Poker Journal

November 2004

November 30
I know that poker is a never ending session and it should not matter what happens on a daily or even a monthly basis, but I can't help but look at the month's end numbers. I remember stating in the November 1st journal entry that I hate starting the month out with a negative. Oddly enough, I had the best month I have ever had as a prop player. These numbers are strictly my play during work hours and not anything I have done online or in tournaments. I keep separate records for each of these things. All things combined, I totally kicked ass (at least by my standards).

Although I had my best month ever and I finished it off today with a nice little win, the day started out a little rocky. I played in the $200 No Limit and was up and down like a seesaw. There were two players who played a lot of hands and I did everything I could to make their draws costly. One of the first hands, one of the players beat me with his flush draw and I bet so much into that pot with my straight, that he was barely getting 1 1/2 to 1 on his call. He did this to me a little while later too. I was happy that this player was in the game, but I was a little frustrated that my hands were not holding up and he was taking my money. I got up from the table to do something and another player from the game came over to talk to me. He told me that the player normally plays $400-800 at the Commerce and that the money did not mean anything to him. I understood a little better and was ready to take his chips. I built my stack up and had a nice profit in front of me when I was dealt pocket kings. I was in early position, so I raised the $5 big blind to $35. This is a large raise for this game, but I figured I would get this player to call me and I could finally get him. He did not call, but the other fairly juicy player did. The flop was Q84 and I bet out $100. I was totally shocked when he moved all-in for $400. I thought about the hands he could possibly be holding. I knew that if he had pocket queens, he would have re-raised me preflop. If he had a set of eights or fours, he probably would have slowplayed them a little more. I didn't think that it was possible that he would have called me with Q4, Q8 or 84, so that left me with the conclusion that he had AQ. I called and he turned over Q4 offsuit. So much for trying to work out his possible starting hands. I did end up getting even in the game (not from either of the two players) and won some money in $8-16 Limit Holdem and the $100 No Limit. Making the transition between the No Limit and Limit is not easy. I have to constantly remind myself that I can not play weak hands and that patience is key when I am playing Limit Holdem.

I did not mention that the $75,000 bad beat jackpot was finally hit on Sunday night. I heard about it first thing when I walked into work on Monday. I really wanted a piece of that money, but was pleased when I heard one of my favorite customers got the small end of it. I called Steve that night and told him that it was finally hit and he said, "good". You can't be playing for those jackpots. He is so practical that he is boring sometimes.

November 28
In the Winter 2004 issue of Brand Jordan Magazine, he writes about the Jordan Code. There were some great quotes that apply to poker. It states, "We believe strongly that each of us has to do more than possess our innate talent. We must own it. Drive it. We must prove our worth every day by working harder than everyone else." He said that the Jordan Code is really very simple:

Be authentic and true to your passion and yourself.
Be uncompromised in your demand for excellence.
Earn your success by bringing your best game every day.
Aspire to be more than expected.

I have taken these codes true to heart and will live by them each and every time I play poker.

November 27
I spent Thanksgiving day with my family and went to work in the evening. I immediately started a $200 No Limit game and within an hour, I had my best day ever as a prop player. Many of the players at the table were getting up to go play in the Turkey Shoot tournament, so I decided to join them. I don't know what I was thinking playing in a Limit Holdem Shootout. I sometimes enjoy playing in live Limit Holdem games, but Limit Holdem tournaments are so boring. I ended up making it down to three players on my table, but there can only be one winner per table in a shootout and I was not it. I left and played live action for another three hours and won some more money. It was well worth it for me to work on Thanksgiving.

I played a lot of online poker today. I decided to play on Pacific Poker since I haven't played on there in awhile. I need to play on that site on a regular basis. The competition is so much easier to beat. I won a small tournament and three out of four heads up matches. I played a few Sit N Go tournaments on Stars and wasn't doing so hot until I played my last tourney for the night. I decided to sit in a $300 tourney and focus more than I had been all night. I usually try and play only one game, but I often read my mail, or surf the web in between hands and that totally misses the point of playing only one game. I know this in my head, but sometimes the importance of paying attention escapes me. I realized that after little success in the first few sit n go's, I had to really concentrate on the last one. I ended up finishing in second place. I would be rich if I focused like that all the time.

I am planning on starting a new section for my website. I am going to write a new article every other week. This is something I have been planning on doing for about a month and a half, but I haven't got motivated. I figured if I announced it in my journal then I will have to do it. I don't want to be known as somebody who goes back on my word. Expect my first article up within a few days.

November 22
I had a successful day at the tables today. The second game I started was a $200 buy-in No Limit. Most of the players were juicy, but I was not winning at first. I made an incredible call against a guy with a pair of fours and he ended up making a straight on the river. I was down a nice chunk of change before things turned around.

I knew I wanted to play in any pots I could with the player who rivered the straight against me. I have played with him before and I know that he makes huge bets on draws or top pair no kicker. I got involved a little while later when I flopped a set of deuces. I bet $20 into the Q62 flop and he moved all in again for about $400 (I had only $240) and called him immediately. He asked for a jack and the dealer gave it to him on the river. I thought he might have had pocket jacks, but to my delight, he had QJ and my trip deuces stood up. I was running a must move game and I was bummed when I had to send the player to the main game.

My "bummed" attitude did not last long because the player who replaced him was another live one. This player will bet any pot that is checked to him. Occasionally, he has a big hand and that is how I won a large pot to get me over my losing day. The juicy player raised the $5 blind to $15 and I called from the blind with pocket sevens, and two other limpers called. The flop was 643. I checked, the other two players checked, and the original raiser bet $100. I sensed weakness in this bet because the pot was only $60. I figured he was doing his usual bluffing, so I moved all-in over the top of him. The two players behind me folded and he called. The turn was a jack and the river was a seven. I asked him what he had and he showed pocket queens. I turned over my set of sevens and I took in another nice pot. I know he was pissed, but if he didn't have such a reputation (with me) as a bluffer then I wouldn't have been involved in the hand. I truly thought I had the best hand when I pushed all of my chips into the pot. I won a few more pots and finally left with a nice profit after my eight hour shift. I left with a profit, but I left the $70,000 jackpot behind. Hopefully it will still be there for me tomorrow.

November 21
The Commerce tournaments are finally over and I did not finish it off with a bang. I only made it through about half of the field on Friday, but I was happy with the way I played. I ended up getting 4th in overall points and that earned me an additional $1,125. I would definitely have to say it was a profitable tournament series. The next tournaments I am going to play in are at the Bellagio. I have narrowed my entries down to three, but that might change if I have success early on.

I decided to head over to the Bike today to play in their Sunday tournament. This is the tournament I won six weeks ago (the one where I didn't have the option to cash because I was chip leader). I am not thrilled with the tournament, but the fields have been small and if I play in two of them, I am eligible to play in the last tournament where they are adding $10,000. I figure there will only be 40 players maximum in the final event and it is worth it for me to play with the $10,000 added. I played well today and ended up making it to the final five. When we get down to five players, we are able to take our chips and go or play it out, winner take all. My chips converted to $700 cash and I was 2nd in chips. The leader had about $2300. They started out with the smallest stack and he decided to play. The next shortest stack also decided to play. The player who was third in chips cashed out and I decided it was better for me to play. We asked the chip leader if he wanted to give us $150 each and we would cash out. He declined so we played it out. I lost almost half of my chips when break time rolled around. I sat down after my break and the chip leader decided to offer us money. I only had $375 and with the $150 he was offering, I was worse off then when I originally decided to play it out. The other two players were willing to take the deal, but they understood my point. I said there was no way I could accept, so we continued to play. I was the next one eliminated from the tournament. After I left, the three of them made a deal.

I walked over to one of the regular No Limit customers and told him about how I declined the deal. I told him I ended up with nothing because of it. He reassured me that I could not base whether I made the correct decision on the end result. He also said that if I cashed out, I probably would have come over to him and said that I was disappointed because I didn't play it out. He was absolutely correct. I would not have been happy with anything except winning the whole tournament. I left the tournament and called my friend Mark Seif and he also said I made the correct decision. I guess there is a little comfort in that. The one thing I have learned about myself in the last two weeks is that I have a lot of heart when it comes to competition. I left the Bike and headed over to the Commerce to pick up my best overall money. After putting that money in my pocket, I felt like a winner for the day.

I played in a couple tournaments online tonight and didn't do well on any of them. The Omaha tournament was a bust again and the $33 w/ rebuy tournament for the WPT seat wasn't much better. I finished that tournament when I took all of my chips and my pocket pair of queens against pocket kings. So far my quest to earn my way into the WPT PokerStars event has not been impressive. I have another month and a half to pull something off.

November 17
I played in the $300 No Limit tournament tonight and I got knocked out after I made a horrible read on my opponent.

The night started out fairly well. I finally was dealt a few big hands in the early round of the tournament (pocket aces twice and pocket kings once) and built my stack up a little. I never got to play for all of my chips on those hands, but I won nice little pots with them.

We went on break after the third round and I had about $2400 in chips (average was $1700). I was feeling good about the way I was playing and I felt good about my chances making it to the final table, especially because I was getting a few great hands. I came back from break and after folding a few hands, I decided to make a move for the blinds. I was in middle position and raised with A5. Most players at my table were playing abc and I figured if any of them called, I was probably going to be done with my hand. All players folded to the guy in the big blind. This guy was one of the only players willing to mix it up and he called my raise. The flop was 854 with two diamonds. The big blind checked and I made a bet a little smaller than the pot. He immediately moved all-in.

I saw him do this one time already and he only had pocket deuces. His reason was that he thought the raiser had two overcards. He sucked out on the other players pocket jacks and had a lot of chips. I knew if I called him, I would be out of the tournament, but I really thought I had the best hand. I thought about it for awhile and counted out how many chips I would have if I decided to fold (about $1600). I thought I could lay the hand down and still manage to accumulate chips. The more I thought, the more I wanted to call. I thought there was no way he could have called my raise with any of those cards. I finally called and he showed me 84 offsuit giving him two pair. I was drawing live, but I never got there. I walked out of there totally disgusted with myself for calling with second pair. As time went on, I realized I can't get mad at myself for going with my read. One contributing reason for my call (beside not thinking he could have hit that flop) was that he could not (or would not) look at me. For some reason, Tournament Poker 101 Lesson "weak means strong and strong means weak" escaped my mind. Of course he wouldn't look at me, he had a big hand. Hopefully things will work out better on Friday. I want to win my seat into the WPT event and win the points championship.

November 16
I went to the Commerce again, but I only lasted through 2/3 of the field. There are three more events, but only two of them qualify for the points. On at least one of the two, I would like to see pocket Aces or Kings. Tonight, I didn't see either of them. During this whole series, I have seen Aces twice; one time at the final table (which was perfect) and once in the early round of one of the tournaments and I received no action. I have never seen a pocket pair of kings. Although I wish I was dealt a premium hand or two, I have to be proud of the fact that I have done so well without them. Hopefully, they will appear during Friday night's $500 buy-in where there is a $10,000 WPT seat added to the prize pool.

I was happy with the way I played all of my hands tonight which is a small consolation. I was eliminated when I moved all-in over the top of another player (he was all-in) to protect my AQ. Unfortunately, the small blind called with AK and the original raiser showed K4. I did not like going up against AK, but at least my queens were live. The flop was 432 with two hearts, so I had even more outs (I had the ace of hearts giving me a runner, runner flush draw and the straight draw). There was one hand in the early rounds of the tournament that I am most proud of. I had 43 in the big blind, two players limped (including the small blind) and I checked. The flop was 752. The small blind checked, I bet $50, the next player raised to $100, the small blind folded, and I called. The turn was another seven. I checked and my opponent bet $100. I could tell he was not happy with that card, so I called. I was going to make a move for the pot on the river regardless if I hit my straight. The river was a jack and I moved in for $195. The player thought about it for a long time and then finally folded. I was so proud of following my read and winning that pot with 4 high.

Work was interesting because we got on the subject of Chris Moneymaker. One player said that Chris was "sorry" and I jumped all over his ass. I told him that all champions get lucky in a few hands, but Chris played great poker. I also said that there will never another champion like him. He not only played great poker, but showed sportsmanship like no other. He is a gentleman and has done great things for poker because of his Cinderella story (Can you tell I adore him?). So I finished by telling him to "back off". I know this player well and I felt comfortable jumping all over him. He understood that I meant what I said about Chris, but he also understood I was kind of messing with him at the same time. After I finished with him, another player added his two cents and said, "the only thing I have to say about Chris is how bad of a call he made with those pocket threes." I was ready to blow a gasket after this absurd comment. I have stated in my profile of Chris that his read was amazing. That hand was one of my favorites during the 2003 World Series. Before I ran my mouth again, I remembered what my friend Steve told me when I first started propping. I called him one night after work and told him how the players at the table were badmouthing Chris and talking about how "lucky" he was. He said: "Do not waste your time arguing with these kind of players. The players who talk like this and don't understand some of Chris' plays are exactly the type of player you want in your game. If you are ever sitting at a table and a player says, 'Chris played great poker and the read he made against Dutch Boyd was incredible', get the hell out of that game!" I chuckled to myself when I remembered that conversation. At first I was bothered by the idiot talk, but after remembering Steve's words, I was happy to be playing with a bunch of clowns.

November 15
I went to the Commerce on Saturday to play in another No Limit tournament, but I didn't do well. I was extremely tired from the night before and I did not have enough energy to send myself positive vibes. I truly believe in the power of positive thinking when playing a tournament and I did not have it that night. Both tournaments that I placed in, I went in thinking I was going to kick some butt and I did. I played in a couple of satellites after that and worked out a deal on one of them, but overall the night was uneventful. I took a couple days off from playing live tournaments so I can focus on the events ahead. I am tied for second in overall points and if I place in one more event, I will be in first. First place (in points) receives $6750. That would be a nice little bonus.

At work, many of my co-workers greeted me with "congratulations". It was a nice way to start my day. I jumped around from game to game, but booked a nice little win. The No Limit jackpot is still going strong. It is now at $63,000 and I can't help but fantasize about hitting it. That would be a big fat cherry on top of my week!!

November 12
I mentioned in one of my last journal entries that if I ever got cards in one of the Commerce tournaments, I would be dangerous. I got cards and I was dangerous!

I remember three key hands where players just gave me their chips. The first hand, all players folded to the guy on the button and he limped in. I was in the blind and I raised three times the amount of the blind with AK and he called. The flop was QJT, I checked, the player moved all-in with Q9 and I called. Those kind of flops are beautiful when you are sitting on the right side of them. Another hand, I raised in early position with QT of hearts and I got called by the guy in the big blind. If he had moved in, I would have still called him because he didn't have many more chips and I was pot committed. The flop was KJ9, he moved in and I called with my nut straight. The last of the three hands was when I called a raise from the blind with KQ. The flop was QQx, I checked, the player moved in with his pocket jacks and I called.

Although I hit huge flops and had good starting hands, I was never dealt pocket aces, or kings. It was one of those days where I knew things were going to go my way. Maybe it had to do with it being my birthday. It is kind of funny, but I really wanted to play the tournament for my birthday. My family asked if I wanted to do something with them for the day and I told them I would go to lunch, but I wanted to go play the tournament at night. I invited them to come and watch. My Mom, Aunt, and Cousin came and stayed throughout the event. There was one hand where I got all of my chips in against another player when I held AK and he held AJ. After I won that hand, I went over and told my family, "sometimes you just know in your gut that you are going to take a bad beat, I knew I was not going to lose that hand because AK always beats AJ on your birthday". They all laughed.

We made it down to the final table and I was second in chips. One player had a little more than me, but was consistently winning hands and I was at a stand still for awhile. I finally decided to call a players all-in when I held pocket sevens in the big blind. I figured he had two overcards and this was my chance to win a lot of chips. If I lost, I would still have about what all of the rest of the players (except the chip leader) had. My opponent held AT of clubs and was drawing live when the board came A7x with two clubs. The club never got there and I was in a great position. Unfortunately for me, I went card dead for a short time and when we got three handed, I was third in chips (there was little difference in the first three players chips). We agreed to hear a chip count deal and I was told I would receive $20,500. The player who was fourth in chips wanted $1,000 from all of us and we all declined. The first hand after the declined deal, the chip leader busted the player who was fourth in chips when he held pocket aces against AQ. The three of us talked about a deal again and we agreed to take $20,000 each and play for the rest. I thought this was the best situation for me because I was still guaranteed my money and I had a chance to win an additional $9,000, the trophy, and the first place title. I got heads up with one of the players and he asked if I wanted to talk about another deal. He had me outchipped by a little more than 2 to 1, but I wanted a little more money than $3,000. He said he would only agree to $3,000. I heard my family in the background telling me to go get him. I was confident that I could overcome the deficit and win the tournament because I have done this so many times in the heads-up matches I play online. We played a couple of hands pushing the chips back and forth, then finally I decided to play for all of my chips. I raised the $6,000 blind to $20,000 with KQ and he called. The flop was 765 and I thought I had the best hand. I moved all-in and he called with J8. It was a little worse than I hoped because he had the straight draw, but I was happy with my read and my play. The turn was an ugly jack, the river was a blank and I finished the tournament in second place. I am so happy with the way I played and so happy with my prize money. $20,000 is not too shabby of a birthday present.

November 10
I played in the $100 No Limit tonight, but only made it through half the field. There are no great stories, no bad beats, or no lack of following through on my reads. It was an uneventful night and I am glad that I am taking the night off from tournaments tomorrow.

Work has been going well. I have been playing more in the $200 buy-in game. I seem to do better in the larger buy-in game. I imagine part of the reason is because I play tighter and the other part is because the majority of players do too. I have always said I do better in the $6-12 Limit Holdem than I do in the $3-6 Limit Holdem, it just suits my style of play more. This seems to be true in No Limit too.

November 9
I played in the $330 No Limit tournament at Commerce and finished in 29th place. They only paid 27. I was really disappointed in my finish and even more disappointed in the way I played (or didn't play a few hands).

This week I have been talking about my inability to follow through on my original reads. I even got a lecture from a person who reads my journal. This was his statement in the last e-mail he sent me, "You have the potential to be one of the best tournament players in the world, but I think you need to start trusting those reads a little more to take it to the next level. Just my .02." I totally agreed with him when I read his letter and told myself I would do better on it, but I failed. There was one hand tonight when I limped with 82 suited after two other limpers. There were 6 players in the pot. The flop was 843. After it was checked to me, I made a pot size bet of $175 and the big blind called. The turn was a jack and he moved all-in for about $500. I had him covered in chips, but not by much. I told myself that he was on a straight draw and there was no way that jack could have helped his hand. If he had J8, his chips would have been in on the flop. I thought about it for longer than I did on any hand tonight and finally folded. Honestly, I didn't really want to turn up my 82. I guess I can't worry about showing the trash if I am going to play the trash. The all-in player showed 75 for a gutshot straight draw. If I could have given myself a big kick in the ass, I would have done so.

About an hour later, one player raised in early position and another player moved all-in. The original raiser made the call because he had a lot of chips. He had pocket fives and the other player had AK. The ace got there on the flop and I could tell the player was mad. The next hand, he raised again. I had AT and I told myself he was on tilt. I folded that hand too. The player in the big blind moved all-in with pocket fives for a few more chips and the "tilter" called with K7 diamonds. The board ended up being KQJ and I would have made my straight. There was only one choice for me on this hand, either move in or fold and I folded. If I hadn't ignored my read and moved in, I would have almost tripled up. Those two hands might not have made a difference of whether I finished in the money or not, but I was not happy with the way I played either of them

I managed to make it close to the money without getting dealt any hands. I never had aces, kings, or jacks and I was dealt pocket queens only once. I was in the big blind and all of the players folded to me. If I ever get a hand or two in one of these tournaments, I might be dangerous. I am pleased that I have done so well without getting "no brainers" hands. The hand I went out with tonight was K9 of hearts. I raised all-in one off the button and got called by the guy in the big blind. He had AJ and made a full house on the turn. I made my straight on the river, but it was a little too late. Tomorrow, I'm planning on playing the $100 No Limit event and I promise I will not ignore my reads.

One more note: Between work and tournaments, I have not been able to respond to many e-mails. I promise, I will get to them Wednesday when I take the night off from a Limit Holdem event.

November 7
I went to the Normandie Casino today to play in the LIPS (Ladies International Poker Society) tour. I saw the advertisement for the event in one of the poker magazines and decided it would be a good event for me to play in. The first place finisher wins a seat into the Ladies event at The World Series of Poker.

I got there about 3 minutes before the event started and signed up. I had enough time to talk to a co-worker of mine and she told me she was surprised to see me there because it was Limit Holdem. I said, "No Way!". She told me that all of the LIPS events are Limit and I told her I didn't notice that in the advertisement. She confirmed it wasn't mentioned. I thought I was in hell. Two days of Limit Holdem tournaments. I wanted to run out and get a refund, but it was too late. I started playing a lot of hands and messed around during the first two levels of the tournament. There weren't as many people as they expected, so they moved us to other tables and I ended up on the table with my co-worker, Roni. I told her, you are not going to believe the garbage I have been playing and I am winning. The first hand I was dealt at the new table, I decided to play. It was only Q7, but I figured it was cheap enough for me to call. I ended up winning the pot with a pair of sevens and Roni said, "you are going to win this thing and I am going to tell everybody the crap hands you are playing." I decided to go into my normal game mode when we hit the next level. The funny thing is, that when I started playing my premium hands, Roni took all of my chips. The first hand I had AK and she had A9. There were three hearts on the board, including the ace and I held the king of hearts. The river was an offsuit 9 and she ended up winning the hand. As she was turning over her cards, she said, "you are going to kill me". A few hands later I took my pocket jacks against her pocket kings. I ended up getting sucked into the pot because the flop was KQT. At least I donated my chips to a friend. I told her she might have done me a favor. I was going to go to Commerce and play in the No Limit event and maybe I would win.

As soon as I got into my car, I changed my mind about going to Commerce. I have been playing so many live tournaments that I was burnt out. I wanted to go home and play on the computer. Once I was home, I played the Omaha event, but didn't do any better in that than I did at the Ladies event. I decided to call it a night.

By the way, Ed Yoo (Mr. One Outer), finished in third place. Congratulations Ed.

November 6
I have played in two events at the Commerce since my fourth place finish on Wednesday night. I played in the $300 with rebuys No Limit Holdem tournament last night and the $100 Limit Holdem tournament tonight.

I told myself going into the event last night that I would only allow myself one rebuy. I lost all of my chips when I held pocket tens and a guy called a big raise preflop, a pot size bet on the flop, and the rest of his chips on the turn trying to hit one (he only had one) over card or his gutshot straight draw. He hit his gutshot and I did my rebuy. I played for all of my chips a little while later when I took pocket jacks against AQ and my pair held up. I had the same problem as I had during previous event, I didn't get any big hands. I got down to about fifty players and I knew I had to play for all my chips on one key hand. I decided to do it when I held AK and took it against pocket queens. I did not hit an ace or king, but was very happy with the way I exited the tournament. I outlasted 352 players and played to the best of my ability given the circumstances.

I don't know what possessed me to play the Limit event tonight. I want to try and win the best overall player award, but I should probably skip the few Limit events and give myself a rest. Limit tournaments are absolute torture to me. Although I don't care for the Limit events, I did well. There were 391 players and I made it down to seven tables. I won a nice pot right away when I called with AQ high. I figured my opponent missed his flush draw and I was correct. A little while later, this same player asked me if I have a website and I told him, "yes". The same player ended up getting short stacked and hit a one outer on me. I raised with AQ of clubs, he three bet his hand and I called. I flopped the ace and led out, he raised, I reraised, and he put the remaining of his chips into the pot. I turned my hand over and he said something to the effect of "I am drawing dead". He held pocket queens and rivered the last queen in the deck. I asked him if he regularly reads my journal and he said he does. I told him that hand was definitely going to be in it. I do not disagree with the way he played the hand. I would have played it exactly the same way considering the size of his stack, but the hand is worth mentioning.

Our table broke and I started winning chips at the next table I sat at. There was one guy who was very aggressive and when it was my big blind, he limped into the pot. He told me he didn't want to raise me. That was a mistake to the rest of the table because I not only won that hand, but several after that. I switched tables again and didn't win many pots after that. While I was sitting at my third table, "Mr. One Outer" came and sat down in the empty chair. He had a massive stack. I was amazed at how the one hand we played could turn his whole tournament around. I finally finished the tournament when I raised in late position with QT and got called by the big blind. I don't remember the flop, but I know it was all rag cards and he bet into me. I called with the last of my chips because I knew I had two live card (possibly the best hand with queen high). He showed K9 and ended up winning with king high.

I left the tournament and went and played one satellite. When we got down to two players, my opponent asked me if I wanted to make a deal and I asked him what he had in mind. He suggested a "save" and I agreed. When the dealer gave us our cards, I asked him, "Are you sure you want to do this, I am a good heads up player?" and he just looked at me. I told him I was just messing with him and he said, "Yes, I want to play". I won the satellite and ended up making a profit for the day. I walked over to see how the tournament was playing out and they were down to the final three tables. Mr. One Outer was still in the tournament and I approached him to ask him his name. He told me his name was Ed Yoo. I will be checking the results tomorrow to see how well he used my chips. I mentioned earlier that I would have played the hand the same way. It was unfortunate for me that I lost the hand (hey that's poker), but I am glad that I gave my chips to somebody who reads my website. Good Luck to Ed!

November 4
I had another losing day at work yesterday, but this time I felt like I played well and did everything possible to protect my hands. I lost 3 key pots and all three times I had the best of it going in. On one hand, the player in first position raised the $3 big blind to $16 and one other player called. I was in the big blind with pocket nines and made it $40 to go. The original raiser called and the other player went all-in for $60. I figured the player who made it $60 might have two overcards, but I knew I had the other player beat. The player had been known to play mediocre cards and overvalue his hand. I thought the best way to protect my hand would be to move all-in for an additional $120. The player thought about it for awhile and finally decided to call because he was "pot committed" (of course those were his words). He was definitely not pot committed because he only had invested $40 and it was another $140 for him to call. He had pocket sixes and spiked a six on the flop. Normally, I would be okay with this kind of play because this is the kind of situation I am looking for and more importantly, the kind of player I want in my game, but the guy left the game after he won the hand. There was another hand where I raised with pocket jacks and a player called with two overs. I moved in on the flop when the board came ten high. He decided to call with AQ and rivered a queen.

I had decided the night before that I was going to play in the $200 No Limit event at Commerce. After leaving work, I had this feeling I was going to show them who the boss was at the tournament. My passion has always been tournament poker and it is where I think I play my best game. I started the tournament playing a lot of hands and I hit a lot of flops. Before the third round started, my original chip count of $800 had increased to a little over $2,000. The funny thing is all of my chips came from hands like suited connectors. I never saw a pocket pair of tens or higher. I built my chips up even more and before I knew it, we were at six tables (we started with 449 players). Of course, I wanted to win the tournament or even place, but I still was having difficulty finding huge hands. I finally was able to raise when I got dealt pocket fives in early position, but another player reraised behind me. I have played with this player at The Bike and I know he is a tight player. I decided to lay my hand down and find myself a better spot. He showed me his pocket kings.

We got down to 28 players and were playing hand for hand, but I was pretty short on chips. I wanted to pick up some chips and thought I found a great opportunity to do this. I know many players play to get into the money and there was a player who was short stacked in the big blind. I was on the button and all players folded to me. I looked at my cards and thought I saw J9. I was looking to raise and pick up the blinds, but the big blind (the short stack) called. The flop was K98 and he moved all-in. It was not going to bust me and I did hit part of the flop, so I thought I was going to have to call. I looked at my cards again and saw that I really had J7. I only had a gutshot straight draw. I happily folded my hand and then another player got knocked out on another table. I made it into the money. My chips were in serious trouble and I knew I had to double up. I finally got dealt my first big hand, pocket kings when there were about 25 players left. One player raised in late position and I moved all-in. It was not much more for him to call, so he called with his K9. I finally doubled up, but I still had to make up some ground. Another player got knocked out on another table and the tournament director moved me from the big blind to the big blind on the other table. The player in first position raised and I looked at him and said, "A girl comes to the table and you think you can push her around?" I hadn't looked at my hand yet and I was pleased when I saw pocket jacks. I moved in and he called with his pocket eights.

We got down to the final table and I was about third in chips. We were told that we were not able to make a deal until we got down to four players and that seemed simple enough. This is my territory because I play so many one table sit n go's online. I picked up a couple of chips, but lost some when I raised in early position with KJ and another player moved all-in. I was pot committed and called the small raise. He had pocket sevens and I doubled him up. This was going to prove to be a costly mistake because he was a very aggressive player. The player to my right started talking trash about me raising with that hand in early position and I had to set him straight. I told him to let me play my game and stop with the Play by Play commentary. I won a small little pot from him when he called in the small blind and I checked my J8 in the big blind. The flop was K85 and he bet a small amount into me. I thought the bet was small, so I thought he might be bluffing. My thoughts were confirmed when the aggressive player said, "I wish I played the hand" and Mr. Play by Play said, "I wish you had too." I knew he did not have a hand once he said that and I moved all-in. He thought for a long time and finally folded. I am pretty sure that he was not really thinking about the hand, but wanted to make it look like he was making a big laydown. I was dealt my first pair of pocket aces for the night when Mr. Play by Play decided it was time to move all-in. He had A7 and I knocked him out. We were down to four players and the idea of a deal was brought up. The aggressive player declined and we were forced to play it out.

This was not the time to go card dead, but that is exactly what happened. I finally raised with JT which looked like a monster at the time. The aggressive player said, "I move all-in Shirley." He said it like he was my friend and he was being nice to me and letting me know he had a huge hand. I was smart enough to know better, but I still didn't like calling the rest of my chips off with JT. I had enough chips to throw the hand away, but I knew I had to change my strategy a little. I was going to move-in with any marginal hand and make him do the thinking. If I had a huge hand, I would do my standard raise so I could trap him. There was no doubt in my mind that he would move in on me any chance he had. He continued to move in every time it was my blind and I could do nothing about it. I was dealt horrible hands when it was my big blind (63, T4, 74, etc.) and I had to let him keep stealing from me. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I picked up AQ. I had $46,000 in chips and the big blind was $6,000. I raised to $18,000 hoping that Mr. All-In was going to take the bait. The player immediately to my left reraised to $38,000 and I was devastated. This was not my plan at all. I respect this player a lot and his raise smelled of pocket kings. He raised a little more than double my raise and this is exactly what I would do with pocket kings. The other two players folded to me and even though I was certain he had pocket kings, I had to take the chance and put in the additional $28,000 into the pot. He did have pocket kings and I never saw an ace on the board. I finished the tournament in fourth place and won a little over $5,000 for my efforts. I was pleased with the way I played and look forward to playing in a few more of the events at Commerce.

November 2
I did not kick ass at work today, but I booked a nice little win. One more win tomorrow and I should be even for the month. I haven't mentioned the old man chip thief in a while, but he still drives me absolutely crazy. He decided to start playing No Limit and I wonder if it is just to annoy me. The problem with him playing in the game is that I have to be semi-nice to him because I am host of the game. He sat in my game yesterday and he took a lot of my chips. He was called down today to play in another game and some inconsiderate jerk (not really) decided to get a table change. This meant I had to deal with him again today. Dealing with him is almost impossible for me because I have no tolerance for stupid people. He purposely tries to annoy people at the table by slowrolling, asking how much the bet is each time it gets to him, and talking in a loud, loud voice when he wins a pot. He will ask, "Who won? Who Won?!!" Maybe he was part of the reason, I was not playing my best game yesterday. Probably part of the reason, but more likely it was my lack of being able to tune morons out.

November 1
I had a rough day at work today. I hate when I start the month out with a negative. I played okay, but never got a run of cards. I know I made a couple mistakes in the game, but only one of them was really costly. I made a raise with pocket kings and got called in four spots. The pot was $100 preflop and when the flop came jack high, I bet $65 into it. I figured I would win the pot right there or get action from some donkey. I was surprised when the guy to my left moved all-in. He was the tightest player at the table and a player I know fairly well. I did not think he would make this move with anything but aces or a set of jacks. I thought about it for a minute and kind of convinced myself he had AJ and I finally called. I asked him if he had pocket jacks and he told me yes. I was upset with the way I played the hand and upset that I did not go with my initial read.

I played in a couple tournaments tonight and did well, but made no money. I played in a semi-qualifier for the Monte Carlo tournament and I knew there was not going to be enough money in the prize pool for the finals. This meant that it was winner take all. I ended up getting heads up, but had less chips than my opponent. I could care less about that because I always think I stand a good chance. I played a few hands and finally got the guy where I wanted him. I had the nuts on the turn (the straight). He was a little better off than I hoped because he had a set and was drawing to a board pair and the river card obliged him.

After that, I played in the $33 with rebuys qualifier for the WPT. I was really disappointed to see that PokerStars was not offering a guarantee on this tournament. They offered it yesterday and almost made their $11,000 (they were short only $620) and I knew if they offered their guarantee again, they would make it. This would be great news for me because they would continually offer this tournament if it did well. They didn't even come close to the $11,000 tonight. The prize money got divided up between the top eight finishers. I finished in 12th place. I would appreciate any of my readers that are interested in the PokerStars WPT event to write PokerStars about the $33 with rebuy tournament and their lack of a guarantee.

I am ready to go to work tomorrow and kick some ass. It is funny that when I have a bad day like this, I usually torture them the next day. I hope it continues.