Last night Ashley, Anthony and I played at the WSOP Circut event at Harrah's Rincon. I really like the facility itself, but the action at the place is pretty blah. I always feel a pressure when I play up there, because it is an hour drive, and since the cash game is pretty terrible, if busting occurs then it is a very long boring drive home.
Anyways, I played really well, and was very happy about my play. I got stuck early when I flopped top two on an AKT board against broadway. I battled back for a long time, but unfortunately was just short of the money, finishing in 29th with the top 18 getting paid. Sigh...
Ashley faired slightly better then me, and was able to make the money despite taking a pretty brutal cooler (KJ vs AA, on an AKK flop) as the money drew near. We might go back on Saturday so she can play in the Ladies event, and I am going to hope the cash games are better when we return.
Other then that, not too much has been happening. I have been eating alot better, and have had less trouble sleeping and it has been much easier waking up in the mornings. With a bit more work the weight bet is going to be in the bag. Simply cutting out fried foods, and soda has been immensely helpful in this first week. I have been eating alot of salads, and when I eat sandwiches, I am trying to eat less bread, and am ordering them without fries. Its a change but I know in the long run it will be benficial. Mentally when I am playing cards, I feel more fresh, and am able to concentrate for longer periods, while maintaining a good amount of discipline.
Ashley is cooking tonight, and I got things on the DVR to catch up on. Tonight should be exciting!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Perfect World
The last few weeks have been very up and down for me. I spent quite a bit of time playing in the Spring Flind tournys at Sycuan, and ended up with a big goose egg for my efforts. However, I was able to grind the cash games, which were actually quite good during that time, and every night, made back my buy in plus a few hundred for my time. The only tourny success I have had as of late is another final table for the WSOP Main Event Qualifier. Unfortunately the payout isnt very good since a big chunk of the cash goes to the freeroll at the end of May.
Anyways, things have been going pretty good. I have been playing pretty strong without making too many mistakes in the cash games and I have been pretty steady in my results.
I have had a little bit of drama with loaning money to a player, and that has been frustrating and annoying. Since every little bit of cash I can get is helpful to me, having someone take their time in paying me back is quite the hassle. In a perfect world when people needed a loan they would pay it back as if their life depended upon it, but such is not the way...
I had dinner with Sean and his wife the other night for St. Patricks Day. We drank beers, ate corn beef and played a little heads up. I scooped Sean for a solid $20! Hurrah for me! As the night wore on, we got into discussions about prop bets, and I booked a weight bet with his wife. Since we both are trying to lose weight, we both figured it would be a good motivation. The goal is to lose 30lbs in 4 months. If we both lose 30 then the bets is square, but if one of us loses less then 30 we have to pay. If I lose, she is going to dress me up, and we go to a gay bar for 4 hours. If I win, she has to come to the casino and give me 4 hours worth of massage at the table. I think her pay off is a little bit better then mine, however, I like my side of the bet, so I am willing to give up some edge on that side of it. Suffice to say, it should be interesting.
The last few days, I have been trying to walk a bit more, and I have been eating better, and portioning my food better. I think the key to this is smaller and more incrimental steps, then trying to make a drastic sweeping change. If I try to keep a healthy diet, and exercise more and more progressively, then I hope things will work out.
Tonight, I am playing at Sycuan. Hopefully, I can collect some cash from the no-limit players, and the ones that owe me money. In a perfect world of course.
Anyways, things have been going pretty good. I have been playing pretty strong without making too many mistakes in the cash games and I have been pretty steady in my results.
I have had a little bit of drama with loaning money to a player, and that has been frustrating and annoying. Since every little bit of cash I can get is helpful to me, having someone take their time in paying me back is quite the hassle. In a perfect world when people needed a loan they would pay it back as if their life depended upon it, but such is not the way...
I had dinner with Sean and his wife the other night for St. Patricks Day. We drank beers, ate corn beef and played a little heads up. I scooped Sean for a solid $20! Hurrah for me! As the night wore on, we got into discussions about prop bets, and I booked a weight bet with his wife. Since we both are trying to lose weight, we both figured it would be a good motivation. The goal is to lose 30lbs in 4 months. If we both lose 30 then the bets is square, but if one of us loses less then 30 we have to pay. If I lose, she is going to dress me up, and we go to a gay bar for 4 hours. If I win, she has to come to the casino and give me 4 hours worth of massage at the table. I think her pay off is a little bit better then mine, however, I like my side of the bet, so I am willing to give up some edge on that side of it. Suffice to say, it should be interesting.
The last few days, I have been trying to walk a bit more, and I have been eating better, and portioning my food better. I think the key to this is smaller and more incrimental steps, then trying to make a drastic sweeping change. If I try to keep a healthy diet, and exercise more and more progressively, then I hope things will work out.
Tonight, I am playing at Sycuan. Hopefully, I can collect some cash from the no-limit players, and the ones that owe me money. In a perfect world of course.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I'm Back
Wow its been awhile. Ok, so Vegas didnt end up going so great for me. I stayed ahead of the curve the whole way, making pretty good decisions and getting into some pretty good spots. However, in the last 24 hours everything that could go wrong went wrong. I found myself to be variance's bitch for a little bit, and ended up stuck for the trip by a few hundred. Sigh...
Since being back things have been pretty slow. I didnt play till the weekend and when I finally did get my hands on some cards, I did pretty decent. On Saturday I grinded the cash game for a few hundred, and played the Sycuan tournament and was able to chop that up for almost $600. After the tourny I headed up to Viejas to watch Anthony play the big game. It was cool getting to sweat him, even though he ended up getting stuck pretty bad. Cooler after cooler hit the kid but he kept coming back right up until the end.
Sunday was a test in perseverence. The game at Sycuan was pretty decent because of some freeroll they were giving players that day, so I jumped into their big game right when I got there. I immediately got stuck for a buy in when I took AK up against K8 on the good old KJ8 no suit board. Blah. The day got worse from there and I ended up in the game for $1K, but was able to make most of it back in the few hours I was there.
Probably will be playing later on this week. But for now, Im tired and need to rest.
Since being back things have been pretty slow. I didnt play till the weekend and when I finally did get my hands on some cards, I did pretty decent. On Saturday I grinded the cash game for a few hundred, and played the Sycuan tournament and was able to chop that up for almost $600. After the tourny I headed up to Viejas to watch Anthony play the big game. It was cool getting to sweat him, even though he ended up getting stuck pretty bad. Cooler after cooler hit the kid but he kept coming back right up until the end.
Sunday was a test in perseverence. The game at Sycuan was pretty decent because of some freeroll they were giving players that day, so I jumped into their big game right when I got there. I immediately got stuck for a buy in when I took AK up against K8 on the good old KJ8 no suit board. Blah. The day got worse from there and I ended up in the game for $1K, but was able to make most of it back in the few hours I was there.
Probably will be playing later on this week. But for now, Im tired and need to rest.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Accident
My tournament streak ended the other night when I bubbled in 12th place at the $80 buy in. It was a bit brutal because of the way the hand went down. With blinds of 2K-4K, I make it 10K UTG with AK. The guy directly to my left ships for 2.5K more. It folds back to the big blind, who had been playing pretty tight, and he ships for 3.5K additional. I call the 3.5K to put them both all in, and am up against 88 from my left, and QT in the BB. The flop is AKJ, and I flop top two with QT flopping broadway. I brick the turn and river and my tourny was basically done.
On a bright note, Ashley was able to final table AND because one of the guys refused to chop the prize money, they played down to heads up, and after she knocked out the dude who wouldnt chop, she took about $1K and the official win. Very well done. I didnt fair too bad either on the night because I had a few last longer bets in play that I won with my 12th place elimination, so it still worked out pretty well.
On Saturday, Ashley and I didnt do too much. I picked up breakfast and we ate and watched tv, and before long she was off to work. So I sat around for a bit, and then headed out on a drive. As I was getting on the freeway, I rear ended a guy and did some pretty serious damage to my car. Luckily the guy in front of me was not hurt, and I didnt get hurt seriously either. So the rest of my day was spent taking care of my car, getting the insurance information to the proper people, so on and so on.
Sunday I picked up my rental car, and put in a short session. Nothing too noteable, other then booking a $100 winner after only about an hour. Whatever, a win is a win.
Vegas is coming in a few days and Im really excited to get out there and mix it up. I will probably be taking time away from the tables until Vegas shows up. The wait is going to be killer, but anticipation always leads to good things.
On a bright note, Ashley was able to final table AND because one of the guys refused to chop the prize money, they played down to heads up, and after she knocked out the dude who wouldnt chop, she took about $1K and the official win. Very well done. I didnt fair too bad either on the night because I had a few last longer bets in play that I won with my 12th place elimination, so it still worked out pretty well.
On Saturday, Ashley and I didnt do too much. I picked up breakfast and we ate and watched tv, and before long she was off to work. So I sat around for a bit, and then headed out on a drive. As I was getting on the freeway, I rear ended a guy and did some pretty serious damage to my car. Luckily the guy in front of me was not hurt, and I didnt get hurt seriously either. So the rest of my day was spent taking care of my car, getting the insurance information to the proper people, so on and so on.
Sunday I picked up my rental car, and put in a short session. Nothing too noteable, other then booking a $100 winner after only about an hour. Whatever, a win is a win.
Vegas is coming in a few days and Im really excited to get out there and mix it up. I will probably be taking time away from the tables until Vegas shows up. The wait is going to be killer, but anticipation always leads to good things.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Go! Go! Go!
Took a few days off playing and I am ready to get back out and earn.
The last few nights, Ashley and I stayed in and watched a few movies. Bangkok Dangerous was ok, a pretty standard action flick, with a couple of pretty kick ass moments. Last nights pick was Rightous Kill, which was terribly predictable and even though I really wanted to like this movie, I just couldn't. The twist in the movie was tipped every step of the way, and there was no real suspense by the time the big reveals occured. I still have yet to see Slum Dog and despite everyone who has vehmently praised this movie, I probably will end up waiting to see it. Something about it just doesn't draw me in, or make me feel like its a must see.
I've been messing around in the PokerRoad forums more then usual lately. I normally only participate in the strategy talks and hand analysis portions of the forum, but lately its been fun to venture out and interact with other fans of the shows. Im not super big on forum culture, as I tend to think most internet people are pretnetious douches, but everyone is really cool and respectful so no complaints from me on that end.
The other night I passed on one of the local home games and I am still not sure if it was a good move or a bad one. The game is a $1-$3, and somehow the perfect storm of players came through each buying in for over $1K. Apparently the table was loaded with over $8K in play, which is simply ridiculous for a game of that size. I know a few of the players who bought in big, and they arent especially talented or skilled. Outwardly this looks like a bad move to have passed on this, however, the detriment to my confidence right now if I lost would have been severe, not to mention the financial crappiness that it would have been should I have lost a significent sum right before Vegas. The way I figure it, the game will still be there. There is always another time.
Tonight I will probably be looking for a tourny to play or a soft seat in a cash game. I don't really feel like thinking so I want to find the path of least resistence to making money tonight. Sycuan is running an $80 tournament that will probably get the prize pool to around between $7K or $8K. Should be interesting.
The last few nights, Ashley and I stayed in and watched a few movies. Bangkok Dangerous was ok, a pretty standard action flick, with a couple of pretty kick ass moments. Last nights pick was Rightous Kill, which was terribly predictable and even though I really wanted to like this movie, I just couldn't. The twist in the movie was tipped every step of the way, and there was no real suspense by the time the big reveals occured. I still have yet to see Slum Dog and despite everyone who has vehmently praised this movie, I probably will end up waiting to see it. Something about it just doesn't draw me in, or make me feel like its a must see.
I've been messing around in the PokerRoad forums more then usual lately. I normally only participate in the strategy talks and hand analysis portions of the forum, but lately its been fun to venture out and interact with other fans of the shows. Im not super big on forum culture, as I tend to think most internet people are pretnetious douches, but everyone is really cool and respectful so no complaints from me on that end.
The other night I passed on one of the local home games and I am still not sure if it was a good move or a bad one. The game is a $1-$3, and somehow the perfect storm of players came through each buying in for over $1K. Apparently the table was loaded with over $8K in play, which is simply ridiculous for a game of that size. I know a few of the players who bought in big, and they arent especially talented or skilled. Outwardly this looks like a bad move to have passed on this, however, the detriment to my confidence right now if I lost would have been severe, not to mention the financial crappiness that it would have been should I have lost a significent sum right before Vegas. The way I figure it, the game will still be there. There is always another time.
Tonight I will probably be looking for a tourny to play or a soft seat in a cash game. I don't really feel like thinking so I want to find the path of least resistence to making money tonight. Sycuan is running an $80 tournament that will probably get the prize pool to around between $7K or $8K. Should be interesting.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
2 Tournaments and Some Cash
This week has been pretty active for me. Saturday I had not planned on playing but my dad called and wanted to run a session, and because Ashley was working, I had only planned on playing Fallout 3 all night. I drove out to Sycuan with my dad and missed the tourny which I was kinda bummed about but we spent about 6 hours grinding the $1-$3 cash game togther and I was able to book a $500+ winner, and my dad was able to take down about $200.
The only semi-interesting hand that got played was as follows:
2 players limp early, I raise to $25 with AQo. The cutoff calls, the button calls, the BB calls, and both limpers call. (I know, it was a huge raise, but my image was such at the table that players generally give me respect...apparently not in this hand though...) Flop is Qc Tc 4d. I fire $100 at the pot after everyone checks to me, it folds back to the BB who ships for $250. I don't think I am ever folding here because the price Im getting laid is pretty good, unless I just ran into 44, or MAYBE TT, so I call it off and dude turns over AcKc. I fade the turn and river and scoop a pretty decent pot. It was nice.
The next night, Ashley and I went to dim sum for brunch, and ran some groccery errands for our house and for my parents. After dropping off the groceries I got the itch to play and we headed out to Sycuan again to play in their WSOP qualifier tourny. For some reason once I got there, I wasnt really into playing a tourny, but was able to make a few good moves and pick up chips at the right times. I final tabled with my buddy Alan, and qualified for the WSOP freeroll to the main event on May 31st. So along with a few hundred in prize money that was fun. Ashley made the final 3 tables but faded out at the end. She ended up playing the cash game, and made about $3oo so it wasnt a bad night for her either.
Monday was a boring work day, and again we made our way to Sycuan after I got off. That night the tourny was $24 with rebuys and an add on. I got seated at table 2 which I was pretty happy with since I am friends with the dealer and got to joke around with him throughout the tourny. I played with some REALLY weak passive players and they let me roll them over. By the time we made the final table I had a bit more then 1/2 the chips in play. I ended up taking a chop because I was bored of playing and I only got $150 less then first place which was ok with me since my sleep was more valuable to me.
Vegas is coming up next week, and I can't wait to get out there and mix it up. My spirits are good, and I feel like I am playing pretty well, especially coming out of the slump of the last few months. Up, up and away!
The only semi-interesting hand that got played was as follows:
2 players limp early, I raise to $25 with AQo. The cutoff calls, the button calls, the BB calls, and both limpers call. (I know, it was a huge raise, but my image was such at the table that players generally give me respect...apparently not in this hand though...) Flop is Qc Tc 4d. I fire $100 at the pot after everyone checks to me, it folds back to the BB who ships for $250. I don't think I am ever folding here because the price Im getting laid is pretty good, unless I just ran into 44, or MAYBE TT, so I call it off and dude turns over AcKc. I fade the turn and river and scoop a pretty decent pot. It was nice.
The next night, Ashley and I went to dim sum for brunch, and ran some groccery errands for our house and for my parents. After dropping off the groceries I got the itch to play and we headed out to Sycuan again to play in their WSOP qualifier tourny. For some reason once I got there, I wasnt really into playing a tourny, but was able to make a few good moves and pick up chips at the right times. I final tabled with my buddy Alan, and qualified for the WSOP freeroll to the main event on May 31st. So along with a few hundred in prize money that was fun. Ashley made the final 3 tables but faded out at the end. She ended up playing the cash game, and made about $3oo so it wasnt a bad night for her either.
Monday was a boring work day, and again we made our way to Sycuan after I got off. That night the tourny was $24 with rebuys and an add on. I got seated at table 2 which I was pretty happy with since I am friends with the dealer and got to joke around with him throughout the tourny. I played with some REALLY weak passive players and they let me roll them over. By the time we made the final table I had a bit more then 1/2 the chips in play. I ended up taking a chop because I was bored of playing and I only got $150 less then first place which was ok with me since my sleep was more valuable to me.
Vegas is coming up next week, and I can't wait to get out there and mix it up. My spirits are good, and I feel like I am playing pretty well, especially coming out of the slump of the last few months. Up, up and away!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Catch Up
Wow, a week passes without an update, and now I got alot to catch up on.
Poker: I played a few tournys with Ashley last week. She final tabled one of the first two, and got a decent peice of the chop despite being short. I was able to make money in the cash games after busting and made my buy in plus a few hundred for my time. On Friday, I was able to final table for almost $1K, and made a little bit of money on a 4 way, $100 last longer bet. Interestingly enough, both Anthony and I final tabled the event, so we ended up having to split the last longer because the final table was chopped, but Im not going to complain about a little extra cash in the pocket. I've got my flight to Vegas booked for the 19th, and I can't wait to get out there and just unwind. Ashley is going out there with the specific intent of grinding, and while that seems like a good idea, a part of me wants to take some time to relax and just get away from everything.
UFC: The fights were ok. I really enjoyed the Machida fight and GSP's total domination of BJ Penn. It was pretty exciting to see a bout like that finally come together. Where GSP goes from here I don't know, but I am going to be eagerly awaiting to see if his next opponent can step up to beat him.
Partying: Jessica and Nick came over to watch the fights with Ashley and I, and afterwards, we went out to party for a bit at Johnny V's. Ashley decided to stay in because she was comfortable in pajamas and tired, but I ended up having a pretty good time. Some highlights from my night:
- Getting absolutely destroyed by a guy playing pool but being too foolish to quit him
- Drinking a few beers, but having the presence of mind to cut myself off when I was hitting that point of no return
- A drunken girl outside of the bar tried to get people to let her into the bar by flashing her boobs, and pressing them up against the glass windows.
- Seeing a drunk guy slammed to the ground by security who thought he was resisting them but was simply too drunk to control his body
- Having a girl make an unusual amount of eye contact with me from across the bar, which let me know she was kinda vibing me, which is always nice
Family: So after going back and forth on whether to let my uncle go or not, finally nature too its course and he passed quietly. I spent a few days prior going to and from the hospital somewhat awaiting the inevitable. I have had some revelations in terms of how I view the world, but this isn't the moment I am going to choose to get into that. Anyways, the funeral was a few days ago. It was a pretty somber event, without the pomp and uplift that I have typically seen at those types of events. Jessica was doing the planning for it, so that was cool to hang out with her and Nick so I didnt have to dwell in all of the sadness that I was surrouneded by. Ashley was having a minor drama with my cousin, and Im not sure how to quite resolve it, so defference is my weapon of choice on the subject for the moment. The kid is going through alot right now, its not the time or the place to make issue with some of the stuff he did. But there will be.
Plans: Probably going to just be taking it easy. I got some money on Full Tilt again, so I probably will just concentrate on grinding that into something sizeable, and hopefully by the time I am ready to go to Vegas I will have a decent roll online. I am going to try to keep a low profile until Vegas, because I dont want to deal with the feeling of being stuck and traveling then, being in a poor frame of mind going into the trip. My buddy Manny should be coming down pretty soon, so hopefully I can see him before I take off. Blah.
Poker: I played a few tournys with Ashley last week. She final tabled one of the first two, and got a decent peice of the chop despite being short. I was able to make money in the cash games after busting and made my buy in plus a few hundred for my time. On Friday, I was able to final table for almost $1K, and made a little bit of money on a 4 way, $100 last longer bet. Interestingly enough, both Anthony and I final tabled the event, so we ended up having to split the last longer because the final table was chopped, but Im not going to complain about a little extra cash in the pocket. I've got my flight to Vegas booked for the 19th, and I can't wait to get out there and just unwind. Ashley is going out there with the specific intent of grinding, and while that seems like a good idea, a part of me wants to take some time to relax and just get away from everything.
UFC: The fights were ok. I really enjoyed the Machida fight and GSP's total domination of BJ Penn. It was pretty exciting to see a bout like that finally come together. Where GSP goes from here I don't know, but I am going to be eagerly awaiting to see if his next opponent can step up to beat him.
Partying: Jessica and Nick came over to watch the fights with Ashley and I, and afterwards, we went out to party for a bit at Johnny V's. Ashley decided to stay in because she was comfortable in pajamas and tired, but I ended up having a pretty good time. Some highlights from my night:
- Getting absolutely destroyed by a guy playing pool but being too foolish to quit him
- Drinking a few beers, but having the presence of mind to cut myself off when I was hitting that point of no return
- A drunken girl outside of the bar tried to get people to let her into the bar by flashing her boobs, and pressing them up against the glass windows.
- Seeing a drunk guy slammed to the ground by security who thought he was resisting them but was simply too drunk to control his body
- Having a girl make an unusual amount of eye contact with me from across the bar, which let me know she was kinda vibing me, which is always nice
Family: So after going back and forth on whether to let my uncle go or not, finally nature too its course and he passed quietly. I spent a few days prior going to and from the hospital somewhat awaiting the inevitable. I have had some revelations in terms of how I view the world, but this isn't the moment I am going to choose to get into that. Anyways, the funeral was a few days ago. It was a pretty somber event, without the pomp and uplift that I have typically seen at those types of events. Jessica was doing the planning for it, so that was cool to hang out with her and Nick so I didnt have to dwell in all of the sadness that I was surrouneded by. Ashley was having a minor drama with my cousin, and Im not sure how to quite resolve it, so defference is my weapon of choice on the subject for the moment. The kid is going through alot right now, its not the time or the place to make issue with some of the stuff he did. But there will be.
Plans: Probably going to just be taking it easy. I got some money on Full Tilt again, so I probably will just concentrate on grinding that into something sizeable, and hopefully by the time I am ready to go to Vegas I will have a decent roll online. I am going to try to keep a low profile until Vegas, because I dont want to deal with the feeling of being stuck and traveling then, being in a poor frame of mind going into the trip. My buddy Manny should be coming down pretty soon, so hopefully I can see him before I take off. Blah.
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