This was something that I had wrote back in Dec. of 2004 on an old blog I had. Being off for a few weeks brings back these thoughts...

I'm tryingto get my thoughts together and see what it would take for be to be able to play for a living. Things to consider:

1. What size poker bankroll should I have to start?
2. What site should I play at?
3. Multi-Table ($2/4 or $3/6) Single table $5/10?
4. How should I pay myself?
5. How long could I really do this?
6. What happens afterwards when I have a years gap in employment history?
7. Insurance is not a problem!
8. What will I be saving vs. not going to work every day?
9. Am I good enough to do this for a living?

Anyone playing for a living now? What advice do you have? What have I not thought of? What are some roadblocks that you had to over come? 

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After a long lay off from the poker tables I've finally been able to get some time in this week. I've played the $10 MTT on Full Tilt Poker 3 timesand  cash once, but should have done much better. The first night I'm not really counting cause the event started at midnight and my ISP decided that would be a good time to go out. So I missed about 45 mins and got blinded down to where I had to make a coin flip call due to the size of the blinds.

So the last two I played are the ones that I have been upset with my play. In the second event I was able to play tight the first 2 hours and had some great hands hit when I did play that paid me off. I was able to get up to the top 30 after the 2nd break. Here is where my play did not change. I was the big stack at the table for most of the time, but I never mixed it up or changed my style of play. After playing too tight for the hour I ended up getting short stacked and finished around 90th. Not bad for 1600 players, but I did not give myself a chance to get in position to go for a final table.

 In the thrid tourney I had the deck hit me in the face the first hour and was in the top 5 after the first hour. Here again I did not have the feel for the table to be able to play the big stack like I should have. The rust is really showing in my game, and outside being able to play ABC poker I don't feel like I have the touch around the table as I've had in the past. By playing too tight in this event I got stuck in the big blind with AK suited and having to push all in. This play ended up putting me on the bubble exactly and after 3 hours of playing I had zero to show for it.

The only way to get over this that I know is to grind it out and keep playing. Hopefuly I can get this rust worn off quickly, so pass me the WD-40.

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Poker Hand Replays lets you recreate, view, and comment on replays of poker hands you’ve played online or offline. You can use their simplewizard for recreating hands, or copy/pasting your hand histories from your favorite poker sites. Hands are then recreated in an animated flash video that can be easily embedded anywhere online (on your blog, forums, etc.).

http://www.pokerhandreplays.com

 

 

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July 9, 2007  – The poker world is holding its breath today after a freak accident on the Las Vegas strip in which pokerlegend Phil Hellmuth lost control of his high-speed racecar.

Hellmuth had spent the day testing the 200 mph racecar in the Nevada desert. Upon approaching his hotel, the 11-time WSOP bracelet winner lost control of the vehicle and crashed head-on into a pole.

While the racecar was totaled, witnesses report that Hellmuth was conscious as he left the vehicle unscathed but visibly shaken. According to one onlooker, Hellmuth quipped, “Well, you can’t win every race.”

With the Main Event of the World Series just hours away, it’s still unknown whether the UltimateBet pro will recover in time to vie for the Main Event title and a 12th WSOP bracelet.

"I'd be amazed if he was able to play poker today after such a high-speed collision,” stated eyewitness Brian Balsburgh of Poker Royalty. “He had severe whiplash.”

Hellmuth’s Main Event start time was scheduled for 12pm on Monday, July 9th. While friends are no doubt praying for a quick recovery, foes are likely relishing in his misfortune. After all, Hellmuth’s absence from the floor at the Rio Hotel & Casino definitely makes the playing field a lot less fierce.

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I was looking through the site today and came across a few tool that we had up from the start. These are some good tools to use if your wanting toimprove you game and keep track of your information.

First was a a standard deviation spread sheet. What is standard deviation?
The mean is easy to explain … it is the average number of what we are observing. Its where the graph peaks. In poker we are interested in the earn rate per 100 hands. So this number is your BB/100.

The variance describes how fat or thin that graph is. The bigger it is the fatter it is. The smaller it the thinner it is. If you were looking at the height of all men the graph would be quite fat. Lots of different heights out there from dwarfs to giants. We got em all in there.

If you were looking at the height of basketball players the graph would be much thinner. (and the peak to the right)

The 2 can be taken off (by square rooting it) and it is called the standard deviation.

To Chart your standard deviation...

Also we have a bankroll spread sheet to keep track of all your earnings. If you play for more than kicks and giggles then it is very important to keep a honest record of your earnings or loses.

The BankRoll Spread Sheet...

And if you use PokerTracker here is a set of auto rating rules that I used to play Limit Poker and tag what type of players I was up against.

PokerTracker Auto-Rate Rules...

I hope these help!

 

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After reading a post today on the forum about multi-tabling I thought I would come up to my office and take a photo of my set up. While I don't multi-table as much as I use to (mainly because I don't get to play as much as I would like), I still multi-task a lot when I'm play. I've got a dual monitor set up so I can use one screen for work and the other for my tables. You'll see on the wall that I still have my hand chart up. I used this when I started playing and even now and then I'll still look up at it. Also I keep a small portable DVD player on the desk just for entertainment.

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Welcome to the 2007 edition of getting to know your friends. What you are supposed to do is copy this entire post and paste it onto your blog with your info. Change all the answers so they apply to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already.


1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds if I have to pick.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Shrek 3

4. What is your favorite TV show? The Office, House, The Avatar

5. What did you have for breakfast? Never eat breakfast, and I know it is suppose to be the most important meal.

6. What is your middle name? Shawn

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Seafood

8. What foods do you dislike? any green food

9. Your favorite chips? Salt and Vinger

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? CD people still by those...Last one I bought was Jay-Z.

11. What kind of car do you drive? Accord

12. Favorite sandwich? Any and all

13. What are characteristics you can't stand? Close-minded

14. What are your favorite clothes? T-shirt and Jeans

15. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be?
Tour of Europe or the Florida Keys

16. Favorite brand of clothing? I don't have one

17. Where would you want to retire? Key Largo

18. Favorite time of day? quitting time

19. Where were you born? Abingdon, VA

20. Where have you lived? Castlewood, VA, Bristol, VA, Bluff City, TN,

21. What is your favorite sport to watch? College Football

22. Coke or Pepsi? Niether, Mt. Dew

23. Beavers or ducks? I'll take Beavers

24. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night Owl

25. Pedicure or manicure? Have not tried either one.

26. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? Set a goal to try and live life to the fullest.

27. What did you want to be when you were little? Baseball player

28. What is your best childhood memory? Playing with all my friends in the neighborhood.

29. Piercing? Nope

30. Ever been to Africa? Nah

31. Ever been toilet papering? Yep

32. Been in a car accident? a couple

33. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

34. Favorite restaurant? around here Cuz's, Casey's Osyter Bar in Virgina Beach

35. Favorite flower? Should I have one?

36. Favorite ice cream? Not big on ice cream.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None

38. From whom did you get your last email? Spam...Last one I read KFE

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? I go to eBay cause you can get everything you want.

40. Bedtime? around 12 am use to be later

41. Last person you went to dinner with? Wife Sarah

42. Ever been in love? See above

43. What is your favorite color? Gator Blue and Orange

44. How many tattoos do you have? 0

45. What time did you finish this email? about 11:10 PM

46. Favorite magazine? ESPN the mag

47. What are you listening to right now? Computer fan

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My thoughts: (on the bubble with pocket tens).

• For me it was too big of a gamble to risk missing the money. The blinds are going to knock someone out before you. I think you've gotten off the Bubble have force 9 other players behind you to out play you. In some MTT you're not playing for first, just take as much as you can and have some profit to show for your efforts. Plus playing as a team I would think so of the lower level wins would help play back some of the buy-ins. If the team was behind you in this play them don't be upset. I would have waited for the money, and then once in the money gamble some.

BernardDogs advice (what I should have been thinking):

• Often, we need mid-level money at least to break even. If Carnagex and I are rebuying, we may often need the final table I simply don't play an MTT to finish in the first round of the money. I'll take the coinflips on the bubble with the hopes of plowing through a stack shorter than me. If I miss, then I stay agressive with a few all-ins ... hoping that conservative bubble players will give me the blinds until I get some more breathing room. You just won't hit the big money in an MTT without taking the coin flip opportunities. Your other option is hoping that the cards are running incredibly well and the deck is hitting you smack dab in the forehead. That happens RARELY, so you've got to put your self in front of the deck sometimes and hope it doesn't dodge you.

This was some great advice that got me a lot more aggressive on the bubble and helped me money a lot higher in some MTTs.


The Art of Bluffing with a medium or small stack (My Question)

• I've got no problem bluffing some when I've got a big stack late in a MTT, but with an average stack or small stack I have a harder time picking up the pots with a bluff. I find that if I don't get some good cards late in a tourney I'm going to get eaten up by the blinds and end up having to make a coin flip all in. What is the correct way to bluff when your not a big stack. I know don't go at the big stacks and postion is very important, but what are some other factors? Hands that you would bluff with? Hands to avoid bluffing with? What beat to make xBB? What to do when your bluff gets called preflop? These are just a few things I'd like to get cleared up, and any other advice on bluffing. Looking foward to learn how to bluff you!

• Roxy: Try bluffing at rags from the small blind, make a good bet works best with 3 or less people. Rags are always good to bluff at.

• BernardDogs: I never bluff, but I'll give this a shot. Betting the rag flop from the BB is a great play (reference, Roxy ... previous post). This is only adviseable when you get to see the flop for free and it really is unlikely to have landed for anyone else. Take caution though ... if the button limps rather than going for the steal, that's often a sign of wanting to keep you in with an overpair. Also take caution from an EP or MP limp, as it could mean a low PP that landed as a set. If I'm doing the rag flop bluff, they've GOT to by 9s and lower. It's REALLY funny to see the BB call a pre-flop raise (indicating a potential hand) and then revert to this move ... makes me laugh every time. You can also try representing strength on a REALLY tight table by raising UTG despite not having the cards. Don't do this as the short stack, as you'll want to bail should someone give you action and/or raise you. Don't be afraid to bail. Otherwise, it really is about keeping a SOLID read on your opponents, defending your blinds, and just picking the right spot to toss a nice 4xBB bet out there with the hopes of gathering the blinds. From MP on, ALWAYS consider what you'll do if you're first in so you can act in a manner that looks like you are appropriately confident. I hate to give up control of the hand if I'm bluffing. For example, if I'm defending my blind to a raise from the button that smells suspicious, I commit before the action gets to the button by deciding if I've got a defending hand or not. When the button raises, I instantly re-raise and then ALWAYS lead on the flop. This is once I've committed to the defend. Know when you've gotten to the point where you are bound to an all-in move. You want to use your all-in bluff before your all-in won't hurt to call. That's a start. But again ... I don't bluff much, so take this all with a shaker of salt.

• Rick James: Also, another thing that may work is bluffing when the board pairs on the flop. If board his JJ3. I will raise anyone who makes a small bet into this pot. If someone is betting minimum, more than likely they have nothing and want to pick up the pot. they will usually back down to a raise. Most players with the J will usually slowplay the hand. The UTG raise also works if the table is really tight and you have been playing pretty tight as well. if you get called though prepare to fold if flop doesnt hit you. Someone calling an UTG raise more than likely has you beat.

Advice on staying at the tables when you get up early:

I know there has been so discussion on this in the past, but I would like to get some more thought on this matter. OK right now I'm playing 2/4 limit and get 4 hours of play every night. I want to make 2/BB an hour playing for a total of $32 a night. Say I sit and the deck hits me in the face the first orbit and I'm up $40-$60 right off the bat would you stay? Also if the table is one you fell your going to get sucked out a lot on, would you consider changing tables to a tighter table? I'm asking this cause I've seen a lot of profit get sucked out this last week after getting off to a good start. I've had many nights where I've got off to a hot start and kept on rolling the rest of the night too, but I would also like to protect a little better some nights. Thoughts please...

• torch: Like I've done (and someone did for me) in these conversations, I'll point you to this link: http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/cparticles_archives.php?id=00002 Which basically says that if you are in poker for the long run, play hours and not results. For you, that means play 4 hours a night. It doesn't matter, in the long run, when you play. It just matters that you play. Of course this assumes that you are playing your 'A' game. If you can't manage that, then you should quit no matter how long you've been at the table. The fact that you've dedicated yourself with those goals is great, because its good motivation and a good way to track your progress. However the standard you should set is playing 4 hours a night, and the goal becomes the $36. Hold yourself to those hours, play your best, and it will likely come to that 2BB/hour.

Hope some of this helps you I know it has me!

I can remember a year or 2 ago posting about how I like mowing my yard now, because it gave me time to get a way to find some piece of mind.  Well those days are over. I'm back to hating mowing!

 I am however going to try and be more active with my blog here. I may not make long post all the time but I'll try to post when ever something is on my mind.

 On the poker front I've not been playing much at all. I'm pretty sure I had a case of poker burn out for the last few months, but the last few days I've been wanting to get back on the tables more. Also I'm for sure ready to get back and battle it out in Season 14 here on 72os. I don't think I missed playing in last season, but seeing Big Will get another top 5 spot (almost winning it) it made me want get get back in the action.

 To night I did sit down for a little while. I played a $3 rebuy on UltimateBet.com and lost my cool and didn't play like I should have. I sit and didn't get any hands for the first 40 or so hands then get QQ a player that had just busted and just re-bought raise $200 and gets called. I reraise to 600 to try and isolate the loose cannon. He does as I thought and goes all in. The other player calls, which leaves me with about 1000 so I go ahead and push all in and the other player calls. The first player flips over A2, 2nd player shows AQ...so I think I'm in business with them only having two outs. Wrong...Ace on the flop and I'm send out. I didn't even think about the rebuy as I close the software down.

 I'm working on a SnG I just recorded. I've got to put some audio on it. Also We'll be starting back with events this weeks so look for an email and new events being posted.

 Josh aka JSaw

Hand #4470706-5 at Wed9pmB-018 (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 16/Feb/07 21:07:08

1Seal1 is at seat 0 with 1455.
CHE55 is at seat 1 with 1445.
SierraFox is at seat 2 with 1635.
pergos57 is at seat 3 with 0 (sitting out).
JSaw is at seat 4 with 1490.
MattieG is at seat 5 with 1500.
PUGSDAD is at seat 6 with 120.
Uroboros is at seat 7 with 2875.
paldonWa is at seat 8 with 1500.
huty is at seat 9 with 2980.
The button is at seat 3.

JSaw posts the small blind of 5.
MattieG posts the big blind of 10.

1Seal1: -- --
CHE55: -- --
SierraFox: -- --
JSaw:
MattieG: -- --
PUGSDAD: -- --
Uroboros: -- --
paldonWa: -- --
huty: -- --

Pre-flop:

PUGSDAD raises to 20. Uroboros folds. paldonWa
folds. huty calls. 1Seal1 folds. CHE55 calls.
SierraFox folds. JSaw re-raises to 110. MattieG
folds. PUGSDAD goes all-in for 120. huty calls.
CHE55 calls. JSaw calls.

Flop (board: ):

JSaw checks. huty bets 10. CHE55 raises to 130.
JSaw re-raises to 890. huty calls. CHE55 goes
all-in for 1325. JSaw calls. huty calls.

Turn :

JSaw goes all-in for 45. huty calls.

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:

CHE55 shows .
JSaw shows .
PUGSDAD shows .
huty shows .


River :

Showdown:

CHE55 has Kc Qh Qs Qd 8s: three queens.
JSaw has As Qc Qs Qd 8s: three queens.
PUGSDAD has Ad 7d Qs Qd 8s: a pair of queens.
huty has 7s 4s Qs 8s 3s: flush, queen high.