The Adventures of Willing2Die

It's only been 3 months...

2009-07-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

I'll be the first one to admit that the advent of Twitter has made the willingness to take the time to blog practically...well...old news. The ability to relay your thoughts and actions on a minute-by-minute basis is something that we never could have dreamed of just a few years ago. Never the less, I thought I would update everyone on my last three months.

I made my 5th annual trek to the WSOP in late June. I have seen the WSOP evolve since I first went and watched them at Binion's in 2004. This year, I played in a $2,000 NLHE event (the same one I've played in the last two years). I won't recount all of my tweets from the event but I did get a chance to played with "Wretchy" and "TitanTom" from online fame, Allan Le (Nam's brother), Tiffany Michelle, and Joe Serock. I lasted until after dinner break and when I returned, I picked up K-K in the SB on the 2nd hand. An early position raise allowed me to shove for about $9,750. He hemmed and hawed for a bit and called with A-K. Four bricks and an ace on the river later and I was out. Tough way to go out but not a whole lot I could have done different.

I played in two more RIO nightly tournaments and a $500 Venetian Deep Stacks event. All of them ended in various heartbreaking fashion as I just really didn't run well that week. I know that's going to happen from time to time and I just picked a bad time to run bad. I had a fantastic time sweating my favorite players until 2 or 3 in the morning each night and also got to meet a lot of people I had met online via PokerRoad.com.

Last week, I went back out to the RIO to play in the first WSOP DreamTeam Event. I played in the event with my friends Andrew and Robin and we were "Team Willing2Die." There were 122 teams entered in the event and we finished in 19th place. Unfortunately, the top 10 teams cashed so once again I was shutout. It was a fun tournament although the structure is pretty shallow and really collapses after about 5 or 6 hours. The picture above is me laying down K-K on an A-Q-10 board to Dan Michalski of www.Pokerati.com. He showed me an ace so it was another $%^&ed hand at the RIO :):).

After a lot of online play over the past 30 days, I have made a commitment to play less online and more live. I'm hoping that it will put a little more fun in my poker game as well as giving me a little more time with the family (and wife) during the week. My limited live results really haven't been half bad as I have 3 cashes in 8 career WSOP tournaments, 3 cashes in 7 Chumash tournaments with buy-in's of $200 or more, and I took down a Saturday daily tournament at Caesar's Palace. Unfortunately, this year has been relatively horrible as I'm 0 for 6 in live tournaments. I'm hoping to turn that around over the next few months as I'll be hitting the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino and a few tournaments at the Commerce.

I plan on getting another blog in over the next few nights as I talk a little football and share some thoughts on my poker career and what the future holds for me in the coming months and years.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

NFL Schedule released

2009-04-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days that pacifies the diehard NFL fan during the off-season. 2nd only to draft day, the release of the NFL schedule gets me pumped up and also allows me to plan out my Qualcomm Stadium attendance for the coming season. It looks like my schedule will be as follows:

Home Opener vs. Baltimore (Tailgating with my wife)
Monday Night Football vs. Denver (Going with buddies from work)
December 20th vs. Cincinnatti (Weekend trip with the kids/Tailgating)
January 3rd vs. Washington (Tailgating with friends)

I'm so pumped....the Cutler trade to Chicago has pretty much handed the AFC West to us for the next couple of years so we really need to take advantage.

Anyways....I have not been playing a ton of poker lately. I'm looking to ramp up the volume in the coming weeks and win a WSOP Main Event seat. My current economic conditions don't point to me dropping ten dimes for an entry this year so if I don't win a seat, I'm pretty much screwed. If it gets to that point, I'll play in a couple of mega-satties when I'm in Vegas (6/18-6/21) but I think the best value is still winning one on Full Tilt.

I have lots of other thoughts to convey but I am literally busy day and night so I'll have to carve out an hour to drop some more deep philosophy on you. lololol

Thanks for reading,

W2D

2009-02-28T21:50:00.000-08:00

I took 2nd in the Full Tilt Big Double-A last night for around $2,500. It was my fourth 2nd or 3rd place finish since my last MTT win almost 10 months ago. I usually find myself with a big chip deficit when I reach heads-up and last night was no different....to the tune of a 11-1 deficit.

I ended February up around $3K for the month and am up around $14K for the first two months. Not bad for a "recreational player" If I may say so......I figure I'm getting geared up for the WSOP :):).

Talk to you soon,

W2D

Shameless Plugs

2009-02-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a quick second to direct your attention to a couple of poker-related things:

1. A friend of mine who I have spent many an hour talking life and poker with via AIM, Stephen Lawrence, has had one of his poker articles published at the following link:

http://foxpoker.com/articles

Stephen, commonly known as Virge, is a great poker mind and a helluva nice guy. I encourage everyone to check out the article and if you're looking for some cash-game coaching, please consider Virge as a worthy candidate.

2. I have been putting a ton of time in at the Pokerroad Forums and am running a couple of different contests for the LAPC Main Event. I spend most of my time in the "Live Tournaments" section of the forum so I again encourage you to first check out Pokerroad , then check out the forums and especially the Live tourney section. I am, of course, Willing2Die on the forums.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Update

2009-02-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

Things have been going real well the last couple of weeks as life continues to be a fun journey. After my two big online cashes on January 13th, I was even for most of the rest of January and ended January up over $11K. I started February off with a bang as I took 3rd in the Full Tilt $23K on Wednesday night for a little over $2,900. I have now played only 28 MTT's in 2009 and I have four cashes with three of them being a 3rd place and two 2nd's. It is vastly different from what was occurring in 2008 where I was having a ton of cashes with no deep finishes. There is definitely a calm and controlled aspect to my end game where I just let things come to me and don't make as many "fancy" plays as I used to. The caliber of play is still sub-standard enough that you can allow others to make mistakes for you. After Wednesday night's score, I told my wife that I was calling my shot right now...I guarantee I will win a WSOP $10K entry this year.

The Super Bowl lived up to every expectation anyone might have had. The 4th quarter was undoubtedly the greatest quarter in Super Bowl history and Harrison's play was clearly one of the Top 5 plays in the history of the NFL. There may have been flashier or more difficult plays but for the context under which it occurred (Super Bowl...:00 on the clock...14-point swing), they don't get much bigger. Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

UFC 94 ended up being underwhelming. I went 6-4 on my predictions although I think I got hosed on the Kim-Parisyan fight (That was one of the worst fights I've watched in months). Jon Jones was the most impressive fighter of the night. Considering he's been training MMA for about a year, I'd love to buy some stock in that guy's future. The main event was disappointing as GSP was just too much for B.J. "Vaseline-gate" has overshadowed his dominant performance and just today there is talk about GSP-BJ III. I'm not even sure I want to see that. (See my UFC Fight Night predictons below)

The 2009 WSOP schedule came out and, as usual, I'm excited for those 45 days of the year. I hope my job doesn't mind my brain being somewhere else for that month-plus. (just kidding lolol). I already booked my flight for June 18th-June 21st. I'll be playing the $2K on 6/18, maybe the $1,500 on 6/20, and hopefully Day 1C of the Main Event. I've cashed in 3 of 7 WSOP events I've played so I always feel good going out there.

The pokerroad gang played one of my voicemails on the 2/5 PRR episode and Joe Sebok even said "I love Willing2Die" on the air. If a 38-year old married father of three gets giddy over that, I think he has serious problems.

Here are my predictions for UFC Fight Night (Feb. 7th):

Joe Lauzon v. Jeremy Stephens (I'm going with Lauzon even though I'm not a big fan of his talents. A Stephens KO wouldn't surprise me)

CainVelasquez v. Denis Stojnic (Cain by 1st degree murder/He's the future UFC heavyweight champion)

Mac Danzig v. Josh Neer (Danzig wins a tough decision)

Luigi Fiorivanti v. Anthony Johnson (Johnson by head removal)

Kurt Pellegrino v. Rob Emerson (Pellegrino is very under-rated...he takes this one)

Dan Miller v. Jake Rosholt (UFC debuts rarely go well...Miller submits him)

Matt Grice v. Matt Veach (I'd be pompous if I said I knew anything about these guys but it's Veach's UFC debut...that means Grice wins)

Gleison Tibau v. Rich Clementi (I'll go with the guy who over-achieves over the guy who under-achieves...Clementi wins)

Nick Catone v. Derek Downey (Both are UFC debuts...Catone takes his Sadollah-related frustation out on Downey's head)

Steve Bruno v. Matt Riddle (No fighter should smile as much as Riddle does and I don't think he'll be smiling after this one)

Thanks for reading,

W2D

UFC 94 Predictions

2009-01-31T07:53:00.000-08:00

I've been a diehard MMA fan since UFC I was televised while I was in the police academy in 1993. I've seen hundreds of cards from Dream to Pride to Strikeforce to EliteXC to UFC to Affliction.....but I have never been so pumped for an MMA card as I am for UFC 94 tonight. I'm a big B.J. Penn fan and am hoping he takes it but I have a ton of respect for GSP and just want to see an historic fight. I thought I'd take my shot at some prognosticating for tonight's card:

UFC 94

Matt Arroyo v. Dan Cramer ARROYO
Jake O'Brien v. Christian Wellisch O'BRIEN
Chris Wilson v. John Howard WILSON
Manny Gamburyan v. Thiago Tavares TAVARES
Jon Fitch v. Akihiro Gono FITCH
Nate Diaz v. Clay Guida GUIDA
Karo Parisyan v. Dong Hyun Kim KIM
Stephan Bonnar v. Jon Jones BONNAR
Lyoto Machida v. Thiago Silva MACHIDA
B.J. Penn v. Georges St. Pierre GSP

As you can see, I love B.J. but I picked GSP. If I was betting on the fight and could get +160 or +170 on B.J., I would definitely go that route. At this point, I think GSP's wrestling is going to be the difference but I'm praying for an epic B.J. performance.

I'll check back on Monday to see how I did.

Thanks for reading,

Eric "W2D"

January

2009-01-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

Quick update:

I'm heading to the Commerce on Sunday to play in the LAPC $335 event at 1:00 P.M. Just another example of why my wife is the best woman in the world..she didn't bat an eye when I told her I was going.

My goal for the year is to read twenty (20) new books and I've already powered down two of them. I read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. I highly recommend both of them. I've compiled a reading list for 2009 which so far includes the following:

According to Doyle by Doyle Brunson
The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas Ricks
Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo
Just 2 Seconds by Gavin Debecker
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

I'm always looking for recommendations so if you know of any "must-reads", please let me know.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Biggest Night Ever!

2009-01-13T13:05:00.001-08:00

Wow....I'll cut to the chase. I had my biggest night in my online poker career last night as I took two 2nd places in big TILT tourneys for around $11,000. It started with the Fifty-Fifty as I built up a big stack early and pretty much maintained a nice stack throughout the tournament. I took two bad beats enroute to the final table but perservered and got to the FT with above-average chips. It was a really, really difficuly FT that took sometime to finish. "TheMasterJ33" was hyper-aggro and we reached the 6-hour break 7-handed. Within five minutes after the break, we lost three players and we got down to 4-handed. I had lost J-J v. A-2 when two deuces flopped and was down to 4BB but somehow battled back. I bobbed and weaved until "TheMasterJ33" somehow busted 3-handed and I was heads-up at a 6:1 chip deficit. First prize was $11,500 which would have been my biggest online score ever but it was clearly not to be. My heads-up game sucks balls...I didn't last too long and took 2nd for $7,300. As this final table was finishing, I was down to the final two tables in the $23K guaranteed---->....

The $23K was a lot like the fifty-fifty as I got a big stack early and pretty much maintained it throughout. The final table was vastly different as the play was horrible and I think it took me around 25 minutes to get heads-up. By this time, I was brutally tired (2:45 in the morning) and although I had about a 1.5:1 chip deficit, I again stood no real chance. I took 2nd for $3,700.

I clearly left around $6K out on the felt due to my inadequacies at heads-up play but am in no position to complain. It was my 2nd largest single online score ever and my biggest night of my online career. It feels really great to start the year out this way and I owe it to two things:

-I ran like a Jamaican sprinter chasing free bobsled lessons.

-My live session at the Bellagio last week may have been an epiphany. It was my best live session ever and as I sat in that particular room (my favorite poker room in the world), I had time to reflect on my poker "career" and whether I was going to continue to pitter away at this venture or really start thinking like a "professional" and make something of myself in poker. I'm not saying by any stretch that this is the start of a mountainous climb but I do think I've changed the way I look at my poker playing and how I can't simply "waste time" playing poker when I have a wife and kids. I owe it to them and myself to play my "A" game at all times and maximize the time I spend playing.

I have a real sense of confidence and "being" at the poker table right now and, based on experience, it's best to ride that wave as long as it's there. I'm hoping I can go on a tear in January and maybe sew up my WSOP funds for the year. A very special shout-out to Smokkee and Virge who provided some much needed rail support at the very late hour. Thanks, guys! I owe you...

On a sidenote, this was another example of the "hotel" effect that I've talked about for years. I'm currently in a San Francisco hotel for the week which is no coincidence at all.

The Chargers season is over...I'm bummed but as usual, they weren't boring this year. Let's draft a WR and a LB and get it on next year!!!

Thanks for reading,

Eric "W2D"

Another Degenerate Weekend!

2009-01-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

My wildcard weekend turned out to be one of my better weekends ever in Vegas. We arrived at McCarran at around 9:00 on Saturday morning and went straight to Bally's. We really didn't have any idea where we were going to watch the games but as soon we got to Bally's and saw their awesome sportsbook and attached sports bar we knew that was the place. The first game (Atlanta/Arizona) wasn't starting for another few hours so I killed some time in the "Party Pit" by losing a quick $200 at blackjack (I hate that fucking game...it is 3 times faster than Pai Gow which means you can lose money 3 times as fast).

We got ourselves the best seat in the house at the Sportsbook around 11:30 and never left until around 9:00 at night. I placed several wagers on each football game, bet every race at Santa Anita/Los Alamitos/Delta Downs, and bet a ton of different college basketball games (around 70 wagers for Saturday). My losings were neglible...tempered by a boatload of Bud Lights and 2 (maybe 3) pretzel dogs. The stage was set for the Chargers/Colts game and they surely didn't disappoint.

I've watched plenty of NFL playoff games live as well as 3 Super Bowls but I have to say the atmosphere in the Sportsbook was something quite unique for the Charger game. I guess the combination of almost everyone in the room having some wager on the game as well as having been drinking most of the day makes for a "special" type of electricity. This was the 3rd epic, history-making playoff game the Chargers have played in the last three (3) years. I will definitely never forget that experience.....at least not until this Sunday when they play another epic battle in Pittsburgh.

After the game ended, the five of us went across the street to the fine establishment that is Bill's Gambling Hall. We hit Bill's Steakhouse for dinner (I didn't really like the Pan-seared Scallops) and then I hit the dice for around an hour. Some good rolls let me leave up around $200 and then we wandered over to the Bellagio. I wanted to show the other guys the poker room there and was telling them stories of the different things that have occurred over the years in Bobby's room. We walk in the poker room and I immediately see some shadowy figures in Bobby's room. I get closer to peer in the windows and sure enough, the Big Game is going on. They have hardly been playing the Big Game live over the past few months but sure enough...Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, and David Oppenheim are playing 5-handed. For someone like me, that is basically like going to Cooperstown or meeting your favorie movie star. I was mesmerized just seeing them sitting there. I would have given my left nut to have sat and sweated one of them for 5 minutes. The 4 other guys I was with were not quite as enamored with them as I was. We left the Bellagio and went back to Bally's where I won $300 at Roulette before losing $100 at Blackjack. I hit the room at around 2:00.

3 of the other 4 guys that were there had to leave for various reasons so I was left with a guy that I had met just the day before. We ended up getting along real well and took up the same spot at the Sportsbook around 9:30. We stayed in that spot for 12 hours and this time I bet on pretty much everything that was on the board. Horses, College basketball, NBA basketball, NHL Hockey, NFL Football...I placed over 100 bets on Sunday and ended up losing around $120. I got killed on the over (+41) for the Minnesota/Philadelphia game when it ended 26-14. That one cost me $175 and the Laker game didn't do me any favors but I made up for it in the Stanford/Arizona game and a couple of exactas at Santa Anita.

After we finally staggered out of the sportsbook, David wanted to go back over and check out the Bellagio so we headed across the street and strolled into the poker room. He asked if I was going to play some poker and I didn't really plan on it but I had always wanted to play at the Bellagio so I threw my name on the $1/$2 NL list. I got a seat around 10:30 and didn't really have a plan as to how long I was going to play. The table ended up being great and I played one of my best live sessions in a long time. I played all night until the game started to break and we were down to 3-handed. We played a few more hands 3-handed and I ended my session up at $826 after starting with a $200 stack. I ran back to Bally's trying to get out of the 29-degree weather as fast as possible. I hit the pillow at around 4:30 and ended up getting up around 9:00 and heading straight to the airport for the return trip.
--------------------------
I have three (3) main goals for 2009 (not resolutions):

-Read more books
-Stick to my diet and workout routine
-Avoid procastination and time-wasting at work

Easy goals...nothing special...but they will help me tighten the screws in my life this year.
--------------------------
I have my poker stats for 2008 and, to be honest, they're pretty embarrasing. It was my worst year in four years and I basically turned poker from a second income to a hobby in 2008. Here's hoping I can rekindle some of the magic in 2009.

2008 Poker Statistics

Overall winnings- $1,843
Online winnings- $10,378
Live winnings- (-$8,535) <----this included a $10,000 entry to the WSOP Main Event
Biggest online cash- $7,730 (Full Tilt)
Biggest live cash- $3,850 (WSOP $2k event)
Online MTT ROI%- 34%
I played in 641 online MTT's...I won 19 satellites on Full Tilt for seats $216 or above...I made 15 final tables in big MTT's and only won 2 tournaments.
-------------------------------
I'm currently finishing up Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It is the third book I've read from Gladwell and it is clearly his best. I highly recommend it.

I'm pumped for another great NFL weekend and I'm excited to see what rabbit the Chargers can pull out of their hat this week. L.T. is done...Merriman has been done...WR Vincent Jackson got arrested for DUI last night...There aren't many things going their way except two big players: Darren Sproles and Mike Scifres. GO BOLTS!!!

I'm heading to San Francisco Sunday night so maybe I can get some good online volume in and maybe start the year off on a positive note.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Holiday Update

2008-12-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

What kind of blogger writes a blog once a month? I guess I'll blame it on the busy holiday season but it really boils down to a combination of laziness and a less than glamorous streak of medicore poker. Christmas has passed...New Year's is about here...and life is no less busy.

The Christmas season was great for my family. The three kids (11, 9, and 5) got pretty much everything they asked for except for the laptop for the 11-year old and a cellphone for the 9-year old (We have to draw the line somewhere, don't we?). They got a new puppy ("Rudy") and I surprised the whole gang with a family vacation to Beaches Boscobel (Jamaica) in July. We recently started going to a different church after being at the same one for 35 years so it was a very uplifting and revitalized Christmas season for my wife and I.

As a diehard Chargers fan, it's been quite a last month. Put out to pasture after week 13, somehow..someway...every miracle that could happen did and they were given an opportunity to play for the AFC West title on Sunday. We had purchased ten (10) tickets to this game 2 days after the Hochuli fiasco in week 2 and, at the time, never would have thought the game wouldn't mean anything. As the season progressed, it appeared as if the game would be nothing more than a tune-up for Denver and their playoff hopes. But Dwayne Bowe (KC) fumbled an onside kick and somehow the Bills found it in their souls to fight the Broncos in Denver and there we were on Sunday fighting for the division title. My boss' family and my family went down to San Diego on Saturday and got up early Sunday morning for the tailgating scene. We had a great time tailgating (it was the first game for the kids) and the game, obviously, was incredible. Objectively, I did have an inkling that the Chargers might blow them out. Every single thing pointed towards a big win and I know in the NFL anything can happen but Qualcomm is becoming an increasingly difficult place to play late in the season.

If you refer to one of my September posts, I made a considerable amount of over/under NFL bets with various friends. I ended up taking the worst of it for around $225 which was offset by my 2nd place finish in my Church fantasy league for $275. San Diego and New England screwed me....Dallas and Miami helped me.

Poker has quickly fallen down my list of high priorities over the past month. I don't know if the continued responsibilities of home and work coupled with an overall deterioration of my game have led to my attitude but, as I was telling a friend at work today, for the first time in four years, I haven't played much poker and I really don't care. I understand that a lack of big cashes will often lead to a distaste for the game but for me, it has become really monotonous. I have been unable to put in the time necessary to allow my game to evolve over the past months. I consider myself relative dead money in MTT's now and I have no one to blame but myself. I do think the online scene has become more difficult since the UIGEA but not to the point that I should have the results I've thrown up (<----aptly put) over the past 6 months.

I continue to enjoy the poker "scene" and spend a considerable amount of time on pokerroad.com reading the forums and listening to all of the podcasts. I guess I'll never get over my affinity for the gambling/poker lifestyle. I'm sure I can rekindle my poker candle sometime in the near future but for now, I've got to make sure I don't blow my whole bankroll during my "funk." For Christmas, my boss (and close friend) bought me a book titled Talent is Over-Rated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else. I'm really looking forward to reading it because as I read the cover notes, it talked about a concept called "Deliberate Practice." It is a concept that the author writes is what separates the good from the best. Not god-given talent and not "hard work" but "Deliberate Practice." I'm hoping to gleen some nuggets of wisdom that might crossover to my poker game.

I'm heading to Vegas this weekend for a "Wild-card" party. My buddy and I planned this around 3 months ago and are looking forward to sitting around and watching football all weekend. I would have never in a million years thought the Chargers would be hosting a playoff game but I can't change the plans now. We're staying at Bally's (what can I say...free rooms!) but I'm sure I will slide over to the Bellagio throughout the weekend.

I'll end on a Mixed Martial Arts rant...I can't wait for Brock to kick Frank Mir's ass...I can't wait for Rampage to kick Rashad Evans' ass...I can't wait for BJ to kick GSP's ass...I can't wait for Chuck to kick someone's ass...Why the fuck is the DREAM New Year's card not on American TV?... I don't want Franklin or Henderson to lose their fight...Arlovski v. Fedor is going to be good.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Poker, Poker, Poker

2008-11-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

After one of my most recent posts about 17 Top-50 finishes without a final table, I was finally able to break the streak and finish 9th in the TILT $23K for around $600. Since then (and over the last six days), I have five additional Top-50 finishes including an 11th and 15th in the TILT $11.5K and a 5th place finish in the STARS $5K for around $420 last night. I'm playing as good as I ever have and if I can ever run relatively well at the end of a tournament, I know I'm going to take one or maybe more tournaments down in the near future.

Life is plugging along as the holidays approach....Soccer is ending but basketball is starting....UFC 91 tomorrow night (Go Randy!!)....The Chargers will be fighting for their season in the next three weeks. Nothing but fun and games Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I hope to report some huge poker results in the coming days. In the meantime, please check out this thread I started on http://www.pokerroad.com/:

http://www.pokerroad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2125

Let's just say that I'm a poker savante and I probably have too much time on my hands.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

CLARIFICATION

2008-11-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

For the record...I am vehemently opposed to California Proposition 8 but I see that Google Ads has put a "Yes on Prop 8" Ad on my blog. If I had the time to figure out how to get it off of there, I would. I'm kind of pissed that political ads are allowed to be placed via Google Ads. It's bush-league (excuse the pun) IMHO.

Anyways....If you live in California, Vote NO ON PROP. 8. I thought we had cleared every civil rights hurdle but some people want to take us back to the 50's and 60's.

W2D

Mediocrity at its Finest!

2008-10-31T11:18:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, I racked up my 17th Top-50 finish in an MTT with more than 400 entrants since my last final table (6/18/2008). 17!!!!!!!!!!! That is 17 times I've put myself in the position to either play good or get lucky and 17 times that I've failed. My end game is worse than the Chargers.

Please, oh please Poker Gods....just once let me run like Barry Sanders at the end of a tournament. PLEASE!!!!!!

Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

2008-10-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

Very nice...On Monday, I blog about the Chargers and how Ted Cottrell should GTFO if he can't think of any new defensive schemes. On Tuesday, they FIRE HIM!!!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

What else should I ask for?

Caesar's Poker Classic/WPT Festa Al Lago

2008-10-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

I just got home from an eventful weekend in Las Vegas. It started wonderfully by my wife and I losing $1700 in the first 5 hours we were there. That dampered my spirits a tad but I've been there and done that as far as ups and downs in Vegas so I wasn't sweating it too much. We made reservations for YellowTail, the sushi bar at the Bellagio, and I headed over there about 2 hours early (by myself) so I could rail the final two tables of the WPT Festa Al Lago going on in the Fontana Lounge. I've railed many tourneys there and I love it every chance I get. I was especially pumped this time because my favorite pro, Joe "Seebs" Sebok, was still alive and big-stacked. I was able to represent with "PokerRoad" gear (see picture) and got to meet B.J. Nemeth, Ali Nejad, Shronk, and the rest of the PokerRoad gang. I'm 37 years old but still get a little giddy when I see the guys that I follow so closely on the website and the podcasts. Sebok was able to finish strong with 12 players remaining and looked to be in good position for Saturday's run to the TV final table.

On Saturday, my wife and I slept in until around 9:30 which marked the first time I've slept in past 7:00 since my trip to Jamaica. I have refereed soccer games at 8:00 every Saturday morning for the last two months and I go to church at 8:15 every Sunday morning so you have NO idea what it feels like to sleep in just ONE day. :):):) I headed over to Caesar's where I registered for the $550 buy-in Caesar's Poker Classic. I sat down at my table and saw a few different pros in the field such as Bryan "Devo" Devonshire, Barry Shulman, Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, and Men "The Master" Nguyen. My table seemed relatively weak and I was able to chip up through the first level and a half from $5,000 to approx. $7,500. I got my foot stuck on the gas pedal, though, and a couple of guys either check-raised me or took pots from me in position and over the course of about 20 minutes, I got myself down to around $3,800 when the following hand came up:

With the blinds at $50/$100, a guy that had just come to our table with a huge stack and a "lip ring" (I'm not kidding) raised it up to $275. The previous hand he had said, "Get out of my way boys" so I pretty much gave him no credit for a hand. A guy in middle position called, the button called, and the SB called. I was in the BB and looked down at two black Kings. I felt like my table image was extremely loose and I'm sure they thought I was steaming over a fairly big hand I had just lost with two Queens. It was a great spot to make it look like a squeeze and maybe induce someone to come back over the top (careful what you wish for....). I raised to $1475 leaving me only around $2300 behind. The original raiser folded quickly but the first caller shoved and had me covered. This was the same guy I had lost to with the two queens so I figured he thought I was making a move. I really thought he had something like A-K or maybe two 10's. Ummm.....I was wrong. I obviously called with that much of my stack in there and he showed me two Aces. That was that.....

I enjoyed being able to represent PokerRoad with the hoodie and hat (see picture) but I was especially proud to wear a fallenheroesla.org patch for everyone to see. I recently met LASD Deputy Scott Diamond on the PokerRoad forums and have talked with him a lot about the Charity he started for the families of police officers killed in the line of duty. This is obviously a cause that I hold dear to my heart and it was a pleasure to represent his noble cause in the Caesar's poker room. (http://www.fallenheroesla.org/)

After busting out so quickly, I headed back over to the Bellagio to find the final 12 of the Festa Al Lago playing in the Bellagio Poker Room. It was a horrible place to hold such a big tournament (the noise from the Sportsbook was ridiculous) but it provided me a great spot to stand literally 4 feet from Joe Sebok and Michael DiMichelle. I was able to sweat both of them for around two hours and got to talk to Seebs at one of the breaks. He appreciated my support and liked the fact that I was wearing the PokerRoad stuff. He looked to be in real control of his game and I ended up leaving when they broke it down to one 10-handed final table. At one point, Seebs was the chip leader at that table but, alas, he lost a big coinflip A-K v. 7-7 and eventually was eliminated in 9th place. I've been spending a lot of time on the PokerRoad forums and he had quite a support base there. We were all pretty heartbroken that he didn't make the TV final table.

I eventually left the Bellagio, went back to NYNY, and played Pai Gow and drank myself under the table for around 5 hours straight. My wife and I continued our horrific run of cards and added to the weekend deficit. We had a great dinner at Gallagher's Steak House before calling it an early evening due to excessive alcohol consumption.

As we got ready to drive home today, my wife wanted to play one more hour of Pai Gow while our friends got ready to leave. I was against it but eventually obliged and we went and grabbed a couple of seats. What a DAMN good decision that was....we ran like two Jamaican sprinters for around an hour and literally couldn't lose a hand. We made around $700 in that final session which definitely dampered the pain of the other weekend losses. We eventually got on the road just in time to listen to the Chargers game....yeah, you heard me....THE F$%&KING CHARGERS GAME!!!

To quote Dennis Miller..."I don't want to go on a rant, here". This has been the most frustrating season I've ever experienced as a fan of any team. The Chargers lost their fourth heartbreak game of the year (and fifth overall) today and it was mind-numbing to listen to. Vincent Jackson has long been touted as having tons of potential but I can tell you that I don't think Jerry Rice or Marvin Harrison have ever dropped a ball like he did today. 14 PENALTIES???? Give me a break....I put that squarely on Norv Turner's shoulders. And let's not even start with the defense. They had ZERO SACKS IN OCTOBER. Are you kidding me? Ted Cottrell-What the hell are you doing? GTFO if you can't come up with a scheme in the NFL that puts some pressure on the quarterback. OIU h'oihd'aosifc ha'iodc hfa'oihdg'aviohgf'ihgf'knv'c ..........

Okay...I'm done. Needless to say, I'm very frustrated with their season.

Overall, it was another great weekend in Vegas. I forget sometimes the charge I get from playing live, big buy-in tournament poker. It really is fun and you have to make sure you remind yourself that while you're playing because if you only have fun when you do well, more often than not, you're going to hate it.

I've played 12,600 hands of $.50/$1 NL the last 45 days and have won at a clip of 6.42BB/100. I don't know for sure but I think that's somewhere between okay and average. Anyways, I should be putting in a lot of hours the next two weeks so maybe I can report back with a big score (or two).

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Ship the First Prop Bet!

2008-10-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

On July 23rd, Rubba and I made a series of prop bets that were discussed in detail on this blog as well as his. We had said the contest would last until the end of November. Shortly after making those bets, we both had busy times in our personal lives that severely cut into our time at the tables. I honestly haven't been thinking too much about them because several of them involve heavy volume which I haven't been able to commit to lately but last night...I continued a huge run I've had at $.50/$1 NL the past ten days. I've been 4-tabling at this level for about three weeks. I have played approx. 11,000 hands at a win rate of only 6.9/100BB but with rakeback, it's helped me add over $1K to my roll the last few weeks.

At one table last night (see picture), I was finally able to WIN A PROP BET!! I went on a sick heater which included a $280 pot with 10-9 on a 10-9-3 flop (vs. 3-3 and A-A). River.....obv 9. :):):) I was able to win Prop Bet #4 of the Willing2Die division "Be up at least five (5) buy-in's at a cash table (min. stakes $.50/$1 NL)."

I've been a tourney donk for over four years but I'm having so much fun playing cash tables that I've foregone a lot of tournaments lately. I'm going to make a huge push towards some of the other prop bets we have so I can close this deal :):):). I also won a $216 seat to the FTP $750K guar. so if I could somehow win four more seats by Sunday, I could ship another of the prop bets. We'll see....

Can the Chargers please beat the damn PATRIOTS one time??!!??!!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

It's only been 25 days...

2008-09-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Man....time flies by when you're having, well, ummm......Okay, I've been having fun. September is always a busy month as school starts up for the kids and my wife goes back to work in the classroom. My youngest son started kindergarten and my daughter started Middle School so it was kind of a "special" year for us this year. Soccer is in full swing so my Saturdays consist of refereeing 2 games, watching 2 games, and coaching one more. I'm usually whooped when I get home around 2:00 each Saturday afternoon. I've got so many random thoughts right now that I seem to do best when I bullet-point them. Here it goes:

Football
God, I love football. I'm in 3 Fantasy leagues, 2 football pools, 1 elimination pool, and I have a ton of over/under season bets (see earlier post). As much fun as I've had watching the games this year, I've gotten my a$$ handed to me in a variety of different ways this season. I'm 4-7-1 overall in my 3 Fantasy leagues...I'm in last place in an 18-member pool....I've lost all 4 weeks in a 1-on-1 pool...and I got eliminated in the first week of the elimination pool when I picked K.C. over the Raiders in Week 2. For someone that reads and studies as much about football, I utterly suck when it comes to prognosticating. In week 5, I am literally going to either have my bulldog or my 5-year old make my picks. I couldn't possibly do worse than I did last week. I'm staring at a 4-digit loss in football wagers this season if I don't get my act together.

I was able to lasso some 15-yard line tickets to the MNF Chargers v. Jets game last Monday. It was a great game and I always love Qualcomm on gameday. I'm taking the whole family to the Dec. 28th Chargers/Broncos game along with my Boss' family. We're going to spend the weekend down there and tailgate before the game. I've never taken my kids to a Charger game so I'm pretty pumped about that.

Poker
It's been an interesting month for me as I've played quite a bit of poker on FullTilt. I took 12th in the $11.5K on Saturday night when I really thought I was finally going to take one down. I found myself thinking about the $3,500 first prize with about 3 tables left but, alas, I misplayed one hand which really cost me in the end. I went deep in the $28K last night and once again misplayed one hand. It's frustrating how hours of solid play can be ondone by just one hand. I've really been addressing some glaring leaks in my mid-tourney game and I'm starting to see some results so I'm hoping I can hit a big score in the near future. I'm currently reading the Rizen/Ape/PJ book on tournament poker and I like it so far. I always hope to at least pick up one or two tidbits from each book I read.

I have played approx. 9,000 hands of $.50/$1 NL on FullTilt in the last month and am only winning at a rate of approx. 4BB/100. This is pretty mediocre but my rakeback helps a little and I'm trying to fill some leaks in my cashgame as well so I'm hoping I can grind a little more before moving back up to $1/$2.

I'm going to Vegas Oct. 24-26th and Nov. 14-17th. In October, I'll be staying at NY/NY and I'll be playing the $550 event on Saturday at the Caesar's Palace Classic. The last time I played a live MTT at Casesar's I won it so let's hope I go 2-for-2.

Life
All through my 20's and until I was around 35, I lived my life in a completely different manner than I do now. I was an avid saver/investor of our money and never really did anything real exciting in my life. Not that we lived a boring life....but I just didn't do many "really" exciting things because I was focused on saving money and not being away from my job. From 2003-2006, I had a high-pressure, many-hours assignment at work that had me working nights, weekends, etc. and being out of town for extended periods of time. My life centered around that assignment and consequently, my relationship with my wife and my kids suffered. I got out of that assignment "just in time" and really had somewhat of an epiphany as to how I wanted to live my life. I saw many of my friends that really never did anything fun in their life and my wife and I had incomes that allowed us to do extra things in our life. Since I left that assignment, I've been to the Carribean 3 times, a Chargers game in Green Bay, Disneyworld, Las Vegas around 20 times, a Mexican cruise, and a family trip to Montana. I go to Chargers games whenever I feel like going....I went to UFC 86 at Mandalay Bay...I've been to 2 Brad Paisley concerts...and I'm hoping to be at Couture/Lesnar on November 15th.

I guess my point in bringing this up is that I see so many of my suburban friends (most of my friends have 3-5 kids) caught up in the rat race and worrying about their entire lives centering around their children. I think sometimes they forget about being adults...they forget about nurturing their marriages and doing "adult" stuff that makes the other parts of their lives more bearable. When my wife and/or I see something we want to do (Concert, trip, show), instead of thinking of a reason why we CAN'T do it, we usually think of a reason why we can. I wish more people, and more of my friends, had that same attitude about life. We're not here on this earth forever, folks. Like the old adage says....no one is going to commend you at your funeral for all those days you spent at work. HAVE SOME FUN!!!

I really hope to post some big poker results in the near future. I've put some extra time in studying and listening to numerous podcasts and I'm hoping to add a new addition to the "Biggest Scores" chart at the top of this blog.

Podcasts I Listen to Each Week
Pokerroad Radio
Big Poker Sundays (Pokerroad)
Cash Plays (Pokerroad)
All Strategy (Pokerroad)
Beatdown (Sherdog-MMA)
P.T.I. (ESPN Radio)
Poker Podcast (Two Plus Two)

Thanks for reading,

W2D

It Never Gets Old-Part 2

2008-09-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

And for tonight's episode.....I just took 19th in the TILT $11.5K after taking 21st two nights ago (see Part 1). Please tell me what to do differently:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7942214790: $11,500 KO Guarantee (60271256),
Table 4 - 1000/2000 Ante 250 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:31:51 ET - 2008/09/05
Seat 1: bigbman29 (25,994)
Seat 2: javman30 (108,294)
Seat 3: badbeatme (87,211)
Seat 5: Lez Ride (150,781)
Seat 6: HGJ18622 (23,395)
bigbman29 antes 250
javman30 antes 250
badbeatme antes 250
Lez Ride antes 250
HGJ18622 antes 250
bigbman29 posts the small blind of 1,000
javman30 posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HGJ18622 [6h Ac]
badbeatme folds
Lez Ride folds
HGJ18622 raises to 23,145, and is all in
bigbman29 raises to 25,744, and is all in
javman30 foldsbigbman29 shows [As 4s]
HGJ18622 shows [6h Ac]
Uncalled bet of 2,599 returned to bigbman29
*** FLOP *** [Qd 4h 3s]
*** TURN *** [Qd 4h 3s] [Ah]
*** RIVER *** [Qd 4h 3s Ah] [4c]
bigbman29 shows a full house, Fours full of Aces
HGJ18622 shows two pair, Aces and Fours
bigbman29 wins the pot (49,540) with a full house, Fours full of Aces

Lots of NFL side bets for 2008

2008-09-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

I have booked a ton of NFL bets for the coming season. I'm going to try my best to chronicle them on this blog so I can keep track of them. There is a good chance of a chop on many of them. For example, in the "Q" bets below, if the Jets win 8 games, I push. If Notre Dame wins 6 games, I push. Here they are (so far):

"Q"
$50 N.Y. Jets 7 wins or less
$50 Notre Dame 7 wins or more
$25 Philadelphia Eagles 7 wins or less
$25 Green Bay Packers 11 wins or more
$25 San Diego Chargers 13 wins or more
$25 Dallas Cowboys 10 wins or less
$25 Miami Dolphins 3 wins or less
$25 U.C.L.A. 9 wins or more

"A"
$25 Philadelphia Eagles 7 wins or less
$25 New England Patriots 11 wins or less
$25 Green Bay Packers 11 wins or more
$25 San Diego Chargers 13 wins or more
$25 Dallas Cowboys 10 wins or less
$25 Miami Dolphins 5 wins or more
$25 U.C.L.A. 9 wins or more

"S"
$20 Oakland Raiders 8 wins or more
$20 New England Patriots 13 wins or more
$20 Philadelphia Eagles 9 wins or more
$20 Green Bay Packers 11 wins or more
$20 San Diego Chargers 13 wins or more
$20 Dallas Cowboys 10 wins or less
$20 Miami Dolphins 5 wins or more
$20 U.C.L.A. 9 wins or more

"D"
$25 Oakland Raiders 6 wins or less
$25 Philadelphia Eagles 7 wins or less
$25 New England Patriots 11 wins or less
$25 Green Bay Packers 11 wins or more
$50 San Diego Chargers 13 wins or more
$25 Dallas Cowboys 10 wins or less
$25 Miam Dolphins 5 wins or more
$25 U.C.L.A. 9 wins or more

It Never Gets Old-Part 1

2008-09-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

Just took 21st in the Full Tilt $11.5K. For the third time in the last week, I was within the last 4 tables and got it in with pair over pair pre-flop....I've got to figure out something different. 80% favorites just don't work for me. WTF!!!!!!!

Full Tilt Poker Game #7914952863: $11,500 KO Guarantee (60061375), Table 62 - 1000/2000 Ante 250 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:38:08 ET - 2008/09/03
Seat 1: longballjy (186,815)
Seat 2: HGJ18622 (17,159)
Seat 3: luckycatch1 (49,469)
Seat 5: FloppedTheNuts (38,428)
Seat 6: Dobbsey (88,348)
longballjy antes 250
HGJ18622 antes 250
luckycatch1 antes 250
FloppedTheNuts antes 250
Dobbsey antes 250
FloppedTheNuts posts the small blind of 1,000
Dobbsey posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to HGJ18622 [Qs Qh]
longballjy folds
HGJ18622 raises to 16,909, and is all in
luckycatch1 folds
FloppedTheNuts has 15 seconds left to act
FloppedTheNuts raises to 38,178, and is all in
Dobbsey foldsFloppedTheNuts shows [3d 3s]
HGJ18622 shows [Qs Qh]
Uncalled bet of 21,269 returned to FloppedTheNuts
*** FLOP *** [4c Ah Kh]
*** TURN *** [4c Ah Kh] [6s]
*** RIVER *** [4c Ah Kh 6s] [3c]
FloppedTheNuts shows three of a kind, Threes
HGJ18622 shows a pair of Queens
FloppedTheNuts wins the pot (37,068) with three of a kind,
ThreesHGJ18622 stands up

Dog Days of August

2008-08-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog a few months back, I hoped to display the perspective of an everyday working guy with kids and a wife and his pursuit of glory in the poker world. Over time, I have resorted to simply telling you about bad beats, tourney results, and the occasional anecdote about prop bets or Vegas trips. The last week has shook me back into reality and has so harshly reminded me why my quest to elevate my poker game always seems to be an uphill battle.

My wife and oldest daughter were out of town for the weekend so I was home alone with my two boys. They had both fallen asleep watching a movie on the couch and I was playing in three different MTT's around 9:30 in the evening. My work phone rang and it was my boss telling me that we had just had an officer-involved shooting at work. As the Commander of the Internal Affairs Unit, I have to respond to every OIS. But here I was.....stuck at home with my two boys and no one to watch them. I abandoned the three MTT's (so much for those buy-in's) and quickly called a good friend of mine who allowed me to drop my two boys off at his house for the night. I knew it was going to be a long night as any call-out is usually a 5-hour minimum.

When I got to work, I found out that our SWAT officers had attempted to stop a murder suspect (the guy had shot and killed an innocent man outside a bank) and the suspect jumped out of his vehicle and opened fire on the officers. A fairly hellacious gunbattle ensued with no one getting injured before the suspect was actually able to escape. The investigation took most of the night and I ended up getting home around 6:00 in the morning. As I was driving home (and weaving from one side of the road to the other), I was thinking to myself that I'm pretty sure most of the online pros that I seem to "envy" don't have these sorts of things happen to them when they're in the middle of MTT's. It was a real splash to the face....again realizing that I probably have too many things going on in my life to really make an impact in the poker world. I can't really expect myself to be analyzing hands and thinking poker strategy 24 hours a day when I have friends and co-workers being shot at and I'm in charge of the investigations. (sigh)

Since I had to skip an entire night of sleep, I've been pretty much of a basket case ever since which has again reduced my ability to play late night MTT's. I've shown some very uncharacteristic restraint in NOT playing poker the last few nights when I've been tired. In the past, I've played anyways and gotten so tired that I've found myself hoping I would bust so I could go to bed. Yesterday was the first day of school and my youngest boy started kindergarten so it was a pretty big day in our house. With school starting, my weekly schedule looks something like this:

Coaching soccer 6:30-7:30 on Mon-Wed.
Getting home from work every other night at 7:00.
Attend, coach, or referee 5 soccer games every Saturday.
Make lunches for 3 kids every night.
Workout with a personal trainer 3 times a week.

Where exactly am I supposed to fit in the volume necessary to either make a steady flow of income from poker or actually win some of the prop bets I have with RUBBA? I still hold out hopes of making big scores in the poker arena but it is becoming harder and harder with my schedule. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like If I was 15 years younger and in college during the boom of online poker. I would probably be very well-known or broke without a degree. Take your pick!!

For the record, I came the closest yet to picking up one of the prop bets with RUBBA. I ran a $.50/$1.00 NL cash game on Full Tilt up to $419 before falling short. One of the bets is to have 5 buy-in's at a table and I almost made it. The forecast is not too good over the next couple of weeks for a lot of online play but I will do my best. I hope that it will make me focus just a little more knowing that I don't have the luxury of playing ten tournaments a day.

I'll keep you updated...Thanks for reading.

W2D

Update

2008-08-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

For the record, I didn't quit. Shocker.....I've had a 47th, 46th, 23rd, and 20th place finish in MTT"s with at least a $4,500 first prize in the last 7 days. I may be coming to the conclusion that I am...well.....ordinary. :):)

W2D

EDIT: I just finished 17th in the TILT $17K running K-K all-in pre-flop into 5-5. Board...Q-2-3-4-6. Like the mule that I am, I'll just keep running my head into this wall until the wall crumbles or I go unconscious.

I quit!

2008-08-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

I made the 3rd hour of nine MTT's in the last 6 days and have cashed in 3 out of 9. I am running as bad as it gets....the following hand happens to me every single tournament in the 3rd or 4th hour. My coping ability has come to an end. I feel adrift at sea...

Full Tilt Poker Game #7598105304: $32,000 Guarantee (57063392), Table 36 - 400/800 Ante 100 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:37:59 ET - 2008/08/10
Seat 1: SweetLuh (13,143)
Seat 2: beleivedat (40,186)
Seat 3: mcclain21 (35,217)
Seat 4: ATrain16 (18,110)
Seat 5: njrepp (56,176)
Seat 6: JoNova (10,110)
Seat 7: Sweendog24 (8,975)
Seat 8: Burbur111 (11,120)
Seat 9: HGJ18622 (18,782)
SweetLuh antes 100
***Dealt to HGJ18622 [Jc Jh]
ATrain16 foldsnjrepp folds
JoNova folds
Sweendog24 raises to 8,875, and is all in
Burbur111 folds
HGJ18622 raises to 18,682, and is all in
SweetLuh folds
beleivedat folds
mcclain21 folds
HGJ18622 shows [Jc Jh]
Sweendog24 shows [7d 6d]
Uncalled bet of 9,807 returned to HGJ18622
*** FLOP *** [3s Th 7h]
*** TURN *** [3s Th 7h] [6s]
*** RIVER *** [3s Th 7h 6s] [8h]
HGJ18622 shows a pair of Jacks
Sweendog24 shows two pair, Sevens and Sixes
Sweendog24 wins the pot (19,850) with two pair, Sevens and Sixes

Who needs the bullshit....

W2D

FTOPS Update

2008-08-06T20:47:00.001-07:00

I went deep in the TILT $17K last night (20th out of 951 entrants) so I thought maybe things would continue tonight in FTOPS Event #1. Unfortunately, I was at work late so I actually had to play while driving home (30-minute drive). I don't know if anyone has ever played on their laptop WHILE driving but it sucks. I picked up A-A in the BB and a limper ended up flopping a set of 7's on me for half my stack. I was pretty much short for the next 2 1/2 hours and played a short stack pretty well but ended up running A-J into A-A to cripple me then ran 6-6 into A-A to finish the job....

I probably won't play another FTOPS event until Sunday's $300 event.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Quick Update...

2008-08-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

I returned from Jamaica on Friday and am now back at my dungeon I call work. Man....I could really live in Jamaica. I mean...if I didn't have kids, responsibilities, etc., etc.

I came back ready to smash the online scene but Saturday night was "one of those nights" as I was only able to play two MTT's. I got it all-in with K-K v. A-K and Q-J on a K-10-5 board. Yeah, no good (river Ace). I then got it all-in in the other one with K-K v. A-K. Yeah, no good (runner-runner straight). I did win an FTOPS seat so that eased the pain. I will really start ramping up the MTT volume over the next couple of days.

After over four years of playing online, I finally purchased Pokertracker 3 on Saturday. It has taken me a little bit to get it set up and situated but I have already seen improvements and enjoy the HUD feature which gives me added input when I'm multi-tabling. I'm looking forward to see if it improves my results.

Besides the tons of bets with Rubba this month (see previous post), I've got various other things brewing:

$50...I've got Notre Dame for 7 wins or more this year. 6 wins, I push. 5 wins or less I lose.
$50...I've got N.Y. Jets for 8 wins or less this year. 9 wins, I push. 10 wins or more I lose.
$20...I win if Brett Favre is the GB starter in week 1. I lose if Aaron Rodgers is the GB starter in week 1 (I'm fucked on this one).
I also opened my big mouth the third week of June and told a close buddy of mine (huge GB fan) that if Favre ever played another down with the Packers, I'd go to a game with him this year at Lambeau (we went last year). As it stands today, it looks like I'm safe on this one. That would have been a $1,500 loss.

I'm looking to pile up a ton of NFL prop bets this year as I feel I can take the best of it against most of my friends. Very few of them know what the hell they're talking about.

Anyways, FTOPS starts tomorrow. I'm hoping to play event #1 at 1800 hrs. Weeeeeeeeeeeee

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Prop Bets FTW!!!!

2008-07-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

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:

Each person would pick five prop bets
The bets would be divided into two divisons of five (Rubba/W2D)
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

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

Willing2Die Division

Build your http://www.pocketfives.com/ PLB score to over 2,000.
Win five (5) TILT $750K or STARS Million seats in one week.
Win an online MTT with at least a $100 buy-in. (Min. 100+ players)
Be up at least five (5) buy-in's at a cash table (min. stakes $.50/$1 NL)
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

The Dog Days of July/August

2008-07-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

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

WSOP Main Event....One for the Ages

2008-07-07T00:42:00.001-07:00

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."

2008 World Series of Poker Main Event

2008-07-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

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

Craps Heater!

2008-06-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

After busting out, we drove over to the MGM to see some friends and while they played $1/$2 in the poker room, I ventured over to the dice table. Eight hours later (Yes, 8! At the exact same spot), I stumbled away up $4K and about 15 Bud Lights down. It was the sickest run I'd ever seen as the table could simply not lose for several hours in a row.

So....overall it was a good weekend. Bring on the Main Event!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

DAy 2 of the WSOP $2K

2008-06-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

Don't blink....this is going to be quick. I lasted eactly two hands today.

First hand I'm UTG+1. UTG open-shoves all-in and I have K-6. Can't call....

Second hand I'm UTG and there is no way I want to eat a BB with my stack at these levels. I look down at 6s-5s which I actually like as a shoving hand as it plays well to the range of hands that people will call with. The button wakes up with A-K, I brick off, and I'm out 198th. That sucks!!!!

I don't mean to get philosophical on you but this was really rather frustrating. I have made a 5-year career out of some nice cashes and a steady flow of secondary income for my family but when do I hit the big one? When do I stop settling for these 4-figure cashes and rise to a different level and the 6-figure cashes. I know that cashing in 3 of 6 WSOP tournaments played is pretty good and having a 50% ITM rate in big field events is something to be proud of but really.....when do I take it to the next level? I sure would have loved to have had some chips today to see what I could have done. I truly believe, in my soul, that I can win one of these tournaments. My time is coming......

Thanks for reading my updates...I'll be back next weekend for the Main Event (Day 1D July 6th) so I'll be doing the same updates then. Maybe that's the one...Maybe the main event is the time that I reach what I think is my destiny of sort...we'll see.

Now let's hope I can survive the next 24 hours in Las Vegas and stay away from the pit. Breakfast cost me $125 this morning....well breakfast cost $25 and I spent the 15-minute wait for our table at the roulette table so you see what I'm getting at :):).

Last thing....special shout out to my wife. What other woman let's their husband travel endlessly to follow his dreams. She is the greatest thing that has ever or will ever happen to me and for that I'm truly blessed. Let's face it....she's the NUTS.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

On to Day 2...In the Money $$$

2008-06-28T02:52:00.000-07:00

Well....let's get to first things first. I made the money and Day 2 of the $2K event. I will earn a minimum of $3,800. That's the good news. The bad news....I have no chips. This was simply the most incredible, fun, roller coaster, unbelievable last 4 1/2 levels of poker I've ever played. I will do my best to recount the action as I was involved in a ton of hands and I did my best to remember them.

Level 7 (300/600)- Keep in mind this hand is the FIRST HAND AFTER THE DINNER BREAK....Middle position raises and guy to his left flat calls. I re-raise with K-K from the SB and original raiser ships with 9-9. I call and flop comes 8-3-5. Turn obv 9 and I ship about $7K to him. Grrrrrrrr. Within 15 minutes of that hand, I win 3 big pots to get up to $50,000.

Same guy limps, short stack shoves for about $5,000, I call with 10-10 from the SB and original limper folds. Shorty has J-8 and board bricks so I send another victim to the shower. A short while later, random Asian raises from late position and I call from the BB with 7-7. Flop comes 9-8-4 and I lead for $3,000...he folds. Next hand, EP raises, I call with Ah-4h on the button but SB and BB call. Flop comes 10h-7h-7c. Original raiser leads out for $5,000 and I flat call in position (other 2 fold). Turn comes another 10 (perfect card in my book). He checks, I bet $7,000 and he folds. Short time later, same random Asian raises from middle position, I 3-bet with A-K on the button, he folds. A little later, I raise from late position with 9-9, shorty ships with A-K, I call. Flop is benign but turn-Ace and river-King seals the deal.

Level 8 (400/800)- I raise with A-Q from late position. Shorty in BB shoves and I have to call. He has Q-Q and I brick (that's 3 players I've doubled up since the dinner break). I get switched to a new table where I'm sitting 2 to the right of the earlier guy that I had doubled up when he had top set of queens. On the last hand before the break (that's the key....I suck balls at the last hands before the break), THAT guy raises from EP and I decide to call in the BB with K-10. Flop K-Q-J. He leads 800 into a 4,000 pot (wierd ass bet). I call. turn Jack. Now he leads $2,400. I call (what am I beating here...wtf am I doing?). River is an offsuit deuce and now I stick my head up my ass and lead at him with one of these stupid ass blocking bets for $4,500. He min-raises me to $9,000. WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING? There is now over $20,000 in the pot and I need to call $4,500. WHAT AM I BEATING HERE? The answer is nothing but I call anyways and he shows me A-10 for the flopped joint. So.....I go to the last break with $32,500 instead of $47,000. I was majorly pissed.

End of Level 8- $32,500

I come back from the break to play the last 2 levels. We are getting down to 250-300 players and the play is getting pretty tough. I've got a great table as far as people to play with. Everybody liked each other....there were a lot of sick beats and no one was getting pissed. It was truly the funnest time I've ever had playing poker. So....Big stack who I thought was getting a little fed up with me raises to $3,000 at $500/$1000 level from early position. I've got Q-Q on the button and I thought about just calling but I thought he might 4-bet me light and I would catch him slipping. I raised to $9,000. Now....the SAME FUCKING GUY who had top set of queens and A-10 for the flopped joint shoves all-in from the BB. The original raiser folds and now I'm totally screwed. I do the math and it's simple......The pot has $45,000 in it and it's $20,000 to call. Please tell me how I fold Q-Q there. I was pretty sure my Q-Q was behind but really...how do I fold Q-Q getting over 2-1 on my money? I call, he has K-K, board bricks, I'm crippled to $7,000 in the $500/$1,000 level. This guy owned my soul like it was nobody's business. Funny thing was....he was a really great guy that was genuinely crushed that he had to SCREW ME IN THE POOOPER 3 times in one tournament.

I was crippled but then a funny thing happened....I decided to fight! Helped by some big hands, I shoved 4 times without getting called and ran my $7,000 up to $16,000. From there on, I fought, clawed, scratched, kicked, and basically played the most disciplined and patient poker I'd ever played. I shoved several more times without getting called and was able to stay afloat as we approached the bubble. I genuinely did not care about the bubble and was more than willing to get my chips in there but I was never dealt a hand when we were close to the bubble that I could go with. One time...when I had around $20,000, I raised to $3,600 with 9-9 and the SAME FUCKING GUY shoved all-in. I thought to myself...are you kidding me? This guy is pwning me so hard...I laid it down and he showed me two Kings. This guy should get the keys to my house because he apparently owns everything about me.

We got down to the money bubble, I held on for dear life and made the money (top 198) with only $10,600 chips. The blinds will be $800/$1,600 when we return at 2:00 tomorrow so it will be a short day if I don't double up on my first hand I play. But....I'm not ashamed or dissapointed with limping into the money. Many people, including me in the past, would have just shoved lightly after being crippled with the Q-Q. Instead, I fought hard and picked my spots and you never know what might happen if I double up once or twice tomorrow.

So.....what do you do after making the money and playing 13 hours of poker all day???? Well, you go play pai-gow poker at $50 a hand at 2:00 in the morning. Then....you run like god, go up $1,000 in 30 minutes, start playing $500 a hand for about 30 minutes and eventually walk away after two hours losing only $300. Rubba------that Degen moment was for you!!!

So.....it might be a quick day tomorrow or....maybe not. Maybe, just maybe, I fight and claw tomorrow as well and you never know what might happen.

Stay tuned for Day 2 action tomorrow...

Thanks for reading,

W2D

WSOP Event #48 $2,000 NLHE

2008-06-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'm seated at Amazon Blue Table #29, Seat #6. Start time is 1200 hrs. I will update whenever I can. The thought process for the day is position, focus, and discipline. I don't give a $*&% if I go out in the first level as long as I play solid. Let's do this thing...

10:40 a.m. Just got ready for the tournament by losing another $250 online at $1/$2 NL. I have more leaks than a Swedish fjord....

7:15 p.m. Okay....here we go.

1st level (25/50)- UTG+1 limps, I raise to 250 from MP with Q-Q, SB calls and limper calls. Flop 5-4-2. I bet 350 and both call. Turn-Jc putting 2 clubs. I bet 600 and original limper calls. River-Jh, check-check. He has 3-3. I win

I limp in SB with Q-J, 4-way pot. Flop Q-8-2 with 2 hearts. I bet 175 and BB calls. Turn 6d. I check-call 250. River is Kh...I lead out with some sort of a blocking bet of 400 and he quickly calls with K-Q. Basically a horribly played hand on my part.

2nd level (50/100)- UTG+1 limps, guy next to him raises to 300, I look down at A-A on the button and raise to 900. Raiser calls. Flop A-7-4 rainbow (fairly good flop I'd say!). I wouldn't normally slowplay any hand but this is a rare occasion that no turn card could be a scare card. I check behind on the flop and the turn is the 10d putting 2 diamonds out. he checks, I weak lead 900, he shoves, I call with top set and he mucks his hand and walks away to go get a beer.

I raise UTG+1 with A-K, BB calls, flop is K-8-2 rainbow. I lead for 400 and he calls. turn is the 8. check-check (for pot control or so I tell myself). river is a 9. I bet 500 and he calls and mucks.

Middle position raises to 300 and I call in position with 7c-5c, SB and BB also call. Flop is Qc-8c-5d. Let's just say I'm too stupid to ever fold a pair and a flush draw. I get it all in against Q-Q (top set) and lose half my stack.

1st BREAK-$5,475

3rd level (100/200)- Here is the worst played hand in history. Aggro Asian opens for 600 from the cutoff and I have Ac-Qc in the BB. I should have 3-bet him but instead choose to just call (WEAK). Flop comes Kc-9c-5d. I check (WEAK) and he leads for 400 and I just call (WEAK). turn is a brick and we check-check (WEAK). River is a Queen and like a dumbass I call his bet of 500 (WEAK). He had K-2. Well played, Eric.

TABLE SWITCH to other side of the room. Kathy Liebert is at the table. This is a much weaker table. Early on, I raise UTG to 700 with A-K and guy on my direct left shoves for 3300. I call and he has 7-7. Flop K-J-10 and that was all she wrote. Another victim sent to the showers.

3 guys limp and I limp in the SB with 10-8. Flop Q-8-8 (farely good). I check acting first and a guy bets 500. I smooth call and turn is a 9 putting two diamonds. I check-call a bet of 1000. The river is probably the best card in the deck, the 10-diamonds making my full house and putting a flush and 4-liner straight on the board. I acted a little hastily here and thought that he really couldn't call much so I elected to check to see if I could get him to bluff at the pot. Unfortunately, he checked behind and I won a nice pot but I think it could have been more.

2nd BREAK- $11,250

5th level (150/300/25) I raise to 900 from MP with As-Qs and BB ships for $5,000. This one took a lot of time and I must have tanked for a good 4 minutes. My deciding factor was that I would have at least 18BB left if I lost the hand so I called and he turned over J-J. Flop A-K-5. It then went runner-runner spades to make the unnecessary nuts. Another victim to the shower.

6th level (200/400/50) I raise from the CO to 1100 with Jd-10h and the BB (good player) re-raises to 2800 making it only 1700 more to call. This was one of my only "gambles" all day so I called since I had position. The flop came 10-8h-4h. He checks (bad move...you'll see) and I check behind. Turn is the 7h. I now have top pair, flush draw, and gutterball draw. He leads for 4500, I ship for about 14000 and he calls with K-K. I have 17 outs and the beautiful Ace of hearts hits the river and I win a GINORMOUS pot. Another victim sent to the showers.

TABLE SWITCH to across the room. I now have about $32,000 as I switch to this table. Tough table, lots of good players. I get blinded down a bit before raising with 7-4 offsuit from the cutoff to 1200. The button re-raises me to 3000 and I inexplicably call out of position (I have no explanation other than I put him on a big hand and thought if I flopped hard I could win a monster). The flop comes K-10-4 rainbow. I check and he bets 4500. I swear to God, I thought he looked weak. I thought he might have A-J or A-Q and was just C-betting with a straight draw. I actually thought about it for quite awhile and even considered shipping but I folded. The guy shows me 8-5!!!!!! Yes, 8-5! Oh well...if you're never getting bluffed, you're not playing good.

The dinner break was fast approaching and a guy at the other side of the table was raising a lot of hands. I decided I had enough chips that I wanted to 3-bet him one time to see if I could slow him down after dinner. He opened for 1250 from early position and an older tight-weak guy flat called him from his immediate left. I decided to re-raise to 4500 with the old Qs-8s. The original raiser fiddled with his chips for a long time and I actually thought he might 4-bet me but he just called (I didn't want that...for the record). Old guy folded and the flop came 7-4-2 rainbow. No use stopping now!!!! He checked and I led for $6,500. He folded rather quickly and I took down a nice pot as the dinner break had already started.

End of LEVEL 6- $33,800

The average stack is $14,500 and they list the chip leader at $70,000 but my stack is definitely Top 50 for sure. 4 more levels to go. I'm feeling good, calm, confident so we'll see what happens. Position and aggression. LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!!

VEGAS......finally

2008-06-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since my last blog post. I won't bore you with the details but I did get in a pretty bad ATV accident while on vacation in Montana. The following things do not make a good combination: Lots and lots of trees, a severe lack of motorcycle-driving instinct, my 11-year old daughter onboard, and NO HELMETS!!! My daughter escaped with a just a sore ankle but I messed up both wrists and my hip so I've been kind of a basketcase lately. But.....that's not what we're here for.

VEGAS, BABY!!!! The trip started out with my flight being the only one out of 30 flights on the screen that was delayed so that allowed me to play an extra long session of $1/$2 NL on Full Tilt. Sigh....that was a $250 stay in the airport. As soon as I arrived in Vegas, two co-workers called me and said they were about to play in the 7:00 tourney at the MGM. I re-routed my taxi from the RIO to the MGM and got there 5 minutes after the tournament had started. One of them had already busted out on the third hand. I told him that 9-9 is never good on a 9-8-7 flop (I'll give you one guess what the other guy had). So....I stuffed my luggage in the MGM bell desk (telling them that I'm a hotel guest there) and jumped into a $1/$2 NL game. I played for about 90 minutes and managed to stack off when I 3-barrelled my boss who was at the table and he called my shove on the river (I had zilch sfobv). As soon as he called, I threw my cards in the muck and said "F&*k you!" The others at the table were surpised until I told them that he was my boss and I stacked off to the only guy at the table that I know I can win it back from. They all got a chuckle out of that.

I went and grabbed my stuff from the bell desk and trekked on over to the RIO. I had no idea I was a "Gold" member now at Harrah's properties but I guess all that means is you've wasted a lot of $$ at their casinos. I have to admit that the room I'm in is probably the nicest "standard" room I've ever stayed in. I'm really impressed.

I'm going to head down and watch some of the $50K HORSE and $5K 6-max as those are always fun tourneys to rail. I'm in IT 628 if anyone is in Vegas and reading this and wants to look me up to get a beer. I'll be playing the $2K tomorrow and possible the Venetian $500 on Saturday if I don't make Day 2 of tomorrow's event. You can usually find me with my green "Always Lucky" hat on.

I intend to update this quite frequently this weekend so hopefully I can relay to you the blow by blow action from the various tournaments I play.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Week without the wife and kids

2008-06-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

My wife and 3 kids flew to Montana on Monday morning so I've been home alone this week. I started Monday off well by final tabling the TILT $23K (again) in 8th place for $580. I ended up busting out around 2:00 a.m. which was late enough that I couldn't get up to go to the gym but not enough money that it was really worth it.

Last night, I cashed in 35th place in the TILT $30K for $190 and final tabled the TILT $17K in 7th place for $590. Crazy hand at the final table...

It was 3:00 in the morning and I had been head-bobbing for at least 2 hours. There were 8 players left with the Blinds at $6K/$12K. I was 2nd in chips with around $420,000. UTG+1 open-shoves for $210,000. He had done this twice previously so I thought he was a loose cannon. Chip leader with $460,000 smooth calls from middle position and I look down at J-J in the SB. In hindsight, I should have mucked but I have to tell you that I wasn't thinking too straight at 3:00....I was pretty much in a daze. I start to think that the CL's range easily includes 9-9, 10-10, A-Q, and A-K. Fatigue took over and I didn't take enough time with the decision. I come back over the top and the CL calls with A-K. Original raiser has 7-7. So.....we play a nice $1.1 million pot at the $6/$12K level. He spikes an ace on the flop and that's all she wrote. If I win that pot, that tournament is over with.

I am absolutely in the zone right now and am pumped that it's happening one week before my WSOP trips begin. I'm expecting big things at the RIO...

Two more nights home alone before flying to Montana on Friday morning. I'm just staying for the weekend and flying home on Monday with my wife and youngest son.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

An Eventful Tuesday

2008-06-11T02:08:00.000-07:00

I had myself an interesting little Tuesday today. First, I called up pokerroad radio and got on the air with Joe, Court, and Ali today (see link below). I'm the first caller they talk to at around the 9-minute mark. A 37-year old father of 3 making six figures a year and I somehow am awestruck by a bunch of guys on an internet poker show. I've got serious issues....

http://www.pokerroad.com/pokerroad_radio/6-10-08/

After coming home from all-star softball practice and watching the Lakers win a game in which, I have to be honest, they didn't instill a lot of confidence in me, I sat down and played a little on Full Tilt. The first thing to happen was the below-listed hand. This hand just captures what it's like to play poker for any amount of time in your life and actually depend on it as a revenue stream. Standard hand....Overshove 100xBB with A-A and get a call from K-Q and he flops top two.....tytytytyty River Gods. Heart attack narrowly avoided.

Dealt to HGJ18622 [Ac Ad]
threesixtyflip has 15 seconds left to act
threesixtyflip folds
Punkieboy folds
pastafagoul folds
HGJ18622 raises to $7
tdoughdalock calls $6
__Acehole888__ raises to $35
HGJ18622 has 15 seconds left to act
HGJ18622 raises to $257.90, and is all in
tdoughdalock folds
__Acehole888__ calls $198.75, and is all in
HGJ18622 shows [Ac Ad]
__Acehole888__ shows [Kd Qc]
Uncalled bet of $24.15 returned to HGJ18622
*** FLOP *** [5h Kc Qd]
*** TURN *** [5h Kc Qd] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [5h Kc Qd 6h] [As]
HGJ18622 shows three of a kind, Aces
__Acehole888__ shows two pair, Kings and Queens
HGJ18622 wins the pot ($471.50) with three of a kind, Aces
__Acehole888__ adds $200
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $474.50 | Rake $3
Board: [5h Kc Qd 6h As]
Seat 1: __Acehole888__ (big blind) showed [Kd Qc] and lost with two pair, Kings and Queens
Seat 2: threesixtyflip didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: Punkieboy didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: pastafagoul didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: HGJ18622 (button) showed [Ac Ad] and won ($471.50) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 6: tdoughdalock (small blind) folded before the Flop

Standard 2-outer on the river for a $500 pot. I then signed up for the $23K on TILT which I like to consider my personal tournament. I probably play this tournament 5-6 nights a week, have won it twice over the last 18 months, and generally perform well in it. Tonight, I played very well throughout the tournament and was able to get a hold of some chips through the middle portions of the tournament which allowed me to stay active as the money bubble approached. I actually sat down tonight with the mindset that I was going to play it just like I'm going to play the WSOP $2K in a couple of weeks. Each decision I was faced with, I would ask myself "What would I do if this was the WSOP and I was sitting at the table having to face my opponents?" This mindset usually prevents me from having mindless blow-ups and it worked tonight. I got really short with about two tables left, overplayed A-Q into A-K in a SB/button confrontation that left me with less than 10BB, but battled back to make the final table 5th in chips. From there, play was tight and I just waited for a couple of others to be busted. I played a hand horrificly when I saw a flop of 6d-4d-3h with Ad-8d from the BB. I played it incredibly passive when I should have been really aggressive with the nut flush draw and two overs. I didn't let it affect me too much and I got down to three-handed when the following hand occurred.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6780492895: $23,000 KO Guarantee (50818096), Table 1 - 3000/6000 Ante 750 - No Limit Hold'em - 5:06:21 ET - 2008/06/11
Seat 1: AZNEYES (629,020)
Seat 4: TheKlutch (417,594)
Seat 7: HGJ18622 (162,386)
AZNEYES antes 750
TheKlutch antes 750
HGJ18622 antes 750
AZNEYES posts the small blind of 3,000
TheKlutch posts the big blind of 6,000
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HGJ18622 [Ad As]
HGJ18622 raises to 18,000
AZNEYES raises to 628,270, and is all in
TheKlutch folds
HGJ18622 calls 143,636, and is all in
AZNEYES shows [6c Qc]
HGJ18622 shows [Ad As]
Uncalled bet of 466,634 returned to AZNEYES
*** FLOP *** [Qs 3d 6s]
*** TURN *** [Qs 3d 6s] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [Qs 3d 6s Ts] [Ac]
AZNEYES shows two pair, Queens and Sixes
HGJ18622 shows three of a kind, Aces
HGJ18622 wins the pot (331,522) with three of a kind, Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 331,522 | Rake 0
Board: [Qs 3d 6s Ts Ac]
Seat 1: AZNEYES (small blind) showed [6c Qc] and lost with two pair, Queens and Sixes
Seat 4: TheKlutch (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: HGJ18622 (button) showed [Ad As] and won (331,522) with three of a kind, Aces

HOW SICK IS THAT? Twice, within hours, I get it in with A-A against two under cards, they flop top two pair, and I river a two-outer Ace. The 3-handed play lasted for an incredibly long time and they were both really good players. I finally CRAI on the flop with an OESD and "AZNEYES" made a good call with 2nd pair which somehow held up. With 4 KO's, the score turned out to be $2,705 which isn't too shabby. I made over $350 at $1/$2 NL 6-max in about 30 minutes so it was a nice $3K evening.

Unfortunately, the evening ended at 2:45 a.m. and I am now stone-dead in my office at work. I plan on playing the $535 150-seat guarantee on TILT this Sunday in an attempt to win a ME package. 15 MORE DAYS UNTIL THE WSOP!!!!!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Here's a quick one...

2008-06-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Man....I played 3 more MTT's last night and cashed in all three. I've become a cashing machine but for anyone that knows anything about tournament poker, just cashing will usually be a losing proposition long-term. I need to FINAL TABLE something. I came in 17th out of 351 in a STARS $20 MTT after my Q-Q lost A-K with two tables left. I finished 40th out of 393 in the TILT $23K and 82nd out of 1393 in the TILT Midnight Madness. All of this moderate success makes me want to start putting in more quantity as I feel my game is really in tune right now. I need to make some minor adjustments to start building stacks late so I'm not always caught in shove/fold territory late but I know it's coming. The only real thing you can do is continue to put yourself in position late and sometimes cards and luck take over.

On another note, I wired $12,000 to Harrah's yesterday so I'm registered for Event #48 ($2,000 NLHE) and Event #54 ($10,000 Main Event). BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

I'm still alive...

2008-06-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am still alive although you wouldn't know it from this blog. I just returned from 4days of golfing in Palm Springs and am trying to actually put some hours in at work. All-star softball for my daughter is pretty much dominating my life right now and I have had very little time to play poker.

As always, I am obsessed with WSOP coverage and spend a lot of my days and/or nights reading updates and watching video blogs of the professionals. I CAN'T WAIT for the 26th. I neeeeeeeeeed to be at the RIO ASAP!!!!!!!

Just to give you an idea of how good I'm playing lately but how little I actually am...here has been my last week of poker. On May 29th, I played in exactly 3 MTT's. I took 11th out of 278 entrants in the TILT $17.5K, 39th out of 1500 entrants in the Midnight Madness, and 23rd out of 435 entrants in the $23K. I was close to $10K in paydays and ended up with three nominal cashes.......I next played on June 1st. I played in 3 MTT's as well. No cashes in the first two but won a $535 seat in a $50 satty for another profitable evening.....I played in one $11 18-man SNG last night and took 3rd. My quantity is horrible but my quality is good lately. I'm just gearing up for the WSOP.

May was my first losing month of the year so I will not attain my goal of 12 straight profitable months this year. I chalk that up to simply lack of playing time and a failure to obtain any level of continuity.

I love Gus Hansen's new book "Every Hand Revealed." It's unlike any of the other 5 million books I've read which is rare because there isn't too much innovative stuff out there anymore. I highly recommend it to all levels of players.

I'll check back soon...

Thanks for reading,

W2D

P.S. I threw in a random Matusow and me picture from the 2006 WSOP.

Mid-May Update

2008-05-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

So many things are going on in my life that I don't know where to start. I wish I had a ton of poker content but that would probably call for me to be actually playing poker which I don't seem to do much of lately. I just returned on Monday from a 3-day cruise to Mexico for one of my best friend's 40th birthdays. We spent about 6 hours at Papas and Beers Cantina in Ensenada and managed to dispose of 12 buckets (10 bottles in each) of beer in that short time. It was an excellent time and great memories for my friends. I did manage to get in a little poker on the cruise ship as they have two of the PokerPro automated tables. They really aren't too bad to play poker on but the rake is un-fucking-believable. I sat down and played heads-up with a guy for about an hour. I had $300 behind me and he had $100 playing at $1/$2 NLHE. We played for 30 minutes and I had $250 and he had $50. $100 IN RAKE FOR 30 MINUTES!!!! They raked 10% of every single pot. If those tables actually ever caught on, the company that makes them would be a goldmine. I also entered a $150 SNG with 9 players that pretty much played like the super-turbos on FTP right before the Sunday $750K. I played exactly TWO pots the entire tournament and both times I moved all-in. I stole a couple of limpers the first time and lost J-J v. A-Q the 2nd time to be eliminated 5th out of 9. Whatever.....

I am currently down around $700 for the month of May in which I have probably played the least amount of poker in a month that I can remember in the last three years. I am going to have to get my ass in gear if I want to stick with one of my goals of having 12 profitable months this year. I am looking forward to next week as I will be in Palm Springs for my work's annual golf tournament. We will be in a very nice hotel and will finish up golf at about noon each day. You know what that means....Some SERIOUS action on Full Tilt awaits me. I plan to buy-in to the $1K WSOP Sat. on Thursday to see if I can't grab a Main Event package. I have a $500 buy-in to the 150-seat guarantee on Full Tilt but it is being played on Father's Day and I don't know if that's going to work. I might unregister for it and use the $T to enter the $1K.

The WSOP is fast approaching. As you can see from the ticking clock above, it's less than two weeks away. Listening to all of the poker series that are being played in Vegas during June and July in conjunction with the WSOP makes me realize that the poker world really revolves around these 45 days each year. If you consider yourself any level of serious poker player, there is no way you can skip being in Vegas sometime during this period. I've got my two trips planned and I hope it turns into more with having to keep coming back for Days 2, 3, 4, etc. of the Main Event.

I've been wanting to really write and insightful post about juggling fatherhood, work, and poker but the ironic thing is that I haven't had the time (I guess that makes sense). If I get a chance in Palm Springs, check back and I will try to provide some perspective about a 37-year old's view of poker and the poker landscape. I know there are enough blogs about jetsetters and 21-year olds crushing the live and online circuits. Maybe it's time for someone to give a different perspective on the "everyman's" look at life and poker.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Where the hell have I been?

2008-05-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

Almost 25 days between blog posts.....that's pathetic. My life has been a whirlwind lately and only a small fraction of it has been poker-related. I'm going to write this post in bulletpoint format only because I have a lot of minor thoughts I want to get across:

-I just got back from an 8-day trip to Disneyworld with my wife and 3 kids. It was pretty much the perfect vacation for us with absolutely no issues with planes, hotels, tickets, etc. There is a very serene type of satisfaction for a man when he can give his family everything they want in life. It does a lot more for your inner ego than anything I've ever found in poker.

-I was able to play some late-night poker in the hotel room in Orlando which allowed me to attain the "IRON" status on Full Tilt Poker. As I have said before, I'm not sure why I did that but it was a personal goal and I reached it. I usually got my 200FTP points each night by playing a ton of turbo SNG's. I would estimate that this "goal" of mine cost me about $1500-2000 for the month of April. I'm done with trying to play a set amount of poker each day.

-If I hadn't mentioned this earlier, Full Tilt finally set me up with rakeback!!! I got about $350 back for the month of April so I anticipate about an extra $500 per month. Not bad.....it adds up.

-Lately, I have really been feeling the problems that come with being a dad, husband, coach, police officer, and wanting to be a semi-professional poker player. My daughter recently made all-stars in softball and I am the third-base coach for the team so my weekends are pretty much swamped for the next two months. It's difficult to get into any type of rhythym with your game when you're playing one tournament every three days.

-The WSOP is less than 4 weeks away!!!! My plane and hotel reservations are set for June 26-29th at the RIO and July 5-7th at the Gold Coast. I'll be playing a $2,000 event on 6/27 and the Main Event Day 1D on July 6th.

-I was able to somehow end April as a profitable month meaning I have had four straight profitable months to begin 2008 (I was up a little more than $300 in April so it's nothing to write home about...)

-I've got two big weeks coming up where I will play an insane amount of poker and try to win a Main event package. May 27-30th I will be in Palm Springs for a golf tournament (that I run) and will be in a hotel every night. On June 16th, my wife and kids are flying to Montana for a week and I'll be home alone so you can count on some major rounding that week.

That's all for now. I'll try to have some more poker content in coming posts.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Such Sundays! (<----Ship the $2K WSOP Package)

2008-04-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day for a variety of reasons. My wonderful and beautiful wife handled the the troops so I could put in a big Sunday of "work" in the poker room so for that I am always grateful to her. When she does that, it always gives me added incentive to make her sacrifices worthwhile. I actually only played in five MTT's yesterday but I made the most of them...

I satellited into the $750K on TILT and ended up cashing in that one which is always nice to cash in a major. I open-shoved J-J for 12+BB about 75 people into the cash and got snap-called by a guy for 50% of his stack with K-Q. King on the flop and that was it. I think I was out in like 480th place for a nominal $280 cash.

The big news of the day was my triumphant return to the WSOP bracelet race winner's circle!!! I took three of these down last year but hadn't had the opportunity to play in many this year. I played in the $75 buy-in with 70 players which awarded two $2,000 WSOP packages. I played steady most of the tournament....stepped on the gas with 2 tables left....then punished the final table enroute to the victory. I love winning WSOP packages and I know this is one of many to come over the next two months.

The other big news was my buddy Daniel's (Rubbarose/Spreadicus) performance in the late night MTT's. He was on my rail supporting me throughout the day and IM'd me saying "I just want to cash." Boy.....did he ever?!??! In a 2-hour span, he proceeded to make the final 3 tables of the TILT 50-50 and the turbo Fiddy. Those were good for over $350 in cashes. But his real damage was on STARS...He made simultaneous final tables in the $33 freezeout and $11-rebuy. He ended up taking 4th in both of them (virtually at the same time) for over $5K in scores. GREAT JOB, RUBBA!!!

While I was sitting there rooting him on from the rail in both of those FT's, I sat at $2/$4 NL 6-max on TILT and proceeded to book a $750 profit session on one table in 90 minutes. Nice win rate, eh?

So....it was a good Sunday. I've got a busy week of work ahead of me but will be heading to Vegas on Friday to run in a law enforcement race on Sunday. My leg is only six miles so in spite of my lack of training, I should be able to whip that one out pretty smoothly. I also plan on heading over to the Bellagio on Saturday to "stalk" Day-1 of the WPT Championship. It's a tradition for me...

Thanks for reading,

W2D

EDIT: I forgot to mention a couple of things. I have 200 FTP points every day in the month of April so far (13 days). I should have no problem achieving Iron status this month. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this quest and it's purely just for fun and nothing else.

Also...I will be in Vegas June 26-29th to play in a couple WSOP events and then will return on July 4th to play the Main Event. I'll be there without the wife so anyone that wants to hook up for drinking and degenerate money wasting, please give me a holler.

Steamrolling April...

2008-04-04T01:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some random thoughts from the last few days:

-My MTT game seems to have turned around and I'm really feeling good about my play. The 3rd place finish on Sunday was solid and I followed that up with a 13th place finish in the $23K last night and I also won a $535 seat to the 150-seat WSOP tournament in June. I got K-Q in against A-J on a flop of A-J-10 in the $23K. Turn-10....River-10. OUCH!!!!!!

-Another Pro Bounty and T-shirt

Hello HGJ18622,
Congratulations! You busted Michael Craig in the following tournament:
$23,000 KO Guarantee (44235721)
We have credited your Full Tilt Poker account with a bounty prize of $70.00.
In recognition of your achievement, we would like to send you a special T-Shirt.

-Three weeks from tomorrow we leave for an 8-day trip to Disneyworld. I'm really looking forward to treating the wife and kids like royalty. I've got limos driving us to and from here in L.A. and in Orlando. Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

-One of my goals for the year was to have 12 profitable months. I was stuck $1800 on March 30th for the month of March before that $2900 score so that allowed me to escape. January and February were good months so I'm up five figures so far for the year. If I don't win a WSOP ME seat, I just plan on winning enough cash to pay my entry. :):):0

-My daughter, Hannah, is crushing in softball this year. She leads the league in homeruns with 2 and is a force everytime she gets up to the plate. Monday's shot was a grand slam...

-Rubba and I are committed to crushing in April and we're well on our way. He has won a $216, $535, and $1060 seat in satellites the last 3 nights.

-I plan on attaining "IRON" iron-man status on Full Tilt this month. For no reason other than just a goal to acheive. I need 24 days of at least 200 FTP points. I have 200 for the first 4 days so far.

-I have my room booked at the RIO for the WSOP June 26-29th. I'll be playing in the $2k buy-in on the 27th and pretty much gambling on anything that moves the rest of the weekend. I have tons of work and online friends coming out that weekend so it should be fun.

-I'm playing the main event no matter what....

That's all for now.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Uber-Degenerate Weekend

2008-03-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

Although not by design, the weekend turned out to be one of the most poker-filled weekends I've ever had. I accrued over 3,000 FTP points just from Fri-Sun playing a hellacious amount of cards. I played a boatload of cash tables and came out on the losing end overall at the cash games for the weekend.

My MTT game has been horrific lately but I finally got myself out of the funk last night with a strong 3rd place finish in the Full Tilt $16K guaranteed for $2,850. I had a different type of mindset throughout the tournament and really, really focused on every play. I discontinued any other tables about halfway through and that allowed me to focus completely on just one tournament. I was short for a lot of the tournament but went on a heater with about 3 tables left. At one point with 2 tables left, I had over $900K when the 2nd place guy had only had $300K. I went to the final table with the chip lead and had a pretty big lead with 6 players left which makes the 3rd place finish a little dissapointing.

I had a guy to my right that could not lay down a hand to a 3-bet and ended up calling my all-in 3-bet twice with 3-3 and K-10 (sigh). I ended up losing two big races 3-handed which is really what CAN'T happen if you want to win a tournament. Overall, I was really pleased with my play and can't remember one hand that I thought I played bad. I can't complain if the cards don't cooperate short-handed. You have to get lucky when you are 3 and 4-handed and it just didn't happen for me.

Here is the hand history from last night:

http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HH123568/16K

Once again, I was a little down on my game and my bankroll was starting to deteriorate and this led to a nice score. It's the story of my poker career. I have to get really down before coming back strong. It makes it a little hard on the nerves but it's worked out great historically for me. Hopefully, I'll be down in the dumps right before the WSOP :):).

Back to the grind....I know the WSOP seat is coming.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Degenerate Thursday night

2008-03-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Lol....Last night I was like someone that hadn't drank for awhile and was left at a wedding reception with an open bar. Or maybe a guy who just got out of prison and gets dropped at the NCAA cheerleading finals...you get the picture! I had played 2 satellites in the last five days and I was dying for some action. My inner-degenerate took over and I played pretty much anything I could find. Here is how my night went:

5 MTT's.....0 cashes (-$164)
5 SNG satellites to the $750K.....2 seats won (+$58)
3 Turbo 6-max SNG's.....1 1st and 1 2nd (+$38)
1 Step-1 WSOP SNG.....(-$7.50)
1 $55 PLO Heads-up SNG.....1st (+$45)
1 $220 NLHE Heads-up SNG.....1st ($+180)
300 hands of $1/$2 NLHE 6-max cash.....Up as much as $425 but finished (+$105)

I pretty much tapped anything that moved in front of me on the screen last night. I finished up around $250 which isn't bad considering I was playing different games, different structues, etc.

I know it's a little early but I'm starting to grip about the fact that I haven't had the time or opportunities to really shoot for a Main Event seat yet. I'm really aiming towards the $500 Sunday qualifiers and the $1,000 Thursday qualifiers but they just haven't fit into my schedule yet. I see all these people winning their seats in what appears (anyways) to be simple fashion and it gets me frustrated. I've done it in the past so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do it again. MY TIME IS COMING.........

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Typical Wednesday Night

2008-03-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

As a working dad and husband, I don't have as much time to play as I would like or others may have. Tonight, for instance, I got home around 7:00 and decided to play just two satellites quickly so I wouldn't be up too late. Here is what I got for my efforts:

$109 buy-in Satellite to the $1K WSOP Satellite
Full Tilt Poker Game #5797147375: $1K Thursday Main Event Sat (43051340), Table 3 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:09:04 ET - 2008/03/26
Seat 1: jt3013 (2,640)
Seat 2: bettin2win (3,035)
Seat 3: Stroszek (4,425)
Seat 4: Tilt Head (2,030)
Seat 5: richochico (2,430)
Seat 6: pkgrant (1,560)
Seat 7: HGJ18622 (1,420)
Seat 8: HelloMoney (3,220)
Seat 9: pat_e_oh (1,445)
jt3013 posts the small blind of 50
bettin2win posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HGJ18622 [Kd Ac]
Stroszek folds
Tilt Head folds
richochico folds
pkgrant folds
HGJ18622 raises to 300
HelloMoney has 15 seconds left to act
HelloMoney raises to 999
pat_e_oh folds
jt3013 folds
bettin2win folds
HGJ18622 raises to 1,420, and is all in
HelloMoney calls 421
HGJ18622 shows [Kd Ac]
HelloMoney shows [Td Ad]
*** FLOP *** [Tc Ah 3d]
*** TURN *** [Tc Ah 3d] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [Tc Ah 3d Ts] [Qc]
HGJ18622 shows two pair, Aces and Tens
HelloMoney shows a full house, Tens full of Aces
HelloMoney wins the pot (2,990) with a full house, Tens full of Aces
HGJ18622 stands up

$55 Buy-in satellite to the $750K Guaranteed
Full Tilt Poker Game #5797140963: Satellite to $750K Guarantee (43133382), Table 3 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:08:34 ET - 2008/03/26
Seat 2: JohnQPoker72 (5,355)
Seat 3: Cat Woman 2006 (2,980)
Seat 4: seattlekid206 (2,515)
Seat 5: Shrubbery (1,870)
Seat 6: locutus2002 (2,720)
Seat 7: HGJ18622 (1,510)
Seat 8: chadlongboy (2,265)
Cat Woman 2006 posts the small blind of 25
seattlekid206 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HGJ18622 [Ah 6h]
Shrubbery folds
locutus2002 has 15 seconds left to act
locutus2002 folds
HGJ18622 raises to 150
chadlongboy calls 150
JohnQPoker72 calls 150
Cat Woman 2006 folds
seattlekid206 folds
*** FLOP *** [4h 3h 2s]
HGJ18622 has 15 seconds left to act
HGJ18622 bets 200
chadlongboy has 15 seconds left to act
chadlongboy raises to 1,000
JohnQPoker72 folds
HGJ18622 raises to 1,360, and is all in
chadlongboy calls 360
HGJ18622 shows [Ah 6h] <-----------That's 14 outs twice!
chadlongboy shows [Jh Jc]
*** TURN *** [4h 3h 2s] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [4h 3h 2s Kd] [Js] <------Not a chance!
HGJ18622 shows Ace King high
chadlongboy shows three of a kind, Jacks
chadlongboy wins the pot (3,245) with three of a kind, Jacks
HGJ18622 stands up

I love this game...

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Just Maddening.....

2008-03-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

WSOP Satellite season has to be the most maddening time of the year for me. Every year, I find new and exciting ways to torture myself. I have played in two bracelet race events this year on Full Tilt. I took 8th out of 91 when 3 $2K packages were being awarded.....and last night I took 16th out of 104 when 10 $2K packages were being awarded. It continues to amaze me how, for someone that puts so much energy into being a good player, I can continue to make fundamental and seemingly beginner mistakes. The following hand came up with 16 players left last night. After I got re-raised, I was discussing what to do with RUBBA and he said, "The proper sat strategy is to fold." I told him "There's no way he has A-A or K-K" and I was willing to basically flip for a $2K seat. Umm......nice read.

If you polled 200 of the top players in the world, all 200 of them would tell you that in a satellite, in this position, with these stack sizes...this is an auto-fold without A-A or K-K. I guess I'll never learn. Again...It's so frustrating to make mistakes like this. I take away alot of time from being with my wife to play poker and you'd think I'd make the proper decisions to maximize my profits during this time.

Ugggh.....this one is hard to swallow.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Full Tilt Poker Game #5758973594: Bracelet Race (43052268), Table 10 - 400/800 Ante 100 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:08:51 ET - 2008/03/24
Seat 2: voff voff voff (24,355)
Seat 3: Scott Clements (32,333)
Seat 4: HB_HITMAN (17,674)
Seat 5: HGJ18622 (14,589)
Seat 6: BONCELA (28,968)
Seat 7: jackfromoz (22,474)
Seat 8: jaysull (14,435)
Seat 9: jtchoml (34,182)
voff voff voff antes 100
Scott Clements antes 100
HB_HITMAN antes 100
HGJ18622 antes 100
BONCELA antes 100
jackfromoz antes 100
jaysull antes 100
jtchoml antes 100
jaysull posts the small blind of 400
jtchoml posts the big blind of 800
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HGJ18622 [Kc Ac]
voff voff voff folds
Scott Clements folds
HB_HITMAN folds
HGJ18622 raises to 2,400
BONCELA folds
jackfromoz raises to 22,374, and is all in
jaysull folds
jtchoml folds
voff voff voff has been disconnected
HGJ18622 has 15 seconds left to act
HGJ18622 has requested TIME
voff voff voff has reconnected
HGJ18622 calls 12,089, and is all in
jackfromoz shows [Ad As]
HGJ18622 shows [Kc Ac]
Uncalled bet of 7,885 returned to jackfromoz
*** FLOP *** [9h Ah 9d]
*** TURN *** [9h Ah 9d] [4d]
*** RIVER *** [9h Ah 9d 4d] [5s]
jackfromoz shows a full house, Aces full of Nines
HGJ18622 shows two pair, Aces and Nines
jackfromoz wins the pot (30,978) with a full house, Aces full of Nines
HGJ18622 stands up

WSOP 2006 (Part 4-The Final Chapter)

2008-03-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

As Day 3 neared, I knew how close I was to cashing in the WSOP Main Event and how equally close I was to playing the most terrifying table I had ever faced. My wife and I again flew out to Vegas and took up our customary spot at the Gold Coast Casino next to the Rio. The tournament was starting to take on its own personality now as the antics of Eric Molina had already begun and the trainwreck that was Dmitri Nobles was in full effect. It wasn't until this day that Jamie Gold would really enter the picture and shoot himself up to the top of the leaderboard.

As I got to seat #10 at Table #135, I did my customary inventory of the table. Jon "G6Dragon" Lane in the #1 seat...random Scandinavian aggro in seat #2...online qualifier in seat #4...A-L-L-E-N Cunningham in seat #5....Michael McClain in seat #6..two random dudes to my right. Okay, sounds like a fairly easy day. I really don't think I'm gay, per se, but for some reason I couldn't keep my eyes off of Allen. He had this aura about him that just emanated "I'm the best player here; please get out of my way." "Shuffle up and Deal" was announced on we were on our way to the money.

In the first few hours, I could get absolutely nothing going. I played three pots where I ended up throwing out continuation bets post-flop and ALL THREE FUCKING TIMES either McClain and Cunningham raised me and I had to muck. I (seriously) started to think that they could either read my soul, see my cards, or I was just terrible and I had obvious tell. Probably a combination of all 3....Finally, I called a raise of Cunningham's with 10-9 from the SB (because that's how I roll...calling raises out of position with modest holdings against the best NLHE tournament player in the world). The flop came J-8-4 rainbow. I meekly checked and he surprisingly checked behind me. The turn was a beautiful 7 giving me the N-U-T-S! Based on previous hands, Allen had always come over the top of me so I bet out fully expecting that he would re-raise. He thought for just a couple of seconds and threw his cards in the muck. WTF? Now I was convinced that he could read my soul.

I hovered around $75-80K for a majority of the afternoon as we quickly approached the money. In one hand, I raise from the cutoff with A-K and the Scandinavian enigma called from the BB. The flop came J-10-4; Check-Check. The turn was an 8 putting two spades on the board. He led at the pot for $10,000 and I decided to re-raise to $25,000. In retrospect, I'm not sure what hand I was representing there but I didn't think he had a whole lot either. He called my raise and I was pretty much done with the hand. The river was an off-suit 7 leaving a board of J-10-4-8-7 rainbow. The action went check/check and I turned over my A-high to see that I had won the $65,000 pot. How the hell did that happen? I thought about this hand for a long time afterwards and I guess the only hand he could have had was K-Q of spades to call my raise on the turn. What do you think? Maybe A-Q of spades or even just K-Q off but not too many hands fit into his calling range on the turn that don't beat A-high. This hand was a big relief and put me at my highest point of Day 3 at $111,000. It would be short-lived euphoria.

Players were busting out at record pace and we quickly got within 10 players of the money. With 10 players left, we began round-for-round (not hand-for-hand) play which allowed each table to play an entire orbit before stopping and waiting for tournament staff. I had just witnessed Cunningham play an incredible pot with Jon Lane where there was heavy action on multiple streets leading to Allen calmly shoving his tournament life in on the river. He did it with such a sense of calm and controlled confidence that it was no wonder that Lane was forced to fold. This hand was at the front of my mind when the following hand played out:

We were in round-for-round action and I raised from middle position with 6-6. Unfortunately, it was Allen's BB and he called. (At least I had position). The flop came 9-9-2. This is a pretty good flop for 6-6 and I was thinking this at the time. Allen led at the pot for $10,000 and I figured he was putting me on two big cards and was trying to take the pot right there. I decided to call. (In hindsight, this was one of many errors in this hand. If I thought I was good there, I should have raised to really get more information. As it was, I learned nothing by calling other trying to control the size of the pot). The turn was a 3 (still another good card for 6-6) and now Allen led for $20,000. It was here that I really "lost myself" in this hand. My only thought was that Allen was trying to bully an amateur on the cash bubble. I didn't take the time to assign a range of hands to him and really wasn't thinking clearly. I called. The river was a King. By now, there was a mountain of chips in the middle of the table and ESPN was taking everything in. The hand was gaining the attention of neighboring tables and I could feel the spotlight shining on me. Allen led for $38,000 into a $70,000 pot. I could not stop thinking that he was trying to bully me. As much as I hated the King, I failed to ask myself the most important question in situations like that...."What hands can I beat?" In my opinion (now), I could beat 5-5 and a complete bluff. But I wasn't thinking about that...with the ESPN camera directly over my right shoulder and the boom microphone right in front of me hovering over the mound of chips, I placed my sunglasses near my mouth in a moment of pondering before quietly stating, "I call." Allen flipped over the 9-7 for flopped trip 9's and I was devastated.

I had been pwned, schooled, dominated by the best in the world. It was like a Mack Truck hit me and I never saw where it came from. 5 seconds after the hand....of course...I'm cursing myself internally for the inept way I played the hand but when you're in the middle of it, you just don't see things so clearly. The hand left me with $28,000 at $1K/$2K blinds so I was almost crippled. The money bubble burst a few minutes later and as the room full of 800+ participants celebrated, I sat in my chair with my head in my hands wanting to cry. What should have been the finest moment in my poker career was nothing more than a dissappointment for me. Why? Why? Why did I choose to get fancy with the best player at the table (or in the tournament)? Why didn't I go into Ninja mode and wait for the rush of cards that inevitably comes? These are all questions that I've asked myself 1000 times over the past two years.

After the bubble burst, I open-shoved two times without getting a call as I battled to stay afloat. Over 100 players went busto in the first 30 minutes after the bubble. As they announced the last hand before the dinner break, I open shoved the cutoff with Kh-7h for 13+BB and the button called. The SB then re-raised all-in and the button called him. I knew I was in trouble. SB had A-K; Button had Ac-Jc; and I had my Kh-4h. The board played out and the button ended up making a club flush and busting both of us. I walked to the cashier area as the 793rd place finisher in the 2006 WSOP Main Event.

In one way, I wish I could have alot of decisions back to do over that day. I know infinitely more now about playing a short stack then I did back then so I really feel I could have survived for a lot longer even after the hand with Allen. I wish I would have recognized the dangers of playing world-class players out of position. But....those experiences are something that can never be taken from me and I will always remember that day and the experience of playing with the best in the world.

The hand with Allen was captured by ESPN and I see it every once in awhile being played on ESPN. If, on the Day 3 broadcast, you see a guy wearing a black cap and with his sunglasses in his mouth contemplating a call of Allen Cunningham, that's me. You will then see all of my chips being bulldozered over to Allen as he stacks them. I guess that's my 5 seconds of fame! It was fun to watch Allen make it all the way to 4-handed play at the final table. A little piece of me couldn't help but think that I had something to do with catapulting him onto the final table (hee-hee).

The $16,493 check they wrote me slightly soothed my wounds as my wife and I went out for a lobster dinner. It took me a long time to get over busting out of that tournament and I'm always wondering if I'll ever get such a chance again.

Well....in 3 months, I plan on finding out.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Close Call

2008-03-17T11:52:00.001-07:00

It has been a tough three weeks as I've seen my bankroll take a considerable hit since my win in the $23K guaranteed. Frankly, I've been playing relatively awful and wondering if I would ever cash again. I had a long talk with RUBBA and he convinced me to play the TILT $1 Million guaranteed. He said that I've always been about taking shots and he had confidence in me.

7.5 hours later, I finished 40th in the damn thing for a $2,700 score. There were over 2,300 entrants. I played focused and controlled poker throughout and then hung on as I went completely card dead the last 2 hours. I shoved A-K UTG and got a call from K-K and that was that......Sigh.....Just one time let me run like a complete God with a horseshoe up my ass just for like 90 minutes at the end of a major tournament. I'm convinced that's what you need to have happen.

Oh well....that little score helped soothe the wounds of the last 2 weeks and basically got me even for the month of March. Now it's time to ride that momentum to another big score and help sew up my WSOP ME entry.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

WSOP 2006 (Part 3)

2008-03-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

I appreciate the kind words that people left me after Part 2. I enjoy reading Main event stories so I'm glad others liked mine.

I'm not going to lie.....going back to work after being the chip leader at the WSOP was actually pretty cool. Everyone's ego needs a stroke every once in awhile, right? I spent most of my day talking to friends and co-workers about the experience and thinking about what was in store for me on Day 2. My wife and I flew back out to Vegas that night after getting home from work. There is something about flying back and forth to Vegas to play poker that just gets me totally pumped up. It definitely appeals to the degenerate gambler in me and allows me to play the part of "high-roller" if only for a brief moment in time...

I don't remember having a particular gameplan going into Day 2. I knew that I would be the chipleader at my table for sure so I wanted to take advantage of that as much as possible. When I got to seat #6 at table #142, I again tried to take inventory of the players. I laughed at Harrah's "random table draw" as I was seated with three other players from my final Day 1 table. There was tight nitty guy in seat 1...young and appeared solid player in seat 2...uber-nit asian guy to my right...what looked like a member of 50-cent's posse to my left...and 3 random donks in 8 through 10. I was ready to continue my quest!!

I raised the first two pots of the day and took the blinds and antes without a call. This definitely put some "puff in my chest" and I thought I might just run this table over today. Just a couple of minutes later, with the blinds at $250/$500, I raised to $1500 from middle position with Q-9off and the SB min-raised me to $3000. Sigh....I'll never understand what they hope to accomplish with a bet like that but with over $5,000 in the pot, I was obviously calling $1,500 more in position. The flop came down Q-7-2. Somehow, all the money got in there (I think he had around $16K total) and he showed K-K. Turn......Queen. Thank you, sir, nice playing with you.

Now, I was definitely feeling good about the day. I slowed down a bit for about an hour before it folded to the button who raised my BB. I looked down at 5-5 and had a ton of fold equity and easily had him covered. I just decided to ship it and he called and showed A-Q. The flop was benign but a nasty ace reared it's head on the turn and I took a hit to my stack. There were no other hands of interest (that I can remember) other than one that I wasn't even a part of. Within the first hour of the day, seats 8 and 9 got in a pre-flop raising war and ended up getting their entire stacks in with A-10 and K-Q. The rest of the table was pretty much speechless and the A-10 guy ended up winning the hand. He was pumped up after the hand and the table did a good job of not tapping the glass by simply congratulating him on a great hand. I took stock of the event and didn't realize how important it would be later in the day.

Beginning of the Day- $72,600
End of Level 7- $73,300
End of Level 8- $83,700

Sometime during the 3rd or 4th hour of the day, a player got moved to Seat #3 that was just maniacal. He had a PokerStars jersey on with the moniker "NuttBoy" and would put in huge overbets in a number of pots. He bragged about playing high stakes on STARS and knowing all of the big internet players but I had never heard of him (and haven't to this day). He was harmless and definitely brought some spice to the table.

During levels 9 and 10, I really didn't see a lot of action. I did not get dealt A-A or K-K one time before the dinner break and was just kinda hanging around as the day wore on. Midway through level 9, I called a raise on the button with 8d-6d from the same guy that had slaughtered me late on Day 1 with the A-K on an A-A-? board. The flop came Kd-7d-4h and I called a $4,000 bet from him with my flush and gutshot draw. The turn was the 2 of diamonds. After a series of raises, we were all-in and I tabled my diamond flush to see his....set of sevens. I had to fade 10 outs to get my stack close to $100,000 for the first time today. I stood up and got my wife's attention to let her know I was in a big pot. The dealer peeled the river and dropped a King on the board to make his full house. aodfi diafdfc amx,f[ioxfjdsjf//............The $40,000 pot was shipped his way and I was pissed. My wife thought I may have been eliminated based on my reaction (she was about 30 feet away) but I went over to tell her that I still had around $52,000.

I slowly chipped my way back up to around $65,000 when they announced it was the last hand of level 10. Players began to filter out of the room for the break as their last hand was completed. Amidst the chaos, I saw the "A-10" player from earlier raise to $5,000 from early position and the other players fold and leave as the action came to them. I was on the button and squeezed my cards out to see the loveliest sight of them all....two red Aces! I knew had a fish on the line and I did not want him to get away. I decided to re-raise him to $15,000 and make it look like he had fold equity if he 4-bet. By this time, most players in the room had left and we were one of the few tables left playing a hand. ESPN cameras knew we had a big hand brewing and they came over to capture the action. "A-10" was in the tank for several minutes and I tried my best to look weak (if I even know what the hell that means). I had gotten to know the ESPN crew from day 1 as they were very interested in me for a variety of reasons (my tattoos, my hat (kids pictures), the fact that I was a police officer). "A-10" finally decided he was "all-in" and, needless to say, I beat him in the pot. He sheepishly tabled As-Ks and we had ourselves an $85,000 pot. I stood up and got a little more animated than I usually do but considering the circumstances, I'm okay with my behavior (wink). The dealer laid the flop out of 6s-2h-2d. It doesn't get much better than that. The turn was the 10 of spades. Umm.....it doesn't get much WORSE than that. Are you kidding me? Was it really going to happen to me? Was I really going to get runner-runnered to get my aces cracked? The dealer painstakingly peeled the last card off and it was the Jack of diamonds. YESSSSSS!!!! I was pumped. I was well over $110,000 and after getting congratulated by everyone around, I stormed out of the room for the break feeling like I was on top of the world.

End of Level 9- $78,000
End of Level 10- $112,000

Upon returning from this break, we were told by tournament staff that we would only be playing one more level. After playing until 3:00 the previous morning, this was a welcomed respite and made it so we were looking to get out of there around 12:30. I had one more level to either survive or thrive.

The blinds were $600/$1,200 so that gives you some idea how deepstacked this tournament is at this point. During the last level, I played two hands of significance, one which I just love and one that makes me grrrrrowl. I had been feeling pretty good after coming back from the break and had played a couple of pots rather liberally. I had seen 50-cent's posse member (to my left) play a hand and make a comment during the hand that indicated to me that he was really NOT looking to go home during this last level. A short time later, it folded to me and I opened from the button for $4,000 with Kd-8d and he promptly min-raised me to $8,000 from the SB. Why do people keep doing this? Of course, I'm never folding so I call and the flop is 9s-9h-4h. He bets (rather quickly) $4,000 into a $19,000 pot. WTF? It reeked of weakness and rather than raise him here, I decided to float him and see what transpired. The turn was an off-suit 2 and he checked. Now I was fairly confident that he had no part of this board and probably should have bet here but I decided to peel one more off and see what happened on the river. The river was a 3rd heart and he meekly bet $5,000 into a $27,000 pot. I just decided there was no way he had anything here but how do I go about winning this pot? Believe it or not, I actually thought back to a hand that Daniel Negreanu played with Freddy Deeb in the 2004 Championship at the Plaza. It was made famous when Dan Harrington analyzed it at the back of his first Harrington on Hold'em. It involved a pot where Daniel bluffed on the river by betting a relatively small amount into the pot. Freddy commented, "I wished you had bet more, I would have called" before folding. Doyle refers to this as a "Post-oak bluff." I decided to raise to $13,000 actually making it only $8K more to call a $45,000 pot. He tanked for quite awhile before saying "You must have made your flush" and mucking A-K face-up. I'm sorry......but I just had to do it. I flipped over my Kd-8d and he literally almost hit the roof. He jumped out of his chair and huffed and puffed for a good 60 seconds before returning to the table. God I loved that hand...............

With 20 minutes left in the day and the blinds still at $600/$1,200, a short stack open-shoved the hijack position for $25,000. I was in the SB and looked down at Ac-Kc. I had approx. $130,000 in chips and I know it is probably an auto-call but it's just frustrating to call that much without a pair. I went ahead and called and he tabled J-J. The board bricked and I was left with a little over $100,000 as the day finished.

End of Day 2- $102,400

As we bagged our chips, we were told that there were approx. 1,100 players remaining in the Main Event and 890 players would cash. We all now knew that early in Day 3, the money would be reached. I bagged my chips and walked to my new table draw for Day 3. As I arrived at Table #135, I was left relatively speechless. Now I should have known that as the field thinned, the tables would get tougher but I had clearly drawn the most difficult table in the entire f'in room. In seat #1 was the chip leader of the tournament with over $475,000 in chips, Jon "G6Dragon" Lane. In seat #7 was Michael McClain, final tablist from the 2004 WSOP Main Event and one hell of a player. But those two were really the least of my worries....sitting in seat #6 was a guy that would probably make the shortlist (Top 5) of virtually anyone that knows anything about poker for the best NLHE players in the world. As Norman Chad likes to say...."He's A-L-L-E-N Cunningham." He was sitting there with over $180,000 in chips and, frankly, I was really excited to get the opportunity to play with him. Little did I know how that excitement would turn to horror in just 48 hours.

I would like to have accumulated more chips on Day 2 but I lost two races and couldn't fade 10 outs on the river for a $40K pot so, all in all, it was a fairly successful day. If anyone had said at the start of the tournament that I could start Day 3 with 80+BB, I would have taken them up on the offer right then and there.

Stay tuned for Part 4 as you experience what it's like to win a huge pot with Ace-high, why I think Allen Cunningham can read minds, and why I've never been so dissappointed to be featured on ESPN.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

2006 WSOP (Part 2)

2008-03-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

Before I start chronicling Day 1 of my 2006 WSOP Main Event experience, I hinted during Part 1 of this story why I thought there will never be a WSOP like the 2006 edition. Allow me to elaborate.....

2005 was the first year that the WSOP had switched from Binion's Horseshoe to the Amazon Room at the RIO hotel. 25 years of history on Fremont Street had packed up and moved across the 15 freeway and 2005 seemed to be the year that they got acclimated to their new home. If 2005 was the moving in period, then 2006 ended up being the housewarming party. It was like a POKER ORGASM!!!! The "Poker Life Expo" was like a giant playground for adult poker players. Every online poker site had a booth (Bodog's was two stories) and they were all trying to out do each other. Free gifts, drawings for prizes, celebrity autograph sessions....it was one giant party. There was an aura of invincibility within the poker community as lots of people were making LOTS of money and the UIGEA was nowhere on the horizon. It was clearly the "Best of Times" for both live and online poker. Having been there both the year before and the year after, I don't believe they will ever be able to replicate the atmosphere of 2006.

Upon my arrival in Las Vegas, I checked into the Gold Coast Casino which is located directly across the street from the RIO. It is the classic "old style" Vegas casino with $2 blackjack, a 24-hour diner, and shabby rooms with smoke-lined curtains. But with that in mind, I have stayed there many times during my adventures as you can't beat both the price and the location.

As I awoke for my Day 1 experience (I was playing on Day 1C), I don't recall feeling especially nervous. After my success in 2005, I'm sure I had a certain level of expectation that it would be as easy this year as it was in 2005. After all, I started with $1500 in chips last year and now I have $10,000 in chips with 2-hour blind levels (weeeeeee!!). As I sat down at seat #10 at Table #192 (There were over 200 tables in the room), I tried to take quick stock of my opponents at the table. Directly to my right was a middle-aged Middle Eastern man...Directly to his right was a rather "portly" female that we would later learn was Sabyl Cohen, the highest finishing female in the 2006 Main Event (51st place).....Random Euro dude in Seat 6....Random guy wearing a Full Tilt jersey he got from winning his seat online in seat 4....and a younger gentleman in Seat 1 that I would come to learn was a fairly good player. The anticipation began to climax as the clock neared 12:00. I had reached my destination in my young poker career and I was ready to go for a ride. SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!!!!

I got the BUTTON!!!!! I remember joking that I had already won something as seat 10 was awarded the button (I knew this was an omen....I was destined for great things). I squeezed my first hand ever in the WSOP Main Event.....a 7......and......a....2! The HAMMER!!! My first hand ever in the Main Event was 7-2. There was a raise in front of me and some distant voice in the caverns of my soul screamed, "Re-pop him and show the table." I quickly gagged that voice and promptly slid my cards to the muck. As the second hand was dealt, I again squeezed the plastic rectangular jewels in my hands and looked at....Q-Q. Mr. Middle East raised to my right and I decided to smooth call in position. The flop came a yummy Q-10-2 rainbow. He meekly checked and my 1/2 pot bet was practically beaten in the middle by his cards. Top set down the drain. A short time later, the blinds were still 25/50 when I raised to 200 with 8-8 from middle position. The SB, random Euro dude, re-raised 800 more and I decided to call in position and hope to hit a monster. The flop came down 10h-8c-4h. It didn't take him long to lead at the pot for $1,300 into an approx. $2,100 pot. I didn't take too long in raising him to $3,100 and he went into the tank. I now remember thinking that I didn't know what I was going to do if he 4-bet all-in. I laugh about it now because I would beat him in the pot with middle set but when you've waited so long to play in the Main Event, you start concocting scenarios where he has 10-10 and really don't want to bust out in level 1. After a couple of minutes, he folded and I began to chip up rather nicely.

I was the table captain for the first three hours and was really controlling the play at the table. I had chipped up to around $20,000 when I began to sense that the guy directly to my left (Seat #1) was getting annoyed at my aggression and was looking to play back at me. A short time later, it folded to me on the button and I raised to $300 with 10-10. He re-raised me from the SB to $1,050 and again I just sensed that he was really trying to slow me down. I decided that he really didn't have a hand and I 4-bet him to $2,900. He thought for about 3 minutes before mucking his cards. A short time later, our table broke.

End of Level 1-$17,000
End of Level 2-$21,050
End of Level 3-$33,350

I got moved across the Amazon room to table #26, seat #9, and began an 8-hour experience that I'm fairly sure I will never experience again. This was simply the softest, worst playing, horrific table I had ever seen or heard about. For the most part, everything I tried seemed to work. Shortly after the table change, I raised to $600 with Ac-Qc and got a call from the Big Blind. The flop came 9-7-2. The BB checked, I bet 900, and he quickly called. I had seen him play some horrific hands and knew he was terrible but after his call on the flop, I was pretty much done with the hand. The turn was an 8 (3rd spade) and it went check-check. The river came another 8 and this time he checked again. Now I began to think that he simply had two overs and thought he also may lay down a small pocket pair to a bet. I bet $1,500and he quickly called. I sheepishly turned over my Ace high and the dealer began to push the pot towards me. I saw that he had tabled the ever powerful Ks-Qh for King high with no pair and no draw. I (along with most of the rest of the table) was flabbergasted.

I would eventually bust this K-Q player when he came over the top of my UTG raise with K-4 and I tabled A-K (you gotta love live donks). A couple of hands later, I completed the SB with 4-4 and three of us saw a flop of A-Q-4. I led at the pot for $400 and the BB raised me to $1,000. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he doesn't have A-A or Q-Q in an unraised pot so I'm hoping he has two pair. I 4-bet to $3,000 and he quickly comes over the top all-in. I snap call and he shows A-Q. Turn-6...River-7. GG, nh, vul, wp. Welcome to Coolerville.

Later, I limped UTG with 5-5 and both blinds saw a flop with me of 8-8-4. I bet 1/2 pot and both players call. Turn-7. I bet 1/2 pot and both players called. River-2 (8-8-4-7-2 board). I bet 1/2 pot and both players called. MY POCKETFIVES WERE GOOD!!! What the hell did they have to call three streets? This was typical of the play all day during Day one.

End of Level 4-$54,500
End of Level 5-$69,300

This table continued to be a fun table to play at. The guy from Seat #1 at my original table was moved there and I found out that he was a good friend of Greg "FBT" Mueller and a professional player (My original read was spot on...I knew he was good). I also got to sit and chat with Dan "BOKE" Bokesch who I knew from the online sites. He was an incredibly classy player and lots of fun to talk to. During Level 6, I was playing about 1/2 the pots and winning a large majority of them. At one point in the level, I had over $120,000 and no one else in the room had over $100K. I was the chipleader of the WSOP Main Event. Pocketfives.com reporters were taking my picture and providing constant updates of my chip stack on their site. Cardplayer.com was also snapping photos and listing me as the chip leader in the tournament. I was literally living out a fantasy for all to see. Other players were coming to our table just to see my chip stack. It's a moment in time that I will never forget. (The above picture is at one of my highest points of the day. It's my favorite picture of all-time).

At last, the fun would not last forever. A southern gentleman was moved to the other end of the table and seemed to be a fish ripe for the taking. I had seen him misplay some hands and was really looking to skin him up and send him on his way as the day came to an end. I raised from middle position with 7-6off (of course) and he called me in the BB. The flop came down A-5-A. He checked and I bet. He smooth called me and at this point I was both tired and completely full of adrenaline thinking that I could not lose a pot. The turn came a rag and he checked again. This time I quickly said, "I'm all-in." He thought for around 5 seconds before giving the speech you never want to hear, "I guess I have to call" as he tabled A-K. I had picked a wonderful time to completely naked bluff right into a monster. Here's the best part....he had considerably more chips than I thought he had (to the tune of around $25K). I threw my cards in the muck before the dealer even dealt the river which caused quite a furor from other players at the table. The floor was called and I was chastised for not showing my cards after being called. Frankly, I really didn't give a shit. I was in a daze (it was well after 1:30 in the morning) and had just dusted off a considerable amount of chips. I lost a few more minor pots and as we bagged our chips, I was dissappointed to see that I only had $72,600.

While the average stack was around $28,000, I could not help but think that I had blown a huge opportunity. I know that tournaments aren't won on Day one but it seemed like my reckless abandon had really gotten out of hand after the clock had tolled midnight. I had got caught up in the mystique of being chip leader and being the center of the media attention and thought that I could run everyone over. It was as surreal as it gets to be amongst the leaders after Day 1 of the Main Event and somehow be dissappointed. Unfortunately, it was pushing 3:00 in the morning before we got out of there and I had to go back to my room, pack up, and head straight to the airport without sleeping. I ended up catching 2 hours of sleep in the airport gate area waiting for my flight home. I had to go home and work one day before flying back for Day 2B.

There is no doubt that I will never forget my experiences during day 1. I went on quite a heater and really played well at most junctures of the day. I set myself up great for Day 2 which is really all you can ask for. I had three all-in preflop confrontations and I won every one (A-K v. K-4; Q-Q v. 8-8; A-K v. 7-7). Stay tuned for Part 3 as I chronicle the roller coaster that was Day 2 of the WSOP Main Event.

Thanks for reading

W2D

WSOP 2006 (Part 1)

2008-03-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

Finally...I have found some time to chronicle my improbable journey to the 2006 World Series of Poker. If you haven't had the opportunity to read about the 2005 WSOP, I suggest that you read those posts before reading this one. So....here it goes.

After my 24th place finish in a preliminary event in 2005, I was eager to get another chance to prove myself in 2006. The online poker scene was in full force as this was still pre-UIGEA so the satellite scene was pretty juicy on STARS and TILT. Beginning in March of 2006, I went on one of the most frustrating runs of my life as I had heartbreak after heartbreak in various levels of WSOP satellites. I won't bore you with the details but it really felt like the stars were just aligned for me NOT to be playing in the Main Event in 2006. I was having relative success in regular MTT's but could simply not get it done in the numerous satellites I played. I must have played a minimum of five $200 race-for-the-bracelet satellites on Full Tilt with no success. I also played the $650 STARS Sunday satellite twice with nothing to show for it. July and August were fast approaching and I was on the outside looking in.

On 7/9/06, I had satellited into the Full Tilt $200K guar. (the predecessor of the now $750K). I was lucky enough to have my biggest finish ever in a Sunday major as I came in 7th place for $6,700 (I think 7th place now in that tournament pays something like $18,000 :(:( ) This gave a boost to my bankroll and allowed me to play a few more satellites which again resulted in zilch! At the time, I was in a 9-month leadership course in San Diego that called for me to be in San Diego for three nights every month for nine months. On 7/24, just 3 days before the WSOP main event was to start, I found myself alone in a hotel room on a Monday evening with no plans of attending the Main Event. Full Tilt was running their LAST WSOP satellite of the year (a $1K buy-in which gave away 8 packages). I called my wife, Carrie, and talked to her about playing in it for one last shot. I was really down on my game at that point after a frusatrating 4 months of satellites but she gave me an incredible pep talk and convinced me to buy directly into the $1k satellite and give it a shot. How many guys' wives would take the time to convince their husband to spend $1,000? Needless to say, I run good in life with her as my wife. (that rhymes!)

Well....as you probably guessed, as I sat alone in a distant hotel with nothing but a 15" Dell laptop, I navigated myself through a pro-laden field to win a $12,000 WSOP package that Monday night. I have never been so excited to make that phone call to Carrie. I calmly told her that I had won a seat and she just about jumped through the roof. Considering that it was only days away, I immediately began making flight and hotel arrangements for the upcoming weekend. I chose to play in Day 1C which was on Saturday which allowed me to take the least amount of time off of work. I can tell you that I didn't hear a thing my instructor said for the next two days in my class.

It had finally happened....I was going to the big dance! Not unlike Michael McDermott in Rounders, this little grinder was going to go take on the best in the world. I was too excited to think about gameplans, strategy, or anything else. I was going to the promised land and nothing was getting in my way.

Stay tuned for Part 2 as I describe the feelings associated with Day 1 of the Main Event, why I think there will never be another WSOP like 2006, and how a police officer from Southern California took the poker world by storm and put his name at the top of the World Series of Poker Main Event leaderboard.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

More Sundays! (A day of 2-outers)

2008-03-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

Sigh.....another Sunday, another series of heartbreaks. I played in seven MTT's and cashed in two. I went deep in the TILT $28K and finished 39th out of 1,339 entrants. The hand history below pretty much sums up my day...

Full Tilt Poker Game #5480552805: $28,000 Guarantee (40998448), Table 53 - 2500/5000 Ante 600 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:00:27 ET - 2008/03/03
Seat 1: Tony Eusebio (111,712)
Seat 2: VandyMD09 (83,962)
Seat 3: LooK_My_Bluff (130,936)
Seat 4: IBFT (194,902)
Seat 5: Lebatard (88,894)
Seat 6: DRwvu (159,106)
Seat 7: Brootal Boobs (67,884)
Seat 9: HGJ18622 (44,791)
Tony Eusebio antes 600
VandyMD09 antes 600
LooK_My_Bluff antes 600
IBFT antes 600
Lebatard antes 600
DRwvu antes 600
Brootal Boobs antes 600
HGJ18622 antes 600
Tony Eusebio posts the small blind of 2,500
VandyMD09 posts the big blind of 5,000
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HGJ18622 [Kd Qd]
LooK_My_Bluff folds
IBFT has reconnected
IBFT has 15 seconds left to act
IBFT folds
Lebatard has 15 seconds left to act
Lebatard folds
DRwvu folds
Brootal Boobs folds
HGJ18622 raises to 44,191, and is all in
Tony Eusebio raises to 111,112, and is all in
VandyMD09 folds
Tony Eusebio shows [8h 8d]
HGJ18622 shows [Kd Qd]
Uncalled bet of 66,921 returned to Tony Eusebio
*** FLOP *** [Ac As Ts]
*** TURN *** [Ac As Ts] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [Ac As Ts Th] [8c]
Tony Eusebio shows a full house, Eights full of Aces
HGJ18622 shows two pair, Aces and Tens
Tony Eusebio wins the pot (98,182) with a full house, Eights full of Aces

I hate this f$%&in game!!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Congratulations, VIRGE!!!!!

2008-02-28T23:51:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to our buddy VIRGE who played like a beast tonight and made two simultaneous final tables on Full Tilt. He took 3rd in the $4K guar. PLO and he TOOK DOWN the Daily Double-B tournament for over $2400. He played flawless throughout and actually got his hands to hold up for a change. He is a solid, solid player who always gets it in good so he takes his fair share of bad beats. But not tonight!!!!!! This was the "National Day of Virge!!!"

Congrats again, buddy.

W2D

Wasted Opportunity

2008-02-25T10:05:00.001-08:00

I played another full Sunday schedule and had another maddening day. I played great overall and just got kicked in the nuts on several occasions. I won't bother to discuss or post any bad beats but needless to say....it was gut-wrenching.

I finally went deep in the 9th MTT I played in (STARS $25K). There were 1985 entrants and I was able to navigate myself to the final two tables. I played relatively mistake-free throughout before making a questionable move with 12 players left. A player had opened two consecutive pots before opening a third from middle position. I looked down at Q-J on the button and thought it was a good spot to build the stack before the final table. I 3-bet shoved with tons of fold equity and he called with 10-10. The flop came J-10-6 and that was the end of that. I was crippled and busted out two hands later in 12th place for $422.

When are these god-forsaken WSOP satellites going to start? I'm jonesing, here!!!......

One last shout out to DannyMac31 who has just been killing STARS in February. He has two huge wins, a second, and a deep finish in the $500 STARS million yesterday. Great job DMac!!!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Nice Cash Game Session

2008-02-21T23:06:00.000-08:00

Quick post here.....I have so many things to post about that I really need to sit down and bang out a couple of long posts. I had one of those once-in-a-great while occasions to find an utter WHALE at the $1/$2 NL cash games last night. He was sitting at the table with $775 when I got there. Within 40 minutes, I had busted him 3 times over and was sitting with over $1,200. The picture above was taken at my highest point. Unfortunately, a short time later, I raised to $7 with 10-10 and the BB 3-bet to $27. I called as I was very deep and the flop came 8-5-3 with two hearts. I checked and he bet $25 (into a $55 pot). I shoved and he called me with....wait.....K-3off. Turn was a brick and the river was a putrid looking 3. I lost that $450 pot and the guy proceeded to berate me over the hand. I tilted a tad after that but was able to go to bed with a $645 profit in about 75 minutes of $1/$2 NL (I'll take it).

It's been a busy week at work and softball, baseball, and basketball for the kids is full force. We received some unsettling medical news about our 11-year old daughter yesterday that really shook me to the core. It's amazing how we get on this road in life and think we know what's important and that we're invincible. My wife took her to see some specialists and have some tests today so we're praying and waiting for the results. It sure makes poker seem unimportant.

I'm dying to narrate the story of my 2006 and 2007 WSOP experiences but I'm just struggling to find the time. Hopefully, I can knock it out this weekend.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Weeeeeeeeee!!! My first pro bounty on Full Tilt...

Hello HGJ18622,

Congratulations! You busted Karina Jett in the following tournament:
$10 + $1 Knockout (40588872) We have credited your Full Tilt Poker account with a bounty prize of $10.00.

In recognition of your achievement, we would like to send you a special T-Shirt.

Wasted Sunday

2008-02-18T14:24:00.001-08:00

Sundays are quickly becoming a very frustrating endeavor. The stars were aligned for a big day yesterday (with the family gone) but after five MTT's of over $50 buy-in including the FTOPS Main Event, I was left with squadoosh!!!

The FTOPS Main Event was a 3.5 hour roller coaster. I must have been all-in a minimum of ten times...getting sucked out on...sucking out...winning and losing races...until finally I got 30BB in with Q-Q against former Main Event winner "fkscreennames" K-K.

I can't complain right now because I was able to take a considerable amount of money out of my FT account and still leave my bankroll in the best shape it's ever been in. But....I would like to gain some higher level of consistency in my MTT game. It's maddening to go weeks with very little to show for it before hitting one big score. Ideally, I'd like to be making multiple final tables each week. Hey...I always need to have a goal.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

2 Final Tables...and My Biggest Online Score EVER!!!

2008-02-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

As Stone Cold Steve Austin used to say..."Can I get a hell yeah??!!" Wow...what a night. One night after my post that questioned the evolution of my poker game and whether I would ever reach new heights, I took down the biggest score of my online career.

As I was preparing to hit the tables (after putting the kids to bed), I actually remember saying out loud (to no one in particular) "It only takes one." I had been thinking back on my poker career and remembering other times that I was a little down and one big win had erased weeks of frustration. I have sufficient bankroll management skills that weeks of below-average play doesn't necessarily decimate my bankroll so it only takes one big score to get back ahead of the game.

As I sat down, my friend Rubbarose asked me what tournaments I was going to play. I told him a $10 6-max and the $16.5K guaranteed at 9:00. I told him that I wanted to play just a couple of tournaments and focus on solid play. When I told him that I was playing the $16.5K, he actually AIM'd me "You are due to win that one." As both tourneys progressed, I found the $10 6-max to be about as soft as a tournament can be. I basically breezed to the final table as the $16.5K was moving into the third hour. I played a solid final table in the 6-max but really went card dead at the FT and ended up finishing 4th for only $190. It seemed like a lot of effort and a deep finish for a relatively small score.

As the $16.K progressed, I found myself really reflecting on a tournament video I had been watching recently on PokerXFactor by UCLABruinz. I used a lot of the concepts I learned in that video throughout the tournament. I ended up busting our buddy DannyMac31 right before the bubble and collected his $15 bounty (sorry, bro). I was in the Top 5 in chips throughout the last 4 tables and as we got down to two tables, I promised myself that I would play for the win and keep the pressure on. I ended up making the final table 2nd in chips.

I must admit....this was probably the weakest final table I have ever been at. I would say there was probably one other quality player and, not coincidentally, I ended up getting heads-up with him (weballin). Just way too much folding by people. I don't know if they were looking to move up in money but I was able to basically obliterate the table with very little resistance. I ended up knocking out TWO players in the same hand on TWO different occasions (K-J v. Q-J/9-9 flopped a K...As-Qs v. A-K/A-4 turned a flush). I continued to destroy everyone in my path and got heads up with a 4.5-1 chip advantage. He was a solid opponent and ended up doubling up through me in a race (his A-10 v. my 8-8). I just chipped away at him and ended up getting back to a 3-1 chip advantage before winning a final race with A-Q v. 3-3. The win shipped me my biggest score ever...$7,730 (including 12 KO's).

It sure seems that this blog has allowed me to really focus my efforts and express some thoughts that have allowed me to clear my head. On Thursday, I asked myself whether I would reach the apex before the abyss. Last night, I took one step closer to the apex.

A special thanks to my friends Rubbarose and VIRGE. Rubba has helped me immensely and is there every night to talk about hands and tilt control with me. VIRGE was there for me at the final table last night to give me encouragement and provide his special brand of humor in the chat box. Thanks, GUYS!!! You know I'm always there for you.

Here is the Hand History link on PokerXFactor:

http://www.pokerxfactor.com/servlet/pxf?a=mv&t=myhand2&handid=114913&filename=080215%20FT%20Hand%20History.txt

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Reflections on a Personality

2008-02-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

As I once again struggle with a downturn in my poker bankroll, I tend to find myself constantly reflecting on the evolution of my poker game and whether an apex has been reached in my learning curve. There are nights that I find myself aimlessly sitting at the tables; playing A-B-C poker and waiting for "monsters" instead of actually playing poker. "It's about everything but the cards"....that's what they say. But it seems that over the past month, more times than not I find myself feeling lost at the tables with no sense of my image, feel, position, etc. at the table.

The past day started me thinking about whether I have reached a point in my poker game that I have reached many times in other facets of my life. I've never been one to buy into the modern-age personality or psychological disorders that we find plastered all over Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc. etc. Obsessive compulsive, Attention Deficit Disorder, Depression, Addictive personality....I've never, ever thought that I would ever fit into any of those categories. I have always considered myself the most well-adjusted, normal person amongst any circle of friends that I have travelled in. But as I reflect on my last 20 years of adult life, I seriously wonder if I fit the clinical definition of addictive personality.

Now let me be frank...I really don't know if that is even a clinical definition. I'm not sure if having an addictive personality is actually a real thing. But let me give you several examples of what I am referring to. Throughout my life, I have latched onto new and exciting things in my life and have dove 150% into them.

-In 1994, I became interested in Martial Arts. I began training at a local Hapkido studio and trained relentlessly for four years. I was awarded a black belt in Sin Moo Hapkido. After receiving my black belt, I stopped training shortly after and never returned.

-In 1998, I joined the K-9 unit at my police department. I became obsessed with the Police K-9 world and ended up winning over 20 different awards at regional K-9 competitions throughout the Western United States. I became one of the best K-9 handlers in the history of our department. But less than three years later, I was promoted and left the K-9 world behind.

-In 2002, my wife had just finished her Master's degree and I decided that I wanted to get one. I quickly enrolled in the MPA program at C.S.U.N. and got my Master's degree less than two years later.

-In 2003, I became hooked on poker (as you've seen from my other posts). I bought and read over 60 poker books. I memorized every WSOP and WPT episode. I accessed the Top 10 poker websites every single day religously. Half my wardrobe became poker-related regalia. We turned our dining room into a poker room. I know more about poker history and the daily happenings of the live and online poker world than all the people I know combined.(Are you seeing a recurring theme here?)

-In 2005, I became reintroduced to the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. I have since become completely obsessed with the sport. I know every fighter, every organization, all their statistics, all the history of the sport, etc. etc.

I have managed to write a relatively long post and probably say nothing of substance. I'm not even sure if I made a point. What I was trying to get across was that I have had a series of events in my life where I latch onto some concept or hobby and just go balls out 150% until I reach a certain goal....black belt, Master's degree, K-9 awards, etc. I'm hoping that poker does not become one of these "hobbies" that I lost interest in after 3 or 4 years. It wouldn't be the first time....

There is no question that I am addicted to poker. Playing it, railing it, reading about it, talking about it...But do I have the longevity, the willingness, the drive, to take my game to the next level. Do I have the ferocious discipline necessary to separate myself from the masses and reach levels that I have been able to reach in other aspects of my life? Or will I fizzle out and move on to my next conquest like I've done before?

My goal is an WSOP bracelet...it has been for 4 years. I haven't reached that goal and I don't plan on stopping until I get there. I'm addicted.......but sane. If you continue to follow my adventures, you'll surely see whether I reach the apex...or fall into the abyss.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

A frustrating Sunday...and Pocket Aces

2008-02-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

Damn....that was one frustrating Sunday. After playing so well during the week, I really thought I was going to crush yesterday. I had my full set-up in my poker room at home and was left relatively alone by the family so the setting was good....but the playing was not. I played the Full Tilt FTOPS #9, $25K guar., $55K guar., and the $16.5K guar.

I was never really in the FTOPS event. I hardly won any pots and meekly went out early in Hour 2 when I ran Q-Q into A-A pre-flop (Remember that...it's a recurring theme).

There wasn't a lot to remember about the $25K as well. I plugged along for about an hour and a half before running J-J into A-A pre-flop (sigh...)

The $55K started out a lot better. I chipped up very nicely and had a very large stack throughout the first two hours. I had around $16,000 at 120/240 right before the 2nd break when I got it all-in with J-J against A-K for around 40% of my stack. Obv Ace on the turn and it whacked me down to around $9,500. If I win that race, I'm 2nd in chips going to hour #3. I was able to work my way back up to around $13,000 and with around 120 players left, it got folded around to me in the SB with 7h-6h. With the blinds at 200/400, I raised to 1195. The BB re-raised to 3,200. I insta-shoved and he somehow found it within himself to reluctantly call with.....A-A. Yes, that's 40+BB in pre-flop with 7h-6h. Board bricked and I was out...

I'm not sure how to solve what's going on in my game right now. In the last 20 MTT's, I have made the third hour in over 75% of them. I am able to weather the early stages but I have some serious leaks in my middle game. It's weird because I feel pretty good about my game once it gets to the final 3 tables so there is something inherently wrong with my strategy during the middle stages. I'm going to try and re-evaluate the decisions I'm making and also watch some PokerXFactor videos to watch their middle games. I say it all the time and I'll continue to say it...I have too much faith in myself and know that I'm a top player for me to keep blowing these stacks. I need to start taking more time with my decisions and really examine the entire situation.

On a sidenote, the night was not a complete loss. After taking an hour break after the above fiascos, my wife was really busy with work stuff so I decided to sit down and play a $10 90-man Turbo KO tournament. I don't particularly like turbo tournaments but I was looking for something to pass the time. I played flawlessly and completely dominated the tournament. I ended up having TEN knockouts and won the tournament for $250 (see picture). So....not a complete wasted day.

Bowling tonight so no poker. Back at the tables on Tuesday.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

W2D wins an FTOPS Main Event Seat!

2008-02-09T23:57:00.000-08:00

A relatively frustrating night of MTT's got considerably better at the end when I was able to win a $535 seat to the FTOPS Main Event next Sunday. As I usually do in the satellites, I just hung around in the weeds until the final table when I flopped a huge hand with Q-10.....A-K-J board. Not too bad!!!

The rest of the night was cooler-central. I played in 4 MTT's and made the third hour of every single one with absolutely no cashes. I saw a flop with 10-8 and it came 10-8-6....Obv other guy has 6-6. I saw a flop with A-7 and it came A-J-7....Obv other guy has A-J. I saw a flop with A-K and it comes K-9-6. I check to induce a bet and he checks behind. Turn is a 4...Obv he has 4-4 and he doubles through me.

Anyways, I won't dwell on the negative. I played really well tonight and just got a bit unlucky. But I'll take the $500 seat!!!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

A Live Win and Screenname Origins

2008-02-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

I forgot to blog that I had taken down the Caesar's Palace Saturday afternoon tournament for a nice little $1K score (see photo). There were only 60 entrants but it's always nice to take down a live tournament. The structure was surprisingly good for a daily tournament and the final table was almost unfair as I believe I was by far the best player. LIVE WINS PWN!!!!!

I thought I would briefly touch on where my two main screennames ("Willing2Die"/"HGJ18622") came from. When I first opened an account on PartyPoker in 2003, I was looking for a cool name that was semi-intimidating but not too ridiculous. I had practically memorized the 2003 WSOP telecasts and I remembered a quote from Amir Vahedi about how in no-limit, "in order to live you must be willing to die." I thought that would be a cool screenname so I adopted "Willing2Die" on Party.

At the time, you could change your screenname on Party something like once every 3 months. For some stupid reason, I wanted to change it so I decided on "HGJ18622."
"H" for my daughter Hannah..."G" for my son Garrett..."J" for my son Jarred...
and "18622" as this is the California Penal Code for the Gang Enforcement Act and at the time I was working a gang task force.

It was during this brief time period that I opened up my FullTilt account and used "HGJ18622." A short time later, I changed it back to "Willing2Die" on Party but found out that you can never change your screen name on FullTilt. I have talked with them at the WSOP and e-mailed support several times but they are steadfast in their denials.

I really enjoy "Willing2Die" as it has become sort of a 2nd persona for me. Some of my poker buddies call me "Will", I have embroidered hats with "Willing2Die" on it, and even my kids use it as a code on some of their video games.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Deep finish in FTOPS Event #1

2008-02-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

Well...If you consider 140th place deep. But when there are over 5300 entrants and you play for 5 1/2 hours, it's pretty deep. I played solid poker with a fairly short stack for most of the tournament. I got ungodly lucky in a couple of different pots. Let's see....open shove with Js-8s and called by A-5 in the BB. Flop A-9-6. Turn-Q...River-10 for the straight. All-in preflop with Q-Q v. A-A and J-J. Flop....K-Q-J!!! Later, Menlo (TheGuru11), probably the best online player in the world, open shoves UTG for 12BB and I call with Q-Q on the button. He shows 4-4. Flop is 10-6-4. Turn is a QUEEN!!! River is ANOTHER QUEEN!!!

With 140 players left, I made a questionable move when I 4-bet with 10-10 from the SB. It made the original raiser think for about a minute and if he had folded, I would have beaten the other player's A-K. But alas, he called with Q-Q and I was done. I still had over 20BB before that hand so it was highly questionable.

I ended up cashing for $798. Months and months of deep finishes and close calls are frustrating without ever achieving that one "career-altering" score. I couldn't help but look at the Top 3 prizes last night that were all over $100,000. With 140 left, it's not out of the question to be at least looking at them. I cashed in the FT $11.5K last night as well so my game seems to be coming back around. Hard work and focus are always rewarded in the long run so I know my time is coming.

Thanks to RUBBAROSE, VIRGE, and SLICKWILLY37 for the late rail last night. My next big event should be FTOPS #9 on Sunday.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

2nd in FTOPS #9 satellite/8th in Full Tilt $16.5K

2008-02-06T07:48:00.000-08:00

A couple of days off and a cathartic blog post may have done the trick....I played very focused poker last night and it's amazing what can happen when you a) don't play cash games at the same time and b) put those $120 BOSE headphones on so you're not distracted by the T.V.

I won a seat in this Sunday's FTOPS #9 event ($322 NLHE) by finishing 2nd in a satellite. Nothing much to report. I became the chip leader with 5 left (Top 3 win a seat) and just used my big stack to decimate the table.

In the Full Tult $16.5K, I played very well and had an above-average stack for a majority of the tournament. It's amazing how different it is when you actually have chips to play with. I bided my time and went on a rush just prior to the final table and entered it 2nd in chips....the problem was that the chip leader, "ZBTHorton", had a huge lead and was seated directly to my left. He had been opening a ton of pots so my plan was to play it pretty close to the vest at the beginning. The problem was that everyone seemed to be playing tight. We must have played 9-handed for 20 minutes before "Garage13" busted. My first big pot was raising Ad-Kd UTG and having a shorter stack re-shove. It was for 30% of my stack so I called and he showed J-J. Brick city!!! I chipped up again before getting it all-in against the same player for 50% of my stack with A-Q vs. his A-10. The flop brought nothing, turn nothing, river a $%*&^ TEN!!!!!!! This pot would have put me over $300,000 and firmly 2nd in chips. Instead, I was forced to resort to shove-and-fold poker. I picked up two pots by shoving before shoving a third time with K-Q and getting called by J-J. Brick city again!!! I went from starting the FT 2nd in chips to out in 8th place for $800 (including my 6 KO's).

I was generally pleased with the way I played. Very controlled...Very focused. No blow-ups. I can't ask for much more than getting to the final table with chips and having a 3-1 shot at a big stack (A-Q/A-10). You have to win your races late in these tournaments and I lost two of them as well as a 75/25.

I was really hoping to upstage RUBBA after his 3rd place in the same tournament a couple of nights ago but it'll have to wait (weeeeeeee)!

I'll be buying in directly to FTOPS Event #1 ($216 NLHE) so wish me luck!!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

Frustrating Times

2008-02-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

This will be a quick post but one I need to make to cleanse my mind of various thoughts. After running well throughout January and really feeling like the momentum was building to a huge February and March, I made some horrible decisions in both game selection and bankroll management that resulted in the blow-up of 50% of my bankroll over the last week. I have had a lot of things at work weighing heavily on my mind and I have let those distract me at the poker table.

I haven't had an opportunity to talk about a concept I refer to as the "hotel factor" in any of my blog posts yet but it is a concept having to deal with the environment in which you play online poker. In a nutshell, I have had a majority of my biggest online successes while in a hotel on a business trip. It is no coincidence...the ability to focus without kids, work, etc. and have a quiet environment to analyze the table is paramount to success at the felt. For reasons I will never seem to grasp, I chose to play this past week when I was a) tired, b) distracted by work, c) home alone watching the kids run around the house...you get the picture. For someone that seems so in control in both my personal and professional life, these obvious leaks in my psychological game at the tables are just mind-boggling.

I'm at a point now that I'm going to have to move down from $2/$4 NL to $1/$2 NL which is very frustrating because I seem to find more donors at $2/$4. I'm also going to have to toil at some of the lower buy-in MTT's until I can make that (inevitable) score to get me back to where I was. Arrgghhhhhhh.....It's just so damn frustrating. I was looking for some real momentum as the WSOP satellite season begins and now I will start that season in a hole.

I know I'm too good of a player to be down for long. My poker career has always been cyclical and I expect that I will turn it around in short order. I'm not playing tonight (Monday) so I will hit the tables tomorrow night after a few days off and hopefully have a clearer mind.

On a side note, my good friend Daniel (Rubba) Rose www.rosewsop.blogspot.com has really started to turn it on lately and took 3rd last night in the FT $16.5K guar. It was his 2nd cash over $2500 in the last week so I expect him to go on a major tear. Hey....If I can't be taking them down, I'm glad Rubba is doing his part. R-U-B-B-A-R-O-S-E!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading,

W2D

2005 WSOP (Part 2)

2008-02-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

The 2nd day of the $1,500 event found me in around 40th place out of the 71 remaining players. We got to the RIO a couple of hours before the 2:00 start time and ate lunch in the cafeteria that is along the 50-mile walk from the casino to the Amazon Room. As we sat there discussing the coming day and any potential gameplan I might have, I was shocked when up walked......my wife, Carrie. She had left the kids and, without my knowledge, flown to Vegas to watch me. I was stoked to see her and thought maybe that was the inspiration I needed to TID!

I got to my table and found Billy Gazes and David "Devilfish" Ulliott. This made for a very entertaining first couple of hours as they were constantly bantering back and forth and involved in hands together. I didn't play a ton of memorable hands; busting one or two short-stacks and playing just one "memorable" hand. A similar stack raised from middle position and I re-raised with Ad-Qd from the button. He thought for sometime before smooth calling my 3-bet. The flop came down Jh-Jd-5d. He checked and I shoved it all-in. He thought for around two minutes before finally folding. Based on the pre-flop and post-flop action, I have thought about that hand hundreds of times and I figure him to have one of three hands: A-K, A-Q, or 10-10. This got me some chips and kept me alive as people began to get whacked left and right.

One random note: The "Devilfish" seemed to take a liking to my wife and would talk to her on every break. Later, after I busted and returned to watch a couple of hours later, he sought us out to talk to both of us. He was very cordial and polite but it was funny to see him drooling over any good looking ladies.

We eventually got down to 27 players and we did a re-draw for seats. This field of 27 included Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Greg Raymer, Toto Leonidas, Mark Seif, Minh Nguyen, Billy Gazes, and the Devilfish (Fairly stacked for over 2,000 players). I drew a table with only one of these pros (Toto) and no really huge stacks. I think I had around $115,000 with the blinds at $2,000/$4,000 when the UTG player to my right opened for $12K. Just to illustrate the anatomy of a poker tournament and how past events often impact your thinking later in the tournament, I looked down at 10-10. Vividly recalling the 10-10 hand that I had layed down yesterday, I decided to smooth call from UTG+1. In hindsight, I really should have either re-raised or folded there. After just calling, I probably can't call a raise from a player in late position and I have virtually turned it into a set-mining situation. No one else called and we saw a flop of Q-9-8. Check-Check. Turn-7. Check-Check. River-8. He led for $20K and I reluctantly called. He showed Q-10. Clearly, he probably can't call a re-raise from me pre-flop but hindsight is 20-20. This hand hurt my chip stack and would eventually lead to my penultimate hand...

With 24 players left and only 10 minutes from the dinner break, the blinds were $2,500/$5,000. Toto Leonidas opened UTG for $15K and I looked down at A-Joff in the hijack. I had approx. $65K left and hastily decided that it was a good spot to shove. I did and it folded around to Toto who instantly called with K-K. The board bricked and I was eliminated as the last player before the dinner break in 24th place for a little over $13,000.

Believe me when I tell you that I have thought about that A-J/K-K hand hundreds of times over the last couple of years. I knew so little about hand values and end game strategy back then that it is so clearly a fold against a UTG raiser now but I just wasn't good enough back then to understand that concept. I've often wondered if that was one my shot....was that the one opportunity in my life to get to a WSOP final table and play for a bracelet? We never know when an opportunity lost will ever be presented to us again. Dan Marino made the Super Bowl in his 2nd year and never returned. Is that what is in store for me, Willing2Die? Will I ever get another shot to compete at the highest levels of poker competition?

Luckily, I would find out just one year later...

Stay tuned for my 2006 WSOP experience.

Thanks for reading,

W2D

2005 WSOP Pictures

2008-01-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

2005 WSOP (Part 1)

2008-01-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

As my budding poker "hobby" blossomed throughout 2004, it became abundantly obvious that a trek to the holy land (WSOP) was the next step in my evolution. At the time, I was the supervisor of a Federal gang task force as well as an undercover surveillance unit. We had just had our third child in mid-2003 so to say my "extra" time was limited would be an understatement. I still found time to squeeze in MTT's when I could and made enough nice scores to keep the wife happy for the time-being. My two friends from work (Scott H. & Scott W.) and I picked Event #22 ($1,500 buy-in NLHE) as the target location for our ascendancy to stardom. This was the first year that the WSOP had moved from Binion's to the RIO Hotel so no one really knew what to expect. Our trip was normal for around......5 minutes.

Upon our arrival at the RIO, we were greeted with a smile and a "By the way, in spite of your reservations, we have no rooms for you." Now that might work for Mary and Joseph, but I was f-in pissed!!! Thus began a 20-minute negotiation process which began with them offering discount rooms at another hotel and ended with a FREE, 4-night stay at the PARIS Hotel. SCORE!!!! We were basically on a freeroll for the week since 2 rooms for 4 nights was running around $1,600. After checking in at the PARIS, we walked next door to the ALADDIN Casino which was having a $75 MTT in just a couple of minutes. We all jumped in (around 75 players) and Scott W. subsequently won the damn thing for a $1,500 first prize. ANOTHER FREEROLL!!! We had a good time celebrating that win with some cocktails and 3-card poker throughout the night.

I will never forget the first time I ever walked into the Amazon Room at the RIO. I had never seen so many damn poker tables in my life. Even more amazing was the sound.....very little chatter that was overwhelmed by the immense auditory impact of thousands of chips being riffled simultaneously. It was like dying and going to heaven!!! I felt like a Muslim might feel when finally getting the Mecca (Did I just completely mix-up a couple of different religions? I'm not sure....) We walked the room and soaked in all of the atmosphere before the start of our event. Basically, it was a poker orgasm for a lack of a better term. Our event ended up being the 3rd largest live MTT (2,013 players) in history at the time (this has since been broken many times). We eventually took our seats and were lucky enough to all be sitting within about 30 feet of each other considering the gargantuan size of the room.

In 2005, you still started with only 1,500 chips and the blinds began at 25/25. Throughout the duration of the tournament, I never really felt that short despite the starting stack sizes. In hindsight, I contribute a majority of that feeling to the fact that I really had no idea what I was doing back then. Over time, I have developed a fairly strong case of "fancy play" syndrome but in 2005, I was fairly straightforward. The first few levels were fairly methodical. The only real interesting thing that happened was that James Van Alstyne got moved to our table, he got sucked out on the river to bust out, and threw a kindergarten rant before storming from the table. I thought it was pretty funny. I did hold A-K on an A-10-10 flop against another guy who had 10-10 and I somehow avoided going broke on the hand. In fact, I remember him getting very little value out of the hand. If you can't get value from quads when your opponent flops TPTK, I reckon you suck.

My first table break led me to what I affectionately called the "Table of Death" (at the time). I think, at the present time, I wouldn't be nearly as intimidated by this line-up but my 2nd table included Mark Seif (eventual winner who already had a mountain of chips), Toto Leonidas (who would eventually bust me on Day 2), Paul "X22" Magriel, and Minh Nguyen (runner-up). This was what I would consider a fairly shitty table draw for early in day 1 so I put the brakes on and hardly played any hands. This, of course, included a hand in which Toto raised and got flat-called and I looked down at 10-10. My stack was at an awkward size where a shove was an over-bet but flat-calling basically turned my hand into a set-mining situation. I (stupidly) folded and of course the flop came 10-high. This got me pissed off for a long time and I played virtually no hands until our table broke again approx. one hour later.

My third table placed me on the direct right of David Singer. I knew who David was at the time although I'm not sure anyone else really knew who he was. He had final tabled the 2003 Main Event w/ Moneymaker and being the degenerate, poker idiot savante that I am, I pretty much knew everyone in the poker world. The tournament payed out the top 220 players and the money bubble was fast approaching as we reached 9:00. Although I don't remember the exact specifics of the hand, I did play a hand for my tournament life with Singer in which I got it in with a flush draw against his flopped two-pair. BING! Flush on the turn and I was real healthy again and he was crippled. Singer would go on to be the first guy eliminated in the money. I already had me a story as to how I had "crippled a pro!!" I started to play more pots after that hand and would eventually make a K-high straight flush to eliminate a player inside the money. My table got broke for a third time and I got sent to my final table of the day.

My 4th table included Farzad Rouhani, Asher Derei, and Krisha Augerrot. It also included a guy named Peter Lee who was down to 750 chips with the blinds at 200/400 and would eventually go on to finish 5th (making quads against the Fossilman at the final table). I splashed around a little bit at this table but never played any huge hands. Although...within around 20 minutes of arriving at this table, I did double up on a K-2-2-9-K board with K-J when I was all-in on the river and my female opponent called and asked, "Do you have a King?" The entire table, the rail, the chefs, the maids, etc. knew I had a King but she apparently did not. I would laugh some years later when I saw her on ESPN playing a hand in the main event against Raymer. Do you remember the crotchety old lady screaming "I've got a straight" to someone on the rail? That was her....

Day one concluded with 71 players left and I was around 40th in chips. It was very surreal to say the least. Looking back, I really had no comprehension of the gravity of the moment. I was excited to make it through Day one and was already guaranteed a $4,000 payday. After tagging and bagging, we went back to the PARIS and celebrated by playing 3-card poker until 4:00 in the morning (What a way to properly prepare for Day 2). I really didn't give a shit!!!! I was just excited to make it there and had zero expectations for the next day. I never thought about winning.............man, if I could have that slice of time back. Believe me, my views would be drastically different 24 hours later.

Stay tuned for Day 2....Thanks for reading.

W2D

Where do I begin?

2008-01-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

I really haven't decided what direction I want this blog to take. I envision some cathartic exercise in self-expression about how poker has been integrated into my daily web of kids, wife, friends, work, etc.....or maybe I'll use it as a soundingboard for hand analysis, bad beats, funny anecdotes, or as a barometer of my online performances. Either way, I want it to be a true picture of what it's like to be a 37-year old professional with a wife and 3 kids who can't stop thinking about poker 24 hours a day.

My evolution into a poker player began with basically with two things. The World Poker Tour and Party Poker. I remember watching the first season of the WPT and being infatuated with every aspect of the players, the production, and the poker. This somehow led me to find Party Poker. I remember playing dozens of play-point SNG's and keeping track of my results on a piece of paper on a corkboard next to my computer. As time progressed, I thought that may results warranted putting some real money in my account so I did so and the rest is history. My first big score was a 3rd place in a $20 MTT for around $1,500 which I got while in a hotel on a business trip. (You will find that to be a common theme throughout all of my poker successes). I used to play the 8:10 PST $33 MTT on Party every single night. I considered it my personal tournament. The first time I ever won it for over $3,000, I remember jumping around my house and waking my wife up saying, "I WON THE 8:10!" She thought I was a complete idiot...

I ended up taking 2nd in the same tournament the next week for over $2,000 and I was off and running. I would continue my steady profit margin on Party for most of the first 18 months of online play never really knowing anything about STARS, FullTilt, or especially pocketfives.com. These were all things that would come to be integral parts of my life in the coming months and years.

Stay tuned next time as I share my various WSOP adventures and my thoughts on balancing a family and a poker obsession....

Thanks,

W2D