Monday, March 28, 2005

From a couple days ago..

I went on to win this one.. much to thier dismay...

###############################################
Stage #99921394: Holdem Single Tournament No Limit $300 [2005-03-26 08:14:34]
Seat 4 - SLAYRE $2570 in chips
Seat 6 - LAWOOD $5230 in chips
Seat 7 - JEFF1961 $5700 in chips
*** BLIND [dealer 6] ***
JEFF1961 - Post small blind $300
SLAYRE - Post big blind $600
SLAYRE - Pocket [9s,3s]
LAWOOD - Folds
JEFF1961 - Calls $300
SLAYRE - Checks
*** FLOP [9d,9c,9h] ***
JEFF1961 - Bets $600
SLAYRE - Calls $600
*** TURN [9d,9c,9h,5s] ***
JEFF1961 - Bets $600
SLAYRE - Calls $600
*** RIVER [9d,9c,9h,5s,6c] ***
JEFF1961 - Bets $600
SLAYRE - All-In(Raise) $600 to $770
JEFF1961 - Calls $170
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SLAYRE - Show cards [9s,3s]
JEFF1961 - Show cards [5h,Qc]
*** RESULT ***
Total Pot($5140)
Board [9d,9c,9h,5s,6c]
SLAYRE - Total ($5140) All-In HI:($5140)Four of a kind, nines [9s,3s - P:9s,B:9h,B:9d,B:9c,B:6c]
LAWOOD - Folded on the POCKET CARDS
JEFF1961 - HI:Full house, nines full of fives [5h,Qc - B:9h,B:9d,B:9c,B:5s,P:5h

Still have not got a str8 flush nor royal flush yet....

Watched Sklansky(sp) get pocket aces 5 times on Poker Stars II last night... that was pretty amazing... I believe that session the rockets showed up 7 times......

They replayed or have been replaying Bad Boys of Poker tourney... the one where the sweepstakes winner made 3rd place... the one where Gus Hanson called Antonio's pair of 7's with 10 8 suited..... everyone thought that he was crazy.... but, I got to thinking... Antonio took so long to consider his move, after Gus's re raise, Gus prolly figured him for a mid to low pair..... putting him with 1 or maybe 2 overs, plus a possible str8 and possible flush... and he would still have chips if he lost.... Or, he is just crazy....

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Punch me in the stomach

.. that would feel bettre than going out 265th in the Pacific Poker 1mil Blitz tourney... when 250 places pay..... JJ, made a move cuz short stack.. time was way agaisnt me, blinds and all... ran right into AA... ugh..... I took notes thru most of the tourney, but, unconciously, me thinks posting them was contingent upon winning some money.... 265th outta 1619 people... good? I don't know, going out at 1500 might have hurt alot less... oh, 4 hours of play..... maybe Ill post the notes latre this week...

I up to 22 bucks on Absolute, you know, that sight I love so much... and I am also up on UB, no longer playing with scared money there.... might be playing stupid and getting lucky, but, no longer timid..... prolly cuz the Pacific thing is over....

Weather here got chilly.... I bet April is not entirely happy about that... rain, wind, cold.... brrrrr....

Current in a MTT on UB, bettre get back to that...

Friday, March 25, 2005

Omaha 8 Hi/Lo

Im in the middle of a Omaha 8 Hi/Lo freeroll on Noble right now.. set up by Scurvydog, from Sound of a Suckout.., thanks S-Dog... anyway, I have no clue what I am doing but am some how in the top ten and i can prolly fold my way to the money... maybe... heh.. lots of fun...


currently 16 players left, im number 6... top 10 pay.....

now im 3rd with 15 left..

8th with 14 left... did a boo boo..

looks grim now

5th w/10 left I made the money!!!! woo hoo...

we on break now... im in 6th... with 7 of us left... 10,9,8,7 pay $1.25 6th is $2.50 and then it goes up from there.. $15.00 for first....

** This is my first Omaha tourney that I actually stayed thru.. usually on Absolute, when I accidently get signed up for one, I only last for 2 or 3 hands before I get confused.. Im sure I won't win this one... but outta 97 people, to make final table... I feel pretty good about it.... course, prolly half those people weren't even there... i.e., sit out's for the whole tourney.. blinded down.... but you know what, that's not my fault.... ok, break almost over.... gotta concentrate, try for 5th... that pays..$3.75... :)

well, i finished in 7th..... if I knew what I figured out by the final table, i prolly would of finished in 4th or 5th... heh...

breaking even

I was off work today... yesterday.. on Absolute, at about 4pm, when I got home from work, I had $9.05 in my account.. and I proceeded to play $2+.20 SNG's... by the end of my session, I was at $13.55.. maybe 8 tourneys... went to bed, woke up at some odd hour... played some more SNG's, and by 10 am, was at $9.05. Did some laundry, watched some t.v, then started playing again, couple hours ago.. played about 10 SNG's... right now, I have $9.05 in my Absolute account..... lots of learning for very lil cost.... that is how I choose to look at it..

In the meantime, I went ahead and started a ring game on UB, played about 30 minutes... was 6 dollars up, so quit.... Im still scared money on UB.. not sure why...... its frustrating tho...

Ah well.. big tourny on Pacific tomorrow... Omaha freeroll on noble tonight... time for another nap.... prolly should not have opened this Big Red.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Live Tourneys

Played in a couple live tourneys last night... it had been awhile since I had ventured away from my computer to play poker... I had gotten to miss the feel of the felt, the sound of the chips, and the cards in my hands... I didn't go expecting to win, or even do well.. just to stay long enuff to get my fix of live action....

One thing that I noticed, almost immediately it seemed.. was how easy it was to read the other players... perhaps not read them, but associate them with the various different types of players....

At the first tourney.. every one of the other 6 players were loose/stupid/lucky.... I'm not sure if that is an actual named type of player, if not, well, then I'll coin it.... time after time, they would call bottom pair to the river... raise with Ax preflop, fold when they can check, call with a straight with 4 to a flush on the board... during all this, most of this, I was never in a hand... opting to fold my meager hands and just watch... knowing I would survive long enuff so that when the blinds got to be a factor, I could easily make my way to the final table...... this is where the '/lucky' comes in...

I won a couple pots early, with the only couple good hands I had... so, I was one of the chip leaders.... in the SB, BB is shortstack, and she goes all in, everyone folds, I look at AK suited... call with half my stack.... she flips 84o and gets two 8's on the flop..... so be it... few hands latre, I get AKs again, dude before me raises the BB to 400, I make it 1000 to play, and he goes all in... I fold this time... he had JJ...... who knows... now i am the short stack, get K9s, first to act, I go all in, get called by this lady who was getting remarkably lucky, hitting few outters on the river to take huge pots..... calling me was only a third of her stack... she flips AA... to kick me while I am down, flop is AAK..... go figure..

So, I went to another location, and did the same thing... just sorta folded and watched......this time, only 1 player really knew what and how to play... poor fellow, he got his Q's cracked by a dude chasing a straight, then got KK beat by same guy chasing an 8 for a set... was horrible.... and the chaser comments, 'you can't mess with me, I'm a pro'.. yeah.. well, ok......... then a lil latre, an argument of sorts ensued when a guy wouldn't show his cards after winning a pot... he said that no one paid to see his cards.. in actuality, the chaser had paid, and checked on the river, to which the winner also checked.. chased dumped his cards after winner showed him his, and only showed him... we asked, what did you have, and he didn't want to show.. it really was not a big deal, until he told me, 'shut up, I'm beating you'.. Hmm, ok, well, you have more chips than I do, but, I haven't been playing... but, now I am.... So, I just raised every single time he was in the pot, and when everyone folded and he called, I would just go all in.... soon, I had all his chips, plus the chasers... and he was just watching...... I never did shut up... They also thought I was strange due to the following hand....

player 1 has 10 10
player 2 has A 6

p1 raises pf from 200 to 500.
p2 calls

flop is J J J

p1 bets 500
p2 calls

turn is J J J (10)

p1 bets 500
p2 calls

river is J J J 10 (A)

p1 checks
p2 is all in with about 480


p1 goes to tank, then he folds. shows his cards.. gets berated for folding with so much committed to the pot....never fold when your pot committed.. you dummmy... oh my god, i would have won that pot... all kinds of mean things..... I, when the din hushed, simply said, Good Lay Down.. saved yourself 500 chips... then they got on to me about how wrong I was.... I countered with.. his mistake was not when he folded, his mistake was not going all in on the turn. to which the winner, P2, stated, I would not have called in all in on the flop, but I would have seriously thought about calling on the turn...

I went out in third place, at my table... ( top two went to final ), with 10 8 offsuit... heh, lot and battling back and forth between the 3 of us.. blinds at 800 and 1600, and we had about the same in chips pretty much.... I went all in on the button......SB folded.... about 7200 in the pot, 3500 more for BB to call... he tanks for a very long time, and finally calls... shit.... flipped A3s...... I never improved... said he had to call due to pot odds... this confused me, cuz, I bet all in to take away pot odds, I thought...... he was getting 2 to 1, right.. is that not, not good pot odds.... ? Don't you want to call 3500 into a 21k pot...? Isn't that bettre pot odds? Pay 1 to get 7, bettre than pay 1 to get 2, right???? Anyway, he was the other 'good' player... and while we were playing, he was telling me how his gf made him a nice poker table top, and i said, heck, have a cash game, invite me too... he said no no no... the idea is to invite those that aren't any good.... i stopped.... asked him, did you just compliment me? He said yes, that i was the only one he was worried about at the table the whole time.... cool... my first live play compliment.. I'm moving up in the world... :)

Pokerroom Bonus

PokerRoom

Have you tried PokerRoom yet? They really aren't too bad.. this is the site that I was able to make back most of my early losses back... they also have casino games, like video poker, roulette and such...

They have a 40% bonus right now, hold on, let me get the info....

'We will have a 40 % up to $200 First Deposit Bonus-offer for all new sign
ups between Tuesday March 22 until midnight March 30 (EST). New customers
who deposits between that period will also receive ticket to "Shark-Cage"-tournament.'

So go on and give it a try out, if you haven't put in any money yet, please use that link at the start of this post....

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Quick Post

Played a lil Limit Holdem last night... nothing fancy... ended up 1.5 up from my buyin... got really good cards... and I do mean, really good cards... AA three times, KK once, JJ a couple times.. and if I didn't start out good, the flop would hit me dead on, if I had stayed in.... a really swell run of cards..... amazing, some might say.. all this in less than an hour..... problem was.... I was playing .01/.02. Sigh.

Was yet again in a I really don't feel like playing mood... went to Absolute and decided to burn off the extra change, before I cashed out there... extra change happened to be $1. 55 minutes latre, I had $2.45 extra change... ofcourse, I heard the 'voice'... it explained how I was wasting time at these low limit tables and with these kind of cards I am getting.. I should move up to higher limits...

I ignored the voice, logged off and went to bed....

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Breaking News

This just in, our modest poker quester, John, AKA, Slayre.. has recently broke $200 on UB... as all the world is aware, this was one of his recent short term goals....

Slayre had this to say on the matter:

'Well, I really was not all that much in the mood to play.. but, I was experimenting with some small change, on, 'another poker site', playing very low limit holdem... and I discovered that being selectively aggressive, is profoundly more profitable than being timid all the time... so, I decided to take my discovery to UB, try one SNG, a $10 buy in, and see how things went.... and they went well.. I ended up busting out on the bubble....but, I was very very pleased with my play... so, I bought into two more $10 SNG's, and ended up winning both of those, first place,
each one... $80 profit.... '

Mr. Slayre also found $50 in is Absolute account, and we believe this is the 'other poker site' he referred to, altho, there has been no confirmation... this brings his grand total to $340....

we here at Poker News Network would like to congratulate Mr. Slayre on the successful achievment he has accomplished today.. and here is to reaching more short term goals....

I get silly when I am excited.

Weekend Poker

Ultimate bet.. I felt froggy.. I convinced myself to set my stop/loss at 50 bucks... question was, SNG's or Ring..... I played 5 $10+1 SNG's... results...

3 4th place
1 3rd place
1 2nd place

Total cost.. $55.00
Total return $50.00

Basically, except for the entry fee, I broke even... some would say, not too bad for 4 hours.... could have been worse.. I say, it sucked.. it could have been bettre... two of the 4th place finishes..my all powerful AA getting cracked my first JJ, then by Q10..... tomorrow morning, I think I will try two tabling $25NL..... see if that fairs bettre....

*******************
This next bit of weekend journaling will be short, as I am moocho miffed at myself... it is an example, recorded live, of how stupid I am when it comes to playing poker.. I give you, exihibit #1 and exhibit #2, two consecutive hands:


Hand #4938842-3461 at Dusseldorf (No Limit Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 19/Mar/05 12:55:21

Buttas is at seat 1 with $9.
janus019 is at seat 2 with $24.59.
KADESMOMMIE6 is at seat 3 with $6.55.
mtoutlaw is at seat 4 with $19.50.
figarocleo is at seat 5 with $57.30.
RHH is at seat 6 with $36.50.
THIZpokerKID is at seat 7 with $34.67 (sitting out).
Slayre is at seat 8 with $24.40.
Billehthekid is at seat 9 with $23.65.
The button is at seat 7.

Slayre posts the small blind of $.25.
Billehthekid posts the big blind of $.50.

Buttas: -- --
janus019: -- --
KADESMOMMIE6: -- --
mtoutlaw: -- --
figarocleo: -- --
RHH: -- --
Slayre: 6d 6c
Billehthekid: -- --

Pre-flop:

Buttas folds. janus019 folds. KADESMOMMIE6 folds.
mtoutlaw folds. figarocleo calls. RHH folds.
Slayre calls. Billehthekid checks.

Flop (board: 6h Jh 8c):

Slayre checks. Billehthekid checks. figarocleo bets
$1.50. Slayre calls. Billehthekid folds.

Turn (board: 6h Jh 8c Td):

Slayre checks. figarocleo bets $2. Slayre raises to
$4. figarocleo calls.

River (board: 6h Jh 8c Td 2d):

Slayre bets $12.50. figarocleo calls.

Showdown:

Slayre shows 6d 6c.
Slayre has 6d 6c 6h Jh Td: three sixes.
figarocleo mucks cards.
(figarocleo has Jd Th.)


Hand #4938842-3461 Summary:

$1.85 is raked from a pot of $37.50.
Slayre wins $35.65 with three sixes.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Pretty good, right, put me at $41, $16 bucks up.... now watch what I did with it.

Getting Hand History Information...
----------------------------------------------------------------

Hand #4938842-3462 at Dusseldorf (No Limit Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 19/Mar/05 12:56:56

Buttas is at seat 1 with $9.
janus019 is at seat 2 with $24.59.
KADESMOMMIE6 is at seat 3 with $6.55.
mtoutlaw is at seat 4 with $19.50.
figarocleo is at seat 5 with $38.80.
RHH is at seat 6 with $36.50.
Slayre is at seat 8 with $41.55.
Billehthekid is at seat 9 with $23.15.
The button is at seat 8.

Billehthekid posts the small blind of $.25.
Buttas posts the big blind of $.50.

Buttas: -- --
janus019: -- --
KADESMOMMIE6: -- --
mtoutlaw: -- --
figarocleo: -- --
RHH: -- --
Slayre: Qh Th
Billehthekid: -- --

Pre-flop:

janus019 folds. KADESMOMMIE6 calls. mtoutlaw folds.
figarocleo folds. RHH folds. Slayre calls.
Billehthekid folds. Buttas checks.

Flop (board: Ks Qd Ts):

Buttas checks. KADESMOMMIE6 checks. Slayre bets
$1.75. Buttas calls. KADESMOMMIE6 calls.

niether one of them wasted anytime calling me.... I opted not to raise for some reason that escapes me at the moment...

Turn (board: Ks Qd Ts 6d):

Buttas checks. KADESMOMMIE6 checks. Slayre bets $7.
Buttas goes all-in for $6.75. KADESMOMMIE6 folds.
Slayre is returned $.25 (uncalled).

They both check...so I bet the pot again, I've plenty of chips, right? two pair always wins, right?

River (board: Ks Qd Ts 6d 2c):

(no action in this round)

Showdown:

Slayre shows Qh Th.
Slayre has Qh Th Ks Qd Ts: two pair, queens and tens.
Buttas shows Jh Ac.
Buttas has Jh Ac Ks Qd Ts: straight, ace high.


Hand #4938842-3462 Summary:

$1 is raked from a pot of $20.50.
Buttas wins $19.50 with straight, ace high.

So, I need a Q or a T, which as you see, I did not get.... sadness ensued...well, not sadness.... banging my head on the monitor chanting, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot!!!

*********************************

6 1/2 hours on a freeroll at Absolute, to win 5 bucks..... first was 10, 2 thru 9 is 5 dollars.. I placed somewhere between 2 and 8... cuz, shortly after number 9 went bust, I logged off.. I hope you don't have to be logged on to get the money.... this is significant, because 1) 2000 entrants... and 2) I must of entered a kazillion of these and finally did something right... now i can use that 5 bucks and hopefully build it up to something.. altho, I don't really like Absolute...

Also placed around 42nd or so in a MTT on UB.. payed only like 6 bucks or so... got my buyin back... that one took awhile too... ..

I think I have had enuff poker for one day...

*****************

So, I go to see about cashing out my 5 bucks on Absolute, I really don't want to play there for money, and low and behold, I discover, 50 dollars in my account... how the hell did that happen... I do a lil research using their history thingy for accounts, and discover, thru an event on Feb 20, 50 dollars was deposited into my account... I have no idea what this event was....

So, I decide to play two $2+.25 SNG's... got busted out with KK to trip 2's......in the first one.. still playing the second...in third place right now.. 6 out of 9 of us left...

Oh, I had to put money in ( 15.00 ) in order to establish a real money account, before I could cash out the 50..... now I have to wait 48 hours after a deposit, to cash out...... oh the lil things...

took second in the second tourney, paid 5.60... woo hoo.... .60 up from two tourneys..... I really don't like absolute all that much.. heh...

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

200

200 dollars.. that is my short term goal for UB... currently my site of choice... altho, Full Tilt may replace that in the coming weeks.. we shall see..

Ok, not much time... way busy at work, which is the location I usually update this thing at...

Pacific Poker - Sunday, me thinks, I found $10 'we miss you money' in my account, bought into a sub satellite for $2+.20, won a seat in the satellite for $40+4, and in that, I won a seat in the Million Dollar Blitz.... sweet Jesus... it didn't phase me right away... but, a few hours latre it hit me.. I am in a tourney, with a million dollar prize pool...wow... I think to date, the biggest tourney I've been in was Royal Vegas and their 100k event... which I sucked at... this tourney is on the 26th.... two Saturdays from now.... I will be ITM....

Party Poker - sucks.

Ultimate Bet - Not much play here.. been losing bits and pieces of my roll playing in the lower limit NL games.... taking a few 3rds in SNG's keeping me about even....

Royal Vegas - still doing the freeroll thing... played in one yesterday.. was doing really well got aces...in the BB, bet way big to steal the pot.. 4 callers... flop was 10 or less rainbow... bet 2k, about 300 more than the pot... 2 callers... turn was low... I'm all in.. 2 callers..... river is a 2 giving dipshit with 53 a straight...2 to 6 Oh the humanity... he hit runner runner... I got pissed... expressed "nice lucky hand"... went from 7k to 640chips... I just left... that tilt was not hard to recognize.... it was free tho... he gambled.. got lucky, good for him.

Full Tilt - I have $2.50 on Full Tilt. Why? well, it is not cuz i lost my deposit, no, on the contrary... after the Horse event... I bought into a couple tourneys and lost and lost.. but while doing that, was on a $10 buyin NL table.. and managed to just shy of tripling up.... putting me at $52.50... so, I cashed out.. cuz, um, it was not poker money I used to get into the HORSE tourney.. :) anyway.. yesterday, played the baby limits with my $2.50.. got it up to $6.50 and heard the 'VOICE' stop john, your like 300% ahead, come back tomorrow, did I pay attention to the 'VOICE'... nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.. heh, once it hit $2.50 again, I did quit, breaking even.....

StarLuck - as stated, finished my bonus, cashed out, just waiting on the moola for the next site..

PlanetLuck - busted out here... my own fault.. was at $75 when I met the wagering requirement... would have put me at +$50 for the over all endeavor, but, I figured I could get it back to $100 and at least break even on this site, leaving my profit from Starluck intact.... and I did, I got up to $175 or so... but did I stop..noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo eventually down to $101.... did I stop...noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.... ended up with zero... and instead of a +$75, its now -$25... oh well.. prolly try the next site, with a new strategy, and the next site lets you withdrawal before wagering met without losing your cash.. so, its pretty safe....

Live Play - none to speak of lately.... which is not good.. I need to mix up live with online... it helps both my games......

Monday, March 14, 2005

A HORSE is just a HORSE, ofcourse.

I decided to join the WPBT event last night, sorta at the last minute... was reluctant, cuz, I didn't want to put any money into another site... but, I figured it would be a hoot, which it was... to say the least... only thing, I forgot to look for bonuses.... argh.. ah well, only put in 50, no biggie.... so, I registered for the tourney, then proceeded to play some RAZZ with play money...fortunetly for me, a nice person, by the name of ( God help me if I don't start taking notes!!! ) name of, um... Kam sumtin or the other... I think he knows Dr. Pauly rather well.. anyway.. he was kind enuff to explain the game to me.... I only had to real issues... what is good to start with.. and what happens if you pair an Ace, or a 2..... to the first he says, 'draw to the wheel'. That turned out to be excellent advice... and to the second, he says, 'they cancel out'.. which I figured meant, you only count one of them....once I got that figured out.. it got real easy...

I had a handle on the other games... pretty much....

I won alot of hands in RAZZ or took the low in the hi/lo games.. I was actually in the chip lead at one point, briefly, very briefly... was in second for a longer time... not much longer.... I stayed in the top 10 or so for awhile, until a razz hand ate my stack.... i don't recall agaisnt who... but it went down pretty bad, I had him til the river ( is there a river in RAZZ? ).

I had A2346 ( ACE on the river )... he had A2345 ( his ACE also on the river ).. well, I guess I did not actually have him... but had he not got that Ace, I think my hand would have won.. then I just got stupid after that....impatient... not tilt so much...just got tired of folding hand after hand....

Finally ended up all in with 88, in a Holdem round... winner Paired his Ace..


So, I finished 32..... was a hoot!

Friday, March 11, 2005

I am a scaredy cat...

I wish it weren't true.. but, I believe this is my biggest weakness when it comes to playing poker..... it serves me well, when I have a healthy chip stack...but, more often than not, I find myself with average chips, and folding A9s to a small raise.... even folding KQo to all ins..... just trying to squeak in the top 3.... settle for 3rd I tell myself, almost double your buyin....... sigh...

SNG's no longer give me the pleasure they once did... i.e., I don't win nor finish ITM as much as I used to....played 4 last night...

2 X $5+.50 1 first($25) 1 bubble
1 X $10+1.00 bubble
1 X $20+2.00 second($60)

so we do some quick math, and find that I came out ahead $48.50. Not bad for a couple hours of play... also managed to FINALLY finish off my bonus... good God that took forever... even came out a couple regular dollars ahead, to make the 25NL session +6 or so ( had $4.15 left on bonus ). This means, if I get the nerve to play more ring games.. I can not use the excuse 'i folded my QQ cuz I am just working off my bonus'. This may bode well for me.. hell, I even called a 5 dollar raise ( I was up 10 bucks ), but my AJs didn't look good with a board of KQQ, none of my suit, and a $22.00 all in.... just didn't seem worth it...besides, I was just working off my bonus....

I discovered my afearedness, couple days ago... came to me like one of those light bulb moments.. a revelation, I think they call it.... and since then, have been using freerolls to play less timid...play more hands that look good...suited connects and such... so, slowly but surely, I am putting more value on certain cards, based on pot size, chip stack, positioin, and behavior of opponents.... I actually think that I used to do this.. and somehow, stopped... I mean for christ sake, in november, when I began with real money, I dropped $400 faster than Jackie Smith can drop a football in the end zone during a superbowl... AND THEN, won it all back, doing something right...in December..

My strategy is to be one of the final 6, with an average chip stack, from there, its usually gravy...., until UB goes and ups the starting chips, 1k to 1.5k, and now, everyone is in til like round 5 and I'm screwed... heh...

I am just sorta rambling by the way....you know, sorta like how a tumbleweed meaders it way around, not really leaving an impression anywhere.....

I got to sit close to April, on a low buy in NL table, .01/.02 I think, $2 max buyin... donated my 2 bucks to her cause, whichever cause she may have.. just glad it was her... I really didn't want to play there so much as I just wanted to play with a fellow blogger... we went all in together, was a couple days ago... think she beat my top pair with a straight....

Starluck paid me off good... casino bonus whoring is not so bad... time consuming... I hit quad 2's, 3's, and then a straight flush, to put me at $217, and pretty much finished my wagering requirement.. then blew about 40 bucks or so, messing with the other games..... Planetluck was started last night... going fairly well.. should clear that bonus before the end of next week....oh, hitting a straight flush, video poker, betting $1, paid 100 to 1, I about peed myself... well, ok, I did... the quads each paid 50 to 1, but, I was only betting .50 at that time.... $25 each... that is when I switched back to a buck bet....

If this works out, I should have enuff money to make it to the WPBT Event, Vegas in June, BABY!!!!!

Ok, that is enuff rambling for now...

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Still don't feel like playing..

...so, I only bought into 1(one) SNG on UB....10+1... am happy to report, I won that sucker... after so many bubbles and suckouts..... it surely felt good.. oh hell, it felt damn good... hell..fucking wonderfully good..... I signed off after that 1(one) tourney... happy with my $39 for 55 minutes of play....

While I was doing that.. I accidently signed up for an O8 freeroll on Absolute... I tried to play two hands.... bowed out.....

I also got another $150 or so wagered on Starluck ( bonus hunting stuff ), at a cost of only 2 dollars.... I hit, quad jacks.... paid off pretty good..... didn't get anything after that... and lost all that I had won, plus 2 dollars.... still, its the wagering to $1600 that is my goal, and I've only got about $650 to go.... prolly end up with lil to nothing as a bonus tho.... but, so far, its been fun... so.. that is cool...

Here is the hand from the UB tourney that won it for me....

Started at 08/Mar/05 19:13:23

phasevar is at seat 2 with 2505.
Slayre is at seat 4 with 7495.
The button is at seat 4.

Slayre posts the small blind of 100.
phasevar posts the big blind of 200.

phasevar: -- --
Slayre: 8c Jh

Pre-flop:

Slayre calls. phasevar checks.

Flop (board: Js Th 9s):

phasevar bets 400. Slayre calls.

Turn (board: Js Th 9s 2d):

phasevar bets 1200. Slayre calls.

River (board: Js Th 9s 2d As):

phasevar goes all-in for 705. Slayre calls.

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:

phasevar shows Ts 5h.
Slayre shows 8c Jh.
Showdown:

phasevar has Ts Js Th 9s As: a pair of tens.
Slayre has Jh Js Th 9s As: a pair of jacks.

Hand #4799949-125 Summary:

No rake is taken for this hand.
Slayre wins 5010 with a pair of jacks.

Now I am going to bed, early, it is only 6:25... but, I deserve it, cuz, I worked hard laying a tile floor over this last weekend.... first time I ever did that... don't be expecting to do it again anytime soon eithre.....floor sure looks good tho...

ProJo Poker

I did not feel much like playing last night... moreso to the fact, I did not feel much like losing last night.... I dreaded sitting down and firing up any poker site..... this was a huge self tell.... I went to Starluck and continued my quest to dbl my buyin..... got another 50 bucks wagered.. at a cost of about 4 bucks... not too terribly bad.....

I've also been fiddling with a new site.... ProJo Poker, well, new to me anyway.. they are aligned with the Amateur Poker League and since I am a member.. I signed up, upgraded my player account, got 5 bucks and 2 copper coins...

I'll tell you a lil more about this....first tho, if your interested in checking it out and are a member of the APL, then, you prolly already know about it...if not a member, I think they have a pretty good first deposit bonus.. anyway... IF you do decide to check it out... and they ask you who referred you... tell them....

5340005009 referred you... I haven't attempted to change my sign in yet...

So, they have like a step challenge.. step one costs .20 +.02 1st and second gets a copper coin, which you can buy into step 2 with.. or pay .94 +.06. Top three of step two get copper coins.... for step three, which you can also buy into for a couple bucks... now, step three pays silver bars.... for.......step 4.. or buyin for significanly more than a couple bucks... and step 4 pays.... GOLD bars.....for you guessed it... Step 5... the buyin for step 5 I think, was 84 dollars... I could be off...anyway.. that is as many steps as I saw on the list... I never made it past step 2... my copper and my 5 dollars are gone.. heh.. was alot of fun tho.... never ever seen so many 2 outters hit.. was amazing....

Anyway, did that... played a freebie on Absolute, couldn't get anything going.... think I will start being more agressive with those freebies... get my stack built up quicker...

Also tried a freeroll on UB... finished in top half... nothing spectacular...

finally, about an hour before I went to bed.... I played in a 5+.50 and a 1+.10, on UB.... bubble in the fiver, second in the one dollar.. netting me <3.60>, plus the losses from blinds playing a 25NL table... working off my bonus....

Here is an example of how things went with th 25NL...

Im BB with Q9o....( blinds are .25/.50 )... by the time it gets to me.. the bet is $4 or more to play... not what I want......just working the bonus...

Im SB with A10s/o..... folded around to me, I raise 2xBB, or $1 to play... BB goes all in for 12+bucks.... not what I want..

I'm on the button with AA..... folded to me... I raise 2XBB... fold, fold... I net .75...... ( had I just called, someone would have hit a 2 outter, fer sure )

Part of it was, I just was not into it all that much and it was just sumtin to do while waiting for my turn on the other tables.....I just don't feel like playing poker... and since, I really don't 'have' to play poker.. then I won't... this is a good thing right....?

Monday, March 07, 2005

Thank God for Weekend Trips

I went outta town this last weekend, left friday afternoon and got back late Sunday, last night... good thing too, cuz Poker was not being very good to me Thursday...

Thursday night.. I finished out of the money in so many SNG's it is just too horrible to recollect... I was actually down to a mere $25 dollars... I had $47... put $22 into a 20+2 sng and put the rest at a .25/.50 NL ring game...I took second in the SNG, +$60, and doubled up on the ring game, +$25.. giving me $110... did this finally around noon on Friday... and then i quit.... mainly cuz I had to get ready for my trip....Played a 5+.50 last night when I got back, lost that... leaving me at about $105... still up over all... but, its painful to be so far ahead, and then take such a huge step back..... I managed to get alot of it back, so, that is a good thing....plus, the weekend kept me away from poker.. so, my mind is refreshed, or whatever...

Also starting playing Video Poker at Starluck..... they give you 100% bonus... and since I was up over 100 on UB, I figured what the hell.. I'm pretty good at Video poker....you have to wager 8X ur deposit+bonus, ie, 8X200, or 1600 dollars, in order to cash out the bonus.. but, you get to play with the bonus money.. so, if you get in dire straights, you can just cash out and forfeit the bonus... which is what I thought I was gonna do.. as I was following a guide I found, and it suggested playing nothing but Blackjack, betting only 1 dollar no matter what.... didn't take long to get down to $120, from $200, with only $123 wagered.... simple math tells you(me), that ain't gonna work... so, I switched to VP.... now, I am at $165 with $800 wagered.... much better....half way there with a good amount of cash to play with... I will still bow out before I bet any of my own money..

I want my money back on UB... I want it back bad... this is enuff to tell me I shouldn't play for a day or two... accept the setback, become agreeable with it... then push on, forward..... :)

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Suckout story I forgot to share..

This guy, Sound of a Suckout, share a story similiar to the one I am about to share.. his account just reminded me of mine, which I was happy to have forgotten, oh well.. :)

I'm on the button.. dealt QJs...everyone folds to me... I think the blinds are 10/20.. maybe 15/30.. certainly early in the tourney tho, as I am the first one out... anway.. I raise to dbl the BB... SB folds, BB calls.. two players...

Flop is QJ7 rainbow.

BB Checks.
I bet the pot.
BB Calls.

Turn is 6.

BB min bets...

I am pretty confident with my Top Two pair.. I bet the pot again, he goes all in..

Now, I should have just folded and been happy to still have half my chips.. but, I was sure I had him beat.. I just knew I had him beat and he was trying to push me out... its one of those poker things, 'you just know'.. know what I mean?

I call...

River is a 7... giving him a FH, and the pot...knocking me out..

Now, I got very angry... and I typed into chat.. "WTF are you in the hand for in the first place, Stupid People around the world rejoice". I know I should have just typed, "nh", or nothing at all... but, I was P O pissed....

I reevalueated that hand a lil latre.. and concluded that dbling the BB was not enuff to keep him from protecting his blind... he put me on one Q or one J but not both and prolly would have got out had the turn not improved him, which it did with 2 pair, altho bottom, he still thinks I prolly have AQ or AJ or the like, not putting me on two pair...so, yeah, he was testing me with his two pair, a good hand heads up.. and he got his FH... he had 4 outs, after all.....

Poker and Discipline

I played alot of poker the last two days... on Party and on UB.. plus freerolls on AB and one on Pokerroom... Alot of interesting things happened that I should have eithre taken notes about, or came here to ramble right away.. instead of what I am about to do... which is try to remember exactly what went down and in what order and all that... I do my blogging from work... I send hand histories via email to my work addy from home... I have 3 in my inbox, so, hopefully they will give me a clue as to what it was I intended to blog about....

Big Picture..Part I:
I put about 52.80 into Party.. that gave me $56. Also gave me ten bucks and some change cuz I used the reload bonus for February.. Only need to play 73 raked hands or so... which took a couple hours...which was cool, cuz I was so far ahead, I managed to cashout 50 bucks, and still have 36 dollars in there....then I took a break...

Big Picture..Part II: I was at about $100 even on UB, still needing to work off about 13 bonus dollars... let me tell you... I am damn glad UB does not have a time limit for thier bonus.. otherwise.. mine would have expired long ago... I was playing ring games on Party, so, I decided to play in a SNG or two on UB, then switch off, once I got my bonus on Party cleared... I lost a couple buy in real quick..then, managed to win a couple...never did get to a ring game on UB, before I took a break...

Now, the break consisted of me going to bed early.. at 9pm... $53 dollars ahead... $115 on UB, $36 on Party.. I was feeling pretty good with myself, my play, and pretty much everything, cept for the dishes building up in the sink... I woke up Wednesday morning realizing it was an holiday for Texas State Employees... hmmmmm.. Now, I could go to work, as it is an optional holiday, can be switched for say.. Good Friday... or, stay home and play poker.... poker agaisnt those who play during the day...of which I on rarely play... hmmmmmm... I stayed home... By noon, I was up to 154 on UB, and .06 on Party..... up 53 bucks since my last post/update of bankroll....

You ask, What happened on Party.. ? Let me splain....

See here, this happened Tuesday night...this led to me being able to cashout 50 bucks...I'm pretty sure this is also the hand that cleared my bonus.. so, I was looking at like 90 bucks in my account ( lost a couple SNG buyins ugh ). I went on to lose 4 dollars before 9pm... cashed out.. on to bed...

***** Hand History for Game 1669697985 *****
0/0 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Tue Mar 01 20:07:17 EST 2005
Table Table 37291 (Real Money) -- Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Covariance ( $23)
Seat 2: revbr ( $25)
Seat 3: Slayre ( $36.85)
Seat 4: gmoneymots ( $16.45)
Seat 5: shmoe1 ( $35.8)
Seat 6: rdb123 ( $21.6)
Seat 7: jumangio ( $31.4)
Seat 8: JoeyHasAces ( $13.7)
Seat 9: Zangief00 ( $43.45)
Seat 10: JZ_Jazmin ( $4.75)
Zangief00 posts small blind (0.1)
JZ_Jazmin posts big blind (0.25)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Slayre [ Ad, Ac ]
Covariance calls (0.25)
Slayre raises (0.5) to 0.5
gmoneymots calls (0.5)
shmoe1 calls (0.5)
rdb123 folds.
jumangio calls (0.5)
Zangief00: No reraises allowed.
Zangief00 calls (0.4)
JZ_Jazmin calls (0.25)
Covariance calls (0.25)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 7h, 9s, Tc ]
Zangief00 checks.
JoeyHasAces: What really happened?
JZ_Jazmin bets (0.75)
Covariance calls (0.75)
Slayre raises (1.5) to 1.5
gmoneymots calls (1.5)
Zangief00: Dunno.
shmoe1 folds.
jumangio folds.
Zangief00 folds.
JZ_Jazmin calls (0.75)
Covariance calls (0.75)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 7s ]
JZ_Jazmin checks.
Covariance checks.
Zangief00: JoeyHasAces raises [$0.75].
Slayre bets (2)
gmoneymots calls (2)
JZ_Jazmin raises (2.75) to 2.75
JZ_Jazmin is all-In.
Zangief00: (disconnected)
Covariance folds.
Zangief00: (From hand history.)
Slayre calls (0.75)
gmoneymots calls (0.75)
Creating Main Pot with $16.9 with JZ_Jazmin
** Dealing River ** : [ Ah ]
Slayre bets (4)
gmoneymots folds.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $16.9 | Side Pot 1: $4 | Rake: $0.85
Board: [ 7h 9s Tc 7s Ah ]
Covariance balance $21, lost $2 (folded)
revbr balance $25, sits out
Slayre balance $49, bet $8.75, collected $20.9, net +$12.15 [ Ad Ac ] [ a full house, Aces full of sevens -- Ad,Ac,Ah,7h,7s ]
gmoneymots balance $11.7, lost $4.75 (folded)
shmoe1 balance $35.3, lost $0.5 (folded)
rdb123 balance $21.6, didn't bet (folded)
jumangio balance $30.9, lost $0.5 (folded)
JoeyHasAces balance $13.7, sits out
Zangief00 balance $42.95, lost $0.5 (folded)
JZ_Jazmin balance $0, lost $4.75 [ Ts 4h ] [ two pairs, tens and sevens -- Ah,Ts,Tc,7h,7s ]

Next day, shortly before noon, I was already down 16 bucks...and I had just mucked two pair, cuz I read the guy for a King... ( he prolly had KKQQ to my QQJJ )..that hand cost me 12.. anyway, very next hand follows...... my mistake was not 1)folding from the start, or 2)not raising preflop.. the man hand me dominated from the very beginning and played it very well.... I know he wanted me to draw that heart on the river.... kudos to him...this hand cleaned me out on Party...

***** Hand History for Game 1672979869 *****
$25 NL Hold'em - Wednesday, March 02, 11:45:26 EDT 2005
Table Table 37418 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 5: Slayre ( $20 )
Seat 1: M2810369 ( $21.85 )
Seat 3: streamer1 ( $45.15 )
Seat 6: THE_WEAZ ( $25.25 )
Seat 9: nbtice_101 ( $35.35 )
Seat 4: mfmemp41 ( $29.95 )
Seat 8: AMYtheDEVIL ( $16.8 )
Seat 2: krazyb4now ( $7.3 )
Seat 10: terra13 ( $4.5 )
Seat 7: rescue123 ( $25 )
Slayre posts small blind [$0.1].
THE_WEAZ posts big blind [$0.25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Slayre [ 6h 4h ]
nbtice_101 folds.
terra13 folds.
krazyb4now folds.
streamer1 folds.
mfmemp41 folds.
Slayre calls [$0.15].
THE_WEAZ checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2h, 2s, 5s ]
Slayre bets [$0.5].
THE_WEAZ calls [$0.5].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9h ]
Slayre bets [$1.25].
THE_WEAZ calls [$1.25].
** Dealing River ** [ Kh ]
Slayre bets [$3.8].
THE_WEAZ raises [$8].
Slayre raises [$8.4].
THE_WEAZ raises [$8.4].
Slayre is all-In.
THE_WEAZ calls [$1.6].
THE_WEAZ shows [ 2c, 5d ] a full house, Twos full of fives.
Slayre doesn't show [ 6h, 4h ] a flush, king high.
THE_WEAZ wins $38 from the main pot with a full house, Twos full of fives.

I decided I can prolly never play and win a SNG on Party again.. I've just got too used to UB's format....seems you just don't get the time you need on Party to be crafty....I will prolly try again in April, and take advantage of the reload bonus again...try to be more disciplined... heh..

Being cleaned on on Party did not bother me, cuz it was all, or mostly all, from winnings and bonus anyway.. remember, I cashed out 50 bucks, so, technically, I lost $2.80... not bad for 6+ hours of poker.... I did however, find myself up 22 bucks or so on UB, and told myself.. what the hell, play in a $20+2 SNG NL on UB, play your best ever...if you bubble out or worse, your still even from yesterday, and still ahead over all.... So, that is what I did.. ( I actually did this while I was losing on Party ).. And I did play my best poker ever in that SNG, and I knew I would have to....I was oh so very patient and oh so very disciplined... throwing down KJ to a raise, pocket 9's or less to a raise, I pretty much only played AQs or higher everytime, unless an all in was before me... and most other hands, only if I was in the blinds.... I was the chip leader once we got down to 3 people, and there were 3 prizes.. so, I was ahead and my own philosophy on playing poker changes, once I am in the money... :) Still played well, just never got any more good cards and ended up in third.. +40 bucks......( well, 18 anyway. ).. Played to more $5+1's and took 3rd in both, up another 9 bucks....

I didn't play last night, I figured I needed a long break... it is only 54 dollars from before, but, 130 dollars over all, from my initial deposits and such...since, Feb 1. Not a huge sum for most folks... but for me, it is alot.. for 2 reasons...

1) its money I didn't have before.
2) when I first started playing for real money, I dropped 400 bucks faster than you could ask, "Flush beats a straight?" Beginner mistakes, drinking, depression, tilt, chasing... oh, it was bad..... and now... 4 months latre, altho small, I am showing a consist profit.. which I attribute to learning from my mistakes... I still drink and play on occasion tho.. just need to stop after 2 or 3 beers...heh...

Now I have a goal or two.. I can play to win to finance a trip to LV in June, for the bloggers tourney... and second, I can play to win to finance for a more local casino venture....I played with a goal, starting in december, which was to win back all the 400 dollars I lost in November.. and I did that... :)

I am hoping, having a clear goal, will help me to me even more patient and even more disciplined..... I will be playing tonight.. prolly start out with a 20+2 SNG on UB, only play that table and maybe Spider in the backgroud... see how that goes, and adjust... hopefully tomorrow, I can report more gains...

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Suck out city

Lucky for me... it only took one 1st place finish, one second place finish, both from 10+1 SNG, and one triple up at a $25NL ring game, to make back all the money I lost playing two $50.00NL ring games.. Talk about suck out... oh my, it was carnage...I have read about it on many blogs, and I am sure all of you have too, I won't bother even sharing...too much... I just could not hit a flop at all... and when I folded preflop, I would hit... and the few times I did hit... suck out on the river....this all took place from about 3:45pm to 4:05pm, yesterday afternoon...yep... takes me 6 hours to win 15 bucks... 20 minutes to lose $90.

I stepped far away from UB and concentrated on the freerolls I was playing/signed up for.... once they were done.. I went back with a clear untilted head... won my first $10 SNG, second in the 4th $10SNG, and somehow managed to get two callers to my quad aces on a $25NL ring game.... about this time, 9:30pm.. I am up 6 bucks from yesterday...but it is too early to crash... I play two more $10+1SNG's... get a phone call about half way thru them, get distracted and out on bubble for both.. leaving me at about $100 even....

I think that I will not play so soon after work anymore... just give myself a chance to wind down...relax and stuff.... and try to get all my phone calls out of the way first.... :)