The Chronicles of Stump

New Goal

2006-08-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a little thinking the last day or so. I might have come up with a new goal for this wonderful game of poker. And I think I will share it with you guys, so I can keep myself accountable in a public forum. Maybe this way I'll actually attempt to achieve it in the specified amount of time. So without further adieu....

I like to visit my daughter who lives in Hood River, OR every spring & fall, right before the ground gets all that nasty white stuff on it called snow. I also like to coincide these trips with the Pendleton Spring & Fall Poker Round Ups at Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Therefore my goal is to make enough money live & online to afford this trip. I'm looking at around $1,000 for rental car, hotel, & at least two tournament entries @ $210 each. And I'd like to achieve this goal by October 1, giving me plenty of time to arrange flights & hotels. Again, I'll try to monitor all activity in this here blog.

I'm going to have to dip into my personal money to start this but it won't hurt. Online I will stick to $10 - $20 SnG's & $1/$2 Limit HE with the occasional $5 - $10 MTT thrown in for fun.

Wow, a short post from Stump! That is all. Wish me luck & ya'll take care.

PS. I still haven't forgotten about Part 4 of the WSOP. It's coming soon.

Weekend Recap

2006-08-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Rant forthcoming! Along with bad beat stories! If you don't want to read please move on to the next blog!

Poker is a cruel game. You could get it in with the best preflop & then get kicked right in the nuts. To win tournaments you must win races.

These are all statements that many of us poker players already know. "In the long run the better player make the money." We all know this but when you run bad for the short run it absolutely sucks. And a bad run is happening right now in my little poker career.

I played in a rebuy tournament Friday night at a friend's house. After the initial buy in & subsequent rebuys a person would be into the tournament for around $115. Pretty expensive home tourney for our group.

Right before the break I raise UTG +1 with AKo. Dude to my left flat calls then cutoff announces he's all in. Now the cutoff is a LAG who could be holding a wide range of hands. I figured if he had a big PP he would simply raise about 3x my raise as not to lose customers. It was obvious to me he had either a small pocket pair, 66 or 77, or a hand like AQ, AJ, or possibly AK. At worst I figure I'm a coin flip, and I'm willing to gamble since I have a rebuy & add on left. So I call. Dude to my left folds. The LAG shows 55 (??) & we're off to the races. Of course I don't improve & I get stacked. I rebuy & immediately add on 1 minute later at the break, but I'm not happy about it.

Later we get down to 2 tables & I'm not in terrible shape - I had about 13 BB left - but I need to improve pretty quickly. UTG raises 3x the BB. All fold to me and I wake up to JJ. I push. UTG tells me he has to call & shows AQo. Of course an A flops & IGHN. You must win races to win tournaments!

Afterwards I go to a friend's house who's having a .50/1 NL game. He usually has a number of donks/calling stations there so my buddy & I go there to feast. Of course the donkeys hit all their draws & I try to make a move on one that costs me my whole stack- yeah, I know I know - & IGH broke.

So the next night my buddy & I decide to head to a local card room after taking in the first half of the Texans game. I'm a season ticket holder so I feel obliged to go & spend some money, on top of the already ridiculous ticket prices. We get to the card room & find there are two seats available at the must-move 1/1/2 PLHE game. I don't know why the hell they switched the game from 1/2 PL to 1/1/2 PL, but whatever. To generate (even more) rake? Maybe.

It took about 15 minutes to figure out who my marks would be. But I never got any cards worth fighting with. After about an hour & a half my buddy & I got moved to the main game, where there were "better" players and a lot more money on the table.

Long story short I had around $190 in front of me when the raping occurred. This donkey-ass in the 9 seat raises to $10 from EP - I paid no attention to his raises because he was already in for around $600 & was a HORRIBLE player. I'm in the 1 seat & wake up to the most beautiful cards in the deck, AsAh. I promptly raise to $30, not exactly pot because I don't want to scare off too many people, namely the donkey. Seat 3 starts thinking & announces he's raising pot. Wow! He's got KK & I'm gonna double thru his ass is what goes thru my head.

So all fold back to Donkey-boy & he starts thinking. All of a sudden he shoves in his stack with a sort of "oh well, I'm behind but I'm stuck" face. Action gets back to me & I insta-shove. Seat 3 has me covered so he starts counting the differece between my all in & his pot-sized bet. While he's counting his chips I comment, "I've got the best hand right now". He says that's what he figured, but he's getting such good pot-odds he has to call. We flip over the cards, my AA is first, seat 3 shows KK - just as I thought - so I wonder just what the hell this idiot in seat 9 has. And he shows...QJh. WTF????? This idiot just called 2 all-ins with that trash?

The sick part was that as soon as I saw the QJh a wave of doom came over me. I was in no way afraid of the KK, I feared the QJ. Mind you, the last two times I had been in this room I had been all in with the best hands just to get rivered by a Q. The first time I had flopped 2 pair with AJ on a board of AQJ & got it all in with a guy who flopped bottom 2 pair with QJ. And a Q came on the river. The second time I got it all in 3 ways after the flop w/KK on a board of JQx. I was up against AJ & KQ, and a Q spiked on the river. So you see my reasoning for my angst.

At this card room you are allowed insurance so we called over the floorman. The odds were too complicated to figure out preflop so I told them to flop it & we'll figure it out from there. Flop came 55Q, so I'm still very much ahead, but that Q scared the shit out of me. We separated the pot for insurance. I would get $350 to $100 vs. the QJ and we'd play for the rest of the pot, which was around $70. The KK I wasn't worried about. I seriously thought about locking up that $350 right then but figured shit, there is no way I'm gonna get screwed again. Let's look at the turn then we'll talk insurance. I told the dealer to peel one off.

And another fucking Q hits the board. I couldn't believe it. The third time in the last three trips I had been screwed by a Q. I buried my head in my hands & wanted to break shit. The donkey fucker starts whooping & hollaring & telling the dealer to start shipping the chips his way.

I have done very well the last year to control my temper. I even quit drinking completely to help curb the problem. But I'll admit I let loose one of the best F-bomb laced tirades ever right after that happened. Something about how I must be f-ing cursed in this f-ing place. I'm never coming back to this GD f-ing place because I only get bent over & f-ed in the ass. It was classic. I even let loose on the idiot after he said something like "look where the chips are" & told him to shut his damn mouth because he shouldn't have even been in the f-ing hand in the first place.

And 30 minutes later I was laughing about it. I still left there broke but at least I had a story.

So, now that my live bankroll is now non-existant I think I'll make like Waffles & Klopzi & take a nice, long break. I've still got money on Stars & I'll try not to tilt all that away. Hell, I might even donate to you guys tonight at the MATH & Wednesday at the Mook.

You guys take care. I need to go lower my blood pressure again. :)

The Main Event: WSOP Pt. 3

2006-08-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

I wake up after a near-sleepless night around 9:00. Took my time getting ready then sat on the couch in the room for some "Zen" time while my wife got ready. I tried to stay calm & not think too much. With all this going through my head I stopped to think about where I was, where I was about to go, where I came from. It kind of overwhelmed me. Here was this middle-class, overweight, out of shape husband & father who qualified to play in the biggest poker tournament in the world. I had made it. Two years of dreaming came down to a couple of hours.

I cried.

I hadn't cried in a very long time but I let it out. The wife, who had never seen me really cry, came to comfort me. Don't get me wrong, I knew the world will continue to spin if I didn't cash, or win, or got knocked out on the first hand. I just took a few minutes to allow myself to be proud. Proud of what I had accomplished. There were thousands of people who would love to be where I was.

That being said I got myself together, ate breakfast, then headed to the Rio. Of course it was packed with all sorts of people meandering around the place. They wouldn't let the players in until 11:30 so we spent some time in the expo & trying to figure out who was playing that day. I knew Raymer was playing but that was it. Would he or any other name pro be at my table? There was no way of knowing 'til we sat down.

They opened the doors & I'm the first one at my table, #142, seat 5. And it's absolutely freezing in there. Wow. Where's my freakin' jacket!

The other people filter in one at a time & (thankfully?) I don't recognize any of them. There were 3 PokerStars players & one other PartyPoker player at the table. Not too bad.

Earlier in the week I had talked to a few guys who had busted out already & they reminded me to just play tight in the beginning & wait for premium hands. I had decided before I left for Vegas that with 10,000TC & 25/50 blinds I would play the first couple levels like a cash game, maybe a little looser than the norm, & see how the table reacted.

You can see the difference between the two approaches. I guess I let the influence of others overtake me because I played squeaky tight in the beginning. I believe my first dealt hand was J4o, an easy fold. I didn't get involved in any pots until about 1 hour in. I get AA UTG & raise it to 150, which was the standard. All fold. Damn. I wanted a bigger pot. Didn't feel like getting fancy yet & just limping, I still didn't know how the table would react. Better to play it safe & raise.

From here on out I don't remember a lot of specific hands, but I do remember, through the course of the day, getting KK 3 times, QQ once, JJ once, TT once, AK once, and a few small PP, 33 to 77. That's it. No AQ, AJ, KQ, QJ. Not once. I went card dead again for the most part.

I remember having 9550 at the end of the second level when the PokerStars kid in seat 2 - who I labeled as pretty weak, he had shown down some terrible holdings & wouldn't ever raise postflop - raised to 300 (blinds 50/100) from EP. I look down to see 77 & flat call. All else fold. Flop comes down K52. He puts a standard continuation bet of 300 out. I think for a second, believe he's full of poop & pop him to 950. He folds after 15 seconds. Bingo, 9550.

Nothing else really exciting happened by the dinner break, where I had 6900. The blinds were about to be 100/200/25 & I was not happy at all where I was. I decided that I was either going to double up in the next two levels or go home. I was not going to limp into Day 2 with like 5,000 or 6,000 in chips. Fuck that. I've got to give myself a chance to compete or bust.

I called a friend of mine back in H-town whose opinion I trust & talked it over with him. He pretty much agreed that I had about an hour to stay patient, then I had to start making moves. So that was the game plan after dinner. My wife asked if I was OK with that & I told her I was. I had to fight.

I wanna finish this story now but I'm about to get of work. Maybe I'll finish tonight. If not I definitely will tomorrow. Take care.

The Cards Go Dead: WSOP Pt. 2

2006-08-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

I meet my H-town friends at Caesars the next morning - Friday - for some tournament action. For those who haven't been, the Caesars tourney probably has the best structure for the price in town. For $80 you get 1500TC with one $50 rebuy/add-on for 3,000TC. Blinds start at 25-50 & increase every 40 minutes. Not bad. I decide to wait to add-on, hoping to double up early.

About 5 minutes in an early position raises to 175. I look down at AKc & reraise to 500. He goes all in & I call, looking to race & hopefully double up early. If I don't I always have the rebuy. He flips over KK, I don't improve & I rebuy. That's just the start.

I win a couple of small pots raising preflop & putting in the continuation bet post-flop with no calls. Nothing major. The break comes & I have ~4500TC. Probably around average. With the blinds becoming 200/400/25 I have to double up soon.

A few hands after the break I'm UTG with AKo. I raise to 1200 & get called by the cutoff - same guy who had KK earlier - & the BB. Flop comes T83 rainbow, BB checks & I move all in. Cutoff calls & BB folds. Cutoff shows 97h (WTF?) & of course spikes a 9 on the river & IGH WAY too early. I shake my head as I get up, tell the guy he made a horrible call & leave. Shouldn't an UTG raise get some respect? I mean, 97? Then calling a pot-sized all in with an OESD? The dude had to think he was behind. Oh well, such is the mentality of donkeys these days.

I proceed to lose another $400 over the next few hours playing 10/20 limit & 1/2 NL when I catch no cards, hit no draws, get a preflop raise called by Q-fucking-2 & a flop of QQ6. Just wasn't my day.

Long story short - and I can't remember everything else that happened - but I lost around $700 that first day at Caesars & MGM. I guess I was shell shocked at MGM because I played tighter & weaker than normal - a bad run can do that to you - which contributed to about $200 more out of my bankroll. Frustrating times. I didn't need this hit going into the Main Event. My confidence was shaken.

So I took Saturday off from poker & went to the Rio to find my buddies who were playing. The staff at the Rio woudn't let any spectators in until all the alternates had been seated, something about a fire hazard? So Mrs. Stump & I hung around the Expo a while & did a little shopping & sight-seeing.

Later that night, after the PartyPoker party at Studio 54 (I need to go off on a tangent here. We all know Mike Sexton from WPT broadcasts & PartyPoker commercials, right? He's pretty much straight-laced, sort of squarish, right? Well you should have seen him in his suit cutting a rug on the dance floor with the scantily-clad Party girls! WOW! Dude was getting down!) Mrs. Stump & I were in our room about to hit the sack when one of my friends from H-town calls & tells me AJ is second in chips with 65k.

The wife & I get dressed & head to the Rio to check out my boy. We finally find him - yes, they let spectators in by then - & he tells me he's back down to 45k, a result of running unsuccessful bluffs a few times. So I sweat him for about an hour - along with Phil Ivey, John Juanda, & Eric "Rizen" Lynch - before heading to bed. AJ ended the night with about 46k but didn't make it thru Day 2.

Wifey & I headed to bed, where I don't think I slept but 2 hours thinking about what was about to happen. Playing in the biggest tournament of my life, let alone the poker world. Overwhelming. But I'll get to that next time. Until then take care.

Finally...

2006-08-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

...figured out how to link to some of you guys! Woohoo! I'm not an idiot!

More later....

WSOP Recap: Arriving in Vegas

2006-08-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

So we land in Vegas & catch the cab to MGM. Check into the room, put our bags up, & start looking for Party Poker reps, but none can be found. Screw it, let's go roaming for a while.

We head down to "Restaurant Row" & have lunch at Nathan's. Famous for hot dogs, I have chicken fingers, of course. And they were awesome. And what the hell happened to cheap pricing for food in Vegas?! Holy hell! The wife & I set aside $100 a day for food & we blew through it everyday. Whoa! No fancy dining for us.

We finally find some Party reps at the Welcome Party. I inquired as to why our packages of goodies weren't in the room. They reminded me that they needed the signed release form from me before they could give us the goodies. Oops! Took the release form to the front desk & they said they would bring it to our room sometime that evening since there were so many. Cool.

To kill time we head to the Rio so I can get my Table & Seat assignment. When we get there we check out the Poker Lifestyle Expo in the large room right next to the Amazon Room. All I can say about the Expo is WOW. Every internet room you've heard of & some you haven't had boothes. And the girls...man o man. Scantily clad women everywhere. So much so that my wife was getting a little jealous, er, disgusted. I could spend a whole post on the Bodog booth. Wow.

While there I saw TJ Cloutier, Dutch Boyd, Johnny Chan, Ron "The Hedgehog" Jeremy, Vince & Dick Van Patten, and various other pros. I've never really been one to "stargaze" but hey, I'm a fan, and I get a kinda thrill seeing some of these players in person.

After getting my assignments I ran into both of my friends from Houston that won seats to the Main Event, Tommy & AJ. They had both registered & were scheduled to play on Day 1(b), or Saturday, the day before me. Spent some time catching up & discussing what we were doing the next day (Friday). We decided to play the 12:00 Caesars tournament then play some cash later.

The wife & I left our friends & ate at the Tilted Kilt while watching the Carnival festivities above us. Pretty cool stuff.

From the Rio we went back to the MGM where our goodies still weren't in the room yet. I called the front desk & they told me that there were so many to hand out they couldn't get to them all. They'd have to bring them by tomorrow starting at 9:00. Cool. The wife & I turned in early for the long day following.

I'll get into the poker playing & my start of dead cards next time. Take care.

Home, Unfortunately

2006-08-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since the last post. I didn't have a laptop & had no internet connections anywhere. Now that I'm home - & currently at work, dammit - I can start to update everyone.

Just let me start by saying I had an incredible time. I will definitely come back next year whether I qualify for the Main Event or not. I just LOVE that damn city.

In the cash games I was completely card dead the first 3 days I was there & was down almost $1,000, which is a lot for a low-limit dude like me. Luckily I won over half of that back the next to last day I was there. I'll get into details at a later time.

Tha Main Event was fun, even if I didn't make it out of Day 1. What an experience. I know what to do & how to play the next time I'm in this situation - a big buy-in event with lotsa chips & long blind levels. And my "next time" might not be that far away. Again, more on that later.

I just wanted to check in & let everyone know I wasn't MIA or KIA. I'll post more, probably tonight or tomorrow. Take care & I'll check in later.

Time to Go

2006-07-26T20:58:00.001-07:00

Well fellas, this is it. In less than 12 hours I'll be in the air heading to America's Playground, the great city of Las Vegas. Damn, I don't think I'll sleep tonight.

The news I wanted to share with everyone from the last post is this: The fine - and insane - gentlemen from WickedChopsPoker have decided to sweat lil ole me for the Main Event. If anyone has read them you know they are very talented & demented writers of one of my favorite blogger sites. They also had an email "contest" for Main Eventers, with 5 winners being profiled & "sweated" during the tournament. Well, I was one of the lucky ones. I'm definitely looking forward to meeting those guys. So if you're interested in my progress be sure to check there.

I've signed up for PocketFivesLive.com & will be tracked there, too.

I want to thank all you guys for your support & encouragement...it means a great deal to me. I'll try to update when I can, as I don't own a laptop, but I hear all the site's suites have laptops so maybe it won't be so bad.

Since I'm staying at the MGM I will frequently haunt their poker room. And I know that place is a favorite of Miami Don & Carmen. So if you guys happen to read this & they don't, please let them know that if a short, buzz-cutted, burger-bellied guy walks up & introduces himself as "Stump" or "SugarLand Stump", it's me. And if you can name the restaurant where Carmen works leave me a comment. I'd really like to meet the people whose blogs I read damn near every day. Thanks guys.

I'll talk to you guys later & wish me luck! Take care! Viva Las Vegas! WOOHOO!!!!!

Getting Ready for Vegas

2006-07-25T06:54:00.000-07:00

Well I withdrew most all of funds from the online sites last night to have more bankroll for Las Vegas. Total I should be taking somewhere near $1500 to play with, which is plenty for my low-limit ass. I should be playing in the Caesars tournament at noon Friday followed by either some 10/20 limit or 1/2 NL. If/when I get ahead I might try to satellite into one of the Bellagio Cup II $1,000 events. We'll see.

Saturday is going to be for sightseeing & checking out the Rio to see how crazy it is. I'll also be getting a feel for the place, like where the nearest restrooms are in relation to my table, where the food is, etc. All the important things before I play Sunday. Plus, I have two friends from Houston that qualified & are playing Saturday so I'll have to sweat them for a while.

I also have some pretty exciting news which I will share with all 3 of my readers at a later time, maybe later today or tomorrow.

I don't have a laptop so I probably won't be able to give updates like I'd like to. But I hear many of the internet site suites have laptops which we can log onto so I'll try to update that way.

Wish me luck. I'll try to post again - with the exciting news - before I head out. Ya'll take care.

Not a Lot to Report

2006-07-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

Like the title suggests there's just not much going on. I'll try to find some highlights.

I've received information from PartyPoker about what's going to happen once I get to the MGM Grand. They tell me a bag should be awaiting me in my room with various shirts & hats. Woohoo! I guess I don't need to pack much!

There is a reception for the players on Thursday night at their suite (I guess at MGM) where I guess we meet other online lucksacks, er, players & hopefully a muckity-muck or two.

There is another party scheduled for Saturday night at Studio 54 in the MGM. That ought to be pretty cool & my wife is looking forward to that. There is a dress code at Studio 54 so I guess my fat ass needs to try on the last coat & slack combination I wore, which was a few months back at my grandfathers funeral. "Aw Stump, there's no WAY you gained any weight since then!" Yeah, right!

I'm sad to report I won't be doing any drinking at the Studio 54 party because I play the next day. Why they decided to have a party in the middle of the start dates, I have no idea.

I'm sorry I haven't played in any blogger events lately, I've been busy with the family while my daughter's been in town. I know you guess miss my donation to the prize pool; I promise to donate again soon. Unfortunately it won't be at the Mookie tonight, I'm playing in a friend's tournament at his house. Last time I played there I took it down, so let's see what happens.

I played in a $100 home tournament this past weekend. We started with 5000TC, blinds at 25-25 & 45 minute levels. I love this set up! Any tourney with long blind levels I'm in. So what do I do? I push my above-average chip stack(around 7500 w/100-200 blinds) with JJ into KK in the 3rd level & IGH. I'm such a donkey. I raise & one of the only two other solid players at my table reraises. I talk myself into thinking he has AK & I'm willing to race this early in the tourney. If he has AK & I win this race I'm in GREAT position to win this thing. No way he has AA, KK, or QQ. Yeah i know he's a solid player but who cares? I'm not sure where I'm at in the hand so let's just shove it all in & if he calls I guess I'm screwed. <------Now what the hell kind of thinking is that?

I promise to everyone I know & love that I WILL NOT THINK LIKE THAT IN THE MAIN FUCKING EVENT! And if I do I will never, ever play poker again. That's just plain disgusting.

Well, I guess that's all from here. Get back to ya soon. Take care.

Sicknesses

2006-07-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of days since my last post because I've been suffering from some kind of stomach virus. Fun times!

I played in a 1/2 NLHE home game Tuesday - before my adventures began - & took home an extra $225. I'm kinda proud of that score because that table was one of the most talented I've played. My friend hosts games once a week on the southeast side of town & it always draws talented players. I know jjok lives in that area, I need to get a hold of him to see if he wants in sometime. If you're reading this gimme a shout.

I've played very sparingly online the last couple of days but had some moderate success. Cashed in numerous SnG's on Stars & Full Tilt and bubbled twice in Busty Babe sats, once when my KK lost to 55 when a 5 spikes on the turn. Whaddyagonnado?

Thought about joining the 45 SnG Challenge put on by drewspop but I'll be in Vegas midway thru the challenge & won't be able to get a lot in. But I'll absolutely play in the next one, buddy! Good luck to all that are playing.

After reading all the write-ups from different peeps I might start saving up for the next blogger event in December. That is, of course, if I keep writting this & connect with a few more fellow bloggers. I've only been doing this for roughly a month so I've got PLENTY of time. Looking forward to being there.

I guess that's it. Ya'll take care.

I'm Not Dead...

2006-07-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

...I just haven't posted in a while. Kinda bummed about some things that I guess I should have put out in the open in the first place. Nothing real big, just disappointing.

For one, I wish I could do better in these blogger events. For the third time in a row I go out before the first break. Frustrating! On the other hand I enjoy playing with you guys because 1) most of ya'll are better than me so I learn a few things, & 2) the smack talking is world-class.

Since it's been so long here are some brief highlights of what's been happening, poker related & otherwise:

My 12 y.o. daughter is in town so I'm trying to spend much time with her.
I still haven't heard about my start date for the WSOP Main Event yet, other than I should hear from Harrah's sometime this week via email. As soon as I know, ya'll will know.
Had a night of 2nd best hands - don't you HATE that - & dropped $200 this weekend at a home game.
I've read most of the blogger updates from Vegas & am absolutely jealous. I can't wait to get there in 2 weeks! Don't take all the money fellas!
Online deposited on UB, where I haven't played in forever & somehow got a 100% first-time bonus. Now I only play cash games there to try to bleed that bonus $$$ since it takes forever.
Redeposited on Full Tilt, even though I took it in the backside last time I was there. Variance is evening out as I am actually having success there now, winning two $26 busty babe tokens (why the hell are they called "busty babe tokens" anyway) & cashing in numerous SnG's. Also bubbled in a $10 MTT last night when my JJ lost to AK.
I've got a serious downswing going on Stars, losing $100 the last few days, mostly on SnG's & small MTT's. But I cleared the bonus there playing $1/$2 & $2/$4 O8B. Easiest way I've found to clearing a bonus is split games. Wait for a good draw to the nuts then either scoop or split it. Not much variance & you clear bonuses in no time. Easy.
I discovered I play better in cash games when I don't multi-table. Played $.50/$1 NLHE on UB last night. Sat down with my whole BR ($86) & left with $180. It's easier for me to pay attention to the play & keep notes on people when I don't multi-table. I know many of you are thinking, duh, about time you figured that out dumbass. But I am an action junkie & usually need 3-4 tables going at once. I've realized I can play like that in SnG's & small entry $$$ MTT's; but for cash & larger $$$ MTT's it's only 2-tables MAX.
The wifey & I celebrated our 1 year anniversary last weekend. I can't believe it's already been a year. I guess time flies when you're with the person you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with.
I have a meeting tonight with my old martial arts instructor. He is opening a new school not too far away - maybe 20 minutes - & I might get back into it. I put on black belt two years ago & haven't done shit else, except put on 30 lbs. & get in the worst shape of my life. Damn, I need to get back in shape! The discipline is Shoalin Kenpo for those wondering, mostly kung fu with a mixture of kenpo karate.

I guess I'm caught up now. I'll try not to let this blog go to waste anymore. Especially with the main event coming up, I want to keep everyone informed & hopefully tell some interesting stories. Ya'll take care.

One of Those Nights

2006-06-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

My wife actually let me out of the house for more poker action last night since I was home so early Monday night. So I go to a friend's house who routinely hosts a $.50/$1 NL cash game with a $50 min/$100 max buy-in. This game usually has a good mixture of solid & donkey play. However, this night seemed to have more semi-solid players than usual. I needed to make up for my $200 fish-feeding from the night before so I planned on playing solid, aggressive poker.

The first big hand I won I limped from EP with A9c - questionable I know but hey, it's a dollar. One other limper then the button raises to $5. SB (a LAG) calls as do I & the limper. Four see the flop of 10h9h9d. Bingo! We all check to the button who fires only $8 into a $20 pot. SB calls & I check-raise to $40. Other limper bets & button goes into the tank. He says "if you had a 9 you would WANT a call", which is precisely why I raised so big; besides, there WERE flush & straight draws there so I wanted to make them pay. So button finally announces he's all in & SB folds. Now I have to figure out if he has pocket 10's, which I doubt since he made that comment. I tell him I don't think he filled up so I call. He shows AA, turn & river don't help him & I double up. Woohoo!

Later in the night my AA held up against QQ & my KK held up against something - they didn't show - stacking two other peeps. Long story short: I bought in for $90 & cashed out for $420. Woohoo! A $330 profit. I more than made up for the night before. Sure, the deck pretty much hit me in the face but someone still needs to pay you off, and I got lucky that they did.

I think my live play is taking a break for the rest of the week as my wife would probably change the locks if I went out again. Plus this weekend is our 1 year anniversary (it's Sunday) so I've gotta go find something nice for her on top of spending more time with her. But I do plan on playing in the Mookie tonight, so hopefully I'll see some of ya'll there.

Damn, I just can't seem to make a short post, can I? Take care all.

Cash Game Donkeys

2006-06-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

I have made a concsious decision to play more live cash games or tournaments the next month as to get ready for the WSOP. So I play in a $1/$2 NL game last night at some guy's house I've never been to. He assured me there were plenty of bad players and man was he right. I mean, I saw one guy call a raise & call down on an A high board with bottom pair - and win! I'm salivating like Pavlov's dogs.

And I somehow manage to lose $200. WTF?!?!?!?!

The second hand of the night I get JJ in MP & raise to $10 after one limper. I get 3 callers. (?!) Flop comes 8 high with 2 spades. After one check I fire $50 into the $42 pot & all fold. I wanted to set an image to these fish that I was not one to mess with, as I was ready to put my money in there with the best hand.

After fishing around in some small pots I get JJ again in MP. After two limpers I raise it up to $12 & again get 3 callers. I get a beautiful flop of 8J6 w/2 diamonds. The flush draw somewhat concerned me (because these are fish, remember & usually will play any 2 suited) but I knew I had the best hand. I decide not to overbet the pot so I bet $30 into the $48 pot. Now that I look at it, that might have been a mistake. I prolly shoulda bet pot. Damn. Hell, these fish woulda called anyway.

I'm sure you can see where this is going. We get it all in on the turn even though another diamond comes & sure enough the fish hit his flush & I get stacked. I buy in for another $100 & lose that in 15 minutes trying to run a legitimate bluff on some guy fishing for a straight & of course he hits. I keep forgetting Rule #1: You can't bluff bad players. That hand cripples me & I get it all in for like $15 a few minutes later with The Hammer, but no miracle.

1 hour, -$200. Not a good hourly rate my friends. But I will be back next week to clean house. I promise. You all take care & please have better luck than me.

Lots to Catch Up On

2006-06-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry to my one loyal reader for taking so long between posts. I usually post from work & I've been extremely busy the last few days. I know I could post from home but I'd rather try to make a little money, ya know?

Anyway, I played in my buddy's home tournament last Wednesday & ended up taking it down for a $400 payday. Man, that felt great. My confidence had been in the crapper lately so this helped me get back on track. I made great reads & went with them. For example, I limped from EP with 99. (I would normally raise but I had been raising a lot of pots & showed some bluffs, so I wanted to mix it up.) A pretty solid player 2 to my left raises from the cutoff. All fold, I call. Flop comes J5J rainbow. I check to see what he'll do. He decided to move all in. Keep in mind 1) I had a pretty decent stack & 2) I was getting over 2-1 to call (he was prolly below avg. at the time). I eyeball him & could just sense he was weak, prolly 2 high cards, AK or KQ, and making a move at the pot. After about 15 seconds I call & he tables KQ. He gets no help & goes home.

Made another solid read at the final table when I raise w/A9h & dude on my left goes all in. Again I got about 2-1 pot odds & again I felt this guy was weak. After about 1 minute I call & he tables KQ. My A9 holds up when the river makes me a straight but paired his Q, so it was confusing for a few seconds. What made it worse for him was he went out on the bubble & there were two stacks WAY smaller than his. I have no idea what he was thinking.

On the virtual felt my $1/$2 limit HE game is going great. I decided to play that instead of .50/1 because I know I can play with the guppies at 1/2. I've gotten back over $500 in the ol' Party account after waffling around $440 for the longest time(lol, like a week). So I'm getting closer to that goal.

On Stars I got lucky/played like a champ & won a $4.40 180 man SnG Friday night for a nice $216 payday! My first MTT win! Woohoo! Then last night I went deep in a $10 MTT, taking 33rd out of over 1600 for $57. The last 2 hands I showed down were horrible suckouts, the first in my favor & the second crippling me. On the first we were at 5 tables & the short stack UTG went all in; I called with AQ. UTG shows KK & even flops a K. Well, I'm done, right? Wrong. Turn 10 River J for a runner runner straight & he's gone. I apologized profusely for that.

At three tables I get KK in MP, UTG raised 3x (blinds were 2,000/4,000 200 ante) & I shove with 58,000. Dude 2 to my left goes insta-allin with TT& UTG folds. Flop: AT6. Noooooooooooooooo! I'm crippled & IGH next hand w/A3. Oh well, I guess I deserved that.

Overall my confidence is back. I truly believe I can play with those guys at the Main Event. I'm looking forward to it now. Take care.

Back to Basics

2006-06-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

After watching my poker bankroll take a dive during the last month I decided to change things around. Instead of trying out new things I'm going back to bread-n-butter ways to show a profit. I need money to gamble with in Vegas, right?

First I withdrew from FTP & deposited in Stars. As I said before, the Bracelet Race quest wasn't working out. Plus, when I would try to add to the BR by playing SnG's - usually my best source, if not limit HE - I would get killed. So I gave up & moved my money to where I know I can profit - Stars SnG's. Stars BR ~$280, want to get to at least $400 in a month.

Second I quit playing SnG's on Party which, ironically, I was tearing up a few weeks ago & have suddenly gone cold. Instead I'm concentrating on .50/1 LHE, where I have at least a 5+BB/100 ratio. (Again, I don't keep stats on PokerTracker, but I do make money.) I mean, why do I play anything else? The play at that level is soooooooo bad it's unreal. I sat for a little over an hour 2-tabling last night & made a tidy $31. Not a ton but good for that level. Party BR now at ~$460, as soon as I get to $600 (300 BB) I'll start at 1/2.

Total, I want to get my online BR to over $1,000 by the time I leave for the WSOP in a little over a month. This is totally doable as long as I don't get crazy & start chasing lost money.

There, I did it. I finally put down goals for the world to see. Now I have to accomplish them!

BTW, no Mookie tonight. Playing at a friend's home game tourney. It's only his second week hosting so I gotta show some support. I'll report on that tomorrow. Goals for this tourney: 1) build a big stack early or go home, 2) if still around by first break, money.

Take care.

Been a Few Days

2006-06-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting yesterday. I was extremely busy at work, got home & took a nap, then got PokerStarred in the MATH. Thanks for hosting a great tournament Hoy. Look forward to playing every week & maybe taking some money off you!

Let's wrap up the weekend & hope it doesn't take a full page to do so. Friday I took the day off of work (and poker). Mrs. Stump, our 6 year old daughter & myself drove to Austin for a little family day-trip. I had scored tickets to the Round Rock Express game that night to see Roger Clemens pitch his last warm-up before coming back to our Astros, so why not make a day of it? We stopped in the Texas History Museum for a couple of hours of time killing before heading out to Dell Diamond.

For those who have never been there, Dell Diamond is an absolutely beautiful minor-league facility. And it was packed to the gills. For a stadium that reportedly holds 8,700, they somehow packed almost 14,000 in there. Wow! We had a great time despite the mass of humanity. Our daughter spent time playing in the playground while the wife & I sat on the grass & watched the game. Good times.

Saturday my 12 y.o. daughter flew into town for 6 weeks this summer. I love having her here. She lives with her mother in Washington state, home of no internet gambling, and only comes to visit during the summer & Christmas. So my poker playing may slow down a bit while I try to spend much quality time with her.

On the poker front I decided to give up my quest for a $2,000 package on FTP. That site is just not very friendly to me. I know there is variance & I know we all get sucked out on. But when I get it in as at least a 70% favorite & lose about 80% of the time, something is wrong. I don't mean to whine but I get QQ vs. 99 flop a 9, AK vs. TT no help, or AK vs. TT flops an A rivers a T. I mean most every time. It got so bad I was calling it before it happened! So screw it, I'll put my $$$ back into Stars, where they're at least running a bonus & I can play blogger events every week like the MATH, Mookie, WWdN, and so forth.

Well, enough ranting. Gotta get back to work. See ya'll on the virtual felt. Take care.

Party Delivers

2006-06-15T14:26:00.000-07:00

For those who may not know I won a seat the the World Series of Poker Main Event a few weeks ago. I won it through the PartyPoker Steps, starting all the way from Step 1 for $11. It's a very interesting story that would make for a GREAT story should I go deep in the event:

My buddy Heath told me about a promotion Party was having. They were depositing $75 in the accounts of people who hadn't played there in a while. The only catch was that you couldn't withdraw until you played 750 raked hands, at which time the money became "yours". I hadn't played there in months so I thought screw it, let's see if I can getthe bonus.

I get home that night, log into Party, & they said I was eligible for this bonus, do I wanna try it? So of course I sign up & jump right to the .50/1 limit HE tables, what I was playing until I blew my last BR on there (that's another story unto itself). I quickly lose about $5 - $10 so to hell with that, let's play some $25NL. Playing very tight aggressive I built up to around $125 after a day or two.

It was at this time I decided what the hell, let's play in a WSOP Step 1 & give it a run since I've got a little profit. I was still only ~400 hand away from withdrawing but I figured that unless I did something completely stoopid I would have funds to withdraw. So I enter this Step 1 & finish 3rd, which won me a freeroll back into Step 1.

I played in another Step 1 that day & won it, advancing to Step 2. Decided to play in the Step 2 that same afternoon & came in 2nd, winning entry into Step 3. Now I'm feeling pretty good that at least I got that far on a whim & that hey, I might actually be able to make a move in this thing.

I wait 'til the next day to enter the Step 3, where I again finish in 2nd, advancing to Step 4. Wow. I can't believe I've made it this far. I decide to take it easy & wait until the next day to enter Step 4.

The next day was a Sunday & it was early evening when I decide to enter the Step 4. It took a little while to get 10 people together, but after about 10 minutes of waiting we were off & running. I wasn't that surprised to see how different the play was from Steps 3 to 4. It was much tighter & way more aggressive at that level. I took down some early pots with aggressive play & not so great cards. With about 5 peeps left I went on a rush & knocked the next 3 peeps myself, leaving just 2 of us & an entry to Step 5! Holy shit! Now I whooped it up to the point that Mrs. Stump was telling me to be quiet. I didn't care; I only had 9 PEOPLE standing between me & the Main Event! Woohoo!

I didn't play Step 5 until The following Thursday. I checked every night when I got home to see if a table was filling but no luck, until Thursday. There were already 7 peeps there, so I checked the table to see if I recognized any names. Nope, didn't know any of 'em. I sit down & 5 minutes later we go to town.

I'll get into specifics of the Step 5 action at a later time, but we all know the end result! I just wanted to go back to this time because today Party transferred the $1,000 spending money into my account. So I got a seat, $1,000 spending money(which I used $700 for airfare for Mrs. Stump & myself), and a free room at the MGM Grand as long as I wear PartyPoker logo gear. Pretty damn sweet. I'm also excited for my wife because this will be her first time in Las Vegas. I can't wait to show her around, as I'll have plenty of free time between playing days(4 starting days?!). Can't wait! More later. Take care all.

I'm the Donkey

2006-06-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Couple of frustrating days on the virtual felt. It seems Lee Jones has transferred to Full Tilt and repeatedly pushes my suckout button because everyone either (a) sucks out on me, or (b) wins the race. I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, just stating fact. Of course, I don't keep stats like many good players do so I don't have solid proof, but just take my word for it. Besides, it's my blog...if I wanna whine the dammit I will!

To totally contradict myself I finally broke thru on FTP last night & won my first $11 SnG. I've finished ITM a few times but hadn't taken one down. Now that I've got that monkey off my back....

I entered the $5.50 H.O.R.S.E. MTT on FTP yesterday & surprisingly took 16th, for a ~$8 payday. I say surprisingly because, while I love limit hold 'em, O8B, & can play a little Razz, I completely blow at 7-stud & 7-stud hi/lo. Don't get me wrong, because I play O8B I understand the concept of stud hi/lo (I think - trying to scoop) so I guess I can hold my own, especially with the other donks at the $5 level. (Don't hate, I'm one of 'em, too!)

I was playing well and was 1st or 2nd in chips with 3 tables left when I made the worst error ever. Keep in mind I had 3 other tables going - a $11 SnG, a NLHE cash game, & another NLHE MTT - so my attention wasn't where it should be, especially that late in a tourney. I get dealt (2,3)A & raise it up when it gets to me, after comeone else completed. He calls & I get a 5 on 4th street. Perfect Razz hand, right? So I raise it up again. Long story short I end up with a beautiful 6-high hand when I realize we're playing 7-stud. Oops! Lose 1/3 of my stack. Dropped from 2/18 to 11/18. Well that costs me & I finish 16th. Damn! Lesson learned.

Then I proceed to lose 2 buy-ins playing $25NL on Party by being a donkey. The first time I don't remember (thank goodness) & the second time I raise to 1.50 OTB after 3 limpers w/AKh. Get 2 callers. Flop comes K3x. Checked to me, I bet pot, one fold, get check-raised double my bet. I go all in, dude insta-calls & wins w/33, flopping a set. Damn! Gotta remember to quit overplaying TPTK in cash games. I'm sure I got put on that dude's Buddy List.

Well that's about it from here. Gotta go home from work. Maybe I'll see some of ya'll at the Mookie tonight, if I feel up to playing. Take care.

Couple of Close Calls

2006-06-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

So I'm driving to one of my buddy's house Friday night to play in our bi-weekly tournament named "The Bobalooga". Our host had been taking a break lately so we hadn't gotten together in a couple of months. Needless to say we were all anxiously awaiting the good times.

As I'm driving down the local tollway going about 65mph I notice the 5 or so cars in front of me are suddenly slamming on their brakes. So I do the same when I hear a loud "POP" & my brake goes to the floor. Oh shit! I glance to my right, see no one there, & swerve to avoid rear-ending someone. This had happened once before about 2 years ago. A simple brake line had burst. I had the ability to slow down but couldn't stop abruptly.

Now the dilemma: Do I do the sane thing & turn around to go home? or do I plow on knowing it won't get much worse whether I drive home now or at midnight? Being the degenerate I am I continued to the Bobalooga, where I made the final table and finished 9th out of about 25 peeps. Not bad considering I had other things on my mind.

Saturday I got the brakes fixed to the tune of a few hundred & played a little online. During which I transferred some $$$ into Full Tilt to try to get a $2000 WSOP package. I know I'm running out of time but better late than never. I've already got my Main Event seat so I'm trying for just a little more. Yeah, I'm greedy like that!

Once on Full Tilt I promptly joined a $6+.60 18 man SnG to try to win a $24 token. Fellas, if you haven't tried this approach to get a token you are missing out. Very easy. Finished Top 4 & got my token. I waited until the next night (Sunday) to try to cash it in.

Using that $24 token I entered the Bracelet Chase for 2 Guaranteed $2,000 WSOP packages. With a little over 200 peeps the top 2 got packages and 3rd - 11th got money. A long shot, I know but it was worth it to me at the time. After an uneventful first couple of rounds I started catching cards & went on a MAD rush. Next thing I know I'm chip leader at my table. Then the rush continues & I'm chip leader of the whole damn thing with like 70 peeps left. I mean I caught AA three times - once back to back & busted 2 guys in the process - AK twice, AT twice, QQ twice. All in about 1 1/2 hours. It was sick. But I'll take it!

Then the inevitable happened - I went completely card dead for the last 1 1/2 hours. That, I'm discovering, is one of my biggest flaws. I become one of the chip leaders in the middle of the tourney & can't seem to hang on to the finish. Friends of mine have told me to steal the heck out of the blinds when they start getting high, but I have a hard time steal-raising in position with rags like 7-2 (no offense Hoy), 6-4, 8-2, J-3, etc. Whenever I decide to steal I always seem to run into someone who has a powerhouse. Any advice here would be wonderful.

So anyway I wuss out in 10th place for a $56 payday, missing a $2,000 package by 8 spots. Don't get me wrong, a 900% profit is always nice but I was completely disappointed with myself for not at least making the final table. Hopefully I'll learn from any of the countless mistakes I made & try to take more chances. We'll see.

So I guess I'll play in the Monday at the Hoy tonight with my new-found blogger friends. Hopefully they take it easy on me tonight. Yeah, right!

Hello All

2006-06-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hey all. Just signed up today. I'm looking forward to sharing my poker life & some personal life with the world. I must warn you that I am not a literary genius nor do I pretend to be. I pretty much write how I speak, so please bear with me.

I currently play .50/1 or 1/2 Limit HE at Party, along with $11 or $22 SnG's. I also play most of my tournaments on Stars, usually $4/180 SnG's or up to $10 MTT. I also have money in Noble & am about to redeposit in Full Tilt. I am not currently trying to satellite into the WSOP Main Event because I won a seat thru the Party Steps! Woohoo! I am redepositing on FT to try to satellite to a $1500 event or bigger. We'll see.

I hope to track my progress rising thru the limits (1/2 & beyond) & thru MTT successes (hopefully). I have read & subscribed to people like Hoyazo, drewspop, MiamiDon, Smokkee, Carmen SinCity & a few others & hope to imitate their "expert" writing style. Again, we'll see how THAT shapes up.

Thank you for reading. I hope to keep you somewhat entertained, and just maybe we can all learn something in the process. Take care.