Patrik: (x x) Jh 7s 10s
Patrik bet, I raised, he re-raised and I called, planning on raising him again on sixth street. With me having three of the nines it was highly unlikely that he held 8-9 in the hole.
Me: (9d 9s) 3c 9c Jd 4s
Patrik: (x x) Jh 7s 10s Qs
Patrik bet, I raised, and he re-raised me again. At this point I put him on a hand like Js Ks in the hole, or possibly trips higher than mine. Based on the way I played my hand it seemed obvious that I had to have trips. There is just no other hand I could really have there aside from trips.
I missed on the river and Patrik bet in the dark. There was a gazillion bets in the pot, but I decided to fold the hand and think it was the right decision even factoring in the pot odds I was being laid. He just couldn’t be bluffing there and I found it highly unlikely that he’d play two pair that fast against my board. After all, if I can raise a super strong board like the one he was showing, twice, then for him to bet he had to be able to beat what I was representing.
My level of focus and determination is definitely there as I predicted it would be this trip. Tomorrow is the Pot Limit Omaha event and it starts a bit later which is good since I’m a bit tired from all the hours of play. Too many hours can make me a bit cranky, and I was definitely a bit cranky tonight… time fro bed.
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Just a couple hands to share, one from early in the day against Phil Laak and then to my final hand that did me in:
Hand #1: I was moved to Phil Laak’s immediate right and raised to 2800 with 8h 10h from under the gun with the blinds at 600-1200. All folded to Laak who called from the big blind.
The flop came Jh 8s 2s and it went check-check. The turn was the 3s and Laak checked again so I decided to bet a little something to protect against a spade on the river. I bet 3600 and Laak insta-raised me to 13,000. I thought about it for a very long time. I didn’t believe he had a pair or jacks or three of a kind. I felt like he wouldn’t have played either hand that way. He either had the flush as far as I was concerned, or he had a draw and wanted to bluff me off of my hand thinking I was likely weak.
I then had to decide what I’d do if I called and he bet it all on the river. I finally decided that I would lean towards calling unless the river came a spade. I called, and the river was a 3. Laak checked and I checked- he showed 4-5 with the 5s and I won a nice little pot there.
I hovered around 100 and change for most of the day but couldn’t make a big push forward and the blinds and antes continued to escalate while other players stacks grew. That’s more typical in a $3000 buy in event as the progression is much slower in a $10,000 where the average doesn’t go up quite as quickly. I whittled back down to about 75k before the final hand:
Hand #2: A young player under the gun cuts out a raise to 10,000, a larger sized raise then he normally makes, then he decides to limp in instead. It was a very subtle gesture, I don’t know if anyone else caught it but me, but it definitely was a tell to me that he wasn’t super strong (a la AA or KK). His raise size that he considered led me to believe he was on a middle pair or an AK AQ type of hand.
Two seats to his left I made it 11,000 to go with 99 and it folded around to him. He didn’t hesitate much and moved me all in. I went over the hand in m head and ruled out completely the possibility of 10-10 J-J or Q-Q based on the tell I recognized pre-flop. This kid was either super advanced, in throwing me a false tell with AA, or I was either a 4-1 favorite or in a coin flip situation with money invested.
I finally decided that he couldn’t have 99 beat, no way. I called knowing it was risky but that with 60,000 left and 1500-3000 blinds going to 2000-4000 the very next hand, that I had to take a chance that I was way in the lead versus a smaller pair. He tabled A-K off. He flopped the King and I was eliminated, feeling not a hint of disgust or negativity. I try to avoid coin flips when I can, but to win a tournament, when your stack dwindles a bit sometimes you have to take a read and give yourself a chance to get above the average. Again, that’s less of a concern in a 10k where the average is much higher in relation to the blinds, but in a faster paced event you simply can’t get away from certain coin flips.
So, on to the HORSE tomorrow. I love any HORSE tournament and feel like I am one of the best at combining the skills necessary to play HORSE well while at the same time taking into account tournament strategy.
On that note, I’m headed over to the Sports Cafe with Juanda to watch the NFL games. Go Bills!
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I got home from the Sports Cafe to see the results from day 1B and noticed that someone had more chips than me. I was happy to see that it was 20 year old Adam Junglen, an excellent instructor at PokerVT. I look forward to getting heads up with him in two days, that would be fun.
I spent the day relaxing sans any alcohol whatsoever. I woke up and watched the Ryder Cup morning session and then Juanda called me to have lunch so we went to a Chinese restaurant close by and talked politics mostly. I found that we have very similar views on almost every issue so that made the conversation uplifting rather than most political discussions where things tend to get heated.
After lunch I went back to the room and watched more golf before getting a call from the guys to watch it with them at a private room at the Sports Cafe. I jumped in the shower and watched it there with Hellmuth, Flack, Cantu, and Juanda also joined us.
Phil was really into the golf as was I, but Juands didn’t really get into it until we started gambling on it! Essentially we made on putts- make or miss. I would make a line on a putt and they could bet either side. I laid 18-1 on a putt that barely missed, that was a bit scary, but in the end Phil couldn’t come close to picking the right side while Juanda, a non-golfer ended up winning $3500. The exact same amount that Phil lost, so I broke even, but had a great time doing it.
The golf has been very exciting. I especially love to watch Miguel Angel Jiminez play, there is something about that guy that I really love. Not just his playing style, but he just seems like the kind of guy I would enjoy having a beer with.
Speaking of beer, that’s something I avoided at the bar. Others were drinking but I showed some will power and stuck to my rules of no drinking during tournaments and went with water the whole night. I wanted to have a few beers, I like having a few beers, but I didn’t want to do anything that I’d regret so I passed on the booze.
Tomorrow is the road to the final table that I plan to be on. There are 102 players left and I’d like to make the final nine in the top three in chips and feel like I’m in good position to do that- as confident as ever. This is a good opportunity for bracelet #5 with would also mean another $200K from Mr.Ivey since he did play this event… briefly.
I can’t wait to play. A good nights sleep is in order, though, so on that note, good night.]]>
Hand #1: I raised from early position to 500 (blinds 100-200 25 ante) with QJ the button called, the small blind called. The flop came 8-8-9 rainbow and I bet 950. Folds to sb who makes it 2600. I call. Turn a Queen, it goes check-check. River a 3 the guy puts me all in for 4300 and I call. He shows A-10.
So here’s why I played it that way. The sb had been overplaying a lot of hands and I could tell he was making moves. He was overweight, with a scruffy looking beard and a hairstyle that seemed a bit messy.
When he check-raised the flop I thought he was testing me. After all, I ruled out any chance of an over pair (he would have re-raised pre-flop) and thought it was unlikely for him to call with an 8 in his hand. I put him on a hand like 55 and making a small raise to see if they were good. I thought for a REALLY long time before calling. By calling the 1600 that only left me with 4300 after all, a very risky call.
He checked the turn and I felt like I had him now. I figured he had a hand with two outs and was happy to give him a free card there. The river was a 5 and he says, “How much you got left there Danny?” I thought to myself, not 55 that’s so sick! He looked right at me, and then said, “All in.”
I started talking, saying that I didn’t think I could get away from this hand, and he says something like, “Then you’ll have to call, Danny.” I called and he tapped the table showing A-10 off
Hand #2: I limped for 300 from the small blind heads up against the bb with Q-3 off. She raised 500 more and I called. The flop came 3-4-5 with two clubs. I check called 1000. The turn was a 9c I check called 1000. The river was an Ace and I check called 2000. She turned over K-6.
This woman had never raised before the flop even once. She limped into a lot of pots and looked like she was loose passive and didn’t really know what she was doing. She was an older lady, French, and a French pro at the table knew who she was. I also saw a man sweating her and brought her food. That was important too, it let me know that he thinks she can play, so that would in turn mean that she probably thinks she can play and likely has had some success somewhere.
She didn’t seem like a total idiot, and I felt like SHE felt that she could get away with bluffs if she just kept betting. Based on hands she’d shown down already I noticed that she wasn’t a value bettor and checked in almost every marginal situation. Her betting the turn led me to believe she either had an over pair with a club or Ace high with a club. When the ace hit on the river, I could no longer beat either… but she bet 2000. With a four card straight on board and three clubs I didn’t think she’d bet JJ, for example, and I also didn’t think she’d bet an ace.
I then looked over at her and she gave off a monster tell, one so strong I won’t share it because when I see it it’s pure gold and I don’t want any blog readers using it as a false tell against me.
The problem I faced was deciding whether she would raise with a hand pre-flop that didn’t beat my small pair. I didn’t have an answer to that question, but there was more than enough evidence to warrant a call.
Hand #3: Crazy Davood limped from the cutoff for 400, I raised to 1300 from the sb with JJ and he called. The flop came 9-7-4 with two spades. I bet 1600 and he raised me 6000 with just 5000 behind. I folded, he showed QQ.
This was a tough decision but he made it easy by opening his mouth. Actually he never shuts his mouth but in this case he gave me exactly the information I needed to make the right decision. I simply asked him questions and he answered them:
“You have a big draw Davood?” I said. “No, I don’t have draw, I have made hand. No draw for me maybe you, LOL HAHAHA BWAHAHAHA. LALA HEE HEE.” His tone was legit and I knew that he wasn’t lying. He did not have a draw so I could literally eliminate all draws from his range- just like that.
“You have set Davood?” I continued, “Maybe, I don’t know about that one.” It didn’t feel like a set so I had to use some other logic to make a decision, but then he helped me further by saying, “I know you have hand to raise in small blind. You have hand to raise, I know. Maybe something JJ or QQ.”
“Can you beat that Davood, you have AA?”
“No, I no have aces I’m telling you no aces.”
Here is the thing: he correctly had me on the hand I had and his reasoning for thinking it was legit and I knew he believed in his read of the situation. So how could he raise me? He would never do that with a 9. He had to have slow played QQ or KK. I folded and he showed it telling me, “I like you. You are friend of me.”
Hand #4: With blinds at 300-600 with a 75 ante a late position player makes it 2400. I call from the sb with AK. The flop is 8-6-3 it goes check-check. The turn is a Q I check call 2400. The river is a Q and I check-call 6000. He taps the table and shows a K.
This was a pretty big pot at the time and the call was totally based on me paying attention to all the hands dealt. When I sat at this table I was watching him make a button bet after everyone checked to him. It was a big bet, and he got called. As he was being studied he did some weird thing with his tongue and mouth, gulped, looked straight ahead right at the guy. When the guy asked to see his chips he almost jumped to show him. He was bluffing.
I continued to watch and noticed that when he had a hand he didn’t do that at all. One hand I raised him on a flop because I thought I sensed a bit of the tell, but it was very subtle. It proved to be wrong.
On this particular hand, he did the exact same thing he did in the first hand I watched, almost biting his tongue without opening his mouth. He was a younger Italian player. He reminded me a bit of Marco in terms of his approach. I thought about whether Marco would play a hand like this and the answer was an emphatic yes. Italians speak with their hands, but they also speak with their face and their whole body. This guy couldn’t help it.
I ended the first heat with the chip lead at 74,900 and we resume play on Sunday with blinds at 500-1000 and a 100 ante. I expect to go deep in this one as well as every tournament I enter for the rest of the year. When I put together fundamentals, discipline, and observation, that’s a pretty deadly combo and I play great when I do that. I’m doing that now…
Unfortunately, due to me being in this event I have to withdraw from the 10K HORSE event on Stars tomorrow night. I wanted to play it, but that’s just not possible now. One tournament at a time…]]>
I’m at a different hotel this year than I was last year, and I like it much, much better. It’s a lot more modern and the TV is, in fact, bigger than my head. Today I walked around a little bit, trying to see if I could find the casino on my own. The streets in London are rather confusing and it wasn’t an easy task, but I asked enough people for direction when I was thoroughly lost and eventually found my way. I enjoy getting lost, I find it to be loads of fun.
Along the way I was just absolutely shocked at how many vegetarian options there were. Just incredible, on top of a room service menu that offers a Vegan menu as well. I don’t even know what to see, I just want to try everything, I haven’t enjoyed the idea of eating so much in years. All of my favorite, healthy foods, easily accessible in fast food like venues. There are little tons of vegetarian only restaurants. If you tried to open even one vegetarian only restaurant in Las Vegas it might struggle.
There is even a place called Red Veg that offers fast food items like burgers, hot dogs, fries, etc… all vegetarian! I’m staying away from that stuff for now, though, as I’ve been working on the body a little bit. I’m sure one night I’ll give that place a try in the next couple weeks.
WARNING*** The next part of the blog may sound ignorant and it likely is since I know nothing about the economy here in London. This is just an uninformed opinion based on what I see around me in one particular part of the country.
I see small shops on busy streets that seem to be thriving. Less franchises that seem to dominate in most places in the U.S. that I’ve visited. Now here is the ignorant part: The thought dawned on me, “This looks like a place where the ‘American dream’ is more of a reality than in America.”
I know it’s a silly, and ignorant assumption to make based on very little knowledge, and as I pointed out, I realize that it’s ignorant, but hey, it popped into my head so I thought I’d share it. Often when I do share my thoughts on stuff like that various people from either London or the U.S. will educate me on things I didn’t know in the Daniel’s blog forum at www.fullcontactpoker.com.
Feel free to add your two cents to my ignorant view of the world that’s based solely on walking down a few city streets 🙂
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Playing in the WCOOP tournaments online at PokerStars is proving to be a very difficult task for me while in Europe. I don’t want to sleep all day as that will affect my results at the WSOPE, but in order to play the WCOOP events I have to stay up all night. Twice this week I have fallen asleep while deep in a tournament. Last night in the 2-7 single draw NL event I was chip leader for what seemed like forever. In between hands I tried to close my eyes and react to the loud noise when it’s on me. It worked for a while, but inevitably I did fall asleep and missed some hands. I ended up in 18th place.
Even before that event started I was exhausted and didn’t think I could make it through the night based on my fatigue level in the previous tournament, the $500 NL event with a rebuy and an add on. I was chip leader in that one too! Dozing off, though, I didn’t think I had a chance so I just decided to play super fast. Example: my bust out hand.
With blinds at 75-150 UTG makes it 350 and gets three others callers. I have about 14,700 in chips, more than enough, and decide to go all in from the big blind with J-4 off suit, lol. The second player called me with 10-10 and then it was on to the 2-7 which seemed more fun anyway. I played uber aggressive in that one too, but because so few people understood the game I was able to just run right over people, bluffing at will. I pulled off the identical bluff five times and never got called once! The bluff went like so:
A player raises to 3x and I make a big re-raise from the blind with a hand like J-10-8-7-3. My opponent would call, I’d stay pat, and they’d stay pat behind me. Knowing I was completely dead at this point, there is zero chance my hand could be the best hand in this situation, I’d just shove, lol. If there was 3000 in the pot and the guy had 6000, I’d bet it all. They never called. Not once. Easy game 🙂
I don’t think I’m going to play tonight’s WCOOP events. It’s a bit uncomfortable with no wireless in the room. I take the two seat cushions from the chairs and a pillow and create a bed on the floor. I put a sheet over them and bring my blanket with me close to the desk and spend about hours lying on the floor. I plan on playing the 10K HORSE event, as tired as I may be, as well as the $5200 main event, but I don’t know if I can muster up the energy to play any of the others from here in Europe.
I’ve been on the road for a bit now and have been super healthy. I drank about a little bit the night of the EPT awards and had 3 Coronas the night that I played the $25k NLH heads up event sitting in the lobby with William, Duthie, et al.
Other than that, very healthy eating and I’ve been working the perfect push ups pretty hard. I’m getting stronger already and they are fun to do.
Anyway, I’m going to do some reading, relax, and then hit the push ups agan.
NLH shove with J4 off
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The key to offering a heads up tournament where post flop skill prevails is to make sure the structure gives the players enough time to play before it becomes a shovefest. The Heads Up tournament structures at Stars were fantastic and allowed players at least a solid four levels before things started to get prickly.
I played in both events, the $300 buy in event that attracted 2048 players. I have to say, it drives me absolutely nuts and annoys me to no end that some heads up tournaments don’t allow a bye system. It is completely fair to all entrants and to shut people out is just completely unnecessary in my opinion. If byes are random, the luck evens out in the long run and not one person in the event garners an advantage. Let them all play!!!
I won my first four matches in that tournament and never really trailed in any of them. I grinded my opponents down by simply playing a fundamentally sound heads up strategy of min raising the button and betting 50% of the pot on most flops. This strategy is very difficult to exploit, but there are a few other keys to performing it properly which I discuss in great detail in my videos at PokerVT.
I was down to the final 128 players and then had absolutely no chance to win my fifth match based on the card distribution. I got cold decked and outdrawn and hung in as long as I could, but I couldn’t get the job done.
The real gem was the $25k buy in event that saw 64 entrants, many of which were Team PokerStars pros. It was a decent field and I was pumped to play. I won my first match pretty handily, leading most of the way thanks to a sick run of cards and some coolers on my opponent.
My second round match was against Greg Raymer, who I’d already played once in the NBC Heads Up event which is very different in terms of skill. The NBC event is much more of a crapshoot than the Stars event which offered a lot more play. I was running brutal to start the match and couldn’t connect at all. He had me down pretty low before I called for all of my chips on a board of 3-5-8-Q with 3-4. Raymer had As Js for a flush draw and I faded it on the river getting back to about 10k to his 30k. From there it was over pretty quick. I hit two pair on the flop and got him to call three barrels with bottom pair. then I picked up AA on a flop of 10-5-2. The turn was a K and we got it all in again, me beating his KJ.
The last hand was a bit of an odd one. I raised from the button with A4 and he called from the BB. The flop was 9-2-3 and it went check-check. The turn a K and again, check-check. The river was a 5 and he bet 600, raised to 2400 and he went all in for an additional 8000. I hated my hand at this point, assuming that he either had to have A-4 or 4-6, otherwise there is no way he would re-raise me on the river unless it was a total bluff. I had to call it, and he showed K-5.
My next opponent was zivziv who I knew to be Ziv Bachar, a guy I’d watched play while doing commentary for the APPT. I remember him being a really good player so I knew I’d have to play well and get lucky to beat him. He ran super hot against me, though, and I just couldn’t catch a break as he grinded me down, taking a big lead of 70k to 10k before we got it all n on a flop of 7-5-4 with two clubs. I check-raised a 600 bet all in and he called with 7-10. I had 4-5, but the 7 on the turn sealed my fate.
Nonetheless, I was extremely happy with the way that I played this week, both at EPT Barcelona and online in the heads up matches, going 6-2. It’s really hard to go 10-0 and win one of those things, but I’m confident that with a good, slow structure, I can maintain a high winning percentage against most fields. The NBC event is a bit frustrating because the blinds escalate quickly and there isn’t as much wiggle room. I believe I’m 4-4 lifetime in that event.
When I return from my European trip I am going to do videos of every single one of my matches this week for PokerVT, so be on the look out for those.
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I’m still in Barcelona. No one else is here, just me chilling out on the roof of the hotel, sitting in the sun, reading Dreams of my Father. Pretty deep book, very introspective and amazingly honest. Surprisingly honest, especially for a politician.
Other than that I’m doing perfect push ups everyday, those things are awesome! I feel like I’m already a bit stronger and it’s only been about 10 days since I started using them. They are so much harder than regular push ups it’s not even funny. I’m still too weak to do them normally, it’s too much weight, so I do them on my knees. Christian says this should help me hit the ball a bit further when we get back on the golf course (a place I miss dearly).
It’s another one of those, “Me against the world” trips, where work on eating well, reading, working out… kinda like jail- but in a good way!
The only other thing I’ve been up to, aside from watching CNN for hours and hours, is preparing for my hockey draft. It’s a huge, no massively intense job. I will likely put in a 100 hours of research and that is only to draft a total of four 18 year old players. My team is set outside of that, but building through the draft, much like in any real sport, is essential to winning my fantasy hockey league, my other true passion outside of golf and poker.
Yes, I still consider poker a passion, although it doesn’t always seem that way. I’ve been craving it big time. I want it bad and I feel like I really have that, “Eye of the Tiger” back, so to speak. I realized that I just can’t be at my best if I’m complacent. That would make me just like one of the online players who are focusing mostly on betting patterns and fundamentals. When I’m playing my best, and focused on my opponents, I see things that clue me in to what my opponents have. That’s a powerful weapon in live tournaments and it’s kind of like an exciting epiphany for me. I look forward to the WSOPE and the two events at EPT London.
Having said that.. I’m still in Barcelona. Hey, the weather is better here and I don’t mind being alone. I think I’ll probably end up catching a flight out tomorrow, though, get situated and comfortable with my surroundings a few days in advance. I’ll probably play the WCOOP events tonight. So on that note, I’m going to go sign up for the Stud 8 or better.
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I felt pretty great going in this event. I slept forever, but woke up a bit earlier that I would have hopes… like 4:30am. I spent the morning having breakfast, watching an absurd film called Zeitgeist, and perused the forums at Full Contact Poker. As you should know by now I’m passionate about this election and Obama is my guy. I spend a bit of time reading my blog forum, which has essentially become the Political forum at FCP, and I just don’t think it does much good.
It takes a lot of time and energy, and in the end they aren’t going to change my mind and I’m not about to change theirs. Essentially it’s just a waste of time and it started to annoy me and make me use stronger language than I would have liked out of frustration.
So I wrote a quick little post in the forum stating my positions, why I like Obama, etc. and entitled it “Agree to Disagree.” Essentially it was my way of saying, “This is how I feel, I’m not apologizing for it and I don’t expect you all to agree with me.”
I ate a great spinach salad on the way to the casino, I’ve eaten the same salad everyday this week. I was there in time, and I felt in absolutely great, positive spirits. It may sound silly, but writing that post, just releasing myself of all that negative baggage felt like the right thing to do and it’s as though I was reborn. Sounds extreme, I know, but I just felt fantastic and it showed at the table.
At the Bike I didn’t have my focus at all and didn’t pay attention to the play. I still made it down to 60 players or so but I never really was a contender. In Barcelona, I was a major contender from the start and focused as hard as I’ve focused since… well, since I can’t remember.
I went in there with a thought for the day, “Watch EVERY hand and focus on your opponents.” I figured that if I did that it would help make marginal decisions easy. Here is my tournament in a nutshell:
Guy sits down on my left and smells just awful. So bad that I had an extra hat in my hand and used it to conver my nose and mouth because otherwise I’d be coughing all day and we couldn’t have that. The first decent pot I played went like this:
Middle position players makes it 150, an Italian calls, and I call with Jh 8h. The flop is Q J 5 with two spades. They check to be and I bet 300, the Italian called. The turn was an off 3 and the Italian checked again. I knew he was a bit loose and would take cards off weak so I wanted to protect against a draw and bet 600. He min raised me to 1200 and I folded. I later found that this guy was a check-raising machine but always had the goods when he did it. Felt fine with that play.
The next hand I played for any decent chips I min raised to 100 from early position with Ah 9h and got four callers. The flop came 9 7 5 with two diamonds. I bet 350, one player behind me calls, and a good Swedish player over calls from the small blind. The turn is a 3 and I fire 900- the Swede calls. I actually thought I had the best hand and he was drawing but was shutting down on the river unless I hit an Ace or a 9. The river was the Qd putting the flush out there and he checked. I checked… he showed QQ.
That started to whittle down my stack to the next hand. I called a raise from the BB with 5s 7s in a four way pot for 300 a man (there was an early limper and a 300 raise.) The flop came 2 3 5 with two hearts and the pre-flop raiser bet 950. I put him on an over pair and felt like this was a good board to either hit two pair or bluff a scare card. He “seemed” like the type that was trying to play tight aggressive so I was pretty confident a bluff would work if I did it right.
The turn card was a 4 and I decided not to bet in case he had a hand like AK. He checked also. The river was the Jh which looks like the perfect card for me to steal this pot. I bet 2400 into a 3200 pot and the guy tanked for an hour or so… he finally paid me off and showed 55 for a set.
That had me down to 2800 early on but the blinds were still 25-50. I beat the guy out of 1000 or so with 88 after calling his bluff, and then I picked up red Kings from early position and min raised to 100. Again it was five way action. The flop came 4-4-2 with two hearts. I bet 350 and the smelly guy called on my left- all others folded. The turn was the 10h and I bet 1000 leaving myself with 2400 and committed to calling for all of it. He thinks for a bit- and calls.
The river is the 5c and I think for a long time. Trying to decide between a defensive bet of 1000, a check and call, or just sticking it in. I finally realized that I wasn’t folding if he bet but he may check a hand he’d call me with. I bet it all and he called. KK were good.
I was back to 10,000 and didn’t play a hand in the 50-100 level really. During the 75-150 level I raised to 300 from early position with Kc 10c and got four callers for a 1500 pot. The flop came Qc 10s 2c. In other words- I’m not folding, lol. I bet 800, the guy two to my left makes it 2500 and now I’m certain he has me beat but I simply can’t fold. I was hoping he may fold a Queen, and if he did have a Queen it wasn’t Q-10 or K-Q. I moved in for the rest of my chips and he called quickly turning over 22. I missed and that was that.
It was an exit in level 3 but I was way more excited about thus event than I was with the Bike event despite going deep there. I wasn’t really at the Bike, but I was definitely all there in Barcelona. I had good reads on my opponents, felt like I was in a good situation, but unfortunately the cards didn’t fall my way.
No sweat. I’m in Barcelona. I’m going to read, lay on the beach, relax… and think. About all kinds of stuff. Being on a trip alone is sometimes a lot of fun.]]>
I became a believer in late 2003 due in large part to a book called “A Case for Christ” written by a former atheist by the name of Lee Strobel. He conducted interviews over a full year examining the the case for Christ, from the resurrection, to the validity of the Bible. After reading that book I felt convinced that there was enough evidence to suggest not only that Christ was a man who existed (few would debate that) but also that he was the son of God.
Of course, there is a necessary leap of Faith and that is an obstacle that often keeps people from being able to believe in God. Lee Strobel has several questions as well that would gnaw at him so he went on another journey, conducting more interviews in the hopes of answering “The Big 8.” The 8 most asked questions that turn people away from becoming believers. In no particular order, they are:
1. If there’s a loving God, why does this pain-wracked world groan under so much suffering and evil?
2. If the miracles of God contradict science, then how can any rational person believe that they are true?
3. If God really created the universe, why does the persuasive evidence of science compel so many to conclude that the unguided process of evaluation accounts for life?
4. If God is morally pure, how can he sanction the slaughter of innocent children as the Old Testament says he did?
5. If Jesus is the only way to heaven, than what about the millions of people who have never heard of him?
6. If God cares about the people he created, how could he consign so many of them to an eternity of torture in hell just because they didn’t believe the right things about him?
7. If God is the ultimate overseer of the church, why has it been rife with hypocrisy and brutality throughout the ages?
8. If I’m still plagued by doubts, then is it still possible to be a Christian?
I’m actually reading the book a second time and taking notes. I was riveted by much of it, specifically the theory of Evolution and Darwinism. I’m not going to get into too much detail about all the specifics of the book, but if you do have doubts, or are even an atheist or an agnostic, I think this book is well worth the read. It certainly couldn’t hurt you.
It starts out telling the story of Charles Templetom, a former pastor who became an agnostic because he couldn’t answer these questions and it kept him from being able to have faith. He brings up some strong points, but Lee Strobel’s journey answered some of those tough questions that Templeton raised.
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Sweden was a quick in and out as I was there doing some promotional work for PokerStars. I also had a chance to talk to Mats Sundin and was thoroughly impressed with him as a man as well as a hockey mind. He cares about Toronto way more than the people in that city realize.. it’s a shame management hasn’t made the best of decisions over the years…
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PokerVT: we shot some new stuff this week in our new studio that’s been built solely to create live content for the site. More and more live videos will be added over the next little while.
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I golfed one day when I returned and obviously didn’t hit the ball too well considering the long lay off. While golfing, my buddy Sam, the center of many of our jokes said something that had me rolling on the floor. We talked about playing a house game of Badugi that evening and he mentioned that he noticed PokerStars was going to have Badugi soon. He said, “I went to open up the Badugi tab and it said, ‘coming soon’ so I waited for like an hour and nothing happened.” LOL, he went on to say that he does that ever day for like an hour and it always just says “coming soon.” You have to know Sam to know how funny that is.
We did play Badugi that night over at my buddy Ted’s house. We would have played at my house, but my house was destroyed while in Sweden. Patty hadn’t been at the house while I was gone so when a leak from the sink made it’s way to the game room and even the office, there ended up being like a foot of water on the ground. The walls are still drying, but luckily none of my electronics were damaged.
So that night we played a mix of Badugi, 2-7 triple draw, A-5 triple draw, and 5 card draw triple draw, all limit. I didn’t win anything and ran pretty bad
The next day is when I shot all the VT stuff. After that we got together for dinner at Bellagio’s new restaurant YellowTail. Cool atmosphere, ok food. After that we headed to the poker room where my Korean buddy John Smith was playing $30-$60 hold’em. I said hello, then when he got up from the table I decided to play a round for him. I played two pots and won them both. Hand #1 I raised from the cut off with Qh 6h and the big blind re-raised. The flop was 10-6-2 he bet I called. The turn was a Q and we got 4 bets in. I cracked his AA.
The other hand I played was from under the gun where I raised with 6s 9s. I got a call behind me and the big blind. Flop was 10-5-2 with two spades, I bet and the big blind called. The turn was an ace, she checked and I stole it on the turn.
We hung out in the poker room for a bit, and then I just randomly sat in a guys chair and played a round for him too. He didn’t seem to care when he got back as it was all in good fun. The room was buzzing a bit and then I ended up doing some autographs and pictures before heading out to a Karaoke joint in Chinatown.
Karaoke is a blast, especially with Sam because he has to be the worst singer in the world but loves to sing. After a while, John Smith chose a Korean song and since no one was backing him up, I decided to give it a try. It was a remake of a Cyndy Lauper song and I thought I did pretty good. Especially during the rap part, where I did my best impression of a Korean rapper. All there gave me a thumbs up for authenticity in terms of the accent, etc.
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I’ve got one more day at home until my month long European trip. Today I played in the 5 card draw WCOOP event and got close to the money. It had 1000 players or so and I got down to like 180th before busting after a failed bluff attempt where I tried to represent two pair but all I really had was a busted flush draw. The guy called me with a pair of 88. Good call.
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Politics is getting crazier and crazier and in the forums at Full Contact Poker in my blog section people are blabbing away at each other defending their candidate. It gets pretty heated sometimes, as politics often does, and I usually don’t stick with the threads all the way to the end because they get too nutty.
I was appalled with the GOP convention. I was actually warming up to McCain and feeling like he might be a decent guy, but the speeches of Guliani and Palin disgusted me. They were rude, obnoxious, and they not only mocked Obama but essentially mocked and belittled any of his supporters. I hated watching it, I thought it was just awful.
It’s always annoyed me that abortion always plays such a large role in many voters minds as to who they’ll choose since it’s not even a federal issue. There will always be people in this country that are both pro-life and pro-choice, but I think both of those groups should instead focus on their common goal: reducing the number of abortions. That would be a good place to start, IMO. Taking an extreme stance either way doesn’t get anything done. Pro-lifers see abortion as murder and have every right to voice their opinion, as do those that aren’t religious who feel that allowing a woman the right to choose is the morally correct thing to do. My opinion on the issue is totally irrelevant. The thing is, I also feel like the opinion of the president is only slightly more relevant since they don’t have the power to overturn Roe vs Wade.
Oops, I’m getting into politics, abortion, and RELIGION in this blog! Wow, I should know better, seriously :-)]]>
****Ok, before I get into my opinions, et al, I’m going to address the haters right off the bat. If you don’t want to read my political opinions then find another blog to read. I have every right to share my views just like anyone else.***
So I busted out of LA on day 3 after getting 99 beat by KQ. I ended up staying in LA to shoot a show called Sports and Science which should turn out to be pretty neat. I enjoyed doing it. I also drove to Beverly Center to get some clothes for my trip to Sweden since I wouldn’t have a chance to head back to Vegas before my trip.
On the way back from Beverly Center my navigator said it was 12 miles to my hotel… 12 miles took 90 minutes! I hate LA, hate that traffic with such a passion I can’t even put it into words.
On my flight to Sweden a passenger was dying apparently so we had to stop in Denver for a medical emergency. That made me miss my connection from Germany to Sweden, but I was able to find a suitable flight a few hours later.
I’m in Sweden now doing some promotional work for a couple days. I leave here on the 2nd and will be back in Vegas for just five days before heading to Barcelona to host the EPT Awards ceremony and also play EPT Barcelona. I’m excited to play again.
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On to politics. If this isn’t a topic that interests you, then feel free to skip the rest of the blog- seriously. I, of course, watched the Obama speech live and thought he put on a flawless performance answering all the critics during his almost 50 minute speech. He got tough with McCain, got specific, and touched on several issues the American people have been curious about, from abortion to gun control, to the economy and terrorism, he briefly shared his views.
The speech was great and I expected to wake up in the morning and see it all over the news, but no… no, Sarah Palin? Who? For those of you who don’t know, John McCain chose little known Sarah Palin to be his running mate in the election. When I listened to her first speak, I couldn’t help but literally laugh in amazement. The whole thing was so awkward and had me wondering, is this for real? Is this some kind of an elaborate practical joke? Apparently it’s for real.
It just seems like such an odd choice, picking a random 44 year old woman with less experience than they accuse Obama of having. Which brings me to my biggest pet peeve: it is SOOO annoying that I keep hearing, “How can the DEM’s attack her on the experience issue when they have a man at the top of the ticket who has little experience?” It is such a blatant twisting of the truth. The experience issue isn’t something the DEM’s raised at all, it was the GOP that constantly attacked Obama regarded his perceived lack of experience. If the GOP sees experience as being such a big deal, how can they justify this nomination out of left field?
I realize that Obama is at the top of the ticket and she is only the VP, but McCain is 72 years old and has had health issues. How comfortable would you feel about the “hockey mom” running the whole country if McCain kicks the bucket? This choice brings the age issue to the forefront more so than had he gone with someone like a Romney. In fact, I think a McCain/Romney ticket would have been really tough to beat.
One of the things that annoys me most about this pick is that it is so obviously transparent that Palin is being chosen for one key and specific reason: she is a woman. Does anyone honestly believe, that had she been a man with the same resume that McCain would even consider her? McCain always talks about Country First, election second, but does anyone really, truly believe that this woman was the best, and most qualified choice for VP?
McCain didn’t choose the person he thinks is best fit to lead the country if he dies. You’d have to be living in la la land to believe that he made this choice based on her qualifications or her ability to lead. He did this to pander to not only social conservatives, but it’s also an attempt to win over unhappy Hillary voters. I don’t have an opinion either way on this really, but does the McCain camp think that female Hillary supporters will vote Republican now because Palin has a vagina? Doesn’t that come off as a bit condescending and ridiculous?
Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton, not by a long shot. Her views couldn’t be any more different and Palin has actually spoken negatively about Hillary, calling her a whiner during the primaries. Palin is pro-life, pro guns, anti-gay marriage, and even anti-birth control! Her views couldn’t be any more different than the views of Hillary Clinton. Unless women actually do vote based on genitalia, I don’t see how a Hillary supporter could logically feel an allegiance to Palin at all.
This move has more to do with politics and “playing the game” than it does with who made the most sense for McCain. A purely political move to get people talking and steal the spotlight from Obama after his speech. In that sense, it was a brilliant move. Obama’s speech would have flooded the airwaves, but once the announcement of Palin hit the news, that was all anyone would talk about. Certainly a headline catcher.
You know, McCain talks a lot about “good judgment” and how he doesn’t think Obama has it. I look at this decision and wonder… is he for real? This is no joke people, but he literally met her ONCE before meeting her again to give her the nomination. Once! He’s known this woman for less time than it takes to play a typical $1500 Stud event at the WSOP and he is comfortable with her being a heartbeat away from leading this country and dealing with global leaders? You can’t be serious.
I like both John McCain and Barack Obama and think both have good intentions when it comes to running for office. I like Joe Biden a lot and think he’s a tough cookie to say the least. I don’t dislike Palin… I just don’t get it? Her accent drives me nuts, but that’s just a superficial thing that has no relevance. Watching her speak, she certainly doesn’t inspire confidence. She doesn’t seem ready to “lead on day one.” Since that was a trademark attack on Obama, what gives?
I will say that this has made things even more fun to follow and I’m looking forward to the debates. This actually puts Biden in a tough spot. If he gets aggressive with Palin in the debates that could make him look bad, and his primary role is one of “attack dog.” I would assume that the DEM’s best approach would be to avoid attacking her and instead focusing on McCain and his connection to Bush. Hammering home the point that McCain and Bush see eye to eye on over 90% of the issues.
An interesting stat from the CDC life table: The chances of a white male dying by age 76 is 40%.
Chances of dying between
the ages of 72 and 76 is about 12%
This may be a bit outdated and leaves out many factors including the fact that McCain will have access to the best doctors, etc. but still, the fact that he has suffered from melanoma is a concern that goes the other way.
I just thought of something else. Hillary actually becomes even more important now than ever. She will need to campaign for Obama hard and explain to female voters that Palin doesn’t have their best interests at heart. That she is on the other side of the fence in terms of what many women believe. A Clinton-Palin debate would be sooo much more interesting than a Biden-Palin debate. Cat fight!
Ok, that’s it for now. It’s like 6:00am here and I’m starving and need to get some breakfast.
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My focus during the tournament, as I mentioned in my last blog hasn’t been all there and I don’t feel like I’m “in the zone” exactly. So, when that happens, and I’m unable to pay as much attention as I feel like I should, I go on auto pilot, essentially playing the exact strategy that I outline in my book Power Hold’em.
It’s a great strategy especially in slow structured deep stack events. I can wait, and wait, and wait, until someone blows up and just stay afloat until that happens. It’s actually really easy.
Today I floated around the 50k mark for most of the day and was never worried about going broke at all. Later in the evening, during the last level I scratched my way up to 120k. Then with about 15 minutes left to go in the night:
Guy raises to 6000, Kelly Kim calls, button calls, I call from the big blind with 6d 8d. The flop comes 6h Jd 4d and I checked. The raiser bet 12,000 and it came back to me. I loved the flop and didn’t care too much as to what he had, and raised it 30,000 more. He thought for a bit and went all in, of course I called. He had AJ… I missed, and that had me down to 30k.
Those are the kind of coin flips in a tournament I’m willing to risk my chips on for three key reasons:
1) It didn’t bust me.
2) I can’t be a big dog against any hand. Coin flips pre-flop, that’s not the case. You could have AK and “think” it’s a coin flip, when in fact your opponent has AA or KK. That’s never true when you play big draws in big pots after the flop.
3) It’s a great way to semi-bluff. Think about it- this guy can’t really beat squat when I make that play. He has to “hope” he is racing against a draw, because otherwise, I’ll have AJ crushed there every time.
Oh well, if I win that pot I’m looking like a player, with about 230,000. Instead, I’m on the grind with 28,400 but the blinds are only 1200-2400 with a 300 ante. That doesn’t scare me at all.
The important point of all of this, I guess, is that I haven’t done anything “special” exactly, but the small ball strategy that I employ is so effective that anyone who uses it can succeed in deep stacked tournaments. By not understanding the effectiveness of this approach you can never become a great live tournament player. It is completely impossible.
I need to be a bit lucky tomorrow, but I’m just not all that worried really, despite having slightly less than 12 big blinds left. I won’t panic at all, and when I get my chips in I should have a decent chance to either chip up slowly, or double up. This game is so easy 🙂
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