Steps baby, Steps.

I'm once again this year making a run for an WSOP ticket through the Pokerstars Steps program.

I'm using the tried and true method of blowing all my FPP's on Step 1's, and moving up with a bank of Step 2's, rather than trying to go the whole way with one ticket at a time. Keep in mind, the whole idea for me is NOT to play the main event, but take the $12k in prize money that's deposited after a win at Step 6 and play a small event and pocket the rest.

I've heard that the sharks sit around in Step 6's waiting for donkeys like me to register, then proceed to destroy me and hoard tickets. Anybody have any experience with that?

Well that tears it.

I'm taking a break from Omaha altogether. Things just don't seem to be going my way as of late. I'm experiencing a pretty heavy downswing and can't seem to focus on turning that around. My reads are off, my luck is nil, and I can't seem to stop being a sheriff.

I'm even reconsidering playing in event #5 this year. I don't know if I can hack it, and considering that I've only spent say, 30K hands playing PLO, I might not be ready to actually play for teh bigz moniez. I'm going to reevaluate and look at it later.

The thing is, I know what constitutes good play in PLO. I know the starting hands, I know what plays well in a multi-way contested pot, I know how to count clean outs, I know pot-odds and implied odds, and I just can't seem to beat these jokers any more. I was literally crushing the micros a month ago, and now, it doesn't seem like I could win to save my life. It's frustrating.

For kicks I decided to play .50/1 PLO last weekend. I doubled the max buy-in within a 100 hands or so. The table broke, so I moved to a new one and was doing well, doubled it and then lost it all. Felt stupid. Logged off and didn't play until yesterday when I went back to the micros. The play was awful. Suckouts and random 4 cards winning everywhere. As tight as I was, I just couldn't believe that I was beat and still lost a buyin on the session.

Hence the break.

BTW, if you feel like following me on twitter, go right ahead!

TWEET!

Yayz. Back in Black.

Well, that was easy. I'm back on the road to riches and financial freedom. All it took was a little 600 hand session of multitabling last night to restore the bankroll. +5 buyins puts me right back where I started 23000 hands ago. LOL. If I hadn't taken that stab at .10/.25 I'd probably still be on the uptick, rather than in rebuilding mode. Oh well, live and learn!

While multi-ing 5 tables last night, I also played in Chiptalk's Monday Main Event, which was a HOSE mixed game. LHE, LO8, LS, and LS8. Pretty fun to mix it up a bit, and wonder of all wonders, I took it down. If it wasn't for the O8 portion, there's no way I would have won.

I said before, that 5 tables seems to be my max. What I liked about adding in a 6th table, specifically a tournament table, is the limited amount of time I have to make decisions. I find that if I don't have the nuts by the river and haven't invested a ton, it's pretty easy to get away from.

As I approach the 25k mark, I'd like to have someone review my stats. 1. Is there an easy way to present all the data without sending someone the entire database, and 2. Does anybody want to take a gander?

22K = -$45

Blurg. Cold Deck. Lost all my profits after moving up to PLO25. Time to start back at the bottom. Need to tighten up and focus more.

Also, to all the guys who complain about rake after a split pot where we get it all-in:

STOP YOUR WHINING, I'M NOT A MIND READER AND THE OBJECT IS TO GET YOUR STACK. I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT ANOTHER DIME WHEN THE POT IS $50 AND I'M HOPING TO WIN IT ALL.

/rant.

My rant on Starbucks

So, I go to the bank machine today, and it's only dispensing $50's. No big deal, I need some change for the subway, so this'll work out. I go to Starbucks to get my afternoon Tall London Fog and go to pay with my $50.

The girl goes "oooh, do you have anything smaller?" And I say no, because I don't, and she says that she doesn't have change. Not a big deal, I have some credits left on the Starbucks card.

I pay her, but at the same time I say "It's amazing that you don't have change for a $50 here!" half joking, and she says "Uh, we're a coffee shop sir." in a tone I don't find all that friendly.

So I retort, "Yeah! A coffee shop that sells six dollar coffees!"

She has no response. I call bullshit on not having change. After I got my coffee, I see her signing out as her shift is over. Not having 2 $20's and a $5 is ridiculous. Maybe it's some "don't take $50's or higher from nice people" rule.

I came in 10th in the CT game tonight, meh, and dropped $100 in the cash games - mostly at .10/.25 where I flop 2nd nuts and get stacked. STUPID.

Blurg. I'm taking a break for reals.

Just call me mister butter fingers. I've managed to let a large number of buyins slip through my fingers. No PLO for a while methinks. These micros are killing me.

Here's a fantastic Youtube musical mashup for you. It's all real, and amazing. As an editor, I can appreciate the sheer volume of work behind this. Well done, sir. Well done.

WSOP Event #5

Not sure if I mentioned it here or not, but I've decided to donk off $1500 by playing the PLO event at this year's WSOP. I'll likely be a fish out of water, but I've been thinking about making a run at one of these events for a few years now, and figured now was as good a time as any. PLO seems to be my best bet, as there's typically less people compared to the HE events. I'm hoping that my exploits at the micros are going to pay for it. If they do, super, if not, I've got the cash. I've also got a few thousand FPP's that I want to throw at satellite qualifiers for the big one. If they're run like they were last year, if you win, they make a $12k deposit in your account and I don't think you're obligated to enter the ME.

Looks like a nice structure:


They posted the structure recently, and one thing that kinda weirded me out was the fact that this was supposed to be a no re-buy/no add-on tournament, but at the bottom of the structure sheet, is says the following:

Players begin with $1,500 in Tournament Chips. Players may receive (2) additional Add-ons for $1,500 in tournament chips each, anytime during the first three levels. Any player that has not taken their add-ons by the end of the third level will automatically receive them.

Huh? Does this mean that I'm entitled to an additional $3k in chips for my initial $1500? Someone explain it to me.

The wife has agreed to join me under a few criteria. All of the following must be met:

Hotel must be nice, central, and have an awesome pool.
I must have dinner with her each night.
I must go to at least one show.
I must spend at least one day with her.

That last one might be tough...