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Old 07-02-05, 08:52 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
DoubleG6's Journal

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  #2  
Old 07-02-05, 08:52 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
My WSOP 2005

This is the first of what I hope will be many entries in this my daily poker journal. Although mainly focusing on poker, I intent to also include many of my personal thoughts and experiences along the way.

I would like to share my experience at this years WSOP in Las Vegas, a trip which I took last weekend with my long friend "Shake n' Bake". We had not planned on attending the WSOP frankly because our bankrolls did not permit us to play as freely as we would like. Nonetheless, Shake was on vacation and I had managed to convince my wife to give me a weekend pass to Las Vegas with promises of millions when I returned. So we sped our way through the desert and arrived at the Rio a little passed midnight on Saturday morning. The plan was to win a satellite and enter the 2nd chance tourney held daily in hopes of cashing and in turn buying into the $2k main event Pot limit holdem tourney at noon.

Walking into the Rio's Amazon room where the WSOP was being held felt like an accomplishment on it's own. I had finally fullfilled a promise to myself to advance further in my poker hobby and take a shot at the big tournaments. I knew however that it was an uphill battle and that my measly $2k bankroll wouldn't lasts too long unless I had some success. I was truly in awe being in the same room as my poker idols. I had passed Kathy Leibert and Miami John Cernuto in the hallway and did not think I would see any more pros this late at night, but to my surprise, THEY were all there. I felt as if I had passed through the castle gates at Disneyland, but instead of Donald and Goofy, there was Esfandiari and the Unabomber. I joined the rail as we watched Mortensen and Juanda battle it out with 3 other pros at the high limit 2 to 7 triple draw live game. In another corner of the enormous room, satellites were being held, and opposite that were the tournament tables.

After walking around for a while stargazing, Shake and I decided to join the thick of things and buy into a $125 single table sat.. From the first hand I somehow felt that this was not gonna be easy. This is how it went:

$1k to start and $25-$25 blinds, Shake limps in early with 2 other callers. The button makes it $175 to go and Shake is the only caller. The flop was A J 10 rainbow. Shake checks and Button goes all in. Shake goes into his think tank as he always does regardless of the situation. He glances at me, shrugs and says "Man, I should've never played this hand". He called and turned over A J for top 2 pair. To our delight, the Button showed A 7. As a began to THINK of how Shake could lose the hand, a 7 peels off for the turn. I stared at Shake as the river was dealt and a familiar look came over his face, a look that I've seen many times before when we're heads up and I knew what the card was without looking. There are few worse things in poker than your opponent catching running 7's to beat you in the first hand of the first satellite on the first day of your trip after driving for 4 hours straight. From that point on, I declared war on button boy. We were not going down without a fight. This is the WSOP man! and this lucky bastard wasn't going to kill our buzz.

A few levels later we were down to 4 of the best when I locked horns with Lucky Bastard: $50-$100 blinds I was BB with 55 and Lucky was UTG and raised to $300. All fold and I call for the flop. 5h 7h Qs looked good to me so I figured I would checkraise. Lucky bets $350 and I bump it to $900. Lucky quickly sets me all in like I expected and I threw my last $475 in the pot. Lucky showed Q J and I took it down. Next hand, I polished him off with my K8 vs. his 96 and sent him packing. I called Shake and gave him the good news. A few hands later I got all my chips in w/ 10h10d vs. AhKs. 4hearts on the board crippled me big time and I had to go all in with Q J vs. J 4. 4 on the flop ended my shot at glory. A consolation to this satellite was that the chip leader offered the short stack a great deal when they got heads up, but the short stack was stubborn and battled out a win. Good for him I thought, I probably would've taken the chop if I were in his shoes.

Beaten but not broken, Shake and I decided to get some breakfast and regroup. There was lots more poker to play and lots more goals to accomplish before we were done. Next time, I'll talk about our live game play and our experience at the Palms Casino NLHE Summer series tourneys.


- You will conquer obstacles to achieve success -

- Fortune Cookie-

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:26 AM.
  #3  
Old 07-02-05, 11:59 PM
HPG ADMIN HPG ADMIN is offline
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Re: My WSOP 2005

Very good stuff. Thanks for posting it to my site.
  #4  
Old 07-14-05, 07:53 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
The Palms NLHE Summer Series

In this entry, I would like to continue sharing my WSOP 2005 experience.

With little success at the Satellite tables of the WSOP, my good friend ShakeNBake and I decided to play some live action poker at the Palms Casino. Although their poker room was not as impressive as others, the Palms did offer several big hand jackpots which made playing there a bit more rewarding than other casinos which do not offer any jackpots at all. For example, on a previous trip to the Palms, I had flopped quad 2's and was paid a handsome $250 not including the pot I raked. We had also planned on playing their Summer Series events which had low buy-ins and rewarded the winner with a nice chip set as well.

I joined a $4/$8 game as Shake hit the slots. Right off the bat I knew that I was not going to get much action at this table. Most of the players were on the tail end of their 15 hour sessions and the others looked so tired and weary. Slim pickings I suppose at 5:30am. I tried to induce the action by raising every hand I entered and even straddling the blinds when I was under the gun, but the fish weren't biting today and I was quickly up a whole $20. I glanced over at the action at the $2/$4 table and was about to suggest that we head back to the Rio when a group of young guys strolled in looking for action. I requested a table change but the staff never got around to moving me over. Shake, however, did get to play with them and he had the pleasure of taking them for about $200.

I cashed out my remaining $40 after suffering some bad beats(2pair on flop and other guy rivered a gutshot) and walked over to the No Limit section where I bought into a $500 max buy in table. I bought in for $200 and figured to play only pat hands, but my plans quickly changed after about a round when I realized that these players were not strong at all and most of them overbet pots trying to steal. So I mixed it up and quickly doubled up my stack. Then I hit my big hand. I called in middle pos. with QsJs then the button raised to $25. BB calls and I call looking for a playable flop. Bingo flop! Ks10s9d. BB checks, I slowplay, and the button fires out $45. BB takes about a minute to call and I call right behind her. 3h on the turn was great for me but the BB liked it a bit too much and fires out $70. I did a little hollywood and reluctantly called the bet. The button mumbles to himself and then raises to $145! To my delight the BB calls and I go all in. I figured that if I can fade the nut flush draw and pairing the board, I could win a potential $800+. To my surprise they both fold! and I raked in $495. That win put me at about $755 and I won a few more small pots and cashed out with about $825. I checked on Shake and he had managed to maintain his $200 profit and we both headed to the tournament room where some satellites were about to begin.

I busted out fourth in the one and only satellite we played, but Shake managed to chop the $500 reward when he got heads up. We bought into the $200 +$25 w/ 1 optional rebuy starting at 10am and discussed some hands we had played during our 3 hour live session. The tourney started on time and 78 players made the frist prize money a little over $13,000. I won many pots early which paid for my blinds and antes during the later rounds. Short chipped and desperate, I made my move with AK vs. A10 and managed to win. I got QQ on the very next hand and called an all in and won that too. 3 hands later I won another pot with KJ when I flopped 2 pair and turned the boat with the J and the other player holding AJ. Counting my chips at the break, I had mounted a comeback working my $125 to a decent $2200 in chips. With the starting chipstack at $1000 and about 35players remaining the average stack stood at about $2235. The hand which ultimately led to my demise was good ole' Big Slick Suited when I set a player with about $1400 all in. He pondered for a while and decided he would gamble. I was behind from the start when he flipped over 66 and I never improved. A few blinds later I took my last stand with Little Slick (AQ) of hearts. My opponent had 99. I left the tourney a disappointing 25th. Shake lasted a little longer busting out 15th. Since they only paid 9 spots, our pockets were a little lighter on the way out.

This entry had a lot of boring poker in it and I apologize for that, hopefully I can share some of the other touristy things we did in Vegas but we had a mission, Big money now and fun time later. Next time I'll talk about our last chance tourney at the WSOP, meeting Johnny Chan, Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilley, and my Phil Hellmuth moment.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:26 AM.
  #5  
Old 07-15-05, 03:41 AM
HPG ADMIN HPG ADMIN is offline
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Re: The Palms NLHE Summer Series

Quote:
meeting Johnny Chan, Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilley, and my Phil Hellmuth moment.
i definitely want to hear about this
  #6  
Old 07-15-05, 07:26 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
Hey Hellmuth, I feel your pain

The WSOP 2K5 was already a great experience for me, and the last day of our trip turned out to be the best one yet. I would like to share the events that happened that day in the following entries.

We took our shot at the Palms series and although neither Shake nor I took home the trophy, we did nonetheless manage to turn a profit at the live games. So it was back to square one, back to the Rio to carry out the plan of winning enough dough to enter the main event. We started of on the right foot by Shake winning a $50 satellite and an entry to the $225 2nd Chance NLHE tourney that evening. I myself came close twice but finished on the bubble on both tables I entered. Shrugging off those losses, I told Shake that I was gonna take a walk outside for a minute because frankly I was freezing my ass off in that hangar.

One of the phenomenons that I experience in Vegas is that I never can keep track of the days and nights. I would walk into a casino at high noon, play poker for what would seem like a few hours and walk out of there expecting the cool breeze of nighttime but rather get greeted by another blazing hot afternoon. I never carry a watch we me on vacation because I feel that it defeats the purpose of being on vacation.

Confused as to what time or even day it was for that matter, I approached a man and asked for the time. To my astonishment, it was none other than Toto Leonidas. I regard Toto as one of the best in the world. I mostly like his unpredictable style and his deliberate nature every hand he is heavily involved in. I introduced myself shook his hand and we stood there talking about the nice Vegas day. I asked him if he was playing and he replied that he was on break from the $5K Omaha tourney w/ rebuys. There was an awkward moment of silence between us. I thought for a moment about asking him for some poker tips, but thought Nah, forget it. I shook his hand again and excused myself. I had done well not being starstruck when I ran into a famous pro, but my inner child would soon be tested when I met the man himself. But that comes later.

The 2nd chance tourney was scheduled at 11pm so Shake and I had a few hours to kill before showtime. It had been a while since we both were in Vegas last so we decided to check out the Forum shops at Caesars. If you ever get a chance, check out the exotic car shop. Those machines are absolutely amazing. We spent some time there browsing through our future rides, I mean, after all we were gonna make it big this trip right. We got a bite to eat and play a little blackjack. Time seemed to melt away, especially when this very attractive, very loud, and very drunk girl sat at our table. She saved our asses so bad with all the wrong moves, I mean she was totally going against basic strategy like hitting on her 16 when the dealer showed a 6, but she would make her hand and the dealer would bust. That happened about 5 times and we were ecstatic. So drunk girl helped turn my $100 to a sweet $375 at the $10 blackjack table and managed to book Shake a $70 win. With very little time left till kickoff, we made our way to the Amazon room and found that the tourney was already 2 hands in. 227 players in this one and among the notables were Mike "The Grinder" Mizrachi, The Armenian express Grigorian, and Victor Ramdin and his unmistakeable Full tilt Poker Jersey.

I suffered a beat right away when my JJ was rivered by a guys KQ. The player was all in preflop for $300 and I called leaving me with $700 of our starting $1000 in chips. I mounted a run with some preflop raising and kept myself alive stealing blinds. The structure of the tourney was fast and it wasnt long before people started dropping like flies at the $100 - $200 level. I got my $575 in chips in 3 way with a measly Qd7s on the shortstack and facing the 400 BB on the upcoming level against of all hands AcAd and KdKh. Crap I thought, I need to flop 2 pair to win. The flop came Qs Ts 3d. "Q7" I shouted, as the turn was dealt off, and to my delight it was the 4s. "Spade" please!! and the dealer peeled off the 5s. I took a second look at the other hands and plopped down on my seat and quickly raked in the pot. Come on Man! I just took down Aces and Kings on the same hand with my computer Q7! I'm unbreakable baby! this tourney is mine!----or not. I waited and waited, got blinded and blinded, and finally got my chips all in again with AQ. This time the pot was 4 way against 55, 64(I know), and A9. The flop was A 3 3 and I stood up with delight. I was in good shape so long as the a 9, 5, or running 2/5 or 5/7 didnt show. The turn was bad when the dealer flipped the 9 over. It felt like I took right cross from Ali himself, but I wasn't out, I need a Q, A, or 3. The river was a 7 and I was out. I found myself staring at the 9 on the board and realized that for the 3rd time this trip, I was busted by a 3 outer. I had the more chips than the other two players but less than the A9. I couldn't control my emotions any longer and pulled my best Phil Hellmuth impersonation by commenting about how the A9 could call 3 all ins in front of him for 70% of his chips. I asked him how he could believe his A was good in that spot. At best I said you were up against 1010 or QQ. I kept talking out loud dropped a few chairs on my way out. Please understand that this is not in my nature at all. It might have been that I only had 4 hours sleep in 2 1/2 days, or just that I felt that the poker gods were against me. I finished 27th, 9 out of the money this time.

My wife tells me that everything happens for a reason, and although I seldom listen to my wife ( just kidding honey ), this time she may have been right. Next time I'll share the best part of my trip yet. Till then.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:37 AM.
  #7  
Old 07-16-05, 06:04 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
Hi Mom, I\'m on TV!

Nearing the end of my WSOP trip, I took sometime to look back and reflect on what ShakeNBake and I had accomplished. Even though I had a rough time playing satellites and tournaments, I was still very happy at the way I played. I got my money in the pot with the best hand, and did not make any mistakes which cost me dearly.

I made a late exit out of the money again from the 2nd chance NLHE tourney, but was happy to see that Shake was still in it. I joined the rail by his table and cheered him on. An interesting hand came up when Shake showed me pocket nines in the BB. A loose aggressive player in late position made a move for the blinds by betting about half of Shakes stack. Faced with what could potentially be his make or break hand, Shake went in the tank. He took into account the 21 players remaining knowing that only 18 would be paid. He also remembered how the raisor would play very loose. After much deliberation Shake raised all in for the rest of his chips. The other player obviously did not expect this and cursed himself for committing to his now obviously weak hand. He made the call nonetheless and flipped over Q3. He made a comment about only needing a Queen. The dealer then slowly turned over the flop and Bam!! A Queen on the door made the guy jump on his chair! Not so fast though as a 9 was the second card revealed prompting Shake and I shout for joy. The turn was the money card, 9, and it was all over but the crying. With new water in the well and the other table busting 2, Shake cruised into the money and set his sights at the first place prize.

I left Shake to work his magic and took a stroll around the Amazon room thinking of what I could have done better. Visibly depressed from my results, I decided to take an empty seat close to the ESPN final table where Farzad Bonyadi and another little known player were heads up playing for a bracelet from yesterday's main event. I was no paying too close attention to the action and couldn't help but feel a little worn out from the long days of poker play. Just then Andy Bloch and company took seats next to me and gave each other play by play commentary on the action. This was really fun, I thought, because they would occasionally talk about what the players were thinking and what they would do when faced in those situations. It was like free poker lessons and I was thankful for the insight. The lessons were soon over when Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi won his 2nd (or 3rd) bracelet ending the tournament. As the people were clearing the area, I noticed that ESPN was prepping the stage for another tourney. What? Another final table? To my delight, I learned from a dealer that ESPN had bonus coverage to shoot when an unscheduled TV tourney produced a fantastic heads up match featuring Phil "The Unabomber" Laak and the perfect player Johnny "The Orient Express" Chan. And as if It couldn't get better, I learned that the ladies event was also at its final table stage featuring Cecelia Mortensen (yup, Mrs. Matador) and who? Jennifer "friggin" Tilly! What the heck is going on here, 4 tourneys simultaneously being played. I am in Poker Heaven. Having a bit of a TV background, I decided to stay and watch ESPN set up (Nerd Stuff).

Just as I was beginning to wonder If this match wouldn't be played until tomorrow, a man in a white shirt and white baseball cap stood next to me and watched to see if anything was developing. I glanced his way and quickly did a double take when I realized that it was Johnny "F____ing" Chan!!!! My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and I turned to him and extended a handshake. Meeting one of your poker idols would be like a basketball fan meeting Micheal Jordan. Its a feeling like no other. All the bad beats and all the missed opportunities on this trip seemed to melt away as I shook his hand. I think that I had a smile bigger than his (if you know what I mean). I couldn't think of anything to say, so I started talking to him as if Ide know him for years. I said, "Hey John, I know youre gonna do it man. Number 10". He chuckled a bit and said in a calm, almost humble voice, "We'll see, Thank you". I replied that it was an honor to meet him and that I hope one day to join him at the table. He wished me good luck and we parted ways. I really coulndt tell you what happened for the next 10 minutes, coz I was just really happy I had the chance to do that.

I found the ladies event, which just so happened to be right next to the ESPN set, and joined the rail. I snuck in between some people and found myself next to Carlos Mortensen who was rooting his wife on. I made my way around the table and decided to settle right behind Jennifer Tilly who wasnt really protecting her hand very well and I thought I could sneak a peek at her hole cards. She was the chip leader at the time and surprisingly very comfortable playing at this level. A man pulled a chair directly behind me, stood on it, and began taking pictures. The tournament director than stopped the action and said, "Phil no flash". I turned to glance at "Phil\" and found out that it was Phil Laak. Geez, I'm just running into everyone around here. I asked someone for the time and he had said it was around 3:30am. 3:30am and all the action is barely beginning I thought to myself. I took the opportunity to say hi to Phil along with some other railbirds. Phil was very gracious and funny. He entertained us at the rail, occasionally calling out to his lady. Just then Phil was summoned to the set as his match with Johnny Chan was about to begin. I followed right behind him and made a beeline to the set. As if it was fate, there was an empty aisle seat on the bleachers directly behind Phil's seat and I grabbed it. ESPN had an HDTV monitor located just to my right and I could see all the card and chip action as clear as day. The match began and another great surprise was that naturally Johnny was seated directly across Phil. When he would stare down at Phil's direction, It almost seamed like he was staring right at me. I took that opportunity to place myself right in the action. It was not only like a dream, but it was a dream. This little man was just intimidating. He commanded the action almost from the start.

A few hands into the action, I felt a hand on my shoulder and a womans voice whispered to me "How's Phil Doing", I turned to her and replied "not bad, they're still about where they started". That woman by the way was Jennifer Tilly. I noticed that ESPN had a camera crew following her every move and I then spotted myself on the HDTV. I'm used to being behind the scenes and not infront of it. So if you tune in to the Chan-Laak match on ESPN, you maybe able to spot me directly behind Phil on the bleachers next to his girlfriend Tilly. Not exactly how I wanted to end up on ESPN but you cant say I wasnt...lol. Chan won the event in a little over an hour and we gave him the biggest standing ovation.

Shake did well for himself making it to the final table with very few chips. He got it in with J-10 on a A J 10 flop and his opponent had A-K. Great shape until a K came on the river ending his tourney and giving him 9th place. He took home $910 for his efforts, not bad considering it only cost him $10.

It was a great trip. I was witness to many unforgettable moments, historical moments. I took my chance this year and cant hardly wait till next year. Take it from an average Joe, if you have dreams of poker greatness, take that shot. You'll never regret it.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:39 AM.
  #8  
Old 07-19-05, 05:34 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
My 22 Hands to Victory

Every time I enter a tournament, I can't help but feel that I have a chance to win it. I feel that I need this self confidence in order to perform at my best. Although I don't win every tournament I enter, I almost always leave feeling as though I gave my best effort and was just a little unlucky. Last Wednesday, I played and won a NLHE tournament at a local casino. I have won or placed in a few of these daily tournaments before and have tried to take note of what events, plays, or specific hands led me to have such success. In this particular case, I believe that it was the amount of hands I didn't play which enabled me to win.

In the 5 1/2 hours it took to from start to finish, I only played 22 hands. I managed to win 17 of 22. Of the 5 hands I did not win, I never made it to the showdown once, meaning I folded all 5 hands on the flop. Of the 17 pots I did win, I won 3 races, bluffed 4 huge pots, and put 1 horrific beat on some Kings before all was said and done. I was dealt approximately 240 hands and I played just 9% of all those hands. One factor of my hand selection had a lot to do with the players who I would face or potentially face in those particular hands. I picked and chose who I wanted in the pot and did not let the cards determine whether or not I took a flop. Another factor which helped me keep all the chips I had was the fact that I had 2 big laydowns when I really should have gone bust.

The first big laydown I had was when I held K10. I raised double the BB and got 2 callers. Flop was K 10 J rainbow and I bet out 2x BB again and a player moved all in for more chips than me. The other player folded and I had to make a big decision. I had more than half of my starting chips in the pot and was mathematically committed to the pot. I took my time before laying the hand down and the player was more than happy to show me his set of 10\'s. The next laydown was a little easier, I held QsJd and flopped Qh3s4s. I bet and was quickly set in by the only other player in the pot. I was tempted to push in on the flop but wasn't really happy with the 2 spades on the board. I layed down showing just the Qs and my opponent then showed me AsQd. Those were the only 2 hands in the tourney where I felt as though my tournament life was in jeopardy.

Surprisingly, most of my chips came off 2 huge bluffs I did late in the tourney. The first bluff came when I held 8 5 in the BB and had only 1 limper. The flop came 9 3 2 and I bet 2x BB. Limper doubled my bet and I called. The turn was a K and I checked. Limper bet 4x BB and I pushed in for a total of 12x BB. He took his sweet time but folded. I showed my hand and he wasn't to happy to say the least. The next bluff came on the very next hand when the same player raised 4x the BB and I called in the SB w/ J10. The flop came 9 9 7 and I checked. Steamer bets half his stack which was about 6x BB and I then set him all in. Disgusted, he mucked his hand. This time I didn't show him the semi bluff.

I cruised to the final table and had a relatively easy time collecting the blinds. I dont really know if it was my table image or if the others were just playing very conservatively. I imagine it was a bit of both. Nonetheless, the outcome was very favorable for me. I called an all in bet with 55 when my opponent had KK and I flopped a 5. I called with the 5\'s because I had him outchipped 5 to 1. I won a race with my AQ vs. A9 and then again with 77 vs. A5. I then cleaned out the 2 shortstacks when I had 10 9 in BB and called the 2 all ins for less than a full bet. I was up against 10 2 and A 6. I flopped a 9 and that was that. When we got 3 handed, the other two gave me a great offer for $100 less than first place money which I took and they worked out a deal between themselves. We were also playing for player points and I took first points as well. I can only hope that the next tourney I play allows me to duplicate my strategy, but we all know that what might have worked once may not work as well the second time around.

I am traveling to Los Angeles tomorrow and I hope I have enough time to check out the action over there. Thanks for reading and good luck on your 22 hands to victory.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:31 AM.
  #9  
Old 07-30-05, 03:12 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
Legends of Poker Part I

The Legends of Poker tournaments began yesterday at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles and I view this as another great opportunity to advance in my poker hobby.

I've been able to fatten up my bankroll with a small tourney win at a local casino recently and am very excited about being able to play more tournaments and satellites than what my previous bankroll permitted me to do. I've been doing pretty good online as well and consider all those sit and go's as much needed practice. I'm hoping that I have the same success I had at the Cal State Poker Championship satellites about 2 years ago. I was able to play 8-$40 satellites. Of those 8, I won 4 and chopped 2 times.

I'm planning to play a few $515 satellites on Saturday and with a little success, I should be able to play a few more. I have little success playing rebuy tourneys so I am sitting out Saturday's main event. However, Sunday's is a $300 + $40 no rebuy event and I'm definitely joining that party. I have to be back to my job Monday night so Sunday is my only shot at big money this week. I'm looking to get some time off or trade a few shifts so I can play more during the week. Weekend tourneys in LA are averaging huge fields of 500+ entries. The structure is pretty fast as well so I'm hoping to get some chips early. I'll update my results on Tuesday morning. Till then.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:32 AM.
  #10  
Old 08-02-05, 03:37 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
L.O.P. Part 1 and a half

Let me start off by saying that I never made it to the dance. Due to a series of unfortunate events, I didn't even make it out of my driveway. Between work, the house, the pool, the car, and my wife...I never stood a chance.

I really am very disappointed about the fact that I didn't get to go. I'm hoping that I have an opportunity on Friday to enter the $300 + $40 NLHE tourney. The buy ins keep creeping up there and pretty soon they'll be out of my price range. Man, it must be nice to be a pro and afford to enter any and every tournament out there. I'm sure that they budget like everyone else, but then again they are so used to big money that I don't see how they cant lose their perspective on value. When I'm in Vegas, money just doesn't make any sense to me. I always look for the best hotel deal in town and most of the time get the rooms for free. I eat at bargain restaurants and buffets and always go for the comp. I don't even buy souvenirs because its just a rip. I do tip well I guess, even if I think that just opening a car door doesn't justify a dollar earned. I make the most of it and ask for directions or recommendations from the locals. Always penny pinching, always getting more bang for my buck, then I turn around and bet $125 on one hand of Blackjack. WTF! I could have gotten the best cut of steak at an uppity restaurant for that price! I could have upgraded to the jacuzzi suite, I could have bought a bunch of gifts for my wife and kid at the outlet stores, not to mention some new kicks for myself. I could have stretched that money so thin that at the end of the day, I could actually see or feel the value of that $125.

Money management more than anything has attributed for what little success I've had at poker. I keep a close watch on my stack relative to all the others at my table. By doing this, I know when to slow down or kick it into high gear. If you pay close enough attention, you could actually use this as a tell against me. Its not too much of a tell because every poker player pretty much does the same thing. If you are sitting in front of a big stack, then you don't have to gamble as much and vice versa. I was actually going to become an accountant before the engineering gig and I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that money management comes naturally to me.

Speaking of accounting, I recently saw the final table of Ultimate bet.net on Fox sports with Phil Hellmuth at the mic. He had mentioned that there are several pros that have come from an accounting background. Most notably 2003 champ Moneymaker and most recently the 2nd place guy at this years WSOP, Steve Dannenmann (one to many N's probably). Interesting.

I'm still steaming a bit at what happened to me this weekend and can only hope that it all just happened for a reason. My partner Shaknbake couldn't even make because he was golfing. Who the hell golfs at 104 degree heat? I'd trade that in for a soft seat, a full rack, and a corona in a heartbeat. I\'m not promising myself anything either. I've pretty much given myself one shot at this years Legends of Poker and I hope it hasn't passed me by. I\'m pretty busy this month with school starting again, so poker always takes a back seat to my family. Patience is another good virtue in poker and life, so I'll chalk this up to discipline.

On my next blog I'll share my Ben Affleck dream (no, nothing like that you Homophobes) and what might have been.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:33 AM.
  #11  
Old 08-04-05, 03:22 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
Keep Dreamin\'

My lovely wife says that its pathetic that I dream about poker. I should know better than to tell her about my crazy poker dreams and my delusions of grandure at some final table with millions on the line, but I really enjoy them. I mean, where else can you bluff Phil Hellmuth out of a monster pot with 6 high. Before poker, I used to dream about playing for the 49ers and driving down the field to score a touchdown and win a Superbowl in the last 2 minutes of the game playing QB, RB, and WR all at the same time. I used to dream about playing for the Lakers in the NBA Finals Game 7 and catching a pass from Magic then slam dunkin on the great Micheal Jordan to win the game. I used to dream of bubble baths with Cindy Crawford as well, but that's another story altogether. Why am I talking about dreams you ask? Well I had this dream last year that almost came true.

My good friend Shake and I had taken a trip to Commerce and played a few satellites during last years Cal State Poker championships. We did pretty well and went home pretty happy with the success we had during the entire trip. If everything worked out, we would be able to win enough to play the main event which was coming up later that week. I was pretty excited about the whole event because we had missed out on many other tournaments due to work and it seemed as if we actually had a chance to participate in this one. All I could think about was poker that whole week. I brushed up on some Super System techniques and played many games online for practice. I Tivo'd the WPT and WSOP shows so I could watch them every chance I got. I held home games and even played cards with my 6 year old daughter when no one would come over, and yes I would dream about poker as well.

2 days before the main event I had a dream about playing at the final table of the Cal State Poker Championship. I wouldn't really make a big deal out of it, but I found it really funny that the only person I recognized at the table was non other than Ben Affleck. Of all the pros and all the card sharks out there, the best my imagination could muster up was Ben Friggin Affleck? It was a grueling final 9 and after some crazy beats, I ended up heads up with Poker Ben. He offered me a great deal for more money than first place paid because he said that the money didn't matter to him, he wanted the trophy and braggin rights. I told Ben that it wouldn't be fair if I just gave him the title, and that he would cherish it better if he beat me straight up. So we battled on and without any specific hand I was able to beat Ben for the title. No great headlines for poor Ben Affleck, and whats worse was that the media, fans, and railbirds were actually pretty upset at me for winning. I didn't care, I won and I was champion. The next day, I told Shake about my dream and he was said that I was crazy. After all, it wasn't the first time I had a poker dream.

Much like last weekend, one thing led to another and work got in the way of us making it to the tourney. I didn't really mind because I was actually about $1300 short of the buy in and was looking to win a few more satellites before the actual event. You could only imagine my state of mind when I found out that Ben Affleck won the tournament. It was as if I had missed my once in a lifetime chance. Shake called me in disbelief when he learned of the outcome and we both sat there in shock. I haven't had any dreams like that since then, but you better believe that if I ever have a premonition of winning a poker tourney I'll be there, come hell or high water.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:34 AM.
  #12  
Old 08-09-05, 05:48 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
L.O.P. Part II

So I finally got a chance to check out the action at the Bike. I arrived at the casino at 11pm Saturday evening and was dissapointed to find that satellites were only being ran until midnight. This meant that if I did well, I could only expect to play in one. They were running $70 and $120 sats and nothing else at that time. I inquired about the $515 ones and the staff said that they were not running supers till it got closer to the main event. There weren't many people there to play satellites, However, there were some big names already playing at the time. Among the notables were Kathy Leibert, Parlahd Freidman, and James Woods. There were some local players as well whom I did not know but have seen around the tournament circuit before in the L.A. area. I bought in for both the $70 and $120 but it seemed as if neither were going to fill up. With only a few minutes till midnight, I considered playing live action instead because I had limited time in L.A. because I had to head back home early. Just then players started showing up. I cashed out of the $70 since they were only wanting to play the $120 and we started the game. By the way, the satellite that was currently at play when I got there ended up being chopped between Kathy Leibert and James Woods.

We started with 500 in chips and I got off to a slow and rocky start. I was getting dealt crap plain and simple. I kept getting 10/3, 9/2, 9/3, 8/4, K/3, 6/2, and so on. I didnt get to play 1 pot during the first level and got blinded twice. With only 500 to start, its really important to accumulate chips early. At level 2, I finally got a pair of Jacks and limped in UTG looking to re raise preflop. No one raised and 4 of us took the flop of A 2 2. Great, I thought, I just let the A/2 or A/3 limp in and they flopped a monster. It checked around and the turn was an 8. BB checks, I check and middle pos bets $125. The button(Jack Baggoshian) then raised to $275. BB then flashed me his pocket Queens and folded. I then said that I still had a hand and the other players demanded to see the cards. The dealer then turned over the queens and I folded. This was pretty unusual and very unprofessional but what was done was done. I later told him that I held Jacks and was going to fold anyway. Back to the hand- MP goes all in and Button calls. MP flips over 8-2 ( yeah I know ) and button shows pocket rockets!!! The one time I get a decent hand and I almost get screwed with Queens and Aces! This isn't good man. My run of cold cards continued and Chris "The Armenian Express" Grigorian commented that I was too quiet and playing like a rock. I said that I was really tired and I was waiting for Aces or Kings. The table found it amusing and play went on and on. I was dealt Ah10h at the 50-100 level and considered pushing in for my last 375 but decided I would raise only double the blinds. With my table image so tight everyone folded to me and it turned out that that was the one and only hand I would win the entire tourney. I almost pushed in with K/7 and J/8 but was beat in the pot both times. I made my final stand with my last 225 with A/8 in a 3 way pot against A/Q and 77. Shit. That was that and I left a very unsatisfied 4th. Can you believe it. I played 3 hands, won 1 and made it to 4th place.

It was well after 1am when I busted out and considered just heading home. I really had not planned on being at the Bike that day and I went quite a bit out of my way just to get a few hours in. I decided I had about another hour or 2 at the most before I had to leave and joined a $4/$8 game while waiting for a $100 no limit seat to open. I lost $40 quick and was able to get about $26 back when I chopped a pot a few hands later. I heard my name called for the No limit and cashed out a $14 loser. I hopped in the game and found myself really short stacked because the average stack was $700. I won about $60 with a bluff on the flop and got myself rolling. I won a few other small pots and finally got doubled up on this hand. I found pocket 10\'s UTG and raised the $3 BB to $15. I called and got raised by a late pos. loose aggressive player $45 more. I pushed in $155 more and did not like the middle players quick call. The late player decided to call knowing he was way behind. The flop was Jd7d3h. The middle player decided to show his Ad7d nut flush draw w/ a pair and started begging for a diamond. The turn came Jh which gave me 2 more save cards at least with the remaining black jacks along with the 2 10\'s and any black card except for the 7\'s. I didnt know what the other guy had, but it seamed as if he didn't like his hand too much. The river was a pretty 5h. The other guy in the pot didn't show so I figured my 10s were good. They were and he finally showed AsQs, he missed completely. This gave me a stack of about $380. The next hand I found QQ and raised the short stack all in for about $40 and ran into KK. I lost that and decided to call it a day.

I don't mind these small wins especially after being able to get my shot at $1K or more earlier that evening. Im pretty sure that I could have done very well at that table since the conditions were very good for me at the time. Alas, time was the only thing that I lacked. In due time I believe that I will be able to play poker as more than just a hobby and that will be great. Baby steps.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:39 AM.
  #13  
Old 08-12-05, 04:05 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
Good TV vs. Bad TV

By profession I am a television engineer, so needless to say I watch a lot of TV. I\'m at the point where I dont watch TV unless I get paid for it or its really interesting. So I\'ve decided to share with you what I regard as good TV and what I think you should skip altogether.

My Favorite Shows

Rescue Me - FX - Denis Leary stars as an alcoholic, pill popping, ghost seeing post 9/11 New York City Firefighter who cant seem to get his life together after the death of his best friend and cousin during the collapse of the WTC Towers. The chemistry of the cast is simply fantastic. The story line of the shows jump from Tommy\'s (Leary) home life and work life all the while having to deal with visions of deceased people he pulls from raging infernos. This show is TIVO worthy. I am seriously considering purchasing the entire series on DVD. Tune into the FX channel to catch the rest of season 2 but I suggest renting season 1 to catch up. Not for children.

Dirty Jobs w/ Mike Rowe - Discovery Channel - Only 2 episodes in and already one of my favorites. Makes you appreciate that sweet, comfy, air conditioned cubicle you spend half your life in. Rowe gives you a taste, touch, and smell of the worst jobs you could possibly think of. Among which are sewer inspectors, trash collectors, pigeon crap technicians, pig farmer and so on. It is unthinkable that someone has to do what these people do on a daily basis. 2 episodes in and Rowe has blown chunks in each of them..and they show it! Not for the faint of stomach.

Scrubs - NBC - Good old fashioned belly buster type slapstick comedy. JD, Turk, Dr. Cox and the gang turn it out every week with their zany brand of humor. Throw in a little cleavage once in a while an you have a hit. IQ not required.

Late Night w/ Conan O\'brien - NBC - Funnier than Leno or Letterman. I watch more of this show an any other just because I have to air it twice every weeknight. Conan is one of those love him or hate him kinda guy. Lets face it there's not much on TV at 12:35 in the morning.

Desperate Housewives - ABC - I just love watching the housewives and their tight little outfits. Perv.

On the fence

C.S.I., The Office, and Blind Date.

Reality TV

All pretty much sucks with the exception of American Casino, American Chopper, Monster Garage, and Extreme Home Makeover.

Poker on TV

Good ones

WSOP (on mute), WPT (non celebrity), Poker Superstars

Bad ones

Any Celebrity, Ultimate bet.net, Plaza Ultimate poker challenge - I hate the casino and the commentary is crap. Poker Million - Europeans...pass.

As you can see, there's not much good TV on nowadays in my opinion. I pretty much keep it on ESPN if I bother turning on the TV set at all. Happy channel surfing and good luck.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:35 AM.
  #14  
Old 08-19-05, 02:48 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
Sidelined

I've been having back problems for about 2 weeks now, but I can honestly say that I have never experienced such excruciating back pain as I did last Sunday morning. I had a bunch of people over Saturday night to break in my brand new poker table I built with my friend Shakenbake. I usually deal all night, but about 10 hands in I asked Shake to take over. I was practically crying bent over trying to peak at my cards when I just gave up altogether. The next morning I felt as though I had been cracked in the back with a baseball bat. I checked with the doctor and she said that I may have a herniated disc. She gave me some weak pills and sent me home. I got some time off of work but it kinda sucks coz I cant play poker while I'm off. It just hurts too much to sit down, at a table or in front of a computer. I'm back to work now and my back feels much better. It still feels as though I have a board nailed to my back, but all in all everything's looking good.

It seems as if my shot at the Legends of Poker is over. Huh, not much of a shot at all really a total of 4 hours with only 1 at the satellite tables. Pathetic. I have been enjoying being at home with my wife and daughter especially after we have just purchased a big screen T.V.. I love HD and hopefully all stations start broadcasting that way. Maybe in about 7 to 10 years. Need to play more poker, I'm beginning to miss it.

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:35 AM.
  #15  
Old 12-31-05, 08:08 AM
DoubleG6 DoubleG6 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: California
Posts: 13
Starting Fresh

The new year is just ahead and I'm pretty excited about my poker hobby. I have never kept a journal or spreadsheet of any sort for my poker play, it seems as if Im just to lazy to do so. I am determined, however, to start over from scratch in '06. I'm starting with $1k. I figure that I'm about $4k up right now from last year, so I'm taking $3k and blowing it on a great vacation around the end of January. Coincidentally, that's just when the L.A. Poker Classic is going on close to home. I plan on spending $400 on satellites (10 - $40 single table). and another $200 on the live No limit tables. I hope to win a seat to a main event, but if that doesn't materialize, then I will still have about half my bankroll left to get ustuck later in the year. I'm planning another vacation around WSOP time in June/July, and last chance at the Bicycle clubs many low limit tournaments towards the end of the year. Along with the many home games I play in, I am optimistic about making my goal of 20K from poker. As far as the internet, I've completely abandoned my PokerRoom.com account and very rarely play on UB anymore. Although I think that UB gives me the fairest play, I've devoted most of my time on FullContactPoker.com. I am a charter member and have been given many freeroll opportunities on that site. Im down $75 with about $150 in bonus dollars I have yet to attain. I hope they don't expire because I'm not reloading any time soon. I found out - a bit late - that FullContactPoker.com and PokerRoom.com use the same server/software/client/RNG etc. Just the graphics differ, but not much. I have Daniel Negraneau to thank for that little blunder.

I want to wish all of you good luck and many happy flops for next year. (that was kinda lame...sorry).

Last edited by HPG ADMIN; 05-16-13 at 01:36 AM.
 

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