Back To The Grind

It's been a while since I've had anything to say, hence the dry spell with posts. As mentioned previously, I have been waiting on a check to arrive and that day has finally come. After taking care of some financial obligations that had been weighing me down mentally (along with clogging up my voice mail with collector's calls - at least I was keeping people in the collection's department employed,) I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off of my shoulders. I had been suffering from restless nights due to my financial position so I hope to be sleeping easier in the days to come. For the first time in my whole life I will be able to approach the felt battlefields with a clear conscience in regards to being properly funded. I have set aside a sufficient bankroll to get me going and I have money set aside to cover living expenses. In my time off I have been studying material on limit hold'em in anticipation of my return to playing.

I am psyched to get back to the grind. If you read blogs of some pros they talk about how they cannot stand the grind of playing table poker and how they believe online play is superior. There are pros and cons to each but I much prefer table poker to the virtual brand. There is just something romantic to me about the sound of riffling chips filling the air, the feel of real cards be squeezed out between my fingers, and the counting and recounting of checks before I move them into the center of the felt. Only a degenerate would find such things romantic. From the outside looking in, the life of a poker player looks sexy. A poker player gets to make his own hours, gets to play a game for a living, and carries large amounts of cash on him at all times. In reality, sitting at a table for 8 - 14 hours or more in clothes soaked with sweat, choaking on the scent of your own body odor along with smells of all the other mopes at the table, listening to the same bad beat stories over and over again, and carrying large amounts of cash that you cannot spend because the reality is this is your working capital for the business you are in is not particularly sexy in the least bit. However, all this still appeals to me on some level that I really cannot accurately formulate. I have so much admiration for the classic players such as Doyle Brunson, Brian "Sailor" Roberts, Amarillo "Slim" Preston, Jack Strauss, Puggy Pearson, Johnny Moss, and a host of other old timers that played brutally long sessions day in and day out to make their bones. There were no books to learn from at that time so they relied on playing long hours and seeing tons of hands to develop and revise their playing strategies. In addition, they did not have the luxury of virtual play on the internet. For instance, I played over 500 hands (roughly 8 hours) of limit hold'em yesterday at mico stakes just to get my card senses flowing again. It would have taken me a 16 1/2 hour session live to see as many hands as I did online. Online you get to see nearly double the amount of hands as you do live and in this regard I give the nod to online play as being superior. In limit hold'em, my edge comes from making less mistakes than my opponents. Therefore, the more decisions they get to make, the better my expectation of making a profit. It's just like playing a table game in the pits. I may get ahead for awhile playing craps or roulette, but giving enough trials I am guaranteed to walk away with my wallet lighter. It's the same for limit hold'em provided I am playing at stakes that I can afford and against competition that I can beat. At the stakes I am currently playing I am not worried about the competition. Make no mistake about it, online poker will be part of my game plan for making this career choice work for me. However, I do not play as well online as I do in a brick and mortar card rooms. I am not about to tell you that I am a master at picking up physical tells and that's what makes me so much better than when I play online. However, I do get a better sense of where a player is at in a hand when I can look across the felt at him. For instance, online I have no idea whether the villain I am heads up with is taking a lot of time making his decision because he has a borderline decision to make, or if his connection went down, or he got a phone call, or he is surfing porn and has not realized it is his turn to act. With that said, I feel my big bets per 100 hands will be lower online compared to live play but I am still a +EV player online so it will be worth my while to play when it is not feasible to make it to one of the card rooms here in town or I just want to get in some additional hands later in the day after playing a live session. Also, I must give a nod to those who point out that I will be able to multi-table my play online. Therein, even if I expect to make less BBs per 100 hands online, playing two or more tables I will be able to multiply my win rate accordingly. You just have to have the resolve to play ABC poker since your attention will be split amongst several tables. No matter, ABC poker gets the money at low limit play online. Hell, it gets the money at table play as well until you start to get to the middle limits and above where you really need to consider your opponents' tendencies much more closely along with switching up your own play to throw off observant and astute players. Even though there are many pros to being an online pro, I cannot stomach the thought of sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day. If I wanted to do that, I'd find myself a real job. Besides, like the "Mad Genius" Mike Caro said people don't take the time and effort to make their way down to the cardroom to fold...I do.

With it being Rebecca's weekend, I plan on starting my final run at this brand of employment Sunday. Not sure where I plan on playing yet. I live right across from the South Point and I may give that a shot to start off with. I plan on playing $4/$8 limit hold'em to begin with. I don't think there is a single professional playing this low but my reasoning is I want to start back slowly and really get my card sense on point before venturing higher. I would like to pad the bankroll I have set aside some so that I minimize my risk of going broke. I figure logging sufficient hours at 4$/$8 I should be able to realize a profit of $2,000 a month. I am figuring I can average roughly 2 big bets an hour since the players are so bad at these stakes. That will not make me rich anytime soon but it will pay my portion of our living expenses and allow me to add to my bankroll. And if I can't achieve 2 big bets per hour, then I will just have to log enough hours of play to ensure I make my monthly nut. I will then start taking single session shots at the bigger games to see how I fair. Hell, if I can't make $2 G's a month then I really need to put this pipe dream to bed and go find some real employment. I also think it's time to find some breakfast. Take care and check back soon for a review of my upcoming session.

Thought Of The Week 3/23 - 3/29: Soft Playing

This is a new weekly feature I am staring on The Vegas Experiment blog. I will provide my own commentary on the things I see at the tables, or life in general, that give me pause for concern or just piss me off in some way, shape, or form. This week's thought involves friends soft playing each other at the tables.

FRIENDS SOFT PLAYING EACH OTHER

This shit would never fly with my friends back home. My buddy B. Litty just the other day informed me of an $800 pot in a local NL hold'em home game that I've been known to frequent when I'm in town. Furthermore, it was against both his and my good buddy Duck. There was no remorse in the tone of his email about the hand. Just told it like it was. He knows someday or another, he will lose in that spot. That's what makes the game such a challenge and so much fun. In fact, everyone I know would take it as a sign of disrespect, not only towards each other, but also towards all other players at the table. I believe in the saying handed down by one of the poker legends (not sure if it was Baldwin or Brunson, or was it someone else?) that goes something along the lines of "I would be willing to break my grandmother for her prescription money if she was sitting at the same table as me." Instead, the same boobs sit around and play the same lousy poker day and day out and when the pot gets heads up between them, they check it down between each other, one of them shows the nuts, and they both have a good laugh. Fuck that! Hell, that is borderline collusion. How do I know they are not working to trap me when I am in a hand that includes both of them? I believe in playing everyone as hard as possible. I mean, if we were all on the basketball court, would they take it easy on each other? Probably not. And why is that? Because they are competing and what good is competing if you don't play as hard as possible? Throw some money into the equation and I guess that principle flies out the window for some people.

I wanted to voice my concerns, but I honestly felt it would do no good. I mean, let's think about the repercussions.

1) I piss off my fishy opponents by calling bullshit. I do not think they are clever enough to collude and work together so accusing them of this would not be smart. Furthermore, they seem like fine gentlemen otherwise and the thought of working together probably never crossed their minds. All I could do is call into question how such play affects the integrity of the game, but my feeling is this ruins the friendly atmosphere that surrounds this game.

2) If I called the floor over, how exactly would I voice my concern? I mean, I know what's going on, but to tell the floor that the guy checking the nuts down to his buddy isn't going to fly. Maybe he was afraid of the flush draw or whatever that the board was showing. You can't make a guy bet his hand, and most times you don't want him to if you're behind and drawing to a probable winner.

So, instead I bite my tongue and grin and bear it. Sometimes I wish other players recognized the spirit of the game and played accordingly. On the other hand, because players do not recognize this, amongst a plethoria of other things surrounding the game, I make long term profits from their bad decisions at the table.

Go ahead and post some feedback on your thoughts on this issue. Have you ever come across this sort of thing in public card rooms or private home games? How did you or would you have handled it?

Why The River And I Do Not Get Along

I didn't sleep well last night. It's hot in our bedroom and we do not have a ceiling fan. I think today we will go out and get a floor fan to keep it comfortable at least until air conditioning season falls upon us. Even though I was tired going into yesterday's session, fatigue was not a factor. Our game got going late (1:40 pm.) Maybe people were watching the morning NCAA tourney games. Not really sure, since the guys at the table didn't seem to have much interest in the games that were on while we were playing. I was happy to see 'Nova got their heads out of their asses and didn't lose to American University. That was about the only bright spot from yesterday. Today is an off day from play for me. Gonna spend the day with wifey. We have two free breakfast buffet comps at the new M Resort so we're leaving for their shortly. Hoping that their pool area is ready today because I'd like to watch some of the tourney games outside by their pool bar and grill. I could use a nice recovery day after getting beaten up yesterday by improbable draws.

Yesterday's session reminded me of the final sessions I played last year before I went broke where not much seemed to go my way.

Hand 1) In the first of my two heartbreaking beats I was in the big blind with 6-40. Limped in many spots and I check the option. Flop comes down 7-3-A. I check and it gets bet in the next position which is exactly what I want. All call and I take a card off knowing that if I flop my gin card of 5 I will be holding the nuts. The 5 does come off and I check. Again it is bet directly to my left, only a couple call, and I check-raise. The guy on my left folds and the small blind on my right calls. Another 5 falls on the river. He checks and I check behind him. I ask him if he has a boat and tables A5o for the runner-runner fives full. The 11-1 redraws and gets there after I hit my own 11-1 on the turn (what's even funnier is that I hit my gutshot twice. we all know how hard it is to hit it once. psychologically it would have been easier to take if it hit a remaining Ace.) I proceed to tilt slightly for about 10 minutes. Taking flops with poor holdings hoping to get lucky but having enough sense to muck after the flop. I could feel the heat spewing out of my track jacket by my neck.

Hand 2) I get dealt AA in first position. I should note here that I hate getting Aces UTG or up front in general. I was playing uber-tight for the hour preceding this hand but it didn't matter. I got called in 6 other spots. The flop comes down all low cards (3-8-5 rainbow.) I bet out and I am called in all but one spot. The turn pairs the board with another 3. I bet out, the guy to my left folds, the button calls, and the big blind raises. I ask for time and think about what he could have. Judging from his play, I didn't think he would call preflop with anything other than a premium hand even though he would have gotten the right odds to callwith any two. I proceed to just call, though in hindsight I think I should have reraised to try to knockout the button and get the pot heads up. The button calls and we see the river card appears to me an inconsiquental T. The big blind bets his final $6 and I know I am priced in to call. I feel the button is weak and I know he will come along anyway because the pot is so big. The big blind flips over pocket TT and rivers tens full. I show the rockets and the button shows J8s for a weak two pair. The big blind got one of his two outs on the river. What I found out later was that the guy to my left had pocket QQ and mucked on the turn. Wow, what a good fold and what terrible flop play. If he reraises me preflop I get to cap on the flop, totally giving away my hand and I may win the pot on the flop or on the turn. Just goes to show the mindset of players at this level. It takes so long to pick up premium pocket pairs and then they don't push people around with them. Instead, they price in the table to take flops with ridiculous holdings.

Oh well, I've been playing these stakes for several years and know exactly what to expect by now. I was playing with $200 lying around the house hoping to grow it before my money arrived. That didn't happen so now I will have to hold off on playing until my funds get here. I think it's for the best. It will give me time to complete the several pages left of my final paper for graduate school and with the rest of my free time brush up on some concepts in my limit hold'em books.

It should also be noted I had a wonderful weekend with my wifey. We hung out and watched the tourney games. Pulling for 'Nova, Xavier, and 'Cuse in the Sweet 16. Wifey's six team parlay lost on her first game. That made me laugh. Maybe some day she'll learn to just pick a game and just play it. The bingo parlor offers better odds than her parlay cards.

Hours Played This Session: 4
Gave: $144
$ Per Hour: -$36

Earn:
Month to Date: -$123
Year to Date: -$123
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$7.81
Total Hours Played Year to Date: 15.75
Sessions Played Year to Date: 3
Win/Loss Record by Session: 1/2 33.3%

Settling Back In

I'm truly exhausted. Don't have it in me tonight to give you the blow by blow for this session. Suffice it to say, it was much like yesterday's. Played my usual style and had a couple big hands not hold up in big pots.

Briefly, flopped top two pair with QJo. The board came with two hearts, so that combined with the flop being coordinated I played the hand fast and rammed it. I got ran down by an ATs in spades. I know what you're thinking and it's much worse than that. He didn't hit his gutshot on me which is approximately 5.5 - 1 to come in by the river, but rather he went runner-runner to the nut flush with is approximately 23 - 1 to come by the river. I blame the way he played it on the flop, but once that second spade hits the board he is getting the right odds to take a card off and see the river. He has great implied odds in that if he misses either his spade or the jacks he can muck quite easily while if he hits any spade or 3 out of 4 jacks his also makes the nuts (the jack of hearts would give him a straight but give me a possible flush.) I had a feeling I was beat when he bet into me on the river. However, I didn't expect him to say "I've got the nuts." I didn't even see the back door flush possibility. Goes to show I'm still a bit rusty but my instincts were still there.

On another hand I am holding the two red kings early position. The UTG limps in and I raise. Another player cold calls, the big blind comes along, and the limper completes. The flop comes down with three spades. Early position player checks, I bet, two folds back to UTG player and he calls. He bet out on the turn when a blank fell and I raised him. He smoothe called me. Now I was really confused. I was ready to muck if he three bet it back to me being that I was drawing dead to a flush at that point. The river brings the king of spades, putting 4 to the flush on the board and giving me top set. UTG checks and I check behind and he tables the 34 of spades to my three kings and takes the pot down with the 4 of spades to complete the flush. I figured out after the hand that when I raised him on the turn, he thought I might have a bigger flush. I kinda felt that he would have check raised me in that spot if he had the goods and thought the leading at the pot was meant to scare me off so I trusted my gut and raised him, just in case he was holding the ace of spades and was betting a draw. I wanted to charge him the maximum price. Turns out he was worried I was doing the same thing and when the king of spades fell on the end it scared him. Looking back I should have made one last stab at the pot because I was pretty sure at this point that would be the only way I could take it down. He check showed weakness and I should have picked up on that. My spidey senses are just starting to come back to me, so again this is a learning moment. In a big pot that I showed a lot of aggression in, I should have made one last play at the pot. I only have to pick it up once in probably 7 or 8 times to show a profit.

Other than those two notable hands I lost, the winning ones I showed down were nothing special. Just playing good cards in good position and value betting them as much as possible. It seemed like a long session today. Not sure why though. I used to be able to play 10 - 12 hour sessions without it phasing me. Hoping that I am just getting back into the swing of things and that my stamnia will improve with time.


Hours Played This Session: 5.75
Take: $54
$ Per Hour: $9.39

Earn:
Month to Date: $21
Year to Date: $21
Hourly Rate Year to Date: $1.79
Total Hours Played Year to Date: 11.75
Sessions Played Year to Date: 2
Win/Loss Record by Session: 1/1 50.0%

Day 1 All Over Again

Well, it's been awhile. Some parts of the game felt natural, others didn't. The six hour session got to me. I used to never get up. Today, I made sure to take two breaks so that I could clear my head and stretch my legs. I'm not in poker playing shape. Hell, I'm not in any kind of shape at the moment. To put it mildly, I'm fat. But, I'm very proud of how I played. My cards picked up where they left off last year with two distinct exceptions which I'll get to in due time. First, I want to sum up the session. What sticks in my mind is that I didn't tip a dealer for 4 straight dealer changes. I wasn't keeping track but usually a dealer sits at a table for 20 minutes at minimum. I figure I had a stretch where I folded nearly every hand for 90 minutes. The hands I did play were mucked after the flop. Yet, I was able to persevere and battle through the frustration. Small win usually, big win when you are getting back after a long layoff.

OK, I'm not a fan of bad beat stories. This blog is all about telling it like it is, or at the very least how I perceived the reality of the situation. So, with no further ado, my two tales from this session end with the hero (me) winning the pot (yay!) The first hand was a bit weird. I was in late position with pocket 88. Multiple limpers in front of me, I think about 4 with me in the cut off. The button and blinds come along and it feels like a family affair. Flop comes with me holding an over pair. Well, I only have eights so that means at the very least it is a semi-coordinated board. Actually, I'm holding a gutshot with board showing 7-5-4. I think it came rainbow but no matter because with my position I'm gonna ram it and jam it on the flop. Someone up front bets it and as usual in this game everyone calls because it's a small bet. I bump it up a unit and mostly everyone behind me comes along as well. This gives me pause for concern. I could be looking at two pair, a set, or a well priced in straight draw. A king comes on the turn and it's checked to me. I check along thinking that if it gets bet and I get to close the action I'll take flyer on the gut shot. It wasn't. A jack comes on the river and I know for sure I'm mucking if it's bet. It isn't. I check along and so do the two players behind me. The dealer asks for us to show a winner so I flip first. Being that I made the last aggresive action I abide by etique and show first. Reluctantly some muck and others show their meek holdings such as A4o and A5o. I'm amazed that I get to take down a decent sized pot with not much of a hand. The player to might right comments that I've been very patient and deserved the pot. Patience doesn't deserve dick. Each hand is unique unto itself and I'm pleased to take a nice pot that I thought I might not get.

Fast forward 20 minutes and this time I'm on the button. I look down at KJs. For those of you that know me you know that KJ is my least favorite broadway hand. Two limpers in front of me and I call on the button. The small comes along and the big checks the option. The flop comes down J-J-Q with 2 spades. The first player bets, the second calls and I make it 2 bets. The blind fold and the 2 players with money in the pot call. The case J comes on the turn and I'm sitting on the nuts. The first player bets into me and I'm dumbfounded. To further add to my delight the middle player calls and I smoothe call. The river is a meaningless card (I was hoping for a third spade in case one of them is drawing at the flush) and again the first player bets and the middle player calls. I raise knowing I can't be beat. The first player thinks for about a minute and calls. The middle player mucks and I show the goods. He shows AQo for the best house which isn't close to being good enough. I take down a monster pot and thank the poker gods for my great position and even better turn card. I gave this hand much thought and could not determine how the first player thought his hand was good. I was playing uber-tight and only pushing my hands when they were good. It goes to show that at this level table image means nothing. I'm going to use this as a lesson in that I will remain tight-aggressive and play with position whenever possible. Players at this level fail to get past the first level of thinking which is "what do I have?" Most do not give much thought to what their opponent has. This is fundamental flaw amongst these players, along with playing terrible hands out of position and not raising with good hands preflop to limit the field. Well, admittedly that rarely works at this level but I'd rather get more money in with an edge than just limp with a premium hand and allow my opponents to a chance to see a cheap flop with rags. Pushing any perceivable edge is the key to maximizing poker profits. This is especially true in low limit hold'em where opponents are getting near to the right price to draw many times with meager holdings.

The only other hand I feel I should metion comes with me in the big blind. I check my option to raise holding A6o. The flop comes down with A-8-6 with 2 spades. I check in first position, a middle player bets and another middle position player calls. I check raise forcing out the two early position players who checked. The other 2 players with money in the pot call. The turn brings a T of spades and I check. The next player bets and the other player drops out. Heads up we go the river. Another T falls and now I'm in a shitty spot. My thinking goes as follows: 1) I didn't fill up, 2) the villain may have a flush, & 3) if the villain has an A, then his 2 pair trumps mine (I have As and Ts with a 6, he has As and Ts with a better kicker. I check and fold to his river bet. I muck my A6 face up hoping to get a read on whether I was beat. He doesn't give anything away when I do so but I think the fact that he doesn't show me a bluff or a lesser hand confirms that he was good. He seemed like the kind of player that plays more for the thrill of the hunt than the satisfaction of the kill. In other words, if he got me off a better hand he would have shown it to me. I'm pretty sure I would have called a river bet if my hand had not been counterfeited. Maybe the T on the end saved me $8, maybe it cost me one last big bet. I'm almost certain he had the flush which leaves me drawing to 4 outs (2 As and 2 6s.) If I fill up I think I can gain an extra big bet on the river, so I felt I was paying $8 on the turn to make $16 on the river. That taken with the size of the pot gave me the proper implied odds to take a card off in that spot.

All in all I felt I played a great session. Most low limit players would have gotten bored or frustrated by folding pre-flop so many times and would have started playing poor hands due to lack of discipline. I believe that it's all one long session. The next hand has no memory of the hands that came before it. If I fold 50 times in a row, it has no bearing on the next hand. If I go on a rush and take down 5 pots in a row I am no more likely to take down the next one. Hand value in relation to position and other players' actions are the key to making money at this game. Today refenforced that even though I left the table a small loser. In all honesty, I felt like a winner today. Can't wait to play tomorrow.

I'm starting from scratch on my figures for this new run, leaving out the career earnings. I feel they are meaningless. I don't need to prove to you that I am a winning player throughout my lifetime. Those of you that know me know that I've posted profits from my play over the last several years. Rather, the purpose of this blog is to keep records of how I am doing in the present. If any of you have feedback on figures that I can provide that will give more perspective on my play please let me know and I will include them here. This blog is both for your entertainment and my professional progression. Let's make it a win-win.

Hours Played This Session: 6.0
Gave: $33
$ Per Hour: -$5.50

Earn:
Month to Date: -$33
Year to Date: -$33
Hourly Rate Year to Date: -$5.50

Act I, Scene II: A Second Attempt

Last year I went on a really bad run and never published the results. I put the card playing career on hold. In a fit, I trashed my Stat King records so I can't even go back and update the blog with the results of that run. If memory serves me correctly, I think I gave away about $600 in a five day span. I wasn't properly funded at the time and have since worked some odd jobs in the fitness industry over the past 8 months. Recently, I've come into some money. I won't get too deep into how that came about other than my grandfather passed unexpectedly and he was generous enough in death to provide me with a better life. I would give back every penny if I could in return for just one more day or one last conversation. I wish I had been able to make him a little more proud of me. I don't feel like I accomplished enough while he was here. Now I need to honor him with how I live my life from here on out. I'm not sure he would approve of playing cards for a living, but it's a dream of mine to do so and that's what I will pursue for now. Being adequately bankrolled for the first time in my life, I believe that will be the key to being successful. I will be able to make the plays that I believe are correct and not worry about going broke. That confidence will be huge. If I happen to dig up my lost records I will be sure to post them for all to see. I really wish I had kept them because I would like to review them. I'm pretty sure it was a case of variance, which I know works both ways. You're never as good as you think you are when you're running well and you're never as bad or as unlucky as you believe you are when things are falling apart around you. I'm going to try to keep that in mind as I attack this game for a second time. One other note, I will be able to play as many hours as I like this time around. In the beginning, I was taking Rebecca to and from work and that cut into my table time. Being that we both have our own transportation now, there are no excuses for not logging a ton of hours. I plan on playing a nice long session today and we'll see what comes of it. I'll post again later tonight when I get back with all the juicy tidbits of the session while they are still fresh in my mind.

It's good to be back. Wish me luck even though I don't believe in it.

PS - below I was able to dig up a draft of a post I was working on when I went bust. I've published it below. It is very rough but I wanted to keep it that way since updating it now would take some of the angst out of it being that I've been removed from that feeling for quite awhile.

Rough Patch (final post from last year)

Just found this draft of a blog from my demise last year. It doesn't provide all the figures at the bottom but it gives you the gist of what transpired.


I haven't won a session in a week. I am down to the felt for the time being so it looks like I will have to pick up some type of regular work to pay my share of the bills. I only lasted one month as a full time pro, so that really has me depressed. and the thing of it is I literally watched in astonishment as river after river brought my opponent a three or four outer. in another spot, I had my Aces cracked by a J9o and a three handed pot where it was only a limper in middle position, the small blind, and me in the big blind. I raised to build the pot and they both came along. the flop is jack high, I bet and only the limper calls. the turn brings a nine and I get check raised. I should have just mucked there but when you've been card dead for a week you just get attached to your lonely pair of Aces that take 221 hands to appear. about 30 minutes after that hand and I was down to my last $50 I picked up AJs in middle position and decided to limp because I had been raising with all my good hands (AK 5x being suited 3x and only winning one pot out of those holdings.) Only the small blind completes and the big blind checks and the flop comes Jack high. it was bet in first position, called by the big blind, and I called with the strategy of raising on the turn. turn looked safe, the first position checks, the big blind bets, I raise (which also works to hopefully limit the hand to a heads up confrontation) and the small blind folds. the big blind calls and the river comes with a Queen. the big blind checks and I bet, he calls and I show what I believe to be the winning hand of a pair of Jacks with the boss kicker. he tables 26o for a deuce through six straight. I am dumbfounded at what has transpired over the past week. and I am now broke to go with it.

"I'm down to the felt Knish."

But I still believe in my skills and abilities and I will be back in the game soon enough. I just hate the thought of actually having to get a real job which requires regular hours and the like.

The First Losing Session Of The Month

I've been on a bit of a roll to start of this month. Things really just couldn't go wrong. Usually, I find that I win but always feel like I should have won more had I not been sucked out on so much. For the first two weeks of this month, I was the one sucking out when behind (but I was also having most of my strong hands stand up to boot.) The past two days have seen a role reversal. On Tuesday, I couldn't make a hand stand up and was getting beat by two and three outers in big pots. Tuesday if luck had run average I would have come home about $150 ahead. but since my luck was running so good before, I know this is just part of the deal. when the dust settles and the numbers get back in line with how the probablities predict them, I know I'll be ahead of the game through superior hand selection and post-flop play. Well, at least until I build my bankroll and then move up in stakes. then we will see how I match up against the better competition. Wednesday I persevered and finally scratched and clawed my way back to water level.

Yesterday was more of the same. for the four hours I sat there, I was card dead for 3 1/2 hours worth of the session. the kind of stretch is meaningless in the long run, but to fold hand after hand for three hours gets kind of monotonous. every time I found a hand in a position where I thought I could be the first in and take control somebody in front of me beat me to the punch. There was an Asian man two seats to my right who I had played with on Wednesday and knew that he liked to raise without the needed hand values (hands like ATo and KJo) but I couldn't find a hand of my own to make it three bets to go when he bumped it up. There was an Asian lady four seats to my right that was also raising way to much. Alas, I never could find the goods to isolate either of them the way I would have liked. I worked my stack all the way down to the felt and then after putting another $50 on the table I worked my stack back up to where I started. Then an interesting hand came up and I am not sure if I played it correctly. I will go over it in detail and I welcome any feedback you may have as to how I could have played it better.

The table is down to six players at this point and the aforementioned Asian lady has just won her second pot in a row to make it a kill game of $6/$12. She is in middle position and it gets folded around to me on the button. I look down at Q8s in diamonds and decide that with position I am going to raise and isolate her. Preflop the plan works to perfection as the $12 to go gets the blinds out of the way and I am now heads up with an overly aggressive player. the flop comes down 8-T-x rainbow and I have flopped middle pair. She checks to me and I bet hoping to pick up the pot right there but if not I am still pretty sure I have her beat at the moment. I thought I sensed weakness in her call. the turn brings another 8 and I bet out again. This time she raises me. My read was that she had also hit the 8 with me but had a lesser kicker. I re-raised her and she played back at me again. Ut-oh. well, I am not totally sure I am beat or drawing dead at this point since she was so aggressive she could have made that play with an 8 since I felt her read of me was I had a big pocket pair since I raised preflop and had been playing so tight the entire session. I flat called her raise and called her river bet. she turned over pocket tens for a flopped set and a turned boat, leaving me drawing dead to an 8 on the river. by the way, the river was a meaning card but thankfully not a Q. I would have lost another couple of big bets (actually bigger bets since these were $12 increments due to the kill) had that occurred. Replaying the hand in my head the only spot I am not sure about re-raising her raise on the turn. but rather than second guess myself, I feel it is much better to trust your instincts and reads. otherwise, why try to play the game at a high level if you do not try to push your edges when you perceive you have one. maybe I should have gotten up after weathering the storm and getting my stack back, but the opposite could have also been true. I could be telling you about how my read was spot on and I won an additional rack after being down all day. hey, it's one long session anyway, so as long as the game is good and I am not tilting or tired, I should be in there battling away. I did feel like I got sucker punched after that hand and left the table shortly there after to pick up the real bread winner of the house.

In closing, it must be said that LAG Asian lady had the best hand start to finish. it goes that way sometimes, but I would still raise in that spot with those cards ten times out of ten. With position and the dead money in the blinds I feel like that spot is a long term money winner for me. My read was off this time, but hopefully as a result it will become sharper and I will become more aware. I'm experienced enough to know that when the board pairs there is a certain likelihood of a 'house at the showdown and that was what I fully expected to see in this hand as well after the turn betting sequence. but with the pot so big, as David Sklansky would say it would be a "mathematical catestrophe" to lay throw away the winner for one more bet. getting about 8 to 1 on the call, I only have to be right one in nine times. I can almost guarantee that she would have played trip 8's the same way in this spot so after further review I am not so disgusted with my play. just a little bummed.

here are figures for the week to date. looks like I'm treading water at the moment.

(6/15)
Hours Played This Session: 2.75
Take: $161
$ Per Hour: $58.55

Earn:
Month to Date: $771
Year to Date: $1,011
Hourly Rate Year to Date: $13.62
Career Earnings: $1,628

(6/17)
Hours Played This Session: 3.25
Take: $6
$ Per Hour: $1.85

Earn:
Month to Date: $777
Year to Date: $1,017
Hourly Rate Year to Date: $13.13
Career Earnings: $1,634

(6/18)
Hours Played This Session: 4
Gave: -$105
$ Per Hour: -$26.25

Earn:
Month to Date: $672
Year to Date: $912
Hourly Rate Year to Date: $11.19
Career Earnings: $1,529

Living Right

No bad beat stories here. Actually, I think I am on the right side of variance for once. I've always believed that you're not as bad as you seem to be when things are running bad and you're not as good you appear to be when you're getting beaten over the head by the deck. I just try and maintain a levelness that Andy Reid would be envious of. with that said, the regulars I play against are just plain bad. most are weak tight calling stations. they can't get away from top pair, decent kicker to a check raise from a player (that would be me) who has a stack of their chips in front of him and hasn't shown a bad hand all session, let alone not too many in the two weeks I've been playing with them. but who am I to complain since the money is flowing in my direction? I'll save that for when they start to suck out on me. I was rolling through my session yesterday and would have been pleased to spend my entire day there and break every single one of them, but duty called in the shape of wifey getting done her shift early. I decided to take my daily nut and run over to Quinn's Irish Pub for a couple of dunkel weisses (I know, I know, German beer doesn't seem right in an Irish establishment.) my regular bartender Danny wasn't there (Tuesday and Wednesday are his vegas weekend) so Franky was taking care of me today. turns out, Franky is a regular no limit player and we got to talking. he was psyched to find out that not only do I play, but I have a sense of ego control about my play in that I am always looking to improve my game. he asked if I read and in between sips of my wheat ale I knodded in the affirmative. He pulled out a copy of Alan Schoonmaker, Ph. D.'s The Psychology of Poker from behind the bar and asked if I had read it yet. I replied that I had book that very book for my father a couple of Christmas's ago but I, myself, had not yet had the opportunity to study it. I've attached the link to Amazon.com so if you want to check it out just click on the image below. It looks like I may have finally found a running partner and poker buddy to share my experiences with locally out here. he asked me about record keeping and I told him I use Statking (mentioned in my first blog entry) and how much I loved it. he said he was still keeping records by hand. I offered to lend him my copy to upload and a friendship was born. maybe I'll get some free frosty beverages out of it as well :-) I'm honestly amped about maybe having someone to talk to about strategy and all the other things that surround playing poker at a profitable level consistently over the long haul.

on another note, I've decided to change the heading Total Bankroll under my record keeping section at the bottom of each post to Career Earnings since total bankroll is a bit misleading since I use a portion of my winnings to pay my living expenses. I will from time to time let you know how my cash on hand has grown and when I've decided to jump in limit. I plan on keeping this a very gradual process. once i have about a G in my safe at home, will take a single stab at a bigger game probably once per week but keep my regular play at the limit I am at. hopefully the Peter Principle does not pertain to me for quite a while as I'd like to get up to at least the $20/$40 game within a year. for those not familiar, the concept states that people are promoted to their level of incompentcy. I don't want to self limit myself in how high I think I will be able to play at my skills progress, but with that said I am not going to work for years moving up higher and higher only to find a level that I cannot beat and go broke. I'd rather make a living playing $20/$40 or $30/$60 rather than play $100/$200 and be asking for loans all the time because I ran myself down to the felt. That is a rather long time off but I figured I'd go on a rant about it now since I am on the topic. I am also going to work on my no limit skills once I build my bankroll up since there are always soft no limit games going around the clock. I decided to forego the $45 buy-in no limit tourney today. I'm feeling really good about my cash game play and want to stay focused on it. I think I am capable of switching mindsets from tourney play to limit cash game play, but I fear that I may take a bad beat in the tourney and not be in the right mind set to play my A game come ring game time. my paltry bankroll can't afford that right now.

I wanted to make a quick mention of my title for this entry. What I mean by living right is I am using my winnings and taking care of my personal responsibilities rather than blowing my profits on less than useful things like toys or sports wagers. It makes me feel good to know I am doing the right thing and that transcends itself into my play. I go into each session feeling good about my life outside of the green baize and I think it reflects in my play. I don't feel the need to play small pairs upfront or suited connectors in the same spots when the game conditions do not call for it. it's not to say I won't play those types of hands from there, but the conditions must be right. if I even have one loose aggressive player at the table these types of hands can become unprofitable since I may not get the multiway action I need to get paid off in many spots should I hit my hand hard.

Yesterday's figures for your review:

(6/11)

Hours Played This Session: 1.58

Take: $134

$ Per Hour: $84.81

Earn:

Month to Date: $587

Year to Date: $850

Hourly Rate Year to Date: $11.89

Career Earnings: $1,467

PS - I'd like to thank GVR for the nifty travel ID holders they provided the players of the poker room with a couple days ago. while they are quite touristy, they will come in handy for holding a passport, Id, some cash, credit cards, and travelers checks should we go on vacation out of the country. I've provided a scanned image below. it's meant to be worn around your neck and tucked under your shirt so that you cannot get pick pocketed and be SOL. got one for wifey too :-)

Sometimes Things Go Right

Things have been pretty copacetic the past three days. Biggest win of the campaign followed by a break even day, followed by (what I hope to be my average daily take) win of $100. I feel like I am starting to see the game three plays ahead now, just like I used to see the game when I played soccer. I am starting to sense when my medium pocket pair is good even though an overcard has fallen and I am up against two other opponents. I am beginning to pay attention to things like who is willing to muck their hands after the flop if they don't connect and who is going to call you down with bottom pair or ace high. it adds to my bottom line by being able to run a bluff (or shoot a second barrel on fourth street) against the first player while against the second player betting for value and realizing that I am going to have to check the flop in position and take a free card or check in first position and hope the opponent checks behind me. I'm learning which of the regulars are calling stations and which actually have some balls and will run a play at you from time to time. So far, I have not come to be resented by any of the regulars even though I tend to walk away with an extra rack or more than what I showed up with. I've even gotten comfortable enough to start telling jokes and have some fun while still staying focused on the action and taking mental notes. in essence, my game is starting to come around on levels outside of how to play particular hands in certain situations. saying all this, i hope i don't tank my session today. I will be going in feeling pretty confident since I am making my second bank deposit of winnings since I've started playing. I do get a rush carrying around or having on hand in the house a bunch of big bills, but the last thing I need is for somebody to break into our apartment (by either getting past our deadbolted front door or jimming our sliding door which has a single hook as the deterrent for unwanted house guests) and cleaning me out. after all I am more-the-less self-employed and currency is the commodity I trade in.

That being a good segue into my next topic. I've worked out my monthly nut and it looks like I will need to make around $1,500 per month to keep on top of my current obligations which include student loans, car insurance, my portion of the rent, cell phone, and credit card payments. the figure I've assigned to the credit cards payments will have them paid off in about 3 months. fornuately the car insurance is paid for 4 consecutive months and then I have 2 months without payments before the cycle repeats. I ran some figures through Statking using an hourly rate of $21 and a bankroll of $750 to get my monthly nut of $1,500. the chance of ruin (aka going broke) was roughly 10% so I'm about a 1-9 favorite to make it assuming the figures I entered are close to being correct (garbage in garbage out so I used a conservative hourly rate of $21 although my actual current win rate at GVR where I pretty much play exclusively now is $28.96. that being said, my sample size is minute with only 31 hours played there so far. still I feel confident about my play and about the weakness of my opponents at this venue.) $21 per hour is exactly 2 5/8 big bets per hour. it sounds really high but at this level of competition I think it's pretty accurate. I actually hope to be earning more that $1,500 per month so that I can do things like build my bankroll or enjoy such luxuries as buying groceries, going binge drinking or playing a 5 team parlay. I actually plan on adding some low buy-in tournies to my repetoire to see if I can build my bankroll further. GVR has a 10 am tourney with a $45 buy-in that regulary pays about $500 to the winner. from what i've noticed, there is normally a deal made so getting in the final three would be worth a little over $300. and the tourney would start about 2 hours ahead of the $4/$8 game getting going, so I'd be able to hop right into that either after getting busted or making it to the money. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. may play in my first morning tourney tomorrow (depending how I do today.)

OK, enough chat, I've got to get to the bank and then make my way to my office. my colleagues will be expecting me. the past three days are below:

(6/8)
Hours Played This Session: 3
Take: $191
$ Per Hour: $63.67

Earn:
Month to Date: $359
Year to Date: $599
Hourly Rate Year to Date: $9.16
Total Bankroll: $1,216

(6/9)
Hours Played This Session: 2.5
Take: $10
$ Per Hour: $4

Earn:
Month to Date: $369
Year to Date: $609
Hourly Rate Year to Date: $8.97
Total Bankroll: $1,226

(6/10)
Hours Played This Session: 2
Take: $107
$ Per Hour: $53.50

Earn:
Month to Date: $476
Year to Date: $716
Hourly Rate Year to Date: $10.24
Total Bankroll: $1,333