December 2008 100k Hand Graph and Stats

I switched to Full Ring and started to mass table 16 plus tables. The first 25k hands were at Poker Stars where I pretty much broke even after earning my $500 bonus. I then switched over to FTP playing mainly $50 nlhe FR for the next 75k hands. I didn't know what to expect and adjusted my game accordingly. I basically didn't pay off nits and laid down TPTK/Over Pairs when faced with aggression. Laying down those hands was so tough because I'm a calling station by nature. I had to talk myself out of making a lot of hero calls. I played a 15/10/2.5 TAG game over 100 k hands and was able to mix it up with some of the regulars.

$1704 + $500 bonuses + $600 rake back = $2804 in profits over 100k hands. Wow, it feels great to be a winner again. Haven't felt like this in a very very long time. Probably since Dec 2006. Basically small loser since the begginning of 2007.

Mass tabling has been very good to me so far. I probably need to mix in a little HU and 6max so that I don't get burnt out. I did play a few k hands of $50 and $100 nlhe hu this month because I was kinda of sick of Full Ring. It def made me appreciate the lower variance of Full Ring.

I also want to thank Jason (LuckySOB) for letting me sweat him mass table $100 nlhe FR and hooking me up with AHK. Without him, I probably wouldn't of had this awesome month. It's a real confidence booster, I can't express how much I'm grateful for his help this month.

Good Luck at the tables and a Happy New Year.

Going for 100k hands this month

I got 80k hands completed so far. I need to complete another 20k hands and it'll be 100k hands this month. I never thought I could do it but it looks like I'm going to get there. I'll post up a graph once I finish 100k hands.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Quick Update

I added alot of new full ring blogs and strategy posts/articles that I found on 2plus2 on my blog. I also can't wait for Belok's 40 table CR video this coming Saturday. That is going to be a very sick video and I can learn alot from it.

My plan is going great so far this month. I'm mainly playing my A game by keeping my sessions between 2-3 hours. I asses if I'm playing well at the 2 hour mark and continue for another hour if I am. I'm getting around 2-3k hands per session. I've played about 45k hands so far this month, which is a record for me. At $50nlhe FR, I'm getting around $8-9/hour in rakeback over about 800-1k hands/hour. Pretty nice if u asked me.

Oh yeah, I finally got 1 outer when I flop set over set and villain turned quads. Luckily villain only had 1/2 a stack. I just stared at the hand history and slowly started to just shut down all my tables. Wow, I showed alot of discipline just quitting the session because the tables were good. I wasn't in full blown tilt but I knew I was never going to fold in marginal spots after that hand.

Good luck.

30 k hand update and AHK

I just finished about 25k hands total at PS over 25 hours. I went on a sick downswing over 9 buyins to breakeven at $25nlhe FR but made $500 in bonuses. I've got about 5k hands at FTP $25nlhe FR and I'm a 6 buyin winner. So overall, I'm up about 6 buyins over 30k hands. My last 5k hands at PS was pretty sick. I think I tilted off 4 buyins just trying to earn that last bonus.

I think I'm going to limit myself to a 2 hour session and play 1 more hour if I'm playing my A game. I see my game drop significantly after 2 hours of mass tabling.

I'm taking all my cash out of PS and going to grind FTP. It'll be nice to earn atleast $200-$500 in rakeback this month depending on how much I play. I'm contemplating whether to step up to $50nlhe FR now or wait awhile. I am confident in my mass tabling abilities right now and think I'm ready for $50nlhe FR. We'll see, I'll grind out another 5k hands at $25nlhe FR and see if I'm ready to move up or not.

Oh yeah, I sweated Jason this past Sunday. I learned alot while watching Jason mass table PS $100nlhe FR. He's def more aggressive than me IP and is able to find the fold button more too. It's so hard for me to fold, I'm a calling station in nature.

Jason also helped me set up AHK, which will make my mass tabling life easier. My right click mouse is for betting pot Preflop, 3/4 pot on flop, turn and river. My wheel on my mouse increase/decrease by 1 sb by scrolling it up or down. I stack 18-24 tables and move tables over to 1-4 designated spots on my monitor by simpling hitting my designated AHK's when the table needs more focus attention. Usually tables where I'm playing for stacks or interesting hands where I can pick up reads.

Timing Out with Pock A twice and Pock K preflop

Wow, I timed out with pock A twice and pock K once. I also folded pock A by accident postflop. Pretty sick if you asked me. Jason said in a reply that he would help me set up my AHK. I'm sure that will help because I want to get a 1/2 pot, 2/3 pot, 3/4pot, and pot AHK. There's also a trick where I can AHK a table to the side so that I can focus in on it.

As of right now, I just manually move the tables over and type/click in my bet sizes. Luckily, I didn't go on tilt when I folded those big pairs. The table popped up with pock A and I was clicking as fast as I can to 3 bet and PS just folded me. I didn't get to dwell on it because there were 23 other tables I needed to focus on.

I just finished a 3 hour 3.5k hand session at PS. It's going well, my first bonus for $150 just got release.

Going to clear my Poker Stars Bonus

I have $510 worth of bonuses to clear at Poker Stars. I've deposited way back in late 2005 but I just never cleared the bonuses because there were so many of them. I would deposit and then withdraw just to get the bonus because it never expired. I would rinse and repeat at different sites making around $300-500 worth of bonuses/month. Yeah, the good old days. I see this happening again once the UIEGA get's reverse.

It will take 2790 FPP to clear all 4 bonuses. I tried to play as many tables as I can at $25 nlhe Full Ring. I'm not use to the PS software but I like it so far. I averaged about 800 hands/hour. I probably averaged 14-18 tables or so because there was no way for me to know how many tables I was on. My session lasted 3 hours and I earned 268 FPP. Does anyone know where the average number of table stat is in Holdem Manager? I remember seeing that stat in PT but I can't seem to find it in HEM.

I did a little math and I think it will take me about 25k hands to clear all 4 bonuses at Poker Stars. I also have close to $3k worth of bonuses at UB and 30% rakeback there. I think I might be able to clear $200 worth of bonuses/10k hands at $50 nlhe Full Ring at UB. I would probably play at UB but they don't have $25 nlhe FR.

My plan is to clear the PS bonus and then go back to FTP. Grind a 2k roll and probably move to UB to clear that 3k bonus. Hopefully, I'll be a master mass tabler by Janaury and move up to $50 nlhe FR at UB.

16 Tabling is Easy, Need more tables

I played my 3rd session this afternoon. I won about 4 buyins over 1500 hands even though I got suck out on and got bluffed off TPTK.

16 tables is easy to play, I wished FTP allowed me to play more tables. Hopefully, this is a new beginning for me because Full Ring reminds me of the good old days back when I was playing in 2005. Where villains would stack off light and play TPWK for stacks.

16 Tabling $25 nlhe Full Ring

I completed a 2 hour (1600 hands) 16 tabling session of $25 nlhe FR today and won over 5 buy ins. I did time out on a few tables because I'm not use to mass tabling yet. I averaged about 800 hands/hour which is great. I'll get better at this and average 1khands/ hour. It's actually quite fun nitting it up and seeing donks stack off light vs me when I'm only playing top hands. I haven't faced too many tough spots because the play is very passive.

There were a few players that impressed me. I will go back and look at their hand histories and see if I can learn a thing or two from their play. Honestly, I was shocked at what these players flipped over. Villains would show up with pock A or Full Boats out of nowhere. I guess they like to play the trapping game vs me.

I'm Back and playing Full Ring now

Okay, it was a nice break. I redeposited $1k and I'm going to grind $25nlhe Full Ring at FTP for awhile. I played a 4 hour session where I 8 tabled. I wanted to add more tables but I had to email FTP to increase it. I just got their response and they increased it to 16 tables.

I was inspired by Ryan Daut's mass tabling videos on CR and Jason (LuckySOB) taking up Full Ring for the past few months. I figure I give this a shot because SH has been very frustrating. I just want to grind and play as much hands as possible. I don't even want to think results, I just wanna rebuild my bankroll and poker confidence. If I can get anywhere between 2ptbb/100 or higher I'll be very very happy. I think I forgot how it feels to be a winner at poker.

I dropped 4 buyins over 1600 hands today but I didn't tilt. Amazing when the $ amount doesn't hurt. I think I'm only psychologically ready to lose at $25 nlhe and nothing above. We'll see what happens when I start to grind 16 plus tables. I've never done it before so I'm not sure if I can handle it. 8 tabling was easy and I didn't feel rushed playing TAG ABC. I'll keep adjusting and see how many tables I can comfortably play.

I basically center all my tables on the center of my 24inch HP Flat Panel and if a tricky/big hand pops up I manually move it to the side so that I can pay closer attention to that hand. It works very well for 8 tables, I'm not so sure how it'll work with 16 tables (Got the idea from Jason). I know Jason has a hotkey that allows him to move the tables around on his screen. Pretty sick if I can have a similar setup as Jason.

Signed up for Stox Poker

I signed up through CR and got 1 year for $150. A pretty sweet deal if you asked me. I'm really interested in watching LeatherAss play. I want to see how he thinks about the game because I was really impress with his two sample videos that CR put up. I"m also interested in Jared Tendler's Tilt Control Videos.

Ultimately, I think I"m on the right path to playing great poker again. I look at crazy 100k or million hand graphs and I see crazy breakeven stretches. I don't put in a ton of hands, I probably average about 10k hands per month. The most I've ever played was around 28k hands or so and that was when I was on a heater and didn't want to stop playing.

To tell you the truth, I do have the urge to play but I know I won't be playing my A game. There's no point in playing if I don't want to play my best. I'll be the happiest man alive once I breakout of the crazy 100k plus hand downswing since Jan 2007. Yah, it will put you on life tilt.

When I come back and play again. I'm probably going to be a nit grinder and just try to get alot of hands in. I've never done that before and I would like to see how I play with that style. It would be a fun experiment and will help me regain my poker confidence.

Poker Break

I went on a rough downswing ( 5 plus) and I just don't have the stomach for it. I took my whole bankroll of 3.4k off Cake Poker/FTP and I'm just going to take a break from playing. This game makes me way too sick. I just don't think I should be torturing myself like this.

I'm going to just watch poker videos and read Elements of Poker. Enjoy life, get ready to apply to grad school and get back in shape. Ultimately, I think poker is way too hard to beat. Just the psychological part really kills me. I'm really going to focus in on my grad school applications and make sure I go this Fall 2009. I'm def a big time procrastinator and I hate that about myself. Plus, I'm a tilt monkey.

Good luck guys. I will be back grinding 50nl or 100nl within the next few months. I always come back, not giving up for life yet.

Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo

I just got it in the mail. I've read alot of positive reviews of this book by great poker players. Tommy Angelo is supposed to be one of the best when it comes to playing your A game and being positive about poker.

Tough Spot with TPGK 3 way on the BTN

UTG mini raises and I iso 3 bet on the BTN. SB CC and UTG calls. SB is a solid TAG who doesn't get out of line much preflop and postflop. UTG is a Loose Passive Donk who will call with almost any two preflop. This is at Cake Poker, no stats.

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($110.75)
CO		($51.65)
Hero		($99.50)
SB		($182.50)
BB		($243.23)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 5 players) Hero is BTN

UTG raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero raises to $6.50, SB calls $6, 1 fold, UTG calls $4.50

Flop: ($20.50, 3 players)
SB bets $12, UTG calls $12 BTN (Hero ?)


What do I do? Usually a lead is not very strong but I suspect that SB (Solid TAG) lead because he thought that it might get checked around when there is a 2 flush on the flop. UTG (Donkey) calls and it comes to me on the BTN.

Very tough spot. What do I do? Do I just flat this call and see what happens on the turn or do I reraise and just go with it. I'm willing to gamble with UTG (Donkey) but I don't like getting this in vs SB (Solid TAG).

I will post this hand on Leggo and CR.


As for grinding, I'm trying to hit 20k hands this month. I think I will get there because I'm running great right now. I'm really motivated to play and I'm finally out of the breakeven stretch. I'm up about 3 buyins overall now without rakeback/bonuses, which feels great.

I Play Very Very Bad

Wow, I was tilting so bad on this hand. It was also the last hand I played because I was waiting for the BB to hit me and was getting ready to go to work.

Villain was unknown but had seen me make hero calls post flop.

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

Hero		($166.60)
UTG+1		($155.20)
CO		($103.55)
BTN		($125.45)
SB		($209.45)
BB		($100.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is UTG

Hero raises to $3.50, 3 folds, SB raises to $11.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $8

Preflop: Pure spew.

Flop: ($24, 2 players)
SB bets $24, Hero calls $24

I call hoping that villain is bluffing and will shut down on the turn and river.

Turn: ($72, 2 players)
SB goes all-in $173.95, Hero goes all-in $131.10

I call because there's no way that he shoves a big hand on the turn like that. Wouldn't he want a calling station to stay in the hand with a weak pair?

River: ($377.05, 2 players)

Wow, I got lucky. Villain had pock A

Final Pot: $334.20
Hero shows:

Hero wins $331.20 ( won +$164.60 )
SB lost -$209.45


Note to self: Don't play right before work because you will be playing too loose and make stupid hero calls.

Poker Update

I've been playing alot of poker. I've been breaking even for over 20k hands now at Cake Poker. Luckily for bonuses and rake back (close to $1k). Running terrible but in control with my emotions. I guess the hardest thing to do right now is to quit when I'm down 3 buyins or so. It's usually because I get bad beated or coolered and I want to stay and get it back from the donk. I've just got to discipline myself to quit for the day and do something else because the donk will be playing tighter/better postflop after sucking out.

I'm working very hard putting people on hand ranges preflop and postflop in order to extract max value. Check this hand out. This player probably played about 10 hands or so and he had been squeezing and 3 betting about 4/10 hands. Taking pots without showdown. I looked at his city and it said "Netherlands." I guess he's a aggro Euoropean so I was going to let him hang himself postflop. It's feels great to soul read him and followed through with my plan.

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($94.45)
UTG+1		($37.00)
CO		($167.25)
BTN		($100.20)
Hero		($102.90)
BB		($108.50)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is SB

3 folds, BTN raises to $3.50, Hero calls $3, BB raises to $15, BTN folds, Hero calls $11.50

Flop: ($33.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $18.75, Hero calls $18.75

Turn: ($71, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks

River: ($71, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB goes all-in $74.75, Hero goes all-in $69.15

Final Pot: $209.30
Hero shows:
BB shows:

Hero wins $206.30 ( won +$103.40 )
BB lost -$108.50
BTN lost -$3.50

Here's another one. Another soul read. This player had been pushing all in preflop and postflop. I really think he was tilting for some reason so I was going to c/c atw.


Soul Read 2


I plan to just keep grinding and hopefully start running better. All I can really do is keep studying and improving my own play. I'll let the luck even out and my bankroll will increase so I can start taking shots at $200 nlhesh.

Oh yeah, the coaching with Matt didn't go through. He posted on 2plus2 saying that he's booked and won't be hosting a group session until he has more free time. I'll just keep looking for a coach for a reasonable price.

Possibly Hiring a Poker Coach and a interesting hand

I saw a post by Matt "Probability" Young and he was offering a 6 hour ($150 total) group lesson for 4 poker players. I pm Matt and he's currently trying to set up a group within 2 weeks.

I feel my game is very solid right now but I feel I can open it up a little and be more creative in extracting value postflop. So in order to do that, I need to develop hand reading and put villain on hand ranges.

Take this hand for example at Cake Poker.

$0.25/$0.5 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($22.35)
UTG+1		($92.80)
CO		($49.25)
Hero		($129.40)
SB		($26.10)
BB		($37.15)

Pre-flop: ($0.75, 6 players) Hero is BTN

3 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 1 fold, BB calls $1.25

I open the BTN looking to steal from the tight blinds. Once he calls, I'm going to be firing almost any flop because villain will be c/f alot.

Flop: ($3.75, 2 players)
BB bets $3, Hero raises to $9, BB calls $6

Villain leads into me and I have gut shot str8 and a flush draw with one over. I have no idea what villain leads with but I was willing to raise/shove on this flop for stacks. Against a tight villain range, I'm probably going to be 50/50 and he might fold some of his hands that he leads with. So I guess that's +EV for me and I'll show a profit by raising his lead on this low flop.

Once Villain lead/calls, Villain def has a flush draw/made hand. Possibly slow playing a flop set but unlikely because he should want to get it in on this flop. Maybe even a overpair pock 7-9 and he's looking for a safe turn card to get it in on. I don't expect him to show up with pock 10+ because most sstacks would 3 bet preflop.

Turn: ($21.75, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Once villain checks and I hit a pair, I check it down for pot control. I don't think villain would c/c anything I beat right now.

River: ($21.75, 2 players)
BB bets $8

I tried putting villain on a hand range when he lead into me. Villain could have 45,56,57,68, pock 2-9 and a higher flush. Rarely showing up with pock 10-A because most sstackers would 3 bet preflop.

What do you guys think? Shove for value on river or just call? Play any streets different?

Playing Much Better

I've been trying to follow my plan. I've been trying to get atleast 1 sweat a week and reviewing my sessions ASAP. I'm playing solid abc poker and my postflop decisions are way easier. I might be leaning on the weak tight side but it's okay for now because it's mainly against villains who are unknown. Once I have a read on them, I will go atw with tptk.

I have played over 10k hands since I made my last post. I'm probably down about 6 buyins (close to breakeven with bonus/rakeback) but I feel fine. I haven't felt this great about my game in a long time. My tptk, set, twopair are bound to hold up in the long run vs 2-9 outers.

Goal List

1) Play Solid abc poker
A)c bet Axx and Kxx flops vs loose passive, tight passive, tags.
a)c bet/fold if shown resistance

B)Do not slowplay flop monsters unless I have a sick read where I can induce a light call or bluff from Villain on the turn.

C)Play Tight OOP and play Looser IP.
a)Fold dominated hands OOP, make my post flop decisions easier.

D)Be the aggressor IP and stop being a calling station.

E)No Hero Calls without a very sick read. Let them have the pot and just fold.

2) Double Barrel only when a scare card hits the turn
A)double barrel/fold to villain check raises (90% this is a monster hand)

B)Do not triple barrel, villain will not fold 2nd or top pair.

C)Check behind marginal draws and marginal hands (tpwk, 2nd pair, A high etc.) onturn

3) 3 buyin stop loss for one day
A)No if or buts. Even if there is a megafish at the table. I need to leave because I will no longer be playing my A game and villain will be.

4)Review PT hands ASAP.
A)Review all big pots to see if I played it correctly

B)Tricky/tough hands needs to sent to peers or posted on forums for discussion

5)Watch atlast 2-3 videos/week and take note of concepts I can add to my game.

6)Discuss hand history/poker theory with peers.
A)Winthrop, Purple, Ian, Brian, Jason, Kevin, Alex, and anyone else that is free to talk.

B)Participate in at least 1 poker sweat/week.

I plan to read this list everyday for motivation. I feel that if I can follow everything I just wrote down, I should be winning again. This list is def a work in progress. I plan to add things and maybe even take things out.

Emo Self Talk and Reality Check

I've been thinking alot about my game. I've had the pleasure to talk to Purple (former CR member who posted alot), Screenw (Winthrop), Alex (DWarrior), Brian (Btimm), Kevin (Moniker), Jason (LuckySOB) and Ian (Ladymuck) about poker. Purple and Brian help me review my big PT hand losers. I just never reviewed it on my own because it made me want to vomit when I lost a big pot playing very very bad.

After the PT review, I found a lot of bad leaks. I think I tilt too much without realizing it. When I tilt, I play very loose aggressive and call down a lot with dominated hands. Which is a bad combination because I lose the max on 2nd best hands and win the min with my big hands.

Sadly, I will admit that I did chase losses and played higher than I should back in early June. I played a session of $200 nlhe hu and $400 nlhe hu and lost 100bb stacks in one long session. So there goes $600 bucks right there. I got bad beated and cooler but it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have been moving up to chase my losses. It's so embarrassing writing this but I will make it publicly because I bet a lot of players do this. I rationalize it by saying, "I'm only doing this for fun. If I lose it's no big deal." In reality, I play to win money and it's a big deal. I've been playing poker since summer of 2005 and I've been eye balling $200 since Dec 2006. That was when I realistically had a shot at winning there with a 6.5k bankroll. I had the bankroll but my skills weren't good enough to win there. Over the next 100k hands over a 1 year and a half. I slowly bled money away and here I am today. Still playing $50 and $100 nlhe sh. I'm probably 2ptbb/100 over 200k hands because I ran very hot my first 100k hands (probably 6ptbb/100).

I just have to admit to myself that I just don't work hard enough. I'm fortunate to know alot of good players like Purple, Brian, Ian and Jason. I've been trying to talk to another player I met on CR when I first joined back in 2006. His name at CR is screenw (Winthrop) and he's struggling just like me at low stakes. We've been setting up weekly poker sweat sessions and emailing each other hand histories. It's benefited me alot and I think I know what my biggest leak is. I go on autopilot too much. I don't put villains on hand ranges on every street. I go on tilt and play too aggressive and never fold draws/marginal hands.

I need to learn the art of the bed/fold and learn to let go of marginal hands like tpgk vs villains who never bluff. Especially when they c/c the flop and c/r the turn. That line right there is usually always two pairs or better. I've got the hand histories to prove it too because I never believed it til now.

The fact is, you get what you put into poker. Overall, I'm still a winning player over 200k hands. That gives me a little satisfaction but I haven't reached my goal that I set out for myself back when I took my shot at $200. It's been a year and a half now and I still haven't gotten back there.

I like to talk big but will I do it? In my mind, the answer is yes. However, I have to ask myself. Am I willing to do the hard work? As of right now, I say yes. I've been playing so bad now for over a year and a half, I'm kind of numb to the swings now. I've got to stick to fundamental poker. Play tight OOP and looser IP. Play aggressive and learn to fold marginal hands when shown resistance.

The difference between my blogs and others is that they actually do what they say. It makes sense why I'm still stuck at $50 and $100 nlhe sh and they are not.

I've gotta look in the mirror and tell myself that I have to give it 100% or else I'll be doom to lose forever in poker. As of right now, I don't even care when I get there. As long as I get there and beat it for a nice clip.

If you read it all, thanks for reading. Now I got to prove to myself that I seriously want to get better and start winning. I need to start making small goals for myself that I can actually reach and build momentum toward my biggest goal of winning at $200 nlhe sh.

1st goal, is to make a list of things I can realistically do to beat $50 nlhe sh. I'll think long and hard about that. Once the list is complete, I'll make a post on my blog and look at it everyday to remind myself what I need to do to get better.

Back on the Poker Grind

I've been in the mood to grind poker again. So Far I've gotten about 5k hands at $50 NLHE SH @ FTP. I'm 6 tabling and playing my TAG with tricks game. Over those 5k hands, I think I've been playing my A game most of the time. I did make one bad call when I c/r mini an A77 2 flush flop with 67o vs a mega fish. Turn brought an A and I checked to him. Mega fish insta shove for about $30 more and I called. Villain showed AJo for a better Full House. Normally, I can find a fold but this villain played such a wide range that I thought he could be doing this as a bluff. In retrospect, I think it was a bad call because villain never got caught bluffing. I think I just wanted to play sheriff on that hand and try to catch one.

Still need to review my PT hands. I know I'm going to throw up looking at it though (Thus the reason I haven't done the review). I'm sure I made alot of tilt calls and plays. However, it will improve my game so I need to do that ASAP.

Last thing, I don't even know if I'm up or not. I think I might be a small winner or loser over those 5k hands. I've taken so many beats though but feel that I'm still playing my A game overall. I'll probably check how I'm doing once I get a feel for how $50 NLHE plays (over 10-20k hands).

Poker and my current life situation

It's been over a month since I've blogged. I've taken a long break from poker. Strangely, I have no urge to play poker but I still aspire to beat $200 nlhe sh. It's still a very distant dream of mine.

I have signed up for a 6 month subscription at Lego Poker. I haven't watched a full video because the videos I downloaded got corrupted. It cuts me off about 15 minutes into each video, some I can't even watch. I need to delete them and download them again. I also need to review about 20k PT hands and make a post about it. I don't know when that will happen because I'm really busy right now.

I think I'm at a crossroad with my life. I don't want to get into too many personal details but my brother and I just bought a house! It's a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house. There's a den that can easily be made into a 4th bedroom. My younger brother is graduating college on May 25th. He plans to move back in with us. We'll probably make a 5th bedroom downstairs because the basement is huge.

I've been procrastinating with getting into grad school. Hopefully, if I blog about it. It will get my butt started. Fill out the graduate school application. I would need 3 letters of recommendation. Fill out the financial aid application and see if I can get any free $ or low interest loans. Luckily, this school doesn't require me to take the GRE, which makes my life easier. I hope to get into St Mary's in Minneapolis in Fall, 2008. Earn a Masters in Counseling Psychology and become a therapist. It's a huge commitment for me but it will pay off in the long run.

I can really see myself being a therapist. I could listen to people's sob stories all day and not go nuts. I find the whole human experience interesting, the good and the bad.

What a heart breaking loss for Memphis

The championship game between Memphis & Kansas was heart breaking Everything had to go perfect for Kansas and everything had to go wrong for Memphis in order for Kansas to send it to overtime and win. Such a bad beat, I feel so bad for Memphis. They should had won that game.

Memphis Coach John Calipari said that he's still numb from that game and it will hit him like a ton of bricks tomorrow. He'll probably have nightmares about this game for a very long time until he wins one.

NCAA Championship Game tonight Memphis vs Kansas & Samoleus podcast

I joined my brother's NCAA Mens Basketball bracket pool (buy in = $10) with his co-workers. First pays 70%, 2nd pays 20% and 3rd pays 10%. There were a total of 19 people, so if I win I will get $133.

I'm currently in 1st place and have a lock for at least 2nd place because my brother has Kansas winning. If Kansas wins, my brother gets 1st and I get 2nd place. I really do believe Memphis will win because of superior athletic ability (Derek Rose & Chris Douglas-Roberts etc.).

I'm going to post up my March totals soon. It's so ugly that I don't even want to add up the numbers. I want to review it before I post it up. Just not in the mood yet.

Oh yeah, check out this podcast of Samoleus (High stakes cash game player 10/20-25/50 NLHE @ PSTARS). This guy use to post alot at 2plus2 but I think he stopped posting. He plays under punkety at PStars and is a great poker player. I need to listen to this podcast again because he discusses interesting/complex poker topics. Check it out at Pokerroad

Haven't been playing much

I've been studying more than playing because of a sick downswing. I've been reading Professional No Limit HE and The Poker Mindset. I plan to finish both books this month and write a post about it. Maybe we can discuss a few things from both books because I doubt I will understand everything in it.

I've also been watching alot of CR and deuces crack videos. I'm thinking about joining Lego Poker because Ian, Jason, and Dodgy highly recommended it. I already canceled deuces and CR and will probably join Lego in April. I probably need a new perspective and by joining Lego, it will allow me to see how other great players think about poker.

I think I'm keeping a good balance with life and poker. I def think it's healthy to not play so much when running/playing bad. This will be good long term move because I doubt I'll be playing my A game.

I also need to review March again and see what I did wrong. I know I ran bad but I bet there were alot of spots where I could had lost less or won more.

Crazy 2/4 HU NLHE Match

Hand 1)
I bought in for $200 and took a shot. This is the first hand. I knew this guy liked to call preflop and bluff when check to because of data mine/hands I observed.

Hand 2)
Typical style that he would play. He would lead pot and shut down on turn and river with air. I limped BTN because this villain was aggro pre and never really folded.

Hand 3)
Villain leads pot on flop. I call and don't want to play a big pot. All I have is a bluff catcher. Turn is check check. Villain pots river and I call hoping to catch a bluff.

Hand 4)
I limp/call BTN because this guy is so aggro. I'm trying to play small pots. Villain lead pots and I shove. Villain calls and I lose with TPWK vs his overpair 99. I reload and take one final shot. I have a solid read on him but he's just holding the deck over me.

Hand 5)
I defend with 98o. I c/r mini and take a stand with a gutshot str8 and two overs. Villain bet/min 3 bet and I call. I hit my tpgk on the turn and intend to c/r shove but he checks. I check again hoping to induce a river bluff but he checks behind with 2nd pair.

Hand 6)
Hero Call on the River. I'm giving this guy no credit when he checks the flop and turn.

Hand 7)
Another Hero Call. I didn't want to play a big pot when the K high 2 flush flop. K hits turn and it goes check check. I don't think he does this with trips. He pots river and I make the call thinking he's betting the miss flush draw or Jack.

Hand 8)
I limp BTN to keep pot small IP. I 3x raise his flop lead with trips and call his 3 bet. I think I'm ahead when he checks the turn and calls. Ugly river card and I just check because the flush really hit's his flop leading range.

Hand 9)
I open raise BTN pock 6. I call villain pot lead on a AA5 2 flush flop. I don't think he does this with trip Aces. Possibly a flush draw, pair of 5 or random air. Villain checks and I make a reverse blocker bet. River goes check check and Villain wins with his turn pair. Pretty brutal.

Hand 10)
Limp pot. I'm on the BB. I c/r my flop top and bottom two pair. I don't think this guy ever folds his flush draw. Turn bet for value. River bet my FB for value and villain mini r and I shove. Villain had total air and could not call. I'm pretty sure he calls with a turn King.

Hand 11)
I try to stack him with pock 2 on a 998 flop. Dame, he has a Q8o.

Hand 12)
Flop the nuts but lose to the back door flush. This one def put me on tilt because I thought I was going to stack him.

Hand 13)
Preflop:
I open r 910o BTN and call his 3 bet. We're deep so I defend hoping to flop two pair or better and stack him.

Flop:
Villain lead pots on the A76 2 flush flop. I call and hope to catch the 8 or take it away if check to on the turn. Villain could be leading with anything.

Turn:
Once villain checks, I don't think he has an Ace, K or flush because he would bet it. I decide to bluff at it and take it away with a 3/4 pot bet. Villain calls and I'm praying to god he doesn't shove the river.

River:
Once he checks the river, I have no choice but to shove because 10 high is no good. I vowed that if he folded, I would quit this session. My prayers were answered and he folded without hitting time request. Villain said he had pock Q. Thank god he gave me credit for a hand because I hadn't been caught bluffing too much in this session.


This guy was crazy and I couldn't really put him on a hand. Once he started giving me credit toward the end of the session I opened up my game. I would never try to bluff this guy in the beginning in med/big pots because he never folded post flop. I would make standard c bets but wouldn't really double or triple barrel this guy. He couldn't fold draws or a pair. If I had a bigger bankroll, I would play this guy all day.

We played for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. I won $243.40 over 227 hands. This was a very high variance match. I could of easily lost 1-2 bi and hurt my BR. I don't mind my shot but I have to wonder if it is worth the risk? It could put me on perma tilt and make me play my B-C game for the next few thousand hands.

Smart Buddy = Great Table Selection = Easier $

I found a crazy donkey who was sitting at a 2/4 NLHE HU Table. I had him on Smart Buddy and knew he played terribly at the $50 NLHE SH tables. I watched him a bit at the 2/4 NLHE HU table and also looked at all his hand history.

I found that he liked to bet pot on the flop and shut down on the turn and river unless he had a hand. I also knew he liked to bluff the river once in awhile. With that read and railing about 50 hands of his HU match, I took a shot at his table. I was up about $500 on him but dropped about $250 of it back and called it quits. I def think I got an edge on him but I just didn't want to lose my profits. I'll post some of the crazy hands when I wake up. Really tired right now but excited that Smart Buddy has already turned me a profit.

Smart Buddy is Awesome

I just bought Smart Buddy because Kevin (Moniker) recommended it. It's a sick program where it let's you add buddies from various poker sites that you want to play against. This is totally going to make my life easier because I won't have to go searching for them. Smart Buddy will let me know who is online and where they are sitting. All I have to do is click on their tables and get on the waiting list. I went through my PT database and cherry picked tight/loose passive players who I want to play against. I've gotten over 312 players and there is usually around 10-20 buddies on. This is going to be sweet.

I also converted my PT database to PostgreSQL. I had two databases over 500k hands and it took over 6 hours to convert. From what I understand, I'll be able to store way more hands than the Access version. Now I just have to run and play better.

Booked a winning session

Very big confidence booster. Up 2 bi over 500 hands at $50 NLHE SH. I immediately sat out when the tilting player left. I would be quite devastated if I gave it back when I'm currently on a 12 bi downswing.

Another 4500 hands to go and I will reassess if I go back to $100 or not. I'm trying to develop a very solid TAG ABC game where my variance won't be so high and my decisions become easier. I also need to quickly identify who I'm playing against so I can play accordingly pre and post flop. Data mining, playing tight early, and really focusing will help me get a solid read before I start opening up my game and making a few moves pre and post flop.

Running very bad and moving back down to $50 NLHE SH

So far this month I've played 2 sessions over 1852 hands. I'm down over 6 bi and if I include last month, it will be a total of 12 bi str8. I think the 3 bi stop loss is great because I don't get to play while on tilt.

I'm running so bad right now. I've flopped 3 sets and lost them to 2-5 outers on the turn or river. I'm not even slow playing but their floating in position and catching. I've been coolered about 2 times when the table was playing aggro and had to get pock J in twice only to see pock K and pock Q. My TPTK ran into flop quads etc.

I'm going to move back down to $50 NLHE SH for about 5k hands and reassess my game and rebuild confidence. I'm only down about 3 bi over about 10k hands at $100 so I know I can win there if I just run better at showdown.

Group Sweat last night

Ian played 4 tables of $50 PLHE SH at FTP. Brian, Kevin and I sweated and a few interesting hands came up that was discussed afterwards. Ian just stepped up the the $50 level and played a TAG ABC game. Ian picked his spots well and only c betted on great flops. It gave me the opportunity to understand what made a good/bad flop to c bet. I will try to incorporate that into my own game.

Check out our new group blog titled Millennium Poker Group

CR friend "Screenw" and March Goals

I met "Screenw" (Winthrop) by chance while chatting at CR about a year ago. He's finally realized that he wants to be successful at poker after reading Ezmogee's (Ezra) blog post at CR. Ezra basically said that anyone could be successful at poker through hard work because there are so many resources available to help you improve. There are poker books, poker training sites, and friends who like to discuss poker strategy over the internet.

Winthrop has played all the way up to $100 NLHE SH but has dropped down to $10 and $25 NLHE SH for personal reasons. He plans to rebuild at the micro stakes and eventually be back at his regular $100 game. Through hard work, Winthrop will accomplish that goal within 2-3 months.

While sweating Winthrop 2 table $10 NLHE SH @ UB. I realized that I've been playing way too fancy. I've been making plays and hero calls with very few reads. I want to reach a point where I play near perfect and make the correct decisions on every street with the information I currently have. I want to have a well balance game where my bet's get respect from the better players/donks and I'm loose enough where I will get called down lightly.

I saw a lot of things that Winthrop does well that I need to start doing consistently. Give unknowns respect and learn to fold med/strong hands when facing heat post flop. Just explaining why I do the things I do to him made me realize that I don't always play my A game. It would be totally sick if I brought my A game all the time. I would be up an additional 30-50 buy ins lifetime. I guess I'm trying to chase perfection.


March Goals.

1) Play 20k hands

2)Play A game or quit immediately

3)No Hero calls without reads

4)3 buy in stop loss for one day

5)Read Professional No Limit Holdem & The Poker Mindset

6)Attend weekly group sweats

7)Post at least one tricky/tough hand per session at CR

8)Respond to 2 hand history post per day at CR

9)Update Poker blog 2-3 times a week

10)Respond to all relevant blog posts involving strategy/hands

11)Watch 2-4 CR , Trikkur, or Deucescracked videos/week

If I accomplish all these goals, the results will take care of itself and I should be moving up to 1/2 NLHE SH within 2-3 months.

Feb Results

Btimm ptbb/100 Challenge Results:

2.08ptbb/100 over 7377 hands winning $307.

I thought I was going to win this challenge but ran and play very bad between hands 3500-7377. I was up over 9 bi at 3500 hands. I need to readjust my game and pick my spots better. I think I need a stop loss of 3 buy ins because I will tilt off another 2-3 bi easily if I keep playing.

Overall, I"m very satisfied with my results. I'm playing a more loose aggressive game which makes my daily swings higher. I think I will tighten up and try to play a 21/18/3 game. I'm getting into too many marginal spots where I have to make hero calls or bet/fold playing 25/20/2.7 because I"m getting no respect when I bet or check behind flops.

Here are my Feb results.

$50 NLHE SH over 4,517 hands
$269.40 5.96ptbb/100
Running at 25/19/2.83
Flop AF = 3.62 Turn AF = 2.14 River AF=2.42
ATS$=44.61

$100 NLHE SH over 8,234 hands.
$312.40 1.9ptbb/100
Running at 25/20/2.7
Flop AF = 2.42 Turn AF=1.75 River AF = 1.75
ATS$=44.90

Overall Profit = $581.80 over 12,751 hands.

A quick edit.
My PT stats were missing about 1087 hands at $50 NLHE so I'm actually up another $100 bucks. Sweet.

New Overall Profit = $681.80 over 13, 838 hands.

Group Sweat Summary

I played 4 tables of $100 nl he sh @ FTP last night while Brian, Kevin, and Ian sweated. All 3 guys gave me new ideas that I will try to implement into my game. Ian and Kevin highly recommended Professional No Limit Holdem and The Poker Mindset for all of us to read. I already ordered The Poker Mindset at FTP and will go buy Professional No Limit HE at Borders.

Here are 5 interesting hands that came up and was discussed afterwards.

Hand 1.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($117.95)
UTG+1		($217.05)
CO		($89.75)
BTN		($99.60)
SB		($30.20)
Hero		($100.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is BB

1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $3.5, CO calls $3.5, 2 folds, Hero raises to $17, UTG+1 folds, CO calls $13.5

This was my first hand and I had data mined stats on UTG +1 (23/20/5 over 800 hands) and CO (47/7/0.7 over 75 hands). I just sat down at the table and I squeezed to $17 guessing that UTG +1 was a solid player who would give a unknown respect.

UTG+1 looked very weak CC behind on the CO. I also wanted to get a loose aggressive image early on so that I can get paid off when I picked up a hand.

UTG+1 folds and CO Calls. I don't know what CO has but it's seems pretty wide and weak.


Flop: ($38, 2 players)
Hero bets $24, 1 fold

I c bet about 2/3 pot and hope to take it down. I plan to bet/fold or if called. Possibly double barrel a high card J,K,A, spade on the turn or shut down if the turn is a blank.

Final Pot: $38

Hero wins $60.1 ( won +$19.1 )
UTG+1 lost -$3.50
CO lost -$17.00

Hand 1 Discussion.
The Group didn't like this play because the original raiser could be very strong because his opening range UTG+1 is small. My hand could easily be dominated by AQ or AK. If a A or J high flop hits and I get played back it, I could be drawing to 3 outs or worst OOP.

They feel that it is better to just call or fold and play it safely. They would prefer if the original raiser was on the Co/BTN in order for me to 3 bet out of the BB.

In hindsight, 3 betting the CO/BTN is much better because Villain's range will be much wider there than UTG+1.

Hand 2.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($156.55)
UTG+1		($102.70)
CO		($238.35)
BTN		($101.15)
Hero		($99.00)
BB		($49.05)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is SB

3 folds, BTN raises to $3.5, Hero calls $3, 1 fold

BTN (22/17/4.4 over 500 hands) open raises to $3.5 and I decide to set mine. BB folds and we're heads up. I was playing str8 forward OOP at this table, probably running 19/16/7 over 45 hands or so.

Flop: ($8, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $5, Hero raises to $13.5, BTN folds

I check and he insta $5 bet. My instinct told me he was weak because if he had a hand he would of thought about his bet. I decided to c/r to $13.5 and villain folded.

Final Pot: $18

Hero wins $25.6 ( won +$8.6 )
BTN lost -$8.50

Hand 2 Discussion.
The group thought that I should had 3 bet the BTN and take it down preflop. BTN would not have a hand enough of the time for me to get paid off if I hit my set. BTN attempt to steal was around 30%.

In hindsight, I should def 3 bet this and continue with a c bet if called. They also thought the c/r was bad because that hit's his range better than mine. I can only rep 910, pock 2, and JQ. BTN could have Pock J, Pock Q, AQ, AJ, overpair or a random bluff. BTN could also float and see what I do on the turn and take it if I showed weakness by checking.


Hand 3.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

Hero		($104.00)
UTG+1		($170.20)
CO		($100.00)
BTN		($77.20)
SB		($100.00)
BB		($18.30)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is UTG

Hero raises to $3.5, 3 folds, SB calls $3, 1 fold

Standard open r with AKd UTG. Folded around to SB (22/17/4.4 over 500 hands) who calls and BB folds. Pot is HU.

SB is the same villain in hand 2, however this was on a different table. This hand occured 8 minutes after I had c/r with pock 8 vs him to take down the pot. I did not factor that in into this hand though. In his eyes, I'm a little on the loose aggressive side running around 22/20/17 over about 45 hands or so.

Flop: ($8, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

I was 50/50 on whether I should bet this. I decided to make a delayed c bet and see what he would do on the turn.

Turn: ($8, 2 players)
SB bets $8, Hero calls $8

SB leads pot and I call because I look very weak when I check the flop. I also hit tptk and have showdown value.

River: ($24, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Ugly card because the 4 flush hit the river. I thought about turning my hand into a bluff because I didn't want to see him luck sack into a small flush and felt I could get him off of it.

The group strongly recommended I not bluff this because I had showdown value, so I went against my instinct and checked it down.
Final Pot: $24
SB shows:
Hero shows:

SB wins $22.8 ( won +$11.3 )
Hero lost -$11.50

Hand 3 Discussion.
The group thought I should had c bet the flop and turn my hand into a bluff. It's more credible because I will be betting a naked Ac all day there. Once I check, my hand looks very weak. I had to call the turn pot lead because I had induce a bet by checking the flop. Once the 4 flush hit, the group thought that he could be intending to c/c with a weaker flush or be on a total bluff.

The group didn't see any real value in turning my hand into a bluff because nothing I beat would ever call and I had showdown value.

In hindsight, I misplayed the hand on the flop. I need to bet this and rep the Ac and shutdown if called or fold if raised. I also went against my instinct but oh well. I'm experimenting with new lines and mistakes are to be expected.


Hand 4.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($48.95)
Hero		($163.15)
CO		($121.60)
BTN		($124.70)
SB		($135.05)
BB		($38.70)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is UTG+1

1 fold, Hero raises to $3.5, 3 folds, BB raises to $8, Hero calls $4.5

Standard open raise with pock 9 UTG+1. Folded to BB (41/11/0.7 over 150 hands) who raises very small to $8 with a $38.70 stack. The small raise screamed monster. However, I'm calling such a small raise and want to see a flop. I intend to fold if he bets 2/3 or 3/4 pot or so on a high card flop.

Flop: ($16.5, 2 players)
BB goes all-in $30.7, Hero calls $30.7

BB shoves and my instinct tells me he doesn't have a big hand. Why would he shove with a hand? I had a little history with BB.

Just 10 minutes ago at this table he limp/call my BTN raise to $5.50. SB called and he called. 3 way. I'm holding AQo.

Flop: 2h 3s Jd (pot = $18.50) I was going to bet $13.5 but timed out by accident.

Turn: Ah (pot = $18.50) It is check back to me and I bet $13.50. SB folds and he calls.

River: As (pot = $45.50) He checks and I value bet $29.50 and expect to get called by a Jack or mid pair. He c/c and shows up with A8d for river trips. wow, no raise? I win with trip Aces with the Q kicker.

Basically, this guy is very loose passive. He doesn't bet his big hands. Therefore, when he shoved the flop. I thought, no way this guy has a hand. He doesn't bet them so I called. I was wrong but I rivered my set on the river.

Turn: ($77.9, 2 players)

River: ($77.9, 2 players)

Final Pot: $77.90
BB shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $74.9 ( won +$36.2 )
BB lost -$38.70

Hand 4 Discussion.
The group thought that I should had shoved or folded pre flop. The flop could bring too many overs and scare me into a fold if he c bets.

In hindsight, a call is very bad here because he's betting any flop. I should def fold or shove pre flop.

Hand 5.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($230.85)
CO		($40.00)
Hero		($100.00)
SB		($105.50)
BB		($100.00)

[CO posted $1]
Pre-flop: ($2.5, 5 players) Hero is BTN

1 fold, CO checks, Hero raises to $4.5, SB raises to $17.5, 1 fold, CO folds, Hero goes all-in $100, SB folds

CO posts and I raise it up to $4.5 with pock A on the BTN. SB (17/14/3.4 over 1k hands) 3 bets to $17.50 and I shove. SB tanks it and folds.

I wasn't thinking str8 on this hand. The Last Hand affected my play on this hand. I thought SB might of thought I was tilted and call my shove much lighter than usual. SB was very TAG so I thought he was 3 betting me with a big hand and would never fold to my shove. I was wrong and he folded to my shove.

I was running 22/20/17 over 100 hands at this table.

Final Pot: $37

Hero wins $119.5 ( won +$19.5 )
CO lost -$1.00
SB lost -$17.50

Hand 5 Discussion.
The group didn't like my BTN shove when a TAG 3 betted me on the SB. They felt that a call would be better and allow him to hang himself on the flop if he was 3 betting me light because my attempt to steal was around 50% on the CO/BTN.

In hindsight, a call is better than a shove. The pot would had been around $36 and SB would had c betted $25 or more. I could shove and he would basically call with most of his SB c betting range when he only had $50-60 left in his stack.


Conclusion:
Overall, I played alright and made a bi over 381 hands. I made a few mistakes by not getting max value on pock A hand and making one bad read with pock 9. Please leave a comment/question if you happen to read my analysis. My poker group and I would appreciate it. Gl at the tables.

To Brian, Kevin, and Ian. If I misinterpreted what you said in discussion, please clear it up with a comment or two. tks.