Hit And Run

The title of this post is quite the tease.  It probably made you think I was in some sort of accident recently and you are anticipating a riveting piece about how my neck cracked in three places or I chased the guy down on foot.  Sadly it has nothing to do with any of those scenarios.

 

Really I just hadn't posted anything for a little while and didn't have much to say, so this will be a short entry and then I am out of here.  Hence, hit and run.

 

This past weekend Joanna, my friend Evan, and I attended the AMC Theater Best Picture Showcase event, which screens all the best picture nominees from the upcoming Academy Awards.  Last Saturday we saw The Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, Birdman, and Selma.  They were all really good.  I was anticipating Birdman the most, but I think I enjoyed The Grand Budapest Hotel the most.

 

The upcoming shows for Saturday will be Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game, and American Sniper.  Following the marathon of movie watching that day, I will then make my way to Weatherford that night for some cards.  I then have church the next morning and finally the Academy Awards ceremony that night.  It is going to be a long two days.

 

That really about does it for me.  If something of great interest happens soon I will try to get it on here.



Goodbye 2014

In response to my wife's request, this will be short and to the point.  It was a great year as my third and final child, Sawyer Dean, was born.  Emery is a wonderful big sister to the new baby and Jack is ... well, Jack is Jack.  He is our toughest kid right now, but I don't think it is because he feels any sort of middle child syndrome.  I rather just think he is full of energy and like all 3-year-olds is testing his boundaries.

 

Starting the middle of January I will be moving buildings at work to start a new position.  It is called Loan Action Specialist, but that is just a fancy term for someone who verifies the reasons loan officers deny or cancel loans.  It is somewhat of a compliance role, which isn't completely different from the quality assurance job I am supposed to be doing now.  I say "supposed to be doing" because instead of quality assurance I am checking legal documents to verify we have all the information necessary when a loan's servicing is purchased.  This is the job of Record Services, which is monotonous, mundane, and ususally done by temps.

 

The birth of my child and changing jobs were the two big events of 2014.  I did have some success in a yearly poker tournament I play in.  It was the second year of the tournament and the first time I finished third.  This year I improved and came in second place, winning $800.

 

Hope your year was also a good one and next year is even better.  Everyone have a safe New Year's Eve.

Just Dropped By To Say Hi

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would pop in and give a few updates.
I am being given a raise at work, which was highly unexpected and even more highly appreciated. My boss is wonderful.
I'm going to Weatherford this weekend to play cards. Hopefully, I have a decent night and get some extra money to help pay for new tires my car badly needs.
My daughter's third birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, which means my thirtieth is also on the way. Joanna and I are planning to rent a bounce house for the kids to play on and order pizza for everyone to enjoy. Should be a good time.
Football is right around the corner, but the Texas Rangers have made life very interesting around the metroplex as they continue to fight for a chance at a championship, all while going through an ownership change/debacle. With football coming, that means fantasy football is also here. I am already signed up for four leagues. It will be the most I've ever been a part of. Two of my teams are a part of keeper leagues. My group of friends tried this a couple seasons ago, but it didn't stick. We'll see how these two leagues go.
That is about it. Hopefully something worth writing about happens soon that I can post more frequently. Check out my Living the Dream blog to see how Saturday night goes.

A Nostalgic Find

While on my lunch break today, I found a Web site that contained a written history of the Tournament of Champions. The Tournament of Champions, or TOC as it was better known, was designed to develop the poker skills of our group of friends and find out who the best player was. It certainly helped with our game, but I don't think we ever conceded that it determined the true "Great One."

The site can be found at http://www.associatepublisher.com/e/t/to/tournament_of_champions.htm. I have a feeling I wrote the article at one time, but I don't remember where I posted it to where it would show up at this site.

New Blog Is Up

Per request from James (and inspired by the Texas Poker Guy), I am giving updates on my poker play as of late. Go here to check it out.

February Statistics

Monthly Profit: $1,130

Yearly Profit: $2,752

Total Monthly Hours Played: 35 hours 45 minutes

Total Yearly Hours Played: 90 hours

Monthly Per Hour Rate: $31.61

Yearly Per Hour Rate: $30.58

Most Profitable Format: $1-2 No-Limit Hold'em

Least Profitable Format: $2-5 No-Limit Hold'em

Per Hour Rate For Most Profitable Format: $53.44

Day Most Played: Friday

Most Profitable Day: Friday (Played In Casinos Three Times)

Least Profitable Day: Saturday (Played In Casino Once)

Per Hour Rate For Most Profitable Day: $52.07

Session 17

My final game in February was a winning one. Not quite as large as my two previous games, but still a win.
I played for a little more than four hours and for about three of those hours I didn't go anywhere. I was actually down to $50 at one point and was considering adding on another $100 when I doubled up with pocket kings. I then felted the same guy about three or four hands later with pocket kings again.
Finally the two table bullies left and everybody was allowed to play a little poker. The only big pot I played was with pocket fours. I called a raise of $7 with my fours and one other player called behind me. The pot was at approximately $20.
The flop came 8-3-2. The original raiser bet $15 and I immediately raised to $45. This raise was partly to see how strong the original raiser/bettor was and to thin the field by getting the other guy out. This plan half worked because it did get the third guy out of the hand, but the original raiser/bettor called my bet. Not what I really wanted... until the turn. The pot now had $110.
The turn was a beautiful four. It was checked to me and I thought about how much to bet. I had another $120 in front of me and wanted to lure the guy in. I needed to bet something that wasn't going to leave me with so little that it was suspicious but enough that the bet wasn't suspicious. Not too little, but not too big. I settled on $50. The guy didn't take too long to call so we now had a $210 pot and I only had $70 left.
The river was a king and the guy checked again. By this point I put him on a pocket pair higher than eights. That means he has five hands that lose to me and one hand that now has me crushed. I'll take my chances. I took a long time to think about it, as if I was trying to figure out how to win the hand, and finally moved my remaining $70 into the pot. He thought for about 20 seconds and called. I showed my hand and he folded. Some guy at the end of the table asked the player if he had aces and he nodded. I don't know if that truly is what he had, but it makes sense.
I cashed out with $387. This moves my yearly profit up to $2,752. The most amazing part about all of this is that I met my goal of making $1,000 each month after starting $1,200 in the hole in my first three sessions.

Session 16

Another very solid night for me gave my February a much happier ending than it did a beginning.
I played for five hours and was sitting pretty at approximately $450 when I lost it all on one single hand against an Asian kid who was getting lucky on key hands and then bluffing off a ton of chips so that his swings were all over the place. In the five hours I was with him at the table I saw him go from $70 to $900 in about four or five different up and down motions. When I left he had only about $300 left.
The hand that should have put me on eternal tilt was a set over set hand. I had pocket sevens and he had pocket nines. We both hit on the flop and bet all of our money by the turn. I couldn't river quads and was re-buying for $200.
The very first hand of my re-buy I doubled up. I had pocket fours in middle position and it was a straddled pot. I limped in and when it got back to the straddler he made it $25 to go. A player before me called and I decided to play a little more aggressive with my meek fours. I re-raised it to $100. Keep in mind I only have $200 total at the beginning of the hand. Everybody folded around to the straddler. He contemplated the play and decided to call. The guy between us folded. There was now approximately $235 in the pot.
The flop was K-8-5 rainbow. The straddler checked to me and I pushed my remaining $100 in. He called and I told him if he could call he most likely could beat me. He had A-9 offsuit and I won the pot when he didn't improve. Four hands later I doubled up again.
I had A-2 in the big blind. Six players called the two dollars and we saw a flop. The flop was A-Q-2 giving me two pair. Since nobody raised I figured to have the best hand right now and decided to let somebody else bet for me. I checked after the small blind checked, but everybody else checked. That stunk.
Then the turn came with a beautiful two, giving me a full house. I again decided to check and let somebody have something to bet with, but again it checked around. Stinks again.
The river was a three putting out on the board A-Q-2-2-3. I figured if anybody had anything then I would get called, otherwise I wasn't going to make any money anyway. So I led out with a $15 into a $14 pot. The Asian kid who felted me earlier raised it to $40. The player after him called for all of his chips, which amounted to $26. It folded around to me and I thought for about ten seconds and made it $115. The Asian kid almost immediately re-raised all in. Usually when I'm holding a full house and it has been checked to the river I am not reluctant to think I have the best hand, but since he had raised me and then re-raised when I re-raised him it made me a little nervous. I eventually told him I had to have the best hand and I called. He showed 4-5 for a straight and I took down the pot.
After this hand I pretty much just chipped my way up to the $1,000 mark and then some. A hand that helped me accumulate more chips was when I was in a blind and had an open-ended straight draw that a player gave me the odds to draw to, with the help of a girl who was calling his bet. I hit it on the river and was paid off. That pot netted me an additional $175 or so.
I left the table with $1,266 for a $866 profit. That puts me at $2,565 profit for the year. Pretty good for two months of work.

Session 15

I got back on that horse Tuesday night and drove to Choctaw to see if after breaking the losing streak in Shreveport I could perform well in Oklahoma. Greatest decision I ever made.
I played for my usual four hours and left with a profit of $951. It was a good mixture of great cards and well-timed bluffs. I did get caught bluffing once, but I got away with it on about three medium-sized to large pots so it was okay.
My initial surge to profits-ville was actually from a bluff. I had pocket threes in the big blind and called another $10 when it was raised from late position. Another player behind me called the raise and we went to a flop with the pot at $30.
The flop was Q-6-5 rainbow. I checked, the player after me checked and the raiser bet $20. I thought for a good thirty seconds about my options. I could either fold since I only held a small pocket pair. I could call to see what came later and see what the bettor did. I could raise since the bettor could simply be on a continuation bet.
While I was going through my thought process the bettor started to do some table talk and began hinting that he was afraid of me since I was in the blind and could have anything. I thought he wasn’t posturing for a call and actually didn’t want a call.
I decided not to fold and not get crazy. I wanted to see how the bettor reacted to a call. So I put in the money and expected to move on to the turn, but the guy behind me called. That’s not good. The pot now had $90.
The turn was a 2. This was good for me since it most likely didn’t help anyone and it gave me four more outs for an inside straight draw. I elected to check again and both players behind me checked. I now knew the pre-flop raiser was doing a continuation bet but I couldn’t figure out what the guy after me was doing.
The river was a 5, putting Q-6-5-2-5 on the board. I thought for a few seconds and figured I could bluff the best hand in this situation if I didn’t have the best hand and I led out for $60, which was about a third of what I had left. Both players instantaneously folded and the pre-flop raiser asked if I had a five. I said no and flipped up my threes. He said he had one of my outs and that probably means he had A-3. I don’t know what the other guy had.
My next big hand was a full house when I held pocket jacks. I called a pre-flop raise, flopped a set, checked to the bettor, called his bet, turned a boat and called his all in after checking to him. Pretty straightforward. Knocking him out gave me an additional $250 to work with.
Once I was up to $800 I knocked a player out by hitting one of my 15 outs with two cards to come. I limped in with 6-7 of clubs and the player two to my left raised it $10 more. Four others called the raise and I decided to speculate a flop. The flop came 8-5-2 with two clubs. I had an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw. I checked. The original raiser bet $15 (into a $70 pot). The player on his left said, “If I can’t win with this then I need to go home,” and he went all in for $95 total. It folded around to me and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. I figured the original raiser/bettor wasn’t going to call, even if he had a monster hand pre-flop like aces or kings. The only way he was calling the extra $80 if I called was with a set or A-K of clubs (which is still questionable). I figured it would end up heads-up so I called, not wanting to risk any more than I had to. Sure enough the original bettor folded and the all in player tabled top set of eights. I turned the flush and he didn’t fill up.
A few hands later I lost almost $100 when I called an all in pre-flop with Q-J offsuit. I was under the gun and raised it to $10. I usually don’t raise this early with a hand like this, but I hadn’t raised all night and with $900 in front of me I decided to show them I had this ability. I received two callers and then the big blind moved all in for $87 total.
On a normal day there is almost no way I am calling a $77 raise pre-flop with Q-J offsuit, but there are some details you need to know that influenced my decision. The big blind had in the last 10 minutes lost about $200 on some bad beats and loose plays. The hand before this one he had straddled the big blind, moved all in pre-flop and wasn’t called. When he did it again I had a feeling he wasn’t that strong, but I’ve been wrong before. He seemed very nervous, shaking his knee rapidly, and I just sensed his hand wasn’t good enough to make this kind of move. I also had to worry about the two guys behind me, but if they had just called my $10 raise and then face a re-raise and call from the original raiser I didn’t think they would play also. I called and the other two laid their hands down (one even said he had A-Q). The all in player had K-5 of diamonds (about the range of hands I figured him to have), but he hit his flush and I lost.
I made it over the $1,000 hump when my pocket queens were outdrawn on the turn and then hit a two outer for a boat on the river. It was pretty sweet. I was in the big blind and re-raised it after a player in late position made it $5 to go. The small blind called and I bumped it up to $20. Both players called. There was now $60 in the pot.
The flop was 8-7-6 rainbow. The small blind checked. I bet $40. The late position player raised the minimum to $80, leaving himself only about another $80. The small blind folded. I thought a while and after the guy stared me down for a few seconds I was sure enough that he didn’t have me beat. I said I was all in, which really put him all in and he put the rest out there. He flipped up A-8.
The turn was an eight, giving him trips, and the river brought one of my only two queens for a full house.
I played up the luck box mentality and let everyone think I was just this average player who was getting his fair share of cards until I snapped off a great bluff. Then I would show the bluff and it gave the others some doubt when I made big bets with big hands. I have to say that I was definitely in the zone last night. I was making great value bets and getting paid off with great hands. It was a good night.
The big profit from last night, along with the Shreveport trip, pretty much cancels out my string of losses from two weeks ago. My bankroll is back up to $2,699, giving me a $1,699 profit for the year. For the record, my hourly rate last night was $237.75. Much better than the $5.75 an hour I made in high school at Blockbuster Video.

My Vacation (Including Sessions 13 & 14)

The Nacogdoches/Shreveport trip was worth it just for the drive down Friday morning. I left Ennis at about 9:45 a.m. and for half of the three-hour drive I listened to 1310 The Ticket’s Norm talk about the Mavericks and Cowboys. The scenery was beautiful and I decided to take the longer, more scenic route to Nacogdoches, which was definitely the right decision. East Texas is a beautiful piece of countryside that is overshadowed by the dry, barren half of West Texas in the minds of the national public.
After arriving in Nacogdoches at 1 p.m. I drove around the city to look at my old house where I have countless great memories of the good times I had in college. I made my way to Peking and savored my favorite dish. General Sao’s Chicken is still as good as I remembered it. Following lunch I went to the campus and walked around a bit. They are making a lot of changes, particularly in parking. I saw two new parking garages on campus, my dorm was torn down to build new apartment-style dorms and the University Center is being remodeled. I bought two SFA shirts and a hat. I also saw my favorite professor from the journalism department, who I think had a small for of turrets syndrome or was just a kooky old man that loved his job. He was across campus and I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, but I doubt he would have remembered me anyway so it was for the best.
After the shopping and campus tour I played a round of Frisbee golf. I shot a –2 for the course, which is pretty great since I haven’t played the course in years and I haven’t played Frisbee golf in several months. I was bogey free until hole 16 where I missed a 10-foot putt that cost me par. It was even more defeating because I was so close to going the entire game without a bogey and it occurred on a hole I usually birdie.
Once I finished my game I took a little more time to see the town and what had changed (a few new restaurants and some businesses had closed down). I finally hit the road for Shreveport.
Once I arrived in Shreveport, instead of finding a place to spend the night I immediately made my way to El Dorado (formerly Hollywood Casino) to begin my poker comeback. I played for seven hours and finished with a profit of $189. I had to put in a $160 add-on to keep going, but it was worth it in the end.
I lost with pocket queens... again. This seems to be the hand of my demise lately. The only good thing to come out of losing with the queens was I stopped putting money into the pot once I knew I was beat. I raised pre-flop and got two callers. The flop came out with three lower cards than my queens. I bet about two-thirds of the pot and received one player. The turn was an ace and he checked to me again. I checked behind him and the river was insignificant. He checked again and I flipped up my hand. He showed his A-J and won the pot. He had nothing on the flop but decided to call with his overs. Oh well, that is what I want in the long run.
The second session came Saturday when I played at the Horseshoe Casino. I won $135 at this game, but it was just as bad as WinStar, except I wasn’t surrounded by 19-year-olds.
One guy at the game raised pre-flop to $55 on several occasions with nobody yet voluntarily entering the pot. By the way, I was playing in a $1-2 no-limit game, not a $2-5. After frustrating the table with his bets he started to get action but unlucky for us he hit the hands he needed. He was raising with K-J and Q-9 and would either hit and win a big pot or miss and bet all in forcing the other players out. He left with a profit of about $450 and we were all glad to see him leave. Actually, he did tone it down a little for a while, only making it $20-25 pre-flop but eventually made his way back up to the $45 range near the end.
I also played against the most annoying player I have ever been around at this session. He was a loud-mouthed, cocky, ignorant, jobless man from Arkansas who only talked about how we were a bunch of donkeys who he was going to roll up, felt or ride back to Arkansas. I was only given one opportunity to double up through him when I semi-bluffed the turn with a straight draw and flush draw. I hit the straight on the river and bet $35 (with the pot sitting at about $55). He thought long and hard about raising and finally folded. He said he folded top pair and was going to raise me but he couldn’t pull the trigger. I told him he should have because I missed my flush and only had ace high.
A big hand for me came when I elected to speculate a flop with 6-7 suited and flopped a straight. A player with Kings raised pre-flop and after the limpers got out of the way and another player called I decided to see what happened. If I didn’t hit two pair or better I was gone. When I flopped my straight both myself and the other caller checked. The raiser went all in for $30 more (with about $40 in the pot). The first player called the bet and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. There were two diamonds on board (which was not my suit) and I elected to raise another $60. I figured if the caller had a draw he would let it go and if he hit something decent he might hang in there. The caller folded and I flipped up my hand. The river would have made a higher straight for the caller so it is good I did what I did. By the way, the table proceeded to discuss how bad I was because I played junk hands like 6-7 suited in a raised pot. Eh, maybe they are right, but I stand by my decision. I would certainly complain about losing to 6-7 suited when I had pocket kings.
Overall the trip was great and I had a really good time. For anyone going to Shreveport anytime soon I recommend El Dorado’s card room over the Horseshoe’s room. It is more spacious and the game is not as wild. My bankroll was bumped up to $1,748 after my two winning sessions and I will be making my return to Choctaw soon.

Weekend O' Poker

I am taking the day off from work tomorrow and since I have nothing to do with my weekend, except entertain the children on Sunday, I have decided to travel east and spend the night in Shreveport. Before arriving at my destination though I will be making a pit stop in Nacogdoches in order to take a trip down memory lane.
I will play some frisbee golf at the greatest course in Texas, better known as Pecan Park. In order to cancel out one of the things I am "out" on I will be purchasing some Stephen F. Austin gear. I am out on people who own more clothing from a school they didn't attend than one they did, so this trip should balance me out.
The best part about stopping in Nacogdoches is I will be getting my favorite meal ever, General Sao's Chicken from Peking Restaurant. I haven't had it in so long and am salivating already for the great taste.
Once I have spent enough time in my college town I will then finish my road trip to Shreveport where I plan to play either two or three sessions of poker. One Friday night and either one or two on Saturday. Depends on if my slump continues or not.
I am really excited about the trip and will let you know how it goes. I may even try to beat the record Chad has at Pecan Park for lowest score, but I doubt that happens considering I haven't played frisbee golf in at least eight months.

Session 12

I have almost negated an entire month’s profits in four consecutive and disappointing losses. Tuesday night’s game was another $400 loss and a huge blow to my self-esteem. I felt demoralized and dejected after losing two buy-ins in about two hours.
What made this loss the worst of the last four was I actually played very well. It was probably the best I have played in several games.
My first big hit was when I turned trips and had called a bet on the flop and led out on the turn from the button. While facing two opponents on the river and holding a three kicker I elected to check, which was a good decision because I lost the hand to K-10.
Another large loss was when my K-9 lost against two guys who were all-in with K-Q and A-7. The K-Q had me beat the whole way when we both paired a king on the flop and the A-7 player, who was a beginner and had no clue as to what was going on, sucked out on the turn with a third seven. I should have checked the turn and let them show their strength on the river, which would have saved me $50, but both players checked to me on the flop and turn. This hand was probably my only true mistake in the night.
I lost my first buy-in when holding A-K and elected to go all in pre-flop after the under-the-gun player raised it to $15 (at a $1-2 game). He received two callers and I felt the pot was big enough that I could try to take it down then and even if I was called I might not be in too bad of shape. I pushed my $64 in the middle and was then re-raised by James, who was holding pocket kings. This got everyone else out, one of whom was holding Q-Q. We both hit a king on the flop and I was out.
My second bust out was with A-J suited. I called a $20 pre-flop raise, along with the beginner, from an early bettor. The flop brought three low cards and two spades. The raiser checked and I felt it was a good opportunity for me to try and win the pot. I moved all in for $94 (into a $60 pot). The button folded and the original raiser called. He had K-K and I didn’t improve.
This loss knocks me down to a $1,422 bankroll. My February is going very poorly and I really need a win soon, otherwise I may take the Mike Steed approach to the game.

Session 11

The plan was to play for an entire eight hours on Saturday, but I wasn’t lucky enough to make it that long. I started off playing $1-2 no-limit but moved to the $2-5 game after about 30 minutes of play. Big mistake on my part.
I peaked after about another hour at the “big game” at $600. After that I was knocked down to $70 after two big losses.
My first loss came when my A-Q couldn’t shake a guy holding A-J. He rivered a flush on me after flopping top pair. I don’t blame him for calling my bets on the flop and turn, it just sucked to lose the hand when I was betting it very hard to get him off the flush draw. When he did river his flush and I checked to him he decided not to bet and I saved some money there, even though I would have folded to any bet knowing he had me beat.
My second loss was with 5-6 offsuit. I was in a blind and the flop came Q-6-3. I checked and called a bet that was approximately three-fourths the size of the pot. The turn was a five and I checked to the bettor again, wanting to check raise. He bet $50 and I raised him another $75 on top. He thought for a bit and then called. The river was a nine. I bet $150 and he quickly called with Q-9. I was very disappointed that the river brought such a disgusting card.
After being down to $70 I doubled up with A-J offsuit, almost doubled up again with pocket tens and then was busted when I flopped a flush draw with bottom pair. I took my stand and missed when the guy was holding top two pair, which nullified some of my outs.
I lost $500 for the day and that knocked my bankroll down to $1,822, which amounts to a $1,000 loss in less than a week. Yeah, it sucks.

Session 10

I would say this was a crushing blow to the poker ego, but it was nothing compared to my trip the next day.
I learned a valuable lesson about my playing ability. When constricted with a 100x the big blind maximum buy-in I should not play the speculative hands like 6-7 and J-9 until I have won some money and can afford to limp in for a miracle flop.
After dipping down and losing some money with those exploratory hands I then lost a big sum with pocket queens, on three different occasions. The worst loss emotionally was when I bet a little less than the size of the pot after raising pre-flop on a 4-4-3 rainbow board and was called by a guy with A-5 of hearts. He turned an ace and we checked it down, because not winning any more money is what you want to do when you are drawing for a low probability suckout.
I received 10-12 pocket pairs and never hit a single set throughout the night. I lost $300 knocking my bankroll down to $2,322. However, this would be the second of three losses in a row. February is not starting well for me.

January Statistics

Monthly Profit: $1,622

Yearly Profit: $1,622

Total Monthly Hours Played: 54 hours 15 minutes

Total Yearly Hours Played: 54 hours 15 minutes

Monthly Rate Per Hour: $29.90

Yearly Rate Per Hour: $29.90

Most Profitable Format: $1-2 No-Limit Hold’em

Leas Profitable Format: Online Poker

Rate Per Hour For Most Profitable Format: $44.73

Day Most Played: Saturday (Played Two Tournaments, Twice Online and Once at Choctaw)

Most Profitable Day: Thursday (Played Choctaw Three Times)

Least Profitable Day: Sunday (Played Online Twice)

Rate Per Hour For Most Profitable Day: $92.67

Session 9

I am disappointed to report that my final session in January was a loss of $200.
James and I again were at the same table and he won almost every dollar available, so there wasn’t much left to get for myself. Actually I was up about $130 early on when my pocket aces beat K-Q suited for all of a girls stack. After that though there were slim pickings for the rest of the night.
I reached a point that I couldn’t connect with much when I had good cards and I played bad cards for large raises to offset the bad luck. I should have stopped after about two hours into the night and waited for James to finish his tear of good cards and good play because I didn’t feel well and wasn’t playing to the best of my ability. I still need to work on that aspect of my game.
The hand I went out on happened to be the last hand of the night whether I had won or lost the pot, which I happened to lose. I received A-J of clubs and raised it to $10 in middle position, which was a fifth of my stack since I only had $51 left. I received four callers, two from late position and the two blinds. There was $50 in the pot.
The flop came Q-J-2 with two clubs. It checked to me and I moved my remaining $41 into the middle. I got a caller and we flipped up our hands. He had A-Q taking away some hope. The turn was a queen, which took away more hope. The river was a meaningless card and I went to the cashier’s window where James was cashing in a huge payday.
I surpassed my goal of winning $1,000 for the month. I'll post my January stats later when I have some more time.

Session 8

My most profitable sitting of 2007 took place last night when James and I went to Choctaw for our usual Thursday game, and the funny part is most of my money came from two big hands.
The two of us were put at the same table at about 8:45 p.m. when they opened a new $1-2 no-limit game. For the first hour to hour-and-a-half I could not connect with a flop. Actually that isn’t entirely true. I did flop a set twice in that time period and got no action on it.
Finally things started rolling smoothly when I was dealt pocket nines on the button. There were already a few callers and this would be a good pot to have multiple people playing in case I hit a big hand. So I called.
The flop was K-10-4 rainbow. It checked all the way around to me. I decided to not get crazy with the hand and decided to check. I don’t fault a little probe bet here to see where everybody stands, but I elected for the checking routine.
The turn was a beautiful nine, completing the rainbow of suits and not allowing for a flush draw. The big blind led out for a $10 bet into a $14 pot. A player in middle position raised the minimum, making it $20. I didn’t like the minimum raise as it usually stands for a big hand, I just had to decide how big of a hand it was.
I was looking at a board of K-10-4-9. The only two realistic hands that could be beating me in a non-raised pot pre-flop was either a set of tens, which crushes me, or Q-J for the straight, which gives me a decent number of outs. I decided to call the minimum raise and see what happens on the river before getting too attached to my hand. That’s when things got really interesting.
The original bettor then raised all-in for $125 total. That led the raiser to call for his remaining chips, which was a total of $95. To call the bet would have left we with approximately $55. I was in a pickle.
I wasn’t worried about the blind player simply because he was a very loose player and continuously thought top pair with a weak kicker was good enough to play to the end, so two pair must be a monster to him. The player I was really afraid of was the minimum raiser. He had played this hand the same way most people would with Q-J. I now had to decide whether the guy had the straight or if he was losing to my set of nines. After about two minutes of thinking I got the feeling he didn’t want me to call, so I did.
The blind had 9-4 for two pair and the raiser never showed his hand, but he did say he had outs.
The river was a seven and I took down the pot. It was a $360 that gave me enough room to open up my game a bit.
The next big hand came when I got pocket kings in early position. I raised it up to $10. I was then re-raised by a player across from me who was wearing sunglasses at the table, which I’m not a big fan of. He made it $40 to go. It folded back around to me and I re-raised it to $100 flat. He quickly called the re-raise and we saw a flop.
The flop came down 7-4-2. This is a perfect flop for kings. I immediately said that I was all in, considering the other player only had about $125 remaining, and he insta-called. I thought this was bad news for my kings, but sure enough he turned over pocket jacks and didn’t improve.
After that I won a lot of little pots due to getting a lot of respect after showing down some big hands earlier. I stole some pots and got paid on a few hands where I had the best of it. It was a good night for me overall.
I logged a $558 profit for the night, which brings my yearly profit up to $1,900. In 2007 I am eight for eight on casino no-limit winning sessions and ten for ten since my last loss, which funny enough came from WinStar and the ten-winning streak is all Choctaw. I love that casino.

Session 7

In order to walk away with a $90 profit Monday night I broke two rules I set for myself in order to test my ability to turn playing poker into a career. The first rule was re-buying more than once in a single session. The second rule was playing longer than planned because I was in the hole, otherwise being known as stuck.
The first $200 I spent went rather quickly because although I was physically in my seat I was not at the game mentally. I bluffed off and called off my money faster than a three-song lap dance in a Vegas gentleman’s club, metaphorically you understand.
The second $200 went just as fast, but at least I put forth some thought behind my plays. I lost a large sum when my runner-runner flush with 5-3 of hearts ran into the nut flush. He bet on the flop and for some reason I stayed in the hand to see a turn card, which gave me the flush draw and we both checked it to the river. When the heart hit I bet $25 and he raised me the minimum. Since there were so many hearts bigger than mine I just called instead of raising. Calling was obviously dumb, but I figured my hand to be good enough times to validate the call.
The rest of my money lost on a set over set situation when my 10-10 went up against J-J.
Seeing as I was now mentally ready for the game and got the bad luck out of the way I wanted to see if I could recoup some of my losses. I bought in for another $200 and after about 30 minutes at the same table, and winning back about $50 of my $400 on the table, we broke up and went to different tables.
Two hands after sitting down at the new table I was in the big blind with 10-9 offsuit. The under the gun player raised the big blind, which was $2, to $7 total. He received three callers before me, which included the small blind. I was staring at 6-1 odds and decided to see a flop, which it’s a good thing I did. The pot was at $35.
The flop came 10-9-2 with two hearts. The small blind and I both checked. I was looking to trap the under the gun player. He led out with a $20 bet and was immediately raised by the player on his left. This guy went all in for $74 total. This then put $129 in the pot. The two players after this thought for a little bit and decided to fold. I now had a decision before me. I was sitting with approximately $240 in front of me and the under the gun player had about $150 in front of him. I could either just call the re-raise inducing him to call with his overcards or pocket pair or I could re-raise to get it heads up. I got greedy and decided I would take my chances against him in a side pot. Luckily for me he folded. You see, he had pocket jacks and the turn was a jack, so I would have lost.
The all-in guy flipped over his aces and lost the hand when no help came. I should also add that the other two players who thought about calling before I did both had hearts and a heart came on the river. So I got extremely lucky that three winning hands folded to the re-raise. Thanks so much to the guy who got cute with his aces.
The other big hand came when I had A-10 of diamonds in what would have been my small blind, but the guy on my right bought the button after being absent for his big blind, so I now was first to act after his small and big blind.
I limped to get a pot going in case I hit a big hand. There were four callers and the blind checked it. This put $13 in the pot.
The flop came 10-9-4 with two hearts. This was a very similar flop to the previous hand I discussed. I decided rather quickly that I had the best hand, unless someone got lucky and had a set, so I wanted to disguise my hand on the flop and catch someone betting what they thought was good. The blind and I checked and the girl on my left bet $10. The next three players called. That I didn’t expect. I thought about the situation and decided this was good enough and I wanted to win the hand as fast as possible, so I raised it another $50 on top of the $10. The original female bettor and the guy on her left both moved all in, which I covered with my $60 bet. The next player then called the raise. The guy in the blind asked if I was on a draw or had flopped a set and decided to get out of the way when I replied, “We’ll see.”
The turn was a black two. I immediately led out with a $100 bet, which would have covered the only other guy in the hand who wasn’t all in by about $5. He folded and I flipped up my top pair, top kicker hand.
The river was a nine and the two all-in players folded without showing. I won a massive pot that put me at $700 for the night.
I played another 15 minutes and then got up after five hours of play, which I only planned to play four hours but was stuck less than $100 and thought I could make it up in another hour.
I walked out with $690 for a $90 profit, which puts me up $1,342.75 for the year. After playing for the five hours I made $18 an hour. This is definitely a decent amount. I have played seven times at Choctaw Casino this year and have had seven winning sessions, but some were very small wins.
I am planning one more trip to Oklahoma tomorrow night and a tournament this weekend, which should complete the month for me. I will post my January results once I have completed all my games.

Am I Wrong With My Decision?

Now that I have thought about it more thoroughly, I would like to discuss a hand that took place Saturday during my first six-hour session of the year.
I had approximately $585 in front of me at the start of this hand, after buying in for $200. I was in the cutoff seat with A-10 of diamonds. There had been four callers in front of me and I decided to keep this a large field just in case I hit the miracle of all flops with three diamonds, full house, three of a kind or top two pair. The button called and the blinds played. It was a $16 pot with eight of us playing.
The flop came down A-J-4 with two clubs. The blinds checked and the first person to act, we will call her the female villain, bet $10. The person after her called. It folded to me and I figured to have the best hand right now unless somebody flopped a set of fours or two pair with A-4. I raised it to $30, making it $20 more to the first two in the pot. It folded back to the female villain. She called the raise and the player after her folded. The pot was now at $76.
The turn was the 10 of clubs. This was either a really great card for me or crushed me. However here was the good news, the female villain only had about $60 in front of her. She didn’t waste any time in checking. I thought for a brief moment about my options.
I could check and see what comes on the river, but that was not a good plan in my opinion. So that left betting. How much should I bet? If I bet everything she had she was only calling with a flush or the set of fours that we talked about earlier. I wanted to get all of her money if I was winning and I didn’t mind taking a risk if she was on a draw. If I bet half of what she had she would put the rest of it in on any made hand that was two pair or better or any kind of draw. With a pair of aces she would definitely call if not put the rest of it in. I decided betting half was the best plan since I was going to put the whole $60 in no matter what. If she raised me I was going to call and betting half of what she had gave me a better chance of getting all of her money.
I bet $30 again and she immediately went all in. Well, this is what I wanted and if I am beat then so be it, but I am getting 6-1 to call and I still could have the best hand seeing as she could have a pair of aces with a flush draw or even a hand such as A-Q or J-10. I called and she flipped over K-8 of clubs. Come on dealer, give me a boat.
Sure enough, an ace came on the river and she lost. I think I played the hand fine. Going in behind with a four outer wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made, but by the time all her money was in the pot I felt I had invested enough and was priced in for the amount of money she had left and the amount I had in front of me at the time.
What do you think?

Session 6

The sixth trip to Choctaw for the year resulted in my sixth profit.
James and I drove to Oklahoma on Saturday for a six-hour session. I sat down with $200 and walked out with $653. The $453 profit puts me up for the year at $1,250, putting my bankroll at $2,250. My goal going into the year was to make $1,000 a month and I accomplished that goal in 20 days.
I plan to make two more trips to Choctaw before the end of January, so we will see how that goes. Nothing of great importance took place during the session, so I don't really have much to talk about.