People say I'm crazy...

"People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin
When I say that I'm o.k. well they look at me kind of strange
Surely you're not happy now you no longer play the game

People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me
When I tell them that I'm doing fine watching shadows on the wall
Don't you miss the big time boy you're no longer on the ball

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go

Ah, people asking questions lost in confusion
Well I tell them there's no problem, only solutions
Well they shake their heads and they look at me as if I've lost my mind
I tell them there's no hurryI'm just sitting here doing time "

Watching the Wheels
-John Lennon

Great tune, lyrics that speak volumes about life in general.

Sorry, got deep there for a minute. I'll get back to cards now.

August Recap

As I stated before, August is my most difficult month of the year. Just too much going on. Tough to get cards in, and tougher to get what I would term as "full sessions" in. I played just over 10k hands, running at just over 2bb/100. Exactly where I need to be, but down from the insane clip I was running at for the first week or two. After the first two 2 weeks, I played very few hands. I'm still getting back in the groove.

Projects:

Win % of Showdowns: 51.08% I'll take it. I'd like to see it higher, but I'll take it. I win almost 45% of the time when I see the flop, and that stat is important to me. I still need to work on not calling down when I know I'm beat. I did this quite a bit in my first 2 sessions after I came back to the game.

Position Play: With my lack of play, I really didn't look at these stats. I have to say I'm pleased. Profitable from every position but the blinds, and my VP$IP is good from the blinds & late position. I still need to work on my middle position play. I think I'm too loose and my starting hand requirements are off. I've made strides, but this is still an area to work on.

Other notes:

The yard looks horrible, I need to put a new drive belt on the mower, and the house is a mess. I'm going to limp through September, and make some changes in October.

I played in the 2nd of 10 live tourneys (with the 11th being the big one). My goal is to cash in 9 of 10, and finish in one of the top 3 point spots. The structure is a double buyin, with half going to the weekly tourney, and half going to the final tourney, where you start with 1k in chips + additional chips based on points accumulated in the matches. I've cashed in both so far, but I need to work on my end-game. I doubled people up on 5 consecutive hands played this past week. I had the best of it when the chips went in 3 of the 5 times, and the other 2 I was in the big blind and mathematically had to call.

I played one level and one level only this month (with the exception of some .5/1 play after a few beers). I plan on keeping that up until I have 550 big bets for the next level. That should be sometime in November or December based on my current BR model.

That's all I've got. I'll post this months goals at some point in the near future.

Rust Sucks

Note to self...going 14 days with only 2 sessions isn't a good thing.

I've had 3 poor sessions in a row, and it brings to mind how important practice and review really is. I normally play 5 days a week, and spend about 45 minutes reviewing each session. It's amazing how quickly we slip into our old bad habits. Some things I'm doing wrong: Calling down when I'm beat and know it, not betting in position after it's checked to me on a harmless flop, misplaying big pairs. I've got to get back into form. I expect it will take me another 2 or 3 sessions and some serious review time to get back to where I was.

A few odd things from last night:

I had to fold pocket Aces not once, but twice. Brutal. The one was a 4 players, capped pre-flop, 2 bets (all spades K high) by 3 players after the flop. I folded when it was 2 bets to me after the turn (spade). I put a TAG on KK and folded. The river paired the board and took it down with Kings full. The other player in the hand had the ten of spades. Sick stuff. I'm glad I didn't have the Ace of spades.

I don't recall the details of the other one and I don't feel like looking it up. I took some bad beats, and was in the mid 40's for showdown win % on both tables. I missed on quite a few hands, but overall, I've been calling too much.

I've cashed in several of the 180 man SnG's, but until my cash game is back where I want it, I'm putting these on the back burner. I'll get back into them in a week or two.

On a personal note, there are quite a few changes going on for me. Pretty damn stressful! I most likely won't put them on here until October, but I think they are good changes. I'll be more at peace and have a better life. Sorry for the tease...all 3 of you will have to wait!

Oh, and ramzdawg, I didn't forget about you. I'll post on your blog this weekend...

This blog will be a part of Poker Stars affiliate program as soon as I figure out how to get the banners up. Anyone that needs an account, feel free to sign up through me!

I'll post some more this weekend. Have a great week, and good luck at the tables.

My woman is great, and the month from hell...

On a non-poker note, I've got a car (1985 Mazda RX-7) that I've had for 10 years or so and love dearly. I haven't driven it in a couple of years. My schedule just hasn't leant itself to "fun" things. As an early birthday present, my wonderful woman put tires, brakes, etc on it and even put it on the road for me. What would I do without her! I can't believe my friends knew about this and I didn't pick up on it. I must be slipping. I'll get around to posting a picture in a week or so. Once I got the two years of dust off of it she looked and sounded great. I could use a good detail job and a carb cleaning, but I'm going to enjoy her for the remaining 2 months before the weather turns. Thanks babe!!

Now on to work...

My good run continues. I played for the first time in 4 days on Sunday. I didn't have a very good day. I busted 25th in a 180 man. I'm getting better at the NL MTT game, but I'm still new at it, and my bet sizing and play in the middle and end stages still needs work. I'll get it. I'm in the black for MTT's this month. At this point I can't ask for more than that. My goal is to have this as an additional profit source by the time 2007 begins.

As far as my limit game goes, I was quite worried about the 4 days without play. I didn't want to get out of the groove I've been in. Fortunately, all went well. I played for several hours and made my goal for the day. I saw two issues with my game. First, I called too much. I was calling turn and river bets when I should have been folding. This happened at least 5 times. I figure this cost me 6 or 7 big bets. Not good. The second issue was my turn and river aggression. I checked and called too much when I felt I had the best hand. While I may not have been correct in my read 100% of the time, I try very hard to always bet/raise when I feel I have the best of it, and I'm right more than I'm wrong. I figure this cost me 8 or 9 big bets. That's about 15 big bets I left on the table. It adds up fast. It was a net +15.75bb day, which is right where I need to be for that time period, but I could have done better.

I'm now more than sufficiently bankrolled for the next level up, but with less than 10k hands at this one, I'm not going anywhere. I really don't see myself moving up for several months. I think the 300bb rule is great for the average recreational player, but there is so much more to it than that. I used a ROR calculator the other day, and given my variance, it stated I should have a 420 (somewhere around there) BB bankroll to have a 0% ROR. It was a cool program. Quite interesting. Speaking of bankroll management, I have seen several posts that address bankroll management. "I have $750, what level should I be playing?" For the beginning player, play where you are comfortable! If you are not comfortable with the betting at the level you are"bankrolled" for, move down!!! If you can reload and are comfortable with the betting at 2/4, move up! These bankroll standards you see so much are merely guidelines and should be treated as such. I regularly played with 75bb in years past and did fine. I went broke twice but I always had the ability to reload. I think for a recreational player the level you play should factor in 3 things: 1) the lowest level you can play and still be entertained, 2) the highest level you are comfortable with (bets), and 3) the size of your bankroll. If they are 3 different levels, find the middle and play there.

Damn, I should have put this at the top. There is no way anyone is going to read this far down. I've been considering putting some funds over on World Poker Exchange. Can anyone give me feedback? I've heard it's a rock garden. The rake I pay goes up every month and I think it will go up dramatically towards the end of the year. Any feedback on this or other rakeback sites is appreciated.

I'll try to post again this week, but after today, my schedule is hell for another week. Good Luck at the tables, and be responsible.

Crazy Times

I had some last minute company this weekend so I played a TON less than I should have, but it was a great weekend. I played a couple of hours on Saturday AM. Lost 14BB including the buyin to the 180 man SnG. I was crippled in that when my nut flush lost to a boat. Bummer. Not a good start to the day.

My company got down in the early PM and we proceeded to eat, drink & be merry. Crazy night. Great times. I didn't eat as much as I usually do when I have company. I think it may have had something to do with my beer consumption. As is par for me, I slowed down at the end of the night and was in bed by 1. Quite responsible if I do say so myself.

Sunday I got up early and was playing by 7. I really didn't want to drag myself out of bed, but with my schedule this month and the goals I've set, I think it's important to play when I can. I'm glad I did, what a day! It was my first $500 day online. I've had them live before, but never online. I 2-tabled for about 6 hours, and it seemed like I was getting paid off on all my big hands. Great stuff. For the first couple of hours there was only one table open!?!?! It was so soft it didn't matter. A second finally opened with one opponent, and between the time heads up & shorthanded, I made about 13BB. I really enjoy SH play. I'd do it more but I don't like the swings.

I've already exceeded my $$ requirement for the month, and I'm halfway to my September goal. I finally feel that the money is showing. This level is much less of a grind. It's nice to click on the hourly rate in PT and see a number I feel good about. It was no fun having a 6 or 8 in there. Felt like a small number for my time. This is much better. I'm currently bankrolled for the next level up, but I won't be moving up yet. I may not until the end of the year. I want at least 25k hands (I had ~47k before this move). I'm running really well at this level, and I hope I can keep it up. I'm a natural worrier, and I figure the pendulum is due to swing the other way. I've been playing well for too long. My numbers say it's not just a lucky run. It's not like my W$SD is in the 60's or anything. I'm just tight (sometimes it seems too tight), aggressive (not aggressive enough), and folks are dumb enough to keep paying me off.

I'm going to continue to work on my tournament game, as well as this months projects. Overall I'm trying to keep my head on straight, get enough rest, and play MY game every time I sit down at that table. I have to remind myself that it's my table, play accordingly.

One more note. In looking at my hourly records, it seems that early AM (EST) on the weekends is a very profitable time to play. Lots of Ausies & Euros.

Good Luck at the Tables, and thanks to all 3 of you that read this.

Oh what a night...

...Late December back in '63.

Friday night I did the usual. Two full ring limit tables, and one of those damn $4 180 man SnG's. These things are a pain in the rear. The play is all over the place, but I've told myself I'm going to play them until I've got 5 final tables. Than I'll take a shot at the next level for a few of them. I've been playing 2 a night, but last night I didn't get a chance to. I didn't have huge hands, but I played a few more small pots in position, and was able to take a few pots, then I flopped a straight. That put me in the top 30 with about 150 people left, and I was in the top 30 the rest of the game.

When we got near the bubble, I got more aggressive and picked up blind after blind. There were several times where due to my stack, I wanted to play a pot, but really didn't get much action. Once we were in the money (last two tables), I took a few people out. I got lucky with my 10,9 of clubs against A6, bot overall, the folks I felted went in with the worst of it.

I entered the final table with the lead, 2 quickly exited, and I was primed for the win. Unfortunately my JJ lost to AK, which brought me back to the pack a bit. It was a very active final table, and I finished in third when my 10,9 was out-kicked by a K,9. It was a rather tedius 3+ hours, but it was nice to have a good showing.

I've got company coming over today which will cut into my playing time. Not a bad thing really. I'm getting beat up a bit at the tables this morning.

Rant, and an Update

Feel free to skip this first paragraph. It's a rant... I've been reading several poker forums for a couple of years, and I've been posting for about a year. I try to be respectful of others, give honest responses based on my opinion and experience. It seem as if several of these online communities have become nothing but infantile pissing contests. Excuse my french, but fuck that. I don't need it. I'll browse for good threads that have real content, but I'm through wasting time posting. This is why I don't like people.

Now that I've got that off of my chest...I've played 3 180 man SnG's on stars ($4) since my last post. The two on Wednesday were just horrible. Good play with one or two impatient & costly decisions. Last night I played one that was quite interesting. I donked off all but 250 chips in the first level. I made a horrible call with a pocket pair and was beaten by TPTK. I should have folded after the flop. Poor, poor play. I ended up going out in 37th or so after going over the top with a decent draw (flush & straight) and getting called. I was looking to take down the pot right there. Again, I shouldn't have been in the pot after the flop. I had a smallish stack, but could have coasted into the money. I really have a hard time doing that. I like to push all edges and take as many chips as I can when I think I have the opportunity. I think that is the correct attitude most of the time, unfortunately my NL skill doesn't back it up. Ah well. I'll get there.

My move up has been good. I've added almost 50% onto my bankroll. I'm getting paid off with some good hands, and picking up free pots with timely bets. My stats after a week are at the bottom of this post. Sample size is really small so results don't matter much, but with the exception of the AF being low, I'm pleased. If anyone sees any leaks, please let me know.

I'm still working on my blind play, and I'm finding it's easier to play tight at this level. My strong hands are still getting paid off, sometimes in ways that surprise me. I don't know how some of these people can afford to play cards. It's just session after session of donations.

This weekend I'm going to get a few thousand hands in, and not much else. My last 2 days of free time for 2 weeks. This is a miserable time of year. I really wish I could spend the day doing what I enjoy, watching a baseball game, and working in the yard. I have a feeling that time will come sooner rather than later. More on that in the months to come though.