Wishing you a Happy Holidays

Due to family obligations and holiday parties I will not be playing this week unless I get the opportunity to play on Saturday. I did want to take a minute and wish you all a very Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Years. I also want to take this opportunity to thank you all for this wonderful gift you have given me this year. Of course I wish we were already up thousands of dollars but we have a long way to go and many hands to play before we sleep :) It is easy to get down when you have been out of work for so long and money is tight but knowing I have such good friends who believe in me makes it all worth while. I wish you all, and all of us as a group, a wonderful New Year filled with promise and happiness. Let's make this next decade one to remember, hopefully by starting it off with a win at the WSOP and riches for us all. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Sometimes you wanna scream

OK so I go up to Palomar this morning because it is close by and I figure maybe I will play there more because that's where I was doing all of my winning. Starts off quiet... don't play any hands for most of the rebuy period... actually laid down a pair of 6's that would have won but with the board and the betting I would only have won if I went all in preflop... I would have spiked a 6 on the turn for the set. Finally the 2nd to last hand before rebuys ended, I look down at AQ and went all in with 2 other players both with small pairs. Unfortunately one spiked and 8 for a set. So I rebuy and have to start the rest of the tournament with just 1500 in my stack.... but I am very patient and every time I am about to go out I get a hand that doubles me up and I stay alive. We are finally down to about 12-13 players the blinds are 400-800 and I am in the small blind with J6 offsuit. Three players just limp and even though I was planning on folding I called the 400 (I had about 3500 in my stack) because I was getting 4:1 odds. Sure enough the flop is J/10/6 rainbow and I am first to act. I check hoping someone is aggressive. Sure enough the 9 seat goes all in... then the guy to my right goes all in over the top... I call and the last guy lays his hand down. The guy to my right has JQ suited and the other guy has AQ so I am in the lead. Turn is a ten which forfeits my second pair and gives him the better kicker. The river was a blank and instead of going into the final table with a nice big stack I am going home. Good news is I know I can beat that game so I think I will go back to playing there more often for a while.

Minor update

Sorry for not providing any updates the last few days, it has been a little busy and didn't have all that much to report. Played Palomar on Friday and went to Pechanga with Lisa on Saturday. The only thing to report is how long I lasted both days without hitting any hands. Both days I did not play any hands for the first couple of rounds. I managed to double up on the final hand of rebuys at Palomar but that was the only hand I got involved in. managed to hang around until the last two tables but not much else to report. Same thing at Pechanga. I went to Palomar again on Monday but got there too late and they were sold out. Went to Pechanga again Tuesday with my brother for 2 for 1 day but never got started. As a matter of fact we both went out within a minute or two of each other. The only hand of mention was my limping in with 3 other players with A/10. The flop came 10/3/4 so I bet 500 and got one call. The next card was a blank so I bet 1000 and got called the river turned an ace and he bet 1000. I was trying to decide what he had and decided to call...turns out he called to big bets with a straight draw (he had 2/5) and got it with the ace, costong me most of my stack...went out shortly there after. Will be out and about again tommorrow so we will see what happens. Hope everyone had a Happy Hannukah!

Let the sun shine!

Decided to stay home on Monday due to the severe weather although it might have been a mistake... I probably should have gone to somewhere like Viejas where they have a guarantee but probably had fewer players than normal... oh well will remember that for next time. I did go to Pechanga with my brother on Tuesday for 2 for 1 day. Again I started off very well... on one big hand the blinds were 50/100 and I had A spades and 10clubs. Several players limped in and the flop came 10/8/7 with two spades. I opened for 300, two guys to my left folded, the next guy raised to 700 and two more guys folded and it was back to me. I was trying to decide what he had and if I should come back over the top all in. I finally just decided to call and the next card came up a spade. I checked and surprisingly so did the other player (the spades must have scared him). The final card also came a spade giving me the nut flush. I checked and he bet out 600. I checked raised him to 1200 and after some thought he folded and showed a 9/J. He had flopped the straight but got scared by the flush enough for me to fill mine out. As it turns out I would have made more money if I had pushed, he would definitely have called but I certainly would have had to sweat out the spades before knocking him out. A while later I made a nice continuation bet even thought I did not hit my hand and won another decent pot. My downfall came later when I had KJ suited with 150/300 blinds and raised to 1200. Another player went all in for 2100 and I was all set to call him when another player called him first. I had to call getting 3 to 1 on my money. I missed the flop but the highest card on the board was a ten. The second guy bet another 1000 and I thought about laying it down but decided to see one more card. Again a blank and he bet 2000 forcing me to lay down my hand. Turns out he had A/10 and ended up winning the pot. It also cost me most of my stack. The last hand I played was funny because I had pocket 5's and went all in for 1000 (the big blind was 2000) two guys called and a third went all in and the other two folded. That was the best case scenario for me with 4 to 1 odds but only having to face down with one player. I said to him... win or lose thanks for the cover. Ends up he had pocket K's and I was done but it was a fun ending or as fun as possible when you lose. Handling some personal issues today but will be back in the saddle tomorrow or Friday.

A good friday

Had to handle some family issues the past few days but decided to run up to Palomar on Friday morning. It seems I have my best luck there on Mondays and Fridays. It took a while to get going...seems like I didn't play any hands during the rebuy period so I was already getting shortstacked when I got QQ in the last hand for rebuys. I pushed all in figuring I would get at least one call.... ends up I got two callers and the Q's held up so I tripled up and didn't have to rebuy. No real outstanding hands the rest of the way but won enough to make it down to a three way chop for $280. As usual the guy who didn't want to chop ended up going out in 7th and didn't make any money.... I love when that happens. Nice to get a win in before I send out the monthly update. Have a great weekend... more next week.

Forgot the good news

Although live play has been a little slow I have been doing well with freeroll satellites online. I have qualified for a $1000 freeroll on Fulltilt poker by being one of the top 250 players in a 10,000 player qualifier and I also qualified for a $2000 tournament on Poker Stars by finishing 8th out of 5000 players in a qualifying satellite. With some luck and hard work I might be able to put us back in the black without spending a dime :) Let you know how it comes out.

Well not the best start...

Back at the tables this week and not off to the best of starts thanks to those darn pocket queens. They cost me a big portion of my stacks both days and led to two early finishes. Both times I raised big preflop and was called down by multiple players. One time I lost to aces and another time it was pocket 5's that turned into trips. Oh well gonna keep this update short and see what the rest of the week brings. I will be sending out the latest spreadsheet update in a few days but suffice to say we are still in the red. Hopefully we can get that corrected before the end of the year. :)

Back in the saddle again

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!! Time to get back to the tables this week. As a tune up we played a home game (I use my personal money for home games) at Anthony's. I went out fairly early in the first game but won the second game and the $75 first prize. I figured I would see how my luck was holding up by going to Palomar on Friday morning. Met up with Peter there (he actually was seated just to my right) and played pretty well. I ended up in 10th place, not bad considering I only played about 3-4 hands the whole time I was there. After several early rebuys Peter actually played down and chopped with one other player.

Looking forward to getting going this week and hopefully putting together a bit of a win streak ... more later. :)

Wow...deja vu

Ok so Wed morning I decide to go to Oceans and I am feeling pretty good about my game. I even get a great table and a great seat (table 40 seat 6)... I start of like a house on fire including an early triple up when I called a raise with AJ and flopped a full house. Somehow I got two guys to go all in and went from 3000 to just over 10,000 in a flash. I even commented I should leave the table and come back later so as not to donk of my chips. I did lose about 1/3 of my stack when I got an AK and flopped top pair but the board had three hearts and when two guys went all in I had a feeling someone had flopped a flush but there was too much money out there and I had to call. Sure enough I had one guy beat but the other had the flush. No problem, still had plenty of money and shortly after that I doubled up when my KK held up against AK. Then things went south. I had 10/10 and put in a decent raise and got one caller. The flop came 5/5/3 with two of them suited. I put in a big bet and the other player went all in (I had about 2500 more chips than he did). I thought about it and knew he didn't have a 5 and thought he either had a pair like 66 or 77 or had two big cards with a flush draw so i decided to call. He turned over JJ and I my stack was severely depleted. To make matters worse the next hand I had AJ suited and a slightly smalled stack went all in. I called and lost again. The next hand I went all in with 400 and was cracked on the river. From big stack to out in three hands. Now I know how Scottie Wynn feels.

Flash forward to Friday morning at Pechanga. Again I was playing fairly well when I looked down at 10/10. The blinds were 50/100 and I raised to 350. I got one caller and believe it or not the flop was 5/5/3. I bet out 800 and he snapped raised me all in and I sat and thought about it. If he had a 5 he would have wanted me to play but I couldn't stop thinking about the Jacks and eventually I laid it down. I had a pretty decent stack and didn't want to go out that early in the tournament. He showed and A2... so he did have some outs but I had the better hand and should have played. He eventually got knocked out by people calling his bluffs after they saw his hand against me and I eventually went out in about 40th place. But I could not believe I got almost the exact same hand (the suits might have been different) in back to back tournaments.

I will probably be playing a very light schedule during the Thanksgiving holiday but we do have a couple of home games (I use my own money for those) tonight and Thanksgiving night. I also have all of you to be thankful for this holiday season. You have given me the opportunity to pursue a dream and I can never thank you enough for the opportunity. We are still a little behind but plenty of money and plenty of time to go. My immediate goals is to get us in the black by years end :) Everyone have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Lost weekend

Sorry for the lack of updates the last few days, it was kind of a lost weekend. Went with Lisa, Duane and Michael to Pechanga on Friday for Lisa's birthday... all that needs to be said on my part is I had pocket 5's three times in the first twenty minutes and didn't win with any of them. I was out at the break and Duane lasted the longest coming in 23rd and they were paying 20. Was not able to play Saturday so I decided to go to barona on sunday morning. It was a cheap buy in and hoped going somewhere new might change my luck. made it about 2/3rds of the way through when I just called a hand with AJ. Two other players just called and the flop came AK4 rainbow. I had top pair and figured no one else had an Ace so I pushed all in with about 8 times the big blind. One guy folded right away and the other thought about it before calling. He turned over AQ... ooops he was slow playing also. I actually hit my jack but the board matched a K and it forfeited my jack and he won with his Q kicker. Last but not least was Palomar this morning... first hand I had AQ and called a raise to $350. The flop came A/10/7 and I pushed all in. the original raiser called with 89 suited for an up and down straight draw which he hit on the river. A few hands later I had JJ and a guy went all in blind before me. I went all in to keep it to just the two of us when a late player also called and turned over KQ offsuit... and of course he hit his queen and king. I managed to stick around until only two tables left but that was it. I have been fighting allergies (or maybe a cold) and didn't feel great playing yesterday or today. Can't play tomorrow because I have to stay home for the repair guy I thought was coming last week. I might try again on Wed. depending on how I am feeling. Otherwise might not be a bad idea to take a few days off and see if my luck changes.

Mid Week Update

Just a quick midweek update... didn't play on Tuesday since I had to wait around my apartment for a repair guy... see the poker life isn't always glamorous..LOL Didn't play again today because I wasn't feeling well. I did however go to Oceans on Wed. for their AM tournament and was feeling really good about making the money. As a matter of fact I won the first 5-6 hands we played before going cold for a while... as a matter of fact at the end of the first hour I had the exact same amount of chips I had when I started (3000). After a couple of table moves I managed to get my stack up to about 6500. When they broke us down to 4 tables (149 players, paying 14) I had the 6400 in front of me and the blinds were 400/800. I wasn't there for more than a few hands when I looked down at QJ spades under the gun. I decided to just call and see if I could look at a cheap flop when the guy to my left raised to 2400... everyone else folded and it was back to me. I thought about it for quite a while and decided just to call (even though I knew it was marginal and could probably have thrown it away) figuring that if I blanked on the flop I could still toss it and have 4000 to play with but if I hit any part of it I was probably pot committed. The flop came A4 spades and the J diamonds giving me middle pair and a big flush draw... I pushed all in figuring as long as he didn't have AA I at least had some outs. Sure enough he turned over AK giving him top pair but I had lots of outs (9 spades, any Q or any J, for at least 12 outs not to mention back door straight draws).... all I remember about the last two cards they were small and red and I was done. I gotta cash in this tournament pretty soon... I am basically one hand away :) Heading to Pechanga Am tournament tomorrow with Lisa for her birthday... wish us luck!

PS If you are one of my non poker playing partners and would like me to explain any of the term i use here or any posts, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know.

Sometime you gotta hate poker...

OK so i played the Palomar morning tournament... again played very well... was up... was down and back up again. Finally got down to 11 players (paying 7 today) with the blind 500/1000. I have about 10,000 or so in chips and a very aggressive guy (with more chips than me) in front of me bets about 6000... I look down at KK and go all in... a guy to my left (also with more chips) goes all in also and the original bettor thinks for a minute and calls. The guy to my left turns over QQ and I tell him I have him dominated with KK... finally the original bettor turns over 66. I am just asking the deal not to match any ones hole cards and the flop comes 349 rainbow... the turn is a five... and the river a 2. The original bettor runs a four card straight on the board and instead of my being the massive chip leader, I am on the rail. Gotta love (I mean hate) poker sometimes...

Twice in a row...almost

I had some good results at the Pechanga Friday AM tournament last week so decided to give it another try this week... 200 players started and they were paying the top 20. I was playing pretty well as I have been lately and before I knew it we were down to the final four tables when the key hand took place... i had been down to about $3000 in chips and tripled up to $9000 with an A3 suited that held up. The very next hand I looked down at QQ and decided to push again... this time I got two callers (one with the exact same amount as me and one with a little less) and they both turned over AJ offsuit... sweet, they had each others cards. the flop came 356 rainbow (all different suits)... looking good... the turn was a 4... ok still good... the river a 2 for a board straight and a 3 way chop... so instead of having 20,000+ and cruising into the final table I had just over the 9,000 I started with. Soon there after I had gotten my stack to about 11,000 and they broke down to 3 tables with the blinds at $1500/3000.... a couple of hands later I caught an AQ... the guy before me bet 8000 and I had to decide to lay it down and try to limp in to the final table or hope he had something like AJ, A10 or a pair lower than JJ so I had at least two over cards. I finally called and to my surprise one other player also called...oops I thought... the bettor turned over KK and the second bettor had QQ... well at least I had the ace but no go... no aces and that was it for the day ending in 23rd place, two off the money. Turns out I should have tried to limp in but still i feel good because I am playing well and getting deep in the tournaments... hopefully better finishing luck next week :)

A Random Update

I was looking at the numbers today and although we are still behind a couple of hundred bucks, my tournament cash ratio has stayed the same or even gone up a little since before bringing on investors. To date I have played in 28 Tournaments and cashed in 7 for a 25% cash rate. I was running closer to 20% before. I guess because I am playing some slightly higher stake tournaments, I will need to hit a couple of those to really pump up the profits. For instance, I have played in the Oceans 11 Wed. morning $60 buy in four times now. I have never finished in less than the top 50% and my best finish was 16th and they were paying 12. Which means based on my average cash rate I should cash in that tournament soon. Quite often the pot gets up to $5,000-6000 with first place paying upwards of two grand. One or two good finishes in that tournament and we have some profit to work with.

What I would really like to do is hit the tournament bad beat jackpot at Oceans. Currently it is at $92,000. You must loose with quad 7's or better. The losing hand gets 40%, the winning hand gets 20% and everyone else at the table splits 40%... now that would be a nice pay day :)

Just a random update. Talk to you soon

Midweek Update

Well until today it was a pretty uneventful week... came in 11th at Palomar on Monday (they were paying 6) but never had to rebuy. Tuesday went with Lisa to Pechanga for the 2 for 1 Tuesday special and although won a couple of hands early, was short stacked heading into the first break and pushed with AK figuring I either chip up or at least don't have to sit through the break just to go out a few minutes after...ended up losing to AQ when they hit a Q. Wed. was the $60 buy in Am tournament... was doing fairly well with the key hand coming with about half the players left and I had a small to mid stack... I raised with AJ and one player (with a few less chips than me) called. The flop came a J of diamonds with two smaller diamonds. He pushed all in and after thinking about it I didn't put him on diamonds so I decided to call. Sure enough he turned over 77 and I was way ahead.... until the turn and the river ended up being diamonds for a chop pot. So instead of chipping up I was still about the same position and ended up going out with a little less than 4 tables left. I stayed to play a little cash but ended up losing $40.

Finally this morning went back to Palomar and it was crazy early so I just tossed hand after hand. Finally caught one big hand before the break and was feeling better and as it turned out never had to rebuy. Not much after that and my stack kept getting smaller... they finally broke up our table and I had about two blinds left... several double ups later I was 3rd or 4th chip leader when we went to one table. They were only paying 6 but everyone wanted to chop 9 ways. I fought it for a while but since the guy who says no always ends up losing I finally relented and we chopped for $160 each at least to getting me back to just above even for the week. I may end up staying close to home for a while since I certainly seem to win more often at Palomar even if it is for less money than some of the other tournaments.

Monday Monday

Not a whole lot to report today, family stuff kept me from playing this weekend but decided to run over to Palomar this morning. Once again it ended up being close but no cigar. I was catching a lot of hands early and got my stack up to about $10,000. Shortly there after the cards went dead and i wasted a few chasing some hands I would have hit earlier. Finally got down to two tables (paying 7) and I was getting short stacked with about $5500 when I looked down at AQ off suit and decided to push. Unfortunately for me the woman to my left called my all in with about 1800 less than I had and she turned over QQ. No aces and missed a straight draw on the board to end my day in 11th place. Tomorrow will be playing the Oceans morning tournament and cash afterward in and effort to get us back to even :)

The monkey's off my back

Today is the day I have been waiting for.... finally got the monkey off my tournament back. Played the $4000 guarantee at Pechanga this morning. 245 players started and we finally chopped $325 each with 13 left (they were paying 20). At one point I had a run for about 20 minutes when I could not miss a hand. I had pocket J's hold up against two other players... I reraised a big bet with AK suited and got the original raiser to fold... at one point I had guys folding winning hands because they thought I had the nuts. The most memorable hand was after we were already in the money... we were down to two tables and the blinds were 3000/6000. I had just over 5 times the big blind when I decided to push in with AK unsuited. The player to my left called with a smaller stack and to my surprise one of the big stacks also called. I turned over my AK.. the guy to my left had KJ and the big stacked rolled over 2 Aces. A king came on the flop... the turn was a blank and the river was the case King giving me and the small stack trip Kings to crack the Aces and my AK beat his KJ. The $325 chop won't get us back to even but we are much closer. One or two more tournament or cash wins and we'll be back in the black. Feeling much better today especially knowing how well I have been playing it's nice to have it pay off :)

The Reality of Poker

Sorry for the lack of updates the past couple of days but I must admit I have been a bit frustrated and more than a little disappointed in myself. I know we just got started, there is a long way to go, plenty of money in the account and it's a marathon not a sprint but I really wanted to get off to a better start. I also know that one or two tournament wins and we'll be up money but you guys put your faith in me and I am not happy with the performance so far.

The past couple of days have been typical of what's going on... Monday I played Palomar (I always seem to do well there on Mondays) and was doing really well early...then a couple of bad beats diminished my stack and I ended up going out 8th and they were paying 6. By the way Luciano was there and made the final table also, but no money.

Tuesday, I went to Oceans and did fair in the tournament (again no money) and actually had my first losing cash session (only lost $60 but it was the first cash loss).

Today, I went back up to Ocean again because the Wed. AM tournament carries a nice prize pool. I promised myself to play well and be totally focused. I didn't even play a hand for the first two rounds plus being very patient and waiting for cards I could play. I finally hit one decent hand with pocket J's and won a pot. The very next hand I slow played a QJ of clubs and just called on the button. The flop came 10K7 with two clubs and all three players checked. Then came a 9 and the small blind checked, the player to my right went all in with about $1500... I thought and pushed all in to isolated him figuring I had a lot of outs and he couldn't really hurt me. To my surprise the small blind called my all in and turned over a straight he had gotten on the turn. I was behind but had an up and down straight draw and the club draw and sure enough a club came on the river and I had about $10,000 in my stack. After that I won a few hands and lost a few hands when they moved a guy with a pretty big stack to our table. The blinds were 300/600 when I was able to limp on the button with 10/9 offsuit. The flop came 10/5/4 rainbow... the big stack checked and I bet $1600... he thought about it and said "I have a feeling about this" and he called the 1600. The turn was a 7 and he checked again... I should have checked and saw the river but I figured the seven couldn't have helped him and I did not want him to catch a river card that would, so I bet another $1800. He reraised me and after thinking about it I tossed my hand and he turned over two pairs 5's and 7's. He called my raise with middle pair and got donkey luck. A couple of hands later the guy to my left went all in with about $1700, big stack called and I had QJ and decided to call since I was getting 3 to 1 odds. The flop came 4/5/8 and we both checked. The turn was nothing that help either of us so I checked and he bet $2500. I told him he had better have the nuts since we could have eliminated a player and folded my hand. They both turned over and big stack had a K/5 suited and all in had Q10 off suit. I couldn't believe this idiot had called the original all in with K/5 suited and then he bet me out with a pair of 5's. Well of course the river turned a Q which would have given me the winning hand with a better kicker but instead he tripled up the small stack and my stack was now half what it was before he came to our table. I was steaming and wanted to go over the table at this guy but instead they broke our table and I never got a chance to get my revenge. Shortly after the table change I got QJ again in the big blind and with less than 5 big blinds left I pushed all in when a Q came on the flop. Unfortunately my QJ came up against a QA and I was done in 37th place (started with 122 players) and wanted to go over and ring that guys neck.

I might take tomorrow off and wait until Friday to give my self a chance to calm down but I am playing really well and as Phil Helmuth would say, "if it weren't for luck I would win them all"...LOL Ah well, I feel a little better now but still a little disappointed I have not produced better results so far. Well like I said at the beginning... there is a long way to go...enough money in the account and my luck has to kick in here pretty soon. I will keep you informed.

Friday/Saturday Update

Not much to report this weekend... am getting frustratingly close to the money but have not yet been able to cash. Friday I stayed local and played at Palomar... was short stacked as we came to the end of the rebuy period and decided to push in with my last $875 on QJ suited.. figured I would either chip up before the break or go home... got four callers and two pairs to chip up to about $3500 before the break... second hand after the break was in small blind for 200... the big blind was warning the under the gun player not to raise because he was gonna defend his blind... under the gun limped and I looked down at AK suited and although I was planning on going all in I decided to just call and see what the big blind was going to do... sure enough he raised to $800 and I put him on some kind of mid pair (something around pocket 8's to pocket J's)... under the gun folded and I had to decide what to do... I didn't feel like I could call 1/4 of my stack and thought if i pushed either he would fold or AK suited would give me a lot of outs... so I decided to go all in and he snap called turning over a pair of 10's... unfortunately not only did I not hit an A or a K but not a single spade came up and I was done.

Saturday I went to Oceans to play a $70 buy in.... I hit a couple of big hands early including doubling up on a straight against 3 of a kind.... then went a long time with no hands and chased a couple of hands and lost with lower kickers... about halfway through I got moved to another table and quickly won a couple of hands to get back in the hunt. We were down to 20 players (128 started and they were paying 12) and I had about 12,000 with antes of 300 and blinds of 800/1600... was getting blinded out when I finally found a KQ off suit in late position and with only the blinds behind me I decided to push all in only to come up against pocket Aces and once again out just before the money. Top prize was over $2000 and I am one hand away from making the money... planning on getting over the top very soon :)

So close I can smell it

Went to Oceans morning tournament again this morning. Interesting twist that its only 2500 chips and 10 minute blinds, so things were bound to move quickly. Once again I thought I would be out early after a bad beats but was patient and made it down to 16th place (103 players to start, they were paying 10). The most annoying hand was... 400-800 blinds and I raised to 1600 with KJ suited... the guy to my left called and the guy two players to my right went all in with a big stack... i thought about it before laying it down and the other player called the all in. The first caller had 10/10 and the all in guy had AK... I would have flopped a straight and won a big pot but didn't. I was able to make it to just before the money but need to get over the top soon and put ine in the win column.

Cash is King

I went up to Oceans 11 this morning to play their morning tournament ($60 buy in) which I did pretty well in last week. Well the good cards I caught yesterday at Pechanga didn't follow me to Oceans. The one hand that pissed me off was.... blinds were 50/100 and i had pocket three's and called a raise to 300. The next palyer went all in and was called by another player and finally by the initial raiser. I assumed at least one had a big pair and the others might have had 2 high cards so I laid down my 3's. As I suspected, one guys turned over pockets Aces, another pocket Jacks and the third KQ suited.... and of course my three came on the turn which would have given me 10,000+ in chips. I went out later when I pushed with JJ (short stacked) and was called by QQ... oh well.

I sat down to play cash (started playing cash this week as promised) at a 1/1 table. I bought in four $40 and that lasted about an hour. I lost at least 4 hands with pocket pairs including pocket K's twice. I decided to play the other $20 I had in my pocket and turned it into $175 thus getting my tournament buy in back, my cash buy in back and $55 profit. Not a huge day but in the plus column. I did hit a couple of big hands one of which was limping in with 5-7 and snap calling an all in with a 7 high straight to the all ins 6 high straight. Couple of other nice hands later and I got up from the table with $175. Looks like cash can keep us even in between tournament wins :)

The Good, The Bad and The Frustrating

I put a full day in at "the office" today and today the office was Pechanga. I played the morning tournament with my brother (Tuesday are 2 for 1 day so buy in was only $15.50) and went deep, playing much better and finally catching some cards. I think a couple of days off helped. Started with 208 players... made some good decisions and some good reads. Finally got short stacked with three tables left and I had 6000 in chips with the blind 3000/6000. I was in the little blind (half my stack) and got a J3... at first i was just gonna play it and pray but decided to let it go which turned out to be a good decision when I got pockets Aces with my last 3000 and tripled up. I actually got my stack up to 35,000 with 12 players left, they were paying 10. The blinds were coming around again and would have cost me half my stack when I looked down at AQ and prepared to move all in, when one of the bigger stacks pushed first. I thought about it for a minute and decided to make the call. He showed a KJ and I had him dominated... that is until he got a K on the flop and ended my day one off the bubble. No money but feeling good about my game again.

Next I sat and played some cash... played for about 4 hours and ended up winning about $15 so it was a wash for the day in terms of money but.... we were playing for a while when two players on the table (we were only 7 at the time) got involved in a hand and the board was AAA84... the guy to my left turned over KK for Aces full of Kings.... the woman to my right turned over A8 for Quad Aces with an 8 kicker. We all jumped up thinking the table had just won a $20,000 bad beat jackpot..... but it turns out that because her hole card (8) tied the card on the board we didn't win. If she had had a 9 or the board had had a 7 he would have gotten $8000, she would have gotten $4000 and the other 5 of us would have split $8000 for $1600 each...aggghhhh. Very frustrating!!!!

Off to Oceans Eleven tommorrow for the Wed AM tournament. Last week the pot was $5500 so hopefully I can bring the good play of today into the tournament tommorrow and get us back in the black :)

The definition of card dead

Played the $25K tournament at Pechanga yesterday and lasted a lot longer than I thought I was going to, based on the cards I was getting. We started with $4000 in chips and the blinds were 30 minutes. I literally did not play a hand until near the end of the first hour. I was just not gettting anything even remotely playable. When I did finally get an A9 in the big blind and the flop came AKsomething. A player with a short stack pushed all in and after giving it some thought I called. I was right in my read in that I had the top pair (aces) and he had second pair (K's)... unfortunately he hit runner, runner for a flush and half my stack was gone. Finally I was moved to another table but only had about 1500 in chips. They started with antes after the second blind so my stack was being further depleted. After not playing a few hands I finally got an AK and went all in and got one caller withe and AJ and my hand held up to double me up to just under 3000. Blinds at this point were 200-400 and I managed to steal the blinds on the next hand to get me to just about 3000 chips. Still short stacked I got and AJ suited... another player made a a three times the big blind raise and I thought for a while before pushing all in figuring I needed to gather some chips or wouldn't be around long anyway. Unfortunately he turned over AK suited and I was done for the day. Started with 162 players and managed to stick around to go out in about 60th place. Not bad considering how few hands I was able to play but not good enough. Plan to take today and tommorrow off... been card dead for about a week and hopefully a couple of days off will turn the tide. Also have not been playing much cash but plan to increase my cash play starting this week. Talk to you in a couple of days.

Quick Update

Lisa and I went to the morning tournament at Pechanga yesterday. This time around neither of us made the money. Lisa lasted a few minutes more than me but we were both out roght around the first break. I am heading back to Pechanga this afternoon for a $25K guarantee tournament. Wish me (us) luck!

Semi frustrated update

Decided not to play on Monday after the big tournament weekend... did play the Palomar morning tournament on Tuesday and although did not have to rebuy, I did go out around 18th place. This morning I decided to try the Oceans 11 wed. morning $60 (50+10) buyin with a $3500 guarantee. Turns out they had 115 players for a $5500 prize pool and they randomly assign two players at each table as bounty players (you take them out you get $10). I was doing pretty well including collecting a bounty when I took a guy out. We were down to 16 players (they were paying 11 places) with a $300 ante and blinds of 1,000-2,000. I was under the gun with about $8000 and looked down at a K of spades Q of clubs. I was big blind next so i decided to push all in.... seat seven called with about $6000 and turned over JJ (with one spade)... the flop had no face cards but did turn 3 spades, so know I have around 19 outs to win the pot... of course the last two cards blanked and I lost the hand. To add insult to injury I was all in blind the next hand... one other player went all in and we were heads up... he turned over AQ... I still had not looked at my cards and the first card I flipped was the A of diamonds... the second card was the K of diamonds... the table reacts and I am still alive... flop nothing... turn nothing... river.... a Q to end my day in 16th place... if I hit that KQ I definately make the money.... as Maxwell Smart would say... missed it by thhhat much :)

Big Tournament Weekend

This weekend was a pretty big $20K Tournament at Oceans 11. The buy in was $225 but I decided to go up on Saturday and try to satellite my way in. I played two $60 satellites and won the second one to get an entry into the tournament...so instead of $225 it only cost me $120. I went to the tournament on Sunday and actually missed the first hand when my 10 year old nephew called me just as we were getting under way. Fortunately the second hand I called a $150 raise with Q10 off suit and just about doubled up (started with 4000 in chips) when I got Q's full of 10's. Managed to stay around 8000 chips through the second break. The key hand after that was... i flopped pocket 10's on the button, the under the gun player made a decent raise and it folded back to me... I thought about pushing all in but decided to call and see what the flop brought except... the big blind went all in and the under the gun called him pretty quickly. I put one of them on a big pair and the other two big cards.... again I thought for a while and decided unless they both only had over cards and missed completely I would probably lose the hand, so I folded. Sure enough the big blind had pocket J's and under the gun had KQ suited.... good fold until a ten comes on the flop... agghhhh! Never quite recovered from that and once they started taking antes I had to push all in with and A5 suited but lost to a pair of 6's. Came in 45th and they were paying 16. Felt I played ok and am looking forward to more tournaments with similar payouts (1st was just under 10K).

Todays Guest Star

Went up to Pechanga with one of the investment group members, Lisa Schiff to play in the morning $28 buy in $4000 guarantee tournament. We purposely sat at different tables but it wasn't long before they broke Lisa's table and they sat her just to my left. My day ended at the first break with about 80 players left. We were just about to go on break when I got AK in the big blind... a couple of players limped in for $600 and I decided to push all in. All but one player folded and after giving it some thought he called with a pair of nines. I hit my king on the flop only to have him river a third nine. My day was done... I was steaming a little so decided to go downstairs to play a machine while I waited for Lisa. When I finally came back upstairs Lisa was still playing and they were down to three tables. At one point she went all in with her last $5000 and won with a pair of threes. She ended up chopping 6 ways for $503... NICE JOB LISA!!!! Just proves we had a lot of great players we competed against every week at Flicks :)

Big Decision

Played the morning tournament at Palomar (when in doubt go to Palomar) and played fairly well. Was in 14th place (they only paid 6 today) when I got AJ hearts... blinds were 200-400 and a player ahead of me raised to 1200... I decided just to call instead of shoving all in. Tow other players called and the flop came KJ10 with one heart. Three players went all in and I had to decide what to do... I needed to gather some chips so I called knowing that even if someone had a straight I had a couple of outs to chop and a back door flush draw... the turn was a heart but the river was a blank and sure enough one of the players had a straight and I was done. A win there would have assured getting into the money...oh well.

Two days of Play

I was out a bit late last night so didn't get to enter results... decided to play the evening tournament at Barona but went early to play some cash. Sat down with $80 and played for about two hours leaving the cash game for the tournament with a total stack of $145... $60 gain for two hours work...not too bad. Used the winnings to pay for the tournament... made it down to #14 when a player raised $800 and I pushed with my final $1400... he called and turned over pocket 7's against my pocket Aces. Of course he rivered a 6-10 straight to knock me out. Oh well. Not sure I care for their tournaments... no clock, they pay multiple blinds when a player goes out... all in all don't think I will be playing there a lot.

This morning I went to the Palomar morning tournament. Bought in for $20 and had to rebuy once ($20) after calling a 5 way all in due to pot odds. They were only paying 6 and after a lot of back and forth we finally chopped 6 ways for $243. Not a bad morning. To date we have played $208 and have won $388. I believe that is a 68.5% return if I am not mistaken.. not bad so far. Stay tuned

Monday October 5

Ran up to play the morning tournament at Palomar on El Cajon. $20 buy in unlimted $20 rebuys for the first two rounds. It was a full house (4 tables) today , first time in a while. Good news is I won a couple of small hands early and didn't have to rebuy... bad news is I went out in 22nd place. Never really got and cards to speak of... even the last hand I went all in blind and got two pairs but was beat by a set of eights. Oh well, long way to go.... So far down $48 with one bubble and one 22nd place... think I will throw in my $50 winnings from the Flicks football pool (only miseed one game) so that puts us in the black $2... yeah us. More later

Day 1

The new career has finally begun.... started with a $28 buy in $4000 guarantee tournament at Pechanga at 10AM. Played pretty well, slow played a pair of 8's and ended up doubling up when I hit a set on the flop. Never had a really huge stack but did manage to take out 2 or 3 players. Was down to 3000 in chips (less than the big blind) with three tables left. They were paying two tables (20 players). I won blind and had 8000 chips with the blinds 2000-4000. Sat a couple of hands when I hit QJ suited two spots from the big blind.... decided to go all in... two callers.... flopped top pair but player in seat 8 hit a river Ace to bust me... 21st place... bubbleboy... for you new comers the bubbleboy is the last guy knocked out before the money :( 214 players and I came in 21st. No money but a pretty decent start..next time we cash!

Things are coming together

The investors have been lined up (if you still want to get on board, let me know) and the paperwork is being prepared. Before we actually get underway I would like to thank my friends and family for believing in me and backing me for this exciting venture. I promise I will do everything in my power to make this journey a succesful one. Lets get this party started!!!!

And so it begins.....

I am setting up this blog to allow my investors to track my results on a day to day basis. I will also be sharing my thoughts and experiences as the process rolls on. I am excited about this new opportunity and look forward to providing my investors with a healthy return on investment. A New Year (well for us jews anyway) and a new adventure.... lets get it going!!!!!