Hey everyone, I’m out in Vegas for a few weeks playing some live games. I’ll fill you in when I get back home. In the mean time I wanted to let you know that I have a new site where I’ve brought in all of the resources I use to get news about the poker world and I thought I’d let you know about it. Check out pokernews.icufish.com
Let me know what you think of it. Any other resources you like that you think we should bring in?
While the last 2 months of 2008 were basically a disaster poker-wise, I have started out on the right foot in 2009!!
On Jan. 1st I played a late night session and made a final table, nothing remarkable but i was happy overall with my play. I got 8th place in the Big Double A for a small score… Not even enough to cover my nights buyins but I felt like I was making good decisions and seeing “blue lights” again definetly was needed for my confidence.
The next session I played was a few days later on Sunday. Again I felt like I made good decisions all day and managed to cash enough to cover my buyins… Sunday is easily my most volume filled day where i generally play 20+ mtt’s. No finals, but I will take a break even Sunday.
On Monday I played a fun night schedule that included the 1k on FTP. I was able to cash in 4/8 mtt’s with a Final in the 65k $150 on FTP. I only managed 7th place but with a $280 seat to the 1k and a 14th place finish in the big event I was up around 5k for the night. Again just felt great about my desicion making and felt like I did everything I could.
Yesterday, Wed. is where things get exciting! I made it through the disgustingly talented field that is the 6max 100r 100k guarantee for 2nd place and my 2nd best score of $20,783!!!!!! Congrats to jagz7 who owned the final table and won the event for over $32,000. I think tomorrow I will plug my hand history into pokerxfactor and post the link here. All of your thoughts on my play are welcomed as I am always trying to improve.
The main thing that got me out of this slump was a continued positive outlook. There were days where “running bad” got the best of me and I probably didn’t play my A game. But for the most part, I just took more time off and knew as long as I keep watching videos, keep asking players who’s games i respect a lot for advice in situations, keep reading forums, keep my head up and believe “I will win today”… I knew that I would crawl out of it…………… Things I did not do… I didn’t bitch to friends about my misfortune, I didn’t send (not even one) negative HH to spread that poison to other players. I didn’t sulk.
I still have plenty of work to do, to be the player I want to become.
Good luck on the tables, -Jason
New Orleans was an absolute blast!
I only made noise in one of the four events that I played. I placed 9th in my first live final table in a 1k or bigger buy in. It was the 1k event @ Harrah’s. I had been playing a super agressive game for pretty much the entire tournament. I was able to build a pretty large stack before losing a couple huge flips just before the Final table.
I had the pleasure of meeting a few guys that I play agaisnt regularly… inc DannyMac31, LockdownTex (exxplicit), thechemist83, truesyalose, Arron_Hacker, bazeman, thedestroyer and stuman123. All of them were super nice people and it was cool to discuss hands and stratagie with them.
Experiencing a new city and making new friends are two of my favorite things in life… so even though I didn’t profit it was definitely a great experience!
I am headed to New Orleans this week on Thursday to play a few of these events. Starting with a $500 NL on Friday, on Saturday I will be playing in the $1k event and Sunday I am playing the $5k main event.
I am super excited to test my live skills once again especially since I enjoy playing live more then online.
Also I will be rooming with DannyMac31 and LockdownTex. Two guys who are not only nice people but are sick poker players and it will be a great opportunity to learn from these gentlemen.
I will try and post updates while I am in NO. on my progress in each tournament.
Until then… Good Luck
This month was the most volume I have ever played since I started playing poker. It is also the biggest downswing I have ever had to stomach. I am sure that the two go hand in hand. I have just burnt myself out… With FTOPS early in the month and then me uping my regular schedule from 6 MTT’s to 10-12 tables at a time and really not taking any days off, has been a recipie for failure all around.
At first when things started going sour at the tables ( bubbling FT’s and money bubbles ) it was just negative variance that we all go through. But I have been playing everyday and a ton on each day and the mistakes that I should never make are starting to add up. Calling off all my chips or making some hero 4 bet when I am at or near a FT.. turns into just flat out giving money away.
A break is in order…..
Not for long, just a few days to get my head straight. For the last year or so I have been really good about taking a couple days a week off and on days I play, only playing one session, where I play a block of tournaments that all start within 2-3 hrs of eachother. Obviously I have fallen off of that in the last few weeks and clearly it’s time to get back to that type of schedule.
Not only has it been bad for my game to play 7 days a week 12 hrs a day but it’s been bad on my social life (or lack there of) as well. I have completely isolated myself the last few weeks and flaked on other commitments (bowling league and have basically ignored friends who have reached out to name a couple), so it’s no wonder my game has gone to shit. Living like that is super unhealthy. I am just glad I can recognize this and make sure i get back on the right track.
See you guys on the tables next weekend. Until then, goodluck
-Jason
unfortunetly I run bad sometimes.. this was terribly played by my opponent and I couldn’t have asked for a better spot, just unlucky
Full Tilt Poker Game #8975359223: $50,000 Guarantee (66427811), Table 29 – 1200/2400 Ante 300 – No Limit Hold’em – 19:33:48 ET – 2008/11/14
Seat 1: Pghfan987 (71,921)
Seat 2: -BuaBua- (29,350)
Seat 3: stiltwalker2007 (154,617)
Seat 4: EpicFail (170,278)
Seat 6: crouts (50,120)
Seat 7: D1rtyR1v3r (99,339)
Seat 8: icudonk (44,725)
Seat 9: 1Mastermind (51,083)
Pghfan987 antes 300
-BuaBua- antes 300
stiltwalker2007 antes 300
EpicFail antes 300
crouts antes 300
D1rtyR1v3r antes 300
icudonk antes 300
1Mastermind antes 300
-BuaBua- posts the small blind of 1,200
stiltwalker2007 posts the big blind of 2,400
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to icudonk [Ah Kc]
EpicFail folds
crouts raises to 6,000
D1rtyR1v3r folds
icudonk raises to 19,925
1Mastermind folds
Pghfan987 folds
-BuaBua- folds
stiltwalker2007 folds
crouts calls 13,925
*** FLOP *** [Jh 7h 8h]
crouts checks
icudonk bets 24,500, and is all in
crouts calls 24,500
icudonk shows [Ah Kc]
crouts shows [Qh Kh]
*** TURN *** [Jh 7h 8h] [4c]
*** RIVER *** [Jh 7h 8h 4c] [5d]
icudonk shows Ace King high
crouts shows a flush, King high
crouts wins the pot (94,850) with a flush, King high
icudonk stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 94,850 | Rake 0
Board: [Jh 7h 8h 4c 5d]
Seat 1: Pghfan987 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: -BuaBua- (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: stiltwalker2007 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: EpicFail folded before the Flop
Seat 6: crouts showed [Qh Kh] and won (94,850) with a flush, King high
Seat 7: D1rtyR1v3r folded before the Flop
Seat 8: icudonk showed [Ah Kc] and lost with Ace King high
Seat 9: 1Mastermind folded before the Flop
His call preflop to my 3 bad is pretty terrible becaseu he should know that I am always representing a big hand when i 3 bet half my chips and i am totally commited for the rest of my chips reguardless of the flop. Lucky for him he hit gin.. Was hoping to show off a win here… maybe next time
Thanks for reading, -Jason
We got a big double just before the break when we pick up KJ on our bb vs a sb raise
Full Tilt Poker Game #8975065422: $50,000 Guarantee (66427811), Table 29 – 1000/2000 Ante 250 – No Limit Hold’em – 19:15:06 ET – 2008/11/14
Seat 1: Pghfan987 (41,059)
Seat 2: SkinnyRick (39,990)
Seat 3: stiltwalker2007 (120,587)
Seat 4: EpicFail (65,698)
Seat 5: jneff24 (43,494)
Seat 6: crouts (48,260)
Seat 7: Anabooola (48,985)
Seat 8: icudonk (28,160)
Seat 9: CThib (21,137)
Pghfan987 antes 250
SkinnyRick antes 250
stiltwalker2007 antes 250
EpicFail antes 250
jneff24 antes 250
crouts antes 250
Anabooola antes 250
icudonk antes 250
CThib antes 250
Anabooola posts the small blind of 1,000
icudonk posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to icudonk [Jd Ks]
CThib folds
Pghfan987 folds
SkinnyRick folds
stiltwalker2007 folds
EpicFail folds
jneff24 folds
crouts folds
Anabooola raises to 5,200
icudonk raises to 27,910, and is all in
Anabooola calls 22,710
icudonk shows [Jd Ks]
Anabooola shows [Kh Tc]
*** FLOP *** [7c 5h 6c]
*** TURN *** [7c 5h 6c] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [7c 5h 6c 3s] [2s]
icudonk shows King Jack high
Anabooola shows King Ten high
icudonk wins the pot (58,070) with King Jack high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 58,070 | Rake 0
Board: [7c 5h 6c 3s 2s]
Seat 1: Pghfan987 folded before the Flop
Seat 2: SkinnyRick folded before the Flop
Seat 3: stiltwalker2007 folded before the Flop
Seat 4: EpicFail folded before the Flop
Seat 5: jneff24 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: crouts (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Anabooola (small blind) showed [Kh Tc] and lost with King Ten high
Seat 8: icudonk (big blind) showed [Jd Ks] and won (58,070) with King Jack high
Seat 9: CThib folded before the Flop
This is an easy reshove agsint an aggro opponent or any random in a blind vs blind situation.. our chip stack doens’t offer us any other line but to reshove all the money with KJ
We then pick up another nice pot again just before the break when this happend
Full Tilt Poker Game #8975123169: $50,000 Guarantee (66427811), Table 29 – 1000/2000 Ante 250 – No Limit Hold’em – 19:18:47 ET – 2008/11/14
Seat 1: Pghfan987 (59,196)
Seat 2: -BuaBua- (28,250)
Seat 3: stiltwalker2007 (72,327)
Seat 4: EpicFail (109,188)
Seat 5: jneff24 (42,244)
Seat 6: crouts (97,020)
Seat 7: Anabooola (19,825)
Seat 8: icudonk (61,070)
Pghfan987 antes 250
-BuaBua- antes 250
stiltwalker2007 antes 250
EpicFail antes 250
jneff24 antes 250
crouts antes 250
Anabooola antes 250
icudonk antes 250
stiltwalker2007 posts the small blind of 1,000
EpicFail posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to icudonk [Td Jh]
jneff24 folds
crouts folds
Anabooola folds
icudonk has 15 seconds left to act
icudonk raises to 4,895
Pghfan987 folds
-BuaBua- folds
stiltwalker2007 calls 3,895
EpicFail folds
*** FLOP *** [6h Tc 8c]
stiltwalker2007 bets 13,790
icudonk raises to 55,925, and is all in
stiltwalker2007 has 15 seconds left to act
stiltwalker2007 has requested TIME
stiltwalker2007 folds
Uncalled bet of 42,135 returned to icudonk
icudonk mucks
icudonk wins the pot (41,370)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 41,370 | Rake 0
Board: [6h Tc 8c]
Seat 1: Pghfan987 folded before the Flop
Seat 2: -BuaBua- (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: stiltwalker2007 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: EpicFail (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: jneff24 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: crouts folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Anabooola folded before the Flop
Seat 8: icudonk collected (41,370), mucked
We would usually tred with caution in a spot like this.. but this particular villian has been playing very fast and lose stealing a lot of pots preflop and after the flop. When he leads the size of the pot to me it screamed he wasn’t looking for action so it was easy to ship it in there and live with the results.
at the break we are currently sitting 6/30 already well in the money and 1st place is nearly $20k hopefully i can share some fun spots with you guys on the way and during the FT
1 time plz!
We just knocked out a short stack who shoved on the button into our big blind. THis is a thinking player so I know he is supposed to shove any 2 cards here so it was an easy call with the mighty K2dd
Full Tilt Poker Game #8974672867: $50,000 Guarantee (66427811), Table 29 – 600/1200 Ante 150 – No Limit Hold’em – 18:50:15 ET – 2008/11/14
Seat 1: Pghfan987 (55,559)
Seat 2: brianmc (40,544)
Currently 17/44 with 35k chips Avg stack is 36k or 30bb’s… hopefully we can run well and make this final table 1st prize is almost $20k!!
Seat 3: stiltwalker2007 (59,242)
Seat 4: EpicFail (72,515)
Seat 5: seaanchor (6,628)
Seat 7: Anabooola (49,768)
Seat 8: icudonk (23,207)
Seat 9: CThib (14,973)
Pghfan987 antes 150
brianmc antes 150
stiltwalker2007 antes 150
EpicFail antes 150
seaanchor antes 150
Anabooola antes 150
icudonk antes 150
CThib antes 150
Anabooola posts the small blind of 600
icudonk posts the big blind of 1,200
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to icudonk [Kd 2d]
CThib folds
Pghfan987 folds
brianmc folds
stiltwalker2007 folds
EpicFail folds
seaanchor raises to 6,478, and is all in
Anabooola has 15 seconds left to act
Anabooola folds
icudonk calls 5,278
seaanchor shows [9h Qh]
icudonk shows [Kd 2d]
*** FLOP *** [4d Ks 4h]
*** TURN *** [4d Ks 4h] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [4d Ks 4h 6d] [2c]
seaanchor shows a pair of Fours
icudonk shows two pair, Kings and Fours
icudonk wins the pot (14,756) with two pair, Kings and Fours
icudonk: gg sea
seaanchor stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 14,756 | Rake 0
Board: [4d Ks 4h 6d 2c]
Seat 1: Pghfan987 folded before the Flop
Seat 2: brianmc folded before the Flop
Seat 3: stiltwalker2007 folded before the Flop
Seat 4: EpicFail folded before the Flop
Seat 5: seaanchor (button) showed [9h Qh] and lost with a pair of Fours
Seat 7: Anabooola (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: icudonk (big blind) showed [Kd 2d] and won (14,756) with two pair, Kings and Fours
Seat 9: CThib folded before the Flop
We have a 20bb stack just in the money. 23k in chips avg. is 31k. So we will be looking for spots to resteal and try and build our stack with no showdowns or doubling with our big hands.
Sigh……… we lost a big race JJ < AK for 100k pot near the money bubble.. kind of how FTOPS has gone so far. No worries though we have some great events the rest of the weekend and we are also getting near the money in the 50k $150 on FTP. I’ll go ahead and update on that tournament if it looks like i might make a FT run
