Yet Another Reincarnation

With this blog, I just never seem to be able to have any persistence. I start it up, get a grand idea, do it for a while, and then promptly quit. I know the reason why this past March, though: school just got to be too much. In all reality, I probably played too much poker this last semester. It took away from my studies. But, I managed to get through it all, GPA unscathed. This summer I had a few job prospects (including one in Montana working for the Democratic Party there), but it may be best for me to just sit around and play poker.

I have no grand illusions about my poker career. I know I'm not the greatest player. I know I'm far too emotional of a player to ever really reach high limits. I know that sometimes, I can just play like an utter moron. But, I'm a competitive person and I love cards. I want to fix every leak I find in my game and work to uncover those leaks that I don't even know about. That is what is really driving my poker game now. It's not some pursuit of hundreds of thousands of dollars or a WSOP bracelet (although, either of those things would be nice). It's just a personal drive to be better at something I enjoy.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to make it out to the WSOP this year, which I had planned on. For quite a few months, myself and a friend from high school had basically "shared" a bankroll online, splitting everything right down the middle. He's a better player than I am in many ways and has had a little bit more success. Unfortunately, that broke down last month during the middle of what could be mildly be called my "down swing." He was making money, I was losing it just as fast. So, we decided to call it off. All told, my personal bankroll has taken quit a hit from the last month and also the purchase of a new laptop, which I wouldn't trade for the 1.5k it took to get it.

So, it's time for me to get back to the grind. When I first started this blog, way back nearly a year ago, I was playing PLO8 at Bodog. So, I've decided to go back there. I need to have fun with the game again. And, I have been having a great time there. My tournament and cash game results have -always- been better with O8 and for some reason, I just never really put all that much effort into it. That will all change now. I'm going to invest in every book on the game I can in an attempt to sharpen it. I will update those of you who care (or are very bored) on my progress.

At this point, I'm playing 25-/50-max PLO8 at Bodog. I've played 823 hands and shown a profit of $171. 77. I really love that game.

1/2

Well, earlier this week I nearly had a mental breakdown over a research paper that was due on Wednesday. I've never freaked out like that in my life. Add to that the fact that I got beat for $150 playing 2/4 O8, which I thought was my best game. So, I decided to cash out my winnings at Full Tilt, which amounted to a tripling of my initial deposit of $250.

And then I finished my research paper and got bored. Real bored. So, in my infinite wisdom, I deposited $600 into PartyPoker to play 1/2 hold'em and O8. It's been an absolute roller coaster. I've been way down and even for most of the time. Today, I finally had my break-through. Here goes:

2/4 Limit O8:
I played for 30 minutes and won 20.5 BBs. I really misplayed a hand in which I could have gotten more money. Crazy villian is on my left.

5-handed 2/4 O8

Hero is in BB with 3c Ah 5c 4s
Villian raises, MP cold-calls, 2 folds, Hero 3-bets, Villian caps, MP cold-calls, Hero calls.
- I usually don't 3-bet this hand, but I was feeling frisky and wanted to get as many bets into the hand as I could against Villian.

Flop: 5s Ac 3s
Hero bets, Villian raises, MP folds, Hero calls.
- Well, at least the flop hit me. I've got 3-pair, but no low. Villian is crazy, but he could have 2-4 or AA; either way, I'm screwed.

Turn: 5h
Hero checks, Villian bets, Hero calls.
- Should have raised right here.

River: 4d
Hero checks, Villian checks. Villian shows: 3h Th As Js (two pair, Aces and five; no low). Hero wins 10 BB pot.

Now that I look at the hand, I'm not happy with it at all. Silly me.

1/2 Hold'em:
I played 2 tables for roughly 3 hours today and took down 90 BBs, or $180. In 333 hands, I was dealt AA 4-times. One of the those times, I flopped top set, turned the boat, and got re-raised throughout the hand. In other words, I didn't have to work very much.

I've been real frustrated with my 1/2 game lately. I just couldn't win, for some odd reason. The play is not at all different from the .50/1 game I've played so much of. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I've looked over some different stats and just decided I was playing way too loosely. After tightening up today, I was able to score huge (with the aid of good cards). Although I'm approaching 300 BBs for 2/4, I don't think I'll move up. I need to prove to myself that I can consistently win at 1/2 before I do. I only have 2k hands logged in at 1/2, so I have to play for many, many more hours.

I also played a $22 shoot-out and was the bubble -boy in the first round, when my 8-8 when down to A-10. I never win big coinflips, I've decided. Overall, a great day though.

So, That's What It Feels Like

To run badly. Last night, I just got completely annihilated at the hold'em tables. 1/2 limit, .25/.5 6-max NL, it didn't matter. Sick beat after sick beat.

All told, I was down an unreal $177.90 in hold'em cash games. Here is a representative hand of last night. It's not really that -sick- of a beat, but frustrating nonetheless.

.25-.5 NL, 6-handed

Hero: $49.15; Villian: $20.40

Hero is dealt 5s-4s on the Button.
2 folds, Villian limps, Hero limps, SB folds, BB min-raises, all call.

Flop: Kd-4d-5c
BB bets $1, Villian raises to $3, Hero raises to $8, BB folds, Villian takes forever and calls...

Turn: 7h
Villian checks, Hero puts him all-in, Villian takes forever and calls

Villian shows: Ks-8h

River: Kc

Luckily, I had a real strong day playing O8. I played 2/4 limit and $100-max PLO8 and finished the day up $180. When you add on some bonus released, I made a grand total of $27 on the day.

I like pokah

I played three distinct sessions yesterday. Let's see how they went.

12:00 p - 3:00p: $50-max 6-handed NL Hold'em (2 tables)
Total Hands: 408
Amount Won: $128.10
BB/100: 31.40

I was actually pretty much on a card-rush for most of the three hours. For instance, I got QQ 6 times for a net profit of $60.90. I also won a huge pot with 2-2, as I flopped a set against a maniac who runner-runner boat'ed me three hands previous. That felt good. Anyways, things were going my way this session. I was getting cards and they were holding.

6:00 p - 8:00 p: 1/2 Limit Hold'em (3 tables)
Total Hands: 331
Amount Won: $21.25
BB/100: 3.21

Completely up and down session. Biggest pot came when I completely misplayed 9-9 UTG preflop. Somehow, it managed to get capped 4-ways and we all saw a 9-high flop. Bingo. 20 BBs, right there. I actually took some massive hits as well. I need to get better about folding high PPs when I know I'm beat. Such a terrible, and weak, leak. Didn't help that some guy called 3-cold to him with 10-8 offsuit against my AA and another guy's KK. Flop: 9-J-Q. Game over.

After 12:00a: 1/2 Limit Hold'em, $50-max NL (2 tables)
Total Hands: 392
Amount Won: $44.75 (NL: $39; Limit: $5.75)
BB/100: 10.68 (NL: 25.16; Limit: 1.21)

I usually only had one table going at a time during this time. I was getting tired and having some fun. I won a $70 pot on a total gift. HU, I turned the nut flush, checked behind. River was irrelevant, and guy checked to me. I bet half the pot and he promptly pushed. I called and he showed bottom pair. Whoops. I was extremely up and down in the limit game and happy that I even came away with any profit.

I blew $56 on various satellites into both the 30k guaranteed and 200k guaranteed. I should have won a $15 SNG into the 30k, but had a lower pp hit a set on me. I also spent $5.50 in a PLO8 tournament, where I busted 26th.

I played 40 minutes of 2/4 limit O8 and won $40. Also played 30 minutes of 1/2 limit O8 and won $12.55. I cleared $24 in bonus and also received $25 in rakeback.

Total Hands : 1,131 (hold'em cash games only)
Total Won: +$234.15

Back to the Basics

It's been a little while since I posted here. I figure I may as well update, just in case the few stragglers from FCP come here looking for a little read.

Basically, my quest for the O8 WSOP event is shot. It was a great idea, but I didn't even conceive of how little time I would have this semester in school. Add to that the fact that my parents, seeing my success in online poker, have decided that I can take care of my random expenditures myself. So, I had to cash out most of my bankroll to pay for books, dues, and the like. Needless to say, I wasn't too pleased with that.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to deposit $75 into FCP to play in the Neg-O. I busted in 16th (damn you for only paying 10 spots) and then had some fun playing $25-max NL. Oh my gosh. Some of the most horrific plays I've ever seen. Here is a pretty good hand:

Hero in CO: As-8s

3 limps, Hero limps, Button raises to $1, all limpers call.

Flop: Qh-Qs-Qd
All check...

Turn: 5c
All check...

River: Qc
One limper bets $2, all fold to me, Hero raises to $5, Button raises to $10, limper folds, Hero calls.

Button shows: 5d-5h.

Needless to say, I made some money playing in that game. I cashed out with $175. I then took a poker trip to Caesar's Indiana, which is about 4 hours away from here at school. It was well, well worth the trip. Even though I only came back with a +$70 showing for 13 hours of play, I was incredibly happy with my play.

After depositing $250 into FullTilt, I've gone on a pretty sick run. Positive variance just all over the place. I'm winning hands I should, getting people to bluff off their entire stacks, and even sucking out on some people. I forgot what it felt like to really play well and win. Now, I'm hooked yet again. You can find me playing the $25-max or $50-max 6-handed tables at FTP. I'm also usually playing at least one table of O8. Well, I really must start getting some school work done. Have a good day.

Paradise Lost But Still Partying

Unfortunately for me, I've come down with a serious case of the flu. I really don't even feel like moving or even thinking at this point. However, that did not keep me from playing poker through my sickness. Yeah, I'm a pretty sick gambler. Literally.

I managed to finish my Paradise PSO promotion last night. I 3/4-tabled for several hours and by the end of it, I was just spewing chips around in an attempt to get as many hands raked as possible. I'm sort of upset at myself for doing so, but I -really- wanted to be done with Paradise Poker. The players are a mixed bag, but I could definitely see how one could make a lot of money there. Overall, I finished up a massive 3 BBs over a few thousand hands. Add to that the bonus, and I earned $53 for my time at Paradise -- and, of course, my $200 Nevada Jacks chip set! I'll be happy to get back to playing some O8 however.

In that vain, I played about 45 minutes of limit O8 on Party. I decided to play the full-ring .5/1 tables and found them to be extremely juicy. I managed to go up 27 BBs in 45 minutes. I'm probably going to be moving more money there so I can play some 2/4 O8 there. Either that, or I'm going to try and complete more PSO promotions on sites I've never played at before. We'll see how it goes.

Party: + $54.85
UB/Paradise: + $ 53.80
Tournament: + $ 240.00
Total: $ + 348.65

Left to go: ($1851.35)

4-Tabling Paradise

Tonight, I decided to 4-table .5/1 LHE at Paradise to clear as much of the PSO promotion as possible. I set my goal at 4 hours worth of play. I started out with $25 at every table and went on my way. At the end of 3 hours, my eyes and brain were absolutely killing me. I can usually play for 6+ hours when I'm single/two tabling, but I've never tried to play 4-tables for so long. Plus, my allergies were acting up. Gotta love it when it gets above freezing in Ohio in January.

My experiment worked out beautifully though. I managed to log in about 775 hands among the 4-tables in 3 hours. Overall, I ended up 60 BBs. At to that the bonus that cleared, and I ended the session up $100. Hands were holding up and I played very, very TAGy. Needless to say, I was happy with the results of almost 8BBs/100 or an average of 5 BBs/hr at every table. I'm exactly half way done with the PSO promotion, so I figure one or two more days, and I'll be done with the Paradise promotion.

Unforunately, I have not been able to play much Omaha H/L. Between relatives coming here, a recent death in the family, seeing old friends and the Protege business, I just haven't had a lot of time to put into it. I've decided that bonus-whoring is definitely an option I want to take advantage of. Thus, you may see me around a whole lot of different sites in the coming months.

Party: + $27.60
UB/Paradise: + $126.25
Tournament: + $240.00
Total: + $393.85

Left to go: ($1806.15)

Protege Success

Even though I'm attempting this O8 project, I'm also still playing hold'em ring games/tournaments on FCP these days. On Wednesday, I noticed that there was a MTT going on for Seat 5 in DN's Protege contest. It cost $5+.5 and the winner received an entry into a $50 satellite tournament. 11 players signed up. When it got down to 5-handed, I had exactly my starting amount -- 1500 chips. I proceeded to go on an unbelievable card-rush. I had AA and KK in the BB and was able to get all my money in preflop to double up twice. I took more small pots, and before I knew it, I was up around 8k in chips 3-handed. I pushed preflop again with AK v a shorter stack's JJ, but I lost that coinflip. Later, I got all my money in with 10-10 against K-K, and completely lucked out when I had a 10 on the flop. I cruised to the victory.

That win qualified me for the $50 satellite into a $300 tournament which paid out cash like a normal MTT and the winner received a seat for a tournament in March with only the winners of the weekly $300 tournaments. In this $50 sat, only 5 people signed up. One of them was a complete and utter maniac. He went all-in preflop with 7-2 suited (with blinds at 10/20), was called by A-Q, and managed to hit a straight. He knocked out everybody else at the table, and we went to heads-up play with him having a 4-1 chip lead. I decided to just sit and wait, since the blinds (25/50) didn't hurt my stack all that much. I doubled up once when my Q-7 suited went all-in against his 4-4 on a Q high flop. Then, the hand of my month: I had KK in the BB. He raised (like he did every hand) 4x the BB. I decided to just push because I figured he would call with any two cards (seriously, this guy was an utter maniac). Sure enough, he called for over half his stack with..8-7 off. Flop: 10-8-6. Turn: 8. I threw my hands up in disgust. River: K. So, I spiked my two-outer and gave myself a huge chip lead. The next hand, I got QJ suited, and he open-pushed with A-10. I called and made quad jacks.

The $300 tournament was yesterday at 5:00. I have never, ever played in a tournament with such a huge buy-in. Honestly, I was pretty nervous. I wanted to qualify for the March tournament, because being DN's protege would just be an amazing experience. With about an hour left to tournament time, there was only 3 people signed up. I was pumped. Then, 5 more people signed up over the last hour. We started 8-handed with extra large stacks of 2500 chips. My down-fall began with blinds at 75/150 (now 6-handed) when I had KQ suited from the SB. A player, Vatche, opened in the CO for a 3.5x BB raise. He did this nearly every orbit, but I decided to just smooth call and look at the flop. The flop was J-x-A. I checked, and he checked behind me. The turn was a brick, and I took a shot at the pot, betting about 3/4ths of it, committing a lot of my stack. Vatche called, and I was finished with the hand. The river blanked and I check/folded. I had lost half my stack on a bluff. I wasn't happy. The next hand, I got AK. UTG, another short stack, opened for 4x the BB. I pushed all-in, he called with JJ and the J-5-5 flop finished me.

I had 80 chips left. And then...the unbelivable happened again. I quadrupled up with 8-7 suited on the next hand. Then, I managed to win 4 straight coinflips to double up each time. When we were 4-handed, I was exactly tied with two other players for second place. When one of the other short stacks (Vatche again) raised preflop for half of our stacks, I pushed with 3-3. He called with K-7 suited, and I made quad 3s. Somehow, I had cashed. I busted out in 3rd, good for $480. Not a bad investment from my $5.50.

I also moved my money from UB to Paradise Poker. I did this because I'm completing a PokerSourceOnline promotion to get a set of the Nevada Jacks' chips. I've wanted these things for a while, so I decided to finally do it. I'm moving exactly half of my FCP money into my "O8" fund, so that is quite a nice boost.

Party: + $27.60
UB/Paradise: + $26.25
Tournament: + $240
Total: + $293.85

Left to go: ($1906.15)