So this bird follows me home..

I'm out walking the dogs on Saturday and found a Cockatiel. We knocked on some doors nearby but no one knew anyone who had a bird. It was a nice day and probably escaped through an open window or door, but it IS February, and this bird wouldn't survive on its own, so I brought it home and put it in a dog crate and gave it some wild bird seed and water.
Then today I was able to get in touch with some bird groups and someone loaned me a cage. I got some Cockatiel food and other good stuff, and now it seems I have a bird. I've posted the usual FOUND BIRD ads at the grocery store, library, light poles in the neighborhood, newspaper, online, etc... So far, no one claims him. He's a sweet bird, and wants to ride around on my shoulder. I'm sure he's missing his home, but who knows where he flew from. Yes, he can fly just fine...so his wings aren't clipped. He makes loops around the basement when I let him out of the cage down there. But he always jumps on my finger when I hold out my hand.
Anyway, just kind of a weird thing to happen. I hope his owner finds me...but so far I haven't seen any LOST bird signs or notices. We shall see. I don't really need another pet, especially one who won't wear a leash and isn't housetrained. :-)

So Long 3/6 Limit

So I finally got to sit down and play some No Limit poker at the boats this past weekend. I have been working every weekend since sometime in June, so it was nice to finally play some Saturday night poker. I met Tyler from KCPoker at Harrah's and they opened up a new table around 8:30 pm, so we ended up sitting at a table together and played for about 3 hours before I took off. Actually, I think Tyler ended up staying another 3 hours so he could get his stack back to even.

I sat down with $140 and never went below $100. Of course, as it was my first time sitting at a NL table with a buy in over $100, I played fairly tight and timid. There were a couple of pots that I won when they were checked down, but I don't think the outcome would have been different had I bet on the end. I don't think anyone would have called. I won a pot when I limped in with a suited Ace, hit the Ace on the flop, and hit my kicker on the river, for two pair. I bet $20 at a pot of about $30 or so, and got one caller who had also hit the Ace, but didn't hit his kicker, so I won a nice little pot there.

Another hand...I was in the BB with 7 10 spades and the flop brought two spades including the Ace. First player to act bet $10 at a pot of about $8 or so, and another player called. I figured one of them had an Ace and the other was probably drawing at the spades, and most likely had higher spades than me, so I thought about it briefly and then folded. Sure enough, a spade hit the turn and I would have made my 10-high flush. Then, both players checked down through river, and they both had an Ace, and they were afraid the other had made the flush. Soooo....had I stayed in I could have picked up another pot, but again, I was playing a bit timidly so I wouldn't lose my whole stack chasing a flush.

Overall, I had a great time, and the table was good. It wasn't nearly the experience I expected. What I THOUGHT would happen was that people would be raising to $20 pre-flop with blinds of $1 and $2 and I'd have to get my whole stack in on one hand, but luckily, there was a lot of limping and fairly small raises to $7 or $10 pre flop. Also, most people didn't overbet the pot, so I think it was a good table. In the future, if I sit at a table where they are raising 10x the BB pre flop, or overbetting the pots big time, I just won't play, or will try to move to another table, where I'm more comfortable.

Online Ace

I have to recommend a book I've recently aquired. Online Ace by Scott Fischman. Good stuff. Fun read. Check it out.

My New Favorite Saying

NICE HAND, SIR....

And by nice hand, I mean, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

And by Sir, I mean, "Dickhead!"

Limit...No Limit?? NO LIMIT!!!!!!!!

So I sit down in a little .25c No Limit room on Full Tilt last night with $10.00. In a few hours, I run that up to $45 and I'm feeling pretty good. Then I decide to sit down in a 50c/$1 LIMIT room with $10 and I go through that in no time at all, getting drawn out on when I have a good hand, or not making draws that I'm chasing a bit too far.

No way can I ever steal any blinds or pick up any little pots with bluffs in the micro LIMIT room. Instead, it's like you have to ride to the river with 5 others and see who has the best hand at the end. That's just GAMBLING. May as well be playing BINGO.

Anyway, so maybe if I was playing higher stakes limit I'd do a little better, as not so many people would just be gambling it up, but I think my limit days online are finished until I have a much bigger bankroll. Why go to the trouble of building my roll in the NL rooms, only to piss it away in the little Limit room? No more for me, I've had enough!

Pretty Good Book

I'm reading a book I like. It's not like most other poker books because it takes into account the way internet players and a surge of less-knowledgeable players are changing the way poker is played. No longer can you get by using the old style professed in so many poker instructional books. You have to note that the game has changed, and you have to adjust to it.

The book is called Powerful Profits from Tournament Poker by Victor Royer. I also read another of his books - Powerful Profits from Poker and it's written in the same style.

Check them out if you get a chance.

Trying the NL Cash Games

Well, I have always just played the 3/6 limit games at the casino, as the $300/$500 buy in for NL games is way over my bankroll or wallet either one. I don't have as much expendable cash as others who can take a big chunk of cash out to the casino on the weekend. Soooo, when Harrahs and Ameristar started offering a $1/$2 NL game with a $100 max at Ameristar and a $200 max at Harrahs recently, I decided to give the NL cash games a shot.

I went to Ameristar and played in the $100 max buy in game. And I played horribly. I was so worried about losing my buy in right away, that I never got anything going. I played way too passively and wanted to have the nuts before I bet. So, of course, I eventually lost my buy in anyway. I would have been better off to play smart and aggressive at the beginning, because I actually had a couple of big hands that I really misplayed and cost myself some money.

Once, I had AQ suited and didn't raise pre-flop. Then when 2 of my suit hit on the flop, I should have bet on the flush draw, but I did not. Everyone checked and we saw a free turn. I could have probably picked up a bet or two on the flop. I made my flush on the turn, and when I bet, I got no callers. Missed opportunity.

Another time, early on, maybe my 3rd or 4th hand, I got QQ. I was afraid that if I raised a little bit, someone might re-raise me and I'd have to decide whether to put in more money, so I just limped to see a flop. Well, when the flop came J 8 5, and it was checked to me, I bet a bit less than the size of the pot and got one caller. I figured he had hit the J and I was still good, and was happy he called my big bet. Then another J on the turn and he checked to me. Now, I figure he is slow playing at least 3 Jacks, so I check also. Another 8 on the river and he checks again. Okay, so now, I'm thinking, maybe he DIDN'T have a J after all, but if not..what did he call the flop with? Have my Queens been dead all along? So, I just checked as well, and found out he had 78, had hit the damn middle pair on flop and called with just that damn pair of 8s. He checked the Jack on the turn because he thought I had a Jack, and then even when he made his boat on the river, he figured his 888JJ was no good to my possible JJJ88. Arghhhhh.

First of all, I should have raised pre-flop, but who knows, he may have still called. I think I did alright to bet the pot on the flop, and he was stupid to call, but then I probably should have bet out at the Jack on the turn, just to find out if he really did have the J. Maybe he would have folded then and I'd have won the pot. Instead, I let him catch a 3rd 8 on the river and make a lousy FH when he shouldn't have even called the flop.

The only hand that DID sort of work out for me was later when I had AA and raised pre-flop. Got a few callers and hit a set on the flop. Bet out and got one caller, then bet the turn and she folded. At least my AA made a set and held up enough for me to win a little pot.

Finally, after several hours, I started playing a bit stronger. I raised with KK preflop. Got one caller. The flop came A 10 x and she bet when I checked to her. I called and saw nothing I liked on the turn and I folded to a bet. She showed A3. Lovely. Thank you for calling my raise, after I had folded about 20 hands...with your A3. But what can I do when an Ace hits the flop? I guess I could have raised her to play as if I had a bigger Ace, but she most likely would have called and I'd be out that bet....so I lost less money by just checking and folding.

Next hand, I get AJ suited and raise pre flop. Got 3 callers, bet out at the J high rainbow flop and got raised. I called the raise, which by this time, put me all in, but I was pretty happy with my hand, until the guy turned over AA. So when I finally hit top pair top kicker, the damn guy has snuck in with AA. And I'm done. I played for about 4 hours on my $100 buy in and hung in there for a while, but I just don't think I played very well.

When I play this game again, I need to play a LOT better and get in the right mindset. I think it can be a money making game for me in the long run, if I smarten up in the future. I'll keep trying it for a while, and stay away from the 3/6.

Queens....ARGH!

Okay, so there was a big discussion recently in the Kansas City Star, and on kcpoker.org about QQ on the bubble in a tournament, up against two all in players. Of course, with so many hands seen in internet poker, it was only a matter of time before this exact situation hit me in person.

I was in a 10 player SNG with 4 players left. Top 3 are paid. We are all sitting on roughly the same amount of chips, and play had been pretty solid. I am in first position and I raise with QQ. The next 2 people to act go all in. Remembering all the discussions, I decided to push it all in and see if the Queens would hold up. First person to my left shows A10 suited. Next person shows AK. So I'm in good shape according to all the people who said to push the QQ here. That is until the Ace hit first thing on the flop, as I always said it most likely would. LOL!! So the player with AK devastated me and the A10 player. I ended up blinding out in 4th, with no money. So, faced with this decision again in the future, against 2 all in players, I'm going back to my original thinking that says fold the Queens and stay alive a bit longer.

Come On Down........

I've been playing a lot of MICRO limits lately, working on my NL game. I got so frustrated with Limit, which I was playing, under the mistaken belief that I'd risk less money, since the betting was limited. I mean, yes, I risked less, but I won less. Of course, you get drawn out on more often in limit. Well, at least in the low limits I was playing. There was just no way to keep anyone from drawing out. I'd flop a straight, or a set, or even a flush, and still lose the hand. I was playing $1 and $2 limit, buying in for $40, and just not enjoying myself at all. I tried loosening up a bit, and tried being even MORE aggressive with my raises, but nothing was improving. I kept running through my buy in most nights.

I have had some success at NL Sit N Go's, at the $5 level, but have steered clear of the NL cash games until now.

I dropped down to 2c / 5c NL, where I buy in for $3, and I found it's much easier to double my money. Then I occasionally play some 5c / 10c where I buy in for $6 and have managed to do well there also. I'm building a bankroll faster than I was when buying in to the $1/$2 limit games with $40.

I don't know if there is just a leak in my Limit game or I'm not doing something right in order to beat the small stakes Limit games, but for now, I'm leaving them behind and I'm going to play NL exclusively, see if I can build a nice bankroll, then gradually move up a bit. I think as long as I can remain patient and not move up too quickly, I should be just fine.

Personally, I'm not a person that HAS to play higher stakes to get a thrill. Believe me, I love taking down a nice $1 pot in the 5 cent game. In my mind, I like to pretend I'm playing $2/$5 and that I bought in for $300.00. NOW, if I can just continue to play the same way when I actually DO make it up to the $2/$5 level, I will do well.

How you DO, not how you FEEL

I get emotional. This is bad. You have to remember to MOVE ON. I get in a bad mood, my mood effects my play, I make bad decisions, I get bad outcomes, I get in a bad mood, my mood effects my play, I make bad decisions... it's a vicious circle.

For success, focus on how you do, not how you feel. Don't hold on to feelings or regret, as it will hang around and you won't be in the right mind to win.

It's okay to focus on a hand that didn't work out, but only in the sense that you are THINKING about how you might have played it differently, rather than FEELING bad about the outcome of the hand.