Yeah, I've been tardy...

Wow...a whole 9 months since I have updated this blog.  That isn't good.  Life can keep one busy.  I'll post a trip report on my Vegas trip soon.

10 days and counting...

Less than two weeks to go...

At this point, it is really just a matter of getting the money converted to US funds and everything is ready to go.

Getting pretty real now...

3 weeks and counting...

About 3 weeks until my Sin City trip.

In my last entry, I listed some of the types of games I'll be playing outside of poker.  However, in this entry, I'll be talking about my poker aspirations for this trip.

I'm going to be honest....I'll mostly be concentrating on the low stakes LIMIT games.  I'm not exactly the biggest fan of NL cash games despite their popularity.  I'm not interested in going broke because I was completely made a fool of....or if some fool beats my hand with a couple of dinner napkins and made a miracle hand all the time.

Here's an example of a ZOOM game I played the weekend.  I started with $5 and had it up to about $8...cruising pretty well.  Got into an all-in preflop pot with AA and, sure enough, the other guy had KK....and...sure enough.....King on the flop.

Now, overall, I can't complain as I made correct decisions and just had a bad result (plus I reloaded and got some of that loss back before the end of my session).  It would just suck to be playing live and have it happen.

There seem to be plenty of games for me in Vegas....these would include the following casinos that regularly spread the games

- Bellagio
- Venetian
- Flamingo
- Mirage
- Orleans
- Monte Carlo (spread limit game)
- Ballys or Harrahs (but depends on day I think)
- Palms

If I do decide to play NL, I'll have to be uber-tight aggressive and will restrict the amount of time that I play per session (2 to 3 hours max)....but we'll see if that happens.

As for tournaments, I'll be leaning against playing them....but I have researched several that would fit into my bankroll....plus would give decent playing time and not so much a luck-fest. I have those listed in my phone for easy reference.

There is one tournament that has peaked my interest.....I'll be in Vegas during the tail-end of the Venetian Deep Stacks Extravaganza.  I may take a shot at the $200 7pm tourney on the 23rd or 24th of April.  This will depend on my mindset at the time (or if I make enough money elsewhere to make it a freeroll).  The other tourney's on my list will depend on where I am at the time and if I feel like it.

Really looking forward to this trip!

Hello hello. Yeah, I did it again. However, I now have some news to tell. I'm going to be taking my first trip to Sin City.

When my 40th birthday rolled around, I had the idea of going to Vegas to celebrate it. My wife (God bless her) said "you should go". I was a little surprised by that as she isn't exactly pro-gambling....but she supported allowing me to celebrate this milestone in my matter of choosing. Unfortunately, it is going to be a solo trip. My wife doesn't have much interest in Vegas and my guy friends (for various reasons) are unable to go either. However, it isn't stopping me from taking the trek. The last couple of months has been mostly dealing in research for the trip (plus getting the money together). I had saved enough money for the airfare and accommodations and my performance bonus from work is giving me the spending money that I need (about $2000). After doing some snooping around, I used a code (courtesy of lasvegasadvisor.com) to get a decent rate at Ballys for the end of April.

So what have I been doing to prepare for this trip? A lot of research to be honest. Since I've never set foot in the city before, I like to do as much preparation as possible for such a trip. Got a few books....watched a few youtube videos...and been learning some games. Just making it a poker trip would be nice...but I figured it wouldn't hurt to learn some new games as well. Yeah, I know that some of these games are not exactly +EV...but I'm there to have fun and, if a profit happens, then great. So what games have I been learning?

1. Blackjack
I thought that this game would be pretty complicated so I was going to give it a pass. However, I came across the Wizard of Odds website and he presented a simplified basic strategy that only decreases payback by a minor amount from normal basic strategy....that works for me. I used some of his videos to get an idea of how it works...and have been playing it on my iphone during my commutes to/from work. Seems alright...just need to avoid the 6/5 tables if possible.  

2. Craps
I've always viewed this game as a money trap...and it is for the most part as most of the bets on the table are "sucker bets" for various reasons. However, the Wizard site did show how certain types of bets in the game give the house only a minor edge...so I might play some of this as well. I generally prefer strategy games though....so this would be more for entertainment.

 3. Video Poker
This one is right up my alley. Again, I viewed this initially as just a variant of slots...but now realize this is something completely different. A game where there is a definite strategy. After reviewing vpfree2.com and the Wizard strategy for certain games (plus reading a book by Jean Scott who seems to be one of the experts on the subject), I decided to learn the following versions of the games. - Jacks or Better - Bonus Poker - Double Bonus Poker - Deuces Wild Been playing these games all the time with some iphone apps. Feel pretty comfortable now with JoB and BP. Still trying to get the hang of the other two. I have researched which games are in which casinos and have it in my iphone for reference on the trip. I think I really like these games because of their strategic nature...plus they are fun to play.  

4. 'Junk' Games
Games like 3 card poker and 'Let it Ride' are on the list as well...but it's no secret that the house has the edge here....mostly just for entertainment if I feel like it...nothing more.  

5. Pai Gow
Been doing some playing with this....one problem with it. It is kind of boring.  

6. Poker (of course)
This is the main focus of the trip. I think I'll write up later my thoughts on this one in another post as this one is getting long.

4 weeks and counting...I have no delusions here. I suspect I will be going home with less money than I started with. However, I want to play games where I have some edge...or the house has minimal edge so my money will last longer.

Yeah....been a long while.

Yeah, this thing was pretty much abandoned. That isn't too say that I haven't been playing....just life I guess...and this fell by the wayside. Time to ramp up again....stay tuned.

Pokerstars WBCOOP

So what would I do with a $5000 first place prize? That’s a good question. I think the first thing that I would do is increase my PokerStars bankroll. I’ve been playing at some higher limits (10c/20c limit hold’em). If I had an additional $5000 dollars in my bankroll, I would be moving out of the micro-stakes…that’s for damn sure.

I would like to be able to have the bankroll to play (or at least satellite into) the bigger Sunday tournaments. With my current bankroll, even playing in the Sunday Storm would be a stretch. As readers of this blog know, I have started with zero money. After winning some money on a smaller online poker site, I moved some of the money onto PokerStars and started grinding. At times, things have run well…and at other times things have been frustrating as I have started re-learning my game from scratch.

PokerStars is pretty cool with the promotions that they run…and with a few surprises. One time, to help promote the SCOOP events a couple of years ago, I was sent an email from PokerStars offering a contest to do some blogs that either featured a keyword or to do something “unique” to claim a larger prize. So I did some silly poems putting names of PokerStars pros in them. Surprisingly, because of my “poetry”, I won one of five tickets to a $109 dollar event. That was really cool. Of course, my results in that tournament left a lot to be desired. When you, as a micro-stakes player, sit at a table and see nothing but gold stars, platinum stars, and a supernova sitting at the table…you know you are in for an “education”. I was surprised to last about a 1/3 of the way through the field….even outlasting several pros including Vanessa Rousso and Victor Ramdin. On a side note, I decided to try to satellite into the low buy-in event. I won my seat (yes!) and even cashed in the event making 4x my initial investment.

Let’s be honest, every player has the dream of hitting a big score. Chris Moneymaker did it with a small online investment and launched the initial poker boom in 2003. Someday, I might be fortunate enough to do that. However, until that time happens, I’ll continue to develop my game on PokerStars…the best site running today. They have great promotions, great games, and their customer service is top notch. I need to continue building my bankroll and take some more shots at being able to playing better and higher. They even have an online poker school where one can learn tips and techniques from successful players…who were in my shoes once.
Okay, so what are you waiting for? Go to PokerStars and get in the game…and try to get your share of $5000. I know I will…..now where’s that money?

A new beginning for 2012....

Time to get this beast back online....

Hello folks. I haven't updated this thing in a while but I decided to give it another try.

Well, 2011 was a bust. Had a downswing on FTP and, of course, the whole aftermath of Black Friday shut down that site. Since I was playing higher there and didn't have a similar bankroll on Stars or Party, I was going to have a loss for the year.

So now 2012 is a new beginning. Over the last little bit, I have been playing on Stars (thank god I had some money over there) and have been playing cash games and the occasional tournament. My results in cash games have been mixed and a little frustrating. I have decided to make a change....play limit games instead.

I read some writing of Tri Nguyen who had some advice that stuck with me.....play higher. I had a sufficient bankroll for .05/.10 limit holdem but, after reading that, I decided to just move up....and that has worked so far. I've been playing the .10/.20 games and been running pretty well so far (5BB/100). In reviewing my results, my standard deviation is a bit high....so right now it is too early to tell if I'm beating the game or just running good. Time will tell. The next limit is 0.25/0.50. A comfortable bankroll there would be around $150 dollars, but I'm going to take some shots when I get my roll up to $100 dollars or so.

Losing half my bankroll on FTP sucks and I'm assuming I won't see that money back. No guarantees of this new group getting off the ground. If I have the option to withdraw my money I'll take it and put it on Stars.

I'm also planning my first trip to Vegas which will probably happen in 2013 to celebrate my 40th birthday. Right now, I'm just reviewing poker rooms to see which ones I have an interest in playing in. The main criteria is that they spread limit hold'em (and not just the 2/4 stuff) but also spread omaha/8. I'd also like to try a "locals casino" in addition to the ones on the strip. Right now, the list includes:

Bellagio
Aria
Wynn
Venetian
Orleans

This may change. There will only be a certain number of days that I'll be there plus I would want to do other stuff....so I'll see how it goes.

Here's to a great 2012!