January 30th - Yesterday bad! Today good.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $4.124

End of January is closing in, but I am still edging a bit closer to this months goal. I am glad I at least made the halfway mark.

I played a focused, but relaxed session today and I made a bundle. I did however loose a bundle last night from a not so relaxed and focused session.

K2o in the Big Blind: This is a NL CAP game on Full Tilt. It means there is a CAP of $300, as the maximum any player can loose in any given round, after that you are considered all-in.
I pick a very bad time to tilt/bluff off $300 here.

This was from a heads-up match however, where things can get pretty aggressive. I had made this push against this very opponent a couple of hands earlier, where he called and I had two pair. So after a bit of tilt settling in, from loosing another pot, I figured this for a good opportunity for a steal.
Needless to say it wasn't, getting your money in drawing close to dead, is seldom a good play. If I had KJ or something however it could be a play worth considering.

January 29th - Saga of Heroes.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $3.617

Perhaps I should fall sick more often, it certainly proved a profitable illness. There is not much else to do when sick, than to sit in front of the computer and play some poker. And so I took a number of short session when I felt I could concentrate on the game. I didn't log many hands, but I played well and won my share of pots.

I am still not fully recovered from my cold, but I am getting better. I might be able to win some more before the month is over, but I have already made amends with not reaching my monthly goal so I won't exert myself in these last days of January.

---

My friends and I are going to try out the brand new Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.

As always i worry about the impact such a game will have on my poker playing. Yet the game really looks good and epic in proportions, so it might prove to be loads of fun.

January 27th - Sick.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $2.604

I have been quite sick these last two days. I have a cold and a sour throat and today I woke up with a fever.

So poker and blogging will be kept to a minimum for a day or two more.

January 25th - A good mix.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $2.116

Yesterday went quite well. I played a mix of Hold'em and Omaha in stakes from $200 to $1.000. I didn't log too many hands, but I got good cards in the hands I manage to play and they held up.

I can't find hands where I make obvious costly errors, but I remember thinking about this hand after it was done:

KK on the Button: I don't know if it correct to make a raise on this flop. Perhaps only doubling my opponents bet. He did call a sizable bet on the turn, so I wonder he I could have gotten more out of the hand.
For what it is worth, he folded fast to my river bet.

January 24th - Big swings.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $973

At one point today I was up $2.000. My final hour of play tonight didn't go too well and I lost a lot of money in a great hurry. It is hard to be unbiased when evaluating one's own play. I know that I could have made some better decisions today and I didn't manage to keep my focus through all of todays play. But when looking through today's session in Poker Tracker, I can only conclude that I was, more than anything else, very unlucky.

I didn't play too well in a session I had yesterday. Luckily I broke even on that session, but looking at this hand again I see it could have gone much worse.

J2o in the BB: I was looking for a hand to re-raise pre-flop with against this opponent. He had been a bit too eager with his steals, so I was looking for a decent hand to fight back with.
Unfortunately before I could pick up a decent hand, I get a bad beat in some other pot I play, so in tilt I pick J2o to re-raise with.

It doesn't look like I stand much of a chance to reach this months goal. I am somewhat happy about my rekindled interest in poker, but I don't like the results I am getting. I can do much more than just hope that my luck turns around, I just need to find out where and how I want to focus my efforts.

January 22nd - Party Poker.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $1.106

On the left is a picture of my friend Jan all dressed up for a night on the town. He played host this weekend, as he so often does.

The weekend went with partying and poker suffered. There is no doubt that the most profitable time to play is on the weekends. I wish people would party more in the middle of the week, so I could save the weekends for work.

But then again, I think that the reason poker is so good on the weekends, is closely connected with the fact that people party in the weekends.

On the right is a picture I snapped of two pretty ladies from Jan's party, Sára and Hildigarð.

I did find time for a short poker session this morning. It went well and I came out ahead. I didn't play any big pots, or have any interesting decisions. I just made my profits from following a profitable pre-flop strategy.

86o in the Big Blind: I don't know if I lost some profit in this hand. On the turn I was pretty sure the ace helped him, but I suddenly was afraid of QJ on the river, so I decided just to call.

January 20th - Table selection.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $767

I am going to a party tonight, so I tried to squeeze in a few hundred hands before I lost all my weekend poker action to hang-overs and partying.

After a couple of hands I remember thinking that I am in kind of a bad spot on one of the tables I had running. Against my better judgment I decided not to stand up and find another table.
500 hands later I had won about $650 on the other three tables and lost about the same amount on that one bad apple.

T9s in the Small Blind: It was after this hand that I thought about standing up and leaving the table. Both players at the table were loose and running well. Playing 3 handed in-between them proved not to be the best idea.

Make sure you read the comments to my entry on the 19th. RoiDa makes some good comments about open limping.

January 19th - LAG and variance.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $743

I have played a lot of quick sessions these past two days. In some I've played well, but quit after a bad beat, in others my play has not been too stellar. I've struggled with too much aggression and too little focus.

87s Under the Gun: This is my biggest loosing hand from my last two days and it sure is ugly. On the river I got the feeling it might be a person tilting away money with AK or AJ which missed.

Looking through the rest of my loosing hands, I can't find too many ugly mistakes like the one above.
Playing a LAG style does put some more strain on the bankroll and I will have to get used to larger swings, if I want to employ it. I still think it is the most profitable style at times. But when you fail to hit flops or catch draws it can cost a lot.

January 17th - Apathy and Bad Beats.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $1.491

Although I lost money in yesterdays session, I felt good when I left the tables. I took a couple of bad beats, but instead of them affecting me emotionally they left me very apathetic.

I remember that half a year ago this is how I always took the bad beats. So I am slowly getting into practice again, keeping my emotions out of the game and focusing on my opponents instead of what the river card will be.

This is surely a good improvement and I hope it will show in my daily results. I am playing more hands each day and am playing $5/$10 when the games are good. I'll just have to remember to watch my bankroll.

AKo on the Button: Perhaps a call would have been the better play, considering the stacks.
This opponent was raising a lot and just a couple of hands ago I had pushed with AQs and he folded. So my idea at the time was to get a call from AQ and AJ.

January 16th - A welcomed Royal.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $1.802

Yesterday was a journey and a battle. Seldom before have I had a session with so much drama. Afterwards I felt like I had played through a weeks worth of poker in one day. And it all happened during only 778 hands at $2/$4.

The session started like any other. I was in the mood to play some poker and I found a couple of good tables at the $400 level. I started to earn some money and even won a buy-in with a full house against a regular player who was unlucky enough to catch a flush.

I also realized that I wasn't playing my best game and although I was sitting deep stacked at a couple of tables, I was loosing some money to uncontrolled aggression. I wasn't focused enough on all the tables to play a Loose Aggressive style, but it is hard to gear down on some tables, when on others I am successfully dominating the table.

After about an hour of play I had lost some of my profit back. Mostly through being too aggressive and not catching the hands and hitting the flops to back it up. I am up about $200 or so for the session when this hands comes up:

JJ in the Cut Off: My read is really off in this hand. Calling and folding on the turn are both options to consider, but I think that leading out again is by far the best play.
The river is a clear fold, my opponent was a tight meek player and I think a bluff here is highly unlikely.

A couple of hands later I run into a dreadful suckout and am looking at a big loosing day. I am just about ready to call it quits, already verbalizing my bad beat rant for this post in my head, when I hit the hand that every poker player dreams off.

The odds of flopping a Royal Flush, if you start with two of the cards are 1 in 19.599

When the day was finally over I was down about $300, but after cashing $500 out from my rakeback site I inch a bit closer towards my monthly goal.

January 14th - Steals and luck go together.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $1.659

Another great score after another good session. I am quickly getting used to winning again. The confidence and drive that comes with having some good luck is priceless.
I invoke more fear at the table after a short good run and suddenly my steals have a greater success rate. I dare to call down bluffs more often, and I semi-bluff draws instead of calling with them.

Although I made a killing in today's session, the play wasn't that interesting. I didn't have a lot of big showdowns and I wasn't involved in many big pots. My steals just worked very well and I made pairs and got big hands just when I needed to.

87s in the Big Blind: I know there are a lot of opinions about what hands to play out of the big blind against a raise. I vary my play there a great deal from session to session.
I think it is mostly because I haven't made up my mind about that aspect of my play yet.

---

In the newsletter that Full Tilt Poker sends out, buried in a lot of advertisement, they usually have a tip from a pro. In the last newsletter I got, Erik Seidel writes about prolonged bad runs.
I really liked the article, he writes well and it shines through that he knows what he is talking about.

Here is a link: Article by Erik Seidel

January 12th - Almost a grand.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at $881

Today's session went very well. I made some good plays and the cards kept coming. In the end I was up almost $1.000. So I am back in a good mood. The unlucky streaks of late are almost gone from my mind.
Nah, I am just kidding. I am still pretty pissed about the luck factor, it'll take a number of sessions like this to even things out.

When I feature a hand, I usually focus on my worst moment of the day's session. If you want to evolve as a poker player, you have to admit you faults and study them. But in lack of any interesting examples today and in celebration of a good session, I'll feature a good hand.

88 in Middle Position: There comes a time in almost every session, where logic dictates a fold, but my gut says call. When that happens I usually decide to go with my gut, but promise myself to take a break from the tables if my gut is wrong.
My opponents bluff here is well executed, even though it is in my mind quite reckless. I would have reraised all big pairs pre-flop, so barring a set he can assume I have a small to medium pocket pair, or a hand like A6s. And a check-raise on the turn like this really gives the impression that he has a hand that has me beat.

Enough gloating. Much of todays profit is probably due to the same chance that has left me down so many other days this month. I have to keep real and honest if I want to have a chance at repeating the success.

January 11th - Winning sessions, a rarity.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at -$73

A surprising thing happened today. I got all my money in with the best hand and it actually held up. Joking aside I had a good session today. I played well and when the cards are good I am glad I am able to make something out of it.

K6s in the Big Blind: Although I ended up winning this hand, I really didn't like the way it played out.
I was pretty sure my opponent had some sort of draw when he raised me on the flop. At the time I didn't rule out Ax of spades, but I though there were a lot of other possible hands out there. Thinking about it now I am pretty sure this opponent would raise pre-flop with Axs.
The trouble with the hand I think is that I give away the aggression on the flop and therefore it becomes awkward and obvious when I hit my draw and push. Perhaps the right play is to call the flop and bet the turn, with the intention of calling a push.

It feels good to get a little wind in my sails again. I hope it holds up and I can get back into green numbers. I have some work ahead of me if I want to reach this months goal.

On another note...

Children of Men.

Heini a friend of mine recommended this movie to me. After watching it I can't but give it my warmest recommendation as well. The plot is simple but ingenious and the film is also brilliantly executed.
One of my favorite movies is Bladerunner and any movie that has this many elements in common with it can't be all bad.

January 10th - A fresh look

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at -$640

As you may have noticed I have upgraded my template. Blogger.com has been going through some changes and this is one of them. I have used the opportunity to change the title of my blog to The Poker Diaries. I have often had the impression that people didn't receive the old title Diary of a Mad Rounder the way I pictured it and for some time I have been looking for an opportunity to change it.

Poker isn't threating me well as usual of late. I have been playing a bit more seriously these last couple of days, but I am still struggling with bad luck. My game is good and there are plenty of bad opponents, but I can't seem to catch a good run of cards or luck. On the contrary my days feature more suckouts than should be expected and more cold deck setups than good setups.

This is starting to be an old tune, and I imagine that it isn't much more exciting to read about it than it is for me to write it. I hope that I'll be able to write about good runs and catching good cards before the month is over.

KK in Middle Position: This hand from todays session keeps haunting me. It looks like the player who re-raised pre-flop has something like QQ, and I might have doubled up if I had pushed pre-flop.
With two players behind me I thought it was a smart play to call the re-raise but now I am starting to think that pushing might be correct.

I earn between $500 and $1.000 each month from rakeback. The site I get rakeback from has opened an option for me to create a referral page, where I can offer people the same rakeback percentage that I get. If you don't have a Full Tilt account and want to give them a try, use this link to get an account setup with 27% rakeback.

I don't know if I should make an add banner with the rakeback link on this site. A couple of people have asked me about rakeback, so I am glad to be able to refer them to the above link.

January 8th - Luck and discipline

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at -$582

I have been hitting some tough luck these last couple of days. My play as of late has been good, I am getting my money in with the best of it and pushing my opponents to do mistakes. But all the skill in the world can't change the way the cards fall.

I am getting some rhythm to my work again, but it is hard to get a thousand or more hands in each day. This months enemy will most likely lack of discipline instead of luck.

January 4th - A new modest goal

Monthly goal: $7.000
I'm at -$214

Today's session was a poor one. I got my money in as a favorite multiple times, but luck was not on my side today. It is not the start I was hoping for. Just a grim reminder that I need to put in a lot of hours, if I want luck to even out.
I am glad I only played at $200 NL today, a buy-in there is hardly anything to ruin my mood.

I've been thinking about where to set my goal at for this month. Since I need $7.000 to bring my bankroll up to par for $1.000 NL, I figured that would be a good goal. It seems strange to aim less than on previous months, but I am playing less hands at smaller stakes, so $7.000 seems like fair mark to aim for.

I talked to my brother about a hand from todays session and he told me to feature it on my blog.

AKs in the Small Blind: I think a lot of players think that betting this turn is the right play. But I think that checking the turn is the correct play. Not only because my opponent turned out to have me beat, but also to induce a call from hands that I have beat come the river.

January 3rd - End of 2006

Monthly goal: Starting again!
I'm at $3.263

The year is over and I am glad I ended this month with a profit. I don't know how well I fared in my monthly goal though. I am playing and blogging more regularly than I was, but no where near as much as I used to.

I have made plans for today and I don't have the time to do poker tracker screenshots. They will have to wait for my next entry. I did find the time to look through my last sessions though.

AKs in the Cut Off: I played this hand very weakly. My idea at the time was to keep the pot small. And since my opponent had shown a tendency to be aggressive, I decided to throw him a rope and call his bets down all the way. I would have folded on the river to any significant bet, but his bet was so small that I felt it was right to look him up.

I have cashed out a large amount this month. An investment opportunity came up and I needed some cash to reap the full benefit. Unfortunately my bankroll has dipped below my personal mark for playing $1.000 NL, because of the cash out. I don't think it will be a problem though, I mostly play $600 and $400 for the time being anyways.