Well That Was Close

Ended up trying another one of those 300 FPP for a $75 token tournaments and I made the Final Table again. I lost momentum when I got there and I finished 7th (I pushed with K5s and got called by KK. With an M of 5 and in the CO, what can I do?). Overall I was very happy with my play and this entire month of satellite play has really improved my tournament game. Even in a 'real' torunament, I made it far and just got really unlucky, but I would have had a real shot at making the final table if I had won that AQ vs. KQ hand. Not to bemoan bad luck, I am just looking at where my game is really improving. I have been able to take parts from different books and from my personal experience to come up with a very solid tournament game plan. I would say my tournament style is a cross between Harrington and Erik Lindgren. Which I am glad to have, though I can't say I'm better than any of them

Well That Sucked

So I took my token and played in the DS $1500 NL tournament. I playing well and building up my stack when this hand happens:

Full Tilt Poker Game #1163108714: $15,000 Guarantee (7702030), Table 1 - 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:02:39 ET - 2006/10/28
Seat 1: ibegolfn18 (11,159)
Seat 2: pokercrs (9,981)
Seat 3: XA_kid (10,510)
Seat 4: c141nav (3,600)
Seat 5: King Kong 247 (4,355)
Seat 6: GrindinGirl (5,606)
Seat 7: chabo (18,873)
Seat 8: shavlikr (6,322)
Seat 9: tonegizzle (26,374)
ibegolfn18 antes 50
pokercrs antes 50
XA_kid antes 50
c141nav antes 50
King Kong 247 antes 50
GrindinGirl antes 50
chabo antes 50
shavlikr antes 50
tonegizzle antes 50
ibegolfn18 posts the small blind of 200
pokercrs posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to XA_kid [Qd Ah]
XA_kid raises to 1,100
c141nav folds
King Kong 247 folds
GrindinGirl folds
chabo folds
shavlikr folds
tonegizzle folds
ibegolfn18 folds
pokercrs calls 700
*** FLOP *** [3s Qs 2d]
pokercrs bets 1,200
XA_kid raises to 4,000
pokercrs raises to 8,831, and is all in
XA_kid calls 4,831
pokercrs shows [Ks Qh]
XA_kid shows [Qd Ah]
*** TURN *** [3s Qs 2d] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [3s Qs 2d Kd] [5h]
pokercrs shows two pair, Kings and Queens
XA_kid shows a pair of Queens
pokercrs wins the pot (20,512) with two pair, Kings and Queens
pokercrs: ouch
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 20,512 | Rake 0
Board: [3s Qs 2d Kd 5h]
Seat 1: ibegolfn18 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: pokercrs (big blind) showed [Ks Qh] and won (20,512) with two pair, Kings and Queens
Seat 3: XA_kid showed [Qd Ah] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 4: c141nav folded before the Flop
Seat 5: King Kong 247 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: GrindinGirl folded before the Flop
Seat 7: chabo folded before the Flop
Seat 8: shavlikr folded before the Flop
Seat 9: tonegizzle (button) folded before the Flop

So instead of being one of the chipleaders, I'm almost out. So the next hand in the BB I get TT and I lose to AJ. 91 out of 339 . Oh well, GG me.

What to Do, What to Do...

Well, it's time for an update for anyone who is still reading this. Yeah, I am still alive. I've just stopped playing poker for the most part. The only poker I have been doing is trying Satellites at Full Tilt since I have a bagillion points there. Which leads me to the subject of the blog's glorious resserection.

I actually won a Satellite. Well, that's not quite true. I've been playing 300FPP SNG Satellites into a 2500 Super-Satellite where the prize is an entry into Sunday's Big Tournament. I generally get in on the first few tries, but haven't really done much with the 3 I've played. Actually, I think one I didn't show up because I had a previous commitment. Anyways, I registered into one of those 300 FPP Super-Satellites that's good for a $75 token for the top 3 finishers and I won. Well, technically I placed 2nd (I could gotten 1st, but there was not point in doing any "real" HU play). The Final Table was a thing of beauty. I will probably post the entire hand history on Pokertips because I think it is nearly flawless play. I made one big semi-mistake, but I was able to recover from it.

Anyhoo, there are quite a few tournaments to choose from and I have 2 criterion of choices: The size of the prize pool and if it is Double Stacked or no. I am probably going to play a DS tournament (as that rewards skill) and my overridding perogative is to play when I feel that I am in my best mental condition.

I'll post a tournament report update and if I do well, then expect this blog to become more regular as I will have more poker stuff to talk about.

Poker Regulation

Well it happened. This big one. I fasted through Yom Kippur and had a nice weekend at home. And some sort of bill was passed through the Congress.

This bill makes life very interesting for those wanting to continue to play online in the U.S. Of course, 'interesting' doesn't mean impossible. I could take the bill apart or offer alternatives, but there is already too much of that on the Web and I'd like to think that people come here for something unique. So I am going to make a list of things to do besides playing online poker:

1) Play Live Poker. Easier and a lot more entertaining. Plus no misclicks.

2) Learn the ins and outs of horseracing. I mean, it's not gambling, right? Or else it would have been covered in the bill.

3) Move to Vegas (or Nevada). This bill says that it's okay to play poker online in Vegas (or other states that allow gambling? California maybe?). Just don't forget to enjoy the nightlife.

4) Get into local politics. It all starts at home and if this issue has fired you up, then maybe there are other things that you would like to change.

5) Move on. I know I've been saying this for months about myself, but if being an online poker professional is your highest asperation in life, then that's sad. Go read a book or better, go write one. Go fall in love. Go live life.