I'm in the middle of a deep run at a large tournament at the Mohegan Sun. With 74 people left out of an original 745, I have double the chip average, probably good for a top 15 stack.
The top prize in the tournament is $60,000+, but it is likely that a deal will be struck at the final table to divide the money more equally. I am guessing that the final ten will each get around $15,000. Deals like this are allowed, but it only takes one player to object. In this type of payout, however, it is very likely. $15,000 is roughly 4th place money, and 10th is only $3,000. Most players will take the guarantee of a good payout instead of playing for 1st. Hopefully I'll be there to make a choice.
No matter what happens today, I had a blast yesterday. I really can't think of a major mistake that I made all day. There are a few hands that I would have played a little differently, but overall when I put alot of chips in, I was a favorite. That's really all you can do in a tournament. I am loaded with confidence. If I don't make mistakes, and pick up a few hands, I'll be there when it counts.
As I mentioned before, I've been twittering updates, and will again today. You can find me at Bmaggiacomo.
Looking for any positive energy you can spare!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Update
It's been about a month since my last blog. I'm really tired and I don't feel like writing much tonight, so I'm going to just do some bullet point updates that don't require me thinking.
1. Vegas was great. I won a few thousand, and finished 8th in a tournament where the first prize was 14 thousand. Call it a near miss.
2. I didn't try to qualify for the World Series when I was out there. For five hundred dollars, there just wasn't enough value. There were so many other good games and tournament around the World Series that I decided there were better places for my time and money. There's always next year.
3. I've won 2 tournaments since I've been back, both small buyins but paying over a thousand. I'm super confident in my tournament game.
4. My cash game results have settled in at $35/hr., lower than the first month, but still 40 percent higher than I expected at this point. I'm playing about 30 hours a week, so I'm making enough to get by. The plan is to continue to grind the cash games and to find good tournaments to take shots at five figure scores. I'll definitely break through soon.
5. I'm starting to play online again, with good results. I want to build my bankroll there slowly as opposed to depositing alot of cash. It will be awhile before I am playing stakes online for as much as I play live, but if I play 10 hours a week or so, I should have built up a few thousand by the end of the summer. Then I can start playing bigger.
6. I am devoting some time to practicing other poker games, notably Omaha. It's keeping me interested on days where I don't feel patient enough to play good Hold'em.
7. I'm not sick of poker at all. I still wake up excited to play.
8. There is an unspoken agreement between the pros that play at Foxwoods. We don't play hard at each other - instead we go after the fish. I am realizing that selecting the right game is unbelievably important, and that it is important to get up when you feel that you don't have a very big edge because the competition is tough. That's a very difficult thing for a competitive person to grasp, but humility is a huge part of being a winning player.
9. I'm playing in a large tournament on Wednesday. There will be at least five hundred players, so my chances of winning are slim but...$50,000 to the winner...trying to put myself in position for my break. What is it that they say, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity..." something like that.
10. Several people have told me that I should Twitter my poker results. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with it, but I'll try. My twitter is Bmaggiacomo, or Brian Maggiacomo. I'm not sure how to find me but I'm on there under one of those names. I'll start tommorrow, with the tournament on Wednesday. I'm just going to do Poker stuff.
I hope to have a specific, one topic blog out soon.
Hope everyone is enjoying the summer as much as I am!
1. Vegas was great. I won a few thousand, and finished 8th in a tournament where the first prize was 14 thousand. Call it a near miss.
2. I didn't try to qualify for the World Series when I was out there. For five hundred dollars, there just wasn't enough value. There were so many other good games and tournament around the World Series that I decided there were better places for my time and money. There's always next year.
3. I've won 2 tournaments since I've been back, both small buyins but paying over a thousand. I'm super confident in my tournament game.
4. My cash game results have settled in at $35/hr., lower than the first month, but still 40 percent higher than I expected at this point. I'm playing about 30 hours a week, so I'm making enough to get by. The plan is to continue to grind the cash games and to find good tournaments to take shots at five figure scores. I'll definitely break through soon.
5. I'm starting to play online again, with good results. I want to build my bankroll there slowly as opposed to depositing alot of cash. It will be awhile before I am playing stakes online for as much as I play live, but if I play 10 hours a week or so, I should have built up a few thousand by the end of the summer. Then I can start playing bigger.
6. I am devoting some time to practicing other poker games, notably Omaha. It's keeping me interested on days where I don't feel patient enough to play good Hold'em.
7. I'm not sick of poker at all. I still wake up excited to play.
8. There is an unspoken agreement between the pros that play at Foxwoods. We don't play hard at each other - instead we go after the fish. I am realizing that selecting the right game is unbelievably important, and that it is important to get up when you feel that you don't have a very big edge because the competition is tough. That's a very difficult thing for a competitive person to grasp, but humility is a huge part of being a winning player.
9. I'm playing in a large tournament on Wednesday. There will be at least five hundred players, so my chances of winning are slim but...$50,000 to the winner...trying to put myself in position for my break. What is it that they say, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity..." something like that.
10. Several people have told me that I should Twitter my poker results. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with it, but I'll try. My twitter is Bmaggiacomo, or Brian Maggiacomo. I'm not sure how to find me but I'm on there under one of those names. I'll start tommorrow, with the tournament on Wednesday. I'm just going to do Poker stuff.
I hope to have a specific, one topic blog out soon.
Hope everyone is enjoying the summer as much as I am!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Vegas Bound
Tommorrow I fly to Las Vegas for 3 days. The plan is to take a few shots at tournaments with high payouts...as a result, it's unlikely that the trip will be profitable. However, it has the potential for a "big score."
I plan to play in tournaments on Monday and Tuesday at the Venetian and Caesar's palace, and also at least one satellite tournament to try to get entry into the Main Event at the World Series of Poker (the one you see on ESPN.) Just being in Las Vegas during the World Series will be a thrill.
I've got the tournament bug. Recently, I won one with 83 entries, and also have a 4th and 3rd place finish with large fields. I've been running well and playing well too. I'm loaded with confidence heading into the trip...
I'll give a full trip report when I get back. Wish me luck!!
I plan to play in tournaments on Monday and Tuesday at the Venetian and Caesar's palace, and also at least one satellite tournament to try to get entry into the Main Event at the World Series of Poker (the one you see on ESPN.) Just being in Las Vegas during the World Series will be a thrill.
I've got the tournament bug. Recently, I won one with 83 entries, and also have a 4th and 3rd place finish with large fields. I've been running well and playing well too. I'm loaded with confidence heading into the trip...
I'll give a full trip report when I get back. Wish me luck!!
Monday, June 8, 2009
World Series of Poker
I'm thinking of selling "shares" of my action in a possible World Series of Poker entry. People would give me a portion of the $10,000 buy in, and in return, get a proportionate percentage of any potential winnings. It may be fun to follow my progress, as I will be able to twitter live updates throughout the tournament. Shareholders may also earn a ton of money! I will have a huge advantage over the field. It is primarily made up of amateurs with cash to throw around, or online players who got lucky in a satellite and have little to no live tournament experience.
Even with that advantage, only 10% of the entrants make any money. I estimate my chances of cashing at 20-25%. There is a lot of luck involved in tournament poker. One unlucky break can send you home.
This idea is in it's infancy. Please email me if you are interested at bmaggiacomo@vzw.blackberry.net.
Also, please feel no pressure. There is no minimum, and this is not a charity. Think of it as a lottery ticket where the odds are with you instead of against you. I don't need to play - there's always next year, when I should be able to buy my way in, or at the very least win my way in through some 1k satellites.
Off to start another grinding week!!
Even with that advantage, only 10% of the entrants make any money. I estimate my chances of cashing at 20-25%. There is a lot of luck involved in tournament poker. One unlucky break can send you home.
This idea is in it's infancy. Please email me if you are interested at bmaggiacomo@vzw.blackberry.net.
Also, please feel no pressure. There is no minimum, and this is not a charity. Think of it as a lottery ticket where the odds are with you instead of against you. I don't need to play - there's always next year, when I should be able to buy my way in, or at the very least win my way in through some 1k satellites.
Off to start another grinding week!!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Grinding on and on
It's been a good week back at the smaller game...up about 975 through 3 days. I've been playing well, and the cards still aren't running great - I guess that's the difference between the small and mid-stakes games for me right now. I can grind out a few hundred at the 1-2 table even when the cards aren't cooperating, but at the bigger game, I only break even without help from the cards. Breaking even when you're not running well is fine...I just want to book a few solid weeks of wins so that if I'm still breaking even when I go back to the bigger game, I can handle it emotionally. Hopefully, I'll run better. There are definitely some 4-5k weeks waiting for me.
Today I finished 5th out of 94 in a hundred dollar buyin tournament. It was nice to mix it up a little, and see how my improved play translated into a live tournament setting. I felt in complete control of the action the entire day. I think that over the next few weeks I will play a few more tournaments to keep sharp and to keep things interesting.
I've been writing a lot in a journal about Suzy and stuff. I may post that stuff in a blog, too, and maybe someday in a book...I've been told that my stories and thoughts about her help the people who miss her. It's definitely therapeutic for me - I'm just not sure about having 2 blogs at once...it seems a little self-important.
Either way I'll continue to update this blog. Right now I'm definitely just grinding...no TV appearances, celebrity run-ins, etc., so there's not a huge amount of interesting stuff for me to write about - I'm just a card player trying to make some money, and it's not very glamorous, but I love it.
Today I finished 5th out of 94 in a hundred dollar buyin tournament. It was nice to mix it up a little, and see how my improved play translated into a live tournament setting. I felt in complete control of the action the entire day. I think that over the next few weeks I will play a few more tournaments to keep sharp and to keep things interesting.
I've been writing a lot in a journal about Suzy and stuff. I may post that stuff in a blog, too, and maybe someday in a book...I've been told that my stories and thoughts about her help the people who miss her. It's definitely therapeutic for me - I'm just not sure about having 2 blogs at once...it seems a little self-important.
Either way I'll continue to update this blog. Right now I'm definitely just grinding...no TV appearances, celebrity run-ins, etc., so there's not a huge amount of interesting stuff for me to write about - I'm just a card player trying to make some money, and it's not very glamorous, but I love it.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Movin on down
After 2 frustrating weeks of break even results, I'm moving down to 1-2 no limit for at least a week. I haven't been playing badly (or great, either), but the cards have continually been uncooperative. I've been dealt KK four times when someone else had AA (statistically that should happen once in every 4500 hands). I've folded all four times, but still...I've missed every flush draw, been rivered over and over again - it's starting to get frustrating. I'm pretty happy that I'm break even over this period where I'm "running bad."
I'm starting to walk into the cardroom with a feeling that something bad is going to happen, instead of something good. I don't want to play like that. There is no way to play your best with a negative attitude. This is a learning experience for me.
My solution is to play a smaller game to get some mojo back. I sat there for a few hours yesterday, and immediately felt in complete control again. It was the easiest 300 I've won in weeks. There were no pros, just weak players who I can treat as sort of puppets (I know that sounds cocky but it's true, and it's good to be a little cocky sometimes. )
There is a bit of pride to swallow in moving down a level, but it's important for me to be honest about my own mindset, and put myself in positive situations. I'll be back to a bigger game in a week or two.
Thanks for reading.
I'm starting to walk into the cardroom with a feeling that something bad is going to happen, instead of something good. I don't want to play like that. There is no way to play your best with a negative attitude. This is a learning experience for me.
My solution is to play a smaller game to get some mojo back. I sat there for a few hours yesterday, and immediately felt in complete control again. It was the easiest 300 I've won in weeks. There were no pros, just weak players who I can treat as sort of puppets (I know that sounds cocky but it's true, and it's good to be a little cocky sometimes. )
There is a bit of pride to swallow in moving down a level, but it's important for me to be honest about my own mindset, and put myself in positive situations. I'll be back to a bigger game in a week or two.
Thanks for reading.
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