Enjoy yourself

When I talk to my Grandpa it is always about 1 of 2 things: poker or football. Seeing how Michigan is pwning the Big Ten and my high school missed the playoffs I don't really need football discussion but lately poker has been a bit of a grind so I was just telling him about how I've been running poorly and switched games for a while. He then hit me with some advice that I hadn't really considered.

"To me it sounds like you aren't having fun any more. Make the game fun again."

I haven't ran much better the last few days, but it sure has been a hell of a lot more enjoyable. I have a new tactic where I don't check my account balance during/after a session. I also have been really focusing and giving each hand my full concentration. The change of game definitely helps my concentration because PLO has so many interesting situations it really keeps me on my toes. I could post 10 HH's a day on The Cooler where I had no idea what the correct play was. PLO allows me to play a little bit more by feel than I do in NLHE.

Looking forward to playing some serious hands in the coming weeks and helping to get the Michigan Poker League up and running.

Hit the tables and have some fun.

We get four cards?

grapsfan wrote a really good article at a really good time for me. My last post was pretty miserable due to the way I had been running lately. I put a ton of stock in long run results, but when you run horribly for 3 days it is hard to ignore. Playing within my bankroll is perhaps the only silver lining because I guarantee if I was playing with the bankroll management of the average player I would have been on tilt and went busto.

grapsfan suggested playing a different game to bust a slump so I returned home to PLO. I made my first serious money playing PLO on Stars during my freshman year and lately have found a new love for the game. I've played about 4,000 hands in the last 3 days and I'm running ridiculously well including a day where I netted 7 full buy-ins. Only problem with PLO is there aren't any games running on AP so I am missing out on rakeback until FTP/CTR decided to get their act together.

I also spent some time today watching some Cardrunners videos. I watched some of the NL cash game play as well as the latest ActionJeff MTT videos that I hadn't been able to watch for awhile. I've realized that in a few key situations in MTT's I'm making plays that are very different than AJ and I will try to adjust in future tournaments. My buddy davester also went over the HH from the FT run I made in the 180-SNG (assumingly for his own benefit) and found a play I make that may be exploitable. Basically I was applying a cashgame c-bet/value betting style to my MTT play which may not have maximized my EV. I appreciate ANY constructive criticism of my game. Getting better and learning from your mistakes is often much easier when someone else is helping you find the mistakes. If I post a HH and you're left scratching your head, please post a comment.

PLO Hand - The game in a nutshell. 1/2 the deck hits me and I'm at best a 65% on any street.

Tomorrow is a new day (again)

Never felt so low on my poker game. I spent at least an hour reviewing big pots I've lost lately in PT. I cannot find a hole. I would offer my HH's to anyone that doubts that fact. I am playing good poker. I am playing KKush poker.

No one deserves to run like this. I seem to reach this point about once a month when I doubt my poker ability and really wonder how I lucksacked my way through the summer. I have 125k hands in PokerTracker that say I'm a winning player but right now it honestly seems like no one could beat these games. Today I was set-over-setted twice which is just brutal but I also flopped middle set vs. top-and-bottom and managed to lose a buy-in there. GIFAFI.

I completed the "chip-and-a-chair" story today. After another disgusting bad beat I was down to 60 chips from my starting 1500 in a 180-SNG on Stars. I managed to turn those 60 chips into ~70k and was CL with 6 left at the FT. I managed to make a few poorly timed raises when I folded to resteals and finished 5th when I flopped an ace in position and was up against the bigger ace. Another chance to win blown by KKush. FT's never seem to get old though. Simple math tells me that if I go to 20 FT's and there are only 9 seats at each one, I should be able to apply the "blind squirrel" logic and notch another win.

The fields on Star's regular MTT's are getting ridiculously huge (thank you Party/Dise). The daunting task of beating 2000 donkeys to win anything on Stars is a bit much for me for a normal freezeout. The $5r and $11r will probably be the only large field events that I play for awhile. The 180-SNG's are still showing me some love, so I might take a few more stabs at those.

Venting

I'm running bad lately so poker is a bit of a sore subject. When you're losing this game is incredibly frustrating and emotionally draining. If you have ever had a legitimate bad run then you know the exact feeling. Continually getting out-flopped, out-drawn, or coolered is a miserable feeling. Perhaps equally frustrating have been the times in the past days when I've flopped a set/straight/flush and not gotten any action in raised pots. Implied odds only work when you actually get paid after hitting. Ugh.

P5's released their new rankings today. I knew that some players would fall due to lack of volume but I was shocked at some results. TheWacoKid was 62, Shaniac was 22, and ActionJeff was 33. I cannot fathom how these player's results are not atleast twice as good as some of the players ranked above them. 3 months isn't a very long time but I think the new system clearly values quantity over quality.

The pro poll is clearly a popularity contest. There is just no way that people familiar with online MTT would put players like AJ #13 and sheets #15. To say that there are 12 and 14 players better than each of these people respectively is a complete joke. Name 12 players that have AJ or sheet's results in the last year. You can't. This isn't high school homecoming. Whether or not someone is liked should have absolutely no bearing on a ranking of his/her online poker ability. If you're selected as a "Pro" you should act like a professional and vote on merit.

The fact remains that I am far more impressed with actual $ amounts than I am with any rankings. The "Office Reports Official Ranking System" looks at one number only--Profit. Volume, ITM%, ROI are all pretty nice to look at, but I can't pay the bills by telling my landlord I had a 150% ROI last month. If I put up 6-figure profits in a year playing poker online I think I would print out any rankings that didn't have me in the top 10 and wipe my ass with it.

Some good things did come from the rankings. Tmay, Annette, t soprano are all great players who may have flown under some people's radars for awhile. Tmay won the TLB points so I have a hard time saying anyone is more deserving of the top spot than he is--well done sir. I played with Annette several times in the past months and not only can she play, but she is very talkative and friendly at the table and was willing to look at some HH's for me after I busted at a UB FT. I am extremely happy that the system worked for some people.

Tomorrow is a new day. Go Tigers.

Running well

Finally break through today.

Hand One
Hand Two
Hand Three

Poker is an easy game when you're hands hold up. I'll be playing at AP for rakeback/bonus until hell freezes over (or until FTP gets another bonus). I'm done with the $500 bonus on FTP and I'm not entirely sure how their rakeback is going to work so until I see some details I'll take my guaranteed 28% at AP. Also, I have rakeback/bonus on UB but the bonus is snail slow and I'm not sure the details of the rakeback either.

On a side note, I picked my Halloween costume today. I will be a Green Monkey from Legends of the Hidden Temple (complete with helmet, knee pads, and water-shoes.)

$1000 in bonus on Stars? Hell just froze over.

I personally cannot confirm anything, but check out this!

Hopefully this is true and I can earn it over a long period of time in MTTs.

-Kush

"How drunk are you?"

"Drunk enough to know that the girl you've spent the last 2 hours sweating is about to leave with that douchebag in the sportcoat."

(Hot girls are few and far between in AA. When one of us has a chance we gotta keep an eye on him)

Final tables disappointments

Lately I've made 2 FT's since the $11r score and both of them have ended extremely poorly for me. I took 10th in a UB $30+3 MTT when my A10s standard shove from the CO was called by KrazyKannuck in the BB with 1010. Rigged UB Pro. Sigh.

Today I played the best poker tournament of my life, with no exaggeration. I completely dominated the $33 6-max field on Stars. Get to the FT 3rd in chips, get all in preflop with my KcKh over his Jh10h for an overwhelming chiplead. Flop is 5s8h9h and aside from a flop of JJJ or 101010 this is the worst news possible. Turn is the 6h and I miss my heart redraw on the river, am cripled, and go out 5th of 398 entries for $597. I honestly feel that with 1/2 the chips in play 4 handed my chances of taking down the $2,985 for first are very high. I was really playing the best I've ever played and shorthanded play is really my specialty thanks to SNGs.

That 2nd win is going to be very satisfying when it gets here.

Running in reverse

I provide these quick HH summaries not because I want to vent, but to explain to everyone why I haven't posted lately. These have all occured in the last 2 days while playing $1/2 full ring on FTP.

AA < KK twice all in preflop.
Top set < Open-shoving flush draw three times (absolutely no exaggeration needed here).
Bottom set < Middle pair.
Nut straight < Gutshot to a tie/runner-runner to win.
Top Two < Bottom Two (twice).

To say I'm running poorly would be an extreme understatement. Probably going to play some MTT's today and give cash games a 24 hour rest.

Congrats to my buddy davester for making 2 FT's in the last 2 days and collecting his first major MTT win in a $4 180SNG on Stars. Keep up the good work.

Final Note: Everyone knows I idolize ActionJeff. AJ is probably the most controversial/hated player in the internet tournament world. He speaks his mind and is admittedly immature. That being said, he is undoubtably one of the best poker minds around and he is only 18. He recently was the featured guest on the pocketfives.com podcast and had some very interesting things to say about why he does what he does. I suggest listening to it before you bash him.

Update

The challenge has kinda died. Not because I'm not playing nor because I'm losing (the opposite is true actually.) My true motivation for the challenge was to stay focused and play the best poker I could. I think the challenge may actually be hurting those goals at this point. Forcing yourself to play or constantly checking your account balance are really counterproductive. I also am somewhat uncomfortable with the idea that strangers know how much $ I win and lose daily. I've always been somewhat private about poker winnings unless it is someone that understands the game really well. I think people may have gotten the wrong impression and mistook this blog as a place for me to brag. I play the game for $, not for glory or anything like that.

Basically I'll still be playing every day and I'll be trying to continue to get better. I'll also be posting here frequently (so keep giving the site traffic!) and I may restart the challenge at a later date.

Feel free to bash me in the comments section.

Day Fifteen

(8/1) - Day Fifteen: -$71
Hands: ~600
Total: +$1,826
+/- Pace: +$326
85 sessions to make: $8,174

Really short day on Party but I have to include it. Didn't run well, was card dead, and played two hands poorly. Probably my last session ever at Party due to the new legislation. Sad to say the least. I'll be playing predominantly on AP due to rakeback/bonus. I would estimate that I'm making $30/hr in bonus/rakeback alone. Pretty disgusting if you consider what people are making working real jobs.

Long live personal liberties.