I have been doing a lot of writing lately. Putting together various articles and also doing research. Playing wise I am still trying to break through that artificial barrier. I went all last year without a large win and that was disappointing.

The game of poker comes and goes in waves. Even in tournaments I have found this to be true so it’s just a matter of time for a big cash. I still plan on making more appearances in the Sunday Warm-Up though. I like that tournament and feel like I have a better than average shot at winning it should the cards break even.

That’s it for now. I will let you guys know how things go this evening at the tables.

I gotta tell you that this was a puzzling play but I am not at all surprised considering the buy-in level. These are the kinds of plays that I have been talking about in these low buy in tournaments that are really frustrating. It was clear after the flop that no one had an Ace in there hand and at best my opponent had a medium pair. It was an easy call after he pushed and as it turns out he flopped big. The thing that gets me is that he calls a re-raise for $1k. Unfortunately logic need not apply to these kinds of players as they will call with any two cards. The previous hand I picked up AA and got re-raised with A7os and the guy called my all-in raise.

Go figure?

I am running exceptionally well lately. Almost made it to the PokerStars $9.90 Final Table but I ran my AK into KK and didn’t quite get there. Not a major deal as I was down as low as $800 chips early on but fought back to over $17k by late in the tournament.

The play in the Frequent Player Point WSOP satellite tournaments has been insane. Guys have been pushing in with any kind of hands early and double and quadrupling up. I still don’t see the logic behind this kind of play but it seems to be very popular. I had tripled up within the first three levels by simply waiting for people to do dumb things when I had big hands. Fairly EZ money. Didn’t make the final table in this one though.

I am hoping that the UIEGA is reversed soon. I have been hearing rumblings that things are starting to move but likely won’t take place until after the election. That’s understandable though. We do have some serious issues going on in this country but it will be nice when online poker is legal again.

That’s all I have for now.

CIII

Thursday I took down a 307 player Satellite to win an entry into the WSOP Main Event Super Satellite which I am playing this afternoon. The field will be around 400 players with $5000 in starting chips and 20 min levels. Good structure and I am running very well. Perfect timing! The winners will receive the following:

- $10,000 WSOP Main Event Buy-In

- Free Hotel Stay at the Palms for as long as you are in the tourney

- $2500 in expenses

- $50,000 for being on a TV table

-$1,000,000 for making the Final Table

Yesterday I won a Super Satellite into the PokerStars Sunday Million. I have played in the Sunday Warm-up previously but didn’t fair too well so I am extremely excited. First place will pay around $150,000+ which is a heck of a boost to the bankroll.

LOL

I am looking foward to my first major tournament win here too.

Wish me luck!

CIII

I took down the PokerStars WSOP qualifier last night and won my way into the Super Satellite coming up this Saturday. So far there are around 250 players registered. I fought my way through 807 players and pretty much cruised to the Final Table wtih more than enough chips. They were giving away 8 seats and I was fifth in chips so I could pretty much just sit there and not get involved.

The structure for Saturday is 5000 starting chips and 20 min levels. The winners pick up the following from PokerStars:

- $10,000 Buy-In to the Main Event

- Free Hotel Accomodations

- $2500 in expenses

- $50,000 if you make a TV table

- $1,000,000 if you make a Final Table

Sounds good to me considering I used my Frequent Player Points to qualify and it would be absolutely free for me. Everthing else is iceing on the cake. I sure could use an extra million bucks. That’s for sure! LOL

CIII

Are you looking for a better way to communicate what happened in a hand to your poker friends? Well, look no further than Poker Hand Replays. This replay site allows for importing of your hand history from every major online poker site. Once you have imported your hand history you can choose to be anonymous or even make the entire table anonymous. You then name the replay file and comment on it if you like.

Once your file is imported it is converted into an interactive flash player which you can paste into your own web site or even in forums. Excellent!

This is a fantastic tool for any online poker player and it’s available to everyone for absolutely FREE! There is a simple registration process that requires a user-name and password to login to the site. Once your done you are ready to paste your latest history and get going. Very easy and a useful tool not only to walk through hands with friends but also to get critique from others on how you played the hand.

Stop by Poker Hand Replays and register today!

As I sat down with my wife to watch this movie I didn’t know what to expect. As it turns out this documentary was both eye opening as well as entertaining. Watching Susan go through the ups and downs of tournament play was rather amusing. Her husband Tim was reasonable and thank God he is stable.

There are several cameos made by notable professional players that are quite insightful. However, they also explore the degenerative side of the world of professional poker too. Either way this film will make you think twice about becoming a professional poker player. There is far more down side than there is good as only a few players actually make a good living from playing poker.

Nonetheless this is an intriguing and interesting movie to check out.

Conduct at the poker table has been outrageous at times. I recently heard about the disqualification of Lesly Thornberg and it reminded me of my own experience at a recent event. The culprit wasn’t a drunk or “over the hill” adult but a young player with no manners. Unfortunately, it seems as if the ills of society have seeped into the poker world. Our inability as a society to simply be quiet and go about our business seems to be lost. We just have to make a comment even when we are not involved in the hand.

On one hand I do understand that a bit of talking at the tables helps ease some of the pressure and boredom. However, showing your cards after every single hand in attempts to upstage your opponents really is a sad testimony to some of these younger players. I also witnessed constant cursing across the table when these same players were beat by more experienced players that were not intimidated by their behavior. It’s really pathetic when we, as human beings, cannot give each other the simple courtesy of conducting ourselves with class when sitting at the tables.

What a shame.

I decided to go out last night and play a deep stacks tournament. It was capped at 50 players and the blinds were only 15 minutes instead of the advertised 20 minutes. It really made no difference as I was cold decked for the first hour or so. I picked up some small pairs but they were unplayable as the table was hyper-aggressive.

I picked up a pair of Queens and played them horribly thinking I would be re-raised by the intial raiser as he had been doing all night. Instead he smooth called and the flop came down  [X][X][Q] all diamonds. He pushed and I called. He hit the flush on the flop and had me on my heals. No help on the turn or river and I was out the door. I should have raised more but it is what it is. I made an educated guess as to how my opponent had played at that time and it didn’t work out. No big deal.

I plan on going back soon to stay sharp though. It’s been way too long since I played live last.

Took down fourth place tonight after several near misses in my nightly $4.40 (180) tourney. I got off to a good start and doubled up in the second level. Once I picked up those chips I pretty much kept building my stack until after the first break. At that point I had around 10k and was getting cold decked. I managed to pick up a couple of hands when I got down to 5k to double up again.

After the second break we were down to 16 players and I was down to $3500 in chips. After a few pushes which, to my delight, were not called by the big stacks I built back up to $10+. I went to the “promised land” with 12k in chips and hung in there while picking up blinds from people folding to me.

Finally, I picked up AK and hit a HUGE three way pot for 47k to put me back in action. From there I tightened up and let the smaller stacks get knocked out. Unfortunately, after a really nice re-raise the big stack called me and got lucky on me. Here is the hand below:

PokerStars Game #15775351185: Tournament #79836716, $4.00+$0.40 Hold’em No Limit – Level XV (1500/3000) – 2008/03/06 – 03:19:32 (ET)
Table ‘79836716 19′ 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: benero (46398 in chips)
Seat 2: cbowen (122260 in chips)
Seat 3: Curtom (31515 in chips)
Seat 5: turdtamper (69827 in chips)
benero: posts the ante 300
cbowen: posts the ante 300
Curtom: posts the ante 300
turdtamper: posts the ante 300
turdtamper: posts small blind 1500
benero: posts big blind 3000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Curtom [Ac Kh]
cbowen: raises 6000 to 9000
Curtom: raises 22215 to 31215 and is all-in
turdtamper: folds
benero: folds
cbowen: calls 22215
*** FLOP *** [6s 7c 9c]
*** TURN *** [6s 7c 9c] [Tc]
*** RIVER *** [6s 7c 9c Tc] [Jh]<===tough card
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cbowen: shows [As Jd] (a pair of Jacks)
Curtom: shows [Ac Kh] (high card Ace)
cbowen collected 68130 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 68130 | Rake 0
Board [6s 7c 9c Tc Jh]
Seat 1: benero (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: cbowen showed [As Jd] and won (68130) with a pair of Jacks
Seat 3: Curtom (button) showed [Ac Kh] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 5: turdtamper (small blind) folded before Flop

Had my hand held up I am in prime position to take down this tournament. Very pleased with my play though overall. I am running good and plan to step up to a $22 (180) tomorrow. We will see how it goes.

Take care!

Now that I have cashed in five out of seven tournaments I am back on track. I am still baffled by pre-flop all-in play from hand number one but I have been capitalizing on it as of late so I can’t complain too much I suppose.

I haven’t pursued being staked to this point. However, I did do my homework and feel comfortable with the site that I have chosen should I decide to pursue it down the line. The reason I have not pursued it is because my bankroll has increased enough to where I can play where I like at this point.

PokerStars has begun the WSOP satellites so I will be playing those in hopes of winning my way into the Main Event. I’ll keep you posted.

Another cash again tonight in the $4.40 (180). I am running exceptionally good right now and was able to pick up chips early again tonight. However, once we got to the money I got short stacked and got grinded down pretty good. I ended up all in with pocket sixes vs kings and it was all over.

I went out on the bubble in tenth place but I have now cashed 3 nights in a row with 2 Final Tables in my last 4 tournaments. I can smell that first place coming.

Earlier today I busted out of the $5.50 guaranteed when I lost with my KK vs AK before the break. I got my chips in good again so no big deal.

How do you stay so sober about taking a beat?

As long as I get my money in good and play the hand correctly I can handle the beats. It’s when you don’t play the hand well that really bugs me and causes me to lose sleep. Variance is a part of the game none of us can control so there is no use getting too upset about it. It stings for a few minutes and then you let it go.

I made another Final Table and went out again on a tough hand in eigth place. What can you do? I got off to an exceptional start in this tournament and was up to 7k in chips before the first break. After that I smooth called and hit my inside straight draw to take down a 6k pot and pretty much cruised into the Final Table with 12k in chips. I went out eighth on the hand below. It was dissappointing seeing him hit the card even though he did have the best hand pre-flop but it is what it is. Again, I am playing exceptionally well and my hands are holding up for the most part so I just have to keep at it. I will be back to the grind tomorrow.

CIII

PokerStars Game #15703152752: Tournament #79469013, $4.00+$0.40 Hold’em No Limit – Level XI (500/1000) – 2008/03/03 – 01:15:04 (ET)
Table ‘79469013 16′ 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: earthman42 (51817 in chips)
Seat 2: bunny25639 (42142 in chips)
Seat 3: GuerroGuapo (23003 in chips)
Seat 4: socprof87 (34235 in chips)
Seat 5: trukking14 (1224 in chips)
Seat 6: Curtom (9199 in chips)
Seat 7: eazy-kash (20164 in chips)
Seat 8: seabiscuit_7 (24593 in chips)
Seat 9: maxedout57 (63623 in chips)
earthman42: posts the ante 100
bunny25639: posts the ante 100
GuerroGuapo: posts the ante 100
socprof87: posts the ante 100
trukking14: posts the ante 100
Curtom: posts the ante 100
eazy-kash: posts the ante 100
seabiscuit_7: posts the ante 100
maxedout57: posts the ante 100
trukking14: posts small blind 500
Curtom: posts big blind 1000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Curtom [Jd Jh]
eazy-kash: raises 1000 to 2000
seabiscuit_7: folds
maxedout57: folds
earthman42: folds
bunny25639: folds
GuerroGuapo: folds
socprof87: folds
trukking14: calls 624 and is all-in
Curtom: raises 7099 to 9099 and is all-in
eazy-kash: calls 7099
*** FLOP *** [Js Ts 6s]
*** TURN *** [Js Ts 6s] [As]<===tough catch
*** RIVER *** [Js Ts 6s As] [5h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Curtom: shows [Jd Jh] (three of a kind, Jacks)
eazy-kash: shows [Ac Ah] (three of a kind, Aces)
eazy-kash collected 15950 from side pot
trukking14: shows [Qh 4h] (high card Ace)
eazy-kash said, “wow”
eazy-kash collected 4272 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 20222 Main pot 4272. Side pot 15950. | Rake 0
Board [Js Ts 6s As 5h]
Seat 1: earthman42 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 2: bunny25639 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 3: GuerroGuapo folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 4: socprof87 (button) folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 5: trukking14 (small blind) showed [Qh 4h] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 6: Curtom (big blind) showed [Jd Jh] and lost with three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 7: eazy-kash showed [Ac Ah] and won (20222) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 8: seabiscuit_7 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 9: maxedout57 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)

I cashed again in the PokerStars $5.50 tournament and then busted out twenty first with pocket Aces. I got off to another slow start but picked up a few hands after the break and got myself back in contention. Once we were in the money I picked up AK and doubled up to 14k against the big stack and was ready to rock and roll again. Below is how my last hand played out. This is the situation you pray for with Aces but it just didn’t work out this time. Tough beat but I got my chips in good and that’s all I can ask for.

PokerStars Game #15678232614: Tournament #79111754, $5.00+$0.50 Hold’em No Limit – Level XI (500/1000) – 2008/03/02 – 03:07:07 (ET)
Table ‘79111754 22′ 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: BurritoJimmy (42062 in chips)
Seat 2: daddycool963 (55760 in chips)
Seat 5: Bensinhouse (42445 in chips)
Seat 6: Curtom (10030 in chips)
Seat 7: zman1976 (8460 in chips)
Seat 8: little haw (11287 in chips)
Seat 9: c4542s (23910 in chips)
BurritoJimmy: posts the ante 100
daddycool963: posts the ante 100
Bensinhouse: posts the ante 100
Curtom: posts the ante 100
zman1976: posts the ante 100
little haw: posts the ante 100
c4542s: posts the ante 100
zman1976: posts small blind 500
little haw: posts big blind 1000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Curtom [Ah Ac]
c4542s: folds
BurritoJimmy: folds
daddycool963: raises 3000 to 4000
Bensinhouse: raises 6000 to 10000
Curtom: calls 9930 and is all-in
zman1976: folds
little haw: folds
daddycool963: calls 6000
*** FLOP *** [5d 2d 8s]
daddycool963: checks
Bensinhouse: bets 10000
daddycool963: raises 10000 to 20000
Bensinhouse: folds
*** TURN *** [5d 2d 8s] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [5d 2d 8s 5s] [Jd]<====Brutal
*** SHOW DOWN ***
daddycool963: shows [4d Ad] (a flush, Ace high)
daddycool963 collected 20140 from side pot
Curtom: shows [Ah Ac] (two pair, Aces and Fives)
daddycool963 collected 31990 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 52130 Main pot 31990. Side pot 20140. | Rake 0
Board [5d 2d 8s 5s Jd]
Seat 1: BurritoJimmy folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 2: daddycool963 showed [4d Ad] and won (52130) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 5: Bensinhouse folded on the Flop
Seat 6: Curtom (button) showed [Ah Ac] and lost with two pair, Aces and Fives
Seat 7: zman1976 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: little haw (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: c4542s folded before Flop (didn’t bet)

I took a beat right before the money when my TT vs A6os didn’t hold up. I was on the button and the small blind folded to my push. I had a little over 5k and the big blind decided to gamble half his stack with Ace Six. Despite being a 3 to 1 favorite pre-flop he hit his ace and off to the rail I go.  The blinds were getting up there since it was after the second break but I am not sure that I would make that kinda call with that hand for half my stack. Just my opinion. That was more than a risky play. It was precisely the kind of poor play you want to see with a hand like TT.

Every now and then players get lucky on you. I really can’t complain. I am running good and making good decisions. The wins will come as they always do. All I have to do is keep making the Final Table.

CIII