O-Poker

I know it's been a while, but I thought I would drop in to wish everyone HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!  My traveling is starting to slow a little so I may find time to start posting again.

Tampa Hard Rock/Live Poker

The Tampa Hard Rock just opened a new poker room, so I will definitely being checking it out one day next week.  It will be a rare treat to play some live poker.  I haven't played near as much live as I had hoped.  Once they changed the limits from $100 cap buy-in to real uncapped games, I assumed that I would be playing a minimum of twice/month.  That hasn't happened because of all my traveling for work.  I don't want to spend any of my little time while I'm home away from the family, so poker takes a back seat.  The kids will be at my Mom's house for a couple of days next week, so it will be the perfect opportunity to check out the new digs at Hard Rock.

I may be bored to death playing live cash games after not playing anything other than four tables of NL FR Rush Poker.  There might be a little difference in playable hands when you are seeing 25 hands/hr vs. 1,100+ hands/hr.  I guess I'll find out next week.

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Twitter vs. Blogs

Yin and Yang.  As Twitter has taken off with poker bloggers, the quantity of blog posts seems to have dropped significantly.  It only seems logical.  If you can follow someone's journey through a tourney in real time on twitter, why would you need/want to read their recap of it on their blog 3 days later.  If you feel like reliving their tourney then you can just follow their twitter stream (or whatever the term is).

You can follow me on twitter at @seemitch.

Million Dollar idea for free* - Twitter---->Blog.  Invent a tool that allows people to utilize a stream of tweets for a blog post or blog post template without having to cut/paste each one.  Imagine how easy it would be to recap a tourney or a trip to a casino to play cash games if you could just take your twitter stream and add a few details that you couldn't fit into 140 characters.  It would definitely cause me to start posting more.

...just checking in, in case anyone was worried.  :)

Too much work, not enough poker.  When I have played I've been far from focused.  I'm sure a lot of that has to do with my body never really knowing which time zone it's in.

I was so excited about FL getting real poker, but I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to play live in a while.  Maybe that will change once the travel starts to slow down.

/End boring post about nothing.

Until next time (hopefully sooner than later) - Enjoy life.  Party Hard!!  Don't take even the small things for granted.

Yes, I haven't posted in a while, but I'm not going to make any excuses.  I've been busy with work and family life and just haven't found the time or felt like posting much.

I am going to be out of town for most of the next month or so and figured that I can probably use what little down time that I have in the hotel room to learn how to play PLO cash games.  I'm not talking about just watching a video or two and them jumping in and playing.  I'm talking about trying to really learn in depth how to play PLO cash - watching several videos, reading as much as I can and running some simulations as I gradually start playing.

Who knows, I may not even like the game at the end of the day, but I at least want to give it a shot.  The variance may drive me insane, but I won't know unless I give it a try.


So far my plan is to start with the following:

- Watch the DeucesCracked Solid State PLO series (all 8 videos) by DJSensei and delcrossb
- Read the Jeff Hwang's first two books (Pot-Limit Omaha Poker and Advanced PLO Vol. 1)

I'm not sure which video series I will watch after that.  I'll probably scan through KasinoKrime's (coach over at DC) extensive notes that he took while watching the different PLO video series and see which one seems the best.

I'll post my results (both good and bad), questions on hands, and other random PLO thoughts that pop into my head over the next month or two.

Any advice on resources (videos, books, blog posts, forum posts, etc, etc) would be appreciated.  I'm probably not going to hire a coach for a little while, but let me know if you have any experiences or know of any good PLO coaches.

I haven't posted in a while and when I do there isn't much content.

The content and number of posts both turn a big downturn almost 2 years ago, when I started my own business.  I have trouble finding the motivation to post after spending all day on the computer, phone, in meetings, etc, etc.

I am weighing my options (see below) and haven't made a clear decision yet.

1.  Start some sort of challenge and post weekly or twice a week updates. - This seems like the best idea because I don't want to totally abandon this blog.  Any suggestions?  (I'm leaning towards some sort of cash challenge on FTP and SNG/MTT challenge on PS)

2.  Commit to posting at least once a week.

3.  Commit to posting either once or twice a month.

4.  Stop posting and end the run of O-Poker.  Not much chance of this.

I'll figure it out in the next week or so.  Stay tuned..........

I hiked up Diamond Head solo on Sunday.  I think my legs and brain thought my body was in better shape than it is.  Still hurting a little today.

Here are a few pictures from the trip up and back down. (some better than others - all from my phone)

No detail for now, just random thoughts....

I met a lot of great people that I hadn't met before and ran into some awesome people that I had met before.  There are a lot of people that I wanted to run into but didn't get a chance to for one reason or another.  Sleep, tourneys, alcohol, laziness got in the way - take your pick.

In a $1.5k WSOP event folding to cash is OK, not OK, OK, not OK, OK (I have no idea), especially when you know you are flipping right b4 the cash.

EST is not Eastern Standard Time.  It is "American time" - via RealDawnSummers

If you agree to flip for $200/hand for x (5 I think) hands while really drunk and finish up $800, it is OK to stop flipping no matter how much the other guy keeps asking you too.  That is what I did, until he starting offering me his $350 to my $300 in omaha flips. (more later on this)

It probably isn't a good idea to stay up all night and watch the USA soccer game if you started drinking at 5 pm.  I think I fell asleep for a few at the bar somewhere between 2-0 and 2-1.  Credit Vinnay for waking me up a couple of times in the 2nd half.

It gets light outside really, really early in LV.

I play much better in tourneys while drinking and much worse in cash games while drinking.  Hmmm......

It is probably a good idea to set an alarm to remind yourself to eat dinner.  I think there were a couple of days that I only ate one meal unless 15 beers counts as a meal.

Don't order a burger if the waitress tells you, "Are you sure that you want to order that.  It is extremely spicy and there are no refunds."  Also, always read the read print under the burger that mentions the beef is mixed with the hottest peppers in the world.

It is OK to call someone a "jack ass" if they call the clock on you in a cash game when they aren't in the hand.  (more on this later)

OBFV and over shoving for value on the flop works really live if you just shoved on a short stack with AK on an all rag flop after the short stack called 2/3rds of this stack pf.  They must always think you have AK instead of top set.

Almost forgot - if you are having dinner at the bar, it is prob a good idea to put a few dollars in the vid p0ker machine.

I haven't forgotten about this blog.  I have a ton to post from WSOP trip, but I have been ridiculously busy between work and life since I got back from LV.

I'll be posting probably a series of posts about my WSOP trip in the very near future.

In the meantime, Uncapped Poker in FL starts in 3 hours!!! (July 1, 2010).  I won't be able to play until Friday night.  I'll be heading over to Daytona to take advantage on the new limits in the NL games (normal NL poker) and hopefully take advantage of all the donks race fans in town.  (Daytona Poker Room is less than 1 mile from the Daytona Speedway)

More to come on WSOP and NL Poker in FL.....

I made Day 2 of the $1,500NL, but am very short - 11,400 with blinds at 600/1200/200.  We are somewhere between 20 and 30 from the money.  Hopefully, I get a quick double up and have some chips to play more than push/fold with.

I've got a few busy hours before the tourney, so I'll post more about Day 1 and Day 2 tomorrow..

This is going to be a very short post because I've got to start packing soon.

Hawaii - Worked a ton, but was able to still have a little fun.

This week - Crazy week at work, so I hopefully won't have to work to much while in LV!!

Tomorrow - Off to LV!!

I'll try to put up a few posts while I'm out there and will be updating fairly regularly on Twitter at http://twitter.com/seemitch

I'm going to be very busy during the month of June.  Here is what it looks like as of now:

May 31 - Fly to Hawaii

May 31-June 6 - in Hawaii - Work 12-14 hr days/try to have fun in Hawaii (prob will able to on Sat and Sun)

June 6 - Fly back to Orlando from Hawaii

June 11-13 - Birthday Weekend!

June 14 - Viva Las Vegas!!!

June 14-21 - Las Vegas - Cash games, cash games, cash games (maybe 1 or 2 mtts)

June 21-June 30 - Countdown to the first day of real cash game poker in FL!!!!

July 1st - Cash games in FL - REAL CASH GAMES IN FL!!!!  I don't expect it to be like 2004-2006, but if it is somewhere between 2004-2006 live cash games and today's live games, then I will be a very happy man.

It's looking like I'll probably only play 1 tourney while out there.  The $1.5k WSOP NL donkament on Wed.  I was thinking about playing the Venetian $2.1k on Thurs, but can't justify playing in a 2k tourney right now, since I don't seem to know how to play tourneys anymore and my last live tourney experience really sucked the excitement of live tourneys out of me.

I'm thinking of playing a bunch of tourneys on FTP tonight - taking a break from rush poker.  If I can figure out how to play them again, I may play more than one live mtt while in LV.

By the way, if anyone figures out how to do a live rush tourney I'll be the first in line to register.

2 days until Mai Tais on the beach.  16 days until beer at the Hooker Bar.

Life is hectic, but life is good!!

I'm heading to Game 5 of the Orlando Magic/Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals tonight.  The Magic actually have a very good shot at getting back into this series after being down 3-0.  If they win tonight (they are favored), the series will be 3-2 and you can start to throw out the "No team has ever come back to win a series after being down 3-0."

Hopefully, they go out and not only win tonight, but win big.

GO MAGIC!!!!

Good luck to everyone playing in the final MookieDank BBT5 tourney tonight!!!

I'll get back to posting about poker next time.

The Poker from the Rail Tourney tonight on Full Tilt Poker may be my last shot at making it into the BBT5.  I don't think I'll be able to make it to the Mookie on Wed night, unless the Orland Magic somehow lose Game 4 of the Boston Series.  I don't see that see that happening because they have been playing so great this series.  ;)

Good Luck to me tonight!!!  

Last night during the Orlando/Boston ECF Game 2, a fan starting giving one of the refs a hard time during a time out.  The ref threw the ball at him.  The fan threw it back.  The ref immediately had him ejected from what was probably at least a $1k seat (prob a lot higher) since he had access to floor level.

It makes you wonder if a referee with such a short fuse should be one of the few refs selected to officiate a conference finals game.  Do you think we should be suspended from reffing for the rest of the playoffs?  Is this really the guy that you make to be making calls in Game 7 of a series?  Does he have more potential to call a foul in a close situation against a player that has complained to him when a "good no call" is in order?

Time....is running out on the BBT5

Time keeps on ticking away. The BBT5 is getting close to completion. It looks like there are four tourneys left - 2 Mookies, 1 Invitational, and 1 PFTR. I'll only be able to play three of them since I'll be at Game 5 of the Orlando/Boston series on the final day of BBT5 tourneys.

I'm going to make my best effort to bring my "A" game to each of my three remaining tourneys. I need to pick my spots better and focus only on the BBT tourney instead of firing up a couple of Rush cash games at the same time. Rush cash and the BBT tourneys are completely different animals and the most profitable plays in each are at the opposite ends of the spectrum.

I predict at least a FT at the minimum in one of the tourneys and hopefully a win or top 2 in the Invitational. I'm not going so far as calling my shot, but leaving myself the opening for saying that I called my shot. :)

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Time...for the Magic to step it up a notch

The title says it all. They didn't look like they showed up for Game 1 until the fourth quarter. Stan Van Gundy is a good motivator and he has plenty of ammunition to get everyone to step it up tonight. I guess the positive they can take from Game 1 is that when they finally started playing, they turned a 20 point deficit into a game they could have won.

Go Magic!!!!

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Time....is almost here for uncapped poker in FL!!!

I may have to put a countdown clock for July 1, 2010. FL will finally enter the real poker world. The current $100 max buy-in will change to real poker - no more caps on buy-ins!!!

Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!

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Time....is getting closer for the WSOP

My Sunday tourney experience has me re-thinking how many tourneys I will play in LV. I was planning to play a $1.5k WSOP mtt and a $2.1k Venetian DS mtt. I may just play one or the other and stick to cash for the rest of the time. I guess I'll play it by ear on how I'm feeling that week.

I'll be taking enough to LV for to play 2/5 comfortably and both tourneys. Maybe I'll stick to the cash games and take some shots at 5/10 if I'm running well.

Time....to kick some blogger ass.

Time....for me to get back to work.

"Why would I ever play a live tourney again?" - I started to type this on twitter last night and then erased it.

I had just spent an entire day playing my "A" game in a tourney only to have it turn into a turbo super turbo at the tail end with nothing to show for my efforts.  I don't see how the tourney regulars do it every day.  I know the payoff is huge when you hit, but there is mostly frustration.

A more appropriate tweet might have been, "Why would I ever play a live tourney with a horrible structure when my time would be better spent at the cash tables?"  I left my house around 10:30 am and got home around 11 pm.  I had nothing to show for it other than a belly full of "free" Outback food and a few "not-free" beers.

The tourney info:
Daytona Beach Kennel Club Poker Room Venetian Deep Stack Charity Classic
Total number of players including alternates - 536
$150 buyin + $40 initial add-on + $40 add-on after 3 levels.
$80 rebuy if you bust in 1st 3 level
Starting chips - 10k (including the initial addon)
Add-on after 3 levels - 4k
Blinds - 25 minute levels
1st place - $5k Venetian tourney buy-in + $1k meal credit at Venetian + Hotel + Biz Class air
2nd-5th - $2,100 Venetian tourney + above
Cash payouts through 40th place

I was playing great most of the tourney.  I didn't even feel bad about a mistimed bluff that I made against a 70 year old guy during the rebuy period.  After all, it took him a very very long time to call me with KJ on a KKAxx board.  I got a guy to put all his chips in with 77 when I had KK.  I made a big laydown when I couldn't put the other player on anything other than the nuts based on how he played the hand.  After I folded, he proceeded to show me the nuts.  Thanks!!  And on and on....

Everything was going great, until all of the sudden it turned into a super turbo.  We were down to 55 players and I looked around my table and all the other tables.  Everyone's stack, other than maybe 2-4 ppl, was less than 10 BBs.  The blinds were 8k/16k with a 2k ante and going up to 10k/20k in 25 mins.  Assuming that the average chips/player that bought in was 15k based on 536 players, when we were down to 55 players the average stack was $140k.  I had 150k chips and was 2nd at our table.  The chip leader at our table had around 240k.

Nearly everyone was at push/fold level, but not everyone realized that they only had one move.

It didn't take long for me to bust once the 8k/16k 2k ante level hit.

This post isn't meant to complain about bad beats with hands.  I legitimately lost two 50/50s.  The first one was my AK<44 aipf against a guy with around 85k chips.  It knocked me down to around 50k.  Two hands later, my 55 lost to AQ aipf.


I was pissed after I busted.  The 50 minute drive home helped with my sanity.  I knew my state of mind, so I decided not to play any online poker when I got home.  I'll take that as a positive, since in the past I might have fired up the laptop and tilted off a few buy-ins.

A day later, I can definitely say that I had a great time playing and enjoyed playing live again for the 1st time in a while.  In the future, I'll check and analyze the tourney structure of any live tourney that I play and try to stay away from the super turbos.

I'll be heading to the Daytona Beach Kennel Club on Sunday to play a charity satellite to the Venetian Deep Stack tourneys.  1st is entry into the $5k DS ME + airfare for 2 + Hotel + $1k in Venetian restaurant credit.  2nd - 5th is the same package but entry into the $2,100 tourney that I plan to play while out there.  They are also paying cash.

The bad news....I tried to buy my entry today and they are SOLD OUT.  I was told to come early Sunday to get on the DREADED alternate list.

I guess I'll go.  Surely the bustouts will be fast and furious and I can get seated before the blinds start getting out of control.

Hopefully, I get seated before all the dead money is gone.

No reason to bet a Royal Flush - Talk about nitty.

Full Tilt Poker $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - Rush
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $162.00
MP1: $140.25
MP2: $308.95
CO: $301.35
BTN: $639.80
SB: $145.00
Hero (BB): $273.00
UTG: $167.60
UTG+1: $339.95

Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is BB with 2h 2c
3 folds, MP1 raises to $6, 4 folds, Hero calls $4

Flop: ($13.00) Jd Qd Td (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

Turn: ($13.00) 7s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks


River: ($13.00) Ad (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks with the nuts of all nuts

Final Pot: $13.00
MP1 shows Ah Kd (a Royal Flush)
Hero mucks 2h 2c
MP1 wins $12.35
(Rake: $0.65)

Way to maximize value!!!  Maybe he thought there was a Royal Flush jackpot, but only if you went to showdown!!!


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It feels good to actually dodge all the cards for once.  Straight over set over set over set

Full Tilt Poker $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - Rush
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $109.70
UTG+2: $122.70
MP1: $331.85
MP2: $135.95
CO: $287.60
BTN: $89.20
Hero (SB): $385.85
BB: $209.65
UTG: $283.75

Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is SB with Kh As
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $4, UTG+2 raises to $12, 3 folds, BTN calls $12, Hero calls $11, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls $8

Flop: ($50.00) Jh Qh Tc (4 players) - Jackpot
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks, UTG+2 bets $50, BTN raises to $77.20 all in, Hero calls $77.20, UTG+1 raises to $97.70 all in, UTG+2 calls $47.70, Hero calls $20.50

Turn: ($420.30) 6s (4 players - 2 are all in)
Hero bets $276.15 all in, UTG+2 calls $13 all in

River: ($446.30) 9c (4 players - 4 are all in)

Final Pot: $446.30
UTG+1 shows 9h 9d (three of a kind, Nines)
UTG+2 shows Js Jd (three of a kind, Jacks)
BTN shows Qc Qs (three of a kind, Queens)
Hero shows Kh As (a straight, Ace high)
Hero wins $26.00
Hero wins $61.50
Hero wins $355.80
(Rake: $3.00)

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I don't think this guy will ever fold an overpair.  Just a feeling.  :)

Full Tilt Poker $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $286.80
MP1: $435.10
Hero (MP2): $232.90
CO: $94.85
BTN: $136.45
SB: $388.80
BB: $200.00
UTG: $276.80
UTG+1: $208.95

Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is MP2 with 5s 5h
4 folds, Hero raises to $6, 2 folds, SB raises to $20, 1 fold, Hero calls $14

Flop: ($42.00) Js 5d 7c (2 players)
SB bets $368.80 all in - Well, the pot is $42.  I might as well just shove.  I mean, he might call me with something weaker than the 2nd nuts.  Oh wait....Was there just a flop?
Hero calls $212.90 all in

Turn: ($467.80) Tc (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: ($467.80) 3c (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $467.80
Hero shows 5s 5h (three of a kind, Fives)
SB shows Ks Kh (a pair of Kings)
Hero wins $464.80
(Rake: $3.00)

A few weeks ago I was playing so 2/5NL $100 max buy-in poker at the Hard Rock in Tampa when a strange situation came up.  (I know, LOL.  July 1st will be here soon enough and we will have real uncapped poker.)

After a few hours I was involved in a pot that was heads up between me and another guy on the river.  He went all in.  I missed my flush but hit top pair on the river and called.  He instantly flipped up a set.  I went to muck and the dealer said, "Turn up your cards." as I was mucking them.  He then grabbed my cards out of the muck and turned them over.

I didn't get mad but I did ask him, "Why?  I've never had to do that before."

The dealer said matter of factly, "It is to prevent collusion.  Any time someone is all in you have to show your cards."  I didn't press the issue, but it just seems horribly wrong to me.

This was a cash game.  No one asked to see my cards.  The guy that won the pot was getting all in at least 2-3 times/orbit.

Has anyone ever run across this in a live cash game before?  Am I missing something?

High Stakes Poker Season 6, Episode 12

"Wow!!  Wow!!  What a call?" - Mike Matusow

"Nice call, man." - Eli

"Where you thinking of raising?" - Tom "durrrr" Dwan with a very confused look on his face.

"No." - Elky

"How can you fold?  How can you fold?  You people must be playing a different game than I am!"

This conversation happened after durrrr bet 58k on the river into a $147k pot on a 3sAsAh/9h/Ac board after raising pf, betting the flop and checking the turn.  Elky took a while to finally call him with TT for a chopped pot with durrrr's TT.

Elky must have taken an incredible amount of time (edited down for TV) to make the call.  Durrrr seemed to think that it was a no brainer call with 9x, TT-KK, and a hero fold with 77 or 88.  In his mind (I think) he was value betting his TT and hoping to get paid off by 9sXs hands or a mid pair.

Yes, most of the rest of the table are probably playing a different game than you, Tom.  Isn't that how you are so successful?  Isn't that why you have an edge?  Whether it is someone clearly playing with scared money (Matusow), someone with playing on one bullet, someone that views the money as actual real world money, or someone that can't fold trips when they are obviously beat.

I think most of us nobodies that like to play poker would at least have to think about the possibility of durrrr having JJ-KK.  It might also cross our minds that durrrr has something like A3 or A9 - although we could probably discount those hands because he would be betting the turn almost 100% of the time on a board with two spades and two hearts.  For the same reason, we could probably discount the rest of the AX hands.

So, I know that I would have to at least think about the call before making it.  Maybe some of our brains don't process information as fast as durrrr's.  I blame the keg parties during my college years. 



The video below starts right before durrrr's river bet.  Search for clip 3 if you want to see the entire hand.

We are a little less than 2 hours from the start of another BBT5 tourney on Full Tilt Poker.  I think tonight is a must play, after all it's the BBT5 and it's Cinco de Mayo!!!!  5/5/10.

Fuel55 is probably a 2 to 1 favorite to win the BBT5 MookieDank.  (I like the hybrid instead of going all the way to calling it the Dank or the Buddy - sorry Waffles)

If you hold pocket fives preflop, they are at least a 5x favorite against aces tonight.

Good Luck to everyone tonight.  I'll be rooting for you to come in 2nd.

CINCO de BBT!!!!

EDIT:  Out quickly thanks to some horrible play on my part!!

I'm starting to get excited about the 2010 WSOP!!!

I finally bought my plane tickets and booked my room at the Rio.  I'll be arriving in LV June 14th and leaving June 21st (Monday-Monday).  I was going to leave on Sunday, but overall it was about $60 cheaper to stay because the airfare was ridiculous on Sunday.

I plan to play a lot of cash games and the following tourneys:
6/16 - WSOP Event #30 $1,500 NLHE
6/17 - Venetian Deep Stack $2,100 NLHE (unless I'm still in the WSOP tourney)

If I make it to Day 2 of WSOP #30, then I will probably play the $550 Venetian tourney on Friday.

The only way that I will change the plans is if I somehow luckbox my way into winning a WSOP ME seat in the BBT5.

Florida Poker

1.  The Seminoles, governor, and key members of the FL legislature are in agreement on the compact.
2.  The compact should be approved by the FL house and senate this week.
3.  The governor will sign it.
4.  July 1st we should have uncapped NL poker!!!!

I may have to start a countdown clock soon.

Battle of the Bloggers #5

There have been some twitter rumblings about the BBT5.  It looks like it should be starting sometime in the near future.  These might be the only satellites to the WSOP main event that I play this year.  Hopefully, I can luckbox my way into a WSOP seat!  Weeee to FTP for the free stuff!!!

WSOP plans

I plan to head to LV this summer for the WSOP, but am still debating on dates.  I can't decide between the middle of June and the beginning of July.  The middle of June would allow me to play some of the low buy-in WSOP events.  The beginning of July would leave satelliting into the ME as a possibility.  I'm really 50/50 right now on when to head out there.  July would be in the lead if it wasn't for 95% chance that FL will have uncapped poker on July 1st.

If you're heading to LV this summer, you should drop a comment on CK's blog.  She is compiling a list of when everyone is going to be in LV.

From Busto to Robusto

The 2nd video in the FBTR series is out.  It features Andrew "good2cu" Robl.  There are definitely mixed opinions on the video over  in the 2+2 thread.

It seems like people either liked it a lot or hated - mainly because of their opinions of Andrew.  I fall in the middle.  I think they do a good job (with  of showing Andrew for what he is - a young guy that has made an incredible amount of money but is still insecure about his place in the world/worries about how others view him.  Sure, he is a little immature at times, but he has definitely come a long way for the Ship It Holla Balla days.  I would love to see this video with a follow up vid in 10 years.

The first video of Captain Zeebo was some much more interesting, but that is mainly because Zeebo is so quirky.  Zeebo would have made a great interview even if he had nothing to do with poker.

Even though you can view both videos online, I recommend purchasing the DVD to help the filmmakers move forward with the project and release more episodes.

I'm back from Hawaii (after spending way too long in paradise - 2 weeks).   My plane landed Saturday morning at 6 AM EST.  I think I am finally getting close to adjusting to EST (+6 hours from Hawaii). Now time to start playing some online poker again.

I've started to write a post about 10 times in the last few weeks, but every time I start to write one other things seem to get in the way.  I'm crazy busy at work which is definitely a good thing, especially in this economy.  This post is just to catch up a little.

I'm heading to Hawaii (for 2 weeks) on business next week, so I'm not sure how much playing or posting I will be doing between now and late March. 

Rush Poker
I had been playing a ton of Rush Poker until about 1 1/2 weeks ago (when the craziness at work really started).

Some thoughts:
- Rush Poker seems to be getting extremely nitty.  It seems like everyone is set mining.
- Taking notes is a must.  It's always good to know if a player is a set mining nit or a will go broke with TT on an all undercard board.
- A HUD is a must.  HEM's HUD seems to work pretty well when I load the tables a 30 secs to 1 min apart instead of joining four at once.
- The weekends are the time to play Rush.  I may start playing Rush on weekends and regular tables during the week.

Countdown to July 1, 2010

- I'm not going to get my hopes up, but 7/1/10 is looking like the date that uncapped cash game poker will become a reality in Florida.   We currently have a $100 max buy-in on cash games.  I'll update more as things progress or you can follow the 2+2 thread on the bill.  Needless to say, I'm counting down the days until I get to play deep stacked against a bunch of players that are used to playing 20 BBs deep ($100 buy-in at 2/5 NL)


Phil Ivey....

- ...is still sick.  If you haven't watched the first couple of episodes of High Stakes Poker Season 6, watch them.  He seems to step to a higher and higher level each year even as those around him continue to get better and the fish die off.

Phil Hellmuth.....

- is still LOL.  Just watch any time that he has opened his mouth over the last few weeks (HSP, WSOP Europe) and all you will be able to say is LOL.  You might even start feeling bad for him.  Well, maybe not.  He is like the rich kid in school that was a douche and everyone picked on relentlessly, but still had plenty of people that wanted to be friends with him because he was rich and had lots of cool toys.

Blogging....

- ...sometimes seems like work.  I'm working way too much to put the time and effort into working a second job.
- ...may get more attention from me once I get back from Hawaii.  I may even have a little bit of free time here and there for a post while in HI.

Full Tilt Poker is doing so many things right this year.  I predict it won't be long before they overtake Pokerstars as the premiere site on the internet.

Let's see:

1.  Rush Poker - Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

2.  People asked for Rush Poker with antes - they added it

3.  Elimination of short stacks from cash games - Doulbe Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!  - although due to Rush Poker I haven't played any of the regular tables lately.

4. Added Player Search Widget (and widgets in general)

5.  Revised HH replayer to reduce the amount of memory the software uses.

I'm really excited about 2010 in poker and can't wait to see what FTP will bring us next!!!

I decided to try to complain less this year.  It isn't really a New Year's resolution.  I just want to be more positive about things poker and non-poker related.

This post isn't meant to be a whiny "whoa is me" post.  In the past I might have posted the graph below with something about how bad I am running.  You'll get none of that today.  This post is really to highlight how much my perspective on things has changed.

The first couple of days of February haven't treated me well.  I have played 5 or 6 sessions of 50NL full ring Rush Poker on FTP (although HEM has them grouped as 4 because I had too short of intervals between some sessions.)  I am barely break even (up $58) over 4,092 hands, but I am running $306 below expected value.  This might have been a reason to get frustrated in the past, but not this time.  I haven't let losing 80/20s, 70/30s, or 60/40s effect my play.  No tilt for me!!  Let me say that again - No tilt for me!!  My mind is in a much better place poker wise.  As I mentioned in my previous post, if you tilt easily then Rush Poker is not for you.  Bad beats will lead to tilting and spewing your bankroll.

I don't know if I have had that "Ah ha" moment recently, but it sure feels like it.  My biggest leak in the past has been tilt.  It might not be the full on definition of tilt, but it is/was tilt.  I didn't spew stacks, but I would get very stubborn when running bad and make a call or raise when a fold was the obvious choice.  My tilt would make me less likely to think someone really had a hand, when all I had to do was step back and look at the information to know that it was -EV to continue.  I haven't completely fixed this problem, but I have reduced it dramatically.  I sit back and really exam if I just got unlucky or if I played a hand poorly after I lose a big pot.  If I think it was due to poor play, I might sit out for a few minutes and review my biggest winners and losers of the current session as a gut check to see if I feel like I am playing good or bad.  If I feel I am playing bad I will usually quit for at least an hour or so.

Bottom line for me - Complaining less = Tilting Less.  I'm not in a "Rush" to post my latest bad beat on the forums now.  No one cares.  Bad beats happen.  Everyone has a story of running bad or how horrible their beat was.  Again, no one cares.  The real question is will the beat lead to you eventually being a stronger or weaker player - both short and long term?

Next time you get your set in on the flop and your opponent hits perfect, perfect for the suckout, maybe sit back and say, "I got unlucky, but if I keep playing against guys like this I am going to be a huge winner in the long term."

Good luck at the tables!! Stay Tilt-Free!!

I was going to write a long detailed post about Rush Poker, but I think every blogger/poker website has already written almost everything that you could say on the subject (click one of the links on the side if you wan to read a more about Rush).  I still want to mention a few things about it though.

1.  As others have posted it is the crack of online poker! - I four tabled for 4 straight hours yesterday and averaged 1,140 hands/hour.  I don't remember playing for four straight hours with no breaks anytime recently.

2.  If you tilt easily don't play - Since you see so many hands/hour, you will see more bad beats in a day than you might usually see in a week or two.  If bad beats cause you to tilt then Rush Poker is definitely not for you.  Spewing after a couple of bad beats could cripple a bankroll when you are playing 1k hands/hour.


3.  Breakeven stretches and Downswings don't last long - I had a 15k breakeven stretch that might have been frustrating in the past, but isn't a big deal now because it was over the course of 4 days.

4.  Rakeback - At 50NL full ring, my rakeback is averaging $9.21/1k hands after close to 40k hands.

5.  HUDs are coming - HEM has a crude limited HUD work around that writes to your notes file.  It is helpful in some spots but a little frustrating when you are used to the extended HUD stats.  I'm guessing that within the next week or so, both HEM and PT3 will have fully functional HUDs.


6.  Nits are everywhere - As the rush games get tighter and tighter a HUD will almost become a necessity in order to maximize profits against the nits.  The good players will be able to bet the nitty guys off their overpairs and know which players to fold their over pairs to when they see that big turn check/raise.

7.  Adjusting your play based on your stack - This might not make sense, but when I have a huge stack (400bb+ or more) I get played back at a ton more.  I have also noticed some players are more willing to call an over shove with  mediocre holdings against someone with a lot of chips.  I'm not sure the exact mentality of some of these guys, but I'm guessing that they think you bluffed your way to a lot of chips.

Must. Go Play. Rush. NOW!!!

I just finished updating the blog template and the bloglines list.

Please let me know if the template looks messed up.  I put it up pretty quick and have only viewed it in Firefox.

I think my blogroll still needs a little work.  I might have a missed a few blogs - let me know if you want to be added.

It has been forever since I update my blogroll.  There are several blogs that I read daily that aren't even on the list.  I'm also going to delete the blogs that haven't updated in a very very long time.

If you want me to add your blog to my blogroll, let me know via a comment or email.

Anyone know a good site for blogspot templates?  I am trying to come up with a new layout for the blog.

I have a lot of poker thoughts on my mind that are itching to ooze out. Look for new regular posting in the near future.