i will be out of touch until june 29. have a good week and i'll update with info from my trip when i get back.
talk to you all soon
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
short handed games
today i played 6 handed tourneys. i really believe my strongest game is the shorthanded games. i cashed in all but one of the tourneys i played in today, so it was a really good day. even had someone on the last tourney tell me i seemed to know what i was doing unlike some of the other folks who they are playing, so that made me feel good. the one tourney i didn't cash in, i made a donkey move on the first hand and called off all my chips on the turn with an open ended straight draw, a king high flush draw and a straight flush draw. obviously didn't get there. other than that, i feel like i played really good poker today. i was calm about bad beats. i was able to be aggressive at my tables and could sense when people were getting tired of the aggression so i could change gears for awhile. made two great calls and a couple of really good lay downs as well. overall my best day so far and a good morale booster.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
making a deposit online..
is actually fairly easy these days. the easiest way is just an echeck. click on cashier on your favorite site and click deposit and choose your method of deposit. with the echeck, the funds are instantly available in your account. you can also use visa/mc at some sites, which worked when i used my debit card. when i made my deposit, the bank called me and put a stop on my account here until i confirmed that it was me, so you may want to contact your bank and let them know you will be be doing something out of the ordinary. other than that, you can go to any site and read up on how to make deposits. good luck!!
Monday, June 16, 2008
18 player games
spent the day playing 2 table sngs at various buy in levels from $3 per game up to $27 per game. i like these two table games as well. made final table in all but one game and was able to cash too. i like the buy in games the best in the range of 11 - 16. the micro buyins just dont have a big enough pay off to spend an hour playing them - so i will probably play this range for a while.
good news is i think i finally cured my habit of reraising with jj. had jj in middle position with the person just to my right raising to 150 when blinds were 25/50. i smooth called and so did 3 other people. flop was AK7. checks around to button who bets and guy to my right calls. i fold of course. not the flop im looking for. button goes all in on turn and guy to my right calls. button had AK and guy to my right had AA for trip aces and took a huge pot. felt good about the restraint i showed in this hand.
until tomorrow
peace and love and happiness to all
kk
good news is i think i finally cured my habit of reraising with jj. had jj in middle position with the person just to my right raising to 150 when blinds were 25/50. i smooth called and so did 3 other people. flop was AK7. checks around to button who bets and guy to my right calls. i fold of course. not the flop im looking for. button goes all in on turn and guy to my right calls. button had AK and guy to my right had AA for trip aces and took a huge pot. felt good about the restraint i showed in this hand.
until tomorrow
peace and love and happiness to all
kk
no main event seat
well - in all honesty i thought going into the events that i had as good a chance as anyone at winning a seat. and after playing both events i still feel that way. i played them both well until my demises, and was even 1st or second in chips at my tables for a majority of the time that i was in, but i was knocked out by my own stupidity in both events. that is what upsets me the most.
the poker stars event had 8076 people entered. we were 2h and 40 min into the tourney at the time i was knocked out. i was second in chips at the table in second position and i look down at pocket jacks. i put in a standard raise of 3x the big blind. everyone folds over to the cut off seat (the person just to the right of the button) and he shoves all in (just so happens to be the chip leader at the table) everyone else folds. he had bullied people who had raised a couple of times by making this move and most people had folded. he had been called and had shown a mid pocket pair once and over cards (AJ) once. i did think it was possible that he had one of the three hands i was behind, but more likely that he was playing something he didn't want a call with and that meant i should call him. well i do think i had the right read and he was playing something he didn't want a call with and that's pocket QQs. they held up and just like that, i was out.
i was really bummed about this, because i actually did consider folding here. it did cross my mind that i hadn't put that much out etc... i would still be in the tournament if i don't call, and if i do call and lose, I'm out - i honestly don't know what the right play was. do you lay down everytime someone comes over the top of you like that unless you have AA just to survive the tourney? that is a great theoretical question and one i will pose to my poker crew the next time i see them...
what say you porqchop and coolio? what do you do there? i ended knocked out at 3837. a long way from a seat.
but.... what this tourney showed me from a playing perspective is that i'm right there with everyone else. being one of the chip leaders at the table for most of the time validated how i'm feeling about my game. bad news is, in a tourney, one mis-step and that means your life.
in the full tilt event, i predicted 6k players, but there only ended up being 3385. i had already outlasted more than that in the poker stars event. which was good news, so i felt good going in.
my demise in this game happened over the course of two hands played back to back about 3hours in. in first position, i had pocket jjs again. (you know what they say about pocket jacks, three ways to play them and they are all wrong!) standard 3x big blind raise. one caller from the big blind. flop comes out 276 rainbow. big blind bets out about a pot size bet and i raise his bet by 3x. he takes a second but smooth calls me. turn is a 7. big blind checks, i check, (i should have bet here - ) river is a k. he checks - i check. we show and he has QQ against me. so i lost probably 2/3 of my stack in that hand was down to about 3800 in chips.
next hand i'm big blind with Q9. 2 callers preflop - no raise. flop comes out 7QA. i bet out and get one caller. don't think he's on the A since he didn't raise me on the flop, but he might be. he's been playing a lot of mid connectors, so he could be calling from just about anywhere so i decide if he is drawing i will make him pay to draw. turn comes a 4. i bet about 2/3 of the pot, and he calls. river is another A. i push all in (which is only about a pot size bet) since he missed his draw and the second A makes it even more unlikely that he has an A. he calls (and had me covered because of the previous hand) he turns over Q10 and im out in 1673rd place to a higher kicker.
i'm not sure what to think about how i played this hand - i think i royally f-ed it up in a couple of places.
for those reading who play poker - i would love to hear your thoughts. critique my thinking on the hands i discuss here - i would love feedback on how to get better and will do my best to be objective when retelling so you have all the facts of my thinking.
until next time
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
the poker stars event had 8076 people entered. we were 2h and 40 min into the tourney at the time i was knocked out. i was second in chips at the table in second position and i look down at pocket jacks. i put in a standard raise of 3x the big blind. everyone folds over to the cut off seat (the person just to the right of the button) and he shoves all in (just so happens to be the chip leader at the table) everyone else folds. he had bullied people who had raised a couple of times by making this move and most people had folded. he had been called and had shown a mid pocket pair once and over cards (AJ) once. i did think it was possible that he had one of the three hands i was behind, but more likely that he was playing something he didn't want a call with and that meant i should call him. well i do think i had the right read and he was playing something he didn't want a call with and that's pocket QQs. they held up and just like that, i was out.
i was really bummed about this, because i actually did consider folding here. it did cross my mind that i hadn't put that much out etc... i would still be in the tournament if i don't call, and if i do call and lose, I'm out - i honestly don't know what the right play was. do you lay down everytime someone comes over the top of you like that unless you have AA just to survive the tourney? that is a great theoretical question and one i will pose to my poker crew the next time i see them...
what say you porqchop and coolio? what do you do there? i ended knocked out at 3837. a long way from a seat.
but.... what this tourney showed me from a playing perspective is that i'm right there with everyone else. being one of the chip leaders at the table for most of the time validated how i'm feeling about my game. bad news is, in a tourney, one mis-step and that means your life.
in the full tilt event, i predicted 6k players, but there only ended up being 3385. i had already outlasted more than that in the poker stars event. which was good news, so i felt good going in.
my demise in this game happened over the course of two hands played back to back about 3hours in. in first position, i had pocket jjs again. (you know what they say about pocket jacks, three ways to play them and they are all wrong!) standard 3x big blind raise. one caller from the big blind. flop comes out 276 rainbow. big blind bets out about a pot size bet and i raise his bet by 3x. he takes a second but smooth calls me. turn is a 7. big blind checks, i check, (i should have bet here - ) river is a k. he checks - i check. we show and he has QQ against me. so i lost probably 2/3 of my stack in that hand was down to about 3800 in chips.
next hand i'm big blind with Q9. 2 callers preflop - no raise. flop comes out 7QA. i bet out and get one caller. don't think he's on the A since he didn't raise me on the flop, but he might be. he's been playing a lot of mid connectors, so he could be calling from just about anywhere so i decide if he is drawing i will make him pay to draw. turn comes a 4. i bet about 2/3 of the pot, and he calls. river is another A. i push all in (which is only about a pot size bet) since he missed his draw and the second A makes it even more unlikely that he has an A. he calls (and had me covered because of the previous hand) he turns over Q10 and im out in 1673rd place to a higher kicker.
i'm not sure what to think about how i played this hand - i think i royally f-ed it up in a couple of places.
for those reading who play poker - i would love to hear your thoughts. critique my thinking on the hands i discuss here - i would love feedback on how to get better and will do my best to be objective when retelling so you have all the facts of my thinking.
until next time
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
Saturday, June 14, 2008
sit n gos
yesterday i spent most of the afternoon playing $3 9 or 6 handed sngs on poker stars. didn't place in the first few, but by the time i stopped, i had ramped up and moneyed or won in a lot more than at the beginning. i also played a $3 -45 person sng and came in 5th for $12.
i really like the 6 handed game and will continue to play in it. in addition, i've got the big satellites tomorrow for the world series main event. i'm expecting 7-9k in this event on poker stars and 6k in the full tilt game. the full tilt game is a super stack tourney and if can survive and thrive n these big fields, it would be great experience in a large field game like the main event. the biggest field i've ever played in was a 2500 person $5 rebuy several years ago. i ended up winning that tourney, so i know i can go far. i'm excited about trying to get a seat. i'll report in after the tourneys.
peace and love and happiness to all
kk-
i really like the 6 handed game and will continue to play in it. in addition, i've got the big satellites tomorrow for the world series main event. i'm expecting 7-9k in this event on poker stars and 6k in the full tilt game. the full tilt game is a super stack tourney and if can survive and thrive n these big fields, it would be great experience in a large field game like the main event. the biggest field i've ever played in was a 2500 person $5 rebuy several years ago. i ended up winning that tourney, so i know i can go far. i'm excited about trying to get a seat. i'll report in after the tourneys.
peace and love and happiness to all
kk-
Friday, June 13, 2008
holy shitballs that's a big number
that's exactly what I said to myself at 4am this morning when i checked my checking account balance and had found that my severance pay had been credited overnight. it was exhilarating to see the number and at the same time, i felt the finality of the situation. i'm not too down in the mouth - it just reminded me that i haven't really been on vacation the last few weeks no matter how much more tan i look. but the good news is i now have my bankroll and am ready to start playing full time.
its funny - i had played a few times over the last few weeks - some of which has been chronicled here - but i took a couple of costly beats at the casinos and it already made me start to second guess my skills. as someone who is constantly evaluating my play - it will be hard for me not to be my worst enemy, but this is where that support system kicked in. a couple of friends just went to vegas and turned $100 bucks into nearly $1000 at the tables and when they came back they told me i could kill the $1-2 tables down there, which was nice to hear and i had dinner last night with my best friend of more than 20 yrs, and without even playing a hand of poker i felt better about my game after talking to her. Thanks guys - be prepared i'm sure i'll need you again.
that being said - i'm making a deposit online today so i can get to playing - and have plans for playing in a couple of main event qualifiers on Sunday. there will be a guaranteed 350 seats awarded between the two main sites on Sunday and i'm hoping i can have at least one of them. i will keep you posted.
i have a couple of other items to take care of as well. i want to track my play - so i'm currently researching some software that you can download to your computer to help you analyze your game (and those you are playing against online). from all i read, this is pretty standard item that pros use, so i want to try and get as close to par as possible.
i'm mentally prepared in case i start my career off with a few losing months, (which could easily happen if i'm playing at the micro and small levels at the start) and to make sure i'm analyzing the right data, ive been thinking about how to define success. an easy measurement of course is whether i'm paying my bills with the money i make from poker, but there are more things to think about as well. for instance - i actually think my game is very well suited for 1 table sit n gos. (these are just 1 table tourneys that go when 9 people are ready to sit and play instead of at a prearranged time) - but i need to know when i'm ready to move up to the next level. if i'm cashing in 40% of the sngs i play in at the $5 buy-in after a month, is that profitable and can i move up in levels? if i play two of these at a time, am i still profitable? what about after three or four? these are the things that i will be evaluating as i keep track of my play and will be vital to my decisions about moving up to more profitable levels. just because i have a bankroll that might allow me to play at higher levels doesn't mean i should start at them. i want to build up my experience the way many of the other pros did - by starting small.
although i haven't posted in a week, I've still been preparing to play. i've spent several days reading poker blogs, playing freerolls and finalizing my approach. i'm sure it will evolve over time, but i have to have somewhere to start.
until next time..
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk-
its funny - i had played a few times over the last few weeks - some of which has been chronicled here - but i took a couple of costly beats at the casinos and it already made me start to second guess my skills. as someone who is constantly evaluating my play - it will be hard for me not to be my worst enemy, but this is where that support system kicked in. a couple of friends just went to vegas and turned $100 bucks into nearly $1000 at the tables and when they came back they told me i could kill the $1-2 tables down there, which was nice to hear and i had dinner last night with my best friend of more than 20 yrs, and without even playing a hand of poker i felt better about my game after talking to her. Thanks guys - be prepared i'm sure i'll need you again.
that being said - i'm making a deposit online today so i can get to playing - and have plans for playing in a couple of main event qualifiers on Sunday. there will be a guaranteed 350 seats awarded between the two main sites on Sunday and i'm hoping i can have at least one of them. i will keep you posted.
i have a couple of other items to take care of as well. i want to track my play - so i'm currently researching some software that you can download to your computer to help you analyze your game (and those you are playing against online). from all i read, this is pretty standard item that pros use, so i want to try and get as close to par as possible.
i'm mentally prepared in case i start my career off with a few losing months, (which could easily happen if i'm playing at the micro and small levels at the start) and to make sure i'm analyzing the right data, ive been thinking about how to define success. an easy measurement of course is whether i'm paying my bills with the money i make from poker, but there are more things to think about as well. for instance - i actually think my game is very well suited for 1 table sit n gos. (these are just 1 table tourneys that go when 9 people are ready to sit and play instead of at a prearranged time) - but i need to know when i'm ready to move up to the next level. if i'm cashing in 40% of the sngs i play in at the $5 buy-in after a month, is that profitable and can i move up in levels? if i play two of these at a time, am i still profitable? what about after three or four? these are the things that i will be evaluating as i keep track of my play and will be vital to my decisions about moving up to more profitable levels. just because i have a bankroll that might allow me to play at higher levels doesn't mean i should start at them. i want to build up my experience the way many of the other pros did - by starting small.
although i haven't posted in a week, I've still been preparing to play. i've spent several days reading poker blogs, playing freerolls and finalizing my approach. i'm sure it will evolve over time, but i have to have somewhere to start.
until next time..
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk-
Thursday, June 5, 2008
friends and family
As a single person, whose only source of income is soon to be from poker,having a support system is crucual. and I do. i have a great one. i'm not talking monitarily, I'm talking emotionally.
I have the coolest friends and family on the planet. On Tuesday night, I had a good friend talk to me about staking me. I'll tell you what - that was certainly a confidence booster. this guy believes in my game so much that he was willing to stake me $2-3k to get me started.
I had a couple of other friends that just went to vegas and turned $100 into nearly $1k after a night on the tables and said that i need to go out there and see if I can do some damage. I've actually been looking at the wsop schedule to see if there are some tourney games I can buy in to within my bankroll. first, tho, I'm going to play in a couple of online satellites to see if I can win my way into the main event.
my friends that don't play poker are as supportive as the ones that do. i got a call this morning from a friend who has been reading the blog and is very excited about the fact that i get to have the freedom to do what i love to do.
i already know abby is reading the blog fairly often from the east coast as she has posted a comment after almost every entry. (btw, abby, to win the bad beat at harrah's, you have to have your four of a kind beat by another four of a kind or straight flush, and both players have to use both the cards in their hand)
also - thanks porqchop, whoever you are. i appreciate the comments as well.
lastly, i told my parents my plan. they both took it suprisingly well. i'm extremely fortunate to have the people around me that i do.
this is just a short entry to let everyone know i'm feeling the love and that i appreciate it.
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
I have the coolest friends and family on the planet. On Tuesday night, I had a good friend talk to me about staking me. I'll tell you what - that was certainly a confidence booster. this guy believes in my game so much that he was willing to stake me $2-3k to get me started.
I had a couple of other friends that just went to vegas and turned $100 into nearly $1k after a night on the tables and said that i need to go out there and see if I can do some damage. I've actually been looking at the wsop schedule to see if there are some tourney games I can buy in to within my bankroll. first, tho, I'm going to play in a couple of online satellites to see if I can win my way into the main event.
my friends that don't play poker are as supportive as the ones that do. i got a call this morning from a friend who has been reading the blog and is very excited about the fact that i get to have the freedom to do what i love to do.
i already know abby is reading the blog fairly often from the east coast as she has posted a comment after almost every entry. (btw, abby, to win the bad beat at harrah's, you have to have your four of a kind beat by another four of a kind or straight flush, and both players have to use both the cards in their hand)
also - thanks porqchop, whoever you are. i appreciate the comments as well.
lastly, i told my parents my plan. they both took it suprisingly well. i'm extremely fortunate to have the people around me that i do.
this is just a short entry to let everyone know i'm feeling the love and that i appreciate it.
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
peer pressure and the bad beat jackpot
got up and went to work today at harrah's. played for a little over 8 hours, and this is what I learned... Even in poker there is peer pressure. its funny, but its true. a couple of examples are not calling the $1 from the small blind no matter how many people are in the pot unless i had cards i wanted to call with. I had a couple people make a comment to me about the pot odds i was getting and how i should call. i agree -in a game where i have an unlimited bankroll, i can see making that call, but for me part of playing winning poker includes the money you keep in your stack that you don't bet. i figure i saved nearly $50 by not completing the blind. with cards that i didn't want to play, and better yet, i wouldn't have won a single hand from the small blind, so i feel justified in not calling. it would take raking a pretty decent sized pota couple times a day from the small blind to make it a profitable move. Im ok if some other players think I'm a bad player because i didn't call for odds. i figure its my stack and i should play it the way I want to. plus if they think im a bad player, maybe i can get more action from them than i would othewise get.
another way peer pressure shows up at the table is through things like a straddle. a straddle is when the player who is first to act before the flop, puts out a bet = to 2x the big blind before he is dealt his cards. it helps generate action and can loosen up a tight game. i have straddled before, but I won't do it just because the 4 people before me did. i am there to make money and raising blind without seeing your cards is generally not the way to do it. (although it can be fun) not a positve value move in the long run, and here at first i'm trying to maximize my positive value moves and minimize my negative value ones. once I start crushin the game, I can open it up a bit.
now we come to the bad beat jackpot. at harrahs, the bbpot is at around $265k. i have found that it encourages people to stay in with hands way to long and play some cards in a very strange fashion. one other thing I've learned is that you can almost throw pot odds out of the window. with the stakes as low as they are ($1-$2 game) most people will call even on a gut shot with horrible odds to try and catch becaue they are thinking its only another $x instead of thinking that they are calling a pot sized bet. I think I've decided to stop betting 3/4 pot when i'm trying to get the draws off, because they will stay anyway, and feels like to win in this game, i need to be willing to call my draws a little thinner as well. I had a friend tell me that its hard to make money at the $1-2 game and that should sit down at the $2-5 game. Once I get my severance I'll take a look at that. right now I'm playing off the small bankroll I had started after i got my bonus in Feb.
overall a normal poker day. had some good pots and took a couple of beats. nothing out of the usual. funny how last week a $10 raise was too much and this week, people were calling $15 pre -flop. all depends on the table make-up.
until next time -
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
another way peer pressure shows up at the table is through things like a straddle. a straddle is when the player who is first to act before the flop, puts out a bet = to 2x the big blind before he is dealt his cards. it helps generate action and can loosen up a tight game. i have straddled before, but I won't do it just because the 4 people before me did. i am there to make money and raising blind without seeing your cards is generally not the way to do it. (although it can be fun) not a positve value move in the long run, and here at first i'm trying to maximize my positive value moves and minimize my negative value ones. once I start crushin the game, I can open it up a bit.
now we come to the bad beat jackpot. at harrahs, the bbpot is at around $265k. i have found that it encourages people to stay in with hands way to long and play some cards in a very strange fashion. one other thing I've learned is that you can almost throw pot odds out of the window. with the stakes as low as they are ($1-$2 game) most people will call even on a gut shot with horrible odds to try and catch becaue they are thinking its only another $x instead of thinking that they are calling a pot sized bet. I think I've decided to stop betting 3/4 pot when i'm trying to get the draws off, because they will stay anyway, and feels like to win in this game, i need to be willing to call my draws a little thinner as well. I had a friend tell me that its hard to make money at the $1-2 game and that should sit down at the $2-5 game. Once I get my severance I'll take a look at that. right now I'm playing off the small bankroll I had started after i got my bonus in Feb.
overall a normal poker day. had some good pots and took a couple of beats. nothing out of the usual. funny how last week a $10 raise was too much and this week, people were calling $15 pre -flop. all depends on the table make-up.
until next time -
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)