Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Bandwagon Jumping

Yep, I can follow with the best of them. I, too, am jumping on the Mansion Bandwagon. For anybody that hasn't heard of it:

Pittsburgh Steelers 2006 Superbowl Champs Promotion
Simply visit the MANSION Sportsbook and place a minimum Point Spread (Handicap) bet of USD 1,100 to win USD 1,000 (or currency equivalent) on the Pittsburgh Steelers for their game on Thursday 7 Sep 2006. (00:30 GMT 8 Sep 2006)
If your bet is not a winner, MANSION will refund your losses of USD 1,100 (or currency equivalent).
This deal is too good to miss. There’s no better way to kick off the NFL season and no better place than at MANSION.


This offer applies to bets placed on MANSION Sportsbook only and is limited to the team and selection specified. Bets placed on MANSION Sports Exchange will not qualify.
To qualify, Players must place a single Points Spread (Handicap) bet of USD 1,100 on Pittsburgh Steelers for their game on 7 Sep 2006
This offer is only available on the first bet placed for this event
To qualify for this promotion you must be 18 years of age or over and have agreed to the MANSION terms & conditions.
The promotion is valid from 25 Aug 2006.
All refunds will be placed into Member accounts within 3 working days of the result.
All personal information provided to MANSION must be complete and accurate in all respects and we reserve the right to request additional information in order to satisfy our validation of this information.
Only one refund is allowed for each MANSION Member, residential address, email address, telephone number, debit/credit card or NETeller account number and shared computer. The refund applies exclusively to the first account opened in the event multiple accounts are opened.
MANSION may at our sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in any promotion or bonus offer.
MANSION reserves the right to withdraw or amend this offer at any time without prior notice.
All decisions made by MANSION regarding this promotion shall be deemed final.
The withdrawal of any promotion funds will be subject to MANSION withdrawal policy.
Offer is valid for limited time period only.
Players that bet both sides of the event with MANSION will not be eligible for a loss refund.



So I did my part and signed up, deposited and bet. Now, the real dilemma starts. Do you hedge your bets? Do you want to guarantee $450ish or try to possibly win $1,000. I would say that there is a 90% chance that I will indeed hedge my bet.

Not too much to report in poker tonight. Fired up 2 $25 Turbo SNGs on PokerStars. I unfortunately got 4th (bubble) when I ran my 77 on the button to the big chip leader who had pushing his muscle around. He min re-raised and pushed on a 8 high board. He called with KK. Oops.

The 2nd SNG went better as I was able to take it down. I happened to wake up with hands when people were pushing/stealing.

As usual, I opened up a 3/6 SH table on Full Tilt and played a whole 12 hands. Did I mention that I got KK twice and they both went to showdown as winners. Since it was late, the goal was just to make enough to cover SNG buyins. Uh, that would do it.

----------

I watched High Stakes Poker tonight. OK, I am now really, really feeling bad for Daniel N.; but on the otherhand, he is making these calls when he is pretty sure that he is beat. Even the best aren't bullet proof. I bet he saves over $200K if he doesn't make all those calls.

That should do it.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Not that I'm complaining

At the last moment last night I decide to play in the MATH. At first, it didn't look like there was going to be a very big crowd; but ended up with 22 which is a good number. Things are going pretty smoothly and I somehow make it to the final 4... Top 3 pay...

OK.. Intermission...

I also fire up a $25 Turbo on Stars... Again things are pretty good... I'm 3rd in chips and get K7 in the BB... button just calls... 2KJ flop.. I check call.... J on river.... Doh!!!! We get all of our chips in (he was short) and he wins with J7. Fast forward 5 hands and I am now short stacked and go all in with A2... I get called... OK.. no problem... he turns over 55... doh... but wait... 24A flop... nice.. not I have to sweat 2 cards and hope that a 3 doesn't come... Turn... K.. whew.... River.. 3.... What???? IGHN..

Back to MATH... Final 4 seemed like it lasted for hours..... (106 hands out of total 231 for me)... I did get lucky to make it final 4 when my QJ beat bthecloser69's AK. Once we got to 4, I actually won a race against lifesagrind when my 55 flopped a set and turned quads against his KQ. At the time, he was the chip leader and been playing the part of the bully very well. Later on my 66 outraced his AQ as well put me into the lead.

A little later, I get all in with lifesagrind (or should I say he gets all in) with my A9s against his A6o... Nice.... Look like the bubble is broke... 87T... Perfect.... 8 (oh no!!!).... 7.... Unbelievable... Runner Runner Split... Par for the course for me these days.

From there, we all traded chips for a while. We are down to final 3 now so we have monied. I've still sitting in the lead. Lifesagrind makes a call from the button and I will play 3 handed with 42o. BCOHOLIC (sorry, I don't know the link.. let me know and I will adjust) just checks... Flop comes 4T4... SWEET!!!!! Of course I check and it actually gets checked around... Turn.. 2... WOW... you have to love turned full houses... I check again and this time BCOHOLIC bets 800 into a 2500 pot.. lfiesagrind folds and I min raise and BC moves all his chips in and of course I insta call... he turns over 94o and I feel kind of bad that I sucked out on him.... that is until the river.... an ugly 9... Rivers a bigger boat... OUCH!!!!! Maybe there is something to this RiverStars thing...

I lose my ante on next hand and by BB on next hands, I then move all in with 88 from small blind... BC thinks for a little while and calls with 99. Any hope of sucking out of him was dashed on the flop of 9J9... That's all she wrote... Not that I'm complaining, but things could have been a lot better tonight... I could of knocked out both of these guys if weren't for the darn river. Lifesagrind (after surviving that split pot from above) went on to win the thing.... Nice going!!!!!

I also had a table of Full Tilt 3/6 SH going and even though I won less than 50% of my hands at showdown, I did book a small 5.57BB/100 over 160 hands profit which covered my tourney expenses.

That's Poker!!!

Sunday, August 27, 2006

What's Wrong with this Picture

First off, many thanks to those that for some reason still happened upon this blog and gave their will wishes. Things are going great with the addition to the Wonka family. She still hasn't quite figured out that she is supposed to sleep at night; but I'm sure that she'll catch on soon. Anyway, I will try to keep the blogging going; but it will have to be a gradual thing.

I wanted to throw out some Poker Tracker numbers from some individual days this last week and tell me what is wrong with these numbers.

VPIP - 32.97%, PFR - 14.29%, W$SD (Won $ at showdown) 62.50%, BB/100 -13.46
VPIP - 30.00% PFR - 25.00%, W$SD 28.57%, bb/100 28.57

Somtimes poker doesn't make sense. Of course, there are many mitigating circumstances that you just can't always decipher from Poker Tracker Numbers.

First off, the first set of numbers were limit poker and the second set were from No Limit. OK, things are falling into place... 2nd.. they were from a small sample of hands... OK, OK, I get it.

After getting stuck $800 after the first week of August, I have pulled above water for the month. The weekend started tough. I played in the Poker Stars Silver VIP 2.5K Freeroll. I don't play much on Stars; but I do play enough normally to get to Silver level. The payout structure isn't all the nice as they are pretty much paying a bunch of places and that is fine as it is a loyalty thing. Anyway, clearly my strategy was to stack up or get out. Worked out great early as I took a few pots. Then I got into my first all-in situation. I had AQo. After the cards were turned over, I was suprised to see somebody had ATo and T3o. Q on flop and I'm feel pretty good... well, at least until 4 diamonds came on board and Mr T3o had the 3 of diamonds. Crippled there and went out a few hands later. Played 2 $25 SNGs... the short of it was that AK killed me and I lost both. My AKs lost to 33 and my 77 lost to AK. The weekend, however, did get better.

This whole WSOP thing with Jamie Gold is going to get really interesting. I can't wait to watch more of the tournament and how ESPN plays it out. I listened to an interview with him on bigpoker.ca. I urge everybody to head that way and listen to it. Wow, this guy has an ego. Speaking of poker on TV, I certainly agree with the consensus that High Stakes Poker is the best thing going. That hand with Hanson and Negreanu was very, very interesting. Anybody make that call that Daniel did? I guess when you are playing Gus, you are a little loose on your calls.

Have a good week!!!!!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

It's A Girl!!!!!

Has it really been over 2 months since I last posted. Wow!!! I really have to take my hat off to folks who can actually crank out post after post of good stuff everyday. I definitely fell into a rut both in blogging and playing. Anyway, I am going to try to get back into this blogging thing slow and steady.

Before I talk poker, I have to mention that the stork has delivered a new addition to the Wonka Family. A beautiful baby girl. Of course, I wanted a boy to go along with our 2 1/2 year old daughter and I always thought that I would feel "bad beated" if I got another girl. All of that goes to the wayside once you see a new child for the first time. A healthy new baby girl.... that is the true definition of "running good". I am truly blessed.

So, like I said, I am going to try to get back into this blogging thing for all the same reasons that I did it in the first place. Topping the list is probably chronicling the journey and forcing me to rethink poker stuff. Suffice it to say the "running bad" is my theme of the year. Of course, everything is relative; but when you drop over 7K over 3 months, it hurts. Especially, when it doesn't feel that you are doing anything differently; but guess what... suffer some beats and go bad, you do do things (hehe.. he said dodo) differently whether you realize it or not. Those KJ's or AT's in EP start looking better and better. The grinding goes away and you start looking for the big score. You move UP in limits instead of DOWN to try and make things up quickly. Guilty, Guilty, and Guilty.

Fast forward to now.... Nothing has really changed as let's look at last night. I went an impressive 1 for 5 with KK. Losing to AT (on river), KQs (flush on river), AA (oops) and unknown as I folded on a check raise on turn when there was an Ace on flop. The AA was doubly brutal as there was a 4 flush on board and I had the king only to lose to the Ace, of course.

I did get a chance to play in the Mookie last night. How cool are these things? Running good, running bad, these are always a joy to play. In an all to to not surprising end, I lost to Sir Iakaris when he called my all in with 72o (isn't there a name for this?) and got his deuce on the flop. Well done.. if I'm going to bust in a blogger tourney, this IS the way I want to go.

I'm playing more Turbo SNGs on Stars these days. Had some early success; but now that has also gone the way of everything else pokerwise these days and I am a bit down after a small sample. I'm even a net loser on the HORSE tables and that takes some real doing because people truly don't know what they are doing over there. Of course, I am one of those people.

I probably need to head over to Felecia's blog and read her psychology and poker series which I never did get around to reading; but sounds like there was some good stuff there. OK, I've taken the first step and figured out there is a problem that needs fixing. Stay tuned as I try to fix it.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Blogger Tourney

I played in the Poker Stars Blogger Tourney on Sunday. I have some good news and some bad news. Let's go with the bad news first. Out of 22xx people, I somehow finished 21xx. Nice. Raising on a 678xx board with 45 only to be reraised.. Yep he had the T9. Oops. Next hand, I have T9s... 9 high flop and I raise the guy just crippled me all in (for me). Of course he called with a slow played KK and IGHN.

Where is the good news? Well, I didn't have to play for 6 hours. I did check in at the final table and saw many recognizable bloggers chatting away.

In other good news, hopefully things are starting to turn. I am starting to play some SNGs again. This time starting at the $22 level as I only had $156 in Party. So far, after only 14 tournies, I am running at a 64% ITM rate and 75%ROI. Unfortunately, there has only been 1 win in there with 6 seconds. Not exactly what I am looking for. My rule of thumb is to have more 3rds than 4ths and more 1sts than 2nds. Oops. I have 2 3rds compared to 2 4ths so not good there either. I will continue on with the $22s until I reach a certain amount of $33 buyins. Any rules of thumb out there for moving up, SNG Challenge style? 15? 30? Who knows.

3/6 land is doing better as well. Overall, I have had 7 straight winning days totaling almost $1,500 so I will take it. Slow and steady is my motto.

OK, not much to say and it is running a bit late. I am currently in Canada again for work so I will not get too much opportunities to play. Maybe a couple of SNGs before I hit the sack (as I did tonight).

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Iron Man Challenge 30K Freeroll

High hopes with the Iron Man Freeroll today. 321 Players.. top 90 get paid.

Things going good first hour. I get AA that Runs into AK on A high flop. From there, a few steals and by the first break, I am a bit over average in 48th place with T3460 w/ a tourney avg of 2500. 15 minutes later, I get KK and get all in with a short stack with 77 and it holds up. Up to 21st place with 181 people left. I hit 5K in chips a few minutes later. Exactly 4 minutes later I get KK again. A raise in front of me. I re-raise and he calls. Q9x flop. He checks and I half pot and he goes all in. Yep, he had 99 and severely crippled me.. 3 minutes later I get A8 and get all in on a AA2 board. Any guesses what the villian had? Yep 22. I'm out in 148th. From looking good to out in 3 minutes.

I don't know what a stroke feels like; but I think I am starting to get the gist of it over the last few months. Incredible, incredible beats time after time.

Here's another one. I have AKs in MP and UTG raises, I 3 bet 2 cold callers and UTG calls. 6A4 (2 spades.. I have clubs. Don't worry, no river flush beats here). BB bets out and UTG calls, I raise and get 2 callers. Turn brings 8c. This time checked to me and of course I bet out, I get raised all-in by someone and then someone calls, I re-raise and get called. River 5s. UTG Checks and I just check fearing yet another brutal flush suckout on river. As it turns out, it was much worse, UTG 85o for runner, runner 2 pair. What can you do? Please tell me. What can you do?

Luckily, I will be taking a week long vacation where there is no internet access. Hopefully, I will come back refreshed; but right now, I just feel like quitting.

Friday, June 09, 2006

ABC = ?

Well, after a week off of ring play (I played a few tourneys for a total cost of $6 plus some home tourneys), I decided to head back to the virtual tables a bit refreshed. For the first day, I was going to go pretty much straight ABC poker at the 5/10 SH tables. Also, for the first time, I was selective on where I sat. There was a 8/16 table with a VPIP of 60; but the only spot was to the left of a 65/20 guy. Pass. So I waited on Full Tilt. There were actually pretty many 5/10 tables going so I could be selective. I first sat down at a 43/8 table. ahhh perfect.. with 20/8 person to my right. ahh perfect... Let's play. Nothing crazy.. just ABC at first and we will see how it goes. A sat down at a second table with similar stats. So, how did I do? More on that after this commercial break brought to you by ThisIsTheNuts.

Our Friends at ThisIsTheNuts has a pretty nice deal for anybody out there looking for some training. If you generate $500 of rake on any of there supported sites, they will pay for a month's dues of Stoxpoker's site. I am presently a subscriber to this service and the videos have been good. He doesn't have a lot of videos yet, but he is adding frequently. Just today, he added a video of 1/2NL. He provides videos for all levels which is nice. There is still a registration fee; but if you are looking for training, this might be a nice way to do it... not to mention that you would be getting paid to play. Good luck. Now, back to our regulary scheduled program.

Ah yes, ABC poker at Fulltilt. First we will start with the stats. I played 29.10% of hands, Preflop raise of 14.93 and an aggression Factor of 1.74. I went to showdown 36.17% of the time and I won at showdown.... oh we will wait on that one too; but we will are looking for 50-55%. Yes, those are fairly tight, conservative numbers; but that was the gameplan. Let's get down to the tables.

I didn't play first 6 hands. Called in BB with 64c in multiway pot. no love on flop and fold. Sat out the next 15 hands. Open Raise it up with AJ on Button, both blinds call. get check raised on a 846 flop and fold. T9 wins when he spikes T on river to beat 77. Sit out 3 more hands and I actually get Aces on both tables and even more amazingly, they both hold up so I am now up a bit. Lose a pot with K7s in a 6 way pot with a flopped flush draw. Sit out a few more hands and I get AK on button.. EP (60%er) Raises and I 3bet and SB caps (with AJ). Flop is 934, I peel bet. Turn 7 and I fold to a bet and raise. EP flopped a set. OK, I think you are getting picture. Here is a brief summary of the following Hands:

QQ loses to J9 (flopped 2 pair)
A9 loses to J3
AK on K high flop loses to KT (flopped 2 pair)
AA loses to T7
JJ loses to AK, KJ and KQ on a K high flop. Was that case K on flop. Nice.
I could go on; but you get the picture.

So anyway, what was my Won$atShowdown %. 29.41%. Of course, most of those were river beats; but not all. Just me donking on money when I don't believe the LAGs.

So, A week off and nothing has really changed.

I will be going on vacation next week so I won't be playing so another break will hopefully be good for me.

I am playing in the Iron Man Challenge (Iron Group) 30K freeroll on Saturday. Hopefully, I will fair better there.

One quick note to PokerShark. I feel your pain brother and hope everything works out for you. I get the same pressures here at home. You are doing the right things and hopefully you find your middle ground that works for you. Nice job at the tables, btw.

Have a nice weekend!!!!

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

By the Way, I'm In

Online Poker

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 5513906

Nothing New

Nothing new. Just taking a break.

I did play in Royal Vegas 15K Freeroll last night with 692 others. I think I finished in something like 15th for a little bit ($150). Very typical ending for me when my AQ lost to AJ.

More later...

Friday, June 02, 2006

Def Con 4

I will not elaborate; but I have reached DefCon4. Man your battle stations. Mr Variance, if you think I am going down without a fight, you have another thing coming. But here is the thing, is it Mr Variance? As this is the second prolonged downswing in my brief poker career; it is truly variance or is it bad play? Have I just been lucky during my upswings? Plenty of good stuff going about how luck factors into poker and I do buy into it to a certain degree.

My bankroll is now at the lowest point since Sept 2004. After my rakeback payments this month from ThisIsTheNuts I will back to a better level. So, I need to come up with a plan for the future. During the first downswing, I changed from full ring to short ring and had great succuess. Umm, until I gave it all back. Details, schmetails. So, I think a change is in order again. Speaking of rakeback, I am going to sign up Absolute Poker. I have an existing account; but have not played in 3 months so I am going to try and resign up with another name, address, payment type, etc... Has anybody done this? If so, do you have any tips are experiences to share? Of course, this is borderline unethical, immorral, or some word that I just can't think of right now; but I find real hard to play sites these days when I am not getting paid to play. What are your thoughts on doing things like this? Please leave a comment or email (check my profile for email address) any tips. AP has been the best site for my overall and I have missed playing there.

My second change will be another game change. I will begin focusing on NL again. This is how I started playing (at the micro limits of course) and I want to get back to my roots. What form of NL, I haven't decided yet. It will probably be a combo of NL Ring (short and full), SNGs and Multi Tourneys. I've started a Step SNG on Party. I'll see where it ends up. I kind of want to do some sort of step up thing that I see others doing. You know, start with say $1,000 and start with 1/2 NL. If and when you get to some certain threshold move up in limits. If anybody has already developed such a chart, please let me know. I know CMitch did something like that so I'll check his archives. BTW, congrats to CMitch on his great tourney success as of late. We all knew that you right on the cusp of greatness. Hope the trend continues for you.

Also, I'm not giving up on the notion that I need help. For whatever reason, I just can't finish books. This month will be a knew focus on that. The three books that I own are Theory of Poker and the Harrington books. I hope to get through at least one of them this month. Also, Poker Academy software will be installed. And lastly, training sites. I did sign up for stoxpoker and have enjoyed the videos that I have seen. He does a great job of playing the lower and higher limits on his videos so that it is good for all. The good news is that his play is not overly different than my play. There were a few things that I picked up that I will try shortly. The only bad part is that he doesn't have a lot of videos at the current time; but he is adding and it should be a good library soon. I don't know if I will continue past June though. I will probably switch over to something like cardrunners. Mr Rizen will be giving a review of PokerXFactor soon and that may sway my thinking.

I did end up qualifying for the Iron Man Challenge (Iron Level) on Full Tilt Poker so I will be playing that 30K freeroll next Saturday. I do not believe I will strive for the IronMan this month; however, I think it is a great promotion that Full Tilt does.

Home game tonight so that will also be a nice change of pace.

I watched the movie Two for the Money last night. I like the subject, of course; but it was too Hollywood for me so I give it a thumbs down. I soon will be posting my top 10 movies kind of subdivided by Category so you have that to look forward too. lol.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Lost Idol

I think one of the best things ever invented was the Tivo/DVR. I don't specifically have Tivo, I have Dish Network's DVR. As a matter of fact, I have 2 Dish Network DVRs. One for me and one for Mrs Wonka. I know, pretty lame; but that is how we roll. I now almost never watch live TV and it is great. This even counts for sporting events. Watching football games in hour hour is great. Commercials are a thing of the past for me. You just got a love it.

So, speaking of sports, Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals are on. Cool. I'll just set the DVR and watch it when baby and Mrs Wonka go to bed. Now, I must say that I'm not a very big NBA fan. I love the college game; but that has never transcended to the pro game. Anyway, I went on vacation to Phoenix last summer and since them, I have kind of adopted them as my team. No rhyme or reason. The Celtics were "my" team before... mostly because my dad liked them. I can usually tolerate the NBA once it gets down to the finals. I can tolerate almost anything when it gets down to the best vs the best.

OK then, so I go to set the recorder to record the game and Mrs Wonka has already set it record American Idol and something else on MY DVR. She said she was already recording Lost and something else on hers. I was a little ticked. Again, not a huge fan and it is only game one afterall; but wouldn't of it been great to see Steve Nash pull his heroics. Yes, I could have recorded the end of the game; but I didn't. My bad.

Speaking of Lost. I've been a little disappointed over the past couple of episodes and that carried over to the season finale. I mean, come on. How many subplots can you put into a show until it becomes overkill. So, my review of last nights Lost was ehh. Mrs Wonka liked it so there you have it. She then goes down to watch Idol. And then she says... I just wanted to watch the last five minutes to see who won. HUH???? You took 2 hours of MY DVR to watch the last 5 minutes? OK, OK.. she did end up watching most of it. I'm just glad that it is over with now.

With the weather getting nice, I'm glad that most of the shows are over now. It's going to be a nice hot weekend for the kiddies here in St Louis when they open the pools.

Oh yeah poker. More of the same. down another $150. Was down $300. closed down my remaining two 3/6 tables and opened up one 5/10 and doubled through there and just quit.

A couple of interesting hands in the category of "Things that make you go hmmmm"

First, KK Capped Flop 4 players. Axx flop. I capped, so I lead out. raise and a cold call. 1 fold. Big pot so I peel one. Turn A... Hmmm.. I check. Next guy bets, next guy raises. OK, I quit. Fold. I don't remember River.. but it was AJ vs AT. I never did go to Poker Stove to find out how much I was ahead with only 2 Aces being out there preflop... and then both of them showing up on the board. Very typcial of the ways things have been going. I just looked up my KK over the last 2 months. A whopping 78% of the time an Ace showed up on the flop or Turn. I didn't lose all of those; but I certainly ran scared a bit.

Second. QQ. Capped preflop with 4 players. AKJ flop. Since I capped, I led out and got raised by maniac. At this point, I am so frustrated that I just go to call down mode and will make the crying calls. I kept checking and he kept betting and I kept calling. Good news is that he chased everybody else out and only had JT. I had to do a double take when the chips came my way. It was a nice piece of good luck in the midst of all of my bad luck. Unfortunately, it was pretty much my only good luck last night.

I went back to my more aggressive self last night and it was a bit more enjoyable; but results weren't there; but overall happy with the session and overall decisions made during the session.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Another Pet Peeve

I posted earlier in the week about what puts you on tilt. Well, I forgot something that doesn't necessarily put me on tilt; but makes me the maddest. You know, if you could just put your hand through the monitor and wring the guys neck. Here's the situation. Playing in a SNG. Not big stakes or anything so it is anything goes. I get AJo on the button. MP limper and I raise 3-4x. Flop comes 4J8. MP puts a bet out there in which I raise. Turn comes 8 and he checks.. I go all in. This guy had a history of calling down to the river and then folding. I didn't want him to draw out on me so I decide to go all in with top pair. He waits about 10 seconds and then turns over 88 for quads. I don't think there is anything else I hate worse in poker than people who slow roll their made hands. It's kind of like:

-Sitting at home plate and watching your home run if you are a major leaguer.
-Celebrating anything in football other than a touchdown.. such as a QB sack when your team is down by 3 scores
-Shooting 3 pointers when you have a 30 pt lead
-taking walks in softball when your team is up 15

Yeah, kind of like that.

Now, I rarely say anything; but when he turned over his quads, I simply said...
Nice slow roll pal.....
He says... go back to your chocolate factory..
(ok funny enough.. but I wasn't going to give him anything) Did you have to think about that call?
He says.. I did it on purpose to piss you off.... it worked...
I said... not really... over it now... nh... and gl to you..

Showboating just doesn't have a place in sports; but what can you do? It is what it is.

I do have to admit I got a pretty nice chuckle when a few hands later his QQ got beat by a rivered flush. He didn't have much to say that time.

Anyway.. another abbreviated session as I just wanted to make my required hands for the Iron Man Challenge at Full Tilt. I did that plus a few more playing 248 hands. It was another winning session; albeit another small one at $75. Again, I am happy with a winning session and playing a little tighter while I work through it. I played 1.27 hours so if I can't be happy with a $60/hr win rate then maybe I am just getting a little greedy.

I also tried my hand at the Full Tilt 12.5K gurantee with 979 others. I was holding my own through the first hour and a half at just above average most of the way. Made a bad read and came over the top of somebody with my middle pair. He did have top pair with a weak kicker but called. That pretty much crippled me. I went all in from the cutoff with 33 only to run into the SB who went all in and the BB went over the top all in... Oops... SB turned over AQ.. hmm I have a chance... but BB turned over QQ and took it down. Dang!!!! I went out in 200th.

Have a nice day!!!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Days of Thunder

I think I finally can capsule-ize how I am feeling right now. Did anybody ever see that dorky Tom Cruise movie where he played a race car driver. Was it him or the other guy that got in a bad crash and then had nerve problems. I find myself in the same situation... especially preflop and also on the River.

For example, my stats tonight based on 246 hands were 24.39/13.01/5.00. I ended up with a whopping $26.50 which again seems like a million dollars these days. So I am still seeing way fewer hands. The real stat is that I folded to blind steals 64% and attempted to steal 33%. I haven't done any history checks on this one; but that seems really low the steal attempts and really high on the blind defense. What kind of numbers do you like to see there? Anyway, I cut the session short and just called it a night more or less breaking even.

I have also been gunned down so often on the river that when a scare card comes, I am checking it down with or without position. That is a definite weakness and I have to work on it.

A couple of tidbits to get off my chest tonights play just again so you can feel sorry for me... ha..
In a battle of the blinds, my KK lost to AA. Nice... A little later on, my Aces were cracked by JJ when he turned his set. AK was of course taking down by KQ on an King high flop when he turned his second pair. OK, OK.. enough whining already.

--------

Had a little discussion at the home game on poker terminology. It is very trivial; but nonetheless it came up. What is the difference between trips and a set. I've always gone with the notion that a set is when your pocket pair hit and trip is where there is a pair on the board and you have the third to make your trips. Like I say, it is very trivial. Feel free to weigh in on your opinion on this one.

By the way Fluff took down yet another victory. Congrats.. and also congrats to Webster for finishing second and cashing for the first time. Webster is the one that more or less did me in when he called my signature check raise on the turn with an opened ended straight which of course hit on the river. Nice Call... wimp..

---------

I have mentioned that I will probably look for some coaching sites. On a suggestion by Donkey Hunter, I believe I am going to subscribe to stoxpoker.com. This is one of the few training sites out that has videos on limit holdem. Thanks Dave for the suggestion.

Avalanche

First, let's start with some good news.. unfortunately, not for me though. I want to give my upmost congratulations to fellow Show-Me Stater Rizen for taking down yet another big tourney. This one being the Stars Million for a over 150K. Also scoring 8K in the UB150K. This guy is a machine and it is awesome watching him post win after win. Go check out his blog and sit in awe.

Now, for the bad news. Although, it is the same old story. Another weekend has past and another 1K has vanished from my bankroll. This makes the tally almost 60% of the bankroll. It is just so sad to build back the bankroll over a 3 month stretch only to watch it disappear over 2 months. As you will do when going badk, I changed things up on Sunday and tightened up a bit seeing only bout 29% of the flops and raising preflop only 9.5% of the time. My agression was still there as I played my good hands and good draws hard; but unfortunatley, the same results ensued. I will have around $600 coming from rakeback which will help. It is sad to see that money as the only gains that I am making playing poker. Is it bad when you cringe when your flop a straight or 2 pair? Because that is what I do now because I know I am going to sling a slew of chips in the middle and the results might not be what I was hoping for. I cringe when I see 99-KK. same thing.

So, where do I go from here? Well, for sure, I am going to complete the Iron Man Challenge playing limit poker at Full Tilt. Other than that, I just don't know. I played a $20 HU match and won that last night and played in an SNG for a 2nd place finish. Truth be told, pretty much all of my success has come from the tourney tables. Why on earth do I continue to play ring play? Even more so, why do I continue to play limit ring play? Even my recent try at NL Ring play didn't work. Obviously, tournies take up a bunch more of your time (not counting SNGs) and usually don't pay off unless you make the final table or you are Rizen.

So we will see; but I believe I see more tournaments in my future. I also see more training in my future. I will try out (finally) Poker Academy and I will also check out sites like Cardrunners or PokerMentors or something similar. I've raised the poker alert to DefCon3 and now am asking for re-enforcments (which is the training sites). Does anybody have any reccomendations here? There is plenty out there on NL and tourney play; but has anybody seen anything on mid level limit play?

When playing 3 or 4 tables, I think you truly rely on your crutches. Those crutches being Poker Tracer and PokerAce HUD. You still do see enough to be able to base your moves; but the force that actually makes you follow through on your reads are your PT stats. The good news is that my reads have been spot on after the flop; but have been paying off the other streets when I can simply cannot believe that somebody drew out again on me. Mostly, I'm talking about when my 2nd pair is good. It's obviously easier to play top pair; but there are sometimes difficult decisions to make when you don't have the nuts. I have also been hesitant to fire that last bullet on the river when I am drawing only to find out that the other guy was drawing as well and wins with his Ace high or something.

Sometimes, though, the reads aren't so good. I'm in the SB with QdQs. 2 or 3 limpers including button who is 72%er. I of course raise and hate to see 5 of 6 players seeing a flop. Good news, flop comes AdQc4d. I bet out and only a couple stay. Turn comes a scare card.. another diamond. Obviously, I'm losing to the flush; but I am drawing to the second nuts. I again bet out. Everybody is out except for button who raises me. Now, I have seen many, many flushes made on me during my downturn so I could simply fold. I think there are probably arguments for every option, calling, raising, folding. Can you guess which option I took? If you guess Raise, you are right. I have 2nd nut flush options not to mention full house possibilities. Button reraises and I have to call now hoping for another diamond or pairing the board, preferably the K of diamonds. River brings that diamond and I bet out and get raised again. No way!!! Raise.. Cap... Button had K8s and takes down a pretty big pot.

I don't know who Mr Murphy is; but I sure have subscribed to his rules. I would rather punch him in the nose. At this point, I am not giving up; but I think I know what the passengers felt like on the Titanic a few hours after they hit the iceberg. Wish me luck..

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Change up

OK... Ring play is not cutting it so I decided to play in a Full Tilt 17K (I think) guarantee tonight... you know to change things up. I've been running so bad that it couldn't hurt... Just changed to 2nd blind level. I've only played one hand and folded it on the flop. This time I get AK and it is 5 players in a 4x raised pot. Flop comes AA7. Nice!!!! Let's slow play this... what's that? EP is going all in... cool... I call... uh oh.. player after me moves all in as well.... no other callers... First guy has AJ... cool.... second player 77... IGHN... And the hits just keep coming and coming..

By the way, I was playing ring play. You didn't think I'd really not play, right? I have 8 more days to qualify for the Full Tilt IronMan Iron Level Freeroll. Anyway, doing ok... But right when I busted out of tournament; my luck went back to where it had been the last 2 months.

AK on K high board loses to rivered flush... AQ on Q52 board loses to 55.. J8s on 63J58 loses to 33.. 77 button steal on 56J59 board loses to 54.. J4 in BB on JJ7T5 board loses to 98... so just like that I go from up 10BB to down 10BB; but somehow I managed to eek out a $150 winning night less my $26 tourney buy in. That feels like 1 million dollars now... That is actually 2 winning sessions in a row... OK, the first one was only $14... buy hey.. I'll take it.

It also looks like I'm averaging about 10-12 dollars/hr in rakeback. That will certainly help pad some of the losses. Again, if you are not getting paid to play, I encourage you to take a look at ThisIsTheNuts. Just click the link or the banner over on the right. It is definitely worth it as I have made almost $500 so far this month which works out to be $12.58/hr. It really does help.

--------

The only thing worse than going through a bad streak is when you see your other blogging buddies going through similar bad streaks. CC over at Quest of a Closet Poker Player is going through a similar streak. Well, CSquared, let's hope we have found that bottom. I'm hoping I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel... hopefully, it's not a train.

--------

I wanted pimp 92offfsuit one more time as they have been putting out some nice thought provoking Poker Theory questions... Things on hand examples in defending blinds... missing flops... preflop situations.. The comments have dropped lately and would love to see other peoples take on these situations.

--------

Home poker game tonight and I will be debuting my new HU3 card protector compliments of the Poison. Thanks again V... and when is HU4?

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

What Puts you on Tilt

For the most part, I am tilt free. I may get mad and throw something or yell at the monitor; but for the most part, I am good to go when the next hand comes along; but is there anything that you say over and over that just completely gets under you skin? I have one; but as usual, I ain't telling yet. Let's try to think of the things that makes steam come out of our ears...

How about the guy who sees any and all flops. Yes, the 80% who comes to play. Inevitably, this guy will be hitting everything with things like 83o, J5s, etc... but when you have a hand, Mr 80% happens to be dealt Aces... Yes, that happen to me tonight... but that's not what eats my craw.. I just grin and bear it.

How about the guy who plays any suited cards. Who cares that he is UTG and has 94s. Who cares that you have AK and hit K on flop only to lose to the flush on the river. Yes, that happened to me tonight; but again, that doesn't boil my bunyans. Yes, I want to play against these guys...(he says while he grinds his teeth). Afterall, we beat these guys in the long run. I just wish somebody would be define the long run.

How about when the BB specials hit against you. When that T6 hits the second pair on the river to beat your overpair. Yes, that happened to me tonight; but that it is not what defrosts my freezer. Afterall, we all hit the BB specials. That's poker.

How about the maniac that will play anything and hits his runner, runner gutshot straight on river to crack your un-golden set. Yes, that happened to me tonight and that IS the thing that makes me want to jump out the window. Albeit, I am down at the 3/6 levels these days while I work past my down time; but this is certainly not unique to 3/6 as I've seen it over and over in 15/30 games.

So what is it that sets you off (if anything)? While I mentioned hitting gutshots as my cryptonite to being tilt proof, this happening once in a while doesn't really effect me. It is just when you couple it with others and have a consecutive gut shots hit against you that just roasts my rooster tails. Again, I'm able to gain composure pretty quickly and recover.

-----------

I want to thank the comments in my last post. It really does help. Anything that people can see that I might be doing helps. I do usually have some kind of rhyme or reason to why I do things; but as we all know, I can be way off in left field sometimes.

Another amazing night tonight; but at least I finished break even for the night which feels a lot better. The night started with my very first hand being AK... I get A on flop and play it only to lose to AJ who spiked his J on the river. All I can say to myself is here we go again.

I can definitely see the more timid play in my game as here are my stats from the night:

512 Hands
25.00 VPIP
9.38 PFR
2.35 AF
.46 bb/100

I will say that I did not get a ton of premium hands which did keep my VPIP down. Also, I will say that I have cut down a lot of blind steals and blind defenses for the short term. This will have a direct impact on my success; but should also lessen the swings which is what the doctor ordered right now.

Funny thing tonight, I had Q2o on all 4 tables at the same time tonight right at the beginning of my session. Of course, I folded them all.
------------

There have been some nice posts over at 92offsuit. They are having some interesting preflop scenarios conversations that are worth a look. As usual, I am way off in my reads. Not so bad today, though.

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

I would like to finish out my table from last night. We left off with me being down 16.5BB after just 37 hands.

Again, any help or comments would be greatly appreciated...

http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">



Hand#PosHandNetActionComments
38SBQ2o-1.5F
39But62oF
40UTG+197oF
41UTG92oF
42BBK5o-27CH3 PL see 62K.. I check raise maniac (78%).. He 3bets, I cap.. Turn Q.. I bet he raises and I call.. River 4.. I check call and lose to K6o. I always struggle when to believe a maniac.
43SB75o-3CallAll 5 see flop of 2K8.. I check fold
44ButAJo-9Open RBoth Blnds Call and see Q4T flop.. SB leads out and we both call… Turn T.. Checked around River..2c which brings flush draw.. Checked around and BB wins with Q9o. SB had K9s.. 49% fav preflop.. Oh well
45UTG+1A4s-3CallJust Call and fold to bet on J6T flop
46UTGKToF
47BBJ9o-3CH3PL.. And fold to Turn bet on A62K board
48SB98o-12Call3PL..TJJ Flop.. Check Call.Turn 5.. Ch Call.. River. 8 Check Check.. Lose to T2s (BB)
49But85oF
50UTG+1J4oF
51UTGAKs12.5Open R3PL.. 9A6 board.. Bet.. 2 Callers.. Turn 4. Bet and both fold
52BBATo-3CHAll 5 see flop of K69.. Checked around to see Turn of 2h.. UTG (Aqo) leads out, I and 2 other fold.. River is 9h.. SB wins with 88.. No need to get jiggy perflop with 4 limpers
53SB62o-42CallAgain all 5 see flop of 6c7c6d. I check. Maniac from above leads out and gets 3 callers.. Turn Js.. I check raise.. Maniac 3bets and I cap… River Ks.. I bet an call raise and lose to JJ. Maniac limped with JJ and it worked.. Thoughts????
54ButAQo15Open RWin small pot on 577Q7 board… only maniac sticks around
55UTG+296oF
56UTG+1J4oF
57UTGKJoF
58BBT4oF PFRNote.. Maniac with 93s from button calls PFR and beats Q8 and and AQ on board of 77K84 with rivered flush
59SB85o-9CallBB raises and I call see flop of 246.. 4 PL.. Turn 2h.. I check fold
60ButQ6oF
61CutKJs-18R2 callers.. Flop K24. Maniac bets out and I raise he calls.. Turn.. 2. I bet he calls.. River T.. He calls my bet with T2o for a runner runner boat and again did not raise. He might feel sorry for me at this point
62UTG+1Q3oF
63UTG82oF
64BB75o-9Call RUTG (25/13) raise and I call along with maniac. Defending blind. Flop of J96. I call bet.. I fold to Turn bet
65SBK3s-30Call4PL… Flop 6hJhAs (I have hearts)..I lead out and get raised by BB.. 2 callers and I 3bet.. All call. Turn 8s.. I lead and get raised again… LAG (64/16) calls and I again 3 bet.. River Ts.. I give up and check fold… BB loses with Ac8c to LAG who has 76s... Overplayed???? I can't call river can I???
66ButA8o-11.5Open RDidn't get Rebuy in time before flop… only BB calls to see 67Q flop.. I'm all in on turn and lose to QJo
67But75oF
68UTGQToFOnly 4 players now
69BBT9oCH2 PL.. Flop Q35. Check Check.. Turn 2d Check fold.. I'm gunshy.
70SBTT-24RManiac limps I raise and BB calls.. To see flop of 9sQs6s (I have spade) I lead out and get raised and I 3 bet… Turn Qc. I again lead out and call raise.. River Js.. I check call and lose to Qh9h.. Can I get away from this?
71But82oF
72UTG+187oF
73UTGQ7oF
74BBT2o-3CH4PL. See flop of K6T.. I check fold to bet and call.. Maniac ends up losing with K7 to new LAG who has K6
75SB63s-18Call4 PL see flop of 399 I bet out and get called by button… Turn Kc giving me flush draw.. I bet out and get called by new 55%er.. River Jh.. I bet and get called by A3s
76But88-3only $3 left.. Call it a night on this table.. Down 55BB






Thanks and have a good night..

Monday, May 15, 2006

I'm about to Lose my Mind

Has it really been a month since I last posted? Wow, how time flies. Unfortunately, I have not been having fun. We'll get to that in a minute; but first I would like to thank the folks (cc, pokerpeaker , LilAcornMan ) for inquiring about my blogging. I really appreciate it.

As I mentioned last time out (I think), I got a new job and it has been keeping me busy. Just recently, have I had chance to start reading some blogs again at lunch time; but unfortunately, I do not get to read very many and mostly I just scan them.

There has been some really good stuff out there and I hope to start reading and commenting more.

To say that I am running bad would be a gross understatement. Let's review the brief history of willwonka. I started, like many, after watching Moneymaker win the series in 03. I played fun money for a while; but finally got the nerve to put $60 into PokerStars. I did not know about bonues, rakeback, affiliattes... any of that stuff. I was as green as you could be. Anyway, as I haven mentioned in my blog in the early days, I had some success and by the end of the year, that number was up to $9,334. By August, it was up to $14,000. I then went to 15/30 and watched the bankroll go down to $5,800 by mid December. Yes, I ran bad. Maybe played over my head. Who knows. Anyway, I went back and studied things and gave 6max a whirl starting at 2/4 and 3/6. Things went great and by March 06, I had built it back up to $12,600. I was feeling somewhat invincible and again moved up limits and history repeated itself and I found myself at 10K by Mid April. I dropped back down to 3/6 and 5/10 and things have continued to deteriorate as my bankroll has shrunk to $6,100 after tonights $300 loss.

Here are some clues that things are going bad:

I am playing in a SNG. It is still in the 1st blind level. I look down to KK. A few limps and a raise in front of me. I, of course, re-reraise. Limper fold and raiser bumps it again. I suspect AA (afterall, I know that things aren't going my way these days) but push all in anyway. Sure enough he turns over AA. I see a beautiful K on the flop; but by the time the river had come, there were 4 hearts on board and he had the Ace. About 5 hands later, I get the same KK in the BB. Small raise in front of me and of course I push. He calls and turns over AA and IGHN.

Blogger Special in Reverse. Later on during Ring play, I get AA and a 80%er plays along and cracks my Aces on the river with 72. But it was sooooooted. I'm sure there are many bloggers out there that appreciate the hammer being dropped on Aces; but at the time, I wasn't so happy. A little later, same guys cracks my aces again with J5o when his second pair came on river.

So my plan is not to fill this post with bad beats as that as obvious when somebody drops 6K in two months. The plan is to figure out a plan as I don't have one.

I've never been one to over evaluate my play as usually, the long run takes care of itself.

So the first thing I'm going to do is just to a quick glance at my Poker Tracker Stats during my winning streak and during my current losing streak.

OK.. From 12-8-05 thru 3-18-06

31,800 hands
VPIP/PFR/AF/BBperHr
32.80/15.82/2.75/2.09bb

My best level was 10/20 and 3/6
My worst was 5/10

From 3/19 to Current:

16,500 Hands

VPIP/PFR/AF/BBperHr
31.79/14.02/2.48/-5.93bb

I didn't have a best unless you call winning $20 at 3/6 Euro over 433 hands.
My worst this time around was 10/20.

OK, maybe a little bit more aggressive during the winning streak; but not much. I can tell you 100% that your confidence and thusly, your aggression goes down after repeated beats.

Another thing I can tell you that similarly to golf and other sports, you try to do some things differently and you probably lose a grasp of the fundamentals.

In an attempt to review hands, I am going to do something that I did before. I am going to post some hands and open myself up to comments. I played 4 tables tonight and here is the breakdown:

Table/hands/VPIP/PFR/AF/BBhr

1/76/34.21/13.16/1.89/-40.74
2/102/24.51/10.78/2.80/+3.13
3/70/17.14/7.14/4.67/+19.08
4/99/24.24/14.14/3.17/-11.11

At first peek, it looks like tight play is rewarded; but that is not typically the case in short handed play. I am going to detail Table 1 first. Here we go.

At first, let's look at the players. I now can see that I am not sitting at a good spot on the table.
To my immediate left is a 22% who never raised. To his left (2 to my left) was maniac (78% who also didn't raise). Of course, I want him to my left. To my immediate right was a 64%/15 guy. To his right was 56%. So pretty high VPIPs but pretty passive. Dreamy, eh?

Here is the partial list...

http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">




Hand#PosHandNetActionComments
1BBJTo-3CHFold to Flop bet on 763 board
2SB96s-1.5F PFR
3But62oF
4CutAKo-15Open RSB (56%) 3bets and I cap. 4 see flop of J73. checks around to button who bets and 2 callers. Turn 6.. Checked around to button who bets and is check raised by SB. I fold. SB wins with QQ. I didn't hit flop and with 4 people statying around on a capped preflop, I was out.
5UTGK9oF
6BB32s-12CHAll 5 see flop of 432. I lead out and button (maniac) raises. I 3 bet.. 2 PL now. Turn.. 5.. I check fold. The only card I did not want to see. I suspect Ace and fold. Could have drawn for boat; but when you are going bad, you don't expect much and wasn't really getting odds.
7SBJ7o-1.5F PFRJ high flop… who knows
8ButJ2sF
9CutK2oF
10BBJ2o-9CHCheck 3PL see Q49 of diam. I have J. Checked around. Turn 5d.. I check call.. Initial plan was to check raise.. Again when running bad… you just assume worst. River Tc.. Checked around. Maniac on button checked the nuts (Ad). This could be foreshadowing
11SBK2o-1.5F
12ButKQo-15RManiac limps, I raise.. 3 PL see 962 flop. Maniac Bets and I raise and he 3 bets and I call.. 2 PL.. Turn 7s.. I fold to bet.. Yes, wimpy. Thoughts?
13CutA3oFAgain wimpy…
14UTG53sF
15BB33-3CHCheck 4PL.. 79K.. Checked aroudn Turn A.. I fold to bet
16SBA5o-3CallJust Call.. JJ9 flop.. Checked around.. Turn T. Check Fold… Table seems passive.. Should amp up aggression.
17ButJ6oF
18CutA4oF
19UTG+1Q7oF
20UTGQ7oF
21BB96o-3F PFR
22SB72s-1.5F PFRdon't play hammer to raise… sorry
23ButKTsCall2 limpers… I call..5PL see A57.. I fold to bet
24CutQTsCallJust call. One limper in front.. 4 PL see flop of 2J2 (2 spades.. My suit). SB bets, I raise, he 3bets, I cap. I call turn bet and am all in. No spade on river and lose to J6s… REBUY.
25UTG+187s-9Callloose call… 4 PL.. 3KK flop.. Checked around.. Turn 9.. Checked around.. River.. 7.. I check call and get outkicked by J7o from button (65%er)
26UTGT7oF
27BBAQo23RRaise Limper.. 65Q..Q… 4.. I win my first pot..
28SBKTs-6CallCall… again.. Running bad you just lose some aggression. 4 players see QQK flop I check call.. Turn 6.. I check fold to bet and raise… River 3.. Maniac (73%) beats other player when his Q3 beat others QJ.
29But74oF
30CutA9o-3CallFold to flop bet on TJ3 board.. Other players had AK and A8.. I'm not sure on odds of 3 people on 6 person table having aces.
31UTG+1AKo-15Open R2 callers.. Board J4Q (2 H).. I bet.. Get raised.. BB cold calls.. I 3bet and get 2 calls.. T 5h..checked around… RiverQc.. Maniac wins with 73h and also bets AJo
32UTGQ5sFBoard of 235Q.. Doh
33BB95o-3F PFR
34SB92o-1.5F
35ButA9o-3Call2 limpers, I call and fold to 7K3 board
36UTG+1T4oF
37BBA3o9CH2 PL.. 867.. Checked around.. Turn A.. Checked around.. Was going to ch/raise… River 6.. I call and maniac calls with Q2o


No real bad beats there.. mostly just bad flops... but possibly some ideas on aggression preflop.


To be continued... Getting Late.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Yawn

So I'm up here in the great white north with nothing to do this particular evening.... so what do I do? Play poker of course.. but after an hour... I've had enough... I didn't play particularly bad or good making about $106; but I just didn't feel like playing. Mrs Wonka thought I must be sick... maybe so.. but just in the head. It is amazing what a bad run will do to your enthusiasm. I have done OK over the last 5 days netting around $600.

So what do I do... I turn on the tube and flip for a while and I keep end up on UFC fighting. Part of me says to keep flipping; but I keep going back. Having not watched much UFC, it is pretty amazing in both a good way and a bad way. I've always been a boxing fan so I like the fight aspect of the game... give me a good knock out punch and I'm impressed... but the part that gets me is that go in for the kill after the knock out punch... The guy is laying on the ground and the other guy pounces on him and gives him a few more punches before it is typically stopped by the official. I don't know if I could ever be a real fan with the kneeing, kicking and all the other stuff.. but i just kept drawing me in.

I played in my monthly home game last weekend. The normal players were there (Wonka, Fluff, Mick, Kip, The Force and IceMan).... notably missing was Bud as he said that he forgot about the game... lame... Also notably missing was the professor as he had the nerver to move away. We all commented that the game just wasn't the same without him. The game started off pretty slowing with most raises being respected. Mick was the early leader and he took many early pots... Fluff and Wonka made comebacks toward the middle portion and eventually it ended up with the three of us.. I was way short stacked but made a pretty good comeback but then overplayed middle pair and didn't have the cajonas to push on the river.. I went out later when I pushed with the powerful T6s.. Mick who had been folding to all raises had an easy call with AJo and he put me out. Heads up went back and forth and the final two hands were pretty interesting. The next to last hand had them both going all in. Fluff with A9 and Mick with something like A6.. The board cards came and Fluff started celebrating a victory... but the dealer (yours truly) had to break the news that the had was a push... Doh!!!! Anyway, the next hand the chips got all in with Mick holding AK and Fluff with A9 (I think).... Nobody improved... uh, well at least until the river (again I think) when the 9 came and Fluff took down the victory.

We'll see how the rest of the week goes. I will remain busy with work.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Walking STRAIGHT down to victory lane

Well, last night was the eagerly anticipated HU3 championship match between myself and FishyMcDonk. Well, at leat eagerly anticipated by FishyMcDonk and myself. Anyway, the agreed upon time was 8PM Central and guess who was a no show... Yep, you guessed it... Mr Wonka. For some reason, time schedules mean nothing to a 2 year old.... and of course, she always gets her way... OK, almost always. Anyway, I was a couple of minutes late and the first set up tourney was already cancelled.... but their was a blogger tourney going on in the lounge. McDonk was already playing so I joined in as well. Things actually went pretty well as I moved up to the top after the break; but I went from first to out in just a few hands...I was in the SB with KQs and open raised the BB (Smokkee) and he went all in... I called and he showed K9s... Everything was looking OK until the 9 on the river... dang... the rest was a blur... Smokkee, at last check, made it to the final 3.. I hope he put my chips to good work.

Back to HU3.. Finally, at 8:30, the match was on. As my usual track history of HU matches, this one ended pretty quickly. I don't remember the all the details; but a Q on the turn gave me a straight and gave him top pair.. He called my all in and game 1 was in the books.

Game 2 was a completely different story. First off, I was behind from the get go. I didn't have the best of cards; but that is no excuse when playing HU. You start with 1500 chips and I found myself under 750 a few times; but kept battling back to even... then I find myself down to a little under 400.. and still made it back... Fishy kept the pressure on as any good HU player does. Finally, the blinds are getting up there as we have been playing at least 30 minutes.. I flop middle pair T.. and raised him (I think)... he put all in and I knew I was behind; but I was down under 400 again so all I could do was hope that I could suck out... so I called.. sure enough he had top pair. The turn and river did bring improvement... but not to me so Fishy gets round 2. Very well played Fishy..

Meanwhile, the other bloggers are having a grand ole time in the lounge.. something about dial a shots with Al Can't Hang and Iggy and Tripjax... a variable whos who was in the lounge... I broke in to ask 3 Jacks to set us up a new private Tourney... and of course he did... but he failed to give us the password... I finally got it out of him and Game 3 was on...

This was back to the typical quick game.... Fishy flopped trips with his 62o. He slow played (as almost anybody would... including myself); but I was lucky enough to get my straight on the river and he called my all in... Whoop, there it is... we have a winner.

First off, I would like to thank the academy, my mother and father... (insert record scratching sound)... wait.. this is not the Academy Awards... However, I do owe thanks to all the bloggers (32 of them) that made this challenge a great success.. I would also like to thank the Poison for organizing everything.. Great Job!!!

It was certainly nice to get something positive in the midst of a brutal downswing. I haven't played a ring game all week... I've played some SNGs with some success.. It's good for me to switch things around every once in a while. I won't be playing much over the next week as I have a home game tonight and I am off to the Great White North (Toronto) next week on business.

Cheers!!!

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

O-fer and HU3

I don't know what it is; but I am 0 for 3 in taking shots at the higher limits. I fell on my face again last night. Again, just a brutal run of good cards with bad flops or bad cards with good flops; but bad rivers... etc...etc...etc... I will not bore you with any more details.

The real meaning of this post is say that it looks like we have a date for the final match in the HU3 challenge. It will be against FishyMcDonk. I think we are shooting for This Thursday at 8PM Central. I'm not totally sure on the site. I'm going to push for Stars. We'll see. I hope to do the original HU challengers proud.
Who links to my website?