Mid-May Update

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?

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)

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...

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

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

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

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