I never got back on track after being sick last week and it showed at the poker table. Friday night I was tired from lack of sleep and extra work on the job. Never got going at the table and lost 277. Not the worst I have done but not helping my win rate either.
Then there was Saturday. I got to the Peppermill at 2pm and the 15/30 was already full. I was put on the list and jumped into a 2/4 game to pass the time. I played almost every hand and wasn't catching cards so I lost 70. Then I went to a 1/2 NL game. Here I was catching cards and was back to even when I got moved to the 3/5 NL game in 20mins. There was alot of money on the table and many soft spots but I couldn't hit a flop to save my life. I missed my call to the 15/30 so I decided to suck it up.
I played aggressively trying to pick up some small pots but I ended up getting killed. I flopped top pair with a flush draw and a gutshot but I didn't get there. Down 500. I played tighter after this and went on a small rush to get back to even. This didn't last long as I missed more draws and then I started hitting brink walls. My flush ran into quad aces, my set ran into a flush and my big suited aces could beat 77. I gave back the 500 and another 400 before I called it quits.
Looking back I was very tired and lost my aggression after the beats. I should have gone to the 15/30 but I wanted to break into NL. Until I build up my bankroll I an going to stay away from anything above 1/2 NL.
Sunday I played on the internet. I was 4 tabling .5/1 and was up 50. Then I took at shot at 1/2 and lost 20. Took a break for a few hours and went back to 6 tabling .5/1. Then I switched a table to 1/2. Ended up loosing back the 50 and another 50 on top of it. The 1/2 games were playing differently from the .5/1 and I was a little off for awhile, but I just couldn't get cards and when I did I ran into bad luck. Of course 1/2 is over my bankroll so it hurt.
Determined to regroup and go back to the .5/1 grind. Will do the same at the casinos and just sit and wait for my limit seat to open up. Got to get a bankroll behind me first.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
No More Left Overs part 2
Now where was I. So I got into the room and crawled into bed and past out. Woke up about 9 am, not the most sleep but enough. Needless to say I was hung over and felt like shit. I was haveing dry heaves and hung out in the bathroom for a minute. Didn't get sick just relaxed and drank some water.
Tried to sleep some more but not much luck. I just watched tv and tried to drink more water. At about 11am I start to get hungry so I called up room service. The eggs were listed at 11.00 but when I signed the ticket it was up to 28 with tip, coffee, etc. As I was eating I realized that I didn't have my car keys or cell phone with my buddies number in it. I am getting worried that I could be stuck in Reno until my buddy realizes he has my stuff and comes to get me. I make it to my car and with the door code I get in to see that my buddy was there and left my stuff in the counsel for me. I call to thank him and chat about the night. He agrees it was a good time and I go to play more cards until I have to be home to meet another friend at 5pm.
I get into a 10/20 game at 1pm and can only play for 3 hrs so I can drive home by 5pm. I start to win right away. I was playing loose and hitting hands. I would push my draws and get there. And my favorite, flop my hand and get paid off. I remember one hand where I had T3o in the BB, with a raise and 7 callers in front of me. I make a speech that my hand sucks but how can I fold with so much money in the pot. Of course the flop comes A33 rainbow. I check call the flop and everyone notices and asks me if I like my hand now. I c/r the turn and get only one caller that pays me off on the river. With this luck I am up 591 in my 3 hrs. Almost got back all of my drinking money.
Sunday my buddy and I head back to Reno to play cards and get into the 10/20 game. Don't remember any hands but I did grind it up 200 before we went to eat dinner. This is where I got the shrimp. After dinner there is only one seat at the 10/20 game so I jump into a 4/8 game. I notice there are a ton of chips at this game. The guy to my right has 700 in front of him and other players have a few hundred. I am starting to think that they have been here all day as I watch the action. It is raised and re-raised with 4 callers on almost every street. Now it makes sense. I proceed to catch cards and am just as aggressive. I get AA, QQ, and AK almost in a row and win big pots with them all. Then I get lucky with Q5s in the BB to make a fullhouse and pick off a very aggressive bluff when I catch the river card. In 20 min I am up 300 in a 4/8 game.
Then I am called to the 10/20 game and drop 500 in the first few hands. Monster draws that don't come in. Then I go card dead and fold for the next couple of hours. I leave +77 at the end of the night.
Monday we stay local and go to Fandangos. I start playing BJ and win my entry fee into a small re-buy tornament. It was 30 with two 20 re-buys. I don't re-buy at all and get to the final table. I was playing aggressive but I also got lucky when I go all in with 75s and get called. I made trip 5 to double up. After that I settle down and try to win. I am 2nd in chips when we chop 3 ways for 200 each.
Tried to sleep some more but not much luck. I just watched tv and tried to drink more water. At about 11am I start to get hungry so I called up room service. The eggs were listed at 11.00 but when I signed the ticket it was up to 28 with tip, coffee, etc. As I was eating I realized that I didn't have my car keys or cell phone with my buddies number in it. I am getting worried that I could be stuck in Reno until my buddy realizes he has my stuff and comes to get me. I make it to my car and with the door code I get in to see that my buddy was there and left my stuff in the counsel for me. I call to thank him and chat about the night. He agrees it was a good time and I go to play more cards until I have to be home to meet another friend at 5pm.
I get into a 10/20 game at 1pm and can only play for 3 hrs so I can drive home by 5pm. I start to win right away. I was playing loose and hitting hands. I would push my draws and get there. And my favorite, flop my hand and get paid off. I remember one hand where I had T3o in the BB, with a raise and 7 callers in front of me. I make a speech that my hand sucks but how can I fold with so much money in the pot. Of course the flop comes A33 rainbow. I check call the flop and everyone notices and asks me if I like my hand now. I c/r the turn and get only one caller that pays me off on the river. With this luck I am up 591 in my 3 hrs. Almost got back all of my drinking money.
Sunday my buddy and I head back to Reno to play cards and get into the 10/20 game. Don't remember any hands but I did grind it up 200 before we went to eat dinner. This is where I got the shrimp. After dinner there is only one seat at the 10/20 game so I jump into a 4/8 game. I notice there are a ton of chips at this game. The guy to my right has 700 in front of him and other players have a few hundred. I am starting to think that they have been here all day as I watch the action. It is raised and re-raised with 4 callers on almost every street. Now it makes sense. I proceed to catch cards and am just as aggressive. I get AA, QQ, and AK almost in a row and win big pots with them all. Then I get lucky with Q5s in the BB to make a fullhouse and pick off a very aggressive bluff when I catch the river card. In 20 min I am up 300 in a 4/8 game.
Then I am called to the 10/20 game and drop 500 in the first few hands. Monster draws that don't come in. Then I go card dead and fold for the next couple of hours. I leave +77 at the end of the night.
Monday we stay local and go to Fandangos. I start playing BJ and win my entry fee into a small re-buy tornament. It was 30 with two 20 re-buys. I don't re-buy at all and get to the final table. I was playing aggressive but I also got lucky when I go all in with 75s and get called. I made trip 5 to double up. After that I settle down and try to win. I am 2nd in chips when we chop 3 ways for 200 each.
Monday, January 21, 2008
No More Left Overs
A buddy came in 2 weekends ago and we went out to eat every night until he left. Each night I got a to go box and put it in the fridge. So on the fifth night when he left, I mixed up the left overs and sat in front of the TV to relax. 5am the next morning I wake up running to the bath room. Yup the shrimp had gone bad.
I had the heat cranked and the covers on all day Thursday and was still cold. I started to feel a little better that night but not much. I had stuff to do at work on Friday so I took a bottle of tylenol and sucked it up. I wanted to play friday night, but my body said no way. Saturday I felt even better but not quite right, so I scrapped the idea of making it out and concentrated on getting better. So after this, NO MORE LEFT OVERS. I felt like dirt and who knows what it cost me in lost poker winnings. From now on if I don't eat it the next day I am throwing it out. Now back to poker.
The second weekend of January I got to the Peppermill pretty early for me and got into the 10/20. I lost a hand or two but was only down $10 at 6pm. The game was stuck in the mud and a few players were leaving to play the tournament. I was in the mood for a change of pace so I went too. $125 buy in with no re-buys. 41 players
I decided I would play super aggressive like Dario Minieri to see what would happen. The table was so tight and I was able to steal many pots. Then I would make a hand and get paid off. I had a bump or two in the road but I was getting chips. I cooled off for awhile with a nice stack and decided to let the others knock each other out. I cruised to the final two tables but had to start playing again with the blinds going up.
Playing alittle tighter I got to the final table 4th in chips. The final table was tight so I had to wait for hands and watch the others. I took a few hits as the table thined out and was the small stack with 4 left. 2 guys were good and would play but the other guy was pushing or folding. It was working for him so I started to do the same. Of course it doesn't work the last time. I crippled him with AK against AQ and he was out shortly after that. Down to 3.
His chips helped but I was card dead and the blinds where eating me up. I had just over the BB when I started to push with anything decent. This is when my second rush came. I doubled up twice and stole some blinds to be chip leader. I got heads up with a 3rd more in chips when we decided to chop. He gave me alittle more since I was ahead and I walked with a 1000 profit even with the buy in. Not bad.
I was feeling good with my first Tournament win at the Peppermill so I called a buddy and we hit the strip clubs with my money. We were talking about doing this for awhile and I had cash to burn. I don't remember club names but we went to 3. The first was ok, the 2nd bad, but the 3rd on Virginia street was a hit. I had the cutest thing in my lap the whole time I was there and we ended up getting drunk. I dropped 500 between the 3 bars and was back at the Peppermill by 3am. Played some drunk 4/8 before I got a room and then dropped $100 in a slot machine waiting for the front desk. Ended up dropping 800 but what a night.
This is getting long so I will bring it up to date in the next post.
I had the heat cranked and the covers on all day Thursday and was still cold. I started to feel a little better that night but not much. I had stuff to do at work on Friday so I took a bottle of tylenol and sucked it up. I wanted to play friday night, but my body said no way. Saturday I felt even better but not quite right, so I scrapped the idea of making it out and concentrated on getting better. So after this, NO MORE LEFT OVERS. I felt like dirt and who knows what it cost me in lost poker winnings. From now on if I don't eat it the next day I am throwing it out. Now back to poker.
The second weekend of January I got to the Peppermill pretty early for me and got into the 10/20. I lost a hand or two but was only down $10 at 6pm. The game was stuck in the mud and a few players were leaving to play the tournament. I was in the mood for a change of pace so I went too. $125 buy in with no re-buys. 41 players
I decided I would play super aggressive like Dario Minieri to see what would happen. The table was so tight and I was able to steal many pots. Then I would make a hand and get paid off. I had a bump or two in the road but I was getting chips. I cooled off for awhile with a nice stack and decided to let the others knock each other out. I cruised to the final two tables but had to start playing again with the blinds going up.
Playing alittle tighter I got to the final table 4th in chips. The final table was tight so I had to wait for hands and watch the others. I took a few hits as the table thined out and was the small stack with 4 left. 2 guys were good and would play but the other guy was pushing or folding. It was working for him so I started to do the same. Of course it doesn't work the last time. I crippled him with AK against AQ and he was out shortly after that. Down to 3.
His chips helped but I was card dead and the blinds where eating me up. I had just over the BB when I started to push with anything decent. This is when my second rush came. I doubled up twice and stole some blinds to be chip leader. I got heads up with a 3rd more in chips when we decided to chop. He gave me alittle more since I was ahead and I walked with a 1000 profit even with the buy in. Not bad.
I was feeling good with my first Tournament win at the Peppermill so I called a buddy and we hit the strip clubs with my money. We were talking about doing this for awhile and I had cash to burn. I don't remember club names but we went to 3. The first was ok, the 2nd bad, but the 3rd on Virginia street was a hit. I had the cutest thing in my lap the whole time I was there and we ended up getting drunk. I dropped 500 between the 3 bars and was back at the Peppermill by 3am. Played some drunk 4/8 before I got a room and then dropped $100 in a slot machine waiting for the front desk. Ended up dropping 800 but what a night.
This is getting long so I will bring it up to date in the next post.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Just Thinking
Still thinking of my not leaving Saturday with all of my hard earned money. Then I thought about why I didn't leave and then about my playing online Sunday night. I am not crying about it, just trying to figure out why I chose not to do what I know I should have done.
I am convinced it is still my mind set. I am looking at poker as a time killer that I can also make money at and an escape from going home alone. After all I have a job to pay the bills. I didn't leave Sat. because I had nothing else to do. Sunday I was playing online while watching TV and surfing the Internet.
I am just coasting and I have to stop. I looked up my rake after playing Sunday and it was almost half of my win. Granted I am playing very low stakes to build a bankroll instead of depositing money, but I know I could have made more if I was only playing poker. I then looked back at all my play and saw that I payed over 1800 in rake. That is a huge number considering the stakes I play online.
I am wasting so much money it makes me sick. I need to wake up and concentrate on one thing at a time. If I am so bored that I am watching TV then I should stop playing and watch TV. As for live play, if home is some place I don't want to be then I need to change that.
One more thing. Saturday over buttons where put into play late in the evening. I now regret taking one. IMO it changes the game more then I thought. First, I'm playing based on the smaller stakes so I have to adjust my game quickly to not wipe out my stack. 2nd, with the other players in the game preflop all the odds change mid stream. A call with the bigger bets may now be wrong. Finally, I don't want to or can't change late in a session quickly enough to compensate for the new odds. From now on I won't take an over button. If they want to raise the stakes that may be fine, (10/20 to 15/30) but not in the middle of a hand.
I am convinced it is still my mind set. I am looking at poker as a time killer that I can also make money at and an escape from going home alone. After all I have a job to pay the bills. I didn't leave Sat. because I had nothing else to do. Sunday I was playing online while watching TV and surfing the Internet.
I am just coasting and I have to stop. I looked up my rake after playing Sunday and it was almost half of my win. Granted I am playing very low stakes to build a bankroll instead of depositing money, but I know I could have made more if I was only playing poker. I then looked back at all my play and saw that I payed over 1800 in rake. That is a huge number considering the stakes I play online.
I am wasting so much money it makes me sick. I need to wake up and concentrate on one thing at a time. If I am so bored that I am watching TV then I should stop playing and watch TV. As for live play, if home is some place I don't want to be then I need to change that.
One more thing. Saturday over buttons where put into play late in the evening. I now regret taking one. IMO it changes the game more then I thought. First, I'm playing based on the smaller stakes so I have to adjust my game quickly to not wipe out my stack. 2nd, with the other players in the game preflop all the odds change mid stream. A call with the bigger bets may now be wrong. Finally, I don't want to or can't change late in a session quickly enough to compensate for the new odds. From now on I won't take an over button. If they want to raise the stakes that may be fine, (10/20 to 15/30) but not in the middle of a hand.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Still Not a Quitter
Went back to the Peppermill and sat in the 15/30 game. There were some tough players in the game but I was determined not to let that intimidate me this time. I started out slow folding many hands and then caught 3 in a row to be up a rack. This was followed by a draught of cards and a few suckouts to take back the rack and some of my starting chips.
This is when I went on my run. I got into a couple of big pots with an aggressive player and I kept raising. I was playing aggressively but also making my hands to build my stack. My best hand was a set over set and then we filled up on the river. With another player helping to pump the pot I feel that I got the maximum amount I could. Then with a few more small pots I ran 400 up to 2000.
After all of that I still didn't quit. I took a break to eat a rest but I didn't leave. I talked about it, thought about it, but my greed got the best of me. I won another 300 when I went back but this was my plateau.
The main reason I didn't leave was a huge fish at the table. He kept rebuying between beer and would call anything down. He took pride in bluffing and was aggressive to boot. I thought this would continue until he was broke, then I would leave.
After he took down a big pot with a bluff, another player asked for over buttons. This doubles the stakes to 30/60 if the only players left in the hand have a button. All but 2 player got one. This is when the fish got runner runner to beat me. My KK ran into AA and someone got a gutshot on the river to beat me. With the stakes doubled and me taking several beats in a row I dropped 1300 before I knew it.
So after 8.5 hrs of play I dropped half in the last half hr. I know this was just a swing but I was to tired to stay and play through it so I left. This turned an awesome win of 1900 into a very good win of 985. Still over 100 an hour but crap. I can and will be a quitter soon. I obviously need to keep working at it though.
This is when I went on my run. I got into a couple of big pots with an aggressive player and I kept raising. I was playing aggressively but also making my hands to build my stack. My best hand was a set over set and then we filled up on the river. With another player helping to pump the pot I feel that I got the maximum amount I could. Then with a few more small pots I ran 400 up to 2000.
After all of that I still didn't quit. I took a break to eat a rest but I didn't leave. I talked about it, thought about it, but my greed got the best of me. I won another 300 when I went back but this was my plateau.
The main reason I didn't leave was a huge fish at the table. He kept rebuying between beer and would call anything down. He took pride in bluffing and was aggressive to boot. I thought this would continue until he was broke, then I would leave.
After he took down a big pot with a bluff, another player asked for over buttons. This doubles the stakes to 30/60 if the only players left in the hand have a button. All but 2 player got one. This is when the fish got runner runner to beat me. My KK ran into AA and someone got a gutshot on the river to beat me. With the stakes doubled and me taking several beats in a row I dropped 1300 before I knew it.
So after 8.5 hrs of play I dropped half in the last half hr. I know this was just a swing but I was to tired to stay and play through it so I left. This turned an awesome win of 1900 into a very good win of 985. Still over 100 an hour but crap. I can and will be a quitter soon. I obviously need to keep working at it though.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Got Lucky
There was a tough lineup at the game when I got there but I was confident in my new play. Then I got my first hand and I was like a deer in headlights. I knew what they had but I called anyway. Then I got sucked out on half a dozen times and I started to play passive. I didn't win a pot for 4 hours and I got stuck 1,060. I did the walk of shame to the ATM and re bought for 200.
By now the toughest players left and some fish sat down. I started to win a few pots when we got 6 handed and the table turned hyper aggressive. I picked up a few hands and was able to build huge post to mount a comeback. After a few of these pots I was only down 60. I tried to keep it going to book a win but my cards dried up and I was very tired at this point. The pots were huge and were being won by 2nd pair but I saw big swings coming so I took my now small loss and left.
I didn't think I would have to practice table selection live but I guess I do. My bankroll is still small and the swing did affect my play. In the future I will pay more attention to the line up and play lower if I have to.
By now the toughest players left and some fish sat down. I started to win a few pots when we got 6 handed and the table turned hyper aggressive. I picked up a few hands and was able to build huge post to mount a comeback. After a few of these pots I was only down 60. I tried to keep it going to book a win but my cards dried up and I was very tired at this point. The pots were huge and were being won by 2nd pair but I saw big swings coming so I took my now small loss and left.
I didn't think I would have to practice table selection live but I guess I do. My bankroll is still small and the swing did affect my play. In the future I will pay more attention to the line up and play lower if I have to.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Tid Bits
Been doing some poker reading but not about strategy. I have been reading articles, cardplayer, and the poker news. I found a few tid bits in these items that got me thinking and now I am reading The Poker Mind Set and ordered Elements of Poker.
It started with an article by Tommy Angelo called folding. It was an easy read but rammed home the point that you don't have to win every pot you play. Then when reading stories about Chip Reese and his points for playing poker made me think. They were to accumulate wealth, improve your life style, and provide for your family.
I wasn't doing any of these things. I would win and give it back a day later. The only thing I was doing was killing time. Looking back at my posts I was touching on all the concepts but just can't seem to put them together. Hopefully the new books and ideas I have will fix this.
I finnally caught up on my sleep last night just in time for friday night. This will be the next test in my new qwest. I have to leave at 11pm to stick to the plan. This is still late when you figure I have been up since 6am, work all day, and then drive 40min home. I will be lucky to be asleep by midnight and I know I will be up by 7am even without an alarm clock. If I get tired before 11pm I need to go.
My point with all this blabbering is that there is more to poker then how to play a hand. If your schedule or life is a mess it will bring you down just as fast. If you haven't thought about these things then you should. They are half of the game and won't let you ignore them if you want to be a winning player.
It started with an article by Tommy Angelo called folding. It was an easy read but rammed home the point that you don't have to win every pot you play. Then when reading stories about Chip Reese and his points for playing poker made me think. They were to accumulate wealth, improve your life style, and provide for your family.
I wasn't doing any of these things. I would win and give it back a day later. The only thing I was doing was killing time. Looking back at my posts I was touching on all the concepts but just can't seem to put them together. Hopefully the new books and ideas I have will fix this.
I finnally caught up on my sleep last night just in time for friday night. This will be the next test in my new qwest. I have to leave at 11pm to stick to the plan. This is still late when you figure I have been up since 6am, work all day, and then drive 40min home. I will be lucky to be asleep by midnight and I know I will be up by 7am even without an alarm clock. If I get tired before 11pm I need to go.
My point with all this blabbering is that there is more to poker then how to play a hand. If your schedule or life is a mess it will bring you down just as fast. If you haven't thought about these things then you should. They are half of the game and won't let you ignore them if you want to be a winning player.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Taking It Seriously
I decided to take poker seriously for 2008. Not just say it but do it. There were days that I would blow off steam and money on a bad day to feel better. Play higher limits and games that I wasn't ready for and so on. All of this cost me alot of money.
For 2008 I am putting all the things I know about poker together, including bankroll management, emotions, and non poker related events. Currently I am under bankrolled for the 10/20 game I was playing last night but I can and did beat it for $600. I won't play anything higher until I have my bankroll back. This includes NL games. I am a limit player so the best and fastest way for me to rebuild is to stick to my game. If that means playing 4/8 or lower so be it.
I have poker tracker for my online play and set up an excel spread sheet for my live game results. I will also track poker related expenses and offset them against my winnings to treat this as if I was playing for a living. My job will cover my living expenses but gas to the casino, food at the casino, and poker related items will come out of my play.
On day one I lost -8.45 online and won 600 live. I don't want to deposit more money online if I don't have to, so I will be starting at micro stakes and working up as my bankroll allows.
For 2008 I am putting all the things I know about poker together, including bankroll management, emotions, and non poker related events. Currently I am under bankrolled for the 10/20 game I was playing last night but I can and did beat it for $600. I won't play anything higher until I have my bankroll back. This includes NL games. I am a limit player so the best and fastest way for me to rebuild is to stick to my game. If that means playing 4/8 or lower so be it.
I have poker tracker for my online play and set up an excel spread sheet for my live game results. I will also track poker related expenses and offset them against my winnings to treat this as if I was playing for a living. My job will cover my living expenses but gas to the casino, food at the casino, and poker related items will come out of my play.
On day one I lost -8.45 online and won 600 live. I don't want to deposit more money online if I don't have to, so I will be starting at micro stakes and working up as my bankroll allows.
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