Feel the Fire
Sunday, September 16, 2007
If you are reading this on Google Reader, Bloglines, or some other RSS feed reader, then you've probably already seen the notes I took late last night. After realizing that I had a hot day at the tables, I decided to try to remember all of the games. The result was this crude list (which I accidentally posted and then un-posted last night):
Won two two-table $26 Token SNGs
Won two 6-man turbo SNGs outright
Won a HU Token SNG
Won 2 out of 3 other HU SNGs
Placed 2nd in a 6-max Turbo PLO SNG
Placed 3rd for $66 in a single-table Turbo $75 Token SNG
I think there may've been two other 6-man tourney wins (actually one win, one 2nd place) in there somewhere, but I couldn't find an easy way to check my games played for the day on some of the sites.
Running HOT, I tell ya, but it isn't because of the cards. Yesterday, I quite simply fell in the zone. "Fell" is the optimal word, because it sorta just fell in my lap after an early morning HU session against Veneno. But let's back up a bit.
I did close to nothing this weekend. Wifey Kim was suffering from a horrific cough all week (in fact, the last two weeks), so we stayed in on Friday and Saturday night, since she was in no condition to mingle with the unwashed masses. Friday night was poker-light. Instead, I spent most of my time watching Heroes with Wifey Kim, and then I eventually played two 4-player HU matches. I won the first one ($11), but lost the second ($22). Three out of four wins, and I netted only $10 or so for my trouble, but it was still a profit. After I lost, I shut down the comp, with the intention of returning later, but that later never came. Instead, I zoned out to TV and the Wii, leaving poker to cool off for the night.
The next day, wifey Kim and I met her friends for brunch literally four doors from Salami Club. Salami has gone down the crapper, in my opinion. The cash games used to be insane for the limits spread, at the time, 1/2 and then 2/5, but after a bunch of the other clubs got raided and closed, Salami moved its limits up to 5/5 and 5/10, to accomodate the rush of new action junkies and the already-insane play. Go figure, the 5/5 and 5/10 games play more like 10/20 and higher, so for a low-roller like me, Salami is an official no-fly zone, save for the cheapo $60 daily tournaments.
After brunch, we returned home where wifey Kim returned to her whooping cough. I futzed around on the computer, but didn't get to any poker until later in the evening. I decided to spread it around, and quickly lost SNGs at FT and Poker.com. I also simultaneously played a Stud MTT on PokerStars, where I bubbled 4th out of 25 or so players. When I bubbled, I had two pair, Qs and 8s, and the other shortstack called my all-in with only 9s. He rivered a King to make two pair, and I lose on the bubble. After losing, I was sorta in a state of acceptance. Part of me felt like I should be upset, but it was quieted by the other part of me that was impressed I made it to the bubble in my worst game AND got all-in with the best of it. So I still lost? Big whoop.
So, I wasn't expecting much on Sunday morning when I fired up the ole comp. In fact, my intention was merely to check emails, but I quickly got an IM from Veneno and knew that I had to strike while the iron was hot.
In case you don't know, the Heads Up Challenge 5 is currently underway. This year, I gave the mantle to Fuel55, who did a great job rounding out a solid field of 16 competitors, and upped the HUC ante by increasing the buy-in to $30/player. One of the hardest things about running the HUC are holdouts. The HUC has a very user-friendly structure. You get matched up via brackets and then you find the time to play your opponent. The hard part is getting the one or two stragglers to get in line. Go figure, the holdouts this year were none other than the founder (me) and former Commissioner (Veneno). It wasn't for lack of trying, but rather lack of timing.
So, when Veneno popped up Sunday morning, I decided that I had to get our games in. Earlier that morning, I was with wifey Kim at the hospital (her cough continued to worsen, but the doctor said it was viral), and her meds were being filled out at the nearby pharmacy. V and I called a 15 minute start time, and I headed to CVS to do my husbandly (and nursemaid) duties.
Upon my return, I pulled up a seat to the high breakfast bar, one of those places that are rarely used in our apartment. My goal was to shut everything else out. Even though V and I were only going to play cheap tournaments ($2), I knew that there was much more on the line. In past HUCs, I barely made it past the first round. Call it bad luck, call it bad play, call it whatever you want, but I had to make a showing this time around.
Fortunately, V and I have probably played dozens of HU games together. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that she is my favorite opponent because we know each other so well. So imagine my delight when I won the first match in one hand.
I had KQo, and opted to limp or maybe call her preflop bet. The flop was Q66, and I checked. She bet. I raised. We got into a raising war and at showdown, she showed a Queen with an inferior kicker. It doesn't get much easier than that.
In the next game, we went back and forth for a bit, but ultimately, my good luck was too much for V. She shook it off and wished me a congratulations and good luck, and I decided to take some time to check on wifey Kim.
A little later that day, I fired up the comp for the other tournaments. In fact, I would start a couple of SNGs seemingly every couple of hours. It was just one of those days. And while I've listed all of my wins above, I failed to mention that, aside from one HU SNG, I didn't lose anything. I was just on fire. And as I said, it wasn't the cards. I barely remember getting AA once yesterday, QQ once also, but that's about it. I won because I was in the zone, making all the right moves at the right times, including making my stupid moves (or should I say unsuccessful moves) when I had a commanding chip lead to avoid busting out.
As a result of my hard work, my FT roll is over $150, up from $20 or so early yesterday. My Poker.com roll is up over $50, from its $18 low. My Stars roll got a little boost too.
From those numbers, you can see that I was on Online Poker Life Support. Since the $3k win, I opted to withdraw my funds and return online poker back to its videogame status. I'll play above my online bankroll because playing $1 tournaments just doesn't do it for me. Instead, I'd rather take 1/3 of my roll into an SNG and try to win the damn thing, or grind out some .50/1 NL profit with my entire Poker.com roll. In the end, none of the money is real until I have it in my hands (like the $3k), and I don't want to put too much emphasis or energy into online poker.
This week, I've got an appearance at the Wall Street Game scheduled for Thursday, and I need to find time to play LifesAGrind in Round 2 of the HUC5. I'd like to be at the Mookie or the Hoy too, so keep your eyes out.
Until next time, make mine poker.
posted by Jordan @ 10:13 PM,
1 Comments:
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At 8:18 AM,
said...
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Salami is 2/5 and 5/5, not 5/5 and 5/10. The 2/5 plays just fine. Come on in and we'll take your cash.
