MikeySong's Poker Grind

bye blogspot

2008-04-27T02:52:00.001-07:00

if you read this

I plan on blogging at cardrunners for now. More people seem to read blogs over there and so I figure I'll try it out.

http://www.cardrunners.com/members/index.php?option=com_mamblog&Itemid=29&task=show&action=user&id=5072

or search for mongmong : )

bye blogspot! Maybe I'll come back some day!

Blog Time!

2008-04-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

I'm also going to start blogging @ cardrunners as I am quite fond of the site. So if you'd prefer that, here's the link: http://www.cardrunners.com/members/index.php?option=com_mamblog&Itemid=29&task=show&action=user&id=5072

lol...my screenname on that site is mongmong.

That graph is from Monday to Wednesday and I think I'm quite proud of it : ) Poker has been going pretty nicely for me! 5/10 started out really great. My first one thousand hands this month I made 8 buy ins! But then after that I lost some, made some, was up 10k, lost 10k, grind grind, big heater!

My roommate asked me the other day what I thought of 5/10 and if it's that tough and without too much thought I said nope, not that tough. But now that I think about it, it really is a tough limit. I actually feel a lot of pressure when I put in a session, at least beforehand anyways.

-random tangent. Roommate and I were at South Coast Plaza yesterday (big mall) and while walking and talking I said anyways, to which he replies anyway. Naturally I responded, "well I'm going to say anyways" :D which he then proceeded to explain that some people look down on you for saying anyways. I thought it was kind of interesting. I can see why that happens. Kind of like when you use "who" instead of "whom". it's really not that hard to use it correctly.

So, yes there is a lot of pressure when I play. There are some regs who play 10/20 and will drop down at 5/10. Some of those regs are very very good. They're solid players, they read hands well, they know when to apply pressure, and the biggest attribute that I associate with being tough is that, it's hard to get money from them. At 2/4 and 3/6 players will get it in light incorrectly, thus 2pair becomes teh immortal nuts at that limit. But on 5/10, depending on board texture, twopair really becomes more of a bluff catcher than anything.

Example:

Villain below is a tightish but very good reg. In fact, I try to stay out of his way because he just doesn't make very many mistakes.

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $5/$10
5 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
Hero: $1000
CO: $960
Button: $2502
SB: $975
BB: $1867

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is UTG with :2s :as
Hero raises to $30, 2 folds, SB calls, BB folds.

Flop: :jd :td :7h ($70, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $50, SB calls.

Turn: :ah ($170, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $122, SB calls.

River: :qs ($414, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

Results:
Final pot: $414
SB showed Jc Ac
Hero mucks 2s As

While top 2pair seems to be pretty strong here (and it can be depending on who is at the table), the problem here is that we're both competent players. The ace is a seemingly good card for him but really his hand becomes a bluffcatcher. The flop was very drawy and the ace just completed KQ. If he check-raises this turn, rarely am I getting it in with AT, A7, JT (very rare for JT). So pretty much, when he puts the money in the middle, he's really only getting called by hands that crush him - straights and sets.

This is the kind of thinking that happens at 5/10. By all means it's not a super high level hand but it just shows the difference between this limit and 2/4 where people may do lots of silly things.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm pretty happy with my progress as a player : ) It was 7 months ago that I jumped straight into 2/4 no limit. I had come from a limit hold'em background and after watching my roommate play 2/4nl, I decided I could probably beat the limit -- and I did : ) I want to say that I work very very hard on my game but the truth is my work ethic isn't the best and could always be better. However, I have put a lot of thought into the game and I really like to think about how a hand played out and the many possibilities that can occur when the turn brings X and the river brings X. It's a really interesting game and I'm very happy with my progress so far. I hope to keep pushing further and at the end of the year, maybe I will become a 10/20 reg, but until then I'd like to make 5/10 my home : )

Cheers!

quick update

2008-04-05T02:53:00.000-07:00

i'm at foxwoods right now, dunno if I mentioned that I was coming here but to be very brief it's a pretty horrible casino imo.

I just had the weirdest tilt session where I didn't really tilt off money imo but I got so frustrated/upset that I can't remember my session. I remember very small snippets but for the most part I can't remember the hand that caused this big mindbomb lol. I'm pretty happy though. Although I should be up like 6g's today, I finished up 2200 finishing off the night by 3betting 48s and making a guy laydown kings postflop :p More on that later.

This is so weird though, I really want to remember wth happened while I was playing. Session started out great and then in 2 hours it just crumbled. At one point someone said, dude did you see what happened to him? How can you expect him to raise his boat there? (I had k5 on a 3355j board and just check/called lol)

April

2008-03-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

so my month results are actually quite embarrassing. Even if it may be a small sample, the fact that I'm wrecking 5/10 when i'm playing 3-6 tables vs 3/6 where I'm 9tabling means that obviously I am leaking too much money 9tabling. Not sure how or why but I am and that needs to be fixed starting...APRIL :D

I'm very very close to being a supernova. I'm going to continue 6? tabling 3/6 tomorrow and graduate to nova status. I really wish I could've 9tabled at a higher winrate and to be honest I really did feel like a winner but having a very low winrate over 60k hands, short sample size or not I know there were many spots where I either tilted or played bad, and thus I cannot ignore results, small sample size or not. And by the way, about 9k hands at 5/10nl, 31vpip, 7bb/100. Hmmmmm...I'm gonna poker ev my 5/10 results and see if I ran "bad" or not. I think the program is stupid fwiw although it still is fun to use :p It's just that, does it give u cooler points if u ran KK into AA? AK into KK? Stuff like that. Oh! The results are in.......Posting screen below........

My plan for april is to 6table 5/10 and focus on putting in 3k hands a day. I'll actually be gone for the first week as I'll be over in Boston from fri-sun and Foxwoods Casino from Mon to Sun. I think I'll be playing some 10/25 and hopefully I'll pull a nice session (crosses fingers for 10k+ week).

3k hands over 20 days = 60k hands...I'd like to shoot for my first 40k month. Screw the 20 or 30k, let's just jump to 40, but I'll never be happy until I hit 50k.

I'm a little bit discouraged to be honest becuase I really thought I was going to show a 3bb if not 4 or even 5bb/100 winrate at 3/6. I mean come on, I 6-9 tabled 2/4nl for the very first time. I jumped right into it on oct and nov. and according to pEV, yes the evil program, I ran bad! But I still won at 3.89bb/100 or something like that yet at 3/6...I cannot? wtf? I'm a much better player now than before, bleh. My biggest leak atm is I like to play too many hands in re-raised pots and I don't have the skill level yet to deal with every situation thrown at me. If 6tabling 5/10 goes well next month, it's off to 9tabling in May :p

But until then, I'm going to focus on every hand possible, think about the conceptual aspects of the game, work on adjusting properly and finding that thin line between spewing and betting/bluffing.

Mike

p.s.

Air is the nuts

Below is a sick music vid imo

Bad.

2008-03-24T01:49:00.000-07:00

So somewhere along the way today I messed up and played really bad. Imo I think I ran pretty badly but there's no excuse for losing lots of money like I did. Only thing I can do is just try to make more tmw lol

Sleep is so -EV

2008-03-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Not a bad week!

I'm starting to dabble some more in 5/10 but as of now I'm still not as comfortable with NL as I'd like to be. I know I have some areas that I'd really like to improve on, but for the most part my postflop play is getting really/pretty good imo.

Looking at the screenshot, if you did the math in your head, I really should've had 21,000 hands minimum if not 28,000 but I did get burned out at some point and sleeping in really does cost me money. I've been having some trouble sleeping at night...some days I find myself just staying up til 4am for no reason! I really like my days when I get up at 6, hit the gym and come back and work. Just feels like you're really doing something :D

Sleeping in probably costs me at least $600-$1000 a day.

Normally I should be waking up at 5:45am, hitting the gym by 6, doing my cardio for an hour and coming back around 7:05ish. Hit the shower, heat something up, eat. Should be done by 7:30-7:45. Boom work.

If I sleep in until 10am, this is a bestcase scenario for sleeping in btw, sometimes I hit 12pm, but anyhow, 10am, well now I still have to shower and eat breakfast. I refuse to play under shitty circumstances. I think it's really bad to play without being fully awake/prepared for the day. So doing all that, I won't be playing til 10:45-11am and now I have to get in waiting lists as other people are also waking up/playing by now.

I hope to improve more this week! I just realized that I don't need a 5bb/100 winrate at 3/6 to make $.5 a hand so that's always nice. I'd like to pull in 20 more grand or so at a 4+ bb/100 winrate and hit up 5/10 permanently : )

Must work harder!!!!! The goal for every month should really be 100,000 hands. Fuck I'm lazy.

Work it Harder; Make it Better!

2008-03-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from a session right now so it's a good time to blog :D

I've decided this month to work really hard. In fact, from here on I'm going to really treat this more seriously than before. My schedule is roughly this:

wake up 5:30am - go to gym for 1.5-2hours
7-7:30am - eat breakfast
7:30am-5pm - poker!
6pm-8pm - tennis!
8pm-10pm - study? prolly not, more like video game time

10pm - 5:30am - sleep : )

My life has been a joke for the past year. I'd like to say I worked hard but I know I could've pushed myself more than I have. That's why starting March I'm going to be putting in about 4k hands a day. It's not only the volume that's going to increase. I am spending more money on coaching to improve my game even more. I can only do so much by myself and can only spot so many leaks. So with some help, I should be at 5/10 in no time, AMIRITE? :D

I do want to make some serious money and reach 10/20nl by June. If I don't become a regular at 5/10nl by summer, I'm a joke. 10/20nl is my goal for online poker and I really want to play 25/50nl at this summer's wsop :D

Do you know how sick that would be? I could buy into any event I want except the 50k. But pretty much everytime I bust out without cashing, all i have to do is go to my cash game, win like 1/5 a pot or a whole pot and boom, entry fee paid! :D Not to mention it's def. a brag to play that high and prove, albeit a small sample size, whether you're a winner or not.

There's a lot of prestige in my opinion in being able to say to my friends that "I can play with the best and am in the top 1% poker players in the world"

unfortunately I can't make that statement as of yet

Good Start!

2008-03-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

:D

I actually lost 600 in a short session so that puts me up $3600 today. I'm really going to take this month seriously and I will go into the details but I actually have to sleep soon. It's time to be professional!

Struggling a Little

2008-02-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

I have a lot more work to do on my game. I do think I'm a low 2-3bb/100 winner @ 3/6nl but there's so much more to improve upon and I don't have the best perspective on No Limit. My coach pointed out that I ask too many "what" questions and not enough why. I also realized, I don't really know what the correct question is...what I should be asking and why I should be questioning certain actions etc.

I end this month at a pretty miserable rate imo but it's also what I get for not putting in more than 35k hands when I definitely definitely had the ability and opportunity to put in 2-3x that. Resolution for March? Put in 100k hands :p 9tabling 4hours a day gets really close to that and that's like barely any work. I don't know how those monsters put in more than 100,000 hands but imo I really should be, especially with the wsop coming up.

Have you guys been watching America's Best Dance Crew? This show is sick! Kaba Modern and Jabbawockeez are amazing. I really like both of them. Kaba has a really great style that seems to really fit with each song they do and they excel at performing imo but Jabbawockeez seems to really be in their own world. I'd call them the more creative of the two but really I think they're both pretty close.

oh man, i love the way they start their dance. THe first 10-20 seconds is awesome.

Back to poker...let's see. yesterday wasn't fun either but I was happy to end down 2k rather than 5k. It was pretty interesting actually. I thought I played fairly well although I do know that I was trying to win too many pots, however when I saw I was down 5k, I wasn't really tilted. Moreso confused. It's starting to get hard to improve now. This is where the great players really start to separate from the good players imo and so far I'm stuck in sub-par category. I do know that a leak of mine is that I want to win every pot and in my second session today where I make 5 buy ins back, a lot of it came from better poker...going with the flow, not trying to win every pot, not forcing the action or trying to muscle my way through every hand. I should try to play more like that : )

this was my fav. hand

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2175071

we have a good amount of history and villain hates my guts, or at least it seems like it. He just never has an ace here. If he does, it's because he's outleveling me with the whole "I know that he knows" but honestly, I didn't give it much thought. Which is funny too cuz if I was 4tabling I'd be like, oh man, such a big raise, it's just not worth it which is true but while 12tabling, without looking at the betsize, it was an easier call lol.

It's just not a very good flop to raise unless your raise induces a shove from worse. Very rare/hard to happen.

I'm going to boston for a week. Irvine is getting so nice n warm too! Oh well, it's been awhile since I've seen snow and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and cousin. Have a good leap year :D

-Mike

Rollercoaster!

2008-02-14T23:48:00.000-08:00

Well this started out to be quite a depressing day. I tried out 12 tabling 2/4 and 3/6 and it really just pissed me off. I can do 9 tables fine and have done well doing 12 before but for some reason I was really really bothered today. So I blew 4,000. If I had won 3 pots where I had gotten it in good, I would've been pretty pleased but nopeeeeeee.

It's frustrating getting Jacks in good pf only to watch it get owned by AQ/AK : ( I've been really good about getting that in as a favorite. Dunno how but it's been going great so far :D I'm really not a fan of getting JJ all in pre-flop btw.

This hand super tilted me and I had to quit soon after:

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
5 players

Stack sizes:
UTG: $133
CO: $616.45
Button: $242.75
SB: $636.10
Hero: $730.75

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is BB with kd qd
UTG folds, CO raises to $14, Button calls, SB folds, Hero calls.

Flop: qc 7s 6s ($44, 3 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $30, Button folds, Hero raises to $92, CO raises to $300, Hero raises all-in $716.75, CO calls all-in $302.45.
Uncalled bets: $114.3 returned to Hero.

Turn: 8c ($1248.9, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $1248.9)

River: js ($1248.9, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $1248.9)

Results:
Final pot: $1248.9
Hero showed Kd Qd
CO showed 4c 5c

So anyhow, I was in super angry mode after dropping 4,000 so I logged onto ftp and openshoved for 5 minutes at .01/.02 CAP lol. So if you happened to be playing micro-limits, there's a chance u made like 20 or 30 bucks off me.

Oh man, so open shoving was supposed to release some stress right? It just tilted me even more! 5s against 8s. KJ against KQ. Q9 into A9. I was still going ballistic haha. Eventually I had to settle for a nap. I woke up around 2:40 and went back to work.

5 hours later, I ended with a profit : )

Biggest Hand of the Day:

Heh, my roommate walked in right before this happened. Good luck charm?

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
5 players

Stack sizes:
CO: $1794.2
UTG: $728
CO: $1709.90
Hero: $1938.60
SB: $600
BB: $48.80

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is Button with 8h 8s
UTG folds, CO calls, Hero raises to $30, SB folds, BB calls, CO calls.

Flop: kh 2s 8c ($93, 3 players)
BB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $66, BB folds, CO raises to $150, Hero calls.

Turn: 3d ($393, 2 players)
CO bets $60, Hero raises to $408, CO calls.

River: kc ($1209, 2 players)
CO checks, Hero is all-in $1350.6, CO calls all-in $1121.9.
Uncalled bets: $228.7 returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: $3452.8
CO mucks Ks Jd

I liked this hand a lot. I was pretty sure he was going to fold. he's a really good reg. and I knew he'd put me on set or flush. So knowing that he has an ace, shovel timeeeeeee!

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
6 players

Stack sizes:
UTG: $2004.45
UTG+1: $66.15
CO: $1794.20
Button: $1008.20
SB: $294
Hero: $616.45

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is BB with 4c 8c
2 folds, CO raises to $21, Button calls, SB folds, Hero calls.

Flop: 2s 6c ac ($66, 3 players)
Hero bets $42, CO folds, Button calls.

Turn: ah ($150, 2 players)
Hero bets $102, Button calls.

River: jd ($354, 2 players)
Hero is all-in $451.45, Button folds.
Uncalled bets: $451.45 returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: $354

I had just value raised this guy w/a boat on the river and given the way he plaeyd his hand, I was pretty sure he knew that I knew he had a pp. So the fact that I was betting turn anyways, I felt it was likely he'd fold as it was obv he didn't have QQ+

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
6 players

Stack sizes:
UTG: $757.50
UTG+1: $873.05
Hero: $1793.50
Button: $345
SB: $594
BB: $120

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with ks ah
UTG raises to $21, UTG+1 folds, Hero raises to $66, 3 folds, UTG calls.

Flop: 7d 9s 2s ($141, 2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $84, UTG calls.

Turn: 5h ($309, 2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $200, UTG folds.
Uncalled bets: $200 returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: $309

imo one of the cooler hands. I just couldn't put him on a hand that beat me. I dunno why, I Just had a really strange vibe that folding would not be right.

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
4 players

Stack sizes:
UTG: $757.5
UTG+1: $873.05
UTG: $542.75
Button: $1963.20
SB: $697
Hero: $627

Pre-flop: (4 players) Hero is BB with ks ah
UTG calls, Button raises to $27, SB folds, Hero raises to $90, UTG folds, Button calls.

Flop: 3c 7s 4d ($189, 2 players)
Hero bets $120, Button raises to $1476, Hero calls all-in $417.
Uncalled bets: $939 returned to Button.

Turn: 5s ($1263, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $1263)

River: 4h ($1263, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $1263)

Results:
Final pot: $1263
Hero showed Ks Ah
Villain showed Ac Jc

As for the hand from last post. I don't know if whoever posted was joking or not but are u serious about the $4 difference? I actually think 84 looks fishier than 80 to be honest.

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
5 players

Stack sizes:
Hero: $640
CO: $600
Button: $1190
SB: $2504.05
BB: $306

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is UTG with 5h 6h
Hero raises to $21, CO folds, Button raises to $72, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: 4c 2h 4h ($153, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

Turn: 7h ($153, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

River: kh ($153, 2 players)
Hero bets $84

I was going to check-raise the flop but that didn't happen. Turned nuts! whoop! Well if he has AhXx I woudl think he'd fire here so I went for a cr as I don't think he's callin ga turn bet lol.

River hits and given teh way he played his hand, it's either a bluff or AK. I really put him on AK so I fired a value bet as I don't think he's ever firing tptk on a 4flush board.

he showed kd6d :D

AWESOME hand

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
6 players

Stack sizes:
UTG: $608.25
UTG+1: $933
CO: $582
Button: $612.15
Hero: $642
BB: $453.50

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with ad kh
UTG calls, UTG+1 raises to $24, 2 folds, Hero raises to $84, 2 folds, UTG+1 raises to $222, Hero raises all-in $642, UTG+1 calls.

Flop: 9c 8h 8s ($1296, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $1296)

Turn: 8c ($1296, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $1296)

River: 8d ($1296, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $1296)

Results:
Final pot: $1296
Hero showed Ad Kh
UTG+1 mucks Qs Qc

gnight!

Poker is Good for Me

2008-02-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Today was pretty good :D Only ran slightly above expectation. I love days like these because yes the money is nice but also I felt like I wasn't playing amazing or on a heater. I just sat there playign my game and doing my best to make smart decisions. However, my concentration started slipping towards the end but for the most part I felt I played a pretty good game : )

I really haven't been playing much and it's because my sleeping schedule is just absolutely horrible right now. I keep sleeping in til like 11am or 12pm and pretty much miss all the good games in the morning.

Last night I crashed at 11pm, surprisngly woke up at 5am, made breakfast, and then...took a nap because I was too early...and woke up at 11:30. lol....sleeping in is so -EV

do u guys save negative or minus ev? I always say minus.

So I came back from lunch to put in more hands, although I'll be honest and say that after winning 3k+, i don't like to put in more hands. If I ended up with 1k less, I'd be pretty depressed. Anyhow, ALL THE 3/6 TABLES ON STARS HAVE A 3 MAN WAITING LIST. WHAT IS THIS. I hate waiting for tables. I was considering playing some limit but instead, I'm gonna be productive! Going to go get a table and a lamp for my room as I do need a little light stand for reading as well as some other stuff that needs to get done.

really funny movie trailer that roommate just showed me:

don't really have any hands to share except for this one. I really liked it.

If any of you who read care to take a shot at the hand/debate about the line I took, feel free to comment : )

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
5 players

Stack sizes:
Hero: $640
CO: $600
Button: $1190
SB: $2504.05
BB: $306

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is UTG with 5h 6h
Hero raises to $21, CO folds, Button raises to $72, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: 4c 2h 4h ($153, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

Turn: 7h ($153, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

River: kh ($153, 2 players)
Hero bets $84

I won the Bodog 100k Tournament!

2008-02-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

:D

title says it all. My friend cobaltblue was playing for 1.5 hours and then he called me to take over him since he had to go to a superbowl party. To be honest, I didn't pay attention for like the first 4 hours. I was 4tabling AP, watching a cardrunners' vid, and then when I realized I was deep, I started to focus :D

Fun times. I used to grind out sngs a long while back but I really hate online tourneys, I feel like a kid in detention because i'm forced to sit there the whole damn time! grrrr. I played a pretty TAG game imo. Stealing the button when I could, 3betting only premiums, pretty textbook stuff.

I sucked out twice, a5 > AT and 8s > 9s, I flopped a set :D

The last hand of the tourney I had KK, blinds 15/30k, he has 600k and I cover. He makes it 78k, I call w/the intention to cr any drawy flop.

Flop:

k 2 2 - LOL. I check/call

Turn:

7 - check/call

river:

Ace - Gin! Check/raise all in! He calls w/A7. Ship the 25k first place prize :D

Because I played for about 75% of the total tourney time, I pretty much got that much. 19,250 is my cut : )

cobalt: you realize that for the last 3 years this is the tourney I've been trying to win?

This was my first bodog tourney ever :D Winning it was so funny. I had cobalt on the phone and we just started laughing hysterically when I won. It wasn't til hours later I was like "holy shit, I really just won Bodog's 100k tourney...and i'm 20k richer! what the hell?!" To celebrate, I had pizza, watched lost in translation...and that's it :p

The last 2 days have been pretty great. I played only 1,000 hands today...just look at this! Look how sexy these stats/graphs are! And according to EV, i ran slightly bad :D

later

I hate money

2008-02-01T23:55:00.000-08:00

I blew 8,000 in one session.

mmmf. I eventually won 2k back so now i'm at a 6k loss for the day! I'm actually pretty happy about this. I was definitely miserable this morning when I played >:| It was very weird. i sat down, played, got too bluffy trying to win every pot, made 2 bad all in moves, and before I knew it, I was down 8 grand. I'm not too bothered by it though. It's annoying that I"ll have to put in more hands and make it back but honestly I think this'll help motivate me to work harder for the month. Come on 60,000 hands minimum!

My goal is to break 30k. I've never had one of those months and I really want to. With hard work, I can do it! I also think I'm improving at a nice steady pace and would like to see a > 3bb/100 winrate...although maybe I'll ignore Feb 1st's session when calculating that :p

As for coaching and making videos, I won't be able to do that anymore. The video software isn't working right and it's a big hassle to get that stuff uploaded. At least for me it is, Vista and Camtasia won't get along.

Will I play 5/10NL this month? I doubt it. The money is pretty good at 3/6nl so I'm just going to focus on it for this month. MAYBE if I end up doing well I'll take a shot at 5/10 on Prima.

bye : )

They Call Me the $600 Mountain Climber!

2008-01-27T05:47:00.000-08:00

o man this week hit me hard. It was going fine, a little struggle here and there but had a nice 2k profit then BAM. Enter Thursday: OH HI, -7 buy ins. Friday: OH HI, -10 buy ins. I got ownnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnned bad in 2 days.

I def. tilted a bit while swinging down. I could've saved at least 2-3 buy ins imo. at least.

I felt so shitty after my morning session on Friday. I had never lost 10k before and it really hurt my confidence. I had just lost 6k in one morning session and so I decided it was time to pull out my anti-tilt secret, nap time! :D Woke up a few hours later, played some video games for an hour or two, popped up some more tables, ran bad, and quit.

I've hit 2 or 3 4 of a kinds, 1 royal flush, 1 straight flush, and I'm still losing money, wtf?! You can imagine the kind of hit this would take to your confidence. I really felt awful, that I had all these leaks that I wasn't spotting and that I had gotten too cocky and it's all my fault that I lost all this money, wah wah wah.

Well. Saturday started out really nicely. I woke up at 8am for a few mins, then went back to sleep and woke up 2hours later lol. Got some milk n cereal, woke up the roommate, and proceeded to work. Morning hours imo are some of the fishiest. Session goes by in a blur, I seal the deal w/a 3 buy in profit. I'm still feeling really bad though. All i can think about is how i'm down 9.2k and how many hours of work it's going to take to get that back.

Break time! I msg my friend who is an insanely good pianist/turned poker pro and we go get lunch. If you live in Irvine, CA, you have to go to Koba Tofu on Culver. It's so damn good. My fav. Soon Doo Boo place ever (korean food). We talked about minbetting and man do I feel confident about my LHE game. I've never really tested myself at high stakes but I'm very very confident in my HU to 6handed game at midstakes. Now that I think about it, the lunch really helped my confidence. It reminded me of how much faith I have in my lhe game and before I knew it, I was itching to go back home and log in some hands!

4pm - I'm home! Alright...let's play some DoTA! I suddenly lost the urge to play so I killed 2 or so hours with my roommate. I have a love/hate relationship with DoTA. I love the phantom lancer and clinkz but I hate how long it takes for the game to progress. It just seems like half the game, if not all of it, is just moving your hero up and down, up and down, up a little further, and down again. ZZZzzz

8pm roommate leaves...I somehow doddle.

Then randomly at 10:06pm I decided to play some poker! I slowly open more and more tables and soon enough i have 9 going. I couldn't believe it! These tables were so juicy! I was like the only regular. There were at least 2 if not 3 fish on every table! And then the pots just came in. Pot after pot after pot. It was great. My favorite form of poker! I rarely got 3bet and rarely did I bother to even 3bet someone with trash. I got to play the way I wanted to. As much as I love pushing people around, I love seeing flops and playing the board. That minbet side of me still exists : ) For once I was in total control. There were only a few times someone gave me resistance but for the most part, I just ran the tables over. But the best thing is, the fish. They were so bad. Thank you so much for playing! You should see some of the hands I won.

http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-forum/index.php?showtopic=88531&st=14520

KK vs KQ top pair on a flush draw flop for like 150-200bbs? lol! Boat vs trips in which villain just coulnd't lay it down :D And how many times did I stack KK on an ace high flop? That was the best part, I did it at least twice. That never happens because the players I go against aren't bad like that!

You know the whole time I was playing, I was too afraid to look at my cashier. I just didn't want to look at the money. I was raking in pots and playing well, there was no reason to look. I did look at the clock though and before I knew it, I had put in 4 straight hours! The action was that good and that crazy. There was no time to eat or play. haha, it got to the point where I tried to take a really fast piss break in between hands. Surely you guys have done that right? As soon as you notice u have no action, u click the "fold" buttons and run like hell and hope u don't miss AA.

Woof. After I was done, I checked the clock, 4.5 hours! And then my cashier...*drum roll*.... +10k! : ) Oh boy was I excited. I told my friends and then while I was looking at my cashier I realized oh shit, what if my friend paid me 5k back? I look at the history, FUCK! SO I DIDN'T JUST EARN 10K AND SHIT MY PANTS FOR NOTHING?

Nope cause I forgot to look at the date :D That xfer was the one I made to him. So I did in fact make 10k : ) It was a very good day/night. Oh and Djokovic won the Aussie Open! WhoooO!!

here's what a 16-17 buy in upswing looks like:

what does pEV say?

gnight and good luck : )

-Mikey

First Week of 2008

2008-01-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

Technically it's not as I put in like 1k hands before last week but that doesn't really count :P

the graph does look kind of disappointing no?

Obviously stop at the 10k mark :p

Last week was my official week back to poker. I had taken a pretty big break (3 weeks?) from poker. Wow, my spelling has gotten worse. I pride myself on being able to spell a good amount of words but lately I've been spelling red meat: red meet and just now weak instead of week.

Anyhow, it's my first week and I've been granted a blessing by variance! :D

Not too shabby. Almost $1 a hand :p I used to think it was very silly to think about making money in terms of $ per hand instead of BB's but that was just silly irrational thinking. My goal at 3/6 is to get to 50 cents a hand. I see about 500-800 hands an hour so a $250/hr deal isn't too bad :P The most desirable right now is 5bb/100 at 5/10nl. That = $1 per hand. Even if you 4table that's $360 an hour! Mmmmmmmm!

Anyhow, I'm working on putting in 2.5k hands a day. I'm not going to fulfill that today as I'm going out to eat soon and then play some basketball. But I'd like to get in another 500-1k hands before the day is over. I have 1k hands so far and up 1.2k for the day : )

It's weird. In general I'm just more focused about playing than before. I just want to build a big bankroll and have a good time at the wsop as well as summer w/my friends who are graduating. I also haven't paid off my car completely and I'm very very disappointed in myself for not doing so. I made a stupid purchase that was out of my roll last year and I've been paying the price. This must get paid in 2 months. Not for any real reason except that I owe it to myself to work that hard. 30k months are my goal. If I don't make 10k this month, lol especially after last week, I'm going to be pretty bummed. 10k months should now be easy. 20k months should take a little work but will soon become the standard imo. 30k is where it's at and in due time 50k months. That's my monetary plan for the year :D

I'm continuing to work on my game and tweak out as much as I can. I'm progressing nicely but can and will improve even more with the help of a coach.

Speaking of which, I am thinking of coaching 2 nl and lhe'rs for a month. Haven't set it in stone yet but I am strongly considering this. There will be a flat fee as nothing in this world comes free. I think it'll be a really good experience for me and the students if I go ahead with this.

Best of luck,
mike

Sad Rush

2008-01-18T03:57:00.001-08:00

It's a sad rush because I was almost up 8 buy ins : (

I always forget how to embed full images. oh well.

I'll take the 5 buy in day :D

Most interesting hand of the day imo can be found here:
http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-forum/index.php?showtopic=116050

Remember that spiel about 4tabling and then 9tabling in feb? Well I started 9tabling now lol. I seem to be pretty rusty when i start up but then after 5-10 mins, I get into my groove and can play pretty well. Never as well as I 4table though.

Oh, I did goof up a hand. I'm pretty annoyed with that one.

I think a lagtard 3bets me so I call in position w/4s6s

flop: 5c 3c 10s

he bets and I call - I should be shoving here imo

turn: 7c - i think he bets halfpot - i should really shove here

river: As - he checks, i shove and he folds.

Shoving flop is the best play. I called his 3bet w/46s because I thought he was raising me light. That means u shove flop because a good amt of his range can't call a shove.

Turn def. shove because if he has a hand like KcQx or what not, he may make a desperate call.

wow, this hand now makes me feel like I suck at poker. Great, my 5 buy in session sucks balls.

Oh and notice at the beginning of the graph, the first 700 hands I'm up 2.5 buy ins and then I break even? I haven't been that tilted in awhile. I couldn't sleep for a bit after that : / Here's why. I was getting tired towards the end of my session and noticed I wasn't thinking straight so I started to close my tables. But then I had 4tables w/some fish and one guy who probably thought I was a retard, so perfect! So I decided to stay because I'm pretty confident about my game when I 4table. Well, 2 big hands come up where I folded the river in both hands and lost 2/3s buy in. LIFE TILT.

So now I'm actually really happy that I had a 5 buy in session. Blog mood swings ftw.

i need to sleep. later : )

-mike

Monies Monies!

2008-01-17T00:28:00.000-08:00

Whooo I'm making money!

3/6NL is going well. I am playing a pretty good game for the most part, but am still making mistakes. I will never be satisfied with being a 3bb winner at these stakes. Actually, probably in general I won't. I am competitive and I want to be a 5bb winner at all stakes. It's probably impossible at 10/20+ but damnit, I want that winrate. 5bb/100 means..YOURE A BEAST! And so until I reach that over a good sample size, I won't be content.

Here's a hand I misplayed today imo:

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
5 players

Stack sizes:
Mikey: $621.90
CO: $666
Button: $600.25
SB: $394.35
BB: $102

Pre-flop: (5 players) Mikey is UTG with 5h 5s
Mikey raises to $21, CO folds, Button raises to $72, 2 folds, Mikey calls.

Flop: 7s 2c 5c ($153, 2 players)
Mikey checks, Button checks.

Turn: 9d ($153, 2 players)
Mikey bets $102, Button folds.
Uncalled bets: $102 returned to Mikey.

Results:
Final pot: $153

Villain had been 3betting me a lot and when he checks behind flop, I should pin his range more towards air than anything. Flush draw bets, overpairs bet, and air either bets or gives up. Rarely do you see an overpair check behind here, which imo is a pretty bad move.

Therefore, I should've check-raised the turn and if that whiffed, gone for a check-raise on the river seeing as how air isn't calling any bet.

That said, it actually might be close because in some cases, 8s-TT might check behind flop for pot control. However, i didn't really have that kind of read on villain and should've went for his most likely holding, air.

nothign else to say, gl : )

mike

Slowly I Get Back to Work

2008-01-10T07:25:00.001-08:00

I'm here in San Diego until Sunday. That's when all my friends leave town I believe.

I just put in a session this morning and I feel I played pretty well. There was a mistake or two that I'm not happy about but I'm getting back into my groove. I might stick to only 4tables for now until I really get comfortable. I can play my A game for sure on 4tables but anything more than that and I probably start slipping some. I eventually do want to get back to 9tabling but for now I want to review situations and make sure I'm thinking things through correctly.

Guh, I'm pretty sluggish right now. An hour and a half ago (6am) I couldn't sleep and could only think about poker. See! Even though I'm not playing, I'm still studying a teeny bit :D So anyways, I couldn't sleeep and thought this would be a great time to put in a session. I feel good about it and my confidence is there. However I had to quit a little less than an hour in as my concentration started to dropppppppppppp. You know that nice little fuzzy feeling u get when you're tired? Yeah, I felt that creeping in and I couldn't put people on hand ranges anymore. You know you really have to quit when PREFLOP becomes a hard decision.

Here's a "mistake" that I think I made. Actually I butchered the whole hand now that I think about it.

Villain is a lagtard. he is 46/38.

I'm not happy about preflop because even though his stats say he's off the wall, I don't know if he's 3betting ME lightly. I actually don't think calling here is bad at all and it's probably the correct call versus his range. However lately I've been thinking about playing a bit smarter and this would be one of those moments where folding is better imo because I have no sense of how villain plays. It's really close between folding and calling and for now I'd like to get myself into the rhythm of making smart moves based on information rather than assumption. you can always 4bet but I'm just not into that whole style.

No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
6 players

Stack sizes:
UTG: $373.50
UTG+1: $634
CO: $486
Mikey: $900
SB: $744
BB: $600

Pre-flop: (6 players) Mikey is Button with 8h 5h
3 folds, Mikey raises to $21, SB raises to $60, BB folds, Mikey calls.

Flop: js ac 5c ($126, 2 players)
SB checks, Mikey checks.

Turn: 3s ($126, 2 players)
SB checks, Mikey checks.

River: 6d ($126, 2 players)
SB checks, Mikey checks.

Results:
Final pot: $126

I'm going to write my thoughts below this but as an exercise I think you should think about how the hand is played and whether I should've bet on flop turn or river and think about WHY I should.

analysis:

I knew I really had to quit my tables after this hand. On the turn, it's just obvious he doesn't have an ace. I checked the flop because I was afraid of getting cr'd off my hand. On the turn, he's not checking an ace or a set or really anything strong as well as flush draws. So given that, he's most likely holding a pocket pair. Betting turn and river would be sexy here.

Alright, I'm really tired. I just can't sleep though. Have a good day everyone : )

Mikey

Vacation!!!!!!! Sort of

2008-01-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

I haven't played a hand of poker yet in 2008. There were several times where I meant to but in the end, I bailed out. I got my ps3 yesterday so I finally got to play some Guitar Hero III :D I was really happy to see that they have Knights of Cydonia by Muse. Problem is, it's really hard! It's the first one that gave me a lot of trouble, that and the 2nd boss...grr..

i do intend to play some poker today. Mainly some NL. I won't touch limit til next week and I don't think I will be in full force til I go back to my apartment in Irvine. For now, friends have priority unless there's an extremely juicy game running...but let's be honest, this is 3/6nl, not 100/200nl. When am I going to find someone so juicy that I just have to sit? Although in LHE, I can think of a few players to do that with, heh.

I got into a little e-fight with someone from fcp. It was pretty silly and I don't know why I decided to call him out but oh well. Mtdesmoines gives bad advice and I really think people should not take his posts seriously in the nl strat forum. There've been some ridiculous folds he recommends post and pre. Moreso about postflop though. Anyhow, I thought it was funny that the hand we argued about, he later said he misplayed until the original poster wrote the results. Alright, well if he hit a 6 outer, obviously my advice was wrong eh? :p

It's funny but NL is complicated in its own way. While people say LHE is a harder game, and it probably is once you get to high stakes, there are also a lot of little things in NL that can determine whether you are a loser or a winner. I think one of the harder rhythms to grasp is value betting. When I picked up the game, that's what I saw first, the rhythm my roommate went at. TP goes bet, check, bet on flop, turn, and river respectively while in lhe it's bet/3bet bet bet bet bet lol. But there are times when tp or overpair can go for 3 bets and I really do think when you can determine that, your edge over people rises considerably. Just think about it, not only are you getting 3 streets of value, but your 2nd bet makes the pot even bigger allowing you for more value on the river! Not necessarily a full stack but perhaps 2/3. Not too bad!

-Mikey

I'm in the Black!

2007-12-31T18:03:00.000-08:00

I'm done w/the poker for the rest of '07. Although to be honest I kind of want to play right now...but I won't. Don't want to ruin my good day. Finished a nice session this morning for +1600. This whole month has been sooooo swingy. I'm glad it's finally over : )

My last few days of playing have been really sick.

See! I told you in my last post that I had it figured out :D I still made some mistakes though but I am feeling very confident in my game again. Just going with the flow, not fighting it anymore...at least most of the time I'm not :p

I'm pretty happy to be in the black. Ever since I made the jump to NL, things have been going pretty smoothly, aside from this month. So basically I had 2 months of happiness :P But it's been so much nicer on the heart than LHE has ever been. I'm really happy about my game and the way it's progressing.

I've come a long way as a player since I went pro in January '07. I am a much more confident player in now two forms of hold'em, limit and no limit : ) My progression as a limit player has been more interesting than my NL game. Whereas before, I would try to get as much value out of a hand while being more on the safe side, I now pride myself in being able to correctly get some thinner value bets on the turn and river. While I may not be as good as some of the top hold'em players out there, I really do feel I can hold my own in any 6max game and do a good amount of damage in heads up limit. Basically, I believe in myself much more than I did back then. There are times where I don't want to play poker because I want to just book a nice win, like today. However, poker as a whole does not feel like gambling anymore. It is a game that I love to compete in and when I am focused, the money doesn't even stand out to me. All I can think about is making the right move...his overbet, is it a real hand or is he making a weird bluff? There's no time to think about $.

It is weird. I can't explain it entirely but my mental approach to the game is pretty solid. I used to have major tilt issues, and I still do tilt, just nowhere near the extreme that the old mikey used to pull. I don't know, I don't fear going broke anymore. Well, it's more like, I don't think I'll ever go busto. I feel broke when I have like 20 buy ins left! I'm not a bankroll nit by any means (I'm perfectly fine w/50buy ins for a pro) but I'm just the type of player who feels uncomfortable if he doesn't have enough room to move around. I like to being able to afford making mistakes. Otherwise if I play, I'll be too scared to make a move or follow my gut. That and having a healthy bankroll always helps w/tilt issues/emotional control. There's just so much less stress you endure when you lose money and have a lot left.

I've also come to realize that I don't like Vegas. I think I can enjoy it for up to 3 days max and then after that I get tired of it. I like suburban areas and I like girls with natural tits. Oh, and girls who like you for who you are, not for how much you've got :P

This coming year, I want to hit 25/50NL by the end. If I don't make at least 300,000 on the year, I'm going to be pretty bummed. The only way it won't happen imo is if I'm too lazy, which is still a problem although I am working on it and am improving : ) I feel like by the end of January, my NL game will be pretty sickly solid. Let's say I'm making mistakes 10% of the time, I should be making mistakes like 1-3% of the time when I'm done w/January '08. I'm very confident in this and will be pretty pissed if my NL game doesn't improve that much.

That's all I have to say for now. Going to enjoy a night of chinese poker and movie/tv watching. Happy New Years!

-Mikey

Some thoughts

2007-12-29T02:26:00.001-08:00

I hope to make this a decently sized entry, one not too long but not too short so that it makes for an entertaining read.

So no limit has been going pretty rough for me. I'm enjoying lhe again although it is pretty tilting from time to time.

I played a session this morning on the 28th and in this particular session, I happened to be much more focused. I was doing a better job of pinning villains on hands but the biggest factor was that I was not forcing the action. I wasn't trying to two barrel everyone or win every single pot. For some reason, I was just more relaxed and I just went with the flow. Whatever happened happened. That said, I still made one or two mistakes that I'm pretty annoyed about. I'll have to analyze them more carefully. But for the most part, flow is a really important concept. Lately I have been overthinking a lot of situations which leads to a form of helplessness. The game becomes too hard you don't know what's correct anymore.

Writing my thoughts and explaining my style to myself is one way of doing this. Why I like to bet here and here, what I feel they accomplish, etc. It is really important not to force the action. I think that if you outclass everyone at the table, you can go ahead and force it profitably but you have to be really honest with yourself about it. I was not and overlooked a very important concept.

I did book a small winning session today and while it may seem and may be possible that I'm trying to find something to attribute this downswing to, ignoring flow, for the most part, I truly do believe this was a big mistake I made and could have helped reduce a lot of the money that was lost on the tables this week.

I am not good enough to outplay everyone. However I am good enough to play with everyone.

Thus, I am a winner and will continue to play profitably and most importantly, confidently.

mikey

I want to quit NL for a few days

2007-12-26T06:16:00.000-08:00

it's unfortunate that it's Christmas time but right now I really want to stop playing No Limit. This month has been pretty damn swingy for me, especially last week. I'm having just big swings in both directions, including a 9.6 bi upswing in 1 day! At this point, my nl game is deteriorating. I'm not accurately, and possibly not even, thinking about hand ranges. It's more like, uhhhh, he doesn't have this here that often, ok I'll bet it...MOTHERFUCKER.

Stuff like that.

My limit hold'em game is still good though. If it weren't hunting season, I'd seriously just focus on LHE until I felt better, but with all the fish around, I gotta get back out there and take down some pots! I had a nice 2k win at 15/30 lhe yesterday :D It's funny but playing NL did improve my play in some spots in lhe. I'm proud of getting in thinner value 3bets on the turn and usually being correct.

It's definitely fish season but man, I'm getting owned by the dumbest hands : / And don't get me wrong, I love having these people here, I just wish I hit something! literally, something!

Look!

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
6 players

Stack sizes:
UTG: $591
UTG+1: $1856.70
Hero: $660
Button: $1253.05
SB: $594
BB: $825

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with 8c tc
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls, Button raises to $54, 4 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: 5c 2h 4c ($129, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $108, Hero raises to $318, Button raises to $528, Hero raises all-in $606, Button calls.

Turn: qd ($1341, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $1341)

River: 5d ($1341, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $1341)

Results:
Final pot: $1341

Oh Hi he had AcKs for a monster draw on the flop...YEAH OK BUDDY, KEEP THINKING THAT

Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $3/$6
6 players

Stack sizes:
UTG: $631
UTG+1: $1821.80
CO: $657
Button: $597
Hero: $632.25
BB: $1099.50

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with 8h 6h
3 folds, Button raises to $18, Hero raises to $60, BB folds, Button calls.

Flop: 9h 3c 7s ($126, 2 players)
Hero bets $84, Button calls.

Turn: 4s ($294, 2 players)
Hero bets $222, Button raises all-in $453, Hero calls.

River: 4d ($1200, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $1200)

Results:
Final pot: $1200
Hero showed 8h 6h
Villain has Kd3d

I don't know, I guess he thought he was making a huge bluff here. like seriously wtf.

It's funny, in both hands, if I had just hit A PAIR, I would've taken down the pot! Come on, how gross is that? That's $2400 I've blown on 10 high and 8 high. I think the only adjustment I'm going to make right now is to bet BIGGER and show that I'm pot committed. I like to bet enough that doesn't pot commit me so I let villains think they have some bluff equity...but that really should only be reserved for thinking players. I honestly think these guys thought they were making great bluffs @_@

Merry Christmas everyone

My graph from last 10k hands : / Oh, and BI = Buy Ins. I play 3/6nl = $600 buy in

Back to blogspot!

2007-12-20T02:26:00.000-08:00

My term at stoxpoker has ended. very long read below.

I'm kind of excited to start blogging here again. My original plan to copy paste all my old blog posts failed but oh well. It would've been cool to track my progression from grinding low stakes to the player I am now. Perhaps I will go and copy paste all my entries back over here but for now, let's just say it's most definitely not definite :P

For those of you who don't know, my name is Michael Song and I currently play 3/6 no limit and 10/20 - 15/30 shorthanded limit hold'em as well as heads up. My goal in the next two months is ot make it to 5/10 no limit and to start regularly earning $1,000 a day.

I feel like I've got a lot to say but for now, we'll stop here. Ty for reading!

-Mikey

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey everyone,

Now that I am back from Vegas, I think it is time I make my own announcement. It has come to my attention that perhaps this is my last day as part of the stoxpoker family. I have been a part of the site since March/April. My main game was 5/10 short handed limit hold'em and gradually throughout my time here, I moved up to 10/20 and 15/30 lhe and just recently graduated from 2/4 to 3/6 no limit.

I am sad to say that as of now I believe I am no longer part of the site in any way. I understand that when I joined, I joined as mainly a blogger, while making an occasional video as a guest pro in which I showed and explained my winning approach to the game. My status here has never been of great importance but nevertheless, I was welcomed and felt like part of the family. I posted hands as well as gave advice on other players' hands in the limit forums and recently some in the no limit forums.

The stoxpoker community is probably the most productive and positive community geared towards learning the game, even moreso than 2p2. I say this because it is entirely true. You find lots of good advice here from stoxpoker pros as well as other players who play for a living. You will rarely be chastised or humiliated for posting a silly hand. Everyone works together to help each other move up the stakes. There is no environment as positive as this one.

However, within these last few months, I have to say I am pretty disappointed with how I have been dealt with. When stoxpoker admin joined the site, at some point I was contacted by him asking that I post only two entries a month because more pros were about to join and start blogging. He also requested that they be more poker oriented. Heh, I think I definitely did start rambling off in those entries about random stuff like my chaotic neighbor. So alright, I don't mind being flexible. I'll gladly do as told here.
Come November, about a week before Thanksgiving, I make a video for 10/20lhe on stars. I send the link to admin asking that he let me know when it's going to go up as there are some people who do enjoy watching it. In his reply, he states that my videos are no longer needed as there are plenty of videos that have not been posted yet.

To be honest, I was pretty frustrated about that response. I really do enjoy making videos (and I think that comes across pretty clearly) and when I was told that my work was no longer needed, it felt like a shot to the heart.
By the way, it may seem that I am attacking stoxpoker admin but he is the only one I have been in contact with so there is no one else to reference. He has always been cordial in every message sent to me. I'm sure he's not a bad guy : )

In the last two weeks I have not made/been unable to post a blog entry. I asked stoxpoker admin about this problem and he ask that I post under the member blog section seeing as how everytime I create a blog entry, it costs the site a hundred or so dollars in translations. I had to give this one some thought and have decided that if this is how the stoxpoker family is going to treat its guest pro(s)/blogger(s), then I no longer want to be a part of the community. Perhaps I could have asked the other stoxpoker pros about why/what is going on with the situation and why I am being treated so distantly. However, I am sure stoxpoker admin was made an admin to also deal with situations like these and I should/will not beg to be kept as a featured blogger.

I understand that technically I am not in any position to complain as I was never part of the core team. It is not my site nor do I have any say in what goes on. I am just a blogger/guest pro. That said, I cannot help but post my feelings about the situation. I do not have any ill feelings towards anyone in particular, I wouldn't know who to be mad at anyways lol, but I am disappointed that no one ever told me directly what was going on. Instead, every time I tried to be a part of the site, I woke up to find a new limitation on what I was allowed to do. I would have much preferred a direct notice as it is much more respectful than a surprise. This will be my last "blog" post here. I want to say the last 8 months here have been a great experience. I have talked to and learned from some really great players on this site and I hope the community continues to thrive.

Best of luck,

Mikey Song

No Such Thing As Running Bad!

2007-04-23T19:36:00.001-07:00

Some rambles...(this isn't a response to Leatherass' entry, I just wanted to write about this)

I think sbrugby mentions something similar to that but I know Ivey has said it quite frequently that he doesn't believe in running bad, you either play good or you don't.

Do you really believe it? You should.

The logical person says, well I can't run good forever! I'll have down swings as well as heaters.

But really, I don't think it's ok to have only that thought in mind.

Before you play every session, you should ask yourself why you are playing. Is it to have fun or to make money? If it's to make money, then you should believe in yourself otherwise you'll get crushed. Your expectation should be to win. Playing cards with a lack of confidence is dangerous, your mentality is weak and you're prone to making really bad folds (see KK hand from a few blog entries ago) or perhaps you may tilt easier.

If you give in to the thinking and blame your results on a downswing, you may get lazy with your approach to the game. Unfortunately, there really isn't a mechanical way to beat the game. You have to put in the hands, have the experience, and know the people you're playing against to be able to play close to a mechanical style. But even then, we're all human beings. We're not 100% consistent, so you have to adapt to those changes. If you start losing money, you might not adjust, you might push your AA hands harder when you shouldn't, or your two pair vs a passive who you know most likely has a set, etc.
Maybe you see a possible flush hit, and you don't value bet because you're thinking "standard, he got there, take my money punk!" - BAD BAD BAD!

If you have a negative approach to the game, your results will become negative. I really believe this. When you bet, if you don't know why you're betting, or if you're hoping that you're good, you're gambling. What happens to those who gamble in the long run? They lose. If you play with a negative mood, it'll get to you and before you know it, you're just praying for good luck - bad!

Dwayne Wade, the shooting guard for the Miami Heat, and one of the best in the game, was asked what goes on in his mind when he's shooting crucial shots for his team. His response was something along the lines of, "nothing, I just shoot" Nerves of steel man. But not only that, he has total faith in himself. He knows his stuff, he knows he can make those shots, he has no reason not to believe in himself. If he misses he misses, but that doesn't go through his mind, because he won't miss.

If you just read that and thought "but he'll still miss sometimes!" you just don't get it. You don't have total confidence : /

I def. remember sbrugby mentioning that you should take responsibility for your actions. Every decision you make influences the outcome of the hand. These are your choices. In the end, when things go right or wrong, it's because of the choice you made. Accept it and move on.

I completely forgot about taking responsibility for my own actions, and here's a hand that happened where I realized wow, I probably would have won the hand if I hadn't wussed out.

Pre-flop: (6 players) Mikey is CO with as ks
2 folds, Mikey raises, 2 folds, BB 3-bets, Mikey caps, BB calls.

Flop: jc 4c 8c (8.6SB, 2 players)
BB bets, Mikey raises, BB calls.

Turn: ah (6.3BB, 2 players)
BB checks, Mikey bets, BB raises, Mikey calls.

River: 9c (10.3BB, 2 players)
BB bets, Mikey calls.

BB shows 10,10c for the flush.

On paper, this hand is absolutely horrible. Thing is, I've played a lot of hands vs. villain and I know he can lead this with something as weak as A5o with no club draw, he does bet/fold the flop from time to time. The turn is the part I really want to talk about. I just knew he didn't have two pair there, villain would've check-raised the flop or bet/3bet with tptk. I should've went w/my gut and 3bet the turn. As played, I made a very very poor call on the river, but at least it opened my eyes to the fact that there's a chance I could've won the pot had I shown more aggression.

I played this hand horribly. Yuck!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This month has been brutal to me. It started out with some ridiculous swings, but then my stupid self decided to give 10/20 a shot, which technically wasn't a bad choice because it was within bankroll limits. BUT, I took a shot at 10/20 while I was furious about what was happening at the 5/10 tables. I was just asking for disaster : /

I then started to try and up the amount of tables I was playing to 10, but quickly decided 8 might be better, and haven't been playing my A game. A lot of my decisions have been guesswork and really haven't been working out for me. Really shouldn't leave the game up to just guesswork. So yes, while I do believe I was on a horrible downswing, I also blame a lot of it on my approach to the game. I got impatient, I was dumb, and I didn't play a solid game. I chased my losses rather than reviewing my own game, talking it over with friends, etc. I basically played with a negative mindset.

I feel pretty good today and hopefully I'll be back on track : ) I'm also going to delve into NL some more as I am enjoying it and it is less swingy ;), but for the most part, I still enjoy sh lhe!

If your life had a soundtrack, what would it be?

2007-04-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Time for something fun! Feel free to respond with your soundtrack!

If your life had a soundtrack, what would it be?

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, etc).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press Play.
4. For every question, type the song that's playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the Next button.
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.
7. Don't skip songs =)

***Repost w/ numbers and names of songs.***

(1) Opening credits: Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears

(2) Waking Up: Wonderwall by Oasis

(3) First day at school: Marching Bands of Manhattan by Death Cab for Cutie

(4) Fight song: Exit Music (for a film) by Radiohead - LOL, GLOOMIEST FIGHT SONG EVER

(5) Breaking up: Never Take Friendship Personal by Anberlin - rawrrrrrrrrrrr

(6) Happiness: Walk This Way by Aerosmith

(7) Life's okay: Subterranean Homesick Alien by Radiohead

(8) Mental breakdown: Delicate by Damien Rice - wow that matched up well.

(9) Driving: Easier to Run by Linkin Park

(10) Flashback: Debate Exposes Doubt by Death Cab for Cutie

(11) Getting back together: G. Fresh by Drunken Tiger (if anyone can translate the korean lyrics for me, that'd be appreciated :D )

(12) Wedding: High and Dry by Radiohead

(13) Birth of a child: Downfall by Trust Company

(14) Final battle: Let Down by Radiohead

(15) Death scene: Like Spinning Plates (live) by Radiohead

(16) Funeral song: Inner Universe from Ghost in the Shell soundtrack

(17) End credits: Rain from Cowboy Bebop

daaaaaaaaaaaaang, radiohead took this one by storm!

Getting Back Into the Rhythm

2007-04-07T02:18:00.001-07:00

Poker's going well!

Not monetarily wise but I feel like I'm still playing great. I was worried that I might be out of sync after not playing for a week or so, but nope! I've been trying out full tilt as well and everything feels good!

I feel like what'll be the end of me is not degeneracy but instead my spending habits. In March I went home and bought a g35 on impulse, although I actually will need it when I go back home in May. And this week, while tabling at FTP, my comp started to time out w/4-6 tables, hud, n pokertracker running. UNACCEPTABLE! One of my goals is to be able to 10table sh lhe. I just see it as a useful skill and one of the biggest benefits of it is that you don't need as big of a bankroll to make lots of monies per hour :D For instance, let's say you're a 1bb winner 5tabling @ 5/10 and also @ 10/20...if you can 10 table 5/10....You only need 10,000 instead of 20,000 to be safe! and earn just as much as u would @ 10/20, yayyyyyyyy!

I also do want a new laptop that I can carry around with me : )
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think one of the more important approaches to the game is the mental aspect of it. Half a year ago, I was really eager to learn how to play, like when check-raising is good, stuff like that. Too technical! Instead I was taught to keep an open mind, experiment, play 1-2 tables max, and think a lot about flop texture and how/why my opponents bet, call, or fold. I remember in September/October I lost 300bbs @ 3/6 SH lhe and then tried to make some more back by playing @ 10/20, haha. Oh man...those were bad times.

I had no confidence in my game and felt that what I needed was technical advice. When you approach this game, you should believe in yourself and find your own style. I always thought I wanted to be a super LAG but I realized, I'd rather not deal with that kind of variance. Make money the easy way or the hard way?

Also, my mindset was all wrong. I would play to get even, playing overly aggressive, wasn't adjusting appropriately to the tables, felt everyone was trying to make plays at me, oh, and I tilted : )

Everyone tilts, it's all about taking the appropriate actions to control it. When too many bad beats happen n such, I quickly finish up my rounds and take a 30min-1hr break where I'll take out my stress on a shooting video game, or watch a movie. I don't bother getting into personal fights over the internet or really taking shots personally. There are a few people who bug me but for the most part, it's all about playing good solid poker! No point in trying to overrun people who refuse to fold.

That said, I'm playing great poker and am not running too well!

But it's ok! I'm really happy with how I'm playing. Very few spewage moments, for the most part, just good poker. I'm trying to get into my 9 hour schedule, but tonight I had to cut it short. The game just started to get depressing, I couldn't think too straight, wasn't tilting but I wasn't able to process the information correctly and when I noticed myself trying to bluff someone off, I realized it was quitting time!

I think I rambled a lot but I hope that helps somewhat. There's no point in being good at poker if you're going to play under non-profitable conditions while tilting away yummy monies......

-Mike

Back to the Grind!

2007-04-04T02:08:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty relaxing time away from poker. I went back home to SD for a week and a half, saw some friends, bought a car, played very very little poker, and just rested I guess. Oh I got fatter : / But March went well!

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This weekend was good tho! My friend came down and we went to Barona Casino and played some NL. Haha, I was there an hour before him and when he came to my table, I said: Nick, I will check-raise the sh** out of you so badly!

Less than 5 hands into the table, the following hand comes up:

1-3 NL, $300 stack sizes

Nick raises from MP, Random LP calls, I call with 88 from the SB.

Flop:
8 A 10 - Mike Sexton: BINGO BANGO BONGO VINCE, MikeySong just flopped a set!

I check - Vince: Oh I like what he's doing here, setting the trap, covering it with twigs and leaves, Nick has no idea what's in it for him!

Nick bets $30, LP calls, "$100 MORE!", Nick goes into the tank, and then shoves, I call, LP folds and Nick shows A10 for top two pair. Turn n River blank and I stack my buddy from Irvine in less than 10 minutes, haha, I felt bad tho : )

The day was really profitable for me. I'm definitely going to work on my no limit game before the wsop. I think I missed some good value bets and misplayed a hand due to scared money (in short: we later jumped up to 2-5 and I didn't want to risk $1000 with Kings vs. a tricky player)
I ended the day +980, but really 920 as we flipped for $20s a few times while waiting for dinner. Doh!

Oh, while at the 1-3 table, we were talking about flipping, my friend mentioned he didn't want to become like Grimstar and then this one LAG to my direct left says, YOU'RE A 2p2ER?! to which another kid says, I'm a 2p2er as well! I play 2/4 NL!

Um...so 4people out of 9 knew how to play NL and were probably better than me. It wasn't a hard to decision to pick up and take a break shortly after that conversation : )
I didn't have fun playing craps this time. I won but I just didn't have that much fun. I had a lot more fun flipping with my friends and I think I'll just stick to that rather than playing pit games, which I rarely do anyways.

Oh, I had a great hand on Saturday as well as a cooler. I was really bored Saturday so I went to Viejas to play some more no limit. The same LAGgy kid from Barona was at my table and within a few hands (recurring theme?), this came up.

1-3nl, $300 stack sizes

utg+1 limps, I raise Kd9d to $13 from CO, Laggy guy calls from BB and so does utg+1.
Flop: 5d 6c 7dcheck, check, I bet $30, Laggy craises to $80, utg+1 folds, and I pop it to $250.
Bam, we get it all in on the flop. Turn: 7, river: 5. My heart drops.
Dealer: show em!
Hahhaha, I didn't budge. I didn't want to flip over K high but then the Lag says, F*** I run so bad! Throws down 4,4 face up! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I stacked someone with K high! WHoooooooooooooooooo!

The Cooler:I got tired later on and got up to cash out. As I'm walking out, I see this cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute Asian dealer. Woof. I stand there watching the 3/6 lhe game. We make eye contact, she smiles at me, my heart jumps a little, she's got a really great smile. It still makes me feel a little giddy. (Am I really a poker player?) So to my fortune, 3people have to leave cuz they're going to play a tourney. I sit down and being the smoooooooooooth talker I am, I finally muster the courage to speak and say:

SO, DO YOU DEAL HERE OFTEN?

......ayyayayyay

It's ok. She was really really nice. Oh, and dude, she like, she deals right? But she doesn't play!!! She's not a degenerate!! HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

So it's time for dealers to shift tables, and when the new guy sits down, I ask:Hey, is that dealer single?

Guy Dealer: Who? Kim?! *LAUGHS* No man, we got no chance! me: no?guy: She's got a boyfriend!

*glum*

guy next to me: the important question is, does she have a boyfriend or is she married?

*hope!*

me: ya, is she?Dealer: she has a boyfriend.me: how long?Dealer: she's lived with him for a few years

*heart drops*

When the blinds came to me, I picked up and left! I left the guy dealer a $5 tip tho and said: PUT IN A GOOD WORD FOR ME :D

Mannnnnnnnnn, I was so excited too.

Goals for April:$20,000. 9 hours a day starting tomorrow April 4th, including weekends.Get in shape. Work up to 1 hour of running every other day.
Good luck everyone. Hope you all do well! Watch for a video from me soon :)

The Weekend!

2007-03-31T01:36:00.001-07:00

So
My future plan is to make 10k minimum a month, putting aside 1.5-3k for bills, the next 3k to save up, and the other 4k into my bankroll. I really want to make 20k in April but I've been so lazy, so it's time to set a realistic goal. This month I've played about 50 hours of cards and have made 5kish. Poker's been great! It's been pretty relaxing now.
I go back Mon. but due to some issues with parents, I'll be staying at Barona for a night on Sun, haha. I've never done that before and I'm actually kind of curious/excited to see what the rooms are and what features they have to offer.
I'm going to Barona today actually to spend some time with friends. I'm only going to be playing no limit. They only have up to 4/8 live anyways. It'll be good practice anyways, and it's nice to play a diff game every once in awhile.
I really hope barona has a swimming pool. I love swimming pools.
I'm looking to get a place in San Diego or Del Mar, a furnished apartment, and I'm getting a place in Vegas with some friends. That's pretty much what I'll be doing for the next few months...yayyyyyyy

Decisions Decisions Decisions

2007-03-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

I bought a car. It was sexy and I loved driving it.
http://www.wallpaper.net.au/wallpaper/automotive/Infiniti%20G35%20Sport%...
Yeah. Not the smartest decision made but I'm happy with it. The coup is fun and when I get more money, I may trade it in later for a newer model. Heh. It was funny too. I walked into the dealership with some friends and the guy comes up and asks, who's buying the car? I say, me! And he asks, so what do you do for a living? "professional card player" And 5 hours later, I walked out with the keys to my new baby. But let's focus on the now.
This puts me 30k in the hole so I've got some major hours to put in for the next few months. Ideally I'd like to pay it off in 2 months, but most likely it's going to be 3 months.
I have several issues I have to take care of and it's starting to boggle me. If anyone has any advice, please post as I'd love to hear some suggestions.
My relationship with my parents is not good right now. Basically, I'm not welcome to come home so I'm considering getting a place in San Diego (lived here my whole life : ) Funny enough, they don't even know about my poker playing so one can only imagine what kind of blow up they would have when they find out. They are very straight edge Asian Americans. Anyhow, I have a group of places that want to get a place in Vegas for the two months of WSOP. I don't know how I feel about playing @ the wsop. In general I hate tourneys but I did want to play at least 3-5 events this summer, as I turn 21 in May.
What concerns me is money money money. My BR right now is about 10kish, I'm withdrawing and moving some money around, paying bills, etc. so it's a little loose.
I don't want to live with a random roommate this summer so pretty much, getting a 1bedroom is important, and for security issues as I won't have to worry about him or her getting onto my comp and moving my money around! So that expense is about $1400ish if I get a 1br in LJ or Del Mar (which I would prefer).
Right now, rent in Boston is $650 +50ish for utilities.Car payment of $770 is due by May 7thInsurane = $150 a month but I paid for the 1st 2 months already.total: $1570 a month basically.
And if I live in SD and sub-let my Boston Apt, then I'll have ot make about $2500 a month I think? Yikes. And if I share a place in vegas as well, that'll be like 3k a month. But if I ditch the SD place and just live in Vegas, then that's about.....probably $1400 a month. Heh....al;skjdfl;jkasdfjkl
I really don't want to live in Vegas for the whole summer. It's hot and being around degenerates 24/7 does not sound like a lot of fun. Mmmm, card playing can be pretty lonely. Sorry, I'm a little bummed out about everything. Poker is going so well for me right now, yet my personal life isn't faring so well. Friends are leaving, working elsewhere, too busy, etc.
Not fun : /

IM INTOXICATED

2007-03-27T05:54:00.000-07:00

Only a little but I can't really focus.

I wish people were awake, I'm pretty talkative. None of my poker buddies are awake, I really felt like just coaching someone in SH LHE FOR FREE !!!!!!!!!!

OH WELL

I did some stupid stuff, I"m at home in CA right now. Bought a car, camera, and I'm really trying to do something important right now that maybe I'll disclose some time later. Parents are pissed but that's life.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......I can't figure out how to post on stoxpoker.com, the new site is cool but it won't let me post a blog!

But thank goodness cuz I'm incoherent at this point.

I'm getting back into techno, dunno, just like listening to it. I like lots of music, except for country. "WHEN A HOE WAS A HOE, AND CRACK WASNT COCAINE BUT JIMMY CRACK CORN" or some stupid lyric like that.

*HURL* *PUKE* UGH. country is something I detest.

NIGHT.

The Fatally Flawed Tag

2007-03-23T00:31:00.000-07:00

I had actually read this post earlier from aim786 but stiff posted up http://www.stoxpoker.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1427 a 2p2 link in there about someone who I guess believes the TAG play is fatally flawed. His argument is:A tight aggressive style is fatally flawed.
1) Tight means your starting cards are most often superior to your opponents' cards.
2) Aggressive means you bet and raise a lot.
3) Because of (2) (aggression) your opponents are then free to fold when they have not improved; because of (1) (your cards are better than theirs) this is not a mistake. You therefore get minimum money in the pot when you are winning.
4) Your opponents can call, raise, check-raise etc. at will when they hit. You therefore put maximum money in when you are losing.
(3) and (4) mean postflop disaster, which is in no way compensated for by your relatively small preflop edge.
Before I go on, I want to state for the record that these are just my thoughts. I am only a winning player at 5/10. I have not been playing limit for that long. In no way do I claim to be an absolute authority on the game, everything here is up for discussion and this argument is focused on primarily a 5-6max person game.
I don't believe the TAG system is fatally flawed. It only fails when: 1) your opponents are observant, they'll realize you're only playing good cards, which translates to: PREDICTABILITY2) People who play tight preflop and may not have enough experience postflop and may make a lot more mistakes in short handed games i.e. not pushing their edges when they're ahead, or pushing too much when it is a marginal situation, value betting, etc.
I hope that makes sense, the logic is kind of killing my head right now. But to continue, a 2p2er joker122 makes a great statement:"TAG" is a relative and evolving idea. TAG used to mean 24/17, but it's hard to beat up the mid-stakes games today with that style because it will be handily exploited in the ways you mentioned.
Translation: Tight is a relative term. TAG just means playing tighter than everyone else at the table, there is no specific # that equates an actual TAG, it is defined by the general sort that play the game.
So let me ask you this, why do you play a LAG style in the first place? For more profit? Fun? Action?
Or is it ego?
I'm willing to bet a large portion of you relate most to ego. Hell, I did for a long time til I realized I made a lot more money, and easier money, playing tighter than a 30/20 player.
Do you want to make money the easy way or the hard way? What is poker about? Making money.
Especially when you're multi-tabling, a LAG approach, which I guess is defined as a 45/30 player, is so incredibly hard to employ properly. LAG requires even more reads and attention to each player as certain moves gain or lose value - donkbetting scary turns, or check-raising draw heavy flops - work differently versus different people. Also, per table it's necessary to keep in mind your table image (which imo is the most important attribute to remember) as people may call you down light or heavy depending on your performance.
But...as one poster mentioned to me:
aim786: Let's say u play the first 10 hands at 1bb/hand so the next 10 hands i play at 0.5bb/hand, since the more hands you add the less you make on them so that means im playin 20 hands at 0.75bb/hand but per 100 hands, im makin 15bb/100; while ur only makin 10bb/100 so you have to keep opening up more and more until you pass the optimal point thats the only debatable part, ie whats the optimal vpip/pfr combo
The example is obviously a little extreme but for arguments sake, those #s make it easier to imagine. But is that optimal vpip/pfr combo possible to figure out?
Rather than trying to find this optimal #, it's more important to play tight, play good cards until your opponents catch on and your play becomes too predictable. Then you play more hands, mix it up, and play a little LAG so that people start calling you down lighter. Then you play tight again and get paid off. Isn't this what poker is about?
Baronzeus:the key to poker is to get more from your opponents when you are ahead than they get from you when you are behind. this can be done in a variety of ways: value betting, playing tightly (ie folding second best hands), hand reading and making correct plays (bluffing etc).
ultimately the TAG will win in almost all of the above categories, especially the 1st and 2nd. ------------------------------------------------------------------I liked tmfs's post the best:
"But the main reason I disgree with your post is poker is way to complicated to play well by playing one fixed strategy such as "Tag" and "lag". When I think of good players that I have played against, I don't think that they are a "Tag" or a "Lag", they have the characteristics of both and in the end just play good poker. You might be able beat non-thinking players with just a prototypical "tag" strategy, but soon as you face thinking players you better be able to do something more than follow a hand chart and telling yourself to be aggressive postflop. "
Summary: TAG is a winning strategy that is probably more profitable than a LAG. (Do you know any 45/30s who crush sh lhe?) You play LAG to give the deception that you play bad cards, so people pay you off on your good hands. If they're not paying attention and pay you off anyways, why deviate and play even more cards?

Monotonous Grinding

2007-03-21T22:05:00.001-07:00

First of all, I'd like to thank Jarno for his post regarding how even dropping down limits may improve my game. While I'm not a big believer in that, I did try something a few days ago.
I wrote earlier in my 1st post that I'm a big believer in Bankroll Management and that I personally prefer to have 1000bbs per limit I play. Well, this week I hadn't been playing my A game, dropped 120bbs, and just didn't feel very confident. I also have felt, and still do sometimes feel bored with poker, which is a very bratty thing of me to say. It took a lot of hard work and effort to get this far. I sometimes envy those geniuses who jump up the limits so quickly but oh well, to each his own.
Anyhow, a few days ago I looked at AP and saw that there were a lot of 10/20 games going, and they looked pretty juicy...so I jumped in! Already I didn't feel comfortable as I dreaded the thought of dropping another 100bbs at a HIGHER limit so I decided to play as long as I felt comfortable....20 mins = 168 hands heh. Regardless of the results of that quick session, I felt cured! I played my A game again! The pressure of it got to me. I focused hard, thought about the hands as logically as I could and didn't make any loose A high calls. Every move I made, I felt was +ev or reasonable. Didn't get out of hand, made some money, and just stuck with correct play. In a recent video that Stox put up in his HU session w/thebryce, he mentions that he prefers to stick to a correct approach to the game with a few moves here and there, rather than the converse of that. That kind of style has been working really well for me last week, and I guess I got caught up in the monotonous grinding @ 5/10 that I forgot to stick to that approach. Instead I had gotten paranoid that people were bluffing me left and right, etc. etc. which eventually led to a -120bb drop.
But I'm back on my feet and kicking up steam :) The quick 10/20 session really did help me as it kept me in line and made me realize that if I get bluffed once or twice, it's alright because in the longterm, I still make more money than a monkey who bluffs too much.

A new Site!

2007-03-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

I'm Blogging for Stoxpoker.com now! :)

I will still post here and there, they'll be the same entries but for those who want to leave a comment and don't want to make an acct @ stox, I'll still respond here.

Here's the 1st entry I made

Have a good day everyone :)

Hey everyone,
my name is Michael Song and I guess I’m going to be a new blogger here :D *audience applause* I’d like to say that when I found out that stoxtrader was interested in adding me, I was definitely very excited to be blogging here. So thanks stox! I hope my posts entertain as well as educate you all. Not that I have that much to teach, but if you pick up on one or two things, that’d make me happy :)
I am 20 years old and currently live in Boston for now, originally from California. I attended Emerson College and I finance myself through poker. I was a film student and the reason I decided to play poker was for the “easy” money. I definitely believe that this is one of the harder ways to earn an “easy” living. But, I never want to have to bus tables, etc etc. I prefer my own freedom.
What’s it like playing pro? I hate it! It can be so swingy! D: But I love it much more than if I had to work a 9-5 job, just not my style. Also, I miss really good Burritos (Ana’s Taqueria is an OK substitute, CA is better) and just really good fast food in general. Not a Wendy’s fan, McDonalds is good, but there’s no Jack in the Box, Carl’s Jr. or In N Out!!! I’ve rambled….OH, AND TOO MUCH SNOW. I just bought running shoes the day before because it was getting to be 50 degrees, and the next day, haha, I look at the weather report on my computer and it said “snowing”. I muttered, bullshit, looked behind my window drape and said “Holy shit! It’s snowing!” Seriously like 3-5 inches of powder in front of my place. I even got the nike+ chip! The thing u can plug into your ipod. Grrrr.
So, I play primarily short handed limit hold’em at 5/10. I’m a big believer in bankroll management because it helps control the mental aspect. For example, if I have 500bbs and I lose 200bbs, I’m definitely going to feel very scared about my bankroll and the last thing I want to do is drop down. If I have 1000bbs and I lose 200bbs, I’m going to be somewhat annoyed but I won’t be bothered because I can still play my A game and not be scared about losing money. I have been advised by some to just suck it up and move up as I’m missing out on more money. I can definitely see that point of view but also, I currently 6table so assuming my winrate is 1 to 1.5bbs/100 (last month I was -.22bb/100 @ 44,000 hands, sickkkkkkk), then I make about $100 an hour. I also just had a great weekish just now.

Oh but then Thursday I lost 50bbs, Friday I won 100bbs, and yesterday I lost 120bbs. I don’t blame these things on downswings, although obviously they happen and yesterday I lost with 4 of a kind…to a straight flush…(sorry, gotta complain once in awhile J) I blame it more on playing bad. If I played better, I wouldn’t have lost as much money. Simple as that. Always play your A game, otherwise you’re going to spew chips unnecessarily. So hard not to tilt when you’re feeling like the Hulk.
Oh, in response to the whole move up every 500bbs, for me personally, I don’t play as well if I feel pressured by my roll. In the past 6 months, I have had multiple 300bb downswings/losses. The first time I was just learning this game, the 2nd or 3rd time, I improved a lot but still lost that much. And the pressure would get to me. I like having comfort and not feeling scared when I play. Thus, 1000bbs is something I personally set. But I do plan on hitting some 10/20 soon when I have 12k or more.
Super long blog entry, sorry! I plan to visit these forums more often. I usually post @ fullcontactpoker.com or on my own @ mikeysong.blogspot.com But I definitely will be browsing and posting here more often :)
Have a good day everyone,
Michael Song

Gotta be Hungry!

2007-03-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

I just saw Rocky III last night, for the first time. I liked it a lot. I think it's cool how he brought back Apollo for II and III. The movie reminded me of two things. One is that, to win big, you gotta be hungry. You can rely on luck etc. and hope something big comes your way, but that's a loser's mentality. Work hard, play hard. Make your own destiny. Achieve your goals. I forgot what that's like. Right now I'm just floating along, playing some poker, but mostly just video games. I gotta work hard again, gotta feel hungry. I'm not rich, so what am I lounging around for? :/

But, I am running good in poker right now :) See graph for details. Multiply Big Bets won by 10 and you have a pretty good sense of what's going on right now.

http://img76.imageshack.us/my.php?image=irungooddi3.jpg

Yesterday was my biggest winning day. $1300, more accurately 1288, but 1300 looks cooler :) And how do I feel about it? I did'nt feel a thing. Seriously. When I saw my account, I said "holy shit!" but otherwise, nothing. I don't know, maybe I'm just subconsciously expecting to win? I'm honestly not focusing on the money itself. I'm focusing on playing good, making the correct moves, etc. If a bad beat starts to get to me, I immediately finish up my orbits and take a good 30 min. break or however long I need. Play some video games, shoot up some baddies, clear my head, and get back into cards.

Bankroll: 9.5k :D 11.5 if I don't go to cancun :D :D :D But I wanna go!

The 2nd part that the movie reminded me was the whole "eye of the tiger" concept, which is that desire/obsession to win. If you're a competitive person, you may have felt that at some point where you can't lose, you just can't. You have to win, you will sacrifice everything you have to win. In poker, something very similar to that is required. When you have that desire and ferocity, you're fearless. You're not afraid to make mistakes, really, you don't make mistakes. Your sense are sharp, you're very aware, knowing when they're weak and not.

Winning in poker isn't about sledgehammering away, which makes it kind of tough. It's not like basketball where you can just wake up and start dunking away. It's a lot of jabbing until your opponent falls into the trap, then bam! uppercut! :D Really it is. Feelings cannot be brought to the table.

Someone last night said to me that they need to hit heaters like me. While I agree that I am on a hot run right now, I don't attribute all of it to just that. I'm also playing very well, although I've made a few mistakes I'm not happy about, but for the most part, I'm playing better than before and I think my style right now is causing people to tilt, which is earning me more monies that I should be getting. Just look at this hand for example:

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $5/$10
5 players

I am hero with Jh 9h

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is BB with Jh 9h

UTG folds, CO raises, Button calls, SB folds, Hero calls.

Flop: 6s 7h Js (6.6SB, 3 players)Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks.

Turn: Jd (3.3BB, 3 players)Hero bets, CO folds, Button calls.

River: Ad (5.3BB, 2 players)Hero checks, Button bets, Hero raises, Button 3-bets, Hero calls

I wanted to cap but I was so confused by his play that I thought he really could've slowplayed AJ. Anyhow, he showed A3.

There have been A LOT of bad plays at 5/10 and I'm just raking in the benefits by playing good solid ABC poker. GOOD SOLID ABC POKER. That's all you need.

-Mike

Below are some more examples of poor plays I've encountered this week:

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $5/$10 6 players
Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is UTG+1 with 7d ad UTG raises, MikeySong 3-bets, 4 folds, UTG calls.

This is probably the only time I've 3bet someone with a marginal hand. I've played many hands with this villain and he's verrrrrry fishy. Calling with K high vs him is correct.

Flop: 8h 2c 3s (7.6SB, 2 players)UTG bets, MikeySong calls.

Turn: 5d (4.8BB, 2 players)UTG bets, MikeySong calls.

River: 8s (6.8BB, 2 players)UTG bets, MikeySong calls.

Results: Final pot: 8.8BB

UTG Shows Jh 9d
MikeySong Shows 7d Ad

Same Villain, this time he's in the SB

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $5/$10 6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with 8s 8d

UTG folds, UTG+1 raises, 2 folds, SB calls, MikeySong calls.
3betting doesn't knock anyone out, so I call to evaluate the flop.

Flop: 4h 3d 4d (6SB, 3 players)SB checks, MikeySong bets, UTG+1 calls, SB raises, MikeySong calls, UTG+1 calls.
I bet hoping utg+1 would raise to knock sb out, I also get a feel for his hand.

Turn: 3c (6BB, 3 players)SB bets, MikeySong calls, UTG+1 calls.
Its very hard to put SB on a hand due to his crazy play, so I don't want to raise just to knockout utg+1 as SB MAY have a hand or not. It's too hard to tell. So i'll take it easy and call down.

River: 2h (9BB, 3 players)SB bets, MikeySong calls, UTG+1 calls.

Results: Final pot: 12BB
SB Shows Qh 6h
MikeySong Shows 8s 8d

In hindsight, I think I should've raised somewhere on that flop to knock UTG+1 out cuz it's obvious he was drawing to overs. At the time I was afraid he had a higher pp or something, stupid stupid. Given his action on the flop, he had Ace high.

Limit Holdem Ring game Limit: $5/$10 6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with 3d 4d

UTG raises, 3 folds, SB calls, MikeySong calls.

Flop: 3s :10h 4c (6SB, 3 players)SB bets, MikeySong calls, UTG raises, SB 3-bets, MikeySong caps, UTG calls, SB calls.

Turn: jh (9BB, 3 players)SB bets, MikeySong raises, UTG folds, SB 3-bets, MikeySong calls.

River: 5d (15BB, 2 players)SB bets, MikeySong calls.

Results: Final pot: 17 BB
SB Shows Ah Js
MikeySong Shows 3d 4d

SB should've 3bet preflop as it would've knocked me out. I don't like his donkbet on the flop vs 2 others. My cap on the flop is questionable. I can wait til the turn and evaluate what the play is, for instance if a 10 hits, I'm probably counter-feited. But I decided to cap the flop so I can get a feel for where I am.

Turn: have to raise. If UTG 3bets there, after all the action I've given, I would call and fold the river Unimproved, due to teh fact that I have odds at this point to suckout a fullhouse if I'm drawing live.

As played, SB's 3bet on the turn is just spew. It's bad. I capped flop and raised him on the turn, his top pair can't be that good given my action. But he 3bet me so I have to give him credit for something strong. Can I fold two pair in this pot? hellll no.

Good thing I didn't either :)

The Blind Battle

Limit Holdem Ring game Limit: $5/$10 6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with 5s ac
4 folds, SB raises, MikeySong calls.

Flop: 2s 8s 4c (4SB, 2 players)SB bets, MikeySong calls.

Turn: 8d (3BB, 2 players)SB bets, MikeySong calls.

River: 3h (5BB, 2 players)SB bets, MikeySong raises, SB 3-bets, MikeySong caps, SB calls.

Results: Final pot: 13BB
MikeySong Shows 5s Ac
SB shows KK

I normally 3bet in that spot but I decided to play it differently. I don't think I had any conscious reason to, I just felt that it was time to mix it up. Given the flop, I decided it woudl be good to just call down.

River - only cards that beats me is 5,6 and a boat. I'm feeling very good about my hand so capparoo. Boat is possible but I just don't feel that he has a low set. It jsut wasn't that likely and I'm ahead here more often than not.

If I was SB with KK, I would've called the raise, even vs. the maniac from a few hands ago, I'd probably just call. I could've been slowplaying the trips or the straight. How can you 3bet with just an overpair?

Obv. I got lucky in this hand, but he made a huge mistake on the river so I'm gold. Also, A high in blind battles wins its share often enough. Just calling instead of 3betting shows my opponents that I'll mix it up, and hopefully it'll scare them to back off my blinds.

IM LAZY!

2007-03-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Oh yes. Very lazy. I've only put in 22 hours of play. But the good side is, I'm up 2k or something! I may go to cancun next month with a friend so I'm withdrawing 2,000 for now. If that trip ends up getting cancelled, back into the bankroll it goes!

Bankroll: 8264, 10.2 if Cancun trip doesn't work.

I'm not going to dabble in the 10/20 games til I have 12k. That's just how it is. A 100bbs is just so easy to drop when you're multi-tabling. Losing 2,000 right now would freak me out a little. No reason to rush, I'm making $100 an hour. BUT, I DO NEED TO FRICKIN PLAY MORE. UGH. Its so important to put in the hours. Last night there were sooooo many games going. At one point, I hit a +50bb run in 30 mins ($500) so I just immediately took a break and ordered some dinner.

haha, you know you've ordered too much from the same place when they can either recognize you by your voice or by your order. Everytime after I finish placing my order on the phone, the lady says "oh ok, Ma ee kul?" :D I wish they'd give me a discount for 1) being Korean 2) ordering so often. Oh well, can't always get what you want.

I just recently saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MAN. I forgot how great this movie is. I haven't even really seen the other movies w/them in it but this movie had me constantly laughing. It's just so ridiculous and fun. YES, I GO TO FILM SCHOOL, BUT I APPRECIATE FUNNY ENTERTAINING MOVIES LIKE THESE :)

I also just saw Ocean's 12. I thought it was pretty lame. If you have time to watch movies, you should def. get Netflix. I love it. I try to watch a movie a night before I go to bed. Just something to ease/relax my mind after all that pokering...that I don't do.

It's odd but with the whole internet poker thing goin on, teh games have gotten juicier....I'm serious. I mean I did improve a lot but there's just so much action at night it's beauitful! Here's an example, and the answer to the other hand.

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $5/$10
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with :10d :10c
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, CO raises, Button folds, SB calls, MikeySong 3-bets, UTG+1 raises all-in $20, CO calls, SB calls, MikeySong calls.

In my opinion, pocket 10s are just too strong to coldcall with. 3betting lets you know where you at, JJ+ would cap here, don't you think? It's a good indicator if we're ahead or not, I'm feelin good.

Flop: 4c 3c 3s (16SB, 3 players + 1 all-in - Main pot: 16SB)
SB bets, MikeySong raises, CO calls, SB 3-bets, MikeySong caps, CO calls, SB calls.

I figure he might have a draw so I'm protecting my hand and since the pot is so big, I really want to know where I'm at so I'm capping to take control etc.

Turn: :10s (14BB, 3 players + 1 all-in - Main pot: 8BB, Sidepot 1: 6BB)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, CO calls, SB calls.

CHECK?! Well I'm obv. way ahead now, but if the 10 didn't hit, I'd still feel pretty confident.

River: ks (17BB, 3 players + 1 all-in - Main pot: 8BB, Sidepot 1: 9BB)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, CO raises, SB 3-bets, MikeySong caps, CO calls, SB calls.

I actually almost just called the 2 bets here thinking someone might have KK. Then I thought it through, only a super weak pansy doesn't bet or raise KK on the turn so, I've got 2nd best boat, I'm capping!

Results:
Final pot: 29BB - $290 pot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MikeySong Shows 10d 10c
UTG+1 mucks As 6c
CO mucks Kh Ac
SB mucks 6s 4s <---- lol, thank you thank you

Villain is 26.26/22.22/3.4

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $5/$10
5 players

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is Button with ac jh
UTG folds, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, CO calls.

CO could mb have AQ, AK is almost out of the question here. Pocket pair, etc etc, wide range CO can have.

Flop: 7h as 5h (7.6SB, 2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.

Ok, so he doesn't have an Ace or he's playing way ahead/way behind.

Turn: qc (4.8BB, 2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.

Yay, he doesn't have AQ!

River: ad (6.8BB, 2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, CO calls.

Given that 2pair check-raises me on flop or turn, he has trip Aces but a weaker kicker than a Jack almost always.

Hero shows AJ
CO shows A6

BAM!

Swingy game!

2007-03-07T05:03:00.000-08:00

Hand of the Day:

Villain is 26.26/22.22/3.4

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $5/$10
5 players

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is Button with ac jh
UTG folds, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, CO calls.

Flop: 7h as 5h (7.6SB, 2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.

Turn: qc (4.8BB, 2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.

River: ad (6.8BB, 2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO raises, Hero ???

Call or 3bet? What's your action and why?

Alright so I guess my last hand wasn't that popular or maybe it was just too easy to figure out. I'm trying to think of a way to structure my blog entries from now on. I figured start out with my rambles, then post the answer to last week, and then a new hand for next time but that's kind of messy huh? Alright, from now on, hand of the day in front! And as I write that, I'm going to go look for a hand I want to post. Found one!

So, remember I wanted to put in like 100k hands, i.e. a 200hr month? Um...I think I've played 10 hours so far....As soon as I wake up from my sleep, I'm going to try and crank out some good sessions :)

Part of the reason why I haven't put in long sessions were due to fear. Yes, I had a 7.7k bankroll (although my 2500 in rb hasn't come yet) but when you play for 3 hours and drop 180bbs, it gets a little scary :/ Especially when that's at 5/10, a higher limit than u're used to playing. But you know what? Despite the big drop in monies, I told myself, it's ok, you're a winning player, keep it nice and simple.

nice and simple...I watched a cardrunner video the other day from a very well respected pro aba20 aka sbrugby (Brian Townsend) who plays high stakes no limit @ mainly full tilt poker. In his first video he says something along the lines of: 90% of high stakes poker is just good, solid ABC poker. I took that line to heart, in fact, that line has helped me a lot recently. If games begin to get out of control, I take a breather and tell myself to just play a good solid game. No reason to get too fancy. Just because someone bluffed me once doesnt' mean I have to 3bet him with A2. Good solid poker. Remember, big hands, big pots! Small hands, small pots!

Oh, 5 hours later I won 120bbs over several sessions. so I'm at 4900, aka 7400 bankroll wise and I'm going to be sticking to 5/10 for awhile. Once I'm over the 10k mark in my acct, I'll start dabbling in the 10/20 games.

Btw, if your game is rusty or going sour, I recommend this. Get a friend who you respect to watch your game and give you advice. Exchange your thoughts on how to play a hand etc. It helps a lot. If you multi-table, drop down to 1 or 2 tables (1 is more recommended) and analyze that game. Focus a lot on feel, how the game flows, feeling out strength and weakness, etc.

Another thing I wanted to mention, and this is not out of disrespect or anything but I feel it's important to talk about, on one of the poker forums I read, this poker player finally went busto. I say finally because I was fairly confident it would happen. In one of my blogs I mentioned someone who gambled his whole br and basically ran it back up over 30k+. Well, his mentality to the game is all wrong. I'm not talking about his poker skills, but the fact that he enjoyed to gamble too much. Sports betting on a low br, hopping in games too big for his br, not having the mindset to drop down in stakes and play accordingly. I recall an IM convo I had w/him about dropping down to lower stakes when he had like 2k, and he just couldn't do it.

Now, that's very very understandable, but you have to adjust to your bankroll at some point. Going from 50/100 to 3/6 is a huge jump down, but in the first place, you shouldn't have let that happen, and unless you can find a staker right away, better start grinding out again.

I'm glad I kept a straight head. Despite hearing about people who run up sums of money into large rolls, it's hard to remember that that same mentality will kill your br and make you go busto. I didn't think of myself as a gambler, as I don't really like to lose money. I'd rather just make a lot and quit/be happy but that's not how it works. I realized over this weekend, while i was visiting my friends @ amherst, that I definitely have some gamble in me. While we were drinking, there was a game on tv (I forget what) and I was willing to bet on either of the teams (I only had $30 cash on me but still...). Kind of a surprise really. I just didn't think I had any worthwhile gamble in me, but I do.

At this point in my life, after struggling so much at low limits, I feel that it would be ridiculous and inexcusable if I started gambling at blackjack again or sports for that matter. Every once in awhile is fine but I know myself as the type who wants to get even when he loses big so for my sake, I'm going to stay away from these for as long as possible...basically until friends take me to a casino to gamble, hah!

I want to work very hard. I want to put in a lot of hours at these limits so I can move up fast and play higher stakes while earning more for a less amount of time. Put in some 200hr months now so I can later on work only 40-80 hour months :) Maybe even less!

The answer to the hand I posted last week:

BB is 47.75/9/.08 *LOL (this is out of 111 hands)
UTG+1 is 76.19/14.29/1.5

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is CO with ad ac
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises, MikeySong 3-bets, 2 folds, BB calls, UTG+1 caps, MikeySong calls, BB calls.
Well, I'm not worried about UTG+1 :) I'm putting him on AA, KK, AK, or QQ

Flop: :10c 7c ah (12.67SB, 3 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 checks, MikeySong bets, BB calls, UTG+1 calls.
Oh I think it's so obvious he has QQ Or KK, I was really feeling the KK. And this is where it gets funny, when the turn came, I was BEGGING for a K to hit. And btw, I'm not worried about BB at all, he's probably got pocket pair or Ax.

Turn: kc (7.83BB, 3 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 bets, MikeySong raises, BB calls, UTG+1 3-bets, MikeySong CAPS

Such an easy cap. You HAVE to cap this turn given the way it's played. You've got top set with nut flush draw, what more do you want?!?!?! Let's look at villain's range, could he really have QJ? He can't have Ac Qc nor Ac Jc as we have that Ace. The only real hand he can have for bet/3betting this turn is the 2nd best set, KK, and he played it exactly like it.

River: I forgot what the river was, I think it went check/call. Unfortunate that the Kc hit instead of a different suit..or that the river didn't pair, but i got lotsa moniesssss :D

In Summary: Villain (UTG+1) played his hand exactly like KK. He capped pf and check/called flop, trying to go to showdown for as cheap as possible. If I was villain, I would've led out the flop and then evaluated if I raised, probably resulting in a call down. But you have to realize that I could raise with PP, top pair, a draw, etc. so versus my range, a calldown is probably correct.

I'm tired, gnight!

Michael Song

YAY FOR MY BANKROLL!

2007-03-01T00:40:00.000-08:00

Villain is 40.86/27.6/1.84

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
5 players

Pre-flop: (5 players) MikeySong is UTG with 5h as
MikeySong raises, CO folds, Button 3-bets, 2 folds, MikeySong calls.

Flop: qc 5d 4s (7.67SB, 2 players)
MikeySong checks, Button bets, MikeySong raises, Button calls.

Turn: ah (5.83BB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, Button raises, MikeySong 3-bets, Button calls.

River: kh (11.83BB, 2 players)
MikeySong CHECK/CALLS

Villain showed AK.

Alrighty, let's look at this hand. I raised utg and button 3bet from the button. From a logical standpoint, this could mean several things, the most logical being, he has a strong hand to 3bet a UTG raiser, while the other end would be, he is going to play his position vs. me

Flop: he bet/calls my check-raise. AQ most likely 3bets here. Now I'm putting him on A high or pocket pair.

Turn: the Ace, I bet and he-raises - obv. has an Ace, does he have AQ?, I 3bet and he only calls. He does not have AQ. I actually didn't give him a range, I just knew I was ahead here.

River: K. I seriously froze. It just made total sense to me that villain had AK, but check/folding is too silly! And if I'm right, do I really want to bet fold or bet call? I just don't know how can you fold here. So I check/called. My gut was right and he showed two pair, AK. Now, villain could've easily had AJ, A10, etc. but I felt so strongly he had AK I just had to check/call.

Mags, you wrote: "I think betting makes him fold a wide range of weak hands where checking may induce a bluff bet. My thinking definetly seems flawed because he might check down a weak ace."
I really like this line of thinking. One thing to never forget is that in these low limit games, a weak Ace is never folding. I believe that someone with an aggression level of near 2 is willing to bet the river with a weak Ace if we check it. The whole time we were representing a strong hand, and now we're checking? This is villain's last attempt to bluff us off a hand, so checking to induce a bluff is not a bad play at all! (but if you know you're ahead, it's still better to bet for metagame reasons, otherwise ppl will float you to the river and bet when you check)

I think 40/27 is a silly lag. I really don't know what his 3betting range is. I forget where but I read somewhere that having your stats of 30/20/2 are optimal and I'll believe it, my stats are very similar to that :D

I want to sidetrack for a second. Another friend I was talking to mentioned something along the lines of becoming really LAG. I don't know why you would want to become as LAG as possible? The more LAG you are, the bigger teh variance/swings you'll experience. A friend asked me, do you want to make money the easy way, or the hard way?

Being a LAG player means you're straying away from Sklansky's recommended starting hands and are playing more hands than your Tight Agressive Player. Why? Mainly because it's fun. The advantage of a LAG is that you become hard to read, and when you become good at it, you can push people off hands, or value bet under the right circumstances. When is the perfect time to play LAG? In position vs. tight passive players or weak tight, people who do not go to showdown that often.

It's wrong to give yourself a strict hand range. I play by feel. I didn't work to become a 31/22/3 lag. I developed my own style. When the table is good, I raise a lot of hands. When the table is playing back at me, I play tighter. I don't always play 30% of my hands. Sometimes I play way less, other times I play way more. It's always situational. ALWAYS. The only hand that can be played pretty much the same way is 2-7 - FOLD lol. But even then, if you're going to make a move on villain and u have 2-7, you might just play it...

Cards become irrelevant in short handed, to a certain degree. There's a huge difference between open-raising and 3betting. Not so much between 3betting and capping. Think about that one :)

Oh right, I just realized the name of this topic. My bankroll! I had a wonderful day today. I basically went on a 50k hand stretch of BREAKING EVEN. After last month's crash @ 5/10 too! Sick, just sick.

To summarize, in the last week of january, I played 3/6 again because I had over a 30bb downswing @ 5/10. For the first 10k hands at 3/6, i ran at 2bb+/100. After that, it started to go downhill. The lowest I had was I think 2.5k? This is why I like to keep 1000bb bankrolls :) Now that it's March 1st, I've accumulated up to 5.2k WITHOUT rakeback. Out of 51k hands, I'm running at -.22bb/100. According ot pt, I'm down $600ish. I think that's more or less correct. Now, with rakeback, I have approximately 7.7k :) As soon as I have 6-7k in my account, I'm going to jump up to 5/10 and dabble around.

What's my goal for March? 20k+ bankroll. No joke. I need to put in some serious hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a side note, you should always be focusing and playing your A game when you play SHLHE. TAKE NOTES!!! They're so much more useful than PT postflop.

For example, this hand came up, and vs. most people I check/call. Versus this villain, I can confidently check/fold.

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is SB with 5c 7h
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, CO folds, Button calls, MikeySong calls, BB raises, UTG+1 calls, Button calls, MikeySong calls.

Flop: 5s as 4h (8SB, 4 players)
MikeySong checks, BB bets, 2 folds, MikeySong calls.

Turn: 5d (5BB, 2 players)
MikeySong checks, BB bets, MikeySong raises, BB calls.

River: ad (9BB, 2 players)
MikeySong checks, BB bets, MikeySong folds.
Uncalled bets: 1BB returned to BB.

This guy is a scared passive player. He always bets out TP when he hits it, and when he has a strong hand, he easily gets excited and bets quickly. Easy strong reliable tell that I can count on. On the river, the bet came very very quickly, I'm pretty sure he clicked bet/raise.

ALRIGHT, TIME FOR HAND OF THE NIGHT. WHATS MY ACTION?

BB is 47.75/9/.08 *LOL (this is out of 111 hands)
UTG+1 is 76.19/14.29/1.5

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is CO with ad ac
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises, MikeySong 3-bets, 2 folds, BB calls, UTG+1 caps, MikeySong calls, BB calls.

Flop: :10c 7c ah (12.67SB, 3 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 checks, MikeySong bets, BB calls, UTG+1 calls.

Turn: kc (7.83BB, 3 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 bets, MikeySong raises, BB calls, UTG+1 3-bets, MikeySong ???

What's my action? What do I do on the turn and then river?

Gnight!

I CANT SLEEP

2007-02-24T05:55:00.000-08:00

it's 8:54am and I'm hoping by the time I finish writing this entry, I'll be ready to fall asleep as I hit the bed. My sleeping schedule is really messed. Every once in awhile I'm able to sleep somewhat normally (2am-10am). Yesterday I slept at 10am and woke up at 6pm. Hmm....I'm not going to get in poker hours this way, especially not 10hours a day.

10 hours a day is a serious goal for me. I really want to put in a 200hour month. I think it's absolutely necessary for a low stakes player like me. I'm a 20 yr old student taking time off and poker is my only source of income. The only reason why I can afford to do this as a low stakes player is because I can 6table 3/6 short handed limit. Bonuses and rakeback add up quickly when you 6table but more importantly, if I can put in a 200hour month at 3/6 or 5/10, I can bust probably a 20-30k profit. How many hours have i put in? Probably like 85. Pathetic. Averaging like 4hours a day. It's time to fix this sleeping issue. I need to work on sleeping at like 2 or 3 and waking up at 10am or 12pm (I need 1-2 hours to eat and really wake up before playing).

Oh, and do I feel stress relying on poker for money? Kind of but not really. I figure if something really bad happens, I'll credit card it for the month (rent is $650). Funny story though, my check that I ordered on jan. 30th from FCP (although Chexx Inc apparently is at fault here) has been delayed. So I actually do I have to CC a few hundred dollars as 90%+ of my money is online. I'm so not tired enough...

I don't like to have to resort to using drugs (medication) for anything trivial. I count this as trivial. What's not trivial is if you're experiencing an immense amount of pain or if you're really sick. Otherwise, it's mind over matter man :) The problem with using drugs is that you really do become dependent on it subconsciously. For example, I'm going to go and buy something to help make me drowsy. Eventually what may happen is after a week or so of using it, if I can't sleep, I'll just pop in another, and then another every time I have a sleeping problem, and before I know it, I've become dependent on it. I don't like it. And for the record, I actually don't do any drugs. I don't like being uncontrollably stupid nor do I like to lose control over myself. Alcohol is as far as I go.

Alrighty.

Ty mags for responding to the hand I posted. Let's go over it. It seemed like you preferred to just call, being afraid that if villain caps, we're behind. I see this thinking as too math focused. People do not play perfectly. I play primarily on instinct and I focus on how someone plays the hand. Had he played his hand like two pair on the flop or turn, I would've called the river, but instead I 3bet.

Here's my personal opinion on blind battles. It's a big dick game. Bet Bet Bet, BAM! People tend to play their blinds differently, especially if you attack them a lot like me.

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
4 players

Pre-flop: (4 players) Hero is SB with jc 7s
2 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: 8d 9d 6h (4SB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero 3-bets, BB calls.
I sometimes get bluffraised so a 3bet and a bet on the turn is a good way to feel out the strength of his hand. 2pair here definitely caps, villain did not...I'm feeling good so far. He must be somewhat weak.

Turn: :10h (5BB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.
Sweet! I'm not afraid of queen jack at all. And notice he CALLS! Unless villain has a big tendency to slowplay to the river, I'm not worried at all. What does this mean? Villain does not have a 7! which is a shame because it's an easy cap on this turn.

River: 8c (7BB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero ???
EASY 3bet. Based on flop and turn play, villain does not have a 7 nor does he have two pair. He is either bluffing or he has trips. If he has trips, I'm hoping he caps. Unfortunately, he only called showing J8 for trips.

Think about what this hand says for metagame. I'm a crazy maniac and you better be willing to shell out some dough to stop me :)

Thanks again for posting mags!

For you LHE players out there, have your sites gotten softer? I feel like AP definitely has and that's supposed to be the 2nd hardest site for short handed lhe @ low stakes (WPX being the hardest).

The games were crazy last night. I had to stop playing because I got so angry from a few bad beats. Here's one of them!

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is CO with 7s 7d
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises, MikeySong 3-bets, Button caps, SB calls, BB folds, UTG+1 calls, MikeySong calls.

Flop: 4s 7h 6d (17SB, 4 players)
SB checks, UTG+1 checks, MikeySong bets, Button raises, SB 3-bets, UTG+1 folds, MikeySong calls, Button calls.

Turn: 8d (13BB, 3 players)
SB bets, MikeySong calls, Button calls.

River: 2h (16BB, 3 players)
SB bets, MikeySong calls, Button calls.

SB shows 5,4c
MikeySong shows 77
Button shows JJ

I can't believe sb called preflop. Actually, I can't believe I didn't cap the flop but I felt something funny I guess (I play a lot by instincts). Oh, well I definitely can't raise that turn now can I? Losing a 19bb with a set was nottttttt fun. This hand got me so angry I just had to quit for the night, despite how juicy the tables looked.

Alrighty, here's a hand for you to answer:

Villain is 40.86/27.6/1.84

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
5 players

Pre-flop: (5 players) MikeySong is UTG with 5h as
MikeySong raises, CO folds, Button 3-bets, 2 folds, MikeySong calls.

Flop: qc 5d 4s (7.67SB, 2 players)
MikeySong checks, Button bets, MikeySong raises, Button calls.

Turn: ah (5.83BB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, Button raises, MikeySong 3-bets, Button calls.

River: kh (11.83BB, 2 players)
MikeySong ???

What's my action? Bet/Call, Bet/Fold, Check/Call, Check/Fold? Please give an explanation! That's how you improve!

Gnight (9:19am - wow! 24 mins of writing?!)

Been so long!

2007-02-21T23:31:00.000-08:00

I've been running reallllllllll bad. For awhile I was -1bb/100 over 35k hands. Now i'm at -.58bb/100...haha. Basically, without rakeback and bonuses, I'm down $2grand this month. Yuck, I've only put in 80 hours this month. I'm going to try and put in 50-70 more hours but I highly doubt I'll hit that mark.

I was originally going to leave AP at the end of this month but something changed my mind....AP added a new system: trading points for cash! And it's freaking sweeter than the old exchange rate. Why? Well....if you look at
http://absolutepoker.com/vip/points-for-cash.asp

basically, they're giving you a 1k bonus if you hit the 200k mark. AHHHHHHHHHH. I made over 200k points this month and I got about 1.5k in return for that. Sickkkkkkkkkkkkkk =( Oh well. Because of that, I'll probably give AP another month and try to bust out a sick 15k+ profit. This month...I'll be lucky if I hit 5k profit by the end of hte month...but it is possible, after all, I am coming out of the worst swings I've ever had...or am I???

Alright, here's a hand I found interesting.

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is BB with 8s ks
UTG calls, 3 folds, SB raises, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Flop: js 7c 5s (6SB, 3 players) - I don't think there's any equity in raising here.
SB bets, Hero calls, UTG calls. I'd rather trap the guy behind me to call as well.

Turn: 6c (4.5BB, 3 players) - this is interesting, sb is giving up.
SB checks, Hero bets, UTG calls, SB folds. I'm thinking, well if I bet here, I
have a good draw anyways. Might as
well see if we can take initiative and rake in the pot. If we're going to call a bet, might as well bet.

River: ac (6.5BB, 2 players) - scary card! But it can be very good. I
can now represent an Ace. Firing here
shows strength. grawrrr i win!
Hero bets, UTG folds.
Uncalled bets: 1BB returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: 6.5BB

doesn't always work but I felt it could there :)

Let's play a game. I'll post a hand and I'd like you to answer what is the best course of action. If you decide to answer, please explain your reasoning. Assume villain is you standard 30/20/2 LAG player.

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
4 players

Pre-flop: (4 players) Hero is SB with jc 7s
2 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: 8d 9d 6h (4SB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero 3-bets, BB calls.

Turn: :10h (5BB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

River: 8c (7BB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero ???

Do we call, fold, or raise? why?

><

2007-02-11T04:32:00.000-08:00

Do these hands actually help anyone?

No answer?

Fine, I just won't write anything ><

Bye :Þ

-Mike

Dull Dull Dull

2007-02-06T03:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I may start taking shots at 5/10 again. AP changed their rakeback system to contributed, so now I'm getting way less than I used to. I want my $100 hourly wage back :(

So it's either some 5/10 or 1/2nl soon.

Poker is boring sometimes. I wish I was insane and could play 13hours a day. SH Lhe @ 3/6 is becoming very auto-botable for me - playing mindlessly without thinking. Need to work harder.

I've posted some fun hands that I had today. For those of you who are new to short handed limit, there really isn't that much bluffing like what I've done in some of these hands. I was confident in my reads/gut (who reads ppl online?) and I went with it. I have to be really sure of myself to go with a play, otherwise it is too costly and the last thing I want is my image to be damaged. If my image becomes wreckless/maniac, then I have to sit back and play tight as people will call me down more liberally. My style is to pick up lots of small pots. I want easy money! So please, don't fool yourself into thinking that you have to make these plays. Personally I think it was dumb but I made a decision in the moment and went with it.

Good luck at the tables :)

Michael Song

Some hands:
The power of donkbetting:

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with 6s 7c
2 folds, CO calls, Button raises, SB folds, MikeySong calls, CO calls.

Flop: 3s 4c 5c (6.67SB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, CO calls, Button raises, MikeySong 3-bets, CO calls, Button calls.

Turn: 9h (7.83BB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, CO calls, Button calls.

River: jh (10.83BB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, CO calls, Button calls.

Results:
Final pot: 13.83BB
MikeySong Shows 6s 7c

bam! CO had a pair of 5s and button had a pair of kings. I decided to play the flop fast because I couldn't think of a good way to trap CO on the turn, so I figured there was a good chance of him calling at least 1 more sb vs 1bb on the turn.

Blind Battle
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
4 players

Background info: Villain and I have tangled a few times, enough to know that in a blind battle, he's capping his Ax hand heads up.

Pre-flop: (4 players) MikeySong is BB with kc qs
2 folds, SB raises, MikeySong 3-bets, SB calls.

Flop: :10d ah 8s (6SB, 2 players)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, SB calls.

Turn: 5d (4BB, 2 players)
SB checks, MikeySong checks.

River: ad (4BB, 2 players)
SB bets, MikeySong raises, SB folds.
Uncalled bets: 1BB returned to MikeySong.

Results:
Final pot: 6BB

I checked the turn because I wasn't too sure so I was hoping to hit a Jack incase, on the river when he bet, I just knew he didn't have the ace based on past actions so I figured I'll just raise him off his hand as I did represent an Ace and could be playing it tricky. Grrrrrrreat success!

Psh, I'm the Player!

Villain is not happy with me. He's been showing me more aggression than to other players. It's pretty obvious he's tilting.

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is SB with qs 9s
4 folds, MikeySong raises, BB calls.

Flop: 4s 5h 7d (4SB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, BB calls.

Turn: 7c (3BB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, BB raises, MikeySong 3-bets, BB calls.

River: 5c (9BB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, BB folds.
Uncalled bets: 1BB returned to MikeySong.

Results:
Final pot: 9BB

So even though the re-raise on the turn backfired - as he probably had a pair of 4s or some other pocket pair, I had to bet the river as I felt he could only call that with A high and possibly K high.

Position is my baby!

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is UTG with 5h 5s
MikeySong raises, UTG+1 folds, CO calls, Button folds, SB calls, BB folds.

Flop: 4h kh 6h (7SB, 3 players)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, CO folds, SB raises, MikeySong 3-bets, SB calls.

Turn: 8d (6.5BB, 2 players)
SB checks, MikeySong checks.

River: :10h (6.5BB, 2 players)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, SB calls.

Results:
Final pot: 8.5BB
MikeySong Shows 5h 5s

the 3bet on the flop told me that he doesn't have a super strong hand, but does he have a flush draw? I'm not too sure. Check turn - to figure out his hand, and because whatever he check-raised me with on this board, he's most likely not folding it. Alright! he checked river! I can safely bet this baby, boom! Villain showed AK

LAZY

2007-02-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

I"M SO LAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I have all these hands to post to get feedback on but...IM SO LAZY! I'll post one @ fcp after this but man, I just don't want to. Ramble ramble ramble.

Had a great day today, booked $700 for 7hours of play. 6 of that being 6tables @ 3/6 and 1 1hr session @ 5/10. I'm still trying to keep up with my goal. 9 hours a day of play. 15-20k win for the month. Let's go!

*edit*

I lied, I was looking through my hands. Here's a simple one that I'd like to share.

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with 2d jh
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, CO calls, Button folds, SB calls, MikeySong checks.

Flop: 2h 2s :10s (4SB, 4 players)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, UTG+1 calls, CO calls, SB folds.

Turn: jc (3.5BB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, UTG+1 raises, CO calls, MikeySong 3-bets, UTG+1 calls, CO calls.

River: 9h (12.5BB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, UTG+1 calls, CO raises, MikeySong 3-bets, UTG+1 calls, CO calls all-in $2.5.

Results:
Final pot: 20.92BB = $125.52

Analysis:
With the draw there, leading out in my opinion is the best play. There's what? 4 people? In the games I play, people chase. Rather than trying to defend trips with a check-raise on the turn if no spade falls, I'm going to build the pot. It's counter-intuitive to lead out with the trips, so by doing so I am disguising my hand as a check raise on either of those streets would have been suspicious. Also, the people at my table may think I am betting out a small pocket pair, a pair of 10s, A high, or a spade draw. I bet out a lot to build pots so it's hard to put me on a specific hand imo.

Lesson: There are definitely times to slowplay your hand. This was definitely not one of them as we can see how much one can potentially gain if players get crazy enough :)

btw: utg+1 had KK (if he had raised preflop, this hand would've never happened)
CO: KQ - he called with overs and made a straight on the river :)

Gnight!

-Mike

bigggggggg update

2007-01-31T17:56:00.000-08:00

Alrighty so the last time I posted I had a biggggggg downswing.

Well, I won't be playing the 5/10 game for awhile. I'm going to stick to a 1000bb rule from now on. I just don't feel comfortable playing my game if I feel like I have to be perfect with every move. My image is reckless and it's the way I love to play. That said, I'll be hammering the 3/6 game til I'm back to 10k. This could take almost the whole month of February =/

I'm on a nice rush for 3/6 sh lhe so far. 6800 hands, 2.5bb/100. I've won $1k so far after losing over 3k? Too bad it didn't happen at 5/10 when I needed it! lol. Oh well, I am actually pretty grateful to be back in the game. Things were looking really grim there. I had 1.4k left, 400 of it in my AP acct and ran that back to 2.2k (altho 750 is from trading in points for 2 ipod gift values ($350 each)). What's my bankroll now? About 4k. I'm withdrawing my 1k from fcp and keeping it in my bank acct. I have to start paying my own rent etc. due to some dealings with my parents, heh, so that's why the 1000bb rule is even more important! I must not go broke in poker!

Oh man, so Sunday was a crazy day. I had 800 on AP, ran it to 1470 playing 3/6, I was running reallll hot so I played 5/10 to push the rush! BAM! back down to 700, play some 3/6, BAM, down to 400. I quit the game, went to my bed like a little baby all shaken up about the thought of going broke, lay there for a few moments, and thought:

this is the choice I made. I knew the downsides of poker yet I picked it anyways. I accept the consequences. No one's going to feel sorry for me, so get up and start playing good.'

Got back up, 6 tabled 3/6 sh lhe with $60 on each table, bam bam bam 1.2k :)

I won't be posting any hand histories for today but...please check out the short handed limit section @ fullcontactpoker.com in the forums. I posted a lot of interesting hands, or at least I think they're interesting. I'm starting to improve another side of my game, value bets. It's easy to value bet top pair but now I've moved on and am focusing on value betting midpair and even bottom pair. Hearing about a player like TLK (TexasLimitKing, swedish player who raped high stakes short handed limit) made me realize that it is important to recognize those situations where we are ahead and make those bets, no matter how thin. The thinner the bet, the sexier it is anyways :) So yes, I've been working on that and I think that's been adding a lot to my comeback upswing!

On another note, after all that, I'm burned out. I feel really stupid about it though. From Jan 17th to Jan 29th, I played 50.83333 hours of poker. basically, 5 hours a day. Not bad but can be better and will be better. But that's not even what I'm disappointed about. Right now, I don't feel like playing poker. It's ironic, you would think that when you're winning a lot, you'd want to play more but not me! When I'm losing, I play more, when I'm winning, I just wanna chill out! Bleh. Starting tomorrow, 9 hours per day! Sunday gets to be the resting day. Each week that I'm doing well, I plan to play the Stars $1mill guaranteed tourney.

So my goal for february is to play 9 hours a day, 6 days a week. I want to make at least 15k if not 20k by the end of the month. I also plan on switching over to no limit by the end of the month as the last few days I had 100bb swings!!! Grosss.

good luck players!

Spiraling Downhill

2007-01-25T03:21:00.000-08:00

YUCK

-120bbs today

http://img227.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pizzowned6tp.jpg

that's the graph of my play since december 29th when I started playing 5/10 again. So I've basically lost over 300big bets. Come on turn around! I'm playing so well too =/

Any stake offers? I may have to partake on some if I do go bustoooooooo.

Bankroll: 2kish, 3k if you count rakeback.

Funny, usually on days where I'm up over $300, if I lose that, I immediately get really depressed or sad. Now I just want to put in more hours and break even for the month, at least!

Some people go on 50k break even stretches...I hope I'm not one of them @_@

Michael

50bbs

2007-01-24T01:33:00.000-08:00

+50bbs today. Confidence shaky though, as in if I lose 100bbs tmw, I'll be pretty worried. Losing money sucks balls now since it's harder to move around money between sites. Ty u.s. gov't D: I hope things come around though.

Still playing good :)

-mike

Hmmm...Downswing!

2007-01-23T03:27:00.000-08:00

So after about 5-6 hours of play, I'm down over $1000. Bleh...Surprisingly it hasn't disturbed me too much, am I finally getting used to the downswings @ 5/10? I remember in november I had a 200bb downswing in like 7000 hands or something and then 2000 hands later I pulled a profit.

Plan is to just play through it. I think my play is better than before. I'm a little gunshy at some points but I'm making a lot more correct folds than before. Yup yup yup, come on $$$$$$$$$. I have no intention of jumping up limits or playing blackjack or any other what not. It would be stupid and reckless to pick up bad habits, no point in doing so when you're a winning player.

Michael

Keep it Simple

2007-01-22T00:57:00.000-08:00

totally not putting in the hours I should be. But that's ok. Relaxation is key.

I played 2 hrs today for a $95 profit. Man, while i was playing, i was thinking 'this game is way too swingy, I hate it' haha, I hope I don't get stuck playing only poker for the rest of my life. I'd want to make money in other ways as well :)

a random convo that made me laugh:
Mike: i wanna learn to box
bigg: ...
bigg: ur too small
Mike: D:
Mike: wow!
bigg: u'd be in the kindergarten classMike Songlasses: WOW
Mike: i actually
Mike: laughed out loud
Mike: lol
Mike: i was tlaking
Mike: and then mid-setnence
Mike: i started laughing
Mike: u asshole

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright. Let me start off by saying something I strongly believe in,

Like begets Like.

This means exactly what it sounds like. like like like, like if I'm a very happy person and you're around me, eventually you can't help but feel happy. You're more inclined to have a positive attitude, whereas if I'm really pissy that day, you will feel more negative and pissy as well. It can be a conscious or subconscious change and some people are really sensitive to it.

So poker is a game played against __________? People! Not everyone has a stoic approach to the game and some have a drastically emotional approach, i.e. hyper sensitive to being bluffed or to constant aggression.

At low limits, where the game is very simple compared to higher stake games, the last thing you would want IS to make it play like a high stake game. Sure the players may not have the skill that the pros do, but if they start playing back at you, bluffing and semi-bluffing, the game is going to get a hell of a lot harder. This is something I had been forcing upon myself by playing a very very aggressive and laggy game.

Keep it simple. By playing ABC, and I'm not advocating a complete textbook game here fellas, just don't go out of your way to look like a hyper aggressive maniac. In short handed limit where you are playing lots of pots, it is more profitable to have an honest image than a lagtard as you want to win more uncontested pots. Winning uncontested pots means less reliance on your cards, meaning less variance! Yes!

Keep it simple. By playing honest, you encourage others to return the favor and 'tip' you some extra $$ :)

Did this help?

Good luck everyone!

-Mikey Song

p.s.
I'll start posting 'entertaining' hands at the end of my blogs btw while keeping ones that I want to explain in the beginning.

[Jan 21 17:32:35] : Hand Start.
[Jan 21 17:32:35] : Seat 1 : mustfoldem has $288.50
[Jan 21 17:32:35] : Seat 2 : MikeySong has $195
[Jan 21 17:32:35] : Seat 5 : TEAGA has $233
[Jan 21 17:32:35] : Seat 6 : ST@CKED has $171.50
[Jan 21 17:32:35] : mustfoldem is the dealer.
[Jan 21 17:32:35] : MikeySong posted small blind.
[Jan 21 17:32:38] : TEAGA posted big blind.
[Jan 21 17:32:38] : Game [44269] started with 4 players.
[Jan 21 17:32:38] : Dealing Hole Cards.
[Jan 21 17:32:38] : Seat 2 : MikeySong has Ah Jc

[Jan 21 17:32:43] : MikeySong called $2.50 and raised $5
[Jan 21 17:32:45] : TEAGA called $5

[Jan 21 17:32:46] : Dealing flop.
[Jan 21 17:32:46] : Board cards [Ts Jh Js]
[Jan 21 17:32:47] : MikeySong bet $5
[Jan 21 17:32:50] : TEAGA called $5

[Jan 21 17:32:50] : Dealing turn.
[Jan 21 17:32:50] : Board cards [Ts Jh Js Jd]
[Jan 21 17:32:52] : MikeySong bet $10
[Jan 21 17:32:54] : TEAGA called $10

[Jan 21 17:32:54] : Dealing river.
[Jan 21 17:32:54] : Board cards [Ts Jh Js Jd Th]
[Jan 21 17:32:56] : MikeySong bet $10
[Jan 21 17:33:04] : TEAGA folded.
[Jan 21 17:33:04] : MikeySong wins $48 as the last player standing
[Jan 21 17:33:07] : Hand is over.
WHAT?! WHY?! SO STANDARD ~!

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $5/$10
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) Mikey Song is UTG with 8d 8c
Mikey Song raises, UTG+1 folds, CO calls, Button folds, SB 3-bets, BB folds, Mikey Song caps, CO calls, SB calls.

Flop: 6d 6h 8s (13SB, 3 players)
SB bets, Mikey Song raises, CO folds, SB calls.

Turn: 6s (8.5BB, 2 players)
SB checks, Mikey Song bets, SB calls.

River: 6c (10.5BB, 2 players)
SB checks, Mikey Song checks.

wowowoowowowooww.

Quick Update

2007-01-17T03:24:00.000-08:00

if you care...

so remmeber I was going to play more? I only played 1hr total today, haha. +$360ish. it's a nice welcome back to sh lhe. Didn't get rivered too badly or anything this time. yayyyyyyyyyyy

i'm tired. night!

Fatter then Ever

2007-01-16T04:01:00.000-08:00

I haven't been this fat in awhile! (160 lbs or something) for a 5'3 asian.

I have not been playing cards for awhile. I had a friend visit from out of state this past weekend so my hands were full. By the way, I'm sorry if this offends any of you out there but girls cause so much unnecessary drama its sickening. And i'm not even talking about a girl to guy relationship, just among themselves. I watched one of my 'friends' flip out about every little detail because of her insecurities. She offered us beer, no one wanted to drink it, so she got offended and started getting pissy. Erm, ya. A lot of stuff like that this weekend. But now, there's pretty much no one home so I can start focusing on making money!

I go back to boston this saturday and I am officially no longer in school. I've taken time off to work on my br and prepare myself for a project or two that I have in mind...

Btw, any skilled people out there for websites, please contact me. I'm looking into creating a website at some point.

Um, I feel a little rusty but starting tomorrow the 16th, I plan on trying to take this seriously again. I'd like to make 2-5k this week, which techncially would require about 20-40 hrs of 6table poker action.

Soon I'll be back to the grind. Ugh, i ate too much.

Time to go play some Max Payne!

Bye!

Confidence Rising

2007-01-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Table Name Hand ID Game Stakes
The Exorcist 10475169-57923 Holdem Limit $5/$10
[Jan 7 04:44:19] : Hand Start.
[Jan 7 04:44:19] : Seat 1 : shadysable has $381.50
[Jan 7 04:44:19] : Seat 2 : cyaa has $98
[Jan 7 04:44:19] : Seat 3 : miggx has $238.95
[Jan 7 04:44:19] : Seat 4 : nobodytr has $310
[Jan 7 04:44:19] : Seat 5 : MikeySong has $224
[Jan 7 04:44:19] : MikeySong is the dealer.
[Jan 7 04:44:20] : shadysable posted small blind.
[Jan 7 04:44:20] : cyaa posted big blind.
[Jan 7 04:44:20] : Game [57923] started with 5 players.
[Jan 7 04:44:20] : Dealing Hole Cards.
[Jan 7 04:44:20] : Seat 5 : MikeySong has 8s 7h
[Jan 7 04:44:22] : miggx called $5
[Jan 7 04:44:23] : nobodytr folded.
[Jan 7 04:44:26] : MikeySong called $5 and raised $5
[Jan 7 04:44:38] : shadysable folded.
[Jan 7 04:44:39] : cyaa called $5
[Jan 7 04:44:41] : miggx called $5
[Jan 7 04:44:42] : Dealing flop.
[Jan 7 04:44:42] : Board cards [5s 6d Tc]
[Jan 7 04:44:45] : cyaa checked.
[Jan 7 04:44:49] : miggx checked.
[Jan 7 04:44:51] : MikeySong bet $5
[Jan 7 04:44:52] : cyaa called $5 and raised $5
[Jan 7 04:45:02] : miggx called $10
[Jan 7 04:45:04] : MikeySong called $5 and raised $5
[Jan 7 04:45:06] : cyaa called $5 and raised $5
[Jan 7 04:45:08] : miggx called $10
[Jan 7 04:45:10] : MikeySong called $5
[Jan 7 04:45:10] : Dealing turn.
[Jan 7 04:45:10] : Board cards [5s 6d Tc 4h]
[Jan 7 04:45:12] : cyaa bet $10
[Jan 7 04:45:24] : miggx called $10
[Jan 7 04:45:27] : MikeySong called $10 and raised $10
[Jan 7 04:45:28] : cyaa called $10
[Jan 7 04:45:36] : miggx called $10
[Jan 7 04:45:37] : Dealing river.
[Jan 7 04:45:37] : Board cards [5s 6d Tc 4h 9h]
[Jan 7 04:45:40] : cyaa bet $10
[Jan 7 04:45:46] : miggx folded.
[Jan 7 04:45:48] : MikeySong called $10 and raised $10
[Jan 7 04:45:50] : cyaa called $10 and raised $10
[Jan 7 04:45:51] : MikeySong called $10
[Jan 7 04:45:52] : Showdown!
[Jan 7 04:45:52] : Seat 5 : MikeySong has 8s 7h
[Jan 7 04:45:54] : Seat 2 : cyaa has Th 9s
[Jan 7 04:45:54] : cyaa has Two Pair: 10s and 9s
[Jan 7 04:45:54] : Seat 5 : MikeySong has 8s 7h
[Jan 7 04:45:54] : MikeySong has Straight T9876
[Jan 7 04:45:54] : MikeySong wins $209.50 with Straight T9876
[Jan 7 04:46:04] : Hand is over.

Aggression Aggression Aggression! a 21bb pot! That river play was silly, i should've capped. I either thought, 'oh, he has an 8, no reason to cap' or 'omg does he really have j8?' how silly.

My confidence is coming back though. I realized that my aggressive style has worked very well. I get paid big on my big hands and if I can't fold a hand, I get away at a relatively cheap price. At least that's how I think it's been working. It's not like I cap the flop, 3bet the turn, and win the hand every time. I just play according to how I feel and what I think he might have. Primarily everything is based on feel. Strong, weak, value bet, etc.

What also helped me get back some of my confidence was PokerTracker. Zach from fcp told me to look at my session notes, and in it there's an option to view your hourly rate. When I was 6tabling 3/6 short handed limit, I was making $42 an hour (1.61bb/100). At that rate, with the old AP structure, I made $30 in rakeback and $30 in bonuses.

Incase you guys are curious, here are some of my stats @ 3/6:

vpip (% of hands I play): 33.02
Preflop Raise %: 23.37
Aggression Factor: 2.84
Folded BB to Steal: 39.39%
Folded SB to Steal: 82.66%
Went to Showdown: 33.97%
Won $ @ Showdown: 52.86%

I haven't done too much multi-tabling with 5/10 short handed so I'm not sure what my winrate is, nor am I 6tabling that much. I've been doing a lot of 1tabling to re-evaluate my game etc.

I want to get in the habit of crushing games while 6-8tabling, and then every once in awhile, perhaps once a week, spend 3-5 hours 1tabling and evaluating my hands. That sounds like the best way to approach the game.

So far in 2007, I've only put in 10 hours.... I'm like 20 hours behind, haha...Oh well, winrate: $50 per hour.
Bankroll? No idea. I don't feel like counting :)

-Michael

Love, Zippo, and Red

2007-01-05T04:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ooiir-tCcA

I really like her. I love a girl who can sing, especially someone who seems innocent. I don't find girls who party a lot, smoke a lot, etc. to be very attractive. I like the classy look too. jak;lafjads;jk;asdjfl; Speechless.

Zippo
I bought myself a zippo. I love these! I'm going to start a collection some day.

Red
I'm down 500 or 1000. I can't really remember, haha. 5/10 hasn't been kind but that's ok. I am very determined to improve and take this seriously. Gotta lighten up and enjoy poker once in awhile, but for the most part, by summer, 'baller' status is in order: WSOP, apartment, kick backs, video games, and some other fun stuff to buy.

It's time to start spending less and playing more cards. I have a $5,000 bet with my friend Nick. First one to HAVE 100k wins, meaning we have to show 100k in one of our accounts to actually claim the prize. We have until the last day of August this year to make it. Both starting at 5k (me less actually, heh) but I'll be playing much more than him.

Hand of the Day:

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $5/$10
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is CO with 9s as
2 folds, MikeySong raises, Button calls, SB folds, BB calls.

Flop: 2c jc 5s (6.6SB, 3 players)
BB checks, MikeySong bets, Button raises, BB folds, MikeySong calls.

Turn: 8s (5.3BB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, Button calls.

River: 2s (7.3BB, 2 players)
MikeySong checks, Button bets, MikeySong raises, Button 3-bets, MikeySong caps, Button calls.

Results:
Final pot: 15.3BB

Ok so let's explain the play.

Flop bet - Continuation bet is always in order. Def. was going to fire another bullet on the turn and give up on the river.

Turn - The donkbet was good and bad. Bad in that it's probably not going to fold any hands here. Good: it sets up the river if I make my flush or top pair - but only if I go for a check-raise. Otherwise he is probably going to simply just call, not knowing wtf I have.

River - I like it a lot. I had a feeling he was definitely going to bet if I checked so I went for the check-raise and got a lot of action. Does he have a set or 2 pair? I highly doubt it. In this situation, I think it is the best play, rather than getting that easy 1bb in, I took a chance and got 3 more from him!

Have a good night. I bought some books and I am actually excited for once to read them:
Brothers Karamazov - Dostoevsky
The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink)
Positively Fifth Street - James McManus

which book probably stands out the most to you? lolllllllllll

Gnight
Mike

Tiltttttttttt

2006-12-31T05:23:00.000-08:00

yup yup. I hit a downswing this week, was very annoyed. So on the 30th, I decided to load up a 1/2nl table, a heads up table. I was doing pretty well, but man, the game just kept going back n forth back n forth for a few hours, seriously. Long story short, I stacked him, so the score was $800 vs $200 and I blew it. He started tilting and pushed $180 preflop, so I called w/A9 < K7s.

later on, $350 push AcKc < 99. Eventually I tried to run a big bluff, and boom. $1k pot shipped to him.

Damn I'm good. Oh, prior to that I also lost about 800 on fcp. Just got raped in limit, over and over again. Oh well.

I just put in 3hr 40 min. session though where I made back $500 of it so I'm happy. I think my bankroll is around 3.4k with rakeback and such. Not too sure though, not really caring.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clicking. Instincts.

I mentioned that a few months ago, after a horrendous -300bb downswing, I 2 tabled 2/4 short handed limit and suddenly the game clicked to me. I was learning how to control the table, so that my aggression worked really well. Basically, you normally want to take initiative/be the captain at your table. If you are in control of the hand, then in the longrun you will win more. By being in control, you're making people make mistakes. They will fold or give you too much money.

So what does this have to do w/the 'clicking' concept? I began to feel the game. There are some days where I have to think, is this guy bluffing? semi-bluffing? Or does he have a real hand. But there are those days where you just know. You intuitively understand his emotions. You know he might play his AK aggressively so you cap bottom pair on a flop of 5 7 10 and value bet his ass to the river. Or maybe you just feel that he's weak, so you bet out or check-raise with Queen high and take the pot away with him. Rather than debating between check-raising and betting out, you immediately know that betting out/3betting is the best play. You know this within a second, and without any doubt.

Bluffing is a -ev play that don't work too often in limit, especially short handed limit. yet you feel it, so you go with it. There isn't any doubt, you just know. You can't explain it, even though it's online, you have a read on the guy that you just KNOW is correct.

That's what it means to have everything click together. You know when he's strong, so you pitch your hand, you know when he's weak so you bluff him off or value bet him.

If you're a poker player, or a competitor, you know that there is nothign more beautiful than executing a deceptive play with confidence. A daring, risky move that most would not make, yet for some reason you've decided to do it and you've now pulled it off. It's an empowering, comforting feeling and there really isn't anything quite like it.

Of course I'm only 20 years old so what do I know? I haven't experienced that much, have I?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope that little explanation helped. I can be pretty repetitive, and confusing as well.

Well everyone, it's been a quick year. Nothing much has happened in my life in 2006. I hope you all either improve your poker game or have fun playing it. Please don't tilt. It's such a waste. Look at me! If I didn't tilt, I'd prolly have my 10k bankroll. Oh well oh well.

Happy New Year! Let us have a good 2007.

Mikey Song

Bummed out

2006-12-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

sure it's only 5 days into my break,
but I'm bummed out.

Sorry for a low post on Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone :)

But I cannot ignore how I feel right now. I came home expecting to be constantly surrounded by friends and having fun. So far, it's been almost like college, a lot of hanging out at home in front of the computer screen. I do demand a lot of attention though, so maybe I'm overexaggerating, but I don't think so. What's wrong with hanging out with friends? Nothing, so why don't people do it more? I DONT KNOW. Maybe I demand too much from my friends. I enjoy hanging out and getting to know people. Shrug.

So it looks like my plan for vacation backfired. Instead, I'll be focusing on this time to ready myself in cards. Back to 2 tabling 5/10 and improving my game.

I'm sorry I did not write about what I meant on 'clicking' when I played 2 tables. I'm just not in the best of moods. I could write you a crappy post on it now, or a better (hopefully) one later.

-Michael

An update

2006-12-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted in awhile. Well, I'm home! I barely made my flight, got to the airport 25 minutes beforehand :D

Did I ever tell you guys that I'm a really lucky person? For instance, no matter how late I am to the airport, I've always made my flight, except for the one time where I fell asleep at teh gate only to wake up to watch it pull out and fly away...but that doesn't have to do with luck, that was just idiocy. But I am a really lucky person, something always comes through, EXCEPT, when it comes to girls.

2 relationships ended because of school, one was a little off the wall though so I'm glad that ended, the other just fell out of it. As in the attraction just faded away. Balls. I don't know why I'm rambling about this, oh well. (cuz it's a blog!)

Poker has been good. I took a break from multi-tabling and played 2 tables of 5/10 sh lhe, I made $1000 this week until I lost $600 yesterday! hahaha, but I made $240 today so I'm happy. In fact, I am pretty happy with my poker play. I was playing scared this whole week, trying to re-analyze/re-think my game and I'm happy with teh direction it's been going in. More aggressive and more confident.

The secret to my success @ short handed limit has been 2 tabling. In October, I almost went broke. I 2tabled 2/4 short handed limit for awhile, analyzed my opponents thinking things like "why does this donk always take down these small pots" etc. and then I experiment, and it just clicks. Boom, never had to look back. My bankroll is around 4k now, I want to put in more hours again but friends come first this break. I don't think I can bump it to 10k but 6-8k is def. reasonable before this month is over. Oh wait, I've got 7 days left, well i can try :)

No hands to post, nothing really interesting happened =/

BR Management

2006-12-16T22:31:00.000-08:00

Well

I practiced great br management today. (SARCASM)

For some reason this morning I was just frustrated as hell. Towards the end ot he first hour of my session, I got super frustrated even tho i was only down a few big bets despite the beats I was taking. So then I played longer...even though I told myself 'you really shouldn't be playing right now, you can't think anything through' so of course I just keep playing...until I'm down to my last $700. Wtf? I had $2300 in my AP account, I just lost $1600?! GKLAJ:LFDSJFDSFK:LJ TILTTTTTTTTTTT

SO I put that $700 to good use...@ a 10/20 table. WORST IDEA EVER. Every time I have been down, I have never done well taking shots at a higher limit and today yeah..I lost my last $700 there.

Bustooooooooooo?

No, turns out I actually cashed out 1k from that poker acct the day before and it just arrived in my neteller.....God, double edged sword. Had I not done that, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have tilted and taken a shot at 10/20. So instead of blowing through $1300, I would've jsut gone through 600 and sulked for the day. Oh well...

I'm surprised I tilted. After going through that 200bb swing weeks ago, I thought I would've been in great control.

Here's where I believe I went wrong:
I had this big desire/belief that I was going to make a lot of money today since the past few days were meh, and when that didn't hit my expectation, I started to get really really angry. THe best train of thought is just putting in hours, not expecting a certain amount, rather just knowing that if i put enough hours, I'll always bank profit in the longrun since I am a winner at the game.

No more tilting please M. Song.

My pt stats have me beating the game for 1.4bb/100 out of 21k hands, so I'm not worried. Little annoyed but htat's cards and that's my own dumbass fault. Now I have to put in more hours to make up for that stupid mistake.

Oh, I hit my 2nd online royal tonight! mb 3rd, I forget. And lost a $100+ pot in a very frustrating way.

******* Hand 1 ********

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Stack sizes:
MikeySong: $152.50
UTG+1: $89.25
CO: $109
Button: $57.70
SB: $79.06
BB: $31.50

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is UTG with as 7s
MikeySong raises, UTG+1 folds, CO calls, Button calls, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: 9c 7c ad (10SB, 5 players)
SB checks, BB bets, MikeySong raises, CO calls, Button calls, SB folds, BB 3-bets, MikeySong caps, CO calls, Button calls, BB calls.

Turn: 7d (13BB, 4 players)
BB bets, MikeySong calls, CO calls, Button calls.

River: 9s (17BB, 4 players)
BB bets, MikeySong calls, CO folds, Button raises, BB calls all-in $1.5, MikeySong calls.

Results:
Final pot: 22.25BB

BB: A6o
I muck A7
Button: 10,9o WTF MAN

******* Hand 2 ********

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
5 players

Stack sizes:
MikeySong: $263
SB: $79.06
CO: $457
Button: $61
SB: $3
BB: $83.50

Pre-flop: (5 players) MikeySong is UTG with :10h jh
MikeySong raises, CO folds, Button calls, SB calls all-in $1, BB folds.

Flop: 3h kh qh (6SB, 2 players + 1 all-in - Main pot: 4SB, Sidepot 1: 2SB)
MikeySong bets, Button folds.
Uncalled bets: 1SB returned to MikeySong.

Turn: 9s (3BB, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: 2BB, Sidepot 1: 1BB)

River: ah (3BB, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: 2BB, Sidepot 1: 1BB)

Results:
Final pot: 3BB

Short Little Update

2006-12-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

ugh.

I have finals. I just want to play video games and poker, not study!!! I've been doing a piss-poor job of it tho. I missed my math test this morning, slept right through it. I have to bust a 90% on monday to pass the class w/a 71....haha. I so don't fit the asian stereotype.

I had to pay out a few bills so my bankroll is at 3.5kish again. I don't mind it too much, but man I gotta fix those money leaks! I like keeping 1000bbs but oh well, looks like I'll be playing some more 3/6 for awhile. Once I hit 5 or 6k, I'm going to play some 5/10 and go from there.

Movies to see this break:
what the bleep do we know...I forget the rest of hte name
The Fountain
ERAGON - RAWRRRR, go john malkovich
Good Shepherd
Apocalypto
Happy Feet
Borat
Rocky 1, 3, and 4
the new Rocky movie
Blood Diamond
Casino
and I'd love to watch Godfather 1 and 2, and Scarface again. Such beautiful beautiful movies.

-Mike

Oh, starting Jan. 1st I have a 5k bet w/a friend. First one to reach 100k by August 30th. I think I can do it no prob. I'm betting I'll hit it by May or June. Any takers? :p

Merry Xmas Michael Song!

2006-12-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

I saw such a good deal! I couldn't help it! I bought myself two of these babies:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-4335

$800 each right? But Dell has a 15% off deal and I bought an ebay coupon for 10% off which stacks, so I saved myself like 3-400 bucks :D Total price: $1280. SUWEEET. I'm excited. Apparently u can plug a ps3 into it and play? OOooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

My goal in jan. will be to 8table but for now, I'm happy 6tabling. I want to put in 10-20,000 more hands before I kick it up another notch.

Oh man, I feel a little sick blowing $1300 away. That officially makes it the most expensive purchase I have made from poker expenses. Until then, the most expensive thing I had bought was an ipod nano. Ohhhh well, just means I gotta put in more hours.

My bankroll, until just now, was around $6,400 if you include next month's rakeback, which I kind of don't like to do.
23 hours of 6tabling and I've generated over $3,000 in rake.

I'm actually a little burned out right now, which is dumb as hell. I've spent all this time and effort to get to where I am (a winning low limit player, lollll) and now I don't feel like playing? Guh. It's ok tho, I have finals next week so it's probably a good thing.

I want to put in ONE more good day of at least 4hrs of play and then I should seriously try to focus on passing school.

Alright, time for some hands:

******* Hand 1 ******** I have Jd,Qh
Limit Holdem Ring gameLimit: $3/$6 6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is UTG+1 with jd qh UTG folds, MikeySong raises, CO folds, Button calls, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: 4s js 6s (8SB, 4 players)SB checks, BB checks, MikeySong bets, Button folds, SB calls, BB folds.

Turn: 8s (5BB, 2 players)SB checks, MikeySong checks.

River: 4c (5BB, 2 players)SB checks, MikeySong bets, SB raises, MikeySong calls. This is why you don't want to bet/fold every hand on the river.

I was looking over and I didn't realize there were 4 spades. Ok ok, yes, there are 4 spades and he could've just made trips. Is a 3bet better then? I think not because he could go for a desperate cap, so it's better to call. So why did I call?
ALright so I checked the turn because of the scary card, I didn't want to get check-raised, so he now CHECKS the river. Any tard with a spade or boat would've bet the river hoping I would call - and I probably would've folded too - yet he went for a check-raise. That to me looked more like a steal than a real hand.

Results:
Final pot: 9BB
SB Shows 5h 5c
MikeySong Shows Jd Qh

******* Hand 2 ******** I am holding 3s,8s - MISCLICKED - The power of the Cbet
Limit Holdem Ring game Limit: $3/$6 6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is CO with 3s 8s UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, MikeySong raises, 3 folds, UTG+1 calls.

Flop: kd 7h as (5.67SB, 2 players)UTG+1 checks, MikeySong bets, UTG+1 calls.

Turn: 8h (3.83BB, 2 players)UTG+1 checks, MikeySong bets, UTG+1 folds.Uncalled bets: 1BB returned to MikeySong.

******* Hand 3 ******** Best Hand Of the Night.
Limit Holdem Ring game Limit: $3/$6 6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is SB with 9h :10c 4 folds, MikeySong raises, BB calls.

Flop: 6h 8c qc (4SB, 2 players)MikeySong bets, BB calls. Come On Straight Draw

Turn: qh (3BB, 2 players)MikeySong bets, BB calls. COME ON GUTSHOT

River: qd (5BB, 2 players)MikeySong bets, BB calls. ZOMG FOLD YOUR ACE HIGH

Results:
Final pot: 7BB
MikeySong Shows 9h 10c - TEN HIGH
BB mucks 7s,4c - 7 High, ahahahhahahahh a;lksdjfk;lasjdfk;ladsjk;lf

******* Hand 4 ********
Limit Holdem Ring game Limit: $3/$6 6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with ah 7c 2 folds, CO raises, 2 folds, MikeySong calls.

Flop: 7s 7d 4h (4.67SB, 2 players)MikeySong checks, CO bets, MikeySong raises, CO 3-bets, MikeySong caps, CO calls.

Turn: 3c (6.33BB, 2 players)MikeySong bets, CO calls.

River: :10h (8.33BB, 2 players)MikeySong checks, CO folds. Ugh, this guy was tilting, I for sure thought he would bet out of frustration for a special Check-Raise*** D:

Final pot: 8.33BB

Have a good week guys,
Mikey Song

Woot!

2006-12-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

OK!

So my confidence is coming back. Losing 200bbs was BRUTAL but yesterday in like a 4-6 hour span I made back 100 of it, and I looked at my rakeback and found that I'm even again!

My bankroll:
5,000

You know what? This is a GREAT reason why bankroll management is important. Please, I hope you all practice good bankroll management. You hear about these guys who take shots at bigger games, games way out of their bankroll, run hot and bank big. That's great but most of the time this isn't going to happen. You're taking shots at HIGHER games against BETTER people, so you expect a bigger return? Please, you'll go broke more than not, or at least lose a big chunk of it. There's no reason to do it. Obv. we all get greedy once in awhile and wanna try but I really don't recommend it. I don't know if I'd follow a fish to a 25/50 game u know? It's poker, yes I'm supposed to win more in the longrun but a short run of -2000 would make me go flipping crazy. I'm beating the games for a great amt, why quit now?

I still place myself at a 1.5bb/100 winner if not 2bb. But yes, this week, the beats have been crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrazzzzy!

Look at my graphs! Each bigbet = $6

November:

December:

YUCK, but at least I'm close to even. Something is wrong with the graph tho, I'm not down $180, I'm down $600 more! lol. Oh well.

I'm clicking back into my groove. Part of that vicious swing happened because I kicked up my game another notch and decided to be even more aggressive. I'm still experimenting with the style and the conclusion I have for now is that, it's not necessary for 3/6 sh lhe. I went back to playing the way I normally did and I raped. so there's no need to change it up right now.

But look, here's my look on SH LHE
Loose-Aggressive Style
The LAG style to short handed limit is the best one. Your range of hands is particularly wide so your opponents have a trouble of pinning you on a hand. Raising with QJo, I may get credit for also having a King or an Ace if they flop, enabling to take down more pots. I am constantly putting pressure on my opponents, and the problem they have with calling me down with Ace high is that they are constantly in the dark. If I catch on to the A high calldown, then I'm going to bet the flop and turn, and check the river UI but I will always be value betting the river otherwise. Why do I still bet the flop and turn? For fold equity.

I'm in a lot of hands as a LAG, therefore I am giving a lot of action. In poker, I full on believe that to take action, you must give action. If someone raises 1% of the time, it's obv. he has Aces. If someone like me raises 22% of the time, u're not going to know when I have Aces, thus I'll be getting paid off a lot (or in this case, sucked out on :p) I believe I get full value out of my hands this way.

An additional strongpoint of the LAG style. It really really pisses off people, especially if you can value bet those marginal hands VERY well. But this is a double edged sword. Sometimes people will avoid you and only playback with strong hands - this is a HIGH benefit. It makes it so much easier to bet/fold those weak hands.

But

Some people end up playing back with A high etc. and that's where it gets crazy. If u're not hitting ur card rush, then u want to revert back to a truthful style and punish them with your good cards. Adapt adapt adapt.

And that's what's been happening to me this week as I upped my aggression. People started making a lot of crazy plays at me and I haven't been handling it right. There's just so many 100bb swings I mentally cannot take it right now. But eventually I'll figure it out.

Oh,
I'm 6 tabling! So $150 an hour here I come baby! I wanna have a great christmas break :) Good luck to everyone who has finals. I'm pretty screwed schoolwise @_@

-Michael Song

Oh! Some last minute things:
In response to anon's comment:
I partially agree with what you've said. When I'm really stressed, I'll go to the casino and play the 3/6 full ring game because it's the easiest thing in the world to me. Those players are so transparent. I can usually fold Kings easily if an A hits on the flop and one of them shows aggression.
BUT
the rake @ live games is a killer man! $4 a pot! Some take even $5! and playing 1 table live vs 2-6 tables online just doesn't compare you know? I'm making $150 an hour w/6 tables, bonuses, and rakeback! That's more than a live 30/60 player and most likely not as difficult either! Online has too many benefits and I believe it's very important to work on the online game. The hardest part is folding (because there are maniacs) and tilt control :p

NOW, I GET TO POST MY BAD BEATS. ITS MY BLOG!

Hand 1 I have 88 for a set!
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$66 players
Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is UTG with 8h 8s MikeySong raises, 2 folds, Button 3-bets, SB caps, BB calls, MikeySong calls, Button calls.

Flop: 8c 3s qs (16SB, 4 players)SB bets, BB folds, MikeySong raises, Button folds, SB 3-bets, MikeySong caps, SB calls.

Turn: 6h (12BB, 2 players)SB bets, MikeySong raises, SB calls all-in $0.25.Uncalled bets: 0.96BB returned to MikeySong.

River: kc (14.08BB, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: 14.08BB)
Results:Final pot: 14.08BB $84
MikeySong Shows 8h 8s
SB Shows Kd Ks

Hand 2: I have 7,7 for a set!
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$65 players
Pre-flop: (5 players) MikeySong is UTG with 7h 7d MikeySong raises, 2 folds, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: 2d kh ac (6SB, 3 players)SB checks, BB checks, MikeySong bets, SB folds, BB calls.

Turn: 7s (4BB, 2 players)BB checks, MikeySong bets, BB calls.

River: 8d (6BB, 2 players)BB checks, MikeySong bets, BB raises, MikeySong 3-bets, BB caps, MikeySong calls.

Results:Final pot: 14BB
BB Shows 8c 8h
MikeySong shows 7h 7d

Hand 3: I have 3,5 for two pair!
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$66 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is CO with 3d 5d UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MikeySong calls, Button folds, SB calls, BB checks.

Flop: 3c 5s ah (5SB, 5 players)SB checks, BB bets, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, MikeySong raises, SB folds, BB calls, UTG+1 calls.

Turn: 8s (5.5BB, 3 players)BB bets, UTG+1 calls, MikeySong raises, BB calls, UTG+1 3-bets, MikeySong calls, BB calls all-in $5.

River: 9s (14.33BB, 2 players + 1 all-in - Main pot: 14BB, Sidepot 1: 0.33BB)UTG+1 bets, MikeySong calls.

Results:
Final pot: 16.33 $100
UTG+1 Shows As Ks
BB Shows Ad 2s
Mikey Song shows 3d 5d

This is jsut a small sample of what's been going on this week. Oh and I still posted a 23bb profit! SO F OFF VARIANCE

....

2006-12-06T05:10:00.000-08:00

I'm down $1100. almost 200bbs. My confidence is pretty low and I feel like the worst player in the world.

KSLDJFK:LSDJFK:LDSJK:LFJFFK:LDSJFK:LDSJK:LDSJK:LFDSJ:LFDSJFSDSLJFDSFDSFDSLJFK:LDSJFDSDSDSDSJFK:LDSJFK:LDSJF

It's hard to feel anything but worthless right now. I'd love to blame all the bad beats I've taken but some of it has to be my fault as well. I've had two 100bb swings which have been really fun! Down 100, made it back, down 100 again, made it back, then down 100 again. So I guess that's 3.

I don't feel well.

Screw table Selection

2006-12-04T00:36:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm screwing myself?
But this is only 3/6 SH LHE I'm playing. If I can't beat these games I'm doomed for higher stakes anyways. I looked at my November stats and I ran for 3.23bb/100 in 7500 hands. Probably just a heater but that's a great boost of confidence! I'm going to say screw table selection. There were some players that I'm semi-afraid of because of their aggression, but I'm going to run them all over. That's the best way to get me to play even more. I don't care if I sacrifice 1bb/100, I'll hurt their winrate just as well until they decide to AVOID ME rather than the odather way around.

This is a hand I posted on FCP. I'm pretty bitter because no one gave me any constructive criticism over there. All I get is 'fold preflop and u're set'

Ok, but sometimes we make mistakes so give postflop advice. Let me explain here.

Limit Holdem Ring gameLimit: $3/$66 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with 6d ah
UTG raises, UTG+1 folds, CO calls, Button calls, SB folds, MikeySong calls.
Bad Call - You have to assume your A6o is dominated here. A6s is a call obv. but offsuit doesn't play well multiway.

Flop: 5d :10d 6h (8.67SB, 4 players)MikeySong checks, UTG checks, CO checks, Button bets, MikeySong raises, UTG calls, CO folds, Button calls.

I check-raise here to isolate the CO. Why? Think about what their hand ranges here: AK, AQ, AJ, A10* - scary, QJ, QK, and high PP. J10,Q10,K10 are possibilities but I don't want to give up this flop when I think they all have overcards.

Turn: 3h (7.33BB, 3 players)MikeySong bets, UTG calls, Button calls.

No one is raising or 3betting me. My Hand is Most Likely Good. A scared person could have j10,q10,k10 but def. no overpair here.

River: 8s (10.33BB, 3 players)MikeySong checks, UTG checks, Button bets, MikeySong calls, UTG calls.
If someone called w/78, he just got there but the pot is giving me like 10:1 so I'll make a crying call.

Is this a good or bad call?

Results:Final pot: 13.33BB
Button Shows 2c Ac
MikeySong Shows 6d Ah
UTG mucks Qh Kh

Gnight.

ZZZZZZZZ

2006-12-02T19:08:00.000-08:00

You Know What SUCKS ABOUT NOT SLEEPING WELL?

It becomes too dumb and risky to play poker. :LKJDS:LFKJ:LFDJSJ.
I assume on fri and saturday nights, games would be a lot looser/fishier but...I'm tired, and when I'm tired I miss or make a lot of mistakes and that can be balls, and a lotttttttttt of money can disappear fast. I can give examples later.

I'm tired :(

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

You know what rocks about playing poker?

There's always a game going ;)

Gnight. Don't force yourself to play stupid.

UPDATE GAHLJDSKFDS:JK:LFDSF

2006-11-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

Freaking...I wrote a good post and then it got booshed. I hit publish and the blogger.com base went down :(

Btw, someone needs to write a hand history converter PROGRAM rather than website. I use neildewhurst.com/hand-converter as I rarely have conversion problems there...instead the site likes to fall apart! grrrrrrrrrrr

I have two hands that I wanted to post. I guess I'll post them later.

*updated*
Limit Holdem Ring gameLimit: $3/$66 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is SB with as ah UTG calls, UTG+1 raises, Button folds, MikeySong 3-bets, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls.

Flop: 4s :10d 3s (12SB, 5 players)MikeySong bets, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls.

Turn: :10h (8BB, 5 players)MikeySong bets, BB folds, UTG calls.

River: 6s (10BB, 3 players)MikeySong bets, UTG calls.

Results: Final pot: 12BB ($72)
MikeySong Shows As Ah
UTG Shows 5d 7h - for the Straight - WTF?! DIE

Limit Holdem Ring game Limit: $3/$66 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is SB with :10d :10s UTG calls, 3 folds, MikeySong raises, BB calls, UTG calls.

Flop: 9h :10h jh (6SB, 3 players)MikeySong bets, BB calls, UTG calls.

Turn: 6d (4.5BB, 3 players)MikeySong bets, BB calls, UTG calls.

River: 8h (7.5BB, 3 players)MikeySong checks, BB checks, UTG bets, MikeySong folds, BB calls.

Results:Final pot: 9.5BB
UTG Shows Ah 9c

I'm happy about this hand because I'm finally more willing to fold these hands whereas before I'll make these crying calls in hope of a bluff. That and I didn't waste a bet. I played it the best I could and I got PUNKD :(

My confidence is rising as I'm killing these games. I played for a few hours today, 5tabling, and made a nice 50bbs - $70 of that coming from bonuses. I've read forum posts here and there stating that 3/6 tends to be the hardest low/mid-limit, which I can kind of agree with since I have played some 5/10, but man, if that's true I'm pretty set! The only time I've been afraid of people was on WPX but @ AP and FullTilt, pretty easy, especially when I get into my groove. Rawrrrrrr

But seriously tho, I haven't been impressed with the play @ 3/6. Some players I find to be pretty transparent, others are kind of meh but I find that a lot of them have some bad holes. They're small but it adds up. Raising 87s from mp1, peeling the flop on what I would consider a pretty loose peel, these bets add up and bite you in the butt! But keep doing it! FEED ME :D

Something I realized today is that you shouldn't be paranoid about math. Screw it. Don't think about the BEST stats to have etc. Just consider these basic concepts:
If I make fewer mistakes than my opponents, I profit in the long run.
If I play tighter than my opponents (i.e. better cards), I profit in the long run

You're set to make money!

I'm going to continue to 5 table this week, and then if I'm feeling comfortable, I'll move up to 6 tables next week. I'm not really in a rush to jump limits anymore, and I'm glad that paranoia/urge has left me, or at least for now. Before I wanted to jump up the stakes as fast as possible, blahblah blah, but if u're beating the games right now for a good amount, what's the rush? Put in the hands, make sure you are a winning player, experiment and adjust your game, and then move up. The games will always be there, BUT WILL YOU?

dun dun dun......

If I can 6 table 3/6 6max for 2bb/100 - which is the goal damnit, then I'll be making:

540 hands per hour * $12 = $62.
Bonus at this rate clears at about = $30
Rakeback = $54 per hour ($9 per table)

Total: $146/hr. Erm, if I can do that...wow. Sick. Right now I'm running at 1.41bb/100 - altho I think this number is escewed a bit since WPX raped me bad.

That puts me at:
5 tables (450 hands) * 8.46 = $38.07 NOOOOOOOOOO :( - still good but!! come on!!
bonus at this rate clears at about = $25ish
rakeback = $45
total = $108

still good! I wanna buy some fun presents. Gogogogogogog!

-Mike

2006-11-29T00:49:00.000-08:00

o ya, broll about 3.1 w/out rakeback (3.8ish w/)

Bloggy Bloggy

2006-11-28T23:21:00.000-08:00

I haven't been updating much. Then again, I haven't really been posting anything poker-intensive. So I guess I'll start to. Before I didn't want to because I wanted my friends to enjoy this as well, and I figure if it's all poker talk, they'll just tune out and ignore it. But...the people who play cards read this more often than they do :) So...

uh, i just tried to paste a hand in here and it was too gobbledyblah. Help? =/

Eventually I'll post my thoughts on how to play short handed limit but I don't think I'm really qualified to do that until I'm beating 5/10+

I'm done w/WPX for now. It killed my bb rate, swings too high, and too much stress - i.e. prone to tilting.

I'm working on 5tabling, and my eventual goal is to 8 table. Someone on teh FCP forums claims he knows a 2p2er who can 8 table 20/40 short handed limit and make 2.8bb/100. Sick.

Gambling Vices

2006-11-22T05:55:00.000-08:00

Ugh

I dropped $600 @ blackjack.

BUT HOW? WHY?

A few days ago I hit a -50bb swing @ one of hte poker sites. I was playing poorly but also losing Set vs straight and then set to a 1card flush on the river is pretty damn annoying. So I loaded up BJ and woohoo, won $300.

Next day -100bb swing. A little tiltage but also just stupid cards. So I thought, we can do it again! And this is how I've been approaching BlackJack:

I load up:
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bjbse.php?numdecks=8+decks&soft17=s17&dbl=all&das=no&surr=es&peek=yes

and play by those rules. And I used the martingale system. Basically, bet in multiple of 20s (start at 300), if I lose that 20, bet 40, and double until I'm broke or back where I've started.

Well you can see where this goes right? For an hour I was fine, then suddenly BAM, 300 gone - i'm thinking, no way! 200, gone, 200 gone, gone gone, I got lucky and quit 600 loser.

Bankroll: was 2200 but now it's 2700 without rakeback :D

Time to put some honest hours into poker.

http://www.beaches.com/general/included.cfm - my goal Turks & Caicos. I wanna vacation this year at somewhere nice.

-mike

I GOT A PS3

2006-11-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

I GOT A PS3

BUT NO ONE WANTS TO BUY IT. THE PRICES DROPPED SO FAST :(

Oh well, it was an experience I enjoyed and will never do again! Let me try to recap here:

Thursday. My friend and I get a room at the Marriott Hotel @ the Copley mall in Boston. We got a double for about $250. We met up at 6ish and went over to Cheesecake Factory to grab some food. I had a crabcake sandwich w/fries, a mango smoothie type drink, and an oreo cheesecake, yummy. We head back up and I play some cards on the comp for awhile, and then I take a nap at 10:30pm. No one is allowed to line up inside the mall, the guards won't let them. They don't want loiterers. I take a nap around 10:30pm and wake up 1 hour later to find that 2 more people are in the room. There are now 5 of us in total. They're all Shawn's friends, I only know one of them cuz he was shawn's roommate last year. The only girl there decides she wants to leave. She got scared? Afraid that she'd get hit in the face? And this is someone who played field hockey before! Pansy! Well she left and it was just the 4 of us.

I then hear that people are actually lined up outside of the hotel. Shawn's worried but I'm not. Those guys aren't allowed to camp inside the hotel because they're not guests, we still have the closest spots. Oh ya, it's raining outside, I feel kind of bad for the campers. THey're not going to get a ps3 and they're soaking wet. Well, I can't sleep so Shawn's friend teaches us Chinese Poker (I don't think it's really Chinese Poker but it's interesting). You deal out all the cards and then the person w/the 3 of diamonds starts the game. He can put down a single card, a pair, or a straight/flush hand. So you have to put down 1, 2, or 5 cards. THe next person, if he wants to put down a card, has to put down teh same # of higher value or he can pass. Goal is to get rid of all ur cards, oh and 2 is the highest card. It was a lot of fun, well I thought so, I kept winning the majority of games, haha.

5am - I forgot to mention that earlier that day Shawn met someone at the Sony store who had a connection with one of hte guards. I guess they live in the same building? Or he's a cousin of his friends? Anyhow Shawn gets his # and the kid says he'll hook us up. We send Joel to go with the kid so at 5am they meet up. 10 mins later we get a call back, sounds like the guard ditched them! He took the money, ran out, and shut the door behind him so now they're waiting in the dark. wth? It's 5:25am now and we go downstairs to line up. Oh god there's lots of people. Thanh and I (pronounce his name Tang) wait in the lobby and there's at least 100 people there. THey're all pushing towards the escalator while the guard is standing there telling us that none of us are allowed to go up - the mall is connected through the second floor. Shawn decides he'll go around to one of hte other entrances and hopes its closer.

Chaos. Something happens and I see people running past the guard, one by one people are cramming towards the escalator. I run back and hop on the elevator to the 2nd floor. It's too late though, there's about 50 people in front of me. I call Shawn and tell him the news, he then tells me that Joel and the guy are in the mall! They're first in line! what? Time to adapt, I tell him I'm gonna go meet him there cuz there's no way I can get in from the hotel. Thanh and I go around the mall and we see that Au Bon Pain is open and there are people inside. The manager lets us in and we go through to the mall to the SONY STORE! There's already 40 people there, what the hell? How did they all get in? We line up and man the people behind us are making a ruckus. See, the people behind us are the same people from the hotel lobby. Outfoxed! That could've been me on the other side of the gate! I'm worried though, as I hear people say that there are 40-100 ps3s. I hope there's more than 40, nothing I can do but stand around now.

The Police.
Uh oh, this is dumb. The police are in teh building yelling at everyone with their megaphone. "EVERYONE GET OUT NOW, THERE IS NO LINE, GO OUTSIDE NOW". Actually it's one big fat man who can be found here:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/18/playstation_3_hopefuls_overwhelm_mall/

I'm pretty bitter. Everyone laughs cuz htey think it's a joke but then the line starts to fall apart and people start leaving. I'm standing behind trying to ask the police why they're pushing people out. No one was doing anything wrong, we were actually pretty organized. That guy in the picture, the same stupid fat man who I'd like to punch in the face really hard because he can't do anything in life except eat donuts so he has to assert himself through a megaphone walks up to me and yells at me to get out. One of the police man pushes me and threatens to cuff me if I resist so I start walking out. THe police continue to yell at everyone to get out of hte lobby of the hotel. Either we wait outside or wait in our rooms, if we refuse then they'll kick us out whether we're a guest or not. Did they follow through? I don't know but I go back up to my room and try to think about what we can do.

Shawn's frustrated. He's about to go to bed, it's 7am. He gets a phone call from Joel - somehow the kid was allowed to stay and he got a bracelet! That bracelet means he has a ps3 on reserve. It's his! We have one! Wow. I sitll want one though and I'm trying ot figure out what to do. Well the mall is open and I go in from the other entrance and hang around up top to take a look at the sony store. Fast forward it's 8am and i'm walking past the store. I see a group of people being led by the guard and I quickly stop and start to trail behind. They all enter the store and I'm about to walk in until one of the guards stops me "hey, is he in too?" NO! WHY DID YOU SAY SOMETHING. I get stopped and I'm not allowed in. I was so close =/ That's 2 slick moves denied.

So we got a ps3...at an expensive cost. Remember how Joel and the guy were left in the dark? Well teh guard thought he heard policeman come by so he ran out. But eventually he came back and got them to the line. When the police kicked everyone out, he told them that they were with him so they got to stay.

That service cost us $200.
We also paid Joel $200 for going through it all and getting us a ps3.
Hotel Room: $250
PS3 - $600
total spent: $1400.

Did we sell the ps3? Nope. Prices dropped under 2k so we're holding onto it now and seeing what happens. It's frustrating that it fell and that at this moment we're losing money but...I'm not too mad. It was an interesting experience, and a sad/shocking one. Some people there definitely lost some of their sanity. You could feel the animalistic side of humanity in that room. People just controlled by some invisible force that pushes them forward to grab one of these machines. I never want to be in that state where I'm just lost. That mob attitude, it's sick.

Poker, don't fail me now. I never want to be hungry.

On that note, I've motivated myself. Sometime this year, I want to take a $1,000 vacation and go enjoy a trip in the Caribbean. I'm starting to put in big hours again. The goal is working, I'm back :)

bankroll: 3.3+

Chillingggggggggg

2006-11-12T12:49:00.000-08:00

yep, that's all.

So San Diego is fun. I've enjoyed my stay here but I'm flying back later today. My LHE game is good, at least live it is. I went to the casino fri. night and played NL from 1am-6am - +197, i was down 350ish too :)

saturday night: LHE from 1am-5am. I made one questionable fold where I had AK flop was Ad 10h 3h - 3ppl in pot turn 4h - I bet and get check-raised. I actually folded my hand here because I "FELT" that the guy was strong and that at best I had 2 outs (Kh no good) to improve. Online I would very rarely make that fold but online b&m people are weak and scared. You don't see very many tricky aggros postflop. Later on I noticed the same guy was very very tight and raised flop w/his flush draws + overs so something tells me that my fold was good. I dunno, live play it's just so easy. I felt I played perfectly until the end, then I gambled some money away but ya, I wish i could play like that online. I really felt my card play was near perfection yesterday. Good folds, good bets, nothing wasted.

haha, I was chatting it up at the table and the girl next to me is like 'why don't u straddle' so I said fine, this one time I'll straddle. like 5 callers, and it comes back to me and I don't look at my cards 'more money!' so I raise it one more bet. And then I said "let's check it down, I won't look at my cards"
Flop Q 10 2 check check, turn 2, check check check, river J, check check check

I had the best hand! 9,10o. :D:D:D

LHE that night +16.

___________________________________________________________________________________

I'm thankful for poker. It helps me with my discipline *at times*. I'm better at controlling my emotions and also at looking at a situation from different perspectives. Rather than getting angry, I try to understand what's going on with the situation and figure out the best move. It sucks when you don't get your way and I definitely am leaving down this trip but at least things worked out in the best way possible, I think.

A lesson learned:
You can't predict the future with much accuracy based on information on the past and the present when it comes to people. We're too random, we change too much. But does this mean there's no truth, no constant that always remains true? I think so, I think unless you're God there's never going to be a true unchanging constant factor. But, there is truth. An action that happens in that moment, you can judge it to be completely true or not, and if you do, keep in mind for that moment it really is true and cherish it; but remember that in the future, it could change, it can be out of your control and there's nothing you can do about it. Try your best and chin up. There's no point in dillydallying.

Back to the 3/6 grind

-Mikey Song

THE PLAN

2006-11-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

I'm not gonna go back and read my post but I may have been vague about what my plans are.

I cashed out 32 or 3300 and am going to invest it all w/my friend into ps3s. We're paying people $50-100 to camp out with us to get ps3s and we hope to sell these for $1,000 profit. I'm excited and worried but I hope it all works out. But Mike, why don't these kids buy a ps3 and sell it themselves on ebay?

Wellllllllll

because not everyone can afford to charge $600 onto their credit card and wait a few weeks to sell these babies. Beauty eh? Now the problem is getting a hold of 5-10. Also, if I get 5ppl to do this, my other friend and I have a bet of $500. He thinks I can't get at least 5, I say I can so hopefully I can get this done, ya? ya.

So a few days ago I left $1000 on my AP account and went BUSTO D: God, it was a combo of tilt/bad run. I do blame it on self control tho. There was definitely a time when I was at $600 and I should've just stopped playing because I wasn't in the right sense of mood to play. Not good not good, discipline is the most important thing to have.

So, new plan/goal:
I'm going to play 3/6 for the rest of this month. Something tells me I'll stray from that :p but that's not good! I want to play 3/6. If I put in 200 hours at 3/6 and I make 2bb per hour, I'llmake over 8k. So why do I want to make this jump to 5/10? I need to chill out. And that's the plan. chill out and enjoy the limit. I don't want to jump limits until I put at least 12,000 hands (if u 4 table 3/6 for 40 hours u get a little more than 12k hands). It's a small sample size but at least it'll stop me from jumping up as soon as I have the money, heh like I did a few days ago.

Grind, poker is a grind and I'm going to enjoy the freedoms that come with this game. I'm going to buy what I want, do what I want, and the best part is, it's all about ME ME ME ME ME ME ME :p

It's just a way to live my life and it's tough but it's something I've come to love and want to pursue.

have a good weekend everyone :)

Where to Start.....

2006-11-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

So I HAD a bankroll of 4300 but I just lost $1000 of that today playing 5/10 shorthanded games. So I guess it's back to 3/6 for me. The rest of my money has been cashed out. My friend and I are going to try to buy as many PS3s as we can and sell them. I hope it works out well. If it does, I'd like to put 5,000 back online and play 5/10 again.

Slump - I'm definitely in a slump. I definitely just tilted and kept playing when I shouldn't have. I'll get over it. ;laksksljfas;dljfads;l

Tillerman.net
check out this guy's blog. He used to be a top warcraft III player and then quit to play poker. I found it to be quite motivating:

January - Mid Febuary: I am playing crazy amounts of poker during my initial months, all 200+ hour months. So a combination of skill+brute force is winning me a lot of money for the limits I am playing. I am playing 5 tables on one CRT monitor at 1024*800 resolution with lots of overlapping windows. I have cashed out around $20,000 by the end of Febuary and am now playing $200NL Hold 'em tables with blinds of $1 and $2 dollars.

I want to do that. I want to bust out 10s and thousands of dollars a month. It takes time and dedication. I can do it. I feel broke tho, what a weird feeling, seriously. It's kind of nerve-wrecking actually. Oh well.

moral of lesson: stop tilting, put forth an honest effort and work your hours.

Emocoaster

2006-11-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

ohhhhhhhhhh man

I threw my mouse against the wall yesterday (Saturday). I'm still pretty annoyed but for the most part I'm over it. I played 4 tables of 5/10 and boom, in 30 mins I was up 60big bets. $600! SO fast!!! And then BAM! 30 minutes later, I lost 100 big bets! -$1000 !!!! You can see why I threw my mouse against the wall, ya?

I learned that I gotta work on my mentality. I can't even handle an upswing rush. What the hell? I was so excited I was shaking and I couldn't think straight.

But wait, the idiot in me didn't stop there.

I got so pissed I went on my AP account and played blackjack. Yeah, at one point I had 900 on the table. Talk about lucky, I lost $600 and then won it all back. These are major leaks, it's not good. What happens later on when I have 20k, lose 5k and gamble away 10k? What a waste that would be. These acts of degeneracy are not good and I have to find a more effective way of dealing with them. Gambling is fun but one should never lose self-control over it. What happens when you have a girlfriend, or a family and you're still gambling and you do dumb stuff like this? It's just not good and really potentially dangerous. I honestly don't know how to fix it. I guess I need to lighten up? Haha.

Oh

but then I loaded up 3 tables @ 5/10 yesterday and made back the $400 + some change. Heh. I'm pretty confident in my limit game. I gotta work on my play from the blinds. It's tough and I don't quite have a grip on it. Zach from FCP wrote a funny statement in his post:
http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-forum/index.php?showtopic=79546
"You gay bet the flop, AND the turn. I hate the way you play. If I played against you, I'd probably want to stab you."

Haha, that's good tho. It's feedback and it makes me more confident in my game. I do nothing unethical, but my style is one that disrupts the flow of the game, thus making it harder for you to get in your groove.

What's my plan this week?
I'm going to strictly 2 table 5/10 for just 1 week. Or 4 table 3/6 but I'm in the mood to 2 table.
1) my bankroll is kinda low, $4200 (you're supposed to have $5,000 minimum altho i'm told those #s are just guidelines to help noobies, dunno)
2) Maybe I can take my game to the next level. I can at least experiment and work on my play from teh blinds and heads up.
3) it'll be nice to only concentrate on two tables, takes some stress off etc.

So yeah, I hope to make $800 this week and hit the 5k mark. $3800 away from my goal from making $4k this month :D heh

Cheers

Yum Yums

2006-11-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

DAMN DID I EAT A LOT YESTERDAY.

You ever have those cravings, those weird feelings where you just feel incredibly...scrunched? Like you just have all this energy inside that needs to be let out somehow? Ya, that happened to me except I took it out on food, and a little nutbar as well. Egads! And I'm dieting too! D:

I ate:
omelette in morning, then about 8 hours later I had garlic beef and curry beef, then I had two donuts, followed by toffee hazelnut frapuccino - omg awesome - oreo ice cream, another donut, 2 sushi rolls, then 1 more donut. Sigh ~ At 5'4" I weigh 150.5 Oh well, I'll get in shape some day *shakes fist*

Halloween -

Started off nutbarring at no limit. Not the best place to do it. I lost $25 at the .05/.1 tables, heh. I thought it'd be funny so I sat down with a few thousand at that table. It was a cap game so I could only push for $3 max. I had so much gamble in me, had to find a way to get it all out.

But ya, HALLOWEEN WAS EXCELLENT. Games were so juicy! Actually, at first I thought the sharks came out because there was a lot more aggression at the tables than I was used to. At 3/6, this usually means that they're bluffing with air, and sure enough, I figured out who was an aggro-donk and adjusted my game. I took a few really fun hits at teh beginning:
Boat over boat D:
Flopped nut straight - villain turns boat
AA loses to something dumb
Same with KK twice

So I immediately started out 30bb loser. And as time progressed, I was down $400!! UGH, I hate being down. So what did I do? Bum bum bum, I told myself to FOCUS and I loaded up two more tables as well, haha...

I play pretty damn well on my instincts. I think you definitely do develop a personal 'system/approach' to this game as you play but I was definitely relying more on instinct than I was stats while 6 tabling. So grind grind grind, before I know it, I'm CRUSHING. At one point I had $500 at a table :D I played for 4 hours 40 mins and made I think approx $300 in this session (with bonuses $415). But I'm happy I came back from a 50bb hit to a +50. I was up 600 but took a few hits. Oh well oh well.

bankroll: 3740ish
6,000 hands @ 3/6 6max, 1.76bb/100

I'm considering 2 tabling some 5/10 action today. Soon as I hit 4,000 I wanna take a shot at 5/10 and 4 table there.

*EDIT*

Nov 1st - I don't feel like playing at all today. Just gonna relax, watch a movie, and play some video games. poker poker poker tomorrow!

I WANNA PLAY SOME POKER

2006-10-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

grrawr

so my last post was a overly dramatic huh? I don't plan on quitting school, things could always happen but it's not something I'm gonna do as of now.

To make up for such a boring post, I've got something for you all to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yis7DTXe03M
turn on the sound, it's a freaking hilarious clip!

I've been really busy lately, midterms last week and another one tomorrow as well as an essay. I also had a film shoot this weekend and my feet are sore :( I try not to play cards when I'm tired n such so for tonight, I'm just gonna play some video games...and then nap...and then study??? We'll see :p

I'm pretty happy and confident of my game so far. this month:
3/6: 3300 hands 1.5bb/100. so $9 per table basically.

Here comes some fun math!
If I 4 table 3/6 and make 1.5bb/100, that's 360 hands = 3.6 x $9 = $31.2 per hour I think, too lazy to get a calculator.
If I 6 table 3/6 (which I did a few nights ago w/remarkable ease), that's:
90 hands per table x 6 tables = 540 hands = 5.4 x $9 = $48.6 per hour!!!

Oh, I also forgot about bonuses and rakeback which should easily add another $25 minimum so in total:
4 table + rakeback/bonuses = $56.2 per hour
6 table + rakeback/bonuses = $73.6 per hour

I realized you can make just as much IF NOT MORE THAN a 3/6 SH LHE player if u're good at .50/1 No Limit short handed but w/rakeback and bonuses, LHE puts up a worthy fight.

I like lhe :)

I Wanna Quit School

2006-10-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

surely you all have that feeling from time to time. That very dead dreaful feeling where you don't really feel like doing anyting at all. In fact, you feel like a zombie and want to continue being a zombie, i.e. watching movies, eating, playing games, repeat.

no? That's how I feel right now. I don't think I'd be extremely happy if i were to drop out and just play cards but I'd feel better than being IN school :p

I have a film shoot on Sunday and through a "lucky" chain of events, I got moved up to Director of Photography. but...screw it. It takes a lot more balls to live in isolation than it does to take the spot light. What do I mean by that? We're human beings, we're sinful, we're greedy. Attention whore? Hell ya, why else would I have a blog? Well I like to document part of my life as I start up poker seriously... I want to compete with the best but I also want to live peacefully, and if you know me, that's me + peace = oil and water. Maybe I should just relax? But I don't think I'd be me. If I'm quiet, people get agitated, if I'm myself, people still get agitated. rawr I wanna be a zombie.

Bankroll 3k.

I AM SH LHE MASTER

2006-10-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

I love sh lhe. Altho right now my friend is 1-0 against me Heads Up, haha.

I didn't hit the 3.5k goal like I wanted to, or in fact the 3k goal. I think my bankroll is around 2.95k. But

so today I lost over 50bbs, like 350? At one point I was def. down at least $500. So what did i do? drop down? nah. I ate dinner, sat back down at my computer and told myself to "fucking concentrate." Two hours later I found myself even :) ya, I won back over 50bbs and man did I feel like I was on fire! I don't really remember any hands. I just played really really well :)

I dunno what to write really. I'm confident of my game, altho my hu game is pretty bad.

The main thing I need to improve in my SH LHE game is my play from the blinds. I think once I touch that up my game will improve tremendously.

*edit* I just beat him. Score tied 1-1. LATERRRRRRRRRR

I predict a 4k score by next week, yes yes.
___________________________________________________________________________________

hmmm, I'm a little more awake now as I try to write this. Earlier on Sunday while playing, I noticed I wasn't really focusing. I was in automatic robot mode and the problem with it this time was I was having FUN. A little too much fun. As in my vpip #s were like 33-36%. Basically, I was playing 1/3 of my hands and that's WAY too much. So when I sat down again, I told myself to shape up and play smart. I really think a lot of focus on preflop play can really improve your results. I base this on the simple logic that if you play strong hands and they hit, well most of the time you're going to come out ahead right? You don't need to do anything fancy, unlike the other player who will be playing Q10 or 97 we have to try and figure out if we can and how to win that pot with middle pair, haha.

But yes, I am feeling very confident about my game. I shouldn't be putting in many hours this week, at least until thursday, because I have two midterms and a film shoot. But I would like to though...screw school, bleh

Excited Excited

2006-10-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Bankroll at 2664. I'm 3.5 hours away from clearing my $300 bonus! yayyyy. The plan is to get 3k and start playign 3/6 sh lhe again! I'm hoping that w/bonuses n such I can make $70 an hour.

I was actually planning on clearing the bonus tonight but this one hand pissed me off so I had to stop, that and I wasn't able to focus. Just no energy :( But..I still crushed the game easily for $100 in 30 mins. My confidence? Yeah, it's not in question anymore. I'm confident that I'm a winning player, yup yup. This weekend I should be at 3k, next mon. i should be at 3.5 or 4k :) Tis the plan.

Yay

2006-10-16T00:13:00.000-07:00

My SH LHE results have been pretty nice. It hasn't been very swingy. I've been pulling consecutive profits in my last couple of sessions. Just now I played for an hour and crushed the games for 40big bets, approx. $160 at 2/4.

Bankroll 2476. I really wanted to clear the $300 bonus today but I noticed I started to get the urge to just gamble rather than win money so I stopped. I'm just not capable of playing great poker when i'm in that mood, too much gamble gamble rather than really smart bets. Haha, I tried to get really fancy on a AK10 flop w/Q10 by raising flop and turn, I knew I was beat and realized I just have to stop playing.

So I'm playing pretty good poker now and am confident in 4 tabling 2/4 sh lhe. When I hit 3/6, I'm going to start 2 tabling and once the confidence is there, I'll go back to 4 tabling. If I ever hit a 100bb downswing, then back to 2 tables etc. Sometimes it's all about your mentality ya? I still have some holes but for the most part I'm happy about how I'm playing :)

p.s.
Something I forgot to post about...my friend won the 1k bet. He hit 10,000. Congratulations to him =( I'm sorry I didn't make it exciting/post updates etc. I plan on making some more bets with him, so next time I'll make sure he posts more often etc. It'll be fun!

A Semi-Nice Day

2006-10-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

I say Semi-Nice because I didn't final table, and even if I did, if I didn't win I'd still be unhappy.

RECAP:
I played 2 hours of 2/4 sh lhe. I'm getting the groove I feel. I started to lose focus and found myself in "auto-bot" mode where I just played on instinct w/out much thought. $76 win for 2/4. THere's this huge douchebag on the pokerroom networks who trash talks EVERYONE. Tells you that you played your hand poorly, you're a fish, and that he has lots of money. So I'm basically sitting at his tables and taking as much money as I can away from him :D

I decided to play a tournament today, actually two. That's really rare. I hate tournaments because of time invested, but mainly, because of emotions invested. If you're competitive like me, it doesn't matter what stakes, losing DOES BOTHER YOU. Anything less than #1 is heartbreaking. It just is, sorry, it's not something some of us can change nor want to change. Losing makes me hungry for more, to do better. I'm definitely a little rusty, as I made quite a few mistakes but overall , my game is pretty fearless and it works for me. haha, it was a $10,000 guaranteed pool with a $5 rebuy, unlimited rebuys for the 1st hour. I rebought 8 times! at one point, I was so annoyed I pushed all in 5 hands in a row, one of which featured KK vs 10,10 and lost to a gutshot straight draw, yuck, but I was actually really amused. I finally doubled up with AA and decided it was time to play a good game, and I did. 16th/1330 people for $150

And although i don't have a 1,000 sample size of Multi-Table Tournaments I've played, I entered a $10 pl omaha tournament for fun. Out of 130ish people, I bubbled out in 11th with a set vs a higher set. Uh, I don't know how to play omaha except that A2s is a really good hand. This is how you play a tournament: instill fear into your opponent. Sense weakness? crush him, MAKE HIM FOLD. You can never lose if you never get called. get it? good.

I'm tired, although still feeling a little hyped up. Goodnight everyone, I hope to make my bankroll bigger this weekend.

night

Return to my "Roots"

2006-10-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

I want to play limit hold'em again. I once again feel invigorated. NL was nice, and I definitely plan on playing more no limit hold'em in the future but as of right now, I feel like really learning short handed LHE. I enjoy it. As much as it pisses me off, and I still believe that you have to be somewhat of a masochist/suicidal person to really play it, it's addicting. It's such a great puzzle.

Bet, raise, check-raised? Is he on a draw? Is my middle pair good? He's playing weird, I think my Ace high is best, I'll call him down.

It's just so interesting. It's such a fun complex puzzle, much harder than .50/1nl, at least. And yes, I think you can def. make money faster in NL but like I keep repeating, I do love this game; so it is important that I beat it convincingly at 2/4, 3/6, 5/10, and 10/20. I'm still currently 2tabling. I feel like I have some major holes in my game, for instance I get tempted to call down w/A high too often, and some plays I pull really don't work too well - either they're too creative/fancy for the stakes I'm playing or they are just bad plays in general. Nevertheless, I'm happy and I think for now I'm going to be playing a lot more sh lhe.

My bankroll is at $2172. Um, while that SEEMS like an improvement, I actually lost about $150 of that today, so technically I'm down (I cleared a $300 bonus today). Oh well, I look forward to this weekend of SHORT HANDED LIMIT HOLD'EM. I'm feeling pretty optimistic about all this :)

Cheers

Yayaaaa

2006-10-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Bankroll: $2040

erm, either I'm really bad at NL or the .50/1nl games at fcp are pretty tough. I feel like I get floated a lot "i.e. ppl call my flop bets to bluff turn/river"

anyhow, I basically played two sessions for 1hr each today and did well in both of them :)

Alright, I'm extremely tempted to move up and do stupid stuff. Gotta keep grinding away and in no time i'll be at 4k+ right? Right.

I'm not playing my best game right now. Funny, basically as soon as I get pissed off, not tilt pissed off, but just like frustrated, I kick it into aggro gear and make more money. come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. I really wanna play limit and nl.

Grinding Grinding

2006-10-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

total profit: $55
I did mostly sh lhe today.

I'm doing the best I can to grind it up, focusing on small profits each day to build up my roll. It's hard but I am trying.

So I decided to 4 table! I miss the action and I'm pretty confident in my sh lhe play. I really think i cost myself a lot of money beforehand because I played too many hands preflop and tried to force people to fold, rather than think about value.

So this morning I 4tabled 1/2 and I felt I played well. It was pretty automatic for me and I busted out a $56 profit.

Later on I played some nl, felt pretty comfortable, only 2 tables! It was a little swingy due to the fact that this one guy kept going all in and sucked out on me. But I made an $82 profit here.

Then...I wanted to play some more sh lhe. So back to 4 tabling 1/2. I really want to put in lots of hands in 1/2 and 2/4 to prove to myself that I am a winning player. But anyhow, big problem, I wasn't focusing as hard. Instead I was losing my temper and played too aggressive. Bad. So I dropped 50bbs at 1/2. Very annoyed.

I kicked the 4 tables, loaded up 2 2/4 sh lhe tables and focused hard. I learned something about playing LAG on one of them. There was this guy who literally played 80% of his hands, and he was busting out a huge profit (I think partly because he was on a rush). But I learned something from his dumbass self, and I also had such a good read on him he ended up leaving because I bombed his ass down.

1) FORCE people to hit a hand. Even if they raised preflop, it doesn't matter. Betting your draws is extremely powerful, especially when your image is a winning one, doesn't matter how loose, if they think you have a pair, they won't call.

2) donkbetting the turn is a very powerful tool, in fact it works with Ace high as well. I saw him take down a pot doing so.

Postflop play is so important. I need to keep working on it. That's it for now
bankroll: 1848

Furiated

2006-10-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yes. I'm losing patience. So I'm writing this post to remind myself not to blow up and lose more money.

Bankroll is sitting aorund $1540. I played pretty well in the nl game this morning. I thought I made a brilliant play w/trips, til he turned over the boat D: Oh well. I then decided to play some 2/4 sh lhe.

I'm fucking sick of the game. I was up 40bbs pretty quickly, hitting quads brought in a 25bb pot, and then by the end of the hour, all gone! Sound familiar? I did a similar thing in 3/6 where i was up $300 fast and then lost it all in the next .5 hours. Ugh. Am I really that bad of a sh lhe player? I don't think I am...who knows, my confidence is not high in the game. Very frustrated.

But most importantly, I MUST NOT PLAY OUT OF MY BANKROLL. I have very important things that I want to do. It's very important to keep this money. I have a project coming up and most importantly, I really want to go home for a weekend. I need to get to the point where $300 isn't even 5% of my bankroll. Come on sir, put in the hours and fucking make money.

quick update

2006-10-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. It's nice having an honest open conversation but you know what? There really aren't that many people you can have one with without stupid consequences.

bankroll 1646

slowly climbing my way back. By tuesday I'd like to be around 2500, and from there, I'd like to explode :)

I feel really sick btw. Headache and a little nausea, no idea why. Maybe it's the new medication i'm on. I had a bad allergic reaction last week to hydrocortisone cream - ANTI ITCH CREAM - ?!?!?! ya.

Uh Ohs

2006-10-04T23:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not doing very well in cards. Bankroll is about 1360, kind of a big drop! Confidence is shot. I'm shaky and having trouble focusing. But I still have hope, especially for this weekend. I plan to put in lots of hours, hopefully we'll see that sexy $4,000 broll next week.

Change up

2006-10-03T01:21:00.000-07:00

I'm going to practice short handed nl instead. I played for 2hours today, experimenting and basically I feel like I played decent. I'm down $60 but I'm not too worried, mainly because I started out like down $200+ heh, but I slowly recovered, and then this butt check-raised me all in when I had 2 overs and a nut flush draw, he had a straight draw and made it. whattttttttttttttttttttttttt.

But ya, I'm enjoying short handed nl much more than 10 tables of full ring. Eventually I want to work up to 8 tables of short handed nl. And when I have 4k, move back to 3/6. I'm excited, here's the new gameplan:

1) Learn .50/1nl. Make $2,000.
2) Move back to 3/6 SHLHE.
3) If I ever have a 100bb downswing at SH, take a break and play No Limit!

I was told that when I'm running bad in one game, it's good to take a break and switch to another. So it's time to become competent. Eventually I'd like to learn omaha or maybe razz/stud. Probably better to learn razz or stud as a 3rd since they're so different, i.e. giving me more variety.

I'm excited. I'me xcited. I'm excited. Let us practice great bankroll management and CUSHIONING (I.E. to lessen those huge downswings).

See ya
Mikey Song

Rebuilding

2006-10-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

Currently rebuilding the bankroll. It's at $1600ish and I have a $500 pending bonus so soon I'll be over 2k...hopefully.

I may not be playing limit this week. I'm experimenting w/no limit. Playing 10 tables at a time @ .50/1 stakes. Basically, I'm not really playing poker. I'm playing a very mechanical style that wins the majority of the time. In fact, it's so easy, I could teach it to anyone.

Course, I can't really make that claim w/out backing it up. In my 2.5 hour session today, I raked in $350. I should be averaging about $50 an hour doing this soooo, 40hours = 2k. Gotta put my pride aside and grind back up to my glorious self.

Actually, you know what. I may do an experiment this week and try to put in 10,000 hands. I see about 600 hands an hour so that should take me about 18 hours or so. I want to see if I can make 5bb/100. If so, that means I'd be making $60 an hour x 18 = 1048. Alright, let's do it!

Could go broke, who knows

2006-09-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

Erm...ya. Down to $1800. 300bbs left to play 3/6 short handed. I really don't want to drop down and I still feel like I'm playing great poker. If I lose it all, maybe I'll take a semester off from school and get a job. Personally, I hate school, and I hate jobs, but I'd much rather have make some money than do homework.

https://www.pokernetwork.co.uk/games/handhistory/?gameCode=P4&handNumber=1072310337

another great hand
https://www.pokernetwork.co.uk/games/handhistory/?gameCode=P4&handNumber=1072173439

ugh -70bbs

2006-09-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

yuckkk, $420 down. I'm getting coolered pretty badly. I feel like I'm playing better than ever tho, and I learned a thing or two about aggression.

some hands:
https://www.pokernetwork.co.uk/games/handhistory/?gameCode=P4&handNumber=1070013557

https://www.pokernetwork.co.uk/games/handhistory/?gameCode=P4&handNumber=1070006407

weekend goal

2006-09-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

20-30 hours of poker play. Yes. I'm going to put in that many hours and I'm going to hit 5k+.

bankroll, about 2900

Bummed out.

2006-09-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

ugh. I woke up this morning to play in another satellite event to qualify for the $1,000 LHE event. So, I rose up to 2nd out of 50 and then...my internet went out. Top 8 give seats. My net cut back in 1/2 hour later but I couldn't get any momentum going and busted out 16th. I really want to play this event. I may put in $100 to play in tonight's satellite but ya, it's just kinda gross to be teased like that. Oh well...

Dedication.

2006-09-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

I was going to put in some hours tonight but for some reason FCP won't let me deposit.

Anyhow.

I want to win. This post is a reminder to me that I must take cards with the utmost seriousness. The only "fast" money I should be looking at are prizes from winning tournaments, not from gambling. I should only make smart investments. I'm feeling this mood because as I was talking to my girlfriend, she mentioned that she and her friends are starting up a little business. I wanna be the superman boyfriend who can help out and pitch in to help it move along. Freedom and power baby, that's what money represents. With freedom one can achieve happiness, it's not the only way, but it's the way I prefer as do many others.

Right now I'm trying to qualify into the WCOOP Limit Hold'em Event. I feel like I have such a strong chance at making some good $$$ there. Altho right now the blinds are getting kinda high, so it's becoming a race :p You know what's sick? I was doing really well in this tournament, and I'm 9th out of 17ppl. As I'm writing this and playing in the tourney, my net cuts out. I had a really good chance at winning a seat...I hope when I wake up to check what happens, that i'll have placed 10th to win that free seat into the $1050 event. O well.

Smart moves mike, smart plays. Keep your head up, play your game at 3/6 and make it all back.

That is all. Redemption time.

Almost broke

2006-09-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

shake your head and fingers at me everyone, for I am almost broke.

After the losing session yesterday, I played some more today, this time 5/10 and lost another $600 or so. So what did I do? I decided to take a shot at 10/20! I played one table and at one point was up $300 or something, just 15bbs. And rather than cut my losses at that point (just at teh table), I decided to keep playing since honestly I felt teh game was pretty damn weak and that I was outplaying people. Honestly, I really did get coolered a lot. I didn't really tilt, but I did get sucked out on a lot.

Anyhow, so I lsot $1600 today. Yes. That makes for about a 2.2k loss. I think I'm a pretty bad poker player. Oh well. I've got about 1.7k left. Can I really recuperate? I kind of doubt it. I don't practice bankroll management and i've honestly let the swings get to my head.

Feelings right now: hopeless. More than ever I want to drop out of school, focus on poker play, life itself, and nothing more. I don't want to be distracted. The highest goals for myself right now are:
making $$$ at poker
getting in shape
spending time with my wonderful girlfriend.

This'll be a good post in the future I think. For now, enjoy and revel in my stupidity.

___________________________________________________________________________________

an update. My $1600 loss today has been reduced to a $900 loss. I decided to sit down at blackjack. I ran $400 into $1192. I sat down w/$200 telling myself I'll only take a shot with this set amt. I was betting in $25 increments. I went broke and then put in $200 more saying this'll be the last time. Betting in $25, i rose to $500, then I would bet $50 until I started cranking out a profit. I finally hit 1200. yuck.

What's wrong with me. What happened to the kid who's confident at poker, etc. I don't know. We get into the worst problems when we try to make quick money. I deserved to go broke today. I got lucky, and I want to make a big comeback.

Bankroll is about $2400. I'm almost done clearing a bonus, so hopefully I'll be back to the 3ks again.

I'm an idiot. Think straight mike! think straight! Put in hours. Still got 400bbs left, can easily do it. Can easily make 200bbs back. Easy.

100bb..MINUS!

2006-09-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, my bankroll hit 4,000ish on Friday or Saturday, sweet! I didn't get to put in the massive amt of hours that I wanted to, I think I put in about 5...haha. So yesterday I ended up losing $600 in 2hours, yikes.

Funny enough, that 100bb loss hasn't really worried me too much. I feel like I did get coolered and that I was playing my game, the same game that got me up to 4,000. Oh, I'm starting to 6table and I plan on working my way up to 8 at a time. If I can successfully do that, I could technicaly make $100+ an hour. sickkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. So we'll see what happens, if I lose 200bbs more, then I'll start to panic. Until then, work work work! I just want to put in the hours and make some money. I'd like to have a 10,000+ bankroll by winterbreak, and if I work hard enough, I can get it before thanksgiving.

I'm really tired right now, was up all night on the phone, going to bed. Gnight people.

Weekend Goalllll

2006-09-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

I wanna make $1,000 this weekend. I'm giong to try my best to put in 20 hours of play. I cleared my bonus today and now my bankroll is around a healthy 3,700 :) I'd like to push that back into the 4k's again. Basically, I never wanna see the #2 in front of my triple 0's ever again. I was stuck at the 2,000 level for soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long. Yuck yuck yuck.

I got my new monitor today! I was sooooo happy. I couldn't stop smiling. I saw the UPS man walk by so I had to get the door. Dude, answering the door cost me $30-60 : ( haha. I had a q7 in the big blind and was about to play it...when I came back, my hand was folded and I would've taken down a $60 pot. Oh well. I wasn't playing very well today. Started to get sloppy and then I was just downright confused. blehhhhhh. That's why I didn't put in very many hours today as well, thought it'd be a good time to take a rest. So what did I do? I just played video games all day long. Super productive.

But ya, I would like to make $1,000 this weekend. I'm putting my hopes realistically around $7-900 but $1,000 would be nice. I won't be 4tabling 5/10 yet, I may way til I have 5k and start giving it a shot. But I am going to try and play 8 tables. The plan is to play 4 short handed and 4 full ring, and then gradually I'll play 5 short handed, then 6, and so on.

What I really like about short handed limit hold'em is that it's a really difficult game to make money at. if you're a losing player, you'll lose your money quickly whereas if you're a winning player, you'll take down nice pots but still go through big swings. There's a certain prestige that comes with it I think. It's like you're in the middle of a battlefield surrounded by the enemy, constantly fighting!

Doesn't poker sound super exciting now? :) But ya, short handed really takes a lot more skill than full ring so I really want to improve my game and show I can hold my own. That said, today once again I was reminded of how much of a gap there is between me and the top short handed lhe players. Even when I do make teh switch to No Limit, I'm definitely giong ot keep playing short handed once in awhile so I stay sharp. I'm working hard for this, I don't want to forget it all you know?

Well, time for some more video games and movies. Gnight everyone :)
~Mikey Song

Confidence rising

2006-09-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

rawrrrrrr

I feel like I have a good hold on short handed games now. There are plenty of times where I cringe when I think about putting in hours to play poker. I hate losing money, i hate it i hate it i hate it, who doesn't? So it gets to me because in games like limit hold'em, its pretty swingy, especially when you're playing 5 or 6max games.

Anyhow, today I started out playing pretty sloppy. But a strange thing happened, and I haven't felt this kind of confidence in awhile! I was completely fine, my inner self was telling me "it's ok, even tho you're down $100-150 already, you'll make it back as long as you put in the hours." That's an incredibly nice feeling, to suddenly believe and know that you're a longterm winner! It's been hard for me to get that kind of confidence, because in July I experienced a horrible swing/didn't really know wth I was doing when I jumped into 3/6. I think I lost at least 1,800 that month. Ugh. So two months later I'm on a comeback, ya? ya.

I quit early tonight tho, I wanted to clear my bonus @ fcp and quickly play on other sites but the fullcontactpoker has been crapping out on me so no more. I don't like to get distracted by outside things, which includes crappy software.

Heh, what's funny/annoying tho is either I'm down $30 or I'm up $150. haha. It's kinda hard to explain why, it's something like, basically the windows started to freeze, so I closed the app and opened it up later, but the table I sat at still popped up! And I had $200 on that table, so if the program updated fast enough, then I am down $30, but if it did not, which I hope it didn't, I'm up $150. Instincts tell me I'm down $30 but oh well, i'm happy w/how I played.

I'm going to clear the bonus by tomorrow, I only need to play for about 2 more hours. Also, if I get my monitor tomorrow, I'm going to establish a big goal for this weekend. I want this weekend to be just poker because I've been so lazy lately. It's important to put in the hours and also to figure out if I can really average $100 an hour :P

See ya!
Mikey Song

Short of Goal...Money Spending Issues

2006-09-18T10:59:00.002-07:00

So I was hoping to clear the FCP bonus by Sunday. Basically I just needed to put in 5-8 hours this weekend and NOPE, didn't do it. God I'm too lazy. I wanna clear it soon so i can go back to WPX and work on my game some more. I also wanna buy some stuff from fcp store :p Such as "The professor, the banker, and the suicide king" and some other stuff like cards. I don't like playing w/out rakeback but the points + the $300 bonus make up for it. 1400 more to go. And btw, I'm really not sure at what rate I clear them. Yesterday I played for an hour and I cleared about 300, but the other day I played for about 1.5hrs and I cleared 500 pts. Hmmm. So about 3-4 more hours and I'm done.

___________________________________________________________________________________

money! I'm spending too much! Heh, I bought myself a $200 19" monitor this past weekend, a really sick deal actually. Lemme pull it up... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824014111

I also bought some other stuff like wine and too much food. Man does food add up. You would think that someone who plays Limit Hold'em would be aware that small little mistakes can add up to really bite you in the butt but um, spending money can be fun heh.

So with the new monitor coming, I plan on playing 3 tables of 3/6 short handed and 4 tables of 5/10 full ring. I'm hoping to average $100 an hour w/out rakeback. W/rakeback I'd make approximately $140 I think, assuming I'm a 1.5bb/100 winner @ 3/6 5max and 2bb winner at 5/10.

I def. should be a winner at the 5/10 games. I just think they're so easy, especially at low stakes. It's just pretty automatic, count odds, look at your cards, they good enough to play? yay! I've got only 2,000 hands logged in but so far i'm a 2.33bb/100 winner. And at least on FCP, the 5/10 fullring games are SOFT. I had someone call me down w/A7...unfortunately he pulled a runner runner gutshot straight, but ya, the play there is horrendous. So I'm pretty confident in my game :)

My preflop raise in 5/10 full ring is 13.7% with a 20.71% whereas my raise in short handed is 23.33% w/a 31.16% vpip. That means i'm playing LOTS of hands short handed, which is fun but kinda painful sometimes.

really boring mathy post, sorry. I wanted to update with news that I'm done clearing the bonus and blah blha blah.

Bankroll - about $3,050 yay!

Oh yeah, I almost made a ton of money yesterday. I bought 20% of Zach6668 from fcp, meaning I paid 20% of his entry fee for 20% of his winnings. This guy made an impressive run this past weekend. I saw him make 4 final tables in the $20 180man sng's so I thought, what the hell, I'll risk $106 in hopes of making 72k if he takes down the 1.5million pokerstars tourney. Well, he was doing really well, outlasted 4000 people and fought his way at a really tough table, only to be taken out by Micon, a respected mtt'er who ended up taking 10th place. I made a nice $118 profit from that. I really believed that if Zach was able to make it out of that table, he'd have a good shot at making the final table, netting me at least $2k for doing nothing but sweating :p

byeeee

DO I KNOW HOW TO PLAY?

2006-09-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

I DON'T KNOW.

I think I played decently well today. I haven't 4tabled in a bit since wpx only lets u 3 table. Man, that 1 table really does make a difference, especially 5 handed. I started out playing well, and then as time passed, I realized I was caught up in a blur so after some time I decided to call it quits.

Lost about 27bb today, that's short handed limit for ya. I don't know what most ppl go through, but I feel like I never win for more than a day or two in a row. shrug. I just need to put in more hands on a consistent basis so i get a feel for the kinds of swings limit players go through. Gotta keep playing and gotta keep working on my limit game.

oh...one table ended up going HU. This guy joins in and after he wins a few hands against me, he starts talking trash. "I love you, you give me money!" Stupid punk. I closed my other table and concentrated on this one. All he did was limp, check/call w/pair or A high. Only re-raised with trips or better. So I punished him for a bit, then left since I was starting to lose focus.

gonna put in some more hands tomorrow, night

Back in Boston

2006-09-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

Whew so...I'm currently writing this blog at 11:50pm on September 11, 2006.

I just flew in on thursday and have been going back n forth to Ikea to get some furniture and crap. It took me two days to get my bed completed and now I'm procrastinating hardcore...gotta build a DESK! Dude, the bed came w/an 8 page manual, and my desk came with a 20 page manual...mann.....

So let's see what has happened so far...

Thursday, the steelers won and I took down a 1k bet. Friday, I saw the lines for federer's saturday match and the lines were too big, -1700! Bet 1700 to win $100 on him. eh no. I was tempted to bet the 1k on sharapova to win her final but my friends kept telling me NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Had I bet that..i would've won 1900! Bleh

I broke down on Monday, today, and played some hold'em online. I didn't want to play or touch any accounts because right now I'm leeching off someone's wireless til I get my own. But ya, broke down and played 3/6 shorthanded LHE on FullContactPoker. Crushed the game, absolutely crushed teh tables. Made 32 big bets in 30 mins ($193). Playing at WPX definitely made me a better player and I still plan on playing there, even though the competition is a lot tougher. I figure if I can get to the point where I can beat it for 2bb/100 soundly, I won't have much trouble playing the 5/10 and possibly 10/20. I was surprised by how drastically different the 3/6 game at wpx is vs. absolute and fcp. So many limpers on those sites. In wpx, everyone's raising etc. Makes it tough.

Anyhow, i've got a stomach ache. Been eating waaaaay too much. Gnight fellas. Hope no one hacks my stuff and steals my $$ :(

bankroll: 2883

SICKKKKKKKKKK

2006-09-07T01:21:00.000-07:00

So one more post before I leave!

To anonymous from last post
-Um...I don't really want to go into specifics about my personal self. This blog is here mainly to track my poker play and how I deal with it. And it serves a great medium for me to be able to interact with whomever would like to post :) Sorry, I just want to keep as much of my personal life out of this as possible, it's just part of who I am, heh. CHEESY! To be vague, I plan on being a man. I haven't met too many adult males I would consider to be actual "men". What is a man? Read "The Godfather" :)

to anonymous from 2 posts ago
- I had about 2400, was I really playing out of my broll in 5/10? You need 300bb for full ring which is 3000, playing 5/10 limit w/ 240bbs counts as playing out of my br? That's a little unfair, isnt it?

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So today is my last day in San Diego. I get to make my good byes and such. I hate good byes, I'm so bad at them. Gotta make enough money to buy plane tickets to come back!

After all goodbyes were made, I decided to hit the b&m. My plan was to play there all night, at least until like 3-4am. Limit of course, no more jumping to NL when it's out of my broll.

Man...I got varianced :( Owie owie owie.

3/6 Kill (kill means the game is doubled, so it's now 6/12 for the hand). KQ vs AQ, nice hand sir!

This is just the beginning. My thoughts are erratic and I'm hyper, I don't know why but I'm continuing the story.

I get my seat at 4/8 and I find that there's LOTS of action. Lots of limping and calling to the river. Sweet! No real hands come my way. I do get Ace King but we split the pot, he also had AK.

Soon, people start to leave. It's now 5 handed. I'm in paradise. I am the shark at this table, none of them know how to play short handed. It's so obvious, limping under the gun, are you kidding me? Every hand I play, I'm very aggressive with. Reading the board, reading the people, determining if they have a hand or not. And I'm talking up a storm, so that even when I'm not playing that many hands, people still think I have an extremely loose maniac image (the way I was playing postflop was scaring them).

This is where it gets fun

AJ, I 3bet from small blind and big blind + lp calls. J on flop - I check-raise so it's now 2 small bets to big blind who CALLS, turn brings the 3rd heart. I bet, big blind calls, and late position folds. river - 4th heart. Hey great, I don't have a heart. check check, he shows 4,3 offsuit (he had no pair or straight draw btw) - 4 of hearts. He's like "i get so many of these hands I had to play it, der de der de der"

Sweet!

The very next hand, I had QJ and he had 8,2offsuit. He turned and rivered two pair. Oh....nice hand!

Last hand of the night

Dealer button with JJ - btw, all 3 hands that i've posted here happened IN A ROW. It's a kill pot so we're now playing 8/16. Utg raises, I 3bet, small blind caps - same 4,3 and 8,2 dude. Well, I dind't have very much money left, so I was all in and knew I only had 2 outs to improve, he hadn't shown aggression like that all night. JJ vs KK, he got it.

Oddly enough, I'm not too disturbed. In fact, I'm proud of the way I played. I read them all pretty damn well and played my hands well. The river ate me up, but at least I was making +ev moves. I really wanna play some more tonight online but...I'm pretty tired =/ And online, my play worsens. I just get really good reads live, subconsciously too, I don't look for like certain movements. I just get a good feel of what a person has or not.

Anyhow, this is my last post til probably next week when I get my net. I hope you all have some good fortune this weekend.

Gnight people

Back to School...Some Thoughts

2006-09-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

I'm going back to school this thursday, the 7th. I don't know when I'll be able to play cards. I hope to get the net set up by friday but it's probably going to be more like monday =/

I'm going to miss so cal. Especially the wonderful girl that I met up with these last few weeks here. This summer has been very relaxing and is ending rather nicely, if you can disregard the fact that I'm about to physically distance myself from someone I deeply care about.

Poker has been a great adventure this summer. I believe the total amount of hours I put in nears 220 hours for cash games. Nowhere near the hours I wanted (40hrs per week, about 160 per month x 3months = 480 hours). I lost a big portion of the money I worked so hard to earn but regardless, I'm working back up, and improving my own game. I believe I could've had a more steady stream of income had I stuck with full ring but I'm determined to beat the short handed game of hold'em. I want to build up to 10k playing short handed, it's more fun, daring, and it really tests your reading abilities. The benefits that come from learning this style are too great to pass up. All abilities transfer to other card games.

I'm grateful for the experience. I'm grateful for this summer. I feel I've learned some, but there's definitely so much more about limit that I need to really learn and absorb. Even though I did not meet the summer goal of 10k, I still feel I did not completely fail. I've learned to let some things go and have begun to accept the whole "let the dice fall where they may" concept, which includes cards, life, and in general, myself. I feel as if I have been enlightened somewhat, my perception has been widened, and I am slowly improving myself to be the person I want to be. I've accepted who I am, meaning that I've realized there are some qualities I cannot change about myself, some characteristics that will always be a part of me, and rather than trying to change them, I'm going to adapt and work hard so that those characteristics, such as stubborness, do not interfere. After all, you are supposed to be yourself, rather than an imitation of someone you think is "cool". However, we all have our faults, and I'm going to rise above it. Whether I succeed or not doesn't really matter so much. It's that journey, and since I have a plan, a general idea of how I am going to approach the next ten years of my life, I feel quite secure. I definitely do.

By the way,

I will not be playing cards for the rest of this week. Instead, I'll be hoping that my football bet wins and the two future tennis bets I'll make with those winnings. By Monday, there will def. be an update :)

Cheers

Michael Song

5/10 Rush and a Blogger

2006-09-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Yay, I played some 5/10 full ring today mainly because I wasn't in the mood to play some shorthanded. I just wanted to take it easy and play mechanically. Did I say play full ring? More like sat down for 30 mins, hit super nice cards, and left $276 winner after 33 minutes. Add $20 to that in rakeback. nice day.

On the personal side, not such a nice day. I wanted to see someone but couldn't. Very annoyed, annoyed that I wasn't free at the time.

My close friend, "mused", ya he doesn't want me to use his real name, makes his $ from playing SnG's. He's the same kid I have the 1k bet with. 1st one to hit 10k wins the bet, oh, and loser buys dinner as well :p Anyhow, he's got game (used to 15 table, now 9 tables) and if I were you, and REALLY bored, I mean REALLY REALLY REALLY BORED, then maybe check out his blog :p

gnight

p.s.
Br is about 2.7kish. Sweeet!