Just Wait Long Enough it Will Change

Another day and I am sitting in the number four seat.  I have never been superstitious but when it is going good you just have to try again.  Really, I do have some superstitions but not worth going into at this point.

 

I told the dealer I was not here to play the tournament just the cash game.  I put my $30 on the table for the $2-$6 limit game and was hoping for another good day like the last ones.  I just did not get the cards today and even if I did there was one better.  I was gone from the cash game in about 30 minutes and I headed out the door.

 

The next day I showed up again for the cash game and this time I put myself into the tournament which is the $5 tournament and you get 1,000 in chips with add-ons and you have re-buys for the first four rounds.  Rounds are 10 minutes each.

 

I was out of the cash game in about 30 minutes again and waited for the tournament to start.

 

I must say the tournament did not go well and I was out 20/30 players.  My Qx ran into a flush right off the flop.  Qxx on the flop and I didn't have a chance to even wish on the cards.  I did get a Q on the river but needed to pair another card.  Again out the door and home.

 

The last two days of playing poker, especially the $2-$6 game where everyone wants to see the flop and never gives up is hard.  When I got out to the pick-up I sat there for a bit and finally asked myself if I was having fun.  Did I really enjoy myself doing this?  At that point I had to tell myself that I was not having fun anymore.  It is frustrating to be in an area that the games that I want to play are not here.  It is a question that I just have to answer if I want to continue playing or not. 

 

I am a very competitive person and ever since High School have played some type of sport and have always pushed myself to be the best at whatever I was doing.  It gets frustrating when you know what to do but are unable to pull it off.  Maybe I am trying to hard and need to just have fun with the game and not be so serious. 

 

Will need to think about this.....

Monte Carlo Board

Back to do another session on the $2-$6 Live Cash game at Jokers Casino.  I was going to change up the seating but decided to go ahead and sit in the number four seat like I did the other day. 

 

It was so nice to get the $90 win and get that BR to start growing again.  I decided to take little steps and if I won double what I start with I will be very happy walking away and playing another day.  Have to start from somewhere.

 

I was in the blinds and it was called all the way around back to me so I just went ahead and checked with my 46 of hearts.  Not something I would normally play but if they are going to play post flop I will do the same thing and see what comes on the flop.  On the flop was 3x5 with the 3 and the 5 being hearts.  Now I have something to call with to see if the flush might come.  The hand was checked all the down on the turn and it was a blank.  Checked again and the card came a 7 of hearts.  I see the flush and turn over my cards and then the dealer said straight flush.  Wow, I was not looking at that as much as just the flush possibility. 

 

At that point I looked up at the Monte Carlo board and see that this was worth $75 for me.  I add this to my chip count on the table.  I waited for a few hands or the blinds to get through me again and then took the win off of the table and went home.  Another good increase to the BR and enough to play another day.

 

Have a fun day.....

Let's try this Again

After the win, the last time I played, I decided I would put the money back to work at the Jokers Casino $2-$6 game at Noon.  This live cash game will only go for an hour at the most and if I happen to double up then I can go home, and I have no plans to play the tournament.  For me they are money suckers and right now I need some more cash to keep going.

 

I took my seat in the number four seat and right off the bat I made a hand that brought in about $20 in chips.  Nice to have that happen right off the bat, but then the decision, do I get up and walk away with the cash or keep going.   It has only been about 5 to 10 minutes. 

 

It wasn't too far off of that win that I played another hand that won another pot and this one was bigger yet and put my stack up over the $90 chip mark.  The time had been around 30 minutes of play and already a good growth to the BR. 

 

I always have the feeling I need to sit at the table, because I won chips off of the fellow players, but then sometimes they do the same thing and leave to let someone else sit down so they can get their name on the list to play the tournament early.  See, if you play the live cash game then you are allowed to sign up before anyone else for the tournament.  Me, I just racked them up and told the table someone else could sit down and walked away with my $90.

 

This is a good start to get some of the BR back and so far it is working.  Bankroll now up to $90 if you take out what I put on the table to start the game.  Hopefully I can continue.

 

Have a nice day.......

Home Games

I haven't played in a home game in some time.  I was asked if I wanted to play and I had to think about it for a bit.  When I play in a home game I tend to just play and not try to win.  It is more about the social aspect of getting together.  In this particular game it usually ends up being sixteen guys sitting around two tables drinking the whole time and playing very aggressive.  Since I don't drink then watching this aggressive play just isn't any fun.

 

I decided to go ahead and play.  My bankroll for poker has just about hit the bottom and I figured I might as well play and then try and decide what to do next.  I arrived at the home and found out there were only five guys that would be playing tonight.  My mind went into this mode of why do I want to do this.  The person putting on the game wanted to play two games at $10 per person.  I then thought that wasn't too bad, with five guys playing, since it would get done early and I would head home. 

 

The players started drinking and I had my water for the evening.  With five players, it meant I could open up my game a little bit and try to catch some cards and be loose aggressive.  I started winning some pots and when we made it to the third level I had a nice size chip count.  We were down to the final two and I started losing my chips playing heads up.  Since the other three players were watching, and not playing, I then suggested a chop of the pot.  It was agreed upon by the chip leader and I was able to get $20 and we moved to the next game.

 

We start the next game and I continued playing the same way.  The loose aggressive style was working and I just stayed with that.  I made it to the chip lead and kept my aggressive play going.  When it got down to three left in the tournament I suggested another chop where we would pay three players and it was agreed upon.  I made $30 on the second tournament and that felt good to finally cash a little bit since I was running low on the BR anyway.

 

It is amazing how one week can make a difference in your bankroll.  I had a good week two weeks ago and was up to $400 and then within the next week it was basically gone.  It does drive you nuts trying to play the BR up and then it goes nowhere.  I start thinking about the $2-$20 game I should not have sat in on, and then the $3-$6 Omaha game that was out of my reach as well.  I played those trying to increase the BR and instead I went the other way. 

 

Now it is all about the $50 and what will I do with it.  Can I go out and try this again to get it to grow so I can continue playing?  Tournament?  Live Cash?  Have to think about this.

 

Have a fun day.....

Down the Rabbit Hole

Sometimes you just feel like you can do nothing right.  The last week I tried to play and make the correct decisions and I was not doing well.

 

I decided to get into the afternoon tournament at Jokers Casino for $40 with 10,000 in chips to start and the rounds are at 20 minutes.  This allows for more play and I figured if there was a tournament that would help me get out of the slump this would be the one.  At least play better poker.  I am not sure whether going back and forth into the Live games and Tournaments is just messing with me more.

 

There were about thirty players that started and this would make a good prize pool as well.  I survived getting down to two tables and now I just needed to make the final table.  I was pretty tight throughout and was chipping up.  I tend to remain around average chipstack until I get to the final table and then will start looking at chipstacks and where I should start picking up the chips from.

 

We were getting down to the area of needing 1 or 2 more players to go out before we got to the final table and wouldn't you know it I was one of the ones eliminated.  I feel pretty good about my tournament play just not there today.

 

I then jumped over to the $3-$6 Omaha Hi/Lo Kill game.  Oh, that was not a good move.  I have been studying Omaha and would really like to play it more but it just seems I do not understand some of the starting hands or I am getting beat by one hand better.  Again, that probably has to do with my reading ability of the hands.  I did manage to last two hours playing this game which is the furthest I have ever lasted before being felted.  I guess it is back to the drawing board and will need to get more of a BR to continue with these self taught lessons at the table.

 

Have a fun day.....

Big Game

I have played at Crazy Moose for the big cash game of $2-$20 limit Spread.  I decided that since I had a good week last week I would go and try to play this game again and see if I could do well and increase my bankroll a little bit more.  The thinking I had going in to this was that I needed to just play tight and wait for the proper hands and then play aggressive enough to get the pot. I put $150 on the table to start the game. 

 

I was seated right away in the number 9 seat and this also put me to the right of the two most tight aggressive players as well.  I was so tight that nothing was getting through to me.  I was waiting for those best hands.  Any pairs I received I just called and would set mine to see if I could play further.  If I didn't hit I was out of the pot when the bet or raise was done.  I was not going to get into a betting war with these guys.

 

I was able to last two hours playing this way.  The first hand was an AK and I got beat by a straight.  I did get a pair on the board but it got worse for me when Q10x showed up and no J came on the turn or river but the other guy had the J for the straight.  I had almost half my chip stack in that hand.

 

The next time I had AK I played strong again and this time got beat with yet another straight.  As I said before I played about 2 hours and my chips were gone. 

 

I headed over to Jokers Casino since I knew they were starting a $2-$4 limit game and I jumped into that table with $40 worth of chips.  I proceeded to lose chips so when I got down to $25 left of my $40 I got off of the table and bought in to the Tournament. 

 

I made it to the final table in the tournament but didn't cash.  That was my story for the day and I am sticking to it.  I will stay away from the big game and just play this smaller game to get my confidence back.  Nothing was working out for me today.

 

Have a nice day......

Must do this again!!!!

I must win a tournament during the month of August and I will have the opportunity to do this again.  I get myself started by putting my $30 down on the cash table.  I am playing $2-$4 and it is so hard to win.  My chip stack is up about $80 and again I find it hard to walk away.  And by the time I do I am back down to my $30 and then I do the same as before and get up from my seat.

 

The tournament is ready to go and now we are back to the $5 + $5 with re-buys and add ons for the first three levels.  If I am patient and get the cards I need I can hold off and just add on when it is time and the tournament is a total of $15 to me. 

 

Today I couldn't be so lucky.  I ended up re-buying and then the add on and now my total for this tournament is $30 for a starting stack of $1,500.  Each $5 you add is worth 500 in chip.  Oh yes, can't forget the 10 minute rounds. 

 

At least I was able to make the final table again and then I didn't last very long.  Just nothing to work with.  My final hand was 66 and had four callers and didn't get any help at all from the flop, turn or river.

 

These types of days have to make you wonder why you are doing what your doing and is it worth it to keep pushing forward.  See what a short amount of days does when you were at the top and now your fighting with yourself again.

 

Have a wonderday day.....  

The Tournament of Champions

To be able to have the opportunity to play in this tournament you have to win one of the tournaments during the course of the month.  I was able to get my seat by claiming first place when we played out the last hand to see who was going to get the seat.  The other person had his seat already and when he mucked his hand it gave me the seat.  I was very happy for the chance to play in this tournament.

 

When I arrived at Jokers Casino I noticed they had a cash game going so I bought in for $40 to play the $2-$6 game.  I immediately got my chips up to around the $90 area and I should have just stepped away from the table.  I just have a hard time doing that when you come to play poker and then after 10 minutes you should step away if the money is important to you.  It is not scared money just money that would help the bankroll get started again.

 

As you can guess I ended up back down to my original $40 and at that point I stepped away from the table.  If I stepped away to save the original amount why didn't I step away when I had it doubled?  Then the next question is why did I allow myself to lose the $50?  For me it is not reading the cards and figuring out what the other person is holding.  I have a bad case of not believing the other person when they are betting into my good hand.  It should send up all kinds of warning flags and I don't seem to see them.  Any ideas to help me change that?

 

The tournament got started and we each have 3,000 in chips and the rounds are now 15 minutes.  This is different than the weekly tournaments at 1,000 chips and 10 minute rounds.  Just a little more time to try and get the chips to increase.  I am at the third table in seat number one and I am playing pretty tight.  I try to maintain my chip count and also get through the first three levels when everyone wants to play for the cheap pots.  I eventually get moved to table two and that is where I finally start gaining ground.  My chips are starting to increase and I am still playing tight with some aggression.

 

Making it to the final table for me is great.  At that point I can see all the chips on the table and figure out who I need to stay away from as well as who might be trying to hold on to their chips with their tournament life at stake.  I was getting some good cards as well.  We made it to the 2000/4000 blinds and this was going to be close.  At the end of this blind we were looking at the next level and there was four of us left.  We started looking at the chip stacks and noticed we were all about the same as we were just passing the stacks around and not getting anywhere.  At the time of the 3000/6000 blinds we decided to go ahead and chop the tournament money four ways and that allowed each of us to take home $280.  Now that was a nice week of playing poker.

 

I then stepped over to the live game to play some $2-$10 limit and again the same thing goes on with reading cards and just overall not winning the hands I think I should win.  I get down $60 and at that point I get up and just go home.  I love to play tournaments and have tried to get myself to play more cash games but it doesn't seem to play out well for me.

 

Have a good day.....

The Time Has Come

Deciding to play at Jokers again has been good for my truck.  Going only about 2 miles to the casino is a whole lot better than a ten mile drive further away.  I went down to the casino with the intent of only playing the live game and trying to increase my poker bankroll.  It is still basically zero so anything will help.

 

When I was asked if I wanted to do the tournament I told the dealer that I wanted to just play live.  I sat down with $30 to play the $2-$4 Limit game and this did not go well for me.  Every time I made a hand I was second best and I was putting money in to see it as well.  At this point in live games I am not reading the cards well or I am having a hard time believing the other person has made a hand.  I have to remember what game I am playing and the people around me.  Everyone wants to see the river card and when you start out good you end up being in a lottery in the end. 

 

During the game I did look over at the dealer and told him to go ahead and put me in to the tournament.  He just looked at me and said he already had my name down on the list.  Just can't stay away.  The tournament is a $5 buy in with $5 added for extra chips.  If you do well in the first three rounds, and you survived all of the all ins, then you do have a chance to add on to your stack. 

 

I put more money into the live game and ended up getting felted and so goes another day trying to play live.  Now there is the tournament.

 

With somewhere around 30 players I will need to be patient, and of course, do well by the time I get to the river.  With 1,500 chips to start out with I will need good cards to last, especially if you are playing hands to get something to play. 

 

One of my key hands during the tournament was my AK suited clubs.  I decided to go all in and see if I could win the hand.  I really didn't want anybody to call me.  One person across from me went into the tank.  You could tell she wanted to call but we had about the same amount of chips and this was her tournament life she was going to call with.  I am thankful I went all in first because I didn't want to have to make that decision myself.  She ended up throwing her cards in the muck and asked if I had Aces.  I just told her I liked my hand.

 

I did make it to the final table and at that point anything can happen.  I started watching the chips of the other players and staying away from the aggressive ones.  Let them work on getting the other players out before I need to do anything.  When I did play I had premium hands and won with either a raise or by winning at showdown. 

 

Finally, I was able to make it to the final two, and we decided, to chop the 1st and 2nd place money.  Making it a $150 payday.  The nice part of it was the other player already had a seat into the Tournament Of Champions and he let me have the seat for the event.  Now I hope I do well in a couple of days and play like I want to win the tournament. 

 

Have a fun day......

Back at Jokers Casino

After playing at Lucky Bridge Casino I decided to get in some time at the Live Cash game at Jokers Casino.  The reason for that is it is less than two miles from home and I enjoy the dealers there.  The one that talked about my game to others while sitting at the table is now gone and I feel more comfortable. 

 

I walked in with the idea that I would take the $50 that I won at Lucky Bridge and play some $2 - $4 Live and see if I could get it to grow.  My bankroll has been depleted and I have started to just play when I have saved up enough money to go after it again.

 

I walked into Jokers Casino and put $30 on the table and I was asked by the dealer if I wanted to sign up for the $5 tournament.  I decided to just wait to see what took place here first.  After seeing some of the regulars coming in to play and sign up I decided to play and gave the dealer the money.

 

The cash game did not go as planned and I was out in about 30 minutes.  Playing short stack is not what I like to do but the amount of money I have available for the game puts me into this situation.  I am alright with it as most everyone buys in for $20 to $50 and we are all in the same boat trying to just double up at some point. 

 

I got started in the tournament and did make the final table.  I know that making the final table is huge for me.  It allows me to play the table like a one table tournament and most of the time I am just about average in chips. Just surviving, till I get to that table, and then I can open up my game and try to wrestle some of the chips from others who think that since I am short stack I should be going out soon. 

 

This time I didn't get the cards to go my way and I am out of the tournament.  At this point my Bankroll or lack thereof is on fumes.  I will come back again and continue playing these small buy in tournaments to see if I can work myself back up. 

 

One of the things I have been working on is watching the other players chip stacks as well.  If I stay away from the larger stacks, and let them play more hands then the chance of moving up is greater for me when I can make moves on those that are my stack size.  I have also found to be tighter in playing hands that I would normally play since I don't want to put my stack in jeopardy if a bigger stack calls me.  I watch position as well.  Playing with fewer people in the pot does help if I have a bigger hand in position.  Things I have known for years but finally things that I am putting into practice.

 

Have a fun day..... 

Sunday Fun Tournament

Once a month, a friend I used to deal with, at Islands Casino has a tournament he puts on for fun and invites people to play.  I always try to make myself available for this tournament and I try do well but then again I don't put any pressure on myself.  He will give out prizes for the first one out of the tournament and I have had a couple of them.  You leave the tournament feeling bad but then again it was just a tournament that you can sit and talk and give your friends a bad time.

 

Today, as always, I try to win each tournament I enter but it also allows me to try new things to see if it might work.  I was down to two chips and I needed a hand that would get me to the final table.  This time I got the hand and tripled up and felt like I could make the final table this time.  I have never cashed in this tournament since I started playing.  I am not sure what that says about either me or the tournament but it was nice to make the final table two months in a row.

 

Once at the final table I started getting better hands to play and I started pushing the action by raising and it seemed the others were waiting for their hands to show up.  The hands I played were getting through and I was collecting chips.  The payout begins at 3rd place and that was my goal.  At least get something this time.

 

In the end I was chip leader and the three of us decided to chop the pot and we each made $50 from the tournament.  I was happy with my first cash. 

 

Maybe these smaller tournaments are the ones I should stick with for awhile.  Might teach me something about people playing their cards to showdown.  Force me to have the better cards to keep playing and make me read the cards on the board to make sure my cards are better.

 

Have a fun day......

Wildhorse Casino

The day has finally arrived and I am on my way to Pendleton, OR for the Wildhorse Poker Roundup.  I will play one tournament, in this series, and I decided on the first one.  With the Summer series there are only five days to play.  I would have to choose the hottest day of the year for us at this point.  Today is supposed to get to 110 and after the fact it did do that.  I ended up driving through it with my air conditioner on but I was still sweating in the car coming home. 

 

A little bit ahead of myself.  I arrived early and went in to sign up for the first event.  The cost of $100 + $10 + $10 for add on.  We have 10,000 in chips and 30 minute rounds. I had a little bit of a wait so I sat out in the hallway and read a magazine.  Thought about playing a satellite but I did that last time and went out pretty fast so thought better of it this time.  I will just wait for the event.

 

The closer it got to the time I started noticing a lot of the players from the Tri-Cities area were showing up as well.  We are going to be represented very well here and hopefully we have a good showing.

 

At my table I ended up having one other person from the tri-cities area so that wasn't bad.  The table behind me had five from the area and I was glad I was not sitting at that table.  My first goal was not to be taken out early.  The second goal is to make it to the first break and then after that you hope you have enough chips to make it to the dinner break where they will have a nice buffet before getting on with the evening play.

 

I was in the number 5 seat and an older gentleman was on my right.  Thank goodness since it seemed like he wanted to raise pots when he was playing.  We had a chance to talk and he told me he had just come in from the WSOP and he doesn't play very many tournaments.  He likes to travel around and play the cash games.  That explained why he was raising pre-flop every time.  He was not doing very well with that strategy.  He told me at one point that " you people play differently up here than they do in Las Vegas."  Yes, we do.  We like to see the flop and then make decisions from there.  He didn't last too much longer and he was back at the cash tables.

 

I succeeded to make it through the first break and had enough chips to keep this thing going.  In the fifth level is where it fell apart for me.  I would say I was getting impatient because I really needed the chips to make it to dinner and I played the BB with 86o.  On the turn I made two pair with a straight and flush possibilities and decided to go all in and the woman in the 8 seat tanked.  I was starting to think that she was going to fold.  This was the first time I had played with her and she had been folding so I figured I could be good.  She sat a little longer and then said the dreaded words.  "OK, I will call."  At that point I knew I was in trouble.  She could have folded and saved us all.  Well, she had the high end of the straight and I was looking for the short end with flush draw.  Didn't happen and I was headed home in the hottest part of the day.

 

That day the Tri-Cities recorded a second place to Death Valley for temperature.  We had the 110 and I don't know what DV did.  It was hot.  Lets not do that again.  I enjoyed my time at Wildhorse and will look forward to the Fall event.

 

Have a fun day...... 

Cash Game

Not much was going on for the day so I decided to go to Jokers Casino at noon and play some live.  This is a cash game that will only last one hour till the tournament starts.  The game is a $2 - $6 limit and I buy in with $30.  I normally buy in short because it only goes for the hour and I try to pick up some chips and then go home.

 

I sit down in the #5 seat and the first cards dealt to me are AA.  I decide to slow play them since this group will basically all call the $2 pre-flop.  And yes they did.  Now I just need to see what the flop holds for me.  When it came out I was relieved that it was a rainbow board and then decided to start building the pot.  I ended up with one person through the river showdown and my Aces did hold up for a nice pot.  I was now over $50 in chips.

 

Two hands later I look down at JJ and this time I raised and was followed by most of the callers.  This one went to showdown as well and I had picked up another J on the turn so it was nice and my chip stack was up over $70 at this point.  The decision now was how long do I want to sit there since there are other people waiting to get into the game and we had about 30 minutes to go before the tournament started.  I stayed long enough to give back chips down to $60 and was happy with the double up and picked up my chips with about 15 minutes left in the game.

 

Now I am ready to head off to Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton and play the tournament.  Hope it will be a good game.

 

Have a fun day......

Deep Stack Tournament Jokers

Since I don't seem to be able to make up my mind which way I want to go I am playing all sorts of games and will just have fun with them.  It hurts a little bit when I don't cash but about 15 minutes will go by and I forget about it.  One of the things I will do is try to learn from each session and figure out what I did and how I don't want to do that again.  Sometimes it works and then other times I just have to go by my instincts with something else.

 

This tournament was a $40 Buy In and we received 10,000 in chips and the rounds are 20 minutes in length.  It does give us time to play and it allows me to try some things without feeling I am going to lose all my chips in a hurry.  Of course if they don't work out then I have to play a little bit differently than I wanted.  Adjusting my play all during the tournament. 

 

In this session I decided to keep track of the amount of chips I had at the end of each round.  Since we started with 10,000 in chips that was the beginning and I wanted to see how I would do in each round and what I played.  Patience was the big area I was working on as well.

 

I didn't keep track of how the hand played but did keep track of the showdown and the ones I played.  Since we started with 10,000 chips the blinds where 25/25.  During this time I played three hands and they were JJ, 1010, KK and by the end of the first level I was at 14,025.  That was a nice chip up for the first level.  I am now hoping to continue the growth.

 

The next level was uneventful and ended up not playing any hands during the 20 minutes.  I had to pay the blinds but did not end up playing them to showdown.  I ended the 2nd level with the blinds at 25/50 at 12,300 chips.  Patience at this level was needed from me since I usually will play something.  Trying to show the new me.

 

The next level was 50/100 and I ended up playing one hand during this level and it happened to be on my BB.  The hand was the Q8 and more than likely it was called with others in the pot since everyone likes to see the post-flop before playing.  At the end of this level I was at 11,600 in chips and really I need to start opening up a bit and add to my chips now. 

 

Now that we are the next level 100/200 I wanted to start playing a few more hands and I ended up playing QJ, JJ, A10.  Even though I played them I didn't get as many chips as I would have liked.  I ended up at 10,200 chips at the end of the round.  My raises kept me from getting chips into the pot and maybe I should have played so that I would check the cards and let others bet for me and I didn't do that.  I don't like slow playing cards because I seem to lose the pots to 2 pair or straights. 

 

The next level was 150/300 and I didn't play any hands but I did seem to get to 12,600 at some point and it was climbing back up.

 

The last level for me was the 400/800 level where I was at 9,400 chips and I went all in with Q10 and was wanting to put pressure on a player to my right.  She ended up tanking for a bit and then ended up calling and my two pair was taken down by a straight.

 

I found this interesting to keep track of chip levels and not so much of the end results of the cards on the flop. 

 

I will be playing the Wildhorse Pendleton Roundup so any help I give myself will be a plus.

 

Have a fun day......

Back to NLHE

After having a good tournament with Omaha I decided to try again at the NLHE Tournament at Lucky Bridge Casino.  This tournament structure is a $30 buy in and you get 3,000 in chips to start and 15 minute rounds.  I like the structure.

 

We ended up having two tables start the tournament.  I was sitting in the three seat and my table had some experienced players sitting here which meant I needed to be careful when I choose to play a hand.  I have been changing my starting hands and using a lot of position to play.  I am trying to get myself ready for the Wildhorse Summer Event in Pendleton.  I am really looking forward to playing on the 16th of this month.

 

My tournament went very well and I was able to make it to the final table.  I was also getting cards that I was able to play and pick up some chips.  One hand I am still trying to figure out is the AA's and if it would have been better to slow play them.  I ended up three betting and got no callers.  Getting AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010's are hard enough and watching the table in how they play I just don't want to lose with them. 

 

I ended up going out in 5th place and again I was able to cash.  It wasn't much but I do consider it a success and especially leading up to next week when it will be important to put in a good showing at what I can do.  My goal is to go deep and cash and if I have the opportunity then go for the final table and do well.  Wouldn't it be nice to cash big at the final table.  I need to put these goals into practice and believe them.

 

Have a fun day........

Omaha Tournament

I was looking at the Casino sites and noticed that Legends Casino has a Omaha Hi/Lo tournament and I figured this would be a great way to learn the game as well as keep going with the tournaments.

 

I drove the thirty minutes to get to the casino and signed up for the tournament.  I was really early so I went to have brunch.  The buffet was not open yet so I had the hamburger.

 

The tournament started at 11:30 and we had two tables.  The structure was $5 + $5 and then you could re-buy at any time during the first four rounds for $5 for 1,000 more in chips.  At the end of the fourth round we had the opportunity to re-buy one last time and could add up to 4,000 chips to your stack for $15. 

 

I played my usual conservative and was able to get to the end of the fourth round with about 3,000 chips and then I paid the extra $15 to add 4,000 more.  I was able to make it to the final table with my style of play and made it to 5th place for a small cash.  My first tournament at Omaha Hi/Lo and it was a success.  Will definitely be doing this again.

 

I will be going over hands that I am looking for and wanting to play.  I did well in reading the cards and figuring out whether to play or not.  I enjoyed my day.

 

On the way home I was driving on the highway and looked into my rear view mirror to see a truck coming down the highway in the inside lane with a great amount of speed.  I was doing 70mph and he must have been doing 80 - 85mph.  He was by me and really moving.  I thought where is state patrol when you need them.  About 4 miles up the road there was a state patrol sitting on the side of the road.  He didn't have the truck stopped.  How could he miss him.  I noticed further down the road the same truck going over the overpass of the highway one exit before the weigh station.  This was a danger to all vehicles, truck or cars, on the road. 

 

Have a fun day.....

Nothing Changes

I am going to stay with this tournament on a weekly basis to see if I can get myself to the winners circle.  This is the only tournament I am playing right now.  The tournament is on Friday and has 20 minute rounds with 10,000 chips to start and is $40 for the buy in.  The tournament has about 30 players that turn out for the game. 

 

This week I ended up in 17th place and I was proud of being able to stay in the tournament that long.  We were in the 25/50 blinds and I was in the BB with K8.  The players just called the big blind and I checked the option.  This hand is not what I would usually look for but they gave me a free flop.  The flop comes 8x8.  I looked at that and figured great I can go ahead and bet this flop and try to take down the pot.  I got one caller.  The turn did not help me and I figured I was still good with the trips.  I bet and was called by one person.  I figured he might have the other 8 and would bet and he called.  The river was a 9 and I checked to the other person to see what he would do.  He bet and I called and he turned over 99 for the full house and my trips were no good.  What a river card.  I ended up losing almost half my stack with that and now I am going to have to play defensive.

 

It seems that the players in this tournament like to see the river for the showdown with very little.  It opens up losing on the river and I seen that a number of times during this tournament.  People not having anything but big cards and staying in to catch something on the river.  I ended up throwing my JJ's away this week when someone bet big on an over card on the flop.  With that one I bet 4 to 5x pre-flop and still get callers. I guess I should be thankful they call because the percentages are with me in the long run.  Doesn't help me now but someday it will pay off.

 

I managed to stay at 5,000 chips throughout the tournament and never was able to get the stack to go higher than that.  I got through the 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 200,400 and was taken out in the 300/600 round.  My all in was with AJ and the BB showed QQ and that was it for me when an A did not come on the board.  Overall I was pretty pleased and will wait till next week to try again.

 

Have a fun day.....

 



Friday the 13th Poker Tournament

I decided to play on Friday the 13th.  The tournament was at Jokers Casino and the buy in was $40 with the 10,000 chips and 20 minute rounds.  This tournament is another one of the good ones to play here in town.  At this time I have decided to stick with tournaments and just enjoy the time playing and see if I can win one of these bigger ones.

 

Instead of writing down every hand that I played I decided to write down the end of the round totals of where I was at.  This would tell me if I was growing the chips and where it was happening.  The total amount of BB's would change with each one so it is important to find out where I need to play more to get the chips in my stack. 

 

The start of the tournament I was at 10,000 chips and at the end of the first round I had 10,150.  I felt I was playing well and at this level of 25/50 and I felt fine with where I was at.  When the 50/100 level was done my chip count was at 11,300.  This was even better and I was playing some good cards and staying away from anything that would make me make a hard decision for my chips.  One of the hands played was KK's, where the flop came xAx.  The other player bet on this flop and I went ahead and folded my K's face up.  I found out later he could of had QQ's and wanted to try and protect them.  My thinking now is that maybe he had the Q's and if he actually had the A then he would have checked to me to let me put more money in the pot?  Maybe he felt I wouldn't represent the Ace.  A couple of hands later I got QQ's and when the flop came xKx, I went ahead and bet and the other player folded. 

 

At the end of 100/200 I had 10,500 in chips and was not going anywhere.  The cards I was getting were poor and it was hard to do anything.  I figured I was still above starting stack and at some point the cards will shift.

 

I was able to maintain my chip stack and at the end of 200/400 I had 10,500 in chips.  I was able to stay above the starting amount but now the BB's are going to deplete my stack and I need to find some way of increasing my stack.

 

The end of 300/600 I was at 8,700 in chips and now find myself in trouble.  I need to find some cards and real soon.  The end of 400/800 I was at 6,000 in chips and was looking for something that I could go all in with.  It was now 500/1000 and I went all in with the QJ and lost 5,500 in chips.  Since all I had was a 500 chip I was all in and I actually won and was up to 1,500.  The very next hand I came up with QJ again and went all in.  I got a straight by the river but was beat by a flush.  I would have been up to 6,000 in chips if that would have come through.

 

Overall not a bad tournament and I can learn something from this.  I almost made the final table.  I am watching the WSOP and I think it helps me to see position play and bet sizing.  I will incorporate more of that on next tournament.

 

Have a fun day.....   

Deep Stack Tournament

I decided to play in the Deep Stack Tournament at Lucky Bridge Casino.  This is a $65 buy in with 20,000 in chips and 20 minute rounds.  This tournament has the ability to last until early morning.  It starts at 6PM. 

 

We had 53 people start the tournament.  I was in the seven seat and I got very unlucky by having a very good player to my left.  This person was eighth place in the Wildhorse Spring Main Event just a couple of months ago.  This was not going to be good for me.  I was going to have to play very tight and wait for the good hands to see how this would play out.  He proved me right as he was playing loose aggressive and was raising pots and people were giving him respect and laying down the hands.  I stayed away from this until I got a hand I could play.

 

My first hand that I played was JJ's.  I bet the hand and he called me.  The flop was xQx and I made a continuation bet and he called me again.  I figured he would have raised with a Q to get me off of the hand.  The Turn and the River were not higher than the Q so I was able to win the pot.  He stated he should have bet the Flop to represent the Q.  I still think I would have stayed in with him.  I couldn't just give up and let him have all hands plus this allowed him to see that I was playing only the good hands.

 

The next hand I played was 77's and I did not get a set on the Flop and someone bet so I let it go.  The next hand I played being in the blinds was a 56 and this was not a raised pot.  I saw the Flop 875.  The hand was checked around to allow me to see another card and the Turn was a 9.  There were two of us in the hand and I bet and was called.  The River was a 4 and we raised and bet again and I turned over my 56 and the other person turned over 46 and we chopped the pot.

 

At our first break I was at 24,725 in chips and felt good about what I was able to do.  I had now made it through the 150/300/25 blinds and moving into the next session.  The blinds were moving up so I had to be concerned a little about that.  We were at 200/400/50  Since I had not played a hand the chip stack was now below or right at 20,000 in chips. 

 

I was middle position and received AK and one player raised it to 1700 chips.  I re-raised to 3400 and he called.  The Flop came xK7.  Player bet and I raised All in and he called.  The cards were turned over and I had the one pair and he turned over 77's for a set.  I did not get any help and would have had to of had the AK come on the turn and river to just have a chance.  My night was over and I headed home. 

 

Thinking back on the experience I should have thought more about why he was betting and not so much that I caught a K on the flop.  My first thought was that he had a K as well and since I had the better kicker I could have been good.  Going all in was probably questionable as well and should have maybe played small and not lost so much.  He wasn't going anywhere and I should have gone the next level in thinking about what was he playing and what was I losing to. 

 

Isn't hindsight good.

 

Have a fun day.....

Tournament Time

Now I just need to figure out which tournament I want to play in.  I would like to play daily but that is unreasonable for two reasons.  Time and money are issues that I will need to deal with playing in tournaments.  Sometimes it takes more than two hours to finish and with me taking care of my Dad and other responsibilities it just won't happen.

 

I chose to sit down in a $30 buy in with 4,000 in chips to start.  We have 20 players for this one and I wanted to get this going right.  I am playing tight when I get JJ and in the previous hand the guy to my left played them strong and won the pot.  I decided I would 3x the pot and he called me.  The flop produced a Q and two cards lower than a J.  I decided to bet and he called.  Turn I bet he called.  River he bet I called to see him with the Q.  Half of my stack now gone.  Ok, I will get tight again and just grind this out. 

 

I get moved to a new table and I didn't last long with the blinds going up and everything I was looking at just wasn't going anywhere.  I go all in with A9 and was called with A10. 

 

Not sure which tournament I will play next week.  I want to play a deep stack type of tournament with longer rounds. The casino has a 10,000 chip tournament so may try to enter that one.

 

I have been watching the WSOP live stream and during this time of the year will watch a lot of them trying to learn from the announcers.  Of course, trying to transfer this knowledge to my play in the local casinos just doesn't work.  I went to the WSOP Academy back in 2010 and when I tried to do some of that stuff at the local casino it didn't work out.  It got frustrating and I just went back to playing and learning how the people play around here.  That is why I like going to Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton when they have the Poker Roundup.  Different type of play for sure.

 

Have a fun day.....

Time to Start Over

I love playing the game.  It is the competition that I like.  The opportunity to show that you are good at what you can do and you can play the game.  I have never been able to do well in team sports and was always picked last for the team.  My drive is to show that I can play and do well on my own.

 

Now it is time to start over and build again.  All within one week I deviated from my plan and played an Omaha Hi/Lo Kill game that should have been a $3-$6 game and ended up being a $6-$12 game.  Way to high for a game I was trying to learn.   I should not have been in with such a bankroll.  Especially just learning.  Then I got into a $2-$10 spread game that was shorthanded and too low for my bankroll.  Everyone was calling down to the end and I did terrible.  Could not get anyone out of the hands I wanted to win.  Then I jumped over to the $2-$20 and ended up playing too many hands trying to win and depleted the bankroll.  I have been here before and will do it again.

 

I am going to put my efforts into the Tournaments.  That is the game I really love and I can do well.  I just need to focus and get the job done.  Money, will have to be something that I will need to find a way to build so I can play on a weekly basis.  There is a $65 tournament that would be good to play and the casino gets up to 70 people playing this tournament.  Nice payout.  I have gotten second place in this tournament once and I can do this again.

 

Have a good day...... 

Starting Over

I tried to do something that was going to take time and money to complete.  That was to learn the live game and try it at the highest level I could.  I had a real good run for a week in the new casino I was playing at but the next week I branched out to an Omaha and $2-$10 game and it didn't work. 

 

I sat down to play in the $2-$20 game and every hand I played was second best.  I tried to bet people off of hands but there was a very loose and aggressive guy that just wouldn't give up.  He was on my right and every time I thought I had the better hand he was right there.  Not much I could do but watch my chip stack dwindle until I was off the table.  For me that was all I am going to put into the live game and will now go back to playing in the tournaments. 

 

For me tournaments have been up and down and I know you can not win them all.  At least it is a set amount of money I can lose and I can go back to enjoying the game.  We will see if I can get going again and somehow build this bankroll back up. 

 

Just a little bit discouraged but in this case but I just have to start over and keep studying and working at the prize in front of me.

 

Have a fun day....  

Back to Spread Limit Table

Finally after the weekend is over I am getting back to the game I should have stayed at the last week.  I really put the Bankroll at risk by doing what I did.  Should have stayed away from the $2-$10 and especially the Omaha Game.

 

I called in ahead to Crazy Moose Casino and got my name on the list as I was ready to leave the house and start playing.  When I arrived the game was already going and had started early.  This looked like it could be quite a wait to get into the game.  I sat down in the area outside of the poker room and will wait to see how long this will take.

 

About five minutes into the wait someone got up and I was put into the game.  I put my $100 on the table and within about 15 minutes I was up about $35 and felt like I was at home playing.  It didn't last long when I decided to play a couple of hands that I should not have bet on the river.  I was ahead and then let the river beat me and that took some chips away from me.  Now I start playing tighter to see if I could get back to my starting stack at least. 

 

I did make it back to the $80 level and then started dropping off again until I ran it down to $50.  I decided at that time, since it had been 2 1/2 hours of play, that it was time to leave.  Down $50 is better than $0.  I will live to fight another day.

 

My downfall with this game today is the decisions I made early to go ahead and pay off the player to see the better cards.  I knew it and should have just let the cards go.  

 

One time I was so gun shy of the better cards I had 1010 and the board came Jxx, Turn was J and river was x.  The other person was first to act and bet $15 and I folded.  He turned over 66.  There was a good $50 in the pot that would have been nice to get my hands on.  At that point I was not willing to take the chance I was wrong.  Knowing that you have the better hand or thinking you have the better hand is so different.  My gut was telling me to call but I couldn't pull the trigger.

 

Hopefully the next time I play it will be different.

 

Have a fun day......

Hourly play is now 27 hours at $3.71  

Friday Play Omaha Hi/Lo

I received a text from Jokers Casino asking me if I wanted a seat in the $3-$6 Omaha Hi/Lo Kill game for tonight.  Since I have been boycotting the Casino due to one of the dealers I sent back a text asking if that dealer was going to be dealing this evening.  The answer I got was "No" he would not be dealing.  I accepted the invitation and I headed to the casino when the game was getting ready to start.

 

Omaha Hi/Lo is a game that I have been studying and learning how to play.  I have given more money to the table by doing this and I half expected the same to happen tonight.  I haven't played in a while since this casino is the only one around here that plays this game.

 

I start with $100 on the table and in the first hour the decisions I make are not good.  I think I have the low and then I don't.  I then start looking at the high and then I am second best. I did win some pots but nothing spectacular.  I ended up at one point putting another $100 on the table and figured I need to learn this game and watch more and not play.  Play only when I feel I have the nuts. 

 

My second $100 was dwindling and then I caught two hands real close together.  I got the nut low and then I got the nut high.  This pushed me back over the $100 mark and I had been playing now for 2 hours.  My plan was the two hour mark and then get up and go.  The other part I did not do what I was supposed to do by putting another $100 on the table but I did walk out with that one in hand when I cashed out.  So, tonight cost me the original $100 and I did play the allotted time.

 

What did surprise me was the fact that Joker's tricked me back into their casino by telling me the dealer would not be dealing tonight.  The two that were to start did start but after an hour the dealer I did not want to deal started to deal and that affected my play a little bit since I am sitting in seat one.  If I had known they were going to do this I would never have played in this casino.  I definitely now will not be going back if I am asked again.  I will go back to Crazy Moose and play the $2-$20 game this next week.

I did end up with 5 hours of  live play this week.

 

Have a fun day......

 

Hourly Rate 24 Hours $6.04

Poker Week

This week went pretty fast and I didn't get to play poker like I wanted to.  After my Monday session I was called and told my Dad was sent to the hospital with chest pain.  I spent the next day at the hospital and taking care of things for him that needed to be done.

 

For the next two days I ended up going over to his place and checking up on him to make sure he was fine and also dealing with the issues that need to be taken care of for him.  This meant no poker for the week other than the three hours on Monday in the $2-$10 game.  No chance to redeem myself for the week at Crazy Moose and will have to wait until next week.  Monday is a holiday so may not play then either.  Oh, for the days of online poker.

 

Have a fun day........

Monday Poker Day

Monday morning comes and I am ready to put in another ten hour week of playing live poker.  My goal was no tournaments.  That meant I will need to go to the Casino about an hour later and hopefully I can get into the game if it is not already filled.  Last week when I tried this move I was sitting for over an hour waiting, to get into the game, and to me that is just a waste of time.  Of course the other option is to go ahead and play the $25 tournament and then go directly over to the live table when I bust out. 

 

My decision was to go ahead and play the tournament and then get into the live game.  See, already I have done what I didn't want to do.  All of the casino's around here put the tournament first to get the people in and then will start a live game later.  This is what you get in a small town like this.  Actually not small but not like Seattle or Spokane.  I get to the Crazy Moose Casino and put my name up on the list for the live game and then start the tournament.  Now I have another problem.  The deeper I get into the tournament the less seats available in the live game because as soon as they get seven to start the live game they will start playing.  That means I would have to just dump the tournament and get on the live table.  There were a couple of people that did just that and then I ended up getting to the final table and figured I needed to try and get to the money to cash and then by that time I didn't cash in the tournament the live table was already full and running.  That meant at least an hour wait if not more to get into the game.

 

Decision time was upon me again.  I decided to drive over to the Lucky Bridge Casino and jump into their tournament and then play live at their table.  The tournament started and I made it to the final table again and by this time the live table had started up.  This time I went out in sixth place and did not cash again but was able to jump into the live game.  I forgot that the live game they play was $2-$10 and that is a game that I don't do well in.  Too many people call down to the river to see the cards.  I got caught up in that type of game and after three hours I was down to nothing and decided to head on home. 

 

It just was not a good day for the live game and I gave back all of the money I had earned last week.  That means I get to start all over again.  I find the $2-$20 game is the better game for me I just need to make sure I get into the game.  I just need to have better planning.

 

I arrived home after about eight hours in the casino's and sat down to eat when I get a call from the assisted living home that my Dad is at and they tell me he is headed to the ER due to chest pain that is not being relieved my the nitroglycerin tablets.  He had already take three with no help.  I immediately head off to the ER and we got him into his hospital bed at 1:30AM, so it has been a long day and the next day he is to have tests done.  After all was said and done I got him back to the assisted living place the next afternoon and I was dead tired with only about 4 hours of sleep.  I was ready for bed.  Here it is Wednesday already and I have to get caught up on other home stuff and I will not be playing today.  Day off and hopefully be ready to go tomorrow.

 

Have a fun day......

Hourly Rate 22 hours at $11.13

Sunday Tournament

Every month, a person I used to work with when I worked at the Island Casino, holds a tournament and today was that day.  It is a $30 buy in with 5,000 in chips and has 15 minute rounds.  This is a tournament that I have never done well in and will usually go out early.  I go to have fun and not put a lot of pressure on myself but it is a tournament that I would like to cash in at some point.

 

Today we started with sixteen players and I was seated in the number one seat.  I started out getting some good hands and was able to add to my chip stack early.  Playing the best hands and I would raise pre-flop to try and get the advantage.  It was working out and I was fortunate to get AA's a couple of times and even then I wasn't able to extract a lot out of them they way I played them.  I have learned that when I slow play them it doesn't work out for me.  When two of the same suit flops on the board I go ahead and bet them and just try to take the pot at that point.  Both times the same situation came up that I didn't want someone to go for the flush when I had Aces.

 

It was a good tournament overall for me as I eventually went out in fourth place.  I was the bubble person, and didn't get any of the money, but I consider playing well in this tournament a plus for the day.  The dealers are great and they know we are there to have fun with each other.  We still abide by the tournament rules but we have fun.  Almost like a home game for sure.

 

The new week is starting tomorrow and I will be back at Crazy Moose playing in the live cash games.  No more tournaments are planned this week.  I am going to try to stick with my plan of no tournaments and see if I can get the bankroll to grow. 

 

Have a fun day......   

The Weekend is Here

I have been able to reflect on the week and think about what I was able to accomplish and what I want to be able to do this next week.

 

One of the things I noticed on Thursday when I was playing was the amount of chips available after two hours of live play and I had not been able to play yet.  As my two hours was going on I noticed the people, that had a lot of chips, were getting lower.  What I noticed was the rake and tokes being taken off of the table and if it were not for a couple people reloading, especially the person in the nine seat, the chips we were playing for would have been less.  Something else I noticed that when the chips got less the game seemed to tighten up and it became more important to try and play the good hands and get paid off.

 

I have also received my new book called "Poker's 1%."  So far it is a good read and presents a couple of thoughts that I had not thought about.  I need to try and incorporate some of this in my game.  The book is about the NLHE game and since I play a limit spread I am hoping that since I am playing the $2-$20 game I might be able to use the ideas.  I am constantly reading and try to study the game to see where I can become better.   Always thinking about the game.

 

Back to the weekend and hoping to have a good week ahead.

 

Have a fun day...... 

 

     

Four Day Work Week

I think that sounds about right.  I would like to play poker for four days and then have the weekend off and do something else or just give myself some time to read and catch up on my eBay sales and go from there.

 

I decided not to play the tournament, this morning, and save the $25 and play in the live cash game.  I called ahead and put my name up on the list.  She told me there were two ahead of me and from the past three days it could be a wait.  I arrived at Crazy Moose Casino and decided to have some lunch while I was waiting.  Of course, I could have gotten lunch cheaper if I had waited until I was in the game and ordered then.  Just not sure of how long this was going to take.  It was around noon when I arrived, and I was finally able to get in the game about 1PM. Not too bad.

 

I sat down in the number one seat and put $125 on the table.  Today it was a $2-$20 game and that was better for me.  Since the table had been going almost two hours there was definitely some players that where doing better than others.  I just sat there and took my time to see who was playing more aggressively before I started to jump into pots.  I was not doing well in the pots I was involved with.  I was up about $20 at one point and then started losing chips when the cards just were not going my way. 

 

We got a new person in seat nine and he put $200 on the table.  I was hoping, since I had position on him, that I would be able to pull some of those chips my way.  He started out very aggressive and betting $20 and raising to $40 at will.  I could tell everyone was tired of the aggressiveness and also waiting until they got a good hand to start playing back.  We also had an opportunity a few times to see what he was playing and could tell that he was raising with non premium hands.  The feast was on at that point.  It was something to watch.  He had his stack up around $500 and then he started getting called and raised and he eventually had about $30 in front of him.  His SO came in the room and she was not happy with him and wanted him to leave.  He wouldn't do it and reloaded with another $200. 

 

I ended up staying for two and a half hours this time and was all the way down to $44 left.  This was going to be my first day on the negative side and I knew this day was coming.  I had done my best and it just didn't work out today.  I was getting close to leaving since I was already over my time limit and I got pocket 7's.  This was just another way for me to go out and at least I had a hand to do it with.  The guy in seat two raised, as the UTG, to $24.  He got two or three callers and I decided that since this was going to be my last hand I was going out big time.  I raised it to $44, which put me all in and seat two raised it to $64.  He got the two or three callers and I had a nice pot if my 7's were to hold up till the end.  The flop came out 7x3.  Wow, I got my set and now need to make sure the flush did not come in.  The betting continued for the side pot and the turn produced x that didn't make a flush.  More betting done and this was a huge pot for someone.  The river was another 3 and I had made the full house.  At this point I wished I had more money to throw into the pot.  More betting and we all turned over our hands and my Full House stood up and I ended up with about $170 in the main pot and the side pot went to seat number two.

 

I stayed around for awhile longer and eventually pulled my chips off of the table and cashed in with $155 for the day.  Another day being positive when I was expecting to walk away with nothing.

 

Just to finish up the story on seat number nine.  He did run it back up to around $300 and then when I left he had around $100 in front of him.  It was interesting to see him go from the $20 bets  and raising to just raising $5.  It was a change in him and everyone was then calling the $5 and playing hands with him.  As for me I headed home and will regroup for next week.

 

Have a fun day.....

Hourly Rate 19 Hours at $19.21

 

  

The Big Game

I ended up playing in the tournament again and this time I ended up placing 6th.  I am getting close to the money.  It is such a money sucker and I should stay away from them.  So far this week I have put $75 into playing them with no return.  I could have used it for more chips on the live table.  Why do I do this to myself?

 

By the time I was done with the tournament the live game was already in full swing and they were playing $2-$20 with $2-$40 buttons.  I was the only hold out at the table trying to hang onto my $2-$20 game.  Now, this is an experience for me.  I am definitely trying to control the pots when I am involved and not wanting to raise because they would end up raising me to the higher amount.  I would check and when they would raise to $20 I would call the raise just to close off the bets.  I was also not getting very many hands to play.  I had to be careful because when I wasn't in the pot the game was a $2-$40 game.  One person reloaded and this was $600 for him.  My bankroll right now couldn't handle this.

 

I must say I am not playing with scared money.  This is my bankroll and if I lost it all then I would have to try and find a way to work this up again.  I would rather take my time and learn while the bankroll continues to go through the variance of the ups and downs.  I am not going to put my bankroll on the table just to try and get it to grow faster as I consider this to be gambling and I don't want to do that.  I have to be reasonable in my play.

 

I ended up playing three hands throughout my two hours today.  I did a lot of sitting and watching others play at this higher level.  There wasn't much of a difference except the size of the bets.  Same cards, same results just bigger pots.  Someday I want to jump in with them and play the big pots.

 

I played KK, AA and AQ and won each of the pots.  The other hands I started out with didn't flop well and I would fold.  It was a good day for me as I was able to make enough with these hands that I ended up with $80 in profit for the day.  Tomorrow is another day and I will be back playing and hopefully it will be the $2-$20 game.

 

Have a fun day.....

Hourly Rate 17 Hours at $19.73.



What Day is Today?

It has become a common phrase now since the camel started roaming the television commercial.  I started replacing it with "it is KFC Chicken Pot Pie Day."  At least it works for me.

 

I know that I don't want to play in any tournaments and would rather play in the live cash games and it is hard when you show up and the tournament game basically has got to be finished before the live game will start.  Thank goodness the game is only $25 and it goes really fast at 10 minute blinds.  Then the live game starts at 11AM and that is fine with me.  I just have to make sure I am there by 10AM to get my name up on the board since the game is usually full.

 

I ended up in the five seat and I put $135 on the table to start.  Most everyone is putting $100 to $150 and so I am right there having enough chips to start.  I was having a rougher time getting myself going as the cards just were not coming my way.  I don't know whether I was getting bored or frustrated and played a couple of hands I shouldn't have and it cost me a little bit.  I thought about my play and just told myself I needed to just take my time and the cards will turn around.

 

My best hand of he day was the AJs and I got two of the suit on the flop and a J.  The guy across from me told everyone he had the best hand and to go away.  He was betting $20 into the pot.  I just couldn't buy it and so I called.  A blank came out and he stated it again and bet and I called.  Since the J was the highest card on the board and having the two suited cards there as well I just couldn't buy into the made hand.  There were a lot of possibilities for him that would be good and I could take that away with a higher pair or make the flush.  The river card is a heart which makes my flush and no full house possibility.  He bets I complete and turn over my flush and he throws his cards in the muck.  That made me happy and I was stacking chips.
 
I try to treat this as a job.  An enjoyable job at that.  I look at this as being on commission and some days you don't bring home a paycheck but if you run it right you can be fine.  

 

Having patience is crucial for me and not playing any cards just to play.  I am seeing different people every day and that makes it harder to get used to a single group of people.  Right now I am staying only two hours and would like to push that to three hours soon.  I like the fact I have put myself on a timeframe or depending on the chip count.  I have never gotten up yet when I scored big before the two hours is up.  I don't like doing that so I would rather stay the whole two hours and get up when it is time.  If I stay on this schedule I will have 10 hours of play for the week and that should be good. 

 

I was watching Live at the Bike last night and they were talking about the hours they put in daily and Nichole is putting in 40 hours and Tuchman puts in about 20 per week.  If I could get my bankroll up to an acceptable amount

 

Have a fun day.......

Hourly Rate:    15 Hours at $17/Hour 

Playing the Moose

I enjoyed the game the other day and decided that I would go back and play again.  I walked into the Crazy Moose Casino and they didn't have a live game going.  My first thought was here I go again.  Not being able to find a game when I want one.  This town is just too small.  I met some friends and they asked me to sign up with the tournament which was only $25 and it was a bounty tournament for the supervisor of the room.  Ok, I decided to play the tournament and then have my name up on the list for the live game.  There were already five names up there and so I figured they would be able to get one going by the time the tournament was over.

 

I got to the final table and went out in 7th place. Not too bad and I played well.  Again money spent where you don't expect much of a return.  After the tournament was over the live game started forming and I sat myself down in the number 9 seat.  This time I put $125 on the table and everyone was about the same.  I played for two hours in this session and there were no big hands to speak of.  I played my usual tight and tried to make some money on the hands I did play.  I ended up with a $15 profit by the time I left after two hours and so it means I booked another W.  I will take that and keeps me playing positive.

 

Before I started this process I wrote down my goals and am trying to keep honoring them when I play.  One of the goals is to only play 2 to 3 hours at a time.  Play the best cards, and I have them listed so I will see what I should be playing.  I am also trying to not only play my cards but take the time to figure out what the other person has.  That would be the level 2 that I am reading about in the book.  I have some other goals that I put in front of me so I won't get too far from what I am trying to accomplish. 

 

Today I am going to head over and play again at Crazy Moose.  Looks like the $2-$20 game will be the one I will be playing.

 

Have a good day.....


14 hours at $14.64

For some reason my last calculations was a bit off. This is better.  At least correct.

The Bigger Game

If I am going to do this then I had better get started.  I drove down to Crazy Moose Casino in Pasco, WA and walked in to play my first $2-$20 Spread Limit game.  The word I have is that the people here are very clickish and will eat and spew the new players out.  They are very aggressive and they tend to work together to get your money.

 

That would just about keep anyone off of the table and I just have to try this out and see this for myself.  There are no other games going on right now at this time of day, 10AM, and I figure just go ahead and jump into the shark tank.

 

I sat down in seat number one and put my $150 in front of me and figured this will be a good learning experience.  Saying to myself I need to play tight and see what the table is like. Right off the bat I notice everyone is nice and enjoying themselves and talking.  It doesn't seem like people wanting to eat your chips up but just wanting to have fun.  The cards start going around the table and the SB and the BB being paid and people are not raising and only putting in a call of the BB to see a flop.  I can do this, sort of like the smaller games where people like to play from the flop and then start building the pot if they have something.

 

This seemed to be the norm and I don't mind playing this way if that is what the table wants to do.  I of course am very selective when I play a hand and not just put the $2 in to see a flop.  About ten minutes go by and a woman walks in and wants to sit in the number two seat next to me.  At this point it makes a full table of nine players.  I notice right off she seems to be aggressive and wants to push the bets and raises.  Now the game really gets going.  One person starting to raise the bets and trying to take the pots.

 

My one hand with her was where I got 66 and I called the BB and wanted to see the flop.  Two seat raised it up and I decided I really wanted to see this flop so I called.  On the flop came a 6 and it had two clubs.  Usually in this spot I will raise to get the person to fold if they wanted to go for the flush draw.  In this case she raised.  I called.  The turn was a blank and I bet she raised and I called.  The River came with a club and I checked she bet the rest of her chips $18 and I called knowing that a flush possibility was there and my gut saying she did not have it.  I turned over my cards to show the set and she turned over JJ.  My chip stack just grew by about $100 and I was happy not to see the flush.  The player got mad and walked away from the table.

 

I played for almost two hours before I left for the day.  It was nice to have a good day on the very first time playing there at $2-$20.  I will definitely be back this next week and will start playing this game and try to build up my bankroll.  I know they are not all going to be like that but at least I started out good.

 

Of course I always keep records of my hours and where I am at in hourly rate. 

 

12 hours with a $24 rate.  This will more than likely go down the more hours I put in with the variance.  Just fun to watch.

 

Have a fun day......

 



Poker Study Time

Now that I have the time again I have been getting back to my study of poker.  I have played this game for years now and I feel each year I learn something, and I am hoping, to be getting better at this game.  One way I have to do this is to treat the game as a way to make some money and be able to eventually be able to take some off to help pay for living expenses.  How do I do that?

 

At first it was the home games with friends and when they eventually quit playing I found the internet and started playing online.  Of course, we know what happened there and that pushed me out of my comfort zone and into the Casinos.  I would always play tournaments and that is a recreational game for me so building a bankroll was not on my mind.  I wanted the win, and the money, to allow me to continue playing in these tournaments. 

 

At some point I was watching the tournaments on television and was buying DVD's of live cash games and started thinking about the possibility of playing the cash games and trying to get out of the tournaments.  Over the years that has not happened.  I enjoy the tournaments and the competition of them.  Being able to get to the final table and then make it to the money.  What a thrill it is.  The first time I made the money in a big tournament at Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton, OR was the Satellite into their main event.  I was able to play against 290 players and make it into the final 28 and we all cashed for $1,000.  That was exciting.

 

Some time passed and I was playing in a Deep Stack Tournament at Islands Casino in Kennewick, WA and placed second for a $460 payday.  But this money doesn't last long when playing tournaments when you put it back in to the game.  That is also the time I wanted to branch out and play live. 

 

I started with the $1-$6 Limit Spread game.  It gave me a taste of playing for cash and being able to see hands and play the best ones.  I look back now and it was a real learning curve and still is that way.  I saw why they called it No Fold'em Hold'em.  All of the so called bad beats but if your going to play that low you have to expect it.

 

I went from the $1-$6 to $2-$4 and then started playing the $2-$6.  I enjoyed the $3-$6 game but that is not available in our town.  Everyone wants to play the spread games.  This meant I had to learn.  The books became my way to learn as well.  I have a full library on all types of play, tells and autobiographies.  Of course only part of them are on Limit play.  But I still put in the time reading and writing notes.

 

I have now moved to the $2-$10 and starting to play the $2-$20 game.  This does not happen over night since you have people that will test you during the game to see what you are made of.  Can you survive the heat and make the proper decisions.

 

Another area that I use for study is the internet.  I watch streaming live games.  I listen to the announcers about how the players should have played the hand and what you should do as a player.  It is all a learning experience.  Every once in a while an announcer will say something that will stick in your head.  Yesterday, as I was listening and watching Pokernetcast, JCW was talking about his growth in the game and said that when he started he thought of what his hand was and how to play it.  Next level of play he had to learn what is the other players hand and then on level three you had to start thinking of what does the other player think I have in my hand.  Something to think about as I persue my dream of playing poker and eventually playing in the WSOP.

 

Have a nice day.....   

Sunday TOC

I played in the Sunday Tournament of Champions here at Lucky Bridge Casino.  Those that have won or chopped and won the next hand played were eligible to play.  The tournament started with about 40 people and the extra added money was nice.  It was at $2,114 for this tournament.  Well worth getting the seat and the opportunity to get into the money.

 

With the blinds running at 15 minutes and the starting chips at 5,000 it was like their daily tournaments and I needed to try to get to the final table.  My chip count was mostly average all day and never got to high or too low for the blinds.  At the start of the tournament I was not getting cards and that didn't bother me as I usually play when the blinds get up to the 100/200 area.  Unless I have something really good and I will take the small pots early as well.  My best cards were AA and I didn't get much for them as no one wanted to play when I raised the pot. 

 

Overall it was a great tournament and I went out in 12th place.  My A6s ran into AQo and I did get a 6 on the flop but the Q came on the river.  The blinds were 500/1000 and I had about 4,000 in chips left.  Needed something with the blinds going up to 1000/2000 in a couple of hands and I was due to be the BB in the next couple of hands as well.

 

I am thinking about playing in a $2-$20 game in town.  Slightly over my bankroll management but it is hard to find a game that is lower.  I consider it going into the shark tank but I will at least know what my skill level is when I get done. 

 

Have a good day.....  

Could I do it again?

The day I picked to go play another tournament was Wednesday.  Could I keep this streak going and cash in the tournament again?  I know at some point I will get taken out and not cash.

 

Today we started with two tables.  My table was going to be rather hard in that the people sitting at this table I have played with before at another casino and we have history.  I was the dealer at that casino and whenever I played they enjoyed taking out the dealers whenever the opportunity comes up.  One person in particular was at my table and I have never taken him out he has always gotten the better of me with whatever hand he is playing.  My strategy today was to stay away from him and try to just play my game and get to the final table and see what happens then.

 

I was very happy when the villain decided to go all in with another caller and with three of them in the hand he did lose and he was out of the tournament.  At least I didn't have to face him at some point for my tournament life.

 

I made it to the final table again, that should be a streak as well, and now I just needed to get past the few guys left that I have history with.  I just played my game and was able to get a few chips to keep me going.  There were ten that started the table and now we are down to eight.  The blinds are at 1k/2k and everyone is going to start feeling the pinch of the blinds going up in just a few more minutes.  I have about 12,000 in chips and really need to get some chips to last until the end.  The blinds are about to move up to 2k/4k and it was time to make my move.  The players are going all in and taking the blinds money at this point.  What a crap shoot it becomes at this time.  No skill just luck that your cards are going to be good.

 

I get A10 and decide this is good enough to go all in UTG and see if I could get some chips to last another round and try to get another good hand.  I was called by the BB with K9.  He says to the person next to him "I need to get rid of him".  Ok, lets see the flop.  The flop brings a 9 and my tournament was done.  As I was getting up the dealer said "a K9"?  Ok, my streak was done, no money on this one. 

 

There was no one sitting at the live table so I decided to head on home today.  I am happy with my play and my strategy to play this game.  I will keep learning and putting in the time.

 

Have a good day....

Putting in the Time

I decided on Monday to go ahead and play in the $30 Tournament.  I like the setup at 4,000 in chips and 15 minute rounds.  It does allow you to wait a little bit and play the best hands.  The group here in this casino also play well and don't go crazy by going all in and will play hands that are worth playing.

 

We had three tables of players and I was able to get myself to the final table and then started getting either good cards or making some plays that allowed me to keep chipping up.  When we made it to three handed play one of the players proposed a chop and it was accepted by all of us.

 

This made my second cash in a row and this really helped the bankroll.  My portion was $195 and I was really happy with that.

 

I had already put $100 on the table for the $2-$10 game and so I moved over to the table and immediately started getting good hands.  I had to switch my thinking over to live play and not get myself thinking tournament play.  I ended up staying at the table playing for an hour and a half and when I was done I had doubled my money and walked away with $200. 

 

The day was good and the bankroll was now better than when I started.  I  now have the bankroll back to $400.  My goal is to get it back to the $1,000 area.  I will keep playing this tournament and pick up as many $2-$10 games as I can.

 

Have a good day.....