If anyone read my previous post I made it clear how excited I am to get back to a "standard" work environment. I've used a very slow first day to catch up on some poker news. Overall I am not too certain how to react to the latest FTP update.'

There is a side of me that's happy FTP decided to finally show some transparency (or maybe just plain honesty?), but I am still in the same boat with the majority of you....cut the BS and just give me my money!

To prevent any more false hope that I will receive FTP money soon, I have decided to:

- no longer read 2+2 or any other poker news outlet (pokernews iphone app is the nuts since all I want this time of year is tourney updates)
- stop following Tony G on twitter (that effing worthless bastard, nothing short of FTP distributing funds to US players should be considered a "big announcement")
- stop starting a phrase with "well when I get my FTP BR..." or "if I had my FTP BR" because in reality, there's no flipping timeframe for this crap! Instead, when I hear from someone that we can withdraw from FTP, I can just think of it as free money and nothing I need to rely on.

Anyhow, WSOP right around the corner...if my schedule permits I'll definitely make it out to Vegas at the end of June and perhaps play in an event.

GL to everyone at the tables.

~Frank

I pondered for quite awhile to determine the proper title, but alas, it seems impossible. I looked over some previous blog entries, including my first ever post in January of 2008. All I can say is, "Wow, what a ride." The following is a sporadic unorganized ramble...my apologies if I come off brash, or stupid due to typos (probably not going to proofread this before publishing).

Besides not being a fish anymore, I was never quite sure what I wanted out of poker when I decided to take the game seriously. I love telling anyone that asks my story! The whole, "I deposited $300...last time I'd ever deposit...and 9302840239 days later I'm still grinding off that $300." However, if I could describe the past 3 years, I would end up writing an internetpokers type blog that goes on forever.

To be honest, this ride with internet poker caused more regrets than anything. I set my wife, friends, and opportunities (these 3 to say the least) aside because I wanted to be so god damn good at poker. Overall I think I'm lucky that all bridges were not burned over this time period. First of all, I'm [still] married, have a good network of friends that I can depend on, and I'm joining the workforce next week.

My accomplishments playing poker are small compared to what else I accomplished during the time period. BUT, those "other" accomplishments could have been exponentially greater and put me on a better path if I put the majority of my time into them instead of playing poker.

That being said, I refuse to look at the last 3 years of my life as a total wash just because I put too much time into poker. I learned a great deal about myself, and bettered myself in some aspects. In addition, I came out of this with some great friends.

I was pretty pissed off that black friday fell on my birthday. It most definitely spoiled the mood and forced me to think about things (a good chunk of them are stated above). After some discussions with my wife, parents, and brother, I just finally came to the conclusion that I'm NOT a poker player! Despite the obvious pros of choosing this as a career, one has to admit there are an equal or greater amount of cons that come with it.

Now, I'm not saying someone you guys are crazy for embarking on this career path, I'm just making it clear that it's not for me. Yes, there were times when I found the daily grind rewarding and looked forward to firing up the tables the very next day....but looking back those days were far and few between.

I honestly can't wait to get back to the ~40 hour a week standard work grind that includes steady paychecks, bonuses, and medical insurance! BUT, I know there are going to be days where I miss the poker grind. I've missed it terribly over the past month, but after a few discussions with my wife, we see black friday as a blessing for the 2 of us.

Poker will still be a part of my life, however, it's no longer a priority. I have so much respect for you live grinders btw....doing that day in and day out is definitely more taxing than sitting behind a screen with 9+ tables.

I wish nothing but the best for those of you that have chosen to continue your poker careers. Maybe we'll meet again some weekend on the live felt!

~Frank

All I can say is....damn please don't let my play of late just be due to a heater! Everything just feels like it's clicking and I'm always looking forward to playing. Simply having a positive mindset is a definite plus. But overall, I think that my thought process is evolving each time I sit down at the tables.

So the Super Bowl is this weekend (obv). Can't wait to spend an entire day at Jerry World (probably followed by a night since traffic blows when you're trying to leave) and enjoy all the crazy parties that go along with the event!

Too tired atm to go over hands, but I'll post some tomorrow. Have to continue this regular blogging thing.

GL to everyone at the tables.

~Frank

As of now I'm feeling better about my game then I have in a very long time. Its been a complete rebuilding process the past few weeks and I'm extremely happy with the results. I think the most important aspect is to continue grinding and never be content with results.

In the past I was just happy to book a small win, not lose too much, and make some decent decisions at the tables. Now I'm focusing on every single little thing I could have done better before/during/after my sessions. Feels like I'm evolving as a poker player...and tbh, I haven't had this feeling in a long time!

Losers:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5948283

Nothing to do but fold here 230bbs deep. Villain was very fishy but had not shown any bluffy type tendencies to justify calling and/or stacking off.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5948287

37/11 villain opens in the CO and I follow it up with a easy call. I interpreted his bet as weak since it was only half pot on the flop, therefore I decided to put in a small raise to get a call out of his weaker TPs, 2ndpairs, straight draws, and gutshots. I'm fine with this hand until the river when he leads into me. Yeah it's a small bet but it's shit like this that kills my winrate. Without a read I think I can confidently pitch this....but no, curiousity gets the best of me, I convince myself he could be doing this with a busted straight draw or QJ/QT and I make the call. Blah.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5948294

I put myself in a sticky spot bvb against a reg. Stats wise he doesn't fold to flop c-bets and has a high frequency to raise turn c-bets. I think a bet/shove is extremely marginal since I doubt he'll hero call me with something like A8+; but my problem here is trying to see what 4s he could possibly have in his range. In the end it makes up a small part of his value raising range and this isn't the greatest card overall for him to decide to bluff.

I think I can somehow justify calling turn w/the intention of thinking he'll never bluff the river. Would appreciate some thoughts on this hand.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5948305

Overaggro reg gets the best of me here. I'll admit it, he made a great play that totally threw me off.

I'm fine with checking back the flop since it can more often then not just smash his calling range PF. When he checks the turn I just think he can never have anything strong at this point. The board texture is so ridiculously draw-heavy that one would assume he'd bet his 2 pair type hands/sets/combo draws/etc.

I decide to bet big on the river hoping he put me on a random bluff and would hero call.

I think once he c/r river I should just fold. With this sizing he's never bluffing; straight value baby.

Goal time.

February Poker Goals:

1. Play 30k hands of 6 max
2. Play 10k hands of Rush
3. Continue listing weekly goals and revisiting them every day

That's all I have today.

GL to everyone at the tables.

~Frank

After having a few breakeven months at 100nl, I thought it would be best to drop down to 50nl and reevaluate my game. Running 20BIs below EV really sucked, but thankfully it didn't happen at 100.

I've been battling my tilt issues since I started playing full-time and I have to admit....I'm really under control these days. I used to frequently yell, smash my fist against the table, break mouses, etc. I don't know what really caused the sudden turnaround, however, the past 26 days have been very eye-opening for me in terms of poker.

First, I did a volume prop bet w/Hugo that really forced me to grind. In turn it taught me several things: I can't mass-table effectively, if I get upset over a hand I have to quit completely and take a break, when I'm in control of my game, I'm capable of great things.

Second, I did a DB analysis after watching Corwin's latest series (very very solid series, like he'd do anything subpar) and discovered an infinite amount of leaks. Some were new ones and a few were leaks I thought I plugged a long time ago. I now have a list of goals in front of me every time I play...I review them before I start a session, then go over them at the end of the week to see if I enforced them day in and day out.

Third, the tourney score has tremendously helped my mindset. I think my overall poker game was in a rut and I just sat there every day grinding out hands trying to make some paper. With the current state of games, I'll never be able to improve by doing what I'm doing.

In conclusion, I now have a better understanding of my game and what I'm capable of doing at the tables. Include some tilt control and time management...I have nowhere to go but up!

I'm really looking forward to the grind this week. Also can't wait to start blogging about hands again...been awhile since I've written my thought process down.

GL to everyone at the tables.

~Frank

Don't have much time to update since I'm preparing mentally for the Packers game that starts in a little over an hour. However, I figured I'd post a small brag regarding my tournament score in the 32k gtd last night on FTP.

Had an annoying run of cards in the WSOP circuit event in Choctaw, hence I was sent home right after the dinner break on Day 1. The experience was amazing and I'm looking forward to playing some more live tourneys in the future. Anyway, when I got home I fired up a bunch of tourneys on FTP, and...



Decided to chop w/this guy for some reason. I think he had a 400k or so chip lead on me going into HU (blinds 40k/80k). However, w/the disparity between first and 2nd, I took the risk averse route andsettled on a $6400 payday. Weeeeee!!!! The tournament was such a ridiculous ride! I was down to 2bbs at 2500/5000 blinds when I called an AI with KK (he had TT, obv that's better than KK)....but followed that up with a ridiculous 2 outer with J9d v AJc(villain flopped a NFD and I binked a black 9 on the river). So unreal!

Anyway I'm out, GO PACK!!!!

GL to everyone at the tables.

~Frank

Think it's time to get back in touch w/this whole thing. Thoughts and HHs coming tomorrow.

So as I'm sure most of you that I talk to on a regular basis (or have the facebook, or some other social networking way of connecting, etc.), Liz and I finally sealed the deal with an amazing wedding over the weekend.

It all started off Friday night with a rehearsal dinner at Avanti. I decided to go w/this venue because it's only available for private parties in the evening. Not many pics that I've come across yet but I think this one should suffice.



Decided to go out w/the fam on a party bus that was originally rented to transport people from the hotel to the dinner spot. However, the driver was easily convinced to accept extra cash for a few extra hours.


On the bus

Not sure who's more wasted, me or my brother




Saturday morning was a little rough but with some brunch and mimosas (I can't do bloody mary's, yuck) I was ready to don a tuxedo and head to the church with my groomsmen. Due to the church being a little bitch (sorry God) about taking pictures afterwards, we had to do the majority of our photos before the wedding.



Liz is quite the beautiful bride...you gotta admit it!


Let the nervousness begin!


Funny how I'm still not used to wearing rings.


Sweet! Deed is done!

We had a short walk from the church to the hotel. While Liz and I did some more pictures, the wedding party was entertained by some mariachis (damn I wish I had those pics already).


Mr. and Mrs. Frank Catalani


First Dance


Groom's Cake


With mother


Was so pumped that Eric Estrada made it!


A toast with my calm and composed brother


I mean...how does one not fist pump at an italian wedding?



That's about all I have for now, will probably put up some more pics as I get them.

Poker is nonexistent up to this point in the month. I've put in 3 sessions (2 6-max, 1 rush) and don't want to start making any projections just quite yet.

GL to everyone at the tables.

~Frank

Seems that no matter how much I try tell myself to blog these days I just put it on the backburner then forget altogether.

Yeah, there's not many people who read it, but I made this blog for myself. To track my progress as a poker player in addition to recording some life events. All of this is something I want to look back on. Sadly I feel like there hasn't been that much progress over the past 12-18 months. I'm still grinding 100nl, my 200nl shots have turned into epic failures (can't blame it all on run bad), and I just don't quite know where I'm going with poker.

Anyway, I'm getting married in a month! Liz and I are moving in together this weekend which I'm really looking forward to. I hate the whole process of moving but that's the life I've chosen the past 7 years. So, life is going pretty well! I'm starting to apply to jobs and getting a few interviews which is another very positive thing. I understand that it will be too difficult for me to pursue poker full time (I've pretty much done it this entire year with little success) and therefore need a steady source of income/benefits. After I'm married/working poker will be a smalllll part of my life but I know I'll never be able to give it up.

On the poker side of things I've started playing 100nl rush exclusively due to many factors: Amount of hands, soft competition, less stress (sometimes)....however, the big thing that rush has helped me out with is my tilt factor. Since the beginning tilt has by far been the biggest roadblock to me ever getting better. I consider myself a cogniscent handreader that's very aware of dynamics and what certain villains will allow me to do, but it all goes to shit once I start tilting. When playing rush, I can't afford to tilt! The hands keep coming and coming, one after the other, each mistake can compound and after a few short minutes one can easily dump a few BIs. Each time I play a session, or sit out to take a break, the second I click "sit in" I always tell myself this:

Play calm, cool, collective...there's always another hand, it's okay to fold...there's always another hand, it's okay to fold.

I can honestly admit that this has helped my rush game tremendously. And the times I've forgotten my results have really suffered. Over the last 100k hands at rush I'm winning around 3.3 pt bb/100. I know it could be better if I just didn't tilt and fold in some obvious spots, but all in all I'm pretty damn happy w/the results thus far.

Had a decent session today, picking up 5 BIs...while normally I'd never complain about a 5BI day there were 2-3 spots where I know I should have folded, some coolers I ended up on the amazing side of, and a few unlucky turns/rivers that cost me value.

Losers:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5597566

Against a pretty passive 19/11 I think the river is really close between jamming and ch/folding. With rush it's tough to determine how certain players will play TP type hands but I don't think villain will call a worse Ace often enough and the flushdraw easily makes up a decent part of his range. Also villain's timing seemed a bit draw happy, very quick calls on flop/turn...hence with an Ace he'll probably take a little more time to determine what to do on each street.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5597571
Not very happy with my check on the river but it kind of ties into the hand before. Villain was snap c/c so I decided to nit it up on the river and check back.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5597575

Pretty standard flop to raise since we're a little deep and these guys aren't good enough to fold overpairs on the flop. Assigned him a pretty obvious OP range (QQ+) after he calls turn..disgusting river obv, know he's never turning anything I beat into a bluff or blocker betting worse.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5597579

Really just have to laugh and let these go. Pretty happy it wasn't for 100BB+.

Winners:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5597582

Massive cooler for villain that's deep with me. From past experience I know he tends to overplay OPs on turn/river and isn't capable of semi-bluffing any type of draw (also doesn't have 56s in his calling range). Therefore I opt to just call and hope he jams river. Perfect card and I c/c to scoop the 570 bb pot.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5597586

Standard iso w/9Ts against the fish. Love the flop and even love the turn more. Not sure how I feel about my betsizing on the turn but I easily put the reg I'm OOP against on a big hand (AJ, JJ+) after he calls the flop with the fish left to act, however, once he jams the turn it's pretty obvious that he doesn't have JJ (sometimes you have to make annoyingly big folds in this game) and even if there are those few times he has JJ there's entirely too much money in the pot after the fish jams.

Fwiw, I'm lost on why villain played his hand this way on the turn. Probably not going to call off AJ or a draw in this spot with the fish overcalling his shove.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5597592

Lol, spazz bets against certain players are amazingly effective.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?5597593

Didn't see the point in betting to fold this monkey off a chop, however, with all the draws missing I think the better option is to c/c river.

The always standard picture update:



With Liz and her sister in Chicago


Have no freaking clue, was pretty drunk on NYE.


Liz's shoes always turn into a phone at the end of a good night


Wedding shower in Winnetka. Yes, that's an apron.

GL to everyone at the tables.

~Frank

I hope everyone cheers on fellow CR member/friend Hugo Perez as he continues his journey in Event #8!