Again! Ish!

So, played the 30k today on Full Tilt. And I finished 10th. Bubbling a sizable payday (6th was 1500, 9th was 600, I got 375).

I hate to harp on this, but I lost a dominating hand, and went 0-2 in coinflips. I made a ton of chips by inducing folds, while having the goods when looked up. Went completely card dead from 3 tables on, sliding from the top 5 in chips. I played very well to last as long as I did, making disciplined laydowns along the way. Again, it's not even that I am asking to get lucky. I'm just asking to not get UNlucky. Please!

GAH.

Success! Ish!

Finished in 38th of 1305 tonight in the 45k rebuy on stars. I'll take it with how I've been running lately, but it really doesn't do anything to help the bankroll - just the confidence. You've got to final table these things, not final 5 table them.

What's classic about this is that I finished in 38th, despite losing the only 2 coinflips I had and AA v. AQ with the guy largely committed preflop. The last hand was just brutal and symbolizes how things have gone: button raises, I push on the SB with KQ, he thinks and calls getting 2:1 with 44. K on flop, 4 on river.

I considered a stop and go, but discarded it for two reasons. 1) the BB was a card rack who struggled to fold. Not a good combo. 2) I put the button on a wide range of hands, and I felt I had reasonable fold equity. I really didn't want to call out of the SB, and push the T82 flop only for the button to flip up 89.

If that flip goes my way, I'm 12th in chips, with momentum and, I felt, a significant edge over the competition. Oh well. This too shall pass. Eventually.

Two weeks ago I was lamenting coming close in tournaments but not hitting the big payday. Now you may see why: I was running pretty decently then (I really don't think I was running GOOD), and could not take advantage of it. One or two final 3 showings in that group of tournaemnts, and suddenly this awful run I'm on doesn't hurt quite so bad.

Just in case I haven't made it clear yet: Play for the big money, not to money.

Sports Year In Review

This is all about my teams. Screw everyone else's teams. Why, you ask? Because I can!

Indians: Disappointing end to a very good season. Many I know are disappointed with the offseason thus far, but if we make the moves to acquire Langerhans, Marte and Hidalgo, I think we can look back at it and say it was successful. Time will tell, but I'm certainly not thinking we're dropping down to a 85 win team. Maybe we've lost a few wins, but we were unlucky last year.

Cavs: Disappointing end to a reasonable season. Mike Brown seems to be a good fit with the team. The team is one key player away from being a title challenger. I love Z, but if he was replaced Ben Wallace, this team may be the title favorite. Larry Hughes has not been what I felt he was advertised thus far. He does have to adjust to his new position as Lebron's lieutenant. His defense hasn't been as good as I thought it would be, either. I think if Hughes cements his role, this team is CAPABLE of winning the title, I just don't think it's very possible that they get past the Pistons or Spurs.

Browns: Yeah. How'd this team win 5 games? Reuben Droughns is pretty effing good, isn't he? Hopefully we get D'Brickashaw Ferguson, AJ Hawk or Demeco Ryan (I'm sure I misspelled that) in the draft.

Blue Jackets: Apparently NOT a playoff team. I still love watching hockey though.

Buckeyes: A very good team, but a very disappointing season in my book. The Texas game was winnable, but Vince Young just made plays and our guys didn't. That happens, they are a very good team. The Penn State loss was just infuriating. It was the first time I've seen a Tressel team appear unprepared on the field of play. It was a game we simply should not have lost. We'd still be in the same bowl game though, so I guess it's not that important a loss. In the grand scheme of things.

Wow, did I go into no detail whatsoever. Oh well. Vagueness is awesomeness, as they say. Well, ok, nobody says that.

If it didn't sum up how things have been going so neatly...

I'd find it ironic!


Full Tilt Poker Game #358145621: Table Melody (6 max) - $3/$6 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:29:14 ET - 2005/12/29
Seat 1: Koutar ($833.45)
Seat 2: newbegin12 ($714.85)
Seat 3: StillLearning ($535.20)
Seat 4: cpfactor ($591)
Seat 5: uvaprofessor ($412.40)
Seat 6: THEOSU ($545.80)
uvaprofessor posts the small blind of $3
THEOSU posts the big blind of $6
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [Ad Qc]
Koutar folds
newbegin12 folds
StillLearning raises to $21
cpfactor folds
uvaprofessor folds
THEOSU calls $15
*** FLOP *** [Qs Qd 8h]
THEOSU checks
StillLearning bets $45
THEOSU calls $45
*** TURN *** [Qs Qd 8h] [9c]
THEOSU bets $70
StillLearning calls $70
*** RIVER *** [Qs Qd 8h 9c] [Jc]
THEOSU has 15 seconds left to act
THEOSU checks
StillLearning bets $275
THEOSU has 15 seconds left to act
THEOSU calls $275
*** SHOW DOWN ***
StillLearning shows [9h Qh] (a full house, Queens full of Nines)
THEOSU mucks
StillLearning wins the pot ($822) with a full house, Queens full of Nines
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $825 Rake $3
Board: [Qs Qd 8h 9c Jc]
Seat 1: Koutar didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: newbegin12 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: StillLearning showed [9h Qh] and won ($822) with a full house, Queens full of Nines
Seat 4: cpfactor (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: uvaprofessor (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: THEOSU (big blind) mucked [Ad Qc] - three of a kind, Queens

not a bad beat post

So it's pretty freaking empty.

Played a PLO8 tourney on Full Tilt today. That was fun. I've never played the game. I was probably one of the five best in the tourney. Basically, I found it went something like this: press your advantages. Hope they don't suck out. The End.

Other than that, it's just been more of the same, so I won't bother going on about it. I will say this: it's getting fucking old.

I guess as long as the luck turns around in a big tournament, I'll be cool with this. January 29th-Feb 1st would be a good time to run REAL good...

Sigh.

I really hate turning this thing into a bad beat blog. I really do. But, there's nothing you can do about it sometimes.

It was just one of those evenings. Even when I did everything right and got it in hugely to the good... it went bad. I played in a couple of 24/2s and a 69/6 on FT, and a 20/2 on Stars. The Full Tilt ones were miserable. Out with an underset in one, ran into call stations that were hitting in another, and a guy chased down his flush against my set in the other one. And then here are 5 of my last 11 hands at one of those 20 table SnG things on Stars. When this started I was 3rd of 14. I finished in 10th.

You can take these hands in a vacuum and say "well, jeez, Jason. What are you complaining about? You got it in behind 3 of the five times, and only took one beat" but... that's not the point. The point is I'm playing aggressive poker with an eye to winning. My opponents are playing poor poker with an eye to giving me chips...

Hand 1, well, that shit happens. No problems with it, other than it kinda sucks to give that chunk of chips up. Hand 2... Dude calls off 30% of his stack preflop with KQo? With likely zero postflop fold equity (because I don't think it's getting checked to him more than, maybe, 10% of the time)? But what a reward. Hand 3... well, that shit also happens. But that was ridiculous. Hand 4 I actually had the favorite hold up (though I was wincing at the prospect of a river jack). And the last hand - button push for 7BB at a five handed table with A6 is entirely reasonable, the BB just woke with a hand and I, unlike all of these other fuckers, could not catch a miracle.

And yet, I'd rather play a MTT than a cash game or a sit and go. What the fuck is wrong with me? Do I secretly hate myself?



PokerStars Game #3457021017: Tournament #17141896, Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (600/1200) - 2005/12/28 - 01:22:02 (ET)
Table '17141896 3' Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: Jaa222 (14108 in chips)
Seat 3: SmEeXxY (3939 in chips)
Seat 4: coop6170 (43357 in chips)
Seat 6: THEOSU (37363 in chips)
Seat 8: SirEddie (6095 in chips)
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (14912 in chips)
Jaa222: posts the ante 75
SmEeXxY: posts the ante 75
coop6170: posts the ante 75
THEOSU: posts the ante 75
SirEddie: posts the ante 75
lucsiatkarz: posts the ante 75
SirEddie: posts small blind 600
lucsiatkarz: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [Kc Jd]
Jaa222: folds
SmEeXxY: folds
coop6170: folds
THEOSU: raises 2400 to 3600
SirEddie: raises 2400 to 6000
lucsiatkarz: folds
THEOSU: calls 2400
*** FLOP *** [4h 5h 8c]
SirEddie: bets 20 and is all-in
THEOSU: calls 20
*** TURN *** [4h 5h 8c] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [4h 5h 8c 5d] [3c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SirEddie: shows [Qd Qs] (two pair, Queens and Fives)
THEOSU: shows [Kc Jd] (a pair of Fives)
THEOSU said, "nh"
SirEddie collected 13690 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 13690 Rake 0
Board [4h 5h 8c 5d 3c]
Seat 2: Jaa222 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: SmEeXxY folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: coop6170 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: THEOSU (button) showed [Kc Jd] and lost with a pair of Fives
Seat 8: SirEddie (small blind) showed [Qd Qs] and won (13690) with two pair, Queens and Fives
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (big blind) folded before Flop
PokerStars Game #3457035232: Tournament #17141896, Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (600/1200) - 2005/12/28 - 01:23:46 (ET)
Table '17141896 3' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 2: Jaa222 (10169 in chips)
Seat 3: SmEeXxY (8628 in chips)
Seat 4: coop6170 (43207 in chips)
Seat 6: THEOSU (31193 in chips)
Seat 8: SirEddie (13615 in chips)
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (12962 in chips)
Jaa222: posts the ante 75
SmEeXxY: posts the ante 75
coop6170: posts the ante 75
THEOSU: posts the ante 75
SirEddie: posts the ante 75
lucsiatkarz: posts the ante 75
Jaa222: posts small blind 600
SmEeXxY: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [Ad 7d]
coop6170: folds
THEOSU: raises 2400 to 3600
lucsiatkarz said, "K 10 seems to be working for Smeexxy"
SirEddie: folds
lucsiatkarz: calls 3600
Jaa222: folds
SmEeXxY: folds
*** FLOP *** [Qs Qh 5c]
SmEeXxY said, "i know"
THEOSU: bets 9600
lucsiatkarz: calls 9287 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Qs Qh 5c] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [Qs Qh 5c Ts] [2h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
THEOSU: shows [Ad 7d] (a pair of Queens)
lucsiatkarz: shows [Qc Ks] (three of a kind, Queens)
lucsiatkarz collected 28024 from pot
SirEddie said, "nh"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 28024 Rake 0
Board [Qs Qh 5c Ts 2h]
Seat 2: Jaa222 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: SmEeXxY (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: coop6170 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: THEOSU showed [Ad 7d] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 8: SirEddie folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (button) showed [Qc Ks] and won (28024) with three of a kind, Queens
PokerStars Game #3457051343: Tournament #17141896, Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (600/1200) - 2005/12/28 - 01:25:45 (ET)
Table '17141896 3' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 2: Jaa222 (9419 in chips)
Seat 4: coop6170 (41857 in chips)
Seat 6: THEOSU (18156 in chips)
Seat 8: SirEddie (13465 in chips)
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (36877 in chips)
Jaa222: posts the ante 75
coop6170: posts the ante 75
THEOSU: posts the ante 75
SirEddie: posts the ante 75
lucsiatkarz: posts the ante 75
THEOSU: posts small blind 600
SirEddie: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [Kc Td]
SirEddie said, "ty im next"
lucsiatkarz: folds
Jaa222: folds
coop6170: folds
THEOSU: calls 600
SirEddie: checks
*** FLOP *** [7d Kh 2s]
THEOSU: bets 2400
SirEddie: raises 9790 to 12190 and is all-in
THEOSU: calls 9790
lucsiatkarz said, "lol"
*** TURN *** [7d Kh 2s] [6s]
lucsiatkarz said, "you predicted it"
*** RIVER *** [7d Kh 2s 6s] [7h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
THEOSU: shows [Kc Td] (two pair, Kings and Sevens)
SirEddie: shows [7c 4d] (three of a kind, Sevens)
lucsiatkarz said, "but wrong"
SirEddie collected 27155 from pot
lucsiatkarz said, "nh"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 27155 Rake 0
Board [7d Kh 2s 6s 7h]
Seat 2: Jaa222 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: coop6170 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: THEOSU (small blind) showed [Kc Td] and lost with two pair, Kings and Sevens
Seat 8: SirEddie (big blind) showed [7c 4d] and won (27155) with three of a kind, Sevens
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
PokerStars Game #3457059766: Tournament #17141896, Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (600/1200) - 2005/12/28 - 01:26:47 (ET)
Table '17141896 3' Seat #8 is the button
Seat 2: Jaa222 (9269 in chips)
Seat 4: coop6170 (41707 in chips)
Seat 6: THEOSU (4616 in chips)
Seat 8: SirEddie (31055 in chips)
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (33127 in chips)
Jaa222: posts the ante 75
coop6170: posts the ante 75
THEOSU: posts the ante 75
SirEddie: posts the ante 75
lucsiatkarz: posts the ante 75
lucsiatkarz: posts small blind 600
Jaa222: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [Ah 7c]
lucsiatkarz said, "nice one"
coop6170: folds
THEOSU: raises 3341 to 4541 and is all-in
SirEddie: folds
lucsiatkarz: calls 3941
Jaa222: folds
*** FLOP *** [8d Th As]
*** TURN *** [8d Th As] [Ac]
*** RIVER *** [8d Th As Ac] [Td]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lucsiatkarz: shows [Ks Qs] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
THEOSU: shows [Ah 7c] (a full house, Aces full of Tens)
lucsiatkarz said, "poop"
THEOSU collected 10657 from pot
SirEddie said, "nh"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 10657 Rake 0
Board [8d Th As Ac Td]
Seat 2: Jaa222 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: coop6170 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: THEOSU showed [Ah 7c] and won (10657) with a full house, Aces full of Tens
Seat 8: SirEddie (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (small blind) showed [Ks Qs] and lost with two pair, Aces and Tens
PokerStars Game #3457071912: Tournament #17141896, Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (600/1200) - 2005/12/28 - 01:28:15 (ET)
Table '17141896 3' Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: Jaa222 (7169 in chips)
Seat 4: coop6170 (46132 in chips)
Seat 6: THEOSU (8632 in chips)
Seat 8: SirEddie (29555 in chips)
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (28286 in chips)
Jaa222: posts the ante 75
coop6170: posts the ante 75
THEOSU: posts the ante 75
SirEddie: posts the ante 75
lucsiatkarz: posts the ante 75
SirEddie: posts small blind 600
lucsiatkarz: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [6c Ad]
Jaa222: folds
coop6170: folds
THEOSU: raises 7357 to 8557 and is all-in
SirEddie: folds
lucsiatkarz: calls 7357
*** FLOP *** [Kd 8h 7h]
*** TURN *** [Kd 8h 7h] [7d]
*** RIVER *** [Kd 8h 7h 7d] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lucsiatkarz: shows [Jd As] (a pair of Sevens)
THEOSU: shows [6c Ad] (a pair of Sevens - lower kicker)
lucsiatkarz collected 18089 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 18089 Rake 0
Board [Kd 8h 7h 7d 9h]
Seat 2: Jaa222 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: coop6170 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: THEOSU (button) showed [6c Ad] and lost with a pair of Sevens
Seat 8: SirEddie (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: lucsiatkarz (big blind) showed [Jd As] and won (18089) with a pair of Sevens

The break did good...

... for nothing. Card dead at the 16k this evening after returning from Cleveland. QQ > AT in the first hour, then I took a flop on the button with 67s, pushed the 7 high, two diamond flop against 88, turned my flush. Won a lot of chips by getting folds, working my way into the top 10. And then things went horribly awry. QQ < AJd, decided to smooth call a raise with kings (I had reraised this player earlier and showed the kings) and an ace flopped, then QQ < AJd (again!). I then button pushed for 7 BB with Q6o, ran into AK. Board came J86J8, and my three pair was no goot.

Just frustrating. GAH.

I made chips with no cards, mostly by earning folds. Give me cards, and I lose (as a healthy favorite, granted). Yes, I know that because of a) I was able to survive several b)s, but I could not survive all of the b)s that happened. I also know that had any/all of the b)s gone my way, because of the a)s, I would have put myself in sensational position to win. That's not much solace when I'm typing this up on the rail, though.

Off to Cleveland

I'll be leaving for Cleveland within a couple hours for the holidays. That's like, two full days without poker! Egads! At least I'll get presents. Oh, and see family and friends.

Merry Christmas to those who read my blog. If you don't celebrate Christmas, Happy Festivus. For the rest of us.

Feel better about your play

The awful awful awful play at the 3/6 table finally got to me. And by "got to me" i mean they drew out pretty horridly.

I also played at the 10k and 16k gtds on FT. Exemplary play got the best of me there. And by that I mean I could not win a coinflip.

And then I played the 11r 45k on Stars. Yet again, exemplary play got the best of me. And by that, I mean I could not win with an overpair. Or with 13 outs. Twice.

So, I wanted to feel better about myself, because I wasn't feeling very good. So I sat down at a .5/.1 NL table on full tilt that had 3 players. In like 10 minutes, I was up 3 bucks, and I was feeling better. 3 bucks~! Woo!

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't a total dipshit donkey. That's all. Mission accomplished: I am NOT a total dipshit donkey.

The worst feeling in poker

I've gone out of tourneys running big hands into even bigger hands. When that happens, I can just say "Oh well. He had it. What can I do?" I've gone out of tourneys with a bad beat, where the poor play gets rewarded. When that happens I can just say "Oh well. I want him to do that. What can I do?"

At least in those situations, when you say "What can I do", you mean "other than stick my chips in there with a big hand" to which the answer is, almost invariably, nothing. I've gotten very far in tournaments lately and then just gone stone cold carded, which is, to me, an infinitely worse feeling.

In the 30k this weekend (the one where I was a fish and was completely owned), from two tables on, I could not pick up a hand. Apparently, I had a big ole sign on my avatar that said "I am completely card dead. On the rare occasions I pick up a mediocre hand, I completely miss the flop. Do not, under any circumstances, fold!" Very frustrating.

The same thing happened tonight in the 45k (10r) on stars. I made a very good fold (FTOP sez it was "wrong", but it was the right play) with queens. When that happens, I'm supposed to begin picking up a lot of very good hands as a karmic reward. Um... That didn't happen. I played about 50 hands after that, the best of which was A7s, and that was behind a raise. I tried to make things happen, but I was moved to a table that struggled to fold postflop. I ended up pushing with A6o and 6 big blinds, and ran into tens.

Of course, as I pushed I said "I hate doing this, I hate doing this, I hate doing this. Please, just fold." Oh well. I finished four off the bubble. I didn't really care about the bubble though, the 51 bucks (20 profit, I was in for the "minimum") did not do a whole lot for me. I wanted to get a stack so I could accomplish something in the tournament besides the first pay structure.

Instead, I just was left sitting there, folding hand after hand, agitated as all hell. Literally, there's nothing I could do. Even when I sensed the time was right to steal a limper or two - someone beat me to it. Just... GAH! It's poker impotency, that's what it is.

Fun way to go out

500k on Stars (200/15)

At least my opponent doesn't suck, and is not afraid to play postflop.



PokerStars Game #3370136431: Tournament #15976800, Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2005/12/18 - 18:01:34 (ET)
Table '15976800 297' Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: THEOSU (8510 in chips)
Seat 2: Manor (7570 in chips)
Seat 3: TwinsCubsFan (4720 in chips)
Seat 4: all-in@party (9775 in chips)
Seat 5: prof 93 (9350 in chips)
Seat 6: Scan (8195 in chips)
Seat 7: CLOTTOLC (12308 in chips)
Seat 8: geocom (6010 in chips)
Seat 9: ChrisGun (1860 in chips)
all-in@party: posts small blind 100
prof 93: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [Qd Qh]
Scan: folds
CLOTTOLC: raises 12108 to 12308 and is all-in
geocom: folds
ChrisGun: folds
THEOSU: calls 8510 and is all-in
Manor: folds
TwinsCubsFan: folds
all-in@party: folds
prof 93: folds
*** FLOP *** [Qs As Ad]
*** TURN *** [Qs As Ad] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [Qs As Ad Kd] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
CLOTTOLC: shows [Kh Ah] (a full house, Aces full of Kings)
THEOSU: shows [Qd Qh] (a full house, Queens full of Aces)
CLOTTOLC collected 17320 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 17320 Rake 0
Board [Qs As Ad Kd 7d]
Seat 1: THEOSU showed [Qd Qh] and lost with a full house, Queens full of Aces
Seat 2: Manor folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: TwinsCubsFan (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: all-in@party (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: prof 93 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Scan folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: CLOTTOLC showed [Kh Ah] and won (17320) with a full house, Aces full of Kings
Seat 8: geocom folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: ChrisGun folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Knock Knock Knockin on the big payday's door

Another very strong finish today - another not very big money. 11th of 319 runners in tonight's Full Tilt 30k (100/9 entry). Good for 400 bucks. Gah. Took a couple of sick beats, issued one (runner runner flush, you are so often against me, thank you for blessing me this time). I just went stone cold card dead at the wrong time, when I was at an active table that wasn't letting me steal (I had to try a couple times just in case), and I just wasn't connecting when I had moderate strength hands. I went out on a coinflip when a player called over half his stack with ATo - I had 99. The ten on the turn sealed it.

I'll leave you with this bit of entertainment...


I'd been relatively aggressive at this table. Not really aggressive for me, but more aggressive than your average player. I'd recently raised a player who had less than 2BB after posting his big blind, and showed ATo.


Full Tilt Poker Game #341076153: $30,000 Guarantee (2066372), Table 19 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:50:31 ET - 2005/12/17
Seat 1: THEOSU (16,545)
Seat 2: 420-888 (2,360)
Seat 3: gabulldogs (9,986)
Seat 4: mayor2 (5,995)
Seat 5: DBEST10 (7,370)
Seat 6: Tulaneholdem (1,825)
Seat 7: caressmedown (17,670)
Seat 8: jocard11 (8,115)
Seat 9: just4flops (5,865)
THEOSU antes 25
420-888 antes 25
gabulldogs antes 25
mayor2 antes 25
DBEST10 antes 25
Tulaneholdem antes 25
caressmedown antes 25
jocard11 antes 25
just4flops antes 25
jocard11 posts the small blind of 150
just4flops posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [Ks Ah]
THEOSU raises to 800
420-888 folds
gabulldogs folds
mayor2 folds
DBEST10 raises to 2,100
Tulaneholdem folds
caressmedown folds
jocard11 folds
just4flops folds
THEOSU raises to 16,520, and is all in
DBEST10: ok
DBEST10 has 15 seconds left to act
DBEST10: hope u got ak
DBEST10 calls 5,245, and is all in
THEOSU shows [Ks Ah]
DBEST10 shows [8d 8c]
Uncalled bet of 9,175 returned to THEOSU
*** FLOP *** [2c 4h 5d]
*** TURN *** [2c 4h 5d] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [2c 4h 5d Kc] [5h]
THEOSU shows two pair, Kings and Fives
DBEST10 shows two pair, Eights and Fives
Mataro (Observer): vnh
DBEST10: unreal
THEOSU wins the pot (15,365) with two pair, Kings and Fives
DBEST10 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 15,365 Rake 0
Board: [2c 4h 5d Kc 5h]
Seat 1: THEOSU showed [Ks Ah] and won (15,365) with two pair, Kings and Fives
Seat 2: 420-888 folded before the Flop
Seat 3: gabulldogs folded before the Flop
Seat 4: mayor2 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: DBEST10 showed [8d 8c] and lost with two pair, Eights and Fives
Seat 6: Tulaneholdem folded before the Flop
Seat 7: caressmedown (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: jocard11 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: just4flops (big blind) folded before the Flop
DBEST10: unreal
jocard11: nice read tho
DBEST10 (Observer): i call his hand he still swucks out
DBEST10 (Observer): guys is a loser i own him
mayor2: gonna be quiet around here the expert is gone
jocard11: lol mayor
DBEST10 (Observer): what can i do but call his hand
and put all my chips in
caressmedown: you didnt call it, you hoped he had it
DBEST10 (Observer): no i called it
mayor2: u can clean up your room
DBEST10 (Observer): osu is a fish
DBEST10 (Observer): i own him
jocard11: last i saw he owned you
DBEST10 (Observer): no i called his hand and put all
my chi[s in
DBEST10 (Observer): he got lucky
jocard11: ya its called pokaaar oh we cant spell it

blech.

As we approached the bubble of the 14k this evening, I was 4th in chips. I got it in with a chance to become the chipleader with KK against AQ - A on flop. 88 against K8 - fourflush to his eight. TT v. 99 - 9 on flop. That was in the span of ten hands.

And then I push with K8 against QQ. Natch - the massive favorite holds up that time. I profit $10.66 for my efforts. Yay.

Matusow would call me sick.

I love Tournament Poker. Specifically, I love Multi Table tourneys. I'm sick, I know. If you don't think that this is a sick way to play poker, let me run down my last five tournaments.

First, I've made the money 3 times in these. I've made the final table once, the final two tables another time, and the final three a third time. Of course, I got furthest in the cheapest entries, but c'est la vie.

Friday night, in the 14k (24/2 entry) on Full Tilt, I finished 17th of 660ish. That was good for 85 bucks, or about 60 bucks profit. I felt I played quite well, I just took a beat to go out. Saturday, I felt I played pretty mediocre, but still managed to finish 20th of 330 in the 30k on FT, 100/9 entry. That was good for about 180 bucks. I netted an additional $100 for eliminating Full Tilt Pro Erick Lindgren, as his AK was no match for my TT.

Sunday, in the 500k on Stars (200/15), I did not last more than 20 minutes. 89 died to 66 after I got the player to commit a significant number of chips on the 997 flop. He spiked a six on the turn, and I paid. In the 60k on FT (200/15), I finished 61st of 360 as I fell to another poor play. Weirdly, I thought while I was in the tournament that I was playing simply horridly, I was just lasting because I went 2-2 in coinflips.

Yesterday, in the 14k on Full Tilt (24/2 again), I finished 6th of 660, good for 753 bucks. Again, for whatever reason, I felt I was playing mediocre poker, I was just getting some cards.

Anyway, the moral of the story? 3 cashes in five tourneys, including a final table. Net profit? Less than $530. I'm fucking nuts.


As an aside/postscript, I felt I played nothing more than mediocre yesterday and poorly on Sunday, but looking back, I actually played pretty damn well. I took a LOT of pots I had really no business taking with good understanding of table dynamics and well timed bets and raises. I think the moral of THIS story is that you can never truly analyze your play until after the fact.

bad beat alert!

I'm entitled to the occasional bad beat post, no?

19 left in the 14k on FT. I know I say it a lot, but I'm playing to win. Here's why: 19th is $65.69. 18th is $85.01. 15th is $123.65 and 12th is $162.29.

At the final table we start at $293, and finally by 5th place we hit four digits. First was $3786.

So, you can kind of see why I'll give a pass to playing for less than maybe 5th place. And if I'm playing for top 5, fuck it, I'll play to win. I like winning.

This isn't a very good bad beat story, just kind of sums up how the past week or so has gone. And when it does this at the cash tables, too - it gets to be an expensive past week or so.



Full Tilt Poker Game #329021717: $14,000 Guarantee (2061375), Table 26 - 1000/2000 Ante 250 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:22:35 ET - 2005/12/10
Seat 2: catch40 (23,014)
Seat 3: K-Dog007 (38,015)
Seat 4: shortyriz829 (55,223)
Seat 5: Marky47 (64,526)
Seat 6: jdibrown (41,287)
Seat 8: Terrific41 (36,890)
Seat 9: THEOSU (46,033)
catch40 antes 250
K-Dog007 antes 250
shortyriz829 antes 250
Marky47 antes 250
jdibrown antes 250
Terrific41 antes 250
THEOSU antes 250
Terrific41 posts the small blind of 1,000
THEOSU posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [6h Jh]
catch40 folds
K-Dog007 calls 2,000
shortyriz829 folds
Marky47 folds
jdibrown folds
Terrific41 folds
THEOSU checks
*** FLOP *** [Jc 9c 5s]
THEOSU bets 3,000
K-Dog007 raises to 6,000
THEOSU calls 3,000
*** TURN *** [Jc 9c 5s] [6s]
THEOSU bets 37,783, and is all in
K-Dog007 calls 29,765, and is all in
THEOSU shows [6h Jh]
K-Dog007 shows [Jd Ks]
Uncalled bet of 8,018 returned to THEOSU
*** RIVER *** [Jc 9c 5s 6s] [9s]
THEOSU shows two pair, Jacks and Nines
K-Dog007 shows two pair, Jacks and Nines
K-Dog007 wins the pot (78,280) with two pair, Jacks and Nines
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 78,280 Rake 0
Board: [Jc 9c 5s 6s 9s]
Seat 2: catch40 folded before the Flop
Seat 3: K-Dog007 showed [Jd Ks] and won (78,280) with two pair, Jacks and Nines
Seat 4: shortyriz829 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Marky47 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: jdibrown folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Terrific41 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: THEOSU (big blind) showed [6h Jh] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Nines

So, I finished in 17th.

Trying to take the whole month of June off

I'm gearing up for the World Cup again. The draw was held today, and the US got summarily screwed. Thirty two teams are put into 8 groups, and play round robin style. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage. The US got a reasonably favorable draw in Korea/Japan 2002, ultimately advancing to the final eight before losing to eventual runners up Germany, but that wasn't the case this year.

Our seeded team (and we were unlucky to not be seeded in favor of Mexico, but that's another story for another time - one I won't write) is Italy. The Italians are always tough, if dour, uninspired and boring. The other European team we'll face is the Czech Republic. I'm more worried about them than the Italians. They're technically sound, but they possess an attacking flair that is hard to come by in a European squad. They're our opening opponents, and will be very tough. Our final matchup is against Ghana, probably the best African side that qualified.

It's a sign of how far the US has come as a soccer nation when we get to be in the Group of Death.

Book Review Post

Well, I've not been playing very well lately. I've also not been very lucky lately. And I've not been winning lately. There's probably some correlation involved here. So, I don't have much to say about that.

And, much as I love the Indians, their offseason has been pretty boring thus far. So I don't have much to say about that, either.

So, I'll go ahead and write up my thoughts on books recently borrowed from the library.


Nolan Dalla - One of a Kind. Tremendous insight into the mind of Stuey Ungar, and it really does go into Ungar's mind more than anything else I've read. Dalla had been helping Ungar with his autobiography at the time of his death, quite a bit had been started on it. After a period of time, Dalla decided to go ahead and finish it as a biography, but it has a much more personalized slant than most biographies do. The one thing I took from this book more than any other is a reinforcement that many times our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness. Stuey's love for action, his reckless abandon and his aggression were his greatest strength on the table, but off it, it killed him.

Barry Greenstein - Ace on the River. The best LOOKING poker book I've ever read. It has tremendous pictures throughout the book. It's also different from any other poker book in that it focuses on a lot of stuff psychologically. Not in the sense of psychological battles at the table, but what Greenstein feels makes a winning player. Most of that stuff did not interest me, instead, what I found the most substantive part of the book was Greenstein talking about the perfect play according to the FTOP, and the correct play according to what limited information was available.

Erick Lindgren - Making the Final Table. Another book in what seems to be a series from the WPT. Mike Sexton's Shuffle Up and Deal was the first, and I believe this followed. SUaD is, from what I've read, an introductory book, and Lindgren's book seems a step up. For lack of a better term, it's an introduction to deeper strategic analysis for beginning players. For experienced players it is a light read. There are probably a couple of helpful tidbits in here, but this is definitely not one for the bookshelf of an advanced player.

Phil Gordon - Phil Gordon's Little Green Book. I'll admit, I was surprised by the quality of this one. Excellent book. It's basically a lot of random thoughts written down and then organized. It's not as in depth as Harrington on Holdem, but it is more expansive. It is definitely worth a read, and would not be a silly way to use 4300 Full Tilt Points.

John Feinstein - Open. Great read, like every Feinstein book. This one's about the 2002 US Open at Bethpage Black. Good stuff, as always.

Alan Schwarz - The Numbers Game. Alan Schwarz writes for Baseball America, as well as a few other places. This book is really all about statistics. It's not a numbers book, but rather it investigates the men who were involved in the history of statistics, from Henry Chadwick to Bill James and now. It too is an excellent read. I am nearly done with it.

Waiting for me the next time I go to the library is Bill Simmons' Now I Can Die in Peace. I'm sure I've read some other stuff recently, but that's really all that comes to mind. Before long, baseball books will be out, like Baseball Prospectus 2006 and Baseball America's prospect book.

Holla at me with some recommendations. As you can tell, I like poker. I like sports. I also like books that make me laugh. So, lemme know.

Congratulations to my brother

Just a quick word to congratulate my brother, who finished in 4th at the 200k on Full Tilt this evening. He played some of the best poker I've seen. If you watched his play, you would have seen him make a couple of errors, and I know he would admit that. But he recognized shortly after making those errors that 1) he made them and 2) that there was a better way to make that play - and then he played in that better style. He made some very tough decisions that were correct.

However, I think the biggest step he made was that for the first time in talking to him he SOUNDED as if he was truly playing to win a big tournament as this. This is how a winning player wins tournaments - he plays to win, he puts his opponent to tough decisions and he makes tough decisions of his own correctly. Matthew did that today.

He had a nice run of cards to get into position, but with 5 left at the final table he just ran into a brutally cold run of cards, and couldn't get his K5 to outrace jacks. The 5 on the river was just a tease, the board was already 5777. It only let him play the board. Still, the result is incredible, and full congratulations go out to Matt. So, if you see PanRains around, congratulate him, and tell him to come with me to AC.

I didn't forget about you

I've just been pretty busy.

New high water mark achieved for my bankroll tonight. I am dangerously close to five digits in roll. Then there's the small matter of the 10k equity...

I'll give more stories and anecdotes and whatnot, but I'm tired, so it won't be tonight.

We're putting up the Christmas Tree tomorrow evening, then going to the Columbus Symphony's Christmas Pops show Saturday. That's my gift to Debbie, she'll really enjoy it. I'm sure I won't dislike it, but she'll enjoy it much more. Sunday, I'll win the 200k on FT and get me my custom Brutus Buckeye avatar. I sure hope they'd hook me up with that, because that would officially be the coolest avatar EVER.

25-21. Scoreboard. Just had to point that out.