This was my first ever international flight so I was on extra worry alert doing everything right with customs and whatnot. I was also bringing my golf clubs intending to play a bunch with Joe Tall and Whitelime, so that was kind of a hassle to be carrying around a huge extra bag. Everything went pretty smoothly though and I got my bags checked and had plenty of time to sit around the international terminal at LAX. They advise you to be 3 hours early for these long flights but I guess that's just to scare people into not being late, as I easily had 2 hours of nothing to do before boarding.

My flight plan was a 14 hour jaunt over to Sydney, then a short layover and a 1.5 hour quickie down to Melbourne. What I remember of the flight is that thankfully I was able to sleep pretty soundly for almost the first half of it, and then I watched a bunch of movies that I hadn't seen on the in-flight system. Overall not as bad as I thought considering my seat mate was just some random guy who I got the sense just wanted to be left alone, which is fine by me and we got along great, spending almost 15 hours together without really any words exchanged. I flew Qantas Air, which I was told is one of the best international airlines in the world – everything was fine but I thought the food sucked. I know, I know, its airplane food, but foreshadowing my next trip, Virgin Atlantic food was awesome.

I got to Sydney airport, found some better food, and found out immediately that things are expensive in Australia! My sandwich and drink was around $15 AUS, so like $13 something US. I won't bore you guys with my awe and child like wonder at the culturally shocking sites around the airport, aside from saying I quickly needed to get accustomed to driving on the wrong side of the road as we took a bus from the international terminal to domestic. Eventually I got on a much smaller plane and completed the trek down to Melbourne.

My bags arrived no problem, Joe Tall had warned me to clean my golf clubs and shoes pristinely, which I tried to do, but still failed to pass customs inspection on my shoes, which had some blades of grass / soil in them and needed chemical cleaning. Not sure how they did it but those things came out looking like new, so ship it, free shoe cleaning! As I was looking for a taxi that would take my credit card a random driver guy asked me where I was going and basically explained that his planned pickup canceled and he would illegally drive me to Crowne Casino for the same rate as a cab (random drivers aren't supposed to pick up airport passengers because the airport has a deal with the taxi company I guess). Sounded like a good deal to me and he ended up giving me a bit of a tour and the history of the city as we drove in, which was very helpful and fun.

I was pretty lost when I arrived at Crowne Casino because my phone wasn't set up for international calls / texts and I had no clue where to find anyone. I was actually staying at the Hilton hotel down the river (turned out to be around a half mile away) but figured I'd find people at the Crowne. What I didn't realize is just how BIG that place is! I don't know exactly what I was expecting but it wasn't a casino bigger than the Bellagio, which is what I found. On the plus side, I am very at home in Vegas-style casinos, and I gave myself a tour through all the pits, restaurants, etc. before finding the poker room on a lower level. Still no DeucesCracked people to be found but I did open a players account, exchange US cash for Aussie $ and put most in the players account, expecting I'd be gambling a good bit there. This turned out to not be the case because poker is boring and doing cool stuff in Australia is fun, but oh well.

Soon after I ended up setting my phone up because we were really unable to communicate being in two different hotels (Hilton and Crowne) and found people and got checked into a very nice Hilton room I was sharing with Whitelime. I spent that afternoon sightseeing some before crashing early from lack of sleep. Oh did I mention Melbourne is 19 time zones away from home? That messed with me a bit but I actually avoided jet lag fairly well by staying awake, getting some sun, etc. Poker players are way better travelers than most people since we are used to odd hours.

It's hard for me to remember exactly what everyone did over the next few days, I know I spent two of them golfing with Joe and Whitelime, which ends up being an almost all day affair. The Crowne was great to us and set up golf for us at a variety of courses, gave us passes to take cabs over, etc. The first day was pretty rainy but it was just off and on all day so we braved the weather and had a great time playing. Whitelime is a bit better than me or Joe but was pretty rusty so I shot the best the first day, and by the second day he was clearly better and won going away. The first day I shot 107 which is by far my best ever but we all thought the course was incredibly easy and that wasn't really representative of what I'd shoot at most places back home.

Golfing those days taught me about Melbourne weather over the summer. The expression there is "four seasons in a day" and I saw that right away – it would go from 90 degrees and sunny to in the 60s and raining and windy in the blink of an eye, and then revert just as fast. The first day of golf was pouring rain, to sunny and grabbing the sunglasses from the cart, back and forth at least twice.

We had some big group dinners together despite doing our own thing during the days, going to a steakhouse called Rockpool at the Crowne, and some other a bit less fancy places. I was actually underwhelmed by most of the food until we found a couple great places late in the trip recommended by some DeucesCracked members. The plus side was getting yummy Australian Shiraz with most dinners, one of my favorite types of wine. The real downside was the insanely bad service we found to be totally standard. Many other poker players have commented on this while visiting for Aussie Millions so I won't bother rehashing too much, but a country with very little tipping culture does not lend itself to great service. We have our own problems over here with the average tip rising and people in all facets of the service industry now clamoring for tips (fast food restaurant guy, really?), but I much prefer our system, as it does tend to lead to at least a put on appearance of great service from employees at nice places.

In part 2 I'll discuss a bit of poker, the Aussie Millions Academy, and of course, more golf!

A couple days after New Year's Courtney, myself, and two friends of hers were off to Orlando and Disneyworld for 9 days of vacation and marathon running (the latter not including me). We had a Southwest flight that stopped in Houston, aside from standard cattle-car flying (at a good price) we had an uneventful trip and arrived in Orlando pretty late at night to find out its a lot colder there in January than anticipated. My decision to pack only a couple hoodies for warm clothes was immediately proving to be short-sighted. Getting in so late we just found a Disney bus to our hotel and went to sleep.

The next day we began our park exploration with Epcot center. Courtney had been to Disneyworld when she was a teenager but I hadn't been since I was 5 years old and basically had no memory of anything. I expected to really enjoy Epcot but I actually found the various "countries" you visit there to be really lame. I guess I just felt they were "disney-fied" versions of the countries and I'd rather just visit the real places to experience the culture. At least we found some decent Chinese food there though. The newer part of Epcot also had a couple cool rides, but I was underwhelmed by this park.

I guess I should explain the Disneyworld structure if anyone doesn't know how it works. Disneyworld is completely self sufficient, with its own fire department, hotels, bus system, parks, etc. It felt like being on a large college campus actually, and our hotel was very dorm-esque, especially the food there, which we called the "student union" by the second day of the trip. There are different levels of hotels and ours was the lowest, as the trip was fairly expensive anyway and we didn't figure to be in the hotel much, it seemed smart to save money there. There are at least 6 separate parks: Epcot, Hollywood studios, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and 2 water parks that were closed. Plus lots of resort hotels with nice restaurants, Downtown Disney for shopping, golf courses, etc. strewn about the entire huge property.

After Epcot all day one, we went to Hollywood Studios the next day. There were a lot of rides that are also in Anaheim at California Adventure, but they are all the best ones, so I liked this park a lot. We found a good roller coaster, a couple cool shows, and lots of other entertaining rides of varying age-appropriateness. Courtney was told about a cool lunch place there which was an awesome 50s style restaurant that shows clips of old horror movies and feels like you are at a drive-in movie. Completely random and totally awesome .

I'm starting to confuse my days at this point but pretty sure Courtney and I went to Animal Kingdom the next day while her two friends went off campus to the NASA space center. Animal Kingdom was by far my favorite park, just because the ambiance and design make it really unique, and feels very realistic I suppose. Also it had the best ride of any park, the Everest Expedition roller coaster which is like the Matterhorn only actually good. There is also a safari ride which takes you through their real live animal preserve, pretty cool though we have the wild animal park in San Diego which is at least as good so I suppose I wasn't as enthused about that as some of the tourists would be.

The two or three days after that were full of marathon festivities. Courtney and her friend Kelly were running the "Goofy challenge" which is a half marathon and then the full marathon on back to back days. The morning of the half marathon it was freezing cold and raining (sleeting I suppose at times is more appropriate), the girls had plans to basically run slow, make sure to finish, and conserve energy for the full marathon the next day. I guess this worked out slightly in their favor considering if they had other plans the weather probably would have forced a slow pace anyway. Regardless, they finished fairly cold and wet, but done with the first part of Goofy's challenge nonetheless.

Day two was the full marathon and it was just as cold, though at least not raining that day. Courtney ended up finishing in what she might call a disappointing time, but given the conditions I know she was excited to just complete the challenge, and go for personal best times in future races. Unfortunately, Kelly was behind pace and ended up getting picked up with like 5 miles to go

The rest of that day was obviously recovery time and I got some work done in the hotel room on my computer, though apparently not enough time to remember to blog while it was still fresh in my mind

The two days after we stayed mostly in the Magic Kingdom, which is more or less the same as what we have in southern california at Disneyland, though all slightly different. We went on all the staple rides and enjoyed the slightly warmer weather. I had made reservations for a couple nicer dinners those last couple nights, one for Courtney and I for a delayed anniversary celebration, and the other for the whole group. Courtney and I went to the Blue Zoo, a Todd English seafood restaurant and had an awesome meal. The next night we went to a Mediterranean / Indian / African inspired (weird medley I know but that's the best way to describe the menu) restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge called Jiko. This too was a nice meal, and it was cool to finish the trip seeing some of the fancier stuff around the parks. There were plenty more nice restaurants at the other resort hotels but I could have spent a mint going to these places everyday, I feel like we struck a pretty good balance for such a long trip.

The last day was basically pack up and head to the airport, for a flight home that stopped in Phoenix. I was jealous we couldn't get outside security in Phoenix to pick up some Paradise bakery sandwiches and cookies, but oh well. We got home after the longest trip Courtney and I have ever taken together (9 days) and found our two babies (the feline kind) to be well cared for in our absence. I had precisely 16 hours from the time I arrived home to prepare to drive up to LA the next day for the long flight to Australia and the Aussie Millions.

Stay tuned for part 2 and the Aussie adventure…

Aside from that, I've been doing mostly boring programming work, made a few videos for DC, and played not too much poker, aside from some live games since there has been some bigger games at oceans 11 here in San Diego recently. Nice to not have to drive all the way to Commerce to find some decent LHE action!

I was back in Vegas a couple weeks ago as Courtney ran the rock and roll marathon there, so I hung out and played a bit of poker when we weren't busy with running business. It was freezing on race day, I don't know how they do it, but I guess some people would say the same thing about running when its hot out. I'm a warm weather guy I guess. Aside from the weather it was a great trip as Courtney, Entity, his wife, and some other friends all completed their marathons, some for the first time. I'd like to say they'll get me out there for one soon but with the colder weather (I'm aware its all relative and I'm a wuss) I haven't had much motivation to go running, especially since during daylight hours I can go to the driving range instead!

Right now I'm just getting ready for Christmas time with Courtney's family here in San Diego, and then a super crazy month begins. Courtney and I are headed to Disneyworld for 9 days in early January, where we will do the parks in addition to her running the marathon-and-a-half, aptly named, Goofy Challenge. Looking forward to it immensely but I'm sure we'll need a vacation from the vacation afterwards.

No such luck though, as I'll be pretty immediately heading to Australia when I get back from Orlando. DeucesCracked is partnering with the Crowne Casino for the "Aussie Millions Academy", an event that should be incredibly fun for everyone involved. I've never really traveled much so getting to go to Australia for such a cool event is really exciting.

That would be by far enough for an awesome month but Joe Tall and I already had another trip scheduled for the end of January, so we have to leave Australia slightly early to get back in time to change clothes (summer to winter), see families, and then fly off to London for an affiliate conference. We are attending one for the first time representing DC, and if I am not exhausted I think that will be a really fun trip as well. In addition to getting work done I'm particularly excited because I booked a dinner reservation at The Fat Duck, which consistently is rated in the top 2 restaurants in the world.

I'll hopefully report during or after that insane month, and if you are coming down for the Aussie Millions make sure to both come to our Academy sessions, and say hi to me or offer to go play golf there!

I played a couple short sessions of poker while there, some 80/160 LHE at bellagio and a fun 150/300 mix at venetian with crazy mike and some LHE studs. I ended up losing around 2500 at poker for the trip but winning a bit more than that at holdem bonus and craps! Go go degen pit games.

On our last day there I had been pestering Joe Tall to take me golfing, since I have been going to the driving range a few times with my brother and finding it lots of fun. We ended up finding a nice, fairly easy course (Wildhorse) and taking crazy mike and dr. olson along with us. My rented golf clubs were like 10x nicer than my brother's old clubs we use at the driving range, so I was spoiled right away. Then I got to drive the golf cart which was all kinds of fun! Aside from all that I also played some good golf, for a total newb, and beat crazy mike for some pocket change (thanks Mike!). I made par on my third ever hole (par 3) which was pretty amazing. The only thing I was awful at was using the woods, hybrids, and driver, as I hadn't practiced those nearly enough at the driving range. After a few holes I gave up on the driver and just hit my 6 iron off the tees. The other two were tired after 9 holes but Joe and I got through 15 before dark and he gave me some good tips. It was a really nice course and fun to be outside all alone on a huge golf course (a quiet monday afternoon), though I am told compared to some its not even that nice of a course, so I guess its all relative.

Today after getting home a couple nights ago from the Vegas trip, I hit the driving range with my brother and did much better than ever before, even hitting his 3 wood pretty well. After that I bought some clubs over at the Golfsmith store so now I'm officially ready to go and golf a bunch and hopefully get better.

I'll be back in vegas in a few weeks as Courtney is running the rock and roll marathon there, but it will be a pretty quick trip. Then things get kinda crazy with the holidays and some January travel I'll have to mention in another post!

A week or so back I took a shot in some obscenely good 200/400 triple draw games on Stars and got massacred, so I'm sort of not wanting to play that game recently, so I have played more LHE in the times I've wanted to play. Commerce was pretty dead too so not really many mix games to speak of, so I played LHE there as well, typical swingy 100/200 and 200/400 sessions there. I went up with mike l. who is back playing a bunch after some time away from poker, so its nice to have someone to travel with and play board games and all the silly stuff we do to pass the time. Him and I are going to be working on a new LHE video series together as well which should be fun, as we tend to argue a lot and get a lot said in an hour!

I'm in Seattle now staying with Entity, focusing on DC programming work for a week, and getting to see the guys up here at our office. So far its been nice but I need to sleep more, as they have me waking up early and I regret to admit my sleep schedule got pretty well goofed up again after a couple months of legitimacy. Oh well, this week might get me straightened out somewhat but we'll see.

Eventually I'll be in Vegas because Courtney is running the rock n roll marathon there in December, but I might make it out beforehand as well around the WSOP final table time, unsure yet. Heard there has been more poker action in Vegas with the tournaments than at Commerce so that's a decent reason to go too. Will update here…eventually

I had a pretty cool August, mostly being healthy after Vegas, I managed to develop some good habits, including winning a prop to wake up before 8 am a month after starting, and I am not changing sleep schedules just because I won the bet – its been great to be productive. I've also been running and have a running prop that I am currently freerolling by making my 5 miles a week with relative ease. Coincidentally or not, I had my best month of poker on the year too, playing mostly Stars triple draw.

This month I hope is more of the same, balancing some DC programming work, some poker (playing WCOOP badugi and TDL events this week), and trying to squeeze in a Seattle trip but we'll see if it works out.

Since I've been back from Vegas I basically have been catching up on all my DC work and responsibilities, which has been great for me, very productive. Working on lots of code things including teaching myself some basic flex programming to work on a little DC project in the last week or so. I always am excited to get competent at a new language as I'll find all sorts of uses for it. My next plan there is to learn how to create AIR apps and spit out some fun stuff for the community.

I've even been outside running a bit with Courtney the last couple weeks, though I fell off the wagon a little this past week, as everyday was busy busy programming. Hopefully I right the ship as it helps me maintain a "normal" sleep schedule, and I have a little prop bet to continue to be a daywalker for at least a month, cautiously optimistic there

I'll probably head up to Seattle sometime in the next month, but Courtney and I have a few obligations at home that randomly come up so we'll have to see if I can sneak up there. Been gambling a good bit online in free time and running well recently, plus all the sites have bonuses to clear so I've been grinding a little LHE and triple draw. Yay poker and life update!

The best part of the summer has been getting to see the behind the scenes of KRANTZ's reality show, and hanging out with all the DC crew, owners, coaches, and friends. The poker has been ok too. I ran insanely good on credit card roulette's for dinner this summer, and ran good in most of the cash games I played, really can't find much to complain about besides no tournament results. Happy to head home, get back to "normal", make some videos and pick up the programming, as I've been pretty lax on my non poker responsibilities while being out here.

Basic Vegas update is I am doing well in cash games, did nothing at all of consequence in the two donkaments I played, and having lots of fun meeting DC members, other LHE friends, and hanging out with Joe Tall at our rented house. Tonight I am playing the limit shootout, and Monday is the triple draw, which I'm most looking forward to. Aside from that I was home in San Diego for a few days recharging my batteries and now I'm ready to finish off the WSOP right. I also got an iPhone which is a fun new toy to keep me busy!

This month I've been playing a bit more online, with typical LHE swings. Though I'm definitely getting back into the swing of things, finding some good games. I even chased a maniac up to Stars 100/200 which I haven't played online in awhile, usually because I don't feel I have an edge in a lot of lineups, but this was certainly an exception. It's sort of funny having played a lot of different limits over the years, one thing you want to avoid is not taking a smaller game seriously, which some guys can never figure out and never get back to the level they were at before having to drop down. On the other hand, its somewhat nice to jump into a pretty big game and not have the complete overwhelming terror that I felt the first time I ever played 100/200 online. It's certainly a familiar game and you don't have to worry about making tilty mistakes just due to the stakes involved.

Hopefully I can play well at all limits in Vegas, sometimes I get in games with 2+2ers, other pros I know, etc. and have way too much fun. Winning $ at the WSOP for once would be a new kind of fun I think

Updates to come from Vegas sporadically, hopefully it will be like last year and I can post about some tourney runs, but that's probably pretty optimistic.

I think I played some triple draw / badeucey / badugi mix games and a bit of 2 card poker (LHE) that trip, fairly uneventful overall. I wound up spending a good chunk of my time getting my wife's birthday present taken care of and then hanging out at Disneyland with her, which was fun as always. They have a thing this year where you go for free on your birthday, since we go all the time we have yearly passes but end up getting the ticket value as a gift certificate on your birthday, I don't mind the Disney rakeback.

After that I stayed with Joe Tall for a couple days and got a little work done and a lot of gin played, plus some yummy food as we like to do. Finally I got home for about a day and a half before heading right back up to go to an awesome dinner at one of my favorite LA restaurants, Tre Venezie, in Pasadena, which apparently got a Michelin star last year for its delciious northern Italian cuisine. Mike L. put the dinner together as always for no real good reason other than why not, but with the proximity to my birthday (the 10th) it ended up a semi birthday party I suppose. Cardsharpcook bought me a birthday cigar so that's how I know

Aside from that dinner I played a bunch at Commerce, winning in 2 card poker for once but then losing a bunch more than I had won in a pretty outstanding white chip hold'em game. Oh well, one day I will be in the right place at the right time and actually win the $50k they are trying to give away in that game.

Home for a couple weeks of normalness, then my brother is graduating so family will be in town, Courtney is running the San Diego marathon, and the WSOP begins at the end of the month, so it won't stay quiet for long!

I mostly am playing triple draw on stars, and a little of the 8 game mix and/or badugi, though I am at this point convinced that I might be a dog in the typical 40/80 badugi game that runs there as my results have been awful and I see the regulars playing somewhat differently from me. I feel pretty confident about my play in triple draw and have been doing best playing heads up, which is really a lot of fun in addition to being lucrative for me recently. I felt with those wins it would be appropriate for me to dump back some money playing the triple draw SCOOP events during the big tournament series. The fact that the mid and the high stakes buyin ones both had an overlay was a nice surprise as well. Unfortunately I dwindled off in all of them around the mid point, about that time when a limit tournament starts to bust a lot of people and you need to make some hands and build a stack for the long haul or say goodbye. I guess it could be worse as I certainly had a ways to go before the money and bubbling hurts more, but after my luck in the WSOP last summer I probably had myself convinced that I'm some sort of limit donkament allstar, glad to get that out of my system

I did an interview with Bart Hanson for the DC podcast – http://www.deucescracked.com/podcasts/deuceplays – we discussed triple draw and draw games in general for awhile. And I submitted an article to Bluff magazine and will try to write a few more if they like that one, I think it will go in their print magazine this month but need to double check.

Other than that just been home with the family but headed to Seattle for a week of work at DC's office tomorrow. I don't know how I'll get through a flight without having Joe Tall there to lose money to me at gin, but I'll try to manage.

After two short days I headed back to LA, wishing I were headed straight home, but instead relegated to another day of gambling at Commerce because I had Lakers tickets the next night in LA and it didn't make sense to drive back to San Diego and head right back up. Tough life I know. I headed straight to Commerce, calling ahead to a friend who put me on the list for 400/800 triple draw. I get there just as I get a seat in the game, and I scramble to sell pieces of myself and get some cash together since its apparently a super good game. I sell off a bunch of action and buy in and as I'm sitting down someone at the table says "just so you know we are playing badugi" and I go "ORLY" and then notice the dealer is dealing out 5 cards. I say "haha good joke" and he goes "no really we are playing BADEUCI" which I mis-heard the first time.

For those that don't know Badeuci is a split pot game, played as 5 card triple draw but splitting the pot between the best badugi hand (2345r is the nuts) and the best triple draw hand. I had played it once prior in my life, at low stakes. I quickly go confer with main backer and tell him I am less confident in Badeuci than straight TDL but I figure no one else has a clue either (turns out I am near correct). We decide to probably just stop if we lose 20k instead of being prepared to go 40k deep like we were – sick life. I get started and immediately realize the game is great, a couple guys are straddling multiple times per orbit because normally the game can only be dealt 6 handed, so at this 8 handed table UTG and UTG+1 have to sit out, but we agree if either straddles we will deal them in and deal it 7 handed. Genius.

I run good and make a few hands and overall feel like I have a good grasp on the right hands to play and draw at, though its too soon to be sure, but I luck out with a nice 20kish win, which I promptly deliver to backers like Santa Claus – selling pieces of yourself is weird in that way but certainly I was glad to get the experience in the game and make my friends happy. The next day I just played some  more 100/200 and went to the basketball game before thankfully heading home to put an end to a long trip that spanned a few cities.

Upon getting home I found out my desktop computer committed suicide, and it took multiple days to recover the vital data off the hard drive and get my laptop up to speed with everything I need just to get through the day   Not fun.

Been home and back to "normal" mostly doing programming work ever since, and tomorrow I head back up to LA to fly directly to Austin for South by Southwest (www.sxsw.com), will report on that when I return!

Like most months when I don't post anything about poker, its because I haven't been playing. I think I logged a short session or two at Oceans 40/80 just to get out of the house, but not much more than that. Lots of code monkeying keeping me busy, expanding TheHandConverter.com with all sorts of new fun features has been most of my work. It's sort of my baby since we have "real" programmers for DeucesCracked

Last weekend Courtney and I got to go to Vegas for the long weekend and see lots of our poker friends, which was a very nice treat. That began a stretch of many trips for me, as tomorrow I go to Commerce for the weekend then fly to Seattle on Monday. After that I'm home for a bit before we head off to Austin, TX for South by Southwest (www.sxsw.com) which I'm very excited about as I'm just playing so much catch up with the interweb and programming. I've come a decently long way, the other day I made the bold proclamation that I "finally understand how the internet works" in reference to figuring out some GET and POST commands I needed to test, lol.

Hopefully I won't be lazy and have an ok Commerce trip report, the main event is going on so it should be quite busy and filled with the poker celebs, maybe I'll find a white chip game to hit and run, we'll see.

Wound up playing a long session in a 200/400 mix of hold'em and triple draw, maybe the greatest mix ever since its my two best games.  I estimate I won a good clip in the triple draw rounds and lost 75+ bets in the hold'em rounds, I seriously don't remember winning one hold'em hand, or really even having any hands. Except for one hand where I got the fish to go 8 bets on the turn with me on a Q84T board where he had QQ and I am not insane so I had it beat. He paired the board no problem in an 11k pot which was right around what I lost for the session, so I guess 8 hours of playing really does come down to one card sometimes

Home now and recovering from a surprising amount of live poker recently, these trips and excuses just keep coming up and I end up gambling. Too bad I am a huge live poker fish now and lose many a session. Online this month not much better with triple draw crushing my own soul for a change – gonna book the worst month of my poker career in probably less than 3k hands total and nothing higher than 50/100, that's pretty strong. Just reminds me to work on my programming and some DC work and not expect much from this silly game we all love!

I've been hearing about a 75/150 triple draw and/or mix game at Casino AZ so hopefully the rumors are true, that's around a perfect limit for fun times and I assume a pretty good game. Trip report to follow if they let me gamble!

I played a bit of poker this month, alternating between some holdem and some triple draw and a little badugi. I feel like the rare times I do play I'm doing great since I'm having fun playing poker as a hobby again and not so much relying on it. I expect to mix in a trip or two to Commerce this month with the LAPC starting and just random reasons to get to LA for a day or two. We are also going to Arizona for several days this month (wife running a marathon in Phoenix) and then a couple small trips planned in February too. I suppose the new year will be as random and busy as the last, but that's always fun. Hope everyone had a great holiday and see you in LA and on DeucesCracked!

I ended up winning a bit over 5k in 5 hours, and that's despite getting rivered in a 26 bet pot, weee.

Deucing/Deuced out:  This is obvious but I do it so often live we made a term for it – this is what happens when you spike an innocuous deuce on the turn or river that let's you suck out to win a big pot. Catching an offsuit 3 on the turn that helped your hand counts too to a lesser extent. This one is great because you just know your opponents are praying "please don't hit any draws, offsuit deuce on the turn" and then it comes and BOOM.

Barnyard:  This is a game condition, its a level above "juiceballed" which simply implies otherwise sane people are a little "juiced" up and making extra gambool. A barnyard game is full of people who are not sane to begin with, at least not as it relates to their poker strategy.

Bubblebathed:  Some degens coined an excellent term, "bloodbathed", which basicallys means either losing an epic amount or just getting totally skullfucked by coolers and icky situations, but we thought there ought to be the opposite, rare and beautiful as it might be.  The next time you cash out with around 7 racks, and just think "wow today poker was easy" because your hands played themselves and you won with no real extra effort, you just bubblebathed that game.

Finally I get into the 100/200 game and don't leave for 12 hours, swingy swingy I booked a small win I think and deliriously crawl to bed. I quit the game when my last orbit I got KK, AA, AKs, and two flopped sets and somehow lost money on the lap. Next day I sit more 100/200 in an amazing game with two guys playing almost every hand, I quickly lose 9k and we go to dinner at Lucques where mike l. has planned out a solid tasting menu to accompany 15 bottles of wine for 12 people. We easily handle that plus the bottle of amaro TT brought from vegas and head back to Commerce in search of gambool. We start a 20/40 hold'em and badugi game where I proceed to run like god and procure 80+ bets in a game that plays about 5x tougher than the 1/2 game I earlier got destroyed in. Poker not that reasonable. I crawl into bed once more at 8 am which includes a free life hour thanks to clocks changing, crawl out again at noon to drive home and decide sleeping more at some point will be wise.

Went to a work thing with my wife when I got home and the promptly found my bed for 16 hours. Woke up Monday 2 pm and I have now decided that no matter what else is going on in my life or sleep schedule, if I don't set an alarm I will arise at 2 pm every day no matter what time I went to sleep. That can't be good, my brain is a perpetual slacker it appears.

This week I have quick work to do for a few days putting out programming fires and trying to close out any sort of project I can since I have 100 open now, before I head up to Napa Valley for the weekend and the Seattle for a week. November busy busy it seems already.

Just realized I titled this post the way I did because A-Rod was playing 20/40 limit hold'em at Commerce saturday night, and Ted Allen was at our restaurant, but apparently my complete detest for the concept of "celebrity" shone through and I forgot until just now.  I guess that's a topic for another time but briefly, using poker "celebrities" as a reference point I've learned that nobody knows anything at all about a "celebrity" and people such as tv editors and producers have a tremendous amount of power to decide what character traits to show us that make up our perception of the "celebrity" in question.

This attitude is so much more prevalent these days because 1) people got pretty good at poker, so now its easy to find small flaws in others and ignore the ones in yourself, 2) people at high stakes seem less willing to share actual strategy but still want to be a part of the "pro community" so they post gossip and random bragging instead (see the 2+2 high limit forum for obvious proof of this). I really don't have much more of a point here, other than its incredible to me that everyone can think everyone else is awful and yet we all are constantly continuing the cycle. Well I vow here and now to no longer be a part of it. I won't criticize another winning player out loud from this point forward (I hope).

All that said everyone is terrible at badugi and triple draw. Except me and maybe two others. LOL.

I've been working on HandFire for awhile (along with help from much better programmers) and it still needs a lot of work, but I think its a pretty useful tool and hopefully will make poker forum-ing more efficient for everyone. Other than that, I've got some further fun stuff that ties in to the hand converter in the works, and just dipping my toes into actual code that might be used on DeucesCracked.

Good news to report from my house, I am no longer on antibiotics, my cats have significantly less fleas than they did a couple weeks ago (though non zero I fear), and all is pretty much stable. I haven't played much poker this month due to the aforementioned code monkeying, but I've been having fun anyway. Next month should be nice because I'll bounce around between coding, a bit of poker, hanging out with my wife's family who will be in town visiting (yay Disneyland annual passes), and whatever other nonsense comes up that I haven't prepared for yet.

As a result of these distractions plus general distractions my programming projects are moving slowwwwwlyyyy but still coming along. Just took helpings of five different things at once and threw them on my plate and it seems like I hardly make a dent in any one of them before poking at another for awhile.

On the plus side check out my sweet Triple Draw series on DeucesCracked, and really all the series this season seem pretty awesome to me, the NL guys are outdoing themselves and we have a lot of random cool series ideas this season from my POV.

Ok off to battle fleas and infection, wonder what malady will befall my healthy wife? Hardly fair she gets to avoid this fun.

I probably just need to drink some:

Because of my increased programming work I ended up getting a macbook pro, with all the bells and whistles, so I have the same environment the other coders use on DC, and also it just seems pretty clearly superior at this point for business, programming, basically everything but poker.  I guess I've been accumulating toys recently as I got a humanscale freedom chair for the office, which is a sweet upgrade over my old configuration.  Courtney also wanted a wii fit so we had to get the whole wii system, accessories, and a few games, which she uses much more than I do so far.

Seattle was great though apparently rainier than normal for this time of year. I was just excited to get a Jetblue direct flight both ways.  It was nice to see the other guys face to face and I made a lot of progress on some code project development, though at this point the biggest hurdle is my complete inability to program in Ruby, Javascript, HTML, etc.  Basically any "internet languages" still confuse the hell out of me, but I hope to rectify it with total immersion, and see if I can't figure things out like I have somewhat done with Perl.

Courtney and I head up to Anaheim tonight for the weekend, as she is running the half marathon at Disneyland on Sunday, and then we'll spend some time in the park on Sunday and Monday.  After that things might get normal at least for a little while and I should be mostly home working on programming projects and avoiding much poker.  New season starts on DeucesCracked on Monday, check out my triple draw series!

I've basically been playing the 30/60 and 50/100 games mostly with occasional shots in the 100/200 and so far 3 sessions in the 200/400 when the game was extra good.  Triple draw is a game that plays pretty big at higher stakes so that game in particular (the 2/4) is pretty huge, much more than twice as big as the 1/2 given the caliber of player who lurk there and the overall aggression of anyone in the game.  There's been some interest and I'm enjoying the game so I think I'll end up doing a mini-series or full series on triple draw for DeucesCracked next season. Maybe I'll get lucky and Stars will get Badugi online before the season will end and I can include some introductory content on that other fun game.

Other than that I'm home for a bit longer and then headed up to Seattle at the end of this month to see the boys who are pretty much all up there working now (KRANTZ, Danzasmack, and of course Entity).

For the first time in my life I ran good in tournaments, like really good. My first event was typical, was out in two hours, and never had above my starting stack. Then I went 3 for 3 in cashes in the only other events I played, which was pretty cool.  It was an amazing feeling to sit down at my starting table and just assume I'd be there after dinner – ahhh running good! I final tabled the 10k limit "world championship" and that's exactly the way I tell it – "I final tabled" cuz saying "I came 9th" sounds way worse somehow.  I spoke to a couple guys I respect and decided my river checkraise with that AQ was a tournament mistake and that I should have bet and folded to a raise, but oh well.  I ran bad in the 20 minutes I was there, it happens to anyone who doesn't win a tournament and is presumably a winning player.

Next came the triple draw, which I posted briefly about, but wow was this a fun event. My starting table was just ridiculously soft, guy on my right hardly knew the rules, and every "name" pro I played with was completely clueless and just gambling it up.  On day two the games were playing much tighter and tougher, though I did have a pretty big LAG fish (imo) on my right who eventually busted me when I refused to break an 875 against him and he showed up with #2.  I guess I had a tight image cuz he seriously asked me if I had a wheel when I put my last money in.  Oh well, got to play a bit with Billy Baxter who seemed to play as well as advertised.  There's just something about the presence of the few old time gamblers who actually have a clue, where you just know no matter what you do to them, they've seen it a thousand times before.  He had a calmness to him that I have seen in some of the high stakes mixed game players I respect that I'm sure comes from experience, bankroll management, and the quiet confidence you gain by crushing year after year.  That's truly my poker goal I think, to walk into a room and see what the biggest mix game is going, to sit down and have that calmness.

Finally I played the limit shootout which was fun for me because I had been playing so damn tight in every tournament I played that I really let loose here.  I'm convinced the structure of this winner take all first table is such that you should play like a complete maniac, someone feel free to talk me out of it.  That's how I played, probably playing 50% of my hands 10 handed, always putting in the last raise preflop. After an hour I had 600 chips, after two hours I had 6000 and was chip leader, yay variance.  Alex Jacob was at my table and I put some stinkers on him then introduced myself by 2+2 posting name on the break – gotta maintain the insane forum image

I wound up running really well when it got 4 handed or so, picking up solid hands and having AA hold up in a capped family pot.  I had the majority of the chips by the time it got down to heads up between me and a decent playing kid who I suspected was not comfortable playing very shorthanded or heads up.  He realized I had a clue and was asking me some strategy questions as we played heads up that made me think he just didn't have a lot of experience (like "wow do you ever fold a pair heads up?" when he tried to bluff me on a paired dry board and I had a mid pocket pair).  I felt I was running a bit poorly heads up when 1.5 hours later we were right around where we started.  We had a break then came back and it seemed to me that he had just given up, which I recognize because I've done it myself in previous years.  He just stuck his chips in the first two hands we played in really bad spots and I busted him and had made the money in three straight events.

This was a funny day because I was on a completely goofy sleep schedule, having woken up at 7 pm the night before, stayed up and played the shootout at noon, intending to most likely bust out, go catch some sleep and then pick my wife up at the airport, who was coming to visit for a few days around July 4th.  Instead I won and had to play again at 10 pm, she cabbed it over to the Rio from the airport and hung out while I played until 2:30 am, where we called it a night and came back to finish the second table the next day.  I was a complete wreck at this point going on 32 hours awake and played pretty badly that night, even though its hard to tell when I'm implementing my maniac 10 handed style (same payout structure for the second round).  Unfortunately for me it seemed others at the table were insane too so I had to tone it down some because I just would have had to come in 4 betting with my 97o's etc. and couldn't find as many spots to muck around.  2+2er and Minnesota clone factory limit master Kirby was at my table and seemed to be playing incredibly tight that night.

We came back the next day and Kirby was raising and re-raising every hand (playing 6 handed).  I found out he was just incredibly card dead the night before because he sure wasn't shy about mixing it up on day two.  I picked up a bunch of playable hands right away and lost many chips with them, so I got a bit short and desperate.  Kirby also owned me on a really nice play where I raised preflop from CO, he defended BB, flop was T73 two diamonds (I had 98 of hearts) he check/called.  Turn king of hearts, putting two hearts out and I made a debateable check behind after seeing him wait and checkraise the turn a couple times already that day.  River was an Ace of diamonds, he bet and I bluff raised, he went into the tank for several seconds and 3 bet me.  Thinking about it in retrospect I think 4 betting is not at all out of the question because 1) its a tournament and he won't make a crying call with as much as he would in a cash game, 2) I would play a flush this way and he knows that, 3) if he has a flush himself I don't think he'd really have to tank on the river, he'd just 3 bet me naturally.  Anyway that's probably somewhat tainted by being results oriented, as I of course folded and he showed me 56o for a dandy re-bluff.  I wound up busting soon after when a weak tight older nice guy on my left flopped a straight vs my top pair in a blind battle, and I turned two pair before putting all the money in. Kirby sadly followed me out shortly and well known Commerce player "JD" or "sleeves" as some of my friends have called him took it down.

That was my last tournament since I don't really know how to play NL even though I probably could fake my way through it for the soft main event field, but I was pretty burnt out on tournaments anyway.  I wound up playing a good amount of 100/200 at the Bellagio for my last week or so in Vegas and decided to just run awful, donating back around 20k of my summer winnings before thankfully deciding to drive home.

All in all the WSOP was a huge success for me and for my friends and DeucesCracked teammates – we did really well in tournaments, Vanessa won a bracelet, and I felt we got lucky to be in the right place at the right time at times, gaining some notoriety on the poker forums and around the Vegas poker world.  I'm home now and fairly caught up on life, and just excited to get back to working on the site, playing online poker, and seeing what adventure comes up for me next.  KRANTZ and Chuck are off to Seattle for several months so I'm sure I'll get up there to hang out, work on some DC vids, and hustle some gin rummy whenever possible.

lorazepam maximal doze lisinopril fosamax interactions purchase of indian fda levitra nasonex retin-a propecia valtrex beating an insurance nicotine test weekly ortho evra oxycodone credit card common side effects of ortho evra glucophage for nash discount nexium purchase birth control cyclen ortho tri february 2007 ortho evra plavix fatigue sweating weakness nexium single isomer compare hydrochlorothiazide to hydrochlorot loratadine fluoxetine buy viagra cialis levitra canada pharmacies name brand phentermine norco higher search ranking lipitor helps with prostate cancer discount meridia no md visit ortho pillowtop mattress mechanism of promethazine codeine apcalis dysfunction erectile levitra viagra cheap phentermine the leading diet pills will i lose weight with metformin weekly ortho evra failure lorazepam hallucination buy norvasc medication online toxicity levaquin ld50 not tylenol 2cialis dysfunction erectile levitra viagra ibuprofen and nursing meridia attorneys auburn gray hair reversal avodart flomax medication allergies to penicillin definity medform glucophage ortho evra board costs of nexium without insurance ortho tri cyclen cons diet phentermine carisoprodol buy keflex penicillin allergy tag buy men cheapest phentermine site mexican steroid and hydrocodone pharmacies nexium best price perscription drug stores condylox nasonex nasonex meridia pharmacy prescription ortho tri cyclen 28 day codeine to oxycodone the easy way generic adipex phentermine hcl lorazepam supplements free meridia weight loss drug information comparison of prevacid aciphex and nexium fexofenadine pills phentermine without prescription next day delivery marijuana pain relief migraine cerebral palsy and morphine online adipex meridia phentermine prescription viagra nicotine dipped cigrettes phentermine adipex p fastin obenix synthroid synthroid pravachol internet pharmacy drug misuse oxycodone buy lortab without prescription european ortho nurse triamterene hydrochlorothiazide 70 50 40mg fluoxetine hcl lipitor generic online can methylphenidate help me loss weight network health plan paxil difference between oxycontin qnd codeine benazapril hydrochlorothiazide lorazepam eye drops for anxiety lorazepam lethal dosage drug interactions ultram and oxycodone st louis obstetrician ortho evra patent law merck fosamax zyban and marijuana search results adipex p phentermine based drug nicotine prescription lortab nursing considerations codeine vs morphine generic drug for lexapro diet meridia pill site web naproxen sod 550 what is the qsar of lorazepam metformin drug pharmacy phentermine hci 37.5 without prescription codeine promethazine dosage recommendations for morphine pain medication pcp plus tax software buy xenical and propecia online prednisone rheumatoid arthritis paxil buy online pharmacy answer different numbers on hydrocodone canadian import regulations lorazepam discount propecia lorazepam ativan gaba hallandale florida pharmacies selling phentermine lyrica and neurontin interactions penicillin allergies in children 3.46 lorazepam hydrochlorothiazide treatment pregnant after ortho evra ear infections and allergies and prednisone purchase fluconazole pharmacy glucophage induced ana generic lunesta myonlinemeds biz nexium metformin fatigued headache lorazepam no prescription lorazepam online no prescription international glucophage 750 xr side effects finasteride flexeril carisoprodol order imitrex on line medrol package insert adult dosage lorazepam maintenance fluconazole therapy tooth pain hydrocodone apap 5mg 500mg side effects of evista and fortical nicotine and weight loss klonopin weight loss pharmacy degree line paxil aging effects lorazepam omeprazole insomnia ortho tri-cyclen or ethinyl estradiol-norgestimate imitrex nasal spray buy online meridia online cash loans morphine xanax combination overdose amount death low cholesterol diet paxil metformin drug side effects night sweats drug morphine no pain prescription drug administration medical marijuana lorazepam mexico pfizer lipitor patent litigation phenergan codeine maximum dose ibuprofen tylenol mixture glucophage bid lsd drug treatment omeprazole package coming off lorazepam buying phentermine phentermine cheapest phentermine online epharmacy watchers reviews on online hydrocodone glucophage recall hydrocodone apap tylenol content diet phentermine supplement finasteride in prostate cancer meridia canada pharmacy pravachol furosemide difference between paroxetine and fluoxetine lorcet plus prescription drug finasteride patent free imitrex order shipping lipitor patent expiring lorazepam testing therapeutic range ortho insurance where to buy phentermine on line ortho evra how long before sex xenical orlistat results getting pregnant while on ortho evra online marijuana order ionamin prozac imitrex prozac and phenergan with codeine dram pioglitazone proactive fexofenadine allegra diabetes prevention trial and metformin generic drug for lotrel lorazepam uses hydrochlorothiazide 50 tmt aciphex vs nexium diet pill lortab cheap generic prilosec propecia ultram ultram ibuprofen celebrex dosage equivalent phentermine lowest prices online cheap phentermine lipitor 20 and cholesterol lowering death related to ortho evra lorazepam carbomer 934 buy phentermine without doctor consent gcfc diet motrin cash on delivery hydrocodone no prescription cialis levitra viagra zyban nexium pharmacy purchase cheap generic nexium paxil treatment insomnia ortho tri-cyclen colors metformin diabetes dosage going off ortho evra weight loss marijuana meridia fluoxetine drug interactions questions about ortho evra xanax and methamphetamine interactions get an online prescription for lamisil hydrocodone oxycontin vicodin ortho tri cyclen internet dryg database prednisone otc online pharmacy discount lamisil tablets hydrochlorothiazide alternative lorazepam wikipedia the free encyclopedia naproxen sodium 550 mg diabetes stop taking metformin glucophage side affects of ativan and lexapro lisinopril diabetes lorazepam disassociation apo lorazepam affect codeine dm promethazine syrup zantac with oxycodone ashley lewis ortho evra ivp and glucophage metformin and lexapro medications cheapest lipitor cheapest phentermine d nasacort aq cialis phenergan w codeine ortho evra news prednisone online pharmacies lorazepam dosing lipitor loss weight zoloft interaction loratadine pseudoephedrine cheap phentermine online prescription depression lipitor patanol and eye allergies lorazepam 1 mg tablet purchase hydrocodone online overnight delivery canine dog dosage of hydrocodone vicodin glucophage and teens cheapest consultation free phentermine price of lamisil tablets fexofenadine medication does lisinopril cause erectile dysfunction national health plan paxil canadian imitrex order online hydrochlorothiazide exposure to sun timolol and hydrochlorothiazide guanethidine and hydrochlorothiazide cheap phentermine online guaranteed lowest price oxycontin attorney savannah georgia order lipitor online ortho tri cyclen forum phenergan syrup with codeine purchase imitrex pharmacy rx on line lorazepam sq phentermine and healthy weight loss apo lorazepam zydone norco hydrocodone vicodin metrogel renova nexium triampterine hydrochlorothiazide drug interactions fluoxetine celecoxib penicillin allergy discount propecia finasteride clorazepate lorazepam issues at mylan long term effects of neurontin taking lorazepam ortho rn lorazepam low dosage omeprazole esomeprazole side effects nexium and dry mouth dental sedation witth lorazepam wellbutrin compared lexapro buy ionamin online prescription drugs omeprazole cheapest phentermine no presc pharmacies and phentermine and worldwide shipping axert versus imitrex for migraine relief carbapenem with penicillin allergy package insert omeprazole estradiol evista vaniqa ultram retin-a ortho tri-cyclen buy generic levaquin overnight lorazepam intensol package insert k9 penicillin skin allergy hair loss fluconazole antibiotics zyrtec synthroid ketamine evista index php oxycodone drug cost of lorazepam 2 mg injectable check online order personal phentermine flomax avodart celexa interaction lorazepam symptoms of lortab use lorazepam carbomer tylenol with codeine and promethazine nexium retin-a ed valtrex availability of generic lipitor hydrochlorothiazide and calcium deficiency buy nexium in canada ortho tri cyclen pill case cheapest phentermine phentermine what is phentermine order phentermine safely without prescription insert nexium package the cheapest place to buy miralax fosamax evista combination negative ortho tri-cyclen side effects compare lexapro prozac hydrochlorothiazide 25mg tables lorazepam dental work lorazepam duration of action cheapest diet ionamin pill meridia wieght loss drug nexium generic prices ortho tri cyclen side effect depression best price for esomeprazole generic nexium codeine allergy and morphine use black glucophage tongue prescription prices ortho evra mortgage company norco california celebrex ibuprofen compare meridia weightloss drug coreg norvasc lisinopril combined nexium from ordering ortho evra phendimetrazine diet pills sent to ky ok to take zyrtec and lisinopril order klonopin online hydrocodone vicodin what is pictures klonopin hydrocodone apap diazepam and klonopin prednisone and diet drugs metformin and weight control 10mg prednisone online pharmacy no prescription ortho tri cyclen bleeding generic form of lipitor can a woman take levitra ortho tri cyclen generic name fluoxetine hcl price glucophage with food rebate for nexium lorazepam tabs lorazepam drug test ortho tri cyclen skip period expiration lipitor patent morphine caused insomnia online pharmacies selling oxycontin naproxen oxycodone hydrocodone apap information average levitra dosage 59 propecia finasteride 1mg ortho evra and alcohol discovery of lorazepam where to buy norco without prescription lorazepam addiction symptoms buy lortab tablet ativan vs klonopin astelin flonase making lorazepam suspension meridias capital inc home loans loss meridia pill weight klonopin as date rape drug lorazepam seizure common uses for lorazepam wow hydrocodone vicodin online hydrocodone hydrocodone skipping periods on ortho tri-cyclen dur k mexican pharmacy triam hydrochlorothiazide klonopin with ativan bipolar purchase hydrocodone no prescription phenergan with codeine pediatric dosing nexium on line glucophage tablet imitrex and zoloft xenical viarga prevacid nasacort aq metformin type 2 diabetes hydrochlorothiazide contitions drug oxycontin oxycodone drug class drug test morphine employer codeine veramyst nasocort rhinocort flonase lipitor and accutane drug interaction quick cash advance norco california overdosing ortho evra benefits of glucophage no prescription online pharmacy phendimetrazine prescription weight loss pills ionamin diet order phentermine pill zoloft ketamine ecstasy biopharmaceutical clinical trial lorazepam information on glucophage lovastatin generic lipitor chemical equivalent meridia audience response paxil and wieght loss pictures of weight loss with meridia glucophage combination affordable generic medication propecia marijuana drug rehab livingston county illinois interaction lisinopril and motrin glucophage ivf treatment ndc for ortho evra purchase lipitor phentermine without prescription september ia generic drug for lortab cheap pharmacy online buy lamisil oral phentermine on line w nexium rebate purchase paroxetine pharmacy online penicillin allergy age codeine and morphine syrup fluoxetine and olanzapine od symptoms weight loss due to methamphetamine penicillin allergy medical alert necklace norco online no prescription purchase yellow phentermine without prescription cheapest phentermine over ortho evra breakthough bleeding side effects lipitor diabetes hypertension pantoprazole nursing hydrocodone for sale no prescription attorney denver meridia meridia attorneys bonifay florida dizzyness and glucophage gerd and lexapro wellbutrin lipitor generic version 10 mg best phentermine pharmacies lamisil 250mg tablets price generic drugs for lexapro lorazepam effects cheap meridia online merck generics finasteride lorazepam expiry dates metformin diabetes medication hydrocodone apap 10 500m hydrochlorothiazide cautions lipitor patent expires phentermine sale environmental trends and ortho evra evaluation generic lipitor where to buy lorazepam can you take clonazepam with nexium penicillin allergy taking cephalosporin morphine usage with codeine allergy life insurance false nicotine result lorazepam site diabetes and neurontin lipitor problem nail fungus fluconazole diflucan is meridia a good diet pill naproxen sod 550 mg nexium and valium zolpidem and naproxen california prozac and imitrex nicotine health insurance ortho evra and weight is penicillin allergy common in hispanics ensenada drug stores levitra difference between effexor xr and lexapro prevacid cheap flonase ionamin online uk lorazepam essential tremor celebrex and lexapro legal refill vicodin hydrocodone online prescription marijuana use while nursing health hip plan paxil ibuprofen reactions with tylenol fluconazole clotrimazole combination dual use together generic lipitor 10 mg ortho tri cyclen contraindication epilepsy lorazepam us no prescription buy effects hydrochlorothiazide hyzaar side lorazepam overnight delivery dream norvasc order pharmaceutical imitrex and prozac contradiction cheap hydrocodone cash on delivery drug called lexapro for depression ionamin online sales nexium nursing management tablets nexium best search web site 13 phentermine treat anxiety lorazepam barnes jewish and ortho evra buspar zoloft occasional klonopin works awesome lorazepam trips nexium discount zyban levitra famvir buy loratadine low cost diltiazem lorazepam on prozac interaction with imitrex ortho evra studies side effect hydrocodone with apap inject hydrocodone w apap mixing lortab and tylenol fluoxetine hcl cap buy neurontin 44 369 hydrocodone pharmacy lipitor drug category codeine allergy with morphine use klonopin and weight loss lorazepam .5 ingrediants buy nexium medication online cymbalta and lorazepam can glucophage cause twins cost ortho evra glucophage and hot flashes can flonase cause sleep loss heart palpatations and ortho evra lipitor muscles metoprolol leg pain muscle fatigue order plavix drug wellbutrin klonopin for anxiety omeprazole mexican pharmacy phentermine without a prescription consultation online lortab buy without prescription lorazepam subcutaneously lipitor prescription medication hydrocodone overseas no prescription mexican chantrix glucophage norco xango buy lortab hydrocodone online addiction glucophage ortho evra class action lawsuits canadian drugs propecia glucophage fort phentermine without prescription overnight delivery no norco online prescription meridia and weight loss oxazepam valium prednisone for allergies glimperide glucophage lipitor cholesterol lowering drug hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene hydrochlorothiazide oral capsule 12.5mg phentermine weight loss flonase gerd hydrochlorothiazide usage nexium 40mg lowest price canada lorazepam alcohol bosley from order propecia lorazepam adderall xr cats fluoxetine amitriptyline erectile dysfunction lipitor glucophage difficulty sleepy fatigue buy cheap propecia lorazepam withdrawl enalapril 10 mg medication diabetes information meridia phentermine xenical keppra nursing mother side effects evista lortab prescription drug abuse treatment can wellbutrin combat lexapro side effects imitrex codeine interaction taking ibuprofen and tylenol together keyword lorazepam buy phentermine cheap pharmacy levitra no oxycontin pharmacy prescription cash on delivery lortabs meridia loss medication weight lipitor versus generic effects evista side generic lipitor vs lipitor buy levitra now metformin insomnia zoloft and lorazepam lipitor warning generic diet pills phendimetrazine 270 count nicotine gum and weight loss ortho clear braces medscape search xenical orlistat lortab nursing warning buy finasteride propecia proscar ortho evra attorney cheapest xenical orlistat 120mg onsale olanzapine fluoxetine combination lorazepam seizure prophylaxis ortho tri cyclen weight gain order nexium cheap generic morphine or codeine no prior prescription pharmacy lortab when will generic lipitor be available pravachol actos phentermine allegra diflucan vs lamisil zoloft loratadine pseudoephedrine sulfate insomnia paxil cr security sheet finasteride ortho evra stroke phentermine without prescription us pharmacy lipitor problems prescription for ortho evra oxycodone online pharmacy ortho evra negative phentermine discount without prescription drug naproxen prescription meridia prescription online great brittian ortho tri-cyclen pill colors health care staffing paxil benefit of the ortho evra inventor of lorazepam ic promethazine codeine syrup hit lorazepam and hair loss topomax neurontin ritalin prozac drug oxycodone prednisone short course rheumatoid glucophage prevent diabetes phentermine over night without prescription internet lortab prescriptions hydrocodone cod lortab lorazepam adverse effects phentermine pills without prescription klonopin lorazepam treatment uses 1 imitrex online order losing weight methamphetamine buy levitra where weight gain wellbutrin lexapro can i take oxycodone while nursing buy imitrex patent date expiration nexium cheap phentermine hcl generic buy phentermine or xenical without prescription sompraz generic nexium trials weight loss with metformin fluoxetine medication will lorazepam lessen pain flomax versus avodart getting high on generic hydrocodone prednisone and nursing cheap phentermine online yasmin metrogel acyclovir vaniqa lorazepam no prescription overnight us pharmacy lipitor patent case hyaluronic acid and lipitor marijuana prescription drug wellbutrin sr vs lexapro phentermine without prescription in usa vaniqa valtrex flonase ortho tri-cyclen business and finance paxil metformin hcl contributing to insomnia glucophage er ortho tri cyclen buy lorazepam phentermine on line consultation picture of hydrocodone apap metformin stomach weight loss zoloft lexapro celexa buy lorcet without prescription phentermine diet supplements pravachol nexium actos mircette lorazepam an anxiety drug finasteride acne canada from imitrex pharmacy ortho evra insert about hydrocodone apap elx piture of generic hydrocodone nexium cheap drugs yasmin stimula lorazepam intensol capsules meridia attorney referral service fluoxetine hydrochloride acid reflux ionamin diet pills lorazepam overdose treatment mortgages in meridia lipitor zocor nicotine test for insurance urine blood phentermine foreign pharmacies can ortho evra cause birth defects lorazepam impurities flonase nasal inhaler ortho tri cyclen skipping period hydrocodone apap 7.5500 medication fluoxetine effect viagra vs levitra vs cialis lorazepam hair loss side effect chemicial name for hydrochlorothiazide midazolam lorazepam meridia diets hydrocodone apap 5mg 500mg tabs cheap phentermine online phentermine center dry mouth with nexium lipitor weight loss prednisone package insert ortho evra sample twins with glucophage mylan lorazepam maker drug rehab marijuana pepcid administration by nurses pcos glucophage and pregnancy norco computer systems side effects for evista ortho tri cyclen direction what is lorazepam used for can glucophage cause menstra problemsl lipitor statin drug lipitor statin drugs and dangers what is lorazepam id online consults hydrocodone lorazepam to lower blood pressure oxycontin codeine and phenerol addiction ortho evra diflucan oral antibiotic alternative for penicillin allergy imitrex and prozac canadian lorazepam penicillin drug allergy want to buy phentermine without prescrtiption meridia peoples succseful weight loss stories meridia diet aide canadian drug laws and lorazepam coupons for ortho evra prilosec pharmacy online order phentermine without prescription ship overnight what pharmacy companies makes lorazepam motrin while nursing lorazepam for muscle relaxer back neurontin pain marijuana for pain relief ortho evra info zoloft interactions marijuana weight loss and metformin phentermine 375mg and adipex-p is nasonex spray a prescription drug keflex online no prescription overnight buying phentermine cod us licensed pharmacies prescription drugs that contain methamphetamine make money on cutting heroin pain medication for ra morphine hydrocodone apap 7.5 shelf life snorting lorazepam what color pill is fluoxetine diet drugs phentermine codeine to morphine conversion lose weight prozac phentermine lost weight on ortho cept low cost naprosyn no prescription hydrochlorothiazide lethal dose diet drug phentermine purephentermine indiana greenville meridia guild birth injury prescription and diet and meridia fexofenadine hcl at walmart pharmacy is lorazepam an moai lorazepam pictures meridia with prozac cheapest phentermine on the web can you take lorazepam with gastritis snorting effects of lorazepam online script hydrocodone individual health plan paxil lorazepam discovery of online pharmacies phentermine xenical meridia drug interaction valium prilosec buy lexapro without prescription glucophage manufacturer marijuana pain relief ibuprofen while nursing is the ortho evra dangerous against lawsuit lipitor medication purchase phentermine tablets without prescription lipitor depression 2737 amerimedrx online pharmacy prevacid buy cheap phentermine us pharmacy acute lymphoblastic leukemia prednisone phenergan and black box warning buy lipitor drug testing morphine employer codeine ortho evra nausea weight gain acyclovir aq flonase nasacort class of drug oxycodone variety sample levitra lorcets online order metrogel ointment medication online drug interaction wellbutrin lexapro lorazepam to help sleep weight loss with lexapro ortho evra skipping period medlineplus drug information fluoxetine systemic nicotine and snuff list of pharmacies selling phentermine naproxen 550 does metformin help lose weigt the cheapest phentermine and overnight delivery generic nexium prescription needed fedex hydrocodone no prescription over-the-counter lamisil tablets depression and ortho evra date expiration ibuprofen metformin and weight loss pcp drug treatment lortab pill's online valtrex nasonex tramadol type 2 diabetes metformin salty taste lipitor and drug interactions cheap generic propecia finasteride glucophage wt loss fluoxetine drug interactions lorazepam discount oxycodone codeine allergies meridia weightloss lortabs online pharmacy phentermine diet pills with no prescription lorazepam withdrawal agonizing experiences adipex phentermine xenical phentermine wholesale phentermine im lorazepam with diphenhydramine neurontin medication nerve pain phentermine on line no rx ortho evra period lorazepam efficacy for acute anxiety lorazepam side effects nizoral pill lipitor causing insomnia paxil and lorazepam for panic attacks ionamin phentermine resin ortho evra coupon buy discount lipitor robert blaskiewicz ortho evra meridia drug information ortho evra injuries lortabs no script needed lorazepam serotonin syndrome cost for ortho evra lorazepam manufacturers hydrocodone online apap 500mg prices bioavailability of lorazepam u s phentermine without prescription online prescriptions for drug meridia consultation online pharmacy phentermine penicillin allergy wallet card pregnancy while on ortho evra weight loss on metformin fluoxetine and sertraline stimulation gastric acid hydrocodone bulk phentermine 37 .5 without prescription diflucan ortho evra no prescription necessary hydrocodone prednisone psoriatic arthritis phentermine without prior prescription cheapest diet pill ionamin liquid codeine liquid hydrocodone lortab hydrocodone no prescription cod overnight delivery is meridia covered by insurance nurse protocol nicotine replacement therapy phentermine without a prescription canada hydrocodone lortab vicoden norco nicotine for weight loss morphine pain killer sade effects of hydrochlorothiazide glucophage risk finasteride side effects headache pravachol prozac lotrisone index php erectile dysfunction and ibuprofen get prescription for meridia online online pharmacy hydrocodone no prescription needed over seas pharmacy no prescription lorcet lorazepam muscle relaxer fexofenadine pill images is lipitor available in generic form hydrocodone apap 10 80 combination lexapro wellbutrin lipitor drug recall generic name for nexium nexium interactions wiith other medications pain killer with ibuprofen ortho tri cyclen low skip period ortho evra mood swings metformin diarrhea weight loss ortho evra for tanssexuals saint louis university and ortho evra 40mg nexium generic compare prices for nexium card master online phentermine order flonase glucophage and walmart legal hydrocodone online oxycontin 20mg online pharmacy esgic plus interaction oxycodone ortho tri-cyclen image ortho evra put on nexium astra zenaca discount take ibuprofen with tylenol bruce roth lipitor rochester buy esgic plus without a prescription history of lorazepam prednisone order online nexium generic brand glucophage in ingredient purchase norvasc pharmacy rx on line hydrochlorothiazide patient assistance comparative effectiveness of fexofenadine and loratadine lortab vicodin without a credit card separate hydrocodone from apap zoloft and lorazepam interaction hydrochlorothiazide no prescription medical marijuana credit card buy sublingual levitra online free base hydrocodone extraction vicodin 44 369 generic hydrocodone buy neurontin without prescription shipped overnight lipitor liver gerd treatment prilosec duration endoscopy 2737 amerimedrx flonase vaniqa hydrocodone vicodin prescription magic mushrooms and penicillin allergy can i take valium and norco lorazepam alchohol what is hydrocodone apap 7.5 get lortab prescription on line lortab hydrocodone side effects lipitor generic drug pay pal buy nexium finasteride hair loss treatment flomax vs avodart losing weight after quitting paxil huron meridia nursing school prednisone flare rheumatoid arthritis apap hydrocodone oxycodone cheap meridia diet pill pharmacies selling phentermine on line xenical orlistat cholesterol lamisil tablets in mexico lortab prescription free comparison on venlafaxine xr and fluoxetine ortho tri cyclen missed pills ortho tri-cyclen vaginal side effect indications hydrochlorothiazide glucophage and maximum doages diaic diet pregnancy paxil glucophage for hirsutism car accidents and marijuana lorazepam maximum recommended dosage metformin for weightloss side iffects of hydrochlorothiazide compare lexapro and bupropion medical marijuana pharmacy in los angeles buy phentermine ephedrine prescription diet pills refuse to prescribe ortho evra lorazepam injection storage 40 mg nexium cheap prices hydrochlorothiazide 12.5mg mexico pharmacy lamisil lortab prescription medication pictures of lortab pills lipitor allergy buy phentermine rx without marijuana interactions prozac prescription drug methylprednisolone no rx phentermine pharmacies sibutramine meridia prescription drug ortho tri-cyclen nexium article on black market lipitor diflucan fluconazole hydrocodone consultations online cheap phentermine cheap phentermine online here drug meridia view lortab prescriptions what is lorazepam atiban cheap levaquin neurontin pain relief meridia and weight loss and price does lexapro have prozac in it lorazepam and alcohol fexofenadine tabs compare allegra lorazepam forum lorazepam sale lorazepam and sex oxazepam compared to diazepam geberic prices for nexium diet meridia pill prescription prior without lyrica vs neurontin neuropathy lorazepam shipped in canada nexium phentermine actos actos ranitidine glucophage and alcohol pain medication oxycodone motrin package insert medical marijuana insurance coverage lipitor 20mg medication abs diet and prednisone patent protection expiration for lipitor wellbutrin lexapro for anxiety lipitor atorvastatin 10mg 180 tablets hydrochlorothiazide lipids keflex while nursing fosamax vs actonel vs evista lefevre ortho evra ibuprofen and patient education switching from lexapro to zoloft lorazepam and hydrocodone cheap omeprazole pharmacy funny marijuana free online games side effects of hydrochlorothiazide and clonidine dosage for hydrochlorothiazide as a diuretic fluoxetine happy pill xenical orlistat capsules drug interaction with lorazepam buy metrogel without a prescription coumadin with fluconazole lipitor statin drug and dangers naproxen sodium 550 mg tab tev lipitor medication lorazepam diazepam half-life press release fioricet imitrex trea hydrocodone apap 10325 hydrocodone with apap 5500 buy phentermine without doctor palliative care nurses stealing morphine cheap nexium no md visit lorazepam withdrawal terror dreampharmaceuticals nexium online cyclen lo2fovral ortho tri metformin and diet for weight loss intrathecal morphine nursing guidelines lorazepam depresses hiccups klonopin order online no prescription required hydrocodone fluoxetine hydrochloride 20 mg hydrochlorothiazide vicodin hydrocodone apap 7.5 750 tbmck order lortab online pharmacy with rx prescription drug metformin h c l meridia weight loss diet pills pain medication stronger than morphine plavix side effects fexofenadine impotence esgic plus tab generic lipitor the same thing lovastatin canada generic propecia pravachol online no prescription worldwide cyclen ortho tri neurontin anxiety depression lorazepam mechanism of action nexium generic date add ativan comment effects lorazepam side motrin with codeine what is ortho evra fluconazole pills hydrocodone info lortab 7.5 500 alabama ortho evra lawyer taking zithromax and lorazepam together morphine and ativan given together lorazepam without a prescription buy legal non prescription lortab lipitor pill sublingual lorazepam medspricedright site phentermine without prescription mastercard glucophage swelling meridia meridia prozac meridia side effects online pharmacy 5 mg naltrexone codeine hydrocodone oxycodone attorney known paxil well raw food diet marijuana detox system coupon evra ortho plavix drug class get ortho evra lorazepam eye drops for panic buy lortab fibromyalgia bill consolidation bill prescribing lorazepam and cipramil lipitor diet shampoo sodium laureth hair loss nizoral order minocycline online pravachol fluoxetine mixing oxycontin and prozac lisinopril sildenafil drug interactions lithium and lipitor cheap phentermine brand online extra bo buy imitrex no prior prescrition keflex 500 mg codeine oxycodone online pharmacy marijuana best prices for nexium life insurance blood testing and nicotine verizon ringtones for the band morphine older generation of lorazepam glucophage and myelogram triamterene hydrochlorothiazide 75 50 drug lipitor shop qoclick lyrica neurontin ortho tri-cyclen home cancer propecia prostate lamisil and zoloft paxil weight loss tips prednisone treatment for rheumatoid arthritis best diet while on metformin loratab lortab omeprazole packaging safety child resistant dr missouri ortho evra consolidate school loan t phentermine mixing diazepam and ibuprofen 503 apap hydrocodone where to buy phentermine without prescription california medical marijuana pharmacy buy phentermine without prescription overnight buspar lorazepam interactions lorazepam diazepam half life penicillin allergy third generation cephalosporin length lorazepam stays in system killer norco pain lortab prescription mdma zolpidem omeprazole and joint pain naproxen causes chronic fatigue ortho tri cyclen and estrogen lowest price levitra prednisone and insomnia the cheapest phentermine without prescription hydrocodone no prescription no medical records hydrochlorothiazide oral suspension metformin health insurance buy prescription phentermine purephentermine meridia attorneys brewton zyban paxil phentermine cheapest overnight shipped fexofenadine pill pain relief other than morphine derivatives codeine alcohol caffeine marijuana pharmacophore of lorazepam taking lipitor with diabetes diet ingredient phentermine pill order phentermine without doctors prescription order imitrex oral online dream pharmaceutical lipitor atorvastatin 20mg 30 tabs phentermine xenical diet meridia weight loss result flonase generic equivalent cheapest phentermine hlc 37.5 37.5 hydrochlorothiazide blood urine buy phenergan with codeine ortho tri cyclen continuous ortho neutrogena renova penicillin allergy rash compare neurontin and lyrica lipitor online ortho evra store oxy drug oxycontin oxycodone pictures of lorazepam metformin online pharmacy world doctor ortho evra harvard medical school testing on lipitor success of ortho evra b hydrochlorothiazide impurity lorazepam pills fluconazole and contraceptive pill nicotine valium lorazepam side effect lipitor celecoxib combo limits cancer pravachol patient package insert johnson johnson ortho nj purchase lipitor online norco pain killer purchase lasix metformin depression pills yasmin ortho evra overdose ativan imitrex does insurance cover ketamine wellbutrin cardizem cd nasacort ranitidine does lasix promote weight loss titrating zoloft lexapro do wellbutrin and lexapro work together cats itchy skin prednisone dosage efficacy levitra penicillin allergy testing france metformin lo carb diet lipitor cheap bulk hydrocodone lose metformin weight lorazepam sedation drug nexium lorcet no online prescription klonopin online pharmacy overnight lorazepam meridia center birth injury legal hydrochlorothiazide insomnia prescription medication miralax online pharmacies lasix no prescription cheap ortho tri cyclen lead compound of lorazepam 20mg lipitor qoclick compare lexapro prozac information drug lexapro prescription oxycodone and codeine buy norvasc online buy imitrex without prescription ejaculation levitra premature 2b glyburide metformin triamterene hydrochlorothiazide 37.5 discounted viagra phentermine weight loss chlordiazepoxide hcl fluoxetine hcl and fenproporex does paxil help social anxiety disorder tylenol ibuprofen melatonin online drugs lortab finasteride and side effects flovent pravachol bontril imitrex side effects of prozac fluoxetine brain tumor seizure lorazepam canine allergy prednisone iv lorazepam overdose treatment hyaluronic acid lipitor xenical orlistat nexium prescriptions assistance programs ortho evra structural formula estradiol and levothyroxine presbyterian nurse morphine news ortho tri cyclen without prescription online medication oxycontin assay to assess lorazepam pharmacy fexofenadine meridia attorneys opp what is hydrochlorothiazide used for lorazepam info buy premarin without a prescription risks of marijuana used with xanax find phentermine without prescription diazepam and prilosec lortabs and hot flashes lorazepam and its biological relationship glucophage and klonopin safety hydrochlorothiazide aromatase inhibitor ortho pillows tylenol vs ibuprofen pcp car loan metformin and fluoxetine medical marijuana credit card silverlake methamphetamine and nursing diagnoses neurontin and fatigue bathroom home improvement orthos orthos remodeling nicorette wellbutrin nicotrol nicoderm zyban meaning of lorazepam ortho evra injury lawyer metformin to lose weight compare fluoxetine and citalopram hydrochlorothiazide use in dogs phentermine without a prescription usa buy online phentermine diet phentermine pill c o d phentermine buy on-line oxycodone online order order lortab from online pharmacy buy phentermine cheap drugs discount drugs meridia ortho evra photosensitivity lorazepam wikipedia phentermine without prescription at cms generic drug for prevacid medication levitra prescription ortho evra fever avodart and flomax medication assistance lipitor attorney johnson motrin stevens syndrome lisinopril for diabetes lorazepam fo menopause use dream meridia online pharmaceutical suicide lorazepam overdose what is lorazepam buy norco without a prescription safe dosage for glucophage luxury hotel rome morphine pill lorazepam canine status epilepticus morphine and prozac generic for nexium hydrochlorothiazide dosing cons of hydrochlorothiazide cheap nexium order prescription drug lortab lorazepam snort weight loss success stories with meridia lanoxin nurse level lipitor generic atorvastatin 20mg insurance meridia pay diazepam vs lorazepam buy phentermine online with e check lorazepam 4mg celebrex yasmin nasacort aq allegra does lipitor effect life insurance rates codeine ibuprofen interaction pain medications vicodin no prescription hydrocodone pravachol diet pill cialis denavir ortho tri-cyclen fluoxetine vs paroxetine free ortho evra kit inventor of lorazepam wyeth nicotine life insurance test where to buy nexium oxycontin drug rehab centers marijuana and prescription medications on prozac takes imitrex ionamin loss weight information online information folic acid and scoliosis when to take ortho tri-cyclen marijuana and valium dusted vicodin hydrocodone m357 neurontin depression anxiety lorazepam anxiety attack sleep insomnia meridia attorney breckenridge cheap evra ortho glucophage benefits effectiveness of ortho tri-cyclen estradiol and levonorgestrel diet pills phentermine 20mg hydrocodone apap syrup compound lorazepam diazepam half-life chart ortho tri-cyclen generic information combinatory chemistry of lorazepam phenergan with codeine elixir zoloft levitra generic drugs plavix 2003 billion apcalis levitra market sale ortho evra transdermal defective drug information meridia phentermine 30mg without doctor prescription fluoxetine and canine heartworm medications ortho evra and skin problems rash low cost no prescription required hydrocodone online lortab hydrocodone sales sites lipitor and depression and suicide morphine based pain medication phentermine adipex-p ionamin lorazepam history of phenergan with codeine syrup phentermine without prescription detailed information about side effects ativan lorazepam buy drug satellite tv norco hydrocodone no prescription 24 hours dose lethal lorazepam glucophage use in diabetic treatment buying oxycontin online with no prescription lortab and glucophage florida neurontin attorney lorazepam capsules cheapest mg phentermine lorazepam and kids take lorazepam before pilates canine tylenol vs ibuprofen phentermine without prescription forums lorazepam sleep schwarz omeprazole package insert lipitor usa drug prices meridia weight loss drug information online nasonex retin-a stimula valtrex hydrocodone apap 10-700 buy norvasc now from 5451 best price for levitra naproxen valtrex azactam and penicillin allergy imitrex teacher diflucan nbsp nbsp nbsp lipitor nbsp motrin and paxil cr 375 mg purchase nexium heartburn penicillin allergy rash rectum buy cheap phentermine fioricet cash on delivery meridia attorneys opelika oregon health plan paxil by cheap hydrocodone generic for ionamin online meridia from dreampharmaceuticals pravachol lipitor online qoclick combine zoloft and lexapro safe hydrochlorothiazide and talc compatibility order mescaline online lorazepam dose anxiety overdose retrograde amnesia ortho tri cyclen breast enlargement online pharmacy no prescription oxycontin buy oxycodone us pharmacy action of evista neurontin vs lyrica pdr lorazepam 2 mg end fluconazole drug 6buy propecia online lorazepam iv alcohol pfizer lipitor patent klonopin clonazepam weight loss buy card credit phentermine without picture of lorazepam pills hydrochlorothiazide effects phentermine diet famvir perscription drug stores online pharmacy hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg tb glucophage pictures z 71 buy phentermine without prescription prednisone weaning weight loss meridia diet aie ortho evra cancer discount drug norvasc glucophage action and uses of side effects of ortho tri cyclen lorazepam main indication meridia online canada fabrication lsd mortgage company apap hydrocodone does xanax impact mdma online and lortabs ortho registered nurse buy phentermine without script fast delivery ortho tri-cyclen allegra nexium foods homepage diet ibuprofen with tylenol naproxen prescription drug glucophage help with pregnancy glucophage classification taking medroxyprogesterone then glucophage effects of morphine on nursing infants oxycodone codeine ortho evra contraception writing a prescription for lortab medications used for oxycontin detox lorazepam heart buy prednisone without a prescription accutane ortho lorazepam nov cheap phentermine online consultation flexeril and white blood cell count methamphetamines and nursing diagnoses symptom of ortho evra ionamin online without rx lipitor atorvastatin 10mg 45 what is lorazepam medication used for side effects fluoxetine prozac lorazepam extemporaneous compound lorazepam 2ng lortab no rx insurance nicotine pass test morphine with prozac phentermine without a prescription bases view topic hydrocodone no prescription ortho tri cyclen zebra pack penicillin drug allergies lipitor medicine mix lexapro with prozac meridia side effects weight loss norco dakota office bag hydrochlorothiazide 25mg ortho evra and blood clots authentic phentermine without prescription cheapest phentermine diet pill phentermine diet program florida marijuana and prozac lorazepam inject ion muscle or vein lipitor drugs information on lexapro anxiety medication taking nardil and valium lorazepam weight no online oxycontin prescription citalopram lorazepam 3354 levitra sale 4833 benzine hydrochlorothiazide weight loss with lasix about phentermine buy phentermine on line metformin pcos weight loss symptoms pcos weight loss glucophage diet combine bupropion lexapro can hydrochlorothiazide cause breast leakage zyban and marijuana the effects effexor xr and marijuana medication interactions with lipitor can metformin make clomid less effective drug interaction between ephedrine advil prilosec free online marijuana games omeprazole and erectile dysfunction is ortho evra bad for hair manufacturer of hydrochlorothiazide prescription drug norvasc hydrochlorothiazide dose lorazepam stability prehospital cerebral palsy lawyer 18 wheeler prempro doxycycline fluoxetine cheap hydrocodone no rx ativan lorazepam buy cheap ativan online rebate nexium ortho evra kit online pharmacy phendimetrazine metformin back rib cage pain lorazepam withdrawal paxil side effects hair loss morphine pain killers buy lamisil online glipizide and wellbutrin xl and lexapro 15 mg hydrocodone apap phentermine without prescription cash on delivery lower cholesterol lipitor 10mg purchase norvasc pharmacy naproxen and tylenol with codeine mexico mail order imitrex is taking hydrochlorothiazide deadly for children prescription drug lexapro ibuprofen drug interaction celebrex buy premarin without prescription flomax night related sweats taking isosorbide mononitrate muscle fatigue hydrochlorothiazide quinapril buy cheap norco codeine or vicodin is metoprolol a generic drug glucophage fertility triamterene hydrochlorothiazide lyrica and neurontin order phentermine 37.5mg without prescription purchase of levitra meridia loss pill weight addiction of lorazepam phentermine without having a prescription buy phentermine without a doctor's prescription hydrocodone apap tab 7.5-325 vicodin meridia for weight loss wikipedia lorazepam ortho evra cessation hydrochlorothiazide and calcium cheap phentermine without prescription phentermine cheapest generic norvasc no prescription avodart clomid diflucan dostinex glucophage c avodart flomax discount meridia online sibutramine nexium erectile dysfunction glucophage for conception ortho cyclen vs ortho tri cyclen cheapest phentermine hcl generic lorazepam pill viagra cialis levitra reviews lorazepam message boards questions ortho tri cyclen lortab online pharmacy clomid and metformin twin life insurance nicotine in blood nasonex sinus pain relief pa ortho evra lawsuit buy lortab without a prescription adipex p phentermine ecureme com effects of lorazepam no prescription cheap meridia online insulfating lorazepam oxycontin online pharmacy no prescription 1 meridia pill quality drugs generic norvasc is lorazepam the same as xanex neurontin anxiety actos flomax flonase nasonex prevacid meridia attorneys andalusia codeine or nicotine withdrawls worse recall of ortho evra imitrex patent date of expiration pharmacies that sell phentermine aq myonlinemeds biz naacort tramadol valtrex acetaminophen ibuprofen mix single dose vaniqa flonase famvir ortho tri-cyclen metformin clomid diet pil meridia ortho tri cyclen breast ortho evra drug interactions attorney meridia nexium vs prilosec belladonna opium suppository nursing interventions insurace coverage for lipitor aciphex actos phentermine zyban wellbutrin and lexapro buy weight loss pills ionamin hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride effectiveness evra ortho nicotine gum dosage for snuff chewing lorazepam 2mg overdose marijuana and prozac my experience taking lexapro with wellbutrin prednisone packaging images are hydrocodone and vicodin the same buy lorcet plus without a prescription glucophage and diet brand name of lorazepam buy phentermine cheap without prescription lorazepam stability room temperature cheap phentermine review online cutecast message ortho tri cyclen no period lorazepam weight loss ativan omeprazole interactions lorazepam dose weight loss on lamictal and lexapro cheap hydrocodone site order ionamin ortho cyclen package insert lipitor drug information atorvastatin calcium effects lorazepam and pregnancy metabolites of lorazepam ortho evra and fixed dose combination phentermine via fedex without prescription meridia attorneys wellbutrin sr and lexapro side effects pravachol package insert hydrochlorothiazide doseage flonase perscription drugs vaniqa opinions about diet drug meridia ortho evra nausea reactions side effects fluoxetine prozac fluoxetine and olanzapine overdose symptoms fluoxetine and norco st louis physician ortho evra cheapest phentermine onli dutasteride versus finasteride for steroid cycle best meridia weight loss information phentermine cheap online no doc naproxen for night sweats veterinary medicine lorazepam buy phentermine without script lorazepam cocaine detox lamisil tablets ringworm multi-district litigation ortho evra hydrocodone lortab fast with mastercard depression lexapro medication cyclen generic name ortho tri hydrocodone apap liquid generic for lortab generic lescol substitute drug gfcnstig lorazepam lorazepam gg 124 doctor recommendation stopping glucophage hydrochlorothiazide and sun exposure card discount meridia hives and hydrochlorothiazide depression nexium lorazepam low dosege hydrocodone no prescription winnipeg canada phentermine without prescription c o d cheap online phentermine price meridia wieght loss pill ibuprofen codeine acetaminophen interaction ortho tri cyclen morning after pill lipitor the drug compare actonel evista fosamax buy nexium in london oxycodone and codeine phosphate fluoxetine hydrochloride canine marijuana and zoloft ibuprofen expiration date phentermine diet pill message board marijuana and life insurance cheapest shops selling phentermine nexium package insert clomid and robitussin and metformin phentermine us cheapest nursing interventions for methylprednisolone prescription drugs levaquin ortho evra australia valtrex ortho tri-cyclen patanol nexium best price for nexium order lexapro combining effexor xr and lexapro buy phentermine yellow without prescription ortho evra pills adipex ionamin phentermine klonopin wellbutrin zoloft lorazepam 2 mg lasts cheap lipitor order adipex phentermine vs the offical site lorazepam .5 mg dose lipitor insurance glucophage 2b type 1 diabetes fluconazole pharmacy online medications and oxycodone morphine like pain medication ortho evra fe flonase versus rhinocort buying cyclen ortho pill tri canadian pharmacies for phentermine insert package prilosec penicillin allergy and medications to avoid splitting glyburide metformin cod phentermine diet pills overnight cheap effects lexapro side taking together wellbutrin prednisone for canine allergies klonopin zoloft buspar ortho evra injury lawyers hydrochlorothiazide units assistance getting levitra samples lortab order witout prescription ortho evra cheapest discount nexium rx cost cyclen ortho tri prednisone and high white blood cell nizoral package insert 7.5 750 apap hydrocodone tb nasonex other the counter drug abuse nexium from information lorazepam benefit of glucophage paxil cr tablets hydrochlorothiazide sexual after evra ortho pregnancy stopping zyban marijuana daily vitamins affecting ortho tri cyclen finasteride benefits and side effects online prescription nexium advair evista lipitor plavix generic drug for lamisil lorazepam storage effects of ortho tri cyclen ibuprofen tylenol vs ortho tri cyclen emergency contraception birth control meridia weight gain lorazepam espa ol does health insurance cover meridia online online pharmacy pill prescription prilosec phentermine buy without perscription lorazepam stays in system erectile dysfunction levitra georgia lawyer prempro savannah nicotine free bac off snuff phentermine without prescription from us pharmacy phenergan with codeine cough buy xenical uk buy phentermine spironolactone vs finasteride ortho tri-cyclen effectiveness on acne prescription hydrochlorothiazide neurontin and depression and anxiety chemical name for hydrochlorothiazide wellbutrin lexapro side effects weight loss medicine meridia period ortho tri cyclen lorazepam s common allergies of penicillin filing income tax phentermine phentermine weight loss forum search results generic no prescription lorazepam lorazepam bone omeprazole and interaction with effexor xr long term nexium fatigue buy metformin without a prescription prevacid allergy signs symptoms penicillin family allergies nursing babies and marijuana lorazepam and side effects nicotine gum xanax codeine promethazine w ortho evra pharmacy advertising for ortho evra purchase phentermine diet pills morphine nursing considerations high protein diet paxil missed period after stopping ortho evra generic orlistat xenical premarin drug interaction with alcohol ativan to klonopin combining provigil klonopin ortho evra alert lorazepam interaction life insurance marijuana online pharmacy lowest prices paxil true hydrocodone vicodin online hydrocodone hydrocodone pharmacy tech job paxil pregnant with metformin and clomid nicotine patch weight loss oxycontin taken with xanax legal lorazepam omeprazole and effexor xr fatigue and medroxyprogesterone penicillin notatum allergies ortho tri cyclen as ecp enalapril and erectile dysfunction hydrocodone 7.5 apap buy phentermine without prscription diet food delivered norco california phentermine cheap online without prescrptions fexofenadine and cetirizine howarth study drug effects fluoxetine more side 62 levitra in women 90 lorazepam and thirst ortho tri-cyclen tremors acetaminophen hydrocodone lortab hydrochlorothiazide and moexipril diet meridia lorazepam overdoses sleep apnea paxil prescription drugs nexium switched from zoloft to lexapro hydrocodone w apap inject lorazepam long acting benzodiazepine nexium pills online lorazepam withdrawal agonising experiences lorazepam .5 lisinopril weight loss smz tmp hydrochlorothiazide interaction lortab pain pill buy ionamin at online pharmacy meds ortho evra prices lorazepam interactions meridia weight loss achieved switching from effexor xr to lexapro fluoxetine and olanzapine od sumptoms lorazepam and diazepam adipex diet phentermine pill prescription celebrex and lexapro interaction cheap dosing hydrocodone lorazepam 2.5 sublingual xanax lsd ortho evra make you fat aciphex pravachol internet pharmacy dysfunction erectile levitra ortho evra patch pharmacy online buying phentermine without prescription side effects for lorazepam order premarin online b no prescription trinessa vs ortho tri-cyclen add buy comment line phentermine drug fluoxetine side effects neurontin gabapentin package insert fda codeine or morphine test drug employer lorazepam and hiccups ortho tri cyclen cost lorazepam dosage sizes buy levitra on-line metformin and diet buy diet meridia pill injecting lortab hydrocodone hydrochlorothiazide prior to loop minoxidil propecia finasteride drug effects lorazepam more side adipex site adipex meridia phentermine xenical nexium prescription ortho evra attorneys symptoms of morphine withdrawal weightloss ortho evra lawsuit filed luxury hotel rome ionamin diet pill discount priced lipitor celebrex yasmin nasonex allegra cheap hydrocodone and no prescription spironolactone ethinyl estradiol acne buy levaquin meridia pills wholesale fosamax and prednisone drug interation zoloft norvasc interaction bruce roth lipitor buy levaquin without a prescription possession of promethazine with codeine simvastatin and lorazepam is valium betterthan klonopin hydrocodone or vicodin for sale type 1 diabetes glucophage neurontin package insert naltrexone zoloft hydrochlorothiazide diabetes insipidis ortho tri cyclen lol cat health prednisone buy paroxetine low cost ortho evra patch vs pills acid base extraction codeine promethazine glucophage for pre-diabetics generic name for the drug plavix lorazepam weight gain paxil meth cholesterol drug lipitor cheap hydrocodone on line effectiveness of generic lipitor glucophage mail maintained their lost weight with meridia lorcet online no prescriptions finasteride side effects penis shrink lorazepam atavin cheap phentermine online no precription mixing mescaline and xanax lorazepam gel stability package insert metoprolol succinate sandoz hydrochlorothiazide serum sodium naltrexone diet pills compare wellbutrin and lexapro hydralazine hydrochlorothiazide reserpine tramadol and metformin meridia prozac ibuprofen tylenol interaction phentermine xenical cheap diet pills losing paxil weight fluvoxamine and fluoxetine drug information for faxtin fluoxetine metformin and atkins diet rx 773 lorazepam prednisone diazepam order promethazine with codeine syrup 500 glucophage mg nasonex metrogel propecia flonase nurses role for nexium generic drug for paxil oxycodone apap drug manufacturer lorazepam prescriptions shipped in canada meridia diet medication hydrochlorothiazide use omeprazole package insert motrin and diabetes cheap fioricet w free shipping klonopin online no prescription buy nexium pal pay buy ovral online cheap at cost buy phentermine usps diet pill phentermine orlistat diet pill hydrochlorothiazide for life pharmacology shelf-life of lorazepam 2737 aid aq nasacort prevacid ultram cheapest phentermine with no prior script phenergan codeine dosage medlineplus drug information fluoxetine free ionamin loss weight information online celebrex imitrex prices for nexium ortho tri cyclen personal packs life insurance blood testing and marijuana 5mg amlodipine besylate norvasc order overdosing on lorazepam metformin for acne treatment lipitor generic sale adavan lorazepam flonase for asthma hydrochlorothiazide problems with buy nexium online lorazepam and breast feeding buy imitrex on the net ortho tri cyclen prices doxycycline fluconazole ortho pill tricyclen order lorazepam nicotine blood test life insurance phentermine without prescription and fedex break through bleeding ortho evra lipitor elderly stopping medication fatique and paxil discovery of furosemide vardenafil patent levitra ibuprofen celecoxib efficacy best online pharmacy phentermine depression stomach pain lipitor meridia weight loss stories online lorazepam a159 s phentermine pharmacies cipro doxycycline zithromax metronidazole levaquin flagyl ortho evra diflucan samples lorazepam toxicity lorazepam strengths and dosing complication of ortho evra glucophage lungs lorazepam intoduction of diabetes lawsuit lipitor effexor evista nicotine gum insurance testing hydrocodone oxycodone without a prescription ortho evra lawsuits type 2 diabetes levaquin tylenol and ibuprofen together plendil fatigue buy phentermine online without a prescription zithromax and lorazepam buy lorazepam no prescription overseas ortho tri-cyclen zyban zyban weight loss off lexapro esgic plus interaction percocet is lorazepam a truth serum celebrex and ibuprofen metformin and fatigue purchase lorazepam ortho tri cyclen warnings lipitor and weight loss nexium is a prescription sibutramine meridia diet pills review phentermine overnight without prescription rapid conversion of codeine into morphine generic drug for lanoxin oral alendronate sodium fosamax compare cialis levitra viagra liquid liquid extraction lorazepam lorazepam no prescription international cheap phentermine cheapest pharmacy online hypernatremia hydrochlorothiazide utah ortho evra attorneys diet drug phentermine lipitor or diet and exercise order meridia online phentermine and without prescription and fedex ortho evra lawsuit filed reply premarin and weight loss ortho evra home page neurontin and weight loss penicillin allergy cure ortho evra and pregnancy man denied health insurance lipitor ortho tri cyclen and depression buy phentermine on line from usa generic pill for lexapro acf ortho pillow diet ionamin pill flonase flovent hydrocodone cheap online diet pills saturday delivery phendimetrazine 25 lorazepam neuraxpharm drugs included in penicillin allergy meridia attorneys troy edinburgh report search pages viagra phentermine clomid metformin and twins prednisone for rheumatoid arthritis wellbutrin aciphex phentermine nasonex altace finasteride female hair loss information of ortho evra cheap phentermine without dr prescription order fluoxetine ortho evra effects of antibiotics lortab nursing metformin hcl patient teaching hydrochlorothiazide dosage no prescription hydrocodone cod doctor online propecia intitle buy phentermine without prescription ortho tri cyclen and pregnancy discount neurontin purchase low ortho tri cyclen weekly ortho evra risks florida ortho evra lawyer elavil wellbutrin cheap phentermine safe secure online shopping ortho tri-cyclen low coupon cheap generic levitra percent of twin births with glucophage skipping periods on ortho tri cyclen zoloft or klonopin meridia diet pill fact medicines lipitor lorazepam hair loss no prescription glucophage optical insurance lasix surgery naproxen and nursing babies lorazepam vegetative patients compare lyrica and neurontin ortho evra tri-cyclene

Starting table: Andrew Prock, Carlos Mortenson, Jeff Lissandro, Thor Hansen, David Oppenheim, me, unknown tough LAG, newhizzle, Danny Alaei.

Later Carlos busts and is replaced by Tuan Lee, Thor busts and is replaced by Howard Lederer, Newhizzle moves tables and is replaced by Daniel Negreanu (which ends up being mostly just his stack being blinded away though he did play for a bit, super nice), Lissandro busts and is replaced by Bicyclekick. So yeah, fun.

Started off super card dead, my image was "rock" which is insanely strange for me. Down to 12k after first break showed down maybe one hand, later things got more normal image wise, 3 bet David Oppenheim a lot as he was correctly stealing a lot with Negreanu's empty seat in the blinds. Played an interesting one vs him, he raises button, I 3 bet sb with Ad 4d my image is still nit at this point, he calls.  Flop Kd Td 8c I bet, he raises, I decide to 3 bet and blow him off a ten at some point, he calls. Turn is 8d I bet, he raises, I call. River Ts I check/call, he has K8, I dunno was gonna CR river but the ten pairing saved me I guess.

Later I win a huge pot when I raise 99 UTG, Alaei 3 bets MP, Bicyclekick 4 bets the BB, we both call. Flop 953 two hearts, BK bets, I raise, Danny 3 bets, BK 4 bets (hello aces), I hollywood and call, Danny calls. Turn pairs the 3, BK bets, I call trying to get Danny's money, but he folds QQ (played great all day imo, got away from QQ twice when it was an overpair and no good). River small heart, BK bets, I raise, he calls though we agree he should have folded probably. Big pot.

I doubled up unknown LAG on my left 5 times before finally busting him, I lost with AK vs AA, KK vs AK, a wheel vs a flush on the turn, 2nd pair vs top pair on the flop, and some other I forget before flopping top pair of aces and having him dead to a gutshot, man was he stubborn!

Later busted BK when Tuan raises, he 3 bet near all in, I hollywood and 4 bet AA in the SB, get action from Tuan on a dry 864 flop before he folds river and I tell BK "ones".  Had a bunch of top pairs and overpairs near the end that really let me chip up in the last couple levels, didn't realize I had that many until we stopped play and I counted up. New table draw tomorrow which is good, my table was awful, very very tough. BK and I agreed it was like a bad 400/800 game, others were reporting way softer tables.

Probably long day tomorrow, hopefully I'll be around for all of it

            “I taught you everything you know, but not everything I know”.  We as poker educators struggle to prove this oft quoted statement of superiority is not necessarily true in our field.  However, I recently read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, which argues that not only is this quotation accurate, it is an inescapable truth of any skillful activity.  In Blink an example of a renowned baseball hitter is used, in which the hitter offers his perspective on what makes him so successful.  There’s only one problem: upon analyzing this hitter’s swing, his proffered explanation is not only insufficient, its flat out wrong! The truth is, he is an expert at hitting a baseball, but his subconscious mind shoulders the workload, leaving his conscious mind to try to come up with an explanation for how the whole operation works, and it cannot be done.  Indeed, Gladwell argues that any expert in a field that requires some “artistic” ability performs the activity largely subconsciously.  This leaves us with an interesting and perhaps disturbing question: if this is true for poker players, how can we ever really teach the game?

            Before attempting to offer a solution, I think the problem Blink highlights is clearly already known within the poker education world, but perhaps not explicitly realized.  Coming from the perspective of an experienced player, I know I am often frustrated or disappointed when watching a well-regarded poker player’s attempt to impart his wisdom through the video medium.  After reading Blink I now realize it may not be a lack of communication skills, nor is it likely the coach is just not as talented as expected; the reality is he may simply be incapable of offering a valid explanation for correct plays his mind subconsciously makes.  This is not a problem when teaching basic poker concepts, deeply rooted in theory that can be “proven” to be correct.  It manifests itself only when an instructor attempts to delve into the subjective art that is higher stakes poker strategy.  Not only will you frequently hear “it depends” but now we know it may depend on factors our expert player cannot put into words but intuitively understands. 

            If we accept that we may not be able to consciously defend our brain’s actions when making unorthodox plays or ones that fall into the gray area between clearly correct and clearly awful, we as poker coaches must attempt to orient the student to all the factors we process at the conscious and subconscious level.  It is therefore imperative that the student hones his own “feel” for the game through repeated experience, which can never be hastened or replaced with poker coaching.  We should strive to teach the fundamentals of the game that are rooted in mathematics and poker theory, and then once ready to attack the artistic side of complex strategy, have a clear plan for analyzing the environment in which we make those plays.  As an example, I no longer use a statistical HUD when playing, preferring to allow my subconscious to pay attention to the playing styles, current mood, and recent relevant history between myself and the other players in the game.  When making lower stakes poker videos, I will continue to use the HUD as a way to analyze and evaluate plays that are “clear”, but when I delve into higher stakes videos, I will attempt to play the session under the same conditions I ideally work in, and discuss what factors I am paying explicit attention to, with the hope that the viewer can subconsciously process the same information I am privy to but cannot necessarily vocalize.  Finally, I believe it will be better to add audio commentary after the session ends, even if it results in a struggle to honestly explain the reasoning behind certain plays, or an inclination to attempt to defend plays that may appear or may just be incorrect in retrospection.  I think this will allow us as teachers to make the plays that we intuitively believe to be correct without the burden of having to justify them in the spur-of-the-moment.  The beauty of recording videos as a poker education medium is that we can capture the brilliance of our coaches’ subconscious even if we cannot always explain its method. 

I have managed to play a bit of good old limited texas hold them, taking some successful shots at 30/60 and 50/100 in some great games here and there. Naturally with single tabling and my inherent laziness I’ve only got a couple thousand hold’em hands logged, but the results have been stellar, running well every time I take a shot in a great seat in a juicy game. As long as I continue to remember to quit when the game changes for the worse I think I’ll continue to jump into those higher stakes game here and there, and hopefully the good results will continue to come. I know when I’m focused and single tabling in a good game I really can play this silly game!

Driving back from Arizona now, my wife’s sister graduated from college so we attended all the festivities and obligatory family functions, and I mostly avoided gambling except for a few lower stakes sessions just to get some hands in or pass the time. On the long boring drive from San Diego to Tucson and back I’ve been listening to the audio book “Blink” which is so incredibly relevant to poker I’m shocked I never read it before. A couple lessons I’m taking away from “Blink” are to stop using PokerAce HUD, and just allow my subconscious to work its magic, and to possibly change some of the ways I produce poker videos, because I now have to question whether or not I (or any poker coach) are truly capable of explaining why we do some of the things we do. I just wrote a draft of an article on this subject I’ll try to get posted soon that I am finding fascinating and hope to have some answers instead of just questioning our teaching methods (I guess you’ll have to read “Blink” to really know what I mean, or I’ll have to make the article really good).

Home this week and then I go to Commerce with mike l. next weekend for gambling and a yummy wine dinner, some 2+2ers should be in town and I need to satisfy my live gambling urge, though I suspect in another few weeks I’ll be sick of it. I’m of course talking about the WSOP which is just around the corner, and seems way too soon. I’ll be off to Vegas the first week in June and staying out there for basically six weeks, gambling and working a bit on DeucesCracked business with the boys who will all be out from New York, and maybe Seattle if we can drag Entity away from his computer, wife, and puppies.

I taught him how to play Gin which is my new addiction and we pretty much played every spare moment we found for the rest of the week. We hung around his place until almost morning (we had a 7 am flight I think) and Joe Tall came to pick us up and carted us off to the airport. I paid extra so we could have the front non-first class row with extra leg room and wow was it worth it! Virgin Air has nice TVs where you can watch movies, direct TV, or even play Doom with a little remote control! We made the short flight to Seattle, made shorter with lots of Gin action and found Rob (Entity) and Chuck (Danzasmack) waiting to pick us up. At this point RBK and I were on precious little sleep and getting delirious but we intended to stay up the rest of the day and then just reset our sleep schedules and wake up early the rest of the week. That sorta worked out, we slept progressively later each day I think.

DJ Sensei got in later that day and our troupe was complete. Rob found us a really great vacation rental condo in a building downtown that had an incredible view of the Sound from our room on the 21st floor – extremely relaxing to wake up and see that. We were a block from the Pike Place market and could walk to pretty much anything we wanted in downtown Seattle, which usually ended up being coffee shops and bar and grills. Long story short we got a lot of work done over a couple days there, everyone making various video series and illegally gambling on the internet in the state of Washington (note: if you are a Washington state official of some sort and read this, I'm joking, we played Gin the whole time). Chuck and I busted out a cool low limit full ring series, which we haven't yet had on DeucesCracked, and by the end of it we were a well-oiled tag team machine of poker discussion, ready for professional poker commentating gigs I'd say. RBK taught everyone but mostly DJ Sensei how to be a huge LAG at PLO and have fun wild fluctuations, and those two forced (like it was tough) Joe to play 500/1k HORSE against high stakes fishes.

Probably the only other eventful thing from the trip was RBK winning 6k doing flips at a bar $100 at a time, mostly from me…that sucked but thankfully I ran hot at Gin and still booked a small win on the trip. I found out I am awesome at bar shuffleboard and Joe and I are ready to take on all comers in that game, or in a Gin / shuffleboard mix game

We flew back Friday night and I went straight to Commerce, intending to play 100/200 but finding infrequent DD.com contributor (see the archives I guess) writer Sean I forced him to go to my room and play Gin all night instead. Of course I won. The next day I played a 14 hour 100/200 session I think where I won a good chunk, and the final day I played a not-quite-as-long 200/400 session where I got killed in a full ring game by getting big pairs cracked and playing like a card dead nit, and then going insane in a 5 handed game with Roc where him and I took turns running over the table and I think I went on a 25k rush in about 30 min.  I ended up giving a bit back as usual and left with a solid 8k win after being down a bunch. Yay.

After a long 8 day trip I made my way home to catch up on DeucesCracked world and get back to normal. Home now I got in a nice 15/30 session yesterday and one tabled a good 30/60 tonight for a bit, booking wins in both. I hope to get in a good chunk of hands this month online before June and the WSOP, where I'm sure I'll mostly be playing live poker. Next week Courtney and I go to Tucson for her sister's graduation from U of A, but otherwise I think I'll be home most of the month. Check out my season 3 series with Danzasmack and all the new series we have over at DeucesCracked!

I crashed and avoided the sun, woke up around 6 pm Tuesday and we went to Gabe's for a homegame, where I donated many dollars but it was all worthwhile because we went to Pink's at 1 am and had fun eating bacon chili cheese dogs and people watching the crazies who go to Pink's at 1 am on a Wednesday morning (crazier than us!).

We headed back to Commerce and I played 100/200 the rest of the night into the morning with the same two guys who were in the must-straddle 60/120 and thought I was an absolute retard gambling addict, but I played good at 100/200 and built up a nice stack after starting off a bit rough, then dumped some back in the morning and was starting to get frustrated so I called it a session up almost 5k. That session featured me getting AA cracked the 3rd hand at the table, but my own fault for playing it poorly – it gets capped 5 ways with the BB capping it and leading a K66 flop, folded to me and I just call and the sb calls too. Turn is a 9, they check to me, I bet, sb now checkraises and I call down to pay off her 99. Still, this was better than how I started the 60/120 the previous day getting AA cracked my VERY FIRST hand! (sorry just remembered this) when the sb in that game flopped a set. Also in the 100/200 I made a royal flush using both my holecards and got to show it down which I've never done live before.

Woke up Wednesday evening and got ready to go to dinner but found a half hour to kill so I attempted to hit and run a 100/200 game (featuring 3 of the same players that were still in the game from my morning session and were going on 40 hours of wakefulness I'd guess). I succeeded in my hit and run winning $50 before I had to go, almost entirely by 3 outering PokerBob when he correctly called my bluff on the turn with QT high when I had JT high and I rivered a Jack and he called me – yay luck. We went to dinner at Sona where mike convinced us to get the 9 course tasting menu, which was…interesting. Sona was sort of standard fine dining fare with a bit of post-modern cuisine I guess is how I'd describe it. Among other things there was a cool plastic tube in the shape of a fish filled with ponzu sauce that you drip on tuna tartare. We also had great duck, squab, bacon wrapped venison, and real kobe beef, and some awesome desserts. Super pricy though but definitely a unique place.

After dinner back at Commerce I jumped into a 200/400 game that was just getting started and it was a fantastic game. I didn't last 3 orbits before I had to go upstairs and get more money, but I turned it around a little and was winning for awhile. The game got short with me, Hansu, and a couple fish but I lost mostly getting 3 bet by Hansu every hand preflop (tough having that dude on my left) and ended down 4kish, which is basically even (10 bb yippy). I broke the game because I had to drive home before morning traffic and they don't continue gambling without the DeathDonkey fish in the game

All in all a fun Commerce trip but didn't quite have the desired poker results, though every game I sat in was fantastic and I played really well in the 2/4 game which I was happy about. Hopefully I get back up there before another few months go by.

I've tried to snap myself out of it with a variety of methods, most of which have helped to some extent. Basically I've played a bunch of stud/8, NL, and some mix games and broke around even, which is a lot better winrate than my limit hold'em! I guess I try to be realistic when I realize the people I'm losing the most money to in my DB are playing like a solid 60/20 preflop style at 6 max games, but its a small consolation that I probably grinded myself a lot of Sklansky dollars and a bit of rakeback

Otherwise, DeucesCracked is going well, we are wrapping up Season 1 and I'm at work on Season 2 now, where I'll be doing a heads up limit hold'em series, which is a fun challenge for me to think about how to structure teaching such a (in my mind) broad topic. I felt like I actually had it a bit easy in Season 1 working with a partner in FoxwoodsFiend and doing what I do all the time, sweat sessions / coaching videos at mid stakes limit. I've done some heads up videos in the past, but this series is a bit more structured, and hopefully proves useful, as I know how easy it is to feel lost at heads up, its just a game with so little "set in stone" rules.

Tomorrow I'm going to Arizona for a week to see my family – with Sweeps Week upon us its a bit calm so it was a good time to take an overdue trip. I'll hopefully find some internet while there too to gamble a bit and keep up in the forums etc.

We played a bunch of live poker, my brother ran terribly in live 15/30 games (he plays the same stakes online, so basically in a game 10x as tough) and I got stuck huge every day at 100/200 and got even almost every time! We went to B&B for an awesome dinner, though I was disappointed with my entree, their steak for one (had the steak for two before which was awesome), but I go there for the pasta course and desserts anyway. Private Joker and his GF came and we found some yummy wine to drink and food to share. I introduced them to bombolones (sp?) and caramel and sea salt gelato for dessert, and we gambled on the Amaro tasting flight, which was well worth the gamble.

Other than that we did a bunch of poker playing, a bit of touristy stuff like walking through a few casinos I normally just tear through trying to get somewhere else, and ate some more moderate meals, I had a nice relaxing time and I think my brother enjoyed it too, though he is convinced he can't beat live poker, I still think his sample size is useless but he should have such a huge edge, and he plays great every time I've played with him. Meh.

We flew home from Vegas and I had just one day before Courtney and I ran off to LA for MLK weekend, to see many poker friends and mostly to drink Daver's wine at a huge wine tasting dinner Dave and Mike L. scheduled at AOC Wine Bar. With a day to kill Courtney convinced me we clearly needed to go to Disneyland, and we took along Entity and his wife who had not been for years.  I was worried the park would be a total zoo on a holiday weekend but it was a more manageable-sized zoo, and we got on all must-ride rides in one day.  We took a smaller (lol) group of 15 to Ciudad in downtown LA that night, which has to be one of my favorite restaurants just because their menu isn't typical.  I drank way too much wine but had a yummy meal as always.

The next day Entity and I attended to some DeucesCracked business early in the day as our wives went shopping at the Beverley Center, oh joy! They both survived the trip and my bankroll did for the most part as well, so we lazed around the hotel a bit before the big wine dinner. It was great to have so many random poker people all in one place, from like 21 year old kids to old guys like Tommy Angelo and Andy Fox   Joe Tall and Michelle brought Baby Tall who none of us had met yet and all the girls had a great time taking turns with her.  Food and wine were great, Daver brought bottles as old as a 1978 dessert wine I think.

Since then I've been home working a bit on website stuff but sort of calm there for the time being. I've been playing a bit of poker, trying to find out what I want to play, I've mostly just been jumping around all sorts of games the last few days.  Trying again to learn and not hate omaha/8 but I'm still a fish I think, though now I'm a pretty tight fish.  I've been doing well playing stud/8 when I can find games, as long as I avoid the bigger games on Stars I think I'll do just fine there.  And yeah playing a bit of limit texas hold-them for short sessions. Hopefully I'll continue to dive back into poker a bit as I play pretty good when I'm enjoying the game, playing 1 or 2 tables and having fun.

February looks like I'll be doing more of the same with hopefully a couple trips up to Commerce for the LAPC side games, stay tuned.

I thought with all the new NL videos I've watched from the other DeucesCracked Executive Producers this would be an excellent time to put them into practice, and I'm running good already up like 3 buyins in a couple hundred hands at modest stakes. I'll hopefully continue to sort of flip flop between playing some poker and working on website stuff – if I did that all year or for the foreseeable future I wouldn't complain, just so long as I get a bit of both in I think it keeps me sane and balanced.

Very much looking forward to going to Vegas with my brother in a couple days, though I'll have to see how much time I spend in the hotel room on my laptop, I think everything should go smoothly with the site though and its very nice to have my series (Minbet Madness) complete in advance.  Once I get back we do the LA weekend and then I'll probably dive right into producing season 2.  I am leaning towards doing a HU limit hold'em series but not locked in yet.

This month I have a couple trips coming up – my brother turned 21 in December so we are going to hit Vegas for a few days.  I have no expectation other than to eat some good food and play a bit of live poker with him.  He's been doing really well lately crushing the heads up games, I'm claiming its all due to the times we've discussed HU strategy and the few HU videos I've made, but the truth is he is quite dedicated to getting in hands, something I'm a bit jealous of, and he always manages to surpass me at things, so I shouldn't be surprised he's playing like the same stakes or higher as me now and doing fantastic.

As soon as we return from Vegas, Courtney and I are up to LA for MLK weekend, and will get to hang out with Entity and his wife who are coming down for a well-deserved vacation.  Friends and 2+2ers mike l. and Daver (who has written on this blog occasionally) are organizing a ridiculous wine tasting dinner at AOC Wine Bar in LA that weekend which should be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to seeing some friends I haven't seen in quite awhile.  I actually got this HUGE book about wine for Christmas but I don't know if I'll even make a dent in it by then, my knowledge is certainly lacking but I suppose I have a lifetime to practice

Much as I'd like to recount the whole story of the expansion and our work, its really been done and if you are tenacious enough as a reader to check out blogs of my fellow DeucesCracked owners, you will find yourself quite inundated with a similar story.  So here are KRANTZ and Danzasmack's versions:

http://www.dangerlion.com/?p=31

http://justicewagon.com/?p=20

It's really been a lot of fun working on this project. I've been able to use my engineering and programming skills on problems that interest me and I have an interest in seeing succeed, and that's all I can really ask for in a job.  It's not the same as pokering, but to me its been like the best real-life example of engineering problem solving I've had yet in my life, working with a highly skilled team of site owners (you know them all) and programmers (who never emerge from the shadows but put in amazing work). The only disappointment I've had in the last several months has been having to more or less embrace the appearance of laziness as we sort of wanted to keep quiet until all was settled, especially when adding one of the biggest names in the NL Hold'em world in KRANTZ / pr1nnyraid.  In many ways its a testament to the good nature and respect from our DC members that there weren't more complaints about our limited production, and I thank them for their faith and hope they get a lot out of the expansion.  Only in the last few weeks did I see any sort of grumblings about the infrequency of videos etc. which I totally understand, and really can't hand wave away with a "look at the new site!" because we have / had an obligation to our customers. I'm learning every day about the right way to run a business (a skill I never was interested in when younger which I find quite silly now) and I think we all made our best effort to strike a balance between working on new things and keeping the old (I hate calling it "old" it was like 9 months "old" LOL) site going.  I'm very relieved to not have to worry about that anymore and just move forward getting back to what we do best, coaching and teaching poker, especially the limit hold'em variety, and I can just do my personal best to earn back anyone who felt wronged by our geared back production as we prepared for this huge upgrade.

I hope you'll check out the new DeucesCracked, we are in beta testing mode right now but all season one pilots are up!  If you don't have access and want it and know me well enough to have a way to contact me, feel free, as I have plenty of invitation codes to spare

We crashed at like 8 am, woke up at 3 pm or so and headed back to Commerce for a day's work.  Justin and Drew took turns running awful at 40/80 and I quickly bounced from a 40/80 game to a new 100/200 game, to taking the last seat in a meh-looking 200/400 game, which seemed to me to be a bit better game than the 1/2.  I had the seat on Roc's immediate right, which was shockingly the one open    I recognized Ian from AC, several decent Commerce regulars, and a couple unknown Asian guys who turned out to be pretty bad and tilty. I pretty much broke even for 3.5 hours, like + or – 3k at various  times, but nothing significant really seemed to happen to me. The game was pretty tight but straightforward and a bit passive postflop, which is a style that suits me well, because I feel like I can get away with murder preflop and never get into too many tough spots postflop.  That said, I can't do too much in a 9 handed game so I was pretty snug and boring.

Commerce was a zoo because they were showing the Mayweather/Hatton fight but I managed to make it +EV…guys at the table were discussing the fight and I learned the Vegas line was Hatton at +220. Roc said always bet on black in roulette and boxing and offered to lay 3:1 on Mayweather, which sounded too good to pass up considering the Vegas odds, so I took it for $100.  I lost of course but it was still a good bet I'm quite sure, knowing nothing about boxing.

Around 9:30 it was time to go to dinner so I had mike l. and Justin fetch me some racks (maybe stuck 1k, basically even) and then these hands happened right before I left.  UTG limps so I limped 98s, that encouraged like 3 more limpers, then the BB raised the field.  BB was pretty tilted and sort of random LAG but mostly too loose and too passive.  Everyone called of course and BB bet out on a A98 rainbow flop, folded to me, I raised and cleared the field, BB 3 bet.  I called planning to raise any non A/K turn but was pleasantly surprised to see the 8 on the turn, raised as planned and got called down frustratedly.  Now I had some new found chippies to stack and rack up and was preparing to leave with now a modest win when I look at 99 UTG the next hand.  I raise preflop with Justin sweating and get 2 coldcalls, the SB (BB from previous hand) called and BB called.  Flop T96 with two spades, I bet, folded to Peter on the butto who raised, SB coldcalled, I 3 bet, both called.  Turn is an Ace and puts a second diamond out, I bet, Peter raises again, SB coldcalls again, I 3 bet but feel like if Peter caps he flopped a straight, but he just calls and SB calls.  I'm rooting for the brickiest brick ever on the river but instead its the 5 of spades. I'm all set to crying call the SB's bet or check if he somehow checks the obvious flush but he checks and yells "DAMN" which tells me he had the diamond draw instead, so now I get to value bet Peter's AT and get paid off.  I rack up and leave now up almost 10k after those two great hands.

We went to Ciudad in downtown LA for dinner which is a really yummy Spanish / Cuban place that has really unique food IMO.  Most of us ordered the "black beef" which was shortribs braised in a spicy cola sauce (I know sounds weird but soooo tasty), and Mike found us some great wine as always.  Ciudad has quite a collection of rums which is pretty different so we all had some rum tasting flights with dessert, yum.

After eating we went back to Commerce and started a brand new $4/$8 7 card stud game, which sounded like great fun at the time. I lost $400 playing every hand, culminating in getting rolled up jacks and making a boat on 5th street in a pot that was capped 5 ways on 3rd, 4th, and 5th.  I'm all in by the end of 5th street action and Gabe is still doing tons of raising with a board of (xy)K77, Mike has seen all holecards and gives me a sad look and I realize Gabe had bigger rolled up or quad sevens and this was going to be the sickest beat of all time at 4/8 7 card stud

Gabe gets ridiculous action from some random guy who made aces up and then tens full on 7th and scoops a ~45 BB pot with rolled up kings. I get some sympathy for having rolled up jacks smashed like that but I'm actually strangely amused because its 4/8 and that random of a beat is just pretty cool and I'm glad it wasn't in 200/400

After busto-ing there I hit and run the 100/200 for 1200 or so in 45 minutes of fun and drive back to San Diego before morning. Quite a decent trip overall and I'm glad I got to see the Vegas guys, have a yummy meal, and run good in a big game.  I played pretty decent too though I definitely made a few mistakes and suck at rivering one outer quad jacks

We had a fun family emergency when one of my cats broke his paw jumping from the highest thing in our house (only like 6 feet tall) – apparently they don't always land on their feet, or at least squarely on their feet

So he was in a splint and had a cone around his neck for two weeks.  I'm very sorry to say I have no pictures of this because we expected him to have the splint and cone for 4-6 weeks and he got off early for good behavior and fast kitty-healing powers

I spent a week up in Seattle staying with Entity and working on the aforementioned secret website business, which was awesome – we got a ton of work done, he got me fairly addicted to coffee and espresso drinks, and the weather held up! I spend so much time in front of my computer it was a nice change of pace to do so in other place for awhile.

Well I can't reveal all my secret work right now but one big thing I've been going crazy working on is going into production tonight: I'm very proud to say DeucesCracked.com will power the official hand converter for 2+2 which is integrated into the VBulletin upgrade.  I wish I could take credit for writing all the hand converter code (as I did for the old converter we used on DeucesCracked.com) but we hired an amazing Perl ninja to handle it and I just hung onto his coattails for the most part.  I had never seen Perl code before a few weeks ago but I'm not too shabby at coding myself so now I'm familiar enough with the structure and syntax to make some basic changes and additions to the code base myself, which will be one of my jobs going forward. Our ninja has to go back to his real life so I will be the one maintaining the hand converter and expanding the functionality for the foreseeable future.  Still, we are obviously thrilled 2+2 chose us to work on the hand converter and I'm so excited at how well it turned out to this point.

Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for hopefully a more clear picture of my other activities, and check out that hand converter

Most of the guys were competent at the draw games, as those tend to play pretty straightforwardly in live mixes from what I've seen and people don't make huge mistakes, plus there is a ton of luck in draw games so its hard to tell if people are making egregious errors anyway.  People are super loose and bad at omaha/8 and a couple of the guys didn't really understand the fundamental strategy to the stud game (basically to play razz and if you backdoor a high hand yippee!  Big pairs besides aces are completely unplayable and Sean and I decided it would be really rare to find a spot to play a rolled up hand).  As for me, it was a weird session where I hardly swung at all, which is crazy to think with all those high variance draw games and my typical LAG style, but I was never up or down more than 10 bb I don't think and finished up a small amount making an early morning comeback when the game got short

After that I played 60/120 at the Commerce a couple times between sleep, which is just a ridiculously awesome game.  I didn't run so well and gave back my mix game winnings but I've been playing calm and tight recently and I was happy to continue that trend, I feel like its just a matter of time when I see the errors these guys make (that you don't see from 100/200 regulars, very different games IMO).  Anyway that was pretty much it and I finished the whole trip maybe up a couple hundred bucks.

Home now catching up on online business and getting back to playing online.  I'm fairly sure I'm going to Seattle sometime this week to hang out and work with Entity but its going to be a last minute decision.  Thank you Southwest air for a free flight that I can schedule with just a few hours notice

So I fully realize I suck at blogging, but I have a very valid excuse, I just can't really tell you about it.  It's frustrating actually, everyone probably thinks I'm the laziest person ever because I hardly play poker and don't seem to do anything, but the reality is we've been working our balls off on www.deucescracked.com for months, and starting to see some concrete fruits for our labor.  We have our very own forum on 2+2!  It's pretty neat considering how much time I spend on that infernal site anyway

Other than that I can't really say more, other than to say we will continue working our balls off to grow and improve the site, and we have lots of ideas for doing that.  I promise I'm not as lazy as my (lack of) writing makes me look

I have managed to play some poker this month, mostly HU on Full Tilt, but a little 6 max again, trying to remember how to play that
HU is going well though I swear the difference between the 8/16 games and the 10/20  games is startling.  It's like every time I sit 10/20 I get a tough aggro opponent who runs as well (or better) than I do.  I feel like I've been stuck 700 every 10/20 session and then either get even or lose a bit, but its smooth sailing at 8/16.  I'll try to remember to toss up some stats / graph at the end of the month, I think I've played a whopping 7k hands.

Going to eventually run up to LA too to get some live poker in, seems the Bike has a mix game that's usually around 80/160 going every weekend, sounds right up my alley.  And I'm tentatively planning a Seattle trip for a couple weeks from now to go hang out with Entity and do some in-person work rather than via AIM ad email.

Ok that's it for now.

We had a fun time doing the show and talking about poker coaching, DeucesCracked, and what we see ourselves doing in the online poker world in the future.  I know for me that means more focus on coaching as I really never have done much of it but every now and then someone inquires.  I certainly like talking about random poker things for hours on end so if I channel that energy into a coaching role, I might be useful to some.

After the show, Joe, Cactus Jack, TT, and I went out to dinner at Enotecca (sp?) the more casual Mario Batali restaurant upstairs in the Venetian.  We had a great meal filled with what TT calls "Italian junk food" and for dessert we were gifted a yummy treat – a bottle of Amaro (which I'd never heard of before), an Italian liqueur which I would describe as Amaretto on steroids.  That got us in the proper mood to gambool so we started a nice 4 handed 4/8 game in the Venetian poker room and donked around some chips.  A woman joined our game and I think wanted to either play bigger or convince us she could play bigger, talking a lot and playing fairly LAGgy – I got the feeling she probably runs over the 4/8 games she typically plays in but she had no shot here, playing 3 handed with Joe Tall and myself it will be pretty tough to outLAG us 3 handed at those stakes   I think she dropped 600 or so, mostly going to Joe who was playing way better than me (90% vpip I'd guess).

The rest of the trip we pretty much relaxed at BigBabyDougie's house in Henderson where I schooled him at Gin rummy (new addiction) and watched baseball.  It's interesting, I've gone on so many Vegas trips since turning 21 and never left the strip, spending a couple days being in Vegas not on the strip is like living in a different galaxy.  Reminds me of being home in Tucson, which isn't surprising because take away the strip and downtown and Vegas and Tucson are the exact same city.

After that trip I think I'm finally staying home for awhile, but things tend to always creep up.

Eventually the game was like 4 handed with a solid live player I've played with a lot on my right.  As I have been doing a lot of lately I was completely out of line preflop, 3 betting him with 43s and stuff from the button and running good for little stretches and bad for others, swinging wildly two racks at a time. I had an interesting hand against him when I raised 66 UTG and he defended bb.  Flop was QT6r he CR, I 3 bet, he 4 bet I called.  Turn was a 7 he bet I raised, 3 bet.  At this point you have to know that he would play TT and QQ this way preflop (I know this from experience with him) so I was pretty unthrilled with the situation.  I put him on basically QQ, TT, QT, discounted Q6 and T6 and maybe AA.  I'm a favorite against this range but not by a ton, and after talking with Entity about the hand I think the play is to call and raise a non Q or T river.  At the time, however, I decided to 4 bet the turn and fold to a 5 bet but luckily he didn't 5 bet me and he check/called river with his QT.  I continued to cold deck him repeatedly and the others in the game did too and he eventually left not too happy.

I wound up playing 3 handed with an ok guy who was too weak tight and didn't know what to do with my preflop aggression, and a loose goofy old guy who was running super hot and as a result playing halfway decently postflop (aggressive because he was feeling happy and confident, which 3 handed is correct).  It was tough to put him on hands because he'd make turn bluff raises and river bluffs at random times.  Luckily the ok weak tight guy was tilted and playing even more weak tight and running bad to boot.  I played him HU while the other guy was smoking / wandering around and won probably 8 out of 9 hands, mostly just by making him fold.  I wound up making a pretty good comeback in this game to only down one rack when the random guy quit and the other guy didn't want to play HU anymore so I went home early.

My favorite although he did not scoop is the one where I raise button with 234, he 3bets, I call. Flop A25 he bets, I raise, he calls. Long story short turn 7 river 9 and he has 86o to win half.

In the full game I started out like 9k loser in the first few hours by winning 0 pots. I then ran well and got up to 2k winner. Then I ran worse than I did at the beginning and got to about 9k loser again. It was at this point I began to play HU. I believe for the session I ended down about 3500. While it's always nice to lose way less than you were losing at one point it is also absolutely sick that he managed to run so well right at the end when I was close to securing a miraculous and dearly needed winning session. Crazy Pineapple hilo is actually a pretty fun game, certainly much better than the deathtrap of boredom known as Omaha Hi.

The worst thing about this "breakeven" stretch is that it's not even really breakeven any more. The problem now is that I'm losing the bigger games (which with very few exceptions have been much better games) while winning in smaller games. In terms of bets I am still doing quite well. In my "regular" games I am still doing quite well. What has honestly crippled me lately is these Crazy Mike games where I believe I am the largest loser at this point. In every one of these Sycuan/Palomar games I feel that I was clearly the best all around player between the 2-3 games we have played and HU-6 handed play. I think Roc is really good some of the time but his style matches up pretty poorly against most the people in the game which often results in him selfdestructing for multiple big bets. The only two "bad" games I can think of playing in are the 4 handed Roc/Crazy Mike/DD/me game posted about below and a 4 handed game with Roc/Mike L/player I played HU Crazy Pineapple tonight/me. That said I would be pretty surprised if I was not a decent favorite in both these games.

Here are a few memorable hands.  Early in the night I raise button with 24s, Roc and Crazy Mike call in the blinds. Flop is like AK9 and I check it through. Turn is a 5 and they check to me so I bet (probably a mistake), Roc checkraises, Mike folds, and I tank. I am pretty sure my pair outs are good because he knows I have nothing and he would 3 bet me preflop with any ace and probably bet the turn with any pair so I feel pretty confident he has like Jack high and is taking it to showdown. So I call with 10 outs intending to fold unimproved. River is a brick like an 8 and he open mucks! I wait until I get pushed the pot and show of course and he freaks out a little and says he had the same hand. Guess he won't be open mucking to me anymore.  What happened on the river is he put me on the Jack high that I was putting him on and knew I'd call him with it after tanking on the turn. Oops.

I had aces twice, first time Crazy Mike raises, Sean 3 bets, I cap on the button. Flop is JJ7 and it goes bet, raise to me. I should have mucked right there but coldcalled instead and they both raise again and I fold. Mike calls down with TT and whines at showdown and Sean had J9s I think.  The second time I have aces Roc 3 bets me, I 4 bet and he calls. I wind up checking to him on the river and calling when the board comes like Q974T and he has the J8o so I felt like I was playing great.

My second favorite hand of the night I raised UTG (my hand comes later), Mike calls in SB, Sean 3 bets in BB we call. Flop is 333, Sean bets, we both call. Turn is a 9 Sean bets, I raise, Mike folds, Sean calls. River is a Ten and he check folds ace high and says "you can't be bluffing on that board" and I show 64o.

My favorite hand of the night came right at the end, someone new raises, Roc 3 bets, Sean calls in SB, I call in BB with 52 of hearts, raiser calls. Flop is 334 with two hearts OESFD I checkraise Roc, he 3 bets I 4 bet he calls. Turn is offsuit Ace. I checkraise he calls. River is 6h so I make a straight flush I bet, he raises, I 3 bet, he 4 bets, I 5 bet, he 6 bets, I 7 bet and he finally looks at the board and calls me with sixes full.

Lots of fun playing the way I was and I didn't feel it was very incorrect given the blind structure and the desire to play many pots in position against Crazy Mike who was having a rough night. Plus my image is safe for the conceivable future against all 3 of those guys

Other than that I haven't played any poker in three weeks, been busy working on website projects, videos, and just random crap that I seem to fill my day with when poker isn't on my mind.  I'm writing some Java code now (by far my best language so I program fast in it) and just discovered Net Beans – I know I'm a total programming newb compared to a professional but god damn I love this tool.  I can drag and drop Swing components into a GUI and it writes the code for me!  Pretty awesome and definitely helping my productivity and keeping my interest.  And I thought Eclipse was cool, Net Beans blows it away for my needs.

I have managed to play like 5k hands of poker this month but luckily running well and still doing good with my single tabling heads up, I hope that can continue as I find myself filling my time with not that much pokering recently.  Guess I don't have too much to report other than because of Beset's awesome PLO videos and articles I've been trying that game out a little and I feel like since I actually got competent at NL in the recent past I have a clue how to play PLO and I like heads up anything these days so I'm giving HU PLO a shot when I don't feel like min-betting all the time

Ok better updates soon I hope and a new video this week!

Games and Bankroll. The games are still very good though you will have to practice game, seat and session selection similar to the way you must these days in SHLHE because there are not a million games at each site. When I say session selection I mean the time of day. But yes, the games are very good from 2/4 to 5/10. I will caution you, however, that these are much bigger games then the same limits at NL. The variance according to PT databases I have from NL and PLO is nearly double in PLO for most players. A little gamble in terms of bankroll requirements is going to add misery to your life in PLO more so then any other game. If you are playing short money-wise, just do yourself a favor and think of the game as glorified blackjack.

Omaha is still more popular in Europe so the games have been less affected by the legal climate changes. If you have access to non-US sites this can be a nice bonus but between PS and FTP you will still be OK.

Fish Protection. Omaha's positive attributes are actually very similar to SHLHE in my opinion. It is an action game with lots of big pots. Also, it has built in tilt-protection for when the fish or normally solid players go off. Much like in LHE, the fish are kept alive by the fact that when they lose it after a string of draw-outs they are likely to end up shoving a bunch of 30/70s and 40/60s instead of in NL where they will get absolutely obliterated as soon as they start to tilt.

Also, the game is enticing to fish and pro alike because it has the appearance of engaging complexity which is somewhat of a mirage but makes people feel sophisticated and entertained while playing a real gambling game, not some battle of wits for serious and boorish money-maker clones.

High-variance games give skilled players an edge because they have the experience, bankroll and emotional control to ride the waves. Remember that built in tilt-protection I mentioned? PLO facilitates bad habits in people. They lose–they tilt, they get even. It happens over and over. Until it doesn't and they pour gasoline on the fragile fire that was once their bankroll. We sit there and wait for this.

The Best vs. The Solid. The best from the solid PLO players are separated by subtle factors. First, the best have balance to their aggression. Yeah it’s fun to re-raise low-runs and so forth with position, but relentlessly pressing people in this game with no balance is a losing strategy. The players in the mid/high games who really give me trouble are like manic/depressive Irish drunks. You never know when things will get hairy and dangerous and it’s uncomfortable because of the dissonance. SHLHE players should understand this. It’s the difference between good-LAG and LAG-monkey.

PLO is a game of value. Implied odds, as illustrated by recent discussions on 2+2 in the “There is no such thing as implied odds in PLO” thread, are a complicated and ambiguous discussion in this game. Look for equity edges and push them—don’t get in the habit of over-estimating draws and calling large turn bets with shallow money. This will add pointless variance and lessen your earn.

Moreover, the best players practice good table and seat selection, tilt control and the basic but not-widespread ability to actually know what sort of equity you are likely to have with your holding on the flop/turn versus your opponent. I know the prior sentence is a description of poker itself drastically simplified. In Omaha, however, you have relatively decent players who probably couldn't tell you what kind of equity they had in a hand even if all the cards were turned face up.

Lastly, as you move up in stakes, stealing small pots from weak/tight regulars is an important pursuit. I wouldn't worry about this at first and just focus on understanding position, pre-flop play including the value of positional raising, out-counting/basic equity calculations and value betting.

I leave wednesday afternoon at an incredibly reverse strategic time so I get stuck in San Diego, Oceanside and LA traffic. Sit in a 60 game which is not so great for the first 8 hours but various weak players fill in after this and after each one goes broke a new one shows up that is even worse so I am literally unable to leave. I quit after like 23-25 hours after one of my meals makes me feel like I'm gonna asplode. -$500 for my efforts (+900 in 40 in like 15 minutes, -1400 in 60 for infinite hours). I believe the most I was ever winner for the day was about 2k but I never really got much going.

Next day play about 8 hours of 30 Stud because I woke up at 3am and it was either that or 40 holdem and Stud was gonna be more fun. Lose 500 there basically losing every big pair and finally a 60 game starts and I play for 6-7 hours winning a staggering $700. Go to Mike L's little party which takes the rest of the night.

Saturday sit in 60 again nothing goes my way over about 5 hours until I just leave frustrated with what is slowly approaching a fun little 400 hour breakeven stretch stuck about 3k. On the way home I decide I need to stop at Ocean's. A 40 game starts so I play, game is great with many horrible players. I explode to a great start 2 racks winner, then get railed over and over to 1.5 racks loser and then things slowly turn around and I quit almost 3 racks winner after about 10 hours I believe. Upon arriving at home a few minutes ago I see that the Wii I got with some Stars points arrived so that should provide some entertainment.

Disappointing to not win but it has pretty much gotten to the point where I don't care that much after getting pounded session after session lately. I am sure that I play better when I am running well but I know I am playing winning poker. At some point things will go back to the way they should be with sets holding up on ragged rainbow flops and flushes holding up against 1 pair making a backdoor full house. When those days return it will be glorious indeed.

As for me, I played a long session on Thursday and got stuck bigtime despite having the best seat at the table on the left of the worst player (by far!) in the game.   After not having played live poker since the WSOP this was not the way to get back into the swing of things.  I quickly corrected the problem by running hot the next day and winning a quick 5k in 1.5 hours before we had to go to dinner.  The highlight was this hand: Cece raises UTG, I 3 bet next with 9d9c, some guy calls 3 cold behind me, SB caps it (ruh roh), we all call.  Flop is AK8 all diamonds, SB bets, Cece raises, I 3 bet it (open to arguments on this but I think it's clearly correct), guy behind me folds TT with the Ten of diamonds, SB caps we both call.  Turn is a black 9 (obviously), SB now checks, Cece bets, I raise, SB coldcalls, Cece calls.  River brick and they both call me. AK for SB, and set of 8s for Cece and I had the only diamond after I got the guy behind me out.

We went to Campanile for dinner where Mike L. had organized quite a wine-tasting affair with a 5 course tasting menu to accompany.  JA Sucker was in town so I finally got to meet him and share some good food and wine.  Afterwards we trolled around in Beverley Hills for a bit before Brad L., Prevaricator, and I ended up in downtown LA at a homegame of a high stakes Commerce regular.  This was no ordinary homegame, with a paid dealer, the who's who of high stakes mixed games playing 10/20 NLHE and PLO mix, in a sweet downtown highrise loft with a great view of the city (when no smog of course) and all the baller furnishings you would expect.  I watched the big bet game for a bit and then wound up playing Chinese Poker all night and losing lots.

Saturday I grinded 100/200 all afternoon and evening and won a bit more to get around even for the trip after all the expenses and gambooling, and I drove home happy to end on a good note.  I was tempted to play in the bigger games running while I was up there but I feel like I need to get on a decent run in the 100/200 since I didn't fare so well during the WSOP in that game and I'm just breaking even at live play recently.  That said I feel I actually play very well in the bigger games because I am super-focused and I have a pretty good feel / experience with the high limit Commerce LAGs who populate those games. Maybe next trip I guess.

This week I have errands to take care of, a video to make for www.deucescracked.com and then Courtney and I drive out Thursday to Arizona for the weekend to do some family stuff.

The poker player wedding guests stuck together and we were very lucky to have Tommy Angelo make a rare appearance for the festivities and pick his brain a bit.  I couldn't be more excited for a new poker book than I am for his, which I hope will broach the only remaining poker subject I find interesting to read about – how to improve at poker in ways besides strategy during hands.  The wedding was Saturday so Sunday BigBabyDougie and I played a long session of 2/5 NL at the Wynn where I was able to soak up some NL knowledge from him and swing wildly in a great game.  That night I went to dinner with Brad L, TT, and Prevaricator to the new restaurant at Venetian – B&B (Mario Batali's restaurant [sp?]).  We had one of the best meals of my life, not just in Vegas, it was incredibly good.  Monday I just relaxed and had some yummy sushi with Dougie before my flight – all in all an excellent Vegas trip, nice and short, made a bit of cash, ate some great food, and got out without getting sick

So the July results, despite only 6k hands, provide some good evidence that this single tabling thing might work well for me – I ran at 6.5 bb/100 over those 6k hands so made some decent money even though I'm playing fairly low stakes.  August is off to a good start as well, though it's going to be an extremely busy month for me.  Next weekend I'm up to Commerce for a few days for some good food and some live gambooling, the weekend after Courtney and I are in Arizona for a family function, I have plenty to keep me busy on www.deucescracked.com, I'm doing a bit more poker coaching and hope to offer some interesting things on DC.com regarding that, and oh yeah I need to keep logging those hands!

Finally, I almost forgot, but I got my Neteller money!!! Many many many months of not knowing whether I was going to get my money, and pretty much counting it lost, this feels like quite a victory despite the fact that the reality is I lost out on the interest et. al. of having MY money for that time period, but I'm just happy to get it back, whew!  Safe from BUSTO for another little while.

Playing lots of HU every day the first thing I had to get over was being hit and run.  At the lowish stakes games I'm playing your standard fishy opponent deludes himself into thinking its smart to quit after winning a few measly BB's off of you.  Ironically, for the fishy guys this applies to, the strategy is probably correct, as they are -EV in any game they play, but of course they just move to another table and lose it back there so their strategy falls apart quickly.  In general though, this is the worst strategy you can implement – when you start beating a guy you should step on his throat and play until you win it all.  The times I do wind up playing a competent, toughish opponent, I'll very likely give him some action just to see if I can get him on tilt and begin the throat-stepping, then if he makes a comeback for whatever reason and I feel I no longer have all the momentum, that's the time to quit.  Against a terrible player I'll never quit though I always remind myself they may quit at any time and there's nothing I can do if they have all my monies in their stack when they do.

So I intend to keep doing the HU thing for awhile as it's going well and I'm playing well.  The single-tabling for me has been the biggest help, lowering my stress and really helping me to play my A game.  I think I'll stick with it for this week along with making a DeucesCracked.com video, and working on some business for the site, then it's off to Vegas for a short trip next weekend for Joe Tall's wedding!  I think I'll only be in town for a couple days but maybe I'll squeeze a bit of live poker in.

I've written some stories on 2+2 over the years detailing some encounters with such people, the real low-lifes of the poker world… there was the drunken French guy at Hollywood Park who followed me to the parking lot to try and steal back a pot I beat him out of… there was the slow-rolling coffee-housing scumbag who flossed his bloody gums at the table and smeared his fingers all over the felt… and there was the prick at the cage who refused to let me exchange a $5 chip until he had finished cashing out 3 racks.

But last night might have taken the cake. Last night at Commerce there was a person so vile that it shook up most of the 20/40 in the room. This was a person so contemptuous, so cruel, so viciously self-involved and mean-spirited, that even little old ladies were shaking their heads in pity.

Down to 6-handed, all-star floorman Archie does his best to fill up our game in a period where there's no must-move going on. He brings to our table a new player, this woman who was 300 pounds if she was an ounce, with tiny beady eyes, stringy graying hair, and a shrill, witch-like voice that pierced the air like a chainsaw.

I don't want to stress too much her physical appearance, since it's unfair to challenge someone on a weight problem or for simply being really fucking ugly. Those are petty insults, and despite the title of my thread (which you'll understand later on), it's not my intention to underscore this rhino's beastial physique. We need to concentrate on her rancid behavior and vile attitude.

The second she collapses into her seat and gets handed a rack of chips from the brush, the dealer asks if she wants a hand. She posts 4 chips in middle position and gets dealt in. An early player limps, and the action is on her. She is busy adjusting herself when the dealer motions that it's her action. She looks up at the dealer and taps a fistful of chips on the table to check. Two players fold behind her and then she tosses out 4 chips to raise. The player in the small blind tells the dealer she already checked, and the woman immediately protests, saying she was shuffling chips and was thinking about what to do. The dealer sits there silently, the woman crosses her arms and frowns until she wins her argument, and the small blind shrugs and folds.

The action on the flop is checked to her, and she taps the table hard, saying "This is me checking!" For the next three hands, she yelled out her actions to the table and the dealer: "This is me betting!" "This is me checking again! Got it? Got it?" An early position player was making a decision on a flop, and started to bet, pulled back a second, then actually bet. As he did this the woman piped up: "Dealer! That was forward motion! He needs to bet!" The guy goes, "OK, OK, I did bet, relax." She says, "I AM relaxed! You relax! I'm not the one commenting on how everyone is acting!"

At this point people are shifting in their chairs. A few hands later, a young quiet kid in seat 1 made a fairly awesome checkraise against her on the turn: he had cold-called my PFR, she had 3-bet on the button, and the flop came J84. I checked, he checked, she bet, I folded, he called. The turn was a 3. He checkraised and she called. The river checked through and he showed A8, she showed AQ. As he was quietly raking the chips she berated him for his play. She continued asking to see his hands whenever she wasn't in a pot and he called and mucked a loser.

Later on the kid limped in EP and it folded around to me in the BB and I checked garbage. I missed the flop and check-folded, and to be a good sport (I guess) he showed me JJ. Somehow the lady interpreted this badly and shouted at seat 1: "How can you be so rude?!" The kid, who hadn't uttered a word, finally turned around to Archie, who happened to be passing the table, and asked, "Archie am I rude?" The lady continued staring daggers at the kid, weirdly.

There is a breed of poker player that is universally despised by live regulars: selective choppers. This is ethics 101, and I don't know any reputable person who selectively chops. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to deduce that this cow was a selective chopper. The first situation came up when it was folded to her SB and she completed. The BB, an out-of-it older man, looked around confused and said "You don't want to chop?" The woman stared ahead with her beady eyes, zoning into the felt and said, "No." Old man shrugged and mucked his cards because he thought she had raised. The dealer handed her the pot before telling BB that he could have checked to see a free flop. BB goes "My mistake."

And just one orbit later, a player had limped in EP and it was folded to the lady in the SB. Now she turns to the BB — the same guy — and goes "Do you want to chop?" And miraculously, he's nice about it and says, "I would, but there's someone else in the pot who already called." She didn't notice, and goes "Oh, jeez, I didn't see him, ok whatever" and mucks her cards. I guess she chops with bad hands.

She got into it one more time with the kid in seat 1, and even though he said nothing, she decided she hated him and asked for a table change. Problem was, we were still 7-handed and there were 3 names ahead of Rhino on the table change list. So not only would we have to wait until Archie filled our 2 seats, but then she would have to wait until the other 3 names got moved before her. This was a problem — the lady wouldn't stop whining about being "hostage" at this table. "I'm a hostage! I'm a hostage! I can't get a table change! This is ridiculous!"

The old man had been replaced by a lovely older woman from Vegas who turned to her new neighbor and asked her why she wanted a table change so badly. She said "Because I hate seat 1!" And the poor kid ignored her again and looked around, sighing. The older lady told her, "Oh, it's ok, he's just one person, besides you might win some of his chips so stick around." The whale wasn't buying it — she asked the dealer for an out button and stubbornly refused to play a hand until she got a table change.

Unfortunately for all of us, that didn't occur for 3 more orbits. She decided to come back in out of boredom, so when the button passed she asked the dealer if she could take a hand. He said yes, took the out button away, and dealt her in. She didn't post. Now, I had been absolutely quiet the entire time, not wanting to confront the dinosaur in the wild. But I accidentally spoke, and quietly said, "six chips." She looked at me for the first time and I swear my head was going to freeze into stone staring at Medusa's visage… her steely glare piercing my frightened eyes.

"Are you the dealer?" I said nothing. "Excuse me! Are you the dealer!" I rolled my eyes. "Because I don't see you dealing! The dealer will tell me how many chips to post!" He didn't. Finally I said another sentence, "I was just trying to help, ma'am. I wasn't sure you knew how many chips to post to come back in the game."

"Oh, I know the rules, young man! I know the rules! You can be sure of that!" Then she started screaming her head off for a table change again.

Poor Archie came over to her and, for the second time, calmly explained that she was waiting in line for a change and there wasn't one available yet. In a very very rare display for this supreme gentleman, Archie almost lost his cool and said "If you want me to record this speech about table changes so you can play it back, let me know. I've told you how it works."

About 20 interminable minutes later, the beast was unleashed from our table and we all exhaled a collective sigh of delight, looking around like villagers saved from an erupting volcano whose molten lava just barely escaped crashing into our bamboo homes. The kid in seat 1 looked at me first and shook his head wildly, pleading with me for sympathy. I just said, "I know. I know." And the older lady who had recently sat down exclaimed, "That woman has problems. I really hope she gets help and realizes who she is, because that is just so sad."

Of course, 10 minutes into her table change, I could see 2 tables over that she was already getting into it with her new unsuspecting victims. She was up on her feet leaning over the table jawing at everyone who would listen. It was one of the most pathetic sights of my life. Towards the end of my session, the kid in seat 1 stood up suddenly and walked over to me (I was in seat 8). He leaned into my ear and whispered, "There are very few gentlemen like you." I was absolutely startled and immediately flattered, and all I could say was "Thanks, dude." When he sat back down I tossed him a yellow and said, "Lucky chip."

He won the next pot on a giant suckout and tossed a chip back at me, and said, "Lucky chip."

I patted the table in thanks and sat back in my chair, ready to rack up and go out to a party at a loft downtown with my girlfriend and a big group of buddies. I started thinking about how different people's lives are, and how paths cross at Commerce among completely disparate souls. If I ever feel bad about where I come from, or feel guilty over misbehaving at the table, I can always think back to this horrific display of gross inhumanity and remember that things could be worse. My existence, random as it may be, has been blessed with at least a little bit of luck among the variance of the human condition.

Friday starts off with me waking up and calling Mike or perhaps him calling me. He sounds like he wants to go at 7 maybe but the "plan" is not clear at all and he sounds like he has no clue how long we would be staying or perhaps we wouldn't go until Wednesday or so. At any rate, 6pm rolls by and I decide to go out to Ocean's. At about 8 I get a call from Mike when I'm nitting around in a 5/5 NL and the plan is back on. I drive all the way home to grab some clothes and additional dollars. I make the magical roundtrip journey in record time and we get to Commerce a bit before 11pm. I'm planning to play 60/120 but Mike suggests I try the 100/200 again. I was going to ignore him but when I look at the game I see it is shorthanded with a weak player that I am very familiar with. Things go quite well in this game until it fills with tight and not blatantly awful players, with the weaker players going broke or moving to the main game. I sit in a 60 game which was just incredibly soft like it was the first time I played it. Again this means I get slaughtered to the tune of 6k with me basically not winning a single pot while putting my dollars in with a lot the best of it. This mes me slight loser in dollars and bigger loser in bets which is unfortunately familiar territory for me lately. At this point I decide I'm going to probably just try to grind the 60 the rest of the trip because losing 10k in the 1/2 would be pretty demoralizing and in the two times I've played each of these games the 60 is just incredibly good while the 1/2 is not as amazing.

Saturday things go very well and I have one of my biggest wins in a long time, Sunday is pretty much the same. Pretty much all of it came from the 60 with a small bit of 20 Stud. Monday I start out well in the 60 but find myself a couple seats to the left of a guy playing about 90% of his hands in the 1/2 game. I lose every pot including a real big one with A9 vs AJ after an A98 flop. The fish goes to main game and then leaves, this game breaks quickly. I get on the board for 40 and 60 while taking a seat in the 20 Stud. I'm still pretty confident since I'm winner on the day and big winner for the trip and feeling like I'm playing quite well (standard when you're running well obviously). They call a list for another 1/2 game after I've won some more in the 20 Stud and I get off to a bad start and swing up and down for 6 hours or so. Finally win a handful of big pots and pull ahead quite a bit. This second session lasted only 8 hours because I wanted to get some sleep before checking out today. This morning I watched TV a bit and then played 20 Holdem for maybe 30 minutes just losing a couple big pots for a 700 loss in the game.

Overall a profitable trip, not to mention the confidence it has given me after feeling like I was getting pounded nonstop the past few weeks. None of the specific days were bigger wins than any of my previous ones but Friday-Tuesday is the biggest win I've had in a short period. Mike pretty much has me addicted to Commerce and I honestly want to go back already, I'm still not really sure if I prefer the 60 or the 1/2. Playing the 20/40 Stud was also fun since I so rarely play that game, winning almost every one of the few pots I played helped as well of course.

When Chris and I decided to swap sessions, this scenario never occurred to me. I imagined the range of emotions I would feel in the case of losing a rack. I hadn’t mentally prepared myself to lose $2600 of my friend’s money, especially considering that he was probably a mile down the road, running up a tidy little sum of profits for his buddy Dougie. Given the organically-grown nature of my own poker career, I can say with certainty that I’ve never lost anywhere near that amount of someone else’s money.

That being said, I do know a thing or two about dusting off nearly 3 racks in a great game I can describe to you in great detail my range of emotions and the phases my poker game goes through during a session where I lose $2600 of my own money over a three hour period. It’s fascinating to see which emotions are attached to which bankroll.

Though it may come off as stating the obvious, given the intentions of the experiment, but my focus level was vastly improved. It’s almost sort of depressing to think that I put such little effort into my first hour at the table when I am playing for myself. I never thought I was missing all that much, but my profiles from the swap session were much more detailed. Most notably, I got really into watching post-flop fold tendencies, especially in relation to aggression patterns (more on this at some other time). Furthermore, I managed to actually get physical tells on everyone who was at the table when I first sat down. Prior to that session, I’ve never played with more than two players who had physical tells that I noticed.

Impulsively speaking, I would have predicted that all this newfound information I had about my opponents would have led me to play more aggressively and go after every pot However, through some combination of running bad and playing with Chris’s money, my newfound tell reading actually led to less bluffing and focusing more on extracting value when we were both weak, letting them bluff when they were excessively weak, and getting away when they were strong…the whole time I sort of let the game come to me. I got away from marginal hands PF and I didn’t try to oversell my hands postflop. As I write this, I think maybe I left some value on the table by not trying to win a few more pots, but then again, when has that strategy ever worked for someone who starts the session cremating a rack and a half of chips in 30 minutes?

To put it another way, it was the most I’ve ever lost in a game where I constantly thought, “Man, this game is easy!” Obviously, thoughts like that are usually attached to sessions/stretches where a player runs well, wins lots of pots, and always makes his opponents zig when they should be zagging. Maybe it’s the lack of financial attachment to the results, or the increased focus I put into the game, but it was plainly evident exactly why my chips were dwindling and why such an unfortunate thing like chip leakage would only be a temporary issue.

Although I consider trial #1 of this experiment a success, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel especially awful for running bad on someone else’s watch, no matter how silly it may be to feel bad about something I couldn’t control. Obviously, the guilt stems from the fact that this man trusted me with some small fraction of his financial well-being. I can’t lie and say that I never felt a small wave of relief when I thought about how I wasn’t going to be financially affected by my session, but every wave of relief was chased by a strong feeling of guilt. All in all, I think it’s safe to say that this experiment is a wonderful way to start building up tolerance to emotional variance.

I played the 1500 limit shootout and had an insanely soft table.  After weeks of playing solid in cash games with less than stellar results, I was finally feeling frustrated and really LAGging it up in the shootout, filled with loose passive players and a few weak tighties.  Not really the smartest idea but I had a lot of decent hands too preflop so it wasn't like I was playing maniacally.  Typical hand was: I raise J5s from MP, weak tight coldcalls, blinds call.  Flop JQ5 I bet, weak tight raises, blinds fold, I just call.  Turn brick I checkraise, river brick I value bet, he calls and shows JQo.  Nice hand buddy.  Same guy just called preflop with QQ in the big blind and won a decent pot off me on a 9 high board (I had tens).  River was an ace and he checked to me so I value bet after getting action on the turn and putting him on just the nine.  He check/called with the QQ and I looked dumb but easiest value bet ever in a cash game, I have no idea how these tournament guys do it.

Anyway I busted 7th uneventfully, short stacked the whole time.  Luckily I recouped $50 when I won a last longer with James282. He had himself, I had Crazy Mike, who was at the same table along with Sublime and Schneids, nice table huh?  Anyway he failed to realize Crazy Mike is a limit tournament monster and Mike busted James personally, netting me some cool cash.  Joe, Crazy Mike, and I drove home that evening, sick of Vegas, WSOP, losing, etc. and stopped for Greek food in the middle of nowhere which was good times.  I played with Crazy Mike's iPhone the whole way home and he slept and then later taught me how to be a great heads up limit holdem player, so I'll probably give that another shot online soon.

I need a day or two to recover and catch up on life, then its online poker grinding time I guess.  Also I have DeucesCracked.com videos to make and a neat article to write about a poker idea I finally got implemented in Vegas with the help of BigBabyDougie / Gonores which you'll hear about soon.

Sat in a 100/200 that was shorthanded. I would consider myself underrolled for this game so I probably shouldn't be playing it short, but I was told everyone in the game was not so good plus if I lost like 2-3 racks I'd probably just quit and play something else so it's not like I was gonna go broke. End up playing 3 handed with a TERRIBLE player (even worse when he is steaming, which is probably like 99% of the time) who donked off 3 racks or so. Unfortunately he decided not to come back and everyone left except me and some guy that I assumed was better than me so I told him I would not play HU since I'm sure he was more than willing to play some young fish he had never seen before.

Eventually get seated in the other must move where I stay most of the night. At first the game features multiway 5+ way limped or 2bet pots with only a couple of the players being more aggressive preflop. Postflop people seemed to be a bit less showdown monkeyish but most did not appear to be playing well at all. Game tightens up but is quickly brought back into a happy place when a guy shows up and plays every hand for a few hours and limping pretty much every one, raising very very little postflop. Unfortunately pretty late into the night I get moved into the main game. I watch a few hands while waiting for my CO and I do not like what I see at all. Everyone is folding before the flop and when they don't fold they raise, this is not the kind of poker game I like to see. I get up to ask Mike if this game is as bad as I think it is, at which point I see he is already walking over here to tell me that it is not good at all. I play my free hands and then sit in what was I believe a 3 handed 60/120 game.

This is what I am used to. Open limping on the button, 90% vpip loose passive poker. Unfortunately the must move 1/2 game breaks and a lot of them come over to this game (should be pretty obvious why the other game broke and then this one filled). It stays close to 5 handed most the time and I feel like I'm playing almost every hand because I get dealt so many 66-99/KJ+/AT+. Unfortunately most of them turn out quite poorly and I lose almost 2 racks while winning only 1 showdown that I can remember. Oh well, game was insanely good. I've complained so much about running crappy lately that I'm too tired to complain more. It happens, when I'm back to winning I will feast on the souls and wallets of the terrible players that I've allowed to hold some of my money for a short while like I used to.

I have a friend playing the Triple Draw with rebuys event that I decided not to play ($$$) and he made day two so hopefully he gets lucky tomorrow and goes deep.  I haven't yet been in the Bellagio despite 48 hours in Vegas but hopefully will get some 100/200 in soon as I need to be a good boy and put some work in.

While I was home I managed to play a tiny bit of online poker, to reduce the nastiness that was the start of this month.  I've decided to single table a bit, mostly because it is similar to all the live play I've had recently, but also I feel like I'm playing extremely well when focused on one table – I managed to make a great www.deucescracked.com video at 15/30 while doing so, and get in a couple other solid sessions.  I'm using the TiltBlocker tool now every session which is a great resource and really helping me out.  It goes along with a thing I'm doing at live play where I stack my chips in random super-tall stacks so I'm not tempted to count them after every pot I win or lose – much better for sanity and caring about the more important things at the table.

This Vegas trip I intend to destroy the cash games, and win the limit shootout on Tuesday.  Here's hoping..

Updates from Vegas to come!

I started playing about 18 months or so before the second wave of the poker boom (which I conceive of as Moneymaker winning the ME, the first wave being Rounders).   B&M first and then I discovered Paradise Poker, deposited and starting playing anything but hold em’, a game I found confusing challenging.  Live however it’s always been LHE.  Regardless of what game, for the last 5+ years the games have been good.  I’ve never had a hard time finding good games to play in and for a long-time it was very rare that I ever ended up in a game where I thought I wasn’t the best player at the table.  This changed as I moved up to mid-limit games but even then, the games never seemed tough so much as not-as-good. 

Lately, in the neighborhood I live in, the local gambling commission raised the maximum bet at a poker table from $25 to $40.  These are very small card-rooms which on a busy day will have 8 tables going with some rarely maintaining a game and if it does goes it’s 3/6 or 4/8.   There has only been a couple of long-running 12/24 games and even the reservation casinos only rarely get anything higher then 30/60.  The 12/24 games promptly bumped up to 20/40 in light of the rule change.  This had two consequences.  First, players who playing 30 and up when it goes on the reservation or just play online started popping up to play.  I know to all you jaded young online poker superstars 20/40 doesn’t seem like a big game.  My neighborhood, however, is full of white trash and recent immigrants.   20/40 is huge.  You raise the river and that’s groceries for the week.     The second and even more unfortunate consequence was that the game promptly busted a bunch of regulars and a couple major fish went on sick heaters and then quit playing.  The fact that these events killed the game shows you how fragile it was to start. 

Back to my story—many have been slow in hearing that the 20/40 games died.  So, a different crowd has been showing up to the local places looking for the 20/40 and then deciding to play lower since they came out.  I rarely play live anymore but I stopped in the other day and lo and behold I sat down in what had to be the toughest 8/16 game in the universe.   It was 2am, very very quiet and people were FOCUSING.  This was fucking shock to me.  There were four people at the table with very confident attitudes playing solid aggressive poker.   It took me a good 45 minutes to accept that I wasn’t making it all up in my head.  This was a legitimately tough game. 

I sat there and watched the hands play out and it was tangible to me that each person was actually thinking and acting intentionally as opposed to spraying chips, tilting, calling off racks and lighting money on fire.  Even the most basic and standard hands were being played with thoughtfulness and intentionality.  Obviously I can’t read minds so all of this was coming to me just based on body language, attitude and the occasional comment.  It was both engaging to watch and saddening at the same time.  I for one have plenty of challenges in my life.  Poker for me has always been about making money in a free and unstructured environment where I feel comfortable and independent.  I don’t play poker for the challenge.   

The first tough 8/16 game in the state of Washington and caused me to reflect on the last stretch of my life and see a shape to it.  A cultural progression that happened totally independent of me but that I participated in and profited from.   It is thought-provoking to watch it change, progress and decline all at the same time.  The games will stay good and those who play for the challenge or profit with discipline and focus can make it happened.  The atmosphere has definitely shifted however and it is objectively fascinating to me watch the collective skill level rise, as even the fish seem to know when to be embarrassed and self-deprecating after a poorly played hand  and I rarely am so bold as to declare myself the best player in the game.. 

Xerxes

Leo

Sleeping Kitties

As you can imagine they are keeping us busy but soon we'll get used to having them running around and I'll get back to poker. I've been sick since getting home from Vegas so as soon as my voice can handle it I intend to make a www.deucescracked.com video and then grind some hands! Back to Vegas next week I think.

Flight tomorrow, catch up on normal life, get a kitten with my wife, make DeucesCracked videos, and sleeeeeep.

I am doing a new thing where I stack my chips in randomly super tall stacks so I don't feel tempted to count them so when I left for dinner I was pleasantly surprised to be up as much as I was after the rough start.  Stinkypete, RT, and I went to the Wynn to meet some NL guys from 2+2 and IRC and had dinner at the Country Club Grill out on the patio overlooking the Wynn's golf course. Man what a fantastic place to eat – the view is incredible, peaceful, with a huge waterfall over the fantastic golf course, and the food was awesome too.  So far all the Wynn restaurants I've been to have been just outstanding.

After too much wine Stinkypete and I headed to the Wynn poker room and started a short 40/80 mix game where Pete went busto because he's a fish and I played some guy heads up for a bit and broke around even.  He went to bed and I went to the Bellagio where I couldn't get in a 100/200 game right away so I played more 40/80 mix and wound up just playing that until morning and winning a bit.  It was nice to play in such a soft game though as my recent mix game experience hasn't gone well, but these guys were pretty mediocre at all the games and I even ran well and played ok at Omaha/8, my worst game by far.

Now I'm about to pack up and check out of my Flamingo room, headed to meet up with Entity and stay in a new spot for the weekend.  Also I fear I may be getting a cold so I'm fighting that off with Vitamin C and eventually, sleep.

Also, anyone who knows PBob should peer pressure him into going that week as well. The fun-factor will grow exponentially.

This fear of value-betting rivers is not an isolated symptom found among a few people here and there. In fact, we all go through it in our stages of poker play. Most of us, when we begin, freeze up when a scare card comes on the river and don't bet our hands. Later on, even once we understand poker theory, still chicken out and check/call when we've been betting the whole hand — even when in the back of our minds we understand that bet/fold is much more +EV.

Even though I've definitely improved in this regard, I'd say my river play is my weakest spot of my game. Sometimes I try too much to induce bluffs instead of betting and hoping to get calls from ace-high. Sometimes I'm guilty of being sure that scary river just nailed my opponent's draw. But as much as I'm hard on myself for weak river play, it's my opponents who constantly astound me with their reluctance to value-bet rivers.

The first minor example I have from a recent session at Commerce 20/40 (remember, folks, this is Medium Stakes hold'em — not a 3/6 game, not pennies here, people who have actually played enough poker to think it's a good idea to buy in for at least $500 of their hard-earned taxi-driving fares) is a lady who held 32o in the BB and faced a flop of T43. She checked, a tight, old, unimaginative player bet somewhere, and only she called. Turn was a 2, and lady bet out her two pair. Old guy called. River is an A. Lady disgustedly checks. Old guy is happy to see a free showdown with his QTs and the lady is even happier that old guy didn't hold a 5 for the straight. What hand can he bet the flop with that includes a 5??

I guess I'll forgive her for fearing that weird runner-runner wheel (partially because I guess AT is in his range, but it's still an easy bet/fold on that river…. but mostly because I loved playing with her — she was awful and played every hand and was just a calling station idiot), but I won't forgive this one hilarious idiot. Actually, before I get into his story, let me relate one hand I played against this lady that fits with this post because it involves another river check-around:

I limped behind a few limpers in the CO with Jd8d. Button folded, blinds completed/called. Flop came Js5s2h. Checked to her in EP and she bets out, folded to me and I raise, blinds fold, lady looks at me and goes, "you have flush draw?" and calls. This is a great live tell that almost always means she has a flush draw. So I tell her, "Yes. I have a flush draw." The turn is an Ac, and she goes "OK then I bet" and donks into me. I raise again because fuck her, MHIG most of the time and I'll take a free showdown because betting the river would be bad against a missed flush draw or an ace that has me beat. She calls my raise and the river pairs the 2 (non-spade). She checks and I check, I show and she mucks. This is a case where I'm pretty sure the FSD play was correct, but I don't do it all that often.

OK, on to the hilarious idiot guy. So I limp behind a couple limpers in MP with XX (I'll reveal my hand later). Guy limps on the button with QJo. The flop comes As Td 5c. That's a dry rainbow flop if you've ever seen one. Checked to me and I come out betting. Start putting me on a hand if you want, but I'll spoil it and say I'm likely to have an ace here. Guy calls with his gutshot. There's one more caller somewhere. The turn is a Kd, completing his nut straight. I bet again, and he raises. Other guy folds, and I sigh and call and check dark. The river brings the harmless 2d (yes, a possible backdoor flush, but I have an ace here most of the time, so please bet your broadway) and guy sees the river and goes "did you check?" and I nod and he quickly tables his hand. I sheepishly table Ad 6d for the nuts and he smugly — proudly — crosses his arms that he avoided a river checkraise. Another guy not in the hand starts discussing the river with him, and somewhere in there I think I hear me being criticized for not betting the river and him praised for not betting it. His response is "Hey, I'm not gonna bet that shit, what if he made a flush? If I bet I lose another 80 dollars maybe, but if I check and win the pot, I'm happy to win the pot!"

Just to discuss my play for a second, I hardly ever check dark and I almost always bet my hands OOP on the river when I make them because I know people get passive on the river. But in this spot, I had a great read on him that QJ was his hand, and there's no way he can put me on diamonds when it's clear I was betting the flop and turn with top pair. It's a well disguised flush draw and this is as good a spot as any to get in a river checkraise. He has to pay me off with Broadway, right? How the hell does he not bet that river?! Anyway, the funniest thing about this hand is the consequences it had.

First, a few hands after that — when idiot is still frustrated/steaming that I "sucked out" on him with the river flush, but still basking in the pride of avoiding the river c/r I had planned — I show him how fucking value-betting is fucking done at Commerce, boy. There were a couple limpers and a sLAG raised from the hijack. I floated on the button with JTs. Blinds called and it's a nice pot to a flop of JTx. Sweetness. Checked to sLAG who bets, I raise, idiot looks at me in the BB and says "I got a funny feelin' I should actually call this" but he folds, muttering something about sLAG possibly 3-betting. We get one cold-caller, and sLAG just calls. The turn is an A (also putting a 2nd club out there and completing Broadway for KQ). The sLAG donks into me so I raise again. The cold-caller folds. The river is a low club making a possible flush, sLAG checks, and I value bet like a standard winning player would. sLAG calls, I show, he mucks.

I know the idiot was paying close attention to this hand because he folded what he thought was a good hand on the flop. It's clear my top 2 was superior, but I'm wondering to myself if he noticed my river value bet. I wasn't afraid of KQ and I wasn't afraid of the backdoor flush. Because the sLAG would have checkraised KQ on the turn, I thought at worst I'm losing to aces up but I won't get checkraised anyway, but more likely he just has a hand like A9, AQ, AK and will pay off. And that's what happened.

Because I don't educate the fish, I didn't go over to the idiot and point this out. But I think he actually noticed, because a hilarious hand ensued shortly thereafter where he totally misapplied his newly learned lesson about betting rivers. He was losing enough to be on tilt now, so he limped in EP with T9o (actually this is standard for him, he had limped K3s and 87o before, and defended his BB with Q2o) and saw a multiway flop of A87r. The sLAG bet in LP, he called, and another decent player called. The turn was a Qc putting a second club out there, and the same action occurred. The river was a 6c completing the flush. Now, last time, this idiot specifically told the entire table out loud how he's just happy to win a pot with a nut straight, and doesn't want to get raised by a flush. He said this when he was in position, heads-up. Now he is out of position, in a 3-way pot, and apparently he changed his attitude because he bet out the river. Second guy looks like he is considering raising but just calls, and then the sLAG who had been betting the whole hand instaraises. Idiot calls and the other guy calls too. Other guy had a J-high flush (with a flopped gutshot), sLAG had Ac 3c for the nuts, and the idiot goes on ballistic tilt upon coming in 3rd.

Psshhh… some people never learn.

I finally ran sick good today, though I played 6 more hours and still haven't had AA in over 30 hours of live play this trip.  I did get KK and QQ like four times each in six hours though, including a sweet hand where David the Dragon Pham raised UTG with KK, I 3 bet QQ UTG+1, David Baker coldcalled AA in the SB, the Dragon 4 bet, I capped it, Baker gets to call two more bets with aces and the perfect trap set, and the flop comes QJ9

He slightly got me back when I raised 98cc, someone 3 bet KK, he 4 bet TT in the BB, we called.  Flop was the solid TT7 with two clubs giving me OESFD, I raised, the kings coldcalled, he just called. I turn the 6 (not straight flush sadly) right away and lose 4 bets and pay off the river like a fish.  If I river my two outer there I'm pretty sure he has to quit poker forever.

Sleepy now, staying at Flamingo til Friday then Entity and Joe Tall come and I'm crashing with Entity somewhere til I'd guess Sunday.  Won a hot 8k today so I'm now slightly up for the trip covering my 5k tourney buyin!

After that I went to Bellagio and got in a 100/200, where I stayed (switching to the main game eventually I guess) for 11.5 hours.  I didn't have any big swings, staying +/- a rack or so the whole time, playing well but never getting anything going.  I wound up winning a rack and Stinkypete dragged me away for some yummy  crepes for breakfast.  I realized afterwards that I haven't had AA or KK in 25 hours of live play on this trip.  That is pretty sick and probably speaks volumes as to why I'm down on the trip thus far.

Going to sleep now and grind more live poker tonight I'd expect.  I have to decide tomorrow whether I'm staying or not for the weekend, I probably will tough it out and stay until Entity and Joe Tall get here on Friday and then go home for a long while on Sunday or Monday.  Hopefully making some money in the process.

I guess what I find amazing is that the people spear-heading the attempt to Disney-ify poker (by making it family-friendly, by making it corporate-sponsored, by making it predictable) are looking at the wrong things and turning the whole thing into a joke. My main beef right now is with the tournament directors and floorpeople who enforce ridiculous rules like the "F-bomb" policy.

In many places, saying 'fuck' will get you ejected from a cash game, give you a 10-minute (or more) penalty from a tournament, or other such silly punishments. This is because the word 'fuck' has been deemed offensive. Okay, that's not just poker. Saying 'fuck' more than 3 times gets you an R-rating in the movies, and will probably earn you some ugly looks at the playground. Fair enough.

But let's look closer at the thinking here. They make a rule that 'abusive language' will not be tolerated. I can get behind that. Don't be abusive. Seems reasonable, especially when a lot of that abuse is directed towards dealers who take an unfair beating from tilting gamblers. But the problem I have is the leap that 'fuck' constitutes abuse, where many other words don't. [insert George Carlin lecture here, but I won't go into the anatomy of the English language]

If the rule were just "Don't use abusive language," I would be fine with it. But the rule is "don't say 'fuck'." Those are not the same. Mike O'Malley, in a recent issue of CardPlayer, writes "foul language is foul language, and it should not be tolerated." This argument is, frankly, bullshit. First of all, 'foul language,' something that's subjective in the first place, is existent in every major sport — go to the NBA finals and count the number of times the 9-year-old in the second row behind the bench has to hear 'fuck' and 'shit' over the course of a 48-minute game. Penalizing LeBron James for saying 'fuck' would have people in arms.

But furthermore, what's really important is directing abuse with your language. Here's two examples:

A) During a tournament, a short-stacked player gets it all-in with KK on a board of Q863. His opponent, another short-stack whom he barely has covered calls off the rest of his chips with KQ. The river is a Q, and the guy with KK is crippled. His body crumbles back into his seat, and he goes, "Oh fuck, what a river." And counts the remainder of his chips.

B) Same situation, same hand. The guy with KK turns to the guy raking in the pot and says, "You miserable bastard. You're the lowest form of pond scum in a swamp full of retards; I hope you get brain cancer and die in front of your children."

Under some rules, the guy in A) would be penalized and blind off without even being at his seat, and the guy in B) would continue playing because he didn't use any 'foul language.' Are they kidding? The comment in B) is obviously abusive and needs to be the one getting penalized. Situation A) is obviously NOT abusive towards anyone.

I could go on, but I think it's clear that the spirit of the rule — if they want to enforce polite behavior at the poker table — should involve discretion at the hands of the officials to decide when language is abusive/offensive and when it isn't. I think you should be able to say, "Ha, I thought I made a flush when the fourth diamond hit but it turns out my queen was a fuckin' heart! Oops!" without penalty, but if you say "You call my raise with that hand one more time, scrawny prick, and I'll knock up your wife and pray she dies during childbirth" then you should be dragged outside for good.

Moving on a bit from the absurd penalization for saying 'fuck' and other harmless derivations of 'fuck,' I think there are plenty of problems that are keeping poker "dirty." And it's not vocabulary. This is a game where degenerates have no problem showing up at the table having not showered for days, reeking of B.O., and then picking their nose and wiping it on cards. It's a game where fat slobs lick their barbecue-sauce stained fingers before handling the chips they throw into the pot. It's a game where racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks are slung back and forth across the table in an effort to see who can be the most macho. It's a game where dealers are subjected to tirades from steaming gamblers who need to find someone to blame for their bad luck and even worse play. And it's a game that doesn't require you to have any respect for your health or fitness.

Maybe some part of poker — and indeed, a lot of its appeal for some people — is inextricably linked to the allure of the backroom tables, shady gamblers, slimy sharks, and addicts losing their rent money on the felt. But if you want to 'clean it up' when ESPN's spotlight shines on the sport, then turn your attention to behavior that's actually offensive. Don't concentrate on pointless, irrational censorship and naive ideas about how adults comport themselves in the 21st century.

My starting table featured Phil Laak, Hoss TBF two to my right, Terri (mid to high stakes limit player at Bellagio) to my immediate left, and a guy I found out later is 2+2er bxpeter and a few randoms including one huge fish who did lots of calling and making monsters.  Phil Laak looked like he hadn't slept in days and was zonking out at the table and playing poorly when he would wake up.  Later Gavin Smith got moved to our table and he played about as ridiculous as possible, but I managed to keep him alive by doubling him up when my AKs couldn't outrun his A3o, and later JJ couldn't top his 99 AI preflop.  I got through 6 hours at this table up a bit from my starting 10k.  We broke and I got moved to a couple different tables in rapid succession and stopped winning any pots and quickly bled down my stack.  Finally I played this hand: CO opens, he appears typical, tightish pre and a bit weird post.  I defend BB with A8s. Flop is A93 with two clubs (no clubs for me) I check/call.  Turn is a 2, I check, he bets, I tank awhile and call.  River is a 4 and I check he bets super quick and I call even faster.  I felt like on the river he is going to have some sort of monster or completely nothing given the scariness of the board.  Of course he owned me and had AQo which made IMO a poor value bet but clearly not as I paid off like a fish.  That left me extremely short, with 1400 chips at 500/1000 limit.

Then I did something really dumb that I can't explain how I let happen, as I don't think I've ever done it in a cash game and I've logged a lot of hours at live poker.  ZeeJustin opened to 1000 UTG, folded to me in the CO where I didn't see his open raise and think I am opening with J9o to steal the blinds with my last 1400, instead I find out I have to raise all in vs his UTG range,  and now super solid button 4 bets it. I flop a pair but don't outrun button's aces, and ZeeJustin thinks I'm a retard and rightfully so.  He as nicely as he could asked me after the hand as I was collecting my shit if I didn't see him open and I confirmed it while leaving as fast as I could.  Not like it would have changed much probably but a pretty sad end nonetheless.  In total I played for 8.5 hrs or so and out lasted half the field, but never had any chips to speak of so it wasn't like I was this close to going deep, I never was.  In those 8.5 hours I had QQ once and AK once which is pretty ridiculously card dead.

Ian J and jgorham both have tons of chips after day one I think which is super standard for them.  Wish I knew how they did it as my WSOP tourney experience is all-too-familiar: never put any sort of string together and have a healthy stack, just wait to get short and try and hang on.  Ugh.

Later last night I played some 100/200 at the Bellagio in by far the best game I've seen since I've been out here.  I got stucko right away, then started running hot, showing down all sorts of ridiculous stuff that was somehow a winner and ran up two racks, then I calmed down, played super solid and got hand after hand cracked to give those racks right back and finish down 5k and decide I needed sleep.

I have my hotel room until Wednesday so I guess I'll be playing lots of cash games for a couple days but I'm still clueless as to how I'm going to win, it seems not to be.

Eventually I got into a must move 60/120 that was pretty tough, a lot tougher than I expected.  6 probably winning players, everyone playing ok.  Some girl named Lana I think who I've never seen before was killing us playing pretty LAG but always showing down monsters.  She checkraised me on the turn all five times I can remember seeing one against her and I was fairly stucko.  Moved to the main game which had a lot of action from earlier apparently but was settling down as the big maniac finally busted and some kid who is probably some good internet player I didn't recognize took 6 racks out of the game.  There were still a couple soft spots and I was running better and came back as we got shorthanded and booked a 1k win.  More importantly I played extremely well and felt like this was a nice way to start off my trip.  I read Stox' book on the plane and the "hands with Stox" section really got my mind back in the right form, keeping up my aggression and confidence.

Today I'm going to Blue man group with my wife's family and then taking them out to dinner at Delmonico's which should be yummy.  Maybe I'll get some poker in late tonight, we'll see. Off to read some WSOP updates as I won't get over to the Rio until Sunday for the 5k limit I'm sure.

I show up on Thursday with my wife and her family in tow – not exactly prime pokering conditions but we should have a fun time celebrating her sister's 21st birthday and doing some touristy stuff.  I imagine I'll squeeze some gambling in too as they can't keep up with the DeathDonkey vampire schedule so I'll be bored by night fall   They all leave Sunday and I'm staying for some real work, planning to play the 5k limit "World Championship" (sounds better that way) and some cash games.  No real plans after that except to definitely go back near the end of the month as many people will be in town and I hope to play a couple events then too.

If I can manage to do all that, keep up with my www.deucescracked.com videos, work on my hand converter, and oh yeah make some money on the interweb, it will be a hell of a month.  I played a ton of NL hands (for me) last month – hitting almost 30k hands for the month and winning a modest amount.  I kill the 200 NL but I'm still struggling to beat 400 NL consistently.  I also feel I'm running poorly as my big pairs keep stealing blinds and my marginal raises keep getting floated on, but whatever, I need to play better too.  I feel like 400 NL is tantalizing because there is a lot of money to be found there if you kill the games but I'm not quite able to do that yet.  I still think I'll play that rather than the 200 NL because I get better experience this way, and hopefully I'll solve some things and start tearing it up.

I know a lot of limit players read this so here is a hand I played today at NL vs a fellow limit donkey who is learning the game as well.  100 bb stacks, he opened to 14 in MP and I called with 97cc, BB called too.  Flop was KJ7 two clubs he C-bet for 42, I raised to 144, BB folded, he tanked briefly and shoved with KTo and I of course called and bricked off.  He won the pot but his play is very bad.  Against my range there he is a huge dog, I had one of the worst hands I can call his push with and he was a 55/45 favorite.  My range in that spot (not when I raise him, but when I call his push) is like: pair + fd, Ace high fd, straight flush draws, set, KJ, AA.  Feel free to run that range on pokerstove against KTo and you'll see the problem.  It's a tough spot for him as well because he can't just fold every time or it will be too easy for me, but I think a push there by him is extremely bad.  He would do better to check/call off his stack if no clubs hit and let me bluff, or call and bet big on a brick turn and call a push (if he's willing to get it all in anyway).  The only advantage to his flop play is he can push me off a bigger king sometimes but that's a very small part of my range to be coldcalling and I think we can agree if you have to turn top pair into a bluff in that spot you are probably not going to do well in the long run.

Updates from Vegas!

I wrote my version of the linked article in a state of life-tilt after having a disagreement with one of my good friends. He had just dumped 50+ BBs over a 30 hour session that really should have never happened. I would almost never advise a good player from taking a shot at a bigger game that looks very profitable, but you have to be willing to book a small loss before you do any significant damage to your roll. The game in question was very good, but we all have days when variance gets the better of us and the donkeys get our money. If my friend couldn't accept that, he should have never stepped up to the bigger game.

During our conversation, my friend kept referencing how good the game was and the fact that he'd beaten many of the same players at his normal stakes. Those are all very good reasons for initially taking the shot, but once you're stuck in a game that is even slightly bigger than your roll can afford, it's time to put a red mark in your ledger and say "I'll get 'em next time." Instead, my friend kept chasing his losses and digging himself into a much deeper hole. I have no doubt that my friend was one of the best players in the game, but it's very hard to maintain that status when all your opponents see is you losing hand after hand. Even the smallest sharks (read: fish) can smell blood in the water.

Hopefully this will be the last time I have to delete one of my posts, but the original was definitely not worth wasting anyone's time with. With the WSOP coming up there will be lots of poker being played, so I should have plenty to write about. If anyone is going to be out there from 6/26-7/4, drop me a line. I'd love to meet/hang/play with any 2+2ers or others that happen to read this. You can PM me on 2+2 under "Blundy" or email me at egan.barry[at]gmail.com

To check out my latest handiwork check out: www.deucescracked.com/Hand-Converter.html – it's far from a finished product but we wanted a hand converter, and I'm pretty dissatisfied with the choices out there right now. A lot of shoddy programming so I thought I'd take a crack at it.  It's fun to break out my old Java skills (even though I know it might be better in a scripting language blah blah) and it's definitely still a work in progress.

Incidentally, if you rock with Java Applet code, please send me an email or a comment so I can ask you how to do a few drop down menus and crap that will make it more user-friendly. Thanks in advance.

Well, two more weeks til Vegas and WSOP time.  It snuck up so quick I might even stave off BUSTO in time to play an event or two

Bug my friends to post here ok, nobody even put down a trip report from Ocean's 11 where at least three DeathDonkey.com posters were in the same 40/80 game!

I've been pretty boring the last week or so, I've been grinding quite a bit online and working a bit on www.deucescracked.com as always.  I guess the difference is I've been grinding at NL Hold'em instead of limit, basically trying to gain some experience and win some monies at the same time.  I've played a decent amount of NL off and on over the last year, playing 25k hands or so on Party Poker and iPoker back in the day, and now many thousand more in the last month or so.  I can say at this point I definitely am used to the game and don't feel like a "limit player" anymore.  I figured it out when I was able to quit my NL tables and then go and play some limit holdem and play completely differently, realizing the games are as different as limit holdem and 7 card stud.  My results have been pretty good, I terrorize the 200 NL games, I really feel like there isn't a 200 NL game on the internet I can't hold my own in, which is great for my confidence.  I'm trying to play 400 NL now and it's not going quite as smooth – the good players don't fold to my continuation bets as often, making it tougher on me to steal pots left and right.  They float me every now and then, but mostly just aren't as weak tight as the lower stakes regulars which means I have to try doubly hard to win my share of the pots.  Also they don't miss bets later on, when they have the chance to stack me, they stack me, whereas I would frequently just call baby bets at lower stakes games and save half my stack because they were worried about blowing me off the hand with their monster.

I'm going to be making some NL videos for www.deucescracked.com so everyone will have the chance to see how this limit donkey fares in All In Texas Holdem world.  I hope I don't look foolish, but I feel very confident in my ability to crush low stakes NL games online.  Full Tilt has some fun deep stack tables that actually seem to go at the $60 buyin level (200 bb) which I was playing some yesterday for fun and practice with playing a deeper stack.  In the 400 NL games there can be some very deep stacks, as people are less likely to hit and run and more willing to play deep.  It's fun and profitable but very scary, as I can work hard, run well, and triple up to $1200 or so and be covered by a solid player and potentially lose it all in one hand.  But I know I need to gain that deep stack experience if I intend to ever make it up to the bigger games.  So my next goals are to play some deeper stack situations, kill the 400 NL, and practice playing very short handed, as right now if the game gets down to 3 handed (I only play 6 max tables) I quit against all but the fishiest players, as I am out of my comfort zone.  And I haven't tried any heads up NL play yet but I probably will at some point, moving back down to a safer level and logging the hands.

Other than that I will be in Vegas June 7-11 and maybe a bit longer, tentatively playing the 5k limit "world championship" WSOP event on June 10.  Then I'll be back towards the end of June for a couple limit events, side games, seeing friends, and maybe if I ever cash in a donkament I can try the NL events, as I'm sure I'm +EV vs the typical donkeys you see there, even if I'm a big dog to the great MTT and NL players who will be mixed in.

-Crazy Mike

When I arrived, I again saw the same limpathon at the 6/12 that I've been seeing time and time again. I put my name on the list and took at seat at 3/6. I really don't remember any interesting hands. I just remember losing a bunch and making most of it back before they called my name for the 6/12 game. By the time I sat at 6/12, it had gotten a little aggressive. I remember starting out being a bit confused with how much I actually needed at the table and how many $1 chips I needed. I ended up buying in for a couple racks with $40 in whites. This seemed like a good mix at the time.
I remember playing the first hand I was dealt,

3 limpers to me and I hat ATs in CO, blinds folded and limpers called. Flop came 8 high rainbow – checked to me, I bet, everyone folded.

This is the last time that this happened to me at this table. As soon as I was raking in the chips, the LAG lady sat down on my left with a plastic cup of wine. I have only seen her play the 3/6 game. I really did not like her being on my left due to her aggressive nature and lack of fear. She went at far as raising the river with 9 high after missing a gutterball. However, the LAG lady cold called my raise every single time only to try to out play me on the big streets. This was beneficial because she tended to isolate herself the few times I had a decent hand. I did try to call her down when it was heads up but it seems like she always got there. This cost me about a little more than a rack over the course of a couple hours. The game kept getting new players as a few were leaving to the main 8/16 game. As the old players left, so did my losing ways. I won a few key pots and made most, if not all, my money back. I left Friday night from DD being down roughly $60 having lost more at 3/6 than at 6/12.

I call my first session at 6/12 a fun but frustrating learning experience. Thankfully, it didn't put a dent in my bankroll ( something I was deeply afraid of seeing as how small it is — 250BB at 3/6 — and at how long it has taken me to build it up from nothing ). I definitely need a lot more 6/12 sessions under my belt before I will feel completely comfortable as I do at 3/6. I try to bring enough to play 6/12 each time I go to the casino as I believe it makes me feel more confident and more eager to play the bigger game.

-thesanch

-Crazy Mike

A week or so ago I wrote a post talking about not having the emotional bankroll for 40, even though I have enough (250+BBs) to take a shot. Well that lasted a while.

I was ready for some juicy games on this Friday night at Commerce, since Friday nights are pretty much an excuse to print money for myself. I was not disappointed. I sat down at the must-move 20/40 game which ended up becoming a main game before I moved, so I never left. I was running well (flopping pairs, etc) and playing well too.

Here's my favorite hand from the session: most of the table limps to me in the CO with AJo. This has been an auto-raise for me for as long as I can remember, but I'm not really sure it should be. Why build a big multi-way pot with marginal equity? For the first time in a while, I decide to just limp this hand — and I think I should make this limp more often (AQo is still an auto-raise there, though there are probably occasions where you can mix it up and limp that too). The button folds, the loose SB completes, and the BB — a LAGgy fish — raises. Everyone calls, so it's like 7 to the flop for 14SBs. The flop is J84r, which rules. The SB and PFR checks, and it so happens that everyone checks to me. I bet of course, and I get 3 callers, including the unpredictable strange player on my right. The turn is a K. I expect PFR to wake up on this card but he checks again, and now the guy on my right donks into me. There's a good chance he has a K but this is a big pot and worth fighting for, so I decide I need to raise here and probably take a free showdown. The two other guys in the hand fold, and it gets back to the donker who smiles and shakes his head and goes "ahh, you got a king…" and folds. Cool.

There was one other hand where I got pretty lucky. I raised two weak limpers with KQo. I got a cold-call from the fish on my left and then a 3-bet from a TAGgy button. Aiya. Everyone calls, and now I'm in a 5-way pot for 15SBs with KQo. Luckily I run hot and flop KQ9. Now only afraid of JT, I decide to bet if it's checked to me, hoping PFR isolates and I can 3-bet. But the two guys behind me just call. The turn is a Q (putting 2 spades out there) because somebody up there likes me. I bet and now I get raised by the fish to my left. And the PFR cold-calls! I 3-bet and they both call. The river is a K which kind of sucks (AKs was in PFR's range) but it turns out he folds and the fish only had Q7s so I scoop it.

So anyway that's a long story way of saying I won 3 racks at the 20 and now it's midnight. I'm feeling good and I decide I should go meet some friends who are at a nightclub in Hollywood. On my way out I run into Gabe V. who tells me the 40 is good, and then as I near my car I realize it's almost 12:30 and at most I'll have an hour at the club… so I turn back around, go inside, and get on the 40 list.

It takes a while but I get into a game and proceed to stop getting any kind of good cards whatsoever. I don't mind, though, because a) it builds a tight rocky image for me which is the kind I like to have; and b) it gives me a chance to study my table's betting tendencies and get reads before I start entering pots. Here are the significant hands from the session that I can remember.

After folding for a few orbits, the first playable hand I pick up happens to be AA in EP. I raise and get 2 cold callers plus the BB. I continue to run hot and flop a set. The calling station in LP pays me off to the river so I get to showdown my fast-played trip aces.

The next interesting hand was when a weak player opened in the CO and it was folded to me in the BB. I was holding two 7s, so I decided to 3-bet. He casually 4-bet in a way that told me he had a pretty big hand. I called and had to check-fold a KTx flop. I probably could have just called PF and check-raised a lot of dry flops, but I wanted to define both our hands early on. I dunno, maybe that's a mistake.

A weak lady limped in EP and I found 66 in the CO. I raised but the weirdly loose-passive button cold-called (I also saw him cold-call 3 PF then turbo-muck the flop) as did the BB and the lady. The flop was J77 which looked okay for me but the button raised my c-bet and I went ahead and made the RIO fold. I think I'm folding the best hand here a certain % of the time but even getting 10:1 I think it's unwise to proceed.

I won a couple more small pots and then a maniac LAG came to the table and sat directly to my right. He immediately started spewing chips but took down some large pots with thinking post-flop play. I had to tighten up even more PF, but looked for spots to isolate him. I got one when he opened in MP and I 3-bet behind him with red AQo. The flop came down 753 with two clubs. He check-called. The turn was an offsuit 6. He checked and I stupidly bet. The second he checkraised I realized I fucked up. The right play here is to check behind and call any river bet, and I don't even really think it's that close. But I wasn't thinking and I acted too fast. I thought about his range of c/r hands and didn't think he had to have a 4 here, but I ended up folding and hating it. He showed the whole table his AcQc and laughed. He was free-rolling me, but I still felt angry at myself for not checking the turn back and calling the river.

I shook it off and decided to keep after him. A few hands later he limped after a couple other limpers and I completed the SB with A5o. This is a marginal play but the three guys who limped all would have raised good aces PF, so I didn't feel I was dominated; also the BB was passive, meaning I would rarely have to face a raise after tossing 2 chips in. Nevertheless I don't love playing Ace-crap out of position against 4 opponents. The flop came down JJ6 and it checked around to the LAG on the button who bet. This reeked of a position bet with bullshit, so I check-raised. Folded back to him and he hemmed and hawed and scowled and eventually mucked. I'm glad he did because I wasn't sure how I was going to play the hand if he called. Probably bet the turn and re-evaluate on the river, probably check-folding it most of the time. But to be honest I'm not good enough to be confident with that line so I dodged a bullet by getting everyone to fold me the pot. I chalk that up to my rocky image.

The last interesting hand of the night was a hand I think I played the best. There were two limpers to the LAG on the button who raised. I semi-cold-called in the SB with the Ac5c. The BB called and we all saw the flop of Ad Ts 8s. This is a pretty standard check-raising spot given the nature of my opponents and the texture of the flop. Everything went as planned as we checked it to the PFR who predictably c-bet. I raised and it folded back to him and he called. The turn was a 6h. I bet and he called. The river paired the 8, and I made what I think is a pretty good play of checking to induce a bluff from the number of missed draws he can hold — his range includes two spades, any straight draw like JT, J9, 97, QJ, etc. as well as hands that beat me. He's never folding a better hand to a bet, and he'll fold all his missed draws — or bluff-raise them. But if I check he may bet a lot of those draws (hey, he can only win by betting right?) and I spend the same BB if he has a better hand (though I didn't think he had a bigger ace because he's likely to pop the turn or 3-bet the flop). He fell right into the trap and bet the river. I called and he said "good call" and turbo-mucked. I didn't even have to show, and sort of smiled inside when one of the donks at the table pointed at my face-down cards and said to the LAG "that's gotta be ace-jack at worst… probably AQ or AK."

I ended the session up 10BBs which is fairly insignificant in such a short period of time in such a high-variance game as the Commerce 40. But the important thing to note is that regardless of my results (I could just have easily had lost a rack or won a rack and a half if a couple cards had gone differently), I continued to get my feet wet at this game. I don't think I played great, but I didn't suck — the only thing is, I wasn't so super-comfortable that I'm ready to move up. The 20 will still be my game; but every now and then you may see me take more shots like this.

So far through 2007 I've put in no more than 80k hands. That isn't horrible, but for me, it's definitely not a ton — I really should be able to capably play 40-50k hands per month without breaking too much of a sweat, unless I'm running really bad. I've been very busy with DeucesCracked and while I'm glad for those opportunities, I really need to crank both my play (poker) and my work (DC) into another gear. For me, it's going to not only mean grinding, but also writing (blogs and articles) a lot more, but even more importantly, studying.

I've read Stox's book and thought it was good but I need to give it another look and pay more attention to some of the sections (blind steal and defense standards, most notably) in detail. I NEED to read and understand The Mathematics of Poker. I'll try to start posting here more often as well. I am blogging on my own project, The Road to Robusto, which is fun, but primarily targeted at a microlimit/small stakes audience. I'll try to use my time well blogging there, here, and also posting more articles and general thoughts at DeucesCracked.

Beyond all of those goals, I'll also be spending a decent amount of time in Vegas this summer. I'm booked for the 15th-19th and will probably book at least one other trip for the WSOP, and hopefully will also get time to do a Commerce or Bay101 trip over the summer, finances permitting.

Back to work.

Technorati Tags: poker

imagine a spectrum
where one end is valuebet
and the other end is semibluff
and somewhere in between is FSDR

valuebet_________FSDR_________semibluff

FSDR is just a term we coin for not
knowing exactly where we are at

what may be a FSDR to one player
may easily be in the eyes of another
considered a value bet or semibluff

ie: past history with villian
ive gained more information
and have more knowledge about this player
than a random person that just sits down

so in my eyes i know villian bets extremely light
and consider this raise a clear valuebet in mind
but to another whos not sure where hes at
instead defines this situation as a FSDR

okay im very concerned about my image when i play poker
i try to maintain a very dominant image at the table
i like to steal and bluff often
i believe its the best way to greatly increase your winrate
im not maniacal about it i pick my spots very well
if ive been losing several showdowns
i try to be as lighthearted and jovial about it as possible
it tends to lessen the effect hey this player isnt winning many hands maybe i should play more against him
im known to switch my seat many times during a session
(cause certain seats are luckier of course )
i like to have loose passive players to my right
i can attempt to isolate these players or
simply raise hands that have immediate value
i prefer having aggressive players to my immediate left
and to their immediate left i prefer players
that dont enter too many pots or tend to not to go too far with their hands if they miss the flop
so i can attempt to steal their blinds if it gets folded around to me
i dont like the aggressive players on my right
if im raising light i need to be the first entering the pot
and i dont want to give them chances to steal instead of me
now again no table is gonna be perfect like this
but theres usually a seat somewhere at the table
where the lineup is close to this

grab a seat in spot 2, and as soon as i sit down, the guy in seat one leans over and says to me, dont you hate [censored]?, i am perplexed as to why i am even being asked this question, the dealer tells him to hush and he asks me again, then says everyone heres an [censored], you should see the beats theyve been giving me, and of course me with my easygoing demeanor i say hey man i dont hate anyone im just here to play some cards, anyways he calms down and a few hands go by, at times i tend to be pretty absentminded with some simple things like today i forgot to eat, so at this point i realize im getting really really hungry, and ask the dealer, is anything still open at this hour?, she says yah you can actually order from that phone over there,

how awfully convenient i thought, now im simply ecstatic
that i can put food in my stomach, i order a sandwich a reuben i believe with some french fries, i roll up one of those tv trays between me and seat 1, i guess that makes sense cause i am right-handed, i get deal 29o or whatnot i couldnt be happier i didnt have to play here, i start digging in like i havent eaten for weeks, and mr. [censored] grabs a handful of fries from my little styrofoam box, me and the dealer exchange looks as if

saying wtf is wrong with this guy?, ok hes probably having a terrible night, i wont say anything and just leave him alone, i close the box and shift the tray to my left, and just in time a waitress comes by and i proceed to order a beer, which is okay for any alcoholics out there cause its not yet the next morning, several more hands go by and just

as im thinking im really really thirsty, heres comes my
savior with my beer, two chips in her hand and a smile my way, mr. [censored] proceeds to lose more chips, and looks back my way with his hatefilled eyes, hey kid arent you gonna give me more fries, okay no more mr. niceguy, this guys been trying to antagonize me enough tonight, i say

sorry mister theyre all gone and immediately proceed to chew on some, i thought he was angry before but boy was he mad now, he steps out of his chair and pulls a knife out of his pocket, now im not a big guy but i instantly go into animal-attack mode, my hand grasps around that beer bottle and if i see him start to open that blade, im jumping up

and gonna crack him in the skull, however i guess he gets his wits about him and decides to sit back down, some say im smart but really im just an idiot, so i says to him, were you trying to tell me something?, was i supposed to feel scared?, funny i dont feel any different while patting my body with my hands as if fear was something you could

wear, and this sends him back into his rage, he stands up again and throws his chips in the air, thats it, now hes [censored] the game up, security came by and escorted him outside, then came up to me and asked me if i wanted to do anything about this situation, im guessing he means press charges, but all i had to say was…….

hey man i just wanna play some cards

-Rich

Of course our poker hero only brought her to the table because he couldn't afford the buyin and she happened to think giving him $1000 to play with would make for a fun first date.  This was my biggest problem with the movie – Huck is a degenerate gambling addict, and is completely unlikable.  He manages to steal, cheat, go broke, and be an all-around asshole at the poker table (under the guise of the movie showing us the "war on the felt" that occurs in poker).  The only thing Huck is good at is taking a few hundred bucks and turning into $10,000 or so within a few hours, rapidly moving up stakes at the prominently featured Bellagio poker room.  Of course, he goes broke every time in the big game, usually to his father, a respected and renowned poker champion who wasn't always in control.  Dad made some bad decisions when he was young that scarred Huck for life, and now Huck hates the man but can never beat him, or manage to listen to his useful advice.   Huck's father is supposed to be the villain in the movie, but he is actually the most likable character in my opinion, as he plays cards well, manages to be nice to people and not go broke every 36 hours.  Also the actor who played him did a great job (I'm too lazy to look up his name), though I thought Drew Barrymore managed to not suck in the scenes she was featured in, of which there were too few.

All comes to a head at the 2003 WSOP main event, where Huck and his dad meet at the final table, along with a cast of celebrity pro poker players, and the token "internet kid" who is playing in his first live event.  Lucky You actually does a good job of making legitimate poker references – clearly they had someone on the writing or editing staff who knows his poker.  Other than the standard ridiculous cold decks, the poker situations were fairly reasonable and a lot of attention was paid to the details.  I loved that almost all the movie appeared to be filmed on location in Vegas, often in the Bellagio or on the strip.  I loved the celebrity poker player cameos, including a few great lines by Sammy Farha and Jason Lester (who I predict almost no one will realize is a celebrity poker player cameo when they watch the movie).

Drew Barrymore is all but forgotten as we wait and see if Huck and his father can work out their differences over the biggest stage in poker.  Of course they will, as the guy really isn't such a monster, and maybe he can teach Huck how not to lose that six figure WSOP score in those big bad cash games within a week.  Of course we are supposed to be thrilled that Huck solved his financial woes, his family woes, and got the girl, all while intentionally mucking the best hand at showdown to knock himself out in 3rd place (don't even try and ask), but all I could really think when the credits rolled was "another degenerate fish about to take his score to the big cash games and go broke again – LOL donkaments."

Nowadays an online player must be a lot more willing to duke it out with other competent players and wait in line to take the donaters' money. This mirrors a common situation in live poker (my main arena) where you are forced to play 3-5 handed with one fishy player and a few decent to great players. Many would say that your best option is to sit out and wait for a better spot, but if you have even a slight edge and the short-handed game is a must-move into an incredible (unfortunately full) game, or you know that some of your favorite fish will soon be showing up to fill the game you're in, your only option should be to stay, be patient and play well. That being said, these kind of games are not for the faint of heart, talent or bankroll. Most of us have played thousands of hours of short-handed poker, but in games where your EV is only slightly positive or neutral, the swings are going to be much more dramatic. You have to be able to constantly assess the condition of the game and make sure that you're not turning into the soft spot.

Besides the promise of a great game on the horizon, there are a few other reasons you may want to play in these tougher games when they happen to be running…

1. General improvement – The tougher your opponents are, the tougher you have to become. While playing against a table full of donks is certainly the best way to pay the bills, it doesn't accomplish much towards helping you become a World Class player. Most of us will never move past the middle limits, but if we really want to move up through all of the levels, we have to be looking for every opportunity to better our game.

2. Ego – There is something unique about the game of poker that makes it virtually impossible to be a long-term winner without having a larger than average ego. If you can't reasonably convince yourself that you are capable of eventually beating every game and opponent you play, you are simply gambling and relying on the luck factor to bail you out. Yes, you do need to recognize when you are a dog, but more importantly, you need to recognize why you are a dog, so that you can come back as the favorite. In the "real world" I am a pretty quiet and (I think) humble person, but my poker ego is constantly growing as I feel my game is constantly improving. (**NOTE** An ego is not something that has to be flaunted. In poker it is usually best to keep most information to yourself, and I think that applies here as well. My ego is big, but I keep it well hidden.)

3. Fun – This ties in to both #1 and #2. I live in Washington, DC and spend most of my playing time in Atlantic City. If my girlfriend isn't on the road with me, there isn't much for me to do besides play while I'm in AC. I would much rather play in a just slightly +EV game than sit in my room and laze around. It feels great to match wits against good players when know I'm getting the best of them, and if I don't, I have something to think about and study. As much as poker can be a grind, I truly enjoy the time I spend on poker both at and away from the table.

There is a lot of rambling here, but this post is the result of a quick AIM conversation I had with a good friend. He was playing in an Omaha/8 game in which he believed he was a slight dog. After being stuck about 20BB he made come back and picked up after booking a 5 BB win. Was this the best decision? Certainly. But, I don't think that playing on and trying to decipher what made him a dog would have hurt him in the long run. With so many players willing to shell out money for coaching and instructional software, a small loss while actually playing would certainly be worth the investment.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

I started playing poker about two and a half years ago, standard "deposit $50, busto, repeat blah blah" story until I became a grinding nit at like .25/.50 Razz and other weird games on FTP. I didn't know how to actually play but I still won a little due to everyone else being even worse. Didn't really figure out how to play until October-December 05 when I got Poker Tracker and lots of 2+2 books. Started out playing 1/2 shorthanded LHE with $800, moved up to 3/6 at 1800, ran pretty well there (plus it was OHHHHHHHHHHHH PARTY POKAH) and started playing 5/10 online and 8/16 live. Right now I play all kinds of stuff. I guess my "normal" game is 40/80 lhe at Ocean's 11, with a bit of 20/40 and a couple failed 75/150 shots. Online I can easily be found playing pretty much any kind of limit poker from 5/10-15/30 or 30/60 Stud 8. Lately I've been playing 10/20-15/30 6max LHE on Stars just picking whichever games seem best. My favorite game is the 30 Stud 8 but the few times it has been good lately I have been unfortunate enough to get the seat of the recently busted fish. I don't really like playing online in the first place, I like playing in bad games even less. I've also played a little bit of .5/1 6max NL lately, but I'm probably in like the top 10 worst big bet poker players ever group. As with most things in life I figure that I will just have to keep screwing it up until I figure out what I'm doing wrong. I suppose the eventual poker hope is to win enough/get good enough to play biggish mixed games because playing lots of different games is more entertaining, plus people seem to really hate their money more than normal in non-Holdem games.

I'll probably make posts after exciting events in my life (don't hold your breath), when I have a crazy idea that I would have normally kept in my head or after an interesting session of poker online or live.

There was only a six-month stretch or so where I used poker as my primary source of income. The rest of the time I've been a player I've had a full-time job and career to pay for my living expenses. So I've really enjoyed the benefits of having a hobby that I'm not dependent on for money but that happens to pay fairly well, providing me with extra income for a variety of things I may not spring for if I was only living on my paycheck.

That brings us to bankroll concerns for a non-professional player. Back in January I took a chunk out of my roll for unrelated expenses, and reset my bank at 10k, or 250 BBs for my regular game of 20/40 LHE. This is a reasonable-size roll for live poker, especially considering I only put in about 10-15 hrs a week and don't depend on it for a living. A live pro grinder who plays daily might want to have at least 400 BBs to account for an unforeseen extended downswing. I've either been lucky enough or play enough of a low-variance style to have never suffered a downswing greater than 100 BBs in live play. (I did have the dreaded 200+ downswing online, which is far more common).

In the 3 months since I reset to 250, I've run pretty damn hot, and doubled my roll. That means I now have 250 BBs for the 40/80 game — something I've considered moving up to for some time. But… just because I'm rolled, does that mean I should make the move? I think there are 3 things to consider when you move up in stakes: 1) Are you skilled enough to beat the bigger game; 2) Do you have the financial bankroll; and 3) Do you have the emotional bankroll?

#1 is hopefully true. The Commerce 40/80 game doesn't play that much tougher than the 20/40 and I'm crushing the 20 (although my 2007 stats have me winning nearly 2BBs/hr., that's merely an illusion of running well; I believe my true winrate over the long run is between 1.3-1.6 BBs/hr). I would expect my winrate to drop in BBs/hr, but as long as it doesn't cut in half, then I am skilled enough to beat the bigger game for more $/hr than my current game.

#2 is a yes given that my basic requirement for a level is 250 BBs.

#3 is where the crux of this post lies. Eric "Rizen" Lynch wrote a column recently about the concept of "emotional bankroll," which concerns how you psychologically respond to losses and gains and your overall risk tolerance. I have to admit that I'm pretty much a pussy when it comes to gambling — I don't make too many prop bets, I don't like flipping, I don't like playing -EV table games like blackjack and roulette, and I don't bet on sports. Furthermore, I don't like putting a lot of money at risk. And despite 3-4 years of solid poker experience, I still think of chips as money sometimes. I mean, at the 20 game I never consider a bet in terms of its monetary value; it's a bet. But I do consider an overall session's loss or gain in a larger context of how much money that means to me and what I want to do with my money outside of poker.

For example, I'm saving up to buy a new car when my current lease runs out next year. I'm trying to sock away some cash in a Roth IRA. And hopefully I'll save up enough to put a down payment on some sort of starter home like a condo in the next 3-5 years. If these things are under consideration, do I really want to have 20k — minimum — being kept liquid in a poker bankroll? What's the point? To make an extra $10/hr at a more stressful game? If I were a pro, most definitely I would make the move. But if I can make money and have fun at the 20 game, why not put this extra money to good use?

Because when it comes down to it, I still see buying in at the 40 game to be putting a lot of money on the table. For a wealthy pro playing 100/200 regularly, it's not a big deal to plop 5k down as a 2-rack buyin. After all, that's probably 5% of his total roll. But for me, plopping down 2k and potentially losing 3-4k on a rough night; that's serious money to somebody with a weekly paycheck that's far less than that amount. I need to think of it as nothing more than a percent of my roll before I'm comfortable. I need to post my BB without thinking of it as "a cell phone bill." And if I'm not at that stage yet, then I shouldn't play 40 even though I have the cushion and I have the skill.

There are other ways to let my money work for me.

A little about myself…
I am a 22 year poker player from Washington, DC. I have been playing all kinds of games since I was 5 or 6 years old, but picked up hold'em right before the big WPT/Moneymaker boom and have played seriously since 2003 when I started lurking on 2+2. At the moment, I play mostly live medium stakes hold'em, but am working hard on moving up as well as improving my mixed & big-bet games.

If anyone is interested in my non-poker interests, you can look to Private Joker's first post for an outline, as I also attended film school and usually find myself engrossed in a movie or whatever record I have on repeat at the time.

In terms of my future posts, I'll be writing trip reports, strategy essays/questions, reflections on new developments in the poker world, and the occasional non-poker/personal update if I think it might be relevant. My goal in being a part of DD.com is to provide a personal perspective on the strategy of not only playing poker, but of being a poker player. A lot of our most important decisions are made away from the table, but it took me quite a while to figure that part of the game out. Hopefully I'll be able to save you some of the time and money I wasted.

I try to be as optimistic as possible that Barney Frank will do the unthinkable to regulate online gaming, and though I do my part to call and email my representatives (we all should be), I am not holding my breath for too long. It’s unfortunate yet true that the ultra-conservatives are not likely to cosponsor a bill that would be related to “gambling.” That seems about as likely as Don Imus dating a black woman.

I’d like to think that if things were the way they were back in the day (wow, not even a year ago) I’d be making millions of dollars, but I also think running bad is running bad. I have plenty of interesting yet very disheartening statistics and stories from this year, but I try hard not to complain publicly about losing. That’s what friends and strip clubs are for. I’ll just say it’s currently very difficult to prove that I am a good poker player.

I broke around even in a two day Commerce trip, and I lost a bit online this week.  This month has been such a mess.  23k hands or so online, my most in a month since like October.  I'm just around dead even, the stressful kind of even brought on by random 200 BB spikes in both directions.  The only thing I won at consistently was small buy in NL but those games on Full Tilt are just not very good.  Chock full of 2+2ers multi-tabling and playing way too decently.  I hope to continue playing some NL just to develop the skill but I don't think I'll be getting rich off it anytime soon given my inability to feel those small games are crushable.  I don't know how the higher stakes guys do it so I better just stay out of the games until I learn.  I beat the fishes though, so that's something.

I have two poker books sitting around staring at me – Stox's new book and Mathematics of Poker.  I really want to get through them both at some point, but it's slow going.  I used to like reading – odd.  This week it's back to online business, start up a new month with business to take care of for www.deucescracked.com, videos to make, and poker to be played.  Next weekend I think my wife and I are running off to LA for a day or two to celebrate our birthdays (conveniently within a week of each other).

Crazy Mike and my brother and I went to a driving range today – I've decided getting mediocre at golf will be beneficial and hey, it's something to bet on.  Plus I saw the sun today – somewhat rare.  Ok, I'll try and be a better blogger again soon, I recruited a couple guys to make me look bad and hopefully entertain you all.  I'm still looking for a couple more, feel free to drop me a line if you want to write /end begging.

-Crazy Mike

I love to talk so we will see how well I write on this blog.  First before I start talking I want to introduce myself.  My name is Crazy Mike and I am in the military, actually currently 50 days till exiting the Navy which will be one of the happiest days of my life since I haven't been married or had a kid and all that stuff.  In 50 days I will be a civilian and start doing productive stuff with my life… Hopefully attending UNLV and getting a degree in casino management and playing a little poker on the side.  That is a little introduction of who I am and over time i am sure you will get to know me a little bit better and I will share some of my life, both poker and military with you all.

I'm not a poker pro by traditional standards; that is, I have a full time writing job in the TV industry and so I don't put in the kind of hours these other guys do, nor do I depend on my poker income for expenses. That said, I share a lot of other qualities with a pro, so I guess you can call me semi-pro. I'm strictly a limit holdem cash game player, though I will try out a tournament or NL cash game here and there for fun. I built my roll on PartyPoker from .50/1 all the way to 10/20 full ring, but I cashed out during the lol fristament debacle and now I only play live — in Los Angeles, primarily at Commerce with occasional sessions at Hustler, Hawaiian Gardens, Hollywood Park, and The Bike. (My regular game is 20/40 and its surrounding limits).

Most of my posts will probably deal with a lot of aspects of B&M cash games, including bankroll management, table selection, psychology, hand reading, and player profiles. I'll try to throw in some interesting hands as well. I'm still learning from the better players on both 2+2 and this very blog, but I've been a winning player for several years now and hopefully have some things to offer to help readers improve their own game.Away from poker, my main interests are movies, music, TV, and philosophy. I went to film school and I work in Hollywood, but I would have laughed 10 years ago if you told me that in 2007 I'd be making more money from a card game than from writing screenplays. I can't tell if that makes me happy or sad. Probably a little bit of both.The title of this post is a quote from the character Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket." Most people know this war movie for the hilarious obscenity-fueled rants the drill sergeant delivers in the first 40 minutes. I prefer to take cues from the better, second half of the film whose message often helps me deal with poker, variance, luck, and life: it's about the duality of man. A Jungian thing.

I finally made a video for www.DeucesCracked.com after a bit of a layoff mostly caused by me having tech. trouble with my new Bluetooth headset and a little bit of laziness. I will hopefully do better this week and pop out a couple stellar ones, as well as get back to the grinding and crush some internet poker. Also maybe as soon as next weekend I have a heads up grudge match scheduled with Crazy Mike which should be fun and possibly profitable. Trip report to follow of course.

We wound up putting in a marathon 12 hour session (for me, Brad kept going like a trooper) including lots of short handed yum yum play and I booked a nice win!  It was nice to relax and run well and talk to Brad about strategy, as he is an online shorthanded terror.  He won as well so the money went to all the good guys for one night (probably a matter of perspective).

I crashed in his convenient Commerce room and got back home last night to catch up on internet poker world and get back to the grind.  I've been doing a great job of logging hands recently and putting in some real sessions, and the results haven't been bad either…well except for one nasty failed shot in a great 100/200 game online, which set me back pretty big for the month.  Sucks when you can ruin all your hard work in one fell swoop, but if things had gone differently I could have been looking at a great start to April, instead of an ok one, so oh well.

I have some videos to catch up on making and some hands to log with my wife out of town, I have even less excuse than usual.  This weekend I'm going to a party with lots of poker friends so maybe even a juicy homegame is on the horizon, who knows?