4 am before finally turning in for the night. These marathon sessions are AWESOME! Especially when you're winning. But I need to remember that losing is a possibility. I only need to recall last year's Valentine's Day Massacre at Foxwoods, or some of the recent results online to know that you can play well and run bad (or play bad and run bad, which is worse). Even though things haven't been going particularly well lately (I had my AA crushed by KK only 28 spots short of a seat in the $750k on FT last night), I feel like I've been playing well (I did get all my money in with AA vs. KK). I've gone back over some of the big hands I've played in the last week or two and I like my plays in most of them. So.....I'm feeling good and feeling like if I continue to make good decisions, the potential exists for a good couple of days on the Jersey shore.
My wife was chatting with thebmorekid this morning and he put it best, "it's like Christmas Eve." Well if that's the case, then hopefully tomorrow is Christmas Day and Santa will deliver some cash...
Monday, January 28, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Quick Update
I'm sitting here getting ready for dinner with my Dad and thought I'd post a quick update. First, I've added a link to Full Tilt Poker, the main site I play on. If you don't have an account, click on the link, create an account, and hopefully I'll see you at the final table.
It's been an interestingly boring week this week. I know that's an oxymoronic statement, but let me explain.
On Sunday night we had a 9 hour home cash game with 15 players. We played 50-1, and had the usual suspects present. I managed to get up early, then bleed it away from about midnight until 3 am. We got shorthanded when the Punisher and thebmorekid decided to head home at 3:15. 4-handed I managed to pick up some decent sized pots and avoid a losing session. All told, I played 9 hours and won $11. Better than a loss, but not by much. It's all one big long session after all....
I played some online and have been steadily growing the online bankroll. A winning 10 cent-25 cent Omaha Hi-Lo session followed by some small wins playing 25-50 and 50-1 NLHE and I'm up to $1,144. Not to mention I've managed to move into a decent early lead over thebmorekid in our year long bet. (I promise, I'll make a post detailing the terms of the bet some other time)
That brings me to last night's home game where we had a full table playing 25-50. I lost an early pot when my flopped boat wasn't good enough to beat Poo Poo's turned boat. But those things happen against him. A year ago, even six months ago, I would have gone on tilt and probably been well on my way to a $200 loss. This time I managed to keep my cool, rebought for another $80 and picked up a few decent pots to log a $35 win for the night.
So as I said initially, it has been interestingly boring this week. No big wins or losses, but lots of little victories both in terms of winning some money as well as making good decisions and managing myself and my psyche at the table.
Tonight is the Bmore Brawl on Full Tilt where I'll try to navigate through G-Unit, Eurotrash, thebmorekid, Punisher, nycboss, and a host of other villains in an attempt to take down the most important tournament of each week. Click on thebmorekid link on the right to see more details about last week's tournament.
It's been an interestingly boring week this week. I know that's an oxymoronic statement, but let me explain.
On Sunday night we had a 9 hour home cash game with 15 players. We played 50-1, and had the usual suspects present. I managed to get up early, then bleed it away from about midnight until 3 am. We got shorthanded when the Punisher and thebmorekid decided to head home at 3:15. 4-handed I managed to pick up some decent sized pots and avoid a losing session. All told, I played 9 hours and won $11. Better than a loss, but not by much. It's all one big long session after all....
I played some online and have been steadily growing the online bankroll. A winning 10 cent-25 cent Omaha Hi-Lo session followed by some small wins playing 25-50 and 50-1 NLHE and I'm up to $1,144. Not to mention I've managed to move into a decent early lead over thebmorekid in our year long bet. (I promise, I'll make a post detailing the terms of the bet some other time)
That brings me to last night's home game where we had a full table playing 25-50. I lost an early pot when my flopped boat wasn't good enough to beat Poo Poo's turned boat. But those things happen against him. A year ago, even six months ago, I would have gone on tilt and probably been well on my way to a $200 loss. This time I managed to keep my cool, rebought for another $80 and picked up a few decent pots to log a $35 win for the night.
So as I said initially, it has been interestingly boring this week. No big wins or losses, but lots of little victories both in terms of winning some money as well as making good decisions and managing myself and my psyche at the table.
Tonight is the Bmore Brawl on Full Tilt where I'll try to navigate through G-Unit, Eurotrash, thebmorekid, Punisher, nycboss, and a host of other villains in an attempt to take down the most important tournament of each week. Click on thebmorekid link on the right to see more details about last week's tournament.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Goals for 2008
thebmorekid suggested that I write a blog on some goals for 2008. Seemed like a good idea, so here we go:
1. Up $2,000 on Poker Tracker. I was up $1,700 in 2007 on Ptrack, so I should be able to do this. I don't know if this will be enough to take down the bet with thebmorekid, but if I do it playing 25-50 cent NLHE, I should win the BB/100 portion of the bet. I'm up about $75 so far this year, but need to average $167 a month to meet my goal.
2. Up $2,000 in live cash games. This includes my weekly Tuesday game, Kori's game on Thursdays and any casino cash games I can squeeze in. I was up just under $1k in my game last year and didn't keep very good records about Kori's game, but figure that I was a break even player in that game last year. I expect to duplicate my results in my game (+$1,000), win another $500 at Kori's, and net another +$500 in casinos.
3. Have the online bankroll to play 1-2 NL comfortably. Using the 20 max buy-in rule I should have a roll of $4k to play at this level (20x$200=$4k).
4. Be a positive tourney player across the board. I don't have any specific financial goals for touranment play this year because one big cash can be such a big impact. I finished 6th at a Borgata Summer Open event last year and cashed for nearly $10k, so that kind of skews the results. I just want to be a winner in tournaments overall. Obviously I met this goal last year due to the big cash in the biggest buy-in event I played. I don't expect to duplicate that result again this year, but if I can cash consistently enough, I think I can get a positive bump from my tournament play.
5. Buy Mom x 2 some nice jewelry from my poker winnings. It's important to me that I do something nice for her each year with my poker winnings so that she continues to have a favorable impression of my poker playing. She's incredibly supportive and I need to return the favor. Last year it was the down payment on the minivan, and this year I'd like to get her some bling.
6. Enjoy the game more. I find I play my best when I'm loose and patient. Not loose in the way I play, but loose as in relaxed and comfortable. That feeling helps me be more patient. And when I'm patient, I am good. I don't force the action, make senseless bluffs, or do other stupid things that cost me money. And I'm loose and patient when I'm enjoying myself. So I need to continue to find ways to just relax and enjoy the camraderie that comes with sitting at the tables across from others who enjoy the game as much as I do.
7. Pay more attention at the tables (both online and live). I have a tendency to zone out from time to time, or not pay as much attention to the action as I should. As my play gets better, I need to do a better job of reading people so I can exploit their tendencies. Right now I know people on a general level, but the specifics sometimes elude me. I've started keeping track of some player's tendencies and the exercise of writing that down helps me pay better attention when I play.
I'm not going to extend this list to 10 just to make it a "top ten" list. I'll leave that to Letterman. But other, non-poker things that I want to do this year include: watch more movies that I "should have" already seen. As some of you know, I just recently watched Scarface for the first time, and finally saw Godfather II in it's entirety only a few weeks ago. To top it off, I saw The Matrix for the first time while on vacation last August. I love movies, there are just a bunch that I've never seen and I need to. I want to continue to spend as much time with the kids and Mom x 2 as I can.
Hope the flops are hitting you (unless you're playing against me)
-AltronIV
1. Up $2,000 on Poker Tracker. I was up $1,700 in 2007 on Ptrack, so I should be able to do this. I don't know if this will be enough to take down the bet with thebmorekid, but if I do it playing 25-50 cent NLHE, I should win the BB/100 portion of the bet. I'm up about $75 so far this year, but need to average $167 a month to meet my goal.
2. Up $2,000 in live cash games. This includes my weekly Tuesday game, Kori's game on Thursdays and any casino cash games I can squeeze in. I was up just under $1k in my game last year and didn't keep very good records about Kori's game, but figure that I was a break even player in that game last year. I expect to duplicate my results in my game (+$1,000), win another $500 at Kori's, and net another +$500 in casinos.
3. Have the online bankroll to play 1-2 NL comfortably. Using the 20 max buy-in rule I should have a roll of $4k to play at this level (20x$200=$4k).
4. Be a positive tourney player across the board. I don't have any specific financial goals for touranment play this year because one big cash can be such a big impact. I finished 6th at a Borgata Summer Open event last year and cashed for nearly $10k, so that kind of skews the results. I just want to be a winner in tournaments overall. Obviously I met this goal last year due to the big cash in the biggest buy-in event I played. I don't expect to duplicate that result again this year, but if I can cash consistently enough, I think I can get a positive bump from my tournament play.
5. Buy Mom x 2 some nice jewelry from my poker winnings. It's important to me that I do something nice for her each year with my poker winnings so that she continues to have a favorable impression of my poker playing. She's incredibly supportive and I need to return the favor. Last year it was the down payment on the minivan, and this year I'd like to get her some bling.
6. Enjoy the game more. I find I play my best when I'm loose and patient. Not loose in the way I play, but loose as in relaxed and comfortable. That feeling helps me be more patient. And when I'm patient, I am good. I don't force the action, make senseless bluffs, or do other stupid things that cost me money. And I'm loose and patient when I'm enjoying myself. So I need to continue to find ways to just relax and enjoy the camraderie that comes with sitting at the tables across from others who enjoy the game as much as I do.
7. Pay more attention at the tables (both online and live). I have a tendency to zone out from time to time, or not pay as much attention to the action as I should. As my play gets better, I need to do a better job of reading people so I can exploit their tendencies. Right now I know people on a general level, but the specifics sometimes elude me. I've started keeping track of some player's tendencies and the exercise of writing that down helps me pay better attention when I play.
I'm not going to extend this list to 10 just to make it a "top ten" list. I'll leave that to Letterman. But other, non-poker things that I want to do this year include: watch more movies that I "should have" already seen. As some of you know, I just recently watched Scarface for the first time, and finally saw Godfather II in it's entirety only a few weeks ago. To top it off, I saw The Matrix for the first time while on vacation last August. I love movies, there are just a bunch that I've never seen and I need to. I want to continue to spend as much time with the kids and Mom x 2 as I can.
Hope the flops are hitting you (unless you're playing against me)
-AltronIV
Monday, January 14, 2008
Patience
Over the weekend I got impatient. I wasn't pleased that I was having to ride out long runs of dead cards. I wasn't pleased that I couldn't get off $60 in a 25-50 game for two hours. I'd be up a few bucks and down a few bucks, but always right around $60. I wasn't pleased that nothing seemed to be changing despite logging a nice long session during which I watched the Patriots-Jaguars game AND Scarface (for the first time, I know, I know, I'm 32 and this is the first time I've seen Scarface. But that's another blog for another time).
As a poker player, you always hear people talking about what it takes to be a great player. It's kind of like philosphers trying to figure out the meaning of life. Well, I don't claim to know the answer to either one of those questions, but I think patience has something to do with both. As a poker player, I'm at my best when I'm relaxed, involved in the game, but enjoying myself and just generally not feeling rushed in any way shape or form. When I'm in that state I can fold for hours waiting for the right cards in the right spots. When I'm not, I'm constantly trying to create the right spots with the wrong cards, or vice versa. It takes me a while to lose my patience, which is probably why it doesn't affect me in tournaments the same way. Usually the blinds go up fast enough to force me into action before I get impatient. But in cash games, I get impatient quite a bit and that causes me to lose.
One of the things you'll always hear about great players is that they are patient. They aren't the maniacs they appear to be on WPT broadcasts. They can log a 12 hour session (or 50+ hours if you are Ted Forrest) and be patient, waiting for good spots for hours on end.
Maybe for me its that I don't get to play as much as they do. Maybe its that I'm so excited to play that I get anxious. Maybe its that I know the night is going to end at 12:30 no matter what and I hate ending up stuck (even though I understand that it is one big long session). It's probably a combination of all of those things, but I need to work on it.
As a poker player, you always hear people talking about what it takes to be a great player. It's kind of like philosphers trying to figure out the meaning of life. Well, I don't claim to know the answer to either one of those questions, but I think patience has something to do with both. As a poker player, I'm at my best when I'm relaxed, involved in the game, but enjoying myself and just generally not feeling rushed in any way shape or form. When I'm in that state I can fold for hours waiting for the right cards in the right spots. When I'm not, I'm constantly trying to create the right spots with the wrong cards, or vice versa. It takes me a while to lose my patience, which is probably why it doesn't affect me in tournaments the same way. Usually the blinds go up fast enough to force me into action before I get impatient. But in cash games, I get impatient quite a bit and that causes me to lose.
One of the things you'll always hear about great players is that they are patient. They aren't the maniacs they appear to be on WPT broadcasts. They can log a 12 hour session (or 50+ hours if you are Ted Forrest) and be patient, waiting for good spots for hours on end.
Maybe for me its that I don't get to play as much as they do. Maybe its that I'm so excited to play that I get anxious. Maybe its that I know the night is going to end at 12:30 no matter what and I hate ending up stuck (even though I understand that it is one big long session). It's probably a combination of all of those things, but I need to work on it.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Turning it around, maybe?
Last time I wrote, I was coming off a tough cash game loss here at my house. It sucks when you lose and you can't leave. But on Wednesday I talked to thebmorekid and I was feeling better than I've ever felt after a big losing session. I thought I had played well and put myself in good situations, but the villians either had cards at the top end of their range, or happened to be hitting flops, turns and rivers. So, I took Wednesday night off and watched Superbad with Mom_x_2. It made for a nice break and I think helped me keep my positive frame of mind.
With that being said, I played a little on Thursday afternoon on FT. I managed to log a good session, up $100 on the 50dollar (50 cent - 1 dollar) game in about an hour or so. I caught some hands, but mostly just stayed out of bad spots and didn't try to steal or bluff at all. All of this put me in great spirits heading into last night's home game at Kori's. I came into the game making some strategic adjustments that helped.
1. I bought in for $100 instead of $60. I think I've come to recognize that I'm much more patient and a better player with a big stack in front of me. I though the shorter stack would help me limit my losses, but it just meant I was buying in more often and it's a psychological blow everytime you reach in your pocket for a rebuy.
2. I decided to pay more attention to position. I kept finding myself calling into these 8 way pots with crap from early position because of pot odds. I decided that wasn't a good idea and that I wasn't flopping or stealing often enough to justify it.
3. I wanted to have fun. I had been so analytical in the past few sessions that I just wasn't enjoying it as much as I had in the past.
I thought I made good decisions and I finished the night up about $200 for the night. It helped that I was at "Table 2," didn't have to face the Punisher, and was able to play a lot more small pots. It was just the kind of session I needed to help keep the roll going and hopefully continue to turn things around. The last month has been tough (both online and live), it would be nice to go into the $300 event at the Borgata Winter Open on a roll.
With that being said, I played a little on Thursday afternoon on FT. I managed to log a good session, up $100 on the 50dollar (50 cent - 1 dollar) game in about an hour or so. I caught some hands, but mostly just stayed out of bad spots and didn't try to steal or bluff at all. All of this put me in great spirits heading into last night's home game at Kori's. I came into the game making some strategic adjustments that helped.
1. I bought in for $100 instead of $60. I think I've come to recognize that I'm much more patient and a better player with a big stack in front of me. I though the shorter stack would help me limit my losses, but it just meant I was buying in more often and it's a psychological blow everytime you reach in your pocket for a rebuy.
2. I decided to pay more attention to position. I kept finding myself calling into these 8 way pots with crap from early position because of pot odds. I decided that wasn't a good idea and that I wasn't flopping or stealing often enough to justify it.
3. I wanted to have fun. I had been so analytical in the past few sessions that I just wasn't enjoying it as much as I had in the past.
I thought I made good decisions and I finished the night up about $200 for the night. It helped that I was at "Table 2," didn't have to face the Punisher, and was able to play a lot more small pots. It was just the kind of session I needed to help keep the roll going and hopefully continue to turn things around. The last month has been tough (both online and live), it would be nice to go into the $300 event at the Borgata Winter Open on a roll.
Monday, January 7, 2008
The Cooler
I don't know if you've ever seen the movie The Cooler, but it's worth a look, in a Leaving Las Vegas sort of way. Regardless, Alec Baldwin is excellent in that movie. Just don't watch it when you're catching cold cards or your head will really be spinning.
Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because there seems to be a like between my state of mind and the cards. When I'm in good spirits, the cards seem to favor me, when I'm not, they don't. So, you would say, why not just keep a rosy outlook on life and things will be grand. Unfortunately its not that easy.
Tonight was a great example. I'm playing some 25-50 cent NL hold'em (6 max) on FT and I'm cruising along. No big wins, but I finally pick up AA on the button. $2 pre-flop, he calls from the big blind (because he's gotta protect those two quarters that are out there). Flop comes down 2s-6c-4c. I decide to be a little sneaky and just call his pot sized bet. On the turn (Qd) he slows down and checks. I decide that with 12.75 in the pot and him only having 19.50 left, he's probably committed and if he has me beat he has me beat, but all the money is probably going in anyway. So after his check, I just push. He goes into the tank, and just before the clock expires, he decides that his 6-5 warrants a call. After all, he is pot committed with second pair, a gutshot straight draw and a mighty 5 kicker. I wouldn't be telling this story if a 6 hadn't hit on the river and robbed me of a $50 pot.
The reason I tell this story is because this hand, combined with my wife pointing out that I hadn't completed a few things I said I was going to do should have put me on tilt. And for a while I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have (the BCS title game was a bit of a distraction too), and probably playing a little more loose-weak than I'd prefer. But in the end, I managed to keep my losses to $9.
I'm still down $165 in online cash games for the year, so thebmorekid is ahead on the bet. But I think he's bailed on cash games until I catch up. Just read his post about his most recent 45 man SNG disaster...
Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because there seems to be a like between my state of mind and the cards. When I'm in good spirits, the cards seem to favor me, when I'm not, they don't. So, you would say, why not just keep a rosy outlook on life and things will be grand. Unfortunately its not that easy.
Tonight was a great example. I'm playing some 25-50 cent NL hold'em (6 max) on FT and I'm cruising along. No big wins, but I finally pick up AA on the button. $2 pre-flop, he calls from the big blind (because he's gotta protect those two quarters that are out there). Flop comes down 2s-6c-4c. I decide to be a little sneaky and just call his pot sized bet. On the turn (Qd) he slows down and checks. I decide that with 12.75 in the pot and him only having 19.50 left, he's probably committed and if he has me beat he has me beat, but all the money is probably going in anyway. So after his check, I just push. He goes into the tank, and just before the clock expires, he decides that his 6-5 warrants a call. After all, he is pot committed with second pair, a gutshot straight draw and a mighty 5 kicker. I wouldn't be telling this story if a 6 hadn't hit on the river and robbed me of a $50 pot.
The reason I tell this story is because this hand, combined with my wife pointing out that I hadn't completed a few things I said I was going to do should have put me on tilt. And for a while I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have (the BCS title game was a bit of a distraction too), and probably playing a little more loose-weak than I'd prefer. But in the end, I managed to keep my losses to $9.
I'm still down $165 in online cash games for the year, so thebmorekid is ahead on the bet. But I think he's bailed on cash games until I catch up. Just read his post about his most recent 45 man SNG disaster...
Early Jan. 7
So this is the first post of 2008. So far I've played in one cash game this year and made it on to Full Tilt (FT) every day. My routine has been to play enough online each night to get my FT points and qualify for Ironman. Then, on Sunday's, I try to satellite into the 750k guarantee. Today was frustrating. I bubbled in two satellites to the $50 qualifier and then busted in a third for a net loss of $5. Then I managed to earn a $26 token, but only after the 2:15 35 seat guarantee had started. I still bought into that one and a $50 sat.
$50 Sat - I never put any chips together, but managed to nurse my short stack until I had no choice, finishing about 35th out of 120. Alas, seats were only given to the top 27.
$26 Sat - I was frustrated with how I played this one. I was steadily accumulating chips when I called a short stack's push on the flop with AQ. I hadn't hit, but reasoned that he could push with anything because he was so short. Unfortunately for me, he had something and that chopped about 20% of my stack out. Another revolution or two and I picked up KK, ultimately having to fold when a 4 flush and one-card straight showed on the board. Bye-bye to another 50% of my stack. I won a hand or two and stayed afloat until I ran my 99 into JJ on an 8 high board. I didn't like losing because I kept telling myself that he had JJ or TT based on the way the hand played.
I did manage to win about $50 in a 25-50 cash game session while trying to qualify, but had to quit that when I busted out of the tourneys because I had to help grocery shop and get some stuff to the storage unit.
Tonight, when we finally go the kids to bed, I sat down and had one of my better sessions. I played 2 25-50 cash games and cashed for about $60. I also managed to win another $26 token in a $6 6-man SNG. So I should be loaded up for next week's attempts at the $750k guarantee.
This week I'm also hoping to build on my cash game success from a week ago, finally getting off the schneid a little bit. I should host a game on Tuesday and then hope to make it to Kori's on Thursday for some real craziness.
$50 Sat - I never put any chips together, but managed to nurse my short stack until I had no choice, finishing about 35th out of 120. Alas, seats were only given to the top 27.
$26 Sat - I was frustrated with how I played this one. I was steadily accumulating chips when I called a short stack's push on the flop with AQ. I hadn't hit, but reasoned that he could push with anything because he was so short. Unfortunately for me, he had something and that chopped about 20% of my stack out. Another revolution or two and I picked up KK, ultimately having to fold when a 4 flush and one-card straight showed on the board. Bye-bye to another 50% of my stack. I won a hand or two and stayed afloat until I ran my 99 into JJ on an 8 high board. I didn't like losing because I kept telling myself that he had JJ or TT based on the way the hand played.
I did manage to win about $50 in a 25-50 cash game session while trying to qualify, but had to quit that when I busted out of the tourneys because I had to help grocery shop and get some stuff to the storage unit.
Tonight, when we finally go the kids to bed, I sat down and had one of my better sessions. I played 2 25-50 cash games and cashed for about $60. I also managed to win another $26 token in a $6 6-man SNG. So I should be loaded up for next week's attempts at the $750k guarantee.
This week I'm also hoping to build on my cash game success from a week ago, finally getting off the schneid a little bit. I should host a game on Tuesday and then hope to make it to Kori's on Thursday for some real craziness.
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