So...ya. I'm about to embark on one insane month of poker, I'm really eager to get it all going since I've snapped out of the funk I was in for most of the summer. The bad streak she ends! And I didn't take time off even, just stuck around. I think the thing that kept me going through it was Bruno calling me a fucking asshole and telling me he hated me in a pm when I posted here frustrated one night during the run. Thanks Bro!
So, November she comes at a good time, because I'm going to be playing alot of poker, and investing a fairly large chunk of money into poker in this coming month. At least I'm hoping. I still haven't been able to book all the days off work for this, but tenatively my schedule for November looks a little something like this :
Starting with FTOPS X(I think it's 10, too lazy to check) my schedule for that is crammed full :
Wendesday November 5th : $216 buyin, $1,000,000 guarantee NL 6-Max.
Thursday November 6th : $256 buyin, $200,000 guarantee PLO.
Friday November 7th : $216 buyin, $150,000 guarantee Limit Hold'Em 6-Max.
Saturday November 8th : $535 buyin, $350,000 guarantee PLO 6-Max.
Sunday November 9th : $256 buyin, $600,000 guarantee NL Hold'Em Knockout(bounties per elimination)
Sunday November 9th(later that night) : $322 buyin, $1,500,000 guarantee NL Hold'Em
Monday November 10th : $322 buyin, $250,000 guarantee Mixed Hold'Em
Tuesday November 11th : $216 buyin, $150,000 guarantee PL HA(Hold'Em, Omaha)
Friday November 14th : $216 buyin, $400,000 guarantee NL Hold'Em
Saturday November 15th : $535 buyin, $500,000 guarantee NL Hold'Em Heads Up Tourney
Sunday November 16th : $129 buyin, $500,000 guarantee NL Hold'Em KO
Sunday November 16th(later that night) : $535 buyin, $2,500,000 guarantee NL Hold'Em Main Event
Then after that, tenatively depending on what I can work out with work, I hope to be taking vacations and heading down to Vegas for 2 weeks. Down there I'll probably be mixing in some heavy cash game action with some more tourney action down there.
I know Venetian has their 4th DeepStack Extravaganza down there running all November, so I'll probably hit up at least a couple of those. The structure looks solid, $330 buyins and $12,500 chips to start with, only thing I can't remember is the timeframe of the levels, I played alot last time I was in Vegas, I just can't recall if they were 40 minutes or an hour per level. I was hoping to get to play some of the Caesers Palace Mega-Stack Series but it looks very unlikely unless I leave home on the Monday immediately after FTOPS wraps itself up, and make it down to Vegas in time for the $1k buyin Championship Event of the series, 25,000 starting stacks and hour levels, 3 day event. I'm not 100% sure about that.
So ya, looks like November's going to be a busy month. And potentially cripplingly expensive, between that and the fact that I also now have to buy a new computer thanks to my PC melting or exploding or getting herpes or something...
I've been pricing some PC's around, and also asking a few people I know about monitor situations, so I'm going to pose that question publicly now : What do you guys recommend for a screen setup? I'm thinking two 25.5" Samsung SyncMaster's, I'm just not sure if that's the best idea. Does anyone recommend just buying a 30" Screen instead? Any other ideas?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Congratulations, and more accurately, thanks, to Marc Karam...
This week, I had alot of fun in Niagara. I went down there and watched Marc play alot. We hung out on breaks, I railed him a fair amount while he was playing and talked to other pro players who were standing on the rail. Just a small list of players I had very in depth conversations with during this week : Mike "Timex" McDonald, Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke, Jean-Robert Bellande, Joe Sebok, Vivek Rajkumar, and more.
The thing is, I started to realize. I'm not out of place here. I watch Marc play and beleive me I get it, I'm not on Marc Karam's level. But in fairness, who is? :P
But I AM on the level of many players who have made millions playing this game. We had several in depth discussions over hands they had played, or hands they had just seen played etc, and I realized during this timeframe something sort of profound about my poker life.
Grinding sucks ass. I had this discussion with Marco and Frank eating breakfast at 6:00am at Fallsview after Marc's final table. Grinding is fucking hell. Beleive me, I know alot of friends of mine local here, you all admire or envy the fact that the main way I make a living is playing poker online. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I "work" more than any of you. Literally no one I know puts in more hours a week working than me. Not at my job...but at my "career". I pull sometimes 15-16 hours a day, grinding my life away. I'm not UPSET about it, it has it's perks. The money is great, and I don't have a schedule that I need to follow...I work on my own time. It also, however, has negatives. Insane amounts of hours namely.
The way you make a good living playing poker, as we echoed in that conversation, is simply repitition. I earn about 2.5 BB / 100 hands. That's my ratio over thousands upon thousands upon thousands of hands. So how do I make a living playing poker? I play as many sets of 100 hands as I can possibly fathom. That's "professional" poker.
The one thing I realized while I was there this week watching Marc play is a gigantic regret I have. I have NEVER taken a shot. I have NEVER in my life, played a single satalite, to a 10k buyin tournament. Ever.
The biggest "shot" I ever took, was playing a $1500 buyin WSOP event. I did, I think, VERY well there. Granted 182nd out of 3300-someodd players is modestly strong as a result, but given the fact that in 16 hours of poker, I never saw AA, KK, QQ, AK suited. Never flopped a set, never made a flush, never made any real hands that got ANY action whatsoever...I think finishing that strong still is a statement that I can play.
My poker career, frankly I realize now, I've been kind of lazy, I grind and I grind online and live, but I have never tried to position myself to move up another level. It's not even "taking a shot", because the buyins to any satalite can't possibly hurt me.
So, as I said, congratulations are in order to Marc. Cashing 3 straight years at the same 10k buyin event. Making a 5th 10k buyin final table inside 2 and a half years. Again cruising through an insane field...and ultimately only losing out because Glen is the god of flipping coins.
But more importantly, thanks to Marc Karam. Not just for the tickets to the FT, not just for sushi and every other courtesy he extended, but moreso, for the motivation.
After this week, I know Marc said he felt incredibly motivated to play ALOT of live tournaments next year, and that's great news.
I guess maybe slightly less great news, or more great news depending on who you're looking at this from, is the fact that I've been motivated too. I have a new goal...a "New Years Resolution" that is already set in stone before New Years.
I am going to bust my ass to qualify for some 10k buyin tournaments next year. It is my entire goal in poker for next year to play at least one major buyin tournament in the year 2009.
So thanks Marc, for the motivation to try and advance my poker career forward.
The thing is, I started to realize. I'm not out of place here. I watch Marc play and beleive me I get it, I'm not on Marc Karam's level. But in fairness, who is? :P
But I AM on the level of many players who have made millions playing this game. We had several in depth discussions over hands they had played, or hands they had just seen played etc, and I realized during this timeframe something sort of profound about my poker life.
Grinding sucks ass. I had this discussion with Marco and Frank eating breakfast at 6:00am at Fallsview after Marc's final table. Grinding is fucking hell. Beleive me, I know alot of friends of mine local here, you all admire or envy the fact that the main way I make a living is playing poker online. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I "work" more than any of you. Literally no one I know puts in more hours a week working than me. Not at my job...but at my "career". I pull sometimes 15-16 hours a day, grinding my life away. I'm not UPSET about it, it has it's perks. The money is great, and I don't have a schedule that I need to follow...I work on my own time. It also, however, has negatives. Insane amounts of hours namely.
The way you make a good living playing poker, as we echoed in that conversation, is simply repitition. I earn about 2.5 BB / 100 hands. That's my ratio over thousands upon thousands upon thousands of hands. So how do I make a living playing poker? I play as many sets of 100 hands as I can possibly fathom. That's "professional" poker.
The one thing I realized while I was there this week watching Marc play is a gigantic regret I have. I have NEVER taken a shot. I have NEVER in my life, played a single satalite, to a 10k buyin tournament. Ever.
The biggest "shot" I ever took, was playing a $1500 buyin WSOP event. I did, I think, VERY well there. Granted 182nd out of 3300-someodd players is modestly strong as a result, but given the fact that in 16 hours of poker, I never saw AA, KK, QQ, AK suited. Never flopped a set, never made a flush, never made any real hands that got ANY action whatsoever...I think finishing that strong still is a statement that I can play.
My poker career, frankly I realize now, I've been kind of lazy, I grind and I grind online and live, but I have never tried to position myself to move up another level. It's not even "taking a shot", because the buyins to any satalite can't possibly hurt me.
So, as I said, congratulations are in order to Marc. Cashing 3 straight years at the same 10k buyin event. Making a 5th 10k buyin final table inside 2 and a half years. Again cruising through an insane field...and ultimately only losing out because Glen is the god of flipping coins.
But more importantly, thanks to Marc Karam. Not just for the tickets to the FT, not just for sushi and every other courtesy he extended, but moreso, for the motivation.
After this week, I know Marc said he felt incredibly motivated to play ALOT of live tournaments next year, and that's great news.
I guess maybe slightly less great news, or more great news depending on who you're looking at this from, is the fact that I've been motivated too. I have a new goal...a "New Years Resolution" that is already set in stone before New Years.
I am going to bust my ass to qualify for some 10k buyin tournaments next year. It is my entire goal in poker for next year to play at least one major buyin tournament in the year 2009.
So thanks Marc, for the motivation to try and advance my poker career forward.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Best hourly income of my life...
So, I headed down to the good old Fallsview today. Got down there around 2:30pm, put my name on a few lists, and ran down to check on the WPT situation. Got down there just as they were going on break, and had a chat with Marc, which more or less became a running theme throughout the day. It was actually I've gotta say, alot of fun, and very insightful discussing hands with Marc that he had played, and having him explain why he did what he did. It also became a theme that while I was down there, I'd always run into other players I have respect for and have some interesting conversations as well about poker, hands they had played etc. I had a couple very interesting conversations with Mike "Timex" McDonald while he was railing Steve Paul Ambrose who was at Marc's table. It was way more fun than I figured it would be, so I actually intend on going down there tomorrow and pretty much chilling for the day on the WPT rail.
It's hectic to get on a cash game table right now anyway, although it is starting to clear up a bit. I finally did manage to get myself on a 5/10 NL table, although I didn't wind up there for very long.
I sat down and took off a peice of a rotation, the table was full of older guys, all very tight and very weak players. I sat down and played a few hands, and then I decided to get into pots and get involved.
First hand, there was a raise from EP to 30, and 2 callers to me, and given how weak and passive the table was I just randomly decided to pull a squeeze play. So I re-popped to 125 with 9/4 offsuit, and everyone cleared the way. Free $100.
Next hand, there was a raise as well to 30, and 2 callers again, all 3 were the same players, and again no one was showing any real strength, so I decided I'd do it one more time to try and send a message. This time I had a hand I wouldn't mind seeing a flop with either if it came to that, 7h/5h. Not great holdings, but I had position, and they were playing ultra tight, so I re-raised to 125 once again, and again they both cleared the way. Free $100.
Now, if you could sculpt your ideal cash game session what would it be? For a great many of us, I suspect it's something like this...you sit down, play a little reckless, accumulate some chips, tighten up after your image is nice and LAG, and have people pay you off. Here's how in literally 3 hands, I accomplished that.
Once again an EP raise to 35 this time, and 2 callers yet again. I look down at Qc/Qd. Perfect. A real hand, and I KNOW someone's going to start getting a little wary of my constant re-raising, and I have a great chance of getting played back at with a hand players this tight would never play a huge pot with. So yet again I re-raise to 125. This time, the first of the callers, after the initial raiser folds, decides to take a stand, and he moves all in for $820 total. I call instantly because given the circumstances of the last few hands, and the way this one was played, I'm literally behind here -10% of the time. Somehow negative percents are invented specifically for this case. These aren't players that are at all sophisticated enough to smoothe call KK or AA hoping I'll squeeze behind.
Sure enough, he shows 9/9 and I hold. Suddenly in literally 3 hands of poker, I'm holding $2100. $1100 profit. I play for a bit more, slowly chipping away with some real LAG play at the table, and eventually cash out for $1400 profit after less than an hour at the table.
I'd typically be all about sitting down and putting in a marathon session, but a few things were working against me so to speak. 1 - I couldn't help but be way more interested in how Marc was doing than my own game, so I kept running down to the WPT room after my puck every so often and see how he was doing, so my mind wasn't really in the game. 2, and more importantly - The game had really started to dry up. Somehow my ultra LAG style at this table, encouraged people to play less hands and play super tight, so I was risking alot of chips because the only action I started to get were PREMIUM hands against me. I was chipping 15 bucks here and there taking blinds, but in all relative terms it was kind of a risky game for me to be in since they were all squarely focussed on me and waiting to pick me off. And to make matters worse, the table started to lose a few of the older guys I was abusing, and got replaced with some talented young kids that weren't going to be easy to deal with. The game just became really undesirable in the span of an hour. I think I broke it. :)
Anyway, congrats to Marc are in order, it's absolutely bat-shit insane that you've cashed all 3 years the WPT's been in Niagara, and your play never ceases to amaze. It's about time you won a million dollars THIS year I think...you've been kinda slackin'. :P
Side note : My money management skills are at an all time high. This coming from the guy that bought a 61" HDTV, and then 3 months later bought a 40" LCD for his room because "I don't like regular TV anymore, gotta be HD!"
Today I went into a watch store they have in Fallsview, and saw a watch I desperately want, a new Movado. The price was $1250. And I managed to restrain myself from buying it, at least for today...kinda hoping I can manage another day like that.
It's hectic to get on a cash game table right now anyway, although it is starting to clear up a bit. I finally did manage to get myself on a 5/10 NL table, although I didn't wind up there for very long.
I sat down and took off a peice of a rotation, the table was full of older guys, all very tight and very weak players. I sat down and played a few hands, and then I decided to get into pots and get involved.
First hand, there was a raise from EP to 30, and 2 callers to me, and given how weak and passive the table was I just randomly decided to pull a squeeze play. So I re-popped to 125 with 9/4 offsuit, and everyone cleared the way. Free $100.
Next hand, there was a raise as well to 30, and 2 callers again, all 3 were the same players, and again no one was showing any real strength, so I decided I'd do it one more time to try and send a message. This time I had a hand I wouldn't mind seeing a flop with either if it came to that, 7h/5h. Not great holdings, but I had position, and they were playing ultra tight, so I re-raised to 125 once again, and again they both cleared the way. Free $100.
Now, if you could sculpt your ideal cash game session what would it be? For a great many of us, I suspect it's something like this...you sit down, play a little reckless, accumulate some chips, tighten up after your image is nice and LAG, and have people pay you off. Here's how in literally 3 hands, I accomplished that.
Once again an EP raise to 35 this time, and 2 callers yet again. I look down at Qc/Qd. Perfect. A real hand, and I KNOW someone's going to start getting a little wary of my constant re-raising, and I have a great chance of getting played back at with a hand players this tight would never play a huge pot with. So yet again I re-raise to 125. This time, the first of the callers, after the initial raiser folds, decides to take a stand, and he moves all in for $820 total. I call instantly because given the circumstances of the last few hands, and the way this one was played, I'm literally behind here -10% of the time. Somehow negative percents are invented specifically for this case. These aren't players that are at all sophisticated enough to smoothe call KK or AA hoping I'll squeeze behind.
Sure enough, he shows 9/9 and I hold. Suddenly in literally 3 hands of poker, I'm holding $2100. $1100 profit. I play for a bit more, slowly chipping away with some real LAG play at the table, and eventually cash out for $1400 profit after less than an hour at the table.
I'd typically be all about sitting down and putting in a marathon session, but a few things were working against me so to speak. 1 - I couldn't help but be way more interested in how Marc was doing than my own game, so I kept running down to the WPT room after my puck every so often and see how he was doing, so my mind wasn't really in the game. 2, and more importantly - The game had really started to dry up. Somehow my ultra LAG style at this table, encouraged people to play less hands and play super tight, so I was risking alot of chips because the only action I started to get were PREMIUM hands against me. I was chipping 15 bucks here and there taking blinds, but in all relative terms it was kind of a risky game for me to be in since they were all squarely focussed on me and waiting to pick me off. And to make matters worse, the table started to lose a few of the older guys I was abusing, and got replaced with some talented young kids that weren't going to be easy to deal with. The game just became really undesirable in the span of an hour. I think I broke it. :)
Anyway, congrats to Marc are in order, it's absolutely bat-shit insane that you've cashed all 3 years the WPT's been in Niagara, and your play never ceases to amaze. It's about time you won a million dollars THIS year I think...you've been kinda slackin'. :P
Side note : My money management skills are at an all time high. This coming from the guy that bought a 61" HDTV, and then 3 months later bought a 40" LCD for his room because "I don't like regular TV anymore, gotta be HD!"
Today I went into a watch store they have in Fallsview, and saw a watch I desperately want, a new Movado. The price was $1250. And I managed to restrain myself from buying it, at least for today...kinda hoping I can manage another day like that.
Monday, October 6, 2008
A night out at fallsview leads to the sickest hand I've ever played(Marc knows :P)
So, I went down to Fallsview to play some 5/10 PLO for the 2nd or 3rd time in the span of 3 days, and it went pretty badly, to pretty well, to really badly, to pretty well again. Let me explain...
I worked through the day, so once I got off work I just immediately hopped in the car and headed down to the poker room at Fallsview. I did the old "change en route" thing swapping shirts to get out of my work uniform. And then I promptly got to Fallsview and immediately did something stupid. I locked my keys in my car as I went to grab some things from the trunk, and toss my work uniform in there.
Thankfully, Marc was kind enough to let me drop off the uniform in his room until such time as I could get a spare set of keys for the car and get it open. Thanks again Marc.
Fallsview poker room is officially booming. WPT is in town and there are guys all around the room playing now. They had some big games, 25/50 NL was open while I was there. Tuan Lam was floating around the poker room, and naturally, Marc's been around for most of the week, no doubt crushifying the poker room.
Anyway, on to my funfunfun Omaha session.
I sit down to play 5/10 PLO, and whatever will be will be, any hand that happened in the entire session doesn't matter one bit until this one, which I will never forget as long as I live, because it was so bizarre I actually had to ask the dealer at first blush, what he had...
Here we go! At the point where the hand takes place I've chipped up to nearly $2000 from my $1000 buyin.
There are 5 limps around the table to me in the BB, I look down at Kh/Kc/Qc/9d. So I decide to raise pot and try and thin the herd. I raise pot, to $70, and get 2 callers.
Flop comes Ks/Js/7c. The nuts for now, but obviously a large action flop potentially. I decide to jam the pot hard, and lead out $200. I get one caller. The turn is a great card. 5d. I jam pot yet again to $600. He smoothe calls again. Pot is now somewhere in the $1800 range. The river is a 4h. Good card yet again so I shove hoping he calls off with JJ. Instead, he pretty much snap calls here which was weird because he had been tanking on most streets. And then he rolls it over, the hand I will never forget...
Keep in mind the board : Flop, Ks/Js/7c, turn 5d. river 4h. I jammed pot every single street.
He rolls over, Ah/9h/6h/3d. Straight. $3400 pot.
He actually managed to be calling drawing stone dead in an Omaha game, he picks up a double gutshot on the turn and calls another pot jam, and rivers his straight. I could see the flop containing something than maybe that hand plays out like that, but given the way the hand played, there's never a way he should be in preflop, or on the flop. Or even on the turn despite the fact the turn finally gave him some outs or a draw.
Anyway, after that setback I went for a walk, ironically around this time my spare keys showed up, so I tended to that and then went back to work at the table. I won back a fair amount again, and ended up mostly even for the session, I'll be blogging a fair amount in the next week, largely because I'll probably spend a great deal of time at Fallsview playing in that Omaha game this week...it's drawing alot of action right now as WPT approaches.
I worked through the day, so once I got off work I just immediately hopped in the car and headed down to the poker room at Fallsview. I did the old "change en route" thing swapping shirts to get out of my work uniform. And then I promptly got to Fallsview and immediately did something stupid. I locked my keys in my car as I went to grab some things from the trunk, and toss my work uniform in there.
Thankfully, Marc was kind enough to let me drop off the uniform in his room until such time as I could get a spare set of keys for the car and get it open. Thanks again Marc.
Fallsview poker room is officially booming. WPT is in town and there are guys all around the room playing now. They had some big games, 25/50 NL was open while I was there. Tuan Lam was floating around the poker room, and naturally, Marc's been around for most of the week, no doubt crushifying the poker room.
Anyway, on to my funfunfun Omaha session.
I sit down to play 5/10 PLO, and whatever will be will be, any hand that happened in the entire session doesn't matter one bit until this one, which I will never forget as long as I live, because it was so bizarre I actually had to ask the dealer at first blush, what he had...
Here we go! At the point where the hand takes place I've chipped up to nearly $2000 from my $1000 buyin.
There are 5 limps around the table to me in the BB, I look down at Kh/Kc/Qc/9d. So I decide to raise pot and try and thin the herd. I raise pot, to $70, and get 2 callers.
Flop comes Ks/Js/7c. The nuts for now, but obviously a large action flop potentially. I decide to jam the pot hard, and lead out $200. I get one caller. The turn is a great card. 5d. I jam pot yet again to $600. He smoothe calls again. Pot is now somewhere in the $1800 range. The river is a 4h. Good card yet again so I shove hoping he calls off with JJ. Instead, he pretty much snap calls here which was weird because he had been tanking on most streets. And then he rolls it over, the hand I will never forget...
Keep in mind the board : Flop, Ks/Js/7c, turn 5d. river 4h. I jammed pot every single street.
He rolls over, Ah/9h/6h/3d. Straight. $3400 pot.
He actually managed to be calling drawing stone dead in an Omaha game, he picks up a double gutshot on the turn and calls another pot jam, and rivers his straight. I could see the flop containing something than maybe that hand plays out like that, but given the way the hand played, there's never a way he should be in preflop, or on the flop. Or even on the turn despite the fact the turn finally gave him some outs or a draw.
Anyway, after that setback I went for a walk, ironically around this time my spare keys showed up, so I tended to that and then went back to work at the table. I won back a fair amount again, and ended up mostly even for the session, I'll be blogging a fair amount in the next week, largely because I'll probably spend a great deal of time at Fallsview playing in that Omaha game this week...it's drawing alot of action right now as WPT approaches.
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