My Poker Journal

October 2006

October 30
The WPT Ladies Invitational aired this weekend and I was pleased to see that I hardly got any camera time. If you can remember, I didn't like how my interview went. They gave me one second of air time (just enough to show me muck my hand) and that was enough for me.

The show was actually pretty good because they talked about the Susan Komen foundation and it made even more of an impact because it was aired in October which is breast cancer awareness month. As far as the poker goes, the girls have changed their tune. The ladies are more aggressive every time one of these shows airs. Isabelle showed that in order to win tournaments, you have to get in there and mix it up.

I have still been spending time at the Razz tables. They have been good to me over the past couple of weeks, so I plan on staying there for awhile. I am sure I will eventually make my way back to the Omaha games because it's always nice to go home.

October 26
I thought that once I finished with my chemo treatments, I was going to be able to snap back into a "normal life". I was wrong.

I am just finishing my fifth week (scheduled for 6 weeks) of radiation and I am so damn tired. So, please excuse me for slacking as far as my journal goes. I will write on a more consistent basis once I'm finished with all this stuff.

Even though I have been tired, I have been playing online. Not sure if anything can keep me away from poker for very long. This week I have played the $10-20 Omaha on PokerStars and have played the $8-16 Razz and Omaha on Full Tilt. Tonight I even squeezed in a $100 Razz tournament. There were only a handful of entries into the event, but first prize paid $800 which would have been enough to make it worthwhile. My opponents tried to help me win a share of the prize pool, but the cards didn't cooperate.

October 16
I've been taking it easy online over the past week and just messed around in a few sit n go's. I have played in five HORSE one table tourneys and have placed in all five of them. In my opinion, any player that can play a decent game of Razz can probably place more often than not. I mentioned in a previous entry that I see players draw to a jack low. It's nice to report that things haven't changed. A few days ago, I played a hand that really stood out (although the guy did have a nine low to start and not the jack) to me. I started with 92A (the ace up) and raised and one of my opponents reraised with a 9 up. I, of course reraised because I had the best nine possible. 4th street was a Queen for me and a King for him. This was the time he was supposed to fold. We went four bets on third street.

I let him know that I had something. When he didn't improve his hand, it was time for him to dump, but he didn't. I bet and he called. 5th street gave us both a low card: I caught a 4 and he caught a 2. I bet and he called. 6th street gave me a six and him a five and and I bet and he called all-in. I ended up having 29AQ46A (9642A) and he showed 659K259 (K9652) and he was eliminated from the tournament.

I am probably going to play in a few more of these small HORSE sit n go's on PokerStars over the next day or two and then it will be time to go back to work (the $15-30 Omaha). :)

October 13
It seems fitting that today was Friday the 13th. The general mood was one of sadness and I even felt it when I closed out two of my accounts.

Over the past week, I have been mainly sticking with the HORSE games. I enjoy playing the $5-10 game on Stars, but have come to realize that it's not the best way for me to make money. I have improved my Stud and Stud Hi/Low games, but my Omaha game is by far my best game. I noticed that most of my profit from the HORSE games come from the Omaha and Razz portions. If my Omaha game is where most of my profits come, then it would be wise of me to spend most of my time specifically at the Omaha tables. On the other hand, playing the HORSE games has improved my focus and that will make me money in the long run, so that adds to the appeal of the game.

October 7
I have been playing in the HORSE games over the last few days and am officially hooked. I love the fact that I can play my strongest games and try to improve my weaker games at the same time. The great part about it is that my weakest game (Stud 8 O/B) isn't so weak in comparison to the other players.

The one thing that I really notice about the HORSE game is that it is extremely important to pay attention to everything. Three of the five games are Stud variations which means you have to note the upcards. It's also important to pay attention to when the game changes because it occurs every eight hands. HORSE is definitely the game for me when I want to work on my weakness (lack of focus). Today was a perfect example of how one mistake can cost a player money. I didn't notice that the game switched from Razz to Stud until I was playing the second hand. On the hand prior, I was dealt AA5 and folded to a raise!

I haven't been playing very many NL tournaments lately (except for some sit n go's and quickies), but am considering playing in the 250k guarantee on Paradise Poker on Monday afternoon.

October 4
I planned on playing in the World Championship of Online Poker main event, but couldn't clear my whole day. After I took care of some business in the morning, I logged on to PokerStars and was extremely disappointed that I wasn't able to play. The 1 million first prize looked great and the best part about it was that it took about 14 hours from start to finish.

I did manage make time to play in the Omaha Hi/Low event in the evening and I bombed out of it quickly. After the tournament, I logged on to Paradise to play some quickie NL tournaments. Paradise has 10, 20 and 50 person tournaments going on a regular basis. These tournaments are great for players that have a limited amount of time to play. Over the past couple days, I have played in several and have done well for myself. I will probably be playing in a few more of those during the week so feel free to join me (bite-me is my screen name).

I have been trying to get back to a "normal life" since I am finished with my chemo treatments. It hasn't been easy because my body has been put through so much since January. I have made a commitment to go to the gym 5 days a week to try and regain my strength. I am not up to par, but have definitely made progress over the past two weeks. On good days, I am up to 30 minutes of cardio. If I keep it up, I should be fit (mind and body) to play in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). A short time ago, I told Steve that I wasn't going to play in anymore tournaments until the the PCA. He told me that I should at least play in the Bicycle's Big Poker October Omaha tournaments. He said that I have to support the Omaha events because so many tournament series have been changed to Holdem only. I agreed that he had a point. When I saw the schedule for Poker October, I was disappointed to see that the series had been changed to Holdem only tournaments. I need to have a talk with the big shots over there!

Happy Birthday Mark Seif