Hero Call or Insantiy

Full Ring started off pretty good and then I had my normal meltdown of a 3 buyin down day. I've a little bit of it back and I am up a little over 6 buyins over about 6300 hands. Here is a chart.

I'm running at a 18.7/13.8/2.41 over those 6300 hands. 3betting at 4.9%. I've starting calling a little more than 3 betting lately. I think it is not working and need to stay in the lead.

I had a fairly un-interesting hand the other day that I could use some thoughts.

Villain 28/15/1.5over 135 hands
River Aggression 7.0 or 47% over 15 hands.

How often is the river bet a bluff here?

Full Tilt p0ker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/23679
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $107.15
MP1: $101.50
MP2: $100.00
Hero (CO): $100.00
BTN: $83.60
SB: $49.00
BB: $25.00
UTG: $100.00
UTG+1: $111.60

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with Kh Ac
4 folds, MP2 raises to $4, Hero raises to $13.50, BTN calls $13.50, 3 folds

Flop: ($32.50) 9s 3d Th (2 players)
Hero bets $20, BTN calls $20

Turn: ($72.50) 7d (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: ($72.50) 9d (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $50.10 all in, Hero calls $50.10

I think this is bluff enough times to call?
Thoughts?

-----------------

One more time.

Go Kurt Warner and Fitz and the rest of the Cardinals.

I truly believe that they have a shot.

Start Bad Plus Finish Strong Equals Breakeven Poker

You ever get the feeling that it is going to be one of those nights. After last night, I thought the downward slide was starting. I've been know to be a little over aggressive when I first sit down at tables. Some times it works, and most times it doesn't. Case in point, tonight it didn't and it helped get me down early only to come on strong at the end for basically a breakeven session of about 500 hands over an hour.

Here is a quick look of about 15 hands from tonight in chronological order to show how fast I was down. Only to come back and then lose it again and then come back again.

Give me your thoughts on any hands you find comment worthy.


Hand #1

Very first hand... DOH!!!


Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21244
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $20.00
BTN: $40.00
SB: $103.75
BB: $65.35
UTG: $132.55
UTG+1: $90.25
MP1: $160.80
Hero (MP2): $104.50

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP2 with Ac Kd
3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, 3 folds, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($7.50) Kc Qd 8s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $5, BB calls $5

Turn: ($17.50) 9c (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $12, BB calls $12

River: ($41.50) Jd (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Final Pot: $41.50
BB shows Qs Ks (two pair, Kings and Queens)
Hero shows Ac Kd (a pair of Kings)
BB wins $39.45
(Rake: $2.05)

Hand #2
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21245
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $54.75
Hero (BB): $100.00
UTG: $27.10
UTG+1: $69.60
MP: $180.25
CO: $97.50
BTN: $18.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with 8c Ad
2 folds, MP calls $1, 3 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($2.50) Ac Td Qs (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $3, Hero calls $3

Turn: ($8.50) 6c (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $4, Hero calls $4

River: ($16.50) 9d (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $11, Hero calls $11

Final Pot: $38.50
Hero mucks 8c Ad
MP shows Th As (two pair, Aces and Tens)
MP wins $36.60
(Rake: $1.90)


Where is the fold button?

Hand #3
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21246
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $15.20
UTG: $20.00
UTG+1: $91.50
UTG+2: $108.40
MP1: $39.00
MP2: $49.00
CO: $64.50
BTN: $102.80
Hero (SB): $100.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is SB with Ah 9h
6 folds, BTN raises to $2, Hero calls $1.50, BB calls $1

Flop: ($6.00) 3h 2c 9d (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $3, BTN folds, Hero raises to $15, BB calls $10.20 all in

Turn: ($32.40) 8s (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($32.40) 6h (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $32.40
BB shows 3d 6d (two pair, Sixes and Threes)
Hero shows Ah 9h (a pair of Nines)
BB wins $30.80
(Rake: $1.60)

In as 76% fav. Not much else you can do except be glad it was a small pot.


Hand #4
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21247
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $102.30
MP2: $39.80
CO: $88.85
BTN: $65.35
SB: $83.65
Hero (BB): $101.50
UTG: $77.85
UTG+1: $72.30
UTG+2: $125.75

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with 3h 3s
4 folds, MP2 raises to $3, 2 folds, SB calls $2.50, Hero calls $2

Flop: ($9.00) Kh 5c As (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP2 checks

Turn: ($9.00) 8s (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP2 checks

River: ($9.00) 3d (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $9, MP2 raises to $18, SB folds, Hero raises to $63, MP2 calls $18.80 all in

Final Pot: $82.60
MP2 shows Ah Ac (three of a kind, Aces)
Hero shows 3h 3s (three of a kind, Threes)
MP2 wins $79.60
(Rake: $3.00)

Interesting. He checked his set twice. Nice.. I guess.

Hand #5
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21248
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $106.35
BB: $100.00
UTG: $41.45
UTG+1: $139.60
MP: $186.45
CO: $19.00
BTN: $18.50

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is SB with Kh Ks
5 folds, Hero raises to $3, BB raises to $10, Hero raises to $27, BB requests TIME, BB raises to $100 all in, Hero calls $73

Flop: ($200.00) 7s 8h As

Turn: ($200.00) 8s

River: ($200.00) 2s

Final Pot: $200.00
Hero shows Kh Ks (a flush, Ace high)
BB shows Qd Qs (a flush, Ace high)
Hero wins $197.00
(Rake: $3.00)

I'll take it.. back to positive territory.

Hand #6
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21249
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $39.00
MP1: $81.25
MP2: $100.00
CO: $100.00
BTN: $20.00
SB: $96.00
BB: $160.65
UTG: $19.10
Hero (UTG+1): $107.15

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is UTG+1 with Kh Kc
UTG raises to $2, Hero raises to $7.50, 2 folds, MP2 raises to $22, 5 folds, Hero calls $14.50

Flop: ($47.50) Qc 2c 9h (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $22, Hero raises to $85.15 all in, MP2 calls $56 all in

Turn: ($203.50) 2s (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: ($203.50) 8c (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $203.50
MP2 shows Ad Ac (two pair, Aces and Twos)
Hero shows Kh Kc (two pair, Kings and Twos)
MP2 wins $200.50
(Rake: $3.00)

Yep, he had it. One of these days, I will learn how to fold Kings. The Kings giveth and then taketh away.

Hand #7
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21250
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $18.50
CO: $20.00
BTN: $100.00
SB: $35.30
BB: $273.15
Hero (UTG): $165.75
UTG+1: $114.20
MP1: $219.75

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is UTG with 9d 9h
Hero raises to $3.50, UTG+1 calls $3.50, MP1 calls $3.50, 3 folds, SB raises to $35.30 all in, 1 fold, Hero calls $31.80, 2 folds

Flop: ($78.60) 5c Tc 4c

Turn: ($78.60) 3s

River: ($78.60) 3d

Final Pot: $78.60
SB shows Ad Ac (two pair, Aces and Threes)
Hero shows 9d 9h (two pair, Nines and Threes)
SB wins $75.60
(Rake: $3.00)

Oops... Mulligan?


Hand #8
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21251
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $369.45
Hero (SB): $100.00
BB: $63.30
UTG: $128.00
UTG+1: $19.00
MP: $144.75
CO: $49.25

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is SB with As Td
4 folds, BTN raises to $3, Hero raises to $10, 1 fold, BTN calls $7

Flop: ($21.00) Tc 9s Jh (2 players)
Hero bets $15, BTN calls $15

Turn: ($51.00) 9c (2 players)
Hero bets $29, BTN calls $29

River: ($109.00) 7s (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $50, Hero requests TIME, Hero folds

Final Pot: $109.00
BTN wins $106.00
(Rake: $3.00)

Probably a bad turn bet.


Hand #9
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21252
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $106.60
BB: $105.25
UTG: $73.35
UTG+1: $67.60
MP: $67.00
Hero (CO): $108.50
BTN: $115.25

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with Ks Ah
3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, BTN calls $3.50, SB raises to $16, 1 fold, Hero raises to $50, 2 folds

Final Pot: $36.50
Hero wins $36.50

A little bit of tilt starting here. Pushing the action maybe more than I should. Foreshadow alert!


Hand #10
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21253
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $298.35
UTG+1: $99.80
MP1: $101.50
MP2: $105.05
CO: $100.00
Hero (BTN): $115.90
SB: $95.00
BB: $34.95

Pre Flop: ($1.00) Hero is BTN with Js Ts
6 folds, Hero raises to $3, SB raises to $13, Hero calls $10

Flop: ($26.00) 3s 2c 5s (2 players)
SB bets $20, Hero raises to $102.90 all in, SB folds

Final Pot: $66.00
Hero wins $63.00
(Rake: $3.00)

Pushing the action part 2. He folded pretty quickly too.


Hand #11
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21254
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $100.00
BTN: $103.75
SB: $72.35
BB: $67.60
UTG: $67.00
Hero (UTG+1): $129.00
MP: $113.25

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is UTG+1 with 7c 7s
1 fold, Hero raises to $3.50, MP calls $3.50, 2 folds, SB raises to $9, 1 fold, Hero calls $5.50, MP calls $5.50

Flop: ($28.00) 7d 4c 8h (3 players)
SB bets $28, Hero calls $28, MP folds

Turn: ($84.00) Kd (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $36, SB calls $35.35 all in

River: ($154.70) Th (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $154.70
SB shows 6c 6d (a pair of Sixes)
Hero shows 7c 7s (three of a kind, Sevens)
Hero wins $151.70
(Rake: $3.00)

Wow, I faded the straight.. who knew.


Hand #12
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21255
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $52.85
MP2: $18.50
CO: $100.00
BTN: $127.70
SB: $20.00
BB: $97.00
UTG: $20.00
UTG+1: $109.80
Hero (UTG+2): $102.50

CO posts a big blind ($1)

Pre Flop: ($2.50) Hero is UTG+2 with Ks Kd
2 folds, Hero raises to $4.50, 3 folds, BTN raises to $17, 2 folds, Hero calls $12.50

Flop: ($36.50) 2h Ah Ad (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: ($36.50) 2s (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $19, Hero calls $19

River: ($74.50) 5s (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Final Pot: $74.50
BTN shows 8d 8h (two pair, Aces and Eights)
Hero shows Ks Kd (two pair, Aces and Kings)
Hero wins $71.50
(Rake: $3.00)

Was I too chicken here?

Hand #13
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21256
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $32.00
SB: $69.25
BB: $198.85
UTG: $100.00
UTG+1: $20.00
UTG+2: $99.85
MP1: $178.85
MP2: $32.40
Hero (CO): $103.50

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with 4h 4s
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $3.50, UTG+2 calls $3.50, 2 folds, Hero calls $3.50, 3 folds

Flop: ($12.00) 9s 5c 4c (3 players)
UTG+1 bets $7, UTG+2 raises to $33, Hero calls $33, UTG+1 calls $9.50 all in

Turn: ($94.50) 2c (3 players - 1 is all in)
UTG+2 bets $63.35 all in, Hero calls $63.35

River: ($221.20) 2h (3 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $221.20
UTG+1 shows Ac Ah (two pair, Aces and Twos)
UTG+2 shows Kd Ks (two pair, Kings and Twos)
Hero shows 4h 4s (a full house, Fours full of Twos)
Hero wins $159.70
Hero wins $58.50
(Rake: $3.00)

Boy, I hate this when it happens to me. It doesn't feel to bad when you do it others. Perhaps, they should raise a bit more preflop.


Hand #14
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21257
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $21.85
BB: $23.00
UTG: $105.00
UTG+1: $77.00
MP1: $276.25
MP2: $100.00
Hero (CO): $125.45
BTN: $208.75

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with Ac Tc
3 folds, MP2 raises to $3.50, Hero calls $3.50, BTN raises to $14, 2 folds, MP2 calls $10.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($33.00) 8c Kc 5c (2 players)
MP2 checks, BTN bets $16, MP2 raises to $64, BTN folds

Final Pot: $65.00
MP2 wins $62.00
(Rake: $3.00)

DOH!!!! Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda.

Hand #15
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/21258
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $100.00
UTG+2: $124.35
MP1: $105.60
MP2: $57.10
CO: $50.75
Hero (BTN): $200.85
SB: $47.70
BB: $104.40
UTG: $97.85

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BTN with Qc Tc
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $1, 4 folds, Hero raises to $4.50, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls $3.50

Flop: ($10.50) 8s Td 4c (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $5, Hero calls $5

Turn: ($20.50) Jd (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $12, UTG+1 folds

Final Pot: $20.50
Hero wins $19.50
(Rake: $1.00)

Standard bet on weakness play.


There you have it and there you are.

----------------------

St Louis is finally getting its first snow. It's about time.


Have a nice day!!!

Uh oh, this is all too familiar

So, the full ring experiment is going pretty well. Of course, I'm a little afraid to say anything as you know what happens if you mention any success in poker on your blog. Well, maybe it is already happening. Take a look at this graph:

The dark green line shows my actual results and the light green show the woulda, coulda, shoulda results. Dang!!! It could have been a real nice session. Getting it in as 68, 65, 59 , 85 favorite and not winning. Luckily, a couple of them ended up as split pots including and not losing pots. Of course there was the hand were I ran aces into..... aces... Dang!! Ain't that a fine how do you do?

Anyway, I played a little bit more and was able to make it a winning session; but I quit more or less after I got there. I have this cold or whatever it is going around now for a week and it is making me really, really tired. I might actually go to the doctor. Sounds crazy; but you got to do what you gotta do.

So, the plan is to continue to play the full ring. Hopefully, things will continue and this days was just an aberration. I've been running about 20bb/100 with more than 6 players after just 4200 hands. We'll see what happens. Some people might not like this; but I have increased my tables from 6 to 8 to make up for the lack of playing. Obviously, with full ring, you are not playing near as much. I've been playing at a 18/12/2.73 pace. I've been calling a bit more in position as opposed to 3betting that I would do in 6max. I'm still 3 betting at a 5% clip which is ok.

We'll see what happens. I'm looking forward to this week as it is Super Bowl week.

As always, Go Kurt Warner!!!!

Have a nice day

Why do I play Poker?

I had a comment the other day from RecessRampage that went something like this:

"Will, this is an honest question.Why the focus on poker? In other words, between your faith and your family (btw, are you still taking that class?), there seems to be a lot of time commitment that would be required. Sure, we all love poker but why the commitment to it? Do you love it that much? It's clearly not the money (I don't say that based on results but more because at the stakes that you play, sure it could result in couple of nice dinners but nothing that you can't cut out, I assume) so what is it?Just curious."

So, why do I play poker?

I'm not a winning player or should I say, I'm not a winning cash player. I'm probably ahead on tournaments as I had some early success. If it wasn't for bonuses and rakeback, I probably wouldn't be playing poker. So, again, why do I play poker.

I'll try to answer this the best that I can.

I definitely love the game. As I get older and am not able to compete in sports as I once used to, poker gives me something to put my competitive juices into. I'm truly competitive and when I find something that I like, I try to do what I can to get better and it really bugs me when I'm not. At least not consistently. I'm still playing on my original deposit of $60 some 4 or 5 years ago so I have that going for me.

It it an addiction? That's a tough question. I think are good and bad addictions. Bad addictions take away materially from other important stuff like faith and family then RR mentioned. I could say that faith and family are above poker; but it would only be kind of true. Especially, when it comes to my faith (I am still taking that class by the way). I don't put as much time as I need with that. I'm still trying or planning to get back to that.

As far as family goes, I still put them above poker as most of my poker playing comes after kids are asleep. So, yes, it is probably an addiction; but hopefully I'm keeping it somewhat reigned in.

I like the social aspect of it as it brings guys (and girls) together for poker night. I much too old to go out partying or to the bars... especially since I don't drink. So poker night serves as a great opportunity to get together with other people. Even casino poker is fun as you get to meet all different kinds of people.

You mentioned the stakes that I play meaning that I'm not all that serious. I would love to be playing bigger stakes; but my bankroll dictates otherwise. I've never withdrawn from my poker accts. Would I like to? Yes and no. Yes, I would love for poker to help pay for some fun things for me and my family; but given that I want to approve and don't want to drop down due to bankroll reasons, I will keep playing at my current levels until I feel comfortable moving up.

Well, I'm running out of time for now. I hope this gives a little glimpse as to why I play poker.

Have a nice day!!!

Kurt Warner is the Man!!! and Changing things around

Wow. How about them Cardinals? I'm pretty sure I know how the town of Phoenix feels right now as we went through the same thing here in St Louis. Kurt Warner now becomes only the 2nd quarterback to make it to the Superbowl with 2 different teams. If he wins or should I say when he wins, he will become the 1st quarterback to win with two different teams. So yes, Kurt Warner is the man!!! While I am at it, I can't forget Fitz. Larry Fitzgerald is the Man!!! There is no question who I will be rooting for as I hate the Steelers.

Things went from bad to worse for me over the weekend with the downswing reaching 32 buyins. When things are going bad, these kind of hands happen:

No need to tell you villain is a terrible player.

Full Tilt p0ker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/9537
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $160.55
CO: $35.00
BTN: $192.30
SB: $122.50
Hero (BB): $137.75

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with Qs Qh
3 folds, SB calls $0.50, Hero raises to $3, SB raises to $15, Hero raises to $40, SB raises to $122.50 all in, Hero calls $82.50

Flop: ($245.00) 6s Kc Ac

Turn: ($245.00) 4c

River: ($245.00) 2s

Final Pot: $245.00
SB shows 5c 3d (a straight, Six high)
Hero shows Qs Qh (a pair of Queens)
SB wins $242.00
(Rake: $3.00)

What can you say about that one? Yikes!!!

A poker buddy CMitch suggested that I give Full Ring a try for a while. To me, a change of pace sounded like a good idea. I'll give it a shot for a while.

One of my very first hands playing full Ring. Yep, this is how things are going.

Full Tilt p0ker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/10319
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $100.00
SB: $106.15
Hero (BB): $100.00
UTG: $72.05
UTG+1: $27.50
MP1: $178.90
MP2: $118.95
CO: $128.30

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with As Ad
7 folds

Final Pot: $1.00
Hero wins $1.00

Dang!!! It's way too early to tell; but I was up a little over 3 buyins yesterday. It was more a matter of my big hands holding up. It is definitely a lot slower which get some getting used to. You obviously play a lot tighter as I played at a 16/14/3.2 pace.

I'll continue to give it a shot and see what happens.

Have a nice day!!!

Loser

As you can probably guess from the lack of posts that things aren't going very well.

Sometimes p0ker can just be NOT fun. My downswing is down to 27 buyins now. I just can't gain any momentum..

This hand is just typical of what I'm running into.. even though this was a small hand..

Full Tilt p0ker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/9100
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $30.45
Hero (BB): $148.70
UTG: $100.00
MP: $69.80
CO: $129.50
BTN: $68.35

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with Qs As
4 folds, SB calls $0.50, Hero raises to $3, SB calls $2

Flop: ($6.00) 5h Qc 2d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $5, SB calls $5

Turn: ($16.00) 6d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $22, SB raises to $22.45 all in, Hero calls $0.45

River: ($60.90) 6s (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $60.90
SB shows 3c 4s (a straight, Six high)
Hero shows Qs As (two pair, Queens and Sixes)
SB wins $57.90
(Rake: $3.00)


I think I should be comparing myself to some of the contestants on American Idol. You know, the ones that think they can sing; but when they get before the judges, the totally bomb. I must be one of those guys that thinks he can play p0ker; but really bombs when tries. I am not a winning player over the last 6 months (not counting rakeback and stuff).. I guess I could go down in stakes. I don't know. We'll see what happens.

-------

Go Kurt Warner!!!!!!!!!

Bubble Bubble Boy and Tough Month

Unfortunately, I don't think that I am going to be able to play in as many Mookies this year due to me getting up early on Wednesday mornings; but I was able to make last weeks. And just like I thought, as it got to the later stages, I was half asleep. Although it has been a few days, I don't even think I could have told you the next day what hands I hand and how I played them in the last hour or so. I guess it really does stink getting old. At then end of the day, I believe I made it to the final table pretty short and was able to last until 8th with 6 paying so that made me the bubble bubble boy. Dang!!!

The bad part with not being able to play as much (at least at the beginning of the year) is getting the tourney summaries so that I can do the stats for Mook so originally, I was not going to do them. Upon further review, I changed my mind and I'll get the summaries one of the other (either by playing or getting them from Mook) and I will continue to do the stats.

I'm hoping that people enjoy reading them as much I enjoy preparing them and looking at them. let me know in the comments if you do actually look at these things which help me in knowing that I'm not wasting my time.

Changing subjects..

My cash game has taken an about face this month. While I started off pretty good being up about 8 buyins in the first few days, things went south quickly. Saturday was heading to be one of my worst days and the anchor was just dropping faster and faster. I found myself in the midst of a 20 buyin downswing. I think I have already mentioned some of the things that happened; but I just kept playing my game and hoping that things will change. Sounds foolish; but then it happened, my hands actually started holding up, I even sucked with QQ beating out KK; but then gave it right back on the next hand (another table) where my flopped set lost to a 4 card straight.

Anyway, here is a graph of my Saturday to help you appreciate the comeback.

I then followed that up today winning almost 3 buyins. Unfortunately, I still have a ways to go to get back to even for the month.. even with the good start. We'll see what happens.

Changing Subjects.

Go Kurt Warner!!!!!!

That's about all I have to say about that.

Have a nice day!!!

Too Good to be True

Unlike a lot of my sessions, last night started off incredibly well. After about 30 minutes, I was already up 3 buyins. The tables were good and I kept asking myself, is this too good to be true? In the back of my mind, I just knew things would probably change and the law of averages would creep up on me.

Long story short. ummm.. yep.. Down 7 buyins for the night. Set over set 3 times, flopped flush over flopped flush once.. At some point, the big raise comes in on the river and you just stop and say... he cannot have the near nuts.... AGAIN... but yep, he does... 2 people slow playing Aces and I couldn't lay down top pair. He really couldn't have hit runner, runner.. yep.... Did he really call me down with just Ace high and get the Ace on the river (ok.. he also had bottom pair on the flop)? Yep... Did my Aces and/or Kings really just cracked for the 3rd time tonight? Yep

Note to self. Hero calls rarely work at 50c/1.00 6 max no limit. If they are putting a big raise on the river, they probably have it. Sure, a couple of my hero calls did work; but some of those were just check/call on the river for value as I was pretty sure the guy would bluff bet on the river.

I had a couple of hands where warning bells went off. I acted on one of them and didn't get full value. I pushed the other one and got stacked. I guess you could say, I just wasn't on last night. At least for the full night.

Anyway, I'm now back to zero for the month after a really good start. How many times do I build a profit for a week just to lose in one day. How many times does this need to happen before I fix it. Is it even fixable? I used to take my hit and run sessions; but I don't want to do that anymore. Should I be doing that? Who knows?

We'll see what happens.

Have a nice day!!!

Stepping Backwards?

I went to the gym yesterday and told the front desk person that I would like to do the opposite of what most people are doing this time of year.

I said that I would like to cancel my membership. What? What happenend to my goal of eating better and exercising. Well, there was another goal of being fiscally responsible so that goal won out and I will be saving $32 a month from my Golds Membership. But wait.... My office now has a pretty good workout facility so I hope to still meet the goal of exercising. It will just be at work. This also works out better from a timing perspective. Now, I can just go in after work and still be home at a normal time.

Speaking of stepping backwards, that is how my poker started out last night. On three consective all in hands (not 3 consectitive hands), I lost to runner runner hands which put me down almost 3 buyins down. I had my ups and downs from there; but ended up nearly a buyin which I guess I will have to take. I didn't play too late because I wanted to go watch the Texas Football game. Can anybody give me a Hook 'em Horns?

This morning I was greeted to someone griping about how Texas barely won the game against #13 Ohio State and about some of the interviews after the game. I tried to explain to her about the motivation for Texas to play in this game; or should I say the lack thereof. I'm sure that they truly belived (as do I) that they should be playing in the National Championship game and to play in the Fiesta bowl or any other non National Championship game is just that.... another game. The end of the day, they did win and that is good; but I'm sure there are still plenty of sour grapes.

Have a nice day!!!

Where is Your Treasure?

There is a verse in the Bible (Matthew 6:21) that says:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I'm going to try and apply this verse into this 2009 Goals type post.

As usual this time of year, there are many goals and/or resolutions out there and I usually don't post anything as I'm not real good at setting goals and even more so following through on those goals; but what the the heck. I'll give it the college try.

Where is my treasure? Is it my family, my faith, my poker, my money? Truthfully, this is not as easy as it seems on the surface. Sure, I could say that faith and family take any and all precedence in my life; but do my actions actually follow that up.

Family wise. I spend a couple of hours before and after work with family (not counting weekends). After the kids are in bed, I am usually off doing my own thing.

Faith Wise. Once a week at church.

Poker Wise. I can tell you for the most part, I am playing 40-45 hours a month according to holdem manager. This, of course, doesn't count live play which I probably do 2 or 3 times a month.

Money Wise is hard to judge and I will hold off on that one.

It is clear to me that I am NOT spending enough of my time on things that matter which clearly means that my treasure is focused on selfish reasons. Whether it be poker, or just messing around on computer on watching tv alone, I need to make some changes. That is where the goals come in.

I could make a generic goals list like:

Play better Poker
Don't go on Tilt
Make x amount of money playing x amount of hands per month
Watch training videos and study hands.

But I'm not going to do that as I want to make some realistic goals that are both attainable and trackable. So here we go and these will be in no particular order.

-Spend more time in the Word (Bible). There is truly plenty of things in there that can help me in all sorts of ways and I have neglected this for a while now.

-Play more poker. Wait? Didn't I just read what I just wrote? Yes, I did; but we will get back to this one later.

-Track finances better. We have always used Quicken; but I have not done any budgeting and/or analysis lately. During these times where our retirement is going the wrong direction, I want to be more fiscally responsible for both present and future. To that, I will at least do some monthly analysis (together with Mrs Wonka) around this.

-Where would any goals list at the beginning of the year be without at better eating and exercise. My exercise level as gotten down to about zero and I hope to change that by first eating better and then also using my gym membership at least 3 times a week. Again, I'm trying to make this attainable. Mrs Wonka goes to the gym everyday so hopefully some of that will rub off on me.

-Read more. Not just poker related things; but just reading in general.

So for all of this to happen, something needs to go away. Hopefully, the play is to drastically decrease my TV watching; especially late at night. If I'm not tired, do something a little more constructive. This can be playing poker or reading. I've taken away the movie channels from my satellite package. Hopefully this will help.

Now, let's focus a bit more on poker.

Like I said above. I would like to play more. Recently, I make my 200 pts on Full Tilt and call it a day (which is usually about 1 to 1 1/2 hours) to do other stuff. That other stuff is usually pretty non productive. If I'm not tired, then I want to keep on playing.

More studying. I want to post at least 1 hand maybe 2 hands a week to this blog or to some forum to help me improve. I am still playing 100NL and would like to to move up to 200NL. Using FTP bankroll. I have a little ways to go; but might start taking a look if I have a 4 figure month in January (which would not be typical).

Watch training videos. I try to watch at least 1 or 2 videos at week. I usually can fit 15 minutes or so during lunch to watch part of a video which makes 1 or 2 videos a week.

Do NOT and I repeat do NOT play online blackjack. I had another relapse where I started playing blackjack and lost way too much. It's sickening really.

Well, I think that is going to do it for now. Perhaps, more on this later.

Have a good day.