Weeeee

Welcome to the up and down schizophrenia of poker playing as I get to reverse my previous whining after booking a nice win for the night, playing just 12 games and taking home almost $700.  At one point I had 4 final tables going (the shiny blue background), and it's been awhile since that happened!

As far as the Step tourneys go I've still got a "step 4 ticket" but that'll have to wait as it's time to get ready to go as we're leaving for Canada in a few hours and I'll be officially on a pokerfree vacation for the second weekend in a row, which is weird but probably healthy.  Carrie has downloaded some Michio Kaku talks for the drive, and that alone has me excited.

Vegas Plans

June 7th I am flying into Vegas on a one way ticket and have a room booked at Harrahs through the 12th.  I am so excited it's sick.  I'm not sure what's drawing me more at the moment- the poker or the swimming pools- but I intend on doing a lot of both while I'm there.  In particular the 30 million dollar swimming pool at the Golden Nugget is high on my list.  There is actually a third story water slide that takes you right through the center of a shark tank in the center of the pool!  Could anything be more amazing?  Having recently escaped another Portland Oregon winter the answer is a resounding NO!

I'm currently planning on playing just two or three Venetian events (if anyone wants to stake me in one or a few more definitely let me know!)- the Monday $330 NLHE and the Tuesday $225 shoot out and the Thursday $330.  The rest of the time I will be playing 2/5 NL at the Rio or possibly the Bellagio as I had a great experience playing there the last time I was in town.

Why a one way ticket?  In case I win some serious money of course!  In which case I'll be staying in Vegas as long as seems wise which could conceivably run through the end of the WSOP in July but I have a feeling I'll get sick of the place long before that unless I'm wiping my ass with $100 bills a few weeks in.

Following my recent down swing I decided to spend today playing the Poker Stars "steps" satellites.  You can buy directly into any of them and there are 6 in total with the first step starting at $7.5 buy-in, or just 500 player points.  I had $130 in my account on Poker Stars (I don't play there often) and decided to dedicate the whole shebang to these things today knowing full well that I'd likely lose it.  After winning one "step" you simply win a "ticket" (IE entry) to the next step, kind of forcing an all or nothing approach.  After playing about a dozen of these things my account is down to less than 8 bucks and I am now "graduated" to playing a step 4 and a step 3.  Theoretically I've booked a win so far as the combined buy ins for both games comes to $298-more than double my investment of $130- but it's all on the line at the moment so we'll see!  If I finally make it to step 6 I'll need 1st or second place to win a 12k WSOP main event package which would be a great turn around to recent events.  I'm more than half way there but still a long ways away so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.  I was just now lucky to more than double up in the step 4 by sticking it in with AQo over an UG min raise from an aggro player, so it's looking good so far!

Update- Just busted out 4th in the step 4 and 8th in the step 3.  I shoved 11 bbs UG w/ 99 and the button decided to overshove with KJs risking more than 2/3rds of his chips.  A horrible play to say the least but he was rewarded.  I am now left with a single step 3 buy in so not all is lost.

frumious Bandersnatch!

To start off, for those who do not know-

1. My Full Tilt ID is J4bberW0cky

(prior to April I played as sleep w fishes, logging in onto my darling ladies account to play)

2. Jabberwocky is a fantastic "nonsense" poem by the late great Lewis Carroll of "Alices Adventures in Wonderland" fame.  This is the sort of great poem that people learn by heart and can recite 20 years later- it's that good, and I've actually had two people now recite it to me so I know it can be done!

Here it is in its entirety for your education and amusement:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Wikipedia has a nice section on the poem where some of the lingo is deciphered.  Fun stuff!

So, Callooh Callay (I probably won't quote the poem forever-but I can't promise not too either as it may just be too fun).

The stated purpose of this blog is self motivation.  I have been a part-to-full-time poker player  for about 6 wonderful/agonizing years.  Let me say straight off that it is one hell of a way to make a living and being able to support myself off my earnings (even if modestly) has been an enormous blessing- but not without causing some serious havoc and stress along the way.  For instance, April was my best month yet as I took home $6,019 over the course of playing 607 tournaments and sit and go's on Full Tilt.  In my game of choice- the $26 45 man sit and go's I actually made $6,925 over just 380 games, but was a slight loser in mtts that month.

I lost a little mojo in early May due to a cold which I dealt with by smoking lots of weed and limiting myself to just 4 tables of mostly mtts.  I picked up a little pace though and by the second week I had played 247 games for a total profit of 3,679.  Not too shabby!  

First thing that happens when you win a bunch of money is you start planning how to spend it.  It wasn't long before I had decided to move out of country as well as book a 1 way ticket to Vegas to play during the WSOP (can't afford the big buy-ins but the Venetian is hosting a really great low dough series and the cash games at the Rio are legendarily soft).  By the end of summer I was sure I'd have 100k in my pocket and would be on my way to some sea side paradise (I just need some sand to sink my toes in and blazing fast internet and a lower cost of living).  I don't consider myself a great player (yet) and depending on what your scale is- I may not even be good!  But I have a few ideas and after booking a pretty solid year (I broke 25k putting in consistent results) I'm thinking that I need to high tail it to a place with a lower cost of living pronto- one with hot beaches and wifi.

Fast forward to the last 2 weeks that have me cackling raving mad.  Sharkscope claims I'm down $2,096 after 250 games but I suspect it's closer to -2500.  Now, I'm still doing fine of course, but the urge to gauge your eyes out can be hard to resist after suffering what feels like your billionth suck out in a row.  It's really as though the cards have a personality, and that personality hates my fucking guts.  It isn't just Full Tilt either- the local, hyper juicy titty bar game I play at occasionally has also been frustratingly uncrackable for me the past two weeks.  This is a game where AJo is worth a third reraise to 50 bbs. . . this is a game where every now and then you might get to play a pot with the other guys cards literally face up- they are that drunk and clueless it's beautiful!  Last night I pulled a coup de gras- losing $465 dollars playing $1/2 NL (and a little pot limit crazy pineapple earlier in the night).  What gives!?  I had gone in with my war paint on intending to thoroughly destroy everyone but couldn't get a hand to hold up over the last few hours to save my life- right as the game became short handed with a few aggro regulars in the mix everything fell apart and I was getting desperate and drunk which I'm sure cost me an extra $150 that I could've held onto had I kept my emotions in check.

All in all I'm down about $3000 over the past few weeks (chump change for some of the players I've been meeting- but when you've been living off less than 15k a year for several years it fucking stings).

So. . .with this blog I will try and keep a record of my successes and failures, the purpose of which is mainly to help me keep my head level through all the insanity of attempting to play what is essentially a gambling game for a living.  I will try to share some thoughts on the play of hands, the best way to approach a situation (as I attempt to discover the answers for myself), and to also keep a record of how I try to improve my play over time.  You will find that I'm actually quite good about working on my game (even if my game is not quite as good at improving as I am at working on it).  To get where I've gotten has unfortunately required me to become completely obsessed with poker.  I fall asleep watching poker videos, I read every poker book that seems like it could help in some way, and I'm currently a member of 4 different training sites.  I, ladies and gentlemen, am a poker junkie through and through.

Basically, I fucking love this game and I'm going to try and share that, and hopefully maintain my attitude so that I can be as successful as I possibly can be at it.  Wish me luck!