Damn Ringer's Poker Blog

My month has been no shortage of excitement that’s for sure. I have been running almost 6bb/100 at 1/2nl but absolutely horribly everywhere else. I think I realized why i’ve been playing poorly at 2/4nl recently as well. I have gone back and reviewed only 2/4nl hands and have seen myself make crying river calls and big river bluffs on a very regular basis. The kind of bluffs i just don’t make at 1/2nl. Either way, I hope to fix that problem and focus more on the higher stakes next month as I’m being such a huge BR nit playing 1/2nl only. I’d actually be kind of a big bankroll nit playing only 2/4. Either way my month has been a complete roller coaster and I’m up a whopping $600. Hopefully, I can run that up to at least 2k by the end of the month so that with rakeback i’ve still got a nice monthly nut of around 3.5k. That’s definitely reasonable considering this is likely going to be one of my worst months in 2009 (don’t curse me, one time).

Alright, I made a post on cardrunners looking for roommates in our vegas house and got a few good responses. No one who wanted to do the complete 3 months however. I think we are gonna look for 1 more full roommate and then rotate out the other room on a monthly basis. If you are interested in either, please let me know now. We need to lock up a house in the next week. So post here, PM on CR or 2p2, any way you wanna get in touch with me please do.

I was playing a little on full tilt this month but seriously i haven’t run good on FTP in 100k hands. I just keep having like 2bi loss sessions there, and usually do to gross coolers or just bad beats. Either way, I’m starting to pummel my FTP bankroll in the process. My cake roll continues to grow exponentially but I need to start putting together some wins on FTP as its really starting to bug me that I can’t have a winning session there for some reason recently. Anyways, this month has been one of those that will be soon forgotten but wasn’t the worst. I just can’t wait for it to be over and restart on some February.

On the contract job front, I just completed the project which i was hired to complete. I think i did a pretty good job all things considered about the project and the few snags we inevitably hit. They have asked me to come back and do a second job, I have agreed. I, however, think this will be the last job I do with them. Its a fun little company, but a 40 hour a week job is just too time consuming for a budding poker career. Also, I’m starting to lose my time. I don’t have time to do all the stuff I really enjoyed doing while being pro. I guess i wasn’t designed to live like the standard american. That’s about all i got.

Here’s a fun hand on the way out…

PokerStars Game #758011441000161: Hold’em No Limit ($1/$2) – 2009/01/26 – 21:27:40 (ET)
Table ‘Cake_ Seville 11441′ Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Bomb*** ($121.30 in chips)
Seat 2: lol*** ($197.00 in chips)
Seat 3: Bara*** ($194.75 in chips)
Seat 4: zyxe*** ($214.85 in chips)
Seat 5: BigAndFloppy ($427.25 in chips)
Seat 6: jglf*** ($197.00 in chips)
Seat 7: INev*** ($550.70 in chips)
Seat 8: Ratt*** ($205.95 in chips)
Seat 9: TheP*** ($140.95 in chips)
Seat 10: Sir*** ($176.65 in chips)
zyxe***: posts small blind $1
BigAndFloppy: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BigAndFloppy [Js 9d]
jglf***: folds
INev***: calls $2.00
Ratt***: folds
TheP***: folds
Sir***: folds
Bomb***: folds
lol***: folds
Bara***: folds
zyxe***: calls $1.00
BigAndFloppy: checks
*** FLOP *** [Jd Kh Jh]
zyxe***: bets $3.00
BigAndFloppy: calls $3.00
INev***: folds
*** TURN *** [Jd Kh Jh] [9h]
zyxe***: bets $6.00
BigAndFloppy: raises $18.00 to $24.00
zyxe***: calls $18.00
*** RIVER *** [Jd Kh Jh 9h] [Qh]
zyxe***: checks
BigAndFloppy: bets $31.00
zyxe***: raises $154.85 to $185.85 and is all-in
BigAndFloppy: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
zyxe*** collected $119.00 from pot
zyxe***: doesn’t show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $122.00 | Rake $3.00
Board [Jd Kh Jh 9h Qh]
Seat 1: Bomb*** folded before Flop
Seat 2: lol*** folded before Flop
Seat 3: Bara*** folded before Flop
Seat 4: zyxe*** (small blind) collected ($119.00)
Seat 5: BigAndFloppy (big blind) folded on the River
Seat 6: jglf*** folded before Flop
Seat 7: INev*** folded on the Flop
Seat 8: Ratt*** folded before Flop
Seat 9: TheP*** folded before Flop
Seat 10: Sir*** folded before Flop

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

so this month isn’t actually completely terrible. I have strung together several good session and am now down only a little this month. I have looked at my breakdown of losses in different games and i’m running 3bb/100 at 1/2nl still! However in cap 2/4, 3/6 and 5/10, i’m down about $2500 over about 2k hands (woof that sucks to say out loud).

Alright, so I am doing what i normally do when i have a losing month. Playing incredibly ADD has never been my thing. If i stick to a plan, I do very well, but if I start to go onto random games that I don’t know the dynamic about, I dump cash. Not to mention those cap games are 6-max games, however I felt like I beat those games, I just didn’t like handling the swings. I need to just stick to 1/2 and 2/4 FR, and keep in the back of my brain not to waste my 5/10 shots on games other than FR. Speaking on that front, I have my bankroll spread across 2 sites so I really shouldn’t be taking shots 5/10 as I only have 20 buyins for 5/10 for each on each site. I like to keep both my bankroll separated mentally as well as physically, but sometimes its tough. I just think ‘oh I have 40 buyins for 5/10 spread out, don’t be a pussy’. But when I finally get on the table, I only see my 20 buyins and play scared. Anyways, I need to stick to full ring cause i’m not done mastering this game yet.

On the vegas house front, I am getting pretty excited about finally getting all this into place. My house master (vizer02) has kinda hit the brakes on looking for places tho, so I don’t know exactly when we will have a place finalized for May. I do however already have a ton of visitors confirmed so I suppose the place we get better live up to how balla I described the place. I really want the place to be a sweatshop for making great poker professionals during the week though. I feel like surrounding myself with poker talent, I will naturally rise to the challenge of getting better. I also have a hunch there will be some degenerate prop betting going on for the 3 months we are there and some seriously awesome sweat sessions.

Anyways, I’m not down about my down month this month. I kinda screwed myself by playing games I’m not good at, at stakes that I don’t normally play. I’m still winning at 1/2 and 2/4 FR and that’s really all that is important. I am starting to reconsider my plans to move over to stars, but I did get a name of a player that would do the transfer for me at a reasonable price. I will consider the pros and cons of each option and hopefully make a decision soon.

On a completely different note, I have been getting mobbed with poker coaching inquiries recently. That’s a great thing, but I am going to have to start turning people away or quit my day job if this keeps up as it is currently (not sure which one i wanna do yet). It prolly has alot to do with finally taking on microstakes players and lowering their rate to $50/hr over more than 4 sessions. I usually felt bad about coaching microstakes for more than a buyin, but the players seem to really not mind as they are really improving. I have a pretty wide variety of current students actually. I am coaching one student who plays a 60bb style. Its actually has some rather interesting pre- and post-flop implications that I hadn’t thought about. It really opens up your creative playbook as you don’t need to get value on all streets, just 2. So you have an entire street to come up with a creative way to attack your villain. I have been trying to come up with ways to help my student out that he hasn’t thought of. I think i might be playing some 60bb stacks at 50nl on stars with my tiny roll there, and see what stuff I do that I have missed on explaining to him. I actually might do that tonight. So if you see me on FTP or stars doing 60bb stacks, I’m not busto. I’m studying.

I was thinking about changing my cake name to something clever, but can’t think of anything too clever. Anyone got a 12 character or less name, that would be fun to temporarily use? Let me know, I’ll let you guys decide my next one.

Well, I played a FTP session today, and i’m really glad i did. I hit the jackpot with a table of a complete donk. This is the second day in a row, I’ve had the privileged of sitting with complete donks but i didn’t cash in at all yesterday. This complete donk literally ran 82/40 for over 2 hours. He was just donating cash, and I managed to get on the big receiving end of it. This guy looks like he’s never played before. He would be hyper agressive when he didn’t have anything and then passive when he actually made monster hands. For example he flopped the nuts on me and did this…

***** Hand History for Game 10141041544 *****
$200.00 USD NL Texas Hold’em – Monday, January 19, 09:45:59 ET 2009
Table Nova (deep) (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Seat 1: Damn Ringer ( $932.00 USD )
Seat 2: CellarEndorphin ( $405.80 USD )
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 ( $704.00 USD )
Seat 4: teslen ( $537.60 USD )
Seat 5: SukitTrebek ( $213.65 USD )
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls ( $412.00 USD )
Seat 7: acetheworm ( $602.60 USD )
Seat 8: RedDragon85 ( $373.00 USD )
Seat 9: aiudoin ( $260.65 USD )
aiudoin posts small blind [$1.00 USD].
Damn Ringer posts big blind [$2.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Damn Ringer [  Ac 3c ]
CellarEndorphin folds
ACHILLES157 folds
teslen folds
SukitTrebek folds
Sgt Iron Balls folds
acetheworm raises [$10.00 USD]
RedDragon85 folds
aiudoin folds
Damn Ringer calls [$8.00 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ As, Tc, Qs ]
Damn Ringer checks
acetheworm checks
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4d ]
Damn Ringer checks
acetheworm bets [$10.00 USD]
Damn Ringer raises [$32.00 USD]
acetheworm calls [$22.00 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ 9s ]
Damn Ringer checks
acetheworm checks
Damn Ringer shows [Ac, 3c ]
acetheworm shows [Kh, Jh ]
acetheworm wins $82.00 USD from main pot

That should give you idea of how absolulely fantastic this guy was. Anyways, by the time the guy busted the waiting list for the table was over 20 people long. I managed to get incredibly lucky and walk into the money train.  It was great to be in pots with him because he just would never fold and would bluff his face off unless he actually had the good. Here’s all the notable hands I played with him…

Sadly no love for the turn bet…

***** Hand History for Game 10140578027 *****
$200.00 USD NL Texas Hold’em – Monday, January 19, 09:19:33 ET 2009
Table Nova (deep) (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Seat 1: Damn Ringer ( $400.00 USD )
Seat 2: ladycop7 ( $277.00 USD )
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 ( $748.00 USD )
Seat 4: teslen ( $212.30 USD )
Seat 5: legourou ( $407.20 USD )
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls ( $400.00 USD )
Seat 7: acetheworm ( $1101.85 USD )
Seat 8: RedDragon85 ( $200.00 USD )
Seat 9: aiudoin ( $252.65 USD )
aiudoin posts small blind [$1.00 USD].
Damn Ringer posts big blind [$2.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Damn Ringer [  Ac Ad ]
ladycop7 folds
ACHILLES157 folds
teslen folds
legourou raises [$7.00 USD]
Sgt Iron Balls calls [$7.00 USD]
acetheworm raises [$12.00 USD]
RedDragon85 folds
aiudoin folds
Damn Ringer raises [$53.00 USD]
legourou folds
Sgt Iron Balls folds
acetheworm calls [$43.00 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ks, 5c, 8s ]
Damn Ringer bets [$70.00 USD]
acetheworm calls [$70.00 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 6s ]
Damn Ringer bets [$275.00 USD]
acetheworm folds
Damn Ringer wins $275.00 USD
Damn Ringer wins $262.00 USD from main pot

Full Tilt Poker Game #10141072941: Table Nova (deep) – $1/$2 – No Limit Hold’em – 21:47:46 ET – 2009/01/19
Seat 1: Damn Ringer ($889)
Seat 2: CellarEndorphin ($426.55)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 ($704)
Seat 4: teslen ($537.60)
Seat 5: SukitTrebek ($213.65)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls ($412)
Seat 7: acetheworm ($620.60)
Seat 8: RedDragon85 ($373)
Seat 9: aiudoin ($259.65)
CellarEndorphin posts the small blind of $1
ACHILLES157 posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Damn Ringer [Kd Js]
teslen folds
SukitTrebek folds
Sgt Iron Balls folds
acetheworm raises to $16
RedDragon85 folds
aiudoin folds
Damn Ringer calls $16
CellarEndorphin has 15 seconds left to act
CellarEndorphin folds
ACHILLES157 folds
*** FLOP *** [Kh 2h 5c]
acetheworm has 15 seconds left to act
acetheworm bets $20
Damn Ringer calls $20
*** TURN *** [Kh 2h 5c] [Qc]
acetheworm has 15 seconds left to act
acetheworm bets $30
Damn Ringer calls $30
*** RIVER *** [Kh 2h 5c Qc] [4s]
acetheworm bets $135
Damn Ringer calls $135
*** SHOW DOWN ***
acetheworm shows [6d Tc] King Queen high
Damn Ringer shows [Kd Js] a pair of Kings
Damn Ringer wins the pot ($402) with a pair of Kings
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $405 | Rake $3
Board: [Kh 2h 5c Qc 4s]
Seat 1: Damn Ringer (button) showed [Kd Js] and won ($402) with a pair of Kings
Seat 2: CellarEndorphin (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: teslen didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 5: SukitTrebek didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 7: acetheworm showed [6d Tc] and lost with King Queen high
Seat 8: RedDragon85 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 9: aiudoin didn’t bet (folded)

Full Tilt Poker Game #10140626201: Table Nova (deep) – $1/$2 – No Limit Hold’em – 21:22:17 ET – 2009/01/19
Seat 1: Damn Ringer ($762)
Seat 2: ladycop7 ($271)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 ($744)
Seat 4: teslen ($212.30)
Seat 5: SukitTrebek ($200)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls ($400)
Seat 7: acetheworm ($758.85)
Seat 8: RedDragon85 ($200)
Seat 9: aiudoin ($251.65)
ACHILLES157 posts the small blind of $1
teslen posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Damn Ringer [Tc Ac]
Sgt Iron Balls folds
acetheworm raises to $4
RedDragon85 folds
aiudoin folds
Damn Ringer raises to $10
ladycop7 folds
ACHILLES157 folds
teslen folds
acetheworm calls $6
*** FLOP *** [Kc 6s 4d]
acetheworm bets $6
Damn Ringer calls $6
*** TURN *** [Kc 6s 4d] [2c]
acetheworm bets $10
Damn Ringer calls $10
*** RIVER *** [Kc 6s 4d 2c] [Qc]
acetheworm has 15 seconds left to act
acetheworm bets $20
Damn Ringer has 15 seconds left to act
Damn Ringer has requested TIME
Damn Ringer raises to $188
acetheworm calls $168
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Damn Ringer shows [Tc Ac] a flush, Ace high
acetheworm mucks
Damn Ringer wins the pot ($428) with a flush, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $431 | Rake $3
Board: [Kc 6s 4d 2c Qc]
Seat 1: Damn Ringer showed [Tc Ac] and won ($428) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 2: ladycop7 (button) didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: teslen (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: SukitTrebek is sitting out
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 7: acetheworm mucked [Kh 7c] – a pair of Kings
Seat 8: RedDragon85 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 9: aiudoin didn’t bet (folded)

Full Tilt Poker Game #10140626201: Table Nova (deep) – $1/$2 – No Limit Hold’em – 21:22:17 ET – 2009/01/19
Seat 1: Damn Ringer ($762)
Seat 2: ladycop7 ($271)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 ($744)
Seat 4: teslen ($212.30)
Seat 5: SukitTrebek ($200)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls ($400)
Seat 7: acetheworm ($758.85)
Seat 8: RedDragon85 ($200)
Seat 9: aiudoin ($251.65)
ACHILLES157 posts the small blind of $1
teslen posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Damn Ringer [Tc Ac]
Sgt Iron Balls folds
acetheworm raises to $4
RedDragon85 folds
aiudoin folds
Damn Ringer raises to $10
ladycop7 folds
ACHILLES157 folds
teslen folds
acetheworm calls $6
*** FLOP *** [Kc 6s 4d]
acetheworm bets $6
Damn Ringer calls $6
*** TURN *** [Kc 6s 4d] [2c]
acetheworm bets $10
Damn Ringer calls $10
*** RIVER *** [Kc 6s 4d 2c] [Qc]
acetheworm has 15 seconds left to act
acetheworm bets $20
Damn Ringer has 15 seconds left to act
Damn Ringer has requested TIME
Damn Ringer raises to $188
acetheworm calls $168
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Damn Ringer shows [Tc Ac] a flush, Ace high
acetheworm mucks
Damn Ringer wins the pot ($428) with a flush, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $431 | Rake $3
Board: [Kc 6s 4d 2c Qc]
Seat 1: Damn Ringer showed [Tc Ac] and won ($428) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 2: ladycop7 (button) didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: teslen (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: SukitTrebek is sitting out
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 7: acetheworm mucked [Kh 7c] – a pair of Kings
Seat 8: RedDragon85 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 9: aiudoin didn’t bet (folded)

Full Tilt Poker Game #10141527422: Table Nova (deep) – $1/$2 – No Limit Hold’em – 22:14:02 ET – 2009/01/19
Seat 1: Damn Ringer ($1,079.55)
Seat 2: R D BIGGS ($394)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 ($653)
Seat 4: herschelw ($200)
Seat 5: SukitTrebek ($230.85)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls ($400)
Seat 7: acetheworm ($432.05)
Seat 8: RedDragon85 ($399)
Seat 9: aiudoin ($363.30)
ACHILLES157 posts the small blind of $1
herschelw posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Damn Ringer [Ac Kh]
SukitTrebek folds
Sgt Iron Balls folds
acetheworm calls $2
RedDragon85 raises to $8
aiudoin has 15 seconds left to act
aiudoin raises to $18
Damn Ringer calls $18
R D BIGGS folds
ACHILLES157 folds
herschelw adds $2
herschelw folds
acetheworm: i wish you called/
FREDIDIP (Observer): go fish
acetheworm calls $16
RedDragon85 calls $10
*** FLOP *** [Jc 8c Tc]
acetheworm bets $12
RedDragon85 folds
Sgt Iron Balls: almost called
aiudoin has 15 seconds left to act
aiudoin raises to $42
Damn Ringer calls $42
acetheworm calls $30
*** TURN *** [Jc 8c Tc] [7h]
acetheworm has 15 seconds left to act
acetheworm bets $42
aiudoin raises to $112
Damn Ringer folds
acetheworm calls $70
*** RIVER *** [Jc 8c Tc 7h] [Ad]
acetheworm bets $260.05, and is all in
aiudoin has 15 seconds left to act
aiudoin has requested TIME
aiudoin calls $191.30, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $68.75 returned to acetheworm
*** SHOW DOWN ***
acetheworm shows [4d 9h] a straight, Jack high
aiudoin mucks
acetheworm wins the pot ($804.60) with a straight, Jack high
aiudoin is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $807.60 | Rake $3
Board: [Jc 8c Tc 7h Ad]
Seat 1: Damn Ringer folded on the Turn
Seat 2: R D BIGGS (button) didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: herschelw (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: SukitTrebek didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 7: acetheworm showed [4d 9h] and won ($804.60) with a straight, Jack high
Seat 8: RedDragon85 folded on the Flop
Seat 9: aiudoin mucked [Kc Kd] – a pair of Kings

Full Tilt Poker Game #10140520533: Table Nova (deep) – $1/$2 – No Limit Hold’em – 21:16:16 ET – 2009/01/19
Seat 1: Damn Ringer ($435.15)
Seat 2: ladycop7 ($277)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 ($756)
Seat 4: teslen ($212.30)
Seat 5: legourou ($407.20)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls ($400)
Seat 7: acetheworm ($701.85)
Seat 8: RedDragon85 ($200)
Seat 9: aiudoin ($437.65)
acetheworm posts the small blind of $1
RedDragon85 posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Damn Ringer [Tc Ac]
aiudoin has 15 seconds left to act
aiudoin raises to $8
Damn Ringer calls $8
ladycop7 has 15 seconds left to act
ladycop7 folds
ACHILLES157 calls $8
teslen folds
legourou folds
Sgt Iron Balls folds
acetheworm calls $7
RedDragon85 adds $2
RedDragon85 folds
*** FLOP *** [8c 9d 7c]
acetheworm bets $34
aiudoin calls $34
Damn Ringer calls $34
ACHILLES157 folds
*** TURN *** [8c 9d 7c] [4d]
acetheworm bets $136
aiudoin has 15 seconds left to act
aiudoin calls $136
Damn Ringer calls $136
*** RIVER *** [8c 9d 7c 4d] [9s]
acetheworm bets $523.85, and is all in
aiudoin has 15 seconds left to act
aiudoin has requested TIME
aiudoin folds
Damn Ringer has 15 seconds left to act
Damn Ringer adds $142.85
Damn Ringer folds
Uncalled bet of $523.85 returned to acetheworm
acetheworm mucks
acetheworm wins the pot ($541)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $544 | Rake $3
Board: [8c 9d 7c 4d 9s]
Seat 1: Damn Ringer folded on the River
Seat 2: ladycop7 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 folded on the Flop
Seat 4: teslen didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 5: legourou didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls (button) didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 7: acetheworm (small blind) collected ($541), mucked
Seat 8: RedDragon85 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: aiudoin folded on the River

And finally to finish him off… the rest of the table was less than thrilled when i busted him…

Full Tilt Poker Game #10142322569: Table Nova (deep) – $1/$2 – No Limit Hold’em – 23:00:31 ET – 2009/01/19
Seat 1: Damn Ringer ($905.55)
Seat 2: R D BIGGS ($400)
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 ($400)
Seat 4: WildCrazyJohnny ($403)
Seat 5: SukitTrebek ($845.30)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls ($473)
Seat 7: acetheworm ($473.25)
Seat 8: RedDragon85 ($1,124)
Seat 9: aiudoin ($192)
Damn Ringer posts the small blind of $1
R D BIGGS posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Damn Ringer [Ad Ac]
ACHILLES157 folds
WildCrazyJohnny has 15 seconds left to act
WildCrazyJohnny folds
SukitTrebek folds
Sgt Iron Balls raises to $7
acetheworm raises to $16
RedDragon85 folds
aiudoin folds
Damn Ringer raises to $80
R D BIGGS folds
Sgt Iron Balls folds
acetheworm calls $64
*** FLOP *** [Kc 7d 3s]
Damn Ringer bets $125
acetheworm raises to $393.25, and is all in
Damn Ringer calls $268.25
acetheworm shows [Ah Kh]
Damn Ringer shows [Ad Ac]
*** TURN *** [Kc 7d 3s] [4h]
*** RIVER *** [Kc 7d 3s 4h] [3d]
acetheworm shows two pair, Kings and Threes
Damn Ringer shows two pair, Aces and Threes
Damn Ringer wins the pot ($952.50) with two pair, Aces and Threes
acetheworm is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $955.50 | Rake $3
Board: [Kc 7d 3s 4h 3d]
Seat 1: Damn Ringer (small blind) showed [Ad Ac] and won ($952.50) with two pair, Aces and Threes
Seat 2: R D BIGGS (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: ACHILLES157 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 4: WildCrazyJohnny didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 5: SukitTrebek didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 6: Sgt Iron Balls folded before the Flop
Seat 7: acetheworm showed [Ah Kh] and lost with two pair, Kings and Threes
Seat 8: RedDragon85 didn’t bet (folded)
Seat 9: aiudoin (button) didn’t bet (folded)

I have started off my year playing almost no poker. I have played 15k hands and am down a little over 2k. This normally would be 10 buyins and would be a pretty nasty downswing however its not at all. Its be reverting back to my old stupid self. I have played drunk on 2 occasions this month, and both times i decided 5/10 was a good choice. Its retarded. I need to cut myself off completely from the internet when i’m drunk. I had been doing such a good job. Regardless to say, i’m not running well at 1/2 this month, but i’m still profitable. I’m down a little at every other stake I’m playing. Actually my graph is pretty depressing because its like giant drops when i lose $800 pots at 1knl. Alright so let this be said, i am not playing drunk poker again.

A little update from my last blog post. I can’t find someone to swap stars for ftp cash. I have never had so much trouble finding swaps, but here I just don’t know anyone who plays on stars i suppose. If you know someone who will do a swap for something like 1%, let me know. I would likely be moving around 20k over to stars… i’d also prefer to do it in one swoop. So maybe some 5/10 reg will read this, and want to take the swap. I will not swap with anyone who I find even remotely shady.

Work is going pretty good actually. I realize i make work sound horrible on the blog, but it’s typically me venting. I am not really as big a fuck-up as i make you guys believe. I am not sure that civil engineering will ever pan out for me, but i’m getting pretty good at it. I have managed to put together a set of plans for my new company in about a week and half, and i think they are quite impressed that I was able to piece it together so quickly. I did need a reasonable amount of help but its kinda amazing how much you learn when you can’t go ask someone for help.

I am starting to get the hunger for long poker sessions again. I haven’t played for more than an hour in probably a week and a half. I miss playing like i use to. The coaching has gone well, however I felt I most certainly gave sub-par coaching to one of my students. I don’t know why I wasn’t able to say what i meant to say, but sometimes it happens. Just like everything else, you can’t be perfect all the time. I will without a doubt do better in the future with that student, it just sucks to have an intro-session fall off the track.

I have another set of coaching this week, which will once again likely keep my playing to a minimum. I need to finish up this project so I can get back to the goals i have set for the year. I am not very excited about the idea of starting off 2009 with a losing month, but I only had one in 2008 so I suppose its to be expected. Hopefully, it will be my only losing month if it is one at all. I will try to right the train by running hot to end the month, and ya know actually playing will probably help to.

I am also starting to follow vizer’s idea that cake is dead for the time being. It was amazing for about 4 months and now it looks like the word is out. I will probably leave money on there, but until I get a stars transfer i’ll likely be back at ftp with all the names i love and recognize. Later guys.

Alright so this one hit me like a ton of bricks today. I have been playing on full tilt for almost a year and half, and then cake for almost 6 months. The games just keep getting uglier on all the sites. I keep hearing about how the pokerstars tables are still growing and looking reasonable. I am planning to do a transfer by the end of the weekend, moving my entire FTP roll over to stars.
My logic is this. Game selection is better on stars. In the worst case scenario, it can’t be worse than FTP games recently. I use to play on pokerstars back in the day, of when i was pretty terrible at poker. I will leave my cake roll in tact, as i have a hunch the games there will get better in the a month or so. The main reason i moved from pokerstars was because i was losing so much money thanks to having no rakeback. However, pokerstars has fixed that problem with their new vpp system.
So that’s that. I will move back to pokerstars for a change of scenery. Its kinda exciting, as i love changing sites from time to time. Its nice to get a different mix of regulars. that’s my plan. On a side note, if you can do a big transfer to ftp, or know someone who can… please let me know. I’ll likely try to find a big baller to do the transfer with.
I will try to make some waves in the vip system, no supernova elite, but its something new and exciting for sure.

My apologies on the drab topic in the last post. I appreciate everyone commenting and it did make me feel better to know my occupation isn’t the end all be all. After alot of thinking in the last 2 days, I still don’t think I’m going to retake the FE exam. I got a very generous offer to help me study from one of my best friends in charlotte, but I just don’t see myself passing it if i haven’t already. Maybe in the coming weeks I will change my mind but not any time soon. Onto better things!

Poker, where did you go? I haven’t gotten in a serious session in almost 5 days. I played on monday when i was life tilting which turned out to be a huge mistake. I did do one smart thing though, and that was to drop down to 100nl. I only lost $400 while i did that and managed to play just horrically agressive poker. I forgot how stupid 100nl is. I know i shouldn’t have played while i was really pissed off but i did anyways, because i couldn’t sleep that night. I played a 200nl session last night, which was just hilariously bad. I mean I was getting every c-bet called and flopping nothing. I was even c-betting less than normal to compensate for flopping nothing and I had a c-bet success rate over 1200 hands at 7%. This would normally be very good if i could have flopped ANYTHING, or gotten any hands pre-. This was just not the case. I wasn’t even mad though. I was actually laughing by the end because literally every time i would bet out whether i had position or not, I would get raised, or called, and then led into on the turn for like full pot. I did make 2 3-barrel bluffs in the process which actually ended up being the most profitable hands i played in the session. I ended up only down 1.5 buyins which was miraculous considering how badly i was running.

I finally just gave up and figured there would be no way i could run that horribly tomorrow. I have started to coach again, ironically as soon as i get a real job. I have 5 new students in the past 2 weeks, which all seem to be very promising. I have done a session with one student already, who i know found the session rather eye openning. Props to him though. He plays like 100k hands/month. I mean that’s ridiculous. If I fixed 2 leaks, he’ll prolly make 10 more buyins each month at least. I admire the dedication but also made sure i stressed the point that mass-tabling makes it tough to learn from your mistakes. I rose through the ranks playing 8 tables and am starting to think maybe i should give that another try.

My play feels so robotic recently. I even got called a ‘random donk’ on a 2+2 full ring forum! I’m not sure if it was a serious post or not, but it’s motivated me to take down the number of tables i’m playing, and really focus on each situation i’m getting into. I will take this opportunity while i have a job to put my skills back where they were in april 07. I was considered one of the best 1/2 regs and one of the better 2/4 regs on ftp (at least from how i viewed it). I will also probably be going back to full tilt sometime in the near future as i’m starting to get tired of cake already. The games are getting a little suffocated as it seems all that’s left are regulars.

On the job front, I’m already ready for it to be over. I actually have started thinking about going to vegas earlier than i originally planned and trying to find myself out there and really focus on improving my poker game. I think i’ve prolly got another week or 2 on the project i’m doing at work and then i’ll likely tell them i’m going to pursue other things. I would really like to focus on my new students and my own game in the month of february.

I have only played 15k hands so far this month and am down. This is mostly due to a 5/10 cap game stint i had the other night. I actually did pretty well but ran about $800 below expectation in allins so alas I got whipped. I am going to try to put in a session tonight, and get myself back on track for a decent year. I am seeing my 100k goal fade with this real job, and i really don’t like it. Putting this much time into 40k a year is just a waste of money and time i think.

good luck guys. Also, people who want to join the vegas house, please let me know. I would love to have some good 1/2 ftp regs join me and vizer in our vegas pimp house. Peace guys.

It has nothing to do with poker. I should feel crushed at poker, but i’m just running below expectation, so can’t be upset there. I am crushed because for once in my life i don’t know what i’m going to do. I always have a plan and usually always have several backup plans. I have failed my exam for getting engineering certification yet again. I feel like possibly the stupidest person alive. I am completely stumped at “work” which I’m suppose to be the guy who goes in and bangs this thing out by myself. I just don’t have the skills. I feel like a complete real life failure.

How do i manage to get an engineering degree and am i such a fuckup that I can’t pass a stupid fucking test that is curved so heavily because everyone just guesses on half the answers? I’ve come to the realization that i can’t pass this test. I took shortcuts in school that left me not knowing how to do half of the test. The test is meant to weed out guys like me. I have been weeded, after 3 fails I don’t think I even have it in me to take it again. I have a job I can’t understand, I’ve been fired from one already, and if I got fired from a job i didn’t even want, I’d be crushed. I look around at my best friends who are doing something outside of engineering and envy them.

I just want to crawl under a rock for a fucking week. I laid in my dark room for 2 hours today. Have you ever done that? I never do that. I’m a happy, level headed person who doesn’t let life’s shit get to him. I just had a million thoughts going through my head most of which are ‘what the fuck do i do now?’ I don’t know what i do now. Maybe poker is my life calling. I am smarter than people in that arena. Maybe engineering just isn’t my shit. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to go to work tomorrow and definitely can’t focus on anything right now except for how big of a fuckup i am.

I now realize how absolutely dependent i am on other people to help me at my job. I can’t do a set of plans by myself. I don’t think i can do half-a-set by myself. Maybe its time for a new life choice. I think i’m gonna leave charlotte, and go somewhere. That’s the best idea I can come up with. Maybe i should just drive until i don’t want to drive anymore. Drive out west and just listen to myself talk while i do it. Maybe i’ll figure out what to do then.

I don’t want to be around anyone right and its kinda scary. I know i’m just being a sally right now, but i really just don’t have my head on straight after staring at the ‘we regret to inform you that you failed again, stupid fuck’. I squawked at princessdonk ‘no worries you have poker’ after she failed her bar exam. I didn’t realize how absolutely devastating it is to get your dreams crushed. I’m going to have to tell my parents that this has happened, and i don’t want to. I don’t know what that sentence even sounds like. I mean sure they are really understanding, but they really gotta be thinking as i tell them ‘maybe we didn’t give him enough work ethic’. I mean fuck that’s prolly true. I’ve never had to work at anything in my life.

I am not doing this job beyond this week. I already get the sense that I’m running behind schedule. I feel like if I just knew how to do half the shit, i would already be done. God damnit. I really might just do that drive thing. Then the question of why does flight come into my head here? I mean there is no thought in my head right now that says ‘lets give this a super hard try next time’. Fuck that. I’ve given it 3 tries already. Should I really have to lower myself to being completely demoralized by a 4th failure that will just place my feet in the cement and crush me even more.

I don’t need a job right now, I don’t need this stress and i most certainly don’t want to feel like a failure, and it seems like every shot I take at engineering just makes me a larger failure. There are so many jobs I would be ridiculously good at, but engineering is never going to come to fruition. If i can’t pass the FE, there’s no way i’ll pass the PE, and if i can’t pass that, there’s no point to even wasting my time. I want a new life, and wish I had changed my major in school freshmen year. I am done with engineering.

done done mother fucking done with it.

Lets play poker, but not tonight, I am too crushed/livid to even consider that. Oh and i don’t need pity party comments to this blog. I am writing this for me, and posting this much raw emotion makes me feel alot better. I’ll let myself out.

I’m actually kinda excited about starting work tomorrow, after considering everything.

should be a fun new opportunity

Well 7 days into January I have already hit a complete snag in my plan. Its not a horrible snag but it does leave alot of funny feelings from me. I got a job! Let me explain.

Ok… Being a professional poker player is what I want to do this year, and under any normal circumstances I would turn down this job offer. Its just too good. Its only on a short term basis so i’ll be finishing off a project and then likely being done with the job. It will look good on my resume to show that i’m not just sitting on my ass playing poker for months on end. I am working 40 hours a week, and getting paid what I was at my old job (but i think I lowballed myself in the meeting today). Regardless, i’m not doing it for the money, so I don’t really care what they pay me as long as its not insulting. This job tentatively will go through january. That means I won’t be able to hit my monthly goal which likely means I already won’t be able to achieve my yearly goal of 100k so lets shoot for 90k eh?

Its really funny though. I was just sitting in the meeting today, and being ridiculous honest with the guy interviewing me. When asked if i knew how to do everything required, I was just like ‘ugh, mostly’. I do pretty much know how to do everything required but I was perfectly blunt in telling him that I didn’t have exposure to certain stuff. I actually found the entire experience really enjoyable cause there was no pressure. If they had been like, “we are looking for more experience”, I would have walked outta there perfectly happy. However, clearly I have enough experience, as I will be going into work tomorrow at 9am.

God Damnit stuff never goes as planned. It’s really a bittersweet feeling. I should be really happy i think. I mean it is just a part time job, and i probably will enjoy it. However, its going to kill my current schedule which i really enjoy, and will put something constant in my life which i didn’t really have other than to play poker. I also feel kinda shitty about it because its ruining yet another well thought out plan of mine. I seem to destroy these plans more than I keep them. As a matter of fact, I can’t think of one long term plan that actually has gone as planned. I stayed at my old employer when i said i was going to quit twice, I never bought a house like i said i would, and I’m not a 2/4 regular anymore in 2009. Its making me feel like maybe my vision isn’t really that good for the future. I mean but who could have called talking to a guy at a party and having him get in touch with me through my old employer? Its like it just came so fast i didn’t even have time to say ‘I want to continue on endeavors of full time poker’ in my own head.

I suppose it’s sorta good, but now I don’t have time to do the things i really liked doing like watching sportscenter at 11 and then gyming it up, and then coming back and bullshitting til 3. How can i not be really happy here? I mean am i really that spoiled that I can’t see the good in getting a job? Unfortunately, I think I’m getting there. I am like one of those superstar sports players who never worked hard to get money ever, and doesn’t have any work ethic, thus they fail in the nfl. That’s like me, I just have no reason to be good at engineering other than it makes me feel fuzzy. I had a no strings attached job fall in my lap and i’m not overwhelmingly happy about it, all i can think is ‘god damnit, i need to go to bed by midnight tonight’.

I’m also worried i’m gonna go into this job and punish this set of plans in a way that no one in this company (which is tiny) has ever seen and then get asked to go full time for some obnoxious salary that i can’t say “no” to. Weird thoughts in my head right now really, and i think that shows in my blog post here.

I am definitely still going to vegas for three months in may. There is no way that’s not happening. I will turn down 100k jobs before someone tells me I can’t do that. I’m a spoiled brat though. I have a job in this economy, I should be happy.