Vegas Countdown.

T-35 days until Vegas baby! I can't wait for the WSOP! Running bad at the Hi/Lo Stud tables on Stars yesterday and today. Oh well I will play through it. VEGAS BABY! Tony

Milestone Post

This is my 750th post on my this BLOG. Feels like only yesterday when I started writing here. The question I have for you all is where have all my readers gone? Lately less and less people have been coming here to read my drival. Where is the love? Not much going on lately so maybe that is why you all are not coming to read me here. I can't wait for the WSOP! Just 4 more weeks and thw wife and I will be there! Thanks to all my loyal readers out there. Tony

King Rag Rules

Big shoutout to my cousin Nick! He got another nice score on Sunday night winning 1K in a Full Tilt $26 Donkament. How did you steer through the mine field to end up at the final table? I'm not worthy! Do you give lessons? Ship it!! Tony

Donkday

Almost forgot to warn all my readers that Sunday is Donkday playing Poker online. Only way to win is to get your money in behind and to suck out on the river in SNGs and MTTs. Math really is idiotic on Donkday online. Remember either avoid the Donks or emulate one today! Tony

The Omaha Machine

PokerStars Tournament #157033889, Pot Limit Omaha
Freeroll Super Satellite
9000 players
Target Tournament #157033414
72 tickets to the target tournament

Tournament started 2009/04/25 10:42:00 ET


Dear AVIGANOLA,

You finished the tournament in 22nd place.

This qualifies you for a seat in Tournament #157033414. A ticket to this tournament was issued in your name. You can use this ticket to register. See Tournament #157033414 Lobby for further details.

You earned 80.49 tournament leader points in this tournament. For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/tournaments/leader-board/


Please contact "PokerStars Support" if you have any questions.

Out of 9000 players I took 22nd. I run goot. Tony

Neil's Home Game.

Played in another of our bi-weekly home games at my cousin's house. Played fine but was card dead the whole night. I bubbled in 4th but got 2 bounties for 1/3 of my buy in back. My cousin Tony owns me in this game! He gets knocked out and still owns me! He plays my other cousin's cards and just crushes me. He has a knack for re-raising me when I can't call. Also waking up with big hands when I shove all in. Last night was the usual. I play 2 hands the whole sng and knock someone out with both of them. From the button I shove A-J four handed, which looked like Aces to me last night and he once again wakes up with pocket Queens. No sweat for me when the flop comes Q-10-10 and I am like 1000-1 shot behind! Tony I am coming for you next time! Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

RIP

When I read that Justin Shronk had died it really touched me. Didn't know him personally but dying at such a young age is truly tragic. Dr. Pauly did a great writeup about his life at the Tao of Poker. No Poker and a minute of silence for the deceased. Tony

Small Online Score

PokerStars Tournament #157704955, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $10.00/$1.00
9 players
Total Prize Pool: $90.00
Tournament started 2009/04/21 18:14:03 ET


Dear AVIGANOLA,

You finished the tournament in 2nd place. A $27.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 27 Sit & Go Leader Board Points for the Earth Division in this tournament. For more information about our Sit & Go Leader Boards, see our website at http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/battle/


Congratulations!

Thank you for participating.

You know you are reaching for something positive to post when you put this on your BLOG. Tony

Bad Donkday

Yesterday Online Poker was just plain sick. I always hear my wife complaining about her bad beats Online and never believe how bad it can be. I was taking 2 and 3 outers on the river at more than one table at a time. Even my bread and butter, Double of Nothing Sit-n-Gos didn’t go well. I only cashed in three of nine, which for me is really running bad. I played in three $15 Satellites on Full tilt, got deep in all three but didn’t cash in any of them. I usually cash in 75% of these! Only bright spot yesterday was I won at low limit Hi/Lo Stud on Ultimate, around 12BBs. Other than that luckily I was smart enough to shut it down for the day, before the damage was really bad. Think I didn’t cash in my first seven Mtts/Sngs and cashed in only one of my first ten. Oh well can’t be a winner everyday in Poker, have to take the good with the bad. Also it was Donkday and historically I have run really bad that day. I will be at it again tonight, only playing what works. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Donkday

Oh my today is definetely Donkday! Just got 2 outered on the river in back to back Sit-N-Gos within 1 minute of one another. The play is just so bad today that you have to see it to believe it! Beware of the Donks/Idiots today! Good Luck you will need it. Tony

Friday

Making an Atlantic City run tomorrow. Wife and I will be playing in the Taj $120 tournament at 4:15pm. Can't wait to go! TGIF!! Enough said. Tony

What Works Day 4

Day 4 of doing what works continued last night. I again had an over 25% ROI in Double or Nothing Sit-N-Gos, winning 4 of 6 of them last night. Slowly building up my Roll on Stars, also pulled my Shark Scope ROI back to 10%. Really should have won 5 last night but again a shorty luckbox won 3 all ins from way behind. Meanwhile I am sitting patiently folding and getting anted/blinded down until I become the shorty. Really had no cards but should have cashed if he wasn’t so lucky. Ring play didn’t go too well, lost around 8BBs. My Sit-N-Gos win just covered that loss so it was a mildly positive night. This is always good being I am still clearing my huge bonus at Ultimate Bet and a decent one at Stars. I am teaching my wife to play Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. That way she can play HORSE with me when we go to Vegas in June. There are tons of small buy-in HORSE MTT the week we are there.($220-$550 at Binions, Golden Nugget, and the Venetican.) If I cash in any of them I will take a shot at the $3000 HORSE at the RIO, WSOP baby. Still debating if either of us is going to play in the $1500 STUD at the RIO. This is the event I went in deep last year and my wife came in 17th two years ago. We are both good Stud and Razz players. As you all know my best game is Hi/Lo Stud, so three legs of HORSE I’m good for. Will just play tight in Hi/Lo Omaha and pray I don’t get sucked out on in HE. I can’t wait for Vegas this year! Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Doing What Works

I have decided to give up going for the glory Online every week. Am now going to try to do what works and grind up to a real bank roll. Started it on Donkday and continued it last night. I have decided want to make a profit week after week. Last night I played in low limit Double or Nothing Sit-N-Gos on Stars. These have been my bread and butter bankroll builders. I went 4 for 6 which equates to over a 25% ROI. Actually should have went 5 for 6 being a super short stack won three all ins from behind while I was the second short stack. He then folds his small blind with 90 chips behind. I will have barely enough to cover the small blind the next hand. I have to make a stand with the mighty Q-4 sooted, was actually ahead of the buttons raise with J-10 off but IGH on the bubble. So this week I will focus on low limit Double or Nothings and hopefully move to the next level next week. As for Ring Game play I grinded it out at low limit Hi/Lo Stud on Ultimate Bet. This is like a guaranteed win for me there; also clear the ton of bonus I have built up there. Played short-handed low limit HE there also. Between the two I made 10BBs in an hour. A profit is a profit, I always say. Told myself yesterday I would make a profit and then shut it down for the night. Need to build the roll back up at Stars being the SCOOP grinded it down a lot. The wife and I both played a few events and didn’t cash in any of them. Also by grinding I will clear a bonus I have there that will help with the roll rebuild. Please remember to help me build my roll by clicking through on my Google Banner, above this post. You can click through more than once, please. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Donkday Poker

Playing Sit-N-Gos yesterday morning started out totally brutal! I got knocked out of my first four on 2 or 3 outers all on the river! A-K vs A-10, ten on the river. Pocket Sixes against pocket twos, two on the river. Worst beat of the day was all in pre-flop with A-K of clubs with a K-2-7 flop with two clubs. I am against A-Q and we are on the bubble. Jack on the turn and a ten on the river goes runner runner for the sick suck out. This BLOG isn’t about bad beats so I will not tell any more, at least not in this post LOL. From there I went on a sick run that saw me win Five Double or Nothing Sit-N-Gos in a row. Also went 2 out of 3 in $15 MTT Satellites on Full, winning two $55 seats. I quickly unregistered in both of them and now I have a nice amount of tournament dollars to invest in MTTs or Sit-N-Gos on Full. So everything is good being I made a huge swing from way down to a nice profit for the day. I have noticed that my MTT play has really gotten bad. That and I am just running super unlucky in them also. Last month losses in them pretty much wiped out all my wins in Ring play and Sit-N-Gos. Need to decide if it’s worth my money and time to go for a big score in MTTs. Maybe I was born to just be a grinder. I have a 10% ROI at Sit-N-Gos so maybe I should just play them. It’s not exciting but it pays the bills. Speaking of paying the bills please click through on my Google Banner, above this post, every click through is a grind to a check. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

SCOOP Limit HE 6-max

I played in the SCOOP Limt HE 6-max $55 event today. It was just brutal! I almost forgot how tough these Limit HE events can be. One luckbox had flopped a set three times against me when I had an overpair. Everytime I would raise my button with A-K or A-Q he would defend and either flop or river a pair. On my last hand of the tournament he turned a Royal flush against my two pairs! I really dislike these Limit HE events. Tomorrow is Donkday so I will be at it again, just no Limit HE events for me! Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Running Good, Finally

Last night was the first night in awhile that I was really running good. I played in 4 double or nothing Sit-N-Gos on Stars and had Aces twice, Kings 5 times, and Queens 5 times! Almost all of them held up, which is unreal on River Stars, usually Ace-Rag cracks Kings or Queens. I won 3 of 4 of the Sit-N-Gos and only a sick beat prevented me from winning the 4th one. On the bubble I called a short’s shove for half my stack with A-K, he had 5-8 off but rivered a five making me the shorty. I shoved K-10 shortly after that and lost to 6-9 off! Other than those two hands I can say I had a great hour of Poker. Also played a few tables of short-handed Limit on Full with a nice little profit of 6BBs. They have a great promotion running right now called take two. If you play on two tables of the same stakes you earn double the points on both of the tables. This week I picked up 1000 points toward the 24 inch monitor I have been trying to earn by playing there. I am now up to almost 80,000 points, only need around 12K more. Then I will be able to 12 table, if I so desire! Right now 5 tabling if comfortable on my 19 inch flat screen, that is without going blind, LOL. Happy Good Friday to everyone. Tony

Neil's Home Game

Played at my Cousin Neil’s home game last night. Felt I played fine but never got a big pair, actually hardly any pairs all night. First Sit-N-Go I lost a big race with K-Q vs. pocket sevens. This hand basically put me in shove mode, so I was the 2nd person out. Did much better, with meager cards, in the 2nd one. I somehow squeaked into the money. Didn’t get any cards three handed and eventually made a move with 8-5 off and the Big Blind called me with Q-J and IGH in 3rd with my buy in returned. In this Sit-N-Go my cousin Tony attacked my blinds the whole way through, especially when we were three handed. Problem was his raises were always for at least half my chips so I would have to commit myself to going all in every time it was my big blind. It was sick all night he would raise and I would fold my never ending string of 8-2, 9-4, 10-5, etc. What should I have done differently? I don’t know what I can do in a short stacked tournament. Anyone have any ideas of what to do when someone attacks your blind every time? If it wasn’t for that I would have had a chance to take the Sit-N-Go down. BTW - Tony if you read this I am coming for you in the next game! Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

WCOOP Event 11

Shout out to my wife for cashing in Event #11 of the SCOOP on Poker stars yesterday. It was the low limit version of Mixed HE 6 max. She had a nice stack before taking back to back sick beats with the 2nd best hand. She wound up only min-cashing but to me a cash is a cash. Today she is playing in the low and medium SCOOP Razz event. Being She and I are both Razz machines, she has a good chance to cash. Playing in a home game at my cousin Neil’s tonight. Look for a winning post about it tomorrow. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

He Shoots and Scores

PokerStars Tournament #150908222, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $10.00/$1.00
6000 players
Total Prize Pool: $60000.00
Tournament started 2009/04/05 14:00:00 ET


Dear AVIGANOLA,

You finished the tournament in 352nd place. A $36.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 83.02 tournament leader points in this tournament. For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/tournaments/leader-board/


Congratulations!

Thank you for participating.

Finally a cash in an MTT. Been awhile since I could say that. Excuse the Hockey cliche in the title. Happy Monday. Tony

Battle of the Planets

Been running good in Sit-N-Gos on Stars this week. I have a chance to cash in their Battle of the Planets Promo. I need to play and win in three straight Sit-N-Gos to possible cash. With me luck with that almost impossible task! As for live play it's been pretty brutal this week. Really feel like giving up on Limit HE. No Limit is such a better game, should just stick to it. Should be playing in two SCOOP events this weekend on Stars, sweat me if you like. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony

Live Poker is So Rigged, NOT

I was involved at one of the craziest hands you will ever see in Limit HE. (Also one of the biggest pots I have ever seen in $5-10 Limit, but it was a kill pot so $10-20 for this hand.) It was in a live game at Foxwoods, if it was online the “Online Poker is Rigged Crowd” would have had a field day with it. Four people limped in and a late position player raised it up. Both blinds and all the limpers saw a flop six handed. Flop was 3-6-8 rainbow and the betting got slowly capped. What I mean by slowly is that people would call then get trapped for another bet and it would get re-raised and they would be trapped again. I was one of those people that got trapped for four bets on the flop, as well as my wife. Turn brought a nine and the betting got crazy again, 5 way capped, I folded my gut shot but my wife had a pair and an open ended straight draw with her 9-7 sooted. River brought a blank and it got capped again. By now the pot was just huge, around $500 hundred. At the show down we saw three sets that all lost and a gut shot made on the turn that dragged down the monster pot! I have never seen three sets all loss in the same pot! Pocket threes, pocket sixes, and pocket nines. They all lost to 7-10 off that got trapped into calling four bets on the flop. Sick thing is he had to call 2 bets cold on the flop with a gut shot and he did. I have also seen set over set over set on the flop two times in my life of playing HE. Crazy things happen and they happen more often when multi-tabling online so get used to seeing every possible nutty thing happen. Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables. Tony