High On Poker

Woe is me. I entered a $20 rebuy because it was $2000 guaranteed and only 50 players. I later realized that with rebuys and add ons, the guarantee would definitely be surpassed. But que sera.

I rebought once, right before the add-on. I skipped the add-on. So, my online bankroll has dipped south of $100. To make matters worse, I then lost about $12 on .50/1 limit, and $10 on NL Omaha. Boo hoo. I’m already over it. Its part of the game.

So, in my last hand of the $20 tournament, I may have messed up. I was in the small blind with a mere 1100 in chips (start w/ 2000) and SB/BB of 300/600. One player went all in, and all others folded. With 1100 in chips and a BB with a mere 1500, I thought the all in player was probably not holding anything dominating. I held Q9, suited diamonds. I decided to call. The BB folded. The All In guy had KT. I did not hit my pair, and lost.

Did I play it wrong? Should I have been more patient and waited for a better hand? I thought, at the time, that an All In call by me would allow me to double up, on top of the 600 BB, without worrying about a lot of callers. What do you think?

Wish me luck. Tonight I’ll hopefully play at Robbie Hole’s birthday poker extravaganza. I’ll be showing up late, and not drinking, so I expect a loose, sloppy table. On Tuesday, I’m playing in Desi’s bi-weekly home game. That should be good too. Lots of poker. So little time.

I just finished sitting at two 6-person limit tables, .25/.50 and .50/1. I was playing both tables at the same time, in order to get in as much action as possible. I am about to head to LI for a friend’s fiance’s surprise birthday party, and the rest of my weekend was looking pretty booked. It seems like Kim is cool with me going to Robbie Hole’s birthday poker bash alone. It will be a delicate situation. After dinner with her mom and family, for her mother’s birthday, I will head over to Queens. Kim said that she expects to be tired, so she will probably go back to her dad’s place and call it an earlier night. This was after I asked her if it was cool for me to go to Rob’s house…alone. It was kind of a dick move, but it was also a realistic question. Kim is an early sleeper, and as packed as my weekend is, her’s is much worse. So I doubt that she would be okay with going to Queens, arriving around 10, sitting around while I play poker, and leaving after 1 (ideally for me). I’m very lucky to have such a supportive and understanding girl. But I digress.

So, I was playing in the limit tables. At one point, I was down to half of my stack on both tables (my stacks started at $10 and $20). But I got into a groove, and was able to turn things around. Hand selection was key. I also paid attention to players’ actions, so that I could vary my play from player to player. Once I was in the groove, I was bluffing, betting, calling, and folding pretty much whenever I needed to. The result was a quick $20 upswing in under an hour. That’d be 20BB and 10BB on the two tables, as I won about $10 on each table seperately.

The win is an important one because after my recent losses, I was concerned that (a) I couldn’t hang it with the higher limits compared to the tiny limits I was playing and (b) I couldn’t hang it in limit tables at all and the tourney win was a fluke. Well, neither of these scenarios are true. They weren’t true before I won the $20, and they aren’t true after. Poker is a game of ups and downs. That’s all there is to it. You can’t win all the time, but you can be a winner all the time. So, I’ve decided to think, and be, a winner. Let the money flow.

After my last post, I played a $5 single table tournament and came in 5th. For a good portion of the tournament, my computer was acting up (damn wireless internet), so my blinds were being chewed down. That really is not so bad, because yesterday, I lost another 10-15$ by playing too many hands…again. So, I’m better off not being there and automatically folding everything, at least for a little while. I have to be more hand selective. This will save me problems when I limp with QT, hit top pair 10s, and then come up against KT, AT, an overpair, or overcards that hit later. Hand selection is key. Unfortunately, I need a locksmith. All that said, my online bankroll is now at about 121$, which is down 3$ from my big tournament win. Not too shabby, considering the amount of sloppy, under-the-influence poker I’ve been playing.

This weekend is looking bleak. I’ve gone over 10 days since my last home game. Hopefully, Desi is holding his bi-weekly (every other week) home game this week. His email to the group, which stated that the game will be “next Tuesday” left me bewildered. Is next Tuesday the one coming up, or is it the one after that. I know it is a stupid question, but for some reason I can’t get my head around it.

On Saturday night, Robbie Hole, a fellow Degenerate, is having a birthday bash/poker game at his place in Queens. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. Unfortunately, that is the same night that Kim’s (my fiance) family are doing dinner for her mother’s birthday. I know my role. Poker will have to wait (maybe I can get there late, but that opens a whole other can of worms). Besides, I love Kim and my future mother-in-law, so this is a no-brainer. They come first.

So, my 2nd love, poker, will have to wait. Because the rest of the weekend is booked with my buddy’s fiance’s surprise party (tonight), and a 1st birthday party for my little cousin (Sunday). I hate obligations. Of course, if I didn’t have these plans, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Actually, I do know. I’d be playing online. Go figure.

Have a great weekend everyone. Oh, and if any readers are near the NYC area and are having or attending home games that need players, I’m your man (depending on time, place and stakes). Hook it up! Likewise, any interested players in the area, let me know. I can throw a game in NYC and/or I know of other NYC area home games.

Good question. Golden Palace is great! I’m not just saying it because I just won the freeroll either. I’m saying it because, no matter what other sites I’ve tried, I always go back to GP. Let me go through the reasons:

1. My Online Poker Virginity
Let me get this quickly out of the way. I first played online poker on GP because of Howard Stern. If it wasn’t for Howard, I don’t know how I’d wake up in the morning. Anyway, GP was advertising on his radio show, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. I’d seen GP advertised on boxing a lot, so that and the Stern ad led me to believe they are a reputable company. So far, GP hasn’t proven me wrong. Since I used GP first, I may be biased towards it. It is what I cut my teeth on.

2. The Stakes: Most websites, such as Party Poker, require a $50 deposit to start. When I first started playing online, I was a student. My income was about $200/wk from part time work. I did not have $50 to spare, especially when I was a new player and did not know how god-gifted I am/was. I could, however, rationalize spending $20. It was one restaurant meal. Or a night of drinking (but not much drinking in NYC, home of the $6.50 beer). Or half the price of a videogame, which to me was the dealmaker. I saw online poker as a videogame. I still do when I get down to peanuts in my online account. The 1.50 becomes tokens in my head. Which is the other half of the stakes argument. On Party, or most other sites, the cheapest SNG is $5. On GP, its .10. Or even free, with .10 up for grabs (when you are really desperate). I don’t know about Party’s limit or NL ring games, but on GP the limit starts at .02/.04, and the NL starts at .05/.10, with a $2 buy in. Not bad for broke people.

3. The Avatars: I like choosing my avatar (symbol) on GP. On Party, I can sometimes choose my character, but it goes by seat. I like the fact that I can choose an American flag if I’m feeling kinda Americanny one day. The next day, I’m a dolphin…okay, never a dolphin, but a monkey. If I’m feeling pompous, I’ll choose the crown. Right now, I am a black child, for the pure irony of it all. I can’t imagine many black children playing online poker. Isn’t that illegal? Some people may think that the Avatar is a tell. I suppose it is. But really, what is it going to tell them. Not enough to take my money.

4. The Games: First off, GP has 9-person tables, whereas other sites (tend to) have 10-person tables. Its a minor difference, but I’ve noticed that I do better at GP, due in some part to less players at a table. Also, in general, the amount of players on the site is less than the major sites such as Party. Some people may see this as a negative. I disagree. When I played in my freerolls, I was playing against 180-300 people, give or take. If I was on a site such as Party, I could be facing near or more than 1000 (I think…). The less people to run through, the better. I know that payoffs are better when there are more people, but I don’t have 5 hrs to play a MTT. 3 hours is enough for me.

5. Access to Tables: Recently, I was playing on Poker Room with fellow Degenerate Betsy. After she busted out at our SNG, I typed to tell he to stick around to chat. She didn’t respond. I later found out that as soon as she lost, she was booted from the room. At GP, she could’ve stuck around. Also, GP has a buddy list, on which you can add players. If your buddy is online, you can find out which room he is in and go there immediately from the buddy list. So, if anyone buys in at GP, look me up, under brodybanky. And shoot me an email, so I can add you to my list.

6. The Money: I haven’t had problems depositing at GP, whereas recently I couldn’t deposit on Poker Room. PR wouldn’t accept my debit card, but GP was cool with it. When it comes to withdrawing, I get my check in 1-2 wks. No hassles.

The Shortcomings: I think there are two that I can think of, one of which isn’t that big of a deal. The first thing is I don’t know of any bonuses on GP. But I am so used to that, and, honestly, I wouldn’t even know how to earn a bonus. I tried once on PR and once on Party, and lost all of my money before I could collect. I know it isn’t that hard, but what can I tell you. It just ain’t me. The second thing is kind of a shortcoming. GP is a predominately British site. I don’t know what that means, other than there are a lot of Brits and foreigners on the site. There are a lot of USA’ers too, but I thought I’d just mention the foreigners, while I’m at it. This is sort of a non-issue for two reasons. (1) Poker is poker. I don’t care whose money I am winning. (2) Foreigners can be fun. If you don’t believe me, put “I hate playing against Brits.” in your profile. I’ve had countless hours laughing at Brits and their stupid reactions. Stupid Brits.

So, there you have it. Why I love GP. I believe some sites, like’s Doyle’s Room (see SuperSystem for a ridiculous amount of not-so-subtle advertising), use the same skin/format. If anyone can suggest a similar site to me, please do.

So, check it out. GP baby. Hopefully I’ll see you there.

**Note: GP is not paying me for this post…but they should.

I’m moving on up,
to the .25,
(moving on up),
to a deluxe table,
with high blinds!

So, I’ve played a $10, 6 person tournament and came in 2nd. I played very solidly. In one of my favorite hands of the tourney, I was in the big blind. All of the remaining 5 players limped in, for a 100 blind. I had pocket tens. The table was pretty tight, but I had a feeling that no one had me beat. Otherwise, they would have raised to protect their hand against the many callers. I overbet 800. All folded except for one guy. The flop was QQ9. Perfect. I put the caller on AK or AJ, since they did not reraise my 800 pre-flop raise. After much deliberation by my opponent, he called. He had about 2000 chips left. If I lost, I’d be down to about 500. Luckily, I was right. He had AK. The turn and river didn’t help him, and I took him out and the chip lead.

After the tourney, I played in a heads up .50/1 limit game. I sat with 20$ against a guy with $10. I took all of his money, with about three monster hands in a row. Pocket pair hit a set. 89 offsuit hit two pair on the flop and then a full house on the river. And some other hand, which paid well, was the nuts or close to it, but for some reason is eluding my memory.

I left that table up another 10, for 20$ total. I am now at a .25/.50 limit table, but my concentration is shot, so I am taking a break. I lost about 1.50 at the .25/.50 table, but thats a drop in the bucket. Ironically, 24 hrs ago, a 1.50 loss would have severely hurt my dwindling bank roll.

One final thought: All day today, I wanted to tell people about my big tourney win. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many people who care. I mean, the money isn’t astounding (if I won 1million, then I’d get everyone’s interest). And most people don’t see online poker as a serious hobby, challenge, or pasttime. So, I’m glad I have this blog. At least it is one outlet for my verbose, bragging self.

BOOYA! Still riding the high from yesterday’s win. Ah… Peace be unto you, readers.

Yo yo yo! I am sorry to dissappoint, but I won myself $270. BOOYA! I came in 1st out of over 250 people (if I’m not mistaken, there were more than 300 players). From my last post, you know that in January 2005, I came in 2nd. In February 2005, I took 1st. And now, after a bumpy March, I was victorious when I took 1st place once again.

Victory is mine.

This is why the site is called High on Poker. There is that moment, when you win a hand and everything is rosey. I’m still basking in the afterglow. Tomorrow, I am going to want to tell everyone I know about how I kicked some poker ass. Ah…

Okay, so I’ve decided to withdraw $150 of my winnings, bringing my yearly total to +$304. I only count online money as a win when it is withdrawn. A deposit into an online account is an instantaneous loss, according to my accounting. Its a system that keeps my numbers easy.

With my $150, I can play in larger games than .05/.10 limit. I’d like to try my hand at limit a little longer, since I’ve only played limit at the lower levels. I’m not sure what my bankroll can handle. I’m thinking .50/1 tables. If I sit with 20$, it will be similar to sitting at .05/.10 with $2. Realistically, I probably should, and will, sit at the .50/1 with more (like $30, which is 20x the BB and SB together).

The best part is, this win has given me a new sense of confidence. First off, with more money, I can play higher tables. I won’t feel like the bottom-feeder that I have been as of late. Second, I can now say, with pride, that I took 1st in a 200+ person tournament twice in three months, and took 1st or 2nd three times in four months. That consistency reminds me of why I dream to go professional. It makes me feel like I have a legitimate chance. We will see how that actually turns out. Finally, my yearly bankroll is healing from the Vegas hemmorage. This is crucial, as it helps my poker self esteem to know that I am up a significant amount (or at least getting there). I was worried that my humble $1200 goal for the end of the year was out of reach after Vegas. Not so, anymore. I’m about $100 behind schedule, but I’m moving faster than expected.

So, that is all. I feel validated and renewed. Look for more big winnings in future days.

I am in the middle of a $1000 freeroll (i.e., free) tournament on Golden Palace. I came in 2nd in January, winning $170. In February, I came in 1st, winning $270. I don’t think I played in March. If I did, I lost.

April 2005. I decided to play tonight after returning from a night of $1 beers at Third & Long (an old Tuesday tradition), and Kim and my favorite burritos (and sangria) at Baby Bo’s. I lost $2, playing drunk poker in a .05/.10 limit game. I also entered the $1000 freeroll. And while it isn’t over, I’m looking good (come back for my later post in which I complain about the suckout that made me lose, out of the money!).

I was playing the tournament half-distracted watching TV with Kim and playing in the limit ring game. But when I lost all of my cash in the ring game, I was able to focus on the tournament, with about 1000 of the 2000 in chips with which I started the tournament. Somehow, with some luck, and some amazing play (thanks to my selective hands), I was up to 20,000 by the break, with only 58 of the original 240 people still in the running. Payout starts at 27.

So, here is where it gets good. In the first hand after the break, I took out a player with 10,000 chips and moved to the overall chipleader. There are now only 34 players left.

The hand that placed me in first went as follows. I had 20K in chips and KQ off suit in my hand, in middle position. The table was playing really tight. I usually hate KQ, because its an easy hand to overvalue. Even if you hit a pair, an Ace on the board can give someone a better pair. Even worse, a person with the same pair and an Ace in the pocket (AQ of AK) can beat you and fool you into betting big. Somehow, though, with the chiplead and a hunch, I felt like playing it. I called the 800 blind and raised another 800. All folded to the big blind, BOC. BOC called.

The flop was Qh Tc 6h. BOC bet 8,655 and was all-in. I called 8,655. It was like taking candy from a baby. BOC had A8. The turn and river were 2s and Ts. I won the hand and took the chip lead.

Wish me luck. Of course, by the time you read this is, it will be over. I’m no longer the chipleader, so my attention is needed. Adios.

For the past couple of days, I’ve been lightly reading Dutch Boyd’s blog. I’ve never been a particular fan of Dutch, but I’ve never disliked him either. When I’ve seen his Crew on ESPN, I always thought they look like a group of tools, but I think that is typical young male territorial pissing. In truth, I’d be glad to be in a crew like theirs. In a sense, my poker buddies and I make up our own loose crew, as we at one point all considered ourselves Poker Degenerates (Fun Fact: ‘The Poker Degenerate’ was almost the name of this blog).

So, I’ve been reading his blog from the first entry (Nov. 2004, I think) working forward. Its fairly interesting, as it gives insight into who he is outside of the poker room. It’s also great to read about his interaction with other pros. Pardon the crappy analogy, but the way he talks about playing in the large tournaments sounds like Toon Town from “Who Framed Robert Rabbit?” All of these iconic figures are interacting in ways that seem so absurd. He seems to constantly bump into or correspond with other major pros like Marcel Luske, Phil Laak, Gregg Raymer (just to name a few) and a whole slew of others. The interaction between the pros is the best part. Apparently, he met his ex-girlfriend through Evelyn Ng. And Paul Phillips apparently had some not-so-nice words regarding Mr. Boyd. Oh, drama.

I have to say, I respect his format. He doesn’t seem like the prick that many people assume he is (at least, according to his own website, many people think he is a prick).

So, respect to Boyd.

Also, respect to my readers, for linking me up to other blogs, and sending me emails. Check out DNasty13′s Poker Blog, which is brand new and clearly has a lot of potential. Also, the Poker Gamer is a blog with some great in depth analysis. I look forward to reading future postings from both bloggers. Also, to Alvin, and anyone else who is interested in Golden Palace, check out GoldenPalacePoker.com and look for me under my account, brodybanky (its a long story). I’ll be trolling the cheap rooms, most likely.

Finally, in law school, I wrote a paper on the legality of Internet Gambling, as a way to avoid doing any real work in a Computer Law class. My professor gave me a C+, which is a low grade for me. But, screw him. I guess my paper was more poker than computers. I’m thinking of posting the entire paper on here, but its pretty long (15 pages). Does anyone know how to set up a seperate page with a link? Holler back.

Hey all. Here is a quickie. I started playing my usual .05/.10 limit game after work, attempting to get my Golden Palace bankroll back up to $20, eventually. I think once I hit $10, I will consider playing the .10/.20 game.

I was once told a formula to determine if you are short stacked. Add the small blind to the big blind and multiply that number by ten. If you have less than than number, you are short stacked.

Let’s apply the formula to my .05/.10 game. .10+.05=.15×10=$1.50. So, when I sit at the table with $2, I’m in good shape, but I could be in better shape.

Now, I would like a formula to determine how much of your bankroll you should risk on a game. I’d like to think that I need at least 50% of my bankroll off of the table when I am down to a low bankroll. When my bankroll can handle it, I only want 25% on the table. When I am in great shape, I don’t think 10% on the table (90% in reserves) is unreasonable.

So, anyway, my Quick Update got sidetracked. But here is why I signed on. From $4.11, I am now up to $8.05. I basically doubled up. Not bad. I’ll probably play a little more tonight, once the fiance hits the sack. Or maybe while we watch the rest of the Bachelor. That’s right. I am watching the Bachelor. Don’t you judge me! Besides, its good wholesome family entertainment. Love that ABC.

I was looking at a bunch of different poker blogs today. It seemed to me that each player had at least a thousand dollars in play, whether playing online on 6 different sites, $8/$16 limit games, or some other limit that makes my online bankroll look like chump change. Of course, chump change would make my online bankroll look like chump change, so that isn’t saying much.

It got me a little down. How can I take myself seriously as a poker player when my contemporaries have hundreds or thousands of dollars to play with, compared to my $20 (give or take) monthly online buy in and my weekly or evey other week $20-$60 home games.

Ironically, my brother, a non-poker player, used to joke a lot about me being a poker degenerate. He’d leave notes around the house with the number to GamAnon (Gamblers Anonymous), or some other addiction comment to get under my skin. Ribbing is part of brotherhood, but after a while it got to me.

I suppose, in a sense, I am “addicted” to poker. If there is an accessible home game, its hard to say no. If I’m at home and bored, I’ll go right to Golden Palace Poker. But I never, and I mean never, play with more than I should. Even when I lost big in Vegas ($460), I had previously won $505. For the year so far, I have rarely been in the red, and have never been in the red since mid-January.

The reason why I do not play with bigger quanitities (regardless of my urge to do so) is because of my anal rententiveness. I am too practical to enter $50 tournaments online, because if I lose, I’m screwed. Even with a decent job as a NYC lawyer, I am practically living pay check to pay check in an attempt to prepare for my upcoming wedding and pay down debt incurred while I was a broke student. So, my anal retentiveness would never allow me to spend a lot of money on poker, regardless of my (alleged) addictive personality.

So, to recap, I am “addicted” to poker, but I am too “anal retentive” to spend a lot of money on my addiction. My pathologies are in perfect balance. Thanks ma! And thank you too Golden Palace, for the access to uber-low stakes action. It’s little more than playing a video game, with rare real-world consequences (my $170 and $270 wins are the exception), but it feeds my need.

As for the sites by people who play with thousands of dollars, I commend thee for your success, or alternatively, I commend thee for not caring about your money (someone has to be free-spirited). I hope to one day join your ranks…once I am out of debt, married, and making enough money where $1000 is not a big deal. Tick tock. Just waiting it out.