havent played any live poker lately.  doubt ill play much bar poker.  been checking out pokertube.com.  played some online.  qualified in spadeclubs $3000 freeroll.  we'll see how that goes this sunday.  did really well in that tourney.

So no live poker tonight.  Going to focus more on onine poker.  downloaded poker academy pro and some other tracking software.  pretty cool stuff but a lot of fluff too.  im going to be playing bodog.com's freerolls.  my first one started 4 hours ago.  i didnt take it too seriously.  there are 2 a day i guess so my blog will now prob record details from those.

uuuggghhhh i drank this weekend and ya thats never worth it, but had some fun.  still after a dealer job.  will check out the casino cruise ships tomorrow.

50 players at both tourneys.  first tournament was one of those where you catch absolutely nothing for an hour, and the table is full of limpers, so theres no spots to shove in a raise or even an all in with a bluff without getting called.  only made it through half the field.

the second tourney was better, but not by much.  mid way through i had ace nine off on the cutoff and limped with one other limper.  everyone else limped.  flop had an ace on it with no draw.  first postion bets the pot.  i call, not sure how good his ace is, or if he flopped 2 pair.   everyone else folds.  i dont put him on two pair because the flop was like A 10 4, and i dont think hes one of the players that wouldve played with 10 4 (many will).  if he has A4, ill find out soon enough.  the turn was a 3, and he bets about half the pot.  i think about whether i want to continue with the hand or not for a while.  in bar poker, many people will limp with even ace king, and ive never seen him before, so he might just be one of those old lady types.  so im seriously considering that i may be beat and that i might be faced with an all in after the river.  i decide to call.  im trying to justify it by reminding myself that if he did have an ace, the chances of an ace coming on the board are 8.5 to 1. 

the river is a Q.  no flush possible.  sure enough he goes all in after the river, almost a pot size bet, and if i call, then about 2/3 of my original stack will be in there.  i think about it for a while and im really on the fence.  i think hes got me, but its so close that i think theres about a 40% chance ive got him, plus, his all in bet is a bet that wants me to go away, not get called.  if he had bet less, i might have paid it, but been more sure i was beat.  anyway, i say, i think ive got you, and slam the call into the middle.  and he flips over like king 4, for a pair of 4s and i bust him.  pretty stupid bluff with an ace on the flop.  bar poker players cant fold a pair of aces after the flop to save their lives.  (i NEVER try to bluff with an ace on the flop because i know somebody's got one and theyre not going to lay it down.  if i flop a set or two pair with an ace on board i go all in because i KNOW im going to get called.  plus it really helps my table image among donkeys to go all in and show a strong hand.)  he may have thought i was a good enough player to fold that because i WAS showing hesitancy, and weakness by checking and not raising, and unfortunately for me, there were a few players at the table that were asking me about some tourney wins earlier this week, or times when i busted them individually.  i shrugged it off and tried to dismiss it as luck, but the table clearly got the message that i regularly win these things, and usually make the final table.  i didnt like that of course.  this happens eventually wherever you play and then you become a target and a bluffer in their eyes damnit.  but anyway...  another hand to note was...

im on the button and its folded around to me.  i look down at AJ suited.  the blinds are 25/50.  I have about 2800 and raise to 400.  this sounds like a crazy overbet, but this is bar poker so believe me its not.  when i get hands like these, i want to be able to put someone else on a hand, and a bet like this gets out garbage hands usually, unless its a superstitious fool with a chipstack.  anyway, im on the button so trust me its the right play.  both blinds call me, which is pretty rare.  anyway, the flop comes 10 4 2 rainbow, which is perfect for me.  its gunna go check check, ill bet another 400 because i want them to think that i think i want them to call because ive got an overpair, and they called the previous 400, so why not this one?  plus i only have to bet a third of the pot to get the info i need, which is enough to get them to fold ace king, and too much for them to call with a weak pair.  it goes check check and i bet 400.  fold, then an all in for another 650.  shit.  now what?  this check raiser is a black guy that most people would find intimidating because of his look and size.  hes a cool guy, weve run into eachother a couple times before, so i like him, but hes prideful, and a bit of a gambler, so hes not a rock or a TAG.  He unwhittingly makes a move that really made me want to call.  i was talking some out loud to get some reaction and he goes, "you call?" and had his stack in his hand just ready to cross that line and put it in, even though he already had said all in.  it was so obviously a tell of weakness...  i knew for a fact he didnt have a strong hand because he knows im a winning player, which would make the bluff sweeter, plus hes not smart enough to know i know tells and to send a fake one, pretending like he doesnt know what they are.  so i KNOW hes weak.  the question is, how weak, cuz so am i right now.  after a minute i call.  he turns over 8 2 offsuit.  see what i mean about 400 not being an overbet?  so the turn and river are blanks and i double him up.  there was 2650 in the pot and it cost 650 to call, so i was definitely calling even if i put him on a ten, but jesus ya know?  i gotta watch out for these prideful gambler types in the future pullin this crap and outflopping me.  and i gotta bet into them with my strong hands...

i grinded it out to the last 2 tables, and the TD is skipping blind levels and shortening them because he doesnt know how to start on time, and will allow a tournament to go over 45 minutes, so its really becoming a luck fest.  im pushing all in with QJ, or K10 or better.  i push all in with AK early and a shorter stack calls me with KQ.  he wins by hitting a queen.  i go from 4500 to 2700.  i shouldve been up to 7300.  couple hands later i push all in with AQ.  i get called by A5.  board pairs twice and we split.  that shouldve doubled me up to over 5000.  couple hands later i go all in with QJ suited.  get called by the biggest, most superstitious donkey in the tournament who is on the roll of his life and had a massive chip lead before i even showed up at this table.  he usually goes out quick or gets some chips.  ive busted him many times.  hes such a fish.  anyway, he calls me with 6 7 offsuit and wins.  the board came 6 6 J Q 2 so thats how i went out in 10th.

this bar is my fav, and all the people i like go there, but damn the tournament director sucks big time.  no TD skills at all.  he cuts the tourneys short so he can go home early, he cant resolve a conflict to save his life, and yesterday, (he deals the final table, at least hes supposed to) someone on the final table called him a "fucking dumbass" and left.  turns out this player was angry about people standing behind him while he played, so he chose to be a jerk about it, but still, it all couldve been resolved easily... anyway...  im getting so sick of this league that im probably going to switch.  i hardly ever drink when i play poker, and the drunks are just so many and miserable to play with...

on another note, i just moved in with Katie (never done that before) yesterday and today is the superbowl.

So real quick... last night first tourney...  one of those moments where you get called down after betting big to the river by a drunk/newbie with an ace and a gutshot and he hits the 3 on the river.  it happens sometimes... 

after he hit it, he was first to act and bet 25... again... which was literally less than 1% of the pot at that time.  i was raising these puny bets the whole way... it was one of those hands that only happens in free bar poker...

2nd tourney had 25 and i took 7th.  interesting hand i busted on, im trying to see if i couldve played it better...

im in BB with 4000 after paying blind.  blinds are 200/400.  First player is drunk-newb and goes all in for 2400.  folds around to a middle position conservative/newbie player who has 3500 total.  he calls the 2400.  next is Juan, who is a lucky chip leader in a "willing to gamble for all of it" mood with about 10,000.  he calls the 2400.  This is a lot of action for the final table.  it folds around to me and i look down at big slick off.  im putting one of these players on a pair, one with a weaker ace, and Juan could have two middle cards up to K Qs (because he has a lot of chips and has been winning with "favorite hands").  I dont have enough money to get either of the two remaining players off the hand.  theyre commited.  my m is just under 7 and blinds go up every 15 minutes.  My problem is, that if other players hold an ace or a king, my outs are weak against a pair.  i have everyone covered except Juan.  I thought about this hand a lot and i dont see any justification for laying it down here.  My only debate is whether to just call for half my stack and see a flop before going all in no matter what, because everyone would call preflop anyway, but may not after a flop.  remember im at free bar poker here.  no one understands odds of any kind and hardly ever bluffs or stays in a hand without at least a pair or a draw after the flop.  i think i shouldve just called, and hopefully it wouldve been checked around to me, and then i go all in no matter what comes up to give the other 2 a chance to screw up and get out.  Juan isnt going anywhere unless an ace hits the flop without a draw of any kind to him.  i think that wouldve been the best play at this free bar poker scene.

i actually went all in for another 2000.  2nd player calls his last 11 and juan calls the 2.  first player has ace ten.  im still going to make money if i lose to him, but beat the other 2.  2nd player has ace jack.  juan has 7 9 of clubs.  a 7 hits the flop and a 10 hits the turn, the river is a blank so i lose to juans pair of 7s.  if juan never plays i only have 2200 anyway.

that particular club is infamous for crazy play and lots of drunks.  its not uncommon to have a 25 man tourney over in under an hour and 20 minutes.  no crazy high blind structure either.  hell on the first hand at my table 5 players went all in.  one player had kings, the rest were garbage.  an ace 10 won.  i really do not enjoy this type of game, so last night was it for me.  there are better places i hear anyway.

     So after having written my first blog entry ever last night, I felt motivated to play as strong as I can because I’m going to be documenting it I guess… hey, whatever works right?

     I played pretty much flawlessly the first tournament (25 players).  I doubled up on the second hand with broadway, so that always helps get things rolling.  I made a pretty sick call with A Qs after a rag flop.  The other guy had A 9 and I busted him for a lot.  I made some good value bets, and laid some nice traps… think I maxed my value on my big hands.  Anyway, it was the first bounty tourney I had ever played.  When you bust a player, you get a special chip worth points.  By the end of the night, I had busted 8 people.

     There’s one play I want to mention here…  Final table, Im the chip leader, and I decide to take on the next biggest stack (mistake number one)  Im in the BB, he’s in the SB.  Its folded around to him and makes it 4000 total when the blinds are 500/1000.  I look down at A 10s and start acting like, wow I really cant believe I picked up a hand when this guy also picked up a hand…  Inside, I’m being too prideful that this guy blatantly attacked my blind and letting that foolish pride affect my decision.  After eyeing his stack and pretty much licking my chops with a confident smile I say all in (yes this stuff actually works on most of these players… you wouldn’t believe how much time I spend on faking body language and conversation.  Trust me, it works).  This guy goes into the tank for about 3 minutes, and after the first minute, I realize I’m beat by what he’s saying.  So I engage in some conversation trying to reek of strength and confidence and relaxation.  After saying he was probably making a bad fold, he mucks A K face up.  I act like, holy shit, how did I not get paid off… how could you lay that down… just for table image of course, but inside I was feeling like some reckless kid who went cliff diving and after coming back up to the surface realizes be missed a hidden shallow ledge by about 6 inches…  happy, but feeling stupid.  Even though the play worked, I think it was pretty reckless, and I’m glad the guy was a good enough player to lay something like that down. 

   Oh and by the way, I mucked my hand and he said, “he didn’t bluff me, if he bluffed me he would’ve showed it”, so because this is free poker and I wanted to build a final table reputation for never being afraid to go all in on a raise (especially of my blind), I turned over my A 10.  On one hand, they’ll prob call you more often, but on the other, they don’t want to get involved in a hand with you in the first place, especially when you’re behind them.  Plus, bar poker has the reputation of being the badbeat mecca of the world, so they hate even the potential of losing in that way.  People, just because of instinctive human nature, can have such blatantly untrue perceptions…

     People do not like me at their table, and complain when I raise or go all in preflop.  It’s awesome.  I’ve actually had 3 people I don’t know that well (I don’t know anyone there really well) tell me I’m the best player in the room.  Hey it may be free bar poker, but it’s a small good sign.

     I saw some sick laydowns lately by the monthly points leader Juan.  Ive seen this guy laydown a jack of spades on a board of As Qs 8s 3s 2d, to of course an all in by a player with the Ks.  Never thought I’d see that laydown at bar poker.  I hope I would’ve been able to lay that down, even though the betting told the story, but I’m not sure.  Then last night, hes in a hand that was raised PF, when the flop comes all clubs.  He hits middle pair with a 5.  It’s checked around.  Turn is another 5.  Juan bets about the pot, (hoping to get rid of any club draws)… a lot for this point of the tourney.  Numbnuts chipleader preflop-raiser goes all in, a huge overbet, not maximizing his value.  Juan lays down the trip 5s, and the guy shows the nut flush.  Nice laydowns for bar poker.

     My second tourney  (24 players) I had second-most chips at the table.  The chip leader had twice as much as me.  I decide to take him on a limped hand preflop.  I fired three shots after the flop, turn, and river, and he went in the tank for 2 minutes and called me with a J 9 on a board of 10, 9, 3, 4, 10.  I put him on that 9, and tried to sell the story as best I could that I had a 10, but it didn’t work simply because this guy had enough chips to call me down.  I knew I was being very risky, and foolish really by trying to get him off that 9, but I wanted to see if I could pull it off.  It was also silly because no scare cards came out.  No flushes, no straights, and hell the 10 on the end just made it more likely that I didn’t have one.  In any case, that hurt me.  I was down to half the buy in by the time I made the final table (800).  I rebuilt my stack up to 6000 with some nicely timed all ins, and by surviving a coin flip situation.  But I went card dead after that and finished 6^th, only taking out one other player during the tourney.  I was definitely the short stack, and not to toot my horn, but people love to be the one to take me out.  Hell 3 nights ago I went all in with pocket 8s, raising 10 times the big blind and got called with 5 2 suited, which won.  So I really have to pick my spots and pick up some kind of a hand with potential.

     So all in all, a successful night.  I’ll be back at it tonight playing at a new bar with tourneys of 40 – 50 people I hear. 

     So this is my poker journal.  My name is Joe.  Im a humble player who currently lives in Florida, and just decided to make poker a full time pursuit.  I just invested in dealer training school, and am currently securing work as a dealer.  Being mainly from Utah, I don't have much experience in a casino, so this will allow me to get that without risking losing bankroll.  After a couple months, I'm going to start playing tournaments (the max cash buy in here is only $100 believe it or not) and satellites for bigger buyin tourneys.  I only play NL holdem right now, but will dabble in Omaha.

     So ya thats where I'm starting from.  It's a place I'm sure many have started from.  Instead of stating my plans, or aspirations, I'll just let my results do the talking, so with that said, here's my first entry...

     Just for the record... my poker experience this far = I've been playing seriously for 3 years, but like I mentioned, mostly in home games.  I have read just about every reputable poker book in existence.  My favorites are Harrington on Holdem 1 & 2, Super System of course, and Sklansky.  My favorite players are Ivey, Hansen, Harrington, Greenstein, D Brunson, Elezra, Juanda, and of course Esfandiari, and Laak.  Phil Laak, you rule man.  I hope to shake this guy's hand sometime.

     Anyway, I consider myself a very sound player.  My weakest point is that I sometimes allow myself to beat myself through lack of focus, lack of courage, or too much pride.  And lately, with what I've been playing against and for, playing bored, and therefor impatiently.

     Outside of the occasional home game (anyone know of any around?)  I've been spending my evenings playing poker in a bar poker league - http://www.elitepokerchallenge.net/.  It's not really poker by any stretch of the imagination, but it does present an opportunity to adapt to "unconventional" styles, and practice reading tells from amateurs.  I am concerned that I may be developing bad habits... betting patterns because of the donkalicious play, but if so, hopefully my upcoming dealer experience should correct that pretty quickly.

     So until I start dealing, and playing for tourneys over $100, this blog will just be a journal... nothing too exciting.  Mostly me reflecting and trying to see consistent flaws/strengths.

     I've played a lot at the bars this month, and it seems that 1/3 of the time, I go out early... usually because of high pair over a higher pair, or because of a donktacular bad beat, or because i had a great hand beaten by a slightly greater hand, and just had to pay it off.  The other 2/3 of the time I usually make the final table (tourneys start anywhere from 20 to 50 players)  I'm happy with these overall results, but i know I'm not playing my best poker ever because of a few hands I wasnt able to make the right play on like... (there have been more than just these)

     I had a friend limp UTG with aces and then RR all in PF on another player.  He showed it.  10 hands later, at the final table with the blinds 200 - 400 and me with 6500 and him with 5500, 4 guys limp around to me in the BB and i look down at queens.  i raise 2000 on top.  same friend pushes all in.  I have never seen him push all in over the past month without aces or kings, and i still couldnt lay down my queens.  My instincts told me he had it and i ignored them.  sure enough, he had aces, im crippled and out in 5th.  I used to be at a level where I lay that down and dont think much of it past 2 minutes, so I need to get back there...

     Another time, Im the chip leader at the final table of a 45 man tourney with 6 left and i see the flop for free in the BB with 6 2 off.  flop comes Q 6 3 rainbow and its checked twice to me.  only one player behind, but hes the most dangerous/aggressive.  the pot was about 5000 at that point and i bet 5000 (bad move at this point of the tourney... too much).  button guy goes all in for another 7.  At this point, we had all played about 2 and a half hours, and im showing a lot of strength with that 5000, and he can only offer another 7 on top.  it gets folded to me, and im looking at calling 7 more for a pot with 22 in it.  I know he's at least got a queen to make that move, so i dont know why i called 3 to 1 odds when i only had 5 outs with two cards to come, but i did and of course lost.  then my last 4 thousand wasnt enough to get BB to fold with any two cards, and i was out in 5th.  I felt like a weak part of my game lately is refusing to believe I'm beat when it's just very unlucky that i actually am.  I should just accept it as part of the game, muck my hand as soon as i know its not worth it, or cant win, and move on mentally to the next hand.  My reads are right, my refusal to follow those reads are costing me.  pretty silly, so ill be working hard on that now.

     I have made some great plays too lately, but i wont go into my good plays on this blog... i remember em anyway, and know what i did right.

     Bar poker is pretty humble and sad as far as poker is concerned, but Ive met very few solid players that were able to adapt their game to it... or just refused to do so.  i feel ive been able to do that for the most part and am just a few mental adjustments away from really dominating it like i used to do in utah.  (over the course of a year, i made an average of $200 per month playing free bar poker, never winning more than $400 at any one time.  i take it for what it's worth, and look forward to looking back at this part of my florida poker life and smiling...