2014 SUMMER POKER SERIES -- PART II and III (BINIONS AND PLANET HOLLYWOOD)

I know I was supposed to describe my Binions and Planet Hollywood tournaments but I'm sitting in front of my word processor and can't remember a damn thing about either tournament! It's probably because old age is creeping on me or the fact these tournaments were long ago, that I don't remember of the key hands. I know the hands I played, how I played them, and what happened, but I get lose on key information like chip stacks, blind levels, what I bet. In the future, I need to utilize my "NOTEPAD feature on my Iphone:

And start writing notes on the hands I played cause I know I'm going to forget!! 

Geez!!! All I know it I had a ton of chips in the Binions tournament, but lost a ton of chips in the blind vs blind confrontation again with J7 clubs with 4 tables left then busted with JJ vs AA vs KK! I know I played very well the entire time, and made a questionable play with J7 when I flopped a pair and flush draw...probably overplayed it..

As for the Planet Hollywood tournament, I mid-cashed but it took me 10 hours the get it. I love the chips and blind structure but it was pay so TOP heavy that by the end, I had an empty feeling...like it wasn't worth my time. I'll definitely the Planet Hollywood PHamous series again, but I'm going to be more willing to play to win rather than midcash. One of the reasons, I played so cautiously was because my wife played as well but didn't cash, I was more worried about getting my money back rather than playing to win. Also the fact my wife was sitting behind pressuring me to cash, I didn't play optimal poker, especially during bubble time. I'm happy I cashed (and get my name in the poker listings) but I'm not happy of the way I cashed. 

In the future, whenever I play a cash game or tournament, especially when I know I'm going to blog about it, I'm going to write down every hand, every detail, and every move as soon as the hand is over. So when I'm ready to start blogging, I'll know exactly what I'm going to say.  

PREPARING MYSELF

I love poker....

I love everything about poker

I think poker is the greatest game ever invented....

So why have I only played poker 3 times in the past 4 months?? (2 Tournaments at Ballys, one of which I won, and 1 cash-game session at Venetian)

Last Spring/Summer, I played a lot of cash game poker....and did very well..almost to the point where my confidence was matching my results...I was sky high...then came the World Series of Poker, and I was working 40 hours a week. Yes, I was happy with the busy time, but it got to the point where I would spend 8 hours a day in the casino that on my days off, I didn't want to step foot in a casino. I got burnt out from being around poker all day, all week, and month long.

The main reason I stayed away from playing poker was my wife wasn't working for a few months, so I didn't feel justified to spend our extra money on poker when my wife wasn't working. It became the responsibility of a father and provider to put my family before my personal interests...Yes, I was dissappointed that I couldn't play as much poker as I wanted, but I knew I had to be responsible..Of course with the holidays, we had to save every penny so my family could have a great Christmas...I put a lot of stress on myself to make sure my family was provided and thankfully our Christmas was one of the best ever.

However.....

.....,.getting back into poker was always in the back of my mind....While I was dealing I kept my mind "Poker Sharp" I continue to play hands in my mind as if I was in the hand myself...I continue to take theory and strategies with different people.

Poker is something I'm pretty damn good at..yes..I do pat myself in the back....So I'm preparing myself to get back into playing more poker....I've re-read lot of my poker books. I especially concentrated on my favorite cash game book:



As I'm dealing now, the concepts and theories have been embedded in my mind. Whenever a player makes a particular play, I try to understand what they're trying to do...I see my mind getting stronger and stronger...but I know I need to play live hands...

So preparing myself to get back into the grind is where I'm at....Look out when I'm ready to attack to tables, cause I've been ready...

RANDOM POKER THOUGHTS

The week that was....

Poker is funny game. One day, you're on top of the world. The next day your scrapping the bottom of the barrel.

This is what I felt like last week.

Had a late-night session at the Aliante Casino $1-$2 game and ran so bad and disgusting it was beyond words. I lost two buy ins basically on two hands SET OVER SET both times!!! If you've played enough poker you know the worst feeling in the world is being on the negative end of a set of set. I don't think I played either hand wrong, it's just so disgusting that it happened to me twice in one night and for my entire stack twice!! Oh well..

The next day I decided to play $4-$8 Limit at Orleans

I got a great set of cards!! AA, KK, QQ JJ, 10'S!! One a few occasions I got them two of three times, but after 2 hrs, I lost my entire buy in of $140!! Of all those premium hands I think I only won 2 of them!! And to put salt in the wound..I had this old fart, slow roll me for a big pot, which really pissed me off. I had it out with this guy! I was very angry, almost to the point where I wanted to fight, but what would that solve? All I know is the Orleans crew is a group of the most misarable people I've ever been around. It reminded me of my trip to The Bicycle Club in Los Angeles a few years ago, where almost every hand, people were yelling at each other, the dealers, the floors, the chip runners, the porters, anyone who would go in their way. I really don't like playing at the Orleans, but the games especially the limit games are extremely juicy, so I tolerate, but that day, I couldn't get anything going with none of my hands holding up...Again..oh well...

The day after that, I decided to play the Binions 2PM Deepstack, and despite being card dead, I managed to make a mid-cash. I played extremely well throughout the tournament, making minimal mistakes (Although I made a horrible all-in call with J8 suited). One of the highlights of the day was meeting Rob of http://robvegaspoker.blogspot.com/  He has one of the most entertaining poker blogs in the blog-sphere, feel free to read it, you'll definitely enjoy it.

Now it's time to brag...Probably the best hand I played in a long time. It also cemented the fact that despite my bad run of poker lately, I still believe I'm a good poker player:

Forgot what the blinds were, but player opened limp from middle position out of a 40kish stack and it's folded to me in the BB and I tap the table holding 10-4 offsuit. I have around 74K...The flop comes 5 5 4 with two hearts...With one player who just limps, I wanted to see where I was so I lead for 2K...He calls. The assigned him a range of small pairs and suited connectors...The Turn is a Q diamonds...I didn't think this card fit my opponents range, so I decided to bet again..this time 5K...He calls again...At this point, I eliminate pairs from his range and sqaurely on a draw heart flush or straight draw...The River is a A of hearts, completing the flush..I check...My opponent quickly shoots out 12K. This was a little bit over a pot-sized bet....I thought about a flush, but I just didn't believe my opponent would continue with a flush draw especially with the paired board. From the hands I've seen him played, he seemed like a solid player who wouldn't chase too much, but then again...what possible holdings could I possibly beat...7 6 was the only hand I could beat giving the betting action. I really didn't believe he had an ace cause he just didn't make sense that he's calling the entire was with an Ace in his hand unless he had some hand like A2 and got lucky, but then again it was possible to have that hand....I decided 7-6 was his holding..I took a deep breath, cutout 12K from my stack and relunctly shoved it towards the pot.

"Nice Call" he said, as he turns over 7 6!! My 4 wins a pretty good-sized pot.

After the tournament, My confidence in my poker ability was sky-high...sometimes I can't let the awful results of my cash games affect my thinking on a poker level.  I know I'm a good player...just got to continue chugging along and believe in myself...yeah, from time to time, you'll have doubts but if you believe in your ability the results will come.


This Friday, I'll be playing the first event of the BINIONS CLASSIC...the $110 Employee Event, I'm looking to play well and run well...wish me luck!!