ID	Start Time	Name		Buy-in	Entrants	Position	Won	Notes
72659987	Dec 23 21:31ET	The Fifty-Fifty		$50.00 + $5	1,057	439	–
72734539	Dec 23 20:31ET	$22,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	298	70	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
72730921	Dec 23 20:01ET	$32,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,435	949	–
72659654	Dec 23 20:01ET	$65,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	519	79	–
72727337	Dec 23 19:31ET	$33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$100.00 + $9	177	58	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $200.00 .
73441875	Dec 23 19:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	615	414	–
73434802	Dec 23 18:01ET	$21,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,121	576	–
72716821	Dec 23 18:01ET	Turbo $40K Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	228	107	–
72709820	Dec 23 17:01ET	$30,000 KO Guarantee		$120.00 + $9	341	319	–
72951868	Dec 19 18:01ET	$21,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,255	460	–
72229918	Dec 19 18:01ET	Turbo $40K Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	243	222	–
72223016	Dec 19 17:01ET	$30,000 KO Guarantee		$120.00 + $9	378	52	–	You collected $40.00 for 2 Knockouts.
72942008	Dec 19 16:31ET	$18,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	312	32	$117.18	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
72938841	Dec 19 16:01ET	$22,500 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	425	277	–
70176439	Dec 19 16:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$100.00 + $9	169	88	–	You made 4 rebuys/add-ons for $400.00 .
70302019	Dec 19 15:31ET	$20,000 Guarantee		$50.00 + $5	545	18	$163.50
70300893	Dec 19 15:01ET	$50,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	392	292	–
72932847	Dec 19 15:01ET	$13,500 KO Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,142	155	–	You collected $20.00 for 5 Knockouts.

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $2384

Today’s winnings/losses = +$340.68

Today’s net profit/loss = -$2043.32

              Tis’ the holiday season, in other words less poker and more time for Christmas present shopping, snowboarding, gift exchanges, and quality time with friends and family.  I’ve only played twice in the past five days and both did not bid so well.  I’ve also been playing $2/$4 cash games to keep up with my Ironman points and that hasn’t been going so well either.  Total I am down about $3k this past week and a half.  The worst part is that I probably won’t be able to recover my losses the rest of this month because I have a Christmas Eve and Day and the day after Christmas I leave for Tahoe for the rest of Dec. coming back just in time for New Years Eve.  Luckily, the one day I ran good this month making three final tables kept me still on point with my OPR stats but it is pretty sad that this will be the first month I won’t be qualifying in the top 200 of FullTilt’s TLB in a while.  I blame all my losses on my lack of focus, it’s hard to pay full attention when you have a million other priorities and plans to do in such a short time.  I can officially close the seal on this month and label it a bust but starting the New Year I’ll be playing in the PCA at the Bahamas Jan. 5th-10th and when I come back, regardless of the results, I’ll be coming home with a new and improved will of determination and focus.  The year 2009 is expected to be a big year with good fortune for me and I’m going to make sure it happens.  Until then, don’t expect too many blog posts until after Jan 10th., I’ll be playing cash games and maybe a few tournaments just to keep up with my points.  Other than that, I’ll see you guys in the New Year, have a happy holidays everyone!

ID	Start Time	Name		Buy-in	Entrants	Position	Won	Notes
70192698	Dec 17 21:31ET	The Fifty-Fifty		$50.00 + $5	1,088	635	–
70175525	Dec 17 21:01ET	$100,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$100.00 + $9	386	152	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $200.00 .
72017296	Dec 17 20:31ET	$22,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	339	49	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
72013662	Dec 17 20:01ET	$32,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,611	147	$46.40
70191429	Dec 17 20:01ET	$65,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	648	391	–
72010059	Dec 17 19:31ET	$33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$100.00 + $9	238	205	–	You made 1 rebuy/add-on for $100 .
72723735	Dec 17 19:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	746	312	–
71999321	Dec 17 18:01ET	Turbo $40K Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	239	180	–
71992239	Dec 17 17:01ET	$30,000 KO Guarantee		$120.00 + $9	361	206	–
72706292	Dec 17 16:31ET	$18,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	263	120	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
72696579	Dec 17 15:01ET	$13,500 KO Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	948	365	–
70300751	Dec 17 15:01ET	$50,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	384	161	–

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $1557

Today’s winnings/losses = +$46.40

Today’s net profit/loss = -$1510.60

December 17, 2008 -  Well it seems like my luck is going to run in a hit or miss fashion, which basically means either win big or lose big, no cashing or nothing in the middle.  I don’t mind as long as the wins make up for the losses and some.  Today I was like 0-10 in races all-in preflop when I held AK vs. pocket pair, this hindered me from making deep in any of my tournaments as I lost those races in key spots.  How do you lose zero out of ten in situations that I’m 46% or more to win?  I know in a bigger sample it’ll probably even out and I’ll win ten coin-flips in the near future because it’s the nature of probability, till then if I have more days like this and I’ll keep losing more money.

December 18, 2008 -  Called in sick today and didn’t play any tournaments, instead I went snowboarding, or attempted to go snowboarding rather.  Don’t tell my boss!

ID	Start Time	Name		Buy-in	Entrants	Position	Won	Notes
70053652	Dec 15 21:01ET	$1K Monday		$1,000.00 + $60	361	9	$7,220
71771611	Dec 15 20:31ET	$22,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	319	174	–	You made 4 rebuys/add-ons for $120.00 .
71767739	Dec 15 20:01ET	$32,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,689	6	$1,743.05
70191267	Dec 15 20:01ET	$65,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	537	335	–
71763999	Dec 15 19:31ET	$33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$100.00 + $9	185	33	–	. You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $200.00 .
72484159	Dec 15 19:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	709	6	$2,201.45
72477134	Dec 15 18:01ET	$21,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,034	218	–
71753026	Dec 15 18:01ET	Turbo $40K Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	227	197	–
71745825	Dec 15 17:01ET	$30,000 KO Guarantee		$120.00 + $9	379	316	–

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $2157

Today’s winnings/losses = +$11,164.50

Today’s net profit/loss = +$9007.50

    Phew! What a day, what a day of poker it was!  Today was a historic day for two reasons; (1) it ends my two week long losing streak, (2) it is the first time I’ve made three consecutive final tables in one night.  All the recent posts of me ranting and complaining about not cashing and losing so much were all made up for in one day.  Despite the fact, that I am still down $3k-$4k since the past two weeks it sure as hell beats being down a total of $14k which is what I was stuck before these three decent wins.  I went on a sick heater in the middle stages of the $40k, $32k, and $1k Monday and got my chips up to the top 5 stacks in the touraments.  Made one final table right after another but caught some bad beats in 60/40 or better situations which deprived me from a top three finish.  I wish I placed higher in my final tables so that I could actually show a profit from the past two weeks but I am not too disappointed in how my results went down, it just feels good to know that I still got it in me and variance was a huge factor in my recent losses.  I always hesitate to play the $1k Monday because $1000 is still a lot for me to spend on one tournament but so far I am still profitable for everytime I’ve played it.  I’ve played it a total of five times and cashed in it twice making at least double my buy-in back and made today’s final table in 9th place, cashing a little over $7k.  So I’m basically 3 for 5 in this specific tournament which isn’t too bad, I’ll continue to play it until I show that it is not profitable for me to play. 

     It’s going to be very busy for me from now till mid Jan. with all these Christmas parties to go to, Tahoe Snowboarding trip in late Dec., and the PCA in the Bahamas a week later.  Hopefully I can still show a good profit for the month of December as far as online poker goes and start the new year off right!  Here are some key losing and winning hands in my tournaments today:

———————————————
$40K Final Table – BB’s Donk Play
———————————————

Full Tilt, 5,000/10,000 blinds, 1,000 ante NL Hold’em Tourney, 6 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

SB: 117,580 (11.8 bb)
BB: 1,053,645 (105.4 bb)
UTG: 444,917 (44.5 bb)
4XTRADER (MP1): 285,595 (28.6 bb)
MP2: 166,568 (16.7 bb)
CO: 58,695 (5.9 bb)

Pre-Flop: 4XTRADER is MP1 with
UTG folds, 4XTRADER raises to 30,000, MP2 folds, CO folds, SB folds, BB calls 20,000

Flop: (71,000) (2 players)
BB checks, 4XTRADER bets 46,000, BB raises to 166,000, 4XTRADER raises to 254,595 and is all-in, BB calls 88,595

Turn: (580,190) (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: (580,190) (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Results: 580,190 pot
4XTRADER showed (a pair of Sevens) and lost (-285,595 net)
BB showed (two pairs, Kings and Sevens) and won 580,190 (294,595 net)

Comments:  This has to probably one of the worst plays I’ve seen at a final table.  I had a good read that this player was very loose and aggressive pre and post flop, so I was pretty confident playing my A8o against my opponent even though he had an overwhelming chiplead.  The flop was very good for my hand and knew he was trying to put a move on me when he 3-bet me, so I 4-bet push with confidence and it turns out he made a horrendous play with K high.  I’m not going to be biased and say that he wasn’t committed to the hand and he did have two overs to the flop, but I still think he could’ve found a fold after my 4-bet.  He has to ask himself what can he beat with K high? only a pure bluff!  Win this pot and make at least top 2 places if not first.  Despite the results, these are the players I usually like to have at a final table but do not expect much of them to make it that far making these sort of plays unless they’re uber lucky.

———————————————–
$32K Final Table – Dominated Suckout
———————————————–

Full Tilt, 20,000/40,000 blinds, 5,000 ante NL Hold’em Tourney, 6 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

4XTRADER (UTG): 825,055 (20.6 bb)
BTN: 460,599 (11.5 bb)
SB: 790,526 (19.8 bb)
BB: 506,354 (12.7 bb)
MP: 1,598,372 (40 bb)
CO: 886,094 (22.2 bb)

Pre-Flop: 4XTRADER is UTG with
MP folds, CO folds, 4XTRADER raises to 126,000, BTN folds, SB raises to 785,526 and is all-in, BB folds, 4XTRADER calls 659,526

SB shows

Flop: (1,641,052) (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Turn: (1,641,052) (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: (1,641,052) (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Results: 1,641,052 pot
SB showed (a pair of Queens) and won 1,641,052 (850,526 net)
4XTRADER showed (high card Ace) and lost (-790,526 net)

Comments:  Not much I could say about this one, got my chips in as a pretty big favorite and spikes one of his three outs on the flop.  I don’t mind his push with his hand and stack, I would do the same.  It’s just unfortunate because had I won this hand I would be 1st in chips five handed and pretty confident I would’ve taken this tournament down as there were no big names at my final table.

————————————————-
$1K Monday – Definition of Uber Luck
————————————————-

Full Tilt, 800/1,600 blinds, 200 ante NL Hold’em Tourney, 8 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

UTG+2: 75,984 (47.5 bb)
BTN: 49,846 (31.2 bb)
SB: 51,317 (32.1 bb)
BB: 47,852 (29.9 bb)
4XTRADER (MP1): 39,035 (24.4 bb)
MP2: 51,739 (32.3 bb)
MP3: 20,362 (12.7 bb)
CO: 30,996 (19.4 bb)

Pre-Flop: 4XTRADER is MP1 with
4XTRADER raises to 4,400, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO folds, UTG+2 folds, BTN folds, SB folds, BB raises to 47,652 and is all-in, 4XTRADER calls 34,435 and is all-in

Flop: (80,070) (2 players, 2 are all-in)
Turn: (80,070) (2 players, 2 are all-in)
River: (80,070) (2 players, 2 are all-in)
Results: 80,070 pot
BB showed (high card Ace) and lost (-39,035 net)
4XTRADER showed (a flush, Ace high) and won 80,070 (41,035 net)

Comments:  These kind of hands make you laugh out loud when you’re on the winning end and cry out loud when you’re on the losing side.  There’s not much my oppenent and I can do about this hand, both our chips are bound to get in the middle.  Only way is if he flats preflop and gets away on a non-connected board, but even I like to push 30BB stacks in preflop w/ big slick, it’s not a bad play especially deep in tournaments.  Winning this pot put me in good position to make the final table.  This is a good sign variance is on my side now. 

—————————————
$1K Monday Final Table – KO
—————————————

Full Tilt, 2,500/5,000 blinds, 600 ante NL Hold’em Tourney, 9 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

UTG+1: 32,442 (6.5 bb)
UTG+2: 62,536 (12.5 bb)
MP1: 68,680 (13.7 bb)
MP2: 140,091 (28 bb)
4XTRADER (BTN): 35,304 (7.1 bb)
SB: 284,684 (56.9 bb)
BB: 325,801 (65.2 bb)
MP3: 50,336 (10.1 bb)
CO: 83,126 (16.6 bb)

Pre-Flop: 4XTRADER is BTN with
MP3 folds, CO folds, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, 4XTRADER raises to 34,704 and is all-in, SB calls 32,204, BB folds

SB shows

Flop: (79,808) (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Turn: (79,808) (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: (79,808) (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Results: 79,808 pot
4XTRADER showed (two pairs, Aces and Sevens) and lost (-35,304 net)
SB showed (a flush, Ace high) and won 79,808 (44,504 net)

Comments:  This I know is an uncommon yet so classic FullTilt beat, flopping top two and opponent turning four to the flush.  FT likes to build your hopes up and make you think you have the hand in the bag but then strips away all your hope and leaves you in distraught, very classic of FullTilt.  The pay jumps in this tournament was so tremendous that I could’ve waited till the other short stacks busted but as Matt Matros says “Only go for the win”.  So I found a perfect situation and hand to open push with on the button and was a slight favorite but did not hold up.  Soon after my KO, all the other short stacks dropped like flies, which would of jumped my $7200 prize to $25k in the matter of 10 hands, so sad but still good.

69534346	Dec 14 18:02ET	$750,000 Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	3,485	2,926	–
70839497	Dec 14 16:31ET	November TLB Freeroll		Freeroll	198	155	–
72341225	Dec 14 16:31ET	$18,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	379	13	$369.30	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
69546084	Dec 14 16:01ET	$200,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$150.00 + $13	488	337	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $300.00 .
70300462	Dec 14 15:01ET	$50,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	986	255	–
72330066	Dec 14 14:01ET	$27,500 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	2,159	1,468	–
69538250	Dec 14 14:01ET	The Sunday Brawl		$240.00 + $16	1,944	1,024	–
71248794	Dec 11 18:01ET	Turbo $40K Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	226	117	–
71999323	Dec 11 18:01ET	$21,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,098	491	–
71241625	Dec 11 17:01ET	$30,000 KO Guarantee		$120.00 + $9	337	75	–	You collected $20.00 for 1 Knockout.

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $1588

Today’s winnings/losses = +$389.30

Today’s net profit/loss = -$1198.70

            I apologize for the lag in updating my blog, it’s been a very busy weekend for me and it only gets busier the rest of Dec. and beginning of Jan..  I properly titled this entry “The Last Storm” because I am writing this seperate from today’s (Monday) results which obviously shattered my long losing streak. 

     On Dec. 11th, I only played three tournaments because I spent most of the day studying rather than playing and plus we set up a home game with a couple buddies later at night.  That day marked my 4th consecutive day not cashing in any tournaments and for the massive volume of tournaments I play a day, that is just truely a disappointing and daunting task. 

    December 15th, I didn’t have no time to play any tournaments.  So I played some $2/$4 before I attended a yacht party for the old company I used to trade for.  I literally played for half an hour and lost almost $3k, just amazing how bad I run in tournaments and cash lately.  It didn’t help that I got stacked twice in two of my Deep tables, which are 200 big-blind buyins, so $800 a piece.  Here is a graph of that debacle:

On Sunday, December 14th – I got KO’ed early in all the big tournaments that I played.  I decided not to play the Mulligan or any of the other tournaments later in the evening because I was getting really sleepy as I was playing.  There was only one tournament I was in which was the $18k Rebuy, I pretty much played the whole early stages of the tournament and let my girlfriend play the rest because I was so tired.  I woke up very surprised and proud as there were only 30 something players left and she had a decent stack.  I let her play the rest of it out and gave her my advice on some hands but ended up getting knocked out just before the final table.  So the first cash in four days wasn’t even done by me, kind of makes me wonder, maybe I am doing something wrong?  Anyway look out for my girlfriend, she’s the next upcoming poker superstar, Ms KxL is her FT name .

Other than that, still running bad and losing tons of money but that’s about to change, read the next blog entry!

ID	Start Time	Name		Buy-in	Entrants	Position	Won	Notes
69929136	Dec 10 23:01ET	$30,000 Guarantee		$100.00 + $9	331	282	–
69928208	Dec 10 21:31ET	The Fifty-Fifty		$50.00 + $5	1,050	660	–
69307489	Dec 10 21:01ET	$100,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$100.00 + $9	370	108	–	You made 6 rebuys/add-ons for $600.00 .
71142394	Dec 10 20:31ET	$22,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	335	122	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
71138622	Dec 10 20:01ET	$32,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,609	783	–
69923620	Dec 10 20:01ET	$65,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	649	69	–
71134902	Dec 10 19:31ET	$33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$100.00 + $9	212	166	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $200.00 .
71123941	Dec 10 18:01ET	Turbo $40K Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	257	163	–
71876389	Dec 10 18:01ET	$21,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,108	157	–
71116640	Dec 10 17:01ET	$30,000 KO Guarantee		$120.00 + $9	368	222	–

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $1835

Today’s winnings/losses = -$1835

Today’s net profit/loss = -$1835

            I am officially sad!  When I can’t even get in the money in any of the numerous tournaments I played the past 3 days, it really gets me thinking.  I definately can’t blame all of this on bad variance.  I feel like I’m playing the same way that I was when I was winning but it obviously isn’t outputting the same results.  I’ve learned to tolerate up to several days of losing streaks but not weeks on end.  The plan is to play the rest of the week out and hope that I can recover some losses and give me at least a small sign things are going to look brighter.  If not, then next week I would have to play less tournaments/lower buy-ins and go back to the drawing board to study more than I already do.  I wouldn’t want to bore anyone with my non-stop complaints everyday, so from here on out I’ll just post my results and maybe some hands that I can post to see if I or you can find any leaks in my game.  Somebody say a prayer for me!

ID	Start Time	Name		Buy-in	Entrants	Position	Won	Notes
71790089	Dec 09 23:01ET	$11,500 KO Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	683	450	–
69929070	Dec 09 23:01ET	$30,000 Guarantee		$100.00 + $9	350	76	–
71031575	Dec 09 22:31ET	$18,500 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$50.00 + $5	199	44	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $100.00 .
71782888	Dec 09 22:03ET	Big Double – A		$60.00 + $15	190	156	–
71783107	Dec 09 22:03ET	Big Double – B		$60.00 + $15	170	153	–
71782885	Dec 09 22:01ET	$28,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,230	745	–
69928045	Dec 09 21:31ET	The Fifty-Fifty		$50.00 + $5	1,152	905	–
71016083	Dec 09 20:31ET	$22,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	277	180	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
71012257	Dec 09 20:01ET	$32,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,549	180	–
69923557	Dec 09 20:01ET	$65,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	604	571	–
71008449	Dec 09 19:31ET	$33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$100.00 + $9	202	96	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $200.00 .
71760273	Dec 09 19:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	730	172	–

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $1187

Today’s winnings/losses = -$1187

Today’s net profit/loss = -$1187

ID	Start Time	Name		Buy-in	Entrants	Position	Won	Notes
69927963	Dec 08 21:31ET	The Fifty-Fifty		$50.00 + $5	1,121	930	–
69306452	Dec 08 21:01ET	$1K Monday		$1,000.00 + $60	363	251	–
70889284	Dec 08 20:31ET	$22,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	314	107	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
70885366	Dec 08 20:01ET	$32,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1,545	918	–
69923470	Dec 08 20:01ET	$65,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	569	509	–
70881486	Dec 08 19:31ET	$33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$100.00 + $9	164	27	–	. You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $200.00 .
71638835	Dec 08 19:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	637	581	–

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $1781

Today’s winnings/losses = -$1781

Today’s net profit/loss = -$1781

            I have to say I am starting to get worried, to the point, where I’m asking myself “Is there something wrong with my game?” or “Do I need to buckle down and focus even more?” or “Is it just really bad variance after a few good winning months?”  I can rightfully admit that half the reason for my bad losing streak this past week and a half was because I haven’t been completely focused and determined but the other half of reasoning I know is because of bad variance.  There’s a couple things I need to do in order to get back in track to start winning:

1.  Wake up on my normal schedule of Noon instead of 3PM like I’ve been doing lately, so I can play some of the earlier higher buy-in events.

2.  Focus and be more determined.  I need to stop occupying myself with other things that distract me while I’m playing poker, like talking on AIM or surfing the web.  Determination is another thing, I noticed after I got that big win in FTOPS #7 its hard for me to be determined to win more money, esp. when the prizepools aren’t nearly as high.  I need to play like every tournament is my last tournament that I can afford.

3.  Get LUCKY!!!

        My bad streak couldn’t come at a better time when I have plenty of expenses this month, esp. Christmas presents and my trips to Lake Tahoe and Bahamas.  It makes me pretty sad when I look at my OPR stats seeing that I dropped two spots since last week and not even being on the FT TLB.  It’s still early in the month so hopefully the poker grinch gets off my back or else this just might be my first losing month in half a year!

I’ll leave you with two hands up for discussion.  Please post in comment box if you want to discuss:

——————–
HAND #1
——————–

Full Tilt, 30/60 blinds NL Hold’em Tourney, 9 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

CO: 3,070 (51.2 bb)
BTN: 2,545 (42.4 bb)
SB: 2,725 (45.4 bb)
BB: 4,245 (70.8 bb)
4XTRADER (UTG+1): 3,185 (53.1 bb)
UTG+2: 5,175 (86.3 bb)
MP1: 2,800 (46.7 bb)
MP2: 2,835 (47.3 bb)
MP3: 2,645 (44.1 bb)

Pre-Flop: 4XTRADER is UTG+1 with
4XTRADER raises to 120, UTG+2 calls 120, MP1 folds, MP2 calls 120, MP3 folds, CO folds, BTN folds, SB calls 90, BB calls 60

Flop: (600) (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, 4XTRADER bets 450, UTG+2 folds, MP2 raises to 1,000, SB folds, BB raises to 2,880, 4XTRADER folds, MP2 folds

Results: 3,050 pot
BB mucked and won 3,050 (1,930 net)

——————–
HAND #2
——————–

Full Tilt, 60/120 blinds NL Hold’em Tourney, 9 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

MP2: 7,516 (62.6 bb)
MP3: 2,170 (18.1 bb)
CO: 10,610 (88.4 bb)
BTN: 13,135 (109.5 bb)
SB: 5,830 (48.6 bb)
4XTRADER (BB): 15,541 (129.5 bb)
UTG+1: 3,010 (25.1 bb)
UTG+2: 1,698 (14.2 bb)
MP1: 10,770 (89.8 bb)

Pre-Flop: 4XTRADER is BB with
UTG+1 raises to 360, UTG+2 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO calls 360, BTN raises to 1,080, SB folds, 4XTRADER calls 960, UTG+1 raises to 3,010 and is all-in, CO folds, BTN raises to 10,530, 4XTRADER folds

   I know what the UTG+1 and BTN had, since they went to showdown but the results are not important in the correct/incorrect decision I made with my laydown.

ID	Start Time	Name		Buy-in	Entrants	Position	Won	Notes
70768956	Dec 07 21:01ET	$85,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$100.00 + $9	380	48	–	You made 4 rebuys/add-ons for $400.00 .
69420683	Dec 07 20:01ET	$65,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	748	672	–
70757651	Dec 07 19:31ET	$33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$100.00 + $9	279	171	–
69414943	Dec 07 19:06ET	The Sunday Mulligan		$200.00 + $16	1068	52	$555.36
71509734	Dec 07 19:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	1033	366	–
69297795	Dec 07 18:02ET	$750,000 Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	3517	1,687	–
71502934	Dec 07 18:01ET	$21,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1705	261	–
69414509	Dec 07 16:01ET	$200,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$150.00 + $13	494	325	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $300.00 .
69295787	Dec 07 14:01ET	The Sunday Brawl		$240.00 + $16	1,919	846	–	You collected $80.00 for 2 Knockouts.
71476038	Dec 07 14:01ET	$27,500 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	2,152	272	–

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $2059

Today’s winnings/losses = +$635.36

Today’s net profit/loss = -$1423.64

          Nothing has changed much, still small hints of bad variance but not as bad as last week.  Today it seems like it was just coin-flips that I was losing as opposed to losing 80/20 situations like I’ve been experiencing.  I would actually blame more of poor results on myself today due to restlessness and a couple bad spots I didn’t need to put my chips in.  I also had one of my first misclicks in a loooong time when I called a semi-shortstack all-in with K2o vs. his pocket nines.  Luckily it was only for a quarter of my chips but still made a difference.  Fortunately, I cashed in the Sunday Mulligan so that today wasn’t a complete failure.  I need to shape up starting tomorrow and fix any minor leaks I have.  Another day, another dollar.

        I don’t play much cash games but when I do it’s because I have other priorities later in the day so I don’t have time to play long tournaments.  It’s the quickest way to earn points to uphold my Ironman status.  I am rolled to play $10/$20 No Limit cash games but I feel like my skill level is still at $2/$4 or lower limits.  I’ve only been playing $2/$4 for a couple weeks now and have to say I’m doing quite well for a small sample size.  My approach is semi-loose and very very aggressive, my PT stats probably don’t reflect that style but when I’m playing I feel like I’m playing more loose and aggressive than I did in lower limits.  I play anywhere from 6-8 tables at a time and feel that I’m very comfortable with it so I don’t bother to move up or down and my sessions last no longer than two hours.  Playing $2/$4 is a whole different ballpark from the other limits I’ve played, the swings are so massive, you can tell in the graph posted below how quickly things can change around.  I’m sure it’ll get crazier and crazier the higher limits I move up, for now I’ll stick to $2/$4 until I’m confident I’m a consistent winner at these limits.  Here is a graph of my session today and my PT stats overall in $2/$4:

ID	Start Time	Name		Buy-in	Entrants	Position	Won	Notes
70379036	Dec 04 20:31ET	$22,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$30.00 + $3	262	100	–	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $60.00 .
70376066	Dec 04 20:01ET	$32,000 Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	1530	1,213	–
69420359	Dec 04 20:01ET	$65,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	485	79	–
70373062	Dec 04 19:31ET	$33,000 Guarantee (1r+1a)		$100.00 + $9	158	8	$1,026.60	You made 2 rebuys/add-ons for $200.00 .
71131264	Dec 04 19:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	660	148	–
70364060	Dec 04 18:01ET	Turbo $40K Guarantee		$200.00 + $16	236	53	–
70357922	Dec 04 17:01ET	$30,000 KO Guarantee		$120.00 + $9	343	307	–	You collected $20.00 for 1 Knockout.
69416050	Dec 04 16:01ET	$40,000 Guarantee (Rebuy)		$100.00 + $9	142	50	–	You made 5 rebuys/add-ons for $500.00 .
71109729	Dec 04 16:01ET	$22,500 Guarantee		$69.00 + $6	333	227	–
71103180	Dec 04 15:01ET	$13,500 KO Guarantee		$24.00 + $2	927	502	–
69411911	Dec 04 15:01ET	$50,000 Guarantee		$150.00 + $13	364	262	–

Total spent on buy-ins (incl. rebuys)  = $1884

Today’s winnings/losses = +$1046.60

Today’s net profit/loss = -$837.40

              You know that salty taste you get in your mouth right before you’re gonna throw-up?  I had that taste in my mouth as I was getting runner runnered and losing all my coin-flips!  It was utterly disgusting how bad I ran today, to the point when I would get all my chips in preflop in 80/20 situations and I would call out exactly what cards would fall on 4th and 5th street that would beat me, and I was dead accurate!  I’m not going to bore you guys anymore with bad beat hands, I think you guys get the point, but if you really want to see the hands just post a comment and I’ll post them.  I pray this is the end of a bad streak and come Sunday, next working week, I’ll run blazing hot.  Total I am stuck $3360.68 this week and only had one winning day which was a peanut.  Good riddance!