won a 75 buy in on tilt

shipped the 24k gtd on tilt for 8k on tues, along with a 2k chop of the ap afternoon 30r, and had my stakee go 3rd in the ap 20k for another 1k in profit that day. I think my 3 day week so far went -1k monday, +8k tues, -1400 today.......the 24k was a real weak tournament when we got down to the final two tables - I don't know if people were trying to move up in the money or what, but they were very tight and made it easy for me to chip up.......at the final table everyone was super nitty - people folding down to 4 bbs trying to move up payouts it was hilarious....thats the good thing about hitting bigger scores atleast mentally for me - of course everyone says they go for the win and dont think about the money, but if your dealing with a 1st place prize thats larger then uve ever hit itll definitely effect you. With this case it was 8k so it had zero effect on my play. I never look at payouts when Im deep in a tournament or at a final table - I hate knowing how much Im going to get outside of first and really any payout outside of first is a failure. I ended up winning some showdowns and got HU with like 70% of hte chips in play - we got it in pretty quickly preflop with me holding ATs vs his AKo but I flopped the flush and it was all over. Ill try to get the HH from the tournament - had a interesting hand with 12 to go that I wanted to post up.

thats it for now - im definitely gonna continue the grind for the month even with the great profit.....Im also going to try to watch some more PXF videos - ive been lazy about it but I gotta put in some more time learning the game. Alot of people when they run good think its because they played great but the reality is its alot easier to play good poker when you have easy decisions and your winning flips nonstop. Thats the problem with success - you dont learn anything from it, if anything success is bad for improving your game. You get lazy, over confident, and lose touch with reality. Some people might even move up to higher stakes when cards are running their way being blinded by luck. I know where my game stands and thats why you dont see me in 1ks, 100rs,etc where you have to play against real good players. I do well vs idiot fish but against good thinking players its alot tougher. So count me out of those MTTs for a while :)

Chopped 60k Tilt

Chopped it for 17.7k....We got HU where I had a little more chips then him, so according to ICM I got 17,701 he got 17,300.....I probably could of squeezed another 1k out of him but I had 7 other MTTs going at the time and was new to the chopping software so I just wanted to end it quick and get some extra guarneteed money. 2ND was 13k first 23k, so not in the mood to play HU for 10k. Its great finally hitting a big score and it'll help my play next time I make a FT with a 20k first place payout...Ive had so many missed opportunities even to hit 10k+ payouts so finally breaking that feels real good. I dont think I had any monster suckouts outside of beating AA with JJ at like 150/300 level for a big double. After that I ran good in terms of winning 4-5 flips, and was able to make some hands and have em hold. Either way obv have to run real good to win a 600 man tourny....Hopefully theres more nice scores like this to come

Oct wrap

October has come to an end and I had a great run towards the end....I ended up making 14,359.00 over roughly 250 tournaments - 27k in buy ins, 41,408 in cashes, resulting in a 53% ROI....the big help was a +8-9k day on the 28th - I won the 501r1a on AP, took 9th in the 60k on tilt, and then 4th in the 80k on AP for 6500...overall I was happy with how the month went - only one win but a ton of deep finishes....I think im finally out of my dry streak that lasted from sept to mid-late October. For Nov my plan is to get in 400 MTTs - I think I should be doing 100 mtts a week and any less is just me being lazy - 100 mtts is about 40 hours of work so its not like im pushing myself to do something I can't obtain. Hopefully all goes well

Im also looking around at new/used cars.....I have an 02 Corvette Z06 which is alot of fun in the warmer months, but when it rains and snows the car is useless. I've been looking around at other things but can't seem to find something that really gets me interested. Im trying to sell the z06 and only spend another 10-15k on a car so my options are somewhat limited - I still want a sports car feel with some luxury and AWD, but the prices are too high for what I want....The Audi S5 really interests me but getting a used one with low miles is gonna cost mid 40s...I can easily afford that but I just cant justify selling my car and then spending another 25k on a car. I like the Infiniti G35 Coupes as well but those only come in RWD. Same goes for used M3s and alot of other sports cars....I guess if I want to get sports car/luxury/ and AWD in one car im gonna have to shell out....Maybe I can ship a monster this month and just buy it outright :)

A couple deep runs

Its been slow this month in MTTs - i missed the first 10 days or so of the month so I had a late start....Anyways I had gone a nice stretch breaking even in MTTs - yes the variance sucks but I also feel my game needed some work....I think the biggest issue was not 3 betting enough - 3 betting is so key these days in poker, if you dont do it enough your missing out on alot of ev....Now im not just talking about 3 betting your premiums or 3 betting when your short, im talking about 3 betting with your weaker hands that still carry some value, and then just 3 bet bluffing to people who are opening too wide...its tough to do this without commiting yourself when your under 30 bb, but with stacks over 40 bbs its so key these days to be a good winner....Its so effective as well in the 109s and the mid stake tournaments where people will never 4 bet light....Im going to work on making this more of a staple of my arsenal then it was in the past, and I think it'll be very beneficial.

I had some deep runs last night - 7th in the 40k stars, and 9th in the FTP 75k.....the stars I got nothing going and when CO opened I shoved KQ with 20bbs - he had AQ and held. The 75k I just lost AK to QQ for like 500k chips....tonight I went 2nd in the 30k KO which was dissapointing as I had the villan 10 to 1 in chips HU. I got him all in pre twice and he held. Then I had top pair when he had two pair, and the final blow was when I had top pair with a queen kicker to his overpair and couldnt hit. It sucked but oh well - I ran pretty good to get HU. On a sidenote I heard a great podcast on 2P2 featuring sheets - it was in regards to live tournament poker, staking, etc...definitely a good listen and great for someone who is considering going pro. Alot of kids my age and even younger are trying to make it pro and its really not that great of a road as people think it is. def a good listen.

anyways im off. ttyl guys

Aruba wrapup

Aruba was a great time and also the perfect time for a vacation. 90 degree weather along with a 5k poker tournament is paradise for me, and I really needed a break from the online grind as I wasn't doing too well the past couple weeks. I started Day 1b of the tournament - 15k starting stack 25/50 starting, 90 min levels - the structure is fantastic....So my starting table had Jeff Madsen on my right, although he lost to a nasty 2 outer about 10-15 hands in - good thing he did cause he played every single hand up until busting......I had one hand with him where he had raised in later position and I called with AJo...The flop came 89T giving me an open ender so I check/call his flop bet. The turn comes a Queen - I check again and call his turn bet. The river pairs the board with a T - at this point I figured hes going to fire the river a high % of the time considering how aggressive he is - at the same time I can't really c/r the river here incase he shoves then I'm in a really tough spot. I decide to c/c on the river and he mucked. A little later on our table broke and I got moved to Liv's table. At this point I have maybe 17-18k when I pick up QQ in the BB I believe. It folds around to Wiscomurray in the CO I believe who bumps it up to 700 at 150/300 - Liv is on the button with 8k I believe and 3 bets to 2100 - I decide to raise to 5100 at this point basically putting Liv all in - wisco folds she gets the rest in and has TT - I hold and pick up a nice pot putting me around 25k. Soon the table breaks and I get moved to a table of unknowns. Not too many big hands played out there - one hand that was interesting was when I was in the BB with QTo. It folded to the CO+1 who just limped I believe at 150/300 - he had about 12-14k in total. the SB completed and I checked the BB. The flop came T85 with two diamonds - sb checked, I bet 60% pot, and the CO+1 raised from 600 to 1800 - sb folded and I called. Turn came an offsuit Ace - I checked he fired 3k - Not too much made sense at this point - Any pair would be opening preflop, any ace as well - what did he limp 85o?? I wasn't planning on going anywhere with this hand so I called. River came a blank deuce. I checked and I saw him getting ready to put all the chips in but he checked behind and I was good. Had he shoved the river logically I wanted to call, but being a pussy I might of folded :(.....his line just didn't make much sense. Day 1 ends with 28k.

Day 2 was pretty rough - about 1 level in we have to redraw for tables - great I draw table 1 - the problem with this is this table will never be broke - the higher tables like 20-30 eventually break up, so if you draw a tough table 1 your pretty fucked. Well obviously thats what happened. Heres the lineup - seat 1 - laggy euro guy - seat 2 - titantom32 - seat 3 - Matt Brady - won the event last year - seat 4 - Roothlus - seat 5 myself - seat 6 james mordue a pretty good live player - seat 7 Tmay420 - seat 8 basebaldy, seat 9 a young internet player.....so ya this was godawful and the problem was I couldn't open that light vs this table.....I played pretty nitty the whole table - I was able to make some hands here and there, although after roothlus got knocked out a new kid moved to his seat, and I ended up calling his sb shove to my BB with a6 for 12 bbs when he had 77 and I didnt get there. I ended up getting down to 20 bb but doubled after holding JJ to Tmays AK. I didn't get much going though after that, and ended the day around 38k after bluffing 10k off with KQ on a 23555 board.

Day 3 we had I believe 80 or so players left and I started the day with 20 bbs roughly. Nothing was going my way - I wasn't picking up hands and when I did I couldn't connect on any flops whatsoever....Eventually I got down to 12 bbs 10 away from the money or so. It folded around to the SB who put me all in - I looked down at A2o and made the call - he turned over K7s - I flopped the ace but he backdoored the flush and sent me to the rail.....boooo.....

I gotta say now I understand why people say how internet and live poker are so different. Its almost like a whole different game your playing - Understanding stack sizes and pot sizes is so important, and the mentality is so different. You're now face to face with people and if you make a shitty bluff it might be shown, where as online you don't have that physical factor....I remember one pot we had 6 limpers - I had 77 and it took me a minute to figure out the right raise pre - online its so much easier and I'm more comfortable...I also think I play better overall online - I think I see more spots where as live I was more cautious. I guess over time that will change but this year I definitely understand how live is a big change. Anyways Im off to play online today - I played most of the majors yest but bricked em all, but felt great how I played - hopefully I get some wins this month. Till next time

Month has ended, some random thoughts

September has finally came to a close and I'm up roughly 500 bucks playing, 1700 in staking, 1k credits for cash, and about 4-500 in rakeback, putting me roughly +3700......Im fine with that really, as I have no need for cash and felt like I played decent....I was was at one point -6k playing on the month, so to get positive I guess I shouldn't complain much?? I had an amazing 1.5% ROI in the month over 320 mtts. I rule. So some random thoughts poker related

-why do people play strong 100rs,200rs,1ks, etc? As time progresses more and more people are learning mtts - the losers are becoming breakeven, the breakeven are small winners, small winners have become big winners, etc....theres so many names popping up that no one knew of a year or two ago that are now crushing big...yeh variance helps, but these guys also play pretty good. I was on P5s the other day and looking at HH's at 6 max 100r tables with like 4-5 winners - wheres the edge? Another example is the 1k on AP - usually gets about 120 entrants - Id say atleast 40-50 players are winners - so lets assume 50 people are winners, that means at a 9 man table your looking at about 3-4 winners a table - wheres the longterm edge? Of course you can still have an edge with these types of tables even if the winners are just small winners, but who wants to deal with 1ks and small edges? There will be one day when 100r's are unbeatable or near breakeven unless the US regulates poker. One day.

-why do people show bluffs?? I understand if you want to tilt someone, otherwise its the dumbest thing ever. Example - I was deep in the 20k on AP 2nite when I got 3 bet and folded - he showed K3. Amazing buddy - I had been opening a ton so of course you'll be able to 3 bet me with garbage.....What does this accomplish? Well I'm not tilting from it, I could care less.....the problem for him was I had a large stack so I could easily come after him more and make him make tougher decisions for his tourny life. Yeh this is great if your a great player vs a bad player, but him being OOP and having a 1/3 of my stack seems like -ev for him to show that bluff.

-If you care about the money in a MTT you're losing alot of profit - its funny how money is such a big influence in MTTs and how alot of people play. This was definitely me not too long ago, tightening up in bigger MTTs late...the problem is to win that 25k you need to have every chip in play, so don't think about trying to survive, but how can you accumulate. The amount of luck late in mtts is insane, so play to win. I think subconciously the payouts can affect people and they dont realize it. Just go for the win

-raise/folding - alot of spots it seems people will raise/call way too light with stuff like weak aces, K10s, etc against players who are simply not reshoving that wide - I think we got it driled into our heads that raise/folding to stack that are under 20 bbs is just bad but if theyre not reshoving that wide its perfectly fine. Id be curious to run some math on what range a villan needs to reshove to make raise/folding unprofitable. Alot of times people aren't reshoving light as we would suspect because the general consensus is the original raiser isn't folding. I tend to raise/fold alot on AP since the majority of AP players aren't reshoving anywhere near what they do on stars or tilt. Its just crazy how wide some people call

-bluff lines - when setting up a bluff its good to represent a hand unless your bluffing against a total idiot whos just paying attention to making a hand....sometimes I find myself running a bluff line that makes no sense - why do I do this? laziness I guess....I had a hand come up tonight where I had ATs in UTG+2 to a 7 man table. I raise 2.5x with like 40 bbs. SB calls who seems not that great with like 25 bbs behind. Normally with his stack I'd be hesistent to get testy with him postflop, since usually when people are calling with stacks near that 20 bb threshold theyre not folding often, but I didn't think he was all that great. Anyways flop comes J83 two hearts - he checks, I check back. no clue why I don't fire. turn comes Qs, he checks so I decide to fire 60% pot he calls. River comes a 2, he checks, I fire again, he calls with KQ and I lose. First off him calling with KQ there pre with that stack was bad but I figured he was calling somewhat light. I was just mad I didn't even think about what I was repping - maybe it was late at night and I wanted to sleep who knows....thinking is +ev - i should do that someitme :)

thats all for now. alot of rambling i know but just some ideas that i wanted to get in print. anyways im off to sleep to dream about winning aruba for like 800k and stopping poker for the year. we can dream right?

Slow month - need a vacation

September has been a shitty month thus far - I was down on the month playing up until Monday when I went on a +9500 2 day swing....I took 4th in the 40K Stars for 5k, then the next day took 3rd in the 30k KO on FTP for a little over 4k...I've also had some cashes here and there under 2k to keep me moving....At this point on the month Im +3k with a dismal 11.49% ROI (didn't count my 5500 aruba seat in this figure)....oh well thats MTT poker - I've been feeling alot better about my late game....Ive been getting deep in alot and just getting unlucky - hopefully before the month ends I can get my profits to atleast 10k, but even if I don't I don't mind where Im at.......I've gotten in roughly 230-240 MTTs during the month, so Im definitely on pace to match last month of around 320-340...at this point Im just trying to do no more than 8 tabling, and maybe as I get more comfortable with MTTs/get better, I'll start 10-12 tabling, but for now I'd rather play less volume and keep a higher ROI....Aruba is right around the corner - I leave a week from this Sunday and I'm very excited...this month has been killer on me and I really need a relaxing vacation and a shot at big money with nothing to lose. It really is a great time down there and I wouldn't go anywhere else for vacation. I'll be gone for 6 days, so when I get back I'm going to start grinding real hard so I can keep my volume up for the month. I'm dieing to hit a big score and plan on working real hard to get it. Stay tuned.