Safe to say, the thrill is done. I just don't care anymore. The flame has been extinguished. Whatever love I had for poker, especially as for the idea of it being something I want to focus a good deal of my time and energy on, has disappeared.
It's hard to say exactly why I feel this way, but the first thought that comes to mind is that there's no one that wants to go on the journey with me. If I wanted it bad enough, I could do it alone, and the fact that I'm not willing to go it alone tells me I don't want it bad enough. That realization is enlightening, and oddly gives me a sense of relief. From the beginning, it felt forced, but I chalked that up to the fact that it was something almost completely new to me. In hindsight, I should have known better. I'm just glad I came to that realization before too much more time had passed.
I do want to keep playing casually, which is one of the reasons this blog, my tracking spreadsheets, and the SFPT in general will not completely go away. (For the SFPT specifically, hanging out with my friends and Add-Ons for Ally are the main reasons). Poker is still fun on a certain level, but I could tell when I was playing in the most recent SFPT that it's not as fun as it once was. I was donking off chips with almost every pot, and not focusing as I am wont to do. But this time, when I realized my lack of focus, my reaction was NOT to regain it. It was literally, a shrug and "oh well".
Perhaps my desire to play will be bolstered by playing less frequently. That idea makes me glad I changed the SFPT get-togethers to every other month (the stated reasons on the Facebook page being, of course, the primary ones).
I have also made a few non-SFPT related changes, beginning with clearing out my Twitter feed and Facebook Likes of almost all poker-related content. The only ones I kept were ones that were also following me, or people who are interesting on levels other than poker.
It's good, I think, that I have made these decisions. Spending so much time on poker, not so much the playing but watching, reading, and thinking, was taking too much of my time on a selfish pursuit.
10K update: 2.25 home game hours, 144.75 total home game, 256.25 total
Showing posts with label 10k. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10k. Show all posts
Monday, February 24, 2014
Monday, December 9, 2013
SFPT Finale - A Choke Job
The title says it all.
With a chance to lock down my first-ever points title, I choked it away, finishing sixth in a ten player field. Not terrible on the surface, but Tina finished second, completing her solid run and winning her second title. Why she wants to eliminate the points idea completely is beyond me. The only thing I can think of is that she likes the idea of doing a $5 lotto ticket for the bounty, since those seem to win more than others.
What went right: The one good hand I had all night I played for maximum profit, when my pocket kings caught trips on the flop and I won a huge pot from newcomer Erik Alexander, who held A/K off.
What went wrong: I made a terrible read on Matt on my knockout hand, calling his huge river bet with a flush possibility on the board and holding top pair. I knew the flush chance was there, but also figured Matt could be representing. I was wrong, and a count sent me to the rail. Later, I wished it wasn't Matt in that spot, because if it was one of 2-3 other people at the table, I would have figured the bluff chance was far, far lower, and folded.
I also chastise myself in that hand for the time-honored stupid move of sending good money after bad. Part of the reason I talked myself into calling was that I had already committed a ton of money to the pot. Put another way, if the bets hadn't been so big post-flop and turn, I may have folded on the river.
10K update: 3.5 hours added, 139 home game hours, 249 total hours
#BraceletHunting Update: $10 added (bounty from my KO of Vinnie), total now $90.
Next up: that was the last SFPT tournament until likely mid to late-January, and in between will be the first trip to Turning Stone for Cuffe's birthday without the man himself. It will be emotional I'm sure, and I'm not sure if I will be up for playing some poker. It's going to be a spur-of-the-moment decision.
I would also like to come up with some poker-related goals for 2014. If the Points Championship sticks around, winning that title will be first on the list.
With a chance to lock down my first-ever points title, I choked it away, finishing sixth in a ten player field. Not terrible on the surface, but Tina finished second, completing her solid run and winning her second title. Why she wants to eliminate the points idea completely is beyond me. The only thing I can think of is that she likes the idea of doing a $5 lotto ticket for the bounty, since those seem to win more than others.
What went right: The one good hand I had all night I played for maximum profit, when my pocket kings caught trips on the flop and I won a huge pot from newcomer Erik Alexander, who held A/K off.
What went wrong: I made a terrible read on Matt on my knockout hand, calling his huge river bet with a flush possibility on the board and holding top pair. I knew the flush chance was there, but also figured Matt could be representing. I was wrong, and a count sent me to the rail. Later, I wished it wasn't Matt in that spot, because if it was one of 2-3 other people at the table, I would have figured the bluff chance was far, far lower, and folded.
I also chastise myself in that hand for the time-honored stupid move of sending good money after bad. Part of the reason I talked myself into calling was that I had already committed a ton of money to the pot. Put another way, if the bets hadn't been so big post-flop and turn, I may have folded on the river.
10K update: 3.5 hours added, 139 home game hours, 249 total hours
#BraceletHunting Update: $10 added (bounty from my KO of Vinnie), total now $90.
Next up: that was the last SFPT tournament until likely mid to late-January, and in between will be the first trip to Turning Stone for Cuffe's birthday without the man himself. It will be emotional I'm sure, and I'm not sure if I will be up for playing some poker. It's going to be a spur-of-the-moment decision.
I would also like to come up with some poker-related goals for 2014. If the Points Championship sticks around, winning that title will be first on the list.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Thoroughly Mediocre
The title accurately describes my play, and my results, at SFPT September. Part of the issue was lack of concentration, but I also wasn't getting much in terms of cards either. In some ways it felt a lot like my last TS cash session.
But, I had fun, and my fourth place finish was just barely good enough to keep me atop the points race thanks to Tina taking home the win. Oscar got his second straight runner-up finish; it's too bad for him that he got off to such a shitty start else he'd be right in the thick of things as we come down to the last three tournaments.
So, I wasn't able to add any money to the bracelet hunting envelope, but I did keep on track to maybe add some in December if I can bring home the points title. I have decided that if I do take it down, half the money will go to said envelope, and the other half will go to Ally's bank account.
As for details: not many hands stand out, and I did find myself short-stacked when we were down to four players. I won a hand to get out of that spot but it didn't last long, and I shoved with 8/5 clubs. Matt and Oscar called, and post-flop, Oscar also shoved to put Matt at risk. Matt folded, Oscar showed A/J for two pair, and I mucked.
Not much else to say, really. It was a fun tournament, but not a lot sticks out.
Race to 10K: 3 home game hours played, 128.75 home game hours, 238.75 total hours
Next up will be the October tournament, which may or may not be the same night as the World Series party. Looking further into the future, Tina, Rachel, Matt, Danielle, and I are already discussing planning for the annual January Turning Stone trip. You can bet poker will be played, and I hope to get Matt into the room as well. Call it my first poker-related goal of 2014.
But, I had fun, and my fourth place finish was just barely good enough to keep me atop the points race thanks to Tina taking home the win. Oscar got his second straight runner-up finish; it's too bad for him that he got off to such a shitty start else he'd be right in the thick of things as we come down to the last three tournaments.
So, I wasn't able to add any money to the bracelet hunting envelope, but I did keep on track to maybe add some in December if I can bring home the points title. I have decided that if I do take it down, half the money will go to said envelope, and the other half will go to Ally's bank account.
As for details: not many hands stand out, and I did find myself short-stacked when we were down to four players. I won a hand to get out of that spot but it didn't last long, and I shoved with 8/5 clubs. Matt and Oscar called, and post-flop, Oscar also shoved to put Matt at risk. Matt folded, Oscar showed A/J for two pair, and I mucked.
Not much else to say, really. It was a fun tournament, but not a lot sticks out.
Race to 10K: 3 home game hours played, 128.75 home game hours, 238.75 total hours
Next up will be the October tournament, which may or may not be the same night as the World Series party. Looking further into the future, Tina, Rachel, Matt, Danielle, and I are already discussing planning for the annual January Turning Stone trip. You can bet poker will be played, and I hope to get Matt into the room as well. Call it my first poker-related goal of 2014.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Trying Something New, and Something Old
For a long time, I have been a fan of the idea of "learning by osmosis". I'm not sure if I heard that term somewhere or made it up myself, but I feel like the idea is a sound one. Basically, what I mean by that is that I feel I can gain knowledge of something by just having it around me. This is one of the reasons I like to have the TV on a science or history program while I am working on something else,because I can learn a little bit of something even if I am not really trying to do so.
In that spirit, I have decided to forgo listening to the radio while I am working, for the most part, in favor of watching YouTube training videos and other poker-related content. There's plenty of it out there, and more produced every day, so it's not like I am going to run out of videos to watch any time soon.
I have started with Jason Somervville's Run It Up series, and also delved into some of his other videos. Today, I watched one where he went over the hands of his first ever online final table, in 2007. I feel like I learned quite a bit about how the game has changed from then to now, as he kept talking about how he couldn't believe he played hands certain ways and would have done it differently today. From those specific hands, I compared to my play, and saw how I can play hands (and more specifically, situations) differently.
That was the new. Now for the old:
Inspired by actually seeing poker played in that video, I decided to log on to Full Tilt for the first time since August second. I had a step three ticket and decided to use that right off the bat.
Right away, I applied a lesson: keep the hammer down: I missed a flop, but c-bet the flop and turn and got three folds on a stone-cold bluff. That was good, as were a couple of pots where I actually hit a flop but could have lost to draws, but bet people out before showdown.
The bad: four-handed, I shoved with trip queens, got called with 8/9 off, and the guy hit a straight. A few hands later, I shoved with the king high flush draw, got called with two pair, and couldn't hit. I finished fourth and won another Step 3 ticket.
Not wanting to go out like that, I cashed in that ticket following a break for lunch. I lost some of my motivation (read: got distracted), and took a big hit when I gambled to take out a player and lost with AhQh to KK. After getting some back, I lost another chunk in a similar situation when I didn't hit an open-ender and lost to queens.
At this point I figured it just wasn't my tournament, but before I knew it, I was chip leader again. That lasted all of about 10 hands; soon I was short stacked again, shoved, and lost with K/Q off to Q/6 off when the turn was a 6. Oh well.
Playing: 1 hour online
Reading: I started the September issue off "Bluff" the other day, but only glanced. More to come later on that. I have been reading the articles that Mike Caro tweets out on an almost daily basis
Watching: So far, two of Jason Somerville's videos, a total of a shade over 1 hour
10k update: 84.25 online hours, 233.50 total hours
In that spirit, I have decided to forgo listening to the radio while I am working, for the most part, in favor of watching YouTube training videos and other poker-related content. There's plenty of it out there, and more produced every day, so it's not like I am going to run out of videos to watch any time soon.
I have started with Jason Somervville's Run It Up series, and also delved into some of his other videos. Today, I watched one where he went over the hands of his first ever online final table, in 2007. I feel like I learned quite a bit about how the game has changed from then to now, as he kept talking about how he couldn't believe he played hands certain ways and would have done it differently today. From those specific hands, I compared to my play, and saw how I can play hands (and more specifically, situations) differently.
That was the new. Now for the old:
Inspired by actually seeing poker played in that video, I decided to log on to Full Tilt for the first time since August second. I had a step three ticket and decided to use that right off the bat.
Right away, I applied a lesson: keep the hammer down: I missed a flop, but c-bet the flop and turn and got three folds on a stone-cold bluff. That was good, as were a couple of pots where I actually hit a flop but could have lost to draws, but bet people out before showdown.
The bad: four-handed, I shoved with trip queens, got called with 8/9 off, and the guy hit a straight. A few hands later, I shoved with the king high flush draw, got called with two pair, and couldn't hit. I finished fourth and won another Step 3 ticket.
Not wanting to go out like that, I cashed in that ticket following a break for lunch. I lost some of my motivation (read: got distracted), and took a big hit when I gambled to take out a player and lost with AhQh to KK. After getting some back, I lost another chunk in a similar situation when I didn't hit an open-ender and lost to queens.
At this point I figured it just wasn't my tournament, but before I knew it, I was chip leader again. That lasted all of about 10 hands; soon I was short stacked again, shoved, and lost with K/Q off to Q/6 off when the turn was a 6. Oh well.
Playing: 1 hour online
Reading: I started the September issue off "Bluff" the other day, but only glanced. More to come later on that. I have been reading the articles that Mike Caro tweets out on an almost daily basis
Watching: So far, two of Jason Somerville's videos, a total of a shade over 1 hour
10k update: 84.25 online hours, 233.50 total hours
Monday, August 12, 2013
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.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
GES, Day 2
Played a little and read a little yesterday. This amount of work is what I hope becomes the minimum, or close to it. I had planned on reading more but was falling asleep and found myself skimming over passages. Gotta know when to fold 'em.
Playing: 30 minutes, online (Full Tilt)
Reading: half of the July issue of "Bluff"
Watching: none
10k Update: 72.25 online, 201.5 total
One thing I was thinking about yesterday was just how little actual experience I really have. Take away the SFPT, and I have played in a total of 2 tournaments, and 10 hours of cash game play. That amounts to exactly squat in the grand scheme of things, and thus gives me a lot of hope. I feel as though I have made a ton of improvement already, and getting additional "real" experience can only help - both in terms of putting it into practice, and learning new things. It's just a matter of committing to getting to the casino to play.
Playing: 30 minutes, online (Full Tilt)
Reading: half of the July issue of "Bluff"
Watching: none
10k Update: 72.25 online, 201.5 total
One thing I was thinking about yesterday was just how little actual experience I really have. Take away the SFPT, and I have played in a total of 2 tournaments, and 10 hours of cash game play. That amounts to exactly squat in the grand scheme of things, and thus gives me a lot of hope. I feel as though I have made a ton of improvement already, and getting additional "real" experience can only help - both in terms of putting it into practice, and learning new things. It's just a matter of committing to getting to the casino to play.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Day One of The Education
Off to a decent start - I spotted some WSOP coverage on ESPN and at the same time played a bit on the Kindle.
Playing: 30 minutes, WSOP app
Reading: none
Watching: 2 hours 2102 ME coverage on ESPN
While watching, I came up with a couple items I need to work on, and which I am going to work on during the next SFPT tournament (which I consider to be a step closer to reality than playing online for fake money).
10k update: 71.75 online play-money hours, 201 total hours
I have decided that when I am permitted to play online for real money, this will constitue a separate column in the 10k spreadsheet. It may be that once that day comes (probably years from now), I stop playing for play money altogether, but who knows.
An aside: I do have some hope that with NJ set to go live with real-money poker in the fall of this year, NY might not be too far behind. One of the state reps (King) is known to be a proponent of online poker, and there is also (I'm hoping) a bit of the big brother/little brother dynamic that won't allow Little Brother to have something Big Brother doesn't have. Additionally, since the governor has long been in favor of brick and mortar casinos (making him clearly NOT anti-gambling), there is chance he may be swayed in favor of online gaming by the revenue it could bring.
Playing: 30 minutes, WSOP app
Reading: none
Watching: 2 hours 2102 ME coverage on ESPN
While watching, I came up with a couple items I need to work on, and which I am going to work on during the next SFPT tournament (which I consider to be a step closer to reality than playing online for fake money).
10k update: 71.75 online play-money hours, 201 total hours
I have decided that when I am permitted to play online for real money, this will constitue a separate column in the 10k spreadsheet. It may be that once that day comes (probably years from now), I stop playing for play money altogether, but who knows.
An aside: I do have some hope that with NJ set to go live with real-money poker in the fall of this year, NY might not be too far behind. One of the state reps (King) is known to be a proponent of online poker, and there is also (I'm hoping) a bit of the big brother/little brother dynamic that won't allow Little Brother to have something Big Brother doesn't have. Additionally, since the governor has long been in favor of brick and mortar casinos (making him clearly NOT anti-gambling), there is chance he may be swayed in favor of online gaming by the revenue it could bring.
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