December 31 - Year-end

So this will be my last update of the year. Ended out the year far below what I had initially expected. But the games also got insanely tougher and I ended up taking a lot of time off for one reason or another. So, I survived while making some money, had some fun, and onwards with life we go.

Before we go any further, I just wanted to say thank you (and I suppose “your welcome” as well =) ) to a recent blog post by Mpimp. I'm glad I was able to help him through coaching and glad it has made his life, and family's, better. So cheers to you Mpimp, and best of luck in '09 =)

The last few days have been the best kind of hectic. I ended up picking up around 3 more students, doing at least 1 coaching session per day, have spent a lot of time with my dad, lots of time with my GF, and have been having fun. I haven't put in more than 1 real session since I've been home, but I'm on pace to get started again next week. I have also seen quite a few movies recently, although I will admit I regret seeing the Benjamen Button movie. There was a lot of death in the movie, and I was already in a sad mood thinking about my brother. There was a very sad line “we have to lose everyone at some point, otherwise, how would we know how much that person meant to us?”...and although very well done movie imo, I wasn't ready for that . But I also saw Valkyre and 7lbs, and will say I enjoyed both of those a lot.

I've also been writing an article for my site. It's coming along slowly but surely, but the example I am currently writing on is a bit intense and I think I might scrap it to find a more everyday example. The article is on range merging and will go over the basics of how to use it and implement it profitably in your game. I know many people mention it, but so far as I've seen, there really isn't much written on it. So I will go over that a bit and hopefully have that done within the month.

Other than that, life is breezy. I am very thankful for the year I've had. I've learned massive amounts of information this year, and hope to be able to say that every year until I die. I will write up a goal list for 2009 as a whole and January probably tomorrow. I believe I am going to a party with my GF tonight, so hopefully that goes well. Hope all is well with everyone, take it safe, and best of luck in 2009.

Full Tilt Poker Game #3918833464: Table Old Harbor - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:51:48 ET - 2007/10/21
Seat 1: fadrus ($111.20)
Seat 2: TheSnake-28 ($125.60)
Seat 4: Its RIGGIGGITY ($100)
Seat 5: eaglebob ($37.45)
Seat 6: mliang ($119.95)
Seat 7: caaashier ($152.10)
Seat 8: MTDHT ($101)
Seat 9: Xelpho ($118.05)
TheSnake-28 posts the small blind of $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY has 5 seconds left to act
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [5d 6s]
eaglebob calls $1
mliang folds
caaashier folds
MTDHT folds
Xelpho calls $1
fadrus folds
TheSnake-28 calls $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
*** FLOP *** [5c 5s 4s]
TheSnake-28 checks
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $3
eaglebob folds
Xelpho calls $3
TheSnake-28 folds
*** TURN *** [5c 5s 4s] [6c]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $8
Xelpho raises to $24
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $64
Xelpho raises to $114.05, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $32, and is all in
*** RIVER *** [5c 5s 4s 6c] [Ad]
Xelpho shows [5h Ah] for a full house, Fives full of Aces
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [5d 6s] for a full house, Fives full of Sixes
Xelpho wins the pot ($199) with a full house, Fives full of Aces

*SS*

December 27 - Christmas passed

Christmas was awesome! Wasn't as stressful as I imagined it would have been, but I also decided to have a more positive outlook on the whole day. Holidays have sucked a ton since my brother passed and family composition changed...but life is about rolling with the punches and making the best of what you have. So I did, or attempted to, do just that.

I ended up getting a lot of awesome things, even though I didn't ask for hardly anything. The GF got me a ring that works pretty well with my watch, along with some video games, clothes (which she will inevitably steal), and some other gifts. Also got a new set of headphones, some giftcards, and my big gift; an iPhone. The iPhone is just so awesome, and yet another sign that our generation is unable to be unconnected for even 20 seconds.

I ended up picking up a few students as well, and had two intro sessions today that went well. Also did a session yesterday at 100NL which went OK. I'm still not running super, but by playing less (which has been a pretty common theme over the last couple months) I don't notice it so much =). I do have some very solid plans for next year as far as hours go. I decided that I will set my hour goals to include coaching, live play, and actual sessions. My main goal will be supernova and a bare minimum financial number.

Other than that, I have a lot to do this week. I would like to get a place to live this week, and I have a schedule littered with coaching and such. I have sent out some emails, and hope to be hearing back in the next few days. Being picky sucks when trying to get a new place, especially one on quick notice...but I'm sure it will work out.

That's all for now, hope all is well with everyone...

Full Tilt Poker Game #6408266609: Table Nial (deep) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:55:38 ET - 2008/05/14
Seat 1: raisinchips ($203.70)
Seat 2: Its RIGGIGGITY ($208.85)
Seat 4: ontherun ($184.90)
Seat 5: alexis_gav ($128.35)
Seat 6: Stellpflug ($200)
Seat 7: krookymunster ($211.50)
Seat 9: joepoker77 ($201)
raisinchips posts the small blind of $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Kh Qs]
ontherun folds
alexis_gav folds
Stellpflug raises to $2
krookymunster folds
joepoker77 folds
raisinchips calls $1.50
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $1
*** FLOP *** [Ks 8c Qd]
raisinchips checks
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
Stellpflug bets $2
raisinchips folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $12
Stellpflug raises to $22
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $66
Stellpflug raises to $198, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $132
*** TURN *** [Ks 8c Qd] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [Ks 8c Qd 6h] [Td]
Stellpflug shows [Kc Kd] three of a kind, Kings
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Kh Qs] two pair, Kings and Queens
Stellpflug wins the pot ($399) with three of a kind, Kings

*SS*

December 24 - Getting acclimated...

So I've spent the last few days getting acclimated again with Boston. Being home again hasn't really hit, except for the weather part. Holy Jesus my body got used to Vegas weather in a hurry, and now winter feels like hell. So I'm hoping my body hurries up and can deal with 20* weather again soon, because this sucks right now =)

Finally finished my Stox video series! The last video comes out next Monday (the 29th), and I think people will enjoy that one quite a bit. I played 100nl for 4 tables during it, and had a pretty swongy session, which generally makes for a fun video. I also have a video set for January, and hopefully a video or so for February. I'm hoping to be doing a University video in February focusing on betsizing, tis the goal anyway.

Went into Boston tonight and did “guy's night” which was a good time. Prepped me for a lot of the family time the next few days has to offer. I think I might go to church at some point on Christmas eve, just to see what it's all about. I haven't been to church in hovering around 4 years or so, so we'll see. I don't have much else planned except eve/breakfast with my dad, and Xmas day with my mom+sister. So fingers crossed that it's as stress-less as possible.

I'm exhausted as hell, so I'm going to go pass-out. Hand before bed, and merry Christmas all!

Full Tilt Poker Game #9646369398: Table Carey - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 12:48:32 ET - 2008/12/23
Seat 1: Its RIGGIGGITY ($101.25)
Seat 2: Willis04 ($186.20)
Seat 3: RyGuy500 ($64.90)
Seat 4: pokerinsidecokr ($92.50)
Seat 5: LightninFeather ($50.50)
Seat 6: wv_mase ($25.15)
Seat 7: eden07 ($36.05)
Seat 8: WuLi -D- ($101.70)
Seat 9: do_it_boy ($48.95)
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the small blind of $0.50
Willis04 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ac Ad]
RyGuy500 folds
pokerinsidecokr folds
LightninFeather folds
wv_mase raises to $3
eden07 calls $3
WuLi -D- calls $3
do_it_boy folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $15
Willis04 folds
wv_mase folds
eden07 calls $12
WuLi -D- folds
*** FLOP *** [8h 6d Ts]
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
eden07 bets $21.05, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $21.05
eden07 shows [Kc 9d]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ac Ad]
*** TURN *** [8h 6d Ts] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [8h 6d Ts 2s] [7s]
eden07 shows a straight, Ten high
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Aces
eden07 wins the pot ($76.10) with a straight, Ten high

*SS*

December 20 - Finally done!

Finally back in Boston! What a hellish trip. I left Chicago pretty early on Thursday and the goal was to get to Turning Stone (casino in upstate NY). Was supposed to be like 13 hours of driving and it took me about 16 hours with the weather. Damn snow storms and such. Also started listening to “V for Vendetta”, but only got about ½ way through it (it's an 8 hour audio book) before I went back to CD's. On that same note, I managed to only listen to 3 different CD's the entire drive, which is pretty sick for a 45+hour drive.

Spent the night at Turning Stone, had a hellish session, and crashed out. Got the buffet in the morning because I remembered I had some comp money left on my VIP card, and then hit the road at about 11:30a. It should take about 4hrs, 4.5hrs if slow, to get from TS to my Boston place. It ended up taking about 8 hours total to get there. The highways were crushed with snow, visibility of about a sneeze, and the roads were only filled with the type of people that would be driving on a day like that, retards.

Only ended up spinning a few times, but lucky for me I'm fairly good with drift driving. I actually wanted to have some fun and do some highway donuts (and there were some spots where there was no one on the highway), but figured with all my stuff in the car (TV, monitors, etc) that not doing so would be more +EV. Sad thing was I could really only average about 35mph, so it felt like it took forever, because it kind of did.

Finally back in Boston, and chilling out right now. Reviewing a few poker videos, doing some emails, then probably going to start grinding at some point today. The GF is working till tonight, so I have some time to put in some volume, which should feel good because I'm very motivated to do so. I think I will probably play some 100NL, and just play a few less tables (9-12). I am looking forward to this, as it feels like forever since I've put in a good amount of volume.

Other than that, I hope to get my snowboard out this week and hit a mountain or so. I haven't boarded in forever, and this mini-blizzard is perfect for getting back into it. Hope all is well with everyone, pz.

Hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #5207649252: Table Monterey - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:33:13 ET - 2008/02/10
Seat 1: KiLa KaM ($200)
Seat 2: GW Woody ($271.70)
Seat 3: thegucker ($82.55)
Seat 4: Barnicke ($78.40)
Seat 5: Mick Skywalker ($59.15)
Seat 6: Its RIGGIGGITY ($212.35)
Seat 7: TheGrizz71 ($112)
Seat 8: Tunica Rags ($173)
Seat 9: toJongbraNdon ($214.75)
TheGrizz71 posts the small blind of $1
Tunica Rags posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [8d 7d]
toJongbraNdon raises to $7
KiLa KaM folds
GW Woody calls $7
thegucker folds
Barnicke folds
Mick Skywalker folds
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $7
TheGrizz71 calls $6
Tunica Rags folds
*** FLOP *** [Ts 6d 4s]
TheGrizz71 checks
toJongbraNdon bets $22
GW Woody folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $88
TheGrizz71 folds
toJongbraNdon calls $66
*** TURN *** [Ts 6d 4s] [7h]
toJongbraNdon bets $119.75, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $117.35, and is all in
toJongbraNdon shows [Qs Qc]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [8d 7d]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 6d 4s 7h] [9h]
toJongbraNdon shows a pair of Queens
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a straight, Ten high
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($437.70) with a straight, Ten high

*SS*

December 17 - Trip Update

Ok...update from the last few days:

Leave Vegas at about 1:30a PST on Sunday night/Monday morning. Get tired within about 45 minutes, which is very LOL pathetic, and decide I best take a NoDoz + Redbull to get going. Really good idea because about 6 hours later I'm still cranked. Drive through Arizona and finally hit Utah when the sun is coming up. Very pretty state for the first 20 minutes, before the boredom sets in and you realize there is nothing but mountains for the next 5 hours.

Finally get into Colorado and enjoy that scenery a ton. Very serene with all the snow along the mountains. Made me look forward to winter in Boston so I can get some snowboarding done. I finally realize that the likely reason my car busted last time in CO was because I was using cruise control in the mountains. Now taking 70 (or 76?) through CO takes you literally winding through the mountain side, which means constant grade changes (going from +6 to -6). If you are using cruise control there, the car is unnaturally trying to maintain a speed while burning the low and high side of that gear.

Needless to say, I drove without cruise control. And although it was a little sad that I could only do 40mph going uphill, at least I got through with no issue. Got to northern CO by about 7p, and decided to crash out, so I pulled off to a rest stop. However, I soon realized it was -10*F outside, and that sleeping in that would be hellish. So I grabbed a quick hotel room, crashed out, and started back on the road at about 5aCST.

Drove through the rest of CO, then got into Nebraska. Nice state, but about ½ way through the weather got bad. I am driving right behind that hellish weather pattern that is bringing snow everywhere. So from Nebraska to Chicago, IL, was just terrible. Also got caught in some Des Moines, Iowa traffic during all that, so I got a tad tilty. But got through it, and am now spending a day in Chicago, seeing some friends, then back on the road tomorrow nice and early. Hopefully I will get to Turning Stone tomorrow, so if anyone is playing there Thursday-Friday, let me know and I'd be happy to grab some Emerald with ya =)

So about 24 hours of driving done (about 1.5K miles) and about 20 (1.3K miles) left. Wish me luck =)

Hope all is well with everyone, and of course, a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #5208473248: Table Revere - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:43:57 ET - 2008/02/11
Seat 1: Narena ($246.55)
Seat 2: bangnine ($208)
Seat 3: pecka ($38)
Seat 4: ConanBarbarian ($296.80)
Seat 5: AMHotStuff ($131.75)
Seat 6: gravity1234 ($324.60)
Seat 7: Class V ($200)
Seat 8: Its RIGGIGGITY ($425.45)
Seat 9: mariojr ($547.30)
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the small blind of $1
mariojr is sitting out
Narena posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [8h Ah]
bangnine folds
pecka folds
ConanBarbarian folds
AMHotStuff folds
gravity1234 calls $2
Class V folds
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $1
Narena checks
*** FLOP *** [Th 9h Js]
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
Narena bets $4
gravity1234 calls $4
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $4
*** TURN *** [Th 9h Js] [7d]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $12
Narena raises to $24
gravity1234 raises to $75
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $63
Narena folds
*** RIVER *** [Th 9h Js 7d] [4d]
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
gravity1234 bets $80
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $80
*** SHOW DOWN ***
gravity1234 shows [Qd Kc] a straight, King high
Its RIGGIGGITY mucks
gravity1234 wins the pot ($349) with a straight, King high

*SS*

December 14 - Last post from Vegas

Well this will be my last blog update from Vegas for awhile. So far I don't feel that stressed about having to move again, nor the 45 hour drive...so no complaints about that. I get really sick when I get stressed (90% of the time when I'm sick, it's just a stress-induced sickness), and I did that when I left to come out to Vegas. So now I just have to pack my stuff, burn some CDs (DL'd some audiobooks + music), and then hit the road. I'm planning my trip so I can hopefully see everything in the opposite time of day I did last time (for instance, I drove through a lot of Utah at night, so I wish to do that during the day this time, etc).

Met up with KurtSF for dinner on Friday. Good kid, and had some good poker/life discussion throughout, which is all you can ask for. Then did a session at the Venetian, and followed that up with a session tonight. Would be nice if I could ever run good for any period of time, but I suppose I have another 17 days of hell left (I am convincing myself that 2009 will be my year =) ).

Also got the majority of my Christmas shopping done, which is sweet. Got some tacky Vegas stuff for the family (along with things they actually wanted), and a circular present for the GF. Also got my present for the Secret Santa thing, and I think that person will enjoy their gift quite a bit. I feel kind of broke at the moment for some odd reason, but going on spending binges will do that. I look forward to being done with setting up in a new place and being able to go back to working hard and saving, rather than minimal work and burning money.

Well I'm exhausted, and need to get some sleep before my busy day tomorrow. I need to pack up all my stuff, do a Stox video (because the one I did tonight was not good enough quality imo), and then start driving. I want to get started around midnight, so I don't really mind sleeping through today. Wish me luck if possible...and I will do my best to check email/blog/IM every day or so.

And of course, a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6395215798: Table Freeman - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:54:55 ET - 2008/05/13
Seat 1: Hussman2 ($46.45)
Seat 2: Arnz18 ($100)
Seat 3: thebigfish888 ($101.70)
Seat 4: TNN4731 ($144.15)
Seat 5: joepoker77 ($106.25)
Seat 6: Its RIGGIGGITY ($100)
Seat 7: iemdavid ($100)
Seat 8: atman ($176.15)
Seat 9: just_my_luck_09 ($52.45)
Arnz18 posts the small blind of $0.50
thebigfish888 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [3s 3h]
TNN4731 folds
joepoker77 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $1
iemdavid folds
atman raises to $4.50
just_my_luck_09 calls $4.50
Hussman2 folds
Arnz18 calls $4
thebigfish888 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $3.50
*** FLOP *** [6h 8c 3c]
Arnz18 bets $10
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $10
atman raises to $20
just_my_luck_09 raises to $47.95, and is all in
Arnz18 adds $14.50
Arnz18 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $37.95
atman calls $27.95
*** TURN *** [6h 8c 3c] [3d]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $47.55, and is all in
atman calls $47.55
*** RIVER *** [6h 8c 3c 3d] [8d]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows four of a kind, Threes
just_my_luck_09 showed [Kh Ks] and lost with two pair, Kings and Eights
atman showed [Js Jc] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Eights
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the side pot ($95.10) with four of a kind, Threes
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the main pot ($169.85) with four of a kind, Threes


*SS*

December 11 - Site Stats!

Just a quick random update. Was checking my Google Analytics page and realized I finally hit my 2,000th unique visitor since launching in July. Just wanted to say thanks to those that visit the site, and hope you are enjoying it!



Also, I have added 2 new blogs to the right. One is LMD, an old student of mine who is now working his up the 6max ladder...and the other is my first female student, WordHappy. Enjoy!

And I suppose a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6895181911: Table Underhill - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:54:26 ET - 2008/06/19
Seat 1: Its RIGGIGGITY ($100)
Seat 2: svenakira ($70.40)
Seat 3: idurk10 ($101.05)
Seat 4: buick19 ($100)
Seat 5: dankdonk420 ($59.40)
Seat 6: tep5068 ($20.20)
Seat 7: konnix ($117.40)
Seat 8: SilvrEagle ($110.35)
Seat 9: dikemp ($101.50)
buick19 posts the small blind of $0.50
dankdonk420 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Kd Kc]
tep5068 calls $1
konnix folds
SilvrEagle raises to $3
dikemp folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $12.50
svenakira folds
idurk10 folds
buick19 adds $0.50
buick19 folds
dankdonk420 folds
tep5068 folds
SilvrEagle raises to $35
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $100, and is all in
SilvrEagle calls $65
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Kd Kc]
SilvrEagle shows [Qs Qd]
*** FLOP *** [Qc Ad Th]
*** TURN *** [Qc Ad Th] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [Qc Ad Th 5h] [5c]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows two pair, Kings and Fives
SilvrEagle shows a full house, Queens full of Fives
SilvrEagle wins the pot ($199.50) with a full house, Queens full of Fives

*SS*

December 10 - Good stuff...

So interesting last couple of days. My Stox video got pushed back by a day (there was a video release mix-up, and Tuesday's video went on Monday and vice versa), but it all worked out. It seems to be liked by most people (had my first real negative response to a video, but only from one person, so I'm not really worried about it). I suggest checking it out if you are a Stox member (or getting a Stox memebership which can be free if you play on FTP), it's the first part of “Kiss The Ring” series, and I play 25nl in it. Enjoy!

I also put in a session the other day, and a session tonight. Actually decided to play 100nl and play less tables tonight. Partly because one of my videos for this series will be a 100nl session and I wanted to get accustomed to game flow/sizes again, and partly because I figured if I was going to be cutting down how many tables I was playing I should play a bit higher (I'm rolled for 100nl on-line, so it wasn't an issue). Session went well, though I was surprised that statistically I ran much tighter than normal (13/10) even with less tables...small sample though, so I will keep an eye on that.

I also got invited to be part of a poker lecture in January. I think it will be a cool experience, and I believe the class size is pretty large. For some odd reason I'm not nervous at all because poker is one of those topics I am 100% comfortable talking about. So I get to talk about bet sizing maximization and also do a Q&A...so it should be a good experience for sure. Who would have thought that poker would lead to doing guest lectures?

Also meant to go car shopping this morning, but slept through it, and then slept through lunch, and then slept through dinner. My sleep schedule is absolute garbage, crashing out around 8a and waking up around 6p. I really need a better sleep schedule. So tonight I am going to try and get a good nights sleep, do car shopping, then get home in time for 2 students. Hurray coaching! I am not really sure how car shopping will go, or even if I want a new car, but I figure why not check it out? On that same note, I have not yet figured out where I am living in Boston yet, but am constantly looking/emailing/and calling...so hopefully when I get home I can check a few places in person and do what I need to do. Wish me luck!

That's enough for now. And of course, a hand before I crash:

Full Tilt Poker Game #9380174960: Table Houlton - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:28:52 ET - 2008/12/07
Seat 1: Fletch182 ($58.35)
Seat 2: Its RIGGIGGITY ($51.75)
Seat 3: Dog_bluffer ($50.75)
Seat 4: brewpalmer ($17.15)
Seat 5: Menion87 ($8.50)
Seat 6: NinjaSnipr ($73.85)
Seat 7: deebo-chips ($53.30)
Seat 8: EMUPOKERDUDE ($11.50)
Seat 9: player2321 ($22.05)
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the small blind of $0.25
Dog_bluffer posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ah 2h]
brewpalmer folds
Menion87 folds
NinjaSnipr folds
deebo-chips folds
EMUPOKERDUDE folds
player2321 folds
Fletch182 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $1.50
Dog_bluffer raises to $5.25
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $12.50
Dog_bluffer calls $7.25
*** FLOP *** [2c 3s 2d]
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
Dog_bluffer checks
*** TURN *** [2c 3s 2d] [Ad]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $15
Dog_bluffer calls $15
*** RIVER *** [2c 3s 2d Ad] [4h]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $24.25, and is all in
Dog_bluffer calls $23.25, and is all in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ah 2h] a full house, Twos full of Aces
Dog_bluffer mucks [3d 6d] - two pair, Threes and Twos
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($98.50) with a full house, Twos full of Aces

*SS*

December 8 - Moving soon

So I am moving for sure. Not 100% sure where yet, but I know it will be in the Boston area. I want to be closer to the GF, and also closer to my family. I think my dad needs me around more than he leads on, and I want to be good to the family. I think I'm leaving in like a week or so, so until then it will be a little stressful. I'm also looking into getting a new car before I leave because now is a great time to refinance anything, and even better to get new things! I will probably still get a jeep, but who knows, maybe I'll see if anything else strikes my fancy.

Did my video for Stox tonight which felt good. Put in a nice session at 50nl and had a fun variancecoaster. KK<99 aipf, 35ss>AK aipf, guy calls my pf 4b with 63ss, very LOL. So had a winning session, I put together what I feel is a solid video on table selection + my 50nl session. This video series is cool in that it incorporates both live session and classroom style. My first video of the series gets released today (the 8th), so check it out if you haven't already...and please rate it!

Also did 2 live sessions this weekend, and holy God, actually pulled a profit each night. Did both nights at the Venetian, because I love that poker room more than anything. For some odd reason I got on good tables both nights as well. I've been noticing a few things about the room...for one, the average size of an open raise has dropped considerably over the last 2 months (from $15 to about $7). Secondly, the number of games running has dropped (might be due to economy, off-season, or both). Third, less spewfish that constantly reload. Might be small sample size (I think only about 150hours of live), but still interesting to see first hand.

Life will be getting a tad stressful over the next little while, but I'm just here to enjoy the everlasting adventure that life is. And of course, a hand (and against a student too =/ ):

Full Tilt Poker Game #9379494135: Table Block - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:46:51 ET - 2008/12/07
Seat 1: treborii ($36.55)
Seat 2: kwriter ($38.45)
Seat 3: dowork14 ($111.55)
Seat 4: MrsPauls ($51.60)
Seat 5: Its RIGGIGGITY ($50)
Seat 6: jaguarevo1 ($0), is sitting out
Seat 7: maplesf ($21.30)
Seat 8: Journeyman54 ($63.30)
Seat 9: 4Gooner4 ($30.75)
MrsPauls posts the small blind of $0.25
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [3h 5h]
maplesf folds
Journeyman54 folds
4Gooner4 folds
treborii folds
kwriter folds
dowork14 folds
MrsPauls calls $0.25
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $1.50
MrsPauls raises to $6
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $20
MrsPauls raises to $51.60, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $30, and is all in
MrsPauls shows [As Ks]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [3h 5h]
*** FLOP *** [5c 5s 8h]
*** TURN *** [5c 5s 8h] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [5c 5s 8h 3s] [8c]
MrsPauls shows two pair, Eights and Fives
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a full house, Fives full of Eights
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($97) with a full house, Fives full of Eights

*SS*

December 4 - Back in Vegas

Got back in Vegas yesterday. Took a 4p flight, got back in Vegas at 10p and was lucky to sleep through half of it. I was running on 5 hours of sleep in 2 days, so got 3 hours of sleep on the plane, got home, ate a quick ice cream sandwich and crashed out for another 14 hours. I think I'm all caught up, but we'll see. I am snapping a sickness at the moment (thought it was strep, but luckily not) and stress fever...so hoping that happens sooner than later.

Also got my video for Stox done today (series is released on the 8th), which felt good. First session online in almost 3 weeks, which also felt lovely. Only 6tabled 25nl for about 40minutes, but something is better than nothing. And, with that, I'm motivated to work again! I will be putting in some more sessions, and doing some more videos the rest of this week.

I have also been adding students like wildfire lately. I have 3 intro sessions this week alone, and possibly 2 more next week. I love coaching! Wide range of abilities and backgrounds, so hopefully I can create more monsters to ruin the games and make them harder than they already are. Coaching keeps me nice and motivated though, so hopefully this will get me grinding between sessions even more than I was a few months ago.

Other than that, life has been pretty solid. I'm not sure if I'm staying in Vegas much longer. I really don't have much out here, the jobs are pretty limited and don't hold as much future, and I want to try something new. I'll make my decision in the next few weeks, and who knows, might be driving cross-country again. Hurray 45hr car trips! (though at least ½ as cheap given the drop in gas prices!).

That's enough for now, hope the month is going well for everyone, and of course a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #9313592620: Table Summer Leaf - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Hold'em - 5:13:39 ET - 2008/12/04
Seat 1: Cityofangels ($24.40)
Seat 2: Its RIGGIGGITY ($27.20)
Seat 3: amonisis ($80.95)
Seat 4: jaman1965 ($9.60)
Seat 5: galleche ($7.05)
Seat 6: ML1210 ($23.80)
Seat 7: ProprioBono ($5)
Seat 8: Gerrard37 ($50.95)
Seat 9: tessioinft ($24.75)
Gerrard37 posts the small blind of $0.10
tessioinft posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ad Ac]
Cityofangels calls $0.25
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $1.20
amonisis folds
jaman1965 folds
galleche folds
ML1210 folds
ProprioBono folds
Gerrard37 folds
tessioinft folds
Cityofangels calls $0.95
*** FLOP *** [7s 8s 7d]
Cityofangels checks
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $1.95
Cityofangels calls $1.95
*** TURN *** [7s 8s 7d] [Qc]
Cityofangels bets $3.50
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $13
Cityofangels raises to $21.25, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $8.25
Cityofangels shows [8d 8h]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ad Ac]
*** RIVER *** [7s 8s 7d Qc] [Ah]
Cityofangels shows a full house, Eights full of Sevens
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a full house, Aces full of Sevens
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($46.70) with a full house, Aces full of Sevens

*SS*

December 1 - Goals for the new month

Goals

1...50hrs of online play
2...40hrs of live play
3...2 new students
4...eat better
5...work out 2x/week
6...make 1 video for my site
7...write one article for my site
8...possibly start writing a book
9...incorporate myself

Kind of a big goal list...but I expect that most of it is very do-able. So fingers crossed I do it all. I'm excited about finally putting in hands again, I feel very confident right now, and have formulated a motivation team to help with putting in the hours. Should be a very profitable month given how sick soft holiday games tend to get.

So best of luck to all of you!

Full Tilt Poker Game #5113813744: Table Scotmist - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:05:17 ET - 2008/02/04
Seat 1: Its RIGGIGGITY ($262)
Seat 2: bigmoney71 ($266.60)
Seat 3: ORDoften ($107.10)
Seat 4: RazeAllin55 ($33.10)
Seat 5: hackysac24 ($78.40)
Seat 6: m118834 ($40)
Seat 7: honey4peaches ($33)
Seat 8: R0underBipp ($75.55)
Seat 9: funnyactordj ($116.20)
funnyactordj posts the small blind of $1
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Kh Jc]
bigmoney71 folds
ORDoften folds
RazeAllin55 folds
hackysac24 folds
honey4peaches folds
R0underBipp folds
funnyactordj calls $1
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $6
funnyactordj calls $4
*** FLOP *** [8s 7h Kd]
funnyactordj bets $110.20, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $110.20
RazeAllin55: wtf was that
funnyactordj shows [9h 8d]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Kh Jc]
*** TURN *** [8s 7h Kd] [Tc]
*** RIVER *** [8s 7h Kd Tc] [5s]
funnyactordj shows a pair of Eights
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Kings
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($229.40) with a pair of Kings

*SS*

November 28 - Black Friday

Well happy thanksgiving a day late. I was going to write a blog post for yesterday, but forgot. I suck.

Boston is going well so far. Spending a lot of time with family and the GF. I get back to Vegas on Tuesday of next week and am enjoying my time here as much as possible. I haven't done too much since I've been here, but did manage to squeeze in a few coaching sessions the last few days. I still haven't played any poker which is really pissing me off...but I blame being home and being out till 1a+ with the GF =). So back to the grindstone soon, just not sure when.

I am going to start a poker video soon. I have another Stox series coming up and for some odd reason the time escaped me a bit and I realized I have to start working ASAP. This series will probably be about 10-20min of classroom per video then 40-50min of playing. I think I am going to focus on Micro to Small (10nl-100nl) and obviously teach a wide range of skills (from “how to stereotype” to “how to mega-table”)...so hopefully people will get a lot out of this one as they did out of the last one.

Also, I am one of those nutty ass people that loves Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving where there are sickO sales everywhere and doors open super early). I am staying up and then will start moving around 4:30a. It is a ton of fun to be out grinding that early with all the other nutters and you really do shave off about 30-45% of your Christmas spending. I also realized that I need to give my Xmas list out to people, and other than an Iphone (or solid equivalent), I don't have much else on it thus far. Any suggestions?

Well that is all new with me. Also, my body will not adjust to the time difference, and I am sleeping super odd hours (like 6a-11a with a nap from 3p-6p). Hoping my body starts adjusting soon, otherwise I'm going to need to get back on my melatonin. And last sidenote...my GF has strep and ear infections going around in her house. I currently am feeling very fatigued, throat sick, and achy...If I get strep, I am going to be a very angry person. Sickness isn't great for grindcore =)

Alright, hand then sleep. Night, and happy extended Xmas season to those who don't hate it.

Full Tilt Poker Game #5166026233: Table Grand Teton - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:35:46 ET - 2008/02/07
Seat 1: ElkThuringer ($164)
Seat 2: Bluffnbeaver ($199.20)
Seat 3: rst1 ($266.05)
Seat 4: Its RIGGIGGITY ($382.35)
Seat 5: lamtyson ($45.20)
Seat 6: must be famous ($146)
Seat 7: gotthenutlow ($106.30)
Seat 8: Suigin406 ($205.40)
Seat 9: MrDissemble ($158)
gotthenutlow posts the small blind of $1
Suigin406 posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Jd Ad]
MrDissemble folds
ElkThuringer folds
Bluffnbeaver folds
rst1 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $7
lamtyson folds
must be famous folds
gotthenutlow calls $6
Suigin406 folds
*** FLOP *** [Qd As Kh]
gotthenutlow checks
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
*** TURN *** [Qd As Kh] [6h]
gotthenutlow bets $16
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $16
*** RIVER *** [Qd As Kh 6h] [Td]
gotthenutlow bets $83.30, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $83.30
*** SHOW DOWN ***
gotthenutlow shows [Qs Ks] two pair, Kings and Queens
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Jd Ad] a straight, Ace high
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($211.60) with a straight, Ace high

*SS*

November 23 - In Boston

So I landed in Boston earlier today. Left at like 11p from Vegas, and got through security just as the plane was boarding. I found the Vegas airport to be quite hilarious. There really are rows of slot machines lining the hallways, and even better, there are people sitting there playing them. It was so sad to see people just sitting there thumbing in coin after coin...*sigh*. So got through the airport with no issue, and no one bothered me about my dog either, which was awesome.

This was Kingjamen's first trip on a plane. Everyone in the airport loved him and they were quite awesome holding and petting him while I was gathering my stuff past the security checkpoint. He scared a few people on the plane when he would randomly pop out of my hoodie and look around, but he does that often. I thought it was very cool that I could have my dog just chill in lap the whole plane ride...and even better that he had no issues at all.

So got to see my dad and sister today, and also did breakfast and dinner with the GF. Awesome to see her, especially after a 2 month long-distance thing. I'm sure I'll be seeing her quite often this week, though it will be very busy between appointments, coaching, her working, and holidays. I'm trying to stay very positive about being home, amongst other things, because like I've said in other posts, happiness is about relative point of view. So if I can learn to base my happiness on certain things, especially things I can control, then I will get more out of life.

Also, I have played no on-line poker in quite some time. This week I plan to get back to the grind. I don't have my external monitor with me, so I plan on playing 4-10 tables of 100nl-400nl. I should be able to hyper focus more on my actions, upping my WR enough to counteract the smaller amount of tables. Other than that, I did an 8 hour session on Saturday at the Wynn, and of course lose yet another 2BI+ 12+outter. I swear, one day I will win so many coin-flips and be rich, until then, I will brick all of them and hate stuff.

I'm gonna go crash. Trying to get used to the time difference (lost three hours in my trip), so I'm going to try and get to sleep early so I'm awake for counseling tomorrow. Nothing better than getting a mental check-up before grindcore season =).

Full Tilt Poker Game #5928843100: Table Lantana Falls - $3/$6 - No Limit Hold'em - 15:47:45 ET - 2008/04/06
Seat 1: thihamt ($2,335.75)
Seat 2: Inzomnia ($591)
Seat 3: RiverMeAA ($1,085.15)
Seat 4: zanjan ($53)
Seat 5: PoorNapoleon ($742)
Seat 6: padirk165 ($585)
Seat 7: AdmiralTwill ($627)
Seat 8: Its RIGGIGGITY ($120)
Seat 9: MrDissemble ($1,128.90)
MrDissemble posts the small blind of $3
thihamt posts the big blind of $6
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Js Jc]
Inzomnia folds
RiverMeAA calls $6
zanjan folds
PoorNapoleon folds
padirk165 raises to $27
AdmiralTwill folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $120, and is all in
MrDissemble folds
thihamt folds
RiverMeAA folds
padirk165 calls $93
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Js Jc]
padirk165 shows [As Th]
*** FLOP *** [5h 2h 7h]
*** TURN *** [5h 2h 7h] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [5h 2h 7h 3c] [Kc]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Jacks
padirk165 shows Ace King high
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($252) with a pair of Jacks

*SS*

November 20 - Personality Test

Ok...so it will be a very busy next couple of days. I'm flying back to Boston sometime between now and Monday (I would tell you when, but the GF reads the blog, I'm attempting to sneak up on her, so now no one gets the know), and need to move all my stuff from my current house into my new temporary place. I moved over the heavy stuff today (my 60lb trunk of books and desk), and will move the rest over on Thursday. The goal is to get it all in 2 trips, which I think is more than possible if I hustle.

The last few days have been busy with coaching and random doings. Did an intro session yesterday that ended up running 2.5 hours, which made it a 4.5 hour coaching day, which was awesome, but super tiring. Felt good though, and I really feel my students are making great strides right now. Also got my first LeakFinder client, so hopefully I can get a review from her (yes, females play poker too =) ) to share.

I've also been listening to a ton of downtone electronica lately. If people are into that genre, I suggest checking out Hexstatic “Chase me” and Booka Shade “Body Language”. I am very much a music nut, and am obsessed with finding perfect music for perfect situations. For instance, if I were granted 3 wishes, one of my wishes would always be to have a soundtrack for life. Music 24/7, perfectly picked out for each situation, would be amazing. But these two songs especially have a very positive tone and have been really solid background music while getting things accomplished...so I love them. Which reminds me, thanks to conversations with about 90 different people and lots of reading, I am starting to snap this depressive state I was slipping into. Trying to be happy with life isn't easy, but most certainly is worth the effort.

Also, I got this from one of my students the other day: Jung Personality Test, and I definitely suggest doing it and seeing the results. I am apparently an INTJ, and after reading a lot of reviews on that personality type, it's scary how much its true.

I'm off to bed. Sorry for the super random post =)

Full Tilt Poker Game #5931700753: Table Lantana Falls - $3/$6 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:18:25 ET - 2008/04/06
Seat 1: MrDissemble ($396)
Seat 2: JoRDANe ($251)
Seat 3: deweyzena ($1,400.70)
Seat 4: Elin88 ($1,608.55)
Seat 5: Pasame la SALSA ($847)
Seat 6: zanjan ($234)
Seat 7: kobe2468 ($101)
Seat 8: Its RIGGIGGITY ($129)
Seat 9: chislodc ($900.15)
zanjan posts the small blind of $3
kobe2468 posts the big blind of $6
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Kh As]
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $6
chislodc folds
MrDissemble folds
JoRDANe folds
deweyzena folds
Elin88 raises to $27
Pasame la SALSA folds
zanjan calls $24
kobe2468 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $129, and is all in
Elin88 folds
zanjan calls $102
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Kh As]
zanjan shows [Jc Ad]
*** FLOP *** [8d Jd 5h]
*** TURN *** [8d Jd 5h] [2d]
*** RIVER *** [8d Jd 5h 2d] [5s]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Fives
zanjan shows two pair, Jacks and Fives
zanjan wins the pot ($288) with two pair, Jacks and Fives

*SS*

November 17 - Moving time

So the house stuff is official now. They offered us “cash-4-keys” and my roommates wanted to take it...so time to get moving. Checked out a few places today/yesterday, and have a place lined up for tomorrow if I chose to take it...not 100% sure what I want to do quite yet...but I'll be figuring it out this week for sure. I am getting stress sick again from the whole ordeal, but I feel more comfortable now than I did before.

Other than housing stuff, I met up with 2p2r PartyPoker123 this weekend for dinner. Really nice kid, and related to me in more than a few ways. Very cool of him to take time away from his 600K hand bet and do dinner. Not really sure how the hell one goes about grinding that hard and that long...but all power to ya =). After that I fired up a session at the Venetian...and of course ran like hell hole.

Ended up -2.5BI by the time the weekend was over...which sucked. Not very happy with how live has been going lately, but doing a quick hand/hour calculation, it turns out I'm pretty much break-even over 4K hands...which on-line is a joke...so I'm just reminding myself to look at sample size. I am noticing the effects of the economy on the games as well, which was expected I suppose. Very sad to see games getting torn down and the fish starting to dissipate a bit.

On the same note of fish dissipation, I am doing another series for Stox!!! I have Mondays inked in for December (except the first one, so it will again be a 4 video series). I have a very cool idea for this one. I think I will call it “100%” and everything will be 100% something. 1 video will be 100% vpip, another will be 100% limping, and another 100% raising. I haven't figured out what the 4th video will be yet (maybe 100% checking?), but all suggestions are welcome so long as it works with the 100% theme. The goal of the series is to educate while entertaining, but also show many different marginal spots that people tend to struggle in.

Super fun stuff for sure. I also want to work out some more this week. I have taken a huge interest in getting myself back in shape slowly. I ended up doing a nice 200m swim on Friday, and hope to put in more laps this week. Swimming is by far the most solid cardio I can be doing, and also gives the entire body a work out.

Thats enough for now. A hand before bed:

Live 1/2nl at the Venetian:
(I wasn't involved at showdown, just a fun hand. I do have a reason for not raising on the flop)

2 limps, hero ($350) raises to $11 with KhQs, 2 callers behind, 2 limpers call

Flop: (5 players, $58) Qh Th 4s.

UTG check, MP1 ($850) fires $15, Hero calls, CO ($200) calls, 1 fold, UTG ($700) raises to $75, MP1 calls, Hero folds, CO folds

Turn: (2 players, $238) Ac

UTG shoves $614, MP1 calls $614

River: (2 players, $1466) 4c

UTG shows QT for 2pr
MP1 shows KJ for a straight, King high

UTG curses all and tells MP1 how bad he is...while also saying “there is nothing I could do, I played it perfectly”. Lol, nice 3x pot shove on the 2nd worst card in the deck. Poker isn't dead yet I suppose.

*SS*

November 14 - Going to the gym

Boring but nice week thus far. Got quite a few hours of coaching done which felt great. So far I'm on pace for my goal of picking up students, and picked up my third one today. So hurray! I finally managed to hit a goal!!! I also got a burst of motivation today and got my ass to the gym. I'm not thrilled with my physical shape since I became a “pro”. I'm far from fat (6'0”, 165lbs) , but I cannot run 2mi straight through yet and my strength is way down as well...I mean hell...I'm getting winded chasing my dog around the house sometimes.

So the gym was great. I want to be kind to myself, and not over-exert myself. So I just started by slow jogging a 1/2mi, did some weights, some push-ups/situps...and I plan to go back tomorrow and get some swimming in before I go put in a session. I will never be a good runner (combination between bad knees/shins and I have super ADD), so I want to do something else for cardio...and being that a friend taught me how to swim in college, I feel I should put that to use (even though I still suck...its better than nothing).

Also got my car patched up today. My dumb ass hit a pole on my way out of Caesars one night (going like 1mph, but still beat the bitch out of my car), and I really wanted the dent out. So I ran into some guys today that had the tools on them to do it (don't ask, super sketch situation), and it was done when I got out of the gym. I ended up sitting down with the guys that patched the dent after and talked about God/religion for awhile (again, don't ask how I always get in odd convos in odd situations). For some odd reason, I keep noticing a very scary trend amongst 20-35yr olds who love Jesus...they hit rock bottom from drugs or gambling. Of course, that doesn't surprise me much given where I live currently...but is religion something that people do just because they need to grasp something on their way out of the hole, they either dug or were thrown into?

I don't want this to become a huge religious conversation, but it's just something I noticed. I mean hell, I never even considered going to church until this year (after the death of my brother)...and the only reason I wanted to go was to try to understand what the fuss was about. Religion is a silly beast.

Also...quick word on UIGEA stuff since some people have asked me my opinions on it. I suggest not panicking. This appears to be nothing more than more loopholes with fancy verbiage, juuuuuuuuuuuuuust like the last time they tried it. I think the entire thing is insane personally. Obviously the government is jealous they didn't get their dick wet from offshore poker money, and the fact they are trying to “protect teens FROM UNDERAGE GAMBOWLING!!!” is insane. I disagree with everything the UIGEA crap is about, if they really wanted to protect kids there are a thousand other ways to do it. The entire thing gets me angry (I really don't enjoy my government telling me what I can and cannot do with my money (when I'm not hurting anyone) and then ruining my job while taxing me out the ass for it).

And a hand before bed:

PokerStars Game #21899312438: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/11/09 17:00:29 ET
Table 'Salome V' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Naruse ($50 in chips)
Seat 2: AndeyPandey ($50 in chips)
Seat 3: Furioso_xx ($123.50 in chips)
Seat 5: calboy96 ($54.30 in chips)
Seat 6: BergenNH ($112.95 in chips)
Seat 7: iamjwm1965 ($58.70 in chips)
Seat 8: Punisher2421 ($36.15 in chips)
Seat 9: 7curse ($60.50 in chips)
BergenNH: posts small blind $0.25
iamjwm1965: posts big blind $0.50
grruuz: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to 7curse [9c 9h]
Punisher2421: folds
7curse: raises $1 to $1.50
Naruse: folds
AndeyPandey: calls $1.50
Furioso_xx: folds
calboy96: folds
BergenNH: raises $3.50 to $5
iamjwm1965: folds
7curse: calls $3.50
AndeyPandey: folds
*** FLOP *** [7c 3h 9s]
BergenNH: bets $6.50
7curse: calls $6.50
*** TURN *** [7c 3h 9s] [6c]
BergenNH: bets $6
7curse: raises $21 to $27
BergenNH: calls $21
*** RIVER *** [7c 3h 9s 6c] [5h]
BergenNH: bets $74.45 and is all-in
7curse: calls $22 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BergenNH: shows [8d 8h] (a straight, Five to Nine)
7curse: mucks hand [9c 9h] (three of a kind, Nines)
BergenNH collected $120 from pot

*SS*

November 11 - Site update!

Just wanted to put a quick update in the blog. The site has been upgraded a little bit. There is now an “Articles” section which will be getting thicker every month. Currently, I just have my Poohbah post in there, but there are a number of people writing articles as we speak that will be getting posted soon. The goal is 3-10 articles per month with topics ranging from life to strategy. WW also suggested interviews, and I think I might do some of that as well...so we'll see how that goes along.

Also, I officially released “Leakfinder” as a service. Effectively this service couples the statistical review and the real-time analysis of coaching. Mpethybridge (2p2 Mod, who runs the current thread on 2p2 concerning statistical review) will be handling the statistical side of the coaching while I will handle the 1hr sweat session. This is great as a stand-alone service for people who just want a review to ensure their game is still tight, and also as a pre-cursor to coaching.

Hopefully people enjoy the new look and additions...and as always, if there are any comments/questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

And of course, a hand =)

Full Tilt Poker Game #8907947678: Table Duval (deep) - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:08:21 ET - 2008/11/10
Seat 1: NickiNit ($50)
Seat 2: NBForrest ($51.55)
Seat 3: kdiamond_rp ($54.85)
Seat 4: Its RIGGIGGITY ($50.75)
Seat 5: uRaMaG ($98.75)
Seat 6: mosdef213 ($48.50)
Seat 8: bliZZard010 ($23)
Seat 9: 2girls1coon ($108.80), is sitting out
bliZZard010 posts the small blind of $0.25
NickiNit posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [8s 7s]
NBForrest folds
kdiamond_rp folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $1.50
uRaMaG folds
mosdef213 folds
bliZZard010 calls $1.25
NickiNit calls $1
*** FLOP *** [7h 2s 4s]
bliZZard010 checks
NickiNit bets $3.50
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $12.30
bliZZard010 raises to $21.50, and is all in
NickiNit calls $18
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $49.25, and is all in
NickiNit calls $27, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [8s 7s]
bliZZard010 shows [8c 8h]
NickiNit shows [Ks As]
*** TURN *** [7h 2s 4s] [7c]
*** RIVER *** [7h 2s 4s 7c] [Td]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows three of a kind, Sevens
NickiNit shows a pair of Sevens
bliZZard010 shows two pair, Eights and Sevens
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the side pot ($54) with three of a kind, Sevens
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the main pot ($66) with three of a kind, Sevens

*SS*

November 10 - Life direction

Well poker has been going not well...so I'm going to talk a little about poker in this post...and then ramble about something else for the rest. Friday I did a session at Venetian and actually had a nice session. +2BI or so, which wasn't too bad at all. Hit a nice double draw (will be my hand at the end of the post) for an $800 pot, which was lovely to say the least. Saturday I lost a BI never playing a pot bigger than $125. I can't tell you how awesome it is to constantly just sit there getting dealt garbage, and then hitting nothing with the draw hands, no sets, no pairs, no nothing...yet a kid sits down and in 5 straight hands hits trips+ every hand...and claims he “runs bad”. *grumble*

Did an 18 tabling session today, and lost 2.5BI playing well. Hit 1 set out of 49 pp's seeing flops (of course the 1 set I hit I got perfect-perfect'd to lose a BI)...1/14 of pair+ with AJo+, and was dealt AA/KK ½ as many times as I should have. O well. For some odd reason PokerStars is slow as crap. I've actually increased my amount of tables because seeing 500hands/hr is just too damn slow. I'll experiment with it for a bit longer and see if most tables is decreasing my WR at all...but I'm pretty sure all that will happen is my redline will increase while my blue/green do as they wish. PokerStars players are super weak/tight...good for my style I guess (also, playing 19/14 while 18tabling is silly-fun).

Well, now that I'm done venting about this retarded game that I run retardedly bad at...I wanted to talk about my life direction. Any and all comments are welcome...but I wanted to get this out...so now seems like a fun time to do that.

For one, I feel as thought I'm playing poker for a living right now in hopes of avoiding a “real job”. I know I am capable of more than playing poker for a living, and I strive to reach a higher level in life. For one, I feel playing poker has very little benefit to anyone but myself (I mean hell, I make my money causing pain to others in a sense). I want to help not only myself, but others. I really just want to feel like I'm contributing...but my big issue is that I feel businesses tend to be so greedy that I wouldn't be doing anything but working to help grow greed which “takes” from people (right back to doing what I'm doing now, taking money and causing pain for people, but in a suit and tie).

So there is some dissonance. Also, I have no idea what I want to really do. There are two thoughts here...one is teach, get paid nothing, but enjoy what I do while feeling like I contribute, two is jump in my suit and tie, work my way up the political/corporate ladder, and get paid well while doing things that help business. Oddly enough this seems like the comment I made a few posts back about quality v quantity. I would have a high quality teaching (or something of the like), and a high quantity (money) if I went the corporate route. The damn thing is that my brain is so geared towards business, and not using a solid skill-set seems wasteful. If only I could seriously get into corporate coaching or something, I could combine both skill+desire...because right now I have no desire to become a corporate work-horse, nor a broke dude.

I know that I am avoiding my “jump” into the real world. I came to Vegas in hopes of propelling myself in life, and here I still sit behind my damn computer playing poker every day. The only difference is I go to a casino to play poker sometimes now, so there is some interaction while working. I just need to pick a route and jump. I'm not sure if I don't jump because I'm scared of hating it, I would hate wasting time, or I just secretly want to break-even for the rest of life. I just need to go forward with something...I always preach to people that they need to actively think and progress, and it's time I take my own advice....just need to flip a coin and pick a route.

Thanks for reading my ramble...

A hand before bed:

Venetian 1/2nl

Hero (covers table, MP3) overlimps Qh 9h...

Flop: (6 players/$12) Kh Th 7s
check, check, check, check, I bet $10, fold, fold, SB raises to $41 (with $380 stack), folds to me, I call.

Turn: (2 players, $95) Jd (omgomgomg!)
SB bets $110, I shove, SB tanks and finally calls

River blanks off, I ship a nice pot. Hurray hitting a draw!

*SS*

November 7 - I went to a club?

So this week has been fun thus far. I got a phone call from my uncle on Tuesday who had apparently just landed in Vegas the day before. His new company was hosting a party with Dub Magazine over at Blush (nightclub at the Wynn)....and he invited me to come down. Very cool experience for me as I have never been to a club before. However, I was quickly reminded why I don't go to clubs...because I'm claustrophobic. I didn't stay that long because of that, but meeting the people he works with was cool (also, DJ Scribble was spinning there, which was cool because I'm a huge fan of Scribs). Interesting night overall, then headed over to Venetian to put in a small session before returning home.

Live poker is angering me quite a bit lately. Cannot seem to strap a winning session together lately. I know I haven't been running very well (missed 7/7 of my last 12+ draws), and haven't been hitting flops often...but it's very frustrating playing with people who might as well be drooling on their cards and having them winning the money you are not. It's also very frustrating knowing that you have to have a +5BI session to be back on track as far as hourly rate is concerned. But, I'm still very confident, and have decided to not look at the bottom line for a bit...and just focus on pounding in hours and grinding through the hell patch.

Also did a few coaching sessions this week. Had an intro session with one student that went very well. Was a constant back-and-forth of information and questions...most certainly my favorite type of coaching session. Besides coaching, I've been putting in hours myself this week! Not many, but some...which feels good after this hellish start to the month. I think I'm -$1Kish so far, between live and on-line, so I'm hoping that flips and then I'll start grinding hard. I also watched another Jared video on Stox (the psychology guy I mentioned a few posts back), and am loving his message. I realized 2 very important things today:

1.)..Poker is built to reward bad players. If bad players were not rewarded, then they would not play, and there would be no fish (the main reason why I, and others, play this game).

2.)..I tilt because I feel as though everything should be even. My frame of reference on “even” (or more correctly, “normal”) is based on too small of a sample size. If I extend my sample size then I realize normal will never be actualized...and thus can never be mad

I think once I can fully tweak my brain to understand these things, I won't tilt any longer. Realizing these things is the first step, now I have to implement and work with them. At least now I know what I need to be working on, rather than bumbling around trying to figure it out.

And of course, a hand!

PokerStars Game #21742060123: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/11/03 21:55:59 ET
Table 'Thuban IV' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: FACUMDP ($96 in chips)
Seat 2: ScaveX ($94.95 in chips)
Seat 3: hongzhong ($10 in chips)
Seat 4: Make_my_D ($65.95 in chips)
Seat 5: As5s ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: DeSignor ($47.15 in chips)
Seat 7: dwq2300 ($9.25 in chips)
Seat 8: RockHolly ($50 in chips)
Seat 9: 7curse ($50.75 in chips)
RockHolly: posts small blind $0.25
7curse: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to 7curse [Qh Qs]
FACUMDP: folds
ScaveX: folds
hongzhong: folds
Make_my_D: folds
As5s: folds
DeSignor: raises $1.50 to $2
dwq2300: folds
RockHolly: folds
7curse: raises $4.50 to $6.50
DeSignor: calls $4.50
*** FLOP *** [3d 6h 7d]
7curse: bets $8
DeSignor: raises $14 to $22
7curse: raises $22.25 to $44.25 and is all-in
DeSignor: calls $18.65 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [3d 6h 7d] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [3d 6h 7d Js] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
7curse: shows [Qh Qs] (a pair of Queens)
DeSignor: mucks hand [5d 2d] (a pair of Fives)
7curse collected $91.55 from pot

*SS*

November 4 - Digging...

So this month got off to a bad start to say the least, lol. Fired off 10.5BI within 24hours, which believe it or not, isn't really that much fun. So now I feel like I'm digging myself out of a $1K hole before I even got started. *sigh* O well...I decided to look at my PT over the last 2 months rather than 3 days so it's more psychologically pleasing. Even after this swing I'm still doing 4PT/100 over the last little while...so I'm still very confident.

I decided I would take this time to also move a lot of my play over to PS. I just need a change of scenery and I also want to prep myself for SuperNova next year. I originally had it goaled to get SN this year, but after a severe drop-off in expected volume, I decided SN would just be pushing myself too hard. Like I said last post, Quality>Quantity. So my first session went well. However, word to the wise, always get your software checked before you start a session. I had quite a few issues with my mouse scroll scripts and also application attention. I'm finally all set up now, and very motivated to grind, so expect to see a bit of me on PS in the near future =)

Also...I plan on adding a section to my site. I want to have an articles section for people to post articles they think can help a player. I plan on writing at least 1 article per month, and hope to get some 2p2r's to also pitch in. If you are interested in writing an article, please email me at splitsuit@gmail.com . Topics are whatever you feel is relevant. For instance, my first article will probably have to do more with the psychology side, while other articles will definitely focus more on the strategic side of things. So like I said, if interested, just email me (it's always good to have articles posted on a legit site...fills up the resume =) ).

Other than that, life has been pretty bland. Whenever I run bad I tend to focus a lot of time and energy on grinding and getting my mental back on track. So today was a lot of grind, then play Halo to release, then back to grinding. I actually think I'll be putting in some volume at this rate =). Also, since I don't think I've told people this before, I'm sort of superstitious. I know it's not logical, but whenever I run bad I change everything on my computer. I always change my wallpapers (until I have a winning session with one), then change the music I listen to during sessions, then change my avatar, etc. I think the wallpapers have changed 3 different times today, lol. Anyone else do anything odd?

Alright, thats enough for tonight. Here is a video I've been watching nonstop tonight. The choreography is amazing, as is the song...so enjoy...



and of course, a hand:

PokerStars Game #21742060123: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/11/03 21:55:59 ET
Table 'Thuban IV' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: FACUMDP ($96 in chips)
Seat 2: ScaveX ($94.95 in chips)
Seat 3: hongzhong ($10 in chips)
Seat 4: Make_my_D ($65.95 in chips)
Seat 5: As5s ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: DeSignor ($47.15 in chips)
Seat 7: dwq2300 ($9.25 in chips)
Seat 8: RockHolly ($50 in chips)
Seat 9: 7curse ($50.75 in chips)
RockHolly: posts small blind $0.25
7curse: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to 7curse [Qh Qs]
FACUMDP: folds
ScaveX: folds
hongzhong: folds
Make_my_D: folds
As5s: folds
DeSignor: raises $1.50 to $2
dwq2300: folds
RockHolly: folds
7curse: raises $4.50 to $6.50
DeSignor: calls $4.50
*** FLOP *** [3d 6h 7d]
7curse: bets $8
DeSignor: raises $14 to $22
7curse: raises $22.25 to $44.25 and is all-in
DeSignor: calls $18.65 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [3d 6h 7d] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [3d 6h 7d Js] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
7curse: shows [Qh Qs] (a pair of Queens)
DeSignor: mucks hand [2d 5d] (a pair of Fives)
7curse collected $91.55 from pot

*SS*

November 1 - Goals for the month

So October is finally done. Good month when all was said and done...I ran at about 5.7pt/100 this month, and had a decent hourly over my ~75hrs of live play. Can't complain when things are going fairly well. I oddly have felt really good doing minimal working lately. I feel I'm hyper focusing on quality over quantity which is a really good thing, plus limits the chance of burn-out (which I was close to a few months ago). Live poker has been feeling really good as well...my hourly isn't as high as I would like it to be...but I estimate I've only put in about 3K hands thus far...so I can't complain all that much.

November Goals:

1.) 40 hours of on-line play
2.) 40 hours of live play
3.) Pick up at least 3 new students
4.) Get website addition done (new add-on for coaching)
5.) 1 video
6.) Write 1 poker-based article

All very do-able. I have lower hourly goals this month because I will be “on vacation” for a decent bit of the month. I'm going back home to see my GF and the family...and obviously for Thanksgiving. I have begun to hate this time of year very much (always associate it with going home and my parent's divorce and my brother's death)...so I'm just going to try to be very relaxed if possible. I hope the real life stuff won't bleed into poker, and if it does, my hours will get cut even further...no reason to put in hours if the quality isn't up to par.

Just wanted to put a quick post up for the first of the month. I'm on my way down to the strip to grind out a session (maybe MGM tonight?). Cheers for a good month for all =)

And of course...a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #8737254525: Table Wood Plank - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:01:47 ET - 2008/10/30
Seat 1: Its RIGGIGGITY ($50)
Seat 2: Tayfun72 ($22.45)
Seat 3: mushtart ($66.60)
Seat 4: pingpong101 ($18.45)
Seat 5: ermoin ($61.95)
Seat 6: dotdamage ($31.95)
Seat 7: blasehaseXXL ($75.50)
Seat 8: lew17325 ($0), is sitting out
Seat 9: bacy67 ($30.65)
ermoin posts the small blind of $0.25
dotdamage posts the big blind of $0.50
Tayfun72 posts a dead small blind of $0.25
Tayfun72 posts $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ad Qh]
blasehaseXXL folds
bacy67 calls $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $3
Tayfun72 folds
mushtart folds
pingpong101 folds
ermoin calls $2.75
dotdamage folds
bacy67 folds
*** FLOP *** [4h 8h Jh]
ermoin bets $7.75
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $35
ermoin raises to $58.95, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $12, and is all in
ermoin shows [Ah 9s]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ad Qh]
*** TURN *** [4h 8h Jh] [7s]
*** RIVER *** [4h 8h Jh 7s] [6c]
ermoin shows Ace Jack high
Its RIGGIGGITY shows Ace Queen high
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($98.75) with Ace Queen high

*SS*

October 30 - Video!!!

I just finished a video for my site!!! Feels good as I've been meaning to get this done for about 2 months now. I did a 100vpip video at 2NL, which is a really fun video where I play every single hand to at least the flop. So there is a lot of talk about ranging, flop play, CB-ing, and how to exploit given our image. Hopefully the video will be out later today (the 30th), and also hopefully people enjoy it.

So I started doing coaching again, which I feel good about. I took the last week off because the house thing stressed me out and I wasn't feeling very good (read last blog post if you are confused). But I did a few sessions today, and have a couple more lined up this week. I think I'm going to start promoting coaching again next month and also increasing prices (turns out the average student needs few hours with me to get what they need). So if people want the lower pricing, get the applications in soon to lock in the lower price (current students will not get a price increase obviously).

Mentally I am feeling much better. I talked it out with quite a few people, and I really feel the big gap in understanding is my base of reason. Religion gives you a nice base of reason because it doesn't have to make sense for you to believe in it...so you can easily believe that a higher being has you on Earth for a reason. (no, I have no interest in debating religion in this post =) ). Logic forces me to look at all the angles and then analyze everything...which is good in most situations but intangible things. I think my main issue is that I don't just live...I don't just “be”...I constantly analyze. I was having a conversation with my friend and I confused him a lot because everything I do in life I do a utility v. cost analysis in my head (utility is the economic term for “happiness” essentially). I think I need to work on just relaxing, being, and enjoying everything.

Poker has been going pretty well lately. I still haven't had a losing on-line session for the latter part of the month (and only 1 losing live session). So I feel very strong right now. And usually when I go on a big winning binge I fear playing because I don't want to lose and mess it up. However, I still want to grind right now...which feels awesome. I didn't meet my goals for the month (wanted to do around 125hrs of poker and only did about 110hrs)...but I'm just happy I was working, winning, and felt like the time spend was more quality than before. I'm looking forward to moving back to 100nl next month...I think my new style should do quite well, and running 18/15 will boggle the minds of people who had me at 11/7 at that level in the past.

Well that's it for now. Hope all is well with everyone else...and enjoy Halloween. I'm thinking the strip on Halloween will be nutty...and of course...a hand (put in ¼ of your stack, and fold against the 100/58'r...niiiiiiiiiiiiiice idea sir!):

PokerStars Game #21611833531: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2008/10/30 3:40:39 ET
Table 'Dubiago' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: pokerlimper ($0.85 in chips)
Seat 2: JoekDAwei'KU ($5.62 in chips)
Seat 3: bakalatron ($4.69 in chips)
Seat 4: 7curse ($4.25 in chips)
Seat 6: ShanePotckin ($2.01 in chips)
Seat 7: sunhong365 ($3.32 in chips)
Seat 8: xxxMFBxxx ($7.46 in chips)
Seat 9: Porfidio ($10.27 in chips)
pokerlimper: posts small blind $0.01
JoekDAwei'KU: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to 7curse [8h 5s]
bakalatron: calls $0.02
7curse: calls $0.02
ShanePotckin: calls $0.02
sunhong365: calls $0.02
xxxMFBxxx: folds
Porfidio: folds
pokerlimper: raises $0.18 to $0.20
JoekDAwei'KU: folds
bakalatron: folds
7curse: raises $4.05 to $4.25 and is all-in
ShanePotckin: folds
sunhong365: folds
pokerlimper: folds
Uncalled bet ($4.05) returned to 7curse
7curse collected $0.48 from pot

*SS*

October 27 - Odd mental state...

Well the house thing is starting to figure itself out. Apparently the company that gave us the 3day-quit notice is tied with the bank...and we have some more time than we thought if we follow the legal system correctly. The time frame is 30-60 days from what we can tell...so hopefully it stays at the longer side of that =)

Poker has been going decently. Actually hadn't had a losing session since the 11th...but then had a loser at the V on Saturday. I think I realized what tilts me more than anything. I absolutely hate when I will miss all of my draws, and people will hit theirs. For instance, I got in 4 pots with the same player on Saturday. I missed 1 FD, 1 SD, both with 2 cards to come against them. They hit 2 FDs against me when I had TP/2pr each time. It infuriates me when normalization will never happen. I try not to do this, but I actually kept track over the last 3 days, and I have actually only hit 1 of 27 draws (SD+)...stupid game.

I've been in an odd state the last few days. I know that when a person reaches a certain point of “enlightenment” they begin to question a human's purpose in life. Which of course leads to them asking themsevles why they are alive, and then what would happen if they died. I reached this awhile ago, and even after talking it out with a few different counselors, I've only reached “life has no direct purpose...just have fun and create a your own purpose” This severely depresses me as I constantly strive for a bigger end-goal than “omg, lets have fun!”

A huge issue with this for is this...I love helping people. I like helping people progress and make their lives better. However, when I look at it from the outside point of view...I am helping people progress towards what? Either I help them reach a thought process which will lead to this realization...or I help them towards an end-goal of nothing. I think a big problem with this, for me, is that I don't have a religious base. When your entire base of reason is logic there will be huge problems when the solution isn't tangible. I think this is where I struggle a lot...making sense of non-tangibles like these.

I don't know...the whole subject is very odd to talk about, and always leads to a religion v logic argument anyway. I just wanted to give you a little bit of how I'm feeling at the moment. The stress of the house stuff, holidays coming up, my brother, and the finality of this house are making my brain work in overload. Which probably explains why I am getting a little tilty at times (I mean hell...I even started getting heated while playing Halo because I felt I was running bad there). I just need normalcy...or to construct a state of normalcy for myself.

Also...nicest thing someone has said to me in like forever: “well how about this...if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have paid bill the last 2 months...I've only paid bills because of poker as the casino has been way slow...so my daughter and my wife and I all thank you very much.” (from a student who can name himself in the comments if he chooses to do so). It means a lot to me when people thank those that have helped them, and I'm glad I have helped him in such a positive way.

Sorry about the emo-esque post...a hand before bed (like...you must feel salty when you see how nitty/bad you are, right?):

Full Tilt Poker Game #8678133615: Table Franklin - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:41:05 ET - 2008/10/26
Seat 1: scbobbyb ($23.45)
Seat 2: mininoto ($54.50)
Seat 3: Man of Gold5 ($13.60)
Seat 4: BcuzItsSo ($50)
Seat 5: wayner777 ($34.15)
Seat 6: DOM D ($40.15)
Seat 7: shark2006 ($27.65)
Seat 8: Its RIGGIGGITY ($57.10)
Seat 9: Boston2000 ($10)
shark2006 posts the small blind of $0.25
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Qs Jh]
scbobbyb folds
mininoto calls $0.50
Man of Gold5 folds
BcuzItsSo folds
wayner777 folds
DOM D folds
shark2006 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
*** FLOP *** [Jc 3h Qd]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $1
mininoto calls $1
*** TURN *** [Jc 3h Qd] [5s]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $2
mininoto calls $2
*** RIVER *** [Jc 3h Qd 5s] [6s]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $4
mininoto raises to $10
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $6
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mininoto shows [3s 3c] three of a kind, Threes
Its RIGGIGGITY mucks
mininoto wins the pot ($25.90) with three of a kind, Threes

*SS*

October 23 - Not an awesome day

So today sucked just a little bit. My house got foreclosed on. Gotta love when you've been paying your rent religiously...and your landlord just decides he doesn't want to pay the mortgage anymore. So we get the 3-day quit notice on the door today, and of course the notice is dated yesterday. Gotta love it!!!

So ensue panic mode as I try to figure out wtf to do. I got a place lined up that is far from optimal, and the lease hasn't been signed yet in case I decide to find a new place. So I have 1 day to figure everything out. Hurray life! I just keep reminding myself that things could be worse, and keep trying to figure out what to do from here. It would seem that all my roommates are leaving town now so I'm kind of on my own for the moment. I guess every situation is an opportunity though...so plenty to do at this point.

I'm kind of sick at the moment...more from stress than anything else. When I feel the floor has been taken from me I tend to go into panic mode and get sick (throwing up and nauseous at all times). I'm trying to stay calm...but easier said than done. So I'm packing everything up while typing this, and hoping the sun is shining brightly tomorrow. I think I somehow condensed a bit from the trip last month. Which is good...except I picked up some bigger ticket items (TV, desk, chair, etc.). I'm really hoping I find something close so I can just move it all within 2 hours.

Other than all this crap...my horse is moving up again (he moved down after paying back principal and having a bit of a downer). So back up to 50nl with him, and then hopefully up to 100nl. Also...I haven't had a losing session in almost a week (though very minimal work being done, at least it feels good to see a streak of green across my PT data).

I have to be up in a few hours to start house hunting, and I'm hoping I'll be all packed and loaded by then. Wish me luck if you find a moment. And as usual, here is a hand to enjoy:

Full Tilt Poker Game #8598396311: Table Justice Creek - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:04:41 ET - 2008/10/21
Seat 1: zebra30 ($19.05)
Seat 2: FAST DAVID ($35.85)
Seat 3: bigmikesw ($24.45)
Seat 4: m1key likes ($43)
Seat 5: littlegreeno ($28.10)
Seat 6: kaldexpoker ($10)
Seat 7: DART1962 ($69.50)
Seat 8: Its RIGGIGGITY ($52.75)
Seat 9: foodperfectaa ($37.65)
littlegreeno posts the small blind of $0.25
kaldexpoker posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Qd Qh]
DART1962 raises to $1.75
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $5
foodperfectaa folds
zebra30 folds
FAST DAVID folds
bigmikesw folds
m1key likes folds
littlegreeno folds
kaldexpoker folds
DART1962 raises to $24.50
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $52.75, and is all in
DART1962 calls $28.25
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Qd Qh]
DART1962 shows [Jd Ad]
*** FLOP *** [Ts 2h 5c]
*** TURN *** [Ts 2h 5c] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 2h 5c Kc] [Jh]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Queens
DART1962 shows a pair of Jacks
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($103.25) with a pair of Queens

*SS*

October 20 - 8hr Grind

So just posted my Poohbah post. Took way too long to get it done, but decided to hunker down for an hour tonight and just finish it. The link. Any feedback on that is more than welcome, and of course, if there are questions, I'd be happy to answer those as well.

So got some hours of live in this weekend. Did an 8 hour session on Saturday night. I got stuck like $600-$700 quick, and told myself that so long as the table didn't completely dry up, I would grind back until even. Well the table didn't dry up, and it took me about 6hrs to grind it all back. Was a really fun session despite running like crap. I was blessed with the privilege of sitting next to the biggest life luck-box ever. The night before he lost about $1K at poker, had $31 left, went over to Let-it-Ride, and hit a royal the first hand for $50K. Lol, some people are just that lucky.

So he spiced the table up by shoving blind a few times, blind betting whatever chips were in his hand, and yelling as loudly as possible. He had some friends at the table, so obviously that kept him going for some time. Finally the floor came over and told him “sir, the entire room can hear you. If you don't quiet yourself to a reasonable level, I will have to have security escort you out. Would you like that?”. To which, without missing a beat, he responds “No...but I would like if you would get me some more alcohol”. I only ended up taking a small bit of nothing from him, but he made a table at 3am fun.

Other than that, I've been doing some coaching and grinding as well. Finished my final video for this month's series at Stox. Really good video in my opinion of sLAG play on a weekend. And winning 3.5BI at the same time is always nice. Been getting some new students as well, which is always good. So this week and the next I will be doing a few intro-sessions, which I always look forward to.

Also, in an effort to get motivated again, Datakid and I are utilizing the buddy-system to ensure we put in a certain amount of hours per week. My goal is 10-15hrs/week of on-line, so 5 days of 2-3hrs/day. I swear the buddy-system is a great way to motivate yourself, keep it fun, and ensure the end-goal is reached. So hopefully that goes well. It also makes me feel more focused doing 10-15hrs of online, 10-15hrs of live, and 5-15hrs of coaching per week. It's like a real job!

“Celebrity” siting this weekend: Teddy “The Iceman” Monroe. Decked out with “diamond”-studded headphones. LOL

And a hand before bed:

Full Tilt Poker Game #8551098656: Table Horizon Ridge - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:33:14 ET - 2008/10/18
Seat 1: staceshuttle ($36.75)
Seat 2: Tha Riparian ($71.05)
Seat 3: Its RIGGIGGITY ($50)
Seat 4: DevilPrince ($48.35)
Seat 5: Tilt_Me19 ($52.25)
Seat 6: Unluckytwo ($48.15)
Seat 7: Johnnyj580 ($61.25)
Seat 8: Winston3346 ($20.35)
Seat 9: 808CSNJ ($79.30)
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the small blind of $0.25
DevilPrince posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ks Ah]
Tilt_Me19 folds
Unluckytwo folds
Johnnyj580 raises to $1.75
Winston3346 calls $1.75
808CSNJ folds
staceshuttle folds
Tha Riparian folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $7
DevilPrince folds
Johnnyj580 raises to $21
Winston3346 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $50, and is all in
Johnnyj580 calls $29
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ks Ah]
Johnnyj580 shows [Ad Th]
*** FLOP *** [Kh 4h 5h]
*** TURN *** [Kh 4h 5h] [2d]
*** RIVER *** [Kh 4h 5h 2d] [Qs]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Kings
Johnnyj580 shows Ace King high
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($99.25) with a pair of Kings

*SS*

October 17 - omg omg omg

Omg omg omg...I'm actually putting some hands in!!! I'm really only putting in like an hour per day of playing, but anything feels good right now. I still have to force myself to sit down and play, but at least I am doing it. I really would like to be putting in 3-5 hours per day on average, but I'll take the babysteps for now. However, I have been averaging like 1hr of coaching per day as well...so at least I am doing something =)

Ended up picking up a few new students this week, which went well. Also did a double sweat session, which was a cool idea to me (student A and student B, A+me watch B for an hour, and then B+me watch A for an hour). This made me think about having an hour or 2 session where people can watch me play as a group, and we discuss as we go along. Could charge less per hour (because it's not as personal), but still a very solid learning experience. I dunno...I'm still in talks about a poker revamp service...so we'll see what develops with it all.

So other than playing, I haven't been doing too much. I decided to wipe the dust off my Poohbah (yea, it has been about a month since I've even mentioned it), and finish it up. It's currently being looked at by a few people, and then hopefully I can finalize it and post it. The goal is Sunday, but we'll see how long it takes for people to get back to me =) The post is only going to be about 8 pages (thus far), which is smaller than the 15 pages I had originally quoted. I decided I would take out some examples and leave more to the reader to think about. The goal with the post is to think...about what your doing and why you are doing it...so it's only right that I force the reader to think.

Also, I'm thinking it's about time to get back to 100nl. I have an aggressive bankroll for it on-line, so I might start playing weekend 100nl games coming soon. I just don't like hindering my hourly by playing lower than I should be, and poker, especially the way I am playing it, is all about opportunity cost. So we'll see how that goes. So poker stuff is coming together...hope all is well with everyone else.

And of course, a fun hand (omg omg omg...I held!):

Full Tilt Poker Game #8522440340: Table Fulton (deep) - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:00:55 ET - 2008/10/16
Seat 1: keeganaydan ($28.60)
Seat 2: KADET_1 ($98.45)
Seat 3: Its RIGGIGGITY ($50)
Seat 4: Juston1254 ($30)
Seat 5: Tha Riparian ($133.80)
Seat 6: TonyTony Choper ($71.90)
Seat 7: krookymunster ($102.40)
Seat 8: yjs0626 ($112.45)
Seat 9: Earthman42 ($106.35)
KADET_1 posts the small blind of $0.25
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ks Kd]
Juston1254 folds
Tha Riparian folds
TonyTony Choper folds
krookymunster folds
yjs0626 folds
Earthman42 folds
keeganaydan folds
KADET_1 raises to $2
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $6
KADET_1 raises to $98.45, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $44, and is all in
KADET_1 shows [8s 8h]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ks Kd]
Uncalled bet of $48.45 returned to KADET_1
*** FLOP *** [3h 7h Jh]
*** TURN *** [3h 7h Jh] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [3h 7h Jh 3c] [4d]
KADET_1 shows two pair, Eights and Threes
Its RIGGIGGITY shows two pair, Kings and Threes
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($97) with two pair, Kings and Threes

*SS*

October 14 - BBC is awesome

Pretty solid week. Made a few bucks at the casino, which means both I'm happy and my staker is happy. Always nice when that happens =). Tried out a few new games this weekend and did Caesars on Friday and Mirage on Saturday. Had my first “celebrity” siting as well...saw Jerry Bus (owner of the Lakers) at Mirage...kind of cool.

So far I'm enjoying live. I don't enjoy that I've put in about 42 hours of live play, and only seen about 1.6K hands (currently about 2hrs of work for me on-line). O well...still making OK money thus far, and it's a really nice mix-up from on-line. This month has just been working on Stox videos which hasn't been super motivation for me to play. So between live and coaching, I've gotten back some motivation. So far my goals for the month (40hs live, 30hrs on-line) should be completed for sure.

Random notes: I've been watching a lot of BBC (the British television network that we get here on cable)...and I love British programing. BBC is, from what I've heard, the “best of the best” in British TV. The accents are awesome, the picture is meh because they don't care about over-producing and making garbage, and they use awesome slang that I don't understand. For anyone that enjoys cars even a bit, I suggest checking out “Top Gear”...where they do car reviews and tons of random activities with cars (like drowning a Toyota truck and racing high-end cars versus airplanes).

Also, check out “Dragon's Den”. It's a show where the “Dragons” (a group of venture capitalists worth well over $20M each) hear pitches from entrepreneurs attempting to get funding for their start-up company. There are some good ideas on the show, but often times they are crap and it's funny to see how badly they prepared for such a situation. Really awesome show for anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur and would need funding at any point. Makes you focus on what VC's will ask during these encounters and also how prepared you need to be (also, how to not answer a question).

Other than that, I had a semi-job interview over the weekend (family contact that wanted to meet me and see what he could help with). I think it went well and that he will be putting me in contact with some people this week. The thing that struck me as odd, is that poker came up. I'm not sure why, but poker might be the hardest thing in a job interview. Because people want to understand the resume gap (even though I graduated in May, apparently they expect you get a job within a month of graduating), so they ask how I've been affording life. I need to figure out a good answer for this, as “I play and coach poker” doesn't seem to feel right. Any suggestions? And on that topic, I love that I graduated when I did!!! The job economy is just booming with good jobs!!! (super sarcasm obviously)

And on that note, a hand before bed (villain ended up being a dude I know from Syracuse (which I did not know at the time)...oddly small world sometimes):

Full Tilt Poker Game #8434276636: Table Wood Plank - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:56:39 ET - 2008/10/10
Seat 1: a88shin ($50)
Seat 2: TBluehand ($50)
Seat 3: turoati ($50)
Seat 4: Its RIGGIGGITY ($50)
Seat 5: MikeB1337 ($50)
Seat 6: Faaantastic ($51.25)
Seat 7: Cransley69 ($80.40)
Seat 8: titralac ($20)
Seat 9: njochems ($50)
Cransley69 posts the small blind of $0.25
titralac posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [7d 8h]
njochems folds
a88shin folds
TBluehand folds
turoati folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $1.50
MikeB1337 raises to $4.50
Faaantastic folds
Cransley69 folds
titralac folds
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $11
MikeB1337 calls $6.50
*** FLOP *** [6c Qs 7h]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $39, and is all in
MikeB1337 calls $39, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [7d 8h]
MikeB1337 shows [Ac As]
*** TURN *** [6c Qs 7h] [7c]
*** RIVER *** [6c Qs 7h 7c] [4h]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows three of a kind, Sevens
MikeB1337 shows two pair, Aces and Sevens
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($97.75) with three of a kind, Sevens

*SS*

October 10 - Tilt?

It's been a very solid week thus far. For 1, I got some solid coaching in. Had a few intro sessions this week, and I think the new students are feeling confident. Also did a little bit of playing. I attempted to make a new video for my site, but that failed miserably being everyone at the table wanted to take 9000 seconds to make any damn decision. O well, hopefully I can get one out soon enough. I've been lazy on filling the site with content. With that in mind, if people would like to host a video or so on the Video page...I'd be happy to do so (as long as the video isn't garbage).

Oddly enough, I began to get tilty this week. I've been fairly good about tilt control over the last few months, but lately have been feeling it hard. The tilt is preventing me from putting in solid sessions, and also preventing me from putting in as many sessions as I'd like. I don't feel tilt changes any my plays...but it certainly effects my outlook after a session, makes me get off sessions quickly, and also discourages me from putting in more hours. This deeply concerns me, so I've been putting some work into introspecting.

First, I hate running bad when others run well. This has been a huge reason why I haven't taken HU as seriously as I should. HU is effectively a zero-sum game (obviously rake comes off the table, but winnings are just pushed back and forth)...so if one person is winning, the other is losing, if one is running hot, the other must not be. This crappy thought process creates a dwelling effect on things very much out of my control. I cannot control how I run, I cannot control how “lucky” I am, I cannot control the turn card, I cannot control variance. What I can control is how I react to these things, my decisions, and my overall mental processing.

Now, these things are not easy to control. The work it takes to control how you physically and mentally react to a situation is insane. However, as a person who has chosen poker as my current profession, it would behoove me greatly to increase my control again. So, I watched a Jared Tendler (Stox psychology guy) video on controlling tilt, and began to introspect. Nothing was really said that I wasn't already aware of, but it was a nice refresher on tilt management. I'm now trying to remember to not lash out verbally (no more cursing at the screen) and to stop dwelling. I seem to dwell on “how horrible I run in comparison” often, which I know is a very negative thing to do and has no positives attached to it. I also need to remember that although people do suckout on me, I do suck out on others as well, but my brain will automatically remember when I get sucked out on and forget when I do the sucking out.

So hopefully with another video watched or so, and some more introspection (and maybe a run or so this weekend), I can start feeling more positive. Optimism is something I'm very strong at helping others view in their situations...but not something I excel at in utilizing in my own life in real time. I think I need to start stepping back, relaxing more, and progressing with a new outlook.

With all that out of the way, I guess I'll crash out for a few hours. Thanks for reading like usual, and of course, a hand (I love checking that flop to melt his brain):

Full Tilt Poker Game #8407394083: Table Mean (deep) - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:56:49 ET - 2008/10/08
Seat 1: Its RIGGIGGITY ($70.65)
Seat 2: Hanser666 ($122.55)
Seat 3: ViktoriusBIG ($59.20)
Seat 4: sshilton2 ($80)
Seat 5: canael ($50.65)
Seat 6: Mr Dewey ($27.90)
Seat 7: smileagain ($100)
Seat 8: ad1166 ($50)
Seat 9: MogKupo ($100)
ad1166 posts the small blind of $0.25
MogKupo is sitting out
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $0.50
MogKupo stands up
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Kd Ah]
Hanser666 folds
ViktoriusBIG folds
canael folds
Mr Dewey folds
smileagain folds
ad1166 raises to $2
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $5.50
ad1166 calls $3.50
*** FLOP *** [As 7c 7s]
ad1166 checks
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
*** TURN *** [As 7c 7s] [Ac]
ad1166 bets $7
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $7
*** RIVER *** [As 7c 7s Ac] [Ad]
ad1166 checks
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $18
ad1166 calls $18
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Kd Ah] four of a kind, Aces
ad1166 mucks [5d 5s]
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($58) with four of a kind, Aces

*SS*