Bluff Poker Tour recap - results from 3/30

ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz. Oh I am sorry. I am just exhausted from playing until 2AM and then having to get up at 6:30 for work. Last night we had Event #3 on the Bluff Poker Tour at VIP Poker. 208 people showed up to test their skills and try to win the $1500 WSOP seat that was up for grabs. VIP Poker had an outstanding blind structure and blind levels that really made for alot of play. Yours truly made the final table after being crippled twice in the tourney. Unfortunately I ended up in 4th place, falling just short yet again of a WSOP seat. After being the chip leader for most of hour three, I then went card dead and when I tried to pick up blinds I would get reraised. I went to the final table sitting 6th in chips, and I never regained the chip lead. My last hand I was shortstacked on the button with A8. The first guy fold and I moved allin with 27k (blinds were 4k/8k). The sb folded but the big blind called with 98. Despite having a huge advantage I lost to a flopped 9. So out in 4th with $165 in my pocket. The good news is that I believe I moved into the top 3 in points. The top 2 at the end of the tour receive WSOP seats. The winner gets a main event seat and a $1500 seat. The runner-up gets a $1500 seat. Our next event is Sunday at Full Tilt at 5pm.

Sooooooooo other than that I played in a couple of 180 man SNGs where I did nothing. The 2nd one I was in the top 5 in chips and I am battling the chip leader with my AA. I flop an A to give me top set. I put the chip leader allin and he calls with Q10. He needs a K for a straight. I dont even have to tell you the river card.
Then I play the double stack at FullTilt. I am doing ok there when I get dealt KK. I raise, and the chipleader at the table reraises me allin. I call. He has AK to my KK. Again I do not have to tell you what the river card comes out.

Then there is my 5/10 game at Bayou. I just crushed this game yesterday, winning at a sick pace of 20bb/100 hands. A wonderful profit there. So overall for the day I ended up winning $534. Here is how the bankroll looks.....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 31 bankroll - $11,457
Profit - $6205

Tonight I will focus on the 5/10 game and see if I can have my first $5000 month. I will post tomorrow, but there will be no playing on April Fool's Day as I am spending the day playing tennis and going out with my wonderful wife. Sunday I will be back on the felt though. Good luck everyone.

Getting ready for the Bluff Poker Tour - results from 3/20

Well I played some tournies last night and let me tell you that I did not use up any luck except for bad luck. In the double stack tourney I lose with AA,QQ and finally AKs to knock me out. In another $20 tourney at Absolute I could not pick up a hand and then finally I lose with AKs to AA. Then at Stars I push allin with 88 when I was short stacked and lose to AK. So my tourneys last night cost me $53. A nice hit to my ROI.

But then there is the 5/10 cash game. I just love that game. I played only 187 hands but I won at a 20bb/100 hand pace for $342. So overall for the day I finished up $289. I am just under 11k now for a bankroll. Here is how it looks.....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 30 bankroll - $10,923
Profit - $5671

So today there will be more 5/10 play, some 180 man SNGs and the double stack at full tilt. Also tonight is event #3 of the Bluff Poker Tour. It is at VIP Poker and they are throwing in another $1500 WSOP seat. Currently I am 15th in the point standings, and I look forward to yet another try and getting myself to Vegas. Go to www.bluffpokertour.com if you want to give it a shot. Good luck to everyone.

Patting myself on the back - results from 3/29

Well I am very happy with my results from last night. Why???? Because I shut it down early. I played in the double stack tourney and fluctuated between 2500-4500 in chips until I finally went out with AK vs 44. He raised my big blind and I reraised him 2 grand and then he went allin. At that point I had 1500 left to win 7500 in chips and I could not ignore those odds with AK. Unfortunately I do not win the race and I am out. Soooooooo on to the 5/10 game. I win some playing there but I just do not feel like I am in the mood to play. Now normally I would press on because I want to hit 11k before this month is over. But I decide that I should not take chances when I am not up to form and I just turn off the laptop. A very good decision. So for my 90 minutes of play I end up $27. Not a great day at all but boy this could have been alot worse.

Here is the bankroll.....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 29 bankroll - $10,634
Profit - $5382

So tonight I am sure I will be itching to play. I am looking at a $20 league game with some buddies of mine at pokeranalysis.com and of course the double stack at fulltilt. I will throw in some 5/10 limit and maybe a 180 man SNG if I get knocked out of one of the previous tourneys a little earlier than I would like.

Results from 3/27

Well I could not think of a catchy title, I am not feeling very creative today obviously. Yesterday I really put my level of concentration to the test. I have a friend of ours staying at our house with her 3 kids for a few days. Couple that with my two kids and that means I have 5 kids under the age of 7 running around my house!!! Needless to say, this is not the perfect environment to play poker in. I tried to work through it anyway.

I played 4 tourneys yesterday with pretty much lousy results. I played two 180 man SNGs where I finished 88th and 87th. I just could not get them kickstarted in the right direction. I also played the double stack tourney at Full Tilt and finished 274th out of 581. I put all my chips in with over an over card and a flush draw and neither one hit on the last two cards. It was very reckless of me and I am not proud of it. I also played my pokerfox.net forum game which was PLO8 and I finished 2nd out of the 9 people that showed up.

Thankfully though the 5/10 game came to my rescue yet again. I finished winning at a pace of 5bb/100 hands and that put my profit for the day at $188. People have told me that I should just concentrate on this game, but I do like my tourneys, and I will continue to play them.

Here is how I am doing on the two things I play the most which is 5/10 limit and MTT.

MTT (goal is 100% ROI) - 85% ROI, still lacking some final tables which is key

5/10 limit (goal is 1.5bb/100) - 4.3bb/100, I am absoutely thrilled how I am killing this game.

So this is how the bankroll looks as of today....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 28 bankroll - $10,607
Profit - $5355

So now I have officially doubled my bankroll in less than 3 months. It feels good, but I know I still have to work on my game, especially my tourney game. Tonight will be a light night since it is bowling night. I will get in the double stack, a 180 man SNG, and some 5/10. Good luck everyone!!!

Weekend Update

Sorry for the lack of posts this weekend, but I told you that I would be slammed. The Bluff cash game was a ton of fun even though I did not win. It is tough to push people off hands when you are playing 1/2 limit. I did enjoy playing the mix of games though (it was a HORSE format).

As for tourneys this weekend, I finished 18th in the 180 man SNG at Stars so I won $43.20 for that. I also won my PokerFox league game ($5 entry) which gave me another $35. That is the 2nd victory in 3 attempts in that league. The players are solid so I am very happy about that.

Then we had the Bluff Poker Tour event on Sunday. We only had 125 players show up which is shocking to me. Apparently nobody cares about winning seats to WSOP events for just a $10 entry. Oh well. I finished 14th in the event which is the 2nd time I have cashed in the 2 events. I am sure that I am in the top 10 in points after the first two events. The next event is at VIP Poker and they are throwing in a $1500 WSOP seat to the winner of the tourney!!!! Great job by VIP and Bluff.

So overall my bankroll went up almost $200. Not bad considering the Bluff cash game disaster. Hopefully I top 11k by the end of the week. Here is how the bankroll looks....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 27 bankroll - $10,419
Profit - $5167

Right now I just started another 180 man SNG at Stars. Tonight I will be in the double stack at Full Tilt and I have another pokerfox.net league game. Of course 5/10 at Bayou will be thrown into the mix as well. Good luck to everyone out there.

Results from the Bluff Poker Tour

Well we had 325 players fighting for a $3250 prize pool and a $1500 WSOP seat that was thrown in as an extra prize. Were you one of the players??? You really ought to be. It looks like this year there will be at least TEN WSOP/WPT seats up for grabs. You can be a part of it for just $10+$1 per tourney. Come test your skills.

So on to the results. I finished 28th last night. A small cash ($16.25) plus some valuable points. While it was not a final table, I am happy that I managed to play some solid poker and have it rewarded. Sure I was sucked out on a few times, but I managed to overcome those and still finish solid. I also won a $5 last longer bet with a buddy of mine (thanks Greig).

I did play the double stack as well, but I could not gather any momentum. Those are the frustrating tourneys to play in. I did manage to beat half the field and outlast my buddy a second time that night for another $5 (thanks again Greig).

Fortunately the 5/10 game treated me pretty well. I won at a pace of 4bb/100 and picked up over $100. For the day my profit was $183. Not bad at all, and it edged out my previous high for the year. Here is how the bankroll looks....

Jan 1 - $5252
Mar 24 - $10,245
Profit - $4993

Tonight I am going to a buddy's house for dinner so the kids can play together. When I get home I will play a 180 man SNG and maybe some 5/10. I will try and post some time tomorrow if I get the time. I do have two soccer games, a dance performance, and then a live cash game all on Saturday, so I may not post until Sunday. Good luck to everyone.

NOTE - The 2nd stop on the Bluff Poker Tour (bluffpokertour.com) is on Sunday at 5pm at Sun Poker. Come join in on the fun. Take care.

Bluff Poker Tour starts!!! - results from 3/22

Boy thank God yesterday is behind us. My bad day started with a 180 man SNG at pokerstars. As you know they pay the top 18. Well I finished 22nd when my A10s lost to A7 thanks to a runner, runner straight. Then we move to the double stack at Full Tilt. I am doing well when I make a couple of bad reads and lose two thirds of my stack. I finish 84th out of 510 people (top 54 pay). That is what I get trying to go for a win instead of cashing.

So I move on to my staple of winning games at the 5/10 level. Variance kicked my ass as multiple times I am winning with an overpair until the river brings someone a set. I end up losing $140 there as well. Not good.

So overall the day finished at a -$173. I am still above 10k, but not by much. Here is how the bankroll looks......

Jan 1 - $5252
Mar 23 - $10,062
Profit - $4810

Now for the plan for today is the BLUFF POKER TOUR!!!!! Hopefully you have signed up to play. If not then you should stop reading this and go sign up. Why??? Well how about a $1500 WSOP seat just thrown in for a prize in the event today? A main event seat to the point leader at the end of the season??? Stop being stubborn and go sign up. I will see you at the tourney. Good luck.

I passed the 10k mark!!!!!!! - results from 3/21

Well I am feeling real good right now as I write this entry. For the first time I have passed the 10k mark for my bankroll!!!!! It is such a great feeling. I know that I have a loooooonnngggg way to go, but it still feels great to have passed this benchmark. Well enough about that, on to the results from last night.

First I played a 180 man SNG and the double stack tourney at full tilt. It was about 20 minutes into the SNG when I get dealt AA. I make a 3xbb raise, and someone comes over the top allin. I quickly call and they turn over 55. It looks awesome until a 5 comes up on the turn. I am out in 120th out of 180. Oh well.

On to the double stack. I am playing well throughout the tourney. Just before the 3rd break I get dealt AKs. I raise to 4xbb and I get one caller and then a short stack goes allin for a couple of BB more. I call and the other caller also calls. It turns out that the guy who went allin has KQs, and the other guy has K10. This is about a 25k pot that would vault me into the top 5 in the tourney. The flop comes JJx with one spade. We both check the flop. The turn is a 10 of spades. Now I have a gutshot straight draw and the nut flush draw. We both check it down. The river is another rag that is not a spade and I lose this big pot to K10. I manage to get into the money though and then just before the break I double up when I push with J9 and get called by Q3. I pushed because I already cashed and I wanted to either double up before the break or go to bed. I needed to push while it still meant something as the blinds would have taken up 1/3 of my stack. After the break I make a 4x raise with KJ and I get called by the chip leader at the table (the guy who had K10). Both blinds fold. The flop comes J82 rainbow and I push allin. He quickly calls with a set of twos. The turn brings me the teaser King, but the river is no help and I am out in 52nd place. A whole $16.89 richer.

Since I was busted out of the 180 man SNG, I went to my usual 5/10 game at Bayou Poker. I absolutely torch this game over two hours, winning $503 in 230 hands of play. An outstanding 21.86bb/100 hands. Just ridiculous. I have played 4,000 hands this month at that game and I am winning at a rate of 6bb/100 hands. I am now able to make great reads against players in this game having played them several times now, and I am winning 1.5bb/100 hands over 15,000 hands at this level. Another month or two of winning poker and I will try my hand at 10/20.

So for tonight we have another double stack and probably another 180 man SNG. I will couple that with some 5/10 play at Bayou. Good luck to everyone out there!!!!!!

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 22 bankroll - $10235
Profit - $4983

Getting closer to 10k - results from 3/20

Well last night was a good day and a frustrating day all rolled into one. I started off playing a 180 man SNG at pokerstars where I finished 19th (top 18 pay). Man that is just aggravating!!!! I am sure there were some mistakes that I made along the way, but I ended up going all-in with 88 and someone woke up with 1010. So all that play for no money. I do enjoy that tourney though and they did add a $4 one for those who do not want to drop $20. Then I played the double stack at fulltilt and I was eliminated in the 2nd hand!!!!! I had AQs and the flop comes AQx and I reraise and the guy puts me allin. I of course called and he had AA. Arrrggggh. Then I played my pokerfox.net forum game and I win the tourney. It was only $30, but I was happy to win against that tough field.

So getting sick and tired of my tourney play, I move to 5/10 where I had another dominating night. I ended up winning at a pace of 17bb/100. I actually did not want to leave, but I was getting tired.

So for the day I finished up $325, which does not include any bonus money. I am having some challenges with the new pokerroom system, but I am sure it will be worked out. SO here is how the bankroll looks now.....

Jan 1 - $5252
Mar 21 - $9749
Profit - $4497

Tonight is bowling night, so play will be very light. I am expecting to try the double stack, a 180 man sng, and then some 5/10. Good luck to everyone!!!

Weekend report and random thoughts

Let me tell you there is nothing better than March Madness. I spent the entire weekend watching every game and boy did I love it. If there was only one sports event that I could watch each year this tourney is what I would choose.

My bracket is still not destroyed, but it has taken a beating. I have 5 Elite 8 teams left (Duke, UCONN, BC, Florida, UCLA) and my Final Four is intact. Hopefully it ends that way after the weekend.

I am a Dallas Cowboys fan. I hate, I mean HATE Owens. So now I have officially gave up on the NFL until he is off my team. It will be like football is on strike for me. I guess that gives me more time with the family and more time for poker.

The Bluff Poker Tour starts on Thursday. Every single poker player out there should be playing in these events. They will be holding a $10 tourney every Thursday night at 9pm and Sunday at 5pm. The winner of the tour will get a WSOP main event seat plus a $1500 event seat!!! 2nd place will get a $1500 seat. Plus they are many giveaways throughout the tour. Beyond being a great bunch of guys, the people at Bluff are allowing you the opportunity to take on an outstanding group of players with great prizes all for $10 a tourney. The entire tourney is paid out, so no money is kept for the other prizes, they are just thrown in. Do yourself a favor and go to www.bluffpokertour.com and register. I can promise that you will not be sorry. Plus you get a chance to kick my ass twice a week.

Ok I tried to play my way into a couple of the big Sunday tourneys without any luck. I actually played waaaaay too many tourneys this past weekend. Fortunately my cash game picked up the slack for my horrible tourney play. Here is how I look now against my goals.......

MTT (ROI of 100%) - I am actually at an ROI of 137.44%, but I will need another final table soon to keep that up.

$25 NL tables on full tilt (8bb/100) - I am actually at 24.9bb/100. Still a small sample, but I think I can win consistently at this level.

$50 NL tables on full tilt (8bb/100) - I tried to move up to this level and see what the results would be. So far I am at a lousy .4bb/100. I will keep trying on and off at this level.

5/10 limit (1.5bb/100) - I am winning at a 4.2bb/100 for over 3000 hands at this level this month. I am feeling very comfortable at this level now. Hopefully after a few more months I can move up again.

So this is how the bankroll looks. I am hoping that I will break the 10k mark by the end of the week.....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 20 bankroll - $9424
Profit - $4172

Today is double stack day at full tilt at 9pm and then my pokerfox league at 10pm. Other than that maybe I will get in a 180 man SNG and some 5/10 at Bayou. Good luck everyone!!!!

Watching the IONA game - results from 3/16

Well my team let me down last night. We had the lead at the half, but then we just tired out and lost by 16. That kid Davis on LSU is awesome. He can sure move for a big guy. I will make sure to watch alot more of LSU next year. As for IONA, we lose 4 senior starters, so we will not be on the NCAA radar screen for a couple of years.

Back to poker. I did not play too much last night. I played in a 180 man SNG where I finished 18th for a $43 payday. I was also playing in the double stack on Full Tilt and I finished 74th out of 454 people. Unfortunately they only pay out the top 45. I crippled myself by overplaying AQ on a 8,7,4 flop when someone called my 4x preflop raise with A8.

A little 5/10 left me up only a couple of dollars, so I ended up $23 on the day.

For those of you who have not been paying attention to the Pokerroom network, they have changed the way the skins can release their bonus. It seems very complicated at first, but I am hoping to work through that. If you were thinking of creating an account there I would read the fine print on how the bonus gets released.

Anyway I am off to run some errands and then to go watch my daughter dance in the St. Patrick's Day parade here. May the luck of the Irish be with you.

Results from 3/14

Well I did not get to play much yesterday as it was bowling night. Bowling did not go well at all as we bowled the first place team and we lost all 7 points. I shot 168-171-180, not great but not bad either. The other team just bowled real well and killed us. So needless to say I was not in a good mood.

I did play the double stack on Full Tilt at 9pm. Actually I did not get there until 9:30, but my Dad played the first 30 minutes for me. When I finally got to the table my 3000 chips had shrunk down to 2570. For the next hour I stayed between 2500 and 3500. I just could not get anything to make a move on and when I did get a hand someone would go over the top allin and I would have to fold. So the blinds are getting bigger and bigger and I get KQ in late position and call a raise to 600 from a very aggressive person. The flop comes out Qxx with two clubs and he pushes me allin. I do not even hesitate to call as I know that I have the best hand. He flips over the Ac10s and the turn and river both come out clubs and I am out again to a runner runner flush. I finish 185th out of 510 people.

So I played a little 5/10 but I did not play alot since I was not in the proper mindset to play well. I did win a little money though and with the bonus money my profit for the day was $37.

So here is the bankroll right now....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 15 bankroll - $9331
Profit - $4079

Today I will get in the double stack tourney, a 180 man SNG, and some 5/10 action. Good luck to all of you.

I am on a roll in March - results from 3/12

Well I did not get to play really at all on Saturday. I did play some on Sunday and I sure made my play count. Lets head to the results...

MTT - I played a couple of MTT yesterday with no real success. I tried a $3 pokerstars tourney and I was in good shape until a guy decides to go all in with his flush draw against my top set and I call him and he hits. I go out 107th out of 312. If he does not hit that hand I would have been in the top 10 and should have cashed easily. I tried two 180 man SNGs but I could not get any momentum in either one. Just not a good day, but overall for the month I am still at a ROI of 335% thanks to that $1080 cash.

5/10 - This is where I really excelled yesterday. I ended up winning at a 13.3bb/100 pace for a total of $492 not including bonus money. For the month I am now winning at a 6.5bb/100 pace.

So the bankroll went up $524 yesterday when you put in the bonus money that I received. I have now hit an all time high for my bankroll. Here are the numbers....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 13 bankroll - $9294
Profit - $4042

I am really excited that things are progressing well. I look forward to topping the 10k mark very soon. Tonight I do not expect to play at all because I may be playing in a live tourney with some friends. But the way I have been playing, I may jump on for a little while. Good luck to everyone out there!!!

Given a 2nd chance - results from 3/9

Well today I was granted a 2nd chance thanks to the fact that the website did not allow my blog to be published this morning. I was using the blog to vent about my failures in my bid for a WSOP seat. I will not do this with my 2nd try. It is over now and I must move on. There will be many other chances to win a seat. I know that eventually I will win one.

So I did play in two tourneys last night. The double stack at Full Tilt did not treat me well. Once I had a set that lost to a rivered straight. Another time my QQ went down to AK. Overall I finished 208th out of 462. The other tourney I played in was to try and win a WSOP seat. I was crippled during the middle of the tourney when my AK lost a race against 66. I finished 37th out of 92.

Before those tourneys started I played a little 5/10. I won over $100 playing in a short amount of time. My total profit for the day including losing those entry fees was $90. Here is how the bankroll looks.....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 10 bankroll - $8736
Profit - $3484

A depressing day - results from 3/9

Man do I feel down in the dumps today. Last night we had the finals of the Bluff Poker Tour. The top 5 in the freeroll last night plus the top 5 combined point total winners (from the yearly standings + the tourney last night) move on to a 10 person SNG where the winner gets either a WSOP main event seat OR a WPT seat (winner's choice). Well I was playing well, not really putting my chips at too much of a risk when I get dealt AK. I raise up to 1000 and another guy goes allin for his last 1910 chips. I call the extra 910 chips and it turns out he has 66. Of course I do not win this race, and I am out a little while later. I shut off my computer in disgust figuring I just blew another chance to get to Vegas.

Then I log on today, and a bunch of people think I snuck in due to my combined point total. I am elated at having a 2nd chance at this. Unfortunately they were wrong. I ended up finishing one spot out of the SNG!!!! Man that hurts so bad. I don't know how I would have done in the SNG anyway, but to be so close and to fall short kills me.

So somehow I just need to pick myself back up and move on. I did play some 5/10 last night which resulted in a $90 profit for the day. So my bankroll is at a new high, but that is just not satisfying at the moment. Here are the numbers.....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 10 bankroll - $8736
Profit - $3484

Sorry for venting guys. Good luck to everyone out there!!!

What a wonderful day - results from 3/8

Boy was last night awesome!!!!!!! I finally broke through my serious MTT drought with a victory in a 180 man SNG. I ended up winning $1080. Here are some of the details....

Last night I was 40th with 45 people left in the tourney when my cards started turning around. I doubled up with JJ. Then AK actually won for me. After that I did some stealing and all of a sudden I was in 5th place. I fluctuated from 3rd through 8th place all the way down to the final table. When we got to the final 9 I was 3rd in chips. I was content to let the very aggressive chip leader knock some people out and he did just that. Then with 5 of us left I called a small raise from the bb with A5. It is just me and the chip leader. The flop comes 234. I make a mid size bet, about half the pot. He goes over the top allin and I could not hit the call button quick enough. I thought he had a mid pocket pair but it turns out he flopped top set. My straight holds up and I am the chip leader at 95k in chips. I stayed pretty tight until we got to heads up and then I flipped to a much more aggressive stance. I started of with a little smaller stack, around 125k to 145k, but after about 10 hands I won the tourney with a flush.

In addition to that victory I played a little 5/10 last night as well and I won $134 in just 83 hands. So lets look at how I am doing against the goals for March so far....

MTT (goal was ROI of 100%) - obviously this is skewed by my latest victory, but my ROI so far for the month is 614%.

$10 NL (goal was 8bb/100) - My Dad has not been on lately, but I am winning at a pace of 152bb/100 hands. The sample size is very small though (only 132 hands)

$25 NL (goal was 8bb/100) - This sample size is still small (only 365 hands) but I am winning at a pace of 26bb/100

5/10 Limit (goal was 1.5bb/100) - My biggest sample size so far (1,006 hands) and I am winning at a pace of 4.4bb/100 hands. I am most pleased by my play here.

So here is how the bankroll looks as of now.....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 9 bankroll - $8646 (a new all time high)
Profit - $3394

It is amazing how when I stopped focusing on the 100k number things starting getting better. Hopefully I can keep this going. On tap tonight is the finals of the Bluff Poker Tour (9pm at poker.com) and possibly another 180 person SNG. Good luck to everyone out there!!!!

Back to my winning ways - results from 3/7

Well last night was a short session due to my bowling night. For those of you who care about bowling I shot 181-185-164 for a lackluster 520 series. What is ridiculous is that I went 0-7 on 7 pin conversions. I am a lefty that throws a big hook and I think I am going to need to find a ball that does not move as much. We did win two out of three games and we close to within 3 points of first place.

Ok back to cards. I played two tourneys last night. One was the double stack at full tilt and the other was the 180 man SNG at pokerstars. I quickly dropped to 1700 chips (we start with 3000) at Full Tilt when my JJ ran up against K6o. I bet 120 preflop and got two callers. The flop came up 10,6,4 and then I bet 300 which one person called. The turn came up a 2 which prompted me to bet 700. The river gave him his K and the pot. Thankfully I do not go on tilt, and I am at 3900 at the first break. By the 2nd break I am at 11000 and I think I am in good shape. Unfortunately I do not get any more cards for the rest of the tourney. With the blinds at 500/1000 and me down to 3600 I push allin with A2. I get called by AJ and I get outkicked when we both get two pair. I finish 69th out of 564 and fail to money. I pushed allin there because I was going to be the big blind the very next hand and my stack would be cut in half in two more hands. Oh well.

In the 180 person SNG I started off really well and kept it going for the first two hours. I was in the top 10 pretty much throughout. The third hour just killed me. I once again went totally card dead. I stole just enough to keep my stack hovering around 10k. I limp into the money with my stack at 11k. As usual once we hit the money people get aggressive and we quickly get to the top 10. Now the money bumps up when you get to 9 people in this tourny. It is not a big bump though, and I only look at what first place pays. I am 8th in chips when I get dealt QQ with the blinds at 400/800. One guy who has been somewhat aggressive makes it 3200 to go and everyone else folds. I decide to push allin and he calls quickly. He flips over As9s so I feel pretty good until I see the flop bring two spades. The turn brings his nut flush and I am out in 10th with $43 in my virtual pocket.

I played a small session of 5/10 that resulted in a win of $135 in less than 100 hands. Overall for the day my bankroll went up $166. Here are the numbers....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 8 bankroll - $7459
Profit - $2207

Today I plan on playing another SNG and of course the double stack at 9pm tonight at full tilt. I will also play some 5/10 tonight as well at Bayou poker. Good luck to everyone out there!!!!

IONA WINS, IONA WINS!!!!!!!!!

How about those Iona Gaels?????? What an awesome victory last night. Hopefully now they do not get screwed by the NCAA tourney committee. I am rooting for a 12 seed but I figure they will get a 13 seed. I am just hoping that they do not get a 14 seed.

By the way I played last night and I sucked. I do not know if it was the IONA game drawing my focus, variance, or bad decisions. Truth be told, it was probably all three. Here are the results.

MTT - I played two 180 sngs at Pokerstars. The first one I am folding, folding, folding, until I pick up AK on the button. I raise and get one caller. The flop comes Kxx. The caller checks I bet, he raises, and I push allin. He flips over AA and I am done. I should have realized that he had me beat with the checkraise, but of course I didn't and I was out of that one early.

The 2nd tourney I make it through the first break and I have about 3500 in chips. With the blinds 100/200 I have 88 in the big blind. I raise to 800 and get one caller. The flop comes out 9s10sJs. I am holding the 8s. I decided to push allin right there and I get called and the guy flips over 1010. I am actually happy with him having a set as I am still 42% to win the hand. Of course none of my outs hit and I am out in 50th place.

5/10 limit - I just played horribly last night. I lost 23bb which does not seem like a lot but it sure sucks. I am still winning at a 2.7bb/100 pace for the month.

So overall I went in the tank roughly $280 last night. I am sure that it will be better now that I am not distracted. Here how the numbers look....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 7 bankroll - $7293
Profit - $2041

Good luck to everyone and GO IONA!!!!!!!

Results from 3/5

Boy do I love the month of March!!!!!!! For the 5th straight day I posted a winning day of at least $100. Here are the results.....

MTT - These are the most aggravating things you can do. I played in a 180 person SNG last night. I start off pretty much card dead. The only hands that I had to raise with were then reraised all-in and I just could not make the call. Finally I double up with KK and I make it through the first break. The 2nd hour starts like the 1st one did with me being card dead. I get blinded down to 1750 when I pick up AA. With the blinds 100/200 I raise to 800 and I get one caller. The flop comes Qxx and I push allin. My opponent calls with QJo. Sounds good for me doesnt it? Well the river comes a J and I am eliminated in 64th place. Oh well.

$10 NL - I did not play this at all since my Dad was not in the mood to play cards.

$25 NL - I played 134 hands at this level, winning a total of 111bb. A ridiculous pace overall. For the month I am now winning at a pace of 23bb/100 hands. It is still a very small sample though.

5/10 Limit - I played 234 hands at 5/10, winning at a pace of 5bb/100 hands. Overall for the month I am now winning at a pace of 6.9bb/100 hands.

So other than MTT, I am winning at every other game I play. For the 5 days I have won almost $700. My profit for last night was $164 overall, which includes $28 of bonus money. Tonight I will get a later start due to a board meeting that I have to go to. I will be playing in the double stack tourney at 9pm at full tilt though and I will couple that with some 5/10 action at Bayou Poker. Here is how the bankroll looks......

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 6 bankroll - $7572
Profit - $2320

If you love college basketball, and would like to see a game with great guard play that will be high scoring, you need to check out St Peter's vs IONA at 9pm on ESPN2 tonight. St. Peter's has a guard, Kee Kee Clark, who has scored over 3000 points in his career. He is the 3rd leading scorer in the nation. IONA has Steve Burtt who is the 7th leading scorer in the nation and Ricky Soliver who is a great defensive guard and no scoring slouch of his own (16.5 ppg). The two of them are the highest scoring duo in the country. IONA is tied with Florida for the 13th highest scoring offense in the country at 80.4 ppg. The winner goes to the NCAA tourney. I am an IONA grad and a huge fan obviously. Give a small conference a shot tonight and you wont be disappointed. Take care.

Results from 3/4

Well since I was busy all day with the kids, and then I was playing live poker at a friend's house at night, I did not expect to get any online play at all yesterday. I was wrong.

So I get to my friend's house and we play a small $25 entry tourney. There was only 6 of us so we do a $100/$50 split and start playing. All the players are very good, so I look forward to testing my skills.

Unfortunately I get knocked out first at about 1:15 hours into the tourney. Once I lose a flopped two pair to someone who goes runner runner straight. Another time I get crippled slowplaying two pair to a guy who has Aces (one in his hand the other on the flop) when a deadly Ace falls on the river. Then that same guy knocks me out when I push all in with 99 and he calls with his QQ. No help and I am out.

So I dont want to be the official dealer and I did bring my wife's laptop so my friend could look at it. Hmmm what to do, what to do? I know. Let me fire up PokerStars and play my league game that I am missing. It cost $10 and I finish 9th out of 18. Only the top 3 pay, so now what do I do? Well I could play on Bayou Poker without having to do an install. Ok on to the 5/10 game.

A great decision for me. I play about 45 minutes of 5/10 and win $180. The fish were out in full force. So with my bonus I end up the day with a profit of $198. My fourth straight day of $100+ profit.

So here is how the bankroll looks......

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 5 bankroll - $7408 (a new high for the year)
Profit - $2156

Good luck to everyone!!!!!!

Results from 3/3

MTT - I decided to play the $20 Pokerstars 180 person SNG. I ended up finishing 55th which did not pay (they pay the top 18). I was crippled when my TPTK with a nut flush draw went down to a guy who slowplayed a set and then rivered quads. My final hand I pushed allin with A9 vs A5s and I flopped a 9 but they guy went runner runner for a flush.

$10 NL - I did not play this at all yesterday since my Dad was not online

$25 NL - My first try here did not go great. I ended up losing $18.60 over the span of 190 hands.

5/10 Limit - Boy I am thankful for limit right now. I played 231 hands of limit and ended up winning $156.

So here are my results so far for March

MTT - Still a negative ROI. I have spent $49.50 in fees to win $16.31
$10 NL - Still winning at a 152bb/100 pace for a total of 200bb
$25 NL - I have lost at a 19.7bb/100 pace for a total of -37bb
5/10 limit - I am now winning at a 8.5bb/100 pace for a total of 34bb

So overall I had my 3rd consecutive day with a profit of over $100. I ended up winning $106 overall. Here is how the bankroll looks....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 4 bankroll - $7210
Profit - $1958

Results from March 2nd

MTT - Well I played in two MTT tourneys last night. One was a HORSE tourney that cost $5.50. I just love playing those tourneys. We had 24 people join the tourney and I finished 6th. It only paid the top 3 people though. The 2nd tourney of the night was the 9pm Double Stack on Full Tilt. I ended up finishing 39th out of 503 people to win $16.31. My final hand I was short stacked with the blinds at 800/1600 with a 200 ante. I decided to push my last 10k in with A9 but I was called by AK. No magic for me and I was out. I still had a blast though, and I will keep playing those tourneys.

$10NL - I had about 45 minutes to kill before my tourneys so I decided to join my Dad again at the tables. I was card dead for the entire time though, and I finished winning a whopping 18 cents!!!!!

$25NL - I did not play these tables for the 2nd straight night.

5/10 Limit - In the same 45 minutes that I played the $10 NL table I decided to play limit. I did very well, winning $112 in that short amount of time.

So here is where I stand in each game.

MTT - So far I have a negative ROI ($27.50 spent / $16.31 winnings) but it is early
$10NL - I am up 200bb overall, winning at a 152bb/100 hand clip. Again it is early
$25NL - I have not played yet this month
5/10 Limit - I am up 18.4 bb overall, winning at a 10.8 bb/100 clip. Still early

So with some limited bonus being cleared, my profit for the day was $121. Here is how the bankroll looks......

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 3 bankroll - $7104
Profit - $1752

Good luck to everyone out on the felt.

Results from March 1st

Well we are going to break up the results each day into four different sections from here on out. They are...

MTT (the goal is 100% ROI)
$10 NL Tables (the goal is 8bb/100) This is the game I play with my Dad
$25 NL Tables (the goal is 8bb/100) I play on Full Tilt
5/10 limit on Bayou Poker

MTT - I played the double stack tourney on Full Tilt last night at 9pm. I finished 371 out of 583. I was doing well until my AA ran up against the powerhouse that is K8. My opponent flops two pair and I am out.

$10 NL - I played some with my Dad on Royal Vegas Poker. Man I have forgotten how bad these players are. I won $40 in 99 hands for a rate of 201bb/100. I am sure that is sustainable, lol.

$25 NL - I did not play this last night

5/10 limit - I played 100 hands of this last night, winning $69 in the process. So I am off to a 6.9bb/100 pace. Again this will not be sustainable.

So overall the bankroll went up $100. Not bad considering I got home late and could not play long. Here are the bankroll numbers.....

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 2 bankroll - $6983
Profit - $1731

I am definitely going to play the double stack tourney again at 9pm at Full Tilt. I believe this is one of the best structures out there. Come check it out. Take care and good luck.

A reality check - February recap

This is a hard post for me to write. But I must be honest with myself if I am ever going to improve. Here it is....

I am not going to hit 100k in 2006.

February was my worst month in my 14 month online career. My bankroll went up $23 in one month. That is beyond sad. I am essentially a break even player in my 5/10 experiment so far. I will keep focusing at the 5/10 game because I truly think I can beat it. That being said, I do not want to kid myself either. Over the last two months my bankroll has grown $1600. Last year I would have been thrilled with this amount, but obviously that pace is not going to get me over 15k.

So what to do? Give up? Close down the blog and go into hiding?

HELL NO!!!!!!

But I will be realistic. My goals for the month of March and any subsequent months are going to change. Here are the goals for the Month of March.....

5/10 Limit goals - 1.5bb/100 hands
$25 NL goals - 6bb/100 hands
MTT goals - 100% ROI

I will continue to post my bankroll information as well.

One other thing. I will get my bankroll to 100k and beyond. This is not just talk. This is a fact. Will it be by the end of 2006? Right now I would have to say no. But it can and will be done. I may be the only one reading this blog by the time I make it, but I will make it.

Here are my current numbers...

Jan 1 bankroll - $5252
Mar 1 bankroll - $6883
Profit - $1631

Good luck to everyone out there. March will be a much better month!!!!