I think it’ll be good though. I don’t have any desire to play and am starting to really focus on some important things. I said about 2 years ago 2010 was going to be great and I still believe that. I hit two of my football pools today for a nice score. Got a new car on the way and am still on track for all of my life goals for this year. It feels like I’m starting to come out of a long foggy time of my life and I’m really excited. I’ve always been one to go with the flow and continue to be that way. I’ve kept all of my finances in check lately and it’s nice to have sort of a luxury of doing what I want, when I want without having to stress about it. So with that my friends expect good things to come, keep positive and we can accomplish anything we set our mind to!

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Until then I’m trying to find my way in the online arena. Being brutally honest with myself will be the key to being successful this year. And that honesty involves admitting I’m a long term losing player online. I think a lot of this is just playing on impulse and donking around for fun. Looking at PT for 2009 I played everything from $2NL to $200NL, 6max NL, LHE $0.10-$0.20 up to $3-6LHE. The only areas I was successful was 6max LHE, STT, and MTTs. Overall I think I should be playing more tournaments and have had a good start this year. So the plan is to get about $600 online over the course of 3 months to play limits that are more meaningful and not jump all over the damn place. Mostly to take advantage of PokerStars’ 2010 reload bonus and have motivation to grind more. I’ve also been really focused about my bankroll management which is by far my biggest downfall.

I’ve put in about 700 hands so far this year all in 6max LHE ($0.10-$0.20) and I’m down 10BBs. Not a large enough sample yet but I’m also trying to get used to 4 tabling the 6max speed tables. I’ve played 6 tournaments, 4 single table turbos (1st and 3rd @ $3.40) and 2 MTTs. I cashed in one MTT and bubbled another. Over all I’m up and I plan on getting my volume up. I’d like to be competitive in the Mars division on PokerStars (battle of the planets) and make some deeper runs in the small MTTs on Sundays. I finished 7,588 out of 149,000 players in the World Record tournament for a small cash. The 2 MTTs I had one small cash and bubbled another with 5,000 and 8,000 players total. I think if I make some adjustments in the mid-late stages I can get to a couple final tables this year for a good sized score. So, I’m super focused and doing well so far. I hope 2010 treats us all well.

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I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! This PokerStars tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold’em event exclusive to Bloggers, you too can take part by registering on WBCOOP

Registration code: 442297

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Right-click on the image, select Save Image as… and save to your computer. Once the image is saved to your computer make sure you place it in the folder that you sync your photos with Itunes. Next time you sync your device the images will be availble to use as a wallpaper. Enjoy!

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I’m actually looking forward to the July event when Colorado law changes go into effect that may allow a direct buyin to the main event. I’ll be heading up the mountain this evening to play some $2-5 and $5-5 limit holdem. I may try to satellite in to the $340 qualifiers and get a seat to the main event. I’m not sure if I will though because for the second straight year I will be out of town most of the event. I’ll get back Friday April 3, so if I do win a seat I just have to cross my fingers that I don’t get day 1 flight A. I guess I could always sell my seat too.

Visit The Heartland Poker Tour’s website for complete Schedule and Details

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Best of Luck!

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I did manage to post a slightly profitable month playing tournaments for the second month in a row. Looking at my statistics dating back to when I first started shows that MTTs is my best overall game. I played 58 tournaments and had two big cashes which included a Final table in Full Tilt’s Daily Double and a 58th place finish in PokerStars $10K guaranteed.

So I’m glad that months over. March has started out excellent as in the first 4 days I’ve completely washed out my February losses. I had my first losing session yesterday when I tried 4 tabling for the first time. I’ve played a few tournaments but I’m focusing on making Iron Man for March. I figure in order for that to happen I need to play 500 hands a night during the week. This is by far the highest volume I’ve ever tried to play, but it should be pretty easy if I can 4 table 0.25/0.50 6max for 2 hours a night. Sundays will be reserved almost exclusively for tournaments and of course I’ll be playing the BBT4 events during the week.

My Goals for March:

• Move up to $0.50/$1 6max by April 1st
• Make Iron Man for March
• Play 10,000 hands
• Final Table a BTT4 event
• Take a couple shots at $20+ MTT
• Have a proper roll to play $10+ MTTs by April 1st

Play Online Poker

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Last week I played the 10K on PokerStars finishing in 58th. In that post, I discussed the mistake that prevented me from making the final table and using it as motivation to do better. I played the Early Doubles on Full Tilt Poker this past weekend with mediocre results. I felt I was playing well and had my money in good AIPF only to lose to some sick beats. Very frustrated, I quit and decided to take a break until I felt like playing. I also decided to take a month off from live play to put together a bankroll of at least $1K for the hill and to save money for the WSOP. My friend makes it tough to resist the call of The Hill sometimes though.

Monday night as I was leaving work he had almost convinced me to break down and go. Not that it takes that much to make that happen . I felt like I was rushing to get out the door and then I started thinking about getting home at 3am. I decided against it. I’m glad I did because I ran deep in the Daily Doubles. I missed double cashing finishing in 418 place in the A. I managed to final table the B though finishing 9th. Here’s the part where I normally post hand histories, point out my good plays (cha right), and my unbelievable lucky plays. It’s late and I’m just not up for that tonight. I’m thankful that I’m seeing things clearer and this single, small win has put me back into the positive both monetarily and mentally.

As I sit here running out of steam, I’m starting to wonder where I was going with this post. I guess it was just to have something to reflect on later. A reminder to stay focused, don’t take shit to seriously, and to brag obviously Just Kidding, I have a lot too work on if I want to be successful. But really, I feel great in that I’ve been honest with myself when it comes to what’s preventing me from being a winning poker player. Putting my 2009 goals on paper has helped, but most importantly it’s about commitment. I’ve made a commitment to do whatever it takes to be a winner. It all starts with being honest to myself.

If you made it this far you’re a Champ…. thanks for reading.

Brief recap of the tournament:
First a little background before I post the hand that crippled me. This hand had just happened prior and is the 5th hand dealt at the final table.

Full Tilt Poker Daily Double - B No Limit Hold’em Tournament - t5000/t10000 Blinds + t1000 - 9 players

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: t138220 M = 5.76

UTG+2: t449113 M = 18.71

MP1: t400737 M = 16.70

MP2: t82977 M = 3.46

CO: t378130 M = 15.76

BTN: t182451 M = 7.60

Hero (SB): t270598 M = 11.27

BB: t488832 M = 20.37

UTG: t150942 M = 6.29

Pre Flop: (t24000) Hero is SB with K Q

5 folds, CO raises to t40000, BTN requests TIME, BTN raises to t181451 all in, 2 folds, CO calls t141451

Flop: (t386902) 7 3 4

Turn: (t386902) J

River: (t386902) 9

Final Pot: t386902

CO shows A T (Ace Jack high)

BTN shows A K (Ace King high)

BTN wins t386902

Here’s the hand that crippled me at the final table. I admit I was fatigued and losing focus. This was the very next hand. I couldn’t get my chips in fast enough thinking he was on tilt. I didn’t stop to think about what the original raiser had or any other dynamics that had gotten me this far. The OR had later told me that he had folded AQo. Reflecting back I think I can fold here. Maybe it’s just hind sight now, but I’d love to hear your opinions.

Full Tilt Poker Daily Double - B No Limit Hold’em Tournament - t5000/t10000 Blinds + t1000 - 9 players

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: t137220 M = 5.72

UTG+1: t448113 M = 18.67

UTG+2: t399737 M = 16.66

MP1: t81977 M = 3.42

MP2: t195679 M = 8.15

CO: t386902 M = 16.12

Hero (BTN): t264598 M = 11.02

SB: t477832 M = 19.91

BB: t149942 M = 6.25

Pre Flop: (t24000) Hero is BTN with A Q

2 folds, UTG+2 raises to t26000, 1 fold, MP2 raises to t194679 all in, 1 fold, Hero raises to t263598 all in, 3 folds

Flop: (t439358) 9 2 7

Turn: (t439358) 5

River: (t439358) 3

Final Pot: t439358

MP2 shows K K (a pair of Kings)

Hero shows A Q (Ace Queen high)

MP2 wins t439358

The very next hand I get 10-10 and run into JJ and AcQc. Oh well, expect good things for 2009…….

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I entered the 10K guaranteed on PokerStars this past Sunday. I was going to play the 200K but that thing is a monster with 30,000 players. Forget that! When I signed up the 10K had under 1,000 players so I was hoping for a overlay but thought it would be unlikely. By the time the tournament started we had 3,300 players and a $4,600 first place prize.

I grinded up my stack to T$4,600 just playing position and picking up small pots here and there. My table was very loose passive so I picked on the limper from late position and would normally take it down with C-bets. At the 60/120 15ante level I got my first double up and never really looked back from there. I got lucky when I overplayed KQ vs 10-10 in a multiway limped pot.

Poker Stars $10+$1 No Limit Hold’em Tournament - t60/t120 Blinds + t15 - 9 players

Hero (CO): t4270 M = 13.56
BTN: t3865 M = 12.27
SB: t3695 M = 11.73
BB: t6190 M = 19.65
UTG: t5270 M = 16.73
UTG+1: t2860 M = 9.08
UTG+2: t7660 M = 24.32
MP1: t4650 M = 14.76
MP2: t2878 M = 9.14

Pre Flop: (t315) Hero is CO with K Q
2 folds, UTG+2 calls t120, MP1 calls t120, 1 fold, Hero raises to t475, 1 fold, SB calls t415, 1 fold, UTG+2 calls t355, MP1 calls t355

Flop: (t2155) 3 3 7 (4 players)
SB checks, UTG+2 checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets t1500, SB folds, UTG+2 calls t1500, MP1 folds

Turn: (t5155) 4 (2 players)
UTG+2 checks, Hero bets t2280 all in, UTG+2 calls t2280

River: (t9715) Q (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: t9715
Hero shows K Q (two pair, Queens and Threes)
UTG+2 shows T T (two pair, Tens and Threes)
Hero wins t9715

Nothing really eventful until this next hand. I continued to pick up blinds and antes from late position and hadn’t shown down a hand in awhile. Pretty standard here getting 2.8:1 on a call. With both players under 10BB and about half stacks in I decide to just ship it here. I was further behind the small blinds range then I thought.

Poker Stars $10+$1 No Limit Hold’em Tournament - t175/t350 Blinds + t45 - 9 players

Hero (MP2): t18170 M = 19.54
CO: t11525 M = 12.39
BTN: t5825 M = 6.26
SB: t6575 M = 7.07
BB: t4260 M = 4.58
UTG: t17378 M = 18.69
UTG+1: t2505 M = 2.69
UTG+2: t13974 M = 15.03
MP1: t4709 M = 5.06

Pre Flop: (t930) Hero is MP2 with A J
4 folds, Hero raises to t1025, 1 fold, BTN calls t1025, SB raises to t3150, 1 fold, Hero raises to t18125 all in, BTN calls t4755 all in, SB calls t3380 all in

Flop: (t19595) 7 5 A (3 players - 3 are all in)

Turn: (t19595) 2 (3 players - 3 are all in)

River: (t19595) 9 (3 players - 3 are all in)

Final Pot: t19595
Hero shows A J (a pair of Aces)
BTN shows 3 3 (a pair of Threes)
SB shows Q Q (a pair of Queens)
Hero wins t1500
Hero wins t18095

Then I just started to run hot as money was getting in pre-flop.

Poker Stars $10+$1 No Limit Hold’em Tournament - t625/t1250 Blinds + t150 - 8 players

Hero (BTN): t32619 M = 10.61
SB: t77655 M = 25.25
BB: t10740 M = 3.49
UTG: t13250 M = 4.31
UTG+1: t19630 M = 6.38
MP1: t27370 M = 8.90
MP2: t17574 M = 5.72
CO: t10612 M = 3.45

Pre Flop: (t3075) Hero is BTN with T T
2 folds, MP1 raises to t2990, MP2 raises to t17424 all in, 1 fold, Hero raises to t32469 all in, 3 folds

Flop: (t40913) 9 2 3 (2 players - 2 are all in)

Turn: (t40913) 4 (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: (t40913) J (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: t40913
Hero shows T T (a pair of Tens)
MP2 shows K Q (high card King)
Hero wins t40913

Poker Stars $10+$1 No Limit Hold’em Tournament - t625/t1250 Blinds + t150 - 9 players

Hero (BB): t55208 M = 17.12
UTG: t32415 M = 10.05
UTG+1: t76130 M = 23.61
UTG+2: t7965 M = 2.47
MP1: t10475 M = 3.25
MP2: t20080 M = 6.23
CO: t28055 M = 8.70
BTN: t18601 M = 5.77
SB: t11687 M = 3.62

Pre Flop: (t3225) Hero is BB with A K
6 folds, BTN raises to t3100, SB raises to t11537 all in, Hero raises to t55058 all in, 1 fold

Flop: (t27524) 8 3 4 (2 players - 2 are all in)

Turn: (t27524) J (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: (t27524) A (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: t27524
Hero shows A K (a pair of Aces - King kicker)
SB shows A Q (a pair of Aces)
Hero wins t27524

And next thing you know I’m in the top 5 chip leaders.

Poker Stars $10+$1 No Limit Hold’em Tournament - t750/t1500 Blinds + t175 - 9 players

Hero (SB): t57139 M = 14.94
BB: t36555 M = 9.56
UTG: t78955 M = 20.64
UTG+1: t4640 M = 1.21
UTG+2: t18650 M = 4.88
MP1: t20455 M = 5.35
MP2: t13107 M = 3.43
CO: t15626 M = 4.09
BTN: t33899 M = 8.86

Pre Flop: (t3825) Hero is SB with A Q
4 folds, MP2 raises to t12932 all in, 2 folds, Hero raises to t31500, 1 fold

Flop: (t28939) K 7 Q (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: (t28939) A (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: (t28939) 2 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: t28939
Hero shows A Q (two pair, Aces and Queens)
MP2 shows 8 A (a pair of Aces)
Hero wins t28939

I continued to raise 3-3.5x the BB to keep the pressure on my opponents. I usually make it around 2.5x this time of the tournament but there were some good players as we had under 100 runners left. I felt there were a couple players better than me but I had position on them and wanted them to know we were going to play a big pot if they called. For the most part they stayed out of the way.

I was getting really excited as we got down to 60 players. I could see the $4,600 in my hand. Shit, I was telling myself that I was guaranteed at least $1,000 for 6th place with me as the chip leader. Then I made a huge mistake that lead to me finishing in 58th place for a $53 payday.

My cousin came up in when this hand was developing and I lost concentration for a second. I’m not blaming it on just that, I know I butchered the hand. I could have let this go and easily coasted to the final table. Lesson learned…what’s the saying? Don’t count your chickens….. or Karma’s a bitch?

I wanted to get his entire stack so went for the slow play. In retrospect to stack sizes I should have raised it up here. Huge, Huge mistake. It’s a pretty easy fold at any point after the flop, but I lied to myself that he didn’t have it.

Poker Stars $10+$1 No Limit Hold’em Tournament - t2500/t5000 Blinds + t625 - 9 players

Hero (BTN): t181501 M = 13.83
SB: t97987 M = 7.47
BB: t55784 M = 4.25
UTG: t25859 M = 1.97
UTG+1: t153831 M = 11.72
UTG+2: t100960 M = 7.69
MP1: t142713 M = 10.87
MP2: t207606 M = 15.82
CO: t83155 M = 6.34

Pre Flop: (t13125) Hero is BTN with A A
3 folds, MP1 raises to t12500, 2 folds, Hero calls t12500, 2 folds

Flop: (t38125) K K 7 (2 players)
MP1 bets t17800, Hero calls t17800

Turn: (t73725) 5 (2 players)
MP1 bets t33500, Hero raises to t110000, MP1 raises to t111788 all in, Hero calls t1788

River: (t297301) 4 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: t297301
Hero shows A A (two pair, Aces and Kings)
MP1 shows K J (three of a kind, Kings)
MP1 wins t297301

It still makes me sick to watch that replay in Poker Tracker. What a complete melt down after 4 hours of play. I’m disappointed but happy that I made it so deep. This is the second tournament I’ve made it deep in this year so I tell myself to use this as motivation. I know that I’m due to get a big score this year. I played a bunch of 180’s and MTTs after this with very poor results. I should have just quit because I was crushed and my later results showed it. So, I learned a couple very important things and this experience will help me in the future. Don’t get cocky and stay focused!

My live cash games went very well this weekend so more on that in my next post. Thanks for reading.

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I had a profit of ~$210 for both cash and tournaments. This mostly came from my win in the $4.40 180 man SNG. My PokerStars results we not too bad. Factor in live play and I’m a little under break even for the month. I’ll be taking a couple months off from live play to focus online and save up some $$ for a live roll.

Played in 103 tournaments
Played 24 hours at various LHE limits
Played 40 hours live $2-5 and $5-5 LHE

Full Tilt was a different story

This lead me to play 6 max LHE on Full Tilt Poker and SNGs and MTTs on PokerStars which worked out well. Here’s some other random stats for the month. I’m really proud of my heads up stats and that number dropped a little bit due to some Heads up SNGs I played. Before those I was closer to 70% HU win rate.

Single Table Sit n Gos used to be so money for me but I had a horrible month playing them. I think they are a lot tougher these days and that a lot of players are focusing on NL ring and Single table SNGs. The MTTs seem to be pretty soft and limit play seems to be awful. This will be my focus this year.

February has started out horrible and my bankroll is right back to where I started at the beginning of January. I deviated from my goals the last couple nights of play. I dropped 3 buy-ins at NL last night and played in about 6 different tournaments completely wasted Saturday night. The biggest goal for me right now is to stay disciplined and focused. Something that I obviously need to work hard at. Next month’s results will come from Poker Tracker although I still plan on using my spreadsheet. My roll is still small and although I think I can maintain/grow where it’s at I’d like to have some padding. I’ll be making a couple small deposits until I have 50-100 buy-ins for $4.40 tournaments.

Don’t forget to enter my Poker Tracker 3 giveaway!

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