Old Boss, No Boss, New Boss

The stupid evil one is gone the nicer newer boss is in and I had a good day at Foxwoods. It was a nice way to say goodbye to November and hello to December. I was able to tuck away a nice tidy win at the $2/4 table which was done in typical fashion for this level. Didn't get involved in too many hands in the 5 hours that I was there but my good ones held up and the marginal holdings improved enough. The most amazing thing was that I got pocket Kings two times in a row on the button and they held each time, well no Ace fell on the board because it was an Ace trash type of day up there.

In my last post I was moaning and groaning about my position in life when it has came to my career and now at least I don't dread showing up for my job now. I still think that striking out on my own may be the best possible solution. The thing is now I have some breathing room and I can set my plans down better and not have the feeling of desperation that I have had in the past few months. It seemed like the obstacles in my job were starting to seep into my personal life and effect many aspects of things be it my relationship with my family, poker playing or just driving around town. Fresh outlook, a bit of padding in bankroll, Christmas is coming, what more could a guy want? Well I could think of a few things but these will have to do for now ;p

New Boss, Same as The Old Boss

There comes a time in your life that you have to realize that the universe is trying to teach you something and if you could just open you mind and go with your gut you just might be able to hear what it is. Over the past ten months I have had to do too much soul searching about my life and mainly how my current employment is affecting it, then I would have like to. I believe I am finally coming to a point where I can't deny what it is that the universe is telling. I have had a very varied and interesting professional life but as I have said before here I have consistently had a good thing ruined by new management. I have looked at my response to the change and I have always given them the benefit of the doubt only to be trampled on. I also realize that this time I just may be in a pissing match and have refuse to quit and move on because that would give him just what he wants, but it just might be exactly what I need to do. I have many reasons to stay there but just one to leave and the pros have out weighed the con but the con is starting to take a toll on my life and my psyche. As much as I would love to win a seat in the latest addition of the WPT that is taking place up at Foxwoods in a couple of weeks, I know that is dream that may not come to be. I have allowed my fate to be in the control of others too many times in the past and I think I will only be happy when I take control and responsibility for it myself. As much as I would love to find out if I could cut my teeth grinding it out at the tables the reality is that it's just not a viable option right now. I am going to take another avocation and try to make into a vocation and use poker as a diversion and supplement to my new endeavor. I am starting to lay down the ground work and I think in the next couple of months I will be able to make my move and even if by miracles of miracles senior management sees the errors of their ways and fire Mr. Stupid I think I will still leave and strike out on my own. It will be best for me.

...Good Day at Work.

A bad day of poker is better than a good day of work. Well it almost was a bad day but I pulled out a small profit in the end but was it ever hard fought. I know when you are playing $2/4 at Foxwoods it sometimes can get a bit frustrating. I was better than the last time I went up there I was lucky to walk out with what little profit I did, it was amazingly sedate that day. There was bit more energy there yesterday. The games at that level up there always are loose passive types and there isn't much you can do, but put your head down and hope that the chasers stay there long enough that when you do get you big pairs they chase their draws and the odds turn on them. It was one of those days of tight up front loose in the back and most of those paid off for me but it was up and down, more down then up, for most of the day. When I got there the just called a new table and it took some time to get the feel for what was going on. There wasn't much raising pre-flop because it rarely did anything to thin the field, in for one why not two kind of thinking. This only gave the other players to more reason to chase even though I don't think any of them had any idea of pot odds. In the course of my play I got pocket Aces twice, Kings,Queens and Big Slick once and raised every time and they held up. I might as well have turn my hand up it was so transparent but nobody really pays attention so this made up for all of the river suck outs when I would flop two pair with over cards and someone would stick it out and trip up on the river, lost count how many times that happened. I still had fun and as long as I leave the table with more than I came with whether it is $2 or $200 it's still better then a good day at work.

I also was amazed that someone would straddle a this level. This old lady who sat down and won one pot off the top decided that a straddle bet would go good with a Mai Tai with Meyers dark and whipped cream on a cold rainy day at low limit hold'em in a casino in the hills of Connecticut. I was sitting to her left and was the benefactor of her folly one time. I guess if I was going to gamble it up I would at least follow through with a bet on the flop regardless of my two cards. The time I was able to beat her she check called me to the river with a pair of threes and a eight kicker. Got to love it. Then there was the young studious guy who just couldn't catch a break every time he had a good hand someone would make one just slightly better. Young loose guy got lucky a couple of times playing trash hands but pretty much broke even for the day, he even tried bluffing out a table of calling stations. Angry old guy in the ten seat who would check in the dark if he had middle pair or was on draw and would only bet or raise when he had a lock. Or kind old lady to my left who would call with small flushes and lose to bigger ones. Just your typical day of low limit Hold'em at the biggest casino in the world. I am looking forward to when my bankroll is healthy enough to move up a level. I won't even talk about the Act I sitn'go for the Foxwoods World Poker Finals I was first out and was beat by a stack that was being blinded out because he was in another sitn'go. The high point of this game was I drew the Ace of spades for the button and it was all down hill from there. Not good, not good at all.

Freeroll For Bloggers

PokerStars is doing it yet again an offering a freeroll with $40,000 in prizes just for bloggers.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 7124549

I played in one last year had a great time. If you have blog and like poker click through and sign up. Nothing to lose but plenty to win. See you on the felt.

V(b)itch

The letter B and V are very confusing when speaking Spanish. En Español they are pronounce so close I have played the "Beh" "Veh" game with the Spanish speaking crew at work more than once. That is after this week of playing online I am going to call what I have gone through VITCH.
We all say that variance is a bitch so why not shorten it. You would think from this post that I continued on the downward cycle but I finally made it all back. I understand that it is part of the process and I would like to say that the downside of variance doesn't effect my play, but damn does it shake my confidence. I feel that every move that I make is wrong and it goes back to when you are running bad you are probably not playing as bad as you think and when you are running good you are probably not playing as well as you think. I think I was still playing smart but I never would have guess. I won it all back and am no worst off today then I was last Monday but it was definitely was a vitch of a week.

Hard Way to Make a Easy Living

It seemed like a good idea at the time. I had this great idea that after I drop the munchkin off at preschool for the morning I would put in some serious time playing poker. It would be going fine if I could figure out what the hell is happening to me in my Heads Up matches. Now, I know it is the lowest limit of O/8 that I can play on FullTillt but I have had the most awful run of cards I have seen lately and I can't even blame it on going up limits to quickly, which is usually when I crash and burn. I really haven't looked over my hands in PokerTracker to see if I am playing like the donkey I feel I have been. The second best everything hitting the call button when I know I should fold, OH POKER GODS WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!!!!! Alright I may be getting a bit dramatic and it's not like I have even taken a huge chunk out of my roll, It just sucks!!! I have made back about half of what I lost all week in one huge hand playing .05/.10 PLO. I flopped the nut straight but without any good redraws and I knew exactly what the other guy had but I couldn't fold, he had all of the redraws and for once this week they didn't get there for him. I guess it made up for some of the other suck outs I was on the other end of the rest of the week. I could share with you all of the bad beats but it still seems to surreal to me right now. I would still like to take the few hours I have alone at the house on those morning to turn this poker thing into a profitable side thing or maybe I'll just take up something safe like day trading ;)

On a side note all of this has made me think about my life in a way that you would think I hit bottom from an addiction and have started on my twelve steps. It's not quite that bad but I will share with you all when I have a better handle on whatever it is that I am going through. Work, life, poker and my own inner voice all need a serious revamp and I may have to go to a professional for help. I have suffered from a severe identity crisis before, not just once a few times, but I feel I have a bunch more on the line at this point in my life to go through this on my own. My wife will support me in anything that I want to do and I love her for it more then she probably knows but I need an objective eye to help me lift the curtain on whatever it is that is gnawing at me.

She's Leaving Home...

Three years and go by so fast, make that three and a half, and all of a sudden the munchkin is going off to preschool. I could get all mushy but all I will say they grow up so fast and I cherish all of the moments that I have had with her so far. As soon as she started to babble I needed to hear her talk, wondering what her voice would sound like, now I can't wait to see the girl she is going to grow into.