Friday, February 26, 2010

Unimpressive Thursday

Well, as you all might know, New York is covered in white, but the heart of the poker underground was still thumping, thus another edition of Poker Thursdays at ScottyCards!

Admittedly, I had an odd feeling that I was going to leave down. As I walked in, Tony(a solid player) was walking out, having busted quickly on something or other. At the table sat a table that I knew immediately to be aggressive. Raoul, some guy whose name I forget and Tal, all pretty aggro guys who like to mix it up with any two cards were in full form already.

You know how sometimes you just tighten up to the point that you know you aren't playing optimally? Sure, at tables like this you have to take the shots when you have them, and have the aggressives play into you, but for some reason I was on the biggest cooler I've ever had at any table in decent memory. In 6 hours of play I didn't see a higher pair than 7's, saw AK once, and everything else was just crap.

Naturally, this is going to make you restless.

So, I donked off some chips fairly early and when I did finally get back to my starting stack, I let some chips go on that aforementioned AK by whiffing the flop and let aggro guy bet me off a Jc-7c-2s board. He had just recently shoved a multiway all -in with 83os and thought I might have still been good, but I relented.
Seriously though, I HATE it when I play like this. A cooler is a cooler, but add the passive pill I took, and you're not having any fun.

So, I leave the evening about $85 down after I shove all-in with a set of 5's, with flush and straight draws on the board. No one hits either, and I figure that's enough for the evening. I then spend what seemed like an hour in the freezing cold and heavy snow waiting for a cab, which only topped off a somber night at the tables.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Ugh, Mookie out in 18th amidst stomach pain

Something I ate...had it from the first minute, concentration was bad, but I got in with the best of it here, only to get cracked on the river.



Full Tilt Poker The Mookie No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t40/t80 Blinds - 6 players - View hand 556623

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter



IlkkaK (BTN): t3415 M = 28.46

Bloody P (SB): t6592 M = 54.93

PinkyStinky (BB): t2880 M = 24

JJC420 (UTG): t4980 M = 41.50

ChampSampson (MP): t6024 M = 50.20

Hero (CO): t1729 M = 14.41



Pre Flop: (t120) Hero is CO with J of diamonds A of spades

1 fold, ChampSampson calls t80, Hero calls t80, IlkkaK calls t80, Bloody P calls t40, PinkyStinky checks



Flop: (t400) 8 of hearts 5 of diamonds J of hearts (5 players)

Bloody P checks, PinkyStinky checks, ChampSampson bets t240, Hero raises to t1649 all in, IlkkaK folds, Bloody P folds, PinkyStinky folds, ChampSampson calls t1409



Turn: (t3698) T of spades (2 players - 1 is all in)



River: (t3698) Q of spades (2 players - 1 is all in)



Final Pot: t3698

ChampSampson shows J of clubs Q of clubs (two pair, Queens and Jacks)

Hero shows J of diamonds A of spades (a pair of Jacks)

ChampSampson wins t3698




Again, can you believe?

Again, DE-NIED the big cash.

I've literally cashed in an Omaha tournament on PS like, every night this week. I'm playing well, I'm just catching bad luck in the endgame. The good thing is while I play deep into these Omaha tournaments, I'm running two tables at .02/.05 and have a run of about 7 sessions in the black, putting my bankroll on PS to about $115 from a starting place of $50. I like multitasking this way and simply playing cash until I bust out(or, of course, WIN) of the accompanying tournament I choose, and just call that a 'session.'

What's alarming to me is just how much soft play exists in the Omaha arena on PS. It makes me ponder a run into some cash PLO. but I think that my PLO play, while appropriate for tournaments, isn't ideally suited for cash play. Granted, I'm sure a tight aggressive approach looking for scoops in Hi/Lo would be profitable, but quite frankly my NLHE stats at low stkes are too good to ignore right now. When I get to $200 I'll start two-tabling .05/.10, and if I keep my recent tear that's only 8-10 sessions away. Slow and steady wins the race!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Breaking the barrier, and LOST goes biblical


I've been running pretty well the past couple of days, with cashes in some fairly deep fields...my endgame needs some work, though. I haven't quite been able to close the deal and get into the higher echelon of $$$. This is the marrow of one's bankroll building. Cash on Stars has kept an upward slant as well, as I'm showing about $45 in profit at .02/.05 over about 1800 hands. Since I take notes, I've starting to notice some familiar faces, some of whom I am happy to see, some not. My new era of blogging my progress has opened my eyes to how much a little bit of note-taking can accomplish.

The weather continues to be a big downer here in the Apple. Just when you get a nice day, the precipitation comes sure as, well, rain. I'm finding it is lowering my productivity in all facets of life, since I sort of have to go outside to get things accomplished. I'm up early today, though. Today is a new day, today is...(repeat). Plus, LOST is tonight.

LOST. I've enjoyed reading certain folks' theories about what may transpire...but it's becoming ever-increasingly clear that we're going biblical. As I'm no proponent of organized religion, I'm not thrilled to see my favorite show wallow into Christian archetypes, but its getting pretty clear. Jacob likes to put his fingers in many pots in both our show and the Bible - notice how he's shown up and softly steered each character at some point. That's sort of how Jacob is in the Bible. And, what ho! Jacob had a brother, Esau. These guys fought like cats and dogs in ye olde times. See what I'm getting at?

First sex, than politics, now LOST. The Evangelicals ruin everything.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Somewhat at sea

A depressing night in the poker world for me. In the irrepressible spirit of taking shots, I tried to satellite into the FTOPS ME(for 2500 points) and the super-duper overhyped F40 Sunday Million(for $10) and LITERALLY bubbled both. Not THE bubble, but about 10 out of the goal in FT, and 5 out in Stars.

I didn't lose a lot of money, so why depressed? Well, in all honesty business has been slow(for those who are unaware, I am an actor and director, and do real estate in between gigs), the weather in NYC stinks, I have a bit of a stomach ailment and to top it all off, my two shots to achieve glory fizzled like Face The Ace. I also was reading Jennifer's blog and thinking to myself, gee, how cool would that be, writing for poker? I was supposed to be a Creative Writing major at Duke, but a summer camp at Carnegie-Mellon somehow convinced me I could make a living as an actor, which I did, for a good long time, until recently, when I see Tony Award winners looking for jobs - it's a bleak scene. It's made me ponder a change of coasts, namely LA - but that costs money to do, money that I can't afford to splurge on such a risk. So, taking shots becomes more then just building my bankroll...yes, it's about luckboxing myself into major money at the FTOPS ME or the $4M Sunday Million. Ridiculous, I know.

However, in looking at my play since January, there are bright spots...I felt like I reached a different level in my cash play, started this blog, took my goals in poker more seriously and actually THINK I could go far in the aforementioned events if my bankroll warranted it.

But alas, it doesn't.

Friday, February 19, 2010

+175 @ Poker Thursdays

I was battling some sort of stomach thing for most of the short 4 hours I spent at ScottyCards(I'm usually there much longer) but a flopped full house and a pair of queens boosted by straight chasers got me doubled up pretty quickly. I announced an 11pm departure as I knew I wasn't well, and figured that so far in the month of February, up$550 at ScottyCards wasn't a bad place to be at all.

I wish I had more to report, but I'm still a little stomach-y.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Ouch. Early Mookie out.

And I was pretty sure he had this on the turn, but I pushed anyway. Nice check by Heff, who had been raising pretty aggressively in the first half hour....just couldn't get away from the Aces.




Full Tilt Poker The Mookie No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t25/t50 Blinds - 7 players - View hand 543129

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter



iaatg6296 (UTG): t2685 M = 35.80

DDionysus (UTG+1): t3230 M = 43.07

Hero (MP): t2110 M = 28.13

BuddyDank (CO): t2650 M = 35.33

Joanne1111 (BTN): t2800 M = 37.33

blaargh86 (SB): t3180 M = 42.40

heffmike (BB): t4345 M = 57.93



Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is MP with A of diamonds A of clubs

2 folds, Hero raises to t150, 2 folds, blaargh86 calls t125, heffmike calls t100



Flop: (t450) 9 of clubs 7 of spades 4 of clubs (3 players)

blaargh86 checks, heffmike checks, Hero bets t350, blaargh86 folds, heffmike calls t350



Turn: (t1150) 9 of spades (2 players)

heffmike checks, Hero bets t1610 all in, heffmike calls t1610



River: (t4370) 3 of spades (2 players - 1 is all in)



Final Pot: t4370

Hero shows A of diamonds A of clubs (two pair, Aces and Nines)

heffmike shows T of hearts 9 of hearts (three of a kind, Nines)

heffmike wins t4370

Two Bubbles! And a bankroll decision.






Well, not exactly...I did cash in both, but missed the final table on both of these.

Windows 7 has this great Snipping Tool so now I can post these!

Both of these were kind of afterthoughts before I went to bed....turned out I was up until 6am with these suckers, both totaling about $40-something.



I've made an executive decision regarding my bankroll. FT (which is at around $160)will only be for tournaments, and I am moving cash to Stars. Here's a brief history of my progress during Milestone hand-chasing...





So, suffice it to say I feel like my luck over on PS is faring pretty well in .02/.05. Not bad for 700 hands at low stakes!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Awful, awful awful home game

Ok, so I guess I have been ridiculously spoiled at other places like The Wall St Game, Scotty Cards, Stephanie's, etc. where dealers deal, make change, settle disputes, and what not.

Last night I made the severe mistake of revisiting a .25/.50 home game hosted by my friend Walter. Now, I have no problem with Walter...it's mostly the ragtag crew he invited. Once a long time ago I met some of these people at a .25/.50 game at another house that I vowed never to go to again...it was Dealer's Choice, and the games varied from Hold 'Em to Pineapple to Omaha to Chicago, and NOBODY knew the rules. People would play the games horribly and disputes would last forever about things like 'who had the low,' etc. In truth, all of this ragtag group were mostly older guys in their late 40's or 50's who seemed to be mostly bitter actor or ex-actor types who take out their failed careers at the poker table in the form of know-it-alling or mock aggression, and it just wasn't really my scene. I remember that I left after about an hour because I couldn't take the energy in the room.

So these guys had never been to Walter's game before. But, I walk in, and there are 4 of them sitting there. Ugh. One guy, the youngest, very loud with a thick accent and seemed to profess he knew every hand someone had, one an older guy, I assume an actor, who never knew how to play the four card games, another smug Cosby-sweater wearing guy who never left his cards on the table and although he knows the game, was just, well, plain annoying - and the last guy, a sort of burly grey-haired guy who seemed to have a big chip on his shoulder about everything, and did that shuffling thing when it was his turn to deal that is COMPLETELY incorrect, and bends the cards, but god forbid you criticize him about it because he'd then probably vault into his mediocre theatre resume. ANYway, as you can probably imagine, I sat down anyway and quickly regretted it. I mean, I don't want to mix it up with these people. I don't want to tell them what a shitty Omaha hand they just played, or take over when they are splitting the pot. When it was my turn to deal I took over, but that only happened once per orbit. With the exception of Walter dealing, it was a complete shitshow. Plus I lost money - my last $11 went into a showdown JJ v AQ and an ace spiked the river. I have never been so happy to leave! I have to remind myself to just be honest and tell Walter that if those guys are coming, I just can't tolerate that energy in the room and I would have to politely decline.

Friday, February 12, 2010

A meh thursday, and some introspective musing

Started with $200, left with $200, after a mostly up and down 6 hour session met with some really excellent hero raises and some equally stupid river calls.

I don't know whether it is blogging, studying more, or just simply reaching another echelon, but even though I left even last night, I really feel like I am making steady and constant improvement as a player. I made some plays last night that I wouldn't even dream of making a year ago. I don't really want to get into the details about hands and what not, but it makes me think about some issues.

Technically a $200 buy-in for 1/2 is miles over what my poker bankroll buy in should be. Ideally you'd want to have around $4000 to play comfortably at that level. Well, I am not anywhere near there. As a result, I think I've played a lot with scared money. I think most of the result of my better play is shedding that sentiment, although I certainly question the benefit of that. When variance and bad play eventually rears its ugly head, I'm essentially screwed. Which led me down a path certainly worth an interesting debate. Keep in mind that I havent quite organized my thoughts on the subject.

Let's take Phil Ivey. Ok, he has money to burn, and is essentially a degenerate gambler that will lay money on practically anything he considers worthy. He is universally feared at the table. If Phil Ivey didn't care about WINNING, he'd call every bluff you make, see every board, but what separates him and other players is that he manipulates your aversion to LOSING. I say this not as an overall theorem - we identify fish at a table, and I assume we all know how to read hand ranges, calculate odds, and so on. What I'm getting at is this....does having ridiculous amounts of cash make you a better player? The short answer would be no...but let's put Phil Ivey in one corner, and a perfect clone of Ivey in another, with only $1000 dollars to his name. Now who is the better player? I'd lay my small bankroll on the former.

There is someone at my Thursday game that I surmise has quite a bit of money...I don't know this for sure, but considering he has no job to speak of and goes on golfing trips and goes to big buy-in tournaments, it's a safe bet. And don't get me wrong, he is mostly a TAG in cash, pounding his good hands when he has them, and throws out some crazy stuff when he feels he has an edge, mostly a decent player that I generally avoid. Likewise, there is another player who I think also has a lot of money, apparently owns his own business, and spews money almost every week. He's not as much a bad player as he is an overly aggressive one. He has no fear whatsoever about pushing it in behind. So, I do realize there are different types of wealthy players - I guess I am trying to figure out how it applies to me. Am I playing better because I don't care, or am I playing better because I DO care - very much - about becoming a better player. One could come to the conclusion that if you only play against people with fatter wallets than yourself, you're going to suffer more bad beats, more disappointment, and questioning your play more.

I'd LIKE to think that ideally, that players like the latter will be long-run losers with that kind of play, but what if they simply don't care about losing? It's an element of opponent-reading that is implied in many books and commentary, but never discussed. We see people in the WSOP laying down all kinds of hands antithetically -" I paid $10K to do this, I have to fold my KK!" And yes, people talk all the time about getting to know your opponent, and I suppose that knowing how willing he is to shove it all in with you is a good point to keep track of...but I think even more worthy is knowing WHY they are so willing. I made some plays last night that made me look like I have a lot of cash to burn, but I truly do not. And I think that's the hump, albeit a risky one. I think those plays were successful because I've started to identify who is not over that hump, and those who really simply do not care. And I think that's important - it must be because I've sat here typing this for a half hour!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A big Mookie cash fo' me

I'm currently re-doing my whole computer setup...I had this pirated copy of XP that would sometimes blurt out odd error messages in Cyrillic, and it was starting to blue screen me every day, so I said enough. I wiped that partition of the Macbook, went out to Best Buy and installed Windows 7 on the other half of the hard drive. HOWEVER, I was experiencing some snafus in the install, so when Mookie time came around at 10pm, I had to play on my little netbook, without PT3 or anything. Just as well.....2nd place!

Usual cast of characters, and I think I doubled up very early with KK which put me into the 6-7K range, where I remained for most of the tournament. I don't have PT3 to help me out with eventful hands here, but basically it came down to me and Numbono in an epic heads-up match for first. I was outchipped 37K to 9K to start, and got it up to 17 against him with a full house on the turn, but about 20 hands later I took a shot on a flopped flush draw that didn't come. Still $40 ain't bad.

Still, happy with my result. Solid, disciplined poker that I should be doing more of. I almost hate to say it, but a certain training site I dropped some cash on is actually helping my game. We'll see how that factors in long-term. On to Poker Thursdays!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The rakeback question

So, I can't get rakeback from Full Tilt.

I've been a member for years, unless you sign up through a rakeback site, you can't get it, blah blah blah. So my question is, should I even be playing these cash games at FT? Sure, I can play tournaments and what not, no significant rakeback advantage there....but should I move my cash interests elsewhere?

I've got rakeback at Doyle's, though I rarely if ever play there...plus PT3 can't do my hands there, yet. Two places I have never in my life signed up for are Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. I'm seriously thinking about grinding my cash bankroll in one of those places soon.

Besides, as far as promotions go...Full Tilt kind of blows. the Iron Man thing is a bit of a joke...Stars blows them out of the water in that department with their Points...so perhaps I should just move cash to Stars and grind my cash there. I reckon the competition would be significantly weaker. What do you all think?

Monday, February 8, 2010

1st in FT 45SnG! We made up. Plus a strat ?.

It's true, after a huge downswing with these suckers, I broke up with the 45 Super Turbos. We weren't communicating...I needed my space. But just like a comfortable shoe, my cold lonely nights alone, bubbling PLO tournaments, I needed your warm embrace again.

Not to mention, the bankroll was, well, suffering($123) and I needed a boost. Soooo. First try, a 3-way chop for $36 bucks, then tonight, a two-way chop for $53!! Oh, yeah, then busts in a couple of tournaments, and I've settled back around $190. Down $10 after a little over two weeks of monitoring...baby steps.

A little strategy question for my readers. How do you folks play Arag suited in middle position? what if you get popped by the hijack or the button when you limp? Is calling a -EV play? What about in a tournament? Sure, I know relative stack size is an important issue here but I've been reading up on this and people have a lot of varying opinions.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Forgot to add...

I forgot to add another interesting hand that occurred with Taal(sp?) not long after he cracked my Queens with AK. The hand isn't as interesting as the post script.

So, I am yet again dealt QQ. I yo 11, and get two callers, including Taal. Flop comes X-K-J. Taal bets out some small amount, I call. Queen comes on the turn. He checks, I check behind. River is a blank, I throw out 25, and he raises me 50 more. I tank, thinking he must have A-10, but I had just gotten my Queens crushed earlier...he can't crush a set twice. Now, he is in the 9 seat, on the other side of the dealer...I am fiddling with my chips, and as I am saying, "Well, either you've got me beat, or..." he flips over A10! I was truly about to call, as Taal says"I heard chips and I thought he bet!" Your thought saved me 50 bucks!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Running good on Thursday!

Off into the chilly streets of Manhattan for yet another installment of Poker Thursdays!

I had contemplated a $65 tourney going on at Stephanie's, a place I've been to a couple times, but instead elected to go to my normal spot, currently ScottyCards on 36th. Some of the usual crew was already in full swing 7-handed when I took my seat. Looking at the stacks, I elected to just buy in for $200. I was in the 1 seat, which is new for me there...typically I am one of the first to arrive and usually place myself in 5 or 6. As it turns out, I may be sitting there more often!

For the first half hour things were mostly uneventful...a couple of ho-hum chip up hands occurred and I think I might have been somewhere around $225 when I am dealt KK UTG +1. Knowing the table like I do, a typical raise to 7 usually always gets a lot of calls, so I push it to 11. 4 callers! The flop comes K-X-J, with a heart draw, nothing to a straight. In the hand are some people that I know will fold out with any bet, but Sean is in the hand, and he is usually game for some action, so I fake C-Bet the same amount, 12. Everyone folds but Sean, who calls. The turn is another jack, and I've got the boat! I check, Sean raises to something like 20, and I call. The river fills out a flush draw, and I check, almost sure that Sean will bet it out, which he does...25, I raise him 50 more. He stews about it, calling out all the hands that can beat him, and he calls my 50, flipping over a Jack. When I turn over KK, it was as if no one saw it coming...lots of 'nice hand' and what not, but also some discussion as to whether slow-playing my set might have put me in a lot of trouble. Has anyone ever heard of extracting value? I felt like I knew my opponent's range, and played accordingly. This exchange hopped me up to somewhere around the $500 range. I caught a set somewhere else along the way, and bluffed a couple of ace boards, and I was inching close to $600 when this hand came up.

Taal(sp) is a guy I've played with at Scotty's a few times. Kind of a LAG, but totally passive on the turn and river. I've bet into him with lots of marginal hands only to see him fold a lot. I think he knows it too, as he's always wanting to mix it up with me, raise when I'm in the BB, etc. I welcome this kind of action, because eventually, I'll get him, and I've stacked him off at least twice in recent memory. So, his initial $150 is gone, and here he has already reloaded once, maybe twice. With $81 left, he shoves all-in ahead of me. I lookdown to see QQ. Now, I'm somewhere around $580 and this isn't much of a dent for me, so I call. He shows AK, so we have a race. Flop, nothing, turn nothing, river - an ace. He is obviously pleased with his play, and out of the corner of my eye in the following hand I can see him looking over at me, seeing how I am reacting - which of course, I am not. I just shrug it off as the ace hits the board, and when he doesnt get the reaction he wants, he eventually stops looking. Two hands later, I cap off a successful evening...

I'm dealt 5d7d . Scotty bets out 6 and gets several callers, including me. The flop comes 468 rainbow. Doink! Scotty, acting first, pushes out 30, with something like 80 behind. Scotty must have an overpair, I am thinking...but he's got a shallow stack. So I only raise him for 20 more, thinking that'll be enough to bring him along, but he shoves his whole stack in! I gladly call, and Scotty shows 10s, and is a little dumbstruck at the 57 I show him. The board pairs, but another 10 does not fall, and I am back up to around $600 again.

Shortly after, I announce a 1am departure at midnight, and 3 others echo the same. I limp a lot of pots, win some, lose some, and cash out at $570, for a $370 profit for the night, which I think is somewhere around my 2nd best showing at Scotty's/Matt's/Wall Street.

All in all, a satisfying evening of poker! Yay me.

Mookie and a +EV day

I did enjoy the Mookie last night despite placing sixth on a horrible suckout...


Full Tilt Poker Game #18165952877: The Mookie (135782084), Table 3 - 400/800 Ante 100 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:34:26 ET - 2010/02/04
Seat 1: heffmike (11,170)
Seat 2: madbrooklyn (8,070)
Seat 6: lucko21 (22,878)
Seat 7: NYRambler (10,475)
Seat 8: hoyazo (13,733)
Seat 9: edgie212 (5,674)
heffmike antes 100
madbrooklyn antes 100
lucko21 antes 100
NYRambler antes 100
hoyazo antes 100
edgie212 antes 100
edgie212 posts the small blind of 400
heffmike posts the big blind of 800
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to edgie212 [5d 5s]
madbrooklyn folds
lucko21 folds
NYRambler raises to 2,100
hoyazo folds
edgie212 raises to 5,574, and is all in
heffmike folds
NYRambler calls 3,474
edgie212 shows [5d 5s]
NYRambler shows [8d 9d]
*** FLOP *** [6c Jh 7s]
*** TURN *** [6c Jh 7s] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [6c Jh 7s 6h] [Th]
edgie212 shows two pair, Sixes and Fives
NYRambler shows a straight, Jack high
NYRambler wins the pot (12,548) with a straight, Jack high
edgie212 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 12,548 | Rake 0
Board: [6c Jh 7s 6h Th]
Seat 1: heffmike (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: madbrooklyn folded before the Flop
Seat 6: lucko21 folded before the Flop
Seat 7: NYRambler showed [8d 9d] and won (12,548) with a straight, Jack high
Seat 8: hoyazo (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: edgie212 (small blind) showed [5d 5s] and lost with two pair, Sixes and Fives


Nice river, Heffmike. at any rate, it was nice to interact with BuddyDank radio and all that. I hope they do institute a leaderboard for the Mookie, it would be a nice incentive.

I also ran fairly well on a .05/.010 table and doubled up $7 to $14(staying true to the bankroll), won a $5 SnG and placed 45th out of 652 runners in a $3 FT Donkament, netting a whopping $2 in that fiasco. I REALLY hope FT doesnt extend registration like Stars...it would make these fields even bigger. Off to Poker Thursdays....a report when I return!!

Monday, February 1, 2010

10 bucks on PokerStars multiplies....

So I wander over to PokerStars...I know I'm really wanting to qualify for the Mohegan NAPT, but the Venetian NAPT would be equally sweet, so while I am hunting over there, I dont see any good qualifiers with 10 bucks in my account, but I DO see a Mixed PLHE/PLO tourney for 2.20 that isn't completely over donked like most PokerStars tournaments are, so I sign up. I love all the tournaments and promotions on PS, but their tourneys always have like 80 million people, and my time is valuable!!

Anyway, it turns out that this mixed PLHE/PLO format fit my game completely. What you find in these tournaments is that everyone plays PLHE moderately tight, then everyone falls to shit in PLO...calling with everything, spewing chips to catch draws....and of the 187 runners, I played solid and aggressively tight and found myself in the money, although 12th as we dropped past the bubble of 18.

Now the PLO levels radically switched...raising all over the place with the big stacks. But they were raising with zilch! I took two big pots with a pair of aces by calling their raise and shoving an unmatched board. On to the final table we go...

I'm about 7th of 9 left. Two drop quickly. In PLHE I catch a set and knock out 2, and suddenly I'm chip leader! I then go into bully mode, raising any two cards in position, raising any decently coordinated Omaha hand...and things shattered for the rest of them pretty quickly. #1 out of 187, bitches! I am STILL trying to figure out this Windows on Mac screen shot thing so I can prove this stuff, but it was only a $54 dollar win anyway. A win nonetheless!!!! Over at FT I am at around $190 but I look forward to stroking my newly found $60 PS stack as well.

I'm debating a $100 tourney at Stephanie's, one of those 'middle' places I talked about the other day. I'll keep you posted.