Poker on a Budget

33 cents

2006-01-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yes sir, we are well on our way to retirement! Awesome possum.

Tip of the Day #74:

Remember to tip when playing in a B&M room. Not tipping screws over the dealer who relies on the money to make a decent living, and makes you look like a cheap ass (two words) to the rest of the table, making them less likely to play with you. And by that I mean gamble with you, sickos! Furthermore, people will be less inclined to back you up should a dispute arise. Bottom line is it's just bad business. If you can't stand tossing a couple of bucks the dealers way, then stick to playing online.

vegas baby pt 3

2006-01-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

Friday hands are pretty boring overall. Okay that's not entirely true. The problem is that I can't remember hands because I didn't have nearly enough sleep. I will highlight a few things, such as Crazy Pineapple.

On Saturday morning at the MGM, I was subjected to a game called Crazy Pineapple, the details of which can be found here. I spot-picked a 2-4 table where everyone was chatting and 3 players were involved in every hand. One player was check raising with garbage and another player was calling and raising with hands just as bad. Every other hand involved a live straddle. I figured I would just sit down and scoop pots when I had cards -- this worked for a little bit. I made about $30 with AK and AA.

Somebody out of nowhere suggested that we play Crazy Pineapple. I figured it's a little like Omaha, and everyone else wanted to play SO BAD so we decided to play that instead. I scoop an absolutely enormous pot with AQJ or something on TOP PAIR and foolishly believe that top pair is good from here on out.

Another guy sits down and begins to play. He quadruples his buyin when he absolutely cannot lose. One such example is when I have QdJdx, and I flop a flush; except he has AAx with the ace of diamonds and we cap every street. Turn is another A (crap) and he hits the nut flush on the river and I fold to his single bet (normally incorrect, but I know exactly how he bets). Another example is when I have AKx to his ATx and he rivers a ten on another huge pot. He also flops a few two pairs and insane hands and nobody can stop him. He sucks the life out of the table. :(

I drop to about $30 by the time he leaves and sit down at a 1-2 NL table. I manage to get back to $108 thanks to some good hands and an idiot to my left.

JOGURT HAND NUMBER whatever
QQ to me in MP. Two limpers. I raise to 10 (get out of my pot) and get called in one place to my left. Everyone else folds. The flop is QJ9. I think for a moment. The idiot to my left had earlier called an enormous bet with middle pair. I figure if he's got any piece of this flop, he'll call. Plus I have a tiny stack left, and I'm scared of the straight possibilities. I go all-in with about $35 and he calls, showing KJo. I get some ooohs and aaahs and my set holds up to win the pot.

I win another pot and take off with my moneys.

Poker is retarded :( Roulette is even more retarded. I made more money at roulette than at poker. I don't know if I was made for this game.

Vegas was fun regardless. Highly recommended. Just keep your stamina up with bagels and Red Bulls and you should do fine.

Peace fools!

The Origin of McPeePee

2006-01-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

So you might have been wondering, how did the whole McPeePee thing start? What you should have been doing is finding something constructive to keep you from wasting your time thinking about ridiculously frivolous questions! In any event, I'll indulge those of you who are so inclined.

How does a thing like this ever start? By drinking and talking with immature college boys of course. After a few beers, almost anything becomes funny - almost. While working a buzz I decided to open up a Party Poker account about a year and a half ago to get in on the growing poker craze (who would've figured it would get this big?). Wanting to sound as juvenile as possible, I figured a diminutive reference to genitalia would do the trick. PeePee seemed entirely too ridiculous (and I think it was rejected by the server), so I decided to give myself a Scottish twist.

Since then the name has become my staple on other poker sites liek Pokerstars and Paradise, and is now one of my major e-mail adresses. Still, I can't count the number of times someone has made an incredulous remark at my name. This leads itself to todays tip:

When playing online, pick a name that you want to project the image you want. If you are a tight solid player, perhaps you want to project the image of a loose cannon like Maverick45 or the image of a 15 year old prepubscent lad in McPeePee. Online, your name and avatar may be the only impression that your opponents go on. Use it to your advantage.

P.S. Drinking is bad, mmkay...

Another day, another dollar

2006-01-03T22:31:00.000-08:00

Big storms up here in the Bay Area the last few days, resulting in flooding in some areas and power outages in others, though nothing here where I am. Maybe it's just me but all the news coverage seems to be blowing it out of proportion. This was no Katrina, and I'm sure people will be able to get by without their XBox 360s and satelite tv for a few days. Which brings me to my point for the TOTD:

Remember to keep things in perspective. Don't let a bad hand or a bad session at the tables linger with you too long. You'll lose concentration for the next hand, and more important you take the fun out of the game, and I would assume we play the game in part because it brings us enjoyment, otherwise you'd be at work. Or with the wife.

TOTD #4

2006-01-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

Back after a short hiatus...

Today's tip: Buy in for a somewhat large amount when sitting down at the table. This works either online or in a B&M cardroom. If you're playing $4-$8 and people usually buy in for $100 (which they do at Commerce, those bastards), buy in for $200 (maybe $300). This will often give people the impression that you are a big action guy (when in reality you are a tight solid player. You get more gamble for their dollar.

I have come to the conclusion that SF Bay Area >>>>> Greater LA wasteland. But that is just one man's opinion. Leave comments if you concur or prefer to disagree.

P.S.This guy is proof that the simplest ideas can be pure genius.

vegas baby part 2

2005-12-26T11:30:00.000-08:00

Thursday
We wake up and head to the Paris for lunch, then the Wynn to check it out. The poker room here is pretty nice. HOWEVER it is pretty expensive. The lowest they spread was 4-8 and it looked pretty cramped as well. We didn't have time to stay since I had to, uh, do stuff. Like watch the Vegas Bowl game. Cal beats BYU 35-28, not enough to cover the spread but enough to laugh at Mormons. By this time it is 10pm.

I wind up at the MGM again for some reason and sit down with $100 at a 3-6 table, getting bad cards for a while and involving myself in too many pots in bad position (-EV). My good hands don't do so hot. Somehow I find myself down to $20 and essentially go all in with 97s, and a straight draw lets me triple up when it hits the river. AQo also takes down a pot when I flop trip queens and I leave when I'm positive (+$8).

Where do we go? Back to the Excalibur for the fishy tables. I sit down at a 1-3 NL table fully expecting to just drink and have a good time. I don't remember too much about this table, but I did make another cool $60 with good cards. We had one guy clearly playing too many hands (calling with KTo against a 5x raise). My only disappointing hand is as follows:

JOGURT HAND NUMBER NINE
66 in MP. One limper to me. I limp of course, as do two others for five to the flop. We get a flop of 5-6-7 two spades, which is good but not great for me. I bet about half the pot and get called in two places. The turn is a 7. I hesitate and decide to bet anyway, knowing that anyone with an 8 and a crappy grasp of pot odds will probably call. Of course it would have been better to check and let someone try to hit the straight or flush. At the time, my concern was losing the pot (it was already pretty big) to someone with a 7, should they hit their full house. Of course, anybody with a 7 would have called my small bet and maybe even raised there. I should have checked the turn and committed myself to all my chips on the river regardless of what fell and who bet. Curses! I still take down a good sized pot when the other two people in the pot fold.

It's 3am and we decide to sleep.

Friday/Saturday: [Caesar's, Excalibur, MGM]

maximizing EV on ten hours of sleep over an 80 hour time period

2005-12-25T06:36:00.000-08:00

VEGAS BABY

I got back from Vegas just yesterday after spending 3 nights there, WITHOUT McPeePee unfortunately. We missed his expertise and table insults. This entry will contain only stories about poker hands.

Wednesday
We arrive at about noon and I waste no time in finding a poker room. I head over to the MGM and sit down at a 1-2 NL table with a meager $100 buyin. This would be my first experience with live casino NL play. I hit a few hands and steal a few pots and I'm +$60. Most people gave me credit for hands, which I had, for the most part.

JOGURT POKER HAND NUMBER ONE
One exception was when I had AQo on the button, two limpers to me. I raise to $15 (7.5x) and I get called by the SB and one limper, SB being a solid player. Flop misses me completely with 9-5-4 rainbow, but I think I may have the best hand so I bet about 1/2 the pot when it's checked to me. SB calls me. Turn is a K and I bet about 2/5 of the pot. SB looks at me for a few seconds and folds, telling me my AK is good. He shows me a 9 and says he would've checkraised any other player when the K hit and hopefully made them throw their hand away. I smile, realizing that NL appeals to the kleptomaniac in me.

The MGM poker room is really nice. I do believe it's the sweetest low-limit poker room in the city, with cushioned chairs, good modern lighting, and waitresses serving Red Bulls till the roosters crow. Oh, we'd be back.

For some reason we leave, and I head over to the poker room at the Monte Carlo despite not hearing much about it -- 9 tables (MGM has 30-something), random players. I sit down at another 1-2 NL table and much to my annoyance there are three friends sitting in a row to the left of me. They won't compete with each other, but they will take shots at me for sure. I should've left earlier, but I was too cocky. Arrogance is a vice, kids.

JOGURT HAND NUMBER TWO
Four or five limpers to me in the BB. I look down at a beautiful AK of hearts, which I want to play against a smaller field, since this isn't limit and I'm not yet fully experienced with letting go of TPTK hands. I raise to $15 and I only get called by a wonky player in middle position. Flop is a nasty A-A-2 rainbow. If I bet here, he'll almost certainly fold unless he has an ace. If he has a pocket pair he might take a shot at me. If I check, I might not get any action at all. I figure it looks suspicious to not bet, so I bet out $15 on the flop. He just calls. Turn is an 8 and I'm thinking my trips are good. I check, he bets $20, and I checkraise him all in (another $40 more to him at this point). He quickly calls and shows 22 for the flopped house. I miss my seven outs on the river and he eats my stack. I'm not sure what I can do there with the best non-fullhouse hand, I don't think there's any way I can let it go unless we're both really deep stacked.

I buy in again and lose another $70 in random hands, some to the triple friend team. Jerks. One guy limped in with AKo when his two friends were SB and BB, and checked to the river with TPTK. The least he could do is bet and have them fold. :( There's got to be some etiquette here.

JOGURT HAND NUMBER THREE
QTo, three off the button. No limpers, I haven't won a hand and I've only shown down AKh earlier, so I raise to 6. I get called to my left (doh) and by the BB, three to the flop. Flop is Q-8-6 rainbow. BB bets out $10, and I min-raise to $20 total. My left raises to about $60 total, and BB thinks before moving all in (he has us both covered). I can't fold fast enough, while my left thinks for a long minute before calling (another $60 to him or so). He shows AQ, which holds up against the BB's Q9. Good hands all around. I can't steal pots. :(

I also meet a hilarious British guy here who clearly knows NL strategy and has an easy tell. If he bets strong, he has a good hand. Also a cocktail waitress called me adorably cute when I smiled at her, and she said that if she was any younger (she was 40+) then I would be in trouble. I wanted to tip her more but I lost money. :(

After dinner, I find the poker room at the Rio, which has three tables going. I see some old ladies and depressed old men at the 4-8 table. Despite being a little early in the week for 4-8, I am pretty sure that I am a better low-limit player than them, and I sit down with $200.

JOGURT HANDS NUMBERS FOUR THROUGH SIX
Despite this being the fishiest table ever, I manage to hit the crappiest run of cards. My KK runs into AA on a great J-9-6 board (he didn't 3bet from the SB despite having something like 6 players limping in and my raise in the MP) and falls flat. My QQ in the BB (I raised) senses that it is way behind in a K-9-3 flop with six people to the flop. I have TT in the BB with something like seven limpers, and I raise since I'm cocky and because the raise is marginally +EV (my hand is probably the best preflop, but is extremely vulnerable -- I should have no problems letting it go on a bad board). The flop is K-Q-J and I easily fold the river when I miss my straight draw and K3 and K6 chop the pot.

Afterwards we head over to the Excalibur, which has a fairly large poker room of about 20 or so tables, with a good amount of low-limit games going at any time. This particular casino usually spreads 1-3 and 2-6 (which allows you to bet anywhere between 1 and 3 (or 2 and 6) bucks per betting round, leading to larger pots earlier but smaller pots later, and more family pots overall). I sit down at a 1-3 table after Mike and his friends tell me how stupid everyone is. He's right. They're stupid. I make an easy +$60 while ordering all kinds of redbullvodkas, screwdrivers, and gin'ntonix from the waitress, pretending to be drunk and instead playing suited connectors and top ten hands. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM

JOGURT HAND NUMBER SEVEN
To give you an idea of the softness of the table, I hold 74s in LP. There are two limpers to me, so I raise to $2 (-EV, but screw you) and the BB plus the limpers call. Flop is T-8-8, giving me absolutely nothing. I bet $2 anyway and only get called in one place. Turn is a 4, so I bet $2 again and get called in one place. I am done with the hand and we both check the river. He turns over an unimproved AKc and my hand is good.

I get five hours of sleep.

Next post: THURSDAY [Wynn, MGM, Excalibur]

TOTD #3

2005-12-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

When you log in to your favorite online poker room, pay attention to the pop-ups and ads that you usually just gloss over. Oft times they may let you know about some good deals or special tournaments going on that day or the near future. All it takes is a couple of seconds of paying attention. Come on, you can survive through that.

Daniel Negreanu's Protege - What the hell is this? Seriously, anyone have a clue? Don't tell me he's gonna pull a Donald.

Tip of the Day #2

2005-12-22T18:27:00.000-08:00

When playing online, always take advantage of any reload bonuses offered. The easiest, quickest, and free way to do this is to open up a Neteller account to easily transfer funds to and from your poker accounts. Whether you play on Party Poker, PokerStars, or any number of other sites, reload bonus are constantly offered throughout the year, and is free money you make while playing. All it takes is a few clicks of the mouse, so do it you bum.

Apologies

2005-12-21T22:48:00.000-08:00

I know I've been MIA for a while now. Relatives in town and a lot on my plate for the timebeing, so not much time has been devoted on my end as of late. The next big update will be coming soon, in the meantime check out our links and various stuffs, and send in any suggestions or site links you may have.

Tip of the Day #1: Stop expecting too much.
WOrry about playing your hand correctly, not about what the outcome can or "should be," and stop thinking about how this next pot will get you even for the night.

2005-12-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

This probably wasn't post-worthy but I had to note that I played 600 hands last night. Here are some hands that I received.

AA, 9 times
KK, 5 times
QQ, 8 times
JJ, 3 times
TT, 4 times
AK, 7 times

Between the 3/6 and 5/10 tables, I only netted about $375 (approximately 6bb/100). Shouldn't I be completely destroying the game getting AA, KK, and QQ 22 times in 600 hands? The odds of getting any specific pocket pair are 1/221. I also had a 21% win rate at the 6man tables, although I played shorthanded quite a bit.

There are a few large pot hands that stick out in my mind. Here is one of them. No reads on villain. The preflop raiser is not particularly tricky; he raises pocket pairs and suited connectors preflop, and was caught raising QJs on the button. Doesn't raise good aces for some reason.

***** Hand History for Game 3181292413 *****
$5/$10 Texas Hold'em - Sunday, December 11, 02:36:53 EDT 2005
Table Table 66197 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: TrickyTroy ( $260 )
Seat 3: TigerSave ( $510.50 )
Seat 4: HERO ( $709.93 )
Seat 6: stephen212 ( $0 )
Seat 1: VILLAIN ( $165 )
Seat 5: my1back ( $70 )
TrickyTroy posts small blind [$2].
TigerSave posts big blind [$5].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to HERO [ Ac Ah ]
HERO raises [$10].
VILLAIN calls [$10].
TrickyTroy raises [$13].
TigerSave folds.
HERO raises [$10].
VILLAIN calls [$10].
TrickyTroy calls [$5].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Jd, 5s, 9h ]
TrickyTroy bets [$5].
HERO raises [$10].
VILLAIN calls [$10].
TrickyTroy raises [$10].
HERO calls [$5].
VILLAIN calls [$5].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9s ]
TrickyTroy bets [$10].
HERO calls [$10].
VILLAIN calls [$10].
** Dealing River ** [ Ts ]
TrickyTroy bets [$10].
HERO calls [$10].
VILLAIN raises [$20].
TrickyTroy calls [$10].
HERO calls [$10].

Crying call at the end. I'm almost certainly beat, but the pot might be too large to fold.
[Villain has Q8 for the rivered straight. Troy has KJs for top pair.]

I think raising the flop is fine. I think raising the turn is better, after I get 3bet from the sb. On the turn, the way I played, there are 11bb's in the pot after Troy bets, and if I raise here, I force villain to get 13:2 odds on his call, which makes his 10:1 gutshot call incorrect. Flaccid calling here cost me a pot. I was definitely mad at myself after this hand. If I get 3bet from either player after showing turn strength, I can probably just call to the river or fold without too much thought.

jog: results for november

2005-12-01T22:34:00.000-08:00

3/6 only:
hands played: 2796
amt won: 307.61
bb/100: 1.83

This month sucked because of homework and because of that one (my fault) PL hand where I lost 200 bucks. My biggest losers were 87o, 22, J9o, and 55. It just might be time to stop playing unsuited connectors in crappy positions, especially since they're so speculative. Frankly I don't remember playing them very much anyway. 22 and 55 were probably my fault, or I didn't hit any sets.

All in all this month probably wasn't very good for stat-tracking, since I didn't play very many hands. Here's hoping that the winter will be better.

#4 - Live in the Present

2005-12-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to PokergameFan's short review of our site. Not exactly a glowing endorsement, but bad press is better than no press at all. We will constantly be working to develop and enhance the site, so keep checking in and voicing your comments. Keep it coming, and let us know that you're finding this information entertaining and useful.

In Zen and the Art of Archery (a book Howard Lederer refers to often as a guide on how to maintain focus and mental attitude while playing), Sun Tzu refers to the zen notion of "living in the moment," without worrying about the past or future, but simply being and doing. This highlights one of the keys to getting good at the game, which is being able to forget about recent bad beats and past misfortunes, not worry about how you're going to "get even" or explain to your wife how you lost next month's rent, and just play the hand.

As Tony Robbins would say, if you focus on the negative, you tend to move towards it." How many times have you suffered a bad beat and revelled in your own misery and self-pity. You might complain to friends, the players seated next to you, or anyone who will lend an ear...all the while not paying any attention to what's going on in front of you. As any poker player worth their salt will tell you, that's no way to play the game no matter the stakes or the situation. In order to move past the "average Joe" level into the realm of a great player (or even just really good and consistent), you must be able to take each hand exactly as it is, an individual game with a separate result which is statistically separate from previous hands.

Instead, what you must focus on is collecting information about players' individual betting styles, tells, your image to others at the table, and the other factors which elevate your play above those of your opponents. Instead of focusing on the negative result of yet another incredulous suckout, focus on your play. Was it correct, given your knowledge of the odds, your opponent and his possible holding, and given past and future considerations? If it was, then you've done what you needed to, and that in itself is a small (if not financially beneficial) victory.

And if my last statement there seems to contradict what I said earlier in this post, another thing you have to recognize and apply in your game is when to break the rules and deviate from "conventional wisdom." It's something that comes easier with time, and why many say this is a game that takes "a lifetime to master."

Coming up: Son, you need a plan

2005-11-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

My favorite hand...which won me $4,500 on Party Poker. (Yes, this photo was staged. Cut me some slack!)

2005-11-26T22:33:00.000-08:00

Me with my least favorite hand. Check out the two monitors in the background - great for multi-tabling!

Not exactly poker, but...

2005-11-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

For anyone on a budget looking to get the most out of their money, you know you should have your money working for you earning interest. If you didn't know...now you do. Check out an ING savings account, as they have an easy, no fuss, no strings attached 3.5% APY Savings account. It links with your checking account, and starts accruing some nice interest on any money you deposit in there.

If you're interested in signing up, email me at mcpeepee@gmail.com so I can refer you (you will receive $25 in your account free on a deposit of $250). This is the only way to receive an extra amount of money in your account (check the site all you want to make sure). Don't worry, you won't recieve spam or pr0n, just the link to sign up at ING Direct. I'd be happy to do this as it gives me a little bonus as well. Don't underestimate the effect of saving earlier rather than later!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and happy hunting this Black Friday!

New features

2005-11-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

So you may or may not have noticed the poll on the right hand side. This will be in all likelihood a weekly event, with a blog entry on the relevance of the results. Take part in the polling. It's quick an easy, much like an escort. However, in this case it is free, like a skank.* Enjoy. If you have any suggestions for what you'd like to see added to the site, drop me an e-mail at mcpeepee@gmail.com.

*We do no discriminate against escorts, skanks, or whores of any variety.

#5 - Playing When You Feel Like It

2005-11-18T00:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's Friday, not Thursday. My apologies to the legions of faithful readers out there. Let the hate mail commence. Hate mail is better than no mail. Rofl :-/

Have you ever had a fight with someone, whether they be your significant other, a close friend, or the crazy landlord with the lazy eye, that went unresolved? Of course, everyone has. Think about how it affected you that day. Maybe you weren't paying as much attention in class, or weren't able to finish a project at work on time. There was a valid reason for your head being elsewhere, but it hardly counts as a viable excuse. Your boss doesn't care about your personal problems (at least. unfortunately for you, not more than the company's bottom line). The professor, in all likelihood, will not cut you any slack on the midterm because you were "distracted." What's more is that very few of us would use these oft-called "personal issues" as a defense for our subpar performance. Even as I write this entry right now I'm distracted too by forces outside my control and the relevance of this blog. But I digress...

So if you know that such stressful events come up from time to time and affect your ability to think clearly and function as per normal, why would you gamble for large sums of money at any time when you are less than 100% focused and committed to the task at hand? Of course you might think this is an obvious statement, but you'd be surprised how many people will still hit the tables in spite of, and perhaps even because of problems that might be going on in other aspects of life. Make no mistake about it, if you try to gamble in order to escape your problems, then you have another problem. Gambling can become a crippling addiction, much like alcohol or stamp collecting. They all have support groups. Running from problems or issues you should be facing head on will not solve anything and only exacerbate the situation.

Still, you don't need to have major marital problems, health problems, or issues with your career or finances (how ironic) to be affected at the table. There are many issues specific to each person that can grab their attention and hold it hostage. The key is to know when you are affected and your ability to concentrate is affected. Some people can concentrate on the game in spite of a bevy of external issues (Phil Ivey was playing in a major poker tournament only a week after his father passed away). Other people can't think straight because they missed the latest sale at Barney's. Go figure. In any event, if you seek to be a long term winner at poker, do not attempt to play if your heart and your head isn't into the game. You won't be able to savor your wins nearly as much, your loses will be magnified ten-fold. Your decision making will be impaired, causing you to miss value betting oppurtunites or obvious tells. A lapse in concentration might cause you to fold even while getting tremendous odds to draw or, shock of a all shocks, while holding the winning hand. Worse yet, when you realize these mistakes you'll become more disgusted with your current situation and spiral down the drain. The way to avoid this pitfall is to steer clear of it in the first place.

Play only when you are ready to devote the time and effort to the task at hand, which in this case is playing poker. Remember that as Dan Harrington pointed out, poker is a game of incomplete information. The long term winners are those individuals who pull together every single piece of information available to put the puzzle together. So, try not to be your worst enemy at the tables will ya?

Monday - No Day But Today.

#6 - Admitting you (don't) have a problem

2005-11-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, so last time we talked about being properly bankrolled and ready to take any hits to your roll as you venture into playing poker seriously, or for leisure for that matter. This time I'd like to discuss the perception of poker as gambling.

No doubt if you've read any literature on poker or have taken the time to speak with someone who regularly plays the game and wins, they'll lay the claim that poker is a game of skill first and foremost, with luck playing a certain part at each juncture. Many steadfastly hold to the motto that poker is not gambling. To put it bluntly, they're wrong, and that type of thinking can be deterimental to your game.

Make no mistake about it, if you aren't able to calculate the odds, read your opponents likely holdings, their style of play, their state of mind, your own table image, and other such factors that go into every decision you make at the table, you will not be a long-term winner at poker. No one has that much luck hitting them in the face. Not Doyle Brunson, not Bill Gates, and no, not even Fabio. Skill is what you need to consistently make the best decisions possible. What you must keep in mind however, is that they are only decisions. Once you've made them, luck plays the final and deciding role every single time.

Consider an analogus situation in which you invest in the stock market. You can do all the research possibly on any company, determine that it has a big profit margin, good prospectus, low P/E ratio, and is generally undervalued and a great investment. You do the research, using all your skills to make the most informed and best decisions, and decide to take the plunge and invest big time. You get WorldCom in 2002, Microsoft before the anti-trust lawsuits, Krispy Kreme before the Atkins diet, and United Airlines before 9/11. Or maybe you just got around to buying shares of Google last night. In the real world, you are not able to look into a crystal ball and see into the future. Unexpected things happen all the time that can ruin you in an instant. Luck (and oftentimes the absense of what we term "bad-luck") plays a huge role in your investment. What you do is play the odds, play them repeatedly, and rely on the laws of statistical (im)probability to gain a return or profit.

People often complain of their "bad-beats" or the unbelievable suck-out that jackass just pulled when he cracked your straight with a backdoor flush for the third time in a row. The fact is, you are gambling. And there is absolutely nothing to prevent you from losing, over and over and over again. Sure, you can lament that it's a real bad run of statistical improbablilty and your opponent is on one of those rushes that give people the idea they can catch bullets with their teeth and achieve cold fusion. Just don't go feeling sorry for yourself. So you say your pleases and thank yous, eat your vegetables and respect your elders. Just remember one thing; the cards don't owe you a damn thing. God doesn't hate you (hopefully). Karma isn't biting you in the ass (hopefully). You are gambling, pure and simple. All the book-reading and hand-dissecting and hours upon hours spent honing your skills give you one thing: an edge on your opponent in making decisions. After that, it's a roll of the dice on how the cards come up.

Consider how many times Brunson and Amarillo Slim went broke playing No-Limit in back rooms and dark alleys, from either an unlucky turn of a card or the untimely appearance of the law. Daniel Negreanu blow his entire bankroll the first five times he came to Las Vegas. They used to call Men Nguyen the "Money Machine" for a reason. And Gus Hansen is hiding out for a reason. They're gamblors, and sometimes you lose when you gamble. That's one of the most frustrating, hair-splitting, sudden cardiac arrest-inducing parts of playing poker and expecting to make money from it.

It's also what makes it fun.

On Thursday - Keep your heart in it, keep your head in it

Results for October 2005

2005-11-08T00:06:00.000-08:00

3/6 (6man)
hands played: 5255
amt won: 1333
bb/100: 4.23

1/2 (6man)
hands played: 1884
amt won: 257
bb/100: 6.83

Not a bad month, all things considered. However my profit was reduced because I lost 150 on a random 3/6 table. In the beginning of November I also lost 200 on a shitty PL hand. The results of which are presented below!

I need to
a) stop limping bad cards
b) isolate and destroy players
c) play better HU
d) stop crying calling

***** Hand History for Game 2970436883 *****
$200 PL Texas Hold'em - Wednesday, November 02, 18:54:46 EDT 2005
Table Table 66303 (6 max) (No DP) (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 3
Seat 2: hero ( $188.40 )
Seat 4: Villain ( $426.80 )
Seat 1: win5boys ( $86 )
Villain posts small blind [$1].
win5boys posts big blind [$2].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to hero [ Th 8h ]
hero raises [$7].
Villain raises [$11].
win5boys folds.
hero calls [$5].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7s, 9c, Jc ]
Villain checks.
hero bets [$8].
Villain calls [$8].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Jd ]
Villain bets [$20].
hero raises [$101].
Villain calls [$81].
** Dealing River ** [ Kc ]
BUYLXK has joined the table.
Villain bets [$70].
hero is all-In [$67.40]

mcpeepee says I bet the max on my flopped nuts to force him to call. I'm not convinced but I do like that line better than the one I took (bet small, get him hooked, pop him later).

First of all, the raiser has garbage with his minimum raise, almost certainly a suited connector like mine, possibly lower. I should consider reraising preflop with my holding. Secondly, if he has any piece of the flop, he'll probably call a small bet but he may fold a large bet. If he folds, I take down a small pot. If he calls, I'm very happy because it's likely he'll call subsequent bets on the turn and river. Result is that he takes it down on the river with a small flush (73c). He actually wins this 1/3 of the time. I don't think his turn call is correct especially if he thinks I have AJ or any pocket pair, but basically my flop play led me into a crappy position where I had to call the river.

Still up 1k or so for the past 40 days. Not too shabby for a hobby eh.

7 Steps to Being a Better Poker Player

2005-11-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

...and possibly a better all-around person. Of course we make no money-back guarantees, but take this general advice from someone who's been there-done that and regretted a lot of it. So, in the fashion of every book on the shelf of Borders and Barnes with Nobles all around the country, here is a very basic list of the top 7 things I believe are essential to "making it" at poker, while at the same time holding onto your bowels.

#7 - Play within your budget

'Duh' you say? 'No shit, Sherlock' I here. But it's easier to say that you need to play within your budget than to, say, actually DO IT. The standard circulating around for limit poker play used to be 300 big bets. Well that was in the old days when men were men, players carried Colt .45s everywhere, and you could only sit at one table at a time. For today's internetphile, playing online can mean multitabling 2, 4, even 8 tables at once if not more. Obviously, you're going to need a bigger bankroll to be able to play so many tables, as well as have the funds to back up any downswings you are bound to incur. People now recommend 500 big bets as a good bubble, and I would tend to agree. For No Limit the general rule is 20-25 buy-ins, but obviously if you multi-table I would think 35-40 would be better. Use your own judgement. Playing in tournaments, you'll need to double the amount of buy-ins (if you play routinely at the same level) to be able to stave off the inevitable cold streak that's bound to plague you. That's just the way the game works, and you HAVE to be ready for it to happen because it happens to everyone.

The real underlying meaning behind playing within your budget is the cornerstone of what they tell anyone foolish enough to gamble (and poker is gambling, no matter what you want to believe); you must be psychologically and financially willing to lose what you are playing with. That means boys and girls, don't take out a home equity line of credit to play in the $1000 NL Hold em Game or that great $300/600 game with the one armed man and the guy who wears an eyepatch. Sure, it may be the softest game this side of John Kerry's forehead, but you simply CANNOT afford to play in that game because you cannot afford to LOSE in that game. And you will likely lose, don't even dilute yourself into thinking your going to go on a great run and be up $15,000 4 hours from now. More than likely you'll be only slightly ahead, if not breaking even or holding your head over a toilet. If you like to fantasize about dellusions of grandeur, buy a lotto ticket and a box of magnums.

Now if you want to take a shot at the $10,000 World Series Main event, have some fun, and consider $10,000 the price for great entertainment and thrilling competition with some of the world's best, then thats the attitude you need to have, and I wish you good luck. If you cannot afford to not cash, you shouldn't be playing, plain and simple. People don't need to be told that, but somehow they forget that they can't really afford to play in the $10/$20 Limit HL game. Do you have $6000 purely disposable? If not, scale down big boy.

Now, this message is not meant to deter people from taking shots at higher stakes and bigger games. By all means, the higher the level the tougher the challenge and the bigger the rewards. But you must be READY to accept the consequence of your actions. It was a hard lesson I had to learn, flushing nearly all of the $8000 I had made in a couple of days, playing above my head, both financially and skill-wise. The poker gods were not to blame, my snoring roommate was not to blame, my blurry vision wasn't to blame. I was, and Party Poker was not going to bring my money back because I made a mistake.

For every person who took a big risk and made it (i.e. Johnny Chan), there are countless others who were just a little less skilled and just a little less lucky who wound up in the red (i.e. your neighbor, your mail man, and the waiter who just creamed your cream of mushroom). They either swore off poker because of it or ruined their lives trying to "get even". Don't gamble with what you can't afford to lose.

Next time --> Oh Come on, Just Admit it

2005-11-01T01:18:00.000-08:00

total hands: 2077
amt won: 115.83
bb/100: 0.93

Trashy, I know. I was down 460 at one point and up 230 at another point. I settled here. I was doing barely okay when I decided to add the fourth table. It went downhill from there. I ate a delicious meal at Boston Market and came back to repair the damage. I think I succeeded.

There were a few hands where I played them perfectly to hit a suckout on the river. Or, villain had a different holding from what I expected him to have given his play, so wild that I mis-timed a value bet. There were a few hands in the beginning where I made crying calls to lose to a hand that obliterated mine. Then the fourth table losses made me tilt briefly.

Two thousand hands on a Monday night though. I hope this doesn't become a habit.

Seat 1: dandrewno ( $69 )
Seat 4: hero ( $226.64 )
Seat 5: villain ( $95 )
Seat 6: raisecheck ( $126.50 )
Seat 3: l2play111 ( $56.50 )
hero posts small blind [$1].
villain posts big blind [$3].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to hero [ Ks Ac ]
raisecheck raises [$6].
dandrewno folds.
l2play111 calls [$6].
hero raises [$8].
villain calls [$6].
raisecheck calls [$3].
l2play111 calls [$3].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6d, 4c, 2s ]
hero bets [$3].
villain raises [$6].
burberry84 has joined the table.
raisecheck calls [$6].
l2play111 folds.
hero calls [$3].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8d ]
hero checks.
villain bets [$6].
raisecheck folds.
hero calls [$6].
** Dealing River ** [ 7d ]
hero checks.
villain bets [$6].
hero...?

Take a look around

2005-10-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

First off, does anyone out there read this site who is not a telemarketing/spamming spawn of the devil hisself? If so, please let yourself be known. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as is flagrant tomfoolery. Translation - comment you lurking scum!

Second off, the next time you sit down at the table, whether the felt is real or virtual, take a look around at the people next to you, or in the case of internet gamboling, the avatars. Try to figure out what it is that drives them to play the game, and then try to figure out what drives you. If you can, you just may find that your results will take a turn for the best.

2005-10-28T03:24:00.000-07:00

total hands: 1197
amt won: 176.15
bb/100: 2.41

Much better numbers. Well not better, more like "representative." My biggest problems right now are a) refusing to end except on a high note (not losing), and b) not taking breaks for food or pee. It should be criminal to sit here for 5 straight hours and grind through the tables like so much work.

Anyway my colleague has decided to abandon his blogchild so I am your new lord and master for the time being. Swear to me!

2005-10-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

I had one of the best poker days ever today.

total hands: 1008
amt won: 655.25
BB/100: 10.83
win rate: ~20%

First of all, having a win rate of anything over 16% is incredible at the 6-man tables, even with the amount of SH I play. Secondly, I managed to pull AA 4 times, KK 3 times, QQ a whopping NINE times, and AK 13 times. Most of my aces were winners as well. I had a few very sloppy hands but the deck kept hitting me in the face enough so it didn't matter. I hit trips a few numerous times and a few straights and flushes that were paid off.

Basically this is an entire day of high variance, which I don't mind, certainly, but I should definitely learn to expect it and deal with the days that will undoubtedly be much, much worse.

Okay enough gloating.

edit (3am):

total hands: 1610
amt won: 776.50
BB/100: 8.04
win rate: ~20%

I got punked HU by this one guy who robbed me of 150 in 37 hands. Ugh. I think I won a single hand against him.

QTo and 88 are huge losers for me. :/

2005-10-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

ey fuckers we're going to vegas

12/21-24

tell all your friends if they are poker fags and/or hot

ground rules

2005-10-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

1. only poker fags can join
2. post your winnings and losings after every month
3. analyze saucy hands and plays

Sit N'Gos can sometimes stink

2005-10-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

I've monied in 8 out of my last 10 Sit N' Gos. Unfortunately that includes 6 Third Places and 2 seconds. THis would prove that ROI% (return on investment) is more important than ITM$ (in the money). But then again, a monkey could've told you that, and probably flung poo at your face as well.

In other news, I am making a concious effort to be less of an ass at the tables. THis after reading this excerpt from an interview with Daniel Negreanu.

You talk about your wild days, but you recently found Jesus?

Yeah. I've always been a logical person, I always wanted proof of everything. But I read this book called Case for Christ and that was that.

Has it improved your game?

100%.

How?

I'm a happier person. If you look at the timeline of my results, finding my faith and my big wins coincide. There's less bitterness in my heart, there's no anger or venom or jealousy -- I can just focus on poker. You've got to realize that when you're doing poorly, it's often based on your mental state. If you're having trouble in your life it's virtually impossible to do well at poker.

So...I may not be ready to go down that path completely right now, but at least I can take some part of that and apply it to my game and to my life, and stop calling people cunts and phags.

fuck all you haters

2005-10-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

Poker's still fun as long as it's kept in moderation. I've been playing 1-3 hours at a time on random nights, and I'm aiming for 3 times a week. Usually I can come out +40 or 50 at the 1/2 tables without too much trouble, which justifies spending money on food. Now if only my gym ethic was just as good.

I'd play tournaments but I suck. And they're slow and boring. Yeah the payoff is good but I like to play hands ok

Lemme try this shiznizzle

2005-09-29T00:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Poker Blog of an unqualified, presupposing college student. Namely, me.

So here it is...900+ entrant in a $20+2 Pokerstars tourney. Down to the last three table (second time in a row going deep into one of these tourneys). and this hand comes up. As it stands I might have played the hand a little poorly, but in any event the result would've been the same.

POKERSTARS GAME #2677738921: TOURNAMENT #12956727, HOLD'EM NO LIMIT - LEVEL XV (2000/4000) - 2005/09/28 - 00:27:43 (ET)
Table '12956727 35' Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: LarryNance22 (52651 in chips)
Seat 2: McPeePee (51110 in chips)
Seat 3: jobscj (45113 in chips)
Seat 5: BlueMistCats (105839 in chips)
Seat 6: Trap Setter (38324 in chips)
Seat 8: dredeezy (80328 in chips)
Seat 9: dealer18 (64927 in chips)
LarryNance22: posts the ante 200
McPeePee: posts the ante 200
jobscj: posts the ante 200
BlueMistCats: posts the ante 200
Trap Setter: posts the ante 200
dredeezy: posts the ante 200
dealer18: posts the ante 200
BlueMistCats: posts small blind 2000
Trap Setter: posts big blind 4000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to McPeePee [Jh Jd]
dredeezy: folds
dealer18: raises 4000 to 8000
LarryNance22: folds
McPeePee: raises 42910 to 50910 and is all-in
jobscj: folds
BlueMistCats: folds
Trap Setter: folds
dealer18: calls 42910
*** FLOP *** [9c Jc 8h]
*** TURN *** [9c Jc 8h] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [9c Jc 8h Kd] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
dealer18: shows [Ks Kh] (three of a kind, Kings)
McPeePee: shows [Jh Jd] (three of a kind, Jacks)
Trap Setter said, "wow"
dealer18 collected 109220 from pot
dredeezy said, "WOW IS RIGHT"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 109220 | Rake 0
Board [9c Jc 8h Kd 6s]
Seat 1: LarryNance22 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: McPeePee showed [Jh Jd] and lost with three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 3: jobscj (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: BlueMistCats (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Trap Setter (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: dredeezy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: dealer18 showed [Ks Kh] and won (109220) with three of a kind, Kings

It just goes to show you that there are times when all the skill in the world isn't gonna help you. I was gonna go broke unless I fold preflop there, and that would be one of the most ridiculous folds ever. Ah well. Onwards and inwards.