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nath
Slaves to fate
by nath on 05/13/08
Poker Stars $200+$15 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10000/t20000 Blinds - 9 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com
BB: t387978
UTG: t576253
UTG+1: t78438
UTG+2: t326300
MP1: t275780
MP2: t311466
CO: t398967
BTN: t189438
Hero (SB): t557064
Pre Flop: Hero is SB with K
A1 fold, UTG+1 raises to t76438 all in, 3 folds, CO raises to t396967 all in, 1 fold, Hero raises to t555064 all in, 1 fold
Flop: (t908372) 4
A
K
(3 players - 3 are all in)Turn: (t908372) 2
(3 players - 3 are all in)River: (t908372) T
(3 players - 3 are all in)Final Pot: t908372
UTG+1 shows Ac 7h (a pair of Aces)
CO shows Td Tc (three of a kind, Tens)
Hero shows Kd Ad (two pair, Aces and Kings)
CO wins t641058
CO wins t267314
Acey-Deucey said, "i had a 10...ONE OUTER"
Poker Stars $200+$15 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t15000/t30000 Blinds - 9 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com
BTN: t450048
SB: t334275
BB: t2190688
Hero (UTG): t583358
UTG+1: t308804
UTG+2: t353042
MP1: t591327
MP2: t1457483
CO: t308608
Pre Flop: Hero is UTG with T
THero raises to t70775, 2 folds, MP1 calls t70775, 5 folds
Flop: (t213550) Q
3 A (2 players)Hero bets t101500, MP1 calls t101500
Turn: (t416550) 7
(2 players)Hero checks, MP1 bets t120000, Hero folds
Final Pot: t416550
MP1 wins t416550
Poker Stars $200+$15 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t20000/t40000 Blinds - 8 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com
SB: t420048
BB: t378275
Hero (UTG): t412083
UTG+1: t704666
MP1: t697846
MP2: t845602
CO: t1465595
BTN: t221608
Pre Flop: Hero is UTG with T
THero raises to t408083 all in, 6 folds, BB calls t334275 all in
Flop: (t800550) A
J 8 (2 players - 2 are all in)Turn: (t800550) 7
(2 players - 2 are all inRiver: (t800550) 6
(2 players - 2 are all in)Final Pot: t800550
BB shows Kh Ac (a pair of Aces)
Hero shows Ts Th (a pair of Tens)
BB wins t800550
In conclusion, fuck tens.
Today after doubling up early in the FTOPS with set over set I didn't win a single pot for two hours and constantly ran my good hands into better ones.
Oh, the best part was that I had decided to quit for the day and had nothing left but the $55x3 on Stars (about half an hour in) and a couple of those $60/45 turbos. Needless to say I bubbled the last $60/45 and wasted another three hours to finish 13th in the $55x3 when my JJ < A4o (A river obv).
Also, I was bored during this time and sweated a few people in the FTOPS event, and watched them all bust (mostly on suckouts) not long after I pulled them up.
I feel like I don't have any control over my results and life is just fucking with me, finding a way to cost me every tournament in the most painful way possible. At least if I bust early I can go do something else.
Back to the drawing board, I guess. I feel some sliding back, so I have to correct that before I play again. Getting up tomorrow and getting some real exercise again (I had an exhausting weekend-- physically, that is) will help.
If you don't grind, you don't shine
by nath on 05/08/08
And a diamond is just a lump of coal until it's been under pressure.
And other platitudes to make me feel better about the frustration of the last few days.
I've been trying to put in lots of volume, both to rebuild my online bankroll and to prepare myself for Vegas. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of close-but-no-cigar chances at scores-- slight cashes, money bubbles, and the like-- and even the occasional final table doesn't quite pan out. Tonight I finished 6th in the Stars $22r for $1600, which put me at +600 on the day-- which does beat losing, but it's a far cry from the big score I could have used.
I busted many things in painful fashion as well-- getting outdrawn, losing races, and being victimized by the Timex theorem more than once (essentially, your opponent always has the weakest hand possible that dominates yours). Just seemed like a day where I couldn't make the right decision in any close spot.
Of course, it was still a winning day, so it really wasn't even that bad, all in all. And yet, I complain. I'm my harshest critic and own worst enemy.
I need to find a way to keep my cool about poker. I can't do it consistently right now, and that bothers me, because it only makes me play worse and stay stressed and miserable and hate the game. Every time I think I've learned something about staying humble and patient, calm and levelheaded, I'm tested even more.
At this rate I'll be able to survive the end of the world. But it'd be nice to win a tournament first.
I'm taking tomorrow off; I've put in about 20 hours the last three days, and I could use the break, and some more time with my friends.
And other platitudes to make me feel better about the frustration of the last few days.
I've been trying to put in lots of volume, both to rebuild my online bankroll and to prepare myself for Vegas. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of close-but-no-cigar chances at scores-- slight cashes, money bubbles, and the like-- and even the occasional final table doesn't quite pan out. Tonight I finished 6th in the Stars $22r for $1600, which put me at +600 on the day-- which does beat losing, but it's a far cry from the big score I could have used.
I busted many things in painful fashion as well-- getting outdrawn, losing races, and being victimized by the Timex theorem more than once (essentially, your opponent always has the weakest hand possible that dominates yours). Just seemed like a day where I couldn't make the right decision in any close spot.
Of course, it was still a winning day, so it really wasn't even that bad, all in all. And yet, I complain. I'm my harshest critic and own worst enemy.
I need to find a way to keep my cool about poker. I can't do it consistently right now, and that bothers me, because it only makes me play worse and stay stressed and miserable and hate the game. Every time I think I've learned something about staying humble and patient, calm and levelheaded, I'm tested even more.
At this rate I'll be able to survive the end of the world. But it'd be nice to win a tournament first.
I'm taking tomorrow off; I've put in about 20 hours the last three days, and I could use the break, and some more time with my friends.
A disappointing Sunday, but not one without hope
by nath on 04/28/08
So I decided to give it a full Sunday schedule today. Started at 1 PM (Central) with the $109r on Stars and the $240 knockout/warmup/I'm-not-sure-what-they-call-it on Full Tilt, and just ended with a 7th-place finish in the afternoon 11r-- I came in 3rd in chips and proceeded to lose all three pots I played.
So with that and a 150-something finish in the million as my only cashes on the day, I can call my day disappointing-- holding the promise of bigger paydays only to leave me short yet again-- but at the same time, I have reason to feel positive about my play. I avoided major mistakes and got value in good spots, and evaluated situations accurately (or at least I felt that way in retrospect). I also started noticing mistakes I was making as I played, and I think I did a good job of plugging them as I went along. This says good things about both my ability to objectively evaluate my play and to keep focused for long periods of time. I feel like it will get better the more I play-- which is good because I'll be spending the next month or so warming up for the WSOP.
Not much else to report at this time. I'll be putting in more and more volume as the month goes on so hopefully something good (both writingwise and in terms of cash money.)
So with that and a 150-something finish in the million as my only cashes on the day, I can call my day disappointing-- holding the promise of bigger paydays only to leave me short yet again-- but at the same time, I have reason to feel positive about my play. I avoided major mistakes and got value in good spots, and evaluated situations accurately (or at least I felt that way in retrospect). I also started noticing mistakes I was making as I played, and I think I did a good job of plugging them as I went along. This says good things about both my ability to objectively evaluate my play and to keep focused for long periods of time. I feel like it will get better the more I play-- which is good because I'll be spending the next month or so warming up for the WSOP.
Not much else to report at this time. I'll be putting in more and more volume as the month goes on so hopefully something good (both writingwise and in terms of cash money.)
Even "normal" life isn't that normal
by nath on 04/22/08
Well, April has been, among other things, hectic and bizarre, so if you're wondering why I haven't written in a long time, you'll have your answer soon.
The end of March and early April was spent locating and moving into our new house. The short version of this story is that I've been looking to settle back into Houston for a few months now-- I've had no real permanent home for a long while, and wanted a day-to-day life that was more stable and where I spent more time with my friends. With some luck and some work, I landed a house I had my eye on and moved in with a couple of friends. It's beautiful, in my part of town, and not too expensive (although furnishing it hasn't been particularly cheap).
Of course, this would be taking up enough of my time until now weren't it also for the series of absurd events I encountered. I got two flat tires after I returned from Seattle, and then I had a week where, in succession, my laptop was stolen, I was hit by a car while on foot, and I got a third flat tire.
I'm okay. (I weather storms well.) But I haven't had time for anything, and unfortunately, "anything" included playing the Five Star and WPT Championship at Bellagio. I had to cancel those plans; I'm going to have to wait until the World Series to play live again, probably. Too much to do and not enough time (not to mention I would have needed a few days of rest for my body and mind before going out there). In the meantime, I expect to play online and spend more of my free time working on a couple of poker-related projects. (There's always something on my plate, and I never have time to finish it all. I'm the guy who goes to buffets and accidentally gets three times more than he can eat because it all looks so good.)
I've dabbled in a little online play the last couple of weeks but haven't gotten back to seriously playing. That'll change once I finish setting up the new house and my office area. How domestic of me.
The end of March and early April was spent locating and moving into our new house. The short version of this story is that I've been looking to settle back into Houston for a few months now-- I've had no real permanent home for a long while, and wanted a day-to-day life that was more stable and where I spent more time with my friends. With some luck and some work, I landed a house I had my eye on and moved in with a couple of friends. It's beautiful, in my part of town, and not too expensive (although furnishing it hasn't been particularly cheap).
Of course, this would be taking up enough of my time until now weren't it also for the series of absurd events I encountered. I got two flat tires after I returned from Seattle, and then I had a week where, in succession, my laptop was stolen, I was hit by a car while on foot, and I got a third flat tire.
I'm okay. (I weather storms well.) But I haven't had time for anything, and unfortunately, "anything" included playing the Five Star and WPT Championship at Bellagio. I had to cancel those plans; I'm going to have to wait until the World Series to play live again, probably. Too much to do and not enough time (not to mention I would have needed a few days of rest for my body and mind before going out there). In the meantime, I expect to play online and spend more of my free time working on a couple of poker-related projects. (There's always something on my plate, and I never have time to finish it all. I'm the guy who goes to buffets and accidentally gets three times more than he can eat because it all looks so good.)
I've dabbled in a little online play the last couple of weeks but haven't gotten back to seriously playing. That'll change once I finish setting up the new house and my office area. How domestic of me.
Is April the cruelest month?
by nath on 03/29/08
So my vacation from poker is about to come to an end. I'm currently in Seattle, where I've been hanging out with my cousin the last few days. (I went to visit some other people, see some shows, and clear my head a little, and when I remembered she was here, I got in touch with her.) It's been great-- she and I haven't gotten to spend much time in close proximity over the years, but we've always been close, and as we've gotten older we've stayed surprisingly similar. Being around family who are like you, where you can relax and be yourself and be loved and accepted, is exactly the sort of thing I needed to get centered before tournament time.
Speaking of tournament time: I'll be spending the next few days in Houston, seeing friends, and more importantly looking for a new place to live. I haven't had one in a while now-- which isn't as bad as it sounds; I spend more time around my friends and other people this way, but even so, it's imposing and/or expensive-- and I'm gonna try to land something with a friend that we can call home for the next year or so. That's also when I'll be making my final preparations for Las Vegas.
I decided to go straight to Bellagio and play the entire Five Star Classic (including the WPT Championship). Even though the 10k event at Foxwoods will be excellent, the back-and-forth travel would, I feel, eventually prove exhausting. And I'm personally disappointed that I'll miss Quinn and Noah and Brown Spring Weekend, but I've seen most of the acts already (M.I.A. once, Girl Talk twice, and Vampire Weekend on Wednesday), and this is the situation where I really need to keep business and pleasure separate. It's too hard to just switch the mindset back and forth-- establishing a good routine, staying focus and clear and level during the tournaments, is the priority here.
So I'm going to try to play all 12 preliminary events and the main. I say "try" because I still don't have a long-term backer; I've been raising the money in parts. I've got a couple of people onboard already, and I've posted in the 2+2 Marketplace. I have a few more people I could and should ask; I just hate asking for money in any context, even one like this where it's totally standard. I always feel like I'm begging or hitting them up for money, even though I'm really offering them a situation where I stand to make them even more. But I need to just nut up and do that; business is business, and the series is fast approaching.
Lucked into a room at Bellagio thanks to JPOSU (Jason Potter, who just finished 4th at WPT Reno today). So I have a room and I've scheduled time to rest my head and get back to thinking about poker before I get there. If I can raise the rest of the money and find a routine to establish to stay healthy (eating right, regular real exercise, and sunlight are musts), we'll really have something here.
Otherwise, T.S. will have been right once again.
Speaking of tournament time: I'll be spending the next few days in Houston, seeing friends, and more importantly looking for a new place to live. I haven't had one in a while now-- which isn't as bad as it sounds; I spend more time around my friends and other people this way, but even so, it's imposing and/or expensive-- and I'm gonna try to land something with a friend that we can call home for the next year or so. That's also when I'll be making my final preparations for Las Vegas.
I decided to go straight to Bellagio and play the entire Five Star Classic (including the WPT Championship). Even though the 10k event at Foxwoods will be excellent, the back-and-forth travel would, I feel, eventually prove exhausting. And I'm personally disappointed that I'll miss Quinn and Noah and Brown Spring Weekend, but I've seen most of the acts already (M.I.A. once, Girl Talk twice, and Vampire Weekend on Wednesday), and this is the situation where I really need to keep business and pleasure separate. It's too hard to just switch the mindset back and forth-- establishing a good routine, staying focus and clear and level during the tournaments, is the priority here.
So I'm going to try to play all 12 preliminary events and the main. I say "try" because I still don't have a long-term backer; I've been raising the money in parts. I've got a couple of people onboard already, and I've posted in the 2+2 Marketplace. I have a few more people I could and should ask; I just hate asking for money in any context, even one like this where it's totally standard. I always feel like I'm begging or hitting them up for money, even though I'm really offering them a situation where I stand to make them even more. But I need to just nut up and do that; business is business, and the series is fast approaching.
Lucked into a room at Bellagio thanks to JPOSU (Jason Potter, who just finished 4th at WPT Reno today). So I have a room and I've scheduled time to rest my head and get back to thinking about poker before I get there. If I can raise the rest of the money and find a routine to establish to stay healthy (eating right, regular real exercise, and sunlight are musts), we'll really have something here.
Otherwise, T.S. will have been right once again.
