I switched today from PokerStars to FullTilt.
I know it sounds lame, but I have had such bad experiences on Pokerstars lately that I am really suspiscious. I have been playing a lot of SnGs. I was losing just a crazy number of times on boards where either its just crazy coordinated or the hand behind on the flop rivers it. I know these things will happen, but it was just too much.
I settled into NL50 on Full Tilt and played well, however I made 2 big mistakes. Instead of running 7.5 PTBBs / 100 I ran 2.3 / 100. Not a disaster, but I can do better than this. Both were on hands where I felt I was being pushed around. I need to be a lot sharper than this.
My roll is in tatters. I have started a new PT database, and have about $1540. I am considering that I will move up to NL100 at $1750 as per my plans.
miércoles, 30 de abril de 2008
sábado, 26 de abril de 2008
25 April 2008
I ended the week OK, but I really just changed everything.
1. I am only 4 tabling.
2. When I 6+ table I fall into a very nitty 15.5/11.5 style. This is unacceptable, so I am consciously trying to be over 20 VP$IP. I was successful over 3K hands.
3. I am table selecting relentlessly. With only 4 tables, there is no need to be sitting at a table that is less than optimal. That means lots of green, medium to deep stacks and a fish directly on my right.
So far the results have been really encouraging, which is a good thing because I only have 25 playing days left. Its now or never.
1. I am only 4 tabling.
2. When I 6+ table I fall into a very nitty 15.5/11.5 style. This is unacceptable, so I am consciously trying to be over 20 VP$IP. I was successful over 3K hands.
3. I am table selecting relentlessly. With only 4 tables, there is no need to be sitting at a table that is less than optimal. That means lots of green, medium to deep stacks and a fish directly on my right.
So far the results have been really encouraging, which is a good thing because I only have 25 playing days left. Its now or never.
jueves, 24 de abril de 2008
24 April 2008
I had a $1000 day today. Unfortunately for me, the $ was flowing the wrong way.
It was without a doubt the worst and most stressful day I've ever had. I blew through 4 buyins at NL200, then continued for 3 more at NL100. I lost all my 54-46 "flips" no matter which side I was on, and I lost my 87-13 hugely dominated hands.
For the 2nd time this week I had to put a mercy killing to the day, ending up 2 hours early. I finished the day buying into about 8 x $7.50 level 1 SnGs. I got absolutely nowhere.
I spent a lot of time yesterday reflecting. I have played a lot of hands of NL50 and NL100, and I am very sad to acknowledge that the results are not pretty. I spent a while in PT looking over the showed-down hands of opponents that I respect and made some notes on differences. Then I ended up playing 1 table for 200 hands. I got AA and KK 6 or 7 times but only managed to end up +0.5 buyin. However, the more important topic is that I was able to easily keep my stats at 22-24 / 16-18, which is my ideal range. When I am running ++ tables, I tend towards the nitty 16/12 type of game.
My goal for today is to start 2 tabling, review after 200 hands to make sure I am hitting my stats, and then move to 4, review after another 200 hands and continue. I am solely concentrating on playing enough hands, the increase coming almost exclusively on the button.
It was without a doubt the worst and most stressful day I've ever had. I blew through 4 buyins at NL200, then continued for 3 more at NL100. I lost all my 54-46 "flips" no matter which side I was on, and I lost my 87-13 hugely dominated hands.
For the 2nd time this week I had to put a mercy killing to the day, ending up 2 hours early. I finished the day buying into about 8 x $7.50 level 1 SnGs. I got absolutely nowhere.
I spent a lot of time yesterday reflecting. I have played a lot of hands of NL50 and NL100, and I am very sad to acknowledge that the results are not pretty. I spent a while in PT looking over the showed-down hands of opponents that I respect and made some notes on differences. Then I ended up playing 1 table for 200 hands. I got AA and KK 6 or 7 times but only managed to end up +0.5 buyin. However, the more important topic is that I was able to easily keep my stats at 22-24 / 16-18, which is my ideal range. When I am running ++ tables, I tend towards the nitty 16/12 type of game.
My goal for today is to start 2 tabling, review after 200 hands to make sure I am hitting my stats, and then move to 4, review after another 200 hands and continue. I am solely concentrating on playing enough hands, the increase coming almost exclusively on the button.
miércoles, 23 de abril de 2008
23 April 2008
Last night, since I had barred myself from cash play, I sat in a $50+$5 45 seat SnG and won it. The payoff erased my bad day plus a little. I can't say that I outplayed anyone, as all my decisions were very cut and dry, and in fact, I lost very few races, and always at times when I could afford it. So I'll take it where I can get it.
This left me just shy of the $3500 mark for NL200, which I tagged early today. I did not start playing NL200 however, because I have been a bit gunshy lately. I decided to keep playing NL100. Well the doom switch is tripped, and I continue to run awful there. My dropdown mark is $2600, and I was fast approaching $3000, so I decided if I wanted to give NL200 a try, I better do it now, because soon I would have lost the opportunity.
So I sat 2 tabling NL200, where I didn't know a lot of the names (a couple, yes) and I ran +2 buyins to effectively erase the -4 buyins of NL100. So today is a wash, and I get another chance to make NL200 stick tomorrow.
I am pretty much at my all time high $ wise, but on my graph, I am way off. Running very poorly. Its just because of bonuses and a couple good tournies that I am here. Playing cash games are just making my head hurt.
This left me just shy of the $3500 mark for NL200, which I tagged early today. I did not start playing NL200 however, because I have been a bit gunshy lately. I decided to keep playing NL100. Well the doom switch is tripped, and I continue to run awful there. My dropdown mark is $2600, and I was fast approaching $3000, so I decided if I wanted to give NL200 a try, I better do it now, because soon I would have lost the opportunity.
So I sat 2 tabling NL200, where I didn't know a lot of the names (a couple, yes) and I ran +2 buyins to effectively erase the -4 buyins of NL100. So today is a wash, and I get another chance to make NL200 stick tomorrow.
I am pretty much at my all time high $ wise, but on my graph, I am way off. Running very poorly. Its just because of bonuses and a couple good tournies that I am here. Playing cash games are just making my head hurt.
martes, 22 de abril de 2008
22 April 2008
Well, negative 5 buyins. WTF. I am reviewing my play, sitting out, taking breaks. No huge leaks. Every time I cash a big bonus I run like crap. WTF. I swear to god almight if I had a rakeback deal on FT I would have been cashed out of pokerstars by now. I am stuck in NL100 HELL. Right now I hate poker more than anything in the world.
lunes, 21 de abril de 2008
21 April 2008
I have been running OK, lots of review of my play. I am really eliminating a lot of errors. I will be able to cash the 50K FPPs tomorrow, and I am within a stone's throw of giving NL200 a shot.
jueves, 17 de abril de 2008
17 April 2008
Level: NL100
It was a good day. I reviewed my 15+ BB losses every 2 hours throughout the day. So I stayed very focused. I had one WTF hand where I folded 2P and I have no idea what the person was representing when he pushed on me. I had another where I pushed over a very loose and aggro players 4bet with JJs, and he showed up with AAs. I am not sure this was an error given his range. Unfortunately, I dont know what his 4 betting range is. He is definitely a loose 3 bettor, but the thing is just because I have a 4 bet bluff doesn't mean everyone does, especially at NL100.
I got my FPPs that were cashed but not cleared reversed, so now I have 41K FPPs en route to the 5oK mark and $650 bonus. So that is definitely nice.
It was a good day. I reviewed my 15+ BB losses every 2 hours throughout the day. So I stayed very focused. I had one WTF hand where I folded 2P and I have no idea what the person was representing when he pushed on me. I had another where I pushed over a very loose and aggro players 4bet with JJs, and he showed up with AAs. I am not sure this was an error given his range. Unfortunately, I dont know what his 4 betting range is. He is definitely a loose 3 bettor, but the thing is just because I have a 4 bet bluff doesn't mean everyone does, especially at NL100.
I got my FPPs that were cashed but not cleared reversed, so now I have 41K FPPs en route to the 5oK mark and $650 bonus. So that is definitely nice.
miércoles, 16 de abril de 2008
16 April 2008 - Update 2
Today went poorly, maybe it was the "please 3bet me" sign I had on my forehead. I dunno. I have run so brutally badly lately that I have had a lot of thoughts of quitting. I'm not a quitter, but really, everyone has their breaking point. I can only be a set magnet so long.
My last hand of the day: AK and a solid tight player calls my 3b. Flop is A33r. Just about perfect. I am ahead of everything conceivable except pocket aces, which I discount since he only called my 3bet. Well the money goes in and I am wrong again, as my opponent had called my 3bet with 35suited. He flopped gin. A yahtzee flop for him. After a hand like that I am thinking yahtzee and gin are not such a bad idea.
I don't want to complain. But every day after playing I feel so sad and really hopeless depressed all over again. But I am going to take a break, like I always do, and later on tonight I am going to go over my session like I usually do and search for leaks and take notes like I usually do, then I am going to watch a video or two like I often do, then tomorrow I am going to sit down and give it another try, like I always do.
And I am going to try not to lose, like I usually do.
My last hand of the day: AK and a solid tight player calls my 3b. Flop is A33r. Just about perfect. I am ahead of everything conceivable except pocket aces, which I discount since he only called my 3bet. Well the money goes in and I am wrong again, as my opponent had called my 3bet with 35suited. He flopped gin. A yahtzee flop for him. After a hand like that I am thinking yahtzee and gin are not such a bad idea.
I don't want to complain. But every day after playing I feel so sad and really hopeless depressed all over again. But I am going to take a break, like I always do, and later on tonight I am going to go over my session like I usually do and search for leaks and take notes like I usually do, then I am going to watch a video or two like I often do, then tomorrow I am going to sit down and give it another try, like I always do.
And I am going to try not to lose, like I usually do.
16 April 2008 - Update 1
Well, I changed my mind completely. The thing is, with moving to Denver this summer, I can't be committing to Euro sites. I have to be on PokerStars.
So I did the next best thing, or the best thing, depending how you look at it. I decided I was playing way too nitty, and loosened up all the way to about 22/20. I am playing significantly more aggressively preflop. And what's more, I have always thought I have good postflop skills, so, even though the marginal situations occur a bit more often, I think I am OK.
I ran my daily balance back even by lunchtime, and the thing is, I am complaining a lot less to myself about how things are going, I am less waiting for the action to come to me than I am driving the action. It is definitely a much more interesting way to play.
So I did the next best thing, or the best thing, depending how you look at it. I decided I was playing way too nitty, and loosened up all the way to about 22/20. I am playing significantly more aggressively preflop. And what's more, I have always thought I have good postflop skills, so, even though the marginal situations occur a bit more often, I think I am OK.
I ran my daily balance back even by lunchtime, and the thing is, I am complaining a lot less to myself about how things are going, I am less waiting for the action to come to me than I am driving the action. It is definitely a much more interesting way to play.
16 April 2008
I don't know what it is about Stars. Today in only 73 hands I am down over two buyins. Here are the hands I have been up against:
AQ vs. a short stack who shows up with AK
88s vs. a short stack very 1st hand at the table who ends up with a bigger pair -> flush
A set
A set of trips
A pair and a flush draw (for stacks) that does not improve vs. TP no kicker
Now compare this to:
A set of 444s on an AJx two tone board that was raised by someone else. Now all of a sudden none of the other 3 players in the pot (right, 4 way), including the original raiser, have anything.
AK on a Kxx board with a flush draw, now all of a sudden none of the other 2 players (right, 3 way) have anything.
My general complaint is that since last Thursday, I have been up against bigger hands, that, in and of themselves are not terribly unlikely, but when viewed in aggregate are just mind-numbingly bad. I am literally up against a bigger hand every time I enter a pot on Stars. And when I have something, all fold.
Here are the questions I have:
I am not superstitious, but why do I get the feeling that I run inordinately bad every time I have a good deal of bonus $ on the line? Economically, we would say that there is a conflict of interest. Sure poker sites are legit. Sure. Then after 250K hands why do I still get these feelings?
When am I going to go on an outrageous heater? Is such a thing possible for me, or am I just the "kick me sign on his back" chump of the poker playing universe?
As it stands right now, I am about 2 bananas short of monkey tilt. I don't tilt at the tables, it is just an emotional thing. But my camel's back can take only about 1 or 2 more straws. At that point I am going to ca$h out of Stars and split my money between Eurolinx, Party and Pacific. There will be no FPPs or rakeback, and therefore no conflict of interest.
Update:
I just ran into another set. I am done on Stars. I am going to hit 500 more FPPs to make the next bonus, clear them, and cash out completely.
AQ vs. a short stack who shows up with AK
88s vs. a short stack very 1st hand at the table who ends up with a bigger pair -> flush
A set
A set of trips
A pair and a flush draw (for stacks) that does not improve vs. TP no kicker
Now compare this to:
A set of 444s on an AJx two tone board that was raised by someone else. Now all of a sudden none of the other 3 players in the pot (right, 4 way), including the original raiser, have anything.
AK on a Kxx board with a flush draw, now all of a sudden none of the other 2 players (right, 3 way) have anything.
My general complaint is that since last Thursday, I have been up against bigger hands, that, in and of themselves are not terribly unlikely, but when viewed in aggregate are just mind-numbingly bad. I am literally up against a bigger hand every time I enter a pot on Stars. And when I have something, all fold.
Here are the questions I have:
I am not superstitious, but why do I get the feeling that I run inordinately bad every time I have a good deal of bonus $ on the line? Economically, we would say that there is a conflict of interest. Sure poker sites are legit. Sure. Then after 250K hands why do I still get these feelings?
When am I going to go on an outrageous heater? Is such a thing possible for me, or am I just the "kick me sign on his back" chump of the poker playing universe?
As it stands right now, I am about 2 bananas short of monkey tilt. I don't tilt at the tables, it is just an emotional thing. But my camel's back can take only about 1 or 2 more straws. At that point I am going to ca$h out of Stars and split my money between Eurolinx, Party and Pacific. There will be no FPPs or rakeback, and therefore no conflict of interest.
Update:
I just ran into another set. I am done on Stars. I am going to hit 500 more FPPs to make the next bonus, clear them, and cash out completely.
martes, 15 de abril de 2008
15 April 2008
Limit: NL100
I started the day 5 tables on Stars and 1 on Party. As has been the case for some time now, the doom switch is tripped on Stars. Nothing happening and suckout after suckout in smallish pots. In fact, I only had 1 loss of over 36 blinds all day, yet Stars sucked about 3 buyins out of me. Its just a mind-numbingly incredible bad run.
The one hand I lost my stack was, simply put, an egregious error. I had AK in a 3bet pot and the flop comes down KJT. I bet out $18 and my opponent raises it to $45. Now since its 3bet, I have my opponent on TT+,ATs+,AK. My analysis goes like this: TT is a set, JJ is a set, QQ is open ended, KK is a set, AA beats me, AK chops, AQ is a straight, and I beat AJs and ATs. Nice, huh? And I tend to discount AJs and ATs since he still likes his hand a lot. So I figure I am way behind. But just to be sure, I convince myself to call the bet to make him fire again. So I call the bet and he fires again, that is to say he pushes the rest of his stack on the turn and I convince myself that I am priced in and I probably am not getting my $ in too bad. He turns over TTT. I was definitely priced in but my $ was most definitely not going in good. Just an incrediblely stupid play. 70 blinds I pi$$ed off.
Play on Party went really well, so much so that the gains offset the losses on Stars. This is something given that I only played 1 or 2 tables out of 6 on Party. It was just substantially different. The doom switch wasn't on all the time. I was making good hands at the expected rate. I actually had people making 2nd best hands against me. When I called down an over aggro player with a small pair he did not end up rivering a set. You know the drill. WTF is going on with Stars? I hope I pull out of this crud soon, because if not, I am just going to have to change sites.
I started the day 5 tables on Stars and 1 on Party. As has been the case for some time now, the doom switch is tripped on Stars. Nothing happening and suckout after suckout in smallish pots. In fact, I only had 1 loss of over 36 blinds all day, yet Stars sucked about 3 buyins out of me. Its just a mind-numbingly incredible bad run.
The one hand I lost my stack was, simply put, an egregious error. I had AK in a 3bet pot and the flop comes down KJT. I bet out $18 and my opponent raises it to $45. Now since its 3bet, I have my opponent on TT+,ATs+,AK. My analysis goes like this: TT is a set, JJ is a set, QQ is open ended, KK is a set, AA beats me, AK chops, AQ is a straight, and I beat AJs and ATs. Nice, huh? And I tend to discount AJs and ATs since he still likes his hand a lot. So I figure I am way behind. But just to be sure, I convince myself to call the bet to make him fire again. So I call the bet and he fires again, that is to say he pushes the rest of his stack on the turn and I convince myself that I am priced in and I probably am not getting my $ in too bad. He turns over TTT. I was definitely priced in but my $ was most definitely not going in good. Just an incrediblely stupid play. 70 blinds I pi$$ed off.
Play on Party went really well, so much so that the gains offset the losses on Stars. This is something given that I only played 1 or 2 tables out of 6 on Party. It was just substantially different. The doom switch wasn't on all the time. I was making good hands at the expected rate. I actually had people making 2nd best hands against me. When I called down an over aggro player with a small pair he did not end up rivering a set. You know the drill. WTF is going on with Stars? I hope I pull out of this crud soon, because if not, I am just going to have to change sites.
lunes, 14 de abril de 2008
14 April 2008
Today's Level: NL100
On Sunday I had a normal session at NL100 and ran pretty well, and again today I ran well. Unfortunately, I can't say it was because of my good play at all times. The brutal truth is that on my 2nd, 4th and 5th largest winners of the day I rivered my winner. One was getting my $ in with AK vs. KK and rivering an ace, one was getting my $ in on the flop AA vs. 777 and rivering a set, and one was AQ vs. AK and rivering my kicker (this one wasn't so bad, because not all the $ went in early, like the other hands, but only once I was pretty convinced I was ahead). I am not complaining because I have had more than my share of bad luck lately, and I deserve to win some when I am wrong. But I don't really feel all too good about it. Had I played better, I would have folded in just a couple more spots, and the net result is that I would have been about 1 buyin worse off. But its a process. And I did play well in many other spots.
I got an AHK script working, so now I have bet pot with a right mouse click. Wow, what a difference. I am much more consistently focused on the table, without hunting around so much for number keys. The wheel of my mouse also now moves in proper 1/2 increments.
I also transfered $400 to Party to take advantage of the sign up and get 6 months of stoxpoker thing. It is about 1/6 of my budget, so I will play 1 of my 6 tables there until the 30% bonus clears, and then re-evaluate.
On Sunday I had a normal session at NL100 and ran pretty well, and again today I ran well. Unfortunately, I can't say it was because of my good play at all times. The brutal truth is that on my 2nd, 4th and 5th largest winners of the day I rivered my winner. One was getting my $ in with AK vs. KK and rivering an ace, one was getting my $ in on the flop AA vs. 777 and rivering a set, and one was AQ vs. AK and rivering my kicker (this one wasn't so bad, because not all the $ went in early, like the other hands, but only once I was pretty convinced I was ahead). I am not complaining because I have had more than my share of bad luck lately, and I deserve to win some when I am wrong. But I don't really feel all too good about it. Had I played better, I would have folded in just a couple more spots, and the net result is that I would have been about 1 buyin worse off. But its a process. And I did play well in many other spots.
I got an AHK script working, so now I have bet pot with a right mouse click. Wow, what a difference. I am much more consistently focused on the table, without hunting around so much for number keys. The wheel of my mouse also now moves in proper 1/2 increments.
I also transfered $400 to Party to take advantage of the sign up and get 6 months of stoxpoker thing. It is about 1/6 of my budget, so I will play 1 of my 6 tables there until the 30% bonus clears, and then re-evaluate.
sábado, 12 de abril de 2008
Weekend Update
After thinking about things for a while, and receiving some comments from friends that I respect, I think I've decided on a path forward. I am certainly not going to quit.
Here are some things I am keeping in mind:
From great books like Fooled by Randomness or Gambling Theory and Other Topics is the fact that the daily results are really just noise.
From my research into randomness: crazy results affect almost everyone from time to time and fortune has no idea or regard for any artificial timeframes I have placed on things and that in the long run the signal emerges from the noise and the long run certainly begins no more early than 500K hands and this may be generous.
From my good friend in GA who seems very much more emotionally stable than me is that having a reasonable backup plan is not such a bad idea and having to implement Plan B for some period of time is certainly not going to suck the lifeblood out of me and that despite what it feels like right know this is not even remotely close to a quitting point, even if bad results continue into the foreseeable future.
From my own personal examination is that to play at a certain quality, I need a certain quantity, and for me this is about 4.5K - 5.0K hands per day.
This whole experience has really kind of shaken me into viewing the potential upsides more realistically along with the negative aspects. The daily pluses and minuses are just illusions, and I will compare my results at the end of the month. Day to day this will just be a job that I will try to get better out.
So, in the spirit of re-invention, I will post my monthly totals, and running forward, just talk in my blog about interesting situations, and not at all about balances, except if they allow/force me to move up/down.
Begin $0
Month 1 - Jan 2008 - $154
Month 2 - Feb 2008 - $800
Month 3 - Mar 2008 - $2061
Here are some things I am keeping in mind:
From great books like Fooled by Randomness or Gambling Theory and Other Topics is the fact that the daily results are really just noise.
From my research into randomness: crazy results affect almost everyone from time to time and fortune has no idea or regard for any artificial timeframes I have placed on things and that in the long run the signal emerges from the noise and the long run certainly begins no more early than 500K hands and this may be generous.
From my good friend in GA who seems very much more emotionally stable than me is that having a reasonable backup plan is not such a bad idea and having to implement Plan B for some period of time is certainly not going to suck the lifeblood out of me and that despite what it feels like right know this is not even remotely close to a quitting point, even if bad results continue into the foreseeable future.
From my own personal examination is that to play at a certain quality, I need a certain quantity, and for me this is about 4.5K - 5.0K hands per day.
This whole experience has really kind of shaken me into viewing the potential upsides more realistically along with the negative aspects. The daily pluses and minuses are just illusions, and I will compare my results at the end of the month. Day to day this will just be a job that I will try to get better out.
So, in the spirit of re-invention, I will post my monthly totals, and running forward, just talk in my blog about interesting situations, and not at all about balances, except if they allow/force me to move up/down.
Begin $0
Month 1 - Jan 2008 - $154
Month 2 - Feb 2008 - $800
Month 3 - Mar 2008 - $2061
viernes, 11 de abril de 2008
11 April 2008 - Out
Out: $1826 + ($285 + $20 accrued but now cashed bonuses) = $2131
--
Disaster Day II The Sequel, -7 buyins on 5K hands.
Administrative note: I am really seriously depressed, and as of right now, I am not going to write any more updates in this blog. Maybe temporarly, maybe permanent. I am not even positive I will continue on Monday. I will post my daily totals if I do continue. Maybe sometime in the future I'll start writing again.
--
Disaster Day II The Sequel, -7 buyins on 5K hands.
Administrative note: I am really seriously depressed, and as of right now, I am not going to write any more updates in this blog. Maybe temporarly, maybe permanent. I am not even positive I will continue on Monday. I will post my daily totals if I do continue. Maybe sometime in the future I'll start writing again.
jueves, 10 de abril de 2008
11 April 2008 - In
Well statistically Friday is my worst day of the week, and with the -9 buyin day yesterday, what's not to like about this setup? I guess I just have to get my game on and hope for the best. Funny, when your best plan is hoping for the best, its usually not such a strong plan.
I am going to 7 table today, 4 short and 3 long. That will leave me with just slight overlap on 2 of the long tables. In this way, I should be able to table select pretty well, and maybe push back up to a more reasonable 4K hand total for the day, after my recent anemic run. I am 22K FPPs, so when I pop over 25K late in the day, I am going to cash the bonus. At my current level, the 25K bonus is the biggest I can get. I would need to be supernova to get the 50K $650 bonus. So I will take the bonuses in 25K chunks. This puts me effectively just above $2.8K, so I am 7 buyins from NL200.
I have also re-arranged my Thor figurine and meditation bowls on my desktop. This should help my fortune immensely.
--
Song of the Day: Nobody's Home by Clint Black
I am going to 7 table today, 4 short and 3 long. That will leave me with just slight overlap on 2 of the long tables. In this way, I should be able to table select pretty well, and maybe push back up to a more reasonable 4K hand total for the day, after my recent anemic run. I am 22K FPPs, so when I pop over 25K late in the day, I am going to cash the bonus. At my current level, the 25K bonus is the biggest I can get. I would need to be supernova to get the 50K $650 bonus. So I will take the bonuses in 25K chunks. This puts me effectively just above $2.8K, so I am 7 buyins from NL200.
I have also re-arranged my Thor figurine and meditation bowls on my desktop. This should help my fortune immensely.
--
Song of the Day: Nobody's Home by Clint Black
10 April 2008 - Out
Out: $2534 (22K FPPs)
--
Hit -5.4 buyins on only 1K hands, so the day officially qualifies as a complete disaster, and what's more, I am done for the day. I am going to play the 20x$12's and maybe a step 1. But the important thing is to stop the bleeding, come back tomorrow with a clear head, and move forward.
It has been brutally hard to accumulate any kind of hand quantity recently.
So I regroup and play 1K hands of NL50 break-even, then go back to NL100, because I am in a just-fine state of mind, and I have to keep grinding. More of the same. End the day -9 buyins. This is the sickest day since my qwest began Dec 10 2007. I just want to cry.
--
Hit -5.4 buyins on only 1K hands, so the day officially qualifies as a complete disaster, and what's more, I am done for the day. I am going to play the 20x$12's and maybe a step 1. But the important thing is to stop the bleeding, come back tomorrow with a clear head, and move forward.
It has been brutally hard to accumulate any kind of hand quantity recently.
So I regroup and play 1K hands of NL50 break-even, then go back to NL100, because I am in a just-fine state of mind, and I have to keep grinding. More of the same. End the day -9 buyins. This is the sickest day since my qwest began Dec 10 2007. I just want to cry.
10 April 2008 - In
Started the day running brutally bad. In just 700 hands I am down 3.25 buyins. I lost a flip for my stack, I made a 2 street c-bet in a raised pot where the guy decides to call me down with AK unimproved, I lost to better trips that filled up, I called down a loose player with an overpair and he shows up with a set instead of the top pair he should have, yada yada yada. So at this point I am taking a half hour forced break to regroup. My play hasn't been terribly bad, maybe I shouldn't have made the 2 street c-bet against a tougher player, as it is usually not my style to mix it up too much with tougher players and maybe I shouldn't have gotten it all in on the flip, but the thing was I was expecting I would have some fold equity, which I obviously did not, and my opponent held onto a tenuous top pair of tens (I was 51-49 on the flop (when the money went in) in pokerstove).
I really did run well yesterday, so an equalling of fortune is not unexpected. I am going to briefly regroup and then hit the tables again.
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Song of the Day: Reason Why by Rachael Yamagata
I really did run well yesterday, so an equalling of fortune is not unexpected. I am going to briefly regroup and then hit the tables again.
--
Song of the Day: Reason Why by Rachael Yamagata
miércoles, 9 de abril de 2008
9 April 2008 - Out
Out: $3442
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Very short day, because of obligations, but very good. Ran +6 buyins on about 1.7K hands. For some reason, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are my best days statistically. I am only 2.5 buyins from NL200, and I have over 20K FPPs, that, right now, I am going to let ride, and try to accumulate into 50K or more.
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Very short day, because of obligations, but very good. Ran +6 buyins on about 1.7K hands. For some reason, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are my best days statistically. I am only 2.5 buyins from NL200, and I have over 20K FPPs, that, right now, I am going to let ride, and try to accumulate into 50K or more.
martes, 8 de abril de 2008
8 April 2008 - Out
Out: $2802 (+19K FPPs)
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Spent all day preparing for the L6. I cold-deck, play super-tight, and get lucky to slide into the money without risking any chips. A couple hands later my AK loses to A3. Such is my life. I'll take the little bit of good fortune where I can get it. Honestly, turning $100 into $500 is a major victory, despite the outcome at the final table. The win puts me at a new alltime high, and counting the accrued but not cashed bonus only about 7 buyins from the $3.7K NL200 cut.
Besides, I get a nice little break from 6m while improving my roll. What could be better?
--
Spent all day preparing for the L6. I cold-deck, play super-tight, and get lucky to slide into the money without risking any chips. A couple hands later my AK loses to A3. Such is my life. I'll take the little bit of good fortune where I can get it. Honestly, turning $100 into $500 is a major victory, despite the outcome at the final table. The win puts me at a new alltime high, and counting the accrued but not cashed bonus only about 7 buyins from the $3.7K NL200 cut.
Besides, I get a nice little break from 6m while improving my roll. What could be better?
8 April 2008 - In
Well the big news is that last night I considered my level 5 ticket to be a big distraction to my cash game, and jumped into a level 5 game. I folded my first 65 hands, got caught stealing 6-5 off but sucked out, and held on to tie for first. So I have a level 6 $2100 buyin 6 man SnG ticket. The payout is $12.5K, 1.5K, 1.5K, 1K, 1K, 500. With just over $100 invested so far, anyone place 6th or better is an incredible return on investment. The tourny plays double stacked, that is $3000 in chips starting with 10/20 blinds and 10 minute changes.
I started the day re-reading The Harrington workbook, and as the level 5 games are getting going, I am scouting the games intensely. I have very good notes on 2/3 of the registered players so far. I hope to get this game played before too long, as the waiting is kind of driving me crazy. But I have been patient this long, and can hold out a bit more. Wish me luck.
I started the day re-reading The Harrington workbook, and as the level 5 games are getting going, I am scouting the games intensely. I have very good notes on 2/3 of the registered players so far. I hope to get this game played before too long, as the waiting is kind of driving me crazy. But I have been patient this long, and can hold out a bit more. Wish me luck.
lunes, 7 de abril de 2008
7 April 2008 - Out
Out: $2302
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Played very well today, including a number of correct reads. One of my reads was that I was way ahead with an overpair, but my opponent hit a gutshot anyway to take my stack. Despite a continued run of very normal/bad luck, I was only down $16 on about 2500 hands.
I have accumulated 17K FPPS, so this is over $150 in bonus. No need to take it now. I am going to wait until it can help me move up. At 25K its worth $285 and at 50K $650.
I turned my remaining level 2 ticket into a level 5 ticket, so this is big news. The level 5 SnGs are $700 buyin. I can't cash this out directly, and there is no payout until level 6. But I have only invested about $100 or so, and the 6th place payout is $500 (at level 6, not level 5). So this is definitely good news. All that remains is deciding how and when to play the level 5.
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Song of the Day (heard on KCRW.com): Bairagi by Anoushka Shankar
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Played very well today, including a number of correct reads. One of my reads was that I was way ahead with an overpair, but my opponent hit a gutshot anyway to take my stack. Despite a continued run of very normal/bad luck, I was only down $16 on about 2500 hands.
I have accumulated 17K FPPS, so this is over $150 in bonus. No need to take it now. I am going to wait until it can help me move up. At 25K its worth $285 and at 50K $650.
I turned my remaining level 2 ticket into a level 5 ticket, so this is big news. The level 5 SnGs are $700 buyin. I can't cash this out directly, and there is no payout until level 6. But I have only invested about $100 or so, and the 6th place payout is $500 (at level 6, not level 5). So this is definitely good news. All that remains is deciding how and when to play the level 5.
--
Song of the Day (heard on KCRW.com): Bairagi by Anoushka Shankar
domingo, 6 de abril de 2008
Weekend Update
Out: $2334
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Continued bad running. Right now, I absolutely refuse to keep pushing with things going so badly. I am 5 buyins down on my previous high of $2600. My graph in PT does not even look bad yet. Hopefully, I will keep it that way. The problem is that if I am destined to run bad for x number of hands, I am just prolonging the agony. So with this in mind, come Monday I am going to return to all day 4-6 tabling, come what may, barring a complete disaster.
To let you know, today I am down 2 buyins on 400 hands. Nothing is working. All the AAs are folded to me. I am only getting action when I can't stand much of it. Yada yada yada I'm sick of hearing myself.
I got to play a level 2 today. I raised 3 blinds (about 10 blinds effective stacks) utg 8 way with AQs and am called in one place. I flop a flush draw and overcards, giving me a monster draw with odds to win vs. top pair. Did it come in? No. I am left crippled. I win the next two hands in the blinds and have 3 blinds. I am folded to with 55 and push all in to be called by QT. So we flip and I lose. I am in a rut right now where everytime I get my $ in with the best of it, I am outdrawn. It is insanely frustrating, and as I said before, its no doubt the reason a lot of people think online poker is rigged. Of course its not, but cripes, runs like these make you really want to pull your fingernails out as a more pleasant alternative to the constant getting out drawn.
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Continued bad running. Right now, I absolutely refuse to keep pushing with things going so badly. I am 5 buyins down on my previous high of $2600. My graph in PT does not even look bad yet. Hopefully, I will keep it that way. The problem is that if I am destined to run bad for x number of hands, I am just prolonging the agony. So with this in mind, come Monday I am going to return to all day 4-6 tabling, come what may, barring a complete disaster.
To let you know, today I am down 2 buyins on 400 hands. Nothing is working. All the AAs are folded to me. I am only getting action when I can't stand much of it. Yada yada yada I'm sick of hearing myself.
I got to play a level 2 today. I raised 3 blinds (about 10 blinds effective stacks) utg 8 way with AQs and am called in one place. I flop a flush draw and overcards, giving me a monster draw with odds to win vs. top pair. Did it come in? No. I am left crippled. I win the next two hands in the blinds and have 3 blinds. I am folded to with 55 and push all in to be called by QT. So we flip and I lose. I am in a rut right now where everytime I get my $ in with the best of it, I am outdrawn. It is insanely frustrating, and as I said before, its no doubt the reason a lot of people think online poker is rigged. Of course its not, but cripes, runs like these make you really want to pull your fingernails out as a more pleasant alternative to the constant getting out drawn.
viernes, 4 de abril de 2008
4 April 2008 - Out
Out: $2293
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An absolutely mind-numbingly bad day at SnGs. I kept getting my $ in with the best of it and getting drawn out upon. Yada yada yada.... I was playing SnGs because I thought I had a pretty decent opportunity with the WSOP step thing on Stars. I figured if I could work it all day I might have a good shot at some money. Think again. Wow, that was absolutely brutal. On the side, I played about 20 normal turbo SnGs and was down about $82. If I would have followed my advice from yesterday, which was to switch (between cash and SnGs) when things aren't going well, I would have changed over at lunchtime. But as it stood, I ended up pi$$ing the whole day away with very little cash play. What a waste. I suppose on the positive side I did get a break, and in the grand scheme of things it wasn't so bad, but I was so hopeful this morning. What an awful day. At one point I got kicked out of 10 in a row, and on each one, I got my $ in ahead with my opponent drawing to no better than 5 outs + runner/runner, and I lost each one. Mind numbing. Its stuff like this that makes people think online poker is rigged. But anyway, regroup and move on.
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Song of the Day: I Don't Mind At All by Bourgeois Tagg
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An absolutely mind-numbingly bad day at SnGs. I kept getting my $ in with the best of it and getting drawn out upon. Yada yada yada.... I was playing SnGs because I thought I had a pretty decent opportunity with the WSOP step thing on Stars. I figured if I could work it all day I might have a good shot at some money. Think again. Wow, that was absolutely brutal. On the side, I played about 20 normal turbo SnGs and was down about $82. If I would have followed my advice from yesterday, which was to switch (between cash and SnGs) when things aren't going well, I would have changed over at lunchtime. But as it stood, I ended up pi$$ing the whole day away with very little cash play. What a waste. I suppose on the positive side I did get a break, and in the grand scheme of things it wasn't so bad, but I was so hopeful this morning. What an awful day. At one point I got kicked out of 10 in a row, and on each one, I got my $ in ahead with my opponent drawing to no better than 5 outs + runner/runner, and I lost each one. Mind numbing. Its stuff like this that makes people think online poker is rigged. But anyway, regroup and move on.
--
Song of the Day: I Don't Mind At All by Bourgeois Tagg
jueves, 3 de abril de 2008
3 April 2008 - Out
Out: $2431
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Ran about +$200 on SnGs today, so not bad, and finished the day up, even though I got lambasted in the cash games. I played cash for about 1 hour mid afternoon, and I recovered somewhat. So this is a big change from me in the past where I would continue to grind things out and get more and more frustrated. But mostly just SnGs today.
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Ran about +$200 on SnGs today, so not bad, and finished the day up, even though I got lambasted in the cash games. I played cash for about 1 hour mid afternoon, and I recovered somewhat. So this is a big change from me in the past where I would continue to grind things out and get more and more frustrated. But mostly just SnGs today.
3 April 2008 - In
Absolute continuation of the general awfulness of yesterday. It was so bad after 500 hands (down 2.5 buyins) that I sat out of all my tables and switched to SnGs. I just had absolutely nothing at the tables, was getting played back at every hand, etc. In situations like this I think its best not to force it. Just let the bad luck run its course while trying not to lose your shirt.
The SnGs, on the other hand, have gone very well. So far in the turbo 6 seaters I am 7 for 9 in the money. As I try to decide whether to take another shot at the cash games, I notice that it is just a bad day- all the tables have waiting lists, too many regulars per fish. I think I'll stick to the SnGs for now, I am not encountering any repeat players, so this is a good thing.
The SnGs, on the other hand, have gone very well. So far in the turbo 6 seaters I am 7 for 9 in the money. As I try to decide whether to take another shot at the cash games, I notice that it is just a bad day- all the tables have waiting lists, too many regulars per fish. I think I'll stick to the SnGs for now, I am not encountering any repeat players, so this is a good thing.
miércoles, 2 de abril de 2008
2 April 2008 - Out
Out: $2352
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Absolutely awful day with nothing going well. My biggest losers: set over set and flush over set. Tables were moving slow and I just hit 2300 hands on the day. Note taking was slow, everything was slow. I just wasn't getting into spots except when I was beat. I did have maybe 2 really good plays on the day, including one that I was definitely a level up on a good player. It could have been a lot worse, but -2.1 buyins in 2300 is pretty bad. I consider -5 buyins in 5K hands to be a disaster, so percentagewise, this was just about a disaster day. I had to switch out tables a number of times today to prevent monkey tilt. I ended the session 45 minutes early because things were just going so bad, and I ended up with 2 SnGs.
The first one was kind of funny because it was 3 handed and I hadn't even opened a pot. My bad luck continued as I hit TP while the table luckbox hit 2P and I was out in 3rd. The other I don't open a hand until 1K in chips and $150 blinds, I get QQ, hit a set, and lose to AAA. That is the day in essence; pure and unadultrated mind-f***ing-numbing badness.
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Absolutely awful day with nothing going well. My biggest losers: set over set and flush over set. Tables were moving slow and I just hit 2300 hands on the day. Note taking was slow, everything was slow. I just wasn't getting into spots except when I was beat. I did have maybe 2 really good plays on the day, including one that I was definitely a level up on a good player. It could have been a lot worse, but -2.1 buyins in 2300 is pretty bad. I consider -5 buyins in 5K hands to be a disaster, so percentagewise, this was just about a disaster day. I had to switch out tables a number of times today to prevent monkey tilt. I ended the session 45 minutes early because things were just going so bad, and I ended up with 2 SnGs.
The first one was kind of funny because it was 3 handed and I hadn't even opened a pot. My bad luck continued as I hit TP while the table luckbox hit 2P and I was out in 3rd. The other I don't open a hand until 1K in chips and $150 blinds, I get QQ, hit a set, and lose to AAA. That is the day in essence; pure and unadultrated mind-f***ing-numbing badness.
martes, 1 de abril de 2008
1 April 2008 - Out
Out: $2611
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Good day +5.5 buyins on 3200 hands, mostly all on fast 6m tables. I got in one situation today where I was really outplayed. I caught a guy in a bluff, then about 2 hands later, he bets out in exactly the same manner and I call him down with TPTK, but he was one level ahead, as he had flopped 2P and was thinking that I would be thinking that it was a bluff (which I was) so he played it like a bluff. He totally used me. I was completely on auto-pilot and I did not think about the situation properly. It was in fact my biggest loser of the day. Maybe tempered a little bit by catching him in the bluff earlier, but overall he hung me out to dry. So then I noticed I was getting floated a lot on the flop, so I had to adjust and start 2 barreling more, no problems there. Then I tried a stone bluff against that same player, who was really laggy, so I figured that if I 3 bet then bet out the flop it would work a high percentage of the time, since he usually had crap, but it didn't. Then I realized I was spending too much energy against a tricky player who was at least as likely, if not more likely, to outplay me, so I changed tables. That (changing tables) was a really good move.
It was kind of a strange day in that all my winning and losings were net less than 1 buyin. I only lost 3 pots over 40 blinds, but I won 13 over 40 blinds. I am adding a lot of notes on players, and at least once I used a specific note read (as opposed to PAHud read which I use all the time) to make a nice 3 street value betting sequence.
I am making about 1 FPP per hand, so since (knock on wood) I don't need the bonus money right now I am going to let it ride, and shoot for 25K FPPs, and I can cash that in for $285 - a $35 extra over cashing 5 x 5000 FPPs at $50 each. I am standing at 7.5K.
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Good day +5.5 buyins on 3200 hands, mostly all on fast 6m tables. I got in one situation today where I was really outplayed. I caught a guy in a bluff, then about 2 hands later, he bets out in exactly the same manner and I call him down with TPTK, but he was one level ahead, as he had flopped 2P and was thinking that I would be thinking that it was a bluff (which I was) so he played it like a bluff. He totally used me. I was completely on auto-pilot and I did not think about the situation properly. It was in fact my biggest loser of the day. Maybe tempered a little bit by catching him in the bluff earlier, but overall he hung me out to dry. So then I noticed I was getting floated a lot on the flop, so I had to adjust and start 2 barreling more, no problems there. Then I tried a stone bluff against that same player, who was really laggy, so I figured that if I 3 bet then bet out the flop it would work a high percentage of the time, since he usually had crap, but it didn't. Then I realized I was spending too much energy against a tricky player who was at least as likely, if not more likely, to outplay me, so I changed tables. That (changing tables) was a really good move.
It was kind of a strange day in that all my winning and losings were net less than 1 buyin. I only lost 3 pots over 40 blinds, but I won 13 over 40 blinds. I am adding a lot of notes on players, and at least once I used a specific note read (as opposed to PAHud read which I use all the time) to make a nice 3 street value betting sequence.
I am making about 1 FPP per hand, so since (knock on wood) I don't need the bonus money right now I am going to let it ride, and shoot for 25K FPPs, and I can cash that in for $285 - a $35 extra over cashing 5 x 5000 FPPs at $50 each. I am standing at 7.5K.
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