Another +7 Buy-in Session! (Hand Review request)

After one of my longest streaks of negative variance, I've gone on a nice little heater. (knock knock)

Another +7 Buy-in session this morning. 2 hours of play 1101 hands. 4tables of 6max and 3 tables of Full Ring. I've discovered this is optimal for me. I can have the 6max tables at a pretty good size and then I have the 3 FR tables minimum size lined up on the right side of my monitor. Very small overlap on tables so I can see the action pretty easily.

I've discovered that playing FullRing is improving my 6max game. The reason is simply that it allows me to work on playing position and hand reading based on stats and minimal exposure to the villians. I am just POUNDING away when in position. I isolate a TON which, unlike at 6 max in micros, works very very well at Full Ring. Additionally, there are a ton more fish playing at the Full Ring tables than at the 6 max. Either they play way too loose-passive or they play way too nitty. I can steal all day, when they get tired of it and play back at me....well, to say that I control the action would be an understatement. Very rarely do I feel out of control or confused.

As for 6 max, I am in a zone right now. Great reads on players, focusing on the fish and just having a blast as I work on position and extracting maximum value.

I have a couple hands of note to show from today's session. For what it is worth, I've started opening up notepad while I play and immediately after an interesting or confusing hand, I copy and paste into the notepad file and then will review and/or place on here.

First hand comes from FullRing:

PokerStars Game #21562586361: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/28 10:35:59 ET
Table 'Roma V' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: DubsPoke ($11.30 in chips)
Seat 2: Hektor83 ($1.75 in chips)
Seat 3: catleonet ($14.35 in chips)
Seat 4: xgrindxandix ($1.85 in chips)
Seat 5: Ronny Mahoni ($10.20 in chips)
Seat 6: LuigiVampa1 ($9.75 in chips)
Seat 7: hugopeich ($10.15 in chips)
Seat 8: ManorJr ($10.85 in chips)
Seat 9: patxer ($9.90 in chips)
patxer: posts small blind $0.05
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [As 4s]
Hektor83: folds
catleonet: folds
xgrindxandix: folds
Ronny Mahoni: raises $0.20 to $0.30 (EP raise is Ax or Faces)
LuigiVampa1: folds
hugopeich: folds
ManorJr: folds
patxer: folds
DubsPoke: calls $0.20
*** FLOP *** [Ah 4h 9h] (bingo...except for those nasty hearts)
DubsPoke: checks
Ronny Mahoni: checks (could check a draw or scared of CR)
*** TURN *** [Ah 4h 9h] [Jd]
DubsPoke: bets $0.40
Ronny Mahoni: raises $0.80 to $1.20 (doubt he has a flush based on timing, this is certainly an Ax hand where I'm mostly likely ahead)
DubsPoke: calls $0.80
*** RIVER *** [Ah 4h 9h Jd] [3c]
DubsPoke: bets $1.30 (small bet for value, I give myself 70% chance I'm ahead and I want some value. Pot is around $4 at this point, probably could/should have bet around $2.10-$2.70 - your thoughts?)
Ronny Mahoni: calls $1.30
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [As 4s] (two pair, Aces and Fours)
Ronny Mahoni: mucks hand
DubsPoke collected $5.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.65 | Rake $0.25
Board [Ah 4h 9h Jd 3c]
Seat 1: DubsPoke (big blind) showed [As 4s] and won ($5.40) with two pair, Aces and Fours
Seat 2: Hektor83 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: catleonet folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: xgrindxandix folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Ronny Mahoni mucked [Tc Ad]
Seat 6: LuigiVampa1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: hugopeich folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: ManorJr (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: patxer (small blind) folded before Flop



----------------------------------

6 max game - Great example of what paying attention does at a 6max table:

PokerStars Game #21563244305: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/28 11:13:54 ET
Table 'Normannia' 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 2: airya ($10 in chips)
Seat 3: Moneysource ($3.75 in chips)
Seat 4: Kon$umkind ($10.60 in chips)
Seat 5: DubsPoke ($11.40 in chips)
Seat 6: uMauMaGrrr ($10.15 in chips)
Kon$umkind: posts small blind $0.05
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.10
dobrzeee: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Jc Jh]
uMauMaGrrr: folds
airya: folds
Moneysource: raises $0.20 to $0.30
Kon$umkind: raises $0.80 to $1.10 (19/12/13.3% 3bet over 43 hands, small sample size but good enough to know how he plays, his 3bet range is any pocket pair, AJ+)
DubsPoke: calls $1 (JJ is too weak to 4bet here but too strong to lay down, I'd rather play this type of player postflop)
Moneysource: folds
*** FLOP *** [6s 6d 7s]
Kon$umkind: bets $2 (he has a pocket pair, how big is the question)
DubsPoke: raises $2 to $4 (let's find out)
Kon$umkind: raises $5.50 to $9.50 and is all-in (took forever to make the decision)
DubsPoke: calls $5.50 (easy call, certianly not AA, KK, or QQ based on timing which means either overcards like AJ+ or TT, 99, 88, I'm ahead of a huge part of that range)
*** TURN *** [6s 6d 7s] [As]
*** RIVER *** [6s 6d 7s As] [Kd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Kon$umkind: shows [9h 9s] (two pair, Nines and Sixes) -Exactly what I thought
DubsPoke: shows [Jc Jh] (two pair, Jacks and Sixes)
DubsPoke collected $20.45 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $21.50 | Rake $1.05
Board [6s 6d 7s As Kd]
Seat 2: airya folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Moneysource (button) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Kon$umkind (small blind) showed [9h 9s] and lost with two pair, Nines and Sixes
Seat 5: DubsPoke (big blind) showed [Jc Jh] and won ($20.45) with two pair, Jacks and Sixes
Seat 6: uMauMaGrrr folded before Flop (didn't bet)



Let me know your thoughts.

DubsPoke

Session Recap - Morning of 10/27/08

Another +7 Buy-in session. 2.5 hours of play and approximately 1200 hands. 4 6max tables and 3 FR tables at 10NL. Interesting to note that I made the exact same amount in FullRing as I did in 6max.

The quality of play at FullRing blew my mind. Absolutely atrocious. I had someone call me down 3 streets after I raised preflop. Got all the money in on the river. His hand? AJo. No draw, just AJo high. My TPTK was good.

Another instance. Guy limp-calls from EP after I raise AQo from BB. Flop comes xQJxA. He called 3/4 pot-sized bets every street and I shoved him on river. He calls. 99 was his great hand.

Seriously, these guys were just GIVING away money.

Ah well, I'll take it. Only $36 to go and I'll breakeven for the month which is pretty awesome considering I was once down 21 buy-ins.

Plus my $50 bonus only has 58 more VPP to go. Should get it later today, possibly tomorrow.

Then I'll be back to taking shots at $25NL. This month has definitely been a good learning experience for me.

DubsPoke

In a tough spot with QQ - FOLLOW UP

Thanks for the comments guys. I shoved on him. He called with JJ and my hand held. At the time, I was also including pretty much any pocket pair within his 3bet range due to the very small sample size so I was worried slightly about him having hit a set.

In the end, I decided that him hitting a set was a very small part of his range and (as MikeMaloney said) I was only behind two other hands, AA and KK.

DubsPoke

Downswing is OFFICIALLY OVER!!! WOOHOO!!!

Here is the hand that started it all:

MASSIVE SUCKOUT against a "Bully" 65/35/2.3 player who 3bet 20% of his hands:

PokerStars Game #21488869152: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/25 16:29:23 ET
Table 'Tekmessa' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: comeinalone ($10 in chips)
Seat 2: Survivorman2 ($10.55 in chips)
Seat 4: TIM11 ($21.70 in chips)
Seat 5: yskang ($9.45 in chips)
Seat 6: DubsPoke ($19.05 in chips)
comeinalone: posts small blind $0.05
Survivorman2: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Ac Qc]
TIM11: raises $0.40 to $0.50
yskang has timed out
yskang: folds
yskang is sitting out
DubsPoke: calls $0.50
comeinalone: folds
Survivorman2: calls $0.40
*** FLOP *** [4d As Tc]
Survivorman2: checks
TIM11: bets $1
DubsPoke: raises $1.80 to $2.80
Survivorman2: folds
baszie has returned
baszie is sitting out
baszie has returned
TIM11: raises $18.40 to $21.20 and is all-in
DubsPoke: calls $15.75 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($2.65) returned to TIM11
*** TURN *** [4d As Tc] [4h]
*** RIVER *** [4d As Tc 4h] [Qs]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TIM11: shows [Kh Ad] (two pair, Aces and Fours)
DubsPoke: shows [Ac Qc] (two pair, Aces and Queens)
DubsPoke collected $36.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $38.65 | Rake $1.90
Board [4d As Tc 4h Qs]
Seat 1: comeinalone (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Survivorman2 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: TIM11 showed [Kh Ad] and lost with two pair, Aces and Fours
Seat 5: yskang folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: DubsPoke (button) showed [Ac Qc] and won ($36.75) with two pair, Aces and Queens
-----------------------

From there, everything fell back in order.

+2 Buy-ins in my early morning play in just under 2 hours.

+7 Buy-ins in 2 hours of play. 4 10NL 6max games with 4 tables of 10NL FullRing Games with their tables shrunk to smallest possible on the side of my screen. Play real ABC poker on the full ring tables, hammering away in position. I'm still able to concentrate on the 6max tables and utilize reads to maximize profit.

So that's a total of +9 buy-ins on the day. and only 107VPPs to go until I get the $50 bonus I purchased from the PS store.

Gosh it feels good to finally run good.

DubsPoke

In a tough spot with QQ

I am REALLY going to try to get away from whining and concentrate more on Hand Histories, poker theory, and psychology going forward. Although I will include some bad beats or incredible hands from time to time just so I can vent. So let's start with some hand analysis of interesting spot I found myself in with QQ.

Villian is a 21/21 with a 33.3% 3bet over a very small sample of 14 hands. From that we can assume villian isn't a terrible player and has some clue what he is doing.

PokerStars Game #21482933437: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/25 12:44:09 ET
Table 'Calypso' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Gilgamesh69 ($11.85 in chips)
Seat 2: Chintz46 ($3.70 in chips)
Seat 3: red bomber2 ($9.40 in chips)
Seat 4: judy2222 ($14.60 in chips)
Seat 5: DubsPoke ($16.45 in chips)
Seat 6: ae-brb ($10.55 in chips)
Gilgamesh69: posts small blind $0.05
Chintz46: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Qs Qc] (nice!)
red bomber2: calls $0.10 (70/15 type of player, I want to isolate him)
judy2222: folds
DubsPoke: raises $0.40 to $0.50
ae-brb: folds
Gilgamesh69: raises $1.30 to $1.80 (damn.)
Chintz46: folds
red bomber2: folds
DubsPoke: calls $1.30 (don't like 4betting at micros, let's try to play it out postflop.)
*** FLOP *** [2d 7h 8h]
red bomber2 leaves the table
Gilgamesh69: bets $3.20 (ACK!)

Several questions:

A) What is his range?
B) How do you proceed?

ACK!

PokerStars Game #21481460143: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/25 11:37:31 ET
Table 'Edasich II' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: DubsPoke ($10 in chips)
Seat 2: Chris_toff83 ($0.70 in chips)
Seat 3: snottebal ($7.55 in chips)
Seat 4: clasci ($39.05 in chips)
Seat 5: benston ($13.30 in chips)
Seat 6: 7LuckyGods ($10.50 in chips)
benston: posts small blind $0.05
7LuckyGods: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Js Jh]
DubsPoke: raises $0.30 to $0.40
Chris_toff83: folds
snottebal: calls $0.40
clasci: folds
benston: folds
7LuckyGods: folds
*** FLOP *** [Qc Tc Ks]
DubsPoke: bets $0.50
snottebal: raises $0.50 to $1
DubsPoke: calls $0.50
*** TURN *** [Qc Tc Ks] [Kh]
DubsPoke: checks
snottebal: bets $1.90
DubsPoke: calls $1.90
*** RIVER *** [Qc Tc Ks Kh] [Jc]
DubsPoke: bets $6.70 and is all-in
snottebal: calls $4.25 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($2.45) returned to DubsPoke
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [Js Jh] (a full house, Jacks full of Kings)
snottebal: shows [Kc Ac] (a Royal Flush)
snottebal collected $14.55 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $15.25 | Rake $0.70
Board [Qc Tc Ks Kh Jc]
Seat 1: DubsPoke showed [Js Jh] and lost with a full house, Jacks full of Kings
Seat 2: Chris_toff83 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: snottebal showed [Kc Ac] and won ($14.55) with a Royal Flush
Seat 4: clasci (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: benston (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: 7LuckyGods (big blind) folded before Flop

TT in BB - the Squeeze play

Both hand histories are in the first orbit of a new session.

PokerStars Game #21457351548: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/24 14:10:12 ET
Table 'Alkimos III' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: BigHunter911 ($11.30 in chips)
Seat 2: DubsPoke ($10.20 in chips)
Seat 3: BigBen762 ($16.60 in chips)
Seat 4: ElektroLK ($9.35 in chips)
Seat 5: Expiate ($10.15 in chips)
Seat 6: my111mp ($9.10 in chips)
BigHunter911: posts small blind $0.05
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Td Tc]
BigBen762: folds
ElektroLK: folds
Expiate: raises $0.20 to $0.30
my111mp: calls $0.30
BigHunter911: folds
DubsPoke: raises $0.90 to $1.20
Expiate: folds
my111mp: calls $0.90
*** FLOP *** [7c As 5d]
DubsPoke: bets $1.40
my111mp: calls $1.40
*** TURN *** [7c As 5d] [2s]
DubsPoke: checks
my111mp: checks
*** RIVER *** [7c As 5d 2s] [3s]
DubsPoke: checks
my111mp: bets $6.50 and is all-in
DubsPoke: folds
Uncalled bet ($6.50) returned to my111mp
my111mp collected $5.30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.55 | Rake $0.25
Board [7c As 5d 2s 3s]
Seat 1: BigHunter911 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: DubsPoke (big blind) folded on the River
Seat 3: BigBen762 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: ElektroLK folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Expiate folded before Flop
Seat 6: my111mp (button) collected ($5.30)
----------------

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?

Here is where it worked. Sorta. Spewy or good play? Position is the biggest difference in my opinion.

PokerStars Game #21457371177: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/24 14:11:01 ET
Table 'Chaka IV' 6-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: Fabel79 ($17.45 in chips)
Seat 2: nnexx ($11.90 in chips)
Seat 3: ztravantjie ($10.75 in chips)
Seat 4: DubsPoke ($10 in chips)
Seat 5: LAGARDERE ($6.65 in chips)
Seat 6: ThreeDice ($15.65 in chips)
ztravantjie: posts small blind $0.05
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Kc Jc]
LAGARDERE: calls $0.10
ThreeDice: raises $0.30 to $0.40
Fabel79: folds
nnexx: folds
ztravantjie: calls $0.35
DubsPoke: raises $1.10 to $1.50
LAGARDERE: folds
ThreeDice: folds
ztravantjie: calls $1.10
*** FLOP *** [7c 2d Ac]
ztravantjie: checks
DubsPoke: bets $2.10
ztravantjie: folds
Uncalled bet ($2.10) returned to DubsPoke
DubsPoke collected $3.35 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $3.50 | Rake $0.15
Board [7c 2d Ac]
Seat 1: Fabel79 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: nnexx (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: ztravantjie (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: DubsPoke (big blind) collected ($3.35)
Seat 5: LAGARDERE folded before Flop
Seat 6: ThreeDice folded before Flop

The Streak is Broken!

I don't care if it is only one session, it's still a positive session! Approx 100 minutes, positive just shy of 2 buy-ins. Only one horrendous bad beat that cost me a buy-in in the session, otherwise I avoided marginal situations and, for the most part, had good control on my all tables.

Now just to rinse and repeat in my afternoon session.

Later all,

DubsPoke

Quick Question...

PokerStars has a $50 bonus available for 5k FPP for SilverStar Status. I am currently qualified at that level. Should I:

A) continue to hoard FPPs, nothing in their store really interests me until you get above 20k FPPs or so.

B) utilize 5k on the $50 bonus until I can get into higher limits where I will be generating FPPs at a much faster rate.

Thanks for your input!

Nothing has changed....

Down another 5 buy-ins. 13 Buyin downswing. Under $400 for the first time in a long time.

Pissed off would be one way to describe my mindset right now. Need tips on what to do to get back in the right mind frame.

For now, I will be spending my time reviewing my hand histories before I sit down at a table again.

EDIT: make that 16 buy-ins on the downside. Played a solid session and then lost a set over set for a full buy-in and then QQ < 88 when dumfuck rivered an 8 for another full buy-in. No breaks are going my way. Under $350 in the account now.

make that -9

playing like crap. running like crap. feel like crap.

taking a couple days off.

See ya in a few.

A nice little downswing...

6 BIs and counting. 4 buy-ins below All-in EV which is quite astounding. Crap like flopped full houses getting beat by runner runner straight flush and other assortment of standard bad beats.

Amazing I've only tilted off a couple buy-ins actually.

Anyways, thanks for the input on where to play. I'm going to be sticking with PokerStars until I am doubly rolled for 25NL (ie $1500). Then I'll consider switching over to a site with rakeback but definitely not until then.

DubsPoke

Need Input: Where should I play?

I have an approximate $500+ bankroll at Pokerstars right now. I have approx ~$30 at FullTilt on an account with Rakeback. That account is not my original account there.

I am currently playing a mix between 10NL and 25NL. I have already qualified for SilverStar Status on Pokerstars for the month and I have logged 25k hands so far this month. That's while I was employed. So I can imagine that I can hit 40k without issue while employed.

My question is where should I play? The problem with FT is that I cannot drop down to 5NL or 2NL if I need to. I like the comfort of being able to do that.

If I decide to switch it up, is anyone willing to do a transfer with me. we would start out with $25 transfers and go from there.

Thanks,

DubsPoke

More time for poker!!!

Well, I was laid off today. Fuck them. Someone asked what their selection criteria was. Their answer, "A wide range of criteria was used." Bullshit. Fuckin' tell me how it is. Over half the internal sales desk was cut. Including me, a "Visionary Award" winner as well as last year's "Internal Wholesaler of the Year" as well as one of the guys that put up the top stats day in and day out. Fuck them.

The company I worked for was ING Funds. Management of their sales team was a complete and utter joke. One of the externals kept on was a poor excuse of a human being. A snake who would throw anyone under the bus if it meant making him look better. He was buddy buddy with the national sales manager (who also should have been sued for sexual harrassment on several occassions, a complete and utter jackass for what it's worth). Poor decision after poor decision. How they handled this whole process was a fucking joke.

The company as a whole (ING Groep) does appear to be in good shape and I do think they are one of the better buys in the financial sector of the markets right now. ING Funds is a very small piece of their pie and a poor reflection on the company overall (ING Groep is the world's largest financial services company per Fortune Global 500 and #7 in the world in any industry). I would be very surprised to see ING Funds ever becoming more than a third tier fund complex. Fuck them.

Anyways, I had texted my wife this morning informing her that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if I got the axe and I meant it. Now that that has come true, I still feel the same way. Time to look for bigger and better things.

For the lawyers out there, I was interviewing for a position as part of their Online Sales Solution specialist last month. After the interview "concluded," the sales manager asked if we could just chat for a bit longer. Asked me if I really did want to become an external wholesaler. My obvious answer was "Yes, of course." He then went on a 5-10 minute speel about FlexSpending account for medical. He concluded that I should do something about my teeth.

In the meantime, I'll be at the tables, focused on becoming a better poker player so that sometime down the road it will actually be a nice source of secondary income. I couldn't be happier =)

DubsPoke

Resolution?

Meeting at 12:30...approx 13 minutes from now.

Of course, I've heard that story before. We'll see.

Another -$70 night.....

Right off the bat again as at my 25NL table, AA<77 and KK < 99 and the corresponding tilt/bad play that has routinely followed me after those rough beats (there not bad beats because money went in after the flop). On a ~$600 bankroll, that hurts.

But it is very nice when I rally back to post another positive night of around a whopping $6. =)

The trick tonight?

First getting off life tilt and just focusing on the action but perhaps more importantly, dropping from 8 tables to 4 tables, 2 of them 10NL and 2 of them 25NL. Crushed the 25NL tables and had a solid evening at the 10NL tables.

One interesting note, Ed Miller had a strategy post regarding the play of suited connectors. He suggests re-raising with them when in position. He then goes on to explain why and shows an example when he did not 3bet them and the tough spot it put him in.

So I tried 3 betting in position a few times tonight. Great results. I'll try to find some examples to post later.

But for now, I'm just whipped tired. A long day of non-resolution and stress has left me exhausted and worn out.

Tomorrow is a new day. Perhaps I can just have a positive $70 day without the preceding negative day. That would be nice.

Take care,

DubsPoke

It's happening today....

Supposedly within the next 45 minutes.

This sucks. Definitely not how I would run a business.

@#$@!#%!

DubsPoke

Update: Rec'd an email from floor mgr allowing everyone who takes lunch at this time to take their lunch but be back by 11:30 AZ time (2:30 est). Talk about dragging out this f'in process. It is 11:08 AZ time right now by the way.

Worst handling of layoffs ever.

Update: It's 11:41. We're still waiting.

Update: 11:49. Time slowly passes by as we await, nerves jumping, stomach turning...flip flop....flip flop. What fate is in store for us? Rumor has it that we will be directed to 2 conference rooms. Never wanted to be on American Idol but about to face the same punishment except there will be no cheers of joy. Just resignation that only one group of us will wake up with a job tomorrow.

Update: Noon. Apparently some sort of hang up with HR. My guess is they have to wait for proper security to show up. Eh. Who the F knows? I'm just pissed at this point.

Update: 12:15. No news. F'in ridiculous.

Update: 12:30. Still waiting. Do I really want to work for an organization that routinely pulls this type of bullshit?

Update: 12:50. Just informed it will be at least another half hour. They are letting those that didn't take lunch earlier to head out now. TWO FUCKIN WEEKS! And they still managed to fuck this whole deal up. Half-way hoping I do get canned, I can collect my severance and move on to pastures where they don't act fuck everything up on a routine basis.

Update: 1:23. Both of my external partners have been canned. I sit here and twiddle my thumbs. Just to let you know, I did win an annual award last year, the "Visionary Award," for teamwork, leadership, and being a valuable asset to the organziation, only 2 people out of 50+ on the sales desk received the award. I expect to keep my job. But as word passes down of some of the externals that are being canned, no one is safe.

THIS FUCKING SUCKS.


Update: CKING SUCKS.
What a f'in joke. Some type of problem in Legal has delayed the announcement until Friday if not later. All the externals have been notified. Both of mine were fired. So now I get to cancel all of their appointments and come up with some bullshit excuse as to why. fun.

DubsPoke

A Tale of Two Limits and Two Graphs

More graph fun:


25NL: Oct 1 - Oct 14


10NL: Oct 1 - Oct 14

I have a real hard time believing that the two limits play that much differently yet my results are DRASTICALLY different. Yes, I did run poorly over a short sample at 25NL earlier this month as well this past weekend but I think there is a bigger problem going on.

The mental wall.

To put it more eloquently (or perhaps less, dependent on your view), I mind-fuck myself whenever I play the higher limit which is quite sad. Its 25NL! A whopping $25 buy-in. Yet somehow, tt gets me off my A game; I end up doubting the plays that I am making. The only cure I can think of is to just keep throwing myself at it until I break the wall down.

So I'll keep on paying for my shots by 5tabling 10NL and having one table of 25NL up and running.

Any other ideas/suggestions are gladly accepted.

DubsPoke

Lunchtime Poker: Good Session

Started off the session down 1 BI when AQ < A9 all-in on the flop of AA7.

BUT

I was able to keep my emotions in check, played very solid ABC poker and ended positive 3 BIs. Folding marginal situations is a +EV move at the micros. See Ryverrat's post for details.

Will be taking some shots at 25NL as I continue to play well.

Thanks for the well-wishes on the job status as well. Should find out this afternoon, at least according to the rumor mill.

DubsPoke

Interesting Day Yesterday on the Tables

Picked a poor time to play yesterday over my lunch break and tilted off 3 BIs. Got home and sat down with I thought a better focus. Lost 4 BIs. Combination of bad luck and horrific play with some massively terribly hero calls mixed in as well.

So let's recap. -7 BIs on the day. Ouch.

And then something happened and I'm not exactly sure what. I hit one big hand and stacked some poor smuck overplaying 2nd pair. Just like that, I was back on my A game. I slowed down. I made better decisions. I started choosing my spots better. Everything "clicked."

I ended up playing ~1200 hands yesterday. I ended +1.5 BIs.

DubsPoke

PS-> Still awaiting word on job status. Today or tomorrow.

Next shot I take

Once I grind back my badluck (seriously running nearly 5 BIs of -EV at 25NL sucks), I'll be slowly bringing the tables into my game. In other words, start with 2 of my 6 tables at 25NL and as I get more comfortable (and the bankroll is more comfortable) I'll start mixing in more. That way if I do have some horrendous luck and/or tilt, it won't cost me as much.

Got some time back in last night on the tables at 10NL. Won a couple buy-ins in about a half-hour of play and called it for the night. Got some swagger back, now just to get the time in.

Job status still unknown. Tomorrow or Wednesday.

DubsPoke

Was at 25NL very briefly....

and had my soul crushed as I ran incredibly terrible. Lost 8 BIs total in 1300 hands. A 4 Buy-in swing due to bad beats (EV per HEM was ~$128 more than what I got...ie bad beats galore). Wipe out the bad beats, i avoid tilt and am probably up on the session.

Still, 10 days and 11k hands at 10NL...gone in 1300 hands at 25NL due to f'in bad beats and then tilt. Great way to start the weekend. damnt.

Back to 10NL to grind back up.

Status Update

This is what a Red Line and Blue Line graph should look like.

Funny part is I'm actually running slightly poorly as far as EV goes (-2 BuyIns on All-in EV, some pretty terrible suckouts against me). Not going to complain too much because I've been able to avoid tilt, I've kept to my A game. The results speak for themselves.

10NL Month Results through October 10th

3 more buy-ins at 10NL and I'll be adequately rolled for 25NL. Let's keep this solid and effective play up.

As the markets rally...

So does my bankroll. As the markets recover from nearly -700 pts as we approach close, I just won 4.5 BIs at 10NL while sitting at the Coffee Bean for 45 minutes. Talk about a good lunch break.

Now back to find out if I still have a job....

UPDATE: still no news on job status. Appears we are going to have to wait until next week. F me.

Day of Reckoning?

Well Friday has arrived. We were told we would be notified by the 15th if we were affected by the looming layoffs. Will today be the day or will they make us wait over another weekend?

Two weeks of this bullshit is ridiculous. It's like a bandaid. Tear the f'er off, a lot less painful that way.

On the poker front, things are going well. I'm up 14 BIs at 10NL since the beginning of the month. 10 more BIs to go and I will be adequately rolled for 25NL.

That is all for now. Mind consumed by other matters.

DubsPoke

Blame this on Waffles

You are The Magician

Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, depending on dignity.

Eleoquent and charismatic both verbally and in writing,
you are clever, witty, inventive and persuasive.

The Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things so just by speaking them aloud. Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a salesman. Also clever with the slight of hand and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying to sell you snake oil.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Poker at the Bean

So I've been taking my laptop with me to work lately. During my lunch break, I head over to the Coffee Bean located next door that has free WiFi. Get an obligatory cup of coffee and then sit down to relax by playing 6-9 tables of micro-limit holdem.

Usually I try to sit with my back against a wall or window to have my privacy. Well, that's not entirely true. It's not for privacy, it's because I'm vain and don't want some random stranger to think less of me because I'm sitting in a shirt and tie playing online poker in a coffee shop. It is what it is.

Anyways, so I'm playing and some random guy taps me on the shoulder.

"I don't mean to be looking over your back but do you know this guy?" Random guy says, a smile of pride crossing his face.

I look over, a bit startled. Random Guy has his cell phone out. Who's name do I see? Ted Forrest.

Random guy proceeds to drop names all over the place. Ted is apparently a really good buddy of his. Random guy proceeds to tell me about a cafe in Vegas he has lunch with Doyle at. Random Guy usually heads up and joins the pros at the Bellagio once or twice a month as well.

Apparently, Random Guy used to process online transfers for all of these big name pros pre-UIGEA days. I asked him what he mean, like was a he a Neteller clone or something. Nope. Apparently, the pros would drop their funds onto his Compass Bank debit card (which he pulled out and showed me) and he would move the funds around for them. Something like that, I certainly didn't understand the process. He was making upwards of 65k a month but as soon as they (the govt) went after Neteller execs, he got out. Through Ted, Random Guy became friends with Lederer, thinks Hellmuth is a douche, etc.

Now Random Guy owns a start-up in Phoenix in the oil industry. He was very proud of how his 1/2 cent penny stock is now trading around 30cents per share. Vonaloo or something like that. It will be trading at $1 here soon; he's confident of that. PR people are going to be putting out the press and earnings/statements are soon to be released.

All this while trying to 8 table. Random. So Random. Random Guy Mike: Best of luck to you and your ventures. Tell Ted hi for me.

Back to the 8 table 10NL grind and dreams of following my dreams someday.

sucks (a slightly misleading title)

The market sucks. Job uncertainty sucks. Mood is dour.

With all that said, I had a good weekend of poker. Go figure.

Since utilizing HEM, my winrate over almost 30k hands at 10NL is over 16 BB/100 which is pretty darn good. My shots at 25NL have been terrible, -2.x BB/100 over 15k hands. But at my 3 shots at 50NL, I've won a full Buy-In every time. Weird.

In any case, I've decided to not take any shots at 25NL until adequately bankrolled for it at 30 BIs on my PokerStars account. To get there, I have started 9-tabling 10NL with continued success. Won 4 BIs in about an hour of play and 1k hands during my Sunday session. And that was with a couple of rough beats mixed in there.

In regards to the graph posts, I reviewed the 25NL and 10NL graphs. The both have the crossing of W$SD and Non-showdown winnings.

My obvious conclusion is that when I ramped up my flop and turn aggression, I started winning more without showdown. However, I have been taking hands too far that have gotten to showdown. As a result, I've gotten crushed at showdown. Toss in some bad beats and horrific hero calls and you have a negative rate of W$SD.

So essentially I've been over-aggressive with my good hands, forcing opponents at before showdown and therefore have been losing value. I'm going to tone it down a bit on the aggression side and see what happens.

Other conclusion, it is more profitable to be a winner at showdown and breakeven at non-showdown winnings than it is to be positive at non-showdown winnings and negative at showdown. Agree/disagree?

Seeking Comments on Graph

Before I relay my comments on the above graph, I would like to see what your conclusions are.

One key point, half-way point is when I started mixing in 25NL with my 10NL games. So downswings would be more marked than the first part of graph. Still, more importantly, I want to hear your comments on the diversions of the various colored lines, Winnings at Showdown and Non-Showdown Winnings.

Looking forward to the comments.

DubsPoke

PS -> Still no additional word on the status of my job for those that might care.

Uh-oh...chased losses....

Did something I've never done before, I chased losses from 25 NL (when AA and QQ got cracked back to back), by moving up to 50NL.

And won 2 buy-ins at that lvl to restore all my losses that I incurred in the 10 minutes of tilt that I experienced at my 25 and 10NL levels.

To be more exact, I played 87 hands at 50NL and ran like a god. 207.47 bb/100. Especially fun when I got paid off after flopping quad 3s.

Fun stuff.

Have you ever seen something like this?

Comments to follow on another post. A LOT of turmoil at work as they have announced restructuring changes for my department that is going to result in between 25-50% layoffs of the sales floor (I work for a mutual fund sales desk). Essentially, since wirehouses have disappeared (Merrill Lynch for example), we have to change the way we do business. The layoffs are a result of those changes.

No one knows who is being cut or how. Just know that we will know if we are affected by October 15th. fun stuff.