Please don't yell at me...

Okay, so the truth is that I am playing less poker this month than I have in a loooong time. When I have been playing, though, I have been playing mostly heads-up. I feel like HU is refreshing right now, because I don't have to fire up a bunch of programs to log a session. The session also ends whenever I feel the right time is to quit; whereas with 6 max, I feel like I have to force myself to play at least 2 hours. I will eventually get back into the swing of playing 6 max, but in the mean time, HU is improving my ability to adjust to opponents' styles.

Things with my girlfriend are starting out really well. We have good chemistry, and seem to have the same goals in our relationship. Unfortunately, I have been home for Thanksgiving break and haven't been able to see her lately. I'm heading back on Sunday, and we'll probably try to spend a lot of time together over the near future.

School is going well, given the fact that I have never put much of an effort into college. It's also going well outside of academics because living with 5 other guys gets me socializing a lot. The only area I am really lacking in (outside of being lazy with poker) is that I am getting close to no exercise. I want my energy level to be a lot higher than it has been, and just being overall fit makes anyone happier overall. Now, if only I could light a fire under my ass...

HAUPT! Two three four...

I played heads-up against my friend Haupt yesterday online. He is a very good 6 max player (solid winner at 2/4 to 5/10), but has little HU experience. We agreed to play small stakes, but to take it seriously. I played him because we could discuss hands together in real time. Playing each other is -EV for both of us (if we're not learning from it).

I beat Haupt up, winning a little less than 5 buy-ins. I got a nice run of cards, but he also overplayed a couple hands. Regardless of any results, it was a fun experience. I would do it again as long as we are playing for productive reasons. Here are some of the more interesting hands from the session:

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Hand 1: The very first hand. Nice one, sir.

I had a feeling that Haupt might be very aggressive in the beginning of the match, but I had no idea he'd go apeshit on the very first hand. The fact that I know Haupt plays me aggressively was the reason I kind of close my eyes and called his shove. I was getting about 2-to-1 and figured it was a marginal decision. I also didn't want to set a precedent of being run over. I was shocked when I saw his 64o. I really don't like his shove. I'm just going to shrug, and then call his shove a lot (with the range I am 4 betting). I have to be 4 betting lightly in order for him to induce a fold.

Hand 2: Nice river for me...maybe?

Haupt was already down a lot at this point. He was still playing quite aggressive. The J on the turn was a decent card for him to 2nd barrel without having improved, so this actually made me slightly more apt to call. When the river spiked a ten, I was contemplating a check-raise, but figured he would give up too often. I lead out, he thought for a bit, and then min raised. I had no idea what to think; a better ten was the only hand that made sense. It seemed very believable in my eyes that I had trip tens myself. With the really good odds I was getting, I shrugged and called (again). I was really surprised to see air. I don't really like Haupt's raise because if he had a strong hand like an overpair, he would usually just call the river. I also think it's more likely that I have a ten than a missed draw here (though I know my game better than he does).

Hand 3: Did you put me on air again, Haupt?

This is a really shitty spot vs any good, aggressive player. 99 is a tweener hand preflop; I'm not sure whether to call or 4 bet. I decided to just call, knowing the flop would come with overcards often and it'd be a really tough spot once he c-bets. For this reason, I decided I had to peel one card. I saw little point in betting the turn, since I could see him checking better hands on the turn (for pot control, OR for deception). I hit gin on the river, and was pretty surprised I got paid off. I doubt I am going to value bet a hand less than his on the river, so he is basically hoping I have complete air there.

Hand 4: Sick bluff, Haupt. I like it.

I have to check/raise the flop with air occassionally, in order to protect myself from being exploited too much. When Haupt called, the board was so dry that I figured I should just give up. When he checked behind the turn, I put him on a K, or a middle pocket pair. His bet on the river looked like an obvious value bet, so I instantly folded. When he showed air, I was shocked. I actually like the line he took a lot. The fact that he delayed his bluff until the river made it very convincing that he didn't float me.

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Haupt has great hand reading skills and fundamentals. Once he logs more hands at heads up, he will be a very strong HU player. I definitely think he's the better 6 max player between the two of us.

Thinking about life

I am already getting antsy about renting a house in Vegas next summer. It's an opportunity to get away from school and the sometimes depressing atmosphere of Pittsburgh, PA. It's also my chance to see what it is like to live with several other poker players my age. I actually have visions of buying my first house right out of college (in spring 2009), and having a couple poker playing friends live with me. As of right now, odds are I'm just going to play poker for the time-being after I graduate. I love the freedom that playing poker allows me. Ideally, I'll live someplace sunny with 2-3 others in a nice house.

I need that external factor of having poker friends in order to keep me motivated. If I had no one to talk to about poker, I would almost never have the drive to play. Part of what motivates me is being able to move up the ladder in the poker world, and to share my success with people who can relate. I also enjoy analyzing poker hands and general theory with people.

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My life is in a unique situation right now. Lots of my friends are stressing over school now that we're in junior year of college. That has taken high priority in their lives. For me, I am content to just get by and receive my degree. I'd like to have a 3.0 GPA when I graduate, but that's the extent of my academic worries. I'm not stressing over finding internships or extra curricular activities. I'm also not strapped financially, so that's another worry that doesn't exist for me. Lately, I've been just doing a lot of thinking about where my life is heading. I want to find happiness. I feel like I have a lot of good friends here at Pitt and I am having a good college experience, but something is missing.

Part of it is that I feel much happier when I have a partner to share my experiences with. Having a girlfriend raises my confidence and makes me enjoy the little things in life much more. I've started seeing a girl I met at Pitt recently, and we've hit it off well. I like her a lot and hope it works out. This whole experience is making me quickly feel invested in her. I'm already relying on the situation to be a piece of the puzzle to make me happy in life, which I probably shouldn't be doing.

Ron Paul cured my apathy

I feel like it's my duty to tell you guys about presidential candidate Ron Paul (if you don't already know him). Ron Paul is a strong advocate of social AND economic freedom. He reflects the views of many poker players. He's also the first of his kind with a REAL chance to win the election.

I donated $100 to him today. It was the first time I've ever donated money to a political campaign. The past couple years, I was apathetic to world issues and our government, because I figured nothing would change in the right direction. Our country has been heading towards bigger government: more spending, more bureaucracy, and less of the ideals our founding fathers sought. Here are some of the key views Ron Paul advocates:

1.) Elimination of the IRS and the income tax. Revenue from income taxes only represents a third of all government spending. If we cut spending levels to what it was at the beginning of the 21st century, we wouldn't even need the money from income taxes anymore. The income tax didn't even exist until last century, and is completely unnecessary.

2.) No longer being the world's police force. Ron Paul has recognized for the past 3 decades that the US trying to police the world has only created negative effects. A large reason for animosity towards America is because we have been trying to tell other countries how to run themselves. We do not need to police the world in order to achieve free trade, and happy relationships with other nations.

3.) Elimination of social security. Everyone knows that the SS system in this country is quickly going broke. We are pouring billions of dollars into a system that won't be able to support older Americans anyway. Ron Paul supports privatizing social security, which is the only logical path to take in order to fix this mess created.



Even if you "don't care about politics", there is still a lot to be gained from supporting Ron Paul. I strongly recommend everyone do some basic research on him (he has a ton of videos on Youtube), and donate if you feel that he represents where America should be heading.

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November is off to a good start poker-wise. I hate to set monetary goals, since they are hard to achieve in a swingy game.... but if I make less than 8K this month, I will be disappointed.

Review of October

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. I haven't played much poker at all lately. School, women, etc are taking up a bit more energy than I was expecting. Here are my results for October:



I am not happy about the amount of laziness I had this month. I fell 6K hands short of what I said I'd play at 2/4 NL 6 max. This was my first month playing almost completely at 2/4. It went okay, with a pretty small winrate at 6 max. I had some very swingy sessions. I do feel like I am game selecting well, it's just a matter of putting in a higher volume.

I also need to do more with my poker game (outside of playing). I have not been discussing hands with friends, or watching videos as much as in the past. I strongly believe my game improved most rapidly around July of this summer. At that time, I was constantly treating myself as a serious student of the game. Lately, I've kinda been mechanically playing hands in a standard way. I need to think about the game more if I want to keep improving.

For November, I'm not going to set any real goals. I expect to have my best month ever ($$$-wise) as long as I play enough hands, table select, and keep studying the game. I do wonder how many hands I'm going to put in. I have a guest coming over for 3 days, and it's also likely I'll have more involvement with women (or one in particular) than I have in a while. Women are definitely -EV if you are trying to maximize in the poker world. :P