My turn

Ever just KNOW that whatever you do, you're going to win? Whether it be poker, a race, whatever? That was me tonight. I simply decided that I was not going to allow myself to lose. Plain and simple.

I had previous in the day decided that I was going to try and work 6 of the next 7 weekends at work and really build up the savings/bankroll during the next two months. Just seems like the smart thing to do...double time will do that for ya...As long as it doesn't kill me first. ;) So knowing that I am going to have a considerable amount of money coming in in the next few weeks, I really wanted to get back out there and play some cards. Only, there's two small problems: I shot most of my bankroll last weekend, and secondly, if I'm going to play, it HAS to be NL, as here in town, that's all they play. But, I was feeling good, really good, so I thought what the hell, eh?

Small backstory here: My S.O. brought me lunch at work yesterday and sitting on her dashboard was a brand new "Felix the Cat" ballcap for me! That perked up an otherwise dreary day. Went out drinking later, but we don't need to touch on that here ;) So, when I get home from my night out, I have a present waiting for me on the living room table...it's a package with 2 killer "Felix the Cat" t-shirts, which I have wanted for quite some time. I mean, come on. How killer is that??? :D

So, I come home from work tonight to don one of my new shirts and I take my last $200 from my 'roll and head to play in the 2/5 NL game. Seriously underbankrolled, but determined like you can not believe. Instead of going and being social, I was going to work and would not accept losing tonight. Period, end of story.

I walk into the room (underground card room here in town about 2 mins from my house) and immediately get a seat in the 5s. The game is a full game, with most stacks $200-$400. I put on the sunglasses and go to work folding, folding, folding. I catch AQo and make it $30 to go from MP. One caller and I miss the flop. I bet it and take it down. I fold until the 8s gets up to leave. I move there, as I much prefer the 8s and 3s as I don't have to turn my head to watch the table. Also, it keeps the 2 looser players to my right. Speaking of players, a couple of the stronger NL players in town were in this game tonight as well. Just more motivation to play my game and play smart.

To make a long story short, I played wonderfully. I got some hands, but I was able to pretty much outplay the entire table. Once I got the chip lead, I proceeded to use it to bully the others around, as any self-respecting big stack would do. I was responsible for sending 4 of the players home tonight. Just played freaking great. It's amazing how some nights, you just can see it all SO clearly, and others, feel like you have no idea how you ever started playing this game. Sick, isn't it?

Anyway, when the game broke, about 3 1/2 hours after I got there, I walked out with $1080. Ladies and gentlemen, we're back and, this time, I have confidence with me. My turn.

A thousand and counting

Someone from Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, was the 1,000th visit to the blog. Nice to see that you all are coming back...I must not be boring you to tears yet. That's good, me thinks. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the kind, albeit rare, comments and the support*coughhintcough*. Hopefully you are enjoying reading about my trials and successes. It should be more and more fun from here on out. I hope everyone is enjoying the trip thus far and looking forward to hearing from some of my new readers over in Rio Rancho as well as others around the country.

Beautiful Disaster

Well, I am back from my first serious foray into the $10/$20 game at Sandia. I am still trying to digest all that I saw, did, and learned from the trip. Where to begin? Hmmm...well, might as well tell a narrative of the trip...come along for the ride, it's a fun train wreck!

The 4-hour drive was not nearly as bad as I expected. Hardly any traffic and I had a friends iPod with my poker tunes on it, so that made the drive much easier. Nothing like a lil Violent Femmes first thing in the morning to get your blood goin', eh? I pulled into Albuquerque early Saturday afternoon and checked into my hotel. Normally, thru priceline, I get the Baymont, which I really like, but not this time. Oh no, instead I got this shabby POS hotel across the street... not even an iron & ironing board in the room. grrrr *pet peeve*. Granted it's thru priceline, so I got it for a very good price, but still, I hate shabby hotels. C'est la vie. I guess it's just a place to crash between sessions.

After freshening up, I headed out to Sandia. I immediately got on the list for the $10/$20 but had to wait as the limit hold'em tournament was about to start. After a few minutes of walking around and watching the main 10/20 game, I finally got a seat into the must-move game. I did not expect this, but I found myself far more nervous than I should have been, and because of this, I was playing seriously weak/tight. After about 4 hours, my discomfort and poor play cost me about $650. During this run of poor play etc. a good number of people I knew from previous trips stopped by to say hi, as well as the usual motley group of dealers ;) Strangely, this had a somewhat calming effect on me. I guess it just helped make me feel at home and alleviated my jitters. So a big thanks to Shaun, Manny (buy that damn hair dryer, will you?), Dawn, Josh, and others that I didn't mention. I finally started to relax and when I did, I realized that I really had the "game" to be able to sit, play, and win at those stakes.

Anyhow, I had forgotten to eat much of anything thruought the day while playing, so after about 10 cups of hot tea and bottle after bottle of water, I got some food and starting making a comeback. *Note to self: When you are so amped up on caffine that you can't focus, try eating...novel idea* After another 6-7 hours, I called it a night and wound up finishinh up about $800 and it felt G-U-D, GOOD!

Sunday found me sleeping in until @2pm, as the Omaha tournament was going to kick off about that time, so I figured I could take my time getting back to the poker room. I bumped into Mike M. when I walked in. He is one of, if not the best, Omaha 8/B players I know and he proved the point by winning that days $95+$5 tournament. Could not have happened to a better guy nor a better player. One of the things that makes him so good is his ability to stay level-headed. This is an ability that I am still trying to get a handle on as was sorely apparent on Monday. I'm open to advice here, Mike. No, really, I am.

After a short wait, I got a seat in the must move game and had the same jitters as the previous day, but was able to get rid of them in short order. I pretty much hovered around even most of the afternoon when I was bestowed my nickname. I'm sitting in the 3s with my back to the board when I hear, "Is there an 'Eddie Amarillo' here?". Uhhhhhhh...I slowly turn my head around and look up at the brush and tell her that I guess that's me. I mean, really, how many of us could there be, right? I take the call and it's a fellow player who knew I was coming into town. Wanted to know if I wanted to go have a drink when he got to the room. From that moment on, I guess I now have my nickname...but dammit, Slim already has "Amarillo". I guess I can't choose my own, but still, I was hoping for something a little more original than "Amarillo Eddie". Well, there is Mike's suggestion of "Tall, lanky, long-haired Eddie". Thanks Mike, but I think I'll stick to Amarillo Eddie :)

I stayed near even the next hour when I went to the bar to go have a couple of drinks. They had a fun little disco cover band that was true to their music with costumes and the whole shabang. They were good too, for it being disco music. Nonetheless, it was fun to have a couple of drinks and relax for a little bit. Little did I know that that was the beginning of lesson time for the author.

I got back to the table and found that I had been gone a little too long and had been picked up. No biggie, I figured. I'll just get back on the list. I did and got a seat in the must-move, which at this time was short-handed (6). I did quite well and after a couple of hours, the game broke with only 2 of us left in the must-move and the main game filled. I ended up sitting at the table talking shop with Tony, the night-shift floor. He and I had hit it off a few trips prior, so when he came over to close the table, we ended up talking for upwards of 45 mins about all things poker. I really enjoyed that chat. Thanks Tony.

After that, I decided to play the 1/2 NL game while I waited for a seat in the 10/20. Normally, I'm the type that buys in for the max buy-in, which in this case, was $200. This time I decided to try a little Ed Miller strategy and short-buy with just $50. 3 hands in, I get dealt pocket Aces in MP. The young kid to my immediate right raises it to $15 and I call, thinking we'll get 1 or 2 more callers. Whoops. 3 others call to see a rainbow flop of J94. It's checked to me and I push my meager $35 into a $82 pot. I get called in 2 places. Turn brings a harmless looking ten and one of the players bets and gets insta-raised by the button. Well, needless to say, I know I'm beat. LP bettor folds and the button shows KQo for the turned gut-shot. C'est la vie. I rebought, short, one more time and lost that when my flopped 2 pr lost to a turn set. I then get called over to the 10/20. Finally. But my fine play *cough* follows me to that game and I give back $400 more of my previous days winnings. Uncle, I call out. Tomorrow is another day. I didn't play badly (save for the smooth called Aces in the NL game), just never really got much to work with. When I did get a solid hand, I would find myself on the losing end of the majority of the big pots. Poker happens. This becomes all to common an occurance, though, the following day.

The day started off with a phone call from a fellow poker player from my town at 7am. He called to ask if I would buy him and another player a seat in the upcoming days' NL Tournament. I mumbled something that sounded like a "yes" and fell back asleep. After a few more hours of sleep, I got up and I had a small bite to eat (see, I learn) and headed off to the casino. I went ahead and bought 2 $100 entries into the tournament as asked and got on the list for the 10/20. It was apparent that all the tables were going to be used for the tournament, so I was in no rush.

About 3 mins before the tournament started, my two buddies walk into the room and they tell me they already have seats. So, I guess I won't be doing that again. I was able to sell the seats for a small profit and waited til the 10/20 started after a few tables broke in the tourney.

When I finally got a seat, the Sandia 10/20 truly came to life. Guys calling raises OOP (out-of-position) with things like T4o and hitting. I was in the 3s and watched the 8 seat go from $500 to over $1700 in under 2 hours playing hands that just could not be profitable, but he made them work. God Bless'um. But that was the story of my night. Mike (different one) and I were sitting together on the other end watching our big pocket pairs, big Aces, any premium hands get run down time after time after time after time. Truly, it was comical. There were two maniacs that would call, literally with any 2. Raised? So? Capped? Blah. Now, don't percieve this as whining. Mike and I just sat there in utter amazement. Needless to say, neither of us did well, profit wise. In fact, I got my teeth kicked in. I left stunned, dazed, and questioning my ability.

I went back to the hotel, literally, in a fog. I figured that I had no chance. whatsoever, of being able to do this full time. There was no way I can handle getting drawn out on seemingly every single hand. I went to sleep thinking that I better get used to the idea of staying in aviation, as I just wasn't cut out to play poker for a living.

I woke up and hit the road to come back home. As the drive went along, I started going back thru the previous evenings play and realized a couple of things. First off, my reads, almost w/o fail, were spot-on. Granted it was REAL tough getting any kind of read on the 2 maniacs, but otherwise, I was making some incredibly accurate reads all night long, as well as some big laydowns when I knew I was beaten. Also, it seemed to me that, outside of Mike and I, few at the table would take any of the math into consideration when making a play, be it call, bet, or raise. That really surprised me as well as gave me back some confidence. Poker happens. Variance happens. And in the end, plays that are +EV WILL WIN OUT. I had dropped $1,000 the previous night, but by the time I got home, I had realized just how well I played and how incredibly unlucky both Mike and I were. I discovered that all the previous night had really done was harden my resolve to improve and to come back and take every single penny that I can from them. They will lose money, I just have to keep getting it in when I have +EV and let "poker happen". Now, with this being said, the biggest hole in my game right now is, as the Gatorade slogan says, "I wanna be like Mike", referring to keeping my head clear and not tilting. I very much did at one point that night and was aware of it when I was doing it, but still carried forward. I got it under control and was able to recover, but it cost me money, nonetheless. I have read up on some tips on trying to control that in the future, so time will tell if they will help. I'm open to suggestions as well.

So, in conclusion, I lost money, but gained the knowledge that, as long as I keep my head straight and control what I can control, I very much belong in that game. There is lots of money to be had and a good bit of it is just waiting to come home with me.