Poker Resolutions for 2009

I try this every year and it never quite works out, but I'll give it a shot.

1. Quit playing crummy aces. In other words, no playing A-7 off suit at any time unless I'm in the blind and there's not a raise. Most of the rules assume that I'm not in the blind.

2. Always leave my checkbook and/or debit card and/or credit cards at home and only take with me the money I can afford to spend. I'm doing fairly well at this already, but I forget sometimes and I invariably get into the money . . . bad girl!

3. Try to be a little tighter in the low limit games, but still have fun. We have the monte carlo board which tends to make me be a more stupid player than I already am. Ignore the board and play the cards I know I should be playing and throw the other ones away.

4. Attempt to study betting patterns more and get better at betting (in tournaments) myself.

5. Continue reading poker books. One can never learn too much about this game.

6. Keep having fun with my favorite garbage hand because if one cannot have fun, one has no reason to play. Period.

7. Remember what Doyle Brunson says at the beginning of "Poker After Dark". We don't stop playing because we get old. WE GET OLD BECAUSE WE STOP PLAYING. This ties in with #6.

8. Try not to go on tilt.

9. Respect other players at all times even if they don't respect me. Don't let them get to me or put me on tilt either.

10. Never give up. Never surrender. Never get out of the boat (that's from "Apocalypse Now").

I think that's it. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ME AND TO EVERYONE ELSE!!!

Another Notch on the Belt!

I took third place in last weekend's Saturday tournament for $180 gross. Perhaps I am on a small roll or over the worst of it anyway. The biggest problem I have is patience and I'm trying really hard to get over that. It's tough. I am also trying to figure out things like how much to bet in certain situations, i.e., if I flop a set, do I bet? If I do bet, do I bet one-half the pot? Two-thirds? Are there any hard and fast rules in this regard? I don't think so. I guess a lot of it depends on who is in the pot with you. If it's an aggressive player, perhaps checking and letting them bet is best depending on the lay of the land. If there's a straight or flush draw, it's probably best to lead out.

These are the things I have the most trouble with - the strategy part. It's like a little war and the chips are your soldiers. I have been reading "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu and that has a lot of great stuff in it for poker players. My favorite "rule" has always been, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." When you hit a big hand, you want them to bet or call. I guess this is the one thing I really love about poker - the unknown qualities of every hand and how they can change on the turn of a card - and what you do about it. Fascinating.

Happy holidays everyone. I probably won't be playing again until Saturday. I think I'll win it this time!

I'm Feeling MUCH Better Now!

Yes, I still have it. Yippee! On Saturday (13th) I played the 8:00 am. tournament at the Moose and just about decided to hang up my spurs. I had terrible luck. However, being the tough cookie that I am, I then changed my mind and said, "What the hell! I can do this." So, I came back Sunday morning, played the 8:00 a.m. tournament and won it!! Yes!! I only made a profit of $130, but you have no idea how good this made me feel. I then went on to take 4th place in the 10:00 a.m. tournament for $200, so I had a two-for-two cash day and I am on top of the world. I have Monday afternoon off (I set it aside just for goofing off on a weekday) and I just might go play a little live poker, although I am still having atrocious luck in that arena. The thing is that it's still fun, so there you go.

Anyway, happy holidays to my fans (all one of them) and best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year!

I Need a Little Break

Things have not been going all that well lately. I can't seem to hit in live games or in tournaments. I have a poker budget and I am out of money until the 15th. This might be a good thing because I am getting frustrated and annoyed and when that happens, it's probably not a good idea to play at all.

Example: Friday night. I decide to play live for awhile instead of just going home and resting up for the Saturday tournament. My budget is such by this point in time that I only have $200 for the weekend. I blow $100 of it Friday night. Blah! I flop two pair & get beat by bigger two pair. I flop a set and someone has a bigger set or rivers a boat. Good grief. It is downright ugly. Finally, I'm down to my last $12 and I decide to just go all in with pocket 8s in a kill pot (3-6 game, so now it's 6-12). I end up with 8s full of 10s and a guy with J-10 gets a jack on the river for jacks full of 10s. OK. That's enough. No rebuy for me.

I still have $100 of my poker budget left, so I go home & come back again for the $40 tournament on Saturday morning. Again, I have atrocious luck, getting beat about three times on the river. Frustration finally sets in and I go all-in with A8 offsuit in the cut-off with only the blinds to beat. I get called (believe it or not) by A9 offsuit and that's the end of that. I decide not to play any more this week.

However, by Sunday afternoon, I am totally bored, having completed all my weekend chores, etc. I take my final $60 down to the Moose and last approximately 45 minutes, getting killed consistently when I have the best hand until the damned river. My last hand was A7 (the blinds were coming and I only had $6 left so I went all-in). I flopped 2 pair and got rivered by a straight. I am beginning to feel like my buddy Phil!

So, long story short, I think I will take a break until payday. I don't want to go over my budget anyway. I'm really trying to work on that because if I let myself do so, I will spend money that I shouldn't spend and that's not good. So, I will take a one-week break and try not to even think about poker for that entire time. Now that I have this all off my chest as it were, I shouldn't have a problem. When I play my next tournament on December 20, watch out! It will be a new me!!

I CAN'T PLAY POCKET JACKS

I do not think I can play pocket jacks. Is it ever possible to play these correctly? I was playing the Saturday tournament and a tight player raised to 3 times the big blind. I looked down to find pocket jacks. Because he was a tight player, I simply called. I think my only other option was to go all-in. I don't think I would ever fold at that point unless it was strategically good to do so - for example, having two players all-in before me and I could move up in the money or something like that. Anyway, we were the only two players to see the flop.

The flop was 7-8-2 rainbow. Therefore, I'm feeling pretty good about my jacks at that point. Tight player bets about three-fourths of the pot. Again, like a little wussy girl I simply call. In hindsight, it was good that I did so. On the turn - another 7. Tight player moves all-in. I am frustrated. I don't know where I am in the hand. I have him covered, but that's not the point. I'm not sure what to do. He could have A-K, A-Q, AA, KK, QQ, of which AA, KK and QQ beat me. He's a tight player. I do not put him on a 7 or pocket sevens. I don't know why I don't put him on those hands. Just a feeling. I take forever and then call. He has the dreaded QQ. Damn it!!

I am not knocked out, but again I feel I played the jacks incorrectly. Being the tight player that he is, would he have folded to an all-in raise from me before the flop? Would he have done the same on the flop? I'm thinking I was beaten from the get-go on this one. I think I'll just fold these puppies from now on.