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*