Poker Diary

August 2004

August 28
I went into work today and worked only a couple of hours. The Bike had their Ladies event tonight and I didn't want to burn myself out by working a full eight hour shift before the tournament started. There was one great hand that occurred before the end of my shift. I limped with 53. There were 5 players in the hand. The flop was A97 and it was checked to me. I made a pot size bet ($20) and told them that if they didn't have an ace, they couldn't win the pot. I got two callers and I figured I was done with the hand. The turn was a deuce. Both players checked to me and I decided to take the free card. They obviously had me beat and if I hit the straight, they would never be able to put me on the hand. The river was a four giving me the nut straight. The first player checked, the second bet $50, I made it $120, the player in first position folded and the other player moved all-in. I knew he was going to be devastated when I showed my hand. Of course I called his all-in bet and he flipped out. He had pocket sevens and flopped a set. He announced that he was on tilt and it was true. He re-bought and on the next hand, he bluffed off all of his chips. He had to get up and leave the game. There was one player that was on my left that usually reads my website and I told him that when I got up, make sure he listened to what the players had to say about the hand. I am sure he is going to give me an earful the next time I see him.

I went into the Ladies tournament feeling good about my chances. I play No Limit everyday and I knew that most of the women were not going to be No Limit players. I won a few pots in the early rounds and had built my $800 stack to $1200. I played a few more hands and I did not do much and then one hand took place that left me short chipped. I had 87 of hearts. The flop was KTx. I made a pot size bet on the flop and got one caller. The turn was a blank. I made another pot size bet thinking that she would fold her hand. It did not seem like she liked her hand much, but she called again. I thought she might be on a straight draw, but I wasn't certain. The river came another blank. I thought about it for awhile and finally decided to give up. She turned up AQ and her ace high won the pot. One of the ladies asked to see my hand and I had to show that I was making a total move for the pot with nothing. I ended up having only $325 in chips when the following hand came up. I was in the big blind for $25. One player raised to $60 and three other players called behind her. I hoped that I was going to look at my cards and see a huge hand. I looked at pocket jacks. Not exactly huge, but with the money in the pot and only having $325 left, I moved in. I got called in two spots. One lady had QJ and the other held AT. The two of them combined only had two overs on me and my hand held up.

I was moved a short time later and I was not pleased about moving. My table was very passive and I was able to steal a lot of blinds. When I got to the next table, I got a few big hands and my stack increased. I had pocket aces twice and pocket kings once. All three of the hands stood up.

I moved tables again and my chips were moving up and down like a yo-yo. One of the first hands I played I held KQ and the player in front of me doubled the $200 blind. I called and the lady behind me moved all-in for an additional $425. The original raiser called and I called too. The flop was KK9. The first player bet $1,000 and I moved in. She called and said, "what the heck, I am here to have fun." I figured this statement meant she didn't have a full house of AK. She turned over KJ. The turn was a queen and she was drawing dead. The all-in player turned up pocket aces and she did not hit one of her two outs. I was the chip leader in the tournament. I lost a big pot a little while later with my KQ against A7. I turned around and won a big pot a few hands after that. I raised the $300 big blind to $1,000 with K7 and it got folded to the small blind. She moved in, the big blind folded and I decided to call. It was another $1,300 to me, but with the antes and blind, I had to make the call. I flopped the king and her pocket tens did not improve. We finished for the night and resume play tomorrow at noon. I am third in chips and have a little over $16,000. There are 35 women left and we are all in the money. This tournament was the one I wanted to win out of all the events at the Legends. The winner gets the last seat at the Ladies WPT Invitational. My contact at the WPT said he was going to submit my information to be considered, but they did not invite me. I knew I was going to have to do it the hard way. I look forward to tomorrow and I am going for broke. I want the title and the seat for the televised event.

August 30
I went to the Bicycle Casino to see the World Poker Tour event. They had close to 700 players and many of the biggest names in poker were there. Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey, Sam Farha, Daniel Negreanu, Mark Seif, Barry Greenstein, Howard Lederer and Erik Seidel are just a small list of the players I saw. I also saw Ben Affleck, Toby Maguire and Matthew Perry. A couple of minutes before the first break, I saw Barry Greenstein eliminated by Phil Ivey and his pocket aces.

I had a decent week at work. I won three of the four days. My losing day was hell. I got all of my chips in twice on the flop with set under set. The first pot was pretty big because there were three of us involved in the hand and all three of us hit the flop. The first player moved in, I moved in behind him with my set of nines, and the player behind me turned his hand face up and said, "what do you guys have? I call!" He had flopped a set of jacks. The first player had AK of spades with the nut flush draw. The turn was a spade, but it paired the board and I was drawing to one card. Those two hands cost me quite a bit. If it hadn't been for both of them, my loss for the day would have been small.

There was one hand this week that I particularly remember. I limped with 64 offsuit after one player did in front of me. One guy called behind and the guy on the button made a pot size raise. The first player called and I knew the guy behind me would call. I decided to call because two of the three players involved in the hand had large stacks and I knew I could get all of their chips if I hit the flop perfectly. The flop was KK9 with two spades and all of the players checked. The turn was another spade. The second player made a $6 bet into a $60 pot and I called with my six of spades. The player behind me called and the other folded his hand. The river brought another spade. The guy bet a measly $15, I called, and the other player folded. The guy asked me if I had a flush and I told him, "yes". He said, "It's good." I asked him again if it was good and he told me, "yes it's good." I turned my hand up for the whole table to see. I did not want to turn my hand up unless I knew my hand was good. I would imagine that every player at the table thought I was out of my mind. All of the players played the hand badly. Only one player (the bettor) made a comment about calling the $15 bet on the river. If I am going to call a $6 bet on the turn for my crappy flush draw, then I am certainly going to call $15 on the river when I get there. If one of the players had made even a small bet on the flop, I would have folded, but all of them let me win that pot. How can any player think that they are going to win a pot with a $6 bet into a $60 pot? I am not sure how he could think that, but he did.

August 27
I played in a satellite tonight to win my way into the WPT. It was one of those nights, where nothing went right. The satellite cost $540 and they were giving one seat for every ten players. I did not get the final count, but I know when the event started they had a little over 330. This meant that I only had to make it down to the top 33 players and I would be playing tomorrow. I specifically waited for this satellite to try and win my way into the event, because it is most suited for my style of play. I usually have no problem making it far into a tournament as long as I get a few hands and hit a few flops. I got my "few hands" and let me tell you, that is all I got. I can remember all four hands I played. The first hand, I raised with KQ and got called by both blinds. The board was 7 high. The small blind checked and the big blind made a pot size bet. The big blind was a tight player and showed two hands previously where he laid down big hands. I knew if I called, I would need to hit my king or queen, so I folded. The small blind thought about for awhile and folded his pocket eights after he showed us. He knew as well as I did that the other guy had the best hand. After the small blind folded, the big blind showed pocket nines.

The next hand I played, I raised the $50 blind to $200 in first position with AT offsuit. A player in middle position made it $600 and the player to his left just flat called. The player to his left was Kenna James and I knew he would only flat call in this spot if he had a huge hand. I folded that hand after it was folded around to me. All of the chips got in on the flop with a Jack high board. The original raiser had pocket nines and Kenna had pocket Kings. The river was an ace, but there is no way that I would have been involved at that point. Even if I called the reraiser, I would have folded when I missed the flop. The next hand, I was in the big blind with QJ of spades. One player raised and it got folded around to me. The player didn't have enough chips to bust me if I called, so I did. The flop was Q64 with two spades. I checked to him hoping that he would push all of his chips in and he obliged. I quickly called and he showed K7 of spades. I started saying, "keep it red". The dealer kept it red, the only problem is it was a red king. I was left with $550 in chips. The last hand I played was when a player raised in early position to $225 and I moved in. All players folded back to him and he said, "I am going to make a bad call here and hope that I have two overs". I told him that the only way he could have two overs was if he had AK because I had pocket Queens. He looked disappointed when he turned his A9 up. The flop looked good, but the ace hit the turn, and I hit the door!

I wanted to play in the WPT event, but I only wanted to give myself one shot at a satellite. I wish it would have worked out, but I am satisfied that I did not make a mistake on any of the four hands I played. I can usually walk away feeling okay about my loss and today was no different. I will get them next time.

I am still planning on going over to the Bike for the event. I am covering the event for Bluff Magazine. I will keep my journal updated as to who is in or out.

August 24
There were a lot of interesting hands that happened at work today. The first big hand was when I held AK of spades in the blind. One player made it $10, another made it $30, and another made it $60. I decided to just flat call because I wanted to see a flop with my hand. The original raiser folded and the other player called. The flop was KQ2 with two spades. This was a great flop for my hand and I was willing to risk all of my chips on this hand. If one of the other players had me beat, I still had outs with my flush draw. I was first to act and decided to move all-in because I would call any bet. It is usually better to move your chips than to call with them. The next player had me slightly outchipped and he called and the other player only had a very small amount of chips left in front of him, so he called too. Player number two immediately said, "NO SPADES", and I knew he must have me beat. He turned up KQ, so it was a little better than I thought. Not only did I have the flush draw, I also had a king or a deuce draw. The turn was a five and the other player finally turned up his hand, pocket fives. The river brought no help to any player and the set of fives won the main pot. The side pot was almost as big and that was awarded to the other player. I don't think I would change the way I played the hand. I was a little disappointed that I ended up with the worst of it when my hand didn't start out that way, but that is poker.

There were two instances where a player told me what they had in their hand during the course of the betting action. The first time, I had two pair, but the board was KQT9x. I asked him if he had the jack and he told me he did. I looked at him to see if he was being honest and he nodded his head. I could tell by the look on his face that he was not lying. There was one player that was all-in for a small amount and I knew I was going to see the cards anyway, so I folded my hand. He showed me JT. He actually flopped the straight. The other hand was when I held pocket aces. I limped in first position because there was a lot of raising going on at our table. Of course, nobody raised on this hand. The flop was K4x. One player bet $10, I raised to $40, another moved all-in for $44, another made it $94 and then it got folded around to me. I didn't think my hand was good anymore, but I looked at the guy to try and get a read off of him. He told me, "I have two pair". I asked him if he was serious. He confirmed it and again I believed him. I showed my aces to the guy next to me and I folded my hand. The player showed his K4 and I was pleased with my read. The other guy who had moved all-in turned up his hand and showed pocket fours giving him the set. I usually try and ignore the talk at the tables and I often have to filter out the bullshit. Most of the time, I am successful at it and I was glad I made the correct decision on both hands.

I was stuck a little bit with only an hour left on my shift. I ended up breaking even because of the next hand. One player limped in first position and another called. I looked at my cards and saw AT. I did not want to see a flop with this hand, so I made a big raise hoping to pick up the blinds. All players folded to the original raiser and he reraised me. The player in between us folded and I told the guy, "I saw you do that one other time and you had pocket queens, nice try" I folded my hand and he showed me AK. I knew that by saying that, he would think he could do this anytime and I would lay my hand down. If the situation came up again, I was going to play my hand. A little while later, the player limped, and when it was my turn to act, I raised. It got folded back around to him and he made raised it again. I had a plan and I was going to stick with it, so I called with my KQ. There were only two of us in the hand. The flop came queen high and I moved in. He called me immediately and I realized he actually had a hand. He proudly turned up pocket aces. The turn was a king and I turned my hand up telling him that I now had two pair. As it turned out, I made a mistake on the hand, but I went with my original read and strategy of how to play the next hand with this particular player.

I got home and decided to play in the $100 No Limit tournament on PokerStars. There were 197 players and I finished in seventh place. I was one of the chip leaders throughout the entire tournament. My final hand, I took pocket sixes against A6, but he flopped the dreaded ace.

August 23
It was a very long and busy day at work today. I started the day by playing one satellite to try and win my way into the $1,000 tournament. It did not go well. I was eliminated when I got involved in a pot with my monster hand (43 of diamonds). I raised the $25 big blind to $100 and I got three callers. I was thinking I was done with the hand, but unfortunately I hit a piece of the flop. The flop was 632 with one diamond. I thought that there was no way that any of the players could have hit any of that flop because they called my raise and figured they had high cards. I made a $300 bet and one player moved all-in. The other players had already folded and I felt I had to make the call. I only had $350 left in chips and it would be difficult for me to win the satellite unless I accumulated some chips. I made the comment that I didn't particularly want to show my hand, but I had to make the call.

After the satellite, I ran into David Levi and we talked for awhile. I have not seen him much lately, so I sat down with him. I told him about my hand and he told me I did nothing wrong. I suppose that is some kind of consolation. He talked to me about a lot of players and what some of their weak and strong points are and we agreed on most of it. He also talked to me about the World Poker Tour and how much it has done for the game, but also expressed some concern about players not getting some of what they deserve. Again, we agreed.

I finally started my day at work by sitting down in a $100 buy-in No Limit game. I played in the same game for most of my shift and it was pretty uneventful. After eight hours of work, I left with about the same I started with.

My online adventures were not great yesterday. I played in a $200 No Limit event with almost 2,000 entries and I only got down to about 500 players. There was one hand that cost me a lot of chips and I was disappointed with the way the hand played out. I had J7 and the flop was T9x. I thought I could make a move at the pot and if I got called I would have a few outs. I got called by one player and I immediately put him on a straight draw. The turn was an ace and I made another bet. The player called quickly, so this confirmed to me that he was on the straight draw. The ace didn't scare him or slow him down so he must be on a draw. The river was a blank and my first instinct was to move in. I made a read and instead of following through with it, I checked and he checked behind me. He showed his hand and it confirmed what I thought, he was on a straight draw!! The problem was he held J8 and he had me outkicked by one. After the hand, I didn't have many chips, but I was more mad about ignoring my read. I played in the weekly Omaha tournament later in the evening and I did not do well in that. I was at a table with one player that was getting hit by the deck. I was not impressed with his play and I was waiting for the opportunity to relieve him of his chips. Our game broke and I never got the chance.

August 21
I got home from New York on Wednesday night and enjoyed the time away from poker. I woke up on Thursday excited to go to work. The thought actually made me chuckle because there are very few people that can say what I say, "I can't wait to go to work because I love my job".

I went to work and had a great day. I played in three games and won in two. I decided to go take a stab at winning a satellite. I want to play in the $1000 No Limit Holdem tournament on Monday night, but will most likely enter only if I win my way into the event. I sat down and doubled up on the first hand. I held AK of spades and just called the raise from the button (there were several players in the hand and I didn't want to get too involved if I didn't hit the A or K). I flopped the nut flush and all of the players checked and I checked too. The turn brought a possible straight and all of the players checked to the guy to my left. He made a pot size bet and I just called and all of the other players folded. The river paired the board, but I knew the player did not have a full house because of the way the action went down. He checked, I bet, he moved all-in and I called. He showed the straight and I was pleased with the way I played the hand because I was able to win a lot of chips. I was the chip leader when we got down to four players and I was playing very aggressive. I knew I was going to trap one of the players because I was playing so many hands that they would eventually think I was bluffing when I had a big hand. The time came when I raised on the button with KJ and the player in the big blind called. The flop was KJ9. He checked, I moved all-in and he called with just a pair of nines. The turn was a blank, but the river was a NINE!! I lost my huge chip lead on one hand and my trap backfired. We ended up making a deal a couple hands later and the guy gave me more than he should have. He said he felt bad about the beat he put on me. I have to play another satellite so I can play the $1,000 event.

I have been playing a little online the past couple of days, but haven't done well in any tournament. I am probably going to play the $200 Omaha event tomorrow night and I hope I do well. It has been awhile since I made the final table in the weekly tournament.

August 11
I played in the Omaha tournament without any success. I started out at Raymond Davis' table and I was excited about that. He plays so reckless in the early rounds, I figured it would be a good way to accumulate chips. I think I only scooped one pot when I was heads up with him, but I was satisfied with that. The flop had two low cards (including a deuce) and two diamonds. I flopped a pair of deuces, had a nut diamond draw, and the second best low draw. The turn was a high card and Raymond bet out, I called and the other player folded. The river paired the jack. I thought about what I might do if he bet (I probably was going to call with my deuces), but he checked and turned over AQ high. Although I have issues with him, he did make me chuckle (inside of course), especially when he pulled his Bob the Builder wallet out to give one of his friends money. I sat there in amazement looking at this guy in his expensive sweatsuit and a Bob the Builder wallet. I couldn't resist making a comment about it.

Our table broke a little while later and I was bummed that I had to leave Raymond and his wild action. In the early rounds he turned over some doozies: 2255 and K966 (but it was double soooooted) to name a few. He was starting to buckle down and play some premium hands, but I knew the next table was not going to be the same. I was pleased with my new table assignment. The game was a lot tighter, but it was more my style. Many of the players were folding to my raises and I thought I might be able to increase my stack. I just hung around for awhile with about $1500 in chips (we started with $1000), but I lost a few pots.

One of the hands I lost was when I held A33T and I called after there were already two limpers. I figured I had the second best low draw and if it happened to pair my 3, my set might win the high. The flop was 443. Two players checked, one bet, and I raised. All of the players folded to the original bettor and he called. The turn was a 4! The was one of the worst cards in the deck for my hand. The other player checked, so I checked too. The river was a ten. The player made a bet and I figured I had to call, since if he had me beat on the turn it didn't make sense to check since I had less than two bets left. I was hoping he missed his low draw and was trying to make a move for the pot. He showed AA26 and one of the aces was suited. I never would have put him on this monster hand because he only limped preflop. Fortunately he left me with $75 in chips. I split the next pot I was involved in, but had to put them back into the pot two hands later when it was my big blind. There were five people in the hand including me and I figured there was no need to look at my cards. I would just wait until the river got there and hope for the best. The board was T88 and two other low cards. There were only two other players in the hand after the river and one of them turned up A2 for nut low and the other player turned up TT for the nut full house. I had to have A2 to get a 1/4 of the pot or 88 (for four of a kind) to win half the pot. I didn't like my chances. I looked at my garbage and walked away from the tournament feeling okay about the whole experience. I was focused, I played well, but the cards did not run well for me.

I am leaving to New York tomorrow morning and am not returning for one week. I am going for a family wedding and plan on taking the week off from poker. I'll update my journal when I get back.

August 10
It was another rollercoaster day in the world of poker. I took my pocket aces against kings and got rivered. The immediate hand after that, I took my pocket queens against aces and I flopped the queen. All day long, it was up and down and unfortunately for me, my eight hour shift was up when I was down.

I decided to skip the No Limit tournament at the Bike today because I want to focus on the Omaha event tomorrow. However, I did play a $100 No Limit tournament online. I got extremely lucky on a few pots, but I did not make it into the money. Right from the start, I was having difficulty with my internet connection. I was disconnected at least five times within the first half hour. After that, it seemed to disconnect at key times. One of the times I got lucky was when I raised on the button with A3 and the big blind called. The flop was K99 and the person checked. I went to bet and then realized I was disconnected. It automatically checked for me on the flop, turn, and the river. I don't know what the other person was thinking, but they never bet. If they had bet, my hand would have been folded. Since they didn't bet, my ace high won the pot. I also took queens against kings and rivered the queen. It looked like I was going to make it into the money, but the disconnections started again. I was dealt pocket nines and a couple of players folded in front of me. I was going to make a move for the pot, but didn't get reconnected in time. As soon as I got back online, I was dealt KQ in the big blind. One player raised and I moved in. I probably would have made this move anyway, but I felt pressure to try and win a pot before my computer acted up again. The player called me with their pocket aces and I finished in 27th. They only paid 18.

August 8
I played in the $500 No Limit Holdem tournament at the Bike today and was eliminated early when I made a move at a pot with nothing. I had noticed that this one particular player would bet the flop every time he raised preflop. I was waiting for a situation where I had a legitimate hand and could trap him. I did not wait for that hand. He raised the $25 big blind to $100 and I just called with AQ. The flop came 854. He didn't let me down when he bet on the flop and I figured there was no way he had any piece of that flop. I called him thinking I might have the best hand. If I didn't have the best hand, I might still be able to take the pot away from him on the turn. The turn was a six making a possible straight and I still did not believe he had a piece of that board. He checked to me and I moved in. I was shocked when he said he called. He asked me if I had a straight again and then he showed me pocket sixes for a set. I was drawing to a seven for a chop. I was mad at myself when I left the tournament, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn't such a bad play. There was no way he was going to call my all-in move without a straight or a set. It was unfortunate for me that he turned the set. There was one more reason for me to make a move at this particular pot. I took my 76 of clubs against his AT. The pot was limped and the flop came T54 with one club. He made a pot size bet and I decided to call one off. The turn was a club giving me more outs. He again made a pot size bet and I called. The river was an eight of clubs giving me the flush (and the straight). He checked, I bet, and he called. He looked destroyed when I turned my hand over. When the other hand came up, I figured it would be an even harder call for him to make because he would have to at least consider that I might have made a straight.

After I left the tournament, I decided to go play a little live action. I got stuck immediately and then I got more stuck when I flopped a set of kings against a flush draw. The guy was calling for his flush and ended up backing into a straight. I finally got even when I won a huge pot with A5 of diamonds. The pot was limped preflop and the board came Q9x with two diamonds. The first two players checked, I bet $10, player #1 called and then player #2 raised to $45. It looked like he only raised to $35, so I called and the dealer pointed out that I owed $10 more. I threw out the additional $10 and then the player #2 moved in for $43 more. I was not liking my hand at all, but when the player #2 called the all-in raise, I had to call because I was getting a little more than 5-1 on my money. The turn came a blank and player #2 bet a mere $50. There was about $300 in the main pot and again I had to call because of the odds I was getting on the hand. The river was a diamond and player #2 still bet $50, I moved in for $130 and he finally folded. That pot not only helped me get even, but put me ahead for the day. I played a couple rounds after that hand, but finally decided to leave. I need to get a good night's rest to start my week off right. I have to work all week and plan on playing two events.

August 7
I did not have the best showing in the Omaha event at the World Championship of Online Poker. I never accumulated chips and had to bluff to win a few pots. Bluffing in Omaha Hi/Low is hard to do, so I was pleased with being able to do it, especially doing it three times. I got involved in a hand about midway through the tournament where I had a huge draw and my opponents were kind enough to let me keep my $8. They didn't bet on the turn or the river. I kept thinking how it would make an incredible journal entry if I managed to win the tournament with my $8. I got knocked out shortly after that hand, so my story isn't going to happen this time around.

I played in a couple of online tournaments last night and placed in two of them. I played a $10 and a $33 No Limit (both with multi rebuys) and thought I might be able to win one of them. The $10 tourney had 980 players and I finished in 34th place. The other tourney had 288 players and I finished in 21st. Neither of them made me much money, but I was pleased with my play in both of them. It is a little frustrating to make it through so many players and only turning a small profit, but I take it as a learning experience.

My week at work went much better. I managed to win a nice sum of money. It was also nice because one of my avid readers stopped by and tried live action No Limit for the first time. He managed to win a small amount of money.

There are a few tournaments that I am going to play this week. My main goal for the tournaments is to focus 100% on the game. This is no small feat for me. I will report how I did.

August 3
I had a situation come down in the No Limit game today that reminded me of how bad some players table etiquette are. There was a player who raised to $25 in late position. I was in the blind with pocket nines. About fifteen minutes prior to this hand, the same player had got involved in a hand where all his chips went in preflop with pocket fives. I figured he overvalued his hands and decided to call his bet. The flop came 743 and I checked. He bet $40 and I moved in for $73. He thought for a short time, called me, and said "nice hand". He hadn't seen my hand yet, but I figured his comment to mean he missed the flop. I thought he had to call because of the pot size and thought he might have two overcards or a small pocket pair. I told him I had pocket nines before the dealer dealt the turn and the river. Once the river was dealt, he said "Is that all?" and showed pocket aces. I asked him why he would say "nice hand" when he had pocket aces and he mumbled something about a straight. There was no way he could have put me on 65 when I called a large raise preflop. I can't stand when a player taps the table like he is beat or announces "nice hand" like he is beat when they have strong hands. Don't say anything or just announce your hand. There is no need for the dramatics in the game.

Last week, the same thing happened. There was a player who announced he had aces up after the river was dealt. There were two other players in the pot, but neither of them threw their hand away. They wanted to see his hand. The board was paired already and he finally showed A8. He did not have aces up and both of the other players split the pot with their two pair. One player told the guy, "there is no room for that here. Did you actually think we were going to throw our hand away?" I was happy that he let the player know his behavior was unacceptable. That player eventually left and another one filled his seat. The new player got involved in a hand where he held pocket queens. On the river he made a bet and the other player called. There was a possible flush and the board had a pair on it (but no card higher than a queen on board). The player said, "nice call. I have nothing" and showed his pocket queens. The other player mucked his hand and I turned to the guy and said, "why would you say you have nothing? Pocket queens are not nothing". He said he thought he might be beat. I told him he should just announce his hand and not declare "nothing". I talked to the two players that were involved in the earlier hand and said, "I don't know what it is about that seat, but the players that sit there have no table etiquette." The guy got mad and said he was going to leave and he did.

Back to the subject of today. That guy with his aces made me pretty mad. Not because he beat me, but the way he was so shitty about it. A little while later, he raised again in the same position, but this time he made it $40. His $40 bet was so large, I thought his hand was weaker than aces. I had KQ of spades and was thinking I was probably in race situation. I was ready to fold my hand, but counted my chips to evaluate the situation. One player said, "uh oh, she is going to move in on you". I don't know why that made me rethink my position, but I decided to call. The flop came KKx and I moved in. He called and showed me his pocket aces. He said that my king was good. I hadn't showed him my king yet and was not going to show it until the river. I finally showed him and scooped the pot.

We had a few words after that hand. He said he would take all of my chips because he only played pocket aces. I reminded him of how all of his chips went into the pot preflop with pocket fives. I did not realize how bad of a call I was making with my KQ when I did it, but the satisfaction I received was well worth it. He was overly aggressive with me after that and I never had a chance to trap him, but I am sure the day will come.

I played in an online tournament tonight and there was one hand that I found funny. I raised with pocket aces, the guy immediately to my left reraised and it got folded back around to me. I moved all-in and the player called. He turned over KQ of spades. I knew I was going to get killed on the hand because of what happened earlier today and sure enough the KQ flopped! I had a lot more chips than him so it didn't cost me the tournament, but I ended up finishing out of the money anyway. Tomorrow is the WCOOP Omaha Hi/Low tournament. There are about 200 players registered at the moment, so I would expect there to be about 500. First place prize money should be nice.

August 2
I had a great day at work today. I played in three games and won in all of them. It was a nice switch from the past couple of weeks. The hand that sticks out in my head the most is when I held K3 of spades and limped. The player behind me raised to 4 times the amount of the blind and four players called, so I called. The flop was 732. All players checked to me and I didn't think the original raiser had a piece of that so I made a pot size bet. The original raiser called and all of the other players folded. This player had played a lot of hands with me prior to this one, so I was able to evaluate the situation better. On most of the other hands, he doubled my original bet and he usually had top pair (sometimes with a horrible kicker). The turn was a six, so I made another pot size bet. He called me instantly, so I had to rethink everything. The river brought another six. I thought a check was in order, but it was probable that I was going to call any bet. The guy grabs a big stack and pushes it out in front of him. It didn't make sense to me that he would only call on previous bets and then make a move on the river. I thought he was making a move for the pot because I checked. The way he moved his chips in the pot gave me more reason to call, so I did. He said, "good call, I missed" and showed me Q5. He did not release his hand, so I had to show the whole table my pair of threes. I thought a lot of them might not understand my thought process on the hand and would make negative comments, but almost all of them made a positive remark. One player actually said I played that "textbook". I don't usually care what other players might think about how I play a hand, but I enjoyed the chatter.

When I got home, I decided to play in $100 No Limit Holdem tournament online. I have been so busy with my other business that I have not been playing online. I figured it was time to get my fix in. There were 181 players and I finished in 14th place. I got knocked out when a player limped for $2000. I moved in for a little over $9000 with AK and all of the players folded to the limper. He decided to call with his pocket sixes and they held up.

I am thinking about playing the $500 No Limit Holdem event at the Legends tomorrow, but won't know till later. I go into work tomorrow and don't like to make the decision until it is almost time to start the tournament. Sometimes after 8 hours of live action play, I don't have enough stamina to last another ten hours in a tournament. I am almost positive that I am going to play in PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker on Wednesday. It is a $500 Omaha Hi/Lo event and should have a nice turnout. I know there are over 100 players already registered for it and should have over 200 by the time I sign up.

August 1
I played in the employee No Limit event at The Legends of Poker and also the Omaha Hi/Lo. I was knocked out before the first break in both tournaments!

I made a mistake in the employee event. I played a lot of hands (as I normally do) in the first couple of rounds, but instead of waiting for a situation where I hit a huge flop, I got involved in a pot that I should have folded on the flop. I held K9 with a flop of K72. There were only two of us in the hand and I was in first position. I checked, he bet, and I called. The turn was another king. I checked again, he bet, I raised and he moved all-in. I thought about it for awhile and didn't think he had a king. I did not evaluate the situation correctly and I called. He held pocket sevens giving him a full house. The river brought me no help and I left. I never considered he might have flopped a set. I was concentrating more on what was in my hand than what my opponent might have had. The flop gave me top pair with a "whopping" nine kicker. Not exactly hitting a huge flop.

The Omaha event was ridiculous. I sat on a table with the biggest group of live ones I have ever played with. That is about the only explanation I can give about my early exit.

My week at work was not exactly spectacular either. I did manage to break about even, but after my loss last week, I wanted to win.

I got a new computer and it has been giving me trouble, so please bear with me for a couple of days until I get it set up properly. I promise my journal will be updated more often.