Poker and Golf

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Location: Lansing, Michigan, United States

I play my poker at Full Tilt, Poker Stars and Absolute Poker as LZFSB3. I golf at Prairie Creek Golf Course and carry an 11 handicap.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Which Instructions are right for you??

I have stated many previous times that Golf and Poker are my two passions. In many ways they are very similar and to become good at both Golf and Poker you have to travel a very similar path. The best way to improve your Golf game or Poker game is to get professional instruction, read as many articles and books on playing the game as you can and play, play, play. Again, this is true for both Golf and Poker.

I have been reading a lot of how-to articles at Card Player Magazine Online in an attempt to better my game. I used to read a lot of how-to articles in Golf Digest Magazine until I realized that every how-to article was not beneficial to my game. To the way I hit the ball. There are instructions on how to cure the slice, cure the hook, hit out of the sand, hit fairway woods, hit irons better, draw the ball, fade the ball, hit the lob, hit the bump and run, long putts, short putts, lag putts, uphill putts, downhill putts, tee the ball high, tee the ball low, etc. etc, etc.

Every piece of teaching material is valuable and designed to improve your game. However, not every article will help improve my game and, in fact, many will make your game worse depending on how you hit the ball and the type of player you are, equipment you use, course you play, etc. You have to be selective and decide if the instructions in this article are what you need to correct a part of your game.
I am wondering if that is not the same with the Poker instructions I am reading in my books and at Card Player Magazine Online. There are articles on pre-flop play, post flop play, playing big pocket pairs and little pocket pairs, playing Ace/King, playing overcards, check raises, raising preflop, raising the turn, raising the river, how to play Pocket Aces, playing suited connectors, bluffing, etc., etc., etc.

Every piece of teaching material is valuable and designed to improve your game. However, is this the same as the Golf instruction articles? Do you have to read the instruction and decide if this is right for your game? For the type of player you are? I think you have to answer yes to both. There are multiple ways to play a chip shot and multiple ways to play Big Slick. You have to decide which way is best for your game and which way is best for that time you are playing Big Slick or the chip shot. For example, I’m up against some rocks so I want to slow play Big Slick otherwise they will a11 fold if I raise preflop, or, I am in a really passive game and I know if I raise this I will get at least two other callers and that will make a better payoff if I flop an Ace or a King. I am just off the green so do I need to get my chip on the green and running to the hole or should I lob it back to the hole?
I think you have to read the article and then decide if it is something that will work for your game or if it is something to store in the memory banks for you to use it when a similar type of situation comes up. I don’t think you can go on blind faith that this is “the” way to play your hand or play your shot. You have to discern what is best for you and what is best at the time. Once you can do this you will be on your way to honing your game to its sharpest and you should see some definite improvement.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Crazy Poker and Limit Holdem Articles

I probably be won’t be playing much poker the next 3 days as my schedule at work has changed for just this week and I am working three 12 hour days I can get two extra days off. Pretty much I will be going to and from work (a 1 hour commute each way on a good day), working, and sleeping Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I should be back at the tables on Friday and Saturday morning. I am still planning on playing a lot of Crazy Poker to clear my bonus there. I really can’t comment on the site yet as I have only played there for a little more than two hours and for one hour I was so card dead that pocket 4s were the only pair I got. Right now I am having the same results that I have at PokerStars, which isn’t very good. I don’t know if it is me or the other players. I have run into a couple that were real LAGs and seemed to hit everything they played. I’ve pretty much determined that as soon as I clear the bonus I don’t think I will be playing there much after that. That could change if I get on a hot streak while clearing the bonus and increase my bankroll.

One thing I don’t like about the site is it is hard to find out how much you have in your bank roll, how many raked hands you have played and how many Crazy Player Points you have generated. Those all important things when trying to clear a bonus. It is not really user friendly for maneuvering around the site.

Right now I am playing Limit Holdem exclusively at what could be determined as the micro-levels. I hope to move up in levels as my skills and bankroll increase. I have found a number of good articles for Limit Holdem players at Card Player Magazine Online by author Jim Brier. These articles cover everything in Limit Holdem and I am finding them very valuable. So the next three days I am going to study up on Limit Holdem and then come Friday I am going to win back my money from Crazy Poker.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Turning Things Around

I turned things around this week-end in my Limit Challenge. I would like to say that it was all me but I have to admit it was mostly because I started getting good cards again. Hard to go wrong with Pocket Aces, Kings, Jacks, made straights, etc. I did read up on limit poker and tightened up my preflop play so I'm sure that helped but I was also getting good cards which didn't hurt.
The graph shows that I'm back to my highest point since the Challenge was started and once I clear $150 I am going to move up to $1/$2 Limit. My bankroll will be able to handle it better and I will be better prepared emotionally for the higher limit. Last time I went into the higher limit with a lot of trepidation but this time I am looking forward to it as I believe I have the game to play at the higher limits and just have to make sure I remain tight/aggressive.
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I thought I had turned things around at PokerStars but I got my butt handed to me again yesterday. I can't figure out why I can win on Titan but get sucked out so much at PokerStars. I had a set of aces and lost on the river to a guy that wouldn't fold and he got the card he needed for his straight. Seems like I was getting good hands preflop and after the flop but by the river I was always second best. I am divorcing myself from PokerStars for a while until I have time to cool off and they have time to forget me. I am playing at Crazy Poker now and trying to clear the bonus there. I signed up through PokerSavvy and will get 450 Savvy points once I clear the bonus.
I played for about 90 minutes and lost about $12. I was up early then lost a couple of close ones and then couldn't get any cards to fall. Will try again tomorrow night. Just want to break even until I close out the bonus.
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What'd I tell you about Tiger Woods being a Golfbot. The man is a machine. If he was an animal, he would be a shark. Another big money tournament, another win.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Imploded

This may have been possibly the worse day I have ever had playing poker. I imploded, exploded, donked, tilted and lost. 'Nuff said. I will do better tomorrow.

If not.....................................

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Quads and Dugglebogey's new house

The Limit Challenge is still heading upward with another winning session today with the help of this quad hand. I have reversed my two day losing stretch and am up for the past two days. I am $13 below my high in the challenge but still am showing a nice upward trend.
I am still having trouble winning with any consistantcy on PokerStars so I think I am going to divorce myself from there and try another site. Give it a few days rest, even a few weeks rest, and then come back and see if the cards have changed.
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My friend Dugglebogey is in Tennessee working a new job and looking for a new house so I have found one for him. Heck, that's what friends are for, right? It may need a little work but Dugglebogey is handy with the "hammer". (I love this blogging community)
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I may be posting something in the next couple of days about taxes and on-line poker. I have been looking into it and have found some good information.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

All I wanted was a Hat!



I was fortunate enought to get a Royal Flush playing .25/.50 Limit on PokerStars the other day. I copied the hand history and sent an e-mail to PokerStarsasking if there were any prizes for someone that wins with a Royal Flush? Here is the reply I got from PokerStars:

Hello Wolverine Fan,

Congratulations on your hand! Most players will always remember such hands with amazing clarity, and I'm sure you'll replay that hand in your mind for a long time to come.

Unfortunately, we do not offer something to those players who are dealt a straight flush or royal flush at our tables. For your information, we currently deal approximately 60 royal flushes on a daily basis, and another 540 lesser straight flushes.

I am sorry, but we are not able to accommodate such requests.

Thank you so much for playing at PokerStars and good luck at the tables! Please let me know any time you need further assistance.

Regards,

Rob
PokerStars Support Team

ALL I WANTED WAS A HAT!!

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I think I am going to take a break from the tables for the next couple of days. My grandkids are coming to see me and I am looking forward to playing with them. I was able to check my losing streak in my Limit Challenge today and won back a tad more than I had loss yesterday so my graph is heading back upwards. The break will do me good as I have not had one in quite a while and I can sense that my decision making is not where it should be. The cards have still not been favorable to me on PokerStars so I need to get away from there and regroup. I'll still be reading up on Limit play and watching some online videos on FlopTurnRiver to help hone my game.

Just because I won't be playing for a couple of days doesn't mean I won't be posting so keep stopping in to see what I have to say.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Golf Bot


There is all kind of talk and forum discussions on Poker Bots but I bet few people knew there was a Golf Bot long before there were Poker Bots and I have the pictures to prove it. Tiger Woods is an Android. These photos were spirited out of the secret factory that produced him. The man is a machine. He doesn't make any mistakes. When everyone talks about Bots in poker they talk about them playing hands perfectly, raising, folding, calling at all the right times. Well, Tiger Woods is the same way. He makes all of the right moves when he has to. He doesn't make any mistakes and the other players are falling all over themselves when they miss a putt, miss a fairway, etc. He just keeps pounding away, putting on the pressure and keeping it on. He has won 12 major titles by the age of 30 so if that is extrapolated out he will win at least 24 major titles because most golfers on the PGA tour are better in their 30's than in their 20's. At least they are no worse and even if he falls off some or other step up he should still match Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors. It is just a matter of time and probably will be done by the time Tiger reaches the age of 35.
You heard it here first, Tiger Woods is an android, a Golf-Bot.
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This is not as impressive as Dugglebogey's first place the other night but I was pretty happy with it. Good return on my investment of $1 dollar as I cashed for $105. That is the biggest one time cash in that I have to date. My previous was $65 in an Absolute MTT.

This may not sound like much to a lot of you but when you start with a bankroll of just $100 (with an additional $100 added later) and now it has doubled and is reaching respectable figures, it is pretty neat to me.
My game is a lot better now than it has ever been and I am starting to build my bankroll up enough to move up in limits. I took another hit today on my Poker Challenge but I know that variance is out there and has hit me the past two days as my good hands just aren't hold up. I donked one hand very badly so really deserve to have a losing session today. I played very tight, only seeing 14% of the flops and in the later orbits when i did get a good hand and raise it everyone folded to me so I had only the blinds to show. I will have to loosen up just a bit and play a few more hands so that doesn't continue to happen.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Crash and Burn

I crashed and burned in my first attempt at $1/$2 Limit in my Poker Challenge. I had cleared $125 so it was time to move up, although I had trepidations, I knew it was the right thing to do. I played at Titan Poker and played just 4 hands in 3 orbits, all of them were A/10, one suited and 3 offsuit. I split the pot with one hand when the Jack/King/Queen/10 came on board but the others I failed at miserably. I didn't get one ace to show and the one time I did get a 10, another player turned it into a straight and beat my pair. I tried to play conservatively but I proabably went to far to the river in each of the hands. Twice I folded at the river so I'm not even sure what my opponent had. A real donkey play if you ask me, but.........

I skinned my elbow and bloodied my knee and now I have to decide what to do next. My stop loss was $20 and I dropped the entire amount in one session. My chart says that I drop back after I lose down to $75 dollars but I am thinking of readjusting my chart. Do I go out with another $20 and try to play a little better, making better decisions? Hopefully getting better flops with my good hands and maybe taking down one or two pots in a session. I don't think the players were any better than me but it was definitely tighter than the .50/1 Limit. I am really under bankrolled for this level and the smart thing would be to drop back and build up my bankroll to a decent amount and then try again. That is what I am leaning towards doing. I have only been at my challenge for less than a month and feel like I am moving up just a bit too fast. I would probably be more prudent to take it a bit slower, keep learning, and build my bankroll to a considerable amount and then move up.

I know some of my fellow bloggers will probably disagree with me, and rightly so, as the one school of thought is that the Challenge is for learning and if I am so concerned with my bankroll and not with learning how to play poker, then maybe I should get out of the Challenge altogether. The thing is I am learning!! And, I am learning a lot!! And I am building a bankroll that I am not ready to throw away just for the experience when, in my opinion, I can do both. I can learn and become a better player as well as build a bank roll that allows me to move up in limits. Things are moving too fast, IMHO, and I did not expect to be to this point until after two months or so of playing.

I think I'll sleep on it and then try and decide what is best. Right now it is too soon after dropping my buyin at the $1/$2 Limit and I need to distance myself from that before I make any hasty decisions.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Moving Up in Limits on Poker Challenge

This is how I am feeling now that i have to move up to the next limit in my Poker Challenge. I had another winning session today which put me over the $125 mark which means it is time to move up to the next level, $1/$2. Scary stuff but fun, too. I am still studying everything I can get my hands on in an attempt to improve my limit game. I am rereading Sklansky's Small Stakes Hold’em: Winning With Expert Play for the 3rd time and it is making so much more sense to me now that I am playing a bit higher limits. I can see where I make my mistakes and now know why the way I am playing is not optimal. Sklansky explains it so well. I am also watching videos on FlopTurnRiver and reading forum posts there and at 2+2 in an attempt to improve my game.

The picture tells it all. I am just a babe in the poker world but I am slowly moving up the steps to higher limits. I keep looking back to see if it is all right and to see if I can come back down if I want to. Just ahead of me is my trusty fellow poker bloggers encouraging me to climb higher, wagging their tails and yipping some sound advice to me.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Keeping Player Notes

Knowledge is everything in Poker. The more knowledge you have or can obtain the better your chances of being a winning player. You certainly need the right knowledge to play the game and play it well. You, also, need knowledge about your opponents. For that reason, I’ve started keeping notes on the different players I am playing. I have always noted players to some extent with notes like, “called preflop bet with 5/6 off suit” or “plays a lot of hand, only go against him with best hand”, that type of note. I was in FlopTurnRiver forums and asked the question about keeping notes on players and I found out that my notes weren’t specific enough to really help me out. I needed more in depth information like did he call from early position (EP), middle position (MP), or late position (LP)? Was he suited or unsuited? Was he in the blinds? My old notes didn’t have enough information to really help me decide what type of a player I was leaving the notes on. I even used Poker Tracker to help me with notes on players. Some of the answers at FlopTurnRiver were pretty in depth and one noted how he developed his own type of shorthand as sometimes, depending on the Poker Room, the notes area isn’t very big. Here are a few examples of one person’s notes:

Opponent 1~raised late, 2 in, w 66>

Opponent 2~raised 4th w Ato as co reraised mp3 w 66>

Opponent 3~raised as bb w 2 in w 99>

I have started to keep better notes and I keep notes on as many people as I can even in the big Poker Rooms like PokerStars
because I have already found that I end up playing the same people quite a bit. In Titan I am starting to keep as many notes on as many people as I can because it is a smaller site and I see the same people day after day. Not that many people play Limit poker as opposed to No Limit so I am seeing a lot of the same people at Titan and my notes should help me make good decisions. I am finding that by keeping notes I am paying more attention to the game and that means more attention to the players and how they are playing.

I have already seen a couple of instances where a note on a player has help me make a winning decision on the hand being played. One such player I had pegged as tight/passive and, knowing this, I was able to raise and push him off a pot that I had nothing on. It was a scary board and I represented having a better hand than I did. Another time with the same player he raised preflop and I knew he had a good hand as he rarely did that and I folded my cards and watch him win with pocket Kings.

I may never have made those determinations if it wasn’t for keeping notes on players and remembering certain players (because of keeping notes) or rereading the notes when they show up at my table.

I had another winning session at my Limit Poker Challenge, cashing out a profit of $10.50. I am at $120 dollars now and when I reach $125, I will move up to the $1/$2 games. That will be interesting. Here is a graph of my Limit Challenge to date, after just 17 days. I plan on keeping the challenge going at Titan as things seem to be going well there and (see below) PokerStars is kicking my butt still. I just have to see if I am able to get onto the $1/$2 tables as not many people play Limit Poker at Titan.

Still getting my junk handed to me at PokerStars

I am playing good hands only to come up second best, like my Ace/Queen getting beat by Ace/King when the flop has my Queen but the King shows up on the river or when I flop a straight but I have the low end and by the river the top end fills in. What is so hard is to keep playing my cards the correct way which means raising preflop the hands that should be raised and, especially this, getting out of the hand when I am beat. I’ve dropped 1/3 of my bank roll in 4 days and it doesn’t look like it is turning around any time soon. Maybe I need to take a break from PokerStars and play some other sites. Titan has a two table SitNGo that I have played 3 times and finished in the money twice. The one time I didn't get in the money I went into the Flop with best hand but lost the race. Maybe I will play that SitNGo a few more times and give PokerStars a rest.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Poker Challenge Winnings are Up

I lost yesterday on my Poker Challenge but came roaring back today to make up for that loss plus some. I cashed out up $16 dollars today to make up my $11 loss yesterday. I had a couple of second best hands and that put me in the red. Today I played solid poker and made some good reads and go some good cards and after 90 minutes decided to call it a day. I'll put a graph up of my winnings so far in the challenge. It is over $110 now and when I get to $125 I move up to the next level. That could be as early as this week-end.
Actually, I'm not sure my game is ready for the next level but that is what the Challenge is for, to help me grow and learn how to play better poker. In sports they say you play up to your competition. If you are playing a better team, you usually play better as you will concentrate more in an attempt to beat them. That is my goal in the Challenge, to play up to the competition. I will concentrate more and try to bring my 'A' game every time so I can play my best.
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Poker Stars is kicking my butt right now. I dropped a big bundle today and am slowly working on getting it back. Why does it take so long to earn the money but you can lose a bundle so fast?? It took me days to earn what I dropped today. Now I am grinding to get it back. My VP$IP is too high which means I am playing too many hands. It is at around 25% and should be at 20% or lower. I am playing too many blinds and calling too many raises with less than satisfactory hands. Knowing this it shouldn't be hard to fix the problem and I started already doing that this evening when I was able to eke out a $3 profit after a couple of hours on two tables. May not sound like much but every penny counts and, hopefully, when I get some cards to go my way it may snowball into a nice little bank roll. That is my goal.
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It looks like my Detroit Tigers may have righted the listing ship by winning two in a row in Boston. Last night's game was a mixed blessing. We got the win by luck and a prayer but lost our second baseman to a shoulder separation.

The Tigers took it on the chin tonight when our ace Justin Verlander, who has 14 wins, loss to journeyman pitchure David Wells (who played for the losing Tigers at one time). They couldn't get the sweep but didn't lose any ground to the White Sox as the KC Royals are kicking their butts right now, 10-zip. Go K.C.!!

Monday, August 14, 2006

PokerSavvy, Detroit Tigers, and Limit Challange

Played in the PokerSavvy League MTT today at Titan Poker and finished a respectable 4th place. The league runs for about six weeks and the point leaders at the end have the potential of winning $350 for first, $200 for second, and $50 for third. Its still not too late to get in on the action. Just click on the link for PokerSavvy, sign up and download Titan Poker and the leagues play at 6PM on Mondays and Thursdays. By downloading Titan through PokerSavvy you have the chance to earn 900 savvy points which equates to $90 dollars. Go to PokerSavvy and find out what it is all about and then join the fun.
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That was the look of my Detroit Tigers until they broke out of their five game losing steak tonight against the Boston Red Sox. The Tigers were in a genuine slump, losing five in a row and 9 of their last 12 games. They had lost a 10 game lead in their division this past week and today it stands at 51/2 games ahead of the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins. The Tigers have a rough stretch for the month of August and if they can get through this month with their lead intact then maybe they can go on to win the division. The months of August and September are the ones that separate the contenders from the pretenders and, hopefully, the Tigers have righted the listing ship.
Their hitting had abandoned them for the last five games but it looks like they broke loose tonight for seven runs. Also, they had let up too many unearned runs via errors and that needs to be addressed quick! Can't afford to do that coming down the stretch.
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Chalk up anothe winning session in my Limit Poker Challenge. Today I cashed out another winning session of $8.50 and broke past the $100 dollar mark in my Limit Challenge. Once I get to $125 I move up to the $1/$2 level. I am clearing Titan Points as well and, although they seem slow to accumulate, they are starting to add up and I hope to reap the benefits of that within a month or two. I'll stay at Titan Poker as long as I keep winning and the points keep accumulating. Nothing special to report just nuts and bolt poker where I only play Sklansky's Holdem Hand Groupings of Group 1, 2, 3, and some of 4. I will always play pocket pairs (5 and above) from any position, and a few hands from the other groups in late position. Mostly it is just fold, fold, fold until I get dealt a good hand and then I try to play it aggressively to the River. I am learning and my aggression factor has gone way up from the way I use to play but there is so much more I have to learn and the Limit Challenge is the best way I can think of for learning poker lessons.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Winning Day at Limit Challenge

I’ve been going up and down in the last few days on my Poker Challenge. I will lose then win then lose then win again. Yesterday I dropped over $7 dollars but today made it all back plus some when I was able to cash out up $16.50. Every time I think I will drop Titan as my Challenge site I go and score a big win and decide maybe I'll stay there a while longer. The biggest problem is getting on a table as they only have one or two full ring tables at my limit and I am usually on a waiting list. Oh well, while I am waiting I am playing and winning at PokerStars where I won about $20 today in .25/.50 Limit.

Here is the latest graph on my Limit Poker Challenge. I have have won over $90 dollars with 11 out of 13 winning days. I need to get to $150 before I move up to the $1/$2 dollar Limit Games. I hope to make that by next week-end.

So all in all doing the Poker Challenge has been the smartest thing I have done to date in Poker. I never would have moved up to these levels if it wasn't for the challenge. It is too early to tell but so far I think my game is holding up pretty good. For instance, today at Titan I saw 15% of the flops (7 out of 44) and was able to win over $16 dollars. That means I am playing good hands and, in my opinion, am playing them aggressively when I hit my cards. The big win today was when I was dealt pocket Kings and caught my set on the flop. Even with raises and reraises one guy wouldn't fold and I won the $9 dollar pot.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Win, Lose, Go Blue!

I eked out another winning session in my Limit Challenge at Titan Poker. I cashed out the princely sum of $1 (yep, one dollar, no extra zeroes, no typo, just one single dollar, uno deniero, one buck) . I won a couple of hands and lost a couple of hands and was settling in for a nice session when the cable modem on my computer decides to drop the connection. I was unable to get it going in a timely fashion and I had a tee time coming up so I just figured I would call this a victory and push my winning streak to two games. Our Cable provider is suppose to come out and give us a new cable modem so this problem won’t happen again. We have been experience more and more trouble the past couple of weeks and I just know it is eventually going to die, never to be resuscitated.

Poker Stars bitch slapped me today while I was playing my Challenge at Titan. In just over a half hour I lost two buy-ins on Stars and I have been beating myself up ever since. It is too hard to win that money and then go and blow two buy-ins in such a short time. I was second best in any big pot I played in and when I had the best hand, everyone folded so my winnings didn’t amount to much. Thus, I did win some small pots but I lost some big ones where I raised and reraised only to come up with the second best hand. Variance, thy name is Stars.

I am looking forward top playing at Stars again tomorrow. I will have a lot more time to play and I will only play my premium hands and I know that I can win back what I lost today. I will be taking up my Challenge again tomorrow on Titan and I am hoping I can sit down for a good long session and cash out up more than just a buck. Cable modem willing, that is. As of 12:30P today, no cable guy had come out yet.

In 3 weeks my Michigan Wolverines play the Vanderbilt Commodores who finished 5 and 6 last year but had a great quarterback in Jay Cutler which probably accounted for ¾ of those wins. Historically Vanderbilt has not been that good a football team but things change and last year was one of their best. Losing their quarterback to the Pros and playing in the Big House on the road does not bode that well for the Commodores and the line on the game is at 25 points already in favor of the Wolverines. Vanderbilt, Central Michigan University, and then bring on Notre Dame!!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Winning Streak Back and Golf Update


Just like the Michigan Wolverines Football team of 2005, I had a minor set back yesterday in my Limit Poker Challenge, garnering my first loss after 8 straight winning days. Well, today I was back on track and closed out up $12.65 in starting a fresh new winning streak. The difference between today and yesterday was a more passive table that I was able to control to some extent and better cards, which never hurts. I was able to win with everything from pocket Jacks to a small straight, 4 to 8, in the Big Blind. I was up early and after only a half dozen hands or so had doubled my buy in plus. Then I took it on the chin with a couple of hands but was able to rally and cash out up $12.65.

I jumped on Poker Stars .25/.50 Limit game and cashed out another profit of $7 dollars and after my Limit Challenge was over I moved down to the .25/.50 Limit on Titan and cashed out another profit of about $7. All in all a very successful day.

My Titan points aren’t growing in leaps and bounds but they are growing and since I was able to get back on track with a win today I guess I will stay at Titan for a while longer and see if I can’t garner some more points as well as continue my winning streak.

Golf Update
I haven’t had a golf post in a while so I guess I should let everyone know that my game is still going quite well but I am unable to lower my scores to the level I was hoping for. I shot an 84 on Wednesday with just pars and bogeys, no doubles or birdies. I did have a couple of realistic birdie putts for birdie but both broke off right at the end leaving a tap in par. I’m not hitting my mid-irons real crisp and that is leading to shots that are falling short of the green and I have to chip on and make the putt for par. I was able to drop a couple but I also doffed a chip and missed a 4 footer for par that cost me a couple of strokes. I was really hoping to shoot consistently in the low 80’s, i.e. 81-83 but so far 84 through 88 has been the norm. My handicap stands at 10.94 for the year which isn’t too bad but it is going to be hard to get it into single digits by the end of unless I really shoot some nice scores.

My area had the only Professional Golf Tour stop in Michigan, The Buick Open. Tiger Woods claimed this tournament for a second time with a score of 24 below par. Four rounds of 66 helped him garner his 50th win on tour. You know Buick is loving it when the golfer they sponsor wins their tournament. It is an advertiser’s dream with the name recognition of Buick and Tiger together. They talked about Ford getting a lot of air time when Phil Mickleson won the Masters wearing his Ford Polo Shirt. But GM one upped Ford with its sponsorship of Tiger because of the air time he gets even when he is not in contention.

I think living in Michigan gives me the best of both worlds when it comes to golf and poker. Michigan summers are usually awesome and I play golf 3 to 4 times a week. By the end of fall I am about golfed out and ready for a break from the game. That is when the winter winds hit and I can sit inside my cozy den and play poker until spring comes, whereupon I will be ready to pick up the golf clubs again. I can’t think of a nicer scenario for being able to split my two greatest passions evenly throughout the year.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Wining Streak comes to a Screeching Halt!!

The Team at Titan Poker threw a shutout as my Limit Poker Challenge 8 day winning streak came to a screeching halt. I lost my $10 dollar buy in playing only 3 hands. I thought I had hit a walk off home run when I bet my last $3 dollar on Q/J suited and was rewarded with trip queens. After getting all my money in a luck box showed Ace/King for a straight and I was done for the day. My $10 buy in is my stop limit, when I lose that I am done with the challenge for that day. Thus guy was playing every hand and he beat me on two of the three hands I played. Once with Ace/7 getting his trip 7's and then with the straight to beat my trip queens.

I did manage to win $3.85 at Poker Stars playing the .25/.50 Limit games. That helps soften the defeat at Titan. I am going to play once more at Titan and see how it goes. If things don't go too well then I'm headed back to Poker Stars to see how I fare there on my "home" field.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there is no joy in Montrose--great Wolverine has struck out.

With apologies to Ernest Thayer and Casey at the Bat.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Winning Streak Hits 8 Days

Just a quick note on my Limit Poker Challenge to let everyone know that my winning streak has hit 8 days and counting. My going on the 'road' to play at Titan Poker, as opposed to my home field of Poker Stars, has not slowed my one bit as my road record is now 2 and 0 winning over $26 dollars in two days at Titan. I'm getting great cards so I can't really comment on the players at Titan at this time but so far things are going well for me. I was only able to play for a very short time this morning as I had other obligations so in 21 hands I folded 18 times only playing my original buy-in blind (folded after the flop), one Big Blind where everyone else folded and I won the BB and SB, and the big one with Pocket Aces where I took down an $8 dollar pot. I raised and reraised and the only thing that was scary was a pair of 4s on board that I felt for sure gave someone trip 4s but it was not to be as my Pocket Rockets held up to win a nice little payout. I wanted to stay but Mrs. Wolverine was calling me for some preplanned activities so I closed down my table and gloated on my 8 day win streak.

I sat down at Poker Stars last night and won $10 dollars at the .25/.50 Limit Tables. I played for about an hour and was very happy with how things went. My Poker Stars account started with $50 dollars, dropped to $31 dollars and now is over $100 dollars.

I hope I can keep regaling you in my cheery blogs but I am a little nervous that the streak will end and things will come crashing down ..... but until that occurs I will follow the immortal words of Oakland Raider owner Al Davis, "Just win, Baby!"

Monday, August 07, 2006

Read Pressure Poker, Win Money



Click on this link to buy Pressure Poker by Scott Gallant

Poker Savvy and Challenge Moving to Titan Poker


Did I ever tell you that POKERSAVVY ROCKS!!! Go to PokerSavvy right now and sign up for Titan Poker at their site and once you clear the bonus (one of the easiest to clear of all Poker Rooms) they will deposit 900 Savvy points in your account which you can turn into $90 dollars.
GO!! DO IT NOW!! Just click on the PokerSavvy pic I have here and sign up under my account and start getting free money. How hard is that. Plus, PokerSavvy has a six week Titan League where you can win extra dollars.

I am switching my Limit Challenge to Titan Poker so I can earn the bonus points mentioned above. I have a six game winning steak at Poker Stars, but lets just say the home team is going on the road (like in Baseball) and going to play at Titan for a few days or however long it takes to earn the bonus. I won $8.35 to bring my total winnings to $57.30 so far in the challenge and, according to my chart, I must move up in limits. I will start at Titan at the higher limit but have heard that Titan is as fishy as PokerStars so I expect to do all right there as long as I stick to my game of tight aggressive play. Last night I was able to grind out a winning session after having to move to 3 different rooms because there would be 8 or 9 players and then, BAM!, it would go down to 4 players. If I want to play short handed I'll go to six max table so I would leave table and join another with 9 players. Had to do this twice. Finally I was able to stay at one table and grind out my winnings. Was down to the lowest I have been with my buy-in and was able to double up with just a couple of big wins.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Limit Holdem Challenge Day 5 - Grinding it out


Today I experienced what it means to ‘grind it out’ in my Limit Poker Challenge. I had another successful day to keep my streak intact at 5 days and counting by winning a total of $5.30. I played for about 90 minutes and it was a day of few ups and many downs in that I was not catching cards like I had the past few days and was down below my buy-in almost the entire time until one of the very last hands (in fact, the last hand I played). I did manage to win my first hand played to put me up just short of $2 dollars and after that I went down as low as $7 and then built that back up to just over my buy in of $10 when the last hand I played came up and I have put the hand history below.

I Played 90 minutes and won $5.30
Hand stats
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 78 hands and saw flop:
- 6 out of 8 times while in big blind (75%)
- 4 out of 9 times while in small blind (44%)
- 9 out of 61 times in other positions (14%)
- a total of 19 out of 78 (24%)
Pots won at showdown - 5 of 6 (83%)
Pots won without showdown – 5

I was up and down for about 90 minutes until this hand came up. I think I played it all right but what my opponent had stunned me and made my day.

PokerStars Game #5804775367: Hold'em Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2006/08/05 - 08:50:19 (ET)
BaacUK: posts small blind $0.10
_hycterikal_: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to lzfsb3 [Qs Qd]
PipDancer: folds
Tekil: calls $0.25
audreyursula: raises $0.25 to $0.50
lzfsb3: raises $0.25 to $0.75
BaacUK: calls $0.65
Tekil: calls $0.50
audreyursula: raises $0.25 to $1
Betting is capped - Capped the betting preflop.
lzfsb3: calls $0.25
BaacUK: calls $0.25
Tekil: calls $0.25

*** FLOP *** [7h 9s Kd]
BaacUK: checks
Tekil: checks
audreyursula: checks - King is kind of scary but no one bets or reraises my bet.
lzfsb3: bets $0.25
BaacUK: folds
Tekil: folds
audreyursula: calls $0.25

*** TURN *** [7h 9s Kd] [Ts]
audreyursula: bets $0.50
lzfsb3: calls $0.50 - Board still scary with King and possible straight

*** RIVER *** [7h 9s Kd Ts] [As] - I think Ace is the killer card but I have to bet out as Sklansky says it is better to lose one bet than it is to lose the entire pot by folding the winning hand.
audreyursula: bets $0.50
lzfsb3: calls $0.50

*** SHOW DOWN ***
audreyursula: shows [3c 2d] (high card Ace) - She had nothing, a total bluff and it cost her
lzfsb3: shows [Qs Qd] (a pair of Queens)
lzfsb3 collected $6.45 from pot

Unbelievable way to cap off a tough session of poker. She had literally nothing and was willing to throw away several dollars, which I was very happy to take from her. The one hand made me a nice profit after grinding away and basically just treading water. I am up $45 after 5 days of my challenge. I will be moving up in limits in the next day or so. Ultimately level 10 is my goal but when I get to level 5 I will reevaluate how the Challenge is going and if I want to continue it or not. (See Chart Above)

Friday, August 04, 2006

Poker Challenge Day 4

Day 4 of my Limit Poker Challenge was not as lucrative as the first 3 days but was a winner none-the-less adding $4.85 to my bankroll.. My streak is still intact, 4 days and counting. I received an excellent comment on my challenge from Sloe Times who has done a couple of Challenges of his own. I had stated a couple of times that the reason I ended my Challenge sessions was because I was starting to play so I wouldn't lose instead of playing to win. I was not willing to make the correct moves because I was afraid of losing the money I had already won. He states that I should consider the $25 I put up for the challenge to be already gone. It is an investment on my Poker Education and that the challenge is designed for me to get better and win or to bust out and if I am concerned about losing $25 then your head is in the wrong place for the challenge. AND HE IS EXACTLY RIGHT!! He goes on to put into perspective what $25 amounts to, i.e. a night at the movies, a munchies for the week-end, etc. He goes on to say the “$25 is the price of invaluable experience and opportunity to improve your poker play. Write the money off as gone already and what you're playing with is the ultimate in tournament chips. There's no limit to how many you can acquire and you win when you get to... that's a good point, you've haven't stated what your goal is.” HE IS EXACTLY RIGHT AGAIN!!

So here are the goals for my challenge (in no particular order):

  • Become Comfortable playing at higher limits - After challenge is over I should continue to play at limits that I am unwilling to try right now. I would hope that at the end of the challenge I will only sit down at $1/$2 tables or higher. Some of this will depend on the size of my bankroll.
  • Develop my game to its highest potential - This is harder to measure but I think the amount of increase, or decrease, in my beginning bankroll along with self evaluation should be able to determine this.
  • Increased bankroll to at least $200 dollars or more or bust it completely.
    This goal may be changed as the Challenge goes forth. If I bust out the challenge is over and if I continue to do well then the upper end will have to be increased.

This morning I stopped because I had a tee time to play golf. I felt I was in the proper mindset to play on especially if I won even more money but man does not live by Poker alone. Sloe Times was extremely helpful with helping me fix this major leak in my game. Goal number one, To Develop My Game, means just that and it isn’t always leaks in how you play the card dealt, there are leaks in money management and in the psychological part of the game. My leak was not wanting to keep playing after I had won a certain amount for fear of losing it. This is a psychological leak that I can start fixing right now. My Challenge is already a success in that I have found and am fixing one major leak in my game.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Limt Poker Challenge Day 3


Now things are really getting weird. For the third day in a row I have done a smashing job on my Limit Poker Challenge winning another $12.85. Maybe I will be the Chase Utley of limit poker with a ‘hitting’ streak to rival his. Right now my streak is at 3 and counting. I have won $37 in three days and, although, I was suppose to move up in limits after winning $25 I have modified that now to $50 dollars. Why? Because I can’t believe this isn’t an anomaly and the bottom will be falling out of it soon. It is so hard not to gloat, not to get over confident, not to think, “Why haven’t I done this sooner?”. I am trying to take it slow and really determine that my game is good enough for these results and for this level before I move on to the next level. I don’t want to prove the Peter Principle too soon.

I have to admit that I have studied and practiced for over two months to get ready for this challenge and I even stated in one of my posts that I wanted to ‘blow it out of the water’ but I want to be cautious too because I will not accept defeat. If I move up too fast and have to drop back down a level in just the beginning then I will start having self doubts. I want to approach this with my strongest possible game and I think I am doing that. I am going over my hand histories and trying to find out what I have done wrong on some of my hands and am posting them on PokerSavvy Forums and the forums at FlopTurnRiver . I am thinking of putting them on 2 plus 2 forums , also, as I want to get the most feedback I can. That may seem like overkill but the hands are fresh in my mind and they are my hands that I am being criticized on so I will know why I did what I did and the help from fellow players will make more sense and be more personal.

I may put a short hand history on my blog but will reserve most for the aforementioned forums. Today I forgot to copy my stats but I know that the flops I saw was at 23% (10/44) which was much better than yesterday. I don’t think I played any small blinds and only one or two (out of 5) big blinds. I played for about 1 hour and won from the very beginning. I was up 8 dollars after just a couple hands and cashed out, after about an hour of play, up $12.85. I stopped for the third day in a row after I started playing not to lose instead of playing to win. I believe it has to do with doubling my money. I start with $10 buy-in and when I have doubled it up I hate the thought of pissing it away and cashing out with less than I started. Every time this has happened it has been around 1 hour of playing time and, although I’m no Ted Forrest, I can sit an play for hours on end so the time at the table is not a determining factor.

I folded some hands that maybe I should have played but they were in late position and on all but one I would not have won from the cards being played (but may have won because of my betting pattern or other reasons outside of what cards were dealt). The one time I had Jack/Queen suited in early position and folded and everyone else folded to the blinds. The small blind called and the big blind checked and a queen came on the flop. I may have won that hand outright with a bet there as both blinds checked the flop. Anyway, I will be back at it tomorrow and if my success holds, this week-end (Saturday) I will be moving up to the next limit.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Poker Challenge Day 2

My Poker Challenge is going extremely well and this scares the hell out of me. I have been doing the challenge for two days and I have already achieved the amount needed to advance to the next level. Either I am one of the fastest learners of Limit Poker in the Free World or maybe I have been very lucky/fortunate the last two days. I am going to modify the challenge and remain at this level for at least a few more days and as long as a week. I will determine how I am doing and if it is time to move up.

Poker Challenge Day 2
Today didn’t start as well as yesterday. Ran trip tens into a set of queens and lost first hand I was dealt. The table I sat at today was a lot looser than yesterday with 3, 4, and 5 players each hand. I even raised on the blind with Pocket Jacks and every limper (4 of them) called and that left five of us to see the flop. Boy was I scared then. The flop was 2d,Qd,9d. myself and 3 others call. Turn is a beautiful Jd. I bet and get one caller. Now down to just two of us. The river is 5d to complete the flush on board. Villian bets, I call and Villain turns over Qs Qc for set of queens that beats my set of Jacks. However, the flush board beats us both and we end of splitting the pot. That is the type of luck I am having. Very, very good luck. In almost consecutive hands I received Ace/Queen, Ace/King, Six/Six and was able to win with all of them.

Here are my stats for the day. I saw too many flops (29%) and probably should have folded a few Small Blinds and at least one Big Blind. That would have put me closer to 22%.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 52 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 5 times while in big blind (100%)
- 6 out of 6 times while in small blind (100%)
- 5 out of 41 times in other positions (12%)
- a total of 16 out of 54 (29%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 8 (50%)
Pots won without showdown – 2
Win $14

I played for about one hour and quit again when I was starting to play to protect my winnings and not to win the hand. Hopefully I will overcome that with time and continue to play while I am hot.

I'll have a bigger write up and some hand historys tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Poker Challenge Day 1

My Poker Challenge got off on the right foot today. I was dealt pocket 7’s in the first hand I got and they held up for a $1.90 win. I went on from there to win several good size pots and finished up $11.95, almost half way to the amount ($50) I need for moving up to the next level.
Here are my stats from Poker Stars:

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 42 hands and saw flop:
- 3 out of 3 times while in big blind (100%)
- 2 out of 5 times while in small blind (40%)
- 5 out of 34 times in other positions (14%)
- a total of 10 out of 42 (23%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 4 (100%)
Pots won without showdown – 2


The 23% was a little higher than I expected but I was getting good cards. In five hands I was dealt:
Ace/King
Ace/Ten
Ace/King
Ace/Ace
Jack/4
I won 3 of the 4 I played. I didn’t win on the A/10 hand as I don’t think I played it very well. Here is a abbreviated hand history of that hand:

Dealt to Hero [Th Ad] in the Big Blind
Villain: raises $0.25 to $0.50
Small Blind folds.
Hero: calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [8h 8s 4h]
Hero: checks
Villain: bets $0.25
Hero: calls $0.25
*** TURN *** [8h 8s 4h] [Js]
Hero: checks
Villain: bets $0.50
Hero: folds
Villain collected $1.55 from pot
Villain: doesn't show hand

The Villain did raise preflop so I had him on Ace/King, Ace/Queen, Ace/Jack, King/Queen or big Pocket Pair. He had not played any hands that I was aware of at this time so I didn’t have any read on him. I was out of position and probably should have been more aggressive, playing out with a continuation bet instead of checking. This was the only hand I really didn’t like the way I played it.

It was easy to play and win with the cards I was getting. Early on I got Pocket Kings in the Big Blind. A couple limpers, I raise and get two callers. The flop has a beautiful King on it but it is all diamonds, which is a bit worrisome. I bet the flop and the turn and at this time I have just one opponent who I determine is looking for that 4th diamond. Fortunately for me it never comes and when I bet the river he folds. I take down $3.95. See abbreviated hand history:

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Kc Ks]
Villain1: posts big blind $0.25
New Player: posts big blind $0.25 (new player taking a seat and posting blind)
Villain2: calls $0.25
Hero: raises $0.25 to $0.50
NPhard: folds
Villain1: calls $0.25
Villain2: calls $0.25
New Player: folds

*** FLOP *** [Jd Kd 2d]
Villain1: checks
Villain2: bets $0.25
Hero: raises $0.25 to $0.50
Villain1: calls $0.50
Villain2: folds

*** TURN *** [Jd Kd 2d] [5h]
Villain1: checks
Hero: bets $0.50
Villain1: calls $0.50

*** RIVER *** [Jd Kd 2d 5h] [Ah]
Villain1: checks
Hero: bets $0.50
Villain1: folds
Hero collected $3.95 from pot
Hero: doesn't show hand



Soon after I get pocket fives and I turn them into a set and I take down another pot. Win $2.75. It was another scary flop turning up all clubs but no club came up on the turn and everyone folded. One preflop raiser folded after seeing the flop and my raise. I would have just called on the flop and raised on the turn if the flop wasn’t scary and my set was solid but with 3 clubs on board, I wasn’t taking a chance of another one coming up and having a flush crack my set.

After that I got my rush of cards with A/K (twice), A/A, and A/10. I played about one hour which is what I told myself I was going to play, win or lose. I bought in for $10 of my $25 dollar bank roll and I figured one hour on the first day would be enough of a start. Some may say I was on a roll and to keep playing but I noticed that I began protecting my winnings and this was not a good way to play and I needed to stop and get out. I will give it another go Tuesday and see how things go. I like that I was patient and I liked the way that I played every hand except for the Ace/Ten. For the most part I was tight/aggressive and I need to continue in that mode for the duration of the challenge.

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