Gold Star, Cash Games, and WSOP

Well, it didn't take me long to reach gold star when I got back from Europe. I now earn FPP's twice as fast, so that Porsche or Aston Martin will be mine in no time. As for my cash game play, I've played 3 times in the last 4 days for about 45 minutes each day and my results are as follows: +$87, +$224, and +$236. So I am pretty pleased with these results and it seems I can maintain about one buy-in per day. I don't have poker tracker set up on this computer, but I know I am right around +$3000 for the month and I only played 14 days so I feel pretty good about it.

Here is my WSOP schedule, basically finalized:

COMPLETE TOURNAMENT

EVENT DATE & GAME TYPE

BUY-IN + ENTRY

EVENT COVERAGE

Sat, Jun. 02 - Mon, Jun. 04
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 3
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$1,500 + $0

Wed, Jun. 06 - Fri, Jun. 08
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 10
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$2,000 + $0

Thu, Jun. 07 - Sat, Jun. 09
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Event 12
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$1,500 + $0

Sat, Jun. 09 - Mon, Jun. 11
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 15
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$1,500 + $0

Mon, Jun. 11 - Wed, Jun. 13
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 19
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$2,500 + $0

Wed, Jun. 13 - Fri, Jun. 15
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 22
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$5,000 + $0

Fri, Jun. 15 - Sun, Jun. 17
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 25
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$2,000 + $0

Sat, Jun. 16 - Mon, Jun. 18
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 27
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$1,500 + $0

Sun, Jun. 17 - Tue, Jun. 19
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 28
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$3,000 + $0

Mon, Jun. 18 - Wed, Jun. 20
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em - Six Handed Event 30
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$2,500 + $0

Thu, Jun. 21 - Sat, Jun. 23
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 35
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$1,500 + $0

Sat, Jun. 23 - Mon, Jun. 25
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 38
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$1,500 + $0

Thu, Jun. 28 - Sat, Jun. 30
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em - Six Handed Event 45
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$5,000 + $0

Fri, Jun. 29 - Sun, Jul. 01
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 47
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$2,000 + $0

Sat, Jun. 30 - Mon, Jul. 02
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
No-Limit Hold'em Event 49
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$1,500 + $0

Fri, Jul. 06 - Tue, Jul. 17
Day 1 Starts: 12:00 PM PDT
World Championship No-Limit Hold'em Event 55
Rebuy Status: No Rebuys

$10,000 + $0

I have also decided that I most likely will not be playing event number 47 (5k NL 6-handed) because it isn't something I have played a lot of so I would rather save the 5k. I am playing the $1500 6-handed one though because it is cheap and I really want to play some six handed poker. If I do happen to have a decent cash, then there is a good chance I will play event 47. To fill in some of the days off that I might have, I will probably play some of the Bellagio WPT preliminary events and the Venetian tournaments but I haven't looked at those schedules yet. I leave Friday, June 1, so I will have it all figured out by then.

Europe Part 2

Ok, picking up from the previous post:

After leaving Venice, Lauren and I headed to Santorini for a 4 night stay in a villa in the town of Fira. A good piece of advice for the five people that happen to read this blog: Do not fly with the airline Alitalia!!! On our way to Santorini, we connected in Athens and had a 5 hour layover. The flights were booked separately so we had to pick up our baggage and recheck it. So after waiting for thirty minutes, we and about a third of the other people on our flight proceeded to the lost luggage counter where a Greek and Italian speaking man proceeded to nearly get arrested while yelling at the counter worker. In all the chaos, I managed to figure out that the luggage got lost and would be forwarded to us in Santorini. The luggage didn't arrive for two days, which left me wearing the same clothes for way too long of a period. As for Santorini itself, it was definitely my favorite place that we visited. The towns of the Greek isles are all set on the sides of cliffs, so they have magnificent views of the Aegean sea and it makes for very beautiful sunsets. While staying in Santorini, we took a boat excursion to the volcano and then sailed off to a swimming point that had hot springs (even though we had to swim through some very cold water). This experience really showed me how out of shape I am, as I watched a big fat man just blow by me as I used every muscle in my body to stay afloat. Oh and another cool thing about Santorini is that it has red and black sand beaches which was very different. So overall, Santorini is definitely a place that needs to be visited.

Our next stop was Athens, which I won't spend much time on because it wasn't really that great. The ruins were actually very cool as I have always liked Greek Mythology and it interesting to relate them. But Athens as a whole was very large, cramped, and dirty. It reminded me of a shitty version of Los Angeles, especially with all of the traffic. We were only there for one night and we made the most of it and moved on to Madrid. We didn't actually do anything in Madrid because we were only there because that is where our flight home departed from, so nothing to write about. It is interesting to note that we flew there with Alitalia, and once again, the luggage got lost and I still don't have it as of this writing. My next will be a return to poker as I lay out my WSOP schedule...

Mid-Trip Update

My original plan was to write a blog post after every country, but internet access has been very limited, plus it's also easy to forget about posting when you're traveling Europe and seeing new things. I decided I will just make a blog post for the first half of the trip and then another one as a summary when I get back, and post them at the same time, even though they are written at different times. Ok, I will break it down by country:

France - Lauren and I spent three nights in France in Hotel Napoleon, which had a great location right next to the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees. We didn't really use the hotel for anything except sleep because we were out and about most of the time. Lauren also had a friend named Karen studying abroad in Paris and her other friend Suzi was visiting Karen, so we had some people to hang out with. I also have a bunch of pictures of the Eiffel Tower, so I will post some of those when I get back. The highlight of the trip was eating dinner at Altitude 95, which was in the Eiffel Tower. We had a window seat with an excellent view of the city, as well as a great three course meal and the best bottle of wine they offered. It was what poker players would call "ballin".

England - We were in London for three nights as well and unfortunately we missed Manchester United's last game, but that in no way made this part of the trip less fun. As with most of these historically significant places, we saw the monumental sights like Big Ben, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. The best sight in my opinion was the tower bridge. Also, comparing the public transportation between France and England, England blows France away. France had very dirty, smelly subway systems (saw puke in the one car), whereas London's Underground system was very organized and clean. It really made traveling across London very easy. We also went to some pubs and sampled different beers, which is one of my favorite parts of traveling.

Venice - The city with streets of water, Venice is just like it is pictured but you really need to experience it to truly comprehend it. It is probably one of the coolest things in the world. When we deboarded the plane, rather than taking a regular taxi or a bus, we took a water taxi! Even though it costed 100 euro (about $140 U.S. dollars) it was definitely worth it. It was night time, and our guy was a little looser and wasn't afraid to disobey the speed limit signs, which led to us getting some nice air over some waves. Even though we were in Venice for three Calendar days, it was really only like a day and half as we got there really late on the first day, had all day the next day, then had a 7 a.m. flight the following day. Our hotel management was pretty rude in Venice. I expected this in Paris (but they were actually very nice) but not in Venice. They just didn't like when you asked questions and they all seemed annoyed at most times, but the rest of Venice made up for it.

I'm going to save Santorini, Athens, and Madrid for another post so this way it seems like I post more than I really do.

Touropa 2007

In an earlier post I promised I would talk about my upcoming trip to Europe, so this post is going to stray away from poker. As you might already know, I've been to Europe three times this semester to visit my girlfriend, who is studying abroad. On my trip we met in Vienna for just a few short days in February. The second and third trips were both to Sevilla, Spain (where she is studying) with Ireland and the Canary Islands squeezed in on the second trip. Now we are going on a two week excursion with an amazing lineup of places. I am flying out Friday evening and will be arriving Friday afternoon to meet my girlfriend in Paris! We will obviously be seeing the more prominent attractions like the Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe, and the Champs-Elysees to name a few. From Paris, we jet off to London for another couple of days. Even with its miserable weather and marginal food, it is a place I have always really wanted to go (I think part of it is that I can actually speak the language). I love pubs and European beer, and London should be a great place for it. Unfortunately, we are getting there one day after Manchester United's last game and i'm not sure if any of the other English Premier League teams still have games left. Even still, it should be a great time. From there, we fly to Venice, the city with streets of water. We will obviously be taking a gondola ride with Fabio leading us around the city. Also, our hotel is right on the water and looks pretty amazing.


The next destination I think will be my favorite. After Venice, we travel a pretty long way to Santorini, Greece. I can honestly say that I have not seen one bad picture of this place yet. Greece is made up of a bunch of islands and they all have great views of of the sunset and volcanoes. We aren't staying in a hotel, but instead a villa, which is basically a nice apartment. We also were able to find one with our own caldera and private outdoor jacuzzi, so it should be amazing. After Santorini, we have a one night stay in Athens, then off we go to Madrid for one night, where we depart the next day to go back home. All in all, the trip is two weeks long with lots of travelling, but it should be an amazing experience. I will definitely dedicate at least one blog post to describing the trip when I get back. I will also be hitting the poker hard when I get, especially when I go to the WSOP for six weeks. But that's for another time and another post...

FPP Status

So this is basically another infatuation post about cash games again. Last month, I managed to become a Silver Star FPP member in about 28 days playing mostly tournaments. I managed to do it again this month, only this time it took me 6 days, playing primarily cash games. If I weren't going to Europe for two weeks, I could easily make gold star, and possibly platinum this month if I tried extra hard, but I'd much rather be touring Europe for a couple of weeks. The amazing thing about getting these different star levels is that they increase the rate at which you earn FPP points. For example, attaining Silver star allows you to earn points 100% faster, and from what I've noticed, they rack up quick. Also, the VIP levels allow you to buy cooler stuff with your points like tournament entries, electronics, money, and Aston Martins so it's definitely worth trying to make new levels.

As for a minor update, I played the Sunday tournaments on my dad's account because he couldn't play that day, so I was basically on a stake deal. I pulled my usual in the warm-up again, played well, got close to the money and then ran QQ into AA. As for the million, I lasted a whopping 6 minutes. I'm not going into much detail because I'm still in shock, but here's basically what happened: I had AA and was forced to 4 bet JohnnyBax because another guy cold called the 3 bet, and they both called my 3x four bet. Long story short, flop came 853 and all three people got it in on the flop, with Bax and I both having AA and the other nit flopping a set of 3's leaving me with no outs, so gg me. I also managed to play just under 1000 hands of cash, with a range of -$300 to +$220, but ended +$10, so nothing special. I did play 350 hands today for a profit of +$250, so I'm happy with that so far. I will probably put in another session later tonight, so we will see how that goes...

Cash Games Galore!

I am still not where I want to be when it comes to posting here, but this one is quicker than the last update and it also included a trip to Spain. For those interested in traveling and seeing different things, Seville, Spain is certainly a place to stop, especially during Feria week. This is essentially a week long fair where the entire city takes off work for a week and goes to party in the many tents and rides. I was only there for a few days but it was definitely a blast, especially since I got to spend some time with my girlfriend after not seeing her for over five weeks! I will also be going back to Europe a week from today on a European tour with my girlfriend but I will save the details for another post (gives me incentive to post sooner). Ok, now for the poker update...

My last post was about ten days ago and since then I have played only cash games, with the exception of one $5r that I immediately regretted entering, so I basically just lost on purpose. The cash games have been going very well though. Here are the results from April 15th until now:
I have almost doubled my profit with just over double the hands previously played in the last update. I do have to note that I've only had one or two losing days, but unfortunately one was for $950 (almost 5 buy-ins!!!), which I do consider an anomaly that is dragging down my results. On that particular day, negative variance just smacked me in the face as my sets got crushed by runner-runners when all the money got in on the flop, my nut flushes got trumped by rivered full houses, and then just some bad play caused by tilt. So I am pretty sure I can avoid days like that and I plan on coming up with a stop-loss amount, but I haven't come to a conclusion for how much yet. I also need to address something that most likely explains why I have so few losing days and why I haven't played more hands. Often times during my sessions, I will go up a couple of hundred dollars within half an hour due to some maniac or a nice hand or two, but then I will almost shut down. For some reason, I can't stand the feeling of having made a profit and then having it slip away later, so I essentially shut down and bail out after another round or two. The funny thing is that $200 profit or whatever isn't that big of a deal to me at all, it's just the feeling of losing. There is something psychological to me about need to finish in the positive, and so when I am already positive, I get overprotective and start to stray away from my game that got me those profits. I really feel this is holding me back from having +5 buy-in days that I know I am capable of acheiving. So a new goal for me is to overcome this fear shall we say and truly see if I can reach my potential at these levels.

All in all though, things have been going well since I started my cash game play. This Sunday will be my first Sunday in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I haven't completely lost my tournament game and I can maybe pull of a big score this weekend. If not, I will just keep playing the cash games to recover the Sunday damage!