$300 Tournament at the Oaks

I played in the $300 May Tournament at the Oaks and finished 40th out of 198 players. I was disappointed with how things turned out, though I thought I played fairly well. I don’t have a lot of live tournament experience under my belt, and which I had a lot more. The problem is I don’t have a very large bankroll to fund these $150-1000 tournaments. I need a big win first in order to play more. First place was around $18,000 for this particular tournament. We all started with 4,000 in chips. I didn’t do much for the first several rounds, but then I woke up with AKs under the gun. The blinds were 40-80, so I raised it to 300. The button called and the flop was 9A9. I checked and he asked how much I had left. I had about 3000. He bet 600 and I called. The turn was the 7s. I checked and he checked. The river was what ended up being the case Ace. I bet 1000, he pushed all in and I called and we split. He had AJ. I was setting up a nice 1,000 bet on the river and he probably would have called.
I had AA once but everyone folded, then I became involved in a pot against the big blind. I was the small blind. I had A7s and limped in for 120 (blinds were 60-120). He raised to 300 and I called. The flop was AQx. I checked and he checked. The turn was a 7. I checked and he checked as well. The river was a 2 and I bet 800. He called and couldn’t believe I had two pair. He had AT. He was a very conservative player.
Soon after, we were reassigned to another table. I had about 6,000 in chips when I was dealt AK again. The guy to my right had been raising all in quite a lot and complaining that he needed to go home. He raised again, around 2000 and I pushed all in with my AK. He called and the flop was JT7. Turn was a Queen, and I now had 11-12K in chips.
Then I knocked out a woman to my left in a most ridiculous way. She had played only one hand, AA, and had about 5-6k in chips. The blinds were folded to me and her and I raised to 2500. He went all in and I thought for a minute. I had 83. I eventually called (they were suited and I was getting odds) but she had A8. ugh! Dominated. The flop was 863, followed by two meaningless diamonds and she left the table in a huff. I don’t blame her at all. It was pretty disgusting. Now I had 17k in chips and the blinds were escalating. I needed around 100k to bring to the final table. I had AQ on the button and raise to 2400. The small blind went all in and I called. He had AK to my AQ. I lost and was down to 1200 chips. I went all in again with the same hand (AQ) and won. I was back to 4500 chips and waited for a hand to push. Unfortunately, it was with 89 on the button, and the small blind guy who had AK now had AJ and knocked me out. I played from 11 to 3:15. The blinds go up very fast in the last half of the tournament, but I don’t think there was anything I could have done. I didn’t get great cards, but had AK three times and AQ twice. I had AA once but no callers. Disappointing but fun. You really need a whole lotta luck to last in these tournaments.

Lacking Enthusiasm

I was hoping to play in the FTOPS 1 tonight but I wasn’t able to win a seat. I spent $50 and $75 token to win a seat, but fell short. Totally card dead in the nl cash game and two ring games I played. Disappointing. Sometimes I haven’t a clue how to play Hold’em. By nature I’m a tight, patient, careful player who likes to trap. I occasionally pull off some bluffs, but its very rare. I usually don’t stick all my chips in unless I have something. But lately, especially online, I feel somewhat lost as to what to do. The AK hand that lost to K4 still stings. I’m just not sure how I get away from that hand given how things played out. After all, I did preflop raise. Maybe I check and bet small and keep the pot small. I don’t know. I tend to want to play big pots, but maybe there’s some value in keeping things small and getting opponents to think I’m weaker than I am. I just always seem to get screwed on the river though. I seems to happen more than it should, though I’m sure the stats are accurate and it happens exactly as much as it should. Still, I feel I’m not that lucky a poker player. Some players seem to walk on lucky water. I walk on fire and get burned to a crisp so much of the time.
I enjoy reading other poker blogs. The money the pros play for is so large compared to what I play with. I wonder if I’ll ever play for three- or four-digit bets. There’s something a little bit self-destructive about the life of professional poker players. They all seem a little crazy and irrational.
I’m having tremendous difficulty staying motivated. My motivation for writing has really dried up. I lack confidence and feel like such a failure. My scripts seem very average and not very interesting. I don’t know. I wonder what it will take to change that. I’m losing my belief in myself, and that can be such a crippling thing. Dr. Phil Z. warned me about these moods I can get in. It’s like a mild but debilitating depression that keeps me from staying motivated, even though I have so much to be excited about in life. I wish I could energize myself and stay happy.
What makes me happy? Vivaldi. Baroque music. Winning. Competition. Racquetball. Finishing To-Do lists. Being recognized for an accomplishment. Not feeling like a loser. In so many ways my life is set up for success. But for some reason, I stop myself from truly exploding with life. Perhaps if I can talk myself into getting motivated and excited about things, perhaps if I can keep the demons inside me at bay, I can break free from my own personal doldrums and lead the life I’ve imagined for myself all these years. I have self-knowledge. What I lack at the moment is discipline and motivation. There are two projects I want to complete in 2007: my apartment remodel and Don’s rewrite of “Prophet.” I want to accomplish these. Let’s get to it!

Doubles Racquetball Tournament

Spring Doubles Racquetball Tournament
12 teams vied for King of the Club One Racquetball Mountain Saturday: the two divisions of six consisted of me and Dorian, Mark and Scott, Kevin and Ernesto, Lefty John and Harold from Club Sport, Tiger and Steve, and Ernie and Clydell. The other division consisted of Bill and Kent, Sidney and Marc, Rocky and the Commish from Club Sport, Ron and Xavier, Rod and August, and Byron and Glenn.
I was not very confident going into the tournament. I’d taken a week off and my shots weren’t there. Dorian’s signature shot was also noticeably absent throughout the week. But we always seem to play on tournament day. After all, we had won the tournament last year and I was sick with the flu.
I arrived at 7:05 and warmed up until 8. Our first match was with Scott and Mark. We took and early lead and controlled the match from beginning to end. The final score was 15-4.
Our second match was with Ernie and Clydell. This is a good team; however, Ernie plays too far back sometimes and leaves the front left corner exposed. We had a 10-2 lead on them when they started a comeback. Suddenly we were tied at 10. Then 13. We pulled this one out, but just barely, defeating them 15-13.
Then came the big match for two cases of wine between Kevin and Ernesto. For some strange reason, Kevin bet Dorian a case of wine that they could beat us if Dorian played the left side. Charley bet Dorian that Kevin and Ernesto would score more that 5 points. We beat them 15-1. It wasn’t even close. It was a total blowout.
Then came our hardest match, against Harold and Lefty John. Harold has a funky serve with lots of spin, and Dorian was having trouble with it. We were down 8-1 when I called a time out and told Dorian to relax. I was worried we were going down right here.
We got the serve and then mounted a comeback. We tied the game at 8. Then took the lead. Harold was having trouble with my Z serve. We kept the ball away from Lefty John.
The game was tied at 13 when they scored two quick points off unforced errors. We should have taken this one, but at least we kept it close. All we needed was 11 points to secure a playoff birth in our next match.
The last team we faced in our division was Tiger and Steve. We’ve played them many times and usually do well against them. Our strategy was to test Tiger’s accuracy. He makes a lot of unforced errors when he gets tired.
We took control of the match throughout and won 15-9. We ended up being the first seed in our division. Tiger and Steve were the other team, beating Ernie and Clydell in a tiebreaker.
In the other division, Sidney and Mark won all their matches and Byron and Glenn came in second. It was a morning crew playoff, which I loved.
We played Byron and Glenn and beat them 15-6. Byron was tired. The game got off to a slow start with neither team playing very well. Lots of mistakes on both sides, but also lots of good rallies.
Tiger and Steve beat Sidney and Mark, so the finals were set and we were the favorites.
We took an early lead in the first game, ahead 8-2, but somehow managed to blow our lead and the game, losing 10-11. (The finals were best of three, all games to 11). I was furious that we lost that game. I was so pissed I slammed every lob and lob Z Tiger served. We won the second game 11-2.
By the third game, Tiger was noticeably tired, and my right leg was beginning to cramp. But I had energy left and so did Dorian. Dorian’s signature shot also came out of the wood work and he started putting shots away. He controlled the game against and easily won 11-4. The game winning shot was a high plum for Dorian. I said “there is it,” and Dorian buried it. Sweet!
We took home the trophy (my 10th) and now have bragging rights at the club until September.

Steve's Wedding

I was in Missouri from April 24 – April 30. I flew out to attend Steve and Amanda’s wedding, and visit my Jill, Chris and Alexandra for a few days. Jill and Chris are in Kansas City until 2009. Chris is completing a residency program in gastroenterology and working like a dog. His first year in Kansas City has been demanding and stressful. He puts in an untold number of hours each week while Jill stays home with the baby. Jill sometimes gets a little bored. It’s baby time 24/7. Alexandra is a very cute and well-behaved baby. She is so sweet and adorable. She warmed up to me the three days I stayed with Jill & Chris prior to driving to Columbia for Steve’s wedding. I flew into Kansas City Tuesday April 24, arriving at 7 p.m. Jill was there to pick me up. Alex was sick with an ear infection, so we met Chris and Alex at the pediatrician’s office and stayed about an hour or so. From there we got a pizza, went home and played some poker and watched TV. I stayed up fairly late. Played a few satellite games for WSOP entries. It’s now May and I have to hit the tourney circuit hard!
I’m in the midst of poker season now. Poker all the time, though I have some screenwriting duties to take care of as well. If I stay real busy I keep myself active.
Anyway, back to Kansas City. We had lunch the next day at the Ameristar Casino, at a bbq joint that served up some mean pork and beef barbecue. Very tasty. I played poker the rest of the afternoon while Chris played some table games. I ended up playing in a tournament and split 1st with 2 other people, winning around $300. Nice! My big hand was making a flush with Q7 against AJ on a AK4 two-diamond board. I doubled up to 10k in chips and never looked back, pushing blinds off their stacks and knocking the bubble guy off with AT against his 99 (I hit two As...nice!). I left in the afternoon and went to Harrah’s with Jill later that night, playing 3/6 at a very weak passive table. I ended up about even for the day at 3/6.
A funny story about the a freeroll online tournament...I’d played a few that morning and had one left when I hopped into the shower before lunch. Chris took over and doubled my chip stack to 20k. I joined him and we pushed all in several times, and kept on winning with 47, 75, etc. At the end of the day, we were in 2nd place, going heads up with some guy who had a chip advantage on us. We went all in on a draw and unfortunately lost, but it was so much fun to play crazy aggressive poker and do so well. I can see why these crazies win tournaments. They get lucky with crazy holdings and build such a big chip lead that everyone fears them. That’s how you win tournaments, when you’re perceived as being fearless and not caring whether or not you win or lose.
The next day (Thursday), Jill and I went to Crate & Barrel to pick up Steve’s wedding gift. We then checked in at Harrah’s where Kevin and I were staying for the night. Kevin and I played 3/6 until 4:00 a.m. I don’t know why I suck at limit hold’em but I do. I just can’t win that game. I don’t know what it is, but I always seem to lose. I rarely have a really good night. The players in Kansas City are very loose passive. They don’t like raising at all. The players at the Oaks are so much more aggressive than at the riverboat casinos in the midwest.
On Friday, Kevin and I drove to St. Louis to pick up Will, then drove back to Columbia. I stayed at the Courtyard in a room to myself, a good idea since the rooms were small and comfortable. I was very comfortable actually. I slept in most days and stayed up until 4.
Steve’s wedding was a huge success, one of the most enjoyable “gang” get togethers in memory. Everyone, of course, was there, Kathryn & Tom, Susan, Jeff & Laura, Ron & Jeni, Neal & Karin. Amanda looked so beautiful, like a model. Steve was beaming from ear to ear. The food was terrific. I had two pieces of wedding cake. I saw Suzanne and her family...I almost didn’t recognize Suzanne in her glasses. The wedding was at 5 and we partied until 12. Afterwards, we gathered at Ron & Jeni’s for a little Sit-n-Go, which I ended up winning. Jeni and I played heads up for about 30 minutes. It was an exciting match. I was behind, then ahead, then behind, then ahead again.

The Frustration of Dominated Hands

Poker was frustrating last night. I had AK three times and lost twice to hands that were dominated. Actually, I would have lost three times out of three had I not hit a king on the turn when John had A5 and hit a five on the flop. The past two outings at Craig’s I got knocked out of the tournament with AK to AQ and KQ. These bloody queens are killing me!
The lesson I’m trying to absorb is feeling good about getting the money in with the best of it. I have no control over what cards come out, so I really shouldn’t waste any energy getting upset over the fact that my dominating hands are losing. It’s hard though. A small part of me still wants justice in poker. Poker is not about justice though, certainly not in the short term. Poker is about pain and fate. It’s like life. It’s painful seeing a hand with way the best of it lose to a poor “call.” I notice many of Craig’s poker players will push or call with AQ and KQ. It’s a dangerous play because if you’re called you’re almost certainly behind.
I made one bad move last night and I knew it was but I was getting tired. I pushed all in with JJ and Chris quickly called with Aces. Chris is an easy player to play against post-flop. He likes to bet out small when his hand doesn’t hit. He bets big if his hand connects. I should have just called his preflop raise and see what he did on the flop and turn. I would have had my answer. Instead I just moved all in with 6,000 in chips to his 3000 in chips. He had the bounty and I was putting big pressure on him. I don’t know, maybe it wasn’t that bad a play.
I had good cards last night: AA, KK, JJ, AK three or four times, AQ twice. I didn’t get paid off with these hands though. I’m so tight it’s tough for me to get any action. Another frustrating night to chalk up to experience. I will be playing a lot of poker this weekend as I try and win an entry into the World Series of Poker. I will play satellites and see what happens. Wish me luck!

Prepping for WSOP

I’ve been watching all episodes of season 3 of High Stakes Poker. What have I learned? In general terms, I’ve learned how the best no limit cash game players deal with marginal situations. Usually, it’s the player who bets first who wins the pot. This happens all the time, but the best players disguise the fact that they’re doing this. They wait for ideal situations with which to make plays. Usually when it’s heads up, there can be some real fireworks going. Bluffs happen occasionally preflop, but most of the time on the turn. Not so much on the river. Most of the time players just check and fold when they feel they are beat. In fact, I can’t think of a situation in which a player moved all in on the river with the stone cold bluff. It simply does not happen that much. I plan to pay more attention to that.

When a good player moves all in, 90% of the time he/she has the stone cold nuts.
I can take advantage of the pros by appearing to know less than I know about poker. I can make simple rookie mistakes to camouflage how much I know about poker. Most players do not do this. They want everyone to know how good they are. I do this as well, but it doesn’t help my longterm profits. I should think about Mike Caro and the table image he likes to present. If I come across as knowing less than what I know, other players will be more willing to shoot for me. Then I can set them up and make them pay when I have a good hand that’s nicely disguised.

I’m ready to take my no limit skills to the next level. It’s a very difficult game that requires lots of patience and stamina. My class room is the Casino San Pablo, known for its loose action. I think there is a lot of money to be made there. If I can get over my fear of getting sucked out all the time I think I would stand a very good chance of making some serious money at San Pablo. The players are not that good. They are loose, take way too many chances and make horrible calls. That’s one thing I notice with the not-so-good players. They make bad calls.
What improvements do I need to make?

1. Think through the entire story of a hand. I sometimes get a little panicky, and don’t think clearly. I should work on this.
   
2. Study betting patterns from every player at the table. Do they bet out with made hands, do they check raise? Do they call a lot. How do they bet?
   
3. Continue to put pressure on players. No free cards, but also trap the tricky players.
   
4. Identify who the dangerous players are.
   
5. Set session goals that go beyond bank roll issues (i.e., focus, decision making, etc.)
   
6. Work on staying focused longer. Play in the poker zone.
   
7. Don’t let tilt affect your game. Stay positive. The Tao of Poker.
   
8. Keep track of the big winners and loose players. Watch out for them. Set traps for people to walk into.

Vegas, et al.

Steve’s Bachelor Party:
This month I flew to Vegas for Steve’s Bachelor party. What a time we had. Kevin, Jeff, Steve, Ron, Neal, Tom and I played poker, ate great food, watched basketball, and offered Steve advice throughout the weekend. I think everyone had a great time. Jeff and I got into it a little bit when we disagreed on a hand Tom had played. The week before, Jeff and I had a bit of an email exchange when Jeff sent a group email to people about “24,” characterizing the show as some neocon front for the war on terror. He sent the email without having watched one episode. That’s a hot button issue for me, criticizing a show you’ve never seen. I ended up responding with one of my over-the-top emails, a 24-page single space essay on why it was ridiculous to comment on a show you’ve never seen. Jeff and I always seem to engage in these battles. I’m the only person who seems to challenge him on his crazy opinions and dogmatic attitudes. Anyway, it’s fun sparring with him. In Vegas, I took 2nd in a tournament at Ceaser’s and won $2000. That was nice. My limit and no limit cash games were pretty disheartening. I seem to run badly so much of the time. I have no idea what it looks like to run well. Poker can be a very frustrating game.

My apartment remodel is going well. This past weekend I bought two nightstands and a bookcase at IKEA. If I continue to complete projects each weekend, I should be finished with the living room, dining room and bedroom by April or May. Home decorating takes a lot of for someone as visually challenged as I am.

Plowing through a long list of movies on Netflix.

Making the big push to finish Don’s rewrite. Also plan to send some scripts out to contests.

Chris and I have a new script in the works. I like this idea a lot. Could be very good.

More later...