July 31 - July is Over!

I did my Well on 2p2 this week. A Well is a thread on 2p2 where a known poster has people pelt him/her with questions, some personal some poker. Feel free to ask any questions in there, and I'll answer them.

The Well: SplitSuit

Other than my Well, I've been very busy this week. Since Monday I have done a coaching session everyday. I've picked up a few new students and am loving it! I actually feel very proud of myself for turning a -3pt/100 loser into a winning player, after one 2hr session. Obviously there were some super leaks, so we re-worked his strategy from pre-flop onwards, and he's been winning everyday since. Nothing makes me prouder than a student that just gets it, applies it, and grinds the hell out of this game.

I haven't gotten much grinding done lately. I think I'm just letting this month fade out and will resume grindcore hard on Friday (Aug, 1st). I'm at 37K hands now, so I might just push through, get to 40K tomorrow (no coaching sessions scheduled for then) and bid this month good riddance. At this moment I'm +$1.3K after all is said and done...but I'm not proud of that at all. I think August has a huge shot at being my 'turn around' month. My cutting down of tables, my hyper focusing, and my intense thinking (thanks to coaching) really has me optimistic on having a great great rest of the year.

Also, on the same accord as my Well I suppose, it's getting to be about time I get a Pooh-bah post finalized. I already have 3pages started from a few months ago, so I think I will expand heavily upon it (probably try to cap it at about 7pages w/o examples). My working title is “Bet-Sizing: Optimally Maximizing”. I really want to go into some depth with this as I think its the most important over-looked concept in PL/NL. So I'll expect to post that sometime in August or September, and will obviously link it here. If anyone has any articles, suggestions, questions, comments...please fire them here or ship me an email: splitsuit@gmail.com

Semi-off topic...On FTP I have 210K pts, and I have 2450 medals (getting another 250-300 this month). What should I do with them? At 2500 medals I can buy 100K pts, and buy something big. Any ideas or suggestions? Or should I just save up my pts, and wait on the medals an buy the $600 bonus in a month or so? Side bonii promotions are awesome...but I never know whats optimal.

Side business idea...I was thinking of doing 1 or 2 things. Since I know a lot of people are into coaching and making vids, I've been thinking about doing this:

1.) Offering to build websites for people. Fairly cheap in comparison to what you'd find otherwise, and I know exactly what you want/need (poker sites are generally pretty simple, but need certain things for sure). Can also help people market them, update, and maintenance them. I had a lot of fun building my own website, and really think I can make solid sites for people.

2.) Expand my own website and give other coaches or interested parties their own pages. I already get traffic here on a daily basis, and that cuts down on a lot of work that they might have to do. Of course I would host, update, and maintenance everything, and charge a monthly fee (haven't worked out this figure yet, probably around $40/mo).

Any thoughts on that?

And as usual, an awesome hand! (nice flop call buddy):

Full Tilt Poker Game #7444227734: Table Singing View - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:53:07 ET - 2008/07/30
Seat 1: Max Revenge ($133.35)
Seat 2: Fusch ($107.85)
Seat 3: GTstables ($97)
Seat 4: Its RIGGIGGITY ($100)
Seat 5: kNosPeee ($117.55)
Seat 6: cdicara ($78.90)
Seat 7: Promilleernst ($100)
Seat 8: ghanditerp ($48.50)
Seat 9: Ghostrider117 ($103.45)
Max Revenge posts the small blind of $0.50
Fusch posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [3h 3d]
GTstables raises to $3
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $3
kNosPeee folds
cdicara folds
Promilleernst folds
ghanditerp folds
Ghostrider117 folds
Max Revenge folds
Fusch folds
*** FLOP *** [Th 3c 4c]
GTstables bets $7.50
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $25
GTstables calls $17.50
*** TURN *** [Th 3c 4c] [6d]
GTstables checks
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $39
GTstables raises to $69, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $30
GTstables shows [5s 7s]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [3h 3d]
*** RIVER *** [Th 3c 4c 6d] [4s]
GTstables shows a straight, Seven high
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a full house, Threes full of Fours
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($192.50) with a full house, Threes full of Fours

*SS*

July 28 - The weekend

This weekend was a blast!!! I think I broke 100% even after rakeback. Albeit, very small sample size, but still a 5K hand push. I came to a lot of conclusions about my game and they are this:

1.)I suck at coinflips forever.
2.)16tabling isn't really for me while full-stacking
3.)My game is very powerful postflop (between hand reading, pot control, and manipulation)
4.)I can use these skills much more when 12tabling
5.)I enjoy playing a bit looser than my superTAG stats

I've decided to cut my tables down to 12 for the time being. I got this advice from someone awhile back, and I really think this is best for me. My core-competencies are really in post-flop play, and playing superTAG really squeezes my edge to pre-flop play. I feel really good since making this decision. I'm able to play more position pots, really focus on picking off weak players, and making more value per hand. I don't like only seeing 750 hands/hr...but I'm OK with that if my WR does what I expect it to do.

I actually managed to get to a + WR this month at 100nl! I'm very proud of this especially after my nice lil ~15BI downer. I'm thinking I'll put in another 6K hands this month to hit 40K hands for the month, and be done with it. Besides playing I have a coaching session later on today (first session with a new student), and I have a few possibilities lined up. I really am excited about being able to coach more. Ideally I'd like to coach ~7-10hrs/week (so ~5-8 students). We'll see how that works out as we go on.

Nothing super exciting going on lately. I did go on a mini-shopping spree the other day. Nothing feels better during a downswing than dropping more money. O well, I needed new shoes, pants, and shirts, and I wanted new stuff before I got out to Vegas anyway. Also decided to get a few RJD2 albums. RJD2 is amazing, his style is all over the place, and I really wish I could replicate his style.


RJD2 - 1976
just one of his many sounds (and one I like to session to now)

And as usual, a hand! (serious LOL at villain):

Full Tilt Poker Game #7405540991: Table Camino Entrada - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:07:26 ET - 2008/07/28
Seat 1: lbsracing ($68.70)
Seat 2: Its RIGGIGGITY ($100)
Seat 3: 151CaribouLou ($41.90)
Seat 4: Miyogi ($118.40)
Seat 5: lazienbastos ($20.40)
Seat 6: jsmooth007 ($17), is sitting out
Seat 7: lamotta867 ($79.75)
Seat 8: Punisher_007 ($105)
Seat 9: wannagopro ($119.55)
Miyogi posts the small blind of $0.50
lazienbastos posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ac Ad]
lamotta867 folds
Punisher_007 folds
wannagopro raises to $3
lbsracing calls $3
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $15
151CaribouLou folds
Miyogi folds
lazienbastos folds
wannagopro calls $12
lbsracing calls $12
*** FLOP *** [Ts Ah Qc]
wannagopro checks
lbsracing checks
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $36
wannagopro calls $36
lbsracing folds
*** TURN *** [Ts Ah Qc] [9h]
wannagopro checks
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $49, and is all in
wannagopro calls $49
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ac Ad]
wannagopro shows [Jc Jd]
*** RIVER *** [Ts Ah Qc 9h] [9d]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a full house, Aces full of Nines
wannagopro shows two pair, Jacks and Nines
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($213.50) with a full house, Aces full of Nines

*SS*

July 26 - The month is almost over!

So about that depression I mentioned last post...yea...i think I've got a mild case of it. Dammit! It's really putting a hindrance on getting volume in this month. Because I've been really unmotivated to grind out I've just been putting in SS'ing sessions. I hope this weekend I can put in some really nice, long, and profitable full stacking sessions. If I had to set a goal I'd say I'd like to put in around 9K hands this weekend....but as I said earlier in the month, I am setting no more solidified hand goals for the month.

I did a coaching session in earlier today. I always love the first coaching session with a new student. Get to see their PT, and really start from scratch in a way. This player was actually not using any tracking software nor HUD before today. I was amazed that some players (especially serious players) don't utilize these programs! So we spent some time working through the software, setting up HUDs, and learning which stats meant what and how to use them. I feel as though I've done that quite a bit this week between talking to players and posting in some 2p2 threads on HUDs. O well, but I'm happy to have another student on board, and even more excited that he was really happy about the first lesson.

Besides coaching, I have a sweat session with Billx on Sunday (I've decided that I want to do one sweat session per week. Although in the future I will not set them up on weekends for the obvious reasons of profitability). I'm hoping this goes as well as the one with JH1 from last weekend, which I feel was a great experience for both of us. I also decided to sweat 'EricDarland' at a 12tabling 200NL session yesterday. Was really nice to see someone running a nice smartLAG game, but wish some more interesting spots would have come up. O well, I think we were both on the same page, but there were some tweaked differences between our styles, which I believe are just functions of our standard levels.

I finally got some running done yesterday! Feels like awhile since I've done that (like 5-7days, but still don't like not being out moving), but felt really good. I'm sore as hell because I decided I was going to do some of my old agility drills...huuuuuuuuuuge mistake! Haven't done that kind of explosive movement since high school...so needless to say my legs are killing me. At least it will help me get into shape faster. I'm not out of shape per se (6'0” 162), but my cardio is not up to par and I'm not as strong as I used to be. My goal is to get cardio in shape first then start lifting again. I don't need 'beach muscles'...just my strength back. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever be “jacked” or anything, but there are worse things in life.

And as usual, I'm getting to bed around 5am. I really need to get my sleep schedule back on track...obviously a bad sleep schedule is terrible for depression. Ill make that my 1 goal for next week. =)

A hand, then bed: (villian's comment before his push made me LOL)

Full Tilt Poker Game #7051477844: Table Wispy Sage - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:14:35 ET - 2008/07/01
Seat 1: donkeidic ($45)
Seat 2: RacknStack ($77.10)
Seat 3: Its RIGGIGGITY ($141.45)
Seat 4: MolsenMI ($103)
Seat 5: LacieK ($113)
Seat 6: Goso ($20)
Seat 7: giveusakiss ($80)
Seat 8: martingal19 ($85.60)
Seat 9: Mondrigor ($102.10)
RacknStack posts the small blind of $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Kh Kd]
MolsenMI folds
LacieK folds
giveusakiss folds
martingal19 calls $1
Mondrigor folds
donkeidic folds
RacknStack calls $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $5
martingal19 calls $4
RacknStack folds
*** FLOP *** [9c 3c 2h]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $7.50
martingal19: nh
martingal19 raises to $80.60, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $73.10
martingal19 shows [Jd 9d]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Kh Kd]
*** TURN *** [9c 3c 2h] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [9c 3c 2h 5s] [8s]
martingal19 shows a pair of Nines
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Kings
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($169.20) with a pair of Kings

*SS*

July 24 - Moving along...

Finally strung a few good/winning sessions together! For some odd reason, I've been very unmotivated this month. I could have easily put in 50K hands more if I had the motivation to do so. But between a 15BI downswing and life stress, I'm just happy to have put in the hands I did. I'm at 32K hands right now and still down slightly on the month (-$200ish)...which I'm sadly very happy about. I still have a week to go though, so I expect to b around 40K-50K hands by the end of the month. Sadly, I feel as though I've been a huge let down to my FR-challenge team (which, I guess by pure results, yes, I've been exactly that), which I hate being especially as a Captain. Though I believe the majority of my team had a bad go-at it, but hopefully we can get a last minute WR-boost =)

I feel as though a slight depression is coming over me lately. I haven't met a single one of my goals, I haven't ran in like a week (an if I can't manage a run, there's no way I can manage a lift)...I dunno...i need to get my shit together. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking things though, which is good overall. Just trying to figure out what's effecting me, why it's effecting me, and how I can get through it. The majority of the reasoning for feeling the way I am is the stress of living here. Back in Boston is always very stressful for me (divorced family is here as well as my brother's resting spot) and I think I've overstayed my time here.

Thank God I only have about 1.5months left here. I love my family, but my family+this place = not good for me. I'm looking more and more forward to Vegas everyday! I'm currently trying to spend a lot of time to figure things out so I don't have to have a very long 'introductory period' when I get to my Vegas house. I'm looking for jobs, financial planners, and housing stuff regularly.

I've decided it would be best if I get a job out in Vegas. I like to be social, and really dislike that poker is such an individual game. I mean, yea, I could go to a casino an grind out for 75hrs/week (which is very easy for me to do live)...but I generally dislike poker players while playing poker. 1.) most people at a casino tend to smell foul, 2.) people there tend to be morons. Either they don't understand real life, they have an IQ hovering around 42, or they have the most anti-social tendencies ever. Or 3.) they are the over-ego people that make me go crazy. Couple that with the scum of the earth that casinos tend to attract, and I think live play for that many hours a week is out of the question. =)

So I'm thinking a job will help me feel a little more financially secure, will hopefully offer me benefits (healthcare included), and offer me the ability to learn something new. I honestly love nothing more than learning, whether it be learning someone's backstory, a new marketing technique, or how to read a weather map. That, and I'll be able to meet some new people and cut out my resume gap, makes a job (which seemed like a drag in the past) seems more lucrative now.

For those that haven't yet, please watch my latest video if you get a chance (check the “Videos” page of www.splitsuit.com). I think it came out fairly well, and I will probably do another one within the next 2 weeks. However, I think I'm only going to post them on 2p2 once a month just so I don't bother everyone and overpost vids and stuff.

And as usual, a fun hand!:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7350098528: Table Rio Poco - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:26:08 ET - 2008/07/23
Seat 1: thewire ($148.50)
Seat 2: AJ105 ($133.50)
Seat 3: BPRANGERS76 ($197.20)
Seat 4: AirsickAce ($140.70)
Seat 5: greatstar00 ($42)
Seat 6: OBPWRX ($59.10)
Seat 7: Its RIGGIGGITY ($48.95)
Seat 8: refresh13 ($185)
Seat 9: lucksallugot ($100)
refresh13 posts the small blind of $1
lucksallugot posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [8c 8s]
thewire folds
AJ105 folds
BPRANGERS76 folds
AirsickAce calls $2
greatstar00 folds
OBPWRX calls $2
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $48.95, and is all in
refresh13 folds
lucksallugot adds $2
lucksallugot folds
AirsickAce calls $46.95
OBPWRX folds
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [8c 8s]
AirsickAce shows [5c Jd]
*** FLOP *** [Qs Ac 9d]
*** TURN *** [Qs Ac 9d] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [Qs Ac 9d Kc] [2d]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows a pair of Eights
AirsickAce shows Ace King high
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($99.90) with a pair of Eights

*SS*

July 21 - It's a slow grind sometimes...

Omg omg omg...things are finally starting to turn around! So I decided to go against my last post and do a bit of short stacking (like 2.5K hands of it). Did that through 100nl and 200nl, just to get my feet wet with it again, get a change of pace, and skew up my stats for the month. I didn't like it all that much, was just nice to be able to think through a different set of ranges for 2hrs and also win a few coin flips (regression to the mean, regression to the mean...). After that I decided to go back to full stacking.

On Saturday I did a sweat session with JH1. I was very impressed with him: he had a solid thought process, was very smart, and overall really good player and person. So I sweated him for 6tabling 50nl for about an hour, then he sweated an 8tabling 200nl session of mine. I didn't run very well, but minimized loss to about -$300, which I was happy about. Was a little tilty after that session, mostly because of a 5 outer and a JJ v AA in a position hand...but took a 20min break before firing up another session. Did a +1.5BI session, +2.5BI session later that night, and booked a nice +2.5BI session tonight while doing a video tonight. So nice to finally be getting close to break even on the month. * sigh*

I also finally got my Cash Pickup withdrawal from FTP approved, and I will pick it up later today. I've been a little angry with FTP after having 2 checks get bounced, and a 3rd take 15+ days (still not here yet). But at least this withdrawal gives me a little breathing room cuz I have very little off-line right now. O well, just reminds me to plan better for the future, especially in this odd cash-out climate.

I made a video tonight as well...which I should be posting up later today. For some odd reason when I compress with Camtasia it takes like 8-12hrs for a 1hr video in .wmv format (which keeps it very small, but retains really solid quality). Hopefully people will like the video as there are a couple of fun spots. I really want to get more traffic to my site as well. Since putting the site up I've been hell bent on getting traffic there, and not really cuz of the coaching. I just think its cool that I have my own lil corner of the Internet, and I love checking my page stats to see how many new visitors and such I have. I've been using Google Analytics (yea, Google is taking over the world) and its a really nice application that measures so many things about the site. Apparently, I have people in Finland watching my videos, which I find really awesome. So in an effort to get more traffic I think I might start posting my vids on other poker forums. I've only been a part of 2p2 since posting with poker, so this should give me a chance to branch out, meet new people, and get a lil more movement on the site in general.

In personal news, I saw the Dark Knight in IMAX (omg, a goal that I completed!??!) on Saturday. My God, in IMAX, that movie looks amazing. Apparently some of the scenes were shot specifically in IMAX (like the cityscapes and also the bat-cycle sequence), and they really looked gorgeous. I also got some cooking done, which I like doing in my spare time. Made shrimp diablo pizza with my GF the other night, and it came out really well (let me if u want the recipe...its very spicy, but really flavorful). Other than that, it was kind of a quiet weekend. I took a lot of naps because I'm having a hard time getting to sleep at night, and my body is kicking my ass for it. O well, it happens.

Goals for the week:
~) run 4x
~) work on a new song
~) do a sweat session with someone
~) read ½ of this new book I got (about the psychology of a healthy and intimate relationship...I like psychology books in general)
~) start my trunk design (I have this trunk I use for storage (old military trunk), and I want to turn it into art work)

I've been finding lately that I really want to exercise my creative side of the brain a little bit more. I think poker forces you to really lean on the logical side, and thus hinder your ability to sometimes be more creative. So I'm trying to make sure I keep both sides of my brain strong.

And as usual, a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7227417375: Table Round Castle - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:15:49 ET - 2008/07/15
Seat 1: RiverOfNoReturn ($38.65)
Seat 2: CHzar ($31.80)
Seat 3: bsk_500 ($38.15)
Seat 4: Its RIGGIGGITY ($175)
Seat 5: derMichaaa ($20)
Seat 6: giveusakiss ($108.65)
Seat 7: goozent ($31.50)
Seat 8: Goldz ($111.60)
Seat 9: wererat1972 ($96.75)
bsk_500 posts the small blind of $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [9c Ac]
giveusakiss folds
goozent folds
Goldz folds
wererat1972 folds
RiverOfNoReturn calls $1
CHzar folds
bsk_500 calls $0.50
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
*** FLOP *** [6c 7c 3c]
bsk_500 bets $2
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $8.50
RiverOfNoReturn calls $8.50
bsk_500 calls $6.50
*** TURN *** [6c 7c 3c] [6d]
bsk_500 checks
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $18
RiverOfNoReturn calls $18
bsk_500 raises to $28.65, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $10.65
RiverOfNoReturn calls $10.65
*** RIVER *** [6c 7c 3c 6d] [8d]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $1
RiverOfNoReturn calls $0.50, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $0.50 returned to Its RIGGIGGITY
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [9c Ac] a flush, Ace high
RiverOfNoReturn shows [5c 4c] a straight flush, Seven high
RiverOfNoReturn wins the side pot ($1) with a straight flush, Seven high
bsk_500 shows [7h 7d] a full house, Sevens full of Sixes
RiverOfNoReturn wins the main pot ($111.45) with a straight flush, Seven high

*SS*

July 18 - And it continues...

I am so frustrated right now. Just one of those stretches where nothing is going right. Not like this is the first one I've ever encountered (by a long shot =) ), but this one is really getting to me. I'm at -13BI right now, and analyzing sessions twice over at this point. I'm really not worried about my play at all, most (11) of the BI's are just coolers and running bad, which is very reassuring. I think this downswing, coupled with the hell that is Monday (1yr anniversary of my brother's passing) and life stress, is just dragging on me.

At the moment I'm considering different poker options. My options are short stack for a little bit (just to mix things up) which I would do at 200nl-1Knl, cut down the amount of tables to like 6-12 (which was suggested by a friend I respect quite a bit, and thus I am heavily considering this), or moving over to PLO for a little bit. I'm not really considering PLO as an option, though I suppose my winning of 7 of my last 59 coin flips doesn't help that much =). I'm not the worst PLO player, but I don't think I want to deal with that kind of variance right now. I don't really want to short stack right now (I'm saving this for my move to PS, which I'll go into in a bit) just because the variance is sick and +/-10SSBI sessions are super common. I guess that leaves me with cut down tables. I think I'll do this for weekday games (and oddly enough, move up at the same time. So I'll 6-12 table 200nl during non peak hours). This will allow me to re-tweak my game, get used to 200nl again for when I move up, and probably make a better hourly than I am right now (currently doing $40/hr for the year at 100nl w/ RB). However, I'll still probably 16table during peak hours and weekends just because I find that to be most profitable for me.

I am planning on moving some, if not a huge %, of my play over to PS in the next two months. One of my goals for the year was to get SuperNova, which is very possible given my current level. I think I'll have to play about 250K hands at 100nl (or 215K hands at 200nl), which should take about 2-3 months if I really hustle. So I'll b jumping on the 24tabling bandwagon and ruining all the PS games =). I'll probably just SS there so I can clear SN as quickly as possible, burn the bonii, and get back to FTP. I'm really a sucker for FTP, I love the software, the game selection, RB, and overall look. Albeit the customer service does suck often, the servers do crash sometimes, and other issues; but nothing is perfect.

Also, I've noticed some people talking to me on the tables lately, and just wanted to say “hi”. However, I don't have chat on FTP right now, so please don't feel I'm being rude and ignoring you. I self-banned my chat so I can focus on playing and not talking silly nonsense.

As usual, I'm behind on my goals. I've done 2mi of running, made no video, played like 5K hands, etc. I think my next week's goals are gonna be simple so I can actually accomplish all of them for once. In the next few days I'd like get health insurance (srsly, with how much I pay in rake, you'd think FTP would give me health insurance =) ), see the new Batman movie at an IMAX theater, and make a video. Very simple goals, so that should be good. I won't set any hand goals for probably the rest of the month as I'm very stressed lately and think that forcing myself to play might draining me a bit.

And a hand (lol...wtf is villian doing?):

Full Tilt Poker Game #7254912974: Table WPTfan.com - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:37:17 ET - 2008/07/17
Seat 1: NJSparty ($105.50)
Seat 2: OUBoomerSooner ($64.55)
Seat 3: VVarrenI3uffett ($94.25)
Seat 4: Tarik84 ($0), is sitting out
Seat 5: iemdavid ($100), is sitting out
Seat 6: aquitas1 ($42.60)
Seat 7: Its RIGGIGGITY ($100)
Seat 8: kbslimjim ($58.85)
Seat 9: tanian99 ($151.85)
ccrw85 sits down
aquitas1 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #3
ccrw85 adds $40
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Kh Kd]
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $3
kbslimjim folds
tanian99 folds
NJSparty folds
OUBoomerSooner folds
VVarrenI3uffett folds
aquitas1 calls $2
*** FLOP *** [Ks Qs Qc]
aquitas1 checks
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
*** TURN *** [Ks Qs Qc] [Kc]
aquitas1 bets $3
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $12
aquitas1 raises to $39.60, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $27.60
aquitas1 shows [Ad Qd]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Kh Kd]
*** RIVER *** [Ks Qs Qc Kc] [4s]
aquitas1 shows a full house, Queens full of Kings
Its RIGGIGGITY shows four of a kind, Kings
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($82.20) with four of a kind, Kings

July 16 - Downswings Are Not Fun

I really need to snap out of this downswing. The variance is really starting to kill me. Every month I encounter at least 2 different 7BI downswings, so I'm very used to downswinging on a regular basis (aka, regular variance). But lately I've been encountering 10-15BI downswings more regularly. Of course, there are the 10-20BI upswings, so I'm making money overall...but I really cannot understand why I'm running like this. I play a very low variance style, I hand read well, and yet people that play 35+% of their hands just hit the most insane stuff. They either have KK+ when they shouldn't, they overset me, they snipe some crazy draw, or they 5 out me. Couple this with the times I'm on the bad side of setups (KK < AA, set < set, set < flush, AA < KK), and I'm hating this month quite a bit.

I took tonight off in an effort to regain a lil confidence. I'm very confident in general, especially about my game, but the last few months have been pushing my edge a little bit. I do feel better in that I'm aware of a few very respected players that have had 200K-400K break even patches, and that I'm only at around 175K of small WR (~.8ptbb/100). I know most people would consider this a decent WR, but I really do expect 1.4-2.5ptbb/100. So I'm just gonna keep my head up, keep chugging, and wait till my WR regresses to the mean.

Other than poker stuff, I got back together with my GF. I think living apart for a bit will be very healthy for us (she moved back in with her parents). She is working very hard to get healthy again, and I'm working very hard at being more open and emotional in the relationship. I think if we couple these things together that we will be very well off. I'm a little nervous about Vegas (I leave early Sept. (right after Labor Day)), but I'm focusing on baby steps right now.

So other than my silly downswing, life is OK. Have barely started on any of my goals for the week, but I still have 5 days left =). Did a little bit of Wii Fit today, and feel much better after doing some Yoga (and seriously, I never thought I'd see the day where I did Yoga). It's just very hard to run when it's 95 degrees outside, and 20 minutes of running might make me pass out. Hopefully the weather will cool down a bit, otherwise I'll just start treadmilling (which I really do hate to do, feels so odd).

Thought: with the recent split in forums on 2p2 (splitting the 400+ game) I've realized that I'm very against the elitist attitudes. I will not name names, but there are quite a few people that think because they have $XX, or do this/that, that they are better than other people. An not only do they have that thought, they flaunt it as though it's a respectable quality. Insulting, demeaning, or criticizing people for anything, especially something they are truly working toward, is just rude and really immature. However, I do understand that most of 2p2 is 16-24yr old males, so obviously the 'e-peen' waving an frat brother crap will always be present. I am asking that if people feel I'm being elitist in anyway to please tell me. This is a quality I have no interest in displaying, intentionally or otherwise. Thanks!

I was going through comments the other day and realized I said I would post a picture of Kingjamen. So here are 2 of them...



(don't worry, I never actually started the machine =) )



(like the first week we got him...he was so small back then)

and as usual, a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7065635230: Table Piedmont - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:47:37 ET - 2008/07/03
Seat 1: davenigma ($105.90)
Seat 2: WatchingF1 ($42.50)
Seat 3: GOLDDUST-47 ($40), is sitting out
Seat 4: g2005 ($88)
Seat 5: VVarrenI3uffett ($97.80)
Seat 6: Kardonoff ($100)
Seat 7: laserfocus ($44.90)
Seat 8: Its RIGGIGGITY ($138.45)
Seat 9: i9nite ($100)
davenigma posts the small blind of $0.50
WatchingF1 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [9h 9d]
g2005 folds
VVarrenI3uffett raises to $3
laserfocus folds
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $3
i9nite folds
davenigma raises to $11
WatchingF1 folds
VVarrenI3uffett folds
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $8
*** FLOP *** [Qh 3c 2s]
davenigma has 15 seconds left to act
davenigma bets $9
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $9
*** TURN *** [Qh 3c 2s] [9s]
davenigma has 15 seconds left to act
davenigma bets $29
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $58
davenigma raises to $85.90, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $27.90
davenigma shows [Qc Qs]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [9h 9d]
*** RIVER *** [Qh 3c 2s 9s] [Tc]
davenigma shows three of a kind, Queens
Its RIGGIGGITY shows three of a kind, Nines
davenigma wins the pot ($212.80) with three of a kind, Queens

*SS*

July 13th - Bleh

Well, so far I'm not doing all that well on my goals. LOL. I really need to learn how to set more attainable goals as I've struggled to hit the majority of mine in the last 2 months. But, I did manage to put in 10K hands so far (of course, that decided to trainwreck me to breakeven for the month), I did write this blog post, and I did mess around with some music (reworked a song I was working on last month). So I guess not all is lost.

This weekend was tough all the way around. My GF and I broke up after 7mo. Even though I was the initiator, it still ended up hurting me more than I thought it would. Tried to control myself psychologically an put in sessions, but was having a hard time, hence why I'm short on my hand goals. O well, just hard losing something that has been there for so long, but at the moment I think it's the best decision.

Besides that, I've just been trying to focus on the betterment of myself. I'm trying to schedule myself a little better, and really set aside hours for me to work, workout/run, and take care of side business. My uncle ended up getting me a Wii Fit for my birthday, which has really been awesome for working on some balance stuff I wouldn't otherwise have worked on. Which reminds me...apparently, my family runs GodMode when it comes to the Wii. Over Xmas my dad and I picked up the last Wii in a 30mi radius (some random morning order that just got delivered). I got a Wii in Syracuse for graduation...and ended up picking up the last one in the mall. Then, randomly go to Best Buy (like 15mi away) after checking the local stores for the Wii Fit, and turns out they randomly got a shipment of 6 that morning. So yea, apparently all my GodMode power is used for Nintendo products...*sigh*

So my plan for the week is run 10mi (not per day, just 10mi in total. I'm not a good runner at all), get in 25K-40K hands (prolly will be closer to the short side of that), and get to the gym 2-3x. I know exercise is one of the healthiest things you can do psychologically, so I might as well get my body back in tune. I think I'm also going to make 1 video, and try to pick up a new student because I've been lazy with my coaching goals this summer.

And a hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7195991943: Table Roaring Lion - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:06:47 ET - 2008/07/12
Seat 1: SirCJT ($127.45)
Seat 2: Its RIGGIGGITY ($276.30)
Seat 3: iemdavid ($104.10)
Seat 4: iwinuluz ($78.20)
Seat 5: Johnai ($24.50)
Seat 6: SmokinAces04 ($88.95)
Seat 7: Beerpants ($93), is sitting out
Seat 8: garrylim ($88.25)
Seat 9: boose55 ($152.90)
SirCJT 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 [2h Th]
iemdavid folds
iwinuluz folds
Johnai folds
SmokinAces04 folds
garrylim calls $1
boose55 folds
SirCJT folds
Its RIGGIGGITY checks
*** FLOP *** [2s Jc Td]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $2
garrylim raises to $7
Its RIGGIGGITY has 15 seconds left to act
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $25
garrylim: wow
garrylim calls $18
*** TURN *** [2s Jc Td] [Qh]
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $41
garrylim raises to $62.25, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $21.25
garrylim shows [9s Tc]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [2h Th]
*** RIVER *** [2s Jc Td Qh] [7h]
garrylim shows a pair of Tens
Its RIGGIGGITY shows two pair, Tens and Twos

*SS*

July 10 - Goals For The Weekend

So my birfffday just passed; turned 22. Was a really nice day, though more stressful that I really wanted it to be. O well. Did lunch with my mom and sister at Cheese Cake Factory. Got Smash Brothers Brawl for Wii and some clothes from my mom, along with a gas card for my trek to Vegas. Got home and chilled with dog and GF for a bit, then played some tennis before playing a lil SBB before dinner. Did dinner with my uncle, dad, sister, and GF...and had a delicious 'brinner' (breakfast for dinner). Got a BoSox jersey from my uncle (and a lottery ticket), and some specialty foods from my sister. My GF got me some T shirts and other stuff (she had already gotten me a TomTom GPS thing a lil bit back as an early B day present)...she's quite awesome, esp as a gift-giver.

I think I'm gonna start posting at least 1hand with every blog-post. This will ensure that I make this blog at least somewhat poker related. However, as per my recent usual, I'm being super lazy right now. I think the fact that this month isn't an easy one emotionally (1yr anniversary of my brother coming up, preparing for a benefit we are having in his name, my B day, my mom's B day, etc) coupled with my GF is making this month a difficult work environment. My GF is really great, but I forget sometimes how much of a time commitment a relationship really is. Its also hard given she works a lot of day-early night type shifts (so she's back here around 10ish often), and usually I'm just firing up tables at that point because the mid-day games are just so bad. I think once we are more in sync with our schedules it will make life easier for both of us (me being able to grind, and her being able to spend more time with me and us both be happy).

All life stuff put to the side for a moment, I'm setting these goals:

Today is Thursday (7/10)...i want to put in 16K hands before noon on Monday (7/14).
I want to write one more blog post before the same time
I want to start/make 1 new song

that is all.

As for the music, I've been messing around with music creation for a few years now. Did a little hip hop myself back in high school and early in college, but decided to move over to production midway through college. I now do a sort of funk-tronic and video game music. One of these days I'll actually put some up and link it out. But I think making sure I do something musically every now and then is very good for me...keeps my brain working.

I've recently been IM'd by quite a few 2p2'rs because I gave my AIM out in some thread. This has been a really nice opportunity to meet some new people, learn some people's stories, and conversely, tell my own a few times over. I think I might do a well on 2p2 soon (thread where ppl pelt u with questions about anything), and link it here. I think I actually have a decently interesting story (coming from the standard college poker game to a gambling addiction to grinding one summer with nothing but 5BI to my name). I think I'll do this soon...maybe ill add that to my list of goals =)

thats enough rambling for tonight. Up early on Thursday for a counseling session (seeing a counselor for 1hr/week is a really nice way to relieve stress and work on productive living and goal setting) and then grinding out the rest of the weekend. Sadly, I wont be able to go to Foxwoods this weekend because the GF just her first tattoo, and she didn't realize both the pain and the fact she couldn't go swimming/jacuzzi. O well, another weekend. An I'm sketching out my new tattoo idea today...I think I'll get it before Vegas

And the promised hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7131569854: Table Winery Ridge - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:24:17 ET - 2008/07/08
Seat 1: Brew Crew ($137.05)
Seat 2: ragflopz ($109.85)
Seat 4: tiger91 ($44.40)
Seat 5: Its RIGGIGGITY ($119.25)
Seat 6: kbm021 ($99)
Seat 7: SecretSurface ($190.85)
Seat 8: Koppal ($40.50)
Seat 9: MolsenMI ($100)
ragflopz posts the small blind of $0.50
tiger91 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Its RIGGIGGITY [Ah Ad]
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $3.50
kbm021 calls $3.50
SecretSurface folds
Koppal folds
MolsenMI folds
Brew Crew folds
ragflopz raises to $15
tiger91 folds
Its RIGGIGGITY has 15 seconds left to act
Its RIGGIGGITY raises to $42
kbm021 folds
ragflopz has 15 seconds left to act
ragflopz has requested TIME
ragflopz calls $27
*** FLOP *** [6c 3d Ks]
ragflopz checks
Its RIGGIGGITY bets $36
ragflopz raises to $67.85, and is all in
Its RIGGIGGITY calls $31.85
ragflopz shows [Kd Kh]
Its RIGGIGGITY shows [Ah Ad]
*** TURN *** [6c 3d Ks] [As]
*** RIVER *** [6c 3d Ks As] [4s]
ragflopz shows three of a kind, Kings
Its RIGGIGGITY shows three of a kind, Aces
Its RIGGIGGITY wins the pot ($221.20) with three of a kind, Aces

*SS*

July 7th

The weekend was really good. Got some really nice weather up there, so I cannot complain in the slightest. Did some boating, a lil tubing, got a lil sun, and got to relax for 2 days...was a nice break. Decided to not even bring up my laptop...so a 2 day vacation from poker was really nice. Got back late on Saturday night (the boat ran out of gas on the lake, so we had to get towed in. Then we fill it up, take it out, an we get engine failure 10minutes later....have to get towed in again), and fire up a quick session. I've been super lazy so far this month. I have 10K hands done over 7days, which I'm really disappointed about. This month I set my goals really high, but I have a really full schedule with family stuff and such...so hopefully I can get a decent amount of volume in anyway.

I got a good coaching session in on Sunday, and decided afterwards I would do a video. I like doing videos and coaching on the same day: might as well do both when your brain is working overload. The video turned out well and can be seen here. A couple of odd spots in the video, but I think I did a better job than normal of really talking through my thought process. Feel free to give it a look and give any criticisms.

I spent most of Monday just relaxing. The GF was working most of the day, so I got a lot of my errands done early. I went over to her place to do dinner with her family (yea, she lives with me, but her parents/family are in the next town over. Long story). Kind of odd that I've been dating her for 7months, yet I met her mom for the first time at this dinner. O well. Everything went pretty smooth, so I really couldn't complain at all. Her younger brother was super overtired and really cranky (he's almost 2), so most of the attention was on him the whole time, so I didn't really get grilled by her mom (score +1 me). Got home and immediately left again to go to this meeting.

Decided it would be beneficial and supportive if I went with my dad to this group counseling session for people that have lost a family member. My brother passed away last year at 18 and the 1yr anniversary is coming up soon. So I went with my younger sister (both our first times going) to this meeting. It was pretty awkward. I was the youngest person there by 10years minimum, and it was pretty sad to see people in this shape. Now, I cannot say that I think groups like these are the worst thing in the world for people in hard times, but I think its very dependent on the vibe given off. I think going to a place like this, being in a circle with about 15-20 other people, and just listening to the stories of people that truly pained, is very hard to do. But it's even harder to watch them spiral further and really not begin the progression stage that is necessary to come to terms with such an incident.

I think it's really vital that the group is moderated by someone who is strong, compassionate, and positive. By letting a group just sit there and dwell about the tragedy or tragedies that have occurred in their lives, a moderator is failing at their job and not helping the group progress. It's really about making sure that people realize they have a safe haven where they can let go and cry, but also that they are being helped and shown the ways to move forward in life. A death in life, especially one that happens close to home, can really stunt your own life and create such a deep psychological pain. However, it's imperative that the survivor can stay strong, begin to come to terms, and move forward in a healthy way. I think I'm doing a decent job in that regard, and really hope that the rest of my family can make the same progress.

Well, on a happier note, my birthday is on Wednesday. So any presents are more than welcome =) I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing for it, but hopefully it'll be nice and relaxing. I'm also going to Foxwoods for the first time in 2 years this weekend, so if anyone is gonna be around, feel free to let me know, or just say 'hi' to the kid with the mohawk.

July 3rd - Random Thought...

I'm leaving for NH in a few hours. Spending some time up at my uncle's lake house with my dad and sister. Should be a decent way to spend the 4th. I think I'm getting back sometime on the 5th, so hopefully I can get in a little grindcore then. I've been hella lazy so far this month an done a whopping 3.5K hands. O well...

I've been realizing lately that I feel really bad for the average service industry employee. Just through doing errands in the last few days, getting meals, and reading a few articles, I've realized that that path is pretty horrible. For one, you have an extremely limited skill set, and people know that. Your boss knows that, so a raise is out of the question, unless u manage to put in mega-volume there and perfect a perfectly useless skill. Your customers know this, and thus treat you accordingly (which I think is 100% rude and incorrect, but I cannot expect to change society in 1 day). And worst off, the employees themselves generally know this, which makes for a cognitive anguish knowing you are stuck in a rut that you will have an extremely hard time getting out of.

The service industry is an extremely rough path to travel. The pay is barely enough to afford the monthly living expenses of the current economy. (working 40hrs/week at $7.5/hr = $1200, or probably about $900 after taxes are taken out). Consider average rent to be about $450, gas prices booming, food prices booming, and the cost of pretty much anything being higher than ever before, and you have yourself in a constant state of break even. The only way to get out of this is to 1.) pickup another job (60-80hrs/week is very physically demanding), 2.) get school so you can “move up in the world” (how? You can barely afford life now, how are you going to afford school bills on top of basic living bills?) 3.) hope to win the lottery (*shakes head* at how many people think this is a viable option).

It's thinking through things like this that make me glad I have what I have. I have a college education, and though I'm not currently using it in the conventional sense, I am using skills I learned in college none the less. I have a job that allows both flexibility and a higher than break even achievement level. And I have a living, social, and physical situation that is healthy and positive. It's something I've taken a lot of time to look at, and really appreciate, because I, as many of the people reading this, are in situations where we don't have to consider service industry jobs. We are able to work at a higher level, and should be thankful for that, while at the same time respecting and appreciating service industry employees.

I'm not 100% sure what prompted that, but I just wanted to get that on paper before I left. Something to expand on...so any comments are more than welcome. I always encourage a healthy discussion =)

*SS*

Start of July...

It's been a very intense last few days. On Saturday we did the micro-forum FR challenge draft. I was really happy to get first pick and felt I really got a good team together. Of course, because I didn't really know any of the players, I decided to pick my team based on their relative nearness to a flavor of ice cream. Yes, this makes me borderline absurd, but its all for fun and I have faith in my team none the less.

On Sunday I wrapped up the horrible month that is June. Ended out the month at 65K hands, an +$1.7K after all was said and done. Not terrible given how it began, but really frustrating running really badly in setup hands and also hitting draws. I'm really trying to stay focused because its been a bad couple of months (~120K hands), and I'm trying to retain composure and not tilt through any of this. I'm very lucky that I can control tilt well, and that helps me put in sessions through the hell patches.

On Monday I decided to take it easy and take the day off of poker. I spent the day with my GF who had the day off work. Got some errands done during the day, then took the dog over to get groomed (I swear to Jesus, this 5lb Chihuahua is spoiled like hell). She also gave me my birthday present (which isn't till the 9th) early, so we tested out the new TomTom GPS. Really awesome gadget, and will make driving out to Vegas much more enjoyable. Thing can read documents to you, talk to you in awesome accents, and make phone calls...pretty awesome as far as I'm concerned. Did dinner later that night (why UNO's says its “Chicago-style” is beyond me,...I'm from Chicago and UNO's is crap in comparison), and then saw “Wanted” because both of us have a hard-on for Ms. Jolie. Movie wasn't bad, very much an action movie, which was right up my alley that night.

Tuesday wasn't bad. Went out to a local state park and did a nice 5mi walk with my GF and dog. We ran across some big ass snakes, and the walk was cut short because of such. Apparently girls don't like snakes much...i was shocked to learn such news. Have a nice steak dinner, then I get to work. Have a nice +5.5BI session. Cut it short though because, though I was running very well, I felt as though I was starting to autopilot. Felt good to finally suck out a few times (though nothing harsh, just QQ v AK on TJQ board, and 44 v 32 on A54 board), and hope the good luck continues throughout the month. So I book a nice win to start the month, built a little much needed confidence for July, and look forward to putting in more hours this month. Goal this month is just 80K hands, but with my birthday, event planning for August, and also the 4th, it might be a stretch. Hopefully I'll hit some nice motivation and get this done.

*SS*