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....