NoMeNot Poker

New Home

2009-04-06T23:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been fun!

I have packed my bags and am moving on. The new website is www.nomenot.net. It is still very much a work in progress, but I hope you come visit!

I am currently working on changing all of the current links out there to this website to be redirected to nomenot.net. I plan on officially "deleting" this blog in the next few months.

Again, I thank all that have come by and I hope you will visit me at my new home.

Workin on New Site

2009-03-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

I have been slaving away at making a new site for my blog. Since I have no clue what I am doing it is proving to take up wayyyy too much time.

It is no where near done at this point, but if you are interested in following the progress as I attempt to put the site together you can check it out at www.nomenot.net.

I will post here when I think the site is finished.

How poker is supposed to be played

2009-03-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Watch this hand and make any kind of judgements you want. But know that this is a cash game. When the commentators are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars, they aren't tournament chips, but it is true cash value.

What would you do if you were Dwan?
What would you do if you were Eastgate?
What would you do if you were Greenstein?

At first you might ask why in the world would Eastgate or Greenstein fold such big hands to such a loose player. Then you might say how lucky Dwan was with just pure aggression, and he might not have even known how strong his opponents' hands were.

....But did you notice how Dwan, at the end of the hand knew exactly where he stood in the hand and even made a side bet with Doyle Brunson (I believe) about who had the best hand (Eastgate).

So Dwan knew exactly where he was in the hand, and went with his read that he could get the others off their hands.

Eastgate was worried about his kicker. But I will never be sure as I can't get the information directly from him.

But we can get the information directly from Greenstein as his recently talked about it on PokerRoad. Follow the link below to get an idea of how a world class poker player dissects a hand.

Tips from the Bear.

Typical

2009-02-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

The following is your typical poker conversation. Beware, high level of profanity.

Finally a win!

2009-02-16T20:57:00.001-08:00

I just fired up a $20 180 man SNG and managed to take it down for a cool $1080. It definitely helped as I have been losing a little more than I would have liked as my BR had gotten back down to the $1500 mark. (was at $2200)

I am definitely happy with my play. I have also decided to play more satellites with the hopes of making a really big score. It seems that almost every satty I play, I win. So, I have played in a few $100-$150 MTTs. I haven't cashed, but reviewing my play I am pleased with some of the decisions I have made. I am confident I will eventually get a big (5 figure) win.

Also, I have been playing more cash games and been doing pretty well on that front too. 5 card draw has been good to me recently as well as .25/.50 NL Holdem.

One last thing that I have been doing more of is playing more steps. I have played a total 82 step 1s and I have 26 step 2's ready to go. I have gotten first or second 32% of the time, and nothing at all only 43%. That is pretty close to the numbers I expected and achieved last year. Again, I hoping to get a number of step 6's saved up to play when the WSOP steps start. If you would like more info on the steps system check out www.pokerstars.com.

Outside of that, the baby date is getting closer and closer, and I can really feel her kicking when holding my wife's stomach. It's crazy.

Im still here

2009-02-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

Well, just a quick update since I haven't written here in a while.

More of an update about my New Year's Resolutions.

I have worked out EVERY day in '09 for at least 30 minutes and I have managed to drop 0 pounds. But not really that big of a deal, I am happy that I have yet to break this good habit. I feel better about myself and feel healthier in general.

I think one reason that I haven't lost any pounds is due to my poor eating habits. When I am on the road for work, I am constantly stuffing my face with fast food. They say that a person that eats at a fast food joint just twice a week for a year can expect to gain about 10 pounds. Well, this is one habit I need to break. It is one of my resolutions (eat healthier) that I have yet to tackle.

I have played absolutely no poker over the last month until this week. I just haven't really had much time. Since I have been trying to read up more about starting an online business and brainstorming. Not to mention that the "honey do" list is continuing to grow since the baby on the way is getting closer and closer to being here.

I still plan to reach my goal to 10k in poker though.

Better sleep schedule: yeah, I am doing a better I think. But not quite where I want to be. I am sure when the baby gets it won't matter anyway.

That's all for now........Also, just thinking about doing websites, I am thinking about moving this blog to another site, but we will see.

For a review of my '09 resolutions: click here.

Sigh

2009-01-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

I just lost 3 big hands in a matter of 10 minutes. These hands started as I joined the final table of the $10 one rebuy/addon tourney on Stars. The most frustrating part about it is that when getting to the final table I was in first place thanks to stealing my way up the leaderboard.

But I left in 7th place. It is the most bittersweet $635. I was just eyeing down the 3.5k up for first. Then I ran into AA in a SB vs BB hand. A missed bluff hand, and a lost coinflip in which I had AK vs 99.

The flop brought an A and a K, unfortunately I had to get runner runner flushed out of the tourney. Sigh, nice way to go!

I'm tired, time to hit the sack.

'09 Resolutions

2008-12-30T18:27:00.000-08:00

I played in the Guinness World Record tournament on Pokerstars on Sunday. I built up a huge stack early and unfortunately I had to sit out for the rest of the tournament just after the 2nd break due to something coming up. I ended up cashing in the top 10 percent of the field even while sitting out thanks to my early work.

If that isn't a great analogy to how alot of my goals have gone over the past year then I don't know what would be. I move from one thing to the other even if the previous job is not completed. I am at a crossroads where I feel like nothing is getting done and things just keep piling on.

I really don't know how to articulate it all that well, but I know that change is in order. I have talked about it over the past month or so here, and the turn of the year is pouring the cement over the hole I have dug.

I have a laundry list of goals that I want to attain in this coming year. I just hope it doesn't make me feel too overwhelmed. So lets get to it:

My resolution for 2009 is to be Healthy and Wealthy!

Pretty simple and maybe a little selfish on my part, but with this overall resolution I have many smaller goals to set for myself:

1. Work out for a minimum of 30 minutes EVERY day.

Back when I played baseball in college I was in much better shape that I am today. I have put on way too much weight and it is time to do something about it. At just over six feet tall, I am topping the scales at over 270 lbs. and my playing weight back in college was 195-200. I am hoping to get back to below 210 at some point in the next year.

Getting started will be the hardest part of this goal. I know once I get into a routine, things will become much easier. In the past, I have never had a hard time putting on muscle, but keeping the fat off has always been a struggle. I am looking to be doing tons of cardio workouts to shed the pounds.

2. Start an online business or businesses.

I have a been doing plenty of research over the past couple of weeks, and I am getting that much closer to finally getting a domain name and hosting a site with the main purpose of making money.

At the same time, I will be offering a service. With the ideas I have at the moment, most of the services that I will be offering are informational. Even this blog of mine can be looked at as an informational portal. I have thought about moving this blog to my own domain and possibly adding some advertisement banners to try and bring in some extra cash. But at this point in time, I don't want to monetize this blog.

3. Surpass my goal to 10k in poker.

Ok well this was kind of a goal that was supposed to be reached over the past year. I must admit that I am actually kind of disappointed with myself for letting myself slip up a few times. Each slip has proven to be disastrous in terms of reaching my goal. But I am still above where I started, and that is pretty much the only good thing I can say about my BR situation.

Over the next year, I WILL reach this goal and hopefully surpass it. Though, I haven't played much over the last couple of weeks, I am playing better than ever and I know it is just a matter of putting in the hours and staying strict on bankroll management. So when it comes to hours, I hope to play 20 hours a week.

4. Eat healthier.

With my current job, I am always on the road. Usually just day trips, but nonetheless. When it is time for lunch, I am left choosing between unhealthy fast food restaurants. So I plan to start making a lunch to take with me. I also plan to start drinking more water and drink less sodas.

This goal ties in nicely with the working out for a minimum of 30 minutes a day goal. After all, one reason why my weight has gotten to where it is now is due to my poor nutrition habits.

5. Get on a better sleep schedule.

Another goal that will mesh well with my other "healthy" goals. I currently don't even have a sleep schedule. Some nights I will go to bed at 1 AM, other times I might go to bed as late as 4 AM. When it comes to waking up, I will often wake up anywhere between 7:30 AM to 2 PM depending on how sleep deprived I am or what time I went to bed the night before.

I want to have a more structured sleep pattern. This might not be the easiest goal to reach for me, especially since we have a baby on the way. It has nothing to do with my poker playing either, often times I am just fooling around on the internet until 3 in the morning. It is pretty sad when I say that my most productive hours in the day are between 11 PM and 3 AM.

I will post here as I progress with each of these New Year Resolutions. Without doing it myself, I don't feel qualified at this point in time trying to give pointers that can be found elsewhere. I will hopefully have some helpful tips to anyone that might be trying to attain the same goals as I find things working out for me. I feel I know what I need to do in each area, it is just a matter of doing it.

Wish me luck, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Brainstorming

2008-12-22T18:25:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned before, I have always had an entrepreneurial side. Recently, I have been focusing more on ways to make extra cash on the side. One thing that seems to keep hitting me in the face is the need for me to get into making a profitable online business.

I get really motivated every time I learn new techniques and next thing I know I lose all the built up steam. Well some new light has been shed onto the fire so to speak and I have learned a ton over just the past couple of days. I am once again excited and motivated to see if I can make something work.

I don't really want to discuss the ideas I have come across just yet. Simply because I don't want to throw suggestions out there without really knowing they work as advertised. But if I find certain things to be as successful as I am hoping, I will make sure to share my experiences.

So sometime over the holiday season, I plan to take my first couple of steps in trying to start up a cash machine over the net. I will post here and let you know how it goes.

Poker Update

2008-12-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been playing a little bit of everything. SNGs, Step 1's, limit 5 card draw, and MTTs.

Though I was up a little more than what I am now, I feel happy with my play on a whole. My poker bankroll is now at $1,527.67. It isn't as high as I would like it, but I really feel like I am on the right path to reach my goal eventually.

I talked about not playing so recklessly in my tournaments a few weeks ago and I feel like I am making a big improvement on that front. Currently I have cashed in the majority of multi-table tournaments that I have played this month. In half of those, I made it deep to where I could have definitely competed for the top spot had a couple things gone my way.

My steps are going pretty well too. For those who aren't familiar with Steps, they are just like SNGs (1-table tournaments) in that you can work your way up to step 6 in which you would then be playing for a prize that is worth over 10k. I currently have 10 step 2s saved up and still playing plenty more step 1s. The overall plan is to eventually have around 10 step 6s ready to go by time the WSOP steps kick in. Why the WSOP steps? Well if you do win a 10k buyin to the WSOP, you can chose to just take the cash instead. I am playing for the money and not the seat to a tournament.

My cash SNG's have been ok I guess. Nothing too great, I have been pretty much break even on that front.

My 5 card draw has been really good outside of a few sessions. As of right now I am making 3.01 BB/hr which is good enough for $3.64/hr. Nothing too great I guess, but if you take away three really unlucky sessions I would be making $13.96/hr at 6.02 big bets an hour.

I might add that all of those "unlucky" sessions came while playing 2/4 limit. While the majority of my play has been at 1/2 limit. But my last few (winning) sessions at 2/4 are proving to me that I need to not be so loose. After tightening up some, I really have started to see a difference in my earning power.

But again, I would like to have at least 1000 hours of 5 card draw to really get an idea of how much I can expect to make per hour in the long run. Currently, I have only logged 23 virtual hours (often with 2 tables up at once).

Outside of poker, I have been thinking about what types of things I need to improve on for 2009. My resolutions, ah yes, I will post those in due time sometime around the turn of the year.

Until next time, good luck at the tables!

5hrs and nothing to show for it

2008-12-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

I just got finished playing in a $11 tournament on Pokerstars. This is exactly why I do not like playing MTTs. After about 5 hours of play and over 2000 people already knocked out I finished in 33rd place for a whopping $41.

Sigh, I was really happy with my play overall though. But then I put pressure on another big stack when I thought he had a fold button. He basically called me down with pocket 9s on a all flush draw heavy board, with a K on board, after I was the aggressor pre.

It started with me reraising pre from the SB since this guy was opening from the CO with 30% of his hands according to my stats. I decided to get cute with a Q8s and now I am wishing I didn't. That is exactly what I wrote about a few weeks ago, getting too "fancy" in these donkfests.

It is a play where the other player needs to think about your hand and not just his/her own. I would say a majority of people would have folded the 99 the way the hand played, and I was shocked when he turned it over.

The thing that sickens me the most is I didn't need to make the play. I had plenty of chips and was in about 10th place with 33 left. Oh well, live and learn.

Until next time, I'm off to play 5cd cash games or SNGs......

Seeing Pink

2008-12-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in the last couple of days. I have been painting the what used to be an office into a nursery. The color that we went with is called "oh so pink." Yesterday I put on the primer and today I have painted the first coat, expecting to paint the final coat either tonight or tomorrow.

We had to stay at the in-laws last night since the house smelt so bad from the fumes the primer was setting off. To make things worse, the primer was oil-based. My wife and I looked it up on the internet to see that if pregnant, try and stay away from oil-based paints and only use water based products....oops! Well, the paint we have, unlike the primer, is water based and the house doesn't really smell all too bad now.

We decided to go with the color that we did due to the the decor that we are going with (pictured above). It is called Soho Pink & Brown. After getting married I was starting to feel more and more like "Frank the tank" in Old School. Now with the baby on the way, I am starting to feel it even more. A typical weekend that used to be reserved for going out with friends and having unforgettable, err forgettable, nights have turned into nights where we prepare to make room for a new family member. I just don't know if we will have time to go to Home Depot or not. (If you have seen the movie, you know what I am talking about.)

....on the poker end of things. I fired up a few SNG's Friday night and I almost forgot how to play them, it has been so long. Nonetheless, I won 2 out of 3 $27 turbos and made a few more bucks playing 5 card draw. My bankroll is now back over $1500 as it is now up to $1,643.75. Slowly but surely, my poker bankroll is back on the right track.

Next post I will attempt to make it about nothing but poker. Sorry if I am boring those that come to view this blog just looking for poker stories.

On the road again

2008-12-10T16:24:00.001-08:00

It is funny, after writing that last piece on the BCS bowls I am fittingly staying in Blacksburg tonight for work. Yes, the home of the Hokies. If it wasn't for Va Tech, there would be absolutely nothing out here.

I used to love staying in hotels in college when playing away games for baseball. It was fun. I still like going to hotels when I am on vacation or at a casino. But staying at hotels for work sucks! Especially since I know what I have to do tomorrow.

When I first signed on to this job about 3 years ago, it was originally an outdoor sales position for outdoor advertising. For at least the last year, I rarely do sales and it has become nearly 80% maintenance of current signs within the state of Virginia, and yes I have to do the whole state of VA.

A monkey could do my job just as easily as I do. I have thought about leaving this account executive position many of times, but one thing or another keeps me here (like being offered promotions to assistant GM, that I still have yet to receive). I have weeks where I see the reasons why I like my job. Then there are weeks and months where I have to ask myself how I am still with my company.

Unfortunately times are tough right now, economically speaking, and I still am happy that I hold a job in these times. But now I feel stuck here knowing that there just isn't much else for me to fall back on. No, poker is not something I can fall back on at the moment, though I hope that can be the case in the future.

I have taken those assessment tests to see what type of stuff I would like to do. The specific test that was given to me also compared my thinking style, behavioral traits, and interests. The test also compares your scores to people already in the workforce with similar types of traits.

At the top of the list for me was CEO and small business owner. Sales and stock trader weren't far behind, though I am starting to think that I don't like sales. The only thing that didn't make me a perfect match for CEO was that my math results were a little above the average needed to be CEO. So essentially saying that being CEO might not challenge me enough in that category.

I have always known that I wanted to be on my own and run my own business. It is something that I still plan to do one day. Whether it is owning a gas station, online store, or just playing poker for a living, whatever; I definitely feel I would be much happier.

I just hope that one day I can find a way to own or run such a type of thing.

Ok, done ranting....let me go fire up some poker.

Oh and for a link to the test (and other tests) that was given to me by someone close to me it is here: www.attributesforsuccess.com, unfortunately they are not free.

BCS without the C

2008-12-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

Not much to report on the poker end, but I wanted to take the time to discuss the upcoming college football postseason.
When it comes to sports, I rarely play favorites. Even though baseball was my sport of choice growing up, I never had a favorite team. If I had to say that I have a favorite in any sport, it would be the NFL's Washington Redskins. I just don't go overboard when it comes to rooting for a team, I just hope for a good game.

I used to pull for Virginia Tech in college football, since the university I went to didn't have a football team. Lately though, I find myself almost rooting against them. I think it has to do with some of the fans thinking that the team walks on water in this area. I have friends and family who have season tickets to the stadium that is a 3.5 hour drive from Richmond, and I should say that they are not the reason for my recent change of heart. It is more due to some other people, ie: local radio, my boss, and a few other people I run into. They have become so blindsided by their recent successes over the past 10 years. But compared to many other programs, their success still isn't anything great in my mind since they can never win the big game.

Some will say it is just school spirit. But I think it has really gotten to some people's heads. I am almost hoping that UVA becomes as competitive and takes the spot as "Virginia's best college football team," again almost, only because when UVA wins their fans are even worse!

So forgive me if I have recently become negatively-biased towards Tech. The fact that Virginia Tech, a team with 4 losses on the year is playing in one of five Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowls is a joke. Just because they won the ACC, they get the right to play in a game that quite a few other teams should be playing in. The BCS bowls should be represented by the top teams in college football as a whole, not the top teams in sub par conferences, and yes sub par is exactly what the ACC and the Big East were this year.

It doesn't stop there either, the team they are playing is undeserving in my mind as well. The Cincinnati Bearcats have two losses on the season in down year for the Big East. But someone has to represent the Big East in the current format.

This game is a prime example of why they need to ditch the automatic bowl bids and go by the end of the year rankings. That is if they do not come up with some type of playoff format, which is much needed to determine a true champion. Besides, doesn't this kind of downgrade the seasons where these teams might actually be worthy of such a bowl game? When they know that if they can just get lucky and have other teams lose key games they could get in just as well it makes the feat of getting there that much less satisfying. I don't know, maybe it is just me, but it takes some luster off of the trophy that the victors will hold above their heads.

But as it is, congrats Va Tech. I can't wait to hear over the next month how great the Hokies are once again. Win or lose though, I just want to see a good game!.....and if I could score tickets, and the wife wasn't pregnant, I would probably go :)

Squeaking by

2008-12-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't updated over the weekend, I have had some holiday parties to go to.

I just got finished playing a 3000+ field tourney on Stars and I am really pleased with the way I played. I just barely cashed, but that is not the point. I was dealt KK in the first 20 minutes and after that I got AQo once. Both hands, I might add, I lost. But yet somehow I still managed to cash even without any premium hands.

I was just simply pushing when I could, and I never got called. I was around 6-15 bb's for about the last hour and a half that I played out of 3 and a half hours of tournament play. I made a couple -ev folds (from a chip equity standpoint) on the bubble where I probably could have pushed, but at the that point in time I only had 8 bb's and thought the pushes could easily be called and I felt it was actually better to fold as there was less than 10 people to the money.

Outside of that, I have also been playing more 5 card draw cash games. As of right now, I have logged a total of 14 virtual hours (multi-tabling). I am winning just shy of 4 BB's an hour. Take away one poor session, and I would be making over 5 BB's an hour.

My account is slowly starting to creep back up as I now have over $1400 at Pokerstars.

That's Fancy

2008-12-03T17:40:00.001-08:00

One thing that I have learned as I have increased my knowledge about the game of poker is that I suffer from what could be detrimental to many players: fancy play syndrome. But not only do I suffer from that, I also seem to be struggling with reverse fancy play syndrome. I am not sure that is even a term or not, but I will explain.

I am constantly thinking about the game. I am a member of one of the best, if not the best, poker training sites around: PokerXFactor. I have not only read, but have studied and highlighted a ton of poker books and magazines. All have really helped a ton with my game. I know that I am a much better player today than what I was two years ago. Unfortunately, some of the results haven't come like I had hoped.

Then when I was recently playing up in Atlantic City on a friend's bachelor party, my eyes were opened to just how bad some of the play is and how little people know about poker. Is this how people play on the internet too? This can't be. When I can put a face to the player and actually have a side conversation with some of these players I can better understand what they are thinking or maybe I should say not thinking.

For the last two years I feel I have surrounded myself with the better players out there. The ones that are already great players or are trying to become great like I am. It is the conversations that we have either directly or indirectly through forum posts that I base my overall poker-related thoughts on.

Sounds like a good thing right? Well what if I said it could potentially be a bad thing, especially when playing at the bankroll levels that I am currently. It is through these resources that I learn how it can be profitable to make certain plays and it might overall be better to play a certain way over another.

These same people that are offering the advice aren't playing the same game of poker that I am right now though. They are playing the game at its purest form, when their opponents are thinking to at least at a similar level.

But when I am firing up a $10 mtt on Pokerstars, I can't expect the play to be the same as I just saw when watching a video with a tournament more than 10 times the buy-in that I am in. The plays that work at that level will not work at the same frequency in the tournament I am in, thus making a play frowned upon.

Yet, I am always seeing great opportunities to make plays. Many times I am following through with these plays. Often times they work, but that is being results oriented as I have come to realize that not all of these plays work often enough to show profit in the long term. This is the basis of fancy play syndrome.

To quote from a Betfair article written by Marcus Bateman:

The idea of 'fancy play syndrome' was first pointed out by the 'mad genius' of poker - Mike Caro. What he is referring to is when players start making overly complex plays that are simply not profitable over the long term.

That is exactly what I find myself doing on a consistent basis over the last year or so. It just took a session or two of live poker for me to uncover it. But it didn't stop there. I feel like I am also suffering from reverse fancy play syndrome.

I have searched the internet to see if such a thing even exists, at which point I either was searching the wrong term, or it doesn't exist.

If I had to define reverse fancy play syndrome, it would be similar to the following:

When trying to factor in what one's opponent might be doing in a specific poker hand, he or she might give too much credit to the idea that the opponent is making an overly complex play.

The building blocks for playing this way is by giving my opponent the extra lessons to their repertoire that I have worked hard to learn. I essentially am thinking multiple levels over the level that my opponent is on, thus hurting the chances that I will make the correct move in the hand.

So as I have broadened my poker thinking abilities, I have at the same time left behind the way I use to think. The way that was overall unprofitable, but might have been profitable against the player that I am today. It is not that I forgot how I used to think about the game, it is just that I don't necessarily think anything like that today, and assume others have done the same.

So recently, instead of just listening to the advice from the well-respected players out there. I like to listen to what some of the less well known players out there have to say, many of whom might be overall losers in this game. But by me taking the time to listen to these players, I am staying in touch with the fact that not everyone thinks about a hand the same way.

Also I have been playing an extremely simple way in my sessions as of recent. It has really shown to do wonders for my game too. I feel that I am just that much closer to regularly killing the games that my bankroll currently allows me to play.

So next time you are browsing through the forums do not just jump to read the advice of pro ranked in the top ten by PocketFives. Instead, take the time to read all the posts. Try to understand what level they are thinking on. If you want, you can even look their stats up and see if you are stereotypically correct. But at the same time know, that even though their results are really good or really bad in terms to your original conclusion, sometimes it is your job to decipher the message and decide what arrow to throw into the ole' quiver of poker wisdom.

Trying to update more

2008-12-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

Not much eventful to report tonight, but to go along with the post I created last week...I want to do better as far as updating this blog.

I just fired up a little 5 card draw and a 10 dollar mtt tonight in an attempt to start playing a little more regularly. I cashed in the mtt, and made about 6BBs in 5 card draw in 30 minutes time.

I also finally threw together a spreadsheet the other day to start tracking my 5 card draw cash game progress and see how much I can expect to make over a period of time. I feel like I need about 1000 hrs to have a good enough gauge of how much I should make hourly. So far, I am winning just under 3 bb/hr in 5 hrs played. But I am losing money at this point in time ($15) as I did what always comes up to bite me in the ass. I played a higher limit the other night after having a couple of beers and didn't do so well. But I honestly don't think the beer had any effect on my play, I ended up playing heads-up that night and was getting worked since I was getting alot of 2nd best good hands. 5 card draw has crazy high variance when playing heads-up. But I didn't play absurdly out of my bankroll like I have in the past (thankfully). Take away that one session, and I would be winning just under 6 bb/hr.

Outside of that, work has been killing me as of late. I just really hate it too. Not because the work is hard, it just feels like I am wasting my time. More on that maybe in a later post.

50 Minutes

2008-11-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

50 minutes, that is what the latest 60 minutes show should have been called. It really would have saved the show if they had just dropped this 10 minute segment on online poker.

First, let me say that online poker is not illegal in the US at this point in time though 60 minutes claims this to be the case. There is no law currently in place that makes the act of gambling online illegal, two laws that remotely come close to this is the old wire act established to prohibit people from making sports bets over the phone. The other is the UIGEA, or Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. This act makes it harder for one to withdrawal and deposit funds onto sites associated with online gambling. But again, there is no law in place that says one can not play online poker.

I was really disappointed by this 60 minutes piece. Not only did they say that online poker was illegal, when this is not the case, but for an investigative report they seemed to have done 0 investigating (driving by a couple of buildings is not investigating). All of the information that was brought forward was already known by the poker community. All they did was put it in the lime light.

At no point through this segment did they mention other supposed scandals of the past, the UIGEA, or the PPA. They also left out some interviews with people like Greg Raymer, the '04 World Series of Poker champ.

This truly was a lack of good investigative reporting and it makes me wonder how credible the other pieces they air are. If they continually get facts incorrect and leave out key information, then the show has lost all credibility in my eyes.

I realize that I will have a bias point of view when it comes to online poker, but I am trying to be as neutral as possible. I knew all this information before it aired. I just thought they would at least get the facts straight or bring in some new information into this black-eye scandal for online poker.

I also want to add, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet are the ones behind this scandal. There are other places to play that are much better in terms of security and customer opinions. Two that come to mind right away are Pokerstars and Full Tilt, both the more popular sites for American online poker players.

60 Minutes and Online Poker

2008-11-26T07:48:00.000-08:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

Well, the day is finally here. The much talked about 60 Minutes (CBS) piece will air this Sunday. It will involve the cheating scandals at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet amongst other online-poker-related topics.

I for one can not wait to watch it. I know it will do some immediate damage to the online poker industry, but hopefully it can do some long term good. The hope is that this will open people's eyes to the fact that online poker needs to become regulated by the US to prevent this exact type of thing from happening in the future.

There are plenty of other reasons why online poker should be legal and regulated, but for more info on that check out the Poker Players Alliance Website.

Little Lady on the Way!

2008-11-25T18:20:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't updated my blog in a while. There is pretty good reason too. I haven't mentioned it on this blog yet, but the wife is pregnant and she is about half way through her pregnancy now.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to the doctor to find out the sex among other things. Looks like it will be a girl. To be honest, I was hoping for a boy and my wife was hoping for a girl. Now that I know, I am not disappointed at all. I am just that much more excited!

This will be our first child, and I am sure my life is getting ready to change. I am really going into the unknown. However, my wife has tons of experience with children and I feel confident that she will help make me feel as though I am swimming with the current. But then again, I just don't know what to expect.

The last couple of weeks I have been kind of in a stand still. I feel like I have been in a mental fog, just not really getting much done on all fronts. I don't know if it is the upcoming child that is doing this to me, but I feel like I need to change a lot of things in my life and I need to start doing things with more of a purpose.

Since this is a poker blog, I will mention that I feel one thing that I am slacking off with is my poker playing. To be honest and maybe a little unknowingly conceded, I just feel that I am too good of a poker player to be in a stand still. I just don't play enough and when I do I don't take it as seriously as I should. I am hurting myself on that front. But I am also doing the same in other aspects of my life. But I feel a big kick in the behind starting to get me going.

So over the next couple of months (by the way the due date is in April) I will be working to become more productive. One thing I can tell you that will directly affect this blog is that I will attempt to update it 4-5 times a week, even if all I have to say is a sentence or two.

Until next update, again, it's a girl? It's a girl!

PS: I finally won a private PXF tourney, as I took down a HORSE tourney against some other PXFers!

AC Follow Up (Part 2)

2008-11-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

I woke up somewhat early Saturday considering how late the night before got. The minute I woke up I knew I had some work ahead of me to at the least cut into some of the loss I had the night before.

I eventually made it back down to the poker room and decided to play 3/6 limit. At this point, I just was sick of NLH after Friday night.

Session 3

To make a long story short, I ended up about $120 after 4 hours of play. I really ran pretty well as I hit about 4 full houses and everyone at the table was calling me down as I averaged showing down one bluff every hour. I did take some bad beats here and there, but it was expected playing this low of a limit game.

I was happy with the net of $120, but was disappointed as I felt I left some money on the table in a couple of hands. I also got a little of track for about 1 hour where I caught myself playing WAY too many hands. My high point during the 4 hours of play was around $175, and I really should have won over $200 for how poor the play was.

Other Games

I left the table to go hang out with some of the friends I felt I hadn't really accompanied during the weekend. I played a little mini-baccarat where I won $150 betting on the average the minimum $20. I was mostly just betting on the banker and only switching to player a couple of times.

On that note, I really like baccarat after dabbling with it in Vegas. I feel like it is a great game to play as it is nearly 50 percent odds (better than the red or black bet in double zero roulette) and I am now over a $300 winner in that game mostly just betting the minimum outside of a few times.

If I could confidently count cards without mistakes, I would have probably played some blackjack.

Then I got talked into playing roulette. I have read, unsure of where, that history in roulette means nothing. However, there is one way you might be able to win. That is when some numbers come in more often than not. The theory behind this is the fact that the wheel can have the slightest imperfections to allow for certain numbers to hit more often and the throw of the ball by the dealer can have "human error" to allow for certain numbers to hit.

I might be able to see the first part of the theory more than the second, but nonetheless I used the strategy. I would bet 6-7 numbers that seemed to pop up more often and 2-3 of my "lucky" numbers. I ended up winning $13 in 30 minutes. But I wish I had played 3 more spins, as the next 3 spins all came up with numbers that I had routinely bet. I would have won more than $200 had I done so.

Session 4

After an even crazier night than the night before at MurMur (Borgata club) I stumbled into the poker room knowing that I was there to play more for fun than to win as I knew I was not in the best condition to play my A game.

I saw a lively short handed table of 5/10 limit and decided to take a seat and bought in for $200. After all, 5/10 limit is what I play in Myrtle Beach (Sun Cruz Casino) and average winning about 10bb/hr down there.

I really enjoyed it as it was easily noticeable that I was playing against better competition than what I had faced all weekend. I mixed it up without really ever getting a hand, outside of one KK in which I won a small, uncontested pot. Hands were rarely getting to showdown, it was great!

After about an hour of playing pretty card dead, I was down about 40 bucks. Then I find out that the players at the table are "regulars" in the 10/20 game and they were just about to get up and call it a night. Me and one other guy, I believe his name was Nick (at least that is what I am going with) decided to play headsup.

I got off to an early comfortable lead, and then he slowly chipped back up. Then I lost about 3 big hands out of 10 and was down to about $20. I managed to work it back up to $75 as some other players sat down.

Both of the new guys were putting bad beat after bad beat on both me and Nick and Nick busted as I was still hanging on with about $50. Then my last hand of the weekend came (one of the only hands I can remember nearly every detail in the night):

It was folded to me in the SB and I look down at the Ac3c. I make a raise and get called by the BB.

The flop brings 3 J J.

I bet and get called.

The turn brings another 3.

I bet and get called again.

The river was a 7.

I bet and get raised. With just a couple of more bets in my stack I decide to go all in. He calls, and I am thinking he is going to show a Jack. He doesn't though. Instead he shows 77 with 7s full. Good hand, good game, good night, good bye Atlantic City.

Overall I feel like I played OK, but I definitely was not playing my A game while drinking on either night. This will go down as my first losing weekend in AC and this was my 6th trip up there.

I ended up losing 420 in poker (about 260 overall) though I will make the notion that I did win $180 sober. Even when I had some alcohol in me, I feel like I played well enough to win, it just didn't work out that way. But I had a blast, and that was really all that mattered as I was more there for a bachelor party than to play poker.

I did notice some other things while in AC when it comes to my game. That will come in a later, probably lengthy, post or article.

AC Follow Up (Part 1)

2008-11-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

I first arrived in Atlantic City after a long 6 hour drive. The minute I got there it was time to play some poker before the alcohol was in the picture for the bachelor party.

Session 1

I left the non-poker playing friends at the roulette table and headed for the poker room with a few other friends. I sat down at 1/2 NL kind of as a refresher and to get back into the swing of things as I was expecting to play 2/5 NL later in the weekend.

I bought in for $200 though the max buy-in was $300. After a few quick hours of not getting too many good hands I was up $60 and left to get ready to go out. Really nothing too eventful but did notice how poor the play was.

Session 2

After going to a couple of bars I carried myself back to the poker room around 2 in the morning. Decided to buy back into the 1/2 game since I had been drinking instead of trying out the 2/5 game.

First hand I am dealt in the BB was AhAc. Middle position player opens with a 4x raise, the button calls, and hoping to take the pot down pre and set a tone for my table image I overbet ($35) the pot ($19) making it $27 more to go for the players already in. I still had $165 behind. The original raiser, with what looked to be about $500 behind, calls and the button folds.

At this point, with no reads except to notice that he is up since the max buyin is $300, I have to think that he has two big cards like AK-AQ or a pretty nice pair like TT-KK. I wasn't really laying good enough odds for much else to call.

Flop brings 8h 5d 2h

I bet ($60) 3/4 of the pot ($78) hoping that he has an overpair and is willing to go with it. If he just calls, I would have the perfect size stack to make a value ship with the rest on the turn ($105 into $198). To go along with the possibility of him having an overpair, he declares that he is putting me all in.

Without really thinking about it, I call knowing I was pretty much priced in getting nearly 2:1 on the flop with AA one being a heart.

As I put the last of my chips in, I asked "Did you hit a set on me?"

He sheepishly shakes his head yes as he turns over his 55. Needless to say, the turn and river was of no help.

I quickly reach back into my pockets to rebuy for another $200.

At least an hour of break-even play went by. A few more beers down and a run of no cards was getting me antsy as this next hand occurred:

At this point I had reads on the styles of 3/4 of the table and had a couple strong physical tells on 1/3 of the table. The table playing loose, I look down at the Qc7c from the button after 4 limpers and elect to call. The SB calls and the loose aggressive BB makes it $16 to go. It is folded around to me and I make a loose call thinking I could outplay him as I had a good read on him. SB folds.

The flop brings 7 5 2 (no flush draw out, forget the suits though).

BB leads with a pot-sized ($40) continuation bet as he has done 3 or 4 times in the last orbit and a half. I sit there and think for about 10 seconds, my opponent really did look uncomfortable. So I decided to call planning to bet if checked to me on the turn no matter what came.

Turn brings an 8 (rainbow).

The BB checks, I look at the pot which is now at $120 and I have about the same. So going with my read and my plan, I decide to ship and hopefully take down the pot. To my dismay, I get called pretty quickly.

Again the board reads 7 5 2 8, guess what he had!

44!

And guess what came on the river, a 6 to give him the straight.

I slowly pushed away from the table as I watched him drag the pot away. I said in awe "I can not believe you called over a hundred with that, but nice hand I guess" and I walked away in disbelief.

In no way, was I playing the hand the way I did just because I had top pair. I played it this way by going with my read. I was really playing the player more than the cards. I guess I was correct in this instance, but the outcome was unfavorable.

End of day 1, down 340..... Day 2 to come later.

Heading to A.C. and Other Stuff

2008-11-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well, looks like I will be heading to Atlantic City tomorrow. This will be my first trip there since my bachelor party 2 yrs ago. Again, I will be there for the main purpose of a bachelor party as my friend who I played ball with back in the day is getting married later this month.

We will be at the Borgata (pictured). The best casino in AC in my opinion.

The only downside to the Borgata is how expensive it is, but that shouldn't be a problem as we have a couple friends with some extra comp points to get us a couple of free rooms.

I am stoked to be able to go play some live poker. I will update the blog when I get back talking about my experiences at the tables.

Back to online poker for the meantime, I just haven't really played much for a number of reasons. First, I have had to put in a ton more hours with work recently which is never fun. Secondly, I have had plenty of friend and family affairs to attend. Speaking of which I wanted to add that my sister-in-law recently gave birth to twin boys...congrats!

When I have had the time to play online, my focus has seemed to changed as of recent. I am a true entrepreneur at heart and I have been spending my time reading up on possible business ventures. I have aspirations of eventually owning my own business or businesses.

One great business to start up, according to some resources like Forbes, is to start an online business. The main reason is because of the minute start-up costs. So basically I have been brainstorming about some possible ideas for hopeful high-traffic websites. I have a few ideas saved up, and I will try and see if I can get something started. We shall see.

I could try to make money on this blog, though it is not very popular at this point. But I really don't want to try and monetize this blog. That of course is outside of the Amazon links on the right banner. Those are not really meant to sell as they are meant to be a different way to show readers what kind of interests I have instead of the standard written lists that Blogger offers.

But if any progress occurs on that end, I will post it here in my blog.

Until next time, good luck making money at the tables or anywhere for that matter.

Published!

2008-11-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

Whew hoo!!! That was the exclamation that came to mind when I first heard that Blind Straddle was going to publish my article. It was really just a little something that I wanted to throw together after Fox from PXF mentioned that anyone could submit an article for consideration.

What started out to be a little something, grew to something much bigger as my fingers just wouldn't stop touching the keyboard. Before I knew it, I was on to a different topic than what was expected and I am pleased with my findings and theories that I introduce in this article.

About the article- I really think it is a great "different" way of looking at the dimension of chip stack equities in tournaments and can help some players to decide whether a time is better than not to take a gamble.

If you have not done so already, I highly recommend checking out the article as well as other articles in this E-magazine. Normally there is a cost to view the magazine in whole, but this month (November) Blind Straddle is offering a free issue. Even at a full year's subscription price of just $14.95 it's definitely worth the change as there are many articles by a number of highly-acclaimed poker authors and theorists.

Listen to me, it's starting to sound like I am trying to sell the site, which I am not. I just truly think it is worth its price ten fold. Check out the site and decide for yourself.

Hopefully this is the first of many.

Goal to 10k- 1 Year Mark

2008-11-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

Back in October '07 I set out to reach an online bankroll level of 10k. I knew I could do it, it was just a matter of learning that one dire lesson that seems to be vacant in my poker repertoire. That lesson is bankroll management.

I set this goal after losing over 2k in about a week's time. At the time, it was the highest that my online bankroll had ever been. It took about 3 months to build, and in a blink of an eye it was gone.

So I deposited $100 with the intent to never go broke again. At the same time, I was set on trying to start building a bankroll and see if I can't make some serious money playing online poker.

It has now been a year since the start of this goal. When I first started the goal, I honestly thought it would take anywhere from 8 to 16 months since I am not a high-volume player. However, I definitely thought I would be further along than I am now. Below is a graph of how my BR has fared since starting this goal of mine:

Starting at $100 I reached 1k in a little more than a month's time. I was well on my way, then I hit one of many bad patches. I battled on though, and hit 2k by around the 3 month mark. I would eventually hit my high point of just over $5,000 in the 7th month.

Then I went on deadly tilt during and after my trip to Vegas in June. I was chasing losses, playing poorly, and running bad all while playing levels that would actually require me to have a bankroll of over 20k to truly withstand the swings. It was a combination that could be the end-all for many of poker players. Eventually I snapped out of it, and I started this blog here.

Since starting this blog, I have had my highs and lows, and again was still playing outside of my bankroll. Then I finally hit a point to where I was at a level where I had reached just 1 month into this goal, the 1k mark. I took a break, and have played a couple times since then, but overall just haven't played hardly at all as my motivation is just not there.

It has been a really disappointing ride thus far, but I am not giving up. I will reach my goal, just not as soon as once hoped or personally expected.

Make that a double

2008-10-17T23:11:00.001-07:00

I just got finished playing the $4.40 Limit Draw MTT on Stars for the second night in a row, and for the second night in a row I walk away as the winner. Tonight I bested a field of 120 for another $144.

When I got to the final table I was chipleader but I had my doubts. I really didn't like my table position based on the stacks or the players' styles. I slipped down to last place with four people left, only to change my strategy.

After a long fought battle at the final table I made it headsup with a 5-4 chip deficit. Then I played one of my tougher HU's. Not only due to the opponent, but every time I seemed to put him in, he would have a slightly better hand than me. To take a quote from rounders, he truly had alligator blood. It was back and forth a ton, and at one point I had my whole stack in the middle to only get lucky to outdraw his hand. That would be the one and only time my chip stack was put all in for the whole tournament.

I am really pleased with my play, and though it is not for the amounts of money that I have played for in the past, I am excited to win two in a row!

Miss me?

2008-10-16T22:33:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been nearly four weeks since my last post, and in that time I think I might have logged a total of five hours over three sessions of poker. In those sessions I left losing a little bit more of my BR.

I am over the whole bad beat stuff, and I realize it is just part of the game. Only time will tell if I have been able to truly learn from the whole mess.

I just am not accustomed to losing even though deep down I know it is not in my control. But what is in my control, I need to continue to strive to make better in my poker game. Not to name anyone, but I have recently gotten some extra motivation to hit the tables once again.

I decided to fire up the good ole' $4.40 limit 5 card draw mtt tonight. A tourney that I consistently do well in when I play, but in the past six months, you can count the times I have played that MTT on one hand.

To make a long story short, I beat out 126 players for another first place in that tournament. The only down side is that it is not really what I consider "big money." Though $136 is more than a 10 percent increase for my Stars BR. For that I am grateful.

Back to my motivation to play this tournament again.... Well a person that I had basically taught the basic ins-and-outs of online limit 5 card draw has recently been doing really well. So much so that she increased her Bankroll by 700 percent from just playing 5 card draw!

So to overcome "that losing feeling" that I get when not final tabling a huge field NLH tournament. I have decided that I can off set that by playing more of the 5 card draw mtt, and also fire up more SNG's.

Speaking of SNG's I have a ton of frequent player points on Stars, in which I plan to use to play some PCA steps. For those that have not been following my blog, I came incredibly close to winning a $12,000 package back in May by playing the WSOP steps. I feel with the amount of FPPs I have, I should expect an average of 2-3 step 6 tickets (starting at step 1). So for free money, I feel it is worth another shot.

I really felt good tonight playing poker again. I was getting the same rush tonight as though I had never won a tournament before. Something that I was starting to miss not only because I wasn't winning but because I wasn't motivated.

On another note........I opened up my fulltilt account and found that I had just under 15 dollars in there. During some of my few recent sessions, I worked that up to over 80 bucks. So hopefully I can start to build some money on there as well.

I will update my total BR on the right of this website tonight to include the total from FullTilt and Pokerstars.

Until next time......

The Pitcher and the Art of Losing

2008-09-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up having aspirations of being the next big time pitcher in the MLB, I was constantly working hard on my game and always thinking about game situations. The hard work eventually paid off. I helped my high school team win a state championship by pitching to a 12-0 record my senior year. This would cap a 26-2 three year varsity high school career pitching record and another 10-0 on the JV team my freshman year.

I was truly on top of my game then. I would receive all kinds of accolades, many of which were on the national level.

Growing up, my motivation was not just the aspirations of baseball stardom. I wanted to win every time I took the mound. It was who I was as a person. I used it as my other motivation, the hate for losing.

When I went off to a then-ranked top 25 division 1 college for baseball and had to have surgery on my pitching arm after my freshman year, I was distraught. Needless to say I was never the same and it showed on the playing field. I just couldn't do what I was capable of doing years before. It was a hard time for me. I had to cope with the fact that I couldn't win a game solely due to my efforts on the mound each time out.

Today my new brand of competition is poker. Not much has changed when it comes to my thought processes for motivation though. I want to be the next poker phenom taking a huge pot from Phil Ivey at the WSOP final table. Not only that, but I want to win, and win often. Along with this will come the money which is a third motivation.

So it is only natural to get upset when I don't win. When I go on a streak like I have been recently, you can only imagine how much more upset I get. I start to question if poker is really the right outlet for me in this stage of my life. I just can't seem to handle the losing.

Imagine only breaking about even 15% of the time and only making what many consider a decent profit less than 5% of the time. The rest of the time, you lose your investment. This is the life of a multitable tournament specialist. It is a life full of failure.

People say it is similar to a batter in baseball. If you can get out only 70 percent of the time, you could be an all-star. Well, I didn't hit. I was a pitcher. I guess I never prepared myself for these types of failures.

In fact I have even taken the time to read Zen and the Art of Poker in the past. Though it was a great book, it just left me with the knowledge of how I should be and I couldn't really apply what I had learned. Maybe I should go back, re-read the book, and see if I can't come away with a different outlook.

But looking for an immediate response to my recent tournament losing ways, I took one of my last resorts. I posted the question of why I even care to work on my game any more in the PokerXFactor forums. I listed a couple of bad beats that happened all in one night just to give examples.

I got many of the same answers that I would expect, many of which I have given to other players when they are in a rut.

"don't be so results-oriented, be happy you are getting your money in good"
"it's just variance, your luck will change"
"your hand is only a slight favorite, you cant win every hand"

But then I started to get some other responses. Taking the topic more into the psychological aspects of the game. I realized exactly what I have started this blog post off with, I don't know how to handle losing in poker.

I have been doing nothing but focusing on the negatives when I lose. Missing opportunities for me to see if I could play hands differently and ultimately putting a stalemate on my learning process as an overall player. In fact, one player over at PXF put in a quote that really started to make me think:

When you change the way you look at things - the things you look at change.

I would later find out that the quote was from Dr. Wayne W. Dyer after doing some research through Google.

Also, through this time of getting feedback from other players at PXF, I also browsed the forums at 2+2 and came across an article written by Gigabet a while back. It was titled "Almost there with Success and Failure (Long)". It really hit close to home and made me realize how I am setting myself up for failure in poker. Not just short term, but long term as well.

I need to realize that along with the highs in poker, there will be plenty of lows. I really don't even have a large enough sample size of tournaments to completely overcome the luck factor. Just because I get knocked out on ridiculous beats 20 tournaments in a row, doesn't mean that I can not win. It just means that I am getting that much closer to that tournament where I don't get a bad beat, the tournament where I can bring home a solid win that I can enjoy for a while to come.

I need to keep poker in the mindset that once attracted me to baseball when I was in little league. "It is fun!"

Articles by NoMeNot

2008-09-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Published:

Tournament Strategy to the Nth Degree - Blind Straddle (Nov. 08)
(Unfortunately, Blind Straddle has stopped their publication)
I will post this article here in the future!

From my blog: (Stuff I have written here, that might be helpful)

Setting Goals - (Goals and poker)
That's Fancy - (About fancy play syndrome and the reverse)
The Pitcher and the Art of Losing - (Psychology and running bad)

Hopefully more to come!

Other Poker Blogs

2008-09-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Eric "Rizen" Lynch's Blog
CJ "Rex55" Joshi
Tyler DeClerck's "tderpoker" Blog

If you would like your poker blog to be posted in here, let me know.

PPA making some noise

2008-09-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

There seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. Online poker players are starting to get their voices heard. There was a recent bill that passed the House Financial Services Committee that is in favor of online poker.

More can be learned by visiting the Poker Players Alliance web page.

This is just one step in the right direction for online poker advocates. It is going to be really exciting if online poker ever does become totally legal in the USA. I can only hope that it will one day.

To take some excerpts from the PPA's website:

Appropriate federal regulation can ensure that minors are kept out of sites,services are provided to problem gamblers and the proper taxes are collected. The current system does nothing to protect children, problem gamblers and it is allowing billions in tax revenue to go overseas.

Prohibitions don’t work. The UIGEA effectively bans online poker in the U.S. and drives those players underground. Meanwhile, poker continues to grow in popularity nationwide. 75 percent of Americans oppose banning online poker. According to national polling, a vast majority of Americans oppose federal efforts to ban online poker.

If you are not currently a member of the PPA, please do sign up by clicking on the picture I have posted in this blog update.

Variance is a ******

2008-09-18T18:19:00.001-07:00

After a couple more days off, just working on this site and trying to catch up at work, (yes I do have a daytime job, though I would like to change that one day) I decided to go back to the usual tournaments. I just STILL can not catch a break.

The mathematical definition of variance from Wikipedia:

In probability theory and statistics, the variance of a random variable, probability distribution, or sample is one measure of statistical dispersion, averaging the squared distance of its possible values from the expected value (mean). Whereas the mean is a way to describe the location of a distribution, the variance is a way to capture its scale or degree of being spread out. The unit of variance is the square of the unit of the original variable. The positive square root of the variance, called the standard deviation, has the same units as the original variable and can be easier to interpret for this reason.

In poker Lehman's terms, it is the luck factor that could make one win or lose more than expected over a specific sample size (ex: 20 tournaments) as compared to what the expected Return on Investment (ROI) from a given game is for that player.

To say the least, I am on the wrong end of variance when it comes to tournaments since before my break and again today. I could sit here and give you a laundry list of what I am talking about, but I don't want to go there. This is not meant to be a "bad beat" blog. I just have recently really questioned why I spend all the time I do thinking about the game and if this time would be better served thinking about something else. Especially when some clueless guy, probably playing poker for the first time, beats me out of another pot on some crazy luck.

I have sat here and erased at least 3 paragraphs as I decide which direction to take this blog post. I really am at a loss for words. I currently just don't play enough to let these beats not bother me. If I could play more games at a time, and be more encouraged to do so, then maybe the skill factor will overturn the bad luck at the tables.

After all, the saying is "anyone one can win any given night, but the better players will win over the course of a month, a year or 10 years."

I really need to take a more objective view with my poker playing. I need to be less results-oriented and be happy when I get my money in ahead. I have been listening to some cash plays recently and I really admire the way Bart Hanson is able to take the point of view he does and be completely deterred from being results-oriented. That outlook is one I am trying to reach, and I hope that I can get there one day.

It is just another thing to add to the "need to learn" list before I can become the player I strive to be.

Until next time, I hope you are running better than me.

Site is officially "revamped"

2008-09-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

Whew! I spent at least 24 hours just doing trial and error type stuff, but the site is looking better than ever! I am really excited about it, since I have no website design/computer programming experience.

The reason for the changes is because when I first made the change the other day, I felt that the posts were too hard to read, and the images were just too distracting. I feel this layout is easier to follow and looks pretty cool (in my mind).

I started with the Rounders template shown here and first added a third column. Then I had to change the background images, in many cases I had to create my own images using Microsoft Digital Image Suite.

After the basics were done, which takes up the most time, then I could go around and look for widgets to add to the sidebars.

To make a long story short, this is the final product. There is really only one more thing that I intend to do to the site and that is to add a menu right below the header. In this menu I will have links to other blogs, more poker links, and links to specific blog posts put up by me on this site.

Anybody can do this, but some faster than others. I just googled "how to do this" and "how to do that" then it was all hit or miss and multiple stints of having to start certain processes over.

Let me know what you think of the site!

Jazzing it up

2008-09-13T02:04:00.000-07:00

I really have no experience at all when it comes to websites or any type of programming for that matter, but I decided my blog needed a "different" look. I spent quite a bit of time trying to add little things here and there by googling the "how to's". I hope you like it, let me know what you think! Also, since I am trying to add more readers to this blog, and if you host a blog please add me as a link, I will do the same.

Hopefully this blog fixing is over, since I need to get back to the tables.....this stuff really started to get addicting. I kept adding one thing after the other. Sigh, I am officially a blogaholic!

*EDIT* Actually, still addicted, working on revamping the site again* Come back later to see the changes!

Going Back To My Roots

2008-09-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

When I was first introduced to No Limit Holdem, back in my freshman year in college on a day off away from the baseball field, a few of us were playing 25/50 cent dealer's choice cash games. This was a couple of years before the big "moneymaker boom". I was intrigued by Holdem, but to be honest with you, it really didn't do much for me at the time. Back then, I would like the games that would build the biggest pots, and holdem just wasn't doing it back then.

So when the button got to me, I would just choose "727", a blackjack style game where the goal was to be closest to 7 or 27 without going over, and some of the pots would grow to huge amounts. It was one of the best games to take advantage of position, this is the main reason I would always chose it.

Other games we would play are: high or low Chicago, crisscross, 3-5-7, and Omaha.

Fast forward to 2003 and the Moneymaker boom, and we were mostly just playing holdem, though we would still mix in some dealers choice games on the rare nights. I was an overall winner in these games, though I now realize just how much I didn't know.

When I first started playing online poker a few years ago, I would just dabble with some No-Limit holdem cash games with the occasional tournament. To say the least, I was a slow loser in tournaments, and couldn't handle the cash games when I would lose fast. At the time, one of my best tools in poker was the reads I could get live, and I was really out of my element online.

Then as of recently, I have been mostly playing limit holdem cash games, limit 5 card draw, NLH SNGs, and NLH MTTs. I would stay away from NLH cash games online. Pretty much the only time I would play NLH cash games would be when I was playing live at the Borgata in Atlantic City and do usually really well I might add. Even when I went to Vegas in June, when I decided to put in some hours at the cash tables, I opted for limit holdem.

I wouldn't really play NLH anywhere else, even though I have been invited to a few home games that are really juicy, but too much of a short stack gamble to risk the cash they were throwing around. But even today, I am hoping to take advantage of that game once I feel I am properly bankrolled for the roller coaster that is that home game.

So when I was sitting there the other day, after cashing in the PL draw WCOOP, I was trying to decide what route I should try and take to get my bankroll back on track. I can play $20 SNGs which I have a pretty good ROI in. I could play $10 MTTs, but frequently the fields are so huge I would really have to get lucky to make some real dough. Go back and drop down levels to playing 1/2 limit draw, in which I could easily make about $10/hour on average (if I don't multitable). I could play 1/2 limit holdem cash, in which I would probably make about 2 to 3 BB/100 (multitabling). Or I could play NLH cash in which I was a losing player in NLH cash games online.

So sitting there looking at my options, what do you think I chose? Of course NLH! The game that I have statistically in the past not been able to dominate. But the last time I played NLH cash games seriously, it was about a year ago. There has been a ton of stuff that I have learned in the past year about NLH deepstacked play, that I felt I could beat these games now with the knowledge I possessed.

As of today I have been playing $25 6-max NLH the majority of my online time. Though it is an extremely small sample, I have thus far played 1379 hands playing 3-4 tables at once. I have been averaging a whopping 65BB/100 hands! Now I know I won't be able to keep those numbers up, but these games are soooo easy, and really fun at the moment. It is bringing me back to my roots of when I was sitting in college playing NLH cash games against my buds.

What have I done differently than what I was doing in the past? I have been playing an overall loose/aggressive style. But, I will only get a ton of money into the pot when I have a big hand, and no top pair/top kicker is not really a big hand when you are playing with 100bb stack. I have been putting my money in consistently good with 2 pair, straights, flushes, and sets. Maybe I have been running good, I don't know. But things are just too easy right now, and I am really enjoying this little rush.

My bankroll is now at $1273.80. Technically, I can move up to $50NL now, but I think I will sit back in the $25NL games until my BR gets up to $1500.

Until next time, keep pwning.

Back on the Ground Running

2008-09-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well, as I said before in the last post, I would be playing the PL Draw WCOOP event. I took the W$ that I had and took the risk. After about 7 hours of trying to play a game that I am really unfamiliar with (since limit draw is really more my forte), I came in 67th out of 1024. It was good enough for me to cash for a little more than double the buyin ($215).

Sigh, but it is bittersweet. I really played well up into the money, then I made a few mistakes when we had about 100 people left. I was then left on life support by time we were down to 80 people. The majority of my downfall was due to a new bigstack moving to my table and absolutely running everyone over.

I tried to make a stand a couple of times, and when I did he had outdrawn me. The guy was not only being ridiculously aggressive, but he was getting hit by the deck as well. A deadly combination. I wasn't the only one to fall to him. I must have seen him knock out 9 people in about an hour, which is a ton considering the tournament structure and the fact that we are playing 6 handed.

All I can do is tip my hat though, and move on. Speaking of which, it is time to go back to the grind. My BR is now at $1061.72 plus about 50 dollars in W$ left. I am unsure what I will do with that W$, I guess I will just hold on to it for next year's WSOP steps or something. I don't really want to sell it, since you never get full value.

As for the games I plan to be grinding out, it will be mostly dependant on my BR level. I set up a spreadsheet that will factor in Fox's article, and Kelly Criterion. As of right now, I can play 1/2 limit games, .25/.50 NL, MTT's that are no more than $15, and SNG's that are no more than $20.

Speaking of Fox, who is also a PokerXFactor pro, have you seen the e-magazine put out by him and Hatfield13, another PXF pro? It is called Blind Straddle, and it really is a good read. It has articles from a number of highly respected poker pros who are also some extremely talented writers I might add.

Outside of that, it is time to hit the tables again. I am excited to be playing again and hopefully my extended time away will pay off.

Still on Break, and Making Progress

2008-09-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

I am still on "break" since my last post. Though it isn't really a break from the game itself, more of just a break from playing. Through this time, I have actually probably been thinking more about the game than I would otherwise. For a while there, I was all dried up on what new stuff I could learn and this break has opened my eyes to new facets of the game that I can apply right away.

This is the longest stint away from the tables that I can remember in a long time. Though I have played a short session here and there, it was really just to test out some theories that I have, and not really with the intent of getting back into the grind.

Sometimes you need to take a step back to take two steps forward. I feel that is what I am doing through this process. A while back I spent an extended period of time working on the math behind limit 5 card draw. Through that period, my game became that much better. It really helped me be able to put hand ranges on my opponents as well as become an overall more skilled-aggressive player.

Fast forward to this lay off. I have been watching all kinds of videos from PXF and browsing forums soaking up as much info as humanly possible. I have been thinking about specific NLH situations and applying a strong, well-thought out analysis to each. I am yet to see if it all proves to work, but that will be the fun in trying it out in the future.

Speaking of PXF videos. It used to be when I first joined, and I joined from the beginning, that I would just take in the information from each video and have the outlook that it must be right. By having this outlook I never really sat down to analyze the thought process behind each play.

Recently, I find myself questioning some of the play. Not necessarily because it is wrong, but because I might have a different mindset about a how a hand should be played, or I am not factoring in certain information. Also, I might add it is in no correlation to the quality of videos, as I believe PXF to be a great learning tool that any poker player should take advantage of.

However, after doing most of my analysis it proves the pro to be right, but other times I feel that I have enough evidence to side more to a different line of play. The pros can't always make the right play. No one can. Besides one post I made in the PXF forums, I haven't really shared any of my thoughts of the plays, something I probably should do more in the future.

I am hoping that this is a sign of me taking that "next step."

I am excited about playing again, though I am still disappointed that I let my BR slip so much just as I have done so many times before. Though, this time I did manage to not go broke.

I plan to start playing again this weekend, specifically letting the 5 card draw PL WCOOP event being my welcome back party.

You say, well that is out of your bankroll......that is what got you in this mess to begin with. I currently have some saved up W$ and I am planning on using it there. I plan on playing win or lose. But right after that tourney, it is back to dropping down to levels I haven't played in a while, back to the grind.

This time though, I plan on treating it more like a business. With a set amount of hours of play per day. I plan on multi-tabling more, getting more games played in a specified period of time. This is my stand against everything that has been holding me back thus far. I am moving forward from this point on, with or without variance, and not looking back.

Something's Missing

2008-08-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Let me start this post off with a bang. My poker account on stars is now down to $1035.74. That is a loss of over 75% of my bankroll since my post dated on August 17th.

I sit here and honestly don't know what to say. In the past I would write something smart and feel like it was a good excuse. This time, I am just not going to make an excuse. I am really disgusted with my poker playing right now that I have decided to take a small break.

I guess if there was to be a good week to take a break, this would be it. I just recently had my wisdom teeth pulled, and I have kind of been in and out of it. I really should of had them pulled years before, but they just never bothered me.

Back to the topic at hand, I feel as though I have a good grasp of many different poker variants. But obviously something is not connecting with me.

My Official Poker Ranking shows that I am now a profitable MTT player, though this was not necessarily the case as recently as 6-8 months ago. Though notice that my most profitable game is under the "other" category due to the limit 5 card draw MTTs I have played in the past. I also believe this to be the case due to the large field sizes in the NLH mtts and I really haven't had what I consider a big "payday" to give me that great of an ROI.

My Sharkscope is much of the same, proving that I must be doing something right. In fact, the only game that I believe I have a -ROI in when it comes to my Sharkscope is the Turbo 180 man SNGs, though I have a really good ROI in the regulars.

One thing that I have to note about both my OPR and my Sharkscope is that it really isn't enough games for me to make a solid evaluation of my game. I have never really been much of a high volume player. Yet, I do believe if anything, my SNG numbers are pretty close, and my MTT numbers are actually behind when it comes to my true potential.

So where is the problem? It must be cash games right? Well when it comes BB/100 hands in nearly every game I frequent, I am a profitable player.

The true problem is when I hit a skid in the road. I play WAY over my BR and this is where I compound errors to be left with a less than stellar amount in the Cashier. It is like an avalanche that has become out of control. One thing brings on the next, and then I look up and realize that I just don't know what I am doing anymore.

Now I have had many stints of jumping up levels before my bankroll was truly ready. When I really get burned is when I jump up to chase losses or when I am tilting. When I have jumped up in the past due to my knowledge of the competition or the edge I feel I have in a game, I have done pretty well. In fact, that is where I made my last run from 2k to 4k in 5 card draw.

I really just wish I could jump up to a limit today where I could compete for what I consider to be good money. Playing at the lower levels seems to bore me. I like to play against the best and at the best levels. This is my competitive desire coming out.

Am I the only one to get in a rut like this? No. In fact, it seems recently I have seen alot of "pros" and highly talented players complaining about being on a losing streak, some longer than others. It almost kind of worries me, because if they can't make a profit, then how can I expect to? Is there really any type of a future in poker for me? Could there ever be a day where the whole playing field is so leveled out that nearly no one will be able to make an income from just playing poker?

Those are questions I can not answer, nor should I even attempt to at this point. But what I can do is answer the the question that I titled this post with. What is missing? What is holding me back?

After some long hard looks at my game (though with plenty of mistakes) I have come to the conclusion that there really isn't much missing in my game for me to have not already reached my goal to 10k by now.....Instead it is too much of something......EGO!

I need a reality check and realize that I am only as good of a player as by how much money I make at this game. Everything starts with me, and I have to fight myself just to get to the next level. Poker really is a humbling, self-evaluating game that seems to always throw you a curveball when you are looking dead red fastball.

For the next couple of days, I plan to still keep evaluating my game and continue to brush up via videos and books. I will come back a better player and I am looking forward to it.

Bad Swing Brings Me a New Outlook

2008-08-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my latest post entry. This past week has truly been one of the craziest I can remember in a long time. My bankroll has been on a roller coaster ride, with it ending up down.

After writing my last post about goal setting, I have actually found that I have a wrong outlook. Yes, it is good to have an overall goal right now to reach a bankroll level of 10k, but shooting to win 100 a day is not the best idea.

I have found myself winning $250 dollars in a quick 1 hour session then quiting for the day, feeling good about my play. Win another $150, and quit.....so on and so on.

Then it happens, I hit variance. Nothing seems to be going right. I am not getting dealt any hands at all, and when I do get dealt a playable hand, it always seems to be second best. When this happens, I go on tilt just waiting for my luck to go back to at least normal.

Before I know it, I will have lost what I have worked so hard to win in 2 weeks times. Easy come, easy go.

So after speaking with some players in which games I truly respect, I have taken a different outlook, especially when it comes to cash games. I don't need to have the outlook of trying to win a certain amount during a session, rather my goal should be to put in a certain number of hours.

If I am a profitable player, the wins will come as long as I put in the hours.

So to talk about the past week, my BR got up to just over $4,500, even after losing a ton in the WCOOP steps due to some pretty poor push/fold situational luck. At this time, I was making up for the lack of results in the WCOOP steps with 5/10 and 10/20 limit 5 card draw cash, and 3/6 limit holdem (6 max).

Then on Tuesday night, everything turned for the worse. I found myself in a rut that I just couldn't get out of. After a quick $100 profitable session in limit 5 card draw, I sat out for a bit to come back to find my luck turn for the worse. It wasn't just 5 card draw, my limit holdem game took a hit as well.

After about 5 hours of chasing my losses I found my BR at the level it is today, $2844.

This has been known to happen with me in the past, but I truly feel that if I can have a hourly volume goal rather than a daily monetary goal, I can help make sure this type of thing doesn't happen again.

I can not let this bother me. I need to keep my head straight and continue working hard for my overall goal. So until next time, I am hoping to put in more hours at the virtual felt.

Setting Goals

2008-08-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. ~ Anthony Robbins

Setting goals is an important step to take in order to get anywhere in life, and in this instance poker. I have always had dreams of playing poker as a living, but in this game it truly takes money to make money. So it only seemed right that my first "big goal" was one to reach a certain bankroll level.

I have posted previously about my "goal to 10k" and though it has not gone as smoothly as I had once hoped, I feel like I am back on track to reaching this goal (current BR: $4314.02).

Starting at $100, reaching $10,000 can seem almost unattainable. However, I am one that usually sets my goals really high. I have always held the belief that if you can set your goals high, and if you just barely miss, at least you will be a lot further than you would if you had just set a small and easily reachable goal.

You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential. ~ Steve Garvey

Sometimes, a long-term goal can be easier looked at if you narrow it down to small short-term goals. For instance, recently I have been trying to profit $100 a day. If I keep that outlook, and at my current bankroll level, I could possibly meet my goal within 60 days of poker playing.

However, since poker can make you very volatile if you have a wrong mindset, you can not beat yourself up for missing a day or even losing $100 for one day. In fact, it should be expected. Variance is not fun! You just always have to keep your long-term goal in mind.

What other goals do I have for poker?

1-To make a living playing poker.
2-Play in a big buyin event such as the WPT or WSOP Main Event.
3-Become a top tournament player (ranked on P5s).
4-Become a large-winning cash game player in multiple games.
5-Reach a TV final table.

Now all of the goals I have just named might just be a "pipe dream" like that talked about in the movie Rounders. But if I can just reach one goal at a time, no matter how small, it is only a matter of time.

Now what are your goals?

A goal properly set is halfway reached. ~ Abraham Lincoln

Good Weekend- Thus Far

2008-08-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

*Knock on wood* I have been absolutely killing limit 5 card draw cash games this weekend. Is it skill? Not sure, it could just be a hot run of cards. One thing is for sure, I am up. I have won about $800 in 5/10 and 10/20 Limit 5 Card Draw.

I also have been getting really deep in some of the NLH tourneys I have played as of late. I just haven't gotten to a final table, which is where all the money is. It gets really frustrated at the levels that I am at (3-30 buyin level) because the fields are soooo large. I sit there and play for over 6 hours just to bust out in the final 3 tables on some ridiculous beat and not much of a payday.

But I know that if I can just continue to get deep in these things, I am bound to break through with a big win. It is just a matter of time.

On another note, I have played in some more WCOOP steps but not as much as I hoped. I have maybe profited $30 dollars in those in the past week. I haven't been really good at record keeping as of late, which is probably not the best thing.

Another thing that I have been doing is trying out PL 5 card draw mtts. It is totally different from limit. I find that I am too much of a calling station in PL. Calling what looks like bluffs can be a good thing in limit, but one wrong decision in PL and I will be grasping for my tourney life. The main reason I have been doing this is due to Pokerstars offering only a PL draw mtt in the upcoming WCOOP (which I plan to play in).

Until next time.........

BR Note: $4048.52

The Dark Knight

2008-07-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the movies, I am generally the one that would rather wait for it to come out on DVD or on HBO. However the wife is a complete opposite. She loves to go to the movies.

So when my wife asked me if we could go see "The Dark Knight", I agreed. I am glad I did.

It was a really good movie. Not the best I have seen in the past year, but it didn't disappoint. I would definitely recommend it to any movie-goer. Though, from what the news says, it looks like everyone already has.

So this being a poker blog, I wanted to see if I could incorporate this movie into my game.

I will take a quote from the movie, though it might be paraphrased:

"Sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded." - Batman

This got me thinking about poker? Yes! It made me think about how often people are complaining about making the right plays just for some donk to make a miracle draw to beat them out of a huge pot.

The truth is you have to try to always make the "right play" the one that will give you the best return in the long run. The faith of making this play, is that it will work out. Unfortunately, our faith is not always rewarded.

People say that you shouldn't worry about the results. Just always try to make the right play. It can be hard when you are running bad. This quote hits it right on the head. Sometimes I need to be rewarded with a win.

Not just to assure me of the play I am making is correct, but to just keep me motivated to continue playing this game (that I love). Poker can really mess with your head when things are going bad.

5 Card Draw MTT

2008-07-27T21:23:00.001-07:00

So at the beginning of my BR goal, when I was hovering around $100, one thing that catapulted me up to about 1k pretty quickly was the $4.40 limit 5 card draw MTT on Pokerstars at 9:30pm est.

My average finish in this tournament is probably in the money, or at least close to it. It is really easy to cash, the play is just poor. I have taken it down quite a few times. The money is just nothing great, and I feel like I could be spending my time doing something else for better money. For 3 hours of play, I only average around $12 profit.

The thing about this tournament is right when there are 2-3 tables left, the blinds are so high compared to the average stack that it really becomes a crap shoot especially if you are not lucky enough to be the table chipleader.

I decided to play it again tonight for the first time in about 3 months. I started off pretty bad, being used to the play in 5/10 cash, I had to get accustomed to the play. At one point I was left with 1.5 BB's. A couple of hours later, I finished in 6th place for another final table appearance.

Not bad, but I am not really happy with the result. First, it was for only $24. Second, I was chipleader for the majority of the tournament during the middle stages (after my poor start).

Once I lost the chip lead at my table when we were about 18 players deep, I had to rely more on the cards, and they really just never came. I tried to stay active, but things just weren't working out.

Oh well it was fun. It will probably be another 3 months until I play it again, just due to the disappointed money up for grabs. I wish Stars would offer a WCOOP 5 card draw LIMIT mtt. They offer PL, and that is a totally different game in itself, one that I don't have much experience in.

BR note: $3229.96

Random Thoughts

2008-07-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

I don't really have much to say, so I just thought I would check in with some random thoughts that don't have much merit.

First- I bet some of the poker books out there are completely WRONG! I don't want to name anything but if you think about how shady the poker industry can be (especially in the past), who would stop a big name from putting out a book that is trying to teach an exploitable strategy.

Not only would the book make people try to play in this exploitable fashion, but readers would think that the writer plays this way. When in reality, the writer plays completely different. It is possible, and very likely it has happened.

Second- While I am on the topic of poker books, I do believe they are very important for any learning poker player. However, it is in my opinion that what make a great poker player is knowing when to stray away from "what the book says." It is like a blackjack card counter knowing to make a certain move due to the count even though it goes against basic strategy.

Third- I believe that within the next 2-4 years, online poker will be legal in the United States. But on the downside, I believe it will be up to the states to decide if it will be legal within their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, I live in Virginia. If there was a state to turn it down, Virginia has to be on the top of that list.

Fourth- More on the subject of casino games, I would be willing to guarantee that someone somewhere has found a way to beat the house in some game THAT IS NOT PUBLISHED. If you were truly sitting on a gold mine, would you tell everyone?

Fifth- If online gambling ever does get passed, how will they be able to draw the line? Will Playstation or Xbox turn around and make it capable to bet on video games? (playing Madden can be looked at as skill)

On the note of my poker playing and my goal to 10k, my BR is up to $3028.98. I even played some triple draw tonight and crushed for about 30-45 minutes in 1/2 for $60.

WCOOP Steps

2008-07-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

When Pokerstars was running their WSOP steps, I put in over $1000 in step 1s. I would end up playing in five Step 6s. Not to talk about bad luck, but I did run KK into AA pre in 3 of these step 6s and only cashed in one.

So after getting pretty accustomed with the step system, and seeing as I believe any good SNG player should show profit in these things, I took my W$ and played in some (4) step 3's.

Well, I won two step 4 direct satellites for a win of W$1,060 from my original W$328 investment. Hmmm......could I be on to something here?

I went through all of my past stats in the WSOP steps and just by buying in from the step 3 level and playing for the step 4 satellite in these WCOOP steps, I should show a pretty decent profit.

So over the next week or so, I will be trying to bang these things out and see where it takes me.

BR: $2,868.80 (1,100 of which is W$)

When will I learn?

2008-07-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

When I got home from work yesterday, I fired up some 5/10 limit 5 card draw. For about 2 hours it was just break even poker. Then I saw a 10/20 game going on with some players I knew I could exploit so I sat in. In about 30 minutes, I walked away up $500! Then I went back to the 5/10 just to win another 200! Not bad at all.

Then my wife and I left to eat dinner. I chose to go to the local Mexican restaurant. Not so much for the food as for the craving I was getting for their margaritas.

After dinner and some text exchanges I met up with some friends at another bar that had a patio with a band playing. By time it was 10pm, I was feeling pretty good.

My wife and I called it a night around 11pm as everyone else was going downtown. When we got back home, I decided to play some more poker.

Still drinking, I decided to play headsup 15/30 limit draw. What a mistake! To make a long story short I was down $1200 in about 45 minutes, if that.

Waking up today, kicking myself in the ass, I look back on the big loss and ask was I outplayed? I think to some extent, probably. But realistically, my opponent was on a pretty lucky swing of cards.

The thing about 15/30 compared to 5/10 is you have to much looser due to the blind structure. In 15/30 you start with 10 and 15 blinds, a ratio of 2/3. Whereas in 5/10, the blinds are 2 and 5, which is a ratio of 1/2.5. BIG DIFFERENCE!

I might have caught on a little late, but when I tried to adjust my opponent was hitting every freaking card, very frustrating. At one point, my opponent raised like 10 hands in a row with my hand being ahead more than half the time pre, just to be outdrawn.

When will I learn? First of all, I probably shouldn't even be playing 5/10 at my bankroll, not to mention 15/30. Playing drunk and outside of my bankroll is never a good thing. My BR is now at $2,257.80 (# includes W$)

My Goal to 10k

2008-07-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Another reason for starting this blog was due to my "goal to 10k." I started a thread on PokerXFactor describing how poor my bankroll habits are and I often deposit $100 to let it climb to over 2k over about a month or two to just lose it all in about a week.

So I established a goal. One that would take me from a $100 deposit on Pokerstars to $10,000. Not being a high-volume player, I felt it would take me anywhere from 8-14 months. Well, this goal was started in middle of October. It has been about 9 months.

Where do I stand? My bankroll on Stars as of now is $2,538.30 plus W$368. The highest my bankroll has been since starting this goal was $5,077.31 (about 2 months ago).

I could sit here and tell you about the trials and tribulations so far with my goal, but I am looking at this switch to a blog as almost a "starting over" point. I will say that, I should be alot higher than $2,900 and had a couple of cards gone my way I would be well over 12k by this point. But that is poker!

I will try and update my bankroll goal as often as possible. But knowing how repititive things get after starting the thread on PXF, I am not going to let it be the only thing in this blog, and maybe not even the main thing.

First Post- Quick Intro

2008-07-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to start a blog for sometime now. Well here it is!

This blog will mostly be centered around online poker, but I will venture into other topics from time to time. I encourage any type of feedback.

The first game of poker I ever played was when I was probably about 5 yrs old with my family. I played a few times throughout the years, but just for pennies and nickels. The games being played were usually either 5 card draw or 7 card stud.

When I went to college, as a baseball student-athlete, the common activity during slow times was poker. This is where I would be introduced to Texas Holdem amongst other games. Remind you that this was before the "Moneymaker Poker Boom."

Over the years, I would hone my skills by playing more and more often. However, I didn't read my first poker book until after I graduated from college in '04. This is when I realized how much I needed to learn about the game. My poker library today is well over 10 books.

'04 would also be the first time that I ventured into the online poker world. Starting out at Paradise Poker and also playing some on Pokerstars. I was pretty much a slow-losing online player, but a winning live player at this time.

Fast forward to today and I am a winning player in both the live and online realms. But nowhere near where I want to be. I try to play as often as I can, but it can be hard with work. My longterm goal is to be able to play poker (live and online) for a comfortable living.

My online name is "NoMeNot." I mostly play at Pokerstars, but do play a little on Full Tilt. You can mostly find me playing NL Holdem Tournaments that are below $30, Sit-N-Go's, Limit Holdem Cash Games, and Limit 5 Card Draw Cash Games.