Well...lets see here...I left off my last blog speaking of getting "Dialed in" as we were close to the money in the Sat. $11.00 Deep Stack event on Stars. This was the same tournament that I "mis-clicked" in the previous weekend...Well...as some of you already know...I was able to get a little redemption for myself as was able to pull off a 2nd place finish:
PokerStars Tournament #169968468, No Limit Hold'emBuy-In: $10.00/$1.00
1224 playersTotal Prize Pool: $12240.00 Tournament started 2009/06/13 12:00:00 ET
Dear GCPGeneD,
You finished the tournament in 2nd place. A $1,493.29 award has been credited to your Real Money account.You earned 497.43 tournament leader points in this tournament.
Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.
I felt good about the score but also a little disappointed as I wanted to win sooooooo bad I could taste it. The guy that won first was from Minsk, somewhere in Russia and he played very well. There were 2 hand I will breakdown a little later where I felt I had him "stone cold dead"...and either he sniffed out of it or the cards counterfeited my action. The tournament started at 11am and did not finish until around 2:30am...with a good hour of HU play. The difference between 1st and 2nd was only $500.00.
The tourney...I felt I played really well and once we got down to 4 tables, everything came together for me. I was seeing things clearly and had picked up on several patterns on my opponents that I was able to exploit. I also was taking hot showers...and I mean steaming hot...on every break to stay focused and dialed in. I went to the FT as the chip leader and did not relinquish the CL until we were 4 handed...I never had my tournament life on the line the entire tourney until we got to FT...we went into HU him having me 2 to 1 in chips...45 minuted later I had him 2 to 1 in chips and the see-saw battle continued.
At this point in the tourney where I had him 2 to 1 (a little over 6 million in chips total). When the following hands played out...I am going by memory as I haven't dug into my hand history's just yet for analysis:
-I flopped a medium size flush (I think I was holding 6-8h) and the flop came out K high with all of them being hearts. I check and he makes a huge bet...I flat. Turn bricks and he again makes a decent bet...I raise and he flats...I now thought I had him as I felt he at least had a King in his hand...river is terrible for me as the 2hearts peels out and I make a blocking bet for pot control just in case he has a heart higher that the 8h...he folds and admitted he had a King.
-The next one was in a very similar situation where I flop a straight where I three bet with J9o...villain flats and the flop shows K-Q-10...and dont remember the exact action but there were some bets, raises and calls on flop and turn...and a J hits the river to cause me to shut down and hand cuffed me...we checked it down and he showed 2 pair...I think he had K-10.
Again...I think he played the well, and I felt my HU games was formidable. I could have easily won this tourney with either of the hands above...but it wasnt meant to be...and again...these 2 hands are what I remember it from a week ago ...Tha.nks to those that came bird dog it also
If I could sum up my entire tournament experience with what I have been learning recently would be a couple of things:
1) I learned alot being able to shadow TK, Fish and Tyler in the FTOPs ME recently. (There was a guy named Trey there also but he wasnt playing just like me). I touched on this experience in a previous Blog and my thoughts leaving TKs that night was my knowing that Fish is going to be making an impact...somewhere...its just a matter of time. I know Bill and I discussed this that day and I told him, "Fish has the sharpest instincts if seen playing online, and I was able to learn alot from just watching and asking questions"
2) I just finish the poker book from John Vorhaus Killer Poker series "Killer Poker by the Numbers" which was written by Tony Guerrera. Its a "Math" book no doubt, but I think he explains the math portions a little simpler that Bill Chen's book. Some of the formulas were confusing for me but I got a solid grasped of everything he wrote and it wasnt that difficult to follow. The thing that I learned that was the most crucial was not the odds on your starting hands vs your players range...but the odds that your opponents have nothing but air...and the odds that they whiffed the flop with random hands...that your opponents has nothing. My only suggestion is to get familiar with pokerstove before you read it...again...watching fish work pokerstove was very impressive and helped my reading the book.
I went fishing several times recently to "Unplug" for awhile...and I went deep sea fishing today with some of buddies I grew up with in Tim B's 24 foot boat. I had a great time, and we killed the Red Snapper and Mangroves...but it was hot as hell and the sun kicked my ass. It was very peaceful watching the sun come up over the horizon as the Gulf was slick and calm...good times with good people. I talked to people who haven't got many close friends like that...that I would call "Life Long" friends. I have been friends with these guys since 6th or 7th grade ...which I value very much
What else...My tomato plants are just humming along...I am having to give away tomato's before they go bad...and I am heading to a Family reunion on my Sonnier side of my family...looking forward to see all my cousins (Which on both sides of my family combined...I think I have something like 33 first cousins.
Good Luck to everyone at the WSOP..Cobra Kai, TK, Monk, Fish...and all the rest. Plan on getting back to the online grind after I savor the moment for a few days.
"Poker is the ultimate game of pain...you re either giving it or getting it...and sometimes it only 30 seconds between the two" David Grey in Cardplayer Magazine/Vol 22c/No 12c/Jan 17the 2009.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Poker Shenanigans...misclick from hell
***Quick clarification on something posted on the site***
Got back into some live poker action last week as I played several live tournaments...and many online. Thomkat17 and I both cashed in the Monday weekly at the Amelia Belle...whiffed the weekly at Harrahs Wednesday (congrats to Wild Bill who has been pwning that tourney for several months now...kids on a nice heater in that tourney)...then business took me to Biloxi and got to fire at a couple of tourneys on the coast. At the Beau's nightly Super Stack, I was able to chip up quick and hoover around one of the top 10 in chips. There was this one guy at the table that caught some cards and chipped up...but made several bad plays to donate some chips my way. One was when I raised 3x the bb with AQo and got 2 callers along with our villain. Flop hits QQ3 rainbow. Villain fires and everybody folds to me and I decide to flat here. Turn bricks with a 2 and he checks...I fire a 1/2 size pot bet...he flats...river bricks a meaningless 4...he checks...I fire a 3/4 size pot bet and he calls and tables 77...needless to say...I had my eye on this guy and wanted to get his chips
I would lose 3/4 of my stack to this same guy later in tournament when he was the CL at my table and I was 2nd in chips. I played this hand bad, and I cant believe I could not get away from QQ on a King high board here. Action went like this. Villain limps utg and everyone folds to me and I pop it to 4-5x the bbs...everyones out and Villain flats...Flop comes King high and he knuckles...I knuckle...turn bricks and he fires out 5k and I flat...river bricks and he again fires 5k and I flat and he tables AA ...I muck my QQ and slowly start looking for something sharp in my backpack to poke my eyes out with...I went out soon after.
Funny moment in this tourney (I know I texted some of you this so you can skip this part)...Johnny Grooms is running the tournament and poker room and after the tourney gets started he announces to the cash players about the "Aces Cracked" promo in the 4-8 limit game. There is this lady at our table who is totally clueless and doesn't understand poker tourneys at all...didn't understand when we raced off the green chips...asked a bunch of dumb questions...etc. Well our lady friend gets in a hand where she gets all in on the turn with her AA vs a set of Queens ...and she starts to get excited and jumps up and down going, "Yes...Im going to win the $100.00"...the river brings an Ace and her face drops like someone had just shot her dog and she exclaims, "nooooooooooo...oh well...maybe next time"...you could about imagine the stunned silence at the table as we all stared in amazement...until I just couldn't hold it in any more and busted out laughing BWAAAAAAHAHAHHAA...LOL.
My mis-click from hell happened last weekend in the $11.00 Deepstack event on Stars at 11am on Saturday. Over 1200 people in (im going to to try to keep this quick as I am almost in the money in this same tourney right now as I type this)...we are 8 1/2 hours into the tourney...there are a little over 60 players left...I am 9th in chips with over 100 bbs...and very comfortable with my stack...my play so far...my image at the table...etc. Physically, I am sitting on my couch with my laptop on a kitchen chair watching the WPT Bad Boys of poker...the one where TonyG wears the Japanese kimono...just cruising along....I'm at 170,000 in chips
I am OTB and the person in 11th place with 160,000 in chips open shoves from mid-position...for over 100bbs also...everyone folds and I glance away from the TV and reached my hand over to hit the touch pad as my arrow was over "Call"...and my pinkie knuckle hit the button on my laptop...and to my horror...I watched as 95% my chips got shipped to the villain...next hand I get AK with 3 bbs left...and lost that...I was bounced all in a matter of 90 sec. The only good thing to come out of this is my laptop did not take any damage as it got punted into my loveseat on the other side of the room. Now...this was my fault...no questions asked as I should have been more "Dialed In"...and not so non-chalant about playing for 1000's of dollars...but also on the flip side...this would never happen in a live setting.
The thing that tiled me the most was that...just when you think that everything in the poker world that could tilt you like a "Tilt-a world" has already happened...they just keep on coming
;-)
Speaking of being "Dialed In"...let me get back to my tourney as we are near the bubble and I am a little above avg in chips.
"Yeah... well...sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand" Paul Newman as Luke in "Cool Hand Luke"...this responding to another inmate when Luke wins a poker game by bluffing when inmate says "Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin"
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Poker Blues
Sorry for not blogging lately to the people sending me emails...I have been kind of bummed lately as it looks like I may not make the WSOP this year. Theres just no feeling like it when you go for 3 years back to back...and then realize theres a chance you wont be making it. I didn't go last year either, but I thought last year, "Well...I will just skip a year...it will be back next year". I was actually making plans last week to go when something at work came up that will make it hard for me to make. There is still a small chance I may bolt out there if I can take care of this stuff at work, but it looks bleaker everyday that passes. My wife can see it in me also, and she is starting to encourage me to go...I don;t know...we will see
I want to give a shout out to my boys Virge and Lusky who have set up their own training website...not videos...you can actually have one of them on the phone with you (Or in person if you live in Vegas) while they coach you. Go check out there site at http://www.pokerimmersion.com/.
I went play the weekly at Harrahs yesterday and rode up there with SPR...also saw Wild Bill, Alex Todd, Alex Wood and Mitch. Alex T, Mitch and I all wound up on the same starting table and I commenced to donk off my chips in a ridiculous...embarrassing way thinking I was trying to "portray" that I had a big hand to my buddy AT...ignoring the fact and completely blinded in that he was also trying to tell me to get "out of his pot" as he had a big hand also...we got it all in on the turn...he had my "Big Hand" crushed by a monster. There's nothing like getting all your chips in the middle ...and after the hands revealed...your stone cold dead in the water...My "Big Hand" (Top-Top) didn't even have any outs against his flopped set of 9's...just disgusting...terriable...but it happens. I come home and grind online and, of course, you have to watch TIVO'ed poker while you grind...the first hand I watched was The unabomber making the same disgusting play as I did, only he was on a stone cold bluff even though he had the same hand I did. The venue was the WSOP Europe ME in London...3 days in...Kid Poker turns a straight on a 9 high board (I think)...and our hero check-shoves with A-Q. Phil starts to look to see if he has any outs...nope...zilch. I actually rewinded it several times to just see his reaction...just so I know Im not the only knucklehead that gets it in worst than bad...oh well...it happens and if I was going to Donk out...Im glad I gave my chips to one of my buds
I caught myself pulling for Isaac Haxton in the 40k. I was listening to Pokerroad/The circuit years ago when Sebok called him out for what Joe said was a terriable play...only seebs got tortured on 2+2 as Haxton and his online posse broke down the hand from a mathematical perspective...and Haxton had +EV. That is where you hear the drop all the time on the show where seebs says, "Math is idiotic...yada...yada". Anyhow, they had him on the show after seebs apologized over and over...and I was impressed with the way Haxton handled the situation. In fact, I just downloaded the new Pokerroad radio show where they have him on after his 2nd place finish in the 40k...I am looking forward to the drive home so I can listen to it.
I also got to listen to the Pokerroad show with Prahlad Friedman, and they talked about the emotional turmoil he encountered playing through the cheating scandal at UB. On UB as "Spirit Rock"...it is said that Prahlad was person most cheated in the scandal. He talks about how mind f#$*ed he was after losing so much money to the same player and tryin to figure out what he was doing wrong. Imagine it...your one of the best players on the internet pawning the biggest games at he time...your nickname alone would strike fear in poker players the world over...and then you all of a sudden...you just start getting pawned by a couple of users. How do you adjust and adapt to that situation...it must be hard.
What else...David Carradine was found hanged today in Singapore...below is part of the press release..."The officer responsible for investigating the death, Teerapop Luanseng, said Carradine was staying at a suite at the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel.
"I can confirm that we found his body, naked, hanging in the closet," Teerapop said. He said police suspected suicide". I wonder if the Singapore Cops found porno mags laying around...or a porno on the TV in a continuous play format. Hey guys...ever hear of auto-erotic asphyxiation...yea...I watched something about that on Oprah. If im going to hang myself, Im sure as hell not going to get buck naked to do it.
And...what about that plane that crashed around Brazil...if anybody thinks this was NOT a terroist attack, then I have some cherry flavored Kool-aid for you to drink. Lets see...here is some more press releases:
"They detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky and their were two debris fields found, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation. He spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because he was not authorized to discuss the crash"
Uhhh...2 (two) debris fields means the plane exploded in mid air (One field)...and the other is when it hit the water (2nd Field). Or what about this report that hit the wires today below:
"The pilot of a Spanish airliner flying near where the Airbus is believed to have gone down reported seeing a bright flash of white light that quickly plunged to the ocean, said Angel del Rio, spokesman for the Spanish airline Air Comet."Suddenly, off in the distance, we observed a strong and bright flash of white light that took a downward and vertical trajectory and vanished in six seconds," the pilot wrote in a report for the airline and Spanish civil aviation authorities, del Rio told the AP. This Spanish plane was flying from Lima, Peru to Madrid. The pilot said he heard no emergency calls from the plane."
Now...their going to try to cover this up ...and cover it up fast as they don't want people to be wary of flying. The plane was leaving Rio De Jeanero...Do you think the Government of Brazil really has safety precautions comparable to the US? Good luck getting on a plane in any other country and thinking your safe.
Good Luck to everyone at the WSOP!!!!
"Ah, hell. We played a rough game... and we lost"
David Carradine as Cole Younger is "The Long Riders"...when asked by a Pinkerton Man, "What do you and your brothers think about a life sentence? I mean, you're lucky they don't allow hanging in this state. Come on, Cole, tell me what you think about this?"
I want to give a shout out to my boys Virge and Lusky who have set up their own training website...not videos...you can actually have one of them on the phone with you (Or in person if you live in Vegas) while they coach you. Go check out there site at http://www.pokerimmersion.com/.
I went play the weekly at Harrahs yesterday and rode up there with SPR...also saw Wild Bill, Alex Todd, Alex Wood and Mitch. Alex T, Mitch and I all wound up on the same starting table and I commenced to donk off my chips in a ridiculous...embarrassing way thinking I was trying to "portray" that I had a big hand to my buddy AT...ignoring the fact and completely blinded in that he was also trying to tell me to get "out of his pot" as he had a big hand also...we got it all in on the turn...he had my "Big Hand" crushed by a monster. There's nothing like getting all your chips in the middle ...and after the hands revealed...your stone cold dead in the water...My "Big Hand" (Top-Top) didn't even have any outs against his flopped set of 9's...just disgusting...terriable...but it happens. I come home and grind online and, of course, you have to watch TIVO'ed poker while you grind...the first hand I watched was The unabomber making the same disgusting play as I did, only he was on a stone cold bluff even though he had the same hand I did. The venue was the WSOP Europe ME in London...3 days in...Kid Poker turns a straight on a 9 high board (I think)...and our hero check-shoves with A-Q. Phil starts to look to see if he has any outs...nope...zilch. I actually rewinded it several times to just see his reaction...just so I know Im not the only knucklehead that gets it in worst than bad...oh well...it happens and if I was going to Donk out...Im glad I gave my chips to one of my buds
I caught myself pulling for Isaac Haxton in the 40k. I was listening to Pokerroad/The circuit years ago when Sebok called him out for what Joe said was a terriable play...only seebs got tortured on 2+2 as Haxton and his online posse broke down the hand from a mathematical perspective...and Haxton had +EV. That is where you hear the drop all the time on the show where seebs says, "Math is idiotic...yada...yada". Anyhow, they had him on the show after seebs apologized over and over...and I was impressed with the way Haxton handled the situation. In fact, I just downloaded the new Pokerroad radio show where they have him on after his 2nd place finish in the 40k...I am looking forward to the drive home so I can listen to it.
I also got to listen to the Pokerroad show with Prahlad Friedman, and they talked about the emotional turmoil he encountered playing through the cheating scandal at UB. On UB as "Spirit Rock"...it is said that Prahlad was person most cheated in the scandal. He talks about how mind f#$*ed he was after losing so much money to the same player and tryin to figure out what he was doing wrong. Imagine it...your one of the best players on the internet pawning the biggest games at he time...your nickname alone would strike fear in poker players the world over...and then you all of a sudden...you just start getting pawned by a couple of users. How do you adjust and adapt to that situation...it must be hard.
What else...David Carradine was found hanged today in Singapore...below is part of the press release..."The officer responsible for investigating the death, Teerapop Luanseng, said Carradine was staying at a suite at the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel.
"I can confirm that we found his body, naked, hanging in the closet," Teerapop said. He said police suspected suicide". I wonder if the Singapore Cops found porno mags laying around...or a porno on the TV in a continuous play format. Hey guys...ever hear of auto-erotic asphyxiation...yea...I watched something about that on Oprah. If im going to hang myself, Im sure as hell not going to get buck naked to do it.
And...what about that plane that crashed around Brazil...if anybody thinks this was NOT a terroist attack, then I have some cherry flavored Kool-aid for you to drink. Lets see...here is some more press releases:
"They detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky and their were two debris fields found, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation. He spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because he was not authorized to discuss the crash"
Uhhh...2 (two) debris fields means the plane exploded in mid air (One field)...and the other is when it hit the water (2nd Field). Or what about this report that hit the wires today below:
"The pilot of a Spanish airliner flying near where the Airbus is believed to have gone down reported seeing a bright flash of white light that quickly plunged to the ocean, said Angel del Rio, spokesman for the Spanish airline Air Comet."Suddenly, off in the distance, we observed a strong and bright flash of white light that took a downward and vertical trajectory and vanished in six seconds," the pilot wrote in a report for the airline and Spanish civil aviation authorities, del Rio told the AP. This Spanish plane was flying from Lima, Peru to Madrid. The pilot said he heard no emergency calls from the plane."
Now...their going to try to cover this up ...and cover it up fast as they don't want people to be wary of flying. The plane was leaving Rio De Jeanero...Do you think the Government of Brazil really has safety precautions comparable to the US? Good luck getting on a plane in any other country and thinking your safe.
Good Luck to everyone at the WSOP!!!!
"Ah, hell. We played a rough game... and we lost"
David Carradine as Cole Younger is "The Long Riders"...when asked by a Pinkerton Man, "What do you and your brothers think about a life sentence? I mean, you're lucky they don't allow hanging in this state. Come on, Cole, tell me what you think about this?"
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