I’d never played the $1000 FTP Money Monday until last night, but at the time, it just felt right. I’m an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of guy, and I often start getting tired around 9PM. Last night, however, I felt awake and alert, so I decided to give this tournament a … Read full post
Ugh, yesterday was not a good day. I spent most of the day playing 6-8 tables of big Sunday tournaments and 5-10 NL. I wasn’t playing particularly well in either, and combined with some moderately bad luck, this led to a pretty rough day. The only redeeming point was a … Read full post
After much delay, anticipation, and worry, the day has finally arrived. US customers can now withdraw their long-locked-up funds from Neteller. The only catch is that Neteller asks you to sign a release that indemnifies both you and them from being sued. I’m not a lawyer or in any way … Read full post
There’s a trailer up on YouTube for the documentary, called Resolved, about high school debate in which my friend Dave plays a key role. Unfortunately he isn’t in the trailer, and in fact his students are barely shown either, but if you’re intersted in a brief introduction to the … Read full post
This isn’t a move I make often, but here the stars were aligned correctly. My opponent was very aggressive at several tables and seemed to be targeting me specifically (not a bad approach, since I was playing more weak hands than anyone else). He was c-betting 100% of the time, … Read full post
Came across a good story recently on the blog of 2+2 poster Degen about being arrested for playing poker in Thailand. I couldn’t figure out how to link to just that post, but it’s currently the top item on his blog. Here’s a good excerpt:
“In America if you … Read full post
Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I didn’t realize how long it had been because I actually posted something two days ago, but then Blogger ate it and I was too despondent to retype it all. But I still had it in my head that I had updated recently, … Read full post
OK this is pretty much just a brag post, but whatever, I had a huge day today, thanks in no small part to this first guy. Here’s some masterful play by him that angers the universe:
Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold’em, $10 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of … Read full post
The 5/10 NL FTP game is very aggressive, much more so than the 3/6 game. That’s given me opportunities to make some big calls, which is always fun. Here’s a few from last night:
Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold’em, $10 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero … Read full post
I happened today to come across two media pieces dealing, at least tangentially, with the issue of gangs in Los Angeles. Gangs and related problems of crime and drugs are issues in virtually every major metropolitan area in the US, but LA seems to be the epicenter both in terms … Read full post
I made a squeeze play with rags and ended up sucking out on some terrible player. He told me how awful I was to re-raise with J7 etc etc so I challenge him to 10/20 NL heads up and he accepts. It starts off alright, he is pretty tight, I … Read full post
Money should be available around the end of the month. From today’s press release:
“The Company is using its best efforts to allow withdrawal requests as soon as possible and US customers will be able to sign in to their NETELLER account to request the withdrawal of their funds … Read full post
Now that the WSOP is over, I really want to scale back my tournament play and focus on improving at 6-max no limit ring games. My recent winnings have given me enough of a roll that I want to dive right in and start multi-tabling 5/10 pretty aggressively. I’ve played … Read full post
Poker received brief but favorable mention on the Op-Ed page of the New York Times this week. The piece, Texas Hold ‘Em Seizes Gotham, focuses on a character nicknamed “Old Man”. Old Mas is portrayed positively as a responsible recreational gambler:
“he limits losses to $500 a night but … Read full post
I should be on my way to the Rio right now, preparing to nurse a sickly stack into a monster as I did on Tuesday. Instead, I am sitting in front of my computer trying to decide how to explain to all of you how it all came crashing down.… Read full post
That blogger from the Balitmore Sun whom I mentioned a few days ago just posted another little blurb about me. His conclusion?
“…super smart and level-headed don’t always necessarily go together. It’s refreshing to see when it does.”
I’m blushing.… Read full post
I wasn’t feeling real well today, so I only played three of the majors: the $200 million guarantee on Stars, the $500 million guarantee on FTP, and $200 200K guarantee on UB. I ended up cashing kinda well in all three, and came 36th out of more than 2000 on … Read full post
The Los Angeles Urban Debate League, run by my good friend David Wiltz, has been in the news lately thanks to a new documentary about the world of high school debate that highlights two of his former students. Here’s a good summary from the article:
“In the film, the … Read full post
Barry and goleafsgoeh were the two players who most concerned me at the table, and with one gone and one crippled, I was ready for total table domination. Except that we didn’t get to play even a single hand after the second break. No sooner had the tournament director announced … Read full post
I got a mention on the Baltimore Sun sports page today from a blogger named Bill Ordine. He didn’t know much about me at the time, but here’s what he had to say:
“The only other Maryland player who appeared to cash-in at the main event who was listed … Read full post
I ended my Day 1 report by bemoaning my measly 30,000 chips but predicting that, “A lot will depend on how things go in the first few hours. If I can get off to a good start, I could easily double or triple up and be right back in contention.” … Read full post
I’m at Table 26, Seat 6. Here’s the full lineup:
1. Olav Prinz von Sachsew (101,700)
2. Justin “Jurollo/WPTHero” Rollo (238,500) Justin’s blog
3. Dale Michael (123,500)
4. Matt “Matt24/Mattster24” Sterling (137,000) Matt’s website
5. Andy Stocker (261,500)
6. Me (344,100)
7. David Lee (74,700)
8. Randall Amiel (179,700)
9. … Read full post
I’m at Table 26, Seat 6. Here’s the full lineup:
1. Olav Prinz von Sachsew (101,700)
2. Justin “Jurollo/WPTHero” Rollo (238,500) Justin’s blog
3. Dale Michael (123,500)
4. Matt “Matt24/Mattster24” Sterling (137,000) Matt’s website
5. Andy Stocker (261,500)
6. Me (344,100)
7. David Lee (74,700)
8. Randall Amiel (179,700)
9. … Read full post
I had a huge day today, up from 30K to 344,100. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to posting the write up, so please be patient. Hopefully I’ll be tied up for a few more days :-).
Thanks to Darren and others for the updates on here. That hand … Read full post
Here’s a good tibit from Conor Tate, who will be at my table today. Apparently he’s a pro with some British coaching site, but I found his blog from his first day’s play both interesting and informative. Two highlights:
“I immediately get the impression my table is going to play … Read full post
Looks like a tough lineup, and I’m not thrilled with where I’m sitting relative to the big stacks and specifically Barry G:
1- Me 31K
2- Barry Greenstein 93K
3- Scott Yeates 163K
4- Miles Dooly 57K
5- couldn’t find a listing, maybe empty?
6- Conor Tate 109K took 1… Read full post
I left the house around 11AM on Friday bound for the Rio and the main event of the 2007 World Series of Poker. Vegas is experiencing record highs for the weak, with the thermometer topping out near 120 degrees. It’s enough to leave me sweating after a two block walk … Read full post
I’m working on a longer write-up, but I don’t know when that will be done, so just to let you all know, I did survive Day 1 of the main event. It was a real roller coaster, as evidenced by my chip stack relative to the average at the end … Read full post
As I was driving to the Rio on July 4th, whatever radio station I was listening to at the time wished me a “Happy Fourth from the All-American Radio Station” and then started playing the song, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. You may recall there was a Wrangler jeans … Read full post
I arrived at the Rio around 3:30 PM on July 4th. I had $4000 in tournament lammers in my left pocket and $3400 cash in my right. My objective was to play satellites (they were running a bunch of $500 and $1000 megas, including one at 4PM) until I was … Read full post
Went out to the Rio last night, primarily to meet Nate from 2+2. Traffic was atrocious, so it took me like twice as long to get there as it should have, but I still had about two hours to play. I got a seat in a new game, and when … Read full post
Jonas Flug-Entin, 2+2’s Riverboatking, is at the final table of the $10,000 World Series of Poker Pot Limit Omaha Championship event. It’s a pretty sick line-up:
Seat 1 – Doyle Brunson – 510,000
Seat 2 – Patrik Antonius – 650,000
Seat 3 – Marco Traniello – 420,000
Seat 4 – … Read full post
This was only my third hand at the table, but I’d already established an aggressive image at the table by steal raising from late position on the first two hands, once checking and folding when my opponent caught better than I did on fourth and once winning with a bet … Read full post
My most recent poker article, entitled “Your First World Series of Poker“, has just been published in the July issue of Two Plus Two Internet Magazine. Please let me know what you think with comments here or in my thread in the 2+2 Magazine Forum.… Read full post