Last night I won my 2nd ever live tournament. Early in March, I won my first ever taking down the $120 at Rivers Casino. Yesterday, I won a tournament at our local church. There were only 35 runners with a small $50 buy-in, but I'll take it. I actually chopped when we got down to 2 players as we were pretty even in chips.

Yesterdays win also comes on the heels of a $615 win at our weekly 1/2 cash game that plays more live a 2/5 game. Gotta love flopping quads and having top pair shove into you. (I had 44. Flop was J44 and AJ open shoves into me for $190. The pot was already $250 thanks to a $50 raise pre and 5 players seeing the flop.)

On the poker front in general, March has been my best live month ever. EVER! And I have been playing live since 2004. Thanks to a Poker app I have on my phone, I tracked every minute I played and in exactly 31 hours of live play I made $3617 for an $116/hr winrate.

I took down the $125 7:15PM tournament at the Rivers casino in Pittsburgh last night. There were 61 runners and first place paid $2135. It is actually my first ever live tournament win. I followed suit as I make alot of final tables but NEVER have chips when I get there. I did make the final table of ten players in TENTH place. But I ran really good, had 1 suck out A5s > AKo and took it down.

If you look at my posts from 2011 post Black Friday, most of them are about me crushing the live poker games in my area. The last 6 months of 2011 I played great and ran really really well. Poker was FUN!

Well 2012 is here and things have changed. 6 weeks into the new year I am stuck around 6 buy-ins, pretty much playing the same way. (No, players have not adapted to my playing style. 90% of the players in our home games are strickly and admittedly level one thinkers and will never change.)

I have literally been card dead the entire year thus far. Last night I played for 5 hours and I saw exactly 3 pairs. 44 once and 66 twice. I actually flopped a set with 66 but lost the hand to a flush. (I did lose the minimum.)

My biggest hand of the night was the following: 6 way limped pot to me in the BB and I have AJs. I raise to $18 hoping to thin the field and expecting a call or 2. 3 players call and 4 way we see a flop of AAKr. I consider this a fantasic flop in this game. No one in this game would limp/call KK, AQ or AK so I know I have the best of it. First to act I bet $45 into $80 and get one call. The turn is a 5 now putting a FD on the board. I lead for $60 and villian shoves for an additional $85 more. WTF? I call and of course he has A5.

Flop a set and lose. Flop trips and get 3 outted. Never saw AK, AQ, AA-77, 55, 33 or 22 the whole night. Poker is not all that much fun when you don't win.

Well it's back at it this Saturday! I need to find my run good again.

After Black Friday, I started attending home games in my area. It started with a church festival right down the street from my house. Once a year, in June, they host Hold Em touraments and cash games for 3 nights. I have been going for about 6 years now and it is soft times ten. While there, I met some people that ran a home game twice a week (wed and sat). It is a .50/$1 10% rake $5 max game.

The first time I played, I lost around $130 because the game was something I had never really experienced. It was a loose passive donkfest way beyond any casino or home/church game that I had ever played and I have played hundreds and hundreds of live hours over the past 8 years.

I adjusted quickly and started crushing the game. After 2 months, I was actually worried that I would not be invited back because I was taking everyones money. I seriously only lost (lost as in more than 50BB) if I got the money in good and got unlucky. One night I lost 2 200BB pots as a 87% and 84% favorite and I still won $24 when the night was over.

As I started meeting other players in the game, I learned of additional home games in the area. Most just as bad. I started going to some of the other home games and had just as much success as the first one. These games consist of a core group of some 50-80 players in the area with 9-10 playing on any given night. I seriously have not encounted even one player that I would consider decent. Most pay no attention to stack size, position, bet sizing or any of the basic fundimentals any solid player knows by heart.

Obviously after awhile, I got a reputation for being "the biggest winner" in these games, but that did not hurt my winrate. If anything, it has helped it. Players want to play pots with me for one reason. They want to catch me bluffing (or they want to bluff me). I don't bluff much but every once in a blue moon I will fire a huge river bluff into a big pot (usually a check/raise AI), get them to fold the best hand and then show them. This move has been so +EV for me in these game not because I win the bluffed at pot, but because they pay me off when I have it. Over and over and over.

I ended the year at a $1/$2 home game on Friday night. Here is the mindset at the game. Everyone was buying in...$80, $100, $120, $60...and then I bought in for $200. The game host looked at me with a WOW look in his eyes. I looked at him and said, "it's 100 big blinds, my standard buy in". The table starting discussing this and they were saying stuff like "I guess that makes sense", etc, etc. These are people that play poker 3-5 times a week.

After about 3 hours, I had chipped up to about $675, triple what anyone else had. People were actually writing checks to the host to get more chips. LOL. I ended the night with a solid $325 win leaving with $525 even though I lost $125 in one hand getting AIPF w KK vs 99, but that is the nature of these games.

My bankroll now is in the solid 4 figures from these games and I have to say, live is MUCH more enjoyable to me that online ever was.

Poker is a weird weird game. I am absolutely crushing live. I started the summer with $100 at a .50/$1 home game. As it stands right now, I have $2400 and I have spent probably $1000 in winnings. I have been playing at our home game twice a week and at the casino playing 1/2 about once a month. In addition, I played in 2 "charity" mtts. I did not cash in one and I got 3rd out of 67 in the other for $590 ($60 bi)

On the other hand of the spectreme, I have put $50 onto Cake and lost it, $50 onto Merge and lost it. Another $50 on Merge and lost it ALL PLAYING .02/.04. WTF. It's like online is some fantasy world where they always have it. Last night I went busto losing 5 buy-ins or so.


Frecking fantasy world.

I have been tearing up 2 different home games I have been going too. It is just so much fun. While I struggled on the internet for the past 3 years, I was always a decent SSNL live player but I didn't really play all that much. Why leave home when I can just play there? One thing that I never stopped doing is studying the game and it has made me a much much better live player.

I went to a good friends bachelor party over the weekend and we ended up playing some poker. We used to work together at my last job and I would host poker games about twice a year at my house. Basically the same group of guys would come every time and these were pretty much the same guys that were at the party on Saturday plus 3 or 4 people I never met.

We played .25/.50 and I wanted to buy in for $50 explaining that it is standard to buy in for 100BBs. I could not convince the table of this and ended up buying in for $30 while everyone else bought in for $20. (But they had no problem buying in for $20, losing it and buying in for another $20). I also said I would be the dealer and keep the game moving and everyone agreed.

After about an hours worth of play, I had about $180 in front of me. I ran super hot and they all stacked off pretty darn lite. There was a married couple sitting at the table and the wife started accussing me of cheating. "He is winning every hand he plays. He has to be cheating. He IS dealing the cards."

My friends, the bachelor amoung them, assured her that I was not cheating. "He just plays every damn day of his life" he told her. "I know him well, he is one of my best friends and would not cheat any of us." She did not accept this and started calling me Dexter. She said no one suspects Dexter is a serial killer just like you don't suspect he is cheating. LOL.

I offered to share the deal, but reminded them it would drastically slow the game down. Her husband said I should continue to deal and that was that, but Dexter stuck with me the rest of the night.

I ended the night up about $165 and gave $100 of it to the bachelor.

I just love home games.

I put $50 on Black Chip poker since Cake (fucking) sucks.

Things have been going well on the cash game front as I have about doubled my investment in less than a week.

So far I have played 2 MTTs, the $2 turbo. They don't get many runners. I think the first one I played got 37 and paid the top 6, while the second one I played got a bit less and paid top 5.

The funny part is that I have bubbled them both times I played. The first one, I had KJ on the button and on the bubble. It is folded to me , I min-raise and the BB chipleader calls. The flop is AJ7 and it goes check check. Blank turn goes check check. River is a jack giving me trips with top kicker and the BB SHOVES. At this point I am 3 in chips with 7 left and I just can't find a fold here. I call and he tables J7.

The second one, I am 4th in chips with 6 left (paying 5). I have been holding a pee in for about 15 minutes and can't take it no more. I run to the bathroom and go and miss one hand. I get back and look in the hand history and see the hand I missed. One villain open shoves with QQ, is called by KK and I had AA in the BB and would have held. I mean WTF are the chances that hand happens while I am sitting at the table much less the ONE hand I go to the bathroom.

A few hands later, I am dealt 66 with blinds at 500/1000 and I have around 3850. UTG limps with around 14k behind, I shove, BB calls as does utg. Flop is 899hh. I think this is a good flop for me. BB shoves, UTG folds. BB shows AJo. Turn is a 8 and gg me bubbling again.

I just thought it was pretty amusing.

I am nearing busto on Cake. In the past 2 months, I deposited $50 twice, got around $40 in rakeback and cleared $20 of a $25 bonus, yet my account balance sits at $19.80. I have played a mix of 4NL and 10NL.

I have never ran so bad in my life. I lost more huge favorites for stacks today. The last time I checked I was around 30 buy-ins below EV in less than 15k hands. It is definitely more than that now. I lost 2 91% Saturday, a 81% and a 87% yesterday while my suckouts have been few and far between. I think I won AJs vs AQ for 40bb as my lone suckout for the day.

I am not complaining as it is only $100 I have invested and I just play for fun, but COME ON! I plan to tear apart my HEM and put together a graphical story about how sick bad I have run on this stupid site. I have never seen anything like it in the 7 years I have been playing online poker. Sure I have run bad, but this site has cursed me from the start and simply never given me a break.

I am definitely looking for an alternative site to play micros in the US. If anyone of you could recommend any, I would like to play 10NL 6max and some small stakes MTTs and SNGs.

Thanks!

And oh yeah.

CAKE FUCKING SUCKS.

This got really tldr. I guess I felt like writing. I hope at least someone reads it through.

About 8 months ago I ran across a home game 1 street over from me that runs about 3 times a week. This game is full of really really bad players that all play level 1 poker. The structure is .50/1 with no min or max buy-in. The average player buys in for about $60 while I always buy in for 100bb. The pot is raked 10% with a $5 max rake. The host buys pizza and beverages every game and whenever someone makes quads or better using 2 hole cards, he splashes the next pot $15. I did not do that well for the first couple of months that I went, but I never lost more than $100 in any one setting. I would say my first 6 months were pretty close to break even.

The last 2 months, I have just been crushing the game. The player pool consists of pretty much the same group of about 30 players. On any given night the table is usually a full ring of 9 of those players. I have super solid reads on every regular in the game and I also have a reputation as a super incredible nit that always has it.

Granted there are no superstars, but I have to add that I believe I am clearly the best player in the game and it is not even close. I like make "standard plays" that I think they would think are nitty to solidify my reputation and then advertise them. Here is a small example.

I am in the SB with KJo. The pot is straddled to $2 and there are 3 callers when it gets to me and I call the $1.50. The BB raises it to $15 (standard), gets one caller and it gets back to me. I fold and show the guy next to me on the button what I folded. I believe this is a standard fold. I do not wish to play KJ oop vs 2 opponents in a raised pot. They think otherwise. The flop ended up coming KK3 which helped my advertising even more as they are ALL also quite results oriented. Fyi, the original raiser had JJ. I was crushed pre and folded correctly, but because I folded KJo (monster) and the flop came 2 kings my nit status was just built upon some more.

This has given me the ability to be able to bluff at tons of pots I have no business winning. If I had to guess, at least half of the last 20 pots I won that had over $50 in them, I bluffed. Whenever I call a bet on the flop in a raised pot (especially check/call), they super slow down. Whenever I raise pre-flop, they all think QQ+ or AKs. This is on purpose as I have checked several limped pots in the blinds with all pocket pairs up to Jacks. I make it a point to show the table after the hand when I do things like this.

Another thing I do that has probably been my most profitable play is back raise. I will limp AA/KK pre in EP and MP almost always because 80% if the time someone raises past me. I will even over limp AA/KK otb if the blinds are aggressive.

Last night was an especially good night with me winning $290 on the night. My biggest win at the game yet. That is also a very good win at this game as most players have less than $100 on the table.

Things could not have worked out better for me last night with both my reputation first and then later the cards helping me. All of my big pots also ended up being again the same guy, Rob. Here are my big hands.

I overlimp 2 limpers in MP with OhJs. 2 more callers and the button (Rob) makes it $6.50. EVERYONE calls the 6.50. We see a flop 6 way and the pot is $39. The flop is Jc6c6d and it is checked all the way to Rob otb who bets $15. It's folded to me and I tank (on purpose) call and end up heads up. Rob open moans that I am the caller. The turn is the 3c putting 3 clubs on the board. I tank check and the Rob moan checks. The river is the 2c putting 4 clubs on board and I don't have one. I bet $26 into a $69 pot and he folds AsAd face up. I don't show my cards. The dealer goes "Did you have a club?". Rob snaps "Of course he did!!". Bluff one.

About 20 minutes later, I overlimp one caller in MP w AKs planning on back raising. 2 callers and Rob, again on the button, raises to $11. Utg+1 calls and I make it $45. Rob says "Your not buying this one from me", calls the additional $34 and the EP caller folds. Stacks at $~120 behind with the pot $~100. The flop comes 963r and I insta-donk $50. Rob moans "Aces good" and folds TT face up. I don't show my cards, but about 2 minutes later I look and him and say "Thats a hard bet to make on the flop without a pair." He laughs and says "yeah right". Bluff two.

Rob comments to me about 15 minutes later "I know your making plays on me because you know I think your tight." Time to tighten up a bit vs him I guess as I can tell he is a little tilty and is will now be willing to call me very lite as is his reputation against almost everyone but me.

The hand before this pot a player had quads, so it is a slashed pot with $15 extra in it.

UTG limps, utg+1 makes it $6.50. Call, call, I call in HJ w 9Ts, button calls, both blinds call. Pot is $54. Flop is QQ7r. I read every player at the table and see that no one hit. If any player had a queen, it would be all over them. Blinds check, utg+1 makes it $15, fold to me. I raise to $33.50 with 10 high. Everyone folds. The entire table says nice Queen. I show a ten. Bluff three.

Back to Rob and now I actually get cards.

I overcall one limper in CO w KK because Rob loves raising limpers from the BB. The button makes it $8. Rob calls $8 in the BB. The EP limper calls the $8 and it is on me. I make it a total of $32. The button folds. Rob insta-ships the additional $24 into the pot and the EP player calls the $24. Pot is $~105. Flop is 3KJr. Check, Check, Check. turn is 4h putting a 2 straight draws and 2 hearts on the board. Check, Check and I bet $40. Rob tank calls, EP folds. River is a 8s and I still have the nuts. Rob checks. I bet to put him all in ($46.50) and he folds A2s face up. Can you say tilt? I show my flopped set of Kings to the table. I always have it.

Last big pot of the night was again vs Rob and one other player and again I get KK and again I open limp it in MP. It's a pretty standard hand, but action goes, EP limps, I over limp, button calls, Rob make it $15 in the SB. EP calls. Rob and EP both have less than $60 stacks by this time, but the button to my left is in the pot and has about $200 which I cover, so I decide to just shove. The button tanks forever with AJo before finally folding. Rob calls the $45 he has left as does the EP caller. Rob shows TT, EP shows TJs and my Kings hold.

This was like the 7th time out of my last ten sessions I was the big winner at the game. My only fear is they stop inviting me. :)

Yesterday was another frustrating session. I am playing some pretty darn good poker, but I can't win an ALL-IN pot bigger than 50BB for the life of me. Yesterday I was AI with:

-KK vs AK AIPF (68.8%)
-nut flush vs bottom set on the turn (77.3%)
-top 2 vs top and bottom on the turn (95.4%)
-a flopped str8 vs a set on the flop. (65.3%)

Each pot was for full stacks and I lost all 4 of them. This is a common theme with me on Cake. Since June 1st, I am 21 buy-ins under EV in like 15k hands. (It might even be less hands than that). I encountered a downswing like this once in over 500k hands of Rush poker. I have never ran this bad playing regular 6 max. Played bad, yes. Ran this bad, no.

It's like when I get all in and the villian has even 1% of equity, I know it's coming. Wtf?

I'm seriously going to finish the month out and if I don't run better I am either going to try to find another US site or just quit playing for awhile. It's simply not fun when you do everything right and lose over and over.