The hits keep on coming

Well I'm in a bit of a predicament today. Yesterday I agreed to go down to south Austin and hang out with my inlaws. I forgot that I was playing the FTOPS at 1. But they do have a computer so I can play down there. But last night I also won a seat into the other FTOPS event today that starts at 5pm. So I can't decide if I want to just stay up north at home and play or go down south. Either way if I don't make some decent $ in these today I may be in the doghouse for a while....

FTOPS eh; Tokens yeh

Well FTOPS sucked last night but I have no one to blame but myself for that. I played a bad AJ from the sb, and fell victim to an AQ of a guy I felt was a donk waiting to give his chips away. It was bad and I knew it, so I wasn't really upset after I busted. I knew I fucked up and I knew I should've just folded it from the get go.

HOWEVER

I did continue to play throughout the night, including taking a shot at a main event seat that failed, a turbo token mtt that I didn't do so well in, and a $26 DS KO SNG which I took 2nd in for $350. It was a crazy final table to say the least. I sucked out a big river 3 for a set to get up in chips when it was down to 4. It was a shame all the shorties kept doubling becuase the blinds got really high and there was really no play left when it was heads up.

But that win puts me back up to 1K, making up for my losses in January. We'll see how Sunday goes. Saturday night I'll be plugging away at the token games again trying to get into the ME, maybe even the 1 mil guarantee THIS Sunday. Who knows.

FTOPS tonight!

I really wanted to go out and play live bar poker last night but with FTOPS starting up this week I decided to stay in and try to earn some tokens to use in satellites.

Earned 2 tokens in about 5 games, then used one for a satellite to FTOPS #1 that starts tonight. 67 players, 7 get a seat and 8th gets cash. After being pretty low for the first hour and not doing much, I got on a little heater during the last 3 tables and had a good stack near the bubble. I actually took out the 10th and 8th place finishers coming from behind with KQ>A7 and AJ>AQ. So yeah, I got the seat, my 2nd FTOPS seat this series. Tonight's a $216 750K guarantee with Jonathan Little as the host. 1st will be well over 100K.

My other seat is the $129 KO tourney on Sunday afternoon, where each KO gets you $20. That one is hosted by a German player I've never heard of. FTP has been adding European players like crazy!

So yeah I'm happy that I'm getting to play more FTOPS events than the Main Event like the last two times. I still need to satellite into the ME between now and next Sunday. I liked have so many seats up for grabs last night so I might try to get in a $75 satellite to increase my chances this time. We'll see what happens, and I'll be sure and update my progress in the first two events.

Wish me luck!

Bleh

That's how the weekend was. Bleh.

Saturday was the Fantasy League's big Poker Palooza championship, so I worked that. It was very well organized compared to the last one, which I actually wasn't at but heard plenty of horror stories. It was cool and once we got set up and the tournament was going, I really didn't have much to do. They had so many people working there that I was hanging out chatting it up most of the time.

Played the Hutto tournament and just never got anything going. We started with 5K in chips and I swear I never really got past 6500 if even that. Was eliminated by an old guy in a "Pray Hard 24/7 365" shirt and a WPT hat. Blinds were 200/400 and he open limped utg, I raised to 2K with AQo. Flop came Kxx. He checked, holding chips in his hand like he was ready to call anything. I shoved for 3600 or so and he called with K7s. Turn was another K, river a 7.

I had brought $40 for the cash game which I thought was going to be .25/.50, but they decided to do .50/$1. I wasn't thrilled about it but I came here to play so I decided to just try playing the short stack. I never should've sat down because it was a terrible game. It's not that the players were terrible because that I wouldn't care about, but it was the size of everyone's stack that made it such a bad game. When we first started I had $40, old guy on my left bought in for 20, guy next to him for 200, another guy for 60, old lady for 20 and another for 60. I'm like WTF if you want to buy in so short, why not just play .25/50 and give yourself some playing room?

So yeah bottom line it was a bad idea in general and I was getting very frustrated not being able to play the way I wanted to. I actually should've been out really early but I got lucky and made a guy lay down a wheel to my pp 77. I limped in with it and he was in the bb. The board came 4 3 5. I bet I don't remember how much and he called. Turn was a 2 and he led for $10, and I raised him the rest of my stack which was $9.50 more. He folded thinking I had a 6, and I showed him the sevens. So yeah I got lucky there and was up to $60 something. But then I lost that profit playing KQs. Flop was T 9 x with two spades, and I couldn't get there. :/ Then everything dried up and I couldn't get any kind of playable hand. Every time I tried to speculate and gamble I missed... just a very frustrating night.

And then to top it all off I came home feeling down and that irritated Kristina so much that she actually slept on the couch. On the one hand I need to really work on not letting the swings affect my mood so much and just leaving it all at the poker table. But on the other hand I should be allowed to be upset and that be ok. This is just an issue we have lately where we get upset when the other one is, and it's something we both have to be ok with.

Could've had a bad night after bubbling another $11 45, having a rollercoaster $22 SNG, and losing some in cash. I went to the .25/.50 heads up cash table on tilt and ended up making like $70 after it was all said and done. Bad idea, good results.

FTOPS KO event is this weekend and I'm already in it. Main event is in two weeks and I still need to satellite in. That will probably be a big goal of mine this week and next. So neways, long blog. That should take care of the week.

Can only get better

Got home from the Water Tank last night and immediately ran into set over set in 25NL. Utg raises 3x with AA, I reraise with 77 on btn, he calls. Flop is A 7 x with two hearts, and the rest is history.

There was another tricky hand where I flopped two pair Q5 from the bb on an A Q 5 board. It was just me and the utg limper. I check he bets the pot for .60, I raise him to $2.10, he calls. Turn is a J. I bet $4. At this point he's got $12 left. He calls. River is a K. I check, he shoves and I fold. I'm really not sure what happened this hand. Hands I think he could have very well had for limping utg are AJ, QJ, QT, actualy any kind of suited connector T: T9, TJ, KT, etc.

All in all I lost two buyins at the cash table and then bubbled in the token SNG I was playing. Haven't done that in a while. Folds around to me with 7 left and I've got A9 on the button, I shove and bb wakes up with AK. Egh. That's poker. I just wish variance could be interspersed sometime and not just beat you down all in the same timeframe.

I'm playing a live $40 tourney tomorrow night, and I'm getting staked half my buyin. Other than my Lake Charles trip, it's really the only time I've ever been staked and agreed to split profit. But first should be at least 400-600 bucks so that could be very nice even if chopped. We'll see what happens.

Weekend review

Saturday night played pretty much my whole shift on Full Tilt while I was at the station. I had 3 tokens that I was wanting to put to use so I entered 3 of the DS Knockout Turbo SNGs, since 1st is around $650. Lord knows I could use a good bankroll boost like that right now. Could never really get anything going in any of them, and come to think of it I'm not sure I ever took anyone out either. Each one I made it to like 30-45 players left before busting.

Then Sunday we had a our regular cash game over at Bruce's. I had a great seat with all the tight players on my left and all the psycho's on my right. Mean Patrick returned for the first time in probably 1-2 months, and quickly dusted off $60 in about 2 hours. He was directly on my right but I was never able to capitalize on it big time. Just the first hand I raised A9s utg and got like four callers. Flop was like J 8 x or something. Everyone checked and the turn was a 9. Patrick leads out for .60 into a $2 pot. I raise him up to $2.10 and he's the only caller. River's a blank, he checks and I check. He tables 94o?? This is why he can never berate anyone's play ever, because of hands like this.

Anyways him and Herby got into a small tiff after an Omaha hand where Patrick had middle set 777 and herby thought he just had two pair but then realized he actually had a straight. So Patrick got all pissy and ran his mouth again like always and said something like "you shouldn't be allowed to win if you don't know what your hand is". To which Herby replied "you don't like Omaha? well I'm gonna deal it every time it comes to me then". :) Herby had never played with him before, but he's a confident/cocky guy and he's not going to take that kind of shit from a guy like Patrick. Patrick made some kind of other idle threat under his breat after that, and then proceeded to lose another buyin. I can tell you this clash tilted him more than any of the hands he played. He HATES it when people talk shit back to him or don't give him what he wants. We played mixed games at Craig's one time and Dave got knocked out in the sb, but then dealt Omaha the next hand after he wasn't in the game anymore. So MP got all pissy and said you don't have a say in what we play, and Dave says "I got the cards so the game is Omaha". After MP folded his hand he practically threw his cards at David. Just typical MP behavior.

As far as my other notable hands. I was down a bit and then made K high straight and value bet the river to get back up to my initial buyin. Busted Nick in Omaha after flopping top set with QQ in my hand and dodging the flush on the river. That hand was from utg.

Not two hands later in the sb I pick up JJ playing holdem. I think Bruce straddled, Herby raises to 1.20, Craig calls, Pat (nice) reraises to $3. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to repop it b/c of my bad position or just call and see a flop. I opted for the latter and everyone else calls the $3. Flop is Q J x rainbow. I check, and everyone else does to Pat who bets $3 into a $15 pot. I check raise to $9 and everyone folds, Pat calls after some thought. Turn is a Td, putting two diamonds on the board. I bet $13, about half my stack and Pat calls. Before the river is dealt I push all in considering myself already committed to the hand regardless. Well, the river was a K and Pat calls showing AQd for a runner runner straight (with a flush draw on the turn). He was big stack too and that was a huge pot that would've put me up to $100 most likely. It's too bad because I could've easily check/folded the river had I waited to see what it was, but I gurantee I wouldn't have felt good about it. My biggest problem is failing to count the pot on the turn because a shove for 20 something wouldn't have been an overbet at all. It might have gotten him to fold too, you never know.

Anyways, online is still up and down. Had a good session last night where I made $35 on cash game, and then place 4/45 in a $5 for another $17.50 profit. Coupled with the $15 I made in 15 minutes earlier that night it was a good showing. Roll's at just about $700 now so I still have work to do before I can get back to .50/$1 heads up again. But that's ok I can be patient. :)

Fuck poker

I have had the absolute worst weekend on Full Tilt. It's pretty disgusting the beats I took last night alone in the cash game. Just donks getting lucky, rivers , runners you name it, it happened.

I thought turned quad aces after flopping a set with AA against the douche who limp/called 79s and flopped a flush would make me feel better at the time. And I thought certainly after getting up to 4K in chips in the $22 SNG would be a lock to cash and even out the night. But no the beats reared their ugly head and took me out in 2 hands, including the same douche who flopped a flush on me. He was short stack and limp/called Q6o in the sb against my 88. Flop is 552, he shoves and I call and hits runner runner straight.

Then I have 44 and I raise 3xbb from the sb, and the bb minimum raises me. I almost threw my hand away but the price was too good and he had a decent stack and I knew from his raise he had a big pair like KK or AA that I had good implied odds to crack. Well the flop came a 4 and we got all the money in and then he turns a K on me. Fucker.

And every session of heads up cash game I played I didn't win a single one.

I'm so pissed right now, I really don't even want to be at work. I just want to go home and start going apeshit online even more. Ack. Fuck poker.

Temper Temper

I've noticed my temper starting to flare lately, especially in our live cash games. I think I'm just being hard on myself for making bad plays, which I need to learn to just let go. Yes I want to make the best play every single time but trying to hold myself to that standard constantly can't be a good thing. I have to realize I'm still human and that it's a game of imperfect information so I can't get it right all the time.

I remember one instance two weekends ago where I lost a $15 pot to Jason when I check raised my four card straight on the river on a fairly dangerous board. He called and showed a higher straight. Or this last weekend in an Omaha hand where I donated $15+ to Craig with trip sevens, which was actually just a terrible play overall. I really need to practice more PLO online so I can plug holes like that.

This last weekend wasn't very good online, it seemed like I was getting coolered a lot. I know in one instance I flopped a K high flush with KQd and someone else had AJd. Stuff like that. I know it's just variance and it will eventually turn around. I just make sure I don't tilt and play too high for my roll. I just took out some more $ to pay off the PS2 I bought for Christmas. I just opened an Epassporte account this month to see if I can get my $ out faster than a check in the mail. We shall see, so far it hasn't been that fast.

Poker Goals 2008

There's a massive thread on www.pocketfives.com about poker goals for the new year, so I thought I post mine on here. I never expected to have as good a year as I did in 2007. I used to dream about just qualifying into Sunday major tournaments, and then I manged to qualify for 4 of them and cash in 2!

This year I hope to continue the trend. I will continue to keep up my CardRunners subscription and try to really dedicate more time to watching videos and improving my game.

Moneywise I'd like to make another couple of 4 figure cashes to aid in getting a new car and paying a good chunk of it off right away. My ideal means to accomplish this goal would be to final table a Sunday major. In the meantime I'm just going to continue to practice good bankroll management and try to make a steady profit in heads up and 6 max cash games.

Last post of the year

Had a fantastic poker weekend online. Saturday night I crushed the heads up .50/$1 cash game, well one player in particular. I initially lost $40 to him, but reloaded and got it back fairly quickly. Then he just kept reloading. All in all I took him for about $300. :)

I also sat at a 1/2 table for a bit the same night because Jonathan Little, the frontrunner for WPT Player of the year was sitting. I didn't end up making any $ at that table, but I was able to bluff out Johnathan with Q6o from the big blind. He raised the button, I repotted him and he called. I fired a cbet on the flop and he folded.

I satellited into the $250 Sunday Brawl knockout tourney on Sunday as well. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the $ but I did manage to take out two people before hitting the felt, so that made me $80. :) The satellite I won was only $8.

I won a $22 sng last night too, but quickly lost all the profit from that in the cash games. Actually it's funny I spent about 3 hours playing and was up about $70. I took a break after winning that SNG (was playing cash at the same time) and then came back for 15 more minutes and in that span I lost all that I had made that session, and $30 more! :) Shoulda just quit when I did. Oh well.