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    Wednesday, July 23, 2008

    Prop Bets FTW!!!!

    As I was wallowing in another evening of missed opportunities and gut-wrenching beats, my mind began to wander and I thought to myself, "What the hell am I doing?" I have very little motivation lately to perform at an optimal level at the poker table. Money is not a problem for me in life, my job has been stressful lately, and I'm going to Jamaica in two days. It's almost as if poker has become like reading the Sunday newspaper...something to do to pass the time but really having no ultimate purpose.

    So as this self-persecution continued, I got an AIM from my good friend Rubbarose who began echoing many of the same sentiments I was feeling. Lack of motivation, poor bankroll management, etc. etc. As the conversation continued, he said that we needed a change... a spark...something to light a fire under two players that have talent but were not capable, in present form, to achieve the levels of the past. He proposed a series of poker-related prop bets. The discussion evolved and we ended up with the following arrangement:


    1. Each person would pick five prop bets
    2. The bets would be divided into two divisons of five (Rubba/W2D)
    3. There would be bounties as follows:
    • $50 for each bet accomplished
    • The winner of the Rubba Division gets hotel and dinner in Vegas for a degen weekend
    • The winner of the W2D Division gets a $300-$500 buy-in to an LAPC tournament
    • Overall winner has to change their STARS avatar to whatever the other one chooses

    4. The bets are only good on TILT and STARS

    Here are the bets:

    Rubbarose Division

    1. Win an online MTT with more than 1,000 entrants
    2. Build your online bankroll to at least $6,500 (no deposits)
    3. Final table a Sunday major (Major, second chance, or Mulligan)
    4. Win a pot at an online cash table over >$1,000
    5. Win 3 online MTT's within 14 days (min. 250+ players)

    Willing2Die Division

    1. Build your http://www.pocketfives.com/ PLB score to over 2,000.
    2. Win five (5) TILT $750K or STARS Million seats in one week.
    3. Win an online MTT with at least a $100 buy-in. (Min. 100+ players)
    4. Be up at least five (5) buy-in's at a cash table (min. stakes $.50/$1 NL)
    5. In an online MTT...4-bet pre-flop with pocket fives and somehow win the pot. (HH must be saved)

    There is only one of the bets that I am inherently taking the worst of and that is the pocketfives PLB bet. My current score is only 975 and I think his is like 1,500 so I'm definitely at the short end of the stick on that one.

    Anyways, the contest starts on August 1st and I will return from Jamaica pumped and ready to bury Rubbarose and display my dominance once again. Well....or.....I'll just get smoked like I usually do in wagers with Rubba. Either way, it should be fun and provide us some "extra" motiviation. If I got any of the bounties or prizes incorrect, I'll check with Rubba and make the changes.

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Friday, July 18, 2008

    The Dog Days of July/August



    INTERESTING NOTE: The guy circled above is Ylon Schwartz, 2008 WSOP Main Event final tablist (one of the "November Nine"). I had a chance to meet him and play with him when I made the final 3 tables of a 2005 WSOP preliminary event. He's a good guy and a great player.

    I never look forward to the WSOP ending. For as much time that I actually spent at the RIO, I spent infinitely more time online, constantly updating the various websites on any and all information I could get my hands on from the WSOP. I am what I have affectionately labeled a "Poker loser." As much as I enjoy playing, I seem to derive an equal amount of enjoyment out of reading and listening about anything going on in the poker world. The "Poker loser" label comes from the fact that I think I know more about the history, the players, the controversies, and the current events of both the live and online arena than anyone I know. For someone that has as much going on in their life as me, I know a lot of $hit about the poker world. I figure if I know what the top 50 online players in the world look like in real life and could smoke anyone at WSOP and WPT trivia, I'm a loser. So be it....

    Earlier this week, I had planned on writing one of those cookie-cutter blogs about how I'm running and playing bad and questioning my talent level in the game. I'm not going to do that. Needless to say, I'm down 5-figures over the past month but I know that just comes with the territory. I have had the wicked combination of playing bad AND running bad which never helps your bankroll. I was just telling a friend of mine yesterday a little theory I have....there are four things that can usually be going on in your personal game performance.

    1. Running good/Playing good
    2. Running bad/Playing good
    3. Running good/Playing bad
    4. Running bad/Playing bad

    The goal is to spend as little time as possible in zone #4, understand that you will spend time in zones #2 and #3 but hope that you basically just maintain a steady bankroll level during those times, and make 95% of your profit in zone #1. I spent the last four weeks in zones #3 and #4 but have worked my way back into #2 this past week. I'm feeling real good about my MTT game and I hope to start running a little better and kick some a$$ in August.

    I have made a very comfortable 5-figure amount in online MTT's in 2008 but have lost thousands at the cash tables. I was 2-tabling the other night, lamenting about my obvious inadequacy in cash games, when my friend RUBBA AIM'd me and said, "Can I tell you something?" I obviously said yes and he basically told me what I needed to hear. He simply said that I'm not that good at cash games and I shouldn't be grinding away at them. He said my strongsuit was tournaments and I should stick to what I'm good at. It is so damn refreshing and I am so lucky to have friends that have the sack to tell me things that I need to hear. I wish there was more of that in poker and in life. Thanks, Rubba.

    So......here's what's happening in the coming weeks. I'm playing in the $300 Central Coast Poker Championship at Chumash Casino tomorrow (7/19). 600 players, $5,000 starting stack, 30-minute blind levels. I have 3 previous cashes in this tournament and it's a relative donkfest but you have to get your hands on some chips early as the blinds begin to skyrocket in level 4. I leave for Jamaica, mon, next Friday and will be there for 6 days with five other couples. No....we're not swingers. I plan on playing a couple of the FTOPS IX events in early August and am playing in at least one preliminary event at the Legends of Poker series at the Bicycle Casino. I may also try a $1K satty into the WPT main event....that would be relatively SWEET.

    I forgot to mention that I had the opportunity to meet Joe Sebok, Amanda Leatherman, Cindy K., and Bryan "Devo" Devonshire while in Las Vegas. I have a ton of respect for all the pokerroad guys and, I would be lying if I didn't say it, I'm pretty awestruck by them. If you haven't listened to pokerroad radio or gone to www.pokerroad.com, you are really missing out. They have incredible poker content on that site. I could listen to Haralobos Voulgaris all day long.

    Alright....that was quite a pointless rant. I covered lots of stuff of which none is probably interesting to you but oh well. I am actually having to practice bankroll management for the first time since 2007 as my Full Tilt account dipped to critical levels last week. Since Sunday, though, I have over doubled it and am back on my way towards being in a position that I can comfortably sit down at a $5/$10 NL table with half my roll and act like a nutjob (I wish I was kidding).

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Monday, July 7, 2008

    WSOP Main Event....One for the Ages

    This is one event summary you probably don't want to miss. I got to my table on Day 1D and noticed only one player (Bradley Berman, son of famed Lyle Berman). The cards went in the air and this is what happened:

    Level One $50/$100

    I flopped a set of 7's early but go no action in a 4-way flop. I identified the guy to my direct right, random Asian, as a relatively weak player. I was able to make a move on him with 2-2 on a 4-overcard board when I raised his bet on the turn and he thought for awhile before mucking. I won one other relatively nice pot when I saw a flop with Qd-Jd and it came with two diamonds. I called a 3/4 pot bet and the turn was a third diamond. These were virtually the only hands of any consequence during the first level. I was able to identify the good players (only two: young internet kid from New Jersey and Brad Berman) and the bad players (several...).
    End of Level One $26,975

    Level Two $100/$200

    This was one of those levels that everybody dreams about. Early in the level, I raised to $600 with K-K and the button and BB both called. The flop came A-K-Q rainbow. I loved it but needed to proceed with caution as several different turn cards could be dangerous. My intention was to keep the pot relatively small here. The BB checked, I checked, and the button led for $2,500. The BB quickly called and I thought to myself....so much for keeping the pot small. I really smelled J-10 amongst one of them but I decided to just call in the fainted hope that I could keep this pot from getting out of hand. The turn was an offsuit 7 and the BB checked, I checked, and the button shoved all-in for $13,000. The BB quickly folded and I was put to a decision for about 60% of my chips. I would have had around $11,000 if I folded so I would have had plenty if he had J-10. I really thought he had J-10 but I wanted to get my hands on some chips so I called. He had A-K....weeeeeeeeee. River bricked and I now had $48,000 real early in level 2.

    I really started to turn up the aggression and a few hands later I raised with 9-9 from early position. I got two callers and the flop came Qs-9s-4s. The BB checked, I led for around $1,300 and the guy to my direct left min-raised to $2,600. I had both of these guys well covered so I was not going anywhere in this hand. The action got back to the BB and he tanked for like five minutes. It was pretty apparent that he had the Ace of Spades and was trying to decide whether to shove. I really didn't care....I was going nowhere. He finally mucked and I 4-bet all-in. The guy to my left looked pained and said "Do you already have a flush?" before putting the rest of his chips in the middle. He turned over Kc-Ks and was drawing to 12 outs. The turn was the butt-ugly 4 of spades making his flush. The river, on the other hand, was the beautiful 9 of clubs for QUAD NINES!!! Live poker is so rigged. This pot put me at about $65,000 and I was rolling.

    I played one more hand of consequence when I raised from the cutoff with K-J and the SB (he will be referred to as Uber-Donk from now on) min-raised me. I obviously called and the flop came J-9-4. He checked, I bet, he min-raised again, and I obviously called. (What is with the min raises? This hand is exactly why you don't do that). The turn was another Jack making the board J-9-4-J. He checked, I bet $4,000, and he called. The river was a brick and he checked, I bet $5,500, and he called and showed A-A. Well played, sir.
    End of Level Two $73,075

    Level Three $150/$300

    After being amongst the chip leaders at the break, I promptly came back and lost $20,000 in the first 20 minutes. Uber-donk had, on several occasions, over-shoved the pot with ridiculous bets. I ended up paying him off with A-2 on an Ace-high board when he had A-J on one occasion. I didn't mind it because I figured he was good for giving the chips back at a future time (wink). Later in the level, he made a ridiculous over-bet all-in on a King-high board with K-Q and got called by A-A. Turn-brick, River.....Queen. Uber-Donk saved by the river. Anyways, I got down to around $52,000 before fighting back and getting it all back and more. I called a raise in position with 3-3 and saw a 3-way flop of 10h-3d-2d. Uber-Donk led at the pot for $1,600, good internet guy re-raised to $4,500, and I 4-bet to $11,500. Uber-Donk folded and good internet guy tanked....and tanked....and tanked. It was pretty obvious he had A-A or K-K and he eventually got the clock called on him. The floor supervisor counted him down and his hand eventually got mucked. He later told me he had K-K. Good laydown by him and some missed chips for me.
    End of Level Three (Dinner Break) $75,175

    Level Four $150/$300/$25 ante

    I played a LOT of hands at this level as I attempted to run the table over during the first round of antes. I won some, lost some, but didn't really play any big pots and ended the level unscathed.
    End of Level Four $87,000

    Level Five (Last level) $200/$400/$50 ante

    I was probably in the top 25 of chip counts at this break and had begun to cautiously talk to my wife about Day 2 plans. To my credit, I prefaced most of the discussion with the fact that nothing is for sure and you never know what might happen (Call me Nostradamus). I really planned on abusing the end-of-the-day bubble as several of the players openly talked about wanting to make it to Day 2. No one else had more than $50,000 at the table so the plan should have worked fairly well. Specifically, I talked to her about Uber-donk over-shoving pots and I thought that if I could ever make a hand against him, I could trap him and bust him. "The best laid plans of mice and men...."

    I was late getting back to the table and missed one hand. The second hand I got dealt 8-8 and limped into a 4-way pot. The flop came with overs and I had to fold. On the third hand, an older gentleman limped UTG and I looked down at 8-8 again. I should have raised but I just called and we saw a 3-way flop of 9-7-4 rainbow. UTG led at the pot for $2,000 and I just could not envision a hand that he would limp with that contained a 9. I thought maybe he had some kind of up-and-down straight draw and decided to put him to the test for his tourney life. I raised to $7,500 which basically meant I wasn't folding. He didn't think long before shoving his remaining $19,000 and I had to call more $12,000 more into a $32K+ pot. Lol....really, what hand am I beating that he's 4-bet shoving here but I called none the less and he showed me A-9. Sigh...brick, brick, and I was down to approx. $65,000. On the fourth hand, I raise it up with 7-7 and the same guy calls from the BB. The flop comes As-Qs-Js (I don't have a spade), he leads at the pot and I have to fold. On the fifth hand, I raise with Ad-Kh from EP and the SAME GUY re-raises me from the SB. I decide to call in position and the flop comes 10h-8h-4h. He leads at the pot for $6,000, I figure he can't call a raise without a heart so I raise to $18,000, and he thinks for a bit before shoving all-in. When all the dust had settled, it was $13K more for me to call a pot of $53K. I was worried that he had the Ace of Hearts and I was drawing almost dead but really couldn't fold at that point. I made the crying call but was happy to see he had two black Kings. Geez....he put it all in there with no heart and no set. I was drawing to 12 outs twice for a $66,000 pot but it was not to be....two bricks and my head was reeling after just five hands. What the hell was going on here? This guy was pwning my soul and there wasn't much I could do to stop the bleeding.

    On the sixth hand (Folks...I'm not skipping hands here, these are all consecutive), I got dealt Ac-Kc in the BB. It folded around to the SAME FUCKING GUY who open-raised from the button. Lol....I 3-bet from the BB and was going to jam that Big Slick up his ass if he would have shoved. He folded though and the bleeding was temporarily stopped.

    In the course of six hands, I had managed to lose $52,000 and was down to $35,000. Hmmmm...my plan was going just great. I was able to sit out hands seven and eight before getting dealt A-J in the cutoff on Hand nine. I raised to $1,200 and Uber-Donk called from the SB. The flop came K-K-Q. The table was set....I wanted to play a pot with the Uber-Donk, in position, and if I could somehow make a hand, I knew he would blow-up. The flop went check-check and the turn was an offsuit eight. He led for $3,000 and I really thought my A-high might be good here. He had made a couple of ridiculous bluffs earlier and had been caught and I just thought he was reckless. I called and the river was a.......10. I made Broadway on the river and guess what....Uber-Donk over-shoves the pot for $27,000. Just like I had planned....Just like I wanted him to do....Just like I had said he would and I had finally made a hand. I didn't think too long before calling. Anyone else and there would have probably been a tough decision. But...when you make a gameplan and everything falls into place, it's really hard to find a way to talk yourself out of following through. Uber-Donk showed K-Q for the flopped full house. I just chuckled. I played it just the way I wanted to play it and he woke up with a hand. Oh well.....

    I was crippled down to $3,000 and held on for about 20 more minutes. The last hand had me all-in with A-Q against 3 other players. The flop came 6-4-3 and a guy with 8-8 led out getting rid of the other two players. If I would have hit an ace or queen, I would have had around $16,000 which would have put me right back in the game. But it wasn't meant to be....I busted around 0015 hrs.

    Words cannot begin to describe what I've been feeling since I busted out. Like any other passion in someone's life, when you give so much of your heart and soul into something and are met with despair, it's difficult. For 11 hours, I had played exactly the way I wanted to play. In the course of nine hands, it all dissappeared. Now don't get me wrong...as I was walking out of the RIO, I told my wife that if this is the worst thing that happens in my life, I probably live a pretty good life. But there is more to it than just busting out of a poker tournament.

    For many of the young players I've met in my poker travels, their commitment level is pretty much focused on themselves. They don't have the responsibilites of a job, a wife, kids, etc. When I am playing in a poker tournament like the WSOP Main Event, I feel like I have the weight of my friends, family, kids, etc. on my shoulders. When you plunk down $10,000 to play in a poker tournament and you've got 3 kids that will be going to college, it just plain hurts. When you've got lots of friends monitoring your activity from their computers at home, it just plain hurts. But the thing that rips at the fabric of my soul is the dissappointment in my wife's eyes when she sees me bust. Here's a woman that puts up with my second career that draws both time and money away from the family. I've tried for five years now to get to a level that will prove that I can be in the upper echelon of the poker community. I know I'm probably fooling myself since I've got a full-time job, kids, youth sports, etc....but god damnit, I believe. I fucking know I can go deep and win one of these tournaments. I just fucking know it. I know I can do it in spite of all of the obstacles present that would seem to preclude someone like me from doing it. I don't give a shit if everyone else thinks it's a pipedream. This main event may, in time, strengthen my resolve to play more big buy-in tournament poker.

    In short, I am both dissapointed and embarrased at my performance last night. The bottom line was that I didn't need to play big pots and I chose to do so. Yes, if I hit one of those 12 outs I've got $110,000 and the whole night goes in a different direction. But they didn't hit...and I must live with the consequences. I was not the victim of bad luck. I was the victim of my own shortcomings and for that I must live with it. It will make me a better person and a better poker player in time. For now, I'm hollow. I have a pit in my stomach that won't go away. I let one get away, folks, and for that I will never forget the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Pokernews.com capturing my late-night despair

    That Must Hurt
    We recently sent a field reporter by Eric Sonstegard's table to get a chip count. He has about 5,000, well below his high-water mark of about 90,000 earlier this level.

    "Nope," said Sonstegard. "I didn't move. I'm the same guy who had ninety thousand."

    Sunday, July 6, 2008

    2008 World Series of Poker Main Event

    It's 9:00 in my Gold Coast Hotel room and I'm doing my best to get in the warrior mindset for today's main event. I was in the arena for the incredible Forrest Griffin victory over Rampage Jackson last night so it's hard to get out of the UFC mindset and back into the poker mindset. What a fight!!! It was my first time at an MMA event and I might have seen the 2008 Fight of the Year.

    I'll be at Amazon Blue Table 3, Seat 6 today. The numbers are down for the Main Event this year but Day 1C was considerably larger than Days 1A and 1B and they're thinking today may be the biggest of them all.

    I'm ready for the deep stacks and slow structure and hope to play much better than I did last year (which shouldn't be too difficult). I never like to put goals on what I want my finishing stack to be at the end of the day because all you should do is make good, individual decisions each hand. But.....I am eyeing a stack of $50,000 as the stack I'd like to start Day 2 with.

    We'll see......let's get ready to rumble!

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D