Traveling

Got one of those dreaded phone calls that a family member may not make it. So on a moments notice I was on a plane heading to Pennsylvania. My grandmother was not doing well and as my last living grandparent I wanted to see her. She contracted an infection and at 89.5 it caused confusion.

To a point it was funny listening to her mix up dates, events, and people, but at the same time it showed she was not doing well. She lives with my aunt, her daughter, and she did not know her. She was the woman that operated the nursing home, prison, or communist state, depending on how confused my grandmother was at the time.

She recognized me when I went in her bedroom but didn't know how long they would let me stay. Visiting hours and all. Later she wouldn't realize who my father was or when he died. He is her son and he was watching TV on the couch. She later commented that we all looked alike. I guess family does look alike. The antibiotics where working and she was getting better.

After visiting grammy I went to AC and the Borgata. I arrived around 7pm Thursday and jumped into a 2/5 NL game. As usually the locals tried to push the tourist around so I folded many of my hands. They were very aggressive betting large amounts with air or at best a draw.

I picked up a few small pots until I got 88 in the SB. I called 5 limpers and the BB checked. The flop was 998. I flopped a fullhouse and not wanting it to check around I bet 20 into a 35 pot. The BB called and everyone else folded. The turn was a 6 and I bet 40. The BB raised to 140 and I pushed for 300 more, all of his chips.

I could have played this a little slower but I didn't want 93o to beat me without paying so my plan was to get the money in. The BB tanked, called my hand, and asked if I would show. "I don't show sir." He called with a straight and I won another 250 or so. +400

Another player said he had 66 and would have pushed his fullhouse if I didn't bet the flop. This is an argument for slow playing but would I have gotten both to push all in. With a paired board and 3 players the straight would have dropped out and I would have won about the same amount. By betting I think I reduce those bad beats that are worse because you think you slowplaying allow him to stay in.

I won with AA also but I don't like the way I played it. I was getting tired and bored from the drive and jet lag. I was the BB and the button raised to 20. The sb completed and I only raised to 50. Both called and we saw a flop of KQJ 2 spades. I didn't have the A of spades and bet out 60. The btn raised to 120 and the sb folded. I was now in a bad spot and he had 350 left.

He was not a donk but could min raise anything. AK, AQ, KQ, of 2 spades were real possibilities. So I declared I screwed up and pushed 500. He folded what he said was AK. +650

I went card dead after this and donked off 150 before calling it a night. The next day I played in 4hr stretches and won during all 3. I made 650 in the morning, 50 in the afternoon and then 130 in the evening. I don't remember any more hands just being card dead. My morning win was flopping a set over set and a few standard hands then later I was just card dead.

The night session was a little exciting. My first hand I am sat next to the big stack of 2500 and dealt JJ. I raised to 25 and got 3 callers including the big stack. I bet 35 on a board of 895 two hearts and got raised to 135 by the big stack. It was folded around to me and I pushed my 400 starting stack into the middle. The big stack called with an open ended str8 flush draw and got a flush on the river.

I changed seats to get away from the big stack and rebought 300. With QTs I called a 10 straddle along with 6 other players and the bb raised it to 50. Everyone called so I did too. The flop came Q high so I bet out 50 as a blocking bet. The BB and big stack called. The turn was another spade so I bet my last 200 on the Q with str8 and flush draws and the bb called. The BB showed AQ and I said I got outs. The river was a spade and I announced that was one of them.

Almost even now I was feeling better. The BB was still taking about the hand and pointed out that I had a straight flush. I didn't know. I just knew I had a flush and was good. I won a few more small pots to finish up for the session and went to bed.

I had to be at a family gathering Sat. at noon so I had to leave as soon as I woke up. Over all the short side trip cost me 300 and I won 1300. It was worth the trip but I think one more day would have paid for the whole trip back east. One tip. If you don't stay at the Borgata, which is expensive, keep your parking receipts. They charge $5 to park and you can use the receipt if you leave to take a nap and come back. I learned this late and paid for it.

My results aren't there due to the traveling but on line I lost -35, including rakeback, and live I won 1,657. Taking time off is expensive. There are a few days left in the month that I plan to make the best of.

Down and Out

I put off my income tax return until the last minute because I knew I owed them money. I made a big payment awhile back but I still owed more. This really stressed me out. I played like crap trying to win money and I just felt like a lump of coal. I ended up taking 5 days off doing nothing.

Knowing I had to get it done I jumped in and cleaned my apartment. Love to procrastinate. With a clean place to work I sat down and did my taxes. I owed more then I thought but I bit the bullet and wrote the check. As always, I felt better once it was done and am now working on getting my money back.

I figured out how to grind on-line. I made up all the losses for the month and all the previous months since I started my new data base. On my way to get all my poker losses back since I started playing. With rakeback I am up 605.91 for the week. Live I dropped the ball and lost -590.00.

I know just reading results is boring for the reader but it keeps me focused. I will make more interesting posts starting in November.

First Week in October

Nothing new just the same old story. I am in a rut going round in a circle. I have good days and bad, but not enough of either to define a direction.

Even if I just lost, I would know to give it up and go in a new direction and get on with my life. The trouble is, that I win enough to keep the dream alive. If I can only get over a few bad habits I could make this work.

Well, I still have time to figure it out so I keep plugging away at it. Basically a break even week with dreams of winning next week.

September Results

The month is over and the totals are in. I didn't reach any of my goals. What a great way to start.

The totals are +1,495 live and 99.14 on-line for a combined total of 1,594.14. I actually lost -210.28 with regular play but the rake back of 309.42 put me over the top.

Not the best month financially but I made huge strides in my game. The last week pulled my numbers up to where they are. I am excited about October and think it will be a huge step forward toward reaching my goals. My situation has been extended for 2 months so I am going to ride this train to the end.

I worked hard on my game in September and I continue to do so. Some key pieces fell into place the last week and that is what I think will make the difference going forward.

Week 4 Results

On-line I won $138.92 + rakeback of 59.68= 198.60 and live I won $345.

I had downswings in both formats, more so Live. There was a rich business man in town from San Fransisco so I played a couple of days of 3/5 NL. Of course I was card dead for most of those sessions and that created bigger losses. I even played 10 hrs one day to even out the bad luck but it wasn't enough.

The part that I am up beat about is how I turned it around. A few more things clicked in my head and I had 3 days of great results because of it. Its not new information but a new way for me to think about it.

I tried to win every hand that I entered. This could be devastating if the villain got lucky on me. I started to think about the bigger picture. Doyle Brunson has described poker as war, so I started to think of the hands as battles and the session as the war. This allowed me to give up on more hands.

I knew all the poker reasons to give up on a hand but I never truly accepted them as say "morally" correct. Its like leaving a wounded man behind in real war. You know you shouldn't risk the whole platoon to save 1 man, but you really want to. Your training tells you to pull back, re-group, and counter attack. You take on the enemy on your terms, not theirs.

Poker can be the same way. By leaving behind a few chips in a pot, you can wait for a better hand to stack them with. You keep yourself in the game by waiting until you are more confident about your hand.

I have also found that by folding those hands, it lulled my enemy into thinking I was weak tight. This would get me the extra action I needed to not only make up the previous loss but also make a profit.

My results are still preliminary do to the sample size so this next week will be a better test. If my result continue I will be confident I am on my way to poker riches. Just kidding. Any profit will be nice.

Tilt

This is not a story of me going on tilt but another player.

I was running good on Saturday and no matter what I played I seemed to win. They were small pots but people started to stay away from me. Then this hand happened.

It was folded to me in late position so I raised it to $6. This is a tiny raise in a live game but I only had A5o. The big blind was the only caller. The flop was 678 rainbow. Checked to me I bet $10, he called. The turn was a 10. I bet $15, he called. The river was the 9.

Both of us were talking during the whole hand and I didn't even realize there was a straight on the board. Thinking there was just four to the straight I didn't bet the river. I just disappointingly flipped over my hand and announce "I got the bottom end of the straight".

The other player winced and threw his hand on the table. Only one card turned face up and he reached out and turned it face down and mucked it. Just at that moment the guy to my left yells out "what are you doing" "Sorry" and turns away. As the dealer was pushing me the pot, I asked him what was going on. He points out that there was a straight on the board and the rest of the table and dealer confirm this.

I start laughing and assuring the other guy that I didn't realize and was just declaring my hand. He turned beat red and laughed a little too, but was very embarrassed.

The very next round we are heads up again, the same way as before, but this time I have 97o. The board is 59T rainbow. The betting is the same, check, bet, call. The turn is a J. He checks I bet and he acts real disgusted and fold his hand face up as he stands up, takes his chips, and mumbles something about being on tilt.

The table is stunned and we all look at him while he walks away. As the dealer is pushing me the pot, everyone is asking me if I could beat the two pair he flipped up. I said "no", laughing, "I guess he thought I made the straight".

Apparently the whole hand was DA Shae vie to him, and when the third straight card came out he just snapped. This is a new one for me. I had never seen tilt this bad before.

Week 3 Results

Week 3 was a heart breaker. I was humming along feeling confident so I jumped into a 3/5 game. I was card dead at the start so I just folded and picked up small pots to weather the blinds.

I finally got KK and raised to $25 in middle position. This wasn't enough because 4 people called. I c-bet on a 852 board and got called by one player. The turn was a 2 so I pushed with two pair. The river was an A and I was shown 55 for a boat. I should have known this player wouldn't have called the flop with less then a set but I fell in love with my KK. Two hands later I get top pair and am shown another boat. I pick up my last $26 and go home. This effectively wiped out my profit for the week. I played some more on Monday, and after loosing another $100 I went to Black Jack and lost another $60. So the week ended -107.00.

On line was much the same. -$25.60 Both were small losses. I have been working with my poker buddy plugging up my leaks so week 4 will be good. My latest leak is what killed me. Folding big pocket pairs.

Just like the live game, I get excited to see big pocket pairs and even though the board is uncoordinated, I push all in. I am shown a set most of the time. On line the villain usually gives me a clue by raising but I still do it. So this week I vow to fold. I figure if I can master this I will save $800 a week.

So back to the grind.