Thursday, December 28, 2006
OSU 34 ALABAMA 31
Guess who had Alabama + 2 1/2 for $200? That's just the type of trip its been this time to Vegas. Have minimized my losses with online poker play thankfully. We'll get them next time. F poker, tomorrow I think I'll hit the spa.
College Bowl Lock of The Year
Since its the holiday season I'll share this with my loyal readers. I payed the $25.00 for www.lockoftheday.com's college bowl game LOY. They say the Arkasas Razorbacks are a lock over The Wisconsin Badgers.
Here's what they say:
WE ARE BETTING HUGE AMOUNTS OF CASH ON ARKANSAS!!! This game is a serious mismatch!! The Razorbacks are VERY GOOD team. They played one of the toughest schedules in the entire nation. They have, possibly, the best player in the country in the electrifying Darren McFadden. He is a special player. Bigtime players have bigtime Bowl games. Watch for McFadden to light up Wisconsin’s overrated defense. The Razorbacks also have another 1000 yd rusher in Felix Jones. And Wisconsin will be without their top defensive cornerback. All Big-10 cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu has been suspended for this game for burglary! The Wisconsin Badgers played the BIGGEST CUPCAKE schedule you have ever seen! They only played one ranked team all year! And that was a loss to Michigan 27-13. They barely beat Illinois and Iowa. Wisconsin was tied 0-0 at halftime with San Diego State (3-9) this year!?! This team is OVERATED! Just look at their schedule and you’ll see they don’t belong here. Arkansas beat Auburn this year, and Auburn has a better defense than Wisconsin. Arkansas also had quality wins over Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and almost beat Florida and LSU. This team is legitimate! Wisconsin’s PJ Hill is very similar to Ron Dayne.; he is big, but not elusive. Arkansas will shut him down. ARKANSAS WINS THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!! When people see the results, they will say “Geez, I shoulda bet on Arkansas, that was an easy one.” GET ON THE RAZORBACKS!!!! THIS IS GAME IS TRUE LOCK!!!
If you win big on this game, which I hope you do, please remember me and click on a few adsense ads, buy a book, or sign up to UB or FT through a link on the left. Or just send me cash!
Here's what they say:
WE ARE BETTING HUGE AMOUNTS OF CASH ON ARKANSAS!!! This game is a serious mismatch!! The Razorbacks are VERY GOOD team. They played one of the toughest schedules in the entire nation. They have, possibly, the best player in the country in the electrifying Darren McFadden. He is a special player. Bigtime players have bigtime Bowl games. Watch for McFadden to light up Wisconsin’s overrated defense. The Razorbacks also have another 1000 yd rusher in Felix Jones. And Wisconsin will be without their top defensive cornerback. All Big-10 cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu has been suspended for this game for burglary! The Wisconsin Badgers played the BIGGEST CUPCAKE schedule you have ever seen! They only played one ranked team all year! And that was a loss to Michigan 27-13. They barely beat Illinois and Iowa. Wisconsin was tied 0-0 at halftime with San Diego State (3-9) this year!?! This team is OVERATED! Just look at their schedule and you’ll see they don’t belong here. Arkansas beat Auburn this year, and Auburn has a better defense than Wisconsin. Arkansas also had quality wins over Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and almost beat Florida and LSU. This team is legitimate! Wisconsin’s PJ Hill is very similar to Ron Dayne.; he is big, but not elusive. Arkansas will shut him down. ARKANSAS WINS THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!! When people see the results, they will say “Geez, I shoulda bet on Arkansas, that was an easy one.” GET ON THE RAZORBACKS!!!! THIS IS GAME IS TRUE LOCK!!!
If you win big on this game, which I hope you do, please remember me and click on a few adsense ads, buy a book, or sign up to UB or FT through a link on the left. Or just send me cash!
HU Hold'em
Going for a change of pace today and am spending the day in the MGM Sports Book reading Sklansky and betting a few college bowl games. Going to see Cirque de Soleil's KA tonight followed by din din at Emeril's.
I've been playing alot of .50/1.00 and 1.00/2.00 HU NL & PL at UB and have been absolutely crushing the games. Have come up with a strategy I thought I'd share.
Basically my strategy is to raise all my garbage hands and limp with my good hands. When I have the button I raise it everytime with trash. 75% of the time the other player folds. If they do call, I'll usually fire out a continuation bet which often takes down the pot. If I'm reraised I'll usually fold. Every so often I'll hit a hand with garbage like 2 pair or an open ended straight. This is very profitable as its very hard to put me on that type of hand since I open raised. When I'm on the button and I have a good hand I'll limp. This usually allows me to go into the hand with the best holding. It also causes my opponents to call raises with 2nd or 3rd pair on K or A high boards as they expect that if I had a A or K I would have raised pre-flop. The end result is that I'm getting my opponents to fold when I have nothing and am getting action when I have the best of it.
When I'm the BB I take the same approach with my good hands hoping the Button will raise. Here I often just call to appear weak. With weak holdings I'll limp but often will reraise with holdings like 89s etc to keep the Button honest and because these types of holdings can flop monster hands.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Turkish Maniac 1 Nabomb 0
I think I left off Sun night....went back down to the MGM Poker room and proceeded to donk off two 1/2 NL buy-ins ($400) in about 30 mins. And the envelope please, Donkey of the year is, yes! Nabomb!
First Hand: About 5 limpers to me in the BB. I raise to $15 with AQs and everyone folds but for one caller in middle position who just calls. Flop is 810Q rainbow. I bet $25 and MP just calls. Turn is a blank. I fire $50 and MP goes all in for about $100 more. My thoughts are QQ, KK or AA he reraises preflop. I'm also thinking that trips are a possibility but given the straight draw on the board wouldn't he reraise on the flop? Maybe not. I'm thinking he def would with 2 pair. I flat out asked the MP if he had trips or two pair and the read I was getting was that he was weak. I'm worried about J9 here but $15 preflop? I call and he turns over J9. I'd appreciate feedback but I think I'm a donkey here cause all I can beat is KQ or an underpair to the board.
2nd Hand. I have 1010 in late position. Raise in front of me to $12, I reraise to $25 and early position raiser just calls. Flop is something like 257 rainbow. EP raiser checks, I bet $50 and he reraises all-in. I call and he flips KK. I'm thinking that with KK or AA he reraises me preflop and that I could push him off JJ or worse by betting the flop. Don't know why I called his reraise other than I was hoping he had 88 or 99 or something like that. Should have been an easy fold I think.
Steaming a little I sat down at the 2/4 Limit Table. I play Limit occasionally online, usually 2 tabling 2/4 or 3/6. Holy Shit! Limit Hold'em is a boring game live. If you're playing at all like you should you might expereince $30 dollar swings over an hour or so. I think I saw every poker stereotype at that limit table....acting strong when weak etc, weak when strong, 5-7 players to a flop, players buying in for $40 talking about how the WSOP is 90% luck and 10% skill, players folding for another $4.00 into a $90 pot. There was one chinese guy who played (I counted) 27 straight hands. He almost always called to the river and NEVER in that stretch of 27 hands did he reraise. Pretty funny stuff.
X-Mas day I went to Harrah's. Finally I found a game which liked me and I took about $680 out of there in 3 hours. Interesting cast of characters. Two brothers from Detroit who came out here to make a living playing poker and now work at a sub shop. I took about $350 off one of them when my trip 9's took down TPTK....actaully felt sorta bad but not that bad. They were kidding with me about how I ruined their X-Mas. Pretty good guys actually. There was one Chinese guy who bought in for $1200 over about 90 mins which was good for most of us at the table. I won a nice $200 pot from him when my nut flush beat his 2nd nut flush. Harrah's Poker Room is a little dumpy but some good action. Went to Picasso's at the Bellagio X-Mas eve. They had a fixed menu for $120. Food was good but not as good as I expected, to be honest.
Dec 26th or Boxing Day I decided to try and find the fishiest poker room in Vegas. For some reason I figured The Excalibur would be a good choice. Families on vacation etc. Anyhow, I wound up at a table with a Turkish guy who was on the tail end of a 25 hour poker session. He was clearly running well and had about $1400 in front of him which is a pretty nice stack for 1/2 NL. He was all but falling asleep in between hands and was drinking Heineken's as fast as he could order them. He had 3 friends who were unsuccessfully trying to get him to leave the table. At one point they took him into the bathroom and were splashing water on his face. They were odering him cofees which he would sip between numerous Heineken's. Between 11a.m.-4p.m he had at least 12 Heineken's all on no sleep in 24+ hours. I'm thinking this is perfect. He was bullying the table firing hundred dollar bets into $50 pots etc, constantly putting people all-in in this annoying manner where he would point at your chips and say "I call you all in." He also almost always played out of turn. That sort of stuff gets annoying after awhile. However, we were all putting up with it in the hopes of seeing him self-destruct. He pushed me off a winning hand in a big pot early so I was waiting to bag the elephant so to speak. I doubled up my buy-in through another player when my KK beat his 1010. Then about 5 hands later the Turkish guy raises to $25, everyone folds to me and I see AA. How sweet is that. I figure screw this and pop it to $100. Turkish guy, hums and haws, slurs "you want action? I'll give it to you" and calls. Flop is x8x rainbow. I go all-in and he flips 88. Fucking Great. Bye bye $1000 pot. To add insult to injury, at the Excalibur you get to spin a wheel if you AA are cracked and I won a whopping $25. All this time I'm sitting beside this really cool British guy who had played in the 2006 WSOP after winning his way in through Stars. We were both patiently waiting for this Turkish maniac to push at the wrong time. Here's what transpires. British guy has KK, gets all-in (about 200) v. Turkish maniac who has KQ. Turkish maniac makes runner runner flush. British guy flops the nut flush and gets it all in (about 300 this time) only to see Turkish maniac make runner runner straight flush. Turkish Maniac gets to spin the wheel for this and of course wins another $100. This all happened in the span of about 30 mins. Two of the worst most undeserving bad beats I've seen. Over the next few hours Turkish maniac proceeds to beat QQ with JJ twice (twice all in pre flop) and hit a series of other miracle cards including taking another $200 of me when I raise preflop with A10s, he just calls and flop comes x10x. I figure he'll call with 2nd pair so I go all-in and he flips over KK. At this point I leave. If I was a true player I'd stay I guess cause runs like that can't last for ever...I'm not sure how long Turkish maniac stayed....he's prob still there.
So far today (27th) the only poker I've played was the noon tournament at Ceasar's $130 (including add-on). 107 players - I finished a stellar 77. One hand, I get it all-in preflop with 66 with a shorter stack who calls with QJ. Flop is KK577. So sick. Other than that I never had cards. Zero, Nada, Shit. Managed to last till just short of 2nd break by stealing with air. Finally got caught when my 85o ran into JJ. I was in the CO with exactly 10BB. What the hell am I supposed to do?
So down about $800 here in Vegas. Still 2 more days to go. Wish me luck.
First Hand: About 5 limpers to me in the BB. I raise to $15 with AQs and everyone folds but for one caller in middle position who just calls. Flop is 810Q rainbow. I bet $25 and MP just calls. Turn is a blank. I fire $50 and MP goes all in for about $100 more. My thoughts are QQ, KK or AA he reraises preflop. I'm also thinking that trips are a possibility but given the straight draw on the board wouldn't he reraise on the flop? Maybe not. I'm thinking he def would with 2 pair. I flat out asked the MP if he had trips or two pair and the read I was getting was that he was weak. I'm worried about J9 here but $15 preflop? I call and he turns over J9. I'd appreciate feedback but I think I'm a donkey here cause all I can beat is KQ or an underpair to the board.
2nd Hand. I have 1010 in late position. Raise in front of me to $12, I reraise to $25 and early position raiser just calls. Flop is something like 257 rainbow. EP raiser checks, I bet $50 and he reraises all-in. I call and he flips KK. I'm thinking that with KK or AA he reraises me preflop and that I could push him off JJ or worse by betting the flop. Don't know why I called his reraise other than I was hoping he had 88 or 99 or something like that. Should have been an easy fold I think.
Steaming a little I sat down at the 2/4 Limit Table. I play Limit occasionally online, usually 2 tabling 2/4 or 3/6. Holy Shit! Limit Hold'em is a boring game live. If you're playing at all like you should you might expereince $30 dollar swings over an hour or so. I think I saw every poker stereotype at that limit table....acting strong when weak etc, weak when strong, 5-7 players to a flop, players buying in for $40 talking about how the WSOP is 90% luck and 10% skill, players folding for another $4.00 into a $90 pot. There was one chinese guy who played (I counted) 27 straight hands. He almost always called to the river and NEVER in that stretch of 27 hands did he reraise. Pretty funny stuff.
X-Mas day I went to Harrah's. Finally I found a game which liked me and I took about $680 out of there in 3 hours. Interesting cast of characters. Two brothers from Detroit who came out here to make a living playing poker and now work at a sub shop. I took about $350 off one of them when my trip 9's took down TPTK....actaully felt sorta bad but not that bad. They were kidding with me about how I ruined their X-Mas. Pretty good guys actually. There was one Chinese guy who bought in for $1200 over about 90 mins which was good for most of us at the table. I won a nice $200 pot from him when my nut flush beat his 2nd nut flush. Harrah's Poker Room is a little dumpy but some good action. Went to Picasso's at the Bellagio X-Mas eve. They had a fixed menu for $120. Food was good but not as good as I expected, to be honest.
Dec 26th or Boxing Day I decided to try and find the fishiest poker room in Vegas. For some reason I figured The Excalibur would be a good choice. Families on vacation etc. Anyhow, I wound up at a table with a Turkish guy who was on the tail end of a 25 hour poker session. He was clearly running well and had about $1400 in front of him which is a pretty nice stack for 1/2 NL. He was all but falling asleep in between hands and was drinking Heineken's as fast as he could order them. He had 3 friends who were unsuccessfully trying to get him to leave the table. At one point they took him into the bathroom and were splashing water on his face. They were odering him cofees which he would sip between numerous Heineken's. Between 11a.m.-4p.m he had at least 12 Heineken's all on no sleep in 24+ hours. I'm thinking this is perfect. He was bullying the table firing hundred dollar bets into $50 pots etc, constantly putting people all-in in this annoying manner where he would point at your chips and say "I call you all in." He also almost always played out of turn. That sort of stuff gets annoying after awhile. However, we were all putting up with it in the hopes of seeing him self-destruct. He pushed me off a winning hand in a big pot early so I was waiting to bag the elephant so to speak. I doubled up my buy-in through another player when my KK beat his 1010. Then about 5 hands later the Turkish guy raises to $25, everyone folds to me and I see AA. How sweet is that. I figure screw this and pop it to $100. Turkish guy, hums and haws, slurs "you want action? I'll give it to you" and calls. Flop is x8x rainbow. I go all-in and he flips 88. Fucking Great. Bye bye $1000 pot. To add insult to injury, at the Excalibur you get to spin a wheel if you AA are cracked and I won a whopping $25. All this time I'm sitting beside this really cool British guy who had played in the 2006 WSOP after winning his way in through Stars. We were both patiently waiting for this Turkish maniac to push at the wrong time. Here's what transpires. British guy has KK, gets all-in (about 200) v. Turkish maniac who has KQ. Turkish maniac makes runner runner flush. British guy flops the nut flush and gets it all in (about 300 this time) only to see Turkish maniac make runner runner straight flush. Turkish Maniac gets to spin the wheel for this and of course wins another $100. This all happened in the span of about 30 mins. Two of the worst most undeserving bad beats I've seen. Over the next few hours Turkish maniac proceeds to beat QQ with JJ twice (twice all in pre flop) and hit a series of other miracle cards including taking another $200 of me when I raise preflop with A10s, he just calls and flop comes x10x. I figure he'll call with 2nd pair so I go all-in and he flips over KK. At this point I leave. If I was a true player I'd stay I guess cause runs like that can't last for ever...I'm not sure how long Turkish maniac stayed....he's prob still there.
So far today (27th) the only poker I've played was the noon tournament at Ceasar's $130 (including add-on). 107 players - I finished a stellar 77. One hand, I get it all-in preflop with 66 with a shorter stack who calls with QJ. Flop is KK577. So sick. Other than that I never had cards. Zero, Nada, Shit. Managed to last till just short of 2nd break by stealing with air. Finally got caught when my 85o ran into JJ. I was in the CO with exactly 10BB. What the hell am I supposed to do?
So down about $800 here in Vegas. Still 2 more days to go. Wish me luck.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Xmas Eve in Vegas
Sat night had a fabulous meal at Nobhill....sashimi trio to start (best sashimi I've ever had in my life) and then the tuna steak. Just phenomenal really. After went to Penn & Teller. Pretty good show. Instead of hitting the poker room (s) afterward (I was feeling pretty tired) I played a bit online in my room and pulled another $450 off of UB. Pretty funny that I can't seem to win in the live poker rooms and can't seem to lose online.
Sun a.m. I decided to walk over to Hooters Casino which is accross the street from MGM. It's not bad really. Everything is new. Some of the Hooter's girls actually look like Hooter's girls should unlike at most of their restaurants I've been too. Spoke to some people staying there and they said the rooms are clean and cheap. Anyhow, they have a little $27 buy in tourney (with unlimited rebuys 1st hour and 1 add on, about 30 players). I figured "what the hell" and bought in. What a riot! I saw 82o call AA all in on a flop of Q25 and win etc, etc...long story short I made it to final 3 and agreed to a chop. I initially refused but was getting some seriosly angry looks from the other two players so I figured what the hell. $280 each or + $200 after my buyins, rebuys and add ons. Quite an honour being the Hooter's poker champion. Does that qualify for POY points?
Went back to the MGM Grand poker room this p.m. and it was pretty hilarious. I was seated beside two poker dealers from the Bicycle Casino in Ca. Collectively the three of us were taking a beating from some people who decided to 'try poker for the first time' I saw calls of $20 with Ax preflop, $5 bets into $70 pots and calling stations call numerous raises to the river with Ax only to hit their A on the river. Variance is truly a bitch and my two CA friends were definately on its receiving end today. But that's why we play - to play people who call $50 more when they're drawing to 2 outs, so I'm heading back down there tonight.
I keep forgetting to take my dig cam with me so I apologize for no photos. Tomorrow I will make up for that. Heading to Picasso's for X-mas din din tomorrow night. Yummy. Hopefully some donkey(s) will be paying for it.
Merry X-Mas Everyone or Happy Holidays, which ever applies.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Touch Down in Vegas
Well finaly arrived in Vegas. Spent the whole day travelling yesterday including a 5 hour delay in Chicago. Could have been worse I guess...I feel for those poor people at the Denver airport who have been stranded for 3 days. The whole back up in Denver was affecting the departure times nation wide plus just the general volume of holiday traffic made the airports a real shit show. Didn't really mind the delay though. Chicago's airport has wifi so I pulled out the laptop and pulled $250 out of the fish at UB. Also cashed in my UB points for another few bucks. So about +$300 or $50/hr for being delayed.
Arrived here at the MGM last night about 7 Vegas time. MGM's not bad but I stayed at the Venetian last year and MGM sort of pales in comparison...but not bad. I'm only paying $800 for the flight and 8 nights hotel so how can I complain. Had a great meal at Wolfgang Pucks last night, crab cakes and sea bass....very nice, and paid for by my Chicago poker lay over winnings.
Went down to the MGM Poker room this a.m....had to wait for a seat at the 1/2 NL table. Poker room isn't bad, lotsa TV's etc, but no tournamnets and not many games.
Am down $400...didn't play badly but just one of those runs. Had KK 3 times and first time lost over $120 when I put a guy all in preflop and he called with A7 soooooooted. Other 2 times A hits flop and I fold losing pots in the $40 range.. No special hands, just kept getting outdrawn or had to fold TPTK and lost alot of small $30-40 pots....it adds up.
One excruciating had as follows: I'm in MP A10d, raise to $10...CO and Button call. Flop comes 10d6d4s. Good flop for me. I bet $15 hoping to see a card cheap, CO comes over the top for $45 and BB raises to $150. CO all but folds out of turn so I know I'm going to only be getting 1.5 to 1 or so....but at this point I'm down $200 and I want to gamble sooooo bad. Folded though and then proceeded to lose that buy in anyhow. Blah
Tonight going to dinner at Nobhill and then out to see Penn and Teller. Will be hitting the poker tables late....hopefully they're full of drunk donkeys.
Hey, if anyone reading this is in Vegas email me, I'll buy you a beer. Happy Holidays everyone.
Arrived here at the MGM last night about 7 Vegas time. MGM's not bad but I stayed at the Venetian last year and MGM sort of pales in comparison...but not bad. I'm only paying $800 for the flight and 8 nights hotel so how can I complain. Had a great meal at Wolfgang Pucks last night, crab cakes and sea bass....very nice, and paid for by my Chicago poker lay over winnings.
Went down to the MGM Poker room this a.m....had to wait for a seat at the 1/2 NL table. Poker room isn't bad, lotsa TV's etc, but no tournamnets and not many games.
Am down $400...didn't play badly but just one of those runs. Had KK 3 times and first time lost over $120 when I put a guy all in preflop and he called with A7 soooooooted. Other 2 times A hits flop and I fold losing pots in the $40 range.. No special hands, just kept getting outdrawn or had to fold TPTK and lost alot of small $30-40 pots....it adds up.
One excruciating had as follows: I'm in MP A10d, raise to $10...CO and Button call. Flop comes 10d6d4s. Good flop for me. I bet $15 hoping to see a card cheap, CO comes over the top for $45 and BB raises to $150. CO all but folds out of turn so I know I'm going to only be getting 1.5 to 1 or so....but at this point I'm down $200 and I want to gamble sooooo bad. Folded though and then proceeded to lose that buy in anyhow. Blah
Tonight going to dinner at Nobhill and then out to see Penn and Teller. Will be hitting the poker tables late....hopefully they're full of drunk donkeys.
Hey, if anyone reading this is in Vegas email me, I'll buy you a beer. Happy Holidays everyone.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Another Gratuitous Pic of Brandi Hawbaker
Keep Her Away From the Eggnog
It seems Brandi has her own blog which includes this little gem re: her modest poker goals:
"This is one thing that I am confident now I will not do. Before my twenty-sixth birthday, I will have made my first two million dollars. You might think this ridiculous for me to say, but I know it is going to happen. Were I only to win one major tournament, I would have one to two million dollars. With the World Series of Poker next year along with all the other events and cash games I will be playing, it is definitely feasible. But don't expect anything extravagent. You won't see me buying an expensive sports car, a house, or a closet full of Gucci and Prada. The first two million I earn will go directly into an investment plan which will allow me a spending allowance every month of somewhere between ten to twenty thousand dollars. That way I can live and work comfortably for years and never go broke.
But it is the third million I make that I am truly excited about. By the time I am twenty-eight, one of my biggest dreams will come true. I will buy a boat that I can sail around the world with. That is my one true dream. In four years, that is where I want to be."
Huggle Me? The Brandi Hawbaker Capt Tom Franklin Story
I'm sure every poker blogger on the Planet has posted regarding Brandi Hawbaker and Captain Tom Franklin....if you've been living under a rock (or don't sit at work reading poker blogs all day) here's the 2 + 2 thread.
This chick is definately nuts. Here's a story about her getting f'd in the ass in return for a satellite buy-in. Now that gives a whole different interpretaion to the term 'backer'
Mission Accomplished
Ran roll over $2500 on UB last night. Played some 3/6 then 4/8 Limit to mix things up. I even sat down at a 10/20 Limit table for awhile, made a couple scores and got the hell out of there since that game is over my bankroll right now. Funny thing was that play was sooooo fishy at that limit (at least table I was at). You'd think it would be better. Can't wait till the roll supports me playing these upper limits.
An acquaintence Seattle John emailed me saying that its better just to post wins/losses as opposed to the size of your roll cause invariably it will take a big hit and you won't feel like posting....that made sense to me. I enjoy posting here so much that it would suck to not want to post. So from now on I'm just posting wins and losses. Also hope to get some screen shots, charts, hand histories on here in near future as well.
Vegas Countdown - 48 hours.
An acquaintence Seattle John emailed me saying that its better just to post wins/losses as opposed to the size of your roll cause invariably it will take a big hit and you won't feel like posting....that made sense to me. I enjoy posting here so much that it would suck to not want to post. So from now on I'm just posting wins and losses. Also hope to get some screen shots, charts, hand histories on here in near future as well.
Vegas Countdown - 48 hours.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Running Hot then Cold then Hot
As per my previous post(s) the goal this weekend was to play as much poker as possible. I began Friday night after work with about $1200 at Ultimate Bet and before too long encountered this hand playing 2/4 NL Hold'em at a six handed table. I'm in mid position, folded to me so far, and pick up AK. I raise to $12. Player to my left calls and everyone folds. So far this guy had called just about any raise with any 2 cards and had rebought the max about 2-3 times. Flop comes 389 rainbow. I check, he bets $20 and I raise to $50. He calls. Turn is A. I check, he fires $80 and I reraise to $160. River is a blank. I check and he goes all-in for about $250 more. At this point I thinking shit I run into trips or maybe 2 pair. The only reason I'm not immediately putting him on this hand is the $20 bet he made on the flop. Even this donkey would slowplay trips? I am worried about A9 but am assuming he would have put me all-in after I check raised the turn if he had that. That leaves either a weak pair or some rivered two pair. My check on the river made me beleive that perhaps he thought he could take it with an all-in move. I call and he flips over Q9 for a pair of 9's with Q kicker. Nice move buddy. Bankroll is at $1900. Also played one of UB's 30 seats in 30 day promotional tourney. $30 buy-in with 1 12k seat guaranteed for 2007 WSOP. 236 entrants so real nice overlay. Finished 19th when my 88 was no match for KJ. Wish I had paid attention and played more of these. The play was pretty soft and getting pretty good odds at sewing up a 2007 WSOP seat. Unfortunately the promotion is now over.
Sat - In the a.m. lose about $300 in a session where I have AK beaten by AQ and AA taken down by 22 with all the money in pre-flop. In the p.m. was planning on going to some friends house for dinner and had a couple hours to kill in the afternoon so I logged on and played some heads up 1/2 PL. Went on a tear where I ran $50 into $450 playing some guy who was majorly on tilt. He had obviously read that aggression was the key heads up and didn't take that to mean selective aggression but continuous aggression no matter what your holdings. I would fold most hands and then push my strong hands only to be check raised by him 100% of the time. Was pretty funny. I was clearly pissing him off as the chat (from him) went something like this.
"Loser"
"you suck"
"you play like my grandmother"
"*******" idiot
"f ucking donkey"
"f ucking luckbox"
I think his whole time was spent typing and hiting the "bet the pot" button. Finsihed him off and my UB roll was $2100. Feeling pretty good about myself at this point. Had some supper with friends, came home and fired up the laptop to play a short session. Logged in and saw some guy sitting at a .50/1.00 NL heads up table. Bought in for $100 and thought "I'll clean him out of his $50 and go to bed."
30 minutes later I'm down $450. Very first hand my trips cracked by runner runner flush. During this torid little run I has AA cracked by K4 and THREE sets cracked by various straights, two of which were made on the river. Fun stuff. The Guy was good about it at least.
Sun a.m. I grab my laptop in bed and immediately donk off $200 more calling with AK on a 2K8 board losing to a set of 2's. So stupid. Anyway, fought back all day yesterday and the roll now stands at $1900.00. Not too bad and not counting rakeback. I'm determined to play enough to get this roll over $2500 by the time I leave for Vegas on Friday.
Sat - In the a.m. lose about $300 in a session where I have AK beaten by AQ and AA taken down by 22 with all the money in pre-flop. In the p.m. was planning on going to some friends house for dinner and had a couple hours to kill in the afternoon so I logged on and played some heads up 1/2 PL. Went on a tear where I ran $50 into $450 playing some guy who was majorly on tilt. He had obviously read that aggression was the key heads up and didn't take that to mean selective aggression but continuous aggression no matter what your holdings. I would fold most hands and then push my strong hands only to be check raised by him 100% of the time. Was pretty funny. I was clearly pissing him off as the chat (from him) went something like this.
"Loser"
"you suck"
"you play like my grandmother"
"*******" idiot
"f ucking donkey"
"f ucking luckbox"
I think his whole time was spent typing and hiting the "bet the pot" button. Finsihed him off and my UB roll was $2100. Feeling pretty good about myself at this point. Had some supper with friends, came home and fired up the laptop to play a short session. Logged in and saw some guy sitting at a .50/1.00 NL heads up table. Bought in for $100 and thought "I'll clean him out of his $50 and go to bed."
30 minutes later I'm down $450. Very first hand my trips cracked by runner runner flush. During this torid little run I has AA cracked by K4 and THREE sets cracked by various straights, two of which were made on the river. Fun stuff. The Guy was good about it at least.
Sun a.m. I grab my laptop in bed and immediately donk off $200 more calling with AK on a 2K8 board losing to a set of 2's. So stupid. Anyway, fought back all day yesterday and the roll now stands at $1900.00. Not too bad and not counting rakeback. I'm determined to play enough to get this roll over $2500 by the time I leave for Vegas on Friday.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Poker Duldrums
Played 7 hours of poker last night and am down about $70.00. UB bankroll is $1270.00. One of those nights where I was down about 2 1/2 buy-ins early on and just never had cards. It seemed like my hole cards NEVER improved. Sometimes it seemed like my opponents could see my hole cards. I raise, miss the flop which comes rags, fire out they reraise or checkraise, I fold. Fun stuff. Quite luck to only lose $70.00.
Going to put in some major time playing poker this weekend. Hopefully I can get this bankroll north of $2000.00
Going to put in some major time playing poker this weekend. Hopefully I can get this bankroll north of $2000.00
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Today's Plays
NFL: Seatttle - SF over 39
NBA: 2 Game Teaser - Orlando Magic +2 & Golden State -1/2
NCAA: Denver U +14 1/2 over Arkasas State
I hate to tout the touts but the guys at the Brandon Lang site do seem to know what the hell they're doing.
NBA: 2 Game Teaser - Orlando Magic +2 & Golden State -1/2
NCAA: Denver U +14 1/2 over Arkasas State
I hate to tout the touts but the guys at the Brandon Lang site do seem to know what the hell they're doing.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
2 More Small Bets
Bet the Jazz over Clippers money line and Wizards -2 1/2 over Denver (who have played 4 road games in a row now).
Also bet a 5 game teaser longshot which I'm too emabarassed to even post. I'm such an action junkie it's emabarrasing. I need to get back to a non risk activity like poker. Nite all.
Also bet a 5 game teaser longshot which I'm too emabarassed to even post. I'm such an action junkie it's emabarrasing. I need to get back to a non risk activity like poker. Nite all.
Milestone
I have now received over 1000 Visits and Page Views. Babysteps.
BTW if you click on these annoying ads you help me move up that Sept 30 timeline :).
BTW if you click on these annoying ads you help me move up that Sept 30 timeline :).
The Plan
I've been meaning to talk further about The Plan so I'm going to discuss the following 3 subjects in terms of how they relate to me and my feeling on the subjects in general: Job, Debt, Minimize Expenses.
Job:
As I've written throughout my blog I used to be lawyer. I now work in the telecom industry in a pseudo-legal role. The good thing about my law degree is that I'm considered sufficiently 'educated' to pull in a decent salary. The bad thing is that my positions, to this point anyway, have been either as a lawyer or in what I call pseudo-legal jobs. To summarize, neither make me happy. If you're actually wondering what is so bad about being a lawyer I suggest that you read the Law School Drop Out's Poker Blog. He puts it more eloquently than I likely would with far less bitterness. This is likely due to the fact that he came to his senses early and never practiced law (yet anyway). He's also apparently a hell of a poker player. He's now reached a stage where he has begun questioning the value to society etc of being a poker player, but as I mentioned, this is, in my opinion, largely due to the fact that he didn't suffer through practicing law at some firm for five or ten years.
Anyway back to me. This job I'm in is refreshingly dull (oxymoron I know) and therefore tolerable on a daily basis as I pretty much just post here, read other blogs etc. However, when I pause to think about doing this for any length of time I nearly have a coronary. Needless to say I can't stay here much longer. So my plan is to (a) collect fat bonus check in Jan 2007, (b) cram as much of my salary into savings as possible (I'll be cramming 20% of my salary into a 401k and even more into reg savings) and (c) (you read it here first) quit no later than September 30, 2006. Yes that's 10 months but this is a 2yr plan remember. Although, if I was a betting man, I put the over/under on my leaving at 4 months. I'm actaully toying with a drive x-country in May/June (more on that later) but a few things would have to fall into place. Anyway.....no later that Sept 30 which is the end of Summer here in DC and allows me a chance to expereince perpetual summer in 2007. I give credit to my friend The Perpetual Traveller for this idea. There, deadline set: Sept 30,2006.
I read somewhere that 70% of working Americans hate their job. Not dislike, or find tedious, but HATE their job. What a sad statistic. Why do they keep them? I realize that I've been fortunate enough to obtain an 'education' which allows me some flexibility and that not everyone is so lucky. However, I think many people put themselves in a situation where they have no choice but to continue on. Which brings me to....
Debt:
Most of you are probably wondering, how can you work for five years as a lawyer and have significant debt? Lifestyle. In my third year of lawschool, a former criminal lawyer turned judge spoke to my class as a group. His message was pace yourself, don't get caught up in the lifestyle. He told us how, as a young lawyer, he got himself some nice suits, a black mercedes, some credit cards and was off to the races. He woke up 10 years later a victim of the lifestlye, literally a hamster on the wheel. I essentially made the same mistakes, even got the Mercedes. You've got to understand that when you're working that hard, and for those crazy hours, you feel the need to 'reward' yourself. So first it's a $75 dollar tie and then some $300 shoes and before long its a closet full of $150 Ferragamo ties etc. I look back and shake my head. I literally used to spend more money eating out in a month than I now outlay for total monthly expenses. I also got into this little habit of paying all my yearly owed taxes at the end of the year with my bonus. Smart.
It's not that I didn't save. I maxed my retirement savings and made some really good real estate investments that have paid off. It's just that if I'd been smarter (not even tight fisted just less frivolous) I could be debt free and in really good shape right now. Hindsight is in fact 20/20.
Moving forward. By applying my coming bonus (my poker instincts have actually conditioned me not to expect it and assume the worst will happen - you know AA cracked) I'll halve my debt. A nice tourney cash or a good run at the tables will help significantly reduce the rest. The remaining portion will largely be owed to CCRA (the Can version of the IRS). I've seriously considered skipping out on this but I need those Can ties if I want to be a PT. Anyhow, completely debt free by the end of 2007 is the goal and a totally realistic one. I've also learned my lesson so once goal is achieved I will guarantee you that I will not fall back into the pit.
I think so many people fall into this trap where they hate their jobs and wish they could quit but can't because they need to pay off all the crap they buy themselves to make themselves feel better for having to trudge off to that shitty 9 to 5 job they hate so much in the first place. If they are 'lucky' and do this for 50 or so odd years and the companies they work for didn't f&ck them over along the way they may be able to retire. Who thought up that business model for human life? And better yet how are people somehow covinced that this is the only model and to vary from it is somehow deviant and self-destructive? Again I think many people feel thay have no choice which leads me to:
Minimize Living Expenses
My current monthly living expenses are about $1300 a month. At $1300.00, that's $15,600.00 a year and that includes my driving an Audi TT and eating foods from gourmet grocer's as well a a recently acquired tatse for belgian beers. Remove the car which isn't necessary and I'm at about $900. I'm not counting money spent for clothes, movies, books, and other entertainment, but I'd venture that amount is never over $300.00 a month. Even if it were $500.00 that's another $6000/yr for a total of $21,600. Even with repressive tax schemes you only need to make about $30-35 to clear this amount. So why in the world would I kill myself to make $100k plus. Well in my previous life it was because I needed that type of salary for debt servicing. Credit cards, credit lines, student loans, car payments etc etc. I used to buy all sorts of crap. There's a geat line from Fight Club where Tyler Durden, played by Brad Bitt, asks Ed Norton's character "do you know what a duvet is?" to which Ed replies "Yes its a comforter." Pitt replies "its a balnket, why do guys like us know what a duvet is?" I think I'm paraphrasing slightly but you get my point. Why do we need bedhsams, and duvets and 500 count sheets and all this crap...what we really need is a good night's sleep which would be much more attainable if we weren't laying under our $500 goose down duvet wondering "how the fuck am I going to pay for this, guess I better trudge off to work tomorrow I really need that paycheck."
I can think of no truer statement than: the things you own begin to own you. No, I'm not a socialist and there's absolutely no way in the world that I'm sharing anything I've worked for with some lazy shit who is unwilling to work for it. My point is that most of us work hard for our dough and even if we don't, our job still occupies a large portion of our day. So let the money empower you, not have the things you buy with it enslave you. For the record I'm an anarcho-capitalist if anyone is interested.
One final interesting point and a story. I find that playing poker has made me especially frugal. This seems to be true of many poker players. Even many of the pros who are throwing around thousands dollars look like they bought their wardrobes at a thrift shop. I read an interview with the Unabomber, Phil Laak, in which the interviewer was amazed that Laak brings up that 7 Eleven is offering free Big Gulps or Freezies or something. The interviewer is amazed that Phil Laak cares about this. I'm not. Phil is a worldclass poker player and as such has learned not to think about chips as rent, food etc as he's throwing them in the pot. But he's throwing them in for value, when he perceives he has the best hand or can convince his opponent that he has the best hand. He is constantly seeking opportunities to exploit even the smallest of edges, free Big Gulps included.
I know this has been a bit of a rant. Hopefully it has shed some insight on my thoughts regarding the first 3 steps of the Plan. I will post regarding the remaining steps, which are the real meat, soon. As soon as I figure them out :)
Hope you're all winning
Job:
As I've written throughout my blog I used to be lawyer. I now work in the telecom industry in a pseudo-legal role. The good thing about my law degree is that I'm considered sufficiently 'educated' to pull in a decent salary. The bad thing is that my positions, to this point anyway, have been either as a lawyer or in what I call pseudo-legal jobs. To summarize, neither make me happy. If you're actually wondering what is so bad about being a lawyer I suggest that you read the Law School Drop Out's Poker Blog. He puts it more eloquently than I likely would with far less bitterness. This is likely due to the fact that he came to his senses early and never practiced law (yet anyway). He's also apparently a hell of a poker player. He's now reached a stage where he has begun questioning the value to society etc of being a poker player, but as I mentioned, this is, in my opinion, largely due to the fact that he didn't suffer through practicing law at some firm for five or ten years.
Anyway back to me. This job I'm in is refreshingly dull (oxymoron I know) and therefore tolerable on a daily basis as I pretty much just post here, read other blogs etc. However, when I pause to think about doing this for any length of time I nearly have a coronary. Needless to say I can't stay here much longer. So my plan is to (a) collect fat bonus check in Jan 2007, (b) cram as much of my salary into savings as possible (I'll be cramming 20% of my salary into a 401k and even more into reg savings) and (c) (you read it here first) quit no later than September 30, 2006. Yes that's 10 months but this is a 2yr plan remember. Although, if I was a betting man, I put the over/under on my leaving at 4 months. I'm actaully toying with a drive x-country in May/June (more on that later) but a few things would have to fall into place. Anyway.....no later that Sept 30 which is the end of Summer here in DC and allows me a chance to expereince perpetual summer in 2007. I give credit to my friend The Perpetual Traveller for this idea. There, deadline set: Sept 30,2006.
I read somewhere that 70% of working Americans hate their job. Not dislike, or find tedious, but HATE their job. What a sad statistic. Why do they keep them? I realize that I've been fortunate enough to obtain an 'education' which allows me some flexibility and that not everyone is so lucky. However, I think many people put themselves in a situation where they have no choice but to continue on. Which brings me to....
Debt:
Most of you are probably wondering, how can you work for five years as a lawyer and have significant debt? Lifestyle. In my third year of lawschool, a former criminal lawyer turned judge spoke to my class as a group. His message was pace yourself, don't get caught up in the lifestyle. He told us how, as a young lawyer, he got himself some nice suits, a black mercedes, some credit cards and was off to the races. He woke up 10 years later a victim of the lifestlye, literally a hamster on the wheel. I essentially made the same mistakes, even got the Mercedes. You've got to understand that when you're working that hard, and for those crazy hours, you feel the need to 'reward' yourself. So first it's a $75 dollar tie and then some $300 shoes and before long its a closet full of $150 Ferragamo ties etc. I look back and shake my head. I literally used to spend more money eating out in a month than I now outlay for total monthly expenses. I also got into this little habit of paying all my yearly owed taxes at the end of the year with my bonus. Smart.
It's not that I didn't save. I maxed my retirement savings and made some really good real estate investments that have paid off. It's just that if I'd been smarter (not even tight fisted just less frivolous) I could be debt free and in really good shape right now. Hindsight is in fact 20/20.
Moving forward. By applying my coming bonus (my poker instincts have actually conditioned me not to expect it and assume the worst will happen - you know AA cracked) I'll halve my debt. A nice tourney cash or a good run at the tables will help significantly reduce the rest. The remaining portion will largely be owed to CCRA (the Can version of the IRS). I've seriously considered skipping out on this but I need those Can ties if I want to be a PT. Anyhow, completely debt free by the end of 2007 is the goal and a totally realistic one. I've also learned my lesson so once goal is achieved I will guarantee you that I will not fall back into the pit.
I think so many people fall into this trap where they hate their jobs and wish they could quit but can't because they need to pay off all the crap they buy themselves to make themselves feel better for having to trudge off to that shitty 9 to 5 job they hate so much in the first place. If they are 'lucky' and do this for 50 or so odd years and the companies they work for didn't f&ck them over along the way they may be able to retire. Who thought up that business model for human life? And better yet how are people somehow covinced that this is the only model and to vary from it is somehow deviant and self-destructive? Again I think many people feel thay have no choice which leads me to:
Minimize Living Expenses
My current monthly living expenses are about $1300 a month. At $1300.00, that's $15,600.00 a year and that includes my driving an Audi TT and eating foods from gourmet grocer's as well a a recently acquired tatse for belgian beers. Remove the car which isn't necessary and I'm at about $900. I'm not counting money spent for clothes, movies, books, and other entertainment, but I'd venture that amount is never over $300.00 a month. Even if it were $500.00 that's another $6000/yr for a total of $21,600. Even with repressive tax schemes you only need to make about $30-35 to clear this amount. So why in the world would I kill myself to make $100k plus. Well in my previous life it was because I needed that type of salary for debt servicing. Credit cards, credit lines, student loans, car payments etc etc. I used to buy all sorts of crap. There's a geat line from Fight Club where Tyler Durden, played by Brad Bitt, asks Ed Norton's character "do you know what a duvet is?" to which Ed replies "Yes its a comforter." Pitt replies "its a balnket, why do guys like us know what a duvet is?" I think I'm paraphrasing slightly but you get my point. Why do we need bedhsams, and duvets and 500 count sheets and all this crap...what we really need is a good night's sleep which would be much more attainable if we weren't laying under our $500 goose down duvet wondering "how the fuck am I going to pay for this, guess I better trudge off to work tomorrow I really need that paycheck."
I can think of no truer statement than: the things you own begin to own you. No, I'm not a socialist and there's absolutely no way in the world that I'm sharing anything I've worked for with some lazy shit who is unwilling to work for it. My point is that most of us work hard for our dough and even if we don't, our job still occupies a large portion of our day. So let the money empower you, not have the things you buy with it enslave you. For the record I'm an anarcho-capitalist if anyone is interested.
One final interesting point and a story. I find that playing poker has made me especially frugal. This seems to be true of many poker players. Even many of the pros who are throwing around thousands dollars look like they bought their wardrobes at a thrift shop. I read an interview with the Unabomber, Phil Laak, in which the interviewer was amazed that Laak brings up that 7 Eleven is offering free Big Gulps or Freezies or something. The interviewer is amazed that Phil Laak cares about this. I'm not. Phil is a worldclass poker player and as such has learned not to think about chips as rent, food etc as he's throwing them in the pot. But he's throwing them in for value, when he perceives he has the best hand or can convince his opponent that he has the best hand. He is constantly seeking opportunities to exploit even the smallest of edges, free Big Gulps included.
I know this has been a bit of a rant. Hopefully it has shed some insight on my thoughts regarding the first 3 steps of the Plan. I will post regarding the remaining steps, which are the real meat, soon. As soon as I figure them out :)
Hope you're all winning
2 Small Sports Bets
Placed 2 Small sports bets at Bodog:
UFC - K. Nakamura +200. What do I know about mixed martial arts fighting? Zip, zero, nada but this guy seems to and I enjoyed a reading his blog so why not?
Also a little 2 game NCAA basketball teaser Wake Forest +12 1/2 over Louisville and Wakeforest +12 1/2 over Depaul. The Wake Forest game is www.lockoftheday.com's pick and one of the guys on the Brandon Lang site is recomending Mass as his free pick.
Tons of games in the NBA tonight so I'll prob load up :)
UFC - K. Nakamura +200. What do I know about mixed martial arts fighting? Zip, zero, nada but this guy seems to and I enjoyed a reading his blog so why not?
Also a little 2 game NCAA basketball teaser Wake Forest +12 1/2 over Louisville and Wakeforest +12 1/2 over Depaul. The Wake Forest game is www.lockoftheday.com's pick and one of the guys on the Brandon Lang site is recomending Mass as his free pick.
Tons of games in the NBA tonight so I'll prob load up :)
Building Bodog Account
Well I'm building my Bodog acct back up slowly with a couple winning sports bets. Last night I won the Golden State game (Brandon Lang's pick) and the teaser was a push. One more lowly point by Milwaukee and I would have won that as well but I'm not complaining. Def going to opt for the max tease in the future though, even if it does diminish your return.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Two For The Money
So I've been checking out the website of Brandon Lang who is the guy they made the so so movie Two For The Money with Al Pacino and Mathew McConaughey about. Like all these touts the guy is an egomaniac and largely full of shit but I've been following him when he appears on the Sports Junkies and have been checking out his site and he seems to be pretty successful at picking winners. Because he actually relases his picks on the web you can actually track his wins and losses. He and four other guys on his site offer daily 'free' picks which are probably plays which he hopes to draw you in with but are definately not his premium plays. Anyway I'm not dumping hundreds of dollars down the tube to buy his picks but I did read today that they are often posted on various gambling forums. Where I don't know but it will give me a project tomorrow at work.
Anyway, this guy says GS over Sacramento tonight so I put a smallish moneyline bet on that one. A few of his other guys were picking the Gophers over Fl in college B-Ball and the last time I checked Fl was getting crushed. Anyway, it's worth checking out. If anyone knows where one can find the picks posted for free please let me know.
Anyway, this guy says GS over Sacramento tonight so I put a smallish moneyline bet on that one. A few of his other guys were picking the Gophers over Fl in college B-Ball and the last time I checked Fl was getting crushed. Anyway, it's worth checking out. If anyone knows where one can find the picks posted for free please let me know.
Yes I'm Messing with The Template
Hey everyone,
Yes, I'm messing with the template but it seems more readable this way? I had to jettison the polls as they were somehow inexplicably causing the header and footer of my blog to display in a pukish orange colour. For those of you who are curious about the results.....drum roll please:
Poll Question #1 Ideal amount of $$$ for a PT to have before quitting job and embarking on life adaventure was >$75k.
Poll Question #2 Best All Around Poker Player - Phil Ivey
I think these answers are quite definitive and def empirically sound given the sample size of about 10 respondents.
Yes, I'm messing with the template but it seems more readable this way? I had to jettison the polls as they were somehow inexplicably causing the header and footer of my blog to display in a pukish orange colour. For those of you who are curious about the results.....drum roll please:
Poll Question #1 Ideal amount of $$$ for a PT to have before quitting job and embarking on life adaventure was >$75k.
Poll Question #2 Best All Around Poker Player - Phil Ivey
I think these answers are quite definitive and def empirically sound given the sample size of about 10 respondents.
Another Small Sports Bet
Going with a little 2 game teaser for tonight:
Lakers @ Rockets over 180. Please let me get this in HD. I'm a Lakers fan.
Seatle @ Milwaukee -1 (no Ray Allan).
www.lockoftheday.com has the Seattle Milwaukee game as their NBA Lock of the Month betting both the moneyline and points.
Lakers @ Rockets over 180. Please let me get this in HD. I'm a Lakers fan.
Seatle @ Milwaukee -1 (no Ray Allan).
www.lockoftheday.com has the Seattle Milwaukee game as their NBA Lock of the Month betting both the moneyline and points.
Monday, December 11, 2006
So Sick
Just lost $280 in one hand playing 3/6 NL when my A high flush ran into a 6 high straight flush. Guy has 34h in his hand and he had called my preflop raise. Board actually made a flush and he bets out about $60 on river and I put him all in. Board is 2Q5106 hearts. I guess I maybeeeee should have seen it but with no heart on board and me checking the river and him betting it seemed soooo likley he had a K high flush. I type "holy shit nh" and he then tells me how its soooo obvious that he had the str8 flush and that I'm such a donkey. Yeah ok....hope he buys himself a nice meal with that dough and fucking chokes on something sharp.
UB Bankroll is $1236....blah. One of those nights. Also had KK twice in the big blind and watched the whole fffiiinnnnggggg table fold to me including the SB's.
Bears are currently winning and picked up $60 today playing onlinr BJ at work (bad habit I know) so only down for the day about $180 if the Rams don't set some sort of 4th quarter scoring record.
Better days tomorrow.
UB Bankroll is $1236....blah. One of those nights. Also had KK twice in the big blind and watched the whole fffiiinnnnggggg table fold to me including the SB's.
Bears are currently winning and picked up $60 today playing onlinr BJ at work (bad habit I know) so only down for the day about $180 if the Rams don't set some sort of 4th quarter scoring record.
Better days tomorrow.
Just a Little Football Bet
After abstaining from betting football this weekend as it seems to be a leak in my bankroll I placed a smallish bet on MNF. Bears -6.5. I mean I just can't watch the game in high def without a little something riding on it. Da Bears!!
UB Account $1510 & Seeking Poker Advice
Making steady upward progress with the UB bankroll. I'd like to see it hit $2500 by the time I leave for Vegas but that will take a little luck and a fair amount of playing as I'm still grinding out at the Micro Limits. Mostly .50/1.00 & 1.00/2.00 NL. Yesterday was a funny day poker wise. Firstly, I woke up and wasn't all that interested in playing which is unusual for me. Usually I'm out of bed on the weekend and playing while I'm eating my breakfast. I didn't force it and ran a few errands, bar-b-que'd a roast, smoked a cigar, read 1/2 of "Zen and the Art of Poker" (review coming soon) and just generally relaxed. When I did fire up UB I had a rush of cards like I haven't seen in quite some time. AA twice, KK, AK twice, numerous pocket pairs all within the first 1/2 hour. Result? At the end of the first 1/2 hour I'm up a whopping 10 bucks or so. Everytime I get a hand, I raise and folds all round. I raise the mimimum and same thing. I try slowplaying, get maybe one caller who folds to a small bet on the flop/turn. Bizarre. Could of easily turned my $100.00 into $500.00 with cards like that. Didn't really bother me though. After that I played fairly well and it was up and down all day. I moved around to alot of different tables and the one thing I did notice is that there was ALOT of tight play. There didn't seem to be a whole lot of loose fishy play which was quite different than the previous few days. The games were still beatable but people didn't seem to be giving their money away.
One hand I'd like reader feedback on. I wake up in middle position with 1010. Early position player had raised 3.5x the big blind ($3.50). This guy had been playing fairly loosely raising with all sorts of hands. I popped it to $ 9.50. He calls . Flop is xQx all spades. I have 10s. Player checks and I bet pot. he calls. Turn is a blank and he checks. At this point I'm figuring he's (a) got a weak queen or (b) also has an underpair. I'm know he doesn't have QQ,KK, or AA. JJ is a possibility but he's got to be scared by the Q. If he has AQ, my thought is he would have been reraising me on the flop/turn to push me off a draw. I bet out about $35 and he calls. River is a blank and we both check. He turns over KQ. Ok, nice hand sir, I guess. Then the table chatter starts "keep donating idiot", "lol", "haha, got caught with dick" etc, etc. My thought is, I didn't play the hand that badly? My $35 raise should be big enough to push him off (a) a draw (b) weak queen (c) smaller pair (d) JJ plus I've got a decent pair and a flush draw. Any advice would be appreciated.
One hand I'd like reader feedback on. I wake up in middle position with 1010. Early position player had raised 3.5x the big blind ($3.50). This guy had been playing fairly loosely raising with all sorts of hands. I popped it to $ 9.50. He calls . Flop is xQx all spades. I have 10s. Player checks and I bet pot. he calls. Turn is a blank and he checks. At this point I'm figuring he's (a) got a weak queen or (b) also has an underpair. I'm know he doesn't have QQ,KK, or AA. JJ is a possibility but he's got to be scared by the Q. If he has AQ, my thought is he would have been reraising me on the flop/turn to push me off a draw. I bet out about $35 and he calls. River is a blank and we both check. He turns over KQ. Ok, nice hand sir, I guess. Then the table chatter starts "keep donating idiot", "lol", "haha, got caught with dick" etc, etc. My thought is, I didn't play the hand that badly? My $35 raise should be big enough to push him off (a) a draw (b) weak queen (c) smaller pair (d) JJ plus I've got a decent pair and a flush draw. Any advice would be appreciated.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Done with Poker for the Day
Pulled almost another hundy out of UB. Current blance is $1440 and have almost cleared $50 bucks in bonus. Played mostly .50/1.00 6 handed today, buying in for the max at $100.00. Not much danger of blowing the bankroll that way and I seem to be able to double it in 2-3 hours. It blows my mind how many players buy in for $25, go broke, buy-in again etc. Then they win with AA and only pick up a $16.00 pot cause they were down to $8.00 at the time. Bizarre.
Not going to report many hands at these levels as it's pretty basic stuff. Playing ALOT of hands and out playing players on the flop. Amazes me how often 5-6 players will call a $1-2 dollar bet preflop and then a $10 re-raise by our hero (me) pushes everyone out. Also amazing how many players will bet into you when there are clearly draws on the board. Have enjoyed the chat when players are chastizing me for out drawing them with 89s when they failed to reraise preflop and bet the minimum on every street. I, following my new found zenness (is that a word?) have been simply responding with 'nh'
My basic strategy is to pick up two pair or better yet trips and let these donkeys hang themselves overbetting their TPTK. That and stealing at every opportunity.
Going out with some friends for dinner but maybe/hopefully I'll be back on UB tonight.
Not going to report many hands at these levels as it's pretty basic stuff. Playing ALOT of hands and out playing players on the flop. Amazes me how often 5-6 players will call a $1-2 dollar bet preflop and then a $10 re-raise by our hero (me) pushes everyone out. Also amazing how many players will bet into you when there are clearly draws on the board. Have enjoyed the chat when players are chastizing me for out drawing them with 89s when they failed to reraise preflop and bet the minimum on every street. I, following my new found zenness (is that a word?) have been simply responding with 'nh'
My basic strategy is to pick up two pair or better yet trips and let these donkeys hang themselves overbetting their TPTK. That and stealing at every opportunity.
Going out with some friends for dinner but maybe/hopefully I'll be back on UB tonight.
UB is Treating Me Well
Gotta say that Ultimate Bet is treating me well. I've run my initial buy-in of $650 into $1350. Have cleared $41 dollars of bonus money so far and I'm not figuring rakeback which is probably another $40 or so. Gonna take me a century to clear the $650 but hey I'm not complaining. Gonna post my balance here every day or so. Hopefully that will help me stay focussed and not donk off my winnings.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Vegas Baby Vegas!
I don't think I've mentioned it on here previously but I'm heading to Vegas for some R&R and to celebrate the holidays. I will be there from Dec 22-30 and am staying at the MGM. I am really looking forward to this trip! My plan is to try and play in as many poker rooms up and down the strip as possible. I was there last year and had a chance to play in the MGM Poker room which had just opened and it was pretty sweet, so that will likley be my default but I def plan on playing at as many different places as possible.
If anyone has any recommendations re which Casinos have the best tournament structures, best action with the most drunk tourists :), Im all ears. I've heard that the tournament structures (for lower buy in tourneys) at Ceasar's are pretty good and of course I want to play at the Bellagio but am interested in your feedback.
I will be posting my results daily once I'm there. Who knows maybe I'll never leave :)
If anyone has any recommendations re which Casinos have the best tournament structures, best action with the most drunk tourists :), Im all ears. I've heard that the tournament structures (for lower buy in tourneys) at Ceasar's are pretty good and of course I want to play at the Bellagio but am interested in your feedback.
I will be posting my results daily once I'm there. Who knows maybe I'll never leave :)
Thursday, December 07, 2006
The Plan
PLEASE CLICK ON THE ABOVE TO ENLARGE
I realize I've been all over the place in this blog, perpetual travel, lifestyle arbitrage, occasional and mostly unsuccessful sports betting, poker, my dreadful job etc. I wanted to try and develop some focus as the objective was to document my transition from ex-lawyer to present working stiff to hopefully living the Life of Riley which will incorporate all of the above to some extent.
I'm a firm believer in a plan so I've created this chart setting out my path/goals towards freedom and independence and the Life of Riley.
Maybe it's of some use to you if you're also considering making the jump from enslaved working chump.
I'm hoping this will help me keep focus when I'm about to do something stupid like go on tilt or slap my credit card down to buy some sort of household furnishing. Plus it makes me feel like the end goal is achieveable which really helps my mood as well as the whole mind over matter bit.
I feel like I've been in a bit of a slump lately because I'm literally just treading water at this job waiting for my bonus so that I can apply it to my debts. It's not that I'm going to give my notice the day after I receive it cause I know that the smart thing to do is to tough it out at the job over the spring/summer here in DC, enjoy the weather, play some golf and put aside some serious bank BUT I have the option of quitting when and if I've had enough. Just knowing that is so empowering. Right now I feel like I couldn't quit under any circumstances cause I can't pass up on this bonus which is "just around the corner"
My friend the Perpetual Traveller did the same thing at the beginning of his journey in terms of setting golas and a financial threshold before making the leap. BTW if you haven't checked out his blog it's definately worth a read from beginning to end.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Ultimate Bet
I'm playing under 'TheNabomb' at Ultimate Bet. Deposited $650 today so am eligible for a $650 bonus. To clear that I'll need 6500 UB points so this is going to take awhile. Best to think of it in $50 or 500 point increments. Picking up rakeback as well so all helps contribute to a positive EV. Trying to just play solid and grind it out. Played about 3 hours so far and up $210. Not too shabby. Mostly playing at 1/2 dollar tables and some .50/1 when preoccupied with other stuff, like the Cowboys winning in the dying seconds over the Giants. Love football and basketball in high def. Can't believe I've been watching analog all this time.
No interesting hands to report. Some pretty poor loose play on UB at these limits which is nice to see.
No interesting hands to report. Some pretty poor loose play on UB at these limits which is nice to see.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Poker Plans
One thing playing poker in Atlantic City made me realize was how much I'd like to be able to play live every day. I can't even describe how bummed out I was that I had to go back to work following my return. I literally felt like I was being carted off to prison. At least I'm not still lawyering!
It also made me aware of how easy some of the low limit games are. I think that the 1/2 and 2/4 NL games are generally crushable if one is patient. I mean in my five hours at the tables I saw at least 3 players who were pretty much shitfaced giving their money away. All you need is one of those guys a session and you EV goes through the roof.
Anyhow, I'm definately thinking I've got to shorten this two year timeframe I've set for myself to be outta this 9-5 job and onto something more sustainable,enjoyable and hopefully living, at least to an extent, as a perpetual traveller. To do that I've got to pay off some debts and build my bankroll. Fortunately alot of the poker bonuses are still available to me as my play has pretty much been restricted to just a few sites. So my plan over the next month or so is to knock off the bonuses at Mansion/UB and Absolute. $2400 in possible bonuses is pretty sweet plus with rakeback I will be positive EV even if I play less than stellar poker. So that's my immediate online plan and as mentioned, hopefully I can get to Atlantic City as often as possible for some juicy live action.
It also made me aware of how easy some of the low limit games are. I think that the 1/2 and 2/4 NL games are generally crushable if one is patient. I mean in my five hours at the tables I saw at least 3 players who were pretty much shitfaced giving their money away. All you need is one of those guys a session and you EV goes through the roof.
Anyhow, I'm definately thinking I've got to shorten this two year timeframe I've set for myself to be outta this 9-5 job and onto something more sustainable,enjoyable and hopefully living, at least to an extent, as a perpetual traveller. To do that I've got to pay off some debts and build my bankroll. Fortunately alot of the poker bonuses are still available to me as my play has pretty much been restricted to just a few sites. So my plan over the next month or so is to knock off the bonuses at Mansion/UB and Absolute. $2400 in possible bonuses is pretty sweet plus with rakeback I will be positive EV even if I play less than stellar poker. So that's my immediate online plan and as mentioned, hopefully I can get to Atlantic City as often as possible for some juicy live action.
TV
Got my new TV yesterday and it rocks! Watched the Lakers Jazz game in high def last night and it was awesome....little worried when I first got it as picture looked just ok but after hooking up with a HDMI cable the picture is unbelievable. Will work on hooking up laptop to it tonight. Can't wait for the Cowboys/Giants game this weekend.
Fishing in Atlantic City
Well back from Atlantic City and back at this dreary job.
Atlantic City went very well. Up over $1200 playing 1/2 NL. The crazy thing was that I only played for about 5-6 hours over 3 days. The rest of the time I spent with my girl, relaxed, shopped and ate and drank very well. Paid for the trip and then some. I now remember why I like live poker so much. Although it's definately slower and arguably more boring than online, I enjoy the camraderie, sipping a coffee, chatting up other players and watching the game on the big screen(s). For some reason I just remain more focussed when playing live. I just don't want to give that guy/girl sitting accross from me any of my chips and want to felt him/her soooo badly I can taste it. There's just something great about raking in a big pot and stacking those chips while observing your opponent's dour look that just can't be replicated in online play.
Amazingly I really didn't lose a pot of signifigance the entire time. Whenever I was all in I was generally holding the stone cold nuts or at least was a HUGE favourite. Its amazing how fast after sitting down at a table you can pick up on who you want to play big pots against. I played three sessions and within 2 orbits you can generally tell who the grinders are, who the fishies are etc.
First session I bought in for $200 and after an hour or so had picked up a few small pots and was up to about $285. The whole time I had been sitting to the right of the table big stack. He seemed like a fairly solid player and had built his stack up t0 $700 or so. He was raising alot of pots and several times when I had limped or open raised he had come over the top and I had folded. I had definately given him the impresion that I could be bullied. In late position I looked down and saw a pair of 55. I rasied to $7.00 and he reraised to $15.00. I called and folds all round. Flop comes 527. I check, he bets $25.....I call. Turn 2. I check he bets $50 and I call. River is a blank. At this point I'm sure he doesn't have trip 7's and am putting him on AA or KK. I'm thinking that should I raise at this point alarm bells might go off in his head so I check. As if on que he goes all in and I call. He shows AA. Sweet.
Second session nothing spectacular happened except that my premium hands held up and I doubled up.
3rd session UTG (a maniac) raises to $7 and 3 people call. I look down in middle position and see QQ. I pop it to $45 and the person to my left reraises all in for $56 and one of the original callers flat calls. Another of the callers mucks his cards and accidently exposes a Q....great. I just call the additional $9. Flop xQx! with 2 hearts. I start a little acting job and then as if frustrated announce all in for another $170 or so. Called. $56 reraiser shows AK and other guy mumbles something and mucks. Sweet.
One hand in the last session which I am proud of went as follows. I have A9 suited in middle position, raise to $9.00 and get one caller. I had been folding Ax repeatedly even suited and was trying to mix it up a bit. Flop is 109x. Caller checks to me and I look at him shrug and check. Turn is a 4 and he fires $25.00. I could immediately tell by looking at this guy he had nothing. I call. River is another 4 and he fires 50 into the pot. Neither of these bets make sense to me and I think and call. He turns over KQ and starts a diatribe about my loose call. I tell him that I don't think it's loose at all and that if he bets the flop I likley fold. At this point he storms out of the poker room for a smoke. I'm thinking thanks for bluffing off $75, you just paid for my supper.
Anyway, the whole weekend was that kind of weekend, my good cards held up, I folded JJ and QQ when appropriate, I folded top pair top kicker, I called down bluffs etc. etc. Fun times.
If anyone reading this is from the area and is interested in making regular trips to AC then I'm game. The Tropicana has a special rate for poker players on the weekends which is pretty sweet....the one thing about AC is that the room rates on the weekends are CRAZY!
Atlantic City went very well. Up over $1200 playing 1/2 NL. The crazy thing was that I only played for about 5-6 hours over 3 days. The rest of the time I spent with my girl, relaxed, shopped and ate and drank very well. Paid for the trip and then some. I now remember why I like live poker so much. Although it's definately slower and arguably more boring than online, I enjoy the camraderie, sipping a coffee, chatting up other players and watching the game on the big screen(s). For some reason I just remain more focussed when playing live. I just don't want to give that guy/girl sitting accross from me any of my chips and want to felt him/her soooo badly I can taste it. There's just something great about raking in a big pot and stacking those chips while observing your opponent's dour look that just can't be replicated in online play.
Amazingly I really didn't lose a pot of signifigance the entire time. Whenever I was all in I was generally holding the stone cold nuts or at least was a HUGE favourite. Its amazing how fast after sitting down at a table you can pick up on who you want to play big pots against. I played three sessions and within 2 orbits you can generally tell who the grinders are, who the fishies are etc.
First session I bought in for $200 and after an hour or so had picked up a few small pots and was up to about $285. The whole time I had been sitting to the right of the table big stack. He seemed like a fairly solid player and had built his stack up t0 $700 or so. He was raising alot of pots and several times when I had limped or open raised he had come over the top and I had folded. I had definately given him the impresion that I could be bullied. In late position I looked down and saw a pair of 55. I rasied to $7.00 and he reraised to $15.00. I called and folds all round. Flop comes 527. I check, he bets $25.....I call. Turn 2. I check he bets $50 and I call. River is a blank. At this point I'm sure he doesn't have trip 7's and am putting him on AA or KK. I'm thinking that should I raise at this point alarm bells might go off in his head so I check. As if on que he goes all in and I call. He shows AA. Sweet.
Second session nothing spectacular happened except that my premium hands held up and I doubled up.
3rd session UTG (a maniac) raises to $7 and 3 people call. I look down in middle position and see QQ. I pop it to $45 and the person to my left reraises all in for $56 and one of the original callers flat calls. Another of the callers mucks his cards and accidently exposes a Q....great. I just call the additional $9. Flop xQx! with 2 hearts. I start a little acting job and then as if frustrated announce all in for another $170 or so. Called. $56 reraiser shows AK and other guy mumbles something and mucks. Sweet.
One hand in the last session which I am proud of went as follows. I have A9 suited in middle position, raise to $9.00 and get one caller. I had been folding Ax repeatedly even suited and was trying to mix it up a bit. Flop is 109x. Caller checks to me and I look at him shrug and check. Turn is a 4 and he fires $25.00. I could immediately tell by looking at this guy he had nothing. I call. River is another 4 and he fires 50 into the pot. Neither of these bets make sense to me and I think and call. He turns over KQ and starts a diatribe about my loose call. I tell him that I don't think it's loose at all and that if he bets the flop I likley fold. At this point he storms out of the poker room for a smoke. I'm thinking thanks for bluffing off $75, you just paid for my supper.
Anyway, the whole weekend was that kind of weekend, my good cards held up, I folded JJ and QQ when appropriate, I folded top pair top kicker, I called down bluffs etc. etc. Fun times.
If anyone reading this is from the area and is interested in making regular trips to AC then I'm game. The Tropicana has a special rate for poker players on the weekends which is pretty sweet....the one thing about AC is that the room rates on the weekends are CRAZY!
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