Poker Diary

March 2005

March 29
I have played in five WSOP qualifier tournaments over the past couple days. I am pretty certain that I am going to quit trying to qualify via the $160 double shootouts. I haven't performed well in them and if I can win my seat in the $33 with rebuys, it would be the cheaper way to go.

The two $160 double shootouts I played, I never advanced from my first table. I was close on both attempts, but never succeeded. I am not sure why it has been so difficult. I play a lot of sit n go tournaments and have been successful at them. I know the higher the buy-in, the tougher the competition. Maybe that has something to do with it.

The three $33 w/ rebuy tournaments I played in, I did well in. Tonight was my worst performance and I managed to make it down to about 90 players (out of 300+). Yesterday, I finished in 19th and 16th. The satellite I finished 19th in should have been the one. I was second in chips with about 40 players left. I was doing well on my table and then I got moved. As soon as I switched tables, it was all down hill from there. The first hand I was dealt, I got 42. One player moved all-in and I had to make the call. I was getting about 3 1/2 to 1 on the call and figured both of my cards were live. Sure enough they were live, but I didn't win the hand. A little while later, I made a raise with K9 (I was in position and hadn't been involved in many hands) and the player in the blind moved all-in. Again, I was pot committed and had to call. He had pocket sixes and made a set. But the hand that really put me on the short stack was a suited A2. I limped in early position, two players (including the small blind) called, and the big blind checked. The flop came AKx. The blinds checked and I led out with a pot size bet. The player to my left moved all-in for a ridiculous amount of money. The blinds folded and it was up to me. I knew my Ace was good. I decided to make the call even though I would be severely crippled if I lost the hand. He turned up KJ. I had to escape an ugly turn and river card, and I would be in position to win my seat. The dealer didn't waste anytime putting up another king. I was disappointed, but happy with my read. I fought hard, but in the end it wasn't enough. I will probably play in several more of the $33 w/ rebuys, but if I am not successful, I might just pay the $650 for the Sunday qualifier. It has not been difficult for me to make it into the top five percent of the field. If I can manage to do that in the $650, I would have my seat.

Work was great today. The bad beat jackpot has been hit a couple of times over the past few weeks, so it is only at $16,000. I thought I was going to get a nice share of that prize. On one hand, one player limped and the player on the button raised my $5 blind to $15. I called with AT. I thought the guy might have been trying to steal my blind (although the raise was a little small) and figured my Ace high might be good. The flop was AA7. I checked, the other player checked, and the button raised. We both called. The turn was another Ace. I couldn't believe my eyes. I decided to check again. I was disappointed when both players checked behind me. The river was a five. I bet out $50 and the next player thought about it for awhile. If either of the players had a pocket pair of tens or higher, we would hit the jackpot. After what seemed like an eternity, he folded. I was hoping that my original read of the player on the button was wrong. I didn't think he had much when he raised, but I have been known to make a bad read on occasion. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. He folded his KJ face up on the table. I try not to show my hands, but it is hard keeping four of a kind to yourself. I showed the table my quads and they all moaned about neither player having a pocket pair. The other player said he had a seven in his hand giving him the full house, but it wouldn't have qualified. I didn't win the jackpot, but I walked away from the game with a profit.

March 27
I spent Easter with my family. We have a tradition where everybody hunts for Easter eggs (including the adults). We use the cheap, plastic eggs and they are filled with goodies. Everybody gets their own color to look for and we all have a great time. It is one of my favorite family get-togethers during the year. I spent most of the day at my Aunts house and played three online tournaments when I got home.

I started the night off in the $200 Omaha Hi Low tournament, but only made it through half the field. I remember a time when I was consistently placing in these events (or at least making it close to the money), but that hasn't been the case over the past month and a half. I have only cashed in one. I am convinced that tournament wins (or making the money) go in streaks, so I just have to be patient till mine starts again.

After the Omaha tournament, it was time for me to try and win my seat for the WSOP. The first satellite I played in was a $33 w/ rebuy event. I was never one of the chip leaders, but I had enough chips to be in contention if I doubled up. I paid close attention to how the other players at the table were playing and most of them were weak tight. Normally in the $33, there are at least a few maniacs at my table. It was not really the case tonight. I did get my chance for a double up when I took pocket Queens against AK. The guy flopped an Ace and rivered the King. Talk about overkill.

I looked around in the lobby to see if there was another qualifier and sure enough, the $160 double shootout was just getting ready to start. I signed up and told myself I was going to pay attention more than I ever have. I ended up getting heads up with a player on my first table. I was patient for a long time and had the chip lead for most of the heads-up competition. He took it from me and I knew I had to trap him to take the lead back from him. The hand that put me back in the lead (not by much) was a small pocket pair. I called the big blind, knowing that he would move all of his chips into the pot, He didn't disappoint me and my pair held up. About two hands later, I choked. The blinds were $100-200 with a $25 ante. My opponent raised to $600 and I called with JT of diamonds. The flop was 985 with two spades. I was willing to risk all of my chips on the hand. I just played it wrong. I checked to the player because I knew he couldn't resist a bet. He bet $800 and I raised him to $2,400. I liked my decision to check raise in this spot, but it probably would have been better to move all-in. He reraised me and I called. He turned over 87. I had a lot of outs, but I was still a slight underdog (44.4% to 55.6%). I did not receive any help on the turn or the river and I was left with enough chips to play only one more hand. I didn't win that one either. If I had moved all-in, he might not have called me. I know it is a big "might", but I have to at least ponder the thought. Every time I get knocked out of a tournament, I try and replay some of the key hands so I can learn from them. I already know that I shouldn't call off my chips on a draw in most circumstances. Was this one of those circumstances? I still have to give some thought to that one.

March 26
I played in a few online qualifiers for the World Series of Poker tonight. The first tournament I played in was a $160 double shootout event. I played the first four hands dealt and lost three of them. I managed to pick up the blinds on the first hand and that is where my streak ended. My four hands (in order) were AJ, 88, AQ, and AQ. It was not exactly a great start to my day. I guess I could look on the bright side and think, "It can't get any worse". It didn't get worse, but it didn't get much better either. I finished in third in the second double shootout I played and only lasted about half way through the field on the $33 w/ rebuy tournament.

March 25
I played in the $33 w/rebuy WSOP qualifier on Pokerstars. I haven't had a chance to play in many of the satellites and I hoped I could win one right off the bat. If you remember, it took a lot of time and persistence to win my seat last year. Tonight, they were giving one seat away and the next sixteen finishers got $650.

I started the tournament out okay, but the hand right before the break, I lost a chunk of my chips. To make matters worse, the break came when I had $1,700 in chips. If I lost $200 more, I would have been able to do a rebuy (you can rebuy with $1,500 or less). I was only able to do a add-on during the break and I was not looking so hot. I worked hard to get chips and I managed to build an average size stack before I went on a roll. The first hand that contributed to my stack was a gift. One player raised to 2,400, I reraised to $4,800 with pocket Queens, and another player moved in for $14,154 behind me. The original raiser folded his hand and I called. You would think a player who comes over the top of a raise and a reraise would have a huge hand, but not this guy. He had JT. I doubled up and was feeling great.

After that hand, I had a little more than 33,000 in chips and came in raising in late position with pocket threes. The small blind called my raise. The flop was 943. He led out, I raised him and he called. The turn was a jack. He bet out and I moved all in and he called me with A9. I had about $68,000 after that hand and just a couple hands later, I won another huge pot. After those three hands (I believe they were all in one round), I was the chip leader. I knew I had a long way to go, but I was feeling much better about my chances.

As fast as the chips came, the chips left. When we got down to about 23 players, I was struggling again. I knew I had to play for all of my chips at some point and I did so with JT. I worked my way back up the ladder and made it into the money. I was in 12th chip position and I had to get involved if I wanted to win. I got in there and mixed it up, but only finished in 13th place. The $650 will help me pay for the next 5 attempts at the seat.

March 20
I went to the Bike to play in the Ladies event and I was feeling great about it. I got to the event just a few minutes before it started. The dealer "high carded" for the button and I was the big blind. All players folded to the player on the button and she raised my $15 blind to $30. I decided to call with 63 because I was getting a little more than 3-1. The flop was all baby cards, including a three. I checked and my opponent bet a small amount. I thought I had the best hand, so I called. The turn was another small card and it gave me a gutshot straight draw as well. I checked, she bet, and I called again. The river was a nine and I was certain the nine didn't help her hand. I still thought I had the best hand, so when she made another bet, I called again. She showed Ace high and I turned up my pair of threes. The lady on my right was in total shock. She asked me, "You play those hands?" The woman to my left happened to be Lavinna Zhang and she nodded in approval. Lavinna played in the Ladies Invitational and I made a few comments in my WPT report about how well she played. I knew she understood my play even if the other ladies thought I was out of my mind.

I played a lot of hands in the beginning and built my chips up nicely. We started with $800 and I had them up to about $1200. There was one hand where I called a woman down when I had pocket sevens and I thought I had the best hand. Everybody (including me) laughed when she also showed pocket sevens.

After my short run, I lost a lot of my chips on two hands that were almost identical. The first hand, I had AJ of diamonds and the lady in the big blind called my $55 raise (the big blind was still $15). The flop was K54 with two diamonds. She bet $50, I raised to $150 and she called. I figured if I didn't win the pot right there, I would most likely get a free card because of my raise. The turn was an offsuit three. She checked and I checked behind her. I wanted to take the free card because I had the straight draw and the nut flush draw. The river was an Ace. She bet $100 and I almost raised, but realized that she only needed a five to beat me, so I called instead. She turned up K5. I didn't win the pot, but I was satisfied. I got the free card I wanted and I didn't lose as much as I could have.

The next hand I got involved in was almost the same situation. The lady to my right (the one who asked about the 63) raised to $60 and I decided to just flat call her with AQ. She had only played one other hand and I wanted to see a flop. The flop was 432 with two hearts. She bet $60 and I called. I called the bet with the intention of taking the pot away from her if a heart came on the turn or the river (I had the Queen of hearts). The turn was a blank and I called a bet from her again. The river was an Ace of hearts. She checked to me and I figured my hand was good enough to check. I was only going to get a call from her if she had me beat. Sure enough she showed pocket fives.

After those two hands and a few others, I was left with a small amount of chips. I managed to double up when I took pocket eights against pocket kings and spiked an eight on the flop. A short time later, I moved in from second position with pocket nines. One lady in middle position asked me to count my chips. I counted them and told her $300. I was a little surprised that I had as many chips as I did. When I moved my stack in, I thought I had about $230. The blinds were still at $10-25 and had I known that I had $300, I might have just raised and looked at a flop. She decided to call and all of the other ladies behind her folded. I should say that I was shocked when she showed KQ, but I wasn't. She ended up hitting the queen on the turn and I was out of the tournament.

I got eliminated a lot faster than I thought, but I was really happy with the way I played. There were so many hands I was involved in and I felt like I maximized my wins and minimized my losses on all of them. I still had a lot of time to kill before the Omaha tournament, so I played in a couple satellites.

The first one, I never got anything going and was eliminated when I took AK against AQ suited and he hit the flush. I signed up for the next one and I joked with one of my friends, "At this rate, I am going to be broke before the Omaha tournament." I didn't go broke. In fact, I won the next satellite I played in. I didn't get involved in too many hands in the beginning and I found myself short stacked really fast. I was in the blind with J5 and two players limped in to see a flop. The flop was 953 and I moved all-in. One player called me and I said, "I think I am in trouble." He said, "yes, you are" and he turned up pocket aces. I told him, "that is okay, I can catch a jack" and sure enough I caught a jack on the turn. Things really came around for me when I raised with AK and got called by one of the blinds (the same guy who held the aces). The flop was Axx and we both checked. The turn was a king and we both checked again. I was hoping he would make a move for the pot on the river. The river was a blank and he checked again. I bet $100 into the $300 and he moved in. I quickly called and won a $1200 pot.

We got down to 4 players and one of the men said something about letting the best man win. The player to my left said "or lady!" and another player said, she is like one of the men in this game. I was amused at that comment. I know most women aren't as aggressive as I am and I love it when I throw players off by playing like I do. One of the other players said, "she is like an 800 pound gorilla". I knew he meant it as a compliment, so I chuckled with the other players. I eventually took all of their chips and won the satellite.

I took a break and signed up for the Omaha event. I was still feeling really focused and ready to play. I sat down at my table and didn't recognize any players. After just a short time, I knew I drew a great seat. Most of the players on my table didn't have a strong grasp on Omaha tournament strategy. I paid more attention than I normally do, but it didn't help much. I never really got any chips. At the break, I had $1050 (we started with $1,000) and I knew the tournament was really just getting started. I lost a few of my chips when I had AAQ5 and the player from the small blind called with QJ94. He managed to make two pair and took a chunk out my stack. I took a half pot here and there, but never had a huge scooper hand. I only made it through half the field. I left the tournament holding AA45 on a board of KK99x. My opponent had A9xx. He flopped second pair with a gut shot straight draw and called (all our chips got in on the turn) because I couldn't damage his big stack. Although I didn't place in either of the events, I left the Bike in good spirits. I played the best game I know how to play in both events and I stayed focused the whole time.

March 19
For some strange reason, tournament directors like to schedule Omaha Hi Low tournaments on the same day as the Ladies events. The Bicycle is running both tournaments tomorrow and I am not exactly sure if I am playing the Omaha tournament.

My plans are to register for the Ladies event at noon and "go for broke". I either want all of the chips or none of them. If I bust out of the Ladies tournament, I will play the Omaha event at 4:00. If I do not bust out, I will hopefully be chip leader because of my pre-game strategy.

The final table of the Ladies tourney will play on Live at the Bike. This is going to be one of the few shows that will be pre-recorded. They plan on airing the final table on Wednesday.

I played in my heads up match on Wednesday and it went fast. The guy was so nice, but doesn't play No Limit Holdem much. However, he did his homework. He knew he was going to play against me, so he read my site! The first three hands he had me flustered. I like to play small pots and play post flop and he wasn't allowing me to do that. I had to rethink my strategy a little and it worked. After I was finished that battle, another player challenged me to one. We played on Thursday, but were interrupted because the $400-800 Limit Holdem game wanted to take their seats on the Live at the Bike table. When we got up from the table, my opponent had me out chipped $298 to $102. I was down to about $30 at one time, so I know I can make a comeback. I will fill you in on the details when we complete the match.

March 15
I played in a couple WSOP qualifiers last night, but didn't get close in either one. The first tournament I played was a double shootout and I finished in third place on my first table. The second tournament I played was the $33 w/rebuys. The $33 w/rebuys is probably my favorite online tournament. I am sure the fact that I normally do well in the event has something to do with it being my favorite. Last night, I didn't seem to get into a groove. I only made it through 2/3 the field. I will be playing a few more this week and hopefully I can win my seat right away. Last year, it took me awhile and I didn't get much work done because I was so focused on trying to earn my way into the WSOP.

Tomorrow, make sure you check out Live at the Bike if you have time. The Bicycle held a College Challenge for Charity event a couple weeks ago and part of the prize was a heads up battle with me. The Bike is putting up the $200 entry fee for the winner of the Charity event and I am putting up my own money. The heads up battle will air at 6:00 PST and after it is finished, I will sit in the commentator booth for awhile.

March 14
I haven't been playing online poker much this week so I decided to play in a WSOP qualifier. There were 158 players that paid the $109 to enter the event, so they gave one seat away. Some cash was given to 2nd-6th place.

I sat down at the table and doubled up within the first ten minutes. I played one of my favorite starting hands (suited connectors) and flopped an open end straight draw. All of the players checked on the flop. The turn gave me the nut straight, but there were two flush draws out there. I bet the size of the pot and was called by one player. The river brought a flush. I decided to check and see what my opponent was going to do. I thought he had a flush draw when he called my bet on the turn, but I wasn't positive which one he was going for. After I checked to him, he moved all-in and had me covered by $25. I thought for a moment and then decided to make the call. I figured if he hit the flush, he would make a value bet. Since his bet was so large, I thought he was betting his busted flush draw. I was correct with my read and was the chip leader at the table.

I continued to increase my stack and arrived at the final table as the chip leader. About one round later, I lost about half my chips with AK. I raised in early position and was reraised. All of the remaining players folded and I decided to move in for all of my chips. I thought I could get my opponent to lay his hand down because I had so many chips. He didn't lay his hand down and turned up pocket Aces. The flop was 77x and the turn was another 7. It took me a second to realize that I was still drawing live. If another 7 came on the river, we both would have quads with an ace kicker. The seven never came and he doubled up through me.

That double up was crucial. The guy who won my chips was masterful at playing a large stack. He kept moving in on all of us. Some of us finally took a stand and managed to win some chips. The three of us at the bottom had approximately the same amount of chips and the other two players had about 20,000-30,000 more than us. I figured I could overcome the deficit and win my way into the WSOP. I did not achieve my goal and finished in fourth place.

I decided to play in one more online tournament after the WSOP qualifier. The event was the Pokerstars $200 Sunday night Omaha High Low tournament. I finished in the money in that one too. My game was like a rollercoaster ride. I started out doing well, but then had a bad streak. I took the ride to the top again, but then slid down. Considering I never had the chip lead for a large amount of time, I was happy with my 7th place finish. I won about $700. PokerStars is offering a lot of satellites for the WSOP and WPT Championship event. I will be playing a lot of them and I look forward to telling some good stories.

March 9
The Live at the Bike show was incredible tonight. I sat in the booth for the first two hours bored out of my mind. The feature table was an $8-16 Limit Holdem game and the players were so abc, tight it was ridiculous. I didn't work with the commentators I normally work with and that was extremely difficult. The first hour, Sharon (The Bike's poker college instructor) was working with me and she was explaining the basics of poker. I understand that there are many people who might not understand the basics of poker, but I do. We have to cater to all types of audience, but sometimes it is a bit much for me to handle. I think Sharon did a nice job explaining the basics, but I wanted to talk about the weak tight players on the table.

During the second hour of the show, Jennifer came in the booth with me and we didn't have much to say. I normally work with Bart and Denny and both of them are great at filling in dead air time. I, on the other hand totally sucked at it. Since this was a weak tight table, we didn't see many flops. If there was a raise, all the players would fold and the raiser would pick up the blinds. If you do not see a flop for twenty minutes straight, there isn't much to talk about. The game got short handed and I decided to go sit in the game and liven things up. I made the comment that I was going to do a lot of raising and I knew that I would probably take a lot of heat for doing so.

I sat in the game and was waiting for the blind so I could post. I saw Kenna James and he asked me why I wasn't in the booth. I told him, I came out to liven things up and he said he would join me. We had so much fun on the table. We were looking at only one card and raising it. We figured we would get the table to loosen up, but it didn't work too much. On one of the hands, Kenna raised without looking at his cards and one of the players to his left said she couldn't come into the pot because she had a weak hand. He asked her, "are you trying to tell me that you can't outplay a person who hasn't looked at their cards." I had to crack up at that.

There was one hand that I was involved with that was discussed on Two Plus Two. I don't remember my exact hand, but I think it was 98. I believe the flop was T9x and I called a bet because I am familiar with my opponent's play. The turn was a Queen and I called again thinking that I might be able to take the pot away from him on the river. The river was another ten. Now, I was put to the test. Although this player is one of the tightest players I know, he loves to play T4 offsuit and he knows that I know that. He bet on the river and I had to think whether he was betting because I might think he had T4. I mentioned it to him and he just kind of smiled. His smile was not the answer I was looking for so I tried to get more information from him. I decided to ask him if he had me beat. I told him that I flopped a pair and he still didn't say anything. The two of us have played many many hands together and the one thing that I know about him is that if he said he had me beat, he would definitely have me beat. He tells the truth when he is at the poker table and most players reward him because of it (they think he is lying). Since he didn't tell me he had me beat, I thought there was a chance I had him beat. No such luck, he had quad tens. I probably looked like a total idiot to most of the viewers, but they don't understand the history I have with the player.

Kenna is one of my favorite people in the poker industry. He is one of the best No Limit Holdem players I know, but today he was strictly having fun. He got hit by the deck and simply outplayed his opponents. He took a lot of the players money, but the greatest thing about it is that most of the players were smiling with him while he did it. Kenna and I showed that poker is about situations. If you are sitting at a tight ass table, then make some moves on pots. Both of us left as winners.

March 7
The big news of the day is that Phil Hellmuth won the 2005 National Heads Up Poker Championship. As much fun as it can be to watch him lose, I am happy Phil won this tournament. It has been awhile since he has finished first in an event and it means more to him than anybody I know.

I checked in on the final table of the Paradise  tournament last night and noticed that one of the players that contributed to my demise made it. He was the player who moved all-in on me when I bet AQ on a Jack high board. I am curious to see where they are going to film the final table. I enjoyed the tournament so much and wish I could have made it to the final table. I could have really used the mystery tropical vacation. I hope they have more events like this in the future. I haven't been able to play online much the last couple of weeks, but I am going to try and play a few of the larger tournaments. The next one I am definitely playing in is the WPT Championship qualifier on Absolute Poker (March 19th). I will play a few in between, but probably not many. This month I'll be playing in several of the Winnin' O' the Green tournaments at The Bike.

March 6
I played in the Paradise Masters event today on ParadisePoker.com and I finished in the money. I played about two rounds without getting a playable hand and that was really strange considering I will play almost any two cards that work together. I finally got 64 and decided to come in raising. I raised the $20 big blind to $80 and was called by two three players. The flop was J64 with two spades and I made a pot size bet of $360. I was shocked when the player after me moved all-in for $2,570. I didn't think he could have had an overpair or a set because he would have played a little differently. I decided to make the call even if it was going to put me out of the tournament (I thought he made have had the flush draw). He ended up having KJ and I doubled up.

I didn't stop after that hand was one of the chip leaders throughout most of the tournament. I won a big pot with pocket Aces against pocket Kings. I check-raised a loose player when I hit the top pair (queens) and he called me (for a huge raise) with pocket jacks. I also picked up a couple pots on pure bluffs. I felt like I was playing one of the best games of poker I have ever played.

My streak came to a halt when I was in the small blind with pocket Kings. I was begging for somebody to come into the pot so I could play against somebody for all of their chips, but all of the players folded to me. I decided to limp in the small blind and hopefully the big blind would move in on me. That is exactly what happened. He moved in and of course I immediately called and he showed AK. He flopped the ace and the fact that he held one of my outs in his hand made the whole thing worse. I picked up a lot of hands after that and picked up three blinds in a row, but then lost when I made a raise with KQ of clubs and was called by one of the blinds. The flop was AJx with two hearts and I checked trying to hit my gutshot for free. The turn was not a ten and I had to lay the hand down after my opponent bet out on the turn.

I still had a decent amount of chips when I was dealt AQ in middle position. I raised three times the amount of the blind and the chip leader called me from the blind. He was probably the only player on the table I didn't want to go against. He had been playing pretty solid poker and he could bust me. He was however, one of the players I was able to bluff out of a big pot in a hand earlier. The flop was Jack high, but the board was coordinated. I decided I would make a bet and he might lay down his hand. I figured if he didn't lay his hand down, I would at least have two overcards. I was not prepared for him to move all-in on me, but that is what he did. I was forced to lay my hand down.

Shortly after, I made a good laydown when I raised with a pocket pair and was called by one player. The board was A22 and I checked. My opponent bet a small amount into the big pot and I took that to mean he had a huge hand or he had absolutely nothing. I decided to fold and he showed AK. The problem was after missing all those flops, I didn't have a lot of chips left. I was forced to move all of my chips in with A4. The blinds were $6,000-12,000 with $600 antes and I moved in for $31,785. The big blind called the additional 19,785 with QT and hit a queen on the flop. My dreams of making it to the final table in this event were shattered.

There were 2,730 players in the tournament and I managed to outlast more than 2,600 of them and pick up $2,918 in prize money. Not a small feat by any means, but I still was devastated.

I signed off of Paradise and checked my email and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of emails I got regarding the tournament. I decided to post some of the comments (below) because I think most poker players can learn from the positive attitudes of these people.

"I know you always want to win the tourney but you have been playing awesome and you have to be pleased with beating out over 2500 in that tourney." Seth

"I know you're not satisfied, but it was a pleasure watching you today! Good job..." Scott

"I know you probably don't feel much like receiving a congrats right now, but you truly deserve it. You played one of the best tourneys that I have ever seen someone play. But, that is what makes poker a game that we love, the best player doesn't always win... Keep getting yourself there and you will grab the big prize very soon." Brandon

After reading emails like that, who could possibly be upset? Not me. It makes me want to go out and win the next one.

March 5
I played in the $200 Omaha event at The Bicycle Casino last night, but I didn't do very well. The whole tournament was uneventful. I won the first pot that was dealt and that was about the end of my streak. I didn't pick up many hands and if I did I didn't hit the flops. There are two more Omaha events and a couple No Limit events that I plan on playing. I am sure to do better in those. It won't be a difficult feat considering I only made it through about half the field last night.

Tomorrow, I am playing in the Paradise Masters. The event is online on ParadisePoker.com and the buy-in is $600. I am really excited about the event because it has a guaranteed prize pool of $1,500,000 and the final table will be filmed for television. If you don't have an account under Paradise and want to play in the event, make sure you get signed up today (less confusion for the big day). If you aren't planning on playing, you can check up on me. I play under the name "bite-me".

March 1
I played in a $150 No Limit Holdem tournament last night on PokerStars. I started the tournament out nicely and was one of the chip leaders for the first hour. I made one decision about an hour later that might have cost me the tournament. Three players limped for $200 and I limped from the cutoff with JT of hearts. The button folded, the small blind called and the big blind moved all-in for an additional $1,500. All players folded to me and I decided to call. I have seen many players move all-in from the big blind trying to pick up the pot and I thought this player might be doing the same thing. I was getting almost 2 to 1 on my call and I would still have over $2,000 in chips if I lost the hand. The blind ended up having pocket tens and I lost the pot. I picked up a couple pots after that, but could never get my chips up to where they were and was finally eliminated in 92nd place. The reason why I did not like my call there was because if I had wanted to play for that many chips, then I should have done the raising myself. The outcome would have still been the same, but I would have felt better about moving my chips in rather than calling them. 2 to 1 is not a bad price to get on most hands and even if he had AK, it was the right call for me to make, but I still should have moved the chips in and left him with the decision.

I mentioned that I was going to San Diego to play in the Ladies event AND to play in a super satellite for the $10,000 event. Most of you already know that I made it to the final table in the Ladies event, but I forgot to mention the super. One of the reasons I went to San Diego was to play in the main event. I have been doing well in tournaments, but I still don't think it is good money management for me to fork over a $10,000 buy-in. If I wanted to play in all of the $10,000 events, it would cost me about $200,000 for the year. Satellites are the answer for me. The thing I didn't take into consideration was how long the day was going to be for me if I did everything. I woke up at 7:30 in the morning, got ready, drove for two hours, and played in the Ladies event for 6 more hours. When I was finally eliminated, I was too tired to even think about playing in the satellite. I talked to Mark the next day and told him about my decision to not play in the super and he told me I was way ahead of most players. He said that anytime a player is tired or not on top of their game, they are just throwing their money out the window.

I know I made the correct decision to not play in the super, but I really want to play in a World Poker Tour or World Series Circuit event. I think for now, I am going to try and qualify for the $25,000 Championship World Poker Tour event at the Bellagio by playing online.

Also today the Associated Press came out with a story on women and the World Series of Poker main event. There is one quote from me in the article if you want to check it out.