DrewFours on Poker

It's been a fun, if not short, ride!

2009-08-12T16:13:00.002-04:00

I have come to be keenly aware that maintaining this blog is unrealistic given the life circumstances I face right now. For those of you who read on a regular basis, please do not be concerned. I am well, and the circumstances mentioned all point to more positive things in the future. I just need to address them appropriately.I will be contributing in some ways to a brand new site with an

Some Ideas for Quick Notes

2009-06-11T10:14:00.004-04:00

I now believe that taking notes on opponents is critical to a consistent level of success, especially when playing poker on-line. One of the keys to making this work is to be able to make those notes very efficiently so that you don't miss any of the action!One of the first things I do when I sit at an on-line poker table is set myself up to make quick notes. Thanks to a small notepad file I keep

Note Taking...

2009-06-10T13:19:00.005-04:00

I do not read a lot. Despite being a voracious reader as a child and young adult, I find that I don't make the time to do it now. Much like setting meeting planners and regularly updating my calendar, it's something I should do, but rarely get to consistently. Another thing I've not done as well or often as I should, is keeping notes on my on-line poker opponents. Ironically, one of the most

If...

2009-05-15T09:50:00.003-04:00

If you have pocket aces in the big blind and nobody calls to see them...Do you really have pocket aces?I played the league final event last night. I had one point from before I started working there, so the GM allowed me to play. I started with one of the two shortest stacks and did fine for an hour, doubling up after I'd payed a couple rounds of blinds.Then I got stupid. Miscalculated odds, a

A Quick Observation from a Dealer...

2009-05-12T13:47:00.003-04:00

I'd seen this occasionally as a player, but have seen it a LOT more often recently as a dealer, especially with newer players; Counting outs that don't exist:If, after the flop, you believe that pairing your overcard, OR hitting your nut flush draw OR hitting your gutshot straight draw will win the hand, then you do not have sixteen outs. (Three to your over, nine to your flush and four to your

Life getting in the way...

2009-05-06T10:31:00.004-04:00

Life seems to have gotten in the way for a while. I've been so wrapped up in getting up to speed at work, looking for additional income, and finding a buyer for the house, that I've neglected the blog.I'm hoping that a daily reminder and setting up 'mobile blogging' will change that, and that it's not 'the best laid plans...'The bulk of my game has been limit 5-card-draw, and I'm continuing to

2009-04-09T10:05:00.004-04:00

Maybe someone who has been playing 5-Card-Draw longer than I can explain it...I have REPEATEDLY seen players in the small blind calling, and then drawing 4 cards, with the high card in their hand AFTER the draw being as low as a Ten. Note that these players have been at the table, and seem to be aware of draw counts, etc.At BEST, 6-handed, they're getting 11:1 on voluntary money. In most cases

Monday Morning...

2009-04-06T09:25:00.004-04:00

It's Monday morning. What more really needs to be said?Actually, a lot. It's been a good few days on all fronts:Cashed in two out of three FullTilt 180 person SnGs. At the $2 level, these play a lot like freerolls, so making it to the money is (in my mind) an accomplishment.Busted out of the live freeroll on Saturday, but I'd only done one $20 add-on. I didn't have enough to push out a smaller

Training Progress

2009-03-31T08:44:00.001-04:00

Quick update...I've been studying the procedures, and practicing my shuffle, box, cut, deal, etc.I attended last evening's training session and was told I'm now ready-to-go! Hopefully my state license will come through this week!~DrewFours"Have Fun, Be Gracious, Keep Learning, Play Your Best andManage Your Finances. You will find Success in Poker and in Life!"

Out of the Blogging loop...

2009-03-22T21:15:00.002-04:00

I've been out of the blogging loop for a bit. I've been focusing on trying to get some income going and keeping the house in condition to show potential buyers.I spend most of my time reviewing the various job sites, cleaning, and trying to figure out how we're going to pay the mortgage when the money runs out.Things are not as bad as they seem though; The freerolls I've been playing continue to

Please don't....

2009-03-11T22:25:00.002-04:00

...tap on the glass!Let the fishes swim around oblivious, at least until they don't have any more to give!$5 SnG on PokerStars this morning. About 4 orbits in, one player berates another for calling MY large re-raise, noting that I'm probably 'the most solid player at the table.'Now, I REALLY appreciate the compliment, but wouldn't you be pissed if I killed your action?!?!? Especially if I

A good couple of days freerolling...

2009-03-09T10:14:00.002-04:00

I played the Saturday afternoon freeroll at our local charity card room. 115 started, and I finished SECOND! I was playing extremely well at the first break, and most of my opponents were taking the add-on, so I did as well. It was worth it: the finish ultimately netted me more than ten times the cost.I played the best poker I ever have. I got lucky when best hands held up, and I can honestly say

Name a Poker Site, win a T-Shirt!

2009-03-04T10:01:00.002-05:00

poker.laptimes.com is looking for a name for the website. If you have a suggestion, click here to enter it!The person who suggests the winning name will win a Poker T-Shirt!~DrewFours"Have Fun, Be Gracious, Keep Learning, Play Your Best andManage Your Finances. You will find Success in Poker and in Life!"

An Experiment: A Theory Proven, but Malice Prevailed

2009-02-28T14:40:00.006-05:00

As I've mentioned in recent posts, I am actively seeking employment. All I can say is that 'Frustration' is a word used much more frequently in our little household. 'nuff said.Goddess and I have been discussing whether I'm denying my vocation. Should I be playing poker to generate some or all of my income, and how do we determine if it's worth trying to bankroll such a prospect? Can I deal with

A Little Over a Month...

2009-02-25T10:18:00.003-05:00

It's been a little more than a month now, and I am very proud of myself for sticking so closely to the buy-in guidelines that I borrowed from Daniel.I've been able to focus on my game, and really consider what is happening in the game vs worrying about risking too much of my bankroll, etc.I'm spending more time reviewing the hands that didn't go my way, and why, and that seems to be having a

Progress...

2009-02-20T08:59:00.004-05:00

Apparantly, my blog has some influence at FullTilt. Within days after my post about not being able to work my plan at that site because they didn't offer micro-limits, they went and added them. Must be me, right?So, I've been able to work the plan at both sites.Interestingly enough, my funds at FullTilt have seen some growth. I still seem to see a large range in ROI for any given session,

I am not dead...

2009-02-13T13:36:00.003-05:00

I am, however, consumed with finding employment, and that has to be a priority.I have been playing poker, with some small amount of success:Late in January, I read Daniel Negraneau's blog entry about bankroll building, and decided to try the formula myself. Considering my rolls at FullTilt and PokerStars were bith down into low double-digits, it seemed like a good time. I have tried

How to think like a Donkey...

2009-01-16T09:26:00.003-05:00

"One of the tighter players at the table is in the BB, I'll call with Q T in the SB since no one else is in the pot."OK, so maybe this isn't a bad play, but if you're the first in, why not just raise it now?"Oh, the flop is K 8 9 rainbow. I'll continuation bet 1/2 the pot.""The BB flat called, that can't mean anything.""Wow, a Q on the turn. I'm gonna bet my second pair, crap kicker.""The BB

Bad Beats

2009-01-05T11:50:00.004-05:00

What the...A dozen $5.5 SnGs over the past few days at Stars and Tilt. Nine of them busted out by a worse hand. Made straight losing to a rivered boat. Called All Ins with inferior hands that not only hit the board, but usually improve, as if just beating me wasn't enough! Oh, and the three cashes? Two of them were thirds and one was a second. I was busted out of all three by the same situation.

Kicking myself!

2008-12-20T08:55:00.000-05:00

I can be a complete donkey.Some of you probably already thought that, especially if you've played against me in a blogger event. But, this time was just... STUPID.I played the 8-game mixed Blogger Championship qualifier at PokerStars last night. I wasn't kicken' butt or takin' names, but I was playing very well. I was moved between three different tables, and at each on I was able to identify who

PokerStars 0 for 3

2008-12-18T15:42:00.000-05:00

I'm zero for three in the PokerStars Blogger Championship qualifiers.The first event was Pot Limit Omaha, and I did well through the first two breaks, finishing about 130th out of almost 400 starters. I ran up against a player who had been at my table for almost an hour. He had been very tight and then chased two completely against-the-odds draws to severely cripple my stack. I recovered a little

2008-12-15T10:15:00.002-05:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!All bloggers can play in this exclusive online poker tournament.Registration code: 271150

Christmas Season Poker

2008-12-14T22:24:00.002-05:00

I've missed the December Bloggers' Vegas gathering. I'm almost hesitant to catch up on my fellow bloggers' posts for fear of becoming even more jealous...Meanwhile, poker has been decent, with slow, but steady progress in the $5.50 SnGs at PokerStars and FullTilt. I'm working on rebuilding the meager bankrolls, after pulling a bunch for some live play at Foxwoods.I've played three live

2nd isn't so bad, when the ROI is 500%!

2008-11-21T09:50:00.003-05:00

Just a quickie today:I played the 7:30pm, $40, no re-buy tournament at Sharky's last night. With late registrations I think about 34 players started. The format is $10K in chips and 15 minute blinds.My reads were good, but for one hand when a turn bet would have taken the only other player in the pot off his flush draw. Fortunately, the pot was small and didn't have a big impact on my stack.I

Self-Awareness...

2008-11-19T13:32:00.003-05:00

Doncha' just love it when someone is completely NOT self-aware?Yesterday was a marathon session at Foxwoods $1/$2 NLHE. I won't put you to sleep with a lot of the details, but something happened early this morning that I'd like to share:I was seated when a new table was opened, at about noon, and over the course of my session there was an average of a new player every half-hour. I played well. My

Tournament Reading

2008-11-15T07:53:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned in the last post, I've been reading 'Tournament Poker for Advanced Players' by David Sklansky. I would highly recommend it to ANYONE who regularly plays tournaments, and note that it does not focus solely on Hold-Em.I already realize that I need to read it at least twice more, so I can work through some of the more specific math involved. However, the basic principles - some of

Key Learnings...

2008-11-13T11:25:00.004-05:00

...from the past couple of weeks.Key Learning #1: The $1/$2 NLHE tables at Foxwoods seem to be profitable for a tight aggressive player. Unless you have a player at the table who is oblivious, your table image will probably pay off. In four sessions over two weeks, averaging 5 hours each, I've profited in three of them for a net of $900. $900/20=$45, or 22.5 BBs per hour. This is a small sample,

More on 'What Goes Around...' - Long, but you'll like the Ending! Part Two

2008-10-31T11:21:00.005-04:00

I checked the cash desk and $1/2 no-limit was open seating. Seems like a good way to get my three SnG buy-ins, gas and dinner money back, so I sat down, bought in for $200, and set my sights on hitting the $450 mark. $250 would make me even for the day and probably would have me home before 4am.It didn't take long at all for me to read the table. My reads had been good most of the afternoon, and

More on 'What Goes Around...' - Long, but you'll like the Ending! Part One

2008-10-31T11:17:00.004-04:00

After another dismal showing in the Mookie, (Having A A busted by "K 2 - but they were sooted' didn't help) and a worse showing at a limit Hold-Em table, I was in one of those 'maybe I should swear off poker for a while' moods on Thursday morning.So; I had a really good cup of coffee, processed my play from the evening before, took care of some bills and some updates to my web site. I walked the

Table Image

2008-10-26T09:52:00.003-04:00

It's been a quiet time on the poker front since the trip to Foxwoods.My main focus continues to be the tier system, with a few cash games and some regular sit-n-gos.Meanwhile, I've made an interesting observation during the various SnGs and tournaments I've played lately;If I'm anywhere near the money with decent chips, my stats generally show fewer than 10% of the flops seen, and IF I've seen

Where Did the Week Go?

2008-10-23T10:47:00.001-04:00

It's Thursday already?!?!?Tuesday at Foxwoods was a blast, not a great deal of success, but I played well (mostly) and had fun.The first Act 1 was my best game, and it didn't hurt to see K K, A A, K K and have them all hold up during the first two levels. In one orbit, suited aces (with the right odds) held up for me twice to eliminate two short stacks who were all in. The biggest stack took out

Found my Game Again?

2008-10-20T13:24:00.002-04:00

I'm enjoying poker more than I have in a while. The success I had during last week continued into the weekend.Friday morning I just barely cashed in the $14.5K Guarantee [DS KO] havin A A busted by Q Q two hands after cashing. 60% ROI is not a bad way to start the day though. and it's WAY better than Wall Street!Friday night I somehow managed to find myself playing three big multi-table

More Live

2008-10-17T08:00:00.002-04:00

Thursday night was live play at Sharky's. I had an hour before the tournament started, and played Omaha HiLo. The board flushed out my straights and sets half a dozen times in that hour taking a nice chunk out of my two buy-ins. Ugh.The tournament went well with three full tables starting. I handled myself extremely well and even had A A hold up for me against 8 8 just before the first break. I

Mookie is my Monkey

2008-10-16T14:36:00.002-04:00

I have decided the Mookie is the Monkey on My Back for the foreseeable future. I made it into the top 1/3 of the field last night only to have wired threes limp and then RE-RAISE my Ac Qc all in. I never got there... At least I didn't bubble again!Tonight is a live MTT and maybe some cash play before and/or after. The tourn is $40 no rebuys and $10K starting chips. Generally only 2-3 tables start

Live is Better

2008-10-15T21:34:00.003-04:00

Despite some decent performance the last few days on-line (I cashed in the $4K Guarantee HORSE event last night, going 2 for 2 in non-blogger MTTs since the first of October) poker, in general, has been rather... meh.So today I decided to get a live game fix in preparation for going to Foxwoods to play in WPT event satellites next week.I went to Sharky's, in Manchester, NH, and began with what

Friggin Waffles, OhCaptain, BamBam, Bayne, Riggs, et al....

2008-10-13T15:35:00.002-04:00

You are The HierophantDivine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching. All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel.The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly

FullTilt Tiers = Fewer Tears

2008-10-13T14:43:00.005-04:00

While I'm pretty sensitive for a guy, I still don't cry all that much, and I'm pretty sure I've never cried about the results of a poker game. That said, some of the suckouts I've seen in the past month probably brought me pretty close to that level of sadness. In fact, through Friday morning it had been a pretty dismal couple of weeks on the poker front.Time to dig the poker books out of the

Wanna buy a Log Cabin?

2008-10-08T10:24:00.006-04:00

We got a call on Saturday informing us that the buyer couldn't make it through underwriting because an ex-spouse wouldn't provide one piece of information. So Monday was spent figuring out how to afford a rent AND a mortgage instead of closing on our five-figure profit. Rivered... Bleh...Seriously, we believe everything happens for a reason, and this is no different. It will work out for the best

Long Time!

2008-10-03T09:13:00.009-04:00

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post!Since the middle of August, I've been very busy. The last two weeks of that month were mostly spent with my Dad and much of the family at the lake. Precious little would sway me from that opportunity as they're some of the best people in the world to hang out with. (The lake life ain't so bad either!)Poker has been mostly bleh. What

Summer breaks...

2008-08-18T10:49:00.008-04:00

Poker has been about as 'Meh' as it gets since my last post. Bubbled the Mookie, AGAIN, and most of my play has been about like that.I believe that I'm getting it in with the best of it, as seems to be the case with a lot of bloggers these past few weeks. So, when I get a bad beat (and I'm not going to share any of them here!) I've been catching up reading those blogs. There's a lot of

Summer Days, not Dog Days

2008-08-05T09:08:00.008-04:00

I didn't realize until this morning how long as it's been since I posted, but then, there's a lot going on here.We're working through the summer, with just a few more small projects left on the house. It feels pretty good to have most of the work done, and we've enjoyed more weekends with family and friends already this summer than the last few summers combined.I'm working hard on the

Wild Days...

2008-07-26T08:32:00.003-04:00

Some of you know that I live in Central New Hampshire. If you've followed the news, you know we've had a little wild weather here the last few days.We are VERY lucky. We were without power for a little more than a day, but we have a generator (standard fare this far into the woods) and are still without internet and cable TV. Seems a small price when you realize people lost their homes, and even

Wow...

2008-07-23T13:13:00.003-04:00

Made the Final Table in last week's Mookie, again. So close...Since then, I've been experimenting with HiLo and Razz with some success. Razz definately can be interesting, but I'm having the most fun at HiLo. Yesterday was good for almost FIVE buy-in's at $2/$4 on FullTilt.Right now I'm sitting next to this guy, trying to recover the last of a big hit I took this morning. I got down three buy-ins

Bubble Boy...

2008-07-10T10:06:00.005-04:00

I bubbled the Mookie. Got overzealous with A T. I hate it when I do that, especially since I'd done pretty well at staying out of the way of bad draws. My pairs held up every time, and I got it in when I had the best. Oh well.Otherwise, I've been up and down with my roll. I dislike the inverse relationship that generally exists between the stakes and the quality of play, but I'm trying to look

Quick Update...

2008-07-05T10:22:00.006-04:00

Between Wednesday night and Thursday night I broke even at the Stud tables. However, I turned my Tier One Token into a Tier Two Token Weds. and used the two Tier Twos to enter the Big Daily Doubles on Thurs, one of my favorite Full Tilt events. (Probably because that's been the best tourn payoff I've ever had?) I stayed ahead of average chips for a while in both, and busted out of the B with the

Not Lost...

2008-07-02T13:07:00.004-04:00

It's been a crazy few days trying to wrap up work and start setting goals and putting plans in place for my 'retirement' from the corporate sector. On the plus side, stud has padded my role nicely the past few evenings and I'm now the proud owner of a Tier One and a Tier Two token at FullTilt. I won't be around for the Mookie tonight, as I get to celebrate three wonderful years married to Goddess

Status Quo...

2008-06-26T10:31:00.003-04:00

I ended up playing for a few minutes on Tuesday evening. One table of Stud on FullTilt. Up about half a buy-in during a very short session. I played Stud for a while last evening as well, up until the first break of the Mookie. The very first hand at the table I split kings. I hit my set on 5th, with the player to my left betting into me all the way down. He was showing nothing particularly

Changes in Altitude, not so much in Attitude

2008-06-24T09:25:00.001-04:00

By the time I went to bed Friday, Stud at FullTilt had padded my meager roll a little more, and I was looking forward to the weekend. Unfortunately, the weekend itself was mostly a bust.I can tell you exactly what I did wrong: I played sessions that were too long, and rebought when I shouldn't have. I believed, and in hindsight I think it's accurate, that I had most of the players I was against

The rest of Thursday night

2008-06-20T09:08:00.002-04:00

While I was playing the UBT WSOP event, I also sat at a $3/$6 Limit Stud Table at FullTilt - up a little more than 1/2 a buy-in. It was a stuggle. After getting stuck more than 1/2 a buy-in, I was ready to leave because I thought I was playing badly or too focused on the tournament. That's when I realized that the only thing I was doing 'badly' was evaluating the table. It was tighter than I

Sweat Me - updated

2008-06-19T21:13:00.004-04:00

Updated: Now it's 10:15pm EST - I just busted out when BB had me all in with A 5. SB calls w/J 3. Flop is 5 A J, turn is junk and river is a 3, go figure.118 out of 3225. I'm more than happy with THAT performance!It's 9:15pm EST - I'm in 59th place in the UBT WSOP Final. There's 487 left of 3225 starters. Average stack is 4559 and I'm at 8210.1st is WSOP trip, Final table get cash and top 200 get

Updates

2008-06-18T11:57:00.001-04:00

The house is listed.This weekend saw my measely roll on FullTilt halved.Last night my Celtics wrapped it up. Sorry LA, as much as I can't wait to live in that area, I grew up in MA and graduated High School when Bird, Ainge, Parish and Co. were a dynasty.While I watched their dominance, I won a buy-in at $2/$4 Limit Stud, won a Tier One SNG, busted out of a Tier One in 4th, lost a buy-in and a

Ch... Ch... Ch... Ch... Changes

2008-06-12T16:04:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted a lot lately, because of all the changes that are going on in my life.First, and foremost, I've mentioned all the work we're doing on the little cabin. We have the realtor coming this weekend to finalize the listing, and hopefully will start generating some interest as soon as next week. It will be a big change to have the house always in 'ready to show' mode. We're clean, but

Among My Best Sessions...

2008-06-06T10:36:00.001-04:00

Last night was my best cash session ever. (I've had bigger tournament pulls, but my biggest cash session was barely 3 figures.)While I got to watch the Celtics win a tight battle with LA:Even thought the Daily Doubles at Fulltilt weren't a success, Limit Stud treated me well, with 3 buy-ins at $1/$2 and 2 more at $3/$6.In less than three hours of play, I managed to win almost exactly what it

The Way It's Supposed to Work...

2008-06-02T10:28:00.002-04:00

It's happened millions, probably billions, of times. We play the hand correctly and the donkey chases against the odds and hits. We, of course got as much in as we could with the best hand, so our loss is maximized. Here's a quick story of that NOT happening:$2/$4 Limit Stud - I'm dealt A A down and 5 showing and it looks like both players still in are on flush draws.5th street pairs my 5. I'm

A Weekend Post?!?!?

2008-05-31T20:48:00.002-04:00

It's Saturday, not a day I normally post, but I have to share some successes:1. Two more decent nights at Stud. My roll is now more than twice what it was when I posted my last entry.2. Goddess and I got the kitchen floor grout down today. We have ONE major project left. There are a lot of little ones we're working on, and pieces of others to finish, but it's huge to us to have this behind us.Oh,

Slight Uptick

2008-05-29T15:01:00.001-04:00

Wednesday was better!We had an issue with the clothes washer that turned out to be much less significant than initially expected. $11 in parts vs. needed an entire brand new machine.The migraine is all but gone. I usually have short cluster-recurrances for a day or two. They've been manageable this time.I played some $.25/$.50 stud on FullTilt - up 2 buy-ins in 20 minutes, which more than covered

The Good and the Bad on Tuesday

2008-05-28T09:37:00.001-04:00

Apparantly I'm not the only one taking the Good with the Bad.The good:Goddess and I found the new TVs we want on sale at a box store we had coupons for. They let us use a coupon on each.I got my iPod (I know 40-something and this is a big deal for me?)We had a nice evening together, considering it was shopping and what passes for dinner at Subway.The bad:On the way home I felt the beginnings of a

Memorial Day Weekend, and I will NOT overplay AK!

2008-05-27T13:08:00.002-04:00

I hope you had a great long weekend! For me it was a LOT of working on the little cabin with Goddess and very little poker. I only played FullTilt, crushed a couple of stud tables and took a Tier One. The Tier Two could have been better though. I will NOT overplay AK...Sitting about fourth in chips (with 1-5 paying a Tier Three Token and 6th paying $57) at the final table with a total of seven

How to Beat Drew in the Mookie...

2008-05-22T09:16:00.002-04:00

Step 1: Raise from middle position with Qc 8c 'because they're suited.'Step 2: Watch Drew call with Ad Qh from the small Blind.Step 3: Seeing that your kicker sucks when the flop comes Xc Xc Qs, reraise Drew's pot sized bet with your flush draw to All In.Note: I put this player on a suited A or all paint, but not an overpair. The 8 surprised me.Step 4: Suck Out with Xc on the river.Step 5. Make a

Home Ownership and Fatherhood > Poker

2008-05-21T08:53:00.000-04:00

I didn't make the WSOP qualifier on UBT last evening. I left work, picked up Goddess and we promptly headed for the Big Orange Box that is one of a homeowner's best friends. Especially when they do 18 mos same as cash and you know you have a stimulus check on it's way MUCH sooner than that.Grout, window trim, door trim, caulking, more siding, pt boards for the porch step and a variety of other

Monday, Monday. Wasn't All I Hoped It Would Be....

2008-05-20T13:09:00.002-04:00

I made my first appearance in the MATH. Chipped up a little, gave up a few and finally busted by an out-of-position call of my All In with 9 9 (I was <10bb)>I can't remember who it was, but I know it was a regular - no biggie, and I'm not even sure I'd lay down the A 4 heads-up to less than 25% of my stack.That's it for today - more work on the little cabin on tap this evening and then I go

Crazy Times

2008-05-19T12:55:00.003-04:00

No, I'm not dead. I just haven't been playing a LOT of poker lately.I've been playing a little in the evenings, but since Goddess and I are trying to get the house ready to market (we want to reduce our commute significantly) I'm trying to stay focused on all the little (and big) projects we have.I am reading ZEN and the Art of POKER: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Game at the moment. I find

A A UTG > Q Q BB

2008-05-13T09:00:00.002-04:00

Monday night poker in a nutshell:Down a little at a NLHE cash table, Q Q in the big blind with three limpers.I raise it to 5 bets (1.8:1 for one caller.) UTG flat calls, other two fold.Flop is 8h 9s 2h. I bet the pot. UTG flat calls.Turn another rag, no three-flush. I push which is almost the pot. UTG calls with A A.Felted.Not nuts about the slow-play of A A but I can't fault it either. I've

Bruised and Battered

2008-05-12T10:41:00.001-04:00

I got beat up this weekend.The house tried to beat me up, and did end up bruising me, but I think I won! Poker battered me, no buts.I have bruises from bumps incurred during the multiple trips to the transfer station. BUT: Old doors and windows, a bunch of punky firewood and who knows what else that we don't need are gone now. My truck got a little bruised too; a piece of metal poked a hole in

Two Skirts...

2008-05-08T08:55:00.001-04:00

The ladies had their fun with me last night.I didn't play very much but what I did play (all on FullTilt) went like this:Daily Double A: Correctly laid down Q Q to a raise and a re-raise. A A and A J showed. A A held.The Mookie: Re-raised All In with K K, called by Q Q - K K held up.Daily double B: Re-raised with Q Q, called by K K. Flop gave K K a straight draw but me a set - draw didn't hit.So

Status Quo

2008-05-07T15:11:00.000-04:00

It's been a quiet few days on all fronts - poker 'rolls' are about even, as I haven't played a lot the last few evenings.I've been doing a lot of reading of other bloggers - there's some good stuff out there. There's some funny stuff out there. There's some scary stuff out there. There's some enlightening stuff out there. Aw heck, there's stuff out there! Read some of the bloggers listed under '

Weekend Update

2008-05-05T11:49:00.001-04:00

It was a decent weekend.Bodog and Oddsmaker freerolls were the usual: Big hands big, get out of small hands, bluff when conditions warrant, build a stack, go deep, get busted out with a monster against a bigger monster draw that hits! I can't complain, the experience and the number of hands I'm seeing is well worth the price of admission.PokerStars was good - over the course of the weekend I

Big D Status

2008-05-02T11:03:00.001-04:00

Big D dog is feeling better, the Vet found some torn cartilage and started a treatment plan! She was moving around (although not running) comfortably last evening and today and is currently relishing a day of visiting at Goddess' office.DrewFours"Have Fun, Be Gracious, Keep Learning, Play Your Best andManage Your Finances. You will find Success in Poker and in Life!"

HYPOCRISY

2008-05-02T08:58:00.003-04:00

Hypocrites are worse than Donkeys...I played in the $500 freeroll on Bodog last evening. About half way through the field, I took down a nice pot with Ac 8c on the button and a couple of limpers who I knew to be very loose - I got one of them all in pre-flop with K J and an ace on the turn locked it in for me.Within seconds, there were a number of comments from one player regarding all the

Quick Update

2008-05-01T09:06:00.002-04:00

Before I get to last nights progress (or lack thereof) I'd like to make a request:We have two dogs; Big D is a beautiful Golden Retriever and she has the sweetest temperment you could imagine. Little D is a Cocker Spaniel and Dachsund mix. He's really cute and the clown in the family. (He get's manic if his $1 PINK squeaker ball goes missing.) We got home from work yesterday to discover Big D

LIVE PLAY

2008-04-29T13:48:00.009-04:00

I got to thinking today about the times I've played live (aside from my family's 'game nights',) and how well I did. Up until last month, I could pretty much count them on two hands. This means my dataset is small, but it's interesting to think about...My first foray into a live casino was Foxwoods in December of '06. I took $200 and played $1/$2 NLHE. I came home down $100, which would have been

Monday, Monday...

2008-04-29T11:55:00.002-04:00

Goddess treated me to a nice dinner at one of our favorite places and then we did some shopping on the way home from work. It was nice to have some US time and I felt a LOT more grounded after a relatively long day at work.When we got home, we had water heater issues. No puddles, it just won't work. Fortunately, I have the tools/resources to figure it out.Once everything settled down I signed on

WILD WEEKEND

2008-04-28T15:58:00.002-04:00

Goddess and I got an awesome amount of work done around the house this weekend. That's a good thing, because my poker results were at the other end of the spectrum.My PokerStars 'roll' is now non-existant and my FullTilt 'roll' is half what I started the weekend with. In general I played solidly, big pots to big hands, small pots or fold with small hands. Unfortunately, big hands can't always

Change of Scenery

2008-04-25T19:55:00.002-04:00

I had a nice lunch break today - got out of the office and had lunch at a local cafe. I was able to take the laptop and play a little while I ate and people-watched. In the time it took to finish my roast beef on asiago bread, I doubled up ($6 to $12) at PokerStars and hit a 40% ROI on FullTilt.Tonight I think I'll add to my change of scenery and play a little Pot-Limit Omaha Hi - I haven't

Goal Status

2008-04-25T10:39:00.002-04:00

Here's the update on how I'm doing against my goals, including my performance last night. I played well on PokerStars but seemed to have my timing completely off on FullTilt. I played some hands 'big' that weren't, and in hindsight I think I got too attached to forcing the bluffs.I set my goal for FT on the 16th, when my 'roll' was at $43.85. The objective being to reach $100 in about 57 sessions

FLEXIBILITY

2008-04-24T14:34:00.002-04:00

If you watch my on-line play over the next few weeks as I work toward my bankroll goals, you'll probably notice that I occasionally will bend or break one of my rules. The most noticeable example is re-buying when I'm below my self-imposed floor at a cash table.If you see me do this, pay particular attention to the dynamics of the game/table I'm at. Some scrutiny will reveal that I've probably

SUPPORT

2008-04-22T12:19:00.002-04:00

Goddess has been amazingly supportive of my interest in poker. In fact she's the one who pointed out that my fascination with human interaction, body language, etc. is probably what makes me an even better player live than I am on-line. I'm explaining my goals to her and we'll be working out a schedule framework so that I can approach this much as I would a part-time job.If you're considering

One GIANT Step, one baby step...

2008-04-22T11:44:00.000-04:00

...and one baby step that's a Relative Giant!Monday evening was very productive, despite a little bit of a headache. While I normally don't play when I don't feel well, I've found that with some headaches and my tinnitus I can sometimes get away from them (even if just psychologically) with poker. So I'll start with the GIANT Step:FullTilt was my friend last night. I mostly didn't catch killer

Weekend Update...

2008-04-20T21:35:00.003-04:00

Last night sucked. I lost full buy-ins at both FullTilt and PokerStars. I thought I played very well, but over the course of the evening I had K K sucked out on FIVE times. I'm not getting into the details of all of them, but here's an example:K K up against solid player who responds to my re-raise with a re-raise which I call.S/He shows Q Q after the flop comes Q K A and I push. The A and K are

Friday Night Action

2008-04-19T21:32:00.005-04:00

I had a good time last night. Even though my second session at FullTilt was negative, my net for the evening was more than $7. Every table at PokerStars was positive, with a net for the evening of more than $5.Bodog didn't treat me as nicely, but I went deep in the freeroll, and any time you can best 95% of a freeroll field you're probably playing very well.Goddess and I installed a new entry-way

Quick Update...

2008-04-18T23:00:00.008-04:00

It's been a good evening so far. Won more than $12 at FullTilt and more than $4 at PokerStars. I stuck to my rules exactly, constantly updating my stop limits and leaving each table before the blinds when I fell below that limit. ROIs of 127% and 71% respectively.I'll probably play a little more at each site later. Right now I'm just back from break at a Bodog Freeroll. I'd been doing very well,

Staying On Track...

2008-04-18T09:11:00.003-04:00

Last night wasn't bad. It wasn't good, but it wasn't a waste. I followed all my rules but one, and that ended up costing me. Maybe I should put my rules into an image to use as my desktop background so I don't forget them?I did OK on PokerStars, I hovered right around my buy-in and ended the evening down about $.80. I realized I'd been on for more than an hour and hadn't made/lost a lot, so I

So Much for Time Frames...

2008-04-17T14:17:00.008-04:00

This photo just made me laugh!When I was first dating the Goddess Fours I had a great deal going on in my life. As a result, I compartmentalized things that would or should happen into time frames. To this day she teases me about the 'Time Frames Discussion' where I shared with her when I'd be able to do this or that, be free of some obligation or ready for some next step.As if that weren't bad

Setting Goals

2008-04-16T19:19:00.034-04:00

I know poker players who each play the game for different reasons:Some play for the sense of competition. They want to win, but the cost of entry is not as important as the thrill of dominating whoever else is at the table(s) they play.Some want to learn and improve, and they play to watch, absorb, experience, etc. while others play for the camaraderie; story-telling, entertainment value,

Don't Be The Donkey!

2008-04-15T15:11:00.012-04:00

Before I get into my goal planning, I'd like to ask a favor of all my readers:Don't Be The Donkey!Ok, so maybe getting upset when someone gets the best of you is hard to NOT do. I know I've been positively pissed when 8 4 calls my big raise from out of position and hits a straight on the flop to obliterate my skirts...In live action, I've seen looks that could kill, phrases like 'I can't believe

Goals Instead of Gut Shots...

2008-04-14T12:37:00.006-04:00

Tomorrow is Tax day.Here in the U.S. this is the last day you can file your tax return without requesting an extension. I only mention this so that I can gloat a little: We had our taxes filed within days of having all the forms and have had our refund banked and earning interest for several weeks now... OK, so I'll stop gloating.On to the subject of this post: 'Goals Instead of Gut shots...'I

My First WPT Attempt II

2008-03-30T10:05:00.001-04:00

I drove down to Foxwoods last night to use my Act 3 voucher. Act 3 is the last satellite level to the WPT main event. You play in Act 3 by either buying in for $1100 or by winning an Act 2 and receiving a voucher for entry. The event pays one Main Event seat for every ten entries, with any balance being paid out as Act 3 replay vouchers.Here's how it went for me:We started just a few minutes late

My First WPT Attempt

2008-03-24T19:14:00.013-04:00

First, let me clarify that I believe I'm a solid NLHE (my game of choice) player. I've cashed in my share of tournaments, on-line and live, and I am a threat to take chips from micro-limits up through $1/$2 and $2/$5 NLHE. I haven't played higher live, and I've only dabbled in higher levels on-line. You'll learn more about me and my game over time...I'll be using some of these entries to document

poker.laptimes.com presents DrewFours

2008-03-01T18:52:00.004-05:00

From LapTimes.com:Welcome!We set this blog up for DrewFours to present his thoughts on the game of poker. Drew will share strategy ideas, thoughts on a variety of games, probably some bad beats, and we've even asked him to journal the progress of his bankroll against his goals.We think you'll find his insights helpful and find yourself chuckling along with his sense of humor often.Enjoy!The Staff