Today was a crazy day of poker, to say the least. I started out by losing two buyins at 50plo almost right off the bat. Since it's nearing the end of the month, it was time to play some $4.40's, so I got in a few of those. Also played the daily doubles on FullTilt.
To say I ran horribly would be a massive understatement. I lost early out of the daily double, running my lowly AA in to the massive 45 offsuit, all in preflop when he hit a 5 on the flop and the river. In the other one, I only had KK which got all in vs. the massive J8 offsuit, as well as Ace Seven offsuit. The flop was Jack, 8, something and the path to me needing a new laptop wireless mouse was well underway.
I ran like crap in the $4.40's too, probably costing myself the win in the challenge. In the first two I played I don't even know if I won a hand anywhere, and I think I went out 36th in the third one, saving myself at the very least a chance in the thing. Three more to play before the end of the month, but I'm pretty comfortably in second right now, barring someone winning one.
Put in a quick session of 50plo just to wind down after sucking so badly in those tourneys, and somehow managed to get myself back to profitability for the day, so that was a good thing. I also made gold again this month for ironman, which I just found out yesterday is gonna be good for a few hundred extra bucks at the start of the year, thanks to a new promo from fulltilt.
Things are really starting to come together, and I do see what I hope can be a pattern of bankroll growth and turning my initial investment of $600 in to being properly rolled to play $50 and $100 plo at times, and then being able to start taking out some of the profits or rakeback to treat myself and my family to some stuff to compensate for the time I put in playing this stupid game....lol
For tomorrow, I want to play ~500 hands of 50plo minimum, and I will probably play the last of my $4.40's, but we'll see how the day goes.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Another Day at the Office
Put in two short sessions the past couple of days while I've been working. Played around 275 hands each day just to get my ironman points for the month. On Friday, I won a grand total of 90 cents so that was insanely boring, but at least it wasn't a loss. Saturday was better, I got some cards to play and managed to make ~$90 for the day.
I should be able to play 500 or so hands tonight if all goes well. I really feel I've turned the corner, so to speak in the past few weeks. I'm almost back to even on the month after losing 8 buyins in the first five days adjusting to $50plo, so I've been trying to climb out of that hole ever since.
Haven't played any more $4.40's, still have 6 left to go. Nobody's made any big moves in it either, so I'm still in good shape at this point.
I should be able to play 500 or so hands tonight if all goes well. I really feel I've turned the corner, so to speak in the past few weeks. I'm almost back to even on the month after losing 8 buyins in the first five days adjusting to $50plo, so I've been trying to climb out of that hole ever since.
Haven't played any more $4.40's, still have 6 left to go. Nobody's made any big moves in it either, so I'm still in good shape at this point.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Couple of average days...
Not much to write home about yesterday and today. Tuesday I was on a tournament kick for some reason. Played in a bunch and pretty much came up empty. Some sick cooler hands too, I lost AK to KQ and QT to T8, both all in preflop. In another, I was shortstacked getting towards the bubble, and the blinds were killing my stack. It gets folded to me in the small blind, so I just shove with A5 suited. Sure enough, BB has aces, gg me. Seemed to be the way it went all day long.
I didn't play much plo yesterday either, just enough to get my ironman points. Lost a buyin there too, so that sucked.
Only saving grace for the day was that I moved in to first place in the $4.40 challenge, albeit by only one point - however - I do have a game in hand on the guy in second. There are a few guys below who have gotten off to a solid start and still have a lot of poker to play. They could become instant contenders with a big score. I have 6 tourneys left to play, and I think if I can put up at least one, maybe two cashes, and if I get lucky and grab a FT appearance somewhere, I should be in good shape to at least collect some scratch for my efforts. I still haven't had that one big blowup where I go out in 175th place or something (knock on wood), so hopefully I'll just continue to put up the points.
Played some 50plo early today, and lost horribly. I was down almost 3 buyins inside of 200 hands. It was terrible. Every time I had a hand, it got caught. Everytime I was drawing, it missed. I couldn't do anything right, so I did the smart thing and took a couple hours off. Sat back in for the night session, and joined the Daily Double tourney on Tilt as well. (I'm gonna make a score in that friggin thing one day, I swear)
I busted out of the 1st DD pretty early on, getting it all in preflop with AK vs. 88. I flopped an ace too, but he turned the 3rd 8, and it was good night to that idea. I was trucking along ok in the other tourney too, so it was kind of disappointing. I ended up going out around 200th in that one, getting $19 for my effort, so it almost covered the cost of the two.
While I was in those, I was playing some omaha. I actually was getting some cards and hitting some hands too. I made a really tough laydown with a full house that I thought I read well, even though due to a sidepot I would have still made a bit of money if I'd called, but I was beaten for the main pot. I won back just over two buyins there, to net myself close to even for the day. Any time I can play 700 hands in a day and be down early and get it back close to even, I'll be ok with that. With rakeback and bonus' it should almost be a wash.
I should be able to put in some hands tomorrow too. I'll shoot for around 500, which should be good for my ironman points. The idea is to maybe play one or two 4.40's as well, but I work early on Friday morning, so that may or may not end up happening.
I didn't play much plo yesterday either, just enough to get my ironman points. Lost a buyin there too, so that sucked.
Only saving grace for the day was that I moved in to first place in the $4.40 challenge, albeit by only one point - however - I do have a game in hand on the guy in second. There are a few guys below who have gotten off to a solid start and still have a lot of poker to play. They could become instant contenders with a big score. I have 6 tourneys left to play, and I think if I can put up at least one, maybe two cashes, and if I get lucky and grab a FT appearance somewhere, I should be in good shape to at least collect some scratch for my efforts. I still haven't had that one big blowup where I go out in 175th place or something (knock on wood), so hopefully I'll just continue to put up the points.
Played some 50plo early today, and lost horribly. I was down almost 3 buyins inside of 200 hands. It was terrible. Every time I had a hand, it got caught. Everytime I was drawing, it missed. I couldn't do anything right, so I did the smart thing and took a couple hours off. Sat back in for the night session, and joined the Daily Double tourney on Tilt as well. (I'm gonna make a score in that friggin thing one day, I swear)
I busted out of the 1st DD pretty early on, getting it all in preflop with AK vs. 88. I flopped an ace too, but he turned the 3rd 8, and it was good night to that idea. I was trucking along ok in the other tourney too, so it was kind of disappointing. I ended up going out around 200th in that one, getting $19 for my effort, so it almost covered the cost of the two.
While I was in those, I was playing some omaha. I actually was getting some cards and hitting some hands too. I made a really tough laydown with a full house that I thought I read well, even though due to a sidepot I would have still made a bit of money if I'd called, but I was beaten for the main pot. I won back just over two buyins there, to net myself close to even for the day. Any time I can play 700 hands in a day and be down early and get it back close to even, I'll be ok with that. With rakeback and bonus' it should almost be a wash.
I should be able to put in some hands tomorrow too. I'll shoot for around 500, which should be good for my ironman points. The idea is to maybe play one or two 4.40's as well, but I work early on Friday morning, so that may or may not end up happening.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Back in the Saddle
After a weekend of not playing a single hand, I got back at it today. Played some $50 early on, and did ok. Put in about 300 hands to get my Ironman points and won about $30. Nothing major.
Then FCP ran a $10 buyin $500 added tourney. I decided that since I'd been running decently well and have benefitted from other people doing so in the past, I'd stake a few people in to the tournament all in the spirit of the community. I originally said I'd stake 4, which then turned in to 8, plus my entry. I crapped out in that, as did EVERY one of the guys I staked - I didn't get so much as a single person that made the money. Oh well, whatever - as I say, I've taken stakes from guys before when I was busto or close to it and I know how much it means to just be in the action.
After the FCP tourney, I got in to a couple of $4.40's. Kind of meandered through them, never really built up a stack but lasted fairly long in both, going out 51st and 41st. For right now, consistency is the most important thing for me. I am going to need a score somewhere in the last nine tourneys to be comfortable, BUT, the more important thing right now is to earn as many points as I can when the cards aren't running my way. A 50th place finish when card dead is much better than forcing the action a bit earlier and going out 125th.
When those were over, I got in to a $5 omaha rebuy with Biglebowski. To make a long story short, I missed a chance to triple up just before the first break when I lost to a guy who had exactly a 4% chance of winning the hand when all the money went in. That hurt just a little, but I was able to rebuy still and do the add-on. Once we got past that point, I went out on a flop where the guy with a big stack who was betting in to my full house had no less than a 2% chance, and hit perfect perfect for a bigger boat. That obviously wasn't my tournament....lol
Once that was thankfully over, I got back in to some $50 plo. I was cruising right along, up a buyin early when I end up with AAxx, on a final board of AT85T. Aces full looks solid while all the money is going in to the middle - until the other guy rolls over TT for the rivered quads. That sucked pretty hard.
Kept at it, grinding it out for a little bit longer, and I get dealt AAKQ double suited. All the money goes in to the pot preflop THREE ways ($170 pot) and I took it down. I didn't even see the hand, as most times when I'm all in preflop, I minimize the table and just wait for it to pop back up on the next hand when it's my turn to act and I have a giant stack. If it doesn't pop up in a minute or so, I know I didn't get there and it's time to pull it back up and reload.
I plan to put in a LOT of hands tomorrow -- hopefully 1k or so at $50. Maybe play 2 or 3 $4.4o's - I have 9 more to play for the challenge. I'm thinking that the positive karma from doing all those stakes ought to come back to me somewhere....
Then FCP ran a $10 buyin $500 added tourney. I decided that since I'd been running decently well and have benefitted from other people doing so in the past, I'd stake a few people in to the tournament all in the spirit of the community. I originally said I'd stake 4, which then turned in to 8, plus my entry. I crapped out in that, as did EVERY one of the guys I staked - I didn't get so much as a single person that made the money. Oh well, whatever - as I say, I've taken stakes from guys before when I was busto or close to it and I know how much it means to just be in the action.
After the FCP tourney, I got in to a couple of $4.40's. Kind of meandered through them, never really built up a stack but lasted fairly long in both, going out 51st and 41st. For right now, consistency is the most important thing for me. I am going to need a score somewhere in the last nine tourneys to be comfortable, BUT, the more important thing right now is to earn as many points as I can when the cards aren't running my way. A 50th place finish when card dead is much better than forcing the action a bit earlier and going out 125th.
When those were over, I got in to a $5 omaha rebuy with Biglebowski. To make a long story short, I missed a chance to triple up just before the first break when I lost to a guy who had exactly a 4% chance of winning the hand when all the money went in. That hurt just a little, but I was able to rebuy still and do the add-on. Once we got past that point, I went out on a flop where the guy with a big stack who was betting in to my full house had no less than a 2% chance, and hit perfect perfect for a bigger boat. That obviously wasn't my tournament....lol
Once that was thankfully over, I got back in to some $50 plo. I was cruising right along, up a buyin early when I end up with AAxx, on a final board of AT85T. Aces full looks solid while all the money is going in to the middle - until the other guy rolls over TT for the rivered quads. That sucked pretty hard.
Kept at it, grinding it out for a little bit longer, and I get dealt AAKQ double suited. All the money goes in to the pot preflop THREE ways ($170 pot) and I took it down. I didn't even see the hand, as most times when I'm all in preflop, I minimize the table and just wait for it to pop back up on the next hand when it's my turn to act and I have a giant stack. If it doesn't pop up in a minute or so, I know I didn't get there and it's time to pull it back up and reload.
I plan to put in a LOT of hands tomorrow -- hopefully 1k or so at $50. Maybe play 2 or 3 $4.4o's - I have 9 more to play for the challenge. I'm thinking that the positive karma from doing all those stakes ought to come back to me somewhere....
Friday, November 16, 2007
Boooring
Nothing much exciting at all today. Plodded through enough hands to get my ironman points and that was about it. Played just under 200 hands, ended up -$10. No real big hands of note, I stacked a shorty with a combo draw vs. flopped set when I hit, and I lost some on a continuation semi-bluff when the guy called down with the ass-end of a straight. Oh well.
Won't get in much (maybe not any) poker at all tomorrow. I work until 7am, then I have two hockey games to ref in the afternoon, then I work again at 7pm. In fact, now that I look at that, I can pretty much say for sure there will be no poker. I'll be dead tired and not at all in the right frame of mind to put in any hands.
In the $4.40 challenge, I haven't played one for a few days now. Those above me have been though, and none of them have made any big scores at all. The pack is a bit tighter now, a couple of people have moved in to contention where one or two good finishes could put them right at the top of the pack. I'm still confident though, I still have 11 to play, and I'm well over ½ way to where I think I'll need to be to take it down.
Won't get in much (maybe not any) poker at all tomorrow. I work until 7am, then I have two hockey games to ref in the afternoon, then I work again at 7pm. In fact, now that I look at that, I can pretty much say for sure there will be no poker. I'll be dead tired and not at all in the right frame of mind to put in any hands.
In the $4.40 challenge, I haven't played one for a few days now. Those above me have been though, and none of them have made any big scores at all. The pack is a bit tighter now, a couple of people have moved in to contention where one or two good finishes could put them right at the top of the pack. I'm still confident though, I still have 11 to play, and I'm well over ½ way to where I think I'll need to be to take it down.
200 hands of mediocre, 50 hands of awesome
Had a great day overall today. Played my 200 hands early to get in my ironman points. Nothing much of any excitement, won about $30 which was decent, I was happy with that for only a few hundred hands. Was reading a bit on the forum, following the $4.40 challenge, etc and decided to take a look at the tables. Just like last night, I saw some loose tables, guys with big stacks, large average pots, etc but tonight, I was feeling good, so I sat in.50 hands later, I'd made just under two buyins, hitting flops and getting paid off on them. It was exciting, but I didn't want to push it too far, so I called it a night and turned a good profit for the day. +40BB/100 today, and close to a good bankroll plateau.
Didn't play any $4.40's either - I think I'm off those until Monday once my 5 days of work are done and I can devote myself to playing a four hour tourney, which is what they usually last if you are lucky enough to get deep. Right now I know that I don't have the required level of concentration to get deep and stay focused, and there's enough money at stake here that I don't want to just donk it away to try and get the 20 tourneys in.
For tomorrow, I have some running around to do - might play some 50 just to get in the required ironman points, but I work overnight, so there won't be many hands put in once I get to the point goal for the day.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Quick Hit
Came home from work today tired - the first and last shifts are usually the hardest - so I basically passed out when I got home. Woke up at 11pm and realized I only had an hour to earn any ironman points for the day. 4-tabled 50plo for the hour, got in 216 hands, and made just over a buyin. It was actually pretty hectic for the session, I didn't have any big losses, but scooped a nice pot on a guy who telegraphed his aces enough that I called him down with two pairs. People were playing very aggressive, and I really wasn't getting many cards or hitting many flops, so it ended up to be a pretty tight/passive 216 hands. Whatever works, I'll take the extra $50.
I took a quick look at the games just now, and there are a LOT of tables going where a lot of players have >2 buyins on the table - some known donators too, I just can't bring myself to put in a session right now. That's one thing that I'm learning/trying to deal with -- playing when I'm in the right frame of mind. I would LOVE nothing more than to open up 4 tables right now and take some shots at those big piles of chips out there - BUT, I have to work again in 6 hours, and I know that playing against these guys can be very high varience, and I just don't have the time right now to try and grind it back if I were to drop a buyin or two early on.
No $4.40's today - still in good shape. I think it's a two -maybe three- horse race for the prizes at this point, but I won't get a chance to play any for the rest of the week I don't think. Should give me a good idea of what I need to do to put myself in a good position to finish the thing out though - either play conservative just to get points where I can, OR if I'll have to go for broke, so to speak, trying to take one down for the big score to get back in there.
We shall see...
I took a quick look at the games just now, and there are a LOT of tables going where a lot of players have >2 buyins on the table - some known donators too, I just can't bring myself to put in a session right now. That's one thing that I'm learning/trying to deal with -- playing when I'm in the right frame of mind. I would LOVE nothing more than to open up 4 tables right now and take some shots at those big piles of chips out there - BUT, I have to work again in 6 hours, and I know that playing against these guys can be very high varience, and I just don't have the time right now to try and grind it back if I were to drop a buyin or two early on.
No $4.40's today - still in good shape. I think it's a two -maybe three- horse race for the prizes at this point, but I won't get a chance to play any for the rest of the week I don't think. Should give me a good idea of what I need to do to put myself in a good position to finish the thing out though - either play conservative just to get points where I can, OR if I'll have to go for broke, so to speak, trying to take one down for the big score to get back in there.
We shall see...
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Varience finally shows up
I knew it had to sooner or later. Missed a few flips here and there, ended up playing about 750 hands of plo, and lost 2 buyins, which ISN'T terrible, it just brings a little reality check when I'd been running somewhat decently for the past couple days.
Played 2 $4.40's tonight too, couldn't really get much going in either - managed to get some points for the challenge though, and I still think I'm in good shape. Finished 52nd in one and 25th in the other, so I didn't cash, but the 25th is good for a decent amount of points. As of now, I've played 9 and have 209 points - 11 more to play - 305 points won the last challenge, so I think unless a couple of the other guys start posting wins all over the place, I should be in good shape for at least a money finish. I'd be happy with that.
Won't be much play in the next few days, back to the real world for 5, but hopefully I can get in some hands at 50 tomorrow and turn it around.
Played 2 $4.40's tonight too, couldn't really get much going in either - managed to get some points for the challenge though, and I still think I'm in good shape. Finished 52nd in one and 25th in the other, so I didn't cash, but the 25th is good for a decent amount of points. As of now, I've played 9 and have 209 points - 11 more to play - 305 points won the last challenge, so I think unless a couple of the other guys start posting wins all over the place, I should be in good shape for at least a money finish. I'd be happy with that.
Won't be much play in the next few days, back to the real world for 5, but hopefully I can get in some hands at 50 tomorrow and turn it around.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Meh
Put in a fair amount of hands today, just under a thousand. Were some ups and downs, but ended up plus one buyin, which is decent. I feel good about the game that I'm playing right now and I'm sure the results will be better at the end of this month than they have been for the past couple.
Didn't play any 4.40's today, still sitting at 7 played and 190 pts. I see though that one of the other guys in the challenge won one today, so he's ahead of me, with one more tournament played. I really don't think the points in these are allocated properly - it rewards the one "big score" much more than it does the consistent player. I'm still confident in my tourney game right now, but I won't be able to play many in the next few days - I'm back to work Wed-Sun this week, so I'll have to try and squeeze one or two in where I can.
The plan for tomorrow...probably just $50plo, I doubt I'll play any tourneys at all. Would be nice to put in 750 hands or so - I'm trying for Iron level on Fulltilt this month, and I think if I can put in 20-25k hands at $50, the rakeback benefits should be solid.
Didn't play any 4.40's today, still sitting at 7 played and 190 pts. I see though that one of the other guys in the challenge won one today, so he's ahead of me, with one more tournament played. I really don't think the points in these are allocated properly - it rewards the one "big score" much more than it does the consistent player. I'm still confident in my tourney game right now, but I won't be able to play many in the next few days - I'm back to work Wed-Sun this week, so I'll have to try and squeeze one or two in where I can.
The plan for tomorrow...probably just $50plo, I doubt I'll play any tourneys at all. Would be nice to put in 750 hands or so - I'm trying for Iron level on Fulltilt this month, and I think if I can put in 20-25k hands at $50, the rakeback benefits should be solid.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Nap FTW!!
So, I said earlier that I didn't feel like putting in the time to play any $4.40's today...laid out on the couch, watched a bit of the Sunday night football game and passed out for an hour or so. Woke up refreshed and thought why not, I'll play a couple.
Got in three, went out 33rd in one, and made the final tables in both the other two. Was supershortstacked on both and ended up going out in 9th place of each, but whatever, I was just stoked to keep up the crazy run I've been on.
7 tourneys played, 5 cashes, 4 final tables. Finishes 33rd, 19th, 11th, 9th, 9th, 7th, 3rd.
If I can keep it going anywhere NEAR this pace, the $575 should be a lock.
Got in three, went out 33rd in one, and made the final tables in both the other two. Was supershortstacked on both and ended up going out in 9th place of each, but whatever, I was just stoked to keep up the crazy run I've been on.
7 tourneys played, 5 cashes, 4 final tables. Finishes 33rd, 19th, 11th, 9th, 9th, 7th, 3rd.
If I can keep it going anywhere NEAR this pace, the $575 should be a lock.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
New mindset, better results
Had a good day playing $50 plo today - 409 hands, $88.65 profit (21.67 BB/100) Had a couple of big hands hold up, flopped a set of kings that dodged the obligatory flush draw for a stack, and hit a monster flop with AAxx, flopping a set of aces with backup nut flush draw - other guy called with a lower flush draw and a gutshot and missed.
The rakebreak 10k freeroll is a joke. Half the field didn't show up, which should be a good thing, but it really slows down play, and it's tough to get in any rhythm. I never really got any cards and went out 222nd, when 75 paid. Oh well.
Didn't play any $4.40's today, really didn't have the time to devote myself to it in case I got deep. Still in very good shape in the FCP challenge though. I doubt I'll play any tomorrow either for the same reason. Maybe tomorrow night I'll squeeze one or two in. I don't think I'll have any problem doing 20 by the end of the month.
I feel good playing $50plo right now, and the rakeback and point benefits to playing the higher level are huge. Hopefully I can keep that going for the next little bit and get myself back in to the black for that level. I burned off my rakeback pretty quickly in the early days of the month before moving back to $25 and teaching myself the right way to play.
Good Luck!
The rakebreak 10k freeroll is a joke. Half the field didn't show up, which should be a good thing, but it really slows down play, and it's tough to get in any rhythm. I never really got any cards and went out 222nd, when 75 paid. Oh well.
Didn't play any $4.40's today, really didn't have the time to devote myself to it in case I got deep. Still in very good shape in the FCP challenge though. I doubt I'll play any tomorrow either for the same reason. Maybe tomorrow night I'll squeeze one or two in. I don't think I'll have any problem doing 20 by the end of the month.
I feel good playing $50plo right now, and the rakeback and point benefits to playing the higher level are huge. Hopefully I can keep that going for the next little bit and get myself back in to the black for that level. I burned off my rakeback pretty quickly in the early days of the month before moving back to $25 and teaching myself the right way to play.
Good Luck!
Starting Fresh
Welcome!
After a very long hiatus, I've decided to renew my poker-blogging pastime. I'm playing fairly seriously now, and need a place other than the forum at fullcontactpoker.com to vent, think out loud, analyze, learn, teach, or whatever else may come of this.
The plan for right now is to update at least something on a daily basis, but we'll see how things go.
For right now, I'm playing pot limit omaha, split between $25 and $50 limits. Thanks to the help of a few patient and dedicated friends, I finally feel like I have my game in a groove where I can turn a profit, in addition to what I earn in rakeback every month - instead of just using rakeback to get me even...
I'm also in the $4.40 180-man sit n'go challenge at FCP. I'm running hot in tournaments right now, I've played 4 in the last two days, with three cashes and two final tables. I would be winning but for Heebner and his luckbox ways ;-)
Sunday, the plan is to play 3 or 4 more $4.40's, the rakebreak 10k freeroll on Tilt, and a bunch more hands at $50plo.
Cheers!
After a very long hiatus, I've decided to renew my poker-blogging pastime. I'm playing fairly seriously now, and need a place other than the forum at fullcontactpoker.com to vent, think out loud, analyze, learn, teach, or whatever else may come of this.
The plan for right now is to update at least something on a daily basis, but we'll see how things go.
For right now, I'm playing pot limit omaha, split between $25 and $50 limits. Thanks to the help of a few patient and dedicated friends, I finally feel like I have my game in a groove where I can turn a profit, in addition to what I earn in rakeback every month - instead of just using rakeback to get me even...
I'm also in the $4.40 180-man sit n'go challenge at FCP. I'm running hot in tournaments right now, I've played 4 in the last two days, with three cashes and two final tables. I would be winning but for Heebner and his luckbox ways ;-)
Sunday, the plan is to play 3 or 4 more $4.40's, the rakebreak 10k freeroll on Tilt, and a bunch more hands at $50plo.
Cheers!
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