Life...Other Than Poker

I haven't really played much in the past couple of days. The little bit I did play, I was too impatient and a little to loose/aggro. I was up, then down, and ended up a small amount in the negative direction. I played a couple of hands really poorly. One of which I went against a read I had on the villain and the note I had written on him. I ended up losing a buyin on a dumb call when I made a defensive bet on the river with trip aces with a jack, when he shoved I decided to pay him off. From my notes and my read, I knew he had AJ beat and probably had either a flopped set for a boat on the river or the more likely hand, AK. GG me...way to trust your reads. So I haven't put in much volume the past two days. I'll get it going soon though, so stay tuned.
On other fronts, I started orientation for the new job. I'm starting with Macy's West as a divisional associate. When I got hired, it was under the assumption that I would eventually enter the management training program. So that will be exciting, especially since the future wife wanted me to get a "real" job and more regular income and hours. I love her and if she wants me to do it, I pretty much have to. The wedding plans are coming together. We just sent out the invitations and are almost done with the registry and most of the major tasks have been taken care of. Reserved the reception hall and church, hired the DJ and caterer, hired the photographer and cake designer, and hired the wedding day coordinator.

Some of the minor details have been taken care of, like choosing the cake design and flavors, wine and beer list, music selection for the ceremony, guest list and groomsmen/bridesmaids. There are some things that really need to get taken care of in the next few days though. First, I need to pick the suits and ties for the groomsmen, especially since she has already got the bridesmaids dresses picked out and delivered. We still have to pick out the flowers and decorations for the reception and ceremony. I still need to find some bartenders to do the reception and find people to do some of the different things for the ceremony (i.e. ushers, guest book attendant, etc.)

So all is going well on that front. I just finished reading Power Hold'em Strategy by Daniel Negreanu. It is a great book, probably one of the best books written on the subject of poker in a long time. There are some chapters that can be skipped or aren't that great, but for the most part, it is a great read. If you really think about the small ball section and try to approach the game the way he prescribes, you'll be surprised. I've been a big advocate of small ball for a long time, and have strayed from time to time, but really see the benefits from playing in that style. I started reading Professional Hold'em by Ed Miller. It's not a strategy book, per se. The book mainly focuses on decision making, odds considerations and some of the metagame processes to think about. It is a good book so far.

I have read a ton of poker books, and have continued to try to only add tools to my arsenal that I think are beneficial for MY GAME. I don't try to play like Goldseraph, Damnringer, Splitsuit, Negreanu, Chris Hinchcliffe, or any other player. I try to play position, sometimes I play out of position as if I have a monster, but for the most part try to play most of my hands in position. I think my reads are really great, I just need to trust my reads more often and not convince myself that they are always bluffing. Here's a great example from last night. I raised a few hands in position and the player on my left kept calling every raise. I started with AQ, he called, I bricked the flop and cbet. He called, I checked another brick on the turn, he fired, I folded. This happened again a couple of orbits later. Everytime I raised the same amount and cbet about the same amount. Everytime he would float the flop and fire the turn. I noticed a pattern and his data was horrific. He was running 56/12/5 over 326 hands. So the very next hand I pick up AA. I raise the exact same amount, and he must have thought that he could just keep doing what he was to me. It sucked because he had position on me, so I had to do what they always tell you to do with a Loose passive player pre and loose aggressive post. I cbet the flop again, it was 995 with two hearts, again, the exact same amount I had been. I don't like to vary my bets much to give away free information. Sure enough, he calls. I check the turn, just like I had been doing. He fires, like he was, it was almost robotic. I check raised more than the pot to make it look like a frustration play or bluff. He bit, but just called. A blank came on the turn, he only hand about 7 blinds left, so I pushed him in and he called off with J4 of hearts for just a pair of jacks....what a bad player. I made notes on him and can't wait to get him again on a table.

So all is going well right now. I'm getting plans together to build a poker room/poker office/game room. I am going to put a flat screen in there hooked up to my computer and different game consoles. It will also be used as the poker timer and info center when we get our home game together again. So I'm getting those plans together. So time to call it a night. Gonna hit the tables tomorrow, not sure for how long though.

Quick Update

The bankroll is still growing, and I'm almost ready to jump to the next level. I've been doing well at the current level, and have continued to have winning days. My big problem has been putting in volume. I just can't seem to get myself to sit in one spot and play for longer than an hour or two. I was playing in some really juicy games tonight, and I just didn't want to sit and play. I was up about two buyins for the hour that I played, but just wasn't feeling like playing. I don't know what my problem is right now. I love playing, but just couldn't put the time in. To be successful in this game, you have to put in the hours.

Ever since I switched to cash games, I have been doing really well. I'm still running into some coolers from time to time, but playing small ball has really helped to lower the variance. Here's one way to think about small ball. If you are normally betting the pot, you might get paid off by a really bad or inept player. However, when they do suckout on you, you are pretty much committed by the river to call off your money drawing really thin or dead. By playing small ball, you get a lot more value for your winning hands that may have been very marginal in other games, and are losing smaller amounts when they do get lucky. Another thing about small ball, is that you don't want to overvalue one pair, and you don't want to get in the habit of paying people off. If you think you are beat, or at best, in a very marginal situation, don't hesitate to fold. This is good for a couple of reasons. For one, it keeps you out of tough situations where you just don't know what to do. Secondly, it will make the other players think you were drawing at a hand or are a weak player. I don't know how many times I folded top pair or second pair to a check raise on the turn. Then in a later hand, they think they can run me over and pull off the same move....WRONG! Again, you have to know your opponents and know what they are thinking about and what they are capable of.

Whenever a LAG would make a move against me in a marginal situation, I would simply tighten up in pots against them and wait to drop the hammer on them. I try to remember how much I raised and what I did on the flop or turn in that marginal situation. I will then do the same thing and they bite because they have been trained like Pavlov's dog. So, things are going well, I just need to keep it up. A few more wins and I will be taking a shot at the next level. Hopefully I can be at the next level by the beginning of the month. Good luck at the tables.

Weekend Update

So I played a little this weekend. I didn't play the volume I wanted to, but I had some things I had to get done around the house. Friday night I put in a small volume, only about an hour or so, while 4 tabling. I won a very small amount, nothing to really mention. Saturday night I put in a little more volume and decided to take a brief shot at the next level. I only two tabled that session and was just testing the waters. I didn't want to play too aggro, and probably played a little nitty, but I thought it was the best way to play. Especially because it was a weekend night and most of the players I have played on weekends tend to play way too LAG.

I ended up about 1 buyin, which was a good result for the short session. I always wait for the big blind. I don't like posting, then feeling like I have to defend my money if somebody raises behind, especially with no read yet. So I try to come in late and watch the table for a few hands. I usually will play really tight when I first get to a table to see who the LAG's are, find out where the shortstackers and nits are. So the first hand out I get AK suited in the BB with the SB raising. I three bet him, and he four bets me. I flat call, again with no read yet. The flop comes K-K-9 with two diamonds. He checks, I bet a little less than half the pot, he folds. It was a really weird play. He put in half his money before the flop on a four bet, then folds on the flop to a small bet. I ran into a few tough decisions and probably made some good folds, not sure though.

On the other table, one guy kept three betting my raises. I would raise with a good steal hand in position and he kept three betting me. Again, I wasn't sure what kinds of hands he was playing. The only info I had was that he had solid numbers and seemed like a winning player. A few hands later I get AK suited and raise and the same player three bets me again. There was a calling station that was playing about 80% of the hands and flat calls in the SB. I four bet to iso the calling station and the three bettor folds. Then the calling station re-raises. It was a really weird play. He has a hand that's not strong enough to re-raise, but then five bet before the flop? The only thing I could put him on was 66-QQ, maybe AA or KK but not likely. He didn't have much left, and against a loose player like this, I'm not folding. SO I push him in and he calls. He has QQ and I have AK of hearts. The flop comes all hearts and he is left broke. So I decided to end the session a little later. I was up about a buyin, and considered that a good night.

I tried to stick to my small ball approach, and never raised more than 3X's the BB. I kept the pots small to keep weak hands in and was reading players well. One thing I noticed is that the players at the next level were a lot more aggressive on the flop then at the previous level. It led me to start to think about the different things you need to master as you move up the cash game ladder.

In the micro limits, the players are generally bad and the thing you need to master is preflop hand selection. You want to play your hand strong and play good hands in good position. The players do not really consider what you have and will usually only play their hand. If they have a pair or a draw they will call down or raise. They don't consider whether they are beat, they usually think they are being bluffed and will call down. That is one thing I have noticed about bad players, they put way too much value on bluffing and think it is a major part of the game. Yes bluffing is a part of the game, and can be profitable. But it should only be used in the right situations and usually heads up or at most three handed.

In the low limits, the players are a little better, but there are new skill sets you need to master. Again, you want to focus on preflop hand selection, but now you are also looking to play flops and isolate weak players. Raising in position with a good hand, and protecting hands on the flop are a big thing to master. Your opponents will usually play pretty straightforward. They will call OOP with top pair or better and they tend to try to slowplay a little too much. If they are OOP I have noticed that they love to check raise with strong hands. So you need to really focus on playing position and really start refining your hand reading skills. You will learn to spot weakness in checks and player profiling becomes important.

In the next levels, I have noticed that preflop aggression and isolating is becoming more important. Bluffing is rare and you are looking to play a hand in position against LAG's. So that's my brief observation so far. I'll keep the education going. But that is just my brief read so far.

Tilt or Just Bad Play?

I have had the worst day of my young career so far. I'm down about 8 buyins today. UGH!!! The few big hands I had got beat by some really lose plays and shortstacking cockroaches. I had a guy four bet shove on a half stack with KJ suited against my AA. Of course he flopped the flush. It makes perfect sense, shove 50 BB's with king high, of course you'll get there. So it was just disgusting how bad the people were playing, but getting rewarded.

One of my nemesis players was playing 56% of the hands. His VPIP was 56%, that is ridiculously loose. He called raises OOP with just about any ace, any broadway hand, any pair, it was hilarious. And again, he would get there on the end. I know I was playing a little too aggressive, but I'm working on that. I need to idle it back a little and really focus on isolating players with a good hand, or at least a hand with some potential. But the big key is POSITION. I need to play position much better. Part of me keeps telling myself that I'm playing great, but just not getting there in the end or holding out the draws.

The sheer number of calling stations and players that always think you're bluffing is funny. You can have top pair with the nut draw, or a set and people will call you to the river with some really weak hands. Here's another great example. I had been somewhat active at the table, but really playing position well. I get 77 in late position with an early limper. I raise, the BB re-raises pretty small and the limper folds. I have the BB on AK or a smallish pair, maybe 66-JJ. He was the kind of player that pushed the size of the pot when he had AA or KK. But a little more than a min raise looked fishy. I call, and the flop comes Q-6-4 with two hearts. He bets into me, only smaller than his re-raise. Right there I knew he was weak, so I pushed him in and he called off the rest of his money with AK and only one heart. Of course he got there on the end when he spiked a king on the river. Just my luck tonight.

I just got done reading the new book from Negreanu. Some of the sections are pretty worthless, but the section written by Negreanu is GOLD. I have gotten away from my typical small ball approach as of late. I tried to impliment my game, but it just wasn't working. I would get drawn out on constantly. So I went to big ball approach, to the same conclusion. I need to find out what is wrong with my game right now. It is just really frustrating. I'll run up a good session, then suddenly hit cooler, cooler and have a losing session. In an earlier session I was up a good amount, and decided to leave the tables. I played out two of the tables to UTG. I get KK on one and AK on the other. On both tables I hit coolers. AK vs. KK and of course the case king hits the flop with no draws. And of course you can guess what KK was up against. YUP, AA. So a decent win turned into a small loss.

I'll stop ranting now. Here is what I am going to focus on for the next session. First, I need to really focus on hand selection pre-flop. Make sure to play stronger hands up front and look to isolate limpers or steal blinds when possible. Second, I need to idle back the aggression a little. I need to get back to my small ball approach. Think about it. Most players are passive with weak hands. So if you make smaller bets, they are more like value bets. You want players in there with weak hands against you. Instead of trying to play big pots in marginal situations, I need to make smaller bets, keep the pots small and look to play my hands in position. I think if I can do this, it will turn my sessions around. Finally, I need to think through the hands and analyze the kind of players in the pot with me. Don't try to run a marginal hand through a bunch of players. Don't go broke with one pair, and don't let overly aggressive players control pots. I'll figure out what I'm doing wrong and get back on track. I just need to get my head together.

On a final note, I got a JOB.....woohoo. So that's one thing done on my list of goals. Just a few more to go.

Can't Wait

I just read the announcement about Rock Band 2 coming out in a couple of months. OH MY GOD! This is going to be awesome. They have included 84 tracks on the disc, and with their history, there will be new songs every week. It will be backwards compatible with Rock Band, so all of your downloaded songs will already be in the game. Not only that, but they also announced that you can pay a small fee to transfer all of the songs on the Rock Band disc to the game, so you don't have to switch discs.

The also said that there will be new peripherals, including a better drum kit and guitar. The old drum kit was good, but broke way too often. Some of the artists that have been included (all master recordings), include; Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Offspring, System of a Down, Steve Miller, Guns N Roses, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and others. The soundtrack is very diverse including just about every genre you can think of. They even included Duran Duran and the Go-Go's. So overall this is probably going to kill Guitar Hero: World Tour when it comes out. The drum kit for GH seems a little better, especially with the cymbals, but I'm still a huge Rock Band fan. Mainly because they stay on top of new downloadable content.

The game comes out in the middle of September, so I will definitely be on top of the list to get my copy. It should retail for around $180 with all of the peripherals. Such a great value for the entertainment and fun factor.

Setting Goals

This weekend, I went to a friends wedding and spent some time with my fiancee. If I haven't said it, she is the best thing to ever happen to me. She is independent, yet still loves to spend time together. She is working on her PhD right now, so time is a little sparing, but I'm sure she'll get annoyed with me soon enough...lol. So I was thinking about some of the goals I want to set for myself for the rest of the month.

Goal #1 - I want to play a minimum of 2,000 hands a day that I play. I will not be playing everyday, but the days that I do play I want to get a good volume in. If I lose a couple of buy-ins and just don't feel like I'm playing well, I'll call it a short day. If I'm running well and sitting at some juicy tables, I'll obviously put in longer sessions.

Goal #2 - To play the next level, comfortably, I need to win about 10 buy-ins. So I hope to be playing the next level by the end of the month. Right now I am booking small wins. Hopefully that will change I will have some big days. I'm booking small wins because of bad beats towards the end of sessions and overplaying a few hands. SO I need to make the right adjustments and hopefully the wins will come. For the most part, I need to put in some serious sessions and get the proper volume.

Goal #3 - Get a workout routine together. I have been slacking on this one. I have a gym membership that I haven't really used lately. I want to schedule at least 3 days a week. My routine will be 10 mins of warmup cardio, lift for about 30-40 mins, then another 30 mins of cardio to finish. I did this routine about a year ago and not only lost quite a bit of weight, but put on some good lean muscle. So I need to get back to the routine.

Goal #4 - Help with the plans for our wedding. We only have about 2 months to go, so I need to finish some of the tasks that my fiancee gave me. I've finished the tasks she gave me last week, I just need to be more proactive and get things done early.

Goal #5 - I need to find a decent day job. Don't get me wrong, I love poker and have been successful playing. However, going into a marriage, I need to have some reasonable regular income. Nothing will strain a marriage more than one person making money, then I go on a sick cooler and lose money. So until I make enough playing at the bigger levels to make up for my part of the bills, I will have to find a good job. I should have found one earlier, but I'm a degenerate....lol.

So those are my goals for the rest of the month. I have to get these done. GL to me. :)

More of the Same

Still grinding out the cash games. It has been really juicy, I just haven't been able to maximize on my great hands. Most of my profits have come from outplaying people on flops, and three betting LAG's. While I don't mind booking wins, which I have booked a win everyday. I hate only booking small wins. My wins should have been really big. But it seems like I just can't nail them down, even when they are drawing really thin.

Here's a perfect example. This happened to me last night. It was really disgusting. KK vs. QQ. His VPIP and pre-flop raise percentages were 9.5 and 8, respectively. I knew he was only raising QQ+ and maybe AK. SO I didn't want to overplay KK just to stare down AA. SO against an extremely tight player, I'm looking to see what they do on the flop and turn. If I get some resistance with this kind of player, I will fold KK, even on a 9 high flop. What else could he be playing? So this pot chopped me down for the night. If I win this hand, and the others, I book a really good win.

It's just amazing. Last night I lost 4 hands with bigger pairs to smaller pairs, and twice with dominating hands. I lost AK vs. A10 and KQ vs. K8. So I just have to keep my game up and go from there. I'm playing well, playing position with aggression and using my HUD, so I'm trying to stay on my present goals I set. I need to keep it up and the wins will come.

My BB/100 is OK, but not great. If I could just win the hands I get with KK, QQ, and AK, this number would be much higher. Finally, if I can win about 6 buy-ins, I'll have enough to move to the next level. So hopefully I can keep booking wins, and not minimal wins. The biggest key to winning for me so far, has been playing small pots with LAG's OOP with marginal hands and not overvaluing my hands; and maximizing my value bets against the calling stations. So it's time to get back to the grind. I might take a book from Goldseraph and take a shot at making a couple of videos. It could be a great way to get some critiques on my play and maybe I'll find some leaks to work on. Good luck at the tables.

Just Wanna Puke

Over the past two days I have had my big hands cracked by some complete garbage hands. I was running a little aggro, but still, to call raises out of position with J8 and K10 is just funny. Not only that, but I am running into the COCKROACHES of the poker world, the short stackers.

I have noticed that a majority of the short stackers are from Europe, mostly Germany. They are the most frustrating and infuriating players on the internet. Not because there are so many of them, but because they only have one move and don't play poker. They just wait for big hands and shove. That's all they do. You can try to steal their blind, but if they come over the top, you are pretty much pot committed. It is just disgusting.

So I spewed about two buy-ins tonight. I played way too loose and aggressive. I was getting called down light and on dangerous boards players were chasing longshots and weak hands. For example, I'm in the big blind with Q5 off in a limped pot. The flop comes 6-4-3 all hearts. I have the queen of hearts, and since it's limped, there is probably no ace out. I decide to float any bet on the flop and go for the raise or lead on the turn, just depends on action. It checks and the button bets, I just flat. Being out of position, you might flat with a flush draw or a straight draw. So I check the turn when the board pairs 4's. He bets again, now I go for the check-raise. This is the time when I would spring the trap if I had flopped the straight or the flush. He just calls. The river brings a 5, so I finally get a pair. But the hand I've been representing isn't really dependent on a 5. So I bet enough to put him in, which is about the size of the pot. He snap calls with 97 off for the high straight. ???? It was just funny. I kept getting cold decked and coolered it was so disgusting. KK lost to A3 suited all in pre, JJ lost to AK, everytime I had AK a shortstacking cockroach woke up with a pocket pair and would double through. SO only being down two buy-ins isn't too bad.

Here's my plan for today. First, I need to idle back the aggression and really stop and think about the hand. Playing at the lower stakes, I am going to run into a lot of players who will call raises with very marginal hands, and there will be a ton of limpers. So I need to wait for positive EV situations. Second, I need to three bet and isolate more with strong hands and position. Lastly, I need to use my HUD and really get into my opponents head. There was one guy tonight that played 90% of the hands, over 120. 90% is just a ridiculously loose number of hands to be playing. Ironically, he was the one that called the 4 bet shove with A3 suited and flopped an ace. GO FIGURE. So that's what I need to work on and get my bankroll back on track.

Weekend Update

I'm continuing the current trend. I'm playing nothing but cash games right now. I have been building my bankroll pretty steadily and am just about done clearing my mid-year bonus. It's only $100, but that's better than nothing. Now if I could only get rakeback going on my account, that would really help to boost the bankroll. If I had rakeback, I would be playing 2/4 by the end of summer, at the rate I'm going right now. So things have been going well, a little slow, but a small win is better than a big loss.

So I've dropped a couple buy-ins here and there, but have had winning days 6 out the last 7 days. The problem is that I'm just not putting in the volume I should. I'm 4 tabling, and have had one session of 6 tabling, but have only put in about an hour or two for each session. I usually play two sessions a day, but I really need to amp it up and put in some serious hours. I need to find 4-6 tables, and just grind the hell out of them. So far this month, I have only put in about 4700 hands. I've read blogs of people putting in that kind of volume in one day. SO I am going to get it going.

The competition at the current level is extremely soft, for the most part. I've run into some good regs and some tricky players. But for the most part, most of the competition has been extremely loose, very passive, and overall just bad players. I've had players make moves at me with some really strange hands. I had a guy call a raise out of position with J9 suited, when I had AK. I flop a king, he turns a flush draw and moves with it. Of course he got there, but I'll take being a big favorite any day of the week. I just find it funny that if you don't bet the pot, everybody thinks you're bluffing.

Here's a funny hand as well. I have 63 suited in late position. Nobody comes in the pot, so I raise with only one player behind and the blinds. The game has been really passive and they telegraph their hand on the flop. If they make a donk bet, they have top pair with a weak kicker, if they check-raise they have a monster. Most of the time they just fold to a c-bet. So the button and the big blind both call. The flop comes GIN. 6-6-3. Part of me wants to slowplay to the river, then spring a trap. However, I have been playing so aggressive up to this point, because the table was so passive, that I knew nobody would believe me if I bet the flop. SO I made a pretty small bet, compared to my standard bets. Sure enough, the button raise 2.5X's. He only has about 3X's left. Again, part of me is saying "Just call, then push the turn". But another part of me said just put him in now. SO I did, and he folded, I should have listened to the first voice.

SO overall this week, I'm up about 6 buy-ins and just need to put a lot more volume in. If my win rate continues I should make a hell of a lot more than grinding sit and go's. This will then allow me to play whatever tournies I want. So I just need to get my ass in gear. My goal is to be playing the next level by the end of the month. I want to have 50 buy-ins, so I need to get my bankroll up to $5000. I can't guarantee anything, but we'll see how it goes. I might have to take some money out for expenses, but hopefully I can go on a sick heater and get there.

Quick Update

I'm still playing cash games right now. I'm trying to get away from strictly playing sit and go's and tourneys. So I've been multi-tabling cash games. It's been good and bad so far. I had a little period tonight where I ran into some very LAGGY players that were hitting their draws. In one hand, I had AK off on the button, with three limpers. I raise it up to eliminate some of the limpers. The UTG limper calls, and the flop comes A-6-6 with two clubs. He checks, and I bet a little under the pot. I did that because if he has an ace, he is a big dog, but if he has a flush draw, he is making a mistake to call. Sure enough, he calls. So I put him on a flush draw, maybe a weak ace. The turn brings an offsuit 8. He checks again, so I bet damn near the pot again. He calls again. The river brought the flush and he pushes for $10, into a pot of $65. I couldn't see folding in this spot. I called and he tabled K7 of clubs. It went that way for about an hour. People would chase and get there. So I dropped about two buy-ins during this period.

Later, I went on a pretty good heater and won it all back plus some. I had AA hold up against a straight and flush draw, all-in on the flop. I also won with some well timed bluffs and value bets. So all was going well and I just kept adding to my stack. There was a couple of funny hands, where I had pocket pairs over the board and two different opponents shoved with just ace high and no draws. One hand I had 10's, and got it all in on the turn on an 8 high board. There were three clubs, and I had the 10 of clubs. We got it all in and he flips A10 off, no club. The same kind of situation came up on another table and he showed AQ off. No ace, no queen, no draw. He had 4 outs and thankfully didn't hit.

So I'll just have to keep rolling.