Ocean’s 11 tournaments 9/25/09, 9/26/09, 9/27/09 October 3, 2009

I flew out to San Diego to meet friends and play poker at Ocean’s 11 Casino in Oceanside CA.  The California Ladies State Championship was going on and I planned to play in not only the championship but the LIPS event and the tag team charity event.

Hubby tells me I should try one $60 satellite to the clsc and I do.  I was overtired and should have peeked at the starting chips before I signed up.  You only started with 1200 in chips but I decided I could deal with that.  I was doing okay, stealing when I needed to, playing my hands well, moving my chips around well.  It got down to 4 and the button made a move on my bb.  We were the two short stacks at the table so I felt she was making a move against me.  I had KJ sooooted and decided this was a good place to call and hope to double up.  She had Ax and it held up and I was all in in the sb the next hand and went out on the bubble.

Next day was the LIPS tournament and again I wasn’t paying enough attention and didn’t check the structure before it started.  A lesson I learned and a mistake I don’t plan on making again.  The LIPS tournament had a very fast structure, 4k in starting chips, 25 minute levels, with antes kicking in starting at 100 ante somewhere around the 5th level.  My first table held two great players and I spent a lot of time watching and learning and fighting to gather chips.  I did well at that table and when our table broke my momentum broke too.  I got moved again and I moved in with I don’t even remember what just trying to double up because the blinds and antes were so high.  I went out with 6 tables left and about a 1/2 hour later someone told me there were only 3 tables left that is how fast the structure was.

Next day was the CLSC and it had a much better structure.  5k in starting chips, 30 minute levels, and antes kicked in at only 25 and moved up a lot slower.  My first table was good to me.  Me and the eventual winner of the event spent a lot of time gathering chips and both left our table when it broke in good shape.  I got moved to a table with a few great players (not scared of them but definitely kept their play on my radar) and one card rack.  This woman could not lose a hand and eventually went on to win the most money (they did a chop) but went out in 3rd place.  I was getting short in chips and made a move on the button against the bb which didn’t end up working because she was hiding KK.  I was fine with that though, I was getting short and had to double up or go home.  Next hand I moved in with J8 and flopped two pair against card rack’s Q9 and the river brought the dreaded T to knock me out.

I wasn’t unhappy with my play though even with the move I made on the button.  I didn’t want to get blinded out and if the move had worked I would have been in position to make it deep in the tournament.  I went out about 15 before the money started but I’m not complaining because I hopped on a 3/6 table that hit a bad beat jackpot and I got a nice table share out of it.

Last day was the charity event which was a tag team event.  Half limit holdem and half limit omaha h/l.  My husband played the holdem part and I played the omaha part.  The first couple rounds we stayed around our starting chip stack (we took both the dealer bonus and add-on) of 4500 chips.  The third round hubby lost 1/4 of our stack and the next level I almost doubled our stack.  From there we slowly built a chip stack but eventually the levels went from 30 minute levels to 20 minute levels and blinds creeped up fast.

When there were about twenty left he got upset with himself, he made a bad judgement in a hand and lost half our chips.  He was hoping they’d let me finish the tournament alone because he felt if it hadn’t been for him I would have cruised to the money.  We played two more levels and then my next round up when there were 12 couples (or singles as some played both games) an even chop was proposed and we all took it and then fought it out for the trophy.  Hubby and I went out in 7th place, I thought it was cute as he was the last man standing.  He definitely felt pressured playing with all of us scary-good women poker players.

All in all it was a successful weekend.  I met so many wonderful people, I played a lot of live poker which I don’t always get a chance to do, and the whole trip only cost us our airfare because of our chop and my bad beat jackpot share.

Saturday $150 nlhe mtt at Seabrook 9/19/2009 October 3, 2009

I decided that before I went to Ocean’s 11 to see friends and play in the two nlhe ladie’s events I should play in a live nlhe mtt because it had been a while since I’d done so.  Seabrook Poker has a tournament every Saturday at 1pm, $150 entrance fee, 15k in starting chips, 30 minute levels.

I didn’t keep track of my chip stack along with the levels because they announced no cell phones out at the table at all and I normally use the memo feature on my phone.  I could have used a structure sheet to write on but I like to use my youngish naive look to my advantage and keeping close watch on how I’m doing doesn’t do anything for this.  I mostly just remember each table I was at and how I played.

There were 51 entrants to start, I had been hoping for more as I was thinking the Sunday $200 would be light on players because of the Patriots game but I was off on that thinking.  My first table was pretty soft, I was able to pick up chips using bluffs, steals, semi-bluffs, decent hands, etc.  I remember making one large laydown with JJ when a person smooth called my raise preflop and then bet out on a Queen high flop.  I had too many chips and it was too early for me to go getting silly with Jacks.  I knocked out one person with AA when they moved in with AK against me.  I also gathered some chips against a very loose female player (obviously loose in the poker sense lol) when we were in the sb/bb (me the bb) and I flopped two pair and she flopped trips and I rivered a boat…she almost blew a gasket but she gave me a free flop and bet small on the turn and I honestly felt I had the best hand at that time. When they broke my table I moved to the next table with around 31k in chips.

At this time there were 4 shortish tables left (about 35 or so players).  I had a player two to my left who I knew was a good player, he is a friend of a friend and I know he had some great cashes under his belt and mostly relied on poker to pay his bills.   I steered clear of him unless I had a hand.  The blinds were starting to get up there but I still had plenty of chips to play with until this happened.

I had AA in mid position and UTG raises 2 1/2 times the big blind (which was 500/1000 at the time).  I’d seen this player get silly with some idiotic hands so I was hoping to isolate him and take his chips.  I re-raised another 5k on top and it was back around to him (he honestly looked like he was 12 and I’m guessing he was just 18 which is NH’s legal poker age) and was unsurprised when he re-raised another 7k to put himself in and to commit a ton of my chips to the pot.  I totally expected when he re-raised that he had JJ, QQ, or KK.

He flips over QJ off and there was a collective gasp at what he re-raised me with since this was my first hand at the table since I’d sat down about 20 minutes before.  The flop came K92…dum dum dum…turn T….river blank and he’s got over 1/2 my chips in his stack.  This man to his right freaked out on him on my behalf while I just sat there silently steaming.  Two hands later I look down at K3 off and think that would be a great hand to put almost 15k in the middle with and decide I need to go for a walk.  I come back recomposed and steal the blinds every round to keep my stack even.

Eventually it is down to two tables and I’m looking for a hand to make a move with.  With 19 players left, I am in the bb with K9 of diamonds.  A player in mid-position limps (he has a ton of chips) as does the bb (who has a decent amount of chips).  The flop comes Kxx (2 diamonds on the xx).  The sb bets out a min bet and I move all in for my remaining chips (I had about 9x the bb at that time).  The big stack folds and the medium stack snap calls 3/4 of his stack with Ax of diamonds.  Turn comes with a diamond and I’m out.

I played so well this day, I really felt as if lady luck had been smiling down on me on the AA hand I wouldn’t have had to make a move with the K9 or at least would have had chips left to continue playing.  I definitely plan on playing this tournament again, it is a really good structure for me.  I had to laugh because one of the dealers saw me and was like “why are you playing nlhe, you are a mixed games player and there is an omaha h/l tournament going on and you aren’t in it”.  I thought that was cute, that he remembered I liked to play the omaha/horse/etc tournaments.

Omaha h/l mtt at Seabrook 8/8/09 October 3, 2009

I was looking forward to playing this tournament, Omaha h/l and Omaha in general is one of my favorite games.  I was hoping for a better turn out than the Razz tournament a couple weeks before.  It was a $100 buy-in and you started with 6k in chips.   There were 32 players for this mtt.

I don’t remember specific hands but I do remember a steady climb through the first break with things going downhill after.

Level 1 – 25/50 blinds and I ended the level with 6450 in chips

Level 2 – 50/100 blinds and I ended the level with 6950 in chips

Level 3 – 75/150 blinds and I’m still making small strides ending with 7450 in chips.

Level 4 – 100/200 blinds and I end with 9800 in chips.  This was a good level.  I didn’t get many good hands but I did get one scooped pot which helped a lot.

Level 5 – 150/300 blinds, win a couple high hands and end with 11,300 in chips.

(this is where the downward trend begins, I stop picking up hands and lose my way)

Level 6 – 200/400 blinds, play no hands really and end with 10k even in chips.

Level 7 – 300/500 blinds, end with 9200 in chips.

Level 8 – 300/600 blinds, end with 8900 in chips.  I’m doing a good job of hanging tight and not losing patience.

Level 9 – 400/800 blinds, end with 11,700 in chips.  I had a good level, split a couple pots.  I’m feeling good at this point and still have confidence I can win.

Level 10 – 500/1000 blinds, down to 9000 in chips just from paying blinds.

Level 11 – 500/1500 blinds (these blind levels are weirding me out lol), I pay my blinds and then get moved to a new table (2 tables left) and get moved in to the bb and by the end of the round after losing a big hand I am down to 3500 in chips.

Level 12 – 1000/2000 blinds I go out in 11th place and they do a 7 way chop a few victims later.

I played well I felt, it was only my 2nd Omaha h/l tournament.  The first time I played in one was at Foxwoods and I was the true bubble and just missed the cash and one person out of the 5 left refused to pay the bubble.  I really enjoyed this tournament and kept a good attitude throughout.  A couple of the dealers commented on recognizing me as a mixed game player which I thought was funny as I play more holdem than anything.

Razz mtt at Seabrook 7/25/09 October 3, 2009

I’d never believe that they would hold a Razz tournament but they did.  It was held late on a Saturday afternoon and the same weekend as a big event down at one of the CT casinos so it didn’t get a good draw.  There were 19 players to start with top 3 getting paid, so basically a large sit-n-go.

We started with 6k in chips and the rounds were 30 minutes if I remember correctly.  I wrote down everything on my memo on my phone except the blind length, oops.  The first few rounds until the break were eh, too many players playing and I watched my stack dwindle a bit.

Level 1- 25 ante, 25 bring in, 50/100 limits ending the level with 5450 in chips

Level 2 – 25 ante, 25 bring in, 100/200 limits ending the level with 4925 in chips

Level 3 – 50 ante, 50 bring in, 150/300 limits ending the level with 4975 in chips

Level 4 – 50 ante, 50 bring in, 200/400 limits ending the level with 4475 in chips

Level 5 – 75 ante, 100 bring in, 300/600 limits ending the level and going to break with 4225 in chips.  They raced off the green chips during break and I came back to 4200 in chips.  I’ve never gained any momentum up to this point and was hoping after break would be better.

Level 6 – 100 ante, 100 bring in, 400/800 limits and end the level with 3400 in chips.

Level 7 – 200 ante, 200 bring in, 600/1200 limits (where did 500/1000 go darnit!) and end the level with 3800 in chips.  I finally finally won a hand woohooo!

Level 8 – 200 ante, 200 bring in, 800/1600 limits ending the level with 2ooo in chips.  There are nine left at this point and this level was a very bad level for me.  I was the bring in almost every hand and it really affected my already dwindling chip stack.

Level 9 – 200 ante, 300 bring in, 1000/2000 limits and this is the level I went out in with 8 left.  I had the best hand until 7th and he hit a 75 low to beat my first five card made 85 low.  He was running well and the last card was kind to him.  After I and 7th place got knocked out (same hand) they did a 6 way chop.

This was a hard tournament for me.  I was considered to be a solid razz player and either one of two things would happen if I entered a hand.  If I raised or showed agression at all everyone would fold to me and if I slowed down and checked or called or just bet and got called I would get chased to 7th street and would lose the hand.  I just could never find a good balance in this mtt but was very happy to get to try a Razz tournament.

HORSE mtt at Seabrook Poker Room July 19, 2009

I noticed on their calendar that they were holding a HORSE mtt and that as opposed to past months they had lowered the buy-in from $150 to $100.  I was hoping it might draw a bigger crowd than I’ve noticed it had in past months but alas it was not so.  I haven’t played live poker since the end of October 2008 so I felt this would be a fun way to get back on the horse (snicker snicker).

When I signed up there were 18 other players.  I was fine with that, it’s like playing a 3 table sng.  In the first level we were up to 24 players for 3 full tables.  By the end of the 2nd level they’d added another table which I thought was weird.  40 minutes in to the tournament and they allowed a full third table to start with full starting chips.  I got over that quick though lol.

Started with 6k in chips, 20 minute levels, blind structure a bit strange but ended up working towards my style of play.  After the first holdem level (25/50 blinds, 50/100 limits) I had 7150 in chips.  Our first level of play was short handed and my play was getting respect.  After the omaha h/l level (25/50 blinds, 50/100 limits) I had 7250 in chips.  In the next level, razz (25 ante, 25 bring-in, 100 complete, 100/200 limits), I didn’t have a single playable hand until the last one and ended with 7550 in chips.

The next two levels, stud and stud 8 or better (25 ante, 25 bring-in, 100 complete, 100/200 limits) I didn’t do much of anything except pay my ante and bring-in and went to break down to 5675 in chips.  After a ten minute break we came back to holdem with 100/200 blinds and 200/400 limits.   I picked up KK in ep and raised and the guy to my left (very loose and already mentally moved on to the next tournament starting) cold-called and the blind called.  The flop came Q, 9, 2 rainbow and I bet out.  The guy to my left raised me and the bb folded.  Because of how loose this player had been playing and the fact that I know he is ready to go play in the 4pm nlhe mtt I don’t put him on a huge hand.  I feel that if he’d had a pair preflop he would have raised which he didn’t.  I put him on two face cards with a Q.  I still chose to cold call to see the turn and get a raise in there.  The turn came with a ten and I checked and he bet and I raised.

He flipped out saying that I obviously was running around with the Seabrook nuts which happens to be KJ and that I very obviously hit my straight.  He called anyway.  The river came putting 3 spades on board and I fired out a bet and he bitched and moaned for a minute and then called.  I turned over my KK and he turns over….Q2 offsuit lol.  He says that he had to call the river because there was too much money in the pot.  I say I understand but that I don’t understand why he called my raise preflop.  His answer…oh I was just trying to donkey off my chips so that I can take my seat in the 4pm tournament.  Well gee thanks for that, sigh.  After this level I am down to 2250 in chips and there are still 32 players.

After the next omaha h/l level (100/200 blinds and 200/400 limits) I am down to 1175 in chips and am feeling despondent.  One of the dealers comes up behind me with a tray and tells me I’m being moved to another table because one of the other tables lost 2 players.  He said that it’s probably a good thing for me and he feels my luck is going to turn around.  I start at the new table at the beginning of the razz level (50 ante, 50 bring-in, 300 complete, 300/600 limits) and I get down to 800 chips and I pick a hand and move in with it and double up.  Next hand I have another low to start and I get my chips in the middle with another short stack and knock him out.  I end the level with 4225 in chips.

Stud and Stud 8 or better (50 ante, 50 bring-in, 300 complete, and 300/600 limits)…I lose about 1000 chips during stud and gain another 1000 during stud 8 or better ending that HORSE round with 4400 chips.  Still struggling but managing to stay in.  At this point I honestly felt if some luck would enter my side I could make it to the money.  The next holdem level (200/400 blinds, 400/800 limits) I end with 4200 chips and we have 16 players left.  Omaha h/l (200/400 blinds, 400/800 limits) was rough for me and I end with 3100 chips (a miracle that I even had that left).

I end the razz level (100 ante, 100 bring-in, 500 complete, 500/1000 limits) around 2600 chips.  Stud hi (same antes,bring-in, complete, limits) I end with 2100 chips.  My last level was stud 8 or better (same antes, bring-in, complete, limits)and I decided I had to go now…double up or get out.  I got my chips in while holding A, 3  in the hole and had 7, 7, 3 up.  I got called by a guy with no low possibility and a pair of kings.  His last two cards, 5 and 5 to knock me out since I never improved my hand.

I lasted 15 levels, I managed to fight back after getting muckled with a full field of players still left and I’m actually very proud of how I played and of my attitude.  I only had one bad moment right after that one hand and I got myself right back together.  I felt that this tournament was a very strange but good structure for me because I was able to last a long time fighting with a small amount of chips.  Next week they are holding their very first razz tournament ($100 buy-in, 6k in starting chips) and I think I’m going to go play.

Some thoughts on my game with some results… May 2, 2009

Now that I’m not working I’ve been playing poker pretty much all day every day lol.  Okay not really but I usually have a session in the afternoon and then another one late evening.  Okay, so all day every day lol.

Anyway, I’ve been playing on ft because of the challenges I’ve been doing.  A few days ago I was reviewing my play from recent times and decided that I thought I was on my game and playing well.  I decided to deposit a little more money on ft so I could stop playing $1 and $2 tournaments (unless there was one I wanted to play) and play a little higher (I’m big on bankroll management).  So off I went depositing more money and then went off to play in my favorite $6 turbo nlhe stts that I used to play when I did have a bankroll on ft.  I soon found my bankroll severely lacking hahahahaha.  In the first two days I lost over 1/2 of what I deposited (insert D’oh here).

Soooo, off I went reviewing my notes, blogs, journal again.  I started noticing that I did well in multi-table satellites (either sngs or mtts) and I also did well in multi-table sngs.  Sooooo off I went to start plugging away at all of the above lol.  Slowly I started regrowing the bankroll I’d lost.  I won some money in some satellites (missed the seats but won some money so okay).  Funny enough all the satellites I chose to play were $1.50 or under lol…so much for needing to deposit more money (D’oh).

I decided to try a few $3 ninety player ko nlhe deepstack turbo sngs (yep say that one fast lol).  I used to do pretty well at these and usually if I made the money I’d get into the top 4 or 5 where the money was better.  The first one I tried, went out 3 before the money…second one I tried, went out 3 before the money pfffft.  Third one I tried, won 4 bounties and came in 2nd (yay).  I ended my night like that happy to have gotten back a good chunk of what I’d been losing. (see blog about this below)

Next day, tried a couple of them and one I went out three before the money (hahahahahaha).  I started realizing though that this was a good format for me.  I may not get in the money every time but I almost always won some bounties before going out and I was getting very close to the cash almost every time so I knew I was capable.  I think it is the fact that it is deepstack and when it is multi anything my patience tends to come out to play.  Last one I played last night I collected 4 bounties and went out in 4th place for a decent cash to add a bit  more back to my bankroll.

Tried one again today and went out about 20th or so but not discouraged.  I saw a satellite starting for the $200k double deuce.  It was $.75 + .15 to enter and first got a $20 + 2 seat and 2nd and 3rd got a little bit of cash.  It was a 36 player sng and was 6-handed and a shootout to boot.  No pressure there hahahaha.  I had just been saying to hubby last night that I didn’t feel I did well at shootouts.  It is so hard to come in first on your table multiple times.  Not one to shy away from a challenge though I started plugging away at the first table.

What always happens when I am involved in either a heads up match or a shootout match is my table is almost always one of the last tables to finish.  That was the case with my first table.  By the time I’d won my first table, every other table was done and waiting for me.  The last match started with 6 people so three to the money and 5 to the seat.  We started back with 1500 chips and 15/30 blinds.  The first two people went out quick, one at my hand and one at anothers.  Once we got into the money the short stack soon went out leaving me heads up.  I get in this heads up situation a lot where the prize is a seat and 2nd is a little bit of points/cash and much of the time I end up with the points/cash.

This time I just wore him down and I ended up with the $20+2 seat.  I was very proud of this win, I turned .90 into $22 in tournament dollars.  Yep, tournament dollars as I actually won’t be home tomorrow to play in the tournament.  I just wanted the shootout practice and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. On top of it all with the tournament dollars it’s brought my bankroll back up to where I started with my last deposit.  Now I can go back to trying to build my bankroll using my new thoughts about playing only multi table sngs/mtts both cash and satellites.

It’s like a roller coaster ride… May 1, 2009

The last couple of days on Fulltilt have been like a freaking roller coaster ride.  I decided to deposit a little more money on ft so that I could play higher limits as I’ve felt that although I’ve not been running well my play has been on and I was interested to see how I’d do playing in the next buy-in’s up.  Instead of $1 and $2 tournaments I decided to try $3, $5, and $6 ones.

It started out not so well…the first 9 tournaments I tried I only cashed in one and that was a 3rd place finish in an stt.  I was ready to throw in the towel but hubby wouldn’t let me.  He said just keep playing and eventually it will work out for you.

I ended yesterday down about $60 from my new deposit and was heartbroken but determined to try again today.  Again it started off not so great with the first 3 things I played in, no cashes.  The next tournament I tried was an omaha h/l satellite for a mini ftops.    It cost $1.50 and top 5 got a seat and 6th and 7th got cash.  I was chip leader with 12 players left and then I made a donkey move and lost most of my chips and ended up going out in 7th place and winning $5.75 with bounties instead of winning a $24+2 seat.

I tried another mini ftops satellite and went out 4 before the money, sigh.  This time I got it in with the best hand and got 2 outed, nothing you can do about that.   I then tried five $6 turbo nlhe stts and only cashed in one of them, $16.20 for a 2nd place finish.

I’ve also been trying the 90 player nlhe deepstack turbo ko sngs (say that ten times fast lol).  I used to do very well in these and was looking forward to trying them again.   I tried a $6 one and went out about half way through.  I tried two $3 ones and finished in 12th in both of them, missing the cash by three people but winning some bounties to make up the difference.  The last one I played was very interesting and quite a roller coaster ride.  I was determined to cash in this one.  I had AA twice, once I got all my money in just to find out I was up against…AA, sigh.  The second time I doubled through the person.  I ended up finishing in 2nd place after the turd burgular outdrew me when he called my A8 suited all-in with K7 off and hit a 7, sigh.  Overall I’m very happy to have cashed and it brought quite a bit of my lost money from the day before back into the fold.

I just need to get used to not playing $1 and $2 tournaments anymore and gaining back my confidence so I can keep moving up in levels.

Tuesday night poker on ft… April 29, 2009

I haven’t had much to write about in the last week.  I haven’t been running well and I’ve not increased my bankroll which means I’ve not completed another challenge.  I’ve just kind of been going back and forth, winning a few dollars…losing a few dollars and not having any excitement happen.

I didn’t play yesterday so decided to make an evening of it today.  I started with a couple of small buy-in satellites and did much of nothing.  I tried two $2 nlhe stts and came in 2nd in one and nothing in the other.

I played in a $.50 +.10 rebuy satellite for a seat in a $10 rebuy mini tops mtt.  I didn’t want the seat since it’s a rebuy tournament, I wanted to win the tournament dollars which would total $11 with the rake.  I rebought right away and added on as well and ended up winning $11 tournament dollars for a $1.60 investment as well as completed part of an ftops challenge they are running.

At the same time I also decided to spend 200 ft points and play in the daily dollar.  I love the fact that I can use my points to buy in to it.  It once again did not reach the 10k guarantee mark as ONLY 7018 entered haha.  After a couple of well timed double ups and well timed suckouts, I ended finishing the tournament in 268th place winning $5 for my 200 point investment.

I’m very happy with the day, I felt like I made a little progress with my bankroll and thought I played well and luck was mostly on my side when I needed it to be.

$2 nlhe turbo stts…many of them April 21, 2009

…17 to be exact.  That’s how many I played tonight in my effort to increase my bankroll by 25% which is one of the tasks in the bankroll management challenge I’ve been working on through the “ft poker academy”.  At lower limits this truly proves to be a difficult task but in order to complete the challenge you need to be using bankroll management which means I need to stay at the $2 limit for now.

Playing that many stts in an evening, you definitely come across some wacky play.  I don’t know how many times I saw AA preflop being limped with and then watching person after person move in on the flop only to come across the fact that they’ve been outdrawn on the flop.  In fact I had QJ suited in my sb one hand and there was only one early position limper and me and the bb.  The flop came QJ3 rainbow and I bet out 2/3rds of the pot only to be raised all in by the ep limper who had AA.  The turn came with a 4 and the river with another 4 and I was out of there due to a very poorly played hand that turned out in their favor.

I also went out with AA a few times with the worst being me re-raising preflop from 100 to 1100 (after 4 limpers with me only have 11x the bb) to get called by someone with 1000 chips who had 35 and watching them hit a 5 high flush on the river haha.   My favorite hand played out tonight that I saw was one I wasn’t even in.   AdKc vs QhQc…flop comes KhJc8c, turn is Tc, and river is 9c giving the QQ a straight flush vs. the AK’s king high flush when he had the hand the whole way (limped preflop and money went in on flop when QQ was behind haha).

Overall out of the seventeen $2 nlhe turbo stts that I played, I cashed in 8 of them with no first place cashes (sigh), five 2nd place cashes, and three 3rd place cashes.  For all my hard work I lost .45 for my time HAHAHAHAHAHA.  I guess I’ll have to save increasing my bankroll for another session.   With all those games played and not coming in first once I am never going to complain about virtually breaking even.

Sunday poker 4/19/09… April 20, 2009

So not every day can be the best poker day.  I was going to go play in a HORSE mtt today at Seabrook Poker but decided to spend the day shopping in Boston with hubby.  I still haven’t figured out if I made the right decision but based on tonight’s venture into online poker I’m thinking maybe today was probably not my day.

It’s not that I’ve lost a ton of money this evening, in fact I pretty much broke even,  it’s just that my play isn’t 100% and my luck is far from 100%.  I started out on full tilt (remember me and my challenges lol) with a couple satellites.  I wanted to play in the daily dollar again as I needed to complete an mtt task for the bankroll management challenge and I’d prefer to satellite in (cheap skate from heck haha).  I played in a 50 pt stt and quickly won my seat, yay.  I also played in a multi-satellite for one of the mini ftops and made it about 2/3rds of the way through the field before going bonehead and donking off my chips.

I played in the daily dollar and although I met my requirement for my challenge I didn’t make it very far through the field and went out around 5500 out of 7500.  I moved on to working towards my cash game task and got nowhere except to lose five or so dollars and get frustrated in the process.  I’ll save those tasks for a later day when I am in the right cash game mindset.

I decided to work on the “pro play challenge” which is growing my bankroll by 25% so I decided to try a matrix sng.  I did okay coming in 4th overall and making a little money.  I decided to try another one and came in 2nd overall and making a little bit more money.   I ended my night by playing in two $2 nlhe turbo stts and finished 2nd in one and 3rd in the other.

Something was just off in my poker day and I need to take some time to mull it over.  I’m realizing that the last two parts of my bankroll management challenge or going to prove to be just that…challenging.  I’m looking forward to figuring that puzzle out.