Smite Button

The fingers of the Poker gods are firmly pushed down on the Smite Button, as they watch our "hero" navigate the waters of Bodog. It's either that... or they're all using their fingers to flip me off! Fuck... there I've said it, and got it out of the way. Happy now? No, I cannot hold a candle to the bad beat that Frank called to tell me this morning, after he headed back to the Charleston tables. Ouch, I feel for you. But I'll let you tell all that in a post of your own.

My bad run started at the Yanok's on Friday, which I wrote all about. I've played a bunch on Bodog over the weekend. Lost many more of the $16 SNG than I've cashed in. Something fundamental has either changed in cheer_dad's ole game or the world hates me. Take your pick. I've run my AQ into a set of 2's when I flopped top pair, top kicker. I've run pocket Q's into pocket A's. And then finally pocket K's which turned into a set... when the opponents pocket 10's turned into a straight, using my own damned King against me. Ooooof! There were some high points in today, hitting quad Jacks and then making on the minimum. That bites. When you're big winning hands make you nothing, and with everything else you start taking it up the ass, well the online bankroll dwindles. I'm still above the $200 mark, but man I was getting delusions of grandeur there for a while. Thank you poker gods and/or lady luck, for this lesson in humility. I have learned it... I get it... I am sorry, forgive my insolence! Please allow this wave to wash over me. I'll go back to "ABC" poker and not deviate from the master plan as outlined in the past. I promise not to make any money, but just not lose anymore. There does that make you happy? Anyway, so it's back to the ole drawing board for cheer_dad.

It's a good thing I didn't completely give up drinking... it sounds like I'll be drowning a few of the sorrows. So, I'll have to continue the workout regimen. I'm walking or running or both at least 5 days per week, and lifting at least 4. I'm happy to report that the arms feel a little stronger and at least a little firmer. Belly is still there. The right knee quite simply SUCKS! It really hurts, and it's not getting any better. There may be a doctor in my near future.

Anyway... that's been the weekend folks. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy. Feeling sorry for myself, really isn't making me feel any better about it all, so I think I'll give that up too. With that I'll call it a night... and a post.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Just say no to NITS!

Well every good run eventually comes to an end. Finally, playing in last night's SNG's, I failed to finish in the money in one of these things. I bubbled. I cashed in the first of the two SNG's but nothing stellar happened. The second game... well I allowed one thing to get to me. There were two competing aggressors at the table. They were driving everyone out preflop, and then either checking or min betting to one another post flop. Not something I should really worry about, except that the behaviour eventually caused them to get involved with the guy who was the short stack at the time (below me) and top him off quite nicely. That's okay too, except the two aggressors pushed preflop and the short stack called it. He was first to act, after the less than stellar flop and he bet out, one aggressor dropped, the other min raised and was called. The short stack continued to bet a minimal amount on each following street and was min raised, except on the river, when the "aggressor" dropped out. There was really nothing he could have been chasing. It put me out a little, that he breathed new life into the guy who had been about to go out. Now I was the short stack. Very next hand, I insta-popped it all in, and stole the pot, just to remind them both I was still there... watching and kinda questioning their actions. A few hands later I was in the small blind and it was folded back around to me. If I could get the BB to drop I would have climbed back out of the short stack position. I looked down at a K-rag, and decided to shove against a BB that wasn't high on the chip count position. Unfortunately, he looked down at A-10s and called... rightly so. Looking back, I made two mistakes. One, I let the play of the aggressors get under my skin a little more than usual. I shouldn't have since on the other table I was playing there was a guy doing the same thing and it became his undo-ing when he tried to bully his way through a hand, only to run into the guy who had smooth called him all the way, and was sitting there grinning with the stone-cold NUTS! See ya... bye... I laughed out loud on that one, and Teresa was convinced I was losing it. The second mistake of the game or the night really... I was playing like a total friggin' NIT! Sheesh could I have acted any more like a pussy?!? I tried to limp with too many marginal hands and small pocket pairs only to watch early on the table bullies pop it and force me to fold, from my poor position. Then, from position, I was shying away from getting involved, listening to the small voice in my ear saying, c'mon just fold to victory. Well, no thank you from here on out. My new motto, is "Just say no to NITS!" Get back to the gameplan and let the money start finding its way to you. On the positive side, the cost of the two SNG's $35.20 was totally lost, in that I cashed in one game and so found myself down only $11.20. I'm still up... I got a lesson that I think I needed, and besides. Out of 8 of these $16 + $1.60 Beginner SNG's I've cashed in 7 out of 8 thus far for an 87.5% so far. I didn't really expect to cash and/or win in "every" single one of these. Yeah it would've been nice, but was unrealistic. I need to stick with the game plan and play tight up front, to the point at which I can identify the guys who really seem scared to play or risk anything, and just apply small pressure to take down a few small pots and avoid those coin flips. Then, once we lose the bubble boy, become the table nightmare and take it down.

Tonight, I've got some running to do. Whitney has a homecoming parade to go to at 5:15. Cole has a skating party at 6:00-ish. Teresa is going somewhere with her mom, so I've got to drop off and pick up everyone. I have to make sure that they get their homework done somewhere in between all that. Then, I can guarantee I'll be heading to the Eagles for a drink. Sheesh! I've walked, run, and lifted my heart out this week and even eaten pretty well too, and particularly avoided late night scavenging. I haven't even been drinking pop! Okay I will be tonight, but only slightly, the rest had better be a stiff Jack Daniels. See you all tonight, for the drawing... I'm out.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Baby Steps

Baby Steps
Originally uploaded by Waldo#4

I feel a bit like this... taking some unsure steps on wobbly legs. I had kind of gotten out of the habit of playing online poker. A bit stagnant, not much in the way of money online anymore, aside from the fact that free time was non-existent. But two things influenced me to put in some time and see how I would do online again.

First, the August 5, 2008 issue of Card Player had an article by Roy West entitled "Some Call it Heart - I Call it Courage, A requirement for becoming a winner." A number of things spoke to me through the article, as if Roy was pointing a finger at me and reading me the riot act. He wrote, " A lack of courage is most often mixed in with a fear of losing money. Just breaking even is no big thing -- as you were even when you walked into the poker room." Fear of loss can be an absolutely crippling thing at the poker table. A lousy run of cards and a few bad sessions can further fuel it, and you can fall into the rut of just trying to conserve or preserve the existing bankroll, rather than trying to make it grow. But there's no point in being fool-hardy either, as you'll find yourself broke, right quickly. Mr. West then added a line which got me thinking, "For those players who are concerned about going off for too much money... set aside a specific amount that they can lose and not have it affect their lifestyle, and play that bankroll as if it were an unlimited supply." So, now about the bankroll... Well I took a look around my measly online accounts and was "almost" ready to make a fateful redeposit when in an unrelated blog I came across something that gave me another idea.

That brings me to the second influence... I came across this blog post http://blinderspoker.blogspot.com/2008/09/bodog-roll-growing-beginner-s-still.html by blogger "Blinders," in which he talked about his recent experiences in the Bodog Beginner SNG's. He had grown his bankroll in a rather short order back to a level which allowed him some maneuvering room in my mind. He did so, without much in the way of risk, due to the flattened nature of the payout structure in these beginner sng's. Here was an idea. I lacked a sufficient online bankroll to tackle the game and work on my game and my courage level as Roy West was suggesting but here Blinders was pointing to a bit of a no-brainer method to accumulate some needed cash, to help create a respectable bankroll. I had been donking around a little in the Bodog Beginner SNG's before, but at the lowest possible limits. But here on one hand was one blogger telling me that the play was soft at the higher limits, and on the other hand Roy West is telling me I need to have courage. I was beginning to feel a bit like the cowardly lion... But Yellow Brick Road or not, a path seemed to be laying itself out before me. I'd give the higher limit Bodog Beginner SNG's a try and see if I couldn't put together a roll.

Now, I'm still limited on available time between my kids and their schedules, work, my wife, and trying to get back in shape (running, walking and lifting weights again) so I'm not grinding out hour after hour at the tables. But here's what I've done in a very brief span of time. I had been treading water with about $150 on Bodog and was playing the minimal SNG's. It was VERY SLOW going and making little progress. I was getting more frustrated than anything else. So, I took a couple of shots, at higher levels and was successful. So, I decided to give these a a try for a while in the style that Blinders did. Playing at the $16 SNG's, I've been firing up 2 of these at a time, at night after the kids go to bed and my wife and I are just watching some TV. I've only played maybe 3 sessions for a total of 6 SNG's at the $16 level, so far, but I've already accelerated and grown the Bodog account to $290. I've cashed in every single one of them. Granted had I been playing at a standard SNG there would have been a time or two, that I would have walked away empty handed, but with the payout structure paying 5 spots, I've managed to break even on the one table, while making money on the other. Am I displaying courage right now? Well no... but I'm building a roll that will give me some breathing room first, and avoiding a re-deposit. Besides, I'm making some money and having some fun at the same time. The structure is also allowing me to experiment more with position and it is working well. Also, I'm learning that a lot of players do NOT change gears well at all, or respond well to other players (like me) who are. I have observed the players who are trying to fold their way to the cashout and when I'm finding myself beginning to slip into a shortstack I can apply some well-timed aggression with "air" in my hand and steal some pots to bolster myself. Then later, these players think I'm pulling a fast one on them when I've really got the goods and I'm getting paid. The times when I've gone out at the bottom of the cashout I've run A-Q into A-K and also my KQs ran into rockets on the other occasion.

So, in closing I'm very pleased with the recent (albeit limited) success so far. I'm trying to be realistic about this and not getting overly confident in my abilities but I'm going to continue to ride this gravy train out for a while and see what happens. When you find me busted out and all sad and dejected, be a pal and buy a poor sap a beer!

Regards,

cheer_dad