PokerStars Tournament #65105355,

No Limit Hold’emBuy-In: $4.00/$0.40 180 playersTotal Prize Pool: $720.00 Tournament started – 2007/10/24 – 22:30:51 (ET)

Dear Curtom,

You finished the tournament in 1st place.A $216.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.You earned 218.47 tournament leader points in this tournament.

For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site athttp://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.htmlCongratulations!Thank you for participating.

Yes yes yes YES!!!!!!!!!

Another notch on the belt and victory in tow. This tournament played nicely. I started off OK and picked up a few chips early with some nice hands. I ended up doubling up when I hit a couple of sets and went into the break with about $3100 in chips. I think I picked up JJ and doubled up against AK. From there I kinda cruised to the money and then picked up KK to double up my anemic stack of 6k when we were down to the final 17 or so.

I picked up a few more chips and went to the Promised Land with about 16k. Not a whole lot but enough to make a run if I could just double up. Well, I waited it out and stole a few blinds until I got to about 11k and then the fireworks began. The stack to my right made a huge error by not raising from the small blind when it folded around to him. He then compounded the error by checking all the way to the river which allowed me to hit 2 pair. I pushed my last 8k and he called. He just had a pair of Kings and I doubled up to 27k.

From there I picked up KK and doubled up on what appeared to be a flush draw to my hyper aggressive opponent. He called with middle pair and then I was up to 57k and a full fledge contender for the prize.

Once we got down to 5 players the table got really tough and there was NOWHERE to hide either. I mean raises all over the place. To complicate matters the guy to my left was raising and re-raising his blinds. So, after I limped a couple of times with mediocre hands I adjusted accordingly. I picked up AJos in the small blind and it folded around to me. I limped and he raised it up another 6k. I IMMEDIATELY re-raised ALL-IN and he folded. That put the ka bosh on that crap and he stopped it. Like I tell you guys all the time. You may knock me out of the tournament with a great hand in that situation but you ARE NOT GOING TO RUN ME OVER! PERIOD!

After this message was sent he backed off and got “in line” for a while. That was enough time for me to double up again against the “other” hyper aggressive player at our table and now I was up to 110k and the Chip Leader. By then we were down to 3 players and I did not want to play heads up against my buddy to my left as I knew he would not particularly allow me to play after the flop no matter what he held. On the other hand I noticed that the other guy tended to be passive, see the history with the final 3 players, and would give up a pot if I bet hard at him.

Fortunately, a few hands later he got knocked out after he doubled up off of me when he hit the miracle straight on the river. It wasn’t that big of a deal as I still had plenty of chips but it was a bit annoying to say the least.

Once we were heads up I had about 60k to the big stacks 201k. I figured if I could just double up I would be able to punch him in the nose quite a bit without any problem. That is exactly what happened. Now sitting on the chips lead with about 138k I executed my plan perfectly. I began raising pots and picked up T4 on the button and made a standard raise of 3x the blinds.

The flop came down 4 4 X

The turn was 3

The river was 3

This gave me the nut Full Boat and he was holding KK and called my all-in bet. GAME OVER BABY!

You see, my opponent made a critical mistake by not re-raising with his KK. Most likely had he made re-raise I am folding T4 every day of the week. Instead he slow played his way into oblivion. I made this EXACT same mistake the last time I took second place so I know how he felt. The guy asked me, “What did he do wrong?” “How did I lose this thing?” I told him the truth in that I picked up a few hands and they held up. I didn’t mention anything about how he played the kings.

Let him figure that one out for himself

By the way. Several of my buddies both online and live have been telling me how much they really admire my game in that I am sooooooo patient with hands and seem to always make the Final Table. They have actually been following me from tourney to tourney online. That is incredibly humbling. Believe me, when another player tells you “you got game” in the poker world. It’s a BIG DEAL! I know I tend to preach patience and it’s not always the easiest thing to do depending on the makeup of your personality. I think the term for me would be Selective Aggression. Especially early in tournaments. Again, these guys will GIVE YOU there chips if you just allow them to make mistakes. It’s really as simple as that. Most men, by nature, tend to be hyper aggressive when performing in competitive activities. Most men also tend to be incredibly egotistical when competing as well. If you can learn to control these two things and use them with good CLEAR HEADED judgement you will find that your game will improve considerably. By no means do I consider myself “there” or a “great player”. However, I do believe that MOST of the time I make considerably fewer mistakes than MOST players. Therein lies the key. Limit your mistakes so that you lose as little as possible and DO NOT get involved in big pots without BIG HANDS like AA, KK, QQ early in tournaments unless you have the NUTZ. Later on you can open up a bit but early you want to play smart and let the bad players do what bad players do – give away there chips.

Deuces,

CIII

PokerStars Tournament #65710856, No Limit Hold’emBuy-In: $4.00/$0.40 180 playersTotal Prize Pool: $720.00 Tournament started – 2007/10/30 – 23:02:43 (ET)

Dear Curtom,

You finished the tournament in 2nd place.A $144.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.You earned 154.48 tournament leader points in this tournament.

For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site athttp://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.htmlCongratulations!Thank you for participating.

Am I dreaming or what? Hard work does indeed pay off. This is my 13th Final Table this month alone. The most I have made in one month by a long shot. Wow!!!! As I mentioned earlier in my e-mail yesterday. It’s all about tournament selection and being patient. There are more than enough donkeys to go around. Anyhow, I started off this tournament RED HOT. I picked up a couple of straights early and then hit a set or two and “PRESTO” I am 3rd in chips with 15k by the first break.

After that I kinda tightened up a bit but then I didn’t pick up much to play once we got to the last 18 and in the money. I was down to about 13k when I picked up JJ and knocked out the bubble man. I went into the “Promised Land” with 18k+ and was 8th in chips. I then watched as the chips were flying all over the place. No one was getting knocked out either. The short stacks were like roaches and wouldn’t die! After about 20 mins 2 players finally got knocked out. Once we got down to 6 players I had around 11k and was able to continue to steal blinds to keep my stack around 15k. I then doubled up when I had JJ and it held up against AK. I doubled up again when my 57os in the big blind flopped the nut straight against the big stack. There was a flush draw on the board and I took a moment and decided to push. He thought about it and put me on a draw with his bottom pair.

Bingo!!!!

I’m sitting on 50k+ in chips and back in this MO FO! Finally we got down to 3 players and I picked up QQ in the big blind. The big stack raised and the short stack pushed. No way I can lay down QQ here three handed. I pushed and was 99% sure I had the best hand. I was up against ATos and KT I think. Anyhow, no Ace on the flop and no Kings hit either. The turn was a blank and so was the river. I was now TRIPLED up and ready to rock and roll heads-up!

I was happy with my play although I probably could have been a bit more patient when I got heads up. No big deal though. A very good tourney and another cash on the bankroll!

Deuces,

CIII

I get asked this question quite often. “CIII, how are you able to be sooooooo patient at the table?” Well, if nothing else I have always been a good student and poker can be one heck of a teacher if you allow it to be. By nature my personality is one of tolerance and patience unless someone is just being stupid. On the other hand the athletic side of me tends to be almost overly aggressive. So, when I first started playing poker I tended to not want to fold hands when I was beat or was only a slight favorite. The first 2 years I played the game I barely broke even and rarely made final tables. However, when I did get there I took down some nice wins. That was when I was on Party Poker. I won tourneys for $1640 and $1040 there. So, although I still had A LOT to learn. I was getting there slowly but surely.

Over time I have read a number of books on poker and various theories from all kinds of authors from Doyle Brunson to David Sklansky. All have valid points but no book I have read on Tournament Texas Hold’em has been better than Dan Harringtons 3 book series. As I have mentioned before he gives you extremely important information on how to “manage” your tournament and your stack. You may then take that knowledge and incorporate your “game” based on your personal style of play and your tables aggressiveness or lack thereof. My wife will tell you that I am a “student of the game” and watch and study as much poker as time allows. That is the reason I make so many Final Tables. Also, I adjust to my table and play accordingly. If my table is passive I limp A LOT with suited connectors and small pairs from any position early in tournaments to build my stack when the flop hits me good. I even raise with these kinds of hands as well. If the table is aggressive I tend to tighten up and play pretty solid poker.

The strength in my game is that I WILL fold when I am beat. Usually, I have a pretty good feel for when I am being bluffed at and can respond accordingly especially if I have position on the bluffer. Obviously, I do this a bit better playing live but you get to know what people are capable of and go with your instinct. Usually, your instincts are correct. Other than that you need to continue to PLAY the game and understand what each player is trying to do to you. Take notes on players. God knows I do. Know what certain guys are capable of. Does he slow play big hands? Does he push with middle pairs? Things like that are HUGE. Remember, when your playing for REAL money every night against the same pool of players EVERYONE has tendencies. It’s your job to learn them and exploit them accordingly. That’s how I do it. Along with a bit of luck of course. Not rocket science but it sure is a lot of fun to see your game grow. Your bankroll too!

Deuces,

CIII

“…the only game I know is DO or DIE!”

Hope everyone is playing well and getting in with the BEST hands.

The other day I was looking at my bankroll and happily it has increased considerably over the past 2 months. However, I also happened to be looking at the size of the tournaments I have been playing in and it has a direct correlation to how well I have been doing lately.

Over the past month I have cut down considerably on poker tournaments that have more than 500-600 players. I still play a few here and there but nothing like I used to. For the most part I have been playing 180 player tournaments and 360 player poker tournaments. Since I consciously started doing this I noticed my Final Table percentage has gone up approximately 5.5%.

That is HUGE!

Having said that. I continue to play the $5.50 3000 starting chip tournaments simply because of the “High” potential value of winning a large poker tournament, this tourney typically has around 1800+ players and first place is usually around $1700+, despite the odds of “getting there” being considerably lower and the “luck” element being considerably higher.

Most professional players will tell you that they love it when the field is what I call “manageable”. By that I mean no more than 300 players. Preferably 120 or less along with a good structure of course. Usually the better players rise to the top while the donkeys get to watch from the rail. Playing online all of us have the ability to “manage” the size of our tournaments each time we play.

I am sure I have told you guys that I cashed out my bankroll about a year ago for vacations, Xmas, etc. and left enough for me to build back up. Well, that process is moving along well but it’s moving even faster now that I have reassessed my tournament entries. However, I do mix in some cash game play and “shots” at $20+ buy-ins along with my standard $4 and $5 tourneys but that’s just me. You have to do what works for you and what you are comfortable with. I say this to say that you CAN build a very nice bankroll with good money management and move up in the type of tourneys you play. I did it and peaked out at around $2800+ before I cashed out. Had I known what I know now about both the game and tweaked my money management a bit I am sure I would be well over $10,000+ by now at the least.

Remember, just like in cash games, once you get a nice win under your belt you can then move UP in limits. The same holds true for tournaments. Believe me, you take down a tourney for $1000 or so and now instead of playing the $4 every night or a couple of times a night and cashing and making Final Tables you are now able to play the $20 180 where the stakes are higher and first place is now $1016. Get hot and make a few top 3 finishes and you can take a shot at the Sunday Millions for a $530 entry. This week first place was $240,000 dollars! Can you say, “World Poker Tour? “World Series of Poker?”

My point is that building a large bankroll is an attainable goal and within your reach with good planning and exceptional play.

So, take a peek at your poker tournament tendencies, in terms of how large a tourney you play, and you may find that you are doing yourself and your BANKROLL a disservice by playing in too many large tournaments. Just something to think about.

Welcome to the Do or Die Poker blog. My name is CIII and I LOVE the game of poker. I play online at PokerStars under the name of “Curtom“. I started playing poker about 4 years ago after watching an episode of the World Poker Tour with my wife. She actually encouraged me to take up the game. Talk about being lucky! After watching the show I ran out and bought 2 books on the game and immediately opened up an account on PartyPoker and the rest is history.

Since then I have won over $7000+ playing online poker and have also done very well in live tournaments in Las Vegas as well as tournaments in the Midwest region. I play NL Holdem the most but I also play Stud, Stud H/L, Omaha, Omaha H/L, and Limit Holdem. I am primarily a NL Holdem tournament specialist. That is my bread and butter. I also play cash games from time to time both online and live.

By no means do I consider myself to be a professional player nor do I have any desire to become a professional player. However, I do consider myself a very successful live and online tournament player. My cash rate is just below 20% in Multi-Table Tournaments of 180 players or more and I tend to make the Final Table consistently as you would expect someone cashing that often.

I will be discussing anything and everything that pertains to Poker, the poker lifestyle, and improving your game. So if you love poker as much as I do your in the RIGHT SPOT!