WSOP Event #1 final table today, & my own poker evening

Having read the latest over at PokerNews http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-1-10000-plhe-world-championship/ on Event #1 $10,000 PLHE, it appears as though Eli Elezra was not able to hold on to his chip lead and was eventually sent to the rail. The event will wrap up today with only the final table remaining, which by-the-way is a televised event. There will be plenty of excitement and a lot of familiar faces including Andy Bloch, who is the current chip leader. Other easily recognizable pros in the final nine include: Mike Sexton, Phil Laak, Kathy Liebert, and my wife's absolute favorite poker pro/boy-toy Patrik Antonius.

My evening of poker last night at JR's was less than stellar. Blinds were at 25/50 and I had been struggling with finding very few playable hands. A few attempts at position steels met up with some big counter plays, which weren't really plays at all, since my suspicions proved correct when I folded and on two occasions I got to see the hand that would have absolutely destroyed me. In the end however it was a one two punch from first JR and finally Frank that sent me whimpering to the rail. From LP I looked down at AQos, and I popped it to $200 straight, which was fairly standard for my previous attempted LP steals. JR, seated to my immediate left re-opped it another $500. A call there would leave me with $150 behind. But that's exactly where I was headed. I was putting him on a non-paint pocket pair or a healthy Ace. I made the call and my read was correct but his pocket threes bested me soundly when a full house filled in around them 3's full of 6's. Left with only the $150, I didn't even bother to look at my cards and shoved the remainder on the next hand. I was actually kind of excited by the pot, since there were four people in there, which might have dragged me out of the pit I was in. But despite pairing the on the flop, Frank two-paired and my tournament life was over. Going out this way didn't particularly bother me. I mean yeah I hate losing but I took my shot with the coin-flip, and just didn't get there. That's to be expected, but in hindsight I would NOT change my play on the hand.

The cash game didn't go so hot for me either. I was up for a while, but the table was being dominated by 2-3 players who I swear were seeing 90-95% of the flops. The betting patterns were erratic and big bets were being made which at first I wanted to classify as bluffs, but as the evening moved forward what I thought were bluffs were actually bets by folks that thought their cards were great, when they were actually rags. Tells in this game were useless, and Vince and I had just that discussion. When you read someone as being strong by their body language you've got to take into account that sometimes they just don't know what the fuck they're doing. Ignorance can be a powerful weapon! : ) I ended up on pocket 8's, and had to call a $3 pre-lop raise in this .25/.50 NLHE game. The flop came J-9-x... and I didn't put my opponent on any of it. He bet out $5 anyway, I shoved a raise for a total of $17.50. He insta-called it with a gut shot straight draw and got there immediately. They asked if I wanted to rebuy, I decided I'd pass on that. Just wasn't my night. Eric saw me later and noted that I did sound a bit salty as I exited the room. Yeah, I probably was... it's just frustrating watching chips going the wrong way. I think back when I first took up this game, and I swear I don't recall EVER playing some of the absolute shit cards that were taking down pots. I'm very tempted just to sit in my next game and play every single frackin' hand, and just see how far over the edge I can put some of the competition. I'd be curious to know the inner workings of the minds of others in these situations. How much they continue to think about a given hand or session, and how it turns and rolls over in their minds. I can't be unique in this can I? Nah, didn't think so. Was I on tilt, in the end... yes, that's very likely. What separated me from the herd, was that I chose not to play on. I could have only re bought for the $20, and I was now looking at 3 players at the table with $50+ stacks. Not a good move for me to make, despite the fact that the ole ego was wanting some serious payback. Next time...

There is a game today, but I don't think I'll make this one either. I've just had enough for the weekend. And poker, as it's been said, is a lot more fun when you're winnin'. Sorry for the sour grapes, but sometimes they make the best wine... or is that whine!?! : P

WSOP Event #2 ($1,500 NLHE) continues today with Day 1b. Yes, the field is huge people. The action will get under way at noon, and will likely cross the 4,000 player mark. On tap for Monday are Events #3 and #4, $1,500 PLHE and $5,000 Mixed Hold'em (Limit/NL.)


Regards,

cheer_dad

Thank you sir... may I have another!

The following hand is indicative of how things have gone lately for me, online and offline for that matter. I had played online, two-tabling for about an hour and a half. I was wrapping it up so I could go pick up my son from school. Honestly, this was the last hand of the day for me, and I was barely treading water. But I was thinking how thankful I was to get out with my unlucky ass still in tact. Then, I look down at pocket Kings. But here's the total depiction of the hand that went down.

Bodog Hand Details
Hand Number 1227106773
Start Date 2008-05-12 14:30:52
End Date 2008-05-12 14:31:49
Game Type Hold'Em Structure NL $0.10/$0.25
Play Mode Real
Table Name Thoroughblades

mgmaddict $41.14

Mr 1337z0r $44.55
audibrent $13.25

Oswegonia $32.32
BigFlop12 $23.60
bidmerun $8.30
ksolo80 $23.75
DBWON $25.00
cheer_dad $30.10

Hand Actions
mgmaddict Ante/Small blind $ 0.10
audibrent Big blind/Bring in $ 0.25
Oswegonia Raise $ 0.85
BigFlop12 Fold
bidmerun Fold
ksolo80 Call $ 0.85
cheer_dad Raise $ 3.50
mgmaddict Fold
audibrent Call $ 3.25
Oswegonia Fold
ksolo80 Call $ 2.65
Betting round completed
Active pot = $11.45

***FLOP***
4s 9h Js

audibrent All-in $ 9.75
ksolo80 Call $ 9.75
cheer_dad All-in $ 26.60
ksolo80 All-in $ 10.50
cheer_dad Return uncalled portion of bet $ 6.35
Betting round completed
Main pot = $40.70 Side pot = $21.00

***Turn***
4c

***River***
4h

Rake amount:$ 1.50

ksolo80: (Jh Jc) Full House J J J 4 4
cheer_dad: (KhKc)Full House 4 4 4 K K
audibrent: (Kd 10c) Three of a Kind 4 4 4 K J

ksolo80: $ 60.20

Thank you sir... may I have another! I hate this friggin' game!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Somewhere along the line

Somewhere along the line, I've performed a "core dump" of poker skill and ability. Certainly something happened, I just wish I could remember when it happened and how. Armed with such knowledge I'd quickly set about returning that which has been lost to the ole gray matter. Whenever it was the core dump had other sweeping effects as well. Along with it came, frustration and a complete lack of confidence. This is serious people. Are you hearin' me? I blew a chunk of the online bankroll yesterday and I'm left wondering what happened and reeling from the feeling. The best I could do while 2 tabling was to tread water on one table, while the other just sucked the life and cash out of me. By and large, I was slowly and painfully being blinded. Then, I'd get involved in a pot with Big Slick (several times) but never connect with it. Or I'd look down at the Hilton Sisters, but get bested by someone with a baby ace on the flop. It was a horrifying extended session to say the least. Top it all by the fact that I wasn't even enjoying it. It was just frustrating and I felt the quicksand just pulling me down. There's nothing can be done about it now, I'll just have to live with it and move on. Once your money hits the middle of the table... it's no longer yours. I have to live with it...but I don't have to like it.

Tonight is poker night at the Yanok's house. It sounds like it's going to be a big crowd. I'm looking forward to it. Hoping to redeem myself for a poor showing at the tables yesterday online. Of course just saying that could jinx me, so let's just say I'm going over to hang out with some of my favorite people and lay waste to a few bottles of beer. What could possibly go wrong. Tomorrow night while my daughter is at her 9th grade prom... a motley crew of us will be heading to the Eagles for the band, the slot machines, the booze and one another's company. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to bring along the poker chips as well. I know you're all detecting a general issue here now aren't you. Somewhere\sometime tomorrow I have to go get Big Red and my own mother a present for Mothers' Day. I didn't forget, but I do procrastinate something fierce! I was informed that this year, she wasn't buying for herself. The kids were old enough to see to it themselves (with my help.) In which, after reading between the lines, I came up with the following translation: Get off your sorry ass and go buy me something nice!!! Fear not dear... your man's on the job. Thank goodness for liberal return policies this time of year!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods, wherever that may be... and none of you forget your MOMS either. You know you have one... and she already knows you for the lousy no good that you are, so this weekend prove her wrong for once, and do something nice.

Have a great weekend... and here's hoping that mine will not turn to the dark side. Oh and just in case...curse you Jack Daniels and all your filthy kith and kin.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Easter weekend

Not a terrible weekend of poker. I mean I've lost live and all. The weekend began actually clear back on Thursday night, when after returning home after the Eagles drawing (and another war declaration against the accursed Jack Daniels.) I for some unknown reason opted to log on to Sportsbook.com and play some poker. I know, drunk and poker don't mix. Well I bought in on two .05/.10 NLHE tables and turned $29.xx in my account into $47-ish. Go figure, and no it's not plausible that they were actually drunker than I was. Then, the following evening found me venturing over to the Shuman cash game. He had two tables running. My table predominantly was calling for Omaha. I obliged and was only able to tread water. I finally donked it all off to Russell, when I missed my flush draw and lost two his flopped two pair which he subsequently turned into a straight. Go figure. Didn't really matter, I had a good time anyhow.

My eye was bothering me though... really bothering me. When I got home, and finally took off the sunglasses, it was bright red, and was beginning to feel like I had taken sand paper to it. I took some pills and went to bed. I awoke this morning to my eye being very nearly matted shut. Big Red immediately insisted that I get my dumb ass to Quick Care. Turned out to be my quickest visit ever. A few pokes and prods, 3 prescriptions, including eye drop anti-biotics and some other oral antibiotics and I guess I'm on the road to recovery. The meds kept me away from alcoholic consumption for the remainder of the weekend.

Flash forward beyond the day at Teresa's aunt's house for an early Easter Egg Hunt and dinner, and then we end up over at JR's for the PartyLite (Candles) party, which we actually missed followed by a cash game which then morphed into a Tourney. Early on, I was doing okay and hit some enormous hands, and thought I was cruising on to the top spot. I made it to the final table of 8. Then disaster and rising blinds struck. From late position I look down at A-10os, and just opt to call. I flop Aces and 10's, and shove out a 3/4 pot size bet, and get an all-in raise from Vince. I call, for like a total of around $1,000. He shows his A-Q. The turn turns nightmarish for me when a Q drops. Ouch... But I'm still okay, just have to bide my time, and wait.

The blinds continue up and at the 300/600 mark, it's getting pricey, and starting to smart a little. Vince, ends up getting spanked hard by the little lady to my right, and exits the tourney. I'm beginning to see garbage hands, and little more, but I'm watching the same said lass morph into an absolute calling station, and she along with a couple others are just tripling people up to the point that now I'm the frackin' short stack. Scratch frackin' insert fuckin'. I start shoving all-in over the top and steal a couple of hands. BUT, I zigged one last time when I shoulda zagged, and ran smack dab into the lady again, when she flopped top pair, w/King kicker. Yeah, see ya cheer_dad, and oh by the way you just bubbled. Still okay, I'm tired, sober, and ready to go home. Big Red's already migrated to the Eagles again, and a little slot play. As I leave JR's I call her to see what's what, and if I'm supposed to pick her up, just as she's telling me she's UP on the machines, some fucking douchebag nearly T-Bones me at a 4-way stop. I was stopped... he failed to even brake. I slammed on the brakes, swerved, and swore profusely and in that order! Okay now tilt hits. I think sailors somewhere blushed. Still no collission though, so I guess that's a plus.

Now I'm at home waiting to pick up Big Red in a minute and felt inspired to share all the above with you all. Hope you like the cute bunny in honor of Easter above. But really it's just a dedication to myself for being such a poker idiot.

On a lighter note though, Happy Easter, and I hope the candy rots all of our teeth! See you all again, and all-in soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Any 2 will do...

This game is really beginning to tear me down. Somewhere along the line I became a lousy player. Somewhere along the line I've begun to believe that the collected wisdom in every poker book I've ever read is all a lot of horse hockey! Play tight...play top hands...be aggressive...win the pots...be the best. Phooey! The only strategy frankly that I'm seeing win lately is no fold 'em hold 'em. Join the "any two will do club, and we'll show you the fargin' secret handshake!" WTF!!! Let me back track a bit.

Friday night, I went over to Bob and Cassie's house for poker. This was made up mostly of the guys that Matt J plays with all the time. Stakes were theoretically "lower" than what Matt was used to, having only .50/1.00 blinds. After 6 hours of play for me, I lost only $20. Considering that I had been down $120 at one point, I actually didn't feel so bad about it. But then the next day, start talking to Matt, and hear what everyone else was cashing out with. I knew who was donating the vast majority of it. The guy who was in for nearly $1,500.00. Yes at a .50/1.00 NLHE table. He dropped that much! Matt cashed out up over $300. Baker about the same. Bob was several hundred more than them, but he played on and put the biggest loser in a cab that morning at 6:30am. My big loss came on a crappy hand...and I knew it, but after sitting there getting sodomized for around 2 hours, and having not had a playable hand...and having not won a single hand yet, well frankly it's a wonder I didn't go looking for a gun. I had more chance of walking out of there by holding the place up, than playing the shit hands I was seeing. But I decided to play 8-9, since it was like the best hand I had seen for the night. I raised preflop and thought MAYBE someone was actually paying attention and that I hadn't made a move like that all night. Well they had ALL noticed. But didn't friggin' care. Any 2 will do, remember!?! Carl called with A-6, and after the flop, when I had actually hit a pair, I pushed but being the big stack he inst-called. And the 8 on the turn, which gave me 2-pair, sealed my fate, and I pushed the rest of my meager stack into the middle, only to watch him turn over his 6, having met four cards to the straight. What're you going to do. Matt said I was too tight. But I'm not sure what I really should have been playing at all now. I mean, I could play 8-3os, and 9-4os, and any manner of other crap that I was seeing, but that's wrong isn't it? Besides I tried to keep track of what was falling on the board, and in that first hour or two, I would have only hit on one hand, that I would've made a boat on. The Q-2os would've hit...and except for that $10 preflop raise, and me folding to it, well shucks, that pot coulda been mine. What the fuck was I thinkin'!!? But maybe I'll run better on another night. I got my next chance the next night, when a BUNCH of us headed up to the Eagles to hear the band JINX. Some of us started playing cards there. And later on played at my house too. I lost $4 total that night... Low stakes, low expectation. There's always next time. So this morning I find myself (on my day off) at home and firing up Bodog again. The morning session dropped me just under $30. Now I'm hovering around the $100 mark again. As I said before I hate this fuckin' game! It's just never going to pay off is it. I should cash in right now, shouldn't I and just call it an exercise in futility!? I mean, I'm not really even enjoying the game anymore. It used to be lots of fun...I used to make some occasional money at it too. No more though, no more.

I'm in the middle of playing right now...and it's not the big hands which are working at all. The preflop pot size raises aren't working...with my big hands. Everyone calls and I mean everyone. What's paying on the other hand and I just took down I nice size pot, and sent some poor shmoe to the rail, with a starting hand of 5-6os, which I played just because the whole thing is makin' me ill. I made a boat by the TURN. I bet and he raises me, and I take him down, and he's got an Ace with a week kicker. Did he think I was just kidding? But I didn't complain. I needed it. I really feel like I'm playing SLOP POKER. There's no style or finnesse to it. Just limp in on everything including your big hands and get away from 'em if they miss. Then just hope to hit a monster with your crap cards, and pounce, always of course avoiding the guy on the small or big blind, who will invariably hit the absolute nuts by the end of the hand, despite that he entered with the absolute worst with it. It's a given. I've been beaten on AA, by a Q-4os, QQ beaten by K-6, when he hit trip 6's on the flop. There have been other bad ones too, but they just make me cry to talk about. now (keep your fingers crossed, I've made back like $6, but it's not likely to last. I mean I'm playing everything but the kitchen sink, regardless of position. Yeah here it comes...I've got JJ from late position...raise and reraise preflop. I got out, knowing I was beat, but the guy who had me beat with his rockets...just got spanked by the guy who had the pocket 10's. All-In preflop and that's where they ended up, the guy with pocket 10's turning into a set! I do hate this game. Numb nuts at the table says "10's are just FEELING really lucky for me." OHHHH, how wonderful for you DoucheBag! Glad I got out...made the good laydown, but criminy!!!

I'm just going to be really sad when I have to stop playing altogether, when the money finally runs out. What am I going to do with all of this time. I invested a lot of time and effort in to attempting to get good at this game. Wasted effort and time I suppose. Enough of the wallowing in self pity. I'll end this post and promise to post next time about the other happenings of this weekend. One word for you all...CROWN!

Regards,

cheer_dad

...motherless... !

I donked it up last night. I mean I stunk it UP something fierce last night! It was only a net $33.xx loss but that's a substantial amount to my online CarbonPoker bankroll. Especially since I was basking in the glow of my reaching the $241 mark! Now, I did catch a case of 2nd best there for a while...but my wins were few and far between. And when I had a hand the world folded to me, nearly every time! I made a whopping 73 cents on Aces Full of Kings for Pete's sake! The worst part was the little BlackJack interlude. Wow, that game really is EVIL, online!!! And I even knew it...I just wanted some instant gratification! But all I got was just BUSTED UP! Thank goodness I was only betting $1 a hand! "Why?" you may ask...why was I even playin' blackjack, after having sworn it off. Well it was intended to be a comfort game to me. I was on tilt last night, before I even started playing cards at all. Baseball game hadn't gone well. I'd been yelled at before the game, which was still stuck with me. I wanted some peace and quiet when I got home, but no one was cooperating. Big Red went on a cleaning rampage...and well I was just being selfish. I desperately needed ME time...although I don't know why. I thought I'd feel better winning a few measly bucks. Well losing the 33 didn't help my mood any. I finally went to bed and was glad when sleep took me. I didn't want to talk or listen. I just wanted to stop feeling so lousy. These are the times when I lose money, thankfully not much. But it's these times, when I desperately need my poker diversion, that I shouldn't play. Whether the poker gods are with me or not...it will NOT be a useful, profitable or at all enjoyable session. I think I've taught myself a lesson on this point...at least until the next time anyway. Sometimes you know I just get pissed off at the world. I think we all do, but I've been doing it a lot lately. It can't be a good thing when it's so obvious that your 14-year old daughter recognizes it and tells you to get happy! Your kids aren't supposed to see that. How can you lead and guide with a chink in the armour? Anyway, it's back to the ole drawing board online. I'm now sitting at $208.xx on CarbonPoker, up over my initial deposit...but I've now pissed away $12.00. So yeah, it's less than break friggin' even poker. Although the $12+ is thanks to the motherless BLACKJACK MONSTER! I'll do better, I promise.

I'm really leaning more and more, to wanting to play at higher levels, in ring games, maybe at $1/$2 NLHE...but the online bankroll is what it is...with it being so very difficult to get money out there anymore. I just really believe that the donk fest...6-7 players to the flop will be reduced at least slightly. I've gotten in the habit of not betting or raising nearly high enough, because I'm feeling like I'm witnessing AutoCalls. I had two insta-callers at the table last night, a HEAVY bluffer...and one or two guys that were slow playin' EVERYFRIGGINTHING! And each time, luckily against those last two, I was holding my losses to a minimum. But these guys were smooth calling with AQ and KK with multiples in the pot!!! WTF!!! Trap yes...but so many times, I came SO CLOSE to suckin' out on them. And they didn't even acknowledge their good fortune. Then there were the guys at the table who would go on an ALL-IN binge for a few hands at a time. All-In for $10-$25 bucks to win.35-$1.00. Other than to be a complete dick...what for. I'm getting angry and down just thinkin' about it. I could recognize when most of these guys were full of shit...but I just NEVER had the cards to do ANYTHING at all about it. I mean what am I gonna do push with my monster 3-6os? These guys were calling it all, folks...almost like they knew what was coming up next. I hope that's not true, for the sake of poker, but I'll probably never know for sure.

I've ranted long enough here, and can feel my bloodpressure and heartrate continuing to rise, so I better bring this to a close.

Regards,

cheer_dad

A little rereading...

I just read back through the last post and the one before, and it should be noted that I breathed that sigh of relief, when things looked to have swung back my way, but that doesn't appear to have been the case judging by the weekend's report. What I had made "back" was largely if not completely friggin' destroyed by the losing weekend. Somedays I really hate this game! All too often I find myself embroiled in the "monster pots." Is this because I'm only playing premium hands? Why is it that a table will chug along dabbling in the shallow end of the betting spectrum, until I get involved, and it escalates and blows out the top of the betting pattern and the pot. For instance yesterday's $162-ish pot that I lost. I went in, way ahead. Got my money in with the best of it, and came up lacking! I know this is a bit of a "feeling sorry for myself" question but, why do I have to always be involved in the friggin' Day Ender plays. And almost ALWAYS come up short. My online and offline winnings are generally modest, small runs at it, and pocket a few bucks here and there. But I watch others catapult up in $$$'s and generally at my expense, and not because I donked it off, I'm just getting sucked out on oft times. How to turn that tide? How to "fix" if it is even broken in the first place? This is going to have an affect on my play. I don't want it to. So, I'll give myself some time away from the game. I'm in no way going to be able to look past this for a while. Because I'm apt to start playing scared, and some numb nuts at the table is going to pick up on it, and badger me, until I fume, and experience a blow up, that dumps off my bankroll. I'd just like to get back even for a while, and sit there. Heck, I wouldn't even mind just going stagnant for a while. It'd for certain be better, than this continual downward spiral that I seem to have encountered. I really used to enjoy my poker time and look forward to whiling the hours away, but lately it has been a death march.

Before I get to feeling any more downtrodden, I think I'll leave it at that.
Thanks for listening...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Bad Beat Me, and make me write bad checks...

Sometimes, you just can't hit water even when you fall out of the friggin' boat. That is a story of my current run. In Saturday Rubi busted my Cowboys with his SIXES when he flopped a set and went on to make a BOAT. Ouch, as if the set wasn't defeating enough Mr. Cheer_Dad have this for good effing measure. OY!!! It has definitely left an interesting mark on my poker psyche. And no, not just one bad beat, but a series of lackluster performance, nominal wins, coupled with incredible losses. Yesterday I sat in on two $2/$4 Limit tables on UB, and just proceeded to give it away on one table. I started with $200 on each table. Got away from one when my Pocket Jacks got busted and left me with a total of $86 on the table. I won only 4 hands out of 120 dealt, seeing 30% of the flops. And one of those wins, was all folded to me preflop...and the other I got to keep the Big and Small blinds only. You cannot make money at poker like this folks, I just know it. Now as for the other table, I cashed out up on it. I made $58 on it. But in the same strech of about 120 hands, I hit QUADS twice, and a Straight Flush once. I know this is NOT the norm. I was flying high, but really look at the profit/loss statement. It was still a monstrous losing session! Think back to me blowing it all on Full Tilt Poker a while back. Donating $50 of the recovered money from GamingClub (now PokerTime), donating on Poker.com, and CDPoker.com. Heck, maybe I should just face facts and admit, that I really just SUCK at this friggin' GAME! Whew! I'd apologize for venting but I'd be lying if I said anything else. So, it is what it is. A big ole heaping helpin' of Self-Pity coming at you from yours truly! This variance thing really sucks...and it'll take you down to the depths of dispare in its whirlpool like pull. I'll just have to wait and see where it spits me out in the end. Round and round up and down...INDEED!

Calling it a day!

Regards,

cheer_dad