Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
OFFICIALLY MOVING BLOG
Ok guys. I'm officially moving my blog to TecmoPoker.com
I like the look of it better and I got my sweet custom domain name too :) The only thing I wish it had is the most recent blog showing under the people in my blogroll. This is how I know when someone updates their blog, but I guess I can try to learn to use one of those rss feeders or whatever they are.
So yea, anyway. See you over there!
I like the look of it better and I got my sweet custom domain name too :) The only thing I wish it had is the most recent blog showing under the people in my blogroll. This is how I know when someone updates their blog, but I guess I can try to learn to use one of those rss feeders or whatever they are.
So yea, anyway. See you over there!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Vegas Trip Report 3
I know what you're asking yourself after reading the first 2 trip reports (if anybody actually did read them haha). Did Tecmo actually play any poker while in Vegas? Yes, in fact, I did. Here's me (black hoodie, white earphone hanging down) rockin it at the 2/5 NLHE tables at the Rio. You can't see him, but 2fouroffsuit is sitting at the very next table and he can vouch for me :) (Also a very cool dude.) I planned on playing roughly 25 hours of cash while in Vegas, but I was busy having too much fun and only got in about 8-9 hours. Decided to get one last session in the night before my flight. I wanted to see if my runbad would continue or if I could turn it around.
A couple of key hands from that final session-
Hand #1 - UTG (20something probable internet player) limps, 2 more limpers, I look down at KK in the SB and I raise it to 35. UTG 3b to 100, limpers fold. UTG has about $300 behind, and I have him covered. At this point, I put UTG on a very strong range, JJ+ or AK. If he has AA, the money is going in - so be it. If he has anything else, I'm HIGHLY confident he will cbet ANY flop if I just call and check to him. I figure this is the best way to get stacks in so I elect to call. Flop comes down JJx. All things considered, a very good flop for me. His range now becomes AA, QQ, or AK. I'm looking good against 2/3 of those - all of which will cbet that flop. I check and he ships it pretty quickly. I snapcall and he asks if I have a J. I'm immediately worried about AA if he only cares about trips, but he tables QQ, my KK holds. Ship it!
Hand #2 - Random fish limps in EP, I raise it to $30 w/ 55. SB 3bs to $65 and fish calls. I look at SB's stack and he has about $100 behind. Fish has about $200. Not exactly what I was looking for, but the raise was so small I decided to gambool it up. Flop J52rb. Jackpot. SB thinks and shoves his stack, fish folds, and I obviously call. SB tables JJ, much to my dismay. He asks, "overpair?" I somberly reply, "nope, set over set." Turn is the case 5! He immediately says, "I sure hope you have deuces." "Fraid not sir." The way I had been running - hitting a 1 outer felt like things balanced out for the trip.
My friends and I also hit up some buffets out there that were pretty good. The Rio's was decent, and the Bellagio's was probably a bit better. The Bellagio had crab legs that were already cut open for you! Pretty sweet, altho they couldn't really compare to Baltimore crabs ;) The desserts all looked amazing too. As you can see, I'm a big fan of dessert...
We had reached the end of the week and our plane was leaving at 10:00am on Monday, June 8th. This meant that we had to be up pretty early and Mike and Justin decided to head to bed around midnight. I wasn't very tired (is anybody ever tired in Vegas?) so I decided to walk around and check things out on my last night there. I went over and sweated a couple of events that were going on. Brandon Cantu was at one of the end tables and his girl was sitting near him with one of those tiny yapping dogs. I didn't even know dogs were allowed in the Rio. Ivey and Lederer were seated right next to each other, and Hellmuth was behind them at the next table. Ivey and Hellmuth were trash talking back and forth about how long it will take Ivey to pass Phil in total number of bracelets. After winning two already this year, it looks like it won't be long. Then I went over to watch the final table of the $1500 Stud event. John Juanda, Jeffrey Lissandro, and Nicki Frangos were all playing. Frangos got all in on 4th w/ AAKK, but he was up against trip Js. He kept saying he knew the guy had trips, but what was he going to do. He picked up a gut-shot straight draw on 6th street, but it was the gut-shot to the case Jack so it didn't help much. He was down to his last card and someone shouted "Ace of spades!" He peeled up the middle half of his card and it was blank..."ooooo it's blank!".....He flips it over..."ACE OF SPADES!!!! OHHHH HELLLZZ YESSSS. THAT ACE IS BETTER THAN SEX!!!!" hahaha Needless to say, it was a pretty entertaining table. At 3:00am, they started packing up the chips. One of the tournament helpers came around and asked everyone to sign a sheet with their name, address, and a few other pieces of information. Lissandro immediately started whining "Oh goddd, why do I have fill that piece of crap out again, I've already made other final tables this year! Why can't you just find that sheet I already filled out and use it again?! I'm not signing that crap. I'm going home." What a prick. The 20something tournament helper reluctantly just appeased Lissandro and didn't make him sign it. Most poker players that I've met have been great guys. Only Lissandro and Hellmuth have been pricks so far. Unfortunately Lissandro went on to win that event AND another one.
Luckily, right after that, I met Ken "Teach" Aldridge, winner of the $1500 NLHE 6 handed event. This guy was by far the nicest, most appreciative bracelet winner I've ever met. He was walking by, bracelet on wrist, and I just asked him "so how does it feel?" He immediately went on a 15 minute Shakespearian monologue, explaining the plays he made and how he won with the giddyness of a child. It was so refreshing to meet him and see that people like him could win. He is a retired teacher from North Carolina who just loved every minute of the attention he was getting. We talked for a bit, and he even let me put the bracelet on! I told him I didn't have a camera and he was genuinely bummed out for me. I told him I had my crappy camera phone and he immediately got excited again. He took a pic of me with the bracelet on and a close-up of it. I don't know how good he is at poker, but I was immediately a huge fan of him as a person.
It was a great final night and I was definitely glad I stayed up for it. All in all, the trip was a huge success. I wish I had played a bit more poker, but it turned into more of a vacation than a business trip. Oh yea! I almost forgot to mention that I hit up the DC Hoopament before I left. Had a great time meeting more DC people (including Krantz!), showed off my sweet ballin skillz, and got some good exercise too. Wish Joe Tall could have played, but he's got some freaky stuff going on with fluid in his knee. I do wish I could have stayed for the DC Home Game tho as I'm sure it's going to be a blast. I also would have liked to meet DJ Sensei and Wilt, but they arrived the same day I was leaving. Oh well, next year :) I already can't wait to go back!
Vegas Trip Report 2
So after we get some sleep, we wake up Thursday and hit up Pokernews/Cardplayer to see what's going on down at the Wasop. Turns out Phil Ivey is going to be at the final table of the 2-7 Lowball event. I post on DC saying that I'll be sweating if anyone wants to stop by. We grab a bite and head off. By the time we get there (about 30 min after the final table started) somehow 4 of the 7 players have been eliminated. It's down to Ivey, John Monnette (a 2-7 specialist), and Yan Chen (another 2-7 specialist). Ivey has a ton of chips and we just assume he steamrolled the table. We get some good seats and settle in. (Keep in mind, good seats is a very relative term when it comes to watching Ivey play 2-7.)
Not too long after, I get tap on the shoulder "Hey Tecmo." I turn around, not knowing who to expect with my legions of fans out there, but alas it's THE Joe Tall! My friends and I chat it up with him for a bit (very cool dude) and he goes out to his car and retreives a couple of limited edition, supersweet DC shirts for us. A few other DCers, including DeathDonkey and MichaelSC stop by as well. We run into Entity and IWEARGOGGLES in the halls of the Rio and chat it up with them for a bit too.
Once Ivey's table went on dinner break, we busted out some photos to get signed and I had a few players I particularly wanted to get. I ended up getting most of them, including Ivey, Negreanu, Elezra, Huck Seed, Matusow, and Greenstein. I ended up sweating the $10k Mixed event final table sitting next to Matusow, Andy Bloch, and Orel Hershiser haha. See below for Matusow and Bloch :)
Once Ivey's table returned from break, we sat back in for the long haul. We wanted to see someone actually win one of these things and be handed the bracelet and all. It was as entertaining as it could be too. Ivey eventually got heads up and his stack dwindled to 140k (1.1m total in the tourney). Somehow he managed to recapture the lead against John Monnette and eventually took it down. Later that night, while checking Pokernews/Cardplayer, I realize that I'm actually in all of the pictures taken of Ivey when he won! haha I was rockin' my QB Bills jersey and you could see me pretty clearly on all of the sites. Soon I'll be in the front of the photo ;) , but not bad for now!
Later on, I saw some dude rockin a DC shirt playing in the $2500 NLHE event. I found out it was AMT and started sweating him a bit. He's from my DC/Baltimore area so I def wanted to say wusup to him. Chatted with him on breaks here and there and he was doing very well. Then Ivey got seated to his left, and not too long after that AMT busted :( Was still cool to meet him tho.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Vegas Trip Report 1
So I flew out to Vegas on June 3rd after I got off work. My friend Mike and I met at my girlfriend's house, who was kind enough to drive us to the airport. (Thank you :) ) We hopped on our plane, ready to hit the strip in 5.5 hours. We knew we had to hurry because those guys handing out hooker cards are bound to run out sooner or later. We find 2 seats together, next to a girl in the window seat. Little did we know that said girl was a few cards short of a full deck, and also equipped with super hearing. We learned this rather quickly though as we proceeded to sit on the airplane for 2.5 hours before taking off. The pilot would update us regularly that there was "lots of weather out there" and "still weather out there." Of course there's weather out there. There's ALWAYS weather out there. What he meant of course was bad weather. The funny thing is, it was clear and sunny and we had to wait over an hour for the doom clouds to appear. Sweet, glad we waited so now we have to wait. Anyway, so pyschogirl is the type who talks to herself and yells things like "ARRGHH WHY AREN'T WE FLYING YET!" I tried to explain that there was quite a lot of weather out there, but she would have none of it. "I JUST WANT TO BE IN VEGAS," she shouted. And I just wanted a tranquilizer dart large enough to knock out a wooly mammoth. Sometimes we don't get what we want.
So we finally take off and get to Vegas without any problems. Oh, other than nutso having to go to the bathroom 6 times. If your bladder is the size of a thimble, DON'T PICK A WINDOW SEAT. Although I probably shouldn't be too upset at her lack of seat selection skills - at least she didn't piss on me....as far as I know.
So we land in Vegas, hitch a cab to the Rio, and meet up w/ my other friend, Justin, who got our room comped for the week. We head up to the room to unpack and rest a bit. Then we walk in and see a very oddly placed window.
If you can't make it out, that is a window above one of the beds which looks directly into the shower. Now don't get me wrong. I can see where this would be a great little addition to the room, but not a room with 3 dudes. And I mean, really, who puts a window there? Anyway, we covered it up with a hand towel so as to avoid any accidental full frontals. That's -EV for sure.
At this point, we were all pretty hungry so we went down to the All American Bar and Grill. It's about 3:00 am and we just want a little snack. I ordered the chicken tender appetizer. Apparently appetizer means HUGE MEAL in Vegas. I didn't even finish half of it. At the end of the meal, the three of us decided this was a great time to try out this fancy game everyone seems to play - credit card roulette. It kinda sucked that there were only 3 of us, making the game a rather short one, but whatever. We had the waitress pick one card, then another. Whoever's card isn't selected has to pay the whole bill. Mike's card gets picked first and Justin and I have to sweat it out. Then she picks mine! Wahoo! My first foray into the world of degen CCRoulette was a successful one! The trip did not start out well for Justin. On top of paying the bill, he lost a good bit in the pit waiting for us to arrive. Southwest sent both Mike and I $50 vouchers for our flight being delayed. A nice, unexpected gesture. I wonder if they'll send Justin a voucher for costing him $ in the pit?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Ship the DC gear!
(Note the thug pose cuz I'm from the mean streets of a suburban community where I grew up in a harsh single-family home w/ a garage on a rough quiet street w/ only 2 choices in life - drugs or bball...oh, and college too...but a rough college.)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
This blog is about...poker?
Ok, so I haven't written about poker in a good while. Felt it somewhat necessary to do so since that is kind of the basis for this whole thing. I played 12k hands of 100NL in the month of April 2009. My goal was 10k so I was happy to have exeeded that number. I was also very happy with my results, not only monetarily - but my growth as a player too. May was planned to be and has been a month of rest/learning/getting ready for Vegas. I'm heading out there on June 3rd and coming back on the 8th. More on that later. Playing 12k hands in addition to having a full-time job, a girlfriend, playing on a football team, and looking for a house is quite draining. I'm really enjoying my month of rest. The plan was also to play a good bit of tournies since the plan was to play a bunch while in Vegas, as I did last year. That plan seems to have changed tho.
Before DeucesCracked, I hated cash games and loved tournies. 6 months and lots of hard work later - I love cash games and am beginning to tire of tournies. The variance is just way too high and every time I make it deep in a tourney and cash for like 2x my buy-in, I just think of all the money I could have made playing cash for 5 hours instead of this stupid tourney. Now of course this could all be due to running poorly in my recent live and online tournies, but I don't know. I may play in a couple tournies in Vegas, but my main focus has turned to cash games. I'm excited to test my skillz out there as I've heard the games are supersoft. I'll be playing 1/2 mostly, but depending on how well I run, I may take some shots at 2/5.
Speaking of live cash, we have a monthly 1/2 home game near me that I try to attend every time. The games there are also super soft and my edge is pretty big. There's a couple good players here and there, but it's mostly fish. And one of the best players always deals. This is going to sound a bit arrogant, but it's like I'm Patrik sitting with Guy, Guy's mom, and Guy's golden retriever, and Durrrr is dealing. I've had a good bit of success in the past, but I'm coming off my best performance so far. I definitely had the cards falling my way most of the night, but I also played them well. The only bad spot I got in was turning a set against a turned straight. We got it in and I lost a big pot there, but still finished up a good amount when the night was done.
I'm hoping to ride that wave into Vegas and continue my success. I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but I would really love to make a good bit out there. I'm also really excited because I have been working w/ Joe Tall, Krantz, and DJ Sensei to schedule DC meetups throughout the WSOP. It has been awesome to work with those guys and I'm glad I could give back to the DC community that has helped me so much. I think we've picked good events (basketball game, home game w/ DC coaches/members, bowling, and a crazy beer pong/board game-filled night of prop betting) and we tried to spread out the events so as to give every DC member who will be in Vegas a chance to participate. Click the link below for more details.
I'll be there during the basketball event so watch out!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Another convo w/ the Mensa employees we have here at the gov't
Just got a call from a lady who works here....
"Hey Tom, it's Jericka (no typo). I got a friend here who is having trouble w/ his blackberry."
"Ok"
"He's saying (listens to what he says then repeats) he cant type numbers."
"He cant type numbers?"
"You can't type numbers? Yea, he can't type numbers."
"Has his phone been set up?"
"Has it been set up? No, he's not sure."
"Well it needs to be set up on our network."
"Oh, he doesn't work here, he's just a friend of mine."
"He doesn't even work here?"
"No."
"Is it the same phone we have?
"No.
(He gets on the phone)
"Yea, I don't know what happened. I must have hit something in my pocket. Now all I get is letters and I can't make phone calls."
"Go to options."
"Where is that."
"It's one of your icons."
"How will I know which one is options?"
"It'll say options under it."
(He proceeds to read all 25 icons.)
"Brickbreaker?"
"What? No, you're looking for options. Ok, you know what. Just take out the battery and reboot it. I can't help you anymore."
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Your Tax Dollars InAction
The following are snippets of conversations I've had in the past couple of days here at my wonderful government job...
#1
Tom - "I have two users, Jane Doe & Sara Smith, that need their FSS activated."
Debbie - "I don't know who those people are."
Tom - "They are contractors."
Debbie - "I've never heard of them. I'll have to get back to you."
10 minutes later......
Debbie - "They are assigned to D.C. so I can't change them."
Tom - "No, they are here in Baltimore. I called both of them on baltimore extensions."
Debbie - "Ok, let me figure this out and get back to you."
10 minutes later......
Debbie - "I just found out who they are. They are the girls upstairs. They are contractors."
Tom - "Yea..."
Debbie - "I activated them and they should be good to go now."
Tom - "Thanks..."
#2
Voicemail from Rhonda - "I can't sign in and I'm locked out of windows, call me back."
Tom - "Ok, I reset your password to whatever3$."
Rhonda - "Ok"
Tom - "That's all lower case, w-h-a-t-e-v-e-r the number 3 and dollar sign."
Rhonda - "Ok"
Tom - "Anything else you need?"
Rhonda - "Oh wait, do I have to type that in?"
Tom - "Um, yes. That's your password."
Rhonda - "Oh, what is it?"
Tom - "w-h-a-t-e-v-e-r the number 3 and dollar sign."
Rhonda - "It's not working because Jim is logged onto this computer."
#3
Voicemail from Darlene - "I can't get to my email, call me back."
Tom - "Ok, what's the problem?"
Darlene - "I click on Outlook and it says 'Outlook Setup.' It works on my other computer in Annapolis, but not this one."
Tom - "Ok, that's because you haven't set it up on this one. We can set it up, or you can just log in to your email from the internet. The internet is probably easier."
Darlene - "Ok, what do I do?"
Tom - "First, open up Internet Explorer."
Darlene - "Ok...let's see....Internet Explorer....Ok, I opened it....sighhhhhh....my email's not here either."
Tom - "Yea, we have to actually go to the website."
#4
Voicemail from Linda - "My xxx account is slow, call me back."
Tom - "We don't support xxx so you'll have to call yyy."
Linda - "Ok, it's just moving really slow."
Tom - "Ok"
Linda - "Like I'll click something and I'll have to wait 3 or 4 minutes for the computer to respond."
Tom - "Yea, sounds like yyy will be able to help you out."
Linda - "And see, I just clicked this icon and it's taking forever."
Tom - "Ok"
Linda - "And when I type it'll take a while to show up. Like I have to type a sentence out word by word to make sure I'm typing it correctly."
Tom - "Allright, well like I said, if you call-"
Linda - "There we go. It finally came up. But it takes forever. I don't know how they expect us to work like this.
Tom - "Ok, well I'm gonna go."
Linda - "I just can't believe how slow it is. This is ridiculous. So yea, you can see where this is frustrating."
Tom - "Yea, I can def see where this is frustrating."
#1
Tom - "I have two users, Jane Doe & Sara Smith, that need their FSS activated."
Debbie - "I don't know who those people are."
Tom - "They are contractors."
Debbie - "I've never heard of them. I'll have to get back to you."
10 minutes later......
Debbie - "They are assigned to D.C. so I can't change them."
Tom - "No, they are here in Baltimore. I called both of them on baltimore extensions."
Debbie - "Ok, let me figure this out and get back to you."
10 minutes later......
Debbie - "I just found out who they are. They are the girls upstairs. They are contractors."
Tom - "Yea..."
Debbie - "I activated them and they should be good to go now."
Tom - "Thanks..."
#2
Voicemail from Rhonda - "I can't sign in and I'm locked out of windows, call me back."
Tom - "Ok, I reset your password to whatever3$."
Rhonda - "Ok"
Tom - "That's all lower case, w-h-a-t-e-v-e-r the number 3 and dollar sign."
Rhonda - "Ok"
Tom - "Anything else you need?"
Rhonda - "Oh wait, do I have to type that in?"
Tom - "Um, yes. That's your password."
Rhonda - "Oh, what is it?"
Tom - "w-h-a-t-e-v-e-r the number 3 and dollar sign."
Rhonda - "It's not working because Jim is logged onto this computer."
#3
Voicemail from Darlene - "I can't get to my email, call me back."
Tom - "Ok, what's the problem?"
Darlene - "I click on Outlook and it says 'Outlook Setup.' It works on my other computer in Annapolis, but not this one."
Tom - "Ok, that's because you haven't set it up on this one. We can set it up, or you can just log in to your email from the internet. The internet is probably easier."
Darlene - "Ok, what do I do?"
Tom - "First, open up Internet Explorer."
Darlene - "Ok...let's see....Internet Explorer....Ok, I opened it....sighhhhhh....my email's not here either."
Tom - "Yea, we have to actually go to the website."
#4
Voicemail from Linda - "My xxx account is slow, call me back."
Tom - "We don't support xxx so you'll have to call yyy."
Linda - "Ok, it's just moving really slow."
Tom - "Ok"
Linda - "Like I'll click something and I'll have to wait 3 or 4 minutes for the computer to respond."
Tom - "Yea, sounds like yyy will be able to help you out."
Linda - "And see, I just clicked this icon and it's taking forever."
Tom - "Ok"
Linda - "And when I type it'll take a while to show up. Like I have to type a sentence out word by word to make sure I'm typing it correctly."
Tom - "Allright, well like I said, if you call-"
Linda - "There we go. It finally came up. But it takes forever. I don't know how they expect us to work like this.
Tom - "Ok, well I'm gonna go."
Linda - "I just can't believe how slow it is. This is ridiculous. So yea, you can see where this is frustrating."
Tom - "Yea, I can def see where this is frustrating."
Thursday, April 9, 2009
BlueFirePoker Review
How many clicks does it take to get to the center of this tootsie roll pop? A lot. Let me explain.
I play 6max 100NLHE and tournaments. This preface is required due to the content on BlueFirePoker. This review will be from my perspective (obviously), but your experience may differ depending on what games you play.
As you would expect, they don't have that many videos since they just opened for business. This is in no way a slight on their website, just a fact of life. What I look for in a training site is material related to the games I play. BFP seems to be focused a little more on mid to high stakes content. This of course could change in the future, but I can only review what is available. Also, there are plenty of videos for all of you heads-up enthusiasts out there. Unfortunately, this is not for me either. Content related to small stakes 6max NLHE is few and far between, but their library on this topic is growing each week. There is no doubt in my mind that, given adequate time, their small stakes 6max NLHE section will become a very valuable source of information.
The only other complaint I had when using the site was the overall structure and flow of the material. Keep in mind that I'm an avid DeucesCracked member, so I have come to expect a certain level of organization. Maybe I've been spoiled, but I'm used to the "Series" concept that DC uses. It groups together videos into 8 part series where a specific coach/coaches explain a concept or strategy from beginning to end in a very effective and efficient manner. BFP has chosen to do this with a few of their videos, but they have a lot more random topic videos. Phil Galfond's High Stakes Adventures comes to mind, or his and White Lime's collaboration on playing HU PLO. I have not watched them, but I've heard very good things. As for the videos that I care about, it doesn't seem like there is any sort of structure or future plan, but I could be wrong. Also, it could be just me, but their website seems to have lots of random errors when trying to navigate through it. This is something else that comes with the territory of just starting out, so I'm sure these issues will be addressed in the future.
Possibly the most important aspect of a training site is the quality of the content in their videos. This is where BFP's true colors shine. Galfond's Philosophy videos are short, but packed with amazing content. SoCalQuest and others offer great insight into their styles of play. BFP's business plan has to do with quality over quantity, and it shows. They may not have the quantity since they have just started, but their quality is top notch. If they have a video for the games you play, I can pretty much guarantee that you will learn something from it.
In conclusion, I think BFP has great potential. I may look into continuing my subscription in the future, especially if I move up in stakes, but for now I will be completely content to stick with DC only.
I play 6max 100NLHE and tournaments. This preface is required due to the content on BlueFirePoker. This review will be from my perspective (obviously), but your experience may differ depending on what games you play.
As you would expect, they don't have that many videos since they just opened for business. This is in no way a slight on their website, just a fact of life. What I look for in a training site is material related to the games I play. BFP seems to be focused a little more on mid to high stakes content. This of course could change in the future, but I can only review what is available. Also, there are plenty of videos for all of you heads-up enthusiasts out there. Unfortunately, this is not for me either. Content related to small stakes 6max NLHE is few and far between, but their library on this topic is growing each week. There is no doubt in my mind that, given adequate time, their small stakes 6max NLHE section will become a very valuable source of information.
The only other complaint I had when using the site was the overall structure and flow of the material. Keep in mind that I'm an avid DeucesCracked member, so I have come to expect a certain level of organization. Maybe I've been spoiled, but I'm used to the "Series" concept that DC uses. It groups together videos into 8 part series where a specific coach/coaches explain a concept or strategy from beginning to end in a very effective and efficient manner. BFP has chosen to do this with a few of their videos, but they have a lot more random topic videos. Phil Galfond's High Stakes Adventures comes to mind, or his and White Lime's collaboration on playing HU PLO. I have not watched them, but I've heard very good things. As for the videos that I care about, it doesn't seem like there is any sort of structure or future plan, but I could be wrong. Also, it could be just me, but their website seems to have lots of random errors when trying to navigate through it. This is something else that comes with the territory of just starting out, so I'm sure these issues will be addressed in the future.
Possibly the most important aspect of a training site is the quality of the content in their videos. This is where BFP's true colors shine. Galfond's Philosophy videos are short, but packed with amazing content. SoCalQuest and others offer great insight into their styles of play. BFP's business plan has to do with quality over quantity, and it shows. They may not have the quantity since they have just started, but their quality is top notch. If they have a video for the games you play, I can pretty much guarantee that you will learn something from it.
In conclusion, I think BFP has great potential. I may look into continuing my subscription in the future, especially if I move up in stakes, but for now I will be completely content to stick with DC only.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Real Life Cold Deck Grinder
Thinking of starting my own training site, 2ndNutz, in how to run as poorly as possible. My first series will be "Real Life Cold Deck Grinder."
Week 1 - Inducing Coolers at High Stakes - run well at play money then move up to 5/10 when your "dueness" is at an all-time low.
Week 2 - The 2nd Nutz - playing more Kxs hands.
Week 3 - Boobies - nuff said.
Week 4 - A Means to an Ignorant End - playing more low SCs.
Week 5 - Absolutely -EV - playing on Absolute Poker.
Week 6 - Triple-Barrelling Nits on Wet Boards - they'll fold eventually.
Week 7 - The Flatbarrel - an introspective look into the mind of a coin flipper. (only listeners of 2+2 podcasts will understand this course)
Week 8 - A wrap-up discussion on why single-stuf oreos should be obsolete by now. Also, bigger boobies.
Week 1 - Inducing Coolers at High Stakes - run well at play money then move up to 5/10 when your "dueness" is at an all-time low.
Week 2 - The 2nd Nutz - playing more Kxs hands.
Week 3 - Boobies - nuff said.
Week 4 - A Means to an Ignorant End - playing more low SCs.
Week 5 - Absolutely -EV - playing on Absolute Poker.
Week 6 - Triple-Barrelling Nits on Wet Boards - they'll fold eventually.
Week 7 - The Flatbarrel - an introspective look into the mind of a coin flipper. (only listeners of 2+2 podcasts will understand this course)
Week 8 - A wrap-up discussion on why single-stuf oreos should be obsolete by now. Also, bigger boobies.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Sheiky Bastard
June 2008
My friends and I are in Vegas for the WSOP. We aren't ballin enough to actually play in the WSOP events, but we still manage to play in at least 10 different tournaments during our week here. We have played at various casinos, including the Orleans which has the best structure imo, with the average buyin being around $100.
It's our last night in Sin City and we decide to play a $250 tourney at the Venetian. I have cashed twice already, with a 3rd out of 77 which was nice, so I don't mind playing a larger buyin. I pick up KK in the first level, and long story short, I get it all in on a 9 high flop against AA. $250 = 15 minutes of playing time. Awesome.
So anyway, I decide I'm going to head over to the Rio to check out the WSOP action, see if I can see some pros, and maybe even get a few autographs. I split a cab w/ some dude and he tells me that he gets staked by some rich people in Chicago to come out here and play. It doesn't really matter if he's telling the truth as it makes for entertaining cab-ride conversation. Since he's so ballin, he pays for the ride and I'm happy to save a few bucks.
I walk into the Rio and peruse the tables for anybody worth watching. I find what I'm looking for at the end of the room. It's the 2-7 lowball triple-draw WSOP event and notables sitting at this table are David Sklansky, Phil Hellmuth, and Shawn "Sheiky" Sheikhan. Pretty sweet table to watch, other than the fact that I really have no idea how to play this game. There's no flop, and no hole-card camera obviously, so there really isn't much to see. Also, watching Sklansky play is like watching a sloth do long division on an abacus. So what would make someone stand around and watch this table? You look over and realize that Hellmuth and Sheikhan are sitting right next to each other.
If you don't know who Shawn Sheikhan is, you can find some good clips of him on YouTube. Lets just say that he has a knack for agitating certain pros. This table has Hellmuth implosion written all over it.
So I decide to stand and watch, along w/ a few others. Plenty of people come and go beside me, each of them perplexed as to why the dealer refuses to deal a flop. I try to explain to some of them, but soon learn of the futility in educating the general poker public. The blonde with the fake boobs doesn't care, nor would she be able to comprehend, the most basic of rules involved in a friendly Uno game, let alone a 2-7 lowball triple draw game.
Inevitably, Hellmuth loses a pot to Sheiky and goes on a rant about how poorly he is playing. Never one to back down, Sheiky fires back and comments that "this isn't a Hold'em event, Phil" and "you stood pat with a J!" (For the uninformed, you are trying to make the lowest hand possible and J high is not a great hand.) Hellmuth goes on to complain about his cards nonstop and eventually tilts himself out the tourney. He insta-leaves the table, forgetting his magazine and bag of nuts. After a short time, Sheikhan realizes this and instantly shouts to me and the rest of the railbirds "anybody want Phil's nuts?!" Everyone gets a good laugh, and one guy quickly yells "I'll take 'em!" Shawn hucks them over to him and he is awkwardly proud of his prize. "I'll sell them on ebay!" he shouts, to which Shawn responds "I better get a cut!"
My forecast for the table proved true, and it was definitely entertaining. I stuck around to watch Shawn play some more. He was seated at the end of the table, facing the crowd. There was a player, let's call him X, facing Shawn right next to me, and X would often pick up his cards high enough for me to see them. An interesting moral dilemma arose because of this. Sheikhan and X were in several hands against each other, and Shawn picked up on the fact that I could see X's cards. Shawn started looking to me after I looked at X's cards, hoping for some information. I assumed in a regular situation this would be morally unethical and I would not partake in such cheating. However, since I really had no idea what was going on in this game, I decided to give Shawn some random head nods when he looked at me. Even if I knew what I was doing, what does a head nod mean anyway? He has a good hand? He missed? Who knows. All I know is that I didn't know so I figured I'd act like I did know and see if Shawn knew. I don't know if he did, but it was fun haha.
Finally Shawn busted out and I decided that was a good time for me to head back to my hotel. I started walking out and Sheikhan and I met up in the hallway. I commented that he played well (with absolutely nothing to back this up) and he quickly responded explaining how poorly he played. I told him "at least you busted Phil," and he just said "Phil's a fuckin' idiot." Shawn's a real sweetheart. He was funny tho, I'll give him that. We walked out of the Rio and I walked to the line to catch a cab and just said "lata man." That's when he responded, "you catching a cab? C'mon man, I'll give you a ride." Sweet! A poker pro offering to give some random fan a ride! AND I don't have to pay for a cab! So we head over to the valet and he discovers that he only has $100 bills. "You got $5?" he asks me. I just laughed and handed him a $10 bill and he asked the valet for $5 back. They looked perplexed considering this dude is rich and asking for $5 back, but then he told them it was mine and they quickly understood. So there goes my free ride lol. They pull around his $100k sports car (can't remember what it was right now) and we speed down the strip to my hotel. He drops me off and tells me to say hey the next time I'm in Vegas. I head up to my room with a story to tell everyone.
Now the KK vs AA doesn't seem so bad :)
My friends and I are in Vegas for the WSOP. We aren't ballin enough to actually play in the WSOP events, but we still manage to play in at least 10 different tournaments during our week here. We have played at various casinos, including the Orleans which has the best structure imo, with the average buyin being around $100.
It's our last night in Sin City and we decide to play a $250 tourney at the Venetian. I have cashed twice already, with a 3rd out of 77 which was nice, so I don't mind playing a larger buyin. I pick up KK in the first level, and long story short, I get it all in on a 9 high flop against AA. $250 = 15 minutes of playing time. Awesome.
So anyway, I decide I'm going to head over to the Rio to check out the WSOP action, see if I can see some pros, and maybe even get a few autographs. I split a cab w/ some dude and he tells me that he gets staked by some rich people in Chicago to come out here and play. It doesn't really matter if he's telling the truth as it makes for entertaining cab-ride conversation. Since he's so ballin, he pays for the ride and I'm happy to save a few bucks.
I walk into the Rio and peruse the tables for anybody worth watching. I find what I'm looking for at the end of the room. It's the 2-7 lowball triple-draw WSOP event and notables sitting at this table are David Sklansky, Phil Hellmuth, and Shawn "Sheiky" Sheikhan. Pretty sweet table to watch, other than the fact that I really have no idea how to play this game. There's no flop, and no hole-card camera obviously, so there really isn't much to see. Also, watching Sklansky play is like watching a sloth do long division on an abacus. So what would make someone stand around and watch this table? You look over and realize that Hellmuth and Sheikhan are sitting right next to each other.
If you don't know who Shawn Sheikhan is, you can find some good clips of him on YouTube. Lets just say that he has a knack for agitating certain pros. This table has Hellmuth implosion written all over it.
So I decide to stand and watch, along w/ a few others. Plenty of people come and go beside me, each of them perplexed as to why the dealer refuses to deal a flop. I try to explain to some of them, but soon learn of the futility in educating the general poker public. The blonde with the fake boobs doesn't care, nor would she be able to comprehend, the most basic of rules involved in a friendly Uno game, let alone a 2-7 lowball triple draw game.
Inevitably, Hellmuth loses a pot to Sheiky and goes on a rant about how poorly he is playing. Never one to back down, Sheiky fires back and comments that "this isn't a Hold'em event, Phil" and "you stood pat with a J!" (For the uninformed, you are trying to make the lowest hand possible and J high is not a great hand.) Hellmuth goes on to complain about his cards nonstop and eventually tilts himself out the tourney. He insta-leaves the table, forgetting his magazine and bag of nuts. After a short time, Sheikhan realizes this and instantly shouts to me and the rest of the railbirds "anybody want Phil's nuts?!" Everyone gets a good laugh, and one guy quickly yells "I'll take 'em!" Shawn hucks them over to him and he is awkwardly proud of his prize. "I'll sell them on ebay!" he shouts, to which Shawn responds "I better get a cut!"
My forecast for the table proved true, and it was definitely entertaining. I stuck around to watch Shawn play some more. He was seated at the end of the table, facing the crowd. There was a player, let's call him X, facing Shawn right next to me, and X would often pick up his cards high enough for me to see them. An interesting moral dilemma arose because of this. Sheikhan and X were in several hands against each other, and Shawn picked up on the fact that I could see X's cards. Shawn started looking to me after I looked at X's cards, hoping for some information. I assumed in a regular situation this would be morally unethical and I would not partake in such cheating. However, since I really had no idea what was going on in this game, I decided to give Shawn some random head nods when he looked at me. Even if I knew what I was doing, what does a head nod mean anyway? He has a good hand? He missed? Who knows. All I know is that I didn't know so I figured I'd act like I did know and see if Shawn knew. I don't know if he did, but it was fun haha.
Finally Shawn busted out and I decided that was a good time for me to head back to my hotel. I started walking out and Sheikhan and I met up in the hallway. I commented that he played well (with absolutely nothing to back this up) and he quickly responded explaining how poorly he played. I told him "at least you busted Phil," and he just said "Phil's a fuckin' idiot." Shawn's a real sweetheart. He was funny tho, I'll give him that. We walked out of the Rio and I walked to the line to catch a cab and just said "lata man." That's when he responded, "you catching a cab? C'mon man, I'll give you a ride." Sweet! A poker pro offering to give some random fan a ride! AND I don't have to pay for a cab! So we head over to the valet and he discovers that he only has $100 bills. "You got $5?" he asks me. I just laughed and handed him a $10 bill and he asked the valet for $5 back. They looked perplexed considering this dude is rich and asking for $5 back, but then he told them it was mine and they quickly understood. So there goes my free ride lol. They pull around his $100k sports car (can't remember what it was right now) and we speed down the strip to my hotel. He drops me off and tells me to say hey the next time I'm in Vegas. I head up to my room with a story to tell everyone.
Now the KK vs AA doesn't seem so bad :)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Confidence
Ahhh, the zig-zag. Or as my friends and I call it "the wiggle waggle." One of the great moves in any Tecmo enthusiast's arsenal.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
When Vilian's Gin Card = Hero's Gin Card
Quick update from last night. Played 16 sngs and finished up $39. Not bad. Played cash for 22 hands, yes, 22 hands. Finished up 2.5 buyins. One big hand was AA vs KK so nothing special there. The other big hand was TT and I thought I played it pretty well...
I open on the BT, BB 3bs, and I flat in position. Flop comes T73 two tone. He cbets and I contemplate raising to protect against straight/flush draws. Then I decide that his range is more likely strong As and JJ+. JJ+ I'm probably going to stack regardless of what I do, barring a scare card on the turn. The hands I need to keep in are his bluffs, especially w/ strong As, and hope he either a) 2barrels or b) catches his overcard. The turn is an offsuit A and I'm pretty pleased with it. It may have killed my action against JJ, QQ, or KK, but if he is a thinking player, I don't have too many As in my range after calling the flop, unless I'm on a total float. On the other hand, that A smashes his range and he is thinking he just hit his gin card. He checks the turn. This is player dependent, but a lot of players will bet that A as a scare card if they are bluffing, and they will put a feeler bet out there with JJ-KK. However, I've seen so many players bluff a flop, hit their A on the turn, and check behind. Therefore, his check actually indicates more strength than weakness to me. If I bet the turn, he could easily be going for a checkraise w/ a strong A, and he might call once w/ JJ-KK, and he may call with draws as well. So I think betting here is clearly the best option. I bet, he snapshoves, and if it were possible online, my chips would have been in the pot quicker than his, Hellmuth-style. He flips over AJo and his gin card on the turn left him drawing dead. Ship it!
I open on the BT, BB 3bs, and I flat in position. Flop comes T73 two tone. He cbets and I contemplate raising to protect against straight/flush draws. Then I decide that his range is more likely strong As and JJ+. JJ+ I'm probably going to stack regardless of what I do, barring a scare card on the turn. The hands I need to keep in are his bluffs, especially w/ strong As, and hope he either a) 2barrels or b) catches his overcard. The turn is an offsuit A and I'm pretty pleased with it. It may have killed my action against JJ, QQ, or KK, but if he is a thinking player, I don't have too many As in my range after calling the flop, unless I'm on a total float. On the other hand, that A smashes his range and he is thinking he just hit his gin card. He checks the turn. This is player dependent, but a lot of players will bet that A as a scare card if they are bluffing, and they will put a feeler bet out there with JJ-KK. However, I've seen so many players bluff a flop, hit their A on the turn, and check behind. Therefore, his check actually indicates more strength than weakness to me. If I bet the turn, he could easily be going for a checkraise w/ a strong A, and he might call once w/ JJ-KK, and he may call with draws as well. So I think betting here is clearly the best option. I bet, he snapshoves, and if it were possible online, my chips would have been in the pot quicker than his, Hellmuth-style. He flips over AJo and his gin card on the turn left him drawing dead. Ship it!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What Goes Down Must Come Up....right?
I started to write the following paragraph yesterday and just never finished it. After last night, I'm happy to say that I have some new paragraphs to add :)
On a bit of a downswing lately with both my cash and sng games. Lost 5.5 buyins in cash and hit a cold streak in sngs, finishing 4th twice and 5th last night. (AJ vs A9 flop K99 = 4th) Not a big deal tho. The silver lining in all of this has been my "inner game" (thx Ragz) improvement. I'm currently reading Tommy Angelo's Elements of Poker and have been continually working on my attitude towards poker. Accepting beats and variance with a smile is my goal, as well as maintaining my A game throughout. My recovery period from taking beats is getting smaller as well.
NEW UPDATE - UPSWWWINGG! WAHOO!
I played a 1.5 hour session, 2 tabling 100NL last night and finished with my biggest win ever! Really goes to show that if you keep your head during the downswings, things always turn around. I was running pretty hot, but also managed to play well. One of the sweeter hands actually ended up being two consecutive hands.
Fish limps utg, tag/reg isolates, and I 3b w/ KTo on the button knowing that my bet will be too big for the fish to call and that the tag/reg most likely can't stand the heat either. They both folded and it worked to perfection.
Very next hand - tag/reg opens utg, I 3b w/ AA, fully knowing that he's not going to fold to my 3b two hands in a row. He 4bs me and I "think about it" and just flat. My range is still somewhat wide when I flat, as is his, whereas if I 5b shove he's only calling w/ big hands. It also helped that he cbets 80%. Flop is a dry Qxx board. He fires a cbet, I call. Turn is a J. He thinks about it, then checks. I've got about 50 left at this point and the pot is already 100. I timebanked and decided that if Villian has any hand, it's going to be tough for him to fold getting 3:1. He knows I'm capable of floating, and If I shove here, it really looks like a float. Also, people love to put you on AK any chance they get. So I shove, he timebanks, and eventually calls w/ TT. My AA holds and I fistpump for stacking this guy w/ two overs on the board.
Here is my 100NL career so far.
SNGs
On a bit of a downswing lately with both my cash and sng games. Lost 5.5 buyins in cash and hit a cold streak in sngs, finishing 4th twice and 5th last night. (AJ vs A9 flop K99 = 4th) Not a big deal tho. The silver lining in all of this has been my "inner game" (thx Ragz) improvement. I'm currently reading Tommy Angelo's Elements of Poker and have been continually working on my attitude towards poker. Accepting beats and variance with a smile is my goal, as well as maintaining my A game throughout. My recovery period from taking beats is getting smaller as well.
NEW UPDATE - UPSWWWINGG! WAHOO!
I played a 1.5 hour session, 2 tabling 100NL last night and finished with my biggest win ever! Really goes to show that if you keep your head during the downswings, things always turn around. I was running pretty hot, but also managed to play well. One of the sweeter hands actually ended up being two consecutive hands.
Fish limps utg, tag/reg isolates, and I 3b w/ KTo on the button knowing that my bet will be too big for the fish to call and that the tag/reg most likely can't stand the heat either. They both folded and it worked to perfection.
Very next hand - tag/reg opens utg, I 3b w/ AA, fully knowing that he's not going to fold to my 3b two hands in a row. He 4bs me and I "think about it" and just flat. My range is still somewhat wide when I flat, as is his, whereas if I 5b shove he's only calling w/ big hands. It also helped that he cbets 80%. Flop is a dry Qxx board. He fires a cbet, I call. Turn is a J. He thinks about it, then checks. I've got about 50 left at this point and the pot is already 100. I timebanked and decided that if Villian has any hand, it's going to be tough for him to fold getting 3:1. He knows I'm capable of floating, and If I shove here, it really looks like a float. Also, people love to put you on AK any chance they get. So I shove, he timebanks, and eventually calls w/ TT. My AA holds and I fistpump for stacking this guy w/ two overs on the board.
Here is my 100NL career so far.
SNGs
I also decided to start my SNG challenge over in a sense. I had basically broken even anyway over the course of 100 or so sngs, and I wanted to rededicate myself to the challenge. I played 10 $6.50 9 man sngs. Didn't cash in 6 of them, but won the other 4! Finished up $43.
Graph from last night...
Red Light Green Light
So I was driving to work this morning and was almost there. I was running a bit late (as per us.) and it was approx 8:30 am.
Red light.
I was sitting there when a group of about 10 black dudes got off of a bus to my right. Average age seemed to be late teens, early 20s. They proceeded to walk across the street to an empty grassy area. They formed a circle...eh, maybe more of an elliptical shape, but whatever. Two of the dudes took off their jackets and got into fighting stances, one with the traditional "I'm a badass and look cocky and have no use for technique" style, the other with a clear boxing background.
Green light.
I reluctantly drove off, leaving myself wanting more. Not more fighting, although who isn't intrigued by a good fight, but wanting more in the terms of an explanation. IT'S 8:30 AM. WTF are these guys doing? Is this a regular thing? Did each of them wake up and say "Ahhh, Monday, what's on the agenda today? Gotta eat some Trix, stop by the dry cleaners, then it's off to bareknuckle brawl with Andre, then I've got a meeting with the Bobs, oh and I can't forget to pick up milk."
Silly thugs, Trix are for kids.
Red light.
I was sitting there when a group of about 10 black dudes got off of a bus to my right. Average age seemed to be late teens, early 20s. They proceeded to walk across the street to an empty grassy area. They formed a circle...eh, maybe more of an elliptical shape, but whatever. Two of the dudes took off their jackets and got into fighting stances, one with the traditional "I'm a badass and look cocky and have no use for technique" style, the other with a clear boxing background.
Green light.
I reluctantly drove off, leaving myself wanting more. Not more fighting, although who isn't intrigued by a good fight, but wanting more in the terms of an explanation. IT'S 8:30 AM. WTF are these guys doing? Is this a regular thing? Did each of them wake up and say "Ahhh, Monday, what's on the agenda today? Gotta eat some Trix, stop by the dry cleaners, then it's off to bareknuckle brawl with Andre, then I've got a meeting with the Bobs, oh and I can't forget to pick up milk."
Silly thugs, Trix are for kids.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
2 Quick Humorous Events
Urinal
I recently began working at a new job and I must say that the bathrooms here are magnificent. Marble floors, automatic towel dispenser, and each stall has it's own floor-to-ceiling door. Yea, be jealous. So anyway, I headed to the head, walked up to the unoccupied urinal, and quickly realized my boxers were on backwards as there was no hole available haha. A guy who just finished was behind me washing/drying his hands. I couldn't just stand there doing nothing, so I assessed my options. Pull down the boxers completely in the front? Nah, that would look really weird. I went with the "hike up one side and go out the side" approach. Wasn't the most comfortable idea, but it worked. I gotta stop getting dressed in the dark...
Subway Cups
Went to Subway for lunch to pick up a 5 dollar, 5 dollar, 5 dollar footloonnngg. The dude in front of me orders a drink and they have 4 options. 3 are all the same, and the correct, normal size drink cup. One is all the way on the end and is much smaller and is for coffee. He asks which one to get and the lady tells him "any, they are all the same." He goes for the normal size cup in front of him, then decides against it, and picks the smaller coffee cup on the end. She says "no! not that one!" He looks confused, eventually picks the right one, and I shake my head at the human race....
I recently began working at a new job and I must say that the bathrooms here are magnificent. Marble floors, automatic towel dispenser, and each stall has it's own floor-to-ceiling door. Yea, be jealous. So anyway, I headed to the head, walked up to the unoccupied urinal, and quickly realized my boxers were on backwards as there was no hole available haha. A guy who just finished was behind me washing/drying his hands. I couldn't just stand there doing nothing, so I assessed my options. Pull down the boxers completely in the front? Nah, that would look really weird. I went with the "hike up one side and go out the side" approach. Wasn't the most comfortable idea, but it worked. I gotta stop getting dressed in the dark...
Subway Cups
Went to Subway for lunch to pick up a 5 dollar, 5 dollar, 5 dollar footloonnngg. The dude in front of me orders a drink and they have 4 options. 3 are all the same, and the correct, normal size drink cup. One is all the way on the end and is much smaller and is for coffee. He asks which one to get and the lady tells him "any, they are all the same." He goes for the normal size cup in front of him, then decides against it, and picks the smaller coffee cup on the end. She says "no! not that one!" He looks confused, eventually picks the right one, and I shake my head at the human race....
6Max NLHE Update
I recently moved up to 100NL and things went really well until the past couple of days. I hit a nice 5.5 buy-in downswing where I managed to get coolered quite often. I had to pull off some really nice bluffs just to win what little I did.
My goal this month was to hit the gold mark for the Iron Man Challenge on Full Tilt. I still may go for that, but I took yesterday off just to have a break. I recently started reading Ryan Fee's 6max guide, per the recommendation of my coach, and it is filled with amazing stuff. I'm hoping to finish it soon.
Speaking of my coach, his name is Vincent and I recently started working with him. He offered me two free sessions, then a 5 session package at an affordable rate. He's a really nice, funny guy, and he really knows his stuff. In fact, my friend hired him as well. Things are going pretty well on that front, and I'm hoping to continue learning from him.
Improva, one of DC's coaches, also just finished his book. Being a former student, I received a pre-release copy and I'm excited about reading it.
My goals for March regarding 6max NLHE:
1. Finish Fee's book
2. Start Improva's book
3. Finish watching the Unconvential Wisdom series
4. Continue working with Vincent
5. Finish the month up 10 buy-ins (I really just want to play well, but having a goal helps me do that)
My goal this month was to hit the gold mark for the Iron Man Challenge on Full Tilt. I still may go for that, but I took yesterday off just to have a break. I recently started reading Ryan Fee's 6max guide, per the recommendation of my coach, and it is filled with amazing stuff. I'm hoping to finish it soon.
Speaking of my coach, his name is Vincent and I recently started working with him. He offered me two free sessions, then a 5 session package at an affordable rate. He's a really nice, funny guy, and he really knows his stuff. In fact, my friend hired him as well. Things are going pretty well on that front, and I'm hoping to continue learning from him.
Improva, one of DC's coaches, also just finished his book. Being a former student, I received a pre-release copy and I'm excited about reading it.
My goals for March regarding 6max NLHE:
1. Finish Fee's book
2. Start Improva's book
3. Finish watching the Unconvential Wisdom series
4. Continue working with Vincent
5. Finish the month up 10 buy-ins (I really just want to play well, but having a goal helps me do that)
SNG Challenge Update
Things started out really well with my 500 to 10k SNG challenge. I planned to play 9 man $6.50 turbo sngs until I had run my 500 up to 600, then I would move up to $12 sngs. After approx 50 $6.50 sngs, I had run my roll up to just over 600. As soon as I moved up, I began running bad. The past few sessions have not gone well and my roll is back down to about 520. I have been studying each of my sessions in SNGWiz, reviewing any mistakes that I have been making. Most, if not all, of my mistakes seem to be not pushing enough in situations where it's any two cards. These "mistakes" don't necessarily account for the wide calling ranges at these microstakes tho. I still believe that shoving a bit tighter and waiting for others to make mistakes is a winning strategy at these stakes, but I will continue to evaluate my play. It will help to learn the normal pushing range for when I move up in stakes anyway.
So I'm just going to keep playing, keep learning, and keep pressing on. I'm hoping to take AMT up on his offer to help me out soon. Also, MrMillions, SootedNinjas, and some others have started a SNG study group. Check out DC's Secret HQ forum for more info if you are interesting in joining. I will be attending the first meeting with them, and hope to continue as much as I can with it.
So I'm just going to keep playing, keep learning, and keep pressing on. I'm hoping to take AMT up on his offer to help me out soon. Also, MrMillions, SootedNinjas, and some others have started a SNG study group. Check out DC's Secret HQ forum for more info if you are interesting in joining. I will be attending the first meeting with them, and hope to continue as much as I can with it.
Monday, March 9, 2009
The Power of Self-Confidence
This blog was inspired by Tommy Angelo. If you don't know who he is, learn.
Middle school was an interesting time. They say that these are the years when you develop your identity and learn who you really are (as much as a 12 year old can). I'm not here to refute that, but I can say that I personally did not find out who I was, rather I found out who everyone else was.
It's August, right before school starts. I go with my dad to pick out some school clothes for the year. I wanted to fit in. I wanted to look cool. I wanted No Fear shirts, Nike shoes, and Nike socks. Yea that's right, name brand socks. I don't play. I desperately wanted to mold myself into the ever-present junior high myth that a 7th grader can actually "look cool." I got the clothes I wanted, thought I looked cool, and ultimately, all that mattered was no one made fun of me.
Middle school kids can quite possibly be the meanest group of individuals since....well, since elementary school kids. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get my point. Kids are mean. So anyway, you pretty much spend "the formative years" of 6th-8th grade trying to avoid any sort of adolescent mob-mentality stoning. If you survive, you make it to high school, and for me at least, it gets a little easier. You've made friends, you know which group you think you belong in, and the frantic identity search starts to mellow out. By the time you are a senior, you're pretty much the shit. I know I was. Knowing you're the oldest grade in school, possibly with a car, makes you the precedent setter. It's a caterpillar-like transformation from scared peon, adapting to whatever trend is popular, to badass butterfly who bucks the trend if he so chooses. Cuz F underclassmen.
If you're lucky enough to go to college, as I was fortunate enough to do, a weird thing happens. That overconfidence gets shaken a bit as you enter a big bad university. You're back trying to fit in again. Something is different this time though. What's this? People don't give a crap about how you look? Oh sweet, sweet apathy. Long gone are the days of fitting in based on your sweet Adidas socks. A new day has risen. A day where a person is judged on the content of his character, not the color of his Jordan's. At least, this was my experience in college. I was amazed at how I could be myself and no one cared. You start wearing random old t-shirts, shaving half of your face, and oversleeping for a 2:00pm class (thanks to my roommate for attending said class and calling me afterwards so I could run and find the TA to hand in my Discrete Math homework haha). The point being that no one cares anymore about how you look. You are freed from grade school fashion shackles. And that's only the beginning.
Once I stopped caring about how I looked, I began only caring about being me. It was a slow process, but I eventually realized that I was, in fact, the shit. That sounds arrogant, and I am joking, but until you feel like you deserve better things in my life, you'll always struggle with self-esteem issues. Restricting yourself out of the fear of another's opinion gives other people power over you and your actions. The minute you release these shackles, you'll feel empowered. The first few times are the toughest, but trust me, it gets easier. Just like in poker, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. With self-confidence however, you can put yourself out there and not risk anything. Does it get any better than zero risk and self-fulfillment as the reward? You may do something stupid, but you know what? Who cares? This attitude towards life has allowed me to stand up for what's right, live my life by principle - not by popular opinion, and has instilled in me a vast amount of self-confidence.
Translate this attitude towards poker and you set yourself up for success. You don't care about asking dumb questions while learning a new game, so you learn quicker than those hindered by the opinion's of others. You're willing to try new strategies, new bluffs, new crazy lines, and you don't mind having to show your hand. You'll make a "sick call" with 9 high, only to lose to Q high (an actual hand against a friend of mine haha). Sure, you may look stupid calling with 9 high, but deep down you actually look stronger because you are willing to make such a play. Who do you fear more at the table - a guy who folds everything but the strongest of hands, or someone willing to look stupid in order to win your chips? This attitude towards poker, and life, is definitely +EV in the long run.
Middle school was an interesting time. They say that these are the years when you develop your identity and learn who you really are (as much as a 12 year old can). I'm not here to refute that, but I can say that I personally did not find out who I was, rather I found out who everyone else was.
It's August, right before school starts. I go with my dad to pick out some school clothes for the year. I wanted to fit in. I wanted to look cool. I wanted No Fear shirts, Nike shoes, and Nike socks. Yea that's right, name brand socks. I don't play. I desperately wanted to mold myself into the ever-present junior high myth that a 7th grader can actually "look cool." I got the clothes I wanted, thought I looked cool, and ultimately, all that mattered was no one made fun of me.
Middle school kids can quite possibly be the meanest group of individuals since....well, since elementary school kids. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get my point. Kids are mean. So anyway, you pretty much spend "the formative years" of 6th-8th grade trying to avoid any sort of adolescent mob-mentality stoning. If you survive, you make it to high school, and for me at least, it gets a little easier. You've made friends, you know which group you think you belong in, and the frantic identity search starts to mellow out. By the time you are a senior, you're pretty much the shit. I know I was. Knowing you're the oldest grade in school, possibly with a car, makes you the precedent setter. It's a caterpillar-like transformation from scared peon, adapting to whatever trend is popular, to badass butterfly who bucks the trend if he so chooses. Cuz F underclassmen.
If you're lucky enough to go to college, as I was fortunate enough to do, a weird thing happens. That overconfidence gets shaken a bit as you enter a big bad university. You're back trying to fit in again. Something is different this time though. What's this? People don't give a crap about how you look? Oh sweet, sweet apathy. Long gone are the days of fitting in based on your sweet Adidas socks. A new day has risen. A day where a person is judged on the content of his character, not the color of his Jordan's. At least, this was my experience in college. I was amazed at how I could be myself and no one cared. You start wearing random old t-shirts, shaving half of your face, and oversleeping for a 2:00pm class (thanks to my roommate for attending said class and calling me afterwards so I could run and find the TA to hand in my Discrete Math homework haha). The point being that no one cares anymore about how you look. You are freed from grade school fashion shackles. And that's only the beginning.
Once I stopped caring about how I looked, I began only caring about being me. It was a slow process, but I eventually realized that I was, in fact, the shit. That sounds arrogant, and I am joking, but until you feel like you deserve better things in my life, you'll always struggle with self-esteem issues. Restricting yourself out of the fear of another's opinion gives other people power over you and your actions. The minute you release these shackles, you'll feel empowered. The first few times are the toughest, but trust me, it gets easier. Just like in poker, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. With self-confidence however, you can put yourself out there and not risk anything. Does it get any better than zero risk and self-fulfillment as the reward? You may do something stupid, but you know what? Who cares? This attitude towards life has allowed me to stand up for what's right, live my life by principle - not by popular opinion, and has instilled in me a vast amount of self-confidence.
Translate this attitude towards poker and you set yourself up for success. You don't care about asking dumb questions while learning a new game, so you learn quicker than those hindered by the opinion's of others. You're willing to try new strategies, new bluffs, new crazy lines, and you don't mind having to show your hand. You'll make a "sick call" with 9 high, only to lose to Q high (an actual hand against a friend of mine haha). Sure, you may look stupid calling with 9 high, but deep down you actually look stronger because you are willing to make such a play. Who do you fear more at the table - a guy who folds everything but the strongest of hands, or someone willing to look stupid in order to win your chips? This attitude towards poker, and life, is definitely +EV in the long run.
Hodgepodge
I have a hodgepodge of stuff going on involving poker these days.
-My friend and I, in our quest to crush 6max NLHE, have both hired the same coach. It has worked out great so far. He is friendly, funny, affordable, and most of all knows his stuff. Also, he's not playing high stakes and teaching us stuff that we can't use at our stakes.
-I'm still grinding out SNGs as part of the challenge w/ Bones at DC. On a bit of a downswing lately with them, but still plugging away and learning throughout.
-Currently ranked 1st in our weekly home game tournament standings and looking to capture my 2nd title in a few weeks.
-Still dabbling in StudHi and once I get some time, I'm considering hiring the newest DC coach, Rusty, to help me learn the HORSE games. I really want to be a well-rounded player, but I don't think I can fit that into my schedule right now.
-And with all of that, I'm still trying to stay active in the DC forums, watch videos, and learn as much as I can.
Headed out to Vegas for my 2nd time in June. I'll probably try to play between 5 and 10 tournaments while out there. I cashed in 2/10 last time. I'm just hoping for a big score this time. Also hoping to meet some other DC members and pick up a DC hoodie!
-My friend and I, in our quest to crush 6max NLHE, have both hired the same coach. It has worked out great so far. He is friendly, funny, affordable, and most of all knows his stuff. Also, he's not playing high stakes and teaching us stuff that we can't use at our stakes.
-I'm still grinding out SNGs as part of the challenge w/ Bones at DC. On a bit of a downswing lately with them, but still plugging away and learning throughout.
-Currently ranked 1st in our weekly home game tournament standings and looking to capture my 2nd title in a few weeks.
-Still dabbling in StudHi and once I get some time, I'm considering hiring the newest DC coach, Rusty, to help me learn the HORSE games. I really want to be a well-rounded player, but I don't think I can fit that into my schedule right now.
-And with all of that, I'm still trying to stay active in the DC forums, watch videos, and learn as much as I can.
Headed out to Vegas for my 2nd time in June. I'll probably try to play between 5 and 10 tournaments while out there. I cashed in 2/10 last time. I'm just hoping for a big score this time. Also hoping to meet some other DC members and pick up a DC hoodie!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Time of Your Life
Just finished watching a rerun of Seinfeld's best clips show. Is it lame that when they play Green Day's "Good Riddance" at the end I get all sentimental? It's not just thinking about the show being over, but also thinking about cherishing the good times in my life with friends and family. Ok, so it probably is lame, but I don't care :)
My SNG Challenge - 500 to 10k
As part of a challenge on Deuces Cracked, I am taking part in trying to turn a $500 BR into $10k. Beginning with 9 man STTs at the $6.50 level, I will play as many as necessary to increase my BR to $600. Once I hit that mark, I will move up to the next highest stake, and maybe throw in some 18, 27, and 45 man SNGs. I will grind from there until I hit about $1k, and then move up again. Who knows how long this will take, but I'm sure to have fun and learn a lot throughout the process!
An additional perk is that I will receive occasional coaching from Bones and AMT, two SNG specialists from Deuces Cracked. With their help, I feel confident that it is a matter of when, not if, I reach my goal!
An additional perk is that I will receive occasional coaching from Bones and AMT, two SNG specialists from Deuces Cracked. With their help, I feel confident that it is a matter of when, not if, I reach my goal!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
DeucesCracked Review
The month was October 2008. A fellow poker player and I decided that we wanted to join one of the many training sites out there. We did our research and soon narrowed the list to a few of the top rated sites. We then compared the content of each, startup fees, and monthly prices. We discovered that DeucesCracked had a free 7 day trial so why not try that? Talk about a smart business move on their part. I quickly learned that their videos were DRM free! This means you can download them, put them on your ipod, burn them to a cd - all without being handcuffed by DRMs! Their philosophy is one of freedom and I can't tell you how refreshing that feels. Throw in the fact that they don't charge a startup fee and their prices are very affordable and you've got yourself a very promising start.
How is the actual site you ask? AMAZING. I'll get to the poker content soon enough, but first let me say that there are other things to consider. First, technical support. The moderators of the forums reply to any problems you have almost instantly. Can't get the videos to work? Having problems logging in? All of your issues will be addressed in a very timely manner, often by some of the top guns for the whole site, Entity and Joe Tall.
Another facet that you should consider when selecting a training site is the community. Are members active in the forums? Are coaches active in the forums? The answer for DC is a resounding yes and yes. Once you start posting, you'll join a poker community with which you can share ideas, have a laugh, and grow as a player and a person.
Now to the poker content (I know, finally). I come from a tournament background and came to DC to learn how to play cash, which is their specialty. My game has improved by leaps and bounds since joining thanks to their educational videos, such as Real Life MicroNL Grinder, The Coaching Tree, and Unconventional Wisdom. What came as a complete surprise, however, was a little series called Last Man Standing by AMT (Alex Triner). This series focuses on SNGs and proves to be a seemingly hidden gem among cash game videos. Over the course of 8 videos, AMT single-handedly turned my SNG game inside out and took me from a break-even player to a regular winner at stakes from $6.50 to $60. He explains the "bias against confrontation" concept and describes how a chip in your stack is worth more than winning other chips early in the tournament. The idea that doubling your stack early doesn't double your equity in the tournament made perfect sense and seems simple now, but I must say it was revolutionary when I first heard it. These are just a few of the concepts explained (I'm not sure I want to share any more!). AMT teaches in a manner that is very easy to understand, and his articulate style combined with the depth of his knowledge will most likely result in me hiring him as a personal coach in the future.
So in conclusion, DeucesCracked gives you a free trial, no startup fee, affordable monthly prices, amazing and quick technical support, and pure, unadulterated poker knowledge in an interactive environment. And after all of that, they are still working to improve every day, and it shows. Beat that.
How is the actual site you ask? AMAZING. I'll get to the poker content soon enough, but first let me say that there are other things to consider. First, technical support. The moderators of the forums reply to any problems you have almost instantly. Can't get the videos to work? Having problems logging in? All of your issues will be addressed in a very timely manner, often by some of the top guns for the whole site, Entity and Joe Tall.
Another facet that you should consider when selecting a training site is the community. Are members active in the forums? Are coaches active in the forums? The answer for DC is a resounding yes and yes. Once you start posting, you'll join a poker community with which you can share ideas, have a laugh, and grow as a player and a person.
Now to the poker content (I know, finally). I come from a tournament background and came to DC to learn how to play cash, which is their specialty. My game has improved by leaps and bounds since joining thanks to their educational videos, such as Real Life MicroNL Grinder, The Coaching Tree, and Unconventional Wisdom. What came as a complete surprise, however, was a little series called Last Man Standing by AMT (Alex Triner). This series focuses on SNGs and proves to be a seemingly hidden gem among cash game videos. Over the course of 8 videos, AMT single-handedly turned my SNG game inside out and took me from a break-even player to a regular winner at stakes from $6.50 to $60. He explains the "bias against confrontation" concept and describes how a chip in your stack is worth more than winning other chips early in the tournament. The idea that doubling your stack early doesn't double your equity in the tournament made perfect sense and seems simple now, but I must say it was revolutionary when I first heard it. These are just a few of the concepts explained (I'm not sure I want to share any more!). AMT teaches in a manner that is very easy to understand, and his articulate style combined with the depth of his knowledge will most likely result in me hiring him as a personal coach in the future.
So in conclusion, DeucesCracked gives you a free trial, no startup fee, affordable monthly prices, amazing and quick technical support, and pure, unadulterated poker knowledge in an interactive environment. And after all of that, they are still working to improve every day, and it shows. Beat that.
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