Nothing exciting this weekend...

Played a little bit at UB...and I'm up to $326 right now. I cashed out $2k. I'm expecting my win percentage to drop at any time now. The usual UB "run and done". If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you have to go back and read some of my previous blogs. I think I had a $5k run in July 2004.

Anyways...I'm getting bored grinding it out online. I like winning money, but it just seems like a grind to me now...even when I'm multi-tabling...and even if I'm winning. You know what...even when I was playing in the $10/$20 limit game at the Borgata, I felt as though I was grinding it out. I had a hell of a lot more fun playing blackjack than I did playing poker. As a matter of fact, I had more fun losing money in that stupid Texas Hold'em table game than I did playing $10/$20. I definitely don't have that same passion about playing poker that I had about a year ago...when I couldn't wait to get home to play online.

During my poker high, I probably played about 40-50 hours a week...sometimes even more than that. I mean, I ate/drank/slept/dreamt poker. I guess when I stop learning about something, my interest dies down. And without interest, it feels like a grind. That's probably true for anything in life.

Maybe I should go to a higher limit game? The highest I've played was $15/$30 and I lost about $300 in that one session. Maybe I should start playing no limit a little more? That could be exciting. I'll admit, my no limit game is average at best. Definitely nothing to brag about. I need something to challenge me. I need something that'll spark my interest in poker again. I'm definitely losing interest.

That $1,000 buy-in WSOP tournament was pretty exciting. I need to do one of those again...but this time, I need to win it. That'll be a challenge.

Okay, enough ranting for now.

****added 10:27pm ****
Oh yeah...I wanted to add a stock pick, just so that I can say I predicted it before it went up 20%. btw...I'm still making a killing playing the stock market, swing trading (1 day to 1 week). If you're a true gambler, you need to get in the stock market...cause that's really where the action is.



MSPD moved higher on big volume 3 days ago. It actually busted above the 20 and 50 day moving averages, then for the past three days, it has retraced back to 20 day MA, which is usually a good support level. The low on Friday was 1.38. Look for MSPD to hold 1.38, then move higher. Only buy when it's made two higher highs and two highers lows on the 1 minute intra-day chart. This stock should go up to the 200 day MA, which is around 2.0 right now. Watch and learn.


Boogster

Finally getting some money back...

Well, I finally got my money back that I lost at Bodog ($1000) and UB ($700). I'm up to about $2300 now on UB. I've been playing $3/$6, $5/$10, and $2/$4 no limit. UB is seriously the only place that I've won at consistently. Every time I try to sign up to a new site, I have the initial rush of luck, then it's like I hit a wall and come crashing down. I'm sticking with UB.

What else? Well, I played in my regular $.25/$.50 Monday night game last week. It's been a while since we've played because it's been tough getting enough players. So, anyways, we had a full table this time. I showed up a few hours late because it was my pop's birthday and we went out for dinner.

After playing for 2 hours, I ended up winning around $80-$90. I don't want to sound cocky, but most of these guys that I play with are so damn easy to read. You have one guy who's super tight/aggressive...so all you have to do is bet out on the flop and if he has something he'll call or raise, if not, he'll fold and you win the pot. So easy. Then, there's another guy who always bets the wrong amount...meaning, he always give his opponents the correct odds to draw on him. Then, when his opponent hits his "gin card", he complains about chasing.

This is Poker 101. Poker is all about odds. Okay, maybe it's not all about odds, but knowing the correct odds is the foundation in becoming a good poker player. Without this foundation, you are basically flying blind. Not good.

For those of you who don't know the "rule of 2 and 4", then it's time to learn it. I'll try to explain it as best as I can. I'll give some examples. If you are on a flush draw (9 outs) after the flop, then you have roughly an 18% chance of hitting your flush when drawing to one card and roughly a 36% chance of hitting your flush when drawing to two cards. We get 18% by multiplying 2 x (number of outs). 18% translates to roughly 4.5 to 1 (82%/18%). So, if the pot has more than 4.5 times the amount that you are about to put in, then it is correct to draw one card. We get 36% by multiplying 4 x (number of outs). Of course these are just quick estimates of the actual percentages. I don't think it applies anymore when you go above 14-15 outs. This is a must know rule, especially if you're new to the game. It's probably the easiest way to calculate odds on the fly.

So, there you have it. The "rule of 2 and 4". Learn it. Study it. Know it. It'll make you become a much better player when you can you calculate odds on the fly.

Alright...I'm out for now.

boogster

Atlantic City grind at the Borgata...

So, I made an impromptu visit to Atlantic City this weekend. I don't know...I guess I just felt like gamblin'. I'm sure everyone's had one of those "can't fight the urge" moments.

We left DC around 10:30 AM on Saturday morning and arrived at the Borgata around 3:30 PM. What normally takes about 3 1/2 hours to get to, took about 5 hours. Of course, we stopped for a quick meal at one of the State houses, but traffic was definitely on the high side. A lot of people going to the beach, I guess.

After checking in, I walked around the casino and found the new Texas Hold'em table game. It's like Blackjack, Hold'em, and Let It Ride all rolled up into one game. It was a pretty silly game, but the two guys already sitting at the table had mounds of chips in front of them. Easy enough to win money, right?

Five hundred bucks and two hours later, I left the table. Yeah, and that wasn't a PLUS $500. Awful game. Never again. Never say never.

I only had $840 on me, so I decided to take the rest of my $340 and hopefully get some of my winnings back on the $25 Blackjack table. $334 deeper in the hole, I was walking around the casino again with $6 in chips. I was broke and my ATM was maxed out. What da hell!

I walked around looking for an ATM machine in hopes that my bank had changed their max withdrawal limits. No chance. Declined. Then, I realized that I had another ATM card with me from another account. Woohoo! I took $600 out. Now, I was back in business.

I went straight to the Poker Room because I knew that I'd be able to get my money back there. For certain. I was able to get on the $10/$20 limit hold'em table within 30 minutes. Not too shabby considering the fact that it was a Saturday night at the Borgata. Well...11 straight hours of playing and I was only $168 richer. Dammit...what a waste of time. Not to mention that it was 8 AM and I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep yet.

I was wired though. I didn't need sleep. The gambling adrenaline kicked in and I was ready to go some more. Now I was only down $666 (probably a bad sign). I needed to get ALL of my money back.

So, I went back to the Blackjack table again. I played no more than an hour and boom, I was $268 richer. It was a nice little run. Now...I was only $398 in the hole.

By 9AM, I had already had a few cups of coffee and I decided to drift over to the Craps table. It was a $15 minimum. Normally a little bit high for me considering the massive amount of money that is left on the table when playing craps. Well...no more than 30 minutes later, I dropped most of my winnings from Poker and Blackjack on craps. MuthaF'er.

Still left with a few chips, I went over to the $10 Craps table. I made a MAD run. Just enough to get back to even from playing craps. I was now down about $400 overall.

With all of this playing, I decided to grab some brunch with my comp card. Man was the food yummy. Just what I needed. By 12 PM on Sunday, I still hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

Another 4 hours of gambling, playing Blackjack and that stupid Texas Hold'em table game, (which I swore I would never play again), I was about $900 in the hole. Oh well. I guess I can't always win...strange, it seems like I can't even sometimes win.

I zonked out in the car ride home and slept like a little baby that Sunday night. I tell you though, it felt good to hit the casino. I needed a few hours of hard core gambling because Vegas definitely did not fill me up.

Till next time.

Boogster

It's Friday!

I don't know about you, but this has been one of the longest weeks ever! I guess it's because I was in Vegas all last week. It's hard to recover from a little mini vacation. I'm so ready to gamble again. I might be heading to the Borgata on Saturday...maybe.

So, I'm not talking about poker in today's blog. That's because I haven't really played at all since the $1000 buy-in tournament. Playing 10 hours straight with total concentration takes a lot out of a person. I don't know how players like Negreanu and Hellmuth and all of those other tournament players played so many events in the WSOP. I'd be burned out by the 2nd day!

Let's see...what's there to talk about? How about some dumbasses?


Four men identified by police as suspects are shown in video surveillance photos released Friday in London by Scotland Yard in connection with Thursday's bomb incidents on the city's transportation system. (AP Photo/Metropolitan Police)

I hope they bring these bastards to justice. Then again, they're only suspects right now.

Let's see, I've been making loot off of the stock market. I'm telling you, stocks are a hell of a lot more exciting than poker is. Okay maybe not always, but I think daytrading is a pretty big rush. It's like getting check-raised prelfop when you have pocket Aces. It's like flopping trips, or hitting a one outer on the river....you get the drift.

I've been doing most of my trading with Ameritrade. They offer free Level 2 quotes, real-time news (Dow Jones), and free advanced charting. The only requirement is that you trade at least 5 times a month, which is nothing to a trader. Anyways, it's a great setup...I've been trading for a long time and I've never had the great tools that I have now. It's increased my profits by 10 fold.

Anybody watch the USA vs. Honduras soccer game last night? Honduras lead 1-nil throughout the entire game. With about 5 minutes left in the game, US scored two sick goals. One by John O'Brien and the other by Oguchi Onyewu. Not sure if you saw the game, but it was an incredible comeback. US plays again on Sunday for the CONCACAF Gold Cup Championship.

Let's see...what other random thoughts do I have? Anybody else excited that the football season is starting soon? A few more weeks and preseason NFL starts up. Then, of course, college football. Can't wait to watch a Monday night game on HDTV. Sick.

alright...enough with the random ramblings...have a great weekend!

Boogster

More on WSOP...

First hand that I played
I had 93o in the big blind with two limpers. The blinds were at 25-25. The flop came 2-3-8. It was checked all the way around. The turn brought a 4. I bet out 75. The immediate player to my left called and the other guy folded. The river brought a 5 and we both checked. I took down the pot with a pair of threes.

I must say, I was pretty nervous initially. There was really only one or two players at my table who seemed confident. Like they've been doing this all their life. Those were the two guys that I didn't want to mess with. So, I stuck to my game of playing tight initially, but agressive when I had to. By the second round, I had pretty nice sized stack in front of me. Enough so that I was able to bully around a few players. I kept telling myself "don't do anything stupid".

Luckiest Hand
With blinds at 25/50, I had KK in early position. As the action gets to me, the player to my left accidentally raises without waiting for my action. I look over and now, I'm not sure what to do. Should I check-raise him? Or should I just play like I never saw his raise? I decided to go ahead and raise it to 150, to see what he had. He just called. Now, by him just calling, that threw out a lot of hands like AA, KK, AK. I initially put him on AJ. The flop comes J-8-2. I bet out 300, and he goes all-in for another 800 or so. I had him covered times 2, so I wasn't worried. I immediately called and he turns over a Jack for top set! Oops! The turn brings a 5 and the river....a King! Booooyaaaa. My two outer hit and guess who wasn't complaining?

Most memorable hand
I had about 10,000 chips in front of me, the most at my table. I was fearless because I wasn't going to go bust if anyone put me all in. Blinds were at 200/400 with a 25 ante. A player in late position raises it to 1200 (he had about 3800 total). Everyone folds to me in the big blind. I look down at ATs (diamonds). I remember this guy raising with KJo in two previous hands. TWO. So, I figured that his starting hands were not as premium as some others. I decided to reraise him and hopefully get him to fold. I put another 2000 in...he immediately goes all in. I grimmace a little bit thinking that he probably had a higher pair, in between my Ace and Ten. When he flipped his cards over, he had 99. Phew...at least I still had two overcards. The flop comes K-2-3, with two diamonds. Nice, a flush draw AND two overcards. The turn brings a Q (non-diamond). Now, I have a gutshot, a flush draw, AND two overcards. The river brings a 8c and now, half of my stack is gone!

After this hand, I kinda lost my grip on the table a little bit. Before this hand, I think I won about 95% of the hands that I was involved in. This was the first major bust of mine. Now, I got a little scared because half of the table could bust me.

From this point on, I never regained my chiplead. I thought that I played extremely well. I think most of the players at the table feared me, which gave me complete confidence in my game. Could I do it again? Of course. Next time, I'm going to win it.

Last hand of the tournament
The tournament director just announces that everyone is in the money. There's a loud erruption filled with claps and cheers. Immediately after that annoucement, I look down at 9Ts. I have about 850 chips left and blinds were at 300-600 with 75 antes. Trust me, I was just happy to be in the money. I go all-in with my suited connector. Two players call. The flop comes A-Q-J. Three overcards to my crap. At least I had a open ended straight draw! The turn and river both bring blanks. And I'm out to a player who had top pair.

Oh well, I played my heart out for about 10 hours. I was very very satisfied with my result. I mean, it's the first big event that I've ever played in and I placed in the top 10%. Not too shabby if you ask me. But then again, I didn't go there to place in the top 10%. I went there to win the damn thing. I'll get em next time.

Boogster

Now I know...

Well, I made it back from my Vegas trip in one piece. It was a phenominal trip. The scene at the Rio where the World Series of Poker is taking place is nothing short of stellar. They set up over 200 tables inside their convention center. Plenty of room for everyone to walk around without bumping into each other. There were lights above each table and walkways for the spectators. It took me no more than 15 minutes to register for the $1k buy-in. Speaking of which......

I place 90th out of 971. Yes, I was "in the money". My name is on CardPlayer.com. Not only was I able to hang with the big boys, but I placed higher than the majority of them. As a matter of fact, there was a bracelet winner sitting at my table for most of the tournament. He won the Senior tournament at the WSOP this year. He was wearing his bracelet AT THE TABLE.

I wanted to bust him up so bad, but the one move that he put on me, I had ATo in late position and made it 1200 to go (blinds were at 200/400 with 50 ante). He came over the top of me and went all-in. He had me covered. After thinking for a little while, I mucked and he showed me AKo. The good thing is that I read him like a book, the bad thing is that the old man took 1200 of my chips. Oh well.

So, yeah...I won $1105 for 10 hours of play, of which $1000 of that money was my buy-in. I'm content though because I'm looking at the top 90 now and I see names such as Surinder Sunar and Humberto Brenes and my name right below theirs. I can't complain too much considering this was the first major tournament that I played in. However, next time, I'm getting myself a bracelet.

Jennifer Tilly played in the tournament as well. She won a bracelet this year. She busted out before me. I'm lovin it.

So, what else? Well, I won about $1500 playing blackjack, poker, pai gow, craps, roulette, and mini-bacarat. I played it all and I was en fuego. I couldn't lose at the Mirage where we stayed. This was the first time that I've gone to Vegas and went home a winner. I had an awesome trip.

On Sunday night, we went over to the Bellagio to check out the scene. The poker room was absolutely PACKED! We went over to the high limit section where Chau Giang and Jennifer Harman were playing in the $2000/$4000 mixed game. And David Williams was playing in the final table of the $1000 buy-in no limit hold'em tournament. After thirty minutes of standing there in awe...Daniel Negreanu walks in with E-Dogg (Erik Lindgren). They walked right by us drinking Heinekens and pointing at their friends. We saw Dewey Tomko and Mike Sexton and Matt Gieger (basketball player) all in the same night. It was crazy seeing all of these poker stars.

Who else? Greg Raymer, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Mike Matasow, Nikki Hilton, Kwame Brown, Greg Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Charles Barkley...we saw them all. There's no place like Vegas.

All in all, I got about three hours of sleep. I gambled so much that I started sweating pocket aces in the 116 degree Vegas heat. I'll talk a little more about my $1k buy-in tournament in my next blog. I'll talk about all of the mistakes that I made and all of the great hands that brought me to my 90th place finish.


Peace out.
Boogster

quick update from Vegas...

I'm up about $300-$400 overall right now. I dropped about $300-$400 at the blackjack and craps tables, but I made a mad run on the $10/$20 limit table. Cashed out with over $1k. There were some crazies playing $10/$20. Loose, agressive and terrible. I've got two more days to push $1k, so I can buy-in to the tourney for free. I'll probably play anyways, but we'll see it goes over the next few days. As long as I stay away from the craps table, I should be alright.

Boogster

feels good..

Feels good when I'm on the other end of the "all-in, 90%-win-percentage, online-poker-is-fixed" rush:

Hand #6818163-11174 at Victoria ($5/$10 Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 09/Jul/05 01:41:24

Wambamkam is at seat 0 with $278.50.
ak killa is at seat 1 with $69.
grinditout is at seat 2 with $249.
boogster is at seat 3 with $12.50.
Dallas is at seat 4 with $206.
TrevorsGirl is at seat 5 with $246.
The button is at seat 3.

Dallas posts the small blind of $2.
TrevorsGirl posts the big blind of $5.

Wambamkam: -- --
ak killa: -- --
grinditout: -- --
boogster: Jh Ts
Dallas: -- --
TrevorsGirl: -- --

Pre-flop:

Wambamkam folds. ak killa calls. grinditout raises
to $10. boogster goes all-in for $12.50. Dallas
calls. TrevorsGirl calls. ak killa folds.
grinditout calls.

Flop (board: 2h Qh Tc):

Dallas checks. TrevorsGirl checks. grinditout bets
$5. Dallas raises to $10. TrevorsGirl folds.
grinditout re-raises to $15. Dallas re-raises to $20.
grinditout calls.

Turn (board: 2h Qh Tc 8s):

Dallas bets $10. grinditout calls.

River (board: 2h Qh Tc 8s 9s):

Dallas checks. grinditout bets $10. Dallas calls.




Showdown:

grinditout shows Kh Qc.
grinditout has Kh Qc Qh Tc 9s: a pair of queens.
boogster shows Jh Ts.
boogster has Jh Ts Qh 8s 9s: straight, queen high.
Dallas shows Ad Ac.
Dallas has Ad Ac Qh Tc 9s: a pair of aces.

Post-flop, I'm a huge underdog with middle pair, but like almost always, I catch runner-runner to hit my straight. This happens way to often when a player goes all-in. I'm not even going to get into it.

Anyways, I brought my bankroll up to $1100 on UB. These rushes don't come too often, but when they do, I love 'em. The funny thing is, last year around this exact same time, I took home $5k in one weekend, due to a mad rush (I hit every hand).

Well, 4 hours before I gotta wake up to go to the airport. Time to pack.


Boogster

24 hours and I'll be in Vegas...

I'm getting pretty excited about Vegas. It's been over two years since I've been there. I've been reading all of these poker blogs and of course, Cardplayer.com, to keep up with the main event. It's been getting me sooo pumped up to be there. We arrive in Las Vegas at 10:30 AM PST tomorrow morning. I can't wait to be part of the WSOP atmosphere.

I've been making a little run at UB as well, mainly multi-tabling some $3-$6 limit hold'em. I got my bankroll up to about $700 now, which is about what I started with a few weeks ago. I still need to make up for that $1k that I dropped at bodog a few months back. No worries though because that $1k was part of my winnings from bodog. I just hate losing money that I once had, even if they were winnings.

Anyways, the itinerary is simple. Poker. Poker. And more Poker. I'll probably throw a little bit of change at the Blackjack and Craps tables, but I'll be spending the majority of my time playing hold'em. My goal is to get an all expense paid trip and a free entry into the $1k buy-in tourney. Let's see how it goes.

So, here's my daily routine right now, as far "surfing the web for poker related info":

1) Negreanu's Blog - Having a bad WSOP
2) Arieh's Blog - He's out of the WSOP now.
3) Cardplayer.com - Best WSOP live updates.
4) Tao of Poker - Live WSOP updates.
5) WSOP 2005 pictures - Great pictures.
6) Paul Phillips Blog - A paragraph of two.

I usually hit the above sites on a daily basis to check out WSOP from the eyes of a professional. And cardplayer.com definitely has the best live updates on the WSOP action. Pretty money if you ask me.

I'll leave you all with a few pictures:


clonie

not sure who this is

some hot blonde with a lot of money

don't mess with this dude....Chau Giang, one of the best high stakes poker players in the world

"keep the michelob coming..."



Boogster

Shady hand...

I'm not 100% sure, but this hand looks shady to me:

Hand #6818016-11830 at Athens ($3/$6 Hold'em)
Powered by UltimateBet
Started at 07/Jul/05 00:05:02

erc9392 is at seat 0 with $223.25.
skymiler75 is at seat 1 with $417.25.
Bad Bitch is at seat 2 with $376.
Keithbull is at seat 3 with $76.50.
boogster is at seat 4 with $52.50.
NYJ is at seat 5 with $189.50.
The button is at seat 4.

NYJ posts the small blind of $1.
erc9392 posts the big blind of $3.

erc9392: -- --
skymiler75: -- --
Bad Bitch: -- --
Keithbull: -- --
boogster: 6c 8s
NYJ: -- --

Pre-flop:

skymiler75 calls. Bad Bitch calls. Keithbull raises
to $6. boogster folds. NYJ folds. erc9392 folds.
skymiler75 calls. Bad Bitch calls.

Flop (board: Td Qs 5d):

skymiler75 checks. Bad Bitch bets $3. Keithbull
raises to $6. skymiler75 calls. Bad Bitch calls.


Turn (board: Td Qs 5d Ad):

skymiler75 checks. Bad Bitch checks. Keithbull bets
$6. skymiler75 raises to $12. Bad Bitch calls.
Keithbull re-raises to $18. skymiler75 re-raises to
$24. Bad Bitch folds. Keithbull calls.

River (board: Td Qs 5d Ad 4h):

skymiler75 bets $6. Keithbull raises to $12.
skymiler75 calls.



Showdown:

Keithbull shows Ks Ah.
Keithbull has Ks Ah Td Qs Ad: a pair of aces.
skymiler75 mucks cards.
(skymiler75 has Jc 8d.)


Hand #6818016-11830 Summary:

$3 is raked from a pot of $124.
Keithbull wins $121 with a pair of aces.

Skymiler75 caps the bet with a 8d and a gutshot?? That doesn't make sense. Looks like Keithbull and Skymiler75 are in cahoots. I hate bastards who cheat.

About two more days until Vegas, baby. Going to make a huge ATM withdrawal tomorrow. Might have to rent a uhaul truck.


Boogster

Vegas in three days.

Well, I'm heading to Vegas in a few days here. It's going to be crazy over there because more than 6500 people are expected to play in the main WSOP tournament. Since my game has been poo poo lately, I haven't decided whether I want to be dead money or not and play in the $1000 buy-in tourney. I'll decide when I get there.

I know my game is not in top form right now because of lack of playing, so I really don't want to "waste" my money. I'm going to play some limit hold'em and some smaller buy-in tourneys before July 12th to try to build up a bankroll to play in the $1k no limit. We'll see what happens. It'd be much easier if it wasn't my money in the tourney.

I'm going to try to write a blog while I'm out in Vegas. It'll most likely happen if I'm winning because I hate talking about getting busted up. It's a hell of a lot more fun blogging about my winning streaks :).

Alright...I'm out. I might try to get a $1/$2 no limit game going tonight.

Boogster

$60 buy-in no limit tourney...

Play in a 17 man $60 no limit tournament yesterday. I played pretty tight for the first 3 rounds and had my stack a little over the 2000 starting stack when this hand came up. I had AA in the cutoff, blinds were at 75/150. I made it 300 to go. Everyone folds except for the small blind, who just calls. The flop comes T-Q-Q. The small blind checks, and I bet out 300 into a 750 pot. He check raises me to 600. After much deliberation, I folded. I just didn't put him a T, but he told me that he had a T after he folded! CRAP! Bad read.

A few hands later, I had K6s in the big blind. Everyone folds to the button, who limps in. The small blind folds. The two of us take the flop. The flop comes A-7-2. The button checks and I check behind him. K comes on the turn, giving me second pair. The button, who was also the big stack, bets out 200 into a 300 pot. I call quickly. The river brings a Q. He bets out 400 (I have about 800 left) and after much deliberation again...I fold. He shows me a pair of queens. CRAP! ANOTHER BAD READ! MF'er.

I don't know what's going on with me, but after making some great reads in the past few weeks, I've gotten hesitant/scared again. It's all about survival in a no limit hold'em tourney, but you don't win a tournament by playing scared. And I'm playing scared right now.

Here's another hand that I played badly. I have A-T in the small blind. There are 4 limpers, blinds are at 50/100....with 500 in the pot. The flop comes 2-8-T. I check and it checks all the way around. ALL THE WAY! The turn brings a J. I bet out 200. I get 4 callers! The river brings a small card and I check, as does everyone else. The winner takes the pot with J-K. In hindsight, I should've bet out on the flop. There's absolute no way that I should let anyone see a free card after the flop!!!

I'm playing bad. Real bad. I'm going to Vegas in 6 days and my game feels like it's gone to crap. I feel like Negreanu now. All he talks about these days is his dog Mushu and his Golden Tee. I thought he was a professional poker player? Anyways, I need to rediscover that passion that I had to play poker and to win at poker...like I did a year ago.


Boogster