My Poker Mantra and Thats Just Wrong Wednesday

Wippy has asked me to share my poker mantra. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so take a look at these thoughts and images and maybe add them to your poker repertoire.

Bluffing
Bluffing is a part of poker but it has to blend in, when you bluff make sure your bluff fits in with the way the hand has played out.


Patience and Enthusiasm

Patience is huge in Poker no one has ever won a MTT on the 1st hand of tourney. Lets face it poker is 95% boredom and 5% excitement. So do get so to excited when you are #1 at the end of the first hand, break, ect... There is a fine line between Confidence and Cockiness.

Be Prepared
Be in the right frame of mind to play, poker is mental and therefore you need to have an edge. Think back to your last poker score and try to recall your mindset. Odds are you were focused and ready to play.

Innovation

Don't be predictable. A good poker player can change gears, a great poker player can change their game.

Risk vs Reward

Poker is all about calculated risks. Always have a reason for taking a risk and make sure you will be rewarded for it.

Consistency

One thing is for certain change is inevitable. The most consistent poker players are the ones who change.

With my mantra out of the way lets have our weekly look at the pictorials of the weird, wacky and just plain wrong.


Speaking of Lesbians

Speaking of Kids and Pets

Speaking of Boobies and a Man's Brain

Dont forget about the M00K tonight.

MATH Recap!!

I played decent poker in the MATH but just couldn't get anything going, my raises were re-raised and re-raises were pushed. Just a ho hum type of tourney. No real big hands to speak of, I busted out when my AQ in the BB lost a race to the SB's pocket 10s. With a M of less than 8 there was no way I wasn't going to go all the way with that hand. Oh well that is POKAH!

The only bright spot is I managed to gain a little ground on IGGY and BAYNE in the BBT since I was able to outlast them both.

Three and Done!

I missed the first 15 minutes of the M00k last night due to business dinner, to bad I didn't have dessert. The first had I saw was the all in fest between IronGirl's KK, BoneDaddy's AA, and someone else I cant remember high pocket pair, and just like that I had Bone Daddy's monster stack on my immediate right. The next hand I was in the SB with Ax sooted. It is folded to me and I just call to see what the angry dwarf will do in the BB. Flop all blanks and none of my suite, check, check. Turn is another rag and I check fold. So I have played my first hand but have lost 20% of my stack due to being blinded out, no big deal. Third I see, it is folded to BoneDaddy who makes a rather big raise up to 140 (I think), I look to down to AhKh and I re-raise him to 450 leaving me 650 or so. BoneDaddy then tanks and then pushes, I put him on mid pair or weaker Ace, I call and he caught Aces for the 2nd time in 3 hands. NI Hand Sir. I should have just gone to bed because I was in a bad mood and that is good recipe for tilt. And tilt I did, I promptly signed up and bubbled 5 SNGs in row. Each one of these were at an increased buyin. Talk about a Donkey Barf, that is exactly what I did.

So what to do now. I am going to take a few days off from the virtual felt. I cant remember the last time I went 2 or even 3 days without getting my poker fix. I more than likely will not make the IronMan this month but I don't care. I am going to read two new books that I ordered last week, Phil Gordon's "Little Green Book" and the The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition also going to spend some time studying my poker tracker stats. The main thing I want to do is plug some serious leaks, preflop and post flop. I believe the next time I will play with be in the MATH on Monday. So until then have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.

OMG!!! and That is Just Wrong Wednesday

First of all head of to king of luck blog and congratulate him on a sick run this week. Who else can turn his last two $26 tokens into $12K Main Event Seat, $5K Donkey Fest MTT Win and $1.5K 5th place. Congrats Chad! I think I speak for the rest of us that are non-enchanted by saying we hate you. : )

Here is a question for you who is the bigger donkey in the following hand. Let me give you a little background. 4 handed Fulltilt $75 satellite to the Thursday $1k ME, only the winner gets the seat. I had double up through the donkey about 20 hands early when my JJ flopped a set and turned the boat against his trip aces, so I have a decent image at the table. The donkey limps the SB fold and I mm in the BB and am dealt the "The Hammer", what do you do? You play em like Aces! So promptly pop it to $420, tardboy smooth calls.

The flop JsKcJd and I lead out with a pot sized bet that is over half his stack and he thinks, and calls. The Turn is Ac and I bet the exact amount to set him in and he insta calls and proudly flips .....................

A effn 10c5c ohh but they were sooted. He called off 1/2 stack on the flop with a 10 high. And then won the effn pot with a 10 high. After the pot he berated me for pushing with the hammer claimed he a soooo many outs that he had to call, yada yada. So I ask you who is the bigger donkey me or him. Oh by the way he won the seat.

Much like how the donkey above played his hand I will aimlessly and without any rhyme our reason post this weeks pictorial of the wild, weird and wrong. Enjoy!

Dont forget about the M00K tonight, I will be there and will hopefully pass the angry little blogger in the BBT standings.

MATH Recap 5-22-07

MATH recap not much to say except I am a HEE HAW! I didnt get many hands the first hour, chipped up nicely during the second hour with some speculative hands that hit the flop hard and allowed me to climb into the top ten with 3 tables left. Then for some reason I decided I needed to play K9 sooted in the BB to TripJax raise on the button. We both started the hand with about $7500. I knew he wasn't strong on all rag flop so I fired the pot (about $750) and he called, the turn was a Q and fired the 3/4 pot($1800) and he waited and waited and called again. Now I figured the Q had helped him and I most likely put on AQ-KQ but if another rag hit the River I was going to fire the third bullet. The river was a J and I knew a jam would be easier for him to call than a 1/2 pot bet that screamed set value bet. So I fired about $2900 into $5600 pot leaving him fold equity him but showing him that I was committed and begging for a Jam from him as I have now pot committed myself. We he made a good call and i was down to about $2700 in chips and lasted a few more orbits.

Looking back on the play I don't really regret it, I wasn't catching many cards and I believe that I played this hand the best I could other than not playing it at all. TripJax made some really tough calls and was rewarded for his reads. I succeeded because I gave myself the best chance to win the pot with cards and situation I was in. Next time it maybe a set that I play the exact same way.

I was able to gain one spot (2nd) on the BBT Leaderboard since Bayne nor Iggy were able to garner any points. (This fact also lead to my decision to play a little looser and go for the win) Next stop of the BBT is the M00K on Wednesday at FullTilt (Bonus Code OSU)

Final note if any of you drive a vehicle like mine you can appreciate this picture.

3rd Sucks, But 2555th Blows!!!!!!

Before I go any further head over to Hoy's and Cmitch's and NewinNov give them three a shout out for their 101st, 215th and 318th placement in the FTOPs ME. Some nice chaa ching going on over there, Hoy would probably still be playing if some tard didn't call his ALL IN re raise with a QJ, jeez, and Cmitch did a daily double with a nice cash in the Stars Million. Way to go guys. As for yours truly, I am overrated, overrated!!!! I chipped up pretty nicely with KK with in the first 30 minutes and was in the top 100 when I pulled a classic HEE HAW move and couldn't get away from AK on A6x flop when it was obvious the guy had flopped a set and that knocked me down to about 1.5K in chips. I hung around for almost 2 hours, clawed scratch and even got back to an above average stack when I violated cardinal sin numero uno, Never take things personal at the table! I had a tard that just was popping my blind every time and I finally said enough with pocket 10s. Now I could have made the same statement with a normal raise but NO not me I must make a statement, and that statement is I SUPER Donk will gladly risk my tournament with pocket 10s, OH by the way your pocket aces are a nice hand sir.

Please head my warning poker is not personal, the cards could care less if a tard is pushing ATC, when you make mistakes you will be sent to rail more times than not. That is the beauty of poker.

Now on to the Big Game hosted by Miami Don. I was not in the right frame of mind to be playing, In fact I was in FBT (full blown tilt) and it showed. However there are some key hands we can look at and hopefully learn from my mistakes.

The first key hand was against Cmitch . I was UTG and make a standard raise with QdQc and get called by Cmitch on the button. Flop J57 rainbow and I lead a 1/2 pot sized bet and get smooth called, at this point I am still liking my hand and put him on J, 98 or Ace big. Turn is 6d, which completes a straight for the 98 and puts 2 diamonds on the board. I fire another 1/2 pot sized bet and again get smooth called, at this point I am only about 50/50 on the hand. The river is an absolute ugly card for my hand, the Ad. I check with the intention of jettisoning the hand if the bet was to big but was pleased to rake the pot when my Ladies held up against his J10

Next key hand was the very next hand. I am in the BB with AQ ScottMc makes a 3x raise and RecessRampage calls on the button, flop comes 9c4sAs, and I check with intention of check raising, ScottMc obliges but RecessRampage smooth calls. Now this should have set off alarm bells, but I am in full blown tilt mode so It didnt and I pop the hell out of the Blonkeys too the tune of $2200, Doh! nice hand RecessRampage , should have known better.



So guess which donkey is dead last with about 41 or the original 49 runners still left. Hee Haw!!

I don't know what it was about that loss, but for some reason I jarred me from my tilt induce hazed and I played LDP (lock down poker). I was card dead but was able to win a few scraps but for the next 80 hands I didn't get above 1400 chips. On hand #105 I was in the BB (80/160) with AdQh and it is folded to IronGirl who makes a 3x raise for me this was a no brainer push and I guess IronGirl felt pot committed and make the call Qd10h.

Somehow I manged to avoid the suckout and voila I am up to 2860, only 140 less than I started with.

A few hands later I lost 1/4 of my stack on a button steal attempt with a Q10 soooted, I had to abandon this hand when the Ace hit the flop and and the SB fired. Back down to 1800 and in the cellar again.

About 10 hands later I raise 3x with pocket 88s and pushed the flop when only one over card hit. Chip count now 3120. Then 11 hands later I got my first and only pair of AA in SB, ScottMc made a push with the Hiltons for all of his 2400 chips and I was more than happy to call and excited when they held.

From this hand to the final table it was ABC poker, I did get cute Iggy on one hand but dammit I was tired of the little dwarf min raising my blind. Oh chit see rule numero uno above. When we got to the final table I was real close if not dead last in chips, but to be honest there were 3 monster stack and about 6 small stacks. Now believe it or not I had not suckout one time the whole tourney until this hand#247. 6 Handed I am UTG (800/1600/200) with 9.6K in chips I looked down at KQ off and push, Chad makes an isolation AllIn push and I immediately type "I need a suckout" as soon as the cards are flipped and I was obliged with Q on the flop and the unnecessary K on the river.


A few hands later I get most of Chad's chips with my JJ

GoatBoy took a horrendous suckout (go read about it) to get us down to three handed. On the very first hand of three handed my to counterparts got it all in and the short stack (and eventual winner) caught runner runner flush to win the hand and pull even.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, Oh well. We played 3 handed of monkey push poker for almost 30 hands, with me actually taking the chip lead at one point but on hand 315 I found A8 and called and All In push from twoblackaces with pocket 5s and the race was not mine to win and out in 3rd again. Dam one of these days I will win a freakin race when it gets to three handed.

Don't forget about MATH tonight I will be looking to inch up one more spot or two on the BBT LeaderBoard . See ya Then.

A Chip and A Chair!

We have all heard that saying before. Some of you may have even heard the comeback story of "Treetop" Jack Strauss winning the 1982 WSOP with one single $500 chip. Last night was the first time I can say I lived the saying in a MTT format.

I played in a couple different MTTs last night, one of them was the M00K where I was trying to improve my 3rd place standing on the BBT Leaderboard but that was not meant to be. (Rant coming please read on!) The other was the pocketfives.com 10 seat added FTOPs Main Event qualifier. There were 492 runners for this $26 MTT and the top 32 got a seat. Not a bad deal with almost $5K in added money.

I would have to rate my play for this Tourney as B- , I made some questionable pushes (Gambles) early on and I just wasn't in the best mind set to play. Lets take a look at a few Key hands. The first hour not much of note, I was able to chip up nicely with out ever risking many chips. I had some big hands that hit the flop hard so I was well in the top 100 at the first break.

My first big hand came at hand number #98 towards the end of hour number one. The hand played out like this. Now before the hand started I had almost $5k and Mr. Tard had about $4.7k we are both well above the average stack size of $3.5K and are 2 of the bigger stacks at our table. I am in the BB (80/160) with AdQd and MP Tard had been stealin and pushin me around all night. On more than one occasion I had seen him push Ax and small pocket pairs, so when he re-raised to 480 I didn't give him any credit whatsoever, and promptly Re-pop him to 1.6K. Without any hesitation he goes All In, so now there is $6.8K in the pot and it only cost me $3k, I put him on a 77-JJ and rationalize that I am taking a coinflip but definitely getting more than 2 to 1 on money, so I call and CHIT! He flips up QQ, nothing like getting you money in as 3:1 dog, Oh well NI HAND SIR, but wait .....




nothing like your opponent drawing dead after flop and boooyahhh I am numero uno in the tourney with less than 1/2 field remaining

This would be my high water mark for a long long time. From this point I tried to play big stack poker but was met with All In re-raises and or flops that didn't connect. I think I fluctuated to as low $3K at one point to back up to $7K when this hand reared it ugly head. I am in SB With Ah8d blinds are 600/300 75 ante, it is folded to me and I decide to push and make the BB come up with a monster since I had him covered. Well I guess 88 was goot enough to call all of your chips off with.

Just like that I am dead, I have a whopping 710 chips with about 65 people left and only 32 people getting the seats. GG me looks like I donked my way out this tourney, but wait the next hand I get Kd2h and call my last 635 chips to an all in push from UTG. Cards are flipped and I am only 26% to win vs his pocket 10s and somehow I survive with a miraculous suckout to make trip Kings.

Now I have 2861 chips but I am still setting dead last. I waited 5 more hands and found As7h, by now the blinds had gone up to 800/400/100. I got some protection from the cutoff wow pushed allin. Cards are flipped and once again I am 26% to win facing yet another pair of 10s. This time I only made a pair of Aces on the flop.

Now I have a whopping 7,122 chip but this is still about $5K less than the average stack. Two hand later I am in the BB with A3 and I make an all in Reraise to a weak steal attempt by the Button who folded immediately. Booyah I am now at a new high water mark for the tourney at over $10K, 2 hands later my pocket AA pickup the blinds again and now I am at the average chip mark. Maybe just maybe I can squeak back into this thing, but it wouldn't be easy because on hand 194 I am dealt the death hand. Yes many a times has the old dreaded AK been my nemesis, why is this such an attractive hand, why and why do I always seem to get it in the BB when someone else pushes? And why does it loose when the guy who pushed with AQ and catch a Biatch on the flop, why......................................... NI Hand Sir

Oh well I am the cellar dweller again with a mere $3.6k in chip and 25% of those are going in the SB on the very next hand which the powerful 92 off. Somehow I found the resolve to fold for 4 more hands and decided to make my stand in MP with the mighty J7 off and instantly met with a push from the cutoff. Needless to say I am ecstatic when he flips 44 and am slack jawed when I flopped the nut straight. The odds have to 200 to 1 to do this.

7,864 chips and about 10 to go before the bubble breaks. I am still in push monkey mode, but I wait, I fold the next 7 hands including both my blinds to a series of All Ins, but on the button I find 66 push and pickup the now huge blinds of 1000/500/100. Over the next 12 hands I pushed and stole 4 blinds and got myself up to $12K.

From hands 207 to 240 I played hide and push. I would hide from the big stacks and pushed when they folded. Amazingly enough I was able to take 7 of 33 pots uncontested and was now sitting above the average stack with $18.5K. We were at 4 tables and about 4 or 5 away from the bubble and the bigstacks just started an all in fest that lasted until the bubble broke. I didn't play a hand and fold QQ, AK, AQ to all in pushes from the monster stacks. There were 4 or 5 micro stacks on 3 different tables that would be all in on the next blinds. Surprisingly the all survived including one of the most blatant forms of collusion I have ever witnessed when the SB folded to the BB who was allin when it would only cost them $300 to call. $ or 5 hands later I the SB is all in and 3 people call as do I with KK, granted this was an extremely risky move since it left me with just $1.5K in chips but I was determined to do my part in this all out gang up on the SB.

and thank god I did because the SB would have won with his J8.

So there you go my chip and the chair story.

I almost did it in the Mook after my AQ was busted by the eventual winner's lame azz UTG steal attempt with K7 off.

Brutal just brutal this left me with about 200 chips which I parlayed up to $3k but was just went down to this flush over flush.

Oh well, dont forget about these upcoming BBT events

Tournament: Riverchasers Online Tour #10

When: Thursday, May 17th, 21:00pm ET

Game: NLHEBuyin: $10+1

Password: riverchasers

Tournament: Blogger Big Game

When: Sunday, May 20th, 21:30pm ET

Game: NLHEBuyin: $69+6 or token

password: donkey