so much to say. think Ill wait to do an update for a little while though.

Whats the most difficult thing to learn in poker? Is it calculating the percents  in your head? Is it learning how much to bet, raise and even reraise so that you get the outcome you are hoping for?  Or perhaps learning tells and betting patterns? Well for most people one of the above, if not all of them, could be said to be true. For me its something completely different. My problem is playing with friends.  By nature I am a very competitive person. I take competition very seriously. Some would say too seriously. Originally I had a problem playing poker with friends because face it, sometimes you have to do some not so friendly things. Ie, bluffing. BUT that is the game and all players involved should expect for that to happen. However if you show a bluff to a friend, even if its to set them up for a big hand later on, that could be construed as rubbing it in their face. Yet it is a valid “move”.  Its not nice but as I said its part of the game. I used to feel bad and sometimes still do when I knock out one of my friends from the tournament. I hate to ruin the fun for people. However one of my friends told me how  it really bothers her when I apologize for knocking people out. So I’ve stopped doing that.  I have to tell myself, its part of the game. So yes there are some things that one can not control when it comes to playing with friends.  Its the game and thats how it is. In some ways however there is absolutely some things you must control when playing with friends. Such as attitude, composure and in general ones “table manners”. Whether its engaging in a conversation on a cell phone, berating other peoples play, talking across a player that is in a hand, etc etc  These are the controlables that one can keep in mind and work on. If I get “sucked out on” I get upset. Thats fine, its annoying but there is no reason to get angry or emotional about it.  Thats a good way to go on “tilt” and that will throw of your entire game.  Also its not a good idea to use psychological attacks to throw a player off . Its not very nice and it will not make your friends respect you off the “felt”. I know I personally need to work on a few of these areas.  There are a few players in our friendly house game that really show their emotions. There are some that just take it all in stride.  I have to do that more often. Remember that poker should be played for the fun it truly is. Yes there are times when I need to be more serious about it such as when I am in Atlantic City.  However I do need to scale back the seriousness  those times when I am with my friends or they will no longer be my friends. Now that doesn’t mean that I wont give it my all to win. However Ill just do it  in a friendlier manner!

Last week I was lucky enough to have been able to play four times! Without further delay, here are the details.

BORGATA

myself and my friend Steve made the trip out to Atlantic City to play in one of the daily tournaments at the Borgata. This was the same tournament I had played in before however I thought that it being the weekend there was the potential to be  more players in it. Well there were but only by about twenty. A total of 122 players to be exact. Steve and I were seated at the same table. I think this was because we registered at the same time. It was nice to have a familiar face at the table and there was an unspoken understanding that we wouldn’t push to hard against each other. There was really only one pot that we went heads up and Steve won it when his straight was higher than mine. (the first of three times this would happen to me on this trip) I busted out fairly early when my luck just wasnt there, hitting two pair against flushes, two pair against trips, playing too many hands, etc. Steve ended up placing  in the thirties.  After I got knocked out I decided to play the 1-2 cash game. I was doing fairly well until back to back huge loses when my straights got beaten by higher straights both times on the river. It was enough to tilt me off the face of the planet and I was done playing. The highlight was my sandwich from Whitehouse subs. I had fun though and I liked spending more time with Steve.

LION CUP ROUND THREE

Next was the next round in the Lion Cup series.  You could call this the semifinals.  There were two tables of six players. The first two  knocked out from each table would be eliminated. The remaining 8 would advance to the finals that will be played in about a month. The first goal is to not be knocked out first or second. I was getting worried that this would happen. Early on I found myself shortstacked but was able to fight back a little. Then one was eliminated (my pick to win the whole thing if I couldnt do it myself)  and I was still worried. It took some creative all ins with pocket “2″  twice and a huge bluff to stay in. Before you knew it the second player was eliminated. Soon after I was as well however I am safe for the finals!

TNPC WEEK TWENTY-SEVEN

With only three weeks remaining in the season I was still sitting on top in first place by about twenty or so points. I was up and down for the better part of the first half of the game then got some lucky cards and was one of the chip leaders when we merged to the final table. Some ill conceived banter was had at our table by me that annoyed a few players who took it to seriously and the night took on a different tone. I played my game with very little memorable hands to come in fourth place. won my buy in back and earned some points. Joe won the night and earned enough points to now be within six points of my lead making me a little nervous. I should be happy that I am guaranteed a spot in the champions game (second year in a row) and I am.  I would like to keep my number one spot however and I do know there are several who would like to take that crown away from me. With two weeks remaining saying it will be interesting is an understatement.

SURPRISE GAME

Lastly my friend Trey decided to throw a surprise Birthday party for his lovely girlfriend.  I unfortunatelygot  to the party very late due to the "rea" job but I was happy to see some of my friends were still there. We sat around the covered up poker table eating cake and talking when someone thought it would be fun to play a cash game. Everyone was into that and it was soon decided to change that to a quick $5 entry mini tournament with only $100 in chips. Everyone had High hopes of winning a nice sized pot. A total of seven of us played. I must say I did have the advantage in this game being that I wasn’t partying all night. I was on tho and was hitting cards. The conversation turned back to the misunderstandings of Thurs night and I soon found myself being portrayed as the villain once again. I would like to hope it was all in fun but I’m not to sure. That bothers me a lot  actually. I would like to call these players my friends and I just hope I can get back to that friendship with them.  I ended up winning the night when I had a rather seesaw heads up against Kim (who I respect as a friend and player very very much) I started off with a decided chip lead against her but that was quickly turned against me as she was hitting and taking me down. At one point I was reduced to a little less than the big blind but crawled out to end up winning. Hitting K,K heads up really helped get me back in it. At one point the offer of “chop” was out there. I declined for a few reasons. 1. I like playing heads up and wanted to see  if my record could hold up. 2. I didnt want to stop playing. It was to much fun. 3. I don’t believe in the chop. I think there should be a decided winner.

So that was last week. It was a fun week. I just wish that my luck was better in Atlantic City. Maybe next time.

Last night at Lion Poker I felt like mixing things up. I wanted to play very aggressive and not as passive. I wanted to raise heavy on less than premium hands and try to see how things would go from there. I got into trouble early when I did have good hands and were met by annoying re-raises that resulted in nothing for me or was met buy continuation bets that I couldnt call. Semi-bluffing would not be an option this night. The table I was at wouldn’t be very good at making burritos because none of them knew how to fold.  Soon I found out I was shortstacked to about %50 at 2-4. I was playing way to many hands and needed to slow down.  then I got A,J. not to bad. Under the gun calls 4. I raise to 12. Trey raises to 24. all fold to me. I call. Hit my jack on the flop. check, call another 24. check the turn, get put all in. I call thinking Trey has a draw, midpair or a weak  jack. Nope he had 9,10 sooooooted. He had  hit two pair on me again for the third week in a row but this time it cost me. I couldn’t believe he called my initial raise with 9, 10 suited??  but then again he played it  exactly the way I had intended to play that night. Raised with less than a premium hand, wanted to see how it would go  from there and got lucky. Bravo! I was the first one out. I still have my number one spot. moved to second with overall take and am now tied again for first with final table. There is a scheduled week off for next week so we wont be playing for two more weeks. Only three weeks left to go!

Haven’t been very many updates lately but a lot has been going on. First of all I am doing very well in the Lion Poker league. I am sitting on top ranked as number one. It was a long battle to get up to that point but there I am. Back to back wins followed by a second place showing helped me climb the charts. With only five weeks left I am comfortable in saying I should remain in the top six and automatically qualify for the champions game. However, I am not going to bank on that. I am going to continue to try my hardest to stay on top and play the best that I possibly can.   IN other news…. recently I played in a tournament at The Borgata. One of their daily tournaments that they have. It was $120.00 buy in and there were 101 players. 18 people got paid out. First place was a nice $3,100. 18th was $154.00. I played very well. I bet big when I hit and folded when I didn’t. Hit some nice pots with back to back flushes shortly followed up by pocket Aces that did not get cracked. I was having a good time. What threw me off a little was the fact that this tournament had antes once we hit 5th or 6th level. It was hard for me to adjust my betting but I soon caught on. Unfortunatly I went card dead for about 40 minutes. That combined with the antes doomed me. I ended up going out…..in 19th place. One short of the money…. I was depressed but sort of content that I did get a lot of tournament experience and placed well. Especially since this was only my 3rd A.C. tournament and my first at the Borgata. I then drove over to Trump plaza so I could walk the boardwalk, look at the ocean and analyze my play. I cleared my head and decided it was time to go home. As I passed the slot machines on my way out I decided last minute to throw 5 bucks away. I sat at the Apprentice penny slots  figuring I was in Trumps casino, might as well play his game. Well five min later…I won $164.00!! Crazy!!  Thats going into the bank roll for the next tournament!! Crazy city!!!! I plan on returning soon with a few members of the TNPC crew. Should be a good time!

back to back river flushes will make you the chip leader

The calm of the ocean helped clear my head

In my area there are a few bar leagues that one can play in. Recently a friend (Joe C) of mine invited me to go along with him to one of the leagues I have not played in before. This league is called The Nutz. I have heard very mixed things about this organization. So I wasn’t quit sure what to expect. When I got there Joe introduced me to a few of his friends and we then selected our table. I was a little confused at first due to the different value in chips and the different blind levels. I quickly caught on though. I was playing as a “new” player anyway. We told people I had only been playing for a few months! I had to make sure I didnt play with my chips and I let things slide when rules were interpreted incorrectly.  After a while I think it was pretty obvious I knew what I was doing. After being called “@$$%^@)” and “this $%#@@@!##! over there” I knew I was playing well. Then some bad beats did me in and I was done!! haha oh well!  It was great playing with some new players and meeting some new people. They were a very friendly group and I would definitely play there again.

Recently I was invited to play in a cash game at a friend of my brothers. I really did not know what to expect. Going into the situation I knew the guy had a custom made table so I figured he must be pretty serious about his game. After some rather sketchy directions…I found the house and pretty much everyone was there. A few moments later we got into the game. Everyone who was playing (a total of 7 of us) knew each other very well (except for me, I only knew my brother). It was a very friendly layed back  game.  Very different from what I am used to. So relaxed that it was not unusual for someone to finish a conversation before they “acted”. So relaxed that our dealer was texting in between dealing. However after about an hour things started to run a bit smoother. I did not want to play to aggressive. I sort of just went with the flow, like I said it was a very friendly relaxed  game. That being said I had no problem knocking out the home owner and taking him for the rest of his cash! I felt a little bad about that but not to bad. I had him on the ropes earlier but a lucky “suck out” kept him alive so he was due! Overall I ended up around $25.00 or so. Not to shabby. It was a fun time and I hope to be invited again.

After everyone was thrown out of the house at the St Patty’s game… some of us headed over to Joe’s for an after party. Seven of us to be exact. The night was filled with beer, Mexican dice and yes, another poker game. This time we decided to play a cash game.  I don’t know what time we actually started the game but I do know we stopped at 7:30am. It was a good time and I cant tell you the last time I was up for 25 hours straight. I came out ahead which is always nice and  Im ready for another all nighter. Lets do it this weekend!

The Saint Patty’s game has come and gone. So how did I do?? I was second.  Actually, the second one out. I got a little to comfortable and lets say a little to relaxed. I was enjoying the party aspect of the night a little more then the poker part of it. Everyone had a great time. I do not have much to say about my play. I got out kicked a few times got a little frustrated and then decided to play pretty loose. It doesn’t bother me much that I went out early. I was one of the last to leave for the night though. Then it was on to the after party. More on that later!!