Downswing City

Population: Me

This is probably me overreacting a bit, but dear god it feels like I can't rake a decent sized pot to save my life right now. I've gotten coolered a handful of times and then donkstruck a few more which has resulted in my bankroll taking a nice beating. I'd post some hands but I don't want to start bitching about beats/coolers. I just need to sack up and grind through it. All i have to say is this month has sucked and dropping 2k over the span of a week sucks.

Just when you think you're getting your shit together in the poker world and start counting all the money you're going to be making each month because you're such a badass, the deck decides to spit in your face and tell you otherwise. My weekend was pretty much full of me getting coolered/drawn out on, which led to a loss of confidence which then resulted in some bad play.

I continued to play 2/4 on Friday night and ended up dropping about 2.5 buy ins. Even though I lost a decent amount on Friday, I'm pretty happy with my latest foray into 2/4 and am still up a buy in at that limit since I decided to take another shot.

Here are a couple of hands from that session:

In this first hand I put the villain on a club draw or TP when he lead into me. I'm happy with my raise to his lead, however I think that checking the turn is a better play than betting out again. My thinking was that if he was still drawing then I wanted to make him pay for it, however if he had something like KT, then I could proabaly push him off it.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($440.89)

SB ($206.79)
BB ($446.62)
UTG ($1255.95)
MP ($776)
RT ($392)

Preflop: RT is CO with Qh, Th.

UTG calls $4, 1 fold, RT raises to $20, 1 fold, SB calls $18, 1 fold, UTG calls $16.

Flop: ($64) 3d, Tc, 4c (3 players)

SB checks, UTG bets $32, RT raises to $85, SB folds, UTG calls $53.

Turn: ($234) Ah (2 players)

UTG checks, RT bets $132, UTG calls $132.

River: ($498) 5s (2 players)

UTG checks, RT checks.

Final Pot: $498

Results below:

UTG has 9c Ac (one pair, aces).

RT has Qh Th (one pair, tens).

Outcome: UTG wins $498.

I'm still kinda debating whether or not I could have gotten away from this hand with the straight out there, but unless I'm pretty deep, I think I'm just going to have to stack off. Really hurt the sack to see an $1172 pot pushed in the other guys direction:

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($685.68)
SB ($432.30)
RT ($512.70)
UTG ($774.84)
MP ($144.10)
CO ($1202.20)

Preflop: RT is BB with 4s, 4h.

UTG raises to $16, 2 folds, Button calls $16, SB calls $14, RT calls $12.

Flop: ($64) 5h, 6d, 4c (4 players)

SB checks, RT bets $44, UTG calls $44, Button raises to $120, SB folds, RT raises to $304, UTG folds, Button raises to $528, RT calls $232.70 (All-In).

Turn: ($1172.70) Ks (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($1172.70) Qd (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $1172.70

Results below:

Button has 6h 6s (three of a kind, sixes).
RT has 4s 4h (three of a kind, fours).
Outcome: Button wins $1172.70.

So after dropping about $900 playing in the 2/4 games I decided to drop back down to 1/2 until I built my roll back up.

In this next hand I've played with the SB quite a bit and he's a pretty basic player, never puts all his money in unless he's got a big hand. So I was legitimately worried about his having 64 here and I assumed the MP just had some hand with a 4 in it and was coming along for the ride. Normally I would have just stacked off and chalked it up to a cooler if I lost, but my confidence was kinda shaken after my previous sessions over the weekend.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($157)
SB ($306.62)
RT ($215.20)
UTG ($263.60)
MP ($159.50)
CO ($420.73)

Preflop: RT is BB with 4h, Ad.
1 fold, MP calls $2, 1 fold, Button calls $2, SB completes, RT checks.

Flop: ($8) 2s, 3d, 5c (4 players)

SB bets $4, RT raises to $12, MP calls $12, Button calls $12, SB calls $8.

Turn: ($56) 7c (4 players)

SB checks, RT bets $38, MP calls $38, Button calls $38, SB raises to $292.62 (All-In), RT folds, MP calls $107.50 (All-In), Button folds.

River: ($570.12) 9d (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $570.12

Results below:

SB has 4c Ac (straight, five high).
MP has 8c 2c (one pair, twos).
Outcome: SB wins $570.12.

This last hand is downright painful to relive. It was at the end of my session last night and I kept telling myself that I was getting tired and making sloppy plays due to frustration from getting donkstruck all weekend, but pressed on in spite of that.

The villain here is awful, total call station playing something like 65/25/1.80. When the K hit the turn it kind of froze me and I wasn't sure what the best line was, the villain insta called my flop bet, so I immediately put him on a mediocre hand and I didn't want to just check and let the MP push me off my hand. His range is so wide here, 9T, A9, 67, JT, T7 etc. I also saw him floating flops several times with big over cards. With his low aggression factor my shove on the river is awful. I laid out a blocking bet and for some reason just felt like he was trying to take the pot away from me. Little did I know he had the monster that is K9 off.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($192.15)
SB ($232.45)
RT ($223.45)
UTG ($252.90)
MP ($463.15)
CO ($424.05)

Preflop: RT is BB with Jd, Jh.
1 fold, MP calls $2, 3 folds, RT raises to $10, MP calls $8.

Flop: ($21) 8c, 9d, 4s (2 players)

RT bets $16, MP calls $16.

Turn: ($53) Kd (2 players)

RT bets $35, MP calls $35.

River: ($123) 2s (2 players)

RT bets $50, MP raises to $160, RT raises to $162.45 (All-In), MP calls $2.44.

Final Pot: $447.90

Results below:

RT has Jd Jh (one pair, jacks).
MP has 9c Ks (two pair, kings and nines).
Outcome: MP wins $447.90.

That hand pretty much made me want to vomit. Not only because this donk turned his gin card on the turn, but I didn't go with my initial read which was "this guy's got a pretty low agg factor, it isn't likely he'd bluff here."

Stupid stupid stupid.

I can always tell when I'm off my game because I try to win every big pot, have no patience and can't let go of hands or go with my read that's telling me I'm beat. Whenever I'm feeling this way I try to make lower variance plays, even though overall I know I should stick my money in if I'm a 51/49 favorite. Verneer had a pretty solid blog entry that touched on this: http://www.cardrunners.com/members/index.php?option=com_mamblog&Itemid=29&task=show&action=view&id=5501&Itemid=29

Moving on, Nov ended up being a pretty solid month for me. I finished up close to 5k after my rakeback and pts for cash bonus. My NOV graph is below. It's so sick, at the end of last month I was telling myself how I was going to start making like at least 5k a month on the avg playing 2/4 and then I get bitchslapped worse than Rosie O'Donnell in a beauty pagent. Well, maybe not that bad, but you get the drift. Back to the fucking drawing board I guess! So since my roll's around 7.8k now, it looks like I'll just stick with 1/2 through DEC, hopefully get my roll up to around 10k and then give 2/4 another crack after the new year.

Well as the blog title states I played some 2/4 last night and actually ran ok at that limit for a change and ended up winning my biggest pot to date.

The villain in this hand was pretty much a call station/maniac. I think he was playing something like 48/31/6. He was the type of player that bet air like the nuts and liked to slow play his big hands.

When he led into me I was pretty sure he was weak or had a medium strength hand, so I popped him accordingly. In retrospect I wish I raised him more on the flop. On the turn when he led into me again in my mind it was pretty much all in or fold. At that point I actually put him on some type of a PP, or possibly something like 56, 45 or 75, but honestly his range is so wide I felt like I still had good equity vs his range. Against a better player folding here is certainly an option, but against this particular villain I think getting it in is just fine. I really can't fault him for putting it all in on the turn as he had a ton of outs, but his pre flop play is pretty much dogshit IMO.

Here's the hand:

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

RT ($441.60)
SB ($949.60)
BB ($1104.60)
UTG ($800)
MP ($390.13)
CO ($429.70)

Preflop: RT is Button with As, Ac.
2 folds, CO calls $4, RT raises to $20, 1 fold, BB calls $16, CO folds.

Flop: ($46) 4c, 7s, 6s (2 players)
BB bets $24, RT raises to $68, BB calls $44.

Turn: ($182) Th (2 players)
BB bets $144, RT raises to $353.6 (All-In), BB calls $209.60.

River: ($889.20) 5c (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $889.20
Results below:
RT has As Ac (one pair, aces).
BB has 4s 9s (one pair, fours).
Outcome: RT wins $889.20.

Winning this pot was real sweet seeing as though I've been running like complete shit in the 2/4 game, not to mention it's the biggest pot I've raked to date.

I've been in the process of watching brystmar's 2/4NL vid where he discusses moving from 1/2 to 2/4 and some of the problems he faced when he was making that transition. I'm about half way through and already it's been one of my favorite vids.

At this point I feel much calmer and more at ease in the 2/4 games, although I'm not gonna lie, after all the money went in on the turn my heart was beating like crazy and I had my asshole puckered up real tight. So needless to say, I'm still getting used to the swings at that higher limit. One thing I've adjusted to more that brystmar talks about in his vid is the fact that the players are more aggro at this higher limit and you'll see more 3 betting and squeeze plays. At first this added aggression threw me off, but now I definitely feel a lot more comfortable with it and can adjust my play accordingly. I was also worried that there wouldn't be as many donks at this level, but I was wrong, there's still plenty of dead money to be had:

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($295.60)
RT ($386.80)
BB ($495)
UTG ($785.20)
MP ($156.40)
CO ($401.60)

Preflop: RT is SB with Ah, Kd.

UTG raises to $14, MP calls $14, 2 folds, RT raises to $56, 1 fold, UTG folds, MP raises to $156.4 (All-In), RT calls $100.40.

Flop: ($330.80) Ac, 4c, 6s (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($330.80) Ts (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($330.80) 7c (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $330.80

Results below:
RT has Ah Kd (one pair, aces).
MP has Ks 6h (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: RT wins $330.80.

Yesterday I came up with this elaborate plan to pretty much stay at 1/2 until March or so and just keep putting money away in my saving's acct until I hit 10k, but when I was playing last night I saw a handful of good 2/4 games running so I said fuck it and hopped in a few games.

So anyways, I think for the time being I'll be playing 2/4 if I see good games running, if not then I'll just play 1/2. If I drop a handful of buy ins playing 2/4 then I'll drop down for a while until I can rebuild my roll.

Let me preface this by saying how tilted I am right now because I wrote an entire blog entry and then stupidly restarted my computer before I saved it. I really hate it when I do shit like that.

Anyways, I'm pretty pissed off an frustrated by my lastest venture into 2/4NL. The l last time I took a serious shot was July/August and I ran colder than a witches tit in a brass bra. But in all honesty, I still had more to improve on, so moving back down wasn't that big of a deal for me.

This time though I really felt ready for the step up. I had my coach sweat me for a session at 2/4 and had a pretty nice result, so after talking to him he was cool with me giving 2/4 another go on my own.

My roll is kinda short right now because I've been trying to build up my saving's acct, so I just gave myself a 3 buy in cushion. If i got some traction going then I'd just keep playing 2/4 indefinitely, but if i lost those 3 buy ins then I'd move back down.

I played on Monday night on Absolute and Stars and ended up +60 or so, nothing big, but I felt like it was a small step in the right direction. I also played last night and just got pissed on. Right now I'm super frustrated and pissed off. Overall I only lost 2 buy ins and felt pretty happy with my play, but the swing financially kinda fucks with my head a bit.

Here are a couple of hands from last night:

This first one is against a maniac that was playing 58/38/5. I'm not sure how I feel about this hand to be honest. I saw this villain bluffing off his stack a couple of times as well as slapping a few bad beats on guys by tripping up with mid/bottom pair or hitting 2 pair on the turn or riv. Against a player like this normally I'm more than happy shoving with TPTK because I feel that usually crushes his range.

In this hand I felt like I had good equity and was fine putting it all in initially, but in hindsight and after talking to my coach maybe I did get stubborn with it and tried to steamroll him. I'll post a hand later that reinforces my thought process though:

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($227.50)
SB ($396.20)
BB ($605.10)
RT ($397)
MP ($779.50)
CO ($1490.99)

Preflop: RT is UTG with Ks, Ad.
RT raises to $16, 4 folds, BB calls $12.

Flop: ($34) 7s, Kh, 7c (2 players)
BB checks, RT bets $26, BB raises to $52, RT raises to $106, BB raises to $589.1 (All-In), RT calls $249 (All-In).

Turn: ($978.10) Js (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($978.10) 2c (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $978.10

Results below:
BB has Jh 7h (full house, sevens full of jacks).
RT has Ks Ad (two pair, kings and sevens).
Outcome: BB wins $978.10.


This next hand is just unlucky IMO. It's sick, but when the Q hit the turn I said to myself, "That queen doesn't really change anything". LOL, nice read dickhead. I've played with this villain before and saw him stack of light, so I was fine with getting it all in on the turn. OBV unlucky and I think this guy played his hand pretty piss poor, but whatever, happens I guess:

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($172.40)
RT ($390)
BB ($400)
UTG ($1568.90)
MP ($170)
CO ($499.70)

Preflop: RT is SB with Kc, Ks.
UTG calls $4, 3 folds, RT raises to $20, BB calls $16, UTG calls $16.

Flop: ($60) 7c, 5d, 9c (3 players)
RT bets $48, BB calls $48, UTG folds.

Turn: ($156) Qs (2 players)
RT bets $100, BB raises to $332 (All-In), RT calls $222 (All-In).

River: ($810) 4c (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $810

Results below:
RT has Kc Ks (one pair, kings).
BB has Qh Qd (three of a kind, queens).
Outcome: BB wins $810.

After that beat I decided I'd had enough of 2/4 for the night and decided to drop back down to 1/2.

This last hand is against the same player that stacked me with the J7 hand. It's pretty much the same as the AK one and is an example of how this villain plays. I dunno if he had a hard on for me last night or what, but after stacking me in the 2/4 game I saw him playing in my 1/2 game later also.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($151.75)
SB ($89.85)
BB ($559.59)
RT ($185.50)
MP ($282.10)
CO ($224.30)

Preflop: RT is UTG with Ks, Kd.
RT raises to $8, 1 fold, CO calls $8, 1 fold, SB calls $7, 1 fold.

Flop: ($26) 8d, 8s, 9h (3 players)
SB checks, RT bets $18, CO raises to $36, SB folds, RT raises to $72, CO raises to $216.3 (All-In), RT calls $87.50 (All-In).

Turn: ($401.80) 4h (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($401.80) Qs (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $401.80

Results below:
RT has Ks Kd (two pair, kings and eights).
CO has 7s 7d (two pair, eights and sevens).
Outcome: RT wins $345. CO wins $56.80.

Wish that hand was in the 2/4 game, unlucky for me it was in the 1/2 though.

Thank god my fiancee's so supportive. I was complaining to her about how disappointed and frustrated I was with my session last night and she was great, saying things like, "well, this isn't so much about your skill as it is being able to handle the increased swings." Which is true. Anyways, it's just good to have that support because poker can be a fickle mistress.

Looking at the big picture last night's session really isn't that big of a deal, it's not like I haven't lost 2 buy ins before during one sitting, just sucks because I was hoping to string together a couple of nice sessions and then keep it rolling from there. It's been a big goal of mine to beat the 2/4 games, so to be this close and not get over the hump is tough.

I guesss at this point I'll stick with 1/2 until the new year and then give 2/4 another go in 2008. I could jump back in if I wanted to, my roll's at 6400 with 1100 on the way do to rakeback + bonuses, but I think it'll be a little more beneficial to make the jump when my bankroll's a little more padded.

I played a couple $10 SNG's last night as well as some .25/.50 cash games and actually had a really good time. I played some Halo 3 and had a couple captain and cokes and seeing as though I didn't want to repeat my expensive mistake from last week, I decided to just sit back and play some low limit games.

After watching CTS' latest video I thought he had a really good idea when he said he dropped down a couple levels for a session one time and forced himself to raise every single button. After I finished my SNG's I thought I'd give that a try seeing as though I'm pretty nitty and have trouble being aggressive at times and facing aggression too.

That being said, last night's session was probably one of the most fun ones I've ever played. For about an hour I played 4 tables and forced myself to raise every single button if it was limped to me. I was shocked to see how lightly guys would call me down sometimes. Mid pair, ace high, bottom pair, it was unreal. Definitely a good learning experience not to mention a lot of fun to do as well.

There was one thing that happened at the end of the session that sent me on tilt like never before. I noticed that regular I play with at 1/2NL was sitting at one of my .25/.50 tables. This guy ALWAYS short stacks the 1/2 game and sure enough, there he was, short stacking the friggin $50 buy in game. So this guy raises from EP and he's nitty as hell. He in fact makes me look like some aggro LAG because he plays so tight. And I call with 3s4s from the button. The flop comes A25ss and I just start laughing because I know I'll get to stack this nit. The pot was like 5 bucks and I dunno what this moron was doing, but he straight pushes for about 25 bucks. I of course call and he flips AcKs. The turn and river both come spades and I end up losing the $60 or so pot. Not like I was happy about losing that pot, but it wasn't like it was some $400 one, so I was kinda shrugging it off when I see the nit IMMEDIATELY leave the table.

I don't really know what came over me, maybe it was the captain, but jesus did that tilt the shit outta me. I mean, I was like instantly furious. I couldn't believe that little pussy doubled up in the 50 dollar max buy in game and then pulled a hit and run! Now I can look back on it and laugh at what a douchebag he is, but good lord was I pissed off last night. After this I realized how pissed off I was and just took my +80 win and went to bed.

-RT

I meant to put this blog entry in last week, but forgot about it, so I'm tossing it in now.

A lot of players have leaks in their games and these leaks can come in all forms. Some play the game badly, some have no bankroll management, other play table games like blackjack or craps. All of these things decrease their winnings and cut into the old bankroll. For me, I have one real leak, and it's playing drunk. I'm not sure why I do it, but for some reason after throwing back a few captain and cokes I get the urge to jump in a few cash games and proceed to play like a complete asshole. It's weird that I do this because in all other facets regarding poker I think I'm extrememly nitty. I've been describied as having Nazi like bankroll management and never play above what I can afford and feel comfortable with.

Playing drunk though is like my kryptonite. I have a good friend who actually caught me playing drunk one night and absolutely ripped into me the next day. He hopped online and watched me play late one night and saw me spewing and playing like a complete retard. I honestly don't think I've been scolded that bad since I was a teenager living with my parents. Anyways, his "lecture" as he called it really had a profound affect on me, not because what he said wasn't the honest to god truth, but because I'd never expect him to berate me like he did.

That day I went home and told my fiancee that if I played drunk again I'd pay her a hundred bucks. No arguments, no questions asked, just whip out the wallet and give her a hundy for my stupidity. Well since then I've been pretty good about monitoring myself, until last Thursday. I went over to my friend's place and got in a night of Halo 3 and drinking and then came home after. My fiancee was on the couch watching Gray's Anatomy or some shit, so I of course hopped on the comp. I actually realized I was too drunk to play, so I just fired up a couple 5 dollar SNG's and started playing. After about 35 mins I became bored of this and saw that the cash games were calling to me. So naturally I fired up 6 tables of 1/2NL and over the course of the next hour and a half dropped 2 buy ins. It was after I dropped my 2nd buy in I realized what a complete asshole I'd been and hadn't sobered up nearly enough to play. At that point I was pissed, had just dropped 2 buy ins and realized I broke the rule I set out for myself. So, I walked over to my checkbook and promptly cut a check for $100 for my fiancee.

It's funny because she actually felt pretty bad about taking the check from me, but after I told her not to feel bad about it she said, "well, when you play drunk you're basically just giving money away, so you might as well give it to me." Haha. Having a supportive woman really is great. I even asked if she wouldn't mind using the money to buy dinner the next night to which she replied "sorry, I can't do that or else you won't learn your lesson."

My buddy Sameer, the one who scolded me, told me the next time I play drunk I owe my fiancee $200, and it'll go up from there, so yeah, playing drunk is definitely -EV.

In other related news, this month's been going pretty well poker wise, I started off hot and got up to +1k right off the bat, but actually proceeded to blow all of that plus a buy in (400 of that was when i was drunk), so I wasn't happy about being down after I started off the month so well. Luckily, i ran great the other day and had my first ever +1k session, and followed that up with a +175 session last night when I was checking out the Poker Stars software. Overall I'm up about $1500 on the month which feels great considering how last month went. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going.

Below is my October Graph for 1/2NL. Overall I ended up +1,300 including rakeback and bonuses, so not a great month, but better than being in the negative I suppose.

Here are a couple of hands from my first session in Nov. It's a great feeling to get off to a fast start, running good definitely helps.

Hand 1

This guy's lead below on the turn and river really threw me off, he was such a donk I felt like 2 pair might've been possible on the river, or even a backdoor flush. Really strange hand IMO, but worked out ok.

Absolute Poker $2 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
RT:$223.35
SB: $346.71
BB: $292.87
UTG: $76.86
MP: $99.00
CO: $136.32

Preflop: RT is Button with Kd, Kh
UTG folds, MP calls $2, CO calls $2, RT raises to $10, SB calls $9, BB folds, MP folds, CO folds.

Flop: ($26.00) 2h, 4s, 7d (2 players)
SB checks, RT bets $18, SB calls $18.

Turn: ($62.00) Qd (2 players)
SB bets $20, RT raises to $60, SB calls $40.

River: ($182.00) 8d (2 players)
SB bets $60, RT calls $60.

Final Pot: $302.00

Results:
RT shows Kd, Kh (One pair, kings).
SB shows 3h, 5c (queen high).
Outcome: RT wins $298.50.
($3.50 Rake)

Hand 2

I played this hand pretty poorly after the turn, I definitely should have shoved after his reraise, but after how October had gone, I was deathly afraid he had KK here. Looking back on it, there's no way I can fold the hand, so I might as well of just shoved it all in. Not happy with how I played the hand, but the end result was nice:

Absolute Poker $2 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
Hand Converter Tool from www.DeucesCracked.com

B B: $362.30
UTG: $200.00
MP: $222.25
CO: $1071.84
Button: $62.05
RT: $344.15

Preflop: RT is SB with 9d, 9h
MP folds, CO raises to $8, Button folds, RT calls $7, BB folds.

Flop: ($18.00) 9s, 6d, 6h (3 players)
RT checks, CO bets $12, RT raises to $34, CO calls $22.

Turn: ($86.00) Ks (3 players)
RT bets $60, CO raises to $120, RT calls $60.

River: ($326.00) 2h (3 players)
RT checks, CO bets $222.

Final Pot: $508.15

Results:
UTG doesn't show.
CO doesn't show.
RT shows 9d, 9h (Full house, nines full of sixes).
Outcome: RT wins $686.80.

Hand 3

I think this is the first decent laydown I've made in a while

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (6 handed)

RT:($217.95)

CO:($28.75)

Button:($26 5.25)

SB:($153.76)

BB:($85.60)

UTG:($324.05)

Preflop: RT is MP with Qc, Qs. 1 fold, RT raises to $8, CO calls $8, Button raises to $25, 2 folds, RT raises to $60, CO calls $20.75 (All-In), Button raises to $265.25, RT folds.

Flop: ($294.50) Ks, 3h, 4d (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($294.50) 3s (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($294.50) 6d (2 players, 1 all-in) Final Pot: $89.25

Showdown:

Button Shows [Ad As] (Two Pair, aces and threes)

CO Shows [3d 9s] (Three of a kind, threes)

Button Collects $61.27 from side pot-1

CO Collects $86.98 from main pot

As my time in my current job draws to a close, I've found myself constantly thinking about playing for a living and what some general guidelines for people in my position might be. I've been reading a bunch of threads covering the subject as well as talking to some friends of mine who's opinions I respect and here's a list of what I've come up with so far:

1. Have 6 months living expenses put away in savings: For me this comes out to be about 10k. I'd probably feel more comfortable having 15k put away, but 10k should sufficiently cover any losing or break even months. While October has kinda sucked for me, I ended up +1500 including rakeback and bonuses, so while I "could" live off that, being able to dip into my savings some would certainly be helpful

2. 50 buy in rule: I know this changes for limit and tourney players, but for me as strictly a NL player, I think having 50 buy ins for your desired level of play is pretty cushy and will keep you from stressing out too much when losing streaks occur. Some people will say more and others will say less is ok, but for me I feel comfortable having 50 buy ins. I'm currently playing 1/2NL, so that means I need my roll to be at 10k.

3. Health Insurance: The biggest drawback to playing for a living is the lack of benefits. For me obtaining health insurance is a must and lucky for me my fiancee is on the path towards becoming a nurse, so I'll be able to share her health benefits. If this wasn't the case, I'd have to find a plan on my own however, because you don't want to be SOL if you happen to break a leg or something.

4. Lower your monthly "nut": By monthly "nut" I'm referring to ones cost of living. Bills, rent, car payment, food etc. The total amount of all of that is your monthly payment or "nut". Before turning pro or semi pro it's important to keep your costs as low as possible because you won't be having "fixed" income you can always count on. That being said, if you aren't a winning player and can't count on an avg monthly income from poker then playing for a living isn't for you. I recently paid off my car loan which goes a long way towards lowering my monthly nut, but I still have some debt on my credit cards that I'd like to get down if not eliminate completely.

5. Set up a retirement plan (ie. IRA or Roth IRA): Another nice perk of working for the man are the retirement benefits. My job offers a 401k that I try to take advantage of as much as possible. I also have a Roth IRA acct set up that I will begin to make monthly transfers into when I leave my job to play part time. Make sure you have a retirement plan and continue to work on it if you decide to leave your job and pursue poker as a career.

6. Support of family/friends: A while ago I sat down with my mom and talked to her about my poker play because I'd caught wind that she wasn't happy with my "gambling". Long story short, the convo didn't go well. She just didn't understand how poker differed from any other gambling activities and was fearful that I'd lose everything, climb into debt, etc. I can thank my alcoholic and Blackjack playing relatives for instilling these ideas in her head, but regardless, I feel good knowing that I at least took the time to sit down with her and explain how poker fit into my life and how I managed my money.

If all my friends and family shared her view regarding poker, then mentally it'd be very hard to handle, but fortunately my fiancee for instance is very supportive of my playing and has always pushed me to do what I really want to do in life. As she sees it, as long as I'm bringing in a monthly income then she has no problems with my playing for a living. I also have other friends who have been pushing for me to play for a while now which is nice.

7. Able to discuss poker and get quality feedback: Being able to constantly learn and improve is essential in today's game. Fortunately sites like CR really help keep your head on straight when the deck is punching you in the mouth. I think that being able to bounce hands/strategy off your peers is helpful not only to keep improving but to help you when you're in a downswing, which can be downright brutal at times.

8. Determine your goals: If poker is your job then you need to treat it as such. Set up hours/hands you want to play a day and stick to it. Also set daily stop losses to prevent yourself from tilting. In addition to this days off are important to set up as well if only to avoid burnout.

9. Don't be a slave to money/Have a backup plan: One thing I really want to make a conscious effort to do with my poker winnings is give some away to a couple friends of mine as well as my fiancee. The last thing I was to be in life is a cheapskate and obsess over money. If I have a big month, I want to make sure that while some of the winnings goes towards my bankroll, some of it should also go towards my fiancee for a shopping spree and some towards a couple of my friends who have supported me in my quest to play for a livin

With regards to having a backup plan, it's a good idea to have something to fall back on in case poker doesn't work out for you. For me I'm going to be teaching tennis part time, so I'll always have some form of a consistent income. I'd feel too uncomfortable relying solely upon poker to pay the bills, unless I was consistently making something like 10k a month from poker.

10. Poker doesn't contribute anything to society: And I've saved the best for last. Let me just say SUCK A DONKEY'S DICK to anybody who actually thinks this is important. Yes, because we all go to work because we're concerned with the product we're producing and our contributions to society. This is total BS in my opinion. We go to work because we need to earn a living. Anybody who says things like "oh, I hate the weekends and I can't wait to go to work on Monday" has no social life. I realize that some people do genuinely enjoy their jobs, this most likely will never be me. What's important to me is my family and friends, work's just work to me.

Fuck those morons who think that we all need to contribute to society and thus poker's the devil. This is laughable to me. I make fricken cell phone games right now, yay. So I guess my contribution is that I can help people enjoy the time they spend on the can by helping produce crappy little cell phone games or them to enjoy as they pinch off a loaf.

That's all I've got for now, the NBA season is starting so I've gotta get stat tracker up so I can follow my fantasy teams.

-RT

There's nothing like a natural disaster to make you wake up and realize how unimportant most of the things you worry about in your day to day life are. Your job, apartment, fantasy football team, poker downswings etc. It kind of sickens me to think that the things I just mentioned cause me grief in one form or another when hundreds of families have lost their homes and will have to rebuild their lives from scratch. I'm not some bleeding heart liberalist or anything, but if the fires had gotten to us all I would have lost would have been my apt (which I rent), some clothes and my crappy tv. The most expensive things I own are my car and computer, so getting started again wouldn't have been the end of the world for me. I can only wonder what those poor families out in Ramona or Poway area will do now that they've lost their homes and have little to no money put away in savings.

I live in the La Jolla area so the fires never came too close to us, although we were getting pretty worried when they started closing in on Del Mar, as I have relatives that live up in that area. Overall it's been a pretty scary time down here and to hear that we're starting to get the fires under control is definitely good news. It's very humbling to think that even with all our technology we're still pretty powerless when it comes to natural disasters.

In other news, my company made a bunch of layoffs in my department on Friday. It was pretty miserable because a couple of guys on my team were let go, some of which I was pretty close to. I can't imagine coming into work on a Friday, then leaving at lunchtime with a fricken severance package! Truth be told, I'm a little suprised I wasn't let go because my boss knows I'm moving in April, so I'm not entirely sure why they'd hold onto me. I think if I were laid off I'd be the only one walking out of the building with a smile on my face. So crazy how upper management just flew down here on Friday and announced all those layoffs, caught everybody off guard. I can't say that my company really inspires people to be loyal, I'm glad I'm leaving later this year, fuck these guys.

My office was closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the fires, so I just sat around my apt and played poker most of the time. The air quality was pretty awful outside, so I was more or less on house arrest for those couple of days. I figure these past few days are similiar to what it'd be like for me if I played poker full time. I've gotten in about 3.5 hours a day and have taken breaks to run the occasional errand or go to the gym. The free time is fantastic, but the swings and relying on poker as my sole source of income would be tough. It's doable, but I'd want to have a nice amount put away in savings as well as a very healthy checkin g acct and bankroll. I think I'm up about $1200 this month including rakeback, so it definitely hasn't been like last month where I pretty much ran like god for 30 days.

I'm glad when we move up to Norcal that I'll have a consistent monthly income from teaching tennis. I think working part time and playing poker part time is really the way to go, at least for me. My goal from now until April is to get my saving's acct up to 10k, maybe have like 7-8k in checking and a bankroll of close to 10k. Right now I have 3k in savings, about 4k in checking and a roll of a little over 7k, so I've definitely got some work to do.

Anways, I guess that's it for now. Hopefully we can get these fires more contained the next few days and get started on the rebuilding process. A few months ago I bought my fiancee tickets to the Charger game this weekend for her bday, but at this point I'm not sure if they'll have the game there. My guess is that they won't, or will move it to Monday night. There are still quite a few people using Qualcomm as a refuge, so I'd be suprised if they held the game there.

-RT

I have to say, winning $19 after a session has never felt as good as it did for me yesterday.

Being in a downswing sucks, and for me a downswing consists of losing about 4-5 sessions in a row and dropping an avg of 2 buy ins per session. I realize this is laughable for some people, as some players have endured downswings of 30 buy ins over a period of several weeks or maybe even months. So maybe I should just call this a bad run. Anways, I've been losing lately and after getting my bankroll up over 12k, I went on a really crappy run of cards and am now looking at a roll of about 10.2k. Certainly not the end of the world, but right now when I'm really trying to build up my roll and also put away 6 months worth of living expenses, a bad run of cards is not what I need.

I remember a quote from Phil Ivey regarding running hot/cold and he said something to the extent of, "There's no such thing as running good or running bad, you're either playing well or you aren't." I really like Ivey a lot and respect his game tremendously. I've always thought this comment was dead on, but now I realize you can play your A game everytime you sit down to play, but the results just aren't going to be there. It's frustrating for me to go from having my best month ever to just getting pissed on by the deck. I can always tell when I'm in a rut because the most ridiculous shit will happen over and over again. It's hard to believe mathematically how these hands can happen one on top of another, but man, it's brutal.

So after enduring several sessions of what I can only describe as being raped and pillaged by the biggest fricken donks ever, I logged in a nice +19 dollar session yesteday. Yay. I posted a few hands that I think summarize my sessions for the past few days. No need to read over them if you don't want to, it's more cathartic for me than anything else.

One change I've noticed with how I react to these situations is that before whenever I lost a buy in or two I'd pretty much freak out, now I kinda just roll with the punches and as long as I'm making the correct decisions then I feel fine about things. If I'm losing money because I'm tilting or making poor decisions then that pisses me off to no end. I don't think I really tilt much anymore and if I find that I am playing sloppy I usually tell myself to either get my head out of my ass and start playing good poker or stop.

There was a comment my coach made regarding down swings one time that I thought was pretty on the money. I asked him if he re-evaluated his game or made any changes to how he played if he was experiencing a cold streak, he said, "I play the same whether I'm running hot or cold. The only way you can grow as a poker player is to go through down periods. They're inevitable unless you're CTS or Townsend." I've always liked tha tcomment and at this point I can recognize when I'm running cold and take measures to try and get out of the rut I'm in.

1. Take some time off - Usually I'll take a day or two off because running cold can really hurt your confidence. If I'm scared to make the right plays or trust my reads then I know I'm not playing optimal poker. I've also noticed that my patience level and attitude generally suck when I'm in a rut, I've noticed that if I take a bad beat I'm immediately pissed off an constantly am saying/thinking "oh of course that would happen, why the fuck would my set/overpair/straight hold up!!" That's just not good. If I can't be patient when I sit down to play then I might as well just give my fiancee $300 to blow on clothes, cause that's basically all I'll do during a session at that point.

2. Go over HH's after sessions/Discuss hands - Sometimes during a downswing I'll be making incorrect decisions, so while I think it's a popwerful tool to always go over key hands after a session, it's even more important to make sure you're making clear, lucid decisions when you're in a bit of a rut.

3. Watch a CR vid - If I feel that I'm making poor decisions I think it's always a good idea to watch a low limit video (ie. Fruity Pro) just tto get back to your roots and make sure you're playing solid, fundamental poker.

This is kinda off topic, but my buddy RJ suggested that I get some sort of a common theme with my blogs, so I guess I'll just roll with blogging about my experiences as I transition from my full time job to playing semi pro, which as of now will be April 11th, 2008 (tentative last day at my job and just before my fiancee and I move from San Diego up to the Bay Area.)

So in conclusion, winning 19 bucks yesterday isn't anything to shout about for sure, but it feels good to get back into the green. Now, if only my fantasy team wasn't so pathetic...

-RT

HH's Below:

Hand #1

BB ($130)

UTG ($756.38)

MP ($124)

CO ($80)

RT ($203.35)

SB ($106.28)

Preflop: RT is Button with Ac, Ad.

2 folds, CO checks, RT raises to $10, SB raises to $106.28, 1 fold, CO folds, RT calls $96.28.

Flop: ($216.56) Kc, 2c, Td (2 players)

Turn: ($216.56) 5h (2 players)

River: ($216.56) 7h (2 players)

Final Pot: $216.56

Results below:

SB shows Kd Ks.

RT has Ac Ad (one pair, aces).

Outcome: SB wins $216.56.

Hand #2

RT ($393.40)

Button ($94.18)

SB ($237.10)

BB ($217.75)

UTG ($72.50)

MP ($296.04)

Preflop: RT is CO with 8d, 7d.

2 folds, RT raises to $8, 1 fold, SB calls $7, 1 fold.

Flop: ($18) 6s, 9h, 4c (2 players)

SB checks, RT bets $13, SB raises to $26, RT calls $13.

Turn: ($70) Td (2 players)

SB bets $44, RT raises to $358, SB calls $159.10 (All-In).

River: ($476.20) 6c (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $476.20

Results below:

SB Shows [4s 4d] (Full house, fours full of sixes).

RT has 8d 7d (straight, ten high).

Outcome: SB wins $631.10.

Hand #3

RT ($180)

BB ($343.23)

UTG ($483.37)

MP ($90)

CO ($404.60)

Button ($201.40)

Preflop: RT is SB with Kd, Ks.

UTG calls $2, MP calls $2, 2 folds, RT raises to $10, BB calls $8, UTG folds, MP calls $8.

Flop: ($32) 7s, 3d, 9h (3 players)

RT bets $24, BB folds, MP raises to $76, RT raises to $152, MP calls $4 (All-In).

Turn: ($192) Qh (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($192) 4h (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $192

Results below:

RT has Kd Ks (one pair, kings).

MP Shows [7h Ah] (Flush, ace high)

Outcome: MP wins $264.

Hand #4 - I was pretty unsure on the best way to play this hand. After I was check raised on the flop I wasn't sure if calling, folding or raising was best to be honest. Villain was playing about 30/14/2. Any comments or suggestions are certainly welcome.

Button ($405.65)

SB ($252.75)

BB ($174.55)

UTG ($213.65)

MP ($69.90)

RT ($198.55)

Preflop: RT is CO with Ad, Qs.

2 folds, RT raises to $8, 1 fold, SB calls $7, BB calls $6.

Flop: ($24) 9d, 9c, Qc (3 players)

SB checks, BB checks, RT bets $18, SB folds, BB raises to $43, RT raises to $98, BB raises to $164.55, RT calls $68.55.

Turn: ($355.10) Ah (2 players)

River: ($355.10) 5d (2 players)

Final Pot: $355.10

Results below:

BB Shows [Ks 9s] (Three of a kind, nines)

RT has Ad Qs (two pair, aces and queens)

Outcome: BB wins $355.10.