shameless political post

as i mentioned a few posts ago, i've decided to support barack obama in the upcoming presidential election. it pisses me off to no end that politics in the us has essentially become who can raise the most money, but i think obama is likely to change things for the better, therefore i've contributed some money to his campaign. i made a friendly bet that i could get him another $500 bucks this week, so if you support obama but have been on the fence, you can use this link to contribute money to his campaign. no amount is too small and you can learn more about where he stands on various issues here.

regrouping

i've been playing pretty crappy the past couple nights -- calling way too much, especially oop, playing a range of hands that's too wide, and generally making plays that don't need to be made. i played in the "skill" series on wed night, but slow played my AA pre flop (flat called a raise and re-raise) and on the flop (with the intent to cr), and let fuel hit a two outer on the turn w/ his QQ. oops. i somehow made it through about half the field in the mookie, but busted in a hand that for the life of me i can't even remember. yeah, that about sums up the poker i've played over the last week -- utterly forgettable. i do remember my 28k exit. the co raised to 150 (blinds 25/50) and i stupidly decided to call w/ K2s on the button. i flopped two pair and we got it all in, but the river paired the board and he outkickered me. i was frustrated, but it was also a hand i should not have been calling with in the first place! after my ouster from the mookie i mostly railed, watching mag cruise to a 2nd place finish in the 55k. he railed me the night i finished second in the 25k on stars, so i tried to return the favor as best i could.

you may have noticed (probably you didn't, though) that i haven't mentioned ftops sats lately. the next ftops starts on feb 6th, but i'll only be in town for event #1 and the main event. i will try to play both, and last night won a buy in to a 100 chippie turbo sat for event #1 (thank you dwal and hellory)! even if i don't win the sat, i'll probably still buy in, since it's the only one i can play that i can also afford. :-)

work is no longer stressing me out, which is a welcome relief. i have work to do all day every day, but it's not terribly difficult and there's no micro management, which i like. it doesn't hurt that i'm leaving for a 10 day vacation a week from today either.

i've got dinner tonight with a friend who's leaving my job (sniffle) so i doubt i'll play much. trying to go back to the basics and get my game together in time for ftops. probably no w/e tournaments due to superbowl (go giants!!) but i'll play next week trying to get in my fix before i leave for ireland.

bubbled the math

i bubbled the math, going out in 6th place. i had an above average stack for most of the tournament. i nearly doubled when i flopped two pair on skidoo, who flopped top pair. i lost a big chunk of the stack when buckhoya's AQ was > than my KK -- we got it all in on a Q high flop, but a river A won it for him. i hung in there until the final table when i squeezed a fuel pf raise and bayne call w/ 77, fuel called w/ jackace and hit a J on the flop to take me out.

on the bright side i won my first ever 90 person ko. i haven't had much success in the $3 ones, and have been coming close but not making the bubble in the $10 ones.


played some blogger cash. it was fun to mix it up. i was up for most of the night, but this hand brought me under my buy in. such a calling station luckbox. :)



Full Tilt Poker Game #5038321895: Table Duval (deep) - $0.40/$0.80 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:25:55 ET - 2008/01/29
Seat 1: jamespietro ($114.90)
Seat 2: bayne_s ($160)
Seat 3: iam23skidoo ($705.15)
Seat 4: pvanharibo ($183.30)
Seat 5: fox630 ($117.35)
Seat 6: PirateLawyer ($424.25)
Seat 7: lucko21 ($173.15)
Seat 8: SirFWALGMan ($102.35)
Seat 9: the waco kid 67 ($249.95)
jamespietro posts the small blind of $0.40
bayne_s posts the big blind of $0.80
5 seconds left to act
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [Tc Ts]
iam23skidoo folds
pvanharibo raises to $2.40
PirateLawyer folds
lucko21 folds
SirFWALGMan folds
the waco kid 67 folds
jamespietro folds
bayne_s calls $1.60
*** FLOP *** [3s 6s Qc]
bayne_s checks
pvanharibo bets $3.50
bayne_s calls $3.50
*** TURN *** [3s 6s Qc] [4d]
bayne_s checks
pvanharibo bets $7.50
bayne_s calls $7.50
*** RIVER *** [3s 6s Qc 4d] [9s]
bayne_s bets $21
pvanharibo calls $21
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bayne_s shows [9c 6d] two pair, Nines and Sixes
pvanharibo mucks
bayne_s wins the pot ($66.20) with two pair, Nines and Sixes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $69.20 | Rake $3
Board: [3s 6s Qc 4d 9s]
Seat 1: jamespietro (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: bayne_s (big blind) showed [9c 6d] and won ($66.20) with two pair, Nines and Sixes
Seat 3: iam23skidoo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: pvanharibo mucked [Tc Ts] - a pair of Tens
Seat 5: fox630 is sitting out
Seat 6: PirateLawyer didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: lucko21 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: SirFWALGMan didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: the waco kid 67 (button) didn't bet (folded)

getting more value from my good hands

i played like a little tiltmonkey in my first couple of tournaments yesterday, and donked out early of the sunday brawl and just after the break in the $20 1 rebuy/add on. i did end up coming in 12th in the rake the rake freeroll which was good and bad. good, b/c hey, free money, and there were over 1k entered. bad, because i could not catch a break. i lost w/ KK to TT, AA to 77 and AK to Q9. those are just the bad beats i remember. somehow despite catching no cards and my big hands not holding up i made my way to 12th, so even though it's not a huge tournament, i'm ~proud of that. first prize was 7k, which would have been sweet, but at least i'm consistently going deep in tournaments -- now i just need to figure out how to win them!

on that note, one leak i'm finding is that i don't get enough value when i have big hands and/or flop big hands. three examples below:

i think in the first i def shoulda checked, and tried to get shortie to bluff

Full Tilt Poker Game #4990153888: $5,500 KO Guarantee (37238196), Table 9 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em -
Seat 1: clarkrph (3,075)
Seat 2: metranca (11,185)
Seat 3: WS-602 (1,515)
Seat 4: stj25 (5,380)
Seat 5: cliff47 (14,444)
Seat 6: pvanharibo (12,912)
Seat 7: pask57 (5,292)
Seat 8: btigris (10,800)
Seat 9: mjruopp (2,026)
pvanharibo posts the small blind of 80
pask57 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [Tc Kc]
btigris folds
mjruopp calls 160 --- total donk, i've seen him limp K7s and a few other garbage hands from utg
clarkrph folds
metranca folds
WS-602 folds
stj25 folds
cliff47 folds
pvanharibo raises to 480
pask57 folds
mjruopp calls 320 ---
*** FLOP *** [Kh 2d Ks]
pvanharibo bets 480
mjruopp folds
Uncalled bet of 480 returned to pvanharibo
pvanharibo mucks
pvanharibo wins the pot (1,120)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,120 | Rake 0
Board: [Kh 2d Ks]
Seat 1: clarkrph didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: metranca didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: WS-602 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: stj25 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: cliff47 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: pvanharibo (small blind) collected (1,120), mucked
Seat 7: pask57 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: btigris didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: mjruopp folded on the Flop

here i think i should have flat called, trying to induce a squeeze. i have to stop myself from getting too excited when i have a big hand, and look for ways to make the most money.

ull Tilt Poker Game #4990234957: $5,500 KO Guarantee (37238196), Table 9 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em -
Seat 2: metranca (9,285)
Seat 3: ggdonk15 (14,620)
Seat 4: stj25 (8,770)
Seat 5: cliff47 (14,284)
Seat 6: pvanharibo (15,652)
Seat 7: pask57 (7,052)
Seat 8: btigris (10,340)
Seat 9: mjruopp (1,246)
btigris posts the small blind of 100
mjruopp posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [Kh Kc]
metranca folds
ggdonk15 folds
stj25 raises to 700
cliff47 has 15 seconds left to act
cliff47 folds
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo raises to 2,200
pask57 folds
btigris folds
mjruopp folds
stj25 folds
Uncalled bet of 1,500 returned to pvanharibo
pvanharibo mucks
pvanharibo wins the pot (1,700)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,700 | Rake 0
Seat 2: metranca didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: ggdonk15 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: stj25 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: cliff47 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: pvanharibo collected (1,700), mucked
Seat 7: pask57 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: btigris (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: mjruopp (big blind) folded before the Flop

and another...i was very close to calling here, but then couldn't figure out the next streets. if i check again, does he check behind on the turn -- am i only giving him a chance to catch a card, or just catch up? is he calling any more bets unless he has me beat? once i saw how much was in the pot i didn't see much point in flat calling or min raising (though i thought about that hard). yet another hand where i think i should be getting all of his chips, and just don't seem to get it right.

Full Tilt Poker Game #4990491730: $5,500 KO Guarantee (37238196), Table 5 - 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em -
Seat 1: dj doc (4,470)
Seat 2: biv10 (6,230)
Seat 3: rckb_2000 (12,575)
Seat 4: pvanharibo (24,246)
Seat 5: Lunne (16,464)
Seat 6: slappy146 (10,905)
Seat 7: IRiverYou1 (17,960)
Seat 8: muttface (9,191)
Seat 9: Fresh2Death187 (9,906)
dj doc antes 50
biv10 antes 50
rckb_2000 antes 50
pvanharibo antes 50
Lunne antes 50
slappy146 antes 50
IRiverYou1 antes 50
muttface antes 50
Fresh2Death187 antes 50
biv10 posts the small blind of 200
rckb_2000 posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [Ks Ad]
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo raises to 1,050
Lunne folds
slappy146 has 15 seconds left to act
slappy146 folds
IRiverYou1 folds
muttface folds
Fresh2Death187 calls 1,050
dj doc folds
biv10 folds
rckb_2000 folds
*** FLOP *** [Ac 5h 3c]
pvanharibo checks
Fresh2Death187 bets 1,600
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo has requested TIME
pvanharibo raises to 23,146, and is all in
Fresh2Death187 has 15 seconds left to act
Fresh2Death187 has requested TIME
Fresh2Death187 folds
Uncalled bet of 21,546 returned to pvanharibo
pvanharibo mucks
pvanharibo wins the pot (6,350)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,350 | Rake 0
Board: [Ac 5h 3c]
Seat 1: dj doc (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: biv10 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: rckb_2000 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: pvanharibo collected (6,350), mucked
Seat 5: Lunne folded before the Flop
Seat 6: slappy146 folded before the Flop
Seat 7: IRiverYou1 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: muttface folded before the Flop
Seat 9: Fresh2Death187 folded on the Flop

final table

i made another final table, but sadly finished 9th when the very aggressive big stack raised for the millionth time (from ep) and i decided to go w/ pocket 99s and re-raised him. unfortunately the guy to my right picked up JJ, original raiser had AK, and i was finished with a K on the flop and J on turn. i'm frustrated b/c earlier today i bubbled the final table of a 5.5k ko on tilt, finishing 13th after making a bad call when i had enough chips to cruise to the final table. in the stars tournament ($22 1 rebuy/1 add on) i could have folded the 99 and tried to find better spots where i was open raising, rather than re-raising w/ 99. as bayne said to me earlier today, at some point i will figure out the right mix of aggression and restraint, but right now i'm ~frustrated with myself. there was an earlier hand with the same big stack where he raised from the co and i re-raised him from the sb w/ QQ. i thought i was raising more than 3x his raise, but i messed up somewhere and it was slightly less. he called, and led out on a flop of ATx. i got nervous, thinking he had to have an A, and folded my QQ. i had fold equity if i'd jammed him, and i'll never know what he had, but i think maybe i need to go broke in that spot and put him to the test, and not sit around writing this what if post. i had folded to his flop bet once before, so maybe he just thought he could push me around.

i'm still happy about the 4k last night, don't get me wrong, but i def felt i had a good shot at the 5500 first prize in this tournament, and it hurts to go so deep and not get one of the big cashes.

i may play in some tournaments on sunday but am gonna call it a night for now. have a great weekend!

2nd is better than 3rd

i'm tired, so i'll try to write more tomorrow. i almost tilted out w/ two tables left when i folded QQ accidentally to a raise and a re-raise. i expected my time button to kick in, but for some reason i no longer had a time button, and it folded. i was up against AK and AK, and woulda won. then a few hands later i had the same problem w/ 99, where i planned to call and i timed out before i could hit it. brutal. somehow i fought my way back. special shout out to my railers!

warning

bad beat post ahead:

Full Tilt Poker Game #4983566195: $55,000 Guarantee (37064726), Table 22 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 1: YooACEhole (9,420)
Seat 2: jbergsten (5,615)
Seat 3: bad biznass (1,855)
Seat 4: A_Webb_13 (7,255)
Seat 5: pvanharibo (5,130)
Seat 6: chiefplay (2,620)
Seat 7: scam8 (5,230)
Seat 8: DimJarnaby35 (3,065)
Seat 9: SPILIOLIKOO (7,985)
scam8 posts the small blind of 40
DimJarnaby35 posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [8h 8s]
SPILIOLIKOO folds
YooACEhole folds
jbergsten folds
bad biznass has 15 seconds left to act
bad biznass folds
A_Webb_13 has 15 seconds left to act
A_Webb_13 is sitting out
A_Webb_13 has timed out
A_Webb_13 folds
A_Webb_13 has returned
pvanharibo raises to 240
chiefplay folds
scam8 calls 200
DimJarnaby35 folds
*** FLOP *** [Td 8c Tc]
scam8 checks
pvanharibo checks -- i rarely check the flop after raising pre, but i wanted to give him a chance to catch up
*** TURN *** [Td 8c Tc] [Jc]
scam8 has 15 seconds left to act
scam8 bets 400
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo raises to 1,100
scam8 has 15 seconds left to act
scam8 raises to 4,990, and is all in
pvanharibo calls 3,790, and is all in
scam8 shows [Kh Th]
pvanharibo shows [8h 8s]
Uncalled bet of 100 returned to scam8
*** RIVER *** [Td 8c Tc Jc] [Jh]
scam8 shows a full house, Tens full of Jacks
pvanharibo shows a full house, Eights full of Jacks
scam8 wins the pot (10,340) with a full house, Tens full of Jacks
pvanharibo stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 10,340 | Rake 0
Board: [Td 8c Tc Jc Jh]
Seat 1: YooACEhole didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: jbergsten didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: bad biznass didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: A_Webb_13 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: pvanharibo showed [8h 8s] and lost with a full house, Eights full of Jacks
Seat 6: chiefplay (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: scam8 (small blind) showed [Kh Th] and won (10,340) with a full house, Tens full of Jacks
Seat 8: DimJarnaby35 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: SPILIOLIKOO didn't bet (folded)


i'm clearly running well. this happened a few hands later on stars.

PokerStars Game #14800565337: Tournament #74499120, $25.00+$2.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) -
Table '74499120 30' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Mr. River (8485 in chips)
Seat 2: Chris333KK (6790 in chips)
Seat 3: STEVEK05 (1785 in chips)
Seat 4: JT3013 (13660 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: SAYITWITHME (10540 in chips)
Seat 6: princeharibo (11725 in chips)
Seat 7: randeequeen (13907 in chips)
Seat 8: BigCheef84 (5020 in chips)
Seat 9: curuipe (2630 in chips)
BigCheef84: posts small blind 100
curuipe: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to princeharibo [Ah Kd]
SAYITWITHME said, "nh"
Mr. River: folds
Chris333KK: folds
STEVEK05: folds
JT3013: folds
SAYITWITHME: folds
princeharibo: raises 400 to 600
randeequeen: folds
BigCheef84: folds
SAYITWITHME said, "knew it but had 2 c it"
curuipe: raises 2030 to 2630 and is all-in
princeharibo: calls 2030
*** FLOP *** [Kc Td 8c]
SAYITWITHME said, "good bet"
*** TURN *** [Kc Td 8c] [3d] -- ok, it was still a flip, but COME ON!
*** RIVER *** [Kc Td 8c 3d] [Jc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
curuipe: shows [3c 3h] (three of a kind, Threes)
princeharibo: shows [Ah Kd] (a pair of Kings)
curuipe collected 5360 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5360 | Rake 0
Board [Kc Td 8c 3d Jc]
Seat 1: Mr. River folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Chris333KK folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: STEVEK05 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: JT3013 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: SAYITWITHME folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: princeharibo showed [Ah Kd] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 7: randeequeen (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: BigCheef84 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: curuipe (big blind) showed [3c 3h] and won (5360) with three of a kind, Threes

ladies event and tuesday night

short story of the ladies tournament is that despite 2 hours of sleep i played pretty solid. i missed the first blind level but nearly doubled w/ KK when the woman to my left played a hand as bad as can be. seriously, i was almost on tilt from the moment i sat down at the table, b/c the play was HORRENDOUS. i saw a hand from the sb w/ 7 limpers and even the dealer voiced his disapproval announcing "seven limpers" in quite possibly the most disdainful tone i've ever heard. call, call call, call was all i heard.

i was fairly aggressive, and got myself up to a nice stack of 24k when i made a few misplays. i called a flop w/ middle pair having raised pre w/ QJ (not ideal, but everyone kept folding to me!) and the bb just called, then jammed the flop. i was getting 2-1, and possibly should have folded there, but she had AQ and won the pot with a better kicker. sort of on tilt i limped (terrible) with ATs from the hijack and called a min raise by the co (a very strong japanese player who seemed to know what she was doing, except for her accidental min raise). the bb also called. we checked the flop and the turn, and the river made me a straight. bb checked again and i realized i'd hit a straight. i bet 3k into the pot of 5k, and bb went all in. i said out loud there's only one hand that beats me, but i was priced in as she only had 2100 behind her. she showed me the nuts (QT) and in two hands i was back down to 12k. our table broke shortly after that and i got moved.

i played one hand before the dinner break, when there were two limpers and i looked down at KQo in the co. i jammed for my stack and everyone folded, which chipped me up to almost 14k going to dinner. following the break i didn't play any hands until the button limped on my bb. actually i played one hand, horribly, limping w/ J9s behind an earlier limper. even though i flopped middle pair i folded when the other limper bet on the K high flop. i was pretty pissed at myself for not raising pre or simply folding and threw it away. so anyway, a few hands later it folded around to the button, who limped, and i checked my bb w/ J6 and saw a flop of J68. i checked and she bet out 3k. there is a strong argument for calling here, but i decided to raise, for 6900 more. she thought for a bit and folded. three hands later the same woman raised from early position to 4500, and i looked down at JJ in the cut off. i raised her all in for 18k on top and she called w/ AK. K on the flop and i'm out with two minutes left in the pats game. if i won that race i would have had 36k, more than double any of the other women at the table, and i'm pretty sure i would have destroyed the table. they were all so weak tight it was sick. bummer.

i'm probably going to play the $600 foxwoods ladies tournament on saturday march 29th. i'm still a little conflicted about playing ladies tournaments, b/c all the limping and calling really drove me nuts. that said, i also think i'm a better player than the majority of the women who enter, and why not play a tournament with so much dead money. i may also give the 1k a try that friday. the biggest tournament i've played to date was a 2k at the borgata that i satellited into for $500 a few months ago, and i made it through more than half the field. i think i'm a way better player than i was when i played that event, so i have more confidence and i no longer think a 1k buy in will intimidate me or keeping me from playing optimal poker.

i went pretty deep in the 24k last night, finishing 25th. i tried to resteal on the co from the button, but the co woke up with AA (obv). i'm not sure it was a horrible play and i think i got unlucky -- i had fold equity and i think he has a fairly wide range there and folds a good percentage of the time. it wasn't a move i needed to make, b/c i wasn't desperate, but i also wasn't playing to move up spots, i was playing to win. i railed sprstoner after that who had a nice stack but thankfully was at a different table the whole time. he got totally coolered when he had KQ against a guy who flopped two pair w/ K8. so gross, and he went out on the ft bubble.

i also played the "skill" series which was o8, but didn't pay much attention to it while i was playing the 24k. i kept forgetting it was hi/lo! anyhow, rakefeeder and i chopped for first prize, so congrats to him on coming back from a big chip deficit. and thanks to heffmike for giving me some o8 advice in the table chat during the tournament. it was sort of funny to watch the people who knew what they're doing get really pissed off at all the noobs like me. i'm not sure what they expected from a blogger tournament where half the people have never played the game, but i know if it were nlhe i'd be getting annoyed. i definitely learned a bit about playing o8 (note to self, tighten starting hand selection) and had fun, and even made a decent amount of money in the process. so wooooooooot.

i'm going to dinner w/ a friend tonight but will likely be home in time for the mooooooooooookie. banner time!

first tournament win!

first things first. my saturday was TERRIBLE. i went to a bday party friday night and got ~drunk and didn't sleep well. saturday i woke up way too early and had to work. i also played a few tournaments online and could not catch a break. i was getting bad beated left and right (my head is a little stuffed w/ hand histories right now so i can't remember any specifically, but it was frustrating). i decided i would try playing some cash. after going up a bit, i lost two big pots (where i got all in w/ the best hand) and started tilting (BAD). i then totally donked off a buy in on mega tilt. while still playing i got up to grab some water and tripped over my ipod cord plugged into my pute. my fingernail slammed into one of my fingers and left a gash that wouldn't stop bleeding and hurt like a mofo. great start to my day, huh?

i had to take a conference call for my nightmare project, and shortly before that started got word that one of my cases that had been on hold was back in full swing. that means i'm probably gonna be pretty slammed at work. :( i was nervous going to ac b/c i expected to play cash saturday night and then play in the ladies tournament on sunday.

fast forward a few hours and lucko and i arrived at the borgata. i registered for the ladies event, and overheard the guy at the next counter buying into a tournament for $200. my ears perked up and i asked when that one started. turned out it started at 8pm (it was 8:40pm) and we missed the first blind level. despite having 9:45 reservations at my favorite ac restaurant, sea blue, i excitedly asked lucko if he wanted to play. he mustered up some enthusiasm and off we went to the $230 second chance tournament.

at my table was one guy with about double the starting stack and every one else was right around the starting stack. we started w/ 6k in chips, and i think i was down about 150, and showed up in time for my bb. i won a couple of small pots, including one where the utg limped, and i re-raised w/ KK. he called (blinds 100/200, he limped i raised to 700) and then folded to my 2/3 raise on a J high board of unders (saying he had 77). a bit later i limped behind a few other limpers on the button w/ QJ and the flop came Q with two rags. the bb bet out and i raised his 800 bet (pot = 1k) to 2800. it was a risky play, but i thought if he had a Q i had him outkicked. two pair was a possibility, but he bet it pretty hesitantly. he thought for awhile, showed a Q, and folded. i'm pretty sure i had him outkicked, but had fun listening to the table speculate on my hand being KK or a set of 2s. (yeah, like i'm not going to raise my blind w/ a bunch of limpers w/ KK).

right after the QJ hand my table broke, and i got moved to the table where i spent the majority of the tournament. i don't remember much, but i barely played a hand for the next level, in part b/c i wasn't getting any hands, and in part b/c i was on serious drink tilt. the waitresses were on a shift change and i wanted a beer and a water badly. i found it was distracting me so much that i didn't want to play a big pot!

christina finally came over with a cold heinekin, and shortly after that i won a pot in the blinds when i flopped top pair and re-raised the small blind's bet, and then followed that up w/ a nice pot when i had KK. i was up to 12k about two hours into the tournament (one hour into me actually playing the tournament -- we started w/ 6k). i lost a huge hand when the guy to my right raised for the umpteenth time on the button, and i decided to jam w/ ATs. it was a bad move, he showed TT and i was almost out. i doubled up w/ KQ v. JJ, which gave me some breathing room.

i then won a huge pot when i accidentally min raised utg w/ AA. it could have been the new blind levels, or it may have been that i was on my fourth or fifth beer. either way, sb and bb called. flop came K high, and bb was reaching for his chips almost immediately. sb checked, bb bet, i jammed, and he called w/ K9. no two pair for him and i scooped a nice pot. the very next hand there was an utg raiser who raised a little big, and it folded around to me in the bb. i saw AKs and decided to re-raise him all in. he showed JJ, i didn't hit and i was crippled.

we went to break and i had about 8k w/ blinds going up to 800/1600. i had three hands before my bb. first hand i caught K6 and thought about raising but decided to wait. as it happened it ended up folding around to sb and bb. sb was a shortie who went all in and bb called w/ 53. sb showed 72 and it, um, "held." K on turn and i would have taken it down. the very next hand i looked at A6s and jammed. bb hesitated for about 20 seconds and then called w/ KK. A on the flop and i doubled. after that hand i started building a stack and never looked back.

i recall jamming utg w/ 88 and got no callers. i re-raised a mp raiser w/ 77 and took down a decent pot. i was getting solid hands, hiting flops like mad and made some nice re-raises. in addition, the blinds were going up and ms were low. i was on a tear and went from about 15k to 92k in a level (half hour levels). when we got down to 3 tables (30 left, 3 paid) i had just over 300k.

i know it sounds crazy, but i just don't remember how i got there. i was still drinking beers, and while it's not a great thing to admit, i played the entire tournament in an intoxicated state ranging from buzzed to, as lucko's friend dwal called me, "smashed" -- dwal made it to day 2 of the $1500 tournament that started earlier in the day, and despite being one of 39 left starting at 2pm the next day, railed me right to the end of the tournament at 6am. he ended up finishing 16th for $4900, woot.

i do know one of my earlier hands when we were moved to three tables was when i raised in ep w/ AQ. a guy w/ about 45k behind him raised all in. i started talking to him and got a distinct impression he did not want a call. i had raised a few hands already and i thought he was playing back at me. the only hand i was really afraid of was AK, and he didn't seem that strong. i tanked, and finally called. it was under 1/6 of my stack, and i thought i could afford it. he tabled KQ and i won a huge pot. a few hands later a shortie went all in on the button and i looked down in my bb at 55. i had made a fold earlier w/ the same hand, but decided i would take the edge and flip with him. he also showed KQ, and my 5s held up.

i then made one mis-step, imo. there were shorties in the sb and bb and i was in the hijack. i had A3 and with my stack i think i can raise there. instead it was all in blind v. blind -- sb had Q6, bb had KJ, and i would have won w/ A high. the next hand i raised w/ K7s (totally tilting) and got one caller. flop came J85 with one of my suit, and he folded to my cbet. during the next orbit i sucked out for the second time of the tournament. i raised in the co w/ A4s (i hadn't raised for awhile, so i thought i'd get some respect). the bb instacalled me w/ 99 (all in) and i flopped an A. i lost a decent sized pot when the co raised all in on my blind. i looked down at Q6s and although i don't remember where we were w/ blinds and antes, i felt i had to make the call getting over 2-1. he showed K6, and while i turned a flush draw, he won w/ K high. ironically, he was the guy from my first table who had doubled up early, and it took a small chunk out of my ginormous stack. i really tightened up w/ two tables left, and aside from a few raises when i had pp and big overs, i mostly maintained my big stack.

i got to the final table w/ about 400k, and was the chip leader. one guy who was at my other table had a nice stack of over 300k, and there was one other stack two to my right w/ close to that. there were about four shorties. in a crazy twist, there was an ep raise, and the big stack (a spanish guy, not sure why i'm mentioning that) decided to jam all in. a guy from montenegro (again, not much relevance) two seats to right instacalls. ep raiser folds. big stack shows AK, instacaller has AA (obv) and almost takes him out. now there is a guy w/ 500k to my right ("right" where i want him, haha) and i'm second in chips still w/ just over 400k.

a bit later the guy to my right, who'd been going up and down in chips, jammed from middle position. i tried, very poorly, to isolate w/ KJ (a bit loose, but i thought i was ahead of his range, and it was all shorties behind me) when i basically min re-raised his all in. a guy in late position tanked, and decided to call for 55k. the flop came QJJ, and i checked, hoping he'd shove or at least bet out. no dice. turn was a Q, which could have been a scare card, but with so much money in the pot i felt pretty sure that the caller would have bet the flop if he hit a Q. i decided to push him all in, and he showed 88 in disgust as he folded. all in had A5 and i added about 80k to my stack. i got some constructive criticism on that hand that my shove on the turn was not ideal and i should either be betting the flop or river. live and learn.

there was an awesome hand at the other end of the table w/ two guys all in, one w/ 99, one w/ 88, and an 8 on the river gave it to the underdog. the 99 guy (a bit of a dick) threw his chips into the middle of the table and stormed off. that put us down to 4.

we were four handed for a loooooooooong time. any time there was a shortie all in he took the pot down. the two shorties were trading barbs and one guy kept complaining about being tired, and the other guy told him he should start calling his all ins or shut up (or something to that effect). tired guy pushed on his button after utg shortie folded, and w/ T9s in the bb i decided to call. we had played four handed for over an hour, and i had such a big stack that i could afford to take a shot at knocking him out. he showed 56s and i was in pretty good shape until the flop came 664. bummer.

sometime after this i played a really interesting pot with montenegro guy. it was folded around to him in the small blind and he 3x raised me. i looked down at A5o and decided to call him. the flop came something like T68 and it went check check. turn was a 4, and we again checked. the river paired the board with another 8, and he bet out 45k. i believe we were at 10k/20k, and there was 120k in the pot and his bet seemed fishy. i thought briefly, and decided that he didn't have anything, and called w/ my A5. i paused, waiting for him to show his hand, and he hesitated and then said, "you have it" showing me 23s. i showed my A high and won a huge pot off his second place stack. i was probably up to about 600k.

the very next hand 56 guy folded utg. montenegro guy jammed, and i tanked when i saw AT in my sb. i thought super hard, but it was such a large bet, and decided it wasn't worth risking my stack. the shortie in the bb called w/ KJ, and K came on the flop. montenegro guy was not happy.

a few hands later the guy to my left either limped or min raised. i had J4s in my bb and either checked or called. the flop came J88 and i checked. he jammed the pot with a huge overbet, and after thinking for a bit (not really all that long) i called. he tabled A5o and was gone. he had 20 bbs and just played the hand as horribly as he could have. down to 3 with huge stack, woot.

chop talk started again (it had been on and off, but i was unwilling to do anything but a chip chop, given my massive stack), and blind levels went up to "director's discretion." first prize paid just over 14k, and i announced that i would take 12k. they worked out a deal where montenegro guy would take 5500 (about 900 more than third paid), with second place guy insisting on 9500 (about 1200 more than second paid). that left me with 11,935 so i agreed. i was totally wired, and would have been happy playing it out, but i felt it was a good deal, and not worth risking for 2k more. if the second place guy doubled up once through me he'd be close to even with me in chips, and given that it was 6am and i was still pretty drunk, i figured why chance it.

so that's how i won my first tournament!!!! yay! i also played in the ladies event on sunday (on about two hours of sleep) but i'm tired, so i'll write it up sometime soon. i went out in level 8 w/ JJ v. AK.

ps GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GIANTS!!! did anyone think they'd make it to the superbowl this year?

weekend w00t

i am more excited about this coming weekend for some reason than i've been for any weekend in recent memory. it might be the extra day off on monday, but it could also be a really boring work week. who knows.

not sure how much online poker time i'll get to put in early in the weekend, since i have a bday party tonight and then tomorrow i'm going to ac. on sunday i'll play in the ladies event at the borgata. it's $350 and i thought it had a good structure but i looked back yesterday and it's actually pretty crappy. i'm just excited to play a live tournament, and i figure if i bust out early i will get drunk and cheer on the giants, so it's a win/win situation.

i finished third in a home tournament last night, which will cover most of my buy in to the tournament on sunday. i first chipped up when i called a small raise in the bb after a few other callers with 53o. i flopped two pair and check raised and got paid off. a few hands later there was one raiser and i looked down and saw 53 again and decided to call again from the bb. the flop came A53 and i again check raised and stacked the guy (it was a rebuy). i stole a few pots here and there, and made a hilarious call against jordan when he bet the river w/ K high when i had A high. i just thought my A high was good there, given the action of the hand.

i had a nice chip stack going into the final table but blew a lot of it on pocket tens. ebbs raised to 600 (blinds 75/150, i think) and i decided to flat call and see a flop. then a guy who was either the sb or bb went over the top for 1300 more or thereabouts. ebbs flat called and i was in a quandary. he had me covered, and i didn't like calling off 2k pre flop (a little less than half my stack) w/ TT knowing that if overcards came and ebbs pushed i'd be forced to fold. so i went all in for 2800 more. ebbs tanked, and finally folded JJ face up. wow. unfortunately the guy who jammed had KK and i lost a chunk of my stack. a few hands later i had 88 utg and limped. a player who i thought played really well (he restole a lot and just generally seemed like he knew what he was doing) raised to about 550. it folded back to me and i went all in (wanting a fold). to my dismay he said, "let's gamble" and called w/ AT. the board didn't pair him and i almost doubled up. i took out jordan when he jammed for about 1400 on my small blind and i found AA. this put me in decent chip position as we headed to the final three.

i went out when the button (our host) limped, ebbs completed in the sb, and i checked J9o in the bb. i thought about raising, but decided to see a cheap flop. it came J23. i bet out almost two thirds of the pot 1100 into 1800 pot, and ebbs called. turn was a 4, and i was a bit worried about A5 (he seemed to be limping a lot of A rag hands) but bet out again, and he put me all in for maybe 1k on top of my bet. sadly for me, he had the nuts, 56, and i was drawing dead.

i guess i should have bet more on the flop with the two connected cards out there, but i was pretty surprised he called even the 1100 with a gut shot and nothing else. he had a huge chip lead, but he was basically drawing to four outs if i have a J. the funny thing is the button was hoping i would raise from my bb (something he did almost every hand it was limped) b/c he had AK and wanted to re-raise me. i also think had i checked the flop he might have bet out and ebbs would have gone away when i went over the top w/ my top pair. oh well. third place money wasn't bad, but i was frustrated that i battled with ebbs when the button had about half the amount of chips as me, and second or first was well w/in reach.

i hope to get invited back to that game, and am really looking forward to more live play this weekend. yay ac!

leaning toward obama

i've been pretty out of the loop during this latest presidential campaign, but i've found myself slowly leaning into the obama camp, in large part due to his stance on lobbyists, and his desire to take their power over our country's governance away. i also like the idea of someone who has admitted using drugs in the past taking on the "drug war". unlike our current president who most likely did use drugs but still continues the same draconian policies that don't work, obama seems more likely to be rational about the best way to handle this neverending, losing war. um, but then there's also this, from tv guide here:

1) Hillary Clinton
Favorite TV shows: HGTV makeover shows, Grey's Anatomy, Antiques Roadshow, American Idol and Dancing with the Stars
Favorite TV show of all time: The Ed Sullivan Show

2) John Edwards
Favorite TV shows: Boston Legal, SportsCenter
Guilty pleasure: "Fred Thompson on Law & Order"
Favorite TV show of all time: Perry Mason
Favorite TV character of all time: Sam Malone from Cheers
Where do you watch TV when you're on the campaign trail? "I mostly watch football and basketball games in hotel rooms in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Des Moines, Iowa."

3) Dennis Kucinich
Favorite TV shows: The Tonight Show, Late Show, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live. "When I get a chance to watch TV, it's usually late in the evening.... Those shows have brilliant
writers. It's just great to watch them."
And you don't mind being the punch line of their jokes? "It's hilarious. I take what I do seriously, but I don't take myself seriously."
Favorite TV show of all time: The Lone Ranger
Favorite TV characters of all time: "It'd be a three-way tie: the Lone Ranger, Lou Grant and Archie Bunker."

4) John McCain
Favorite TV shows: 24, Lost, Damages, The Daily Show, The Tonight Show, Late Show, The Sopranos — and Prison Break, "because as a fellow prisoner, I always dreamed and plotted how I would break out of the Hanoi Hilton."
Favorite TV show of all time: I, Claudius
Favorite TV character of all time: James Garner as Maverick

5) Barack Obama
Favorite TV show: Monday Night Football
Viewing guilty pleasure: "I watch a lot of SportsCenter — for better or worse."
Favorite TV shows of all time: "M*A*S*H and The Wire are my favorites."
Favorite TV character of all time: "SpongeBob SquarePants, because SpongeBob is the show I watch with my daughters."

6) Mitt Romney
Favorite TV shows: Lost, The Office, House, Grey's Anatomy and Boston Legal; "[Lost has] a very captivating plot, and if you live a busy life, escape is always welcome."
Viewing guilty pleasure "From time to time, Saturday Night Live. I TiVo it so I can zip through and find the sketches I think are funny."
Favorite TV character of all time: "Going back to my boyhood: Davy Crockett."

7) Fred Thompson
Favorite TV show: SportsCenter. "I always need to stay up on my Titans, Vols, Vanderbilt and, of course, my Memphis Tigers."
Favorite TV character of all time: "My favorite 'character' is Chris Berman, a longtime ESPN broadcaster."
Where do you watch TV when you're on the campaign trail? "Like Johnny Cash says, 'I've been everywhere, man.' But when we're traveling, we're always moving, so I don't get to watch too much TV."

folding to four bets

Full Tilt Poker Game #4863525652: Mondays at the Hoy (35910897), Table 6 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:27:48 ET - 2008/01/14
Seat 1: swimmom95 (3,038)
Seat 2: surflexus (5,890)
Seat 3: VinNay (6,651)
Seat 4: pvanharibo (3,759)
Seat 5: summer_babe (2,368)
surflexus posts the small blind of 25
VinNay posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [Kc Ks]
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo raises to 150
summer_babe folds
swimmom95 folds
surflexus folds
VinNay raises to 350
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo raises to 800
VinNay has 15 seconds left to act
VinNay raises to 3,600
pvanharibo raises to 3,759, and is all in
VinNay calls 159
pvanharibo shows [Kc Ks]
VinNay shows [Ad As]
pvanharibo: lol
*** FLOP *** [5h Qh 4s]
pvanharibo: gg
*** TURN *** [5h Qh 4s] [Ac]
*** RIVER *** [5h Qh 4s Ac] [6h]
pvanharibo shows a pair of Kings
VinNay shows three of a kind, Aces
VinNay wins the pot (7,543) with three of a kind, Aces
VinNay: gg
surflexus: gg
pvanharibo stands up
swimmom95 stands up
surflexus stands up
VinNay stands up
summer_babe stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 7,543 | Rake 0
Board: [5h Qh 4s Ac 6h]
Seat 1: swimmom95 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: surflexus (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: VinNay (big blind) showed [Ad As] and won (7,543) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 4: pvanharibo showed [Kc Ks] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: summer_babe didn't bet (folded)

given cc and jordan's latest posts, i decided to post my exit from the math on monday night. i thought there was a chance he had AA given betting, but he'd been so aggressive that i just couldn't fathom laying down KK there five handed.

his min re-raise definitely seemed weird, but i also have a rep for being aggressive, so i think he could do that w/ a lot of hands. i actually thought about calling, but if the flop comes out similarly w/ all unders i think i'm getting my money in on the flop. that may not be a bad spot to call b/c if an A flops i can get away from the hand relatively easily.

that said, b/c he was so aggressive and had a big stack, i wanted to three bet b/c i wanted more money in the pot pre w/ what i assumed was the best hand. when he jams there, i'm left to think he's got AA, also KK or possibly AK. the thing is, i wondered if he'd even do that w/ lesser hands like QQ or JJ, just given my reputation. not sure if i should be taking that into consideration, b/c i was showing a lot of strength, but i certainly wasn't priced in to call his four bet. and even though i thought there was a chance he had AA, i called b/c i just wasn't sure i didn't have the best hand.

as fuel said in jordan's comments, in a live 1k tournament, one would lay down KK there. that's what separates good players from great players. i do think there's a difference live, and a difference between blogger and general online tournaments, but i'm not sure i'm good enough to make a lay down like this. i'd like to think so, but i don't know. especially five-handed.

go giants go

unbelievable!! i had the giants D on one of my fantasy teams, and being from the ny/nj area i often found myself rooting for them. having a fantasy team makes it harder to root for just one team, b/c you're always rooting for players. but now, after spending the last two weekends watching the games w/ die hard giants fans, i have a whole new appreciation for what the highs and lows of watching your team feel like. luckily i've been rooting for the giants, and yesterday was awesome!!! cannot believe that eli is going to the next round and peyton isn't. crazy! and yes, i still think manning looks like a complete tard. and i still think coughlin looks like a mean drunk who beats his wife. but holy shit the giants looked like a completely different team from most of the regular season. no interceptions for manning?! whaaaaaaaaaa! to be fair, dallas essentially lost the game. the missed catch by crayton and the mis-throw by romo were two plays that could have kept a drive going and led to a score for dallas. of course, dallas doesn't score their second td if freaking corey webster holds on to that ball and intercepts. also, both dallas tds looked a little sketch to me. i really thought they were going to overturn the first one, when it looked like his first foot went down before he had possession of the ball. i can't wait to read some articles today and find out what the "pros" are saying about the game, but i enjoyed it, even though the last minute was excrutiating.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GIANTS!!!!!

it was a great weekend, though not too much poker. football was great, especially sunday, and i saw a comedian named ralphie may on saturday night. not bad! i finally saw the movie juno, which i def recommend. ellen page is fantastic, as is the rest of the cast (which includes jason bateman, jennifer garner and allison janney) tried and failed to get into the sunday brawl, and instead railed a few people and then watched the giants WIN.

shoot me now

about 40 minutes after the tournament ended i was feeling really weird and hot and i soon came to realize that i had food poisoning. i was up all night and of course today is the morning that the super sent someone to fix the crack in my bedroom wall. i can barely get off the couch but am doing some work on my laptop and drinking lots of water. has anyone experienced food poisoning before? am i just suppoed to drink water and not eat until symptoms subside? thanks.

3rd is my nemesis

i am not complaining too much, cause my stars bankroll has been at mission critical, but it would be really effing nice to take first in one of these sometime. at this point i'd even settle for second. really, i'd just like to get past third.



i was first in chips when we were four handed, and i raised w/ ATo and got called by the bb. flop came AT9, he bet out, i raised, he jammed, i called. he showed 99 and that's how i became the shortie. he went out a little while later w/ QQ when botim23 hit a set of 5s on the flop. a lot of the tournament is a blur, so i can't write too much of a post on it, and i'm extremely tired, so i'll leave you with a bad beat. :) this is how my tournament ended:

PokerStars Game #14450993299: Tournament #72643787, $15.00+$1.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level XIX (4000/8000) - 2008/01/10 - 02:56:54 (ET)
Table '72643787 14' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 7: princeharibo (155924 in chips)
Seat 8: TTRAIDER9 (663088 in chips)
Seat 9: botim23 (379488 in chips)
princeharibo: posts the ante 800
TTRAIDER9: posts the ante 800
botim23: posts the ante 800
botim23: posts small blind 4000
princeharibo: posts big blind 8000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to princeharibo [7h 7c]
TTRAIDER9: raises 16000 to 24000
botim23: calls 20000
princeharibo: raises 131124 to 155124 and is all-in
TTRAIDER9: folds
botim23: calls 131124
*** FLOP *** [6c 6h Kh]
*** TURN *** [6c 6h Kh] [4h]
*** RIVER *** [6c 6h Kh 4h] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
botim23: shows [5s 5c] (a full house, Fives full of Sixes)
princeharibo: shows [7h 7c] (two pair, Sevens and Sixes)
botim23 collected 336648 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 336648 | Rake 0
Board [6c 6h Kh 4h 5d]
Seat 7: princeharibo (big blind) showed [7h 7c] and lost with two pair, Sevens and Sixes
Seat 8: TTRAIDER9 (button) folded before Flop
Seat 9: botim23 (small blind) showed [5s 5c] and won (336648) with a full house, Fives full of Sixes

blogger skill game

i somehow cashed fourth in the plo tournament tonight. i was stunned at how painfully slow the game plays -- despite railing bayne quite a bit i don't play it much myself, and i usually play more for tilt therapy. virtually everything i know about the game comes from chatting w/ bayne and reading his blog.

i hovered near the bottom of the pack for most of the tournament, trying to stay patient and wait for cards. it was a looooong wait. i saw some cheap flops and hit nothing, and then a couple times hit two pair on non-scary boards. hand i went out on i was in sb and raised bb (ginormous chip leader) w/ 6544. perhaps this was first mistake. i hit a set of 4s on two flush board, and bet out 3/4 of pot. got called. flush hit on turn, and despite the fact that flop call screamed flush draw, i pushed for remainder of my stack and got called by flush. my thinking was that there is chance she is calling w/ two pair and that i have outs even if she hit. i could have check folded bottom set and waited for better spot, but oh well.

i went out first in the wall street poker tournament in about the tenth hand. i raised utg w/ AKo and w/ one caller jamie re-raised. i decided to gamble and 3 bet him all in. he had QQ and i did not win race. had a blast seeing skidoo (two nights in a row!) but was ok going home early given bad cough and lots of work. plus the weather in nyc was GORGEOUS and i had a nice walk home.

obligatory wire post

to celebrate the fifth and final (sob, sob) season premiere last night. if you have not watched this show, GO RENT OR BUY SEASON ONE NOW!!!!!!!! or, if your name is bayne, go hook up your damn dvd player! it is not as action packed as your average network television show, but the show was written with a five season arc in mind, so season 1 is really just a set up for all the great things to come. that's not to say it doesn't stand alone. see previous post here for great description of the show.

i am re-watching season 1 right now w/ a wire newbie and it is blowing my mind as i realize where characters end up, and recognize some jokes that seem even funnier knowing what happens in the show's future. season 3 was my favorite, but since i just re-watched season 4 i am thinking it might be even better. i didn't watch the first episode of season 5 last night b/c i finally got around to watching the battlestar galactica movie razor (astin, let's discuss), but i can't wait to go home tonight and start season 5.

as for razor, i thought it was not the tightest movie (very similar to the uneven season 3 of bsg), but it got me way more psyched for the final season, and was a pretty sweet idea to do a prequel and show how things on the pegasus came about. all the stuff about kara thrace was also intriguing. i have some theories, SPOILER ALERT, and one is that the dude (again, again, again) in the tub doesn't want to see kara fulfill her destiny as the leader of the cylons and humans, and wants to stop the evolution in god-like fashion. this is probably far fetched, but i remain impressed that i called from the first ep of heroes that nathan was indeed seeing himself as a burn victim when he looked in the mirror at that bar.

i will be posting some 2008 goals later this week, but right now work calls.

frustrating mookie night

i've been feeling better about my game lately, and slowly my confidence in late tournament play is building. i still make too many mistakes, and i don't slow down to think about everything i need to before making plays, but i'm getting there. that's why tonight was such a letdown.

i started in the mookie and 28k at the same time. both were uneventful until i went to click on a prior hand in the mookie, and somehow instead found myself calling an all in bet by a maniac at my 28k table. i watched him jam two previous pots, putting 2900 at risk to win 45. crazy. so what do i do? accidentally call him w/ 93 suited. ARGGGGGHHHHHH. he has TT and i lose (obv). a few hands later i pick up KK and raise a bunch of limpers, and same donk calls me w/ ATo and i double through. i have no doubt that if i had my full chip stack there that guy goes over the top and i have 6k instead of 800 in chips. i eventually went out when i raised on his big blind w/ just about 10 bb w/ A8s, thinking it was likely above his calling range. of course he wakes up w/ AK and i'm out.

at the same time i chipped up nicely in the mook. i think i got to 4300 without ever showing a hand. i got a couple pocket pairs and big hands early, flopped some monsters, and was really surprised not to double up, considering my "loose" image.

so now blinds are 25/50 and it gets folded around to me on the button. i raise to 3x w/ 33, and get called by wwonka69 in the bb. he has said loudly on his blog and other places that he thinks i'm a calling station donk, so my guess is that he's calling me w/ a pretty wide range hoping to either bluff me off what could be (and really is) a mediocre hand or flop a monster and take me out. the flop comes 653. i hit my set. woooooot. problem is board has two hearts, and there is already a made straight. i would like to think he's folding 74 and 42 out of position, so i don't think a made straight is strong possibility, though i do think the chance of him having a 4 in his hand is reasonable. there's also a flush draw out there, so i want to make him pay if he is drawing to a heart. i bet out 2/3 of the pot (200) and he re-raised me to 925. this could either mean he's got a hand, or thinks he's going to take the pot away by raising my cbet. i think i made an error by not jamming on him here, b/c it makes his call w/ a flush draw much worse mathematically, plus the check raise w/ flush draw is pretty common. instead i raised to 2600, slightly less than 3x his bet. i'm pretty much committing myself to the pot either way but since i'm doing that, i may as well push on him. in any event, he jammed, i called, he showed A9 of hearts and hit his flush on the river. i highly doubt he's folding to a jam there, against me in particular, but regardless against another opponent i think i need to jam for all my chips. on the flip side, my smaller raise might keep in someone w/ A6 who thinks i'm making a play, or even an overpair, particularly 7s or 8s who have runner runner straight draw. obv if he has 6s or 5s more power to him, he's just gonna stack me.

i might be overanalyzing the hand, but i'm trying to improve my bet sizing, and i think i made an error by not 3 betting him all in.

i've been playing a lot over the past week with no big cashes to show for it. i have been satelliting into bigger tournaments in the 100 chip turbo donkfests. i <3 those since being a luckbunny is extremely helpful. i have won the first one i entered in 3 out of the last 4 tournaments i tried to satellite into. i did commit a bankroll error by trying too many times to get into this past sunday's brawl. while i did not spend more than the buy in, i should not be buying into a $256 tournament w/ my bankroll.

on the bright side i also satellited into the 750k, and won back more money than i spent in both tournaments. i made it to the middle of the cash field when a big stack raised in middle position, i jammed w/ KK and the big blind (who very much liked to defend his blind) just flat called, pricing in the initial raiser. flop came AQx, check to raiser who bet half the pot and bb folded. raiser showed A9 and i'm out somewhere around 270. had the bb pushed and isolated, which, oop, would have been totally warranted, i am still in the tournament.

i also cashed that night in the 24k, where i made a ginormous error by attempting to "resteal" when the initial raiser was priced in. my QJ actually flopped a J against AQ, but turn was an A and i was done in 40th. i have never been good at this whole resteal concept, but i am fairly certain i will never attempt a resteal with a mediocre hand unless i'm sure i am not pricing the raiser in. sellthekids made a nice run in the same tournament (i think finishing 17th?), and it was fun to have another blogger to cheer on and to cheer me on.

i cashed the following day in a $75 ko tournament, but fell short in all my other mtts. i played one regular sng and one turbo sng in the past few days and won them both, so i think i'm going to try and supplement my mtt play with more sngs, trying to grind some money into my bankroll. in order to do that i really ought to familiarize myself better w/ ICM -- i have read a couple of articles but nothing too in depth. if anyone has any suggestions on good articles or sites, pls let me know!

i don't think i'll make chasers tomorrow night, but it'll be a game time decision. i am still swirling about the possibility of a goals/resolutions/new years post, though by the time i motivate it may be too late.