I recently visited Fort Lauderdale, Florida to spend the weekend with my girlfriend. While I was there, I decided to play in a $2-$5 cash game at the Hard Rock in Hollywood. For whatever reason on this day, I found my self spewing money from my pockets like a guyser. I know I made a few mistakes, but in crunching the numbers I don't think the mistakes that I made where all that bad when compared to the percentages. Anyway, here is a recap of what happened. Please feel free to add any advice you might feel the need to share with me about my hads and play.

First Hand:
I was sitting in Seat #1 and taking my time watching everyone at the table. We had a few guys who were very loose and a few guys who were very tight, so I decided to make sure I played tight until I built up my stack. Unfortunately on this day, this wouldn't happen. I sat down with $400 in chips and started my session. Before long I was dealt pocket JJ's. I raised UTG for $20. Seat #2 re-raised me to $60 and he had about $300 behind it. It got folded around to me and I thought about it for a long while. With the BB being $5 and me raising to 4x's the BB and then this guy re-raising me to 12x's the BB, I got the sick feeling that my JJ's were no good so I laid them down. Now I was down to $380 in chips.

Second Hand:
I was playing really tight, consistantly folding the garbage and mediocre hands. Once again I look down at pocket JJ's. I had already laid these down earlier in my session, so this time around I fealt as though depending on who I was up against, I'd definately make a stand with them. So I raised to $30 UTG again. I get a call of $30 from Seat #5. It gets folded around to the button and he goes all-in for $150. The button was a really aggressive and loose guy so I fealt about 60% sure that I had him beat. I was definately worried about Seat #5, but since he just called my bet of $30, I really fealt as though he had something like 88's thru 10's. If he had better than that, he would've pushed the action when he had the chance to, no?. My only concern was whether or not my read on the loose-aggressive guy with the button had me beat. I thought about it for a while and only called the $150. Now some people may feel as though this was a huge mistake on my part, by not pushing all-in and forcing the other player out, but what if by some chance he had AA's? I would've just given the rest of my stack to this guy. But than again, wouldn't he have pushed when he had the chance? So I put my $150 in there and Seat #5 didn't like it at all. He hemmed and hawed forever trying to decide if he wanted to put an additional $150 in there. Based off of this information, I knew it was either AA's or 88's thru 10's. He thought about it for a long while and he called. I KNEW I had him beat with my JJ's and I had just gotten him to make a $180 mistake. Sure enough the flop comes 4c, 3c, 10s. Now here is definately where I made a mistake. I pushed the rest of my chips in there, not knowing in what type of shape I was in. I didn't know if he had hit a set, or if he really did have AA's. As soon as I pushed my chips in there with the board showing cards lower than JJ's, he insta-called. Right away I felt like "Phuck!" "ACES!" Instead, he turned over his pocket 10's to show me the two-outer he hit, cleaning me out for about $250-$300. The guy on the button had nothing and had to re-buy. I was basically left with about $50-$75 left and now the grind back was on. Everyone at the table talked about how bad I played the hand, not pushing-all in after the bet of $150. For some reason though, in my gut I knew I had Seat #5 beaten with my JJ's! Is it really my fault that he made a $180 mistake, hit a two outer which is 13-1 against and won the hand? What do you think? I feel like you can look at from both angles. Yeah, I probably should've pushed all-in after the $150, but then I just isolate myself and the button, not getting in any additional money from the other player. So do I give him a chance to make a mistake and get some dead money in there looking to hit the two-outer, or push him out and cut my losses. In my opinion, where I definately made my mistake was after the flop, recklessly pushing all-in and not knowing where I stood. But the pre-flop action, to me anyway, is questionable. Please feel free to provide some insight.

Hand Three:
I grinded my way back to about $150 and I look down at the best starting hand in all of poker! American Airlines! It got folded around to me and there was only $7 in the pot, but I raised to $30 anyway. I got 2 callers. The flop comes Ac, 2c, 3c. I have trips. I check it and Seat #4 bets $75, Seat #5 calls, I push all-in for my last $150. Seat #4 calls and so does Seat #5. Seat #4 played KJc for $30 preflop and Seat #5 played 45h for $30 preflop. One guy hits the miracle nut flush and the other hits the straight. I still had a chance to fill up to a boat, but it never happened.

How can I be so unlucky? How is it that I can have the best starting hand, get people to make mistakes, but then they always get rewarded? I don't know what the answer is, and I right now I'm lost in world of poker that doesn't make any sense.

Alot of people claim that poker is a skill game.... Obviously, there is A LOT of LUCK involved as well. No matter how great the percentages are and no matter how probable you are to win a hand, you're NEVER GUARANTEED TO WIN! I payed $400 to learn this lesson at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL.

As much as I hate poker today, she's like a woman that's bad for you. No matter how bad she is for you, you just can't get her out of your system and you always keep coming back for more because of the few times she makes you feel like the greatest man on the face of the earth!

Recently, I played in a PokerStars $50+$5 NLH Tournament. While playing in this tournament, I made a pretty deep run for the money and I played what I considered to be some pretty good poker. An issue that came up during the tournament, was my ability to fold some pretty big hands pre-flop, and my inability to shove pre-flop with drawing hands. I've outlined a few hands below for your review.

Honestly, I understand the concept of being "pot committed". I also understand the concept of shoving, to try and take down the SB, BB, and antes. But, I also understand the concept of surviving in a tourney, to climb the money ladder as high as possible. As I've stated before, I'm an amateur poker player, who enjoys the challenges of making tough decisions and playing as near perfect poker as possible at the table. You may agree with my opinions, and you may not. That's the beauty of poker! It's your money, and you can play with your hard earned money, however you like! If you have any comments on the below hands, please feel free to share them with me, as I'm always looking for new information to learn from.
Big Hand #1
In this hand, we're down to about 50 or so players. The blinds are 2.5K/5K and antes are 500. Before the cards come out, there's 11K in the pot. Seat 1, is sitting on 212,202 in chips. I'm in seat 2 with 72,806 in chips. Seat 3 has 161,372 in chips. Seat 4 has 85,270 in chips. Seat 5 has 181,800 in chips. Seat 7 has 78,276 in chips. Seat 8 has 60,236 in chips. Seat 9 has 75,332 in chips. As you can see, we have 2 people at this table with huge stacks and one false move and I can be put out. I've been playing pretty standard poker, raising 3x's the BB with hands like AK, AQ, and high pairs, etc...etc... On this particular hand, I get dealt AK off-suit. A good starting hand, but do I want to risk my tournament life on it, pre-flop? Would you want to?

Anyway, seats 7 and 8 are the SB and BB. The pot gets raised UTG by Seat 9 (75,332 in chips) to 20K and I call. If someone UTG is raising pre-flop, you have to give them credit for a hand, no? Seat 8 (60,236 in chips) acts after me, and goes all-in. Seat 9 goes all-in as well, and I'm sitting on AK? What would you do?

At best, I would be 50/50, up against any random pair. If someone has AA's, I'm drawing dead. If someone has KK's, I'm drawing to a 3 outer, and with 2 people all in, one of my Aces that I would need to draw to, could very well already be used, no? So with AK, I muck it and decide to let the 2 players battle it out. What do they turn over? Seat 9 had 99's, which I figured on a pair, and seat 8 showed QT off-suit. The flop came 7h 8c Tc. Giving seat 8 a pair of 10's, but giving seat 9 an open ended straight draw, and 10 outs. The turn was a 2s, and the river brought the Jc, making the straight.

Had I called, I would've never improved my hand, and I'd a been left cursing AK for not hitting. At the conclusion of this hand, I mentioned how I had laid down AK. Some observers were appalled at the fact that I folded AK, and they started making rude comments about my play. With so many people left to act behind me, I felt that calling with AK, was the best option I had, to see what everyone behind me was going to do. This would give me an indication of the strength of everyone's hands. With 2 people going all-in preflop, I just didn't feel that AK was going to be good enough to win the hand, and it proved not to be. Anyway, I found myself being the subject of criticism, and defending my reasoning.

My goal in a tournament is to fight with every last dying breath that I have, and go as deep as possible into the money, if not win the whole damn thing. Some people feel that if they're not in a position to win the tournament, than making the money doesn't matter. That's definately not my perception, as ANY time you make the money, your adding to your bankroll.

Under different circumstances, I probably would've pushed all-in with AK. This time I just didn't feel it, and my decision allowed me to move up the money ladder. Granted, it wasn't life changing money I was winning, but I proved to have the ability and discipline to lay down a hand, which allowed me to finish higher than what I would've, had I pushed all-in with AK. What do you think about this?

Big Hand #2
In this hand, you guessed it! I got dealt AK AGAIN, and I mucked it. Here's why....

Seat 1 has 220,702 in chips. I'm in seat 2 with 86,806 in chips. Seat 3 has 108,664 in chips, seat 4 has 93,770 in chips, seat 5 has 160,400 in chips, seat 6 has 63,908 in chips, seat 7 has 88,056 in chips, seat 8 has 63,636 in chips, and seat 9 has 41,352 in chips. Seats 9 and 1 are the SB and BB. Blinds are 2K/4K, with a 400 ante, putting 9,600 in the pot before cards are dealt.
I'm UTG, and I get dealt Ac Kh. I raise the standard amount of 3x's the BB of 4K to make it 12K to go. Everyone folds to seat 8 and he raises 51236 to 63236 and is all-in. This guy could have a pair, he might be weaker than me, and if I call, I still need to hit. It's not an "insta-call" with say hands like 10's, JJ's or better. If I have those hands, I definately call, and whatever the outcome is, I can accept it. If this guy has less chips, say about 30K, maybe even 40K, I'd only be risking about .5 of my chips, giving me the proper odds to call, since I'd only be 50/50 to win anyway, right? But I'm not getting the proper odds, in my opinion. Who knows? Maybe I have this odds thing all backwards or something. That wouldn't be a surprise, since I'm a novice.

Anyway, if I call this guy, again, at best I'm 50/50 to win, and I'm risking a HUGE portion of my stack on a drawing hand. If I don't hit, I'm going to be absolutely crippled for the rest of the tournament. I figure I should cut my losses and serender the 12K. I still have about 74K left in chips to fight another day, no? What would you have done?

What's up all? It's been a while since I last posted something on here. Just been busy with work, family, and the girlfriend. You know how it goes! But anyway! I took advantage of a recent trip to Ft. Lauderdale, FL and entered the Friday morning $150 Deepstack tournament at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL. My goal was simple. I wanted to sit down at the poker table, play with actual people, and just have a really good session of poker, where I made good decisions, kept the mistakes to a minimum, and achived the goal of walking away from the poker table feeling like I played well. The money was secondary, for some reason. I've outlined the top 4 hands of the day for me, since I didn't have to face any bad beats, or make any really tough decisions. I hope you enjoy, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Big Hand #1.
Early in the tournament, the blinds were 25-50. I was at a table were I was fortunate to get off to a good start early on. I had gotten paid off on an Ace hight flush, and I also flopped a flush with suited connectors. Starting the tournament off with about 10K in chips, I was already up to about 18K. On this paticular hand, I was dealt AK in early position and I got one caller. I guy in seat 7 was pretty aggressive, and he really hadn't shown any hands. I made it 150 to go, and he called. The flop came Kc, 7c, 8s. I made a bet of about 300, and he flat called. I wasn't sure of what to put him on, so I guessed his range to be on a flush draw, pocket AA's, or maybe a smaller pair like 99's or something. The turn brought another club and I checked it. He checked as well, and the river brought a 7 of hearts. I checked it again, thinking that maybe we was trying to trap me. He ended up beting 2K, and my BS radar starting going off. I thought about it for a minute and it just didn't add up, so I called. I asked him, "You got the flush?" He said, "Nah!", and he showed pocket QQ's. I took down a pot of about 2.5K and padded my stack.

Big Hand #2.
UTG, I get dealt pocket AA's. I knew that there were a few aggressive types behind me to act, so I just limped in, hoping that someone would push the action. Sure enough, the guy in seat 6 pushed all in for what looked like about 6K in chips. Everyone folded to me, and what are you gonna do with pocket AA's? Obviously call. So I did and knocked him out of the tournament, further padding my stack.

Big Hand #3.
I got dealt pocket 33's in early position and so I called, looking to hit a set on the flop. Seat 8 called, the small blind folded, and the BB checked it. The flop came Kh, 9h, and 3d. The BB bet the pot, I called, and seat 8 folded. The turn came a 6c, and the BB pushed all-in. He must have figured me to be on a flush draw or something, and he really wanted me out of that pot. Unfortunately for him, I knew I was ahead with my set and so I called. He showed AK, having top pair and top kicker. The river was a blank, and I eliminated him from the tournament as well.

Big Hand #4.
In early position, I got dealt AK, and I limped in with it. My table was aggressive and so I chose not to raise here, as I could've been re-raised. We had 4 players enter the pot, and the flop came Kc, 10s, 4h. The small blind checked it, and I bet about half the pot, and I got 1 caller from the SB. The SB was a guy who was pretty aggressive, but TIGHT! He had quite a bit of chips, and I knew I had to be careful with him. Besides, he and I mixed it up in an earlier hand where I got dealt pocket QQ's and he got dealt pocket JJ's. In that hand, I raised, he re-raised, and I pushed all-in and he laid it down. So in this hand, I knew I had to be careful with him, as he only really played premium cards, and he could be crafting something up that was pretty tricky. The turn came another club, and the SB checked again, so I checked it. The river was another club, and the SB bet 2K. I didn't think he had the flush, and I was sitting on AK, so I called, and her turned over pocket rockets! Even though I lost the hand, I'm glad that I had a good read on the guy, and that I didn't get crazy with my AK. I'm glad that I showed some discipline, and was able to control my betting, and not get mad for losing to AA's. I fealt like I got away from that hand pretty cheap.

All in all, I played well. Out of 60 players, they paid the top 6, and you guessed it! I finished in 7th. 1st place won $2,700 and 6th got paid $400. I probably should've made the money, but it just didn't work out for me. I played well though, and I'm glad that I had a good 8hr session at the table, with minimal mistakes. I'm looking forward to coming back to Florida to take another crack at a tournament. Until then, take care and as always, if you have any questions, or comments, please feel free to contact me.

I arrived on Sunday, January 24th in the Dominican Republic for some business. To my surprise, the hotel I was staying at (El Occidental Embajador) in Santo Domingo had a mini Casino on the first floor. I was even further surprised to learn that they had a poker room in it. Anyway, I asked some of the local floor men about the poker room and they told me they played Texas Hold Em' and that there were some really strong players. At the time, I laughed at the floorman and asked when would be a good time to come back and play with the locals. He said around 9pm, and I walked off. All I could think of was, "How tough could these guys REALLY be?" So I came back around 10:30pm due to oversleeping, and I went to the poker room. I was expecting to see some pretty easy marks for my session, but I learned that what they were playing wasn't actually Texas Hold Em', but "Pineapple", a version of Texas Hold Em'. I was familiar with Pineapple, and figured "How hard can this actually be?" "This is going to be like taking candy from a baby!" "Right?" WRONG! Thank God I have the common sense to observe the table, players, dealer, cards being dealt, local practices, the waitresses, the people standing around the table, and even the security system, to see if I can find any cheating going on. While I didn't find any cheating or collusion going on at the table, what I did see, was these Dominicans take my sacred game of Texas Hold Em' and turn it into this freaking lottery/bingo-esque type of play. You had to buy in for $6,000 Dominican pesos, which is the equivilant of like $600 US. So to start, you could only sit down at the table with $600 US. You would think that they would play cautiously with $6,000 pesos in front of them, but these dudes were playing for $6,000 pesos PER HAND!!!! Almost every single time, someone was All-in pre-flop, and not with good cards. Before you knew it, K4 was beating AK. The nut flush was getting crushed by trip 4's, which turned into quad 4's. Houses were being taken down by quads almost routinely, and even with losing $6,000 pesos per hand, these Dominicans were pulling out these never ending bank rolls, and just re-buying and re-buying. It was such a fast paced and non-skilled game, that I had to get the hell out of there as fast as I could. I almost felt like it was a disgrace to the sacred game of NL Texas Hold Em'. Anyway, thank God I DIDN'T play, and thank God I had the sense to keep my wits about me and keep my money.....so I played $5 Black Jack instead and lost $50. Oh well! Today is the start of the Pokerstars Blogger Championship. At least I can play in that. I'll let you know how it goes. Take care, and keep tuning in.

First off, I just want to say "Thank you!" To my friends and family that are now logging in to my brand new blog, "Thanks for the support!"

The 2010 PCA is in full swing at the Atlantis, and all the big pros are here. Kid Poker, Fossilman, Moneymaker, Gavin Smith, Hevad Khan, and many more. The event is small, so there's excellent opportunities to talk with the pros during breaks.

I sat down at a $2-$5 table today and really felt like maybe I was way out of my league, since I normally like to play $1-$2. Anyway, I bought in for $375 at 7pm and by 3am, I was walking away with just under 6x's what I bought in for. There wasn't much to it! A little patience, discipline, well timed aggression, and I made a two weeks paycheck in about 8hrs. Below are the 4 most significant hands of my night, and I hope you enjoy reading about them. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to hit me up.

Big hand #1.
The action at the table is pretty steady. Everyone seems to be raising the standard 3 to 4x's the big blind with hands like AKs, AK, AQs, etc..etc.. There's one guy at the table to my right who's pretty creative, and definately plays the players and not the cards. On this particular hand, I get dealt AA's in second position to act. The guy to my right, who we'll call "Mr. Creative", leads out with a bet of $20 under the gun. Looking at my AA's, I'm loving this. I re-raise to $40. Players 3, 4, and 5 all fold, and player 6 calls me. Player 7 folds, 8 folds, and the small and big blinds fold. "Mr. Creative" calls. We've got $127 in the pot pre-flop, and I'm sitting on AA's. The flop comes 6-9-9, and the suits don't matter. "Mr. Creative" checks to me, and I lead out with $40. Player 6 calls me, and "Mr. Creative" folds. At this point, I'm putting player 6 on a big pair, anywhere from JJ's through KK's. Why else would he call $40 pre-flop? The turn brings an amazing Ace, giving me a Full House. Now! I don't want player 6 going anywhere at this point, so I check it. I want to give him the false impression that the Ace has me beat now. Little does he know that I'm in the driver's seat, because the only hand that can possibly be beating me at this point would be pocket 99's, and I really don't think he would've called $40 pre-flop with 99's. Player 6 bets $100. I'm doing everything I possibly can to not burst with emotion at this point, so I do what I know best! I play weak! I take off my ear buds, slouch down in my seat, fold my arms, blow out a big sigh, and go into acting mode. I give it a few seconds to marinate, and I give player 6 the up and down a few times. After a few minutes, I toss my $100 chip into the pot, like it's some big chore or something. The river brings another meaningless card, and I can't even remember what it was. I sit there and look at player 6, and I noticed that he aaaaaaalmost acted out of turn. He grabbed a stack of about $300 and motioned forward, but the dealer reminded him that the action was on me. Seeing this tell, let me know that he had a big hand, and he couldn't wait to get those chips in the pot. So I sat for a few seconds longer and let his anxiousness overcome him. He looks at me and says "Do you check?" I say back to him, "No, no, not yet." I can tell he wants to bet it so bad, that he's about to come out of his seat. So finally, I say, "Yeah, I check!" Player 6 takes that stack of about $300 and pushes it into the pot. I come over the top of him or all I have left, which at this point is about $475, and he calls. He turns over, get this..... K-9 off-suit!!! K-9 off-suit, for $40 pre-flop? WTF? I turn over my AA's showing my Full House, and he's crushed! Like I said, there's plenty of money to be made at the Atlantis this week!

Big hand #2.
This time I'm first to act, and I get dealt JJ's. I raise to $20, and everyone folds aroudn to the button. The button re-raises me to $40, and the small and big blinds fold. I just call. This guy could have anything from QQ's through AA's, or something like AKs, AK, and maybe he thinks he can bully me. The flop comes 4-6-2, and the suits don't matter. I check it to the button, and he bets $75. I really don't like it, because now I'm starting to feel as thought I'm up against QQ's or KK's, but for some reason, I'm just not buying it from this guy. I actually think he might have AK, and he's making a continuation bet. I call. The turn is another low card. I check, and he bets $200 now. Now I'm really feeling gross! I mean, really? Am I gonna go broke on pocket JJ's? I give him the up and down for a minute, but something tells me that he's just trying way too hard to convince me that he has it, so I call. The river brings another low card, and I check it. He finally concedes, and checks as well. He turns over a pocket pair of 10's, and I rake in the pot. It wasn't an easy one, but I was glad that I had the stones to hang in there and make the calls.

Big hand #3.
Again, for some reason tonight I'm getting dealt big hands in early position. I'm first to act again, and I look down at AKs of spades. A very beautiful hand, but there's no money in the pot. So I just call the $5, hoping someone gets frisky and raises. Players 2, 3, and 4 all fold. Player 5 raises to $20. Yes! Just what I was waiting for. Player 6 folds, but player 7 re-raises to $60. &#@$*! I wasn't looking for that! Player 8 folds and the small and big blind fold. I'm sitting on freaking AKs in spades, one of the most beautiful hands to look at pre-flop, but after seeing a raise, and then a re-raise, I HAVE to muck it. Player 5 calls the reraise to $60 and know we're head's up. To make a long story short, player 5 had pocket rockets, and player 7 had pocket kings. Unfortunately for player 7, he lost the majority of his money on that hand. Fortunately for me, I only lost $5! It could've been much, much, worse as I would've been drawing dead only to spades!

Big hand #4.
By now, the action has slowed, and any raise of 3-4x's the big blind is going to win the pot, pre-flop. Again, I'm second to act, and I look down at J-10s of clubs. The player to my right, (not "Mr. Creative" anymore) raises to $20. I hadn't played a hand in what seemed like an eternity, so I decided to call the $20. Player 3 folds, player 4 calls. Players 5, 6, 7, and 8 fold. The small blind calls, and the big blind folds. The flop comes 3 of spades, and 7-8 of clubs. I'm on a flush draw now, but even bigger, is that I'm on a Straight Flush draw. I haven't hit a Straight Flush in about 2 years, but I figure I have outs. The player to my right makes it $20 to go, and I call. Player 4 calls, and so does the small blind. I'm realy not liking my chances, because with this many people calling, it's obvious that even if I make my Flush, it's not going to be good enough at J-high. The turn brings the miracle 9 of clubs, and I almost bust a nut in my pants! Why you ask? Because this is the best card for me. This gives everyone who was calling on their Flush draws, exactly what they wanted. They've hit their Flush, but I've got the Straight Flush. Almost certainly, someone has hit the Nut-Flush, and I know I'm gonna get paid on this hand. The player to my right checks it, so maybe HE has the Nut-Flush! I lead out with a bet of $75. Just a little something to tantilize my prey. Player 4 looks like he's about to move All-In, and I can't wait for him to do it. Instead he just calls. The small blind exits now, and the player to my right calls my $75 bet. I LOVE IT! The river brings a blank. The player to my right checks to me. What do I do? Hollywood time! I take off the ear buds, and I say, "Man! Who's got the bigger Flush here?" I sit for a minute, and then I bet $300. I was trying to make it look like a bluff. Something to the effect that I had a Q-high Flush, but that I was trying to bet everyone out of the pot. I probably should've kept my damn mouth shut, because player 4 folded, after looking like he was going to go all in on the turn. I probably cost myself some money there! It gets folded to the player to my right, and I just sit there looking away from him. I'm hoping that he'll come back over the top of me, as I was sitting on about $1600. I'm looking out of the corner of my right eye at him. He looks like he's gonna fold, but then he picks up a stack, and then he checks his hole cards again, and he's doing all this heming and hawing. I want him to come over the top of me SOOOOO BAD! Anyway, he finally calls my $300, and he reads em' and wheeps!

Needless to say, it was a good night! I've never sat at a table and played so well. Nor have I ever made that much money in one sitting at a cash game. I'm still an amateur with big dreams, and a lot to learn. Stay tooned for my next blog. Hopefully it'll have some good stuff in it again! Thanks for taking the time to read about my hands, and pass the word on to anyone that you know, who might like to read up on me. Peace!