Limit Challenge Modification

I took a closer look at the Limit Challenge that DNasty borrowed from Doubleas and I felt it moved me up a little too quickly. I would like to use this as a tool to help me grow my bankroll while gaining experience and trying techniques. I revised my limits and here is the new matrix I will be following. (I may tweak it still, depending on results)

Limits	Start With	Play Until	Drop Back	Time	Bankroll At Jump
.25/.50	25	55	0	?	119.00
.50/1.00	75	150	50	5:15	160.00
1/2	150	275	100
2/4	275	400	200
3.00/6.00	400	525	460
4.00/8.00	525	700	600
5.00/10.00	700	1035	850

I made the jump into 1/2 tonight, will see how it goes.

Move up in my Limit Challenge

Very surprised by the tighter play at the two tables I have played at so far. I know this is not a big sample, but the first table I sat down at with .50/1 Limit HE was the tightest limit table I have ever seen. I played about 70 hands and managed to scrape a few bucks, but there were no fish at this table (maybe me?). Every seat had a player that had a VP$ percentage of less than 30%, most in the teens and a preflop raise percentage of at least 4%. My usual fishies are VP$ 40+ and 0% Pre Flop raise. This was a little scary as an introduction to this level. In the lower limit, I was able to play mostly ABC poker and win quite a bit ($70, the magic number that let me move up levels). Will have to see how this goes. My hunch is it may have been an aberration, the second table I played about 60 hands at had a few fish, but after a mega suckout, I ended up only a few bucks as well. At least things are headed in the right direction.....up!

I plan to keep plugging away at the limit tables until I get to $500 and then will consider my next move. I am staying away from NL right now, too much variance and I want to get this bankroll growing. I am gaining experience at these tables with some reads and can try certain techniques or theories relatively cheaply. I hope that my initial experience was misleading and that there are easier tables to crack at this level. When I do move up (because this is not really applicable to limit, I am going to re-read this post and attempt to find opportunities to exercise it. Thanks to PokerNerd for a great post/idea:

Inflection Point

Memorial Day Weekend

I have not gotten to play any poker that last few nights, household chores took priority. After edging and mulching all the beds (4 yards of black double shred dumped on my driveway), mowing, edging the sidewalk and driveway, and weed wacking for the first time this season....there was not much time/energy left for poker. I don't know if I will have the opportunity to get out there this weekend either, we are having the family in for the weekend.

I am pretty excited for everyone to come, it will be a full house. My parents are flying in from Baltimore, and my wife's parents driving in from Pittsburgh. Sister in law and boyfriend coming up from Kentucky, brother in law and fiance driving in from Columbus and youngest brother in law coming in from Shippensburg, PA. I really lucked out with the family I married into, they are a lot of fun and I was accepted and fit in very well. They are all very competitive and athletic and will play any game as long as there is a winner. They even invent games, I will have to explain how to play FrisDick on here someday. A sick, sick game. Anyway, they are a great bunch and I am looking forward to a weekend with lots of games (cards, volleyball, croquet, maybe even some low stakes poker) and great food, beer, and family. It is times like this that allow me to take a step back from my life and look around. It makes me appreciate all that SteelerSteph and I have and makes me happy that we can host a weekend like this and share it with family. Despite the suckouts and badbeats endured on the felt, I am a very lucky guy.

I have had some time this week to read some other blogs and catch up on DoubleAs. His last post was excellent but the one before it scared me a little. I was wondering how he was able to consistently post, play, and be a father.... seems like a lot of demands for limited time and perhaps it is catching up. He says that he is reaching a crossroad and there is not much left for him to write about other than information about his game that could be used against him. I can respect that, but the selfish side of me is hoping he does not change. His blog started out as a place to vent, reflect, and share. Perhaps it has served its purpose. Maybe my concerns are completely unfounded because right after the "crossroads" post he wrote his thoughts on applying pressure and the concept of it in NL.

If you come across this DoubleAs, thanks for all the ideas and inspiration I have received from your blog and I hope you continue.

Lastly, some recognition to HighOnPoker for his final table appearance in the Dr. Pauly freeroll. I did not get to sit at a table with him during the tourney (which might explain his survival to the final table!!) but I am sure I will in the future. Good job and congrats on your placing. Keep it up.

Here is a wish to anyone that reads this that you have a great extended weekend and enjoy your family and friends. If you have a spare moment, keep our veterans and those still serving in your thoughts too. We may not always agree with how the government directs our armed services, but the soldiers and sailors deserve our respect and thanks.

The Perfect Storm

This was my biggest pot rakedto date on .25/.50

I was scared of pocket 10s and AKc, but the pre flop action did not make me think anyone had 10 10 and I was willing to risk the Royal Flush. When the river made the straight, I was pretty sure I had it. Nice.

Hand #6063346-3103 at Tonowanda ($.25/$.50 Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 25/May/05 18:27:55

djdm72096 is at seat 0 with $18.40 (sitting out).
Eagle 1 is at seat 1 with $26.50.
sodamanjax is at seat 2 with $25.95.
Suzie_Q2 is at seat 3 with $20.95.
Sonic Kraken is at seat 4 with $48.15.
STeelerJosh is at seat 5 with $22.60.
FLSir is at seat 6 with $15.45.
wolver987 is at seat 7 with $24.65.
ronlin is at seat 8 with $24.90.
TheDarb is at seat 9 with $21.40.
The button is at seat 1.

sodamanjax posts the small blind of $.10.
Suzie_Q2 posts the big blind of $.25.

Eagle 1: -- --
sodamanjax: -- --
Suzie_Q2: -- --
Sonic Kraken: -- --
STeelerJosh: Qh Qs
FLSir: -- --
wolver987: -- --
ronlin: -- --
TheDarb: -- --

Pre-flop:

Sonic Kraken calls. STeelerJosh raises to $.50.
FLSir folds. wolver987 folds. ronlin folds.
TheDarb calls. Eagle 1 calls. sodamanjax calls.
Suzie_Q2 folds. Sonic Kraken calls.

Flop (board: Td Jc Tc):

sodamanjax bets $.25. Sonic Kraken calls.
STeelerJosh calls. TheDarb folds. Eagle 1 calls.


Turn (board: Td Jc Tc Qc):

sodamanjax checks. Sonic Kraken checks. STeelerJosh
bets $.50. Eagle 1 raises to $1. sodamanjax calls.
Sonic Kraken folds. STeelerJosh re-raises to $1.50.
Eagle 1 re-raises to $2. sodamanjax calls.
STeelerJosh calls.

River (board: Td Jc Tc Qc 9h):

sodamanjax checks. STeelerJosh bets $.50. Eagle 1
raises to $1. sodamanjax calls. STeelerJosh
re-raises to $1.50. Eagle 1 re-raises to $2.
sodamanjax calls. STeelerJosh calls.



Showdown:

Eagle 1 shows 9s Kc.
Eagle 1 has 9s Kc Td Jc Qc: straight, king high.
sodamanjax shows 8c Ac.
sodamanjax has 8c Ac Jc Tc Qc: flush, ace high.
STeelerJosh shows Qh Qs.
STeelerJosh has Qh Qs Td Tc Qc: full house, queens full of tens.


Hand #6063346-3103 Summary:

$.50 is raked from a pot of $15.75.
STeelerJosh wins $15.25 with full house, queens full of tens.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Feeling Good

Not only am I packing and shining up the bike for a great weekend of riding, I am running pretty well at the tables tonight. First the bike:

I am riding down to Natural Bridge, VA this weekend for an organized ride called FriendSTOC. It is the 2nd annual ride to raise some money and remember the two ST riders we lost two years ago. Here is a website that explains it - FriendSTOC. I rode last year and had an absolute blast. Great bunch of guys, excellent roads and an overall awesome weekend. I am really geeked about this one. I will try to take some pictures and if I can figure out Hello, do a little ride report when I get back. This is a very busy time at work for me right now, so it may take a little time.

Then, the game:
I played 2 $5 SNGs and lost both, but I had some "free" fun because I was feeling it on the limit tables. Pretty fishy tonight.

This happened two hands before the sweet one below it. I felt the J9 was lucky because a flopped straight is what I put TXsholDM on when I layed down AA.

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

Hand #5850319-3314 at Grants Pass ($.25/$.50 Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 19/May/05 20:31:53

TXsholDM is at seat 0 with $4.35.
twilson306 is at seat 1 with $27.55.
Card2005 is at seat 2 with $22.35.
scorpsdude is at seat 3 with $13.90.
bigblok442 is at seat 4 with $11.85.
NikiO is at seat 5 with $24.40.
TangentZ is at seat 6 with $15.20 (sitting out).
STeelerJosh is at seat 7 with $35.65.
chuang tsu is at seat 8 with $31.20.
Car_nut is at seat 9 with $18.75.
The button is at seat 0.

twilson306 posts the small blind of $.10.
Card2005 posts the big blind of $.25.

TXsholDM: -- --
twilson306: -- --
Card2005: -- --
scorpsdude: -- --
bigblok442: -- --
NikiO: -- --
STeelerJosh: Ah As
chuang tsu: -- --
Car_nut: -- --

Pre-flop:

scorpsdude folds. bigblok442 folds. NikiO folds.
STeelerJosh raises to $.50. chuang tsu folds.
Car_nut folds. TXsholDM calls. twilson306 folds.
Card2005 folds.

Flop (board: 8s Qc Jd):

STeelerJosh bets $.25. TXsholDM raises to $.50.
STeelerJosh re-raises to $.75. TXsholDM re-raises to
$1. STeelerJosh calls.

Turn (board: 8s Qc Jd 2d):

STeelerJosh bets $.50. TXsholDM raises to $1.
STeelerJosh folds, showing Ah As. TXsholDM is
returned $.50 (uncalled).



Hand #5850319-3314 Summary:

$.20 is raked from a pot of $4.35.
TXsholDM wins $4.15.

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

Hand #5850319-3316 at Grants Pass ($.25/$.50 Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 19/May/05 20:33:17

TXsholDM is at seat 0 with $6.25.
twilson306 is at seat 1 with $27.45.
Card2005 is at seat 2 with $21.85.
scorpsdude is at seat 3 with $12.40.
bigblok442 is at seat 4 with $13.70.
NikiO is at seat 5 with $24.40.
TangentZ is at seat 6 with $15.20 (sitting out).
STeelerJosh is at seat 7 with $33.65.
chuang tsu is at seat 8 with $31.20.
Car_nut is at seat 9 with $18.75.
The button is at seat 2.

scorpsdude posts the small blind of $.10.
bigblok442 posts the big blind of $.25.

TXsholDM: -- --
twilson306: -- --
Card2005: -- --
scorpsdude: -- --
bigblok442: -- --
NikiO: -- --
STeelerJosh: Js 9h
chuang tsu: -- --
Car_nut: -- --

Pre-flop:

NikiO calls. STeelerJosh calls. chuang tsu folds.
Car_nut folds. TXsholDM calls. twilson306 calls.
Card2005 raises to $.50. scorpsdude calls.
bigblok442 calls. NikiO calls. STeelerJosh calls.
TXsholDM calls. twilson306 calls.

Flop (board: Qh Th 3c):

scorpsdude checks. bigblok442 checks. NikiO bets
$.25. STeelerJosh calls. TXsholDM calls.
twilson306 folds. Card2005 raises to $.50.
scorpsdude re-raises to $.75. bigblok442 folds.
NikiO calls. STeelerJosh calls. TXsholDM folds.
Card2005 calls.

Turn (board: Qh Th 3c 5d):

scorpsdude bets $.50. NikiO folds. STeelerJosh
calls. Card2005 calls.

River (board: Qh Th 3c 5d Kd):

scorpsdude bets $.50. STeelerJosh raises to $1.
Card2005 re-raises to $1.50. scorpsdude re-raises to
$2. STeelerJosh calls. Card2005 calls.



Showdown:

scorpsdude shows 3h 3d.
scorpsdude has 3h 3d Qh 3c Kd: three threes.
STeelerJosh shows Js 9h.
STeelerJosh has Js 9h Qh Th Kd: straight, king high.
Card2005 mucks cards.
(Card2005 has Kc Kh.)


Hand #5850319-3316 Summary:

$.50 is raked from a pot of $14.25.
STeelerJosh wins $13.75 with straight, king high.

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

And right before I had to quit to go finish packing.....

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

Hand #5850319-3331 at Grants Pass ($.25/$.50 Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 19/May/05 20:46:15

TXsholDM is at seat 0 with $4.45 (sitting out).
twilson306 is at seat 1 with $20.45.
Card2005 is at seat 2 with $16.20.
scorpsdude is at seat 3 with $10.25.
bigblok442 is at seat 4 with $19.45.
CoRoNa3 is at seat 5 with $25.
TangentZ is at seat 6 with $22.20.
STeelerJosh is at seat 7 with $41.40.
chuang tsu is at seat 8 with $29.70.
Car_nut is at seat 9 with $15.50.
The button is at seat 9.

twilson306 posts the small blind of $.10.
Card2005 posts the big blind of $.25.

twilson306: -- --
Card2005: -- --
scorpsdude: -- --
bigblok442: -- --
TangentZ: -- --
STeelerJosh: Ks Qd
chuang tsu: -- --
Car_nut: -- --

Pre-flop:

scorpsdude calls. bigblok442 folds. TangentZ folds.
STeelerJosh raises to $.50. chuang tsu folds.
Car_nut folds. twilson306 folds. Card2005 folds.
scorpsdude calls.

Flop (board: Jc Ah Tc):

scorpsdude checks. STeelerJosh bets $.25.
scorpsdude calls.

Turn (board: Jc Ah Tc 6d):

scorpsdude bets $.50. STeelerJosh raises to $1.
scorpsdude re-raises to $1.50. STeelerJosh re-raises
to $2. scorpsdude calls.

River (board: Jc Ah Tc 6d 3d):

scorpsdude bets $.50. STeelerJosh raises to $1.
scorpsdude re-raises to $1.50. STeelerJosh re-raises
to $2. scorpsdude calls.



Showdown:

STeelerJosh shows Ks Qd.
STeelerJosh has Ks Qd Jc Ah Tc: straight, ace high.
scorpsdude mucks cards.
(scorpsdude has Qs As.)


Hand #5850319-3331 Summary:

$.45 is raked from a pot of $9.85.
STeelerJosh wins $9.40 with straight, ace high.
----------------------------------------------------------------

I was sad to leave the table, the way things were going I think that I might have been able to double again. My image was super tight aggressive (my $VP was 20.45%, a personal record over 88 hands) and I won over 90% of the hands I played....but I had to pack and get some good sleep. I am looking at 450+ miles tomorrow with the chance of rain. Should be a blast!!!

Sometimes it's Easy

Hmmmm.

Hand #5850319-3271 at Grants Pass ($.25/$.50 Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 19/May/05 19:57:41

Oneloosegoose is at seat 0 with $24.20.
twilson306 is at seat 1 with $23.75.
Card2005 is at seat 2 with $24.75.
scorpsdude is at seat 3 with $16.55.
GypsyJoe is at seat 4 with $5.
charity 42 is at seat 5 with $4.60.
bri 574 is at seat 6 with $16.65.
STeelerJosh is at seat 7 with $22.20.
chuang tsu is at seat 8 with $29.15.
giddyup99 is at seat 9 with $6.15.
The button is at seat 1.

Card2005 posts the small blind of $.10.
scorpsdude posts the big blind of $.25.
GypsyJoe posts out of turn for $.25.

Oneloosegoose: -- --
twilson306: -- --
Card2005: -- --
scorpsdude: -- --
GypsyJoe: -- --
charity 42: -- --
bri 574: -- --
STeelerJosh: As Ad
chuang tsu: -- --
giddyup99: -- --

Pre-flop:

GypsyJoe checks. charity 42 folds. bri 574 folds.
STeelerJosh raises to $.50. chuang tsu folds.
giddyup99 re-raises to $.75. Oneloosegoose folds.
twilson306 folds. Card2005 folds. scorpsdude folds.
GypsyJoe calls. STeelerJosh re-raises to $1.
giddyup99 calls. GypsyJoe calls.

Flop (board: 4h Th Qd):

GypsyJoe bets $.25. STeelerJosh raises to $.50.
giddyup99 folds. GypsyJoe calls.

Turn (board: 4h Th Qd Tc):

GypsyJoe bets $.50. STeelerJosh raises to $1.
GypsyJoe calls.

River (board: 4h Th Qd Tc 2s):

GypsyJoe bets $.50. STeelerJosh raises to $1.
GypsyJoe re-raises to $1.50. STeelerJosh calls. (Called here because I got scared he had x10... looking at the hand history again, it was pretty obvious he did not...but you never know)



Showdown:

GypsyJoe shows 9s Qc.
GypsyJoe has 9s Qc Th Qd Tc: two pair, queens and tens.
STeelerJosh shows As Ad.
STeelerJosh has As Ad Th Qd Tc: two pair, aces and tens.


Hand #5850319-3271 Summary:

$.45 is raked from a pot of $9.35.
STeelerJosh wins $8.90 with two pair, aces and tens.

This felt good because it was close on the heels of a bad beat that took me out of a 5 + .50 SNG.

I was dealt 44 in the BB, flop came 4Qx and I jam all in. Two callers! One has Q9 and proceeds to catch runner runner 9 and take me out. -1 SNG for the month.

Sat right down at another.... played 4 hands in 65+ hands. Raises got a lot of respect, but I was card dead. Finally got KK in the BB. Shortest stack goes all in from the SB. I jam over top of him (+200 chips over short stack) and a big stack calls from MP. KK vs 66 vs 33 Guess who tripled? Not me. Big stack flopped a 6 and we were both out. I finished 5th and short stack 6th. Still fun....

Tourney Fun

I have been doing well staying at the .25/.50 Limit Hold Em tables so I decided to have a little fun a and play a tourney tonight. The wife is out of town, what else am I gonna do? Clean?

After reading the tourney recaps of other bloggers, I decided I would try taking notes for the first time and post a recap of the tourney. I have enjoyed this in other blogs, might be neat to try. I entered the very exclusive Wednesday 9:20 PM $5 +.50 $3500 Guaranteed Turbo Tournament. I was ready for some partying with the high rollers. It started well...

1st Hand - MP, 88. I make it 2x the BB and get one caller. Flop is 66K. I bet pot and took it down. +50

2nd Hand - MP, 99. I call and catch a 9 on the flop, bet pot. Once caller. Turn is junk, bet pot again, take it down. +150

Texas Fold 'Em until hand 18. AJs in EP. I make it 100. blinds are 30/60. Table chip leader that sat down two hands ago makes it 1140. For some reason I am suspicious and ready to gamble my $5.50. It is folded to me and I go all in. Chip leader thinks for a second, calls and turns over A10o. Sweet!! No 10 please.

Nobody pairs the board and I double up to T3360 and am in 48th place of the 664 that started (500+ left. Nice, going exactly as my evil plan said it would.

I bully when I have position and take a few pots, nothing major. Hand 37 someone drops the hammer and ends up all in with 2 sevens on the flop. I chuckle.

Hand 40 it goes horribly awry... I get KK in EP and bet pot (550). It folds to the SB who is chip leader. He puts me all in. I think. AA? Maybe, but I am still ready to gamble. I really do not think he has AA. I call All in and we flip. KK vs A8s. Cool, I am ready to double up again! (Warning - if you do not like seeing the carnage of KK busted heads up, stop reading). Flop come xAx and I am in trouble. No relief on turn or river and I am out 365th in the first hour.

Funny thing is, I was talking to DNasty13 earlier today about how well he seems to do in tournaments and that I would like to see him play one before he moves to FL. He is very tight and aggressive in tourneys, I thought that I should tighten up too. I had tonight, laying down some hands pre flop I might have tried to limp with in the past (KQo, J10s) and I was feeling good about. I am not sure what the pre flop odds were on my KK vs A8o. I am think it was better than a coin flip, but probably not by much. Same situation in the future, I think I would play it the same way, I do not know if I could lay that down.... What does anyone else think?

For the month on my .25/.50 tables that I have been religiously sticking to, I am up 11.10 with decent stats for me. My $VP is just under 30% and my BB/Hr is 1.22. Not ready to quit the job yet, but it is encouraging. I feel like I am building something, staying disciplined and learning while making a few dollars. It is a good feeling even on the nights when I watch maniacs play 80% plus of hands and just catch card after card to suckout and win large. My biggest session win is $14+ and the biggest session loss is $13+. I am winning 60% of my sessions. Hopefully it will be neat to look back at these numbers and laugh......

Catching Up

It has been a very busy past two weeks off the virtual felt. I had some unplanned and unwanted excitement in my personal life that jolted me some. Without revealing information that my wife might not want to, I had to make a midnight dash from Detroit back to Ohio on my motorcycle to get to the hospital where she was recovering from an emergency surgery procedure. Left my house at 0415 in the morning to get to a training class in Detroit (cold, but awesome ride). Made it through the first of the three day class and headed to DNasty13's house to play some poker. Got a call from my wife that she was calling a friend to take her to the hospital, she was having sever abdominal pains and some bleeding. At 2200 I got the call that she was headed into surgery. I hopped on the bike, rode back to the hotel, checked out and was on the road back home to the hospital. It was to be a 3 hour procedure and I figured I could make it close to the end of it. Riding in the cold dark with nothing but my thoughts in my helmet, it was a tough ride. I arrived without incident (almost hit a group of deer crossing the road 1/4 mile from the hospital) and was relieved to find out that the worst case scenarios tormenting my brain for 3 hours had not played out. Steph was in recovery and doing as well as we could have hoped. I rode to the house, let out the dog, grabbed a blanket and headed back to the hospital. It was a long sleepless night there and she was finally discharged at 2 PM the next day. She is recovering now and we are hoping for the best...

That off my chest (but still in my mind) I have gotten some poker in during the past few days. I am sticking to my .25/.50 Limit game and I am starting to see some encouraging results and I feel I am making some breakthroughs. For one, I have really tightened up and this is having a very positive impact on my earnings. I am swimming with the fishies and not feeling like one anymore. I am taking some bad beats now and then, but overall I am playing ABC poker and seeing the results I want. I reread my Slansky Theory of Poker and have been practicing some concepts from there (especially about adjusting my game to the table conditions). I will post my March results below. They are positive and for the first time in a while I feel that I really can grow my bankroll to get into the higher limits. I am not playing any SNGs or other games until I get my UB bankroll above $200. I will edit this post tomorrow and post my March results on UB so far.

It was nice to get some time in tonight while watching doubleas and DevilFish play on UB. As I am typing this, my AA just got crushed when the river made my A high flush and someone else's straight flush. Nice.