I lost again at the tournament this week. At least I didn't go out too early, I went out around 23rd place. There were a couple of stupid moves I made and I really need to get a better handle on my no-limit play. My main problem seems to be when I raise, then get re-raised all-in. I keep folding when I should call or calling when I should fold. I did make the right decision in one hand, winning a huge pot. But I'm sure I was making a ton of mistakes in the other hands. I've got to improve my ...

I finally had a decent session last night, I won about $47 after a couple of hours. (You might notice my bankroll dropped, but that was because I forgot to update the amount in one of my accounts after a losing session last week.) Party Poker made some changes, which has been affecting my table selection. I used to be able to bring up 10 tables to watch, which saved the hand histories to a log file, then would use some software to analyze those logs. I'd let it run for about an hour, then sit...

Well, the losses have stopped, but I haven't been able to earn very much. I played some $3/$6 last night and found a couple of very loose tables. It started out pretty bad though, as I was quickly down about $100. Again, the loose players were hitting their long shots against me. But it only took two hands of them not drawing out on me to put me back to even (plus about $10). That's really why I have to stay aggressive. If I got scared and started playing my good hands passively, I'd not on...

I had another bad run this weekend. Man, this sucks. I played at the casino on Saturday and managed to lose $194. I was actually getting great starting hands all day, but very few stood up. I had KK cracked multiple times, QQ cracked, 77 (with a 7 on the flop to make a set) beat by a strait on the river, 44 (with a 4 on the flop to make a set) beat by a flush on the river, etc. The whole day was like that. The tournament wasn't much different. I lost a big chuck of chips when I had to lay ...

[Repost of a forum post I did while the blogs were down] I had my first big losing session in a long time last night. It really hurt, I lost over $240. Everything was going wrong. I'd have two pair, and would cap it with an aggressive player on the flop & turn, but then they'd make their flush on the river. I'd have AA, but lose to a low two-pair (from a player who called three bets cold before the flop). My opponents were making constant mistakes, but I just couldn't capitalize on it. E...

[Repost of a forum post I did while the blogs were down] I didn't get to post my last entry on Friday, since JoeUser was having some technical difficulties. But it doesn't matter. I was mostly asking for input regarding a beginner strategy I was putting together. Stutefish came up this weekend to celebrate his birthday, so I took him down to the casino to try his luck. The strat I gave him was pretty simple. Only see a flop with AA through 77, AK, AQ, or AJ. Raise when you play, unless ...

I had my first big losing session in a long time last night. It really hurt, I lost over $240. Everything was going wrong. I'd have two pair, and would cap it with an aggressive player on the flop & turn, but then they'd make their flush on the river. I'd have AA, but lose to a low two-pair (from a player who called three bets cold before the flop). My opponents were making constant mistakes, but I just couldn't capitalize on it. Each long shot they hit cost me more & more. And like an id...

I didn't get to post my last entry on Friday, since JoeUser was having some technical difficulties. But it doesn't matter. I was mostly asking for input regarding a beginner strategy I was putting together. Stutefish came up this weekend to celebrate his birthday, so I took him down to the casino to try his luck. The strat I gave him was pretty simple. Only see a flop with AA through 77, AK, AQ, or AJ. Raise when you play, unless someone else has already raised. On the flop, only stay if yo...

If you've been keeping track, you'll see my bankroll took a hit today. But not from poker. My wife has been on a downswing lately and hasn't really had the cash to join me at the casino tournaments. So for Valentine's Day, I gave her a small chunk from my bankroll to hers. Cash as a gift? I know, I know, it sounds like a cop out in lieu of a real gift. But it actually means a lot... she knows that there is only one thing more important to me than building up my bankroll right now and that's h...

I made the final table at the Casino San Pablo tournament again. That's three weeks in a row! I only got 9th place, but since I had to get really lucky to get there, I can't complain. Twice, I was all-in with the worst hand and caught some perfect cards. Early on in the tournament, I had taken half of this one guy's stack. On the very next hand, a big stack raised and that guy pushed all-in. I looked down to see AQ. I had the short stack covered and didn't want to play it three handed, so I p...

A ninja is not reckless. A ninja hides in the shadows and only strikes when he has the advantage. A ninja understands that late position is his shadow, allowing him to watch his enemy's movements before making a decision. He understands that early position provides no cover. Without cover, a ninja only attacks with his strongest weapons, such as high pocket pairs or other strong cards. But from the shadows, he can sneak in with more subtle weapons. Suited connectors & low pocket pairs are his...

I had another good session last night. Won about $70 at $3/$6. I was actually down about $100 for a while, but then managed to win $150 off of just one guy in two hands. He was a total maniac and was capping almost every betting round. At the showdown, the person who made the last bet shows their hand first. The other players only have to show their hands if they can beat the first player. But all that information is stored in the hand history logs. I have some software that goes through thos...

Last night was interesting. I won $64 playing $3/$6 for about... oh... four minutes. That was enough for me and I quickly logged off That's been my pattern lately, I play for a short amount of time, accumulate some cash, then log off. The one time I didn't do that, I was up over $100, eventually gave most of it back, and logged off with only a $15 profit. If I keep doing this, I'll never get a big payout. But at least the bankroll keeps growing. A little later, I got 3rd place in a $20 sit ...

I played the tournament again at Casino San Pablo and won first place! I'm feeling pretty good about my play now. Heh, there were some fun moments at the casino. I was playing $3/$6, while waiting for the tournament sign-ups, and check-raised this one guy. He wasn't very happy about it and left the table for a little bit to steam. My mentor introduced me to him later and it turns out he's the guy I'll be sharing a room with during the WSOP this summer. Well, at least we know each other now ...

So I had just enough cash to play at $3/$6 online, but only by $30. I was pretty scared about playing at that level, because just one loss would send me back down to $2/$4. But I finally got up the nerve to do it last night and won $60 in the first few hands! I decided to hang onto my winnings, so quickly logged off. I really wanted to keep playing, though, so I signed up for a $5 tournament. I lost that one right away, when I had AQ with a flop of Q72. My opponent pushed all-in and I call...