Poker Blog – icemonkey9 on PokerStars

So I guess now that April is almost done I can finally come out of my shell and officially say that I’ve been running well. Whenever I come out and say that I usually immediately go on a horrific downswing, but I’ll tempt fate with 1 day to go.

My cash game continues to improve, and I’ve actually started playing some super micro stakes at PokerStars to test the waters … and man are they fishy. I’m debating taking out some of my bankroll at FTP that I’ve built up and putting it into PokerStars to enjoy some variety. Either way I am sure I’ll spend much more time at PS now that my initial deposit bonus has expired at FullTilt.

That said I think I hit my biggest pot of the month during a session today. I was playing 3 tables for about 45 minutes during my lunch break and while a couple of work-related things were rendering. Check it out below … a pure definition of “dream flop” … at least for one of the people involved! Muahahaha …

So now that the word is out, I can say that the family emergency was pretty serious. My wife’s uncle, whom I am close to and think of as a mentor, had a massive stroke a week ago today. The next day he had a minor heart attack, and after that he came down with a mild case of pneumonia. The outlook was very grim. Thankfully, the family and friends of the communities around us got together and we said prayers and kept our spirits high. Fortunately, he has stabilized and been under sedation since the stroke, but continues to make progress. His status will be much the same until next week, so our prayers and thoughts still are with him at this time.

There’s been a serious family emergency. Poker is definitely on the backburner for a while. I’ll check in sometime soon. Sorry!

Okay so I won’t mention how I am running lately at the cash games because whenever I do, the horrible sudden opposite hits me. So, no update for that.

So I got in A LOT of poker this weekend. You would think that I would get sick of it , but no, I’m itching to play more. Sadly work and a trip to Florida is going to kill all of that most likely.

So for the homegame we had, we got 8 to play a $25nl cash game, and my wife was all over it killing pots left and right. She really punished anyone that got into a pot with her and she left up big again. I have to admit to being proud. I left down $5. Just wasn’t feeling it I guess.

Fortunately two of my friends stuck around and we decided that after my ice hockey game we would hit up a local casino for some live play. My team lost 11-3 in our game, but I scored 2 goals to salvage some entertainment value. Brutal game, and our goalie has really been horrible lately.

Anyways we hit up Hawaiian Gardens Casino in Los Angeles, about a 35 minute drive from where I live. It’s a great room, very lively bar area, and has ALL limits. They even had a $20 nl 1/1 table! We hit up the $40nl 1/2 blinds … and for the first 20 hands there was only 2 that did not feature an all-in showdown at the river. To say the table was loose would be a huge understatement. I picked up a nice hand finally, AA at UTG, and raised it up to $10. Got called by 2 and the flop was all rags. Dude before me (super loose agressive) bets it hard. I go all in and he has the odds to call (like $6 bucks for the guy) and he looks at me and says, damn man I need a 7 I am on a gutshot against yer bullets.

BAM. 7 turns. Table groans. Idiot hit his 4 outer. I’m out $40.

“That’s Poker” I say and rebuy in, but our table breaks because people keep dying left and right. One of my friends goes on to some other loose table, while my other friend and I sat at what had to be the tightest table I have ever seen at a casino. Ridiculously tight for those stakes and it made it easy to win, but the pots were so low it was hard to keep up against the rake. I got AA twice more UTG and made a standard raise only to see the entire frickin table fold it.

Finally we got some new blood at the table with two new players that loosened up things a bit, and I was killing it when I was in the pot. I was really able to make some fantastic reads and called a guy down with mid-pair and he just mucked, refusing to show his rag bluff. In the end I left with a $15 profit, so I made up my lost buyin and left with more than I showed up with – so that was a good thing.

All in all it was a great 4 hours of live poker and a place I would definitely want to visit again.

Sunday, the wife was out of town visiting her mom, so I relaxed, slept in, then woke up and played a lot of hands. I played about 500 hands of live cash game play and finished $13 in profit, and I played in three $5 tournaments and won one SNG for a $25 prize, so it was all about small profits this weekend.

Man poker can be a brutal game. BRUTAL.

Tried to 4 table it just now and got wacked. Lost 2 buyins, a new record low. It was highlighted by my AA losing to KK for a stack. BRUTAL. Hopefully the home game will be fun and profitable. Online I am getting my candy ass kicked.

Alright … so I’m finally back to playing some poker after a ridiculous 10 day hiatus. Between a much needed vacation trip to see my best friend and some family in Oklahoma, and working like a madman, I finally got in a quick 1 hr 4 table session at FullTilt Poker. The results were awesome!

Game: $25NL
Tables: 4 simultaneous
Profit: $19.49

Nice flipping result to have a whole buy in. I was very pleased with my play. Here’s what I did right, and I think I have ChuckTs’ videos to thank.

1. Didn’t sweat going down early if I simply lost a hand.

2. Made sure I was ridiculously aware of position, and tried to steal A LOT more, and with more (I used to try with 3x BB and it was mixed results. This time I did 4x and it was successful TONS)

3. Was NOT afraid to 3-bet it if I had a decent hand in good position

4. Successfully got an AIPF with a guy that I think was doomed anyways, but got maximum value out of KK today without getting killed.

5. Made a good PF laydown of QQ .

Anyways tomorrow I am in for a GREAT LONG homegame session (4 to 5 hours!) and will be playing online tonight again if possible!

April Goals:

- Kick A$$ in Oklahoma at home games and at the casino cash game (1/2nl), which means come out ahead (Going out there for 5 days)

- 3,500 hands at $25nl

- At least a $50 profit at the end of the month from $25nl

- When I play ring games, always 4 table it

- Get one of my two heroes, either ChuckTs or Zachvac, to comment on a 45 minute 4-table $25nl video captured session

So here’s my thoughts and feelings about March : I had a pretty break-even month, and save for some SICK bad beats I would have easily shown the same profit I had in Feb. Here’s the quick breakdown:

Online SNG: + 25.80
Online MTT: – 2.25
Online Cash Game: +21.82
Casino & Home Games: – 23.75

TOTAL PROFIT/LOSS: + $21.62

Good enough for me I guess. Here’s how I stack up to my March Goals:

MARCH GOALS:

1. Log in 3,500 hands in the cash ring game at the $10nl game, and be in the positive.
RESULT: MODIFIED. I stopped playing $10nl due to the wild nature of the tables. I moved to $25nl, enjoyed my stay, and played 3,217 hands overall.
FAILED – I did not play 3,500 hands.

2. Play the $5 SnGs now, no more $2. Continue the same profit, ITM, and improve the 1st place win rate.
RESULT: I played in three $5 SNGs, and twenty $2 SNGs. My 1st place win rate DID improve, but my ITM rate fell from 52.6 to 52.2, so I’ll consider that a wash.
FAILED – I played the $2 SNGs. Cup check time.

3. Update my poker blog at least 3 times a week.
RESULT: Work became insane. I lost nearly two weeks of playing and poker blogging.
FAILED – with no regrets.

4. Do not play in any stupid big buy-in ($60+) casino tournaments.
RESULT: I didn’t play in a casino all month.
PASSED – with no regrets.

5. At the end of the month have my total profit exceed February ($61.67).
RESULT: My total profit was $21.62.
FAILED – did not exceed Feb 08.

AND FINALLY, what should be a super popular feature … it’s the:

BAD BEAT OF THE MONTH!