Back on the grind...ish

Hey everyone.  Last time I was on here I mentioned that I was awaiting results of a comprehensive exam, and good news!  I passed.  It was only pass/fail, so there are no exact number or letter grades to correspond to it.  That was a huge weight off my shoulders.  The Graduate Advisor of the program told my class that over the years the percentage of students passing the exam on their first try was 40%.  Beating those odds was relieving, as I did NOT want to have to go back in December to repeat the test.

So anyway, onto poker.  I still haven't fully set up my Lock account because after their acquisition of Cake, there were a shit ton of glitches/errors/whateverthefucks going wrong with their program.  So I decided to wait out all the chaos.  Now things seem to be running smoothly on there, I just have to set up my account verification (I've been too lazy to print the stuff out and send them pics of everything).  I've tried depositing on Carbon just to get some games in, and for the first time, my bank isn't allowing the charge to go through.  Motherfuckers.  So then I tried an international Visa gift card (as per Carbon support advice) and that still didn't work.  My other option is a direct cash transfer via Western Union or MoneyGram.  I'm saving that as a last resort.  I'm currently posting on the 2+2 boards to see if anyone wants to trade Chase quickpay for Carbon. 

I am playing currently though, through a different Merge skin.  It's pretty shady and I don't like it too much, but it's the only way I can play right now.  I'm not going to mention the skin, or my username on it because, I'll just explain how it works and what my results have been thus far. 

A friend of mine told me about a place near where we live that has laptops and computers set up, and all you do is go there, make a username and password, give the guy cash, and he funds your account.  From there, you can either play on site, or go home and download the skin and play at home.  Then, when you're ready to cash out, you just go to the place and they give you cash on the spot.  The catch, from what I understand, is that they get the rake from games I play.  So no rakeback for me :(

In the days post Black Friday, I'll do just about anything to get online and play. 

I'm trying out hyper's right now.  I put in 50 games today at the $4.15 buy in, and had a 60% win rate.  It has a much higher variance than the turbos, so I'm playing lower than I usually do so I can get used to the swings.  I would like to get in 50 games a day if I have time.  Even if I can never see this money again because the site isn't legit or whatever, it's only 200 bucks, and I can use it to refine my game and keep getting better.  When online poker returns to the US market, I want to be ready.

6 Month Update

Wow, it has really been a long time since I've been on here.  Let me read back on my previous post so see where I left off...

Ok I'm back.  So I waited patiently for my cash out to happen and it did.  It took about six weeks.  Even though it was a really long time, there were no problems with the deposit or anything else that people were complaining about on 2+2.  Shortly after that, I read something about the DOJ potentially targeting the smaller poker sites like Carbon so I decided to withdraw the rest of the money I had on there (although I did leave like $20 or so just to play around with). 

Poker was really slow for me.  I didn't trust playing online too much and I was super busy finishing up my last semester of Grad school to really put in a lot of hours live.  Back in March I took a poker trip that really changed my outlook on the game and rejuvenated my excitement and passion for the game again.  I just got out of work on one Friday afternoon, grabbed a few hundred bucks, filled up my car with gas, and hit the road to AC.  This would be my first time going to the Borgata.  I got there around 10pm and sat 1/2 until about 3am or so.  I was TIRED!  I ended up being stuck $440 I think.  The majority of that loss was my KK to AA preflop.  Even though I lost, I was in a surprisingly good mood.  I had a lot of fun.  The whole ride home I was thinking about when I would get to do it again.

Fast forward to me arriving home at 6am.  I went to sleep the second I hit my bed only to awake 3 hours later still feeling the excitement from the night before.  I laid there in bed and decided that I was going to sleep a few more hours and head right back out there.  It was crazy since its a 5-6 hour round trip, but I was in a crazy kind of mood.  I woke up around noon and decided to book a really cheap hotel outside of AC so that in the event I was really tired I could crash there for a bit before heading home.

This time I arrived at the Borgata at about 9pm (I got to my hotel at 6pm and took a little nap before playing).  I basically brought my entire bankroll with me and decided that I was going to play my ass off and make the best decisions I could make and if I lost, I lost.  Still being stuck $440 from less than 24 hours ago, I was in a different mindset.  I sat 2/5 for a full buy in  ($500) and began to play some good solid poker.  After two and a half hours I was sitting with a stack of $1300.  I decided I was satisfied with my winnings and called it a night.  I drove home at like midnight and was able to be home by 3am to get a full night sleep.

That weekend was the both the single biggest loss in a single session (-$440) and the biggest win (+$800).  It was swingy, so I'm not crediting any crazy poker skills to my small triumph, but it was a step in the right direction nonetheless.

I haven't been back to AC since, but I did play in a lot of local games in Queens.  I went on like a 5 or 6 session win streak that brought me up about another $1,000.  Then I went to Parx Casino for the first time and lost like $400 and slowed down my playing a bit since then.  I didn't slow down because of the loss, but more because of the fact that I was paying more attention to poker than I was my school work and there was no way I was going to fuck up the final semester of my life. 

So now, I have graduated.  No more school.  Forever.  It still hasn't hit me yet because I'm awaiting the results of a comprehensive exam.  I should get them in the mail in the next week or so.  I'm excited about putting more time and energy back into poker.  Hell, I'm even going to play online again since the DOJ hasn't done anything against the smaller sites.  I recently signed up to Lock Poker since they merged with the Cake network.  I'm pretty excited to begin playing husngs again. 

Side note of updates:  I had some more tests on my heart just to make sure all that shit was working fine before my free student health insurance runs out.  I wore another holter monitor, had a stress echo, and everything is looking really good.  I went to get an MRI just as one final test, but I got way too claustrophobic and couldn't do it.  My doctor said it wasn't a big deal and that it's nothing to worry about since all of my other tests were negative.  That was a really big relief and I've felt much better and less stressed since. 

Ok well that's about it for my 6 month update.  I'll try to get this updated with more poker news once I start grinding some more.

Testing Out the Cashout Process

It's been a while since I've read the thread on 2+2 about carbon poker cashout issues, so in the back of my mind I was hoping they would have some of the issues resolved by now.  As it turns out, there are still the same complaints as a few months ago- players waiting up to 6 weeks, sometimes longer, to get their checks.  After reading this, I decided to test the waters and cash out $200 and see how long it takes.  There have also been concerns about the checks not clearing once received, so I hope that isn't the case either.  Seeing how players are still having such huge issues with cashout was a big discouragement to even play.  I didn't feel in the mood to put in any significant volume today.  I almost feel as if I'm wasting my time I suppose (if the cashout system is really this shitty, then it is a waste of time).  However, when online poker returns big to the US market, which I strongly feel it will, then the hours I put in here learning and becoming a better player will pay off enormously when that happens.  I'm still going to play a lot, don't get me wrong.  It's just got me bummed for the time being- tomorrow I'll be back in action.  

Quick side note- a few months ago I put in a withdrawal request for $300, but ended up canceling it because I had no other money left on the site to play around with.  This time I left myself more than enough to keep building.  

Withdrawal amount: $200 ($185 with the $15 carbon fee...bullshit, but what can you do)

Request date:  1/7/2012

Estimated arrival:  2/4/2012 - 2/18/2012

On A Heater

Just put in a power session after a long day of working and driving all over the place.  Went 8 for 8 at the 11.50s.  Carbon bankroll up to $621.  I've decided that when I get to $690 that I'm going to take a 5 buy-in shot at the 23s.  If I lose all 5, I'll be comfortable with $575 to drop back to the 11.50s and rebuild. 

It felt good to have a nice session like this.  Last night started out well, but toward the end of the night I was playing tired and not really focusing, and that ended up costing me ending the night down 3 buyins.  

Today was a new day and I came out strong and focused, and didn't let a single detail of a single hand go autopiloted.  Need to keep maintaining this mental game.  

Good luck at the tables.

Back in the Black!

Finally, after months of climbing my way back up from the bottom, I have made it back into the black on Carbon.  I'm pumped and can't wait to start grinding a profit now.  Gotta keep it up!

Villain's bluff attempt goes awry.  Fourth hand of the match.  I have beaten him 8x in a row up to this game. 

***** Hand History for Game 463539164 ***** (Merge)
Tourney Hand NL Texas Hold'em - Monday, January 02, 08:19:30 ET 2012
Table Turkey Room  Heads Up Turbo (46353897) (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Seat 1: AreDubz ( $1560.00 USD )
Seat 2: RockForever7 ( $1440.00 USD )
AreDubz posts small blind [$10.00 USD].
RockForever7 posts big blind [$20.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to AreDubz [  3d Ad ]
AreDubz raises [$50.00 USD]
RockForever7 calls [$40.00 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4c, 6s, As ]
RockForever7 checks
AreDubz bets [$90.00 USD]
RockForever7 calls [$90.00 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 2d ]
RockForever7 checks
AreDubz bets [$165.00 USD]
RockForever7 calls [$165.00 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ Qh ]
RockForever7 checks
AreDubz bets [$225.00 USD]
RockForever7 raises [$1125.00 USD]
AreDubz calls [$900.00 USD]
RockForever7 shows [Jh, Ks ]
AreDubz shows [3d, Ad ]
AreDubz wins $2880.00 USD from main pot

 

My HEM has been off on my win/loss amounts, the bottom should be -$525, not  -$390.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year all!  As the year has come to an end and I reflect back on the past 12 months, I just have a big smile on my face.  Like everyone else, I've had my share of downswings (poker, as well as life), but at the end of it all I turned out to be ahead.  Here's a quick recap of my 2011:

-started volunteering at what I hoped would become my dream job

-had some palpitations and PVC's going on with my heart that required multiple EKG's, holter monitors, echocardiograms, and all types of visits to cardiac specialists (scariest times of my life, it really felt like I was going to die.  As of writing this, the PVC's have basically disappeared and I couldn't be happier!)

-competed in several CrossFit events (so much fun)

-the volunteering I was doing DID turn into a dream job!

-I proposed to my girlfriend of 5 years and she said yes!

-completed all but 3 credits to finish my masters degree (Spring 2012 here we come!)

Aside from those bullet points, this year also had the creation of friendships that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.  My network of awesome people definitely expanded.

As for poker, it has been the learning experience of a lifetime.  I started playing back in 2007, and I learned more in the last 3 months of this year than previous 4 years combined.  I had a lot of swings and just some straight up bad playing that cost me a good amount of money (to me).  I've really buckled down and fixed some aspects of my game that needed improvement big time.  One of which was to move up in stakes to try and recoup losses quicker.  That just led to bigger and bigger losses.  The big downswings of the past few months are solely due to playing beyond my means.  I've learned to control myself better and now only grind the stakes my bankroll can afford.  From my $600 that I deposited on Carbon, I was at an all time low of $75 in mid/late November.  Being down $525 really messed up my confidence because I thought I knew what I was doing.  I didn't reload.  I studied my ass off, took notes on videos, got some coaching from PHMERC, did some more studying, and grinded the 11.50's until I built myself back up.  As of last night, my bankroll is up to $500.  It took a while to get back to near my starting point, but everything I've learned along the way is worth it all.  I feel like a much more solid player at these stakes because of it.  I'm going to continue to get coaching throughout 2012 and hopefully keep up the hard work I've been doing.  

Here are some numbers from HEM from September to December 31st at the $11.50s:

Stakes:  $11.50

# played: 372

ROI: 7.5%

ITM: 58.2%

Winnings: $320

I'm really happy with those results.  I'm going to stay at the 11.50s until I feel comfortable to move up, maybe when my account is up to $700 or so. 

Here are my overall numbers for every game the past 3 months:

# played:  673

ROI: -1.1%

ITM: 52.6%

Winnings: -$92.69

There it is, my poker year in a nutshell.  From being down $525 to being down $92, although there was no profit whatsoever, it's heading in the right direction.

So, 2011, I bid you farewell.  It's been a hell of a year. 

Bad run

first hand of the match:

***** Hand History for Game 446954781 ***** (Merge)
Tourney Hand NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, December 04, 11:08:24 ET 2011
Table Turkey Room  Heads Up Turbo (44695227) (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Seat 1: AreDubz ( $1500.00 USD )
Seat 2: kaocs219 ( $1500.00 USD )
AreDubz posts small blind [$10.00 USD].
kaocs219 posts big blind [$20.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to AreDubz [  4d 4s ]
AreDubz raises [$50.00 USD]
kaocs219 calls [$40.00 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Td, 4c, Th ]
kaocs219 checks
AreDubz bets [$80.00 USD]
kaocs219 calls [$80.00 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8s ]
kaocs219 bets [$1360.00 USD]
AreDubz calls [$1360.00 USD]
AreDubz shows [4d, 4s ]
kaocs219 shows [Tc, 6c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 8c ]
kaocs219 wins $3000.00 USD from main pot

So that was unfortunate.  And even more annoying is that it happened over, and over, and over again over 20 games at the 11.50's.   Here are some HEM numbers:


-games played: 20
-roi: -52.5%
-winnings: -$120


EV adjusted-
-roi: -1.7%
-winnings: -$3.83

Fuck you negative variance.  

goodnight.