Milestone Day

Quote of the Day
"If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?"
-Unknown

sorry i haven't updated in a while. i have been really busy, then when i haven't been busy....i just haven't been in a mood to write.

i can't seem to keep track of whats going on in the market these days. it appears that everyday is another ridiculous spike that the pundits couldn't predict. its intriguing to follow, but makes it very difficult to, especially if you miss a day or two. with the election only a few days away now, its getting very very interesting. its cool to be in a swing state, and have my vote mean a little more, then your average red or blue state out there. im gonna vote tomorrow, hopefully avoiding some of the lines on tuesday.

in poker...i played in a 1k HU tourny at caesar's last week friday. i first heard about it probably two months ago, and was really excited about it since then. the structure that was first posted was sensational. 10,000 starting chips, 25/50 starting level, with 15 minute levels, then moving to 20 minutes after round 3. myself and my friend "chekdeznuts" decided to play in it. we called thursday morning to see how many people were registered, and there were 40 at that point, with a cap at 64. so we went a few hours later, figuring it wouldn't be a big deal....and much to our suprise, 63 people were already registered, BUT they moved the cap to 128. so we got in with no prob. we practiced that night going practicing playing the slow structure....

so we get to the tourny, and because they moved the cap up, they changed the levels. all levels were 15 minutes, AND they deleted two of the early levels. so much for the great structure. so we started off with 10k in chips, and my opponent was fairly decent. he played very conservatively, limped a lot of buttons, and it wasn't going to be easy to get him to commit chips into the pot. so i slipped to an early 11.5-8.5 deficit....when the blinds were 100/200. he threw out a raise to 600 (which was very infrequent), but for some reason the dealer didn't allow the raise, so he was forced to limp. i look down at kk. i make it 700 to go, and he calls, laughing we got in the raise anyway. the flop comes k73 rainbow. this guy has been pretty tight post flop, and the ONLY hand that hurts me is if he has a gutshot with 2 cards between 7 and 3. i figured i should try to let him catch up a little bit, so i check, and he checks behind. now the turn comes a 5. im obviously not thrilled with that card, so i bet 900, and he calls. a 4 hits the river, with the board reading k7354. so i throw up in my mouth, and check. he bets 1800. i call, and he has 65 for the winner. whatever...i went down to 4k, then got a double up and was right back in it. blinds were 150/300 at this point, and he limps like he has done 95% of the time. i have 87dd, so i make it 1000 to go. he calls. i have 6500 chips after my raise. flop comes 943 with two diamonds. now there are two ways to play this hand....obviously im stuck in it on the flop. i can either make a big bet and call if he shoves...or make a big check raise, which is the play i prefer. by leading out, he will shove if he hit any part of the flop...any 9, any 4, any 3, straight draw, or flush draw. now by check raising...he will have to most likely fold the 4, 3, or drawing hands...so i check, he bets 1000. i make it 4500, and he insta shoves. i call...and he flips up 43 for two pair. no diamond for me, and i am flushed away in the first round. chek made it to round two before his qq lost to aces. gg us.

not much has been going on in poker other than that travesty of a tournament, except for today, which was a great day for me personally. i reached two milestones today. 10,000 games played and 350 on sharkscope. i haven't come close to reaching my goal for 650 games played this month, but i have played live probably 40 hours of live cash game, which makes up for some of it. in any case, im really proud of those two milestones. ill do a better job of updating upcoming....

October Forecast

Quote of the Day
"I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants."
-A. Whitney Brown

well looks like the economy is going to bounce back somewhat with this bill being passed, and barack's lead is starting to widen. so all is good in the world again......for now. i dont think the average person really understood what this country faced if the "bailout" or "rescue plan" didn't pass. the ramifications weren't explained well enough by politicians, or the media. im not going to get much into it, because id go on for way too long.

all i can really say is i hope people are aware of what is going on. in an election year, with two candidates who differ on so many levels, i hope people can look at their views and policies and make an informed decision come november.

back to poker...
i finished september up a whopping $345 in my HU games. i dont mind it though. i didn't put in a lot of time. im hoping to play about 650 games in october. that really isn't much, but considering the last two months combined, i've played less than 600 games total, its a respectable goal. i stopped making monthly profit goals. i used to either a) reach the profit goal, and get complacent the rest of the month or b) didn't reach it, and while i was playing, i put so much unnecessary pressure on myself, making some games more important than others, which shouldn't be the case.

after doing this full time for 2 and a half years, i have come to realize, individual games aren't important. this game is about quantity, opponent selection, and who can stay mentally strong during the difficult times. who is going to be able to keep playing...and playing well when they lose 9 of 10. the days i know that im at my best aren't necessarily days that i win. it comes on those days where i put in a long session, lose 4,000...but not even realize it, and am able to smile at the end of the day.