Project Cashout and Other Stuff
One of the things I've decided to do since the birth of my beautiful daughter is start taking more regular withdrawals from my poker accounts. Since May 1, I've been able to make over $1000 between cashouts from various sites, rakeback, and other revenues. It's worked out very well, even despite the rough stretch over at Stars.
In homage to Jordan's "To Do List" post, I've decided to make a sort of modified list, a list of my "poker goals" for the summer months:
Cash out at least $1000/month in winnings and other revenues. I think this is attainable if I play patient, smart, and avoid the tilt-monster.
Finish off the promotions I have going on now, and withdraw that money (with a positive balance, unlike the debacle I dealt with at Absolute Poker...another day) and lather, rinse repeat for some more goodies.
Play in some NL tournaments, maybe one live at the Taj (of course, if the Baby Shark allows) to prep myself for the run I plan to take at the US Poker Championship (USPC) at the Taj in September. I'd like to play in one preliminary event, and pending the results there, maybe take a crack at a satellite at the Main Event.
Play enough on Stars (with the help of increased VPP rates) to get to 20,000 VPPs. I want a friggin' iPod 30GB, and I want it now. Yeah, I'm the guy still left in the US without an iPod.
To re-iterate another point from #1, above, avoid tilt at all costs. Bad beats are just that, bad beats, and are not a conspiracy by the poker sites to screw you out of your money.
Just think, the fact that you take bad beats in the first place mean that you're getting your money in with the best of it consistently--think of the beats that way--and that you forced your opponent into making a severe mistake to call and put the beat on you.
And now, to answer TripJax' Blogger version of 21 Questions:
1. What is the biggest mistake people make at a NL table?
Playing far too loosely, especially in terms of calling raises.
2. What is the biggest mistake people make at a Limit table?
Calling without having appropriate odds to call--but that's how I make my money...
3. Why do you play poker?
I'm competitive by my nature, I love the competition, and because the mathematics and theory of the game intrigues me. The money is just another perk.
4. If you weren't playing poker, what would you be doing?
Probably improving my handicap--you know, what I was doing before this obsession took over my soul.
5. What is your favorite poker book and why?
Small Stakes Hold'em by Miller, Sklansky, and Malmuth. Why? Because that book was a primary reason I went from being an "okay" break-even player to being an excellent and very profitable limit-hold'em player.
6. Who is your favorite poker player and why?
Tough one. I like Greg Raymer because he's a real guy like me--a professional dude with a career and a family who did this for fun, then as a profitable hobby, then became a World Champion. If it's not Raymer, it's probably Phil Ivey, just for his straight-ahead, murderer approach to the game. If it's not those two, it's Marcel Luske, because he's such a damn nice guy. Ferguson and Lederer are way up there too on that "good guy" list.
7. Which poker player do you dislike the most and why?
Tough one. I haven't really met any pros other than some online interaction, but the guys that rub me the wrong damn way are Hellmuth (just because he overdoes it and projects and unprofessional look), and Sheikhan--who, as Joe Speaker said, is just a first class asshole at the table. He might be a great guy away from the game, but as far a poker player goes, he comes off as a real dick, and he makes me want to play him for a stack or two--and bust his ass back to wherever it was he came from.
8. Do your coworkers know about your blog?
Yes, and the only thing anybody cares about is that I don't gamble from work. I never have, so it's a non-issue. They're more concerned with my gratuitous use of the internet from work than what the hell I do on it. And by the way, Bracelet--you rock, the stuffed shirts suck.
9. What is the most you have won in a cash game or MTT (both live and online)?
I've won a $20+2 LHE tourney on PokerStars, cashing after a final table chop for like $500 or so, and I've had $500 days in LHE cash games more than a few times. I've also cashed in the Taj Wednesday night tourney (13th of 300+) for about $200.
10. What is the most you have lost in a cash game or in one day total (both live and online)?
In what can be called the worst day of my poker life, I lost two buy-ins at 5/10 LHE, then moved up to 10/20 to make it back. Bad idea. I ended up losing over $1000 that day. Since then, I've implemented stop-loss limits.
11. Who was your first poker blog read?
Maudie, then Halverson, then Iggy and Pauly.
12. What satisfies you more, your aces holding up for a big pot or a bluff working for a big pot?
The satisfaction that I outplayed my opponent is the thing, so it has to be the bluff. I love big pots regardless of how they come, but outplaying my opponent is the real deal.
13. Why do you blog?
Because everybody else does it. :-) No, I blog because I feel that I have some things, whether strategy, entertainment, or anything else, to contribute to the community at large. Plus, I can look back and laugh at all of this some day.
14. Do you read blogs from an RSS reader like bloglines or do you visit each blog?
Mostly bloglines, but I will visit blogs on my list regularly.
15. Would you rather play poker for a living than do what you currently do for a living?
Part of me says absolutely, but this (poker) is a tough ass way to make an easy living. I'm really good at this, but nobody avoids the variance bug.
16. Do you wear a tin foil hat on occasion?
No, but I have wondered about the legendary "cashout curse," does that count?
17. If you had to pin it down to one specific trait, what does a great poker player have (or do) that separates them from an average player?
I don't think I could say one, but definitely two--First, the ability to shrug off losses and focus on their play, realizing that results will come so long as they make correct decisions. Second, the ability (or super-human in the case of a guy like Daniel Negreanu) to read people to a "tee." Watching Negreanu play sometimes is fun. You wonder sometimes, when he's really on, if he's just seeing his opponents' cards face up.
18. Is Drizz the coolest person on the planet for naming his baby Vegas?
Yeah, sorta, but my baby's cuter. Sorry, Drizz, I just had to.
19. What is your primary poker goal and are you close to accomplishing it?
See above. I want to have poker as a profitable hobby, and make a little money on the side
20. What is your primary online site and why?
PokerStars and Full Tilt. I've loved Stars since the beginning. It's where I started, and it's where I play a ton even now. Great software, and for whatever reason, I've had more success there (expressed as winrates) than any place else. Full Tilt because it's a well-designed and well-run site.
21. What site do you dislike and why?
I hate Party Poker. Always have, always will. I just can't seem to win there, and it's always a string of just horrendous beats that cost me my money. The Schooling of the Fish is just too intense there for me to overcome.
It's been fun, but work beckons, so continued luck at the tables!
In homage to Jordan's "To Do List" post, I've decided to make a sort of modified list, a list of my "poker goals" for the summer months:
Just think, the fact that you take bad beats in the first place mean that you're getting your money in with the best of it consistently--think of the beats that way--and that you forced your opponent into making a severe mistake to call and put the beat on you.
And now, to answer TripJax' Blogger version of 21 Questions:
1. What is the biggest mistake people make at a NL table?
Playing far too loosely, especially in terms of calling raises.
2. What is the biggest mistake people make at a Limit table?
Calling without having appropriate odds to call--but that's how I make my money...
3. Why do you play poker?
I'm competitive by my nature, I love the competition, and because the mathematics and theory of the game intrigues me. The money is just another perk.
4. If you weren't playing poker, what would you be doing?
Probably improving my handicap--you know, what I was doing before this obsession took over my soul.
5. What is your favorite poker book and why?
Small Stakes Hold'em by Miller, Sklansky, and Malmuth. Why? Because that book was a primary reason I went from being an "okay" break-even player to being an excellent and very profitable limit-hold'em player.
6. Who is your favorite poker player and why?
Tough one. I like Greg Raymer because he's a real guy like me--a professional dude with a career and a family who did this for fun, then as a profitable hobby, then became a World Champion. If it's not Raymer, it's probably Phil Ivey, just for his straight-ahead, murderer approach to the game. If it's not those two, it's Marcel Luske, because he's such a damn nice guy. Ferguson and Lederer are way up there too on that "good guy" list.
7. Which poker player do you dislike the most and why?
Tough one. I haven't really met any pros other than some online interaction, but the guys that rub me the wrong damn way are Hellmuth (just because he overdoes it and projects and unprofessional look), and Sheikhan--who, as Joe Speaker said, is just a first class asshole at the table. He might be a great guy away from the game, but as far a poker player goes, he comes off as a real dick, and he makes me want to play him for a stack or two--and bust his ass back to wherever it was he came from.
8. Do your coworkers know about your blog?
Yes, and the only thing anybody cares about is that I don't gamble from work. I never have, so it's a non-issue. They're more concerned with my gratuitous use of the internet from work than what the hell I do on it. And by the way, Bracelet--you rock, the stuffed shirts suck.
9. What is the most you have won in a cash game or MTT (both live and online)?
I've won a $20+2 LHE tourney on PokerStars, cashing after a final table chop for like $500 or so, and I've had $500 days in LHE cash games more than a few times. I've also cashed in the Taj Wednesday night tourney (13th of 300+) for about $200.
10. What is the most you have lost in a cash game or in one day total (both live and online)?
In what can be called the worst day of my poker life, I lost two buy-ins at 5/10 LHE, then moved up to 10/20 to make it back. Bad idea. I ended up losing over $1000 that day. Since then, I've implemented stop-loss limits.
11. Who was your first poker blog read?
Maudie, then Halverson, then Iggy and Pauly.
12. What satisfies you more, your aces holding up for a big pot or a bluff working for a big pot?
The satisfaction that I outplayed my opponent is the thing, so it has to be the bluff. I love big pots regardless of how they come, but outplaying my opponent is the real deal.
13. Why do you blog?
Because everybody else does it. :-) No, I blog because I feel that I have some things, whether strategy, entertainment, or anything else, to contribute to the community at large. Plus, I can look back and laugh at all of this some day.
14. Do you read blogs from an RSS reader like bloglines or do you visit each blog?
Mostly bloglines, but I will visit blogs on my list regularly.
15. Would you rather play poker for a living than do what you currently do for a living?
Part of me says absolutely, but this (poker) is a tough ass way to make an easy living. I'm really good at this, but nobody avoids the variance bug.
16. Do you wear a tin foil hat on occasion?
No, but I have wondered about the legendary "cashout curse," does that count?
17. If you had to pin it down to one specific trait, what does a great poker player have (or do) that separates them from an average player?
I don't think I could say one, but definitely two--First, the ability to shrug off losses and focus on their play, realizing that results will come so long as they make correct decisions. Second, the ability (or super-human in the case of a guy like Daniel Negreanu) to read people to a "tee." Watching Negreanu play sometimes is fun. You wonder sometimes, when he's really on, if he's just seeing his opponents' cards face up.
18. Is Drizz the coolest person on the planet for naming his baby Vegas?
Yeah, sorta, but my baby's cuter. Sorry, Drizz, I just had to.
19. What is your primary poker goal and are you close to accomplishing it?
See above. I want to have poker as a profitable hobby, and make a little money on the side
20. What is your primary online site and why?
PokerStars and Full Tilt. I've loved Stars since the beginning. It's where I started, and it's where I play a ton even now. Great software, and for whatever reason, I've had more success there (expressed as winrates) than any place else. Full Tilt because it's a well-designed and well-run site.
21. What site do you dislike and why?
I hate Party Poker. Always have, always will. I just can't seem to win there, and it's always a string of just horrendous beats that cost me my money. The Schooling of the Fish is just too intense there for me to overcome.
It's been fun, but work beckons, so continued luck at the tables!
3 Comments:
haha i used to be a party poker hater too, but i've changed my ways now that i've successfully built my roll to over $500 for the first time on party.
we'll see how long it takes for the endless bad beats of fishes going for their 2 outer and hitting have me reeling my money towards pokerstars again..
just imported your auto rate rules and i have to say, Tiburon...you're my hero
i absolutely wear my tin foil hat anytime i press the cashout button. nice job tiburon and thanks for playing along.
Mikey--
Thank you for the compliment. Party has been the bane of my existence. You have to understand. I'm a guy who (playing LHE) is a LIFETIME >4 BB/100 winner on Stars, playing from 0.50/1 to 15/30. I go to Party, because I hear how horrible the players are. I deposit $300, and within 400 hands, bust completely out. Of those 400 hands, I lost something like a DOZEN 4-or-fewer outers on the river, and probably 6 runner-runner situations. I think it's just really bad luck/variance, so I try my luck at Empire (Party skin). Lather, rinse, repeat. I end up down $150 AFTER the $100 bonus. Back to Stars, back to winning.
Jax--
Any time, amigo. Keep up the great work on the blog. I have to get over to play in a DADI or two.
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