sunday, monday and tuesday i played a total of 18 games. out of those 18 games, i cashed in 11. so far a decent little run and puts me up this month so far. long way still to go, but feel good. my room mate and some guys at the bar we watched the chiefs game at were watching me play during the game and were amazed at the number of cashes especially since i was pretty card dead. my roommate said that i earned every one of those cashes the hard way - by playing my ass off. felt good. i decided to play a game at the $16 level tonight to see what the competition was like at that level. i totally won it. very cool. and i was my normal card dead, so when my bank roll reaches the next level again (which should be soon) i think im ready to give the $12 games another try.
watched the wsop final table tonight. in all honesty, i was a little disappointed in espn and the lack of actual hands shown. i think in two hours there was maybe 20 - 25 hands shown. seemed to be a whole lot of fluff about the players they were able to fit in tho. congrats to the guy who won. its an amazing feat no matter how you look at it. im hoping to win a satellite into it next summer - and would love to cash. we'll see.
the company that laid me off in may went through it again. in may they let about 90 -100 people go. word on the street is that another 300 hit the bricks tuesday. its a crazy time we are living in and my timing for trying this whole thing out couldn't be better (hope you caught the sarcasm in that statement) i am actually nervous about the economy. i have finally applied for unemployment and will be looking for work while im continuing to build my poker skills. since everyone else is looking for work too, it is going to be a tough environment. from what i understand, lots of the folks that were laid off with me still haven't found work. im seriously considering taking money out of my ever shrinking 401k to pay off student loans and my one cc so that i can have more flexibility in salary while looking for a job. the best of all worlds would be that i make this poker thing happen and dont need to get a job, but realistically, i better look now while i still have some flexibility.
keep those fingers crossed.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
been sick so havent played much this week.
i did manage to play 33 games with 10 cashes and am down $1.40 for the week. not a great start to the month, but not horrible either.
hope everyone has a good weekend. bundle up - since its supposed to get cold.
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
hope everyone has a good weekend. bundle up - since its supposed to get cold.
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
Monday, November 3, 2008
october was mixed but positive
happy November everyone - holy crap! can't believe its November already. as i was so nicely informed recently, only 7 more weeks to Xmas.
October results were a mixed bag. i ended the month up after taking a decent dive into the negative category, but never really felt like i got a rhythm going.
i felt that i took a step backwards in my playing for a while since a couple of leaks that i thought i had filled came out to play (like calling a value bet a few times when the only thing my hand beats was a bluff)
on the other hand - according to sharkscope there are a lot players out there who aren't in the black and I'm one of the few in the black no matter how little it is, so believe it or not that is one of the things that has actually re instilled my confidence level. those negative variance days really mess with my mind sometimes and after looking up a few players, i see that many are way worse off than i am - and that gives me hope that there really are a lot of fish out there. one guy has played over 11,000 games and is down. ($516) which isnt that much for that many games, but at the $6.50 level, its going to take him a lot of games to make up that difference.
last night i downloaded a sng wizard to help me analyze my game and the decisions i am making. i can download a games hand history into the software and whenever i have a decision when my chips stack is around 10 big blinds or if I'm in a hand with an opponent which has 10 bb or less, it analyzes my decision making. you can assign loose, aggressive etc to you opponent and it will tell you if you made decisions based on the correct math. the theory being that a majority of the most important decisions come then and it should help me identify and plug a leak faster.
i played around with it last night after downloading it and already know one thing about my game. there is a point when theoretically you should push with literally any two cards to try and steal the blinds and Ive always decided that ill push with any two cards that have some showdown potential. but really i have seen players get caught with 23o but they've stolen a lot of pots before that with crap and may not have made it as far if they weren't.
it will be interesting to see if my cash rate goes up after using this for awhile.
oh well - time to hit the tables.
peace and love an happiness to all.
k-
October results were a mixed bag. i ended the month up after taking a decent dive into the negative category, but never really felt like i got a rhythm going.
i felt that i took a step backwards in my playing for a while since a couple of leaks that i thought i had filled came out to play (like calling a value bet a few times when the only thing my hand beats was a bluff)
on the other hand - according to sharkscope there are a lot players out there who aren't in the black and I'm one of the few in the black no matter how little it is, so believe it or not that is one of the things that has actually re instilled my confidence level. those negative variance days really mess with my mind sometimes and after looking up a few players, i see that many are way worse off than i am - and that gives me hope that there really are a lot of fish out there. one guy has played over 11,000 games and is down. ($516) which isnt that much for that many games, but at the $6.50 level, its going to take him a lot of games to make up that difference.
last night i downloaded a sng wizard to help me analyze my game and the decisions i am making. i can download a games hand history into the software and whenever i have a decision when my chips stack is around 10 big blinds or if I'm in a hand with an opponent which has 10 bb or less, it analyzes my decision making. you can assign loose, aggressive etc to you opponent and it will tell you if you made decisions based on the correct math. the theory being that a majority of the most important decisions come then and it should help me identify and plug a leak faster.
i played around with it last night after downloading it and already know one thing about my game. there is a point when theoretically you should push with literally any two cards to try and steal the blinds and Ive always decided that ill push with any two cards that have some showdown potential. but really i have seen players get caught with 23o but they've stolen a lot of pots before that with crap and may not have made it as far if they weren't.
it will be interesting to see if my cash rate goes up after using this for awhile.
oh well - time to hit the tables.
peace and love an happiness to all.
k-
Monday, October 27, 2008
bar poker
ive spent years playing bar poker and i think its a great environment to get started in. yesterday we had our quarterly tournament. i was pleased with my play overall. i was patient, thoughtful and didn't get out of line more than once during the tourney. going to the final table i was second in chips, although the chip leader had me almost doubled. the final table was pretty tight and i was able to win a few pots uncontested and going into heads up i had the chip lead by a tiny margin which changed on the first hand. i called a one bump raise to 8000 with Q9, missed the flop and had to lay down my hand when the other player went all in. i found out after the tourney that he had AA. we went back and forsth for awhile, but on the last hand he raised nd i reraised all in with A3. he called with 99 and flopped trips and ended with a boat. i felt good about adding $100 to my bankroll for coming in second. the man i lost tois a great friend of mine and a good player in his own rights as he won last quarters tourney as well.
i think it may be one of my last if not my very last bar tourney as im not making it out to play as often as i used to since i am trying to play seriously. one thing that bar poker is good for is trying out new strategies and learning to understand peoples thinking behind specific moves since there is a lot of open information being passed about the table, so i will play occasionally.
october is almost over and as of today - im up more than i was in september which is the right direction, eh?
peace and love and happiness
k-
i think it may be one of my last if not my very last bar tourney as im not making it out to play as often as i used to since i am trying to play seriously. one thing that bar poker is good for is trying out new strategies and learning to understand peoples thinking behind specific moves since there is a lot of open information being passed about the table, so i will play occasionally.
october is almost over and as of today - im up more than i was in september which is the right direction, eh?
peace and love and happiness
k-
Thursday, October 23, 2008
roller coaster riding
maybe the cure for my poker blues was to just bitch about it on my blog, because as soon as i started playing today, it was off to the races.
i played 15 games today and came in first 6 times. (FINALLY!!) and cashed in 2 more at 2nd, so 8 cashes overall is good and my month has totally turned around just that quick. im almost up to my high for the beginning of the month. they are right when they say this is a hard way to make an easy living. the emotional toll it takes when you lose a few is crazy. im so glad im tracking my games - it helps me calm down when i can quantify things. my roi since moving back to this level after today is back up to 15.33% and im cashing in 42.37% of the games since moving back down. still feeling good about the move down and am going to concentrate on getting playing time in every day to maximize my edge.
i have wondered what was considered a good rate, and everything ive read says if you can cash in about 40% of the games you are playing in, then you are considered a winning player, so i feel really good about that!
ttyl
peace and love and happiness
k-
i played 15 games today and came in first 6 times. (FINALLY!!) and cashed in 2 more at 2nd, so 8 cashes overall is good and my month has totally turned around just that quick. im almost up to my high for the beginning of the month. they are right when they say this is a hard way to make an easy living. the emotional toll it takes when you lose a few is crazy. im so glad im tracking my games - it helps me calm down when i can quantify things. my roi since moving back to this level after today is back up to 15.33% and im cashing in 42.37% of the games since moving back down. still feeling good about the move down and am going to concentrate on getting playing time in every day to maximize my edge.
i have wondered what was considered a good rate, and everything ive read says if you can cash in about 40% of the games you are playing in, then you are considered a winning player, so i feel really good about that!
ttyl
peace and love and happiness
k-
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
still up and down
october has been a rough month. started the month up and currently am down about $20. i have made up some of the ground i lost when i was playing the $12 games, but not much. plenty of time to turn it around and as a matter of fact, my cash rate at the 6.50 game is back to around 40%, the problem im having right now is that im not getting first very often. most of my cashes are coming at 2nd or 3rd place. that is affecting the roi and i am working hard to increase my first places. not getting that extra money for first is making a big difference in profit.
not much else going on - i had a roommate move in last week, so we've been spending time getting to know each other. he seems to be a good guy and we are both making efforts to be pretty considerate, so its going well.
talk to you soon.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
not much else going on - i had a roommate move in last week, so we've been spending time getting to know each other. he seems to be a good guy and we are both making efforts to be pretty considerate, so its going well.
talk to you soon.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
Friday, October 10, 2008
life outside the poker table is busy
its been a crazy week. as you know i went to columbia this past weekend. then a friend and i went to see tina turner on wed night and last night a friend got tickets for her bday for the john legend concert, so we went and saw him. both concerts were fabulous. seeing an icon like tina turner was awesome and john legend has such a smooth beautiful voice and such energy on stage. it was great to see them both. tomorrow im going to be doing a pub crawl in westport and downtown kc for cancer. then things should slow down for me.
poker is going a bit better since ive moved back down to the 6.50 level. my ROI is 14% for the time ive been back down - so i feel good about it. i played two tables today at the same time and was able to make good decisions while playing two tables, so i think i will start doing that more often.
hope everyone has a good weekend
peace and love and happiness
k-
poker is going a bit better since ive moved back down to the 6.50 level. my ROI is 14% for the time ive been back down - so i feel good about it. i played two tables today at the same time and was able to make good decisions while playing two tables, so i think i will start doing that more often.
hope everyone has a good weekend
peace and love and happiness
k-
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
evaluating this level
i feel like i am bleeding my bankroll $12 at a time. after 30 games at this level, i am cashing in only 25% and actually have a negative ROI of 25% which means im losing $25 for every $100 i put in play. that is not good. i am going to move back to the 6.50 game since it seems i was able to play very profitably at that level. i can always start adding tables and play two or three tables at a time at the 6.50 level to increase the profitability as well. i will eventually move up to the $12 level again, but better to cut my losses and move back down than to bleed dry my bankroll.
im bummed but its the right decision.
i will let you know when i move back up.
til next time.
peace and love and happiness
k-
im bummed but its the right decision.
i will let you know when i move back up.
til next time.
peace and love and happiness
k-
had a fun weekend.
friday night i went out to the american royal bbq - one of the biggest competitive bbqs in the country to sample the fixins my friends were entering. from my opinion it was great, but the judges didn't think so because they didn't win... oh well there is always next year.
then on saturday, a few of us drove to columbia to visit a younger sister who was just turning 21. that was good time even if it was in mizzou country.
got back sunday tired and really wishing i didn't have to play softball - but i did. and we stank it up. most of the men on our team are the same who were bbqing all weekend, so they were exhausted and i was exhausted and we actually got run ruled on the second game - which on the bright side meant i got to go home and get some sleep earlier than i expected
lets see poker at the new level has been interesting. i'm down right now just a bit but am feeling good about how i am playing. i had an interesting hand that was set up from an earlier hand. on our first encounter - i was in the big blind with something playable, but not great and a person three seats in makes a standard raise. everyone folds to me and i decide i don't want to play my cards out of position with my chip stack dwindling, so i fold and the raiser shows AA. good fold me.
two hands later when im next to the dealer button in the cutoff seat, the same player limps in first position. and it folds to me. i've got A6 hearts. when he limped i immediately thought he had a big hand and he was mad his AA didn't get paid off, so he was going to make sure that this hand did. i'm putting him on KK, QQ, JJ only. i don't think hes limping with AQ or AK. big blind checks. the flop comes out 8A9. big blind checks, limper checks and i put out what i know looks like a weak position bet of about 1/3 of the pot to see if i can induce a raise. sure enough he bumps me. so i come over the top of him for all his chips and he calls and sure enough he shows KK and he is out of the tournament. he basically trapped himself. since he couldn't get away from the hand even tho i gave him every chance. i like the play to limp with a big hand occasionally, but you still have to be able to lay it down. something im still working on myself sometimes.
oh well. off to the tables..
peace and love and happiness
k-
then on saturday, a few of us drove to columbia to visit a younger sister who was just turning 21. that was good time even if it was in mizzou country.
got back sunday tired and really wishing i didn't have to play softball - but i did. and we stank it up. most of the men on our team are the same who were bbqing all weekend, so they were exhausted and i was exhausted and we actually got run ruled on the second game - which on the bright side meant i got to go home and get some sleep earlier than i expected
lets see poker at the new level has been interesting. i'm down right now just a bit but am feeling good about how i am playing. i had an interesting hand that was set up from an earlier hand. on our first encounter - i was in the big blind with something playable, but not great and a person three seats in makes a standard raise. everyone folds to me and i decide i don't want to play my cards out of position with my chip stack dwindling, so i fold and the raiser shows AA. good fold me.
two hands later when im next to the dealer button in the cutoff seat, the same player limps in first position. and it folds to me. i've got A6 hearts. when he limped i immediately thought he had a big hand and he was mad his AA didn't get paid off, so he was going to make sure that this hand did. i'm putting him on KK, QQ, JJ only. i don't think hes limping with AQ or AK. big blind checks. the flop comes out 8A9. big blind checks, limper checks and i put out what i know looks like a weak position bet of about 1/3 of the pot to see if i can induce a raise. sure enough he bumps me. so i come over the top of him for all his chips and he calls and sure enough he shows KK and he is out of the tournament. he basically trapped himself. since he couldn't get away from the hand even tho i gave him every chance. i like the play to limp with a big hand occasionally, but you still have to be able to lay it down. something im still working on myself sometimes.
oh well. off to the tables..
peace and love and happiness
k-
Thursday, October 2, 2008
im moving up
i knew i was close to moving up yesterday - but i wasn't sure how the next few days were going to go. looks like today went well enough to move me to the next level.
moving through level 1 took 304 games and i ended the level with a 13.92% ROI and a cash rate of 38.16% and a little more than a month's time.
moving through level 2 took 125 games and i ended the level with a 24.28% ROI and a cash rate of 43.20% and a little more than a few weeks time. looking forward to level 3!!
i did get hit by the deck in the first game this morning (which i won) - and that was fun. the most lucrative hand was calling a one bump raise in late position with pocket 66 and hoping to see a 6 on the flop. there were three other people in the hand (including both blinds) and the flop came out 6TJ. the small blind bets out for 270, the big blind raises to 540 the third player calls the 540 and i call the 540 trying to trap everyone. the turn comes out a 9 the small blind checks, the big blind pushes all in and the other player pushes all in and although i have bottom set, i still think im ahead here so i call the all ins. small blind folds, big blind had AJ and other player had KK. the river is a 6 to quad me up and just like that we are two players shorter.
a little while later, some one limped when i was in the big blind and holding T4spades. the flop came out KTT. i bet out and he raised me. it is possible for him to have limped with KK or KT, so i probably have the best hand, but decide to proceed cautiously and just call instead of reraise. the turn is a 3. i bet out again a little bit and he smooth calls me. at this point i think he thinks i either have a pocket pair or an A in my hand and he thinks im unwilling to believe that he has anything on the board. or he thinks we are splitting the pot and that i have a K too. im pretty sure he doesn't put me on the Ten. any way the river is the case T to give me quads again. this time i check hoping he will bet and i can check raise him. personally i think it screams quads, but ive come to realize there aren't very many people paying attention on here, so you can make the obvious plays a lot and get paid off. anyway - after i check, instead of making a value bet, he pushes all in. well of course im going to call him and now we are down another player.
one other fun hand in that game was when i had decided to call a raise in position with JT. there are 4 of us in the hand with the big blind all in and 300 in a side pot (which means that the all in player can't win the side pot, but those of us still with chips can.) the flop was beautiful. 89Q. i flopped the nuts. it checks to me and i check. the turn was an A. i check again and there was one player behind me and he bet out 270 trying to win the side pot. the third player called the 270 and i raised to 540. original bettor calls the 270 and other player folds. river is a 4 and the original bettor bets about a third of his chips. i reraise to put him all in and he calls showing 2 pair but that doesn't beat my straight and two more players are out.
i honestly think i started getting a headache from where the deck kept slapping me in the head. (LOL!!) oh well. it was fun while it lasted. if poker was always like that, id already be wealthy instead of trying to grind it out every day.
enough about the game - times a wasting -back to the tables!!
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
moving through level 1 took 304 games and i ended the level with a 13.92% ROI and a cash rate of 38.16% and a little more than a month's time.
moving through level 2 took 125 games and i ended the level with a 24.28% ROI and a cash rate of 43.20% and a little more than a few weeks time. looking forward to level 3!!
i did get hit by the deck in the first game this morning (which i won) - and that was fun. the most lucrative hand was calling a one bump raise in late position with pocket 66 and hoping to see a 6 on the flop. there were three other people in the hand (including both blinds) and the flop came out 6TJ. the small blind bets out for 270, the big blind raises to 540 the third player calls the 540 and i call the 540 trying to trap everyone. the turn comes out a 9 the small blind checks, the big blind pushes all in and the other player pushes all in and although i have bottom set, i still think im ahead here so i call the all ins. small blind folds, big blind had AJ and other player had KK. the river is a 6 to quad me up and just like that we are two players shorter.
a little while later, some one limped when i was in the big blind and holding T4spades. the flop came out KTT. i bet out and he raised me. it is possible for him to have limped with KK or KT, so i probably have the best hand, but decide to proceed cautiously and just call instead of reraise. the turn is a 3. i bet out again a little bit and he smooth calls me. at this point i think he thinks i either have a pocket pair or an A in my hand and he thinks im unwilling to believe that he has anything on the board. or he thinks we are splitting the pot and that i have a K too. im pretty sure he doesn't put me on the Ten. any way the river is the case T to give me quads again. this time i check hoping he will bet and i can check raise him. personally i think it screams quads, but ive come to realize there aren't very many people paying attention on here, so you can make the obvious plays a lot and get paid off. anyway - after i check, instead of making a value bet, he pushes all in. well of course im going to call him and now we are down another player.
one other fun hand in that game was when i had decided to call a raise in position with JT. there are 4 of us in the hand with the big blind all in and 300 in a side pot (which means that the all in player can't win the side pot, but those of us still with chips can.) the flop was beautiful. 89Q. i flopped the nuts. it checks to me and i check. the turn was an A. i check again and there was one player behind me and he bet out 270 trying to win the side pot. the third player called the 270 and i raised to 540. original bettor calls the 270 and other player folds. river is a 4 and the original bettor bets about a third of his chips. i reraise to put him all in and he calls showing 2 pair but that doesn't beat my straight and two more players are out.
i honestly think i started getting a headache from where the deck kept slapping me in the head. (LOL!!) oh well. it was fun while it lasted. if poker was always like that, id already be wealthy instead of trying to grind it out every day.
enough about the game - times a wasting -back to the tables!!
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
a fabulous start to October
i played 20 games today, over a 12 hour period and cashed in 12 of them for a nice 60% cash rate and a really good day for the bankroll. as a matter of fact i cleared 96.80 today and am not that far from moving up to the next level. i should be able to move up to the next level within the next week or so if not sooner.
my ROI in this level is a little above 20% after today and my overall cashrate is up to 42.5%. the last few days have felt really good and i hope to continue on this path.
the most memorable hand for me happened at the end of the evening. i had pocket 99 in late position and there were already several people that had limped for 30 including me. both of the blinds came too. the flop came out 45Ten with two diamonds. the small blind bets out 2/3 of the pot. everyone folds to me - and i decide to smooth call. im not convinced he has the Ten and nothing else beats me. the turn is another small diamond. he bets out 225 and i call. on the river is a Q. he bets out 225 again and something tells me it is a defensive bet and he is afraid, so i raise him to 600. it looks like a value bet for someone that has the flush. or someone that has been calling with an overpair all the way. lucky for me, he either wasn't that strong, or is actually one of those people that can lay a hand down or i read it right and picked the right amount to gt him off his hand, but he folded to my raise. felt really good about that.
ive been fighting a sore throat all week, so im going to go gargle and head to bed.
felt good to have a successful day.
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
my ROI in this level is a little above 20% after today and my overall cashrate is up to 42.5%. the last few days have felt really good and i hope to continue on this path.
the most memorable hand for me happened at the end of the evening. i had pocket 99 in late position and there were already several people that had limped for 30 including me. both of the blinds came too. the flop came out 45Ten with two diamonds. the small blind bets out 2/3 of the pot. everyone folds to me - and i decide to smooth call. im not convinced he has the Ten and nothing else beats me. the turn is another small diamond. he bets out 225 and i call. on the river is a Q. he bets out 225 again and something tells me it is a defensive bet and he is afraid, so i raise him to 600. it looks like a value bet for someone that has the flush. or someone that has been calling with an overpair all the way. lucky for me, he either wasn't that strong, or is actually one of those people that can lay a hand down or i read it right and picked the right amount to gt him off his hand, but he folded to my raise. felt really good about that.
ive been fighting a sore throat all week, so im going to go gargle and head to bed.
felt good to have a successful day.
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
closing out September
wow this month went pretty fast. im ending the month in the black again - and even higher than last month. (actually almost 2.5 times more) woo woo. that is exactly the kind of traction I'm looking for to keep me moving in the direction towards poker as a means of support.
level two has been a little more challenging than level one which i guess is the way its supposed to be. although im cashing at about the same rate, (39% this level vs 38.16% 1st level) the cashes are evenly spread throughout 1st, 2nd and third instead of being weighted in first. this means my roi is good, just isn't quite as robust (9.66% now vs. 13.16% then)
enough about the numbers. i made some great calls today - i was in the zone and the logic of the players i was up against was so clear it was almost like they were playing with their cards face up. actually it was because the players were over betting when they were scared. i made 3 great calls today using this information and was able to win 2 of them. in all three instances, the calls i was ahead of the other players and they were hoping the big bets were scary to me. the even better news for me was that i was not superbly strong when i made these calls, i just knew i was ahead of them based on their bets.
that's about it. hope things are well for all of you.
peace and love and happiness -
k-
level two has been a little more challenging than level one which i guess is the way its supposed to be. although im cashing at about the same rate, (39% this level vs 38.16% 1st level) the cashes are evenly spread throughout 1st, 2nd and third instead of being weighted in first. this means my roi is good, just isn't quite as robust (9.66% now vs. 13.16% then)
enough about the numbers. i made some great calls today - i was in the zone and the logic of the players i was up against was so clear it was almost like they were playing with their cards face up. actually it was because the players were over betting when they were scared. i made 3 great calls today using this information and was able to win 2 of them. in all three instances, the calls i was ahead of the other players and they were hoping the big bets were scary to me. the even better news for me was that i was not superbly strong when i made these calls, i just knew i was ahead of them based on their bets.
that's about it. hope things are well for all of you.
peace and love and happiness -
k-
Thursday, September 25, 2008
live by the donkey play - die by it
i had built a little bit of a chip lead up and got pocket JJ with 8 players remaining.
of course i raised, as i do most of the time. someone a couple of spots behind me reraises. i considered what they had - AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, TT. I'm ahead of half and behind half. i could lay down - but no, ive forgotten my lessons about pocket jj and need to relive the torture again. of course i call and they have pocket AA and it holds up. im not out, but my stack is down to 220 chips. time to buckle down and pick my spots to see how far i can go...
buckle down i did, when the game was over, i had 13,500 chips and found a way to come back and win the game.
of course it only lasted for a minute... then i made a donkey call early in the next game. limped with pocket 44 on the button with several others. flop comes out 9 high with two clubs and the pot is 180. the blinds check and the person in first bets 40 chips. i have no idea what he is betting, but it could be A high at this point or he could have caught a pair. i call the 40 chips and everyone else folds. turn is 6h and the river is a 4c. he checks to me and i put out a value bet and he raises me all in. of course i called and of course he had the flush and of course i saw it but didn't believe him.
the funniest thing about this is i was just talking to a friend at dinner about the over bet and watching people fall for it. the thing is if i hadn't tripped up, i think i could have gotten away from my hand -it was that i caught it and then didn't get away from it. now i need to learn to get away from it even when i get the trips.
sigh.
then i cashed in the next game at second.
up and down. if i would lay a damn hand down - then maybe it would be up and up...
lets hope.
talk to you soon.
peace and love and happiness
k-
of course i raised, as i do most of the time. someone a couple of spots behind me reraises. i considered what they had - AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, TT. I'm ahead of half and behind half. i could lay down - but no, ive forgotten my lessons about pocket jj and need to relive the torture again. of course i call and they have pocket AA and it holds up. im not out, but my stack is down to 220 chips. time to buckle down and pick my spots to see how far i can go...
buckle down i did, when the game was over, i had 13,500 chips and found a way to come back and win the game.
of course it only lasted for a minute... then i made a donkey call early in the next game. limped with pocket 44 on the button with several others. flop comes out 9 high with two clubs and the pot is 180. the blinds check and the person in first bets 40 chips. i have no idea what he is betting, but it could be A high at this point or he could have caught a pair. i call the 40 chips and everyone else folds. turn is 6h and the river is a 4c. he checks to me and i put out a value bet and he raises me all in. of course i called and of course he had the flush and of course i saw it but didn't believe him.
the funniest thing about this is i was just talking to a friend at dinner about the over bet and watching people fall for it. the thing is if i hadn't tripped up, i think i could have gotten away from my hand -it was that i caught it and then didn't get away from it. now i need to learn to get away from it even when i get the trips.
sigh.
then i cashed in the next game at second.
up and down. if i would lay a damn hand down - then maybe it would be up and up...
lets hope.
talk to you soon.
peace and love and happiness
k-
Sunday, September 21, 2008
to quote a good friend....
poker is a stupid game. tell me again why we play it?
my sentiments exactly.
im not sure if it makes me feel better or not that a lot of my losses come when im getting in ahead. had an up and down day today, which means i started up and ended down. (just a few dollars, but not the direction i want to go.)
we were talking last night about how you have to play an almost perfect game and then it still doesn't guarantee a win. with the chip stacks that we start with, if you chase one flush or straight and miss it, you are playing the rest of the game short stacked - which makes your decisions easy, but it means you are playing even tighter than you might have been.
i had a good friend watching me play all day and we often saw the suckout coming from a mile away. for example: i have pocket QQ and a person raises to 210 in front of me. i reraise 740 and he calls. the flop was Jxx. he bets and i made a pot sized raise - although my friend can attest that i actually thought - he probably has AJ, but he might have pocket JJ. well i got my wish and he had AJ and went over the top of me for all his chips which put me all in. i called and the the turn puts me out of misery right away with the A. on one hand im happy that they dont stop to think that two reraises means they might be beat, but on the other hand AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH. fold a damn hand, wouldya?!!!
sigh..
why do we play this game again? that is just a sample of how the day seemed to go. well, thats not completely true. the first game had me winning all the coin flips i was in - so i knew the rest of the day was going to be tough and felt like i didn't win too many of them after that.
hope everyone had a good weekend, i sure did. we celebrated a friends birthday last night by playing beach volleyball and having a rowdy time. it was really fun.
off to softball.
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
my sentiments exactly.
im not sure if it makes me feel better or not that a lot of my losses come when im getting in ahead. had an up and down day today, which means i started up and ended down. (just a few dollars, but not the direction i want to go.)
we were talking last night about how you have to play an almost perfect game and then it still doesn't guarantee a win. with the chip stacks that we start with, if you chase one flush or straight and miss it, you are playing the rest of the game short stacked - which makes your decisions easy, but it means you are playing even tighter than you might have been.
i had a good friend watching me play all day and we often saw the suckout coming from a mile away. for example: i have pocket QQ and a person raises to 210 in front of me. i reraise 740 and he calls. the flop was Jxx. he bets and i made a pot sized raise - although my friend can attest that i actually thought - he probably has AJ, but he might have pocket JJ. well i got my wish and he had AJ and went over the top of me for all his chips which put me all in. i called and the the turn puts me out of misery right away with the A. on one hand im happy that they dont stop to think that two reraises means they might be beat, but on the other hand AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH. fold a damn hand, wouldya?!!!
sigh..
why do we play this game again? that is just a sample of how the day seemed to go. well, thats not completely true. the first game had me winning all the coin flips i was in - so i knew the rest of the day was going to be tough and felt like i didn't win too many of them after that.
hope everyone had a good weekend, i sure did. we celebrated a friends birthday last night by playing beach volleyball and having a rowdy time. it was really fun.
off to softball.
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
Friday, September 19, 2008
variance variance variance
wednesday was good. thrursday was bad. friday was good again.... that is variance.
i played 5 games this afternoon before getting ready to go out with some friends, and cashed in all 5 - (won 3, 1-2nd and 1- 3rd) that sure makes the bankroll look healthy and at its highest point. i found a site that allows you to look up your user name for poker sites and it tells me that my most profitable days of the week are wed and fri, and that my losing days are tuesday and sunday. the other days are profitable, but not to the extreme of wed and fri. as i get more games under my belt, i may use this info to design my schedule - for now - if im home, im usually playing, i figure thats the fastest way to build it up.
thats it for now - on my way out the door.
hope everyone has a good weekend.
peace and love and happiness always.
k-
i played 5 games this afternoon before getting ready to go out with some friends, and cashed in all 5 - (won 3, 1-2nd and 1- 3rd) that sure makes the bankroll look healthy and at its highest point. i found a site that allows you to look up your user name for poker sites and it tells me that my most profitable days of the week are wed and fri, and that my losing days are tuesday and sunday. the other days are profitable, but not to the extreme of wed and fri. as i get more games under my belt, i may use this info to design my schedule - for now - if im home, im usually playing, i figure thats the fastest way to build it up.
thats it for now - on my way out the door.
hope everyone has a good weekend.
peace and love and happiness always.
k-
Thursday, September 18, 2008
discipline is key
should have been out of the tourney on the second hand, but discipline helped me stay in.
i had KT of spades on the button and the flop came K2K. Everyone checks to me and i make a pot sized bet of 150 knowing it looks like a steal. i get two callers. one is the small blind - i put him probably on the 2 or a couple of clubs since there were two clubs on the board.
the other caller probably has the other K. the turn is a 4. everyone checks including me.
the river is an A. small blind checks, 2nd player bets 390 into 600 chip pot. which could look like he was chasing an A high hand and is betting it on the river. however, there was no preflop raising, so its hard for me to put him on an A (although i want that to be what he has). i still think he has the other K, and i'm a little worried about how big his kicker is. its possible he limped with KQ or KJ which would both beat me. now, normally i would raise all in here to value bet what i usually think is the best hand, but instead i smooth call because i'm feeling like i may be beat here, but i have to call since i have 3kings and if there is a chance im not beat, the amount is worth it.
honestly, i think he bet that amount to try and entice me to come over the top since he knew i had the 4th K and he knows he is ahead. i smooth call and he shows K4 for a full house. while aggression is very important in poker, sometimes caution wins the day. there was definitely a time in my game where i would have shoved everything, im pleased to know that at least today is not one of those days.
back to the felt.
peace and love and happiness
k-
i had KT of spades on the button and the flop came K2K. Everyone checks to me and i make a pot sized bet of 150 knowing it looks like a steal. i get two callers. one is the small blind - i put him probably on the 2 or a couple of clubs since there were two clubs on the board.
the other caller probably has the other K. the turn is a 4. everyone checks including me.
the river is an A. small blind checks, 2nd player bets 390 into 600 chip pot. which could look like he was chasing an A high hand and is betting it on the river. however, there was no preflop raising, so its hard for me to put him on an A (although i want that to be what he has). i still think he has the other K, and i'm a little worried about how big his kicker is. its possible he limped with KQ or KJ which would both beat me. now, normally i would raise all in here to value bet what i usually think is the best hand, but instead i smooth call because i'm feeling like i may be beat here, but i have to call since i have 3kings and if there is a chance im not beat, the amount is worth it.
honestly, i think he bet that amount to try and entice me to come over the top since he knew i had the 4th K and he knows he is ahead. i smooth call and he shows K4 for a full house. while aggression is very important in poker, sometimes caution wins the day. there was definitely a time in my game where i would have shoved everything, im pleased to know that at least today is not one of those days.
back to the felt.
peace and love and happiness
k-
i'm movin' on up - to a deeeluxe apt. in the skyyy
woo woo!!
today i finally surpassed my first goal of moving up to the next level. then - after moving up, i played 8 games at the 6.50 level and cashed in 4 of them with three of the cashes being 1sts. the payout for first at this level is $27 whereas it was only $9 at the other level, so i'm hoping it will move a little faster at this level. i'm already up $45 at this level - now only $150 to go to move up to the next level. although i would love to knock out nearly 20% of the difference each day - i expect i will have a few losing days too, but hope that within a month i can keep moving up that pay grade.
too early to tell if there are differences between the players at this level and the 2.25 level. time will tell.
let's see - i ended the first level with an overall ROI of 13.92% and i've played 304 games since 8/12. my strongest finishes are still first and second place with 54 and 37 respectively and 116 cashes overall for a 38.16% cash rate. i don't know what is considered normal - but i feel pretty good about a nearly 40% cash rate especially since that allows me to show a profit.
well - it was a good day. i started the day off with a win and ended the day with one - so after 22 games, i'm going to call it a night.
peace and love and happiness to all.
ps.. went and saw the journey concert on Monday night, and it was fabulous. they rocked all their old songs and the crowd was really into it and i was surprised that i didn't leave with my voice hoarse. definitely a show i would recommend.
nite all
k-
today i finally surpassed my first goal of moving up to the next level. then - after moving up, i played 8 games at the 6.50 level and cashed in 4 of them with three of the cashes being 1sts. the payout for first at this level is $27 whereas it was only $9 at the other level, so i'm hoping it will move a little faster at this level. i'm already up $45 at this level - now only $150 to go to move up to the next level. although i would love to knock out nearly 20% of the difference each day - i expect i will have a few losing days too, but hope that within a month i can keep moving up that pay grade.
too early to tell if there are differences between the players at this level and the 2.25 level. time will tell.
let's see - i ended the first level with an overall ROI of 13.92% and i've played 304 games since 8/12. my strongest finishes are still first and second place with 54 and 37 respectively and 116 cashes overall for a 38.16% cash rate. i don't know what is considered normal - but i feel pretty good about a nearly 40% cash rate especially since that allows me to show a profit.
well - it was a good day. i started the day off with a win and ended the day with one - so after 22 games, i'm going to call it a night.
peace and love and happiness to all.
ps.. went and saw the journey concert on Monday night, and it was fabulous. they rocked all their old songs and the crowd was really into it and i was surprised that i didn't leave with my voice hoarse. definitely a show i would recommend.
nite all
k-
Monday, September 15, 2008
reading skills
i love that my reading skills are getting better in this game. with time comes experience and that is why i am loving working my way up through the ranks. here is a hand stands out for me -
i had pocket 66 from the big blind with the small blind in and one other person who had limped. im willing to see a cheap flop, so i check preflop since there was no raise. the flop comes 975. small blind checks, i check, planning to raise if the third player bets - cuz I'm figuring its probably a position bet based on that board - and he does bet about the size of the pot. so i bump him a little and he goes all in over the top of my bump for another 505 chips. truthfully he could have a 9 or a 7 and have me beat, but it smells like high cards to me and i think he thinks im just representing the flop and doesn't know i actually have something or maybe he has a draw of some type, so i call his all in (i had him covered, so i wasn't at risk for going out) and sure enough, he has j10 for an inside straight draw with two over cards to my pair and he wanted the chance to see all 5 cards and figure he could either get me to fold a winning hand, or maybe out draw me. unfortunately for him, he didn't have enough chips to push me out of the pot. my 66 holds up and just like that he is out and im chipping up.
i also made a fairly easy and correct call with pocket KK to someones over the top shove on a board with no Aces only to see him catch one on the river to take me out. he typed in something like - whatever it takes to win. i told him i was ok with his move and i would take that call from him all day. and truth is, i would. he had A5 in his hand, so with only one over, he was drawing to at most 3 outs unless the board got tricky and straighted for him. i guarantee you, 9 out of 10 times, I will win that match up, so i would take it all day long. in the long run - i will make money from a player like that, and his reckless play suits me just fine.
my favorite hand though was when i had pocket 88. i raised preflop from early position, and the big blind came along. the flop came out A610 with two spades. he checks the flop and i check the flop. turn is an A of clubs and he bets. im 80% positive he doesn't have the A. there is a chance he slow played me, but more than likely he thinks i don't have anything, or he is betting the spade draw and thinks i will fold. i go all in over the top of him to make him pay maximum price for his draw and i was right, he has 23 of spades for the spade draw. lucky for me, no spade on the river - but for me to bet my eights and feel as confident as i did that he didn't actually have an Ace made me feel pretty good. obviously he didn't think i had an Ace there either - or if he did, he decided he was willing to pay as much as needed to get that last spade.
one last thing - i have a love/hate relationship with the continuation bet. (for those that don't know, if you show strength before the flop and raise, you are supposed to bet on the flop most of the time as a continuation of your strength, many times regardless of the cards that come) a lot of times the c-bet wins me the pot even if i haven't hit - but when i get in trouble is when i c-bet, haven't hit anything and someone pushes over the top of me. im much better about laying my hand down but there are times when i think they are just playing the odds that i didn't hit anything and sometimes i think they haven't hit either. maybe i should call a few times while im in the micro levels to see what they have. i guess it would either make a believer out of me or reinforce my reading skills. i need to give it some thought, right now im folding hands to a reraise most of the time if i didn't hit the board unless im just convinced somehow that they are full of crap...
onward and upward...
peace and love and happiness -
k-
i had pocket 66 from the big blind with the small blind in and one other person who had limped. im willing to see a cheap flop, so i check preflop since there was no raise. the flop comes 975. small blind checks, i check, planning to raise if the third player bets - cuz I'm figuring its probably a position bet based on that board - and he does bet about the size of the pot. so i bump him a little and he goes all in over the top of my bump for another 505 chips. truthfully he could have a 9 or a 7 and have me beat, but it smells like high cards to me and i think he thinks im just representing the flop and doesn't know i actually have something or maybe he has a draw of some type, so i call his all in (i had him covered, so i wasn't at risk for going out) and sure enough, he has j10 for an inside straight draw with two over cards to my pair and he wanted the chance to see all 5 cards and figure he could either get me to fold a winning hand, or maybe out draw me. unfortunately for him, he didn't have enough chips to push me out of the pot. my 66 holds up and just like that he is out and im chipping up.
i also made a fairly easy and correct call with pocket KK to someones over the top shove on a board with no Aces only to see him catch one on the river to take me out. he typed in something like - whatever it takes to win. i told him i was ok with his move and i would take that call from him all day. and truth is, i would. he had A5 in his hand, so with only one over, he was drawing to at most 3 outs unless the board got tricky and straighted for him. i guarantee you, 9 out of 10 times, I will win that match up, so i would take it all day long. in the long run - i will make money from a player like that, and his reckless play suits me just fine.
my favorite hand though was when i had pocket 88. i raised preflop from early position, and the big blind came along. the flop came out A610 with two spades. he checks the flop and i check the flop. turn is an A of clubs and he bets. im 80% positive he doesn't have the A. there is a chance he slow played me, but more than likely he thinks i don't have anything, or he is betting the spade draw and thinks i will fold. i go all in over the top of him to make him pay maximum price for his draw and i was right, he has 23 of spades for the spade draw. lucky for me, no spade on the river - but for me to bet my eights and feel as confident as i did that he didn't actually have an Ace made me feel pretty good. obviously he didn't think i had an Ace there either - or if he did, he decided he was willing to pay as much as needed to get that last spade.
one last thing - i have a love/hate relationship with the continuation bet. (for those that don't know, if you show strength before the flop and raise, you are supposed to bet on the flop most of the time as a continuation of your strength, many times regardless of the cards that come) a lot of times the c-bet wins me the pot even if i haven't hit - but when i get in trouble is when i c-bet, haven't hit anything and someone pushes over the top of me. im much better about laying my hand down but there are times when i think they are just playing the odds that i didn't hit anything and sometimes i think they haven't hit either. maybe i should call a few times while im in the micro levels to see what they have. i guess it would either make a believer out of me or reinforce my reading skills. i need to give it some thought, right now im folding hands to a reraise most of the time if i didn't hit the board unless im just convinced somehow that they are full of crap...
onward and upward...
peace and love and happiness -
k-
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday was good
i'm really excited... september is going well over all.. - my guess was that i would be moving up to the next level around mid month. im definitely on track to make that happen. as a matter of fact im only $10 short of my first goal and about $20 higher than my previous entry about how high my bankroll has gotten. i could easily accomplish this goal over the weekend. (right on time!) its exciting for me and i'm feeling pretty good about how im playing right now.
i did get lucky in a couple of games and saw pocket aces way more than i should have - and better yet they held up - but that doesn't account for all my success. its true there is a small amount of luck involved when you both have your money all in and its down to who catches their card to win the pot, but there are pots that i win because i can sometimes tell what the person is betting with and i can get them to fold or put more chips in the pot when they are behind or there are times that i bet position and win unexpected small pots. im really liking my aggressive nature and tightening my game up early has really helped me -
im curious to experience the skills at the next level.
well - i'm off to bed.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
i did get lucky in a couple of games and saw pocket aces way more than i should have - and better yet they held up - but that doesn't account for all my success. its true there is a small amount of luck involved when you both have your money all in and its down to who catches their card to win the pot, but there are pots that i win because i can sometimes tell what the person is betting with and i can get them to fold or put more chips in the pot when they are behind or there are times that i bet position and win unexpected small pots. im really liking my aggressive nature and tightening my game up early has really helped me -
im curious to experience the skills at the next level.
well - i'm off to bed.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
Thursday, September 11, 2008
my bankroll is at highest point
i realized i hadn't written in awhile - so what better time than when my bankroll is at its highest point. started the day today pretty card dead and ended up losing in 4 games in a row. then the end of my session, something happened and i won 3 in a row - and that was fun - after the third win, my bankroll topped its previous high.
i did have an interesting hand happen to me. i had been against a specific opponent a couple of times in one game where he was limping in on my big blind and we were heads up - on three different occasions, we would check the flop, i would bet the turn, usually with nothing or second pair, and he would call and then bet the river after i checked and i would fold. knowing this, i had KJ in the big blind and this same person and another limped on my blind so i checked to see what would happen.
the flop came out J8T,i checked and they checked. the turn was a J, so i bet 160 into a pot of 480, and they both called. the river is a K , so i have a full house. they both have less chips than me and i think that if i check, i can get at least one. if not both of them, to go all in. so i checked and the one who had been betting each time, went all in and the other one went over the top of him and i called them both. i had the full house, the first bettor had T8 and had flopped two pair and the other had K8 and had rivered a bigger two pair. even without the K, i would have gotten all their money. it was a huge pot and it was cool to use my knowledge about how they were perceiving my previous bets against them.
til next time
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
i did have an interesting hand happen to me. i had been against a specific opponent a couple of times in one game where he was limping in on my big blind and we were heads up - on three different occasions, we would check the flop, i would bet the turn, usually with nothing or second pair, and he would call and then bet the river after i checked and i would fold. knowing this, i had KJ in the big blind and this same person and another limped on my blind so i checked to see what would happen.
the flop came out J8T,i checked and they checked. the turn was a J, so i bet 160 into a pot of 480, and they both called. the river is a K , so i have a full house. they both have less chips than me and i think that if i check, i can get at least one. if not both of them, to go all in. so i checked and the one who had been betting each time, went all in and the other one went over the top of him and i called them both. i had the full house, the first bettor had T8 and had flopped two pair and the other had K8 and had rivered a bigger two pair. even without the K, i would have gotten all their money. it was a huge pot and it was cool to use my knowledge about how they were perceiving my previous bets against them.
til next time
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)