1rare1's blog

Nicky Santoro: So in other words - I'm fucked.
Ace Rothstein: In so many words, yes.

 This blog is going to be more of a chance for me to release some much needed stress. The year started off with a bang. I thought I was well on my way to finally being in a place in my poker career that would actually give some oppotunities to really do some big things. I have already been living off of my poker profits for a few years. I bought a new house last year. My personal life is amazing. I only lost 7 out of my first 42 sessions in 2011. Things were moving along swiftly and it was full steam ahead. The regs here at Coinflip know that I am primarily a live mid-stakes player. It seemed as if my game had risen to another level. I was very upbeat and looking forward to the challenges of the upcoming year.

   I have not written a blog in quite some time. I am going to just spew out some thoughts, ideas, and goals for 2011. Nothing to crazy, 2010 was a very wild year for me. Poker was up and down. I had lots of family things pop up on me, so I was never really able to get into a nice groove. Ended the year up, but not exactly the way I would have liked it. I have been crushing the cash games out here in Vegas since the New Year. I have been playing a ton of hours and have only recorded five losing sessions. All of the casinos are playing very deep with the exception of the Bellagio. They still have their max B.I.'s for 2/5 at $500 and 1k for 5/10. Aria and Venetrian have max B.I.'s for 2/5 at 1k and 3k for 5/10. It has been great with the extra money on the table. I have been trying out a few different things with a nice win rate. I have played really well and not to many suckouts thus far, which is always a good thing. I am a live player so I do not have any graphs to show. I guess you will just have to take my word for it, or not. :D

 The month has been great thus far. I have all of my christmas shopping complete(by thanksgiving), all bills are paid up for the next few months in advance, and my "normal" life is fantastic. I have played 5-10 nlhe(live) to many times to count. I went through a bit of a downswing about two months ago. I have been grinding 2-5 with a good success rate. I want to be massively over rolled for what ever limit I play. With this being said...I played 5-10 at Aria last week(3,000 max B.I.). That first session...I was playing somewhat tight. I could not understand it at the time. I even got bluffed off of a pretty hefty pot. I was kind of sick about that. I then realized I was playing "scared." So...I got up and cashed out( + very small amount). I drove home sick to my stomach. I could not believe that I was playing "scared." I have played that limit NUMEROUS times. It did not have that big of an effect on my B.R. It would of stung, do not get me wrong, but definitely not going to kill me. The very next day I decided to go back. 

  This past weekend was very enjoyable. I played a couple of live sessions. Lost about 30% of my online bank roll, and I came in second place in the coinflip blogger freeroll. I was just happy to play against Tneva. I was laying down on my pillow the entire time. It was only 10 am here in Vegas. I usually play at Bellagio and Venetian. I would prefer to play 5-10 nlhe(NL1000) but truth be told I had a very bad start to the month, so I moved down for a bit to 2-5(NL500). The max B.I. at Venetian for 2-5 is $1000, so I have been playing at Aria. I think it was a blessing in disguise. I have only lost one out of 13 sessions at Aria. The only session I lost was when Bobbo was in town. Hmmm...lol. Anyway, this past weekend I was at Aria. The lineup at my table was three Scandinavian guys, two germans, two russians, and three of us yanks. It was very aggressive and lots of action flying around. I always enjoy playing with euros. I think european players play a similar style to me, and they like to get the chips in the middle.

The last 45 days have definitely been a roller coaster of emotons. I started the month of October in great form. I was on a huge win streak. I had just returned from an extended vacation from Texas, my homestate. I was eager to get back here to Vegas. I was crushing the cash games as soon as I returned. I won 14 out of 18 sessions. Then Halloween weekend came to sin city. I had a losing session on that goulish night. The losing sessions mounted up, and before I knew it, I had a six consecutive losing streak. Anyone who plays poker past the recreational stages will know that is just part of the game. It still sucks regardless, We are talking about thousands of dollars. At any rate, all things that go up must come down, and visa versa. It was a brutal six session stretch that came to an end. I have since won 5 out of 7 sessions. I still have two weeks left in the month and I am very confident to end the month with a bang. Always stay positive. You can accomplish anything with postive thinking. Take care everybody!

I am finally home. It feels amazing to have slept in my bed after 10 weeks. I just returned home after a much needed vacation/holiday. I feel so relaxed. I am in a very nice play mentally. I played a few nice sessions in some underground rooms in Houston. I never had a losing session. I spent some nice quality time with family and friends, broke even online, had a war of words via cyberspace with a new yorker(LOL!), and I rolled back into Vegas a couple of days ago. I did not think I would of missed Vegas this much. It felt amazing to walk into the poker room at Bellagio. I played around 11 hours yesterday(5-10 nlhe). I left up almost 3 buyins. I logged a ton of hours online during my 10 week excursion. I really feel like that helped my live play. I found myself using some online tactics that worked to perfection against my "tight" live opponents. I am hoping that this trend will continue. I was really inspired by some of my fellow coinflippers during my time away. Some of your success and work ethic has gotten me refocused, to work hard and address some leaks in my game. I am going to play a lot of hours over the next few weeks and experiment a bit. I am also going to play in a few events in the Tahoe wsop circuit event next month. I am really looking forward to that. I guess its going to be a lot of poker for me the next month or so. Then it will be time for my European trip. I am very excited about that! I will post my progress and results in the upcoming weeks. Take care everybody and GL!!!

I recently saw a comment made to a coinflipper that made me a little angry. A guy was looking for some advice and this douche totally disrespected him because of the stakes he plays. It got me thinking about all of the jerks who play poker. I understand that we all have different personalities. Thats the beauty of poker. It brings people from all walks of life together. I live in Vegas. I have met some the coolest people ever who play poker. I have come across people from all over the states and you crazy euros. I enjoy poker for so many reasons. I love competition. I played many sports growing up. I played Football, ran track, boxing, and swimming. I love to compete. I will be brutally honest. Poker saved my life in so many ways. I am thirty something years old. I have done and seen it all. I am about to be completly honest here. I think that people should really learn to respect each other. I do realize that a lot of that comes with age. Some people will just simply be mean or cruel for no reason. I see this a lot from online players. I think the chatbox gives people a sense of security. It is definitely a safe haven for a lot of players. Casinos even offer protection. Why would you disrespect another person over a poker game? Does it make you feel good? You should really evaluate your own insecurities if you are this type of person. I have a strong feeling that you would not use this language if you were not online. If you were in a more secluded environment, I feel like these punks would be as quiet as a mouse.  I am not the same person I was at age twenty one. Online poker was not available. Poker was far from mainstream. The w.s.o.p. main event field was still under 100 players. I was a lost soul for about a ten year span.

  I love living in Vegas because of obvious reasons. I am a low limit grinder who puts in the hours to pay the bills. I play 2-5 nlhe and 1-2 plo. I have not been back to my home state to visit my family in just under two years. I really miss my family and I just needed to get the fuck out of Vegas for a week or two. I am in my hometown of Houston. The fourth largest city in the U.S. for those of you who may not know. I was only here three days and already wanted to play. They have a great underground game here. They have several actually. I usually play at a certain club that I will not mention because of recent events. I was on my way to its location, which is in a office building. I called a friend of mine and he told me that the game was busted by the F.B.I. the night before. I thought how strange, not the normal police(H.P.D.), but the feds. It was a nice sized card room. It had about 12 tables and games ranged from 1-2 nlhe, 5-10 nlhe, 2-5 plo, and even H.O.R.S.E. on tuesdays and thursdays. The clubs owner was charged with "engaging in organized crime." Ouch!!! So, my friend that told me about this unfortunate situation told me about a juicy game in the downtown area. It was just a few blocks away from where the Houston Astros play baseball.

    Let me start off by stating that this will only be of interest to a very small group of people. I am going to breifly speak on the day to day life of a professional poker player. I am not talking about the Phil Ivey's of the world. It would be great to have the life of Patrik or Tom Dwan. I am talking about the the guys who grinds it out at the 2-5 no limit hold' em table. The grinders who play 2-5 Pot Limit Omaha. This is meant for the type of animal who plays 60 hours a week, or more.
    Poker at times can be a very cruel sport as you already know. It can at times cause self doubt and waves of depression if you allow it. How many times after a losing session, have you took that long lonely walk back to your car. The long walk that every poker has made numerous times where you have lost large sums of money. It is a hard thing to deal with. You may at times begin to doubt your ability. The numerous bad beats that you take over time. They can be hard to take at times. They can do major damage to your mental being if you allow it. They can cause you to be distant, or downright mean to your family or friends.