So i've been brainstorming a bunch about post black friday videos to make. I have a bunch of ideas, but I would love to hear from you guys, what you need help on in your poker game, or what videos could help you improve. I have access to Carbon poker, I play Live poker, and I can pretty much cover any material you're interested in!
So it's been awhile since I updated. I don't really update this blog unless something really pivotal or important happens in my life/poker, so here we are with one of the more pivotal points. As you may know I went on a nice heater in live mix games. Booked a couple of 10k+ sessions in a day including a 36k win a 16k win and a couple of 10k wins. I felt great about my game, I thought I played well and I was loving poker, as most people do when they are winning. I played anywhere from 40/80 to 400/800 but mostly 100/200 stud hi and stud 8. The shots were all mixed games and if I played a mixed game it was 150/300+. I had some very good spots to take shots,and some mediocre spots. The worst idea was to play Ali Eslami heads up again, but this time he took out a stud 8 game and put in triple draw in which I outplayed him in, but caught the wrong side of variance. At one point ali was all in and on a draw on the river and spread his cards and said he needed a card to fit in between two other cards and it came perfect. This happened twice to screw me out of huge pots which would have won me momentum. At one point I had him stuck 10k, but ended up losing 15k total. There was one hand in particular where it went like 5 bets on the second draw in badugi and I won with a Q9 to his QT, so you can tell there was a lot of meta game developing after he realized I played "Above the rim" deuce and badugi, this of course was horrible for me as him realizing this definitely led to him calling me down much lighter.
The stud hi game at commerce wasn't nearly as soft as I had heard. It was actually the hardest stud game I've played in so far as far as full ring stud games go. I've heard forever that it was an amazing game and I needed to get to L.A to play in it, but really, I think it's just another game that will take a lot of practice to beat. When the one fish that sits down sits down, it becomes a game of who can isolate and re-isolate the fish between the regulars. Tough game. Before even fully emerging myself in the stud hi game, I ended up losing two 15k sessions back to back not even 3 days after moving to L.A. One playing with Ali Eslami, and the other playing in a juicy 10/20 nlhe game. I regret playing in both, but at the time I thought they were definitely +EV spots. The NLHE definitely was, but not the Ali Eslami more than likely (I still like playing him HU because he's good action and it's easy to trap him) So I lost 30k in two days and it hit me hard. I decided to go hang out on the beach for a couple of days, but was talked back into playing by a couple of friends who told me I need to not be affected by those kind of loses. Knowing myself I probably should have taken off for a week or two after the first 15k loss (Which I wanted to do) but I was persuaded otherwise, which to their credit they were completely right. Unfortunately for me, I still wasn't fully adjusted to the stud hi game and ended up going on a losing streak in the stud hi game as well. It wasn't long before I blew through 50k. This shouldn't have happened to me if I had just played 100/200 stud with my new known knowledge, but at the time I didn't know the players or how aggressive/tough that game really was so I took a beating. Now I had to fly back to Vegas to grab more money from my lock box since I only brought 50k with me to L.A.
Part II later when I feel like writing more :p
Part II http://www.deucescracked.com/blogs/ceegee/74681-Sick-Night-Part-II
Ray continues to banter at Ali in between hands until finally... It's the Razz round and I look down at three big cards (obviously) so I toss them. Ali and Ray get caught up in a hand which seems to be escalating into a big pot. Ali completes Ray two bets, Ali three bets, and pretty much every street is capped... in layman's terms, a giant sized pot filled with lot's of money. On the river, Ray check raises Ali and Ali calls, he turns over an 87 and Ray made an 86 to take the pot. As he's scooping all the chips up and the dealer is getting ready for the next hand, he says "That's right you scumbag, you deserve to lose, fuck you!" And that's when shit got real... Ali clearly became steamed and snapped at Ray "Dude, what the fuck is your problem? Do you want to take this outside!?" Ray jumped out of his seat and ran over to Ali and chest bumped him as he got in his face and said "Ya I do!" Ali shoved Ray causing him to lose his balance. They both started throwing punches at each other in a flailing manor until the floor manager ran in the room and told them calmly "If you guys want to fight, take it outside." The floorman acted like this was no surprise and walked out. Ali and Ray both while shoving each other back and forth sped walked over to the outside doors, and went at it again. At this point I am stunned and regret taking my camera phone out sooner, as I couldn't capture any good video now since they were across the way. I witnessed Ray standing right in front of Ali throwing some headbutts every thirty seconds while Ali kept yelling at Ray. At this point Ray stepped outside trying to get Ali to come outside to fight, kicking the doors and taunting him. Ali who seemed somewhat timid now, stayed inside the doors so Ray couldn't physically hit him. (Otherwise Ray would be barred from the casino, a poker player's worse punishment)
Now, I figure, is the best time to quit this session as both of them seemed like they were done playing, onto fighting, and I had just profited 36k. I begin to rack up my chips as Ray and Ali come walking back with two smiles on their faces. I don't know what's going on and when they both come in the room Ali says to me "Oh everything is good now, we got it all out, we made up!" with a cheesy grin on his face. "Come on let's keep playing!" I felt real uneasy about this whole experience, and at this point I was committed to leaving. I told him no way, not after witnessing him getting headbutted, i rather not play in a hostile environment. He tells me "they were fake headbutts and nothing happened!" ... I saw the headbutts, they seemed pretty real to me. So I told him I'd play him another time and to have a good night as I walked out of Ivey's room ending my first session there.
It all happened so fast, but it felt right playing that high. The mixed game world is definitely filled with excitement and drama, and I can only imagine what is in store in the future for me, but I can only hope that it contains more interesting nights in Ivey's room.
Part 1 if you missed it
So the story left off with agreeing upon the stipulation that we keep increasing the stakes. He wanted to go as high as 500/1k, but I said "that's definitely way too high for me." So we capped it at 400/800. We approach the floor to ask to get a dealer for the HU. They ask if we want to play in Ivey's Room since there were no games running at the time. Mind you, I think it was a Tuesday night at around 1am so there were literally no mixed games which is why Ali was down to play me. I walk into Ivey's Room and feel a little proud of myself... When I first came to Vegas, one of my big goals was to one day play in Ivey's Room, and now that goal has become reality. I was stoked, I was about to play HU with 2 stud games in it. (I felt like I definitely had a big edge) We get a dealer and he shuffles the cards. I try and make some small talk, asking questions like; "So where are you from? What did you do before poker?" etc... The x-games were on at the time on the T.Vs so I mainly just looked at that in between hands if I wasn't forcing small talk. The first game in the rotation was badugi, and he seemed pretty happy about adding it into the mix. I believe myself to be a fairly strong badugi player, and really enjoy the game which definitely was deceptive since I didn't act to thrilled about playing it. He seemed to play pretty agressive in the badugi round, but made some really bad bluffs and odd plays imo, so I started the match up a few thousand really quickly.
After about an hour or so I bust him for 5k. "Ok, it's 200/400 now" Ali said as he reached into a little pouch and pulled out two flags (5k chips) I was fairly excited as I only played 200/400 once or twice before in a mixed rotation online and straight razz. The stud 8 and razz rounds came and flew by as I saw Ali seem to really struggle with solid play in stud 8, and his razz game seemed ok. "I guess neither of us have a big edge in the razz huh?" i asked him. He shook his head. He didn't seem phased one bit though as he had a masseuse from the very beginning of the match, so he was pretty zoned out and calm. After about another 30 minutes or so I ran well in the stud 8 rounds making a few flushes, and even a flush/low one hand which ended up busting him a second time for 6k. This time he sat up from the massage and told the girl he was good now. He seemed a lot more attentive and reached into his pouch again and pulled out another flag and some 1k chips. He set aside 7k and stated that once that was gone, it was 400/800 time. Hearing the words 400/800 really didn't phase me at this time as I completely blocked out the money in my mind. I was determined to simply play good poker no matter what the stakes were. The chips didn't have denominations on them, they were simply a tool, like nails to a carpenter. We play at 300/600 and it doesn't take long for me to win the last of his 7k. I made the nut Badugi as he was drawing one going into the last draw, and I flipped it over and said "Good game." I say I need to stretch and take a break and go to the bathroom. He agrees and we both hit the restrooms real quick before starting the 400/800. I gave myself a few pep talks while in the bathroom, to be calm and just play my game. I have never played 400/800 before. I mentioned this to him to which his brow raised. He seemed quite happy about playing 400/800 now.
I sit back down and order a cranberry/ginger-ale and put on my game face. I was up 18k and really feeling the adrenaline pumping. The cards felt a little heavier than before, and as hard as I tried to zone out the denominations on the chips, it was a little tough ignoring it since we were now sitting with 30k each in front of us and I had a mountain of black chips. We continue to play as usual and the only difference is that he seems a lot more aware now. His attention is definitely at full, and I'm still sitting in the same position I started the match, with one leg tucked underneath my butt and the other firmly on the floor. I continue to play well and run well, as he continued to play a lot of hands in stud 8 and seemed to be even looser in Badugi than he was before. Clearly he was trying to take advantage of the fact that it was now 400/800. Nothing changed from before, I kept winning, and still casually stared up at the x-games between hands not to give anything away that I was actually pretty nervous now. I win a few more pots and I'm now sitting with 46k when a third person walks into Ivey's room. A middle aged Iranian gentleman sits down in the 7 seat (I'm in the 3 and ali is in the 5) and puts a bunch of multicolored chips onto the table. (A random assortment of 5k/1k/500 and 100's) I say "Hi I'm Chris nice to meet you... what's your name?" He jokingly says "Steve" which I guess is a horrible regular that plays in Ivey's room. I say " Oh it's cool I don't need to know your name, was just curious since I'm new here." He says his name is Ray, and he was born in Iran, but moved to the U.S when he was 2. We all get dealt a hand and suddenly this HU match is three handed. (Ali and I agreed to let people in if they wanted to play) As we get our first hand Ray looks over to Ali and says his first words to him... "You're a fucking scumbag Ali... You want me to tell this kid why you're such a fucking scumbag?!" I turn my head away from the x-games and my jaw drops, I'm completely confused as to what was going on, and Ray seemed like he was about to jump over the table and assault Ali...
Part 3 tomorrow!
Part 1. (two part series ldo)
Ok so... where to begin.... I started the night waking up at 8pm.... no no, I have to let you know what happened the night before this one for some background information.
Last night as I was searching for my usual mixed game, I stumbled across a 150/300 mix with a full table. The mix was solid... It had Razz, stud8, Stud hi, o8, holdem, , triple draw, and badeucy. If it has three studs in it... I'm in. I buyin for 6k. Nothing really eventful happens at the table. Ali Eslami, Ali, The Show, Mark Gregorich, and a couple of other regs are sitting the game, pretty good game. After playing for awhile the razz round comes up and I open a baby in mp, ali eslami 2 bets, it folds around and I call. He hits a K and I hit a 7 and he puts out a bet. I say to him "I'll be nice...I think you're playing the wrong game." He says "oh" and I put the bet in and he calls. I pair my 7 and he hits a low and bets. I call. He hits a J and I hit a 6. And he leads into me... I have a 6 in the hole but raise anyway because he has a jack and i have a 7 draw and thought he'd fold sometimes since I'm showing 3 to a low already. He calls and calls a river bet with a J when I hit a Q and ships the pot. I am astonished at how the hand played out. Mark Gregorich tells me he thought Ali knew it was razz, and I was baffled how, from how poorly Ali played the hand. Mark wants to bet on it and I bet 100. Of course I lose. Ali put the bet out on 4th as pre call as most people do and confused the shit out of me, followed by playing the hand horribly by leading a 7K6J board into my 5776 board on 6th. I'm kinda tilted about the whole ordeal and take a walk.
When I get back, the man, the myth, the legend, Sam Grizzle, is talking about how he owned some asian guy in hu razz. I say "Hey grizz i'll play you hu razz" and he denies, but Ali eslami hears me say this and says he would... but only at 300/600 or higher. I don't know if it's ok as my friend has a piece of me, so I say I can't and end up having to leave. He really tries to get me to play HU razz 3/6, but A. I only had like 10k on me at the time, and B. I couldn't play without letting my friend know I was playing that high. I eventually get up and leave the game up 5.4k winner. I go home and get to sleep awaiting whatever poker may bring me tomorrow.
I ended up going to bed at like 9am, so I didn't wake up until 8pm. I Headed over to Bellagio to check if the 150/300 from last night was still running. (The night before had an awesome 150 mixed game with a few fish) To my dismay there isn't even a 40/80 running. I sigh a little bit and head over to the Aria. I sighted an orange chip game on the upper level and jumped in. It was me and a few regulars playing a baducey/badacey/stud 8/ razz/ stud hi/ o8 mix. Anything with at least 3 studs in it... I'm sitting down. So we play for awhile and everyone's favorite person Chino Rheem sits down. He buys in for like 6-800 and asks us to make it higher and says he can get more money. Bruce a regular in the game tells him he's not raising it unless he gets the money first. Chino calls this girl and asks her to bring him 800 more... mind you he has 400 in front of him, for 60/120... I just SMH and put on my headphones and let them sit there and argue about bumping it up. Obviously it never got bumped up because chino only had like 1000 in front of him at the most, and he ended up bouncing when he won like 600... L...o...L. So after that game broke I won 1200, and was pretty satisfied at how I played. Since there were no more games I got up and cashed out and got ready to leave before...
As I was putting chips into my back pack I looked up and Ali Eslami was standing there, and said "Oh how about that heads up game now?" I looked at him with a gleam in my eye after having watching The Cincinnati Kid the night before, and tell him the highest I can play is 150/300 and he shakes his head no. I start to walk out of the poker room as he's following me. He says "But i'll play 150/300 if it's a mix of games." So I ask "which games?" We talk back and forth and agree that we will play HU razz, stud 8, badugi, with only one stipulation... If I win 5k at 150/300 we bump it up to 200/400, and if I win 6k at 200/400 we make it 300/600 and if I win 7k at 300/600, we make it 400/800...
Part 2 Soon to come
This summer has been a blast. I knew that when the WSOP started up, my view on Vegas would change back to the optimistic view I had before moving here. I think what makes Vegas fun every year for me is the friends and poker that come with the WSOP. After the WSOP I don't think I'm going to be happy here, as a majority of the people I love are going to be leaving again. So here's a quick recap up until now...
Started off the series with pretty much nonstop poker. I played well, I slept on a regular schedule, and I feel like I was in the zone. I cashed 4 events this year, all close to each other. After playing a ton of poker I began to get burned out. I couldn't find the motivation I had at the start of the WSOP, and after screwing up the Razz event (which I definitely should have at least cashed in) I became tilted. I didn't play in the next couple of tournaments after that, and feel a little defeated in the sense that I lost my poker mentality. I think next year I can still adjust some things about my non-poker habits which will allow me to play better poker. Things like: working out more often, eating healthier, sleeping on a more regular schedule, less drinking during the series. So Although I already have more cashes than last year going into the main event, I still feel I have a lot to keep learning if I'm going to ship a bracelet.
Just some thoughts i've had during this summer. I'd also like to throw in that I love my friends from poker, and I think if it wern't for them, I wouldn't be nearly as excited about the game. Love the DC crew also! Well that's it for now. Hopefully I can update my blog after a successful main event!
My next event is either the 1500 horse tomorrow or the stud hi on sunday. I've played two events so far and cashed both. I'm really looking for a big win this summer as I really need it. It will determine essentially whether or not I stay in poker. If I end up bricking the rest of events, I'm done. If I score something big, I'll have a big enough roll to reevaluate whether or not I want to really quit poker. This series is a big one for me, so let's hope I can perform/get lucky!
I play my first event tomorrow. I'm nervous, excited, and mostly uncertain of what to really expect this year. I'm more experienced, better than I was last year, and a year older, so I'm sure that I will do well. Reading back on what I just wrote worries me slightly. I should be a lot more excited/pumped for this year, but things have been really tough on me leading up to the series. I had a goal of living a comfortable liftstyle with a nice roll for this series to enjoy myself, and it hasn't turned out this way. I read an article today by Mike Caro (yes he's nuts and probably outdated, but he has amazing experience being a poker pro which is never outdated) I HIGHLY suggest any poker pro out there or aspiring poker pro to read this article. http://www.poker1.com/archives/8505
It essentially sums up, how I've been doing. The downswing I had earlier this year, really put a devastating blow on my confidence. It's not easy to regain that confidence without regaining all the money lost. In order to combat this shadow of doubt that has been looming over me, I want to break through with an amazing WSOP this year. I want the success, the money, the fame, the confidence. I will do my best in achieving all of this. I have an amazing opportunity right now, and I need to dive head first. I need to put aside all my troubles/doubts for this summer, as if I can really get a hold of a clear mind, and healthy outlook, I will be a big force to be reckoned with this year.
It's here and I"m super excited. I'll be playing all the big stud events, so definitely holler if you want to get food or whatever in between events if you're playing any.
I have a lot to blog about, when I don't feel so A.D.D and can gather my thoughts long enough to post something interesting.
One thing that I am enamored by is successful people. I feel like in order to be the best at anything you have to put a lot of time and work into it, have something that others don't. That particular thing in Ashton Griffin's case seems to be his competitiveness and drive. Playing basketball with the guy, I could see how competitive he really was. He put his all into almost every possession. If he thought he was going to miss a shot, he sprinted to get the rebound. I respect that drive a lot, as it lacks in so many people in various sports, business, work, life, etc... I think poker is no different. In order to be the top of the top players, there definitely requires a competitive spirit, knowing that you have an edge and playing confidently. Outworking everyone else is a big part of this as well. If you simply jump into a HU game without doing the work, you'll get crushed. So that competitive drive applies in the amount of work and studying you do as well. Obviously this isn't a groundbreaking observation, we all know that if you want to be the best at something, you have to work hard at it. From the people I've met that have had great success in poker, this competitive spirit and drive was obviously present in all of them. None of these players ever seemed to doubt themselves, even when playing the highest possible stakes. They were in a sense fearless from their confidence and competitiveness.
I've been fortunate to coach some of poker's top nosebleed players, and get to know them ( I didn't coach Ashton, but met him through some friends). in poker there is always something that separates people like Ashton from everyone else, which is probably why they are so successful. Being the best at something is what most people strive to be, and if you want to be the best, you just have to work that much harder to stay ahead of the field and poker is no different. So for all you that feel like you could never be the next (enter successful poker player's name here) you just have to buckle down, put the work in, and be confident that the work you do and the time you spend will be enough to be the best. If not... work harder.
Ceegee
