A really bad mood

For whatever reason, I arrived at work today in a really bad mood. So, instead of working, I played poker. For me, playing poker while in a bad mood guarantees that two things will happen: (1) I will lose money, and (2) my mood will worsen.

I lost $50 playing no limit at Party and I lost 3 out of 4 heads-up sit-n-goes at Stars before I took a break. My mood got better sometime this afternoon and I have managed to actually get some work done with a hold'em window open at Absolute. So far, I've won like $10 playing $0.50/$1.00. It's all about my mood.

Poker Tracker

After clearing my PSO bonus at Absolute Poker, I received Poker Tracker a couple of days ago. I spent Tuesday night installing and I spent quite a bit of yesterday learning how to use it. So far, I like what I see. It provides substantial statistical analysis of both me and my opponents. At Party, the data is almsot real-time, so I can easily track my opponents as I play against them.

Needless to say, after I figure out some of this stuff, I actually had a good day at the tables. I won $18 playing $1/$2 limit and I won about $15 playing $50 NL 6max. The win at the no limit table is actually better than it seemed considering that I lost my entire buy-in first thing yesterday morning before I was using Poker Tracker.

Now that I have it working at Party, I want to figure out how to use it at Poker Stars, Full Tilt, and UltimateBet.

A lesson learned... and then forgotten

Yesterday was a good day for me -- pokerwise. I grinded away at Absolute poker, winning somewhere around $60. The lesson I learned was to be tight, aggressive, and patient. Catch a bad beat? So what! Be patient and the cards will come.

Today, I forgot that lesson and I managed to win virtually nothing at Absolute. I had one heart-breaking session in which I lost virtually every big hand and so I lost. Luckily, I cleared another $10 of bonus money and so the loss was not catastrophic. Well, that and a big pot that I won very late in the session. I was dealth 56s and caught a flush on the river while my opponent simultaneously caught a straight. I bet, got one caller, got raised, and then called. It was a 13 big bet pot and that made a world of difference.

I have also won 4 heads up SNGs in a row at Poker Stars. In general, things look good, although my poker career is about to stall... the baby is near and she is way more important to me than how many big bets per 100 hands that I am winning.

Absolute Poker and....ummm..... winning?

I opened an account at Absolute Poker yesterday to take advantage of a referral system set-up at www.pokersourceonline.com. In addition to the normal sign-up bonus (150% up to $150), I also will get Poker Tracker software. I cleared enough of the bonus last night to qualify for the software, but I lost abuot $50 in the process. It hardly does me any good to lose $50 to get a $50 piece of software for "free".

So, I spent alot of today grinding away at Absolute poker and I have actually grinded my way all of the way back to even at the site. It helps that every 100 raked hands nets me another $10 of bonus, but I was steadily winning all day... probably somewhere in the 3-5 big bets per 100 hands range. I think I have figured out part of my problem. I am pushing good hands in bad spots. I need to stop doing that. Also, I was really unlucky lately... flop a set and let my opponent catch runner runner for a flush. Stuff like that. Some of that luck turned around today, though, and I had very few bad beats. In fact, I had one had with JJ on the big blind where is was raised preflop and I just called. The flop was rags (with a paired board), so I bet out and I got only one calller. The turn was Jc, giving me top full house (second nut) and putting a flush draw on the board. The river was another club and the river was capped by the donkey who thought his king-high flush was good.

As of right now, I am even at Absolute (maybe a little ahead) with alot of bonus yet to clear. So, things are looking good.

Two consecutive hands at UltimateBet

Today has been a difficult day for numerous reasons that I will not attempt to explain. Within this difficulty, I had to teach a 75 minute lecture as well as oversee a two-hour laboratory session. All of this has made me mentally very very tired. So, afterwork, I decided to play two heads-up SNGs at Poker Stars (I now limit the number of these that I play... they're profitable in small doses) and I won both. I then decided to play a single table of 6-max hold'em at UltimateBet. I was not playing well and I was losing slightly despite having a VERY soft table. One guy was playing virtually every hand (e.g., he'd limp with 63o and the call a re-raise when it got back around to him!) and there were a couple of over-aggressive donkeys too. My brain was elsewhere (from the teaching), but I was racking up a ton of Ultimate points (i.e., trying to clear the bonus). I set myself a goal to get back to even when the following two hands happened. The first is an example of how soft my table was... well, the second one is also. I got lucky on the second hand, but both of my opponents played the hand TERRIBLY. Always, always, ALWAYS! bet into the raiser when you flop a good hand. As it turned out, I caught a three-outer on the river for a win, although I had a couple of more outs for a split. The net result is that I went from stuck $5 to a win of more than $20 in two hands. Nice!

Hand 1
Ejay1 is at seat 0 with $37.80.
frazwood is at seat 1 with $19.35.
Tbone9966 is at seat 2 with $28.10.
tj1949 is at seat 3 with $12.50.
g-dice is at seat 4 with $54.40.
David Johns is at seat 5 with $52.
The button is at seat 0.

frazwood posts the small blind of $.25.
Tbone9966 posts the big blind of $.50.
frazwood: Qc Qd

Pre-flop:

tj1949 folds. g-dice calls. David Johns calls.
Ejay1 raises to $1. frazwood re-raises to $1.50.
Tbone9966 folds. g-dice calls. David Johns calls.
Ejay1 calls.

Flop (board: 9s 9h 8d):

frazwood bets $.50. g-dice calls. David Johns
folds. Ejay1 calls.

Turn (board: 9s 9h 8d 4h):

frazwood bets $1. g-dice calls. Ejay1 calls.

River (board: 9s 9h 8d 4h 6h):

frazwood bets $1. g-dice calls. Ejay1 folds.

Showdown:

frazwood shows Qc Qd.
frazwood has Qc Qd 9s 9h 8d: two pair, queens and nines.
(g-dice has 3c 3s.)

Hand2
Ejay1 is at seat 0 with $34.80.
frazwood is at seat 1 with $27.75.
Tbone9966 is at seat 2 with $27.60.
tj1949 is at seat 3 with $12.50.
g-dice is at seat 4 with $50.40.
David Johns is at seat 5 with $50.50.
The button is at seat 1.

Tbone9966 posts the small blind of $.25.
tj1949 posts the big blind of $.50.

frazwood: As Qc

Pre-flop:
g-dice folds. David Johns folds. Ejay1 folds.
frazwood raises to $1. Tbone9966 calls. tj1949 calls.

Flop (board: Qs Qh 6d):
Tbone9966 checks. tj1949 checks. frazwood bets
$.50. Tbone9966 calls. tj1949 calls.

Turn (board: Qs Qh 6d Kc):
Tbone9966 checks. tj1949 checks. frazwood bets $1.
Tbone9966 calls. tj1949 raises to $2. frazwood
re-raises to $3. Tbone9966 calls. tj1949 re-raises
to $4. frazwood calls. Tbone9966 calls.

River (board: Qs Qh 6d Kc Ad):
Tbone9966 checks. tj1949 bets $1. frazwood raises
to $2. Tbone9966 calls. tj1949 re-raises to $3.
frazwood re-raises to $4. Tbone9966 calls. tj1949 calls.

Showdown:

frazwood shows As Qc.
frazwood has As Qc Qs Qh Ad: full house, queens full of aces.
(Tbone9966 has 6h 6s.)
(tj1949 has Qd 5d.)

Sometimes I don't understand people

I just had this hand and I honestly don't understand people sometimes. I have been playing horribly over-aggressive this session and I am clearly losing. Even so, how do you cap this hand on the river without a flush? I have represented a flush with how I have played the hand. He is representing a flush too, right? (FYI: I figured my Ace and Queen high flush were good). But seriously, to cap this thing with a pair of nines? Did he think I would fold when the pot (~$40) was laying me such huge odds (42:1)?


desallen shows [ 8s, 9d, Tc, 7c, 9c, 3c, 5h ] a pair of nines
$1/$2 7 Card Stud - Thursday, September 22, 13:15:28 EDT 2005
Table Table 10717 (6 max) (Real Money)
** Dealing **
Dealt to frazwood [ Ad 8d 7d ]
Jbusby46 bring-ins [$0.50].
frazwood calls [$0.50].
PosnerL calls [$0.50].
sheriff10 calls [$0.50].
Ajax folds.
desallen calls [$0.50].
** Dealing Fourth street **
Dealt to frazwood [ Qd ]
sheriff10 checks.
desallen double bets [$2].
Jbusby46 calls [$2].
frazwood raises [$4].
PosnerL folds.
sheriff10 folds.
desallen calls [$2].
Jbusby46 calls [$2].
** Dealing Fifth street **
Dealt to frazwood [ 3d ]
Jbusby46 checks.
frazwood bets [$2].
desallen calls [$2].
Jbusby46 calls [$2].
** Dealing Sixth street **
Dealt to frazwood [ Jh ]
Jbusby46 checks.
frazwood bets [$2].
desallen raises [$4].
Jbusby46 folds.
frazwood calls [$2].
** Dealing River **
Dealt to frazwood [ Kh ]
frazwood checks.
desallen bets [$2].
frazwood raises [$4].
desallen raises [$4].
frazwood is all-In [$2]
desallen shows [ 8s, 9d, Tc, 7c, 9c, 3c, 5h ] a pair of nines.
frazwood shows [ Ad, 8d, 7d, Qd, 3d, Jh, Kh ] a flush, ace high.

Thursday Morning Party Poker Down

Well I woke this morning to find that Party Poker was undergoing a scheduled shutdown, so I decided to write an extra-boring blog.

I didn't play a whole lot of poker yesterday, despite all of the intermittent posts. We had a brief baby shower last night that turned into a long baby shower. We also had a series of storms blwo through the Twin Cities, which made the drive home extra fun! By the time we reached our neighborhood, it was partially flooded. Luckily, we left three windows open in the house, so everything was soaked. What a day!

After that, I started playing a little 6-max hold'em at UltimateBet, but I was tired and it was still storming, so I shut off the computer after about 20 hands. I won $4, so I am not complaining.

A quick recovery via 7stud

I played about 15 hands of 7stud after my no limit debacle this morning and I recovered most of my $25 loss. I am really considering playing this game more frequently.

This particular short session was quite profitable despite enduring a "bad beat" hand. I won a nice pot early, folded a bunch, and then had my bad hand. I raised with split queens and then paired my door card on fourth card street. Unfortunately, my opponent held (KK)K and eventually filled up. The really good news is that he was terribly awful (and I didn't fill up) and he didn't bet or raise until sixth street. He truly "won the minimum possible"; he could have taken me for alot more.

Then, on my last hand... I had a truly beautiful occurrence of full house vs. flush vs. flush. Enjoy!

<>Total number of players : 6

<>Everyone posts ante [$0.25].

<>** Dealing **
Dealt to frazwood [ 3c 2s 3d ]
jshaner bring-ins [$0.50].
indydexx folds.
Hildy8949 folds.
lams12 calls [$0.50].
ronnie4941 calls [$0.50].
frazwood calls [$0.50].

** Dealing Fourth street **

<>Dealt to frazwood [ 2h ]
jshaner bets [$1].
lams12 calls [$1].
ronnie4941 calls [$1].
frazwood raises [$2].
jshaner calls [$1].
lams12 calls [$1].
ronnie4941 calls [$1]. <>

** Dealing Fifth street **
Dealt to frazwood [ 3s ]
frazwood bets [$2].
jshaner folds.
lams12 calls [$2].
ronnie4941 calls [$2].

<>** Dealing **
Dealt to frazwood [ Ks ]
frazwood checks.
lams12 bets [$2].
ronnie4941 calls [$2].
frazwood raises [$4].
lams12 calls [$2].
ronnie4941 calls [$2]. <>

** Dealing **
Dealt to frazwood [ 8d ]
frazwood bets [$2].
lams12 calls [$2].
ronnie4941 calls [$2]. <>

frazwood shows [ 3c, 2s, 3d, 2h, 3s, Ks, 8d ] a full house, Threes full of twos.
lams12 doesn't show [ Ac, 7d, 5c, 8c, 7c, Qc, 5s ] a flush, ace high.
ronnie4941 doesn't show [ 7s, 8h, 6h, Th, Kh, As, 4h ] a flush, king high.
<>

A rough night with AQ and a bad morning too

I had a bad night of poker (last night) primarily due to that most damned of hands AQ. Although this applies to no limit moreso than limit, AQ is generally considered the most dangerous hand in hold'em. I lost about $40 at Ultimatebet and at least half of it was to AQ. I was continually flopping an ace or a queen and losing the hand. I was a little unique, however, in that I was losing to flushes and straights rather than to AK (well, I did that once too... just for flavor). I really didn't play all that badly, but that doesn't change the fact that I lost. In fact, I have nice wins at three of the four tables that I was playing, but I got absolutely killed at the fourth. I feel like my game is good, though, so I just need to keep grinding.

This morning I played a little no limit at Party. I played one hand REALLY poorly, when I re-raised from the small blind with AKo. The flop was Kd Qd Td and I pushed all-in despite the fact that I had no diamond. I was called by the button who also held AKo, but held Ad. So, I gave him a freeroll for all of my money. Doh! Luckily, we split. A couple of hands later, I picked up KK and lost my entire stack anyway when my opponent flopped a set. I don't mind losing my stack there as much as I hate the way I played the AKo hand.

Have I removed my cranium from my rectum?

Admittedly, poker has been less than succesful lately. I have had some ridiculous session where I was throwing a party... sometimes at Party! For example, I managed to lose almost $50 playing $1/$2 7stud in about 60 hands. It's hard to do that if you try. Actually, I missed virtually every draw that I had and everyone seemed to be hitting their draws on me. I didn't play that badly (or that well); a little luck and things would have been much much better.

Anyway, I think I have my limit hold'em game in fine shape right now. I have toned down some of my aggressiveness post-flop. I have loosened up a bit too. So, I am playing more hands while putting less money at risk. It has been working well. I won a good amount at UltimateBet today (where I am currently bonus-chasing) and I even had a good session at Full Tilt. My UB bankroll is now over $200 and my FTP bankroll is over $100. For the day, I lost less than $2, so I was able to compensate for my brain damage issues at Party.

I really hope that I am about to string together a bunch of good sessions and do some bankroll building.

Heads Up SNGs: Thumbs Down!

I have been playing alot of heads up sit-n-go's at Full Tilt. I started out great with these, raising my bankroll there from about $40 to as high as $110 at one point. Unfortunately, I bored of them quite quickly and eventually pissed away a bunch of wins via reckless play. He just check-raised me all-in? Hmmm... I have middle pair... that must be good, I'll call. Anyway, you can see how this would not be very successful. Anyway, I have just about managed to clear the remainder of my original deposit bonus there, so my bankroll will soon be about $75. That's not great, but I hopefully can build from there again. I plan to reload before the end of the month to take advantage of their 50% reload bonus. I'd do it right now except that there is a two month time limit on it.

Right now, I have about $400 in bonus money at UltimateBet that is just waiting to be cleared. My stack there is about $150, so I can reasonably safely play $0.50/$1.00. I hope that I can play better than I have and I can build a nice stack. I still have a ways to go with my Poker Stars bonus. Perhaps when I am motivated and in the mood, I'll try clearing the heads-up SNG way. Stars' bonuses actually clear VERY quickly via tournaments rather than via open table. For now, though, I need a break from them.

In other news, we continue to ready ourselves for 7 lbs of holy hell... I mean our beautiful daughter. Since September 1, I have installed dead bolt locks (3 more sets to come, actually), a garbage disposal, and a bunch of shelves. I have also fixed the brakes on my car and replaced the spring on the garage door. The guy at Home Depot had something very profound to say: "The only thing guaranteed to work when purchasing a new house is the owner". Oh well, I just won $1.40 play 7stud at Full Tilt. As a result, my bonus has been cleared and I can now attack the UB bonuses.

Negreanu Open and more

I played the Negreanu Open last night for the second time. Last week, I won an all-in very early when I made a horrible call of an all-in and I sucked out. This week was quite the opposite. I played great and I was slowly building my stack until I had "the hand". I was dealt AA in the small blind and it was folded to the button who made a standard raise. I re-raised and he called. The flop looked good to me, Q 8 7 (rainbow). So, I pushed all-in. The button turned over 87 and I did not improve. I was short-stacked after that and I finished in 52nd place (or so) out of about 125. Without a doubt, this was the best that I had ever played in an MTT. I just wish I had played AA better. I should have raised more before the flop, especially out of position. Oh well.

I have been having quite a bit of luck with the heads-up SNGs. My stack at Full Tilt is now just below $100 (up from $40), although my focus is not what it once was. I probably should start playing fewer of these and grind more. They have similar SNGs at Stars, although the structure is even slower. I still think that they're a great way to build a stack -- especially if you can grind and grind. I am starting to get comments that alot of my opponents are bored after 60 hands or so. Gee, here's a new strategy. Play tight for 60 hands and then let your opponent donate $5 to your bankroll.

Heads Ups SNGs

For whatever reason, I played very little 7-stud at Party yesterday. I played 6 hands, which netted me more than $30 in profit. I won a single hand where I caught a king-high flush. I had four (yes, FOUR!) callers to the river, each holding two pair. It was just a huge pot. Simply awesome.

I don't know why, but I just can't seem to shake my desire to play at Full Tilt. This weekend's lesson, however, was to try and find a "soft" game. I think I might have found it, although my game is not quite ready for it. The game is heads-up SNG's. Basically, basically they are heads-up freeze-outs, just like in Rounders. They are fun and I think I should have a pretty big advantage once I get a strategy worked out.

I played 16 of these last night, two of which lasted only one hand. In one, I caught a flush and had a guy go all-in with top pair (wtf?). In the other, I had a great read on my opponent for top pair, while I had top pair, top kicker. I pushed, he called, and he caught one of his three outs on the river. Grrrrr.

For the night, I won 8 and lost 8. Substracting for rake, I lost $4. I played one more this morning; and I won, so I am not profitable on these things by $0.75. Regardless, it seems like a great way to build my bankroll and have fun too. These matches are perfect for someone who only wants to play one table at a time.

More bad poker and then finally something to smile about

Today was another really bad day of poker. I am very frustrated at my losing and I am sure that is making matters worse. The wins are too small and the bad beats are too bad. I am sure that all of this is making me play worse. I'll sit at a table and watch donkey-move after donkey-move, but somehow I can't seem to beat these people.

I bought into a $3/$6 6-max room today and managed to lose $150 in like 50 hands. I then bought into a $1/$2 6-max room and did reasonably well, until the suck-outs started. I literally lost two big hands to J8o. Suddenly, that is the new sexy hand of choice for donkeys everywhere.

After figuratively pulling my hair out, I decided to try seven card stud. For whatever reason, I decided to play at Party where the structure is absolutely awful. But, my bankrolls at Stars and at FTP are very low and I really didn't want to play at either place. Also, I recall winning at the $1/$2 6-max stud game that Party offers.

Oh Nirvana! This game was so incredibly soft it boggles the mind. The players are absolutely perfect: weak-passive. For a game like hold'em, the weak passives give me trouble because I have a tendency to be too aggressive. In 7stud, however, I can see four of their cards, so I can usually read their hands pretty well. Also, I was playing only one table (7stud is tough to multi-table), so I was able to identify the good players versus the targets. Most of the time, I saw no good players!

My 7stud stats so far have been a net profit of $115 in only 206 hands, for a ridiculously unsustainable win rate of 28 big bets per 100 hands.

I also bought into a $0.50/$1.00 limit hold'em room at FTP, even though my bankroll was a pathetic $37. My first hand I was dealt JJ and I flopped a set against 4 opponents. There was a possible straight, however, so I played it slowly until the river when the board paired. It was capped on the river by some donkey who was bluffing his straight draw that he missed. There's nothing like taking down a 20 big bet pot with a full boat against king-high! A few hands later, I was dealt JJ again but I lost the hand when one guy flopped a set and another guy caught the nut-flush on the river. Another 10 hands or so after that, I again was dealt JJ and I won another big pot against the donkey from my first JJ hand. The flop came queen high and he capped the turn and river with a pair of queens, two kicker. Nice hand, but I caught a set on the turn. I won another small pot with TT that was folded on the turn. In the end, I won $16 at FTP in about 45 hands, pushing my stack north of $50. My short term plan there is to clear the last $20 of my original deposit bonus and to re-deposit to take advantage of their reload bonus. I'd really like to grind my stack back up again, but my recent bad play has made that virtually impossible.

The baby is still not here, but that damn Dyson vacuum is still awesome. I alternate between playing poker and cleaning something. We've collected maybe 30 pounds of cat hair so far. There is also a bunch of this fine, fluffy stuff that I can only imagine is dead cells from both us and the cats.

Oh, I suppose I should comment on the victorious Fighting Irish from the University of Notre Dame. The win against Michigan was a great one for sure, but I am not all that optimistic about their chances for big-time success this year. First, they have not shown the ability to play well in the second half. The offense looked scared and/or tired the entire second half. The improved defense was a surprise and they earned the win rather than the offense. Second, and most importantly, the schedule is ridiculously difficult. If they avoid a let-down next week against Michigan St, then they have to go to Purdue. Tough game. After that, they get USC and Tennessee. Those games are at home but the third best team in the country might go 0-2 against those two.

Anyway, I am very happy that the Irish look so good. This team looks like the best Irish unit since Holtz's last year.

Dyson!

Last week, I cashed out some of my hard earned poker winnings and told the wife to buy whatever she wanted. Now, we have about all of the "toys" that either of us could want, and, well, my wife is nothing if not practical. So, she decided a garbage disposal and a Dyson vacuum cleaner.

The installation of the garbage disposal was a rare treat. My wife assumed that her father could install the damn thing, and he was certainly ready-and-willing. The problem here, though, is that he did not have the skill-set to get the job done. Fortunately, I have an intuitive ability with plumbing (i.e., I can usually "guess" how things are supposed to work). With our combined skills, therefore, we were almost able to install the damn thing correctly. Luckily, our friend Ryan was visiting us and he actually understands plumbing. After making a minor correction, our garbarge disposal was installed and working as designed.

I am sure that I will enjoy the garbage disposal to the fullest extent that a garbage disposal can be enjoyed. But to be honest, we moved into this house about a year ago and I have not missed it.

The other purchase that Kelly made (Dyson vacuum) seemed a bit frivolous given the expense (~$500) and the fact that we already owned two vacuums. But with two cats and a baby on the way, Kelly thought an improved vaccuum cleaner could substantially reduce the amount of cat hair in the house, which would be a good thing for our baby. After using it today for the first time, all I can say is "wow".

This vacuum is amazing! It picks up as much cat hair as advertised. It is incredibly well designed and easy to use. The neatest feature (in my opinion) is that the clear plastic catch basin for the dirt -- it allows to see what you are colelcting. In our case, our new Dyson collects an amazing, astonishing, ridiculous amount of cat hair. Our house looks noticeably cleaner.

The Dyson vacuum is well worth the money and I wish I had bought one a long time ago. It was worth real money, not just poker winnings. By the way, if the Dyson company would like to contact me to be in the commercials, I can be reached via e-mail at frazwood@yahoo.com. Actually, all of my readers are welcome to contact me there. No one ever has.

One last thing: Go Irish! Unfortunately, I think Michigan is going to kick the crap out of Notre Dame today. ND is full of confidence after beating Pittsburgh last week, but then Pittsburgh lost to Ohio University last night. For those of you not reading closely, that was Ohio University, not Ohio State University. Big difference.

I still suck

I played poorly again yesterday (and so far today). I don't know what my deal is... to tell you the truth. Some of it is definitely bad luck. For example, I raised from UTG today with JJ. The flop comes down 6 6 6 and I think that I am in good shape, right? Wrong! Apparently, Q6o is all the rage these days, which is what my opponent had. Crap!

I was stuck quite a bit yesterday playing at FTP and at Poker Stars, but then I relaxed and became patient and I actually clawed my way back to even at Stars and a legitimate loss at FTP. I had a profitable last night at Stars. I managed to turn a good session into a bad one at FTP. I was up $20 early but then I slowly gave it away. I am very frustrated right now.

More on how much I suck

I have been thinking this morning about my poker play. I have come to the startling realization that I am not a winning poker player anymore. I certainly was once and I am still cashing out money simply because of my bonus whoring, but I am not a winning poker player anymore. I have only cashed out $200 in profit since March.

I have no doubt that when I am focused on playing, that I can play VERY well. In fact, I think I could hold my own with the best poker players in the world. But that amount of focus is rare these days. So, my sole goal these days is to become a winning poker player again. How am I going to do this?

First, I plan to play only when I am in the mood to play. Second, I am going to play at most two tables of 10-max poker. If I play 6-max, no limit, or a tournament, then I will play only one table.

I also think I should start playing some more 7stud again. I like the game and I think I am pretty good at it (albeit, one table at a time).

I suck

Last night was one of my worst nights of poker in a long long time. I played reasonably well but then I made some HUGE mistakes that just killed me. The worst hand of the night was at Poker Stars where my KK was accidentally folded because I didn't act in time. Actually, I acted in time but for some reason the damn click didn't seem to take and I didn't notice in time. Either way, it was a huge pot that was won with TT (unimproved). The very next hand I folded AQ on an ace-high flop because there was alot of action, a flush draw, and I was against three people. It turns out that I had the best hand at the time (the hand was won with unimproved KK). But to make matters worse, the turn was an ace and the river was a queen. Crap!

I lost a little at UltimateBet and won a little at Full Tilt. I had a nice win at Full Tilt until people started sucking out on me. One arrogant jerk was shocked when I checked the river (a jack) when the board showed Q J T. Based on the way he had played the hand, there was only one reasonable hand that he could hold (AK). So, I checked. Anyway, he was pissed that I foiled his check-raise.

I also played the Daniel Negreanu Open tournament at Poker Stars. I busted out Jayson Webber like 5 hands into it when I called his preflop raise with AQo. The flop came down ten-high, and I check-raised him. He then re-raised me all-in and I called. Yes, a bad call. He has a pair of tens with a king kicker; I caught an ace and busted him out. After, I played correctly for about 30 minutes. I had one good hand where I bluffed a guy off of a nice pot. After that, I was actually in the top ten for the tournament. But, I had a horrible hand (instant karma finally got me) where I held Q8s in the big blind. The button (short-stack) mini-raised so I called. I flopped top two pair and we got all of our money in on the flop. He held A8o and he caught an ace on the river to double up. The very next hand I pushed all-in with AK (tilt!) and lost. That left me with a small stack. After that, I actually played decently. I ended the night on the big blind when I pushed all in with JTo (remember, I was short-stacked) against A8o. I caught a ten on the flop, but both the turn and river were aces and I was out.

I really need to get my head out of my ass with respect to all of this poker stuff. I don't like losing at all.

Very little poker, but bad

I played virtually no poker yesterday. Well, I played about 100 hands of 6max, $0.50/$1.00 limit hold 'em at Party Poker. The play was really bad with several people literally playing every hand. I couldn't seem to manage to catch enough cards to make a profit and then I decided to play like a LAG, which cost me even more money. Finally, I got dealt TT under-the-gun and I raised. I got 4 callers (yes, 4!). The flop came down Q T 8 (rainbow), which I thought was good. Unfortunately, I got a phone call and I was distracted. I failed to notice that there was a possible straight on the baord. I literally have no idea what the other two cards were... but I bet myself until I was broke. I do know that the board never paired and the donkey who called my raise with J9o took down a huge pot.

In other poker news, my Full Tilt Poker Sunglasses arrived yesterday. They seem to be rather nice. They are clearly "poker glasses" in that I can still see indoors in a dimly lit room. All they really do is prevent people from seeing my eyes. Still, they are the nicest pair of sunglasses that I have ever owned (I have never owned sunglasses).

In-laws and a vaccuum cleaner

My poker world went a little hay-wire last week when Party Poker, UltimateBet, Poker Stars, and Full Tilt Poker announced reload bonuses. I systematically started pursuing these bonuses, first by doing three consecutive deposit-withdrawals at Ultimate, Party, and finally Stars. Because UltimateBet and Stars do not have a time limit to clear their bonus, I spent what little poker time that I had this weekend clearing the Party Poker bonus. During that process, I perhaps built my bankroll an additional $40.

Most of my weekend was spent entertaining my in-laws and another couple who visited us for the weekend. I went golfing on Friday at Edinburgh, which is a very nice and difficult course in Brooklyn Park. I shot a 95, which is a good score considering the difficulty of course and the fact that I had only played 27 holes this year. On Saturday, I went fishing on the Mississippi River. The action was generally slow, but we brought home plenty for lunch. I caught one nice smallmouth that I figured for about 3 lbs, but it was much larger than one of the fish that I filleted that was a solid 16 inches (I measured it when I got home). Sunday was a day of rest (and baby sitting). This morning, we went back out on the Mississippi where the action was better, although we did not catch as many big fish.

My poker today has been mostly at Full Tilt (losing) and at Poker Stars (winning). I am trying really hard to be patient and to avoid mistakes. I have had some brutal suck-outs, such that can only occur when someone calls a raise with 58o and flops a straight. It makes it really easy to lose money when you hold KK. Grr. I had the worst beat of my life on Sunday. I held KK and flopped a set on a board with two hearts. The turn and river were both hearts, and the pot was taken down by a guy who held 5c 2h. He called to the river with nothing but the worst possible flush draw. Oh well, back to work. I don't have alot of time to play today... so I had better make the most of it.

Bust again

Even when I play it right, I lose. Ugh.


*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to frazwood [7s 7c]
riojj23 calls $0.10
DaKidd224 has 15 seconds left to act
DaKidd224 folds
KP5813 calls $0.10
layouter folds
SlappyHoldem folds
abctony calls $0.10
frazwood calls $0.05
ygperry checks
*** FLOP *** [Jc 7d 2d]
frazwood checks
ygperry checks
riojj23 bets $0.10
KP5813 calls $0.10
abctony calls $0.10
frazwood raises to $9.55, and is all in
ygperry folds
riojj23 folds
KP5813 calls $8.80, and is all in
abctony folds
frazwood shows [7s 7c]
KP5813 shows [Jh Jd]
Uncalled bet of $0.65 returned to frazwood
*** TURN *** [Jc 7d 2d] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [Jc 7d 2d 5d] [8c]
frazwood shows three of a kind, Sevens
KP5813 shows three of a kind, Jacks
KP5813 wins the pot ($17.60) with three of a kind, Jacks

Back to poker

I can definitely recall that I was once a profitable playing no limit. That was a long long time ago. I have tried a system of pushing nut-flushes, sets, and AA/KK preflop. Unfortunately, I have had bad luck with this approach as the last three times that I pushed with AA, I got beat. Each time, I got TWO callers and they caught a set while I did not. When playing "normal", I have been pushing preflop with weak hands (99 and JJ come to mind) and I am always against AA. I never improve. Anyway, my no limit sessions these days result in me going bust, usually in 30 hands or less.

Where am I going with this? Full Tilt Poker annouced a reload bonus for September, but to be eligible... you cannot have any existing bonus. So, I need to clear a little more than $40 of bonus of my original sign-up bonus. The biggest problem with that is my short stack (~$60). I need a bigger bankroll than that to play the higher stakes games so that I can clear it. It's all one big circular argument/problem. Make sense? I need more money to play higher stakes so that I can clear the bonus. But I can't deposit more money because I am not eligible for the bonus. Grr.

Anyway, I decided to try two tabling limit holdem ($0.5/1.00) while playing a low stakes (blinds: $0.05/$0.10) no limit table. I immediately went bust on the no limit table, further depleting my bankroll. Simply put, I need to learn how to lay down a hand. I am also probably playing some of my limit hands a little too aggressively. I don't seem to be profitable right now either. In limit, though, it is hard to tell. The win rate is so slow that a big hand here or there makes all the difference. That is, I grind grind grind and essentially break even, waiting for that one big hand where my opponent makes a big mistake and I rake in a big pot.

The good news is that I am about to clear $20 of bonus (they release it $20 at a time), which will help with some of my bankroll problems.

New Orleans and Katrina

I have yet to insert my political views into my blog, but I figure that this is as good as a time as any. First, let me state that I characterize myself to be a moderate liberal, although many conservatives might call me "far left" (this is probably true with regards to most social issues). Of course, these same people call anyone who disagrees with them to be "far left".

The situation in New Orleans and the Mississippi/Louisiana coasts is simply awful, unimaginable devastation. I feel bad about the people are have been killed, whose homes have been destroyed, etc.

That said, I think the situation in New Orleans is the worst example of governmental failure in the history of the United States. My perspective is a little bit different than you might think. I do not necessarily agree with one woman who claimed that the State of Louisiana has left her to die. Is it the government's role to help secure the safety of 1.2 million people who live in a city after they were hit by a hurricane? I don't think so. I think the government is actually doing a reasonable job of handling the aftermath. The looting is appalling, but I don't think it is the government's fault for this atrocious activity. These looters are the worst of human beings (unfortunately, horrible people are far too common) who do not even deserve a government, let alone one as good as the United States.

The fault of the government revolves specifically around New Orleans and its readiness for a hurricane of this magnitude. Katrina was a class 4 hurricane, which exceeds the design capacity of the New Orleans system. Who decided to design levees capable of handling a class 3 hurricane? Well, that is your friendly neighborhood government. I have heard that they did not want a better design due to ascetic reasons. Regardless of the reason, this is the failure of the government. Above all else, the government should have prepared New Orleans for a hurricane of this magnitude. This would still be a disaster, but the city would not be under 20 feet of water and the death toll and subsequent recovery would not be so expensive.

The government needs to make reasonable assurances that its public will be kept safe. It has been known for years that New Orleans was not ready for a big hurricane. And this is the failure. People are now complaining about levees that have failed and that they are slow to be fixed. Well, they were not designed to handle this situation, so it was expected that they would fail. And using reason, it would be expected that these levees would be very difficult to fix during any catastrophe that would be big enough to cause them to fail.

Our president (and most other conservative politicians), in my opinion, is very short-sighted on virtually every issue of importance. Our failure in Iraq is one example. I agree with him that removing Saddam Hussein from power would be a good thing. However, removing Saddam Hussein from power would have all sorts of trickle down effects, which would far exceed the benefits of removing him from power in the first place. And, my dear readers, my opinions on this subject pre-date our invasion of Iraq. The abyssmal situation in Iraq should have been anticipated, much like a Class 4+ hurricane hitting New Orleans.

Where am I going with this? I have little doubt that global warming is one of the factors causing all of these hurricanes. Our president says that the scientific evidence is not compelling enough to warrant the negative economic impact of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. I ask: What will be the economic impact of ignoring global warming in the long term? Unfortunately, the "long term" is now, because our government's failure in New Orleans has substantial economic impact on the country and the world right now. Our economy, which has been blessed with very low gasoline prices until recently, is now going to be hurting. Lucky for me, I have a stable job and my economy can handle the increased costs associated with higher gas prices.

In conclusion, I have two hopes right now. First, that our government (particularly G. W. Bush) gets their collective heads out of their asses and starts considering the long term. The word that they should recite at least 10 times each day is "sustainability". Second, given the inevitable cyclic nature of politics, our society will not swing too far to the left in the near future. Afterall, I am a big believer in being a moderate. The only thing worse than a government that is too conservative is one that is too liberal.