Yes, yes, y'all - you don't stop

I have been reading the FTP Strategy Guide. So far, it is a very good read. The interesting thing about it is that you get several different authors in one book. Therefore, you get several different viewpoints on how to play hold'em tournaments. I have not gotten to the Razz or Omaha sections yet, but they are in there as well.

For example: The chapter from Chris Ferguson talks about bet sizing and keeping your raises and or bets consistent, with small variations based on position. This keeps you from giving away too much information about your hand. However, Ted Forest writes in his chapter about how he uses limping in to throw his opponents off. I really like it though because you can pick out the information that best fits your style and apply it to your play.

I really need to work on my play from about the middle of the tournament until the bubble bursts. I play aggressive, but tight enough to make it through the beginning of a tournament. And I think I can hold my own through a final table. It's the middle that gives me trouble. I think, more specifically, I get too aggressive just before the bubble. I assume that people are going to lay down cards because we are so close to the money.

Like last Saturday, when I got a guy to put 90% of his chips in with 3rd pair and we were 4 spots from the money. That aggressiveness is good if I am on a semi-bluff, but with a draw only, I was out in 9th, and I very easily could have folded to the money that night. Stay patient, right? I keep telling myself that. I just don't like to "fold to the money", I would rather take shots that can move me up in chips fast.

It also could be the buy in levels I am playing at. The bubble in a $2 online tournament, is not very respected. I probably need to slow down and keep the "tight" play going right through the middle of the tournament. I just hate getting blinded out when I am card dead. Look at Chris Ferguson's Challenge. It took him 15 months to break $1,000 but then less than 2 more months to break $10,000. This certainly has to do with the kind of players that are at those different levels.

I'm not saying I'm a better player than others at the $2 buyin level, but I probably overthink the game, when others are like "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I call your all in with bottom pair and no draw. Now wait for it..... wait for it.....Thank you rivered set".

"I'm Mike D. - I got the deuces wild"... Beastie Boys 1986. Looks like I'll keep grinding at the $2 tournaments: the "deuces wild".

Don't forget about my charity tournament. Click on it if you think you can play or if you can donate. We still need more prizes.

Stay patient...

How often do you see a 56 degree swing in one day?

Valley girl, She's a Valley girl

Check out the 10 year treasury (from yahoo) over the last 3 months. This graph parallels the 30 year mortgage rates. Last Wednesday we saw a dip below 3.5% on the 10 year. That morning, 30 year fixed rates dropped to 4.875%. Yes, that is right! But it lasted only a couple of hours. Lock departments at lenders blew up and then shut down. By the end of the day, the rates had climbed back up to 5.375%.

We are still right at 5.375%, but what an amazing valley we are in for 30 year fixed rates. With more rate cuts coming, it is possible we will see the 4.x% rates again soon, but for longer than just a couple of hours.

I have been swamped with getting my house ready to go on the market. It got listed Friday, so now I just need to keep it clean. Rather than playing poker every night, I'm trying to read more (FTP Strategy Guide right now). I also need to get my laptop fixed and then get Pokertracker back up and running. I have no idea how bad my play has been, because at times, I know I've made very solid moves and other times, I know I've made extremely fishy moves. I need something to track and work on my gameplay. And to make it all more frustrating, I am on my 3rd DELL Laptop this year that the motherboard is going out. All 3 of them were just out of their warranty periods. I'm seriously considering an APPLE product next! Any suggestions are welcome.

If you haven't been reading these posts, you need to. Good drama about a normal kid who became a heroin addict and his journey through the 80's and 90's.

Don't forget:

In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey

You may remember my post from last week where the temperature was 5 degrees in the morning. The official recorded low for last Friday (3 days ago) was 3 degrees. Today the high will be around 61 degrees. Gotta love weather in the Midwest. If you don't like it, wait a day: it'll change.

I am officially unable to beat the $2 SNG's on FTP. See my ROI below. At $2, I'm bad, at $2.50, I'm worse. I've struggled at $6 and $11, but for some reason, I do well at the $5 level. I've tried several different approaches at the $2 level, but can't seem to find a way to consistently win there. Oooops. I mean I can't seem to find a way to win at all there!

Looks like I will need to reload into FTP again. Last year finished with a profit, but down so far this year. I really need to study more. Maybe some videos recommended by WillWonka would help. I also need to get the 2nd Harrington Tournament book. I found that in 2007, while I was reading Harrington 1, I was more profitable than when I was playing without studying at the same time.

Also, I forgot how much more I love playing live, than on the Internet. I played a home game Saturday night, and had a blast. It was a $50 buy in with 32 players. I went out 9th on a busted bluff. I really loosen up, the more I drink, and several Heinekens insured I wouldn't finish the tournament without going all in on a stone cold bluff. I bluffed 108 off into a 965 board. The caller tanked, but eventually called 90% of his stack on A5. His hand held up and I went home, chewing myself out for putting in all my chips on a bluff. I don't recall which book I read that said "all in at the final table near the bubble with 108offsuit is a great play".... Oh wait, maybe I didn't read that.

Anyway, I am looking forward to playing more live this year. My play up until we reached the final table was very good (IMO), as I didn't bust on marginal hands and tried to maximize on my made hands. And I rarely bluffed. Go figure. At least I have that move burned into all the players at the final table. I'm sure I can use it to pay me off later this year in these once a month tournaments.

I think we picked up about 10 more players for my charity tournament. Everyone was very excited to hear that we had some FTP funds as one of the prizes. Everyone I talked to there has a FTP account. Thanks again to RecessRampage for donating those funds.

So let's see if we can take this year to turn things around. As Beck said: "I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?" "I'm a driver, I'm a winner; things are gonna change I can feel it".

As a reminder to myself more than anyone: Stay patient...

BANG YOUR HEAD Metal Health'll drive you mad

Full Tilt Poker Game #4985412427: $3 + $0.30 KO Sit & Go (37843156), Table 4 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:48:20 ET - 2008/01/24
Seat 1: redrum_dealr (1,425)
Seat 2: sheila887 (7,210)
Seat 3: GhostHand (3,275)
Seat 4: roynado (3,745)
Seat 5: warehouse119 (3,165)
Seat 6: sashman85 (5,940)
Seat 8: jamyhawk (1,610) <--Getting shortstacked. Looking for cards to make a move with. On the button here
Seat 9: BlackWidow57 (10,565)
BlackWidow57 posts the small blind of 50
redrum_dealr posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [8s 8c]<--Good steal hand
sheila887 calls 100
GhostHand calls 100
roynado has 15 seconds left to act
roynado folds
warehouse119 folds
sashman85 folds
jamyhawk raises to 1,610, and is all in<--Steal attempt against two limpers and the blinds.
BlackWidow57 folds
redrum_dealr folds
sheila887 folds
GhostHand calls 1,510
jamyhawk shows [8s 8c]
GhostHand shows [9h As]<--two overs is scary. But I'm ahead right now...
*** FLOP *** [Kd Js Ks]
*** TURN *** [Kd Js Ks] [4c]
*** RIVER *** [Kd Js Ks 4c] [8d]<--final 8 was unecessary, but a nice double up.
jamyhawk shows a full house, Eights full of Kings
GhostHand shows a pair of Kings
jamyhawk wins the pot (3,470) with a full house, Eights full of Kings
The blinds are now 60/120
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,470 Rake 0
Board: [Kd Js Ks 4c 8d]
Seat 1: redrum_dealr (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: sheila887 folded before the Flop
Seat 3: GhostHand showed [9h As] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 4: roynado didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: warehouse119 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: sashman85 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: jamyhawk (button) showed [8s 8c] and won (3,470) with a full house, Eights full of Kings
Seat 9: BlackWidow57 (small blind) folded before the Flop

Full Tilt Poker Game #4985421071: $3 + $0.30 KO Sit & Go (37843156), Table 4 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:49:04 ET - 2008/01/24
Seat 1: redrum_dealr (1,325)
Seat 2: sheila887 (7,110)
Seat 3: GhostHand (1,665)
Seat 4: roynado (3,745)
Seat 5: warehouse119 (3,165)
Seat 6: sashman85 (5,940)
Seat 8: jamyhawk (3,470)
Seat 9: BlackWidow57 (10,515)
redrum_dealr posts the small blind of 60
sheila887 posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [As 5s]
GhostHand folds
roynado has 15 seconds left to act
roynado folds
warehouse119 folds
sashman85 folds
jamyhawk raises to 240<--folds around to me so I will try a steal from the cutoff. I rarely min raise, but I will when trying to vary up my standard play of a pot size raise.
BlackWidow57 calls 240<--this is the one person I don't want to call. They have position on me.
redrum_dealr has 15 seconds left to act
redrum_dealr folds
sheila887 calls 120<--this is what I expected.
*** FLOP *** [Ac 9c Ah]<--Great flop for me. I don't like my kicker, but only one other Ace out there.
sheila887 checks
jamyhawk checks<--I decide to slow play it.
BlackWidow57 bets 780<--good.
sheila887 folds
jamyhawk calls 780<--now here I consider check raising, but I decide not to... Afraid he might go away.
*** TURN *** [Ac 9c Ah] [Tc]<--Of course, I don't like this card at all.
jamyhawk checks<--Let's keep this slow, in case he is going to chase a flush with any club. I can't catch up with that unless it is the 5c.
BlackWidow57 checks
*** RIVER *** [Ac 9c Ah Tc] [Js]<--Another card I don't like. K10 is a real possibility.
jamyhawk bets 1,000<--I probably could have checked here, but didn't want to give him the ability to bluff me off of the hand. If he goes all in, I don't think I can call. If I bet out, he's not going to come over me on a stone cold bluff.
BlackWidow57 calls 1,000<--uh oh.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jamyhawk shows [As 5s] three of a kind, Aces
BlackWidow57 mucks
jamyhawk wins the pot (4,340) with three of a kind, Aces<--woohoo!
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,340 Rake 0
Board: [Ac 9c Ah Tc Js]
Seat 1: redrum_dealr (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: sheila887 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: GhostHand didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: roynado didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: warehouse119 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: sashman85 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: jamyhawk showed [As 5s] and won (4,340) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 9: BlackWidow57 (button) mucked [9h Kc] - two pair, Aces and Nines<--Seriously? I knew that 4th club would have killed me.

Full Tilt Poker Game #4985474266: $3 + $0.30 KO Sit & Go (37843156), Table 4 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:53:46 ET - 2008/01/24
Seat 1: redrum_dealr (2,650)
Seat 2: sheila887 (6,750)
Seat 4: roynado (5,665)
Seat 5: warehouse119 (2,165)
Seat 6: sashman85 (6,420)
Seat 7: shamrockNS (15,555)
Seat 8: jamyhawk (5,790)
Seat 9: BlackWidow57 (7,495)
warehouse119 posts the small blind of 80
sashman85 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [Ah Ac]
shamrockNS has 15 seconds left to act
shamrockNS folds
jamyhawk raises to 560<--from early position I put in a pot sized raise. I don't want a bunch of knucklehead calls, but need some action if someone has AQ or AK or a middle pair. I will obviously get action from KK or QQ.
BlackWidow57 folds
redrum_dealr has 15 seconds left to act
redrum_dealr folds
sheila887 has 15 seconds left to act
sheila887 folds
roynado calls 560<--I get one caller from late position.
warehouse119 folds
sashman85 folds
*** FLOP *** [5d Kh Td]<--This is a good flop for me. But I don't want anyone catching their flush or straight draw.
jamyhawk has 15 seconds left to act
jamyhawk bets 800<--I bet almost 3/4 pot.
roynado has 15 seconds left to act
roynado raises to 2,400<--This guy could obviously be on a set, but more than likely a draw or he paired his K.
jamyhawk raises to 5,230, and is all in<--I want to put his tournament on the line. If he has a set, I'm coolered. If he has a draw, he has to fold.
roynado calls 2,705, and is all in<--un oh.
jamyhawk shows [Ah Ac]
roynado shows [Qd Kd]<--SWEET! What an idiot. Top pair with a Queen kicker....
Uncalled bet of 125 returned to jamyhawk
*** TURN *** [5d Kh Td] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [5d Kh Td 6h] [Qh]<--Noooooooooooooooo. Idiot's reward on the river.
jamyhawk shows a pair of Aces
roynado shows two pair, Kings and Queens
roynado wins the pot (11,570) with two pair, Kings and Queens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 11,570 Rake 0
Board: [5d Kh Td 6h Qh]
Seat 1: redrum_dealr didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: sheila887 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: roynado (button) showed [Qd Kd] and won (11,570) with two pair, Kings and Queens
Seat 5: warehouse119 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: sashman85 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: shamrockNS didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: jamyhawk showed [Ah Ac] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 9: BlackWidow57 didn't bet (folded)

shamrockNS: wow AA, gotta bet more before the flop
jamyhawk: why? so I get no action
BlackWidow57: wina little or lose a lot
shamrockNS: 5 times the blind
jamyhawk (Observer): and you played an all in with
top pair Q kicker
jamyhawk (Observer): that was brilliant
jamyhawk (Observer): i'll remember that move

So. So you think you can tell: Heaven from Hell.

Check this out. Pretty cool. Takes 10min to do. You need to correctly identify if they are really smiling or it is a fake smile. I found this at http://www.pokerblog.com/ . You think you are good at detecting tells? Poker (live) requires that you can determine if someone is really smiling. Or at least it helps if you identify a fake. Click here to find out how well you do. Below are my results (poor IMO). Post back your results to me.

I said move over once, move over twice, C'mon baby don't be cold as ice

5 degrees this morning. No, I'm not one of those lucky Canadians. I live in the Midwest. 2 weeks ago I was powerwashing the front of my house in 73 degree weather. Yes, that's right. 68 degree swing in two weeks. Brrrrrrrrrrrr.

I want to publicly thank Alan for a generous donation to my upcoming charity tournament. He donated FTP Funds. This was something I never considered but now am very excited about. Many of my friends have FTP accounts where they only play for play money. They will say "I am too scared to transfer funds in" or "I don't really know how to transfer in real money". Well now I can give them a shot at getting "hooked" like the rest of us.

If anyone else is interested in donating any amount at all, it will be used for a great cause. I will be printing up a certificate to give FTP funds as a prize for one of the top finishers in the tournament. We are giving an $800 visa cash card to first place, but still need donations for other top finishers. Or better yet, come out and play. If you are in the Saint Louis area, click here for more information.

I found this funny

Dealer: chiga-chiga shows [8s 4s]
Dealer: RacceeerrrX shows [Ac 3h]
Dealer: chiga-chiga shows two pair, Eights and
Sevens
Dealer: RacceeerrrX shows a pair of Sevens
Dealer: chiga-chiga wins the pot (3,650) with two
pair, Eights and Sevens
RacceeerrrX: fuking kidding me
RacceeerrrX: $&#% this
chiga-chiga: dude dont mess
RacceeerrrX: domnt mess wit what the big donkey
RacceeerrrX (Observer): fukin joke
RacceeerrrX (Observer): learn to play
chiga-chiga: get over ourself
pricelesadvice (Observer): real hit that 2.25 huh?
chiga-chiga: it happens
pricelesadvice (Observer): must be bust
RacceeerrrX (Observer): not a matter of that. matter
of jack a$$ play
chiga-chiga: cry about it some more
RacceeerrrX (Observer): all in 84...dumb jack $$
RacceeerrrX (Observer): FISH
chiga-chiga: @$%# you
RacceeerrrX (Observer): you should be embarrassed
RacceeerrrX (Observer): lol
chiga-chiga: why are you still here
RacceeerrrX (Observer): my 5 year old plays better
chiga-chiga: i am 7
RacceeerrrX (Observer): Becuase I am going to follow
you around and kick your a$$
chiga-chiga: ya ok
chiga-chiga: im nasty
RacceeerrrX (Observer): I dont want to hear about
your homo sexua;lity
chiga-chiga: takes one to know one
RacceeerrrX (Observer): what 3rd grade are we
RacceeerrrX (Observer): lol
RacceeerrrX (Observer): what a joke
RacceeerrrX (Observer): idiot
RacceeerrrX (Observer): all in
RacceeerrrX (Observer): if you knoew how to play,
with a good hand you smooth call and make some
money
RacceeerrrX (Observer): but your too stupid
RacceeerrrX (Observer): All in
RacceeerrrX (Observer): All in
RacceeerrrX (Observer): All in
chiga-chiga: what are you liek 40 stuck in a dead end
job? spend all your time @$$@%ing about poker
hands you lost to
RacceeerrrX (Observer): No I am a 40 year old that
makes more than you will ever dream of
RacceeerrrX (Observer): EVER
RacceeerrrX (Observer): fool
chiga-chiga: oh thats why your playing 220 sit and
goes
RacceeerrrX (Observer): Look at my history.
RacceeerrrX (Observer): this is the first one I played
RacceeerrrX (Observer): do you know how to look up
stats?
RacceeerrrX (Observer): Donkey
chiga-chiga: i dont care
chiga-chiga: go home
RacceeerrrX (Observer): I am
RacceeerrrX (Observer): you at your boyfriends
RacceeerrrX (Observer): getting "nasty"
chiga-chiga: actually im at my dorm room
RacceeerrrX (Observer): yuck
RacceeerrrX (Observer): not poker school... wknow
that
chiga-chiga: ya your right im actually M.I.T
RacceeerrrX (Observer): Yeah....lol
RacceeerrrX (Observer): sure you are
chiga-chiga: I am
RacceeerrrX (Observer): Michigan Institute for tards
chiga-chiga: is that where you are?
RacceeerrrX (Observer): lol
RacceeerrrX (Observer): ha
RacceeerrrX (Observer): ha
RacceeerrrX (Observer): ha
RacceeerrrX (Observer): I see u have only played 22
games. a newbie
chiga-chiga: ya whats your point
RacceeerrrX (Observer): expect more people like nme
when you suck out
chiga-chiga (Observer): whatever you dingleberry
RacceeerrrX (Observer): lol
RacceeerrrX (Observer): good luck buddy
RacceeerrrX (Observer): sorry
chiga-chiga (Observer): i dont need luck i have skill
RacceeerrrX (Observer): just dont suck out
pricelesadvice (Observer): yeah most 40 year old
men stay in a chatroom and get pissed at little boys
RacceeerrrX (Observer): it really sucks
pricelesadvice (Observer): what a perv
pricelesadvice (Observer): racer your crazy
RacceeerrrX (Observer): LOL
chiga-chiga (Observer): prob a priest
RacceeerrrX (Observer): thats your boy friend?
pricelesadvice (Observer): wouldnt be surprised
pricelesadvice (Observer): i thought you were the
priest
pricelesadvice (Observer): you tell me
RacceeerrrX (Observer): Stuctual Engr
RacceeerrrX (Observer): Structual
RacceeerrrX (Observer): sorry
pricelesadvice (Observer): structural engineering?
pricelesadvice (Observer): that's my major
chiga-chiga (Observer): Mechanical at MIT
RacceeerrrX (Observer): Yeah OK

I was lucky enough to finish 1st in this tournament. Funny freakin' comments...

Money, so they say, is the root of all evil today

A few more things you don't care about:

-Since I finished 2006 as the top salesman in my company, and since they have decided to open a 3rd branch: I get to manage it. What does that mean: less posting time. At least for the first few months while I get my feet wet. I have managed before, but this will be a bigger responsibility than before. It will probably mean, less late night poker during the week. At least to start. I have started preparing and that is part of the reason I haven't posted as much lately.

-Bankroll update: I am now at $11. It happened like this: $12 turned to $2 after several straight losses. With my last $2, I sat at a cash table and 30 minutes later: POOF! $6. I kind of miss playing more cash tables, but I am determined to get to $50 on $2 SNG's. My ROI on $2 SNGs' is around -10% (yes, negative). My ROI on $5 SNG's is +10%. So I really want to get back to the $5 SNG's. Anyway, I took that $6 and played a 90 player $3 KO and finished 7th. Bankroll hit $21. Almost halfway there. Then lost again last night playing in $2 6 player SNG's and another $3 KO. Back to $11. . . . Life Support.

Two screenshots from last night: This first one, I have around 350 in chips and the player to my immediate right and left each have 1000 in chips. The winner of the hand had us all three covered. Everyone limps in, I jam and everyone calls. They all jam after the flop and I miss quadrupling, thanks to the river.

And this one was just one of those times I couldn't fold QQ pre-flop. Both players called my BB, so I shoved and both insta called. Slow playing bastaches.

-I followed a girl in through our hallway this morning and then into the elevator. I don't understand why you need to douse yourself in perfume, to the point, that I am having trouble not passing out from the fumes in the elevator. I mean, it's like she is "chumming" the waters for a husband. C'mon! Doesn't that Zebra print coat your wearing attract enough attention?

That's it for today. Make sure to check out WillWonka for some tips on Poker Training. Also, check out this crazy guy who plays golf in the middle of the winter.

Stay patient...

WANTED: Your old or unused Poker stuff

I'm hosting a poker tournament on February 23rd to benefit colon cancer patients and need some help with prizes.

If you have any old chip sets, unopened card decks, good condition books, anything lying around that could be put to better use, we could use it. We are looking for prizes for top finishers as well as door prizes. Cash donations would be used to buy prizes, if you would prefer to go that route.

This is a great cause, as all money raised goes directly to benefit colon cancer patients struggling with high medical costs. You can read more about it here: Figg Tree Foundation.

Please send me a private email if you are interested. All donations are tax deductible.

I Thank you in advance for your attention to this.

Jamyhawk

P.S. I couldn't post without mentioning LJ's big score. 1st place in a $230 buyin tournament. She put up a great post detailing it. Go check it out and congratulate her.

For anyone still wondering how Jeciimd did

Eric "jeciimd" Chadwick Eliminated (per change100)

Holding {A-Spades}{A-Clubs}, Eric "jeciimd" Chadwick pushed all in on the turn with three spades showing. His opponent called with {5-Spades}{3-Spades}. Chadwick missed his flush on the river and his opponent won the pot. Chadwick, an olnine qualifier who won AlCantHang's BBT2: Aussie Millions Challenge, was eliminated from the tournament.

He did make it to day 2 and busted out right before Eli Elezra and about 10 spots before Joe Hachem. Way to represent the Bloggers!

0 for 2 last night in FTP SNG's. Bankroll is at $12. I didn't feel like I played bad, just didn't get the cards I needed. I finished 3rd in a 6 player, just missing the money. I guess if it is last or the bubble doesn't matter since they both pay the same: zer0.

Bodog was a different story though. I cashed in two SNG's. In one tournament ($5buy in), they paid the top 3 spots and we were down to 4 players. There was a Villain that was absolutely crazy loose. A maniac in it's purest form. He was catching the cards and eliminated most of the table himself. He had about 11,500in chips. After him was player A with 850, then me with 1150, then Player B with 2500. I'm in the BB. Here's what happened.

Villain (11,500)-button
Player A (850) SB 200
Jamyhawk (1150) BB 400 -dealt AsQh -I figure a jam is what I am going to do here if anyone limps or min raises. If someone goes all in, I will have to really think about it depending on which player does it.
Player B (2500)

Player B raises to 2500 and is all in -Maybe I call.
Villain calls -Not surprised. He is the maniac so his range is really ATC. I could still call and be ahead of at least the Villain.
Player A calls -and is all in.
Jamyhawk folds- I couldn't find the fold button fast enough.

They flip their cards:
Player B Ac3c
Villain 9s2c <--are you kidding me?
Player A KhKs

Flop 5d2h9c Turn 2d River Js

Villain wins with a set of 2's.... I just went from bubble to 2nd place in one hand. Very nice.

The very next hand, I jam with K5off and Villain calls with K2off. 2 on the flop and I go home without a chance to really play heads up with the Villain.

At least it was another profitable night on Bodog. I also finished 4th in an 18 player ($10 buy in) so I was 2 for 2 on Bodog.

Just going to keep grinding it up at the low levels.

For All Saint Louis Area Poker Players

Still building

2 for 3 last night on SNG's. The one I did not cash in, the table was extremely aggressive. I went all in with top pair and 10 kicker. Caller had top pair with 3 kicker but hit his straight draw on the river. Bankroll is up to $16.

Building it back up

Warning. Super low stakes ahead. This is only for all you super-micro players. High rollers can skip this post.

Variance is a nasty ass bitch! That's why it is so nice when you slap her in the face. I mean really haul off and hit her good. I played my normal game last night and actually won! Yes. There's no whining post here about suck outs. My all in AK's held up against AJ and AQ. My Pocket-Rockets actually eliminated someone from a tournament. Oh, the beauty.

I played a $5 10 person SNG on Bodog and took 2nd. And then I played a 6 person SNG on Fulltiltpoker and finished 1st.

Sharkscope says I'm "HOT". That's because I have cashed in 3 straight SNG's. With an average profit of $3.55, I only need to cash in 51 more $2 SNG's to get back to even. I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I might have to write a book "How to get Sharkscope to label you HOT". Oh, the money is going to be pouring in now.

OK, OK. I jest. I guess this is what I have to do now though. Slowly build up a bankroll at the $2 level. Let's set a goal. What about $50? I have $11 now. I have the ability to play 4 more $2 tournaments. But I knocked Variance off of me and I am on top of her now. So, I build up to $50 and then I can play 8 $5 SNG's. We will set a new goal once I get there.

I hope you are moving in a positive direction as well. Stay patient...

30 Songs

From jusdealem: Here are the rules: Put your music player on shuffle. Press forward for each question. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense.

30 Songs:

How am I feeling today? Can't Hold On (LIVE)

Will I get far in life? A Groovy kind of Love

What's your current state of mind? I know What I Want (LIVE)

How do my friends see me? Hot Love

Where will I get married? I'll Be With You Tonight

What is your view of marriage? Take Me I'm Yours

What is my best friend's theme song? Working on a Groovy Thing

What is the story of my life? No Mercy

What is/was high school like? Casualty

How can I get ahead in life? Night Moves

What is the best thing about me? Don't Be Cruel

What is today going to be like? Surrender

What is in store for this weekend? Gettin' Better

Describe my parents? No Excuses

Describe my grandparents? Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me

How is my life going? Got Me Wrong

What song will they play at my funeral? The Fire Inside

How does the world see me? Paradise

Will I have a happy life? In Your Time

What do my friends really think of me? Steppin Over

Do people secretly lust after me? Got to Give it Up

How can I make myself happy? Would?

What should I do with my life? Mama's Fool

Will I ever have children? Way of the World (LIVE)

What is some good advice for me? Heaven Beside You

How will I be remembered? Glory Box

What is my signature dancing song? Voices

What is my current theme song? Battleflag

What do people think my current theme song is? Rooster

What type of men/women do you like? Our Day Will Come

I'd say at least 13 of these are absolute true answers. You figure out which ones.

RATES DROPPING AGAIN!

If you are thinking about refinancing your home mortgage, rates have dropped again. I can't really say how long it will last or if this is the absolute bottom, but I am able to get 30 year fixed rates as low as 5.25%. Look at this 1 year graph of the 10 year treasury's from Yahoo:

I don't expect drastic changes this year because of the election, but rates are at 2 year lows right now and just a hair off their 40 year lows. You might want to call your mortgage broker today and see how low you can go.

Finally Cashed in a SNG

$2 buy in 9 person Turbo NL. This was the final hand. We were about even in chips and saw the flop with a 2xBB raise. All in after the flop and he hit one of his 7 outs. I was 72% going in so can't complain, but the suckouts I saw were brutal. I went on to cash a 2nd time in the same night. 2 for 2. I was so stunned.

Congrats to waffles for going deep last night in the Daily Double. I had fun railing him with everyone. And make sure to check this out for latest on jeciimd and his run in Austraila. He made it through day 1. Good luck to him.

Big Brother (not CBS version)

What do you think about all the video cameras and satellite cameras? I kind of understand it when they put a camera at an intersection that takes a still photo if you run a red light. It is designed to reduce accidents and generate revenue for local municipalities. There are some interesting facts and arguments for why that is not working out if you want to click here.





The one that kind of bothers me is the traffic camera that sits atop each light crossbar and runs a steady feed to monitor traffic flow. If I'm sitting first at the light, surely it can see right into my car. Not that I drive to work naked on a regular basis, and I usually keep all my illegal immigrants in the trunk, but it still seems creepy.





And if you've ever seen Google earth, you know that the technology is there such that your "privacy" fence doesn't allow for as much privacy as you thought. Again, I doubt any government agencies are interested in seeing me cut the grass in the nude, but isn't it creepy to see the fringes of what they are capable of seeing. Is "Big Brother" slowly creeping into our society to a point where you will no longer be able to "hang out" without thinking there is a camera monitoring you at all times, "just in case".





It may be that the last private things you have are your thoughts. And now I am screwing that up by posting those on some servers somewhere in which I have no idea how or if it will ever be used against me. If my son runs for President of the United States, will they someday pull this up and criticise him for his Dad playing poker on the Internet (which is still questionably legal/illegal). Hmmmmmm. This could even be used against my grand kids.... What documents do you have of your grandfather's or great grandfather's thoughts? Most of us barely have any pictures of our ancestors. Maybe it is a positive thing since they will better know how I was thinking (about poker? maybe they won't care).





Anyway, on to other things: We started another Biggest Loser contest at work. I won't bore you with too many details, but I won the first one we did in January 2007 (8 contestants I think). Then we did one in the summer of '07 but I basically paid my money and never did a thing to try. I decided after a few days, that I wasn't motivated enough to do it. Well now I'm ready to go again and I have all the weight on me that I had one year ago. I will be using the You on a Diet recipes and doing 30 minutes on an elliptical machine 1 to 2 times a day. I take off on Saturdays and even eat bad Saturday nights to give myself something to look forward to each week.





I'll post some pictures of my progress as I should lose about 30 lbs over the next 10 weeks. It will be hard work and will cut into my poker time. 1 week ago I would get the family settled in and I could drink beer and play poker until 1 or 2am. This week, I get the family settled in and prepare meals for the next day, do 30 minutes of cardio, then drink 1 glass of wine and go to bed by 11pm. BORING!





Here is picture number 1: I am the heavy one all the way to the left. I carry 255 lbs on a 6'3" frame. I don't always look exactly like MiamiDon, I just made myself up that night since it was a special event.





Stay patient...

Moving forward cautiously Part II

Thanks for the comments yesterday from WillWonka, OhCaptain and Riggs. Riggs was right in saying that I need to nail down the $5 level first and then move upwards. Same thing OhCaptain was getting at. I think another part of my problem is that I am more aggressive playing at the $5 levels (play my game). I play defensively more when I move up to the higher levels, just because it is out of my comfort zone. As Riggs pointed out: you can't play "defensively and with emotion". I've also been known to do the "aw-fawk-it" move and register for a $30 tourney to try to make a quick recoup of my losses at the $11 or $20 levels. That only increases the gravity pull on my bankroll even though I may occasionally cash in one of those.





This graph shows how drastically different my ROI is at the different levels. I think that says it all:








It seems the moral of the story is to play patient. Play my game, stay within my bankroll and get through the variance. There is a reason that AA is not 100% to win preflop against any other hand.





Part of my success in the blogger tournaments was my knowledge of how certain people play. Who was going to be aggressive and who was going to be tight. In the SNG's, there is a constant flow of new people. And, I think getting pokertracker back up and running will help somewhat when I do see the same opponents from time to time.





Any criticisms or suggestions are welcome.





Stay patient...





Oh and don't forget:




I doubt I make it out again tonight as I am feverishly working on getting my house ready to list for sale. Painting over writing on kids doors, patching holes kids put in walls, fixing screens dogs busted out, etc... Maybe I will be back in the blogger tourneys in within a couple of weeks. Good luck to everyone who makes it out there tonight.

Moving forward cautiously

First of all, thank you for the comments to my '07 recap. Every single comment made me feel really good. I hope to continue my learning this year and have a huge '08 recap.

Now let's get this over with. I am going to post something here that will make me feel like I am posting a picture of myself naked. Well, not that extreme, but almost as embarrassing. But I really need to look deep inside my poker game to find out what is wrong. Here are my SNG stats from Sharkscope:

First thing to notice is that I have not been consistent in either direction -well, until recently, consistently down. One of my problems I know of over the first 150 games was that I would build up from the $5 SNG's and then jump up to $11 or even $20 or $30 SNG's and lose back most of my profit quickly. Then I would settle back down and build up again from the $5 levels. I was not consistently winning enough at the $5 level to move up, but I would do it anyway and it always cost me.

But most alarming has been my stats over the last 70 games. I don't think you will see a graph like this posted anywhere else on a poker blog. Everyone wants to post how great they are doing and tell you why they run so goooot. But I need help. Serious help.

After about 25 games sliding downwards I usually tighten up and try to play ABC poker. After 50 games I become a rock. The last 20 games, I started limiting my plays to AA, KK, QQ and AK unless on the button or cutoff. And even in those positions, I played tight.

I could list all the hands I went out on, but what's the point? AK losing to 77. 77 losing to AK. Flush losing to boat. Could variance be this evil? I know I play aggressive at times, but lately have really tried to tighten up. My last 10 SNG's were all at the $2 buyin's 6 and 9 player tables. I did not cash 1 time. Really.

After finishing high in points over the BBT2 tournaments, I was starting to feel like I really progressed in 2007. But now I am beginning to wonder if I did luckbox my way into 4 final tables.

I mean, in 36% of the tournaments I played, I finished in the top 25% and half that time I made the final table. I only cashed 18% of the time, and managed to take 1st once. But wouldn't everyone like to cash in 18% of the tournaments they play in? Was I getting that lucky? My SNG stats are pointing to yes, the BBT2 was just luck. Or could variance be that strong. Granted, I have only logged 225 SNG's but now the last third of the games I have played has been a drastic downward spiral.

My goal now is to tighten up, play ABC poker and grind my way back to a profit and stay at the same level for awhile ($2 to start). Maybe then I can loosen up a bit. I don't know what else to do. Is there something else I am missing?

I need to get pokertracker set up on my new laptop. Maybe that will answer some questions. If you have any numbers on me that you could/would share from your stats, I would welcome them.

The nice thing is, I have a lot of room to improve this year. It surely can't get worse than the last 70 SNG's I have played.

Stay patient.....

2008 is going to be great!

Did someone already say that? 2008... is going to be great! How catchy.



What an interesting year 2007 was for me. I began the year barely knowing anything about Texas Hold'em. Oh, I thought I knew something. I was able to play the game. I played live occasionally, and did quite well (on very small stakes). I was playing on my ability to read people.


As of January 2007, I had played once in a Hold'em tournament at a casino and I finished in the money (6th of 60). My only other experiences were playing in charity tournaments or home games. And I usually cashed in those or at least did well enough to think I knew what I was doing.


So in April 2007, when I was going to be in Las Vegas for my wife's business, I decided to load up on poker tournaments. The first night there, I played a re-buy tournament that paid 9 spots and I finished 9th. Once again, confirming (in my mind only) that I was a "good" player (not "great") and could play breakeven or better for the trip. Then everything went down hill. I ended up playing 7 more tournaments and didn't cash in a single one.


To right the ship, I sat at the cash tables and found I could make money quicker (and easier) there playing $1/$2 no limit. To classify it for you now, I will say I was a high end fish, not even worthy of a "donkey" level, but was able to win a few pots here and there as long I avoided the local amateurs who would run all over me. When I ran into these, I would take a break and come back later refreshed. By the end of the week, I was able to replenish my poker bankroll to almost breakeven. But I was starting to realize:


I really suck at poker. I don't know what the hell I am doing. I would play a tournament, lose, replay it in my mind and know that I played it wrong, but didn't really know why. You know that feeling? You should have re-raised, but you fold and the raiser shows his bluff. I mean, it is one thing to be able to read tourists and occasional players when they are weak, or when they hit their monster, but it is another thing to play with no knowledge whatsoever, of position or pot odds and hope to beat someone who has that knowledge. I had no clue. I was guilty of overbetting pots or not calling when pot odds screamed you have to.


This also explained why I could never make any money playing online. I played online like I did live but was unable to consistently win anything. I had dabbled a few hundred bucks at a time on pokerstars and fulltilt, but never could keep a profit. RELOAD. That should have been my screenname. I couldn't bluff people off of pots and I couldn't tell if they were bluffing me.



So in late April, 2007, I bought a few poker books, started reading poker blogs, and tried to take in as much information as I could to really study the game. It helped.


I still had bad tendencies to gamble too much. All in for a draw. All in because you know some donkey is on 2nd pair, and he calls you. But, I managed to pull off a few decent cashes. I loaded $200 into FTP in July and by December 31st, I had withdrawn $1150. I hit a freeroll for over $700 and then won the MATH (a private tournament) for a nice little boost in the bankroll. Neither of these will show up in any online tracking sites but it accounts for just over $1,000 in winnings.

So with 2008 ahead, my goal is to solidify my game. I have moments of good play, but I am inconsistent. I got a great email from Vinay that laid out some leaks for me that I can work on. I am literally down to my last $10 as I went on a horrid run cashing in like 1 out of my last 20 SNG's. I think I need to tighten up my game, play solid poker and play it well, and then loosen up my game. I do know that I am doing the right thing by trying to improve my game. I want to play with the "fish" who don't try to improve because they know "poker is all luck" or they think they know all there is to know about the game of hold'em already.

I didn't play much over the last two weeks as I was doing a lot of Christmas and Holiday stuff with the family. And, I kind of wanted a break after the Push for BBT2. That was damn fun! And I have met so many new players. I think Chad has the right idea in trying to really develop a bigger and stronger link between all of the poker bloggers. Not only is it fun to compete against the same players on a regular basis, but you get to meet a lot of new people.

So that's about where I am at. I really hope whatever you do, you do it better in 2008. Set some goals and figure out what you need to do each and every day to stay on path to achieve those goals.

And of course, stay patient....