tommytwotoes

So many have asked what is going on? … what is this 10k thing you are talking about?

Well Back in July I made a promise to myself and more or less to a select group of guys that I would pretty much solely play 1-2nl holdem until I could grow a new bankroll from $1,000 to $10,000. I have automatic payments($400 a month) setup to go into a separate poker bank acct as a means of subsidizing. But most of the money should come from poker profits. Or well that is the goal.
This mission officially started on July 15th, and pretty much i have had some swings up and down but am pretty much just playing break even poker. On Some level this isnt a surprise, As i have not played super serious in a while. I am hoping that I start to trend upwards. One of the fellow pokerplayers mentioned that I am still in the minority with my miniscule profit. And another reiterated that it was once publicized that only 7% of players(online but i would assume it carries over to live) are profitable….. 7%…. that is a nasty truth. that means that when you are sitting at the table maybe one of those players is a winner…. Yet wait everyone talks about how they make money and are a profitable player. I play alot and thus hear it alot. “Oh i make money, I make thousands and blah blah blah….” they drone on about it. But if you ever ask them for proof of this they cant provide any. My favorite is when they say “I know I am a winner long term, I keep track in my head” but If you ask them if they keep detailed records they always say they dont. Why is this ? cause Nobody wants to be a loser. I think alot of it is that they enjoy the game and like to think that they are winners at a game. No one wants to say hey I am a loser at a game of “skill”… it makes them feel bad. And dont get me wrong I am not claiming to be some bigtime winner in this little challenge of mine. its calculated out that I make like less than $1 an hour or something… and that aint going to pay the bills anytime soon.  I am not calling these people outright liars etc I just think that people have revisionist history memories… its common and its ok… Poker for alot of people is something they can afford to play with the money they make from their regular jobs, its fun for them and cause they can afford it they dont keep track of the losses.

So next time you see someone bragging about how they are a poker pro ask them what their hourly rate is and if they keep detailed records. I bet they dont or that they come up with a story on the fly. 7%… less than one person sitting at your table is a profitable and this includes you. Are you a profitable player?

Well I went up to Winstar and played in the 1-2nl cash game this Sunday. Ended up losing $200 after being up to $500+ two times… basically two bad beats the last of which was a 1k pot where i flopped a set got it all in and the guy rivered a higher set. Sucks but hey that is poker.

After the cash game i got up and left as it was obviously not going to be my night. And went to check on where my name was on the list. huh I am 60th… so i go over and try and sneak into a sng. They had a $110 starting pretty much as I walked over there. I acted like I was one of the names called and the guy asked which name was mine. I hadnt heard any of the names so I said Tom. He said it wasnt called. I said oh i must have misheard. Anyway that table took another 30 minutes to even get started. Why cause these  morons cant get things together. Its a combination of the floor walking away and leaving the dealer stranded and asking for more players cause the 20 that have been called are not showing up. All the while i was saying hey i will play. The players at the table where like let him play etc. but nope they had to stick to their list … and stuck to it they did .. .waiting several minutes before calling out a new group of players that would never show up. Eventually that table started.

And so I waited. I mitnessed the same bs happen at the $55 dollar SNG’s taking for ever to get them started as well. The young and hot blonde dealer was helpless as she kept yelling out “I need 4 more players!” it all fell on deaf ears. Also I ran into several people from the local dallas scene while waiting around, Lee happen to be at the final table of the $440. I think he ended up in  6th or 7th so congrats to that. Terrance apparently has a new favorite nickname for a hand…. “Car Keys”, cause that is what you are reaching for after losing to it(3-4).

Eventually another $110 was starting. I was still far back on the list like 32nd. But i just grabbed a card turned it over for my seat selection and sat down. It was about 30 minutes later that we were still alcking one player and My name actually gets called… LOL… I tell the guy call the next player Tom F. is me. He says why am I already sitting down if my name wasnt called till just now. I said cause i knew it would get there and was trying to save everyone time. He scowls at me and they call the next person. It took another 10 mintes before we got things underway. The SNG didnt go well and the blinds where up to 200-400 before i could blink an eye. The number of hands was really low cause There where 3 newbies trying to act like pros discussing every hand they had and talking about how big of a lay down they were making etc… only to after the hand say they had A-6 (which was nothing)… all the while the blinds where going up.

I am not saying that the Winstar crew should not use the list. The list is good. But I think that They should use the list for the first 10-15 people. Then once that is done seat the people that are waiting around(there were several of us) and then continue calling people until filled. It will make things alot faster and have alot less frustrated players.

On the Way home I needed to stop and take a piss at the rest stop , I should have stopped and peed at the casino or at the casino truck stop but i just wasnt thinking about it. Anyway I get there and apparently they have free wi-fi(good to know) So i logged on and made a few posts. I also noticed they had a WWII memorial. It was a interesting site to see this statue and 5 granite plaques with the back ground being interstate 35. I took a few pics and will post them up here in the morning.

I started out telling myself “I am playing for keeps”,”I am playing for pride”, “I am no ones friend at the MSPC at the poker table”. I told myself this cause all to often i fold when I should make a marginal call or check when i should bet. I told myself that this was a one time chance to get some respect back as I know most think that my tournament game sucks. Sadly I feel that coming in second gains no respect from the peanut gallery.

Things started out well. I did what i told myself to do play aggressive and play pound your opponents into the ground tournament poker. I grew my stack early and made moves. I bluffed at the right times and had huge hands at the right times. I was playing the game so well that people where getting frustrated that I was in alot of hand and winning alot of pots and this made them want to call me down more and more when i actually had the hands. going into two tables i was the chip leader with 2 tables. And soon i was moved to the other table I think this cost me dearly,and my stack didnt grow. At the new table the players where alot more willing to get it all in with sub par hands and willing to call raises with utter crap.this lead to some suck outs that while didnt hurt me badly it didnt help and i was unable to chip up which you have to do at a tournament.

The final table was no better than at two tables. I would constantly get pairs and raise a significant amount only to get called by ace rag. I lost significant amounts due to this. The chip leader in the last half of the final table was getting hit over the head with cards to make things worse he was to my right and the SB when I was the BB. He loved to bluff and or just take stabs. I knew he would do this and it was maddening that I call him down only for him to hit on the river I must have given him 75k on his river hits. when the cards are with you they are with you. I dont fault him for his play it was just frustrating. Combine this with the other player so willing to call 1/4 of his stack preflop with nothing and then him catching half the time. I had to go into push or fold mode as I became the short stack. ALL-IN every time I had a pocket pair or any ace. ALL-IN , ALL-IN, ALL-IN… over and over … I could tell that they were getting frustrated, but hey I dont have much choice, I cant continue to bet 20k+ at pots preflop just have them call and catch. Finally one of them calls my ALL-IN. I have 44, and he has A-10. It held up and the guy went out a few hands later.

It was heads up and I have like 120k ..maybe… and Mangabang has everything else. He got KK several times at the final table and other huge hands. Flopped a boat when another flopped 3 of a kind, caught a set when the other player got it in good preflop with an over pair. I dont fault him for his plays or his luck you got to play what comes to ya.But anyway I was still desperate to try and get this back into a poker match and every hand i am playing for everything pretty much. The hand that ended it was : Me in the BB with J-7 and him with KK. the flop was J-9-2. i check he bets and i go all in with top pair he instantly called and yep he had KK. game over.

Over all it was a good time. But I dont really care for playing competitively against friends in these types of torunaments, to many times people get pissed and or feel they were wronged by hands that were played etc, I too feel this way and it doesnt make me feel good. I did what i said i was going to do but short of winning it. I dont feel that anyone outplayed me. Maybe next time.