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.....

WPT Championship

The final table of the WPT Championship was being streamed online and I started watching as there were five players left.  Tony Dunst being one of them, and even though I am not a big fan of his, I decided to watch and see how he would do with his short stack.  I like to watch the tournaments, as well as the live play, as it gives me ideas and lets me learn by watching these professional players.

 

I also spent some time as a dealer and I like watching the dealers in how they manage the game.  During one of the hands the dealer brought out the turn card before the players had a chance to complete the betting action.  At that point I knew what needed to be done and it was interesting to see the hand be completed.  Wouldn't you know it the 10 came off early and had to be pulled back and the next card was turned over as the river card and it was a 4.  Now this gave the chip leader a straight and the 10 would have helped the other player toward his straight possibility.  I can only imagine how the dealer felt after this was done.  I have done this as well during my time dealing and when you make a mistake like this you feel terrible but you must carry on and do your best.

 

Now, back to the players.  Tony did a great job getting to third place and increasing the amount he could win by about $200,000 from where he was at when I first started watching the program.  He made a number of All-In moves and by doing that he was taking the decision away from him and forcing the other players to make that big decision for their stack.  Good job Tony and congratulations on the finish for third place. 

 

I decided not to play in the Omaha game today and will play at some point this week at Lucky Bridge Casino.  I still do not want to give up on Omaha Hi/Lo and will put that decision on hold until later.  There is a Casino about 45 minutes from here that plays Omaha and I may try to drive up there and see if I can get into a game.  The casino also has a free shuttle service from here and comes back in the evening.  Another place to play and I won't have to spend the money on gas. 

 

Have a fun day.....        

Lucky Bridge Casino

I have been debating what to do about my play at Jokers.  I have had a dealer that was talking about my play to one of the players at the table during the tournament and I feel that gives the player an advantage by learning about me and my play from the dealer.  I did put in a complaint and it was discussed by the Poker Manager but the next tournament I played he was then nit picking me while I was playing in all things I was doing which is not much when I play.  I hardly move and really don't even talk to anyone while I am in a hand.

 

I like Jokers because of the Omaha game they have but is it worth it to go back?  I decided to look at the other casino and see what they offer in games.  No Omaha but I could go back to playing $2 - $10 and then play some tournaments. 

 

Today I chose to play the Noon Tournament at Lucky Bridge Casino.  I enjoyed the people, they were friendly and I was welcomed.  My first tournament was great and I was chip leader with four of us left and as usual I proposed that we chop it four ways and walk away with $155 for each of us.  It was accepted and so the first tournament was done.  I was also able to win the last hand for the Tournament of Champions seat for May 4 and that will be great with a lot of money in the pot.  Money is taken from each tournament so it should be fun.

 

Now the big question is do I go back to Jokers or stay with Lucky Bridge?  Omaha or $2-$10.  Just not sure about this yet.  I am happy my bankroll took a turn back up again and now at $300.  I know the live game is where I need to be but do I have enough to work this.  Jokers has a $2-$4 game that I might get into but not a big fan of No fold'em hold'em. 

 

Have a good day....

Wildhorse Poker

I wasn't sure what I was going to do over the weekend since it was Easter.  I played in the Friday tournament at Jokers Casino and made it to 8th place in the tournament.  I played well and just ran out of chips to keep the run going. 

 

When Sunday rolled around I decided to make the trip to Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton to play in the last tournament of the series.  This was a Turbo and we started with 5,000 in chips and the rounds were 20 minutes in length.  We started with 102 runners and I was moved four times in the two hours that I played.  At that time I made it to the middle of the tournament and went out around the 50 player area. 

 

Getting a footing in this tournament was hard.  Since I was moved four times I was never able to get a handle on what the table dynamics were like and I was not getting the cards I needed to try and do something.  I played the hands pretty straight up when I go the good hands.  I made a good read with 1010 and was able to keep going at one point.  In the end I pushed with 22 and the other person had 1010 and I was able to get the 2 on the flop but he got a 10 as well.  That ended my tournament.

 

I did play in a satellite before the tournament and went out 6th.  Playing a single table can be good for a quick $100.  Didn't happen. 

 

On my way home I had time to think about my play and what I could have done differently.  I know that I am "average" in my play and feel that there is something I am missing to put me into another level to play these tournaments.  Not sure what it is.  Will try to play in the tournaments at Lucky Bridge since most of them play in the Pendleton events and maybe I could spend some time watching their play.

 

Have a good day....

Weekend

It was a very nice weekend and I actually got to sit down Friday evening and play some Omaha H/L.  I like to sit in the 9 seat or the 1 seat so I can see the cards clearly.  I was able to stay concentrated and made some good decisions this time and after the two hours was completed walked away with the $65.  I am feeling better about the hands that I am playing and not playing as well.  Trying not to get myself into trouble by overthinking the cards and what is good or bad to play.  I have been studying the book and writing down what I need to do to learn to play correctly.

 

Sunday was a different story.  The Pendleton Roundup Spring Poker Tournaments are going now for the next week and there are not very many players around here since it is only an hour drive to the Wildhorse Casino.  I would have liked to play this year in the first event since it is only $100 but I had a doctors appointment that kept me from that.  Now they are all $200 to $300 the rest of the week and I don't want to put that much into a tournament yet.  I would enjoy going down to play some live games but will just wait for everyone to get back into town next week.

 

The Sunday Omaha game didn't happen because of that and so I went over to the Lucky Bridge Casino and waited for the monthly tournament I play in and that started at 2pm.  I was playing well and ended up going out in 10th place.  This is the highest I was able to place in this tournament and will work on that for next month.

 

Not sure what the plan is for the week.  Jokers Casino does have a Omaha game for tonight but will there be anyone here to play in the event.  After that the next one will be on Friday.  Bankroll took another hit and will have to find a way to increase it to keep playing.  Tournaments are hard to stay away from but do not help the bankroll.

Bankroll $395

Have a nice day...... 

 

 



April starts a new Day

After spending the last year and a half in school studying Computer Science I am now done.  The books have all been read and the tests are all done.  Now it is time to continue on with something new or something old.

 

I am working with Work Source to see if I can find a job and will be attending classes on interviewing, resume writing and all of that stuff.  I have an appointment this next week to do a practice interview with the person who is working with me and her name is LO.  She has been very nice in getting me this far and now we will see what happens these next few weeks.

 

The first of the year I decided to try something on my own and started selling on E-bay.  I have been reading about a traveler that sells bike parts on (Our Newell Adventure).  I decided to give it a try myself since I am a baseball and football sports card fan.  So, I purchased the new boxes and pulled out the new cards and have been selling them on E-bay.  My first month in March turned out to be a big month for me at $246 and now mid way through April I am at $46.  I will keep working the sales and maybe that will be what I do here in retirement.  Of course I just couldn't rely on that alone.

Since I am done with school I am now able to play poker again.  I really enjoy the game and have always considered it an income source.  I try to play the game that way as well.  I missed playing the game through the year but now I am back and I am learning something new.  I was able to build my bankroll back up to $1,100, which is not great by any means, but I am hoping this will give me a start.  I read the blog Low Stakes Poker by a person named TBC.  He has been working a very low bankroll in and around Las Vegas.  I am hoping that I can increase my Bankroll by playing correctly and if he can do this so can I. 

My game has changed a little bit and I am trying not to play the tournaments, and stay with the cash games.  I started out playing in the $2 - $10 Limit game and I have now made the decision to switch over to Omaha Hi/Lo.  I am having fun again and I am on a very steep learning curve for the game.  When I tried Omaha a couple of years ago I played three times and ended up losing all of my buy ins in a very short time.  The other day I bought in with my $100 and in the hour and half I played I was up to $160 before I made a bad decision and ended up taking home my $100 I started with .  I did consider it a good learning experience.  The next trip to the table I sat down with my $100 and this time after two hours of play I walked away with an increase in my bankroll to $60.  I also had some early hits to the bankroll and am now at $445.  I will have to be very careful and increase this bankroll back to the original $1100.  I ended up spending money on a new Computer and Yard maintenance. That was success for me and I will continue to study and play this game.

Between playing Poker and selling on E-bay I hope to start something new and not have to worry about finding that job unless it can be something fun to do during the day.  I was a poker dealer for a year and had a blast doing that.  Would I do it again if I could find one, sure if it was in a nice small place that I would feel comfortable with all of the other employees.

We had to purchase another computer since the old one gave out and so I am trying to get this one up to speed with all the stuff we had on the other one.  It was nice having the external drive to put our files into.  Getting the Microsoft Office products again was a little bit of a hassle but we made it alright.

Have a good day.