Thursday, May 28, 2009

Penguins vs. Wings Part 2

Looking for some tickets to go down to Detroit this weekend and cheer for my Penguins. I think that some of the injuries to Detroit players may be the difference vs. last year. Also Malkin will not be playing hurt like I think he was for the first few games of the finals last year. Those things could be the difference as long as Fleury doesn't give up silly goals at the wrong time.

This is going to be fun. Chicago had one hell of a year and I bet that they are going to be much tougher to beat next year in the west.

Lets hope that the recession keeps ticket prices low for us Canadians trying to get to see their first Stanley Cup Final game.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Rolling along

Been a few days since I played online so I got in a good 90 minute session today. Was up over 3 buyins which rocks over 450 hands. The biggest thing that went right was folding big hands against nits which has always been a problem for me.




In this hand antojke looks like a bigger overpair or a set. His stats are 12/11/3.9 (600 hands) so the call of the PFR and then the raise on the flop is a giveaway. His high aggro factor means that this could be a draw but I would be taking a coinflip at best and most likely a big dog. So pitch it away.



This hand is one where I use big hands like 99-AA to reraise squeeze and build big pots while I am most likely ahead. The shortstack calling the $1 raise really disguises my hand. On the flop being OOP I bet 1/2 pot so I don't give away any free cards. Villian in this hand is playing 29/24/6.0 over only 60 hands but I expect him to be super aggro. So the push here will more often just be a move to get me off of a AK or AQ type hand so the call is much easier. I have also committed more of my stack to the pot so I will stack off with overpairs in this situation.

In the past I end up all in each time I have an overpair and not use the data that is sitting in front of me. The only other exciting hand of the day also made me some cash by utilizing my data.



The villian in this hand had played only 65 hands and was showing 27/24/4.0 on his stats. The other stat for him that really stood out to me was that he was 3 betting 18.5% of the time! So I figure he is really using his position and 3 bets to win his cash. So when he reraises me from the button I am not giving him credit for a big hand. That made it so much easier to stack off with ATo there because I think I am ahead of his reraise range a lot of the time. He left the table shortly after this hand which always makes me feel good.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Loving Live Cash Games

Just got home after an 8 hour session playing 1/2 NL and it was mostly 6 max due to a lack of players showing up. This was my first time to this location and I have to say that it was the worst group of players that I have ever seen. We had one 80 year old guy at the table that played super tight but really weak. Only had a couple LAGs all night but most of them would give me tons of respect each time that I reraised them with position. Most of them would call a raise with junk and then fold to a cbet so it was an easy way to really build my stack. I tilted a calling station when I told him that I got him to fold when I missed my flush (I really had flopped a set). Very next hand I get KK and on a K high flop I bet and he calls my value bets to the river with 2nd pair.

It was a good +$460 session even after paying a huge rake all evening. They have a big turnout on Tuesday nights but the only problem that I have is that they are quite a haul from where I live. We will see if I can make it out there to continue to pick up some good cash to pay some bills.

On a sad note it doesn't look like I can meet the requirements to get even the bronze iron man status this month. That is dissapointing and hopefully I can easily meet that standard next month.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Astin Nails It like the Penguins!

I was reading Astin's blog and he said the following about Obama the other day:

"Obama's a nice guy... so far, he's a floundering president who increasingly disappoints with his scattershot approach to various issues in the hopes we miss the epic failures that his administration is continuing. Perhaps he needs to hire a few of those dissenting voices he claimed he wanted in his cabinet, instead of morons who spew the same bullshit reasoning and flaccid arguments for their unrealistic policies."

Damn that explains my thoughts for sure about the first 100 days of his term. Now if Barney Frank could ever get his gambling bill out of his sub committee I would look forward to inviting back all the fish!

Good thing the Penguins won last night to keep me happy on that front.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Super Aggro

I find that every time I watch some Stoxpoker videos and then start playing that my aggro factor goes up a bunch. This is good in a way since the one time I saw some high level stats they were in line with my post video approach. So the stuff from the videos is sinking in and when I watch I can call out the next play usually before it happens. Those coaches still shock me from time to time with the lines that they use! The only problem I have with the approach is that I end up with a ton of extra variance at the beginning of my sessions (usually negative) which I have to work out of before I can turn a profit.

I will say that this month I am quite dissapointed with the number of hands I am playing as I won't even be able to qualify for silver status for the iron man. The main goal now is to make sure that I get in enough hands to at least get the bronze status and work harder next month.

The "poker" computer needs to get the DVD replaced but it isn't a standard connection... thanks Dell for that shit micro sized tower. So I will have to go to a computer store and get that fixed so I can install my Spanish Rosetta Stone lessons. That will allow me to actually make a trip to South America before I begin to look for a job again.

The NHL playoffs are rolling along perfectly for me except that I was hoping that Chicago would slow down those Wings. Now the Penguins will just have to find a way to finish off Carolina and get rested... all of these days off between games should help out Gonchar get back into some sort of form for the finals. Then we need Osgood to play like shit and Fleury to play like a man possessed... do you feel the fear I have of the Wings? Sort of feels like having QQ on an AK9 monocrome board and you have none of that suit facing 4 maniacs who called your preflop raise!

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Penguins night tonight!

Well been watching a lot of hockey and not playing a lot of poker these last few days. Getting ready to head to the "lucky" bar where I was when the Pens won the last two games. Not sure if Ovechkin got anything for the hit that hurt Gonchar last game but I am sure that a couple guys run him to to even it out. I would prefer if they focused on some of the defensemen as they have a few guys playing hurt.

The good thing is that the Penguins figured out that goalie for the Capitals and now they can run him from the net if they get to him early.

Hoping to get my computer setup correctly tomorrow and then installed in my new office. Then I can take the poker hands up a notch.

I also started to watch the first season of Smallville but so far it isn't a very good show at all. Who knows maybe it will grow on me.

As for Mother's Day I took my mom out today for a nice dinner at Rodney's Osyter House. I always order a bunch of stuff for the table to share which costs a bit but makes sure that everyone gets a lot of food and trys a few new things.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Ads and stuff

I find it funny when I go to see how my blog looks and see "One Tree Hill" ads on it. Maybe I have a young sexy look to me that draws that type of crowd!

Yesterday was my first good long session in a while and I managed to stay off of tilt even though the stock market gave me a pounding. Strange to think that I worry so much about so little poker cash but my stock portfolio is giving me much more variance and I rarely flinch.

Well I am way behind in watching my Stoxpoker videos for the NLH beginners series but I expect to do some catchup today and play another 1k hands if all goes well.

Tonight hopefully the Penguins kick it up a notch and crush the Caps and drive that damn rookie goalie from the net. That will give them something to worry for game 5 which would be nice.

Aside from that not much else is going on. Grind away!

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Go Pens Go!

Well so far this month has been a slow start for me. Been moving to a new place over the last week and not getting in as many hands as I would like. The goal this month is to focus on playing fewer hands but of a much higher quality. So 4 tables max and only with the fish that I am looking for at the correct part of the table.

That has resulted in a 4 BI upswing over very few hands. Nice to run well for a little bit again and get myself motivated to continue to watch the videos and review sessions.

Coaching helps and I never thought I would need so much help with my game but so far so good!

Also seeing my Penguins win last night sure helped my state of mind. The good thing is that I didn't drink so much that my head hurts today. Drinking less at night and getting some sleep are things that will also improve my game.

For those who want to check out some pics of some hot chicks in the best swimwear... check out Wicked Weasel. Another anti-tilt device that I have found. Nice to see women submit their own photos for posting on the site.