Finished 2nd out of 276 entrants in an $80 tournament for just over 3.3K on this beautiful Tuesday night. Just when I thought March was a total bunk filled with close calls and disappointment, I managed to turn it around with a near victory. This after a brief session on Monday night that saw a few hundy go down the toilet in relatively quick fashion. So I'm pretty stoked with this result...patience, patience, patience.
This eases the pain a little bit after the weak showing my Hawks put in tonight, falling to the Bruins. Luckily I didn't place any wagers with Brett, but the texts I received were painful enough.
Not sure when my next session at the tables will be, I've grinded for three straight days now which is pretty tiring...but at least the efforts have paid off.
My day job proved to be quite exciting today. In a meeting there was somebody wearing a button up shirt covered in sailboats. Yes, sailboats. I spent the duration of the meeting attempting to count exactly how many sailboats the shirt wielded. Contrary to my efforts at the poker table, these efforts didn't pay quite the same dividends as I was unable to accurately report the number of sailboats on said shirt. I continuously lost track of which sailboats were already accounted for, not to mention the potential for hidden sailboats tucked into his pants, in the armpit area, and who knows where else. I can only say for sure that the shirt was in excess of 20 sailboats. That is my story.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Another Glorious Sunday Without Pants On
Made my 2nd deep run in the $215 Sunday Million in a month, finishing 148th out of 9288 entrants today for over 1K in prize money. Before I set this blog up I went even deeper, finishing 46th for 3K. Although this weeks ended in a frustrating manner (getting it all-in preflop with 88 vs 66 and my oponent turning a 6), I'm happy with how I played. I had one "get lucky" spot early in the tournament where I flopped a set of 7's (three 7's) and my opponent had QQ and doubled me up. Other than that I played smart and got my chips in good for the 7 hours I lasted in the tournament. First prize was a mere 265K....yawn.
I played pretty good the whole day, cashing in several other tournaments but nothing quite worth bragging about. Profit is always good though. So is ice cream.
I just realized I never did clarify this for my readers who may not know, but the type of poker I usually play is called No Limit Hold Em' (NLHE). This is generally the type of poker you would see on TV. I also know how to play Pot Limit Omaha and 7-card Stud, but don't enter those types of tournaments very often. No Limit Hold Em' is definitely the most popular, and is where the big money is as far as tournaments go. So unless I specify otherwise, I'll be talking about NLHE tournaments. Actually I did make a few hundred dollars last month when I finished 2nd in a $10 Pot Limit Omaha tournament. That seemed like pretty serious moola considering it's not my strong game. Don't ask me how, but I managed to spend it all in one place despite the popular advice which urges against that.
My glutes are also firming up nicely from my Buns of Steel videos, so that's good. Well, I better go press some pants for my day job tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
I played pretty good the whole day, cashing in several other tournaments but nothing quite worth bragging about. Profit is always good though. So is ice cream.
I just realized I never did clarify this for my readers who may not know, but the type of poker I usually play is called No Limit Hold Em' (NLHE). This is generally the type of poker you would see on TV. I also know how to play Pot Limit Omaha and 7-card Stud, but don't enter those types of tournaments very often. No Limit Hold Em' is definitely the most popular, and is where the big money is as far as tournaments go. So unless I specify otherwise, I'll be talking about NLHE tournaments. Actually I did make a few hundred dollars last month when I finished 2nd in a $10 Pot Limit Omaha tournament. That seemed like pretty serious moola considering it's not my strong game. Don't ask me how, but I managed to spend it all in one place despite the popular advice which urges against that.
My glutes are also firming up nicely from my Buns of Steel videos, so that's good. Well, I better go press some pants for my day job tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
Monday, March 21, 2011
So, so close
So after a low volume week at the tables (hence no updates), I was feeling recharged and fresh to mount a charge on Sunday. My day started by enjoying a 7:45am jog in the freshly fallen snow, followed by a trip to Vendome with Katy to have some killer coffee, the best benny in town, and despite our parents stern instructions 20 some odd years ago, talking to strangers. When 11am rolled around and it was time to get down to business I felt great and was totally zoned.
It was a bit of a mixed bag early in the day. I played decent and min cashed some tournaments, got unlucky in a few, did some stupid things in a couple that resulted in my demise, but I did manage to make a pretty ill run in one tournament. It was the $55 Sunday Special with a 300K gtd prize pool. The low buy-in, high prize pool combination usually draws massive fields. This version attracted 7925 entrants. The blind structure in this tournament increases slower than regular tournaments, so this one always takes a LONG time. The good thing about that is it lessens the luck factor when you are allowed to be more patient and not have the blinds eat you up as they increase.
Started with 3000 chips. Yada, yada, yada....10 hours later, and over 7900 people elimated I was the chip leader with 18 people to go. I had amassed a stack of over 2.6 Million chips and was in a great position to take it down. First prize was over 48K, not to mention a butt load of pride. Unfortunately, things unraveled rather quickly and an hour later I was eliminated in 16th place. A consolation prize of about 1K was shipped my way...feeling like a slap in the face after putting myself in that position. I always try and be brutally honest with myself when reflecting on my play...did I play bad and just get lucky? Did I play good and simply dominate? Did I do something stupid and deserve to get eliminated? Etc. Well, this time, I assure you that in my humble opinion I did everything right in the final stages of the tournament and simply got bit by some good old fashioned bad luck. Three particular hands unraveled my chances at the holy grail I had my eyes on and after replaying them hundreds of times in my head I don't think I could play them any differently. They were all pretty standard spots which you love to be in, the cards just fell in a very unpleasant manner. It happens.
I could spend hours analyzing the hands, the percentages, my opponents, etc.... but most of you would fall asleep on your keyboard and end up drooling all over the place and we don't need that. I still take a lot of confidence away from this tournament knowing I can put myself in position to win these types of events.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
It was a bit of a mixed bag early in the day. I played decent and min cashed some tournaments, got unlucky in a few, did some stupid things in a couple that resulted in my demise, but I did manage to make a pretty ill run in one tournament. It was the $55 Sunday Special with a 300K gtd prize pool. The low buy-in, high prize pool combination usually draws massive fields. This version attracted 7925 entrants. The blind structure in this tournament increases slower than regular tournaments, so this one always takes a LONG time. The good thing about that is it lessens the luck factor when you are allowed to be more patient and not have the blinds eat you up as they increase.
Started with 3000 chips. Yada, yada, yada....10 hours later, and over 7900 people elimated I was the chip leader with 18 people to go. I had amassed a stack of over 2.6 Million chips and was in a great position to take it down. First prize was over 48K, not to mention a butt load of pride. Unfortunately, things unraveled rather quickly and an hour later I was eliminated in 16th place. A consolation prize of about 1K was shipped my way...feeling like a slap in the face after putting myself in that position. I always try and be brutally honest with myself when reflecting on my play...did I play bad and just get lucky? Did I play good and simply dominate? Did I do something stupid and deserve to get eliminated? Etc. Well, this time, I assure you that in my humble opinion I did everything right in the final stages of the tournament and simply got bit by some good old fashioned bad luck. Three particular hands unraveled my chances at the holy grail I had my eyes on and after replaying them hundreds of times in my head I don't think I could play them any differently. They were all pretty standard spots which you love to be in, the cards just fell in a very unpleasant manner. It happens.
I could spend hours analyzing the hands, the percentages, my opponents, etc.... but most of you would fall asleep on your keyboard and end up drooling all over the place and we don't need that. I still take a lot of confidence away from this tournament knowing I can put myself in position to win these types of events.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
Monday, March 14, 2011
A Long Sunday
Well I hit the Sunday tournament schedule hard as planned, but it turned out to be a long day. I started at 11am with the Sunday Warm-Up (a $215 major with a 750K Gtd. prize pool) and a few other lower buy in tournaments. I entered my last tournament around 7pm which didn't last too long so my day was done before 9pm. I actually started out feeling pretty sharp despite trying to shake the cobwebs from my 4am return home after a good night at the Flames game and on the town with Sean. Wearing the Canucks jersey turned out to work to my advantage, so not all of my dignity was lost.
Unfortunately, the trend of Sunday seemed to be building up chips early, and as soon as it felt like I had momentum on my side I would take an untimely beat. As a result, I wasn't able to take anything too deep. I made the money in a couple tournaments, but was still down a bit for the day. Chalk it up to experience. I stayed focused the whole day and didn't let any beats get to me, something I've been working hard on. So in that respect it was a successful day.
I was really hoping to start this blog out with a bit more of a bang and report that I took down the Sunday Million (the biggest sunday major), but that glorious news will have to wait another week.
I will probably get in a session or two this week after work, and then likely another Sunday session. Will play some mtt's (multi-table tournaments) and probably incorporate some single table tournaments during the week called sit n goes. These are good to incorporate in the schedule since they are lower variance games than mtt's, and therefore help smooth out those inevitable downswings that mtt players experience. Unfortunately, Variance makes exceptions for nobody.
The weather in Calgary is also perking up quite nicely, so I'm getting anxious to get out and do some running, and hopefully dust off Jake (my cross bike) and get some miles in the legs soon and shed that insulation that has kept me warm all winter. Poker is fun, but putting in hours at the tables doesn't exactly carve you a six-pack. Maybe I should start doing 5 minute intervals of my Buns of Steel video when tournaments go on break. Make some cash and chisel the behind.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
Unfortunately, the trend of Sunday seemed to be building up chips early, and as soon as it felt like I had momentum on my side I would take an untimely beat. As a result, I wasn't able to take anything too deep. I made the money in a couple tournaments, but was still down a bit for the day. Chalk it up to experience. I stayed focused the whole day and didn't let any beats get to me, something I've been working hard on. So in that respect it was a successful day.
I was really hoping to start this blog out with a bit more of a bang and report that I took down the Sunday Million (the biggest sunday major), but that glorious news will have to wait another week.
I will probably get in a session or two this week after work, and then likely another Sunday session. Will play some mtt's (multi-table tournaments) and probably incorporate some single table tournaments during the week called sit n goes. These are good to incorporate in the schedule since they are lower variance games than mtt's, and therefore help smooth out those inevitable downswings that mtt players experience. Unfortunately, Variance makes exceptions for nobody.
The weather in Calgary is also perking up quite nicely, so I'm getting anxious to get out and do some running, and hopefully dust off Jake (my cross bike) and get some miles in the legs soon and shed that insulation that has kept me warm all winter. Poker is fun, but putting in hours at the tables doesn't exactly carve you a six-pack. Maybe I should start doing 5 minute intervals of my Buns of Steel video when tournaments go on break. Make some cash and chisel the behind.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Welcome
Any of you who have known me for more than a day have probably found out that I am awesome. In addtion to that, you have probably found out that I love to play poker. There is more to this madness than many of you know, however.
Poker isn't just a hobby, or something I do when I'm bored. For me it's a dream. A dream to build a better life for myself, and to help others along the way who are less fortunate than most of us. It's a dream to kick the status quo and create a more exciting path.
I created this blog to keep the coolest people in my life updated on my progress. I also created it for myself, to help put my thoughts and goals into words and to help keep everything in perspective. It's a work in progress, but hopefully you find it interesting and maybe even inspiring to chase a dream of your own that's occupying a space in the back of your mind.
I get a lot of satisfaction playing poker tournaments. It takes loads of skill, patience, focus and a bit of luck to win. Whether I win money or lose money, I always learn something about the game and myself every time I sit at the tables. Poker is a revealing game, you learn a lot about your character in a poker game. In poker, as in life, there are elements you cannot control. The only thing you can control is how you react to theses elements and how you choose to move forward.
I've been fortunate enough to have some success this early in my career. After a rocky 2010, more so just in life than in poker, 2011 has been off to a great start on all fronts. Life is great, and the tournament results have followed. I've won multiple tournaments this year, and have made several final tables. My best result of the year was a 7.4K score. I've had some close calls in very big tournaments but haven't quite got it done, but the elusive five and six figure cashes will come.
I will be at it tomorrow, hitting the Sunday tournament schedule harder than Charlie Sheen hits a hooker. For those who don't know, Sunday is the biggest poker day of the week. Many special tournaments referred to as the "Sunday Majors" are hosted online and offers the best chance at poker glory. March has started out on a bit of a downswing, so hopefully I will ride that out tomorrow.
On a less fortunate side note, tonight will be a low point in my life. This is not easy to talk about, but in the wake of defeat in a cycling related bet, I will be wearing a Canucks jersey to the Saddledome tonight. A game in which I had to buy tickets to. Hopefully this doesn't throw my game off too much on Sunday. Sean, you suck.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
Poker isn't just a hobby, or something I do when I'm bored. For me it's a dream. A dream to build a better life for myself, and to help others along the way who are less fortunate than most of us. It's a dream to kick the status quo and create a more exciting path.
I created this blog to keep the coolest people in my life updated on my progress. I also created it for myself, to help put my thoughts and goals into words and to help keep everything in perspective. It's a work in progress, but hopefully you find it interesting and maybe even inspiring to chase a dream of your own that's occupying a space in the back of your mind.
I get a lot of satisfaction playing poker tournaments. It takes loads of skill, patience, focus and a bit of luck to win. Whether I win money or lose money, I always learn something about the game and myself every time I sit at the tables. Poker is a revealing game, you learn a lot about your character in a poker game. In poker, as in life, there are elements you cannot control. The only thing you can control is how you react to theses elements and how you choose to move forward.
I've been fortunate enough to have some success this early in my career. After a rocky 2010, more so just in life than in poker, 2011 has been off to a great start on all fronts. Life is great, and the tournament results have followed. I've won multiple tournaments this year, and have made several final tables. My best result of the year was a 7.4K score. I've had some close calls in very big tournaments but haven't quite got it done, but the elusive five and six figure cashes will come.
I will be at it tomorrow, hitting the Sunday tournament schedule harder than Charlie Sheen hits a hooker. For those who don't know, Sunday is the biggest poker day of the week. Many special tournaments referred to as the "Sunday Majors" are hosted online and offers the best chance at poker glory. March has started out on a bit of a downswing, so hopefully I will ride that out tomorrow.
On a less fortunate side note, tonight will be a low point in my life. This is not easy to talk about, but in the wake of defeat in a cycling related bet, I will be wearing a Canucks jersey to the Saddledome tonight. A game in which I had to buy tickets to. Hopefully this doesn't throw my game off too much on Sunday. Sean, you suck.
Thanks for reading.
Josh
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