poofs... (edit: Malfaire is secretly an *nSync fanboy)
23 April 2007
Quick update since I posted last... I have decided *not* to venture into the 100NL waters yet, seeing as though I've finally conceded the point that $500 of my bankroll has evaporated into thin air. I wasn't quick enough to the punch when the whole Internet Gambling thing went down, and consequently have $500 stuck in Neteller. Malfaire keeps telling me that that money is gone, and as optimistic as I once was, it's time to face the facts and give up any hope of seeing that cash again. Farewell, buyins, it was nice knowing you. That being said, once I win 10 more buyins at 50NL it will be time to move up. Here's hoping the fishies come out to play this week.
** Results for 4/18 - 4/22 **
Today: +$127.15
To Date: $2,095.16
To Go: $12,904.84
Hands: 2108
ptBB/100: 6.86
i amM0NIKER at 9:25 AM 3 comments
testing the waters with no floaties
18 April 2007
So I've decided to test out 100NL as my main game. I don't really know what made me jump to this conclusion, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I feel like I'm just grinding it out at 50NL playing 6 tables, and I'm not really learning a lot of new stuff. If I want to move up in the game, I need to buckle down and focus on my plays and the understanding of why I'm doing certain things against certain opponents.
That being said, I've decided to cut my tables to 2-3 and take a stab at 100NL. Hopefully this will allow me to focus in on the players at the table, and will up my winrate and my knowledge of the game and situations. I know how multi-table stat monkeys play (cuz I was one for 100k+ hands), and it's time to exploit that. Wish me luck at the tables, because I'm taking a new approach. I'm actually quite excited about it though, and have been thinking about grabbing some lessons from a coach. Malfaire just signed up with Ray (aka Hustler), and is quite happy with the results of the first session. If next week goes well for him and I'm still surviving at 100NL, I definitely plan to seek his services as well... the guy's understanding of the game and progress through the lower levels are sick.
** Results for Tuesday 4/17 at 100NL **
Today: +$209.40
To Date: $1,968.01
To Go: $13,001.64
Hands: 334
ptBB/100: 31.35
** Results for Monday 4/16 **
Today: +$30.35
To Date: $1,788.96
To Go: $13,211.04
Hands: 1259
** Results for the weekend (4/13 - 4/15)**
Today: +$80.55
To Date: $1,758.61
To Go: $13,241.39
Hands: 1258
i amM0NIKER at 10:49 AM 0 comments
rolling with the punches
11 April 2007
Up and down day. Love losing almost two buyins in my last 25 hands. Neat.
Today: -$23.05
To Date: $1,655.01
To Go: $13,344.99
Hands: 1199
PTbb/100: -1.92
i amM0NIKER at 10:21 AM 0 comments
ima chameleon.
10 April 2007
So after some much-needed time off, I think I'm back in the flow of things and am ready for another good month (one similar to February, please... *bribes Lee Jones*). When all was said and done, I played less than 9000 hands in March, and lost like $100 between 50nl and some 100nl (chasing fish, only to be 2 outtered in the biggest hand of my life... see 20 March posting). Oh well, this month will be better. 
Things have started off slowly though, and I've been making some silly mistakes for big pots because I'm rusty. I finally got back into the swing of things on Monday night, and hopefully its a glimpse of what lies ahead in April. Goal is to make it to 100nl by the close of the month, but if it doesn't happen I won't be too worried. I'm more concerned about limiting my mistakes in big pots right now, as the impact will obviously be much greater as I move up levels.
(*begin rant*) Oh, and all this "I'm LAG, I'm TAG, I'm SLAG... it's the greatest style ever" flavor-of-the-week bullshit is starting to get on my nerves. The more I play, the more I understand what the CR videos are trying to instill about playing different styles at different tables based on the players and their actions. Go ahead, Reader, boast about your amazing LAG skills and how amazing it is that no one knows what you are doing. I'm a chameleon, bitch, and I'll tongue-slap you upside the head for your whole stack. Have a nice day. (*end rant*)
** Results and hands April 9 **
Today: $246.35
To Date: $1,678.06
To Go: $13,321.94
Hands: 1217
PTbb/100: 20.24
** Results and hands April 1 – April 8 **
Today: -$87.14
To Date: $1,431.71
To Go: $13,558.29
Hands: 4007
PTbb/100: -2.17
Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?983993
No question here, just a funny hand. I'll take it.
i amM0NIKER at 4:19 PM 0 comments
stuck in a rut.
03 April 2007
Nothing like following up a pretty great February with an equally sucky March. Luckily, I didn't lose too much money... but that might have been a result of not playing a ton of hands. I don't have the exact stats on me, but I would be surprised if I played more than 10k hands in March. I couldn't get anything going my way, and as a result found no motivation to push through the downtime. It didn't help that it was March Madness, and my cousin's wedding, and preparing for Fantasy Baseball drafts, but still... 10k hands is pathetic. I barely made Silver for Poker Stars (not so bling bling). Oh well, here's to having a better April!
In other news, I'm in 2 Fantasy Baseball leagues this year with some guys from work. One is a standard 5x5 Head to Head with 12 teams. The others is a crazy 8x8 Rotisserie Keeper league with 10 teams. The categories for that lil beauty are are R, HR, RBI, BB, K, SB, AVG, and OPS for batters and W, L, CG, K, SV, HLD, ERA, and WHIP for pitchers. I had absolutely no idea how to change my rankings for players going into that second draft, so opted for the most well-rounded players at each pick. My teams ended up like this:
*** 12 man 5x5 H2H - Pick 3 ***
C: Paul Lo Duca (20)
1B: Gary Sheffield (6)
2B: Brian Roberts (4)
3B: Alex Gordon (8)
SS: Orlando Cabrera (12)
OF: Alfonso Soriano (1)
OF: Grady Sizemore (2)
OF: Carlos Lee (3)
U: Raul Ibanez (11)
BN: Adrian Beltre (15)
BN: Lyle Overbay (16)
BN: Troy Tulowitzki (19)
SP: Brandon Webb (5)
SP: C.C. Sabathia (7)
RP: Bobby Jenks (9)
RP: Takashi Saito (14)
P: Curt Schilling (10)
P: Chuck James (17)
P: Mike Gonzalez (18)
BN: Rich Hill (13)
BN: Clay Hensley (21)
Overall, ended up pleased with the results. The Carlos Lee round 3 pick is not what I wanted - using my first 3 picks on OF - but I couldn't really pass him up in this spot. I reached a little for Brian Roberts, but felt like I needed either a top 5 middle infielder, and all of the top SS were taken. I probably should have used this pick for a 1B, but oh well. Also got screwed on my catcher, where the guy 2 picks before me took Russell Martin in the 16th round, right where I would have taken him. The Overbay pick was me panicking because my only 1B at the time had only played like 20 games last year. Oops. I'll probably try to deal Soriano for a 1B+SS or 1B+OF, we'll see. Overall, I'd give myself a 7/10.
*** 10 man 8x8 Rotisserie Keeper - Pick 6 ***
C: Brian McCann (4)
1B: Lance Berkman (2)
2B: Brian Roberts (6)
3B: Julio Lugo (8)
SS: Jimmy Rollins (3)
IF: Ian Kinsler (17)
LF: Nick Swisher (10)
CF: Carlos Beltran (1)
RF: J.D. Drew (12)
OF: Brian Giles (14)
U: Corey Hart (21)
BN: Chris Duncan (24)
BN: B.J. Upton (25)
SP: Roy Halladay (5)
SP: John Smoltz (7)
SP: Brett Myers (9)
SP: A.J. Burnett (18)
SP: Scott Olsen (19)
RP: Takashi Saito (11)
RP: Jose Valverde (16)
RP: Scott Linebrink (13)
RP: Scot Shields (15)
RP: Justin Duchscherer (20)
BN: Aaron Heilman (23)
BN: Clay Hensley (FA)
DL: Freddy Garcia (FA)
DL: Kerry Wood (FA)
DL: Francisco Liriano (22)
So, taking Carlos Beltran 6th overall may have been a tad bold, but I really saw him as one of the only players that would be an asset to all 8 offensive categories in this wacky league. I could have just as easily taken Chase Utley, but figured I'd scoop Brian Roberts before anyone else had a chance in the 5th or 6th. My obvious weak spot is at 3B, where I only have Julio Lugo and B.J. Upton qualifying. Alex Gordon went 3 picks before I would have taken him in the 8th round... such is life. Another place that I am light is on saves, but it's only 1 category, and I basically have Holds locked up with 4 of the top 6 or so middle relief pitchers. Linebrink, Shields, Duscherer, and Heilman will all benefit me greatly, in my opinion: they will provide plenty of Ks, work wonders for keeping down the ERA and WHIP, rack up the holds, and provide vulture saves should any of their team's closers go down. I was really happy to snatch up those players so late in the draft. Oh, and Liriano was a gift in round 22. He's a top 10 pitcher if he's healthy next year, and all he costs is a DL spot this year... graci. Overall, I'll give myself a 8/10, provided my theory of consistancy over a multitude of stat categories holds up. If not, maybe a 6/10.
i amM0NIKER at 3:58 PM 0 comments