Bracelet Hunting

I like having tangible goals - things I can work toward, achieve, and say, "okay, I did that.  What's next?"  So far, the main goal in my poker journey has been to simply become a better player.  That's important, but it's also not tangible in a simplistic sense, and it's also something with no end date.  In poker as in life, the goal should be to improve until the day you die.

However, I now DO have a tangible goal.  I want to, and will, play in a WSOP bracelet event.

"Bracelet Hunting" is a term used by some pros, including Jason Mercier, as a hash tag on their tweets about the WSOP, and is also the title of a YouTube series by Jason Somerville, chronicling his experiences at this year's WSOP.  It also happens to be a quick and easy way to describe my goal.  I want to save up enough money to play in one of the lower buy-ins.

I understand that it may take some time to save up enough money, and that's fine.  But as soon as it's close, the planning will begin, and I'll make it happen.  I hope that a number of my friends can get there for the experience, because God forbid should I go on a heater I would love to celebrate with everyone.

To be clear: I have no dilusions about being able to win.  I highly doubt I would even cash.  But I would be in the game, and you can't win if you don't play.  And even if I don't cash, I would have the experience.

Every day that goes by, it becomes more important to me to be in the game.  And by "game", I don't mean just playing poker, I mean life in general.  Get out there, have experiences, make memories.  It just happens that playing in a WSOP event is one of the things I have wanted to do for some time.  By shooting for this goal, I am proving that I am done talking.  Time to make it happen.

Here are two pics from the WSOP Facebook page that give a pretty great impression of what it would be like if I actually, by a string of luck and miracles, won a bracelet.  The first is Mark Radoja after winning the $10k heads-up tournament; the second is Jonathan Taylor after winning the $1,500 NLHE:

Plugging Away

I miss playing in the casino, but I'm making due with what I have.

Had two home games recently, a cash session and a tournament.  I barely count the cash session as poker thanks to the prolific number of multiple-wild and just plain luck games (and as such, the time spent playing these games is not recorded in my "Race to 10K" spreadsheet). 

The tournament went pretty well; I finished second of eight entrants and hold a solid second place in the season standings.  Heads-up could have gone better but thanks to...let's call it, outside influences...I played pretty loosely and paid the price.  Fate rewarded me for sending everyone home with $11 on the lotto tickets.

I've been playing quite a bit of play money Full Tilt lately as well.  Last week I tried out the Matrix format, and after a rough start, have been absolutely destroying it: two days ago, three firsts and a second on the four tables; and yesterday, two firsts, a second, and an 8th.  I won the overall matrix both of those times.

Why is that?  I thought about it for a while, and I have concluded that the fast-paced format makes me (and others I'm sure) focus more on the probability and actual cards; what is instead of what might be.  In other words, trusting the math - something I am still working on in any poker format, especially with starting cards. 

One thing I AM learning more about when it comes to starting cards is how to adjust what I consider an acceptable hand when playing short-handed.  I have written before about how "any face card is good heads-up", but there is a variant of that lesson to be had when playing short-handed as well.  Mainly, don't be so down on things like A/rag suited and the like.

I really vacillate, sometimes multiple times a day, on whether I should be spending so much time with play money.  I like the challenge, and I like how I play there.  I also like the practice I get in seeing hands quickly - by that I mean, I have but a few seconds after people flip their cards to see whether they have something or are on a draw, and what that draw is.

The key to moving my success to the actual felt is going to be less fear, as I've said before.  I play with no fear on the virtual felt; I just have to translate that to real life.

I have been making progress on an actual plan for a bankroll, with any luck I can get that started in the next couple of months and maintain it for the duration.  

Live from the TS Poker Room

Got to play quite a bit at Turning Stone last week, in both tournament and cash settings.  Some notes:

Tournament
The tournament was $40 plus a $10 bounty; add in the dealer tip but subtract the coupon I had and the seat cost $32 - not bad at all.  It was also a re-buy tournament, which I severely dislike, but hoped to use to my advantage if people were overly aggressive during the re-buy period.

I got off to a decent start, but took a huge hit when I raised with pocket queens, got two callers, the second re-raised me after a 9/2/J flop, and I called and he had pocket deuces.  I was on tilt for a while after that; the same "physically angry" feeling returning that I used to experience all the time but hadn't in quite a while.  What made me mad was that I put him on a bigger hand (something like pocket jacks or J/9 suited) post-flop, but called his re-raise anyway.  Stupid.

Talking it through later with Tina, I realized I should have gone with a bigger pre-flop raise.  I had forgotten two things: a small pot is better than no pot, and it isn't always wise to attempt to trap. 

The remainder of my chips got in the pot in a much better situation, holding A/4 clubs and the flop giving me the nut flush draw.  I got two callers but couldn't hit, and that was it for me, still steaming.

By this time, the re-buy period had (barely) expired, so I finished 38 out of 41 players.  Still, factor in those that were KO'd and bought back in, and there were at least ten more who were "out" before me.  Here I sit trying to rationalize.

One of the ones who finished ahead of me was Tina, who ended up 15th - without, it should be noted, the benefit of a single re-buy.

Cash
After a quick trip to the bathroom, I headed right back to the poker room and saw an available seat at 1/2 NL.  In hindsight, I probably should have taken a few more minutes to calm down, but I didn't know how long there would be a seat available.  So, I jumped right in, and quickly realized I was at a table with eight regulars. Fun.

All joking aside, it WAS fun.  The people were hilarious, led by the Asian guy to me immediate right, Jeff. 

Action didn't take long to find me - what hits me first hand after I get my chips?  Bullets.  Of course.  I called a $12 pre-flop raise, but folded post-flop to a $24 bet (not wanting to piss away a third of my $150 starting stack on the first hand when my aces got cracked, as they always do).  It was a smart move as it turned out, because both of the people still in the hand would have had me beat.

Otherwise, I didn't have many good hands, lots of two off-suit face cards and the like.  I found myself having an aversion to non-paired hands that didn't contain aces, so a lot of times my K/Q or K/J would be folded post-flop if I didn't hit.  Not helping was my huge headache; not sure where it came from but it made it hard to focus, despite numerous conscious attempts to do so.

In the end, I had played for six and a half hours at the table, and finished down $31.  It was my first losing cash session, something which was in my thoughts near the end, and really shouldn't have been.  Years of playing not to be first out in the SFPT have gotten to me, and switching gears between cash and tournament play is something I'm going to need to work on.

Lessons
To sum it up in one word: RAISE.  Do it more often, and be aggressive about it.  There's no reason min-raises should be my only raise.  I have to start controlling the action more often.  I can't always have the nuts.  Speaking of nuts, I simply need to grow a pair.

There are a lot of reasons why I play scared, and I am finally beginning to understand what they are.  Money is actually only a small part of it: I come to the casino fully expecting to lose every cent I bring.  I just want it to last as long as possible, which is a terrible way to play poker.  I also found myself thinking about playing Let it Ride and saving enough money to do so, another unwanted distraction.  Finally, the lack of regular trips to the casino - I don't know when I am going to be back, which brings me back to wanting the money to last as long as possible.

Solutions?  Bring a separate bankroll for poker (something I really should have anyway) and plan trips on a regular basis.  Both are relatively easy, and things I just figured out while typing this recap.  Viva writing. 

Now, if NYS would just get it's collective crap together so Fingerlakes could have a poker room...

Play Money Loses its Value

I know this comes relatively soon after I declared that play money does in fact have value, but I have quickly started to change my mind - or at the very least, qualify the statement.

In the midst of a recent session, I realized that where I am playing (low to mid-level play money stakes in SNG tournaments) simply doesn't present much of a challenge.  It's way too easy to make it to the final table, and there's no reward to situations like that.  I don't feel like I am gaining anything other than seeing hands, and it's not fun.

So if I'm not having fun, and not really learning anything new, what's the point?

I still think there is some value to be hand from seeing hands, trying to play differently, reacting to different situations, etc...but I also think I would much rather being doing those things in person.  Live poker is just so much more fun - more nuanced also, factoring in the environment, being able to read other people and the table dynamic, things like that.

Maybe it would make a difference if I upped the ante, so to speak, on Full Tilt, and started playing for higher play-money stakes.  One of the reasons I have historically played so low is because I like building up my bankroll and seeing how high I can get the number.  I don't know why; frankly it's stupid because the "money" doesn't mean a thing.  I need to get over that feeling and put the money to work for me.

I know one thing for sure - at the moment, I don't feel too "into" the poker scene.  I know it will be different once the SFPT starts back up again, but for now, it's hard to just read about poker and play online, and not play for real.  I don't want to give up on the whole idea, but I also don't want this "break" I am on to turn into an extended layoff.

The SFPT 2013 Debut

I was very much looking forward to getting the 2013 SFPT season underway, and thus was happy when six others were available on the last Saturday of January to kick things off.

Rather than go into a blow-by-blow recap, I'll provide the facts: I finished second (to Tom), and though my initial recation was that my heads-up play was poor, in retrospect, it wasn't that bad.  If I made a mistake, it was that I wasn't aggressive enough, especially in the big blind.  There's a lesson there for next time.

Overall, I think I have quickly moved beyond my every-tournament goals of "just play well" and "don't make an ass of yourself".  It's been so long since I've made a bad play, that I don't even remember the last one.  As long as I stay focused, which I have been, I won't make bad plays.

So, I need new...let's call them "recurring goals".  For SFPT purposes, that has to be "win".  Plain and simple.  I want to get out my mindset of worrying about the Points Championship, because if I win, that will take care of itself.  As a sub-goal, I need to focus on getting my chips in when I have the advantage, and letting the math do the work.  As Andrew Robl said to Doyle Brunson in a tweet the other day, "it mostly comes down to winning the flips, can't be taught". 

So, as long as I can get my chips in when I am in a coin flip position at worst, I will be fine in the long run.  At least, that's what I can tell myself.

Up next: TBD.  Oscar and I will be working on the re-build of the table, but we should have it done for a tournament near the end of February if all goes well.

FT and the SFPT

After a 32 day absence, I hit the virtual felt again this morning for a 27 person SNG.  It didn't take long before the tournament was down to 18, and not much longer after that before I was put to my first big decision:

With pocket queens, I decided to slow-play and simply called the big blind.  There were two other players, and the flop came Ac/4c/Qh.  The first to act checked, and the second went all-in, putting me at risk.  I debated - they could have aces under, or a flush draw, but trip queens is a strong hand.  I decided to call, as did the other player in the hand (who was also at risk).

It ended up being a good play: the board ran out and I tripled up to over 5k.

It was down to six-handed when I made another move, doubling as the second-shortest stack when I moved in with K/J diamonds and a jack on the flop.  That too held, moving me into a solid third place (with a big gap between third and fourth).

That double was made against a player I dubbed "the pusher", who by that time was going all-in literally every hand.  It was obvious he was going to get caught, and eventually did.  The remaining five were probably as glad to see him go as I was; I know the player who knocked him out was, as he commented "about time".

Down to four-handed, I made a move again and briefly became the chip leader for a few hands.  That fact itself obviously doesn't mean much, but it did mean I was right in the thick of things. 

The short-stack was soon eliminated to make it a three-handed affair, with me in second place.  I  took a calculated risk against the player to my right, and got nailed: my club flush 9/5 under lost to his club flush, J/8 under. 

That made me the short stack by a huge margin, but then, a surprise: the player to my left made a move and was KO'd by the guy to my right.  The good: I was heads up.  The bad: he had me covered by 6:1 or better.

Time for the patented Tina Pagano All-Or-Nothing Strategy.  Before I knew it, I was running hot: K/Q diamonds led to a flush and a double, then K/J spades gave me a jack on the flop and another double.  The very next hand, I called from the big blind with pocket nines, got trips on the flop, shoved, was called, and it held.  All of a sudden, we were almost exactly even.

Things tightened up from there, and I eventually took a lead by getting more aggressive with middle pair bets resulting in folds.  My next all-in was the end: Kh/Jc, calling a push.  The other guy had 5c/6c, and it was a race, but the board ran out to trip 10s.  My king played, and that was that - my second straight 27 person win.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The 2013 SFPT season kicks off this Friday, with what (so far) is a seven person field.  If all goes well, this will be the last tournament with the old table; as Oscar and I are finalizing plans for the new table which we hope to build sometime after the Super Bowl.  Personally, I can't wait to get back to the felt - I'm riding pretty high after my Turning Stone experience, and I'm looking forward to hopefully bringing down a few titles in 2013.

Breaking the Seal Again

As I've mentioned before, my grand total of live cash game experience is a spur-of-the-moment session at Terrible's in Las Vegas two years ago, where I profited a grand total of $8 in a limit game.  So much has changed since then, not the least is that (in comparison to 2010) I have a much better idea of what I'm doing. 

Ever since I decided to take the game more seriously, I determined that I would need to go into my next cash session with a plan, a goal, a loss limit, and a time limit.  These would be determined by each session, with plenty of variables each time.

Fast-forward to last Saturday, when Tina, Matt, Danielle, Cuffe, and I made the annual casino trip for Cuffe's birthday.  I had my bankroll planned out, and $100 of it was earmarked for poker.  Last time I visited The Stone, I wanted to play poker but basically wussed out.  I was determined to not let that happen again.

We arrived at The Stone just before four, and were planning on playing bingo at 6:30.  No time like the present - Tina and I both decided to hit the poker room and play until then.  Surprisingly, there were two seats available, and we sat right down with $100 buy-ins and got right to work at 1/2 NL.  My goals:

Play smart, don't chase
100 loss limit
3 hour time limit

I ended up playing for about two and a half hours, and I was very happy with the way things went.  Mainly, I didn't make any stupid plays and didn't embarrass myself.  The cards were slightly on the poor side; I can't count how many times I had A/6 or worse.  I had to laugh and also pat myself on the back a little bit, because if I had been playing two years ago, I would have played all of them just because of the ace, and busted in like 20 minutes max.

I recall three hands in particular:

One: I had Ah/2h, and called a pre-flop raise to 6 (not a terrible play IMO because of suited connectors).  The flop gave me a nut flush draw, and thus I called the only other player left in my hand (the guy to my immediate right, who was pretty cool)  when he raised to 10.  The turn bricked, and when he raised 30, that was it for me - I wasn't about to piss away that much of my stack on a draw.

"30 was enough to get me out," I laughed afterward.

"Was....25 enough?"  His (obviously drunk) friend to his right asked.

"30 was enough," I repeated with a laugh.  In hindsight, I think this exchange established me in their eyes as someone who knew what they were doing.  (I sure as hell was already ahead of the game in that regard compared to some others at the table, who were too busy having side conversations and had to be reminded when to bet by the dealer, and when they did, bet wrong because they didn't realize someone ahead of them raised.)

Two:  I raised to 10 pre-flop, and got three callers.  The flop came 9-10-2, and I was first to act, and raised another 10.  Two people folded, but one woman thought about it for a while, then spied my stack and put me all-in for my last 24.

"You got a big pair?"

"Yeah," I said, flipping my kings.  She shook her head and flipped A/8.  I knew what was coming - an ace.

Only, it didn't - I faded the last two streets and doubled up, getting me back around 75.

Three:  Again, I raised to 10 pre-flop and this time got two callers, including the same woman.  The flop was similar garbage, and having both players covered, I raised all-in for about 40.  The first to act (a young girl who was actually carded by the dealer and looked like a young Natalie Portman) immediately folded, leaving action to the same woman.  Again she debated, again she called, again she asked "got a big pair?"

Again, I answered "yeah", this time flipping over queens.  They held, and suddenly I was firmly in the black with just over 150.

Only one other hand stands out, my only other pocket pair of the session.  I had nines, and was hoping to limp and get lucky, but the guy to my right raised 30 preflop and it was a no-brainer to fold.  I did have a few other situations where I got to see a free flop, but none of them panned out. 

I tightened up even more after that, and by the time Tina was ready to go (unfortunately, because she'd busted out), I had a profit of 52.  Nice!

Time to break it down:

What went right:

• Didn't play any stupid hands
• Didn't chase anything
• Took advantage of strong hands when I had them
• Made decent reads on people (guy to my right was a good player, his friend was loose but seemed lucky, guy to my left was a good player and didn't play bad hands)

What went wrong:

• Could have taken some more chances, especially instead of checking through with one other player post-flop (maybe could have stolen a pot with a mid-range bet)

Obviously, it was a good session; I hit all my goals, and most importantly, I have the confidence to get back at it again.

Total time: 2.5 hours
Total winnings: $52
Career bankroll (cash games): $60