Horrible Luck

I realize that the theme of the blog is typically negative, but so are my outcomes, so it makes sense. I've really busted my balls this past week or so and focused on games more. I've cut down my multi-table action to focus on individual tourneys because I was just playing bad poker. I've been rewarded with horrendous beats on a consistent basis. I'm very proud of my play, but I'm getting to the "come the fuck on" point. Tonight is a great example. I played a $5 rebuy on Bugsy's that had 55 starters. I was dealt tons of playable hands to start and picked my way up the chip lead ladder. By the first break, I was chip leader with just over $80k in chips and only in for the two buy-ins to start and the double add-on at break. My luck was overall a wash. I would hit a draw or a 3 outer and the next big pot I played I would be on the receiving end. 10 spots paid and I made it to the final table on a lucky hit with K5ss vs QQ and ATdd. The board ended Ts 8s 2x 3x Kx to scoop me the big pot and put us in the final table. I had shoved AIPF with the K5 because I had just been crushed a few hands earlier after raising with QJhh and getting a reraise that I had to call for odds but more than halved my stack. Despite flopping the flush draw against the A9o I never improved and he caught running A 9 to boat up. Awesome. The final table was a roller coaster. I had AK and AA back to back a few hands in. I took down AK preflop and AA dropped to KT AIPF to a running gutterball. Nifty. Crippled again I battled with 9 still left to get up to 3rd in chips. My only real flaw came with Q7o in the BB. It folded around to the SB whom I had just suuuuuuuuuuuucked out on with KJdd vs his QQ a few hands earlier. I have him noted as a pretty poor player to begin with and he raised me up. I didn't want to push back because he would call with pretty much anything and had me covered. We took the A74 flop together and I thought I was good. He bet and I made the mistake of not raising. The turn peeled a K, hitting what I figured him for (some sort of Kx). He bet again and I folded after dumping nearly half my stack. I folded another round and finally shoved with QJo. I was called by the second shortest stack (me being the shortest) with his Q8o. The flop brought JTx, and the sickening 9 hit the turn. No river justice T for me and I busted in 6th place for $54. That's only a $34 profit. The other sick part is that the guy that busted me was only in the tourney because his A9 chopped with AK preflop after a gross final board (in order) of AKJJJ. I don't know what the fuck to do anymore, so it's time to take a break. Two nights ago I played a $5 HU wherein I lost every all in (5 total) despite being ahead in all of them. The match lasted two hours and I finally succumbed with AT vs A2. This little scourge has rebooted my FTP experiment as I'm down to something like $.14, which I can't do anything with. So after the first I'm going to try and take at least a week off of poker. I usually can't stay away that long but it's causing me to lose my blessed mind right now.

Bugsy's: $196.69
FTP: $.18
Stars: $33.06

Quick Update

Virginia is out of town this week so I've been doing some serious playing. I did nothing but play MTTs on Sunday with poor results. I was playing very well, fighting out every pot as opposed to my previous raise-fold strategy that was killing me. The problem was that I was running colder than the friggin' weather right now (the wind chill has dipped as low as -27F in the last couple of days). I was crushing a $5 rebuy at Bugsy's with 38 left with 30 getting paid. I had over 400k in chips and was in the lead by about 50k. I had a 150k lead on anybody else at my table. I finished 38 after I dropped a monsterpotten with TT vs ATo on the runner runner gutterball. That left me with just 200k when I doubled up some other clown with my AJo vs 44. Now with around 110k I pushed over another raise with AKss, was called by the AQo and got killed by the 3 outer. I hate poker some times. I did end up winning a $2 MTT outright on Bugsy's for just over $50 to make my losses pretty tolerable, but I still took a hit. On Stars and FTP I was playing some small MTTs and airballed all of them. In total, I only cashed once out of the probably 10-12 MTTs that I played. I really need to improve my tourney game. I nearly felted myself on FTP and have been fighting it out in the $1 Matrix tourneys to stay afloat. I was as low as $2 but have been fighting tooth and nail to get back to where I'm at. On Stars I had run it down to just under $20 but I think either Matt or James ran it back up to just over $30. I've managed to push it back down again though. My play has improved, now I'm just waiting on the results.

Bugsy's: $224.44
FTP: $4.63
Stars: $25.76

Not Playing

I haven't played a hand since my last post. I'll probably get in some poker either briefly tonight or over the weekend for certain, so I probably won't have another post until Sunday unless I somehow manage to play 2 hands and win 1.4 million somehow. In other words, see you Sunday.

Airball

I logged serious hours today and I played like poop. It started last night, and I actually think it's been going on for awhile now that I think of it. I'm calling too many raises with too many hands and playing too weakly. I can call raises with a wide range of hands but I have to fire away if I think that the other person missed the flop as well. Instead, I'm just check-folding to their continuation bet like my own version of a credit line. If you need money, just raise a pot that Bret limped, he's good for a call or two before he folds.

In addition to my awful play I've taken a couple of stupid beats that just leave me absolutely baffled. An example; I have KTcc and am playing loosely because I want to go to bed (I'm drained right now). I repop a small raise up front and there's a call from the original raiser. I'm in position for the glorious Td 6c 3c flop. The dude led out and I WAY overshoved. He thought for a long time and finally called showing 4d 4s, leaving him either a running boat or the one red 4. So naturally the 4h rolls on the turn and I brick the river. Go skill. Anyway, at least I've identified a big leak that I can hopefully correct in the coming week.

I played mostly MTTs today and didn't have any significant cash. I think out of the roughly 15 total MTTs that I played I only monied twice, which is awful. At least I identified a big problem so I will fix it and my results should improve. Now I'm just rambling because my brain is mush. Good night.

Bugsy's: $264.54
FTP: $7.42
Stars: $15.16

Amputee, New Mission

So I've run like an amputee the past couple of days. I lost to 5 straight 3 outers a few nights ago. It felt awesome. I've been getting in with great odds on draws and such but just blanking. It's going to happen, but I wish it didn't pile up like it seems to. Either you hit everything or miss everything, nothing in moderation. Despite the horribleness I'm minimizing my losses which is good.

I've also taken on a new venture. Well, the same venture with a different starting point. My friend Matt makes a living playing online. He won't be on TV any time soon but he does pretty well. Except on PokerStars. He HATES Stars. Every time he plays there something horrible happens. He recently put $500 on to get things going, but if it tells you anything he left me $22.07 to do with what I please. So now I'll be trying to climb to $10k on 2 different sites. The thing I like about Stars is that they have some different games: 5 card draw, 2-7 single and triple draw, and some games I've never heard of. I hit up the $.10/$.20 limit 2-7 triple draw tonight and made a nice little killing. I'll probably continue to play that for awhile and scope out some tiny little $1 tourneys if they have them. Okay, my house is so cold my hands are numb and it's hard to type. Time to go bury myself in the covers and dream of lava and nuclear explosions and blast furnaces, etc.

Bugsy's: $283.84
FTP: $14.37
PS: $29.01