Billinga's Race to 100k

A try that failed miserably

2007-05-03T08:13:00.000-04:00

Well last night I attempted to give 5/10 NL a shot again. I wanted to see if my great play over the past month and a half would carry over. I decided that I would set aside a couple of buyins to see what would happen. What happened was that I lost both buyins. Why did I lose? Several reasons actually. The biggest reason was that I forced the action instead of being patient early on. That made my image at the table a poor one and then any moves that I tried to make were looked up. That and a mixture of a couple of cooler hands caused a bad downturn.

I do not regret giving 5/10 a shot. I will try it again in a month or so, especially if I continue to do well. I do regret not following the same successful path that helped me so far. At least I recognize what I did wrong and hopefully I will avoid that in the future.

I did have another final table in my 180 man SNG challenge with my friends over at Bluff. Unfortunately I finished 6th when I went allin on an overpair and was called by A6 and lost to a runner runner flush. I am 2nd out of the 7 in this contest, which is where I think I will finish when the month is over. My buddy Jeremy is a solid player who is much more determined to win this thing than I am. I am predicting that when this is all over he has play at least 5 times the amount of 180s that I will. With that big of a sample his top 10 finishes for the month should be higher than mine. Though I do have two final tables out of 7 tries so far.

So for the month I am down about $900. I am not too worried about that number as I am sure it will be erased with some solid play at 2/4 and 3/6. Best of luck out there to all of you!!!

Hello

2007-05-02T08:04:00.000-04:00

Many of you have been asking about me as of late. I am sorry that I have not been posting. Here is an update of what has happened the last couple of months.

First of all I did not go broke, which is what many people may have thought. I did create a severe challenge for myself by lending a family member a considerable portion of my bankroll. I do not regret that decision, though it did severely crush my chances at some goals that I had for the year. That was further complicated by a horrible February that saw by bankroll get even more depleted. I kept dropping down in limits and the losing kept continuing. I eventually moved all the way down to .25/.50 NL which was a far drop from 5/10, but I was determined not to go broke.

Then March came along and I posted a winning month again, to the tune of 5k. I started getting my confidence back right before heading to a live trip to Tunica. I had a great time with some of my friends from the bluff forum, and I profited $700 after expenses. It is always great when you can spend some time with your buddies playing poker and winning to boot. I have some very good stories about that time and I will sprinkle them in as time permits.

When I got back from my Tunica trip I made the best decision that I have made in my short poker career. I joined pokerxfactor.com. This site is great!!!!! I have been studying the videos (there are tons of them) and trying to read the forums and get involved as much as possible. All the videos are great learning tools, but Rizen's cash game videos are just awesome. They have taught me some new things and just helped validate things that I thought I knew. Armed with all this information I attacked the cash games during the month of April and posted an 11k month!!!!!! I will post a link to pokerxfactor so you can check it out.

So for May I am looking to put together my 3rd straight solid month and my goal is to post back to back 10k+ months. I also joined a 180 man SNG contest with my buddies on the Bluff forum, so you will see me in the $4.40 180 man SNGs. I played two last night finishing 36th and 9th. I also posted another solid day at the cash games, and my overall profit for the night was $1134.

So where am I playing??? You can find me at the 2/4 games on VIP and the 2/4 or 3/6 games at Full Tilt. Actually last night I joined a 3/6 game on Full Tilt and who do I find at the table but Rizen. I was only there for about 30-45 minutes and showed a $75 profit there. It was fun getting to play against him though.

Ok enough of me rattling on. Probably nobody will be reading this anyway but I thought I would at least post what has been going on since so many of you have been sending me posts asking "what is up?". I will do my best to keep this updated so you can follow along again if you so desire.

Results from 1/26-1/28

2007-01-29T09:21:00.000-05:00

It was a great weekend for cash game poker, yet a horrible weekend for MTT poker. Overall for the weekend I won $3300 which brings the bankroll to a new alltime high of 28.6k. I am extremely happy about that despite the fact that I did not cash in any tourneys this weekend. I had a couple of bubble finishes and two heartbreaking bad beats in the Full Tilt 50k tourneys. Here are a couple of interesting hands.

Hand 1 - I was playing at the 4/8 NL deep stack table. The max buyin for this table is $1600. I bought in for the max and I had about $2000 when this hand shows up. I raise from middle position with 7d6d to $30. Everyone folds to the big blind who calls. The flop comes out Ks3h5h and the big blind checks. I bet $60 trying to take down the pot right there, but the big blind calls. The turn is a 4d, and the bb checks and I bet $120. The bb calls. The river is a 10s and the bb checks again. Now I have the nuts and I want to figure what he will call. I bet $300 into the pot and he reraises me allin. I call instantly and win a $3800 pot. He shows K10 for top two pair.

Hand 2 - I am playing againt David Chiu at a 5/10 table. I raise with 88 and I am reraised by David who is in the sb. I know he plays aggressive preflop so I call. The flop comes 832 rainbow. David bets $80 and I just call. The turn is a 10 and David bets out $150. I reraise allin for another $500 and David calls. He shows QQ to my set. The river comes a Q and David escapes my trap.

Hand 3 - I have KQs and I raise from late position. I was reraised by someone holding AQ and I called. The flop comes 910J rainbow and I flat called the bb bet. The next card was an 8. The bb bet out $150 and I reraised allin hoping the guy had a Q. He calls my allin bet and shows AQ. The river comes up a K and I lose.

I was happy that hands 2&3 did not put me on tilt. I kept playing my game and ended with a winning session.

Well that is all for now. Best of luck out on the felt.

Results from 1/25

2007-01-25T09:31:00.000-05:00

Well yesterday went much better for me. I four tabled 1/2 and 2/4 NL on Full Tilt and ended up winning almost $1100. That brings the bankroll back to 25.3k.

What did I do differently from the night before? I did attempt less semibluffs. Unless I had a huge draw I tried to keep the pots small. I paid much more attention to see where the raises were coming from before I reacted. Sometimes I do not do that when I am playing multiple tables. This time I made sure that I took the time needed.

So today we will be at it again. Maybe I can finally turn a profit this month besides my rakeback payment. Best of luck to everyone out there.

Results from 1/23

2007-01-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

I took several steps backward yesterday. My cash game run was horrible. Six times I flopped top pair/nut flush draw. I lost all six. Once I flopped aces full when the other guy flopped quads. It was just a sick run of cards. Now I will say that I probably semi-bluffed way too often considering the run that I was on. My table image was probably a touch too reckless and thus I did not get the laydowns I needed, nor did I get the draws that I was betting.

I also suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the $5 rebuy. I ended up bubbling in a tourney that had 1900 people in it. I had a better than average stack the entire time when I get QQ in the big blind. The button did a standard raise and the sb called. I go allin over the top which was a rather big reraise. The button called and the sb folded, but the button turns over KK and I am out just short of the money. If I win that hand I would be in the top 10 in chips. Of course I always play to win, which hurt me in this situation.

So for the day I dropped 2k and that puts the bankroll at 24.3k. I went to bed early since I just did not have a good feeling at the table. Hopefully I can turn it around tonight.

Another up and down day

2007-01-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

Well last night I played a ton of tourneys and some cash games. The tourneys were aggravating to say the least. I bubbled out of two of them and did not cash in any of the five that I played. The most heartbreaking was the $10 rebuy on Stars. I finished 65 out of 795, when the top 63 paid out. I was always about the average chip stack until two bad beats and one horrible call shortstacked me.

The good news is that I won about $600 in my cash games at Full Tilt. The profit for the day was $485 overall, which brings the bankroll to a little over 26.3k. I decided that come February I will be playing in the FTOPS on Full Tilt. Most of the buyins are in the $200-$300 range, and as long as I continue to do well I will enter those.

Anyway best of luck everyone. I will post tomorrow. Take care.

Weekend Update

2007-01-22T13:04:00.000-05:00

Well this weekend was good for me in a card sense, but bad for me otherwise. I hurt my back in a interesting little story. For those of you that do not know, I am a husband and father of two kids. Well on Saturday I am taking a shower when I hear screaming downstairs. This is not my wife yelling at the kids because they are not listening. This is screaming as if there is an intruder or something. Finally I hear my wife yelling, "get Daddy, go get Daddy now". Well I jump out of the shower, hit the tile floor and slip and fall. I get up, and rush to get pants on, and then run downstairs. I see my 5 year old daughter standing on a chair screaming, my 7 year old son crying, and my wife yelling. I also see one of my Iridescent sharks laying on floor. He is about 9 inches long and about 2 to 3 inches thick. His fin is caught in the rug. I finally get him unhooked and put him back in the tank. He is fine. By the next day I cannot move due to severe back pain. I am on painkillers and I am seeing the doctor today.

On the poker front, I won $1600 this weekend. Most came from cash games, though I did cash in both halves of the Full Tilt daily double last night. I almost won "best finish" which would have been worth $420.

So the bankroll is at 25.8k now. I will play a few more tourneys tonight provided that the painkillers do not put me to sleep. Best of luck to all of you out there.

1/18 update

2007-01-19T10:06:00.000-05:00

Well last night was an aggravating one for me. I bubbled out of two MTT when I put my chips in with the best hand. Now I play to win, so I do not question the decisions that I made, but it would be nice to win with the best hand in a key pot every now and then.

The good thing is that my cash game more than made up for it. After tourney fees and such the profit for the day was a little over $300 which brought the bankroll to 24.2k.

I am looking to attempt a few $100+ MTT a week. I am hoping to start that tonight after my son's basketball game. We will see how they go.

Best of luck to everyone out there.

Moving forward slowly

2007-01-18T14:15:00.000-05:00

Well after the bad start of the year I have been moving up very slowly. Part of that is due to tightening the play, and part of it is due to bad fortune in some tourneys. The good news is that it is moving in the right direction though. I am at 23.9k overall, and I will continue to play a couple of cash games and tourneys each night.

I have played the Daily Double tourneys on Full Tilt. If you have not played these tourneys you should go check them out. They have a progressive jackpot that pays out a % for each person that cashes in both tourneys. The tourney structure is pretty good as well and they get 1000+ people for each one. It is worth a look.

Best of luck to everyone out there.

Results from the last couple of days

2007-01-16T10:57:00.000-05:00

Well this past weekend was good to me, as was Monday. I have placed in the money in four tourneys over the last couple of days, and the cash games have been treating me well. I have succeeded in tightening up my play, and a session consists of one or two 1/2 NL games, a 2/4 NL game, and then some tourneys. I usually have four tables up at once now, and I feel very comfortable with that amount. Of course I do not chat as much as I used to via ICQ, but I can concentrate, play, and win on four tables at once.

Overall the bankroll is at 23.5k now. I still have a way to go in order to make this month profitable, but I am back in the right direction.

Tonight is bowling night, so play will be limited. I will try and post the results tomorrow (both bowling and poker).

Take care and good luck.

Results from last night 1/10

2007-01-11T15:38:00.000-05:00

Well I played two tourneys and then I four tabled 1/2 NL for a couple of hours. I did not cash in the two tourneys, but I did finish up $100 overall for the day. I took a couple of wicked beats, and I still made two questionable calls, which bothered me more than the beats. I would like to have a session where I make all the right plays, regardless of the results. When I can put enough of those days together, the bankroll will grow.

So $100 for a day does not sound like a lot, but it is not bad for less than 3 hours of work. I did notice that four tabling kept me playing much tighter though which was a good thing. If I could resize the tables I would have no problem doing that in the future. I will do it for a couple of hours again tonight after I finish a tourney or two.

Some changes made to stop the bleeding

2007-01-10T08:10:00.000-05:00

Well Monday was yet another bad day of cash game play. Yes I am running poorly, but I am also making some poor decisions that are killing me. Here is an example of just one...

One limper comes in and I have KQ in the small blind. I limp in and the bb just calls. The flop comes KQ10. I check, the bb bets $10 into a $12 pot, the limper calls, and I raise it up to $50. The bb folds and then the limper pushes allin for another $150. Now I know top two pair looks good, but it is obvious that I am beat and drawing to four outs more than likely. He could have the other two kings or queens and slowplayed preflop, but more than likely he has AJ or J9s. So now I have a decision to call $150 to try and win a $272 pot. I should fold easily, but I dont. He of course flips over AJ and I do not suck out, and lose the pot. I deserve to lose my money there. The play is just horrible.

So with bad luck and bad plays comes terrible results. The bankroll is sitting at 21.7k, and now I have to make some changes. So I am going to drop down to 1/2 NL, and I am going to tighten up the game a bit. When I can show myself that I am making the right decisions and start winning again, I will move back up.

In the meantime, I will continue to play and learn. Best of luck to all of you. Take care.

A disaster of a weekend

2007-01-08T16:18:00.000-05:00

Man this poker game is rough. Every time I take a step or two forward, I take five or six back. I lost buyin after buyin playing 2/4 and 3/6 the last two days. I could go through all the hands, but they would be too painful. I would say 80% of my losses was variance, and maybe 20% was due to bad play. The problem is that is way too much due to bad play. My bad plays were mostly in the form of calls when I felt I was beat. I really need to stop that.

Also I am starting to find that most of my losses are coming on the weekends, especially during the day. I have to make a concentrated effort not to play cash games during the day. I know that I have said this before, but I keep repeating this process. I am going to just play tourneys during that time from now on.

So the bankroll fell to 23.5k. I told you it was bad. The good news is that I do well at night, and that is all I can play this week. I hope to post a great report tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Best of luck to all of you!!!

1/1 and 1/2 results

2007-01-03T16:23:00.000-05:00

I played some on 1/1 and won about $850 playing a couple of tourneys and some cash games. Most of the profit came from my 2/4 NL game and my 1/2 PLO8 game that I have started to play.

Last night things were going well when disaster struck. I lost a buyin when I flopped top set and put a guy allin. He called with a flush draw, not even the nut flush draw. When he hit that cost me about 300 of the 500 that I was up. I lost about 50 in just general play over the next hour and then I quit for the night.

So overall for the two days I was up $1000, and that put me at 27k overall. The year is off to a good start, but I know not to get too caught up in quick starts. Just play solid poker and the bankroll will grow eventually.

The good news is that I found out that I cleared over $900 in rake for the month of December which will make my $1000 monthly payment for home improvement projects painless. I hope to continue that run with my rakeback. If I can keep it at least in the $800-$1000 range then I do not have to worry about withdrawing the $1000 for the projects.

Anyway I will be playing some more 2/4 NL and 1/2 PLO8 as well as a tourney or two. I will update again tomorrow. Take care.

Year in review

2007-01-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

Well 2006 is finally over. The bankroll finished at 26k with my $350 win last night. No it is not 100k. It is not even close. With the amount that I took out I would have been in the low 30s, which is still not in shouting distance of 100k. So was the year a success???

I think so. First of all it was a profitable year. Sure I could have gotten a part time job that could have paid nearly as much, but that is not the point. I took a hobby that I enjoy, and earned a pretty sizable profit from it.

So what did I learn??? Plenty. I learned and practiced good bankroll management, I learned some other games like HORSE and Omaha, I learned many tournament and cash game strategies. I definitely grew as a player.

So what are the goals of 2007? Glad you asked. I posted them in the Bluff Magazine Forum. Here they are....

1) Have a winning year
2) Bring the bankroll up to 100k (since I failed miserably at it this year)
3) Keep improving
4) Try and get to Vegas
5) Play in the big tourneys on a regular basis (and actually cash/win)
6) Get enough Full Tilt points for that plasma TV

Obviously number 3 & 4 are the easiest to attain. Those are completely in my control. The others are attainable, but are more difficult. If I hit number 2, then I will hit the rest.

Well I need to get started if I am going to hit any of these goals. Happy New Year to all of you. I hope you all hit all of your goals for 2007.

My big day!!!!!

2006-12-31T16:13:00.000-05:00

Well it started with me wanting to watch my friend play in the nightly $150 tourney on Pokerstars. Since I had the software open anyway I started to look for a tourney that I could play. I saw a $20 rebuy PLO tourney and thought to myself that I have been doing well in PLO so why not. I threw in $42 for the entry fee plus a rebuy so that I could start with a double stack. In the first 15 minutes I doubled up with the nut flush. I then kept winning small to medium pots and I finished the rebuy period 7th in chips. For the rest of the tourney I was able to stay within the top 11 in chips (18 got paid). The whole 2nd hour I was in the tourney with legggggggy, and he was the only player that I knew.

A key hand that vaulted me to the final table was one that I had AKQJ double suited and looked at a flop of 992. The guy bet about 18k and I called. The turn brought a 5 and he bet 12k and I called again. The river brought a 9 and now he bet 6k. I am thinking he does not have a 9, but he could have had the 2 and now he cannot use it. I am thinking that my AK is still good, so I call. Sure enough he was bluffing and my AK won the pot. That gave me 100k in chips and I never fell below that amount again.

Once I was at the final table I just kept playing solid poker. One guy kept eliminating people and soon I was heads up as a 2-1 dog into the third break. I did not ask for a chop because I thought that I could beat this guy even though I was a dog. Sure enough the first hand I double up with AAxx against his KKxx. After about 6 hands or so we are done and I win first place for $2,633.50 which is my largest tourney win to date!!!!

As for my friend? He busted 3 out of of the money in the tourney when he pushed with AQ against 77. He lost the race and bubbled out of the tourney. I probably would have coasted into the money, but he plays to win, which is why he has chopped the tourney twice in the last month for almost 50k in winnings.

Anyway the bankroll is now up to 25.6k overall. I am going to play a little today since the wife is sick and we had to cancel our plans. I hope that all of you have a happy and healthy New Year.

Results from 12/27

2006-12-28T08:33:00.000-05:00

Well after taking a bit of a dip again on Tuesday, I was confident that I was going to turn it around. With about an hour to go in my session I was doing just that, winning about $400. Then I lost a hand that I played rather poorly. I had QQ and one guy made a standard raise from the sb and I called. The flop is all rags and he bets $20 and I call. The turn is another rag and he bets $40 and I call. The river is a J and he bets $75 and I call. He flips over KK and takes the pot. Now if I reraise him on the flop and he comes back at me then I know he is strong and I can possibly lay this down and save myself some money. Instead I just called my way into losing this pot. Another hand I had 7s and the flop comes out all rags and the guy bets and I call. The turn is a K and I check and he checks. The flop is an ace and I bet out $75 and he calls with 88 and wins. After all that I end up leaving up $100 for the night and the bankroll stands at 22.5k overall.

Ben posted yesterday about not pressing to get this back to 25k and I agree with him. Like I have said earlier, if I did not take out any money at all I would be at 30k. I am just going to try and play a solid game and the results will be what they will be.

Best of luck to everyone out there. I am off to an all day planning session at work. Who the hell schedules an all day planning session on the 28th of December. Oh well....

Reports from a slumping player

2006-12-26T10:38:00.000-05:00

First of all I hope that all of you had a Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2007.

After taking out some more money for Christmas gifts for the wife, I sat down to play some poker. I lost 2k over the weekend playing mostly cash games. In 20 minutes I lost 1000 of it. Once allin with AA against KK, the other allin with AA vs 89o. Very heartbreaking. Looking back there are a couple of mistakes I made in some calls when I knew I was beat, but the majority of the losses came on hands that just did not hold up. Of course that will change.

So the bankroll is still just north of 23k overall. My goal is to get back that 2k and finish the year at 25k. That means that I would have almost quintupled my bankroll not counting all the money I cashed out. That to me would be a successful campaign.

So I am out to play solid poker and to make that happen. Best of luck to all of you out there.

Man that hurts!!!!!!

2006-12-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

I played and bubbled in the 35k guarantee ($163 entry) last night at Full Tilt. I finished 40th (top 36 get paid) when I pushed allin in mid position with JJ and I was called on the button by a guy holding 88. An 8 on the turn did me in. I pushed because I had an "M" of 5 and I wanted to win rather than just cash. If my hand holds up I would be out of the danger zone and would have cashed pretty easily.

Fortunately I did win over $700 in my 8/16 HORSE game. For the day the profit was just about $600, which puts the bankroll at 25.5k.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a great holiday season. Best of luck to all of you.

Results from 12/20

2006-12-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

Well I was able to play more last night, and I was able to continue my winning ways. I played some 2/4 NL and some 8/16 HORSE. I also played in the Omaha deepstack tourney on FT. The cash games netted me a tidy profit of $700. There were only a couple of key hands. One was my AA vs QQ. The flop came out Qxx but the turn was a beautiful A to let me double up. About 30 minutes later I limped in with 66 (my favorite hand), and the bb raised to $16 and I called. The flop comes out 6,3,8 and I slowplayed my set until the guy put all his money in with his AA on the turn. He did not get any help and I won that hand as well.

In the tourney I finished 12th out of 195. That makes my 2nd top 15 finish in that tourney this week. Twice I was rivered to ruin what would have been a nice final table finish. I still earned $70 for the 12th place standing.

So the profit for the night was about $750, which brought the bankroll over 24.9K. Hopefully we can keep the trend going tonight. I am also 1-0 in my bowl pool and rooting for Oregon +5.5 tonite against BYU. Best of luck everyone.

A very short session

2006-12-20T08:28:00.000-05:00

We had our last week of bowling last night, so we had our meeting at the end to give out prizes. My team finished tied for 7th out of 15 teams. At the midpoint of the season we were 14th, so this was a good run at the end. I believe we will be much better when we start up on January 9th.

So by the time I got home it was about 10:30pm. Since I had to be at work by 7:30 this morning, I could not play much. I did pick up a huge hand when I won with AA vs QQ that really helped make the short session valuable. I won about $700 in an hour, and when you add some modest rakeback to the equation, it ups the bankroll to 24.2k.

Tonight I am looking to play more. Hopefully we can put a couple of back to back profitable sessions together.

You ever have one of those days....

2006-12-19T10:56:00.000-05:00

When you just cannot win? I had one of those days. Here are four examples.....

2/4 NL hand and I have A10s in the bb. The button raises to $14 and I call. The flop comes out AQ10 all diamonds. I check and the button bets $25. I figure he could have AK and is feeling me out, though he could have AQ or maybe just a draw. I decide to find out right away by putting him allin. It now costs him $200 to win a pot of $290. He calls and flips over JJ with one of the Jacks being a diamond. He hits the King of diamonds on the turn for a Royal Flush. Then he tells me that he had a "feeling" and that he normally does not call off all his chips on a draw. Now I guess I could have just flat called the flop bet and take a card off or just raise him only $50 instead of going allin. What would you do????

Next hand I would not have played any differently. I have 77 in late position and limp in. The sb makes it $14 and the bb and I call. The flop comes out AA7. Woohoo a boat. The sb bets $30 and the bb calls. I go allin for $500 figuring one of these guys has to have AK and will call. The sb calls instantly and the bb folds. The sb flips over AK and I show my boat. Turn is a 4. River is a 4 and I am out a ton of money.

Now I move to my 8/16 HORSE game and we are in the 7 card hi/low portion. After 5 cards I have 7642A and all of them are clubs. We cap the turn for $64 each with one guy having a pair on board and the other guy only having two cards below a queen. One guy catches the case ace for aces full (all three cards are aces) and the other guy catches a 7 for a 75432 low and instead of scooping I am out on both sides.

So I shut off all my cash games and concentrate on my Omaha deepstack tourney on Full Tilt. With 15 people left (out of 198, 18 cashed) I am 8th in chips. I get 10h10cKsQs and I raise. One guy calls me. The flop comes 10dAs4s and I make a pot sized bet, get raised, and then I go allin. He has Ad4c5dKc. Turn is a diamond and the river is a diamond and I am out in 15th place.

So remarkably I did not destroy my laptop, nor did I curse or kick the family dog. I just shut the day down losing $500 which makes the bankroll at 23.3k. Today has to be a better day.

That is all for now. Best of luck out there to all of you.

Update from the last couple of days

2006-12-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

Well I have not been feeling well as of lately, which has caused me not to post. I had the flu most of last week, but I did play some. I have been trying my best to multitable with three tables at once, two 2/4 NL tables and one 8/16 HORSE table. This will enable me to maximize rakeback for myself on Full Tilt, while not putting my bankroll in jeopardy. I have done that successfully the last four days, winning $3000 overall to put my bankroll at 23.8k. I am also expecting a rakeback payment from Full Tilt which will put me over 24k. I will keep everyone posted on my progress.

Best of luck to everyone out there.

Update from 12/11

2006-12-12T08:35:00.000-05:00

Last night sure was not fun. I was having a bad case of "riveritis". I was playing 8/16 HORSE and 1/2 PL HA and man I was getting absolutely screwed. A couple of hands to demonstrate this was getting Queens full after five cards on 7 card stud only to have a guy river the case ace for aces full after we were betting the entire way. Then losing back to back hands in Razz, one with 7532A to a guy who rivers a 7432A and then losing with 6532A to a guy who rivers the nut low.

So overall I dropped about $600 which puts me at 20.8k. I cannot worry too much about it because I am sure anyone would have lost money with those kinds of hands. There was a hand or two that I have played poorly, but that is about it. You just need to pick yourself up and just move on. Hopefully today is a much better day.

As for the hand that I posted yesterday, I ended up making the call and here is why. I am figuring that if he makes the move with 88-KK, I am a 2-1 dog, but if he is making this move with KQs,QJs, or KJs and I am a 55-45 favorite. I figure if you average the two of these then the 1.5 or 1.6-1 odds I am getting are about right. I made the call and he shows KJs and my ace held up and I won. That shows how putting someone on a range of hands will help you make a much better decision.

Weekend Update

2006-12-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

Well I first would like to congratulate my buddy Drew for chopping headsup in the $150 Pokerstars tourney on Friday night for 20.5k!!!!!! This guy is an awesome tourney player who needs to play in more of these level of events.

Now for me I did play a little online and some live with my friends. Online I have been sticking with the 8/16 HORSE game and the 2/4 PL HA game on Full Tilt. I won about $500 for the weekend again which puts me 21.5k overall.

We had a single table $25 tourney on Saturday night which I finished 2nd in for $75. I also won some money in the cash game that we had as well. We always have a good time even though we do not play for alot of money.

There is one hand I want to ask the readers about. We have four players left (three get paid), and I am 2nd in chips with 21k. The blinds are 200/400 with a 50 ante and I make it 1500 to go UTG with Ac5c. The button folds, the small blind goes allin for 7500 total and the bb folds. It is now 6000 more to me to win a pot of 9600. The guy making this play is probably an 8 on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being tight but he is capable of making a play when shortstacked. What do you do???? I will let you know what I did and the result tomorrow.

Take care and best of luck to you.

I am back!!!!!!

2006-12-08T11:37:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long time away everyone. As some of you know, I was on vacation for two weeks with my family, and I did not have much time online during that period. I am back now and ready to play some poker once again.

I did make some changes regarding bankroll while I was away though. I used some of my bankroll for the vacation, and then I took some more out to buy my parents a TV for their anniversary. I am also taking out some for my wife's Christmas presents.

I also decided that I will take out 1k a month to put aside to finish the basement, and do some other house projects. Rather than wait and take out some all at once, I am going to take out a little every month.

So where does all that taking out put me??? Well before today I am still right around 21k. Not bad considering all that I have spent in the past month. I have been calculating and I would have been around 28-30k had I left everything alone. But I decided that I did not want to play cards just to play cards. I want to be able to give something back to my family who gives me all of my moral support. That is what I intend to do.

On the good news front... have you checked out Full Tilt lately??? They have added a mixed games tab that is just awesome. They have HORSE and HOSE and my new favorite, PL HA which is a PL HE and a PLO mix. I love that game.

So now I will be playing mostly the mix games for a while. I won $500 last night playing the PL HA game, and I will continue to give it a shot.

Anyway thanks for all the concerns. I am not broke yet, and I will keep you better up to date on my progress. Best of luck to all of you out there!!!!!

Well I gave it a shot

2006-11-13T15:38:00.000-05:00

I tried to play some 5/10 NL sessions this past weekend as a preview to when I will play them permanently. I thought I played the sessions very well, even though I finished down two buyins. There were a ton of hands that I just got sucked out on after I put someone allin after the flop or turn. Those things will happen, and it did not impact my play, which is a good thing.

So I did lose 2k for the weekend which puts me at 24.9k overall. I will attempt the 5/10 NL game again when I get to 40k-45k. I may do it as a test for a session or two when I jump over 30k, we shall see. I think it is good for you to test something out before going all the way into that new limit. The money did not impact my decisions, and I thought I played aggressively enough to be a winning player. Truth be told a different river or two and I would be at 30k instead. Oh well.

So tonight it is back to 2/4 NL. I will report again tomorrow. Best of luck to all of you.

Winning money never felt so bad!!!!!!!

2006-11-10T10:14:00.000-05:00

Well lately I have been looking at the deep stack tourneys on Full Tilt. I really like the structure of those tourneys. I saw that they had a 35k guarantee on at 8pm last night, and I promised myself that if I won $150 playing on UB, that I would "reinvest" and enter that tourney. So in 25 minutes of 1/2 I win the $150 and I enter the Full Tilt 35k. We end up with a prizepool of 54k, and when I get to my seat who do I see to my left???? Todd Arnold (NSXT2) owner of realpokertraining.com. Since Full Tilt wont give me my money back I sit down and play. To make a looooong story short, I survive a suckout from Todd when I get him allin on the turn with his flush draw and he hits on the river. I am down under 2k in chips (we started with 3K), but I play solid poker. Somewhere in the 3rd hour I grab the chip lead, and I stay in the top 10 the rest of the way. After five hours we are at the final table of 9 people. 9th gets 1k, 1st gets 13.5k. We lose one person and then disaster strikes. I get A10 in late position and I raise up the 3k/6k blinds to 25k. The button folds, the sb calls, and the bb folds. The flop comes A86. The sb checks, and I bet out 45k and then he raises me allin. Now it costs me like 75k to win a 300k pot and I call (BIG MISTAKE). He flips over AQ and the turn brings a Queen to leave me drawing dead. If I put him on a higher ace I have to fold in that position. I was thinking he could be protecting KK or QQ, but that was dumb. So I finish 8th for $1353, my best MTT cash ever.

So I did not sleep the rest of the night. With the win my bankroll jumps to 27k. Today and tomorrow play will be VERY limited as we have family stuff to do. Sunday I should be back though. Good luck to everyone out there.

Results from 11/6

2006-11-07T08:59:00.000-05:00

Well I did get to play last night. Boy was it aggravating though. I played in the PL Omaha Deep Stack tourney on Full Tilt last night. The only other time I have played this tourney I finished in 13th. Last night I finished 8th when I get all my money in with my opponent completely dominated. The only way he could win was to hit runner runner for a straight or hit the case Jack for a set. Also none of the cards could be a club or I would win with the nut flush. Of course he goes runner runner on me to knock me out. I did win $128, but I would have been in 2nd place had I won the hand. Oh well.

I did win some money on the cash game as well. Overall for the night my profit was about $400, which edges the bankroll over 26k. I feel like the worst is behind me now, but I need to keep focused on the cash games. I really want to be able to make the move to 5/10 NL by the end of the year and I will need to be at 40k minimum to feel comfortable.

Tunica trip report

2006-11-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

Well I am finally back from my four day trip to Tunica. Me and a buddy of mine stayed at the Gold Strike casino in Tunica for 3 full days of poker. Of all the poker rooms in Tunica, the Gold Strike is my favorite. They really treat the poker players great, and you feel like it is more of a community than in other places. Plus the room has a good layout and it is away from the rest of the casino. There are plenty of TVs to watch, and the food is pretty good as well. Throw in a solid poker room rate of $25 during the week and $35 during Friday/Saturday plus some food comps and you are sure to have a good time.

So I played some of the cash games on Thursday and did pretty well for myself. I was up about $650 playing 1/2 NL when the tourney was going to start. The tourney was a $100+$25 buyin with $1000 added to the prize pool, and we had 68 entrants. They run it on Mondays and Thursdays. You start with 4000 in chips and 20 minute levels with the first level being 25/25. That is a great structure for a live casino, easily the best in Tunica. I finished 3rd in the tourney which netted me nearly $700 plus a $100 tourney voucher that I sold later in the weekend. The tourney lasted almost six hours!!!! After that it was time to eat something before I went to bed with my $1200 profit.

Friday I was back and played for 17 hours (I told you that I love this poker room). Unfortunately things did not go my way. First I get allin preflop with KK vs AK vs QQ. The pot is about $800. A queen on the flop and then quads on the turn did me in. An hour or so later I pick up 99 and call a $12 raise from the small blind. The flop comes 932 with two spades. I check and the raiser bets $40. I make it $140 to go, hoping to take it down right there. He reraises me allin and I call knowing he has a flush draw. Of course he flips over the AsKs and then the 5s comes on the turn. There is no help on the river and I am down another buyin of $300. To make a long story short, I go to bed up $500 for the trip.

Saturday is a new day for me, and I make a nice comeback. My first big hand comes when I call with 56o for $10 from the button after there is 5 limpers. The flop comes As4c7h. The raiser makes it $20 to call and three of us do just that. The next card is a most beautiful 3h. The raiser bets $40 and one guy raises to $100. I call and the raiser then goes allin for another $275. The guy who made it $100 folds and I call telling him that I am ahead but I am sure he has a good draw. I show him the nuts and he flips over his Ah4h for two pair and the nut flush draw. A beautiful Qs comes out and I am home free.

Another huge hand happens much later that night when I raise with KQs and I get two callers, one of them being my buddy who plays somewhat tight. The flop comes AAK and I check, the middle guy checks, and my buddy makes it $20 to go. I fold and the other guy calls. The next card is a 3 and the guy bets $50 to my buddy who calls. The river is a 2 and the guy bets $50 again and my buddy goes allin for $225. The guy goes into the tank for a long time before calling my buddy with A6. I thought for sure my buddy won this huge pot, but he flips over A4 for the losing hand. It was his last hand of the night.

My last hand for the weekend was a great one. I call a $12 raise with KcQc. There is one other caller as well. The flop comes 10cJc2s. The original bettor bets $30 and we both calls. The next card is a 3d and the guys bets $50 and again we both call. The river is a beautiful 9h. The bettor bets out $50 more and I go allin for another $175. He thinks a long time on this one and says that he believes that I missed my flush draw. I finally tell him that he is right that I missed my flush draw. He then says that he is going to call with his top two pair then. I casually flip over my two cards and tell him that lucky for me that I had a straight flush draw and that I rivered the nuts. He goes nuts as I call for some chip trays and end the weekend with that hand.

So overall for the weekend I was up $1403 including all expenses. I then get home to play with the kids and after they go to bed I pick up another $500 playing on Full Tilt to bring the bankroll up to 25.6k overall.

Best of luck to anyone that actually reads this whole post. I will be back again tomorrow.

Results from the weekend

2006-10-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

It was a great weekend overall. We had a Bluff Magazine forum gathering this weekend and boy did we have alot of fun. It started with picking people up from the airport in the morning and then right into a .25/.50 NL cash game. We then headed over to the Bluff offices for a $20 buyin tourney, some lunch, and more .25/.50 NL cash games. Bluff donated shirts, a pair of Oakley thumps, and some Greg Raymer and Jennifer Tilly signed magazines as additional prizes. VIP poker also gave us shirts and donated three sweet chip sets as prizes for the weekend events. Yours truly finished in the middle of the pack of the tourney but won $109 in the cash game.

Then the whole pack of us (22 in total) headed to my buddy Jeremy's house where we played a $50 tourney with 7500 as a starting stack and 30 minute blinds that started at 25/25. That structure worked in my favor since I did not get any cards for the first three hours. I then started to get some cards and slowly built my stack. I made the final table where I was a force to be reckoned with and eventually chopped the first place money with the chip lead. I got $400 for my efforts and one of those sweet chip sets (thanks VIP!!!).

Saturday the guys played Whirlyball which is a combination of bumpercars and lacrosse. Many people were sore after that. I did not play as I had a soccer game to go to. They also had another tourney with a $20 buyin followed by a .50/1 NL cash game that went to 6AM. I missed it due to a Halloween party where I drank waaaay too much thanks to beer pong game that broke out.

Sunday I was able to play some poker online and I won some playing 2/4 on Full Tilt. I also won again yesterday. Overall the bankroll is at 23.5k now. It really is probably over 24k, due to all the money (about $1300) I have sitting in my room from the past two weekends of live poker. Since I have not deposited it into my poker checking/savings account yet I will not add it to the bankroll as of now. I instead will use it to fund the bankroll for the Tunica trip that starts on Thursday.

Today I will play more 2/4 on Full Tilt as I am trying to clear that bonus. I am almost done clearing the entire $500, and I have made money doing it. I will report back tomorrow. Good luck to everyone out there.

Update from 10/24

2006-10-25T08:45:00.000-04:00

Well last night was a light night of play due to it being bowling night. I did bowl 208-211-158-577 last night. It was the first time I have bowled well in a long time. As for poker, which is what you all really care about, I played some 2/4 on Full Tilt and I won about $100 in two hours of play. Like I said nothing to write home to Mom about, but it is still in the right direction.

The next week and a half will be alot of fun but I will not get to play much poker online. On Friday many people from the Bluff Magazine forum are getting together for a weekend of poker, drinking, more poker, some other activities like laser tag and whirlyball, and then some more poker. I am really looking forward to seeing some of the people that I have only chatted with online over the last couple of years.

Then next Thursday is my 2nd Tunica trip. I am staying at the Goldstrike from Thursday-Sunday. I got a great poker rate which works out to $30 a night as long as I play 5 hours a day of poker. Since I am sure I will average over 12 hours a day, that will not be a problem. I am sharing the room with a buddy of mine so it is even cheaper than that. I will mostly play 1/2 NL and maybe some 2/5 NL if things are going well.

Tonight and tomorrow I will get to play and then it is just live poker until Sunday. Good luck to everyone out there.

"Out of office" note

2006-10-20T08:54:00.000-04:00

Well last night was not a good night for cash games for me. I lose a couple of huge pots on set over set and two pair/nut flush draw vs. a set. Overall for the day I lost $550 playing 2/4 which dropped the bankroll to 21.4k.

This weekend I have rented a house in a small German-style town for Octoberfest. I am looking forward to the fun weekend, but it means no poker until Sunday night. That just means I need to focus even more on clearing my bonus at Full Tilt when I get back.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will start posting again on Monday.

Results from 10/18

2006-10-19T15:38:00.000-04:00

Man I feel like an idiot posting some of this stuff, but in an effort to fully disclose my activities, here we go...

I entered the deep stack tourney at 9:15 at Full Tilt. I figure that deepstack tourneys should favor me, so I put in my $26. I fold for a while until I get AQ32 double suited. I raise, and I am reraised. The flop comes 654 all in my suit with the Q. I have a flush and the nut low. The guy bets out, I reraise, he goes allin and I call. He wins with a higher flush and takes the whole pot. What happened to my nut low you ask? Well it turns out it was a PL Omaha tourney and not Omaha 8/b like I originally thought. What a dope I am. Oh well.

I then join the Bluff forum regulars event that was a $10 event with $600 added to the prize pool plus a iPod nano as a bounty on someone's head. I did not collect the bounty, but I did win first place which was worth $415.

I also won over $300 on my cash game (2/4 NL) on Full Tilt which put my profit for the day over $700. The bankroll is now at 22k.

Tonight maybe I will actually pay attention to which tourneys I join, and I will play some cash games as well. Best of luck to everyone.

Results from 10/16

2006-10-17T14:02:00.000-04:00

Well last night I concentrated mostly on clearing some of that bonus from Ultimate Bet and Full Tilt. The good news is that I cleared some bonus and won some money in the process. I finished down about $40 on UB and I finished up about $900 on Full Tilt. With the bonus my profit was just over $900, which puts the bankroll at 21.2k.

On my first day back at Ultimate Bet I was a little shocked to see no full 2/4NL games going. I played 1/2 the whole night though.

Tonight is bowling and I will be playing some more Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet tonight. I probably wont play any tourneys though.

Sorry for the long gap

2006-10-16T16:10:00.000-04:00

I just have not felt good over the last week with regards to poker. All this uncertainty about what is going to happen, how am I going to play, how will I be able to deposit/withdraw money. It is just nuts. The government just has to wake up and regulate/tax this industry. We would all be better off.

So anyway last night I played in the Bluff Poker Tour event on Stars. Here is how I lose the hand......

PokerStars Game #6648311819: Tournament #33777618, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2006/10/15 - 21:04:26 (ET)
Table '33777618 3' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: Borepower (1510 in chips)
Seat 2: hafe04 (1770 in chips)
Seat 3: bigtex21 (1340 in chips)
Seat 4: billinga (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: Kashuskay (1220 in chips)
Seat 6: OutlawJWales (3480 in chips)
Seat 7: JewelMick (1440 in chips)
Seat 8: Chimp__Greg (1470 in chips)
Borepower: posts small blind 10
hafe04: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Chimp__Greg [Kd Ad]
bigtex21: folds
billinga: raises 40 to 60
Kashuskay: folds
OutlawJWales: calls 60
JewelMick: folds
Chimp__Greg: calls 60
Borepower: calls 50
hafe04: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [Ac Kc 5d]
Borepower: checks
hafe04: checks
billinga: bets 200
OutlawJWales: folds
Chimp__Greg: raises 400 to 600
Borepower: calls 600
hafe04: folds
billinga: raises 810 to 1410 and is all-in
Chimp__Greg: calls 810 and is all-in
Borepower: calls 810
Chimp__Greg said, "vn bill"
*** TURN *** [Ac Kc 5d] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [Ac Kc 5d Jd] [9c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Borepower: shows [Qc Jc] (a flush, Ace high)
billinga: shows [Ah As] (three of a kind, Aces)
Chimp__Greg: shows [Kd Ad] (two pair, Aces and Kings)
hafe04 said, "wow"
Borepower collected 4530 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4530 | Rake 0
Board [Ac Kc 5d Jd 9c]
Seat 1: Borepower (small blind) showed [Qc Jc] and won (4530) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 2: hafe04 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: bigtex21 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: billinga showed [Ah As] and lost with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 5: Kashuskay folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: OutlawJWales folded on the Flop
Seat 7: JewelMick folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Chimp__Greg (button) showed [Kd Ad] and lost with two pair, Aces and Kings

Just absolutely brutal. I almost lost a laptop due to that process.

So the bankroll is sitting stagnant at 20.3k. I am going to work on clearing $400+ of bonuses on Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet. I will play 2/4 on both of them. Anyway best of luck to everyone, I will make sure to post again tomorrow.

Results from yesterday

2006-10-06T11:22:00.000-04:00

After a day like yesterday you almost hope that the idiots in Congress get their way. I played in a couple of tourneys including the latest stop on the Bluff Poker Tour which was played at Absolute Poker. I finished in the middle of the field when with the blinds at 100/200 someone raised to 700 and then I reraised in late position allin which was 3800 with JJ. The limper folded but the small blind called me with AhJh. He hits an ace on the flop and I am dead.

The cash games we not much kinder to me as every time I woke up with KK or QQ an Ace would flop. It was so aggravating. For the day I ended up dropping $500 and the bankroll sits at 20k.

Tonight I have a fall festival with my kids so I will not be on until late so it may be a short session tonight. It all depends on how tired I am.

By the way the recent developments are getting more and more interesting. Several poker sites are staying with the U.S. market while others are abandoning it. I can tell you that any site that abandons us now will not be on my play list when all this is cleared up.

Confusing times

2006-10-04T12:49:00.000-04:00

Boy this last week has been rough for the poker player in me. This legislation has hit, and all of a sudden everyone is panicking. Some of my accounts have been closed down and money is being sent back to me. Party poker says that they will close their US accounts as soon as Bush signs the bill. I am sad about that one because I was finding a home at Party. I will look to Pokerstars or Full Tilt most likely next for the bulk of my play.

I dont think that online poker is dead, nor do I think we will all be arrested soon for playing it. The problem is that the casual player is going to leave and that hurts our profit. Eventually this will all settle down and we will be able to understand the impact. One hopes that poker will be considered a skill game and left alone. I will not speculate what is going to happen, I am sure you can find more than enough on the subject right now.

In the meantime I will continue to play. The bankroll is around 20.5k right now, I hope to make some headway this month. We shall see. Best of luck to all of you that are still out there. Take care.

Results from Tuesday and Thursday

2006-09-29T10:47:00.000-04:00

I did not play Wednesday since I was watching my Mets get their asses kicked by the Braves. We are in trouble. Pedro is gone, our pitching is in shambles, we are not hitting. The best thing I can hope for is that we play St. Louis.

So on Tuesday I lost $450 playing some 2/4 NL. There were some big hands, failed bluffs, and then a long steady break even period. I just could not gain any momentum. I also bowled lousy, (163-152-148), so that did not help.

Last night I played in three tourneys. We had the Bluff Poker Tour event at Doyle's poker and that was a disaster. How a legend like Doyle lends his name to that place is beyond me. Every tourney runs like a turbo. There is absolutely no play at that site whatsoever. I ended up finishing 72nd out of 137 when I had to push with 55 and got called by AQ. He caught an Ace and a Queen and I was dead to a five that never showed.

I also played in the 500 guarantee on Pokershare and I was killed with KK against like QJo when the guy flops two pair. I finished 45th out of 65.

My final tourney was the 20k guarantee at Party that ended up being almost 27k. I finished 284th out of 2658 people for a small cash. My AcQc could not win a race against 1010 and I was dead. I love those tourneys though. I also watched my cousin cash in the Super Thursday tourney at Party. I love their structure for that tourney, and I will be playing in it as well. It is a $162 entry fee but you get 5000 in chips and 20 minute blinds. The prize pool last night was 140k.

I won over $200 in my cash game which included donking off $50 against my buddies playing .25/.50 NL like a maniac. So overall for the day the profit was $211 which puts me at $20,854.

So tonight I will play in a tourney or two and I will play in some cash games of course. Tomorrow I have a live tourney plus I am in a 100k tourney on Party Poker.
If I am not done with the Party Poker tourney I will be bringing my laptop to the live tourney. Now that is dedication!!!

Best of luck to everyone out there. Win a ton of money this weekend. Just don't do it off of me.

Results from 9/25

2006-09-26T10:22:00.000-04:00

Well last night I was real tired so I did not play any tourneys and I only played about two hours worth of cash games before I hung it up for the night. The profit for the night, yes there was profit, was $134 which brought the bankroll up to $21,113. Tonight is bowling night, so I wont get to play until 9:30 or so which means I will focus on cash games again rather than play a tourney. On Wednesday I am going to the Braves/Mets game so I can wish my Mets team good luck in the playoffs. I only hope we can face and beat the Yankees for the title this year.

Anyway enough about baseball. Best of luck to all of you. Sorry for the short post today.

Weekend results

2006-09-25T14:56:00.000-04:00

Well between soccer games, dance performances, and going out with the wife to dinner and a movie (Fearless - very good movie), I did not get to play alot of poker until Sunday. I played in 4 tourneys that were enough to make you sick. First tourney I lose half way through with JJ on a board of J77 when we go allin and I get called by 87. Only one card can make me lose the hand, and that is exactly what came out on the river when he got the 4th 7 for quads. Yuck.

I lose with AJ when I reraise allin on a board of J42 and get called by AK. Yep a King pops up and I am out. Then I play the Bluff Poker Tour event and I was going to play tight until I look down and see AA. I get crippled when I go up against AQ and he turns a 4 outer for a straight. Finally I play in the Party 20k and I am in decent position with 66 people left out of 2,729 people when I call an aggressive players all in while I am in the small blind. I have 55 and he has A9. He gets quad aces and I am done!!!!!!!

So with only one cash in 4 tourneys, I move to the cash game where I dominated. For the weekend I ended up +$879, putting the bankroll at $20,979. Not bad at all.

So tonight I will most likely focus on cash games, but I may sneak in one tourney just to aggravate myself. Best of luck to everyone out there.

Results from 9/21

2006-09-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

Well they were not good. Can I leave the post like that?????

I guess not. Let me dig deeper then. I played three tourneys last night including the Bluff Poker Tour event. In the Bluff Poker Tour event, the blind structure was way too fast and I had to push with KJs and was called by K10o and lost when a 10 flopped. In my first 20k event I pushed with 99 on a flop of 7810 rainbow. Unfortunately someone had QQ and I did not hit one of my 10 outs and I was knocked out in 187th out of 870 players. In the other tourney I pushed with AKs and I could not run down QQ (again) and I was out in 1500th out of 2450.

Now the cash game also did not treat me kindly, but alot of that was my fault. My first hand of the night I pick up Qh5h. Four people limped in and I checked. The flop came Jd2h3h. I bet out and only one person calls. The turn is the 4h. I bet out again and I get min raised and I call. The river is a Kc. The guy bets out 1/2 the pot and I think and call and he flips over KhJh. OUCH!!!!!

I then also overplay TPTK (my biggest mistake, and the biggest mistake I see online) when my AQ hits a board of Q75. The guy sucks me in all the way with AA. LIke I said I did not play well.

Soooooo for the day I lost $550 which dropped the bankroll to exactly 20.1k. Tonight I wont get to play until late because my daughter has three performances at the state fair tonight.

Best of luck to those who actually get to play!!!!

Start of the Bluff Poker Tour!!!!!

2006-09-21T10:04:00.000-04:00

Yes we kick of season 3 of the Bluff Poker tour with a tournament tonight at 9PM at VIP poker. What is the Bluff Poker tour??? Glad you asked. It is a series of tournaments at different poker sites set up by Bluff Magazine. Each tournament will be $10+$1. They are on Thursdays and Sundays at 9pm. What are the prizes??? Another great question. First place gets a Carribean vacation during the Carribean Poker Classic. It also includes $900 in tourney vouchers and cash besides 9 nights at the St. Kitt's Marriott, meals, and airfare from Miami or London. Also at the end of the season there will be a freeroll where the winner will get flown to LA to compete against a Bluff Poker Pro in a $1,000 heads up match that will be broadcast on Live at the Bike. Thanks again Bluff Magazine. If you guys wish to compete I encourage you to click on the Bluff link or go to www.bluffpokertour.com. I have finished in the top 10 the first two years, and I look for another strong showing.

Last night I played in three tourneys and I got screwed in all of them. I lost in the 20k at Party when I pushed allin over two limpers with 88. One guy called with 66, the other guy called with A6. An ace on the river kills me and I finish 623rd out of nearly 2500 people. I also played in the Poker Players Alliance tourney on Pokerstars. It was a $1 tourney with $5,000 added to the prize pool. They have another one tonite. I went allin with AA and ran into AKo. Four diamonds, the last one on the river, sends me packing in 299th out of 686. The third tourney I could not win a race and I am out 11th out of 25. Man sometimes you just cannot win.

In the cash games I did ok and overall the profit was $130 for the night. The bankroll is now at $20,648. Tonight I will play in the 20k at Party and of course the Bluff Poker Tour at VIP poker. I hope to see some of you out there. Take care, and best of luck to all of you.

I can dodge bullets baby!!!!!!

2006-09-20T09:34:00.000-04:00

That is how I felt last night after playing some NL on Party last night. In two hours of playing two tables I was dealt AA(3x), KK(2x), QQ(4x), JJ once. In those 10 hands I went 2-8. My first hand of the night I get dealt QQ, flop a set of queens but there is two diamonds on the board. I make a $24 bet into a $25 pot and the person calls. The next cards is a offsuit rag. I bet $60 into the now $73 pot and he calls. The next card is a diamond. He immediately goes allin for my $130 that I have left. I think for a while and fold. He shows the flush. Oh well.

Then at my other table I get two red kings in the SB. The are 6 limpers into the pot so I raise 6x to get some of them out. Two of them call. The flop comes QhJh8h. I bet $60, it gets min raised twice to $180. So now I have to call $120 and I just feel that one guy could have either a made flush or a hand like AhQs or even AhAc. The other guy could have a set or a straight. I lay the hand down and one guy has QcJc for two pair and the other guy has 10s9s for a straight. Thankfully no hearts come out on the turn or river.

So with losing all these big hands how did I do??? I only lost $72. It felt like a victory. I could have easily lost $500 based on those hands.

As for bowling last night we only won 2 out of 7 points. I bowled 171-201-135. Don't ask about that last game. My ball was moving too much and I did not adjust well.

Anyway hopefully tonite the flops will be kind. Best of luck to all of you.

Nothing you can do

2006-09-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it just happens that way. I played in two tourney last night, the 20k at Party and the 20k at Stars. At Party I lose early when I flop a set of aces, push allin and then lose to a guy who calls with a flush draw and hits. On Stars I flop bottom two pair and lose to someone who flopped top two pair.

Then we get in the cash games and I lose set over set three times. So overall for the night I lost almost $500 which drops the bankroll down to 20.6k. I am not discouraged because I played well enough to win but the cards did not fall right. I am sure it will be different today.

Tonight is bowling night so I wont get to play until late. It will be a short session, but hopefully a profitable one. Best of luck to all of you.

Results from 9/14

2006-09-15T08:40:00.000-04:00

Well it was a good day overall, but a very frustrating day with MTT. I played in the 3k guarantee at Sun Poker only to see my AA lose to K10o when I get the guy allin on a 10 high flop only to see the turn card come a K. GG me. I then also played in the 20k guarantee on Party where I got close to the money only to lose with AQ on a Q high rainbow flop when the other guy had AA. At least that time I can blame myself and not the cards. Then I played another $22 MTT on Party to see my KK go down in flames to A6o. Oh well, like I said a very frustrating day.

Cash games were a different story altogether. I just killed the 1/2 tables on Party yesterday, recouping my losses from the MTT and bringing the profit for the day to $807, my best day in a long time. The bankroll now is up to $21,280. Playing the full ring games again instead of shorthanded has really helped. The work I have been doing with Pokerbility has helped as well.

Once again thanks for staying with me when the times were tough, and boy were they tough. It seemed like I could not do a thing right, and I was sure questioning my ability. Now I enter the table extremely confident that I am the best player there.

Once I build this back up to 25k, I will try the 2/4 games once again. These will be full ring games only. Until then we will grind it out at 1/2.

Take care everyone. Good luck at the tables.

Results from 9/13

2006-09-14T10:20:00.000-04:00

Well yesterday was a good day overall, but disappointing in some respects. I played four tourneys yesterday, making the final table in two of them. My biggest tourney though I finished in the middle of the field, which was a $109 entry tourney. The two tourneys that I finished on the final table was a 5th place finish for $262, and a 1st place finish for $125 in my bluff poker league game.

So with those finishes and my cash game the profit for the day was a healthy $502. The bankroll is at $20,473. Today I am still recovering so I will be on the couch playing more poker. I am starting with a $22 tourney that is not going very well in the early stages. There is still plenty of time to turn it around though.

Results from yesterday

2006-09-13T09:05:00.000-04:00

Boy I should have surgery more often. I did play two tourneys yesterday with lousy results. I finished in the middle of the pack of the Party Poker 20k, and I did not do any better in a Pokerstars MTT.

In the cash game I did much better. I played alot of 1/2 at Party. For the day the bankroll went up $606 to $19,971. Hopefully today we get past 20k (and never dip back below it).

So today while I am sitting on the couch I will be back playing Party and joining a tourney or two. It sure is fun earning a buck or two while you recover. I hope to throw on a movie or two. I am thinking Syriana and 12 Monkeys to start with.

Anyway good luck to all of you out there.

Results from the weekend

2006-09-12T07:49:00.000-04:00

First of all I did not get a chance to say thanks yesterday, so I just want to say thanks to all the people who were true heroes on 9/11 and the months that followed. Being from NY, I and many others were personally impacted by the loss of lives on that horrible day. My prayers go out to all of those families.

So the bankroll has stayed put over the last couple of days. It is at $19,365. I will be playing alot over the next couple of days as I recover from my surgery yesterday. The surgery went well, now it is a matter of staying off my feet for a couple of days. I should be back at 100% next week.

Well I am off to play some 1/2. I will see you all soon. Good luck to all of you.

Why never to play cards with your family

2006-09-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

This is the reason. Some of you who have read the blog in past weeks know that I created an account at Party Poker for the sole reason to play cards with my cousin. Well the last two night we played at a table on Party Poker together. The first night he absolutely kicked ass and ran $200 up to $1000 on a 1/2 table. That night I still won as well, so all was good.

Last night we did it again. Now keep in mind I would not "softplay" my cousin. For those of you who do not know what "softplaying" is, it is the act of checking down your hands when your buddy is in the pot. Only twice in my life have I ever played differently because I was up against a buddy at a table, and both times they were in a live casino. Both times I just reraised the guy all-in when I flopped a set to let him know that he should not screw around with me and he should fold immediately. Fortunately both times they folded. Now normally I would have slowplayed both hands and probably won a ton more, but I just could not do that to my buddies at that time.

So back to the story. I am doing well so far as I am up to $300 on this 1/2 table. My cousin is not doing as well and he is down to about $125 on this table. We both bought in for the max of $200. So I get dealt KK in MP and there is one limper before my cousin, who is aggressive, bumps it to $11. I reraise him to $31 and everyone else but him folds. The flop comes out Q35 rainbow and he bets out $25. I reraise him allin and he calls. He fips over 35o for two pair, and I do not get a K or the board to pair (other than the 3 or 5 obviously). He starts laughing that he "got me", and I am upset, but that is poker.

Overall I finish the cash game down $11 for the night. I also played two tourneys, but I suffered from KK vs AA disease and we eliminated in both about 3/4 of the way through. Just cooler hands really. Oh well. Overall the bankroll dipped $32. I will take that. The bankroll sits at $19,343. I will get alot of play over the next week plus as I am having a minor surgical procedure on Monday that will put be on the couch for most of next week. Couch=poker for me, so I will be on often.

Best of luck to everyone. Take care.

The winning streak is at 7

2006-09-07T10:56:00.000-04:00

Not thanks to tourneys though. I finished out of the money in three different tourneys, and I got screwed in each one. Twice I lost preflop allin with AA, once to KQo and the other to 88. The other tourney my 1010 lost to A9 on a flop of 972 when he rivered an Ace after I put him allin on the flop. Oh well.

I did try out my Pokerbility software on Party Poker last night though and won $150 putting my profit for the day at about $100, and upping the bankroll to $19,375. The software ran great, and I was really still in a little shock at how loose my starting requirements have become. I am also much more aggressive postflop than the software would like. The good thing is you can easily change how tight/loose or how passive/aggressive you want to be preflop and postflop. I will continue to use the product, as I think it can be a great help to my game.

Anyway today will be a much more active playing day for me, since the wife is out with her girlfriends tonite. I think that will focus mostly on the cash games, but I am sure some of my buddies will tempt me into a tourney or two.

Best of luck to everyone.

Pokerbility

2006-09-06T15:50:00.000-04:00

Here is that article I promised.

POKERBILITY

There are a lot of times during a game of hold’em when you look at your cards and are not quite sure what to do. This quandry occurs on both sides of flop. Great hole cards can be absolutely neutered by a less encouraging flop. Conversely, cards that looked about as powerful as a Pee Wee Hermann in a speedo can turn into an unstoppable force if the flop the comes up your way. Then there are always the “tweener” hands. The ones that can go in any direction at any point in the game. With so many options and so many different possibilities, the game comes back to the age old question of “do you hold, or do you fold?”

Hold’em is all about takeing risks, but the smart player only takes a risk when it makes the most sense. This is where Pokerbility comes in. The Pokerbility odds calculator will help you navigate through the emotional landmine about how one feels about the cards they have been dealt, and provides objective, real time odds based on the cards that showing on the table and the hole cards clutched in the players hand.

On the surface, the Pokerbility odds calculator quickly assesses what is going on during the hand of hold’em and delivers advice on what to do next based on mathmatical calculations of your chances of victory. This advice is supported with a plethora of data that will help a player decide for themselves what to do next. Included in the litany of support information is the nuber of outs that possibly available to help the players hand, the rank of the hand, the players percent chances of a win/split as opposed to the chances of their opponents, and the perecent chances of hitting a specific hand. In other words, if before the turn Pokerbility tells you that your chances of hitting a flush are 30.62%, your chances of victory are 37.624%, and the unit is telling you that this is a good time to make a small bet, you can feel pretty good about your decision to go for it.

Some folks have used other odds calculator and found that the advice given was based on calculations that were only slightly less random than something one finds in a fortune cookie. This issue is not something that is ever associated the the Pokerbility unit. It is truly the best outcome possible when the online game of hold’em collides head on with science.

The secret behind the speed and accuracy of the Pokerbility odds calculator is the exclusive, patent-pending CombiCalc™ hands odds calculation technology.

When most companies build an odds calculator, they make a choice in method they use to program their product. Game simulations is one popular option. In essence the computer is made to play thousands upon thousands of hands of hold’em, and data collected from these hands is used to “teach” the odds calculator. Hard coded statistic figures based on existing data and ranking based on hand history are other widely accepted methods. Instead of making a choice about which philosophy to build into the Pokerbility unit, our developers decided to the use best aspects of each to create a unique, speedy, and insanely accurate product that will take your online game of hold’em to the next level.

As if accuracy was not enough, Pokerbility is also one of the most versatile odds calculators available to the online player. The makers of this product are fully aware that not everyone plays the game the same way. Some are a tad more cautious and conservative while others attack the game with all the reckless ferocity of a conered wombat. To accomodate every sort of player, the Pokerbility unit can be adjusted to suit the needs of the individual. Instead of being one dimensional, and dispensing advice that only fits one style of play, the unit can be personalized to advise a player based on their personal approach to the game. This doesn’t mean that the hard data, such as the claculated odds, will change, it just means that the advice that it dolls out will differ depending on the setting. For example, looking at the same odds the unit will give different advice if it is configured for a tight game than it would if it were set for a loose game. This gives the user a level of accuracy and personalization that they simply wont find in other products.

One of the most appealing aspects of the Pokerbility odds calculator is how user friendly it is. When it is activated, an “Attach” button will be displayed. Clicking this button will allow the unit to associate itself to a particular online poker room and table. The program does the rest once it has attached. It will read the hands, adjust its advice as each card is shown, and all the user needs to do at this point is take the advice that is offered to them. It is simply that easy.

Those who are serious about playing poker online should make Pokerbility an essential tool in their poker playing arsenal. Although nothing can remove the threat of random luck, or help if a their opponent holds on to get a fortunate draw on the river, the Pokerbility tool will consistantly put a player in a better position to win more often. This will, of course, result in more pots and bigger online paydays for the internet player. For playing hold’em in cyberspace Pokerbility is less of a luxury and more of a neccisity for the online gamer.

Last night's results and a new tool

2006-09-06T15:35:00.000-04:00

Ok guys and gals (do we have any women who actually read this?), I know that the blog is starting to look like an entry to a NASCAR race. I just had to add a link and an ad to this exciting new tool. At least it is new to me. First the results though.

I played two tourneys last night when I got home after bowling. By the way my bowling sucked, thanks for asking. Oh you didn't ask? I will move on then. The two tourneys I played were the $500 guarantee on Pokershare where I finished 17th, and a $20 180 man SNG on Stars where I finished 4th to win $288. Now I had to split my winnings four ways (actually three now, thanks Duffy), so the amount I earned was not that much. What felt good though was this was my 2nd final table in three days. My play is getting much better. I also won some money playing around with my new tool on Party, so the overall profit last night was $200, bringing the bankroll up to almost 19.3k.

The new tool? Glad you asked. It is by a company called Pokerbility. This tool is a MUST HAVE for all serious players. What does it do? It attaches to your online poker table, tells you all the odds for hitting a range of hands with your hole cards, and suggests you to either check, call, raise, or fold. It is pretty slick. This is only version 1.0, I cannot imagine how much better it could be. When I was playing last night it was like I had a coach right by my side. Plus I never needed to calculate odds, because it was right there for me to see. It was interesting to see how my play differed from what was recommended. Usually my play cost me money (I guess I am a donkey). I would recommend you play at least a couple of sessions a week with this tool, and if you don't multitable much then I would use it every time I played. It is easy to implement and seemless when it is running.

Anyway enough for now. I am going to put a review of the tool up on the blog as well. If you decide to take advantage of the free download and/or you decide to get a full copy, please use the link. I will get a kickback, but that is not why I recommend it. I will answer any questions you guys (gals?) may have with it. Like I said from the start, if I can have the people on this site succeed with their goals, the effort is all worth it.

Best of luck to all of you.

To chop or not to chop

2006-09-05T09:40:00.000-04:00

That is the question. Yesterday my decision was to chop, let me know what you would have done. Here is the total situation....

$10 tourney on Party Poker. 629 players. We are down to 4 people. Chip Stack are approximately (98% accurate)...

Player 1 - 700k
Player 2 - 450k
Player 3 - 410k
Me - 300k

The prize pool would have given 1st - $1500, 2nd - $800, 3rd - $480, 4th - $380.

We decided on the following payments...

Player 1 - $1001
Player 2 - $794
Player 3 - $763
Me - $652

I did not feel I was overmatched, but I did have company over, so my concentration level was marginal at best. I was still doing well though. Also the blinds, which were 10k/20k were going to hit me next, causing 10% of my stack to go. So again what do you guys/gals think?

So obviously I had a good day again yesterday, boosting the bankroll $900+ and barely clipping the 19k mark at $19,084. Tonite I will not be playing until late as Tuesdays are bowling night (yes I do more than play poker). Good luck to everyone out there.

The winning streak continues!!!!!

2006-09-04T09:33:00.000-04:00

Man it sure feels good to play poker this week. I played some more 1/2 NL on Party and some tourneys on Party as well. I did not win in any of the tourneys, but I did win over $500 playing 1/2. Overall the profit for the day was $498, bringing the bankroll to $18,166.

Today I will be back playing some 1/2 NL after I set up my new laptop and my new router. I have the day off today and the kids are going to finally let me relax for a day since I have spent the last two at the pool with the kids or going to parties for my wife. Monday is Dad's day.

Good luck to everyone out there. Come by and say hello to me at Party.

Solid play still rewarded

2006-09-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Well I was able to play for a few hours yesterday before my wife's party, and for about an hour after the party. I again played 1/2 NL on Party. For the day my profit was $406, bringing the bankroll back up to $17,668. It sure feels good to start moving forward again, even if it is just retracing your steps from a couple of months ago.

Today I will play some more 1/2 NL and some tourneys. Hopefully I can get a decent amount of play in today. Take care and good luck everyone.

Rising from the dead

2006-09-01T10:21:00.000-04:00

I should change my name to Lazarus. My bankroll hit an all time low on Tuesday, dropping all the way down to 15.8k. What happened? I cannot even begin to tell you. Twice in one session I go allin with a full house only to lose to rivered quads. Losing to gutshot after gutshot. Flopping a set of aces on a AJ3 board only to be called by KQ and the guy rivers a straight. It was absolutely brutal. I made the decision on Wednesday morning to take some time off of the cash games at Pokershare. I will only play the 10pm tourney there and nothing else for at least another week or two until I get my head on straight. That sucks because I have a great rakeback deal there, but I just cannot beat the fish right now and it is starting to impact my play.

So I wake up on Wednesday knowing that I have lost almost half my bankroll in two months. I plan on rebuilding by playing 1/2 NL at Party Poker pretty much exclusively. How does that go?????

Well on Wednesday night I post a solid winning session, with a profit of $500. That pushed me back over 16k, putting me at 16.3k overall. Yesterday I played 1/2 again with one $33 MTT as well. I finished near the bubble of the MTT when I pushed allin with a nut flush draw (AdJd on a rag board with two diamonds) and was called by a guy who slowplayed KK. None of my 12 outs came on the turn or the river and I finished 99th out of 630 people (80 cashed).

In the cash game I won over $800 though and now the bankroll is at $17,143. I was soooo thrilled to put together two winning sessions in a row. I am anxious to get back out there again tonight. It is my wife's birthday today so play will be limited. But I will get out there ASAP and I plan on continuing the 1/2 NL play on Party.

So I know I have a lllloooooonnnnngggg way to go to get back, but it feels good to be rewarded for some solid poker. Hopefully that continues. Best of luck to all of you.

Results from 8/28

2006-08-29T09:14:00.001-04:00

Well I was able to play some poker again after my wonderful weekend in Savannah with my wife. I started off with a win, playing mostly 1/2 and a couple of tourneys. I ended the day up almost $300 which brings the bankroll over 19.1k. I did not cash in any of the tourneys though I did finish on the bubble in one of them. I played the tournament flawlessly for two hours and then overplayed TP on the bubble. One bad move in tourney play can just kill you. That is why the main event just amazes me. Those guys have to play their "A" game for a week straight or get insanely lucky.

Today I will be back playing 1/2 NL. I will also be playing with my new toy, a 60gb video IPOD courtesy of Pokershare. I have already downloaded over 4500 songs. Last night as I was playing I was relaxing as I listened to some Frank Sinatra. You will find Sinatra, classic rock, classical music, heavy metal, country, and top40 on my IPOD. Today I have another 100 CDs to import into iTunes.

Best of luck everyone!!!!!

Results from 8/28

2006-08-29T09:14:00.000-04:00

Results from 8/23

2006-08-24T09:07:00.000-04:00

Well yesterday was a good day, and boy did it feel good to post a win. I played mostly .50/1 NL and 1/2 NL with some .25/.50 NL thrown in when pokershare did not have enough players to fill a 10 person table at the higher levels. For the day I ended up winning $350 which put the bankroll at just about 19k again.

I did lose one big pot, and I am sure I should have made the big laydown, but I just couldnt. I had KK and raised 4x the bb and had one caller. The flop came Q66 with two diamonds. I checked and called the flop and then a Jc popped up. I bet, and called a raise. At this time I am thinking maybe AQ or perhaps a flush draw but I just call. The turn is a 2s and I check and call yet again and he flips over the 10c6c for trips. I was not happy with how I played that hand at all.

Overall though I was extremely happy. Thanks for the continued support, and for some suggestions on what sites I should check out to earn more money. Keep them coming please. Tomorrow or late tonight will be the last update until Monday since I am taking my wife on a 3 day vacation to a B&B in Savannah.

Best of luck to everyone out there.

Results from 8/21 & 8/22

2006-08-23T08:13:00.000-04:00

Well the bleeding of the bankroll has stopped, but we have not made any ground at this point. The last two days I have broke even, and the bankroll is still at 18.7k. I lost two huge pots, one on Monday with AA vs KK and another yesterday when I lost a $350 pot with AA vs 56 when the river came up an 8 to give the guy a straight. Eventually these hands will hold up again and I will move the bankroll forward.

So I will keep playing whatever full ring game I can find at Pokershare (usually .50/1), and I will play 1/2 at Party. I may throw in a tourney or two, I am not sure at this point.

How is everyone else doing out there? Hopefully you are all running much better than me. Best of luck to all of you.

The climb back starts today

2006-08-21T10:30:00.000-04:00

Well I know that I have said that many times over the past six weeks, but I truly think the worst is behind me. How bad is it right now? Well after this weekend the bankroll has dropped to $18,740. So what am I going to do about it?

Well first I had to examine what lead to my rise in May and June, and then what did I do differently from that time forward. In May and June Pokershare was running a promotion for the WSOP. It caused many people to play the 1/2 and 2/4 full ring games. Those games have pretty much died off. In July and August I have been playing 1/2 and 2/4 shorthanded games since I cannot find the full ring games. That is going to stop as of now.

So the strategy is to play the highest full ring game I can get on Pokershare (which on some days may only be .50/1) and then leave when it drops to 6 people. I will also play full ring games at Party at the 1/2 level since they will always have players.

My rakeback wont be as much during this period at pokershare, but I need to turn this thing around. I am just not winning playing shorthanded. I should have realized this earlier, but we can make the adjustment now. It will be slow going for a little while, but hopefully we see a steady increase in the bankroll.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. I am really racking my brain every night to figure out how I can end this slide. Best of luck to all of you!!!!!

Results from 8/17

2006-08-18T10:44:00.000-04:00

I have honestly never been more happy about a losing day. I played the $30 MTT on Stars and we had 715 people enter, 63 get paid. I finished 128th despite never really having any good cards. I was eliminated when I pushed from late position (one off the button) with KdJd and was called by 66. I could not win the race and out I go. In my cash game I lost a whopping $7 despite all this happening to me....

Twice I flopped middle set only to lose to someone who flopped top set
Twice I turned trips only to lose to someone who had a boat
Once I had AK on a flop of K85 only to lose to someone who had KK

I was a set magnet. Yet I did not go on tilt, and I was able to minimize my losses. Overall a good day even though the bankroll dipped to 20.6k

Here is a question I answered on the bluff magazine forum. I thought I would share it here as well...

IamAfter5 wrote:
Ok ive been playing pretty good poker for about 2 years now , so ive thought, and it seems since I have gotten better the more I lose!!!!!!!!! Ive learned a lot of great moves etiquette and strategy however it seems the "better" my play is the more I lose!!! I make great decisions , I make the proper bet however in sng's i tend to either win the sng or lose quickly !! whats going on ?? Maybe I shouldnt be playing small sng HELP!!!!! FYI im playing great at my weekley home ring game but not good on the internet...

Ok this is about as vague a post as you can get, but I will give it a shot anyway. Many of us who have studied the game, practiced a ton both live and online, and eat, breathe, and sleep poker have gotten too good for our bankroll. What do I mean by that? We try and make "squeeze plays" and other advanced moves in a $10 SNG/MTT or a .25/.50 NL game and then we get upset when the donkey does not recognize it and calls with bottom pair and wins. So should we move up to the $25/$50 NL table and play $500 MTT where the people are theoritically more poker savvy? Hell no, unless you have the six figure bankroll that is required. What you should do is go back to playing ABC poker. Add some suited connectors and small pairs to the equation. When you get a hand, make sure you bet because they will pay you off. DONT SLOWPLAY. If you go back to the basics I am sure you will be fine. Best of luck at the tables.

You may find yourself in the same situation. I hope the tip helps. Good luck at the tables.

Results from 8/16

2006-08-17T10:53:00.000-04:00

Well I posted my 2nd consecutive winning day!!!!! Normally I would not be this excited, but you all know how it has been running for me lately. I played in a $30 MTT on pokerstars and finished 45th out of 660 people to win $70. My final hand the blinds were 600/1200 and we had one person raise to 3600 and I am sitting with 1010 on the button. I knew he had AK and so I pushed allin for $5300 knowing that he would call. He did and of course he had AK. Unfortunately a K comes out on the flop and I am eliminated. If I win that pot I have over 14k in chips and I would have had another orbit or two before I was in trouble again.

In the cash game I won over $400, which put the profit for the day at $497, bringing the bankroll up to $20,684. Still a long way to go, but at least we are moving in the right direction again.

Tonight I will be back at it. Good luck at the tables!!!!!

The long road back

2006-08-16T08:01:00.000-04:00

Hopefully we have started to make the climb. On Monday was another bad day as I just could not win a hand. It was horrible. I dropped to $19,873, which was the first time that the bankroll dropped under 20k since June 24th. All I could do was to try to stay positive and continue to play solid poker.

Yesterday that happened. I played 1/2 on Pokershare and Party Poker and I finished the day up $300. That may or may not sound like alot, but it sure felt good to post a win again. I used to remember the days when I could just string winning days together easily, but lately I have just not been running well.

So now the bankroll has once again topped 20k. Hopefully I never dip below again. I look forward to playing more winning poker with results that will equal my efforts.

Let me say thanks to all of you that showed support to me during these tough times. There are many days that I just did not want to post at all because I was so upset at my play and my results. I appreciate you guys sticking by me and messaging me your words of encouragement.

Best of luck to all of you. I hope to talk with you soon.

A different view.

2006-08-14T11:11:00.000-04:00

Ok sorry for the vent last night. I should never post immediately after play, but I want people to see the ups and downs. If you would have told me at the end of June that I would be at 21k right now I would have said you were nuts. I just finished my best month ever and then the collapse hit.

Well it is time to regroup. I am going to focus on 1/2NL and getting back to the basics. If I can build it back to 25k then I will go back to 2/4. I am going to tighten the opening hand requirements, but play aggressively once I am in a pot. Hopefully I can salvage a small profit this month and move on. I reread some things about players going broke several times before they hit it big. I am determined not to let that happen to me. By dropping my limits again I hope to minimize this downswing and then take advantage again when the upswing happens. I know I will ride this out, and while it is discouraging right now, it will make the story that much better when I can prove myself.

Good luck on the tables. I will be hitting the Party 1/2 and the Pokershare 1/2 tonight.

I give up

2006-08-13T23:06:00.000-04:00

Actually I don't yet, but I am pretty damn close. After another horrible weekend, both live and online, I am feeling like this game sucks. Tourney after tourney I bubbled after putting my money in with the best of it. Then in cash games I would either get rivered or call with the right price only not to catch. I am really, really sick of it.

Anyway a bankroll update. We are down to 21k as of today. That is about $1,100 in losses this month so far. I know that the month is young, but this is not going to cut it. It better get better quick, because I am very upset as of now.

Before I donk off any more money I am calling it quits early tonight. Take care and good luck.

Results from 8/9

2006-08-10T07:36:00.000-04:00

Well it was not a great day for me last night. I played well, but I just did not show a profit. All of my losses stemmed from two hands. Both times I had AA and lost to flopped sets on all rag flops. Once it was to 88, the other time it was 99. I need to figure a way to get off those hands.

So overall for the night I lost $300, which dropped the bankroll down to $23,174. Today I will continue to play some 1/2 and 2/4 NL and I will try some tourneys since I am home today.

Good luck everyone.

Results from 8/8

2006-08-09T09:46:00.000-04:00

Well yesterday was a good day for me. I played some 2/4 on Pokershare and I also played in their $500 guarantee at 10pm. I finished 7th in the 500 guarantee. I took a bad beat to get elminated when a guy went runner runner straight on me to win. I won a whopping $20. In the cash game I won over $600 and finished up the night with a $650 win.

So the bankroll is now at $23,489 again. Not bad at all. Tonight will be more 1/2 or 2/4 NL as well as a tourney or two possibly.

I also set up my account at Party Poker. My id there is ionafan1234. I have never played a real money game there so it should be interesting. Of course I will post the results tomorrow. Best of luck to everyone.

Results from 8/7

2006-08-08T14:43:00.000-04:00

It is good to be able to post results again, even if they are not good. I did not play poorly, but I was a little unlucky losing to flush draws when I put in enough that they should not have called. Oh well. Overall for the day I lost $98 to put the bankroll at $22,839.

Now just so you know I have started taking out $1000 a month out of the bankroll to deposit in the "home" account. The $22,839 reflects that I took that money out already. Sometime in early 2007 that number will increase to $2000 a month as part of a deal I struck with my wife. This will allow me to look at this more like a part time job, and my wife will support me by staying at home and handling the bulk of the chores. Right now she watches two kids to earn some extra money, but that will stop early next year.

Why am I telling you guys this? So that you will understand the fluctuations in the bankroll. I don't want anyone to think that I am hiding losses. When I receive my rakeback check each month I will then transfer the $1000 out. Hopefully I can play enough that the rakeback check will take care of the entire amount. With vacation last month I cleared $768 and I missed 6 days this month so it should be about the same.

I am also thinking about adding Party Poker into the rotation. I never played at Party Poker. My reason for playing there is that I have a cousin who likes poker and plays there. Plus there is an abundance of full ring games at every level. I am just waiting to hear what kind a deal, if any, I can get there.

Good luck everyone!!!

I am back!!!!!!!

2006-08-07T09:27:00.000-04:00

Ok the vacation is over, and man I am tired. Who would of thought that 9 days of swimming, drinking, and playing cards would be that tiring? Now I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

Seriously though I had a great time. Hanging out with my cousins, drinking my Uncle Rich's famous slushes, and playing about 500 games of Euchre. Those of you that know me, know that I am not a huge drinker. I drank more in the last week than I have in the past year thanks to those damn slushes. They are so good I will tell you how to make them.

First you get some frozen pink lemonade. It cannot be Minute Maid lemonade, it must be an off brand (this is a theme, and you must trust me). Pour the whole can in a container and save the can. Next pour in a can of lemon/lime soda into the container. Again it must be an off brand like Kroger lemon/lime. Now fill the lemonade can with Smirnoff rasberry vodka and then pour that into the container. Ok now you have the mix. Now get a blender, fill with ice, and pour the mix about 3/4 of the way up the blender. Mix until it is slush. Now enjoy. You can drink these all day without getting sick or getting a hangover. Trust me again, we tried the theory out.

I talked with some of you while I logged in to show my cousins the world of online poker. I also was able to play one day of live poker at a casino in Indiana. I played in a rebuy tourney that cost $140 to enter with $40 rebuys and a $60 addon. I was eliminated in the 2nd hour with a royal flush draw against someone who had top pair. I could not hit my outs and was done. I did win $375 playing the cash game though.

So the bankroll is now at $22,937. We have a long way to go to get back to the high of 28k, but I feel refreshed and ready to attack. I am sure I will be much more focused this week. Take care and good luck.

Another disaster of a weekend - Vacation notice

2006-07-23T21:49:00.000-04:00

Ok this weekend has been a nightmare. I just cannot win. When I get QQ, it is up against AA. AK on a flop of K55? Someone has J5. So what to do? Take a vacation. I am done with poker until I am back from vacation. No more at all. I will be sitting out and then when I get back I am dropping back down to 2/4 until I can get back over 25k. Where am I now? At 22.2k. I lost over 3k again this weekend playing mostly 3/6 and some 2/4. Like I said I am going back down to 2/4. So no more posts from me until August 7th.

I am at the bottom of the poker playing career right now. Dropping almost 6k in a week kills me. I know I will overcome, but for now I must stop playing, enjoy time with the family, and then come back with a new focus.

So that is it for now. I am sorry for the dark news. These clouds will lift. I hope you guys understand my position. Best of luck to everyone, and I will see you in two weeks time.

Even Steven Day

2006-07-22T07:32:00.000-04:00

Well technically it is my 3rd straight winning day, but it is not even worth reporting on. I could never gain any momentum at all. It sure was aggravating. I played one 180 man tourney and lost when I pushed with AcKc. I was called by 66 and by 88 despite my push being 10xbb. The flop comes AK6 and I am out.

So for the day I won a whopping $20!!!!!!! It sure beats posting a loss though. The bankroll is at $25,471. Right now I would love to get back to 26k before the weekend is out.

Well I am off to go play. Best of luck to all of you.

A small win is better than no win.......

2006-07-21T08:49:00.000-04:00

and that is exactly what I got last night. I played in two tourneys - the Bluff tourney at Absolute Poker and a 180 man SNG at Pokerstars. I finished in the middle of the pack in both tourneys which obviously netted me $0.

I then look at Pokershare and what I saw was disturbing. There were no 2/4 or 3/6 games going on at all. There were some 1/2 games going on so I sat down there. I ended up winning about $200 playing 1/2 but those games started to dry up early. There was a juicy game going on at 5/10, surely I can head over there? Right?

Hell no. I stick to my guns. Instead I just turned the laptop off and went to bed early. Total profit for the day was $175, bringing the bankroll to $25,451. Today is another day, and I am sure the games will be going strong on Pokershare all weekend.

Good luck to everyone. I will talk to you later.

The winning streak has begun!!!

2006-07-20T13:28:00.000-04:00

Well at least I hope it has. We cannot really call one winning day a streak, but after the other day we will take it. I played two tourneys last night. A $1000 freeroll hosted by Bluff Magazine on VIP poker, and the $500 guarantee on Pokershare. I got great cards on VIP but kept getting sucked out on and I finished 40th place. Way out of the money. Will only $1000 in chips and the blinds at 10/20 with 10 minute levels, you needed to get chips early or get knocked out. I guess I chose the 2nd route. The 2nd tourney I was about avg position with 17 players left. Top 7 got paid. Three off the button I had AA and two people went allin before me. I called and the first guy had AA and the 2nd guy had 1010. Sure enough the AA guy gets a flush and I am out!!! Unreal luck for me.

In the cash game I lose a $1000+ pot with 88 and a flop of A86. The other guy slowplayed AA perfectly and got a great flop. I did not get discouraged and I kept plugging away. By the end of the night the profit was at $547 which brought the bankroll back up to $25,276. It sure felt good to post a win.

So tonight I have a couple of tourneys to play and then my cash games again. Like I said, I will be sticking to 2/4 and 3/6, no 5/10 anymore. Thanks for the support everyone, good luck to all of you.

Black Tuesday - Worst night ever

2006-07-18T23:39:00.000-04:00

Well I am in pain as I am writing this. You cannot imagine how much pain. Today I played some 2/4, 3/6 and then I saw some people who moved up to 5/10. I gave it a shot yet again. I regret that decision.

I lost 3 buyins in an hour. $3000. The sad thing is I really did not misplay any hands.

66 vs 45s. I flop a set. On a flop of Q67. The turn is an 8 and kills me.
AA vs JJ. Allin preflop. J flops and I am dead.
AJ on a Jxx flop. The aggressor has QQ this time.

So the 10k month is history, the 30k before the trip is history, and I feel like I was hit by a car. I immediately stopped playing for the night and now that 45 minutes have passed I can write about it.

So what are the lessons?

1) You can take a shot at the higher level, but make sure you cap the buyins that you will lose.

2) Now that I have taken my shot I will no longer play 5/10 until I get to 50k. I cannot afford to screw around like that again.

3) Losing almost a months profit sucks, but you can and will rebuild. Just go back to the plan.

4) While I feel humiliated, I am still a winning player. Every player has gone through this. How I react to it will determine the person and the player I will be.

So I believe I will come out of this more determined. I am going back to 1/2, 2/4, 3/6. Like I said 5/10 is OFF the board for me. While I believe I kept my aggression up at the new table and I was not scared, I cannot afford losses like that.

Well that is the raw and honest truth. I feel like I let everyone down, especially myself. But the clouds will clear and the sun will come out.

The streak ends at 11

2006-07-18T09:56:00.000-04:00

Well all good things must come to an end. I played 2 180 man SNGs yesterday and I did not cash in either one. The first one I get dealt AA during the first orbit. There is a raise and a call in front of my when I make a pot sized raise back to them. The first guy goes allin and the 2nd guy folds. I of course call and he shows KK. After nothing on the flop or the turn the river comes with a K and I am out. GG me. The 2nd tourney I move deeper into the tourney when I raise with JJ and get two callers. The flop comes J104 and I decided to push allin and take the pot right there. One person calls with KQo and the river comes a 9. GG me.

So then I go play some 3/6 and I just could not get any momentum. One hand that I played poorly was when I hel KcJc. I raised on the button and was called. The flop comes Ks8c4c. The guy checks and I bet $40 and he min raises to $80. Without thinking I call. The turn is a Kh and he bets $125 and after thinking I call. The river is my flush but it does not matter since he has a boat with 44. I lose $400 that hand. I never gave him credit for AK or a set. Dumbass, dumbass, dumbass.

So overall I post a loss of nearly $300 for the day which drops the bankroll to $27,735. Tonight we will start a winning streak yet again hopefully. My biggest losing streak the last two months is two days in a row. I dont want to beat that streak.

Well good luck to everyone on the felt today.

Vegas, the WSOP, and Speed Poker

2006-07-17T11:12:00.000-04:00

Well I did not win a WSOP seat, so all my tough decisions have been made for me. I finished 13th in the tourney, top 3 won the seat. I put all of my chips when I had the best of it, got a great flop for my hand, and then was rivered on what amounted to a 4 outer. It felt like someone punched me in the stomach. I guess that seat mattered more to me than I thought.

So no Vegas trip for me this year. That has really bummed me out. I am hoping to make another Tunica trip with some of the guys, and then next year it is Vegas baby!!!! I will pay for a $1500 seat out of my pocket next year if I have to, but I am playing an event. I will also focus some attention next year to winning seats since I will not schedule any vacation during that time.

*********SPOILER ALERT************************

If you do not know about the Mansion Poker event from this Sunday do not read this!!!!

Ok I watched the event last night that my buddy Greig played in. He handled himself very well on TV, he looked a touch nervous when handling chips, but that is about it.
I do have an issue with the fact that he said that Kenna James is his favorite player over me, but what can you do.

So Greig got completely screwed during this broadcast. He was in first place with about double the 2nd place person when disaster struck. First he has AK and runs into QQ. They are both allin preflop. The first card hits and it was an Ace, but two cards later the Queen shows up. No problem he is still in solid shape. Then he gets AJd and he raises. Someone reraised with 55. He folds. Then he gets AKs and the other guy has A4d. Greig raises and the other guy calls. The flop comes Kxx with two diamonds. The guy bets and Greig goes allin. The guy thinks and thinks and then calls. Of course a diamond hits on the turn and Greig is a short stack. Shortly after that he is out. He played well, and I do not know what I would have done differently. I may have called with the AJd, it just depends on my read. If the guy flips over 55 it is an easy call mathematically. He could have had AK,AQ,JJ,QQ,KK,AA and then that would have spelled disaster.

I did play some 3/6 NL 6 handed games and I was able to post my 11th straight winning session. My record of 13 is right around the corner. My profit for the day was $839, which brings the bankroll to $28,022. I am hoping to break 30k before I take my self imposed break. I am starting to figure that while I may not hit 100k, I could hit 70k this year and 100k before next spring. I am making on average of $340 a day over the last 46 days since going back to NL. If I can finish this month at 30k, that would give me 145 days of possible play, which includes my break for vacation. I figure there is another 20 days out of that which I wont play (Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, long weekend with the wife that I have planned etc.), so that gives me 125 days of play. Multiply 125*340 and you get and additional $42,500. Now all I have to do is execute. It sounds so easy on paper, but obviously it is not as easy as it looks. But at least we have a plan to look at.

Ok enough rambling. Tonight I will be back playing some 2/4 or 3/6 and maybe a tourney or two to get me aggravated. Good luck to all of you out there.

Whew what a roller coaster ride

2006-07-16T00:45:00.000-04:00

Man what a rough day. I started off this morning losing some tough hands. I just could not get a break. When it was all said and done I was down $1250. I went out to play with the kids, grab some dinner, and then I came back and put the kids to bed. Finally with everything settled at home, I grabbed a seat at the 3/6 NL table. I tore up that first table and then moved to a 2/4 table. I tore up that table as well and when the evening came to a close I not only picked up the $1250 that I was down, but I finished the day with a profit of $622!!! That puts the bankroll at $27,183.

Tomorrow we have the WSOP freeroll at Pokershare. I am so looking forward to this event. My wife is taking the kids out of the house so I can concentrate. Hopefully tomorrow is my time.

Well I need to go to bed and get some sleep if I am going to be able to bring my A game. Have a great night and good luck to everyone.

Winning streak hits 9 in a row

2006-07-15T06:28:00.000-04:00

Well my dog did not want me to sleep in this morning, so here I am posting already. Last night I was only able to play for a couple of hours since my company is still in. Fortunately I was able to take advantage of the limited time I had to play and posted a $377 win. That win brings the bankroll up to $26,561. Hopefully we can pass 27k this weekend and cap the weekend off with a WSOP Main Event seat, even though we will turn it in if possible.

Since I am up anyway I will go check out the tables. Good luck everyone.

8 winning days in a row but no WSOP for me

2006-07-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Well last night was the finals of the Bluff Poker Tour. Like usual, I choked for a WSOP main event seat. I was up and down for the first hour of the tourney, and then the 2nd hour I missed a couple of huge draws that left me with 10xbb. I raise to 4xbb after a limper with AhKh. The limper calls. The flop comes out A93. I push allin and get quickly called. He turns over 33 and I am dead. Another opportunity shot down.

I did play some 2/4 NL 6 handed tables and I did post a winning night overall, my 8th night in a row. My total profit for the night was $186, and that puts the bankroll at $26,184. Since moving to NL on June 1st I have posted 35 winning sessions out of 43 sessions overall and my profit has been nearly 14k. I do not see moving away from NL anytime soon obviously.

So tonight I am entertaining guests again, so I will not be able to play until much later unfortunately. Hopefully I can still get in a few hours of 2/4.

Here is a question for readers out there. Sunday I play in the 40 person freeroll at Pokershare that gives away 3 seat to the Main Event. If I should win a seat, and that is a HUGE IF, should I ask them if I can exchange it for a World Poker Tour seat? The reason I would do this is that I am supposed to go to the lake for a week with the kids when the WSOP starts. Now I really, really want to play in the WSOP, and I have never been to Vegas, but I also enjoy the lake, and I want to see my family. I would also hate to cancel the kids vacation. They have been looking forward to it all summer. Any thoughts???

I did notice that a couple of people have signed up for the rakeback deal. Thanks for using the link, and I hope you enjoy your new boost to your bankroll. Good luck everyone!!!!!!

The streak hits 7!!!!!

2006-07-13T08:55:00.000-04:00

Yes yesterday I had another winning session. I did not get to play alot because I have company in until next week, but I do what I can, when I can. I played all 2/4 6 max tables, and ended up winning $633 for the session. The bankroll is now at $25,998. For the month I am up $2800. It is really a good month considering how little I have played. My results would be scary if I could get in any serious play. Oh well.

So people are asking me about Pokershare and this rakeback deal on that site and other sites. Keep those questions coming, I do not mind answering them. As little as I have played I still have earned $257 in rakeback through 5pm on the 11th. It is money that you should get as well. I just want my readers to have every advantage that I have.

Ok tonight is the final of the Bluff Poker Tour. We are playing for the WSOP Main Event seat. Wish me luck, I have a feeling I will need it. Best of luck to you at the felt!!!!

Justpaysomerake.com Banner

2006-07-12T16:29:00.000-04:00

Yes the 2nd banner is now up. I know my formatting sucks, so anyone that can help with where a better spot would be, and can help me put it there, I welcome the advice.

But now let me talk about the site and why I put it there. First of all I use it. I would never put anything up here or suggest it without using it first. This site is solid. Why you ask? Good question. Here is why. They update their stats every day so you can see how much you are earning. They pay you promptly each month. They are there to answer any questions that you may have. These guys have proven to me that they are trustworthy.

The fact of the matter is that you deserve some rake back for your play. Someone is getting it, why not you? Every little bit helps. Now obviously when you get to 1/2 and 2/4 NL, it is not a little bit anymore. I should end up around $1000 each month.

Now if you do click the link to sign up I will get a small % as a referral fee. That is NOT why I am telling you to do this. While every $ helps, my word means alot more to me than anyone here can afford. I did not know about rakeback when I started out, and I certainly did not know what companies to trust. So for those of you that are in my shoes, it is my obligation and my pleasure to help you out. What you do with that information is entirely up to you.

Six winning days in a row

2006-07-12T08:38:00.000-04:00

Well last night I mostly got my ass kicked in Playstation 2 games, but I did get to play some poker. I played some 2/4 NL and won $286 for the day. The big losing hand came when I overplayed my 99 on a 852 flop and lost to 1010. Oh well, it happens. The bankroll is now sitting at $25,365.

Today I am off of work, but I am bringing the kids to the pool. I will get some poker in at some time today, I am not sure when though. Best of luck to all of you today.

Why Bill is a dumbass

2006-07-11T10:38:00.000-04:00

The other day I was telling you why you should root for Kenna James. Let me elaborate, and add Rick Fuller and crew to that list. Along the way you will find out why I am a dumbass (if you did not already know why). My buddies Greig, Jeremy, and Erik were all going to Vegas to watch Greig compete in the Mansion Pokerdome Speedpoker tourney. I backed out due to family obligations. Well on Sunday night my buddies go to the Rio and meet Kenna James finally. Kenna was super cool towards his new "Bluff posse". They also called up Rick Fuller who has played in tourneys with us online, and routinely posts in the Bluff forum. Well Kenna and Rick decide to take the guys out on the town with them, Gavin Smith, Clonie Gowen, and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. Needless to say my buddies are having a blast going from club to club with these folks while yours truly is sitting at home playing 2/4 NL. All I can say is AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!

I get a phone call the next day and Greig cannot contain his excitement as he is relaying the story. He said that Kenna, Rick, and the gang treated them as they were long time friends. This from people that they have never "met", just really talked to online. If that does not show you what awesome people that they are, nothing will.

So instead of making my first trip to Vegas ever and getting to meet some really great people that I watch all the time on TV, I am sitting on my ass playing online and handling some family stuff. Man if that is not a bad beat then I do not know the definition of one.

So last night I played in a 180 man SNG on Stars and played some 2/4 NL on pokershare. I could not build any momentum at all during the day. I cashed in the SNG, finishing 12th when I pushed allin on the button with AQ for 10.5k and was called by the bb who had KJ. The blinds at the time were 600/1200 with a $50 ante. He flops two kings and I am out. GG me.

In the cash game I lost a $500 pot when my I went allin with my overpair of KK and I was called by A9s. He goes runner, runner for the flush. Just wonderful. I do manage to win $130 at that table anyway though.

So my profit for the day is $151 and that moves the bankroll to $25,079. It is my 5th straight winning day, hopefully that does not end soon. Oh well back to work and my sorrow of a missed trip. Good luck everyone!!!!!!!

The start of what I hope is a huge week

2006-07-10T09:09:00.000-04:00

Well this week I have two solid shots at winning a Main Event seat at the WSOP. Thursday night we have the finals of the Bluff Poker Tour at VIP Poker. My best shot will be Sunday at Pokershare. There is a freeroll for 40 people where they will give away THREE seats to Main Event. I would love to take advantage of one of these opportunities to play in the King of poker tourneys. Hopefully everything can come together during one of them.

So I took most of Saturday off but I did play yesterday. I entered 3 tourneys and only cashed in one which was a second place showing. Unfortunately it was also the cheapest of the prizepools. Oh well.

For the day the profit was just under $400. I also received my rakeback payment for 15 days of work which totalled $440. Not bad at all. So the bankroll is sitting at $24,928 now, which represents a $1700 profit for the month so far. Not nearly a 10k month like June was, but still solid after 1/3 of the month has been done.

1/3 of the month you say??? We have only had 9 days so far, and last time I checked July had more than 27 days. Well not for me. I am taking a break from online poker from July 27th-August 6th. I am going to spend time with my family and all of my Aunts/Uncles/cousins at a lake in Indiana. Simply put, it is the best time I have all year long. All we do is swim at the lake, play ball with all the kids (and there is a ton of them), play horseshoes, and of course play some cards. They love playing Euchre and Poker. My euchre game is rusty, but you all know how the poker game is shaping up. My kids are counting down the days until we leave, and I must say I am doing the same.

So that is all I have to report for the day. This Sunday night on FOX Sports they will be showing the epsiode of Mansion Poker that my friend Greig played on. I dont know how he did (I am trying to avoid finding out), but I am sure he played well. I know they had a great time over the weekend, and most of my buddies were winning money through play on Sunday afternoon. I will have to wait for the final report. Well good luck to all of you on the felt this week, hopefully we all will have alot to be happy about!!!

A good way to start the weekend

2006-07-08T05:57:00.000-04:00

Well I had a very good night playing 2/4 NL and also playing at a very rarely seen full 3/6 NL game. The good news is that more players are heading to Pokershare, and we are getting better ring games. I played for about three hours overall, and won just over $1500. This brings the bankroll up to 24k once again.

Today I will play for a couple of hours before going out tonight with my wife. Hopefully I am back on the verge of another positive run. Good luck.

Results from 7/6

2006-07-07T09:24:00.000-04:00

Well I played some 5/10 limit and some 2/4 NL. I did not have a good session in 5/10 limit as far as results go, but I did play solid poker. I think I am going to be done with limit for now and just concentrate on the NL game.

Overall my profit for the night was $225 which puts me over 22.5k. Today I should get my rakeback money as well which will bump me back to 23k.

Today I added a link to the official website for Kenna James. Simply put, there is no better person in poker than this guy. He exudes class in everything he does. It is great to see someone who truly deserves success, actually acheiving it. I know that one day we will be referring to Kenna as "x time WSOP bracelet winner Kenna James". I hope he starts that run this year. He is so down to earth and accessible to the common folk like us. Take a look at his site and see for yourself.

In other news my buddy Greig is heading out to Vegas with two other buddies of mine today. He won a trip to participate in the Mansion Poker Speed Poker tourney. He is playing tomorrow night and it will be on TV some time next week. He won the entry in a ONE PENNY tourney. Now if he can beat 3 consecutive 6 person SNGs he will win one million dollars. Just unreal. Go take it down Greig!!!!!!!

Ok that is enough rambling for now. Best of luck to everyone on the felt!!!

AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

2006-07-06T10:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was horrible. Everything that could happen to a player in his life, happened to me yesterday. Flopped set over set? It happened to me three times. KK vs 88 allin? 8 flops. AQ on a Q rag flop? I lose to 56h when the turn is a 5 and the river is a 6. It was brutal.....

So looking back what could have I done differently? Well there were a couple of bets I would have liked to take back, if I did then I would have lost a couple of hundred less. Nothing I could have done would have made me a winner yesterday though. What was the total carnage? Nearly $1400. I wince even as I write that.

So overall the bankroll dipped to 22.3k. Not good at all. I am down $1000 for the month. I know this will turn around, but boy that hit does not feel good.

Anyway today I will be back at it, playing some 2/4 NL and some 1/2 NL. Good luck out on the felt!!!

Winning Streak ends at 12

2006-07-05T08:17:00.000-04:00

All good things must come to an end eventually. I was hoping though that the end of my winning streak would not cost me so much!!! Fortunately I rebounded some yesterday, and I am ready to start a new winning streak.

So with my loss on Monday and my win on Tuesday, by bankroll dipped to 23.7k. A loss of $300 overall. Not a huge deal, but not nearly as much fun as winning.

Tonight I have the last event of the Bluff Poker Tour at Poker.com. This will finalize the standings and then we will play for the WSOP seat next week. I also play for a WSOP seat in a pokershare promotion as well next week. Hopefully I can take one of these down.

Take care and good luck on the felt!!!!

Results from 7/2

2006-07-02T23:45:00.000-04:00

Well I did not get to play a whole bunch today. I spent the day having a shrimp boil at the house with the neighbors. I did get to play some 2/4 NL as well as some 5/10 NL. I only tried the 5/10 game because I recognized half the table from my 1/2 and 2/4 play. I basically broke even on the 5/10 play and won money on the 2/4 play. My profit was $276 overall. The bankroll edged over 24k and now sits at $24,034. Tomorrow I will get to play some during the day, but then I am going to the Braves game tomorrow night with the family. After Tuesday I will be back to my regular amount of play. Good night and good luck!!!!

Ok I lied - results from 7/1

2006-07-01T16:41:00.000-04:00

Well I was not supposed to play at all today because I am playing live with friends today after I got back from the Liberty Day festival in Cedar Bluff, Alabama. Well we left the festival a little early since it was so hot. I had an hour to kill, so what better way to prepare to play poker other than to play poker. I played an hour of 2/4 NL and posted a win of $558. That is my 11th winning day in a row. My record is 13 days in a row.

Question of the day - What is your record for most consecutive winning sessions?

So the bankroll now sits at $23,758. No more play for me today as I am leaving for the game in about 20 minutes. Take care and good luck!!!!

Results from 6/30

2006-07-01T00:49:00.000-04:00

Well I posted my first 10k month!!!!!!!! I back to NL fulltime on 6/1 and my profit was $10,662 for the month.

I played in two tourneys today. One was a 10k event at Full Tilt. I finished 61st out of 494 people when my KK could not beat A10 when he went runner runner straight. If I win that hand I definitely cash and I would be in the top 15. Instead I am out.

I played a $500 guarantee at Pokershare and I died when my AKs lost to QQ. Races were not good to me today at all.

But then there was the cash games!!!! I won $1300 at the cash games today. One hand was a $1699 pot where I had KK, another player had QQ, and a third player had K5s. The flop comes J45 and I bet and 50, get raised by QQ to 152 and the 3rd player calls and I call. The turn is a 4 but puts 3 spades on the board and we all check (the guy with K5 had hearts). The river is another 4 and I check and both guys go allin. I call and take down the pot!!!!!

So the bankroll is now at $23,200. I will not get to play tomorrow because I am playing live. Sunday I will play and post the results.

Hopefully July can be even better than June. Good luck to all of you!!!!!

Banners and rakeback promos

2006-06-30T11:07:00.000-04:00

Over the next weeks or so you will see a couple of banners added to the page. Now I am not going to make this blog look like the latest entry in a NASCAR event, but I do want to be able to point out some special offers.

One is the 100% bonus at Pokershare. If you click on the link you will get a 100% bonus up to $300. It is a site that you can make a killing on. I have made over 10k there in less than two months. Plus their tourneys still have some good overlays. Their weekly 25k tourney usually has a 5-6k overlay each week.

The 2nd banner that you will see next week is for justpaysomerake.com. If you sign up for sites through them you will get 30% of your rakeback. For me that means about $1000 a month. They update their stats every day so you can see how much you have earned. The sites that they support are Pokershare, Ultimate Bet, Full Tilt, Gaming Club, XtremeBluff. If you do sign up for them please use the code BILLINGA44, as I will get credit for bringing you to them.

I just figure that my readers should have every opportunity in front of them that I have as well. If you think that is too much please send the comments coming. Take care and good luck!!!!!!

The streak continues at 9 days

2006-06-30T09:19:00.000-04:00

Well I played in two tourneys last night after I got back from my son's swim party. The first was the Bluff Poker Tour event at Doyle's Room. They have one of the worst structures on the internet. We are down to 18 people from 93 on blind level 7 and nobody has an M of even 10!!!! Just crazy. I push allin for 4k with the blinds at 400/800 with AQ. I get looked up by AJ and he flops a J and I am out.

The other tourney is the $500 guarantee at Poker Share. It is a $10 tourney and they never get more than 40-45 people. Yesterday we had 44 people and I finished 4th for $60.

All this time I was also playing 2/4 NL and tearing it up. I won nearly 700 playing in those ring games. Overall my profit for the day was $742 which brought my bankroll up to $21,935.

So I have won $9400 with one day left in June. It would be cool to have a 10k month, but I am not going to go out of my way to try and make it happen. Also this weekend is packed, so it will not allow for alot of play other than tonight and maybe Sunday night. I will probably post the results of today's play before I go to bed tonight since I have to drive to Alabama in the morning to watch my daughter perform at a Liberty Day festival. Then I have a live game tomorrow night with some of the guys from the Bluff Magazine Forum.

Good luck to everyone!!!!!!!

Results from 6/28

2006-06-29T10:16:00.000-04:00

Well yesterday was an "even Steven" kind of day. I played in two tourneys, a $10 one on Pokershare and a $30 one on Pokerstars. On Pokershare I lost race after race and eventually finished in the middle of the pack. In the $30 tourney on Stars I was in the top 20 for most of the tourney (649 people entered). I lost a big pot when I was allin with AA against a guy who had KK. A king on the flop dropped me to 7th place instead of vaulting me to first. Finally I am sitting in 13th place with 27 left when I get 88 and I raise. I get one caller. The flop is 1062. I bet and he raises. I flat call. The next card is a 3. I check and he checks. Now I think he has AK or KQ something like that. The next card is a 9 and I feel the board has not helped him so I go allin for another 17k into the pot which is now about 35k. He calls and flips over JJ. Oh well, I get $117 for me effort.

The cash game I lose some when I cannot get people off of flush draws that the river fills for them. One time I bet $125 into a $125 pot with one card left. I have an overpair and he has a flush draw. He calls and hits the flush and wins a huge pot.

So overall for the night I win a whopping $35 which puts me at $21,193 overall. Today I have a pool party to go to that ends just in time for me to play the Bluff Poker Tour event at Doyle's Room. I will also play some more 2/4 NL.

That is all for now. Best of luck to all of you.

Relaxing at the swim meet - results from 6/27

2006-06-28T08:56:00.000-04:00

Well yesterday my son was swimming like Michael Phelps. At least Michael Phelps when he was 7. He posted his best times in the freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly, which earned him a first and two seconds at the meet. We did not get home until after 10pm, so my play was very limited. In the 2 hours that I did play I showed a profit of $200 which pushes the bankroll to $21,158.

Tonight I will get to play quite a bit, so we will see if I have a legit shot at a 10k month. I am now $1400 short. It is still very possible, but not real probable.

Question of the day. Which pro will win multiple WSOP bracelets this season. My bet is on Phil Ivey.

Results from 6/26

2006-06-27T10:04:00.000-04:00

Before I go to the results of yesterday's play, I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who post and wish me well, or send me email, instant messages, and the like. I truly appreciate the fact that all of you are behind me. By the way, all of you can do this too!!!! All it takes is alot of studying, time at the tables, and constant inspection of your game. I do not possess any innate ability that you don't have in you as well. You just need to make the decision to apply yourself and work at the game.

Now for the results. Yesterday was another good day at the 1/2 and 2/4 NL tables. No really big hands to speak of, just a constant move forward. By the end of the night I was up $573. There were a couple of hands that show how I play differently now than I did a couple of months ago. Here are two...

Hand 1) I have AK in lp in a 2/4 game and I make it 16 to go. Both blinds call. The flop comes KQ9 rainbow. The first guy bets $32, the second guy calls and it is back to me. Now the first guy could be making a play, but the 2nd guy flat calling me scares me and I fold. Before I would have raised or called, but I never would have folded. Both guys had J10 for the nut straight.

Hand 2) I have KK on the button in a 2/4 game and again I make it 16 to go. The small blind calls me. The flop comes A98 all clubs. I do not have the King of clubs. He checks and I bet $30. He folds the hand. Normally I would have checked that down and probably lost to a 4th club to someone holding a low club. Now I stay on the aggressive front and figure that he does not know that I dont have the flush already. So I pushed and won.

These are the subtle differences between winning alot and winning a little. Anyway today is my son's last swim meet so there will not be alot of play tonite. Good luck everyone.

Opposite Day - Results from 6/25

2006-06-26T08:40:00.000-04:00

Boy was yesterday weird. I played in three tourneys yesterday and cashed in two of them. One was the 25k at Pokershare where I finished 27th which was worth $250. I tried to double up with JJ and pushed allin which was almost a 5x raise. I was called on the button by A9o and he flopped an ace but I flopped a flush draw. Unfortunately I did not hit the diamond or the Jack and I was out. I then played in the Bluff Poker Tour event at Absolute Poker and lost with KK vs AK on a QJx flop when we get allin and he turns an Ace. Out in 91st. The last tourney of the day was at Pokershare. I finished 5th in their $500 guarantee for a whopping $30 when my QQ could not beat KJ. We were allin preflop and he turned a K. Oh well.

So you would think that based on my cash game play, this would have been a great day? Nope. Nut flush draws wouldnt come and many pocket pairs ended up being folded because a set would not show up. It wasnt a disaster, just a slow bleeding of money.

Overall for the day I finished up $72. That puts me at 20.4k for the year. Today I am sure to get some play in, and hopefully I can turn June into my first ever, and hopefully not last, 10k month of profit. Currently I am up $7850, which is my biggest month so far. Take care, and I will see you at the tables.

Results from 6/24

2006-06-25T06:51:00.000-04:00

Well yesterday sure was a day of swings. I only played 1/2 and 2/4 no limit, and I started off well. I was up a couple of hundred when all of a sudden I hit Top Pair vs Overpair hell. That put me down a little when I flopped the nut straight. I managed to get this guy allin on the turn with a board of 678K with me holding 910o and he was holding J9. The river comes a 10, giving him a higher straight. Did I go on tilt? No. I just refocused and starting getting some chips back. Then I won my biggest hand ever, a $1510 pot. I flopped a set of fours against a guy who was slowplaying AA. We got allin on the turn and the river did not bring an Ace and that put me back in the black for the day. I finished the day +807, bringing the bankroll to $20,321. My first time over 20k, and I must say it feels good.

Now to try and stay there. Today I will be back playing some more NL at Pokershare and I will once again try the 25k tourney there as well. I also have the Bluff Poker Tour event at Absolute Poker today. Hopefully I can break through my MTT slump today.

Best of luck to all of you.