Take a Seat

I will usually read two or three poker books at a time. I will try to find some common ground in the books that help me build my strategy when I get a chance to play tournament poker. It is one of those things that you are always learning and I am constantly working on my game.

I tend to go back and forth between Live play and Tournament play and there is a difference in how I approach them. I have to sit down and then think about my goals in the game before I start.

One of the first things I do is look around me in tournament poker. Who am playing with at the table? Are these players older or younger? Have I played against them before and what have they done against me.

Another area is looking to my left and right two players away. Usually these will be the players I will be playing against most of the time. The same questions go through my mind about these players.

I like to make friends at the table and if I can get someone to talk with me then I feel I might learn something about them. This goes a long ways into understanding what they are trying to do when they play.

The first two or three levels I am not wanting to play unless I have a very good premium hand. I am saving my chips for the higher levels when I need to start making plays. I am not someone that will bluff but I have been known to try and get the pot if the board looks like it might help me. Doesn't everyone?

The new book I am reading is Jonathan Little's book Volume 1. He has a new book out Volume 2 and I do plan on buying it as well. My delimma right now is do I purchase as an eBook or get the hard copy? I still haven't decided to get the Kindle Fire yet so waiting to purchase the book. Just can't make that decision yet.

Well, it is off to work today. Will be dealing possible 3 tournaments and some live play. Will be pretty tired by the time I get home.

Have a fun day......

Saddle Up

The horse I was riding was gone. When I picked myself up from the ground, after being bucked off, I turned around and could see the horse running away from me. I was sad to see that horse leave. It had given me a lot of rides through the country side seeing the things that were beautiful and it was so comfortable. Yes, the saddle was gone as well. I knew I would never see that horse again.

Now what was I going to do? The horse was gone and I needed to find a new ride. I decided to stay put just in case another horse came along that I could ride. Sure enough a horse did wonder by and I was able to climb aboard and I rode this horse without a saddle for just a little while.
I knew the horse wasn't going to stick around very long as it would wander in the evenings and come back in the mornings. I didn't have a way to corral the horse to make it stay with me.

Sure enough one day he was gone. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to this horse. I didn't have a saddle on him so letting him go was a little bit easier than the horse before. Having no horse to ride again left me in a different spot and now I really didn't have a way to get around.

I was left to wander in the country side for quite some time. Seeing the green grass and the trees on foot left me feeling good though. I was able to smell the air and see things that really was important to me. It wasn't about having a horse, all the time, to go where I thought I should go. Actually having the horse is important but the horse needs to be content with where your at as well.

During this time another horse came by and this one had a saddle on it as well. I thought to myself this is great since this horse wanted to stick with me and stay by my side. This horse had some tricks that had been learned during its time with another owner. In fact it was fun to ride this horse and learn the new tricks. This horse was making me have fun again and I was able to get out and see some new parts of the country that I hadn't seen before.

This horse and I have ridden together for quite a while now and both of us have become comfortable with each other. I am able to jump into the saddle and together we take off and every day is a new day for both of us. Things are going along so well for us that we sometimes forget to look around the corner and see what is waiting for us. We were not looking for the dangers that could affect our ride.

I know that someday this horse is going to get old and may not be with me anymore. I know that things change even in a horses life. If this horse decides to move on then I will have to let it go. I won't take the saddle off and I will be sad to see something happen to the horse but I will continue to walk the country side looking for another ride.

So, this horse is still with me. I will ride this horse until I am no longer able to sit in the saddle. This story is still continuing on and we will see what decisions this horse will make.

Have a fun day.......

Happy Factor

I dealt two final tables yesterday and was kept busy at both of them. I was glad when I was done and we closed up the area and went home.

I was trying to make up my mind whether to go back for the evening bounty tournament. I keep hearing about how good this tournament is and I am usually not available to play Wednesday evening. The decision was made about 45 minutes before the tournament started to go ahead and try it out.

I am glad I did. It was a fun tournament dealing with the bounty button. We had re-buys available so for the first two rounds I waited for spots to go all in and try to double my chip stack. I ended up loosing the chips and did one re-buy and started to get serious about playing. I wasn't too far behind at this point.

I did make the final table and from there I started winning some pots and at the end we chopped the total purse four ways and we each made $100. Not a bad night and this also adds to the bankroll. I also got $5 for each bounty taken out and I cashed in four of them. One of them was mine.

I have a number that I wanted to reach for my bankroll and last night I reached it. I am very pleased and now I am going to go after the next number I want to achieve before the end of the month. Is that setting goals?

I was reading an article out of "Bluff" magazine last night talking about the happy number. The way they referred to it was as $H. What is your $H number? If you don't like what your doing you have the decision to change that and be happy. Mine is poker right now. I enjoy the game and what it gives me. I also enjoy being with my friends and family and I do that as well. Taking time for friends and family is important to me and I will not play poker if I have the opportunity to be with them. So, having a $H is important to keep some balance.

Have a fun day......

Lingering Thoughts

Usually when I am done with a hand in poker I forget about the scenario and move on. I don't let poker hands bother me if I played or not. Now if I have a hand that I feel I could have won I start to think about it and then go over it in my mind to see if I could have done anything differently during the hand.

I am talking about the hand I played in the tournament the other night. It just goes through my mind that I was bluffed off of a situation where I could have taken him out since I had more chips than him. I still feel I had the better hand but why didn't I call. I guess it comes down to position and he put me to the test first. Could I push all in behind him and risk my chips? I guess not. He won by what he did.

This reminds me of one other time that I was bluffed and that was in a Wildhorse Round-up event. I had just gotten out of the tournament and decided to play a live cash game. I had about $200 in front of me and the person on my right went all-in with about $300. I knew I was ahead with Aces but what I didn't know was if he had two pair. Again I was put to the test of the all-in move and I backed down. Again I knew he was bluffing me but I couldn't make the move. He had early position and was making me make the hard decision.

So, this hand will linger on my mind just a little bit longer or forever since I know now I lost two hands that I should have called. It is important to make great decisions at the poker table.

I am wondering what it takes, and how much time it takes, to make a good money producing poker player. I know you have to study and you need to be able to play. The bankroll is important. Having someone critique your game is nice as I have had a couple of online coaches help me with my online play but now it has to be at the live tables.

Everytime I watch the blog on "The Dan's Plan" of making the professional golf tour in 10,000 hours I keep wondering what about the plan for making it as a poker player? Does it exist? Can it happen? I really believe so but you have to find it and get the proper quidance. I am searching as I know my situation is going to change and I am trying to be ready with my bankroll intact to start the next journey.

Having a group of people around you to discuss poker and the hands played has helped. Finding that group is the hard part and keeping in touch with those that play when situations change will make it hard as well.

This is an ongoing project for me. I am thinking of ways to set my quidelines and the rules of engagement. This should be fun.

Have a fun day.......

Sick? Stay Home!!!!!!!

I was trying to write the blog at night and then I didn't make it. I quess I will stay with the mornings and give you the story next day.

Monday was my day off so I decided to get to the casino and play the 10am tournament. We did get a live game going and I was up about $8 when the tournament started. I used it to add on to my chips in the tournament. I really didn't get to far into the tournament and was taken out.

I decided to go back to the casino in the evening and play some live as well as the 6pm tournament. I got into the live game when I arrived and played for about 45 minutes. I was able to increase my stack by $20 by the time the tournament started.

The tournament started right off for me on the first hand. I had top pair on the board and I did a continuation bet. I was called and we saw the turn. It was a low card that I felt only helped me. We then looked at the river card and again it was a low card but I still felt I was in the lead. He went all in and I tanked for a few seconds to figure out if I really was beat. Even though I had enough chips to call him and still have some left over I wasn't sure if I wanted to put everything on the line right off the bat.

Did he really have some sort of straight? Would he have played junk cards like this? I was in the blind so I had just called to see the flop with the blind. My decision was to muck my cards and fight another day and stay in the tournament. Good thing I did. I ended up cashing in the tournament at the end.

I was in seat nine and we had a player in seat seven who was sneezing and coughing at the table. Not covering up when he did sneeze. You could see spray on the table. I was totally not happy. I told the person in seat eight that if I get sick I will be very upset. When I got home that night I went directly to the medicine cabinet and loaded up on vitamin C and then used spray on my hands. I did that at the casino as well because we were touching the chips of this guy. I say again if you are sick stay home. We don't want what you have.

My diabetes issue has not changed and I will discuss next week after I see my physician. Could be changes in my life starting at the end of March. My goal right now is to build the bankroll as high as I can.

Have a fun day.......

Good Day!!!!

Dealing on Saturday was going to be a big day for the dealers. We were supposed to deal the early morning and then the noon tournament and at 3:30pm was the tournament that was to draw in a lot of players.

This tournament was a $500 guaranteed at $15 buy in with T$2000 in chips and 15 minute rounds. We ended up having over 40 players sign up. This would have been nice to play as well, but I am dealing. I sit down at table three and prepare the table to deal.

Everything was so loud today I just tried to get into my little zone and push everything out except the players and what they were doing. Remember the other day I had an issue with chips and five all ins. This was on the back of my mind and how was I going to handle my first big push from the players.

Well it happened. I ended up having six players push all in and two of them were for odd amounts. I took that deep breath and then started working the numbers in my head. First I took the even amount and multiplied it out and then I took the odd amount and doubled and added and got the remainder of the main pot. I then took the second pot and put it together and what was left was the third pot. We continued with the hand and it played out correctly. Most of these players know that I have had trouble with this and when I got it done they told me that I did good.

I even had one guy stand up and say to the table that he was impressed in the way I handled it and everyone agreed. This was a big step for me in dealing with all ins and breaking down the chips. They even did it again later and I was able to get it right again. They were not sure about it so we called the floor over and I went over what I did in breaking down the chips and it was correct. I then told the table that I did have it correct the first time.

I know it takes a bit to get the trust of the players and I am hoping I am doing that. I am trying to get the trust of the dealers as well that I can handle the situations that come up. It is a learning process for me and I will get there.

I did play some live $2-$6 Spread in between the tournaments. We were unable to get the required amount of players for the noon tournament so we sat and took turns dealing the live game. When we weren't dealing we were making sure the table was full with dealers in the game. I am not a fan of playing this way as I will usually throw away my $20 to $40 I put up. I play so differently than when I sit down with my bankroll. I need to just sit there and wait for good hands but I also try new things when I am sitting there to see if something might work. Maybe use it in a live game with the bigger buy in. Also to see if players will play against me with certain hands and the position I am in. This is a leak in the game and I am more interested in growing my bankroll right now than letting it go.

I have mentioned on here about me having diabetes. I am scheduled to visit my doctor in a week. I am having some diabetes related issues and will talk about them later. I may start documenting these issues to keep track of what is going on.

I know this blog is about poker related topics but sometimes branching out a little bit about the things that are going on sometimes relates to what is happening at the table. I am a poker player, dealer, a diabetic and a little bit overweight trying to keep all things together. I have a family and just went through my Mom passing away and now dealing with all the paperwork and keeping up with Dad. A lot in my life and I don't mind sharing some of what is happening.

Have a fun day.....

Day Off

I had a day off from dealing and I was able to make the phone calls I needed to try and finish up my Mom's financial stuff. I still have to talk with Social Security with my Dad this next week but other than that we are just about set to continue on as time will move forward.

I did have my eyes examined and the good news is that they haven't changed since 2009. I am wearing the same prescription as I started with that year. What an accomplishment for someone with Diabetes and I have been fighting everything else so this is good.

I am pretty tired today and I know I will be dealing the 10am, 12pm and the 3:30pm tournament today. I got all of my sleep I was supposed to get but my body is tired. Let's hope I don't mouth off to someone today. Let's just have an easy button day.

Have a fun day......

I Had Enough!!!!

I was sitting at the final table dealing the tournament and was moving along smoothly. I still have some issues with making sure the chips get divided the correct way with more than two individuals in the all in pots. I am getting better at it and will continue to get that skill down. The hard part is when the players start throwing numbers out at me and then I start getting confused.

After the floor came over and we got the thing figured out it came out alright. This was the first time I had five people go all in and with three different chip counts. To top that off the two with the least amount of chips ended up chopping the pot and another got what was left.

Now we start the next tournament. I was doing fine going along and getting the cards out. We were nearing a blind change and also looking at loosing one more player to get to the final table. I was at the second table with five players and the final table at six players. Someone was talking behind me at the table mentioning a pause to combine.

I turned around to see if we were to pause or if I was to keep dealing since I had just completed a hand on my table. One of the players said for me to continue the deal since he was on the clock and that I needed to hurry. At this point I started fuming. It took me about three hands later and then the table was to break for me to finally say what I have been wanting to say for a long time.

I told the table in general but directed it to the person that had said hurry up to me. I said that I bet that if they were to time me to see how long it took me to shuffle and deal the cards I could beat them with the time it takes them to make their decisions if they were going to play the cards or not. He tried to counter with something and I repeated myself about three times and then I told him I was done with the conversation. My point was made.

In the end he did cash at the final table and he decided not to leave a tip. Let me work this one out. Four dealers splitting his tip of $5 would egual $1.25 each? I think I got my point across.

Last night I went in and played $2-$10 Spread Limit. I started out playing too many cards and it cost me about $40. I need to play tighter when I walk in and sit down. For the next two hours I was up and down with the chipstack but in the end after two hours I was at a minus $40. See, if I would have been smarter at the beginning I may have been on the other side of that column.

On my Birthday I did play a tournament and won a seat for a sattelite into the Seniors Tournament. That would be a fun one to get since I am planning on playing in that one anyway. It would be nice to earn my way into it and spend less money. This will come at the end of the month.

I got a letter from the County yesterday saying that my Mom was to report for Jury Duty in April. Do you think that is going to happen? Where do they want the Urn to sit?

Have a fun day.......

Time Change

Don't you just hate it when the time changes? I know I do and it is hard to get accustomed to each time it happens.

I am trying to switch over to an evening blog but having a hard time remembering my new itenerary for the evening. I am trying to cook more at home in the evenings, putting in some walking or exercise time and then I will study poker and read and then write the blog. I quess you could ask me "How is that going for you"? Not!!!

I am trying to switch over to evening blog writing since that would be the easiest for me. The mornings are tight time wise and if I get going on the bus again it will even be shorter. The idea there is to save some money on gas. The other is trying to be home in the evening and I will try to make dinner since we have gotten to eating out alot.

The restaurants are fun to spend time at since we are given everything and we don't have to fix the meal. Of course, we have to pay for the meal and that costs as well. I was looking at our financials last night and just about all of the expenses out of my account are restaurant related.

I have been trying to improve on my poker skills. I was able to watch a dealer yesterday that comes with 20 years experience at Foxwoods. Watching her deal the cards and move around the table was nice and smooth. Her presence at the table was control of the game. She gave me a couple of tips and I will start to practice them today. I told her we needed to have a technique type of class with her. We are all at different levels and maybe she can help us reach our potentials.

Also watching the players a little bit more. There are certain people who get to the final table more than others. What are they doing? How are they playing so if I happen to play against them what can I watch for? Some of the perks of being a dealer and being a dealer that deals to them on a daily basis.

Got to go to work.

Have a fun day.......

Weekend

Everything went very well for the Memorial for my Mom. We had a lot of help from family and friends that even made it better. Overall it was a good experience for all and now we have to move on since time does move forward. My time and efforts will now move over to my Dad and make sure he is taken care of when and how needed. Not that I haven't already but he is the only one left now and my efforts will be totally there.

I was called late Saturday night to see if I would work a shift in the poker room on Sunday night. I did agree since my family was leaving on Sunday morning. I got to the casino around 5PM and at the time the tournament was to start we had 6 players so it was decided to cancel the tournament. We then decided to sit down and play a live game to see if we could get anyone interested. This consisted of three dealers and two players.

I am not a fan of playing this way but figured I would help. I bought in for $60 and over about a 30 minute time span I was at zero. We had a new player that was hitting cards by playing 72, 83, so forth. We has dealers try to be soft with each other but sometimes we get in our own way trying to do that. That is a whole different story.

On Monday I delivered my sister to the airport and she was able to catch her flight home. I went over to the casino to see if I could catch a tournament at Noon. While I was waiting for the tournament to start I went over and played Ultimate Texas Hold'em and that was a mistake on my part. I was back and forth until it wore me down and I lost my $60 playing that game. I know better but I did have fun. Not one I will play again.

The tournament started with two tables. I was up and down with my chips at the start but was able to keep going when I needed to. We made it down to the final table and I would go all in when I had to keep the chips coming in and I could go another round of blinds. By letting the other players take each other out and being patient I was able to make it with players left and at that time one of the players asked for a chop. We all agreed and we made $40 per person. Almost broke even for the day. I did feel good about the final table play and another dealer that was playing made it as well. Two out of the five were dealers.

We watched the Biggest Looser last night and I must say it is getting interesting now. Loosing weight and feeling better is a goal of mine but like them it is hard doing this by yourself. I need to have someone push me and make appointments for exercising and trying to figure out meal plans. All of this is hard to do. Will try to get back on track.

Have a fun day......

Friday

As I have said previous I am off until next Tuesday. Tomorrow is the Memorial for my Mom. My wife has done a lot of work getting the pictures ready for the service. Everytime I look at it or read my letter to my Mom I just have a hard time. I keep saying I will get through this and I will be there for my Dad and help him as well.

Right now my mind is not on poker. I did have a good day yesterday dealing the tournaments and dealing some live.

Dealers playing against dealers. That should be one of my posts next week. Have a good weekend.

Have a fun day......

You Played What!!!

Yes, I hear that all the time when I am in the box dealing cards.

I was given the opportunity to play in the $2 tournament in the morning since we had too many dealers for the amount of players. I let them know that I was willing to play in this one and not work.

This tournament has T$1,000 in chips and you can increase your chips by buying more at $1.00 per T200 chips up to $5 for T$1,000 more. I did that since I want to have as much as possible to give me more room to play with the chipstack.

I have learned that I don't just limp into the pot anymore unless it has been raised and then there are calls and sometimes depending on the cards I will call. Now, I know that is not a limp but still it hasn't eliminated any players.

In this case I raised the pot and got a couple of callers. On the flop the cards where in my favor with no flush draw, straight draw and all mid t low cards. I had QQ in my hand. I raised it up and the guy next to me went all in. I thought he could have a set or a small pair. Nothing else scared me so I went all in as well. He turns over A2. You know what happened, he caught an Ace on the river to beat me.

This is the style of play in this type of tournament. I would play my hand the same next time and probably win. I am not frustrated about the outcome but still the question why did you play the A2?

Today is the last day of work till Tuesday. I will have 4 days off for my Mom's memorial coming up on Saturday. My family will start coming in today and everyone will be here on Friday. We are making a schedule for meals and hoping everyone gets taken care of.

Have a fun day......

Poker

I know that lately I haven't talked too much poker on this blog. I guess you could say I am a little preoccupied. This weekend will be my Mom's memorial and we have been preparing for the service. In the meantime I have been continuing to work at the casino to not only keep up with working but to keep my mind busy as well. I get home in the afternoon and I start thinking about Mom and it still hurts. Hopefully I can get through the weekend and start this healing process for myself. She will always be in my heart.

I am still reading the book "Decide to play Great Poker" by Annie Duke. This book is a good read and has helped me stop and think about the decisions I need to make at the table. I have cashed in a couple of tournaments lately and I know it is due to what I am learning in this book.

I have taken the Pre-Game and Pre-Flop chapters and have studied them. I guess that is why I am slow in getting through the book. I am taking my time with each one and implementing each chapter before I move on. That would sort of make it strange in the end on the river since I don't have the knowledge of how to think about the river card and betting but if I know what I want to do in the beginning then when I get there I will have the thought process there to play the end.

One of the things that is helping me greatly is not limping into the pots. Again making the decision to raise if I want to play and if the cards are just not in my range then get rid of them and wait for another two cards. Especially the suited and non suited connectors. I have made the decision that I won't chase straights but I still will take a look at flushes if I have an Ace that would give me the nuts. Of course everything else would have to look good as well on the board.

I am getting close to finishing the chapter and will move on to the next one soon. I am also anxious to get back playing the live game and I am starting to feel good about my tournament play again. I am looking at playing at Wildhorse Casino in April in one of their events. That would be a good test for me.

Off to work I go today and tomorrow then four days off.

Have a fun day......

Road Trip

Today I took my Dad on a road trip. We needed to purchase some CD's and couldn't find the singers in this area. I called down to College Place to see if they might have the group available on CD. Sure enough they had them and they also had the volumes I needed.

I picked up Dad from the Assisted Living apartment and we headed off for the one hour trip. He enjoyed getting out and seeing what is new and being built around the area. He hasn't been on this type of a drive in about 3 years. Seeing all of the new apartment complexes and houses and the size of the housing struck him.

As we left the city and got out into the country he was even more excited to see what has changed. We drove on the new 4 lane highway and he thought that was pretty good. We used to drive these roads alot back in the early 80's and they were all 2 lane back then.

We arrived in College Place and picked up the music. I took him to lunch and noticed how run down the area was becoming. The city fathers want the area not to grow but then again the infrastructure takes a hit as well. They are tearing down a mall. We were totally surprised. We drove around and then we headed home.

We had trouble on the way back. I don't know if it was the travel for the first time or the food. We both had the salad and I was fine. He threw up twice on the way back. I was sure happy to get him back to his room and he wanted to take a nap. Maybe a little too much travel.

I did not play poker on Monday at all. We are getting closer to the Memorial and items need to be taken care of. I am putting in my time for the next 3 days at the casino and then will have 4 days off for family and friends and my Mom.

My question is how does one train for poker? You got to play the games and study the books. How do you know you can be a winner at the tables? Things I will be thinking about. I am building my bankroll and will be using this to keep pushing for better play.

Have a fun day........

Longest Day

This was the longest day I have had to stay at the casino to work. Starting at around 10:30 and getting things set up for the noon tournament. In the meantime we also get a live $2-$6 game going and we usually get the 10 players and we have fun till the tournament starts.

By Noon we ended up with 3 tables and some alternates. That takes us almost to 2:30 to finish and then we get that live game going again. We do well with the live game and people are interested in us getting back to it as soon as we can. We like to have at least 5 players so the Monte Carlo's are in effect for the players.

At 3PM we are ready for the next tournament. This one is te Player of the Week tournament. Since we did not have the tournament last week the money was carried over to this one. It ended up being over $500 being added to the buy ins. We had 4 tables with alternates for this one and I actually left when I was relieved and that was at 6:30PM to go home.

I had a player say something to me during the tournament that I couldn't understand. He was upset but he wouldn't talk with me. Later after we had broken the table and moved them to the final table I was walking past the pit area and one of the dealers informed what was going on. He was complaining that we are not keeping with our policy of keeping players back off of the tables and behind the ropes. I understand this and went over to the floor and told them we needed to either do this or not. But at least be consistant. The floor moved the players back.

I am very happy that my bankroll keeps climbing right now. I did not play today so the tips were the ones that increased the numbers. I do have a number in mind and I am trying to push as quickly as I can to get to that number so I can start working the tables again.

Today I am off and I am headed to Walla Walla to pick up some music my mom enjoyed so we can play it at the church. So much to do right now since family is due in at the end of the week. It will be good seeing everyone.

Have a fun day......

Sunday

We had a very busy day at the Casino yesterday. I arrived at 9AM and didn't get out of there until 4:30PM. It was long but it was productive. I was kept busy the whole time.

I ended up dealing a couple of tournaments and then we settled in to a live $2-$6 spread game. We alternated every 30 minutes which was better than the every hour the day before. Gets tireing after awhile.

The other day I saw something I hadn't seen before. The dealer was going through the motions of dealing the cards but didn't stop at the river but dealt one more. Would you call that the ocean card? He even went as far as using it to help the person win the hand. We did let him know to pull that card back and relook at the cards.

We are now getting started in giving away 3 seats to the Wildhorse event in April. One Womens, one Senior and one Main Event seat. That should be fun and I don't think I will try for any of them and just play or work the tournaments. If I do play it will be at Wildhorse. It is good to get in via a satellite but right now I have no desire to try for one.

I was talking to a friend the other day and he knew of a trainer that could help me set up some workout regimens and they are easy enough that I don't have to kill myself going to a gym. I will be starting on these real soon as I would still love to loose 50 pounds right now. Total weight is 225 and started at 243 and would like to continue to loose. Need the motivation to continue on after this memorial for my Mom.

I am going on a road trip to College Place tomorrow with my Dad to pick up some music for the Memorial. It will be good to get him away for a day. See the old stomping grounds. Could be hard since Dad and Mom lived there for quite some time. We will see the houses they lived in and where we worked. Might be good for us.

Have a good fun day.......

Poker Birthday

With the day off and I finished some of the stuff I set out to do before next week it was time to hit the casino as a player.

I arrived early so I could sit in on the Live $2-$6 game. This game will run prior to the next tournament which costs $2 to get into. We get about 30 players and makes for a nice fast tournament like a MTT Sit-n-Go.

Back to the cards. I did real well and caught a couple of flushes that built my chip stack. I started with $40 and closed out the session when the tournament started at $110. Nice start for the day.

The tournament started and I didn't get very far and busted out early. This allowed me to go get lunch and then get back to the casino to play some more live poker before the next tournament.

During this session I did drop back the stack of chips to being + $20 over the starting buy in from this morning. I couldn't hold on to the whole amount. So now I am at $20. Time to go and start the tournament.

This tournament is an $8 buy in with T$4000 starting chips. You are able to rebuy for the whole amount if you are felted. I started off real well by tripling up my stack with two other people. I had the nut flush and one other person had a lower flush and the other person had two pair. I do like trying for the flushes if the price is right and the chips in the pot are worth going after.

I then started playing the table more since I had the chip stack to do that. Eventually getting to the final table and working on my chip stack. We got down to 8 players and that is when I started letting people know what the chop amounts are. When we got to 6 players I told the group again and one person said no, which is fine with me because I was just letting them know.

When we reached 5 players I was winning pots and my chip stack growing to be second in chips and the first person said he would chop if he got the biggest amount. This has happened to me before and I don't feel it is fair. I told him that with me winning the last few pots that "I was coming" and working on his stack. When I won the next stack he looked over and said that he would chop. I told him I would do it if he took a lesser amount and we took a more fair chop. He agreed.

I am not a fan of chopping but I am less of a fan of giving someone more money with more chips because that can change in an instant as that was happening real fast last night with me building my chips. Plus I needed to get to an appointment in 15 minutes but didn't want them to know that.

Overall my Bankroll moved up $80 for the day. Happy Birthday to me. After this we went to Red Lobster with our son to celebrate the day.

Off to work I go and have a fun day......

This is my Birthday.....

As far as poker went yesterday it was a good day. I did the usual of dealing one tournament and then two of us continued on dealing the live game until around 4PM. That means the live game went about 5 or more hours. In between dealing and being able to play to keep the game alive I did double up my buy in. In the end I gave some of it back but overall it was a productive day for me.

Once upon a time there was a Prince and Princess who lived far far away in a land of dirt. This is where they got the chance to know each other. One day they made the agreement that they would join forces and be married to one another. The Prince who was now King went away for awhile to serve the mighty country they lived in. The Princess who is now Queen stayed home and prepared their home for his return. They even moved to an area where trees were plenty and the rain came down most of the time.

When the King came back from overseas from his long battle he was able to stay home and not go back. The Queen liked that and from that time forward they decided to have a family. After the family was started they moved to a different land of sand. The King would would work in the big buildings with others and earn the gold that would support his family.

Their first born was a son and he liked to work in the fields. They named him Stacy. He grew up to be a traveler as well and spent time working on the land. He eventually settled down with his family and now works in a building and spends his time teaching kids to play a game with a round ball.

Their second born was a son as well. They were expecting a girl and there was a surprise when a boy was delivered to the King and Queen. They didn't have a name picked out for the little boy but did have a girls name. The name was supposed to be Stephanie Kimberly and since they didn't know what to do they changed the name to Steven Kim. Steve was not a person who enjoyed being outdoors working on the land. One time in the land of dirt the King decided to plant cherry tomatoes. We worked the land after our hours studying in school. Steve eventually worked in the Health Field and spent many hours working on Neonates after they were born. He is now involved in a game with cards.

The third child to the King and Queen was a girl. Her name was Kristi. Even though the Queen would make her look pretty she still hung around with the two brothers and we would play in the dirt. She moved on in time to also work in the health field and eventually staying home to help take care of her grandchild.

Now, while we were in the land of dirt the King and Queen had one more child name Jana. During her time of growing up she was strong willed and anything she wanted to do she would do it and don't get in her way. She would eventually grow up and work in the entertainment area building things to make people happy.

As you can see the King and Queen had 4 children and they all grew up to be able to take care of themselves. The number two son always tried to make sure the King and Queen was near and that they would be happy and safe from harm. The other children would also make sure that if anything was needed it was available to the King and Queen as well. We love the King and Queen of our world.

Today is the Birthday of the number two son. He is now 56 years old and during this time he is taking care of the Queens affairs to make sure they are completed. Your life was happy and we are proud to have you as our Queen.

Have a fun day......

Leap Year

I can just imagine all of those people that were born on the 29th of February and having a birthday every four years.

My story goes like this. My Mom was pregnant with me in 1955-56 and since I was due to come at any moment the doctor wanted to induce my Mom on February 29. Now I am sure they were not thinking about the leap year but were thinking about me and it was time to be born.

My Mom and Dad said no, of course, because they didn't want to have a leap year kid. They wanted me to come into the world when I was ready.

In the early morning of March 2 I was born to my parents into this world. A world with no promises just dreams of what you can accomplish.

So, there you have it. I outlasted the leap year and get to have a birthday every year. Every leap year I wonder what it would have been like though to be born on that day since I was so close.

I am playing a little bit of live cash in the morning with some of the regulars before we get started with the tournaments. So far I have been up $20 each time. Ok, I will grow the bankroll slow. A win at the table is a win and will take it no matter what.

I always say that Spring starts for me on March 1 each year. I don't want to be a winter baby. So welcome to Spring even if it is cold. Today is sunny and cold. At least half of it is right.

Have a fun day......

Short Tuesday

Yesterday ended up being a short day at work. Our $25 tournament did not happen. Evidently another casino in town is running something pretty close to ours and it drew the customers across town.

We did run the $2 tournament early morning with about 30 players and we also had a live game running prior to the tournament. Lets hope today we can run both our early and noon tournaments.

On Saturdays we are going to start an all day Sit-n-Go's. We will have them starting every hour to hour and a half and then run the live game continually if they want to play. Hopefully changing it up a little bit will help.

Since I had the time at home I decided to allow myself the time to write my letter to Mom. It is done and now I need to go over it as well. It was very hard for me to do this and allowed me to get some feelings out that were being built up inside of me. I know it was good and needed to be done.

My wife and I went to the church and we discussed the Memorial for my Mom and so we are on our way to setting up what needs to be done.

After all of that we decided to go get something to eat. We like to eat at Bento's. This is a Terriyaki place and they serve good food. We sat down and ordered. We had some other people walk in and sit down close to us and I then realized that this was a son with his older mom. I could hardly contain myself. Something I couldn't do because of the Alzheimer and Cancer.

I quess if I had to say one thing about all of this please take your Mom out to dinner and enjoy their company. You will be glad you did and the memories you create will be lifetime.

Today I am going to put my Mom's Obituary here in my blog.

Marla V. Irwin was born September 24, 1931 to Bonnie and Dora Collins Whadford in Payette, ID.

Her family moved to Selah, WA where Marla met Norma Lambdin and her mother Muriel Patterson. She then moved with them to Hooker, OK where she attended school graduating in 1949. There she met the love of her life, Henry Irwin, they were married in 1951. After Henry completed his military service they moved to Seattle, WA where they started their family. Following the birth of their third child they moved to Indio, CA where their fourth child was born. In 1968 they returned to the Seattle, WA area living in Enumclaw and Auburn until 1977 when they relocated to College Place, WA. Upon her retirement in 1991 as a medical receptionist, they moved to Buckeye, AZ. In 2001 they returned to Richland, WA to be closer to family.

She was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Her faith was strong. She was open to all religions, studying and reading the bible in groups to enrich her knowledge. She would share her knowledge with friends and family and was eager to learn more.

Her parents, siblings Chet, Bonnie, Colin, Doris and Maxine and her adopted mom Muriel Patterson, preceded her in death. She’s survived by her loving husband of 61 years, Henry, children Stacy and Tracey of Waterflow, NM; Steve and Cindy of Richland, WA; Kristi Perham and fiancé Clyde Weik of Spanaway, WA; Jana Treadwell of Los Angeles, CA: Seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and her adopted sister Norma Lambdin of Oklahoma City, OK.

Have a fun day......

Busy Day non Poker

This morning I have some items that need to get done. I needed to get all of the obituaries sent off and paid for. We have five papers that are being notified and make sure we follow all of their rules for getting them in soon.

I started work on the local paper, Tri-City Herald and went through the list of finding addresses and sending them the obituary by email. It was easy enough, the part that was hard was the wait for acceptance.

I also contacted Hooker Advance in Hooker, OK, The Daily Times in Farmington, NM, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin in Walla Walla and then the final one was Independent-Enterprise in Payette, ID.

They were all very friendly folks and I had no issues getting them in. The cost is what surprised me. I will list the lowest to the highest in charges:
5) Hooker Advance at $3
4) Independent-Interprise at $46.50
3) Tri-City Herald at $91.80
2) Walla Walla Union-Bulletin at $114.48
1) Daily Times of Farmington NM at $143.28

I just couldn't believe the cost of placing these ads. Not anywhere even close to each other for a paper insert cost.

Now our attentions are on the Memorial and how that is going to be done. We have a meeting today and hopefully that will set the outline of the program.

My Birthday is this week. I will be 56 years old. I am hoping for a good year as I was born in 1956 and I will be 56 and this year is an even year 2012.

Last night I went out and played some live poker at Islands Casino. I played $2-$10 and after my 3 hour session I brought back $80 for my bankroll. It is continuing to grow and that is good. I had a person who, for some reason, kept testing me if I would play to his stakes. He kept raising and I would call if I had something to call with. Taking it down was a good feeling. I even asked him if he was just testing me and he said yes. I will play if I have something. I will put my soldiers out there if you continue to play loose like that.

Have a fun day.....

That was Too Fast

After all the hard work of getting into this tournament I felt I left a job undone.

I was excited, to say the least, to get going and have the opportunity to play with the top ten in the area. I made sure I was rested and I arrived early to get my money paid and just be ready to go. I did all of that and then some by reading my book about playing. All the last minute details were completed.

I drew my card and sat down in the number one seat of table four. I like the one or the ten seat as that does hide me from the other players just a little bit. After we got going I even put my earplugs in to listen to some music and just be patient. I had T$10,000 in chips and I was not going to play aggressive for the first 3 rounds.

I even played one hand and won the pot and that made me feel good and now I felt I was into the game. I was watching the number two seat as he was one of the top ten players. The other person was in the number eight seat and I have played against her before so I somewhat knew her game. The one next to me had position on me so I would need to learn what he was playing and be careful with my betting. Watching to see if he would raise me at any time.

The storm was brewing and I couldn't see it coming. The person in seat four was being somewhat aggressive and had won a few pots already. They were small but still he was playing somewhat loose. He was under 21 so I felt he was a little vulnerable.

I looked at my cards and I have AdKc and I raised to $250 to thin the field. I get two callers. The kid in seat four and a person in seat six. The flop comes Qd10dJs. It was raised to $500 and I re-raised to $1,000 and the kid goes all-in. The person in seat 6 goes all in. I am now stuck with a decision for my tournament life real early.

What do I do with this? I have a straight to the Ace. I can see the two diamonds and figure someone would try for the diamond flush but why all in? The other person might have a set? They wouldn't do this with a pair only. Wow, I struggled with this and decided with T$20,000 of chips out there already and my opportunity for a total T$30,000 I decided to go all in as well.

The kid turned over Kd9d for the straight to the K and flush draw. Then seat six turned over the AK for the straight to the Ace and then mine the AdKc showing the straight to the Ace. I needed two diamonds for the flush or no diamonds for the split pot. The turn comes 5h and the river comes xdiamond. Myself and seat six were knocked out of the tournament with the young kid getting his diamond flush.

It sort of felt unfinished being the first one out of this tournament. I struggled to get in and then it was over just like that. What did I learn? I have continued to talk to others about this and see if my decision to go all in was correct or should I have laid this down and fight another time?

You can let me know how you feel about this one. I am really trying to learn from this one for next time.

I came home and just relaxed the rest of the day since I had to go to work in the evening dealing cards. I have all of the obituaries out now waiting for the newspapers to get ahold of me to see what I owe them for putting this in their paper.

Have a fun day......

The Day has Arrived

Yesterday I dealt some live and then two tournaments. Now is the time to start getting myself mentally prepared and working on my strategy depending on who is at my table. I like to have goals and will work out what I want them to be. I also will go over some of Annie Dukes ideas in her book. Anything to be focused on what I need to do.

Now, this tournament is a bounty and that will play just a little bit different than a normal tournament. I need to be careful on how I approach each bounty. Any time I have played this format I haven't chosen to risk all of my chips just for the bounty chip. I usually will work on them chip wise and then let someone else take them out. This time they are worth $50 per top player. There will be 2 per table to start and 10 overall top players with 40 of the qualified players.

I did play some live yesterday and earned back one buyin. After Friday loss I am happy to just get a little of it back at a time.

I am also working tonight from 5PM to closing. I have done that once before so I will try it again tonight. Hopefully it will not be a late night. Does that mean I hope there isn't much of a live game to keep us going? Doesn't matter really.

Tomorrow is my day off and I will be working on getting the obituaries into the papers. There are things that need to be done and I need to work on them as well. This has been such a big weekend for me.

Here is the picture of my Mom. I Love You and Miss You.

This will be the Obituary Photo.

Have a Fun Day........

Confrontation

This day was important to me in that I wanted to earn my way into the Sunday tournament with the 10 best players in the Tri-Cities according to our poker manager. Either way this will be a good test of where my game is at compared to some very good players.

I did play some live cash at $2-$6 and $2-$10 and I started off not playing like I should have and dropped $150 through out the day from my bankroll. I will do better next time. Maybe it was the makeup of the table that got me but I will be better prepared.

The first tournament was not the qualifier but a regular day game and if I could have somehow gotten into the final table and cashed I would have gotten my second voucher for the qualifier. I ended up going out in 11th place and bubbled the table. Knowing I played well to get there I was not worried about my game and felt I could get into the top ten in one of the two tournaments ahead of me.

The 3PM qualifier had over 50 runners and I settled in for the long haul knowing I needed to pick up chips and make the proper decisions with each hand I played. I did pick up some good hands and used them to my advantage with raises and continuation bets. I stayed away from the all in just in case I ran into something big I couldn't win.

In the end of the first one I fell just short. I came in 13th position and missed the final table by 3 players. That really hurt me and I was having to think what could I have done better to get just a little bit further. If I would have played a few more hands in position or raised I possibly could have built enough chips to make the final push.

Changing my style of play from starting TAG to LAG seemed to work especially when the cards started to show up at the right time. I could see the change in the table dynamics this time that showed me when people were tightening up their play and that allowed me to loosen up my game. I may have showed one hand the whole time just to show I was tight and when I am playing I have the goods.

The second qualifier started at 7PM and we had over 40 runners for this one. I started off doing the same thing but I also threw in listening to my iPhone music for awhile just to do something different and try to relax a bit. I have been putting enough pressure on myself to get one of these two qualifiers that now I am down to my last one. I know it will come down to who has the mental ability to make this.

We got down to 19 players and I was feeling the pressure. The last qualifier I made it to 13th and I wanted to get further this time and make the final table goal. I put myself in concentration mode of my chipstack and what was out there that needed to go before me. I was relieved and nervous for each number that was yelled out. 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13 and this was the hump I needed to get over. I had to make it past 13 to feel like it was within my grasp. Eventually 12, and now 11. The bubble was here and I was short stack.

I was so tight and I knew I needed to be loose but with a short stack I had to reverse my thinking and be patient. I could feel the pressure and the stress. The adrenaline was there as well. Could I ride this horse?

At one moment I had to go all in with my short stack. This was it for the tournament life. My cards were A7 suited diamonds. I needed them to hold. One guy from the other table came over and his brothers were standing directly behind me saying things like "he's done" "you have made the final table" "he will loose this". When the flop, turn and river where on the board the brothers started celebrating that he made the final table. I leaned over the table and showed the dealer the flush I had just made and I won the hand. We can continue.

I turned over to the other table where the celebration had started and said something about my flush. I don't remember the words but it is not important anyway. I was still in this game. I looked over at the poker manager and told him I was not happy and they were acting like vultures. I felt it was inappropriate for what they were doing. Not to long after that someone went out on the second table which brought us down to the final. I made it. Pressure was relieved and I could feel some stress start to subside.

From the final ten we continued to play some more for the little money that was available. My goal was met and I didn't care about that. I was headed to Sunday with the opportunity to show I can still play the tournament game against the top 10 players. My goal is not complete until Sunday afternoon. I will be ready to play again.

That all being said, I miss my Mom and she is on my mind. I have not wanted to say anything but I dedicated my play this weekend to her. If I don't make the end of Sunday tournament I can be proud that I made the qualifier and was in a position to play my best. I am not done and I haven't thrown in the towel. Here I go Mom, I can doing anything I put my mind to.

Today is a regular work day and there are two more qualifiers to go through but this time I am working not playing. Time to watch more hands and watch players play.

Have a fun day.......

Let the Games Begin

Today is a very important day for me at the tables. This is where I want to do my best and qualify for the Sunday 40.

I am going to start out with a regular tournament and see if I can get one more voucher which would help pay for this evening tournament. This will also be the warm up to the next tournament at 3PM as that is the first qualifier and if I can get in the top 10 will move me to the Sunday 40.

If that does not happen I will have one more try. I will be playing the second qualifier this evening to see if I can get into the Sunday 40.

This will be three tournaments today. I will need to be focused and be very patient and wait for the cards to come to me. I will also try to make some moves on the table from position to gather chips. I have been dealing to these people for a number of months now and I do understand which ones I need to stay away from and which ones will play cards that are not optimal. My advantage from a dealer stand point.

I will also be playing the live cash game inbetween the tournaments to try and cash a little bit and help pay for the tournaments I am playing. Always trying to increase the Bank Roll.

Last night I went in and sat down at the live table playing $2-$6 and in 45 minutes walked away with $30 added to my BR. After the tournament I decided to go home, instead of playing, to be with Cindy. I have been putting in enough hours I just wanted to be home. I know I don't talk about my bankroll very much but I will say I have now built it up into the 4 digits. Got to keep working at that.

You know I have been trying to loose weight. How to do it and I need some type of motivation. I was awake early and thought that the one way I could do this is with Subway. What would happen if I ate nothing but Subway for a month. I could do my cooked cereal in the morning and then a salad or sandwich and then in the evening another sandwich or salad. I could do that for a month. I would then walk or jog around the neighborhood on a set path and see what happens for the month. Could I loose the 25 to 30 pounds to get myself under the 200 mark? Wouldn't hurt to try. Maybe start date will be March 1. I will let you know.

Have a fun day.......

Wednesday

I had a good day yesterday. I dealt a couple of tournaments and then I came home to work on some of my Mom's stuff and get more of this completed.

Starting tomorrow this will begin my big weekend. I have achieved the top two in one of the tournaments to receive my voucher to play in one of the four qualifying tournaments. I have chosen to play the first one at 3PM Friday afternoon. This will let me know right away what I need to do for the rest of the weekend. If I don't reach the final table in the first tournament I will play the second and pay the full price.

My plan for today is to try and get the second voucher. Since I will be dealing the first and second tournament today my only chance left will be tonight and friday morning. This will also be used as a tune-up for the Sunday tournament if I get that far. Notice I say if. My plan is to get there and I won't give up and I need to make great decisions.

I am really focused right now on my play. Now lets get it done.

Of course I am really torn with excitement and also trying to deal with the loss of my Mom. Everytime I talk about her and think about her I start to cry. Yes, men have feelings too. I want to dedicate this weekend to her but also don't want to bring disappointment if I don't achieve my end results. I want to know that I played my optimum and gave it all I have in being mentally prepared.

I am also trying to make contact with a personal trainer for loosing weight. I am so tired of being overweight and I need to change my lifestyle and I am asking for help to get this done. Since October of 2011 I have lost 28 pounds but I have another 50 to go and I really want to get there. I am sure it would make me feel stronger and mentally better. We will see what happens.

I keep adding to my plate but everything is good.

Have a fun day......

Riding High

I worked the first tournament on Sunday and I fully did not have my mind on what I was doing. I made some errors in not being fully engaged in the tournament.

I continued to try to focus on what I needed to do. I appreciated the players and the fellow dealers in letting me work through this. At last the tournament was over and I could move on.

The next tournament was getting close to start and we had almost 20 players signed up. New dealers were coming in and that was going to allow some of us to play in this one. This tournament is the Player of the Week and has good money available to the final table. I will always try to play this one when I can.

With the added dealers I asked if I could play the tournament. I felt I was on this rush from Friday cashing in that tournament and wanted to see if I could continue the run. Since I cashed I was able to pay the lower buy in to play as well.

In every tournament there are a couple of times where you have to win the race to be able to continue. I did that and was moving on in this tournament. I ended up getting to the final table and had some chips to work with as well. In the end the table chopped and we took home some good cash. I did not win the second voucher but will play the tournament on Friday afternoon to try and qualify for Sunday.

We will have the Memorial for my Mom on March 10 so that will be a date that I will be working towards as well. A lot of things need to be finalized and notifications need to be put out. I am so thankful for the DSHS people that helped in keeping Mom where she needed to be. The staff at the Alzheimers Care Unit were fantastic with our family and working with us to keep Mom comfortable. The staff at the Assisted Living facility in keeping an eye on Dad to make sure he is safe and doing well. I don't know what I would have done without them.

Have a fun day......

The Day After

It has been 24 hours now since my Mom has passed away and I really don't feel any better. I understand this will take a while and I will work through this. My efforts now need to be turned to my Dad and make sure he gets through this as well. The planning for the memorial will start soon and we are looking at March 10 and this will allow people to plan and be here if they are able.

Today I am also getting back to work in the casino. I will be dealing today in one or maybe two tournaments. For myself I need to be active and not just sit around thinking. I quess it is my way of working through my loss.

I have been going over my play in the tournament on Friday. It was important that I get the voucher for the next tournament this weekend. I would like to get one more voucher but will settle for one and try to make the best of my opportunity.

I have been reading the book "Decide to Play Great Poker" by Annie Duke and it has helped me think about what I am doing and why I am playing the hands that I am playing. What is the plan for every hand I play? I have been working at getting more people out of the pot so I am playing more one on one and then working the position I am in. So far in the book I have gotten to Pre Flop and Raising so the next area of study is going to be Post Flop play.

I would love to read this book fast and get the information out of it to use but then again I may not remember what I need to do and loose the thoughts that I need to work with. If I can get myself deep into the qualifying tournament with the knowledge that I have so far I would be happy with myself. It is good to have goals.

Everyone have a good Sunday and be kind at the table..........

Will Miss You Mom

Obviously this is not a post that I wanted to do. My Mom passed away this morning around 6AM. I got the call from Hospice telling me the news. I then drove over and let Dad know and we went to the Care Unit to see her before the funeral home came to pick her up and proceed with the plan.

My Mom had Alzheimers and then the last three years she has had breast cancer. Both of them together has been so bad to watch. Rest in Peace
Mom.

Since my sister has been here she has been giving me a couple of days off so I could play some poker while she was with Dad driving him over to see
mom. I played in two tournaments yesterday and played some live cash game for a little bit.

The first tournament I got down to the middle of the tournament and then went out. The second one I played very well and made it to the final table. I was playing some good hands and kept chipping up and was able to knock out the 6th place person. At that time the offer was given that we chop the pot. As a dealer for the casino we will not decline the offers unless for some reason it is unreasonable. We chopped the pot and included the dealers for a full share and we were done with the 4 hours of playing.

It was nice to get the voucher for the end of the month tournament. Now I want to get through the next qualifying tournament and get to the final 40 players to play in the bounty tournament. This tournament will feature the poker managers best 10 players in our area against 40 others. It would be nice to have a good showing.

Have a good day......

Day Off

Another day that was uneventful at the casino. It is nice to be able to deal a couple of tournaments and then come home. Thats not what happened.

I was asked if I would come back to work the evening shift if needed. I stayed around the casino and ate lunch. The poker manager came in and and sat at my table. We were able to talk about a couple of items I have been wanting to discuss with him.

The first was trying to get a new tournament started on Sundays. I am trying to get a Shootout going. We have close to 30 players and I think we could have 3 tables and the top two would go to the final table. I want to get this promoted and started soon.

The second area that we discussed was actual poker play. I am trying to get better at my live game and this was a good time to ask questions. I need to make some changes in my game to be more productive and start looking at the bigger picture. I need to look more at the hourly rate and then take care of the greed part in wanting more when I play. I do slow play quite a bit and I think that hurts me in winning pots.

I did try raising last night in the live game and in some cases it did not work. I was also playing some cards I probably shouldn't have. This right now will be a work in progress. I still limped in and slow played when I had the cards at the flop. Overall the buy in for the night was down when I finally left the casino.

Well, another day and I plan on being at the casino all afternoon playing in their tournaments.

Have a fun day......

Thursday

It was nice to go back to work yesterday. Dealing the cards and being around people and not thinking about the inevitable. They understand what is going on as well so that does make a difference.

One person yesterday did drive me nuts. I was dealing the cards and one player went all in. I ended up have two more callers and they were for more chips. I started to divide the chips out and the person kept telling me I was wrong. I just couldn't see what I was doing wrong. He got very boisterous about it so I call the floor over to see what the problem was.

I explained my actions to the Floor person and then showed him what I was trying to accomplish. When I got done the floor said I had done it right and the player says "I see". All of that for this. The floor then told the person to calm down and let me do my job. I was correct in what I
did.

Other than that it was an uneventful day. I then took the bus home and made Enchiladas and Chile Rellenos for our meal that evening. My sister and her daughter with her daughter are in town to visit our Mom and Dad.

I have been looking at a Kindle Fire. I am looking at the Pros and Cons of purchasing one of these. I loaded the kindle on my iPhone last night so I can try it out on the iphone and see if it would make a difference for me on the bigger device.

Well, off to the bus transfer center to go to work.

Have a fun day........

Wednesday

Mom is still with us and it was a good Valentines Day.

I took my Dad over to see Mom after talking to him about what had happened the day before. I try to prepare him for the events that he will see. Mom was alert and trying to talk. The Director of the unit offered to let Dad stay with Mom the whole day. Dad sat with Mom and talked with her without any one else in the room. It was a good day for him and I think it was something that needed to be done for him.

I am trying to get back into some poker stuff. I started watching the Live@thebike yesterday evening. Annie Duke was on commentating on the SNG they had going. I need to go back over the video to try and glean some information from the program.

Today I am going back to work and will be dealing. Not sure about playing the game. I may wait a bit for that. I would like to be more focused.

I can't believe how many people still talk on their cell phones while driving the car. It is just amazing to me.

Have a fun day.....

Charity Event

On Sunday we had the charity event and it went well.

We ended up having over 50 people play in the tournament and with the silent auction we were able to raise over $1500. It went great and the players really got into helping with this event.

This morning I went to the casino to play in the tournament. I didn't last long. My mind has not been into the game lately.

As I have written in the past my Mom has Alzheimers and Cancer. Both are in their end stages. We arrived at the Care Unit this afternoon and she was alert and acknowledged us. Right after she drank some water and we had a chance to talk to her she closed her eyes and she did not open them up again during our visit. We left for the day.

About an hour later I was called and notified she is now unresponsive and her breathing has changed. We are now waiting for the call that she is gone. Actually she has been gone for a while now. Alzheimers took her away from us years ago. Cancer is the one that is taking her now. Right now I can't think about anything else but try to get my Dad through this event that is going to happen to our family.

Stick with me I will be back to poker.

Hope you have a great Valentines Day.......

Charity Event

Today we are going to have a charity event at the Island Casino.

We have a dealer that was put into the hospital back in December and when he got out and received his bill it was over $30,000. Since that time he has been in the hospital again trying to figure out what is going on with him.

Today the Noon tournament will be done for him. I hope it goes well and we have enough people to really make a difference. There will also be a silent auction on items brought in to help as well.

It is always nice to see people helping others when they can. Medical expenses are so high and insurances have cut back. When you don't know how you are going to pay your expenses the stress can be high.

Yesterday I was given the day off to be with my Mom. She is status quo in what is going on with her. She spoke a few words and opened her eyes. We will be keeping an eye on her to see if there are any changes that would require us to change our schedules. Right now it is all about her and making her comfortable.

Hoping for a good day.........

The Dentist

I did get to play on Thursday evening. I arrived back at the casino after taking the bus home. Since the bus does not run at night I needed to get home and then quickly changed clothes and headed back to the casino. I was able to sign up for the $2 tournament. Actually when you get done paying for the extras it cost $7 to play. Not bad as I also brought two cans for the second harvest and received a T$500 chip. Total starting count was T$2500.

The tournament was going well for me and I was playing well. My final hand was QQ's and I ran into someone with AA's. I couldn't catch the Q so I was out.

I then went over and sat down and started playing the $2-$6 Spread Limit game. I did well and got my chip stack up around the $170 area from my usual buy in of $100. We changed the game to $2-$10 Spread Limit and I was not getting cards. Every time I would play the flop just wouldn't work out for me.

I did put in about three hours for this session. I was going to leave at 9PM and I ended up going until 9:30. In that short of time I took my chip stack down to $80 and figured it was time to leave for sure. I wanted to leave when I got down to my buy in or if I had built it up I would have left ahead but I was pleased with my play just card dead.

My last hand before I left is what took me down below my mark. I had a Kx in my hand and a K came on the flop. I bet and then a flush possibility came on the turn. I didn't have the flush but then the person I was playing against said he didn't have the flush and if I did he was beat. I ended up calling thinking he had a pair and my K would beat him and he turned over a set. Ok, I didn't play that one well.

I got home and since I had the doctor visit in the morning I took my Valium and went to bed. I had my visit in the morning and when I got home I went back to bed and slept another 6 hours. I had taken 3 valium over the course of 10 hours just to get through the experience of the dentist. I don't remember a thing and thats the way I want the dentist experience to go.

Got a call in the afternoon that my Mom was not doing well so we spent the evening with her. I know she will leave us soon and it is hard to watch her go through both Cancer and Alzheimers. It's alright Mom we love you and everything will be alright.

Have a fun day.......

Riding the Bus

I am back to riding the bus again today. After the last few days of taking care of business for my parents and needing to drive elsewhere than the bus route. Now I will get back on track of riding the bus and saving gas money.

Yesterday the dealing went well. I dealt two tournaments and did get out of the casino early. No one wanted to play a live game so we shut down early. Hopefully today that may change. I would like to get in a session tonight playing the $2-$10 spread.

It is amazing to watch what people do when they have a little alcohol on board. We had a person who decided to get into a conversation about politics with one of the dealers. He went on and on with his views of what is wrong and what should happen. I always believe there are three things you should not discuss in public and those are Politics, Religion and Sex. They just open up so many different opinions that you could get yourself into something you didn't want to do.

Have a fun day......

WSOP Play

We were able to get one tournament off yesterday. The one tournament that I like to see play and deal in is the Noon $25 tournament. It didn't happen. We didn't get the players this week. There are other casino's in the area so someone must be putting on a game that took our players away. It would be nice to see one page that would list all the games in the area where a person could actually see what is happening in each casino.

The poker manager talked to a couple of us about our dealing and the need to work on speed especially in the live game. This is something I need to work on. In fact I have 3 areas I would like to focus on and get better at. I am getting better at chip counting with all ins but it still takes a little bit when you have a number of them at one time. I had a spot with 5 people going all in with different amounts.

The second one is speed of getting the cards back out to the players. I am concerned with not turning cards over when I should just try to get them out and not worry about anything else.

The third one is reading the cards faster and trusting my read. When three or four people turn their cards over I want to make sure I am sending the chips to the correct person. I even have people tell me they have a straight when they don't just to make me go back and read the cards again and that takes up time for me.

I was reading somewhere that if you have your dealer badge you can play in the WSOP dealer tournament. I never thought of that. That would be an opportunity to play in one of the events at the Rio. That is a thought and I will need to look into that a little bit more.

During one of our down times yesterday the poker manager and myself played some headsup. Bad move on my part. It only took a couple of hands and my chips were in his stack. It was fun and it would be great if he would be able to coach me in tournament play. I have never asked him that question but it would be someone that knows my game and what I do. I have asked if I could pick his brain on questions about tournament play but the time to do that has not been available. I like to watch him play when he does sit down.

Today we have two tournaments again and will do some live game as well. The usual stuff on a daily basis. I have not been taking the bus to work this week as I have been taking care of some business for my parents after work. Today is no different. Maybe tomorrow I can ride the bus and save some gas.

Have a fun day......

Redemption

I would hope everyone that reads this blog understands that this chronicles my ups and downs in the poker world. I love the game and I get frustrated at times with my play and the people around the game. This is me and nothing else. You are seeing a portion of my life and how I am dealing with it. I am at around 600 hits per month and I think that is great to have people reading what I am putting in this blog. I am open to comments if you have anything to say.

Yesterday I ended up going over to play some live cash poker at $2-$6 spread. I have found that I don't do well during the day playing this game. I do better in the evening though. I am not sure of the reason and will have to find out why. I know I put less money on the table during the day than night. Am I disregarding the amount of money and don't care? It is a big difference. Do I play a bigger range with less money on the table? Questions I need to ask and find out.

After the live game I decided to play the 10AM tournament which costs $2 to enter. I lasted for awhile and then my AK ran into a straight. Not bad play. I am playing a few more tournaments now and feel better about my game. I then decided to go ahead and play the $5 tournament next at Noon. This time I made the final table and went out 6th place. I ended up playing 104 and getting a 10 on the flop and then lost to a river flush. I was being blinded out and was card dead for awhile so when the big blind came around I took the chance. Very pleased.

Today is our $25 tournament so we will see what happens and how many players we will get.

Right now I am working on my bankroll to get it up higher and then I will try to maintain it at a bigger level. At this time I can do this with my working and playing and watching the levels in the bankroll. I do have a goal in mind of where I want to be and then I will see what happens when I start using that roll extensively again. One thing I can say about the bankroll is I haven't dropped to zero dollars so I know I can maintain the level. I want to play a bigger game and this will allow that. I keep looking at the $2-$20, $2-$40 games and would like to try them out. There are some of the same players there that play the $2-$10 game.

Have a fun day......

Reflections

I got to work at around 10:30 yesterday morning. I have been writing down the rules of the poker room and wanted to complete it before anyone else got into the room.

Yesterday was the day that I started showing the business cards I purchased for the poker room dealers. It will make it easier for the rest of us to pass out these cards and maybe bring in some new players. So far new business cards and some new seat cards will help us.

When the day was done at around 6PM for me I had dealt two tournaments and then a continuous live game in between. I was tired after all of that and I hadn't eaten since 9AM. Being diabetic that isn't good. I was able to sit down after all was done and took my Blood Sugar. Naturally it was low and could have been part of what I was feeling.

Is this really worth it? Am I happy at what I am doing? These questions started going through my mind. I haven't been playing much poker lately due to being tired and my mind just isn't in it right now. My Mom's situation is getting closer to being done and then watching my Dad who has already stated he is tired and would like to just go to sleep. Hard to deal with some of this.

Today we had a poker player that actually yelled at me. I understand he does not want anyone to color up his chips during play. He wants to use them as showing he has a big chip stack. If the players are watching they know what he has and shouldn't be scared of the few extra stacks that are in smaller denominations. I did get him calmed down and didn't take anymore chips off of the table while he was there.

Now that this is the next day and I have had a night to think about all of this and my blood sugars are fine I am sure I need to go back and look at my goals and get back on track as a poker player. Start studying the books and working on my WSOP Academy notes again. There are things I can do that will help me and I need to start being focused.

Today is an off day and we will see what gets done. I will visit my Mom and see how Dad is doing. Concentrating on them right now.

Have a fun day.....

Sunday Morning

Today I don't need to be at the casino as early as the other days. The first tournament starts at Noon.

Yesterday was an enjoyable day for me. It was different. Usually we would have a tournament at 3PM and because we didn't have enough players show up it was cancelled and we had a live cash game running.

This game ran for about 4 1/2 hours. Two of us alternated in the box every 30 minutes to give ourselves some down time. I will say it was the best afternoon I have spent in quite awhile only in that I am getting used to the live play. We have our usual players and will mix in some new ones that just happen to drop in. It's money on the table and it helps the casino as well as the dealers and everyone is having fun trying to get the Monte Carlo's.

Something else that I have been wanting to mention about Island Casino is that we have some of the most giving people playing. Yes, there might be an alterior motive but it works. Back in November we started a can drive for one of the Food places in town. Figured we would do this for Thanksgiving and then it stayed on for December for Christmas. Our players were bringing in 2 cans to get some extra chips for the tournament they were playing.

Here it is February and our players are still bringing in can goods. Yes, they like the extra chips but the food place is getting two big 55 gallon containers full of cans in about a months time. It has been great to watch our players continue to help others.

This next week we are going to have a charity tournament for one of our dealers who spent time in the hospital. He lost a lot of time and hopefully this will help for some of his expenses. There will be a silent auction held as well. Helping others is always a good sign for a family of dealers, and great players.

Have a fun day.......

My Day Off

I really did take the day off yesterday. I think the only thing I missed was the blogging.

I took care of some financial stuff for my parents and then drove into town to get to the bank and Life Creations. Life Creations is the place we chose to take care of both Mom and Dad when they pass away. The main things have been taken care of now and the misc stuff need to be written up and we can just enjoy the last bit of time with Mom and Dad and not worry about how things will get done.

Once that was taken care of I headed over to the Casino to play some live before lunch and going to pick up Dad. I sat down with my usual buy in and didn't play well and gave 2/3 back to the players. The night before I played as well and ended up going home with a +$4. Talk about variance and the time of day I was playing.

I have noticed that I tend to play better in the evening than in the morning. I seem to play a different style and that affects how I play my cards. I will try to play the day time like my evening time and see if that makes a difference.

I have also noticed I don't seem to be taken seriously when I play cards. I get called when I raise and get re-raised when I call. I am trying to figure out if I have a tell or what is going on. Maybe if I wear sunglasses and a hoodie? I don't like playing that way but maybe it would help the image.

Today I am back to dealing for the weekend. Lets hope for a good day and some good tips.

I weighed myself yesterday and I have lost another 2 pounds. Remember my starting weight in October of 2011 was 243 and now I am at 225. The hardest part of this is I haven't done anything different. I am not on a diet plan and haven't exercised. Just loosing the weight. I did have some blood work done to see if there was anything causing this and the lab work came back normal. I would love to see me in the 100's. When I see 199 I think I will throw a party.

Have a fun day.....

Doing my Job

I dealt some of the live game before we sat down and started the tournament. Dealing the morning tournament went well and we were able to finish before the next one started.

In the second tournament it started out well and during the middle of it we had a person go out and the button was being moved. I actually moved the button to the next person and then stated what the blinds where to be for them. Immediately I get the person that is supposed to be in the big blind complaining he already did the big blind. I informed him he called in the big blind and would put the blind out. His friend next to him started in on me as well. Saying I need to learn the game.

I asked them if they wanted me to call the floor and they said no and we continued with the way it shoud be. The next hand they started up again about the blinds and that I need to learn the game. I told them to stop and move on to the next hand.

On the third hand I started hearing this again and so I called floor over and had them push me out of the box. I was livid and was not going to listen to it anymore. When the next break came I did re-enter the table and took control right away and did not have any other issues with the players.

Even though I know I was correct in what I did I let the players get to me and that was wrong. We as dealers work hard to give the players a game that they can come in and play. Whether it be $2 or a $5 tournament we strife for the best and honest game. The players need to understand we are not robots and problems can occur. That is why we have a floor person to back us up in whatever decision is made.

Hopefully today I won't have any issues and I can get through Thursday. Tomorrow morning I have a visit with my Dentist. I am not a fan of dentists and will be taking my Valium starting tonight and one in the morning so I can get through the visit. In that case you will not hear from me until friday afternoon maybe. Depending on how I feel.

Have a fun day......

Saving My Job

How does one go about saving a job?

We were told in a staff meeting we need to come up with ways to save our jobs. Spring and Summer is coming and just like any season the poker players in the area will be doing other things during the time the sun is out. Getting fresh air and doing something else is important to life but I need to save my job.

I need to come up with a tournament and a structure that would make people want to play in the tournament. Need to put that thinking cap on.

I took my truck in yesterday to have the front end aligned. Yep, it was out of alignment as I have known for some time. Really, the cost was not as bad as I thought it could be. Now my next project is to get the brakes done. As I build my bankroll I can get some projects done as well.

I purchased my month pass last night for the bus transit system. I will give it a try for the month and see if it will work for me. Saving gas is one thing I know I can do and help our bottom line here at home. Buying the pass on a monthly basis is nice as well and a person can go month by month depending on what is going on for the month.

Back to dealing today.

Have a fun day.......

Balance

During the day I read other blogs. I will read some poker blogs from people that will write about their lives and how they are dealing with the life of poker. This past couple of days I have read from two of them about having balance in their lives.

At that point you can't help but think about your own life and what you are doing. Balancing your poker life and your home life is something that we do on a daily basis. I think back at having a job that requires me to be their working for the bottom line of the company. We basically sell our time for a paycheck and by doing that we give 100% of our energy for the company to make money.

We also spend up to 40 to 60 hours per week doing this. Hopefully you are making enough money to survive all of your bills and setting money aside for the day you can retire.

I went through all of that and when the job was gone I had to think about who I needed to work for and how things would get paid. My wife works hard at her job continuing to work for the company. Myself, I also work but now I work in an industry that allows you to earn on your skill as well.

Dealing the cards in poker has been good and does bring in a little bit of money. It is not the 40 hours per week but it is fine. Where I put my other efforts is in poker playing in the cash games. I am not at the 8 hour per day but will play in 4 or 5 hour sessions two days per week. I am hoping I can get that up to the 40 hour per week. Right now the important part is building the bankroll.

Back to the beginning. Balance in life. For me poker is where I can earn some money whether playing or dealing. Family is also important to me and sometimes I don't feel I spend enough time seeing them. My parents are important as they are going through the senior years with health problems. There are so many things that pull on us that balance is important. Friends, Families, Jobs and our life beliefs need to be thought about on a daily basis.

Have a fun day......

Monday

Today is my day off. I have already been to the casino and played the live game this morning. I also played in the morning tournament. So much for the day off.

I was going to play live last night and ended up staying home watching a movie with my wife. It is nice to sit at home and just do nothing.

It really bothers me to sit at a table and listen to people berate the dealers. The last time I checked the dealer doesn't control who gets what when they deal. It is even worse when a dealer is doing it to another dealer. It just lets other people watching this think they can do the same thing. Just not right.

I am getting ready to start my second week riding the bus to work. I have enjoyed the time and letting someone else drive in the traffic. Savings for the month should be about $100 if not more. Will have to keep an eye on that to see what I am actually saving.

Have a fun day......

Weekend Work

Having only one day off at a time during the week does make it feel like your never off very much. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy what I am doing and it is a fun group of people I work for and the players themselves are nice.

I decided to ride the bus yesterday and I knew it might get real close at the end of the day to catch the bus home. I didn't realize how close. I had the opportunity to play in a $1000 guaranteed tournament and I couldn't pass that up. The buy in was inexpensive enough but the structure was a little quicker than I like. I would have liked a few more chips as well. Want, want, want, or is that whine, whine, whine.

I was knocked out of the tournament and as I was walking out of the casino I looked at my iphone for the time. I had four minutes to catch my bus home or wait another thirty minutes for the next one. I got out of there quickly and ran to the bus stop. I did say ran to the bus stop. I haven't done that in a while. I got there with a couple minutes to spare and was able to ride home.

Riding the bus this week was my first experience of using the transit system in our community. I have had a good experience. I bought ten passes and figured if it worked out for me I would buy a month pass. I have decided to go ahead and buy the month pass since the times work out for me and it is nice to just sit for the thirty minute ride and let someone else do the driving. Just like having a limousine taking me to work.

Another plus will be the amount of gas I will save. I have been trying to find ways to cut expenses and this is one of them. One of the side benefits is the fact I am unable to just stop at the restaurants I like to frequent for lunch before I go home. That will save me money as well.

As I have said in the past I watch Live@thebike for live poker commentary and learn from players that play the game for a living. At least some of them. Others play recreationally but they are playing for a lot bigger money than me. I like to sit and chart the hands that are being played by certain individuals. Where they are in position and watch the bet sizing as well. Sometimes watching and charting these individuals I can pick up what they are doing and then try some of them myself. Always learning.

I am going to try something for the month of February as well. I am making the month of February my weight loss month. I would like to get under 200 pounds. I really don't have far to go to reach that but with a little bit of work and determination I can do this. I have been reading Jillian's book. She did some work on The Biggest Looser and I am reading about her life and what she has learned. I enjoy those types of books instead of a diet book saying you have to do this and that and thats all. I understand it is a change of lifestyle.

I have a number of projects I am working on and finding time for them all is one thing that keeps my daily book busy. Well, off to work I go and hopefully play some live this evening.

Have a fun day......