High On Poker

Sometimes while skipping through the poker blogging forest, I’ll come across a post that’ll get me to write a post-sized comment. C-mitch at O-Poker is the latest culprit. After reading his last post on why he plays poker, I left a two paragraph response explaining my reasons. Surely, I’ve posted them here before, but yesterday it all clicked. So, I’m going over some familiar territory, but maybe one day when I’m old and gray, I’ll review the hundreds of Why I Play Poker posts and see how my thought on the subject changed over time.

I am a gamer. Since the Atari first came out, I grew up with the joys of pixilated gaming. In my household, the Atari begat the Commodore 64, the Commodore 64 begat the Nintendo, the Nintendo begat Sega Genesis, the Sega Genesis begat Game Boy, the Game Boy begat the N64, and the N64 begat the Playstation 2. In other words, I grew up with video games, and they’ve become a natural part of how I spend my leisure time.

The thing is, after college, there wasn’t anyone to play with. In college, my buddies and I would get together before going out, or on a lazy Sunday (or when we skipped classes, Monday-Friday), and play some James Bond or FIFA soccer on the N64. It was just another activity while we hung out. Post-college, I was living with my brother in NYC. I didn’t have friends, literally a floor up or down. I didn’t even have friends who lived in the neighborhood. And no matter how much videogames were a passtime, it wasn’t as though my friends would come over just for videogames. Instead, we met out at the bars, and videogames became something to do to kill time before meeing them out. Of course, that meant that there was less of a social aspect to the games, and there would be times, like those lazy Sundays, when videogames just seemed empty. This was before the online console game technology, so when I’d beat a level, there was no one else there. There was no excitement. Instead, there was that feeling of, Jeez, what am I wasting my time on this for.

I still played videogames, notably the Grand Theft Auto series. And actually, I can blame the GTA series for eventually breaking my videogame habit, albeit with a crippling affliction. More accurately, I noticed that after an hour of GTA, my hands hurt. They were cramping up, and by nighttime, I felt a tingling sensation from my finger tips to my forearms, with intermittent cramping pain. At the time, I was also in law school, where notes were taken on laptops, and working part time at a law firm, where I was again working on a computer. In fact, at the exact time that the injury became apparent, I was busting my ass at the office, and bringing work home well until 10pm and after, so my computer time had skyrocketed.

I got some braces for my wrists, and began a regiment of Advil, as needed, but I finally gave in and saw a nuerologist. I was convinced I had carpal tunnel syndrome, and he hooked up electrodes to my arms to see how the nerves reacted. On that particular day, my arms felt pretty good, actually, and I was half-contemplating cancelling the appointment. But the problem was usually daily, so I figured seeing a doctor couldn’t hurt. The doctor zapped my arms and they did their twitchy reaction thing. When he had the results, I was a bit surprised. If I had carpal tunnel, it was mild. The next step is a confirmation test that would tell for sure if I had carpal tunnel.

“What does that entail?” I asked the doctor.
“Well, we’ll stick needles into your arm at various points, from wrist up to your shoulder and into your neck. Then we’ll move the needles around, while they are still inside of you, and see how you react.”
“Wait. You want to put needles in my neck and move them around?” I was incredulous.
“Yes. That’s the procedure.”
“And if I have carpal tunnel, its minor at most?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be leaving now.”

And leave, I did. I weaned myself off of videogames, but at the time, I was just starting to get into the online poker world. I was playing $20 per month at Golden Palace, starting with $5 SNGs, and dropping down to $1 and even $0.10 SNGs by the end of the month. As time wore on, I started to win, and poker came into the forefront.

Now, I’m not going to go into my poker history. I definitely have done that before. But what I will do is jump ahead until now. I don’t own a videogame system. I only have one computer game, an old version of Command & Conquer that I use when I’m tilting. When I have free time, I play poker, and for the most part, that is daily.

But the central question is Why do I play poker, or more accurately, why do I play online poker. The answer, because it’s a videogame with real-world benefits. If I beat a part of GTA, I can feel a momentary sense of accomplishment. But then reality sets in, and I’m just a 20-something guy sitting on his couch playing a videogame (not that there is anything wrong with that). If I play a poker tournament and win, I’ll also get that momentary sense of accomplishment. But it doesn’t end with a high score or a new board. It ends in dollars and cents. Finally, a videogame was invented where my SKILL and ability to play actually could benefit me outside of the game. I could withdraw the money, and spend it on fun things, like my big screen tv, iPod, and various other things around my house. I could profit from gaming! GAMING! It’s a fucking game! And I’m making money playing it!

Now, I focused this on online poker, because live poker, like my olden videogames days, involve playing with other people. I still get that social interaction, which in and of itself is part of the reward. The money is there as well. But online poker has a sorta soul-sucking component when you are grinding daily in your BVDs eating crappy food alone in your cramped apartment (not me, per se, but I’m sure there is someone out there like that).

Yeah, so that’s why I play online poker. It’s a videogame that pays me. On a similar note, when I was in Ireland, they had these Weakest Link and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire video game machines in some of the pubs. You put in a dollar. If you get x amount of questions right, you get a free game. Or, you can keep going and win money. What a freakin’ cool concept. It’s like a slot machine where skill matters. Why don’t they have those in casinos?

On an entirely unrelated note, HUC4 is looking good. We have 16 players, and 2 alternates. If we can get 6 more alternates, I’ll open a third 8-person bracket, so submissions are still accepted. You can go to the HUC4 website to see the current list of competitors, and some broad rules, in case you have any questions. Personally, my prediction is that, if I don’t win it, a girl will. With Veneno, Kat and Gracie in the running, its actually quite plausible, even though we all know girls can’t play poker.

Last night, I continued my attack on the higher stakes games. I played mostly 3/6 limit O8 and Razz, but played some 8/16 Razz, in which I initially won $45, but later lost $125 or so, for a -$80 run. Losing can be tough at those games. For the night, though, I won $115 or so, after winning a 6-person $20 SNG and placing 2nd in a $20 HORSE SNG. Man, I love poker.

DADI X is coming up on November 16th. I hope you’ve earned your token for the event. If not, get crackin’ and once you’ve got that token, go sign up early for DADI X, so you don’t spend that token elsewhere. That’s what I did, so that I could go about on my quest to earn a $75 token for the next Big Game. I won it easily, by the way.

Until next time, make mine poker!

Until next time, make mine poker!

I was all ready to prep You Decide #47, but as I typed it out, I realized that this was a different You Decide. There really was only one decision to make. So let’s post the hand for you in classic HoP narrative (no hand histories for me!), and then we’ll discuss what happened briefly.

We are in a two-table Tier II token SNG on Full Tilt, trying to win a token for the next Big Game. It is a regular tournament (i.e., not a turbo), but the top 5 spots out of 18 get a token, and the 6th spot gets $50+. The blinds are 40/80 (level 3 or 4, I think), and we have 1525, a mere 25 more than we started with. There are only 10 or 11 players left, so we are at a table with only 5 players, ourselves included.

We post the BB of 80 and proverbially look down to Qd7d. It folds to the button Crazy Larry (1385), who raises from 80 to 240 total. The SB, DoctorV (1510) calls. It’s 160 to us, and we have a weak to poor hand. Now, here is the only real decision in the hand. You’ll see why in a moment. We have Q7d, but that hand is not particularly strong. We are playing for 6th place, and we really have not made any progress in accumulating chips, so we have to really think about this call. 160 is not a huge amount, but then again, it represents more than 10% of our stack, and the upside potential is minimal. We need to hit this flop HARD. Otherwise, we are just throwing away chips in a game where 5th is the same as 1st.

So, what do you do? Do you call?

I did. The flop was 7h 5s 7s. DoctorV raised all-in. I called. Crazy folded. DoctorV showed 2c2h, and I doubled up.

Now, if you look at the results, its sort of a Duh hand. The thing is, mathematically or even game theory-wise, I’m not so sure its the correct move. If I hit a Q-high flop, I still might be facing a stronger Q. If I hit a 7, there are probably overs on the board. Post-flop, the pot is over 700, and I would only have about 1300 in front of me (actually I think a bit less). So, I’m really putting a decent amount at stake in a game where 1st place is not necessary. Is it safer here to fold? Is it smarter to fold? You tell me. And try not to be results oriented. Clearly the results are good, but I’m not so sure about the play.

Onto other things, I did place in that Tier II tourney, winning a token that I plan to use for a future Blogger Big Game. I also played some 5/10 LO8 (lost $5), and mostly 3/6 Razz and LO8, where I won over $70. I played a Tier I token and won a token, which I used for the Tier II race. I played a single table $20 SNG as well, but busted at that.

The Tier I Token SNG was a walk in the freakin’ park. I was in the process of making a HUC 4 banner (it wasn’t that great, but I still post it for you, below, and was barely paying attention to the tournament. Early on, I doubled up with KK, and so I just folded the rest of the way. I’m tempted to play one without playing a single hand, but I’m pretty sure that would result in a bubble finish, so I’m skeptical about that play. But folding until you get a premium hand is definitely a decent strategy, and if you can get to 4000 early, you can sit back and enjoy the ride.

Overall, I had my fourth winning day in a row, by no means near my record, but nice, nonetheless. The higher stakes are going smoothly, and I’m really enjoying poker again (okay, ‘again’ is a weird choice of words, because I’ve always enjoyed it, but lately I feel invigorated).

HUC4 is coming along, and we have 13 competitors, so we are looking for the final three. I think I may have forgot to mention that Surflexus is also playing, so if you didn’t have a reason to play before, you do now.

In case some of you are on the fence, let me just put out some info that I’ve been asked. The most you can lose in the HUC4 is $41.50. The prize pool buy-in is $25. After that, first round consists of best of five $5.50 HU SNGs. Now, do the math. If you lose your first three in a row, you lose the tournament, the $25 prize pool buy-in, and the $5.50 (x3 = $16.50) from the three HU SNGs. That’s $41.50 total. Let’s say you win one of your first round games, but then lose three. You are out $25 + $15.50 – $4.50 (profit from your one win), or $36. So, the MOST you can lose is $41.50.

Oh, you are no good at HU? Well, mofo, this is your chance to get some practice. First off, its a very luck-dependent game, hence the best of five format, so you could very well surprise yourself. Second, you need the practice if you are no good at HU. What if you final table a tournament, get heads up and donk out. I can tell you that from past HUCs players improve when we have this sort of event.

You may worry about timing, but that isn’t an issue either. Before each Round, you will get an email from me, sent to you AND your competition for that Round. Then you can Reply to All, arrange your own date and time, and schedule your game to fit your jet-setting lifestyle.

You aren’t a blogger or you don’t know a lot of other bloggers? Well, shit, here’s your chance. We have quite a crew also, and if you go to the HUC4 website, currently with HUC3 design, you can see our current roster.

So, what are you waiting for?

Until next time, make mine poker!

This is what I think about as I drift off to sleep.

A successful poker player must have (pick 3 primary traits, and 2 secondary traits):

A. Math Skills/Knowlege
B. Bankroll Management
C. Creativity
D. Discipline/Patience
E. Empathy
F. Focus
G. Game Theory Knowledge
H. Memory
I. Natural Intelligence (high I.Q.)
J. Competitiveness
K. Confidence
L. Studied Poker Books and Literature
M. Fearlessness with Money
N. Experience
O. Keen Observation Skills
P. Personality/Personable
Q. The Ability to Play a Large Variety of Games
R. An Ample Bankroll
S. Luck
T. Ruthlessness
U. Other ___________

My picks- A successful poker player must have Focus (F.), Confidence (K.), and Keen Observation Skills (O.), with a touch of Bankroll Management (B.) and Experience (N.).

Really, I’d like to include Math Skills and/or Game Theory Knoweldge, but I think that a confident player that can focus and read players is at a natural advantage. Bankroll Management will keep him from going bust. Experience is only as good as the player. Memory should probably also be in there, but I have to limit it to 5.

Jump on it and tell me what you think. Either post a comment here or make your own post.

Until next time, make mine poker!

I made my return appearance to the Blogger Big Game, gathering together my cajones by buying in directly for $75. The results, 12th out of 23rd or so, but I’m not disheartened in the least. The Big Game has done more for my poker game than anything since the Limit Challenge, which brought me from a two-digit bankroll to a solid three.

I started my poker day yesterday winning a 18 person turbo tournament for a Tier I ($24+2) token. I had already bought into DADI X with another $24+2 Token, so the goal was to turn the new Token into a $69+6 Tier II token. I got my chance much later, but sadly lost to a situation I just don’t presently recall. No harm though, as I resolved to skip the Big Game (and big price tag). I was dead set on that plan until I made $37 playing 3/6 Speed LHE, a new favorite of mine. The joy of Speed LHE is that there is even less time to think. This makes it easier to establish a pace to the detriment of my competition. After taking the $37, I felt like playing some LO8, and immediately jumped into a 5/10 LO8 table. Do you see a trend here? Yes, higher limits.

Here is the deal. I have worked my way up from $20, made $1200 last year, and am up over $2000 this year. My online bankroll, however, does not show this, due to intermittent withdrawals, the most recent seeing about a grand leave the online world for more mundane real world bills. Consequently, while I moved up in stakes from .25/.50 LHE to 2/4 LHE (using limit as an example, for you all know by now that I play a little bit of everything), I still stalled at 2/4. I recently started playing 3/6 with some success, and I’ve inched into that realm. But the Blogger Big Game lit a fire in me. It said, shit Jordan, you can do this. The only thing holding you back is yourself.

So, I got out of my way. Inspired by recent postings of Hoyazo, I took a crack at 8/16 Razz. After all, Razz is a relatively simple game, I had more knowledege and/or skills than most of the players at 2/4, and Hoy said that the 8/16 game was not much better. Now, $16 is the big bet in these games, but a $16 SNG would be normal for me. In other word, I was suddenly betting in one click of a button, in one minutae of a freakin’ lowball cash game the very amount I would be willing to spend in a 45-60 minute tournament. It was ridiculous, to say the least, and I initially figured that I would play tight and be fine. What I saw, however, was that some of the players at the table were just in love with making board-based bluffs. I could just sit back with my old strategy, but then I’d be leaving money on the table. So I played. And in one hand in particular, I called down with a K and J showing on my board, only to catch my opponent packing a pocket knife to a gun fight. He bet all the way with two pair, expecting me to run and hide. Total take for that run: $180.

Now, this was a few days before. I feel like I have greater competence in some of these ‘fringe’ games than I do in Hold’em, merely because Hold’em is so popular. So, I decided to play 5/10 LO8 last night and said to myself that if I could cover $80 profit for the day, I’d be willing to spend $75 of it on the Big Game. And sure enough, I succeeded, taking about $50 off of the 5/10 LO8 table as though it was nothing.

One thing I have realized is that moving up in stakes is a lot easier when you are playing limit. Even though I might have the same amount of money on the table, I can still see it as one small bet or one big bet in Limit games. Raising from $16 to $32 does not feel like $32. It feels like 2BB. Take me to a .50/1 table and ask me to raise from $16 to $32 and I’ll do it, but I’ll be nervous.

So, the Big Game has really openned up new doors for me, as has Hoyazo’s recent posts and my Limit focus. I wish more bloggers were open to Limit games, but this is a NL world.

Meanwhile, I’m earning my FullTilt reload bonus (probably about 3/10 of it released), and when that is done, I’ll be heading back to Doyle’s Room. I hate thier software and players, as they are essentially the same as Golden Palace, where I first played poker, but they have Badugi, and I’m liking Badugi.

On the HUC4 front, we have some new additions, including Gracie. We need 4 more competitors for a 16-person bracket, so if you are interested, it’s first come first serve. Click on the HUC4 link to see the full details and player roster.

Until next time, make mine poker!

but it sure is fun. I played yesterday in SIF’s homegame for the third time. Three visits to the land of odd mixed games and three wins. Jordan, Mixed Game Specialist.

The game was an odd assortment. This week, we played PL Double Board Hold’em (two flops, turns, and rivers dealt at the same time, and if you only win on one board you take 1/2 the pot), Limit Stud 8 or better, PLO8, Limit Badugi (more on that later), NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw, Limit Omaha 8 or better, NL Crazy Pineapple, and Razz. When it comes to a variety of games like this, I really like to let my inner donkey out, especially early on. I guess it builds action, plus it warms me up for some more serious play. So, basically I started off giving a lot of action. And fortunately it paid off.

It was one helluva table too. There wasn’t a soft spot to be seen. On my immediate left was Maigrey, a player whose ability to actually focus (gasp!) makes her an immediate threat. Her depth of poker and even mixed game knowledge also makes her extremely dangerous. To her left was SoxLover, a player who I greatly respect for his determination, confidence and skillz (yes, with a ‘z’). Next to him was the host, Bradley aka SIF, and he was running this freakin’ Frankenstein of a poker game, so he clearly had a ginormous edge. Next to him was my buddy Matty Ebs, a true poker player who is a former dealer and has experience at higher levels of poker than little ole me. Next was Mary, one of the tighter players I’ve seen. If there is one thing I mentally note about tight players, it’s that they are usually dangerous. If they are in a hand, you best be looking for the exit. Finally, my nemesis sat to my immediate right. Dawn from I Had Outs may come across as a friendly gal, but she’s a shark of the most vicious variety. Plus, being between her and Maigrey meant having to watch the girls high-five whenever they split a pot consisting of mostly my money.

Let’s talk a moment about one of the less common games in the group: Badugi. Badugi is a four-card draw poker game where the goal is to get the lowest possible hand, A234. The thing is, if you have two cards of the same suit, you can only use one card, so you’ll have a three-card hand. Likewise, if you have a pair, you can only use on of those cards. So the mortal nuts are A234 rainbow. If you have one of each suit, its called a Badugi. So, if you are dealt Kc Jh 3s 2d, you may just want to stand pat with King high in a lowball game, because any 4 card Badugi beats a three card Badugi.

My favorite hand of the night saw one particular play dubbed the Bajordi. I was in the BB and it was a limit game. SIF, in MP/LP raised to $8 from the 2/4 blinds, and when it folded to me, my hand was 4sJsKsJc. In other words, I had crap. But I was also up over $100 (and probably over $200) by this point, and I felt like playing for the hell of it. So, I called and discarded three cards, holding onto my 4s. The result: 2h 3d 9c, a collective 4-card 9-high Badugi. Now, that’s a great freakin’ hand, and Dawn, on my immediate right, was playing along with me since she had folded and, as far as I was concerned, this was all just a goof. But when we both saw what I drew, we were all a hoopin’ and a hollerin’. I bet out, and SIF raised. I reraised, all the while the table laughing along with the pure absurdity. We redrew (we were playing it in a triple draw format), and I stood pat while he drew (correctly ditching his J-high 4-card Badugi). I bet out, and I believe this is when he folded. I tabled my monster as we all laughed at the sheer absurdity of it all.

All in all, I won $395 at the home game. This was my third trip to the SIF mixed game, and my third win (my last two were $145 and $34. Hell, since the Bash, I’ve won 6 out of 7 live games (the loss coming at underground club Genoa), and won a large chunk of my currently yearly winnings. I’ve also broke my yearly goal of $1800 once again, but this time feel confident that I won’t be looking back.

SIF said something interesting while I was whooping ass yesterday. Basically, his monthly goal equaled my yearly goal. Well, I don’t doubt it, and I’m sure he’s not the only blogger I know who can trump my levels with nary a thought. Morseo than anything, it just gives me something to look forward to. I’ve been building up my bankroll over the last two years starting with a series of failed $20 reloads followed by three very successful freerolls. I haven’t had to deposit online in well over two years, and that alone is a huge accomplishment for me. In the last several months, I withdrew or spent live winnings of over $1,000. My poker is make a positive impact on my life and wifey Kim’s life, and really, that is all that matters right now. The goal is to keep building, and while I’ve had to make cash withdrawals and while I need to get back to a cash bankroll, I am moving in the right direction.

The HUC4 is coming along. We have some great participants, including Veneno, DoubleAs, Tripjax, WillWonka, Flopilicious, 23Skiddoo, Fuel55, and PokerPeaker. If you are interested in joining this elaborate field, the most it will cost you is $41.50 (the $25 entrance fee, and three $5.50 losses in a row in round one, which is the worst-case scenario). Plus, you may get some heads-up experience which is invaluable in late stage tournaments, and you’ll get to mix and match with some of poker bloggerdom’s best and brightest.

That’s all for now. I won a $26 token this morning, and I’ve already registered for DADI X (Nov. 16th, $26 entry or a Tier 1 Token), so I’m going to hopefully get a Tier II token for an entry in the Big Game. Wish me luck!

Until then, make mine poker!

I went to Court this morning to argue a summary judgment motion. Basically, a summary judgment motion is like telling the Court, “Even if everything the defendant says is true, we should still win based on the law.” My argument was air tight, and the defendants’ had more holes than a block of swiss cheese caught in a gangsta rap crossfire, so I was in good shape. Unfortunately, the Judge was a complete moron and didn’t seem to grasp the simple concepts of law. I lost. Man, I hate losing.

Of course, I love poker, so let’s move onto that. I played last night in an underground home game, where the buy-in was $20 and the NLHE cash game blinds were a very European .25/.25. I’ve gotten used to playing higher live, so I definitely didn’t feel like the game choice was optimal for me. I started out fairly loose and lost my first buy-in to a stupid, desperate bluff against Dawn from I Had Outs. I then lost a big chunk to PhantomMut, when my 99 hit a AQx board. It was checked down by Mutt, F-Train and I until the river, so I decided to bet out. PM called, and then said sheepishly that he had a Q. When he flipped his cards, I had to point out that he had an Ace also. Whoops! Ironically, if he knew how strong he was, he would’ve made less money. I was looking for any excuse to fold with that board, but with both players checking down, I had to at least try to bet on the river. I lost my second buy-in a few hands later when my top pair, inside straight draw ran into trips.

Fortunately, I was playing loose, due to the stakes. Also, let’s be honest, I am a loose player. Now, I say fortunately, because I am not just loose for the sake of being loose. I’m an action player, and when I have the goods, I’m liable to get paid off, since players (by that point) think I’m just making another play at a pot or think that I couldn’t possibly have the big hand I represent.

With that in mind, I took back some of my losses and was sitting on about $45 (from a total of $60 in buy-ins), when I was dealt KJh. I bet preflop and am called by F-Train and Dawn. Now, F-Train is a bright guy and a helluva player, so when he is in a hand, I perk up. I know he is able to make reads and smart plays, so I have to be alert. Dawn, well, she’s more of a calling station. That isn’t 100% accurate. She’s just willing to play pots with me because she knows I have a wide range. In this particular hand, I raised from .25 to $1. The flop came down TxQd4x, and Dawn checks (in the SB). I thought about betting, but that F-Train always gets me thinking. If I bet, he re-raises (with any two, likely) and I’m in trouble. So, I check, ready to call a reasonable bet (and potentially an unreasonable one), but trying to keep the pot small. F-Train checked as well.

The turn was an 9d, giving me the nut straight (and the nuts), with a diamond flush draw. Now, I’m not worried about the diamond flush. It was certainly on my mind, but I’ve got no reason to fear just yet. Dawn bets in first position, and I’m a bit confused. $2. Well, I have the nuts, so let’s keep her in the hand. I minimum raise to $4. Now, F-Train has this raised-eyebrow look on his face. Its the type of look that says, What are you two up to. He hesitated as he reached for his chips, and then did something I never expected. “$14.” Now we got a pot! Dawn, not too surprisingly, folds. As I look at my stack, I realize that I’ll have about $25-30 or so behind. I consider raising $15, but then I realize that it is even more scary (to my opponent) than if I push. $15 says that I want him in the hand. All-in says that I want to win it uncontested. F-Train called, and showed 44, for a flopped set. The river is a Jack and I take it down.

From there, I won some more pots, here and there. When I left for the evening, I was up $35. This has been another game in my live winning streak, which must reach near (if not more than) 8 winning sessions in a row. I don’t know what I’m doing differently, other than playing my game. I play a decent amount of hands with a range that includes hands like 79o if I’m in position, so when I do get a big hand, I can actually get some action (albeit, my only KK was folded to after a $1 raise preflop, and my AA was folded to after I accidentally limped preflop and bet out $1 postflop). The style I play is high variance. I was down almost $60 at one point before coming back to +$35, for a $95 swing within an hour in a $20 game. In past SIF games, I’ve been down near $300 before coming back and leaving up a decent amount. It’s just my style, and it can be a bit harrowing when you are in those lows, but super exciting in those highs. I do notice that it pisses off some players who see my play as donktastic, but that is a side effect that actually benefits me.

Does this mean that you should play my style of poker? Hell no! What are you, fucking crazy?! You need to play YOUR style of poker. It’s similar to something I learned in law school. When you are in front of a jury, you cannot put on the act of the hotshot lawyer if that is not who you are. You cannot be the likeable country bumpkin lawyer if that is not you. The jury will see through you and they’ll think you are insincere or scamming them. Meanwhile, the actual hotshot lawyer or country bumpkim could say and do the exact same things, but the jury will respond because they are seeing somethign sincere. Basically, playing outside of your style will cramp your game, because you’ll be playing so unnaturally. Now, this does not mean that you only play one way. But it does mean that you play to your strengths and you play within your abilities, personalities and parameters.

So, I’m feeling good about my game, and I’m feeling absolutely terrific about my live game. I will be playing at another SIF game this Saturday, and hopefully next Sunday I’ll be playing at an underground club in Brooklyn for a $20+10 rebuy that’ll surely be loose. November 18th is coming up also, followed by my 2 trips to AC in December, including the WSOP Circuit event, so there is a lot to look forward to.

Man, all this typing is taking a lot out of me. We are up to 8 players in the HUC4, but we need some more, so send me an email (highonpokr AT yahoo) if you are interested. If you have a $24+2 token lying around on Full Tilt, go sign up for the DADI X, a short-handed NLHE tournament scheduled for November 16th (just two weeks away!).

Until then, make mine poker!

I should probably touch on something that happened to me last night. The poker gods decided to set their junk kicker on high, and I was in perfect position. This may sound like a Wofflesian list of bad beats, but it ain’t. Why not? Because after each one, I had a happy grin on my face. I knew I played well, and if I was going to lose, it would have to be from a suckout.

So, here we go. I played in a $24+2 Razz tournament last night. I was in great shape down to 20 or so players, but the Razz tournaments seem to always have prohibitive blinds, largely, I’m sure, due to the limit structure which makes busting out and chip redistribution a difficult process. So, I’m in great shape when I’m all-in. One player has less than me and was already all-in. I held a 75432 low, and the third opponent had the exact same hand, 75432. Then the river card came. I got a 2, which meant nothing. He got a 6, for a 65432 low. Hmm…kinda sucks, but at least I had played a good game and came back from being very short early on.

I played a token race. I got AKo in the BB and everyone folded to the SB. It was very early in the tournament, but I decided to extract what I could from the poor sap. He min raised me from the SB, and I decide to raise pretty high. When he re-raised me back, I pushed, confident that if I wasn’t ahead, I’d be in a coin toss. He had AJ. The flop was KQx, and the turn was a Ten. He hit his straight, and I left, still smiling, because, hey, I had a read, and he got lucky.

I played in the WWdn last night. It was a great time, and I was rocking and rolling. Of course, then my TT lost to 55 when we were all-in preflop, and earlier on, I was hit by a three-outter.

See, throughout all of this, I wasn’t upset by bad luck. Admittedly, at one moment, I was a bit red in the face and had to put myself in mental check, to ensure that I didn’t donk it any chips away. But that was one instance, and I was calm by the next hand.

Bad luck sucks, plain and simple. But playing great is fucking awesome. Last night, I was playing great. I was playing an aggressive game in the WWdn and in the top 5 for most of the game until the suckouts came. Suckouts will come, so if they are going to happen, I’m happy it was in tournaments, where my losses were capped. I’m also glad that they came when I was playing well, instead of when I donk around and THEN get sucked out. It’s much more painful because I can second-guess my plays in those situations.

Bad luck happens. It’s a fact of life. We can mull on it (I have in the past), we can steam and punish ourselves with bad play. We can do all of those things. But it won’t get you anywhere. Like those alcoholics say (and really, you should be getting all your advice from addicts), you have to learn to accept the things you cannot change (bad luck), the courage to change those things you can (your play), and the wisdom to know the two apart.

And while we are talking about bad beats, go check out the Full Tilt Blog. They’ve now posted articles from Fluxer and slb159. Kudos guys! Both are great reads. I know a couple of other bloggers have submitted entries, so good luck to them.

Oh, and sign up for DADI X and send me an email if you are interested in the HUC4. Until next time, make mine poker!

Oh, it’s time, ladies and gentlemen, for a battle of wits and determination. A spectacle like none before it (except for HUC and HUC2 and thanks to WillWonka’s reminder, the HUC3). The Greatest Show on Earth (after Barnum & Bailey’s Circus). The face that launched a thousand ships (which is complete rip off of Cleopatra and really makes no sense here).

Heads Up Challenge…4!

I am now taking submissions for entries into the HUC34. To apply, please send an email to highonpokr AT yahoo DOT compadre, and don’t forget to leave off the last E in highonpokr for +EV! Please include your Full Tilt screenname, your blog address (if you have one), your location (and time zone if it is not obvious…I’m looking at you mid-westerners), your Yahoo IM name (if you have it), and your email address. Entry will cost $25, which will be used entirely for the prize pool, and must be paid via Full Tilt or PokerStars. Payment should only be made after I have approved your entry.

Initially, the tournament will consist of 16 players. However, depending upon interest, the tournament will expand to 24 or 32 players. If it is expanded to 24, three brackets will be used and the three bracket winners will participate in a round-robin final. Each round will consist of a minimum of 3 matches, all on Full Tilt costing $5.50, unless the individual competitors decide otherwise. Each match must be No Limit Hold’em. This cannot be changed.

Once brackets are made, individual match-ups will be able to determine the time and date of their matches, although there will be a general time/date limit to ensure no undue delays. Players will be encouraged to announce their scheduled match-ups in advance.

The prize money will be determined after completion of the brackets, but at least three spots will pay.

The tournament will hopefully be ready to start following DADI X, on November 16, 2006.

That is all for now. Until next time, make mine poker!