Well, lost my first tourny of the month on the bubble. Had the chip leader directly to my right when we were 4 handed and I and another guy were semi-short stacked (about 1200 with 75/150 blinds) and he always completed the small blind but I never could catch anything in the BB. I felt like I was outplaying him on the flop though because I pushed him out of 2 in a row with nothing when he min-bet me. The 3rd time though I caught top pair with J2os, but then he checked it to me, which I thought a bit odd because he normally bets with nothing and small hands, so I checked behind, he checks to me again on the turn and I check behind again, still with top pair, on the river he min bets half the pot but I called anyways just to see what he had, that bastard flopped 2 pair and thought I would bet at him like the last 2 times, good thing I was paying attention! I was pretty happy with that play because I think I could have easily gone out on that hand if I had not been thinking about how he had been playing but also what his perception of me was. Even though I didn't make the money on this hand, I am pretty happy with the results because my main goal is to improve my game, so even if I'm just breaking even then it's ok because it's more of a learning exercise really. I figure that when I'm playing well enough my bankroll will reflect it anyways.

I took a break from SNG's for the rest of the night and decided to play some ring games. I joined a NL table for a little while but couldn't really get anything going, I never had a high pair or flopped trips, and every time I raised pre-flop (usually about 3-4 X BB) I still had about 5 or 6 callers, missed my flop completely and had someone betting into me. So I left that table about $8 down, then played some .50/$1 limit and made about $7 of it back. Finally I played a pot-limit game by accident, meant to go back to NL but must've clicked the wrong table. Good news though is that the play there was horrible and I more than doubled my buy-in when I flopped trips and managed to get 2 others all-in with top pair and a flush draw (I was in early pos. and normally bet out here, instead I checked to the preflop raiser and check-raised, he reraised me and we caught the guy with the flush draw in the middle and I pushed, I normally don't check-raise but I think it was the best move in this situation because I think if I had bet out may have just called and if he had raised the middle player might have folded), so I wound up about $25 up from the ring games, which covers almost half of my SNG losses from last month, but it doesn't really matter since long term play should even both of those out.

Some things that I've been working on lately:

1) Getting other player's money into the pot
Lately I've been trying a lot harder to figure out how to get the other player's money into the pot when I have the best of it. I'm already an aggressive player which can be good and bad because sometimes I drive people out instead of keeping them in. So I've been trying new things like check-raising to a pre-flop raiser, this has been working very well so far, also, making bets so that players drawing don't have the pot odds, but will still be willing to call anyways.

2) Reading other players, but also trying to be aware of their perception of me
For example, the other day I was short stacked so I switched to my all-in stay alive strategy, basically if no-one has entered the pot before me I will push with any 2 cards to take the blinds, I do this once with crap and win the blinds, I do it again on the very next hand and take them again, by now I am back out of the danger zone so I don't have to do this again, but I pick up pocket Kings! It folds to me and I push again and get one caller. Good news, he has AK, bad news he catches his ace on the flop. But I made the right move, I was in a solid position to double up and I think I would've gotten called by someone with a worse hand if he hadn't called, he was directly to my left.

3) Controlled Aggression
I'm still having a hard time when we're down to 4 or 5, I want to be the aggressive player taking blinds and pots but not be doubling guys up. I'm a very "all or nothing" type of player and person, so it's hard for me to find a happy medium here, especially pre-flop. I think my post-flop play has been improving a lot though.

Haven't played the last couple of days. Spent most of my free time yesterday looking at a house we're thinking of buying, but not sure if we'll get the chance because it's for sale by owner, who's in another state, and seems to be the hardest person ever to get in touch with. This house really needs some work done on it, so I figure one of two things will happen, either I will play less poker because I'll be working on the house in my spare time, or I will play more poker because I need money to work on the house. Doesn't matter, if we ever get to make an offer it's probably going to be rejected anyways, so I'm just going to wait to see what happens before putting too much thought into it.

On top of this house stuff, I'm out of town for the next week and 1/2 on business, again. I was hoping this would give me some more playing time, but not so sure now, because for whatever reason I can't get an internet connection in my room, only downstairs in the lobby. And since I've been working down here for the last 2 hours, I see myself going up and getting some rest when I'm done. Hopefully they fix this connection problem because I'm not sure if I can sit down here just to play poker, but probably will if I get desperate. At any rate I will at least have time to study up on my game, I brought a couple of books with me and will probably try to read through them in my spare time.

I'm also thinking about going to Foxwoods this weekend, I'm in Connecticut this week and going to New Jersey next week. When I lived here I only went to Foxwoods twice. It's not because I took it for granted or anything, it's just that I can't make much money when I go there, because I have to spend a good amount in gas. But since I'm here and don't have the luxery of going to the Casino on a whim anymore, I might just have to take a trip, but it depends on this whole house thing too, if we can make an offer I probably won't go since I'll need all my money for closing costs and stupid crap like that.

I'm also thinking of maybe trying some different tournaments if I get any online playing time. I'm thinking of playing at least 1 MTT, and maybe a 2 or more table SNG, just to switch things up for a bit. I had a good time playing the ring games the other night I'm thinking that I may just need to take a short break from SNG's, just to clear my head a little and dig out of this rut.

Finally got to play. Had to come down to the hotel bar, but I think it payed off. This is the second time I've tried playing after drinking a little, not enough to be drunk, but just a couple of stiff drinks to loosen up. The last time I did that I was playing lights out poker, I was second in chips until my Aces got cracked by the chip leader's KJos when I got him all-in pre-flop, tonight I got second place but the chip-leader had been winning more than his share of all-in's (knocked out almost every single player in the tourny) and he had 13000 to 2000 when we got head's up, so not sure if I could really do anything at that point. Tonight I felt like I was playing pretty well, the winner of the table was very LAG and catching cards left and right. I did put a semi-move on him though using a check-raise, but I'm not sure if it was a good play or not, so I'll probably post it for some analysis and probably criticism. I would normally not make the play but I was feeling comfortable in my play. Anyways, my 2nd SNG of the month and I'm in the money, so at least I'm off to a better start than last month.

I love slightly drunk poker, it makes me fearless.

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post, mainly because it's been a long time since I've played Poker. The reason for this has been 3 fold though. First off, work sucks and is taking up a lot more than 40 hours a week lately. This is the busy time of year though and since I make a lot more money working than I do at Poker it will have to take precedent until that's not true. The second reason is because I've started exercising a lot more lately which cuts into my free time. I'm training for a 5K in December so I've been spending a lot of time on the treadmill. The 3rd reason is because I've been buying a house. Actually, 2 houses, before I left on my business trip in the beginning of August we found a house that we wanted to buy. The house itself was not in good condition but we liked the size of it, the neighborhood, and the size of the yard. It was for sale by owner and we offered the guy his full asking price even though he was asking for more than the house was worth, the only bargaining that we did was to ask for him to pay our closing costs which is customary in real estate around here. The guy agreed and we did the home inspection thing, the inspector found a lot of things that needed to be fixed, but all we asked for from the seller were for him to fix the things that were stated in the contract he signed that is mandatory for sellers to fix (roof leaks, plumbing leaks, and electrical) unless they are selling as is (which he wasn't because you have to fill out a form and notify the buyers during negotiations). This is when the **** hit the fan, the guy all of a sudden says that he is not fixing anything (not even the roof leaks which are stated in the contract that he is liable to fix) and that he feels that we should fix them because he is paying the closing costs! We asked him twice to reconsider and he refused both times, so with the contract broken by him we were back to square one and out of $500 dollars between the home inspection and some payments to the bank to get the loan processed. It sucked because we had offered this guy a great deal which he probably won't get from anyone else but he got greedy and screwed us out of some money but is really screwing himself because no one will buy that house "as is" for the amount he is asking.

What's cool though is that it actually worked out a lot better for us. We just signed a contract today for a new home to be built by one of the best builders around here for the same price we were going to pay for that house. So we are now getting a brand new house in a better 'hood (golf course community) that is just as large with same size yard. I'm pretty stoked about this, and hope I will now have some more time to devote towards poker, especially in the next few months while the home is being built. What is even funnier is that yesterday the guy selling the first house emailed our realtor offering to now take $1000 off his asking price for repairs, she pretty much told him to piss off, guess he's starting to regret breaking the contract, **********.

Haven't played poker in months, due to building a house, lots of travelling for work, and my new addiction, World of Warcraft. Anyways, took 2 trips out to the card room this week while I'm in MN with some friends. Tuesday night played 2/4 limit and wound up $45 up after only playing an hour. I only played 4 hands and they all held up. Went back tonight and played about 3 hours of non-stop folding. I only won a few hands and most of it was me trying to play fancy which normally doesn't work for me but I was getting bored playing my normally tight game, plus the table was kind of tight so I felt it was ok.

The only high pp (KK) I got I raised it every chance I got and won a medium sized pot with it on the turn, so I did something I never do, and flipped them over, hoping to set up a play later. 3 rounds of folding later I pick my spot from the button when 2 decent players limp in (they had been there the entire time of the table, but were slowly leaking chips like myself), I had 32os and I liked this hand because I knew I could let it go if the betting got rough so I raised it up and knocked out the blinds. Flop comes 469 rainbow, checks to me and I bet out, they both call. I'm pretty sure they're not on high pairs since they would prob. have bet there. Turn brings an ace which is scary since I figure them for high cards, but they both check to me, I bet again and tell myself I'm done with the bluff, but they both fold and I'm happy. I decide to keep messing with their heads and show the bluff, they didn't look too happy. One round later I catch one of them when I flop top 2 pair and he calls my bets all the way to the river, then mucked when I flip my hand. So all in all, I end up -$16 for the night (+$29 overall) but am ecstatic because I really only saw 2 or three real hands in 3 hours, and I tried something new and it worked.

Came back to the hotel and played a SNG online and take first place (won the final hand with the doyle special when I made 10's over 9's against villians 9's full of 10's). I guess the time off did me some good. Anyways, happy holidays to anyone reading this

Well, I lied, I've been playing some more .10NL ring games, and doing quite well I might add. I only play one table at a time, so I've only played 343 hands in the last 2 days, but, I'm up $27.20 for a 39.65 BB/100. I'm really enjoying playing at this level, which is lower than the .25NL level I usually play at. I think it fits my bank roll a lot better and that has helped me play a lot better too. I've been raising pre-flop a lot more and winning a lot more small pots. According to PT I'm ranked as TAA at .10 where at .25 I was TPA. I also found myself playing the people a lot more than the cards, I won a lot of pots with mediocre hands by playing my position. For example, if I was in late position and there was only a loose limper already in, I might raise 3X the BB and usually get heads up with him. Then he checks to me on the flop and I bet about 3/4 of the pot and take it down. I took down about 5 pots like that today off of the same guy, and the one time he actually made a hand and stayed in, it was a simple decision to get out of the pot. I think I'm going to play this game for a little while, I'm setting a goal for myself to try to make $100 playing .10NL, just to give myself something to shoot for.

Limit .10NL
Hands 343
Net $27.20
BB/100 39.65

Been playing pretty decent at the .10NL level, so far I'm up $39.35 total, almost halfway to my goal. I've been playing a little looser and raising a lot more pre-flop, and I think it has been helping me play better as well as get better reads on other players. Just to compare my stats:

Limit: .10NL
Hands: 722
VP$IP: 25.07%
PFR: 17.22%
Net: $39.35
BB/100: 27.25

Limit .25NL
Hands:1880
VP$IP: 13.94%
PFR: 3.03%
Net: -$63.77
BB/100: -6.78

It's not easy for me to play a loose (slightly loose according to PT) aggressive style, but that's why I'm playing a lower level, to help build my confidence and practice playing this way. So far I'm enjoying it and it's a nice break from the Sit and Go's. I have the rebuy tourny again tonight but I'm not sure if I'm going to play yet, guess I'll wait and see who signs up.

Didn't play the rebuy but proceeded to get drunk instead, and spent most of yesterday morning hung over. Played some more NL yesterday, stats were:

12/29/05 Stats:
Limit: .10NL
Hands: 84
VP$IP: 14.29%
PFR: 8.33%
Net: $5.70
BB/100: 33.93

Total Stats:
Limit: .10NL
Hands: 806
VP$IP: 23.95%
PFR: 10.92%
Net: $45.05
BB/100: 27.95

Almost halfway to my goal, I'm hoping I can make a push tonight or sometime this weekend and get over the hump, but the best thing is that I'm playing winning poker, something I don't think I've done in a while.

The last 2 days have been kind of a wash, Friday I took a beating but managed to win back a good bit of it and Saturday I didn't get to play much but was able to win back the rest of what I lost. Stats and some hands from both days:

12/30/05 Stats:
Limit: .10NL
Hands: 207
VP$IP: 28.5%
PFR: 12.56%
Net: -$6.85 (was actually down $15 at one point)
BB/100: -16.55

12/31/05 Stats:
Limit: .10NL
Hands: 76
VP$IP: 23.68%
PFR: 6.58%
Net: $6.90
BB/100: 45.39

Total Stats:
Limit: .10NL
Hands: 1089
VP$IP: 24.79%
PFR: 10.93%
Net: $45.10
BB/100: 20.71


This was my biggest loss on one hand, villain was a pretty bad player but had drawn out on me a couple of times, so I think I was playing with my heart instead of my head, I should've led out on the flop instead of being tricky to detect the other ace since my hand wasn't that strong, but even after it was staring me in the face that he had me beat I couldn't lay it down.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed)

saw flop|saw showdown

MP1 ($14.20)
MP2 ($5.30)
CO ($4.20)
Button ($11.65)
Hero ($9.80)
BB ($6.95)
UTG ($12)
UTG+1 ($2.90)

Preflop: Hero is SB with , .
5 folds, Button calls $0.10, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.30) , , (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $0.1, Button folds, Hero raises to $0.2, BB raises to $0.3, Hero raises to $1, BB raises to $6.9, Hero raises to $10.5, BB calls $0.15 (All-In).

Turn: ($17.85) (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($17.85) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $17.85

Results in white below:
Hero has 3d Ad (three of a kind, aces).
BB has As 8c (full house, aces full of eights).
Outcome: BB wins $14.40. Hero wins $3.45.

I think I played this right, it's not often that I will lay down aces but villain was a rock and I was pretty sure I was beat:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed)

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($14.40)
BB ($8.05)
Hero ($17.10)
MP ($9.30)
CO ($8.15)
Button ($17.40)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , .
Hero raises to $0.4, 1 fold, CO calls $0.40, 3 folds.

Flop: ($0.95) , , (2 players)
Hero bets $0.5, CO raises to $1, Hero calls $0.50.

Turn: ($2.95) (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $3, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $5.95

Results in white below:
No showdown. CO wins $5.95.

Didn't play very much the last 2 days and nothing really notable except one hand that struck me funny:

1/1/06 & 1/2/06 Stats:
Limit: .10NL
Hands: 76
VP$IP: 14.47%
PFR: 5.26%
Net: -$2.30
BB/100: -15.13

Total Stats:
Limit: .10NL
Hands: 1184
VP$IP: 24.24%
PFR: 10.47%
Net: $42.00
BB/100: 17.74

This hand struck me a little funny, mainly because of the way villain played it. A little background, this is villain's 3rd hand, I had won the last 2 b/c I got AJ both times and both times raised them pre-flop, caught J on the flop and bet, won both hands w/out a showdown.

Normally I would raise this hand pre-flop but b/c of the 2 previous hands I only called with it, rest played out normally for me:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed)

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($9)
UTG+1 ($17.40)
Hero ($10.80)
MP2 ($7.30)
CO ($10)
Button ($12.90)
SB ($3.90)
BB ($12.90)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with , . CO posts a blind of $0.10.
2 folds, Hero calls $0.10, MP2 calls $0.10, CO (poster) checks, 1 fold, SB completes, 1 fold.

Flop: ($0.50) , , (4 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.4, MP2 folds, CO calls $0.40, SB folds.

Turn: ($1.30) (2 players)
Hero bets $0.5, CO calls $0.50.

River: ($2.30) (2 players)
Hero bets $0.5, CO calls $0.50.

Final Pot: $3.30

Results in white below:
Hero has Jh Td (two pair, jacks and fours).
CO has Ad Ah (two pair, aces and fours).
Outcome: CO wins $3.30.