Bad places....

I think it's safe to say that we have all been in some pretty bad places in our lives. Some physically, some mentally, and some both... I personally fall into the "both" category.

Lately I have fallen more into the "mentally" category, and that's currently where I am. I have always been one that has been able to put on a "mask" that makes it appear that I am happy with where I'm at, and that nothing is wrong. When in reality, I hurt deep inside like many others. One thing I have learned is that no matter what "mask" you put on, it doesn't change what your true feelings are inside. It's never a good idea to hide your feelings, or bottle them up inside, it's only going to lead to bigger issues down the road. Believe me, I know it's easier said than done to NOT put on that mask, I still struggle with it from time to time, but you've got to try your hardest to express your thoughts and feelings, otherwise things will not get any better.

At this time I will not go into ALL the details of my issues with EVERYONE here...however, I have been able to talk through them with some close friends of mine, and it has helped. As odd as it may seem to some, I don't feel like my current state of mind has affected my poker playing lately, if anything, playing poker has helped keep my mind off of my other problems, which can be both good and bad.

For any of you out there that follow me..if ever you need/want someone to talk to about ANYTHING, just let me know, I will do my best to be there for you when I can. To anyone that would like to do some HH reviews, I am completely up for that as well... Just hit me up on Skype josh.orent is the ID....

Catch you all later!!

Mindset...

Even though this title is something that relates to poker, this blog has NOTHING to do with poker....just me....

Lately my mindset has been a bit of a roller coaster....Some days are obviously better than others, and though I know everyone goes through their rough patches, I can't help but think somehow my situation is a bit different.

In the past year I've done alot to try and change myself for the better, and give myself, and my children a better life. However here I am at the end of the year, not really any happier than I was last year at this time....maybe even LESS happier than I was then. I know people throw out empty threats at times, I can honestly say that if my life doesn't start taking a turn for the better, that I'm not sure I will see 2012....

Wrapping up the year...

Ok, first of all, I know the year isn't done yet, but as good as I've been about keeping this blog updated, I figured I should probably get a jump on it now ;) Not only that, but the world is ending today, at some point...though there isn't much time left here for it to end.(Those that have listened to Nick in the past should know what I'm referring to here). Happy Birthday Nick! Welcome to life after death!! ;)

So looking back over the last year, it has been to say the least, a very interesting/eventful year. It started out with me going back to school, being asked to be a coach in the Rainman Poker program, going to Vegas for the first time, dropping out of school, going to LA, visiting Vegas again, back to LA, getting arrested in Kansas, moving out on my own, and getting a job. Told you, very interesting, and very eventful.

Some of this I have discussed in past entries, so I won't go into great detail on all of these happenings. With all the good and bad things that have happened this year, I can't complain too much. I would like to think I have learned alot, about life and poker. I've also experienced more this year than I ever could have imagined.

Looking at the rest of this year, and all of next, I am very much looking forward to it! While I am not doing for a living, what I would like to be, it could be worse ;) Yes, I am still playing poker, not as much as I would like, but I'm still playing. I currently work 3rd shift at a local grocery store, and while I don't like the job so much itself, I do like the people I work with, and get along with them very well.

So what's in store for me in the future? Well, I will continue to be working my job I don't like....at least for the time being ;) I will also continue to play poker(until the government tells me I know longer can). I am also going to work on my relationships with my friends, and other special people in my life...I sure hope they know who they are ;) I am also currently dating someone that I hope to continue to be with for a long while(not bad for someone that is "drawing dead" when it comes to women).

As for goals, both poker, and personal, I will save that for closer to the end of the year....I PROMISE to update my blog again before the year ends ;)

Ok......

So I know I promised not to get into the drama on here again, but I felt the need to clear some things up...

Some of you may have been following what has been going on 2p2 with Nick, and the charity money. I am happy to say that it appears this issue is being resolved. Ray did some extensive work, and it appears that it might have paid off. I say "appears" because until I see some physical proof that the donation has been made, I will still have my doubts. That's all I'm going to say about this as I did not have any part in the donations to begin with, but was there to help support Ray on his mission. Nice work Ray!!

There were also a couple things Nick brought up in the comments section of the Mad Poker Episode 10. Bodeye was a saint in LA, and obviously put up with much more than I ever could have. He was a confidant with me out there, and was really the only person I felt I could talk to on a daily basis out there. Without him, I probably wouldn't have been out there more than 2 weeks, let alone 5. He helped me out alot while I was out there, with my poker, yes. But even more with the emotional part of the experience, and yes, as Nick pointed out...financially. When I say financially, I don't just mean from the poker aspect, but on a personal aspect as well. It is true that Bodeye paid for some car repairs for me the day before I left, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to make it to Las Vegas with them, let alone Iowa, which is where I truly wanted to go. Since I have been back, I have talked to Bodeye, and assured him that I WILL be paying him back as soon as I can. I intend to keep this promise, and will pay him back as soon as I am able.

I also wanted to address the childish comment made by Nick when he said "You were so creepy and disgusting that I had to ask you to leave my house and you refused since my girlfriend was uncomfortable being alone in the house with you"......

Well, first of all..this is Nick's attempt at saving face, and trying to make himself look better in this situation. I was not wanting to leave the house at 2am to drive from LA to Vegas when I had already been up since 8:30-9am that morning already. I didn't want to, nor was I planning on leaving until the next morning at a more reasonable time. I was not refusing to leave, just wanted to have a good night's sleep under my belt before I made the drive. Once you SUGGESTED that I go to Vegas early then, and meet up with Ray, I did, but only after I was able to adjust my original plans.

As far as me being "creepy" and "disgusting", I guess that's your opinion. However I must not have been too hideous as you weren't in such a big hurry to find me a place when I got out there like you said you were going to. You told me that I might have to spend a few days on the couch while WE found me a place to stay. Well, that "few" days turned into 5 weeks, as in the WHOLE time I was out there. You didn't even have the Vegas home set up until a week before I left. For the record, when you say WE, that does include you...that does NOT mean that you have me walking around the neighborhood, and looking on Craigslist for listings, and having ME call them, and send emails to them. Then having ME go look at them, then have the nerve to ask ME to put my name only on the lease for a whole year when I was only going to be there for a few months?? What part of that was YOU Nick?? It was only after I absolutely refused to put my name on the lease, and Aaron and Bodeye convinced you that it should be YOU to put your name on the lease, not me, that you finally filled out the rental application. If I was so creepy and disgusting, why weren't you putting in more of an effort to get me a different place? Either I wasn't THAT creepy and disgusting, or you were just too lazy...So which one is it?

Well, I think it's about time I get off my soapbox with this. I have wasted enough time on him, will try not to waste any more. As far as a poker player, I think Nick definitely knows what he's doing, but I also believe that if he even dedicated a fraction of the time that he spends on poker on his social skills, it would make a WORLD of a difference.

Class in session...

First off, I know it's been ages....but here's a HOD. I will say this, I was due to deal a beat like this. You may recall that I had a similar occurence take place earlier this year. The big difference was that my opponent had KK and I had AA. Also, I got all my money in preflop with my AA, this guy, not so much. He checked the flop, and did allow me to catch up on the turn...once I hit my set on the turn, I'm going nowhere. He just got extremely unlucky when I hit my 9 on the river. After that flop he was 99.9% to win the hand...well thank you Mr .1%....you came through for me this time.

The title of this blog however was not about the HOD. It actually refers to something going on in my personal life. I know, I said in the last blog that I would stick to poker, and I intend to. HOWEVER, this part is so important that I just have to mention it. I actually have a class tonight, no, not one at a college or anything like that. It's a parenting class that I need to take to make sure my divorce is finalized. Yep, after tonight, all that divorce paperwork can finally be processed, and I will officially be divorced!

I wanted to give praise and credit where it's due.... A former student of mine that I ran into at the $3 90s yesterday, not only took me out in that tournament, but made it through a field of 648 people to take down his 2nd 1st place finish in "The Ferguson" last night. The game of the night? Razz....my favorite ;) Congrats to GRZA on his win, you deserve it!!

Done with drama....

So....since my last blog, there has been alot said. Who was I talking about? Why was I talking about it? People happy I was saying something....Some not so happy....

To those of you who are happy I brought up what I did, and knew exactly who I was talking about, I thank you for your kind words and support!! For those that didn't know who I was talking about, you may know by now. Lately I have not been too quiet, and have let my feelings be known about this guy. There are some that do believe what I am saying, and then there are obviously others that won't believe me no matter what I say. For those that won't believe me, and are not happy with me saying what I have said, I feel sorry for you, because you will see soon enough what kind of person he really is.

I have realized recently that no matter what the truth is, people will believe what they want to believe. When I say I am done with the drama, I do mean it....at least in the public eye. I will not be airing the dirty laundry for everyone to see and hear. But if you honestly want to know what I've experienced, I'll be more than happy to talk more with you.

Anyone wanting to talk further about this, feel free to contact me on skype: josh.orent

For the record, any and all future posts will be poker related, and will not have to do with the drama. I also have never doubted his poker ability, I believe he can be very good(he is proving it in the ME as we speak)....it's just that I never got to see it while I was with him. I do wish him the best of luck, but no matter how well he does there, that does not change what kind of person he is on the inside.....Til next time everyone.....

What a journey..

Ya, so I pulled up a friends blog, and realized that it had been FIVE weeks since my last post...YIKES, guess I'm long overdue...

Well, to start off, I want to say that my trip back from LA was much more adventurous than my trip OUT to LA. I will say this, my time out in LA was very much a life changing experience, and I'm glad I went. Just wish I had been able to see more, and do more while I was out there. So how was it a live changing experience if I didn't get to see or do all that I wanted? Well, let's just say I learned alot about people in general while I was out there, and learned alot about myself.

I have had some people back home here tell me that I had alot of growing up to do, and alot to learn about life in general. Well, after spending about 5 weeks in LA, I realized that there are people in much worse shape than I when it game to growing up, an learning alot about life. Granted, they were right, I did have alot to learn, and I did have some growing up to do....HOWEVER there are people that THINK they are more grown up than they are, and think they KNOW alot more than everyone else. I won't name any names, but lost alot of respect for a couple guys while I was in LA, these guys were people I looked to for advice at times before I even went out there, and put alot of weight in what they said. I now realize that there was one person that deserved that respect all along, and that had helped me the most not only while I was out there, but while I had been here as well.

For you younger guys out there, life is not about putting everyone else down, bossing people around just to make yourself feel better. It's about earning that respect from others, not feeling like it's just owed to you.

Part of me wants to let alot of people know what one person in particular is REALLY like, but I will not stoop myself to his level just to make myself feel better. I will say though, that whatever I say about him would be the truth, something he evidently can't quite get a grasp on.

Maybe down the road I will open some people's eyes to some reality, but for now, I will just bite my tongue and move on with life ;)

Rough week....

As a grinder, you must teach yourself to not look at the results on a day to day basis, it will drive you crazy if you do. While I have continued to put in long hours, and lots of games, which is what I had set out to do, the profit side of things this week have been kinda ugly. The thing is, even though the profit line has been going in the wrong direction, I know it will make a change in the right direction soon.


To get away from the poker for just a minute.... Just got back about 15 mins ago from a dinner at a nice little restaurant here in LA, Pacific Dining Car. The food there was very good, probably the best burger I have ever had at a restaurant. Had some crab cakes, as well as a chocolate souffle dessert that was very good as well. It was very much worth the extended drive we had to get there. We were inadvertently giving a tour of "Little Mexico" on our way there, but again was well worth the drive.

My goal for the next week is to play 100 games/day. Up to this point in the month of May, I have played a total of 1265 games. We are one day shy of half the month, and I am more than half way to where I had wanted to be this month at 2500 games. I am confident, even with a few planned days off, that I will still reach this goal, and be more profitable than I have any other month before. I have a long way to go, and it will not be easy, but I am looking forward to the challenge ;)

Have a great weekend all, and a better second half of the month, I know I will !!

This many games in a week??.....

This month has been an unbelievable month for me. Though you might be able to tell exactly how many games I've played this month by the graph, the grand total in the first 9 days is 779 games. Before I came out here to LA, I'm not sure that I ever played that many games in a whole month, and here I am doing it in just 9 days!! That's an average of 88 games a day, and at that pace, I will easily reach my goal of 2000 games this month, might even reach 2500 games if I continue to do what I've been doing just the last few days where I have been playing roughly 100 games per day.

Nick, Daniel, and Aaron have preached to me how important it is to get in your volume, this is what's important, not how much money you make each day. You put in your games, and the results will follow. I know any of you that are either part of the Elite Team, or someone that has attended a webinar, have heard any one of those 3 say this at some point. Well, I'm here to say that they couldn't be more spot on with this comment. In months past, I have not really seen big numbers in profit, because I wasn't putting in that many games. Since I've been out here, and have just been focusing on getting my games in, I have seen the profits climb as well. Look at what I've done so far this month, my average profit per game is $4, if I could put in 2000 games this month, and continue at the rate that I'm at, that's $8000 profit this month!! Who out there wouldn't like to be making that kind of money?? I know I always have, and hope to continue to improve, and boost those numbers even a bit more!

Today started off fairly rough for me, running into big hand after big hand. But, I continued to put in the games, and continued to play the way I was taught to play, and what happened?? I won my first $52 90 man SNG today, which turned a not so good day, into a very good day! It only takes one tournament to turn your profit around, and that's why it's so important to just get your games in. You never know which game will be the one that turns it around for you ;)

On a side note, it was very much a relief to score my first win in that $52...I hadn't even played 40 of them, and hit it. But in the last few days, I had come closer and closer....and BOOM!!

Never has the Star Spangled Banner sounded more beautiful, Thanks Maestro!!

Best day.....so far.....

Today was a very good day for me....ALL AROUND. It started off by getting a good night sleep last night, and waking up this morning at 9am. I checked my email, then went upstairs to take a shower. After I was showered and dressed, Daniel(Bodeye) and I went to Starbucks for our breakfast sandwiches and of course a nice drink(hot tea for me). After returning, we got started on what we had planned to be a 12 hr day.

I had set a goal of 100 games today, which would be my highest daily total EVER.... After stopping about 11 hrs later, I had gotten in 110 games. I went into the day only planning on playing the 90-mans, but Daniel told me I should try a MTT, so I did. I am glad that he told me to give it a shot, cause out of 5223 players, I managed to finish 61st, which was good for about $215, not bad for a $33 buy in ;)

All in all, I was very pleased with my day today. I feel like I am playing some of my best poker, and couldn't be happier with the results I am seeing. Just goes to show that hard work does pay off in the long run!!

Below is a graph of todays results....Enjoy!!

April in the books.....

So what you see above is my graph for the month of April. This month was a personal best for me in both games and profit, so all in all I was fairly happy. Let me go more in detail now.....

I made my way out to LA on April the 10th, and started grinding that Sunday on the 11th(as stated in previous blog). And while that first day was very nice from both the profit and the volume, I have had some rough patches since I've been here. Just over a week ago, or right around there, I had a hundred game stretch where I lost around 1k.....NOT GOOD!!

The thing is, most people would be completely devastated, and want to give up....not I, said me! In the world of online poker you must never give up, keep playing well, and making all the right moves as often as you can. As you can see, there has pretty much been a steady incline since then as I finished out the month strong.

Poker is a game of swings, both good and bad. It's how you deal with the bad that makes you a better player....

First day in LA....

I'll just get right down to it...I got here in LA just over 24hrs ago, and have had a great time so far! I got started bright and early this morning, not sure exactly what time it was, somewhere around 6 am. Fired up some $12s and $24s, started off kinda slow, but quickly picked things up. I finished up the day with a deep run in the Midnight Madness, finishing in 100th place, not great, but not too bad either ;) Below is a graph of my results today....Enjoy!!(For those of you not familiar with Sharkscope and Full Tilt, this does not reflect the bounties I picked up during my day)

Change of scenery....

Nothing special to say about today's HOD...Just thought it was nice to show me laying a bad beat on someone as opposed to the other way around ;)


Now onto today's title....What do I mean by change of scenery? Good or bad? Where is this change of scenery to? I will get to all of that, and a little more.


First of all, where is this change of scenery to? Once I say where, most that read this will know who, and why. The change of scenery will be very good for me, an experience that is much needed. I will be heading out to LA, to meet up with Nick, and Bodeye at first, then some others will be joining in the hardcore grinding and learning sessions. I am very much looking forward to this for many reasons, the least of which are the weather, and the scenery. Most importantly is that I will be thrust into a fast paced, hard-working environment, something I have not been able to accomplish around here honestly. I am looking forward to the learning and of course, the money. With the great poker minds that will be out there, how can I not become better?

So, as discussed above, the change of scenery will definitely be good, but it will have it's bad side as well. What could be bad about going out to Cali in April? especially when you're coming from Iowa? Well, regardless on how long I stay out there, I will not be able to see my kids. This will, by far, be the toughest thing I've done in my life. The longest I have been away from my kids ever was for a few weeks right after my wife and I split. We are talking about being away from them for at least a month, most likely two, and possibly even three months...who knows. I will definitely miss many people around here, but as stated previously, there are definitely some sacrifices that need to be made. While many people I know will not be happy about me making these sacrifices, some will understand, and most of them will even be supportive.


The change of scenery isn't only a physical change, but a mental change as well. Not only have I never been away from my children for this long, but I have never been away from home for this long. So it should be interesting as to how I handle everything.

So after all this talk of me leaving town, you may be asking yourself "When?" When will happen when I leave on Tuesday April 6th, and will be arriving in LA sometime on Wednesday April 7th. "Why will it take so long?" I will not be flying like most people would, traveling half way across the country. I will be driving, and will be doing so for a couple reasons. 1. It will be cheaper. Roughly $400 for a one-way plane ticket out there, not to mention that I would have to have a few bags for my clothes, and most importantly, my computer(kinda hard to travel with the stuff I will be bringing). 2. Flexibility...While I do have a pretty good idea of when I want to leave, and how long it should take me, it will be nice to go at my own pace and see the western part of the U.S.

All in all, I am VERY excited at this opportunity, and am welcoming it with open arms. To those of you reading this, that don't agree with what I'm doing, that's fine, you don't have to agree. But as my friends, I would hope that at least you are supportive in my decision.

Come on people!!

Ok, first of all, no HOD....haven't played today, and very little yesterday. I felt the need to blog something because I looked down at my list of blogs that I am following, and see no posts by anyone in the last 2 days....COME ON!! lol


So, as I've mentioned previously, I am putting my full focus towards my poker now. With this focus comes opportunities, and sacrifices.... I will get into details in a later post, but the opportunity that has recently arisen is way too good to pass up...even with the HUGE sacrifices. But I feel that this will pay off in the long run, and will more than make up for those sacrifices I will have to make. Am I going to upset some people? most definitely.... Do I like the fact that I'm going to upset some people? no..... So why am I going to do this? Because the people that I'm going to upset will not understand why I need to do what I'm going to do, and will not like the sacrifices I am willing to make. However it is not their life, it is mine, and I must live it the way I see fit. They may not like it now, but they will all benefit from this as well in the long run....one way or another....


So, I know I've been VERY vague in everything I've written today, but it will all be much clearer within the next week, I promise. Some of you may already know, but until the details are finalized, I am not saying anymore....


Laters!!!

Today felt good.....

It's been a while since I've had one, so of course I'm gonna do two....here they are, the HODs!!

Nothing in particular with these hands, but as you can see, I am hitting quads again, so watch out ;)

These 2 hands occurred just a few mins apart, on diff tables I believe, but damn did it feel good.

Earlier this week, I had won a satellite tournament to the Double Deuce that happened today, nothing out of the ordinary...But today's run in the Double D was different from others. Out of 10,566 people, I managed to finish 366th. It took a while to get down that far, but I was patient, and enjoyed it alot. I had also made the decision that this would be the only game I have going as long as I was in it, didn't want to get distracted in any way. For my $3 investment into the satellite, I managed to cash out for $63.40. There were a couple hands that cost me alot of chips, but I don't see where it could have been played any differently on my end, and thus have nothing but bad luck to blame.

Hand 1-- I have AA utg+1 with a stack of 28k, blinds were at 800/1600, with 200 antes. The player to my immediate left had approx 11k going into the hand. I raise my AA to 3395, and he flats. Everyone else folds, and we see a J-3-8 flop, I bet 5k(pot approx 11k) and he shoves for his last 7k, and I call. He flips over 66, and I'm in great shape with two cards to come. The turn is a harmless 3, but the river was a dagger to my heart...the 6 of diamonds.

I did manage to recover, triple up, and be sitting at 50k when the next hand happens.....

Hand 2--with blinds at 1200/2400 and 300 antes, utg+1 raises to 5198(he has approx 72-73k), the player to my immediate right flats, I re-raise to 16995, and the bb calls for his last 10k. The other two guys fold, and I'm heads up with the bb. He flips over A8o, not a prob there(I prob would have folded preflop with all the action, but whatever). Flop comes out 2-7-6....9 on the turn....any guesses as to what hits on the river? Yep, a 5, giving him the straight, and leaving me with 40k.

I hung around for about another 20-25 hands before my 66 ran into ATo...he spikes his A on the flop, and I don't improve. All in all, it was a good experience, and I had lots of fun, and lots of agony. The two hands above were just an example too of how bad I had been running the last couple weeks, and it hurts alot. When you make the correct play, and it still comes back to bite you in the arse, it's gonna hurt, and you're gonna get down, but try not to get too discouraged, things will eventually start going your way.

Thanks to my railbirds today for sweating me....Master3004, Jotagran49, and of course Bodeye2....your encouragement and kind words during the tournament were greatly appreciated ;)

Also a shout out to Master3004 for his nice run in the Sunday 1/4 million guarantee on Stars. Out of a staggering 36,299 players, he managed to pull out a 294th place finish for a nice score of $145.13, NICE JOB!!

Refreshed....

First off, no HOD....have some other things to discuss. First off, I must say that anyone that has not been to Vegas, it's a must go!! Brandy(a very close friend of mine) and I had a blast, and while it was her second time there, she seemed to enjoy it as much as I did, even though it was my first time there. We stayed at the MGM Grand, decent hotel, decent dealers(both poker, and other table games). I will say though that the wait staff there was a little less than desirable. While I wanted to play alot of poker while I was out there, I decided to get my mind off poker, just a little bit. I feel one of the things that has been bogging me down lately was that I have been overthinking situations, and thinking about the negatives TOO much.

Sooooo.....I played more Pai Gow than anything else, and it was by far my most profitable game of the trip(gotta love those straight flushes). I did manage to play in a $65 buy in tournament on Tuesday, and had a good time. There were 60 people(11 am on a Tues, not bad) and they went through another 10 alternates before they stopped taking them. A couple hands of note

1. Was being patient, and starting to get a lil short stacked(15bb) after making a couple of raises preflop, and having to fold to shoves.... So I pick up AKo in ep, and raised 3.5x, I get 2 flatters, and the guy to my immediate right, re-raises me. So I shove, and the flatters fold, guy to my right insta-calls with AQo...yeah me, I double up as my AKo holds up.

2. I was UTG, and again, had been playing very tight, solid poker. It was about 10 hands after the previous one... I raise 3x with AA. It folds around to the SB, and he shoves. The guy to my right thought about it for a few secs, then folds...I couldn't wait for him to fold and as soon as he did, insta-call. "you have AA don't you?" the shover says....all I needed to do was flip them over, and the look on his face was priceless. "Figures, of course I have KK" he says....My AA does hold up, and I knock him out.


Unfortunately I only lasted to the first break after a couple of flips not going my way, but was pleased with my performance overall, and wouldn't have changed the way I played anything. It was a very good experience, and can't wait to play some more live tournaments in the future.

For now, I am back to the grind of Full Tilt 90mans, and trying to turn things around so I don't have to give Bodeye more bad news in a couple weeks.... Not only does he not like getting money from me, but I hate the fact that I'm not able to GIVE money to him.

Great Opportunity!!

For those of you out there that feel your poker game could use some work, or just some minor tweaking, here's a great opportunity!

One of the best MTT Sit-n-Go grinders, Nick "MI_turtle" Rainey is hosting a webinar in which you will see how he crushes the 180-man MTT SNGs on Pokerstars. I strongly recommend taking advantage of this great opportunity!! Just click "Buy Now" below and you can be part of it. After a full review, he will host a Q&A session, that will allow you to pick his brain a lil bit too. Have fun, and DON'T MISS OUT!!!!

Fresh start...

First off...HOD..Nothing's prettier than flopping a set of A's and a board like this, that's for sure. What makes it bad....errr...extremely bad is what happens on the turn and river...can you say OUCH!?!?!

I am looking at this month, as I looked at the next tournament after this one...a fresh start. In the world of grinding you are going to have bad days, bad weeks, maybe even bad months. But you must move on and not let it get to you. If you dwell on the past, you are doomed to fail.

I am not going to dwell on my monthly goals for February, definitely not where I wanted to be, but I had alot going on personally, and have made a choice to focus on as little as possible. So my #1 focus is, as it should be, my kids...but I have changed some things in my life, and have decided to stop going to school, and focus on my poker full time.

I feel like the whole time I was in school, I was not putting forth the focus needed on my poker, and my numbers suffered because of it. I'm sure this is not going to be a popular decision with some of the people in my life, but I hope they understand why I'm doing this. Poker has brought about an enthusiasm in my life that I've not had with any job, or anything else I've done.

A new part to the focus on poker is now starting today, I have been given the opportunity to coach some new students in the program. I am very much looking forward to this, as I hope they learn from me, and I'm sure I will learn some things from them ;) I will blog more about them at a later time, but I'm very excited for myself, and for them!! I am expecting very good things this month, for my game and for theirs.

I am also heading to Vegas in a couple weeks, my first time out there, and am VERY excited. Anyone with any suggestions of "must see" things, or "must do" things while I'm out there, please feel free to enlighten me.

Some say it's better......

Some say it's better to be lucky, than good.
Well, I'm not one of those people, I have a different philosophy. I believe in the world of poker, you have to find that point of perfect equilibrium. What is that you ask? It's the point where luck, and skill collide, and you are playing perfect poker. Perfect poker? There is no such thing you say? You're right.....kinda..... You see, someone can play perfect poker...SOME of the time....but nobody, and I mean NOBODY can play perfect poker all the time. The best you can hope for is to play as good as you can, as much as you can. While unfortunately luck does sometimes win out, it is still better to be good, because as long as you play as good as you can, you will do better in the long run.

All that being said, today's HOD's show that we, ourselves can be the lucky ones. We may not always make the right reads, and when we don't, sometimes we just need to get lucky. I sure know that I did on both of these hands. While it was extremely difficult to contain myself, and not do a "fist pump", or scream out loud, or even jump out of my seat, I did contain myself. I smiled, breathed a deep sigh of relief, and kept plugging away. This is what we need to do......

Back into the swing....

Ok, I'm not trying to brag, all of these hands are from today....I didn't really play on Saturday so much, so I didn't hit my quads. I did have another set on Sunday though. I guess I made up for it today with these three hands.

Those of you wanting to know what I've done to deserve all these quads, or what the secret was to get quads as much as I have, I have a simple answer for you. VOLUME!! The more you play, the more games you have, the more games you have, the more likely you are to see good hands....it is variance after all.

I plan on seeing alot more of these hands as I have every intention of upping my volume....BIG TIME!!!

I will have more to share later tonight...I will explain then....

Have a good evening, and happy variance to all!!

Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln.....

Just so ya'll know I'm not crazy....here ya go!! It was nice to see him shove on the flop, was just praying no 8 came afterwards...

So, how was my day? I feel like I played really well, and made very few mistakes, just got unlucky. Unfortunately it happens...not much that can be done when your AKs can't hold up against an A6o. It hurts, but you keep making the same moves, and know that it the long run, you will come out on top.

Here's a graph of my year so far....still working on getting the number of games up, and know I can do more...

Everyone have a great weekend!!

Time....anyone have some for sale??

First off.....HOD....now believe me when I tell you, I didn't take old screenshots and save them for a rainy day on the HOD. I have managed to hit them again, this time deuces.... This is the fourth day in a row I have gotten quads at least once...I am a little taken aback myself. All I can say is who needs sets, when you can just flop quads?

So, after being sick most of all last week, I am finally back into the swing of things at school this week. I have some catching up to do, but know if I can remain focused that it is something I can, and WILL do. Of course a lil more time wouldn't hurt ;)

Well, hate to do this to ya'll but I need to keep it short tonight. Need to be hittin bed soon, so I don't oversleep..lol

If anyone knows where I can get more time, feel free to let me know....PLEASE!?!?!

Why do people never listen....

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times.....NEVER SLOW PLAY A BIG PAIR PREFLOP!!!

Those that know me, and that have talked poker with me know that this is my #1 rule. More times than not, it will come back to bite you in the butt. The funny thing was is that I was going through this hand history after it was over, and read the comments of the player whose pocket Q's I cracked. He was sincere when he said "Nice hand, I should have known better". Should have known better? He must be someone that has heard my #1 rule before. Look at what position I am in...the big blind, if he had raised preflop, I never would have been in there. But he was tryin to be tricky and win a huge pot.

Well, no class today, so I've been grinding alot already this morning, and plan on doing alot more this afternoon. All this snow IS good for something I guess. I've already had a few cashes this morning and of course a big one with a win.

I have another HOD here as well:

I figured I owed you a bonus HOD because of a few days I missed, so here it is.

Ok, before you ask, no, it was not all in preflop...so why you ask was my opponent putting it all-in with 5's on the river? Yes, I said river....Not only did he call my all-in, he insta-called my all-in. I figured when he did, he must have hit the flush, but to my surprise I find 5's...All I have to say is WOW, and Thank you very much sir!

A fun, and interesting day in the world of poker....

Check it out, QUADS!! Ok, so this is nothing new to me...I have all the screenshots, believe me ;) What makes this one so important? The very next hand...I mean the VERY NEXT hand, I am dealt 9's, and flop quads again! Back to back baby..lol...now that was a first. I guess the odds of me continuing to do well after that was bound to be next to nothing....and sure enough, it was. Not even a half hour later I was busted, and on the rail. It just goes to show you, no matter how good you run, or no matter how lucky you are, it can end at the drop of a dime. So never think for one second that you are invincible, nobody is.

It wasn't fun, and interesting just because of the quads, but also because of a new experience...As some of you may, or may not have known, Daleroxxu was staking a select group of people in the Sunday 1/4 million guarantee on Pokerstars, to be part of his "army". I sent Dale my info, and was selected to be a part of it. There were 12 of us and Dale that went into the battle, here is a list of his soldiers:

aventura72==>1,442nd

BigEckAA==>15,149th

Custo80==>22,222nd

DaddyO74(my name on Stars)==>1,987th

DPenman==>20,377th

ei8hty ei8ht==>15,310th

Jakejenks==>12,714th

Mr 0rigami==>22,698th

sp33d D3m0n==>15,737th

tamas_90==>2,305th

The DeadPrez==>6,033rd

Tucktornado==>17,441st

Daleroxxu(of course)==>1,332nd

So, I know you're seeing the places there, and are thinking, that doesn't look all that good....well, there were 32,919 players in this tournament, so ya, a few of us didn't do so well, but a few of us did as well. Probably not as well as we would have liked to, but all things considering, not too bad.

After I shipped Dale his cut of my winnings, I thought I might as well sit at a $12 180 man over there, and managed to take 2nd for a $394 score. Even though I managed to get a nice score, I am actually kinda disappointed in that finish because I had a nearly 5-1 chip lead 3 different times while I was heads up, but just couldn't put him away. My opponent managed to hit runner runner straight on me TWICE while all in(this is part of the reason I detest 4 card straights so much). I did not do as well on FullTilt today as I did on Stars, but such is a day in the life....

Sorry if this post was too long, but I hope everyone had a good weekend, and at least did better than I did ;)

Sick.....

Ok, so to explain the whole sick reference. The term "Sick" in poker can mean alot of things, both good and bad. Today's HOD is an example of both actually.....look closely.

I will say the best thing about this hand, is that all that action happened IN FRONT of me, ahhh the importance of position. It's sick in that I hit a set on the flop(which some may say has been happening alot more than it should). What makes this sick in a bad way is that the guy acting before me shoves, let me repeat that... he SHOVES! Some in my position may be quick to shove over the top thinking they were good, but let's think this through.

Could he have a different set? 4's? or 9's? Sure he could, and if the 9's were the case, he would still have me beat. In my eyes, there is no way I had this guy beat when he shoves, absolutely no way. I completely dismiss the thought of him having 4's, just don't see it. In my eyes, he either has a set of 9's or a flush, either way, I'm nearly dead.

Sick right?

You wanna know what's sicker? I lay this hand down.....

Too many times we fall in love with our starting hands and our flopped hands, that we lose sight on what the other person may have.

Wise man once say "Good poker hands are like women.... They may look pretty....They may get you REALLLY excited.... but don't get too attached, you could end up flat broke."

Focus, focus, focus......

Sorry, no HOD again today....will explain.... Just a week ago, I got a new computer, and have yet to find a way to edit the photos the way i was before. So until I do, u prob won't see any.

But, as stated above, I invested some money in a new computer, and really this does serve two purposes:

1. Need something more reliable for school, don't want to be in the middle of a paper and have my computer go crappers on me....

2. Needed a better computer for my grinding, again, something more reliable.

So...focus, focus, focus....ya, truer words cannot be said when grinding online poker, though it is very hard to do, it is very necessary. Without focus, you will see alot of hard work go down the drain in a hurry, so remember to always remain focused, keep your eyes on the prize.

What am I focusing on you ask? Well, I would like to put in the volume that I would like to, and what I am definitely capable of. I know I can put in 1k games this month, but have yet to do it. This month Nick has challenged us all to hit the 1k games mark, well, I'm gonna up the stakes a lil bit on that. Not only am I going to hit the 1k games mark, but my goal in addition is to hit the 2k mark in profits. As you may or may not have seen, I did manage to hit $1800 in profits last month, so why is 2k such a big goal?? Well, I started off pretty hot in the month of January, and up to this point this month, I am only up about $10, so as you can see, I have alot of room to go.

One last note....I am looking to take a mini vacation during spring break this year(Mar 15th-21st). Have a couple ideas in mind, but would definitely appreciate some ideas from my readers, so please feel free! Just so you know, I may or may not be going by myself, I do know that I will not be taking any kids....So please, let the ideas flow

January....

So, I finish my last entry and decided to check out my stats on sharkscope, and this is what I find. This is for the month of January....not too shabby....Shooting for 1000 games next month, gonna require more commitment, but I believe I can do it...

For the record, I checked out my stats on just the $13-90mans, and found a nice symbol next to my name...It shows a lil shark next to me.... for those of you not familiar with this, it is supposedly the ones you should avoid when playing these games...lol...very nice ;)

Been too long....

First off, I'd like to apologize for not having an HOD. There was definitely one worthy of it, just before I wrapped up for the night tonight. It was a classic blind v. blind situation, there were 3 of us left in the tournament, and I was in the small blind. I was the chip leader, and had both of my opponents out-chipped 2-1. I had 68o, which to those of you that may not know much about poker, is a killer hand 3 way, a monster if you will(of course I kid). Though most people would not consider it to be a huge hand, you should play it as such, and just shove. Well, I did, and the big blind wakes up with KK....YIKES!! Well, in true fashion, I come through like a champ and flop a set of 6s...and improved to a full house on the turn, he had one out, and did not hit. This led to me taking down the tournament about 5 mins later when I was able to knock out the other guy, and took down a big score.

Lesson of the day: NEVER GIVE UP, and keep making the right plays....Good things will happen, and though they may not happen EVERY time, they will happen MOST of the time.

The last two weeks I have not been getting in as many games as I would have liked to, but that is in part because I have had my kids both weekends, and that has limited myself alot. Not to mention that I have been in school, and had alot of homework to do....so ya.... School, for the most part, is going pretty well. I like my my instructors and my classes, so I can't complain too much ;)

A good friend of mine, and fellow poker nut, Josh Tekesky has been running downright sick lately, and has been CRUSHING the MTTs this week, check out his blog for just some of the details. The man is insanely good, and glad to know such a great poker mind....

Another year of my life....

I do apologize, but I am not including a hand of the day.... As I first mentioned, some of my blogs will be about poker, but some will also be about my personal life, and what I am thinking. Well today's blog is about what I am thinking, and feeling. So I apologize in advance if I offend anyone, but I do need to get some things off my chest.

First of all, yesterday(Jan 16th) was my birthday, and I was very much looking forward to it! For those of you who don't know, my wife and I split just over 3 yrs ago, and while I have no feelings for her, and haven't since we've split, I've always just kept to myself on my birthday. Well, tonight was the first time since we split, that I was actually going to go out on my birthday, and had even made plans to go out with some friends, one of whom shares the same birthday.

While it was better than years past, this birthday still could have been better. First of all, instead of driving myself to the meeting place, I had to rely on someone else to get me there since my car was not going to be functional. Well, my ride to the bar(which was only a 5 min drive away) decided there were more important things to do, like be on his computer. Like 10 mins out of his night would have made all that much difference.... Just because I did not have a ride, that was not going to keep me down, no sir! I decided to walk there, now mind you, this was around 9pm, and it might have been 30 degrees, maybe not, but it was somewhere around there.... But I was bound and determined to make this a better birthday than years past, and I wasn't going to let a thing like no ride stop me. I got about half way there before that special birthday girl who shares the same birthday decided to come get me, and not make me walk the whole way to get there(thanks Brandy, and Megan, as it was your vehicle).

We get to the bar, and I start having Cap'n and Cokes...what better way, right? In the course of an hour or so, I managed to down a few, and some other drinks that were put in front of me. Brandy then decides we needed to go somewhere else, as the combination between the alcohol and the music that was playin, was about enough to put someone to sleep. We decided to go to a small town bar, in my old stomping grounds(and by that, i mean the same town I went to high school in). We spent the last 2+ hrs there playing pool, and drinking of course, and all in all, it was a good night.... Could it have been better? sure, things can always be better...

If there is one thing I've learned from tonight though, it's that I will no longer be other people's doormat, and will not be the Mr. Nice Guy that I have always been....I know I've said this before, but this time I mean it, and this year is going to be a new Josh, one that some people may not like, but one that I believe will get much more respect, and will keep me headed in the right direction.... Just giving you all a heads up now, so you are warned ahead of time. For those of you that don't like the new Josh, well I'm sorry, but it's something I've got to do. For those that respect the new Josh, and look forward to the new Josh, then welcome to the ride, it should be a fun....errr....interesting one.

Now does this mean I am going to change the way I interact with everyone? NO, not at all...just with those that seem to take advantage of me, and those that tend to hurt me. So if you haven't done either of these, you have nothing to worry about, I will be the same ol' Josh, with maybe just a lil bit more of attitude ;)

So in closing, I hope everyone's upcoming year is a good one. For me, it should be VERY profitable, in a monetarial, and a mental way.... GO Vikes! show those Cowboys whose boss!!

Goals, and outlook for 2010....

Hand of the day.......

Today's hand comes from yesterday actually, but is something you all should see. As you can see it started off pretty painful on the flop, sure flopping two pair isn't a bad thing, except when your opponent has flopped a set...YIKES!! Then there was elation on the turn when i spiked my Ace, leaving him with only one out...ONE out. Yes, he had a full house as well, but mine was bigger. Then total disgust when his one out hits on the river.

What does this have to do with today's topic you ask? Well, not much really, but like life, you are going to have good and bad things happen to you, sometimes at the same time. And most of the time there really is nothing you can do about it, but realize that you've done the best you can do and that's really all you can ask for. Sometimes things will work out for you, and sometimes they won't, you just have to buckle down and keep doing what you're doing. So by looking at this hand you make think, "God, he must have had a pretty bad day, with a beat like that", but yesterday I had profited nearly $200, which to say the least is a decent day, especially at the stakes I am playing at.

So, onto the goals for 2010. Some of these are personal goals, and some of these are poker goals, so please, enjoy ;)

1. To be the best father I can to my kids. With all the new ventures I will be taking on this year, this may be pretty difficult.

2. To focus on my schooling. I have been in school in the past, and have told myself that I am going to finish it, and do well. Well, this is the third time I've been back in school, and I have yet to have anything to show for it.

3. To continue to improve my poker game, and make this my primary source of income. I have technically made this my primary source of income already this year as I have not had a job, but even more than it is now.

4. To be doing well enough on my daily poker grind that I will be able to grinding the weekly Sunday tournaments, and be profitable at it.

5. To have a MTT win of:

a. over $1k

b. over $5k

c. over 10k

This is going to take a lot of work, but I also have a whole year to do this, and believe that with enough dedication and hard work, I will be able to accomplish at least 2/3 of this goal.

So far on the year, I've gotten off to a decent start, but poker can, and usually does, have lots of peaks and valleys. So I must stay the course, and continue to improve, and keep making the right plays as much as I can...

A Good start....

This hand is from a while back, but shows some of the craziness that can, and does happen when you are playing in a $3 90-man KO tournament. This was the very first hand for me, and needless to say, got me off to a very good start!

Now while this one worked out in my favor, oddly enough, I've had it go the other way, where I've clearly had the best hand, and one of those other hands would suck out on me. Before anyone tries justifying why any of these people would have shoved, we were all "all-in" PRE-flop.

Now on to the rest of the blog, and the HOD does lead in to the topic of today's blog..."A Good Start". Even though the year is young, I feel that I am off to a pretty good start, and hope to continue to improve. So far(1/1-1/4) I have won at least one tournament each day. Granted, they were in the $3 tournaments, but a win nonetheless. To go along with those wins, I have had a few 2nds as well, so when I am making the final table, I am finishing strong.

Since I have started playing the 90-mans 1 1/2months ago, I have found that my strength is my strong finish, look at the graph below:

This shows the different positions that you can finish in the tournament, and the number of times I have finished in each position. Notice the two tall bars to the left of the graph, those are 1st and 2nd place finishes, clearly more than ANY other position in the tournament, nice huh?

While getting off to a good start is important, it is just as important to maintain the good throughout, and finish strong. So like a 90-man tournament, I hope to continue to play well at the start of the year, and finish the year strong.

Coming soon....Goals for the year....