New Blog

Here's the address to my new non-poker related blog.  http://rantingyeags.blogspot.com

Throwing In The Towel

    Yep, that's right.  I'm calling it quits on poker.  After three losing years, I'm going to put my money to better use.  I'll still play with friends in home games, but as far as online and brick and mortar play go,  I'm done.  Kudos to anyone who makes a long term profit at it.  I'd still like to keep a blog about my personal thoughts and opinions, so I'll create a new blog topic on blogger and put a link to it from this blog.

Private Tournaments

If anyone likes playing tournaments but doesn't like the huge fields of players, try playing private tournaments. Yeah you have to know the passwords for those tournaments, but most of them you can find searching through the Full Tilt forum, google, or players blogs (like mine!). The DADI tournaments are an ongoing series which looks like it's picking up some momentum. Seems like it would be a fun tourney for $24. I'd play, but I have a music rehearsal to go to that night. Ohh well.

The subject of private tournaments brings up an interesting idea for everyone that plays at my place on Saturdays. Sometime during the week we could also hold an online tourney. Most of us have accounts on Full Tilt anyway. It'd be cool to give it a try.

FTOPS Satellites

    Okay, so it seems like everyone and their mothers are winning entries into the FTOPS events.  So far I've played 9 satellites to get into one and haven't snagged an entry yet.  I won money in two of them, but big whoop.  So I've spent $102 to try to get into a $216 tourney.  That sucks.  I really want to play in the six handed holdem event tomorrow.  Now my only choice is to buy in directly.  Considering how much money I have left, I can't afford to do that either.  Damn you, FTOPS!

Online Ghost Town

If you take a look at Party Poker, they have pretty much gone to the toilet. I've only played on their site a couple of times, but every time I've played their site would be busting at the seams with players. Wait lists were long. Players were crazy. Log on now and it's like an abandoned city. Wait lists are virtually non-existent. In fact, it seems Party Poker is ashamed of their own being because they've canceled several of their promotions as well as taking off their player count indicator.

I must give kudos to the rest of the poker sites that have kept their US customers. The new bill that was passed affects little of the poker industry. Most people who used to play on Party Poker will move to other sites that still allow them to play. I have seen an increase in players at Full Tilt Poker myself. The area that will be most affected by this law will be satellite tournament entries. I bet anything that upcoming tournaments on the WPT circuit as well as the WSOP circuit will show significantly reduced numbers in their tournament entries. Casinos here in the US will not be able to accept satellite entries from online casinos. For sites such as Full Tilt, satellite winners receive cash value for their prize package. Responsibility to register for the featured tournament will now be at the winner's discretion. Now, I can only imagine that most of the winners of these satellites will not be able to hold on to $12,000 in cash for very long. By the time the main tournament comes around, that money will be long spent, thus reducing entries.

Another note to mention here...I would think that ESPN and Harrah's Entertainment would be fighting this law like crazy. The poker industry has become Harrah's bread and butter since their acquisition of Binion's Horseshoe and the WSOP. I'm sure ESPN has seen a big jump in profits by airing WSOP events. This won't be the case anymore now with the new law. Most of the entries into these televised events come from online qualifiers. It would be in their best interest to do all that they can to help the poker economy thrive.

Keep it Legal

    Anyone who plays online poker has probably received emails in regards to legislation passing through the House of Representatives banning (or at least making it increasingly difficult to play) online gambling (this includes poker).  What's funny is that the bill (which you can read by clicking here) makes exceptions for online horse betting as well as state lotteries.

    Really, the only purpose for the creation of this bill has to do with money.  Unfortunately, they went about it all wrong.  Certain politicians want to get rid of online gambling because banks, credit companies, and the federal government do not make any money off of it.  For example, say Joe Schmoe has a gambling problem.  He transfers his maximum credit limit to an offshore account to play on an online casino.  He eventually loses the money he transfered, but cannot payback the huge sum he just dropped.  Mr. Schmoe files for bankruptcy.  How will his credit card company get their money back?  It all transferred offshore to some island the US can't touch.  Bummer, huh?

    I don't mean to go on a huge rant, but things just need to be said.  You know, I really hate it when idiotic bills are passed that ruins the quality of life for anyone with more than two brain cells.  It's just like the scenario where little Timmy gets hurt on his bike, so his uptight mother has to bitch about things (even possibly doing some favors for some lawmaker, if you know what I mean) until she gets her way and some moronic law that is completely unnecessary gets passed.  This is all because of a lack of responsibility and self-reliance tied together along with a full load of insecurity in parenting.  Poor Timmy.  Here have a twinkie.  Now she is wondering why her kid has ADD, diabetes, and is morbidly obese.  No, it couldn't be her shitty parenting!  *Gasp* such language!  I guess I should go on time-out.  Anyway, you get my drift on how this retarded bill has already gone through the House of Representatives and has now just been put on the Senate's calendar. 

    Now if lawmakers thought a little bit outside the box, they would come to the conclusion that it would be better for everyone if online gaming was legalized and regulated rather than banned.  Instead of a loss of revenue (by not only banning it, but also enforcing the ban) there would be a dramatic increase in revenue to the tune of $3.3 billion annually (by Howard Lederer's estimates).  If anyone is interested, you can learn more about voicing the facts to politicians who don't know any better by visiting www.pokerplayersalliance.org

    I know, it's amazing.  I'm actually strongly voicing my opinion on something.  Very rare moment for me.  Also, I believe this is my very first big rant on my entire blog.  Maybe I've had a couple others, I'm not sure.  Anyway, go out and edu-ma-cate those politicians!

Blackmetalhead

    Whenever you're on Full Tilt, search for this guy, blackmetalhead.  He's always making it deep in tournaments and plays high stakes cash games.  Whenever I play a big tournament online, I always pray to the poker gods that I don't get put on the same table as him.  It's just crazy how he cashes in these tournaments.  It's almost like certain people are destined to make money at this game no matter what they do or how they play.  I'm not saying he's a complete donkey.  Every time I watch him play, all his moves make sense.  His play is very solid.  I do believe he also has a blog at this location:  http://chucksty.blogspot.com/ which is an interesting read.

    On another note, my Harrington on Holdem Experiment is plodding along at a steady pace.  I'm halfway through the workbook problems before I read Volume II.  I am just doing the problems and writing my answers, foregoing reading the solution explanations until after redoing all the problems post-volume II.  I believe the solution explanations will clarify quite a bit for me as far as how to make better decisions, especially with marginal hands and against players I have a read on (as far as their style of play).  My overall goal with this project is to bring my tournament play to a far higher level than where it's at now.  I'm sure this can only have +EV (positive expected value) for me in the near future!  Yeah, I know.  I'm such a dork, but whatever.

    Ohh, also before I forget, in my poker records I've added a section to my overall results page labeled "average profit/loss."  This puts my standard deviation value into perspective a bit more.  Yes, I know this is irrelevant to you all, but I thought maybe it might be worth stating just in case someone hadn't thought about doing that in their records as well.  Also, when I complete another 100  hours of play, I'll post my results again for everyone to marvel (laugh) at.  Gotta love sarcasm!

Harrington on Holdem Experiment

While I was at Barnes & Noble today completing some of my assignments for school, I was browsing through the poker section and decided to buy the other volumes of Harrington's books that I didn't have yet.  Volume II deals with the point in tournaments where you are closer to reaching the money.  It also deals with final table play as well as playing heads-up.  Volume III is a workbook of several problems you can go through to see how your decision making compares to a world class pro.  It also will show you how much you may already know or how much you have learned from his first two volumes.

Here is where my experiment comes into play.  I am using a score sheet setup in excel so I can track my results before reading volume II and after reading volume II.  I will not read the answers until after I have completed reading volume II.  I'm curious as to how much my answers to the problems in volume III will change after reading volume II.  I wish I could track results before reading volume I, but I have already read that one, so I'll just have to use volume II as a comparator.

I'm sure this will take quite some time, but when I am finished I will post my results for everyone.

Office Space

Do you remember the part in the movie, Office Space, where Peter Gibbons is talking to the hypnotherapist about how every day that someone sees him, that is the worst day of his life? That's about how I feel right now. You know, there's nothing quite like having a job that stresses you out enough to spend almost a week in the hospital for an ulcer near your illeum. That's what happened to me this past week. Fun stuff. Ohh, it gets better. Today I played three tournaments and two sit n go's only to lose horribly in all of them. Is there no mercy in this cruel world? Well, I can't say I lost in all of them because I'm still playing in one, but I don't have very high expectations. Anytime I try to be optimistic, everything goes awry. My only choice is to be pessimistic with no high expectations or hopes. All I can do is just dream. Unfortunately, that is not enough for me.

WiFi Poker

Soon I'll be playing poker online via WiFi on my new laptop. This is very exciting for me in that I will have more freedom in where I can play instead of just at home. This will reduce the amount of distractions I have because I can do so many things when at home. With mobility I can find an environment with the right atmosphere to suit my fancy. An added bonus for playing at home is that now I can get free internet because one of my neighbors has a wireless router and my laptop can pick up on the signal. On a side note, I won't be using my laptop only for online poker, but for school as well. I will be taking three courses online at the local junior college here. As I have said in my last post, I haven't been playing the amount of hours that I would have liked to. This will hopefully add to my weekly hours of poker. I'll keep everyone updated on how this will affect my play, either positive or negative.

Online Results

    Below is a link to my overall results since Feb. 26th of this year.  I keep more detailed records, but it would be too much to post on here.  Besides, no one wants to sift through all those statistics.  No one I know, at least.  My goal was to play about five times more hours than what I have now.  Right now I have nowhere near the amount of data I need to show solid results and it's been almost five months since I started playing online again.  Part of my problem is that I've spread my time way too thin.  I play in three different jazz bands after work, which takes up a lot of my time.  Plus, I usually cook dinner most days which eats up my remaining time.  Once August comes around, I'll be taking three online classes at Las Positas, the local junior college.  That means I'll have to drop one of the bands I play with to fit everything in.  Also that will pretty much mean I can only play online during a weekend where I'm not playing a gig.
    In regards to the results that I do have, despite the positive sum I think if I were to play as many hours as I had wanted to I would probably see results closer to breaking even on my money.

Here are my overall results so far.

Off Subject

This post is non-poker related but related to me! I started a
myspace profile recently and I'll post blogs that are non-poker related
on that site. The location is www.myspace.com/daveyeags

Poker On Hiatus

I think for now I will have to put poker on a stand still. I'm
going back to school while working full time, so I don't think I will
have much time for poker anymore. It's a shame I couldn't get anything
going these past few years, but maybe the future will be more fruitful.
As for school, it feels like life has been pumped back into me for the
time being. It's nice to know that I'm trying to improve my own life,
you know? Don't worry though, this will not be the last posting to my
blog here.

Book Reviews Piling Up

    Yeah, so I've been meaning to complete my reviews on my list of books sometime soon.  In fact I have another one to add, which is Antonio Esfandiari's new book, In The Money.  I've been looking for a book specifically like this one because he pays special attention to making money at cash games instead of tournaments.  It's a pretty easy read as far as time goes.  I read it in two days, but need to read it again to soak up some more information.  I like the way Antonio explains situations and ways to go about playing.  It's very helpful and it will make you think about your game and the profitability of an aggressive style of play.  Don't worry, I'll have more postings coming soon.

A Year in a Day's Time

    Or also known as my birthday!  Yeah okay, so it's nothing to jump up and down about.  In fact, my birthday just gives me an excuse to reflect back on all the things that I've been meaning to do, but haven't yet accomplished.  Unfortunately, that list seems to be growing longer every year.  My New Year's resolutions are still on the list for this year and hopefully I will fulfill those sometime soon.

    As far as book review postings go, I should have a few more up here soon.  Writing these reviews gives me a chance to refresh my memory on some of the books I haven't picked up in a while.  A review of Phil Hellmuth's book is up next as well as Holdem for Advanced Players.

Review of Mark Blade's Book, Professional Poker

    I was going to go in sequence with my reviews, but I had just bought this one and would like to write a review of it while everything is still fresh in my head.

    The information presented in Mark Blade's book is quite comprehensive and well laid out.  In fact, Mr. Blade gives clear and concise examples for every main idea throughout the book as well as several references to other sources of information such as various books by 2+2 Publishing .  Overall the book is mostly useful to people just starting to get into poker and want to learn more about the finer aspects of the game.  For people who have been playing poker for a few years and have read all the standard books, mainly from 2+2 publishing, one will find that most of the information in Professional Poker come from all those standards and the book will basically re-affirm all the main ideas they have read from those other books.  The chapter that stands out as very helpful and informative would be his chapter on odds.  The author really takes the time to explain probably the most complex part of poker and applies it to game situations.

    The only thing I didn't like about Professional Poker is that the author plugged his other two books way too much and they haven't even been released yet.  If you are the type of person that is well versed in poker literature, I would recomend Barry Greenstein's book, Ace on the River, over Blade's work.

Overall Rating (1-10):  6

Ken Warren's Book a Mixed Bag

    Winner's Guide to Texas Hold'em Poker by Ken Warren was the first book on poker I ever purchased.  At the time, there was really not a whole lot of variety when it came to finding books on poker at such places like Borders or Barnes & Noble.  This book looked as good as anything else they had on the shelf, which was pretty slim.  At first reading, most of the philosophy in the book about how to approach poker seemed pretty much like common sense to me.  The only thing I didn't know were the rules and the setup of the game as well as hand selection.

    This book, although once useful in getting me started in poker, has quite a bit of conflicting if not just plain wrong information.  Ken Warren states that he is not a world class poker player, but only a winning low limit player.  Reading through his book again, I now can understand why.  First of all he lists playable hands in each position, then later in his book he lists a different selection of hands for each position.  His bits on preflop play are flawed as well where he favors seeing the flop as cheaply as possible with big pairs.  A big turnoff in his book is the fact that in his Strategy and Tactics chapter, the first section is Calling Before the Flop.  Now if you want to be a winning aggressive player, calling before the flop will most definatly not give you this image.  On his Science of Tells section, I would like him to give credit to Mike Caro for most of the information he has in it.  In fact a lot of the content in his book are summaries from other sources such as Mike Caro and Sklansky/Malmuth.

    The parts I like about Warren's book is the way he explains pot odds and drawing odds as well as his great layout of odds and percentages throughout the book and the chapter dedicated to it.  That's about the only thing worthwhile in his book.  Everything else you should study from their primary sources such as Mike Caro's Book of Poker Tells and Hold'em for Advanced Players by Sklansky/Malmuth.  Warren's short four page section on 7 stud strategy is a waste of space.  I don't understand why he threw that in there.  If you're going to write about 7 stud strategy, make it a complete and separate book, not a four page summary.

Overall Rating(1-10):  3 - Only worth it for the odds and percentages section of his book.  Everything else you should get from other more reliable sources.