Thursday 19 April 2012

Oh, Gravity

p = mv ...didn't you know?


In this magical, pseudo-parabolic blog entry, I base my entire poker existence on this simple Physics formula. Put down your textbooks, and listen up. Momentum = Mass x Velocity. Let me rephrase. In baseball terms: How much force your swing has is based upon the weight of your bat and how fast you can swing it. This is common sense. However, as explained in my last post, my brain is wired a little differently than most. To me, this same concept applies to poker as well. (Of course it does...) How much damage you can do at the table, is solely based upon two variables: Your cards and your skill. That's the magic of poker. Theoretically speaking, any random player can take on the world's best, and leave a winner. What a lucrative, yet crazy concept. If I challenged LeBron James to a dunk-contest, I would be defeated before I had laced up my shoes. If I challenged Alex Rodriguez to a HR-Derby, his 'mv' spits in the face of mine. However, if I sat down with a player like Daniel Negreanu or Tom Dwan I'm only one bad-beat away from potentially defeating "The Best". One run of great cards, and I'm a legend-killer. While both poker pro's skill may be heaps above mine, if I catch the right cards at the right time, skill quickly takes a back-seat. However, in an attempt to keep this short, I digress...


Grinding the horrible, terrible depths of 5NL has been, for lack of a better word, humbling. Not in terms of skill, because believe me, if you want to grind a hard, but easy couple of dollars, 5NL is an ATM. What I've slowly realized over the last 3000 hands, is that patience is factor between a 500 hand winning session, and a 50 hand losing one. Hit a run of bad cards, and you've lost a full buy-in very quickly. This cost is really irrelevant in terms of money. $5. Five dollars. Fifty dimes. What it actually represents however, is 100bb, which could take a couple hours of grinding to make-up. As I write this, I lose an $11 hand, and mutter in disgust how horrible I've played tonight. (Murphy's Law?) As I figured I'd hit my miracle river, calling an all-in, it proved to be my downfall. (KQs < T8o, Tc8sTs 2d As) As my hero Arnold Snyder would say, "There's no way I could've known!"


I'd like to touch on a few influences in my poker game. There are four, and they all have distinct roles and labels: The Teacher, The Idol, The Peer, and The Protege. First and foremost, the powerhouse that created me, my tutor, and my best friend, TDO6H20G. (http://goo.gl/f33MP) I've learned basically everything I know in the poker world from him. Aside from really helping me out of a couple jams (on and definitely off the tables), I wouldn't be where I am today without him. (Atlantic City, buddy.) The Idol, the Assassinato (http://goo.gl/oLyax), is a recent find for me. While being one of the most dominating forces in the online poker world, his blog posts (which can be found here -> http://goo.gl/825cS) have really opened my eyes to the role poker actually plays in my life. My Peer, WTF_Anth0ny (http://goo.gl/4uqQS) is my driving competition. Sure, he'll argue he's mainly a live player, but nevertheless he's a force to be reckoned with online as well. We share rail after rail, cheering each other on deep in tournaments. However, as my peer,  he's not afraid to tell me when I've made a mistake, and that's greatly appreciated. (Halifax, buddy.) Rounding out my top four, might be the most important to my current poker game. The Protege. JayWhit12 (http://goo.gl/wPYRn) The idea of grinding the micro-limits was initiated by having a friend to work with along the way. He possesses clear thinking, great reading abilities (must've got it from his idol, Phil Hellmuth) and has a contagious passion for success. Where he lacks in making aggressive decisions (for now) he makes up for in making key folds at times a player like myself wouldn't. (Also, he recommended I watch "Rounders" which was a great decision) Overall, these four players have been more than helpful than anyone in my poker career. 


In closing, I'd like to set a few goals for myself over the next few days: 
- $90 profit by the end of the weekend.


- 2 hours of sweat sessions with my "Protege"
- Not play like a fucking donkey.
- Play > 4000 hands.
- Run no higher than 21/18


As promised, I won't always deliver a winning hand for "Hand of the Day". In this hand, I had a gut feeling my TPTK (top pair, top kicker) wasn't good.) Just want to say thanks again for reading. I received an ENORMOUS response from my last blog, which took me aback and really confirmed my belief in writing this blog. You all mean a lot to me. #rungood


~~~~~

PokerStars - $0.05 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com


MP+1: $5.00
CO: $6.65
Hero (BTN): $6.10
SB: $4.53
BB: $2.20
UTG: $2.36
UTG+1: $5.12
MP: $1.93


SB posts SB $0.02, BB posts BB $0.05


Pre Flop: (pot: $0.07) Hero has 8c Ac


fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.15, SB calls $0.13, BB calls $0.10


Flop: ($0.45, 3 players) 6c 8d 7d
SB bets $0.25, BB calls $0.25, Hero raises to $0.82, SB raises to $4.38 and is all-in, BB calls $1.80 and is all-in, fold


Turn: ($5.37, 2 players) Ah


River: ($5.37, 2 players) 9h


SB shows 9s Ts (Straight, Ten High) (Pre 51%, Flop 68%, Turn 77%)
BB shows 7s 7c (Three of a Kind, Sevens) (Pre 49%, Flop 32%, Turn 23%)
SB wins $5.15

~~~~~

April 18th

Net Profit: $10.51
Hands: 1461 (Impressive...)
Sessions won: 8/17 (47.06%)
$/100 hands: 14.12 (Ice cold...)



Cumulative Report:

Days: 2
Net Profit: $32.56
Hands: 1947 
Sessions won: 16/24 (64%)
BB/100 hands: 33.44


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