SCOOP = POOP

Was cruising right along in Event 37-M (won entry via the PokerStars blogger freeroll) until this crushing river:

Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.com

SB (t49356)
BB (t28226)
UTG (t39355)
UTG+1 (t49093)
MP1 (t17835)
MP2 (t15889)
Hero (MP3) (t44923)
CO (t100310)
Button (t21383)

Hero's M: 21.39

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with Ks, Kh
1 fold, UTG+1 bets t1780, 2 folds, Hero raises to t4800, 4 folds, UTG+1 calls t3020

Flop: (t11700) 5c, 7d, 4d (2 players)
UTG+1 bets t3880, Hero raises to t8800, UTG+1 raises to t44193 (All-In), Hero calls t31223 (All-In)

Turn: (t91746) 3s (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t91746) 10d (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t91746

Villian shows Kd, Qd (flush)

The Good Doctor


It's an honor to have been bestowed a link on Dr Pauly's poker blog! Now there's an actual chance others may read this drivel.

Playing a lot of NL100 Rush Poker on FTP...after an initial boost, it's been a slow, rollercoaster of a grind. Win $300, lose $250...lose $200, win $175. It wears on the mind, especially when work is sucking the proverbial fat one and all I can think about is "I wish I could play poker for a living, but how will that ever happen if my online bankroll hardly grows?"

I take beats, I play bad, I think about having to go to work the next day, and I get real mad/depressed. Reading the Elements of Performance section of Tommy Angelo's book has been helpful; I feel so calm & relaxed after reading those pages. Breathing is the best cure for tilt, and for avoiding tilt. I must make it part of my routine to read/breathe before every session.

Time to go play some more Rush, then the For Anna benefit tourney on Full Tilt at 10.

Also, if anyone wants to trade blog links, just leave me yours in the comments...thanks!

Self-Therapy Session #49

- flop top set, donk turns flush, board doesn't pair
- call minraise from SB w/JJ, flop KJT, minraiser has KK
- raise w/AK, SS donk in blinds calls, get it all in on KQ2x, he has 22
- raise w/88, aggressive SS shoves, I call, he has KK

Guess I should be happy that I lost only one buy-in...

Why, Mother Nature, Why?

So of course the 1-3 inches of snow we were supposed to get Monday night into Tuesday morning morphed into 4-6 inches between noon today and now. Took me 1 1/2 hours to get home from work, so getting to Mohegan by 7:30 for the qualifier was not going to happen.

But if I did play in the tourney, then I never would've played with this fine fellow:


Seat 2: let's call him "DB" ($172.60)
Seat 5: me ($106.50)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to me [Jd Js]
DB raises to $4
me calls $4
*** FLOP *** [Jh 3d 6s]
DB bets $10
me has 15 seconds left to act
me raises to $20 (I could've raised more but flop is dry & I wanted to get the other two pre-flop callers to fold, which they did)
DB calls $10
*** TURN *** [Jh 3d 6s] [Ac]
DB checks
me checks (thought there was a chance he had aces since he almost never raised pre-flop, so I keep from committing my stack...plus it's very deceiving in case I'm way ahead)
*** RIVER *** [Jh 3d 6s Ac] [Ah]
DB has 15 seconds left to act
DB bets $20
me has 15 seconds left to act
me raises to $82.50, and is all in

DB waited almost 10 sec, then...

DB calls $62.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
me shows [Jd Js] a full house, Jacks full of Aces
DB shows [Ad Jc] a full house, Aces full of Jacks
DB wins the pot ($219.50) with a full house, Aces full of Jacks

DB: toug river
DB: weird check
me: thanks for the slow roll
DB: no slow roll
DB: i am playing multi tables
me: ohhhhhhh

A few minutes later, DB calls my $8 river bet w/AJ on a Q-high board...

Dealer: me shows a pair of Fours
Dealer: me wins the pot ($27.10) with a
pair of Fours

me: pity call?
me: or just bad
DB: good info
DB: called for info
me: bet you do that a lot
DB: is that a jab at me...
me: i guess
me: since you slow call with the nuts &
then question my play
DB: remember i raised the hand that you
had jacks
me: whatever dude
DB: you should have bet that turn real hard (which gave him top 2 pair & he wouldn't have folded anyways)
me: you're just better than me
DB: and not check
DB: i am better than you
me: thats what i just said
DB: but i have played with you before and I
am just trying to help you. (I've never seen this guy before)
me: i dont remember you
me: i must have a bad memory
DB: i keep notes on players
me: how do you do that
DB: right click on the other players avatar
me: oh
me: i thought you used a diary or something

At least I got my money's worth ribbing him...still haven't given up hope on qualifying for Mohegan's big tourney next weekend.

Nobody Believes Me

I know nobody likes to read blogs full of poker rants, but nobody reads this blog, so awaaaaaay we go!

Background- I was chipleader with seven to go in tonight's bounty tournament at the lounge, and the only hand I had played to this point at the final table was a limp of pocket deuces which became flopped quads...let the beatings commence.

- blinds were 300/600, I raised to 1800 with 8h-7h...it's folded to the big blind (let's call him Villain #1), who thought for a bit, said "Oh well," and went all in for 1700 more. I grudgingly called, and he showed T-9 offsuit? This was someone I thought to be a good player (at least from what he's told me in the past), but I guess he's never heard of such phrases as hand ranges and zero fold equity. The board blanked out, and his ten was good. "I thought you were trying to bully me...I thought you had suited connectors or a small pair." Yeah, I'm targeting the big blind from UTG, and there's no way I could have any ace, king, queen, jack, or pair nines and higher...UGH.

- next hand, everyone limped to the small blind, and Villain #1 folded, which totally tilted me...willing to get it all in pre-flop with T-9 knowing I'll call him 100% of the time, and now with double the amount of chips he folds the small blind getting a bazillion-to-one odds? I knocked the table from the big blind with 9-2. Flop was 9-7-4 rainbow, I led out for 1000, and Villain #2 pushed all in for 1900 more. I had seen this kid raise and call down bets earlier toinght with second & third pair, so I'm either way ahead or outkicked and way behind. I called, he showed K-9, and the board blanked out.

- down to 3200 from over 10 grand a few minutes ago...still at the 300/600 level, I peered down at Ad on the button and shoved, pretending to look at the other card (5h) but not really...big blind (AKA Villain #3) said, "I don't have anything, but I'm going to call." He flipped over Q-8 (might've been sooooooted, don't remember), and guttered a straight on the turn. I had him outchipped, so that left me with 800...I tortured myself by folding until the 800 big blind came around, with my J-5 going down in flames to Villain #1's J-6 small blind special. I walked away from the table, and VN1 grunted, "You owe me your bounty." If I could've just checked my blood pressure at that exact moment...

- I moved over to the three-handed cash game & bought in for my last $35 (max is $40)...more pain please! $1-1 blinds, I raised to $4 UTG with Ad-2d, dealer folded, both blinds called. We all checked the Qx-Qs-6s flop. Turn was 7x, checked to me, I bet $6, called by big blind. River brought a third small spade, checked to me, I bet $10. Villain Numero Quatro looked into my soul for about 10 seconds and made the call on a paired, suited board with A-T.

Double you. Tee. Effffff.

Saturday Tilt

In chronological order:
- lost power for two hours
- laptop acted up, had to reinstall AOL & other programs
- had chiplead at final table of Saturdays with Dr Pauly, finished fourth
- guys' night out for UFC PPV cancelled due to stupid tropical storm
- on FullTilt NL $100 table, I raised w/KK, get re-raised to $12, I raised to $37, he called...got it all in on Q-x-x flop...you know what he had (QQ)
- on another FT NL $100 table, I raised w/77 & flopped a set in a multi-way pot...I bet & got a caller, turn was an A, I made weak-looking 1/2 pot bet, guy shoved all in for TWO DOLLARS MORE, I mis-clicked & FOLDED.

There, now I feel a little better...go Patriots.

I'm Lovin It

No power at home, wife is out with her sister-in-law, which equals 100% boredom. I couldn't even open the garage door (at least without unhooking the garage door opener & prying the stupid thing open myself), so I packed up the notebook and walked the 1/2 mile to McDonald's for a wi-fi connection.

I thought it would be a free hook-up, but McInternet costs $2.95 for 2 hours. So 3 bucks and a large iced coffee later, I'm playing a little NL $100 on Full Tilt.

Just livin' the life on a Friday night...

The Blunder Of It All

Got out of work early today, so the wifey & I drove to Foxwoods for a cash giveaway (Jen won the guaranteed minimum of $25, no new car for us). Against my better judgement, I decided to play a little $1/2 NL. Bought in for $200, and watched the middle-aged doofus of a guy to my right check/call all the way with pocket fives on a T-T-9-x-x board, and win. Also saw him call a flop bet, then push his chips in front of his cards - but not across the betting line - on the turn before the guy in front of him could act. It was obviously an attempt to get the other guy to check and see the river for free, so I set my sights on this angle-shooting loser(ASL).

A couple of hands later, ASL raised to $8 pre-flop, and I looked down at A-Q (I feel Hurricane Mikey, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Ivey all cringing as they read this, lol). I popped it up to $23, hoping to get heads-up, which is exactly what happened...nice.

The flop was a beauty: A-Q-9, rainbow.

ASL checked, and after thinking for a couple seconds, I decided to check my two pair as well. This was a huge mistake, since he'd probably call a bet with a lot of worse hands, and I'm only losing to A-A/Q-Q (not likely since I have A-Q) or 9-9.

The turn brought an eight, putting a second heart on the board. ASL checked again, and NOW I decided to bet the $30 I should've bet on the flop. ASL instantly said, "All in," without touching his chips.

I thought for a minute...does he have J-T for a straight? Maybe. Does he have a flush draw? This is a possibility, since he made such a huge raise (he had more chips than me, and I started the hand with about $230). I usually read over-raises as some sort of semi-bluff/drawing hand...plus he didn't move in his chips, which I also read as a sign of weakness. He could also have A-8 for a worse two pair than me, so I decided to call.

Or he could have pocket eights for a set. And of course ASL slow rolled me, showing just an eight, then sliding the top card over to show the other one underneath.

After he hit his two-outter, I missed my four-outter on the river and had to payyy the man heees money.

My usual routine after losing is to go for a long walk around the casino and think about why I lost. Of course the first thing I thought was I should've bet the flop and been happy to take down a $50 pot. But maybe he calls anyway and I still lose my stack, making for an even more lividing exit from the poker room. But I'll never know since I didn't make the correct play in the first place.

So what's worse: playing a hand wrong and losing; or playing a hand right, getting unlucky, losing, and going on tilt? I know the answer is to play every hand correctly, but for some odd reason I don't feel as bad about this hand since it was my mistake to not bet the flop.

The rest of my day at the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation went just fine, as I had dinner with our friends Dennis & Kathy at California Pizza Kitchen. Jen was on a "hot streak" at the slots, and is notoriously never hungry when in a casino, so it was just the three of us. Food was good as usual, I had penne in a pesto cream sauce with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes...yum! We yapped for a while, trading old Vegas and bowling stories. I got to tell them my tale of woe from the poker table, and they were kind enough to listen and give me some much-needed sympathy. I was definitely in a better mood when we left CPK.

I also managed to hit a couple of four-of-a-kinds on video poker, slashing my losses in half. Jen ended up losing too, but we stayed well within our budget for the day.

I just finished my nightly online poker session, and made an unimpressive $15...but at least it wasn't another three-digit loss. The fact that I'm not too upset over the last 24 hours worth of poker badness is a good sign...I'm controlling the tilt factor, which I think is a needed trait if I wish to make consistent money playing cards.

We'll see what tomorrow has in store for me...

And Then, This Happens...

Full Tilt Poker Game #7418357007: Table Monterey - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:00:29 ET - 2008/07/28
Seat 1: YKNOW1 ($122.65)
Seat 2: DieUnglaubliche ($25.70)
Seat 3: greatstar00 ($50.20)
Seat 4: lenabru ($198)
Seat 5: AlwaysLimp ($202)
Seat 6: ChkRazed ($200)
Seat 7: gocards2142 ($1,301.15)
Seat 8: Brick_man_17 ($63.05)
Seat 9: ME ($372.15)
gocards2142 posts the small blind of $1
Brick_man_17 posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ME [Ac As]
I raise to $7
YKNOW1 folds
DieUnglaubliche folds
greatstar00 folds
lenabru folds
AlwaysLimp folds
ChkRazed folds
gocards2142 calls $6
Brick_man_17 has 15 seconds left to act
Brick_man_17 is sitting out
Brick_man_17 folds
*** FLOP *** [7c 2h 5d]
gocards2142 checks
I bet $10
gocards2142 calls $10
*** TURN *** [7c 2h 5d] [9h]
gocards2142 checks
I check
*** RIVER *** [7c 2h 5d 9h] [Ad]
gocards2142 bets $20
Brick_man_17 has returned
I raise to $70
gocards2142 has 15 seconds left to act
gocards2142 raises to $180 (oh good, he flopped a set, just like the last time he cracked my Aces!)
I raise to $355.15, and is all in
gocards2142 calls $175.15
*** SHOW DOWN ***
I show [Ac As] three of a kind, Aces
gocards2142 shows [6h 8h] a straight, Nine high
gocards2142 wins the pot ($743.30) with a straight, Nine high
I am sitting out, whining in my blog
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $746.30 | Rake $3
Board: [7c 2h 5d 9h Ad]
Seat 1: YKNOW1 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: DieUnglaubliche didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: greatstar00 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: lenabru didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: AlwaysLimp didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: ChkRazed (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: gocards2142 (small blind) showed [6h 8h] and won ($743.30) with a straight, Nine high
Seat 8: Brick_man_17 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: I showed [Ac As] and lost with three of a kind, Aces

Yak.