My Inner Donkey

Poker Report: Mar 14 to Mar 20, 2006

2006-03-20T20:21:00.000-05:00

Stats for the period of March 14 to 20, 2006

The stats:
VP$IP% = 39.78 (+) Still playing at 6-max.
wentSD = 24.91 (++)
won$SD = 41.10 (-)
Pfraise = 11.66 (++)
Overall AF = 1.01 (-)
flop agg = 3.66 (--)
turn agg = 2.50 (=)
river agg = 1.54 (--)
sessions = 7
hands = 626
minutes = 402
hours = 6.7
bb/100 = 4.32 (Finally! Positive!)
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = -2.08
Bankroll: 465.36 (+42.01)

Like my previous posting, I seem to have a discrepancy between Excel and Poker Tracker. Not sure why, but I'm not going to bother looking into it too deeply right now. It was a relatively short week, and at lower stakes (.10 / .25), and it was profitable. Not VERY profitable, but at least it's progress in the right direction.

I'm skipping the "Interesting hands" posting this week, because I seem to be missing a large chunk of my PT database.

Final Thoughts

It was a short week at lower stakes. Trying to get my confidence back. So far it's working.

Poker Report: Mar 7 to Mar 13, 2006

2006-03-20T19:28:00.000-05:00

Stats for the period of March 7 to March 13, 2006

The stats:
VP$IP% = 36.59 (+)
wentSD = 14.04 (-)
won$SD = 45.71 (=)
Pfraise = 9.65 (=)
Overall AF = 1.12 (-)
flop agg = 5.53 (++)
turn agg = 2.50 (--)
river agg = 4.50 (--)
sessions = 7
hands = 522
minutes = 295
hours = 4.9
bb/100 = -34.40
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = -2.57
Bankroll: 423.35 (-156.23)

This posting is going to be short, because there's a discrepancy between the stats I kept in my Excel spreadsheet, and what Poker Tracker is telling me right now. It's strange because the info in my spreadsheet comes from Poker Tracker, so they SHOULD agree. But PT is showing that I played WAY fewer hands than Excel says I did, which I don't understand.

I did avoid poker pretty much completely this week, because I was still in the throes of believing I suck at poker and that I should just cash out my balances and never play again, and so on.

Interesting Hands

Hand #1: A somewhat-fishy play wins me some money

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.25 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($6.55)
MP ($17.30)
Hero ($31.70)
SB ($6.50)
BB ($18.40)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 4c, Ad.
1 fold, Hero raises to $0.85, SB calls $0.75, 1 fold.

Flop: ($1.95) 2c, 7d, 3d (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.95, SB bets $1.95, Hero calls $0.

Turn: ($5.85) As (3 players)

River: ($5.85) Td (3 players)

Final Pot: $5.85

Results in white below:
SB has Qh Qd (one pair, queens).
UTG doesn't show.
Hero has 4c Ad (one pair, aces).
Outcome: Hero wins $5.85.

I played this one because the villain was bullying the table, even though he was a small stack. He got quite annoyed with me (even though my odds were good and the risk was small because of his small stack size), which led to me taking quite a few pots off him later. Since he berated me so much, I added him to my buddy list and have been following him around, making life difficult for him. ;-)

Hand #2: I had the odds

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.25 BB (4 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($5)
SB ($18.70)
Hero ($35.60)
UTG ($4.15)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Js, Jd.
Button calls $0.25, SB completes, Hero raises to $1.25, 1 fold, Button calls $1, SB folds.

Flop: ($2.75) 8s, 8h, Qd (2 players)
Hero bets $3, Button bets $3, Hero calls $0.

Turn: ($8.75) 4d (2 players)

River: ($8.75) Tc (2 players)

Final Pot: $8.75

Results in white below:
Button has Ah Qc (two pair, queens and eights).
Hero has Js Jd (two pair, jacks and eights).
Outcome: Button wins $8.75.

That's a shame, but what are ya gonna do.

Hand #3: Pretty sure he had a set

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.25 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($5.25)
BB ($10.05)
Hero ($33.85)
MP ($9.65)
Button ($16.80)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Jc, As.
2 folds, SB completes, 1 fold.

Flop: ($0.50) 9s, 9d, 2d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1, SB calls $1.

Turn: ($2.50) 5h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($2.50) 7d (2 players)
SB bets $3.4 (All-In), Hero folds.

Final Pot: $5.90

Results in white below:
SB doesn't show.
Outcome: SB wins $5.90.

Hand #4: Hmm, did I let him bully me?

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.25 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($3.80)
BB ($19.50)
Hero ($37.95)
MP ($23.70)
Button ($5)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ts, Ad.
MP calls $0.25, 2 folds, BB calls $0.

Flop: ($0.60) 6d, Qs, 8c (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.25, MP calls $1.25, BB folds.

Turn: ($3.10) 4c (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $5.15, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $8.25

Results in white below:
No showdown. MP wins $8.25.

Hand #5: A lucky little hand

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.25 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($29.35)
MP ($20.75)
Button ($7.60)
Hero ($24.75)
BB ($8.05)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 2h, 2d.
UTG calls $0.25, 2 folds, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.75) Jh, 4h, 4s (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks.

Turn: ($0.75) Kd (3 players)
Hero bets $0.75, BB folds, UTG calls $0.75.

River: ($2.25) 2s (2 players)
Hero bets $2.25, UTG calls $2.25.

Final Pot: $6.75

Results in white below:
Hero has 2h 2d (full house, twos full of fours).
UTG has Kc Qd (two pair, kings and fours).
Outcome: Hero wins $6.75.

Not pretty, but I'll take it.

Final thoughs

The week was actually much worse for the bankroll than the PT stats indicate. I think I must have played a bunch of hands that weren't captured, and that's why the stats aren't as bad as I had expected. During this time, UltimateBet was having some serious performance and stability issues, which manifested in many ways, including "stuck" hand history windows.

In my defense, I had enough sense to move down to the .10 / .25 tables to protect my bankroll from the swings of variance. However it makes for smaller pots, which is both good and bad.

All in all, it was a rough week and I didn't play much due to expecting to be drawn out on and the problems UB was having.

Poker Report: Feb 28 to Mar 6, 2006

2006-03-20T17:45:00.000-05:00

Stats for the period of February 28 to March 6, 2006

This week was horrible. Really, really horrible. It was the beginning of a two-week horrible downswing. It was so bad that I had to lay off poker almost entirely. My confidence was shot.

When I was posting about the great upswings I was having, I knew there would eventually be an equivalent downswing. I just didn't expect it would come so soon, or so severely.

I continued playing at the UB .50/$1 6-max tables, even though I was constantly being outdrawn, playing like a donkey and just getting unlucky. I didn't activate the "stop-loss" rules that I'd set down for myself because I kept telling myself that I'll be able to "make it up" if I just kept playing, and played at the same level, even though my bankroll was dipping beyond the minimum for playing at the .50/$1 level.

The stats:
VP$IP% = 34.17 (+)
wentSD = 17.80 (+)
won$SD = 45.45 (-)
Pfraise = 9.66 (-)
Overall AF = 1.17 (-)
flop agg = 4.09 (-)
turn agg = 6.00 (+)
river agg = 6.40 (++)
sessions = 15
hands = 1023
minutes = 536
hours = 8.9
bb/100 = -27.60
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = 0.08 (basically I blew away all my profits since Jan 1st, 2006)
Bankroll: 579.58 (-207.86)

Last week I mused that it would be interesting to look at my quarterly results, and now I'm not so sure. This week (and the next one) were so horrible that they're going to seriously affect my results. It makes me wonder if I can sustain a positive expectation.

Interesting Hands

Hand #1: I guess I should have put him on the straight

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

CO ($63.55)
Button ($100.05)
SB ($43.45)
Hero ($104.75)
UTG ($26.10)
MP ($72.90)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Kc, Ah.
1 fold, MP raises to $3.5, 3 folds, Hero calls $2.50.

Flop: ($7.50) Ks, 3h, Tc (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks.

Turn: ($7.50) Qd (2 players)
Hero bets $4, MP raises to $19.5, Hero raises to $23.5, MP raises to $39.

River: ($70) 4s (2 players)

Final Pot: $70

Results in white below:
Hero has Kc Ah (one pair, kings).
MP has Jh Ad (straight, ace high).
Outcome: MP wins $70.

Ugh, that was horrible.

Hand #2: I couldn't have put him on that hand. Right?

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

MP ($24.25)
CO ($49.90)
Button ($97)
Hero ($112.75)
BB ($46.15)
UTG ($74.15)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Kh, Ks.
1 fold, CO calls $1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4, BB calls $3, 1 fold, CO calls $3.

Flop: ($12) 2c, 7s, 8h (3 players)
Hero bets $7, BB folds, CO calls $7.

Turn: ($26) 7h (2 players)
Hero bets $18, CO calls $18.

River: ($62) 6h (2 players)
Hero bets $21, CO calls $20.90 (All-In).

Final Pot: $103.90

Results in white below:
Hero has Kh Ks (two pair, kings and sevens).
CO has Th 9h (straight flush, ten high).
Outcome: CO wins $103.80. Hero wins $0.09.

Man, that was bad. I didn't slow-play it, and I didn't give him the odds to draw to his flush, but he called along anyway.

Hand #3: A nice straight against the fish from the previous hand

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

BB ($52.30)
UTG ($116.65)
MP ($59.35)
Hero ($80.40)
Button ($33.10)
SB ($75.65)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 7d, 8d.
UTG calls $1, 1 fold, Hero calls $1, 1 fold, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($4) 9c, Ts, 8s (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $3, SB folds, BB folds, UTG calls $3.

Turn: ($10) Js (2 players)
UTG bets $1, Hero raises to $8, UTG calls $7.

River: ($26) 5h (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $11, UTG calls $11.

Final Pot: $48

Results in white below:
UTG has 8h Jc (two pair, jacks and eights).
Hero has 7d 8d (straight, jack high).
Outcome: Hero wins $48.

Hand #4: At least I let my unimproved AK go

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($52.30)
MP ($120.65)
CO ($59.35)
Hero ($96.90)
SB ($33.60)
BB ($56.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ks, As.
1 fold, MP calls $1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4, 1 fold, BB calls $3, MP calls $3.

Flop: ($12.50) 2h, 5c, 7h (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets $12.5, BB calls $12.50, MP folds.

Turn: ($37.50) 8c (2 players)
BB bets $40 (All-In), Hero folds.

Final Pot: $77.50

Results in white below:
No showdown. BB wins $77.50.

Hopefully I wasn't being bluffed there, but I figured it would be stupid to play that one to the end, given that I expected he'd hit a set.

There will be no hand#5. I just couldn't bear to dig further into my Poker Tracker database. :-(

Out of curiosity, I filtered my session stats with my "always play hands" filter, and found this:

Total hands: 99
"always play": 10
Net profit: -$121.15
Pocket pairs: 3 (55: -$2.00, 66: +$1.00, KK: -$45.80)

Final thoughts

All in all, a horrible, horrible week.

Poker Report: Feb 20-27

2006-02-27T17:41:00.000-05:00

Stats for the period of February 20 to 27, 2006

This week was played entirely at UB .50/$1 6-max, with a couple of tourneys thrown in for spice. Last week I got the bankroll up enough to make the move to .50/$1 and so far I'm really liking it.

Six-max is definitely the game for me. My usual sequence of events is to sit down and play relatively carefully for a while and only show down good hands. Then start LAGging it up. Play agressively, build a big stack, and use that as a bludgeon. Ahhh. ;-)

Like last week, this week has been really good. I managed to add nicely to the bankroll, and even withdrew some from UB to be put into other sites. I'm going to use Iceman5 from Bet-the-pot as my affiliate. He deserves the extra bucks from the rake I generate because he gives so much to the poker community.

The stats:

VP$IP% = 33.37 (-)
wentSD = 14.51 (-)
won$SD = 45.74 (-)
Pfraise = 10.61 (+)
Overall AF = 1.26 (+)
flop agg = 5.36 (+)
turn agg = 5.52 (+++)
river agg = 4.70 (-)
sessions = 24
hands = 1678
minutes = 1011
hours = 16.9
bb/100 = 6.68
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = 2.59
Bankroll: 787.44 (+300.28)

It'll be interesting to look at my stats at the end of March (1st quarter of 2006), and see where they're converging on. I still have only 7,877 hands played since Jan 1, 2006. Anyone will tell you that this is a stastically insignificant sample and that you have to be leery of any conclusions you draw from it. After my first quarter of play, I should have over 10,000 hands under my belt, which should give me a rough idea of where I stand.

It's scary to note that quite a few players on Bet-the-pot will put in more hands in a day than I've put in in a week. I've been focusing on playing one table at a time, and have found that when I tried to multi-table I lost too much "context" and would end up making boneheaded plays. So I think I'll stick with one table at a time for now (or one cash game and one tourney). As I gain more experience, I'll add tables as I feel more comfortable.

Interesting hands

Hand #1: A good read

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

BB ($58.75)
UTG ($112.15)
MP ($154.65)
CO ($103.05)
Button ($37.85)
Hero ($119.85)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Qs, Qd.
1 fold, MP calls $1, CO raises to $4.5, 1 fold, Hero raises to $9.5, 1 fold, MP folds, CO calls $5.

Flop: ($21) Js, Qh, 3s (2 players) Hmm, nice flop for me.
Hero checks, CO checks.

Turn: ($21) As (2 players)
He probably has an ace, but I think I'm still ahead. Time to make him pay. The draw to the straight is scary, so we want to discourage action.
Hero bets $21, CO calls $21.

Hmm, he called. That's disturbing. Is he slowplaying the straight?

River: ($63) 3d (2 players)
Now I hope he has the straight, because I have a full house. Time for a value bet.
Hero bets $35, CO calls $35.

Final Pot: $133

Results in white below:
Hero has Qs Qd (full house, queens full of threes).
CO has Ah Kc (two pair, aces and threes).
Outcome: Hero wins $133.

Hand #2: What the heck was I thinking?

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($47)
SB ($35.70)
BB ($100)
UTG ($100)
Hero ($115.60)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Qd, Ts.
UTG raises to $3.5, Hero calls $3.50, 3 folds.

This guy's been playing a lot of hands, and always coming in for a raise, so I figured I'd look him up.

Flop: ($8.50) 6s, Qs, 4c (2 players) All right, I hit top pair.
UTG bets $4, Hero calls $4.

Turn: ($16.50) 2s (2 players)
After this point, I have no idea what I was thinking. Basically, I wasn't thinking.

UTG bets $12, Hero bets $12, UTG bets $24.

River: ($52.50) 5c (2 players)

Final Pot: $52.50

Results in white below:
UTG has Ks As (flush, ace high).
Hero has Qd Ts (one pair, queens).
Outcome: UTG wins $52.50.

Ugh, horrible. I should have had the sense to get away from that.

Hand #3: Betting the draws can cost you

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (3 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

Hero ($277.60)
SB ($76.30)
BB ($133.85)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8d, 9d.
Suited connector on the button in a short-handed game. Yeah, let's play.
Hero calls $1, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($3) 2c, 9s, Ad (3 players)
Second pair and a backdoor flush draw. I'd been bullying the table around quite a bit. Let's see if I can make them fold.
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $3, SB folds, BB calls $3.

Turn: ($9) Jd (2 players)
Only one caller, and four to a flush. Bet that draw.
BB checks, Hero bets $9, BB calls $9.

River: ($27) 4s (2 players)
Hm, he called again and I missed my flush. Time to slow down?
BB checks, Hero checks.

Final Pot: $27

Results in white below:
Hero has 8d 9d (one pair, nines).
BB has 5s Ah (one pair, aces).
Outcome: BB wins $27.

Hmph. I'm not sure another bet (pot sized?) would have made him fold.

Hand #4: Weak fold?

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($54.80)
BB ($118.60)
UTG ($82)
MP ($42.20)
Hero ($85)
Button ($107.95)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Jd, Qd.
2 folds, Hero calls $1, Button raises to $4.5, SB calls $4, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.50.

Flop: ($14.50) Jh, 9d, Kc (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $14.5, Button folds, SB raises all-in ($50.30), Hero folds.

Final Pot: $41.35

Results in white below:
No showdown.
SB wins $41.35

Looking back at this, I wonder if I should have called. Especially given the fact that the villain's stats showed him to be very wild and agressive. He'd raised me off the pot a few times previously.

Hand #5: The power of position

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $1 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

Hero ($150.50)
Button ($68.75)
SB ($64.25)
BB ($91.10)
UTG ($47.80)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 2c, 2h.
Hero calls $1, Button calls $1, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($4) 3c, Kh, Qs (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $3, Button folds, SB folds, BB folds.

Since they didn't seem to want it, I bet at it. And took it. :)
Final Pot: $3.80

Results in white below:
UTG doesn't show.
Hero doesn't show.
Outcome: Hero wins $3.80.

Final thoughts

It's been a darn good week. I'm sure there'll be a corresponding downside of variance, but I'm riding high right now. I think I'm going to post the URL of this blog on Bet-the-pot and get some opinions on my play. I'm sure it'll be a painful but very educational process.

Oh, and I came in second in one of my weekly live games. My wife came in second in the other one. Good to keep it in the family!

Cheers,
The Inner Donkey

I've got a hit counter, baby!

2006-02-24T18:21:00.000-05:00

Okay, get those hits coming in! I've added a hit counter courtesy of ClusterMaps.com. Now I'm a cool kid, right?

;-)

The Donkey

Poker report: Feb 12-20, 2006

2006-02-20T20:05:00.000-05:00

Stats for the period of February 12 to 20, 2006

This week was played entirely at UB .25/.50 6-max. I'm finding I really like 6-max, because the action is much faster, and it really benefits from my agressive style.

This has been a really good week. I was getting lots of starting hands, and they've been holding up. I tended to bully the table quite a bit, then have someone decide to take a stand when I had the mortal nuts. The best possible timing! ;-)

The stats:

VP$IP% = 36.13
wentSD = 17.57 (up 2%)
won$SD = 47.52 (up 2%)
Pfraise = 10.50 (up 2%)
Overall AF = 1.17 (+)
flop agg = 5.08 (-)
turn agg = 2.92 (-)
river agg = 7.43 (++)
sessions = 20
hands = 1428
minutes = 826
hours = 13.8
bb/100 = 19.99
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = 2.19
Bankroll: 476.67 (+244.12)

Top 5 interesting hands:

Aces cracked

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($66.70)
SB ($39.80)
BB ($19.85)
UTG ($14.90)
Hero ($55.70)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Ad, Ac. Yay, Aces!

1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, Button calls $1.75, 1 fold, BB raises to $3, Hero raises to $7.75, Button folds, BB calls $4.75. Hmm, good action. I put him on a high pocket pair, but I'm feeling pretty good about my aces.

Flop: ($17.50) 9s, 8d, 9c (2 players) Good flop for me, I think. He probably wouldn't have re-raised preflop with 9s or 8s. Given the stack sizes, now is a good time for me to push and hopefully prevent him from drawing out.

BB bets $12.1 (All-In), Hero calls $12.10. Whoops, he did it for me. Oh well, I think I'm still ahead.

Turn: ($41.70) Jh (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($41.70) 3c (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $41.70

Results in white below:
BB has Jc Jd (full house, jacks full of nines).
Hero has Ad Ac (two pair, aces and nines).
Outcome: BB wins $41.70.

Sigh. Stuff like that just happens. Can't get away from that one. I guess I shouldn't feel too bad, because I've had pocket rockets 7 times this week and they've held up 5 times for a profit of $75.30.

Defending the blind turns into a great hand

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

Hero ($60.10)
UTG ($41.55)
MP ($42.65)
Button ($65.20)
SB ($83.45)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 5h, Ah.
2 folds, Button raises to $1.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.25. Hmm, I'm in a blind and the villain is a super-agressive donk. So, I'll call and push him off the pot on the flop.

Flop: ($3.75) 5c, 5s, 2h (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $3.75, Hero calls $3.75. Score! Time for slow-play mode, because I know this guy will bet at me.

Turn: ($11.25) As (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $11.25, Hero calls $11.25. That's my money card. Just keep calling.

River: ($33.75) Qc (2 players)
Hero bets $10, Button calls $10. Hm, he'll probably not bet the river since I've been calling along, so it's time for a value bet.

Final Pot: $53.75

Results in white below:
Hero has 5h Ah (full house, fives full of aces).
Button has 6d Ad (two pair, aces and fives).
Outcome: Hero wins $53.75.

Over-agressive donkey mode: ACTIVATE!

This is a hand I had no right being in. Or at least as far as I took it. In my defense, the villain was a real chucklehead.

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (4 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($34.45)
Hero ($49.95)
UTG ($49.70)
Button ($34.50)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Qc, 8h.
1 fold, SB raises to $1.5, Hero calls $1. I called, just hoping to hit on the flop.

Flop: ($3) 3h, 8s, Jh (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3, SB calls $3. Ok, let's try to chase him off the pot.

Turn: ($9) Ah (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $9, SB bets $9, Hero folds. One last try to push him around (big stack bully mentality). Nope. He's raising. I'm the heck outta here.

Final Pot: $27

Results in white below:
SB doesn't show.
UTG doesn't show.
Outcome: SB wins $18. UTG wins $9.

I shouldn't have been in the hand in the first place, and I should have slowed down once he showed me he was serious.

The fish decides to make a stand and gets lucky

For some reason I couldn't get the hand converter to work for this hand. So I'll just paste the text here.

Hand #11535170-15217 at Schenectady (No Limit Holdem)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 15/Feb/06 21:19:53

Kablooie is at seat 0 with $77.45.
MiamiMikeG is at seat 1 with $19.50.
John Elway is at seat 2 with $34.65.
Musgrave 14 is at seat 3 with $10.85.
sokly is at seat 4 with $63.
Bill636 is at seat 5 with $45.45.
The button is at seat 3.

sokly posts the small blind of $.25.
Bill636 posts the big blind of $.50.

Kablooie: Ac Jh
MiamiMikeG: -- --
John Elway: -- --
Musgrave 14: -- --
sokly: -- --
Bill636: -- --

Pre-flop:

Kablooie raises to $1.75. MiamiMikeG folds. John
Elway calls. Musgrave 14 folds. sokly calls.
Bill636 calls.

Hmm, too many callers. Makes me nervous.

Flop (board: Ts Js 3c):

Ok, I've got TPTK. Time to push some people around.

sokly bets $.50. Bill636 raises to $8.50. Kablooie
goes all-in for $75.70. John Elway folds. sokly
folds. Bill636 goes all-in for $43.70. Kablooie is
returned $32 (uncalled).

Well, I isolated him, that's good. I guess. There are a lot of hands that can beat me...

Turn (board: Ts Js 3c 3s):
(no action in this round)

River (board: Ts Js 3c 3s 8s):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
Kablooie shows Ac Jh.
Kablooie has Ac Jh Js 3c 3s: two pair, jacks and threes.
Bill636 shows Tc 9s.
Bill636 has 9s Ts Js 3s 8s: flush, jack high.

Hand #11535170-15217 Summary:

$3 is raked from a pot of $94.90.
Bill636 wins $91.90 with flush, jack high.

Um, excuse me? He called all-in with T9o? I'm at a loss to explain this hand.

Hero chickens out and throws away the best hand

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (7 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($87.65)
MP1 ($44.75)
MP2 ($23.30)
CO ($32.65)
Button ($23.75)
Hero ($60.35)
BB ($21.90)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Jh, Ac.
UTG calls $0.50, 4 folds, Hero raises to $2, BB calls $1.50, UTG calls $1.50. Standard pre-flop raise.

Flop: ($6) Tc, Jc, 7d (3 players)
Hero bets $6, BB calls $6, UTG calls $6. Bet the pot and got 2 callers. Hmm.

Turn: ($24) Ks (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks. This is a scare card for me.

River: ($24) Kh (3 players)
Hero bets $8, BB bets $8, UTG folds, Hero folds, showing folds. That's enough for me. He must have a king.

Final Pot: $40

Results in white below:
BB has Js Qc Jc Ks Kh: two pair, kings and jacks.
Outcome: BB wins $40.

No! He successfully pushed me off the pot, even though I had him beat! Grr.

So, all in all a very successful week. I'd actually be up $50 more if I'd not had my late-night wine-induced brainlock. But I'm still pretty happy. There are still lots of leaks in my game, but I'm getting there.

Cheers,
The donkey

A good weekend; a good hand

2006-02-20T07:50:00.000-05:00

There'll be more detail when I write my weekly poker report tonight, but it was a good weekend. With only one exception (wine-induced brain-lock), I played strong and smart. I just wanted to post one hand before heading off to work:

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($23.80)
Hero ($62.80)
BB ($26.35)
UTG ($41.60)
MP ($25.45)
CO ($14.20)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 6c, Kc.
UTG raises to $1, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.75, BB calls $0.50.

Flop: ($3) Kd, Ac, 9c (3 players)
Hero bets $2, BB calls $2, UTG raises to $4, Hero calls $2, BB calls $2.

Turn: ($15) 3c (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $0.5, UTG raises to $4, Hero calls $4, BB calls $3.50.

River: ($27) 5d (3 players)
Hero bets $6, BB folds, UTG calls $6.

Final Pot: $39

Results in white below:
Hero has 6c Kc (flush, ace high).
UTG has 9d Ad (two pair, aces and nines).
Outcome: Hero wins $39.

Online poker tips from the Donkey

2006-02-19T12:24:00.000-05:00

When you come home really late from playing poker at a buddy's house, and you're more than a bit drunk, having drank almost 2 bottles of wine by yourself, for the love of God DON'T PLAY ONLINE POKER. Even if it's "just for a couple of minutes"! You'll be blind to the fact that there's a strong possibility of a straight on the board when you push hard with your top two pair. And you'll lose a buyin.

So, just don't do it.

The Donkey.

Top set in monocolored flop.

2006-02-13T21:53:00.000-05:00

Top set in monocolored flop.

That's an interesting discussion of sets on BTP that I thought I would share. I think it would be somewhat interesting (or maybe just painful, I don't know) to do a query on my PT database for set-over-set situations and tally up whether I'm ahead or behind. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one.

Poker report: Feb 5-13, 2006

2006-02-13T20:58:00.000-05:00

It's been a rough week. I played too many hours, and when I do that, it seems I get blinded to the hands that can beat me. A painful downswing.

First, the stats:

VP$IP% = 28.94 (playing quite a bit of 6-max lately)
wentSD = 15.76
won$SD = 45.24
Pfraise = 8.41
Overall AF = 1.11
flop agg = 5.58
turn agg = 3.15
river agg = 3.67
sessions = 17
hands = 838
minutes = 562
hours = 59.4
bb/100 = -9.76
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = 0.21

A fun hand. the position steal that turns into a big hand:

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (6 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

CO ($17.65)
Hero ($49)
SB ($26.10)
BB ($49.50)
UTG ($41.65)
MP ($54)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 7s, Js.
3 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, SB calls $1.50, 1 fold.

Flop: ($4) 7h, 8d, Qs (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3, SB calls $3.

Turn: ($10) 7c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $4.75, SB calls $4.75.

River: ($19.50) Jh (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $9.5, SB calls $9.50.

Final Pot: $38.50

Results in white below:
Hero has 7s Js (full house, sevens full of jacks).
SB has Kh Qc (two pair, queens and sevens).
Outcome: Hero wins $38.50.

Basically I got lucky that the SB was a calling station and that I hit my hand in a big way.

Next up, something not quite so fun. The dreaded Set-over-Set:

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (10 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($56.40)
UTG+1 ($47.25)
Hero ($40.15)
MP1 ($37.80)
MP2 ($24.50)
MP3 ($15.30)
CO ($44.45)
Button ($21.25)
SB ($56.60)
BB ($39.50)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+2 with 4d, 4c.
UTG calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.50, 5 folds, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($2) Qh, 4s, 3h (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets $1, Hero calls $1, SB folds, BB folds.

Turn: ($4) Js (2 players)
UTG bets $1, Hero raises to $3, UTG raises to $13, Hero calls $10.

River: ($30) Kh (2 players)
UTG bets $30, Hero calls $25.65 (All-In).

Final Pot: $85.65

Results in white below:
UTG has Qc Qs (three of a kind, queens).
Hero has 4d 4c (three of a kind, fours).
Outcome: UTG wins $85.65.

Horrible, just horrible. Not sure how I could have gotten away from it, though.

Then there's this one. Another bad hand, but I don't think I could get away from it.

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (9 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

MP3 ($65)
Hero ($42.95)
Button ($33.70)
SB ($17.40)
BB ($10)
UTG ($25.65)
UTG+1 ($55.45)
MP1 ($49.25)
MP2 ($24.65)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Ah, Jd.
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1, 3 folds, Hero raises to $3, 3 folds, UTG+1 calls $2.

Flop: ($6.75) Qc, Jc, 9s (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $2.25, Hero raises to $4.5, UTG+1 calls $2.25.

Turn: ($15.75) As (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $15.75, Hero bets $15.75, UTG+1 calls $0.

River: ($47.25) Kd (2 players)

Final Pot: $47.25

Results in white below:
UTG+1 has Ad Qs (two pair, aces and queens).
Hero has Ah Jd (two pair, aces and jacks).
Outcome: UTG+1 wins $47.25.

And one last one. This hand makes me think that after a while at the table, people realize I'm going to be betting at the pot and if they hit a hand, they'll just passively call along.

Ultimate Bet No-Limit Hold'em, $.50 BB (8 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

saw flop|saw showdown

MP1 ($91.50)
MP2 ($42.75)
Hero ($67.65)
Button ($36.60)
SB ($43.60)
BB ($3.85)
UTG ($33)
UTG+1 ($33.50)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Kd, Qh.
UTG calls $0.50, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.50, 1 fold, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($2) 5c, Kc, 4d (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets $0.5, Hero raises to $3.5, SB calls $3.50, BB folds, UTG calls $3.

Turn: ($12.50) Ad (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $12.5, SB folds, UTG calls $12.50.

River: ($37.50) 8s (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks.

Final Pot: $37.50

Results in white below:
UTG has 5d 5s (three of a kind, fives).
Hero has Kd Qh (one pair, kings).
Outcome: UTG wins $37.50.

At least on the plus side I won one of our home game tourneys this week. And when we finally got to heads-up, it was between me and my wife!

One thing I've realized about doing these weekly poker reports is that it's helped me keep it all in perspective. This was a bad week for the bankroll. But I realize that it's mostly just variance. I'm still playing "my game" (aside from a few memorable brain-locks), and if you took away those horrible hands were I was totally dominated but couldn't really know it, I'd be doing OK. So in general, the poker report and this blog are helping me keep on track, and from going on monster tilt.

Keep on grinding...
Kablooie!!

KK in the SB, did I get jacked or make a good laydown?

2006-02-07T12:41:00.000-05:00

Here's something I seem to be having a hard time with lately. Namely, playing KK. Too often I'm super-agressive, which costs me, or way too passive, which costs me.

Interesting thread on BTP about it:
KK in the SB, did I get jacked or make a good laydown?

Cheers,
Kablooie!!

My bet-the-pot posts

2006-02-07T07:55:00.000-05:00

I mentioned that I'd find the links to the posts I've made on bet-the-pot and post them here.

Here they are.

Set over-set: could I get away from this?
KK vs AA held by a LAG
Another KK hand

Cheers,
Kablooie!!

Poker report: Jan 31-Feb 6, 2006

2006-02-07T07:09:00.000-05:00

For period of Jan 31 - Feb 6, 2006

VP$IP% = 30.43 (playing some 6-max lately)
wentSD = 15.47
won$SD = 42.86
Pfraise = 7.31
Overall AF = 0.93
flop agg = 5.43
turn agg = 4.00
river agg = 2.75
sessions = 11
hands = 506
minutes = 305
hours = 5.1
bb/100 = 13.97
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = 1.45

Poker report: Jan 24-30, 2006

2006-02-07T07:08:00.000-05:00

For period of Jan 24 - Jan 30, 2006

VP$IP% = 28.97
wentSD = 16.64
won$SD = 49.00
Pfraise = 8.77
Overall AF = 1.13
flop agg = 4.88
turn agg = 4.14
river agg = 5.60
sessions = 22
hands = 1778
minutes = 1260
hours = 21.0
bb/100 = 3.37
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = -0.34

Poker report: Jan 17-23, 2006

2006-02-07T07:07:00.000-05:00

For period of Jan 17 - Jan 23, 2006

VP$IP% = 25.99
wentSD = 12.98
won$SD = 45.10
Pfraise = 7.92
Overall AF = 1.13
flop agg = 4.70
turn agg = 4.00
river agg = 7.00
sessions = 11
hands = 1339
minutes = 1063
hours = 17.7
bb/100 = -2.74
running average bb/100 since Jan 1, 2006 = -0.60

Poker report: Jan 10-16, 2006

2006-02-06T21:55:00.000-05:00

VP$IP% = 28.33
wentSD = 20.13
won$SD = 43.75
Pfraise = 8.54
Overall AF = 1.27
flop agg = 5.91
turn agg = 4.11
river agg = 4.50
sessions = 10
hands = 480
minutes = 310
hours = 5.17
bb/100 = 16.70

Poker report: Jan 1-9, 2006

2006-02-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

For period of Jan 1 - Jan 9, 2006

VP$IP% = 27.11
wentSD = 30.36
won$SD = 52.94
Pfraise = 9.64
Overall AF = 1.08
flop agg = 3.50
turn agg = 1.25
river agg = 1.20
sessions = 3
hands = 166
minutes = 154
hours = 2.57
bb/100 = -14.64

Just a stats posting. In the future I'll post interesting hands, my thoughts, and stuff.

My wife even has a blog now

2006-02-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

Geez, everybody's getting into the blogging thing. My wife has started a blog as a writing exercise. Feel free to check it out.

Kablooie!!

Got PokerTracker again

2006-02-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, I had a new years resolution of getting my poker game back on track, and so far I've been doing pretty good (two horrible set-over-set hands tonight notwithstanding).

I've been using Poker Ace HUD to capture the hand histories and to overlay player stats, since it doesn't interfere with PokerIndicator, like GameTime+ did. It's working pretty well so far.

I've taken it a step further and started with a "weekly poker report". I'll post them here, to keep me honest and to give me some history. You never know, the day might come when I'm a big poker pro and I would like to look back at my early struggles over a glass of fine port by the fireplace in my mansion. Hey! It could happen!

I think I'll post them separately.

I've posted a couple of times to Bet The Pot (an excellent poker site) and gotten some good feedback. I'll provide links to the posts when I dig up the URLs.

Cheers,
Kablooie!!

Hand analysis

2005-09-29T11:56:00.000-04:00

I need to get back to using Poker Tracker. Originally I set it up so I could profile the play of the other players. What I really need to do is profile *my* play.

I've been going through a bunch of cold cards, bad beats and donkey play over the last couple of weeks. It always goes in cycles. Before this downturn, I could do nothing wrong. I caught cards when I needed them, I played strong, I made profit.

Then _wham_.

All of a sudden I can't catch anything, nobody respects my raises, etc etc. I really would like to analyze a few "key" hands, but of course they're lost in the mists of time. Yes, I could grab the hand histories from UB, but I'd like to use the full statistical abilities of Poker Tracker on the problem. Maybe even code up a few SQL queries on my own.

Basically I think my game needs a tear-down and re-build from the basics. Poker Tracker would give me the data to do this. However, I'm not using it lately. Why? Because it conflicts with Poker Indicator, this nifty tool that calculates odds for you. Ahh, poor me. :)

What I need to do is play with the code for the UltimateHistory hand grabber (I think it's open source?), and fix it to not try to continuously download hand histories for the "Poker Indicator" table that it sees. That would be a fun little coding project.

Kablooie!!

No Aruba for me

2005-09-16T10:54:00.000-04:00

Not this year. I gave it a couple of attempts and played alternatingly too tight and too loose. I busted out quite late in the first one and quite early in the second one.

But, this has taught me that the TEC tournaments are usually pretty soft. My win rate when trying to acquire tournament entry chips has been about 80%. Admittedly, I got lucky a couple of times, but in general I've found that agression pays off late in a tourney. I guess that's a pretty obvious statement, but there it is.

A buddy of mine is going to Vegas in October and I'd really like to join him, but I just can't see how I could swing the finances. There's a lot of things going on in "real life" right now and it's important that I keep the frivolous expenses to a minimum.

The plan was that I would build up the bankroll online, then cash out and use that to cover the trip to Vegas. Found two issues with that plan:

The bankroll isn't growing fast enough, and
Even if I had the money in there, I would be extremely foolish to use it for something as frivolous as a trip to Vegas.

Sigh.

In other news, I won my first 30-player multi-table tournament the other day. Same strategy. Play super-tight until the blinds get up to the danger zone, then get agressive. Steal a few pots, then start playing the role of big-stack bully. It finally got down to a very exciting heads-up match. The other guy was almost as agressive as me, so the chip lead bounced back and forth for a while. Then I hit some lucky cards, slow-played them and won. It was a pretty good game.

My "regular" game is still the .25 / .50 cash game tables on UltimateBet, though. In general, I'm doing OK there. Just keep nut-peddling. That seems to be the way to make money. Kinda boring, though. Played a few 6-handed games and found I really like it- the action is fast and the starting hand requirements are lower. And, agression pays off! Perfect for me. :-)

Tournament Entry Chips and Satellites

2005-09-01T12:53:00.000-04:00

So far I've only played at Royal Vegas (a Prima site) and UltimateBet. Mostly UltimateBet, really. I quite like its software and in general it just 'works' for me.

So as I've been playing along, moving up from the .01/.02 to the .05/.10 all the way up to the dizzying heights of .10/.25, I've been accumulating these UltimatePoints. I had the vaguest notion of what they were -- something about free points they give you for playing hands, that you can then redeem for things like caps, t-shirts, books or Harley Davidson motorcycles. I never really paid much attention to the number of UltimatePoints I was accumulating, because I knew you had to run them up to a huge number before you could redeem them for the really interesting things. Team UltimateBet t-shirt? Not thanks. Trip for two to a sunny climate? Sure!

UltimateBet sends me a lot of "promotional" email. The latest one is about this year's Aruba Classic event. Apparently it's a World Poker Tour event in Aruba and you can win your way into it by playing a few relatively cheap tournaments and winning. Hmm. Sounds interesting.

This led me to learn about TEC tournaments. TEC stands for Tournament Entry Chip. So the idea is you can play a single-table tournament (buy-in $11+1 plus a bunch of UltimatePoints) and if you win, you get $10 back plus one TEC. You can then use this TEC to buy into the bigger ($100+9) tournament that if you win (or is it place?), you're on your way to Aruba. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Phase 1: enter and win a TEC tournament: complete.

Downs and Ups

2005-09-01T12:42:00.000-04:00

Poker drives me nuts.

More to the point, *I* drive me nuts.

I'll be cruising along, playing strong, making smart plays, good laydowns, and so on. Then... "The Hand" happens.

I'll have top pair, top kicker or maybe top two pair with a draw, and I'll put out a decent sized raise and the other guy will put in a really big re-raise. Rather than thinking 'hm, he might have a made straight', or 'watch out, he might have the nut flush', I think things like "hey! That's MY pot! I've got the best hand and I'm gonna make you suffer!'.

Of course I do something rash like re-raise all in, get called and of course he has his made straight or flush and the old bankroll takes a beating.

Grrr.

Thinking about this a bit more and doing a bit of reading (Harrington on Holdem is quite good), has made me (re-)realize that I need more discipline in my game. Usually I follow the pattern of solid, small pots won for a long time, then *wham* - big pot lost. So, I hereby resolve to:

RESPECT THE RE-RAISE

What this means is that if I get a big re-raise coming into me, really seriously THINK about what he might be raising with. Making a good but tough laydown is better than losing my stack.

Of course, I have to take into account the guy's betting patterns, what's been going on in the hand, the relative stack sizes, and so on. But the core remains: when a big re-raise hits me in the face, don't assume he's bluffing. Really think about what he could have. Lay it down if necessary.

It'll cut down on the ulcers.

Nut-peddling

2005-08-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

I've discovered a couple of things over the past few days:

The other players aren't much more skilled up a level at the UB 25 and 50 cent tables. Previously I was playing the 10 and 25 cent tables. Still not a high-roller, and still not completely committed to these new dizzying heights.
You can make money by nut-peddling. Just wait around, folding everything that's not positive EV, and come in for a raise when you do finally get a really good starting hand. People will always call. If you hit on the flop, push hard. If not, push anyway. ;-) Get lucky a couple of times and bust out a few guys, and the table is afraid of you. THEN you can do a few button-steals. Very basic online poker, but it seems to be profitable.

Hosted a home game this weekend. We had 10 players for 2 games of $5 each. I came in second and first, so I'm quite happy. There's nothing quite like having your nemesis decide to go all-in preflop and looking down at pocket rockets. Or catching the extremely unlikely runner-runner-runner flush to cripple another guy. Yeah, I got lucky. Yeah, I'm OK with that. :-)

More ups and downs

2005-07-29T09:56:00.000-04:00

Things I've got to stop doing:

Chasing flushes against made big hands, especially when:

There's a full house potential on the board
he's pushing hard to make sure I don't get odds to call

Paying off callers when I'm on a steal
Pushing agressively with the second-best hand

If I followed these simple rules, I'd lose less. And the meager winnings I've scraped together wouldn't be swallowed up. Sigh.

I went on a terrible run of bad cards and donkey play over the last week or so. Lose, lose, lose. That's all I've been doing. Every once in a while, I'd win a bunch and think I was all that and then some, which would inevitably lead to me donking off my winnings and more.

Tighten down. Don't chase when the odds don't favour it. Don't bluff the calling stations. Only try to steal if no real agression is shown.

I want to get back into using PokerTracker. I was using it (and GameTime+) for quite a while, but I ran into a conflict with this nifty PokerIndicator tool, which basically forced me to choose between PokerTracker and PokerIndicator. In the short term, PokerIndicator has won out because I'm trying to tighten down my starting hand requirements. Longer term, I want to get back to using PokerTracker because it helps me with my "reads".

That's all for now.
The Donkey

Ups and downs

2005-07-25T09:09:00.000-04:00

Ahh, good old variance. I'm finding that there are times when I can't lose, and others when I can't catch a hand to save my life.

Earlier this week, I was on a roll. I was making back the money that I'd lost the week before, and it felt good. My style, it seems, works well when I'm the big stack or one of the few big stacks at the table. Then I find I'm taking lots of small pots and the occasional big one.

The problem comes when the cards go cold and I blithely continue this very agressive style, refusing to believe that I'm beat and that I'm not going to chase the villain off the pot. I need to learn to settle down and tighten up more when this happens.

For example, last night: for several hands in a row I had good starting hands (AKs, KQs, etc) and raised them up in late position with 3-4x the BB, only to get 3 or more callers. Then of course I totally miss the flop, and have the barest of outside draws for my flush. What to do in this situation? My usual strategy is to try a good-sized (2/3 of the pot) continuation bet. Of course I get more callers, or even raisers. The inner donkey was causing me to push hard back at them, which of course ends up costing me pots.

Sigh...

Gotta tighten up the game a bit post-flop, I guess.

My wife made me do it

2005-07-07T12:49:00.000-04:00

So here I am, posting my very first "poker blog" entry. Nothing much to say yet.

I'm a small-stakes online player, just really getting started in this wonderful/frustrating game of poker. So far I mostly play at UltimateBet, with a sprinkling of Royal Vegas thrown in for flavour.

Since I'm just getting started with the game, I've picked up a couple of good books (Harrington on Holdem and Sklansky's Small Stakes Holdem) and I'm playing at the .10 / .25 tables. Gotta keep the downswings small.

I also attend and sometimes host a weekly poker event, and I've been doing OK there. Not great, but OK. Since we're a bunch of geeks, we carefully track our stats and post them on the web. Yes, I know. I said we were geeks, didn't I?

I've played in a total of ONE real casino no-limit holdem tournament. A few friends and I tranvelled to the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino one hot Sunday. I didn't do well (too tight and never caught anything worth playing), but I did have the honour of being busted out by a Royal Flush (first one I'd seen in the flesh).

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to periodically post to this blog as I struggle my way through coralling my inner donkey.

My online name is:
Kablooie!!

Who says you can't buy happiness?

2005-07-07T10:12:00.000-04:00

Here's a lame picture of me. Not the most flattering one, but hey -- you've got to work within your limits.

That's from my snazzy new Motorola V551 cell phone. Never had a phone with a camera (even a shitty one) before. Kinda neat. I always love getting new toys. They make me happy.

The old ancient Nokia has been past the end of its useful life for oh, at least 3 years. So I finally took it out around the barn a couple of days ago when the Rogers Wireless representative happened to be doing a promotion in the lobby of where I work.

So far, I'm quite happy with it.