Returned from Vacation

Back from my vacation, and jumping right back into the Poker treadmill.

I am a little frustrated with my game at the moment. I feel like I am making mostly correct decisions, but I'm in general playing very tight and predictable. I'll be sticking with 6max instead of full ring, since full ring just pushes me further into the systematic ABC approach to the game.

Planning on playing 50NL during the day (8-10 tables just because it is very exploitable and I need to build my roll), and 100NL at night. Table selection at 100NL is always significantly better for me at night.

I've put in 2 hours (about 1.3k hands) at 50NL so far today, and there really not many hands that are noteworthy. 50NL is very simple and easy to play...

Will be putting in at least 2 hour hours tonight at 100NL, and probably just 4-5 tables.

Updates to follow.

Back, and doing well

I've been able to free up enough time for a decent amount of poker these past few days, here is a graph of my progress since the 14th.

This has been a very big turnaround from the hellish nightmare of Oct/Nov.

Still not the kind of money I've been used to, but 1.5k over 1 week is nothing to frown at.

Another winning day

And I am quite happy

An upswing yesterday!

There's the momentum I need! Woo!

Played some poker!

It is becoming more and more clear that Internet Marketing is going to take a while to get established in. It will also be a while before I know everything I need to start making some money - so today I played some poker to try and make that monthly nut.

It went pretty well. Considering I was only playing 50$ NL 6-max, a +300$ day is actually quite good. I plan on sitting at 50$ NL for a while, regaining my confidence, building my bankroll, etc. etc.

The players at this level are ABSOLUTELY HORIBLE. Free money for anybody with some patience and half a clue how to play poker.

Glad I finally had a good day - I really have been due for one for the past couple months.

:)

Taking a break

All of this weekend, I'm taking a break from poker. Not a single hand will be played.

A little work is still necessary - The Sixth Sense Bodog scanner is still being a pain in the ass, and I really am not sure why. It'l take at least an hour or two of work, and must still be done despite my poker break. Ah well.

My dad and I talked a bit about our new Internet Marketing ideas last night after the game, and I think we've got a real winner on our hands. Hopefully I'll be able to learn what is needed and rise up to make this another good stream of income, because I am pretty depressed about the whole poker situation and could use an alternative means of income.

Updates to follow!
-Dan


Oh, and I know it is old - but I laugh at this picture every time I see it. Enjoy.

Poker = Hobby

After all of the stress, emotional swings, and misery caused by this latest downswing, it is about time I turned poker into what it originally was - a hobby.

Much of the torment that I was put through was based on the fact that poker was EVERYTHING. It paid 90% of the bills, it consumed at least half of every day, I was completely reliant on it.

Now it is time to build up another possibility and diversify.

Internet Marketing, here I come.

Downswings kill my soul

This is a graph of my winnings (or lack thereof) since Oct 1. The huge drop in the beginning was 200NL 6max on PartyPoker, which i am still beating over a huge sample size of i think 140k hands. The gradual upswing is when I moved to PokerStars and started grinding my way back up. The recent downswing is playing the same game at PokerStars...except getting repeatedly ass-raped.

I dont know what is causing it. I go over every major hand after every session I play to see if I could improve anything. I am a damn good player, and have been doing this professionally for almost 3 years. I'm in a pretty bad spot financially right now, and this is just a serious kick in the teeth for me.

If things dont improve drastically by the end of December, this may be the end of poker for me... Unfortunately, I've got a monthly nut that cant be filled by any other job I'm qualified for at the moment...hopefully I can break into Internet Marketing and make some decent money before my well runs dry.

Updates

Well it has been a while since i've blogged...i've just been busy as hell, and have not had time.

Over the past week or so i've still been experiencing a pretty annoying downswing. Nothing very intense, just a small loss every day. As minor as the losses may have been, it still is frustrating to lose over and over again.

One day, which I thought was going to be my first winning day in a while, I was up ~400-500$ after my first 3 hours. By my 6th (and last) hour, I was down 30 cents. 30 damn cents. Thanks alot, God.

I've been thinking about getting into new business ventures...as if i had enough time...

My dad and I went to French Lick Casino for a SBIR convention on Monday and Tuesday, and it was pretty interesting. I will come back to make a post about that trip, as it deserves its own blog.

I also think I'll start selling some things on ebay. Crap around the house, EBooks, etc. My dad also wrote a handyman business manual which I should be able to sell pretty well. It is definitely an option, and I'm confident it will bring in at least a little money.

I decided to put my PS3s in the local paper instead of on eBay. Ebay is a giant pain in the ass, they screw you with fees, and the price of PS3s has bottomed out. I should be able to get ~1k each locally, and not have to worry about shipping or fees.

Having an okay day of poker so far today - hope it continues.

More downswings, Hefeweizen, Brown Ale, and Black Lager

Another narsty day of poker for me.... I think 3 bad days in a row will automatically put me in a bad mood. Seeing as I play a very low-variance style, in a very low-variance game (full ring NL), I get pretty cranky when i have more than 3 losing days in a row. Especially when I endure the beats I did today. See my earlier post for a nice example :P

Tonight, Mary and I returned Capote to the video store, and started watching "Derailed" with Clive Owen and that chick from Friends. This movie really was not the thing I needed for the crappy mood I was already in. Charlie (Clive Owen) played a pretty decent guy who was just being beaten down by an awful series of events. I did not even finish the movie. Charlie was about to have an affair with what'sername. Then they get robbed. She gets raped. All sorts of rape, murder, and awful bullshit happens to Charlie. I get fed up with this depressing movie and turn it off.

On our way home from the video store, I picked up a Samuel Adams Mix Pack, containing 2 of each - Hefeweizen, Brown Ale, and Black Lager. I've had one of each now, and must say that I am very impressed with Sam Adams. These guys make some high-quality beer. Before these 3, I've tried their Lite beer and Summer Ale. The Summer Ale was amazing. Very smooth with a light citrus flavor to it. My favorite of these new 3 is the Hefeweizen. It is a cloudy gold color, a little bit sweet, and very enjoyable. The Brown Ale and Black Lager are also great, but I haven't developed as much of a taste for darker beers as I have for the lighter ones.

I decided to continue the Star Wars Trilogy and watch "The Empire Strikes Back" tonight. I think I can say that this is the best of the 6 films released. Though, from what I've heard - episodes 7 through 9 are in development. Having played the videogame versions of episode 7 and 8, I am looking forward to these future episodes. The stories, though cheesy and simple, should offer plenty of Jedi v Jedi fights and entertaining scenes. I was enthusiastic about Episode I as well....so lets hope Lucas does a better job with these.

Poker, Star Wars, Beer, and Eggs... I sure do blog about nerdy mundane subjects...

Until the next nerdacious topic sparks my fancy... later all.

Capote, Omega IIIs, Downswings, and Episode IV

It has been a few days since I've blogged, and now that I've come back, I've got way too much to write about! Perhaps I should make myself visit more regularly...



Mary and I rented and watched "Capote" tonight, and I've got to say it is one of my favorite movies. Characters like Truman Capoten - brilliantly portrayed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman - are inspiring and motivating to me. I don't think "moved" was the right word, but I was definitely impressed and influenced by this film. I won't go into the details, or repeat the plot of the movie, but I will definitely be reading "In Cold Blood" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" when I have some free time this month. For those of you who have not seen the movie, I would definitely suggest it.

Over the last couple months, I've been doing a pretty good job of cooking for myself - and I've grown a new found respect for eggs. Yes, that's right - eggs. At your local grocery store, you can buy 24 of these bad boys for less than 2$. That's less than 10 cents per egg! These things are packed with protien, Omega IIIs (whatever the hell those are), and all sorts of other stuff that's good for your body. It takes less than 5min to prepare them in whatever way you prefer. You can easily incorporate cheese, salt + pepper, etc. to make them more exciting. Eggs are great. Eat them.



Earlier today, I was playing 9 tables of 200NL full-ring and one 20$ 180man tournament on stars. 9 tables on the left, 1 tourney on the right. I proceded to experience smooth-sailings on the right, and get my ass handed to me on the left. After about 3 hours, I was down a good 900$ on my 200NL tables, and reached the final 4 of the tournament on the right. Unfortunately, my tournament-newbiness lost me the tournament in a KJ v AA hand on a KQxddd board. In my defense, the final table really did not go my way. I ran KK into AA and doubled up one of the players who would eventually reach 3rd place. And I was definitely not receiving my fair share of decent hands to play. Regardless, the hand I busted on could have easily been avoided, and I'll take this lesson to all of the future tournaments I play. I ended up in 4th place for 288$, which is not too damn bad for a 20$ buyin. When balanced against my 900$ downswing at 200NL, it looked much less impressive. I did manage to put in another 2 hours (1.3k hands) at 200NL later tonight, and worked my way back up another 600$. Tonight is just proof that if I stick it out and keep playing my A-game, I can always bring myself back from these ugly downswings.

As I type this blog, I am watching Star Wars: A New Hope. I wish I could have been around when this movie was first released to theaters, and was as revolutionary as it was to its' time. I'd also like to watch the movie before George Lucas decided to fuck with it and add more CG. That crap really wasn't necessary, and hurt the movie more than it helped. Has anybody seen the revised "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi"? They changed the entire ending of the movie! Fuck that. I'd rather watch Episode I (Star Wars: The massive failure) than watch this butchered finale' to Episode VI. Leave your movies in their historic glory, George. Quit fucking with them.


That's it!

Sixth Sense Scanner Progress

With as many things as I have on my plate lately, I even feel guilty starting a blog - as it is just one more thing to suck up my time. Sixth Sense is definitely up there on the list of things that need my attention and I haven't had enough time for. I am about 90% done with the TAIN scanner on Eurolinx poker, and just today have gotten the Bodog scanner to about the 90% mark.

(I consider it 90% when the scanner works, but it doesn't work forever without my supervision... the scanners need to be close to 100% maintenance free to be complete and working.)

After getting Party, FTP, and Absolute to work, we hit a bit of a glass ceiling because of how difficult other poker lobbies are to work with. Well now that Ben has developed the Sixth Sense OCR program (which allows me to interact with the more problematic lobbies) we can keep moving forward.

Over the next few days, hopefully Ben will have the time to get his end of these scanners working, and we'll finally be able to add TAIN and Bodog to the list of supported sites. A list of 5 sites will really improve Sixth Sense into a more impressive program.

More updates on Sixth Sense to come! 2+2ers rejoice!

Pot-Limit Omaha - Beginnings

I've given PLO quite a few shots in the past. I never really was too serious about it. I'd just play it when I was sick of Hold'em and wanted to liven things up a bit. And let me tell you, it is quite an experience compared to hold'em. Yesterday and today, I have played about 2.5k hands of 100$ buyin PLO on PokerStars. Either I am incredibly terrible at PLO, or someone must have flipped my doomswitch, because I was greeted with a nice 800$ downswing. I think it was a little bit of both, honestly.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?599292 Nut flush vs. Straight flush... Being a NLHE player, of course my jaw dropped.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?601159 This is one hand that I DEFINITELY should have laid down on the flop. These kids dont reraise much other than AAxx, but my NLHE instincts took over and lost me another 80$.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?601165 I played this one like a big dumb donkey...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?601173 I was looking for hands that I played well, and this really is the best I could come up with, and it is pretty good evidence that I'm starting to be able to transition from NLHE to PLO. Opponents stats showed that he raised less than 2% of his holdings, which at this level almost always means he has AAxx or a strong wrap hand. So if he has AAxx, I win with a 9, J, 7, or any heart - giving me 16 outs, and making me a favorite against AAxx. If he has a hand like TJQK, 9TJQ, or if his AAxx contains 2 hearts, I am in big trouble. But I think I am ahead enough of the time to raise him here and push him out of the hand.

In general, I did overestimate the value of some of my low wrap hands. I also played my KKxx and QQxx hands a bit too frequently out of position, this was improved very much after a few hours of play.

What I've learned so far -
Position is HUGELY important in PLO - much moreso than hold'em.
Very few low level PLO players really know what they're doing.
AAxx is overrated and should not be open-raised in early position.

I've got the odds of the game down. I've been counting outs and reading hands for years, and this part has become second nature to me. Now I need to start to develop a style for myself, and build some confidence in this game like I have in NLHE.

In time I expect to tear Stars PLO apart, simply because it is an untapped resource... While NLHE has been supersaturated with 2+2ers and set-mining grinders.

I plan to practice my PLO game early in the day when the hold'em tables are loaded with rocks and pros. I'll continue my NLHE rampage at night when the fish are swimming. Mixing up games is always good, and keeps my mind fresh.

'Til next time...