DC's New Blog

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Recent news: I had a decent session playing the 8-game. That was an enjoyable change, but only being able to play one table was tough. I don't dare play more than that. The Run-bad in PLO continues 24/7, though. Apparently having the other guy drawing to 4-7 outs on the turn just isn't enough anymore. Anyway, Stars cashout for now. I might play a little bit live the next few weeks, as I actually have some cash I can play with for the moment.

[HalfSugar]

A real pro would three table Razz, Stud and Stud-8 simultaneously.

[crack]

A real pro would three table Razz, Stud and Stud-8 simultaneously.

/me puts his hand up

[miaowmiaowchowface]

i hit up 8game pretty commonly , prolly will start in a month or so to get back into the swing of things. keep an eye out =]

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Lucky You is on TV. I never saw it in theaters or on DVD. Now I'm glad I didn't waste money on it. Wish I could say the same for 2012, which was probably the worst movie I've seen in the last 5 years. I've seen Michael Bay movies that were better. Honestly, Michael Bay! What a piece of crap...

What? POKER blog? Well, Lucky You is a Poker movie... sort of. I think I'm going to go play some live Limit Hold'em over the next few weeks, as I'll have some extra time on my hands. I've burned out on online Poker for the time being and I've had all the Omaha I can stand for the time being.

PS: I used to have a huge crush on Drew Barrymore, and now I want to punch her in the face. Thanks a lot, crappy movie.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

The epic run-bad continues. Today it was two outters like second set versus top two, and AA losing to QJ in a huge Limit Hold'em pot. Life could be worse. I could have NOT had a great October. In any case, I really shouldn't be playing when I have work to do. I hate that it take 10 whole days to get money off of PokerStars. Maybe I'll just leave it on for whatever, because I seem to deposit, withdraw, redeposit pretty constantly.

The good news is I did get a new fleece from them that's super comfortable and might have cost me like $35+ in a store, so it's not all bad. I was thinking about playing live soon, but I do need to get this paper finished so I can finish off the semester.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Noob moment of the weekend for me:

I was in a Limit Hold'em pot where my opponent was all-in. I had J-10 vs. Q-J on a J-8-8 flop. Turn 2, River K. Dealer pushes pot to villain. I don't say anything. Someone else has to say it was awarded wrongly after the fact. Floor decides to let her keep the pot but give me $24 (half the pot) since I tabled my cards. Pretty nice of them. Technically, I did table my cards so by floor rules I was entitled to half the pot, but I was disappointed I didn't catch that. Too much playing online I guess.

But hey, if Phil Ivey can muck a winner, I guess I can do that...

On the plus side, it was a decent session, a little over $80 winner. I can't play Limit all the time, but it's actually pretty fun now and then.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Glutton for Punishment?

So, last time I deposited $150 online I lost it in like three days from bad run at PLO and then an all-or-nothing shot at the 8-game (not smart). Then I had a decent live session, and the other day before I had to start grading finals, I wanted to play, but was too lazy to go to the cardroom, so naturally, I deposited on Stars.

Up a little less than two buy-ins overall for PLO. Yesterday, I was having a good run, and then in the span of about five minutes, I got bad beat out of like 350 BB. Greatly frustrated, I proceeded to play about 3 hours of Stud in a really poor mood, experiencing ridiculous highs and lows. In the end, I came out ahead of where I started for the day, but it was really frustrating.

It's funny, because I never steam that much live. Maybe it's the speed of online that doesn't give me time to cool off right after the hand. I must be some kind of masochist, though. No way I could ever do this full-time again.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

FML

So, yeah, same story. I'm up two buy-ins from PLO, and then here's what happens:

1. I call a 3-bet preflop with KKJT and flop top set, get in the rest against a naked AA. Boom, Ace on the river. FML.
2. I get all-in with AAQJ double-suited (or something close to it) against AAxx rainbow, no straight draw, and they turn and river two pair. FML.
3. I 3-bet AAxx, a guy cold calls, original raiser 4-bets, I ship, cold caller calls with 2-6-7-9 with a dominated suit, the original raiser calls with the other AAxx. Guess who wins that one? I mean, it's a decent spot for him, I just can't believe he cold calls a 3-bet with 2-6-7-9 one suit. FML.
4. I get all-in with Aces and an extra pair against a maniac's bare flush draw and he hits. FML.

So yeah... f*ck... My... Life...

PLO is stupid, I can't believe I ran like God at it for two months. I'm f*cking quitting while I'm ahead. Time to find another spot.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

2009 Year in Review

I played probably less Poker this year than any time since 2005, which is when I really started getting "into" Poker. Having an actual fulfilling commitment (graduate school) and a steady side hobby (lasertag) has kept me fairly busy and reduced the desire (or "need") to play Poker. Even so, I did play some, and this was the year I decided to make PLO my Poker project.

January - April

January I basically learned the game at 10-25 cent. Didn't make a lot, but I didn't lose either. February I started crushing, and it seemed like a very easy game. Those were the days... By March, I had moved up to the 25-50 cent game, which was a little harder, but I was still doing well, and I was raking in FPP's, which was even sweeter due to the fact that Stars was giving out pretty decent bonuses at the time. It was almost like getting rakeback. What a time that was. Of course, like all good things, it had to come to an end.

May

PLO is a swingy game, and I finally hit the downswing in May. Hard. Had it not been for another bonus, it would have been a really shitty month. After that, needless to say, I was in need of a break. That happens to me a lot. I've never been good at handling downswings, which has kept from being especially successful. On the other hand, I don't get destructive and go off for my whole roll, either, so that's a plus.

June-July

I only played a few times, almost all live, in part because I found a regular O8 game. O8 used to be one of my staple games, and I used to crush it live. However, these old nits weren't all hemorrhaging money, the rake was steep, and I just can't sit there to play 12-15 hands/hour. I technically made money both months, but it was slow-going, and I was training for lasertag nationals, so Poker wasn't the big thing on my mind.

August

Didn't play. Lasertag nationals for the first half of the month, lecture-writing and school prep for the second half.

September - October

September I had a few crushing live sessions that gave me a nice cash boost. When the semester turned out not to be as busy as I thought, I started playing PLO online again. Huge upswing, seemed like everything was going my way. And then...

November

Just as quickly as it came, it went the other way, BAD. All of a sudden, I was getting in set over set and they were making quads, I was missing 18-outters, you name it. Lost most of what I made in October, but I've had worse months.

December

Well, one good live limit session, and a break-even stint online where I went up and down in PLO, the 8-game, and 7-Stud. I think I got even in an all-or-nothing stint at short-handed NL. I kinda enjoyed the mixed games, but they're slow, I can't multi-table, and they're not particularly soft (though usually every player has at least one bad game).

The grand total for the year was +$2288. It's not glamorous, it's not a fortune, it's not life-changing. But it's probably what a decent recreational low-limit player can expect. Extra pocket change, a few months' rent in a shitty apartment, and a hobby that puts money in the wallet instead of sucking it up. And you know, I'm cool with that. It's realistic, it's authentic, and it doesn't make me insane... well, not more than any other player.

Hope you guys enjoy the blog, and hope it gives you an accurate picture of the highs and lows of someone who takes the game seriously but isn't and never will be a pro.

[crack]

Has the blog thing here died and that is why you post it in this thread?

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Has the blog thing here died and that is why you post it in this thread?

At one point the blog thing was dead, and I started this thread. I figured it was better than cluttering up the forums with a bunch of random posts. I honestly haven't checked the status of whether the blogs work again because I've been posting on this thread so long.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Well the year has started out incredibly shitty. Two live losing sessions, a home game donkament loss, and just blew through a $150 drop on Stars. I hate online Poker so much now, this just proved it. So let's review tonight. First I get one-outted quads over aces full in PLOLOLOLOLOL. Then I'm playing a tourney, get all-in for the chip lead with top two against bottom pair and straight draw, he hits trips. Go out on the bubble with top two against bottom pair... guess what? Then, I lose the last of my cash getting all-in with trips against top pair in No Limit... anyone want to guess the river? f*ck Poker in its f*cking ass. I just wanted to unwind after a longass day of reading f*cking medieval philosophy, and now I'm more pissed off than ever. I must be retarded to do this to myself.

[jimmer]

Welcome back.

(and ffs, stop playing with your tie - it looks fine as it is)!

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Hey Jimmer.

I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've played Poker this calendar year. It's been very busy trying to finish up my MA degree, and I'll soon be starting the job hunt, and possibly relocating to a new city (Portland, Oregon). That said, with summer coming up, and job prospects uncertain, I may work out a deal with a buddy of mine to stake me in some of the local games--never had a backing arrangement, but it might be a way of controlling the really negative emotions I've tended to experience with downswings. Either that or I'll have to start playing on a site with RB.