First thing, I unlocked my comments which I didn't realize was locked. Now you can leave a comment if you aren't a member of blogspot. Moving on...
Despite an inauspicious start to the month, March has really showed the beginning of consistent success for me in poker. From March 2nd to today I have made $4,608. This in exactly 53 hours of playing time. That is an astonishing $86.94/hourly rate. Unfortunately, March 1st cannot be forgotten or left out, and that -$1,447 day must be included. Even still, $3,161 Net is something I'm very pleased with. That in 57 hours of playing time works out to a healthy $55.46/hourly rate. I'm extremely pleased with this result.
My record for the month is 18-4-1-8. Wins-losses-ties-days not played. I have an excel sheet that I keep all my stats on from the last 3 or 4 months that I may or may upload later. For next month I will really try my best to get in 75 hours of playing time. I need to start playing more, and my results should really show for it.
Today went well, I was in my fair of shit ass situations and I think I fared quite well. I threw together over 1k hands today and here's what came up.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?955002 This may look pretty standard, but my flop check is HUGE here. These are the types of things I wasn't doing a month ago, and I'm really being rewarded with my betting amounts. These small hands add up to at least 1-2 buy ins in profit for me every week.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?955005 One of the rare times the board cooperates and lets me let my opponent do all the betting for me.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?955007 Quasi-suicidal bet here, but when you understand your opponents tendencies, picking up pots like these is huge. I was 80% sure i'd pick up the pot right there. That's pretty big in that spot.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?955014 2x the 2nd barrelling = 2x the money
http://www.pokerhand.org/?955015 Wtf is this guy doing? Check out THAT value bet. Lol.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?955020 No one will believe me, but I swear I was folding the turn the whole way here. I was very pissed at myself for calling. With a board that dry all I'm hoping he has is JJ or AT. I should have went with my gut.
Today's Net +$444
Total Goal Left $17,191
(mini weekly goal left $54)
March Total +$3,161
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The game is sick.
Boy did I do some kicking and screaming today. I started off the day real good with a flopped 3rd nut flush vs 2nd nut flush and saved half my stack. Played a little on bodog but quit after I realized my handgrabber needed to be re registered. I played for 5 hours today and the swings were really unbearable. I havn't gotten this frustrated in a few weeks. Today's swings went as follows. $-300/$+400/$+800/$+200 I played late night and got the weekend crowd and boy were they bad. But 2 bad situations and some serious suckouts left me with my head spinning. Sometimes the game is just way too sick.
The stuff.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952982 If you play poker on Full Tilt before 10pm, this is apparently the only way to win a hand.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952983 My adjustment to the preflop madness on the site.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952984 If we could just line all these guys up and put them at my tables please, thanks.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952987 Anyone find ANY logic in this guys line?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952990 This guy had been playing pretty snug so I ruled out 56 and all that crap. I swear I said out loud "well, if you have 77..." when I called. The problem is I'm getting 3:1 on the end. The river bet was either a good value from 77 or a block/value from KQ or so. Who folds here? I think I do 20%-25% of the time.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952996 This one made me nuts. If he doesn't get there it changes the whole dynamic of the session. Really bummed about this one. It could have erased that loss in the second of my 2.5 hr sessions.
Today's Net +$222
Total Goal Left $17,635
(mini weekly goal left $498)
The stuff.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952982 If you play poker on Full Tilt before 10pm, this is apparently the only way to win a hand.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952983 My adjustment to the preflop madness on the site.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952984 If we could just line all these guys up and put them at my tables please, thanks.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952987 Anyone find ANY logic in this guys line?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952990 This guy had been playing pretty snug so I ruled out 56 and all that crap. I swear I said out loud "well, if you have 77..." when I called. The problem is I'm getting 3:1 on the end. The river bet was either a good value from 77 or a block/value from KQ or so. Who folds here? I think I do 20%-25% of the time.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?952996 This one made me nuts. If he doesn't get there it changes the whole dynamic of the session. Really bummed about this one. It could have erased that loss in the second of my 2.5 hr sessions.
Today's Net +$222
Total Goal Left $17,635
(mini weekly goal left $498)
Friday, March 30, 2007
4th loss in march
Well, I took my 4th loss in march, and I guess it's really not that bad. This was my 1st considerable loss all month besides for the -7.5 buy in atrocity on the 1st of the month. I looked over my pokertracker and really only found a couple marginal plays. It felt good to go over my session with Keith and realize that I didn't donk off my whole session. I think I'll make two goals for the rest of the week. One, to play as good as I did yesterday every day this week. Two, to try and get to +$200 by the end of the week. Pretty modest goal, but to be quite honest, the only think you can really control as a poker player is how you play. The results just kind of work themselves out. Still, I'd like to pull together another +$700 before the end of the week and get me in the green for this week.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951244 WTF these assclowns wont fold! ABSOLUTELY CANNOT check this turn. Go me for this one.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951216 I made $50 net in only 2 hands all session! Things mostly looked like this.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951221 And like this.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951226 This is an interesting hand actually. I went with a more passive route, but my thought process was this. On the flop I wanted to check call and risk a 4 flush on the turn, and create some pot control. I mean, 20% that a heart will come here and I wanted to get a feel for the turn. Then I made a read for no heart which was right, but he had a straight. Heh, woops. Flop raise is more standard here, and I'm gunna cut back just a little bit on the value calls on the flop. I think that will help.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951249 Here is another case where the standard flop line is going to help me out. It's pretty close between A. flop raise, B. Call flop and Turn raise, or C. Check call flop and turn. Just another slight adjustment on the flop. Gunna trim out a little more value calls and get more info on the flop for cheaper. I'm clearly toast in this hand however.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951253 I gave this guys flop lead out like ZERO credit. So how do we get this loser to fold? I have exactly 0% fold equity on flop. So I went for a slightly smaller raise on the flop, and then the turn take down. Arguments for a flop call and turn bet are understood, my main argument is that if I smooth call the flop, he may lead the turn again with his draw or small pair. And if he does bet the turn, now my raise is more expensive. Agree?
Today's Net -$520
Total Goal Left $17,857
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951244 WTF these assclowns wont fold! ABSOLUTELY CANNOT check this turn. Go me for this one.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951216 I made $50 net in only 2 hands all session! Things mostly looked like this.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951221 And like this.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951226 This is an interesting hand actually. I went with a more passive route, but my thought process was this. On the flop I wanted to check call and risk a 4 flush on the turn, and create some pot control. I mean, 20% that a heart will come here and I wanted to get a feel for the turn. Then I made a read for no heart which was right, but he had a straight. Heh, woops. Flop raise is more standard here, and I'm gunna cut back just a little bit on the value calls on the flop. I think that will help.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951249 Here is another case where the standard flop line is going to help me out. It's pretty close between A. flop raise, B. Call flop and Turn raise, or C. Check call flop and turn. Just another slight adjustment on the flop. Gunna trim out a little more value calls and get more info on the flop for cheaper. I'm clearly toast in this hand however.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?951253 I gave this guys flop lead out like ZERO credit. So how do we get this loser to fold? I have exactly 0% fold equity on flop. So I went for a slightly smaller raise on the flop, and then the turn take down. Arguments for a flop call and turn bet are understood, my main argument is that if I smooth call the flop, he may lead the turn again with his draw or small pair. And if he does bet the turn, now my raise is more expensive. Agree?
Today's Net -$520
Total Goal Left $17,857
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I'll take it / End Week 2
Lots of swings today, but a fine result. Again it felt like monster vs. monster in every pot on full tilt, but I'm working on getting the action when I want it. I'm going to see about loosening my 3 betting requirements with trash, I'll have to see how everyone reacts though. Although there is far less fold equity at these limits, I find that FT plays super tight aggro preflop. If I can sneak in some more 3 and 4 betting before the flop, I might be able to instigate some action with my premiums.
Lets see.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947331 My buddy was watching for this one. I didn't want to fuck up the gangster call. lol
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947307 This one stung a little bit. Cooler I suppose but what can ya do.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947310 This hand is interesting in that I go from feeling super strong on the flop, to almost certainty that my opp is huge. I went over this one with a friend and it appears that the line I took was a good one. I felt I had almost zero fold equity on the flop, so no sense shoving. Then the turn is an easy fold.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947314 A set of 4's may look like the nuts, but I really had a tough time with this hand. I don't think I have the best hand more than 65% of the time here. Just the feel of the hand, and the way it played. I was very excited to win this one.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947318 The game gets way easy when you flop the nuts, but I swear this is the only way to get action on this site. Flop something deceiving.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947321 This opp was super aggro, and I was really disappointed to see his hand. O well.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947325 I took a very different line here with AA. I put my opp on air when the turn hit. So check away, then got a little present on the river.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947333 Hands like these are the difference between where I'm at with the game now, and where I was 6 months ago. Another hand I reviewed with my friend. It's good when someone you trust agrees with you on a hand like this.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947328 Just plain brutal hehe.
So I won a bunch of big pots, and lost a bunch, but all in all not a bad outcome for 900+ hands. I'll take 10.5bb/100 EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Today's Total +$190
Total Goal Left $17,337
Week 2 Total +$1,555
Lets see.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947331 My buddy was watching for this one. I didn't want to fuck up the gangster call. lol
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947307 This one stung a little bit. Cooler I suppose but what can ya do.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947310 This hand is interesting in that I go from feeling super strong on the flop, to almost certainty that my opp is huge. I went over this one with a friend and it appears that the line I took was a good one. I felt I had almost zero fold equity on the flop, so no sense shoving. Then the turn is an easy fold.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947314 A set of 4's may look like the nuts, but I really had a tough time with this hand. I don't think I have the best hand more than 65% of the time here. Just the feel of the hand, and the way it played. I was very excited to win this one.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947318 The game gets way easy when you flop the nuts, but I swear this is the only way to get action on this site. Flop something deceiving.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947321 This opp was super aggro, and I was really disappointed to see his hand. O well.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947325 I took a very different line here with AA. I put my opp on air when the turn hit. So check away, then got a little present on the river.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947333 Hands like these are the difference between where I'm at with the game now, and where I was 6 months ago. Another hand I reviewed with my friend. It's good when someone you trust agrees with you on a hand like this.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?947328 Just plain brutal hehe.
So I won a bunch of big pots, and lost a bunch, but all in all not a bad outcome for 900+ hands. I'll take 10.5bb/100 EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Today's Total +$190
Total Goal Left $17,337
Week 2 Total +$1,555
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Blog Watchers
A friend approached me that I don't see very often about my blog today. It occurred to me that the majority of people that read blogs, are people that the blog writer doesn't know read it. Of course there is no way to track who reads your blog, but I encourage anyone to leave a comment, even non poker related if they'd like. I've been getting some great feedback so far and it is very encouraging. This blog is a place very much dedicated to my poker experiences right now, but in actuality this is pretty much the basis for what my life is going to be about for some time to come. I enjoy hearing what people think about what I'm choosing to do with myself in life, not just how I play certain hands. I mean... so yeah.... if you got here through my away message link, say hi if ya like.
Just one hand today.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?944516 Don't go broke in limped pots! This guys raise on the turn was almost a CLEAR 8. I was very much willing to fold to the river bet if it was substantial, but I just wasn't ready to fold on the turn. His bet gave me better than 3:1 on the end, so I figured to have a better 8 with my crap kicker 1 in 4 times. Plus the chance of him bluffing and not making trips. And to think, if he just valued his hand better on the river, he'd have won.
Today's Profit +$224
Total Goal Left $17,527
Just one hand today.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?944516 Don't go broke in limped pots! This guys raise on the turn was almost a CLEAR 8. I was very much willing to fold to the river bet if it was substantial, but I just wasn't ready to fold on the turn. His bet gave me better than 3:1 on the end, so I figured to have a better 8 with my crap kicker 1 in 4 times. Plus the chance of him bluffing and not making trips. And to think, if he just valued his hand better on the river, he'd have won.
Today's Profit +$224
Total Goal Left $17,527
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
My Friend Andrew
Yesterday my friend made a nice little score in a MTT. We've been talking poker a lot lately, so pretty late last night I decided to sit in 3 of his $25 max tables. I won't reveal his last name on the internet cause that's pretty rude, but his name is Andrew. Now anyone who knows him, will know exactly who I'm talking about. There is one hand I wanted to talk about that we got involved with, and I felt like sharing it.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?942359 This is a typical blind battle, and there is just no way I can fold the 67o monster. Andrew had position on every table, so he trys to get me off my hand with the three bet. This we know is impossible, I was playing at about 45%vpip 35% pfr. I do my standard pwnage on the flop and turn. I give much kudos to him for the triple barrel, but he soon figures out exactly how outmatched he is. Comfycouch with the gangsta call in the blinds. Ship city.
I made about 2 buy ins at the table, having a ton of fun the whole time. Poker tracker missed a couple hands so the net is a little off, but the rest of the numbers are pretty on.
Thanks Andrew!
Monday, March 26, 2007
PT stat post
I wasn't able to play cards for a couple days. That's OK though. Today I put in a good session and was surprised with my PT stats at the end. I really thought I was running close to 22% vpip, but apparently not. I guess playing multiple tables makes it very deceiving when it comes to how many hands you are actually playing. I'm not too worried about the snugness of my play as of recent. I think I'm adjusting very well to Full Tilt. ("If it ain't broke, don't fix it" cliche' omitted.) I also got poker grapher which is pretty cool. I'll be putting up some of those soon too.
Some hands.
1. http://www.pokerhand.org/?940795 I just found this hand quite amusing. I guess I put the perfect bet out on the turn. He turned out drawing to none.
2. http://www.pokerhand.org/?940800 Pretty standard stuff here, although I'm finding that I'm doing a much better job picking that "perfect number." Actually putting opponents on hands really helps when you are trying to extract value. Who would have thought. Thanks to the dealer for no action kill card on the river.
3. http://www.pokerhand.org/?940803 Hands like this make the difference between a break even session, and a solid winning session. I was cheering pretty hard for the three.
4. http://www.pokerhand.org/?940809 One more slightly amusing pot. I went for the gangster call getting 1.5:1 here. I didn't win the pot though, so rigged.
Today's Net +$517
Total Goal Left $17,751
Saturday, March 24, 2007
HU HE
So I've been dabbling with a little head up NL recently, and it's been going well. For a while, head up limit holdem was my main game. I saw great results for a number of months, but when I hit variance for the first time, I lost it. Head up limit holdem is by far the most brutal and frustrating card game on earth (ok maybe razz is worse.)
I've basically been seeking out shortstacks at the .50-1 and 1-2nl limit. I feel like these players are pretty much free money. They play straight forward, and when they get short, they try and pick a spot. I feel that this is one of the stronger points of my game; getting it in good I mean (5:2 favorite.) I've yet to lose a match against the shortstacks, and I've also had a couple full stack triumphs at both limits I attempted. My main strategy in these low limit head ups, is to let these guys run into a wall. In almost all of my matches, my opponent has won maybe up to 85% of the hands. They take small pot after small pot, but then bingo bango bongo. They mess up big time. Obviously this wouldn't work at higher limits, but who cares? I will continue to seek out these profitable match ups while by no means switching my main game. I'm not nearly ready enough for the variance involved in HU HE, especially NL.
I got average cards at best today, and play on FT was not nearly soft enough for a Friday night. I still managed to take home a little money for my efforts, thanks to some head ups.
The Goods
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932738 I do not want to be floated like this at 1-2nl. I like my smooth call on the turn. I think if move in, I'm getting called if I'm toast only. Call the turn and check call the river for value slash pot size control against a could be monster... right?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932745 My opponent shows you how to misplay JJ on every street. Enjoy.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932746 This hand is strange. My hand is HUGE on this flop. But I really put my opp on a big hand. A REALLY big hand. That being said, if I can put him on KK here even, I'm supposed to move in on the flop. 15 outs twice, come on jamie. I really screwed this hand up. I cost myself an easy $200 here. To make matters worse, I went for a check call on the end. For some reason I thought he was HUGE. Man I missed value on the end to make matters worse. Hands like this happen though, and I absolutely took a break after this hand. At least I won.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932756 Do I have to 4 bet here? Is folding AKo in the SB ever right? I really hated this hand. And it just felt OK to fold. This site isn't easy. I don't know if this is possibly right. And I'm not ever this tight. But at the time after his insta 3 bet it felt OK. I dunno. I'm folding here like 1% of the time.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932761 This guy sits to my left on every friggin' table. He's a LAG regular but I mean come on. Is he cold calling here with AK preflop? Can he possibly check twice to me with TPTK? Hands like this drive me NUTS! I guess betting flop OR check behind on the turn are both better plays than this? I'm at a loss. (He used his whole time bar preflop.)
Today's Net +$235
Total Goal Left 18,268
I've basically been seeking out shortstacks at the .50-1 and 1-2nl limit. I feel like these players are pretty much free money. They play straight forward, and when they get short, they try and pick a spot. I feel that this is one of the stronger points of my game; getting it in good I mean (5:2 favorite.) I've yet to lose a match against the shortstacks, and I've also had a couple full stack triumphs at both limits I attempted. My main strategy in these low limit head ups, is to let these guys run into a wall. In almost all of my matches, my opponent has won maybe up to 85% of the hands. They take small pot after small pot, but then bingo bango bongo. They mess up big time. Obviously this wouldn't work at higher limits, but who cares? I will continue to seek out these profitable match ups while by no means switching my main game. I'm not nearly ready enough for the variance involved in HU HE, especially NL.
I got average cards at best today, and play on FT was not nearly soft enough for a Friday night. I still managed to take home a little money for my efforts, thanks to some head ups.
The Goods
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932738 I do not want to be floated like this at 1-2nl. I like my smooth call on the turn. I think if move in, I'm getting called if I'm toast only. Call the turn and check call the river for value slash pot size control against a could be monster... right?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932745 My opponent shows you how to misplay JJ on every street. Enjoy.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932746 This hand is strange. My hand is HUGE on this flop. But I really put my opp on a big hand. A REALLY big hand. That being said, if I can put him on KK here even, I'm supposed to move in on the flop. 15 outs twice, come on jamie. I really screwed this hand up. I cost myself an easy $200 here. To make matters worse, I went for a check call on the end. For some reason I thought he was HUGE. Man I missed value on the end to make matters worse. Hands like this happen though, and I absolutely took a break after this hand. At least I won.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932756 Do I have to 4 bet here? Is folding AKo in the SB ever right? I really hated this hand. And it just felt OK to fold. This site isn't easy. I don't know if this is possibly right. And I'm not ever this tight. But at the time after his insta 3 bet it felt OK. I dunno. I'm folding here like 1% of the time.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?932761 This guy sits to my left on every friggin' table. He's a LAG regular but I mean come on. Is he cold calling here with AK preflop? Can he possibly check twice to me with TPTK? Hands like this drive me NUTS! I guess betting flop OR check behind on the turn are both better plays than this? I'm at a loss. (He used his whole time bar preflop.)
Today's Net +$235
Total Goal Left 18,268
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Swing City
OK, before you look at my daily totals, I want to make it clear that I'm not at all satisfied with how today went. I know I shouldn't complain when I win, but hear me out ok?
Full Tilt played ridiculously hard today. Maybe i was just in bad situations over and over again, but I really felt the 30% preflop bullshit that's been going on. I mean, this isn't 10/20 NL. There were tables with 25% pf and that's just ludicrous.
I was in tough spot after tough spot, and players were reading me for weakness. That's probably because I really didn't connect with many flops. Also, it seemed like the times I made the optimal play, I ended up taking a cooler. I know I know, don't be results based. But to tell you the truth, my opponents were good today. Well...
The spectrum of players on FT range from SUPER BAD to Internet low stakes pro. The problem is that 95% of these players are at the complete one side of this spectrum. So half the the players are making donk moves, and half are making the same moves practically under different circumstances, making them profitable plays. It was hard to figure out who was who.
I'm willing to pay $1,000 a month in order to get this internet thing cleared up, and get internet poker back to what it used to be. Anyone who thinks this is -Ev click here. http://www.ci.new-hope.mn.us/images/garage-sale-sign-wrong.jpg
The Hands
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929904 I guess I forgot to go broke here. The big thing was the all in player. No use for my opp to be on a total bluff when he has to go to showdown anyway. PAIR THE BOARD ONE TIME!!!!!
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929909 My betting amounts in this hand are a little different than my normal. I don't care, this guy was a super fish, and I thought I could get max value this way. FUCK YOU MIN RERAISE.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929910 Pretty standard here. Guy called cause he said he thought my "overbet" was a bluff. Email me when anyone can find this so called "huge overbet."
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929914 Here is a case where my opponent floats me on TWO barrels and then overbets the river. WTF, I don't have this play in my arsenal. His story doesn't make sense here, and I make the call. Too bad for him I pay everyone off. WHOOPS, SHIP IT! (more on AA smooth call later)
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929917 I knew exactly what this guy was doing. The only problem was, I wasn't EXACTLY sure how strong he was. Note that my small raise to $12 is with the intention of folding to a big raise. Shitty for me his raise is not close to big enough. Props to me for the check call on the end. NICE VALUE BUDDY. (not)
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929924 Before you give me any crap about my smooth call with AA save it. This is how you play AA in this situation on FTP. This guy 3 bet pretty damn quick and I put him on AK AT WORST. This seems to be the optimal way to play this hand on full tilt. As you saw before in the other hand I posted with AA. Smooth calling can make decisions hard. But you know what? This guy WILL fold JJ to my 4 bet preflop. Full Tilt just works that way. And if that schmuck doesn't wake up with a miracle hand on the flop, I get to stack MR. JJ. I wanted this pot badly. I was extremely pleased with my grasp of the situation during the hand. I was obviously bummed as hell with the result.
The Numbers
Today's Net +$389 (I know I complain too much, I just wanted that $1k day today.)
Total Goal Left $18,503
Full Tilt played ridiculously hard today. Maybe i was just in bad situations over and over again, but I really felt the 30% preflop bullshit that's been going on. I mean, this isn't 10/20 NL. There were tables with 25% pf and that's just ludicrous.
I was in tough spot after tough spot, and players were reading me for weakness. That's probably because I really didn't connect with many flops. Also, it seemed like the times I made the optimal play, I ended up taking a cooler. I know I know, don't be results based. But to tell you the truth, my opponents were good today. Well...
The spectrum of players on FT range from SUPER BAD to Internet low stakes pro. The problem is that 95% of these players are at the complete one side of this spectrum. So half the the players are making donk moves, and half are making the same moves practically under different circumstances, making them profitable plays. It was hard to figure out who was who.
I'm willing to pay $1,000 a month in order to get this internet thing cleared up, and get internet poker back to what it used to be. Anyone who thinks this is -Ev click here. http://www.ci.new-hope.mn.us/images/garage-sale-sign-wrong.jpg
The Hands
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929904 I guess I forgot to go broke here. The big thing was the all in player. No use for my opp to be on a total bluff when he has to go to showdown anyway. PAIR THE BOARD ONE TIME!!!!!
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929909 My betting amounts in this hand are a little different than my normal. I don't care, this guy was a super fish, and I thought I could get max value this way. FUCK YOU MIN RERAISE.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929910 Pretty standard here. Guy called cause he said he thought my "overbet" was a bluff. Email me when anyone can find this so called "huge overbet."
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929914 Here is a case where my opponent floats me on TWO barrels and then overbets the river. WTF, I don't have this play in my arsenal. His story doesn't make sense here, and I make the call. Too bad for him I pay everyone off. WHOOPS, SHIP IT! (more on AA smooth call later)
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929917 I knew exactly what this guy was doing. The only problem was, I wasn't EXACTLY sure how strong he was. Note that my small raise to $12 is with the intention of folding to a big raise. Shitty for me his raise is not close to big enough. Props to me for the check call on the end. NICE VALUE BUDDY. (not)
http://www.pokerhand.org/?929924 Before you give me any crap about my smooth call with AA save it. This is how you play AA in this situation on FTP. This guy 3 bet pretty damn quick and I put him on AK AT WORST. This seems to be the optimal way to play this hand on full tilt. As you saw before in the other hand I posted with AA. Smooth calling can make decisions hard. But you know what? This guy WILL fold JJ to my 4 bet preflop. Full Tilt just works that way. And if that schmuck doesn't wake up with a miracle hand on the flop, I get to stack MR. JJ. I wanted this pot badly. I was extremely pleased with my grasp of the situation during the hand. I was obviously bummed as hell with the result.
The Numbers
Today's Net +$389 (I know I complain too much, I just wanted that $1k day today.)
Total Goal Left $18,503
Internet Connection Tilt / End Week 1
So basically, my house in NY is in the middle of a black hole. All wireless devices are completely disabled inside of my house. So after being knocked off my wireless router about 5 times, I gave up. I played for about 23 minutes or so, and it's a shame, cause I was ready to put in a good session. However, after a few of those disconnects, I get really frustrated. I ended up about -$103 which is secretly nothing at $200 max, especially because I played for 23 minutes. I even lost a hand to a short stack shove with Q2s vs 77 on K42. It's good that kids are still doing this online. I really thought everyone online that was left was a LAG pro.
Anyway, I'm in NY till Sunday. And my friend reminded me that Barnes and Noble has free wireless. So I'll look to take advantage of that. I bet I'll even be more focused there. Playing in public places also helps me control my temper. Plus, I can show off my all-in victory dance! Thanks Joe! (see joe the pro)
I'll fix the colors tomorrow again.
Today's Net -$103 (total bs rigged streak ending internet crapout)
Total Goal Left $18,892 (this needs to read 15k soon so I can play $300 max on bodog short handed)
Week 1 Total +$1,040
Anyway, I'm in NY till Sunday. And my friend reminded me that Barnes and Noble has free wireless. So I'll look to take advantage of that. I bet I'll even be more focused there. Playing in public places also helps me control my temper. Plus, I can show off my all-in victory dance! Thanks Joe! (see joe the pro)
I'll fix the colors tomorrow again.
Today's Net -$103 (total bs rigged streak ending internet crapout)
Total Goal Left $18,892 (this needs to read 15k soon so I can play $300 max on bodog short handed)
Week 1 Total +$1,040
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Jail and The Taj
So of course I ran super bad today on the road. I get pulled over going 64 in a 55 (wtf) on my way to Atlantic City. Obviously my friend whose car I'm driving is polishing off his blunt, and we totally get busted for it. Nothing too terrible, just the run of the mill shake down. The worst is that I had to sit on the rail of the AC expressway without my jacket on. I was freezing. Kind of a bummer that we got pulled over for being 2 dudes in one of those Honda Elements.
So after my buddy got arrested for pot possession, and I got off with a lame speeding ticket, I had to follow the cops back to the station. Do you know how hard it is to go 100 MPH in a Honda Element? I got a ticket for going 64 in a 55, but the cops wanted me to follow them back to the station going 100 friggin miles an hour. So I'm hauling ass, and I can't find the ez pass, so I just blow through the tolls (obv.) I just don't want to lose the cop car and not be able to find my friend when he's done being "processed." So 45 minutes later, we are back on track with a summons and a traffic ticket, and we arrive at the Taj 90 minutes behind.
My session was great. I pretty much pwned the entire table for 4 hours. I really haven't felt that in control of a poker game since I was running a 2 table tournament in my dorm rooms a couple years ago. I played well, and I felt comfortable interacting with everyone at the table. Heck, I even got two email addresses from two of the kids I felt were competent at the table. One said he owned some sort of online poker tournament site, but you never know. It felt good that I not only played well and turned a profit, but I was able to network (not easy for jamie to do.)
I'll fix the colors tomorrow. My mac doesn't let me.
Todays Profit +$215
Total Goal Left $18,789 (going pretty fast, but I havn't had a losing session in a little while. But even still, doing this by August should be cake.)
So after my buddy got arrested for pot possession, and I got off with a lame speeding ticket, I had to follow the cops back to the station. Do you know how hard it is to go 100 MPH in a Honda Element? I got a ticket for going 64 in a 55, but the cops wanted me to follow them back to the station going 100 friggin miles an hour. So I'm hauling ass, and I can't find the ez pass, so I just blow through the tolls (obv.) I just don't want to lose the cop car and not be able to find my friend when he's done being "processed." So 45 minutes later, we are back on track with a summons and a traffic ticket, and we arrive at the Taj 90 minutes behind.
My session was great. I pretty much pwned the entire table for 4 hours. I really haven't felt that in control of a poker game since I was running a 2 table tournament in my dorm rooms a couple years ago. I played well, and I felt comfortable interacting with everyone at the table. Heck, I even got two email addresses from two of the kids I felt were competent at the table. One said he owned some sort of online poker tournament site, but you never know. It felt good that I not only played well and turned a profit, but I was able to network (not easy for jamie to do.)
I'll fix the colors tomorrow. My mac doesn't let me.
Todays Profit +$215
Total Goal Left $18,789 (going pretty fast, but I havn't had a losing session in a little while. But even still, doing this by August should be cake.)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Not as bad as it looks.
So, once again I failed in playing enough cards yesterday. I put in just one hour for +$123 or so (my friends and I fucked around In micro tourneys again.) There is one hand that I played that looks horrible. And normally I'd feel terrible playing the hand this way but this was OPP DEP.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?922015 My OPP is extremely loose, and prone to bluff. I chose to smooth call preflop which is apparently the NEW reraise in online poker (more on that another time.) I take position and flop a miracle. Normally I would not have any problem building a pot as I would have 3 bet preflop, but now I have to go a completely different route. The flop goes check check and I know he will bet the turn. On the turn my opponent goes ahead and insta bets. Now I normally hate a min raise, but I know he is capable of moving in with ANY draw and ANY pair in this spot. I want him to 3 bet. He thinks and calls, and I can put him on precisely 1 pair and no heart. That stinks because if he wasn't willing to bluff the turn, which he had been for the last 20 minutes, he wasn't going to bet the river. The board paired giving me some hope of the maniac making a move. I bet really small, hoping he will take the bet ad go all in. He uses his whole time bar and folds. I really feel like I played the best line against this particular opponent. I also feel like he almost pulled the trigger twice. I like how I am starting to be able to choose opponent specific lines now at any given point. This is good.
I'm on my way to Atlantic City for the day, so although I'll certainly play around 6-8 hours, I should only get in about 300 hands. Live poker is so damn slow. Also, if I don't make at least $500, casino poker rooms are rigged too.
Yesterday's Net +$123
Total Goal Left $19,004
http://www.pokerhand.org/?922015 My OPP is extremely loose, and prone to bluff. I chose to smooth call preflop which is apparently the NEW reraise in online poker (more on that another time.) I take position and flop a miracle. Normally I would not have any problem building a pot as I would have 3 bet preflop, but now I have to go a completely different route. The flop goes check check and I know he will bet the turn. On the turn my opponent goes ahead and insta bets. Now I normally hate a min raise, but I know he is capable of moving in with ANY draw and ANY pair in this spot. I want him to 3 bet. He thinks and calls, and I can put him on precisely 1 pair and no heart. That stinks because if he wasn't willing to bluff the turn, which he had been for the last 20 minutes, he wasn't going to bet the river. The board paired giving me some hope of the maniac making a move. I bet really small, hoping he will take the bet ad go all in. He uses his whole time bar and folds. I really feel like I played the best line against this particular opponent. I also feel like he almost pulled the trigger twice. I like how I am starting to be able to choose opponent specific lines now at any given point. This is good.
I'm on my way to Atlantic City for the day, so although I'll certainly play around 6-8 hours, I should only get in about 300 hands. Live poker is so damn slow. Also, if I don't make at least $500, casino poker rooms are rigged too.
Yesterday's Net +$123
Total Goal Left $19,004
Monday, March 19, 2007
HU SnG's
So yesterday I didn't play any legitamate poker, however I ran some 1$-$5 SnG's in all of it's variety at my friends house for fun. I guess not having my PC and no computer desk at home makes it harder for me to put in the hands I should be, even though I have virtually nothing else to do but hang out with friends.
I went 3-1 in the HU SnG's (1-0 PL OH, 2-1 NL HE.) I got my money in precisely 4 times; clearly. Then I finished OOTM in two 94 man sng's that payed top 18, SO RIGGED. The play in these tournaments reminds me that of the play on a scratch off ticket. People throw their money away and turn up the cards; frantically searching for a pair of some sort to get their money back and try again. If I was starting to build my roll from scratch all over, I'd certainly consider multitabling these 90 man sng's in the $5 and $10 fashion. With a payout for 20% of entrants, it's almost a lock.
I'm going to try an put in 500 hands now.
I went 3-1 in the HU SnG's (1-0 PL OH, 2-1 NL HE.) I got my money in precisely 4 times; clearly. Then I finished OOTM in two 94 man sng's that payed top 18, SO RIGGED. The play in these tournaments reminds me that of the play on a scratch off ticket. People throw their money away and turn up the cards; frantically searching for a pair of some sort to get their money back and try again. If I was starting to build my roll from scratch all over, I'd certainly consider multitabling these 90 man sng's in the $5 and $10 fashion. With a payout for 20% of entrants, it's almost a lock.
I'm going to try an put in 500 hands now.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
One Good Hour
So today I drove home to NY for spring break. I hung around with my mom and dad and played guitar hero and drove to Jersey with a friend. I didn't think I was going to end up playing any poker today but I decided to put in an hour 3 tabling on my laptop (ultra shitty overlap.) Boy was that a good idea. Not only is it a weekend, but it's st. Patty's day too. And it really payed off. Here are some hands, but no pokertracker stats cause macs suck for poker.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914808 The session started with me fucking up, but then losing less than max. I complete in the sb with 89o which isn't horrible I GUESS, but then I decide to call the raise OOP. I mean, I guess he has a deep stack but wtf Jamie. So I flop huge and check raise and he puts in a 3 bet just ASKING for a call. I oblige and then check call the turn. Good thing I'm super horrible, and my OP blows worse. BTW I didn't get stacked cause my D game still pwns this guy. (No more L33T talk I swear.....)
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914812 Proof that one pair can actually win in NL holdem against a pitcher of beer for an opponent.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914815 Tough hand with aces here. My opps range is pretty wide preflop. He basically wont fold any two face cards, but I'm not ready to double him up here. I can find a better spot.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914819 I told you I could find a better spot. SHIP IT.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914822 Here is a huge pot. Enough with the utg min raise with big pairs then insta calling. He called so fast preflop I had to give him credit for a big hand. So I lead out huge with top set and get paid. BAAAAALLLLIIIIIN!
There was one other hand that got lost cause I don't have pokertracker on here. Guy raises MP I reraise on button with AA and he insta calls. Flop is KQT rainbow and he check raises my $30 to $92. I folded. My thoughts with the 2 ace folds was that in order to get check raised, my OPP has to have a big hand. And if I put my OPP on a range of big hands, AK is really the worst big hand he can have there. So assuming he is going with the hand I'm not getting a good price with AA there. Poker is hard.
Today's Net +$618
Total Goal Left $19,127
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914808 The session started with me fucking up, but then losing less than max. I complete in the sb with 89o which isn't horrible I GUESS, but then I decide to call the raise OOP. I mean, I guess he has a deep stack but wtf Jamie. So I flop huge and check raise and he puts in a 3 bet just ASKING for a call. I oblige and then check call the turn. Good thing I'm super horrible, and my OP blows worse. BTW I didn't get stacked cause my D game still pwns this guy. (No more L33T talk I swear.....)
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914812 Proof that one pair can actually win in NL holdem against a pitcher of beer for an opponent.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914815 Tough hand with aces here. My opps range is pretty wide preflop. He basically wont fold any two face cards, but I'm not ready to double him up here. I can find a better spot.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914819 I told you I could find a better spot. SHIP IT.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?914822 Here is a huge pot. Enough with the utg min raise with big pairs then insta calling. He called so fast preflop I had to give him credit for a big hand. So I lead out huge with top set and get paid. BAAAAALLLLIIIIIN!
There was one other hand that got lost cause I don't have pokertracker on here. Guy raises MP I reraise on button with AA and he insta calls. Flop is KQT rainbow and he check raises my $30 to $92. I folded. My thoughts with the 2 ace folds was that in order to get check raised, my OPP has to have a big hand. And if I put my OPP on a range of big hands, AK is really the worst big hand he can have there. So assuming he is going with the hand I'm not getting a good price with AA there. Poker is hard.
Today's Net +$618
Total Goal Left $19,127
Friday, March 16, 2007
Second Chance Session
So I decided to put in another hour. A little under 300 hands for +$180. Nothing too fancy. One hand I played pretty backwards intentionally.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?911839 Normally I'd clearly continuation bet this flop but this was a player dependent play. I checked half for value, half for the reason that I could surely get him to fold the river much easier than the flop. This opp does not fold on the flop. Now on the turn I'm sure i have the best hand so I check again for value. This works and I've made 6 extra dollars. River is fairly un-scary as I'm sure he would have bet the flop in position with any pair. I check call again and voila, I just got max value against queen hi.
I think people fuck this kind of hand up all the time against opponents like this. Making an extra 10 BB like this makes me feel like I'm improving. I better work on my C-walk now. All the internet pros C-walk.
Session Net +$180 275 Hands
Today's Net -$4 1300 Hands
Total Goal Left $19,745
http://www.pokerhand.org/?911839 Normally I'd clearly continuation bet this flop but this was a player dependent play. I checked half for value, half for the reason that I could surely get him to fold the river much easier than the flop. This opp does not fold on the flop. Now on the turn I'm sure i have the best hand so I check again for value. This works and I've made 6 extra dollars. River is fairly un-scary as I'm sure he would have bet the flop in position with any pair. I check call again and voila, I just got max value against queen hi.
I think people fuck this kind of hand up all the time against opponents like this. Making an extra 10 BB like this makes me feel like I'm improving. I better work on my C-walk now. All the internet pros C-walk.
Session Net +$180 275 Hands
Today's Net -$4 1300 Hands
Total Goal Left $19,745
Less than Bad,
Today went pretty slow and got a little frustrating. I ended up the 1,063 hand session at -$184, which is more than reasonable. I 4 tabled on full tilt so it only took me about 3 hours to get in the 1k hands. I really want to push more and more hands per day in order to see better results. For now I will be ok with 1k hands but 1500 should be my goal soon.
I had tons of pocket pairs today that didn't pan out. Not many sets, and the sets didn't pay off. The good thing was that i didn't lose any big pots, and not one all in. I ran at about 19% VP$iP and 12% Pfr. I'm ok with those numbers at full tilt getting less than average cards, although I really want to close the gap between pots im in and pots im raising to about a 4% differential. The problem is that the way full tilt plays, I think a tighter strategy preflop can really be profitable. Those bozos are going crazy on any flop. So much for the aggro city days. I must admit running 29vpip 21pfr on bodog was much more fun.
Here are some hands.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?911212 This is the only big pot I won today so I'll start here. This guy is trying to represent an 8 and he does a terrible job at it. He leads double pot on the flop which just doesn't make his hand credible. I'm willing to go broke on this hand on the flop so I just call and let him dig himself deep on the turn. C-YAH
http://www.pokerhand.org/?911224 Most of the hands however went like this today. I flop a strong hand, but as soon as he min raises I'm in check down mode. I'm certainly willing to call the turn here, but I was ready to give up on the river unless anything changed. The change WAS NOT the 4 straight. No reason to be worried about a 7, so I really wasn't concerned. His bet was good though. He thought and slowly bet 80. That left him with some money behind. I thought for sure that if he had a flush he would just shove all in. His stack was less than the size of the pot, and at that point I was thinking, if he shoves I fold, if he bets 2/3 I call. NH
http://www.pokerhand.org/?911233 Multiply this situation by 60 today. I had 66 pocket pairs today. Most hands ended like this.
Anyway, I did get rakeback from full tilt so my numbers are adjusted to my current bankroll.
Today's Net -$184
Total Goal Left $19,925
I had tons of pocket pairs today that didn't pan out. Not many sets, and the sets didn't pay off. The good thing was that i didn't lose any big pots, and not one all in. I ran at about 19% VP$iP and 12% Pfr. I'm ok with those numbers at full tilt getting less than average cards, although I really want to close the gap between pots im in and pots im raising to about a 4% differential. The problem is that the way full tilt plays, I think a tighter strategy preflop can really be profitable. Those bozos are going crazy on any flop. So much for the aggro city days. I must admit running 29vpip 21pfr on bodog was much more fun.
Here are some hands.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?911212 This is the only big pot I won today so I'll start here. This guy is trying to represent an 8 and he does a terrible job at it. He leads double pot on the flop which just doesn't make his hand credible. I'm willing to go broke on this hand on the flop so I just call and let him dig himself deep on the turn. C-YAH
http://www.pokerhand.org/?911224 Most of the hands however went like this today. I flop a strong hand, but as soon as he min raises I'm in check down mode. I'm certainly willing to call the turn here, but I was ready to give up on the river unless anything changed. The change WAS NOT the 4 straight. No reason to be worried about a 7, so I really wasn't concerned. His bet was good though. He thought and slowly bet 80. That left him with some money behind. I thought for sure that if he had a flush he would just shove all in. His stack was less than the size of the pot, and at that point I was thinking, if he shoves I fold, if he bets 2/3 I call. NH
http://www.pokerhand.org/?911233 Multiply this situation by 60 today. I had 66 pocket pairs today. Most hands ended like this.
Anyway, I did get rakeback from full tilt so my numbers are adjusted to my current bankroll.
Today's Net -$184
Total Goal Left $19,925
First Video
This is my first camtasia video for the public. It's me 2 tabling $200 max 6handed on full tilt. This ended up being a pretty good session and I worked out about 1 buy in.
The process to DL this video is this. Click link. Then at the top you need to type in the code they give you. It's some random letters. Then wait 25 seconds and it will let you click download.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VHIH9TE6
One Love
The process to DL this video is this. Click link. Then at the top you need to type in the code they give you. It's some random letters. Then wait 25 seconds and it will let you click download.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VHIH9TE6
One Love
Thursday, March 15, 2007
First Post
So I'm Jamie, and this is a poker blog dedicated to my road to Las Vegas. The twenty in my blogs title refers to the $20,000 I need to make before heading out to Nevada. I'm going to be in school for the next two months, but afterward playing full-time or close to it at home. The Goal is to get out to Las Vegas (Wynn casino) by the end of August.
I've recently got a copy of Camtasia which is a screen capture program and I will be linking these videos in this blog from another file sharing website. These videos will be about one hour long and I hope to make several of these over the next few months. I'm also looking into video cameras and will try and start posting video clips on this blog as well.
I am currently playing $200 max short handed on full tilt as well as playing some on bodog. Daily updates will go in this blog to show my progress towards $20,000. This Blog is not about how much money I make. Not about how good or bad I am at poker. I need motivation, and I'd love feedback from the online poker community I've become a part of since joining cardrunners.com.
Let's see how this goes ok?
Today's net +$191 - 3 hours ($200 max)
Total Goal Left $19,809
I've recently got a copy of Camtasia which is a screen capture program and I will be linking these videos in this blog from another file sharing website. These videos will be about one hour long and I hope to make several of these over the next few months. I'm also looking into video cameras and will try and start posting video clips on this blog as well.
I am currently playing $200 max short handed on full tilt as well as playing some on bodog. Daily updates will go in this blog to show my progress towards $20,000. This Blog is not about how much money I make. Not about how good or bad I am at poker. I need motivation, and I'd love feedback from the online poker community I've become a part of since joining cardrunners.com.
Let's see how this goes ok?
Today's net +$191 - 3 hours ($200 max)
Total Goal Left $19,809
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