biggest online cash woot

weekend was spectacular -- had a blast playing poker and hanging out in ac, and won at cash except for one session where i got coolered by some donk who flopped a better two pair than mine. i'll write more later, mostly posted to brag about this. :-)

it's my biggest online cash, and although i woulda been happier w/ first, i went into hu w/ a roughly 7.5 to 1 chip deficit, and was happy to even last 39 hands. i went out when i called his button shove w/ KT. he was raising a lot there, and i'm pretty sure KT was ahead of his range, although results wise i'm bummed i couldn't double up (he had A2 or A3s) and give myself a shot at first.

i've got a busy day at work today so i'm not sure when i'll have time to write up more, but it was a really straightforward tournament for me. for awhile i almost forgot i was playing, b/c nothing noteworthy was happening, and i was mostly hitting fold. when blinds got to 250/500 i remember having 5500 chips and feeling nervous, but i stayed patient and waited for good spots. after a quick look at my hands in pxf (puff = 32) i found that i won most of my money w/ the few premium hands i was getting -- JJ, QQ, and AKs. i think i won one big pot w/ 99, but i definitely wasn't making moves or hitting flops w/ crappy cards.

i had a super loose retarded player to my right for a long while when we got down to about 4 or 5 tables, and at one point he raised on the button (maybe co) and i shoved from the bb w/ AQ. he tanked and called me w/ K4o. a K flopped and i felt ~ sick, but my river A resuck doubled me up and put me in a position to play more of my game. he was the cl for awhile, but doubled the second cl when they got all in pre w/ AK v. QQ and the QQ of the other dude held up. i was pretty bummed, and QQ dude was the one who went on to win the tournament. he has a 318% roi in 340 tournaments, so obviously he runs like a god.

i moved from a decent stack at the ft to 9/9 when i shoved on the bb from the sb w/ T6 and he woke up w/ JJ. i jammed the next three hands, and i think the only one i got action on was J7s and i got called by T7o and won. considering how the ft started out for me, and how close i was to going out 9th, i really can't be upset about 2nd too much.

thanks to lucko, bayne, leftylu and hoy for the rail and support. congrats to lucko for winning a 1k seat in a winner take all satellite for the big monday tournament, and congrats to bayne for his 3rd place cash in a big stars o8 tournament. that guy can hang around as a shortie like nobody i've ever railed. lastly, congrats to smokkee who made a killer cash in the 40k a few days ago.

thank you al and ftp

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crawling back

i went out of the mookie fairly early when stoner raised for the millionth time and i re-raised from the sb w/ AQs. he flat called and when the flop came Q high i bet out, he jammed, and i called pretty much knowing i was beat (but committed). he had 77 and flopped a set, and i go out middle of the pack. :-( i hate gbiffs (except loretta, she's the awesomest).

i did finish 3rd in a 90 person ko, for a couple hundo. i've taken second and now third in the $26 ones and won an $11 one a few months ago, but i'm hoping to cash with a bit more regularity and stop going out on the bubble. it felt good, and was a much needed confidence boost. i didn't second guess myself, though i'm disappointed that i had a big lead three handed that got cut when i ran KT into AQ. i flopped top pair, but he flopped a back door flush draw and went runner runner.

work has been smooth today (woot) and i should be able to leave early as planned. atlantic city is shaping up to be a good time, and i'm psyched to play the borgata tourney tomorrow. since i won't be posting tomorrow, happy birthday lucko!

blogging slump

i haven't felt like blogging lately. not much going on the poker front. i am continuing to bubble tournaments with gleeful abandon, and am not really sure what the fix is. sometimes i'm short, and i find myself in push or fold mode, managing to stay afloat right up until about 7 spots from the money. or i have a big stack and make a move i don't need to, or get coolered, right up until about 7 spots from the money. this is not a bitch post, but my cashes in mtts lately have been few and far between. i've had slightly greater success winning tokens, although the best games for me lately have been heads up, a few overtired matches w/ bayne last night excepted. i lost a few last night, but over the past week or two have won most that i've played. i won 10 in a row on saturday against the same opponent (although two were earlier in the evening) and if i get my shit together i'll post some hands.

same shit different day in the blogger tourneys. i got close early on in a few, and have gone out in the middle of the pack in many. i bubbled the money last night in the "skill" series. i love hose and horse, there's something about mixing up the games that makes it more exciting for me.

work has been a nightmare, with plans changing and abandoned every half hour. i'm crossing my fingers that i can bail early tomorrow and get a jump start to atlantic city. see you at the mookie!

so tired

i stayed up late watching lucko dominate the mookie field to take down his second toc seat in three days. some of those suckouts had me rolling on the floor, and i think his chop w/ A6s v. AQ might be my favorite. as for me, i can't seem to gain any traction in the blogger tourneys lately. last night i made a bad raise in middle position w/ 22 and was priced in to a jam by columbo from the bb. he had 66 and that was the beginning of the end for me. i probably should have folded there and waited for a better spot to raise. i def need to be folding more low pps when i've only got b/w 15 and 20 bbs.

i'll play chasers tonight, but my heart probably won't be in it. i've got to wake up tomorrow morning at 5:15 to catch a flight for a business trip, and given how little sleep i got last night it's gonna be a nightmare. i won't be home for ten days, since i'm going straight to jersey on my way back from florida, and will be working all next week from jersey. box review, wooot! (don't worry bayne, i have gchat on my bberry) next thursday night i'm off to atlantic city. march madness, borgata 50k and a bday celebration -- should be a fun couple of days.

ok, back to researching public nuisance. good times.

math

i went out somewhere near the middle of the pack w/ AT, which i raised utg -- bb flat called. i was mostly trying to pick up blinds, but flop T9x, we get all in, he has 99, done. congrats to lucko for taking it down. he kicked ass and got through a tough hu match w/ tuscaloosajohn, who already took down chasers last week and played v. well. this puts lucko in the lead of our side bet w/ fuel and about 9 others. congrats also to crushmastac who made it to the final two tables. gooooo gifs!

poker weekends

i'm going to be in atlantic city the weekend of the 21st and at foxwoods the weekend of the 28th. i'm super psyched to play the borgata 50k, and will be playing in a ladies tournament at foxwoods. i might play the mixed event the day before but it will be a game-time decision. so, calling all tri state area bloggers (+ alan, virginia isn't that far away, and you'll be thinking about poker all weekend anyway) -- good times await!

frustrated panda lives here

i haven't really felt much like posting lately. work's been really busy, i haven't been getting enough sleep, and i've got a neverending problem that shows no signs of abating.

i've been playing mtts and sngs, nothing particularly noteworthy, although i've been building my bankroll without big scores, something that used to be a big problem for me. i'm digging this new t$ concept at ftp. i haven't tried very many sats on stars, so before yesterday i'd never unregistered from a tournament to pool the $$. i'm 1-1 in stars step 1s for the wsop seat. i have no grand illusions like lucko, cmitch or fuel that i'll get a seat, but i'll certainly give it a shot.

it's interesting to me how much overlap there is between poker and life. i can't give a concrete example, but i think skills that serve well in poker also serve well in life. focus, setting goals, thinking rationally, etc. etc. one of my biggest leaks in poker is how impulsive i can be, particularly when tilting. i sometimes have the same problem in life, where rationally i know that if i want to get to point a, i should do x and y, and should not do z. unfortunately my brain sometimes runs on autopilot, and i get so focused on one thing that i ignore the larger picture.

my neverending problem has me frustrated on this fine march monday, and while i hope a solution arises, i'm starting to wonder if there will ever be a solution that's agreeable from all sides.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

congrats to lucko for winning the 25k on stars!!!!

as for me, i tilted from a loss in the 50/50, overplayed a bottom full house in the skill series that lost to a better full house and quads, and forgot to think in another tournament i was playing (sigh). i hung around for a long time in the 50/50 but eventually ran AK into KK.

i plan to play the mookie later tonight, after another wsp tournament. i went out fairly early in tonight's (last night's?) tournament when i got all in w/ the nut flush draw v. an oesd on the flop, button v. blind. he hit a pair on the turn and i went h0me. i had a deja vu like feeling.

i watched two episodes of dexter on dvd this w/e. i am surprised at how easily i see michael c. hall as another character, and i love dexter's back story. it's no wire (obv), but i'm enjoying nonetheless. speaking of the wire, i'm still waiting to watch ep 4. they're coming to fix my hbo thursday when they bring my new hd cable box. oh yeah, on saturday my new 46" hd tv arrived. wooooooooooooot. even in my tiny shoebox of an apartment it looks damn good. i think the picture will be much improved when i can start watching hd channels, but as is it's not that bad. i'm still having problems watching stuff from my computer (once i plug the cable into the tv my computer automatically resizes the screen making it hard to view on tv) but hopefully i'll figure it out soon.

also, i finally saw superbad and i laughed my ass off. check it out if you haven't already.

math

i doubled up early w/ JJ v. TT, and then got lucky w/ this hand.

Full Tilt Poker Game #5492543862: Mondays at the Hoy (41405249), Table 16 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:40:01 ET - 2008/03/03
Seat 1: pvanharibo (9,630)
Seat 2: Astin (4,285)
Seat 3: heffmike (3,978)
Seat 4: columbo (24,503)
Seat 5: HotPants29 (2,980)
Seat 6: pureprophet (9,970)
pvanharibo antes 25
Astin antes 25
heffmike antes 25
columbo antes 25
HotPants29 antes 25
pureprophet antes 25
heffmike posts the small blind of 120
columbo posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [Kh Ad]
HotPants29 folds
pureprophet folds
pvanharibo raises to 650
Astin folds
heffmike folds
columbo raises to 1,680
pvanharibo raises to 9,605, and is all in
columbo calls 7,925
pvanharibo shows [Kh Ad]
columbo shows [Kd Kc]
*** FLOP *** [5s Qs Jd]
*** TURN *** [5s Qs Jd] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [5s Qs Jd Ts] [2d]
pvanharibo shows a straight, Ace high
pvanharibo: wow
columbo shows a pair of Kings
pvanharibo wins the pot (19,480) with a straight, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 19,480 | Rake 0
Board: [5s Qs Jd Ts 2d]
Seat 1: pvanharibo showed [Kh Ad] and won (19,480) with a straight, Ace high
Seat 2: Astin (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: heffmike (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: columbo (big blind) showed [Kd Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: HotPants29 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: pureprophet folded before the Flop

a few hands later i played this hand, which brought me back down, and although i played short stack for quite awhile, i finally jammed AJo w/ no fe into KQs and lost. i don't love my limp here, but i got my money in good.

Full Tilt Poker Game #5492581154: Mondays at the Hoy (41405249), Table 16 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:42:56 ET - 2008/03/03
Seat 1: pvanharibo (18,995)
Seat 2: Astin (6,025)
Seat 3: heffmike (3,468)
Seat 4: columbo (13,188)
Seat 5: HotPants29 (2,470)
Seat 6: pureprophet (11,200)
pvanharibo antes 25
Astin antes 25
heffmike antes 25
columbo antes 25
HotPants29 antes 25
pureprophet antes 25
heffmike posts the small blind of 120
columbo posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [Ks Qs]
HotPants29 folds
pureprophet calls 240
pvanharibo calls 240
Astin calls 240
heffmike folds
columbo checks
*** FLOP *** [3s 4s 6h]
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo checks
pureprophet checks
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo bets 720
Astin has 15 seconds left to act
Astin folds
columbo raises to 2,000
pureprophet folds
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo raises to 18,730, and is all in
columbo calls 10,923, and is all in
pvanharibo shows [Ks Qs]
columbo shows [8s 5s]
Uncalled bet of 5,807 returned to pvanharibo
*** TURN *** [3s 4s 6h] [Tc]
*** RIVER *** [3s 4s 6h Tc] [8d]
pvanharibo shows King Queen high
columbo shows a pair of Eights
columbo wins the pot (27,076) with a pair of Eights
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 27,076 | Rake 0
Board: [3s 4s 6h Tc 8d]
Seat 1: pvanharibo showed [Ks Qs] and lost with King Queen high
Seat 2: Astin (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: heffmike (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: columbo (big blind) showed [8s 5s] and won (27,076) with a pair of Eights
Seat 5: HotPants29 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: pureprophet folded on the Flop

congrats to columbo who went on to take down the tournament.

stupid river 2

it's always crazy to me to think that if only one hand plays out differently, an entire tournament changes.

Full Tilt Poker Game #5478697989: Blogger Big Game (40523592), Table 5 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:07:01 ET - 2008/03/02
katitude: PAI GOW
Seat 1: katitude (7,750)
Seat 2: riggstad (8,100)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (9,927)
Seat 4: Scott Fischman (2,915)
Seat 5: dwal78 (3,514)
Seat 6: Easycure (10,700)
Seat 8: ScottMc (4,448)
Seat 9: jeciimd (3,904)
katitude antes 25
riggstad antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Scott Fischman antes 25
dwal78 antes 25
Easycure antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
jeciimd antes 25
Easycure posts the small blind of 120
ScottMc posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pvanharibo [Jh As]
jeciimd folds
katitude folds
Easycure: indeed
riggstad folds
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo raises to 650
Scott Fischman has 15 seconds left to act
Loretta8 sits down
Loretta8 adds 7,151
Scott Fischman raises to 2,890, and is all in
dwal78 folds
Easycure folds
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo calls 2,240
Scott Fischman shows [2c Ac]
pvanharibo shows [Jh As]
Scott Fischman: nh
*** FLOP *** [Tc 5d Kh]
*** TURN *** [Tc 5d Kh] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [Tc 5d Kh 6d] [2h]
Scott Fischman: gl all
Scott Fischman shows a pair of Twos
pvanharibo shows Ace King high
Scott Fischman wins the pot (6,340) with a pair of Twos
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,340 | Rake 0
Board: [Tc 5d Kh 6d 2h]
Seat 1: katitude folded before the Flop
Seat 2: riggstad folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo showed [Jh As] and lost with Ace King high
Seat 4: Scott Fischman showed [2c Ac] and won (6,340) with a pair of Twos
Seat 5: dwal78 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: Easycure (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: ScottMc (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: jeciimd folded before the Flop

my sunday night

about five minutes after i go out of the 50/50 w/ AK v. QQ (5 spots from the money), i had this hand in the big game. a picture is worth a thousand words.