CARDRUNNERS

Hey Card Runner’s People! I have been so busy in the last month that I haven’t been able to blog or even play much poker to blog about!

I went home for Christmas for two weeks and then immediately went to the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. It was my first time out of the country! Well… wait. I take that back. When I was 19, I went to Windsor Canada with my BFF (best friend for life )…

Highlights of that trip: winning a pillow fighting contest, roaming the streets at 5 a.m. looking for salt to put on my leftover steak, and clearing the dancefloor to do a drunken rendition of a Destiny’s Child dance… good times

Ok so the Bahamas trip was not as OC (outta control) as Windsor, but it was still super fun. I got to hang out a little, which was cool. I even caught up with CardRunner’s own Brian Townsend and David Benefield—two of the nicest people you could ever meet. I promise I’m not just saying that either! If didn’t think so highly of them, I would just not say anything, ya know? David even invited a few of us to go scuba diving, but it didn’t work out.

I also met another CardRunner’s guy, but I can’t remember his name. I’m sooo sorry! If you are reading this, please say hi!

--- sidenote- Conversation with a Bahamian worker

    Worker: “Excuse me miss, are you a model?”
    Me: (blushing) “Aww, not even close, but thank you! You probably say that to all the girls don’t you?”
    Workers: “I sure do.”
    Me: (not blushing anymore)

Then, once I got  back from the Bahamas, I had to move. Ugh, I HATE MOVING. This time it was worth it though. I just moved into Sky, a high rise on the Strip. So far, so good. It’s got a pretty sick view, and really nice amenities. Since the economy is so bad, even someone like me can afford rent in this place!! Check it out! That is the view from my balcony!

Now that I’m all moved in, I’m ready to get back in the saddle. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m going to move to play $2-$5 almost exclusively. There isn’t much adjusting from $1-$2 and the players aren’t very different. I've just been a "girl" about moving up, even though many of the games I was playing in played really big anyway, much like a $5-$10. This is my cash game graph from 2008 during which I played almost all $1-$2.







Well I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Good luck in 2009. I’ve made some 2009 goals for myself, how about you guys?


Here are a few of mine:

-Make $25K in cash games ($12K this year and I’ve upped my stakes)

-Finish first in my age bracket in the Aflac Irongirl Triathlon

-Run a marathon (Chicago most likely)

-Finish my book (I’ve been “writing” one for more than a year now)

I’m outta here! Next time I’ll have some poker updates!

Guess16

It's been a goofy week. I got side-tracked with a little poker project and really didn't get to end February as strongly as I had wanted. Oh well. That's life.

So I ended my second month of NLHE in the green (see graph below). I actually won a BI on FTP but I didn't know how to combine the two names in HEM.

Yeah, I know it was peanuts. But considering I lost 17 BI in January, I think it was a huge improvement. While it would have been nice to have crushed, I really am quite happy with my progress.

Alvin wants me to move back to 25NL but I told him no. I'm really not ready, IMO. I need to prove to myself that I can beat 10NL. From an ego perspective, I suppose it would be nice to say I moved up a level. But I don't think I've earned it. And I still have some issues that need to be worked out. If I can post a solid win in March, then I'll move up in April.

People move up too quickly, IMO. Just because you have the BR to play a higher limit, doesn't mean you're ready for that limit. Everyone is so focused on moving up rather than focusing on improving.

I mean, it's quite feasible that I could be at 100NL by the end of the summer. If I continue to work hard and put in the time, it's very possible. That's 10 times the amount where I am playing now. Which is crazy when you really stop to think about it.

So for those who are wondering, here are my top reasons why I went from a 17BI loser to a break even winner in one month of playing the micros.

I learned to fold. At the micros, this is huge. Players do bluff. But the vast majority of the time, when you face aggression, your opponent has a real strong hand.

I tighten up. I was playing about 25/18 and it was just to loose for the mircos. When you have players who won't fold and play 80% of their hands, you need to be attacking pots with a tighter range. So I now play closer to 18/13 and it's made a difference. It's also made the game easier to play.

I learned to play more straight forward. If you fold when you miss and bet when you hit, you will win money at the micros. If you try to get fancy and push players off hands, you will lose money. It is that simple. I tend have relapses in this area but I've gotten much better. This is something I'm really going to focus on in March.

I gained more experience. I would hear it all the time... "You need to put in the hands". I understood the importance, but I underestimated the importance. You need to play enough hands where you run into situations and scenarios that make you question yourself as a poker player. Watching videos is good. But it's so much better when you can relate to your own experiences.

When I watch a video and recognize a situation I may have had recently, it helps me learn. And it's much more powerful than watching a video and trying to envision a situation. With the later, you simply don't have any experiences to back up what you've just seen. Poker is all about experiences and situations. The more you have, the better you will be.

I've created a poker network. Patrick, Knox and Alvin are my poker network. These are the 3 people who I talk to most about poker. David Benefield once said in an interview that the most important factor in any poker players development is having a poker network of friends to discuss your game with. He thought it was more important than anything else. And I have to agree.

I've worked my ass off. If you look hard enough, you'll see this little nugget pop up from time to time from some of the world's best players. One day near the beginning of February, I stumbled across Leatherass' blog. I was absolutely captivated by some of his entries. The one that stuck with me the most was his secret to success...

He worked his ass off.

He stubbornly denied that he was a genius, or was born with any type of skill, or was naturally lucky, or whatever. His number one reason for success was hard work. And he stated in his blog that day that anyone who worked hard at poker would succeed. It was inevitable.

I bought into that and that's what I've done. And this is what I continue to do. When i don't feel like playing, I play anyways. When I'm tired and want to go to bed, I watch a video instead. When I want to watch a show on TV, I post hands on the forum. When I just lost 4 BI and want to throw my laptop across the room, I review my session on HEM. This is what it takes to get better. And I've bought into it.

That's it for now. Here's to a good month hopefully. I'm up 2 BI's so it's a good start.

-lee

Here's Febraury. Can you say roller coaster?