The Rut

I still haven't logged on to Full Tilt, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about poker.  Mainly, I have been thinking about what I can do at home that will be the best use of my "education time".  Since play-money action is a bit in my doghouse, I have decided I need to do more along the lines of reading and watching training videos.

Yesterday I stumbled across a good article, a lengthy interview with the recently-passed Bobby "The Wizard" Hoff, one of the Texas Road Gamblers in the same vein as Brunson, Moss, Roberts, et al.  While I orignally started reading for the entertainment value and history lesson, I found that the interview delved pretty deep into strategy as well.  After reading, I bookmarked the page, because I think a re-read focusing on those strategy pieces will be beneficial down the road.

There was also a live tournament going on yesterday, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open main event.  There was a live stream so I tuned in, but didn't last long.  In summary, it was a snore fest (no commentary) and I didn't feel as though I was gaining anything by watching.

Up next - SFPT August Part 2 (make up tournament from February) is coming up this Friday.  In the meantime, I hope to at least do a little bit of reading, and maybe play a little on Friday afternoon just to get back into the swing.

Back Home, and Bored With It

Ever since the trip to The Stone and the SFPT event that followed, I haven't played a single hand of online poker, or even logged on to FTP.  I know that will change, probably soon, but I just haven't had the desire lately.  Mostly, that's because I feel like play money is (here comes the familiar refrain) not helping me get any better.

So, what to do instead, when I am home, when there are no SFPT events going on and I want to take steps to improve my game?  Reading and videos.  Yesterday, I watched one of Jason Somerville's "Run it Up" series videos, which was not terribly informative but still gave me some exposure to the game and how a pro plays.  I also read a couple articles on Mike Caro's site; one about choosing your seat and which kind of players you want to your right and left was particularly informative.

I also started (and completed, only hours later), some poker fiction by Vince Van patten and Robert J. Randisi called "The Picasso Flop".  Entertaining, and though it was described as being a part of the "Texas Hold Em Series", I haven't found any other books in that series.  Maybe it didn't take off, and was one-and-done?  That'd be a shame, but not a surprise.  The book was a quick, fun read, and made me appreciate my "Vegas Free Write" story all the more.  This sounds cocky, but I don't really think my writing is much worse than what I just read.

While searching for other books in the series, I came across another series by the co-author; mysteries based in Vegas in the 40's with the Rat Pack and other luminaries from the day as recurring characters.  Yes!  And Damn You Amazon, for giving me a ton of other books to read.

Back to the Home Game

Fresh off my fairly decent performance at The Stone (psychologically if not monetarily), I was looking forward to getting back on the SFPT felt to see if I could turn my confidence into actual results.  All in all, it wasn’t a bad performance – I finished second, and the final hand result was one I could only laugh at – I played it right, but the poker gods had other ideas.

Short stacked but not drastically (a double up would have given me the lead), I peeked at my cards in the small blind and saw Kc/Qc – a no-brainer all-in.  Corrye snap-called and flipped Kh/8h.  When the flop was a rainbow with no help to either of us, I was feeling pretty good.  The turn was likewise a dud, and Corrye was down to three outs. 

“Only an eight can save you,” I observed, as Kim flipped the river – eight of diamonds.

I put my head down on the rail in not-quite-mock disgust as Kim, Tina, and Corrye all said “wow” at about the same time.  But, I wasn’t mad, which told me I played the hand correctly.  I’ve mentioned many times in the past about how I can physically tell when I have made a bad play, and it was just the opposite in this case.  The fact that I was laughing at my fate and not cursing it told me I had done the right thing.

The poker gods gave me one last slap in the face when I scratched my six $2 tickets for a grand total of zero dollars.  So, it was a complete dud of a night for Bracelet Hunting purposes.

On that note, I have decided that I am going to have to come up with some other way to supplement that envelope, because going solely on gambling winnings has to this point resulted in exactly no contributions.  More to come on that topic as I think of it.  If current plans hold, I’m sure I would have enough money from “regular” sources (i.e., paychecks), but I would like to mitigate that beforehand as much as possible.

Playing: 3.5 hours home game

Reading: none

Watching: none

10k Update: 3.5 hours home tournament, 122.75 home game hours, 229.50 total hours

Next up: there will be another SFPT tournament in a couple of weeks, but I probably won’t play much online between now and then as I am on vacation this week.  I’m not currently reading a book so it might be a good opportunity to dive back into Super/System or one of my other poker books.

GES Day 32: Staying the Course

I'm still riding a bit high off the TS trip, which is great.  Aside from the obvious (the confidence itself), I am happy that I have reached a point where I can be happy with a result where I don't actually make money.  Mel Levinson likes to talk about "baseball mentality", the ability to accept that not everything is in your control, and that you won't be statistically successful every time, even though you can make the "right" statistical decision.  We've also talked about the vast similarities between baseball and poker; this is one of the greatest.  In poker, there's even a word for it: variance.

So, I'm happy that I have come to accept variance, emotionally, as part of the game, and be pleased with making the right decisions, even if they don't achieve the desired results.  That, along with the steps I was able to take while at the tables as described in my last post, has led me to my current mindset - believing I am making progress, and that fact giving me hope for my long-term prospects within the game.

Next up:  SFPT August, tomorrow night.  If I can play as well as I did on Sunday, I will be in good shape.  My #1 goal is to not necessarily make decisions based on the Points Championship standings - my goal should be to play to win the tournament, and let the Points issue take care of itself.  But, I would be remiss if I didn't let the standings come into play at least a little bit.  For example, if people ahead of me in the standings are already eliminated, I should be able to take more liberties, knowing I will gain ground.

An update on GES:

Playing: none
Reading: last night, I finished the August issue of Bluff, and as always found it to be informative and entertaining.  One article in particular, by Alex Fitzgerald of Pocket Fives, seems like it will be helpful to me in the future, and I am going to take some notes on it later today.
Watching: technically, none, but the live stream of Poker Night in America's inaugural cash game live from Turning Stone starts in about an hour, and I plan on at least keeping one eye on that while I work.  Lots of big names involved - Matasow, Laak, Mueller, David Williams, Darvin Moon, Kristy Arnett, and many more.  It's weird to think of them all being at Turning Stone.

Another update to come after the SFPT tournament this weekend.

The August Trip to The Stone

I needn't have feared - cash game seats were readily available, and while the tournament schedule was a bit off, we still got into a Sunday night bounty tournament for a total of $50 including coupon.  All told, we played two separate cash sessions and the one tournament.  Recaps:

Cash session 1:
Off to a good start - Tina and I not only got seats at the same table, but right next to each other, her on my right.  It was a full table almost all night except for one brief moment when we were six-handed, but that didn't last.  Both of us were pretty card-dead; my theme of the night was K/rag suited.  I limped a couple times from late position,  but didn't make any money off those moves.  We played for a total of four hours, and I profited $46.  A few notes:

• For the second straight trip to TS, I took out a jackwad player.  This time, it was a young kid who sat down with his friend and started firing at every pot, complete with the "I'm a hotshot internet poker player" attitude to match.  I woke up with JJ in late position, called his raise, and raised him after a flop of 2/2/6.  He re-raised, and I shoved all-in over the top.  When he snap-called, I figured he had trips, but when I showed my hand he claimed "I'm drawing dead" and never flipped over his cards.  The board ran out, he mucked, and left.  His friend stayed, but he was not nearly as much an a-hole so that was okay.
• The overall table dynamic was pretty cool, until one of the regulars (dubbed "scrawny Bruce Willis" by Tina) and his huge chip stack both 1) got into a "dick-waving match" with another kid on his left, raising and re-raising every pot; and 2) got into an argument with a player two seats to his right after the latter won a pot, which began with SBW saying "I know I'm going to make money off you in the long run".  That, however, was more interesting than annoying, as it was a clear attempt by SBW to get inside the other guy's head.  It worked, but not the way he hoped - the other guy promptly moved tables.
• The hand of the night was one involving Tina, myself, and a Korean guy two seats to my left. Action was down to the three of us post-flop, and I held pocket tens with a board of Q/5/8.  Tina min-raised, and we both called. The turn was a K, and we all checked.  The river was a J, putting three over cards and a straight draw on the board.  Tina bet big, and I went into the tank.  I figured she was bluffing, and eventually decided to call, thinking that even if I didn't have her beat, the other guy would fold and Tina would get the money.  He did indeed fold, and Tina mucked when I showed my hand.  The guy complimented my read, and I said something along the lines of "I should be able to read her, we've been married ten years".  The guy laughed, and said "aw man, I'm playing against husband and wife, what the hell, man?"  But he said it with a laugh and it was all in good fun - and another example of why I love live poker.
• Overall, the table was pretty cool, at least at our end.  The two people to my left when we sat down were both pretty chatty and cool; the guy to my immediate left was there the entire time and the next guy was replaced by the Korean guy.  So, socially speaking, it was a good session.

 Session 1 totals: 4 hours, +$46

Cash Session 2
The next day, we didn't get seats together right away, but I moved from table 23 to table 12 when a seat opened, and again to sit on Tina's left when that seat opened up.  This session wasn't as profitable, but was still pretty fun.  I lost a big pot to "Lucky Joe" (one of the TS regulars and a guy I remember from both of my previous trips) when I put him on a busted straight draw and he not only had the straight, but almost had a straight flush.  Fortunately, that was early in the session and I was able to battle back.  There was no big hand involved; I just took down a couple blinds and small pots, one of them from Lucky Joe.

Socially, this table wasn't as good.  The guy to my left spent a lot of time on the phone, which was not only irritating, but against the rules. (Tina, rightfully so, railed on about this for some time afterward.  Not helping - the fact that she busted out, and to him.)  The other two women at the table seemed pretty cool, though not overly chatty.  I did lose a pot to one of them when she rivered an ace, after which she apologized.

"Hey, nothing to be sorry about.  I'm not mad.  That's poker."  I replied, and meant it.  Seriously, there's no reason to apologize for winning a pot.  That's why you play.  Just ask Herm Edwards.

Session 2 totals: 2 hours, -$24

Tournament
After thinking we wouldn't be playing in a tournament because the regular Monday one was postponed thanks to the Empire State Hold 'Em Championship series, we looked up and saw a $60 + $10 bounty starting at 7 pm that night.  One trip to the room for our coupons and we were registered, one more trip back to the room to get Tina's Poker Room card, and we got back right on time.  On the way there, I said "worst case scenario, we miss one big blind".  Talk about almost-bad luck: I was indeed a big blind, and Tina was SB at her table, but we both got there right before our hands were folded.

Though I didn't cash, I played very well, making it to the color-up and first break for the first time in three tries.  I also was successful in bringing some of my online tournament lessons to the felt, including keeping an eye on my chip stack and that of others in the hand, and making continuation bets and more than a couple shoves.  I was successful for the most part with those ploys; five times I was all in, and at least three of those I was at risk or would have been if my opponent had called.

Socially, the table wasn't too bad. The opposite end of the felt was filled with old guys, and I would have liked to have chatted with them, but settled for the middle-aged guys and my end of the table who really weren't all that talkative.  The only person who did any talking at all was the wife of one of the middle-aged guys, who was decrying her son's laziness in humorous fashion - including saying his girlfriend deserved better.

I met my demise when, short-stacked (and actually realizing it), I shoved all-in pre-flop with 6/6.  I got one caller, the middle-aged guy to my right, with A/J off suit.  The flop changed nothing, but the turn was a J and the river 10 to end my night.  Still, not too bad - 33 of 75 for my best result yet.  It was better than Tina's result - card-dead all night, she couldn't get anything going and ended up in 54th.

Tournament Recap: 2.5 hours, -$50 ($20 coupon for the remainder)

Overall, though I was in the red financially,  I feel like this was time well spent.  For the first time, I feel like I have played a tournament the "right" way, and every hand I spend at the table makes me more comfortable, and teaches me something for the future.

10k update: 6 hours live cash, 2.5 hours live tournament, 226 hours total
Bankroll update: this is my first entry in what will be a running total of my bankroll, money which will be used for all poker except SFPT tournaments.  I ended up using some of my cash for food and other items, so though it could/should be $222, it currently stands at $140.

Next up - focusing on the people.  I read once that to start reading your opponents, you should pick on player on which to focus as soon as you sit down.  That will be my challenge for next time.

GES Day 24: Warming Up

Back to the virtual felt for one tournament yesterday, and I tried to focus as much as possible in prep for this weekend.  I guess it worked, though once again I got lucky in a couple spots.  I ended up finishing third in the 27 person tournament, good for 1080 off my 250 buy-in.

I do remember one hand in particular: pocket queens, pre-flop raise got two callers.  I flopped quads, and now what do I do?  I bet, but not too high, and got one person to call.  All the while I was hoping that the board would show a flush draw, and while I didn't get that, the turn was an ace.  First to act, I shoved all-in, and the guy snap-called with A/K.  I took the hand, and it set me up for my run to the final table.

So, I guess I played it well.  I also feel like that hand showed what I have learned to a certain extent, because in the past, I would have either shoved after the flop, or slow-played with a check - nothing in the middle.  I think by doing what I did (pre- and post-flop raises, followed by the turn shove) I was representing A/Q.  If that's what my opponent thought, he shouldn't have called, but he might have put me on A/lower, in which case the call was a good move.

Playing: 1.25 hours
Reading: 1 article on Caro's site, which was interesting because it talked about drinking while playing.  It actually went along with what I have experienced, that 1-2 drinks helps.  In his case he was talking about table image (you should drink to give the appearance of drinking and therefore being a loose player, but not so much you are drunk and you actually are).  In my case, I have found that 1-2 drinks helps me loosen up and not take the game so seriously, and take some chances I really should take.  Kind of the same effect, but in a positive manner.  Not that I am going to start drinking every time I play.

10k Update: 1.25 online, 82.75 total online, 217 total hours

The previously mentioned TS weekend is now just a couple days away.  In an interesting coincidence, the Empire State Poker Championships are this weekend, and there will be a film crew there putting together material for a new show, Poker Night in America.  The only downside is that the regular poker room schedule may be screwed up (no daily tournaments), and with so many extra people around, it may be hard to get a seat in a cash game.  We shall see.