Lose a Million, Win a Million

I’ve been playing in the 100,000 games at Full Tilt for a couple of weeks now. At first, it was going well and I went from 2 million to 3 million over the course of five days. Then I had a terrible night. I played quite a few games and , despite a handful of second place finishes, I lost over a million dollars. Thank god it was only play money.

The good news is that even with the loss, I was still ahead by 200,000 from when I first moved up to the new level. So I kept playing and now I’m back to the 3,000,000 mark. Lose a million, win a million. This to me points out the importance of bankroll management. Although I had one horrible night, I never lost more than I could afford to lose and overall, I was ahead of where I was two weeks ago.

I just looked at my spreadsheet and calculated my win percentage for the last two weeks. It stands at 37% with 9 1st places wins, 9 2nds and 5 thirds out of 62 games. This is down a bit from the 41% in my last calculation. Certainly, I need to work on converting some of those 2nd places to 1sts.

Now I know what I need to work on. Moving up a level is always a cause for jitters and I know I’ve made some bad calls, but I’m expecting good things for the coming month.

Sit n Go Stats

I’ve finally started keeping track of my games again so I can see how I’m doing. I type my results into a spreadsheet and keep a running tally of my bankroll and how much I’m up or down for the day. So now I can see that over the last five days, I’ve played in 46 nine-handed sit n gos and cashed in 41.3% with 9 1st place wins, 7 2nds and 3 3rds. It’s a small sample, but it seems pretty good to me.

I also played in a 90-player sit n go today and came in 5th which finally pushed me over the 2 million mark in play money. So now, according to the rules of the Chris Ferguson challenge as mentioned in my very first blog post, I can start playing in the 100,000 games and still be within my bankroll. Of course, there’s not as many of those to play in. And if I lose the first one, I have to drop back down to the 10,000 level. It will be interesting for me to see if I can maintain my win percentage at this new level.

Really, I could fund my full tilt account with real money. I have a bit of extra cash since my wins at the casino, but for now, it is important to me to keep trying to do this on the cheap. It is taking a lot of patience to not stick a wad in there and start playing for real. I’ll see how much longer I can hold out.

First T-shirt Design

I still have not been back to the casinos. I’ve been playing online and I feel like I’m losing, but I know I’ve been winning, too. My bankroll has stayed about the same. The problem is since I switched to this new computer, I haven’t been keeping track of the games I’ve been playing in. So I really don’t know how I’m doing overall. This points up the importance of record keeping.

When I started playing at the casinos, I labeled a file folder “poker” and stuck it in my file cabinet. After a tournament, I write the amount of the buy-in, the amount won, and the amount I tipped the dealer on my seating assignment paper and throw it in there. It’s quick and easy and I’ll still have it if my hard drive crashes (but not if my house burns down).

I’ve heard of Poker Tracker and will start using that once I fund my online account. In the meantime, I need to start keeping track of my play money games just so I can see how much I’m actually winning. I think any serious player would need this information.

In the meantime, I’ve put my first t-shirt design up on Cafepress. You can click on the picture to see the t-shirt. I love that typeface used on the word “Poker”. It’s called Hominis. It has a great old-timey feeling without being too western.

Bad beats

Not much to report. I’ve stayed away from the casinos and have not played much on line due to switching to a new computer and spending a lot of time downloading fonts. It’s also been great visiting with my eldest daughter who just returned from nine months in China. She had a wonderful experience and I’m really grateful to her host parents.

For awhile there, I was on a terrible losing streak with online play. KK getting beat by Q4 and such. It seemed no matter what I did I couldn’t win. I had a brief upturn and then it was downhill again. Then the last couple of days I seem to be on the upswing, winning a bit more than I lose.

And it all comes down to bankroll management. When I first started losing, I wasn’t worried because I knew my bankroll could handle it. Then I accidentally entered a 100,000 dollar money tournament when I’d meant to play in a 10,000 tourney. I don’t know how this happened but I think a few beers may have been responsible. Of course, after I lost that one I entered another 100,000 tourney to win my money back. Can you believe I lost again? The lesson here is that poker and alcohol don’t mix.

Losing took a big toll on my confidence, and I feel like I’ve had more than my share of bad beats lately. I’ve also made some bad calls in an effort to rush things. Tonight I entered another 100,000 game because I felt like it was my turn to win. And I did. I also won a 10,000 game that I played simultaneously. I guess things are looking up.

Fun with the Final Table Players

On Memorial Day I went to Cherokee Casino for the Final Table Players Tournament of the Mid-South Poker Classic. This was a freeroll for everyone who had made it to a final table, and my ninth place finish in the Ladies No Limit Hold ‘Em made me qualified. I didn’t have a very good feeling about this, but I never considered not showing up.

Day 2 of the Final Event was going on when I arrived, and Scotty Nguyen, Cherokee’s resident pro even though he lives in Las Vegas, was there. They had started with 6, but one was already gone. There was a crowd around the table so I couldn’t see much, but I could see that Scotty was short-stacked. Poker is pretty boring to watch if you can’t see the hole cards so I wandered off and won $8.00 on slots . Then with five minutes left, I took my seat.

The lady from Austin, a ten-year cancer survivor that I had knocked out of the Ladies NLHE (see previous post), came over and said ‘hi’. Turns out she had come back the next day and entered the Limit Hold ‘Em event, and even though she’d never really played limit before, she won. That made me happy.

Our tournmament started just as the Main Event was going on break. Scotty Nguyen came around and shook everybody’s hand and said “Good luck, baby!”. That was quite a thrill. He’s such a nice guy. I don’t see how anyone could not like Scotty Nguyen. Unfortunately, he ended up going out fifth.

Then they made an announcement saying that everyone that was in the Final Table Players Tournament would receive a bonus of $50 cash just for showing up. So I counted and realized I was already up $58 for the day even if I lost.

I wasn’t getting much the first hour. I entered a few small pots here and there, mostly from the big blind, and lost them all. We started with 4,000 chips but by the time we reached level 3, I only had 950 left. Then things began to change. I got pocket kings in the big blind. One person raised the minimum and another person called. The big blind was 200. I went all-in. Both players called me and I tripled up when a king appeared on the flop. Shortly afterwards, I got aces and made a little money with that. Then I was able to see some flops for cheap with less than spectacular hands and I won several small pots, so by the time I got moved to another table, I had to use a chip rack to carry all of my chips.

We’d started with about 100 people, but now we were down to 25 or so. A fellow with a good-sized stack went all-in in early position. I’d been folding quite a bit since the move, but I looked down to see pocket queens. He had me covered but I decided to call. It was heads-up. I was pretty happy when he turned over A-10s. My queens held up and my stack doubled while he was pretty much crippled and went to the rail a few hands later.

That was the turning point for me. Pretty soon we were down to 18, and I could see my stack was large enough that I would make it to the final table if i didn’t do anything stupid. When we were down to 15, everyone began shouting for a chop. The manager said he needed one person to sign for the $6,700 first place prize and they would have to get a W-9. A fellow from Canada said he would do it. Then he busted out in fifteenth and we had to find someone else.

Another guy didn’t want to chop. His stack wasn’t all that big. He went all-in with pocket twos and someone called with pocket tens. He was gone.

The chip leader demanded $6,700 but finally settled on $3,000. The rest of us chopped and ended up with $1,356.00. Some guy signed for first place. I don’t know why. Maybe he was unemployed. I tipped the dealer the $50 bonus I had received at the beginning and pocketed the rest. This was my first big payout, and it felt great.

I’m now taking a break from the casinos for at least a couple of weeks. My teen-age daughter spent 11th grade in Beijing and just returned on Thursday after an absence of nine months. So I will spend some time quizzing her about chou dou fu and the lau bai sying. Plus I have lost $500,000 online. Maybe I can earn it back. Thank god it’s only play money.

Satellite City

I went to the casino again on Monday for the 10am daily shootout only to find that it was cancelled due to the Mid-South Poker Classic. So I asked if I could get into a satellite. I was the first name on the list and had to wait around for an hour before ten people signed up. Fortunately, I was able to pick up a complementary copy of Card Player magazine so I had some reading material.

To make a long story short, I won the satellite. A key play occured when I was in the big blind. It was at the 200/400 level and I had won a few small pots and had a decent sized stack. A fellow in early position went all in for 950. I had K-8o and was thinking I’d probably have to fold. Then someone else called his all-in. And then the small blind called as well. So I thought for a moment. It was quite a nice-sized pot and it would only cost me an additional 550 to call. All three players were all-in so there wasn’t going to be any additional betting. I’d still have a decent stack even if I lost. What the hell, I thought, and I called. An 8 appeared on the flop and a K appeared on the turn so I beat the small blind’s pocket tens, knocked out 3 people and was soon playing heads up with an old man.

Our stacks were about equal at this point as he had just knocked out the third player. The floor manager was sitting by me and I said, “I guess you can’t chop in a satellite.” And he said, “Sure, you can!” But the old man didn’t say anything. Pretty soon I’d taken most of his chips and I though about mentioning the chop again. If he’d suggested it I would have agreed. But still he remained silent.

Not long after that, I was short-stacked but it was too late to mention the chop. I bet aggressively with pocket 5s and Ax and shortly after that, I won. The payoff for the $45 satellite was $300 in tournament tokens and $50 cash. I tipped the dealer $30 and pocketed $20 so it only cost me $25. Then I registered for two different $150 NLHE tournaments on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. But I felt kinda bad that the old man didn’t want to chop. Maybe I don’t have what it takes to be a poker professional, after all.

Tuesday evening I played in the Ladies No Limit Hold “em Tournament. I really wasn’t getting much in the way of cards, although I did pick up some chips with pocket kings. I won a few other hands and was doing okay about an hour into the game. Then a new woman got moved to our table. In a very short space of time, she’d played three hands in which she raised big pre-flop, got one caller, then went all-in after the flop. So everyone was scared of her, including me.

Well, she raised big again and I called with KQo. The flop came down 10-Q-7 rainbow. She, of course, went all-in immediately and I called without hesitation. Our stacks were about equal although she had me covered by a little bit. She turned over A-10 and didn’t improve. So I doubled up and she went out of the tournament a few hands later. I felt kinda bad.

After that, I really wasn’t getting much at all and lost a bit with AQs to pocket tens. That woman had flopped a set and eventually went on to win the 1st place $3000 dollar payout. She was getting good stuff all night but didn’t hardly bet, just checked and called and raked in pots.

I managed to keep my stack up by judiciously raising with marginal hands and stealing the blinds and antes. After three hours of play we were down to 23 from an initial 86. I guess a lot of those were short-stacked because not long after the second break, there were only 18 left. The average stack at this point was 14,000. I counted my chips and saw that I had 18,000 sitting in front of me. Simple math told me I had a good chance of making it to the final table. The tournament paid to 9 positions.

Then I got seated next to a woman from Austin, TX who  had been at my table at the start of the tournament. She was quite a good player and bet aggressivley, so, of course, I didn’t like her. So she turns to me and says “I don’t know if you’re recovering from cancer or if you just shaved your head for the look, but I’m a ten-year survivor and there is hope.” We chatted a bit and she was a really nice lady. I tried to explain that I did shave my head for the look because I didn’t like the way it was growing in all kinky, plus I’d become accustomed to being bald. Then she raised UTG with pocket jacks and I called with J6s, doubling her up. She was short-stacked at the time. A few hands later she raised again and I called with A-6o. I hit a pair of 6’s  on the river and called her all-in. Once again, she had pocket jacks. But I sucked out an ace on the river and knocked her out of the tournament. So, naturally, I felt kinda bad.

Well, I did make it to the final table. There were ten of us and we made a deal to each give the bubble $15.00 so she would get her buy-in back. And soon there was nine. But I was so damn tired. It was 12:30 am and we’d been playing since 7pm and I’d been yawning for the last hour and a half. And I suddenly decided I didn’t want to play anymore. In fact, I had a burning desire to get the hell out of that room asap. So I went all-in with pocket 3s against the chip leader in the big blind. She had AK, both of which appeared on the flop and that was the end of me. I collected $271, tipped the dealer $20, and pocketed ten times what I paid to be in the tournament. This is what I call success. So yes, I guess even a moron could tell at this point that I don’t have what it takes to be a professional poker player. 

I got five hours sleep that night and went back the next evening to play in another $150 buy-in NLHE event. I was gone within 30 minutes, chasing a flush, and that was fine with me because I was still really damned tired. Well, I did go through chemo last summer and finished up radiation in December 2007, and let me tell you, that takes its toll. It would be fair to say that I really have no energy, but I hope that will improve over the course of the next couple of years. I have some hope, anyway.

Tomorrow there is one more tournament: The Final Table Players Tournament. It has an estimated prize pool of $50,000. There is no buy-in. You just have to have made it to a final table which I did. I’ve had a few days to rest, and it starts at 3pm which is good for me since I’m no longer in the habit of staying up late. I’ll do my best. I really do have a competitive streak and want to win. But while in one way I’ve already had more success than I could have imagined, in another way, I’m beginning to doubt that I will ever make my living playing poker.

 

 

 

My Lucky Watch

I’m up to 1.7 million in play money and $9.00 in my real money account. I’ve been playing mostly 9-handed sit n gos and have had some success at the 1 dollar buy-in level.

More importantly, I went to the casino. Monday was not good. The best hole cards I saw were an AJ suited and that was on the very first hand. I didn’t win anything with it. After an hour of play I went out before the break with a pair of sixes. I was short-stacked by that time and called an all-in from another short-stacked player. He had eights.

Tuesday was different. I was dealt AA, QQ, and JJ all during the first hour and won with all of them. The jacks were scary because two aces appeared on the flop. There were three of us, but no one had raised pre-flop and no one bet on the flop. When the guy across the table bet after the turn, I was pretty sure he didn’t have an ace so I reraised. That took down the pot for me and I had a decent stack after the first hour of play.

By the end of the second hour, my chips had dwindled and I didn’t think I’d last much longer unless I got lucky. Sure enough, on the big blind, I was dealt 3 6 o. The table folded all around and the big blind raised the minimum which put me all in. If I folded I would have just enough for the small blind and I didn’t see the point in that. So I called. He had AK and I figured I was doomed, but the flop came up rags and I ended up with a 7-high straight.

After that, things changed. I kept getting AK and AQ and raising preflop. Everyone either folded to me or lost when I hit my flop. As the third break approached, it was clear I was going to make it to the final table, and I folded things like KJo and 99 out of position, because there was no point in risking my stack.

There were nine of us at the final table, but two people had very short stacks. The tournament only paid to seven positions, but it didn’t take long to get down to that number. Then everyone began to talk about a chop. I had no choice but to go along with it. So I took my $239.00. Minus the generous dealer tip and the buy-ins ($35.00 + one $10.00 add-on) I ended up with a profit of $139 for both days.

The next day I realized what was different between the two days. On Monday I had arrived early and I wanted to walk around a bit, but then I remembered casinos don’t have clocks so I wouldn’t be able to keep track of the time if I left the poker room. So on Tuesday I asked my girlfriend if she had some sort of timepiece I could take with me. She handed me an old timex with a raggedy bit of band stuck to it. I removed the band and put the watch in my pocket where it remained throughout the tournament. Could this be the reason why my cards were so much better the second day?

Needless to say, I’m going back to the casino tomorrow and I’m taking the watch with me.

 

Slow but Sure

I’m up to 1.2 million in play money and $2.55 in real money. It’s a bit dull. I’d put some real money in my account but my computer is having some problems and I’m afraid the whole thing is about to crash. I should buy a new computer first.

I’ve been looking at the Independent Chip Model and making decisions based more on chip equity and my opponent’s perceived looseness. This has led to tighter (and better) bubble play. I would recommend this tool for those of you who are mathematically-minded. There’s a link to an ICM calculator in the sidebar.

I have arranged to take a couple days off work and will be going to the local casino this week for one of their daily 10 am tournaments. Should be fun.

Where I Stand

I play poker at Full Tilt under the name of “pearish”. The other day I finally cashed in one of those huge freerolls. I ended up in 11th place out of some 2400 entrants for a whopping $2.00. But I don’t actually play the freerolls much. I mostly play in the play money sit n gos. In play money I currently have about 875,000.

I am following the Chris Ferguson Challenge in that I never spend more than 5% of my bankroll on any sit n go and no more than 2% on a multi-table tournament. Right now I’m playing in games with a 10,000 buy-in, but pretty soon, once I’m over the million mark, I can play in the 50,000 games.

My plan is to play in the $40 freerolls that have a buy-in of 500,000. This will require a bankroll of 10 million. It may take awhile but I think this strategy is better than trying to win the big freerolls.

Since I do have $2.00 I might also play in the 10 cent rebuy tourneys or I might put $50.00 in my account and play in some 1 and 2 dollar games. I also plan on going to the local casinos, and I’m hoping to get into the WPT Gulf Coast tourney in January of 2009.

My goal is to become a professional poker player. The fact is that I don’t have to make that much money playing poker to earn more than I would make at an actual job. I think I can do it.