December 2008 Recap

12/31/08
4/45 ITM
7/45 bubble
i played so well in each of the 4 tourneys yet only managed 4th and the bubble always hurts. ran A9s into 55 BvB gutsy call by him on the bubble. would like to have ended the year better.

12/28/08
2/45 ITM
5/27 ITM
2/18 ITM
i busted out of the 9pm R&A by running A3 into A9 board AAx9x gg him. i then proceeded to multi-table 3 tourneys and got deep in all three of them when my two year old woke up ill. i am in the dog house for a long long time since QueenPrussia had to tend to the little guy alone. i have walked away from tourneys a number of times due to home crises, but i have been running bad and really wanted to mount a comeback of sorts. if it's any consolation, i did bust out of the 27 once the bubble broke.

there were some interesting hands on the night and i was getting slammed big time in the chat window by "professors" getting picked off on bluffs. i will try to look some up and report them here. i was happy to see that the PS moderator now intervenes almost immediately to chastise the offender, so i didn't have to send a follow-up email. it seems that generation "P" (as i like to call them) are reading books which tout being aggressive as the great neutralizer. they are hoping for fold equity but if they would actually finish reading the books they would learn that there is an equilibrium point and that if they are going to shove wide, they should be expected (at some point) to be called wide. i'm starting to recognize the pattern more and more, and although i'm wrong sometimes, i'm also right often enough to make it profitable. someone once told Doyle Brunson "how could you call that" to which he replied "how could you bet that." classic!

12/27/08
AA back to back in the PS180. first time it holds nicely, second time it loses to 74 LOL. lost every single 70/30 domination and got rivered numerous times. horrible beats. not a good night at all.

12/26/08
3/18 ITM AA < KQo obv
was deep in 3 other tourneys but got bad beats in all 3. morale is low again. i'm back in the "it's all luck" camp.

12/25/08
13/45 called all in from BB when SB shoved and we were both at 10bb. i was trying to pick off a bluff with my K6o but shover had AQo. kind of dumb but i see a lot of players bluff shove in that spot.

458/1213
was very deep in the FTP 28k but KK < AKs flush obv

8/45 final table but not ITM. A8 ran into KK, i flop the A but river is K gg me.

in other action, i lost a number of races tonight in key hands, so nothing to show for my time.

12/23/08
Home Game results
Game #1: 1.DL 2.SH 3.RW
Game #2: 1.SH 2.BS 3.RW
Game #3: 1.RG 2.BL 3.BS

made a few mistakes by not shoving certain starting hands at certain M-levels where i was probably ahead. lost a tough runner-runner flush in game #2 that would have given me a huge CL. couldn't get anything going in game #3. thanks to DL,BL,RG for sitting in for missing regulars - it paid off nicely for them.

12/19/08
i continue to struggle on PokerStars and do not know why there is such a difference in play between FullTilt and PokerStars. My experience and observations don't point to anything conclusive. For example, just when I think I can conclude that on PS players call you much tighter, I run into a guy calling me with K3o, so when the board comes K45rb, i'm inclined to think my JJ is good and that his reraise is a bluff. Not so.

12/17/08
The blogament and the PxF subscriber tournaments were both frought with my toddler climbing all over me while trying to play, and as expected, the results were dismal. I'm hoping his sleep schedule adjusts and so i can get back on track. We may pull off a home game 12/22/08.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This PokerStars tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold’em event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 829001

12/10/08
6/27 bubble boy. shoved AKo into CL 88 who limped UTG. PokerStars is obviously rigged. this was probably an ICM blunder of major proportions.

36/441 ITM in the 9pm PS RR+A, of course 88 < AQo i never win races when they matter. would have been in the top 10 with ~40 to go.

12/6/08
1/45 ITM that's 4 firsts and 1 second in my last 11 tries. looks like PokerXfactor is worth it after all.

12/1/08
2/45 ITM
unreal. heads up i flop a set and the guy rivers a wheel. if i dodge 4 outs i notch another victory.

December 2008 Atlantic City recap

12/12/08

Showboat 11am tournament. 61 runners started. i'm feeling good after having a few good showings online. i feel this size tournament is tailored to my style.

first level i lost a tough hand to a regular. i had only showed down KK prior and my table image was tight. i was blind stealing and the dude called from the BB. i c-bet and he stayed around. i forget the rest but he turned a flush and showed 9c4c. how he stays in with that is beyond me. we tangled again when i raised 3bb from MP with TT and he called. flop Jxx. we do not fear a J here so i c-bet about 3/4 pot. he deliberates and says "i'm ahead here, you know that" (not taunting, just talking). he shoves and i insta-call. he asks if i have AKo to which I show the TT and he shows 99. I doubled up to 20k and there are 40 left at first break.

Break #2 i have 5bb and button. 19 players left. i can't remember much about this level, but i've clearly dried up. but i get moved to a new table and steal blinds successfully three times. once, from utg, guy to my left folds 99 - jeesh. i have a working stack. by the time i move to another table. one key hand helped me a great deal. UTG limps, MP limps, and I complete from SB with Ad6d, while BB checks. flop comes xdAhxd. i bet, BB folds, UTG folds, MP calls. turn 9d - i hit my flush. i show dismay and check, MP checks. river blank, i go into tank, thinking of a good value bet. my stack is awkward - any real bet seems strange, so i put it in. MP calls with AK. after he busted he took an interest in how i was doing - he respected my game and called me the professor. that's quite a compliment. he was a nice kid.

Final table, 8 left. Paying 6 spots. 3 of us have a similar short-stack, 2 other just a little more. I dried up last level. Made a number of mistakes - still not playing sharp. Too passive - missed some real opportunities.

We paid the bubble spot, and i really kick in my short stack play. i triple up, but I ultimately bubble when my A8s < A4o when CL flops a 4. So unreal. Why do we subject ourselves to such nonsense? the two other shorties just did not belong at the final table.

i'm starting to think that i'm probably better than the average recreational player (the demographic that i associate myself with). i've cashed in the showboat tournaments (including two chopped victories), and bubble-cashed a couple. i think i have an advantage at bet sizing, reading strength/weakness, and small stack play. however i still lack the testosterone to make crucial bets and take key stands in these live venues. for example in level 3, at 6BB, an UTG limper caused me to fold KQo from MP. not to be ROT but the flop came KxQ and i would have tripled up based on how the hand played out. i'll be working on this aspect of my game. i continue to do poorly at the borgata.

Borgata SnG
4/10

i played a SnG at the Borgata with 7 regulars, one of whom was drunk and arguing across the table with another regular. i thought the taj had spilled over some of its scum the way they were carrying on. the name calling was unbearable and the entire experience was awful. as far as the play was concerned, these regulars were acting faster than an online tournament. they were so battle-hardened that they needed no thought whatsoever. they were robotic in their blind stealing and raises. they played very similar to a cash game, wanting to see flops and alot of turn and river betting. i managed to knock out 3 players at once when my AK held to AJ,QK,KJ when i flop an Ace. we were quickly down to 4 when i took a stand all-in from my big blind with KQo against an aggro-raiser. she showed TT and i flopped a K but she turned a set to bump me.