Been Away, Coming Back

Woo boy it's been a while. I thought I was slacking when it came to the Vegas blog, this is even worse.

Oddly enough, it wasn't even poker that brought me back to the poker blog. It was a book by Malcom Gladwell called "The Bomber Mafia", which reminded me of "Outliers", which reminded me of how I was tracking my time playing poker in a "quest" (though that's too strong a word) to reach the 10,000 hour mark. I checked back here to see how far I had actually gotten in that "quest" and realized just how long it had been since I'd updated this space in any fashion.

Some cross-checking off the SFPT records tells me that since that last entry, we have played twice, both in 2020. Obviously I don't remember exact times, but based on the total time for each tournament and my finishing positions (third and fourth), I'm going to estimate that I added three hours to my home game total. 

I do want to keep up with this blog and the running hours, mostly because I want to get back in the habit of writing more, and also because I'm curious to see just how close to that 10,000 hour mark I can get. It will also be a good writing exercise, in that I am going to continue to try to stay away from recap-style entries and use poker as a setting for other observations.

Total time: 3 hours

Total Home Game time: 166.76

Total hours: 285 

Home Game 2018

Lately, I've been big on learning lessons.  Not with poker, but with life.  Something will happen and teach me something, and I distill that down to a few words that I can hopefully remember for the future.  For example, my last trip to a Chinese buffet, and the way I felt after, told me I am done with buffets.

Life lessons can often come from poker too, and I learned one during our first SFPT game of 2018.  It's well-documented that a couple of drinks helps me loosen up and play better; what was not documented was how many was too many.  Based on my result, and how I felt the next morning, I've now found that number.

My play for the June 30 tournament was actually pretty good, finishing second to Matt.  My best hand of the night was slow-playing trip nines to take out Oscar, and even my biggest loss of the night was played well - I called Tina's all-in shove after the river with two pair, not believing she had the flush she was representing.  She did, and took a huge pot, but I was able to recover.

One of the reasons I say I know my limit now is my decision making heads-up. I didn't play terrible - a couple of coin flips gone differently and this recap would have a different tone - but I know in hindsight that I was too buzzed to think several hands ahead and play in the aggressive manner that I know brings heads-up success.

Still, second isn't bad, and more importantly, everyone there seemed to have fun.  Sadly, it's going to be a while before we have that same lineup again, as Chris and Jamie are moving to Georgia in just over a month. 

Tournament time: 3 hours
Total Home Game hours: 163.75
Total hours: 279.5

Home Games Restart

We managed to get in an SFPT tournament last weekend, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise - the fact that we haven't had one in 18 months is a function of desire and nothing more.  In fact, Saturday's get-together came together pretty quickly, leaving only a couple of weeks between my most recent play and this tournament.

We got set up during the day, and after the table top was on, Jules wanted to play some.  I played with her, teaching her hand strength, and had to laugh as twice I caught three-outers to "beat" her.  She took it well, but I didn't - every bit of luck I used up in that setting was a bit I didn't have for the real game.  Or at least, that's what the superstitious part of me believed. 

To say my performance in the seven-player tournament wasn't good would be accurate, but also a bit misleading.  It is accurate in that I finished last, and results matter, so therefore by definition it was not a good performance.  However, it's not like I pissed away my chips on a stupid chase, got bluffed, or got blinded out.  Rather I simply got beat, and in a way that was eerily reminiscent of the last time I'd played.

I was sitting in average position when I was dealt A/K clubs, and raised pre-flop.  Matt and CJ called, and when the flop gave me kings, I c-bet.  Matt folded after a short tank, and CJ called.  The turn was an ace to give me two pair with no flush draw on the board.  Again I bet, higher this time, and after mulling it over CJ again called.  The river didn't improve my hand, but did put a straight possibility on the board.  Either he had it or he didn't, and I decided to shove, as any large bet would have left me crippled.  My hope was that the shove, and the words "all in", would project confidence to the youngster, and force a fold.  It didn't, he showed his rivered straight, and a count proved he had me covered.

What could I have done differently?  Bet higher after the turn, and not give him a chance to get that straight.  Twice now I have been in that situation, and I have a feeling the lesson is going to stick this time. 

That being said, I know it wasn't a HORRIBLE play, and my calmness after seeing CJ's cards proved that point.  After a short bathroom break I took over as dealer and kept the tournament moving, which I think helped in getting us complete at a decent hour. 

As the tournament progressed, talk inevitability turned to del Lago, and the poker room.  Matt was the one who brought it up for the umpteenth time, saying part of him wants to but every time he goes out there, "I'm just not feeling it".  I can relate, but I also know I want to dip my toe in that pool at some point.

Tournament time: 1 hour
Total Home Game hours: 160.75
Total hours: 276.5

SFPT: April 2016

I'm happy to report my fears were unfounded.  We had a big crowd of ten people, including two new players, and it could have been two more if not for CJ (alternate plans) and Ray (had to work at the last minute) not making it.

Everyone seemed like they had a good time, and the new guys (Amanda's boyfriend and his friend) seamlessly integrated themselves into the proceedings, laughing and joking along with everyone.  Always good to see. 

And get this - I pretty much nailed the predictions!  First time for everything.  I had predicted a fourth place finished and actually finished fifth, pretty close there.  Add-Ons was exactly $20, and not only was there a scratch-off winner, there were several, for a total of $60, an SFPT record.  Furthermore, three of my season-long predictions made in the recap file already came to fruition: Amanda returned, her boyfriend and friend constituted the "new players", and to no one's surprise, Vinnie sent me a text a couple hours before the tournament saying he wouldn't be coming.  Based on his previous comment of this being his "last chance", there's a good chance he's played his last SFPT tournament ever.

As for my play:  I explained to Amanda after correctly reading a hand I played with Tina my theory that I know when I've played poorly because I can physically feel the anger (and conversely, the absence of same even when I lose, telling me I did the right thing).  The lack of anger surfaced three times during this tournament. 

The first was a heads-up hand with Tina, and play saw us alternately raise and call through the river, with the board showing jh/4h/8s/10s/ks.  I knew there were a ton of ways she could have me beat, and thus checked back when she checked after the river.  I was right - she missed the flush draws I had feared, but the king paired one in her hand and beat my queens under.

The details of the second are lost to time, but I do remember I folded a decent hand feeling I was beat by more than one person remaining in the hand, and I was correct.

The third example was my last hand of the night.  In a rare smart move, I did a chip count and calculated my remaining big blinds.  With only four, it was just about a no-brainer to shove UTG with K/J off suit.  Corrye caught a straight on the flop but I still had a chance going to the river when a ten would have given me a higher straight, but I bricked and that was it.

Upon reflection, I realize there was one other factor aiding my lack of anger - prior to my knockout, I was all-in and at risk three times and stayed alive.  Having won some, it's not fair to consider myself a loser.

So to recap, I played okay, though not great, but had a good time - recipe for success.


Race to 10k: 3 home game hours, 159.75 total home game hours, 271.25 total hours

Previewing, With Honesty

Coming this Saturday: the first and so far only poker tournament of 2016.  We have six confirmed participants so far, probably seven as I'm pretty sure Matt is coming but he never responds to the Facebook invite.  We even have a new player, Amanda's boyfriend Michael.  What remains to be seen is if both Kim and Vinnie will show – not only for babysitting reasons, but for strife ones.  Vinnie is due to move out by the end of the month (if he hasn’t already), completing their divorce that everyone agrees has been both a long time coming and inevitable.

In chatting with Corrye via text regarding the upcoming game, I found myself not only not really looking forward to it, but not really wanting to do another and even regretting scheduling this one.  It was odd – before, all of my hesitation and regret had stemmed from the trouble and stress caused by the mass of children.  Now, with the adults-only tournaments in full effect, why was I still feeling that way?  Some thought led me to that very strife between Kim and Vinnie, and to a slightly lesser extent, CJ and Vinnie.  Simply put, it's not fun when they are constantly making comments to one another that are clearly not in fun, but intended to hurt.  It makes the situation very tense for everyone, and I don't think that's fair to the rest of the group.

The easy solution here would be to not invite one of the two any longer, but I'm not going to do that.  No matter if they are divorced, I will still consider them both friends.  I can only pray the situation works itself out somehow, ideally through improved relations between the parties. 

That bit of drama aside, what can be expected of the game itself?  None of us have played since last November, though I have been watching some TV coverage of late and I noticed Tina doing the same the other day.  I have a feeling that simple, passive act will give us both a leg up come game time.  We will have to work around possibly being blinded off a couple times, when one of us goes to take Jules to a birthday party she's attending, and picks her up when it's over.  There's the possibility we won’t be started until after the former, and one (or both) of us might be eliminated before the latter, so that will be good. 

Generally, I'm expecting (as usual) some rust from most everyone re: the mechanics of the game, a few misread hands, a few misread community cards, and things of that ilk.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  Of course I'm also expecting quite a few laughs as we jab at each other and make comments fully intended to garner laughs and nothing more.  At least, most of the comments will fall under that umbrella (see above). 

For my own play: I have a feeling I'll once again finish in the middle of the pack (let's say fourth; that number just jumps to mind) thanks to not taking chances when I should.  Maybe if I keep it in the forefront of my mind all night, I can avoid the problem altogether. 

Finally, I predict no less than $20 in Add-On's For Ally, and at least one scratch-off winner (as always, a hope more than a prediction). 

SFPT 2015: A Good Night

The tournament went off as planned, and personally, I think it went great.  The atmosphere was relaxed, everyone remembered how to play (even in a few split-pot situations), and we had fun.  There was interest in doing it again before the night was even over, and that will happen, likely sometime in January at the earliest.

My play: pretty good, actually.  I won the first pot of the year/night, folded quite a bit after that before taking down a couple more, and eventually got short-stacked (though not by much) with five remaining.  In the small blind, a great hand - A/A - which was a no-brainer shove when action came back to me.  Only Matt and Tina were still in the hand; the former folded despite "really wanting to call because I know you have ace-something".  (As an aside: NO ONE, not even Tina, can read me like Matt can.  He's not always right, but more often than not, he is.  It's uncanny, and unsettling.)

Tina called, and we flipped.  I was ahead, but not by much, over her pocket tens.  Despite the long-standing belief that "aces never win", I was confident.  After all, the math was on my side, right? Yeah, not so much - the flop contained a 10, the turn and river were duds, and that was it for me in fifth place out of 9.

So, a middle of the road finish, which isn't great, but we all had a good time which is even more important.  Matt ended up winning the whole thing, outlasting CJ whose second place finish was easily the best of his life.  The biggest surprise of the night, though? Not a single winner on the nine $5 lotto tickets.  The big win is still elusive, and we will keep chasing.


10k progress: 2.5 home game hours, 156.75 total home game hours, 268.25 total hours

2015, Once

In the last post, I said it may be "many months" until the next time I play poker.  "Many" turned out to be "12" - a year-long gap that was, I believe, easily the longest since the SFPT began. 

What will, I'm 99% sure, be the only tournament of 2015 is coming up this weekend.  So far, we have six players confirmed, with the likelihood of at least two more. It will be a first in SFPT history as well: the first time we've attempted an "adults-only" evening.  It was no secret to anyone that the older the kids got, the crazier they got having to be cooped up in the house, and the more uncomfortable it was for everyone whether they were playing or simply hanging out.  I'm hoping that with no kids, people will be more relaxed and everyone can have a good time, including some adult conversation.

As for my play: at this point, I have no expectations.  I've joked with a couple people that it's been so long I've forgotten how to play.  This may not be technically true (we'll see), but to say I'm rusty is an understatement.  We all are, because no one I've talked to has played at all since last November, either.  Tina, Matt, and I had a chance at Turning Stone over the summer, but declined - ironically, because it had been so long and we feared being rusty.  Better to shake off that rust in a home game, it goes without saying.

Watch this space for an update come early next week. Should be interesting.

SFPT November and The Future

In what may very well turn out to be the last SFPT tournament for many months, a small field of six showed up to play last weekend.  I played decent, and finished third.  I had some good hands that didn’t get good results, but overall played pretty well and got my chips in at the end with a good hand. 

My best hand of the night was one I didn’t win, but made a good read – with A/K and a king on the board, I bet the flop and turn, and was snap-called both times by Kim.  After the second one, I checked the river and folded to her mid-range bet, putting her on an ace.  I was right – not only did she have one ace, but rockets.

In the end, Tom won his second ever SFPT tournament after outlasting Kim heads-up.

The big question for me now is, what role does poker play in my life from here on out?  My initial thought is, “not enough to justify a blog”.  But I’m going to keep this blog going, because that may change, and because it’s a fun record of a small portion of my life.

We may not play poker as much, SFPT wise, until the kids are older.  At least that’s my prediction.  The every-other-month events will probably pick back up at some point, maybe after our new baby is a few months old and we are comfortable that everything is going well.  I also wonder what impact the (potential) new casino will have on my poker career (and for that matter, Tina’s as well).  Will the closer location mean more frequent, if less lengthy, poker sessions?  Or will having two kids mean we aren’t able to play any more than we do now, and perhaps less?

At this point, it’s all speculation, because Lago hasn’t been awarded a license and said license isn’t a guarantee.  I will admit, I did get excited when I saw a couple of tweets from Seneca Niagara that referred to the “Seneca Fall Poker Classic” and my brain put an “s” after “Fall” for a split second, like a mental auto-correct.  If Lago gets their license, maybe there would be such a tournament.  Based on my initial reaction, I would play.  That right there tells me I’m not done with poker, and that I may pick back up with my frequency of play in the future.  In other words, it’s still fun.

One thing is certain – my previous internal debate of fun versus money is no longer a debate.  Money itself has become so menial in my life, in terms of its importance, that it follows that I can’t and won’t care about money when I am playing poker.  Rather than being a bad thing, I believe it will be good.  It is well-documented that I play far too tight in many situations; truly not caring about profit will allow me to loosen up even further and take good chances.

All of this remains to be seen.  With everything going on in my life now, poker has taken a back seat, which is fine. 

Marathon to 10k: 2.5 home game hours, 154.25 total home game hours, 265.75 total hours

Interlude to Equilibrium

My complete and total layoff from poker lasted just over 3 months.

We had an SFPT "event" last weekend, and though some things hadn't changed (namely, the kids being, as a group, wild and a distraction), some had.  Namely, I found that I was able to relax and enjoy myself, despite my belief going in that I wouldn't be able to do so.  Or more accurately, didn't want to.  I gave serious thought to only dealing for the game, and only decided to play a few hours before when it became apparent the field would be a small one.

I should have realized long ago that completely giving up on poker was not something I really wanted to do.  I acted and talked like it was, in the name of being selfless - still my primary goal in life.  But playing poker brings me a certain level of enjoyment, and more importantly, it's something I do with my friends.  The making of memories is something I never want to neglect, and giving up on the SFPT home games would be doing just that.

I'm glad we played a couple days ago, for those reasons, but also because I played well.  And won.  Winning helps, I'm not going to lie.  It's not about the money at all, it's about the confidence.  It also goes a long way toward making the whole experience more enjoyable, which probably goes without saying.

It was a seven player field, and the heads-up came down to Corrye and I.  Corrye made a great play going all-in after the river on what Tina agreed was a "scary board" full of straight and flush draws; I laid down pocket jacks and it turns out I would have beaten Corrye's eights under.  I thought I was screwed after that, but a couple shoves and folds got me a slight lead going into the final hand.  Slightly intoxicated and therefore not over-thinking the situation as I am wont to do, I moved all-in with A/5 spades and was called by Corrye's K/10 off-suit.

The board ran out blanks and I took home the win and $35 in prize money, not counting the $10 I had won on a bounty earlier in the night.  After my $5 Add-On, I was up $30 on the night, which went directly to Jules' bank account.

I think I have found a happy medium now - while I don't need to take poker as seriously as I was not too long ago, I also know I don't want to give it up either.  It IS fun, and despite the frustrations that sometimes come with having the get-togethers at our house, it is worth it.

Marathon to 10K: 3 home game hours, 147.75 total home game hours, 259.25 total hours

The New SFPT and the New Reality

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

SFPT 2014 Kicks Off

The 2014 SFPT season got underway last Friday, and my results were, of course, middling.  That seems to be my style.  I finished in fourth place of nine; as one might surmise, there was a balance of things that went right and wrong.  One hand was a double knockout to begin the season that was maybe the best hand I have ever played, and without a doubt one of the best in SFPT history.

Down to four players after the flop of 9h/3s/Ah and turn 4c, Corrye was first to act, and moved all-in for 16 and change.  I tanked for a long time by SFPT standards (close to two minutes) before deciding to call.  The decision to say “call” and not “all-in” would be important.

CJ was next and short-stacked; he snap-called for five and change.  Tom was the last player, and for some reason, wanted to get a count of his chips.  Perhaps he thought I said all-in when in fact I hadn’t.  In any event, his count took a while, leading Matt to pause the timer while the hand played out. 

After a couple minutes, someone clued in Tom that he didn’t need to count because I had only called, but most of the way done, he continued anyway, and it was determined that I had him covered by just over $1.  He decided to call Corrye as well, putting the same 16 and change into the pot.

Now, Corrye and CJ were committed, and Tom and I could have a side pot.  I had already decided my course of action: as soon as the river hit the felt, I moved all-in, hoping to get Tom to fold so even if I lost, I wouldn’t be crippled.

After much debate, that’s exactly what happened.  The rest of us flipped our cards, and I pumped my fist – not only did my two pair A-4 hold up, I had read both CJ (high card only) and Corrye (busted flush draw) perfectly.

Unfortunately, winning that big pot led me to take too many pre-flop chances when I shouldn't have, and I again found myself on the shorter end of the chip counts as the field dwindled.  In the midst of that pissing away of chips, there is one other hand I did play well: holding A/6 and with an ace on the board, I folded to Ray's river bet after figuring he had me out-kicked.  Holding a nine, he did.

So, good news and bad news, but not a terrible start to the year by any means.  I wasn't able to feed the Bracelet Hunting envelope at all (both BSOs I earned were losers), but my eight points under the new format put me in a tie for third place.

Time Played: 3.5 hours (142.5 home game hours, 254 total hours)

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.

The Home Stretch

November's SFPT tournament is in the books, and while it wasn't my best performance (I finished 6th out of 8), I once again did JUST enough to stay ahead of Tina in the points race.  It's still a three-person race; Kim is lingering in 3rd and has an outside shot if everything breaks right for her.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly where I went wrong last Saturday.  I didn't get many starting hands, but I also didn't have much else going my way.  Twice I raised pre-flop with K/Q off, and didn't get any callers, so the pots were smaller than they could have been.  One hand I had 2/2 and a flush draw after the flop; I made a large bet and was called by Chris, who ended up catching the flush as well and (obviously) it was higher than mine.  I few hands later I was down to less than 5 big blinds and shoved, losing in a 4-way pot.

I know I could absolutely improve through increased focus; that is going to have to be my goal next time.  I also have to take more chances pre-flop.  Ideally, Tina and Kim will both be out early to secure me the title, and I can spend the rest of the time working on more aggressive play.

My own personal play aside, I am glad the Points Championship has once again come down to the final tournament.  I like that drama, and I like that (just like last year), three people are technically still alive for the title.  Still, I strive to make improvements, to keep more people in the race longer.  I want to make sure people are still having fun and still want to come play.  Although, maybe I shouldn't be worried as much as I am, considering the "player field" (people who play at least some of the time) is now up to 14 people, and the last few tournaments have had at least 8.

Overall, it's going well, and I like that everyone is able to get together, especially the kids.  I hope everyone has fond memories of these times in the future, because that's the real goal.

A Rare Weekend

For maybe the first time ever, I played in two different home game tournaments on the same weekend.  The first was the October SFPT get-together; the second, an eight-person buy in at Oscar's friend Josh's birthday party.  Both went fairly well, though not obviously in some ways.  A couple of quick recaps:

I ended up winning the SFPT tournament, besting an eight player field.  I will admit that I was catching a lot of flops and turns, so the amount of skill required to take home the win wasn't as much as it seemed.  Still, a few things went right.  Namely, early in the tournament, I had donked off a lot of chips before the first elimination, and suddenly realized I really wasn't focusing as I should be.  I got back into the game more at that point, mentally, and the big takeaway is that I actually made the realization before it was too late.

One had stands out, partly because of how I played it, and partly because of who I played it against - Tina.  Pre-flop, there were three players left, Kim being the third.  The flop came J/4/9, and Kim checked.  I also checked, and Tina, short-stacked, moved all-in.  Kim quickly folded, and I just as quickly called, flipping two pair J/4 to beat Tina's pair of nines.  It was exactly what I hoped would happen, and for once, the trap worked perfectly. 

Discussing the hand a couple days later, Tina commented something along the lines of "of course you trap, you love to trap!"  My reply: "yeah, but the difference now is I know when to pick my spots."  She agreed, giving more credence to the idea that I've come a long way.

I ended up playing Ray heads up, and though that battle took a little while (blinds got to 700/1400 for the first time in SFPT history), I was able to prevail.  I made a good lay down early on when I folded top pair after the river; Ray's reaction (motherfucker!") told me he had me beat.  Other than that the play was pretty standard.  I made out good on one semi-bluff holding king high, and the final hand saw Ray's nines lose to my A/Q off when a queen hit on the turn.

The tournament at Josh's party was interesting, and a bit of deju vu, but not in a good way.  Thanks to my apparent illiteracy, I arrived late, reminded only by Oscar's timely text.  To my surprise and happiness, the other seven guys agreed to blind me out until I got there, and I only missed two hands (and one blind).  The deja vu part came when I came inside, said happy birthday to the man of the hour, and sat right down to start to play with no chance to prepare.  Thanks to running late and being embarrassed by that fact, I had the same nervous/anxious feeling that I had when playing my first "real" live session and tournament, and after busting the tournament and moving directly to the cash table at Turning Stone back in April.

But, I also had that experience, and knew how to mentally combat the feelings.  After folding my first hand, and taking my turn as dealer on the next, I stood up and went to get a drink, making sure to concentrate on breathing and calming down.  The result wasn't immediate, but it worked, and a couple hands later I was back to normal.

Knowing only two of the other players at the table (Oscar, and his friend Clint, whom I've played with before) made for an interesting time, but a very good experience - unlike the SFPT, the aspect of the unknown was much better practice for me.  I made one bad laydown post-flop when a guy to my left raised, and the guy on my immediate right shoved all in; I had A/Q on an A/10/5 board. 

The problem with the fold was that my rationale was SFPT-based: if someone already called, let them fight it out.  But, this was a winner-take-all freezeout; I should have called there and saw what happened, because being out in 7th is no worse than being out in 2nd.

It turns out I would have won the hand with my aces. Oh well - it's a good lesson for next time.  File it under "know your tournament structure".

I ended up out in fifth when I chased a straight and missed (adjusting to my "first place or nothing at all" strategy that I realized one hand too late) for most of my stack, and was eliminated when my pre-flop shove of pocket queens lost to a pair of aces in a three-way pot.  I had no problem with that hand in particular - pocket face cards while short-stacked is a no-brainer shove.

One other item of note: the player two seats to my left, John, was from the get-go a very aggressive player, raising almost every pot at least 3 times the big blind.  He won a lot of pots that way, and later claimed when talking to Oscar and I, "I only bluffed twice all night".  Oscar had an immediate and I think accurate retort: "Yeah, and one of them is right now."

Learning to deal with aggressive players is, I think, something I need to work on.  I don't have a lot of experience in that regard, as most of the SFPT regulars are conservative by nature.  I feel like I adjusted well to John's play once I realized his raises were going to be commonplace.  Had I hit my straight, not only would it have won me a big pot, it also might have changed his approach regarding raising when I was still in the pot ahead of him.  So, I'm not upset - it just didn't work out.

Recapping the weekend from a profit and experience point of view:

Buy-Ins: $20
Winnings: $40

Bracelet Hunting Update: $30 added, $80 total ($10 set aside for Add-Ons for Ally for the November tournament)

Race to 10k Update: 4.75 home game hours, 133.50 total home game hours, 243.50 total hours

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.

Poker Mentality

With the next SFPT event looming on Saturday and not having played much since the August tournament, I decided to pop back on to Full Tilt both yesterday and today for a couple tournaments.  Both went pretty well: yesterday I finished 2nd in a 250, 1-table SNG, and today won a 6-handed 1-table SNG. 

In the 9-handed event, I was barely paying attention, but in this case that isn't a bad thing.  I was able to play the math, and let my subconcious mind work picking up trends, patterns, etc.  This isn't new for me, but using that information in real-time is.  I was able to do so, and got my chips in with the advantage, only to have the math bite me once again.  No big deal.  From that tournament, I also took away the fact that if I can play that well not paying attention, I have a lot of upside for when I actually do focus.

The 6-handed event today comes with a huge astrisk.  One player was eliminated on the first hand, and two others were sitting out almost from the beginning.  As soon as I recognized this, I loosened up my play, knowing in reality I was only playing against two other opponents.  I was able to KO one of the others not too long after, and though the second guy was a much bigger challenge (I couldn't really put a read on his betting patterns), I was victorious over him as well.

The hand that finished him off is one I am proud of, not because of how it turned out, but because of how I processed the information.  I raised 4x the big blind pre-flop with 8/8, and was called.  The flop was 4/7/5, and I c-bet half the pot.  A snap call, and turn J.  Here's where I processed what was in front of me: an over pair to all but one card, a straight draw, and a better than 2:1 chip advantage against an at least semi-aggressive player acting after me.  I shoved all-in, and was called with Q/10.  River 6, straight, and to quote Hawk Harrelson, "he gone".  The other two were still sitting out, and the result was a formality.

Which leads me to why I'm really blogging today.  That sequence of events illustrates an area in which I've made great progress over the past few months.  There were any number of hands which could have had me beat, or at least had me behind in terms of what we were drawing to, but I absorbed all of the information available to me and took a calculated risk.  That is the essence of poker.

It's also the essence of life.  Very rarely is there a situation in life that is black and white.  Gray is the new black; there is always ambiguity in every situation you face.  The ability to process incomplete information and make smart decisions is one of the factors that separate the successful from the unsuccessful, no matter your definition of success.  Nate Silver once said that poker players are the best he's seen at evaluating situations correctly.  I'm not sure if that is because of poker, or if people of that nature are drawn to poker and find themselves successful in part because of that attribute.

Either way, there's a very strong parallel.  Mel Levinson and I always talk about "Baseball Mentality", which we have loosely defined as taking a situation as it comes, reacting calmly and without undue angst.  Even the best of all time will fail in their objective six times out of ten.  In that spirit, I am ready to officially christen Poker Mentality: taking all of the information available to you, processing it in relation to the situation, and making a decision based on what you know without being overly concerned about what you don't know.

Poker Mentality shall become one of my attributes - at the felt, and in life.