I'll Make You Famous

Drunk reminder

2010-09-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Remember

Yahoo Fantasy Football

Cappersmall Best Cappers

Friendly Survival league on site

Possible league on 2+2

Gotta try to remember others

Ethics Here?

2010-08-07T19:42:00.001-07:00

This is a story from a few years ago, probably not too long after I got my license. Anyways, I am drunk posting this as well. Here goes

Im driving home one night, not sure what month or anything but I know it was cold. It was probably in the low 30's. Anyways, if you dont understand the road I am on I will set it up. Just one road that runs through a small valley I guess, woods on both sides. Anyways, I am on the part of the road where there are no houses or anything, just one streetlight where my "incident" took place. This was probbaly at about 11 or 12 at night as well. Im driving down the road and from a distance I think I see something under the streetlight. Im going pretty good and as I get closer I do actually see, a pretty attractive girl standing under the light in nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. Again, it was about 30 degrees outside and this is the middle of the night. So when I passed her she was looking at me like, "Hey, give me a ride". I slowed down as I passed her and this is where all my thinking and the question of what I should have done came in to play. Again, I was probably about 17 years old at the time. I was probably 17 years old around the time so naturally my thought was, "I am going to pick this girl up and be a hero and probably get a piece here". But then my other thoughts started kicking in. My thoughts of all the horror movies and crazy ass people in the world started to kick in. So heres my other thoughts. I am going to pull over and...

1. I will be talking to her letting her in the car and some crazy asshole will pop out of nowhere and who knows what.

2. I pick her up and we are driving down the road and she probably murders me.

3. Something bad happens, but I dont know what else could possibly happen.

So eventually I just stepped on the gas and proceeded to go home. As I laid in bed that night I couldnt help but think about if what I did was right or wrong. On one hand, I could have possibly helped the person out. But on the other hand, who knows who I was picking up and what would have happened. I really didnt think about it too much afterwards. I did ask my friend, and he said it was probably the good choice

Won my 1st Bigger Tournament

2010-07-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

So on Wednesday I got super drunk and puked all over the place. Called off work the next day (1st time this year). Anyways, woke up super hungover the next day and sat on the couch. I didnt feel like doing much at all, but ended up turning on my computer. I registered for the tournament and my computer kept freezing. It happened about 3 or 4 different times and the last time I thought about not even turning it back on, but decided to give it one last try. It finally got working again. The tournament was a superstack tournament so it fit real well in to my style of playing tournaments. Anyways, I stayed around average most of the tournament, until about the final 2 or 3 tables. I chipped up big time and went in to the final table as chipleader. I never gave up the chip lead until HU. It went back and forth for a while until I gained a huge chip advantage. Anyways, took it down a few hands later for my first big 3 digit score. Not a huge one, but my first big one. And I made way more money in the 4 hours it took than I would have made at work. I was pretty stoked the entire day.

I brushed my teeth

2010-07-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

And rinsed with beer. It was a pretty good, but hard weekend. I drank in excess, something that I shouldnt have done. It was hot as shit all weekend too. Anyways, I passed out twice on Saturday after starting to drink at 9:00 a.m. I ate hamburgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

You can chalk it up as a good weekend

So Im Standing In Line

2010-06-29T20:25:00.001-07:00

Waiting to pay for my Green Tea and I overhear this conversation. The lady in front of me (who I know to see) and the cashier are talking, quite loud. They knew each other a little bit. Anyways, the conversation went a little like this.

Cashier: So, when are you due?
Lady: Tomorrow actually, C-section.
Cashier: O yeah, good for you, congratulations!
Lady: Yes, 2nd and final one.

Me: (Thinking) Get the fuck out of my way you fat bitch

Lady: Anyways, can I get that pack thats on sale.

Me: (In my head) WHATTTTTTTTT

Cashier: Yes sure. (Hands her the pack of cigarettes). Good luck
Lady: Thanks (leaves store)

Now I dont know if its just me or not, but WHAT THE FUCK WAS SHE DOING SMOKING. I am just under the assumption that those cigarettes were for her as she does smoke, and didnt have anyone in her car with her. Along with the fact that she was packing them as she left the store. I know her enough (like I said) to know that no one in her family smokes. And if those cigarettes were for her, which I am pretty sure, then I am pretty disgusted. I dont know how people sleep at night doing careless things like this, but this really pisses me off. To know you hold another human being in your belly and continue to pollute yourself with that garbage, essentially putting your child at risk is just arrogant. I really wish I hadnt been in such a good mood or else I would have said something stupid, which would have probably caused a big stir in the store. Anyways, this is just a little rant I wanted to have.

I dont think women should smoke when they are pregnant. Its completely foolish. Im sure a lot of women continue to smoke, drink, do drugs, etc while they are pregnant. These people should not be allowed to get pregnant and potentially screw something up with their children. This is jut my opinion and thought

It Feels So Good

2010-06-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

When your completely hammered and decide poker is a good idea. Play way above your limits and have your entire bankroll on the line, and actually win. Double up set vs top two. Feels very good and was extremely happy. But I have also been on the other end of this. Completely drunk with my whole roll and losing it. So when you play drunk, get lucky.

Going to hopefully get the video camera out this week and see what happens

Two Bad Ass...

2010-06-25T20:44:00.001-07:00

Motherfuckers

A while: Catch up

2010-06-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Its been a while and I am going to make this post brief. Since the last time I wrote something, my fiancee and I split. It was and still is a tough thing to deal with, but I guess time will heal all wounds. I dont want to talk much about this, so lets move along.

I will primarily use to blog to now just talk about a bunch of random garbage. Gambling, partying, video games, and just a bunch of nonsense. So heres to hopefully some good times and some crazy posts. Hopefully some people will let me post some stories that happen here.

I am also going to try and start video taping things again, so maybe we can get some crazy action on film.

Fuck You HU

2010-02-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

HU, you are destroying the shit out of my roll. 9 BI's down and counting. So close to getting to NL50 and then bam, HU games killed me. Back to FR whenever I decide to play again.

Going on a video game grind this week. Gotta beat Gears of War, so I can understand Gears of War 2. Gonna play a lot of Left 4 Dead online and Halo 3 as well. Finally beat Halo 3 last week, and I found out I was almost finished with it when I started

Lets Not Complain

2010-02-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, I guess my lasts few posts have been about me complaing. I have gone on a big downswing, possible one of the biggest of my micro poker career. But everyone goes on downswings and break-even stretches and this is tiny compared to others. So hears to getting out of my slump and getting back on track. So I am going to recap some things that I didnt in my past posts because I was tilted.

The Superbowl

The Superbowl was a really good time. We went over to my parents house for a party. Ended up eating a ton of wings (baked), some chicken zezty pizza thing which was amazing, carrots, dip, soda, etc. Anyways, I had bets on the Colts at -6, Heads for the coin toss, a score in the first 7 1/2 mins, and another bet which I cant remember. I also had 4 squares on 4 different board. Anyways, I think Bodog ended up giving out the 7 1/2 min one even though if you watched it the score was at 7:29 and I took the heads for the coin toss win. Ended up hitting a halftime square which was worth $100. Colts obviously lost so I took that out. But with the square I ended up winning money, so it was nice.

Poker

Well, as I stated poker has been going real bad lately. I have been studying a ton and putting the time and effort in to the game, I just have to get out of my downswing now. Been spending a lot of time on 2+2. Also, Bodog added HU games which I think I broke even for the first day. Its really nice because they have the HU games at my limits and below, so I can practice and learn at microstakes without having to kill my roll. I think I will stick with FR, but mix in some HU now and then. Also have been thinking about downloading HEM and handgrabber to her laptop because I have one free left, but not sure because we may be getting a desktop.

Working out

I slacked last week pretty big, which sucked because of the Superbowl and everything. I got on track again this week, missed two days because of snow, but I couldnt do anything about that. I did get a ton of exercise though shoveling all the snow we had. Anyways, still trying to get there at least 4 - 5 days a week, which helps me a ton.

Thats about it, other than that we have been watching a lot of movies that we are getting from Netflix and I have been back on my video game grind. I forgot how much I loved playing Halo3 online. So hopefully I can get out this weekend, enjoy some things, and get back on track with poker to start the week. Valentines day is tomorrow and I have to cook, so probably wont get much time to play.

When will Feb. end

2010-02-10T09:04:00.001-08:00

I hope this month ends soon. I know its a short month, but Im going from probably my best month ever to my worst month (at least start) ever. I hope this month and at least this day can pick up. Think Im on a 6 or 7 buy in dowswing, which sucks, but its poker. So I hope the rest of the month will get better. One time please

Yay Feb.

2010-02-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

And let the downswing begin. Probably down a bunch of buy-ins over the past few days. Guess I need a break. Really expected this after I posted my goals and talked about the heater I went on to end Jan.

February

2010-02-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

I hope the start of the month isnt how the rest of the month is planning on going.

January was probably one of my best months in my poker career. I ran extremely good at NL25. With that, I thought I was almost ready to roll up at NL50 (I was close) but then February brought me right back down to size. I guess I cant be to mad at myself because I did run like God throughout the month. It was a really great month and I cant stop talking about it (to myself). Anyways, I really didnt play all that much, in terms of days, but when I did I made the best of them. I probably totalled playing about 8-10 days the entire month, but made at least 16 BI's. And ran up a ton of poker points, which helped the bankroll a little bit. I put a lot of time in on the weekends and at nights when I was home alone. I did also put some time in on the early hours while she was sleeping, but that was only on the days where she had work the next morning. But I put a ton of overall time in studying. I studied when we made the trip to Baltimore, at work, after work, at night, almost whenever I could I was studying. I was reading new material, posting on the forums, looking through the HH's on the forums, etc. And it really has helped my game a lot. So I will continue to study because my game improved so much in just a short amount of time.

One thing I did notice in January was that I really didnt tilt much. But maybe it was just me winning so much, I am not sure. But I did begin to tilt the last two days I played, so I need to regain control over that and keep putting in the solid time. If February is suppose to be a bad month for me, thank god its a short month.

Anyways, I should be rolled up to play NL50 sometime this month, barring any meltdowns I have. I dabbled in the game yesterday, had good reads, just got sucked out on. But I have played this level before and I am very confident in myself. So if I continue to play good, study my ass off, and run lucky, I can be rolled for NL100 by April, as long as I put the time in. Its definitely hard to get time to play anymore though.

I have plans for the upcoming weekend so I probably wont play much. We are suppose to get a big snow storm this Friday (tom.) into Saturday. We were planning on going to Baltimore to the aquarium, but I am not sure how thats looking out. Then Sunday we are going to my parents house for a superbowl party. Lets go Colts -6. And then Tuesday into Wednesday we are suppose to get another storm. And of course, next weekend is Valentines Day. So we will see how much time I get into playing. I just need to find time somewhere.

Other than that, just been watching a lot of our Netflix movies and hanging out. Been trying to find other ways of making income, but its tough. Also, I am writing a guide to Beating the Micros for one of the smaller forums (unofficially). So I guess I posted on 2+2 my goals for the month, so here some of them are.

[ ] Get rolled to play NL50 and move up
[ ] Continue studying and posting
[ ] Avoid tournaments
[ ] Continue going to the gym and working out
[ ] Finish my guide to the micros
[ ] Be more social and have fun

Obviously they are very broad goals, but at least I am setting them for myself.

AHhhhhh

2010-01-19T11:50:00.000-08:00

Im here without you Babe
But your still on my lonely mind
I think about you Babe
And I dream about you all the time

Please

2010-01-17T16:24:00.001-08:00

Forgive me. I will make it all different. I can show you. One more time. I sware.

More Grinding

2010-01-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

Grinded the afternoon for a little while today. Made a little bit of profit, not sure on how much. God I misssssss handgrabber and HEM. Only played one hand really bad I thought, which cost me a half stack. JQ suited hit top pair + flush draw on the flop. Raised the villain who called. Turn brought the flush, but also gave me an open ended straight flush draw. Again, raised the villain who bet. River brought an offsuit Ace, I again raised and he shoved. Turned out he ended up with A2s for the nut flush. Anyways, couple hands later hit a set of 10's against KK for a stack to bring me back up. Been playing pretty good as of lately, havent gotten many sessions in. Playing a lot of positionally aware pots and just playing some ABC with a little mix up from late positions. I think taking breaks/studying/working out has really helped my game, and I can just feel NL50 getting that much closer, which would put me right on track for NL100 by the beginning of summer.

Thats about it, just been watching movies lately. Gotta get through Tombstone either later tonight or tomorrow sometime. Probably will work out tomorrow for a little and then put it some nice time at the tables. Looking for a good day. Will update tomorrow if I end up playing

Back to the Grind

2010-01-12T16:57:00.001-08:00

We got back from Baltimore yesterday afternoon. It was a very good and well needed trip. I will probably write about that sometime in the near future.

I did get a chance to get some studying done while we were away. I also got to think about my game and what I had just read, so it helped. The biggest help is going back to playing a very straight forward game again. TAG style for the micros. Just keep it simple, play the premium hands, bet, bet, and bet some more. Get the most value out of your hand. Again, I will mix it up occasionally, but this is the micros. I also got some reading done on hand reading and flop textures which I really think is going to help further my game down the road. I started to study while playing today and really put what I had learned in to use. Im not sure if it was the break, studying, or just hitting the deck pretty hard, but I came out a decent winner today. Hit some sets, got the most value out of them. Had some overpairs hold up for some stacks. All and all, it was a good day.

Another big thing I learned which I just got done talking about was value. I really had a great understanding at the tables today of how to get the most value out of your hand. I really think I did end up getting the most value today out of all my hands. I also didnt tilt. Took a beat AA vs KJ all in on the flop of 4 J X. Turn was a J and the river bricked for me, but I held it together.

Also, tomorrow marks the one week date of first starting to work out. I really think this is helping me physically and mentally. I will probably be posting some numbers and others of that soon as well. Anyways, off to catch some TV.

Study Time

2010-01-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

Well, its finally study time. I have decided to take about a week off from playing to get some serious study time and evaluation of my game. I will be going to Baltimore from Friday - Monday so that will give me some extra time to study/relax so I can get my head away from the game. I have been reading the stickies, cotw's, and more HH's than I ever have on twoplustwo.com. I am hoping this will really help my game and elevate it to a new level that its been lacking. Im pretty sure I have said this before, but I really am going to put my head in to this and make it work. I am going to study my ass off and put it to good use, because 2010 is going to be my breakout year. I wish I could afford a laptop/desktop of my own so I could get HEM and Handgrabber (never got to Full Tilt). But the money isnt there right now, so it will have to wait and I will have to hold off.

My plan is to 4 table NL25 until I have a 15 Buy-Ins for NL50. At that point, I will take a shot at NL50, probably 2 tabling. I have some results and play at NL50, but not enough for me to comfortably 4 table with a 15 Buy-In rule. If I drop 2 buy-ins, I will drop back down to NL25. I am just going to play a tight, solid game value betting and getting the most money I can to build the roll up. NL100 by late summer??

Anyways, heres what I have been studying so far.

1. Isolating the limpers. Ive been playing around with different bet sizes into different villains and into numerous villains. It seems to be going over so-so. Been stealing blinds and actually isolating the limpers, which leads to c-bets. But it is also leading to very bad plays and putting me in shitty situations, which leads me to my second topic.

2. Playing a very straight-forward game. Play tight, dont bluff, dont play crappy hands, get value, and use position. I have been always telling myself to do this, but it never seems to stick in my head. Maybe thats why I am writing it here. I am just going to stick to the TAG game. And this should lead, in the long run, to a bigger bankroll.

Anyways, if I do end up playing within this week (I hope I dont), I will be playing NL5 or NL10 just to test my study ideas and put them to use. I am sticking to my plan though, I am gonig to study, study, study.

Its backs to school for me. We will see how 2010 treats me and what I am writing about next year. I am going to look back at this post for reference

Hi 2010

2010-01-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

And a half decent start to the year (poker wise) I guess. I am running fair, probably breaking even if not losing just a little. Lost a few All-Ins on the river, but thats poker. So lets go 2010. Prbably will post goals for the new year (never follow them). Anyways, heres to a New and Good year and a year I can hopefully break out and move up.

Sad Way to End the Year

2009-12-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

I recently went to the doctor and I found out I have high cholesterol. Mainly its high triglycerides. Im really sad about this because it almost seems like I am unhealthy, but I really dont believe I am. So with that, I must cut out alcohol, fats (saturated and trans), baked goods, sugars, etc. So I am not sure what there is left to eat. Although this means that I can start living a healthier lifestyle rather than the unhealthier I guess I was living. So now I will

1. Start taking fish oil on a daily basis.

2. Watch the foods I eat and how much I eat them.

3. Cut out on alcohol.

4. Exercise daily.

5. In 3 months, go back for blood work (hopefully be low).

Anyways, I guess this is good I found out and will lead towards better things. Happy New Year

Nothing to talk about

2009-12-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

So I am not sure why I am posting anything, probably just to keep the blog going. Been playing very little poker, working my usual hours, playing some more video games (on the verge of getting COD M2). Watching lots of tv and movies. I wanna get the South Park seasosn very shortly, hopefully starting with season 1. Sons of Anarchy season 2 is over and am waiting for that to come out on DVD. Will get season 1 very shortly. Probably will spend a lot of time this winter getting through the South Park seasons once I finally get them. Would love to get back with Grounded for Life as well. I need Season 5 I believe. Gotta straighten some stuff out around the house, but other than that I got plenty of time to do nothing. Ice skating very soon. Christmas and the holdiay break cant come soon enough from work as well

I dont knowwwwwwww

2009-11-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

I cant get out of this month long downswing. Down about 8 buyins (6 or 7 prob) at NL25. The last 2 or 3 pots have all been shitty. First was KK vs AA AIPF, cant really complain. The next 2 were AA vs AJs AIPF, villain hit a flush on the flop. Last was AA vs AQs AIPF and villain hit a turn on the straight. PLO to busto here we go

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

A day early because I wont get on tomorrow.

Possible black Friday shopping for video games?

Video Game Grind

2009-11-19T17:56:00.000-08:00

Going to grind out the video games over the next few days. Taking a break from poker and my downswing. Hopefully this can help me pull out of it. Going to play lots of Madden 10 and probably Halo 3 online. Thinking of getting either Modern Warfare 2 or Left for Dead 2, but Im debating on waiting until black Friday to pick these up (looking for cheap). But I really dont feel like going anywhere near a store on black Friday. Also got a home game to go to, so we will see

Trip Report: Atlantic City

2009-11-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

Been waiting to get to AC to play cards ever since we were down there last year. Went to those shops at caesars to get Ashley a gift. We got that and made our truck up to the Taj. I had to get on the 1/2 waiting list. I took a piss and came back to get my chips. By that time they started a new table so I walked over and sat down. I sat down to the left of an older woman, who said it was her first time playing live. She claimed to be a 2-4 reg on FullTilt, but I would beg to differ. Either way, she was really nice. The table started out about 5 handed and filled up pretty quickly. So a used car salesmen sat down to my left, claiming he was waiting for a 2/5 table. Anyways, he played very LAG. I ended up playing pretty tight for around the first 2 hours, taking a few small pots down. LAG had been raising and betting a lot and had been showing me all his garbage hands he was playing. Anyways, I get dealt 10's dealt OOP against villain and raise to $10. Flop comes J x K. i bet $20, he calls. Turn was an ace. I checked, he bet pretty big and I folded. He ended up showing a set of jacks. First hand that went wrong. Made a nice call on the river against FT 2-4 reg with KK with four cards to a straight on the board. But anyways, 2/5 car guy stacks 2/4 reg and she rebuys. Car salesmen gets stacked a few times and gos on tilt. I get dealt Q8s against him OOP and about 4 others limp. Flop came Q 10 7. Checks around. Turn was an 8. I end up betting $20 and car calls. River was a 6. I check, he bet $40, I think for a little and call. He claimed he had QJ and mucked. Last big hand was against FT reg. She had been raising a lot of her big pocket pairs and just limp calling her garbage hands. Anyways, she raised to $15 and I called IP with 87s. 4 others called as well. Flop was 8 Q 8. She put her last $70 in and I called, unfortunately everyone else folded and she showed AA. Turn and river bricked for her. I got up about an hour later and walked back to the Trump Plaza and ate some pizza before getitng back on the bus. Hopefully I will see you soon again AC. But I do hate live, arrogant, ignorant player. Bunch of assholes that play.

Funny Commercial

2009-11-16T16:28:00.001-08:00

I find this commercial very funny for some reason. Got my Atlantic City trip report coming soon as well

Weekend

2009-11-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

I played a lot of poker this weekend. Mainly Saturday and Sunday, but I crammed the hands and games in. I brushed up on a little multi-tabling (4 table max at Bodog). Played mainly NL25 with a table of NL50, some NL10 when games werent good and some NL10 PLO. I ran really good at the NL25 tables all weekend and really wish I had Holdem Manager back (more on that) so that I could calculate how many hands and BI's I took in. Im starting to get back in to poker again like I use to, but Im sure I will burn out very shortly again. I have two things I really wanted to talk about so I will say them now.

1. This weekend I played 2 satelite tournaments. One was for the Bodog Contender Series Event #7. I played and ended up winning. I played the event and ended up finishing 10th (one short of Final Table). Had I final tabled I would have won, including the money, a ticket to the Contender Main Event ($46 + $4). I was really upset and actually couldnt end up sleeping too well Saturday night because I thought I finally played really well in a tournament and just couldnt finish, even though it was a small tournament with a little payout. I then played on Sunday a satty to the Contender Series Main Event and ended up winning a ticket. I played in that event, didnt play too good and ended up finishing 92nd position. All together I guess I could be pretty happy with how I played in the tournaments, but I would have liked a win

2. I will probably be switching to FullTitlt sometime within the next month or two. I know I said this last year, but I would really like to do it. I would obviously need the time to clear the $600 bonus, especially at NL25, but I think I can get it. I just have to talk to her about giving me time. Plus, with the rakeback and other bonuses I would get it would be well worth it (Holdem Manager is a bonus). So lets hope for FullTilt within a month.

Going to AC this Sunday so hopefully I can get some good live poker in. First live since my 21st birthday I believe, one time. Probably have a mini trip report when I get back

Early Week 4 pick

2009-09-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

Went 1-1 last week. I didnt have the Denver game, I had the Houston game and they blew it. Anyways, an early week 4 pick.

NYG vs KC.

I got the Giants at -9 1/2. I dont see how the Giants dont roll in this game even though it will be played in KC. Philly just rolled over KC, and the Raiders came to KC and beat them, even though it was a last minute win. The Giants are hot right now and just got done steamrolling the terrible Bucs. I dont see how NY isnt firing all around this week against a bad KC team. Lets go NYG one time.

Would like to hop on the Cincy band wagon here this week against the terrible Browns, but Bodog is terrible and hasnt opened their lines up for this game yet.

First NFL Plays of the year

2009-09-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

Chicago -2 at Seattle
Seahawaks Hasselbeck hurt and probably not going for the game I give this one to Chicago. I think they come in riding the momentum of the win last week at home against the defending SuperBowl champs. I know the bears D is banged up a little, but I still think they get the running game going and run right through with this one.
Denver -1 1/2 at Oakland
Denver is a sketchy 2-0, but they are still 2-0. Oakland is 1-1 and very lucky to be 1-1. I dont see Oakland getting anything going at all here. I think the Denver offense comes to town and pulls out a win.

Almost 2 months

2009-09-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since I last posted. A lot has happened. Anyways, this wont be a long post.

Havent got to play a lot of poker. New house, no internet, lots to do around = no time.

House is going great so far. Im sure I will update about that one day when I feel like typing.

Playing a TON of video games lately. Got Left for Dead pretty cheap. Cant wait for Left for Dead 2 and COD5. And picked up MX vs ATV. Pretty good game

Hopefully I can finally get a home game together for my house. Get some cheap fun gambling going

Vacation

2009-08-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

One last vacation for the summer. LETS DO ITTTTTT.

Shippppp It.

Updates to come

2009-07-09T16:35:00.000-07:00

Updates are definitely foming soon about vacation and poker. So stick in there.

Posting More

2009-04-02T20:47:00.001-07:00

I am trying to get back in to posting more on the blog, but I lead a boring life.

Fishing starts Saturday, which I am pretty excited for, even though I am not sure if I will get out in the morning or not.

I have still been grinding it up on Bodog and I hope I can have another good month and lead myself in to really smashing up May and the rest of summer. It would be awesome to end the year at something like 100NL or 200NL. I might be pipedreaming 200NL, but its still very possible. I have to really work hard and put the grind it to it and I think I can at least get 100NL. We will see

It seems every time I play with the handgrabber I end up having a shitty session and every time I dont I end up decent. I am superstitious so I will play without it for now.

End of Month

2009-03-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well, March flew by and again I really dont have much to post about or say. I have 100% committed myself to Bodog for now, mainly because I drunk bustoed my roll on Stars the other night. I should have just withdrew that. But I am back on Bodog and this will help me in a few ways.

1. I can beat the game (pretty big) on the site.

2. It will allow me to only play 4 tables max. (9 tabling on stars went pretty shitty).

3. I can stay away from the tournaments because I dont believe any Bodog tournaments have too much value (I was always playing those little guarentees on Pokerstars).

4. I have crushed Bodog this month more than I did on Stars the whole time.

5. I run way better at the HU Sng's on Bodog than I do Stars.

6. I can bet sports and horses (hopefully making a profit and smartly)

Anyways, like I said, I absolutely crushed Bodog this month. I began playing extremelt underolled NL10 and NL25. I crushed NL25 before on this site so I felt very comfortable playing underrolled like an idiot. I began the month with like $75 in the account, didnt play a whole lot, one tabled, and still ended up a little over $400 for the month. I can probably end up taking a shot at NL50 this month if I can fit it in to my schedule and should be playing NL50 full time by middle of May, early June. So hopefully one time I can keep a goal for myself here. I am logging my hands with the handgrabber and HEM.

Also, even though I said I didnt think any tournaments were of any value on Bodog, I got bored on Sunday and ended up playing a $2.20, 88 deep field tournament and ended up finishing 2nd. I was at around a 3-1 chip defecit when we began HU and he was just shoving every hand, I woke up with K9 suited I believe and ended up losing a race. O well, I really would have liked 1st as it would have been my first 1st place in a field that size. One day it will come. Hopefully I will begin to have more updates as the time comes

dont know

2009-03-12T17:37:00.001-07:00

up on bodog, back and running. Going to really try and turn this in to a multi roll, meaning working my roll up through money mannered sports bets and horse bets. With a little non bankroll management poker thrown in there. One Time PPPPPLLLLLEEEEAAAAAASSSSSEEEE

whoah

2009-03-06T15:24:00.000-08:00

sports betting + horse racing = back to bodog

gambling old school.

Last go around

2009-02-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

My last go around possible here. Just going to try and find a way to start out of my downswing here and this will be my proving ground. From here on out I will be posting hand histories again and hopefully evaluating my play. I am going to look for all the help I can get and see what happens. My games will include NL10, NL25, HU SNGs, and maybe a donkament from time to time. This will all go up until NL50. My starting roll

$318.38
FPS - 1273

Wish me luck

Lost to a WSOP Final Tablist

2009-02-17T20:40:00.001-08:00

O well, lost a hand to a man that I watched on tv this summer and fall and that played at the WSOP ME Final Table and made over $3,000,000 for his effort. my chump change I donated wont help much, but it was cool playing against him

Website Up

2009-02-16T13:14:00.000-08:00

The website is up. Pretty basic website, but just trying to give customers another way to view us.

www.WaltersMonument.com

Website Coming

2009-02-14T00:37:00.001-08:00

WaltersMonument.com is currently being worked on and should be on the internet by the end of the weekend. Please check back for updates

Trying to get in shape

2009-02-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Well, its been quite a while since my last post and I figured since me and Ashley were talking about my blog last night that I finally make a post. I have been sort of trying to figure out a way to get in some type of shape or something. So I figured the best way to do it was push ups and sit ups. I should do stairs to get my stamina and what not built up, but I will wait a little for that. The reason being is because I will be going back to work, hopefully sometime in March and I really dont want to die that much when I go back. So I did my push ups and sit ups 4 days out of the last week. My fat ass could barely do any sit ups when I first started, but I am up to around 35 push ups a day and 20 sit ups. This seems like a small number, but if you would have seen my fat ass trying to do this the first day you would understand this is a big accomplishment. Also, Im trying to get in 1-2 glasses of milk each day to try and build up my muscle and keep me from breaking things. I will probably add in stairs sometime later this week or at the beginning of next week.

Poker wise I have been trying to get back in to the swing of things. I havent really had an ambition to play until I read a post today and it got me thinking and wanting to play pretty bad. Not sure when I will get time, probably tomorrow. But I did find a few more home games around and could end up at one as early as Friday if I decide to go. I am really unsure about it, but I will keep in touch with the guy since he plays online and prob can play with him online for a little. But I have been trying to post more on 2+2 and I think I found someone to exchange HH's with, so that should work out pretty good. Hopefully my desire and will to play poker comes back, because I wanna start putting in the volume and grinding and making some money. This way I can run through NL25 like I did on Bodog and get my ass up in the NL50 and NL100 games possibly by the end of summer.

I gotta stay away from Xbox and I think motorama is coming up soon.

Welcome 2009

2009-01-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

First post of the new year, and all I have to say is Welcome 2009. I really cant believe its 2009 already. I can still remember it turning 2000 like it was yesterday. Big plans to hopefully get a house this year, but I will talk more about that in a later post.

Anyways, I havent played any poker since around Christmas. Feels very weird not playing, but also very good. I really dont feel like I have the passion right now, so I will hopefully return to the tables next week some time. I am really in to my Xbox right now and have bene playing Halo 3 with all my free time. Its like I am trying to become a pro at playing that or something, but I enjoy it a lot. But hopefully when I start back playing poker again my passion returns and I have a few good starts. Been thinking about just shooting at NL25 without bankroll management, but I think I will just stick with NL10 for now. I should set some goals up, but until I go back to playing and seeing how much I enjoy it I dont think I will. But I think I am going to take this weekend and just enjoy it with friends. I have been dumping all my time in Xbox and just hanging out with Ash lately. Its not a bad thing because I really love hanging out with her, I jsut need to get away from the Xbox and poker. I havent spent much time with them lately, and I think this weekend will do me really good.

So until next time

Holiday Stuff

2008-12-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

Been a little while since I really posted anything worth reading. Anyways, my computer at home is totally fucked up and I cant really use it because it pisses me off to no extent. But got a few holiday items to write about

Christmas - Went really, really well. Got some nice stuff I needed plus some money and what not. And my whole family was together so it was really good. BIG NEWS ALERT: I also got engaged on Christmas. This is really big to me as I see myself taking a step in the right direction and feel really good about this. Plan on attempting to get a house next year and then after that finally hitch up. So Im really pumped on this. Partied probably too much over the holidays and I am paying for it right now.

E-A-G-L-E-S - Went to the eagles final home game of the regular season yesterday. I really only had intentions of going to see them eliminate Dallas. Well before the game started they showed that Tampa Bay and Chicago lost, giving us hope had we won the game. Well we ended up dominating the Cowboys. The cowboy fans were leaving during the 3rd quarter, getting harassed, getting into fights, etc. It was easily the greatest game ever for me. I loved every single minute of that game. Words can describe how excited I was/am.

Mom and Sister on Today Show

2008-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News,

Publish Post

sn.com/id/3032507">World News, and News about the Economy

Disappointed + Semi Announcement

2008-12-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Disappointed in my World Blogger Freeroll on stars. ran half decent/played half decent. In the end I couldnt win a race and ended up being eliminated in like 104th place. Close to 30 from the ticket bubble. Pretty let down now as the prizes for the freeroll and final tournament were pretty nice. O well, theres always next year. Dont really feel like talking much, poker sucks right now

BIG BIG news coming sometime after Christmas (hopefully)

Ahhhhh.....WTF

2008-12-08T15:19:00.001-08:00

So sick. My gut is so nasty. I guess this is me finally coming out and admitting how shitty I have been playing and a few bad beats I have been suffering. Definitely my wake up call because I havent had a winning session in a while. I am going to nit up my style here, tight, tight, tight in EP, tight, tight in MP, and tight in LP. Gonna go with 6 tables, and if I dont end up winning I am switching down one limit.

I can say though that even though yesterday was a losing session, it only ended up being less than a half a buy-in. I understand that most players go through terrible swings that can last a long time and this is honestly my longest one, and it hurts and its hard.

Maybe my hand and splint is bothering me. Reality check and here we go.

And a testament to how I have run throughout the month so far.

Stars 2008 WBCOOP

2008-12-02T11:54:00.001-08:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

The WBCOOP is an online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers.

Registration code: 208363

Cast and update

2008-12-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been 7 tabling with my cast on. A little bit hard but got use to it. Got my HUD up and running. Got about 8000 hands for Nov. and already 2400 for this month. Hopefully my cast comes off tomorrow and I can get more detailed updates up soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T21:51:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving all.

Less than a week (hopefully) until my cast comes off, and then better posts

Sick

2008-11-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

Happened once, now is it just me??

On a 9 BI PLO downswing. Such a sick game

Small Blind

2008-11-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

Quit completing it and play less out of it, asshole. You will make more money

Well..

2008-11-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

Broken pinkie + Deposit to Stars + Purchase holdem manager = grinding

If that makes sense

Why I play

2008-10-13T19:33:00.001-07:00

There are many different reasons on why people play poker. A lot of people say for the entertainment value, a lot for the pride and respect, some are competitive and want to win, others for the money. If you had to ask me, I wouldnt be able to give one definite answer on why I play poker, but I guess I can give a few.

Money. I think this is the biggest reason I play poker. I wont lie, I am not a tournament player so I am not playing for wins or titles. I am playing strictly to win money. And thats what cash games are about, winning money. I really dont think I would continue to reinvest into poker if someday I didnt think I could make between $5000-10,000 a year in extra income, possibly more. With that type of money you can have a lot of expenses paid off or give yourself some extra free time.
Entertainment. I believe that I do play for a little entertainment and "pride" value. I play to enjoy myself because this is one hobby I truly love. I could sit at a poker table day and night and not have an ounce of boredom run through my body. Its just something I love to do, whether it be online or with friends, I love playing. And I love showing down hands and trying to outsmart my opponents and take their money, again whether it be friends or opponents I will never know online.
A Game of Tradition. I learned poker through my dad. It is something he taught me to do, and I will never forget it or let it down. I learned Holdem/Omaha/Razz through the internet and tv. Playing just brings back memories of playing small 5 card draw games with my dad and thats something I love. I cannot let these memories go, and through tough times they will get me through.

I believe there are many more reasons and in depth ideas on why I play poker, but I just wanted to get a few things out there. This is one game I love and with enough hard practice and dedication I believe I can become somewhat decent. I look forward to the evolution and constant growth of poker and cannot wait to sit down with everyone and play a few hands.

Ship it + Eagles

2008-09-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

Well I emailed Bodog yesterday about my god damn money, and finally on the 40th day, when they promise it by, they have confirmed it has been shipped and that I should receive it by tomorrow. Not I have to figure out a way to ship it onto FullTilt and my account. Went 1-0 on sportsbets yesterday as I took Buffalo early on in the week at -8 1/2. Unfortunately, the game wasnt on in my area and I was only getting updates on it. They had me scared until the 4th quarter, thank god for the win. Hopefully I can get another win tonight as I booked the Ravens at +6 before it dropped to +5 1/2. Seems like a win but the more and more I think about it I get worried, especially since they havent had a road test yet, even if it is against the banged up Steelers. Ship it tonight Ravens.

What the fuck happened with the Eagles. If we got into that situation and had Westbrook, we would end up throwing. But no, without Westbrook when we should be throwing it, at least once here, we end up pounding it up the middle. WTF. At least give a play action pass or QB bootleg pass/run situation. Assholes

Swingy Day + Looking Ahead

2008-09-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday I played for a few hours. Probably somewhere in the 5 or 6 hour range, having a very swingy day. Started out the day losing around 2.5 BI's and then taking a break for a while to watch some football games. I came back and had such a great second session. I ended up winning around 4.5 B's, being back on top around 2 BI's for the day. During my 1st session I couldnt catch anything, just running set into set, KK vs. AA and just getting sucked out on. It was one of those days you play decent, but its just poker so you will run into those days where nothing good happens for you. During my second session I crushed, but have to go through my HH's to find certain hands and I dont really feel like it. I should have saved them right away, but didnt have the time. Bodog now allows you to play 4 tables, so I am taking advantage of that and maybe when I get to FullTilt I will be able to 5-6 table their 25NL games. Watched a few more football games and came back and watched stevesbets play the $25,000 HU matches on pokerstars. Watched him for a few matches and it ends up he ended up winning and banking I believe over $500,000 for his win.

Looking ahead to the future I really cant wait for work to slow down and my bodog check to come in. I have my best friends 21st birthday near the end of this month and a possible next day trip to Penn State to see them take on the Illinois at 8:00 P.M. Hopefully we get to go see this game/drunk fest. Poker wise I will definitely be grinding more when I get my check, hopefully around the end of this month. Get signed up for rakeback and clear my bonus and within no time I can be close to $2000. I will definitely be studying/posting more HH's and reading more game theory and possibly some books while I have time this winter as well. Hopefully I can have a good winter. I was looking at investing in Stoxpoker as well after hearing about how well their small/mid stakes program is. So sometime this winter, maybe November/December will be looking to inest moneey there and really improve my game. I also have to decide on whether to get PokerTracker or Holdemmanger, although I am close to getting holdemmanger as I hear better things. With stox/posting/reading/PT or HE, I should be really improving my game a lot this winter and plan on playing NL50/NL100 on a full time basis next spring. So lets keep positive thoughts and have good expectations and hard work habits and I will be where I want.

Anyways, PSU is 3-0 and hopefully looking to whoop some more ass all season long. Lets keep up the trend. Eagles over Dallas tonight

One of those times

2008-08-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

Where you feel completely happy. Just one point in your life where you know everything is complete. I feel I have come to this point in my life. No, Im not married yet, I have no family of my own, no house, etc. But I feel great. And let me explain why.

Everyone says that "things" happen for a reason. I never believed it and never felt that thats the way it worked. My life has had its ups and downs. Ive down a lot of stuff, experienced a lot of stuff, and traveled to many places already in my young life. I believe it was my dad who quoted me the "everything happens for a reason". For a small amount of time, I wanted to tell him he was full of shit. Until very shortly I realized he was right. I cant say that I have been any happier in my life than I am right now. And let me tell you why.

I like to believe that your life is half mapped out/half created by yourself. And I believe the mapped out part was a huge reason why I am so happy right now. It started when I turned 16. I got my license, insurance, gas, etc. I needed a job and had very little saved up. Well, living in shitty Tamaqua and no jobs open, destiny had it that I would end up working in Lehighton at Long John Silvers. I was nervous as I met new people and what not. I quickly opened up to a lot of people. And the same day they hired me, McDonalds in my town had called me for an interview. Too bad that Long John Silvers had already hired me and gave me my uniform and what not. I turned McDonalds down. So I began working, and after about a year or so, met a girl from Arbys side. Arbys/LJS were connected. I had an ass of a relationship at the time, and slowly thought this girl was cute/fun to hang with. My ass relationship ended terribly, and my dad gave me that "shitty" advice. Well I went on a drunken binge that summer near the end and ended up talking with this girl throughout August. We hung out and ended up eventually dating. Her parents intially gave me some crap because in my opinion I believed they were testing me. To see if I really wanted to be with her or not. And we came past this point and almost 2 years later here we are.

So what am I saying. I am saying that I love my life and couldnt be happier. I dont make any money at my job and work hard/long hours. I have a few good friends, rather than a lot of fake friends, but I would go to war with them. I love my family and I am starting to see how important they are/how much they influence me. I love my girlfriend and her family and feel like they are family of my own. I would go to war with them as well. I feel like I am so close to my friends, girlfriend, family, and girlfriends family. I really dont care that I dont make the most money and cant afford a house now because I know one day working this job it will pay off. And a lot of people ask why I dont make more money. I think he is trying to work me from the bottom so I dont get a big head, but one day it will all pay off. And I dont care what people think or where other people are in their career, because I will be there one day.

So I am really saying that my life is taking a new beginning. We will see where I am in a few years, but I know I will be living better and having a better life that most of the people that have doubted me in the past. My life is exactly where I want it to be right now, and I couldnt be happier

Pet Peeve - ATM Assholes

2008-08-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, so a pet peeve of mine is atm assholes. You know what they are. When you are sitting in your car respecting the person at the ATM and some smuck comes up and creates their own line in front of you. Or you are at the ATM and some dickwad is standing right behind you basically staring at your card number. I hate these assholes and would like to beat the shit out of these people. Young or old, male or female. Obviously, I cant hit a female, but my hatred towards these people is great. Fuckfaces

Hands + Videos

2008-08-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

Played a small number of hands today and had a crappy session. Only one real bad hand, that I cant find right now, but I can remember it.

I had AA in EP. One EP before me min raised and I 3 bet to 0.75. Got a button caller and original raiser to call me. Now I raised it 5.5X the BB from what he originally did. Flop comes 9 J K. Not a great flop for me because there are so many SD and two pair combo draws out there, not to mention there was a flush draw out there. So I pot it and the original raiser calls. Turn comes a J. Now I committed about half my stack already and I can tell this is a bad situation for me. I couldnt imagine him calling me with just a Jack here on the flop, and was hoping he had a king. He insta shoves into me. I know in the back of my head its a bad call, but I feel I need to call here. He ends up flipping over QJ. Normally I tilt here but didnt, and just kept my anger to myself. Not sure if I made a crazy bad play here or if he was in the wrong for even being in the pot in the first place, especially being OOP. O well, here are a few decent hands from today. Nothing good

On this hand I decide to raise it 5.5XX the BB from the button here, and unfortunately I get 3 callers. The flop comes pretty low, but a flush draw out there. I decide to overbet here because I would rather just take it down on the flop, and if I happened to get checkraised by any of my 3 opponents I pretty much have to shut down here. I hate playing a big hand like this against this many opponents. I only get one caller so I want to put him on something like A10, 88/99 here, or the FD. The turn brings a horrible card. Now I already posted this in forums and got responses, and watched a video where a hand like this was played. I should be checking here hoping that maybe he fires away a small bet on the river and I can just call. But there are more scare cards and I just dont want to give him some, so I fire away and I am committed if he shoves, but luckily I win here. But anymore I should be checking and hoping that they fire small and pot control this hand for the river, or that by me checking I induce a bluff and have to call if I take that line.

This hand I believe I butchered up, but couldnt really put anyone on a hand other than two paint cards going into the flop. Obviously I believe I should be folding this OOP especially against a raise and reraise. And especially since there is a SS after me to call the raise, if he shoves and people call I just wasted money. But the flop comes all low to my pocket pair and I decide to stab/find out where I am with a bet. I will call the SS if he shoves and no one else calls, but thankfully I took this down. Probably a crazy way to play this hand in a multiway pot OOP.

I decide here to raise jacks from EP 4X the BB. Get two callers to the flop. After a flop call here from my one opponent again I can go with a hand like A10 or 88/99, something like that and he may just be checking me out and trying to see a turn card here. A scary turn for me and I bet small, leaving him room to see this as weakness and fire big, but he doesnt and thankfully he folds. Good or bad??

Anyways, like I said I am going to be watching videos more and hopefully they can help me out more than just posting hand histories. That way I get a concept of actual in game analysis and what not. So I got a few from 2+2 and hopefully I can get through them, apply the concepts, and watch them over and over to keep jamming information/knowledge in my head.

Poker Sunday

2008-08-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Played for a little while today. Started out down in the cash games, then entered the $10,000 Guaranteed tournament on bodog. Had very little success and ended up busting within the first 45 mins, ran my QQ into a flopped full house. Then ran like shit in the $5.25 HU Sngs on bodog. Won my first one, then in my second one I was ahead until the river, and on my third one I was again ahead until the river. So I decided to take a break after that and just chill out. It did a little good when I came back to the cash games. I started out really crappy and just thought about quitting. I lost half a stack when some moron pushed Q6 pre vs my KK and turned two pair. Anyways, here are a few hands from today.

A hand from early on in the day. I was trying to steal the button and c-bet with one caller here. Unfortunately, I didnt get the button and got looked up by two players. Then a nice flop where I flopped top pair and an open ended SD here. I couldnt really put him on anything here yet, maybe he was drawing towards the low end of the straight here. On the turn it got good and bad. I turned two pair, but it made 4 to a straight. I figured I could still sort of block bet here and hopefully the river. At this point I am pretty much thinking he has a queen or seven. I really cant put him on anything else. The river I figured I would have to bet because I cant call anything here. I am hoping by betting here, although it was a small bet I could get him to fold out a hand that could possibly beat me. I really cant expect anything good here if I get called/raised in this situation because I wont be beating much here but a total bluff.

With this hand here I had previously raised pre flop like, 3 time sin a row. I had JJ the last hand and took it down pre with a raise. So I raise a little smaller than I had been in hopes of getting some callers. On the flop I see those donk bets as either a cheap way to get to draw to cards or weak hands. I had put both of them on either SD/FD here with the donk bet and call here. I overbet it to try and eliminate any pretenders and to make it look like I am trying to take the pot away. The turn wasnt to bad for me because I was pretty much committed to calling what he was going to put in here. I was just hoping he didnt have K10 in this situation.

This is just a hand that I wanted to keep to keep reminding myself about position and aggressiveness. Raised the button with suited connectors and took down a tiny pot on the flop by c-betting here. With this type of hand if I happen to ever hit the flop my hand should be hidden, giving me a chance to take down a decent pot a few times I do ever hit. And if I ever get looked up here I probably shut down on the turn.

I decided to 3-bet htis hand pre flop to see what type of hand I might be dealing with here. Sometimes I just call this, but I really just wanted him and I in the pot here. OOP I always 3 bet this hand. When he just calls it makes me wonder if he has a hand similar to mine, something like AK or AQ, or possible 10's+. The flop bet has me thinking that he does have some type of pocket pair or hit the flop decently. I figure with two overs, the NFD, and a backdoor SD, I can get away with raising here. If I just call here any club may kill my action on the future streets. And if I just raise a little bit here it may look like I am on a draw here further killing my action. And possibly committing me to the pot if I happen to miss the turn and river. Fortunately, I got lucky on the turn here and didnt have to sweat until the river.

Again, another AK hand here where I raise it 5x the BB pre flop and get one caller, putting me in position. I miss the flop and I should probably c-bet this almost 90% of the time. I really have no range for my opponent here though and still would have no idea what to do on the turn. I hit TPTK on the turn here and decide to stab at the pot and see what I can do. When I just get a call I put him on a FD or something like QK, JK. The river is a little scary because if he was on a FD I just lost the hand here. So I figure a check would work best here in case he was going to try and raise me here with the scary river card. If I do bet and get raised I would have no idea on what to do, I guess it depends on his bet sizes really. But I will only get called here probably by a hand that beats me. I have no idea why he called the turn here.

This hand I really butchered here, but got really lucky. It says that one guy shoved pre, but he just timed out so he really isnt in the hand. I normally dont like coming into the hand here in this position, but I was feeling pretty good. I decide to c-bet here and hopefully take the hand down right here. Again, with the donk bet I put him on a FD or something like K9, A9, or a weak nine here. On the turn I decide that his check was weak and if he is on the FD I can take this pot down with a bet right here. I overbet hoping he folds, which doesnt work, but the ten gave me a few more outs. I hit gin on the river, getting runner runner cards to river the nuts here. I decided that he may have some two pair type hand on the river and that the best bet here would be about a third of the pot, giving him the odds to call. This is an area where I need to work on and I thought I made the best bet here for him to call. And I highly doubt he could even put me on this hand here.

With this hand we had a decent sized pot going to the flop. I figured a min bet here I could call, especially with all the players in the hand. I flopped bottom set here on a drawy board. I wanted to check raise here, figuring I could get a little more value out of the hand. My plan worked, and I put this guy on a jack here. He had been playing a little wild and I was a little scared that he was betting into a big field here after just calling pre. But I decide to overbet here and got a call, making him pay to see a turn. It seemed like he had planned on floating me here on the turn, by just auto shoving the rest of his stack here. Unfortunately, that scare card was a good card for me, boating me up. I still had to sweat two jacks on the river here though.

All and all after being down, I ended up I believe around $25 for today. Not too bad I guess, as long as this roll grows along with my knowledge. I really cant wait for my check to arrive so I can hop on FullTilt. Played the home game last night, but I am tired of writing, so will review later. Gonna watch the Bob Saget Roast.

Few Hands = Tiny Profit

2008-08-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

Played for about an hour today, not much going on. Mixed it up with some button steals and LP raises, trying to add hands and strategies to my arsenal. Here are two small hands I played today that I want to post. A few hands I wish I had from yesterday were not saved, not sure why. I wish I could find them though as well.

This was a pretty tight table, so I figured I could get away with raising KJ from LP. Stole the button which is where I wanted to be, and got one caller from the blinds. Didnt raise it too much, figured I could get a caller.

On the flop when it was checked to me I figured him for weak here. I figure I hit and I can try and represent the ace here. It seems like he is calling with a weaker ace or SD/FD.

The turn it seems like he is trying to float me, so I sat there for a little while and decided to raise a little bit. After it took him a little bit of deciding, he finally folded. No clue on what he had.

This hand here is when the table was breaking up. I wake up with Q10 suited in the BB and elect to check here 4 handed I believe.

On the flop I hit top pair with a decent/bad kicker here and a FD on the board. I decide its best to fire out and see where I stand. Maybe he is calling this with a FD

On the turn here I hit top two, and feel it is the best hand at this point because he probably would have raised a set on the flop with the FD possibility out there, and he may have a FD or weak queen. His raise seems like he may have a combo draw or some type of drawing hand here, and I figured he would be committed, so why not jam and hopefully get a call from him. He quickly folded which made me believe he was trying to bluff me here, or had a very weak hand.

Thats all for now, I am going to try and find those other few hands from yesterday and continue to grind out the NL10 tables until I get my check. I am excited about getting back to the NL25 and NL50 tables. Few reasons why I kept money on bodog. I only left $10 there so I can grind the NL10 tables. I am doing that pretty well. This way I can keep grinding and keep my head in the game, continuing to practice why I wait. Also, if bodog does every go under, I am pretty certain I will get paid whatever money I do have left on the site. And if they get there act together, I can use this as a withdrawal site rather than taking out from Full Tilt, that way I can keep building that roll. Who knows, I may let this roll grow.

AQ Hand

2008-08-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

I am terrible at playing AQ, out of any position. This is a really old hand, and I know that my opponent has been playing crazy for a few hands that I have seen him play. This was from a while ago and I have a better idea on how to play AQ now, but this will give me a better reminder to keep playing solid.

Obviously coming in from EP I have to raise more. I know this now and I do this currently. I have to be able to get weaker hands to fold out and hopefully get a weaker ace or queen to call me.

On the flop I have to come out firing, at least close to a pot sized bet or overbet here so that I can fold out the draws or low pairs.

On the turn I still think I have to come out firing, about 3/4 the pot here. His limp call pre flop, then check call on the flop, and check on the turn seems really weak here. So betting here may take the pot down. But this guy has been crazy.

I believe the river play is the best checking behind here. I will only get called my a hand that beats me or raised by a hand that beats me or bluff. Especially after check calling all the streets previously.

I believe I am going to post this on a forum and see what kind of responses I get. I have a better understanding on how to play AQ, but would like to get other peoples ideas and comments because this hand, along with AJ really hurts me.

Knowlege

2008-08-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

I am going to start out with a few knowledge sites for me to keep going back to and reading/studying

My first one
Mike Caros Free University

Been Studying

2008-08-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

Started to study the game a little bit more than I use to. I guess I can really utilize this time now to read/post about HH's, go through some old hands I have saved up and maybe post some, even though I probably wont remember any of my plays that I made. I did run through a few today and noticed already some mistakes, so going through them really makes a difference because you can really see actually how you play. Anyways, I really want to work on improving my game so I will be reading strategies and what not while I wait 4 years for my bodog check to arrive, and test out some new skills/ideas at the NL10 game with the little bit of money I have. I should really begin to open up the handgrabber and take track of some hands, which I will the next time I play. Again, I am taking a break from really playing any poker and just enjoying the last little bits of summer while I can. I will grind it out in the winter I guess. I really did see a big improvement last winter when I was talking with Lee, so hopefully he will get back in the game or at least discuss the game with me again if I talk to him. Maybe next summer I will be sitting here talking about how I am rolled for a NL100 game, but I will take that in small steps. I have to get past NL50 first, and I think I am going to go with a bigger buy in rule for NL50 and 100. Not a huge jump, but a big enough one that I can feel comfortable. I may take a trip to AC soon, but I highly doubt it. I got a fun home game to go to on Saturday, where I am going to mix it up crazy in the PLO game. Probably looking to go big or bust, because its only a $60 buy in $1-3 spread game, but its always fun with a bunch of nice people.

I will probably report sometime in the next week or so on how my summer went and some other ideas for poker. I hope to get this back more to a poker oriented blog with HH's, strategies, and chat.

Tired

2008-08-05T13:47:00.001-07:00

Been running around with work and the weekend and not getting a proper sleep schedule at all this summer, and its starting to show. I am so tired day in and day out. My body needs to start getting the right rest. I also want to try and eat/drink healthier than I am right now which shouldnt be too hard. Eat 2 meals a day and drink all water. Even though I drink enough water in one day for like, a whole week.

I guess I will just keep grinding out that $40 on Bodog until I get that check in from them, which should be about 43 years from now.

Goodbye Bodog...for now

2008-08-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

With all the recent shit that has been going on with bodog I decided to cash out most of my roll. I left a measly $10 on there and turned that into $40 already. But I wanted to do the rapid transfer withdrawal but they said you need to deposit more than once to do that, and I really dont want to be putting $200+ on the site right now. I had to contact them about a million times to figure that out though. So I am saying a semi goodbye to Bodog (see what I can do with that $40 on there) and saying hello to FullTilt most likely. A lot of reasons I want to chose Tilt over Stars

The deposit bonus. Tilt offers a %100 percent match up to $600. This will help my roll big time
Rakeback. I can get rakeback and at the end of the month have a couple extra bucks in my account.
I like the FullTilt team better than Pokerstars team. It seems like Pokerstars just gets random people all the time.
Have the FPP's to buy items from the store. Even though Pokerstars has a better store, I will still get more value out of the bonus and rakeback.

Anyways, hopefully got some exciting news about work in the near future.

Bodog?

2008-07-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

Wtf is going on. $24 million seized. Time to withdraw maybe, as long as my money makes it and clears the system. Stars deposit??? Coming soon possibly

Sirius

2008-07-22T15:09:00.001-07:00

Got one for birthday. Get one.

AC in September or Nov. ??

Update

2008-07-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

So I will finally update this in no particular order.

Vacation: Was fantastic. I spent about a week and a half on vacation and couldnt have asked for a better time. I spent around 4 days in Wildwood, NJ. I had a blast down there. I absolutely love it there. The beach is great, the boardwalk is great, and the restaurants are awesome. I just love being down there. I can never be in a bad mood when I go there. There is just something great about it. Spent a few hours each day on the beach, went to the hotel and then just hung out until we ate, then walked the boardwalk each night. And for eating, I love Groffs and Uries. By far two of my favorite places to eat anywhere. I wish they were around here. Groffs is an older place started by a guy from Reading, PA. And Uries is awesome, right by the water. Amazing view with amazing food. Then when I came back I went to Ohio with my girlfriend and her family. I had a really good time out there as well. Its such a long drive. We went to Sandusky, which is right by Lake Erie. Lake Erie is huge. And it doesnt seem like anyone is ever out there. We went to Cedar Point, which is a huge park stuck out by itself. This park is by far the best park in the states. There are so many rollercoasters and thrill rides there. I dont think there is any sense in going to this park if you dont ride those types of rides. And we got in a little bit early each day because we have season passes, but only a few rides were open. After looking at the second tallest rollercoaster in the world for a few days, I finally decided to ride it. I was so scared the whole time in line and then waiting, but once we got to the top I was fine. I think its like, 400 some feet high and goes 120mph. All the other rollercoasters were fun. One where you stand up hurt my legs, I think because there is so much pressure on them. We also got to eat at one of those pizza buffet things, which are pretty good. Unfortunately, we dont have them around my area so that sucks or else I would be there often. But I really had a great time out there too, even though I was a little skeptical before we left. Only one vacation left, and thats the 25th-27th with my girlfriend back to Wildwood, and Im pretty excited. I love Wildwood and its a great place IMO. I really hope she likes it because I am looking forward to spending many summer vacations there with her.

Poker: Boy, I cant believe I play,write, or care about poker anymore. Poker is a bitch and I hate it. When its good its good, and when its bad its bad. And right now its bad. And maybe thats why I am so bitter right now. I have been on a downswing for a couple weeks now and cant get anything going. NL50 is really hurting me. I am pretty sure I am a little less than break even at it right now, and I really need to buy Holdem Manager. I was thinking about switching sites and bonus whoring and what not. Full Tilt has the $600 bonus, so that would be pretty great along with rakeback. I think I will invest into some training site in the fall/winter to help me. I am currently trying to study more than play because I rather be doing other things in the summer. But when I do play I lose sets to flushes, KK vs AA, shit like that. And I am finding PLO more and more fun, but its a bigger bitch than holdem. And I got my first casino experience the day after my birthday in AC. Played $1/2 with my dad and lost a little money. One hand that bugs me was I woke up with Jacks in position and this crazy asian lady raised it to $12 pre. I had pos so I just called. Flop came all low, she checked, I bet, she raised all in. I sat for like, 2 minutes before folding. I was either WA/WB in this situation. O well. My dad rivered quad kinds in one of the first hands there and got his money AI and took a nice pot down. Enough about poker.

21st B-Day - Rather forget about it so I dont want to talk about it.

Life - Going good. Been working, hanging out with Ash/friends, partying a little and just enjoying summer. Summer is rippin by so its no looking good. I love summer and I dont want it to end.

Long Time

2008-07-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

Earlier I had felt like making a long post on whats going on, but I think I will hold off on that until tomorrow. But here are somethings I want to talk about

Vacation
Life
21st Birthday (Friday)
Poker
Work/Future

Thats pretty much it, I have a few things to talk about and say on each. Another post will probably come tomorrow

Hey Babe...

2008-06-23T22:33:00.001-07:00

I Miss You

Jimmy Buffett

2008-06-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

Just got back from his show in Philly. It was another great show in Philly and I hope he comes back again. He hasnt been there since 05' and hope he doesnt skip around. It fucking rocked as usual and I was pretty pumped about it. I believe Ash had a good time too even though she said she wouldnt. I might try to post pics here if I can figure it out. Im tired now though. Thanks Jimmy for another great show

So

2008-06-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

After another long break from writing I better write something I guess.

May has come and gone. I cant believe it is already over. It flew by. Memorial Day went pretty good this year. I graduated in the middle of the month so I am finally down with college and school. Thats awesome. My May goals didnt go as planned (my goals never do). I ran into a lot of problems and near the end of the month was tired/sick/burned out of poker. At least I got myself rolled for NL50.

Anyways, June will be the same as May. Summer is here and I am really excited about it. More fun, going out, 21st birthday in July, and vacations. Got two vacations for the end of this month and I am pretty excited about both. I just cant wait to get out and enjoy summer.

Anyways, been donking the .01/.02 PLO games on Stars and I really, really like this game. I may try to learn this more as I am fading from holdem. PLO is a sick fun game

Losing and Lessons

2008-05-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

So the other day I posted my biggest single day lost, money and buy in wise. Not much to big ballers but to small grinders it was a huge lost. I ended up dropping $200 or 4 buy ins at NL50. And after bitching and moaning and thinking about it for a day or two I finally let it behind me and thought positive.

So due to some shit thats been going on and what not I have decided to re-outline the way I go with life. I have obviously been tired and frustrated with work and I can not wait until Memorial Day is over, even though afterwards just seems as busy. But I have been really thinking and looking at life lately. For the past few months, probably since I was grinding daily in November have I been just doing that and hanging out with my girlfriend really. Now hanging out with her makes me extremely happy and I always enjoy it and will never get tired of it. From last year to now I have come from a $20 deposit, ran it up, withdrew, ran it up, withdrew, lost some to sportsbetting, got it to $1000+ and pissed away $200. That lost really upset me, but I am fine. I believe I have my priorities set and now want to take a different approach on life for the summer and what not. The reason I say summer is because all my friends and I work the same schedules, so afterwards we all hang out. Now when winter comes I can grind all morning and afternoon when I get laid off and am not working.

So lets get to my point: I have taken a new or old approach to life. Before poker and everything, I was out all day everyday. Hanging out and just having a good time. This is what I want to get back to. Whenever I have a free day or time, I want to be out hanging out with my friends or meeting new people. I just want to enjoy life. Poker is such a lonely life and I am not happy right now with playing poker. I am happy with hanging out with Ashley and what not, but when I am playing poker I am unhappy. This results in bad play. I dont care about money or anything now either. I just want to be happy and enjoy life. I dont want to be one of those people who think "what if" at the end. I want to be the person saying, I did this and been there. I want to be with my friends, hang with people I havent seen in a while, and maybe meet someone new or something. I meet new people through my girlfriend. This will make me happy again, instead of playing poker. Not like I am going to quit or anything. I probably wont play until after Memorial Day. I will play a couple hours a week and grind a few bucks out over the summer. Maybe set a day or two to play, but thats it. I am going to enjoy summer. I am going to enjoy being young and carefree for at least one more summer. Since I will be happy then maybe my play will change and I will start earning more, but it doesnt bother me right now. Its time to get back to being my old self before its too late. I am going to enjoy life to the fullest and do whatever I can.

I think I read too much about other people have fast success and I see that as being me. When my time is here, I will be successful with poker and once the poker gods come back to my side then I can start winning and moving up again. But for the summer, I am going out and enjoying it. So here is to the Summer of 08' and my old self. I am really excited.

A Losing Day?

2008-05-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

Had my first losing day in a while...at NL10.

Just decided to donk around for a while because I wasnt going to play long. Ended up dropping 2.5 BI's. What the fuck. Lost QQ vs. AA AI pre.

Then at a 4 handed table lost AK vs. 1010 AI pre. Standard I guess.

Since I was pissed off I cashed in my 2000+ points for a $20 bonus, so made most of it back.

Also played the PokerNews WSOP Freeroll the other day since I qualified. Since only 50 people registered, something happened with Bodog and everyones account was credited for $12000 T Dollars (tournament dollars). Then they took it out and rescheduled it for this Sunday (pissed off). I at least got $11 T Dollars for something, so probably will play a guaranteed tourney this week.

Shot

2008-05-11T15:33:00.001-07:00

Late last week (against my goals and better judgement) I took my second shot at NL50, having again some moderate success. The first time I took a shot I had the same type of success. I began playing NL50 as my regular tables and my roll is slowly increasing. I havent taken any real hits or anything, just sticking it in and grinding it out. I was nervous like this when I first began playing NL25, but I think my fears will settle down soon.

Weekend

2008-05-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

Had a good weekend.

Friday I hung out with Ashley, quit night because we were fighting. Played a little afterwards and ended up about a half buy in up

Saturday went to work for a little while. Got to deal with a few customers and learn a few things. Went to Dorney with Ash, her sis, mom, and grandparents. Got my season pass. Rode two rides. Conquered yet another height fear by riding Steel Force. 200 feet up. So from last year to this year I went from 135 feet to 200 feet. This summer will be going for 235 feet. Slowly, but surely I am getting over my fear of heights. I am fine in an airplane, just not outside. I will have to look into it. Just went to Wegmans afterwards, ate a kick ass turkey hoagie. Went to her house and watched tv/movies all night.

Sat my fat ass around today doing school work and shit. Went to eat at the new Chinese restaurant with my mom and Ash. Not too bad for being local. Came home and watched Cloverfield. Played a little today and broke even.

As of my monthly goals I am doing alright with them. My poker hands arent going to be close. Will still be grinding NL25. Have been posting and reading a lot. Trying to accomplish some of my life goals.

I will be done with school after my finals this week. So pumped to graduate and be done.

Tomorrow will be hell at work. Getting an entire truckload of granite in and am planning to be there all day/night literally. This is going to suck ass. Tuesday will be working/studying. Wednesday will be studying/taking finals. Thursday will be going to see people present projects, and then I am done foreverrrrrrrrrr

Hand count

2008-05-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

At about 255 hands after playing for a little over an hour. If it rains this weekend I am going to jam them in.

Busy

2008-05-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well didnt get to really do anything on the first of May yet. I have been posting and trying to keep up to date with the forums. Improving my skill hopefully.

I have to weigh myself yet to see where I need to stand for my final weight of the month. Also, fucking stupid school tax I didnt get exempt for so I have to piss money away on that worthless shithole I use to go to. Fucking assholes.

Other than that I have been busy with work and school. I have to finish up a bunch of shit for school yet so that will cut my playing time down. And work is going to be kickin in real soon. I hate school and dont feel like doing shit, so I am really procrastinating with all my shit to do.

And my weight thing sucks. I eat more and more each day. Going out for wings tonight. Usually eat a dozen, I might go with more for one last splurge. Hopefully I can continue to eat the way I do, but with the exercise and work I will have I will lose weight. Off to do shitty school work.

May Goals

2008-04-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I will try and set up some goals for May. Havent really followed any of my goals I have ever set up, but I guess we will see how this goes. Its going to be quite hard because May is a very, very busy time of the year for me. Memorial Day is less than a month away and we have to bust our ass to work. 50-65 work weeks probably. So here we go:

Poker Goals:

Continue grinding NL25.
Get at least 8000-10000 hands in (Very tiny number, but this shows how busy May is)
Get Pokertracker and Idleminer
Stay at NL25 even if I get rolled for NL50 (Can concentrate more in June for NL50)
Post at least 20 times between 2+2 and pokerzion
Read forums daily

Life Goals:

Finish reading "A Pirate Looks at Fifty"
Lose 5-8 pounds (Not sure what I weigh right now)
Eat 2-3 meals a day
Cut down on eating late at night

So these are some of the goals I wish to accomplish this month. To some if may be small but work is going to kick my ass. So lets hope I accomplish a couple here. I will update my starting weight soon.

Thought for May

2008-04-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

I figured out some of my goals already for May and will be posting them in a few days. I have a few poker and life goals to accomplish for the month and I feel like I will be able to do them. May will be a very busy month with working and everything considering Memorial Day comes a few days earlier this year. So I am hoping to get some poker time in there and really get my game on track. Havent gotten to talk to anyone lately, so hopefully throughout the month or right after I will get to talk to them and figure out my game. I think I might do a movie review soon.

Also, listen to Seether's new son "Rise Above This". It is amazing. Seether fuckin rocks

Long Time

2008-04-21T15:34:00.001-07:00

Its been another long time since I posted. Havent been doing much or playing much. Just played for a little while yesterday and got out of my slump I was in. It felt good to have a winning day for once. Other than that its been work, school, and girlfriend. Another busy week with her sisters birthday coming up and her grandparents anniversary party to go to. Probably wont play much as the weather is nice and I have been getting out. Was sick this whole weekend so I want to do some stuff outside this weekend.

Gonna figure some goals for May to get in, both with poker and life. Just some minor ones that I can achieve because May will be a very busy work month.

I am looking to update this more often, so I will be trying to write a few times a week.

Interesting Day

2008-04-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

So my day began out pretty crappy, knowing what type of work I had to do and that Ashley would be in for her surgery. I knew everything would be fine with her because you sense that stuff. I had to then dig a 5-0 X 1-2 and a 7-6 X 1-2 ( Thats five feet long by one and a half feet wide and seven and a half long and same wide) foundation through shale. So I get a call half way through the bigger of the two from her saying her dad was in the hospital. So I busted ass to get done the big one so I could go with. We got to the hospital and everything was pretty good. So lets hope the tests and results for everything come back good and he will be out tomorrow. And lets hope her results come back good and everything is just fine.

She goes for her interview tomorrow with the hospital. Hope she gets in (she will in my mind). Her mom needs to get her arm or shoulder looked at. Hope everything is fine there. And her dad should be out.

Back to Work

2008-04-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

Good weather and May is coming around the corner. And with that brings harder and longer work hours. The offical start began yesterday (April 7th). We decided to begin at 7:30 and will probably go with that until Memorial Day is over. Memorial Day is the roughest holiday for a monument company and thats when the money is made. Its crazy how many people want there monuments and other items up and ready for Memorial Day. Memorial Day from what I learned about was a day to remember all of the fallen soldiers that have served our country in wars. And it is viewed by some people as the beginning of summer. To me it is a crazy period of time where I usually end up working 55 - 65 hour weeks Monday - Saturday. It sort of seems like the beginning of summer to me because usually the work is a hell of a lot less hectic afterwards. But it should be a time where people our remembered for what they have done and the lives they lived. I always enjoy our small party at the parade because I know the hardest part of my job is done and now its almost time to "relax". This is a very stressful period for my dad because times can be either slow or fast. Slow being where no money and customers are coming in and fast being very busy and having to work every day of the week. My first full Memorial Day was last year and it was hell. Working to 10:30 P.M. one night with flashlights and hopes and dreams. Another day traveling to New Jersey just to be turned down because the monuments werent proper for the cemetery. Delivering 3 or 4 truckloads of stones each day, and then getting up the next morning and doing it all over again. This time of the year sucks and I become extremely tired.

I guess I should get use to it if I am going to become the owner of the business one day. This year will be a big year for me as I graduate college and take some of the burdens on the business on my shoulders. I really need to step it up this year and I am excited to see how it goes. Its going to be crazy.

I really didnt want to put poker in this one, but I guess I will make one comment. Work will be cutting into my poker time. It doesnt bother me though. Because this is what I want to do with my life and I want to learn every thing I possible can about the business and industry. So I am stepping up this year to learn. And when winter comes and it slows down, then I can focus more on poker. But until then I am ready to take full responsibilty of my position and time.

Another Congrats

2008-04-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well, Id like to give another Congrats to Johnny (J_Blu3Jack3t) for ripping a tourney and finishing 1st out of 330+ and taking down a nice $6000+ payday. Well done man, keep ripping it.

Another Month

2008-04-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well, March came and went. It was definitely a rough month, both poker and life wise. But I came out strong and hopefully that carries into April. I came firing into March on a shitty downswing and didnt go anywhere until about the middle of the month. Picked it up there and started cranking out some nice days at the cash tables. Then went on another little swing. I tilted a lot and took a shot at NL 50, resulting in my making a tiny bit of money after sitting card dead for a couple hours. I also took down some MTT SNGs. Took an 18 man and a 45 man down, and had some nice finishes in the 18 man ones on PS. Other than that I played some micro tournies and made some small runs. Looking to make my way up and get to NL 50 sometime this month. I gotta grind my way out. I am in the P5 bodog competition and looking to get at least 150 points so I can try and freeroll my way into a SNG and win a seat at the WSOP. Definitely will need some luck to do that.

Anyways, Congrats to Mike (MadMike724) on finishing 3rd in a Limit Razz tourney on PS, beating out 200+ people. Nice job dude

AK Hand

2008-03-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

So I literally just sat down. This is my 3rd hand I think. UTG raises it to 0.60 pre flop. Two callers and I 3 bet to $2 with AKs. A miracle flop for me when it comes 10 J Q and the guy to my right betting into me. I decide just to shove him here when I have the best of it and hit runner runner for the flush.

AK Hand

My Girlfriend: Ashley Ann Italiano

2008-03-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, so as I have said in the past, I needed to write a life type of post here. I decided today that I could write about something that I wanted to share. To someone this may seem as a response or something to some events that have taken place recently, but it truly isnt. This is something I have been saying I was going to write for a while and it is long overdue. I mostly refer to her as the girlfriend, old lady, her, etc. But who I am referring to is Ashley Ann Italiano, my girlfriend. I am sure that certain dates, times, and events wont be in order, but I will try to do my best to recall them. This is the story of Us.

It had to begin in 2005 or 2006 (not quite sure). But I know it began at Long John Silvers/Arbys in Lehighton, PA. It began as me working at LJS for too long. And then she came along. We began talking and I thought were pretty good work buddies. She knew me as Kenchi and probably didnt know my real name. At the time I was in the worst relationship of my life. This is probably how it all began. I had quite LJS in April or May of 06 probably. She said that she probably wouldnt see me ever again, which I knew wasnt true because I had always wanted to stop in to talk with her. I was working with my dad after school that year before Memorial Day and one day I think we had stopped there to eat. She was working and we talked for a little. To be honest I dont remember how much we talked after that. On my birthday that year things changed and I was single, thats all that needs to be said. I am pretty sure she had asked her sister for my AOL screename. At the time I did talk on there to some people so her name popped up one night, prob late in July or August. We began talking more on there. It was nice because she was always cool and always enjoyed talking to her. Well I am not sure why she liked talking to me at all because I was always in a drunken stuper. And I cant even remember I must have been really bad because I thought I always talked to her pretty early in the night. There are few things I probably remember from those conversations. I remember a Taking Back Sunday song and tucking me in. And I actually have one of the conversations saved and it goes from 12:54 A.M to 3:44 A.M. So some chat conversations lead us to hanging out and going to the movies, Pulse I think it was. The movie sucked but it was good being there with her. I was tempted to try and hold her hand or something, but figured it wasnt a good time. Then in late August or early Sept. I went to Hershey for the day to be with her. I met her family and some of their friends. Someone told me she had been trying to keep her hair nice all day for me but she couldnt. So we hung out that whole day and it was very nice. I had a great time and I was hoping that I could do it again. I left with a hug. Well then that led to us hanging out more and more. I think I went to her house the day after Hershey and ended up getting lost. We hung out and it just kept getting better. This leads us to Sept. 24, 2006. We went to see Jackass 2 and Im not sure of the time, but I later asked her out after the movie. I wanna say like 10:16 or a little later. I was very happy she said yes. So this has us hanging out more and doing more stuff together. As in before my Christmas party at my house and sitting/laying in her basement at her house watching movies. It also had our snowed in Valentines Day where I didnt get to see her. Also, seeing Breaking Benjamin twice in 07. The first was in Philadelphia on June 1. I tried surprising her with the tickets, but I dont believe I did a good job. We ate at Dave and Busters which was awesome, then proceeded to wait like 4 or 5 hrs to get in. We got almost to the front so where she was really close to the stage to see Ben. I got extremely mad there as everyone kept bumping and pushing into us. It would have been fine had it just been me, but I was pretty upset. I was ready to throw down with the entire crowd even though I knew I would get my ass kicked. The next day we went to Dorney (suppose to go with her friends but they didnt go). I really liked it because it was just me and her. We went to the amusement park first, then the water park later. After that we went back to her house and swam in her pool. We also went to the drive in movies twice I think, one just her and I (crazy time) and one all nighter with her sister. We then drove to Atlantic City the day after her and I went. I had a blast in Atlantic City with her. It was one of the best times with her just sitting on the beach and enjoying it. I went to Robin Hill campground for a day with her. And I went to New Jersey with her and her family that year. I got lost again, turning a 3 hour trip into about a 6 hour trip. I messed up my shoulder by diving into the ocean the next day and was in pain for about 2 weeks. But I loved every second of that trip. It was an amazing trip. It hurt so bad to see her cry when I was leaving. We celebrated our 1 year in Sept. of that year. 2007 was a great year as I had tons of fun with her and couldnt imagine being with anyone else but here. I spent the entire weekend up in Hershey with them that year and that was another great weekend I had camping with them. We got to spend Thanksgiving together again and I even believe Christmas. Valentines Day was spent with her in 08 which was good because it was snowed out in 07. Which brings us almost up to date.

I know I missed many things in this because there has been many things we have done. Its been so good and I hope this continues. I know its been a roller coaster of a ride, but its been such a good one that I hope never ends. We have been through so much in the short amount of time we have been together. If someone would tell me tomorrow when I woke up that I would have to chose between her and anything else in the world (million dollars, live forever, etc) I would take her in a heartbeat. Because money and living forever may equal happiness to some. But for me without her love I wouldnt be happy. And I cant buy love, so I would not be happy. I would rather not be rich or live forever because whats life without her. And whats living forever if I couldnt live forever with her. This story doesnt end. It may be a new beginning. But it will never end. Because I plan on making it go on. Maybe I will continue to write about this, or maybe not. But I know I will be happy forever as long as she is right by my side. This is the beginning of Us. And I wouldnt have changed any of this story for the world. I Love You Ashley.

Well

2008-03-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

Another long time before I updated again. Just dont ever feel like updating, but I guess I should. Been playing lots of micro SNG's lately on stars. Had a decent run with them. Finished 1st in a 45 man (biggest MTT win). Cash games getting a little better. Been talking with some people and they have been keeping my head up and giving me some good advice. I have actually been reading and posting more in the forums so thats probably helping. Also, been trying to get some walking time for a little exercise in each day. Thats the most exercise I get throughout the winter and the only way for me to stay semi healthy. I read an article in BLUFF stating that exercising before playing and staying healthy keeps a better mind. Also started playing 2 tables so I am getting twice the hands, twice the loss/gain. And most importantly I have been spending time with my girlfriend and friends which makes me extremely happy and balanced. I have to make time for them and I have been doing that much better. This makes me so much happier because when I was just jamming in hours I was pretty unhappy with life. So I think this is really helping me play my game better. I guess I will update tomorrow or so with a life write about some stuff I want to say.

18 Man

2008-03-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Well, This is the beginning of an 18 man SNG. Couple hands in. These are all right in a row, no breaks. I wish my cash game luck was this good, because I am already down today

Hand where I thought I was going to double up.

Hand afterwards where I am tilting a little and figure its good enough to push (what luck)

Hand where I am looking to hit

Figure I keep pushing the action

One last time

Update:
I ended up taking this one down, which was nice. First 18 man win and multi table win. Heres the hands that helped me

This hand got in with the chip leader (most of the final table) and got him to call my AI with his 2 pair

Afterwards he busted out pretty quickly and I had a huge chip advantage over the other guy. HU was only a couple hands. Here are the last two.

This hand I thought I was good, until we got the split.

The final hand I was excited to see. I knew I was ahead, but he must have thought he was gonna rip me.

Pretty excited that I took one of these down, small tourney play is improving

Long Time

2008-02-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

Well, its been quite a while. Since the last time I went on about a 4 or 5 BI downswing, dropping about $120 in 2 days. I havent played a lot since then, I think it was about a good week break. So I have some updates and things to say.

First off, about my downswing. This was my first and I am still not out of it yet. They suck. I figured a couple things that put me there:
1. Bad play with bad beats. But just a lot of bad play. Overplaying bottom 2, calling on certain draws, calling knowing I am beat, etc. Just too much calling. I should have kept the pots small, but I didnt. Which leads me to my next conclusion.
2. Playing for the money. I cant think of poker as money. I want to enjoy it. The only thing I was thinking about was making money, which isnt good.
3. Playing tired. I was always tired and trying to keep my eyes open when I was staring at the computer screen, not good.
4. Had stuff on my mind.

Throughout the week I did play a tiny bit. I tried the 18 man SNG's on PS and didnt do that bad I guess. Finished 2nd, 5th (Bubble), and 7th.

Anyways, I think it was good I took a break. I had too much stuff about school on my mind. I guess I aint going to worry about really cranking a bankroll out yet until I am done with school. I will continue to play, but if I dont get to where I want to thats ok because I want to finish school first. After that I can focus more on poker and go from there. I have all next winter to play since I will be laid off from work throughout the winter. So I am going to get through school first, and then focus more on poker. That way its not on my mind and killing my ability. Who knows, I might get to a certain point now though.

Anyways, got the live game tomorrow. They are going to be doing a SNG and limit dealers choice game. Maybe No Limit again, but not sure. Then in April I have the live team tournament deal, which I am pretty excited for. Except it being team, because theres more pressure.

Playing now, and I am out of my funk for the time being. Hit a set of 2's against a straight draw and thankfully he missed everything. Set of 8's to win a small pot, and AQ in a 3 bet pot. MAde a call on the flop with AKK. Thought he had a king, but he had AJ so took another nice pot there. Made a dumb play when I had JJ vs 77. 7 hit on the flop and I thought I was good (all unders) but I wasnt. Was as high as $60, but dropped after that JJ pot. Giving myself a stop loss at $45 (45.25 now). So I will be up for the day (1st in a while).

Thats all for now

Updates Comin

2008-02-27T06:29:00.001-08:00

In the near future.

down

2008-02-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

I am so close to clicking the withdraw button and just taking what I have and leaving poker behind.

Break Time

2008-02-19T15:53:00.001-08:00

Enough Said

Back to the Grind

2008-02-18T18:34:00.001-08:00

I went back to the grind today after I took the weekend off and enjoyed it.

On Friday I went bowling with Ashley, her sister, and her two friends. It was very fun and I thought her two friends were pretty cool. They were good even though they were guys.

On Saturday Mike, Lil Bill, Miller, and me went to motorama which was a blast as it is usually. The best was the popeyes incident. Then I got completely shitfaced drinking too much jager and monster. What a mix though, its awesome. I dont remember too much of that night.

Sunday I wake up and wanted to die. I felt like such shit and barely made it to the movies with my girlfriend and her sister. Even though I was a slub most of the time. It was my fault, but I made it.

So Im back grinding it out and not doing too bad. I was up to $90 but made a bad call when I hit TPTK against a set and dropped to about $65. O well. I prob didnt get any hands for like, the first 2 hours. I was below $16 and then doubled up twice. Finished 197th in a tournament on pokerstars out of like, 3000 people. Thats it for now.

Valentines Day

2008-02-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

Its Valentines Day and I am not a big fan of it. I hope my plans work out. I cooked chicken cacciatore for Ashley (favorite dish I hope). Hope it comes out good. Got the salad and what not ready, soon to be eating. And I got the usual stuffed animal, chocolates, and single rose. I cant shop for Valentines Day because I never know what to get.

Anyways, rolls almost over $600 and Im looking to push

Home and Rollin

2008-02-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

Well, Im home. I actually have been home since Monday, but havent wrote anything. It was a long drive out and back, but since they were suppose to get snow we trucked it back. It was great, their warehouse and everything is packed. Its definitely a company he will do business with and I will hopefully be able to do business with in the future. I know we will be going out yearly because thats the companies policy, but we may be going out more often. Theres a golf course we are going to hit next time. And mother fucking WHITE CASTLE. We didnt get to stop there this time, but I will make sure I am starvin next time.

Pokers going good. I got my roll above $500 now (little thanks to a parlay I won). I got another parlay down tonight, big bucks. 48-1 on my money so its a long shot. Anyways, I think I have been playing decent poker and I hope I can continue to get my roll up.

Anyways, motorama is this weekend and I am super excited. I cant wait to go out there. I love it.

A Few Hands

2008-02-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

Decided to post a few hands before I head out today. Sat at the penny tables on stars and donked it up.

Hand 1. Limped in with suited connectors and decided to call on the flop with a gutshot. Hit a miracle on the turn and dont ask why this other person decided to call AI with a gutshot.

Hand 2. Limped in with connectors in position and hit 2 pair on a draw heavy board here. I didnt know what draw he was on after the river, but had to call.

Hand 3. Figured I could limp and maybe hit with only one other person. I told you I was donking around today. Knew this lady only plays strong hands. I knew she didnt have a flush on the turn after it took her a while to fold.

Congrats Again

2008-02-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

I want to send my congrats to Lee for ripping up the tourney and chopping it. On a roll. I think thats 3 final tables online and one final table live this week. Nicely done champ. Hes a shark and we can watch out for him in the near future to rip it. Well done Sir.

Kept my Head Up

2008-02-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

After staring the day 2 tabling, I lost one of my buy-ins. I forget exaclty the hand I lost it with, but it was devastating. I placed a $5 5 team CBB parlay then. I almost lost my other buy-in at my other table. I got down as low as $14 I think. I was ready to leave, but felt like I could win my money back. I hit quad 8's and brought it back up to even. I stayed idle there for a while, hit pocket queens twice. Then came my big hand. With about $24 behind me, there was a $1.10 reraise. I had called the big blind with 33. I decided that if I call this and hit, this guy will pay me off. Well the flop came 5sKs3d. I checked into him where he pot bet. I knew he wasnt on a flush draw and figured he had AK. I reraised him and he thought for a while. Finally, he decided to push where I insta called. The flop drew out and I took down a nice $48 pot. I had about $4 left and my stack size was about $52. So I broke even today except for that parlay I played. I kept my head up and was determined to win.

Congrats

2008-02-07T11:49:00.001-08:00

I forgot to mention in my last post, but Congrats to Lee (coach07) for finishing in the top 3 in the Main Event Cheap Seats Qualifier.

Update: Congrats again to Lee (coach07) for final tabling two tournaments today. Nicely Done