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Things I’ll Never Hear the End of, etc.

AJKHoosier1 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:50:49 +0000

It was a pretty full weekend for me - on Saturday night I hosted a mini-party here, and then went out to the bars to celebrate my friend Liz's birthday. No wild stories or anything, just a regular fun night out.

Played a pretty full slate on Sunday, even adding a couple tournaments I don't usually play. One of those tournaments was the PokerStars $109 2R1A, which I ended up taking third in to break even on the day (a score of about $6500). I was pretty disappointed because I had a big stack three handed, but made a pretty borderline call with a flush against a boat, and it went pretty much downhill from there. Still, a slightly profitable Sunday is definitely not such a bad thing.

Last night I only played a handful of tournaments, but still ended up pretty frustrated. Firstly, I bubbled the Full Tilt 1k Monday, once again running flush into a boat, this time in a pretty dumb, unavoidable spot.

Secondly, and the reason for the title of this post...

I played my first "Beat the Brunson 10" bounty tournament on Doyle's Room last night - a $22 buyin with $500 bounties on the heads of all sponsored Doyle's Room pro's who play. My friend Greg wanted to play, so I sent him $22 on the site, and he did. He ended up knocking me out with 20 or so people left (his J6 v my A4 all-in preflop for a big pot - the bounty pretty much made it so that every player had no choice but to try to stack me - $500 on a $22 buyin!) and going on to take third in the tournament, profiting about $1k total. Sighsies.

Anyways, I'll be at the tables all day for the next couple days (some cap PLO/NL and nightly tournaments) followed by a couple days off until Sunday... I'll keep you guys posted on my week with another post this weekend.

-AJK

A much needed vacation and a retooled approach (nath)

Bond18 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:29:50 +0000

I went up to Austin last weekend for my first real vacation in nine months or so. It was a revelation; a great chance to decompress and a reminder of just how good that feels. It's necessary; Houston can be a stressful place, and the vacation from routine is a great way to clear one's head and focus on what's important. It can also be a good place to get in some work distraction-free. Some of you may know Apestyles as a very good and consistent tournament player (which is a big understatement, but I didn't want to be like "brag I know Apestyles holla"); I visited him for a day and got on the tournament grind, and it was very satisfying to be able to talk about hands and thought processes and the like. It really helps my game, and it's one thing I miss from my life in Houston, where I don't have any of my friends in poker nearby (I think the closest person I know is about 45 minutes away). [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Cog Dis, You a Joke!

RyPac13 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:41:02 +0000

This thread was pretty gold http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/58/heads-up-nl/cognitive-dissonance-yo...

Anyways, going to Vegas Monday-Friday, if any husng guys are out there, shoot me a blog post or 2p2 PM.

We also just hired ITRIED2WARNU, a very talented $200-300 buyin regular on Full Tilt. His first video will be up sometime today. Make sure to give him a welcome and give us some detailed feedback on his first few videos. Thanks.

I’m Back

AJKHoosier1 — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:24:50 +0000

After a hiatus from the blog for some reasons that you might now know, I haven't been posting on my PokerNews blog.

That's because I was closing on a sponsorship with Doyle's Room, as the newest member of the Brunson 10!

Fortunately I'll still be blogging here (and more often!), and I am now tweeting at twitter.com/AJKHoosier1.

So, look forward to a bunch of posts from me in the near future!

-Alex

Melody Slips Into The Foreground

Alex Fitzgerald — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:19:00 +0000

Berlin, Germany

Just took Naty out to a club called Felix. I dug the design of the club, and just coming out of the snow to a packed club, but wow...DJs suck in Berlin on a Thursday night. I mean this guy had Nsync come on after some techno thing and then a salsa thing and then every bad pop song that Malta overplayed two years ago. I dig going to clubs with Naty, because she has a good attitude and can dance, but man...its difficult with a DJ like that.

People were real aggressive. I had to push a guy away from Natasha, some 6'5" dude. I told some guy my girlfriend went to the bathroom and that was her seat and then he yelled "bah! What?!" at me. But his ho didn't come near the seat. Naty elbowed out some girls away from us. Germans are so polite during the day, but man...at the club, I laughed. Still wasn't a bad vibe, just no one dances that hard here, so I was a little surprised the crowd was different at all. I still dug it. Most people were cool.

Funny how women never care at all who you are when you're single, then you have a girlfriend and they get interested. I don't get off to the attention or anything, I just find that interesting. I've not been in a relationship in a while, or been this satisfied, so this is all...new and different to me. I guess you just look secure when you're in a good relationship and that is something.

Saw that movie The Ugly Truth. I'm disturbed by how many relationship movies I've been watching, but Gerard Butler plays an excellent asshole who gets converted. The plot was standard but I laughed...sometimes.

Going to try to update this blog more regularly. Spanish lessons, 1.000 words a day, poker, and still having a life. Yeah.

Going to Cologne tomorrow.

Alice Escapes

Alex Fitzgerald — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:32:00 +0000

Berlin, Germany

I went over my budget here, largely because I'm sending a bunch of money home and I budgeted incorrectly (I've never taken a girlfriend on the tour before...I underestimated random shopping costs). I also had some costs come out of no where I wasn't ready for, travelling costs going waaaay over what I paid in past years. I went over budget and had to go get some money. I put an ad out on 2p2 but no one was offering euros, well, initially, I got some offers later.

No matter, this happens all the time, and I have 8 million friends in the poker world, but I hate asking for favors. I also was really stressed about this this time because I am responsible for my girlfriend, and my careful budget went haywire. Oh well, it's not really a big deal. The tour's a mess, you have to rely on your network all the time.

First guy I tried was Wutank and he came through for me and had a friend of his hook me up, a really cool guy. We took the subway to his place and hung out for a bit, had some home cooked food for the first time in forever. The place was really close to where the old Berlin wall was. There was an ashtray in their flat from the old East Germany cars, made out of tin and plastic. He hooked me up with some euros, I offered a little extra vig and he wouldn't accept. The German professionals really are so helpful, polite, and professional. I don't know what they teach in this country but I like it. This guy obviously understood good business.

That was really nice. I woke up late tonight today, got a jog in, and just went and got the euros for the rest of my trip. Naty and I went to eat and met a really nice Turkish and German couple. The Turkish man talked about how proud he was to be German, and I just thought that was really really cool, to see someone so proud of his country and who he is.

I was just thinking how nice it was here, since there seemed to be less problems then France, when some Turkish guy rolled down his window, looked at Naty, and barked something at me, disgusted. I don't know what's with some people. 99% of people in France and Germany are so nice to my girlfriend and I, but these idiots...ugh.

I came back home and got a really bad email. I don't want to go into my family problems but they just aren't stopping. I ran low on money here because I regularly pay bills back home for my family, because I have no idea what to do about the situation and I just can't cut people off. Well, I wanted to, but breaking a lease was going to cost me the same as riding it out, so I thought I'd give my family the time to get their life together. I'm done talking shit about my family, go find the post "My Life" if you want the whole story, but it just saddens me. No one gets the message, they really think I'm stupid and will just keep sending checks forever, when I'm the meanest person when you fuck with my money or me. If this person wasn't my blood...oh god. I'm putting myself in a harder situation for someone who not only tries to hurt me but apparently is hurting others in my family. I'm sure I don't know everything but I don't care, I'm so sick of long-winded bullshit explanations from people who only care about themselves. I want to just cut everyone off now, and laugh my ass off about it, but I'm supposedly human and not that sick. There's a date it's going to happen, and I'm a nice guy, but I have my limits, and I'm so close to upping the date. I hate people, I really do, who only care about themselves and burn those who love them. I'm trying to get my whole life together away from the bullshit I endured in my childhood and adulthood with these fucking children, and its just frustrating.

No focusing on the negative. Naty's been pointing out a lot lately when I'm doing that, and it's crazy she's right, I'm a grumpy asshole. It's different when somebody else is pointing it out to you. I got money, I got connects, I got good people in my corner, my friends and I are going to win. I'm sober now and I'm pissed off for all the time I wasted. I'm putting my family in school, in better places, and I'd like to see someone try to stop me.

Tomorrow I have to confirm some transfers by phone and buy my train tickets to go see Wutank and get to my flight back to Costa Rica from Amsterdam. That's the only real work I have to do. I think we're going to travel around here and get some memories from Berlin. This city has a lot of history and personality, and I really like the people. I've had a lot of fun on this Europe tour but I'm kind of ready to get back home and grinding. I got Dub B and his boy coming down and I have to buy my sister a ticket here soon. I'm just going to be working all day and hanging out with my family at night. I can't wait. I'm ready to get back on the grind.

Keep getting scores…..yet the slump continues

EvanParkes — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:57:11 +0000

Hey everyone

So....i am still doing really well this year final tables pretty much every couple of days or so, playing great and running well.On wednesday of last week i came 2nd in the 100r 6max on ftp for 22k, On saturday, i came 2nd in the 200 turbo on stars for 10k, and today guess what, ANOTHER 2nd!!!!(in the 30r for 5k) of course i am happy because i am continuing to get very solid scores but one thing that i have yet to get...a WIN, i have come 2nd/final tabled SOOOOOOOOoooooooo many tournaments this year, yet i continue to not be able to close it out which is frustrating.I keep running into people HU who are either horrible but running like jesus, sick and running like jesus or mediocre and running like jesus....unfortunatey they all have one thing in common.So yes i am happy doing well playing great just 2nd's everywhere is pretty annoying lol, theres a quick update and hopefully i will be busy making training videos on here which should be exciting, i hope to get some good insight/ideas.Thanks a lot and see you guys at the tables.

Pils

Random Thoughts From A Seattle Poker Pro 2010-03-02 23:49:00

Alex Fitzgerald — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:49:00 +0000

Wrong Planet

Alex Fitzgerald — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:04:00 +0000

Berlin, Germany

Bah, poker, baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. BAH I SAY.

I didn't have much go right for me today in Berlin. I showed up 20 minutes late, which isn't unusual for me and it's not really a big deal with the new EPT structures but its a bad habit to get into and this isn't just my money. My investors expect the best from me, and I deliver, and that doesn't mean slacking off. I just got slowed down in the morning. The damn taxi driver long hauled me and then hit traffic. Dumb ass.

I was proud showing up. Naty and I got to bed early. I slept eight hours. I played really well, but went from 30,000 to 12,000 like it was nothing. I was really pissed off, but I told myself to grow up and play my game. At the break I went and saw Naty, and she had a really healthy breakfast ready for me and some coffee. I chilled out after that and just went and played my game. I spotted a BS squeeze and just jammed over it. I took some chips. Got up to 20k. I love the new EPT structures, it gives me so much time.

I got moved to a new table, that wasn't as juicy as my first table. I had some good players at my first table but some guy check/jammed 200 BBs with nothing on the turn at my first table. I kiiiiiiiiinda wanted to stay there. Instead this one Asian kid who grew up in Germany, and I don't know, I can just tell a good player when I see one and this kid's fantastic. Great attitude, great game, and fucking awful to have at my table. Every time I screwed up and flatted too fast he punished. It was annoying.

The other players weren't ballas but they could play ball, and I just wasn't thrilled. I mean I saw some goofy crap but not nearly as much. Only one play or two, not every damn hand. They weren't afraid to gamble. That sucks.

I flopped two sets. I doubled up on one and got 40k. I got mad active, and started building. I flopped the second one on a PERFECT board versus a player who was getting frustrated, and got no action. Nothing went that well from there. I had a bunch of really tough hands. Ran AQ into QQ. Then AQ into KK. AK lost to 10-10. Bah humbug.

I played two hands poorly, well, poorly for me. Most players would write them off as small mistakes but I'm not like that. I made one river bluff versus the German kid that looks meeeeeeeh on paper but I just felt was wrong. He picked me off easily, I wasn't surprised, and I was mad at myself for pissing away the chips. I also missed an obvious squeeze, like it was just such a good spot, and I just chickened out. I felt like the initial raiser was fed up with me and the 4bet was coming, when really the guy was just doing the oldest most elementary trick in the book, "if I stare this little shit down maybe he'll be intimidated." Oh well, I did way too many squeezes and crazy ass plays for a while, and I'm glad I have some patience now, but still, grrrrr, the spot was so GOOD and it was just there and I missed it. Those all add up.

I was happy however. I feel so healthy. I didn't need my old crutches to get me through. I don't have the hatred I used to have for all living things. I showed one fourbet bluff angrily today but just because everyone was threebetting me and I was annoyed, not because I actually hated the guy. I told him nice bet later and I could tell he knew I wasn't serious. I actually talked at the table, which I rarely do, because it was obvious everyone had an idea who I was and the situation changes then. People want to talk. Poker players spend a lot of time alone at home and naturally want to talk with their colleagues. I get screen names and a general idea of where they are in their poker development. One guy today told me he watched my early videos on Pwnage. I would've had NO IDEA about that if we hadn't chatted. Of course, I give away I'm a professional, and sometimes it works against me, but hey seeming relaxed and chatty at the table seems to work for Negreanu.

Oh well. I'm at the top of my game now. I've grown as a person over the last couple years. I played calm thinking man's poker all day today, and I didn't need anything to do it. I just am myself now. I don't know, I was so insecure for so long, and now I'm just playing steady. I got a lot going for me. I used to be obsessed with what I didn't have. I just relax, realize I'm doing alright, and work to better it.

I just have clear goals now and I want to win one of these, and buy some properties in Central America. I want to lay down on my own leather couches in my own house and watch my own big screen TV, and have my family over, my Costa Rican family, all my homies, and of course my woman. I want to build. It's frustrating not getting to get closer to that, but you can't win every trip. I'm feeling all right. It's not a matter of "if" anymore it's "when."

Thinking

Adam Junglen — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:03:11 +0000

It’s just about been a year since I first moved to LV. With my lease at Panorama coming up, I’ve decided to go month to month with intention of moving back to Ohio once I’ve got my moving plans figured out – which I should by the end of March. As much fun as it’s been living in Las Vegas, it just isn’t for me. There might be a time in my life when I decide to buy a place in Vegas, but I don’t think renting year round is necessary. This isn’t a quitting poker post. I’ll still come out for all the big events, but I really don’t need to be playing all of the marginal prelim’s filled with competent/solid locals. I’ve also noticed I play much better after traveling, treat it much more business like.

After playing poker the last few years I’ve realized how much free time I have. I really should put it to good use. Although I’m not sure what I’d study at this very moment, the thought of going to school no longer leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, I never did goto college. Poker just kind of “happened” to me. I was just a kid on crutches, graduated HS, and started having six figure scores. Maybe it’s time I really challenge myself and become an intellectual. I just don’t have the same passion for poker as I once did. I never thought playing poker was reaching my full potential as a human. It’s been a great resource and has left with me a lot of great travels/experiences. However it will not consume my entire life.

Last time I posted I had mentioned handling my audit and how I thought the IRS owed me some money. Well guess what? They canceled my audit case. El oh el, leave me alone IRS, kthx!

My life ramble is over. Maybe I’ll start updating more often.

Shrug. Later,

- Adam