2.29.2008

New gameplan..

I'm running so bad lately that I'm just going to revert back to lower levels until I get my momentum back. So I think it's .5/.10 cash games and SNG's $5 and lower, with a focus on the $2 turbos and $5 45 man's.

FTP just updated their software so that they have T$ now. So if I win a satellite seat I can unregister and have the credit to play a tourney later. That'll be nice when I start shooting for them again.

dK

2.26.2008

The streak continues

Played EXTREMELY patient in our cash game on Sunday and still managed to lose 1/2 a buy in. I hovered around $40 for hours and hours, taking one or two small pots but that's about it. Finally crushed Nick in Omaha to get up there when I flopped the A high straight AND the nut flush draw, which I made on the river.

But then right after that Bruce sucks out on me with QQ against my KK. Bruce raised to .70 and Jason called. I repopped it to $2.70 and they both called. Flop is Q x x. He checks, I bet 4, he raises to 11 and I flat call. Then he instashoves the turn. I've got about what I was at before, just around $40. I fold face up and Bruce shows one of the queens.

He tried to tell me later that he had AQ, but I'm just not buying it. He wouldn't play that hand that fast, there's just no way. I guess I should really thank him for playing it the way he did because I very well could have gone broke. But there were two diamonds on the board and he didn't want to get bluffed off a diamond river which is why he did what he did.

Guy just ran like God though. Trips, straights, just everything.

Craig was gone in less than 2 hours. He lost big pots with weak hands and went on tilt. For instance calling a straddle preflop with T5s on the button. Flopping top and bottom and NOT raising Patrick Lantz's lead out $1 bet that was called by at least one other person. Of course MP hits two pair T7 on the turn and bets like 4 bucks, craig raises another 4 and MP calls. Then I think they both bet like 6 or 8 bucks more on the river. He's looking all confused and robbed, and I'm like "don't play T5". I mean, you ARE creating your own problem by marginal, nothing type hands.

Then later he raises A9o from early position. Flops an A and to his credit he does bet near the pot on the A K x flop. But Nick calls him with QJh and turns a flush draw to go with the gutshot. Craig bet like 6 bucks on the turn and then again when the flush hit the river. Amazingly Nick just check/called and didn't raise the river which I think was a big mistake on his part. Craig could have easiliy gone broke on this hand after investing so much and already being on slight tilt.

Again good hand selection and knowing the table A9o in early position is an easy fold. But even having played it, there's absolutely no reason to bet that river. I mean the guy called you on two streets and not small bets either, he's got SOMETHING.

But here's the problem I have with Craig and other crybabies in poker period: whenever THEY do something horrible and get lucky, they've ALWAYS got an excuse. Whenever someone else does it to them you never hear the end of it, but they're always ready to move on and drop the subject when it's them playing like morons. Craig cracked Travis' AA by check/shoving J7o on a K T 9 board and sucking out the 8 on the river. Craig's excuse? "I'm on tilt and it's yall fault. I'm playing every hand like you guys do".

Craig's final hurrah: 3 betting AJs and calling all in against Rob's 4bet shove preflop. Rob had JJ and sent Craig out very fast. It was very reminiscent of Hutto. I think Craig had somewhere else he wanted to be.

I'm really trying to not give Craig a hard time about poker because he's obviously very self conscious because he's always seeking approval. And it's really hard not to for that very reason. Even when I'm trying not to say anything he's telling me a bad beat story or something. It wouldn't bother me so much if he actually LISTENED AND USED any of the advice I gave him, but it all just goes in one ear and out the other.

Sorry this turned into Craig's blog. If I'd have played any real significant hands other than Bruce's, well I guess this would be an even longer blog.

2.22.2008

Not much to report

Haven't played a whole lot this week quantity wise. I've played at least once a day but not for very long. Like the other night I played one $6 turbo sng and that was it. Short cash game session last night after Water Tank. Stuff like that.

Sitting on about $700 now.

Not sure if I have a real plan now that FTOPS is over. Tokens OBV. Cash games in between. I'm probably going to shoot for a 750K seat tomorrow night at the station, even though I'm playing cash game live with my buds on Sunday. I can multitable if I need to. :)

I really want another big score so I can throw down on a new car ASAP. Since the state fucked me over on the whole voucher thing, I'm soo ready to ditch my Mazda. The thing I'm looking forward to the most about getting an SUV is being able to fully lay out on lunch break for a nap. :) So sad I know...

2.19.2008

Sucky weekend

I don't want to go into too many details, but came close in a number of satellites but just ran really bad this weekend. Couldn't get into FTOPS. Lost most of everything I played with the exception of a $22 sng that I won on Saturday afternoon.

Looking forward to the WSOP satellites that will undoubtedly start running later this month or early March.

2.11.2008

Weekend report: disappointing

Saturday night I won a seat to the $322 1 million guarantee FTOPS #9 event. So I played in both the FTOPS yesterday.

First one at 1pm I was mixing it up a bit more than usual, but it was a 6max KO event. This FTOPS I've really felt like playing looser than I normally do. I don't know if it's the deep stacks or what, but that's just how it is I guess. Anyways, I lasted about an hour and a half in the KO tourney. Did claim one victim for $20 but that's about it.

Took a break, watched a movie in between tourneys at the in laws.

Came back and doubled my chips in the first hour of the big tourney. Was feeling good, playing good but tight this time. Much more like my previous FTOPS main events. Finally at the 250/500 blinds I was sitting at a table with a LOT of shortstacks so my hand selection was tied up pretty bad. Which in turn led to me getting no action on my good hands until I get AK. Raise to 1250, ss in bb shoves with K7s. I snap call and watch the 7 hit the flop. The brought me down to less than 6K which I shoved after solid utg raises 3x to 1800 with 88, he has QQ obv and I'm out 911/5300+ players and 738 getting paid.

Interestingly enough Erick Lindgren who was the host of the tourney took it all down. Now time to earn a Main Event seat. And then after that, WSOP prelims.....

2.10.2008

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....

2.07.2008

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.

2.06.2008

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!

2.04.2008

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.

2.01.2008

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.