Finally a losing sesh and some hhs

It's been about 3 weeks since I had a losing session, but I had one finally...







Actually it feels like a win because I managed to recover $8k from my low point. Even though I've been winning this month I feel like there are a couple parts of my game that needs to be tweaked so I'm working on that. Poker's a job that you just can't get complacent with or it'll eat you alive.

I mentioned I got a new desktop. It runs smoothly and no more lagging. I have tried adding shortcuts and table ninja which are hotkeys/scripts to perform actions w/ the press of a button...eg. side button on mouse folds hands, tab button bets 2.5x bb, etc. I actually misplayed a hand because I wasn't used to the shortcuts....

No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (4 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($1000)
UTG ($948)
Button ($1000)
Hero (SB) ($2033.30)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, A
UTG bets $30, 1 fold, Hero raises $105, 1 fold, UTG calls $80

Flop: ($230) 9, 6, 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $130, UTG raises $270, Hero raises $280, UTG raises $280, Hero raises $280, UTG raises $280, Hero raises $1233.30 (All-In), UTG calls $8 (All-In)

Turn: ($1906) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($1906) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $1906

Results:
Hero had K, A (high card, Ace).
UTG had 7, 7 (one pair, sevens).
Outcome: UTG won $1904

I was intending on folding to the flop min raise but I was typing something in chat and pressed enter and it must've min reraised back. So he min rer me back and again I was trying to finish my chat and pressed enter again only to min rer him back. You can imagine how bonkers I was going and had the biggest wtf thought going on in my mind. So he min rer me again! So with only about $300 left I just shoved and he shows his hand..77..lol. I had an excuse as to why I was min reraising but I wonder what his reasoning was. I could see it with a set or a straight to milk as slowly as possible but 77? Anyway reflecting back on the hand brings a chuckle. Oh, and fk shortcuts! Actually that's not true because the auto time bank is really beneficial for me.

The one mistake I made in this next hand is that I tried to bluff an unknown which I usually don't...and you can see why I don't...because they make some crazy calls....

No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2940.30)
SB ($2811.85)
BB ($1051.90)
Hero (UTG) ($1047.05)
MP ($1093)
CO ($375)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 6, 5
Hero bets $30, 3 folds, SB calls $25, 1 fold

Flop: ($70) K, 2, 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $52, SB raises $105.95, Hero calls $53.95

Turn: ($281.90) 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $195, SB calls $195

River: ($671.90) J (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $716.10 (All-In), SB calls $716.10

Total pot: $2104.10

Results:
SB had 4, 4 (one pair, fours).
Hero had 6, 5 (high card, King).
Outcome: SB won $2101.10

Obviously it's a bad river card because I was going to shove a ton of cards including all flush cards and I believe he would've folded if a flush got there. Also the crazy part is that I would shove a river 5 or 6 trying to rep. a big K or better and he would've called and lost!

This hand tilted me some.... we ran it twice...

No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($2511.75)
UTG ($2554)
MP ($1000)
Button ($1457)
Hero (SB) ($1232)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 8
2 folds, Button bets $25, Hero calls $20, BB calls $15

Flop: ($75) 10, 6, 8 (3 players)
Hero bets $60, 1 fold, Button raises $180, Hero raises $1147 (All-In), Button calls $1027

Turn: ($2489) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($2489) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2489

Results:
Button had 5, 7 (straight, ten high).
Hero had 8, 8 (three of a kind, eights).
Outcome: Button won $2485

Again I'm not sure how to post the 2nd turn and riv but he got there w/ another 9 at the riv. Obviously he played the hand terribly and got rewarded twice.

Speaking of playing a hand terribly...guess which player played his hand terribly here...

No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (CO) ($2620)
Button ($1745)
SB ($1011)
BB ($1988)
UTG ($1047)
MP ($1376.20)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 9, 10
1 fold, MP bets $30, Hero calls $30, 1 fold, SB raises $125, 1 fold, MP calls $100, Hero calls $100

Flop: ($400) 3, 7, 8 (3 players)
SB bets $272, MP calls $272, Hero calls $272

Turn: ($1216) J (3 players)
SB checks, MP checks, Hero bets $1216, SB calls $609 (All-In), MP calls $974.20 (All-In)

River: ($3773.40) A (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $3773.40

Results:
SB had K, K (one pair, Kings).
MP had 8, 7 (two pair, eights and sevens).
Hero had 9, 10 (straight, Jack high).
Outcome: Hero won $4012.20

If you said the guy with 87s, you are correct. The pot's plenty big enough and he should just shove the flop to get me to fold. He'll stack KK as well and win a nice pot. My play was standard and I was expecting a call from maybe one but not two so it worked out nicely.

Finally a hand where I'm not sure if I played it well or just spewed and got lucky because villain folded (notice I inserted actual names here and decided villain's name wasn't holding any water hence my riv play)...

Full Tilt, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 8 Players

LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

FIRETRUCKS (SB): $1,000
Hero (BB): $1,605
cjm627 (UTG): $1,047
WhiteWhale0928 (UTG+1): $1,015
Jonasty4 (MP1): $1,000
Buckaneer (MP2): $1,000
Gman-NJ (CO): $998
pay_u_off (BTN): $1,870

Pre-Flop: 6 6 dealt to Hero (BB)

5 folds, pay_u_off raises to $30, FIRETRUCKS folds, Hero raises to $110, pay_u_off calls $80

Flop: ($225) 3 K 8 (2 Players)

Hero bets $115, pay_u_off calls $115

Turn: ($455) A (2 Players)

Hero bets $235, pay_u_off calls $235

River: ($925) K (2 Players)

Hero bets $1,145 and is All-In, pay_u_off folds

Results: $925 Pot

Hero showed 6 6 and WON $2,067 (+$1,617 NET)

Preflop and flop are standard. Turn I elected to barrel because an ace is usually a good card to do so and my 66s are not good once he calls the flop. Riv is where it gets interesting and it's obviously not a good card for me but I elected to follow through with what I was trying to rep., AA, KK, AK, and maybe AQ. It helps that we were both deep and had a big shell left at the river. He tanked forever and not true to his name, did not pay me off..whewww!

Irl, watched a great NCAA basketball game the other night. Had some money on Butler +7 so won that but would liked to have seen them win it all. Duke is just irritating, idk why. Also managed to catch the 2nd half of the women's championship last night. It was pretty bad to watch as both teams missed tons of shots. I guess they're both good defensively (Stanford and UConn) but it really was tedious watching clunkers go up at both ends of the court. Also would like to have seen Stanford win to end UConn's 70 game winning streak or whatever it was. When you see such a long streak end you're witnessing history in the making.

Shout out to my buddy Joe T who managed to get 2nd in our fantasy basketball league after getting 2nd in our fantasy football league. Great job again Joe! Just try not to face me in the championship games in both leagues next time though! (that's right, I won both our ff and fb leagues!).

Ok, off for some sleep and if I don't feel too tired a day of skiing at nearby Mt. Charleston (yes we have skiing in Vegas).

Meh...April

I never look forward to April for 2 reasons....taxes and my birthday. Coincidentally they fall around the same time of the month as well. It's funny how I am in my mid 30's but feel like a kid at heart still...just with duties and responsibilities. Actually one of the movies that stick out from my mind when I was a kid was Clash of the Titans (E.T. was the other one that really sticks out from my childhood, but that probably applies to most kids around that time). They just made a remake and I'm looking forward to watching that soon. Hopefully it's as good as the original. Speaking of movies, I'll mention the 2 best movies I've seen in the last few months. One is very obvious and the other is particularly unknown. The obvious one is Avatar. Obviously it's best to go watch it in 3-D. The lesser known one is Pan's Labyrinth. It is a foreign movie from Spain and subtitled. I'm not into foreign movies but this one was so good that I'd recommend everyone to check it out. If I had to describe it, it's a blend of Chronicles of Narnia and any good violent war movie (eg Platoon and Full Metal Jacket). Weird mixture I know but it was one of the few movies I've ever watched that made me say "wow" after it ended.

As for poker I stated before that I'm aiming to get in 120+hrs playing my normal online cash games. I'm going to play the bulk of that at $5/10 and I do have a specific goal of finishing 1st at $5/10 on FTP for the month. I believe I finished 3rd last month and the guy in 1st finished at around $50k. Depending on how the month progresses, I may try to finish 1st at $5/10 for all sites. Obviously it's easy to set it as a goal but harder to achieve because who knows how I'll run and what time commitments may unexpectedly arise. I'll still mix in some $3/6 and take shots at $10/20. Here's after 12hrs in 2 days this month...




















Regarding my yearly goal of $1mil, I know I'm behind pace but that was expected in the 1st few months because of the smaller stakes I started out at. I'm content with my progression through the higher stakes so far. One thing I want to point out is that I'm trying to achieve $1mil with the least amount of variance as possible and this probably makes it tougher. If I was in my 20's with no family obligations I could have taken shots at $25/50+ already and if I ran well I may have a better chance of achieving my goal. Well since I'm not young and single I have to take a methodical approach but I don't mind. This is what I expect, well hoping more actually, my final '10 graph to look like...



















I'm just assuming that I strike out at the WSOP but that's a worst case scenario. I can get lucky and bink a tournament for 6 figs and make my path to 7 figs easier. I'm assuming I ascend to higher stakes as the year progresses but again nothing is set in stone and I'll have to work hard to give myself a shot.

Ok, I'm off to go watch the Final Four. Not rooting for any particular team unless I decide to bet on one. Easter is tomorrow so I'll be going to church for sure and afterwards grinding mtts all day.

March results

Here are March results...






























I know I ran well but even at actual ev I had great results. I'm happy w/ my hu results as well, considering I'm just starting out. I'm also challenging myself to just play in whatever games are going even if the games are not that good. Two good things come out of this. They are that I can see how good players are playing and I'm actually improving my game playing vs. the best. The only downside is that it hurts my hrly, but w/ what I've been averaging hrly this year I can't complain. I've played in 2-3 handed games to get the games going with the likes of IRockhoes and DrGiggy, just to name a couple, and have held my own. Here are my hu results....















Again, trying to reach my goal of hrs played fell short but I did make a pretty sick hrly for the month. I finished at about $840/hr over 82 hrs for all hold'em games. If I just include my normal games of $3/6 and $5/10 I had an even sicker hrly. Yes I won just about every session the last 2 weeks of the month :) .....












Another thing is that I just got a new system and when I xferred my HEM database over, it missed a few thousand hands (among 2million hands, so guess it's not that bad) along with another $2k in profits this month. Also made another $4100 in rakeback and races. Did lose $2100 in mtts. Also made about $500 in non hold'em games. That gives me a grand total of $73,000 for the month.

For April I have loftier goals. I'm really going to try to get in at least 120 hrs of my normal games ($3/6 +). I may start playing some $10/20 games as well. For those stakes and up I will be table selecting for obvious reasons. I'll continue to work on my hu game as well and look to add more hands at hu vs just about anybody at my normal stakes.

So far this year:

[x] Played good volume at $2/4 and crushed
[x] Played good volume at $3/6 and crushed
[x] Playing $5/10 and crushing
[x] Learn hu and crush
[ ] Make a big score in a mtt
[x] Feel fulfilled in my life outside of poker, whether spending time w/ wife and kid, or working out 2-3x/wk

5 out of 6 isn't bad.

Goals left this year:

-Play $10/20 and higher and hopefully be a reg at $25/50+ by year's end
-Win a major mtt, whether online or live (WSOP bracelet one tiiiiimmmme!!!!)
-Win $1mirrion+!
-Grow spiritually
-Spend time w/ family
-Exercise and eat healthy!

Different types of successes in poker

I've been thinking about one of the answers I gave in my last post. I said that not everyone can succeed in poker. I believe this is true in general but I may have taken too much of a pessimistic tone. When I said some can not succeed in poker, I meant as in playing poker as the only source of income and living a middle class or better lifestyle. Everyone has different goals in whatever they are attempting. Some people can work their normal jobs and play poker on the side and supplement their income, and this would be considered success in their eyes. Even if one was just breaking even over the long run after being a losing player for years, that would be a success. There are lots of online guys that do break even but make enough from the rakeback or vpps to live comfortably and in their eyes probably think they are successful. So whatever your goals in poker may be, go for it, and know that success isn't primarily determined by how much you end up making, but by what you think determines whether you achieved your goals or not (and not what the public thinks...sounds like a metaphor about anything in life as well).

Speaking of success, I thought I'd post a hand I played recently and give my thoughts. Notice I "successfully" managed to lose the minimum whereas most lose their stacks....

No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (CO) ($1146)
Button ($786.95)
SB ($1156.50)
BB ($1000)
UTG ($1137)
MP ($1299)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, A
2 folds, Hero bets $25, 1 fold, SB calls $20, 1 fold

Flop: ($60) A, 7, 8 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $40, SB raises $111.50, Hero calls $71.50

Turn: ($283) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $145, SB calls $145

River: ($573) 8 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $573

Results:
SB had 4, 4 (full house, fours over eights).
Hero had K, A (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: SB won $570

Preflop and flop are standard (for me anyways, not in love w/ villain's flop chkr but don't hate it). Turn is ok but I could've bet slightly more. Riv is where I pwned villain and played it better than most. This is where good hand reading skills differentiate players.

On the flop, villian's chkraising range inc. all flushes, 2prs and sets, and air (44 falls into air here, as I'm sure he was just bluff raising me w/ his hand). When he c/c's turn, I can reduce his range to flushes, 2prs and sets only. Also because I bet the turn here, if I follow through w/ another river bet, villain will probably fold most of the smaller flushes. I'm guessing he'll fold the 6 of clubs and worse, and possibly the T and J of clubs as well. He'll fold the 2 pair hands that did not improve to a full house. So that basically leaves the Q of clubs and full houses that that will not fold the river. There is a chance he folds the Q of clubs as well after seeing me fire 2 barrels on a 4 flush board. So whenever you bet, you should always ask yourself what your bet is trying to accomplish. Here I would be betting the river for value, but I'm not sure there are worse hands except the Q of clubs calling and even that as noted is not for sure. Since his line looks like a flush or a full house now, w/ only the 2nd nut flush that can call profitably (maybe), it's best for me to check it back at the river. Granted vs some villains, a bet is best at the riv but I thought this particular villain wouldn't call me w/ worse than my hand and that made it easier to check back the riv.

I will add that I had a feel or sense that he had 2 pair or a set going into the river that made me check back the riv quickly (I guess this is from experience). Regarding villain's play, I think it was ok because most would bet in my spot (and probably call the riv shove then post it on a poker forum on thoughts about the hand) but he is at the mercy of a great player like me :) .

Q & A

I've been getting some questions and so I decided to write a Q&A to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about me or poker in general.

Q: I'm starting out, what should I read, how do I go about it, I want to be you in a couple of years! (ok, the last part was sorta made up, but that's the impression I've been getting)

A: This is such a broad question that there are so many answers to it. As in any line of work, it takes hard work and diligence to be successful at poker. I'd recommend signing up for an instructional site, eg Bluefirepoker, Leggopoker, DeucesCracked, and Cardrunners 1st. I'd probably rank'em in that order in terms of quality, although each site has its pros and cons. There are other sites out there as well that cater to different needs. I would browse online poker forums and read as much as possible..there is no excuse not to, especially when it's free to the public. I'd find other people w/ similar ambitions, especially in poker and have discussions. I would read certain books, but you have to be careful because there are some books that have bad information. I'd recommend just about every book that's published by 2+2. Most books do not teach you the fundamentals of online poker though. They're more catered to poker in general, especially live full ring poker.

If you really have the cash, you can purchase ebooks written by high profile online players, eg CTS's "Let there be range", Balugawhale's "Eazy Game", and a few others out there. They are pretty expensive though..ranging from $600 to $1800. I've read most of them and would say they have good content but I'm not sure if they're worth the price...def. not for beginners though. Also there are coaches available that may expedite the learning curve. They range anywhere from $25/hr to $1800/hr (don't ask me why and how anyone can charge that much per hour). You gotta do your homework before considering getting a coach. Some of them can not beat today's games and are coaching based on their reputation and results from years ago.

Q: Do you coach?

A: I have before, and charged a very moderate price relative to the market but right now am not coaching. I'm focusing on getting better and making as much money in poker this year. I can not make as much money coaching as I can playing poker so I am holding off coaching...for now.

Q: I play primarily mtts but want to transition to cash games...can you give me some advice? (or vice versa)

A: Similar answer to 1st question at top. Just study as much as possible and have an open mind. Be humble and try to be aware of what areas you need to improve on. With that said, it is much tougher to get good at cash games than mtts. One can learn how to be a winner in mtts in 1 month, whereas cash games may take many months. Cash games provide more stability and the best players in the world excel at cash games as well at mtts, while the best mtt players only excel at mtts. We cash game players salivate when we see mtt players, including good ones, jump into our cash games.

Mtts usually require you to know how to play 10-30bb stacks whereas cash games require you to know how to play 50-1000bb stacks which require a lot more skill. Also mtts emphasize survival, while cash games emphasize making +ev plays and correct decisions consistently. Again, the latter takes more knowledge and skill to execute well. I would not suggest avoiding mtts altogether though and there are some that make a decent living just playing mtts only, but there are a lot more cash game players that make a decent to great living.

Q: How do you handle taking a bad beat, the losing sessions, and the long break even stretches?

This is a tough question to answer because I think it depends on each individual. I happen to have a very even-keeled temper that helps me with avoiding tilt. Everybody has a different breaking point when it comes to tilt or just losing control of emotions. It's up to each individual to realize when that is and how to improve it. I think it's nearly impossible to get rid of tilt altogether. Even I'm guilty of it from time to time, although not nearly as most.

As I mentioned before, I went through a tough 300k hands break even stretch in the latter part of '08. I used that experience to take a step back and see what I may have been doing wrong, and I did see and fix leaks that I had. This has been said before, but I'll say it again... when one is running good, poker is easy and he (for sake of saving time, I will just mention he/him/his when appropriate even though women play poker as well and they have my utmost respect in all things) thinks he is good at it, but it's when one is running bad that determines whether he can make it in poker over the long run. It tests the spirit and heart of anyone when one is constantly taking beats and running bad. When you run bad, don't bemoan the poker gods, instead use it as an opportunity to improve yourself in all aspects of poker and just your overall makeup as a person.

Also, it is always good to take some time off when you're getting so frustrated w/ poker that it affects your play. Use that time to clear your head, improve your game, and come back stronger. I actually felt somewhat of a burnout at the end of '08 and played my fewest hrs I have ever played in a year in '09. I also stepped down to smaller stakes than I normally played and worked on my game for pretty much the whole year. I admit I did have many bouts of laziness during the year as well, but that's a topic for another issue. As you can see, if you've been following my blog, I've been crushing every game I've been playing this year, starting at 2/4 and now at 5/10 (and hopefully bigger games down the line). I can discuss this issue, the topic of tilt and mental stability for hrs on end, but I'm just gonna finish by saying that it is such an essential element of success in poker that most of today's games regulars' results are separated by just this...how strong they are mentally...eg look at me.

Q: Can anyone succeed in poker?

I'm going to be brutally honest here and answer it based on my experiences over the past 12 years. The answer is no. There are certain traits that one needs to succeed in poker and tbh, not everyone has the traits. These can include again emotional control, intelligence, discipline, self awareness, analytical ability, humbleness, and good memory. I'm sure there are a few other traits that I'm missing but I think I covered most of the key ones. I don't mention mathematical ability because it doesn't take complicated math to succeed in poker, just a basic understanding of it. Now I don't know if you need to be born w/ all these traits, or can learn and improve them over time. I'm thinking some are just inherently bestowed upon at birth, while some can be learned and improved upon.

I do however, do not discourage anyone from trying to succeed in poker. I get asked many times if he can succeed in poker and I always answer I don't know, because, well I don't know. I'd have to spend a lot of time and get to know the person well and maybe watch the person play and discuss poker w/ him often enough to get an opinion on whether I think he will succeed or not. I always say don't quit your day job until you have played enough hands and can base future results based on those # of hands. I don't have an exact # for the hands played, but it's a lot. For an avg. working person, I'd suggest 1-2 years of consistent success in poker on the side before even considering leaving the job for poker fulltime. Even that may be too small of a time frame.

Q: Do you have a set routine?

A: No. I play when I feel like it and more importantly, when I have the time. Having a family requires time and I emphasize being a good husband and father so I do spend some time doing so. One of the reasons why so many people want to play poker is that he can be his own boss and just play and go as he wants. At this point in my life, I don't think I can handle being on some kind of schedule...actually, at any point in my life, I couldn't handle it! With that said, I am trying to get some kind of routine going this year. I want to maximize (productivity wise) my days and not have any hrs where I feel like I'm just wasting time. For the most part, I think I've maximized my hrs this year, whereas last year I wasted half the year doing nothing productive.

Q: Where do see yourself and poker in 1 yr, 5yrs, 10yrs?

A: For me, I'll probably be playing poker. Essentially I feel like I'm retired now and can do whatever I want at anytime. Again that's one of the perks of being a pro. So if I'm retired now, I'll be retired the rest of the way. I just play poker because it's the easiest way for me to make money, and I make lots of it. It could be interpreted as a job, and technically it is, but being able to play whenever I want makes it feel like it isn't. I will look into getting a business or 2 as well. I almost bought one a couple of years ago, but elected to go with the bigger house (I'm obviously not that business savvy).

As for poker, who knows really. There is the impending UIGEA. They're supposed to implement the crappy rules starting sometime in July I think. There's talk about legalizing online poker. I'm not too involved in the political aspects of online poker so I'm not that aware of what can and will happen, but I don't think anyone really has a definite answer as well. I live in Vegas, so if need be I can always start playing at the casinos full time.

I'm going to show a thread that is very useful and informative to aspiring poker players as well. It was a well (Q&A) done by Phil Galfond, who is a highly successful high stakes player that primarily plays online. It's arguably the best thread on 2+2, and one of the more useful ones for poker players wanting to succeed.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/19/high-stakes-pl-nl/well-jman28-revisisted-88525/

I'd recommend going through the entire thread if you're serious about poker. He's more articulate than me and talks about what it takes to succeed in poker.

Also since he gave my blog props in his blog, I want to mention DoubleFly's blog. He is a winning full ring online player and his blog is very informative on some of the nuances of what it takes to succeed in poker. His blog is more entertaining than mine as well.

http://doubleflypoker.blogspot.com/

Also if anyone has any other questions they're interested in me answering, feel free to ask in the comments box or email me. I'm the type that tries to help anyone out as much as possible (but no monetary requests obviously, and that includes my friends!) as long as it doesn't take too much of my time. Finally, here is a picture I saw recently in a poker forum..no explanation needed...

2nd Best Day Online (cash game wise)

I've been running good but playing good as well. When those two moons align, it's a confidence booster...although I'm pretty confident regardless of my results. The graph includes hands at rush poker nl200 from late last night, since it was technically today. I don't know why I even bother with rush. Maybe the adrenaline factor of seeing so many hands in nanoseconds...so aptly named Rush Poker. I had won $18,000 in a single day before in cash games online so today ranks 2nd. I've had numerous mtt scores that were bigger, but I consider those more anomalies since they take so much short term luck. Nearly all hands were at nl1k ($5/10) and you can obviously guess at about what hand I started playing nl1k (#3000).





















I'm happy with where I stand today in relative to my goals this year. I've been steadily increasing my bankroll, and hence I can play bigger games. I've basically been crushing nl600 and nl1k (would be doing well even at actual ev) so I'm happy with where my game is today. I don't see any reason why I wouldn't do well at bigger games. Phil Ivey may have to save me a seat soon! (I'm obviously kidding...it will be a long while if and when I ever reach those stakes). I do have my eyes set on the WSOP this year and hope to make some noise in it, both mtts and live cash games. It starts in 2 months so I'm trying to get a big enough cash roll to allow me to play most of the tournaments I want and to sit in any of the cash games I think I'm a favorite in (probably most).

Outside of poker, I have been hitting the neighborhood gym (pics in a previous post) 2-3 times a week and have shed about 10lbs so far this year. I've been trying to eat healthier as well, but that's a lot tougher. I've cut out soda and drink mostly water now. It's difficult living in Vegas and trying to maintain good health. There are numerous tasty restaurants and buffets around town. Every buffet has peel and eat shrimp which I love, but alas, is really bad for my cholesterol. It's a struggle at times, but hey, I wanna see my kid grow up, get married, etc. Now I'm not anywhere near the end, but I'd like to prolong my life as much as possible because I do have a charmed life by all accounts. Again, this all starts with how you approach life and everything else associated with it, like poker. A positive and strong mentality will do wonders for you, along with putting in a good effort. Having a hot wife and a great kid isn't bad either (and no I will not post pics of wife).

Soul read and $100k graph

So I played this hand tonight...

No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00 BB (9 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 ($314.90)
MP1 ($363.40)
MP2 ($1040)
MP3 ($302.15)
CO ($806.65)
Button ($600)
SB ($377.40)
BB ($614.25)
Hero (UTG) ($600)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 10, A
Hero bets $20, 1 fold, MP1 calls $20, MP2 calls $20, 1 fold, CO calls $20, 1 fold, SB calls $17, 1 fold

Flop: ($106) 5, 5, 6 (5 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP1 bets $106, 3 folds, Hero raises $212, MP1 calls $106

Turn: ($530) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $145, MP1 calls $131.40 (All-In)

River: ($792.80) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $792.80

Results:
Hero had 10, A (one pair, fives).
MP1 had 3, A (one pair, fives).
Outcome: Hero won $803.40

I would like to say it was a sick soul read, but I'd be lying. I was 12 tabling and next thing I know, I'm looking at a $530 pot at turn w AT hi and just elected to put other guy all in for his last $130. I must've clicked raise on the flop w/o knowing. This is obviously a c/f on the flop. Sometimes it's really nice to run this good.

Also, I surpassed the $100k mark for online hold'em games for the year. This doesn't include rakeback, non hold'em games, mtts, nor live winnings...





















I won't have much time to grind this weekend which sucks because I'm still under 50hrs for the month. Heading to Cali for my mom's birthday then grinding mtts all day sunday w/ buddies. Hopefully I can make up for lost time the next couple of weeks before I ship Uncle Sam a good chunk of my roll on April 15th.