BOOM HEADSHOT

Won my first ever online MTT today and it feels awesome!

Although it was just a 4.40 it still feels pretty cool to know that you beat everyone in the tournament.

So, my roll is up to $800 now and I'm just absolutely crushing these 180s and even making deep runs (28/2k+ entrants) in larger field tournies so it's only a matter of time before I go deep and make a 1k+ score.

Playing in a live tourney tonight ($40 + one $40 rebuy) so I'm looking forward to taking this down and further padding the roll.

I realize some of this is positive variance but there seriously is no better feeling than when you go on a rush in MTTs.

Will update tomorrow with the results.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So Christmas is the season of giving well PokerStars gave me a nice little present today: my best career MTT finish.

Unfortunately it wasn't a win.

Finished 2nd in a $4 180-man today in a tournament that I really should have won. But due to lack of effort and focus (this tourney stretched into our family's Christmas Eve party so people were running in and out of my room constantly) I didn't take home first.

Either way, these things are cake and the big field MTTs are just as soft, just a little bit more variance. So, with a little luck and some hard work I'll be destroying these games and hopefully moving up to bigger and better ones.

Until then, everyone have a safe and merry Christmas!

Status Quo

Long time no blog.

I've been away for a while but per a few requests I shall update the blog and let everyone know where I stand life and poker-wise.

Life-wise I'm done with my first semester of my junior year and it was easily my worst one yet. Sadly, the poor grades (B+, B, B, C, C+) are all attributed to lack of study and absences so I really have no one to blame except myself.

So I've basically been at home for the last week just taking it easy and not spending cash (I only have like $130 in checking till January 3rd).

However, I'm going to the Titans/Jets game on Sunday which will be nice, especially considering I don't get to see the Jets play that much on TV, let alone live.

Then, on Wednesday (day after Christmas) me and some friends are going over to Memphis to see the Grizzlies play the Hornets. Should be a good game considering how well the Grizzlies have been playing recently.

Then, after the trip if I can find a backer I will be making a turn and going down to Tunica till the end of 2007 and hopefully donking it up and winning loot.

As for poker...

December has been a terrible month for me. I remember last December I sat at home and basically grinded all month with some nice results but that's just not the case this month.

I'm basically only up $75 on 25k or so hands of 25NL on Stars/FTP.

So, for the last few days I've been clearing my mind and playing the $4.40 180-person tournaments over on Stars and even took down a third in one (my best finish ever)!

For the rest of the month I'm going to do some soul searching and see if I really am committed to playing these donkaments or if I am going back to cash and destroying 25NL like I know I can.

Either way, stay tuned to the blog. I'll keep it a bit more updated from now on. I promise!

Respect This Hustle

Cake Poker is my new (old) home.

I'm putting in a sick amount of volume when I play (earning nice RB in the process) and the games are, well, Cake!

I know it's 20NL and I should be beating it on any site but something about Cake is so nice. Great mixture of over aggro donks (think UltimateBet) with a lot of passive terrible players (think AP).

Either way, I'm also playing pretty well for the most part thanks to one of my friends coming over the other day. Basically this guy doesn't gamble but is semi-interested in my thought processes during a poker hand so I grinded a session with him watching and me explaining and it really did wonders because I was actually thinking through every decision instead of just acting without thinking.

So, that has kind of rejuvenated my love for poker and I plan on really putting in some more volume this month (don't really have much of a choice -- almost busto IRL until 2nd semester college money comes in).

Not out of the question to think I could be back up to 1K by the end of the month with some major volume so that's my new goal!

Terrible Tuesday

Well, started the day off by skipping yet another class (through Tuesday I had went to 2/5 classes -- that needs to change immediately!) and basically slept in till around 11 or 12.

After a quick lunch I played some Call of Duty for a bit with a friend before finally deciding it was time to get back on the grind.

Played around 700-800 hands yesterday with meh results. I finished the day up around a buyin but again I kept getting coolered and rivered.

Highlights included a big hand early in the session before I got good and warmed up where I flopped two pair and my opponent turned a well-hidden straight and I basically stacked off to him.

I'm starting to get in a rhythm as far as putting in hands is concerned and now it's only a matter of time before the results start going my way. NL20 may be the easiest game on Earth so I see no reason not to play it.

That said, my November goals have been redefined:

1) Finish this month with a BR of $500 or more (not counting rakeback)
2) Put in at least 15k hands (I'm up to 1.8k currently--shouldn't be too tough)
3) Watch Michigan destroy Ohio State on Saturday
4) ????
5) PROFIT and move out of the poor house!

Meh day...

Got fed up with Stars today since it takes FOREVER to find a table with at least 3 reasonable stacks.

So, what did I do?

1) Cashed out
2) Moved to Cake Poker
3) Played hands
4) ????
5) Lose terribly!

Had two sick hands @ 20NL today which sucked really bad. Since they offer no solid HH's, I'll provide them.

I had a ~$30 stack versus this aggro maniac. Raise up 22 in like a 3-way pot. Flop is 2xx with two random clubs. I pot and villain calls. Turn is a Q of diamonds, I pot and he raises so I obv shove. He calls.

With Q3 of clubs. River club. gg me.

Then, later, I had KK run into AA twice within a five minute span both for stacks.

If not for some huge hands that went in my favor I would have been a MASSIVE loser. Instead I finished down probably 2 full BI.

Bankroll is now a cushy $232. How depressing. Either way, the play is so pitiful on Cake I'm either going to continue with 20NL and go robusto or if I bust I'm most likely going to be done with online poker.

Also, I have a night class tonight (6-9) and for some reason, EVERY time I play before the night class I do terrible.

So, expect another sad post tomorrow or late tonight. :(

Or expect me to be rolling around in cash. Holla

Rakeback!

Well the Stars experiment did not last long.

Desperate for softer games (I know I know 10NL is soft anywhere) and rakeback I have decided to check out Doyle's Room, which is offering a 110% bonus in addition to presumably softer games + rakeback (25%).

Expect an update tomorrow or late tonight.

Day 2

Well, I woke up today knowing my Xbox 360 would be coming back from Texas for repairs (red ring of death) so I planned on playing a bit today.

I didn't plan on wasting my entire day on it.

I went to class from 9:40-11:05 and after that just kind of sat around and was lazy all day. Put in a few hundred hands with nothing major except a shitty JJ < KK hand.

Then, I went out and traded in MLB 2K7, Gears of War, All-Pro Football 2K7, Rainbow Six for Call of Duty 4.

GREAT decision.

This is hands down the funnest, most addictive game I've ever played and I've played a lot of games.

Took a small break to go 2-1 against my buddy @ Madden but the majority of the day was spent having an awesome time playing CoD4 online.

I'll probably put in 1k hands tomorrow -- I swear!

Until then...holla.

Can't Knock the Hustle (Even If It's Micro)

Long story short...

I have been sucking at poker.

That all is about to change, however. From this day forward I will be blogging my poker travels from the world of NL10 on Stars into what hopefully will be NL100 or so by year's end.

Either way, I'll be making this a full-time project in an effort to finally commit to something 100% (and what a better thing to give my full devotion to than poker!).

Anywho, expect me to put in a decent session @ some point tomorrow night. I'll make a nice intro post and stuff later but until then...peace.