I'm getting lazy....

I really should make more hours (see picture below for past week).

$100K

I did it! I passed the $100K winnings over 2007.
Since tuesday I'm having a huge upswing and my hourly rate for June is back to normal again ($150). When looking at my graphs you can cleary see that every once in a while I'm having a break even/downswing but that it always results in an upswing to bring me back to the mean.

I'm also playing on Stars again and to my suprise I can maintain a winrate of around 6 there as well (44K hands). So I'm really playing great this whole year.

$1 per hand (also known as upswing)

Just looked into my PT database and saw that I was up $1 per hand over my last 6 hours of play (hourly rate of $603,29 lol).
Upswings are fun, sorry for the short update, but need to play again ;-)

Barcelona and tilting

Barcelona

I've been back from a nice weekend in Barcelona. Been there with some friends not playing poker at all, which is fine sometimes.
We also went to the Barcelona vs Espanyol game which really was a weird game.
First there was the 'hand of messi-as' goal and then there was the really strange atmosphere in the stadium. For more then an hour they were virtual standing on top of the league but nobody was really celebrating. And then in the end they gave the victory away and to make it even worse, Madrid scored the equalizer as well, so probably no championship this year for them.

Messi Goal



Tilting

It's something I probably have never done in the last 400K hands, but I see 'good' players doing it all the time. For me it's actually a sign that a 'good' player is not that good at all, because having your emotions under control (that's what tilting is about, losing control and get emotional) is one of the most important things.

Here is a nice example of a guy who's just spewing chips to me:

This first hand is not that special, I show weakness and he (as usual) tries to take the pot.

EverestPoker Game #1663051575: Table Bamako-16 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 16:36:51 - 2007/06/13
Seat 1: stefantast ($675.10)
Seat 2: Cheeseman87 ($405.40)
Seat 3: kraker ($657.60)
Seat 4: matv37 ($197.00)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($524.90)
Seat 6: nynja ($41.50)
matv37 posts the small blind of $2.00
BldZwtTrn posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Th Tc]
nynja folds
stefantast folds
Cheeseman87 raises to $12.00
kraker folds
matv37 folds
BldZwtTrn raises to $38.00
Cheeseman87 calls $26.00
*** FLOP *** [2c 2s 2d]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 bets $50.00
BldZwtTrn calls $50.00
*** TURN *** [2c 2s 2d] [4s]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 bets $130.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $436.90 and is all-in
Cheeseman87 calls $187.40 and is all-in
Uncalled bet of $119.50 returned to BldZwtTrn
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BldZwtTrn shows [Th Tc]
Cheeseman87 shows [7s 7c]
*** RIVER *** [2c 2s 2d 4s] [Kh]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [2c 2s 2d 4s Kh]
BldZwtTrn collects $809.80

Then the second hand about 15 minutes later....again not really special, if he has a draw he at least goes for it.

EverestPoker Game #1663182717: Table Bamako-16 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:03:20 - 2007/06/13
Seat 1: Audiotik ($450.00)
Seat 2: Cheeseman87 ($431.00)
Seat 3: clau78 ($40.00)
Seat 4: matv37 ($311.20)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($751.10)
Cheeseman87 posts the small blind of $2.00
clau78 posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Qh Qc]
matv37 folds
BldZwtTrn raises to $14.00
Audiotik folds
Cheeseman87 raises to $52.00
clau78 folds
BldZwtTrn calls $38.00
*** FLOP *** [2d Tc 8c]
Cheeseman87 bets $80.00
BldZwtTrn calls $80.00
*** TURN *** [2d Tc 8c] [8h]
Cheeseman87 bets $190.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $619.10 and is all-in
Cheeseman87 calls $109.00 and is all-in
Uncalled bet of $320.10 returned to BldZwtTrn
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Cheeseman87 shows [9s Js]
BldZwtTrn shows [Qh Qc]
*** RIVER *** [2d Tc 8c 8h] [5d]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [2d Tc 8c 8h 5d]
BldZwtTrn collects $864.00

Then we end HU (lucky me) and he really starts to spew. The 4 hands below were basically behind each other, just some pre-flop hands in between.

Hand 1: Again showing weakness is a guarantee for action, his hand doesnt seem to matter....

EverestPoker Game #1663239923: Table Bamako-16 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:14:41 - 2007/06/13
Seat 2: Cheeseman87 ($532.45)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($1,159.10)
Cheeseman87 posts the small blind of $2.00
BldZwtTrn posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Ad 9s]
Cheeseman87 raises to $12.00
BldZwtTrn calls $8.00
*** FLOP *** [3h As Ks]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 checks
*** TURN *** [3h As Ks] [4d]
BldZwtTrn bets $16.00
Cheeseman87 raises to $48.00
BldZwtTrn calls $32.00
*** RIVER *** [3h As Ks 4d] [3d]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 bets $100.00
BldZwtTrn calls $100.00
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Cheeseman87 shows [8c 2c]
BldZwtTrn shows [Ad 9s]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [3h As Ks 4d 3d]
BldZwtTrn collects $319.00

Hand 2: Same story

EverestPoker Game #1663248374: Table Bamako-16 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:16:22 - 2007/06/13
Seat 2: Cheeseman87 ($388.00)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($1,329.10)
Cheeseman87 posts the small blind of $2.00
BldZwtTrn posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Tc Td]
Cheeseman87 raises to $12.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $36.00
Cheeseman87 calls $24.00
*** FLOP *** [3c 5c Ks]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 bets $55.00
BldZwtTrn calls $55.00
*** TURN *** [3c 5c Ks] [Jc]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 checks
*** RIVER *** [3c 5c Ks Jc] [Qc]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 bets $155.00
BldZwtTrn calls $155.00
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Cheeseman87 shows [Ts 7d]
BldZwtTrn shows [Tc Td]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [3c 5c Ks Jc Qc]
BldZwtTrn collects $491.00

Hand 3: Standard

EverestPoker Game #1663256984: Table Bamako-16 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:18:04 - 2007/06/13
Seat 2: Cheeseman87 ($402.00)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($1,572.10)
Cheeseman87 posts the small blind of $2.00
BldZwtTrn posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Kd Kc]
Cheeseman87 raises to $12.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $38.00
Cheeseman87 raises to $102.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $452.00
Cheeseman87 folds
Uncalled bet of $350.00 returned to BldZwtTrn
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BldZwtTrn mucks
*** SUMMARY ***
BldZwtTrn collects $204.00

Hand 4: For the first time he gave up on the river, would have been a tough call there.

EverestPoker Game #1663263270: Table Bamako-16 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:19:18 - 2007/06/13
Seat 2: Cheeseman87 ($408.00)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($1,666.10)
Cheeseman87 posts the small blind of $2.00
BldZwtTrn posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[6s 4s]
Cheeseman87 raises to $12.00
BldZwtTrn calls $8.00
*** FLOP *** [8d 3h 5s]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 bets $15.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $44.00
Cheeseman87 calls $29.00
*** TURN *** [8d 3h 5s] [4h]
BldZwtTrn bets $69.00
Cheeseman87 calls $69.00
*** RIVER *** [8d 3h 5s 4h] [8c]
BldZwtTrn checks
Cheeseman87 checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BldZwtTrn shows [6s 4s]
Cheeseman87 shows [9h Kc]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [8d 3h 5s 4h 8c]
BldZwtTrn collects $249.00


June only:
Hands played : 28,944
$ Won in cashgames : $3,761
PTBB/100 : 2,88
MT ratio : 6,77
Hourly win rate: $85,68

Running bad

What I was afraid of after a great moth is happening again.
I'm running bad. The most irritating thing is that I'm running the worst at NL1000. I played about 700 hands in total there, when I saw some juicy tables, but lost about 3-buy ins. A sign of runnig bad is that I'm losing with 6 PP's (including aces), where normally all PP's are decent winners. I'm also losing with AKo and AQo, which are also one of the biggest moneymakers.

So this happens when running bad:

POKERSTARS GAME #10279613638: HOLD'EM NO LIMIT ($1/$2) - 2007/06/05 - 03:57:41 (ET)
Table 'Tethys III' 6-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: kstatefan10 ($327.75 in chips)
Seat 2: flair21 ($324.25 in chips)
Seat 3: maw150 ($112.65 in chips)
Seat 4: j2rd3n ($226.95 in chips)
Seat 5: AKA_PSV ($177 in chips)
Seat 6: luxuryjun1 ($219.90 in chips)
maw150: posts small blind $1
j2rd3n: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to AKA_PSV [As Ac]
AKA_PSV: raises $6 to $8
luxuryjun1: folds
kstatefan10: raises $16 to $24
flair21: folds
maw150: folds
j2rd3n: folds
AKA_PSV: raises $40 to $64
kstatefan10: raises $263.75 to $327.75 and is all-in
AKA_PSV: calls $113 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [4d Qc Jh]
*** TURN *** [4d Qc Jh] [Td]
*** RIVER *** [4d Qc Jh Td] [9c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AKA_PSV: shows [As Ac] (a pair of Aces)
kstatefan10: shows [Ad Kh] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
kstatefan10 collected $354 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $357 | Rake $3
Board [4d Qc Jh Td 9c]
Seat 1: kstatefan10 showed [Ad Kh] and won ($354) with a straight, Ten to Ace
Seat 2: flair21 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: maw150 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: j2rd3n (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: AKA_PSV showed [As Ac] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 6: luxuryjun1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

POKERSTARS GAME #10279472791: HOLD'EM NO LIMIT ($1/$2) - 2007/06/05 - 03:34:49 (ET)
Table 'Echepolos' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: holdemty1 ($283.70 in chips)
Seat 2: luxuryjun1 ($200 in chips)
Seat 3: AAA_flop_777 ($156.60 in chips)
Seat 4: PurpleNGold ($572 in chips)
Seat 5: saadleb ($62 in chips)
Seat 6: AKA_PSV ($216 in chips)
holdemty1: posts small blind $1
luxuryjun1: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to AKA_PSV [As Ah]
AAA_flop_777: folds
PurpleNGold: folds
saadleb: calls $2
AKA_PSV: raises $8 to $10
holdemty1: calls $9
luxuryjun1: folds
saadleb: folds
*** FLOP *** [2s Tc 5d]
holdemty1: checks
AKA_PSV: bets $16
holdemty1: raises $30 to $46
AKA_PSV: calls $30
*** TURN *** [2s Tc 5d] [Js]
holdemty1: bets $148
AKA_PSV: raises $12 to $160 and is all-in
holdemty1: calls $12
*** RIVER *** [2s Tc 5d Js] [7s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
holdemty1: shows [9s Ts] (a flush, Jack high)
AKA_PSV: mucks hand
holdemty1 collected $433 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $436 | Rake $3
Board [2s Tc 5d Js 7s]
Seat 1: holdemty1 (small blind) showed [9s Ts] and won ($433) with a flush, Jack high
Seat 2: luxuryjun1 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: AAA_flop_777 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: PurpleNGold folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: saadleb folded before Flop
Seat 6: AKA_PSV (button) mucked [As Ah]


Really hate my river bet in the hand below, even tough it is against a complete donk (the reason I'm sitting), I really should have check/called there.

EverestPoker Game #1630196884: Table Harare-2 - $5.00/$10.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 13:26:53 - 2007/06/06
Seat 1: BldZwtTrn ($970.00)
Seat 2: dino1984 ($2,358.50)
Seat 3: merwin ($1,000.00)
Seat 4: kasskara ($1,800.25)
Seat 5: BATAK91 ($1,338.00)
Seat 6: mateuscadarn ($990.00)
kasskara posts the small blind of $5.00
BATAK91 posts the big blind of $10.00
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Ac Ah]
mateuscadarn folds
BldZwtTrn raises to $35.00
dino1984 calls $35.00
merwin folds
kasskara folds
BATAK91 folds
*** FLOP *** [6s Th Qs]
BldZwtTrn bets $65.00
dino1984 calls $65.00
*** TURN *** [6s Th Qs] [2h]
BldZwtTrn bets $170.00
dino1984 calls $170.00
*** RIVER *** [6s Th Qs 2h] [9c]
BldZwtTrn bets $400.00
dino1984 raises to $800.00
BldZwtTrn calls $300.00 and is all-in
Uncalled bet of $100.00 returned to dino1984
*** SHOW DOWN ***
dino1984 shows [Jc Ks]
BldZwtTrn shows [Ac Ah]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [6s Th Qs 2h 9c]
dino1984 collects $1,952.00

EverestPoker Game #1630311940: Table Harare-5 - $5.00/$10.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 13:56:05 - 2007/06/06
Seat 1: kasskara ($1,730.02)
Seat 2: d3fault ($1,252.00)
Seat 3: Ernesto_777 ($1,005.00)
Seat 4: Bullitos ($1,279.50)
Seat 5: BATAK91 ($1,159.75)
Seat 6: BldZwtTrn ($975.00)
Ernesto_777 posts the small blind of $5.00
Bullitos posts the big blind of $10.00
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[5h 5c]
BATAK91 folds
BldZwtTrn raises to $35.00
kasskara folds
d3fault calls $35.00
Ernesto_777 folds
Bullitos folds
*** FLOP *** [Th 3c Ts]
BldZwtTrn checks
d3fault bets $60.00
BldZwtTrn calls $60.00
*** TURN *** [Th 3c Ts] [5d]
BldZwtTrn checks
d3fault bets $150.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $455.00
d3fault calls $305.00
*** RIVER *** [Th 3c Ts 5d] [Ks]
BldZwtTrn bets $425.00 and is all-in
d3fault calls $425.00
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BldZwtTrn shows [5h 5c]
d3fault shows [Kd Kc]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [Th 3c Ts 5d Ks]
d3fault collects $1,962.00

Best month ever

May was my best month ever. I didn't play that much hands (67K), but I was just playing great and running hot for the whole month. One example of runnig hot is that I got dealt aces 309 times (about as much as expected), but only lost a full buy-in with it 2 times. That's probably a combination of being very lucky and sometimes know when to make a good laydown. Same goes for kings, got them 313 times and lost a full buy-in only 3 times.
But you really know when u run hot, when a hand like this takes place:

EverestPoker Game #1592096042: Table Bamako-1 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 13:27:28 - 2007/05/29
Seat 1: Don.Escobar ($95.70)
Seat 2: pataya78 ($393.80)
Seat 3: Vincent84 ($398.20)
Seat 4: edio100 ($365.50)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($400.00)
Seat 6: Xena79 ($483.70)
edio100 posts the small blind of $2.00
BldZwtTrn posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[6h 9s]
Xena79 calls $4.00
Don.Escobar calls $4.00
pataya78 folds
Vincent84 folds
edio100 calls $2.00
BldZwtTrn checks
*** FLOP *** [6s 9d 9c]
edio100 checks
BldZwtTrn checks
Xena79 checks
Don.Escobar bets $16.00
edio100 folds
BldZwtTrn calls $16.00
Xena79 calls $16.00
*** TURN *** [6s 9d 9c] [9h]
BldZwtTrn checks
Xena79 checks
Don.Escobar bets $75.70 and is all-in
BldZwtTrn calls $75.70
Xena79 calls $75.70
*** RIVER *** [6s 9d 9c 9h] [6d]
BldZwtTrn bets $291.10
Xena79 raises to $388.00 and is all-in
BldZwtTrn calls $13.20 and is all-in
Uncalled bet of $83.70 returned to Xena79
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BldZwtTrn shows [6h 9s]
Xena79 shows [As Ac]
Don.Escobar shows [Ad 2d]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [6s 9d 9c 9h 6d]
BldZwtTrn collects $291.10
BldZwtTrn collects $605.60

May only:
Hands played : 66,769
$ Won in cashgames : $25,012 (some tourney cash and bonus as well)
PTBB/100 : 7,29
MT ratio : 5,69 (lots of HU on 2 tables)
Hourly win rate: $187,73

Awesome new program, some strategy and still a good month

It's been a while since my last post, so this update will be a little longer then normal with some strategy tips as well.

First I got a tip from a friend of mine about new poker software.
It's called PokerEV (http://www.pokerevsoftware.com/) and it calculates the amount of Sklansky dollars that you win (or lose) compared to the real dollard you've won (or lose).
For example when you go all-in with AA vs KK for $100, then you essentially make $80, because that's your equity when the money goes in.

This program is still in a beta phase, but I think it's really a ground braking program. It really gives you a good look into how you're running.
The only thing it doesn't show is, if you're for example cold decked (hitting set over set).

So I tried this program for the hands I played in May and what I thought is true, I'm running hot. I made about $2K more then I should have if you look to my equity when the money goes in. (ignore the green line)



And when I looked further it was very clear that I was running good when hitting sets. This basically means that I won some set vs straight/flush situations at least more then I shoud have.



The players behind the numbers....

The most important thing for me to be a good 6max player is knowing how to interpret the PT statics for the different players.
Basically those statistics are some sort of profile for me.
The statics I use are:

VPIP = percentage hands played
PFR = hands raised
AF = agression total
WTSD = went to showdown
W$SD = won at showdown
ATS = Attention to steal

A profile of a good player for example looks like:

20/17/3 or 25/20/5
The main thing about these players is that they want to have the initiative in a hand. They're aware of the importance of position and play their draws and made hands agressive. If you can avoid them do it and otherwise sit to their left.

20/10/2
These players are probably also good winners, but they are a little bit more passive and not so agressive in position with re-raises. This are players who are not a real problem at your table, but also don't give their money away. You need to have a good hand to play a pot with them. You want to sit to their left as well.

25/8/3
These players are probably very small winners. They mostly win from the really bad players. Biggest problem with this players is that they call to much and overvalue TP hands. They get themself in difficult spots by calling with QJo in the blinds for example.

30/26/5
You don't see this players very often, but there are some on pokerstars for example.
It's probably a very difficult style to play but also to play against.
These players are insane agressive pre-flop, especially on the button. Calling for set value is usually not an option against those players, because their re-raising junk like Q8s on the button.

40+/5/1
This are the players who u want at your table. Theyre raising premiums, don't know position and call with any ace. Valuebet the hell out of them and don't try to bluff them because they not laying down TP.

Another important statistic is the steal percentage. This tells a lot about how good someone is using his position. Someone who is stealing about 10-15% probably isn't paying attention to blind stealing and position. So he probably has a hand.
But on the other hand, players who are stealing 25%+ are aware of stealing and probably do this with a lot of hands like K8o.
Playing a hand like 77 from the blinds against a button opener is a nice example of the importance of this statistic. Against the first player it's probably better to call and play for set value. Against the second, calling isn't really an option.

Hope this brings some insight of how I use these stats.

May only:
Hands played : 57,615
$ Won in cashgames : $20,113 (some tourney cash and bonus as well)
PTBB/100 : 7,47 (7,78 @ NL200)
MT ratio : 5,60 (lots of HU on 2 tables)
Hourly win rate: $178,84

Still running hot and playing good.

So far may is going very well. I'm on track to beat by best month ever.
I'm also playing at Stars again the next two weeks. They have a very sweet promotion running till May 22th. You can earn double VPP and FPP points, there's a $150 deposit bonus and a small chance on playing a milestone hand.
As still have a lot of VPP points I'm trying to get Supernova again. So far I'm almost back to Platinum this month, just by playing 4 days.

After my last break even swing I tried to change some things into my game and so far it seems to really work well. I think it's very importanted to always study your game and try to fix leaks. I can't go into details about it, because know a lot of opponents are reading this blog, but I think it's working fine so far.

May only:
Hands played : 32,992
$ Won in cashgames : $11,601
PTBB/100 : 8,90 (10,37 @ NL200)
MT ratio : 5,04 (lots of HU on 2 tables)
Hourly win rate: $173,28 (with a 35% lower MT ratio!)

Some hand reading, giving a bad beat and a swingy month...

KAMPIOENEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April was a strange month. The first two weeks were really irritating. At some point I was really thinking that I did something wrong. The last two week however where one big upswing. Hitting sets and even hit a 2-outer for a $2000 pot.
I'm also playing some HU and I've to say that I'm really succesful at it and with the right opponents it's a LOT more profitable then 6-max, but that offcourse is pretty obvious, because you have the fish for yourself instead of sharing it with 2/3 other decent players.

Hand reading is one of the most importants skills you need to have when playing against thinking opponents. It's something that comes with experience and is all about recognizing patterns.

An very simple example is the hand below:

EverestPoker Game #1453915790: Table Bamako-10 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 02:05:52 - 2007/04/28
Seat 1: HoTsTePPa ($386.00)
Seat 3: jorg66 ($166.30)
Seat 4: BldZwtTrn ($1,012.30)
Seat 5: vilja ($477.00)
vilja posts the small blind of $2.00
HoTsTePPa posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Kh Kc]
jorg66 calls $4.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $18.00
vilja calls $16.00
This is a regular player who is not really good, but probably a winner. Plays a 27/10/4 game and can make some strange bluffs. He calls my raise from the blinds and the most reasonable hand to do that with is probably some PP 22-JJ for him as well as some SC's and maybe a hand like AQ/AJ.
HoTsTePPa folds
jorg66 folds
*** FLOP *** [3s Td Ac]
vilja checks
His range doesn't change by checking this, because I think he's checking close to any hand here (set/ace/pp/air)
BldZwtTrn checks
I'm probably betting this flop a lot, but in position I sometimes try to mix it up and get some value if vilja doesn't have an ace (most likely).
*** TURN *** [3s Td Ac] [2d]
vilja checks
By checking again I'm about 100% sure that he doesn't have an ace or a set. So his range now his 44-99 (T) and some non-pair hands.
BldZwtTrn checks
I check again knowing that he has 2 outs at best and that he's capable of bluffing the river with his AF of 4.
*** RIVER *** [3s Td Ac 2d] [8d]
vilja checks
Another check, his range hasn't changed.
BldZwtTrn bets $33.00
Standard value bet that hopes from a call from a lower one pair hand.
vilja raises to $143.00
This raise looks like a raise from someone who is on the second thinking level. He probably knows my hand (JJ-KK/ air), and is trying to bluff me of it. But if he would have thought on the third level, he would have known, that I know that he has not much as well by checking 3 streets OOP. The only hand that could make some sense is 88, but I doubt he would C/R that as I could easily check behind.
BldZwtTrn calls $110.00
I make an easy call, knowing that there is a very small chance of 88 but most likely a bluff giving his AF of 4.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
vilja shows [7d 7s]
BldZwtTrn shows [Kh Kc]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [3s Td Ac 2d 8d]
BldZwtTrn collects $328.00


A read went wrong.....(http://lison.blogg.se for those who speak swedish ;-)

EverestPoker Game #1454334802: Table Harare-7 - $5.00/$10.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 08:17:02 - 2007/04/28
Seat 1: Shadddyyy ($1,123.22)
Seat 2: Timvd18 ($969.00)
Seat 3: W.BLAKE ($913.75)
Seat 4: BldZwtTrn ($1,042.00)
Seat 5: Lison ($2,243.57)
Seat 6: hyahhoo ($1,266.75)
BldZwtTrn posts the small blind of $5.00
Lison posts the big blind of $10.00
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Qc Qs]
hyahhoo folds
Shadddyyy folds
Timvd18 folds
W.BLAKE folds
BldZwtTrn raises to $30.00
Lison raises to $90.00
This guy was playing a 45/30/4 game, which is very LAG. So I figured he's doing this with a LOT more then AA/KK/AK here in a blind war.
BldZwtTrn raises to $255.00
Lison calls $165.00
He called the 4-bet pretty quick. So i figured he's range to be something like TT+, AK and some bluffs he don't want to give up (small SC's)
*** FLOP *** [8d Kh Kc]
BldZwtTrn checks
I obviously check here, as betting has no value.
Lison bets $450.00
He instantly betted $450 in a $520 pot. From his range of hands that beats me I think he never does this with AA, and doubt he would do it with AK, cause he has no reason to get me out of this pot and by betting close to the pot here, he knows I'm committed if I call and the only hand that maybe calls here, if he's thinking is AA, so AA/AK didn't make sense here for him.
BldZwtTrn raises to $787.00 and is all-in
So I decided to value push here, cause I thought my hand was good.
Lison calls $337.00
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BldZwtTrn shows [Qc Qs]
Lison shows [Kd Ac]
But I was wrong....
*** TURN *** [8d Kh Kc] [Qh]
But I'm a luckbox.....
*** RIVER *** [8d Kh Kc Qh] [Ts]
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [8d Kh Kc Qh Ts]
BldZwtTrn collects $2,081.00

April only:
Hands played : 71,061 (20% NL400)
$ Won in cashgames : $16,318
PTBB/100 : 4,33
MT ratio : 6,09
Hourly win rate: $139.47

Nice video of the best PSV defender ever....Alex (video starts after 1.03 minute)

[ ]

Quick update

Things are going well again. The last two weeks I've made a nice profit even though I couldn't play as much as I want to. I've played about 60K hands this month and this is far below my goal of around 90K-100K per month. Seems like my work ethics could be better although playing 100K hands a month is far more difficult then expected it to be when I started.

Although the NL200 games are still my main place, I've also been playing some NL1000.
The reason I'm playing more 200 then 400 is because I think my hourly is better on 200 then on 400. There are also more tables availabe of 200 and the average stack is usually deeper (too much shortstacks on 400).

The reason I played the NL1000 tables is because I think my hourly over there could be way higher then on NL200/NL400. From what I've seen now the level of play is not that much higher then on NL400, but offcourse it's very important which players are sitting. I already found some (regular playing) fish and I think that's one of the most important things when playing these levels. You should always do table selection. So far I haven't been lucky on NL1000 and I'm down a little more then a buy-in.

April only:
Hands played : 59,026 (20% NL400)
$ Won in cashgames : $9,135
PTBB/100 : 3,8 (5,8 @ NL200)
MT ratio : 6,85
Hourly win rate: $78,99

Bit of an upswing

For those who where worried about my bad run, I think I'm having a little bit of an upswing the past 5 days. Even had a set over set for 200BB.
Patience is really the key even if you're running worse then you would ever expect, if you're a good/winning player that upswing will come, just don't start tilting/playing bad.

My first 2 months of being a pro

It's now 2 months ago since I started my career as a full time poker pro.
Most things went as expected but offcourse there are always things that you don't expect when you make the decision.

Positive things:
- lots of free time
- I don't get bored with poker even though I play ~100K hands a month
- Still eager to learn and study on my leaks
- Still have the discipline to play NL200/NL400 even though I'm way overrolled
- Nice income

'Negative' things
- It's pretty hard to 8-table 8 hours per day 5 days a week
- It's difficult not to get your mood affected by swings
- Being alone all the time (offcourse not all the time, but 80% of the time)

Then the hard facts for these 2 months of playing poker:

Since 11 february:
Hands played : 191,831
$ Won in cashgames : VW Golf TDI 2.0
PTBB/100 NL200 (75% hands) : 5,24
PTBB/100 NL400 (25% hands) : 2,93
MT ratio : 6,92
Hourly win rate: $127,31

Last but not least:
Thanks for all the support and comments that are coming in every post.
Since my last post I had 2 nice sessions so hopefully this will be the start of an upswing. And I'm thinking about another strategy article to write about, but still don't know about what part.

Other stupid facts:
Biggest losing hand (absolute): J3o (Never played that hand, so it's just from losing blinds)
Biggest losing hand that I've voluntary played: A9s
Biggest winners: 99+, AQo+, AQs+ and 97s (my favorite hand)
Most dealt PP: 77(901 times)
Less dealt PP: 66(842 times)
Most dealt hand total: 72o (1840 times, not a joke)
Less dealt hand total: 87s (524 times)

Saga continues

I never thought a break even streak as I'm in now was possible.
Almost 50K hands without profit. It's really puts my confidence to the test.
Maybe to get some confidence back I'm posting 7 hands here where I played a big pot and I'd like to get some advice on them. Please tell me which hand u would have played different. The hands will not only be losers/bad beats, just some random big pots.

Hand 1:
EverestPoker Game #1375788953: Table Suva-8 - $1.00/$2.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 11:21:13 - 2007/04/10
Seat 1: TheLoon ($223.75)
Seat 2: PetterLund ($217.70)
Seat 3: BldZwtTrn ($200.00)
Seat 4: Roedy ($207.90)
Seat 5: HertigTorulf ($256.70)
Seat 6: ChasseurAlp1 ($196.15) ->>> 40/7/2 (not a good player)
TheLoon posts the small blind of $1.00
PetterLund posts the big blind of $2.00
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Qc Kh]
BldZwtTrn raises to $7.00
Roedy folds
HertigTorulf folds
ChasseurAlp1 calls $7.00
TheLoon folds
PetterLund folds
*** FLOP *** [Th Qs Kc]
BldZwtTrn bets $13.00
ChasseurAlp1 calls $13.00
*** TURN *** [Th Qs Kc] [4s]
BldZwtTrn checks
ChasseurAlp1 bets $16.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $69.00
ChasseurAlp1 raises to $176.15 and is all-in
BldZwtTrn calls $107.15

Hand 2:
EverestPoker Game #1375371931: Table Bamako-4 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 08:51:43 - 2007/04/10
Seat 1: Kaffedopp ($394.00)
Seat 2: BldZwtTrn ($414.00)
Seat 3: Memorax ($686.90)
Seat 4: erikzamboer ($794.90)
Seat 5: nickalex ($562.00) ->>> 54/4/2 (big fish)
Seat 6: bertje49 ($72.99)
BldZwtTrn posts the small blind of $2.00
Memorax posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Ac Ad]
erikzamboer folds
nickalex calls $4.00
bertje49 folds
Kaffedopp folds
BldZwtTrn raises to $16.00
Memorax folds
nickalex calls $12.00
*** FLOP *** [Kd Ts 6h]
BldZwtTrn bets $27.00
nickalex raises to $54.00
BldZwtTrn calls $27.00
*** TURN *** [Kd Ts 6h] [4h]
BldZwtTrn checks
nickalex bets $144.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $344.00 and is all-in
nickalex raises to $492.00 and is all-in
Uncalled bet of $148.00 returned to nickalex

Hand 3:
EverestPoker Game #1371988436: Table Suva-26 - $1.00/$2.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 14:29:44 - 2007/04/09
Seat 1: tang10 ($205.05)
Seat 2: King_Hassan ($185.00)
Seat 3: bandito000 ($197.00)
Seat 4: VITRONI ($358.15) ->>> 40/7/2 (bad player)
Seat 5: xXxname ($223.45)
Seat 6: BldZwtTrn ($200.00)
xXxname posts the small blind of $1.00
BldZwtTrn posts the big blind of $2.00
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[5h 6h]
tang10 folds
King_Hassan calls $2.00
bandito000 calls $2.00
VITRONI calls $2.00
xXxname calls $1.00
BldZwtTrn checks
*** FLOP *** [5d 6c 9d]
xXxname checks
BldZwtTrn bets $6.00
King_Hassan folds
bandito000 folds
VITRONI raises to $12.00
xXxname folds
BldZwtTrn raises to $39.00
VITRONI calls $27.00
*** TURN *** [5d 6c 9d] [3c]
BldZwtTrn checks
VITRONI bets $88.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $159.00 and is all-in
VITRONI calls $71.00

Hand 4:
EverestPoker Game #1371939358: Table Bamako-5 - $2.00/$4.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 14:18:29 - 2007/04/09
Seat 1: stoufette ($413.00) ->>> unknown player
Seat 2: PokerNL1978 ($126.50)
Seat 3: denise86_ ($563.90)
Seat 4: immortal8 ($485.30)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($400.00)
Seat 6: PokerRuler ($400.00)
stoufette posts the small blind of $2.00
PokerNL1978 posts the big blind of $4.00
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[3c 3h]
immortal8 folds
BldZwtTrn raises to $14.00
PokerRuler raises to $46.00
stoufette calls $44.00
PokerNL1978 folds
BldZwtTrn calls $32.00
*** FLOP *** [Ks 3s Th]
stoufette bets $367.00 and is all-in
BldZwtTrn calls $354.00 and is all-in
PokerRuler folds
Uncalled bet of $13.00 returned to stoufette
stoufette collects $848.00

Hand 5:

EverestPoker Game #1372592610: Table Suva-20 - $1.00/$2.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 16:39:34 - 2007/04/09
Seat 1: BUBAL ($114.50) ->>>> fish
Seat 2: BldZwtTrn ($590.00)
Seat 3: islandfrog ($251.95)
Seat 4: pietkeur ($210.30) ->>> fish
Seat 5: Mindelf ($194.00)
Seat 6: Aasisdebaas ($200.70)
Aasisdebaas posts the small blind of $1.00
BUBAL posts the big blind of $2.00
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Jh Jd]
BldZwtTrn raises to $7.00
islandfrog folds
pietkeur calls $7.00
Mindelf folds
Aasisdebaas folds
BUBAL calls $5.00
*** FLOP *** [8c 4c 9d]
BUBAL bets $22.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $70.00
pietkeur calls $70.00
BUBAL folds
*** TURN *** [8c 4c 9d] [6s]
BldZwtTrn bets $184.00
pietkeur calls $133.30 and is all-in
Uncalled bet of $50.70 returned to BldZwtTrn


Hand 6:

EverestPoker Game #1371284830: Table Suva-15 - $1.00/$2.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 11:40:10 - 2007/04/09
Seat 1: BldZwtTrn ($360.67)
Seat 2: Leodium ($200.00)
Seat 3: Mindelf ($261.20)
Seat 4: chato04 ($231.94) ->> good/TAG player
chato04 posts the small blind of $1.00
BldZwtTrn posts the big blind of $2.00
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[5c 6c]
Leodium folds
Mindelf raises to $7.00
chato04 calls $6.00
BldZwtTrn calls $5.00
*** FLOP *** [7s 8c Qc]
chato04 checks
BldZwtTrn bets $14.00
Mindelf folds
chato04 raises to $50.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $171.00
chato04 raises to $224.94 and is all-in
BldZwtTrn calls $53.94

Hand 7:

EverestPoker Game #1358583569: Table Suva-1 - $1.00/$2.00 - No Limit Hold'em - 14:03:01 - 2007/04/06
Seat 1: Mr_Ace_Ass ($299.85)
Seat 2: Itto ($599.15)
Seat 3: Waw ($200.00)
Seat 4: pokerhein ($576.26) ->>> 23/20/3 (good)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ($195.00)
Seat 6: Aegerti ($165.70)
BldZwtTrn posts the small blind of $1.00
Aegerti posts the big blind of $2.00
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BldZwtTrn[Ad Kc]
Mr_Ace_Ass raises to $7.00
Itto folds
Waw calls $7.00
pokerhein calls $7.00
BldZwtTrn raises to $35.00
Aegerti folds
Mr_Ace_Ass calls $28.00
Waw folds
pokerhein calls $28.00
*** FLOP *** [5s Th 5d]
BldZwtTrn checks
Mr_Ace_Ass checks
pokerhein checks
*** TURN *** [5s Th 5d] [Ac]
BldZwtTrn checks
Mr_Ace_Ass checks
pokerhein bets $75.00
BldZwtTrn calls $75.00
Mr_Ace_Ass folds
*** RIVER *** [5s Th 5d Ac] [9h]
BldZwtTrn checks
pokerhein bets $264.00
BldZwtTrn calls $85.00 and is all-in
Uncalled bet of $179.00 returned to pokerhein

Difficult week

The past week was the worst since I started to play full time.
I'm basically break even since last thursday (8 days of poker).
Its still not a really big downswing since my lowest point was about 8 buy-ins below my highest, but it's just frustrating to play 30K hands and not win a single dollar.

It's not only bad luck that caused that downswing (althought the quads against my set/boat at the same time at two different tables was amazing).
I also did make some bad plays offcourse, but I also noticed that the players are getting better and that there is not as much fish as before.

I also talked to two other Dutch regular players and they were experiencing the exact same thing. So as I was afraid off.....poker is just like the stock exchange (although not so fast yet)....when there are price differences (high fish to regular ratio) the marketmaker (regular) steps in and takes the profit. As the ratio decreases, winrates for regulars will drop and variance will increase.
Offcourse the good players will always make profits, but winrates of 8+ are just not possible over a long stretch of time.

April only:
Hands played : 18,087 (20% NL400)
$ Won in cashgames : $1,245
PTBB/100 : 2,08 (yihaaa)
MT ratio : 6,40
Hourly win rate: $25,09 (SHIIIIIIIIP IT!!!)

March Graph

This is my March graph, with a nice downswing at the end, although still my best month ever.

Back on track

After a slow start of the month, the last 2 weeks have been really good, especially on NL400. I've won on 16 days in a row now, for an amount of 1K per day. So the goal that I've set at the beginning of the month is still achievable although I don't think that I can play 100K hands this month. So far I played 79K and I'm up a little bit more then 20K.

Furthermore, I don't have much to write about, maybe some readers have some questions or things they like to know and I can try to write something about it.

March only:

Hands played : 78,926 (25% NL400)

$ Won in cashgames : $20,271

PTBB/100 : 5,15 (5,23 @ NL200)

MT ratio : 6,75

Hourly win rate: $145,82

Raising for information

This is not technical chart from the stock market in the nineties but my profit graph on Everest.



Raising for information is something I hear a lot op players say when I ask why they are raising a certain (scary) flop. Usually it's a terrible thing to do and I don't like the reasoning at all. Raising should be for value, isolation, to let draws pay or to bluff, but not to get information with a hand that has showdown value.

Its difficult to find a lot of examples but it's usually a situation when your raised on a scary flop (paired board is the best example as there are not a lot of draws).

For example the hand below:

POKERSTARS GAME #8579094315: HOLD'EM NO LIMIT ($1/$2) - 2007/02/23 - 03:24:32 (ET)
Table 'Caprera' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: AKA_PSV ($235.50 in chips)
Seat 2: hard2tel ($199 in chips)
Seat 4: LUVTHEGUTTY ($179 in chips)
Seat 5: Zadan ($225.45 in chips)
Seat 6: jgonzales ($151.35 in chips)
Zadan: posts small blind $1
jgonzales: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to AKA_PSV [Ac As]
AKA_PSV: raises $6 to $8
hard2tel: folds
LUVTHEGUTTY: calls $8
Zadan: folds
jgonzales: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [Qh Qs 6c] -> This is what you could call a 'scary flop' for aces.
jgonzales: checks
AKA_PSV: bets $14 -> Make a normal c-bet
LUVTHEGUTTY: folds
jgonzales: raises $16 to $30
AKA_PSV: calls $16 -> This is a situation where raising is absolutely terrible, a lot of players are not raising a Queen here and are raising the flop for information themself with a lower pair or as a total bluff to scare me. By re-raising I make all worse hands fold en better hands call....
*** TURN *** [Qh Qs 6c] [5d]
jgonzales: bets $26
AKA_PSV: calls $26
*** RIVER *** [Qh Qs 6c 5d] [5s]
jgonzales: bets $24
AKA_PSV: calls $24
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jgonzales: shows [Ts Td] (two pair, Queens and Tens)
AKA_PSV: shows [Ac As] (two pair, Aces and Queens)
AKA_PSV collected $183 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $185 Rake $2
Board [Qh Qs 6c 5d 5s]
Seat 1: AKA_PSV showed [Ac As] and won ($183) with two pair, Aces and Queens
Seat 2: hard2tel folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: LUVTHEGUTTY (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: Zadan (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: jgonzales (big blind) showed [Ts Td] and lost with two pair, Queens and Tens

Then my month so far. I'm back on track. Due to the not so good start of the month I will probably not make my 25K goal, but I'm still doing good. Especially on NL400 I'm finally a little but more lucky.
For March my winrate on NL200 over 50K hands is 5 and @ NL400 I'm now at 4 over 15K hands.

March only:
Hands played : 64,682 (20% NL400)
$ Won in cashgames : $15,438
PTBB/100 : 4,76 (5,01 @ NL200)
MT ratio : 7,09
Hourly win rate: $136,09

100K hands @ NL200

I've done it. I played 100K hands at NL200 on Everest. Offcourse I'm playing NL400 as well, but during daytime there aren't a lot of tables availabe so I'm mostly playing NL200.

My winrate over this 100K hands is 7,11 PTBB/100. For a long time I stayed above 8, but the last 40K went a little bit slower. It's always difficult to say if it was because I had luck in the first 60K hands or if I were unlucky in the last 40K.

I also looked at blocks of hands within this 100K sample to get to know something more about swings. Here's what I found out:

If I look at blocks of 5K hands my winrate is between 0,35 and 14,72
If I look at blocks of 10K hands my winrate is between 3,26 and 11.88
If I look at blocks of 20K hands my winrate is between 4,57 and 10.08
If I look at blocks of 50K hands my winrate is between 5,46 and 8.72

The conclusion of this is that a sample size of 50K becomes somewhat significant, but before that it's pretty meaningless. (I also only looked at fixed blocks of hands and if I had looked at variable blocks the swings would be bigger for sure)

March only:
Hands played : 44,405 (20% NL400)
$ Won in cashgames : $8,068.09
PTBB/100 : 3.94 (4,45 @ NL200)
MT ratio : 7,08
Hourly win rate: $101,14

March is starting slow

The beginning of March was not so great as the end of February.
In a session on NL400 I lost 5 buy-ins in less then a hour!!
And the funny thing was....I played almost without a mistake.

But when people can't laydown AJo....and I'm not hitting my draw its getting difficult.

***** Hand History for Game 1188815248 *****
0/0 TEXASHTGAMETABLE (NL) - THU MAR 01 19:58:22 EDT 2007
Table Bamako-0 (Real Money) -- Seat 2 is the button
Seat 1: PLaToN ( $15.36)
Seat 2: algouz ( $496.24)
Seat 3: BldZwtTrn ( $369.84)
Seat 4: FishHoven ( $646.22)
Seat 5: d3fault ( $394.0)
Seat 6: chillyah ( $399.52)
BldZwtTrn posts small blind (2.0).
FishHoven posts big blind (4.0).
Dealt to BldZwtTrn [ Qd, Kd ]
d3fault folds.
chillyah folds.
PLaToN calls (4.0)
algouz calls (4.0)
BldZwtTrn raises (18.0) to 20.0
FishHoven folds.
PLaToN calls (11.36)
PLaToN is all-In.
algouz calls (16.0)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 5s, Td, Ad ]
BldZwtTrn bets (40.0)
algouz raises (80.0) to 80.0
BldZwtTrn raises (208.0) to 248.0
algouz calls (168.0)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 2h ]
BldZwtTrn bets (101.84)
BldZwtTrn is all-In.
algouz calls (101.84)
** Dealing River ** : [ Th ]
** Summary **
Main Pot: $50.08 | Side Pot 1: $705.96 | Rake: $3.0
Board: [ 5s Td Ad 2h Th ]
PLaToN balance $0, bet $0, lost $0.0 [ Qs Kh ] [ ]
algouz balance $0, bet $0, collected $756.04, net +$0 [ Jc Ah ] [ ]
BldZwtTrn balance $0, bet $0, lost $0.0 [ Qd Kd ] [ ]

Or when people push there (obvious) draw with a massive overbet and still hit.

***** Hand History for Game 1188828232 *****
0/0 TEXASHTGAMETABLE (NL) - THU MAR 01 20:00:52 EDT 2007
Table Bamako-6 (Real Money) -- Seat 1 is the button
Seat 1: Sebboss ( $450.88)
Seat 2: d3fault ( $396.0)
Seat 3: BldZwtTrn ( $394.0)
Seat 5: Ernesto_777 ( $981.96)
Seat 6: Malene76 ( $951.84)
d3fault posts small blind (2.0).
BldZwtTrn posts big blind (4.0).
Dealt to BldZwtTrn [ Jc, Ac ]
Ernesto_777 folds.
Malene76 folds.
Sebboss folds.
d3fault calls (2.0)
BldZwtTrn raises (8.0) to 12.0
d3fault calls (8.0)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 3h, Jd, 7h ]
d3fault checks.
BldZwtTrn bets (17.0)
d3fault raises (70.0) to 70.0
BldZwtTrn calls (53.0)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 9d ]
d3fault bets (314.0)
d3fault is all-In.
BldZwtTrn calls (312.0)
BldZwtTrn is all-In.
** Dealing River ** : [ 4h ]
** Summary **
Main Pot: $785.0 | Rake: $3.0
Board: [ 3h Jd 7h 9d 4h ]
d3fault balance $0, bet $0, collected $787.0, net +$0 [ Qh 9h ] [ ]
BldZwtTrn balance $0, bet $0, lost $0.0 [ Jc Ac ] [ ]

Or when the deck is just as cold as ice....

***** Hand History for Game 1188806098 *****
0/0 TEXASHTGAMETABLE (NL) - THU MAR 01 19:56:33 EDT 2007
Table Bamako-11 (Real Money) -- Seat 6 is the button
Seat 1: Djegum ( $377.36)
Seat 2: jean-mary974 ( $230.52)
Seat 3: BldZwtTrn ( $421.0)
Seat 4: Sebboss ( $394.0)
Seat 5: Spevel81 ( $444.0)
Seat 6: torp35 ( $420.28)
Djegum posts small blind (2.0).
jean-mary974 posts big blind (4.0).
Dealt to BldZwtTrn [ As, Ad ]
BldZwtTrn raises (14.0) to 14.0
Sebboss calls (14.0)
Spevel81 folds.
torp35 folds.
Djegum folds.
jean-mary974 folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Ts, Qc, Ac ]
BldZwtTrn bets (25.0)
Sebboss raises (85.0) to 85.0
BldZwtTrn calls (60.0)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 6h ]
BldZwtTrn checks.
Sebboss bets (130.0)
BldZwtTrn raises (322.0) to 322.0
BldZwtTrn is all-In.
Sebboss calls (165.0)
Sebboss is all-In.
** Dealing River ** : [ 7c ]
** Summary **
Main Pot: $791.0 | Rake: $3.0
Board: [ Ts Qc Ac 6h 7c ]
BldZwtTrn balance $0, bet $0, collected $27.0, net +$0 [ As Ad ] [ ]
Sebboss balance $0, bet $0, collected $791.0, net +$0 [ Kc Jc ] [ ]

***** Hand History for Game 1188987563 *****
0/0 TEXASHTGAMETABLE (NL) - THU MAR 01 20:32:12 EDT 2007
Table Bamako-11 (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
Seat 1: glasleer ( $80.76)
Seat 3: BldZwtTrn ( $615.36)
Seat 4: Sebboss ( $850.42)
Seat 5: Spevel81 ( $393.94)
Seat 6: tonicherm ( $120.1)
Spevel81 posts small blind (2.0).
tonicherm posts big blind (4.0).
Dealt to BldZwtTrn [ 9c, Ac ]
glasleer calls (4.0)
BldZwtTrn raises (18.0) to 18.0
Sebboss calls (18.0)
Spevel81 folds.
tonicherm folds.
glasleer folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 6d, 9s, As ]
BldZwtTrn bets (33.0)
Sebboss raises (100.0) to 100.0
BldZwtTrn calls (67.0)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Jd ]
BldZwtTrn checks.
Sebboss checks.
** Dealing River ** : [ 7d ]
BldZwtTrn checks.
Sebboss bets (200.0)
BldZwtTrn calls (200.0)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $643.0 | Rake: $3.0
Board: [ 6d 9s As Jd 7d ]
BldZwtTrn balance $0, bet $0, lost $0.0 [ 9c Ac ] [ ]
Sebboss balance $0, bet $0, collected $643.0, net +$0 [ Ad Ah ] [ ]

Or when I have a perfect read, but people still call against the odds...

***** Hand History for Game 1192397851 *****
0/0 TEXASHTGAMETABLE (NL) - FRI MAR 02 15:15:50 EDT 2007
Table Suva-10 (Real Money) -- Seat 2 is the button
Seat 1: Macspower ( $264.9)
Seat 2: Xena79 ( $219.92)
Seat 4: vagram ( $200.0)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ( $208.6)
Seat 6: Masterpolo ( $188.26)
BldZwtTrn posts small blind (1.0).
Masterpolo posts big blind (2.0).
Dealt to BldZwtTrn [ Qc, Ah ]
Macspower folds.
Xena79 folds.
BldZwtTrn raises (5.0) to 6.0
Masterpolo calls (4.0)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 3h, 8c, 3c ]
BldZwtTrn bets (8.0)
Masterpolo raises (16.0) to 16.0
BldZwtTrn raises (44.0) to 52.0
Masterpolo calls (36.0)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Th ]
BldZwtTrn checks.
Masterpolo bets (24.0)
BldZwtTrn raises (150.6) to 150.6
BldZwtTrn is all-In.
Masterpolo calls (106.26)
Masterpolo is all-In.
** Dealing River ** : [ 9c ]
** Summary **
Main Pot: $373.52 | Rake: $3.0
Board: [ 3h 8c 3c Th 9c ]
BldZwtTrn balance $0, bet $0, collected $20.34, net +$0 [ Qc Ah ] [ ]
Masterpolo balance $0, bet $0, collected $373.52, net +$0 [ Ac 5c ] [ ]

Or when you're sets get outdrawn...

***** Hand History for Game 1197517701 *****
0/0 TEXASHTGAMETABLE (NL) - SAT MAR 03 15:16:37 EDT 2007
Table Suva-18 (Real Money) -- Seat 6 is the button
Seat 1: tang10 ( $374.11)
Seat 2: obut ( $346.09)
Seat 3: croate ( $54.4)
Seat 4: leotaq ( $134.12)
Seat 5: BldZwtTrn ( $261.44)
Seat 6: DaniStar5 ( $389.02)
tang10 posts small blind (1.0).
obut posts big blind (2.0).
Dealt to BldZwtTrn [ 9d, 9s ]
croate folds.
leotaq folds.
BldZwtTrn raises (7.0) to 7.0
DaniStar5 calls (7.0)
tang10 calls (6.0)
obut folds.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Qd, 9h, 4h ]
tang10 checks.
BldZwtTrn bets (16.0)
DaniStar5 calls (16.0)
tang10 folds.
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 4s ]
BldZwtTrn checks.
DaniStar5 bets (32.0)
BldZwtTrn raises (105.0) to 105.0
DaniStar5 raises (334.02) to 366.02
DaniStar5 is all-In.
BldZwtTrn calls (133.44)
BldZwtTrn is all-In.
** Dealing River ** : [ Qc ]
** Summary **
Main Pot: $528.88 | Rake: $3.0
Board: [ Qd 9h 4h 4s Qc ]
BldZwtTrn balance $0, bet $0, lost $0.0 [ 9d 9s ] [ ]
DaniStar5 balance $0, bet $0, collected $656.46, net +$0 [ Qh Ks ] [ ]

Well overall, I still made some good money, I just had a few sessions that were very unlucky. But thats the variance u have to deal with.

March only:
Hands played : 16,005 (15% NL400)
$ Won in cashgames : $2,606.35 (lost money on NL400)
PTBB/100 : 4,33 (5,57 @ NL200)
MT ratio : 7,57
Hourly win rate: $104,05

2007 only:
Hands played : 124,653
$ Won in cashgames : $32,606.93
PTBB/100 : 6,19 (7,97 @ NL200)
MT ratio : 6,77
Hourly win rate: $154,38

My edge

In the comments someone asked me what I think my edge against (most) other players is and why I'm winning and some others not....

This is a question I ask myself a lot as well and also makes me a little afraid.
I have a background in the financial world and one of the things you learn there is the efficient market theory. In a lot of ways the pokerworld is comparable to a stock exchange but somehow in the pokerworld the world is not efficient at all.

All the information is available to everybody but somehow, there are people who don't use all those information. Some people just don't care because they wanne gamble. Others don't have the time to study the game and so on.

The thing that makes me afraid is that making so much money as easy as with poker HAS to make the 'market' more effecient in the long run. Players are gonna get better and losing players will leave the market. The question is.....what is the long run in poker (6 months or 3 years?????)

Offcourse not everyone can be a winning poker player, some skills that you need to have to be a winning player are:

* Having great discipline (the most important thing I would say)
* Analytical (good with numbers)
* Eager to learn and improve your game
* Flexible (able to adjust to different situations)
* Mentally stable

And remember this:
* Winning players see a bad beat as a reason to play more poker and losing players see a bad beat as a reason to quit poker.

Then my first month as a pro....although I only played 2,5 weeks this month, due to my holiday, I still exceeded my expectation by far.

February only:
Hands played : 65,980
$ Won in cashgames : $19,447.33
PTBB/100 : 6,85
MT ratio : 7,17
Hourly win rate: $183,26

GOALS MARCH 2007:
Play 100K hands with a profit of $25K