To replace chess I have decided to pursue playing poker for my enjoyment and satisfaction. I plan to use the savings I have accumulated during my 4 month SE Asia trip (under budget by $1850). So my goal in playing is not to make money as an end in itself, but to play poker as long as possible with a starting poker fund of $1850. I might last 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year, luck and my decision making will determine the outcome.

Played my first session yesterday, playing in the $130 buy in with 10,000 chips. There were 28 entrants and I got knocked out in 7th, not a bad start. An hour before the tournament started I sat down in a $1/$2 NL game and bought in short because I have discovered from past experience that I tend to run badly when I first sit down at a table. The bad run could continue for the entire session or turn around after a couple of hours but the first hour is usually bad news for me so by buying in short I minimize the damage of bad beats and bad cards. True to form I did not have a single playable hand for the hour I played so my losses were minimal, -$23. To contrast my run of bad cards with others at the table, a man sits down and his first hand is dealt AA. A young white man within a span of 15 minutes wins over $250 in 3 hands, in those three hands he flopped a set of 7's, flopped a set of 3's, and flopped top two pair. When I see things like this, how one person gets a spectacular run of cards, while my own hands are 10 3, J 2, & 9 4, never seeing a pocket pair or even an A, it makes me think it is this unpredictable, mystical side of poker which fascinates me. I don't mind getting bad cards while others are getting great hands, I just make the decisions that are appropriate to my own card fate and live with it, accepting the inevitable.

Not being surprised by my run of bad cards in the cash game, I was, however, confident that even if I had bad cards in the tournament I would have decent odds of doing well because past experience has shown that tournaments tend to be a blessing for me because I have cashed with a better than average percentage.

The tournament was a continuation of my run of bad cards but I was patient and waited while I watched others flopping sets and getting high pocket pairs. I was not complaining to myself, though, because some of those high pocket pairs were losing to inferior starting hands thus crippling some of the players while I myself simply blinded off a thousand in the first hour.

I made it to the first break and was happy about that, I believe I played 2 or 3 hands, all from the small blind in limped pots. My main goal in any tournament is a simple one, to last as long as possible, if I am successful in lasting a long time then it gives good chances to place in the money.

After the first break I found pocket 10’s and raised from utg +1 and my image of not playing any hands convinced everyone to fold. I was continually counting my stack size and was surprised that I was still close to the starting point of 10,000. I found AK unsuited in the big blind and the hijack min raised to 400 and I decided to end the hand by raising all in because we were still early enough in the tournament where I do not want to play big pots post flop with a drawing hand, if I raised to 1200 and he called and I miss the flop I’d be out of position and I either give up or pray he hit nothing and c-bet and if he calls I just lost half my stack. Not wanting to face this situation an all in raise would net me 700 chips with little risk, the odds of him having KK or AA being small due to his raise sizing and position so I knew there was little chance of a call and the player was not happy about my all in raise, he started talking and complaining about it and wondered why I would bet that much and I knew then it was the right play, people get angry with bet sizing when it puts them out of their comfort zone and forces them to lose a bit of control of the situation and as I took in the small pot he showed A6 unsuited and after this I had gotten into his head, someone who seemed timid had shown a propensity for high risk and he had no idea what to make of me.

After more folding I was down to 6000-7000 chips in the big blind and when it folded to the small blind she raised to 1200 and I looked down at QJ unsuited and decided to move all in due to my stack size dwindling and the current size of the blinds, the older woman hesitated for 30 seconds and decided to call and showed A10 off suit, which was good for me because I had live cards and I got lucky when a J hit on the flop and it held up for a double up and now I was set for while.

I made it to the second break with about 20,000 chips and soon after was at the final table and ended up busting out to the big stack when I had pocket 10's and he had pocket Q's. I believe I made my only major mistake by calling his all in bet. I raised from UTG to 5000, leaving me with 15,000 chips, not very much, but still relatively healthy in comparison to the other remaining players, and when the big stack raised me all in from the hi jack I knew he had me beat with a bigger pocket pair or was equal to me with AK, either way I was not going to be in great shape and I miscalculated my stack size and decided since I had already put in 5000 I was committed to call because I might not see a hand better than 10 10 for a long while, but since I knew I was beat the right decision should have been to fold and wait for a better spot to get my chips in. I did not suck out and I was thus out in 7th place, I felt good about my performance and loved the intensity of playing once we got down to 14 players, the energy level of the game was high and this is why I like tournament poker, cash games do not have a comparable sense of rising tension.

Starting Bankroll - $800

03/21/19 $130 buy in Tournament
Result – 7/28 - $0
$1/$2 cash game -$23 loss

$800 – 130 – 23 = = $647

Session 2

Took the shuttle to Hammond and contemplated playing in the $320 buy in bounty tournament but the entry is too high relative to my poker funds so I decided to sit in a $1/2 game for a few hours and ended up +$51 for the session. My string of poor cards continued but I did have 2 big hands which netted me wins for my small session profit.

In the first hand I had AA in the small blind and decided to call a $10 raise from the button to disguise the strength of my hand because if I 3-bet the fact that I was playing few hands would probably fold everyone out, MP calls and original raiser calls. Flop comes A J rag I check MP bets $10, button min raises to $20 and I call and MP folds. Turn brings a J so I fill up with a lock on the hand, I check, button bets $20 I call. River a blank I bet the rest of my stack, $38, button reluctantly calls and shows AQ so I double my stack and that is why I ended up $51.

Second hand I called a $7 raise from middle position with J10 unsuited and flop top 2 pair but the board is all spades, I call a $10 raise with 2 others, turn bricks and it checks around, river brings another 10 so I fill up and lead out for $25 and get no callers. Other than those 2 hands it was slow going, other than the AA I had 88 twice, 55 once, no flopped sets.

The hand which caused the most intensity was when I picked up AK unsuited utg and raised to $8, it folded to the button who 3 bet to $24. The button was a young man who looked competent and aware so he knew I would not be raising utg light, which meant he was likely 3 betting with a strong hand. Blinds folded and I had to decide how to proceed, at this point my stack was $175 up from a starting stack of $75, button had me covered so I knew I might be playing for my stack with this hand. I took my time and had to decide first if I should raise, and if so, how much. The absurd idea of pushing all in flashed into my mind and I dismissed it quickly, I would be risking $175 to win $20, not a good strategy. If I raised to $65 I would be left with $100. If button calls I am out of position and if no A or K on the flop and I check I will get the pot taken from me and if I c bet most of my stack would be gone. I did not like the option of raising and folding did not seem correct although maybe a fold with AK out of position against a competent player who was holding a strong hand may have been fine. However, I decided to call the $24 and saw a flop of J 5 3 rainbow. I took my time and studied the board, if I checked to quickly it may give the button confidence to c bet with a hand like AK or AQ, by going slow I give the button time to sow seeds of doubt in his mind, after checking the button checked and we saw a turn of the A of spades. I hit my card and decided to lead for $35 and the button called. If the button were to re-raise I had decided to call but fortunately the pot was not getting overly bloated and I still had over $100 in my stack. The river was a 3, so I now had AA33 with a K kicker, a strong hand and I guessed the button was holding AQ or AK with a slight possibility of a monster JJJ33, I decided to check so as not to get re-raised for my entire stack and was willing to call off a large river bet and after the button bet $60 I called with the idea that we were most likely chopping and the button showed AK for the chop. He gave me a slight smile and I was relieved not to have lost my small profit for the session and soon after left to go home.

The way I ran today is average for me, my wins are usually small and I have to know when to quit when I am running bad so that my losses remain on a similar level to the wins, I do not want to be what Tommy Angelo calls "a player who eats like a bird and ****s like an elephant." So the small win feels good because it increases the poker funds and allows me to play another day.

I plan to play the $130 buy in tomorrow if my energy is good. Felt sleepy at the table today, probably because I woke up at 5:00am and walked 6 miles along the Lake Shore Path

03/22/19
$1/$2 cash game +$51 gain
$647 + $51 = $698

Session 3


My Lucky Card Protector
(a gift from my airbnb host in Chiang Mai)

Hard to believe I have had a tournament success so soon, I placed in a 3 way tie for 1st this afternoon out of 67 entrants and won $1588, after subtracting the tournament fee of $130 and the $23 dealer tip and the $20 bubble boy fund, I won $1415 profit which I can add to my poker fund.

Tournament started at 12:15pm and I collected my prize at 6:30pm, which is a perfect amount of time for poker play, any longer and I tend to get sluggish and my body rebels from sitting too long.

The tournament started out normal for me, lots of folding and watching others gaining big hands, although in the first 90 minutes I picked up AK 3 times and ended up losing a 2000 chip pot with it early on so I had to be careful to conserve my chips after that, no cold calling raises with speculative hands. The third time I picked up AK there were 3 limpers before me so I decided to shove all in for 7500 and pick up their chips so that I could get back to 10,000 with little risk, everyone folded so my plan worked and it felt good to be back at the starting chip point.

Soon after I picked up AQ in middle position and called an utg raise for 500, the utg raiser was a guy I played with 2 days ago and he likes to play many pots, limping and raising with a wide range of cards, had I known it was him who raised utg I would have 3 bet but he had just been seated a few hands before and I did not realize who it was so in one sense it was a mistake, but it worked out in my favor because if I 3 bet he would have surely called and that would have been very bad because he raised with 5 7 suited and flopped the nut straight so I would have lost more than 500 chips. The player with 5 7 loves to talk and he had a table mate who complemented him so there was constant poker banter going on and of course I mostly remained silent but that type of table dynamic can be tricky to navigate because people who get into pots with the talkers usually join the conversation and because I play very few hands early in a tournament I was one of the few at the table who was not participating in the poker talk. I tried my best not to let the social isolation affect my positive energy or my strategy to play only good starting hands. It can be easy to fall into a strategy of seeing many flops so that I can fit into the table dynamic but I was good about staying in my comfort zone and thus I was pretty much invisible for the first 2 hours of the tournament.

The first major hand I played I was dealt KK in late position and made a standard raise, the small blind 3 bet and I knew he was strong because I had not seen him get out of line but with KK it was an easy decision to push all in and after a few moments indecision he called off his stack and he showed down AQ....

Before going into flop details I want to mention that for the past year I have had the recurring thought as follows - "whatever I fear will be drawn close, whatever I desire will be pushed away", this is a pessimistic view of reality but it resonates with my experience so throughout today's tournament that thought was a constant refrain during especially stressful hands where I found myself drifting into desire or fear - desiring a certain card or fearing a card which would help an opponent - after repeating the refrain my mind and emotions flow into acceptance of external outcomes rather than trying to influence them in some kind of peripheral way. Whatever card comes so be it and it was liberating emotionally to be able to accept the whimsical decrees of the poker gods.

...and so I went into acceptance mode, fear and desire in the background of memory and I dodged the ace and almost doubled my stack to over 20k. I should mention that before getting the KK the talkative guy was transferred to another table and this helped me to relax a bit. Certain strong or negative personalities appear to have the ability to influence not only the outcome of the cards but also the decisions people will make and when I notice such a personality influencing my decision making in a negative way I have to struggle to retain balance and control.

Just before the table broke I was in the big blind with Q9 clubs and there were two limpers so I let the action go and the flop was a good one for my hand, 2 clubs and I paired my 9. Not knowing the ranges of my opponent's hands I decided to bet out hoping to take down the pot without resistance but the small blind, who checked to me, re-raised all in. He had around 7000 chips so if I called and did not improve (I guessed that I was behind but that my outs would justify a call) I would still have over 10,000 chips so I called and the small blind shockingly showed down AA, I can see why he played it the way he did, he was trying to trap and disguise his hand so that someone would overplay a single pair but my hand was better than that and after the cards were shown the table chastised the guy with AA saying he should have raised pre-flop because then I would have folded and when the turn brought another 9 and the river a blank, my chip stack was now close to 30k.

When the table broke we were down to 27 players and within a few hands I was on the button with A10 offsuit and when it folded to me I raised and both blinds folded but the small blind was a man with a very strong personality and he loved to talk and appeared to enjoy verbal confrontations, both for enjoyment and for the chance to get into the head of his opponent, a sort of sophisticated poker trash talker, and as I was scooping the blinds he said to me "so what, you know how to play poker, congratulations", in a manner which was subtle with anger and contempt. I have been practicing to always keep a neutral expression on my face, never to express any type of negative emotion with facial features, so I showed him my A10 as a way to break down the perception that I was simply raising to steal the blinds and said nothing and expressed nothing. I stayed in my own head and decided I would try to avoid playing hands with him due to his large stack size and my experience of getting burned with bad beats when I play head to head against a negative/strong personality and for the rest of the tournament I was fortunate not to play any large pots with him.

After an hour I looked down at AJ offsuit from utg and decided to raise, hoping my image as only showing down strong hands would make everyone fold but a player in middle position called and the big blind called, the flop came down 9 5 7, all diamonds, and I took another look at my cards and saw that I was holding the A of diamonds so when the small blind checked I put out a raise, middle position folded and the small blind announced call but appeared to be intending to raise all in because he had only 5000 behind but the verbal declaration forced him to just call my bet, the turn brought another diamond giving me the nuts and the small blind checked and I bet enough to put him all in and the small blind did not look like he wanted to call but realized with only 5000 behind it was practically forced, I noticed his hands trembling when he reached for the last of his chips and he turned over JJ and the guy to my left, the strong personality, gave advice to the small blind "you should have shoved pre man, he would have folded AJ," which was true but now he was drawing dead and I scooped a nice pot and my stack was now healthy at 45000 chips, slightly above average.

Thirty minutes later I am dealt AQ offsuit from the cutoff and raise and the small blind goes all in, a guy I played with two days ago who crippled my stack when I held QQ and he shoved all in preflop with 67 offsuit and ended up making a straight. He told me on break that I was unlucky with all-ins as if it was definitive so he must have been feeling confident when he shoved all in because if he could beat my QQ with 67 offsuit he surely could beat me with his 10 10 but his theory of me being an all-in loser did not hold up because I flopped a queen and won a healthy pot and now had over 80,000 chips as we went to the break.

Soon we were down to the final table and the tournament paid seven players. I was in good shape with over 100,000 chips so I had a decent chance to make the money. When we reached eight remaining everyone put in $20 to pay the bubble boy, who would be the next person to bust out, and soon after we paid the bubble boy and it felt good to be in the money and it felt even better to look down at 2 black aces. I raised from middle position and the button, who had the same amount of chips as me, called, as did the big blind. The flop was A 9 3 rainbow, I flopped gin and after the big blind checked I studied the board for about 10 seconds and decided to check. Without much thought the button announces all in and I can't think of a better feeling in poker when someone shoves all in while I am holding the nuts. The big blind folded and when I insta called the button, who was a confident and competent player, knew that he had made a big mistake and it was confirmed when he showed down 10 10, someone said they held a 10 so he was drawing dead and I was now close to being the chip leader with 250,000 chips.

I was able to ride out the ups and downs of the final table without too many losses and when we were down to four players I raised from utg with 88 and the big blind, a successful tournament veteran, shoved all in. If I called and lost my stack would be cut in half and I may end up going out in 4th but I decided that I was most likely a slight favorite and was willing to gamble with 88 and was pleasantly surprised to see him turn over 66 and my 88 held and I was now chip leader with 3 players remaining.

After 20 minutes I lost a bit of my stack and all 3 of us were fairly equal in chips so we decided to chop for the 3 way tie for 1st.

A great day for me, I was lucky, played competently in most instances, and had a lot of fun.

It feels nice to have a big bump for my poker fund, the goal is not to make money from poker but to play for as long as I can and today's win gives me the opportunity to extend my poker playing days - thanks to the Poker Gods for looking favorably upon my efforts today.

03/23/19
$130 buy in Tournament.
Result – 1/67 - $1588
$698 -130 – 20 – 23 – 3 + 1588 = $2110 ($20 bubble fee/$23 dealer tip)
Total fees - $170
$1/$2 cash game -$3 loss

Session 4

Played a $100 buy in today and made the final table but was knocked out 10th, 3 away from the money. Had very few playable hands during the final hour of play and I had to shove 5 7 suited with 26,000 left with blinds at 6000 3000, could not spike a 5 or a 7 and after 5 hours of play it is tough to get up from the table with nothing to show for all of that play but still a very fun time. Am exhausted, similar to how I feel after a tough tournament chess loss. Have to shake it off and come back another day with positive and fresh energy.

The most noteworthy hand was during the 2nd hour of play I had 2 red aces in early position and raised to 800 and the button and big blind called, The button was an older fellow who won first place in the recent main event at Hammond for a 6 figure score. Flop came Q 7 4 with 2 diamonds. I bet 2500 and the button called, big blind folded. Turn brought the 10 of diamonds and I decided to push all in. The button thought for 2 minutes before deciding on a call with KQ offsuit, no diamonds, so I was in good shape and when the river brought a 4th diamond I doubled my stack and knocked out the main event champion.

Was planning to play tomorrow but will have to see how my energy is because I may not be able to recover quickly after today's good run but tough loss.

03/26/19 $100 buy in Tournament
Result - 10/64 - $0
$1/$2 cash game - $2 gain
$2110 – 100 + 2 = $2012

Session 5

This afternoon I participated in a $100 bounty tournament, no real hands of note, I was card dead most of the time, won no bounties, and lost my final hand when I had AQ suited to KK. I busted out somewhere in the middle. Also lost $52 in a $1/2 cash session while waiting for the tournament to start.

Have not played much the past 2 weeks because I had a job offer which I was going to take but at the last moment decided it was not a good fit. I played two undocumented sessions, a $130 tournament with no cash and a pure $1/2 cash session (not waiting to play for a tournament) and lost 1 buy in ($200).

04/13/19 $130 buy in Tournament
Result - 15/30 - $0
$2012 -130 = $1882

04/17/19 $1/$2 cash game -$200 loss
$1882 – 200 = $1662

04/18/19 $100 buy in Tournament
Result - 25/50 - $0
$1/$2 cash game -$52 loss
$1662 – 100 – 52 = $1510

Session 6

Today I rode the 2:00pm shuttle to Hammond with the plan to play a pure cash game, no tournament for me today because it is the Friday $320 bounty, I'd love to participate but the entry fee is too high relative to my poker funds.

Played 3 1/2 hours of $1/2 and had the typical start, losing $40 when I flopped a pair of aces with a 10 kicker, not a great hand but called down to the river to see my opponent turn over pocket 9's for quads.

The rest of the session was 95% folding, I had pocket aces once and I folded those pre because I was in the small blind and chopped with the big blind. Had KK once and an A on the flop forced me to fold. Other than that not much happened and my chips dribbled slowly away for a $90 session loss.

If my energy is good tomorrow I hope to make it back to Hammond for the $130 deep stack tournament.

04/19/19 $1/2 cash game $90 loss
1510 – 90 = $1420

Session 7

Took the shuttle to Hammond and played in the $130 deep stack. I started out decent enough, running my chip stack to 16,000 before the first break, then to 20,000 by the second break. When blinds were 400 800 100 I raised to 3000 utg with 10 10, had one caller from MP, an older fellow, and when the flop came 4 4 2 I bet out 7,000, leaving ~9,000 behind. I was surprised when my opponent moved all in. When I asked how much it was for he answered "only 2500 more" which made calling an easy decision, however just as I was about to put in the extra 2500 the dealer corrected the total and said the amount would be 9500 more, which would put me all in. As I thought about this my opponent flashed one of his cards inadvertently, a black face card. That made my decision more difficult because it appeared my opponent was begging for a call by claiming I only needed to put in 2500 more, and by seeing that he held a face card he was either going all in with AK, AQ, or AJ, or had a higher pocket pair than mine. I eventually decided on a fold because I still had 9000 left and I put the odds of him bluffing with no over pair at less than 50%. I decided to table my 10 10 to see if he would show but instead all I got was a shocked reaction from the table, one guy saying "you folded the best hand". I am not so sure I did with the information which was available but maybe I did make the wrong play. Maybe I should have shoved all in instead of betting 7,000, eliminating the possibility of getting bluffed. A few hands later someone with the same amount of chips as me pushed all in from early position and I was holding AJ suited so I decided to go with it and was happy to see my opponent holding A9 off suit, but my day came to an end when he turned a 9.

I also got burned with AJ in the cash game which I played for 30 minutes before the tournament started. I limped in from early position and the button, a guy who had a monster stack of almost $2,000, raised to 18. Seeing I only had $40 in my stack (I buy in short when starting a session due to a past history of running bad during the first hour of play) and the odds favorable that my opponent was out of line due to having so many chips and having the button, I decided to raise for the rest of it and the button of course called and after the run out I did not improve and the button showed 2 6 suited, winning the pot when a 6 hit the turn.

So an interesting and fun day regardless of a little run bad and also a questionable/poor way of playing 10 10 late in a tournament. I plan to take at least a seven day break because playing poker is exhausting, similar to how I feel after a 5 round weekend chess tournament where I need to take a long recovery time to reestablish health and good energy.

04/20/19 $130 buy in tournament Result – 30/75 - $0
$1420 – 130 – 66 = $1224 $1/$2 cash game - $66 loss

I'm enjoying the journey. GL

Best of luck sir! It seems many of us poker players were former chess players. I think the same logical/strategic mindset will help you in both games. Although unlike chess, you have to accept that bad beats will happen far more often. Bad players will win pots against you constantly, no matter what you do. So you can't stress too hard about it.

I shall follow this thread.

Session 8

Had a few weeks of no poker, in the interim I have been studying chess for no reason other than to continue my quest to understand the game on a deeper level. This is what my current study looks like for a daily session -

Read First Steps : Caro Kann (Martin) -
g27 Leache/Nieto; g28 Stefansson/Zuniga
Read How to Learn From Your Defeats (Karpov)
Karpov/Korch g21 1978; Korch/Karpov, g27 '78
Read Chess Scandals (Edmondson) -
g28 Spanish/open variation
Read Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces,
g10 Salwe/Rubinstein

Yesterday i felt the hunger for playing in a poker tournament, that is what I was waiting for so today I took the shuttle to Hammond and bought in to the $130 deep stack. As usual I sat down at a $1/2 table for 30 minutes before the tournament began, I usually buy in for the minimum of $50 due to past history of running bad during the first hour of play but for strictly intuitive reasons I decided to put $100 on the table. Early on I called a $10 raise from the cut off with AQ offsuit, the button raised to $45 and the initial raiser folded. By this time my stack was around $85, I could not justify a call because if I missed the flop then what, fold to a cbet or shove and pray? I decided I felt most comfortable putting all of my chips in pre-flop so that I would get a full run out, and while I knew the button would not fold I thought I might be up against a medium pair, when the board ran blanks for me I was ready to muck but when I looked at my opponent he announced AQ so I had a relieving smile as I was fortunate to chop with A high. A few hands later I called a $10 raise with 77 from early position, I was shocked to see a flop of 74A with 2 spades. The pot was 5 ways and I decided to call a $20 raise with 3 others calling, I was not too concerned about a spade hitting, I'd rather risk the flush hitting than scaring everyone out of the pot with a 3-bet, turn brought the 4 of spades, a perfect card, I checked to the button and he bet out $25, big blind calls off her remaining $20, and early position calls, I decide to put in my remaining $60 and unfortunately both the button and early position fold but I had an easy win against the big blind and scooped a nice pot, doubling my stack and I soon cashed out for a $122 win.

The tournament started out decent, I flopped 2 sets early, 9's and 8's, and was able to maintain a stack in the 13-16000 range until just before the second break. With blinds at 400/800 it folded to the small blind and he shoved his stack of 6500 into me, I looked down at A10 and it was an easy call, he showed J5 offsuit, a guy next to him says "I folded a J", flop comes JJ5 and I'm drawing dead. When I returned from break I had 9500 chips and was able to get 2 shoves clear to pay me the blinds and with a stack of 12000 and blinds at 800/1200 I shoved with KJ offsuit from middle position with 8 players sitting at the table, button calls with AJ and I can't hit the K and I am out 17 from a small field of 34. Disappointing result but a fun day which cost only $8.

Not sure when I will play next, will probably continue to study chess during the week and return to Hammond on random weekends.

5/11/19 $130 buy in Tournament. Result – 17/34 - $0
$1224 – 130 + 122 = 1216 $1/$2 cash game - $ +122

Session 9 - Preview

The Horseshoe Hammond is having a WSOP Warm-up Series starting this week and I plan to play in my first tournament which has 30 minute levels. Stacks start at 15,000 chips and the buy-in is a reasonable $220, there appear to be multiple flights, Day 1A - Day 1F, I am not sure if people who bust out of Day 1A can re-eenter on other days, even if this is allowed I only plan to enter once. The tournament starts on Wednesday and Day 1-F is on Friday.

I may play tomorrow's $60 tournament, I don't prefer fast structures and low starting chips (6,000) but since I am feeling the poker hunger there is no reason not to play. I recall playing in a fast/small Bally's tournament in 2014 which had a similar structure and I ran hotter than any time before or since. Picking up pocket AA 3 times, hitting sets and flopping 2 pairs (I scored 1st place). At that time I was playing full time in Vegas and my cash sessions were stone cold but whenever I entered a random tournament I would run hot. I cashed in 2 free rolls and also made a final table in a 100+ field at the Venetian, the tournaments are what kept my bankroll going and now a few years later I realize that tournaments are my forte, I seem to have good instincts for the format and my luck runs hot more than cold, whereas in cash I run cold more than hot, so I have to follow the lead of circumstance and do what brings positive results. Having already cashed 1st place in a tournament last month circumstance still appears to favor tournaments over cash games so that is where my focus will be and I love the intensity of tournaments and there is no chance of playing longer than I should (at yesterday's cash game session when I first sat down the player to my left said "welcome to the twilight zone", and he later told me he had been playing 22 hours straight) and when I bust out I am content to go home because I have no desire to jump into a cash game which has a lower intensity level.

One thing I like about chess tournaments is I can sit in a room filled with hundreds of people and there is no talking, I can't think of many places or situations where that kind of behavior is tolerated. In 2015 I did meditation training at a Zen temple and it encourages silence but in most situations where people gather there is a desire and expectation for conversation and in a poker room people of course are there for the thrill of possibly winning money but the majority also like to talk and hear jokes and stories and discuss sports. I don't mind listening but my focus is always on the action of the game, it is why I go, I like to see how people react under the pressure of having to make an important decision which could win or lose hundreds or thousands of dollars. I become mesmerized by the action, like watching a game 7 NBA playoff game, the give and take, the coaching strategy and how the players react at critical moments, who cracks and who stands strong. I can sit and watch this action for 4 or 5 hours and be content to not say anything other than to make a random remark about a particularly exciting hand. The other players can usually tolerate this silent behavior but I have enough awareness to realize that if the table is filled with too many like myself the more outgoing and extroverted players tend to get cranky and bored. While there is nothing I can or will do to alleviate a players boredom, it seems to happen more often in cash games than tournaments and this is another reason why I like tournaments, the time pressure, similar to the pressure of a chess game, causes a player to focus more on the game than on external factors such as the ball game on tv or the discussion about someone's upcoming vacation. At a tournament I played in last month I was at a table where everyone was focused on the action and there was little talking, until one player said "I have never seen a table like this, not a single ****ing person is saying anything!" He was sitting to my direct left and I had to laugh to myself because if he liked to talk it was a bad beat to be seated next to me, nobody replied to him and the silence still hung heavy. I could sense that as each hand progressed and the silence continued he was getting visibly impatient and it was not too surprising to see him getting into hands which caused him trouble. He had gone on tilt because of the silence.

Not much went my way today, in the $1/2 cash game I played one significant hand, flopped a K high flush draw to go along with a pair, did not improve and that cost me $70. In the tournament I was able to quickly build my stack from 6000 to 10,000, then I stalled for the next 2 hours and I busted out when my Q high flush ran into the nut flush. The table was difficult to navigate because 2 beginners were playing, they only knew what hands beat what, although even that may be questionable because one of them called off a 3000 river bet with 10 high.

I am feeling tired so I will have to see how I feel about playing in the WSOP warmup later this week, if I can recover in a few days I will plan to play in one of the flights.

05/19/19 $60 buy in Tournament Result – 20/42
1216 – 60 – 74 = $1082 $1/$2 cash game - -$74

A couple of days ago I decided to visit the Hammond Horseshoe to check out the WSOP which is in town for a tour event. I was planning to play in the normal $100 daily but was told those won’t be running during the series, so I sat at a $1/2 table for 15 minutes and won $119. I decided against jumping into the $400 event #1 because I no longer have a poker roll and $400 is a bit steep for my budget so I came back to the Horseshoe today on the 10:30am shuttle and sat down at a $1/2 table unsure if I would register for the one event I can afford, the $250 double stack. After 2 hours sitting at $1/2 I racked up for a $111 win and decided to use the $230 winnings for the double stack tournament. I had a couple of hours to blow before the 5:00pm start so I took a walk on the Whiting Lakeshore pathway which helped to clear my mind and steady myself for a hopefully deep run in the tournament.

During the walk I realized I was about to fulfill a poker dream I have had for the past 10 years, which is to participate in a WSOP tournament. Granted it is not In Vegas, but a circuit event is good enough. I was feeling at ease because I would be free-rolling the tournament with my cash game winnings. This viewpoint allowed me to start the tournament in a relaxed state of mind and willing to take the necessary risks without fretting too much over them.

Walking into the Venue ballroom at 4:55pm I observed the 680 people playing in the $400 event #1 and was struck by the near silence of the room, which was almost as quiet as a chess tournament. Cash games appear to generate more conversation, perhaps because a cash game is an endless grind whereas a tournament is finite and one mis-step can lead to an abrupt tournament death.

Speaking of mis-steps, I was rolling along slow and steady during the first few levels, hovering between 30-37,000 chips (out of a starting stack of 30,000). I was hitting a few hands every now and then, nothing of note for starting hands but post-flop I hit a set and also had a small blind special of flopping 2 pair which netted a nice gain. I then looked down at 7/8 hearts from utg and decided to raise to $1200. When I grabbed chips from my stack I had forgotten that I had readjusted the position of the 5000 denomination chips and grabbed one of those to go along with a 1000 chip so instead of raising to 1200 it turned out to be a massive overbet to 6200. When I realized what I had done I spontaneously said “oh shit”, and the dealer laughed and asked “misclick?” With the table observing I replied “yes, I admit that was a sizing mistake, but I do have a good hand”. This small fib I hoped would neutralize anyone thinking about trying to steal the pot away from me with a big 3 bet. I did have one caller so I decided I was going to bluff/barrel the flop hoping my little speech would have convinced my opponent to fold to a substantial flop bet. The flop came as ugly as can be for 7/8 hearts, K 10 4 all clubs. I studied the board and since it was likely I would be holding a king if I indeed did have a strong hand, I decided to represent it by betting big, so if my opponent was holding a lone club he was going to have to pay a steep price to see the turn. I bet 12,000 and my opponent thought for 60 seconds and then folded. I guessed he most likely was holding a middling pair with no club. I decided to show my bluff so that the table would know that I was capable of making a risky play from time to time, which might work to my favor if I picked up a big hand later in the session.

Having averted a big loss from a simple oversight I then settled in and played a patient waiting game. I was dealt A10 offsuit utg, a hand I will sometimes fold from early position but since I was playing snug I decided my image was tight enough to maybe get away with it. I had one caller and the flop came A 10 6, all diamonds. I flopped top 2, but had to contend with the all-diamond board. I checked and my opponent bet 7,000. I had 53,000 in my stack, which at this point in the tournament was an average size. I decided that my opponent most likely did not have a made flush but could very well be holding a high diamond. Calling is out of the question (for my style of play, which strives to avoid complex 50/50 bet propositions, but at the same time is willing to risk big if I decide I am likely holding the best hand)

I either have the best hand or am crushed and praying for a 4 outer, so I decided to push all in to give myself an opportunity to win the pot if my opponent folded, and if he called I was either way ahead or way behind. He took 5 seconds to call off his stack, which was equal in chips to mine. He was holding AQ with the Q of diamonds, so I was a slight favorite and held up when the turn and river bricked out, catapulting my chip stack to 110,000.

A little later I decided to run a bluff and it went to hell because you can’t bluff an opponent who flops a set of 10’s. This put me down to 60,000 chips at a time when the blinds were getting too close for comfort. It was now midnight and the tournament would end for the night after level 16, which would be at 2:00am, so my goal was to nurse my somewhat short stack back to health over the next 2 hours so that I could return the next day. I was blinded down to 53,000 chips when I looked down at KK. The UTG raised all in for 57,000, so I was happy to be calling off my stack with the second best starting hand, fortunately my opponent was getting pipped because he was holding QQ, KK held up and I was now sitting at close to 120,000 chips.

The final 2 hours were up and down, I lost 15,000 chips when I was holding JJ and had to fold to a big turn bet. I chipped up to 150,000 when I again held KK, this time in the big blind, my raise folded out 2 players, and from there I was able to bag and tag for 138,000 chips, which I believe is an average sized stack.

I am currently sitting in the casino lounge at 3:30am waiting for the morning to arrive so that I can take the 5;30am shuttle back to Chicago, grab a few hours sleep and then return to the casino for the 1:00pm day 2 start.

Suffered a bad beat this morning in day 2 of the $250 monster stack tournament. Having bagged 138,000 chips, I am now helpless to play them because I discovered that the casino shuttle would not be running due to the Chicago Marathon. I decided it would be worth it to take a cab but the one I hailed told me that the major roads leading to Hammond are currently closed. I don't do Uber/Lyft and I could think of no other way to get to the casino within a 2 hour time frame. I laughed at the joke the poker gods dealt to me, but no use getting irritated, it was my own ignorance to blame anyways. It is too bad because the high levels of a tournament are my favorite, the intensity is high and all it takes is one good hand to double up into a good standing. Having 138,000 chips my strategy was to wait for a good hand and play it strong, repeating the mantra "one double up and I am right there". Instead I am stuck in Chicago on a beautiful autumn morning - things could be worse.

To end on a positive note, while waiting for the 5:30am shuttle yesterday I sat down at a $1/2 table at 4:30am, the pots were massive, players were drunk, tired and gambling, seeing flops at any price. 10 minutes into the session I picked up KK from middle position, utg raises to $7, 1 caller, I bump it to $25, player on my left says "I was going to raise to $25, I guess I will call", 2 others call, its 4 ways to a flop of 963 2 hearts, I was only playing $100 so this is an easy spot to go all in and pray KK holds up. My all in bet made the guy on my left fold after a lengthy discussion on why he should trust me. I told him I was too old to be running high risk bluffs, he then flashes JJ as he is folding. One of the players called my all in but he only had $25 left in his stack, last player folds, turn comes a J and the entire table is having fun at the JJ guy's expense, I end up winning the $200 pot, doubling my stack, and leaving soon after to catch the shuttle.

The joke of the poker gods was more involved than I had expected. This morning before going out for my usual walk along lake I checked the weather on my laptop and by chance/fate I happened to see a link in the dropdown address window for WSOP results. During the 2019 wsop main series in Vegas I was checking updates for tournament results and the link became embedded in my address window. On a whim I decided to see if the current Hammond series posted results and I discovered this is the case and I searched the $250 double stack tournament and discovered that I had not only gotten into the money, but finished 50th place for $362. The link to my name, however, showed I was from Tennessee, so I thought that there might be a person with the same name who happened to finish in the money. I decided to cut my walk short (1 hour instead of 180 minutes) so that I could catch the shuttle to Hammond and find out who in fact finished in 50th place. When I arrived at the casino I had to wait 30 minutes for the wsop doors to open, then was happy to hear that I was indeed the person who finished 50th. I told the lady giving me the prize voucher that I was shocked to have gotten into the money without having playied on day 2. She told me that I had a starting stack (138,000) in the top 10 to start the day and that explained why I lasted to 50. I had mistakenly calculated that 138,000 was an average stack because my table mates were working the biggest stacks in the field, the guy on my left bagged 250,000 and two others were in the 175,000 range, so I was average stack for my table but high in the standings for the entire field. And so the poker Gods had decided to mute their cruel marathon joke with a positive final jest – allowing me to cash in my first wsop tournament without showing up on day 2!

edit to last entry - I discovered an end of day chip count list and saw that my initial impression of an average stack size was correct - 138,000 was 47th out of 88 players remaining, my error was assuming there were 110-120 players remaining, so it is now easier to comprehend how I folded into the money.

I have decided to play in the $150 3:00pm tournament since I am already here at the casino. I sat down at a $1/2 table for 40 minutes and won $5, now it is time to go for a lake path walk and then return to thing I love most about poker - tournament time!

Busted out of the $150 side tournament this afternoon, I lasted only 2 hours, the main culprit was losing 6000 chips with AK when an A hit the flop and I bet flop and turn and had one caller but the river brought the flush in and my opponent led out for his remaining chips, 5000 more to me, which if I called would have left me with only 5000. It was one of those 50/50 situations but my final read was either a flush or aces up, so I folded AK face up and my opponent showed the flush, which made me feel a little better. I chipped down to 6000 chips and when blinds went to 1000 per orbit I went into shove mode with any decent starting hand, picked up AQ from early position and was called by AK and I did not improve. I do not feel too bad about going out early because losing sessions and tournaments happen frequently and I was beginning to suffer from poker fatigue, too much play without enough lengthy breaks. I plan to take tomorrow off then I will decide when to return. The series runs for 6-7 more days, I am hoping to play more sessions before WSOP leaves town.

I was feeling refreshed after resuming a normal day schedule so I decided to head to Hammond in the evening to play a few hours in the $1/2 cash game. It was a lively table in betting and talking, I sat down with the minimum $50 and doubled it when I had AA and flopped top set. I then ran a bluff against the table wild man and I was surprised he folded with top pair top kicker, I needed a heart on the river to win but fortunately I did not have to try to get there as a dog. 30 minutes later I caught a flush against the wild man and this time he called my river bet, saying "I'm tired of being bluffed." I played 2 hours and won $64, with the most exciting hand being the last one before I left. 4 ways to a flop and then 4 players get it all in by the turn on a K K 4 2 board, pot was over $1000, the winner had 22 for a full house, two guys had a K, and the last player mucked. 3 players got up to leave at that moment and so I decided to call it a night.

Took the 6:00pm shuttle to Hammond today, decided on $1/2 instead of the $150 nightly tournament. I started out with the minimum, $50. I picked up AJ suited in the BB, mp raises to $11, button and small blind call, considering I would only have $35 behind if I called, and be out of position, I decided to put all my chips in, 1 caller and I lose to AQ. Rebuy for $50, that is chipped down to $25 so I decide to add $125 to put my chip stack to an average size. Not too long after I pick up AA from early position, the table was limping a lot so I figured if I raised everyone would fold, but I don't want to see a flop with 6 callers so I raise to $11, button calls and small blind 3 bets to $45. She had me covered and after 30 seconds of thought I push my stack of $141 into the middle and she tanks a bit and eventually decides to call with KK, AA holds up and I get back above water after a slow start. After 2 hours I decide to call it a night and chip out with a $78 win.