HU SNGs Daily and Weekly Progress Report

Not a bad week considering I'm still running bad. Any time I have a profit for the week is a good thing. I had KK 3 times today and JJ and it would not hold up against Ax. But, I still managed to go 14-10 for the day. Here's my daily results:
Set 1. 1-2
Set 2. 3-0
Set 3. 1-2
Set 4. 2-1
Set 5. 1-2
Set 6. 0-3
Set 7. 3-0
Set 8. 3-0
Overall record: 14-10
Win Percentage: 58.33%
I finished strong with a 6 game winning streak. The last game of the night I took a horrendous bad beat and was down to 580 chips. I sucked it up and came back to win it.
Weekly record: 40-32
Weekly Win Percentage: 55.56%
It's below my goal of 58% so, I need to find a way to weather the beats and finish better. I was hoping to step up in limits after this week but, that's not going to happen. Maybe next week. Wish me luck.
Here's my suckout for the week. I should have just called when he re-raised but, I'll learn for next time.


Seat 1: MainEventMike ($1,920) - -
Seat 2: Herr Flawer ($1,080) -


PRE-FLOP:

MainEventMike posts small blind $10
Herr Flawer posts BIG blind $20
Dealt To: MainEventMike


RAISE MainEventMike ($60)
RAISE Herr Flawer ($160)
RAISE MainEventMike ($1920)
CALL Herr Flawer ($920)
UNCALLED MainEventMike ($840)


FLOP:

Pot: $2160
   



TURN:

Pot: $2160
     



RIVER:

Pot: $2160
      



SHOWDOWN:
MainEventMike:

Herr Flawer:


MainEventMike collected $2160 from main pot with a full house, Jacks full of Aces

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $2 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: MainEventMike small blind showed [Js Jc] and won 2,160 with a full house, Jacks full of Aces - Net Gain/Loss: ($1070)
Seat 2: Herr Flawer big blind showed [Qs Qc] and lost with two pair, Aces and Queens - Net Gain/Loss: ($-1080)
  

Today is a New Day

My hands are holding up. Yes! This dude had a -8% ROI in heads up matches. Overall, he was a winning player. I can see why he's a losing player in heads up with these types of moves.

PROGRESS REPORT
Set 1: 2-1
Set 2: 2-1
Set 3: 2-1
Set 4: 3-0
Set 5: 1-1
10-4 for the day
Win Rate 71.43%
Now that's more like it!

Seat 1: MainEventMike ($2,175) - -
Seat 2: edwin232 ($825) -


PRE-FLOP:

MainEventMike posts small blind $15
edwin232 posts BIG blind $30
Dealt To: MainEventMike


RAISE MainEventMike ($90)
RAISE edwin232 ($825)
CALL MainEventMike ($735)


FLOP:

Pot: $1650
   



TURN:

Pot: $1650
     



RIVER:

Pot: $1650
      



SHOWDOWN:
edwin232:

MainEventMike:


MainEventMike collected $1650 from main pot with a pair of Jacks

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $1 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: MainEventMike small blind showed [Ks Ah] and won 1,650 with a pair of Jacks - Net Gain/Loss: ($825)
Seat 2: edwin232 big blind showed [Th Kd] and lost with a pair of Jacks - Net Gain/Loss: ($-825)
  

It will turn around....eventually

I had this dude dead in the water. He came back and beat me with, of course, another suckout.


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: STRATwon1 ($490) - -
Seat 2: MainEventMike ($2,510) -


PRE-FLOP:

STRATwon1 posts small blind $25
MainEventMike posts BIG blind $50
Dealt To: MainEventMike


RAISE STRATwon1 ($150)
RAISE MainEventMike ($2510)
CALL STRATwon1 ($340)
UNCALLED MainEventMike ($2020)


FLOP:

Pot: $980
   



TURN:

Pot: $980
     



RIVER:

Pot: $980
      



SHOWDOWN:
MainEventMike:

STRATwon1:


STRATwon1 collected $980 from main pot with a flush, Ace high

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $980 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: STRATwon1 small blind showed [As Td] and won 980 with a flush, Ace high - Net Gain/Loss: ($490)
  
Seat 2: MainEventMike big blind showed [Ah Ks] and lost with a flush, King high - Net Gain/Loss: ($-490)


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's the icing on the cake. Lucky S.O.B.


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: STRATwon1 ($1,680) - -
Seat 2: MainEventMike ($1,320) -


PRE-FLOP:

STRATwon1 posts small blind $40
MainEventMike posts BIG blind $80
Dealt To: MainEventMike


CALL STRATwon1 ($40)
RAISE MainEventMike ($1320)
CALL STRATwon1 ($1240)


FLOP:

Pot: $2640
   



TURN:

Pot: $2640
     



RIVER:

Pot: $2640
      



SHOWDOWN:
MainEventMike:

STRATwon1:


STRATwon1 collected $2640 from main pot with a pair of Kings

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $2 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: STRATwon1 small blind showed [Kh 3h] and won 2,640 with a pair of Kings - Net Gain/Loss: ($1320)
  
Seat 2: MainEventMike big blind showed [3d 3c] and lost with a pair of Threes - Net Gain/Loss: ($-1320)


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Running bad today

This similiar situation has happened four times today. Ugly.

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: rolh ($1,935) - -
Seat 2: MainEventMike ($1,065) -


PRE-FLOP:

rolh posts small blind $15
MainEventMike posts BIG blind $30
Dealt To: MainEventMike


RAISE rolh ($60)
CALL MainEventMike ($30)


FLOP:

Pot: $120
   

CHECK MainEventMike
BET rolh ($120)
CALL MainEventMike ($120)


TURN:

Pot: $360
     

CHECK MainEventMike
BET rolh ($360)
RAISE MainEventMike ($885)
CALL rolh ($525)


RIVER:

Pot: $2130
      



SHOWDOWN:
MainEventMike:

rolh:


rolh collected $2130 from main pot with two pair, Aces and Twos

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $2 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: rolh small blind showed [Ac Ah] and won 2,130 with two pair, Aces and Twos - Net Gain/Loss: ($1065)
  
Seat 2: MainEventMike big blind showed [8h 3h] and lost with two pair, Eights and Threes - Net Gain/Loss: ($-1065)


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Here's the completion of my day of poker. I can't seem to get my hands to hold up. I'm surprised I haven't gone insane. I'm 11-13 for the day. That sux but, I did finish strong so, that's the positive side of all this. Here it is.
Set 1. 1-2
Set 2. 0-3
Set 3. 2-1
Set 4. 1-2
Set 5. 1-2
Set 6. 2-1
Set 7. 2-1
Set 8. 2-1

Progress Report

Saturday was an up and down day. Here's my stats:
Set 1: 3-0
Set 2: 0-3
Set 3: 1-2
Set 4: 2-1
Set 5: 1-2
Set 6: 1-2
Set 7: 2-1
Set 8: 1-0(couldn't get the last 2 in time)
Overall: 11-11
Win% 50
Not a great day. My goal is a win% of 60%. This is definately attainable at this limit.

So, for the week:
Weekly Record: 37-29(66 tournaments which is short of my goal but, I had job related things to do)
Win% 56.06
ROI 6.78

Not a great week but, I did win a little bit of money. Some is better than none or losing. I've been doing this now for 5 weeks and I've had one losing week. That week was bad beat after bad beat as you can see from my previous posts. If this upcoming week is a good one, I plan on moving up to the $10 buy-ins.

Getting your game organized

My new favorite website is HoldemForaLiving.
I've learned some great things from this website. One is getting organzied and having a plan about how much poker I'll play. Volume is everything especially in HU SNGs. My goal is to play 72 tournaments a week. This may sound like alot and it might be but, that is my goal for now. Here's how I plan on doing this: I'll play 3 tournaments in a row and we call this a set. If I have the day off from work and I have the time, I'll play 8 sets. After playing one set, I can take a break or keep on playing depending on how I'm doing and if I need a break. Here's an example of a 8 set day:
Tuesday
Set 1: 3-0
Set 2: 2-1
Set 3: 2-1
Set 4: 1-2
Set 5: 2-1
Set 6: 1-2
Set 7: 3-0
Set 8: 2-1
Then, I would try to do the same thing for 2 more days during the week. There's this pro poker player(Trujm) who came up with this idea. He plays 5 times a week and uses this 8 set method. I think it just allows you to break down the tournaments into small goals that can be accomplished throughout the day. I'll be posting my sets so, you can see my progress. If you play HU SNGs, give it a try. You might like it. Here's how I'm doing so far today.
Set 1: 3-0
Set 2: 0-3
Set 3: 1-2
Set 4: 2-1
You can see I'm even for the day which is a slight loss on the money side because of the rake. That 0-3 set really sucked. I was playing this dude who was not very good. He sucked out and coolered me several times. He won the first 3 and we played 3 more and I won those. I was willing to keep on playing him but, he gave up after I beat him 3 times in a row. He had the nerve to say I was getting lucky. LOL. He's on my buddy list.

Poker Book

A friend of mine wants to start playing poker so, he's a beginner. What book do you guys recommend that he read?

Gift wrapped just for me

This was a nice little gift. I don't complain when people just bluff their chips to me. Wish it was always this easy.

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: MainEventMike ($1,245) - -
Seat 2: wdsdlam ($1,755) -


PRE-FLOP:

MainEventMike posts small blind $20
wdsdlam posts BIG blind $40
Dealt To: MainEventMike


CALL MainEventMike ($20)
RAISE wdsdlam ($100)
CALL MainEventMike ($60)


FLOP:

Pot: $200
   

BET wdsdlam ($200)
CALL MainEventMike ($200)


TURN:

Pot: $600
     

BET wdsdlam ($600)
RAISE MainEventMike ($945)
CALL wdsdlam ($345)


RIVER:

Pot: $2490
      



SHOWDOWN:
MainEventMike:

wdsdlam:


MainEventMike collected $2490 from main pot with three of a kind, Sixes

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $2 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: MainEventMike small blind showed [6c 5h] and won 2,490 with three of a kind, Sixes - Net Gain/Loss: ($1245)
Seat 2: wdsdlam big blind showed [Qh Tc] and lost with a pair of Sixes - Net Gain/Loss: ($-1245)
  


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Another Bad Beat Story...........F#$% You!

This is my blog and I'll post all the bad beat stories that I want to. If you don't like it then go F$#@% yourself. Just kidding. I need to vent after going through a bad stretch here. The more bad beats I get the easier the next one becomes....kind of. Or am I just numb from all the beatings that have taken place. To be totally honest, it still pisses me off. Can you tell? But, I think back a few years ago when I first started playing poker. I've come along way in handling these. One time at Band Camp, no really, one time a few years ago, I was playing a live tourney with some friends. A friend of mine sucked out on me on the river and I was so pissed off I threw my cards at her. Of course I had a few beers at the time but, my point is I would never do that today. I throw chairs now. I think the more I play the more I try to focus on the odds and statisics of how this all plays out in the long run. I know I'm a profitable player. So, I'll suffer bad beats and I'll give them out too. In the future, I see myself more capable of emotionally handling this because after I see thousands of these beats it won't seem all that bad as I see it today. When I first started playing I did not handle myself as well as I do today and a year from now I will handle myself better than I do today. It's the steps of progressing and becoming a better player. I wish I could deal with this better right now in the present but, I look to the future and I know I will be better for going through this unlucky run. I'm still way ahead money-wise for the year so, I have plenty of cushion to withstand more bad beats. But, if there are indeed poker gods.....I pray to the poker gods to have mercy on my game.

Brutal........WOW! The beats keep coming.

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: MainEventMike ($1,615) - -
Seat 2: all-in378 ($1,385) -


PRE-FLOP:

MainEventMike posts small blind $30
all-in378 posts BIG blind $60
Dealt To: MainEventMike


RAISE MainEventMike ($180)
RAISE all-in378 ($1385)
CALL MainEventMike ($1205)


FLOP:

Pot: $2770
   



TURN:

Pot: $2770
     



RIVER:

Pot: $2770
      



SHOWDOWN:
all-in378:

MainEventMike:


all-in378 collected $2770 from main pot with a straight, Six high

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $2 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: MainEventMike small blind showed [Qc Qs] and lost with a pair of Queens - Net Gain/Loss: ($-1385)
Seat 2: all-in378 big blind showed [6h Ac] and won 2,770 with a straight, Six high - Net Gain/Loss: ($1385)
  


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

More running bad

When I run bad, I don't fuck around.

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: MainEventMike ($1,375) -
Seat 2: swarts ($1,625) - -


PRE-FLOP:

swarts posts small blind $15
MainEventMike posts BIG blind $30
Dealt To: MainEventMike


RAISE swarts ($90)
CALL MainEventMike ($60)


FLOP:

Pot: $180
   

CHECK MainEventMike
BET swarts ($180)
RAISE MainEventMike ($1285)
CALL swarts ($1105)


TURN:

Pot: $2750
     



RIVER:

Pot: $2750
      



SHOWDOWN:
MainEventMike:

swarts:


swarts collected $2750 from main pot with a straight, Ace high

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $2 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: MainEventMike big blind showed [Ad Tc] and lost with two pair, Aces and Tens - Net Gain/Loss: ($-1375)
Seat 2: swarts small blind showed [Td Qh] and won 2,750 with a straight, Ace high - Net Gain/Loss: ($1375)
  


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Next One is even better!

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: MainEventMike ($950) - -
Seat 2: swarts ($2,050) -


PRE-FLOP:

MainEventMike posts small blind $15
swarts posts BIG blind $30
Dealt To: MainEventMike


CALL MainEventMike ($15)
RAISE swarts ($60)
RAISE MainEventMike ($180)
CALL swarts ($120)


FLOP:

Pot: $375
   

BET swarts ($1870)
CALL MainEventMike ($770)
UNCALLED swarts ($1100)


TURN:

Pot: $1915
     



RIVER:

Pot: $1915
      



SHOWDOWN:
swarts:

MainEventMike:


swarts collected $1900 from main pot with a straight, Jack high

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $1 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: MainEventMike small blind showed [Qd Qs] and lost with a pair of Queens - Net Gain/Loss: ($-950)
Seat 2: swarts big blind showed [9d Tc] and won 1,900 with a straight, Jack high - Net Gain/Loss: ($950)
  


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Why is he calling? Hello?

Just playing around with this Cardrunners hand history converter.

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: newguy19 ($1,630) -
Seat 2: MainEventMike ($1,370) - -


PRE-FLOP:

MainEventMike posts small blind $15
newguy19 posts BIG blind $30
Dealt To: MainEventMike


RAISE MainEventMike ($60)
CALL newguy19 ($30)


FLOP:

Pot: $120
   

CHECK newguy19
BET MainEventMike ($60)
CALL newguy19 ($60)


TURN:

Pot: $240
     

CHECK newguy19
BET MainEventMike ($120)
CALL newguy19 ($120)


RIVER:

Pot: $480
      

CHECK newguy19
BET MainEventMike ($210)
CALL newguy19 ($210)


SHOWDOWN:
MainEventMike:

MUCK newguy19

MainEventMike collected $900 from main pot with a pair of Aces

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $900 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: newguy19 big blind mucked [Jc 3s] - a pair of Threes - Net Gain/Loss: ($-450)
Seat 2: MainEventMike small blind showed [Ac 9h] and won 900 with a pair of Aces - Net Gain/Loss: ($450)


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

WTF??

WTF was this guy thinking? I've been running bad over the last 30 tournaments. I'm surprised I didn't lose this one. Maybe my bad luck streak is over? I hope so. My walls have suffered some damage and my chair is a little lopsided now too. I'm just glad this finally held.

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: MainEventMike ($1,885) - -
Seat 2: Sawdoctors ($1,115) -


PRE-FLOP:

MainEventMike posts small blind $25
Sawdoctors posts BIG blind $50
Dealt To: MainEventMike


RAISE MainEventMike ($150)
RAISE Sawdoctors ($450)
RAISE MainEventMike ($1885)
CALL Sawdoctors ($665)
UNCALLED MainEventMike ($770)


FLOP:

Pot: $2230
   



TURN:

Pot: $2230
     



RIVER:

Pot: $2230
      



SHOWDOWN:
MainEventMike:

Sawdoctors:


MainEventMike collected $2230 from main pot with a pair of Kings

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $2 Rake: $0

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: MainEventMike small blind showed [Kh Kc] and won 2,230 with a pair of Kings - Net Gain/Loss: ($1090)
Seat 2: Sawdoctors big blind showed [Ah 8c] and lost with Ace Ten high - Net Gain/Loss: ($-1115)
  


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Skip Caray

I knew Skip Caray was not in great health the past couple of years but, this was still a shock to see that he died Sunday. I grew up listening to him do the Braves games. To me he was one of the best. I'll never forget his awesome call against the Pirates in the playoffs. Sid Bream rounding third and sliding into home just barely under the tag. "and he is....safe. Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win!" It still gives me chills every time I hear them replay that call. Rest In Peace Skip.">

Vegas Trip and HU SNGs

It's been awhile since I made a post. I'm back from Vegas and we all had a great time. I played in 3 tournaments and did well in all 3 but, only cashed in one. I played 2 at Caesar's and one donkament at O'sheas. I cashed in the O'sheas tourney. These people had no idea how to play poker. We were down to the final table and half the table has between 5-10BB and no one is pushing. Well we get down to 4 players and I have about 6BB left. I've been pushing a good bit and I look down at A9 UTG. Well, no thought here, I push. The BB is the chip leader and to call it would be about 25% of his stack. He says, "I can't let you continue to do this." He calls with K2 and I'm delighted until a K hits the flop and I'm out. Wish I could play with that dude every day. I would win a ton of money.
I've started to play HU SNGs. I was looking on Sharkscope and all the guys who make money play HU SNGs. I decided to give this a try. So far so good. My bankroll is climbing in the right direction again. I plan on starting at the $5 Turbo HU SNGs and progress from there. I think it's great because of the number of tournaments you can play. If you hit some bad variance, you can always fire up another tourney and get started on a hot streak. Here's a great website I found with some great information about HU SNGS: HoldemForaLiving

BrainMc and I went over to the RIO to watch some of the WSOP Main Event. I've always had a crush on Isabelle Mercier and who do we see at the entrance? Yep, the beautiful Isabelle. I'm drooling all over myself and get the courage to ask her for a picture. She looked like she was in a hurry and was nice enough to pose with me. Also, got a picture with Scotty Nguyen. No beating off to the Isabelle pic.

Vegas Bound

My SNG challenge has not been going well lately. Why? Mostly tilt, some bad luck, and some bad play by me. I'm going to concentrate on studying to improve my game and let my tiltness cool off. Meanwhile, I have been doing well at NL cash games and I'm going to Vegas with some friends(BrainMc is one of them). I can't wait. It should be a blast.

Taking a Break

I've lost a little more than 1/3rd of the profit I made on Full Tilt. So, I'm taking a break for about a week. I'm studying Colin Moshman's Sit-n-Go strategy book. I don't want to tilt more than I already have and I think it's a good idea to take a break and do some studying. I probably don't do enough of that so, this should be good for my game. I'll return to poker next week and continue my quest for the $10,000 bankroll.

Bad beat after Bad beat............................

Wow! I have hit some major variance here. I have suffered some awful beats and at the wrong times in a tournament. I know things eventually work out but, damn. Take a look at these horrid swings. I feel good(mostly) about the decisions I made so, I look forward to the beats going in my favor and my hands holding up. I know, I know: waaaaaaaaaaaaahh. I was looking forward to playing some more this weekend but, it might be a good idea to stop before I really go on some major tilt.

Hot Streak

I started out on a hot streak on Full Tilt. Cooled off a little when I moved up to the $22 buy-ins.
If you're not using Sharkscope, you're missing alot of good information about your opponents. I look up my opponents' stats at the beginning of every tournament so, I can get a better idea of what I'm dealing with. Then, I color code each one to mark whether they're winning/losing or if they're marked by Sharkscope as a fish or shark. It only takes a minute to do. I just started doing this and it's working out really well. Every piece of information we can get is to our advantage and I think this is an extremely effective tool to help identify tendencies. Plus, if your buddy says he's winning money, you can check to see if he's lying.

Hope my luck continues. Off to the $10,000 race!

Interesting Information

http://www.compatiblepoker.com/usa.php

There's some good information on this website. Read or skim through the whole page. Especially, the part about the traffic for particular poker sites. Traffic has increased since passage of the UIGEA.

Full Tilt Deposit

I haven't made a deposit in quite some time and I guess things have changed. I tried to use my credit card and debit card to make a deposit on Full Tilt. Both of those were denied. So, I used their Cash Transfer option. This was really easier than I thought it would be. I emailed Full Tilt to get the cash transfer directions and I went to the ATM to withdraw my cash. Then, found a nearby store that used Money Gram. Filled out the form to wire the money and went home to verify everything on Full Tilt. Believe it or not, the money was in my poker account in less than 10 minutes. It's definately not as easy as using a credit card but, it wasn't difficult either. The fee for Money Gram was $9.95. Not too bad. I can't wait til we get rid of this stinking UIGEA. I think the fish are still out there but, it would be easier for them to make a deposit with a credit card. I think we will see a poker boom again when this UIGEA is out of here.

Full Tilt Next

I really suck at this blogging thing. I hardly ever post. Well the $10,000 challenge is still a work in progress. A very slow work in progress. I haven't played poker in over 2 weeks. I've been busy doing a number of things around the house now that the weather has been warmer. I was going to move my money over to Full Tilt after I cashed out at OddsMaker but, Poker.com gave me $10 to come back and play at their site. I took their $10 and ran that up to $125. So, I cashed out at Poker.com and finally I'm moving my money to Full Tilt. I'm signing up through Rakeback and depositing $600 so, I can get the full benefit of the Full Tilt 100% signup bonus. It's a really good deal. If I play just over 1 sit-n-go a day over 120 days, I can clear the full bonus. That shouldn't be a problem. As soon as I get my check from Poker.com, I'm off to Full Tilt.
I went to Biloxi a few weeks ago with BrainMc, Surflexus, and 2 other friends. I did well at the poker tables and lost about half of my poker winnings to BlackJack(Doh!). The Biloxi trip padded my bankroll and I'm ready to continue my $10,000 challenge. It just might take me 50 years to get there.

Chris Ferguson's $10,000 Challenge

I plan on giving this a try and see what happens. Chris Ferguson went from $0 to $10,000 in 9 months. I didn't start at $0. I was sent a promotional offer from OddsMaker.com. They mailed me $50 to sign up for their website so, that's my starting point. I'm at $204 after playing with this site for a month. I have been using his bankroll management techniques and so far so good. I will post every once in a while with updates on how I'm doing.

Almost Famous?

I just watched the episode of Day 2 of the Main Event. At the very end, Scotty Ngyuen and some other dude are shaking hands. In the background, look directly in between these two and you will see some geek wearing a red shirt and red georgia baseball cap turned around backwards with sunglasses. That's actually me! I'm famous! There's my 15 miliseconds of fame. You have to look really fast to see me in this first video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4955861017281834070&hl=en

This one is in slow motion:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4684761143892536794&hl=en

Ok, who wants my autograph?

2007 WSOP Main Event TV Schedule

Tuesdays, August 21 until October 9 at 8 and 9 p.m. -- $10,000 main event no-limit hold 'em (Event 55)
The camera and mic were at my table several times when Miami John was there. So, I guess we'll have to wait and see how they do the editing. I wish the camera would have been there when I doubled up on him. That would have been great television.

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks for the posts and phone calls of support for my run at the WSOP.

Vegas Redemption

Yes, I know I'm not in the Main Event any more. But, who says I have to leave Vegas? Before the Main Event I played some 1/2 and 1/3 NL holdem and 2 tournaments. I played mostly at Caesar's and some at Orleans. I lost money on most of my cash sessions and did not cash in both tournaments. I played some Black Jack and won. I lost a little on Pai Gow(that's a fun game). So, I played a $200 buy-in tourney at Caesar's today. There were 213 players and I finished in 8th for $1054. Total Redemption!!! Now, I feel better. I was beginning to worry about my poker skills. I'm leaving Vegas tomorrow on a positive note. I had a great time and hope to be back for WSOP 2008.

More Serinda

One more pic of Serinda Swan. She is the new model for Guess Jeans. She looks great and loves to play poker too! The night before this picture she won $700 playing Chinese Poker.

Another WSOP Hand

This pic is Miami John. I went all in a total of 6 times. Two of those were against pros "Miami" John Cernuto and Max Casal. Blinds were 200-400 ante 50. I picked up A,Q in early position and raised to 1200 total. I had 5600 chips and Max Casal had 80,000. He raised me another 5000, everyone folded around to me. He basically put me all in. I thought he could be making a play so, I took my time to think it through. If I didn't make the call, I have 4000 and change left. Then, I'm in all in mode. I felt like he didn't have a huge hand. Possibly, he has AK, AQ, AJ. Maybe a middle range pocket pair or is he just making a play because he has a huge chip stack? I saw him make a play earlier on the river. He went all in on the river with A,10 against another guy and he had no pair or draw. Also, I thought of how many people have been knocked out of a tournament with AQ. A ton of people. Finally, I think back to how many chips I would have left if I don't make the call. If I double up, I'm back above 10,000 chips. I said, "Screw it, I call." He turns over A,Q and we split the pot. I think I would rather he have a middle pocket pair so I could potentially double up. Two pros tried to knock me out and both were unsuccessful.

I'm Out of the Tournament

We started play at 12pm and I lasted til about 1:00am. 13 hours is not too bad. Here are some of the highlights:
-I picked up some cards early but, everyone was playing so tight that it really didn't help my chip stack very much. We started with $20,000 in chips and I went as high as 23,000. After the first level, I really didn't have great cards the rest of the tournament. When I did pick up cards someone usually had a better hand.
-I made some good laydowns early with strong hands and was complimented by some at the table.
-Kathy Liebert was one table away
-One of the featured tables was right behind me with Scotty Nguyen. I think I heard him say "baby" about a thousand times.
-The third level of play another player was knocked out at my table. Guess who filled the empty seat?........."Miami" John Cernuto. He seemed like a very nice guy. I was short stacked for about 3 hours and I doubled up on him. I'm 2 seats to his left, I have about 5,000 chips the blinds are 300-600 ante 75. He was UTG and raised 3xbb. I pushed with pocket 5s. Everyone else folded. He stared me down for about 10 seconds. That was really cool. Man, was my heart beating fast. He thinks for awhile, calculates the odds, and calls with A,J. His hand didn't improve and I doubled up on Miami John. He said, "nice hand." If anything else from this trip, I'll always remember that hand.
-The last level of the night was 100 ante blinds 400-800 and I have 8100 chips. I only had to make it 2 more hours and I would have made it past Day 1. They split up our table. The is the second hand of my new table. Player to my right in early position raises 4xbb. I look at my cards and see pocket 9s. Here's a great chance to double up. I think it's probably a coin flip so I push in my remaining 8100. Everyone else folds and he calls with A,Q. Flop 2,3,5....good.....turn...........Q. Damn!.....river....8. I'm out!
-I learned alot from the people at my table. Just about everyone at my table were very good. There was another pro at my table but, he said he didn't play many tournaments and not much No Limit. He said he cashed at 2 WSOP events 10th and 25th. His name was Max Casal. He plays mostly cash: Limit $200/$400. Chris said he thought he recognized another player at my table. This was definitely some tough competition.
I'll post some more later. I'm disappointed I didn't get through day 1 but, I'm pleased with my short stack play. I got a compliment from Miami John which was freakin cool.
There are some pictures of me on the World Series website.
www.worldseriesofpoker.com/photostore
Event #55 July 7 Day 1B Table #225

Registration is complete

Everything is set for the WSOP. I have my table and seat assignment. If they keep the tables numbered the same way they have them now, my table is located right by the rail. That's good for the group who came to watch me play. It's funny that I mentioned Shannon Elizabeth in my last post because she walked right in front of me several times when I was at the Amazon Room at the Rio. Other poker celebrities I saw: Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Todd Brunson, Sean Sheikhan, Tony G, Scotty Ngyuen, Marco Traniello, Jeff Lisandro, Isabelle Mercier, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, and some others I can't think of now. I went to a party for the Absolute Poker satellite winners the other night at Nero's Caesar's Palace. It was excellent food and free! I have some pictures with Serinda Swan who is the spokes model for Absolute. She is gorgeous! The other two guys in the picture are two other satellite winners who won $125,000 packages for free buy-ins to the major tournaments.

Vegas or Bust!

Well, 2 days til I leave for Vegas. I called the RIO and they processed my pre-registration paperwork and wire transfer. I play on the 7th. I just recently read that day 1 is now divided into 4 days: 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th. Day 2 will be divided into 2 days: 10th and 11th. I think this is going to be bigger than last year. That's the only reason I can see of why they would make it 4 days for day 1. Alot of people were predicting the Main Event would be around 6000 but, looks like it will be much more. Of course I'm excited about the Main Event but, the cash games are supposed to be really juicy at the very beginning of the Main Event. Have I mentioned I'm playing in the Main Event? I'll update again when I get to Vegas. It sure would be nice to play at the same table as Shannon Elizabeth. Is she married?

Update to the Main Event

I wire transferred my $10,000 to the WSOP for the Main Event. Man, is that alot of money. I could do whatever I wanted with my tournament winnings but, I played the Main Event satellite to play in the Main Event. So, I'm gonna play. There was a minor fiasco trying to wire my money out of the Absolute Poker account but, in the end, everything worked out. In fact, Absolute put $50 into my account for the trouble that was caused. People are just giving me their money!!! Lol. My pre-registration paperwork will take 2 weeks to be processed. Once that's done, it should make it easier to complete the final registration when I arrive in Vegas. Plus, I won't have to bring $10,000 in cash from ATL-LAS. I'm not too comfortable walking around with that kind of money in my pocket. I guess Hellmuth won his 11th bracelet. I'm coming after him!........NOT!!!

I have a good streak going here

My last 10 online tournaments have been good. I've cashed 8 out of the last 10 tournaments:
1/118
1/9
4/9
3/9
1/9
2/9
2/9
10/716
4/9
3/9
It sure would be nice to do that well at the Main Event. Just happy to be going.

I'M IN THE MAIN EVENT BABY!!!!!!!

I still can't believe I'll be playing poker with the best in the world. I went to dinner Friday night with some friends. When I got home, I decided to play some online poker. I've always wanted to play poker at the WSOP(World Series of Poker) but, never tried. The buy-in for the Main Event is $10,000. I wouldn't even think about spending that kind of money on a tournament buy-in. So, I played a WSOP super satellite 9 player single table Sit-n-Go, the buy-in was $13, winner take all. The winner received free entry into the Saturday night Mega Satellite($108 buy-in) for the Main Event. I won the Sit-n-Go so, my next hurdle was the 118 player Mega Satellite. The tourney paid the top 6 places but, I didn't care about 2nd. I told myself before the tournamnet that I was playing to win this thing. I could care less about the $320 2nd place finish. I played tight at the beginning of the tourney, picked up some cards and kept my chip stack at the average tourney chip stack. When there were 20 players left, everyone started to play super tight. So, I thought here's my chance to win this thing. I began raising about 30% of the time. I relied heavily on my notes, the pokertrackker software(thanks Brian), and I took advantage of the weak players and stayed away from the other big stacks. At the final table, I was slightly above average chip stack and after 2 people were knocked out, play tightened up even more. So, naturally I became more aggressive. There was one guy at the table that was pissed because of my aggression and he says, "someone call this guy!" Of course, he never did. Basically, I ran over the rest of the players to win. Victory!!........sweet. Man, I just turned $13 into $11,000. Wow!

Absolute poker should be in contact with me in the next few days and I should have more details. It's odd to see so much money in my account. I heard that the poker websites aren't allowed to buy seats any more to the WSOP so, if you win, the website will give you the money and it's up to you to take care of the registration.

The Main Event begins July 6th and ends July 17th. The first round is on the 6th, 7th and 8th so, I'll be playing on one of those three days. It will be televised on ESPN a few months after the tournament ends. There will be around 9,000 people playing and the chances of me getting on TV are slim. But, you never know.
I'll be updating this as I learn more information about the tournament and I'll of course update for as long as I'm in the tournament. Wish me Luck!