Common Sense Is Not So Common

The Prodigal Poker Player

2010-08-27T13:08:00.004-04:00

If there's anyone out there who still checks in on this blog, my apologies for the hiatus. Figured I would update this thing. I've been meaning to do so for awhile.

Where do I start? I guess I'll pick up where I left off. My last post was in March of 09. At that time, my senior year of college was winding down. It was a pretty hectic time. I search endlessly for job opportunities throughout the course of the year. I had no luck. Historically speaking, last year was one of the most economically trying times that our nation (and the world) has ever experienced. It was not a good time to find a job. I kept hearing from everyone that it was arguably the most worst job market, ever.

It’s funny how things happen, though. To combat the lack of jobs that year, Duke started a graduate program in conjunction with Fuqua, our business school. Time-out for a second… Let’s not kid ourselves, Duke created the program because it was a $$$ making opportunity. Can’t blame them, though. But I digress, back to the story… so I decided that I would apply for the program. It was titled, “Masters in Management Studies: the Foundations of Business.” They promised jobs, more attractive resume, etc etc. A good portion of my friends decided to go for it, as well. My thought process was, “Can I really put up with the stale city of Durham for another year?” The answer was no, but I justified it because being with my friends would make it easier. Super senior? I guess I’d have to be “that guy.”

It was May of 09. I graduated on a Sunday and was filling out my Fuqua application on Monday. On that fateful Monday, I was procrastinating on the internet. I came across a website for resume writing tips. Part of the application process was to submit a resume. After reading up on resume writing, I realized that my resume was pretty rookie. I decided that I would remodel it. After putting the finishing touches on the resume, I figured that it would be good idea to apply for some jobs (just in case I didn’t get accepted to Fuqua.) I posted my resume on all of the major job search websites and applied for some jobs here and there. A few hours after posting it, I got a phone call.

It was a headhunter. He was recruiting to fill a position at a small hedge fund in New York City. He said that they wanted an athlete from a top tier university. At first I was skeptical about pursuing job. My mind was set on attending Fuqua in the fall. My close friend, Tony, had just graduated with his MBA from Fuqua, and he was helping me through the application process. In my previous blog post (circa March 2009), him and I went to Mardi Gras together. I told Tony about the job prospects. Tony took a job with a major investment bank in NYC and was planning a move to the city, himself. He said to go for the job, because if I got it, we could find an apartment together. I thought about it for a full day. Fuqua or real world? I wanted the job. Five rounds of interviews later, I got it.

Work started in July. We moved into our apartment in August. A lot has happened since last August. There are so many stories that I don’t even know where to start. Being that one obnoxious Phillies fan in NY during this past year’s World Series. Stumbling into P Diddy’s 40^th birthday party on a random Wednesday. Rooftop daytime parties at my apartment. Catching a glimpse of Obama and his entourage when I bumped into him while taking a run. Riding the roller coaster of the finance world. The journey for success. The fear of failure. These thoughts pretty much sum up my first year as an “adult.” That doesn’t quite cover all of my talking points over the past year, but I am writing over a public forum. It’s nothing incriminating, but let’s just say I wouldn’t want my mother to read it. I would love to share some of the stories but I’ll save them for conversation material over a beer or two, or three.

On the poker front, I have retired. I didn’t have the time, energy or focus that it takes to be a winning player. I only have a few hours of free time on weekdays and I’m usually all over the place on weekends. Poker just didn’t fit into my schedule. I could be making a comeback in the near future, though, so beware of any new, unknown LAGtards you might see sitting at your table.

I did not edit this so please excuse any grammatical errors. I don’t know when I will post again. Until then, may your health be good and chip stacks continue to grow.

Forgot About the Blog

2009-03-17T20:45:00.004-04:00

Damn, forgot I had a blog. The last five months have contained some of the most memorable experiences of my life. The Phillies winning the World Series. The Eagles staging a late season comeback only to fall short in the NFC Championship. A trip to Mardi Gras. And most recently, a spring break in Cabo. Among it all, alot of partying in between. Just a few of the highlights.

Cabo was ridiculous. It was the perfect balance between pure relaxation and partying. There were ten of us total. We rented a villa. The villa was half way up a large hill overlooking the beach. the beach was a beautiful sight. There were all sorts of random rock formations in the ocean and on the beach. We had an infinity pool with an elevated jacuzzi attached to it. From top to bottom, the villa was perfect. At night, we would go to a night spot and set up shop at a private table/area. We all had an incredible time with many laughs and great memories. Needless to say, the trip will hold a special place in my heart as one of the best overall experiences I've ever had.

Mardi Gras was quite interesting, as well. A close friend and I got in on Thursday. A Harrah's Casino was conveniently located directly across the street from our hotel. Our orginal plan was to hit up Harrah's on Thursday night and hit it hard the next three nights as our return flight was scheduled for 6:40am on Monday. We got a solid pregame in, then headed towards Harrah's. Immediately upon exiting our hotel, we were greeted with a parade passing through. A few dancers from the ensuing parade took it upon themselves to start dancing with my friend and I. We earned some beads, which were necessary apparel for Mardi Gras. Feeling the adrenaline from the parade, we scratch the Harrah's idea. It was a great night. Later on, check that.. Much later on, we found ourselves at Harrah's taking souls from random tourists at the poker tables. To make a long story short, we ended up missing our scheduled flight home due to an outrageous chain of events. I would love to dive into details, but I'll save that for another day.

Poker has been going well. I started to make good strides in my game, but have gotten rusty as of late since I haven't had too much time to play. My heads up game was really coming along. I have moved back to six max for the time being and feel quite confident in those games given my improved hand reading skills and sharpened ability to adjust to opponent specific tendencies. the games are pretty tough these days, but even some of the regs make occasional questionable plays. But I guess we all do once in a while.

Fall Break, Home, Party, Phillies, Little Poker

2008-10-14T13:02:00.003-04:00

Friday marked the start of Fall Break. It was basically an extended weekend and Im heading back to Durham tonight. Its always fun to come home. This past weekend I explored Manayunk, Philadelphia for the first time. Its a prime party town on the outskirts of the city. I had always heard good things about it from friends. Its mainly a bunch of people in their 20's just looking to have a good time. My kind of people. Im glad I had the opportunity to check this place out because its definitely a place I would consider moving to after graduation.

Philadelphia has been waiting for a championship for 25 years. We are very passionate about our sports. At the same time, Philadelphia fans are notorious for their mood swings based on performance. We're desperate for a championship, so you cant blame us. This year is different, though. The Phillies are up 3-1 on the Dodgers in the NLCS. We're just one game away from our first World Series appearance since 1993.

On the poker side of things, low volume is the key phrase here. Not saying thats a good thing, either. Its tough to stay on the grind with so much going on while Im on break. This is probably a double-edged sword, but I usually never sacrifice a fun night out for a thousand hands of poker. Poker will be around forever and is available 24/7. Going out and having a good time is something that is limited, so I want to take advantage of my youth. In any event, Ive managed to log a mere 1000 hands since Friday and have picked up 3 BIs in the process.

$1/$2 Pot Limit Omaha Hi

UTG	ZBTHorton	($343.55)
CO	dusk2dawn75	($389.65)
BTN	Hero	($200.00)
SB	xxCar-Haulerxx	($94.75)
BB	FredFonk	($290.95)

Pre-flop: ($3, 5 players) Hero is BTN

ZBTHorton raises to $7, dusk2dawn75 calls $7, Hero raises to $31, 2 folds, ZBTHorton folds, dusk2dawn75 calls $24

ZB is a competent LAG player who tends to play too many hands. Dusk is your standard LAP player and is not competent. If ZB is opening a wide range, a squeeze in position is profitable. As it turns out, Im playing a large pot heads up in position against the donk, which is an ideal situation, especially given that he could have any four.

Flop: ($72, 2 players)
dusk2dawn75 checks, Hero checks

This is where things get tricky. While the face value of my hand looks pretty good, Im not thrilled to get it in the middle here. The hands that Im most likely to get it in against on the flop are JT, T6, and 65, all of which are possible holdings for Dusk, who could have any four as far as Im concerned. I check it back because Im not afraid of any turn and deception. The check is good for deception because most people put you on AAxx after a three bet and a flop check. If I turn a heart or pair the board, Im confident with my hand.

Turn: ($72, 2 players)
dusk2dawn75 bets $36, Hero calls $36

No sense in raising because Im either way ahead or way behind.

River: ($144, 2 players)
dusk2dawn75 bets $72, Hero goes all-in $133, dusk2dawn75 calls $61

River the nuts. Easy shove.

Final Pot: $410
dusk2dawn75 shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $407 ( won +$207 )
dusk2dawn75 lost -$200.00
ZBTHorton lost -$7.00

The flop check proved to pay dividends as this type of opponent is most likely getting the second nuts in on the flop. As evident by his line, he probably thought I had AAxx and tried getting a light call down.

PLO is fun for everyone

2008-10-08T00:37:00.002-04:00

I logged 2100 hand tonight and picked up two BIs. After reviewing my play, I was happy to see that my decisions were +EV when the money went in. However, my review also suggested I have much room for improvement. The games were unbelievably good tonight. One of the aspects of PLO I love the most is that good games are always running during the daytime.

I watched and took notes on Greg Brooks' only PLO video on Leggo. Ive watched many PLO vids by now and I must say that his vid was one of the best Ive seen across any of the sites. His commentary and analysis was excellent, but the most beneficial aspect of his vid was his session review. In the past, I simply reviewed my equity in PTO by checking my equity and pot odds in certain spots. Greg showed how to analyze various holdings through PTO. It can be done by checking "Winning %," then my on to "Open in Browser." From there you can plug in various holdings to analyze your equity versus your opponets range, rather than just his immediate holding. In hold 'em, we use Pokerstove for such analysis, but there is no such program for PLO. Im very happy that I discovered this because it will be huge building block towards achieving my goals. More PLO vids Greg! Maybe Martin can pass the word along since hes ballin it up as a guest pro over there.

I would post some hands, but for some reason none of the converters are working for me tonight.

New Challenge

2008-10-06T21:39:00.002-04:00

Adding PLO into my arsenal has made poker much more fun. Poker feels new and exciting again. In lieu of this I want to start a new challenge which will motivate me to blog regularly. I will start at 200PLO. The final destination will be 1kPLO. While 1kPLO will be my final destination, there are many short term goals along the way. My short term goals, which will ultimately help me achieve my long term goal, will consist of watching and taking notes on five videos a week, play my A game, be an active contributor in 2p2's omaha forum, and analyze my play after each session. Hopefully I can befriend some other PLO regulars. Getting hooked up with UF2B was paramount to my development as a NL player. Ill use this blog to chronicle my progress though the PLO stakes and to analyze large or interesting pots. Along with blogging about my progress and hand analysis, Ill write about any poker related thoughts and observations.

PLO

2008-09-23T01:10:00.002-04:00

At the start of September, I decided to fully commit to learning PLO. I am having fun playing poker. I personally feel that the edges in the current NL games are few and far between. While the occasional fish pops up here and there at the NL table, they seem to be instinctively flocking to today's PLO games. With all of the training sites available, everyone is good at NL. A few months back, Taylor Caby decided to grind out a bunch of hands at 5-10. He couldnt get over how tough the games were. Heres a guy who crushed the biggest games just a few years ago, and now hes having a rough time with 5-10. Granted, my perspective should be taken with a grain of salt. I cant remember the last time I played on a Friday or Saturday night - the most profitable times of the week. Although the variance is high at PLO, it is also high in NL. Anytime you're getting TT, AQ in preflop for 100bb, its a high variance game. Even the HU NL games are getting ridiculous these days. Game selection is key in HU. When there are 10-15 other HU regulars waiting for a game, its tough to game select. PLO is fun and also very interesting. There are so many unique situations. Not too many people know how to play this game optimally. As PLO has become more popular over the last year or so, it reminds me of former trend seen in the poker world. The poker boom. Everyone flocked to NLHE. This was a time period when Andrew Wiggins was beating up on the 10-20 games... enough said. Back to the point at hand, PLO is starting to boom - just like NLHE did several years back. No one knows how to play the game. Best of all, gamblers love it. Its safe to say that PLO yields significantly more action than NL. If you were a compulsive gambler (aka recreational gambler) putting money on an online poker site and you were a bad player, would you prefer more or less action? While NL may be the more popular game at the moment and said recreational gambler may feel more "comfortable" playing NL, he ultimately has no clue what hes doing. Whether he has no clue what hes doing at NL or PLO, I think hell have more fun at PLO. These are just my observations. History tends to repeat itself, and as PLO gains popularity, more fish will make the shift. Even if they dont make the shift, the games are quite profitable as it stands.

Oh yeah, I have a blog

2008-08-18T21:46:00.003-04:00

I guess the title says it all. The past few months have been pretty hectic. I finished up summer school near the end of June. We had a great time and I came through with an A and a B+ in my two courses, so Im pleased with that. I came home to a good situation. My buddies and I rented a house at the shore (Sea Isle City) for the entire summer. I go down from Fri-Mon while playing poker, working out, wrestling, and studying for the LSAT during the week. This summer has been awesome, but words dont really do it justice. I have some pretty crazy memories from this summer that will last a lifetime. Its not over yet, though. My friends have a going away party planned for me on Fri, which unfortunately, is my last night.

I havent been too enthusiastic about poker in recent months. After a harsh downswing in June followed by an extended period of break even poker, I decided to drop down to 1-2. Things are going well there and Ill probably hang around at that limit until I get settled in at school. School starts Monday, a week from today. Pretty crazy. Im living in a house with 6 other guys and it should be a non-stop party for the most part, which is a double edged sword. In any event, Im looking forward to it. Ill try to make a habit of updating this thing bc I enjoy writing and I think its healthy for my game.

HU and Some Hands

2008-05-22T09:45:00.003-04:00

Damn, almost two weeks have passed since my last post. Im back in Durham for summer session. Ive actually been back for a bit over a week. They didnt waste any time getting our asses back in gear for the summer session.

Ive been working pretty hard at my HU game as of late. Its coming along pretty well. Ive been watching HU vids and taking careful notes. I review the notes before each session. After awhile, the notes become common knowledge. I started with Krantz's Pr1nnyraiding series because it serves as a good introduction into HU play. Its given me a good fundamental platform to build off of.

Best of luck to the both the men's and women's Duke Lacrosse teams this weekend as they're both in the Final Four. I live with lax guys so hopefully they come back with the national title because in that case it will be a continuous party for at least a few days. They took second the past two seasons, so they're due this year.

Poker is fun, for everyone...

UTG: $350.70
Hero (MP): $890.10
CO: $506.60
BTN: $401.70
SB: $206.40

Pre-Flop: A Q dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $12, CO raises to $36, 3 folds, Hero calls $24
My image is loose and aggressive. Ive been at the table for about an hour. Villain is tight and aggressive, but has been 3 betting me aggressively. Hes solid and plays well. Earlier in the session, he 3 bet me twice in a row and I folded preflop both times. The hand prior to this he 3 bet me, so this is the second time this session that hes 3 bet me twice in a row.

Flop: ($78) Q K 2 (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets $64, Hero calls $64
Way ahead or way behind - call.

Turn: ($206) K (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: ($206) 6 (2 Players)
Hero bets $116, CO raises to $406.60 and is All-In, Hero calls $290.60
Standard VB here considering he might be able to find a call with a worse Q or medium pp. He thinks for a bit and shoves. He wont give me too much credit for a K here. AK 4 bets, KQ could flat but prob c/r the flop. KJ is really the only credible K I could have, but Im usually not calling with it OOP in MP. He has to assume Im making a thin value bet here. He has a lot of FE given my bet and the effective stack size. I figured he was capable of turning a made hand like 77-99 into a bluff plus any air.

Results: $1,019.20 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked A Q and LOST (-$506.60 NET)
CO showed Q K (a full house, Kings full of Queens) and WON $1,016.20 (+$509.60 NET)
- Nice turn check by him.

Hero (BB): $404
UTG: $1,037.90
BTN: $72
SB: $480.30

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG raises to $12, 2 folds, Hero raises to $44, UTG calls $32
- Four handed. Same villain as above and about 20 minutes later...

Flop: ($90) J 6 K (2 Players)
Hero bets $64, UTG calls $64
Hes views me as loose and aggressive, so its easy for him to assume Im cbetting here with 100% of my range. I expect him to call with TP, mid pr, any draw, and some medium pp's. Pretty wide range.

Turn: ($218) 7 (2 Players)
Hero bets $296 and is All-In, UTG calls $296
Im definitely betting the turn but how to extract max value? I could make the standard bet of $100 to set up an easy river shove. However, I think that he'll fold a good portion of his range on the turn and definitely the majority of his range on blank rivers if i take this line. I ended up shoving because the flop is draw heavy, and the turn made it draw heavier. I figured I'd shove bc it was the most obvious way to rep a draw. He tanked and called.

River: ($810) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $810 Pot ($2 Rake)
Hero showed A K (a pair of Kings) and WON $808 (+$404 NET)
UTG mucked A Q and LOST (-$404 NET

And the fat lady sings

2008-05-02T15:23:00.002-04:00

Its all over. Junior year of college has officially concluded. I cant believe Im about to be a senior. Time sure does fly. Growing up, its easy to take your youth for granted. Shit, I still do take it for granted. In any event, Im heading to the shore at Wilmington, NC where a friend of mine is hosting a weekend long party. Should be a good time and a solid cap to the year.

I get money

2008-04-30T02:11:00.005-04:00

Ahh the college life. Nothing like sleepin' in on a Tuesday. Ran some errands. Played a session. Hit the gym. Finished up with a fairly long session. I used to be a gym rat in my high school days because of wrestling and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once I got to college, we were stuck on the generic wrestling lifting program. Generic lifting programs are terrible because everyones body will respond differently to various forms of training. I lost interest in lifting and after my career ended, it was very tough to find the motivation to get back at it. I would trickle into the gym here and there but it never clicked. As a new years resolution, I told myself I was going to get back in the gym. The best investment of FPP's Ive ever made was in my Ipod Touch. I can tune out the soothing music they love to play in our gym and the nerds who are aimlessly throwing weights around next to me. With the exception of last week, I hadnt missed a workout. Im on a five day split routine Monday to Friday. Its finally paying off. My abs are back. Im happy to see them because its been awhile. Perfect timing for the summer. Today's workout was pretty brutal. It was back day. I decided to amp up the intensity significantly for todays back routine because I felt that my gains were plateauing. Ugh, it worked. After three tri-sets (three sets in a row with no rest in between repeated three times), I had to take a ten minute intermission. The intermission was spent in the bathroom puking and laying on the cold floor. Afterwards I felt like a million bucks then finished up the rest of my workout and did some cardio.

On to what you probably came here for... poker.

Hence the title of my post. Maybe one day Ill be sweet enough to replicate Gambler2k4's baller pose with the $50 bills.

CO: $816
BTN: $386
SB: $86.20
BB: $621.40
UTG: $1,933.15
Hero (MP): $456.40

Pre-Flop: Q A dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $12, CO calls $12, BTN calls $12, 2 folds
Standard raise and Im called by two TAG players.

Flop: ($42) 7 3 K (3 Players)
Hero bets $32, CO folds, BTN calls $32
Standard cbet. Once CO folds and Im HU with button, Id expect him to raise his sets and call with his pairs. Alot of guys will call with any pair here because they expect me to cbet this with 100% of my range.

Turn: ($106) 8 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $76, Hero raises to $164, BTN raises to $342 and is All-In, Hero folds
Id expect him to check back his one pair hands for pot control. When he bets, the majority of his range cannot stand a c/r.

Results: $434 Pot ($3 Rake)
BTN mucked and WON $431 (+$223 NET)
- He ended up showing 87. Dont ask me why he showed.

SB: $120
BB: $78
UTG: $376
MP: $486.70
Hero (CO): $1,390.80
BTN: $820.60

Pre-Flop: 9 T dealt to Hero (CO)
UTG folds, MP calls $4, Hero raises to $20, BTN calls $20, 3 folds
MP is a huge donk. BTN is kind of LAG, but has made some skeptical plays. He seems like a tourney donk who might be giving cash games a try. With the donk in the hand, Id expect him to be calling with any hand that has good implied odds.

Flop: ($50) 7 7 A (2 Players)
Hero bets $36, BTN raises to $76, Hero calls $40
Once raised, I assume his range consists of trips+ or a draw. Once I call, he's most likely to put me on TP that doesnt want to commit alot of chips bc were 200bb deep.

Turn: ($202) Q (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks
Id expect him to follow up with trips+ here because he should want to get paid against an ace and not give a free card to a draw. Once he checks through, I put him on a draw that is taking his free card because he assumes Im not folding my TP.

River: ($202) 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets $100, BTN calls $100
All draws miss. I bet because I have no showdown value and it should effectively fold out all of his draws. My bet size says, "Call me please because I have TP and I know your draws missed." Unfortunately, he complied.

Results: $402 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed 9 T (a pair of Sevens) and LOST (-$196 NET)
BTN showed A 5 (two pair, Aces and Sevens) and WON $399 (+$203 NET)
- lol donkaments

SB: $396
BB: $669.20
UTG: $682.40
MP: $1,205
Hero (CO): $428.70
BTN: $394

Pre-Flop: K K dealt to Hero (CO)
UTG calls $4, MP folds, Hero raises to $20, BTN folds, SB calls $18, BB calls $16, UTG calls $16

Flop: ($80) T 8 2 (4 Players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $55, 2 folds, UTG calls $55
UTG is a loose passive donk who plays his hands face up.

Turn: ($190) 8 (2 Players)
UTG bets $36, Hero raises to $126, UTG calls $90
An 8 is certainly in his range, but if he has it, he'll let me know. Im not worried until he gives me reason to be. I think hes blocker betting with a draw to set his own price. I raise because I feel it extracts the most value from the majority of his range (TP and draws).

River: ($442) J (2 Players)
UTG bets $481.40 and is All-In, Hero folds
Draw completes and its an easy fold.

Results: $382 Pot ($3 Rake)
UTG mucked and WON $379 (+$208 NET)
-Sklansky bucks balla.

Who? Mike Jones

2008-04-29T00:48:00.010-04:00

No need for an introduction. Ill pick up where I left off. The South Padre trip was interesting to say the least. Im pretty sure that Cam (my roommate) and I drank enough to kill a small army over the course of the week. During the day, everyone crowded a particular beach for all day drinking and chaos that typically comes with the territory. After that, we would nap. Upon waking, more drinking ensued. Once we lost touch with reality, we ventured to whatever random night club was going on that night. A couple days into our trip, we met up with a friend (Alex) of ours from school. He lives in Texas so South Padre was in his backyard. He was with a friend from home. Our first night together. His friend parted ways with us to meet up with some of his friends who were also down. Alex ended up crashing at our place. When we went back to his hotel around noon, his friend was not there. And there were no signs thay he had ever been there. His cellphone was off. He was pretty wasted the night before. We called the local hospital. No records of him. We called the jail. Got 'em. He spent the night and morning in the jail. Needless to say, he said it was pretty miserable. Also needless to say, I found it pretty funny. I didnt manage to take too many pictures bc Im not a camera kind of guy. "Hold on! Let's pose for a pic you silly goose!" Nope, not me. I manage to snap off a few, though.

After flying back to Jersey early Saturday morning, we were pretty beat. However, we still had a little bit of fuel left in the tank for Saturday night. Actually, Im pretty sure we were running on fumes. My sisters best friend from college is pretty loaded. Anyways, her parents rented out a stretch Hummer for an event they were attending. Once they were finished with it, we took it up to their college - Villanova - for a night at the bars. The stretch fit all 7 of us pretty comfortably. It also wasnt terrible that my sister's friend brought two bottles of Goose along for the ride. Fun night.

In somewhat related news, shout-out to my sister who made the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleading squad. Over 400 girls tried out and 38 were selected after four rounds of eliminations. Congrats to the sis.

Outside of that, Ive been spending way too much time in the library. I've had the pleasure of watching the sun rise from the library windows more times than I'd like to remember. We actually had our last day of classes on Wednesday, so that was nice. We're in the midst of finals week now but I finished up with three of my finals today. Brutal, but Im relieved. At least until Wednesday, which is when I shall make my glorious return to the library for the majority of my waking hours until Friday evening.

Ahh the library, such a depressing topic. I'll move on to another depressing topic. My poker results. Ive been practically break even on the year over 100k hands. Im actually pretty pleased with break even status considering how things have gone/been going. However, I still have lots to learn and much to improve on. In any event, Ill move on because bitching is for the birds.

On Thursday, after our last day of class, a good buddy of mine and I ventured over to East Carolina Univ. He had visited friends there before and I heard nothing but rave reviews. It was pretty unbelievable. Now I see why people say college is the best four years of your life. Dont get me wrong, I find my fun here at Duke. But the good majority of Dukies are not here to party, they're here to study.

I want to start using this blog for hand analysis because it will improve my game. Here are some hands from tonights session. It was the first time I was able to play in over a week because of school work and my trip to ECU.

$2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players

BTN: $665.15
SB: $236
BB: $400
Hero (UTG): $562
CO: $646.10

Pre-Flop: A J dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $12, CO folds, BTN calls $12, 2 folds
Im new to the table. Im assuming the the BTN is a weak player because I saw him open limp on the button.

Flop: ($30) 4 J 2 (2 Players)
Hero bets $20, BTN calls $20
Could make it $24 here.

Turn: ($70) 5 (2 Players)
Hero bets $44, BTN raises to $128, Hero calls $84
When raised, I feel his range is polarized. He either has a made flush or is bluffing. My main decision is how to react to the raise. I have two options: shove or call and c/r the river. If I shove, he calls with his made flushes and folds his bluffs. I opt to call because I figure that he would bet any made flush on the river and sometimes his bluffs. Im also assuming that a bad player does not have the ability to fold a made flush on the river to a c/r. However, I think its pretty trivial either way because I dont think he bluffs here too much without a read on me.

River: ($326) A (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $112, Hero raises to $402 and is All-In, BTN calls $290

Results: $1,130 Pot ($2 Rake)
BTN mucked 6 8 and LOST (-$562 NET)
Hero showed A J (a flush, Ace high) and WON $1,128 (+$566 NET)

$2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players

CO: $412
BTN: $340
SB: $475.10
Hero (BB): $439.90
UTG: $433.80

Pre-Flop: 9 9 dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls $4, 2 folds, SB calls $2, Hero raises to $20, UTG calls $16, SB folds
Solid image. Havent had any real confrontations with UTG. Hes running 22/12 over a short sample. When he calls, Im assuming the majority of his range consists of suited connectors and small pairs.

Flop: ($44) A 7 2 (2 Players)
Hero bets $32, UTG calls $32
I find it common for semi-competant opponents to call any cbet with pocket pairs after they limp and call a raise. After Im called, I believe that he is on the heart draw or is floating with a pair.

Turn: ($108) 4 (2 Players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $64, Hero calls $64
My plan is to check/call the turn. He could be semibluffing a heart draw or simply betting the turn as part of his plan to float.

River: ($236) 4 (2 Players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $160, Hero calls $160
Wtf? Thats my initial thought. By betting the turn and river as strong as he did, hes repping a pretty huge hand. I retrace the actions through the hand. Any set raises the flop. He could have floated the flop with 44 and turned his set, that makes sense but the probability of that is significantly discounted after the 4 pairs on the river. If he limp called an AJ or AT type of hand, I would assume that he'd check the turn back for pot control. This is another case of a spot where I thought his range was very polarized. I thought he could have played AA and possibly a slowplayed set like this. All draws missed and I called because I felt he had more bluffs in his range than monsters.

Results: $556 Pot ($2 Rake)
Hero mucked 9 9 and LOST (-$276 NET)
UTG showed A 5 (two pair, Aces and Fours) and WON $554 (+$278 NET)
--Pwned. Lesson learned: dont give unknown players credit for being semi-competent.

$2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

Hero (CO): $498.15
BTN: $410.80
SB: $382
BB: $466.50
UTG: $388
MP: $1,117.05

Pre-Flop: 9 9 dealt to Hero (CO)
2 folds, Hero raises to $12, BTN folds, SB raises to $36, BB folds, Hero calls $24
My rust certainly showed in this hand. I learned from it, though. Ive been playing with SB for most of my session across a couple tables. Hes tight and is running at 18/14 over a decent sample. Hes 3 bet me a few times but hasnt been out of line. I play alot of hands from the steal positions. I have set odds, a good made hand, and position - call.

Flop: ($76) 7 3 5 (2 Players)
SB bets $50, Hero calls $50
Way ahead/ way behind - call.

Turn: ($176) 2 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $102, SB raises to $296 and is All-In, Hero calls $194
My thought process was way too risk averse in this spot. I opted to bet because I didnt want to give AK-Q a free card. He tanked before he c/r, but once I bet the turn, I wasnt folding bc i sized my bet so he might think he had fold equity for an AK-Q c/r semibluff. If I wanted to bet here, I should do it with a big hand or air so I can confidently call or fold. This is a spot where a check is the optimal choice. Checking the turn will allow me to play optimally on the river because out of position aggressors will normally either value bet or check down in this spot. If he bets the river, I can safely fold. If he checks, I can check behind because a bet rarely gets called by worse against this tight player.

River: ($768) A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $768 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked 9 9 and LOST (-$382 NET)
SB showed K K (a pair of Kings) and WON $765 (+$383 NET)
- Boo this man. Hopefully the rust has worn off.

One Month

2008-04-27T23:48:00.002-04:00

Whoa. Its been a month since my last post. If anyone still reads this, I apologize for the hiatus. Since spring break Ive been going non-stop. I'm currently in the library studying for two finals I have tomorrow, but I'll have an update on Tuesday after the tsunami has temporarily subsided. Speaking of the library.. yeah, thats where I've spent the majority of my time the past month.

Keep in the sunlight

2008-03-26T01:11:00.006-04:00

I have quite a few topics to cover in this post. Alot has happened since my last post. Nothing too crazy, though. Since the primary subject of this blog is poker, I will start with that.

The title of this blog is from part of a Ben Franklin quote. Ben Franklin is the man. Having a ten day break from poker was really good. When was the last time I had a ten day break from poker? Hmm.. Im still thinking. the break allowed me to clear my head from what has been a somewhat dismal 2008. I've realized the signifance of keeping a positive frame of mind while playing. When Im expecting a negative outcome, it happens. At times when running bad, its eay to complain to myself or feel sorry for myself. I think that most poker players can relate. This contributes to negative thoughts. Psychologically, Im thrying to no longer accept complaints or sorrow for myself. I read some articles non-poker related that emphasize maintaining a positive frame of mind. the importance of this concept from wrestling. After ironically coming across several "poIve learned sitive thinking" articles (non-poker related) in the span of a few days, it was a good reminder of its importance. The full quote of the title is, "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."

David Sklansky insists in "Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players" that study, but more importantly experience and alot of thinking about the game away from the tables are paramount to improving as a player. I consider myself very lucky for the support network I have. UF2B has been a cornerstone for improvent to my game. We all learn from each other, and also, when you're in a group, it forces you to think about poker alot away from the tables. My relationship with Hookem and Verneer has been extremely important to my game. Hookem recently said that I should reduce my number of tables to at the most four. I agree. I am now three tabling, and four if games are good. With 5+ tables, I become mechanical. The toughness of today's games dictate that most of my edge will come from knowing my opponent. Not only knowing his overall style, but knowing him in the moment. I have notes from Brian Townsend's first video. One of the first points he made in the video was, "Play no more than three tables at once. FOCUS is a huge benefactor." Granted, it was a 10-20 video. I fell behind on watching videos from the break. Ive always been a visual learner, so I really benefit from them. Leggo is turning out some excellent content lately, because their pros are familiar with the nature of todays games at the respective stake of the video. Greg Brooks (MYNAMEIZGREG) insists on playing fewer tables, as well. So from now on, Im not worrying about number of hands, etc. The focus will be on playing in each moment I am in and considering all of the information I have on my opponent(s) to make the perfect play. I think that performance goals are terrible for this game. How many hands? How much money? What bb/100? My goal is to constantly improve. I want to master the game. I find it tough to improve while playing many tables. I find myself improving at a much quicker rate at three tables. Hopefully I continue to improve.

Its past my bedtime so Im going to cut this one short. I got the poker out of the way, so for my next post I will include my Spring Break and Btimm Party report. Thanks again for hosting that party, Brian. We all had a really good time. Details to follow in my next post. Kinda sucks to leave this post at a cliffhanger.

Btimm Challenge

2008-03-07T11:45:00.002-05:00

I have to make this short and sweet bc Im pressed for time. My results for the challenge were not too good. I ran at -10bb/100 over 5200 hands. Oh well, get 'em next time.

Book, Heads Up, Spring Break

2008-02-25T18:04:00.004-05:00

The evolution of a poker player was something that I used to read about back in the day. Reading about it was one thing, but experiencing certain parts of it has been another. I have very erratic reading habits. I'll start a book and read a good portion of it. Sooner rather than later, I am often drawn in by another book. Sometimes related and sometimes entirely unrelated to the subject of the last book. My latest engagement with new reading material has been with "Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players" by David Sklansky. I read this book in Novemeber of last year. Much to my dismay, the majority of the book's contents flew right over my head. As a mere five month novice to the game, I still had much to learn before being able to assimilate material from an "advanced" text. Now, fifteen months later, I am reading the same text. The content in the book is outstanding. Sklansky's preface to the actual strategic content of the book sent shivers up and down my spine. The keys to becoming a successful player were right in front of my eyes fifteen months ago, but I was not good enough to recognize the importance of Sklansky's words. He insisted that while the contents of the book would make you a better, the book was not a means to an end. He claims that to become an expert one must study often, think constantly about the game, and spend countless hours at the hold'em tables. As he reiterates time and time again, "There is no substitute for experience."

I used to be very intimitated by the idea of the math behind poker. Lets face facts, poker is a game of math. The math isnt all that scary, though. When seeing poker math in action, I often got lost in the extensive equations. The more I read Sklansky, the more I understand how math works in poker. Math can work in a multitude of ways. In Sklansky's texts I have found that it is not the ability to carry out complex equations which makes one an expert player. It is the ability to consider all of the variables of a particular situation. Any given situation may require the consideration of several variables. Each variable is a piece of impartial information. A skilled player is one who is aware of the variables for any given situation. An expert player is one who can accurately estimate the probability of each variable to come to a conclusive decision on whether to fold, call, or raise. Easy game, right?

That was a rant, but I hope it made some sense because Ive been thinking about that for awhile. I started implementing some heads up into my game. I suck, lol. Ive been playing 1-2 HU. Im learning so much, though. I played against a good player the other day. I have a feeling he was being coached by someone when he was playing me. He was a reg from the 1-2 games when I played there. The reason I think he was being coached was bc he was waitlisted to play me and he was only playing on two tables. Regardless of whether he was being coached or not, I learned alot from the match.

There was one hand that extremely frustrated me. He had been upping his three betting range. I had four bet him recently. He three bet me again, I had T6o - the nuts, obv. I decided to four bet. My logic was that he wouldnt assume Im four betting him light twice in a row. We were about 300bb deep. He calls my four bet out of position on the big blind. K55 flop. He checks, I cbet and he calls. Im thinking that while he could very well have AK, KQ, or AA, the majority of his range is sort of medium to high pocket pair. The turn brings another K. I make a "standard" value bet. He thinks for a bit and calls. DAMNIT! Just fold your TT-QQ. Im desperately trying to rep AK. River brings a Q. Pretty bad card. He checks and I shove. He thinks, and thinks some more. He calls with AQ. At first I thought, "What a horrible call down! He must be tilted from me taking a few buy ins from him earlier." I thought about the hand for a bit, and it didnt take me long to realize that in reality I got owned.

When I make the four bet preflop, my range becomes polarized. Its safe for him to assume that Ill show up with AK, JJ+, or air. While AK and JJ+ constitute a portion of my range, so does air. For instance, I might show up with a big hand 50% of the time and air the other 50%. An expert player is able to deduce a rough estimate of the probabilities of each type of hand within his opponent's "hand range." When I bet on a K55 flop, he made the assumption that the only suitable hands for me to bet on that board would be KK+, AK, or air. He could make the assumption that QQ-JJ would check the flop back. When the turn pairs the K and I bet it strong, it polarizes my range even more. Now my range is confined to KK, AK or air. With AA, I should check back the turn to try to induce calls from smaller underpairs on the river. With two K's on the board, it is mathematically less likely that I hold a K in my hand. The river brought a Q and he check called me with AQ. Im not sure how much this affected his river call. I have a hard time believing he would call down on three streets in a four bet pot for 300 bb's with A high. However, he was not playing the hand based on its strength. He played it based on his hand's value versus my range, to which he clearly gave alot of merit to air.

Even though it cost me some money, the educational value of the hand was worth it to me. What I failed to do was correctly assess the range I was representing. I was trying to rep a narrow range of strong, made hands. I never gave much credit to air - a big mistake. I remember from Phil Galfond's video that it is more effective to represent a wider range of hands while bluffing. If I were to check the flop, I could have repped my entire range. A check there would also indicate that I had some showdown value because he would expect air to bet such a dry flop. Granted, a check could have opened myself up to a bluff on his end, but he should assume that Im at least calling one street after the flop check. Im going to get a HU coach, because the investment should be well worth it. I really like HU poker. And as a former wrestler, I enjoy one on one sports.

On the other side of the fence, some interesting prospects have surfaced in the real world. As advertised earlier, my roomate and I are officially going on spring break to South Padre Island, Texas. Its me, him, and fifteen sororirty sisters from Central Missouri State. Hes from Missouri and one of his friends from home cordially invited us. We gladly accepted and probably would have walked to Texas if we had to. The plan is as follows: drive back to my home in Jersey and stay in AC for two nights. The NJ State Wrestling Championships are the first weekend of spring break in AC. My brother should be wrestling there so Im looking forward to it. We fly out of Philly to Texas on Monday morning and fly back Saturday. Classes resume for us on Tuesday, so well probably head back on Monday. Should be fun, but I first need to get through midterms week at school!

Apologies and a Game Plan

2008-02-19T00:49:00.004-05:00

I apologize for my last post. I was pretty pissed about my recent failures but blaming it on running bad is simply an excuse. Ive always held true to the quote, "If you cant stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen." Its one of my all time favorites - haha. It can be used in so many different contexts, but Ill leave it to poker. I know the variance is crazy at 5-10. I voluntarily play it knowing the above. There is no reason to complain, because variance at this limit should not be a surprise to me at this point. The heat is variance and the kitchen is 5-10.

Ive been studying poker a little more in depth and I realize that there are definitely some things I need to integrate into my game. I need to better adapt to opponent specific tendencies. Not obvious ones like opponents three betting like crazy, but little ones like assessing an opponents range when he cbets a flop. Most players will cbet with TP+ or air, while checking back marginal hands with showdown value. Some will simply check behind with air occasionally, while cbetting everything else. Poker is a game of impartial imformation. The more information we can accurately take from our opponents; the closer to optimal poker we can play. This is just one example of the things I am looking to improve upon.

After watching Townsend's latest series on CR, I realize I am a long ways off to being an elite player in those games. If you havent watched it yet, it is an unbelievably eye opening series to anyone looking to make an impact at the higher limit games. I am going to cut my tables down to three in order to establish reads and practice adapting to opponents based on my reads. As I get better and feel more comfortable, Ill add more tables. While I do believe I could currently sustain a decent win rate in the 5-10 games, there is still much, much more room for improvement. In the meantime Ill be playing 3-6 where Im going to try to learn some of the intracies of the game.

Tonight was my turn to play for the weekly UF2B group sweat. I posted some hands on our blog. Check them out and holler if you have any questions or comments.

Not Winning

2008-02-17T21:03:00.004-05:00

Weird. Had my biggest day (5k) and biggest losing day (5.5k- today) within the same weekend. From today, I lost a total of $6.2k with QQ+ and AK alone. I misplayed two hands and it cost me. Anytime I play 5-10, I get murked. I understand the variance is crazy. Ive experienced it first hand. I crush 3-6 and lose it all at 5-10. Its been a constant cycle. After my third unsuccessful attempt to transition to 5-10, Im inclined to say that Im simply going to stay at 3-6 and 2-4 exclusively. However, I can be a winner in the 5-10 games. Not to sound cliche, but if I ran close to expectation, 5-10 would be my normal game for good. Its sucks to invest so much time and effort yet consistently fail. Im typically not a negative person, and it takes alot to make me feel this beaten down. When the money goes in and Im good, I almost expect to get sucked out on. I despise of this negative mentality, but when it happens over and over again Icannot help but expect to worst.

This year has sucked. Hopefully the poker gods have some better things in store for me. 2008 so far:

Move it like clockwork

2008-02-12T00:17:00.000-05:00

I managed to recoup all losses from my 5-10 downswing. It took me three days. Poker is a volatile game. I dont really know what to say but I am ready for another 5/10 shot. However, Im not too sure Ill take it just yet. I have some new and exciting plans for spring break. It will require some funding so thats why Im not too sure I want to risk it at 5/10. I dont want to give away any details but lets just say it involves Atlantic City. It also involes my roomate and I going to a spring break destination. But we wont be alone. We'll be traveling with some friends, or shall I say, an entire sorority? My roomate is from Missouri, and this chick hes cool with from home extended the invite. Hes met her sororiety sisters once before. Hes excited, and so am I. Oops, maybe thats giving too much away.

Loser

2008-02-08T15:33:00.000-05:00

I hate to lose. Everyone hates to lose. If you dont, you're most likely a loser. Even though losing sucks, I have learned alot from it. Ironically, losing has probably benefitted me long term me more than winning has. When I was wrestling, a loss would really affect me. I would become withdrawn, depressed, and unpleasant in general. By the same token, it was the losses which helped me improve. If I was beat, I obviously had a particular weakness that was exploited by my opponent. Since we are only as good as our biggest weakness, it is essential to improve not what we are already good at, but rather what we are bad at.

My experiences with wrestling have taught me alot. I am now much better at handling losses. I do not fear defeat, I desire victory. My latest downswing has posed an interesting situation. I think that after this downswing, how I rebound will be a true test of character. Do I sit down at the 3-6 tables feeling sorry for myself, or do I sit with the conviction to strive for excellence with each and every hand? Losing sucks, but its kind of cool because it allows you to show what you are truly made of.

Movin' on down

2008-02-06T23:42:00.000-05:00

Nice title? Haha, I crack myself up. Things started off very well at 5-10. Unfortunately a 12 BI downswing ensued. I had a 6 BI loss limit, so back to 3/6 we go! Many coolers and bad beats along with not getting paid off, but its a part of the game. Moving down feels like defeat, but Ill take some time off and then hit the midstakes hard once again. I made smooth transitions at both 2-4 and 3-6, but I had a rough time at 1-2. I guess I was due for a rough transition. However, I crushed 1-2 the second time around. After my brief tenure at 5-10, Ill feel pretty confident in any 3-6 or 2-4 game. Martin suggested that I simply grind a "shit ton" of hands at mid stakes and move up when I can. I concur, and I shall do as suggested. I appreciate all the nice feedback from my last post, but hold the applause, Im not done yet.

Movin' on up

2008-02-03T14:18:00.000-05:00

On Friday night I accomplished my long-term goal of making it to 5-10. Hopefully things go well for the next few weeks so I can make it my regular game. For now it will be my regular game, but if I start to see alot of red on my bottom line then I'll take precationary measures and drop back to 3-6. 5-10 is alot of fun. Dodgy was right when he said that adjusting to 5-10 is a somewhat smooth transition. Well, so far its been a smooth transition. Hopefully I wont have to eat my words (knock on wood).

Its kind of surreal that Im at 5-10. I started playing cash games in July with a 1k roll at .25-.50. As I got more involved with cash games, my ultimate goal was to establish myself at 5-10. It took me 7 months and I averaged about 20k hands a month. Either quality over quantity or Im a luck sack. Probably because Im a luck sack. My latest move up feels just like any other move up. Sure, it was exciting for the first thousand hands or so, but I feel pretty comfortable already. It usually took me several weeks to feel comfortable at a limit. However, I was able to anticipate some of the intangibles of moving up. For example, the increase in money can cause people to play suboptimally. 5-10 is simple though, because I just think in terms of big blinds rather than actual money. I never doubted that I would be able to make it to 5-10, but it was something that I thought would come after a considerable amount of time and experience.

I want to put in alot of hands this month. The past few months have been hectic and I haven't been able to play as much as I'd like. Im also going to start playing heads up. Adapting to opponent specific tendencies is a necessity at 5-10. Heads up will allow me to develop those skills even further. Also, with my wrestling background, I think I have a good mindset for one-on-one sports.

Balance

2008-01-27T23:37:00.000-05:00

As the stakes increase, the opponents get better. Great players are great hand readers. They are also good at deception. A great player thinks, "What range of hands am I representing?" Based off of my opponents perceived range, I have been thinking about different ways to maximize the value of my hands by maintaining balance. When someone makes a bet into me, its often either a bluff or a strong made hand. This type of player is easier to play against than someone who balances their range. I want my opponents to believe that I could conceivably have a weak, marginal, or very strong hand in any given situation. This makes things difficult for great hand readers.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (5 handed)

MP ($359)
Button ($1898.25)
SB ($594)
BB ($952)
Hero ($639)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ac, Kd.
Hero raises to $21, 2 folds, SB calls $18, 1 fold.
SB is an excellent player with a very solid style.
Flop: ($48) 6c, 6h, Ah (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.
By betting this flop, Im getting value from AJ, AQ, and some flush draws. However, against this particular opponent, Id estimate that he isnt cold calling with those hands very often. AQ most likely three bets and AJ probably calls here about 60% of the time while three betting the other 40%. As I stated before, villain is very solid, so I didnt give much merit to a flush draw because I don't think he's playing too many suited connectors out of position against a MP open raise. If I were to bet here, I would be representing TP or air. However, once I check, I'm representing a decent hand with showdown value. My perceived range is something like 99-KK.
Turn: ($48) 3d (2 players)
SB bets $30, Hero calls $30.
As with most poker decisions, I have three options: fold, call, or raise. Folding obviously has no merit. Most players will lead out on the turn after checking the flop behind. Many players interpret the flop check as, "Okay, you can have it." I could raise him here, but I'm trying to represent a decent hand that I simply want to get to showdown - call.
River: ($108) 7h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $60, SB raises to $202, Hero calls $142.
Once he checks to me, I make a small bet attempting to make it look like a thin VB with TT-KK. Considering the range that Im representing, I thought that this would be a good time for villain to c/r, even before he did it to me. He tanked and c/r. I thought for 3 seconds and called.
Final Pot: $512
Results in white below:
Hero has Ac Kd (two pair, aces and sixes). SB has Ts Td (two pair, tens and sixes).
Outcome: Hero wins $512.
I have fun playing against good players because it allows me to manipulate them. In poker, it is my goal to win the battle of mistakes. I want to make less mistakes than my opponents. However, I am willing to make a potential small mistake by not protecting against a flush draw or getting full value from AQ in order to possibly induce an even larger mistake on my opponent's behalf.

Learning from mistakes

2008-01-21T02:40:00.000-05:00

Played 4.5k hands this weekend. It was alot of fun to just sit down and play poker for an extended period of time on consecutive days. Ive been mobbed with career stuff lately, so it was a nice relief. Went out both Friday and Saturday night - good times. I did some reflection on my play. I need to really make an effort to keep logging hands. Time management will be essential.

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players

CO: $435
Hero (BTN): $663
SB: $603
BB: $600
UTG: $111

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG folds, CO raises to $12, Hero raises to $45, 2 folds, CO calls $33

Flop: ($99) Q A 7 (2 Players)
CO checks, Hero bets $66, CO calls $66

Turn: ($231) 3 (2 Players)
CO bets $72, Hero calls $72

River: ($375) 7 (2 Players)
CO bets $78, Hero calls $78

Results: $531 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO showed Q Q (a full house, Queens full of Sevens) and WON $528 (+$267 NET)
Hero mucked A K (two pair, Aces and Sevens) and LOST (-$261 NET)

Looking back on this hand, I played it incorrectly. Villain is a TAG reg, so he's a thinking opponent. After he calls my 3b, I cant expect to get value from anything Im ahead of (maybe AJ occasionally). I need to check behind on this flop so I can try to rep an underpair and get value from AJ on turn and river, also something like mid pr or KK/JJ might look me up for at least for one street. And there is always the outside chance that he'll attempt to bluff me.

As the stakes increase, minor things like this make a difference. Since my mathematical edge decreases with each stake increase, I need to capitalize on minor edges.

Poker Story

2008-01-14T14:12:00.000-05:00

My first experience with online poker was in July of 2006. My best friend at the time had intoduced me to MTTs. He hooked me up with a couple of books and websites, and I soaked in as much information as I could. I first started playing on a site called BetZip. For $20 a month, you could play in as many MTTs as possible, but with little reward, obviously. In August I expanded to Party and Paradise. I was one tabling SNGs and MTTs. I won about $1k in total from SNGs and a late night cash game binge on PP which netted me $600. I used Neteller to disperse some funds across other sites such as Stars and FTP. I continued my focus on MTTs.

After Christmas of 2006, I joined CR and PXF. I'm a visual learner, so I really benefitted from these sites, especially CR. Within a month, I took down the $10r on Stars for $13k. I had marginal success with MTTs and SNGs for the next few months. Up until March of 2007, poker was a hobby. However, that all changed when doctors told me that my wrestling career was over. My mother always told me that when one door closes, another door opens. Poker was my new D1 sport.

In July I decided it was time for a change upon discovering a post on CR's low limit forum titled, "Low Limit Grinders Community." The community improved my game by leaps and bounds. In August I was invited by Peten2toms to join UF2B. The group has padded my win rate from NL100 to NL600.

In late August I applied for Verneer's coaching. He claimed that he was accepting one student. I felt that I didnt really have a chance but the worst that could happen was a simple denial. I also thought that I didnt really need coaching because of my group, but at the same time, I figured it couldnt hurt. Verneer helped me battle through a month and a half long break even period at NL100. He reassured me that I would be fine and helped maintain my confidence. Eventually, I was adequately rolled for NL200 and never looked back. I blew through the limit fairly quickly and found myself playing NL400.

I received some very good coaching at the mid-stakes and I quickly moved my roll to the $30k mark. Everything was going well for me but I figured the inevitable downswing was lurking nearby. The new year brought what I was anitcipating. A sharp 11 BI downswing. These are very standard, but it has been my first experience with one. My month and a half long breakeven stint at NL100 helped prepare me for this. The only reason I was break even was because of all the terrible players that donk around at that stake.

Ive taken some time of from the game to regroup and I am ready log a good sample now that I an settled in at school. Running bad sucks, but its a nice change of pace bc it humbles you and causes you to reanalyze your game.

New year, new computer, new results

2008-01-10T13:09:00.000-05:00

Winter break has concluded but it was a nice break. Always nice to spend time with family and friends. I am now back at Duke and have just finished my second day of classes. I won a laptop through Cardrunners' promotional giveaway and received it on January 2nd. Since then Ive been losing. Even though losing sucks, its good to get a taste of humble pie every now and then.

The more I play, the more I realize how important it is to have a terrible short term memory. In sports it is also important to have a bad short term memory. A pitcher who gives up a home run must quickly eliminate any negative emotions or thoughts to optimally pitch against the next batter. In a tournament, a wrestler must forget about a loss almost as quickly as it can happen. Most tournaments are double elimination. Once you lose, you are placed in the consolation bracket and are essentially wrestling for third place. It is easier to take first place than it is to take third in a tournament. A quarterback must also possess the ability to forget things quickly. After an interception, he is still the leader of the offense and cannot dwell on a previous bad play. A good quarterback stays focused on the task at hand. This easily correlates to poker. The hand histories are stored in a database for review. There is no need to dwell on an error or bad beat while at the table, because we have all the time in the world to dwell on it during our session review.

Never confuse motion with action

2007-12-27T14:03:00.000-05:00

Pretty standard week for the most part. The 2/4 and 3/6 games on FTP have been pretty good the past two weeks or so. Even the TAGfish are probably donning a comfortable win rate in those games for the past couple weeks. Hands to follow.

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players

CO: $167.30
BTN: $670.30
Hero (SB): $764.80
BB: $615
UTG: $654.70

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG calls $6, CO folds, BTN calls $6, Hero raises to $38, 2 folds, BTN calls $32

Flop: ($88) 8 4 A (2 Players)
Hero bets $60, BTN raises to $120, Hero raises to $228, BTN raises to $632.30 and is All-In, Hero calls $404.30

Turn: ($1,352.60) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($1,352.60) 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: $1,352.60 Pot ($3 Rake)

BTN showed K Q (a pair of Eights) and LOST (-$670.30 NET)
Hero showed A A (a full house, Aces full of Eights) and WON $1,349.60 (+$679.30 NET)

The fruits of playing LAG and pissing off donkies. Easiest $680 I've ever made. The holidays must have really had him in the giving spirit.

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players

BTN: $257.90
SB: $396
BB: $549
Hero (UTG): $826.20
CO: $446.50

Pre-Flop: 5 5 dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $14, CO folds, BTN calls $14, SB folds, BB raises to $52, Hero calls $38, BTN calls $38

BB is a solid TAG. We've tangoed a bit in the past and I had been involved in a hand with him where I made a very aggressive play and won a $500 pot without showdown. BTN is your standard LAP donk. BB makes the mistake of granting me the implied odds I need to set mine.

Flop: ($158) 5 A 7 (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

BB hesitates and checks. I opt to check behind bc I assume that he leads AK-Q here. I weigh his range towards KK-QQ. I didnt want to blow him off of it so I check behind trying to rep KK-88.

Turn: ($158) 5 (3 Players)
BB bets $77, Hero calls $77, BTN calls $77

Even better. Once again, my turn logic is consistent with my logic on the flop.

River: ($389) A (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $697.20 and is All-In, BTN folds, BB calls $420 and is All-In

At this point, I have to bet. He's obviously calling if he slowplayed his AK-Q. The only way I would get value from KK-QQ is if he felt I was bluffing. If I were to bluff, I wouldn't VB so I opted to shove.

Results: $1,229 Pot ($3 Rake)
BB mucked J J (two pair, Aces and Jacks) and LOST (-$549 NET)
Hero showed 5 5 (four of a kind, Fives) and WON $1,226 (+$677 NET)

This opponent really played this hand bad. By checking the flop, he opened himself up for disaster. Its going to be very difficult to get value with JJ OOP against two other opponents. Lead the flop here and let the hand play itself. If he receives any action, it should be obvious that hes behind. He turned what should have been an easy decision into a difficult one and convinced himself that I was bluffing.

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Player

SB: $594
BB: $214
UTG: $1,069.40
MP: $279
CO: $311.35
Hero (BTN): $878.55

Pre-Flop: T J dealt to Hero (BTN)
3 folds, Hero raises to $21, SB folds, BB calls $15

BB is a tight passive short stacker running 21/10/1.7. I have a note on him that he bluffed the turn and river when I checked the flop behind.

Flop: ($45) A 6 J (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks

By betting Im not getting called by anything Im ahead of, and at the same time, Im folding out anything that I beat. No draws other than a gutter. Safe check. Im willing to make a very small mistake to potentially induce a larger mistake on his part.

Turn: ($45) 4 (2 Players)
BB bets $40, Hero calls $40

Uh oh. Ive seen this line before.

River: ($125) 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $153 and is All-In, Hero calls $153

I can only beat a bluff, but based on his quick timing, I went with my read.

Results: $431 Pot ($3 Rake)

BB showed T Q (a pair of Sixes) and LOST (-$214 NET)
Hero showed T J (two pair, Jacks and Sixes) and WON $428 (+$214 NET)

In terms of monetary gain, this was an insignificant hand. However, this was a confidence boost because I was able to make a call based on his timing and a read.

Picture with my buddy from his 21st birthday celebration.

After crosses and losses, men grow humbler and wiser

2007-12-19T18:19:00.000-05:00

I arrived home on Saturday evening. The drive back from school wasn't bad because I didn't hit any traffic in DC. Finals were pretty rough but I did good. I received my final grades from three courses so far. I'm still waiting on one final grade, though. If I can pull out an A- then I'll make the Dean's List for the first time. Right now I think its borderline between an A- or a B+. Say a prayer for me.

Ive been able to log some hands since getting home but not as many as I would like. The times have been quite hectic around here. Last night was my best friend's and my sister's birthday. My sister turned 20, Ill be celebrating her birthday on Friday with some of her sorority sisters. Last night was my friend's 21st, so we went out last night relatively low key, but he has an entire evening of festivities planned for Saturday night. Some great times ahead in the near future.

Anyways, I played on Sunday night and lost about $700 over 2k hands. Not too bad considering I was down $1.8k about 1200 hands into the session. I took some donk for a BI and a half at a 3-6 table when it broke and left us heads up. Beautiful. Monday night I came back with a vengeance. Was playing really LAG and started catching hands at the perfect time. I cant believe how many bluffs I induced. People were putting their stacks in the middle with absolutely nothing and I happened to have a hand. Finished up $3.8k in 700 hands. $1.9k at both the 400s and 600s. Best night yet.

My coach is excellent in keeping things in perspective because he has emphasized that the good and bad nights are only a small squiggle on a long term graph. Yes, its cool to win nearly 4k in one night, but its tough to quantify because its only a number. I want to get to 5-10 as soon as possible, so this is yet another step in the right direction. I'll never be complacent with my results because satisfaction is only good for stalemating my progression as a player. Ive seen it several times in the poker community already where someone experiences substantial success for the first time and automatically assume that their abilities are near perfect.

Too many players worry about winning and losing. They think, "If I run good..." or even worse "If I don't run bad..." This is a loser's mentality; one who is not confident in their abilities. If you are truly confident in your abilities as a player, you should focus on playing your best. Playing your best and losing is fine. However, playing bad with bad results is obviously not OK. Some people even play bad and win, thus allowing them to believe their play is Hellmuth-esque. Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that if you feel you have an edge in a game, then you should really focus on playing your best and nothing else.

Well done is better than well said.

2007-12-10T02:32:00.000-05:00

Finals have begun. I have two final exams and two final papers. One paper is ten pages in length and the other is twenty. Ive put a good dent in everything except the twenty pager. I have all of my research done for it and there is alot of material to write about. Its due Thursday so Ill be fine.

After spending all day and the majority of he evening in the library, I logged 1k hands while 4-6 tabling. I had my biggest night yet, $2.75k. I also eclipsed the $20k BR mark. As Im writing this, I'm not really experiencing any feelings of excitement. I haven't accomplished my goals yet, so there is nothing to cheer about. It is simply a step in the right direction.

Weekend was a good time. Friday night was LAXmas. The lacrosse team's annual Christmas party. I live with the lax guys in my class so Friday night was standard procedure for the most part. Saturday afternoon was spent in Cameron Indoor for a matchup against Michigan. A close friend of mine got hooked up with some tickets.

Drive thy business; let it not drive thee

2007-12-05T00:26:00.000-05:00

Since my last update Ive learned alot about 2-4. I need to keep logging hands, because I learn so much by playing. Im still trying to find the right balance in my game. This is the first limit I have played at that requires me to get into the head of my opponent. Its alot of fun, but it can also be mentally draining. My sessions are usually around an hour long at 2-4, which relative to the past, isnt that long for me. However, once I feel my mind tire I stop playing and take a nice break. Poker is tough because if you aren't playing at 100%, then you're losing money.

I want to exceed 25k hands this month. Im going to hit a rough patch once finals roll around. I should be able to log a decent sample while I am home for winter break.

Edit: I just read Martin's blog (Dodgyken) and he wants me to post a hand from a sweat.

Villain is a regular running at 27/21/3 over 1.3k hands. We have some history. This session I outplayed him twice in decent sized pots and he knew it. It seemed like he had it out for me after that. I had also been playing a bit looser than usual.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Full Tilt

SB ($431)
BB ($745.30)
UTG ($142)
MP ($427.90)
CO ($397.55)
Hero ($469.40)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Kh, Td.
3 folds, Button raises to $14, 1 fold, BB calls $10.

Flop: ($30) 2s, 9d, Ks (2 players)
BB checks, Button bets $22, BB raises to $58, Hero calls $36.

A decent board for him to c/r me on considering I'll have a hard time continuing without a K or better. Its tough for me to put him on a set. He's repping 22, a draw, or air. He three bets 99+ based on my image.

Turn: ($146) Jd (2 players)
BB checks, Button bets $92, BB raises to $422, Hero calls $305.40 (All-In).

I decide to bet bc I wanted to protect against draws, which I felt occupied the majority of his range. He c/r all in while the majority my range is clearly top pair. His turn c/r represents 22, KJ, and J9. I discounted KJ and J9 because he practically never c/r those hands on that flop. So it was either 22 or a draw. I figured that he figured he could maximize his fold equity with a draw bc one pair typically has a tough time finding a call to a turn c/r.

River: ($940.80) Qc (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $940.80

Fortunately, he was drawing. To be specific, he was drawing to 2 outs after he showed his 55. The most important variables in the hand were my image and his psychological state.

The sleeping fox catches no poultry

2007-11-27T13:38:00.000-05:00

Back in Durham after an awesome Thanksgiving break at home. Good family time, good parties, good bar nights, and other good extra curriculars. This trip home easily gets an A+.

School work is going to slow down for a short period of time before finals. I'm looking forward to logging more hands. I had a session with Brian last night. I learned alot. 2-4 is beginning to feel like home, which is nice. After we concluded our session, I continued to play. WARNING, brag to follow: I stacked Brystmar. It was cool. Nothing too crazy. I had a LAG image and used a reverse timing tell to disrupt his read.

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

MicoTX (BTN): $437.50
drombanna (SB): $317.20
Triumph44 (BB): $370
Mano Nera (UTG): $452.60
imnob (MP): $354.30
Hero (CO): $400

Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to Hero (CO)
2 folds, Hero raises to $14, MicoTX raises to $48, 2 folds, Hero raises to $112, MicoTX raises to $437.50 and is All-In, Hero calls $288 and is All-In

Flop: ($806) Q 9 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: ($806) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: ($806) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $806 Pot ($3 Rake)
MicoTX showed Q T (a full house, Nines full of Queens) and LOST (-$400 NET)
Hero showed Q Q (a full house, Queens full of Nines) and WON $803 (+$403 NET)

... Scratch that vid, sir.

A big congratulations to Verneer, who was offered a position at Cardrunners as a Guest Pro. This is a huge accomplishment and is a testament to his abilities as a player and teacher. His instructional videos will be top-notch for low limit players. I'm very fortunate to have been coached by him and also to have him as a friend.

Reads

2007-11-20T18:58:00.000-05:00

I was going over some hands and I came across an interesting one where I made a move based off of a read. He was 73/28/1.1 over 125 hands. I had a note where I observed his min raise was weak in 3b pots.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($569)
SB ($430.10)
Hero ($837.60)
UTG ($400)
MP ($80)
CO ($400)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ks, Kh.
1 fold, CO raises to $12, Button calls $12, 1 fold, BB raises to $56, 1 fold, Button calls $40.

Flop: ($122) 2c, 7h, As (3 players)
BB bets $84, Button raises to $168, BB raises to $869.6 (All-In), Button folds.

Final Pot: $243.60

Im happy the play worked well based off of my read. However, I do not think I maximized my value here. Without a draw in sight, I should have called the flop. I can check the turn and allow him to bluff again. Basically, instead of shoving the flop I should have check called this hand all the way down bc my hand is essentially a bluff catcher and it allows him to keep bluffing. On the flip side, he could be min raising A9-3 to see where hes at, but hes usually calling with those hands anyway. I played this hand awhile ago. If my memory serves me correctly (there's a good chance it isn't), he's not folding very many A's in this spot. I don't really have any conclusive remarks in regards to the feeler raise but I'm just trying to cover all the bases. Sorry if this was scattered. Just my thoughts as they came to me.

On another note, I arrived home last night from school for Thanksgiving Break. Home sweet home. Big plans this week. Lots of fun stuff going on and I am looking forward to it. On a sad note, I have a huge presentation on Monday when I get back. Ill be on my grind with that at some point in time this week. My school work is like a tsunami. It comes in huge waves. You see it coming, but you can't run or hide. It is not a pleasant experience. The month of November has been a continuous tsunami. From an optimistic point of view, its a pretty small price to pay considering the long-term benefits of a college education.

Update

2007-11-15T02:17:00.000-05:00

I haven't had a whole lot of time to play this week. Ive played four sessions since my last entry. Combine the latter with 2/3 tabling and you get a small amount of hands. Although I haven't played much, I can feel myself growing as a player. Pawel did an excellent job in teaching me how to play optimal ABC poker with some tricks. Learning this is the key to beating SSNL. You cannot build a huge, fancy house without a strong foundation. Build your foundation at the small stakes, then build the rest of your crib at MSNL. Want a big, fancy house? Make sure you have a good foundation. I can thank Pawel for mine.

At this point in time, Im ready to build off of my strong foundation. To guide me through the process, I felt it would be best to bring in a specialist. Brian Rue (hookem148) and I had our first two sessions on Sunday and Monday. I can also thank Pawel for that one. My game is progressing. Brian has helped me with how image affects one's play and when to switch gears. Image and switching hears are very important factors in MSNL. Players are much better hand readers and game flow is a very important variable to consider. Im very grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with Brian.

Ive pretty much luck sacked my way through my first 1.7k hands at 2-4. Im running at an astronomical 15ptbb/100. I have been practicing very careful table selection. Since Im only playing 2-3 tables, Im pretty crazy about my table selection. Last night I was break even after an hour of play. I was about to leave my tables because I had a meeting about a school project. Before leaving for the meeting I went from TAG to LAG. When I switched to LAG, I got credit for several orbits. When I was about to leave my tables (which would have been about the time I would have switched back to TAG), I caught a couple of big/ semi-big hands and got paid. A perfect example of how image and table flow dictate the correct play. Im certainly not even close to perfect. There are still some adjustments I need to make. FPS caused me to miss some value on a hand I played yesterday. As SirNeb said to me, "Standard TAG lines turn your hand face up. MSNL regulars are much better hand readers." This does not imply FPS should consume your lines. It implies that thinking one level deeper is a necessity to beating MSNL for a solid win rate.

400nl

2007-11-08T12:02:00.000-05:00

Played my first session at 2-4 last night. I had a very productive AIM chat with SirNeb on Tuesday night. What he told me will probably save me at least a couple weeks/months of aggravation. He advised me that the regulars are much better hand readers than what I found at 1-2. SirNeb stated that standard TAG lines would turn your hand face up against these guys - I definitely observed this. I still have not completely digested all that we talked about, but Ive been thinking about it non-stop. As I play and review my game, I should get better at adapting to these games. That said, I was a bit rusty tonight but I think I played well. I could have squeezed a little more value out of some hands, but overall it was a good learning experience.

I played about 500 hands between 2 and 4 tabling. I spent the majority of the time 2 tabling and finished up a BI. Played in my first ~1k pot. Well, actually, two pots. I won one http://www.pokerhand.org/?1678159 and lost one (Im including this for the indirect comedy - villain was bad, obviously) http://www.pokerhand.org/?1678167. I was nervous he had AA/KK but I had notes on him. I had him tagged as a slowplayer and that he bluffed with small bets. I also saw him min bet/ min 3 bet with a monster.

Here is a small hand that I learned alot from: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1678180 The previous orbit I had floated him BvB and raised his turn bet, to which he tanked it and folded. The texture of this flop is so draw heavy. Hes only behind JT, 55 or maybe a TP type hand (KJ). TP is kind of sketchy bc I 3 bet AJ PF and flat his flop lead with QJ for pot control. There are so many draws out. When I raise he can deduce that the majority of my range is a draw or air especially since I had raised him BvB last orbit. He tanked it during this hand as well and made the proper play by pricing out most draws, folding out air, and putting me in a tough spot with TP (even tougher depending on my kicker). I should have flatted his flop lead and reevaluated on the turn. If I hit my gin card on the turn, I can hit him with the same line as I did last orbit. Except this time I think theres a good chance that he goes with any hand that has value.

Still Alive

2007-11-05T18:20:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. Since last Sunday I have been quite busy. Last week I had my 21st birthday, Halloween, and it was parents' weekend at school. The birthday was fun. My buddies took good care of me. Halloween was an extension to the birthday. We went to Franklin St in Chapel Hill. It was nuts. We decided to go into any bar that didn't have a ridiculous line. The Library eventually fulfilled this requirement. We all had a great time. It was a 180 degree turn from the Duke social scene. An interesting thing occurred in the bar: I was called our for using a pick up line. It was quite hilarious because I did not use a "pick up" line. I told her that it was not a pickup line and that I thought she was the one trying to pick me up. A friend of mine told me that he had been called out for using pick up lines in the past, and I found it funny that I was called out. It kind of caught me off guard but I remained composed because I really wasn't using one. On to the weekend.. My parents, aunt, sister (19) and brother (16) visited for the weekend. A great time was had by all. Saturday night my parents allowed my brother to come out with my sister and I. This was pretty cool because it was the first time my brother and I have been out together. He is now a sophomore in high school and I am beginning to treat him more like a friend and less like the little brother who I used to just beat up all the time. Its a pretty cool transition. I'm proud of him bc he held his own quite well in social situations consisting of people alot older and more experienced than him. All in all, the past week has been a much needed breath of fresh air from my daily routine. All good times must come to an end, though. Back to business.

School work is going to pick up in the coming weeks. I have planned out the rest of the month of November. Its going to take alot of discipline on my part to successfully complete my academic and poker related goals.

Birthday

2007-10-29T19:09:00.000-04:00

The long awaited 21st birthday has almost arrived. Its kind of surreal. I remember dreaming of the day I would turn 21. Well, it will be here on the 30th. My buddies are taking me out tonight. They dont have practice tomorrow so it should make for an interesting night.

Goal Accomplished

2007-10-28T22:49:00.000-04:00

As anticipated, I accomplished my goal this weekend. Pawel was there for it and so was one of my best friends from school, who Ive talked about in my last post. He is one of the few people that regularly I come in contact with that I share my trials and tribulations as a poker player with.

I am looking forward to continuing my progress as a poker player. Pawel said that I would no longer need his coaching once I reached the 10k mark. I ran at 6ptbb/100 over 25k hands at 200NL this month. The original date we had set for this was goal Christmas. Well either Christmas came early this year or my hard work has finally paid off orrr maybe a bit little both? While this 10k signals the end, it also marks a new beginning. I am not satisfied with the 10k mark... and I mean that with all my heart. Assuming I will enter the real world in August of '09, I have roughly 21 months to devote to poker to fulfill my maximum potential in this game. This time around I will not make the same mistakes which prevented me from accomplishing my goals in wrestling; at the same time, I will not make the same mistakes which have compromised others chances from accomplishing their goals in poker.

Anyone is free to comment on my blog, I won't bite. I am going to start including some hand analysis in my posts. I think it will be beneficial for both me and my readers.

No Play?

2007-10-24T13:39:00.000-04:00

I spent yesterday writing and revising a case study on Marvel Enterprise. My assignment was to establish two ways in which Marvel could sustain long-term profitability. Their main problem was that the majority of their profits have come from their most well-known characters, such as Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk. The services of these characters have been exhausted. Marvel obviously cannot live off of these characters forever. I could go on forever about this (5 pages to be exact, lol) but I'll spare you before I get carried away. I think it turned out well, though.

At night, I spent some time with my best friend at school. He's a member of the lacrosse team and has 7am practice every morning Mon-Sat, but not on Wednesday's. I know, 7am isnt that bad, but for us college bums that is rough. We pretty much just kicked it and shot the shit for a few hours. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Yesterday I did a little bit of hand analysis and alot of reflection on my game. The reflection was key. I am aiming for consistency. Every time I think about "consistency", it elicits a response from my mind and body. In respect to poker, this response is playing my TAG game which is meant to be profitable at small stakes over a large sample of hands. I have placed a Post-It directly under my monitor with one word on it - consistency.

Long-term goals are very important. My goal of a 10k BR is a long-term goal. It is a destination. Something to work towards. Many people set high long-term goals but fail to reach them. Some may use the excuse that their goal was simply not attainable, which could actually be legitimate. Aim high, but the goal should be a mature one within reason. Here's the beef of the story. Yeah, I want a 10k BR. Ok, cool - GL! Many people will leave their goal setting at that. This is the primary reason as to why they do not achieve their long-term goals. So how do you do it? Pretty simple answer - short-term goals! In wrestling I wanted to become a state champion (long-term goal). My short-term goal was to not leave the wrestling room until I felt like I could only crawl out on my hands and knees. Obviously implying that I worked my ass off each day to the point where I could no longer stand. Another everyday example: You get in your car at 9am to drive to work. You just go to work? No, you turn left at this street, go through a light, and make a right at that street. The turns are all short-term goals which allow you to accomplish your long-term goal of arriving at work. My short-term goal with poker is to play consistently. This does not mean play the same way every single hand I'm in. There has to be a slight inherent randomness to my game, otherwise I'll be exploitable by good players. Consistently playing MY game will allow me to reach me goal of a 10k BR. Accomplishing short-term goals allow you to ultimately achieve your long-term goals. This rant has concluded. Good day sirs and GL- Dice

Not Pleased

2007-10-23T02:26:00.000-04:00

Tonight was very swingy. I think this is due to the looser style I played tonight. This is not a good thing. After watching Fabian and CTS latest vids, I found myself playing ultra aggro post flop. Although it has its merits, for where I am with my game a looser post flop style does not fit in well. I do not doubt that Fabian's style has granted him great success, but I feel that it is unnecessary to play that way to beat the small stakes. This loose post flop style also requires extraordinary hand reading abilities to play profitably. As I move up in stakes, loosening up post flop will become important. At my current stake, I can expect to get paid off with my big hands alot more than I will at higher stakes. Basic logic suggests that I should be patient and show down winning hands- as I have said too many times to recall. Sometimes I get testy when I feel I am being exploited- especially in 3 bet scenarios. I must continue working on detaching myself from my emotions at the table. There is no need to get testy, emotions are -EV and a loose 3 bettor is easy to exploit :) My overall message is that at the lower stakes we must remain patient and calm while at the table. Lost 3 BI tonight. I am now 7 BI short of my goal. I am anticipating the completion of this goal by week's end (Sunday). After two solid winning nights, it's nice to get a lick of reality. I know what I have to do to win. Its now simply a matter of execution.

Back to Back

2007-10-22T13:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I made it back to the tables in one piece after a pleasant Saturday. My day started off with me four tabling while Malfaire, Peten2toms, and Verneer watched/coached. I ran super hot. I was hitting sets like it was my job. I was up 4 BI fairly quickly. Shortly thereafter, my profits slowly bled away. I cut the session off at 1.5k hands and +3 BI.

I made a big f-ck up when I accidentally misclicked and folded an easy call for $25 into a $100 pot with TP2K against a donk. He proceeded to show me the ever glorious 62 off for bottom pair no kicker. He asked in the chat, "KK?" (there was an A on the board) I got a good laugh out of that one.

Following the session, I got something to eat and took care of some homework while keeping tabs on the Eagles game. Ugh, don't get me started on my Eagles. That's all I'll say on that topic.

Around 10pm I decided it was time for another session. I logged 1k hands total. Right off the bat, I lost with AA to villain's KK- oh well. I rallied hard. I did get a little help from an old friend of mine to my right who went on tilt for a brief period of time after I stacked him with quad 9's to his QQ. Its nice to get paid off with quads.

The more I play and study, the clearer and easier this game is becoming. Most of my decisions are becoming second nature- its pretty cool. With that said, I don't like it when things come easy. The reward is not nearly as satisfying. I'm going to continue playing, analyzing, and studying. I ended up +6 BI total for the day. Back to back +6 BI nights. The good thing is that I dont feel any sense of satisfaction from my latest results. The first time I did it, I was pumped. This is now familiar territory and I'm not going to jump for joy every time I have a 1k night. Its all in a day's work. Hopefully I can achieve my 10k BR goal by the end of this week. I need 4 more BI.

First 1k Night

2007-10-20T14:42:00.000-04:00

Last night I had my first 1k night. It was pretty cool, but this is only the beginning of the race so I'm going to celebrate today and forget about it tomorrow. I played two sessions and logged 2.7k hands. I won 6 BI total on the night. Friday nights are donkey-rich, so I continued my tedious table selection. My goal is to be seated one or two seats to the left of a donkey. Once I establish position, I'm there to stay and I'm there for a donkey killing spree.

I've been working on folding. In the past Ive made the mistake of calling big bets with marginal holdings. Tonight I lost only two pots over 200bb. I got my money in as a 4.5:1 and a 2.5:1 favorite in those cases, so I cant complain. I folded over pairs a couple of times tonight. Another concept that makes a huge difference has been identifying who I can value bet thin. A couple of extra $60 or $70 bets here and there pay off big time in the long run.

On a personal note, today is "Joe College Day" at Duke. Its going to be a day long music festival. I will most likely be engaging in certain non-musical festivities- you can take that any way you like. I need ten more BI to complete my goal of a 10k BR. GL - Dice

Loser

2007-10-18T00:14:00.000-04:00

Tonight I am a loser. It wasn't variance. Alot of it was FPS and calling in marginal spots. I dropped 3.5 BI over 1k hands. I wasn't dealt too many winners, but I could have minimized my losses alot better than I did. Im not happy with my bluffing frequency. I put some moves on guys that just didn't work out. At this stake, the primary focus should be showing down winning hands and minimizing losses. I am very unhappy with a river call I made with aces. Villain from the SB lead at me in MP all three streets. I said I would call 2 streets and fold to a river bet. I tanked it on the river and called as time ran down. No excuse for this. Can't call three streets against a reasonable opponent with only aces. I feel like part of the reason I called was bc IT WAS ACES! A level one thinker makes that call. I had a good feeling he had me beat as soon as he lead the flop. I should have raised his flop bet about 2.5x and folded to any further action. Oh well, I wont make that mistake again.

Interesting Hand

2007-10-17T13:46:00.000-04:00

Played 2.5k hands last night. I was satisfied with my play, but not overly excited about it. Called some large bets in marginal spots. A large bet is the most telling piece of information in no limit hold em . Even though a particular holding may not seem likely, a big bet should merit serious consideration.

Here is the hand from the other day that I said I would post along with my thought process.

Background info: BU is 23/20/5.6 and is a thinking slightly LAG opponent with a 41% Att. to Steal Blinds. The SB was a donk playing 51/0/.8. Since I had been on the loose passive donk's left, I was quite active.

MP ($204.30)
CO ($238.70)
Button ($216.25)
SB ($442.35)
Hero ($197)
UTG ($463.60)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Td, 8s.
3 folds, Button raises to $7, SB calls $6, BB raises to $30, Button calls $21, SB folds.

Standard button open by him and also a standard call by SB donk. Perfect spot to squeeze. Button flats my squeeze. He knows this is an ideal spot for me to squeeze and I figured he was looking to play a big pot in position against me b/c he knows I have a wide range.

Flop: ($65) Ks, Ac, 6h (2 players)
BB bets $40, Button raises to $80, BB raises to $209 (All-In), Button folds.

I follow up the flop with the aggression I had shown preflop. He min raises me. I'm was about to fold, but instead I decided to play poker and start running through his course of action and the hands he representing. I know that he knows I have a wide range here. I started going through his range for this flop min raise. AA has the deck crushed so he would flat my flop bet. KK could milk my AQ-J by also flatting the flop or he could simply shove if he thinks Im going all the way with an A. AK certainly didn't fit the mold bc against a wide range, why would he want to take a flop with it? That would be bad play, and I know as a LAGGY opponent he's 4 betting AK in that spot every time. It took me some time to deduce this, and I knew that if I shoved, he'd have excellent odds for a call. I was very confident with my read when I shoved (I had to be with those odds) but I must admit I was nervous. It was one hell of a rush, though. When he folded, it was an amazing feeling. It was reminiscent of the feeling I would get from winning a big match. A fleeting moment, indeed, but it was a great feeling when he folded.

Final Pot: $96

I finished up 3.5 BI over the course of last night. I am half way to my 10k BR goal after one week. 6.8ptbb/100 over 11.6k hands this week while 6-8 tabling. Tedious table selection has been key. On another note, I won a new 80 GB laptop through CR's promotional giveaway. LOL I couldn't believe it. I am in dire need of a new computer. I guess I'm lucky and this is a sign of good things to come?

Short Session

2007-10-15T23:53:00.000-04:00

I six tabled for about an hour and 15 minutes tonight. Would have put in more hands, but I'm tired and my eyes were starting to get heavy. The weekend finally caught up to me. Went on a nice little run tonight over the span of 10 minutes where I won 3 BI. Flush over top 2, AK over AQ on A high board, and trips with a better kicker. Felt good to go on a little heater. Other than that there wasn't too much action. I ended up +3 BI over 600 hands. Over 9k hands Ive won 12 BI, thus leaving me 16 more BI to go before accomplishing my goal. I have an interesting hand from my session yesterday that Verneer asked me to post along with my thought process. I'm quite tired right now, so I'll save the hand for tomorrow morning.

Emotional Control

2007-10-15T14:02:00.000-04:00

As my poker game continues to progress, I am realizing just how important emotional control is. I have thought about this in the past, but lately I have developed a deeper understanding of it with the help of Verneer and SirNeb. When I asked SirNeb what he felt contributed to vast improvement as a player, he humbly stated that the keys to success (other than obvious ones such as work ethic and skill) were logging many hands and emotional control.

I've done alot of reflection on my marathon session. It has granted me a better understanding of the game of poker. I did not have intentions of playing 4k hands. Around 1.7k hands into the session, I was $50 short of a 6k BR. I decided I would conclude the session after reaching 6k. To make a long story short, I came within $50 on two separate occasions and dropped at one point back to 5.5k. The moral to the story: as I neared my target the first and second time, I got anxious. I upped my aggression and was loosening up preflop. Slowly but surely, I lost money. I could have went on monkey tilt after dropping back down to 5.5k, but I decided that it would be better to instead just focus on playing optimal poker. Seems easy right? lol. This is a long term game. If you attempt to make it a short term game by loosening up, being over aggro, and falling in love with pots (aka tilt), you're progress as a player will be stagnant. You may improve, but the results will not show. The lesson I took away from the marathon session was that the only thing in your power is to make the correct play EVERY time. Bad beats will happen. If you cant handle them, go cry to your mommy- I'm sure she'll understand. Over the course of 100k hands, you'll endure many bad beats. If each bad beat puts you on tilt or even slightly alters your play for the worse, it will certainly show on your bottom line.

Mental toughness is a key in this game- more than you'd imagine. After taking a beat, you have three options: 1. Go on monkey tilt, 2. quit, or 3. play optimal poker. Personally, I prefer the latter. I see it as a challenge. Its a challenge I take pride in. After four years of wrestling for a nationally ranked high school wrestling team and two years of Division I, I think should be able to handle a little bad beat. This is a bit of a rant, but I hope it makes sense.

I am proud of the session I put in last night. I played 1.5k hands and merely broke even (+$35). However, within the first 250 hands I endured the following beats/ coolers. These are not posted for cry baby purposes. If you continue reading, it correlates with the remainder of the educational value of my post.

1. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1590392 Villain was 85/17/.6
2. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1590407 Villain was 66/35/1.6
3. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1590415 Same villain as hand 1.
4. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1590420 Villain is 30/9/1

These were hands that took place during the first 250 hands. Granted, I could have easily went on tilt, but instead I chose to play optimal poker. Over the course of the next 1.5k hands I managed to bounce back. I wasn't winning huge pots, either. It was weird because I checked my account balance at one point in time and I was nearly even. I couldn't believe it. Granted I was upset during the immediate time that they happened- Im human, but I quickly eliminated all negative thoughts and focused on "making the correct play every time." Emotional control turned what could have been a disastrous night into a slightly profitable night.

Marathon Session

2007-10-14T16:06:00.000-04:00

Last night/ early this morning I played a marathon session of 4k hands. It is the longest session Ive ever played. I 6-8 tabled and had alot of fun. The reason I played for so long was because I wanted to top my BR off at 6k. I came within $50 several times and got knocked down. Eventually, I made it happen and Im happy with the way things went- up 4.25 BI.

As a side note, with the help of Verneer I have established a goal. The goal is for my BR to exceed 10k by the New Year. Once I achieve this landmark, Verneer feels that I will have officially established myself as an overall winner at 200NL. The challenge started this past Thursday. My roll at the time was 4.4k. Some hands...

1) Villain is 16/7/.9 and a river AF of 5. Check turn for pot control. Only hands Im legitimately afraid of are JT, 99, and 55. He leads the river and I immediately discount the probability of 55. It was a tough call to make, but I checked the turn for this exact purpose- I didnt want to call a huge bet with tptk. By betting the turn I dont think I get value from hands that Im ahead of anyway. I tanked it when he lead into me. He could show up with JT, 99 here but his river AF suggested he was betting more hands than just the nuts. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1587303

2) Favorite hand of the session. Villain is 40/16/1.2. I have a note on villain from previous experience at 50NL basically stating he's donk. His turn min c/r is strong, but with 8 outs to the nuts, its an easy call. Value shove the river. He snapped called. This put me over my 6k goal (6.2k). http://www.pokerhand.org/?1587451

Bankroll Aggression

2007-10-11T01:15:00.000-04:00

With 22 buy ins for 200nl, Verneer gave me the green light to 3 table for an hour. I ran red hot and won 3.5 buy ins over a bit less than 300 hands. I won 2 buy ins at 100nl. Biggest cash game night ever for me. It felt good; at the same time, I realize that it is only the beginning to a long road ahead. I am excited for the future.

On a personal note, Fall Break was an awesome time. Nothing too rowdy, but I spent alot of time with close friends and family. I went up to a party at Rider U on Saturday night. A good friend of mine has a nice house there and he did it right. Monday night I got together with my high school crew. The girls from my grade all live together in a house in Manayunk, PA- they go to Philly U. Relatively low key night but still good fun. I worked out with my little brother a couple of times. We have wrestling mats in our garage and we went at it a few times. Hes getting alot tougher, but still cant take me down. He has yet to ever take me down, but when he does I will be very proud of him. Because when he does, I will know that I have done my job. My sister came back from Villanova (sophomore) on Sunday to visit. I hadn't seen her since I left so that was nice. We get along well.

Some hands:

1. I only had 12 hands on him at the time. He was running 55/25/1.2. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1574844

2. Villain is 38/9/.6 over 400 hands. His river AF was 4. Turn and river play?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1574850

Back to 100nl

2007-10-05T12:58:00.000-04:00

This past week was midterm week, aka hell week. Its one of the most dreadful weeks of the year. A shit load of work in a short amount of time. Its comparable to a tsunami. You see it coming, but you cant run and you cant hide. Its going to hit you hard, and when it does, its no surprise. I feel confident with the way things went.
Im heading home for fall break this weekend. Im very excited to spend time with fiends and family. Not too sure that Ill have time to play poker, but Ill try to log some hands.
I had some free time last night so I decided to log some hands. First I played a 1.3k hand session. It didnt go very well. I dropped 4 buy ins. Ouch, I was pissed. After a two hours of chilling out, I decided it was time for another go at it. This time I would only 4 table, rather than the usual 6 table. Over 800 hands I won 3.25 buy ins. It felt really good to make a strong comeback. I had quite a few trouble hands from my sessions.

1) Villain is 67/13/.8 over 425 hands. I think I played this too passively. If I lead the turn, do I call a shove? http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554504

2) Villain is 42/14/.75 over 100 hands. Is this turn call a spew? http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554521

3) Villain is 67/48/3.8 over 100 hands. He was an avid bluffer. I went for a turn c/r but he checked behind. Whats the optimal line here? http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554532

4) Villain is 47/19/.8 over 150 hands. Hes taken this line against me before, to which I laid down an over pair. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554539

5) Villain is a good regular 20/17/5.2 over 1.9k hands. His flop AF is 10. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554551

6) Villain is a terrible donk at 65/16/1 over 125 hands. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554559

7) Villain is 44/17/.9 over 50 hands. Flop, standard. Turn, ew. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554565

8) Acehole is 20/13/1.5 over 150 hands. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554576

9) Acehole again. Bad river call? http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554595

10) Acehole was owned me, lol. Lead into with TPTK. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1554611

Go Phils

2007-09-29T14:37:00.000-04:00

The Phillies have officially taken lead in the NL East pennant race. It is the first time this season that they have stood at the top. With merely 17 games left to play in the regular season, the Phils were 7 games behind the Mets. Fast forward 15 games later and we're sitting at the top of the NL East. If the Phils win the pennant, it could be regarded as one of the best late season comebacks in the history of baseball. The Phils have won 12 of the last 15, while the Mets have lost 11 of the last 15. Talk about shitting the bed. I wish I was back home right now. Everyone is going nuts. With two games to go and a one game lead, it should make for an interesting finish. The Fightin' Phils are in a groove. Their team chemistry is the best in baseball right now. Hopefully they can carry this momentum into the post-season.

In the world of poker things have been going good. Pretty standard for the most part. I played 1.6k hands last night winning two buy ins. I also donked around in a couple tournies. Played in three, cashed in two. I got pretty deep in the 17k GTD on FTP but while in the money my big pairs didn't hold up. QQ<44 with 30 left while in 5th place- lost 40% of stack. AA
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1533461
Villain is 67/34/1.1 over 150 hands. The turn is an easy fold, but how should I typically proceed on the flop. I feel that open folding the flop to every donk lead is weak. What are some factors I should take into consideration when considering my best course of action against a donk lead?

Some Tough Spots

2007-09-27T12:40:00.000-04:00

I played two sessions yesterday and logged a little over 2k hands. I ran hot, but I don't think I played my best during the first session. I lost a 400bb pot set over set on a dry board so I was a bit rattled by that. Came back for a second session after our UF2B sweat, which generated some interesting discussion as always. I was happy with my play the second go around. Here are some tough spots I ran in to.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1526947 Is this fold too tight? 3 betting villain is 60/0/.2 over 50 hands.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1526959 Villain is 19/16/4 over 800 hands. I have never seen a min raise from him.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1527443 Villain is a multi-tabler running at 16/14/9 over 200 hands. Too passive on the flop/turn? I did not want to raise b/c I felt he could b/3b several draws on this board, but it would be a tough call to make. If he were to b/3b, is it a fold?

50nl

2007-09-26T00:30:00.000-04:00

By way of Verneer's recommendation, I have decided to drop down to 50NL for one week. The plan is to play from Monday (yesterday) to this Sunday. I need to regain my confidence after my latest downswing. Started off yesterday nice. I won 4 BI, even though I took two bad beats in 200bb+ pots. I had a session with Verneer tonight, while Mark sweated- solid session. Tonight I lost $18 over 1500 hands. Ill post my top 4 biggest winners and losers form tonight.

Winners

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1521624 This hand occured during my session with Verneer. We checked the river to induce a bluff from a missed draw, as it was the only holding we could legitimately get value from.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1521630 Standard play. I was very excited to see my hand hold up. Maybe a sign of good things to come?

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1521633 Weird line by a villain. He was at the table for 8 hands and played every one of them. Plus, his sn was cokeman43, so I figured he had the itch and couldnt bear the poker table anymore.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1521643 I heart donkeys.

Losers

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1521565 Not too happy with this hand. Villain is 38/4/1 over 115 hands. I included a set in his range, but the reraise looked like it didnt want action. Looking back on the hand, with a deeper stack I should have taken a more passive line. At the moment in time I felt that he could have a weaker J, draw, two pair, or a set. I opted to shove because I felt that I was ahead of his range on the flop. Considering the ~150bb effective stack, I should have taken a more passive line.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1521595 Villain was 45/11/1.3 over 220 hands.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1521610 Standard

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1521614 Villain was 17/13/2 over 310 hands. This was the second hand in a row that I isolated.

I definitely feel the benefits to dropping down, but I'm looking forward to getting back to 100nl. The play is much worse at 50nl than 100nl. It doesn't seem like much of a difference after you move up for the first time, but when you move down after being there for a while the difference is very noticeable. The regulars at 100nl are typically thinking on level 2, while regs at 50nl are
still on level one. GL- Dice

Friday Night Donks

2007-09-22T03:01:00.000-04:00

Since Friday night is typically a fun filled poker night full of weekend gamblers, I decided to refrain from going out and 5 table 100nl. I lost 6 buy ins on the night over 2k hands. Overall I think I played well, but who knows, I keep losing. Here are some fun hands.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1507540

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1507544

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1507536

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1507553

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1507555 Couldnt lay it down. Guy was a maniac. I had been waiting for an opportunity to stack him.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1507551

Thats all for now. I feel very dejected right now. 100NL is kicking my ass.

The Good Ole Days

2007-09-21T03:00:00.000-04:00

Tonight I got a nice taste of the good ole days. After winning 7.5 BI last night, I dropped 5 BI tonight. Had a session with Verneer tonight, so I felt confident with my play. My graph for the month is crazy.

200nl

2007-09-15T20:19:00.000-04:00

Took a stab at 200 NL because I had 21 buy ins and games were soft. The following hands occured within 10 minutes of each other. I was only two tabling so I could get a feel of the game and also protect my roll. I figured I would play two tables of 200nl which is $400 in play, rather than 6 table 100ml with $600 in play.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1486136 Villain is 26/17/4.6 over 117 hands.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1486141 Villain is 27/19/1.4 over 91 hands.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1486150 Villain is 29/23/5 over 62 hands. He was playing back at in me in literally every single pot I entered. This may have been a marginal spot, but when I called I truly felt ok. His large flop bet is indicative of a bet that doesn't want action. My perception of his range, based on my image and his own, was AK, 99+ .

My downswing from last week had subsided late Wednesday night. I ran ok from that point until last night but I played a ton of hands. Figured it couldn't last too long. I took a shot with 21 buy ins on 2 soft tables at 200nl and got burned. You must be lucky to win at this game.

Fall is Approaching

2007-09-06T02:55:00.000-04:00

Tonight was a productive night of poker. The night started of with a lesson with Pawel, while Mark sweated. We ran in to some interesting scenarios. So far, Pawel has armed me with new theoretical concepts related to bet patterns, bet sizing, and playing out of the blinds. My newly acquired weapons have worked quite well, but I still need to make some adjustments in playing from the blinds. Most of the blind play is related to limped pots, and most of the adjustments I need to make are within my postflop play to loose passive opponents. I'm excited for the future. I know what it takes to keep improving, but I must continue to take the steps necessary to do so. School is alot of work. Tons, tons, tons of reading. Eventually it will evolve into tons of writing, but I'll save that for another day. After my session with Pawel and Mark, we had our UF2B weekly sweat. This week was Martin's (Dodgyken) turn. He played four tables of 200NL on FTP. He played very well while making some nice lay-downs. During his PT review, we had some good, interesting discussions. About UF2b, sorry for lack of updates- our double barreling piece should be up on the UF2B site shortly. As a group, we have decided to open up the format of our site. Look for posts on a more consistent basis in the future.

Downswing Continues

2007-09-03T19:57:00.000-04:00

I dropped 4 BI today. KK vs quads, aces, set of tens, AA vs KQ sucks out. I feel like Im playing well. My coach, Pawel Nazarewicz (great guy, knows his stuff), adjusted some of my bet sizes and also some blind on blind play. He said I was playing well and everything we encountered during our session was solid ABC play. I continued to play well (at least I conceived it to be well) after our session and was up 2 BI but finished down for the day over 1.1k hands. Ive lost 10 BI between my last two sessions (last Wednesday and today). Took some time of after my last "bad" session and the saga continues. When I look down at KK in the hole, I legitimately am concerned about the possibility of AA. Thats an exaggeration. I have been pretty good with controlling tilt, so Im not tilting off BI's. Its an area of my game Ive been working quite hard at. Emotions at the poker table are -EV. I am patiently waiting for this downswing to end, but its becoming quite annoying. My Sklansky bucks suggest I'm getting my money in good, but my Dice bucks do not.

Frustrating

2007-08-18T01:02:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted in a while due to time constraints. I have been running horribly lately. Tonight I was sucked out on the river on three tables at the same time with either two pair or better. Two nights ago I lost a 400bb pot with in a 4bet pot with KK vs 24o on a 355 board when he rivered a six (got it all in on the flop) and also lost 200bb in another 4 bet pot with KK vs. 96s when he flopped the nuts on a T87 board. Keep in mind these were 4 bet pots. I heart donkeys. That is all I will complain about but I could go on about various bad beats. Quite frustrating. Its supposed to work itself out in the long run but more often than not it seems that it doesn't. This month has been not been good. I was up overall on the month going into tonight, but after -5 BI night tonight on tables that were donkey rich, Im getting very annoyed with the vicious swings. My BR experienced 1.2k fluctuation this week from its high point to its low . Way up, way down, back to even, and finished it off down. Excited to take a couple day break from poker as I am preparing to move back down to Duke next week and will be spending lots of time with friends and family. Hopefully the poker gods will be somewhat merciful upon my return to the tables in the near future. GL all- luck seems to be a very important factor to the cash game grinder.

July Recap

2007-08-01T21:07:00.000-04:00

The month of July was a big month for me in terms of progression as a poker player. The game much clearer to me than it was a month ago. The funny thing is that the better you get, the more you realize how much you actually suck. There are certain facets of the game which I am looking forward to devoting meticulous study to, such as: practicing "hand ranges calculus", analyzing showdown hands with respect to the Fundamental Theorem of Poker, and also analyzing showdown hands in conjunction with my EV/ pot equity by street. I also want to devote a serious amount of time to situational factors which influence "hand range calculus" such as position, board texture, betting patterns, image, and bet sizing. For those who are unaware, "hand range calculus" as defined by 2+2 poster LearnedfromTV refers to the "acknowledgment that poker is actually a game of incomplete information, and attempts to define best actions in terms of maximizing expectation versus the range of possible hands your opponent could have, in light of the range of hands it is likely he thinks you have."

Another Day, Another Dollar

2007-07-31T10:18:00.000-04:00

Hands: 857
Amount Won: $285
BB/100: 18

Pretty standard session. Not too many interesting spots. Can thank the good night to a loose passive fish on my right with a deep stack. The session started off slow but once I began to loosen up the money started flowing in my direction.

I have really been trying to implement hand ranges into my play- assigning hand ranges whenever Im in or out of a hand. Against competant players, it is easier to assign ranges, but by all means, it is not easy. It sucks attempting to assign ranges to loose passive donks b/c their range could be literally any two most of the time. At the same time, I guess I can sacrifice accurately defining their hand range because they'll still pay off regardless. I love making money, but Im more satisfied with improving than I am with making money. Its a simple equation, improved play = improved win rate = more $$$. Assigning hand ranges is difficult, and it can be quite inconvenient when multi-tabling, but there isn't a true poker player out there that isn't doing it.

This is a hand which generated a multiway pot. I flop an OESFD as the preflop aggressor. I have found myself in situations like this quite frequently lately and feel that I am not taking an optimal line. http://www.pokerhand.org/?1319353

A Good Nights Sleep

2007-07-26T23:35:00.000-04:00

Hands:1107
Amount Won: $385.15
BB/100: 17.4

Tonight I broke out of a 4.5 BI downswing. The downswing was a result of a bad run of cards but some of the damage could have been minimized if I was thinking with a clear head. I never quite recovered from the madness that occurred on Saturday night/ Sunday morning, lol. I was playing tired and on auto pilot. Playing on auto pilot can be very dangerous, especially when you find yourself in marginal situations. I decided to take last night off and rest up. Im glad I did because tonights session went well even though I got stacked 3 times. Top 2 vs bottom set(QJ on a QJ27 board) , top and bottom pair vs the nuts (AT on AKT board), and my KK vs A3 for a full buy in preflop (rivered an A- glad they saved it for the river). This all took place within 30 minutes of the beginning of the session. The next few hours went well and I just tried to stay focused on maximizing my long term expectation. Ill post a couple of interesting hands from the past week.

1. Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)

SB: $146.75

BB: $150.25

UTG: $65.90

MP: $112.85

CO: $92.95

Hero (BTN): $103.00

Preflop: Hero is dealt T 9 (6 Players)

UTG folds, MP calls $1.00, CO folds, Hero raises to $4.50, 2 folds, MP calls $3.50

Villain was 34/17/1 over 326 hands. My image was aggressive but I had not been out of line- not yet at least.

Flop: ($10.50) 7 5 8 (2 Players)

MP checks, Hero bets $8.00, MP raises to $16.00, Hero calls $8.00

The min raise has always baffled me. I could determine whether to assess it as significant strength or if it is a feeler raise with some kind of draw. After a visit to the time bank, my read on the flop was two pair. His PFR was quite high and I felt a limped SC was well within his range here. One could also argue that small pairs (22-55) are well within his range here but I believe his PFR suggests he would have open raised any pair from any position.

Turn: ($42.50) 7 5 8 A (2 Players)

MP checks, Hero checks

A nice turn card to take a shot at? I tanked it and ultimately chose to check b/c I sensed that he was looking to c/r here knowing that an A is well within my range. With many draws out, it would be logical for him to assume I would protect my hand here. With this in mind, I opted to check and take a free-bie.

River: ($42.50) 7 5 8 A 5 (2 Players)

MP bets $33.00, Hero folds

Uncalled bet of $33.00 returned to MP

Nothing debatable about the river but I'm interested in what you guys suggest for the flop and turn.

Pot Size: $42.50 ($2.10 Rake)

2. Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 5 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)

SB: $116.05

BB: $27.00

Hero (UTG): $99.05

CO: $198.30

BTN: $47.25

Preflop: Hero is dealt Q Q (5 Players)

Hero raises to $3.50, CO raises to $9.00, 3 folds, Hero calls $5.50

Villain was 16/10/1.7 over 70 hands . Preflop I put her on JJ+, AK- possibly TT?. I had been selectively aggressive for the 45 minutes we had been together at the table. This was the first time she had confronted me all session.

Flop: ($19.50) 6 5 J (2 Players)

Hero checks, CO bets $10.00, Hero calls $10.00

Don't you love these situations? I have an over pair and her flop bet was weak. I opted to call to control the pot size. I felt there was no sense in a c/r because she only calls with hands that have me beat.

Turn: ($39.50) 6 5 J 9 (2 Players)

Hero checks, CO checks

Money. I now assume for the time being that I have the best hand. Too many draws to slow play any made hand in her range.

River: ($39.50) 6 5 J 9 9 (2 Players)

Hero bets $22.00, CO folds

Uncalled bet of $22.00 returned to Hero

I opted to value bet here b/c her AF was 1, thus I could not rely on her to bet. In retrospect, maybe a check/call would have been better here because I could possible get some value from a whiffed AK? Suggestions are welcomed on all streets.

Pot Size: $39.50 ($1.95 Rake)

3. Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)

SB: $94.90

BB: $164.75

UTG: $59.75

MP: $105.05

Hero (CO): $100.00

BTN: $97.00

Preflop: Hero is dealt 9 9 (6 Players)

UTG calls $1.00, MP folds, Hero raises to $5.00, BTN calls $5.00, 2 folds, UTG calls $4.00

Villain was 22/11/1 over 20 hands. I had just sat down at the table so I had no reads nor did my opponents have reads on me.

Flop: ($16.50) 6 7 7 (3 Players)

UTG checks, Hero bets $11.00, BTN calls $11.00, UTG folds

Over pair, sweet. Pretty terrible flop texture though, especially in relation to the button's range.

Turn: ($38.50) 6 7 7 2 (2 Players)

Hero checks, BTN checks

This was the breaking point in the hand. Do I lead here to protect against draws? I opted to check the turn. I checked for two reasons: 1. pot control and 2. to induce a call from a marginal hand (such as a small pair) on the river.

River: ($38.50) 6 7 7 2 3 (2 Players)

Hero bets $19.00, BTN raises to $45.00, Hero folds

Uncalled bet of $26.00 returned to BTN

Ouch. Possibly the worst card in the deck. When he raises its an easy fold. I opted to lead here w/o making an obvious blocking bet. I didnt like a c/c bc I felt that I could not justify calling a large river bet. I feel like I need work on my river play. What is the most efficient line to take on this river?

Pot Size: $76.50 ($3 Rake)

Thanks in advance for your input and I'm looking forward to some good discussion.

On a side note, I recently picked up a headset for sweat sessions. Ideal times for me vary by day but typically 9-12 ET Monday through Thursday is convenient.

Slight Intermission

2007-07-23T12:09:00.000-04:00

I spent the past weekend down the shore (Sea Isle + AC). Crazy weekend- one of the higher ups at my internship invited me to his bachelor's party in AC on Saturday night. Insane, great times. I actually dabbled drunken 4am 1-2NL- my first casino experience (still 20 y/o). I won a buy in and the competition was actually quite humorous. My goal is to put 3.5-4k hands this week. Ive been very busy between my internship (Mon-Fri: 9-5), wrestling (Mon-Thurs 7-9), and the shore on weekends (where you are making moves during all 24hrs of the day, lol). I'm going to make more time for poker this week by cutting back on wrestling a bit. I need to take it easier with wrestling b/c my shoulders are done for. My wrestling career at Duke ended several months ago after the 87586567475 dislocation of my shoulder and doctors assessed that they could not operate b/c of the damage. I love the sport and will always be involved it. The primary reason I continue to wrestle is because I have a younger brother, who is a sophomore at my alma mater HS (Camden Catholic). He is ultimately a reflection of me and it is my responsibility to make sure he exceeds my high school accomplishments. On another note, I look forward to continuing to build even stronger relationships with my group members. I believe that everyone involved has already noticed the benefits of this group.

Movin' On Up

2007-07-17T23:41:00.000-04:00

Hands: 546
Amount Won: $35.45
BB/100: 3.25

Tonight was my first night play 100nl. I felt I played very well for the first 1.5 hours but had to call it quits about 15 minutes later. I was up $430 at that point but within 15 minutes I lost 300 bb pot with AA vs KQ on a K84 board against a maniac- rivered a K. Minutes late I proceeded to lose when I got it in on the turn (250 bb) with the nut straight and villain boated on river. Admitting, these two hands rattled me and I felt that I was not capable of playing my A game after that point. The play at 100nl is noticeably better, but still not good. Solid opponents have wide ranges, especially when they are 3 bet and call in position. Granted, I only played ~550 hands but this observation was quite clear. Im happy that I had the self control to step away once I knew I wasnt playing at 100%. I wanted to continue to play but I could feel the tilt fever coming on.

Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1274704
Villain is 24/21/5.4 over 75 hands. Ultra aggro. Main issue in the hand was my thin river call. I figured I would c/c river knowing that he knows I cant call here w/o a K. That combined with the immediate odds allowed me to justify a thin/ probably bad river call.

Running Hot

2007-07-13T00:22:00.000-04:00

Hands: 690
Amount Won: $376.00
BB/100: 47

Not to state the obvious, but I had an awesome session tonight. Four tabled NL50 for 2-2.5 hours. Wish I could have played longer but the 8am wake ups are breaking my balls. Lost a 200bb pot when my KK ran into AA- put a smile on my face. Played well tonight but I had a hot hand, too. Ive been thinking about poker non-stop lately and Ive been practicing extensive study. I can feel myself improving and a lot of it is a reflection of my group. In particular, Noel and Alex have been great assets to my play- respect their opinions, they know their stuff. I'm a big believer in not being results oriented. I cant help being happy right now b/c of the results, but what it comes down to is playing your "A" game each session while controlling your emotions. Poker is not just a game, it is business. I enjoy poker as a game but I also view it as a long-term investment. One cannot control results. From a results oriented perspective, a player will have great sessions ($$$) and terrible sessions (-$). As players, we have no control over the cards but we do have control over ourselves. If one plays anything less than their A game, it is simply a bad investment. Goal setting is huge. Many people make long term, lofty goals such as: make $1000 this month. That is not a productive goal. Short term goals must be set to achieve long term goals. When you drive to your local food mart, you know how to get there. Hypothetically speaking, you turn right at Church Rd, make a left onto Kings Hwy, travel that road for two miles and the food mart will be on your right. Each turn is equivalent to a short term goal which ultimately helps you achieve your long term goal. Sorry for the rant, thats the sports psychology they jam into our heads speaking there. Ive bored you enough, now for some interesting hands.

Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1258840
Villain (15/6.5/.78 over 504 hands) is a good, solid regular whom I respect. We've been involved in several big pots with each other over the past month or so. She only 3 bets her strongest hands, but will call with some marginal face card hands out of the blinds against a raise from any position. Preflop play is standard, she also knows I'm ultra aggro on the button. The flop has terrible texture. I find that boards consisting of more than on middle card (Q-8) are terrible flops to cbet. In this case QJ with a club draw= terrible, terrible texture. I opt to take a free card in position b/c of the texture and the fact that this flop hits her range quite well. The turn brings a good card for me. She leads into me and I decide to raise bc she could be leading here after interpreting the flop check as weakness. I figure I have 16 outs to improve to the best hand by the river in the case that my TPTK is not best. River blanks, and I bet the river bc I feel she will call my light knowing that my turn raise could have been an FD semi-bluff and after no club she could check/call the river to hopefully induce a bluff from a missed FD. In retrospect, this is a thin value bet AT BEST. When called, I think I rarely show the best hand here based on her range.

Hand 2: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1258845

Villain 65/5/.6 over 83 hands. Crazy a-hole could be leading into me with anything here, as he was frequently calling my raises OOP and was probably getting a bit tired of my antics. I decide to call the flop over a raise to control the pot size due to my ambition to bluff one of the many scare cards that could peel off on future streets. The turn actually helps my hand. I now believe I have the best hand and want to show it down w/o generating a huge pot. I also feel a raise on the turn would scare away any hand I'm already ahead of. I decide to check behind on the river b/c I couldn't see him calling me with a worse hand, and in the case that I am check raised I'd have to give up the hand, imo.

I had other good hands but these were my most marginal hands of the night. Looking forward to some discussion. Thanks in advance.

Good Session

2007-07-11T00:54:00.000-04:00

Hands: 594
Amount Won: $148.45
BB/100: 22.9

Four tabled NL50 for about two hours. Wish I could have put in more time but I had my internship from 9-5 and then a wrestling workout from 7-830. Ive been experimenting with some new concepts and they have been adding to my win-rate. I have become extremely loose on the button with TAGs in the blinds. I checked m PT stats and Ive won a good amount of money when opening from the button. This also benefits you because you will be perceived as a LAG, yet play a TAG style. Because of my loose image Ive been able to play my big hands fast and aggressive.

Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1252523

Smot and fromthebottom were both below average loose passive players, while villain was a LAG running at 33/31/4.6. I considered a 4 bet but the original raiser was only raising 4% of his hands and I did not want to risk playing a huge pot OOP. I donk lead the flop as if to say "raise me please" and felt I could represent AK. This was the wrong line to take imo. A check raise would have been ideal here bc there are already two aces in the board, thus reducing the probability he has an ace. I opted against the c/r bc my logic was that IF I had an ace I would be more apt to lead than c/r. Looking back, if I were to lead, then I should have bet stronger into him, bc I DO NOT want him to call, lol. After his smooth call I put him on a strong pair (TT,QQ,KK). After he checked the turn for pot control I was dead set on overshoving the river. However, I opted to give up on the hand because if he did have AK (maybe AQ) he would have probably check the turn to induce a bluff from a worse hand- such as JJ! So I bitched out and gave him the pot. Is a shove on the river here +EV?

Hand 2: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1252553

Help me play 99!! My worst played hand according to PT. I had been VERY active the last several orbits and I hadn't shown down a hand in the most recent 5 hands I played. Villain seemed like a thinking player (although no specific read) running at 14/14/inf over 40 hands. Looking back I guess I should have folded pre based on his numbers, but I justified my call bc of my aggro image. Bad move, Dice. lol Let me know what you guys think his could be here.

Back to Work

2007-07-10T00:38:00.000-04:00

Tonight I four tabled for about 3.5 hours. I played three tables of NL50 and decided to pull up a NL100. Pretty standard night, started of well, then got donked around for an hour or so. As i was getting donked around I felt a little tilt fever coming on so I recomposed myself and made a nice little come back in the final hour of my session. Alex (DWarrior) and I had a productive discussion today of situational poker. We havent concluded anything concrete yet, but as soon as we do I will update the group on our findings.

NL50
Hands: 787
Amount Won: $26.55
BB/100: 3.37

NL100
Hands: 245
Amount Won: $131.05
BB/100: 26.74

Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1249498

Villain was running 26.5/6.7/.9 over 105 hands. At the time of the hand I had no particular read on him.

Hand 2: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1249515

Villian was running 15/5/.7 over 200 hands. Tight passive player. AK has been a trouble hand as of late.

Hand 3: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1249526

Villian was 21/10.6/1.1 over 70 hands. I stacked him earlier in the session with a set. Since being stacked, he noticeably upped his aggression towards me. Whats the best line here?

Hand 4: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1249540

Saved the best for last. This was my most controversial hand of the night. Villain was 40/12/.7 over 97 hands. Played this hand way too passively, IMO. Felt a turn bet would chase away a weaker ace, but a turn check would allow me to get paid on the river. Especially if a non heart came b/c a river bet could easily be interpreted as a missed draw. Curious about what line you guys think would be best here.

Thanks in advance for your help guys.

Away for the Weekend

2007-07-06T13:29:00.000-04:00

I have not been able to participate at the rate I wish I could as things have been very hectic this past week. This weekend I am going up to Connecticut to visit a good friend of mine from school. On Monday I will begin to be more involved in the group. Thanks for understanding- Dice

Grinding

2007-07-06T01:28:00.000-04:00

Hands: 870
Amount Won: $58.65
BB/100: 6.74

Ran into some tough luck tonight. Had a huge fish take 2 buy ins off of me. Other than that tonight I played rather tight (17/13) as I typically run at ~22/17. Ive logged 17k hands at NL50 and I was wondering if anyone could provide feedback on my numbers. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Level	Total Hands	VPIP	VP$ from SB	Folded Sb to Steal	Folded BB to Steal	Att. To Steal Blinds	Won $ WSF%	Amount Won	BB/100 Hands	Went to SD %	Won $ at SD %	PF Raise %	PF AF	Flop AF	Turn AF	River AF	Total AF
NL ($0.50) (6 max)	17637	21.94	30.59	85.61	78.44	33.29	44.52	$1,061.60	6.02	21.7588	50.4167	16.97	2.98	5.01	2.39	2.36	3.21

Some Hands:

Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1238417

Villian running at 50/22/1.15 over 130 hands. Anytime villain raised, whether pre or post flop, it was a min raise. I heart min raises.

Hand 2: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1238425

Villain running at 22/15/1.9 over 173 hands. Pretty solid ABC player. My image is aggressive and I had been picking up many pots w/o showdown. Tell me how much of a donk I am.

6 max .25-.5

2007-07-02T18:43:00.000-04:00

Hands: 531
Amount Won: $44.90
BB/100: 8.46

Four tabled for about an hour and a half. I was reasonably happy with my play, but definitely made some mistakes. I will post a couple trouble hands. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1228270

I think I may have left some money on the table here as small stakes donks love their overpairs. No particular read on villain, as I had only been at the table for about two orbits. My image is aggressive at this point because I picked up several hands early on which were not shown down.

Hand 2: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1228285

Once again no read on villain as he had been at my table for only several orbits. I am well aware a set is in his range. But with many draws and the possibility of a weaker over pair led me to believe a shove was +EV.

Hand 3: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1228310

Situations like this have been very troubling for me recently. Perfect flop texture. Villain was running 70/0/.72 and was pretty much involved in every pot.

Hand 4: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1228327

My worst played hand of the day, IMO. Cold called from button b/c of guaranteed position in a multi-way pot against pretty deep stacks. Probably should have led flop as one could easily put me on a steal with good flop texture like this.