http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blog.php Online Poker Forums with private freerolls and bonus games plus articles on poker bonuses, poker strategy, texas holdem odds, poker site reviews and more. en Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:02:23 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/thf_images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blog.php http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/cardlovincat/84-goal-update.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:20:57 GMT As I promised it is the 1st of the month and I wish I had good news. I started with $30.00 It was an awesome month for me. I have never been so focused and that paid off very well as I consistantly increased my BR over the month. Wednesday 6/25 I went to bed with about $235.00 in my account. Monday night 6/30 I went to bed with $1.20. What went so wrong in 5 days?!! I lost my focus. Not because I was bored or cocky from doing well. My life...got distracted. My house is being painted and my patio got a new roof. Thursday morning my painters showed up bright and early and immediately began taping plastic over every window in the house. MY SCREENED PATIO included. For those of you who don't know this is my place. It's where I work and play poker. One of the reasons for that is I smoke cigarettes, I also find the fresh air and the lakeview very relaxing rain or shine. In a matter of a few hours it became a greenhouse so I took my notebook into the house and had to smoke in the garage by opening the garage door for ventilation. Needless to say this disrupted my routine considerably. Then there was the constant interruptions from the painters and roofers (not their fault) with questions and need for direction. I think my husband got some morbid satisfaction out of watching me take the General Contractors responsibility (he is a Florida licensed GC himself). As my bankroll was dwindling away, you would think I would have had the sense enough to realize these distractions were having a negative affect on my playing. Noooo...I am just having a bad run I told myself. Well it is possible, but I think it is more likely the distractions had more to do with it. I took some FPP and won a $11 T$ and have $2.80. It is very distressing to have to start over, but it was a great lesson. I need to be able to know when to put aside poker playing when I cannot be focused. I do not want to make a deposit and will try hard not to. I let you know how I'm doing next month.

p.s. I had my account over $290. at one point. I will be there again and much higher. :) ]]> CardLovinCat http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/cardlovincat/84-goal-update.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/83-platinum-star-baby.html Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:49:48 GMT VIP > All' tab. To remain a PlatinumStar, you need to earn at least 10,000 VPPs next month to maintain your level. Earn 100,000 VPPs within the calendar year you can earn Supernova VIP status and even greater rewards. To learn more about the VIP Club and the rewards offered, visit our web page at http://www.pokerstars.com/vip. Regards, The PokerStars Team 10 Hill Street, Douglas, IM1 1EF, Isle of Man I haven't earned this many VPP all year so I'm excited as hell! I tried the Gold Star Monthly and its just like any other freeroll but I'm excited about the $100k next month. Also, with the extra FPP I'll earn I want to play the Sunday Million at least once per month with FPP. Unfortunately I don't think Supernova is a realistic goal with only 6 months left but if I get really stupid and add to the 4 tables I'm currently playing you never know. I'm not convinced yet the benifits of Supernova are all they're cracked up to be. A new Platinum Star is born BABY!]]> Two and a half months ago I started a new job. I'm working for a local credit union doing everything from opening accounts to loans to CDs to fixing problems etc. Pretty much if it doesn't involve cash I do it.

I say this because I've had to change my poker playing from mostly live games 2-3 nights per week back to playing almost exclusively online. Two reasons for this. One, with this job I really need to be on my "A" game due to the monstrous amount of information I'm responsible for and I can't afford to be out till 6:00 am anymore. Two, working in a financial institution at this level if word got out or worse yet the game got busted I'd be out of a job.

About two months ago I deposited a couple hundred bucks on PokerStars to get the bonus. I started getting sick of the random bull shit that I kept running into at the .25/.50 stakes. I went against any BR management advice that exists and with $300 moved up to play 1/2 stakes since thats what I play live and do fairly well.

Next thing I know I'm up $1700, I cash out $1000 and add another $750 to that. I'm playing 4 tables at a time and killing it. Of course the inevitable happens and run into a string of bad beats and personal stupidity and drop as low as $380 at one point.

I'm back up to $750 and through it all with 3 hours left I hit Platinum Star BABY!

Dear Dinero2005,

Congratulations! You have achieved PlatinumStar VIP status.

Your VIP level lasts for the rest of this month and all of next month.

This entitles you to the following rewards:

- 150% FPP Multiplier - you now earn 2.5 FPP credits for every 1 VPP credit earned
- PlatinumStar VIP Store access - choose from new and exclusive merchandise in the PlatinumStar store
- $20,000 Weekly VIP tourneys - Saturdays at 14:30 ET for a 100 FPP buy-in
- $50,000 Weekly VIP tourneys - Saturdays at 14:00 ET - FPP satellites available
- $100,000 Monthly VIP tourney - last Saturday of each month, free entry
- Sunday Million turbo satellite with 5 added seats - Sunday 14:30 ET

These exclusive VIP tournaments can be found in your PokerStars game lobby under the 'Tourney > VIP > All' tab.

To remain a PlatinumStar, you need to earn at least 10,000 VPPs next month to maintain your level.

Earn 100,000 VPPs within the calendar year you can earn Supernova VIP status and even greater rewards. To learn more about the VIP Club and the rewards offered, visit our web page at http://www.pokerstars.com/vip.


Regards,
The PokerStars Team

10 Hill Street, Douglas, IM1 1EF, Isle of Man


I haven't earned this many VPP all year so I'm excited as hell! I tried the Gold Star Monthly and its just like any other freeroll but I'm excited about the $100k next month. Also, with the extra FPP I'll earn I want to play the Sunday Million at least once per month with FPP.

Unfortunately I don't think Supernova is a realistic goal with only 6 months left but if I get really stupid and add to the 4 tables I'm currently playing you never know. I'm not convinced yet the benifits of Supernova are all they're cracked up to be.

A new Platinum Star is born BABY! ]]> Dinero2005 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/83-platinum-star-baby.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/blackinks/82-funny-live-hand-also-known-black-idiot-donkey.html Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:09:56 GMT OK, thought about posting this one, but just decided to throw it in the blog. Have you ever been playing live, and made the hand you wanted (or needed) to make, and just realized that you can't show it?
I was playing up at Winstar recently, in a $10/$20 Limit cash game. It was a decent game, with a couple of loose players at the table. I had bought in for $300 (yeah, a little short at 15bb) but I played pretty tight, and managed to work my way up to about $800 or so when this hand came up.
A middle position, and the button both limp, I'm in the small blind. I look down at a lovely 8h 3s. Well hell, I'm getting 7 to 1 with a yard sale hand, so I'll try it. The big blind raises, and both limpers call. Damnit, now I'm still getting 7 to 1 with this chit... two more reds jump out of my stack into the middle (hey right hand, quit that!!!).
The flop drops 5h 6h 7h... shit, I can see it now. Open ended straight flush (which is good). Using one card... (that's bad). Screw it, I'll check. The big blind continuation bets, and we get a call and a fold. I know I should fold... I'm only going to be comfortable if either the 9h or the 4h drop. 2 cards out of 47. Horrible odds. Screw it, I'll call (Damnit right hand, you really gotta quit doing that!)
The turn is a total blank, 2s. OK, now I can fold if he bets. I check, and he bets. The buttons folds, and now my mouth starts following my right hands lead. "Sure, I'll call..." Damnit, damnit, damnit... verbal is binding, and I pitch another 4 reds in the pot.
The river is the miracle 4h, and I have the stone cold nuts... but shit, now I have to show that I defending my f'in small blind with 83 offsuit! I'm a damn idiot. Now my credibility and tight image is blown all to hell. I can't show it, but I can't fold it either. Think damnit. Hell, if you have to show it, at least get one more bet out of it, and then leave.
I bet the river, and the big blind was pretty sure he was beat. He asked me if I had chased him down. Now an idea hits me... "Yeah buddy, I did. I feel bad, so I'll show you one card." I flipped over my 8h and showed him the stone cold nuts. It was worth the $20 not to have to show the other one. He folded, and flashed me pocket Jacks, with the jack of hearts. I pitched my "pocket 8's" (as I called them) into the muck, and scooped my pot.
It was horribly played, and I just got ass end lucky. I learned my lesson from it, but figured it might just be good for a laugh for some of you out there. ]]> Blackinks http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/blackinks/82-funny-live-hand-also-known-black-idiot-donkey.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/cardlovincat/81-goal.html Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:51:24 GMT I have been playing online poker for about 2 1/2 years now. I enjoy it immensely. I am happy to have found this forum as it has helped me to improve my game quite a bit. So much so that my stats are starting to undo themselves. By this I mean my losses over the 2 1/2 years are reversing.

I have preferred to keep my stats blocked whenever possible because it is easy for someone to jump to the conclusion I am a bad player based on them. Well, my stats got that ugly during my learning stages. I just had the money to do it and quite frankly I like learning from experience. Now you could say, use that to your advantage. It has it's pros and cons. I just prefer you don't jump to conclusions either way. I have made the mistake of putting too much validity in a players stats just to find out they were rather good when their stats reflected otherwise.

Sooo, with all that said my goal is to reverse my stats to the positive. This took me 2 1/2 years to get the losses so realistically I will give myself 2 1/2 years to get to $0.

I might add for those of you who may be embarrassed about your stats, if you were a movie buff and spent $20 on a movie every week (you know you're going to buy that popcorn & soda, too), you will spend $2,600. If your losses are less that that you are already ahead. Like any hobby you may love to do, there is usually some cost factor involved. My losses to date are about $1,800. Not bad at all. :) ]]> CardLovinCat http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/cardlovincat/81-goal.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/blackinks/80-new-expirement-part-deux.html Fri, 23 May 2008 04:44:48 GMT Not much going on tonight, so thought I'd continue on... last session took it from $10 up to around $22. Ended tonight with $44. Multi-tabled 4 .01/.02 cash games and donked away. I'm noticing that I get called a few names while i'm playing, and I get sucked out on occasionally by some crap, but all in all, it works. Did also notice a couple of guys who would make sure they were on multiple tables with me. Guess they are trying to get in on the action as well.
Here's a couple from tonight:

PokerStars Game #17625516115: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/23 - 00:19:06 (ET)
Table 'Erato IV' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Shatter777 ($4.35 in chips)
Seat 2: joes47 ($2.99 in chips)
Seat 3: budroe61 ($3.13 in chips)
Seat 4: KiezreSouzae ($12.60 in chips)
Seat 5: Blackinks ($6.42 in chips)
Seat 6: Sciulli1793 ($1.69 in chips)
Blackinks: posts small blind $0.01
Sciulli1793: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [4d 8s]
Shatter777: raises $0.06 to $0.08
joes47: folds
budroe61: folds
KiezreSouzae: folds
Blackinks: calls $0.07
Sciulli1793: folds
*** FLOP *** [Kc 8h 2c]
Blackinks: checks
Shatter777: bets $0.15
Blackinks: calls $0.15
*** TURN *** [Kc 8h 2c] [4s]
Blackinks: bets $0.30
Shatter777: raises $0.50 to $0.80
Blackinks: calls $0.50
*** RIVER *** [Kc 8h 2c 4s] [3c]
Blackinks: checks
Shatter777: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Blackinks: shows [4d 8s] (two pair, Eights and Fours)
Shatter777: mucks hand
Blackinks collected $1.98 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $2.08 | Rake $0.10
Board [Kc 8h 2c 4s 3c]
Seat 1: Shatter777 mucked [6h Ad]
Seat 5: Blackinks (small blind) showed [4d 8s] and won ($1.98) with two pair, Eights and Fours


PokerStars Game #17625535741: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/23 - 00:20:22 (ET)
Table 'Erato IV' 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Shatter777 ($3.32 in chips)
Seat 2: joes47 ($2.99 in chips)
Seat 3: budroe61 ($3.13 in chips)
Seat 4: KiezreSouzae ($12.60 in chips)
Seat 5: Blackinks ($7.37 in chips)
Seat 6: Sciulli1793 ($1.67 in chips)
Sciulli1793: posts small blind $0.01
Shatter777: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [8h 8s]
joes47: folds
budroe61: calls $0.02
KiezreSouzae: calls $0.02
Blackinks: raises $0.10 to $0.12
Sciulli1793: folds
Shatter777: calls $0.10
budroe61: calls $0.10
KiezreSouzae: calls $0.10
*** FLOP *** [Ah 8d 7h]
Shatter777: bets $0.40
budroe61: calls $0.40
KiezreSouzae: calls $0.40
Blackinks: raises $0.60 to $1
Shatter777: folds
budroe61: calls $0.60
KiezreSouzae: calls $0.60
*** TURN *** [Ah 8d 7h] [4d]
budroe61: checks
KiezreSouzae: bets $0.66
Blackinks: raises $5.59 to $6.25 and is all-in
budroe61: folds
KiezreSouzae: folds
Uncalled bet ($5.59) returned to Blackinks
Blackinks collected $4.96 from pot
Blackinks: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.21 | Rake $0.25
Board [Ah 8d 7h 4d]

PokerStars Game #17625278174: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/23 - 00:04:15 (ET)
Table 'Achilles V' 6-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: reidgrn ($2.40 in chips)
Seat 2: minibus1234 ($3.06 in chips)
Seat 3: KDKD1 ($2.11 in chips)
Seat 4: Blackinks ($5 in chips)
Seat 5: jbwisc ($1.45 in chips)
Seat 6: Dan Cox ($5.91 in chips)
KDKD1: posts small blind $0.01
Blackinks: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [Th Jc]
jbwisc: folds
Dan Cox: folds
reidgrn: raises $0.02 to $0.04
minibus1234: folds
KDKD1: raises $0.06 to $0.10
Blackinks: calls $0.08
reidgrn: calls $0.06
*** FLOP *** [3d 8c Qs]
KDKD1: checks
Blackinks: checks
reidgrn: checks
*** TURN *** [3d 8c Qs] [Ac]
KDKD1: bets $0.20
Blackinks: calls $0.20
reidgrn: calls $0.20
*** RIVER *** [3d 8c Qs Ac] [Kd]
KDKD1: bets $0.30
Blackinks: raises $0.70 to $1
reidgrn: folds
KDKD1: calls $0.70
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Blackinks: shows [Th Jc] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
KDKD1: mucks hand
Blackinks collected $2.80 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $2.90 | Rake $0.10
Board [3d 8c Qs Ac Kd]
Seat 1: reidgrn folded on the River
Seat 2: minibus1234 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: KDKD1 (small blind) mucked [Kc Ah]
Seat 4: Blackinks (big blind) showed [Th Jc] and won ($2.80) with a straight, Ten to Ace
Seat 5: jbwisc folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Dan Cox folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Funny hand of the night award... this one got me cussed out. He checks the flop... turn gives me the double belly buster straight draw. Here, i'm not playing pot odds, but implied odds. When it hits on the river, he bets in and I request time with the nuts before sticking a stiff raise. He calls and proceeds to chew my ass. LOL
PokerStars Game #17625323566: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/23 - 00:07:01 (ET)
Table 'Achilles V' 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: reidgrn ($2.10 in chips)
Seat 2: minibus1234 ($2.98 in chips)
Seat 3: KDKD1 ($1.69 in chips)
Seat 4: Blackinks ($6.42 in chips)
Seat 5: jbwisc ($1.41 in chips)
Seat 6: Dan Cox ($5.18 in chips)
Dan Cox: posts small blind $0.01
reidgrn: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [Ac Th]
minibus1234: raises $0.02 to $0.04
KDKD1: calls $0.04
Blackinks: calls $0.04
jbwisc: folds
Dan Cox: calls $0.03
reidgrn: folds
*** FLOP *** [8d Ah Ts]
Dan Cox: checks
minibus1234: bets $0.10
KDKD1: calls $0.10
Blackinks: raises $0.40 to $0.50
Dan Cox: folds
minibus1234: raises $1.16 to $1.66
KDKD1: folds
Blackinks: raises $4.72 to $6.38 and is all-in
minibus1234: calls $1.28 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($3.44) returned to Blackinks
*** TURN *** [8d Ah Ts] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [8d Ah Ts 5d] [2s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
minibus1234: shows [Ad Kh] (a pair of Aces)
Blackinks: shows [Ac Th] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
Blackinks collected $5.86 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $6.16 | Rake $0.30
Board [8d Ah Ts 5d 2s]
Seat 1: reidgrn (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: minibus1234 showed [Ad Kh] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 3: KDKD1 folded on the Flop
Seat 4: Blackinks showed [Ac Th] and won ($5.86) with two pair, Aces and Tens
Seat 5: jbwisc (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Dan Cox (small blind) folded on the Flop

Here i'm the aggressor again, and my read was solid. Some people will just go broke with top pair top kicker too much.

Not a bad night all in all. More to follow. ]]> Blackinks http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/blackinks/80-new-expirement-part-deux.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/blackinks/79-new-expirement.html Thu, 15 May 2008 03:40:53 GMT Haven't played much, just had a lot of personal stuff going on. Did have some success in some home games recently, and it got me thinking....
In one of the live sessions, I noticed some
frustration from my opponents when I would play big bet poker. I studied up some on different cash game styles, bouncing back and forth, and managed to turn a $40 investment into around $650 in just a couple of weeks playing home games.

The theory that I'm testing out is what effect overbetting will have on a table. My general guideline is that I'll play extremely loose preflop, but generally pretty tight postflop. I always raise preflop a minimum of 6-12x preflop if it's a raising hand. My raising hands are any paint in late position (limp pot), any suited A, any pocket pair, or any one or two gap suited connectors (in position). If I'm re-raised preflop, I'll generally dump the weaker stuff out of position (around 70%/30%), but call if in position.

Postflop, I'm making bets generally at a minimum pot size, and quite often 1.5-3x the size of pot. While this is a mistake (I do realize that), my goal is to lure my opponents into making even bigger mistakes. So far it has seemed to work quite well.

Last night I started with $10 on stars, and I want to test the theory out playing only .01/.02 NL. As I refine it, I'll move up, but for now, micro is plenty fine. My $10 grew to $22 last night, after about an hour or two.

Here a few examples, and my thinking:

PokerStars Game #17412757487: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/13 - 21:28:26 (ET)
Table 'Diotima II' 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: chrissylius ($2.68 in chips)
Seat 2: Blackinks ($4.42 in chips)
Seat 3: Stu_Mac89 ($0.95 in chips)
Seat 4: xiaodandan ($4.98 in chips)
Seat 5: kwalk1148 ($2.30 in chips)
xiaodandan: posts small blind $0.01
kwalk1148: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [Ac Ks]
chrissylius: calls $0.02
Blackinks: raises $0.14 to $0.16
Stu_Mac89: raises $0.24 to $0.40
xiaodandan: folds
kwalk1148: calls $0.38
chrissylius: folds
Blackinks: raises $4.02 to $4.42 and is all-in
Stu_Mac89: calls $0.55 and is all-in
kwalk1148: calls $1.90 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($2.12) returned to Blackinks
*** FLOP *** [6d Jd 8c]
*** TURN *** [6d Jd 8c] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [6d Jd 8c Kd] [3c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kwalk1148: shows [Kh Th] (a pair of Kings)
Blackinks: shows [Ac Ks] (a pair of Kings - Ace kicker)
Blackinks collected $2.55 from side pot
Stu_Mac89: mucks hand
Blackinks collected $2.78 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.58 Main pot $2.78. Side pot $2.55. | Rake $0.25
Board [6d Jd 8c Kd 3c]
Seat 2: Blackinks showed [Ac Ks] and won ($5.33) with a pair of Kings
Seat 3: Stu_Mac89 (button) mucked [Qs Qc]
Seat 5: kwalk1148 (big blind) showed [Kh Th] and lost with a pair of Kings
I'd rather play here against kwalk, as he was the bigger tilt. But Stu's stack is small enough I'm not worried about him too much either. My race wins a decent little pot. I'm now starting to notice players coming in and leaving at a regular pace after a few hands. Only bad part is this is the first hand where I made a siginificant stack increase.

PokerStars Game #17412935766: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/13 - 21:37:21 (ET)
Table 'Diotima II' 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: chrissylius ($2.41 in chips)
Seat 2: Blackinks ($7.85 in chips)
Seat 3: Tokuan ($4.90 in chips)
Seat 4: xiaodandan ($4.99 in chips)
Seat 5: hollywoodlmg ($3.27 in chips)
Seat 6: obieeee ($0.75 in chips)
xiaodandan: posts small blind $0.01
hollywoodlmg: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [5s 6s]
obieeee: folds
chrissylius: calls $0.02
Blackinks: raises $0.10 to $0.12
Tokuan: folds
xiaodandan: folds
hollywoodlmg: folds
chrissylius: calls $0.10
*** FLOP *** [2s Jc Kh]
chrissylius: checks
Blackinks: checks
*** TURN *** [2s Jc Kh] [Qs]
chrissylius: checks
Blackinks: checks
*** RIVER *** [2s Jc Kh Qs] [As]
chrissylius: checks
Blackinks: bets $0.40
chrissylius: calls $0.40
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Blackinks: shows [5s 6s] (a flush, Ace high)
chrissylius: mucks hand
Blackinks collected $1.02 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $1.07 | Rake $0.05
Board [2s Jc Kh Qs As]
Seat 1: chrissylius mucked [Ac Jh]
Seat 2: Blackinks showed [5s 6s] and won ($1.02) with a flush, Ace high
A funny little overbet on the end when weak play allowed me to hit on a runner runner flush. His horrible play allowed me to get more than I should have really.

PokerStars Game #17413338920: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/13 - 21:57:14 (ET)
Table 'Diotima II' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: chrissylius ($1.23 in chips)
Seat 2: Blackinks ($8.82 in chips)
Seat 3: Tokuan ($5.63 in chips)
Seat 4: carrierwomen ($0.92 in chips)
Seat 5: hollywoodlmg ($2.15 in chips)
Seat 6: cassh3rn ($5.51 in chips)
chrissylius: posts small blind $0.01
Blackinks: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [8h As]
Tokuan: folds
carrierwomen: raises $0.08 to $0.10
hollywoodlmg: calls $0.10
cassh3rn: calls $0.10
chrissylius: calls $0.09
Blackinks: calls $0.08
*** FLOP *** [5c 7s 8c]
chrissylius: checks
Blackinks: bets $0.24
carrierwomen: folds
hollywoodlmg: calls $0.24
cassh3rn: calls $0.24
chrissylius: raises $0.89 to $1.13 and is all-in
Blackinks: calls $0.89
hollywoodlmg: calls $0.89
cassh3rn: calls $0.89
*** TURN *** [5c 7s 8c] [8d]
Blackinks: bets $0.91
hollywoodlmg: calls $0.91
cassh3rn: calls $0.91
*** RIVER *** [5c 7s 8c 8d] [3c]
Blackinks: checks
hollywoodlmg: bets $0.01 and is all-in
cassh3rn: raises $3.36 to $3.37 and is all-in
Blackinks: calls $3.37
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cassh3rn: shows [Ac Tc] (a flush, Ace high)
Blackinks: mucks hand
cassh3rn collected $6.37 from side pot-2
hollywoodlmg: mucks hand
cassh3rn collected $2.66 from side pot-1
chrissylius: mucks hand
chrissylius leaves the table
cassh3rn collected $4.77 from main pot
Blackinks said, "nice catch"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $14.50 Main pot $4.77. Side pot-1 $2.66. Side pot-2 $6.37. | Rake $0.70
Board [5c 7s 8c 8d 3c]
Seat 1: chrissylius (small blind) mucked [5h 7h]
Seat 2: Blackinks (big blind) mucked [8h As]
Seat 5: hollywoodlmg mucked [Qc Jc]
Seat 6: cassh3rn (button) showed [Ac Tc] and won ($13.80) with a flush, Ace high
Horrible call by me on the end. I totally screwed up not moving in on the turn, especially since I called him on the end. No defense for my own stupidity here.

PokerStars Game #17414047093: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/13 - 22:31:44 (ET)
Table 'Diotima II' 6-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: Blackinks ($6.62 in chips)
Seat 4: HezioN ($4 in chips)
Seat 6: cassh3rn ($11.26 in chips)
HezioN: posts small blind $0.01
cassh3rn: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [Jd Qc]
Blackinks: calls $0.02
HezioN: folds
cassh3rn: raises $0.12 to $0.14
Blackinks: calls $0.12
*** FLOP *** [4s Td As]
cassh3rn: bets $0.24
Blackinks: calls $0.24
*** TURN *** [4s Td As] [Qd]
cassh3rn: bets $0.24
Blackinks: calls $0.24
*** RIVER *** [4s Td As Qd] [Kh]
cassh3rn: checks
Blackinks: bets $2
cassh3rn: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Blackinks: shows [Jd Qc] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
cassh3rn: mucks hand
Blackinks collected $5 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.25 | Rake $0.25
Board [4s Td As Qd Kh]
Seat 2: Blackinks (button) showed [Jd Qc] and won ($5) with a straight, Ten to Ace
Seat 6: cassh3rn (big blind) mucked [Qs Kc]
Notice the villian cassh3rn... by this point he's playing my game. His strategy totally changed, and he's playing my game. I hated my flop and turn play (too weak), but the river bet was perfect. This hand tilted him all to shit, and set up this next hand.

PokerStars Game #17414079820: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/05/13 - 22:33:14 (ET)
Table 'Diotima II' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: vince_cab ($0.98 in chips)
Seat 2: Blackinks ($8.93 in chips)
Seat 3: zednik#1 ($1 in chips)
Seat 4: HezioN ($3.96 in chips)
Seat 5: VVidget ($1.20 in chips)
Seat 6: cassh3rn ($8.76 in chips)
vince_cab: posts small blind $0.01
Blackinks: posts big blind $0.02
zednik#1: posts big blind $0.02
VVidget: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blackinks [Ad Ah]
zednik#1: checks
HezioN: folds
VVidget: checks
cassh3rn: raises $0.18 to $0.20
vince_cab: folds
Blackinks: raises $0.80 to $1
zednik#1: folds
VVidget: folds
cassh3rn: calls $0.80
*** FLOP *** [Ks Ac Kd]
vince_cab leaves the table
Blackinks: checks
cassh3rn: bets $7.76 and is all-in
Blackinks: calls $7.76
*** TURN *** [Ks Ac Kd] [6s]
*** RIVER *** [Ks Ac Kd 6s] [5h]
Blackinks said, "game"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Blackinks: shows [Ad Ah] (a full house, Aces full of Kings)
cassh3rn: mucks hand
Blackinks collected $16.72 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $17.57 | Rake $0.85
Board [Ks Ac Kd 6s 5h]
Seat 1: vince_cab (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Blackinks (big blind) showed [Ad Ah] and won ($16.72) with a full house, Aces full of Kings
Seat 6: cassh3rn (button) mucked [As Th]
It's very interesting that he chose to push on the flop... behind to so many hands, and no value there, as I still believe the only hand that can call that bet is the hand that is ahead.

Don't really have a set goal in mind right now. Just want to see what it does to people. Feel free to give me your views. ]]> Blackinks http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/blackinks/79-new-expirement.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/larrdawg69/78-i-ve-got-play-poker.html Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:45:30 GMT Hello folks, I started playing about 8 months ago, my first win was at BetUs. I took 1st in a $500 tourney which bagged me a whopping $150 not to bad considering I'd been playing at that time about 2 months. Once that happened I was hooked ended up making deposit there to increase bankroll with there bonuses. Now I've increased my bankroll there 10 fold. I'd say my game has definitely improved.

Now I've got over 30 poker rooms I play at. My favorite is Cake Poker. But Carbon holds a close second with all the skins on that network. Sometimes I wonder if some of those sites might go under, leaving me possible with a loss of funds on certain ones. Micro gaming holds my 3 pick and I'm really not sure how many different poker rooms are on that network. Alot of them have unique software which doesn't make playing day in and day out so boring at times. I do enjoy all the different types of games they offer it's either a tournament, feezeout, shootout, bounty, showdowns, satellites, guarantees, specials, WSOP, freerolls. All in all they all have their different ways to keep a person interested and keep coming back for more excitement all day everyday.

Well I think I'll wrap it up with that and I can't wait to see you guys at all the many tables and poker rooms out there these days. I do hope they clear up that "idiotic secure ports" bill "Dumb ass Bush" passed. It looks like in the near future we can go back to the way it used to be before I started playing on line. I see alot of support out there and alot petitions being signed to over turn it. So if your in favor of over turning it I was told to write to your U.S. House Representatives or go to (http://pokerplayersalliance.org/). If we all fight back look out.:cool::cool::cool: ]]> Larrdawg69 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/larrdawg69/78-i-ve-got-play-poker.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/77-my-vegas-trip.html Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:30:35 GMT This was my first trip to Vegas since I started playing poker. It was quite a whirlwind trip since I flew in Thursday and left Saturday morning. I slept a total of about 4 hours while there... :D

I flew in with enough time to get to Ceasars, change clothes in the parking lot, register for the 3:00 $70 tournament that's capped at 50 players. They didn't give you very many starting chips but the blind levels were long enough to give you time to play. I went out 10th when I made a move with TT, got called by a stack about 100 more than me with 55 and he flopped a 5.

I felt certain I would cash in that game. The vast majority of the players in that one were relatively weak. That's probably a product of the cheaper buy-in but for the most part I was controlling the table and was chip leader at my table before we consolidated to 2.

From there I got in the $1/$3 NL cash game. I ran into a couple tough hands including a royal flush and went from -$200 to +$200 in an hour and a half. It was this frail old lady that barely knew what day it was that got the royal flush. I was betting into her with top pair then when the flush card came and she bet I got out of the pot. The dealer asked her if she had a royal because there's a bonus for big hands like that. She was so confused and almost mucked the cards and missed out on the $150 bonus. I think the bonus was about $1,100 the day before but somebody hit it.

From there we went from casino to casino playing for 2 hours or so each. You kill a lot of time walking and waiting for a seat but I wanted to see as much as I could while there.

We played until 4:30am which was 7:30am my time back home so we drove back to his place to sleep.

I was up again at 9:30am so we could get cleaned up, eat and make the 12:00 $80 tournament at The Orleans. That was by far the best tournament we found. They gave you 4000 starting chips which was more than most and 20 minute blinds which was a little quick but about average. Out of 60 I finished 16th. Again, I was chip leader before we consolidated to two tables. I was in good shape but got a bad string of cards while it's an all-in fest and got blinded pretty low until I had to push with QT and got called by AQ.

Played cash games at different casinos until 7:00am and headed straight to the airport to come home.

This is what I learned.

Everywhere we went it seemed to be the same story. There was a mix of locals and tourists and the locals were obviously looking to prey on the tourists like vultures. The second day I purposefully had on a Hawaiian shirt to look like a tourist. I believe it had an effect. I seemed to get less respect so I got paid on big hands.

Anyway, the locals were pretty easy to pick out. If you found a table with tourists you could win fairly easily until they got cleaned out and got replaced with a local looking to get in on the action. Next thing you know, you were surrounded by sharks and you are the bait.

The only time this wasn't the case was when we got seated at the table that already was full of sharks.

I didn't find one casino that stood out as the place to go. I made the most money at Paris but I think that could have been anywhere.

I think I played my best poker while there until my last few hours because I was so tired. I had a steady flow of coffee and Red Bull coming but at some point it just stops helping.

My biggest hand:

I was at Paris and was down $50 or so with a $150 stack playing $1/$2 blinds.

Position: UTG
Hole Cards ATo

I had been looking to make a move and I decided this was the time.

I raise to $12 and got 2 callers in late position. One of which had made a move on me and I backed off earlier so I felt he thought I was weak and could come after me again.

Flop = KJ3 rainbow.

At this point, I could either back off and give the hand away since there was a good chance one of them hit the flop or represent strength and try to take the pot down right there. I opted for strength. If they fold I win a good pot, if they call and I hit the Q I win a huge pot, if they call and I don't hit a Q which I figured was probably my only out I lose a good chunk but I felt the potential benefits outweighed the risk.

I bet $25 (2/3 the pot) enough to induce a fold of a weak hand but not enough to commit me if an A hit. Both call.

Turn = Q

BINGO!!

This was my toughest decision at this point. Do I bet and hope to get called again and how much? Small bet might represent weakness but could also be fishy. A big bet could scare them off so I opted to check to the aggressive guy that I felt I was weak and could push me off the hand.

$50 from the aggressive guy.

BINGO!

I think for a second and push all-in. The other guy in the hand calls all-in as well but he was pretty short at this time so it wasn't much for him.

Aggressive guy says stuff like, "do you have a set?", "there's no way you have AT"...

He calls. (I had him covered)
River = blank and my str8 holds up.

I didn't see the other guys hand but aggressive guy slams his AK on the table after I show my AT and storms away.

He came back in a few minutes and shook my hand but DAMN it felt good to win a hand like that!

Next time I go I'll do things differently. I'll play more tournaments and bounce around less. If I get surrounded by sharks I'll change tables if I can but try to stay away from changing casinos. It's hard and a distraction to start over every 2 hours.

Over all it was great experience and I hope to do it again very soon. ]]> Dinero2005 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/77-my-vegas-trip.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/76-my-biggest-rush-biggest-beat.html Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:54:28 GMT Last night in my regular $1/$2 live game I went on my biggest rush yet. In the span of 3 hours I flopped quads once, 3 sets, and was hitting all kinds of draws.

I had my stack built up from $120 to around $550 in that 3 hour span. I had already decided I was going to leave as soon as it wouldn't be rude. Then came another monster.

The table was 6 handed and I forget the position but I was dealt QQ. The player to my right was on a similar rush and I found out later that he had exactly $5 less than I had.

He raised to $10 preflop and I raised to $30 to try to get him off garbage. He had raised to $10 before with hands like JTs so I thought I'd take it down right there. Not so, he called after everybody else folded.

Flop = Qs5h4h

I bet $50. I wanted to bet strong enough for him to read me as somewhat weak and trying to buy it. It worked.

He raised another $100 to $150.

What on earth could he have? Obviously at this point I had the nuts. There was no doubt at this point all my money was going into the pot. I was OK with him having AA, KK, lower set but I didn't want to see two hearts.

I pushed and he surprisingly quickly called.

My biggest fear... He had AhQh

Mind you if I could get this kind of action being this far ahead every time I'd be happy. This time I obviously wasn't happy. He obviously rivered a heart and took down the $1100 pot.

The frustrating part about this one was that was the biggest pot that I'd been a part of yet. I was way ahead and lost to a draw. I'd be less frustrated if I had made a stupid play and lost just not a suckout!

This is literally the highest level of tilt I've reached in my poker career.

Ouch. ]]> Dinero2005 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/76-my-biggest-rush-biggest-beat.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/rw11687/75-good-day.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 22:19:11 GMT I have had some success the past 2 days. I actually have been in and out but have had a chance to get some games in.

Since my last post I have won 2 $10 HU matches, a $6 MT 6-max, and 2 $13 6-max and have lost 3 $6 6-max SNG, and 1 $13 6-max.

I find these 6-max games to be great bankroll builders. 33% gets paid and they take less than 1 hour. With some good solid play it is very easy to cash. I can usually make the money even if I am getting junk cards by playing position and waiting for a chance to double up. But if I am getting a few hands and the table is letting me take blinds from position, I can build a nice stack and cruise along.

Once I get to the final three, I like to be very aggressive. No one wants to bubble so they will let me steal and if they play, I know they have a strong hand. Normally I build a nice stack for HU play and dwindle the others down so I can call an all in, or have a lead going into HU play.

My HU game is pretty good and unless I lose a race with like AQ against 44 or something like that, I can usually take 1st. At the $13 level, 1st is a profit of $33, which is nice considering the short time it takes to win.

I will keep plugging away at these games and try to get to my mark. I may venture into a MTT sometime, but the FT's are so hard to come by that its almost not worth it to me.

Current Bankroll: $248 ]]> rw11687 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/rw11687/75-good-day.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/rw11687/74-rebuilding.html Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:09:19 GMT As some of you may know, I took out all of my money on PS a few months ago. I was a 1/2 NLHE cash game player and was quite successful at those stakes. However, some things in my life took preference and I was not able to play nearly at all.

I left my T$ in my account to use as a rebuilding tool. I had about 70T$ when I withdrew and started playing the $13 6-max SNG's. I know this was a bit outside of my limits but I feel my strongest game is at a smaller table. I really like to be aggressive in position with a wide range of hands, and with less people, I am able to utilize this more effectively.

So I started out doing well in those and built my bankroll to over $100. This week I am on break from school and am able to play a lot more.

With my recent win on a $25 6-max SNG, I finally pushed it over $200. I will continue to play the $13 6-max, but I may toss in a few of the multi-table ones as well.

I will post as often as possible giving an update on my bankroll. Wish me luck in the process!

My goal is to get to $500 by the middle of May, and then set a much higher goal for the end of summer. I will have much more time to play.


Current Bankroll - $208 ]]> rw11687 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/rw11687/74-rebuilding.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/73-hit-br-milestone-again.html Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:17:01 GMT I broke $150 again from $0 today exactly 2 weeks later. In fact in one session I blew it away from $133 to where I am now at $174. I'm actually at a higher point than I got last time.

I started this one out the same way I did last time by grinding through a bunch of $1.20, 9 seat SNGs after I won my Sunday Hundred Grand Satellite on PS. ($11 in T$)

Once I was comfortably over $11 I ventured into a couple $1.20,18 seat SNGs and did fairly well. Once I got to about $25 where I blogged about this last I tried a few $4.40, 180 seat SNGs and did horribly so I dropped that idea and hit the cash games.

At $25ish I started pounding away at the 5c/10c games until I built the BR to around $75. Hit hte 10c/25c 6 seat games and started crushing it until where I am today.

When I play my $1/$2 live games around town I make this much in a night but to do it from nothing is certainly rewarding.

The only system I've stuck to is when playing cash games I play 6 seat tables. I'm not sure exactly why but I seem to do a lot better. Also, I play only one table at a time so the game moves faster.

Here's my dilemma. This is the point where I'd like to move up in stakes. The next step up is .25/.50 and I don't have as good of a history at those stakes. In fact it's the only stakes that I show a loss in this year. At least online.

Thinking back a lot of that loss came when I reached the milestone last time, got drunk and donked most of it off.

My next goal is still $500 but I will attack it differently than I did last time. Instead of grinding away at .25/.50 cash games I'm going to maintain the BR that I'm at by playing .10/.25 and playing some MTTs when I have time.

The only question at this point is which MTTs and what stakes. I willl experiment with the 4.50 vs $11, 180 seat SNGs.

Not tonight though. I have some celebrating to do... :D ]]> Dinero2005 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/73-hit-br-milestone-again.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/72-luck-fighting-comeback.html Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:20:01 GMT I made my most dramatic comeback last night. I'm still in a bit of shock but this is how it panned out.

Three nights ago I joined another regular game. It's closer to home, more respectable and all around better quality game than where I had been playing. I started looking around after my regular game started dieing out. I was headed out there Monday when I called and they said there wouldn't be enough people to even start a game so I called a buddy. He refereed me to this game.

It's the $1/$2 stakes that I'm used to but as soon as I walked in I could tell I wasn't the big fish in a little pond. There's some sharks in these waters! I still did well that night. I was consistent with the last couple of months and my "luck fighting" game was working just like it had this year.

Last night was a different story.

I brought $300 with me. The minimum buyin here is $75 which I'm used to $40. Regardless I bought in for my standard $100 even though that was on the low end for the table.

I was off to the races chasing flushes, straights and sets. That first buyin quickly dwindled to $50 or so.

I was folded to on the button with 99 so I raised to $12. I know that raise sounds high but at this table it's pretty standard. Any less than that you might as well not raise because you'll get called with just about anything. It's tough to see a flop for less than $12 here.

Anyway, the SB quickly raises me to $25 after examining my short stack. He clearly expected me to either push or fold. That's why I simply called. I was pretty sure he was trying to push me around with Ax. I had it in my mind that the rest of my chips were going in if I didn't see an A, K and maybe Q.

Flop: 38J rainbow

He quickly bet enough to put me all-in and of course I called. He turned over 88 and won the hand. I at least took comfort in the fact that I was ahead and will win that exchange more often than not.

$100 more. Donked that down to $50 and not wanting to get bullied any more I added my last $100. Donked that down to $40 and here's where it got interesting.

I'd really been having the driest 4 hour stretch in recent memory so I was ready for a chance to put my last $40 in and either double up for a run or go home.

I drew 99 and limped. I was in early position and this is what I was waiting for. Again with a decent flop the rest of my money was going in.

Flop came Kh9d8d

Sweet! Now if I could dodge the draws I was golden. I checked and got one bet. Folded to me and of course I pushed and of course he called. I closed my eyes hoping to not see a diamond, 7, Q or K.

They held up this time and I'm back over $100. This is where it got fun.

I draw KdJd UTG. I limp. It gets raised to $8 a bunch of callers so I join. There's 5 or 6 in the pot at this point.

Flop: Ts9d7d

SB checks and I open the betting to $12. A fairly weak bet into a $45 +/- but I felt like it was a good time to semi-bluff because weak hands would get out and with a flush and double gut-shot draw if I hit I'd get paid off for sure.

The player to my left was short stacked so he raised all-in to $40, one caller from late position and the SB check-reraises all-in for $200.

WOW!

I didn't know what the late position caller had but I felt strongly about short-stack to my left was on a flush draw and SB had a set. If my flush draw was good I'm looking at 13 outs (48.1%). If not, 6 (24.1%). At this point I'd lost count of the pot but I was roughly 2.5:1 and if late position calls I'd be closer to 3:1 which is an easy call.

I call! I'm all-in. Late position folds (damn!)

Short stack QTd - WOOHOO! My flush draw is good!

The SB didn't show but he was clearly worried. Turn: 8c
River: blank

HELL F'N YEAH!

After giving the dealer a huge tip I'm looking at $370 +/- in front of me. The first time I'm ahead for the night.

Suddenly I start getting cards, work my way up to $455 and call it a night. Emotionally I couldn't afford to donk off those chips so I took the money and ran...

Last night was an emotional roller coaster. I'm just glad it ended on the up swing. :twink: ]]> Dinero2005 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/72-luck-fighting-comeback.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/71-building-bankroll-again.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:50:57 GMT On Sunday 2-17 I tried to start building the bankroll from $0 again. It took a couple of the Sunday Million Freerolls but I managed to win one.

I took that $11 and went for the $1.20 SNGs again. I originally wanted to jump right in an $11 SNG but my FPPs are getting low and I don't want to take any unnecessary chances.

I played a few single table games and worked it up to $12 real money (not T$). I got on a roll so I played in two 45 seat SNGs, cashed in one and one 18 seat SNG and won it. Suddenly today, 4 days later I have a BR of $25.

Granted I sent Mars $5 for the HU league but I'm back!

I'm going to experiment with this $20 and multi-table a few single seaters and compare the earnings with the multi-table SNGs. I may even multi-table the multi-tables... Hmmm...

I'm up this year over $1,500 playing live so why do I mess with this crap? OCD maybe? Hmmm... ]]> Dinero2005 http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/dinero2005/71-building-bankroll-again.html http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/p0kertime/70-cake-millions.html Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:19:45 GMT well i came in first on a cake million entry march first is the time to play for real money i must have played a few of them today was only 288 on it but mine was about 500 well thought i'd share the news good luck in all your games ]]> p0kertime http://www.texasholdemforums.com/blogs/p0kertime/70-cake-millions.html