Well, the poker world is turning around a little. After 3 straight quick losing sessions (totalling about 600 down in less than 3 hours), I pulled 2 nice sessions in a row up 700 in 2 nights over about 8 hours. Add in a few sports bets which went well and thinks are looking up. Neither of the sessions were memorable just solid poker with very few all-ins. A good table image plus picking up some unclaimed pots, and milking the few good hands for a nice profit made all the difference.
I proceeded to the Palms on Monday to place my NHL bets for the day (NYR and the over, TOR and the over, and Broncos and the over). The Palms used to spread only 2-5 NL and it was a pretty vicious expensive game. I walked by and they had a 1-3 with 300 max buy-in... sweet. I pulled out 200 and sat down. Right away I pick up Q9 and hit 2nd pair. My read says the guy is full of shit, and I should reraise... however 3 players behind me, one of which was already in the process of calling convince me to just call. The turn gives me 2 pair and I reraise the early position better all-in, turns out he was betting his gutshot and 2 overs, and hit it with MY Queen... down 1 buy-in already.
Buy-in for 200 again and get Q/10 flop is QJ9, checked to me... I bet 25, call from the button, SB raises to 49 and all-in. Freaking 1 dollar means I can't reraise and have to just call. River gives me a straight when the king hits and I dodge a club on the river. However button called a pre-flop raise with 10/6 offsuit and splits the pot with me...
I build back up to 500 and call 15 pre-flop with pocket 4's. Flop a 4 on a 2 heart board and early position maniac leads out for 15, call from UTG and I pop it to 100. Folded back around and "Smoking Sammy" as I later found out he calls himself, calls. Turn is a blank and I make it 200 more. He insta-calls with about 75 left behind. River is of course a heart and he pushes.. .I call and he had 10/8 of hearts for a small flush. I couldn't believe it..... I looked at him and he shrugged and said "They call me smoking sammy because I am running hot. I never fold flush draws". OMG! Then he racked up and left exclaiming how he was up for the day now. I can't imagine how he ever got DOWN! Sheesh.
Back down to 75 or so... top off for 200 more, double up one more time when I hit 2 pair on a J89 flop and get put all-in by J4. Cashed out and went to pick up Estie from work and go to work myself.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Winds of change and progress
When I moved out to vegas, I was single, focused, and had a firm plan in place. My intention was to cut my expenses to the bone, live a frugal lifestyle and poker it up. Unfortunately things didn't line up like I wanted... My house in Atlanta didn't sell, when it did sell it sold for less than I owed on it. My credit cards were not completely paid off. To top it all off, the woman I was in love with was back in Atlanta and I was miserable in Vegas without her.
It happens often, that the best laid plans have to change, and so it is in this case. I started working more and more in the casino as a dealer and supervisor just to keep up with the bills and had less and less time to play. On top of that I was working a lot harder for a lot less money than I had in my previous career. Top it off with the fact that I had almost no time with my wife since I was working nights and she was working days. It was just time for a change.
A week ago I got offered a job as a Configuration Engineer for a local company and accepted. I am a little nervous because I have been out of the business for over a year. If this all works out I will be a lot more settled in and can get back to playing poker. I will have nights and weekends free, be unburdened by major financial constraints, and be able to leave my bankroll to poker and not worry about playing to pay bills.
At some point in the future if I end up with a good bankroll, and a years worth of bills maybe Estie and I can pursue a year of poker and travel together.... for now, lets just focus on eating and playing.
Of course, as soon as I accept this job offer, another one pops out of the closet when the configuration manager at Estie's company up and quits. DANG! I could have had a V-8! Or that job at least... but it is probably better if our eggs aren't in the same basket. I am looking forward to getting paid holidays and paid vacations again.
It happens often, that the best laid plans have to change, and so it is in this case. I started working more and more in the casino as a dealer and supervisor just to keep up with the bills and had less and less time to play. On top of that I was working a lot harder for a lot less money than I had in my previous career. Top it off with the fact that I had almost no time with my wife since I was working nights and she was working days. It was just time for a change.
A week ago I got offered a job as a Configuration Engineer for a local company and accepted. I am a little nervous because I have been out of the business for over a year. If this all works out I will be a lot more settled in and can get back to playing poker. I will have nights and weekends free, be unburdened by major financial constraints, and be able to leave my bankroll to poker and not worry about playing to pay bills.
At some point in the future if I end up with a good bankroll, and a years worth of bills maybe Estie and I can pursue a year of poker and travel together.... for now, lets just focus on eating and playing.
Of course, as soon as I accept this job offer, another one pops out of the closet when the configuration manager at Estie's company up and quits. DANG! I could have had a V-8! Or that job at least... but it is probably better if our eggs aren't in the same basket. I am looking forward to getting paid holidays and paid vacations again.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Lawson's Losers
Well... Football started again and Georgia sucks again. We barely beat vandy, we got crushed by UT who are also awful... but apparently not as awful as we are. The offensive juggernaut and the great defense we had are gone. BAH! I barely want to watch it. Of course I still do :(
2 weeks ago I ran across a new parlay card at the Imperial Palace where you could pick 12 teams and if you got 10 right you got paid 6 to 1, 11 right 60 to 1, and all 12 right 1400 to 1. So I of course tossed down 5 dollars to win 7,000 dollars and prompty went 3 for 12. I then went and did it again next week and got 3 for 12 AGAIN and tacked on a 5 team parlay that went 0 for 5. So a combined 6 for 29 in 2 weeks... My new plan is i will write down what teams I think will win, and then everyone else can break the sports book by betting against them.
NFL games:
ARI @ WAS (-8) - Arizona has no QB, Washington has been on a roll. Should be an easy cover for the Redskins.
ATL @ NO (-9) - Atlanta is due to win eventually and I think this is the week. New Orleans finally busted out last week for a real game and I don't think they can do it again. Atlanta covers and probably wins.
MIN @ DAL (-9.5) - Dallas at home against a rolling Viking team. Dallas is coming off their crushing against the Patriots. I expect Dallas to win but keep it close. Minnesota loses but covers the 9.5
NE @ MIA (+16.5) - I refuse to bet against the Patriots until they show me why I should. This line could easily be 25 and not be too much. New England rolls Miami and covers easily.
CHI @ PHI (-5) - I don't think Chicago's DEF can stop anyone now. Too many injuries and too many issues. Take PHI and the over.
STL @ SEA (-9) - Bad team vs bad team, but STL is the worse team. SEA has been good at times this year and this will be one of them. SEA big.
IND @ JAX (+3) - Indy is coming off the bye week and is ready to face up the Patriots undefeated. 3 pts is a piddling, take Indy and the over.
NCAA Football
South Florida @ Rutgers (+2.5) - Rutgers is at home, but USF is my parents alma mater and are rolling. I bet against them once, I won't make that mistake again. They cover easily.
Vandy @ South Carolina (-13) - South Carolina manages to keep almost every game close, and Vandy is better than people thing. SC wins, but it is close. Take Vandy to cover.
USC @ Notre Dame (+18) - USC is vastly over rated, and injury plagued. ND sucks, but not 18 pt bad sucks. Take ND to cover.
Florida (-7) @ Kentucky - Kentucky is the pretty pick... beat LSU, ranked in the top 10, etc. Florida is off 2 tough losses and is not in a good mood. Florida wins handily.
Auburn @ LSU (-10.5) - LSU is pissed off, Auburn is playing well but not that well. LSU wins by probably 30.
I just want to state for the record GOOOO South Florida. National Championship is coming your way!
2 weeks ago I ran across a new parlay card at the Imperial Palace where you could pick 12 teams and if you got 10 right you got paid 6 to 1, 11 right 60 to 1, and all 12 right 1400 to 1. So I of course tossed down 5 dollars to win 7,000 dollars and prompty went 3 for 12. I then went and did it again next week and got 3 for 12 AGAIN and tacked on a 5 team parlay that went 0 for 5. So a combined 6 for 29 in 2 weeks... My new plan is i will write down what teams I think will win, and then everyone else can break the sports book by betting against them.
NFL games:
ARI @ WAS (-8) - Arizona has no QB, Washington has been on a roll. Should be an easy cover for the Redskins.
ATL @ NO (-9) - Atlanta is due to win eventually and I think this is the week. New Orleans finally busted out last week for a real game and I don't think they can do it again. Atlanta covers and probably wins.
MIN @ DAL (-9.5) - Dallas at home against a rolling Viking team. Dallas is coming off their crushing against the Patriots. I expect Dallas to win but keep it close. Minnesota loses but covers the 9.5
NE @ MIA (+16.5) - I refuse to bet against the Patriots until they show me why I should. This line could easily be 25 and not be too much. New England rolls Miami and covers easily.
CHI @ PHI (-5) - I don't think Chicago's DEF can stop anyone now. Too many injuries and too many issues. Take PHI and the over.
STL @ SEA (-9) - Bad team vs bad team, but STL is the worse team. SEA has been good at times this year and this will be one of them. SEA big.
IND @ JAX (+3) - Indy is coming off the bye week and is ready to face up the Patriots undefeated. 3 pts is a piddling, take Indy and the over.
NCAA Football
South Florida @ Rutgers (+2.5) - Rutgers is at home, but USF is my parents alma mater and are rolling. I bet against them once, I won't make that mistake again. They cover easily.
Vandy @ South Carolina (-13) - South Carolina manages to keep almost every game close, and Vandy is better than people thing. SC wins, but it is close. Take Vandy to cover.
USC @ Notre Dame (+18) - USC is vastly over rated, and injury plagued. ND sucks, but not 18 pt bad sucks. Take ND to cover.
Florida (-7) @ Kentucky - Kentucky is the pretty pick... beat LSU, ranked in the top 10, etc. Florida is off 2 tough losses and is not in a good mood. Florida wins handily.
Auburn @ LSU (-10.5) - LSU is pissed off, Auburn is playing well but not that well. LSU wins by probably 30.
I just want to state for the record GOOOO South Florida. National Championship is coming your way!
Friday, October 05, 2007
Oops... I guess you are in charge now
Well, the move to swing shift at work was a nice change. The money was a lot better and I was really enjoying working 3-4 hours and making the same money I was making in 8 hours on day shift. That lasted all of a week before I came in last friday and got the information that the swing shift supervisor had been fired. He was already on probation and apparently had overstepped the line the last time. I came in friday night expecting to work, and bingo bongo I am in charge. I covered his shift for a week and then on Tuesday was pulled aside by the poker room manager and offered the "interim" shift manager. Basically, it is mine if I don't screw it up... I have 90 days to prove him right. This should make for an interesting ride... Swing shift manager at a poker room on the strip in vegas. Oh boy.
The good news is that the money is pretty decent... the bad news is there is a 3 week delay till I see any of it. 2 week pay cycle and then 1 week delay in paychecks getting cut. So money will be a little tight which has cut down the poker playing until then, but once we get on the cycle it will be much better.
I did get out to play once this week and it was a short lived visit. I got there and not much happened until about an hour in. I limp with Pocket 7's and the flop is A73 of spades. My standard play with a big draw board is wait for a non-scare card on the turn and try to get them off the draw. 1-2 NL players just don't fold with 2 cards to come. They will sometimes fold with 1 card to come... SOMETIMES. Early position leads out, myself and 2 others call making the pot 50 dollars to the turn with 4 players. Turn is a red queen and early position checks. I bet 35 into the 50 dollar pot (my fairly standard 2/3 pot size bet on the turn) and the guy to my left raises to 135. The original flop better calls the 135 bet and I put him on a big spade probably the K or Q or spades. I figure AK or AQ with the K or Q of spades. I push all-in for my last 35 and both players call. At this point I figure made flush to my left, big flush draw to my right, and I need the board to pair. River doesn't pair the board and the cards go over. The reraiser to my left shows pocket 3's for a flopped set, I show my flopped set of 7's, and the original bettor shows pocket Q's for the turned set of Q's. I am stacked and headed home for the night.... I don't feel bad about how I played it. If it had been A73 rainbow I would have slow played it... Flopped set on non-scary board is instant slow-play. I was getting the right odds to draw to a full house with 3 players in the hand.
The good news is that the money is pretty decent... the bad news is there is a 3 week delay till I see any of it. 2 week pay cycle and then 1 week delay in paychecks getting cut. So money will be a little tight which has cut down the poker playing until then, but once we get on the cycle it will be much better.
I did get out to play once this week and it was a short lived visit. I got there and not much happened until about an hour in. I limp with Pocket 7's and the flop is A73 of spades. My standard play with a big draw board is wait for a non-scare card on the turn and try to get them off the draw. 1-2 NL players just don't fold with 2 cards to come. They will sometimes fold with 1 card to come... SOMETIMES. Early position leads out, myself and 2 others call making the pot 50 dollars to the turn with 4 players. Turn is a red queen and early position checks. I bet 35 into the 50 dollar pot (my fairly standard 2/3 pot size bet on the turn) and the guy to my left raises to 135. The original flop better calls the 135 bet and I put him on a big spade probably the K or Q or spades. I figure AK or AQ with the K or Q of spades. I push all-in for my last 35 and both players call. At this point I figure made flush to my left, big flush draw to my right, and I need the board to pair. River doesn't pair the board and the cards go over. The reraiser to my left shows pocket 3's for a flopped set, I show my flopped set of 7's, and the original bettor shows pocket Q's for the turned set of Q's. I am stacked and headed home for the night.... I don't feel bad about how I played it. If it had been A73 rainbow I would have slow played it... Flopped set on non-scary board is instant slow-play. I was getting the right odds to draw to a full house with 3 players in the hand.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Football Poker and a rollercoaster
Lots of changes over here in Las Vegas. Football season has started and already my bulldawgs have dropped a game to the evil Steve Spurrier and his SC Gamecocks. I am really concerned about their offense, and even though Matt Stafford has all the skills I just don't know if he can put it all together. I won't even discuss the Atlanta Falcons... I think it is time I picked a new pro football team to follow. Maybe I should pick one based on the colors of their jerseys, it seems to work better than following the falcons!
Some good news on the job front. I got a semi-promotion (more a lateral move) to a dual rate position in swing shift. I now work 6 PM to 2 AM with Wednesdays and Thursdays off. The money on swing is much better than on days which is nice. It also provides me with the chance to watch football before work which is awful relaxing. The negative side of it is pretty huge though as I don't get to see Estie as much and poker time is really withered down to about 2 days a week.
Poker has been going better as well, I had a nice run of 3 great days and was up about 1500, turned around and dropped a bunch back but am still ahead for the month. I had a nice little run of 3 hands on Saturday afternoon where I got pocket 10's in back to back hands and flopped back to back sets. I ended up taking a big chunk from the 1 seat on the first set, then the rest of his chips on the 2nd set. The next hand I got pocket 7's in the BB and 1 limper and the same 1 seat raises to 15. I fold not wanting to play a small pocket pair OOP in a small pot against a pre-flop raiser. The flop was of course a 7 and I would have stacked him AGAIN. Instead another girl stacked him and he left the table after dropping 500 dollars in 3 hands. Luckily for me she held onto the chips for awhile and gave them all to me when I rivered a flush in a 900 dollar pot. I will never understand why people bet 25 dollars into a 200 dollar pot and then 300 when the flush hits. Please Please continue to give me odds to draw to my flush, and then dump money in the pot when I have my made hand. I read some about it in the books, players feel threatened by a scare card hitting the board and get more aggressive to combat that threat. It makes much more sense NOT to fight... but human nature is to fight back. That is what makes poker so difficult to master... so much of it is counter to human nature.
Some good news on the job front. I got a semi-promotion (more a lateral move) to a dual rate position in swing shift. I now work 6 PM to 2 AM with Wednesdays and Thursdays off. The money on swing is much better than on days which is nice. It also provides me with the chance to watch football before work which is awful relaxing. The negative side of it is pretty huge though as I don't get to see Estie as much and poker time is really withered down to about 2 days a week.
Poker has been going better as well, I had a nice run of 3 great days and was up about 1500, turned around and dropped a bunch back but am still ahead for the month. I had a nice little run of 3 hands on Saturday afternoon where I got pocket 10's in back to back hands and flopped back to back sets. I ended up taking a big chunk from the 1 seat on the first set, then the rest of his chips on the 2nd set. The next hand I got pocket 7's in the BB and 1 limper and the same 1 seat raises to 15. I fold not wanting to play a small pocket pair OOP in a small pot against a pre-flop raiser. The flop was of course a 7 and I would have stacked him AGAIN. Instead another girl stacked him and he left the table after dropping 500 dollars in 3 hands. Luckily for me she held onto the chips for awhile and gave them all to me when I rivered a flush in a 900 dollar pot. I will never understand why people bet 25 dollars into a 200 dollar pot and then 300 when the flush hits. Please Please continue to give me odds to draw to my flush, and then dump money in the pot when I have my made hand. I read some about it in the books, players feel threatened by a scare card hitting the board and get more aggressive to combat that threat. It makes much more sense NOT to fight... but human nature is to fight back. That is what makes poker so difficult to master... so much of it is counter to human nature.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Slow start, but a start nonetheless
I started out on my return to 4/8 with a short foray at the Venetian. It took 5 hours to get started (maybe I shouldn't go at noon on a wednesday), but when it did it was REALLY good, and I felt extremely comfortable. I had forgotten how comfortable I was at 4/8 when I played last year and how uncomfortable I felt at 1/2 NL. I only played for an hour or so, but was up 85 and very happy with my start.
A few days later I went for my first "targetted" night out at 4/8. It was a thursday night and I had to decide where the good games were going to be. After my experience at the Venetian I decided their game selection on non-weekends was very lacking. I knew from my dealer friends at the Rio there 4/8 games were virtually non-existant except on the weekends during the summer months (a habitually slow time for poker). MGM and Station are rock gardens at 4/8 due to the 2/4 sucking up the fish and the fact that a lot of the "regulars" play there. The other harrah casinos don't really offer 4/8. The only places in town that seem to have regular 4/8 going are the Wynn and Bellagio. I picked the Wynn for my first night out since it was easier to get in and out of the parking garage, and their comps are better.
I started out in an immediate hole, a REALLY REALLY big problem I have. I am all excited to play, pumped up with adreneline and ready to make some money. So I immediately start bluffing, and reraising with air. Of course I get called since I have no image at the table and quickly was down 100. I missed a few draws and was down to 50 and then finally started going back up before running into the luck box of a calling station sitting to my right. He hits 2 freaking runner runner draws and ends up stacking me after about 2.5 hours of play. I left a little frustrated... I got some bad luck, but a good portion of it I brought about on myself by overplaying many hands, and trying to get to creative. I have to relearn that 4/8 and limit in general is a game of patience.
I took a few days off to reconsider my play and readdress my bankroll... I went back on wednesday and decided that despite the horrid parking at the Bellagio (The only entrance is on the strip in the middle of Flamingo and Tropicana a horrible place to be on the strip at) the reviews of the games were that they were really good.... so I had to give it a try to judge for myself. Well the games at the B were absolutely amazing. It took me about 30 mins to get in, but the game was insanely good. 7-8 players for 2 bets pre-flop and then 5 of them folding on the flop. I don't know what hands 5 players could have that could not call one bet getting 14 or 16 to 1 on the flop. Any 2 overcards, any gutshot, etc... even back door flush draws with an over should probably call. They folded which meant more dead money to win in the pot and that made the pots huge with few people vying for them. Everyone at the table was for the most part a very simple straightforward player. They bet with top pair, check/called with draws and cold-called with 2nd pair. Bluffing was not an option but winning with top pair seemed to work well. After just 2 hours I was up over 200 and decided not to push my luck and called it a night.
I couldn't have been happier all night having played extremely well, read all the people at the table perfectly, and really established a confidence in my game I had been lacking. I of course HAD to go back the next night. Now this is where I tend to have a problem... confidence from a session of poker is often wrapped up in your image at the table, knowing the players, adjusting to the attitude of the table, etc... None of these things carry over from one session to another... however my attitude didn't change. I hit the table the 2nd night all full of confidence and expected everyone to just roll over. Unfortunately they were not there the night before and didn't realize *I* was suppose to win... and I didn't. I immediately lost 200 in about 45 mins and rebought for 200 more (after all I am exceptionally good at this game and they just have to realize it then I will start winning). I hit a monster hand with set over set and get back to almost even before a few more hands bring me back up over even.... a monster comeback and I am once again on cloud nine. Unfortunately as I was about to leave after about 4 hours of play I got a pretty nasty bad beat and was back down to even.... I didn't want to go home even (it felt like such a waste of time), so I tried to win one more hand to get back up... then I got another bad beat and was down... so now I started to try even harder to win... now I am down 200 and pissed off... so I try even more... now I am down 300 and upset and don't want to admit I lost 300 at 4/8 in an hour.. so I play even more aggressive... now I am down 400 and out of money and have to go home broke. I managed to turn an even or minor win night into a 400 dollar loss without even really breaking a sweat.
It is really very frustrating. It is so painful to just sit there and stew in your misery knowing it is all your fault, and totally under your control but being unable to do anything about it. There is so much self-control in poker and if you don't master your emotions and attitude you can do nothing but lose.
On an even more depressing note... There is only one more week left of my step-daughter's visit for the summer. Clarese is leaving on August 2nd and we are trying to squeze in every last thing we can do before she goes. It is really very sad that she is going to be going home soon.... The house definately won't be the same with just Estie. Noone to tell us what she won't eat and have to get plain cheeseburger's if we try something new so she won't starve (poor child must be from a 3rd world country the way she starves sooo often).
Saturday was a big day for all of us as Clarese had a casting call for a hollywood producer. We aren't getting our hopes up too high as there were a lot of kids there, but she did get a lot of very positive feedback and is very excited about doing more acting auditions and getting her face in front of some cameras.
All in all it has been a rocky start but a good one.... it is a tough job being a poker player, and one which does not really work well when you aren't in the right frame of mind. I swear I may have to look into these mind exercises to relax and put you in the right state of mind. Yoga? meditation? something? who knows...
A few days later I went for my first "targetted" night out at 4/8. It was a thursday night and I had to decide where the good games were going to be. After my experience at the Venetian I decided their game selection on non-weekends was very lacking. I knew from my dealer friends at the Rio there 4/8 games were virtually non-existant except on the weekends during the summer months (a habitually slow time for poker). MGM and Station are rock gardens at 4/8 due to the 2/4 sucking up the fish and the fact that a lot of the "regulars" play there. The other harrah casinos don't really offer 4/8. The only places in town that seem to have regular 4/8 going are the Wynn and Bellagio. I picked the Wynn for my first night out since it was easier to get in and out of the parking garage, and their comps are better.
I started out in an immediate hole, a REALLY REALLY big problem I have. I am all excited to play, pumped up with adreneline and ready to make some money. So I immediately start bluffing, and reraising with air. Of course I get called since I have no image at the table and quickly was down 100. I missed a few draws and was down to 50 and then finally started going back up before running into the luck box of a calling station sitting to my right. He hits 2 freaking runner runner draws and ends up stacking me after about 2.5 hours of play. I left a little frustrated... I got some bad luck, but a good portion of it I brought about on myself by overplaying many hands, and trying to get to creative. I have to relearn that 4/8 and limit in general is a game of patience.
I took a few days off to reconsider my play and readdress my bankroll... I went back on wednesday and decided that despite the horrid parking at the Bellagio (The only entrance is on the strip in the middle of Flamingo and Tropicana a horrible place to be on the strip at) the reviews of the games were that they were really good.... so I had to give it a try to judge for myself. Well the games at the B were absolutely amazing. It took me about 30 mins to get in, but the game was insanely good. 7-8 players for 2 bets pre-flop and then 5 of them folding on the flop. I don't know what hands 5 players could have that could not call one bet getting 14 or 16 to 1 on the flop. Any 2 overcards, any gutshot, etc... even back door flush draws with an over should probably call. They folded which meant more dead money to win in the pot and that made the pots huge with few people vying for them. Everyone at the table was for the most part a very simple straightforward player. They bet with top pair, check/called with draws and cold-called with 2nd pair. Bluffing was not an option but winning with top pair seemed to work well. After just 2 hours I was up over 200 and decided not to push my luck and called it a night.
I couldn't have been happier all night having played extremely well, read all the people at the table perfectly, and really established a confidence in my game I had been lacking. I of course HAD to go back the next night. Now this is where I tend to have a problem... confidence from a session of poker is often wrapped up in your image at the table, knowing the players, adjusting to the attitude of the table, etc... None of these things carry over from one session to another... however my attitude didn't change. I hit the table the 2nd night all full of confidence and expected everyone to just roll over. Unfortunately they were not there the night before and didn't realize *I* was suppose to win... and I didn't. I immediately lost 200 in about 45 mins and rebought for 200 more (after all I am exceptionally good at this game and they just have to realize it then I will start winning). I hit a monster hand with set over set and get back to almost even before a few more hands bring me back up over even.... a monster comeback and I am once again on cloud nine. Unfortunately as I was about to leave after about 4 hours of play I got a pretty nasty bad beat and was back down to even.... I didn't want to go home even (it felt like such a waste of time), so I tried to win one more hand to get back up... then I got another bad beat and was down... so now I started to try even harder to win... now I am down 200 and pissed off... so I try even more... now I am down 300 and upset and don't want to admit I lost 300 at 4/8 in an hour.. so I play even more aggressive... now I am down 400 and out of money and have to go home broke. I managed to turn an even or minor win night into a 400 dollar loss without even really breaking a sweat.
It is really very frustrating. It is so painful to just sit there and stew in your misery knowing it is all your fault, and totally under your control but being unable to do anything about it. There is so much self-control in poker and if you don't master your emotions and attitude you can do nothing but lose.
On an even more depressing note... There is only one more week left of my step-daughter's visit for the summer. Clarese is leaving on August 2nd and we are trying to squeze in every last thing we can do before she goes. It is really very sad that she is going to be going home soon.... The house definately won't be the same with just Estie. Noone to tell us what she won't eat and have to get plain cheeseburger's if we try something new so she won't starve (poor child must be from a 3rd world country the way she starves sooo often).
Saturday was a big day for all of us as Clarese had a casting call for a hollywood producer. We aren't getting our hopes up too high as there were a lot of kids there, but she did get a lot of very positive feedback and is very excited about doing more acting auditions and getting her face in front of some cameras.
All in all it has been a rocky start but a good one.... it is a tough job being a poker player, and one which does not really work well when you aren't in the right frame of mind. I swear I may have to look into these mind exercises to relax and put you in the right state of mind. Yoga? meditation? something? who knows...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Time to get this party started
After a rough 6 months or so where I was trying to figure out how to play no-limit (and failing) and a falling bankroll and mounting bills, I was getting a little bit discouraged. The world series of poker ended yesterday about 4 AM and that got us completely caught up on everything. Now it is time to address this poker issue.
I spent some time thinking on things, and talking to Estie and friends/family. I don't think I am currently able to maintain the level of concentration and insight I need to play no-limit. I have way to big of an ego and way to much of a wandering mind to stay in the no-limit games. Limit I have a mathematical basis for everything I do. I know when I am getting too emotional in the game because the math no longer adds up. I went from averaging 3-4K a month in poker winnings to breaking about even at no-limit.
All this has lead me to a revitalized interest in poker and a drive to get back to playing 4-5 times a week. I have also moved back to Limit poker which means more work at finding good 4-8 and 8-16 games. It looks like at this time the only 8-16 games in town are at the Wynn and Bellagio. And the only reliable 4-8 games are at the Venetian, Wynn, Bellagio and really only in the evenings.
I spent some time thinking on things, and talking to Estie and friends/family. I don't think I am currently able to maintain the level of concentration and insight I need to play no-limit. I have way to big of an ego and way to much of a wandering mind to stay in the no-limit games. Limit I have a mathematical basis for everything I do. I know when I am getting too emotional in the game because the math no longer adds up. I went from averaging 3-4K a month in poker winnings to breaking about even at no-limit.
All this has lead me to a revitalized interest in poker and a drive to get back to playing 4-5 times a week. I have also moved back to Limit poker which means more work at finding good 4-8 and 8-16 games. It looks like at this time the only 8-16 games in town are at the Wynn and Bellagio. And the only reliable 4-8 games are at the Venetian, Wynn, Bellagio and really only in the evenings.
Monday, April 16, 2007
A Smack in the bum
Well it is amazing sometimes where and when things will "hit" you. I have been lazy in many ways lately... working close to 40 hours a week has drained me (can you believe I used to work close to 70!) and has really sapped my motivation to do anything other than sit and sleep.
A few pointed comments from new friends and old friends has put me back on the right track. I have moved up to 2/5 NL and had some success with it. I also got a pointed reminder the other night that poker is a J*O*B* and is not for fun.... I had a great time, watched the braves game, the Thrashers playoff game, drank beer, had a great time... and played like a complete moron and lost 700 bucks. (before I had fun, I was up 400 and playing great). It just goes to show that if you are going to turn a hobby into a job, you have to take it seriously!
Work is going well. I finished my training and had my first day alone on the floor on Saturday. It was a piece of cake, no issues at all. I even had a minor fiasco when I had to add a 5th table for the tournament, the tournament clock broke, had to reseat 7 players, and all happened 3 minutes before the tournament was suppose to start. I managed to get the tourney started only 2 minutes late and felt like it was a real success.
I have settled into a bit of a schedule now for both work and poker... Playing on Monday, Wed, Thursday and Friday nights (leaving work early on Mon and Wed to play). So it should keep moving on up now.
Oh yeah... Kelly Johnson is a good 2B? Well call me stupid and slap me in the back of the head... I thought Bobby Cox had gone crazy again... but it turns out he DOES have some ability to recognize talent.
A few pointed comments from new friends and old friends has put me back on the right track. I have moved up to 2/5 NL and had some success with it. I also got a pointed reminder the other night that poker is a J*O*B* and is not for fun.... I had a great time, watched the braves game, the Thrashers playoff game, drank beer, had a great time... and played like a complete moron and lost 700 bucks. (before I had fun, I was up 400 and playing great). It just goes to show that if you are going to turn a hobby into a job, you have to take it seriously!
Work is going well. I finished my training and had my first day alone on the floor on Saturday. It was a piece of cake, no issues at all. I even had a minor fiasco when I had to add a 5th table for the tournament, the tournament clock broke, had to reseat 7 players, and all happened 3 minutes before the tournament was suppose to start. I managed to get the tourney started only 2 minutes late and felt like it was a real success.
I have settled into a bit of a schedule now for both work and poker... Playing on Monday, Wed, Thursday and Friday nights (leaving work early on Mon and Wed to play). So it should keep moving on up now.
Oh yeah... Kelly Johnson is a good 2B? Well call me stupid and slap me in the back of the head... I thought Bobby Cox had gone crazy again... but it turns out he DOES have some ability to recognize talent.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Thug-enomics
Well, last weekend was the NBA all-star game, Presidents day weekend, Chinese new year and a huge tourism weekend for vegas. Unfortunately the weekend seemed to attract two main types of people... those too rich to gamble who would rather party and be seen... and those too poor to gamble who would rather steal and cause trouble. The end result was a miserable weekend for the gambling based businesses and a lot of trouble for the cops.
I have been playing some poker and doing well until Thursday night at Venetian. I played pretty poorly at times and gave away several hundred dollars just being stupid. Towards the end of the 6 hour session this hand came up. I get 6-9 of hearts on the button and there is a live straddle. 5 callers to me and I call, Straddle raises it to 9, and UTG raised to 20. 2 callers back to me and I call as does the straddle and big blind. The flop is 7/8/10 2 hearts giving me a gutshot straight flush draw and a flopped straight. Straddle bets out 25 into a 100 dollar pot, UTG raises to 50. I make the decision that I am not f'ing around on this and raise to 200. Straddle folds back to UTG who thinks for a minute before pushing all-in. There are only 2 reasonable hands for him to have here... a big pair played very poorly or more like a pocket pair that hit a set. I have virtually the nuts right now and it is 240 more to me and I call making a pot of over 1000 dollars. He turns his hand up to show AK of hearts for the nut flush draw and nothing else. The river is the 2 of hearts putting him on the winning end of a 6 outer for a huge pot.
If that wasn't enough 2 hands later I flop ANOTHER straight and get top pair to put all his money in and he hits runner runner to a boat to end up setting me back 200 for the night. It could have been much worse, but it was setup so perfectly for a huge winning session and it all came crumbling down at the end. It was the largest pot I have ever been in to date... and it was painful to be on the losing end of it.
I have been offered a fulltime dual rate position at work. Dual rate means you are a dealer part of the time and a supervisor part of the time. It gives me a pretty regular schedule and a nice experience for the resume and the future in this town. Right now I will be training on graveyard and the moving over to day shift in a month or so. This will also give me more time to play poker as I will have more of a regular schedule and can actually get adjusted to it instead of jumping all over the place.
For now though... it is graveyard and it is time to go to work.
I have been playing some poker and doing well until Thursday night at Venetian. I played pretty poorly at times and gave away several hundred dollars just being stupid. Towards the end of the 6 hour session this hand came up. I get 6-9 of hearts on the button and there is a live straddle. 5 callers to me and I call, Straddle raises it to 9, and UTG raised to 20. 2 callers back to me and I call as does the straddle and big blind. The flop is 7/8/10 2 hearts giving me a gutshot straight flush draw and a flopped straight. Straddle bets out 25 into a 100 dollar pot, UTG raises to 50. I make the decision that I am not f'ing around on this and raise to 200. Straddle folds back to UTG who thinks for a minute before pushing all-in. There are only 2 reasonable hands for him to have here... a big pair played very poorly or more like a pocket pair that hit a set. I have virtually the nuts right now and it is 240 more to me and I call making a pot of over 1000 dollars. He turns his hand up to show AK of hearts for the nut flush draw and nothing else. The river is the 2 of hearts putting him on the winning end of a 6 outer for a huge pot.
If that wasn't enough 2 hands later I flop ANOTHER straight and get top pair to put all his money in and he hits runner runner to a boat to end up setting me back 200 for the night. It could have been much worse, but it was setup so perfectly for a huge winning session and it all came crumbling down at the end. It was the largest pot I have ever been in to date... and it was painful to be on the losing end of it.
I have been offered a fulltime dual rate position at work. Dual rate means you are a dealer part of the time and a supervisor part of the time. It gives me a pretty regular schedule and a nice experience for the resume and the future in this town. Right now I will be training on graveyard and the moving over to day shift in a month or so. This will also give me more time to play poker as I will have more of a regular schedule and can actually get adjusted to it instead of jumping all over the place.
For now though... it is graveyard and it is time to go to work.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Valentines Day and Poker
This weekend Estie and I went to Ceaser's to play in a couples tournament. The structure was that we played the same chips and took turns every 20 minutes, and then when we were not playing we took turns playing at a live no-limit table with the same chips. In the end we both played very well for the first 3 hours, but as the blinds got higher and the chips got smaller I ended up making a move from under the gun with J9 suited (btw, probably not what I should have done as Estie will inform you) and got called by A10 and was knocked out.
We ended up finishing 16th out of 86 but they only paid the top 9. It was still a great time and we had a lot of fun playing together. In the cash game nothing spectacular happened as we ended up down $1 for the 4.5 hours we played. About 3 hours into the game a couple extremely drunk guys came in with their friends and played at the game with us. Well one of them was very loud and looked familiar... when someone called him Andy it clicked with Estie that this was Andy Dick sitting next to us offering her a beer... He really isn't that funny when he is completely wasted, but it was fun anyways.
Live games have gone better lately as I have adjusted my game back to a little more patience in it. I have been playing really well about 95% of the time and have had 5 straight winning sessions. However I am still making a few mistakes per day which are costing me a lot of money. It seems to happen after I start winning and relax my game and suddenly I called too many hands with nothing, and made to many reraises with mediocre hands, etc. And suddenly I was up 600 and now am up 400 or was up 400 and now up 150. It is a part of the game I have to adjust and will be working on for awhile.
We ended up finishing 16th out of 86 but they only paid the top 9. It was still a great time and we had a lot of fun playing together. In the cash game nothing spectacular happened as we ended up down $1 for the 4.5 hours we played. About 3 hours into the game a couple extremely drunk guys came in with their friends and played at the game with us. Well one of them was very loud and looked familiar... when someone called him Andy it clicked with Estie that this was Andy Dick sitting next to us offering her a beer... He really isn't that funny when he is completely wasted, but it was fun anyways.
Live games have gone better lately as I have adjusted my game back to a little more patience in it. I have been playing really well about 95% of the time and have had 5 straight winning sessions. However I am still making a few mistakes per day which are costing me a lot of money. It seems to happen after I start winning and relax my game and suddenly I called too many hands with nothing, and made to many reraises with mediocre hands, etc. And suddenly I was up 600 and now am up 400 or was up 400 and now up 150. It is a part of the game I have to adjust and will be working on for awhile.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
The check is in the mail
OK well not exactly a check... but Estie's Green Card (which is apparently Pink) is approved and according to the nice lady she talked to at the INS on Tuesday, January 30th it is "In the mail". They approved it on the spot and sent it off to be printed and sent to us. So in a week or two she will be a card carrying member of the Foreign Elite :)
It is now 3 weeks from January 30th, 2006 when she can apply for citizenship and 21 months when she can get permanent residence. A *HUGE* thank you to everyone who helped in this process as it is a big relief to be done. My mom and Dad, Estie's Mom, Jon, Katherine, and everyone else who went out of their way to make this possible. It is greatly appreciated and we will never forget the kindness and support of everyone in this time.
Thank you again and congratulations to Estie! I personally could not be prouder or happier at this time in my life.
It is now 3 weeks from January 30th, 2006 when she can apply for citizenship and 21 months when she can get permanent residence. A *HUGE* thank you to everyone who helped in this process as it is a big relief to be done. My mom and Dad, Estie's Mom, Jon, Katherine, and everyone else who went out of their way to make this possible. It is greatly appreciated and we will never forget the kindness and support of everyone in this time.
Thank you again and congratulations to Estie! I personally could not be prouder or happier at this time in my life.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Stepping Up
It hasn't been a good start to 2007 so far.... I got my second lesson of the year in tilt. After getting my Pocket A's cracked by 5's on the turn I dumped 300 more on the table before rebuilding from 600 down to 50 up. I decided not to leave because there was a drunk/idiot who I wanted to get his money and got sucked out on again for another 300 and then proceeded to dump all of the remaining 400 onto the table for a net loss of 700. Not only was most of it tilt induced... I strongly suspect that the Drunk/idiot was not really as much of an idiot as he played it up to be. He was getting away from an awful lot of big hands and making some marvelous plays with some marginal hands. I left very frustrated and actually stayed away from poker for a few days even though I had time to play.
We had a big tournament at IP this weekend and it got me to thinking about getting my skills up the level where I can compete regularly in those tournaments. First place was only $37,000 which is small for those tournaments but it is definately enough to make a dent in my bankroll! I also spent some time talking to a few of the local pros about moving up, bankroll management, games in town, etc... and made the decision to take a shot at 2/5 No-limit at the Palms. This is a 200 minimum, 1000 max buy-in game. It is higher than I have ever played before but I felt like my game was ready for it as long as I could keep my head about me.
The room at the Palms is nice enough. It is only 10 tables. 6 in one room for the limit games, and 4 in the "High Stakes Room" where they only spread 2-5 no-limit. They had 3 tables going with a list and it stayed that way the entire 5 hours I was there. The bathrooms are right in between the 2 rooms (very convient a huge plus), they serve red bull without charging $5 a can like the station casinos do. The waitresses were nice, and prompt... Dealers were acceptable, if not outstanding. The rake is one of the best I have seen in town with a max $4 rake on a $120 pot and high hands and bad beat. All in all, I understand the reason the word on the street is that Palms is the best 2-5 in town.
The game was pretty good. The stacks were very deep and the play was decent enough to take advantage of. We had a husband/wife team playing in the game and they appeared to be playing together which was a bit disturbing but they left shortly after I sat down. I played very well most of the night... however I misplayed 2 hands badly putting most of my money in when way behind and I should have known it. I dropped 700 on those 2 hands alone, and ended the night only up $426. It could and should have been better... and I never really got any big hands. I felt like I could play this game regularly and beat it for a sizable profit..... So I will definately be back. Especially with their half a million dollar first prize freeroll in June which I only need 300 hours of play to qualify for :)
We had a big tournament at IP this weekend and it got me to thinking about getting my skills up the level where I can compete regularly in those tournaments. First place was only $37,000 which is small for those tournaments but it is definately enough to make a dent in my bankroll! I also spent some time talking to a few of the local pros about moving up, bankroll management, games in town, etc... and made the decision to take a shot at 2/5 No-limit at the Palms. This is a 200 minimum, 1000 max buy-in game. It is higher than I have ever played before but I felt like my game was ready for it as long as I could keep my head about me.
The room at the Palms is nice enough. It is only 10 tables. 6 in one room for the limit games, and 4 in the "High Stakes Room" where they only spread 2-5 no-limit. They had 3 tables going with a list and it stayed that way the entire 5 hours I was there. The bathrooms are right in between the 2 rooms (very convient a huge plus), they serve red bull without charging $5 a can like the station casinos do. The waitresses were nice, and prompt... Dealers were acceptable, if not outstanding. The rake is one of the best I have seen in town with a max $4 rake on a $120 pot and high hands and bad beat. All in all, I understand the reason the word on the street is that Palms is the best 2-5 in town.
The game was pretty good. The stacks were very deep and the play was decent enough to take advantage of. We had a husband/wife team playing in the game and they appeared to be playing together which was a bit disturbing but they left shortly after I sat down. I played very well most of the night... however I misplayed 2 hands badly putting most of my money in when way behind and I should have known it. I dropped 700 on those 2 hands alone, and ended the night only up $426. It could and should have been better... and I never really got any big hands. I felt like I could play this game regularly and beat it for a sizable profit..... So I will definately be back. Especially with their half a million dollar first prize freeroll in June which I only need 300 hours of play to qualify for :)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Year 2006 Summary
The year of 2006 was not a bad start. I finished with 545 hours played at the poker tables and up $9,794 for an hourly rate of $17.97. Almost 18 dollars an hour and that was with an awful May where I played almost 100 hours of negative poker.
My goal for 2007 is to play 100 hours a month at a win rate of $30.00 an hour. I think this is definately achievable for my continued improvement in the game. I also want to include 1-2 medium size buy-in tournaments each month (100-200 buyins) with deep stacks and slow blind levels. Probably MGM or Ceasers.
I had a good year dealing as well, even though I think I would have been more successful if I had just played poker. Dealing gave me the consistency I needed at that point and has been an enjoyable experience. I plan to remain on the extra board even if a full time position opens up in 2007 to allow me the abilty to continue to do tournaments and cruises. Estie and I have talked and discussed that I will not accept a full time position unless it is a primo spot until after the world series in 2007.
There are 2 Bellagio tournaments I want to do in the first half of 2007, as well as one at Mirage, Mandaly Bay, and possibly the world series again. I also have a cruise to Alaska, Party Poker Million cruise, and back to Mexico in November. All in all, a lot of interesting and enjoyable stuff coming up in 2007 and I have to fit poker in there somewhere :)
November and December were a decent finish to 2007 with only 58 hours and up $1540 for a $26.32 win rate. It was almost exclusively no-limit and I have continued into 2007 the same way. Except for one tilt induced session at Ballys where in just a few hours I dumped 800. Not a good start to 2007, but recoverable.
My goal for 2007 is to play 100 hours a month at a win rate of $30.00 an hour. I think this is definately achievable for my continued improvement in the game. I also want to include 1-2 medium size buy-in tournaments each month (100-200 buyins) with deep stacks and slow blind levels. Probably MGM or Ceasers.
I had a good year dealing as well, even though I think I would have been more successful if I had just played poker. Dealing gave me the consistency I needed at that point and has been an enjoyable experience. I plan to remain on the extra board even if a full time position opens up in 2007 to allow me the abilty to continue to do tournaments and cruises. Estie and I have talked and discussed that I will not accept a full time position unless it is a primo spot until after the world series in 2007.
There are 2 Bellagio tournaments I want to do in the first half of 2007, as well as one at Mirage, Mandaly Bay, and possibly the world series again. I also have a cruise to Alaska, Party Poker Million cruise, and back to Mexico in November. All in all, a lot of interesting and enjoyable stuff coming up in 2007 and I have to fit poker in there somewhere :)
November and December were a decent finish to 2007 with only 58 hours and up $1540 for a $26.32 win rate. It was almost exclusively no-limit and I have continued into 2007 the same way. Except for one tilt induced session at Ballys where in just a few hours I dumped 800. Not a good start to 2007, but recoverable.
Oops... My bad.
Well the interview at INS was Tuesday morning and we got there at 8:35 for our 8:45 appointment. We only had to wait about 10 minutes and we got a nice friendly gentleman for our officer. He asked a series of questions to verify what we had written down and then only asked for more details/documentation if we didn't have all the answers correct. Unfortunately one of the questions was "When were you divorced from Emily". I didn't know the answer... (Estie did, but that didn't help!) so he then asked for the Divorce Decree... well I hadn't gotten THAT piece of information, and ask such we got the green form. The green form means you have to come back with the extra info before you can get approved.
Other than that, the interview was smooth as silk. We had everything else we needed and it was over very quickly. Once I get that copy and bring it back... we should have Esties conditional residence. If Estie is still putting up with me in 21 months from that date, then she will be given her permanent residence. 3 years from the date of the conditional residence she can apply for citizenship.... So it is fairly well finished at this point... a huge relief for both of us.
We went and celebrated by going to the Spa for the afternoon together. We had a lovely pedicure, wax, facial and a nice relaxing day (I didn't do the facial that is for women!). It was very relaxing and refreshing. Aftewards it was poker time!
Poker went fairly well yesterday with a 4 hour session finishing up 180. It was a quiet controlled day where I was never down, and didn't get many cards to play with. I had to work and grind for everything I got. Today was a different type of day. I immediately went down a full 100 when I went all-in with 2nd pair on an 10 high flop. I got called by QJ with a gutshot who caught a king high straight. He apologized profusely and actually turned out to be an incredibly nice guy from Dublin, Ireland. We sat next to each other for 5 hours and had a great time. He ended up giving back that 100 and a lot more over the rest of the night :)
After losing the first 100 I bounced up and down and around for awhile before getting extremely lucky playing the Hammer (2-7) from the straddle. I decided this guy was buying a pot and pushed all-in with 2nd pair. Unfortunately he had the 8 on an 8 high flop and called. It was the same Irish guy from before, and this time I sucked out hitting a 2nd 7 on the turn and taking down a nice pot with the Hammer!
I played well for awhile taking down some unclaimed pots, and making a few great plays. I made one in particular which I was very proud of. I had K/10 on the BB and 2 limpers to me and I made it 12 to go. They both called and the flop was 10 high. I bet out 25 into the pot and a player at the other end of the table who got a huge beat earlier and was playing a bit off-kilter made it 75. The other guy folded and it was back to me. I looked at the guy and the way he held his body and the way he looked at me made me feel like he wasn't very confident in his hand. I made the read that he was making a play at me with a drawing hand, and that I was ahead. I pushed all-in for 75 more into a 180 dollar pot and he called after some long thought. My read was dead on, he had J high with a poor draw and my K/10 held up for a nice pot.
The poor guy had lost his third buy-in for the night and had to take a break. The night was winding down when this hand came up. The table had gotten very passive but a lot of new players were coming in as the "night shift" came in. I limp in under the gun with Q/10 offsuit. It is raised by my the guy to my immediate left to 10. 4 callers back to me and I am priced in to call. The flop is 10/10/7. So I flop 3 10's with a Q kicker. I feel very confident in my hand at this point when the guy to my right leads out for 60 into the 60 dollar pot! This is same Irish guy from earlier! I had played with him for awhile and had a pretty good read on him. He made a few comments about full houses and quads which didn't fit with his body language so I put him on a weak 10 who wanted the draws out.
I called the 60 and it was folded around to a guy sitting with 87 in front of him playing his 3rd hand of the night who goes all-in. At this point I can't fold for 27 more into a 300 dollar pot and call as does the Irish guy. The turn is a King and the Irish folds to my all-in bet of 200 more. (I really thought he would call... but whatever). We turn our hands up and the short stack had pocket 7's for a flopped full-house and was WAY ahead. I had 6 outs to catch up and the miracle Q hit on the turn for the better full-house and the whole pot. That put me up 300 for the day and I managed to give some back before cashing out up 187 after 5 hours.
It is back to work on Thursday morning at 1 AM for 2 days of graveyard before the big 500 dollar buy-in event at the Imperial Palace at 9 AM on Saturday morning... I will probably be on graveyard next week, but it should be a good week with 2 big tournament days and a big weekend on graveyard. Last week was really good with the 5 days on grave and almost 600 at the poker tables.
Other than that, the interview was smooth as silk. We had everything else we needed and it was over very quickly. Once I get that copy and bring it back... we should have Esties conditional residence. If Estie is still putting up with me in 21 months from that date, then she will be given her permanent residence. 3 years from the date of the conditional residence she can apply for citizenship.... So it is fairly well finished at this point... a huge relief for both of us.
We went and celebrated by going to the Spa for the afternoon together. We had a lovely pedicure, wax, facial and a nice relaxing day (I didn't do the facial that is for women!). It was very relaxing and refreshing. Aftewards it was poker time!
Poker went fairly well yesterday with a 4 hour session finishing up 180. It was a quiet controlled day where I was never down, and didn't get many cards to play with. I had to work and grind for everything I got. Today was a different type of day. I immediately went down a full 100 when I went all-in with 2nd pair on an 10 high flop. I got called by QJ with a gutshot who caught a king high straight. He apologized profusely and actually turned out to be an incredibly nice guy from Dublin, Ireland. We sat next to each other for 5 hours and had a great time. He ended up giving back that 100 and a lot more over the rest of the night :)
After losing the first 100 I bounced up and down and around for awhile before getting extremely lucky playing the Hammer (2-7) from the straddle. I decided this guy was buying a pot and pushed all-in with 2nd pair. Unfortunately he had the 8 on an 8 high flop and called. It was the same Irish guy from before, and this time I sucked out hitting a 2nd 7 on the turn and taking down a nice pot with the Hammer!
I played well for awhile taking down some unclaimed pots, and making a few great plays. I made one in particular which I was very proud of. I had K/10 on the BB and 2 limpers to me and I made it 12 to go. They both called and the flop was 10 high. I bet out 25 into the pot and a player at the other end of the table who got a huge beat earlier and was playing a bit off-kilter made it 75. The other guy folded and it was back to me. I looked at the guy and the way he held his body and the way he looked at me made me feel like he wasn't very confident in his hand. I made the read that he was making a play at me with a drawing hand, and that I was ahead. I pushed all-in for 75 more into a 180 dollar pot and he called after some long thought. My read was dead on, he had J high with a poor draw and my K/10 held up for a nice pot.
The poor guy had lost his third buy-in for the night and had to take a break. The night was winding down when this hand came up. The table had gotten very passive but a lot of new players were coming in as the "night shift" came in. I limp in under the gun with Q/10 offsuit. It is raised by my the guy to my immediate left to 10. 4 callers back to me and I am priced in to call. The flop is 10/10/7. So I flop 3 10's with a Q kicker. I feel very confident in my hand at this point when the guy to my right leads out for 60 into the 60 dollar pot! This is same Irish guy from earlier! I had played with him for awhile and had a pretty good read on him. He made a few comments about full houses and quads which didn't fit with his body language so I put him on a weak 10 who wanted the draws out.
I called the 60 and it was folded around to a guy sitting with 87 in front of him playing his 3rd hand of the night who goes all-in. At this point I can't fold for 27 more into a 300 dollar pot and call as does the Irish guy. The turn is a King and the Irish folds to my all-in bet of 200 more. (I really thought he would call... but whatever). We turn our hands up and the short stack had pocket 7's for a flopped full-house and was WAY ahead. I had 6 outs to catch up and the miracle Q hit on the turn for the better full-house and the whole pot. That put me up 300 for the day and I managed to give some back before cashing out up 187 after 5 hours.
It is back to work on Thursday morning at 1 AM for 2 days of graveyard before the big 500 dollar buy-in event at the Imperial Palace at 9 AM on Saturday morning... I will probably be on graveyard next week, but it should be a good week with 2 big tournament days and a big weekend on graveyard. Last week was really good with the 5 days on grave and almost 600 at the poker tables.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Big day tomorrow
Well... tomorrow is the immigration interview for Estie and I. This is when they decide whether we got married for a green card only, and if we did everything right. It is the last major hurdle for us to overcome in a long, painful journey. It is pretty nerve wracking right now...
In addition to that, I had my first week working on graveyard. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... and it looks like with one guy out for 10 weeks for a hip replacement, I will be on it for awhile. Once you adjust the sleep schedule it is actually pretty good.
World of Warcraft expansion came out, so that has been pretty exciting working to get my priest up to level 70. In addition to that, Estie has made some adjustments to her game and started playing a lot more poker with me... so both of us are working towards some big accomplishments in the near future.
I got my phone replaced after leaving it at the airport. However, I have lost every phone number I had.... so if you want to ever hear from me again, send me your phone number or call me. If you don't have my email address it is my first initial, last name, at gmail.com.
In addition to that, I had my first week working on graveyard. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... and it looks like with one guy out for 10 weeks for a hip replacement, I will be on it for awhile. Once you adjust the sleep schedule it is actually pretty good.
World of Warcraft expansion came out, so that has been pretty exciting working to get my priest up to level 70. In addition to that, Estie has made some adjustments to her game and started playing a lot more poker with me... so both of us are working towards some big accomplishments in the near future.
I got my phone replaced after leaving it at the airport. However, I have lost every phone number I had.... so if you want to ever hear from me again, send me your phone number or call me. If you don't have my email address it is my first initial, last name, at gmail.com.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
I wanna go Fast!
Sunday, Jannuary 7th
It is amazing how much of a difference a real weekend makes after a real week at work. When your average day is 4-5 hours, days off are not that important. When you work 40 hours in 4 days... suddenly not going to work seems a whole lot more fun. This was the last weekend for Clarese as she heads back for Jacksonville at 7 AM Sunday morning. It is going to be very sad not to have her here with us. She is a real joy in our lives, and it is tough having her live so far away.
Saturday we went to the Sahara and the "Nascar Experience". Apparently it isn't exactly the biggest attraction on the planet since at 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon there were no lines, and hardly any people. We went on the rolleroaster there "Speed - The Ride". I have to say, that is a darn good coaster. Backwards and forwards, a vertical drop in reverse, one loop, some twists, with no waiting it was pretty solid. We also did the "Cyber Speedway". I was sorely disappointed. The graphics were awful, the handling was poor, the cars were difficult to use, and overall a poor lacking experience. Play an Xbox driving game and skip this one.
Now that Clarese and Johan are finished with their visit, which I wish had been longer but everyone has other things to do than entertain me. (I wonder why that is... I pay them enough I thought :), I can start my new year of poker. I want to start playing more serious tournament poker and plan to hit up the Venetian, MGM or Ceaser's tourney's first. They are respectable starter tournaments at 100 or so buy-ins, 30-40 minute levels and deep stacks. So it is a real tournament and not a push-fest like the 40-50 dollar ones around town. In addition the prize money is fairly large (4-5K for a win in most of them), so it is worthy of some effort. I want to try to hit 1-2 a week as well as 20 hours or so of playing. I will try to finish up the numbers from 2006 to give an idea of how things finished up. Overall it was a good year, and I hope next year is even better.
A funny story from the Nascar ride at Sahara. We are waiting our turn to get on, and the guy in the coaster already is smoking a cigarette. Now this SEEMS to be a bad idea, but what do I know. He then drops the lit cigarette into his lap and starts trying to find it in his layers of clothes, at this point the ride takes off. Speed is a turbo start, so he is launched back into his seat with a lit cigarette in his lap. On the return trip he states to his friends "My hat is gone. Right off my hand". Regardless of the fact there is a sign that says "No loose articles of clothing. Please put all hats, sunglasses, purses, etc into the lockers". He had a hat on as well as his 4 Nascar jacket wearing friends who all promptly took their hats off and put them in a locker. As he gets up to walk off the ride he falls back INTO the the coaster cars and has to be helped off the platform by the employees. I think he was drunk, hatless AND burned at this point. I am sure this guy will be a poster boy for natural selection one day
It is amazing how much of a difference a real weekend makes after a real week at work. When your average day is 4-5 hours, days off are not that important. When you work 40 hours in 4 days... suddenly not going to work seems a whole lot more fun. This was the last weekend for Clarese as she heads back for Jacksonville at 7 AM Sunday morning. It is going to be very sad not to have her here with us. She is a real joy in our lives, and it is tough having her live so far away.
Saturday we went to the Sahara and the "Nascar Experience". Apparently it isn't exactly the biggest attraction on the planet since at 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon there were no lines, and hardly any people. We went on the rolleroaster there "Speed - The Ride". I have to say, that is a darn good coaster. Backwards and forwards, a vertical drop in reverse, one loop, some twists, with no waiting it was pretty solid. We also did the "Cyber Speedway". I was sorely disappointed. The graphics were awful, the handling was poor, the cars were difficult to use, and overall a poor lacking experience. Play an Xbox driving game and skip this one.
Now that Clarese and Johan are finished with their visit, which I wish had been longer but everyone has other things to do than entertain me. (I wonder why that is... I pay them enough I thought :), I can start my new year of poker. I want to start playing more serious tournament poker and plan to hit up the Venetian, MGM or Ceaser's tourney's first. They are respectable starter tournaments at 100 or so buy-ins, 30-40 minute levels and deep stacks. So it is a real tournament and not a push-fest like the 40-50 dollar ones around town. In addition the prize money is fairly large (4-5K for a win in most of them), so it is worthy of some effort. I want to try to hit 1-2 a week as well as 20 hours or so of playing. I will try to finish up the numbers from 2006 to give an idea of how things finished up. Overall it was a good year, and I hope next year is even better.
A funny story from the Nascar ride at Sahara. We are waiting our turn to get on, and the guy in the coaster already is smoking a cigarette. Now this SEEMS to be a bad idea, but what do I know. He then drops the lit cigarette into his lap and starts trying to find it in his layers of clothes, at this point the ride takes off. Speed is a turbo start, so he is launched back into his seat with a lit cigarette in his lap. On the return trip he states to his friends "My hat is gone. Right off my hand". Regardless of the fact there is a sign that says "No loose articles of clothing. Please put all hats, sunglasses, purses, etc into the lockers". He had a hat on as well as his 4 Nascar jacket wearing friends who all promptly took their hats off and put them in a locker. As he gets up to walk off the ride he falls back INTO the the coaster cars and has to be helped off the platform by the employees. I think he was drunk, hatless AND burned at this point. I am sure this guy will be a poster boy for natural selection one day
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Happy New Years! 4 Dollars to Call!
Well.. the new schedule came out and I expected to be on Day shift again this week, however it turns out I moved over to swing for the week. New years eve I am working at 5 PM "until". I was not terribly pleased as this meant I couldn't spend new years eve with Estie. It was our first one since we got married and I wished I could have been with her. The rest of my schedule was 8 PM on Monday and tuesday and then 4 days off for the rest of the week.
The time leading up to New years was great. We went on the Gondola ride at the Venetian and got to ride on the boats, and listen to the beautiful singing of the Gondola drivers. We had dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris and some excellent food! I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting. We also visited the Bellagio Christmas display, it was amazing! Polar bears made out of live carnations, Reindeer out of Pecans, a 35 foot christmas tree, 100's of poinesettas. It was absolutely gorgeous! Estie and Clarese took her brother (Johan) to see the rest of the sites. They rode the rides at Stratosphere, and NYNY. They spent a lot of time sight seeing, and he utterly enjoyed the sights around town.
New Years eve Johan had to go back to England where he lives now, and I had to go to work. It started out slow, but since we had only 10 dealers and 6 tables it moved by pretty well. At midnight the room emptied out down to 1 table. It was very amusing to be sitting there on New Years eve with everyone counting down to the new year and we are there dealing out hands. "Happy new Year sir, 4 dollars to call".
After midnight we had a short reprieve when we got to have some dinner and relax a few minutes before the real fun started. With 300,000 people on the strip it was a mad house, and a whole bunch of those were coming in to play poker with us! Between 12:30 and 1:00 AM we went from 1 table to 9. It ran smooth as silk with me and Loughman at the front directing everyone, and the supervisor Rick getting the dealers on the tables and the money. As soon as a table was full they started dealing. We had all 9 tables running 10 handed at 1 AM and we held all 9 tables until 5 AM when we started breaking down. I ended up going home at 7 AM after 14 hours of work. I had reached that point beyond exhaustion where everything was just a haze. The nice thing was it was good money. The bad thing was it really really messed up my sleep schedule. Atlanta time, working mornings, then switching to nights, and getting off at 7 AM. I was definately broken. I was so tired on Monday when I got to work that I decided to go home early so signed the Early out list. Well I'll be damned if all the people from New Year's eve didn't want to go home! One guy called in sick, 2 people had to work overtime, and it was insane in the room. I ended up being their until 4 AM and coming home exhausted AGAIN. On top of that, one guy didn't show up for New Year's eve and was fired. So they added another day to my week giving me Saturday night at 9 PM. The next day I come in to work at 8 PM again and find out that another guy has been suspended for getting in a fight while off shift in the room, and now I have been given ANOTHER day at 7 PM on WEdnesday. My 4 day weekend has now become a 2 day weekend.
Tuesday I go in, and again sign the EO list trying to get home before 1 AM so I can get a good nights sleep. I am still not able to sleep past 11 or so... which really sucks when you go to bed at 5 or 6 AM and are already exhausted. Unfortunately for me... noone is going home again, AND someone calls in sick again, so AGAIN I am there until 4 AM. 3 Days, 22 hours of work all in the late evening and early morning. Welcome to the life of a dealer I guess. Tonight I am in at 7 PM and if they scheduled me for another shift I will probably cry!
The time leading up to New years was great. We went on the Gondola ride at the Venetian and got to ride on the boats, and listen to the beautiful singing of the Gondola drivers. We had dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris and some excellent food! I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting. We also visited the Bellagio Christmas display, it was amazing! Polar bears made out of live carnations, Reindeer out of Pecans, a 35 foot christmas tree, 100's of poinesettas. It was absolutely gorgeous! Estie and Clarese took her brother (Johan) to see the rest of the sites. They rode the rides at Stratosphere, and NYNY. They spent a lot of time sight seeing, and he utterly enjoyed the sights around town.
New Years eve Johan had to go back to England where he lives now, and I had to go to work. It started out slow, but since we had only 10 dealers and 6 tables it moved by pretty well. At midnight the room emptied out down to 1 table. It was very amusing to be sitting there on New Years eve with everyone counting down to the new year and we are there dealing out hands. "Happy new Year sir, 4 dollars to call".
After midnight we had a short reprieve when we got to have some dinner and relax a few minutes before the real fun started. With 300,000 people on the strip it was a mad house, and a whole bunch of those were coming in to play poker with us! Between 12:30 and 1:00 AM we went from 1 table to 9. It ran smooth as silk with me and Loughman at the front directing everyone, and the supervisor Rick getting the dealers on the tables and the money. As soon as a table was full they started dealing. We had all 9 tables running 10 handed at 1 AM and we held all 9 tables until 5 AM when we started breaking down. I ended up going home at 7 AM after 14 hours of work. I had reached that point beyond exhaustion where everything was just a haze. The nice thing was it was good money. The bad thing was it really really messed up my sleep schedule. Atlanta time, working mornings, then switching to nights, and getting off at 7 AM. I was definately broken. I was so tired on Monday when I got to work that I decided to go home early so signed the Early out list. Well I'll be damned if all the people from New Year's eve didn't want to go home! One guy called in sick, 2 people had to work overtime, and it was insane in the room. I ended up being their until 4 AM and coming home exhausted AGAIN. On top of that, one guy didn't show up for New Year's eve and was fired. So they added another day to my week giving me Saturday night at 9 PM. The next day I come in to work at 8 PM again and find out that another guy has been suspended for getting in a fight while off shift in the room, and now I have been given ANOTHER day at 7 PM on WEdnesday. My 4 day weekend has now become a 2 day weekend.
Tuesday I go in, and again sign the EO list trying to get home before 1 AM so I can get a good nights sleep. I am still not able to sleep past 11 or so... which really sucks when you go to bed at 5 or 6 AM and are already exhausted. Unfortunately for me... noone is going home again, AND someone calls in sick again, so AGAIN I am there until 4 AM. 3 Days, 22 hours of work all in the late evening and early morning. Welcome to the life of a dealer I guess. Tonight I am in at 7 PM and if they scheduled me for another shift I will probably cry!
Vacation Overload
There are times when you go on vacation and the story is "Yeah, we had a good time and got to see everyone again". Then there are other times where your vacation sounds like you decided to fill every waking hour with something to do... This was one of those trips.
To start out with I booked a great flight direct out of Las Vegas to Orlando to meet up with the rest of my immediate family and their spouses/children at Disney. It left Vegas at 11 AM and arrived in Orlanda at 6 PM. A Perfect flight on the 19th of december. So I requested my vacation time at work from December 20th to December 25th. This was less effective than I had planned it to be, since I actually left on the morning of the 19th!
I went to work and told them "Oh my I made a mistake I can't work on Tuesday". So I had to apologize to the big boss, and get him to fix the mistake I made. We were already short staffed that day, so the Supervisor was mad, etc. I then get home from work and get a message from my Mother saying she will pick me up at 6 AM on Wednesday morning in Orlando. 6 *AM*! Oh crap... I go check my flight info to inform her that she is wrong, when I find out she is right! DOH! I booked an 11 PM Flight on Tuesday! Well crap... so now I *CAN* work on the 19th since I was scheduled for 10 AM, and so I called my boss and told him so. Unfortunately I didn't write it down and send it to him, I just called him. I had originally written down the original problem. So written trumps verbal.. and when I came to work on Tuesday morning the schedule had changed and I was off that day. Oops.
The flight went fine and we got there right on time. Dad was there to pick us up and we got caught up with everyone at the condo before going to take a short 4 hour nap, drove to get Clarese from her Dad, and got everyone all together for dinner. The weather was moving in and the original plan was to go to Universal Studios on Friday and Disney Christmas thing on Thursday night. However, with Clarese only being in Orlando for 2 days, and it maybe raining on Friday, and us leaving on Saturday we decided to go to Universal Islands of Adventure on Thursday morning just in case we didn't get to go to Universal on Friday. It turned out it didn't rain until after we finished on Friday and we had a great time at everything. The rollercoasters were awesome, Clarese had a great time (I enjoyed it a little as well, but don't tell her. I want her to think I just went for her). Disney world for christmas was great.
We left early Saturday morning for the extended family christmas in Thomasville, and then got home late before doing our immediate family christmas on Christmas Eve. Our flight back was at 1 PM from Atlanta so we had to get up and leave Bainbridge at 6 AM. We made it in record time since there was no traffic and hit the airport early and had an hour and a half extra to eat and relax.
Now in most airports security they have a little white bucket that you put your keys, phone, etc in. While they have big gray trays you put the big stuff like your laptop. etc. However in atlanta they do not have the little white trays. So the man yelled at me for bringing my keys with me to the scanner, and made me go back and put them in a gray tray with my cellphone. This unfortunately put my keys/cellphone way behind the other stuff I put thru. Well... fast forward 2 hours and the plane is leaving in 10 mins which is when I realized I didn't get my keys and cellphone from the security checkpoint! So a mad rush, mad train ride, back to security where they had found my keys but NOT my cellphone. It could have been worse... we only have one key to the car! so losing both would have sucked. So now I have no cellphone! BAH! Time to get a new one and get everyone's number again.
Once I got back home and checked my schedule at work I was scheduled for the next 5 days straight after taking Sunday and Monday off for the vacation. It wasn't too bad with 3 9 AM shifts and all day shifts. This worked well since I was still on Atlanta time and was waking up at 6 or 7 AM anyways. So I had no problem getting to work. It was good to be back home after everything. It was great to see everyone, and I really had a good time. Clarese is with us now for the next 2 weeks and Estie's brother is coming to visit as well for a few days. So it is sure to be an exciting time!
To start out with I booked a great flight direct out of Las Vegas to Orlando to meet up with the rest of my immediate family and their spouses/children at Disney. It left Vegas at 11 AM and arrived in Orlanda at 6 PM. A Perfect flight on the 19th of december. So I requested my vacation time at work from December 20th to December 25th. This was less effective than I had planned it to be, since I actually left on the morning of the 19th!
I went to work and told them "Oh my I made a mistake I can't work on Tuesday". So I had to apologize to the big boss, and get him to fix the mistake I made. We were already short staffed that day, so the Supervisor was mad, etc. I then get home from work and get a message from my Mother saying she will pick me up at 6 AM on Wednesday morning in Orlando. 6 *AM*! Oh crap... I go check my flight info to inform her that she is wrong, when I find out she is right! DOH! I booked an 11 PM Flight on Tuesday! Well crap... so now I *CAN* work on the 19th since I was scheduled for 10 AM, and so I called my boss and told him so. Unfortunately I didn't write it down and send it to him, I just called him. I had originally written down the original problem. So written trumps verbal.. and when I came to work on Tuesday morning the schedule had changed and I was off that day. Oops.
The flight went fine and we got there right on time. Dad was there to pick us up and we got caught up with everyone at the condo before going to take a short 4 hour nap, drove to get Clarese from her Dad, and got everyone all together for dinner. The weather was moving in and the original plan was to go to Universal Studios on Friday and Disney Christmas thing on Thursday night. However, with Clarese only being in Orlando for 2 days, and it maybe raining on Friday, and us leaving on Saturday we decided to go to Universal Islands of Adventure on Thursday morning just in case we didn't get to go to Universal on Friday. It turned out it didn't rain until after we finished on Friday and we had a great time at everything. The rollercoasters were awesome, Clarese had a great time (I enjoyed it a little as well, but don't tell her. I want her to think I just went for her). Disney world for christmas was great.
We left early Saturday morning for the extended family christmas in Thomasville, and then got home late before doing our immediate family christmas on Christmas Eve. Our flight back was at 1 PM from Atlanta so we had to get up and leave Bainbridge at 6 AM. We made it in record time since there was no traffic and hit the airport early and had an hour and a half extra to eat and relax.
Now in most airports security they have a little white bucket that you put your keys, phone, etc in. While they have big gray trays you put the big stuff like your laptop. etc. However in atlanta they do not have the little white trays. So the man yelled at me for bringing my keys with me to the scanner, and made me go back and put them in a gray tray with my cellphone. This unfortunately put my keys/cellphone way behind the other stuff I put thru. Well... fast forward 2 hours and the plane is leaving in 10 mins which is when I realized I didn't get my keys and cellphone from the security checkpoint! So a mad rush, mad train ride, back to security where they had found my keys but NOT my cellphone. It could have been worse... we only have one key to the car! so losing both would have sucked. So now I have no cellphone! BAH! Time to get a new one and get everyone's number again.
Once I got back home and checked my schedule at work I was scheduled for the next 5 days straight after taking Sunday and Monday off for the vacation. It wasn't too bad with 3 9 AM shifts and all day shifts. This worked well since I was still on Atlanta time and was waking up at 6 or 7 AM anyways. So I had no problem getting to work. It was good to be back home after everything. It was great to see everyone, and I really had a good time. Clarese is with us now for the next 2 weeks and Estie's brother is coming to visit as well for a few days. So it is sure to be an exciting time!
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