Not a whole lot to report today.  Apparently I suck at poker though.  So, that’s good to know.  Played in a local tournament last night and was waiting patiently.  Ended up getting mixed up with my 1010 against AK who in turn hit an A on the flop.  That hurt a wee bit.  Stack continued to dwindle some.  Then found myself with AJ suited.  Made a good raise pre flop.  One guy calls.  And before I play this out…have you ever been to a game where one kid brings his father who you can tell has never played before but is trying to make up for lost years avoiding by spending as much time with his awkward son that he can?  Probably has a few years left in him and is wanting to make up for all the lost time when his kid was growing up.  Probably out boozing and spending money on whores while his wife stays at home wiping the snot off of this kids nose as a back street boys song plays in the background.  Anyway, this is the type of old guy that simply plays any A as if it were AK.  So, my AJ spades bumps it preflop.  He calls.  Flop comes 248 clubs.  I’m first to act.  I make a play at the pot.  Call it a bluff, call it stupidity, whatever.  All my chips go in.  He insta-calls and turns over A7 clubs for the nut flush.  I get up and simply say “that’s how it goes”, while mumbling “you fucking old donkey whore loving moron”.  In the end, I can’t really blame the guy.  I remember the day’s when any suited A looked appealing.  I just have a hard time reasoning how he could call a 2k raise pre-flop with blinds at 200-400.  I need a vacation.  One more day, one more day….sigh.

After that debacle, got home and played small $12 SnG.  Placed second.  Woo hoo.  Called it a night.

Funny little story while I was at that tournament last night.  Since I’m still getting an amazing amount of traffic on this damn pokershare.net Monkey Business, here you go:

Apparently when you have an affiliate code for various poker sites, you can go around to all the home games and tell everyone you work for that site, heh.  This guy last night is spouting off about pokershare.net and the fact that they’re sending a chimpanzee to the WSOP.  I respond by saying, yeah…got that email a week ago, funny stuff.  He goes on to say how “we” as in pokershare.net have spent the last year training this chimp how to handle chips and discard cards, etc.  Apparently, they’re really bringing this damn monkey out there and sitting him at a table.  From what I understand, they’re going to remove the monkey as soon as he has an “episode”.  And the way this guy said it, I really envisioned this damn thing flinging poo at Hellmuth, which would be glorious. 

Anyway, the training provided to this monkey dictates that he really only has two moves.  Either match the chips in the pot, or push his whole stack in.  Also, should the chimp knock you out, pokershare.net will pay your entry into next years main event.  Part of me thinks, if you’re beat by a monkey, you don’t deserve to be playing next year…but that’s because I’m bitter.  Otherwise, I think it’s cool of pokershare to do that.  And being that the rules do not state anything about non humans playing in the event, how much do you want to bet next year will bring a rule revision?  I still find it hard to believe Harrahs will allow this to take place.  While funny, and I’m sure great for ESPN, it will hurt the game.  Whatever…

Anyway, I’m going to get some real work done.
-Adam


Technorati Tags: poker, wsop, world series of poker, mikey the poker chimp, pokershare.net, monkey, poker monkey, phil hellmuth, monkey business

Poker was limited again last night.  Spent the better part of the evening installing Sirius Satellite Radio into the new car.  I’ve been a fan of Sirius for a long time now and didn’t hesitate to get it in the new ride.  Went fairly easy.  Decided not to dissect the factory radio and added on.  Ended up pretty nice.  The Sirius receiver resides very nicely in the middle of the console.  So far, so good.

On the poker front specifically, what little I did play last night did not turn out well at all.  Finished second in a 1 table SnG.  However, I had been sailing along in a 180 person tournament when my QQ all in was called by A9 off.  I’m not going to whine in excess…but we’re about 15 people away from the money.  My stack is average as is this guy with A9.  I was very surprised this guy called my preflop bet.  But that’s how it goes.  I’ll live to fight another day. 

After being knocked out of that, I took my ball and went home.  Was too late to start anything else productive. 

I Had a Dream…
What a frickin’ strange dream I had last night.  Yeah, I’m a dork, I dream about playing poker.  Go figure.  But this was weird.  I was in a huge tournament where the buyin must have been 10k.  Spent a few days weeding through the field and finally made it to the final table.  Few people were knocked out leaving 3 people fairly evenly stacked.  At this point, the tournament director gets involved and proclaims that at this stage, all of our names would be put in a hat and that he would choose one name.  Winner take all.  Prize money was 7 million.  I didn’t feel a need to dispute this action in the dream.  However, when they pulled another guy’s name and declared him the winner, I was SUPER PISSED.  I got extremely mad in the dream that I didn’t even think to negotiate a deal before the name was drawn.  For example, whomever is declared a winner, give 1 million each to the other two…etc.  Something to that affect.  I was seriously irate that I didn’t negotiate some sort of deal.

What does it all mean?  Who the hell knows.  It was odd that I was taking it so seriously in the dream especially being that I very rarely try to deal at a final table.  I recall being really hung up on the fact that I was so close to 7 million dollars and am walking away with nothing.  I was heartbroken in this dream.  I actually woke up in a pissy mood. 

Sigh…
I’m retarded.

On the Vacation Front…
We’re going up a day earlier.  I called the place yesterday just to confirm my reservations.  During this conversation, they very nicely offered me an extra day at half the cost.  We were like “hell yeah!”.  So, we’ll be leaving in the wee hours of the morning Saturday for the hills of Tennessee.  I hope the moonshine is all they make it out to be!

Stuff I’m Reading…
Every now and again I like to list a few of the blogs that I patron on a regular basis.  Least I can do.  Listed in no particular order.  Check these sites out:

• Joe over at Hold Em Authority has a great article on Head’s Up strategy.  A good read.  Very insightful.
• Bloody P over at Back-Alley Mugging sounds like he scored a SWEET RIDE himself.  Check it out!  Nice scooter you silly savage you!
• Rod is back over at the Gamblers Insight.  After a brief hiatus, looks like he’s back on track with some great content.  Anxious to read more.
• BigPirate has some great insight on patterns and observations over on his little blog, A Pirate’s Life for me. 
• Check out Ohio Mike over at Life, The Universe, and Poker.  More good stuff!
• I’m always checking in on Missing Flops The Texas Holdem Blog. 
• Pauley over on the Tao of Poker apparently is in no need of sleep as he has more gigs in Vegas than a $5 prostitute.  Crazy!
• I still check in all the time over at Guinness and Poker hoping and praying that one day soon, I’ll get a mention.  Hehe.  Bonus Code: IGGY for crying out loud!
• Been enjoying Poker Road Trips by Gary Carson.  Good stuff I say!

Review…

Clerks II
9 out of 10 Stars
I forgot to mention this over the weekend…but if you haven’t done so, go see Clerks II.  This was the funniest movie I’ve seen in a LONG TIME!  Seriously, I laughed throughout the entire thing.  There’s one quote that continues to resonate in my mind, “I miss my donkey”. 
Go see the movie!

Okay…that’s enough for today.  May your first child be a masculine child!



Technorati Tags: poker, wsop, world series of poker, adam labare, clerks ii, the godfather, gary carson, guinness and poker, tao of poker, missing flops the texas holdem blog, life, the universe and poker, a pirate's life for me, gamblers insight, back-alley mugging, hold em authority

So I bought a new car last night. Well, let me re-phrase. My wife and I bought a new car last night. It’s a great feeling to extract your poker winnings, walk in to a dealership and state “I’m paying cash and I want this car”. Or so I’m told. I wouldn’t know. Ended up financing the car for 832 months with a 48% rate. I think we got a good deal.

Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. But after everything is said and done, walked away with a new Mustang. I had been wanting to get back into an SUV for some time now and had every intention of doing so yesterday when we walked in. But the numbers were just not right. I’ve been driving a 2000 Mustang for the last 3 years…and while I enjoyed it starting out, it quickly became “just another car” when I screwed up my sound system royally. Hadn’t been the same since. Made the mistake of installing my new receiver only to be foiled by Fords version of amplified wiring. What a cluster fuck. I’d been installing radios in my cars since I was a teenager and never had such problems. Needless to say, I’m not screwing with this radio, that’s for damn sure.

I love this car though. I’ve admired the new Mustang body style since it first came to press a while back. It’s night and day compared to previous models. It’s a great blend of retro and new flare. Long story short, I love this thing!

Poker wise…
Didn’t play much at all last night. We sat in the dealership for over 4 hours…by the time I got home, felt like I just played in a two day event…and was mentally drained. Played a SnG, lost bad, went to bed.

Life lesson #48: Don’t play poker after spending 4.5 hours purchasing a new car.

Perhaps tonight I’ll be able to get the ball rolling again. Anxious to sit down to a nice, warm, cozy MTT. More to follow…

-Adam


Technorati Tags: poker, mustang, ford mustang, wsop, world series of poker, poker, texas hold em

As a blogger, I find myself obsessed with statistics and learning as much as possible about my visitors and trends.  Obviously, some postings of mine will be more popular and mainstream than others.  I understand that and accept that of course.  For instance, my articles on winning online tournaments have been extremely popular, but let me just ask a question…

How in the hell can my damn monkey posting be one of my most visited postings ever on this blog? 

I mean the sheer amount of visitors to this one post almost makes google ads worthwhile, lol.  Okay, that’s a stretch…but still.  I’m getting people searching via google on keyword phrases such as “monkeys having sex with bananas”, etc.  What in sams hell are you looking for monkeys having sex with banana’s for?  Christ!  “Monkeys flinging poop”…I might be able to understand, “Monkey Reproduction”, okay…your into biology/science, I get it…I can live with that…but “Monkey Sex with Banana’s”, unless your name is frickin’ Magilla Gorilla, you’re just sick.

So anyway…
Fairly anti-climatic weekend poker wise.  First weekend in a long while I did not participate in anything WSOP related.  Was somewhat refreshing actually.  I played in a one table satellite to the 1 million guarantee on Stars and won my entry on my first attempt.  Was like a moment of clarity.  Almost eerie.

Went into the big tourney Sunday with grand aspirations.  A small little voice way in the back of my head saying, make the final table, go to Vegas with the profits, take the wife on a GREAT vacation, etc.  But then reality hit me like a mack truck when my JJ faced AA early in the tournament.  I’ve wizened up a bit with Jacks and didn’t place my entire stack on the line.  But I did loose a large amount on that hand.  Next hour and a half I battled my way back to the tournament average and was very impressed with the amount of chips I recouped.  But just when I thought I was safe for a while…just got back from the second break.  Find myself on the BB with AK suited.  Everyone folds to me; I make a large raise, happy to just scoop the blinds.  SB folds, BB calls the raise.  Flop comes A J rag.  My thinking puts him on a mid pair or a weak A.  He pops out a small bet.  Smells fishy.  I pop back to get a better understanding.  He calls.  Turn brings another rag.  He checks, I push the rest of my stack which at this point wasn’t much.  He calls and shows JJ.  River no help.  I’m out.

I should have trusted my instinct with his fishy bet on the flop.  But with Top pair against the BB, I liked my chances.  JJ is just my curse I guess.  Same song and dance, different tournament. 

Played a little reckless after that and decided to call it a night.  Got bored and hit a few sng’s later on.  Went well.  Got to bed early.

One of these days, that damn Sunday tournament will treat me right…one of these days!

Good luck at the tables!
-Adam


Technorati Tags: mikey the pokershare monkey, WSOP, World Series of Poker, Adam LaBare, PokerStars, AA, JJ, AK

Okay...I don't have the energy at the moment to determine if this is a hoax or not...but, if a frickin' chimp can make it to the WSOP and I can't, perhaps I need to re-evaluate my own priorities and abilities....sigh.

Details here:
http://www.monkeyshare.net/



Technorati Tags: chimp, wsop, world series of poker, mikey the chimp, pokersahre.com, monkeyshare.net

Greetings and salutations and all the happy horse hoo haa…
So, today is Wednesday and I’ve somewhat secluded myself in a hole these past few days. Sunday’s loss was a tough pill to swallow. Be that as it may, life and poker must go on. I’m coming to terms with not being at the main event this year. I’m certainly not happy about it but I’m not going to let it affect my game and future plans.

Here’s the deal. To answer some of the questions I’ve been getting via email and whatnot. While this presents a bump in the road, it is not going to affect my long term goal. While my short term goal was certainly to obtain my seat to this years main event, this pales in comparison to my true intent. Long story short, I want to do whatever I have to do to make a name for myself and play in several large buy in tournaments. Be that circuit events, WPT, EPT, whatever. Point is, I want to make my way to several of these events over the next few months, do well, make the money, hit a final table, and ultimately a 1st place finish in a large tournament. I’ve accomplished portions of these straight forward goals, but I want to do it consistently.

Have I given up on this years WSOP?
I will never give up. However, time is not on my side. I made a promise to my wife a while back and stated that if I did not have my seat secured by July 16th, we would forgo Vegas this year and take a personal vacation that would afford us the ability to just relax, do nothing, no thinking, no stress, etc. With that being said, we’re heading to the mountains and renting a cabin for a good solid few days. No crowds, no deadlines, etc. Just fresh air and relaxation. Every vacation my wife and I have taken has always been crammed into a very specific amount of time. Our trips are always great, but when we get away, it’s rush rush rush. We have to fit everything into a small amount of time and usually end up in big cities like Vegas, NYC, Orlando, etc. We decided this time around to just do nothing but do it comfortably. We’ve rented a cabin from these guys: http://www.preserveresort.com. Pretty nice in my most humble opinion.

Will I be in Vegas at all?
As of writing this, the answer is no. I think I would rather not be there if I’m unable to play. Granted, I would have tried a satellite or two while out there, but I would just rather do it on my terms and not head out there with the stress of HAVING to win a satellite to make it in. I’ve been doing that for several months now. Time for a break.

Will I continue writing?
Hell yes. I will continue writing here as often as I can. I will certainly continue to document my poker experience and share whatever nuggets of wisdom that I can. I’ve received such great feedback and I really appreciate everyone that takes a moment each day to read. As long as people keep reading, I’ll keep writing. Keep an eye open, I may have a few things cooking that will further expose me to the masses, but we shall see. One thing at a time.

Will I turn pro?
I suppose the term “pro” is a state of mind in many ways. I’m going to answer this question with a simple statement I shared recently with my buddy Frank over at lifesabluff.com. “My wife won’t let me call myself a pro until I can afford to pay ALL the bills with my poker earnings”. As a result, some could deem me as a semi-professional. I manage the creation of websites by day, and play poker at night while keeping metropolis safe. As things currently stand, I keep my poker earnings separate from “real world” responsibility. I’ve toyed with the idea of deducting a certain percentage on a weekly or bi-weekly basis but have yet to pull that trigger. I plan to do so in the next two weeks and will expand upon that as my bankroll allows.

What’s my next step?
In looking beyond this year’s WSOP, there is plenty to occupy my mind. As I said earlier, I plan on hitting WPT events in the near future with a focus on other big ticket tournaments. With that intent, I do plan on securing a long term sponsorship of sorts. More on that as it comes to fruition. Over the next year, I simply plan on playing more tournaments, adding to my bankroll and gaining exposure. Time to kick this thing into high gear!

Keep the questions coming. I love answering them. Can always reach me at alabare@gmail.com.

With that, I’ll bring this to a close and wish everyone the very best of luck at this years WSOP Main Event.

-Adam


Technorati Tags: wsop, poker, world series of poker, adam labare

For those that have been following along, so much for optimism.  Yesterday’s big tournament amounted to 4 hours of time spent with 0.00 return.  I’m not really geared up for a long analyses just yet, but I’m taking it in stride.  As you probably know, yesterday was my cutoff day.  Without a seat secured, looks like I’m seeking open sponsorship…heh.  Anyone?  Anyone?

First hour of the tournament went extremely well.  I was prepared to just sit back and wait my turn, but the first hour brought several premium hands and people were tight as a bug.  So, used that to my advantage for a while.  Late in the second hour I doubled up with QQ.  Third hour I made a chunk with AJ diamonds.  After that, the well seemed to go dry.  Very few hands to screw around with.  Blinds started eating me away.  Finally got to a point of desperation and found A2 in the small blind.  UTG calls, everyone folds to me including the button.  I call.  BB checks.  Flop all rags.  Everyone checks.  Turn brings and A.  I make a small bet, BB folds, other guy calls.  River, no real help but not a dangerous card.  I try to make a move and push with my pair of Aces.  I’m really not sure why I did it.  I knew he had to have an A of his own.  He calls with A8 and I’m out of the tournament. 

That play was just entirely stupid on my part.  I was frustrated with my stack and was trying to make something out of nothing.  In the end, I self destructed.  Plain and simple.  Sucks major donkey dick mind you…but it is what it is.

Unless by some miracle a seat comes floating my way extremely soon, no Vegas for me.  I might sneak one more satellite in this evening, but we’ll see.  5 months on the same $100 investment is still pretty impressive considering what I have accomplished.  Through that $100, I’ve played in several Sunday big tournaments, countless WSOP satellites, SNG’s, etc.  After everything is said and done, I still have a fairly healthy bankroll and remain optimistic.  I may not get to Vegas this year, but that’s not to say I don’t have a lot on the horizon to look forward to.

Okay, enough of the optimistic bullshit.  I’m trying to be pissy, damnit!


Technorati Tags: wsop, world series of poker, adam labare, poker, pokerstars

Got a good nights sleep, I'm feeling good...today's the day, damnit! Several hours before the big tourney starts so I'm passing time with a few warm up tournaments. Going to hit a 180 person SnG along with a few one table SnG's. I don't want to burn myself out before this afternoon, but do want to get my feet wet.

From a strategy perspective, I'm just going to play my game. I made the mistake reading cardplayer magazine yesterday. I recently resubscribed and thoroughly enjoy the publication. But I find when I read it before playing, with all the variations on strategy and what to do here or there in whatever situation, I tend to let it all float around in my head causing me to second guess my own game. The reality is, I do not agree with everything I read in books and magazines. These players are writing about what works for them, and for the most part, I greatly respect these opinions. But I think it is a risk to digest new lines of thinking before a big game. So, with that, flushing out my internal hard drive and trusting my own game today.

Looks like I'll have the house to myself for a good portion of the tournament. Dani's going to visit her Mother. Something about a new hot tub. Now if I could convince her to bring the dogs, I would have absolute peace. I'm not holding my breath.

With that, going to concentrate on these tournaments and hopefully report back later with good news.

Good luck all!
Adam


Technorati Tags: poker, wsop, world series of poker, pokerstars

Updates…
Stayed home from work yesterday.  While I would love to say it was an excuse to stay home and play poker all day, the reality was I just felt lousy.  However, that’s not to say I didn’t have some successes yesterday.

Spent a good portion of my morning following up on work related items.  While doing that I started a $20 MTT.  Took that down with a 1st place finish.  Afterwards, took a break and relaxed.  Followed that up with another $20 MTT and finished 8th.

So, two final tables with two tournaments.  Was a very productive day.

These 180 person max mtt’s are certainly my bread and butter these past few months.  I’ve considered taking on a few higher buy in type tournaments, but an tentative at the moment.  Before I make any changes, I want to get this weekend out of the way.  I’ve determined that if I don’t have my WSOP seat secured by Sunday, I’m moving forward with alternative plans for time away.  Meaning, if I don’t win my seat Sunday, I’m taking a non poker related vacation.  The time away will do me well I’m sure. 

Note to PokerStars: Really enjoy the $20 180 person MTT’s.  However, same format with a higher buyin would be great.  I realize you have a $50 90 person max mtt, however, the payouts are similar to the $20 with less spots paid.  Perhaps a $75 180 person max?  Or a $100 300 person max tourney?  Food for thought.

This Weekend…
Weekend plans will include a little R&R with a very heavy barrage toward the WSOP seat that continues to elude me.  I’ve played several satellites to Sunday’s 150 seat tournament on stars but have had no success.  The 1 table sng’s have been my bane thus far.  Finishing 3rd on the last 3 attempts.  At this stage, with yesterday’s success, I plan to buy directly into the tournament and stop stressing about the smaller satellites.  This will allow me to focus on other productive tournaments.

A special thanks to Gary Carson for stopping by and leaving a comment on “The Morning After…” post. 

Would also like to mention a few other regulars:
Joe from The Hold Em Authority
Frank and Gang over at Life’s a Bluff.  Great strip this week by the way
BSN from Big Slick Nuts!
Bloddy P from Bloody P Plays Poker

Really appreciate the support all!

That’s all for now folks.  I have to play catch-up here in the real world.  I plan to update quite a bit over the weekend as I document my final stand toward the WSOP.

Good luck,
Adam


Technorati Tags: world series of poker, adam labare, poker, poker success, MTT, pokerstars, gary carson, hold em authority, big slick nuts, bloody p plays poker, life's a bluff

So, while last night's play on Stars resulted in a big fat goose egg, the good news is that I found proof that gnomes do work somewhere deep inside the pokerstars client infrastructure. I offer you the following:

Me: AK suited
Him: AJ unsuited

I raise
He re-raises
I call

Flop: AJJ

I bet
He Raises
I say screw it and push all in
He calls

He shows AJ hitting his full house on the flop

Turn brings K
River Brings another K

Proof positive gnomes are responsible such antics on stars.


Last Nights Play...
Bit of a roller coaster last night obviously. I won an entry into the $160 WSOP Double Shootout. I was doing quite well on my first table only to find myself unable to recover from my QQ against AA. Also found myself doing extremely well in a satellite for Sunday's 150 WSOP seat tournament. In the end, nothing panned out.

Tonight?
Aside from busting someone in the eye, I plan on gaining an entry into Sunday's tournament. I'm viewing Sunday as my last hurrah before the big show. So, need to make everything count this week. No more screwing around. Not that I have been...but it's "go time".

-Adam


Technorati Tags: poker, wsop, world series of poker, gnomes, pokerstars

I realize that for some this may not be possible, and that’s okay. If your intent is to in fact be a douche bag, that’s entirely your right. Have at it. However, if you would rather not be classified as “mentally challenged”, I offer to you the following thoughts:

• When you approach the poker rooms front desk/reception and they ask “Can I help you?” don’t respond with, “I’d like to play poker please”. No shit Sherlock. They know you’re there to play poker so don’t waste their time. Furthermore, if there’s a big white board or electronic display providing table and limit information, don’t waste their time by asking “What limits or games are you spreading?”. If the information is there, use it! The only acceptable inquires/statements should be as follows:
  
• I’m looking for a (insert limit here) game. You can be proactive by providing your initials or first name. Don’t ask how long the wait is if there’s a list. You would do better by asking how many people are listed before you.
• If the game you want to play is not available, request an “interest list” be created for said game.
• When you sit down to the table, seriously, don’t frickin’ quote Rounders or any other poker movie. It’s been what, nearly 10 years? We get it, you watched the movie, fell in love with poker and you want everyone to know you’re the next best poker player around. Prove it. Suck out on the river, go all in…whatever, just don’t quote Rounders. Christ! Oh, and don’t fucking talk with a shitty Russian accent.
• You’re welcome to act any way you like at the table. However, you have to earn respect. Be courteous of those around you. Don’t act like an ass. Just because television likes to glorify “the villain”, doesn’t mean you’re good enough to back up a shitty attitude. You’re not playing online, and you’re not watching T.V. Piss off the wrong person and you may find yourself in a situation you can’t talk your way out of.
• Adhere to house rules and table stakes. I won’t go in to great detail on this. If you don’t know what house rules and table stakes are, you really should take some time to figure it out. In short, each poker room has its own rules and regulations with variations on what some might consider normal. Knowing the rules will keep you out of trouble and allow the action to continue.
• Before you call the dealer an idiot…understand that YOU’RE the idiot!
• Tip the frickin’ dealers. My god! Just because you’ve obtained the ripe age of 74 doesn’t mean the person dealing you the cards doesn’t have a mortgage to pay. The Casino sure isn’t paying them what they’re worth. JUST DO IT! How often? Every frickin’ time you win a pot, dumb ass! What if you win a tournament? TIP THE DEALERS. Seriously, it’s not that hard. How much? Don’t be embarrassed to ask. The floor or dealer would much rather answer this question than you not tip at all. Want to keep it simple? Just tip 10%. Everyone will be happy. If you’re not comfortable with this, tip what you feel you can be comfortable with. Just tip.
• Don’t hold up the action unnecessarily. If you have a tough decision, do what you have to do. But the cards won’t change through osmosis. They’re the same cards the last time you looked down, unless your sense of recall is totally shot. In which case, you may want to re-think you’re game of choice.
• Table talk is fine. Acting like an idiot is not. I think I mentioned this above, but it bears repeating.
• Don’t throw your cards. Are you 6 years old? C’mon. I realize the male species has sudden outbursts…that’s fine. But throwing your cards at the dealer or fellow player will not win you very much respect.
• Adult beverages? Sure, drink them all you want. Usually more money for the rest of us. But keep in mind, your drunken ass may not remember how you lost the money and ended up in the pokey with a busted lip and black eye.
• There’s a fine line between bum and geek. If you feel it necessary to wear sunglasses, hat, hood, oversized coat/sweatshirt, etc. more power to you. But if you’re trying NOT to look like an idiot, this may not be the best tactic. Especially if you’re playing $2.00 limit. Sigh. And if you’re dressing like you’re looking for a GQ cover photo shoot, you’re going to come across as a pompous idiot. You may not be able to help that and that’s fine…that’s who you are. But just know, you look like an idiot. By the off chance you attract that one female in the room…awesome. Job well done sir…nice hand. Have fun paying for her kids “babysitting”.
• And for the ladies. I appreciate that more and more of you are flocking to the poker rooms. Many of you are inclined to wear low cut tops thus flaunting your cleavage in hopes of distracting the opposite sex. That’s entirely fine.
• Pay Attention! With you’re entire $60 bankroll on the line, you would think you might pay attention to the action. Don’t hold up the action, stop watching the game on TV long enough to act your turn. Tard.
• Back to tipping. Not tipping your waitress/hostess will certainly not result in faster service. Have singles handy to tip with if you’re in tournament play.
• Oogle all you want at the waitress (tastefully), she knows she’s hot but for the love of god, stop trying to get her to sleep with you. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but c’mon man…just go to the bar in front of the poker room. The women there are expecting you.
• You’re A5 unsuited is NOT a made hand before the flop. Just an FYI. Sigh.
  

I’m going to stop there for now. I very likely could continue for several more pages. Have one to add? Lay it on me…

-Adam


Technorati Tags: poker, wsop, world series of poker, poker room, rounders, idiot

First of all, it's probably not healthy that any one person should feel the amount of heartbreak as I do after loosing last night’s tournament.  Almost exactly 4 hours in, my trip to Vegas was not to be.  I’m taking this loss extremely hard for the simple fact that I “felt it’.  I mean, I really felt good going in to this tournament.  I owned it!  And that’s what I set about to do.  I had a great chip stack for a good duration of the tournament, rounding the corner in to the 5th hour, then this happens:


PokerStars Game #5508949543: Tournament #27258551 $615+$35 Hold'em No
Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2006/07/09 - 22:14:35 (ET)

Table '27258551 13' 9-max Seat #2 is the button

Seat 1: SoCalKramer (9475 in chips)

Seat 2: moledaddy (24065 in chips)

Seat 3: palurdo (17482 in chips)

Seat 4: millon (21620 in chips)

Seat 5: Toupee Jay (11390 in chips)

Seat 6: BigRiskky (4845 in chips)

Seat 7: JvilleWhip (6693 in chips)

Seat 8: BullMitch (7655 in chips)

Seat 9: delts (4515 in chips)

SoCalKramer: posts the ante 25

moledaddy: posts the ante 25

palurdo: posts the ante 25

millon: posts the ante 25

Toupee Jay: posts the ante 25

BigRiskky: posts the ante 25

JvilleWhip : posts the ante 25

BullMitch: posts the ante 25

delts: posts the ante 25

palurdo: posts small blind 200

millon: posts big blind 400


Holecards:

Dealt to JvilleWhip [ ]

FOLD Toupee Jay

FOLD BigRiskky

CALL JvilleWhip , 400

FOLD BullMitch

FOLD delts

FOLD SoCalKramer

CALL moledaddy, 400

CALL palurdo, 200

CHECK millon


Flop:
[ ]

CHECK palurdo

CHECK millon

BET JvilleWhip , 800


CALL moledaddy, 800

FOLD palurdo

FOLD millon


Turn:
[ ] [ ]

BET JvilleWhip , 800


RAISE moledaddy, 22040 to 22840 and is all-in


CALL JvilleWhip , 4668 and is all-in


River:
[ ] [ ]


Showdown:

JvilleWhip : shows [ ] (two pair Eights and Sevens)

moledaddy: shows [ ] (a flush King high)

moledaddy collected 14361 from pot


SUMMARY:

Total pot 14361 | Rake 0


Board:
[ ]

Seat 1: SoCalKramer folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Seat 2: moledaddy (button) showed [ ] and won (14361) with a flush King high

Seat 3: palurdo (small blind) folded on the Flop

Seat 4: millon (big blind) folded on the Flop

Seat 5: Toupee Jay folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Seat 6: BigRiskky folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Seat 7: JvilleWhip showed [ ] and lost with two pair Eights and Sevens

Seat 8: BullMitch folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Seat 9: delts folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I’m not going to get hung up on the beat too much.  I realize my opponent was “big stacked” and had outs but I still believe he was playing reckless by being in this pot.  I had him beat.  While it’s easy to say I just ran into some bad luck, it doesn’t help the hole in my gut.  Losing when your playing well just sucks.

My Thanks…
Before I continue to ramble on, let me just offer thanks to those that were silently watching from the rail last night.  I know there were a bunch of old friends and new friends alike rooting me on.  Meant the world knowing everyone was there.

The Reality…
With just a few short weeks away from the main event, I’m left with a so-so bankroll in my stars account.  I do not have a WSOP seat.  I just lost out on the best chance thus far to secure that seat, and its Monday. 

Yeah, poor me.  So, what now?

Guess I’ll just have to keep going.  One last hurrah!  Next Sunday presents a tournament with stars giving away something like 150 seats in one tournament.  This would probably be my next best chance for success.  However, I’m not going to wait until Sunday if I have anything to say about it.  My plan will be to secure whatever I can via satellite this week. 

At this stage, I just want to avoid last night’s loss sending me into a tailspin.  I’m going to remain positive and upbeat.  Granted, I’m a little snarley right now, but I’m hoping that will pass after lunch. 

On Top Of It All…
On a whim, I bought in to a single table satellite for the 1million guarantee on stars yesterday.  Thought it would be good prep for the 6pm WSOP tourney.  I ended up winning the table.  10 minutes into the big tourney I’m first to act with KK.  It’s early, so I figure let’s see if anyone’s gambling.  I slow play hoping for some action.  Everyone fold to the button who smooth calls.  Small blind folds, bb check.  Flop, rag rag rag.  BB checks, I end up betting around $300.  Button comes back over the top for about 1000.  BB folds.  I call.  Turn, another rag.  I figure at best, this guy has QQ, JJ, or even 1010.  I push all in, he calls with AA.  I realize it’s early in the tournament, but smooth calling the blinds on the button with AA?  Jesus. 

What a day…
-Adam


Technorati Tags: WSOP, World Series of Poker, Poker, Hold em, Pokerstars.com, Sunday Million

I came across this today while checking out digg.com.  While not a poker related article, I found the content to be quite useful.  Poker, Work, Marriage...whatever, but I found this to be quite interesting:

Thanks to sixwise.com for publishing this article.
Seven Common Signs of Lying

1. 
   

   No eye contact. Generally, if someone is lying
   they will not look you in the eye, at least during a certain
   part of the conversation. Normally, people make eye contact
   for at least half of a conversation, so anything less
   than this could be suspicious. One caveat: there are some
   people who will take great pains to make eye contact with
   you even if they're lying, simply to make you think they're
   not.

   
   






You don't need a lie detector test to find out if someone's lying to you --just check out these seven signs of lying.

2. 
   

   Change in voice. A change in the pitch of a person's
   tone, or a lot of stammering (umm, ah), or throat clearing
   could indicate a lie.

   
   
3. 
   

   Unusual body language. If a person taps their
   foot a lot, fidgets with their hands, raises their shoulders,
   turns away from you or brings their hand to their face
   (to touch their chin or nose, etc.) -- in other words,
   if they act nervous or uncomfortable -- it could mean
   they're telling a lie. Also watch out for blushing (or
   becoming pale) and increased blinking.

   
   
4. 
   

   Something sounds fishy. Making statements that
   contradict each other, are inconsistent or don't sound
   quite right are usually part of a lie.

   
   
5. 
   

   Overly defensive. Sometimes when a person is
   lying they will become extremely defensive, refusing to
   answer any questions and even accusing you of lying. This
   may mean they have something to hide.

   
   
6. 
   

   Changes subject easily. If someone is lying and
   you change the subject, chances are high that they'll
   go right along with it. A person telling the truth, however,
   will likely ask why you changed the subject and want to
   go back to it.

   
   
7. 
   

   Humor or sarcasm. A guilty person will often
   try to change the subject using humor or sarcasm.

   
   

Of course, no one behavior can tell for sure whether or not
someone is telling the truth or lying. While you should trust
your instinct, if you're not sure it's best to try to get
some evidence to back up your accusation. Rather than relying
on a specific behavior, catching a liar in the act is best
done by watching their normal behaviors. When those behaviors
suddenly change, that's when a lie has likely been told.

Technorati Tags: Poker, WSOP, Lying, World Series of Poker

1st Place Finish…
I’ve been toying around with the $16 WSOP Double Shootout Satellites on PokerStars.com for a few weeks now.  Haven’t invested too much money, but hit one or two a week to see where it takes me.  I’ve made it to the final table on a few occasions but haven’t “scored” so to speak.  Last night I took first place which gains me entry to Sunday’s $650 WSOP satellite.  I’ve been wanting to take part in this tournament for a while now being that it very closely matches up against my tournament play and style.  I’ve been doing extremely well in MTT’s and feel this is my be opportunity to date to walk away with that seat I’ve been hunting for.

Strategy wise, I played a solid game last night.  My first table was short handed and I used that to my advantage playing aggressively.  Optimized my position every chance I got.  Ended up winning that table without any hard hits.  The final table presented a full 10 handed game with only 4 spots providing any sort of award for your efforts.  In this situation I generally tighten up, and practice patience letting others knock each other around and out.  To my delight, I ended up taking a different path.  The first 45 minutes of this table I was receiving amazing starting hands.  AK 3 times, AA, 3 times, and QQ twice.  After a few good starting hands and proving the value on these hands by hitting a few flops, people tightened up against me.  This allowed me to steal blinds left and right.  When my AA’s came and QQ’s came, people figured I was just being the bully and offered me action.  Long story short, we got down to the last 4 fairly quickly.  I continued to dominate with my large stack.  Finally ended up heads up.  I was up 2-1 in chips.  His strategy was pretty much a standard raise every hand pre flop.  I didn’t adjust to his play as quickly as I would have liked.  He ended up winning a few key hands which changed the balance 3-1 in his favor.  Then a 5 minute break hit us.  Normally, being heads up for all the marbles, this break annoys the hell out of me.  Instead, I used this to my advantage and really formalized a strategy toward his play.  When we fired it back up, he continued his raising.  I smooth called every chance I got, wait for the flop, checked, he bets, I come back over the top.  I did this 5 hands running and he folded each time which put me back in a commanding lead.  Once I had the momentum, I continued to pound on him until he went bust leaving me with my first place finish.

It felt good.  A little bitter sweet in knowing that had I followed the same path with the $160 DS, that would have scored me the seat to the WSOP.  Only reason I even think like that is due to that being the way I won my entry last year.  Knowing that’s how I won it last year, I’ve been somewhat superstitious in following the same path this year.  Some little demon in my head keeps telling me lightning won’t strike twice with that format. 

And Another Thing…
Also cashed semi deep in a $3 rebuy tournament with $20,000 guaranteed last night.  Only reason I screw around with these are for the simple fact that first place pays out nearly 5k if not more.  It keeps me occupied and sharp as I play other more predominant tournaments.  People shy away from playing too many tables.  I think there’s a balance.  Having 2 or 3 going can be a good thing when one tournament is more important than the others.  This allows me not to concentrate and think too hard on any one tournament.  I find I get myself in trouble if I over think various situations.  Going with my gut works.

Thinking Ahead…
While I certainly don’t want to place undue pressure on myself, I AM putting a lot of effort in to making this weekend count.  I want to make a solid showing in that $650 satellite Sunday evening.  Part of me wanted to take the cash for that tournament and apply it toward DS’s and/or $33 rebuy satellites offering a seat directly.  However, upon further consideration, I like my chances going in to this tournament.  I really do feel this will be my best chance to date this season to take that seat.  I’m going to remain focused and do my thang.

Sunday Tournaments at Stars…
From what I understand, PokerStars.com will be doing another $200 1 rebuy/1 addon again this Sunday.  I would like to take a crack at this again as well.  However, I do not foresee spending as much on satellites as I did last week.  Just not worth it when other aspects of my game are doing well.  I caught the following on RGP directly from stars on their upcoming Big Tourney Schedule:

“Hello, RGP.

We have seen many requests for information regarding the Sunday Million
tournament held on 2 July 2006, the change to the format, whether or not
the change is permanent, etc.  I am pleased to be able to share the
following information.

The 16:30 (eastern U.S. time) Sunday tournament schedule for upcoming
weeks is as follows:

9 July 2006 : Sunday Million ($215 + 1 Re-buy / 1 Add-on)
    - $1,000,000 Guaranteed prize pool

16 July 2006 : WSOP 150 Seats Guaranteed ($350 + $20 Freezeout)
    - 150 seats to the WSOP Main Event guaranteed!

23 July 2006 : Sunday Million ($215 Freezeout)
    - $1,000,000 Guaranteed prize pool

30 July 2006 : Sunday Million ($530 Freezeout)
    - $1,000,000 Guaranteed prize pool ... normal end of month Million

6 August 2006 : Sunday Million ($215 Freezeout)
    - $1,000,000 Guaranteed prize pool

....and so on.


The tournament on 9 July 2006 will be the last re-buy/add-on Million, at
least for a while.  We may offer an R/A Million every once in a while,
but such a tournament will be the exception rather than the rule.

As always, our thanks to those who have provided feedback on this and
other issues relevant to play on PokerStars, whether said feedback was
in an email, a post here on RGP, other forums, etc.  We not only watch
for and respond to feedback from our players, we depend upon it. 

Thank you!
--
Bryan S.
PokerStars Tournaments”

And that’s it for me…
Good luck at the tables!
-Adam



Technorati Tags: World Series of Poker, WSOP, Poker, Adam LaBare, Pokerstars.com, RGP, MTT's, DS

4th of July?
Was there a holiday yesterday? Things are still somewhat fuzzy. Someone let me order a 32 ounce beer yesterday (Yuengling) at the winghouse, everything after that was a blur. I recall running amuck with a cube of wine as mortars fired nearby…but that’s just speculation. Seems like things always go dark when I’m near a cube of wine. Very odd phenomonom. Sigh…My previous post discussing "merlot in a box" still seems to be sound thinking...

Foggy Final Table...
Strangely enough, I made a final table last night as the rockets glared overhead. How patriotic of me…playing poker while most American’s are outside enjoying pretty lights. Finished 6th in a $20 MTT. I’ll take it. Although, I was really geared for a 1st place finish. Silly me for putting all my money in with QQ against KK.

And the Rockets Red Glare...
Before the beer and wine festivities, we made our way out to the beach. Was a perfect Florida beach day and we felt inclined to take advantage of it. Got my ass beat down in the surf. Waves were out of control yesterday. Was fun though. The highlight however was the shuttle launch. I have to laugh because several of my friends and family made the trip down to Cape Canaveral Saturday only to be disappointed with a launch delay. We were going to go down, but with the weather forecast I decided not to. A 2 ½ hour drive for nothing did not appeal to me. When the Sunday launch was also nixed, I felt we truly chose wisely in not going. Yesterday rolls around and while we’re laying out on the beach we notice that every person on the beach is standing and pointing in one direction as if they were merekats. Was quite the site. My wife and I forgot the launch was re-scheduled for a 2:40 liftoff. So, we were certainly in the right place at the right time. Granted, 150 miles separated us from the shuttle, but it was still very impressive to see.







Blogs I’m Reading…
Just wanted to mention of few blogs I stay current with. Highly recommended reading:

Life’s a Bluff
http://lifesabluff.com/
You have to check this out. The gang over at life’s a bluff has created a comic devoted to the world of poker. I’m hooked. Great writing mixed with a great artist makes for something special!

Big Slick Nuts!
http://bigslicknuts.blogspot.com/
BSN has a great blog and keeps me wanting to read more. Check it out if you haven’t already done so.

Gamblers Insight
http://gamblersinsight.blogspot.com/
Rod is back from hiatus (congrats again on the marriage) and is providing valuable insight on making a living through various means of gambling.

Life, The Universe, and Poker
http://lifeuniversepoker.blogspot.com/
Just started reading this one but Ohio Mike has got a great thing going. Check it out. Good stuff.

Tis all for now. Best of luck at the tables…
-Adam


Technorati Tags: Poker, WSOP, World Series of Poker, yuengling, winghouse, merlot, pokerstars.com, 4th of july, shuttle launch

Heartbreak...
This weekend brought the first heartbreak I’ve had in some time. Ever have a tournament where everything is happening just right? You’re hitting every flop, winning each race, and not drowning on the river? I bought in to a $33 rebuy event with a 1 seat guarantee to the WSOP. There were about 300 entrants. After the first hour of rebuys were complete, one seat was to be awarded with the top 6 spots paying out. Things were going absolutely spectacular in this tournament. Down to the final two tables and I’m feeling really really good with my chances going in to the final table. Okay on chips, not spectacular, but enough to hold my own and wait my turn when we get to one table.

Then disaster strikes.

I look down and see 1010. I’m on the button. Chip leader for the tournament is on the BB. Everyone folds to me. Here’s what I was thinking. If I pop the big blind/chip leader just right, he’ll think I’m just trying to pick up his blind and pop me back. Good opportunity to build my stack and take a commanding position on that final table. So I make the perfect raise to solicit action. He bites. He comes over the top of me just enough where I’m either needing to push to rest of my stack or fold. I look at it this way, I’m committed this far, stick to my guns and or instincts and let’s do this. I push all in, he calls, he shows AK unsuited.

Sigh…

I won’t even finish. You get the point. This tournament just ruined my mood the entire weekend as my wife can attest. I had absolutely no success the remainder of the weekend. So, here it is Monday and I’m left with the fleeting thought “I could’a been a contenda”.

Beyond that tournament, I tried to get in on the 1 million tournament on stars through 1 table satellites. Another disastrous outcome. What a frickin’ weekend.

Review time…

Superman Returns
8 out of 10 stars

I liked this movie a lot. Call me the geek that I am, I don’t care. Call me nostalgic, tis fine. In the end, I really enjoyed this flick. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the makers of this film really incorporated previous superman history and movie reference in to this production. Using Marlon Brando’s voice was awesome. Even the obscure reference to “Gotham” was really cool.


Plot was a little far fetched, but then you just simply remind yourself you’re watching a Superman movie and your fine. The movie itself was long according to my wife. Honestly, I didn’t even notice. I felt like I was a kid watching the original Superman for the first time.

The characters were played fairly well. Kevin Spacey as Lex was a fine fit. Not so sure I bought in to Lois Lane, but that’s okay.


Anyhoo, if you’re a fan, I think you’ll enjoy this one. May want to bring fellow geeks along for the ride as the wife may be bored out of her gourd.

On that note, I’m going to wrap this one up. I’ve still some work to do on my next chapter in "winning online poker tournaments". If I don’t have that up today, I hope to do so tomorrow when I have some free time. I hope everyone has a safe and festive 4th of July. Hooray Independence.

-Adam


Technorati Tags: Poker, WSOP, World Series of Poker, Superman Returns, Adam LaBare, Marlon Brando, Kevin Spacey, Gotham, Pokerstars