The Wanna Be Poker Star

Thanks To A 2nd Place Tournament, I Am Back On Track

2009-03-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

Eight days after hitting my all-time low, I have managed to build my online bankroll back to over $100 ($123.01, to be exact). This morning I decided to take a break from the grinding associated with the micro-stakes and I played in a $15 + $1, 18 player turbo, placing second for a cool $81.00.

I will try not to donk it all away this week :)

Can I Turn $10 Into A $100 In A Month?

2009-02-24T04:51:00.000-08:00

Well, after donking away most of my online money playing in tournaments that were way too expensive for my bank roll, I have decided to slow it down a little - no, a ton. Accordingly, I am going to take the last $10 (yes, ten f'ing dollars) and see if I can micro-stake it back up to $100.

Today's starting balance: $10.

Off to the tables... Wish me luck!

..........................
Edit:
2/24/09 Morning Update: Had some good luck playing three tables. Bank roll now sits at a nice $35.02.

2/24/09 Evening Update: I played at three tables again tonight for an hour or two. Did not make a fortune but did manage to bring the bank roll up to $40.30.

Rake The Rake

2009-02-13T17:03:00.000-08:00

Double or Nothing Sit 'N Go Tournaments

2009-02-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

Anyone tried these yet? Based on today's performance, they are my new favorite type of tournament to play. Because there are only ten players (and because I choose the turbo versions), each lasts less than an hour.

I doubled up in all four tournaments that I played in. Each table has 10 players and only the top five cash. I played one $20 and three $10. $50 profit on these babies today. Nice!

I also played in a 180 player $11 buy-in and placed 11th to cash for $23.76. I wish I would have done better. However, I just could not get any traction towards the end and the blinds and antes just ate me alive. I guess I cannot complain about today's results.

Now the last three days are a different story. Ask me about how I placed 19th, 20th and 21st on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday! Talk about not being able to make it through the bubble...

Please let me know what your experience has been with these double or nothing tourneys!

Running Good!

2009-02-02T17:04:00.000-08:00

As a few of you already know, I have had a real good micro 180 player $4.40 tournament run: 4 final tables in 4 days. Finished third on Saturday morning and eight Saturday night. I won't bore you with the details right now - maybe if I bust out early tonight :)

Two Final Tables In Two Days

2009-01-30T13:53:00.000-08:00

As a quick update, I've played in online micro tournaments for the past two days. Placed sixth today. Not bad and definately a fun way to spend a few hours. I'm going to play again Saturday. Wish me luck!

My First Online Tournament - The Results

2009-01-29T08:34:00.001-08:00

I am not a tournament player by any stretch of the imagination. However, when I went looking on advice on how to become a better player, Curtom over at Do Or Die Poker recommended that I buy Harrington on Hold 'em Volumes I and II. So yesterday I bought it and read Volume I. Good stuff. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, I took what I learned from the book and entered a micro sit n' go over on Poker Stars. The results: I took fifth place so my $4.40 entry fee resulted in cashing at $46.80. Not bad. However, I was totally primed to win but took a bad beat at the end:

I had pocket aces and raised five times the big bling. The guy to my left, who had been playing aggressively the entire final table, goes all in. I had him covered by about 15,000 chips. I show Pocket Aces; he shows pocket Fours.

Yep. A four right on the flop. Oh well. It was a fun first adventure.

The Start of Week 5: An Update

2009-01-25T15:31:00.000-08:00

For some obvious and not so obvious reasons, I have decided to remove the feature on this blog where I report my weekly (and sometimes daily) poker winnings and losses. Not sure if many readers even care about that feature so it was a rather easy decision for me to make.

As my poker challenge goes into its second month, I have had some good success, largely as a result of trying my best to stick by the "rules" I made for myself the first day. In fact, under my rules, I have moved up to 2/5 no limit cash games ($100 min/max buy-in) and have had some good early success. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be reporting my move to the 5/10 no limit level.

However, I have decided to slightly modify my rules to account for my increasing desire to play cash games online. In fact, I would love to play some micro tournaments on pokerstars.com but I cannot figure out how to set up a cash account. Any suggestions?

Cruise Results: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

2009-01-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, the rake sucked! 10% of each pot with a maximum of $25. Yep, $25 per hand!

Second, 9 out of 10 players at the tables I played at were utter donkeys. I am talking about first class idiots that had absolutely no problem calling an all-in bet of over $100 with nothing but a flush draw. More on that later...

Next, the play was way too slow. If we were lucky, we got in 12-15 hands per hour. There were many reasons for this. Entirely too many hands were interrupted by the waiter/waitress bringing over beer/wine/cocktail (although it seemed ok when it was me getting my drink) while we all waited two or three minutes for them to get their act together. Also, every hand had a post-mortem about what each player had, etc., and rather than getting the next hand started, the dealers would sit there until everyone was done. No wonder they needed such a high rake!

Finally, there was absolutely no poker etiquette. Players had no problem saying what they had (but folded) DURING live play.

Now, I am not going to bore you with a play-by-play of the entire weekend. However, I'll just say it started horribly! Here is what I mean:

I bought into a 1/2 no limit table for $200 (the maximum buy-in). The first hand was very nice, or so I thought. I called the $10 pre-flop bet with a weak Ace-Seven (hey, it was the first hand so give me a break!) and the flop came Ace-Seven-Ten, with two diamonds. Nice! Deciding to protect my two pair, I bet $50 and get three callers. What the? The turn misses me but at least it was not a diamond.

As a result, I go all in for my remaining chip stack (i.e., $140). TWO CALLERS! Great, did both of these idiots flop or turn trips! Since everyone is all in, the other two players flip over the cards. To my horror, they both have the diamond flush draw.

Yep! They both hit on the river and I suffered a $200 loss on the very first hand to a bunch of f'ing donkeys.

I was absolutely fuming, although I hide it very well. I also understand that this is poker and idiots get lucky all of the time. But come on! $140 on a flush draw...

Anyway, I decide to take a break for the night with the remaining $20 I had in my wallet. Because I promised myself that $220 was my limit for the weekend, I was bummed. I could not stand the fact that I lost my entire stack on one hand and that I would not be playing poker for the rest of the cruise.

Then I did something very stupid: I decided to go play roulette. The ultimate game of chance where absolutely no skill is required. I sat down, plopped $5 on 0/00, and HIT bringing my "wallet" back up to $105. I threw the "dealer" a $5 tip and called it a night realizing that I just scored the $100 I would need to play at least one more poker session over the weekend!

While the rest of the weekend was not a huge Texas Hold 'Em success (as the rake kept destroying the profit per hand), I did manage to claw back up to my break-even ($220) the second night and squeezed out a $150 profit by the last night.

It was certainly not what I expected but I will take a small profit over a loss anytime.

[By the way, the Norweigen Cruise line sucks. Their idea of "free-style cruising" just means you get screwed out of good food and good service. Can you tell I would not recommend them to you?]

Playing Poker For Fun?

2009-01-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I have approached poker in a different manner this year. More "professional" and less "fun". That changes this weekend. Why? I am going on a cruise and I thought it would be "fun" to see if I can take some money from those casino cruise players that almost expect to leave the table having lost money. One benefit of all of the poker shows on TV is that there is usually a hold 'em table somewhere in the casino.

Now do not get me wrong: I fully intend to approach each poker hand accordingly to my 2009 Rules. However, I am modifying many of the rules (i.e., buying in for more than $40 - the minimum is usually $100, not leaving the table when I double my initial buy-in, staking my entire bank roll for the weekend, etc.). Hell, I might even donkey up a little and chase a few flushes, straights, and so on.

Then again, that is not really the type of poker player I have become. I will let you know how it goes when I get back.

Wish me luck!

All In With King Five Offsuit? Well, I Have To Leave Anyway.

2009-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

I have heard this a few times in the past and it always amazes me. Why go ALL IN with a horrible hand just because you are ready to leave the table for the day? I am not sure if the casinos actively advertise this but there is one fact that, it seems, many poker players fail to realize: YOU ARE PERMITTED TO LEAVE THE TABLE WITH MONEY!

Today, I literally only had fifteen minutes to spare in between appointments and decided to hit the tables for some quick fun. I sat down one chair behind the button so I figured I get seven or eight free hands of hold 'em fun before I even needed to spend a dime. If the play dragged out a little, maybe I'd leave the table without even playing a hand. Not likely, but still a possibility.

Well, lucky me. I sit down to BULLETS. Yep, pocket ACES on my first hand. Everyone limps around to me so there is $18 in the pot when it reaches me. I raise $15 on top and everyone folds except the guy to my immediate right. He goes all in for a total of $35. Of course, I call.

Anxiously awaiting the hand I have to dodge, he flips over KING FIVE offsuit. WTF? I flip over my ACES and he announces, "well, I have to leave anyway." Seriously dude! $35 will buy a nice dinner on the way home or a few twelve packs of your favorite adult beverage. Why in the hell do poker players refuse to leave with money? Is it because they do not want to wait in line at the cashier to cash in the chips? I just don't get it.

Anyway, the flop comes FOUR SIX EIGHT. OMG! Are my aces going to be cracked by such a crappy starting hand? Surely the poker gods will not reward such bad play, will they?

Luckily, the turn and river totally missed this guy who promptly got up from the table and left.

I was right behind him. That is, I was right behind him after I raked in the pot, tipped the dealer, and told some familiars that I would see them later.

Today's Profit: $40.00 (after $5.00 rake and $1.00 to bad beat pot)

Week One - $100 Loss
Week Two (so far) - $433 Profit (after buy-ins)

OVERALL PROFIT: $333.
OVERALL CHIP STACK: $373 (includes week two seed money)

Time played to date: 6.25 hours, or $59.68 per hour.

The Continuation Bet: A Tight Player Like Me Should Use It Occasionally To Score A Big Pot

2009-01-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

Today I used the continuance bet. It wasn't really my goal going into today's session but it seemed to make sense with this particular mix of players. First, the chips were absolutely flying into the middle of the pot. It seemed that everyone was willing to raise on marginal hands and the good starting hands were taking down many of the bigger pots. However, I used it several times to take down a few pots. One time, I even showed my bluff!

On my "winning hand" [defined for purposes of this blog as the hand that allows me to double my initial buy-in and go home], I found myself with two clubs - QUEEN KING. I love those two cards. Not because I think they are particularly strong. No instead, they hold a special place in my poker heart because those were the two cards I had went I hit my first ROYAL FLUSH a few weeks back. Too bad I was playing at a casino (not the one I usually frequent now) where all you get is a jacket! Anyway...

Pre-flop, I raise to a total of $10 and get three callers (including the big and small blinds - three limpers fold). $46 in the pot.

The flop comes QUEEN KING DUECE. Two pair. I am dancing!

The play checks around to me and I fire out $25. Keep in mind that the very hand before this one, I showed a bluff where I used the continuation bet to get someone off the top pair, top kicker where I had nothing! I get one caller. $96 in the pot.

The turn is KING. I have a full house. The play checks to me and I make a minimal bet of $10. Since I have the nuts, I'm trying to find out if the other guy has a piece of the board. I get my answer when he raises to $20 and announces, "take that." I smooth call. $136 in the pot.

The river card is a BLANK (doesn't pair the board and isn't a straight or flush card - too bad!).

The other player bets $15 and I go ALL IN for $30 and, childishly, tell him: "take that!" He calls! $196 in the pot.

I flip over my KINGS full of QUEENS crushing his KINGS full of TWOS. Wow! I didn't realize he was so strong. I thought maybe he had a KING but had no idea we each flopped two pairs.

Today's Profit: $156.00

Week One - $100 Loss
Week Two (so far) - $393 Profit (after buy-ins)

OVERALL PROFIT: $293.
OVERALL CHIP STACK: $333 (includes week two seed money)

Time played to date: 6 hours, or $55.50 per hour.

Calling A Big Raise On The Flop or Turn To See A Free River Card

2009-01-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

How many times do you flop or turn a nut flush draw, only to be faced with a decision to call a big bet in front of you? To me, it seems like it happens way too often. I hate chasing cards as they never seem to hit for me. However, I have picked up on a nice strategy that seems to be working well at the moment: call the bet!

That is exactly what I did today and it worked rather well.

I am near the button and my hole cards are diamonds - ACE RAG. The players behind me have not been raising so I am pretty confident that if it makes it to me without a raise, I will be able to call the $2 and will get to see a flop.

The play limps around with six callers.

The flop comes DIAMOND DIAMOND CLUB. Nice!

The guy under the gun fires out a $12 bet and the play folds around to me. Normally, I play this really tight and simply fold. However, I have noticed that many times after I fold (and someone else calls), the next round of betting goes check-check. So, I decide to call.

The turn is a HEART. I still only have ACE high in my hand and I stand ready to muck my hand if he fires another stab at the pot.

My call must have gotten his attention because he checks. No brainer. I check behind him hoping to hit my flush.

River card is a DIAMOND. Bingo!

The board has not paired and I know I have the nuts. ALL IN. He calls and I rake in a nice sized pot.

The lesson I learned from this hand is that sometimes making a call when you have nothing actually helps you improve your hand with little additional investment.

Summary:

Today's Profit: $102

Week One - $100 Loss
Week Two (so far) - $237 Profit (after buy-ins)

OVERALL PROFIT: $137.
OVERALL CHIP STACK: $177 (includes week two seed money)

Time played to date: 3 1/2 hours, or $67.71 per hour.

Week Two: A Good Start - I Can Play The Role of a Donkey Too!

2009-01-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Day one of week two went better than yesterday. I played for about an hour, much of which was very uneventful. I really only played two hands.

I started with the usual $40 buy-in at a Texas Hold 'Em 1/2 no limit table ($40 min/$100 max buy-in). It was a new table and most of the players bought in for $100. Fine by me. Let me double up and I will go home.

First hand: JACKS. Great! Another chance to go home early. I never know how to play them effectively. I was under the gun so I bet $12. Horrible bet! Two callers, none from the blinds. Now I do not even know where I am at relative to the other players. However, there is $39 in the pot so unless overcards hit the flop, I am ALL on the flop.

The flop comes TEN - SEVEN - SEVEN. F'ing SEVENS. Not again!

Oh well, I sail the $28 I have left in front of me into the pot and hoped for the best. I was fortunate no donkeys called with a SEVEN in the hole and everyone folded around to me.

TODAY'S CHIP STACK: $79. Nice!

Since I hate to go home after one hand, and because I did not reach the magical "double" buy-in amount which would, under my "rules", make me leave the table, I decided to keep playing.

For the next forty minutes or so, I managed to have a few small pocket pairs (which missed the flop), and missed the flop on one or two good starting hands (Big Slick, ACE-QUEEN). My chip stack dwindled down to $65.

I decided to put the straddle on to change things up. POCKET ACES! Only two f'ing callers (both from the blinds)... Pissed, I took my option and made it $15 on top. Everyone folded. I show the Weapons of Mass Destruction. Man, I really have to stop that!

TODAY'S CHIP STACK: $73. Not really the progess I was hoping for.

Now I am the big blind. POCKET KINGS. Awesome! I can definately use this to my advantage, especially if a few people think I am being cute after making no money on the ACES.

Two limpers around to the small blind who makes it $15 total. Now what? Raise? Call? I CALL. Two additional callers (the limpers). Stupid! Why did I just call? Now I am once again totally lost regarding where I am relative to the rest of the table. $60 in the pot.

The flop is a nightmare: ACE - SEVEN - TEN.

Worse: the small blind makes it $40 to go. No doubt he hit his ACE! Maybe I can make him think I did the same and that he has a kicker problem. I decide call. In hindsight, I should have folded or raised all in. Just calling was pretty stupid. Especially since my chip stack was down to $18. However, everyone else folded so we were heads up. $140 in the pot.

Turn card is a KING! Wow!

The small blind then checks. Unbelievable! I am thinking he must have ACE-KING and trying to trap me. ALL IN!

He calls. $176 in the pot.

River card is a TWO.

We flip up our hands and I realize just how dominated I was until the turn card hit. The small blind had flopped Aces-Up (ACES and SEVENS).

I try not to smile as I rake in the $176 pot. What a donkey!

Having doubled my initial buy-in, I played a few more hands (including my small blind which I fold after a healthy raise) so as to avoid the appearance of a hit-and-run, went to the restroom for a few minutes, and left the table quietly after gathering up today's winnings.

I love this game...

Summary:
Week One - $100 Loss
Week Two (so far) - $135 Profit (after $40 buy-in)

OVERALL PROFIT: $35.
OVERALL CHIP STACK: $75 (includes week two seed money)

Time played to date: 1 1/2 hours, or $17.50 per hour.

Day One Recap - QUADS!

2009-01-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

I decided that my "poker week" would begin on Saturday and end on Sunday. As a result, not only was today day one, it was also the beginning and ending of week one. Now I know that means I will have more than 52 weeks in my "poker year" but that is ok by me. This does not have to be perfect - it only needs to be fun.

Sticking with my plan, I sat down at a 1/2 no limit table ($40 min/$100 max buy-in). Because I wanted to come in on my big blind, I threw down a c-note and went to the restroom figuring I had plenty of time before I was up. As it turns out, the hands went really quick and the dealer was dealing my big blind as I walked back to the table. I timed it just perfectly so I was able to get the dealer's attention and had him deal me in. Since I thought I would have time to watch a few hands before playing, I neglected to tell the dealer I wanted a soft-break 40/60 or that I would put the extra chips in my pocket. Of course, one of the players sitting next to me starting screaming and yelling when I placed sixty dollars in my pocket. Keep in mind, I did that before I even sat down or looked at my cards. Needless-to-say, I had to leave the $100 on the table. I was not happy about it but sometimes stuff like that happens.

The first round of hands, each with ten players, went pretty uneventfully (at least for me) and the action was back to my big blind. Pocket JACKS and seven players limped back to me. Figuring $14 (of their money) would be a nice take down on my first hand and give me some money to try to catch some flops, I made it $25 on top. Four callers. Great! $141 in the pot and I'm stuck with pocket JACKS and will be first to act because the small blind folded pre-flop.

The flop is a dream: JACK - SEVEN - SEVEN. I am sitting with JACKS full of SEVENS and the action is on me.

I decide to push the action with a bet of $40 thinking my bet would either push everyone out or be called as merely a continuation bet. Two callers. $261 in the pot and I have a full house. Oops! Did someone actually flop quads? Well, since the odds of flopping quads are so remote, I decided I would simply press on. If I lost, I lost.

The turn is a TEN. Again, I am first to act. All I had left is $30 so I sail it into the middle - ALL IN! One caller. $321 in the pot. Man that would be a great way to start!

As it turns out, the caller is the same idiot that caused me to keep the $100 on the table. I could barely contain my personal satisfaction, especially when he flipped over his cards showing SEVEN - FIVE. Trip SEVENS. This dude stood up, screamed "that's what I'm talking about" and pumped his hands in the air.

Now, I never show my cards unless I have to. However, as I flipped over my cards, I could actually hear his stomach turn.

One of the guys at the end of the table who sided with me on the $100 issue busted out laughing and yelled out "poker karma!" Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

River card: Case SEVEN!

Damn!

I hate this game!

At least I resisted the temptation to reach into my pocket and pull out more money...

TIME PLAYED: 30 Minutes
TOTAL PROFIT: Loss of $100.
CHIP STACK: $0.00

2009 Texas Hold 'Em Poker Goals

2009-01-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

First and foremost: I am not a poker star. I have never read a poker book, never played in a tournament and hardly ever walked away from a poker table with more money than I started. In fact, I really understand only the most basic poker strategies, all of which I have pieced together religiously watching the World Poker Tour (WPT) and High Stakes Poker. But to be fair (to myself), I have never really tried. I think today is a good day to start.

However, because I do not want my learning experience to cost me a ton of money, I am going to make a few "rules" to follow before the first time I sit down at a table this year.

First, my initial seed money will be very modest - $40 for the first week. If I make a profit the first week, I will add that profit to the next week's seed. For example, if I make $10 profit the first week, my bank roll for week two will be $50. However, if I lose the $40 the first week, I will only have $40 to use the second week. And so on, and so on. Accordingly, if I never make a dime playing poker, my total loss for 2009 will be capped at $2,080. Unless things dramatically change, this will also represent my total seed money.

Second, I will only play Texas Hold 'Em cash games (i.e., no tournaments) until I reach a bank roll of at least $1,000.

Third, I will only play 1/2 no limit games (with a $40 minimum / $100 maximum buy-in) until I reach a bank roll of at least $400. After I reach $400, I will play either 1/2 no limit games or 2/5 no limit games (with a $100 buy-in). After I reach $1,000, I will add 5/10 no limit games (with a $100 buy-in) into the mix. Because I really only enjoy playing 5/10 no limit games, this will force me manage my bank roll - something I have never been able to do before.

Fourth, I will strictly limit myself to 1 hour per session until my bank roll is at least $250. After that, I will limit myself to 2 hours per session until my bank roll is at least $500, at which time I'll continue to play as long as the mood strikes me.

Next, I will not play any online games until I reach a bank roll of at least $5,000. Once I reach $5,000, I will use $2,500 to play online tournaments. This should give me some good tournament practice and leave me with some cash game money.

Finally, I want to be a player that is not afraid of walking away from the table with more money than I started. I cannot tell you how many times I have been up big, just to walk away at the end of the night wishing I would have quit a few hours earlier. So this is my 2009 cardinal cash game rule; my "prime directive" if you will. At any time my chip stack is at least double my buy-in, I will leave the table and cash in my chips. Now I know that many, many of you will think that is simply stupid. However, keep in mind that this rule only applies until I have bulked-up my bank roll to $1,000. After that, I will give myself the luxury of staying longer in an effort to win more. Obviously, a few bads hands could eliminate weeks of work but that, as they say, is poker.

Wish me luck!