The Death of AP

Four years ago I put 30 bucks on a little site called Absolute Poker. Somehow that took me down a path to where I now play poker for a living. AP died today, and will be missed.

Of course that's not really quite right, it's combining with Ultimate Bet to form Cereus. Annoying note number 1: instead of just combining our accounts, we have to pick a new sn for our UB account. I picked bzimzimm. I'm clever. But then, since I only had about 2 grand in there anyway, I promptly withdrew all the money from it save about two dollars, and I'll just use my AP account as my Cereus account. I just don't think I could part with the Ohio State logo I've had up for about three years, and the random hecklers it brings out.

One way AP does seem to be dying is that Cereus seems to be adopting what is primarily the UB tournament schedule. Today I woke up and there was no 20r at noon (11 ct). It was kind of sad. This was the defining hand from the last AP 20r ever:

Stage #1328615593 Tourney ID 2112826 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-11-24 14:30:35 (ET)
Table: 15 (Real Money) Seat #7 is the dealer
Seat 1 - TCB21 ($11785 in chips)
Seat 2 - MIKECHR23 ($16155 in chips)
Seat 3 - EMPHORROR ($18673.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - CARWA78 ($8515 in chips)
Seat 5 - JP106623 ($17275 in chips)
Seat 6 - SHUNYOK ($45697.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - DOUBLET8 ($45585 in chips)
Seat 8 - BZIMZIM ($11565 in chips)
Seat 9 - BILLCARD15 ($9947.50 in chips)
TCB21 - Ante $100
MIKECHR23 - Ante $100
EMPHORROR - Ante $100
CARWA78 - Ante $100
JP106623 - Ante $100
SHUNYOK - Ante $100
DOUBLET8 - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
BILLCARD15 - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Posts small blind $500
BILLCARD15 - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Ac Qh]
TCB21 - Folds
MIKECHR23 - Folds
EMPHORROR - Folds
CARWA78 - All-In(Raise) $8415 to $8415
JP106623 - Folds
SHUNYOK - Folds
DOUBLET8 - Folds
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $10965 to $11465
BILLCARD15 - Folds
BZIMZIM - returned ($3050) : not called
*** FLOP *** [8s 2d 9s]
*** TURN *** [8s 2d 9s] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [8s 2d 9s Js] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
CARWA78 - Shows [Ad 8d] (One pair, eights)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Ac Qh] (ace high)
CARWA78 Collects $18730 from main pot

So it goes.

Otherwise having an ok month, I've been playing a lot when I have time so it hasn't been quite as low a volume as I feared I might be. I was CL at FT of Stars 20 1r1a yesterday and finished sixth. I continue to run bad (play bad?) at final tables. Played a big pot with AQs on A64 flop with flush draw as well, other guy had set. Still wondering if I should have slowed down a bet, we were sort of deep, and I felt like I was up against a set. Meh, I don't know. Here's a good read I made to get the CL in the first place.

PokerStars Game #22335974289: Tournament #122500787, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level XIX (3000/6000) - 2008/11/24 19:19:11 ET
Table '122500787 38' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: DibicDave (173256 in chips)
Seat 2: achillezzzzz (143861 in chips)
Seat 4: JJ_69UK (329612 in chips)
Seat 5: Ice B (301513 in chips)
Seat 6: Snabel_Tann (67486 in chips)
Seat 7: GrandPrixGT (85025 in chips)
Seat 8: bzimzim (507924 in chips)
Seat 9: larryc123 (119928 in chips)
DibicDave: posts the ante 600
achillezzzzz: posts the ante 600
JJ_69UK: posts the ante 600
Ice B: posts the ante 600
Snabel_Tann: posts the ante 600
GrandPrixGT: posts the ante 600
bzimzim: posts the ante 600
larryc123: posts the ante 600
Ice B: posts small blind 3000
Snabel_Tann: posts big blind 6000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bzimzim [As Ts]
GrandPrixGT: folds
bzimzim: raises 9100 to 15100
larryc123: folds
DibicDave: folds
achillezzzzz: folds
JJ_69UK: calls 15100
Ice B: folds
Snabel_Tann: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jd Qh Ad]
bzimzim: bets 24000
JJ_69UK: calls 24000
*** TURN *** [Jd Qh Ad] [6h]
bzimzim: checks
JJ_69UK: checks
*** RIVER *** [Jd Qh Ad 6h] [4h]
bzimzim: bets 36000
JJ_69UK: raises 253912 to 289912 and is all-in
bzimzim: calls 253912
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JJ_69UK: shows [Jh Ks] (a pair of Jacks)
bzimzim: shows [As Ts] (a pair of Aces)
bzimzim collected 671824 from pot

I'd be playing with that guy for awhile, had a read on him pretty good and thought the odds he was making a move were very high. Just couldn't put him on a hand unless he backdoored that flush.

I've been running good just donking around four tabling 1/2 NL cash, been an easy way to make a couple quick hundred. Think I may start throwing in an hour or two of cash before I start playing tournaments for the day, both for some easy money and to improve cash game skills.

So I set up an account on Doyle's Room but apparently they won't let me access it because I'm in Illinois. I don't know if Illinois has some specific law that makes them more cautious, but I haven't heard anything about it or had any problems on any other sites. That's an interesting red flag with the regulations coming out for the anti-online gaming law, I don't know if those two are related.

42-7 is a beautiful score. My God Michigan is a horrible football team though. Just awful.

Another work day today before I head to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving via Lansing. RIP AP rebuys.

I Run Like a God on AP

FT of both 30r and 8k last night. The 8k only had 66 people, so a little overlay, which is nice. Unfortunately that tourney keeps shrinking field-wise. I worry that AP will keep making the guarantee smaller or just do away with it altogether at some point. There used to be a $109 4.5K on AP 1 ct, the field was so small it almost wasn't worth playing, since it was mostly AP regulars without your usual AP mix of total donkeys.

Ended up heads up with foolishgolf in 8k, had 2:1 CL, aipf two hands in a row, 77>99 and TT>AK. Ah well, foolish is a nice guy. Also I'm a lot less annoyed if I got two outed then when I play badly, as I did at a couple FTs earlier this month.

Ran like crap everywhere else yesterday, couldn't win a flip on any other site to save my life.

Up 2100 for the month, now I have to try to find time to play for the rest of the month.

Very Annoying Bubbles/Some Terrible Play

So this is an entry I was going to write before I went to Middletown, but never got to it. Before I left, I was in the Stars Super Tuesday, right before the bubble when this happened:


PokerStars Game #21206295502: Tournament #113525268, $1000+$50 Hold'em No Limit - Level XII (500/1000) - 2008/10/14 23:55:40 ET
Table '113525268 6' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: gregior (9783 in chips)
Seat 2: BabyGrand (13111 in chips)
Seat 3: g0lfa (77699 in chips)
Seat 5: HopeUfold (7675 in chips)
Seat 6: poker_lord76 (18432 in chips)
Seat 7: ael1979 (7444 in chips)
Seat 8: bzimzim (36961 in chips)
gregior: posts the ante 100
BabyGrand: posts the ante 100
g0lfa: posts the ante 100
HopeUfold: posts the ante 100
poker_lord76: posts the ante 100
ael1979: posts the ante 100
bzimzim: posts the ante 100
ael1979: posts small blind 500
bzimzim: posts big blind 1000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bzimzim [Ac Ks]
gregior: folds
BabyGrand: folds
g0lfa: raises 1355 to 2355
HopeUfold: folds
poker_lord76: folds
ael1979: folds
bzimzim: raises 5255 to 7610
g0lfa: raises 69989 to 77599 and is all-in
bzimzim: calls 29251 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (40738) returned to g0lfa
*** FLOP *** [6c Js 7h]
*** TURN *** [6c Js 7h] [3h]
*** RIVER *** [6c Js 7h 3h] [8c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [Ac Ks] (high card Ace)
g0lfa: shows [Qs Qc] (a pair of Queens)
g0lfa collected 74922 from pot

And out for 46th and the bubble.

Obviously, this is extremely annoying on several levels. First, I'd qualified in, so the $1200 for 45th meant something to me, as opposed to normally where I don't care at all if I bubble out playing to win. I had a top ten stack at the time of this pot, so it was unexpected for sure. Would have had a top three stack if I'd won the flip though. With 70K for first, that woulda been a good flip to win.

The hand itself was interesting, because the chip leader opened, and I expected to be able to take it away fairly easily with the 3 bet. Instead he just shoved. Well that caught me be surprise. But I wondered if it was because he thought I was 3 betting weak because he'd been opening so much. In the end he showed down a real hand, nh, gg.

I can't seem to find the HH, but I flipped for another top 3 stack with AK in the UB 80k the next day, K on flop, T on river against TT. Out in 42nd and another bubble (well practically). That was just annoying. Only 20k for first in that one, but still, I win too many flips in small tourneys. I'd trade them for a few in a row in a big tourney. Been awhile for me and a big score.

Since being back from the Obama victory, I've been at a couple final tables and played horrifically. Played terrible at AP 30r a few nights ago, 4 betting 8s into QQ pre. Then I was big CL three handed in Cake 25r the other day, and managed to finish third, with some plays I'm too embarassed to even type. Not exactly taking advantange of my opportunities this month. Pretty annoyed at myself.

Back to work tonight.

October Wrap

This month pretty much redefined a "low volume" month, compared to all the other months that were low volume months. I didn't play at all after October 16. For that matter I've only played one day so far this month. That'll change today. But at least for October, I wasn't being lazy, I was helping to save my country. So that's a pretty good reason.

Month: +$2239

Year: +$69,394

Trying to crank it up the rest of this month, but I'll be out of town this weekend to Champaign, then probably to Columbus the week after for the last two Ohio State games. No excuse not to finish 10-2, with a BCS bowl being extremely likely if that happens. Also go Sparty. Anyway, then I'll be travelling to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving, so I'm going to have to take it while I can get it on poker this month. Maybe I'll just ship the Super Tuesday or something and call it a month. But barring a big score (which is always possible), it looks like the 100 grand goal I once proclaimed is looking more like a long shot. Ah well. I do need to spend more effort on improving my game though.

Work day today and tomorrow. MSNBC is on in the background, and told me that when Bush and Obama meet today, there will be some "joshing around". I remember why I don't watch news networks now.

Back

And I'm back! Went to Middletown, Ohio for two weeks to help out before election day. So it's been awhile since I've played poker. Night session tonight. How about that.

Also I'm about four entries behind, which I'll make up in the next couple of days. One about the week before I left, Oct Wrap, Middletown, and goals for the rest of the year.

Just Because You're A Professional Poker Player, Doesn't Mean You Can Beat 1/2 NL

Seriously. Apparently it doesn't.

So I went to the Horseshoe Casino, intending to play poker for ten-twelve hours and donk around at 1/2 NL. By the way, the Horseshoe itself is actually really nice. The poker room is much nicer than at Majestic Star or Ameristar. Anyway, so early on, wasn't hitting flops, then finally picked up 8s with only like 100 behind at that point. Raise, got like 5 callers. Gotta love cash games. Flop was 664, 2 hearts, bet like 25, everyone except bb folds. BB was a very good player. I put him on a draw, shoved, he beat me into the pot, oops. Reload time one. The shove was probably pretty bad.

Reload time two, pick up JJ in bb, bunch of limpers, button raises to 5 (whatever), I repop to 20, everyone else mucks, button calls. Flop is QQ3. I bet 30, button calls. Turn is a brick. I check, button immediately fires 100. Then he immediately starts staring at me intently in that "I'm looking strong but really want you to fold" kind of way. I put him on a mid pair and shove, he beats me into the pot. That needs to stop happening. He shows QJ and I'm drawing stone dead to the river. Jeesh. Also apparently I need to work on reading people.

So some of that was understandable and some of that was bad play. But I really wasn't too phased at this point. I was planning on being here for awhile, and the players around me weren't very good (or were typical for 1/2 NL). But what happened after that (you know, to lose the next 500) was one of the those "the poker gods are conspiring against you" days. I flopped top pair twice all day, and didn't win either pot. I had KK, QQ, JJ, and didn't win any of those pots. I was gambling some on preflop calls because there were a lot of decent pots built pre and just never hit anything. And then the final curse disguised as a gift was the psycho guy at my table who sat down. He raised to 20 dollars 90% of hands. The other 5-10% he raised bigger, $30, $50. He was just out of his mind. So I started calling with decent hands, because he'll inevitably stack off if I could hit a flop. But I couldn't. And I couldn't bluff, because he was never folding and therefore unbluffable. I kept making sure I had $200 behind for when I did hit. But I never did. Finally I picked up KK. I limped, with the intent to let psycho make a big raise. Except someone else raised to $12, and psycho just flatted. I put in $40 more, and psycho folded, the only time he ever folded pre.

The next hand I picked up AJ, and was just like screw it, I'm doing the same play, I'm guaranteed to be ahead of him. So I limped, he raised to 30, I put it another 100, which was pretty much what he had left. He called. The board came J75, 8, 6. And I thought, oh God. AJ, I called out. He showed down...J4o for a straight.

So at that point I only had 80 left, decided I was done reloading, I'd double it or go home. Bunch of limpers, button raises, I pick up AQ. He had KK. NH sir. I burned through $900 in four hours.

Anyway, I'm going back to the Horseshoe soon to change the karma of that place.

I am 27 today. Also 99 days until Bush leaves office. Party all around.

I'll be back to work for a full day tomorrow.

Pwning FT Nooner Like It's The AP 30r

A funny thing has been happening lately. I've been winning on Full Tilt! I don't know if this is evidence of the apocalypse, or just that God likes me a little more than I thought he did. Been playing day sessions all week (until today anyway), so I've been playing the FT $109 that starts at 11 central, and I've finished third and second for a very solid week. Throw in a third in the Stars $22 1r1a, and I'm on about six grand heater over the past three days. Can't complain about that.

The one thing I can complain about is my play at the end of the Stars tournament. When it got to be three handed, I was catching absolutely nothing in the way of cards. Picked up 5s in the sb, raised, donkish bb called. Flop came T97, all hearts, I have 5h. I bet about 3/5 pot, bb calls. Turn is a 9. I have basically one pot sized bet left. Put it in here, or c/f? The call on the turn didn't tell me much, could be pair or draw, and the guys a donkey anyway. I decide to shove, and get looked up by K7 with Kh. So I'm dead to two outs, and then gone. Shoving bad here? That hand got me muttering to myself, but I think I've convinced myself my play was actually ok (or at least not awful) given the wide range he was calling with on the flop. Frankly, I'd expect him to raise that flop, and then I would have been gone. Oh well, whatever. I'm done thinking about that hand.

The FT $109 I finished third in was unfortunate, was CL in the tournament and couldn't fade a straight draw with no overs against second chip leader three handed. Then next hand got it in JJ against TT against same player, T on the flop. Had a won either of those pots no doubt I win that tournament for an extra 2.5K or so. On the other hand, I kind of ran like a God in that tournament while behind, so I can't really complain. The poker gods giveth, and taketh away.

So it's the 9th now, and I'm up 5300 or so. Very solid start to the month. Can't complain about that.

JohnnyBax was playing on Cake the other day in an afternoon 25R I was in. Or at the very least someone using his screen name. But I'm assuming it was him. He had like 50K in chips. Does this mean real players are going to start playing on Cake? That would be terrible! Leave my donkeys alone! I found 'em first! Plus some of the AP regulars seem to be making their way over there too. I guess you can't have that big a fishbowl without people finding out.

Terrelle Pryor is the truth.

Casino Day! Gonna go hit the new Horseshoe over in Indiana. I still haven't been there since it opened, which is completely unacceptable. So today is the day. I will, as usual while playing cash games, probably just donk around at 1/2 NL, be social and have a good time. Also I live a pretty good life.

After that it'll probably be a light weekend for playing. My birthday is Monday, so I'm having a get together on Saturday of, well, whoever exactly it is that shows up. Cooper's at 9, at Belmont and Racine, if you're interested coming, random blog reader. Whoever it is exactly that reads this thing (hi Mom?).

But yeah, may play Sunday, may not, depends on my mood. Once I clear my birthday I'll be back in full working mode.

September Wrap

Back on track.

Month: +$7730

Year: $67,155

Didn't play really at all in the last week. Once again I'm content to coast when I get ahead for the month. That's a terrible long term thing to be doing, and I need to stop.

I'll try and get it back ramped up this week, but going to Madison this weekend so that might make it difficult. Need to get some day sessions going in order to get enough hours in.

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

Can't get that Dylan song out of my head.

Figured I'd write an update since I hadn't written in a bit. Though really there's not much to update. Won a small $55 tourney on AP (clearly running like a God on AP right now). Otherwise have spent the rest of the month giving some back. Haven't been playing all that much though relatively. Been too consumed by pennant race and such. I think I'm down to up 7800 or so for the month at this point.

Three days to go in the Mets season. Or at least regular season. Maybe. Or the whole series might get rained out. Gonna be an interesting weekend.

Ship AP 30r Redux (Almost)

Wow two in a row! That doesn't happen very often. Got to three handed, here was the key pot against DZ00NUTS:

Stage #1278132961 Tourney ID 2070670 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $20000 - 2008-09-17 02:45:51 (ET)
Table: 19 (Real Money) Seat #8 is the dealer
Seat 6 - DZ00NUTS ($294100.79 in chips)
Seat 7 - BZIMZIM ($426193.86 in chips)
Seat 8 - CHANCECHACE ($150205.35 in chips)
DZ00NUTS - Ante $2000
BZIMZIM - Ante $2000
CHANCECHACE - Ante $2000
DZ00NUTS - Posts small blind $10000
BZIMZIM - Posts big blind $20000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
ealt to BZIMZIM [Jd Jh]
CHANCECHACE - Folds
DZ00NUTS - Raises $50000 to $60000
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $404193.86 to $424193.86
DZ00NUTS - All-In $232100.79
BZIMZIM - returned ($132093.07) : not called
*** FLOP *** [Qd Ad 9c]***
TURN *** [Qd Ad 9c] [10c]
*** RIVER *** [Qd Ad 9c 10c] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DZ00NUTS - Shows [Ac 7c] (Flush, ace high)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jd Jh] (One pair, jacks)
DZ00NUTS Collects $590201.58 from main pot

Er, wait. Never mind.

But did hang on to finish second. And it's hard to complain about how I've been running, haha. I've pretty much taken over the AP 30r. I've played it four times in the last week, and I've finished first, second, and fourth. I love the AP 30r. Also thanks to the AP 30r, on like a 7k heater over the last two days. It's a relief to be in such a good position midway through the month. Currently up 9200. Also, my 100k yearly goal, which went in the tank with the last two months, might be back in the realm of possibility if I can get some more done this month. But hell, I play multis for a living anyway. I could theoretically make nothing for two months and make thirty grand in a day (hey I made 25). So who knows.

Also qualified for Super Tuesday on Stars yesterday, but three outed for most of my stack. Ah well.

Odds are I'm taking today off, watching some Champions League, playing some soccer tonight. Probably wander around outside some, it's gorgeous out. Gonna be a good day.

Ship AP 30r

Hey, that's better! I like that title for an entry. Just when I get annoyed at 2 outers, etc, there comes that tournament where I run like a God, and then I love poker again. I was actually down to 2000 chips at 500/1000. Shove KTo, up to 7200. Then three hands in a row:

Stage #1277352078 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-09-16 00:31:58 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11653.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34967.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12303 in chips)
Seat 4 - YACHRED ($8071 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($8019.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - ACESJAMMI111 ($15457 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($4368.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($10005 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $100
TRACKER2TR - Ante $100
GETINITIN - Ante $100
YACHRED - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Ante $100
BRUCECMC - Ante $100
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Posts small blind $500
ACESJAMMI111 - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Qd Qs]
BRUCECMC - Folds
ZOOTEDJAY - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
YACHRED - All-In(Raise) $7971 to $7971
BZIMZIM - All-In $7419.50
ACESJAMMI111 - Folds
YACHRED - returned ($51.50) : not called
*** FLOP *** [10c Js 10h]
*** TURN *** [10c Js 10h] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [10c Js 10h 2s] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YACHRED - Shows [Jd 7d] (Two Pair, jacks and tens)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Qd Qs] (Two Pair, queens and tens)
BZIMZIM Collects $17639 from main pot

Stage #1277352771 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-09-16 00:32:58 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11553.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34867.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12203 in chips)
Seat 4 - YACHRED ($51.50 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($17639 in chips)
Seat 6 - ACESJAMMI111 ($14357 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($4268.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($9905 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $100
TRACKER2TR - Ante $100
GETINITIN - Ante $100
YACHRED - Ante $51.50
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Ante $100
BRUCECMC - Ante $100
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Posts small blind $500
BRUCECMC - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Jd Qs]
ZOOTEDJAY - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10000 to $10000
ACESJAMMI111 - All-In(Raise) $13757 to $14257
BRUCECMC - Folds
BZIMZIM - Calls $4257
*** FLOP *** [Jh 10c Js]
*** TURN *** [Jh 10c Js] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Jh 10c Js 3d] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YACHRED - Shows [7c 9d] (Two Pair, jacks and nines)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jd Qs] (Three of a kind, jacks)
ACESJAMMI111 - Shows [Ad Ah] (Two Pair, aces and jacks)
BZIMZIM Collects $29853.50 from side pot-1
BZIMZIM Collects $412 from main pot

Stage #1277353300 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1200 - 2008-09-16 00:33:44 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11453.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34767.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12103 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($33547.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($3168.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($9805 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $125
TRACKER2TR - Ante $125
GETINITIN - Ante $125
BZIMZIM - Ante $125
BRUCECMC - Ante $125
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $125
BRUCECMC - Posts small blind $600
ZOOTEDJAY - Posts big blind $1200
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [3s Ah]
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10800 to $10800
BRUCECMC - Folds
ZOOTEDJAY - All-In $8480
BZIMZIM - returned ($1120) : not called
*** FLOP *** [9h Jc 5h]
*** TURN *** [9h Jc 5h] [2h]
*** RIVER *** [9h Jc 5h 2h] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Shows [3s Ah] (One pair, fives)
ZOOTEDJAY - Shows [Kd Qs] (One pair, fives)
BZIMZIM Collects $20710 from main pot

Two hands later, won a 28k pot against Z06 after three outing him, AQ v. AK aipf (sorry Z). Clearly I run like a god. From here I went into aggro mode, and stole a lot of blinds and antes without getting in too much trouble. Got down to 6 handed and it was me, norcalsurf and 4 of the worst players I've ever seen. Norcal got three outed out of the tourney. I caught a three outer all in to double up. And that was pretty much the tournament. Once I became chip leader I just raised like crazy, and for the most part no one else wanted to play. I've never seen an entire table go into playing for second place money mode so early. It was kind of embarassing. By the time it was four handed I raised essentially every unopened pot. And had a damn lot of fun doing it. By the time it got HU I had like a 9:1 CL, and it was over in one hand. Good times.

So now up 6500 midway through the month. Hey this month doesn't suck. It is excellent not to be digging out of massive hole this month. Now I'll see if I can really get it going and post a big number.

Buckeye Therapy Session

Three things that need to change before we can get back to being an elite program:

1. Talent

I think this game clarified the talent difference between us and USC. USC is more talented than us at virtually every position. Of course USC is the most talented team in the country as well. But if we want to win championships, national championships and not Big Ten ones, the talent level has to improve. Nowhere is this more obvious than on the offensive and defensive lines. One scout referred to our O line after the game as having "four Ohio projects." Only Boone was a highly rated recruit. Well obviously that's not getting it done. Our offensive line came out OK, but in the second half they may as well have not even been there. It's not like this is new. The questions about our offensive line have been building and building. Right now, they just aren't very talented. That's solved through recruiting, and to be fair, with bringing in the national recruits last year, the makeover of the offensive line is underway. It also means if there's a player like Marcus Hall in Ohio, a national O line recruit in our own backyard (not just that, he goes to fucking Glenville, our main feeder school where Ginn is the coach!), we absolutely can't afford to miss on a player like that. Long considered an OSU lock, everyone feels less confident recently. USC still hasn't offered, and I pray to God they don't. But there's just no short term answer there on the O line. Not talented enough.

The same could probably be said about our WRs right now, though we didn't provide enough protection to really find out. Hartline actually said he thought he and Robiskie were running open after the game, so maybe that wasn't the problem. USC blitzed a lot (read: basically anytime Boeckman was in), so it's not surprising there was space out there. Still, the criticism of them is that they aren't game breakers, which I think is correct. The wide receiver who looked like he belonged out there was Ray Small, who was recruited by USC and was a national recruit. He's long been an enigma, but no one doubts his talent. He actually played well too. That's something I can add to my good list. But again, more game breakers needed. True freshman DeVier Posey is going to be a star, and I think he'll play more and more as the season goes on. I love Dane as the possession WR. I'm less concerned about the future of the WR position, we've got guys with the ability, especially if Small is finally going to get his shit together.

The RBs were OK. I thought Boom ran hard for what the O line gave him. That said, it's obvious there's only one star player on this offense right now. And he didn't play. Would he have made the difference between winning and losing? Of course not. But the effect on this offense when he's not out there is hard to miss. And Beanie will be gone next year. We'll be awful young at RB next year, with Boom probably starting, Saine hasn't figured it out. He's a track champion, but he plays tenative and slow. National recruit Jamaal Berry is coming in from Florida, and given the lack of depth he'll probably get touches right away.

I'm not going to pile on Boeckman, everyone's favorite punching bag. He is what he is. Frankly, I kinda feel bad for him. He has one million people in Columbus saying Todd Boeckman sucks. I think if he could stand back there in the pocket and take a nap like Sanchez, he'd be pretty good too. There aren't a million people in Columbus saying Bryant Browning sucks or Ben Person sucks, even though frankly that's the bigger problem. That said, obviously he hasn't progressed like we're hoping. He's just not very good, and he's clearly lost his confidence. This is another position where obviously I'm not worried about the future of the talent level. Pryor is going to play more and more throughout this year. I love Pryor so much already. He has the ability to be a legend. I don't use that word lightly. Legends don't need last names. Archie is a legend. Eddie is a legend. Florida not withstanding, Troy is a legend. People will forget (or at least forgive) about the one game. Hell, Eddie's teams played in the Citrus Bowl every year, but he couldn't be more beloved.

The defensive line: not even close to good enough. Our defensive tackles, on the national scale, just aren't very good. On our 2002 championship team, that was the unit that won us the game. More talent, better recruiting needed. That's hard position to recruit, especially because Ohio produces so few quality DTs. That's a position we need to go national on. Sometimes there were holes in our line that we may as well have been Virginia, or like that USC-Nebraska game a couple years ago. It obviously wasn't like that on every play, but there were plays where it did look like that. I still think we have talent at DE, but didn't play very well. Waiting for the light to go on to go to the next level for Heyward, Gibson.

The LB performance is obviously tied to the DTs, who were getting absolutely worked. That said, anyone still taking JL over Rey? I wouldn't. And I've been a Cushing doubter, but I was very impressed. On our side, not so much. Our LBs are not great at getting off blockers. Technically precise, good in space, but not mean and/or playing with an edge.

The corners were fine. We'll miss Jenkins when he's gone. Chekwa's a good one. I hope Washington gets his shit together. We need him. I thought the safety play was horrid. Anderson Russell, yikes. I forgot Kurt Coleman was on the field. On the other hand, they controlled the point of attack so much they didn't really need to throw that much. And we didn't get much pressure. It's possible I'm being way too hard on the safeties.

Overall, sort of like the Florida game, the defense wasn't good, but it also was screwed all day. Our offense accounted for -4 points and the USC offense almost always had good field position. It's hard for any defense to function in those circumstances.

2. Coaching

After the Florida game, the Florida players made comments about knowing exactly what was coming. I mostly dismissed it. Then LSU said the same thing. And then Sanchez basically said the same thing yesterday. I was slow to come around, but clearly something is wrong on the coaching front, and the schemes that we're running are way, way too predictable. Our passing game in particular is not inventive and has a total lack of sophistication.

What's particularly frustrating about this is that Tressel doesn't seem to acknowledge that anything is wrong. Is this going to be the plan? Every time we get thumped we just say, well, we have no earthly idea what happened. But gosh, we'll go out and try hard next time. What does it take for something to have to change?

3. Mental Toughness

This is the most discouraging thing of all. What has made Tressel's teams so formidable under his tenure is that they were always so mentally strong. 2002, national title, overtime, 4th and 14, Krenzel throws a strike to Michael Jenkins, first down. In fact, for the entire first six years of Tressel's tenure, those teams were always mentally tough. And then Florida. We scored first, they punched back, we folded. Same against LSU. Same against USC. What happened? Where is the leadership on this team? When did we become the team that folds, that's psychologically fragile? When did we turn into Michigan State?

At this moment this is just not a very mentally strong team. I'm not optimistic about going at Wisconsin right now. What happens when Wisconsin hits back? Cause they will. That's a good football team. I don't think we're done losing games this year. But worse than that is that the program has assumed the identity of everyone that hates us. We really do just fold in big circumstances. That's maybe the hardest thing. How do you change that identity back? Until we do, we are what everyone thinks we are.

2nd Cake 30r; Some (Ineffective) Bluffs

Played full day Monday. Day of frustration ended on a good note with a 2nd place finish in the Cake 30r. Still haven't won that tournament like a swore I would, but I'm sure I will. Otherwise had finished 13th with 12 qualifiers in a satty for the 1K WCOOP event on Sunday, and was annoyed, and took some beats in some big pots the rest of the day. But hey things happen. At least the day ended on a good note. Now up about 2.5K to start the month, so at least I won't spend the entire month feeling like I'm digging out of a giant hole.

Here are three hands that had a big impact on deciding the outcome of the Cake 30r. RespectMGame is a Cake regular that plays fairly TAG (for a multi player anyway, which is a sliding scale). As a result I tried to control the action, as I had done for the rest of the tournament, but got burned a couple times. Here's hand 1, still three handed:

Hand #16182CA330002761: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (656465.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (416814.00 in chips)
Seat 8: VoxM*** (351221.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,000
bzimzim posts ante of $1,000
VoxMan posts ante of $1,000
VoxM***: posts small blind $5,000
Resp***: posts big blind $10,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Kc Jd ]
bzimzim: raises to $26,000
VoxM***: folds
Resp***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 3c 6c 5h ]
Resp***: checks
bzimzim: checks
# # # TURN # # # [ Qc ]
Resp***: bets $20,000
bzimzim: raises to $60,000
Resp***: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ Qs ]
Resp***: checks
bzimzim: bets $70,000
Resp***: calls***
SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [ Kc Jd ] (Pair of Queens )
Resp***: shows [ 3h Ad ] (Two Pairs, Queens and Threes )
Resp*** wins $320,000 with Two Pairs, Queens and Threes

I'd been cont. betting a lot, but hard to represent that flop, so happy to take a card off. Pick up the flush draw on the turn and raised, he called. I didn't put him on much. Queens paired on the river, and I bluff in a way that attempts to look like a value bet. He tanks and eventually calls. NC. I still like the way I played it. He had to put a lot of chips in with bottom pair.

Now heads up:

Hand #16182CA330002775: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (925065.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (499435.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,200
bzimzim posts ante of $1,200
Resp***: posts small blind $6,000
bzimzim: posts big blind $12,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Ts Kc ]
Resp***: raises to $29,000
bzimzim: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ Js 4c 3d ]
bzimzim: checks
Resp***: bets $30,200
bzimzim: raises to $85,000
Resp***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 9c ]
bzimzim: bets $120,000
Resp***: raises to $300,000
bzimzim: folds
Resp***: returns uncalled bet $180,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Resp***: mucks
Resp*** wins $470,400

I interpreted his bet as a standard c-bet and c/r with air. He calls. Here I get stubborn and fire again, which I hate in retrospect. If he's calling the c/r, he's probably going with it. Plus he'd try to pick up pots with smallish bets in relation to the pot a lot of the time, I might have been able to see a cheap river. I don't like my play here.

Final hand:

Hand #16182CA330002793: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (861730.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (562770.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,200
bzimzim posts ante of $1,200
Resp***: posts small blind $6,000
bzimzim: posts big blind $12,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Th Kd ]
Resp***: calls
bzimzim: raises to $35,000
Resp***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 9h 9d 8d ]
bzimzim: bets $42,000
Resp***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 5c ]
bzimzim: checks
Resp***: bets $42,000
bzimzim: raises to $134,000
Resp***: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ 2h ]
bzimzim: is all in 350570.0000
Resp***: calls
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [ Th Kd ] (Pair of Nines )
Resp***: shows [ 8c 6s ] (Two Pairs, Nines and Eights )
Resp*** wins $1,125,540 with Two Pairs, Nines and Eights

Again, I'm not sure I actually mind my play in this spot. I'm representing big here. My c/r on the turn is something I'll also do with a big hand. Again, I put him on a marginal holding, and I actually thought he might have had a draw, in which case my shove wins it for sure. Instead he calls with a weak 8. Another good call. Sometimes the other guy just plays better.

The only thing I wonder about in retrospect is whether I played too aggro against this guy in general. clearly he was willing to call me light, and had the impression I could put chips in without much of a hand. Which I could obviously. But maybe it would have paid to be a little more solid and attempt to get paid. On the other hand, if the key to no limit is to force the other guy to a decision, I did plenty of that. Just didn't work out this time.

3 days until Ohio State-USC.

Full Day Today

Last week was a relatively light week, and nothing much to report from it. More or less even for the month to this point. Going to ramp it up this week, play at least some every day with some full days in there. Today is full day number 1, let's go. Feeling good about my play and ready to pwn some donkeys.

Five days until OSU-USC. Yesterday I was absolutely terrifed. Today I'm a little more excited. But still a lot terrified. I actually feel comforted though that everyone in the country, in the words of Peter King, thinks it'll be over by halftime. The "nobody believes in us" card is cliche, but it's a great motivator.

August Wrap

August: $1894

Year to date: $59,425

Despite posting an even lower number than I did last month (slightly), I feel a lot better about it. Probably because my major emotion about the month could best be described as "relief".

I'm going to be traveling a decent amount in the next month and a half, so I'm really going to have to work to keep my hours up. Which I'm determined to do, since I'm particularly determined to have a good month this month, after two disappoinments in a row.

I do feel like I was playing significantly better by the end of the month. That's the level of play I'm hoping to maintain.

Month Saver

So finished third in Stars $109 $50k for $5600 to save the month. Hey I'm actually in the positive! It's a miracle. Definitely took a couple of breaks to get there, but fought I played well in the tourney. I wonder if I was a touch too aggressive three handed actually, since there was an overwhelming chip leader and the dynamics became slightly SNG-like with another two grand for whoever lasted to finished second, and only an additional three for finding a way to overcome the big chip deficit and finishing first. Shoved K8 into 99. I'd post some hands from it but I have a headache right now and that's making me lazy.

But anyway, I'm just glad the month isn't a disaster anymore. Might just be done for the month. It hasn't been a high volume month, partically because of some traveling, and partially just because I was in such a poker funk there for awhile. I'll be happy to turn the page to September.

16 hours 'til the Buckeye opener. Go Bucks.

Decisions, Not Results

12 tournaments played yesterday, 3 cashes, none of significance=further in the hole. But I have to say, I played a lot better. I felt in rhythm and got my money in while ahead, or in spot where I was destined to be behind. $55 on stars, 1040 in the field, finished 40th when I ran kings into aces. AK into KK in AP 30r. Stuff like that. Ugliest finish of the day was when I got my stack in with a set of 9s on a 9 8 6 board. I bet out, villain shoves and shows...AJ. 7, 10. OK, that one hurt.

But I'm trying to keep a positive mindset. If I continue to play like that I'm going to be profitable. I know I will.

Finding hours to play is going to be a struggle for the rest of the month though, between people visiting and the various times I'm leaving town.

Back To Work

Took my scheduled three days off, back to work today. Sat down in the $75 3 pm on FT (I'm playing on Tilt because I like losing clearly), flopped a set of 7s, shoved the turn on a K 7 5 4 board into...a mp limper with J6s for a straight draw, flush draw. You can guess the rest lol.

Ah it's good to be back, haha. It's early in the day; I'm keeping my sense of humor.

Anyway, should be a full day. Who knows how much I'll be down for the month by the end of today. See there's that dark humor again. I'm hilarious. I've got 30 Rock running in the background to improve my mood.

I finally bought my new TV! I'm getting it tomorrow. 46" Samsung for $1120ish with the discount my friend got me. Pimp. Nothing feels good while losing money like spending money.

Alright, let's see how this goes.

Break Time

“I want to get a job as someone who names kitchen appliances. Toaster, refrigerator, blender.... all you do is say what the shit does, and add 'er'. I wanna work for the Kitchen Appliance Naming Institute. Hey, what does that do? It keeps shit fresh. Well, that's a fresher. I'm goin' on break.”

So yeah, I'm goin' on break. I have six cashes this month. Six cashes. That's almost not even possible, given the number of tournaments I've played, which is...well I refuse to count. But it's more than six. Of course if they were really good cashes it wouldn't matter. But they weren't. I had one fourth for a grand, that's it. I also refuse to calculate how much I'm down for the month. So I'm taking the weekend off. I think I'm going to the beach this afternoon to read a book and be outside.

In news that doesn't make me want to vomit in my mouth a little, Comcast finally has Big Ten Network! 15 days 'til the opener. We'll obviously cruise against Youngstown State, but USC-Virginia, Michigan-Utah, Mich. St.-Cal and Illinois-Mizzou will all be interesting for various reasons. Also I looked at the Big Ten Network schedule, and for the next week they'll be showing Ohio State-Illinois from last year, OSU-Wisky from 2003, and OSU-PSU from 2001. So thanks a lot assholes.

But they are replaying App. St.-Michigan. My DVR is set.

Tilting, Acceptance of Medicority

Clearly I've been neglecting this blog; I haven't posted anything since my wrap that comes at the first of the every month.

Partially this has been due to neglect of my poker game in general, since I went out four nights last week in my attempt to be a mini-alcoholic. Also it's just a lot easier to write this entries when things are going well compared to when things are going poorly. When I can title an entry "Ship *****", writing the entry is a lot more fun.

But it occurs to me that writing entries like this one is part of why I started this thing in the first place: so that I could write through the bad times rather than the good. So here goes.

At the moment I'm down about 2 grand for the month. That's becoming a familiar position. Last month, after shipping the UB 3or, I recovered quite well, and then gave a good deal of it back before the close of the month. That slide has continued into August.

Of course, all of these things are cyclical, and I'm trying to be less concerned with results and more concerned with making good decisions. The problem is that I haven't been particularly good at that lately. I've made some 3 bets lately based on some reads that were absolutely terrible, and if I was listening to the voice in the back of my head when I made them, I sort of knew they were terrible. I've just been pressing and let that get to me.

I've actually felt my game tighten up recently, and think that has worked pretty well when I've implemented that strategy. There was a time where you could just run over tables by being the most aggressive. Now it feels like everyone plays aggressive, though to varying degrees according to the sites. I remember donking around with my friend Randy and watching him play a big field 10r, and he was just playing practically every hand and steamrolling. I remember just sitting there and thinking "Oh my god, I need to be playing much more aggressively." And for awhile I did that, but players adjusted to me, and players adjusted in general. Finding the correct degree of aggressiveness is difficult, but I think my current game is working better when I play a bit more solidly. The other benefit is that if you play tight you can play off that image, giving yourself resteal opportunities that are situation-based rather than card-based that you could never pull off playing like a LAGGY maniac.

My real problem, as I said, is when I've stepped out from that solid play and pressed. I've been pressing a decent amount. It's hardly ever worked. Combine some life tilt with some poker tilt in a wonderfully mutual recipricating relationship (sarcasm on), and it hasn't gone well.

I'm sure I've written about this before, but part of this is just a battle in my mind for how good a poker player I want to be. This isn't a silly question, though obviously on the surface I want to be the "best poker player I can be." But that doesn't really answer the question. Becoming great at something requires sacrifice, and sacrifice isn't really my strength.

I was always very gifted at math. Through elementary school and middle school, I cruised through my math classes with virtually no effort. In high school, my classes took a little more effort, but I was still able to get by, until I reached calculus. I took calculus my junior year, and I didn't get it. I fundamentally didn't understand the concepts being taught, so whenever I had to prove anything, I was totally lost. The real problem wasn't I couldn't "change gears" so to speak and get myself to try a lot harder. I was used to it coming easy, so I just got frustrated and angry. The end result was not good for my grade in calculus.

I almost feel like my poker "life" has taken a similar path. When I first started playing, everything came pretty easy. I deposited $30 and built it up into a bankroll relatively quickly. Not to be arrogant, but I'm fairly bright, so I understood and was fairly good at the mental skills that came with analyzing hands. I also had a good math sense when that was required. And to this point, I've coasted on my natural abilities really. Not that I haven't worked to improve my game. I have. It's just that haven't had to dig in and improve or face total failure. I could succeed without committing to my self absolutely.

But just like at math, I may have reached the limit of how far I can go. I am a naturally good poker player. I am not a naturally great poker player. If I want to take my game to the next level, to play with the truly best players at a consistent level, I'm going to have to work harder. A lot harder. At this moment, I'm not sure if that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I don't have to, to be fair. I've proven I can at least survive on my abilities as they are. But if I'm going to do this for a prolonged period of time, will that be enough? Or will I want to move on and do something else? I truly don't know the answers to those questions.

In other news, the Horseshoe has opened up in Indiana. I'll try and get over there in this week or the next.