FTOPS X: Event #1

This event was a $216 buy-in 6-max freezeout. I didn't plan on playing this event because I don't play a lot of 6-max NL, but I was played a $50 sattie and won a seat.

Unfortunately, I didn't cash in the event. I busted 1028 out of a huge field of 5124. I have a tendency of playing too aggressive at 6-max tables and not giving anyone much credit. I need to work on those things before playing in another major 6-max tourney. I will occasionally practice in the low buy-in MTTs. If I am lucky enough to sattie into the 2-day $5k 6-max event, I will have a major dilemma.

Here are a couple of keys hands and some thoughts about both.

Hand #1: Give the Pro Chips.
Well, before raising, I recognized Wretchy and knew that he was looking for a spot to reshove. So, my decision was to raise and call if Wretchy shoves, but fold to a shove from one of the other stacks. Or fold. I don't like limping in this spot. I thought that Wretchy could shove with a lot of hands here and was hoping we were flipping. Guess my spidey sense is flawed.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 200/400 Blinds, 50 Ante, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BTN: 9,502
SB: 30,479
BB: 14,566
UTG: 14,306
MP: 8,625
Hero (CO): 12,623
Pre-Flop: (900) 4 4 dealt to Hero (CO)

2 folds, Hero raises to 1,000, BTN raises to 9,452 and is All-In, 2 folds, Hero calls 8,452

Flop: (19,804) 9 6 A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (19,804) 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (19,804) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 19,804 Pot
BTN showed 6 6 (three of a kind, Sixes) and WON 19,804 (+10,302 NET)
Hero showed 4 4 (a pair of Fours) and LOST (-9,502 NET)

Hand #2 aka My Bust Hand: The "Re-Re-steal" Gone Bad.
The bad thing about this hand is that I have only been at the table for maybe one orbit. This was just bad. The player was an unknown and probably wouldnt be making a move. I felt like I had enough fold equity to make him fold non-premiums. So, I guess I was correct, but what I didn't plan on, was him having a premium. LOL. GG me.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 300/600 Blinds, 75 Ante, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: 19,905
BTN: 80,973
SB: 31,998
Hero (BB): 23,059
UTG: 13,123
MP: 42,347
Pre-Flop: (1,350) T T dealt to Hero (BB)

UTG folds, MP raises to 2,000, CO folds, SB raises to 7,000, Hero raises to 22,984 and is All-In, 2 folds, SB calls 15,984

Flop: (48,418) Q J 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (48,418) J (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (48,418) A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 48,418 Pot
SB showed Q Q (a full house, Queens full of Jacks) and WON 48,418 (+25,359 NET)
Hero showed T T (two pair, Jacks and Tens) and LOST (-23,059 NET)

Maybe next time. Who needs $195k anyway? The ME will have a $400k+ payout. LOL.

My Top 10 Ranking

Well, as a nice confidence booster, I set my personal Pocket Fives Rankings to display the top 10 Players in Raleigh, NC. Surprisingly, I'm listed at #6.

LOL. I guess it could be worse. I could display the rankings within my household. I'm guaranteed to be in the top 2. My 4 year old's push fold strategy seems to always get the best of me. LOL.

What A Difference A Year Makes

First of all, I want to congratulate President Elect Barack Obama. Yes We Can!

Well, it was around this time last year that I was near the low point of my online playing journey. Financially and emotionally. Late 2006 I deposited $600 into Full Tilt and cleared all of the bonus money. But around October of 2007, for one reason or another I was down all the way around $350. I remember winning a satellite seat into the FTOPS ME that was held in November 2007. I ended up cashing in the event for about $750. That was the first time that I had cashed in a FTOPS event. That cash, along with my 2008 New Year's resolution enabled me to grow my bankroll to well more than I have ever won playing poker.

FTOPS X starts today. I am really excited about this event because I wasn't able to play in any of this year's WSOP or WCOOP events. I'll only play a few events, but hopefully my run good magic will carryover from October.

Good luck to everyone that plans on playing.

One Time !!!!!!!

October Update

October was both the Best and Worst month of my poker "career". It started with sooooo much potential. I was up over $1500 in the first week and took down my first MTT. Then the bottom fell out of the sky. I finished down $700 for the month at the cash tables. Like most down swings it was a mix of bad luck and bad play. I haven't dropped down but have decided to watch more videos and limit myself to 1 or 2 tables until I get my swagger back.

Here are a few hands that epitomize my cash game sessions for the month.

Hand #1: Suicidally Unlucky

Full Tilt Poker, $1/$2 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (MP1): $196.10
MP2: $204.60
CO: $177.95
BTN: $130.55
SB: $167
BB: $108
UTG: $159.70
UTG+1: $154.20

Pre-Flop: 5 5 dealt to Hero (MP1)

2 folds, Hero raises to $7, 4 folds, BB calls $5

Flop: ($15) 2 8 5 (2 Players)
BB bets $15, Hero raises to $40, BB raises to $65, Hero raises to $189.10 and is All-In, BB calls $36 and is All-In
Turn: ($217) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: ($217) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $217 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed 5 5 (a flush, Ten high) and LOST (-$108 NET)
BB showed A K (a flush, Ace high) and WON $214 (+$106 NET)

Hand #2: Donk Play
Full Tilt Poker, $1/$2 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BB: $36.75
UTG: $172.10
MP: $214.35
CO: $121.80
BTN: $298.90
Hero (SB): $130.30

Pre-Flop: A J dealt to Hero (SB)

3 folds, BTN raises to $7, Hero raises to $24, BB folds, BTN raises to $59, Hero raises to $130.30 and is All-In, BTN calls $71.30

Flop: ($262.60) 7 7 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: ($262.60) 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: ($262.60) A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $262.60 Pot ($3 Rake)
BTN showed A K (two pair, Aces and Sevens) and WON $259.60 (+$129.30 NET)
Hero showed A J (two pair, Aces and Sevens) and LOST (-$130.30 NET)

I'm determined to be a solid, winning cash game player, so I am going to really work to improve my play. It's ridicuolus that I am a member of not 1, not 2, but 3 training sites and rarely watch the videos. Hopefully, that will change before it's necessary to become a News Year's Resolution. I love playing MTTs, but know if I ever want to pursue a full time career in poker, cash game success is a requirement.

So that is the bad. The Best part of the month was my MTT results. I cashed for more than $10k in MTTs for the month. Coming into October, I had one lone Final Table appearance back in 2005 in a $6 MTT. I chopped it for about $800. Here are my five final table cashes for October.

Date

Buyin

Tournament/Event

Place

Entrants

Winnings

10/3/2008

$10

NL Hold'em+Rebuys

1

556

$4,230.00

10/4/2008

$50

NL Hold'em+Rebuys

7

184

$725.63

10/17/2008

$24

NL Hold'em

3

702

$1,422.25

10/23/2008

$24

NL Hold'em

5

682

$750.20

10/31/2008

$50

NL Hold'em

3

853

$4,100.00

Please excuse the screwed up formatting. Those are first, seventh, third, fifth and third place finishes. It sucks that I could only pull out one win.

It's exciting for me to think about how good I could become if I could hookup with a good, winning poker coach. Anyone up for the task?

I could just pray that I'm a luckbox for the rest of my life.

Hand #3: Donks Rule
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 15,000/30,000 Blinds, 4,000 Ante, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): 1,583,445
BTN: 663,058
SB: 428,997
Pre-Flop: (57,000) 5 T dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to 78,550, SB folds, Hero calls 48,550
Flop: (184,100) 5 6 8 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 100,250, Hero raises to 1,500,895 and is All-In, BTN calls 480,258 and is All-In
Turn: (1,345,116) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (1,345,116) 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 1,345,116 Pot
Hero showed 5 T (two pair, Tens and Fives) and WON 1,345,116 (+682,058 NET)
BTN showed J J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-663,058 NET)