I am so done with school

As of about 10pm May 14, 2008 I am done with college. I sent in my last bit of documentation for a final project and I am done with finals.

This is of course assuming that I passed. The graduation ceremony will be this Sunday. Fortunately there only 140 engineering students walking so it shouldn't take too long.

Now I need to find a job

No more money on Full Tilt

Well I suppose I still have like $4 on there. Maybe I'll play a tourney with it and hope for the best. Money is moved over to PokerStars (yay!) I now have $280 there and am properly rolled for 10NL.

Of course now I should get to studying for my test tomorrow. I won't be playing any of that 10NL until at least this weekend.

Welcome to May

Things went well in April (I suppose). My goals were a bit unorganized because of the desire to move my monies off of Full Tilt. I still have not done that by the way.

Current BR status:

Full Tilt: ~$150
PokerStars: ~$120
Bodog: ~$85
______________
Total: ~$350 yay!


Plans: Get that money off of Full Tilt over to PokerStars (should be able to transfer on/after the 3rd). I probably am going to transfer about $100 from FTP to Stars putting me over $200 on Stars. Then I should be rolled for 10NL. I might make a 10k (or so) hands stop at 5NL just to make sure I'm moving up properly. Not sure what to do with Bodog money, I never play on that site any more but have yet to withdraw it. I'm tempted to just buy in with it all at 100NL and see what happens....but I know that's not a good idea.

GOALS FOR MAY:

• Graduate from the University of Iowa with a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• everything else is secondary to that
• maybe find an engineering job
• play lots of poker now that I'm out of school
• finding a full time job would be useful
  

My hope is that by the end of summer I can be rolled for 50NL (~$1000). I'm not sure how possible this is, but it's my goal at the moment. If my movement up to 10NL goes well then it should be possible. I'm not going to make a "# of hands" goal for this month because I truly have no idea how many are possible. The first half of the month (up until I graduate) are going to be very hectic and probably involve very little in the ways of poker. The second half, however, will be very uneventful and I will probably be playing quite a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if I was able to put in 30k hands in the second half of the month but I'm not sure.

PLO is fun

and I am certainly no good at it. I've been playing it a bit on Full Tilt since I have $100 there that I want to transfer over to Pokerstars but my account isn't quite 90 days old yet. Well... now I have $150 there. I went on a $50 heater the other day in about 1 hour playing PLO10 6max. I aggravated a few people on my way when I caught cards on the river. I agreed with them when they called me a "fking donk". I certainly am not very good at Omaha.

It's fun though

EDIT: Oh and I made a few BI's at 2NL on Stars as well. Up to almost $90 there. $10 more to reach my goal.

Weekend poker

Played a bunch this weekend. I was up and down all weekend and ended up with a $5 profit. Lost my first quads over quads hand. It was not a pleasant experience.

Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

BTN: $5.16
SB: $14.12
Hero (BB): $6.01
UTG: $2.59
UTG+1: $1.05
MP: $2.71
CO: $5.02

Pre Flop: Hero is BB with 2c 7c
2 folds, MP calls $0.02, 2 folds, SB calls $0.01, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.06) 7h Js 7d (3 players)
SB bets $0.30, Hero calls $0.30, MP folds

Turn: ($0.66) 7s (2 players)
SB bets $0.66, Hero calls $0.66

River: ($1.98) Jh (2 players)
SB bets $0.30, Hero raises to $2, SB raises to $3.70, Hero raises to $5.03 all in, SB calls $1.33

Final Pot: $12.04
SB shows Jc Jd (four of a kind, Jacks)
Hero shows 2c 7c (four of a kind, Sevens)
SB wins $11.49
(Rake: $0.55)

I should have raised the pot on the turn because I know no one at 2NL is able to get away from a full house.


I have realized that my VP$IP from the small blind is way too high. It's just so hard to find a fold for most hands when 6 people limp and it's only 1¢ to call.

Tried to transfer the $100 I have remaining on Full Tilt over to Pokerstars but my transfers were declined. I guess my account is not 90 days old yet.

FTP: ~$100
Stars: $76
Bodog: $85 (I think, haven't logged on there for a while).

Moving home after college

I have come to the realization that I will most likely be moving back home with my parents after graduating in May (assuming I don't fail classes). I have yet to decide how bad this situation is. Up until recently I had figured that this would be the worst possibility after graduation. However, my parents have seemed to have relaxed of late and living with them doesn't seem as bad as I once figured. What I'm really concerned about is moving back into the suburbs (def. -EV). I can not stand living in the suburbs. There is absolutely nothing to do. At least I would not have to pay rent and can get a good start on paying back my school loans. I could possibly even start saving some money.

There is also the consideration that my girlfriend (who is not graduating) will be in Australia for the semester studying abroad. I do not look forward to having the talk with her.

Support the PPA

and support online poker in the United States.

IF NOTHING ELSE DO THIS:
http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/letter

It will take you <3 mins and will cost you nothing. Please send a letter or e-mail to your state representatives.

Saturday afternoon at 2NL

Came out of 380 hands with these stats this afternoon. I would have been up a touch more if it weren't for 2 really bad calls for a lot on the river. NOTE: people don't bluff all-in on the river for way more than the pot.

A movie and some play

Poker play unfortunately (gf is sick so none of that kind of play).

Went and saw '21' this evening. It was alright. Despite the inaccuracies it was good. Not great, but good. Also, having a friend work at the movie theater and seeing it for $2 is definitely +EV.

Then I came home and played some 2NL on Stars. Played 643 hands and made $11.71 putting me at 45.53 BB/100. If only I could keep that up forever.

I hit quads but didn't make as much off it as I would have liked. I was really expecting a bet on the river from MP2.

Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

BTN: $3.10
SB: $2.71
BB: $5.22
UTG: $4.35
UTG+1: $1.61
UTG+2: $2.88
Hero (MP1): $5.32
MP2: $5.79
CO: $5.33

Pre Flop: Hero is MP1 with 6h 6d
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $0.06, Hero calls $0.06, MP2 raises to $0.16, CO calls $0.16, 3 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.10, Hero calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.67) 4s 6c 6s (4 players)
UTG+2 checks, Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.26, CO folds, UTG+2 folds, Hero calls $0.26

Turn: ($1.19) 2h (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.58, Hero calls $0.58

River: ($2.35) Jh (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks

Final Pot: $2.35
Hero shows 6h 6d (four of a kind, Sixes)
MP2 mucks 2d 4d
Hero wins $2.25
(Rake: $0.10)

Sunday tourneys

Played in the Sunday Hundred Grand yesterday on Stars. Cashed for about $20 from a 70fpp entry from a SNG satellite. Also, played in a $9.5k guaranteed KO tourney on FTP using the $26 token I couldn't use yesterday. Didn't cash but knocked out 2 people earning me $8 in knockout bonus (whoopee!). Still trying to find a person to help me move $100 from FTP to Stars.

Oh yeah, played in a College Poker Championships freeroll on Stars last night. Played for a bit (knocked out 3 or 4 people donkaments style) and then sat out. Forgot about the tourney. When I came back to my computer a few hours later I had been blinded out in 23 place earning me 70¢.

Full Tilt down

I guess I won't be playing in that $16,000 guaranteed, seeing how Full Tilt is down at the moment. Bother.

moving off of full tilt

Well it looks like I am going to be moving my monies from FTP to Stars. I am unable to get rakeback because apparently I am attached to some affiliate. I must have had a cookie saved on my computer when I downloaded and signed up for Full Tilt. I've used my Iron Man medals to purchase a $26 token and am playing a double stacked $16,000 guaranteed tourney shortly. Perhaps I'll get a boost to my BR that will be headed over to Stars. With no cash in the tourney my BR over at Stars will be about $130.


New April Goals:

• move money to Poker Stars
• get BR up to about $250 or so

Hello April

Let us see.... March ended up pretty bad. I lost a few buy-ins at 25NL (which I will not be taking a shot at again until I am at least almost properly rolled for) and then a few at 10NL. I fell from $250+ to about $70 on Full Tilt and am currently sitting at about $100. Some of the money went over to Poker Stars. I currently am sitting on about $20 and am playing 2NL. It is amazing what some people will call with at 1¢/2¢. I also am holding an entrance to the Sunday Hundred Grand tourney on PS. I won it from a 70FPP SNG (had a bunch of FPPs from when I previously played on PS). Hopefully I can at least cash and add a few bucks to my BR on PS (I should probably take the T$ and play SNGs or something, but I want to play the MTT cause I'm not working on Sunday). I also still have $95 sitting on Bodog that I haven't touched in a while. I think I might use it to make bets on the Champions League.


Goals for April:

• either work out rakeback on FT or move FT BR over to PS
  
• build my FT BR back up to at least $200 (preferably $250)
• build my PS BR up to $100+
• get Iron Man Status on FT again this month (probably Silver again but Gold if possible)
• post more on 2+2 and learn learn learn learn
  

Transfer funds from Full Tilt to Pokerstars

Why is this such a pain. I tried to transfer $200 before I went to Lake Tahoe to someone (who ended up con-ing me, ty FTP) in exchange for money on Stars. It only let $50 go through while denying the rest of my transfers. I guess they saved me $150. I want to get my money off of FTP and onto Stars because I can not get rakeback on FTP. If anyone wants to help me transfer please let me know.

Happy Easter

Hi all and happy Easter (you know, if that's your thing). Don't have time to write a real post today but wanted to say hi. Got back from Lake Tahoe on Friday evening. I hope to write a little trip report in the next few days. Also, made almost 3 BI's at 25nl last night. I'm at $265 on FTP.

Heading back to Iowa City this evening.

No rakeback for me

I made a big mistake when I signed up for Full Tilt. I did not sign up through a rakeback affiliate. And now it appears that I am screwed. I received the following as a response to my inquiry about the possibility of being transfered to a rakeback affiliate or perhaps given permission to recreate my/create a new account.

Hello John,

Thank you for contacting The Affiliate Team at Full Tilt Poker.

Full Tilt does not pay players rakeback directly. There are a number of
rakeback affiliates who offer players up to 27% rakeback if they sign up
to Full Tilt Poker through their site.

Please note that this is not an issue which can be solved by opening
another account with Full Tilt Poker, it is against our site policy to
open more than one account. Though you could cease using your account,
we do not remove it from our system, nor do we freeze accounts in order
for players to create new ones.

However, we do value your continued support of Full Tilt Poker, and we
are currently looking into organizing something that will help players
who are not receiving rakeback from an affiliate. We have added your
username to our files for further consideration. Please be patient.

Also, it may interest you to know that there is an affiliate payment
plan in which the affiliate earns a percentage of their players rake,
but there is no rake back deals offered directly to the players. Our
affiliate program is not designed for personal rakeback, but can be used
to earn commission on other player?s activity.

You can sign up for an affiliate account through our website at:
http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/affiliates

If there's anything else we can help you with, please don't hesitate to
ask.

Best of luck on the tables!

The Affiliate Team at Full Tilt Poker.

Gee.... thanks. I guess I'll be moving back to PokerStars until they "[organize] something to help players who are not receiving rakeback from an affiliate".

Another nice run

I had another nice run last night. I cleared another $20 of my bonus and managed to pick up 4 more BI's at 10NL. I was up another BI and a half but lost two big hands. One was aces over kings and the other I flopped a set of sixes and he flopped a straight out of the big blind. The thing that really turns me about the two hands was... I knew it. The way they played the hands I knew exactly what they had, but I still couldn't lay them down. I'm gonna have to work on that. No HH cause I'm at work.

Also, I HIT QUADS 6 TIMES. It was insane. If I had PT up and running I could check but I didn't make much money off of them. Having quads is irritating when you know everyone will fold when you bet.

Played some Caribbean Stud on Carbon Poker last night. It was a very quick way to lose the last $30 I had on the site. Oh well, I never played there anywho.

Current BR:
Full Tilt - $180
Bodog - $90
Carbon Poker - busto

Thurdays nights at work

Since the full-timers leave at 5pm during the week I can pretty much browse the internet in the evening (5-8) on Thursdays. I imagine that most of my posts on here are going to come on Thurs. evenings or weekends while I'm working because if I'm at home I'll probably play poker instead. These Thurs. evenings also give me a good time to scour the 2p2 forums for useful information.

Another time waster for me will also be Lord of The Rings Online, which I recently started playing. I'm currently running a elf Lore-Master on the server 'Windfola'. Currently level 12 with the name "Celathier". I'm new to the game but if anyone plays feel free to whisper me in game. Also, any that wants to try out a fun MMO I can give you a referral for a 10 day trial (the non referred trial is 7 days).

Had a nice night on the e-felt last night. Played only for a little more than an hour and managed to pick up 3 BI's at 10NL. I am also close to the next $20 release from my bonus from Full Tilt (90fpp or so). I will be picking up that $20 this evening as I grind out my 100fpp for the day. I am attempting to get the silver Iron Man level on Full Tilt this month. I would be trying for gold but I will be gone for 10 days so gold is pretty much out of the question. Managed to get bronze last month despite just starting on FT a third of the way through the month.

Current b/r:
Bodog - $80 - $90
Full Tilt - $120
Carbon Poker - ~$30

Hey all...

...or more likely no one.

I am back (I hope). It is my intent to revive this here blog and perhaps even make it worthwhile to read. I am currently playing mostly on Full Tilt with a little Bodog mixed in. I am currently sitting on about $80 - $90 on each site. I've been mostly 4-tabling 10NL full ring. I know that I should be rolled a little higher for 10NL but I am willing to deal with the possibility of busting. The last 2 days or so I've been 6-tabling with half buy-ins ($5 on 10NL). I am hoping to get more used to the extra 2 tables and make it my regular game plan.

I am currently trying to clear as much of the $300 bonus I was granted by Full Tilt to compensate for their servers going down several times in the last 2 weeks. I was only effected by the downtimes once but I'll take the bonus. The goal is to clear as much of the bonus as possible before spring break. The bonus deadline is the 22nd of this month.

I will be unable to play online over break because I will be in Lake Tahoe with my dad. I will be snowboarding during the day and I hope to make it to a poker room one or two evenings to play a little live poker.


I hope to come up with some goals for my poker play. I want to (and need to) improve my game. I've joined the twoplustwo forums (s/n: iamsolitary) and have been reading many posts there. I also have purchased pokertracker and will be going over my PT stats soon.