TW,

Thank you for your kind welcome. I'm a little nervous writing to you because I've never conversed with an official Jackass before, so forgive me if I make no sense.

Now that I think of it, I must talk to a lot of jackasses because people constantly tell me I make no sense.

Since this is Bobby's journal, let's talk about him for a bit. I've known Bobby since 1994, and he's taught me a lot about the game. I'd read some books about poker and thought I had a decent handle on starting hands and post flop play, but after Bobby corrected my thinking I threw out the starting hand chart and started to play like him, calling everything without regard for position, calling two and three bets cold because as Bobby says, "If you call with 4-9 off you could flop quads and really take down a big pot".

This approach has revolutionized my play, though admittedly my variance is larger, and I've been experiencing a huge drawdown on my bankroll since 1999. My BR started at $6,000 and I was playing 10/20, but due to really bad luck it now hovers just above $300.

Bobby assures me that this is a normal swing, and that I should continue to play aggressively at my $.25/50 games. I really appreciate his support, and I'm certain...hold on, I'm playing and just got 8-3 UTG....RAISE!.......OK, I'll cap it.......Ah, no quads, had to fold......Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Bobby's support for me in my last few years of really bad luck.

So anyway, I wanted to share that with you because, well, the world needs to know just what kind of guy Bobby is. A true blue friend and the most solid player I know.

BTW I really like your journal, but I really don't understand all the poker references and the endless talk about your hands (which no one cares about ) is horribly boring, but your alcohol related stuff, now THAT"S good.

Best Regards,
annoyed

You're lucky to have a friend like bobby. Everybody needs someone who, in times of great distress and turmoil, they can take a good, hard look at and say, "Well, it could be worse. A lot worse."

-TW

TOURNEMENT TORTURE PT 2


I think Rhound said he hated tourneys....I may have to agree.....

NL small buy in--1200 entered (PStars)

with 410 people left, I have an average stack, and my stats look like this...

- 4 out of 5 times while in big blind (80%)
- 2 out of 6 times while in small blind (33%)
- 2 out of 42 times in other positions (4%)
- a total of 8 out of 53 (15%)
Pots won at showdown - 2 of 2 (100%)
Pots won without showdown - 1

with 158 people left, I am well below average, trying to find a hand...


- 7 out of 13 times while in big blind (53%)
- 4 out of 15 times while in small blind (26%)
- 4 out of 101 times in other positions (3%)
- a total of 15 out of 129 (11%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 3 (100%)
Pots won without showdown - 5

I finally bust out in 90th (getting my buy in back) with these stats...

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 168 hands and saw flop:
- 12 out of 18 times while in big blind (66%)
- 6 out of 20 times while in small blind (30%)
- 4 out of 130 times in other positions (3%)
- a total of 22 out of 168 (13%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 6 (66%)
Pots won without showdown - 10

Jesus......3 PERCENT IN OTHER POSITIONS???? 4 HANDS??? Granted, I did win a bit when I was the blinds, but that is just ridiculous!!!! I swear I am not THAT tight...Can we spell CARD DEAD??

OK rant over...My buddy was watchin' a friend of ours play a 10 buck buy in tourney at Party...He was giving me a blow by blow analysis, and I have NEVER heard of players that bad...loose-passive to the F'n extreme...minimum bets with the nuts etc..was painful just to hear about!! Of course I am tempted to go check it out, but I think I will take a few days off from torture---OOPS, I meant tourneys...

GL all

Be careful what you wish for-------------

LOL this is funny---After all my whininig about being card dead, the deck was hitting me pretty good (in a way) tonight....

KK---usual 3 or 4X BB raise...no action
KK---I limp UTG, 2 limpers...flop is all rags---I make a weak lead, no callers...
KK---raise-re raise etc etc---he is all in with JJ and spikes the J...
KK---I forget the action, but I get him all in---he has AQ and he rivers a straight...
QQ---I raise3 or 4x BB---get 4 callers!!! flop is AK ? I give up...
A5---(in the SB after 4 limpers) I complete...flop is A85---I BTP, get 1 caller...turn is a brick(9), i bet 2/3 the pot and he calls...HMMM set?? river is another 9, I check he checks with AJ and we split the pot....

I did win some hands also LOL....

Crazy thing is, I end up down just over a half a stack, as these dopes never re load...If they all had full stacks it would have been a VERY messy night...All this happened in less than 90 minutes...There is more of course, but........
I was playing well is the bottom line, and I was thinking any one of the BTP'ers could be watching every hand, and I believe nobody would have been able to say much, other than OUCH!!

Off to Omaha land....

on that A5 hand, wouldn't you have lost the pot at his Jack kicker would play on a A8599 board?

Tough breaks though.

It figures that Bri would have caught the above mistake!! Glad to see you are paying attention Bri...I KNOW we split the pot, so I guess there was a K or Q on the board rather than the 8...

This will more than likely be a break even month for me, as my adventures into LIMIT ended up with a resounding thud!! Thank god for the bonuses, as they kept my head above water (just barely)...

As I mentioned, I am getting more focused on NL lately, and of course that has been met by a rash of dead cards, and then a night or 2 of good cards getting shoved up where the sun don't shine...Overall, I feel I have been playing pretty damn well and just running into a brick wall from time to time...As we say, that's what a bankroll is for!! The beats are irritating, but I have handled them pretty well and I know for a fact they have not impacted my play at all. It is always interesting to read other posts regarding the "TILT" factor, but I must say I am 99.9% immune to such a disease. Even when I was playing many years ago, it was never a problem, and as I have gotten older, the chances of tilting away any money seems remote. I have been drunk and pissed away a few bucks in the past---does that count?? I guess we all have a demon or two!!

I plan on getting even more focused on poker in the coming months, and I am really looking forward to it. This forum rocks big time, and now that my buddy "annoyed" is on board (also know as Mr. 9-4 off suit), we are talkin' poker everyday, and discussing various poker topics...

I plan on spending the first week or so of each month chasing as many bonuses as possible (LIMIT), and then concentrating on NL, with a few tournements and SNG's interspersed to break up the routine...oh yeah, a little 08 (PL or LIMIT) thrown in there somewhere as well...(BTW, 08 is a GREAT way to clear bonuses at some Crypto sites, as they pay you strictly on hours played, as opposed to raked hands...It works great for me)....I also want to get a little more creative as to getting more bonuses, since I have quite a bit more time for poker these days.

My recent results have been mixed, as the last 10 to 14 days have been filled with being card dead, and a bad case of riveritis. I will only review one...4 limpers to me, I raise about 6 or 7BBs with QQ and get one caller...I flop a set...He had 10-9 off and hit runner runner!! LOL you gotta love it!!

Last night, things turned around nicely, as I pick up a stack and a half at UB ($25 NL), and moved on to the SNG's...(PStars)

Played 4
ITM in 3 (75%)
1st place twice
2nd place once
and a 5th...
The only downside is I played till 2 AM, and I have to be in the office around 6:30, so I was draggin' my as this morning!!

Thanks to KennyG for the encouagement, but I am going to stick with the 10s, at least till I get 200 total and take a look at the ITM and ROI numbers...Needless to say, I am happy about them so far, but I NEVER wanna go broke again, so I am very BR careful...I have plenty of BR to move up (according to the "book", but I am wanting at least double that at each phase)...

So the plan is----
1/2 LIMIT and 1/2 08 LIMIT for bonuses (7 to 10 days)
after that---
$25 NL 75% of the time
SNG's and tourneys to break up the drudgery...

Also---I tried to purge my PT database ( I was tired of seeing what a muppet I was for the first 8000 hands!) and messed it all up, so I have to contact PT and re install, but I am looking forward to seeing the "new" numbers after the next 15K hands...I still can't believe I was winning anything playing so poorly!!

GL all, and thanks for reading

I am here to catch all mistakes. I take my job of reading and teaching everyone the proper way to do everything seriously. Wait....I don't get paid???? Fuck this!

Don't worry, you'll pull through the tough times. Just work on the bonuses as they will help you get past the rough times.

OK---July basically sucked!!! I picked up my bonuses, and lost my ass (in LIMIT), so the whole month was a big suck job...NL was about break even, and my SNG's give me a little profit, so I end up down about 150-or 200 bucks for the month....I guess that is why you need a BR!!!

August is already a bit better, as I have cleared the bonus at Pokerplex, Littlewoods and halfway done with TotalBet showing a small profit (at LIMIT)---Part of the 'problem" may be--- getting used to playing so much tighter than I ever have...I have always played more hands than most, and done "OK", but this 11-14 VIP takes a little getting used to!!

Last night was the first night in 3 weeks I had any fun (or luck) playing poker...I played a MTT and barely got halfway thru...I placed 2nd in a SNG...I picked up 50 bucks in a 1/2 limit O8 game, and destroyed a 50$ NL game for 3 1/2 stacks...EZ game when you get some cards!!

The BR WILL grow this month!!!!

I have NO hand histories cuz Bri will just pick em apart anyway LOL (j/k Bri)

EDIT
The reason for the edit---I was reading the post about Ice LOL---He lost 110 bucks today in the 1000 NL!!! What a f***** joke----I can lose more than that in a 1/2 limit game!! GO ICE!!!

I jst wrote a big long post about BTP and how it's getting better blah blah. I also mentioned how it looks like you're right on track.

Suffice to say I accidently shut off the computer and you get this crappy msg instead.

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."
"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die."

Too funny! I love that movie. Thanks for the memory refresher.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!

Many years ago, I was fortunate enough to play with some of the big names in poker, but last night was truly a dream come true...
I had played for about 12 hours, and was pretty tired, but I was rummaging around a bit, and who do I find?? Our own legend of poker, Mr. TIGHTWAD himself!! I was honored to find him at the 1/2 game, so I immediately signed up for a seat (Needless to say, and rightfully so, the waiting list was quite long). While I was waiting, I was observing his play closely---wow, what a poker lesson that was. He had the table reeling from his imaginative and somewhat unorthodox playing style. Truly a wonder to behold were his starting hand requirements, most of which even Gus Hansen might have thrown away. I finally got a seat at the game, and of course TW welcomed me warmly---It's so cool when a well-known pro like this is so friendly. I know he was probably setting me up for later, but to sit at the same table as the master---well hell, it had to be worth it, right?? I didn't get to play too many hands for quite awhile, as the maestro worked his magic...The unrelenting aggression was awesome---With a VP$P of 95%, and a PFR of the same, he was definitely in charge...One of the other players was not so impressed, and called our hero " a ****in ***hole suck out artist"...TW calmly explained that even though you have an 80% probability of winning, his suck out power was unmatched. Our anatgonist was not amused, but hey, that's the payment for sitting with greatness. I will never forget the re raise cap with 7-3 off (or was it 7-2?)...Truly a wonderstroke in the annals of poker...I don't think he won that hand but who cares?? It's how you look going down in flames that really count!!

I was a little apprehensive, but I got up the courage and asked TW if he would consider giving lessons...He says "Sure no problem, just raise and re raise every hand kid, and you will be fine!" Wow such powerful words from the MAN himself. Sadly, the night was wearing on, and TW was having a hard time capping every hand, keeping the chat box full, and holding a glass of Gin in his other hand...When his 2 outers missed a few times in a row, it was time to say good night...Truly a poker night for the ages, and one I will not soon forget.

Kuso,

I sometimes talk a more tight game that I actually play because I believe for most folks a much tighter game than they are normally used to is probably beneficial. At times I can be quite loose but these times coincide when I have a very good read on certain opponents and in certain situations. Ex. I have stated elsewhere my feelings on calling raises with AJo, KQs etc. but in this case I three bet A10o because I have a very good read on my opponent and how he plays. This is just one instance of many which crop up during a usual day where you can play outside the box. I will call suited connectors as well in late position with a few limpers or from the small blind.

I don't play many of these hands in EP just because you can never know what kind of action or lack thereof you will get behind you. The last thing you want to happen is someone raises and now you are facing a call HU with 89s out of position. This sometimes changes in a live game where you can see the folks behind you with cards in hand just ready to toss them in the muck, now from MP you can raise with impunity with any two cards knowing you will get the button and perhaps steal the blinds without a confrontation.

Party Poker (9 handed)

Preflop: Hero is SB with , .
7 folds.

Flop: , , (2 players)
.

Turn: (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.

Missed the CR.

River: (2 players)
.

Final Pot:

Results in white below:
Hero has Ts Ad (three of a kind, aces).
MP2 has Js Qh (one pair, aces).
Outcome: