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.