I have to play better than this...

I know its been a minute since I've posted. But I played hand on yesterday that I want to post, if nothing else but for myself, as a reminder of what I have to overcome if I'm going to get better.

Let me set this hand up. I'm kind of in a hurry. So, I'll come back with another post later today to explain what I was thinking. Anyway, $69+$6 NLHE MTT on Full Tilt. We start with 120 something players. Top 18 make the money. We are down to 20 players. I can easily fold into the money with my stack. However, I get dealt the broads. The Sigfried and Roy. The Batches. Guy second to act min raises the BB to $1000. It folds to me on the button. I come over the top of the min raise and re-raise to $3000 (Mistake #1. I should have pusehd all-in). He calls. We see the flop and a scary A hits the board. He checks. I check (second mistake, I think) Well, Anyway, well, here is the hand. We'll talk about it in a bit. And yes, I busted in 20th place:

Full Tilt Poker Game #731561616: $7,000 Guarantee (4708872), Table 4 - 250/500 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:13:41 ET - 2006/06/21
Seat 1: aceride27 (6,635)
Seat 2: Maxfli46 (16,520)
Seat 3: KappaMan (5,545)
Seat 4: jwprp (3,600)
Seat 6: leafsfreak (2,055)
Seat 8: Danik1 (9,050)
Seat 9: CubGuy69 (9,222)
aceride27 antes 50
Maxfli46 antes 50
KappaMan antes 50
jwprp antes 50
leafsfreak antes 50
Danik1 antes 50
CubGuy69 antes 50
jwprp posts the small blind of 250
leafsfreak posts the big blind of 500
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to KappaMan [Qs Qd]
Danik1 folds
CubGuy69 raises to 1,000
aceride27 has 15 seconds left to act
aceride27 is sitting out
aceride27 has timed out
aceride27 folds
Maxfli46 folds
aceride27 has returned
KappaMan raises to 3,000
jwprp folds
leafsfreak has 15 seconds left to act
leafsfreak is sitting out
leafsfreak has timed out
leafsfreak folds
CubGuy69 calls 2,000
*** FLOP *** [8c 4d As]
CubGuy69 checks
KappaMan has 15 seconds left to act
KappaMan checks
*** TURN *** [8c 4d As] [2d]
CubGuy69 bets 3,000
KappaMan calls 2,495, and is all in
CubGuy69 shows [6s 7s]
KappaMan shows [Qs Qd]
Uncalled bet of 505 returned to CubGuy69
*** RIVER *** [8c 4d As 2d] [5c]
CubGuy69 shows a straight, Eight high
KappaMan shows a pair of Queens
CubGuy69 wins the pot (12,090) with a straight, Eight high
Empire Dreams (Observer): wow
CubGuy69: come onYES
KappaMan stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 12,090 | Rake 0
Board: [8c 4d As 2d 5c]
Seat 1: aceride27 folded before the Flop
Seat 2: Maxfli46 folded before the Flop
Seat 3: KappaMan (button) showed [Qs Qd] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 4: jwprp (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: leafsfreak (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Danik1 folded before the Flop
Seat 9: CubGuy69 showed [6s 7s] and won (12,090) with a straight, Eight high

Friday Night turned out to be an OK Night...

After busting out of the Friday Evening $50+$5, I decided to give it another shot later that night. It started about midnight and to report that I made it to the final table. Unfortunately, thay is where I messed up.

After making it to the final table 2nd in chips. I ended up finishing in 8th place when a guy made a gutsy call after the flop with middle pair and a flush draw.

Anyway, I finished in 8th Place for a few hundred dollars but had I not made the move I made, I probably could have earned $1000 - $1800. But I'm going to look at it like this. Had he layed downhis hand, I would have easily made at least 2nd place money.

The key is to learn from you mistakes and I definitely learned from this one. Lets see how the story plays out next time.

I didnt get to play much more on Saturday or Sunday due to my son's basketball tournament on Saturday and Sunday being Easter. Oh yeah, and I had to finish my taxes last night. lol

I'll try to get back to it tonight after I mail my taxes off.

Happy Tax Day.

-Big Syd

FTP Friday Night $50+$5 Double Stack Tourney

 

Just busted out of the $50+$5 on Full Tilt. Took some beats early and was down to 50 in chips. Somehow, I built it back up to about 1700 but lost it when I tried to get fancy with KQ and ran into AQ of course (The AQ curse).

Got to play with Corey Berrira for a little while. You might remember him from the 2005 WSOP. I think it was a limit tournament where he finished in 2nd I think. The guy whose fiance was there wearing a shirt with his name. Please to play with him. Looks like he's a friend of FTP. 

Good Sit-N-Go Play on Wednesday and Thursday...

Played a few Sit and Gos on Wednesday and Thursday and did very well. I racked up 2 First Place, 1 Second Place, and 2 Third Places.

I gotta admit, it feels good to be on a nice run like that.

Didnt play much earlier this week. Took the kids up to Skyline Drive to see Shanendoah National Park and Luray Caverns. So, I was out of action on Sunday and Monday. Took Tuesday off to rest and recover from the hile that we took in the park.

Well, its Easter Weekend. Lets see how much poker I can get in. I'll definitely play the $50 MTT on Full Tilt Tonight.

Later!

-Big Syd

Back in Action. A little Unlucky though...

I took a couple of days off from poker (Wednesday and Thursday). But I returned to the felt last night. Got home in time to play the Full Tilt Poker $50+$5 Double Stack tourney. 101 Entrants and I played some damn good poker. When you are firing on all cylinders, you just feel it as you make that run to the final table. I was in the zone.

Unfortunately, I got unlucky in a race towards the end and I finished in 14th Place. I'm going to post a hand to show how luck can affect your poker results. It't the hand that sent me to the rail. As you will see, I was ahead with all my money in the middle with two players.

Full Tilt Poker Game #552128047: Double Stack $50 + $5 (3501306), Table 1
- 500/1000 Ante 125 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:44:16 ET - 2006/04/07
Seat 1: cosjoel (19,660)
Seat 2: Headre4000 (26,620), is sitting out
Seat 3: Slamd (19,615)
Seat 4: racerstation (12,415)
Seat 5: KappaMan (21,955)
Seat 7: VTMADMAN (10,325)
Seat 8: kjam8888 (10,068)
Seat 9: crushu (19,521)
cosjoel antes 125
Headre4000 antes 125
Slamd antes 125
racerstation antes 125
KappaMan antes 125
VTMADMAN antes 125
kjam8888 antes 125
crushu antes 125
cosjoel posts the small blind of 500
Headre4000 posts the big blind of 1,000
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to KappaMan [Qd Jd]
Slamd folds
Headre4000 has returned
racerstation folds
KappaMan calls 1,000
VTMADMAN folds
kjam8888 folds
crushu folds
cosjoel raises to 3,200
Headre4000 calls 2,200
KappaMan calls 2,200
*** FLOP *** [6s Qh Js]
cosjoel bets 8,000
Headre4000 raises to 23,295, and is all in
KappaMan calls 18,630, and is all in
cosjoel calls 8,335, and is all in
Headre4000 shows [7s As]
KappaMan shows [Qd Jd]
cosjoel shows [Ks Kd]
Uncalled bet of 4,665 returned to Headre4000
*** TURN *** [6s Qh Js] [9s]
*** RIVER *** [6s Qh Js 9s] [4d]
Headre4000 shows a flush, Ace high
KappaMan shows two pair, Queens and Jacks
Headre4000 wins the side pot (4,590) with a flush, Ace high
cosjoel shows a pair of Kings
Slamd: wow
Headre4000 wins the main pot (59,605) with a flush, Ace high
cosjoel stands up
KappaMan stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 64,195 Main pot 59,605. Side pot 4,590. | Rake 0
Board: [6s Qh Js 9s 4d]
Seat 1: cosjoel (small blind) showed [Ks Kd] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 2: Headre4000 (big blind) showed [7s As] and won (64,195) with a
flush, Ace high
Seat 3: Slamd folded before the Flop
Seat 4: racerstation folded before the Flop
Seat 5: KappaMan showed [Qd Jd] and lost with two pair, Queens and Jacks
Seat 7: VTMADMAN folded before the Flop
Seat 8: kjam8888 folded before the Flop
Seat 9: crushu (button) folded before the Flop

That was one helluva beating. To be honest, it affected me to the point where i really didn't feel like play any more afterwards.

I guess you can say justice was served today. I just finished in 1st Place in Sit-n-Go for a nice hit.

All I ever ask if for the cards to break even.

-Big Syd

Last night (4/5/06)

Last night, I rushed home from work to play in the RGP DonkeyFest on PokerStars. However, I didn't make it home in time to fund my account for the 7pm start time on PokerStars. So, that was a No Go.

I actually took time last night to get caught up on my Tivo'd Poker programming. I like watching the Ultimate Poker Challenge from The Plaze and I'm finally caught up. Good to see Andy Block, a Full Tilt Poker Pro and one of the members of the now-famous MIT Blackjack crew, won the main event. I also caught up on FTP's Learn from the Pros. Now, I just hae to get caught up on High Stakes Poker. I think I'm about 2 episodes behind. After that, I can get caught up on Las Vegas. Las Vegas has the hotties with the bodies! lol

-Big Syd

3rd Place at The SHOP (APSmalley's)

APSmalley hosts a local tournament ($70+$10 Buy-In NLHE) every other week at his spot (The Shop). It's been a minute since I've been able to make one of these. Since I was in town this weekend, I decided to give it a shot and I finished in 3rd Place out of 20 players.

Actually, we got down to 3 players (top 5 got payed) and came up with a deal where everybody got 2nd Place money and we played for the remaining piece. I ended up getting all my money in the middle with KQoff and ran into AK which Neil was holding. FYI, Neil was the one who I got a nice double up on early in the tournament with Quad sevens. His AK held up and they were down to two. They ended up splitting the remaining money rather than playing it out.

Thanks again to APSmalley (POPS) for hosting a anoter good home poker tourney.

-Big Syd

It's going to be a long night...

Full Tilt Poker Game #536087783: $5 + $0.50 Sit & Go (3500952), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:38:12 ET - 2006/03/31
Seat 1: mybignips (1,485)
Seat 2: 33trips (1,455)
Seat 3: carp1260 (1,740)
Seat 4: KappaMan (1,500)
Seat 5: Adam Rousseau (1,320)
Seat 6: mullspen (1,500)
Seat 7: Magical Aces (1,500)
Seat 8: chirl31 (1,500)
Seat 9: bjunks (1,500)
carp1260 posts the small blind of 15
KappaMan posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to KappaMan [Qh Qs]
Adam Rousseau folds
mullspen folds
Magical Aces folds
chirl31 folds
bjunks raises to 90
Magical Aces: shoulda played my 7 2
mybignips folds
33trips folds
carp1260 folds
mybignips: i had 1 2
mybignips: lol
KappaMan raises to 300
bjunks raises to 1,500, and is all in
KappaMan has 15 seconds left to act
KappaMan calls 1,200, and is all in
bjunks shows [Td Th]
KappaMan shows [Qh Qs]
*** FLOP *** [6d 3c 3d]
*** TURN *** [6d 3c 3d] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [6d 3c 3d Ad] [5d]
bjunks shows a flush, Ace high
KappaMan shows two pair, Queens and Threes
bjunks wins the pot (3,015) with a flush, Ace high
bjunks: haha
KappaMan stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,015 | Rake 0
Board: [6d 3c 3d Ad 5d]
Seat 1: mybignips didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: 33trips (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: carp1260 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: KappaMan (big blind) showed [Qh Qs] and lost with two pair, Queens and Threes
Seat 5: Adam Rousseau didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: mullspen didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: Magical Aces didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: chirl31 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: bjunks showed [Td Th] and won (3,015) with a flush, Ace high

Once again, AQ is cursed!!!!!!!!

AQ is so cursed for me that it makes no sense. I can't win with it and I can't win against it. The later was the case for me tonight as my AK couldnt even beat AQ with me all-in for about $11,000T.

Tonight, I played the 9pm $10+$1 Double Stack Tourney (NLHE) on Full Tilt Poker. Once again, I played some darn good poker. I'm actually proud of the way I played tonight. No, I didn't win the damn thing. But I did finish ITM (In The Money) at 41st place out of 484 Playeres entered. Top 45 players got paid.

If Only my AK could have beat the Tournament chip leader's AQ, I'm golden. NOT!

Oh, well. Its bed time. Here is the hand history for you to feast on:

Full Tilt Poker Game #534835762: Double Stack $10 + $1 (3385495), Table 43 - 800/1600 Ante 200 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:07:53 ET - 2006/03/31
Seat 1: KappaMan (11,978)
Seat 2: Shannon_Butler (68,335)
Seat 3: Smiley q-_-p (43,823)
Seat 4: MADMAN70 (34,130)
Seat 5: THE RIFLEMAN (22,020)
Seat 6: tlude (34,778)
Seat 7: danielburke (27,074)
Seat 8: onmyown (18,822)
Seat 9: 3 rack (32,445)
KappaMan antes 200
Shannon_Butler antes 200
Smiley q-_-p antes 200
MADMAN70 antes 200
THE RIFLEMAN antes 200
tlude antes 200
danielburke antes 200
onmyown antes 200
3 rack antes 200
KappaMan posts the small blind of 800
Shannon_Butler posts the big blind of 1,600
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to KappaMan [As Kh]
KappaMan: nice
Smiley q-_-p folds
tlude: ty
MADMAN70 folds
THE RIFLEMAN folds
tlude calls 1,600
danielburke calls 1,600
onmyown folds
3 rack folds
KappaMan raises to 11,778, and is all in
Shannon_Butler calls 10,178
tlude folds
danielburke folds
KappaMan shows [As Kh]
Shannon_Butler shows [Ac Qh]
*** FLOP *** [Ts 3s Qd]
*** TURN *** [Ts 3s Qd] [2c]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 3s Qd 2c] [5c]
KappaMan shows Ace King high
Shannon_Butler shows a pair of Queens
Shannon_Butler wins the pot (28,556) with a pair of Queens
KappaMan stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 28,556 | Rake 0
Board: [Ts 3s Qd 2c 5c]
Seat 1: KappaMan (small blind) showed [As Kh] and lost with Ace King high
Seat 2: Shannon_Butler (big blind) showed [Ac Qh] and won (28,556) with a pair of Queens
Seat 3: Smiley q-_-p folded before the Flop
Seat 4: MADMAN70 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: THE RIFLEMAN folded before the Flop
Seat 6: tlude folded before the Flop
Seat 7: danielburke folded before the Flop
Seat 8: onmyown folded before the Flop
Seat 9: 3 rack (button) folded before the Flop