Best Laid Plans

On Saturday I woke up happy that I had written for the blog for the first time since May. I was refreshed after a very lazy Post-Thanksgiving Friday (ask my wife). That night I was having my first poker tourney at our new place and I wanted to straighten up the house. I started in the living room and worked my way into the kitchen. I finally got most of it done and started a pot of coffee while I logged on to FTP. 4 minutes prior to registration closing I signed up for the $10+1 $12.5K Guaranteed Rush tourney. Blinds were already 120/240 and I started with 3K in the BB. The good news was that well over 1/2 of the field of ‎1,863 had already been eliminated.

A few hours later I ran my KTo into and A5o and finished 4th place for ‎$1,471.77.

So about that plan for $900 in the next month... Time to reevaluate. I was planning on playing rush tourneys as much as possible and slowly creeping toward the goal while taking shots in $2 and $3 buyin MTTs with huge payouts. I was also going to run a stake on Part Time Poker for miniFTOPS. Admittedly, All of these approaches were long-shots for an entire $900. To put it in terms any poker player can understand, I was at least a 2:1 dog.

Now I'm a lock for accomplishing my goal and it feels great! I have some decisions to make though. Foremost I need to decide how much money to leave in my account. Historically I play my worst poker after a big win. I don't plan on that this time. That, coupled with the fact that I have accomplished my goal means I probably should leave plenty in my account. But we all know how plans go sometimes...

Next, I need to start formulating a goal for next year. Doubling a bankroll is an easy target (in terms of planning, not neccisarily hitting), but I want to find the best balance between challenging and realistic. FTOPS, WSOP, and WPT entry come to mind.

Either way, it means more writing for me, which means that part of the plan is still in tact.

Full Tilt Poker Academy

On the recommendation of some friends at The Poker Pod, I've started horsing around in the Full Tilt Poker Academy. What an amazing resource! I know there are a lot of resources on the web these days. What Full Tilt offers is pretty awesome though. All original content offered up to anyone who signs up. Furthermore, participation is rewarded on a points system that can be converted to merchandise and poker money.

I started the program while in Attu on temporary duty. However due to experiencing the Dark Side of Internet, I didn't really step into it until just recently. What I really and truly like about the program is that it makes me focus more on my online play. Obviously their pros offer extremely sound advice, and applying the principles will generally increase my bankroll over time.

Essentially the program has a progression that it takes a player through. The first step is a video lesson with a Full Tilt Pro. So far I've watched videos from Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer, and my favorite so far: Aaron Bartley. Each video is professionally presented and the advice is solid. Following the video, the player can take a "Sit N Learn" Quiz, where they are presented with seven questions related to the video. Accurately answering the questions in a timely manner can score the player access to monthly freeroll poker tournaments. Finally the player can take the related challenge for the lesson. The challenge actually tracks the user's actions on Full Tilt and rewards task completion with Academy points redeemable in the Academy store.

In all, I've only broken even since starting the academy. However, most of that fault lies with my absolute lack of focus at times. I recommend the Academy to any level amateur player, live or online. Many of the lessons are helpful in either environment.

Tony Plays Too

A new blog starting up in place of another I had been reading:

http://tonyplayspoker.blogspot.com/

Check it out.

And Then There Was One

After three long, wonderful years in Maine I will be hosting my final poker game of this tour on Memorial Day, May 25th starting at 12pm. I am excited about this game. The first event will be a heads-up tournament. We'll follow that up with a standard format NL Hold'em game and finish up with a cash game.

I am also a little upset about this game. I've made some great, life-long friends here. It will be sad to see them [me] go. But I've learned from the Coast Guard that there's no telling when I'll be playing poker with these friends again in the future. If you're reading this, I hope you are close enough to make it.

Poker Burnout and the Long Recovery

So how did I let myself get burnt out on a game I can’t stand to not think about? What happened to take me so far out of the loop for so long? Well, I’m always one to think that there’s nothing better to drive you away from the felts than a good losing streak, and that’s what I hit. During my trip out to Arizona for Billy’s service I treated my bankroll like I was on vacation. And my bankroll suffered like it was spending money.

Next, I may have played a bit too much in January. This was because of an excess of success and time. I was laid up from surgery and had a lot of unexpected time on the couch from it. I was playing so much during the days because I simply could not do anything else but TV, books, and/or poker.

Finally, I was an emotional wreck from the end of January through – alright, let’s be honest – I’m an emotional wreck most of the time. However, poker proved to be much more than I could handle for the last month or so. My approach to the game has improved though; as I play more games to get back into the swing I realize that I’m handling the ups-and-downs much better.

In the meantime Danny Saiz hooked me up with a great banner and background for the blog. So thanks Danny. And while I’ve lost perhaps my favorite regular reader in Billy, I know I’ve picked up a couple more along the way. And hopefully I’ve started back up quick enough not to lose them as well.

Tilt is Good

I love Full Tilt Poker. I am playing terrible poker there lately, but I still love it. Their technique for allowing access to their pros and celebrities is awesome. Recently I observed Gabriela Hill playing a tournament. I wished her luck and asked her to join my friends and me in a private $2 tournament. A minute later she was registered, making someone’s night when she gets knocked out by them (that person receives a pro bounty and t-shirt) or beats them heads-up for the win, while increasing the amount of entries into the tourney. Another group from Railbirds got Michael Craig in their tournament (same bat-format, same bat-time). The result was both tourneys being pushed over the 50 buy-in mark with half-an-hour left to start time.

January

I saw a total of $475 cashed out for the month. This is excellent progress towards my goal of $1200 for the year. Actually it puts me on pace to earn nearly $5600 for the year (@ over $15/day). That is an unrealistic expectation, as I likely won’t play as much as I did in January in the coming months. However, you never know, since the ever-increasing bankroll allows me to take larger risks.

My most consistent success came on PokerStars at the $1 S&G and the .10/.25 cash game at the end of the month. Most of my money came from FullTilt however, as I hit the $26 45-person S&G and finished first. Since my cash out from that site, I have done nothing but lose. I have some theories as to why this always seems to happen after a cash-out. I’ll have to write about it sometime. I want to say right now that it’s no master-plan of the poker sites to make you lose money after you cash out. That theory simply makes no sense (you already have your money, what does it matter if you lose?).I have been terrible in the last two weeks at Full Tilt MTTs, and I am convinced that it is my aggression level compared to their blind structure. When I switched back to PStars, I saw a lot more success and consistency.For February I am going to stay focused on my cash game. So far everything is going great. In limited action on the 1st, I was able to secure another $100 cash out, bringing me half-way to my goal for the year. I am terribly excited about my play right now, and I can’t wait to take my game to the real life felt in Laughlin later this month.

Speaking of Laughlin, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the support they have shown since my Uncle’s passing. My family and I are doing much better of late. There is a small sense of normalcy that has returned to phone conversations with my dad (poker stories, rooting for the less-hated football team together, a general sense of disappointment after another football season with the bad guy at the top, you know – normal). I’m able to tell stories about my uncle to my coworkers and my kids without choking up. In general, there is a lot more smiling and laughter this week than there was last week.

One of Life's Bad Beats

I started playing poker in 2003 after moving to Sitka, Alaska. Ever since that time I have always had poker buddies. Much like drinking buddies or fishing buddies, our conversations revolved around our hobby. Sure, every once in awhile we would wander into discussion about family or friends or work or sports or whatever. The basis for our friendship had started in poker, and therefore the dialogue would inevitably end up there.

Usually these poker buddies would become my best friends. I spent an inordinate amount of time with them over the years. Each poker tournament ran at least three to four hours. Our cash games would run through the night. Our phone calls would go on and on about this bad beat, or that great rake. At work we would pass the time talking over strategies or felt stories that amused us. We would dream together about one day sitting at a prestigious final table together and having EPSN do a feature about these two friends making it all the way.

This past week I saw the passing of one of my best friends – one of my favorite poker buddies. My Uncle Billy died while I was out on the boat. I found out on Thursday.


Billy was the most driven poker player I knew. He lived alone and spent much of his time away from work working over the fish at PokerStars. My first Christmas gift to Billy was a poker book, a poker DVD, and a set of cheeky card protectors. His first gift to me was Harrington’s second Hold’em book. Family made Billy my Uncle, but Poker made Billy my friend.

Billy and I grew closer than ever over the last seven months or so. I flew to Vegas to watch him and my dad play in the WSOP event #2. Along with the time I spent stalking his play for day 1, I spent a ton of time with him elsewhere. We watched movies up in the room. We went to nearly every meal together. We ran to the strip to play various cash games and tournaments. Probably the most important part of the trip – we swapped cell phone numbers.

Since that trip we’ve been in steady contact on the phone. Somewhere along the line he learned to use the text messaging feature on his phone. Along with the 380+ email conversations over the past year, we’ve also added phone conversations to our repertoire.

Billy has also staked me in multiple games above my bankroll. Most recently he bought me into the Sunday Warm Up. He also was planning on having me fly out to Vegas this spring to buy me into the WSOP circuit event that was coming to town. At every step it was apparent that Billy treasured our new friendship as much as I did.

Really all I can do now is treasure that friendship. I will cherish the time God brought Billy into my life. I will grasp at the memories that bring a smile to my face. It is one thing that helps when my brain is running and trying to logically explain why he is gone now. Or worse, when my brain tries to run through scenarios that have me miraculously calling or emailing him at the right time to derail him from the course of events that lead to his death.

My other help comes from the family and friends that I have on and off the felts. My daughters can’t help but make me smile all day long. My dad is like an anchor, in spite of losing one of his best friends in Billy. My friends at Railbirds are amazing in their support, proving to be a form of therapy for me. I look forward to playing games on Full Tilt with them soon.

This has been a busy month for my blog. I will be taking a needed break from publishing through the remainder of the month. In the meantime I will be appreciating more time with my family, and trying to smile more than usual.

Play With the Pros

One of the best features of Full Tilt Poker is the highlighting of poker professionals in the lobby. This allows players to easily spot where the pros are competing. If you’re lucky enough to knock a pro out in a large event, you get a t-shirt and the tournament buy-in refunded. Some of the pros such as Gabriela Hill will actually interact with the players at the table as well. A lot of the tournaments hosted by Railbirds members have pros show up. I’ve yet to knock one out, but I’ve had my chances.

Some Are Just More Patient...

I just read part of a fascinating blog in which someone took a page out of Chris Ferguson's playbook with a more sadistic angle: He's playing nothing but freeroll tournaments for an entire year. It's quite amazing, especially if you've experienced the play of people in freerolls. It's called Project: Freeroll.

Not For the Faint of Heart

We got all of our chips in on the flop:

Willy Billy

Years ago my dad and I started trying out online poker. He signed on with a PokerStars account and started playing for play chips. They give you 1,000 to start and it’s an excellent way to learn the mechanics of online poker, and the basics of whatever game you choose to play. My dad is an excellent player and quickly built the 1,000 chips into millions.

Eventually we both gravitated toward real money; often he would return to play money tournaments to fill time. I made a return to the play money as well, but it was in the Ring Games. I experienced quite a lot of fun playing with friends at these tables. The problem with these tables is that if you have no friends there, it’s not really fun. The chips mean nothing to any of the players. Some of them have a sense of pride that comes with winning. Some of them are genuinely trying to play good poker. But for the most part, it’s a Donk-fest.

Lately I’ve experienced new life at these tables, as I have joined my dad (WldWilly) and uncle (WatsonWE) at a few of these games. What’s more fun than bluffing the pants off of your dad? Nothing, that’s what. My dad’s friend Richard joins us once in a while. It’s great to razz each other on the table. It is even more fun to jump on someone else’s case when they pick on one of us, not knowing that we have friends at the table. One of the best parts about these tables is that you can try out different strategies. I’ve been using Daniel Negreanu’s small ball strategy lately. It’s good to get practice to somewhat prepare me (especially in regards to discipline) for what I’ll see at real money tables. I can do this with absolutely no risk. Since starting these games up again, I’ve won about $14 playing at the .05/.10 level at the real money tables over three days.

Calling Mom

PokerStars has a new Rat – Errr, I mean “Call Moderator” feature in their table options menu. I have not been one to concern myself with chat issues recently. However, it is a new feature that I might some day be in need of. Basically, the way it works is that you click on the chip tray or options button on the table and select the option for calling a moderator. A dialog pops up and you type in what the problem is.

For example: “playerSoAndSo using offensive language”. Nearly instantly a moderator shows up with a warning for all players at the table. I was pretty impressed with the speed that this happened. As I said, I would not normally use this option. The player I called the moderator on had just tilted a little bit. I sat with him for quite some time at this table and his outburst was obviously the exception. He was actually quite a good sport for the remainder of the time at the table. It is nice to know about the option though.

Custom Tables

I have a friend on Railbirds that has been in the hospital over the holidays. She is well known on the site not only for her friendship, but also for the custom tables she makes other people. I told my daughters about this and they decided to make custom tables of their own for Judy. All I did was draw up a "table template" on a plain white piece of paper and have them go to work.

Here's Abby's

Here's Audrey's

And Anna's