I've been reading many a poker blog over the last couple of months, and playing poker damn near every night. Mostly 180 person 4.40s on PS. The last couple of nights i've been playing micro limits on PS... .10/.25, where my fellow donkeys and I like to trade chips.
The thing i'm struggling w/ most right now is bankroll management. 'Struggling' isn't really the word though. Here's how things have gone over the last couple of days:
Friday night i'm damn near broke (pretty common occurence for me), so i fund PS w/ about 35 dollars. I decide to play 3 or 4 MTTs at 4 bucks a pop, leaving me just under 20 dollars. I bust out of all but one of them, each time getting my money in w/ the best hand (twice AA!) and losing (TT and AQo dominate AA!!!!)... I stay in the last tourney and continue to make good reads/lay downs, and chip up for 3+ hours.
Somewhere in the 3rd hour, i decide to sit at a micro limit table w/ my last 20 bucks. W/in 45 minutes, I have tripled my money and decide to cash out at $60+ so I can focus my efforts on the final table of the aforementioned MTT.
It's now after 3 a.m. and i REALLY need to get to bed. I have to be up at 8 to drive to New Mexico for a friend's wedding, but it's been so long since i've actually reached a final table, that I just can't see throwing in the towel... I'll sleep later...
Long story short (no hand histories, sorry), i end up making it to heads-up, where i of course offer to chop... My opponent doesn't have anywhere else to be, so naturally he wants to keep playing. I finally call his A2 push w/ a meager KTstd... my T on the flop can't compete w/ his A on the turn and that's all she wrote. $140 more dollars in the bankroll.
Saturday I didn't play any poker due to the wedding, and Sunday when we got home, i just played break even poker at the cash tables. I logged out Sunday night w/ the same 200+ in my account.
Monday I played on and off throughout the day, and only managed to add about 20 bucks to the total. Still, i was pretty happy w/ how i played, hitting trips a couple times and getting paid off, TPTK holding up, etc. Then Monday night it all went to shit. I was 4 tabling at the micro limits, and just went completely flop dead. I was getting a lot of decent starting cards, quite a few pocket pairs and such, and even flopped a couple str8s w/ suited connectors. But other than the str8s, i just couldn't hit a flop to save my life. It seemed like all of my Cbets were getting called, my opponent's draws just kept hitting, I kept losing the kicker war (my K to his A), it was just a shitty run... Somehow, someway i ended up losing 180 dollars in about 4 hours, while only playing about 28% of the hands dealt to me, and winning half of those pots. It was quite a display of poker ineptness... winning small pots and losing big ones... The exact opposite of how things are supposed to go.
So as I write this, I can clearly see where I went wrong. I obv. should have quit playing once i lost my 3rd $25 buy-in, but i just couldn't peel myself away from the table. I guess i really do have a genuine addiction to this game. I'm going to have to figure out a way to distract myself once i start losing. Maybe i can talk myself into playing some other game when the poker gods are no longer smiling on me.
I've been trying to get time to play in the Mookie, Riverchasers, or the MATH, but so far I haven't been able to free up that much time on a M, W, or F. The lil' lady gets severely pissed off when i play poker all the time, so I have to be wary of that every time I go to play... especially tournaments since they take so long. But on the outside chance that I end up playing in one of the bloggerments, and you guys end up reading this, know that I've been trying to get there for quite some time...
Is it a bad sign if i'm going to the library to play poker online at lunch?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
How many times can I get my money in good and still lose?
I know that no one reads my blog (yet, hopefully), but maybe if i write about this, it'll help me vent.
How many times can i possibly get it all in good and get sucked out on?
I have ATstd in early position, so i limp... me and about 4 or 5 other people. The flop comes Ah9d6d... in other words, i flop the world. Any Ace, diamond, Ten, etc... and i'm a LOCK to win. So naturally I raise the only other bettor, and when he pushes, i call, sure that i'm ahead. He turns over Jd4d for NO pair, and the lower flush draw.
The turn - 4
The river - 4
Are you fucking kidding me? How the fuck does that shit ALWAYS happen to me?
Or how about this one... I get in a raise, re-raise war w/ the chip leader w/ K/Jo in the pocket on a King high rainbow board. I finally go all in, and he calls...
and turns over J8s. He has NO pair, and No over cards.
The turn - a spade
the river - another spade... he makes the Jack high flush off runner runner spades.
again, are you fucking kidding me? where the hell do they find these people?
Last and not least, I call a smallish pre-flop raise w/ Q8std and get heads up. I flop two pair, and call my opponent's all in, putting him on AQ. he turns over aces, but i'm not too worried, cause i still have two pair...
naturally he catches runner runner diamonds for the ace high flush. I would have MUCH rather lost to a higher two pair if it's all the same to Poker stars thanks...
It's just bullshit. If i get my money in w/ the worst hand, I almost NEVER suckout... i'm just not that lucky. If i get it in ahead, i'm almost sure to lose.
how can one person be so fucking unlucky? This is no illusionary correlation either, for you psych majors out there that think i'm exaggerating. Someone please tell me how to deal w/ these beats?!
How many times can i possibly get it all in good and get sucked out on?
I have ATstd in early position, so i limp... me and about 4 or 5 other people. The flop comes Ah9d6d... in other words, i flop the world. Any Ace, diamond, Ten, etc... and i'm a LOCK to win. So naturally I raise the only other bettor, and when he pushes, i call, sure that i'm ahead. He turns over Jd4d for NO pair, and the lower flush draw.
The turn - 4
The river - 4
Are you fucking kidding me? How the fuck does that shit ALWAYS happen to me?
Or how about this one... I get in a raise, re-raise war w/ the chip leader w/ K/Jo in the pocket on a King high rainbow board. I finally go all in, and he calls...
and turns over J8s. He has NO pair, and No over cards.
The turn - a spade
the river - another spade... he makes the Jack high flush off runner runner spades.
again, are you fucking kidding me? where the hell do they find these people?
Last and not least, I call a smallish pre-flop raise w/ Q8std and get heads up. I flop two pair, and call my opponent's all in, putting him on AQ. he turns over aces, but i'm not too worried, cause i still have two pair...
naturally he catches runner runner diamonds for the ace high flush. I would have MUCH rather lost to a higher two pair if it's all the same to Poker stars thanks...
It's just bullshit. If i get my money in w/ the worst hand, I almost NEVER suckout... i'm just not that lucky. If i get it in ahead, i'm almost sure to lose.
how can one person be so fucking unlucky? This is no illusionary correlation either, for you psych majors out there that think i'm exaggerating. Someone please tell me how to deal w/ these beats?!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Coinflips, suckouts & Donkey plays
So I'm still trying to build this blog from the ground up, and since i don't have any readers yet, I feel like i'm wasting time... but as 'they' say: a journey of a thousand miles begins w/ just one step...
who the hell are 'they' anyway?
So here are the latest sob-stories about getting my money in good and still losing:
I'm in the top 5 in chips w/ just 24 players left... top 18 places pay. I get KK in late position and get one caller @ 4 times the BB... a pair of eights hits on the flop, and wouldn't you know, my caller was in there w/ A8std... i just couldn't get away from those Kings w/ his value bet on the river. 2 hands later, I get KK again, and i'm still steaming about my previous loss. So i go all in for 10k+... This time i get called by JJ and after much deliberation, TT calls for about half his stack. Wouldn't you know the Ten hits on the flop. I'm out in 24th place.
Last night i decided to try out one of these $2 satellites to a $33 dollar satellite. I play really well, and get some great cards, and actually finish at the top of the 30 players that get seats to the tier 2. Too bad that doesn't net me any extra chips for the next tourney.
The $33 tourney commences, and i decide to play real tight like to start out w/. I'm playing almost no hands, but when i get 9/Tstd in late position, i decide to call a raise of 3x the BB. 3 of us go to the flop, which comes down 7,8,J rainbow. I have flopped the nuts. (for now)... naturally, i do what any good poker player would, and i check it to the original raiser who happens to be on the button...
He leads out w/ a pot sized bet, which our other opponent quickly raises. At this point i'm thinking someone has a high pair, or AK... or someone has flopped a set. No matter what they're holding, I know i have the nuts, so I push. They both call and the cards are turned over. It's trips vs. QQ vs. the J high str8. I'm thinking that as long as the board doesn't pair, i'm golden. The board doesn't pair, the 3rd Q doesn't come. Instead it goes 9 on the turn, K on the river, and Donk #1 (who got check raised by TWO opponents and still called) hits the K high str8 on the river w/ his runner runner donkeyfishfest.
Which brings me to the main point here. We talk a lot about knowing where you are in a hand, paying attention to check raises (that usually means you're BEHIND!) and the 'levels of thinking' in terms of 'what am i holding, what is he holding, what does he think i'm holding, what does he think i think he's holding'... Good poker players THINK before they act... or so i've heard.
The down side of playing against one dimensional Donkeys is that they don't think about these things. They see a board that's J high, and automatically ASSume that they're Qs are good no matter what. But the question is, how many times do they have to lose w/ those pocket pairs before they stop auto calling their chips away. (or in this case, sucking out)
Then you have the donks who's only move is the all in button. Afraid you're behind in the hand? PUSH! Nevermind the fact that the only hand that calls you is the one that beats you.
I'm playing K7c in the BB, where it's only another BB to join the party. The flop comes down w/ two clubs, so i call the original raiser's continuation bet. The turn is a 7, so i now have a pair and a flush draw. The original raiser immediately pushes, so i'm left to decide whether to call another 10K w/ one over card, a pair and a flush draw. What would you do?
I deliberate for about 35 seconds and finally make the call. I'm thinking that a 7, a K, or a club is going to win me this hand. But when my opponent turns over pocket 6s, i realize that i'm a 95% favorite to win. Only a 6 on the river will save him. So i wonder... why would you push if your continuation bet got smooth called? Wouldn't that at least have you wondering if your pocket pair was good? Maybe it was just naked aggression. Maybe he was psychic. cause you know i wouldn't be telling you this story right now if he hadn't caught his two outer on the river.
Btw: you may not know this, but A5o is a dog when it flops two pair against K4o... just thought you ought to know. He hit the 4 outer on the turn for the wheel, and of course i didn't hit my 4 outer on the river... that would have just been too much.
It's the same old story that we all love to tell. Get our money in w/ the best hand, and get called by some donk, who then hits one of the only 2, 4, or 5 cards that can possibly win it for him/her. I'm still learning to deal w/ these beats w/ a smile.
I haven't quite gotten there yet...
who the hell are 'they' anyway?
So here are the latest sob-stories about getting my money in good and still losing:
I'm in the top 5 in chips w/ just 24 players left... top 18 places pay. I get KK in late position and get one caller @ 4 times the BB... a pair of eights hits on the flop, and wouldn't you know, my caller was in there w/ A8std... i just couldn't get away from those Kings w/ his value bet on the river. 2 hands later, I get KK again, and i'm still steaming about my previous loss. So i go all in for 10k+... This time i get called by JJ and after much deliberation, TT calls for about half his stack. Wouldn't you know the Ten hits on the flop. I'm out in 24th place.
Last night i decided to try out one of these $2 satellites to a $33 dollar satellite. I play really well, and get some great cards, and actually finish at the top of the 30 players that get seats to the tier 2. Too bad that doesn't net me any extra chips for the next tourney.
The $33 tourney commences, and i decide to play real tight like to start out w/. I'm playing almost no hands, but when i get 9/Tstd in late position, i decide to call a raise of 3x the BB. 3 of us go to the flop, which comes down 7,8,J rainbow. I have flopped the nuts. (for now)... naturally, i do what any good poker player would, and i check it to the original raiser who happens to be on the button...
He leads out w/ a pot sized bet, which our other opponent quickly raises. At this point i'm thinking someone has a high pair, or AK... or someone has flopped a set. No matter what they're holding, I know i have the nuts, so I push. They both call and the cards are turned over. It's trips vs. QQ vs. the J high str8. I'm thinking that as long as the board doesn't pair, i'm golden. The board doesn't pair, the 3rd Q doesn't come. Instead it goes 9 on the turn, K on the river, and Donk #1 (who got check raised by TWO opponents and still called) hits the K high str8 on the river w/ his runner runner donkeyfishfest.
Which brings me to the main point here. We talk a lot about knowing where you are in a hand, paying attention to check raises (that usually means you're BEHIND!) and the 'levels of thinking' in terms of 'what am i holding, what is he holding, what does he think i'm holding, what does he think i think he's holding'... Good poker players THINK before they act... or so i've heard.
The down side of playing against one dimensional Donkeys is that they don't think about these things. They see a board that's J high, and automatically ASSume that they're Qs are good no matter what. But the question is, how many times do they have to lose w/ those pocket pairs before they stop auto calling their chips away. (or in this case, sucking out)
Then you have the donks who's only move is the all in button. Afraid you're behind in the hand? PUSH! Nevermind the fact that the only hand that calls you is the one that beats you.
I'm playing K7c in the BB, where it's only another BB to join the party. The flop comes down w/ two clubs, so i call the original raiser's continuation bet. The turn is a 7, so i now have a pair and a flush draw. The original raiser immediately pushes, so i'm left to decide whether to call another 10K w/ one over card, a pair and a flush draw. What would you do?
I deliberate for about 35 seconds and finally make the call. I'm thinking that a 7, a K, or a club is going to win me this hand. But when my opponent turns over pocket 6s, i realize that i'm a 95% favorite to win. Only a 6 on the river will save him. So i wonder... why would you push if your continuation bet got smooth called? Wouldn't that at least have you wondering if your pocket pair was good? Maybe it was just naked aggression. Maybe he was psychic. cause you know i wouldn't be telling you this story right now if he hadn't caught his two outer on the river.
Btw: you may not know this, but A5o is a dog when it flops two pair against K4o... just thought you ought to know. He hit the 4 outer on the turn for the wheel, and of course i didn't hit my 4 outer on the river... that would have just been too much.
It's the same old story that we all love to tell. Get our money in w/ the best hand, and get called by some donk, who then hits one of the only 2, 4, or 5 cards that can possibly win it for him/her. I'm still learning to deal w/ these beats w/ a smile.
I haven't quite gotten there yet...
Thursday, April 19, 2007
ahhh... the joys of starting a new blog... I started out blogging on Joeuser.com a few years ago, and eventually I just quit updating it. Such is the life of many a blog.
The toughest part about starting a new one is wondering who (if anyone) will actually read it.
I read quite a few poker blogs these days, and I never seem to grow tired of reading about other players' bad beat stories and tournament results. I'm hoping that some other people in the poker community are looking for the same type of material, cause that's what I intend to write about.
So first off, a little bit about me:
I'm the youngest of 4 kids, born into a military family. My Dad was one of 7 boys growing up in rural Michigan back in the 50s. Of the 7, 4 joined the service, w/ 3 of the 4 doing 20 years. My brother and I both joined the Army right out of High School, and then after 6 years of being a 'grunt', I got out and joined the Air Force.
I've played games my whole life, and I'm always up for computer games, card games, chess, bowling, basketball, and most of all, Poker...
I took my KK up against TT last night at the casino, and wouldn't you know, a Ten came on the flop. I have paid off trips more times than I care to think about friends and neighbors... but i've had other people pay mine off too...
So this is it... the first of what will hopefully be a long lasting and thriving blog. All i need now is a little sunlight, water, and some fertilizer (read:shit) to help it grow...
The toughest part about starting a new one is wondering who (if anyone) will actually read it.
I read quite a few poker blogs these days, and I never seem to grow tired of reading about other players' bad beat stories and tournament results. I'm hoping that some other people in the poker community are looking for the same type of material, cause that's what I intend to write about.
So first off, a little bit about me:
I'm the youngest of 4 kids, born into a military family. My Dad was one of 7 boys growing up in rural Michigan back in the 50s. Of the 7, 4 joined the service, w/ 3 of the 4 doing 20 years. My brother and I both joined the Army right out of High School, and then after 6 years of being a 'grunt', I got out and joined the Air Force.
I've played games my whole life, and I'm always up for computer games, card games, chess, bowling, basketball, and most of all, Poker...
I took my KK up against TT last night at the casino, and wouldn't you know, a Ten came on the flop. I have paid off trips more times than I care to think about friends and neighbors... but i've had other people pay mine off too...
So this is it... the first of what will hopefully be a long lasting and thriving blog. All i need now is a little sunlight, water, and some fertilizer (read:shit) to help it grow...
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