PokerStars Free Bonus Gifts
POKERSTARS MARKETING CODE   |    POKERSTARS BONUS CODE  |    POKER FORUM
What's a ?

Blogs by Popularity

Footer

Blogs by Type

Footer

Blogs by Wonk

Footer

Recent Blogs

Footer

Articles by Blog

Footer
Write about . Read about Life. , the Blog Community.

Busted Jacks Poker Blog    Friends

August Recap - September Goals

Date: Mon, Aug 31, 2009


August was a brutal month. I played 13,064 hands on Full Tilt and 6,509 hands on Carbon Poker. I'm up about 9 buy-ins on the month. I ran so horribly bad on Full Tilt it was very tough to keep my head on straight. Fortunately though I had an awesome month on Carbon to make up for it.


I didn't reach my hands played goal of 35k, but part of that is due to quitting sessions early, and also dropping down from 6 tables to 4 tables. The reason I'm playing less tables is because I have been making a lot of changes in my game and I need the extra focus on each table and each hand to analyze situations well. I'm starting to get better with my new style and will probably be 6-tabling again soon.

I'm very confident that the changes I've been working on have given me a significant edge in the games I'm playing. I'm still learning new ways to use Holdem Manager, as well as learning more about +EV lines to take in hands. The games on Full Tilt are so good and my street-by-street decisions have improved so much that I know I'm ready to start crushing 100nl and probably 200nl when my bankroll reaches the appropriate level.

September Goals:

1. Increase last months volume by 5,000+ hands. This will be done by increasing from 4 tables to 6 when I feel confident in doing so.

2. Focus on playing at times when I'm able to bring my A game. Think about ranges street-by-street and for each different opponent. Don't autopilot.

3. Continue to play within my bankroll and hopefully take a shot at 200nl mid month.

4. Continue to study Holdem Manager and watch videos. Learn more and improve every session.

5. Continue practicing good tilt management.

6. Run better.

I'm going to be focusing more on cash games with no specific tournament goals. I may or may not play tournaments as my mood and schedule determine. That said, Mini FTOPS is coming up and I'll probably play some of those.

Thanks for reading and play well.

Read Full Blog Post

Poker is Like Fighting

Date: Sun, Aug 16, 2009

Well except that we sit on our asses...








Randy Couture of the Legendary UFC talks about MMA, skill, parallels of competition between fighting and poker, etc. He's a down-to-earth man who has a natural and visceral understanding of game theory and 1 on 1 competition.

Read Full Blog Post

I'm not Superstitious

Date: Thu, Aug 13, 2009

I swear. But for some reason I am making a killing on Carbonpoker.com while at the same time I am on a horrendous downswing on Full Tilt. I'm not one who believes that sites are rigged for action or that I have better luck on one site than the other. That said, I know that playing on Carbon is keeping me sane for now and keeping my bankroll healthy, so I'm just gonna go with what's working and stay there for a while.

It's true the games are softer on Carbon but I still know I can beat the games on Full Tilt, I just have to get past this downswing. I know for a fact my play is good, I've gone over my hand histories and most of my downswing can be attributed to bad beats and coolers like set over set 5 times in the last 4 weeks. Sure I've gotten my money in bad a couple of times but according to HEM I'm still running 15BI below expectation. That doesn't even include the pots I've been rivered without getting all in.

I'll give you an example:



or this:



Now in both of these hands villains were huge donks and I knew KK was good until it wasn't. Against good players I would definitely be more cautious 300BB deep or on drawy boards. But against these particular donkeys I'm happy to get my stack in the middle in these spots and I'm just looking for the best way to commit them.

So anyway here I am whining again. I don't like to do that, but I also wanted to give you an example of what I'm dealing with lately and trying to keep my head. This is a tough, tough game, even against fish at times. Thankfully I've learned good principles to keep my mindset right because the swings can kill you even with good bankroll management.

I'm not at all worried that the games on Full Tilt are too tough, and I will be back, but for now I have a bonus to clear on Carbon and so I will be playing there while I rebuild my roll and my confidence. Not to mention the games are so juicy, why would I not play there? I should always be looking for games there even when I'm playing on Full Tilt.

Fun Hand of the Day:



Obviously I played this hand on Carbon. I have some history with the villain, he's a LAG reg. He has a lot of moves in his arsenal. In the past he's been able float/bluff me effectively and is generally pretty aggressive any time he senses weakness. Unless of course he has a hand that he wants to get to cheap showdown with.

Pre-flop and flop are standard. I checked the turn not for pot control or because I thought I was beat, but I wanted to induce a bluff from him, which he's doing 80% of the time which I will c/r shove. When he checks he's only checking a very small portion of his range and it's basically top pair or middle pair that wants a showdown. On the river I thought about all my options and almost timed out. An over shove here looks so polarized and my hand is completely under repped. It would be difficult for him to put me on QQ+ because the standard line would be to bet the turn, or value bet smaller on river, so I'm really repping AK or middle pair that I've turned into a bluff. He tanked for a while before finally making the call.

Read Full Blog Post

If You've Ever Wondered

Date: Wed, Aug 12, 2009

why I sometimes don't post for a while...



This is my 100nl graph since I've been playing on Full Tilt. Kinda sucks huh. Notice the all-in EV. If I were running at expectation I would be profitable. Instead I'm stuck 11 Buy-ins.

This is the kind of thing that makes me ignore my blog and stop playing poker for a few days. I realize it's a small sample size, but it's a big chunk of my bankroll. Fortunately I've been playing over rolled and don't have to move down yet. God if I have to grind 50nl 1 more time I'm going to kill someone.

I wish I had something more interesting to write about. But I decided to take this time to whine to my readers and vent some of my frustration. This is why you have to use good bankroll management. This is why I think the 20 Buy in bankroll rule is ridiculous. I think you need a minimum of 30 buy-ins to play comfortably at a given level, and probably more like 40-50 if you are really serious and play a lot of tables.

Anyway, I'm done bitching for today. Play well and stay disciplined out there.

Read Full Blog Post

Cool New Poker Show

Date: Tue, Aug 4, 2009

I was trolling pocketfives.com when I found this.



Great show, I just wish it was available in hi-def. Enjoy.

Read Full Blog Post

Session Review

Date: Tue, Aug 4, 2009

Just played a session on Carbon for the first time in a couple of months. I played 100nl and came up 1.5 buy-ins. The players were pretty loose/passive for the most part, playing fit or fold, and I still have notes on a few of them. Games on Full Tilt are definitely tougher, which helped me to exploit the fish on Carbon very well.

I was able to bet a lot of hands for value and get called off pretty light even in big pots. Of course I got sucked out a couple of times, but that's just how it goes.

I was only 3-bet twice during the entire session of 299 hands. I folded both times with a low pocket pair. I saw one showdown where a cold caller got it in w/ QTs vs. 3-bettor's JJ. JJ held and my 77 was safe in the muck. But WTF, QTs? Against the right opponent on these tables you can get a stack in with JJ and pretty good equity pre flop. That doesn't happen much on Full Tilt.

I made my biggest adjustment by 3-betting for value and bluffing a lot less at these tables. I did run into 1 or 2 regs and adjusted by closing tables with strong aggressive opponents to my left. There was really no reason to play at these tables when there were so many other good games running. I played a max of 4 tables and payed close attention to my opponents' tendencies. This allowed me to put them on very accurate ranges and play my hands accordingly. Almost every hand gave me my intended result of either a call or a fold depending on which opponents I was up against. I played one of my best sessions tonight by playing better than pretty much every opponent I faced tonight and finding strategies to exploit each of them.


BustedJJ: Q,9
BustedJJ Posts SB 0.50
BB 1.00
UTG Folds
HJ Folds
CO Folds
BTN Folds
BustedJJ Calls 0.50
BB Checks
Flop: K,T,Q
BustedJJ Bets 1.25
BB Calls 1.25
Turn: 7
BustedJJ Bets 3.00
BB Calls 3.00
River: 6
BustedJJ Checks
BB All In 37.50
BustedJJ Calls 37.50
BB Shows: J, 3
BustedJJ Won 82.00 from pot 1 with Pair of Queens

Pretty standard to bet flop and turn, then when I check on the river I plan to call most bets because no draws get there and any pair that is check/calling me is looking to show down on the river. So I'm expecting to get river value out of a lot of missed draws and pure bluffs. I had to timebank to his shove though because I have to be right more often than not to make this call.

After giving it a few seconds of thought while making decisions at my other tables I decided to call because I felt that he could only have AJ or a bluff here as any other hand would either bet smaller for value or check. Since he didn't raise pre flop I could say it was unlikely he had AJ, or any other hand that could've hit that flop hard, and was bluffing here most of the time with either bottom pair, air, or a missed draw. I made the call and scooped the pot.

Read Full Blog Post

July Recap - August Goals

Date: Sat, Aug 1, 2009

Well July was a long and interesting month. There was a major event in my family, my sister just got married and I have a new brother in law. We had some family members in town and have just been enjoying the summer, with swimming, BBQ's, beers, laughs and stories here in Southern Oregon. This in turn has lead to me ignoring my blog and the poker community in general. Nothing personal, but family first you know.

So with things starting to settle back to normal here I'm ready to kick it into high gear on the poker front. During July I have managed to squeeze some cash hands in, and have really been transforming my game.

I've been watching videos on cardrunners and have learned quite a bit from the aggressive coaches. I especially enjoy Raptor's and iRockHoes' videos. Both very talented and deep thinking players. Although much of what they teach is only marginally applicable in 100nl as there aren't nearly as many tough thinking opponents as the stakes they play, though there are a few. I've definitely made a few mistakes by making advanced moves vs. not so advanced opponents and watching them backfire. So that's something I need to be more cautious of and try to play more straightforward in most spots. Standard lines at 2000nl are not so standard at 100nl.

So I'd say my enthusiasm for cash games has been renewed as I now have a lot more confidence in my game and my ability to read and react to changing dynamics. I'm also learning a lot lately which is very stimulating and exciting. All this learning has also made me realize that I still have many leaks and a long way to go in plugging them. That said there are enough fish in these games that I can still beat 100nl.

I'm not sure why, other than my bankroll, but I decided to take a shot at 200nl about mid month. I ran pretty bad and lost 4.5 buy-ins in a short session 4 tabling. So much for that. It wasn't a great decision because I am in the midst of completely changing my game, but I had the discipline to shut it down within my own shot taking guidelines. My bankroll is still doing well although I am running 10 BI below expectation right now at 100nl. Variance is fun.

I've hardly played any tournaments this month and have zero positive results, except for a min cash in the 50-50. But I plan to change that this month.

My Plan:

This month I intend to play a minimum of 35k cash hands at 100nl so long as the bankroll remains healthy. I will be focusing most of my attention to cash games because profits are so much more consistent than MTT's and the rakeback generated is quite a nice supplement to my bankroll.

As far as tournaments my plan is pretty loose. MTT's require large time commitment and so I probably won't be playing that high of volume. So schedule permitting I will be playing MTT's 2-3 days per weak and mixing in cash games. I will be focusing on $26-55 BI tourneys during the week, most likely in the evenings.

I will commit my Sundays to tourney grinding and play anything within my bankroll $22 up to $75. I feel it is okay to play the $75 once in a while, even though they are a bit above my roll. Sundays are a great day to do this because the fields are so much softer and the top prizes so much bigger.

I will continue watching videos and reviewing hands. I'm going to crush 100nl this month and hopefully next month I will take another shot at 200nl.

I plan to post 2 blogs per week with hand histories. Feel free to leave comments on those as I would really like to see other opinions on my hand histories.

I'm really excited to get back into poker and more motivated than I've been in a long time to learn and develop my game.

So I hope you all are having a great summer and finding success in your own goals as well.

BTW I'm working on lining up an interview with a top midstakes SnG and MTT grinder. I will post more details as this unfolds.

Cheers.



CO raiser was an aggressive player with a high steal %, 3-bettor was 3-betting 34% on the BTN so this felt like the perfect spot to squeeze. Both players seem decent and can fold even strong hands here like AQs, AKo, 88-JJ. My 4-bet range stat is pretty narrow and so my hand looks super strong and these guys have to have the tip top of their range to continue.

Read Full Blog Post

June Recap - 2009 Goals

Date: Mon, Jul 6, 2009

Hey,

It's been a while I know. For all my regular readers, I hope you are sticking around, and thank you. I'll give an update of how poker has been going for me lately then I'll talk about my June and my goals for July and the rest of the year. I'm going to reevaluate my overall yearly goals as we are now officially half way through 2009 and a lot has changed.

Update:

So, I managed 2 final tables this week which was pretty nice, although slightly disappointing. I know it's bad to be disappointed any time I make a final table, but for me, tournament poker is about winning the big score. I have my eye on first place the entire tournament and to get within a few spots of it and not make it, can be a bit of a let down. I'm grateful for what I've achieved but I'm still hungry for a win.

My first final table was in the 50-50 on Full Tilt with a 7th place finish. I was very happy with my play overall and went out on a coinflip for the chip lead. I've been hunting for this final table all month so I did accomplish my goal. I am going to win this one eventually.



The second final table was today. I decided to take a shot at some higher buy-ins and had my best Sunday ever. So I guess that's something to be proud of as well. I finished 5th in the $75 buy-in $22.5k guarantee on Full Tilt. I played really solid for most of the tourney, and ran good in key spots to build a stack. I was hanging around between 20-30 big blinds for most of the way. I was very happy to reach the final table as there were many points where my tourney life was on the line and I never had a big stack until the final table.




I am disappointed with my play at the final table. Well, one hand at least which was my last. We were down to 5 with 4 very aggressive players, including myself with raises being 3-bet left and right. I was 2nd in chips with 1st directly to my left. He had 3-bet my 2 previous raises and I was looking for a spot to play back at him. I was in the small blind when 3rd in chips raised from the cut-off. I had 22 and decided to turn it into a steal. 1st in chips in the big blind 4-bet for about half my stack and cut-off folds. I was frustrated with him and decided to ship it as I thought he was bluffing. He called and turned over QQ, which is about the worst I could hope for, and it held. I really wish I had maintained the level of patience I had throughout the tournament up to that point. I mean 22 is such a crappy hand, what was I thinking?

I don't know, maybe I'm being results oriented because I know if he had tabled AK I would have thought it was a fine play. But really with him raising into the 2 biggest stacks at the table, that should have been enough to tell me I was way behind his range. I know I could've found a better spot. So, lesson learned, I'm not going to choke like that again when big money is on the line.

Goals:

The following is a link to my post where I listed my goals for 2009:http://bustedjacks.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-poker-goals.html

A lot has changed since then so I've decided to review and revise my goals moving into the 2nd half of the year.

Here is the list:

1. Make more poker friends and start talking more poker and learning.
2. Join a training site. (was thinking cardrunners for cash games but am open to suggestion)
3. Focus more on each and every hand and opponent to make better decisions.
4. Review more hand histories.
5. Post hand histories and session reviews in this blog.
6. Play more HU SnG's and cash, figure out which one I'm more suited for and crush.
7. Move up to $200NL 6max by April with 25 buy-in bankroll.
8. Be winning $400NL 6max player by end of year with 40 buy-in bankroll.
9. Always, always, always practice good game selection and bankroll management.
10. Make a Sunday Major MTT schedule by April and start playing them.
11. Start playing cash games at my local casino.
12. Make a trip to Vegas sometime this year and crush donks in cash games.
13. Strike a better balance between poker and real life.

And here I will review and revise:

1. I've done okay with this, having made a couple of poker friends I've been sharing hand histories here and there, and talking strategy. It has been quite helpful and I plan to continue. Thanks to those who have helped me out, you know who you are.

2. I got my free membership with cardrunners and have been watching a lot of videos. This combined with my purchase of Holdem Manager has caused me to completely reevaluate and retool my cash game. I am learning a lot and am still in the process of becoming an unstoppable 6max player. I plan to continue watching more videos as well as subscribe to bluefirepoker.com where I have been discussing hand histories on their forum. This has also helped a lot. Thanks bluefire SSNL forum members.

3. Well some days I have more focus than others, but I have been doing well at this for the most part and am always striving to learn and improve from every hand I play.

4. I've been doing much better at this in the last couple of months and especially since I got Holdem Manager. I will continue to improve on this in the coming months.

5. I didn't get off to a great start but I have also been doing better at this lately and intend to continue to post and discuss more hand histories in this blog.

6. HU has pretty much taken a back seat for me and I don't know if I will ever fully concentrate on it. However it is a very good tool for improving my poker game as most hands I play are in HU pots and I will probably continue to play it on a casual basis.

7. I haven't moved up the cash ranks as I had hoped. Part of that is due to my poor decisions with game selection and alcohol and also the fact that I became semi burned out on cash games. I'm still playing them and I intend to get back on a schedule with a hands per month goal next month. This month my sister is getting married and we will be having a few family members coming into town over the next 3 weeks or so. This will prevent me from playing a rigorous poker schedule this month although I intend to put in as many hands as I can when I get the time.

8. 400nl, Hah, we'll see. I would love to think of this as a realistic possibility but I still have a lot of ground to cover before I reach this point.

9. Well I made 1 major mistake in this area and I am determined to improve on this immensely as I believe this is the single most important aspect of being a winning poker player.

10. I'm still not bankrolled for the Sunday Majors, but beginning August 1st 2009 I am going to post a monthly schedule which will include an MTT schedule as well as a cash game schedule. These will be on a hands played and tourneys played basis as my buy-ins will fluctuate depending on my bankroll. I have found that I enjoy playing MTT's as much as cash games and will continue to do both in the future.

11. Haven't done this yet, but I will before the end of the summer.

12. Haven't done this yet, hopefully It will be a possibility sometime this year. The bright lights of Vegas are definitely drawing me near. Good luck to those at the WSOP this year. Wish I could be there.

13. I admit I need to improve in this area. Online Poker is a solitary endeavor. Which is funny because I believe poker started out as a very social game and many people get together to enjoy a poker game with their friends and have a good time with other people. But when you grind, the people aspect becomes just another calculation, and I tend to forget that this game, and it's rewards, are meant to be enjoyed with others.

That about sums it up. I will get into more detail about my monthly goals next month and will continue to review this list as time goes by. I wish you the best in your goals and achievements as well. Remember to feel free to comment any time on whatever strikes your interest. I am always curious what is on the minds of my fellow poker players.

Peace.

Read Full Blog Post

Making Progress

Date: Thu, Jun 18, 2009

Hey Players,

I've been putting in more volume in cash games lately with some up and down swings and have been breaking even for the most part. I've seen a few sick beats lately and also hit a straight flush the other day in a cash game. Got paid too.



I've been playing the 50-50 on Full Tilt lately where I've cashed 2 out the last 6 I've played. I've still been selling shares on chipmeup.com. I like this tournament a lot because the structure is so good that I can be patient and pick my spots well. I actually didn't pick my spot very well today and busted early at 618/1065. I made a bad move and lost my stack. I thought I was being real clever and got my chips in drawing dead with second pair and dummy straight draw. I've learned from this hand that there's no need to get that clever that early in the tournament and I'll play the next one with more patience.

I'm playing some cash hands on Full Tilt these days. I feel pretty good about my cash session today. It seems like there were some very aggressive 3-bettors playing today, so I got a lot of hands played in 3-bet pots. Good experience. I was able to hold my own against them. I've also been 3-betting light more often myself. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It does create a lot of variance though. Today the variance went my way to the tune of 3.5 buy-ins :D



This player was mostly passive over the 55 hands tracked (small sample). But it was enough of a read to know that I can't be good here most of the time. I bet flop to see where I was at and because he will usually call cbets with weaker hands. When he moved in most of his chips I knew the best I could hope for was a flush draw, which I'm not a big favorite against. Maybe he was slowplaying aces or hit a set. Against his range I have to fold.



I called here because I have position with a hand that can flop well, or I can make a move. My opponent was 3-betting a lot from the blinds so his range is wide. I like the flop because it doesn't look very good for an overpair, under pair, or air, and I have an open ender and backdoor flush draw. I raise enough to commit myself but I have too many chips to just shove without looking like a ridiculous bluff. He's going to fold enough of his range that this is a good move and if he shoves I have odds to call and draw out.

Read Full Blog Post

Thin Value

Date: Sun, Jun 14, 2009

I'm posting a couple of hands today, because I've been trying to get better about that and having Holdem Manager makes it so much easier to go over my hand histories. I'm really liking this software a lot and I'm glad I finally got it. So anyway, on to the hands.

These are the last 2 hands I played in the Full Tilt $28k guarantee today. I was doing pretty well, having taken a beat and lost a coin-flip earlier in the tourney. In both hands I was attempting to extract maximum value with what I thought were the best hands.

The first hand, despite the result, I'm happy with my play. The second hand, I know I made a couple of huge mistakes. So I'll post my analysis after each and would like to see some reader comments on how you would've played them.



This hand I was attempting to steal the blinds and I flop top pair. We were both fairly deep and I wasn't looking to play a big pot with top pair, rag kicker so I checked the flop. On the turn I bet small hoping to get value from middle pairs. When he raised I felt it could easily be a bluff due to the fact that my bet looked weak, so I call.

The river gives me 2 pair and brings in the backdoor flush. He checked rather quickly which lead me to believe he had a marginal hand that wanted to get to showdown, so I don't put him on the flush. I bet an amount that I thought looked bluffy and was cheap enough to call if he had a pair, or a weaker 2 pair. He snapped it off and well you can see the result.

The reason I don't think it was a bad river bet is because my line was under-representing my hand and I think he will call me with a big enough part of his range that I beat and only a few times will he show up with a better hand.

EDIT: After thinking and re-evaluating the first hand, I hate the way I played it. The value bet was horrible on the river. I didn't think through the hand very clearly when it happened. My line looks like a draw and 2 draws got there on the river, so when I bet there it either looks like a super strong hand or a bluff, and I'm probably only getting called by hands that beat me.

Also the c/r on the turn kinda eliminates a lot of weak pairs from his range, because he would want to just get to showdown with them as cheaply as possible. So I was just value towning myself on both of these hands. I learn a lot when I post hand histories.




Now this hand I'm not happy with my river play at all. Up until the river I think is okay, but I really learned a lesson on this river. Pre flop, if there were only one player I would snap fold this to a min raise. But by the time the action got to me the pot was so big and I was last to act I had to see a flop for just 1 big blind more.

The flop is pretty much what I'm looking for with this type of hand, if I flop top pair only, I'm generally going to check/fold. It's unlikely, though not impossible that someone has the case King so I check the flop hoping to extract value on later streets or get bluffed at. I bet small on the turn hoping to get called by pairs or draws.

I know as the hand plays out that I could easily be crushed by Kings that dominate me, and full houses, but I'm so short stacked at this point I have no intention of laying down my hand, but instead am looking to get as much value as possible from weaker hands. Up to this point I am satisfied with my play in the hand.

The river brings in the straight draw as well as boats for JJ, QQ, KJ, KQ, 55 and any other Kx that dominates me, yet I bet anyway. This was my biggest mistake in the hand. My best line is to check/reevaluate here, although I would be hard pressed to lay it down. When the small blind check/raised the river into 2 players I knew with very little doubt that I was beat, yet I go ahead and get the rest of my chips in hoping and praying, and ending my tournament. What a donk! Flame away!

Read Full Blog Post

New Toy

Date: Fri, Jun 12, 2009

Well, I finally ponied up and bought Holdem Manager the other day. It's been interesting as I'm learning about all these stats and how they work in determining hand ranges and finding weak spots. I can't say I've improved my game much yet, but it's only been a couple of days and I'm still figuring things out.

I put some money on Absolute Poker so I can start playing cash games there and that's been going ok so far. Nothing spectacular yet but it's a small sample size and I'm on a learning curve with HEM. One thing I have learned is that my non-showdown winnings are in need of improvement. So basically that means I'm not finding good spots to outplay my opponents after the flop. I'm also working on 3-betting a wider range as well as learning to combat the rampant 3-betting that is happening in the games more and more frequently.

Fun hand of the day:



This was a hand where I feel that I successfully used the HUD to outplay my opponent and increase my non-showdown winnings. My opponent was 16/12 over 84 hands which is tight-aggressive, however he has a 3-bet frequency of 12% which is kinda high, and from the small blind this % is even higher at 20%. His aggression factor is also very high at 4.5 with an infinite turn aggression factor, so he is no stranger to double barrel bluffs.

Usually I won't raise 56s UTG, I'll just fold it, but this is the exception for the purpose of mixing up my play. I am fairly loose aggressive with 30/16/26 stats over 968 hands. Maybe a little too loose, but oh well, it works for me.

So I decided to call his 3-bet for A) The stats listed above and B) I had position and was willing to steal the pot after the flop and C) suited connectors are great for cracking big pairs (although his range is much wider).

I flop a gutshot, which by itself isn't much, but I also have a backdoor flush draw, so I call to see what happens on the turn. Maybe I can see a free river card or take the pot down on the turn with a good scare card.

The turn gives me 9 more outs for a total of 13 and with his aggression factor he could still be barreling with AK, AQ or 66,88,99 so I think this is a good spot to shove and hope for the best. He might even fold an overpair, because my line could look like a slowplayed set.

All in all it's a risky play, but in the long run against this type of player I think it is +EV. If I balance my range and do this with sets and AA it will definitely be a strong weapon in my arsenal.

I think this new toy is going to motivate me to put in some more cash hands and start plugging leaks.

Read Full Blog Post

Sparking Confidence

Date: Mon, Jun 8, 2009

I made a deep run in the Full Tilt Fifty-Fifty the other night. I was happy to cash in it for the first time, although somewhat dissopointed with 55th place. It was only my 4th time playing this event so I feel proud of this. I made a little bit of profit for those of you who bought shares on chipmeup.com. This has sparked my confidence to continue playing in this event and sell shares.

I've been grinding MTT's still without many cash hands. I'm in a bit of a transition phase right now and am not motivated to play cash. I'm planning on buying a copy of Holdem Manager very soon. This software will help me improve my cash and tournament games and I think can help propel me to a final table in the Fifty-Fifty. I don't think I will play any more cash games until I have this software because so many other players are using it that I am putting myself at a disadvantage by not.

I'm gonna start playing cash on more sites as I've found limiting myself to one doesn't give me the good game selection that I can help me win a lot more money. Cash games on Carbon are still good, but sometimes just not often enough. I think the bigger sites will have just as good of games to play and more of them so I'm looking forward to getting Holdem Manager and putting in some massive volume.

I'm trying to get some money on Absolute Poker right now because I can get rakeback there and they have lot's of games running. I'm doing this despite the big scandal on that site a couple years ago, because I think they have had a chance to improve their management and security issues. I'm going to give it a shot and I'll keep you posted on what I think of the site.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch I'll be grinding MTT's on Full Tilt with some $26s probably the Daily Double, where I also made a deep run the other night. I'm most likely going to sell some more shares for the 50-50 tonight so if you want a piece just follow my link to chipmeup.com and make sure LimoWreck is in the referral field for a free $3 added to your chipmeup account.

Thanks for reading and good luck.

This was the first hand of the 50-50.

No reads, random player, wanted to control the pot size.



With no reads I can't fold the flop without seeing what he does on later streets. By the river I knew QQ was worth a value bet.

Read Full Blog Post

Freedom on the Internet

Date: Sat, Jun 6, 2009

The future of online poker hangs in the balance. Within the next few months it may be all but impossible to play this game that we enjoy in the comfort of our own homes in the U.S. We as responsible adults make the choice to engage in this activity without harming anyone. Yet there are people in our government that want to act as parents to the citizens of the United States and tell us what we can and can't do in the privacy of our own homes on the internet.

This issue isn't just about poker, it reaches into everyone's home and everything you do online. Poker is just the stepping stone to censoring the internet. This is not what our country is about, yet we have "leaders" in Washington that think it is okay to impose their so called "morality" on the rest of us. That is not the purpose for which our government was formed. It was formed to protect our freedoms and rights as individuals. Our freedom gives us the right to make our own choices, so long as we are not harming anyone.

The future is unwritten and you can be a part of the change that we all want in this country. This is a link to send a letter to President Obama and also to your Congress person: http://pokerplayersalliance.org . The letters are already written and you can edit them if you like. It only takes a minute of your time to protect your freedom.

Here is a link to a blog written by a poker player's rights activist. He posts on pocketfives.com as TheEngineer and has been a driving force in getting poker players to take action: http://poker.blogtownhall.com/default.aspx. We are lucky to have him on our side.

Here is a link to two opposing articles about the legalization and regulation of online poker. http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/06/01/online-gambling-debate-barney-frank-vs-spencer-bachus.html One article is written by Congressman Barney Frank in support of legalizing and regulating online poker. The other is written by Congressman Spencer Bachus who favors prohibition of online gambling of every kind. You can show your opinion by voting and see what other readers think.

Now is the time that we let our voice be heard as free citizens in this country. Get involved! Take action! Protect your freedom!

Read Full Blog Post

May Recap - June Goals

Date: Fri, Jun 5, 2009

Well I've still been grinding MTTs. I've played some cash here and there. My goals for May are pretty much shot as I didn't put in very many cash hands at all. I didn't write many blog posts. I did stay within my bankroll without any alcohol. Pretty sure I learned my lesson on that. I played in the MiniFTOPS where I decided that the MTT grind wasn't for me. But somehow I just couldn't stop playing MTT's. It's that thrill of hitting the big score that drives me to play them.

I guess after grinding cash games for so many months I was getting a little burnt out on them and needed something to change up the pace a little bit. Every day I sat down to play I had intentions of putting in some cash hands, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Tournaments on the other hand were exciting if not completely gut wrenching. I think this whole experience is telling me that I need to mix it up a little more and play both. I used to play only tournaments before I learned cash games and then I just stopped playing them all together. From now on I'm going to do both.

My big accomplishment for the month was my 2nd place in Midnight Madness, which put my bankroll back where it was before my drunken debacle. I've been playing MTTs still and have made a couple deep runs, but no big cashes yet. I've taken a couple shots in the Full Tilt 50-50 but have come up short so far. Tonight I am selling some of my action in the 50-50 on www.chipmeup.com. This tourney has a good structure with a few fish at every table and I really think I can make some noise with a little bit of luck.

As far as June goals go, I'm really not that clear on them but I will give it a shot.
1. Continue to make deep runs in MTT's with increasing volume.
2. Put in 15k cash hands at 50nl or 100nl
3. Invest in more MTT players.
4. Stick to my bankroll management.
5. 2 blog posts per week.

With any luck maybe I can have another MTT success this month and some strong cash results as well. Thanks for reading and good luck to you as well.

Read Full Blog Post