Since I posted. Haven't been playing poker much this week, Sunday went to AC and was lots of fun, to many drinks mixed in with play ended up catching up with me. Still played well at the start. Played lots of video poker and ended up losing about $340 or so including my gf as well. But we were at showboat so free drinks while we played, trust me we can drink, my girl can drink even more...plus the room was comped. So even though I spent $500 had a lot of fun and drank a lot as well. Since then lost the will to play I may play later today but then again I might change my mind, I came home and played 3 $6 tables to see how if I could make some money back and went out on the bubble on two. Went all in with the best hand on the turn on one table, A hit the river to give him two pair. So sad, that really discouraged me, maybe tonight, weekends are definatelly better to play tournaments on, so many bad players online. Well cya all later.

So I ran a session after the bar last night, I was buzzed but felt like playing. Well bad idea, cards were ice, out of 4 tables I got jacks and queens once, AK a few times, don't think I won once with AK or AKs. I won with the pairs I mentioned but that was it. I kept getting called with monsters or get sucked out on. Didn't place in any of the four, hit a huge pot with QQ, then got AKs in BB, shoved on a mini raise, guy called with pocket jacks, they held. Just shitty cards, bad luck, stopped right there and wanted my 45 minutes back. Had so much fun yesterday it sucks I went to sleep mad about this. Well today's another day, haven't even played much lately so who knows.

So yesterday playing poker I made several mistakes and I even knew I was doing it. Sometimes you get lucky and the mistakes work in your favor but this was not one of those days. I can't say I was card dead but I certainly was getting the usual cards. Lots of times I shoved with marginal hands that I knew would get called by the big stacks, maybe I had to do this to stay alive but I could have also picked better spots. Early game I'm playing to much I need to tighten up more, playing 3 tables max for awhile. It's hard for me to play over and over again all of the sudden. Maybe I'm not back to myself yet, still do have a bad cough from being sick but I feel ok. Anyway, I didn't do well, out of 7 SnG's placed 3rd and 2nd. Bubbled a few as well. I think I started getting to aggressive to early at some spots as well, I think this is just because I wanted to play and have a good stack for bubble area, but you can't do this with poor cards. I know how I need to play, I know what I need to do, now I just have to do it.

So had a huge live tourney this weekend, did very well considering I was card dead the whole tournament. Pocket QQ's was my best hand of the night, also had a pair of 4's later on but that's it. For 5 hours of playing cards...I couldn't make anything happen. QQ's I took down a nice amount which helped, was a total of 77 people, trophy for top 10, prizes for top 31, $500 for first place. So I'm playing to win but my cards were telling me different. Right as I was ready to make my move they move one person out of my table and the blinds went up and hit me like a freight train crippling my stack. Then they moved 4 people to my table, very good players with huge stacks, I had about 7k, people coming over with up to 30k. Aggressive players all over. I couldn't make a move, my best hand I put down which I think I should have made a move with (and would have won) was K7o. That's just pathetic when your happy to see that hand, was an all in before me though and I was on the BB, was scared cause everyone was playing premium cards. I had A4 later on and that was an instant all in, of course I got called by pair of Kings, and I sucked out on the river. But with blinds rising and moving very quickly back it's tough, at this point there is about 20 left, and they are getting knocked out about 1 per hand dealt. My girlfriend did very well and got knocked out 17th, well cards didn't change and we are on the bubble to final table. ..

I have 3k in on the BB and 1k behind. This is obviously an all in move since all I get at the final table is a trophy and some recongnition, no cash, I'm playing to win at this point. This reckless guy goes all in and if I had to face anyone it was him I wanted, all of the sudden I look at table 2 and my friend is in the exact spot as I am, he has enough for bb and some change but sb will consume him if he loses. So I look at J4o. At least I have a face card I guess... I think about it for a minute and the other guy I'm against is telling me if you fold you still have a chance for final table. I know he has garbage, but I know he still has me beat. I decided to call with my last 1k, obvious move for some but I needed some time to think about it (and hope the other guy goes out). So my friend at the other table flashes me his cards, and I see J4o and laugh. Well he flips over Kh2h and I should feel good about that but for some reason I did not. A king comes down in the window and it's pretty much over. The guy is calling for 9h10h so I would hit my straight and he would hit his flush...what a dick. Was hoping it reversed on him. Well rest of the flop isn't much of a help, Q out there and a blank. Turn comes a blank, river comes a 4. And I become the bubble boy once more. This is my largest live tourney I have played and for being card dead, having a head ache I think I did decent, and only hand I keep regreting was K7. I have to learn to make moves before the blinds hit me when they are large. Online I'm use to this and not intimidated by the actual person, where live I can be.

Also, played online, 6 tourney's while watching a jackal video. first 3, got 3rd and 1st, so went up lovely, last 3 bubbled on two, when I was down to my last table on the bubble I was low stack and saw the thing no one wants to see...Network status check..... Disconnected, came back with my BB shoved on by SB, would have loved to call but 10/3 wasn't enough. That was a bubble and end of hold'em for the night. Today I want to start studying again, still not 100% with energy but I need to get a move on with my hold'em play. If I can not improve and starting winning some $$ I may need to find something else, possibly a second job. It just seams everyone has their hands out for money and my own money goes away very fast. Will see what happens...but i want to be at $325 by monday in my account $47 more to go. Also, did get my MRI on my leg done which will be good to get back in shape..I so need that.

So yesterday I resisted playing poker all day. Again, another job well done, I was really sick so I didn't want to play. I'm doing very well resisting playing when I know it will end up being a bad session...etc stressed or sick. I feel better today though I can barely talk. Sounds busy at work already today so my voice maybe completely gone by the end of the day. Hopefully it's just a quick spell and goes away fast. Tonight if I feel like I do now I will be playing all night long, excited and looking forward to it!

... going to a bar to pick up girls and waiting for the "10" to come around to make your move when she might not be there that night so you got to settle for the "8".




I read this today and wow ...instant classic!

So yesterday was the first time I have played since I have been sick...well I played one quick session and lost 4 SnG's with bad luck and being sick but now I feel better (not so much today but oh well). So here we go, I get AK on one table and raise the usual amount I get shoved on in two places and man I just felt I had a chance to come out ahead. AK is rough, you usually have two over cards so I call, they show JJ and QQ, I spike a K on the turn and love that SnG, not sure if I took first or second on that one. Had another where I got AA on my first hand UTG. I raise to 200, get 4 callers, everyone is telling me because how crazy people are on the first few hands I should shove..but I didn't. Board comes down blanks possibly piece together a chance for a straight draw. I bet 620 I believe into 1400. all fold but one, another card hits another blank, and I mean nothing above 9. I decide to check hoping they bet out, they do for 9/10th's of their stack, I put them all in and he flips over 5/8 dd. He had mid pair with I believe a gut shot, which missed so I took that down.

Anyway I went up around $13 with solid play. 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd out of 12 SnG. I made back the 4 games I lost when I was sick and I'm $1 off from my highest bankroll point, I'm currently at $277.60, $278.xx has been my higheset point and this will be my third time at this area, once in cash games, then lost half my roll, and last week before I got sick. It's nice to see this amount but I'm really looking forward to more, and it's not like I look at it as money, because I don't...I look at it as a measure of my success in poker. I'm hoping tonight I have a solid night again, it was nice last night it all came back to me. Had some bad luck calling this guy's all in with Ad10d, when he flipped over Ah10h I felt fine, we both hit a suite on the flop, then a heart hit the turn...and a heart on the river. Another all in call, I had 1800 but 600 of it was the BB so 1/3 of my stack, this guy stacks me for just about what I have. I had A7 and I know he has been stealing and I put him on cards lower then A7 and I was right he had 10 Q, flop came down J/K/5 rainbow, I'm hoping for low cards and when a Q hits on the turn I'm lost and not sure what i want to come on the river...because nothing will help me..accept a 10. But oh well, I was very surprised one table I was really paying attention to when I was down to two tables, the other I just got junk cards and kept folding, once in awhile would get everyone to fold blinds to me cause I was so tight. Anyway, all of the sudden I noticed I was 3rd place...and I didn't even make any moves, I just got lucky enough for the other guys to knock everyone out, as they did me next but man for a dry table for me being patient really worked out. Did try making a move then but cards were just to dry on that table. That's why I like playing SnG's one table can be dead and another can be on fire!

I look forward to tonight, hopefully moving up in my BR and maybe restarting my silver star goal and trying to still get it. Tonight will be a long session. I won't be able to study today as I'm still sick, hoping to start that up tomorrow.

Almost time to get back on the horse. My sickness is still here but not as much as it was, my dark spark is growing stronger..lol. I think I'm original where I have always had this "addiction" to something. I'll get into something for example "flair bartending" (juggling bottles while bartending). Then I go at it 100% till I burn myself out or I hit a point that disappoints me. Then I switch, well Poker has been the first one I have ever switched back too, and I do enjoy it. My problem is it's hard to balance, once I get this passion it has to be all about that subject and in poker this would lead to a certain downfall. I'm hoping to balance this and add exercise after my MRI on Monday. Also, have to get my car all fixed up, having some issues so will need to go in the shop. But I'm hoping to start playing some more tonight, lets see how it goes!

So this month I thought I would have no problem grinding out silver star status. Well I hit a big bump in the road this weekend. First with work I got put on a "non good standard measure"...aka I'm doing badly and I need to fix this and basically I'm not eligible for anything good till I get out of this, meanwhile I was really sick and the next day I was so sick I couldn't get to work, so I called out so this makes things worse at work. I was so sick I couldn't play poker online, Sunday and Monday were my days off, I was still really sick. I couldn't wait for Sunday...I was going to be reconiginzed for being in 1st place last month in front of everyone, but...I wasn't there. Also, Monday I couldn't even go to get my MRI done on my leg. This came at a very bad time, I'm trying to fix issues I have and get myself back to good and this hits me like chains keeping my motiviation locked to the ground. I haven't been this sick in sometime, though today, Tuesday I am feeling better but it has only been an hour so far and I'm at work so who knows how I will feel in 2 more hours. I'm hoping I'm 100% very soon, I need that energy back to save my job and get my poker careers started. Well I'm tired already, I'm out.

So I wasn't really paying attention but I have been doing well, went up $30 last night and I looked at battle of the planets stats. I was surprised to see that in the high orbit (100 games) I was actually 49th, and the block finished like wednesday, I was probably real high up on it at that point. Unfortunately, I looked today and slipped to 56 for the week. The top 50 places pay you cash.
http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/battle/mars/
So i missed out on $10, if I would have got one spot different say a 1st instead of a 2nd I would be much higher. I'm going to try for it again next week since now I am a better player then I was 4 days ago reading Harrington's book...it's insane how many examples he has works. Lots of time I had AA and I saw a flop I would go all in I didn't know what to look for, he has me calculating pot odds without even thinking about them and looking at flop textures, what to bet, how much and why. I'm actually out of work today sick, hoping I feel better in a bit, but going to rest now.