Grinding it up

I am back playing at a highly confident level. I played in 9 tournaments this weekend and cashed in 3. I'll take a 30% ITM any day! My ROI was 212%. One of those 3 cashes was when I won a satellite that gave me entry to the Sunday 750K on FTP. It was so beautiful outside this weekend that I decided not to play and to keep the Tourney dollars. I am kind of torn about whether or not I should play in a tournament with a buy in that big. I know the nice thing is getting into a $216 buy in tournament for $8. Then again, that $216 will buy into a lot of tournaments if I'm playing at $26 or less for each one. Then I can continue grinding up my bankroll.

I decided to unregister from the FTOPS Event #7, following RaisingCayne's advice. I just wasn't comfortable playing a high stakes rebuy tournament right now. I am committing to grinding it out at the lower buy ins and I don't want to play something where I feel restricted right away because I don't want to do the rebuy or addon.

I am still thinking I will play in the FTOPS Event #9, $322 buy in event that I won for $75. I really want to take a shot at one FTOPS event this go around, even if I am going out of my bankroll comfort zone.

I was listening to Chris Moorman on a pocketfives' podcast. He made a great point about something that I had just figured out on my own (the expensive way). He was saying how many players will cash big in a tournament and then start playing over their heads and suddenly wipe out their bankroll 2 weeks later. You really need to have discipline with your bankroll management. He may cash for $60,000 but had just lost $40,000 over the last month. It's all relative, but a great player really focuses on their bankroll. Check out Chris' stats on Official Poker Rankings:

I had a hot run in August and September, but gave back almost half of it in October. But I was playing over my head. Instead of occasional $50+ buy in's, I was playing $75 -$200 buy in's and multi tabling them. That is simply too much for me. I have just recently gone back to focusing on smaller buy in tournaments, satellites, and SNG's. And I am multi-tabling less.

So if you are struggling, think about scaling back a bit. Play some smaller buy in tournaments. Also play some smaller fields. Like SNG's. There is not a much better ego boost than taking 1st place in a 9 or 18 player SNG. Just make sure you are managing that bankroll properly.

If you aren't listening to the poker podcasts available out there, you should be. There is some great content available at pokerroad, pocketfives, and even espn.

Stay patient....

Do you play it?

Question: 45 player tournament down to final 7. You are in 4th place. Cash starts at 6 so you are on bubble now. MP you get JJ. You raise, Button (in 5th place chip count) raises all in. Do you call?

I decided to. He flipped over AA and I went home. I think I make that same play every time. Don't you 7 handed? I put him on Ax. x being just about anything, but most likely Q or K. Maybe that was too much of a coin flip to call.....

Oh well. Most importantly, I am playing the best poker I have ever played. I fold a lot of hands that I used to play, and I have been maximizing my profits on a lot of hands. It is a lot easier to finish in the money in a tournament if you have a very nice chip stack going into the bubble or final table. I fold pocket pairs a lot (which some people may not advocate), but then watch an Ace hit on the flop and feel good about my decision.

But I play pocket pairs a lot as well. It depends on the mood of my table. Everything is about feel and I "feel" like I am playing well now.

I hope the tables are treating you right. I am off to a weekend of fishing with my sons and brothers. I'm watching Conan the Barbarian for the 125th time. I love that movie and soundtrack. Catch up with you next week.

Stay patient....

BOOOOOOOOOM

I am trying to move up to higher buy-in, higher pay out tournaments. I like the shorter ones based on time, so I have been doing the 18 to 45 player SNG's. I usually do a tier one 18 player ($8.70 to win a $26 token) or I like the 45 player SNG's.

A week ago, I played a $26 token in an 18 player SNG and won a $75 token. I sat on that for a week, and then used it last night for a 45 player $75 SNG. Here are the results:

from sharkscope.com

I really love the 45 player tournaments, because they don't last more than 2 1/2 hours and you can make the final table with tight aggressive poker. Then you just need to hit a couple of lucky hands and you finish in the money. Last night, I hit more than a couple of good hands. That was officially my biggest single cash to date (previously it was 700ish). Let's hope I bust that bar again soon.

Blogs I learn from: Lucko, LJ, Matt, Fuel55, and Alan.

Stay patient....

18 player SNG's Tier one tokens

I play the turbo and non-turbo versions. They pay top 30% so it seems to be a no brainer. I've taken 1st 5 of the last 6 times played. I've made the final table (outlasted 9 other people... but hey) 12 of the last 12 tries. These are as money as the nightly token frenzy's. If you want to build up some tokens, give these a try:

Weekend live poker

pissed away my buy in Saturday night in the live game. I just never got any good feel going. This is a group of calling stations and it is frustrating to watch them catch river after river to beat you. I literally felt I had two choices: ALL IN and FOLD. When I would raise, I would either get 5 callers or someone comes over me all in.

Anyway, here's the short version on how I went on tilt and went out. A4 sooted on the button, raise 4x BB. 3 callers. Flop comes 99Q none of my suit. I C-bet, then fire two more bullets, but get called down to river where my opponent hit flush from runner runner.

Right before first break, I raise 5xBB (3 and 4 times BB not chasing anyone away) with AJ sooooted on the button.. SB raises 4x my bet. This is the second hand in a row he goes all in. I fold, frustrated since it will essentially have left me with so little, I would have had to go all in. He states: "I'm trying something new".

First hand after break, Middle player raises 2x BB, I fold, same person to my left goes all in and takes down the bets right there.

Very next hand I get 1010. Several limpers to me, I raise 5xBB and same person to my left goes all in. Everyone folds around to me. I instacall, frustrated that he keeps going all in and keeps taking away my raises. He flips over JJ and I go home 5th out of 27 players. PATHETIC! A couple of hands later I watch a shortstack all in with 1010 and get called by KQ sooted. The 10's doubled up. I throw up a little in my mouth.

I have played 3 times this year live and 2 of 3 I have gone home with 1010. Once to A8 and now to JJ. Puke!

I just need to be more patient. Really. That is it. I can play in that tournament if I stay more patient. As a switch, I played a few tournaments online and cashed nicely this weekend. I took my pokerstars account up to $170 from the $100 I initially put in. I was supposed to be playing cash tables to get FPP's to earn my bonus but I have been playing tourneys instead. Nice thing is that I'm up in my bankroll. Bad thing is that I have only earned 36 of 2000 points needed to get my bonus.

Oh well. Remember to stay patient. Don't call the bully's all in with 1010 early in the tournament. You'll get him later... Have a great week!

Jamyhawk

Aaahoo, werewolves of London

What is the relevance of this first picture? It is the clothes hamper in my hallway. I'll tell you why I posted it in a minute.

I played several tourneys Friday night and it was a +Bankroll night for me. But I didn't make any major scores. 70/1290 in 28K guarantee, 7 of 549 in $3 KO, and 6 of 18 in a Tier 1 SNG. I managed to cash in 3 of the 6 tournaments I played in. All fun, but again, no major score.

I'm trying to make a lucko or an LJ type score. Maybe soon. Take a look at lucko's blog to get some good tips on MTT play. And check out Vinnay. I kept thinking of his "blind play" when I was playing. No. Not playing from the blinds, rather playing without looking at your cards. I didn't do it, but I tried to imagine how I would play the hand regardless of my cards. As he said: it "reminds you of the importance of image, and really makes you pay attention to what the rest of the table is doing". See his post here for more. I know it is online and there are no physical tells, but you can still read your opponents somewhat.

So here is why I posted that first picture. Just before going to bed, we always check on the babes to make sure everyone is still in their bed, needs to be covered, is sleeping, etc. Panic set in quickly when we couldn't find my 3 year old, and just before I was going to start searching outside of my house: my wife found him here-------->










In this picture, he was still sound asleep. He woke up briefly when we were getting him out and said he was hiding from the monsters in his room. He had a blanket, pillow and a book with him. How can you get mad at him for that?

Thanks to my iphone to always have a decent camera on me.

Stay patient...

No one can tell me that I'm doing wrong today

"whenever I see you smile at me" .. James Taylor

I'm finding the token frenzy's and Tier 1 SNG's where you get a $26 token to be quite easy on FTP. Hoy recently wrote a great post advocating playing the tournaments where payouts go to the top 30% and then using those payouts for buy-ins to bigger and/or better tournaments. I agree.

I also like the 45 player 26$ buy in SNG's. So I'm essentially getting into them for a discounted amount. How much of a discount?. Let's assume that I play 25 $8.70 SNG's and 12 $6.60 (some are $6.50 but we will round up). That's a total of $296.70 spent and I win 15 tokens which equals $390. That means I am actually spending $19.78 per $26 tournament I enter (296.70/15). That's a discount of 24%. Not too bad I'd say. My goal would be to win 1 out of every 2 tournaments I play which would be a discount of around 40%. That's extremely aggressive, but still a goal I will shoot for. See results below from officialpokerrankings.com


Of course, what really matters is what I do with those 15 tokens.

Breaking the numbers down even further, I find that I am only hitting a token 1 in 2.77 tries at the $8.70 buy-in. That is almost getting into -EV. 1 in 3 wins would be -EV by 10cents every 3 tries or a .4% loss. Of course I have won 3 out of the last 4 $8.70 SNG's, so I will assume I am getting better rather than hitting a good streak of variance (awfully vain of me, eh?). I need to break down the results in turbos versus non-turbos, but I'll save that for later.

And at the $6.50 buyin level, I am hitting a token 1 out of every 2 times I play. 4 of the 6 tokens won were in the 9:45CST frenzy's with 100+ players. Those are full of tons of loose players, so TAG play is rewarded. I can't play those any 'ol time like I can the 18 player SNG's, but they sure are nice. Wouldn't you like to cash almost 60% of the time you play? HA HA HA.

I've cashed in 2 of the 10 $26 buy ins I have played. I've played a few different sized tournaments but the 2 I cashed in were 45 player SNG's (1st and 4th) paying out $518 for $197 invested. 160% profit is pretty nice.

So that's a synopsis of what I'm doing right now and what is keeping my bankroll moving upwards (like the 30 year mortgage rates or the real estate values in Toronto -ok maybe not that much). You get the idea. Let me know what's working for you.

In the meantime check out this "may the felt fold bald texan" and this "presto is gold".

Stay patient....

Up, Up and Away.....

This would be a "happy-chart" if it were tracking my poker winnings. Unfortunately, it is tracking the 10 year treasury which closely parallels 30 year mortgage rates. Monday, the par rates for a 30 year mortgage were about 5.5% and now it is 6.25%. I don't really expect the rates to continue rising at this rate, however, it does illustrate the volatility we are seeing in the mortgage rates. A rise of 3/4 point should take a few weeks or a month or more, not 4 days.

Hopefully, they will settle back down next week.

If you haven't seen it, there is a great post here discussing semi-bluffing. Definitely check it out.

I hit 4th in a 45 player SNG last night. I sucked out twice to make it that far. Once, my AJ all in steal was called by AK. Jack on the flop and I stay alive with around 20 players left. I don't remember the other one, but it illustrates the fact that you have to get lucky once in a while to make it deep. You CAN do it without sucking out I suppose, but that would require you win all your races and you make perfect reads to never get your cards in behind. That seems to be just as lucky as sucking out, IMO.

Hope you kill the tables this weekend.

Stay patient.....

If you believe there's nothing up his sleeve, then nothing is cool

Yayyyyyyy! It's Friday! What a week. My second week in management and I was TOLD to fire someone. "Welcome to my new branch. Your Fired!" That was fun. It was inevitable, so I did it right away and got it over with. Welcome to management.

Friday means "Friday night poker at FTP". Last Friday night was very good to me when I hit a 2nd place 90 player $3 KO and a 1st place 45 player $26 SNG. Let's hope I can repeat. I have been trying to stockpile tokens this week and now have 6 $26 tokens. I'll probably play at least 2 45 player SNG's and maybe a big MTT with those tonight.

Check out this freaky graph (from sharkscope). The 1st place 45 player SNG really skewed my winnings. In a good way of course. My bankroll is now up 150% since I reloaded in February. This graph doesn't show some of my other MTT winnings that are not SNG's.
Now here is one I don't understand completely (from www.officialpokerrankings.com). I was sitting at a 65percentile forever and then within the last week I jumped to the 90's. I was thinking I would slowly move upwards as I progressed and since I just made a huge jump, it makes me think this site really means nothing. I don't know. Any thoughts???

And lastly, here is my 2cents on the whole "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM" issue. A couple of people (and probably more) have complained that only "ass-clowns" type "BOOOM" into the chat box and that you could never do that in a live game. Well NO SHIT!!!! I don't want to do it in a live game. I don't have buddydank playing in my ear during a live game. I don't know most of the players in a 70+person MTT live game. If I play a live game, I take it way more seriously than online low buy in MTT's.

I play in the blogger games for a specific reason. Because of familiarity. Getting to know people with similar interests (sicknesses) as me. And I want to give them SHIT and I want to scream at them and I want to congratulate them and I want to joke around with them. It's a freakin' $10 or $26 buy in game. It's just for the fun of it; for the competition of it; and for the entertainment of it. One of the most fun evenings I had playing was a night where Chad was drunk (by his admission) and we typed back and forth a hundred insults of aidsizzzzzisms. Who cares what is in the chat??? If you don't like it TURN IT OFF!

I think it is hilarious when people rail for each other AND against each other. Bring it on! Make it fun. If it is too offensive the FTP police will get you. Until then: BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!

Stay patient...

It's the New Style. Four and Three and Two and One...

I've been trying something new and it seems to be working. I found the 18 player $8.80 Tier One SNG's to be extremely easy. It's like the nightly Token Frenzy's but much quicker. Top 30% get paid (5 tokens and $14 to 6th). I mean really? How often can you get in the top 30%. You can almost fold your way there. I actually won a token in one that I saw 4 flops. FOUR!

Then, there are several $26 buyin tournaments that play just like the $3 KO's. The 45 player SNG's and the 90 player KO's. And of course there are plenty of guarantee tournaments and the most exciting and challenging of them all: THE MATH.

So you can see from sharkscope that I am hitting some of the $8.80 SNG's and then I took first in a 45 player $26 buy in SNG. It's nice to play in one of those for $8.80 and win $400+. I also hit another $3 90 player KO for 2nd place. Those are fun! For great tips on how to kill those, check out Matt's Blog.

Hope the tables are treating you right. I am excited to keep trying my new plan to build up my bankroll. Work will be kicking my ass for awhile. I opened my new branch on April 1st with 5 new employees. I have to hire 4 more in the next 2 months. Busy, busy, busy. I'll be trying to hit the BBT3 games when I can, hopefully Mondays and Wednesdays.

In the next couple of months I hope to get a new laptop and start posting specific hand histories again. I have to wait a couple of months because Hawkette just got me a new IPHONE. HELL YEAH! I love it! It is so freakin' Cool. I have wanted one for a year (or since they came out) and now I have it. It is awesome! Now if I can just download FTP onto my Iphone, I would be set...

Stay Patient.....

"But ours go to 11...." Nigel Tufnel 1984

No. I didn't finish in the money. I actually bubbled the bubble. I was close enough to probably fold to the money but chose to go for a steal that backfired. On the button with 6 players at my table, it folds around to me. I have $5800 with a SB of $600 and BB of $1200 and around $2400 total in the pot with antes. SB player has $3000 stack and BB has $8000. I decided to shove hoping that no premium hands are behind me. My cards were really irrelevant (Kh8h). We were playing hand for hand, so I figured only a big pocket pair is calling or maybe AK.

Anyway, BB calls with AQ and Ace high wins. I really should have stayed tighter for a couple more spots.

My main points when playing the $3 KO's. (built from tips from Matt and Emptyman).
1)Early on: loosen up my play. Starting stack is $3000. I can see a few more pots when I know that $2000 is an easy amount to come back with. By loosen up though: I only mean play a few more hands WHEN IN POSITION. And only during the first 3 or so blinds. I still don't want to play 79sooted from UTG. But on the button with a limped pot: yes. If a 6,8, 10 spikes the flop or my flush hits, I can take down a nice pot. Raising from the cutoff or Button with 77 or even KJ is OK. But stay attentive after the flop. Fire a bullet and get re-raised, you need to let the hand go.

2)Middle of the tournament play tight, solid poker from position. The nice thing about this level that I have found is that you can get paid off on monster hands. You might lose once in a while to someone chasing a draw, but if you leave yourself some chips, you can build them right up again.

3)Tighten up around the bubble. Now this is contrary to my normal style, hence why I have such a problem remembering to do this. But, people are still thinking "It was only $3" this late in the tourney. I've seen plenty of junk thrown all in with only 2 or 3 spots to the money (Like my K8 soooooted). Hopefully you have enough chips to make it through a dead card run, but no use trying to bully everyone with an all in here: you will get called, so you better have some bling. But seriously, the play seems to tighten up after the bubble pops. I think everyone starts eyeing that first place prize once they hit the final table. Then you can start stealing some blinds again.

4)Put the pressure on at the final table. Chances are, there are at least 1/3 of the players there that are terrible. Push on them, raise them up on their draws, watch them call you off with top pair weak kicker and take it down.

Hope you do well. To really increase your abilities, go check out Matt and Emptyman. It will pay off.

2 more days until the Figg Tree Poker Tournament to raise money for colon cancer patients. If you are near Saint Louis, please come play.

Is anyone else watching Big Brother??? What a twist this season to have couples. People have another person that they can bitch to, so now there's more outward fighting and backstabbing. It used to be that everyone had to play nice in front of everyone, but not this time... And how stupid is Jen for telling Parker her secret so early. Buh-Bye, Jen.

Stay patient...

I'm Back in Black

I hit the sack...Ive been too long... Im glad to be back... AC/DC 1980

I've cashed in 2 out of the last 3 90 player KO's I've played(a 1st and a 5th). That will boost my ROI real quick at the $3 levels. My bankroll now is just shy of $100. Not too bad, having been at just $2 a few weeks ago. I was actually in the low $100's a week ago, but dropped a buyin playing cash at the 25NL level and couldn't cash in a $10 MTT, so here we are.

If you will notice, I have been playing very sparingly. Only 8 SNG's in the last 19 days. Pathetic, I know. But I am happy to have cashed in 6 of those 8. I have been following a much tighter game plan: trying to play mostly from position only regardless of my cards. And when down to the bubble, play opposite the table. What's that? Sound unusual for me? Yes, it is. I usually try to bully at the bubble and "usually" end up getting caught at some point. What I found though, is most times the bubble at the $3 buy in level is not so tight. So if I play tight and wait for the right cards, then I make it to the money. The play really seems to tighten up in the final 4 or 5. Then players are looking at a major change in payouts if you can advance to top 2. This is a better time to get aggressive and start buying blinds. Again, be observant of your opponents play.

Thanks again to everyone who donated to my charity tournament. Evenings this week will be spent preparing chip stacks, blind structures, prizes, etc. You can still show up to play if you want. We are hoping for just over 100 players.

Stay patient...

OK, what the EF? Do I need to say "I Can't" everytime to make something happen????

Earlier today, I said: "I can't seem to do well in the 90 player KO's"...

So, I thought I would try one more. And then this happened:

Bankroll is moving upwards... Yeah!

Pretty women out walking with Gorillas down my street

....because if my eyes don't deceive me there's something going wrong around here:

I got an instant message from a friend on Windows Live Messenger. It read like this: "Hey, is this picture really you? imageXX.JPG-www.photobucket.com" . I of course clicked it (LIKE AN IDIOT) and it ran a worm virus on my PC. What I then found out is "If you run the "imageXX.JPG-www.photobucket.com" file, the MSN Worm will be installed on your computer, and then separate to your MSN contacts and so on..." (from this website)

Luckily, there is no major damage. Unfortunately, the IT department in my company has required everyone to uninstall Windows and MSN messenger "until further notice". That didn't make me too popular -since the message sent by the IT Dept identified ME as the initial one to spread the virus. Which is true, but.... well, you know the shit I'm getting.

So my online bankroll is up to around $38. Quite a jump from being at $2 recently. I did violate one of my rules and play a $5 tournament, but it paid off as I expected it would. See below:

I have really struggled on the 90 player knockout SNG's. I can get through about half the field easily, most times even down to 3 tables, but then miss the money every time (I think I finished in the money once out of about 20 times played). I must be playing too loose in the middle.

You can also see that I have only played 4 tournaments in the last 7 days. Work and life are keeping me pretty busy.

I wanted to bring up one more time the comment I made about the horrible plays at the micro limits. Alan (and emptyman agreed) that they "will never support the theory of donkeys calling off their stacks as a huge dog being the reason that people can't beat those levels." I do agree with that. I guess I figured there would be more variance due to wider ranges of cards played against you. If you are disciplined and focused , then you should be able to win through those levels. I probably end up tilting so much, that I don't realize it when I had a bad beat push me way off my game.

Thanks for the comments.

15 days left until our BIG CHARITY TOURNAMENT. . .

Stay patient...

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...

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

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...

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.

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.