Anybody else having problems with the blogs? I can't post pics, just links, and editing sends me to an editing page with just the Title; no post to edit. I am using Opera browser and Google Chrome.
Also, why don't multiple blog posts show up separately on the Blog Feed? If I post different posts within minutes of each other the latest post takes precedence on the blog feed; they don't show up separately. I didn't mean to make a separate post of just pics last time, they were supposed to go with my other story--Shipping live tournamentz.
Nothing much happening the rest of this week for me. I have two shifts of work left this week and then I'm traveling back to see my family--about a 4-5 hour drive. Then I don't work again until next Thursday. I have a lot I want to do over my time off. Hopefully play poker for one, but also reorganize my house a little bit. I'd like to buy some curtains for the front part of my house. Creepers can just look right into my living room at the moment. I'm still not settled in the way I want to be, but I have been budgeting well so hopefully a few things can be addressed.
On the poker front, I still feel like I'm not playing well enough vs. some regs. My image is mixed to say the least, and I'm trying to balance it a little more in my favor vs. some thinking players. I have been playing with 50 BBs on occasion in a reggy table, with some good results. I haven't tried 30 BB shortstacking as a habit, I've found the 100 BB buyin is the best overall.
I prob won't get to play at all until Sunday or Monday. I'll update after then.
Well almost. The dealer was kind of pushing an even chop. I was outchipped by a little. I think I had about 170k with blinds at 4000/10000 and some ante. I don't know if he was hating the idea of dealing heads up. I think it was more looking out for the best interest of both of us. The payout was $1069 for first and around 500-600 for 2nd. We wound up chopping for $790. I said chop it in half or play. The other kid saw he had more chips than me and was hemming and hawing at an even chop, but eventually caved.
We even chopped the first cold hand after to see who got the points towards the monthly freeroll. He wound up winning the second one to claim the 10 pts, and I settled for 9 pts.
Kind of a great day overall. I cashed about $85 in lottery tickets that I won in a basket raffle at a work banquet a few nights ago. It was a banquet honoring their ACES reward recipients throughout the whole hospital system, and I won one of the awards. At the start of the night we all had to pick a key that unlocked a padlock with envelopes telling us which basket we won. I was waiting in line when I started talking to a nurse from another hospital. She liked my shoes and I said thanks and we started talking. Eventually we compared keys to see maybe if one of ours was different at least one of us would win. The keys were the same which was kind of a bummer but we laughed at our geniousness. When I got to the lock, I put in my key, turned it, and immediately felt it click open. The lady facilitating the raffle thought it wasn't open so she said to try the other way. No no I said, wait for it, BOOOOM! I opened the padlock to a lot of applause from my table because they said I had to win for our hospital. I was ecstatic, because I then blindly picked the envelope with the raffle basket with all the lotto tickets. I was even more excited because the girl was next, and BOOOOOM, her key opened the lock too and she won a basket. It was an insane level of run good last week. Poker wise and life wise.
So I cashed my tix, played some cash game for a few hours for about $500, bought into a $75 50 man tournament, shipped it, then sat and made a few hundred more in cash.
Starting today I have got to get more time in the casino here. I have been playing very well, have met a few people to talk hands over with, and have been winning. The only thing is real life keeps stepping in. Here's hoping reviving my blogging helps out with both.
I always have some good spots that come up. I still have leaks with getting value, bet sizing, etc. otherwise, my live game has treated me very well. I only play 9max cash, not so many tournaments.
I'll fill in a little of the gap from my last posts sometime, just bumping for now.
What is "being stuck" to you guys? Down 3+ buyins? Down a dollar? I left an 8 hour live session yesterday down 1/2 a buyin. I hated the feeling. I had to pick up my girlfriend from work at 6:30 and I seriously sat at the table until 6:20 knowing full well it could take me 20 minutes through traffic to get to the hospital to meet her. I created some action on the last 10 hands of the day positive there was no way I was coming back to the casino later. I hate that feeling as well.
I played at the only 1/3 table at the start of the day and stayed there the whole day. The good tables are in the evening but I clawed my way back from a couple earlier coolers, so instead of thinking I was stuck a 1/2 buyin (less actually, more like $100) I like to think I just ran out of time.
Overall my play was pretty freakin' LAGgy. I pounded some guys for pots which is good as long as I keep it on a leash. I ran into trouble with TPGK full house vs. Aces and full house and missplayed a QQ hand on the turn.
Right now I'm watching Nolan's FR series and really liking it. In my next session I have a few goals:
1. Count the number of hands each hour. Make some general stats from that. 2. Keep track of my tips. 3. Tighten up in MP with loose LP players. 4. Understand my image and make some better bets. 5. Make them pay.
Some day, with enough buyins this will be mine. From the air show last weekend.
I have been playing live about 2-3x per week at my local casino. Each time I've gone I've easily had something to take away from my visit; be it money or my player interactions. I've decided to keep a written playing journal to informally track my bankroll and to capture the experiences for note taking and for the memories, because there are many. Hopefully I'll get to share some experiences from the journal in the future.
First: live bankroll. Quite frankly, I have none. The absolute first time I went there I admit I lost money, I think a buyin at 1/3. I don't recall the session at all other than I was pretty scared about sitting with so much money in front of me. I remember a 30BB ss hitting a flush and me losing the minimum, but then losing with TPGK with an OESD to a set miner.
My next visit went much better. I was in town for an interview and took $120 out of my ATM (pre-casino and pre-surcharge) and shortstacking 1/3 until I left with $750. That was the highest feeling in the world since I started playing poker. Throughout the past month or two, this has turned into what I believe is about 40 hours of poker and probably $50/hour. I should be 3 buyins higher but learned the hard way about not quitting "good" a few weeks ago.
All of this has turned into a 1.5 months of rent, some good food again, all of my utilities on, and finally a meager bankroll. I really wish I was a more serious writer because I could have documented almost 2 weeks without hot water and not knowing where rent was coming from.
Right now I feel the screws tightening again. It's the end of the month and I don't want half of my BR swallowed up by rent and monthly b.s. so I'm planning to go down on Wednesday again, hopefully for the entire day and taking 5 full buyins (or 7 65BB buyins). This past Saturday into Sunday morning I walked with $550 + a full 100BB buyin and knowing I was leaving money on the table.
Second: player interactions. Live play has been very relaxing. I've enjoyed talking to the players, interacting with the dealers and wait staff, and had some good laughs for sure. I've met a few new friends, stared down a few aggressive regs, and snap called with a good 3rd pair for a 100BB pot. But it's the bad times that stick out right? Thankfully I've only had one really horrendous experience and it was against a fraternity of 3 regs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seats in a 5 AM 1/3 game.
As the nights go on, tables break down until there are usually only 1-3 tables going most of them 1/3 NLHE. This particular table had some stuck 2/5 regs and 1/3 regs who just thought they were God's gift to poker (players who were also stuck, I found out). For 5 hours I was openly called names to my face and talked about amongst the 3 of them like I wasn't even there. I could tell the first few dealers were embarrassed for them or me, I'm not sure, but they did little to keep things quiet. This went on until after I took my walk to take a break. When I came back they started calling me Donkey Dick among other things including their favorite Slap Nuts. Apparently me showing the nuts every time was too much for them to take. I jumped on them right away this time, flying off at the guy who seemed to be the instigator. I really wanted to berate him loudly but I kept it pointed and angry. It didn't last long but the dealer calmed things back down again. My pulse was racing. I was pretty jacked tbh. I folded for the next half hour just to get calmed back down. But the abuse stopped and I think I gained some respect from everyone at the table, bad guys included. My greatest joy was 2 of the 3 falling leaving after getting stacked and the 3rd leaving still stuck and being replaced with 2 morning donaters. It obviously didn't ease the memory of what happened, but I was very proud of myself for staying cool and level-headed, even getting some laughs at their expense and for sticking a dagger in once and keeping my high ground.
Lastly, before I go off to one of my last days working at the golf course, I want to thank all of DC again for more than just the RLMSNG series, but for 1. support 2. answering questions 3. coaching/vids 4. long-term friendship. I've truly met friends from around the world that I would not have had it been for one March day in 2009 http://www.deucescracked.com/forums/25-Tournament-Poker/17160-Casting-call-for-new-SNG- I've re-upped for a month and really enjoyed the threads13 vids as well the high stakes 6max ones I've never taken the time to watch.
Keep on grinding guys. I'll let you know how the hospital world is and for sure everything else. Maybe even include some pictures of my garden.
Breaking heads, and then fixing them,
velo
vandweller (6:49:24 PM):If I were to pick you... vandweller (6:49:31 PM):could we start right away vandweller (6:49:33 PM):like this weekened veloblank (6:49:38 PM):yes definitely vandweller (6:49:42 PM):ok vandweller (6:49:44 PM):You're the guy.
I had been blogging elsewhere, so seeing 2010 as the last time I posted on DC's blogroll shouldn't be all that shocking to me, but it was. In six months time a lot has happened, although I feel that in 2 more months time even more will have happened.
I safely got everything off my poker sites. I was lucky to pull off everything from UB a few weeks before Black Friday (thanks to rent and some bills). I'm still working in my school's hometown but have put my notice in and am on my last month's rent. I'll be moving to Pittsburgh to work in a hospital full-time. I'm looking forward to the poker games there in the casino. I have been playing 2-4x a week lately; playing 1/3 cash game with the occasional $60 SNG thrown in. On Wednesday I put my name on an SNG waiting list as soon as I got there at noon and played 1/3 NL for 10 hours without one SNG going off.
Cash is fun though. I have re-upped my DC subscription and d/led a lot of cash series and math stuff. I want to move up quickly but feel that I am beating the games. The extra money has helped tremendously. In about 30 hours of play I have paid for rent and a few other nice things. I enjoy playing live a lot. I like talking to the players, watching the Pirates play on the TVs around me and just being around poker again. Plus 30 hours of play = $30 "rakeback," good for a lunch or 2 each week.
No redline because it's, well, F the Redline today.
Played much better today than many days of yesteryore. I concentrated on making big +EV decisions and then switched it over at times to manage my micro stacks and push against the right opponents.
First 15 STT games are from UB, rest from Stars; which makes me smile and my bankroll dance.
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