That buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto

Dusty blog eh?

So that whole pro thing I'm still on the fence on, despite convincing myself otherwise.  Work didn't want me to leave and I have pretty decent offer for a much better position (in both experience and hours I will be working).  It's pretty cool to have poker to fall back on and being able to say "you know what eff you, I'm out of here" and genuinely mean it.  Made me realize being unattached to things like that is really positive, de-nitting yourself in the right areas is very good.

The plan, given I'm still real world employed was to start playing more 400 NL and then boom, -13 buy-in day happened:

I realize that may not be much to most players but it was my biggest losing day in terms of money and probably in terms of buy-ins too.  It was rather hilarious really, I just lost every single significant all-in pot and got coolered in everything else.  I reviewed the session and there was literally no glaring mistakes that I could see, minus my usual 1-2 donk plays every 5-10k hands.  I swear I didn't tilt significantly either, that's what I'm most proud of.

All that said I'm playing bettter poker, I just know it.  I'm thinking about things differently, I should post hand histories but zzzzzz to all that.  So I moved down to 100 NL Rush and crushed it for like 6 ptbb/100 for 15k hands for a positive month with rakeback so far.

Non-poker wise I'm looking forward to the holidays.  Playing some Gran Turismo 5.  I rarely play video games anymore but this game just looks great.  Also I've been tossing around the idea of buying turntables forever.  I didn't quite pull the trigger cause I just don't want to dump 2.5k into a being hobby/bedroom DJ for my own amusement.  So I put a few buy-ins towards one of these:

 

I'm sure Kool Herc and Premier are somewhere shedding a tear because it's not vinyl but at least it's not a total toy.  Gonna make some sick mixes, annoy some neighbors, and then listen to said mixes in my car, good times. 

Music wise, "Odd Future Wolf Gang" has been fucking shit up.  It's not for everyone but a bunch of skater kids from the west coast just rhyming their asses off and not caring.  Raw but never boring. 

"Try talking on a blog with your fuckin arms cut off!"

 

Little late but posting for accountability to myself, have a monetary goal but I converted it to a hand goal:

-85,000 hands at 200NL rush, ~3200 per day based on current pace

That's it, simple.

Oh and:

 

To be quite honest that question has been in the back of my mind for a while now.  Could I do this professionally?  I'm sure every poker player has the same question at some point.  Because I'm insane I believe I've thought about just about every variable when it comes to this decision.  I've decided to give it a shot, with a few exceptions thrown in:

Let's start with pros/cons:

Pros:

1. I'm 26 years old and have no real obligations outside of poker, no kids or family on the way.  Nothing at all to restrict me, this may be the last time in my life I can really say that.
2. My job isn't all that great and leaving it wouldn't kill me financially or professionally.  I can't say this without sounding like a huge dick but it's also an Adam Carolla rant where he talks about how he "thought all adults were smart."  When you are working in the real world you realize how many people have great positions that plain just aren't that good at their jobs.  It's a little mind blowing.  I'm smart, I have a degree, if I fuck up I'll figure things out.
3. Related somewhat to the above, the opportunity cost of me not dedicating a lot of time to poker is very large right now.  Take a look at salaries out there, they are kind of a joke in comparison.  A good 200NL reg can make six figures in a year, hell my hourly is on pace for that right now, I just can't put in enough hours.  It takes years of experience to make that much in the "real world."
4. Opportunity cost of not having time for poker is compounded.  I don't have a ton of time to dedicate to learning, playing hours when I'm not tired, playing different games, etc.  Thus I move up more slowly, learn slower and all of these factors compound on each other into one big ball of theoretical money I haven't won.
   
5. Life equity, I don't think this is talked about enough when I see discussions on pro decisions.  Having the ability to set your own hours and time to do anything is straight up, card carrying certified BAD ASS.  With 40 hours of cubicle time, me trying to get 20-30 hours of poker per week., and trying to have some semblance of a real life I'm so locked into routine it's ridiculous.  Let's say I wanted to join a softball league for fun, small example but it illustrates the point well.  With my current schedule it's basically impossible.  Even meeting new people and trying to date, "ya I'm free October 19th from 4-6 pm, does that work for you?"  It's a joke, the amount of life equity I will gain is tremendous.  Combine that with the fact that I'm young and have no obligations, so life equity now is even MORE valuable than say 10 years from now.
   

Cons:

1. The legislative and banking environment is not exactly poker friendly right now.  While things are improving, the outlook isn't necessarily good.  Although this could be seen as a Pro as well, as this might be the last chance for US players to really make some money.
2. Related to the above, game quality is not that great either, and the games are getting tougher everyday.  With that said I'll have more time to work on my games and all the motivation in the world (Rent, bills, etc.)
3. I'll have a period where I will run worse than I ever have before, I'll lose a huge amount of money that I didn't think was possible and question my game and every decision I make.  I'm aware of this possibility, I don't have a good response other than I'll cross that bridge when it comes.
4. Poker players contribute nothing to society and your job will not allow you to be personally fulfilled as a human being.  I've thought about this briefly and just don't agree.  I think very few people contribute large amounts to society in their jobs and don't believe with paying taxes and doing other activities outside of poker I'd be much different.  Call me selfish but personal happiness is much more important to me.
5. Bankroll and backup money, I don't have the traditional 100 buy-ins and 6 months of living expenses saved up.  I'm close but not quite there.  I'm not sweating this though, I can honestly pay my bills as low as 25NL with enough hard work.  Obviously this isn't ideal but the basement is still really, really far away from where I'm at.

One final concern was health insurance, as I wouldn't have it if I left my job.  I signed up through

it was surprisingly simple and I got a pretty good policy for slightly more that what I'm paying through work, ~$200 per month.  Highly recommended and very shocking considering all the horror stories you read about health insurance.

So the plan is to give this about a 2 year run and see where things are at.  I'm going to try and keep up on real world skills in the mean time.  Keep a close eye on the legislative and banking conditions.  Oh, and have a siiiick life in the process :)

I've already sent in the resignation e-mail, I'll be slowly exiting and should be out by Thanksgiving. I wanted to keep a good referral in case I need it (see I really am a nit at heart). They wanted to potentially offer me another position, I said I would possibly consider it but 99% sure it won't be enough to keep me around.  The plan is to continue to play 200 NL until I build up some living expenses and a nice sexy bankroll and come out swinging at mid stakes in 2011.

Couldn't leave without at least one song, had this Curren$y album on repeat for the past few weeks.  Lovin it and I rarely smoke weed haha.  I just love his lazy delivery, laid back rhymes, SKI BEATZ!, and style in general.  Til next time bloggy blog.

 

So, this summer has been great.  Outside of poker I've been hitting the gym at least 5 times a week, spending time with friends, going on short little vacations, playing golf again, being much more social than usual.  I've been having a lot of fun.  Poker results have suffered a little and the credit card balance is going in the wrong direction.  So I'm officially declaring this day 1 and re-dedicating myself back to poker.

I was reading this blog post (super long, 8 parts) by Lyle McDonald.  To sum it up, he basically took 5 years out of his life to dedicate himself to speed skating.  Attempting to qualify for the US Olympic team, training in Salt Lake City, and immersing himself in the sport.  A sport he didn't have a lot of background in to begin with.  It's so cool to be great at SOMETHING, looking at my own life I'm not good at anything.  Now when I say that I don't mean I have no self esteem and suck at everything I do, I'm good at a lot of stuff.  To be really great at one particular thing, or at least as best as you can be is really appealing to me.  I'm not athletic enough and too old to pick up a sport.  I could be a great golfer but I don't really have the social circle, money, or time to commit myself there.  Essentially, I don't ever want to quit poker.  Poker is it for me.  I want to learn 6 max, heads-up, omaha, and tournaments.  I want to play play play and learn learn learn.  So videos, forums - more posting, less lurking, books, podcasts, maybe even hiring a coach are all in play for me.

Whenever I focus on goals and don't think about money I have much more success.

-Have a $50,000 bankroll - My bankroll is kind of pieced out everywhere right now but I think it's safe to say that it's around ~$10k currently.

-Pay off balance on all credit cards - Need to tame those beasts for sure.

-Play in the WSOP main event in 2011 - I'm a poker player right?  I need to do this at least once, definitely a bucket list check box that needs to be inked up.

So this time next July I'd like to be sipping some Maker's Mark at the Bellagio sports book.  That is assuming I'm  not banned from all MGM properties, but that's another blog post altogether :)  Til next time, which will be soon, bloggy blog.

Theme this past month was just play when I feel like it and the results were pretty good.  Volume was low but I felt like I was making good decisions in the few hands I did play.  Took some shots at 2/4 and 3/6 which basically meant, grab a table when a particular game looks good or try to mix those tables in more on the weekends.  Man, sometimes you forget how much fun poker is when the decisions really matter.  I realize it is all relative but a $1K pot seems very large to me right now and when you get it in at those stakes $1K is a common pot size.  Up the stakes and you really "wake up" I guess.

It's silly but I hit a little bit of a milestone in that I finally crossed the 4 figure line for a stack size online.  Happy about that and hopefully I can look back at it when I hit the 5 figure mark for a stack.

So Doomsday is today, aka UIGEA enforcement.  On that front one of my deposits to Stars was blocked this month from a bank I have used previously.  This meant my Stars account actually went into the negative.  Opened an account at a small credit union and was able to deposit without a problem to zero out my balance.  I imagine that is how it will be for the next few years, cat and mouse with accounts and payment processors, games slowly getting worse and worse.  If online poker ever did die for US players it would be a slow painful one rather than anything sudden.  Filled out the paperwork for a passport and that is being processed as I type.  I doubt I'll ever use it to actually go play poker somewhere or even attempt to open a bank account in another country but "always leave yourself outs" is a good Rounders quote.

June will be more volume, because of the game quality lately and not necessarily being able to find 12 tables I really like I'm not gonna do a hand goal.  Instead I 'm thinking 120 hours of playing is a good goal to push myself.  That will bring me up to around 500 hours for the year and in that solid ~20 hours per week part time jobby job category.  I accomplished so many tasks in the past 1-2 months doctor/dentist/eye doctor, buy furniture, passport, etc. that my schedule should be wide open.  With a real job, trying to get in the gym, and the addition of any little task like buy a new bed it can really kill a whole day and make it tough to grind.

Til next time bloggy blog.....

 

 

33.3333333333…..% of the way, at least month wise. Behind on all my yearly goals but I can’t really complain, I’m winning, playing ok, and life is pretty good right now.

Finished with a volume motivation bet this month and man I am starting to get it as far as why people, good players even, can get really upset at this game. Playing poker when you don’t want to is STRESSFUL. I found myself getting mad at the stupidest little things.

It didn’t help that a majority of the hands were at RUSH poker, which is by far the strangest game I’ve ever played. So many hands I played there are just so far away from the norm. One second I’m considering pot controlling a set, the next I’m calling an all-in 70 BB shove with AKo unimproved and having the best hand. If I wasn’t lazy I’d post hand histories but I don’t feel like digging them up.

For the rest of the year it’s going to be more 200 NL plus, more PLO/HU/and tournament poker. I’ve been saying that forever but eventually I’ll get into playing more games. More posting, videos, and learning, more of the same I guess. Nothing exciting to report.

I might try to play the Heartland Poker Tour event here in MI at the end of this month or at least take a shot at a satellite. Don’t know if I really want to deal with tournaments in general, I’m not that good at them and always feel depressed when I bust. Maybe a $1k at the WSOP but it’s still up in the air. If I do go to Vegas I want to take a week and just grind cash/sattelites/pokerpokerpoker and very little drinking my face off. I know as soon as I see the coverage I’ll be wishing I was at the RIO walking around. So maybe I’ll be there no matter what.

Rap music has been a little bit better lately. Eminem’s new single is terrible as expected. It hurts even more when he releases freestyles like this, Despicable This is the raw “leave you in a trashcan with more holes than an afghan” type spitting. Its frustrating to hear him coast and release radio junk.

This is by far my favorite video I’ve seen in a while White – Code Name It’s funny because I was just bitching about cars/money/hoes type videos last post. Difference, that was a poker player, this is rap. I don’t feel like explaining the difference completely, this is more realistic even though I don’t take it seriously. Whatever, I’m not turning this into a Gucci Mane apologist type post, I like it, that’s it. Besides, with lines like “I made a lot of money in the dope game, then I put it all in my damn chain” how can you hate?

So I was reading this post in NVG about ADZ124 and it had a link to his pilot TV show Really? If this is what poker is about go ahead and count me out. It’s a joke, it’s like all the “ballers” have a little kit that they get when you play above 10/20 or something. It comes with a foreign car with rims, vapid whores, a sick watch yo, overpriced shots at the bar, and an empty existence. I’m embarrassed that someone might see that video and assume all poker players are somehow related. Between that video, Cada’s doc, and the Maven it’s almost becoming a problem.

Entourage was a good show because it was about a group of friends put into that lifestyle. It’s important they were friends first. Vince always stressed that the money, parties, cars, etc. could all go away and they would be just as happy back home. All that fluff wasn’t the point of the show, its candy that came along as a byproduct of success. If I had a friend who constantly talked or bragged about his car I would open hand slap him in the face.

This made me realize I don’t give a shit about material things above a certain level. I seriously own everything I could ever want. So why earn more money? Well, poker is fun, I’d play it for free just not as often.

I remember getting a doctor bill a few years ago. It was a small bill for around $100 but it was an unexpected payment I had to make. I was mad. I wasn’t upset that I had to pay the bill, I was more mad that such a stupid thing could affect my mood in any way. I want money so I can not think about money. Everything else I pick up along the way is just a side effect.

Basically forced by an offer from Bellagio for a free room, $200 in freeplay, and $150 Food and Beverage credit I booked a Vegas trip with a friend for Fri and Sat. Highlights were:

First night we land hit CVS for liquor, check in, and it’s off to the nightly $150 tournament at Caesar’s. We arrive at around 5 pm, tourney is at 7 pm, we attempt to get into a cash game and get a player’s card while the guy at the front desk is scrambling to help everyone. They can’t figure out tables, wait lists, find who has to get us player’s cards, etc. Later on I see a sign about “best poker room in vegas award”, ehhhh not so much.

Apparently his weekend they are holding the NBC heads up championship, good timing as there are new matches going off at 7 p.m. While waiting, Chris Moneymaker walks right by me, I bump my friend and tell him it’s Moneymaker. He comments on how he seems much shorter in person. We are trying to sort out a list I’m on both 1-3 and 2-5, my boy is on the 1-3 list. Casino guy asks Chris what he wants to play, he responds with “10-20, 5-10, 2-5 whatever….” While waiting they open up the 2-5 game, I see Moneymaker sitting there alone and the dealer just sit down. The poker room is almost empty so I tell my friend, “eff it, when will you ever have a chance to sit with Moneymaker, let’s grab those seats!” I sit 2 to Chris’s left as I don’t think I want him on my right :) I was proved correct shortly there after.

I buy in for $500, most other players have around that, Chris has around 1.5k Apparently this is $300 min, no max. First hand I’m dealt 2 black tens UTG and open for $20, it folds to Chris in the big blind and he calls. Flop is 764 with two hearts, he checks, I c-bet for around $25 and he raises to $60. I’m thinking “fuck, already he’s gonna try to blow me off, it looks like I miss this flop a lot with my UTG raising range, etc., etc.” I call thinking that he might give up on Turn if he’s got air plus there are a lot of draws on the board so I could very well be ahead. Turn is a black 4, so we have 7644 with 2 hearts and around $160 in the pot. Money comes out on the turn for around $105 I believe. I reluctantly call, more on that later. As the dealer is burning Moneymaker yells “no heart dealer!” and the river is an offsuit 3. He doesn’t think long and goes all in. I tank for a second as I’m trying to figure out what “no heart dealer!” means. I come to the conclusion that he already has a made hand and knows I don’t have a flush draw. By making me think, he thinks I’m drawing he can shove his made hand for value on the river and hope to get looked up lighter. After I tank a little and call on the turn I’m fairly certain my hand is face up as an overpair that he can beat. I fold as I probably would have anyway despite the comment and he whispers under his breath to the guy next to him that he had a full house. At the time I believe it.

Moving on and Moneymaker is literally in 100% of hands and extremely laggy. Winning some, losing some, nothing much to note, typical loose aggressive play. Then I’m dealt QJs in diamonds in MP, I think it was the hijack if I remember correctly. Money opens for around $20, I flat with around $3xx something in my stack as I haven’t re-loaded yet. Flop is 3-4 way and we see Kd 6h 5d on the flop. It checks around to Moneymaker, he bets somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 and I just call with my flush draw. My plan if I made it was basically to flat both the turn and the river to keep his range as wide as possible. Also, there were a few players behind so I don’t think I need to shove here. I fully expected him to barrel me all three especially given how I played the first hand. Turn is a black jack and Moneymaker bets $125, I think there is a pretty damn good chance I have the best hand but I don’t want to shove and blow him off his bluffs or weaker made hands so I call. River is blank, I think it was the deuce of clubs, he shoves and I snap call. He sighs and says “King is good…” I quickly turn over the jack and he acts surprised and says something like “that’s a good flush draw to have I guess.” My friend busted him a few hands later with a terrible donk bluff on the flop and he was out of there fairly quickly.

We finally get in the tournament, the entire time I see all the pros walk in for the NBC heads up tournament. Greenstein, Brunson, Dwan (NVG GF pics are true, very hot in person imo), Negreanu, Ivey, all get mobbed by the fans for pictures, autographs, etc. I’d kill for a flick with Ivey so when he busts I get up from my seat and give it a shot but he sneaks out the side door and all I can grab is shaky 20 sec. video of him walking. I bust the tourney in like 27 out of 57th with KK vs. AA for a majority of my chips, standard tourney stuff.

Later on, we bar and casino hop, end up at the absolutely deserted Aria/city center area. Polish off too much Maker’s Mark and my friend wanders off somewhere. I can’t find him, give up and drunkenly make my way to some sort of tram that goes to the Bellagio. I find my way into a 2-5 game safely in my hotel and I still think I’m +EV in this state. All the online play makes my auto pilot/missing details game still pretty solid. I back my way into a straight and bust someone in like a 19 way pot. I think I’m up for the day even with the -EV casino hopping, not really sure, don’t care and pass out at 5 a.m.

Wake up at 10 a.m. and it’s Dune Buggy time, pickup is scheduled for 11 a.m. to Sun Buggy Rentals. My friend can’t find cell phone/debit card/$600, I reiterate he’s a train wreck and we eventually hit the desert. They basically take you out to a park area that is just dunes and hills. There is a loose course set-up and you follow a guide through it, 15,000 acres of open area. I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time. Cost was expensive at around $300 for 90 minutes but it’s definitely worth it. I’m not much of a ATV/motorcycle/car person so maybe it would be less fun if you are used to that stuff. I caught some ridiculous air off a few jumps.

After that it was hotel, shower and gun store time. I’ve shot a basic rifle but I’m not much of gun person. Purchased the Coalition package which is, M249 SAW w/40 Rds, M16 Rifle w/25 Rds, and the M9 Pistol w/ 20 Rds. The M16 kept jamming which was annoying and plus I’m an idiot as far as holding the gun. After I got comfortable it was fine and the last target I didn’t completely embarrass myself.

Attempted to go to ghost bar after that, waited in line, train wreck friend started playing with the rope and got us kicked out by funny shoes manager. Bar and casino hop, end up at that small barish/clubish spot outside Imperial Palace. Which isn’t bad because the music is not terrible. I’d rather listen to Ice Cream Paint Job blended with You’re a Jerk or whatever that song is called then Lady Gaga typish stuff. This was a decent mix of that. Also a bottle and booth is only like $200. I get as close to hooking up as I can without physically leaving the club. No one to blame but myself, whatever, review “hand histories” and move on. Make a mental note to try a real Vegas club as least once, head back to the B and play some drunk 2-5 and trip was a wrap.

Oh, almost forgot, to totally destroy that $150 Food and Beverage credit we hit the Prime Steakhouse on Saturday. No reservations but they have an open patio seat. Which was almost an upgrade. Table right by the water, sick view of the strip and the fountain show for entertainment. Service was unbelievable, I don’t go to many restaurants where they have a team of people waiting on you. I was all set for a reasonable $50 filet and she casually mentions the $190 kobe beef that is off the menu. I’m already in Vegas so I say flame on to the credit card and order that along with the butter nut squash soup, side of mushrooms, and whatever red wine my friend orders. Easily the most expensive meal I’ve ever eaten. Soup was literally the greatest I’ve ever had. The kobe beef absolutely melted in my mouth, don’t know if it was definetely legit kobe beef, don’t care, it was great.

Now back to reality, I really grinded quite a bit and focused on my game after the Vegas trip last year. Hopefully I can treat this like a reset button and do the same. Put in some work now and slack off some in the Summer if I feel like it. Peace for now blog.