Happy new year to all! It has been one heck of a ride in 2008 and I am looking forward to the new year with some new plans and new changes.
Quick update on where things are.. not a lot of details because well, I don't want to share too many :)
- Job is going well. Work is well, work. Gotta be done, but not to bad.
- Married life is not going as well. Estie and I are seperated and she will be moving back to jacksonville in February most likely.
- Sports betting is the devil!
- Poker is well.. poker. Still the love of my life, but god I hate her at times.
On to new news... Harrahs has started a combined promotion that was too good to pass up.
Every day when you play between 8-11 AM or 6-9 PM they give you a certificate. If you come back within 24 hours, you get 10% of your buy-in back (max $30). So if you play every day between 6-9 PM then every day they pay you $30. Expand that over a month and that is $900 to play poker!
On top of that.. at the end of January if you have played over 50 hours you get a cashback check of $x per hour played. the X is from 2 to 5 depending on how many hours you played. Play 50 hours get $2 per hour (total of $100), play 101 get $4 per hour (total of $404), and it caps out at 126 hours for $599. Making the net promotion of 126 hours and 31 days of poker worth just over $1500. Now since I have a real job.. I won't make 126 hours, but my goal is 76 hours which gets me in the $3 per hour club and hit the everyday thing for a nice profit of just over $1100 on top of what I make playing!
I started out on this quest January 1st putting in right at 5 hours and up $700. An excellent start and far exceeded my expectations. I manged to flop 3 sets, ending in 3 boats, and 3 large pots. I am amazed at what people will pay off with. Unfortunately for me.. this lesson didn't hold as I did well for a few days before degenerating into a "I am smarter than you" pissing contest which ended in me being stacked by a guy with top pair, top kicker on a Q high, 3 spade, straight possible board. Technically he SHOULD have folded for his whole stack with something as weak as top pair.. but he didn't. I am still up $600 over 6 days which is perfectly acceptable ($100 a day would be just over 3 grand in profit for a month. I can live with that). I just have to remember the situations where they pay me off with monsters and NOT try to force stuff.
Monday night we had a nice little Omaha 8/B 4-8 limit game going to break up the no-limit grind so I jumped in and after 3 hours turned a $25 dollar profit. Hardly life changing, but it was fun and I didn't lose. So hard to argue with it.
One funny hand from the first day. I flop a set of 5's, turn a boat on a queen high board. I check raised the guy on the turn and he called. On the river an Ace hits and I pushed all-in for about $150 into a $300 pot. This guy things for awhile and eventually says you must have flopped a set of 5's and turned the boat. Now I was shocked he had such a good read on it, and a bit disappointed as I was sure he would fold now he had put me on my EXACT hand. Then he called. This guy will be dangerous one day when he learns to fold the 2nd best hand...
Another fun hand that demonstrates it isn't about your cards but about the story you are telling. In this case, the story was unintentional. Flop comes down K66 two spades and I have 6/7 of hearts. Bunch of players in the hand as it was limped and early position leads out. I called in middle position and everyone else folded (not what I wanted but oh well). Turn is the 3rd spade, original bettor now checks and my read is he is scared of that spade, so I bet. He calls. The river is the 4th 6. Now he leads out and I reraised him all-in which he instantly called. The funny thing about this hand is I had firmly represented hitting the flush and then being an idiot (noone with a flush should reraise on a board with 3 6's on it). I didn't MEAN to represent the flush.. but the reality was I did by accident and that was the nail in his coffin. If he thought I had a 6 he would never have bet into me, but thinking I hit the flush on the turn meant he was sure his King for the fullhouse was good.
Back to the casino tonight for a few more hours of poker, see if we can go back to no-limit and start the winning back up.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Monday, October 13, 2008
Life lessons
Do you have feel like you do the same things in life over and over again in numerous aspects? When I do something for the first time I research it to death, make sure I do as good a job as I can at it, and am very focused on what I am doing. In general when I do those things I succeed. This is in and of itself a marvelous thing... however once I do something and succeed at it I either get overconfident or lackadaisical and then start to suck at it.
It happens in poker, sports betting and in life and it leads to a rather vicious cycle of succeeding at something, then failing, then re-analyzing and succeeding again, etc.
Sports betting has gone into the failing cycle as I was/am becoming very confident and betting on too many games in too many ways. The end result is an 8 day losing streak that really sucks! The good news is it has been counter-balanced by a good run in poker where I have re-analzyed my play and really improved. I have started to play more within myself and wait for my spots. I managed to cash back to back tournaments last week and have been doing very well at the cash games.
The one thing I have really improved on is quitting. Giving up on a hand when I THINK I am beat but don't want to be (a big problem I have... I want to win the hand, even though I know I am losing). Also, a huge part of poker is confidence and when you are playing with a lot of confidence the other people believe you.
In the past 2 weeks I made a guy lay down QQ on a 9 high no flush, no straight board as he was 100% sure I had flopped a set. I thought he had AK and my 5 I hit was good... the reality was it didn't matter because I had a HUGE amount of confidence in my hand and he believed me. Another hand I made a woman lay down the same exact hand I did, simply by believing my hand was better. (actually made the same lady lay down basically the same hand as I had twice in less than an hour).
The key to just about everything in life is confidence, confidence in yourself, confidence in your play, confidence in your decisions. Many times your decisions are poor... but even then if you have confidence in them and keep your head about you you can turn poor decisions (such as pushing all in with 4-5 suited on a 9-5-2 board against Q-Q) into good results. Then you just have to keep yourself from getting OVER confident which is the fine line I have to walk and one which is (and probably always will be) a challenge for me. So far I have been keeping over-confidence out of my poker game, and I have to keep focused on that. I also have to remember that even though I may know more about poker and in fact be a better player than them.. I don't have to show them that EVERY hand.. it is ok to let a few get away, pick your spots as they say.
It happens in poker, sports betting and in life and it leads to a rather vicious cycle of succeeding at something, then failing, then re-analyzing and succeeding again, etc.
Sports betting has gone into the failing cycle as I was/am becoming very confident and betting on too many games in too many ways. The end result is an 8 day losing streak that really sucks! The good news is it has been counter-balanced by a good run in poker where I have re-analzyed my play and really improved. I have started to play more within myself and wait for my spots. I managed to cash back to back tournaments last week and have been doing very well at the cash games.
The one thing I have really improved on is quitting. Giving up on a hand when I THINK I am beat but don't want to be (a big problem I have... I want to win the hand, even though I know I am losing). Also, a huge part of poker is confidence and when you are playing with a lot of confidence the other people believe you.
In the past 2 weeks I made a guy lay down QQ on a 9 high no flush, no straight board as he was 100% sure I had flopped a set. I thought he had AK and my 5 I hit was good... the reality was it didn't matter because I had a HUGE amount of confidence in my hand and he believed me. Another hand I made a woman lay down the same exact hand I did, simply by believing my hand was better. (actually made the same lady lay down basically the same hand as I had twice in less than an hour).
The key to just about everything in life is confidence, confidence in yourself, confidence in your play, confidence in your decisions. Many times your decisions are poor... but even then if you have confidence in them and keep your head about you you can turn poor decisions (such as pushing all in with 4-5 suited on a 9-5-2 board against Q-Q) into good results. Then you just have to keep yourself from getting OVER confident which is the fine line I have to walk and one which is (and probably always will be) a challenge for me. So far I have been keeping over-confidence out of my poker game, and I have to keep focused on that. I also have to remember that even though I may know more about poker and in fact be a better player than them.. I don't have to show them that EVERY hand.. it is ok to let a few get away, pick your spots as they say.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
I have been playing a little more poker lately with a couple of runs at the trasure island tournament and a couple of Venentians. My last venetian I went really deep but just missed the money finishing 28th out of 140 but they paid 18.
I played exceptionally well and patient, except for one thing. When I have a good hand but a bad flop I WANT to win the pot. I just couldn't back off the hand and ended up giving away a lot of chips. At the 3rd break I had 15K and I had given away 20K just because I wanted to win the chips.. I can be so patient pre-flop picking my spots, and staying out of trouble. Then I get into a hand and all that goes out the window.
I played Treasure Island on Wednesday night and did much better, keeping my nose clean and riding some nice conservative play (and a nice suckout with 22 vs AA) into the final table and a 4 way chop. Add this in with a nice win in the cash game this past weekend and I finished this week up. Been awhile since that happened and hopefully I can keep it rolling this weekend.
Sports betting is going well as well, hitting 3 out of 4 second halves and only missing the Neworleans 2nd half on a stupid late FG when they were trying to run out the clock and "accidently" got into FG range and kicked it.
I have started watching for a very specific 2nd half situation which is cashing at a monsterous rate. Large favorites who are trailing at the half, this bet has been super-money so far and I expect it to continue. It isn't a surpise for a big favorite to lose, but they normally find a way to come back and make it close. Perfect examples this past weekend Oakland led SD 15-0. SD was a 9 pt favorite. I got SD -7 for the 2nd half.. no way Oakland beats SD by more than a TD, they might end up winning by 3, but SD *IS* going to come back. Same thing on the Dallas/Washington game.
Looking forward to a big weekend of Poker at the venetian and some nice football. GOO ALABAMA! I want a rematch in the SEC championship game bitches!
I played exceptionally well and patient, except for one thing. When I have a good hand but a bad flop I WANT to win the pot. I just couldn't back off the hand and ended up giving away a lot of chips. At the 3rd break I had 15K and I had given away 20K just because I wanted to win the chips.. I can be so patient pre-flop picking my spots, and staying out of trouble. Then I get into a hand and all that goes out the window.
I played Treasure Island on Wednesday night and did much better, keeping my nose clean and riding some nice conservative play (and a nice suckout with 22 vs AA) into the final table and a 4 way chop. Add this in with a nice win in the cash game this past weekend and I finished this week up. Been awhile since that happened and hopefully I can keep it rolling this weekend.
Sports betting is going well as well, hitting 3 out of 4 second halves and only missing the Neworleans 2nd half on a stupid late FG when they were trying to run out the clock and "accidently" got into FG range and kicked it.
I have started watching for a very specific 2nd half situation which is cashing at a monsterous rate. Large favorites who are trailing at the half, this bet has been super-money so far and I expect it to continue. It isn't a surpise for a big favorite to lose, but they normally find a way to come back and make it close. Perfect examples this past weekend Oakland led SD 15-0. SD was a 9 pt favorite. I got SD -7 for the 2nd half.. no way Oakland beats SD by more than a TD, they might end up winning by 3, but SD *IS* going to come back. Same thing on the Dallas/Washington game.
Looking forward to a big weekend of Poker at the venetian and some nice football. GOO ALABAMA! I want a rematch in the SEC championship game bitches!
Monday, September 08, 2008
Hilton Football and TI Poker
The weekend started off with a nice day at Treasure Island. I love the BBQ Cobb Salad at their buffet, not to mention good Sushi and BBQ. The tournament didn't go well, getting knocked out early. I only really played 3 hands.
AQ vs AK early losing some of my chips, then just sitting and folding while the blinds went up and up and up finally waiting for a hand and get AA in the SB. The table had been very loose agressive so I was waiting for the raise with 3 callers to push over the top. It is FOLDED to me in the SB, the only time ALL night it folded to the blinds. I raised and the BB folded.. whee.
Finally down to 2000 chips with blinds at 100-200 I saw a good chance to get some chips when 6 limpers to me in the SB with 6-8 suited. I pushed and got called by 55. Flop is 4 to the flush but a 5. In an appropriate ending to my tournament the turn paired the board to leave me drawing dead, while the river gave me my flush for a wasted catch.
On Sunday I went down to the Hilton to check out their sports book and Sunday NFL party. I have only one thing to say about that.. OH MY GOD! Now first of all we are talking a 1000 seat theatre with every game on, free crap give-aways, $2 beer and $1 hotdogs. Now if that wasn't absolutely wonderful... I then found a seat in the real sportsbook which was SOOO much more comfortable, much less crowded and the drinks were FREE! I noticed in the TI and Ceaser's sportsbook last week that the drinks were free there as well.. must be a new thing in Vegas, and I LIKE IT! How much better does it get than Free Beer, Comfortable seats, all the games on TV, and a waitress bringing you the beers! I got and held onto my seat through both the 1 PM and 4 PM games before heading home up slightly from betting there.
Overall betting was mediocre this weekend ending it up just a tad with an AWFUL day in College (I think I picked too many games as I had 16 games and 2 teasers going) but got it all back in the pros even tho I lost my biggest bet of the day with Cincy tanking it vs Baltimore.
Tonight I have to work but am keeping an eye on the games on ESPN. I like Minny and the under in the early game and Oakland in the late game.
baseball picks today are on Cincy and Arizona.
AQ vs AK early losing some of my chips, then just sitting and folding while the blinds went up and up and up finally waiting for a hand and get AA in the SB. The table had been very loose agressive so I was waiting for the raise with 3 callers to push over the top. It is FOLDED to me in the SB, the only time ALL night it folded to the blinds. I raised and the BB folded.. whee.
Finally down to 2000 chips with blinds at 100-200 I saw a good chance to get some chips when 6 limpers to me in the SB with 6-8 suited. I pushed and got called by 55. Flop is 4 to the flush but a 5. In an appropriate ending to my tournament the turn paired the board to leave me drawing dead, while the river gave me my flush for a wasted catch.
On Sunday I went down to the Hilton to check out their sports book and Sunday NFL party. I have only one thing to say about that.. OH MY GOD! Now first of all we are talking a 1000 seat theatre with every game on, free crap give-aways, $2 beer and $1 hotdogs. Now if that wasn't absolutely wonderful... I then found a seat in the real sportsbook which was SOOO much more comfortable, much less crowded and the drinks were FREE! I noticed in the TI and Ceaser's sportsbook last week that the drinks were free there as well.. must be a new thing in Vegas, and I LIKE IT! How much better does it get than Free Beer, Comfortable seats, all the games on TV, and a waitress bringing you the beers! I got and held onto my seat through both the 1 PM and 4 PM games before heading home up slightly from betting there.
Overall betting was mediocre this weekend ending it up just a tad with an AWFUL day in College (I think I picked too many games as I had 16 games and 2 teasers going) but got it all back in the pros even tho I lost my biggest bet of the day with Cincy tanking it vs Baltimore.
Tonight I have to work but am keeping an eye on the games on ESPN. I like Minny and the under in the early game and Oakland in the late game.
baseball picks today are on Cincy and Arizona.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Let's get caught up
I have been SERIOUSLY slacking lately with a lot of things. So let's get caught up and back on track.
1) New job - Going well, working in an office now. Getting paid regularly is nice and having weekends off is AWFUL nice.
2) Online Poker - Going great have run my $5 free money up over $650. I have won several big 180 person tournaments and am rolling right along.
3) Live poker - For some reason I just can't seem to win anything. Tournaments, cash games, everything goes bad. I just don't get it... Part of it is impatience, but part of it is just plain bad luck. I got knocked out of the Venetian tournament on Saturday after flopping a flush against 2 pair. We both have 7200 in chips with the blinds at 25/50. Early position makes it 500, this guy makes it 1500. I put him on a set, as he had limped pre-flop and the board was Ace high, or potentially AK with the K of diamonds but seemed rather unlikely. So I pushed. He called with 2 pair and his boat rolled right off on the turn. I just don't get how you call a 7200 chip bet with 2 pair on a 3 diamond board, WTF did he think I had! He even said "I think you flopped a flush but I have outs if you did". Sheesh... I will give it some more attempts this weekend to find the right mix of tournaments.
Now for some new stuff. I have gotten back into sports betting with a new adjusted Reverse Line movement system and some additional resources that have done fairly well. Doing $50 bets I managed to clear a little over $1300 in the first weeks, so liking it so far :)
Here are tonights bets: (now that I wrote them down it will surely lose)
MLB:
OAK vs BAL - OAK +100
PHI vs NYM - PHI +117
KC vs CLE - KC +125
ARI vs LAD - LAD -128
Chicago Cubs -145
WNBA:
Conn -9.5
NY Over 158.5
PHX under 177
LA +2 1H
LA/SA under 143.5
College Football:
Navy under 61.5
Finally... I am looking at getting a new mode of transportation. Something other than the nice reliable Camry that has gotten me this far...
http://www.bikez.com/pictures/suzuki/2005/21384_0_1_2_sv%20650%20s_Image%20credits%20-%20Suzuki.jpg
I am going to go in a few weeks to take a safety course and get my license, then go out for some test drives.. little nervous but excited! There isn't a better place in the world to ride a motorcycle that Vegas. Lots of backroads, easy parking for bikes, no rain, etc... can't wait.
1) New job - Going well, working in an office now. Getting paid regularly is nice and having weekends off is AWFUL nice.
2) Online Poker - Going great have run my $5 free money up over $650. I have won several big 180 person tournaments and am rolling right along.
3) Live poker - For some reason I just can't seem to win anything. Tournaments, cash games, everything goes bad. I just don't get it... Part of it is impatience, but part of it is just plain bad luck. I got knocked out of the Venetian tournament on Saturday after flopping a flush against 2 pair. We both have 7200 in chips with the blinds at 25/50. Early position makes it 500, this guy makes it 1500. I put him on a set, as he had limped pre-flop and the board was Ace high, or potentially AK with the K of diamonds but seemed rather unlikely. So I pushed. He called with 2 pair and his boat rolled right off on the turn. I just don't get how you call a 7200 chip bet with 2 pair on a 3 diamond board, WTF did he think I had! He even said "I think you flopped a flush but I have outs if you did". Sheesh... I will give it some more attempts this weekend to find the right mix of tournaments.
Now for some new stuff. I have gotten back into sports betting with a new adjusted Reverse Line movement system and some additional resources that have done fairly well. Doing $50 bets I managed to clear a little over $1300 in the first weeks, so liking it so far :)
Here are tonights bets: (now that I wrote them down it will surely lose)
MLB:
OAK vs BAL - OAK +100
PHI vs NYM - PHI +117
KC vs CLE - KC +125
ARI vs LAD - LAD -128
Chicago Cubs -145
WNBA:
Conn -9.5
NY Over 158.5
PHX under 177
LA +2 1H
LA/SA under 143.5
College Football:
Navy under 61.5
Finally... I am looking at getting a new mode of transportation. Something other than the nice reliable Camry that has gotten me this far...
http://www.bikez.com/pictures/suzuki/2005/21384_0_1_2_sv%20650%20s_Image%20credits%20-%20Suzuki.jpg
I am going to go in a few weeks to take a safety course and get my license, then go out for some test drives.. little nervous but excited! There isn't a better place in the world to ride a motorcycle that Vegas. Lots of backroads, easy parking for bikes, no rain, etc... can't wait.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
TV and Poker together at last
With the writers strike TV pretty much sucked... and with the difficulty in getting money into online poker it also pretty much sucked. Well that has turned around a little.
TV has picked up some with BattleStar Galactica restarting for its final season in April (catching up with Season 3 on DVD right now.. WOO!). Just for the record the 4th episode of Season 3 may very well be the best SciFi episode of a TV show I have ever seen. I was actually tearing up when Adama started his "It has been an honor to serve with you" speech.
American Idol has restarted and BAH! These people suck! I can barely even stomach half the final 12 singing and the other half don't make me want to spend a dollar on Itunes for a song much less a real album.
Dancing with the stars is also back and I have always enjoyed this show, but even more so this year since Shannon Elizabeth is on there. Shannon is an avid poker player for those who don't know, and is semi-decent but not really GOOD. She played at the world series last year in several events and was at my tables a few times. We had some nice conversations about Allergies and dry air (I know.. I am smooth), and she turned out to be fairly nice. I am excited to see someone I have actually had a conversation with on Dancing with the Stars. On a related note.. I watched American Pie again and now it is just wierd, I thought she was super-hot when I saw her the first time on there... but now that I have seen her in Jeans and a pony tail she is just like any other girl. It really makes you realize how much the camera/makeup make a difference on these people.
My Dad is off on the Apalachian trail just passing the 1 month mark. He is expecting to finish it in about 5-6 months and so far so good. His trip history is on his website www.piperhiker.com and it is a really good read. I am going up with Estie to see him at the end of May and I wish him the best of luck and know we are all pulling for him.
I have been continuing my online tournament effort and managed to cash in 6 more multi-table tournaments including a 3rd in a 180 person tourney, I also cashed another 180, a few 45's and have run my total on there up to 240+. Not a bad run up from $5.
I took my newfound tournament skills to the Venetian on Sunday for the $150 and managed to outlast 10 of the 117 players before getting knocked out pushing all-in against Quad's. Would you believe I thought he would fold? yeah turned out he won't fold Quads.
I played the 4/8 Omaha H/L game for awhile afterward and ran it up to up almost 200 before I decided to change seats. The guy who took my seat went on to win about 400 more while I proceeded to lose all I had won and cash out just barely above even. Luck of the draw I know.. but it sucks.
Estie is heading to Florida for a week with her friends.... so I am going to be a poker playing fool while she is gone in a valiant effort to allay my grief over her being gone for SOOOO long. I just hope that I can survive :) I will surely miss her, but I know she will have a great time and I will live through it (I hope)
TV has picked up some with BattleStar Galactica restarting for its final season in April (catching up with Season 3 on DVD right now.. WOO!). Just for the record the 4th episode of Season 3 may very well be the best SciFi episode of a TV show I have ever seen. I was actually tearing up when Adama started his "It has been an honor to serve with you" speech.
American Idol has restarted and BAH! These people suck! I can barely even stomach half the final 12 singing and the other half don't make me want to spend a dollar on Itunes for a song much less a real album.
Dancing with the stars is also back and I have always enjoyed this show, but even more so this year since Shannon Elizabeth is on there. Shannon is an avid poker player for those who don't know, and is semi-decent but not really GOOD. She played at the world series last year in several events and was at my tables a few times. We had some nice conversations about Allergies and dry air (I know.. I am smooth), and she turned out to be fairly nice. I am excited to see someone I have actually had a conversation with on Dancing with the Stars. On a related note.. I watched American Pie again and now it is just wierd, I thought she was super-hot when I saw her the first time on there... but now that I have seen her in Jeans and a pony tail she is just like any other girl. It really makes you realize how much the camera/makeup make a difference on these people.
My Dad is off on the Apalachian trail just passing the 1 month mark. He is expecting to finish it in about 5-6 months and so far so good. His trip history is on his website www.piperhiker.com and it is a really good read. I am going up with Estie to see him at the end of May and I wish him the best of luck and know we are all pulling for him.
I have been continuing my online tournament effort and managed to cash in 6 more multi-table tournaments including a 3rd in a 180 person tourney, I also cashed another 180, a few 45's and have run my total on there up to 240+. Not a bad run up from $5.
I took my newfound tournament skills to the Venetian on Sunday for the $150 and managed to outlast 10 of the 117 players before getting knocked out pushing all-in against Quad's. Would you believe I thought he would fold? yeah turned out he won't fold Quads.
I played the 4/8 Omaha H/L game for awhile afterward and ran it up to up almost 200 before I decided to change seats. The guy who took my seat went on to win about 400 more while I proceeded to lose all I had won and cash out just barely above even. Luck of the draw I know.. but it sucks.
Estie is heading to Florida for a week with her friends.... so I am going to be a poker playing fool while she is gone in a valiant effort to allay my grief over her being gone for SOOOO long. I just hope that I can survive :) I will surely miss her, but I know she will have a great time and I will live through it (I hope)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Quick Update
Well... been a month or so since I updated so let me give everyone the scoop. I have been hitting the 4/8 at the Bellagio about two to three times a week and playing pretty well. One bad session on a Saturday where I couldn't hit anything and they could cost me $600. (Yes.. I really lost 600 dollars in a 4/8 game), but a few 400-500 winning sessions brought it back up to the positive.
Work has made it tough to play during the week and weekends are so crazy sometimes.... I wish I could play more.
AllVegasPoker (www.allvegaspoker.com) had an inviational tournament last weekend and Estie (being a member) and me (being a lurker) went and played. She was out early but I finished in the money in 5th out of 36 for a 50 dollar profit.. not much but a start. I won $110 earlier in the day at 4/8 so bring my total for the year to a meager, but positive +620.
A month or so ago PokerStars gave me $5 for free... just enough to tease me back to their site, blah blah blah. So I decided to take them up on it and go play the 2 cent/4 cent tables. What better way to practice against suckout artists than there! Well I played for 6-7 hours over 3 days total and managed to run that up to $8.67. Not a bad run... at 4/8 that would have been over 700 dollars.
I wanted to work on my tournament game some as I felt like I was having issues adjusting to the tournaments now. I saw a 25 cent 4,000 person tourney so I gave it a shot and then I also noticed a few $1 tourneys, so lets rock em out and see what happens. Well low and behold I manage to win one of the 45 person $1 tourneys for $14 and decided to reinvest in a $4+$0.40 180 person tournament. Well bingo again 6th place (could have been much better but I have an issue I will tell you about later) and another $36 to end the day up to $41 dollars from $8.
The next day I went back and played that same $4.40 tourney again as well as the 25 cent 4K person and a few $1. I took a first and a second in the 45 person $1 tourneys and ANOTHER 6th in the 180 person $4.40. the 25 cent I went out in 400 and something out of 4,000 for 53 cents! Oooohhh baby.
Well after all is said and done my $5 has turned into $87 and I am improving dramatically at the tournaments...
I still have a few issues...
1) Not calling with big hands against bigger hands. Stuff like AK shrinks down real small against 3 all-ins.
2) Not tangling with the other big stacks.
3) Changing my game when the game changes. Several times I was cruising along, picking up blinds, pushing people off hands when the bubble bursts and they start playing back at me.
4) Not getting too creative too early. NOONE folds for the first 2-3 blind levels. So you have to sit back and be OK with folding... wait till the money means something after the first break when Antes kick in... then go after the money.
5) Steal with a hand I don't like. Most of the time when I raise I don't want/expect a call. If I *DO* get a call then I might as well have 2/3 instead of A/7. At least I won't get attached to my Ace or want to call the all-in if I get reraised.
6) Pay attention to the stacks, don't raise to 5500 when a short stack has 6500 and can snap on you. Keep your options open!
All in all improving and growing... time to step it up this weekend with the Friday night at Ceaser's for $150 and some 4/8 at the bellagio. See if I can make a little money to keep the momentum going.
Work has made it tough to play during the week and weekends are so crazy sometimes.... I wish I could play more.
AllVegasPoker (www.allvegaspoker.com) had an inviational tournament last weekend and Estie (being a member) and me (being a lurker) went and played. She was out early but I finished in the money in 5th out of 36 for a 50 dollar profit.. not much but a start. I won $110 earlier in the day at 4/8 so bring my total for the year to a meager, but positive +620.
A month or so ago PokerStars gave me $5 for free... just enough to tease me back to their site, blah blah blah. So I decided to take them up on it and go play the 2 cent/4 cent tables. What better way to practice against suckout artists than there! Well I played for 6-7 hours over 3 days total and managed to run that up to $8.67. Not a bad run... at 4/8 that would have been over 700 dollars.
I wanted to work on my tournament game some as I felt like I was having issues adjusting to the tournaments now. I saw a 25 cent 4,000 person tourney so I gave it a shot and then I also noticed a few $1 tourneys, so lets rock em out and see what happens. Well low and behold I manage to win one of the 45 person $1 tourneys for $14 and decided to reinvest in a $4+$0.40 180 person tournament. Well bingo again 6th place (could have been much better but I have an issue I will tell you about later) and another $36 to end the day up to $41 dollars from $8.
The next day I went back and played that same $4.40 tourney again as well as the 25 cent 4K person and a few $1. I took a first and a second in the 45 person $1 tourneys and ANOTHER 6th in the 180 person $4.40. the 25 cent I went out in 400 and something out of 4,000 for 53 cents! Oooohhh baby.
Well after all is said and done my $5 has turned into $87 and I am improving dramatically at the tournaments...
I still have a few issues...
1) Not calling with big hands against bigger hands. Stuff like AK shrinks down real small against 3 all-ins.
2) Not tangling with the other big stacks.
3) Changing my game when the game changes. Several times I was cruising along, picking up blinds, pushing people off hands when the bubble bursts and they start playing back at me.
4) Not getting too creative too early. NOONE folds for the first 2-3 blind levels. So you have to sit back and be OK with folding... wait till the money means something after the first break when Antes kick in... then go after the money.
5) Steal with a hand I don't like. Most of the time when I raise I don't want/expect a call. If I *DO* get a call then I might as well have 2/3 instead of A/7. At least I won't get attached to my Ace or want to call the all-in if I get reraised.
6) Pay attention to the stacks, don't raise to 5500 when a short stack has 6500 and can snap on you. Keep your options open!
All in all improving and growing... time to step it up this weekend with the Friday night at Ceaser's for $150 and some 4/8 at the bellagio. See if I can make a little money to keep the momentum going.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Valentines Poker
Sunday was the annual "Partners Tournament" at Ceaser's. Estie and I played this last year and it was a lot of fun. You play 40 minute levels with each of you playing 20 minutes of it, from the same chips. So if you lose chips your partner has fewer to play with than when they left. Estie and I both played very well but we got outdrawn on a big hand and card dead the rest of the time meant we were out fairly early when QQ lost to KQ.
This tournament is a lot of fun to watch the interaction of couples trying to play poker from the same chips... You have girlfriends who are so afraid to lose the chips their boyfriend got them they won't ever play a hand, then you have guys coming to the table and trying to get a bunch of chips playing over aggressive. Not to mention friends playing together changing their play styles to not get knocked out since they are playing for their friend as well. It is a lot of fun.
When we were not taking our turn in the tournament we took our turn in the no-limit cash game. I figured out what my problem was in no-limit... I just need to get pocket Kings 5 times, Aces 3 times in a 7 hour period and I will be up for the day :) My Kings got cracked twice both times when I had a set. The tournament had a $230 buy-in and after 7 hours of no-limit Estie and I were up a combined $230. Coincidence? I swear we did not plan it that way! It just happened when we got to the cashier.
We started the day off with a lovely buffet at the Bellagio. It was very good, but we have to get Line passes next time, that hour wait was brutal. We then finished the night with a nice steak dinner at the Victorian Room at Bill's. It isn't going to win any awards for best steak, but it is pretty solid and the service was good as was the price. All in all a lovely valentine's day a few days early.
Monday and Tuesday are Estie's night out with the girls for their Ladies tournaments. I get to catch up some with my Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, play some PoxNora and Warcraft and relax. Wednesday through Sunday we will probably be at the casino again.
Bankroll is up over 1000 now, and not having to use any of it for bills is awful nice! I want to get a few more wins under my belt and them move up to 8-16 at the Bellagio. The game looks less passive but still very very loose. I want to grind up to a 4K bankroll then settle in at 15-30 for awhile.
This tournament is a lot of fun to watch the interaction of couples trying to play poker from the same chips... You have girlfriends who are so afraid to lose the chips their boyfriend got them they won't ever play a hand, then you have guys coming to the table and trying to get a bunch of chips playing over aggressive. Not to mention friends playing together changing their play styles to not get knocked out since they are playing for their friend as well. It is a lot of fun.
When we were not taking our turn in the tournament we took our turn in the no-limit cash game. I figured out what my problem was in no-limit... I just need to get pocket Kings 5 times, Aces 3 times in a 7 hour period and I will be up for the day :) My Kings got cracked twice both times when I had a set. The tournament had a $230 buy-in and after 7 hours of no-limit Estie and I were up a combined $230. Coincidence? I swear we did not plan it that way! It just happened when we got to the cashier.
We started the day off with a lovely buffet at the Bellagio. It was very good, but we have to get Line passes next time, that hour wait was brutal. We then finished the night with a nice steak dinner at the Victorian Room at Bill's. It isn't going to win any awards for best steak, but it is pretty solid and the service was good as was the price. All in all a lovely valentine's day a few days early.
Monday and Tuesday are Estie's night out with the girls for their Ladies tournaments. I get to catch up some with my Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, play some PoxNora and Warcraft and relax. Wednesday through Sunday we will probably be at the casino again.
Bankroll is up over 1000 now, and not having to use any of it for bills is awful nice! I want to get a few more wins under my belt and them move up to 8-16 at the Bellagio. The game looks less passive but still very very loose. I want to grind up to a 4K bankroll then settle in at 15-30 for awhile.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Bellagio poker room
It is absolutely amazing to me how one of the biggest poker rooms in vegas can be so absolutely awful. The Bellagio is the biggest room in Vegas sporting about 35 tables and is constantly sold out. They also sport the biggest games and the best action. However the room is crowded, the cocktail service is absymal, the waiting list is kept on a piece of paper (no electronic list), the paging system is a microphone which only works in the poker room, no comps, table felts are old and need repair. It is just absolutely amazing that a room of this nature is run this poorly... On the other hand their main competition the Wynn has nice electronic lists, you can get on from your room, you can get a pager and wander the casino (and therefore lose MORE money while waiting), best cocktail service in vegas, etc... So why play at the Bellagio? I will give you one reason, the players are AWFUL!
Most poker players are stuck up ego-maniacs. They won't play somewhere where they don't feel like they are the center of the universe. The Wynn makes them feel this way. The Bellagio does not. So what you get at the Bellagio are the players who don't know any better, while all the educated good players go to the Wynn. The Wynn games therefore are much tougher than the Bellagio games, so I suck it up, put my ego in my pocket and play the Bellagio.
On to some Poker. A nice 5 hour session at the Bellagio in 4/8 went very well. I felt I played almost as good as I could, 2 minor mistakes in 5 hours is an acceptable mistake rate. The cards weren't amazing, I only flopped 1 set in 5 hours, didn't really get any big draws in big pots. I did play the hands to their maximum value and my A's (twice) and K's (once) held up to avoid getting cracked. I ended the night up 430. I look back at the session and realize I didn't really get any extraordinary hands.. I just played the hands I was winning to the maximum and got out of the hands I was losing. Played hands in position where I knew where I was, and could control the pot... it was a masterful session if I do say so myself. I realized towards the end the table had NO idea how I was winning. One guy commented how lucky I was getting and how I always hit the flop (despite the fact I fold most hands after the flop), and another guy commented that I was playing so loose (despite the fact I played very few hands). I only raised premium hands and only showed down premium hands yet I would raise A's and get 7 callers. They would then fold on the flop just donating to the pot with no chance of winning.
Most poker players are stuck up ego-maniacs. They won't play somewhere where they don't feel like they are the center of the universe. The Wynn makes them feel this way. The Bellagio does not. So what you get at the Bellagio are the players who don't know any better, while all the educated good players go to the Wynn. The Wynn games therefore are much tougher than the Bellagio games, so I suck it up, put my ego in my pocket and play the Bellagio.
On to some Poker. A nice 5 hour session at the Bellagio in 4/8 went very well. I felt I played almost as good as I could, 2 minor mistakes in 5 hours is an acceptable mistake rate. The cards weren't amazing, I only flopped 1 set in 5 hours, didn't really get any big draws in big pots. I did play the hands to their maximum value and my A's (twice) and K's (once) held up to avoid getting cracked. I ended the night up 430. I look back at the session and realize I didn't really get any extraordinary hands.. I just played the hands I was winning to the maximum and got out of the hands I was losing. Played hands in position where I knew where I was, and could control the pot... it was a masterful session if I do say so myself. I realized towards the end the table had NO idea how I was winning. One guy commented how lucky I was getting and how I always hit the flop (despite the fact I fold most hands after the flop), and another guy commented that I was playing so loose (despite the fact I played very few hands). I only raised premium hands and only showed down premium hands yet I would raise A's and get 7 callers. They would then fold on the flop just donating to the pot with no chance of winning.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
How did I never Valet before?
The Bellagio self-park is located off the strip and is at the opposite end of the casino from the poker room. So I asked around to some poker friends and found out there was a north valet located off of Flamingo. I thought I would give it a try and WOW! It is about a 2 minute walk to the poker room, they take your car, and bring it back for free... just give them a little tip and bingo! So now I valet everywhere! it is so amazing! I can't believe I never did it before!
On the poker side of the news, I played the bellagio on Thursday night hitting up the 4/8 for 3 hours. They say that if a bad player hits good cards he can have a good day and win some money, especially in 4/8 which is basically a showdown game. However if a good player gets good cards, watch out. He will run over a table! Well I had one of those days... good cards, good flops, no suckouts. Just killed the table up 330 in 3 hours. It was absolutely sick. I just couldn't miss...
Friday night however was a whole different story, bad cards, bad flops. When the good cards came someone else was coming out better. I flopped flush over flush, 2 pair over 2 pair, set over straight, etc. To top it off, I was getting frustrated at the stupid people and I left my ipod at home. So I was pushing trying to make something happen and forcing hands that I had no business being in. So I dropped 350 in about 4 hours before Ifinally managed to straighten out my game, played better and won 250 of it back before cashing out at about 12:30 AM for a net loss of 95.
It just goes to show that in the long term the better player WILL win, you just have to not get sucked into the short term results. Heading back out to the bellagio again and we will see if I can maintain my focus.
On the poker side of the news, I played the bellagio on Thursday night hitting up the 4/8 for 3 hours. They say that if a bad player hits good cards he can have a good day and win some money, especially in 4/8 which is basically a showdown game. However if a good player gets good cards, watch out. He will run over a table! Well I had one of those days... good cards, good flops, no suckouts. Just killed the table up 330 in 3 hours. It was absolutely sick. I just couldn't miss...
Friday night however was a whole different story, bad cards, bad flops. When the good cards came someone else was coming out better. I flopped flush over flush, 2 pair over 2 pair, set over straight, etc. To top it off, I was getting frustrated at the stupid people and I left my ipod at home. So I was pushing trying to make something happen and forcing hands that I had no business being in. So I dropped 350 in about 4 hours before Ifinally managed to straighten out my game, played better and won 250 of it back before cashing out at about 12:30 AM for a net loss of 95.
It just goes to show that in the long term the better player WILL win, you just have to not get sucked into the short term results. Heading back out to the bellagio again and we will see if I can maintain my focus.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Back on the wagon (again)
It has been awhile since my last post between Christmas, New Years, new job, old job, etc... I have been so busy and so distracted to say the least.
Let's talk about Poker first. I don't know if I will ever make the cut with no-limit and tournament poker. I don't know why, but i think there are parts of my personality and background that make backing down and accepting someone else has me beat as hard. I just feel like they are stupid (and they are) and I should win... it doesn't really work that way.
Limit poker on the other hand has a lot of math to it. When I can apply mathmatics and not emotion to the game it makes all the difference. So it is back to limit for me.
In the past 6 weeks I have played about 25 hours of 4/8 Limit and am up 475 dollars.
I have also played no-limit once, and 3 tournaments... Lost every time down 400 total.
So I am going to stick to limit, planning to move up to 8/16 in the next week or two and keep grinding away.
On the positive side, my wife is awesome at tournaments and doesn't have the ego I have... even though she is winning them left and right including a 3rd place finish in a 500 dollar buyin event at Binions which took home 3.5K. This was a huge deal as a good portion of the field was pro's including Kenna James, Barbara Einright (first woman at the WSOP final table), Chip and Karina Jett, and many others who I didn't know... it was one tough tourney let me tell you. 11 hours and she was out 3rd. I couldn't be prouder of her, and she really made an impact there and got a lot of notice.
The job is going very well, I moved from a contract to perm position into full time on Feb 1st. There is still no real Las Vegas office so I am working at home which is pretty nice I must admit. On top of that I also got a nice 6% payraise during my move to perm. I have to admit it is pretty nice not to have to worry about paying the bills anymore, that is definately taken care of now with both of us working. A big change from neither of us really working a year ago.
Let's talk about Poker first. I don't know if I will ever make the cut with no-limit and tournament poker. I don't know why, but i think there are parts of my personality and background that make backing down and accepting someone else has me beat as hard. I just feel like they are stupid (and they are) and I should win... it doesn't really work that way.
Limit poker on the other hand has a lot of math to it. When I can apply mathmatics and not emotion to the game it makes all the difference. So it is back to limit for me.
In the past 6 weeks I have played about 25 hours of 4/8 Limit and am up 475 dollars.
I have also played no-limit once, and 3 tournaments... Lost every time down 400 total.
So I am going to stick to limit, planning to move up to 8/16 in the next week or two and keep grinding away.
On the positive side, my wife is awesome at tournaments and doesn't have the ego I have... even though she is winning them left and right including a 3rd place finish in a 500 dollar buyin event at Binions which took home 3.5K. This was a huge deal as a good portion of the field was pro's including Kenna James, Barbara Einright (first woman at the WSOP final table), Chip and Karina Jett, and many others who I didn't know... it was one tough tourney let me tell you. 11 hours and she was out 3rd. I couldn't be prouder of her, and she really made an impact there and got a lot of notice.
The job is going very well, I moved from a contract to perm position into full time on Feb 1st. There is still no real Las Vegas office so I am working at home which is pretty nice I must admit. On top of that I also got a nice 6% payraise during my move to perm. I have to admit it is pretty nice not to have to worry about paying the bills anymore, that is definately taken care of now with both of us working. A big change from neither of us really working a year ago.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Smoking Sammy
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.
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.
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.
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