Played in the $1500 event on Saturday. My first table was very soft and I was running it over. Ran my starting stack from 3k to 6k without any big pots. I was very disappointed when it broke a little after the 1st level.
I had one interesting hand at my 2nd table. With blinds at 50/100 a big stack limps from the CO. I complete from the SB with K9s and BB checks. Flop comes A94 rainbow. I check and BB checks and big stack of course bets 200. I know my hand is good here as almost nobody with a big stack ever limps with an ace from the CO. I contemplated raising but thought he's most likely drawing thin as 2 broadway cards are most likely raising PF as well. Turn is a low diamond putting 2 diamonds on the board. I check again and he bets small around 500. I call. River is another low diamond and I check and he bets small again. At this point I know I'm beat but I make the crying call and he flips over Q9 of diamonds for the flush. I'm not real sure how I should be playing a hand like this especially out of position. I got moved to my 3rd table a little after that.
My stack size dwindled down to about 6500 when I lost a pot for over 15k with QQ vs AK vs AT. King on the turn and I'm left with 1500 and soon bust out with T9s. If I win that pot I'm more than double the average stack. I guess that lucks recirculates so it'll hit me sometime in the near future, preferably in the main event.
After that event I was pretty well burnt out on live MTT's. Played in Stars and Full Tilt's WSOP qualifiers on Sunday. Made it within 100 players of the seat at Full Tilt but lost a crucial coinflip that probably would've locked up a seat then I misplayed a hand by not cbetting when I should've. It sucked pretty bad. I've also been running crappy in SNG's. Still up for the month online but it seems since I final tabled the shootout the gods have been frowning on me.
Tomorrow I'm flying back to Missouri for a much needed vacation from Vegas. Since being out in Vegas all I've done is eat, sleep, and drink poker. Haven't done anything for entertainment besides going out the first night I got here. Hopefully, this trip back will help me recooperate for the stretch run of the WSOP.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
5th in the shootout
Blah, didn't get my first bracelet or my first 6 figure pay day. I missed every flop and just couldn't get anything going. Luckily, I still managed to move up the pay scale to 5th for 36k.
We were sequestered the duration of the final table and you could only bring 1 person with you to watch the final table. Once there, if they left they couldn't come back. During our break we were escorted by a security guard to the bathroom and a conference room with snacks. It was a little weird being on break/peeing with the other guys at the final table.
Played in the 2k NL event today but couldn't get anything going. Had a bunch of pocket pairs but never flopped a set. After the 2nd break I was down to about 12 bb's when the cutoff raises 4x bb and I shove with AT. He has AK and I get no love from the board. I plan on pwning the $1500 event tomorrow and final tabling it.
We were sequestered the duration of the final table and you could only bring 1 person with you to watch the final table. Once there, if they left they couldn't come back. During our break we were escorted by a security guard to the bathroom and a conference room with snacks. It was a little weird being on break/peeing with the other guys at the final table.
Played in the 2k NL event today but couldn't get anything going. Had a bunch of pocket pairs but never flopped a set. After the 2nd break I was down to about 12 bb's when the cutoff raises 4x bb and I shove with AT. He has AK and I get no love from the board. I plan on pwning the $1500 event tomorrow and final tabling it.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Shootout Final Table
A couple of quick things.
Finally made it to Vegas last week. The house I'm staying in is pretty sweet and only like 5 minutes from the strip.
Played in 3 of the Venetian deep stack tourney's. Made it to the money in the 1k last Friday but lost a pot with AK vs AQ all in preflop that probably would've made me chipleader with 30 people left, 100k+ for first. Settled for $1600 instead.
Entered the $1500 WSOP shootout event yesterday. My first table was extremely soft. I won a race and then got most of the chips on the table with A9 vs KQ. From there I took out the 2 remaining short stacks to take down my table and guaranteed myself $6700.
Came back at 9 PM for my 2nd table. Surprisingly, this table was still extremely soft. I couldn't fathom how some of these guys won their first table. I lucked out and only had 1-2 other players at the table that seemed to realize that you needed every chip on the table to advance to the final table. Took it down at about 4 AM. I ran pretty hot and somehow got 2 guys to pay me off for huge pots with 2nd pair when I obviously had a monster.
Final table is today at 2 PM. Bluff magazine is broadcasting it live with hole cards but it costs $50 or so buck to get it. Also, we are being sequestered which kinda of sucks as it would be a lot cooler if I could have some sweaters to cheer me on. Erick Lindgren and Daniel Negreanu are at the final table which should make it a little more entertaining. Hopefully, I can continue to run good and take it down.
Finally made it to Vegas last week. The house I'm staying in is pretty sweet and only like 5 minutes from the strip.
Played in 3 of the Venetian deep stack tourney's. Made it to the money in the 1k last Friday but lost a pot with AK vs AQ all in preflop that probably would've made me chipleader with 30 people left, 100k+ for first. Settled for $1600 instead.
Entered the $1500 WSOP shootout event yesterday. My first table was extremely soft. I won a race and then got most of the chips on the table with A9 vs KQ. From there I took out the 2 remaining short stacks to take down my table and guaranteed myself $6700.
Came back at 9 PM for my 2nd table. Surprisingly, this table was still extremely soft. I couldn't fathom how some of these guys won their first table. I lucked out and only had 1-2 other players at the table that seemed to realize that you needed every chip on the table to advance to the final table. Took it down at about 4 AM. I ran pretty hot and somehow got 2 guys to pay me off for huge pots with 2nd pair when I obviously had a monster.
Final table is today at 2 PM. Bluff magazine is broadcasting it live with hole cards but it costs $50 or so buck to get it. Also, we are being sequestered which kinda of sucks as it would be a lot cooler if I could have some sweaters to cheer me on. Erick Lindgren and Daniel Negreanu are at the final table which should make it a little more entertaining. Hopefully, I can continue to run good and take it down.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The inevitable
Well I tried to make a run for it but my car didn't cooperate. I was halfway up the first mountain heading west from Denver when my overdrive light started flashing. I also couldn't get the damn thing above 40 going uphill.
Turned around and took it to the nearest Mazda dealership in Denver. 3 hours later I get a call that my transmission is shot(no shit) and it would cost 4k to replace it. I laughed and said no thanks. Tried to get the used car dealer at Mazda to buy it but he said it was worthless without a transmission.
My plan for tomorrow is to call the local salvage yard to scrap the car for whatever I can get. I then have to get an extra suitcase and a travel bag for my golf clubs so I can get all my stuff to Vegas. The sad part is it's still going to be a tight squeeze.
On a lighter note, everybody in Colorado has been extremely nice. If I was stuck in a less friendly place I think I would've gone crazy by now.
Turned around and took it to the nearest Mazda dealership in Denver. 3 hours later I get a call that my transmission is shot(no shit) and it would cost 4k to replace it. I laughed and said no thanks. Tried to get the used car dealer at Mazda to buy it but he said it was worthless without a transmission.
My plan for tomorrow is to call the local salvage yard to scrap the car for whatever I can get. I then have to get an extra suitcase and a travel bag for my golf clubs so I can get all my stuff to Vegas. The sad part is it's still going to be a tight squeeze.
On a lighter note, everybody in Colorado has been extremely nice. If I was stuck in a less friendly place I think I would've gone crazy by now.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Praise Marty Moose!
Just call me Clark Griswold. So far nothing has gone right on my vacation road trip out to Vegas.
My car is officially shot to hell. When I first got on the highway my car just didn't feel right, shaking a lot more than usual and it took a lot more power to get it up past 70. As I pulled off the highway in KC my transmission starting jumping around but that had happened a few years ago so I wasn't too worried. At this point I should've realized my car just wasn't going to make it out to Vegas. However, I'm a stubborn asshole so I pressed on. Midway through Kansas(which BTW is the worst state ever to drive through) my check engine light came on and I knew I was in trouble. Whenever my car auto shifted 2-3 and 3-4 the engine revved up a lot more than it should. Afterwards it's fine but still doesn't ride like it should. I made it to Colorado Springs and am currently contemplating what the hell I'm going to do now. I have 2 options:
1) Gamble and try to make my POS car across the Rocky Mountains. Risky considering I'm still 800 miles away from Vegas.
or
2) Leave my car here and fly out to Vegas. I've got a shit ton of luggage(clothes, laptop, 20 inch monitor, and golf clubs) so I would have to buy another bag for all my clothes plus a travel bag for my clubs). Also, I'd either have to sell my car before I left or leave it here and pick it up eventually. Neither look like much fun. I'd also have to rent a car while out in Vegas. Blah, this option sucks.
Going to the Mazda dealership tomorrow morning. Maybe there's a quick fix but I REALLY doubt it.
Not much else has gone right since I've been in Colorado. The weather has been stormy so I didn't get a chance at tackling Pikes Peak.
The broadband wireless card I got from Cingular this week pretty well blows. It's worse than dial up in most areas and it interferes with my usb port so I can't use my mouse. I actually went to Office Max to get another mouse thinking it was my mouse causing the problem but $15 lighter and I now know it's the freaking wireless cards fault.
Tomorrow should be interesting. I'd be the happiest person ever if I somehow got my car to Vegas without it breaking down.
My car is officially shot to hell. When I first got on the highway my car just didn't feel right, shaking a lot more than usual and it took a lot more power to get it up past 70. As I pulled off the highway in KC my transmission starting jumping around but that had happened a few years ago so I wasn't too worried. At this point I should've realized my car just wasn't going to make it out to Vegas. However, I'm a stubborn asshole so I pressed on. Midway through Kansas(which BTW is the worst state ever to drive through) my check engine light came on and I knew I was in trouble. Whenever my car auto shifted 2-3 and 3-4 the engine revved up a lot more than it should. Afterwards it's fine but still doesn't ride like it should. I made it to Colorado Springs and am currently contemplating what the hell I'm going to do now. I have 2 options:
1) Gamble and try to make my POS car across the Rocky Mountains. Risky considering I'm still 800 miles away from Vegas.
or
2) Leave my car here and fly out to Vegas. I've got a shit ton of luggage(clothes, laptop, 20 inch monitor, and golf clubs) so I would have to buy another bag for all my clothes plus a travel bag for my clubs). Also, I'd either have to sell my car before I left or leave it here and pick it up eventually. Neither look like much fun. I'd also have to rent a car while out in Vegas. Blah, this option sucks.
Going to the Mazda dealership tomorrow morning. Maybe there's a quick fix but I REALLY doubt it.
Not much else has gone right since I've been in Colorado. The weather has been stormy so I didn't get a chance at tackling Pikes Peak.
The broadband wireless card I got from Cingular this week pretty well blows. It's worse than dial up in most areas and it interferes with my usb port so I can't use my mouse. I actually went to Office Max to get another mouse thinking it was my mouse causing the problem but $15 lighter and I now know it's the freaking wireless cards fault.
Tomorrow should be interesting. I'd be the happiest person ever if I somehow got my car to Vegas without it breaking down.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
The calm before the storm
Friday morning is my departure date for Las Vegas. My itinerary looks something like this:
6/1 - Drive to KC. Have a few brewskis and stay with my brother
6/2 - Drive to Colorado Springs. Probably shoot myself for thinking driving out to Vegas was a good idea.
6/3 - Hike up Pike's Peak. I'm not in the best of shape but it's supposedly not that difficult to do.
6/4 - Very undecided on this. Thinking about swinging down to The Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park(http://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm) and then to Black Canyon of Gunnison(http://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm). Might skip one or both as it adds about 3 hours onto the driving time and go directly to Arches(http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/arches.htm). Either way I plan on staying in Moab that night.
6/5 - Arches and Canyonlands Nat'l Park(http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/canyonlands.htm). Probably stay in St. George that night.
6/6 - Would like to head up to Zion Nat'l Park but I'll be more than likely be too bushed. Since Zion is only 2 1/2 hours away from Vegas it'll be a nice getaway from LV when I'm sucking wind at poker.
Once I get out to Vegas I'm going into full poker pro mode. I plan on playing in a lot of the venetian deep stack events and a few of the WSOP $1500 events. Since online sites no longer buy in players directly to the main event I'm not sure I'll be playing in it. The field is going to have less dead money and if I just had a month of losing 10k+ I doubt I'll want to drop another 10k on one tourney. Hopefully I run good. One time!
6/1 - Drive to KC. Have a few brewskis and stay with my brother
6/2 - Drive to Colorado Springs. Probably shoot myself for thinking driving out to Vegas was a good idea.
6/3 - Hike up Pike's Peak. I'm not in the best of shape but it's supposedly not that difficult to do.
6/4 - Very undecided on this. Thinking about swinging down to The Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park(http://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm) and then to Black Canyon of Gunnison(http://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm). Might skip one or both as it adds about 3 hours onto the driving time and go directly to Arches(http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/arches.htm). Either way I plan on staying in Moab that night.
6/5 - Arches and Canyonlands Nat'l Park(http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/canyonlands.htm). Probably stay in St. George that night.
6/6 - Would like to head up to Zion Nat'l Park but I'll be more than likely be too bushed. Since Zion is only 2 1/2 hours away from Vegas it'll be a nice getaway from LV when I'm sucking wind at poker.
Once I get out to Vegas I'm going into full poker pro mode. I plan on playing in a lot of the venetian deep stack events and a few of the WSOP $1500 events. Since online sites no longer buy in players directly to the main event I'm not sure I'll be playing in it. The field is going to have less dead money and if I just had a month of losing 10k+ I doubt I'll want to drop another 10k on one tourney. Hopefully I run good. One time!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
April Results. Thank God.
Notice how I didn't post any results from December-March? December and January I was Hawaii and Australia and didn't play much so that's my excuse for those 2 months. I did win a little but nothing special. Febuary and March were probably my worst two months of poker ever. I experienced a good ole 100 buy in downswing at the 60's and never really put in any sort of volume(it's tough to play when it seems you lose every session). After those two negative cash flow months I decided to work on my game a little and drop down a level during the day when the games were tough. Either I had some huge leaks that I fixed or my doom switch was deactivated.
SNG's
36's 693 played 11.2 ROI +2791.80
60's 594 played 10.0 ROI +3564.00
114's 3 played 0 ROI -342.00
119's 85 played -.2 ROI -17.00
236's 11 played 90.7 ROI +2354.00
350's 1 played 0 ROI -350
Total 1387 played 10.8 ROI +8001
MTT's
Won 12k WSOP package from Stars
Broke even in about 20 or so other MTT's
Cash
Played about 300 PL Omaha hands and lost about $600
My goals for May:
-Win 15k plus for preliminary WSOP events.
-Finalize arrangements on Vegas house.
-Leave for Vegas May 29th. I think I'm going to drive out there so I can do some side trips on my way out there.
SNG's
36's 693 played 11.2 ROI +2791.80
60's 594 played 10.0 ROI +3564.00
114's 3 played 0 ROI -342.00
119's 85 played -.2 ROI -17.00
236's 11 played 90.7 ROI +2354.00
350's 1 played 0 ROI -350
Total 1387 played 10.8 ROI +8001
MTT's
Won 12k WSOP package from Stars
Broke even in about 20 or so other MTT's
Cash
Played about 300 PL Omaha hands and lost about $600
My goals for May:
-Win 15k plus for preliminary WSOP events.
-Finalize arrangements on Vegas house.
-Leave for Vegas May 29th. I think I'm going to drive out there so I can do some side trips on my way out there.
Monday, April 23, 2007
WSOP plans
Last Thursday I was bored with my normal routine of SNG's so I decided to enter the same WSOP satellite, the 30+3 rebuy at 15:00 ET, that I won last year to get my seat. I hadn't played in any cash satellites for the world series yet this year. Well after winning a few key coinflips and having all my big hands hold up I took down 1st and the main event package. Ship it!
Now, I have to figure out how long I want to be out in Vegas. Some of the early NL events are going to be full of mega donkeys so not going out there and playing in them would be a huge financial mistake. I'm definitely going to be out there in early June and most likely the majority of the time. I had thought about going to Spain in Mid May to visit my Aunt and a friend but I really need to be concentrating on building my roll up for Vegas. The WPT just added an event in Barcelona in October so I can always go then.
Now, I have to figure out how long I want to be out in Vegas. Some of the early NL events are going to be full of mega donkeys so not going out there and playing in them would be a huge financial mistake. I'm definitely going to be out there in early June and most likely the majority of the time. I had thought about going to Spain in Mid May to visit my Aunt and a friend but I really need to be concentrating on building my roll up for Vegas. The WPT just added an event in Barcelona in October so I can always go then.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Back and ready to stop being lazy
Damn, I've been lazy. Hawaii and Australia were amazing(some pics below). Unfortunately, I came down with some nasty cough in Mid January and didn't stay in Australia as long as I would've liked. I did get to play in 2 events in the Aussie Millions. I cashed in 24th place in event 7(Results) . Didn't do as well in the main event as I only lasted about 6 hours. With 30 big blinds I pushed over a raiser and a caller only to run into AA. Overall I thought played ok. I misplayed 1 or 2 hands but really nothing incredibly donkish. If all goes as planned I'll be making another trip over there next year.
After I came back I had a decision on whether to get a place in my hometown or make the jump to Las Vegas. I went out to Vegas to look at places but realized that I really wasn't ready to live the Vegas lifestyle. Instead I got probably the sweetest apartment in Cape Girardeau. It's 2400 sq ft and has a loft/office that overlooks the river.
Overlooking Waipio Valley on the Big island. There's a mile long road to the bottom in which you are only supposed to drive down if you have 4 wheel drive. Needless, to say the walk back up it was a helluva workout.
One of the many waterfalls that I saw. This one is supposedly the biggest in Hawaii.
This was my "best" picture. It's was taken at A'Beach about 30 miles north of Kona.
Me at Sydney Harbor taken near the famous Opera House.
After I came back I had a decision on whether to get a place in my hometown or make the jump to Las Vegas. I went out to Vegas to look at places but realized that I really wasn't ready to live the Vegas lifestyle. Instead I got probably the sweetest apartment in Cape Girardeau. It's 2400 sq ft and has a loft/office that overlooks the river.
Overlooking Waipio Valley on the Big island. There's a mile long road to the bottom in which you are only supposed to drive down if you have 4 wheel drive. Needless, to say the walk back up it was a helluva workout.
One of the many waterfalls that I saw. This one is supposedly the biggest in Hawaii.
This was my "best" picture. It's was taken at A'Beach about 30 miles north of Kona.
Me at Sydney Harbor taken near the famous Opera House.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The 3k challenge has been scrapped
It was a stupid idea to begin with. I'm currently at 1354 SNG's 8% ROI +$10394. Overall that is extremely solid but my graph is starting to resemble the Nasdaq index after the dot-com bubble. It's really frustrating and I'm going to handle it like I've handled past downswings, by taking a break until I feel I'm ready to play again. I will continue to play SNG's until I leave for Hawaii on the 28th but I will no longer be bound to the 3000 SNG threshold.
T minus 13 days until I leave for Oahu. I was checking out things to do on the big island, I'm headed there on December 3rd, and was amazed at some of the pictures I saw. Exploring that island is going to be a treat. I'll make sure to post pictures and trip reports.
Just want to send a congrats out to my aunt/godmother Gina. She somehow matched all but one of the powerball numbers to win 10 grand. Would've been sweet to win the whole jackpot but I'm sure she'll have 10,000 reasons why missing it by 1 number isn't so bad.
T minus 13 days until I leave for Oahu. I was checking out things to do on the big island, I'm headed there on December 3rd, and was amazed at some of the pictures I saw. Exploring that island is going to be a treat. I'll make sure to post pictures and trip reports.
Just want to send a congrats out to my aunt/godmother Gina. She somehow matched all but one of the powerball numbers to win 10 grand. Would've been sweet to win the whole jackpot but I'm sure she'll have 10,000 reasons why missing it by 1 number isn't so bad.
Friday, November 10, 2006
1k+
1052 SNG's 10.1% ROI +$9771
Don't have much to add as I'm completely burnt out on SNG's. I'll keep plugging away but I can't wait til I'm done with this stupid challenge. Check out the SNG High leaderboard, I'm currently #1.
I ordered a Dell 17 inch laptop that is supposedly coming tomorrow. Of course, UPS said it would be delivered anytime between 8 AM and 7 PM. What a crock of shit. Give me a 4 hour window not a 11 hour one. I better get to bed so I can't get up in time to lay on the couch and wait for UPS.
Don't have much to add as I'm completely burnt out on SNG's. I'll keep plugging away but I can't wait til I'm done with this stupid challenge. Check out the SNG High leaderboard, I'm currently #1.
I ordered a Dell 17 inch laptop that is supposedly coming tomorrow. Of course, UPS said it would be delivered anytime between 8 AM and 7 PM. What a crock of shit. Give me a 4 hour window not a 11 hour one. I better get to bed so I can't get up in time to lay on the couch and wait for UPS.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
500+ down
544 SNG's 14.5% ROI $6460
Stupid Stars Autumn deposit bonus. I pretty well swore off Stars this month but since they offered a 50% deposit bonus up to $400 I decided I could play 200 SNG's over there to clear the bonus. Well I'm already down about $800 there and still haven't cleared the bonus. Stupid doom switch.
For some dumb reason Full Tilt is now putting all tournament hands into one hand. This sucks as now I have to manually enter all my tournaments into Tourney Manager(highly recommended for Tourney players, http://www.tourneymanager.net/). Hopefully, either FT fixes this or rvg from Tourney Manager puts out a patch to help with uploads.
Stupid Stars Autumn deposit bonus. I pretty well swore off Stars this month but since they offered a 50% deposit bonus up to $400 I decided I could play 200 SNG's over there to clear the bonus. Well I'm already down about $800 there and still haven't cleared the bonus. Stupid doom switch.
For some dumb reason Full Tilt is now putting all tournament hands into one hand. This sucks as now I have to manually enter all my tournaments into Tourney Manager(highly recommended for Tourney players, http://www.tourneymanager.net/). Hopefully, either FT fixes this or rvg from Tourney Manager puts out a patch to help with uploads.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Time for a challenge
3 months after signing up I am finally making my first "meaningful" entry. Not too much has happened since then. Went out to Vegas and played in the WSOP(busted out after 6 hours KK < AQ). While out there, I visited Zion National Park. Picture of me atop of angels landing in Zion below. Was going to post more pics but I haven't found any fast way to upload them.
Other than that I haven't been doing too much. That's going to change on November 28th when I head to Hawaii for 2 weeks then to Australia for 2-3 months. I've always wanted to go to Aussie land but now because of some game(online poker) where I push buttons for a couple hours a day I can live there for awhile. Should be fun.
Since I doubt I'll be playing much in December I decided I needed to put in the hours this month. I decided that 3000 SNG's in 30 days would be a challenging yet not unachievable goal. I started back on the the 30th of October and have played 368 tournies so far. Ahead of pace but with thanksgiving and a few other random party days it's going to be interesting to see if I stay on course.
Will probably update every 500 tournies or so. Right now I'm running extremely hot and would hate to jinx it by posting my results so far.
Other than that I haven't been doing too much. That's going to change on November 28th when I head to Hawaii for 2 weeks then to Australia for 2-3 months. I've always wanted to go to Aussie land but now because of some game(online poker) where I push buttons for a couple hours a day I can live there for awhile. Should be fun.
Since I doubt I'll be playing much in December I decided I needed to put in the hours this month. I decided that 3000 SNG's in 30 days would be a challenging yet not unachievable goal. I started back on the the 30th of October and have played 368 tournies so far. Ahead of pace but with thanksgiving and a few other random party days it's going to be interesting to see if I stay on course.
Will probably update every 500 tournies or so. Right now I'm running extremely hot and would hate to jinx it by posting my results so far.
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Saturday, July 22, 2006
The point of this thing
Since I plan on doing a lot of traveling in the upcoming months I figured this was the best place to post trip reports and cool pics. It definitely is not going to turn into a journal and I won't be posting daily. There is way too much out there to see and experience to be sitting at a computer typing about what I had for lunch.
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