February 27th - Suckouts.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $11.232
Change: -$1.587

I made another big suckout in yesterdays session. The good thing about making a big suckout is naturally that you win a lot of money. But making a suckouts isn't all good, because to be able to dish out a bad beat you need to get your money in with the worst hand first.

I don't think I need to get worried, but I don't want to start a trend either. At least not the part about getting my money in with the worst of it.

Here is the hand in question:

AKs in Middle Position: Calling, raising and folding preflop are all options to consider, when faced with a reraise in a situation like this. It all comes down to your opponent and his reraising range.

So it is hard to say specifically if I made a bad move or not.
I felt a push was the right move against this opponent based on his play up to this point, but I have to admit I hadn't seen him play enough hands to be absolutely sure.

I did end the session down, despite the above example. It turned out that karma had plenty in store for me and the deck hit me much worse than it did my opponent in the hand from above.

AA in the Big Blind: This felt bad, and I could list a number of other bad beats from yesterdays session. I guess I shouldn't feel bad about luck going my way once in a while.

February 25th - Oscarsnight is saved.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $12.819
Change: $1.717

I have had two good short sessions, one today and one yesterday. I definitely didn't get as many hands in as I wanted this weekend, but I think I played well when I did manage to open up a table or two.

I usually don't play any big pots on a table, before I've sat at it for an orbit. I want to get a feel for how the players are playing. Yesterday wasn't all perfect play though, here is my first hand at one table.

T9o in the Big Blind: I make every mistake I can in this hand. Luckily it woke me up and I started playing better afterwards. I wonder if it would have the same effect if I didn't suck out on the river.

In unrelated news... Rolf, a friend of mine has come to the rescue. He has a channel that shows the Oscars so in half an hour or so we are crashing his place for an evening of movies and awards.
Personally I hope Letters from Iwo Jima wins, although I haven't seen it yet. Other favorites are Pans Labyrinth and Children of Men, both deserve an Oscar for one of their many nominations.

February 24th - Oscars and poker drive.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $11.102
Change: $572

Poker on Thursday didn't go to well. I didn't get many cards and failed to steal my way ahead on the tables. After it was all done I had dropped about a buy-in. Yesterdays session was the opposite and I managed to win back my loss and inch out a nice profit.

I feel I have lost some of my poker drive this month. I guess losing 5 buy-ins in one day will do that to you. I hope to get 3000 hands in this weekend, but it looks to be a challenge and I am afraid that the quality of play will suffer if I push it too much.

AQs in the Cut Off: What an ugly hand.
I don't know what is worse, my opponent trying his utmost not to win the maximum with the best hand. Or me insisting on playing for stacks with the worst of it.

I am a big movie fan and I watch The Oscars every year. This year I invited some friends over and we planned to make a night out of it (they air at 1 o'clock at night here in the Faroe Islands).

As it turns out, I don't have any channel that shows them. I was really looking forward to watching them, but I'll have to call around and cancel Sunday nights plans.

They do have a live webcast planned, if I don't figure something else out I guess I'll give that a chance.

February 22nd - Gaming night break.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $10.530
Change: -$12

I took a break from poker on Tuesday. My friends and I went to Stephens for a night of gaming, so I decided to take a rest after the big loss.

Yesterday I went at it again, but I promptly got sucked out for a buy-in. I spent the rest of the day trying to get back to even and I nearly made it.

A9s in the Cut Off: This was a horrible call on the flop. I forgot it was a CAP game, and didn't know that the raise was basically all-in. So I have no implied odds to call for my draw.

February 20th - A big loss.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $10.542
Change: -$5.059

Bummer. The deck hit me hard yesterday. I surely could have prevented some of the loss if I played better, but the way the cards were falling I was looking at a big loss nevertheless.

A5o on the Button: This is my last hand of the session and the one that made me decide to quit for the night.

I just need to put yesterday behind me and shape up for this coming weekend.

February 19th - Movies and Oscars.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $15.601
Change: $271

I didn't play many hands yesterday. I felt like taking a break so I called some friends and we went to see "The Prestige". It is definitely worth watching, with a nice story and some good acting.
Between us I think we had some mixed emotions about the movie, but overall I don't think anyone disliked it.

The Oscars are fast approaching and my friends and I are planning on watching it. It airs at about 1 o'clock at night here in the Faroe Islands. (Can't remember if night time is AM or PM)
So in preparation we are trying to see as many nominated movies as we can before they start. "The Prestige" is nominated for Art Direction and Cinematography.

The few hands I played didn't feature a lot of action, I was faced with this one tough decision:

92s in the Big Blind: This is the first hand I played at the table. But just before I sat down I saw this very same villain involved in a big pot with some questionable holding, so I decided to make this call.

February 18th - Live SnG's.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $15.330
Change: -$2.491

Yesterday had all the elements of a bad session. Bad beats, cold cards, bad play and some amount of tilt. I was able to pick up a buy-in just before I quit, so I am glad the loss wasn't bigger.

My friends and I played two live Sit and Go's yesterday as well. I played OK and won the first one. In the second a friend of mine Jóannes made a good bluff and I folded my way out of a pot that would have put me comfortably in the lead.

The blinds were at 300/600 and we were down to four players. I had about 8000 in chips, Jóannes had about 7000 and the remaining two players shared the last 6000.

Jóannes makes it 1200 from the Small Blind and I call in the Big Blind with K9o. The flop comes K85 and Jóannes leads out for 1200. I am in a conversation with another player, so I use the time to think about the hand, but I finally make it 2400. Jóannes calls and the turn brings a 3.

Jóannes thinks for a while and goes all in. I think he had about 3500 and I would have a bit under 1000 left if I called and lost. I think about it for a long time and finally table K9o and proclaim how good a fold I am making to his KT. He shows 86o and rakes in the pot that eventually secured him the win.

February 17th - 100.000 DKR.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $17.821
Change: $3.649

Yesterdays session was as good as I hoped it would be. It is definitely worth saving up energy for the weekends. The games do get a bit wilder, so the variance is bigger than on weekdays. But wilder games are almost always more profitable for a good player.

$17.000 is about 100.000 DKR (Danish Krona). That is an insane amount of money to win at a game. Entire movies are often centered around something like $15.000 that someone stole, or someone owes. Suddenly it seems kind of funny to watch a movie about gangsters and heroes running around chasing $15.000, when I've made more than that this month.

TT in the Big Blind: This was kind of a tough call.
I was very sure by the turn that my opponent wasn't on a flush draw. I've seen people call with flush draws so often, that I know how much time they usually take to make up their mind to call. That in turn lead me to believe that he should be afraid of a diamond if he had something like AK.
When he made that big bet on the river, I thought through all this and decided he most likely would have raised the flop or the turn if he had a King. I called and expected to see something like 88.

I did make a couple of bad plays in yesterdays session as well. But I have decided to feature some winning hands for a change.

February 16th - Inevitability.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $14.172
Change: -$1.165

Yesterday was my first loosing session for quite a while. I had made plans with some friends, so I didn't get many hands in. Just before they arrived to pick me up, this hand comes along:

A3s in the Cut Off: I make two ugly calls here. I guess my read was just way off. I remember thinking at the time that it felt like a bluff.

It is hard to get up and leave the tables after this kind of hand, you want a shot at winning your money back. That is a pretty stupid urge to have, these are the exact times you need to leave the table.

The weekend is starting. Being this lucky this month has got my spirits up and I am planning on putting in a lot of hours. I hope I can stay focused throughout.

February 15th - How to relax.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $15.337
Change: $99

Yesterday featured some big pots and quite a lot of ups and downs. But in the end I was able to just squeeze in a small win. I am getting good training these days, playing lots of hands. But the amount of work I am putting in is wearing me a bit down as well.

When you work in front of a computer screen, playing a computer game afterwards just doesn't leave you relaxed. All the books I am reading at the moment are about poker, so I can't really find any relaxation there either.
I think I will go to the local theater and watch a movie today, if I can persuade someone to watch "Blood Diamond" with me.

A friend of mine Rolf asked me to feature hands where win big, instead of hands where I loose big, so I'll try to dig up some fancy play of mine of late.

AJo from Under the Gun: This is a hand I played two days ago. It is a bit tough to explain exactly how I make the call. A lot of factors play in, and I don't want to give too much away about my game. I fear explaining how I make the call, reveals a bit too much.

I'll be on the lookout for a better hand to post in the future, where I can explain my play in a bit more detail.

February 14th - Showing hands.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $15.238
Change: $360

Yesterday I finally took some much needed rest. I have been playing an awful amount of hands lately, at least for my standard.

Stephen, a friend of mine, has recently come back from a trip to USA. He brought some new board games and we gathered yesterday to try out the new edition of the classic Arkham Horror.

The game was fun, but we had misread the new rules and ended up beating it much too easily. Hopefully it will be a harder challenge next time we give it a try.

I did manage to get a few hands of Hold 'em in before gaming started though and managed to secure myself another win. Here is a hand that bothered me a bit.

77 in the Cut Off: I should have been able to make that call on the river and I think I would have made it if I had another 30 seconds to think about it in.
I won't comment on my opponents play, but I think this is one of those times where showing your hand is correct. A lot of players go on crazy tilt, after being shown this kind of bluff. The mere fact that the hand still bothers me proves that and if I was having a bad run lately I am sure the hand would have put me on tilt.

February 13th - Good times keep on rolling.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $14.878
Change: $2.909

I wish I could say that my game has been good enough to warrant the kind of success I've had this month, but it hasn't. There is nothing wrong with my game, I am playing well, but I shouldn't have won this much this fast.

I don't mind though, I'll gladly take the luck I get. I just have to remind myself that this won't hold up. The bad beats I have suffered this last week can be counted on one hand, out of more than 50 big pots where I often am only a mediocre favorite.

ATo in the Big Blind: I hate when I make these mistakes. The player in the Small Blind is tight and I haven't seen him get out of line. When he three bets the flop I know I am beat, but I convince myself that I am getting priced in to see another card.
I need to be able to fold there. He has got a draw, a Ten or a set. If my read says push I push, but if it says I am beat I need to be able to let the hand go.

February 12th - A crazy weekend.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $11.969
Change: $2.624

Wow, I didn't think I would reach this months goal this fast. With these kind of results it is hard to keep my feet planted on the ground. I have to remind myself that most of my winnings come from variance.

88 on the Button: I have not been playing my best at all times. Here I blow off a grand with a pair of eights.

But most of the time I have been playing this weekend, I have been focused. My steam-control has been good and I've played very consistent poker. Most of all of course I have been damn lucky.

---

I started playing Vanguard: Saga of Heroes two weeks ago. This is my character Scrat, a goblin healer.

I was afraid that the game would take away too much time from poker. On the contrary poker has taken too much time away from gaming. My friends are out leveling me and I seldom find time to group with them.

This weekend has been crazy.

February 11th - Yet a big score.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $9.345
Change: $2.653

Yesterdays session was a long one. I didn't follow my own advise and take it easy. Instead I quickly made some bad plays and got stuck a bit over a grand. Most of us have the flaw of trying to get back to even when stuck, I certainly do. But I did catch a good run of cards and luckily came out well ahead.

I played more than two thousand hands yesterday, including about 2 hours in a tournament. Unfortunately I didn't cash in the tourney, but I played well and got my money in with the best of it.

The sessions were rewarding in knowledge as well. I was surprised at how many new tricks I picked up.

There were a lot of interesting hands yesterday, but I can't feature them all.

AKo in the Small Blind: It is kind of neat playing against a named pro, well as long as your not an underdog at the table.
We were getting a bit deep stacked and Paul Wolfe was using his position well. Perhaps this hand would have been much easier to play, if I didn't pull the limp re-raise from the Small Blind.

February 9th - Still running good.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $6.692
Change: $2.014

Lady luck is still with me and I am winning my fair share of pots. The weekend is upon me now, and I should be gearing up to put in more than a thousand hands a day of "A" game poker. But I don't feel 100 percent. I have been sleeping irregularly and because of a late winter here in the Faroe Islands I haven't been able to take an exercising walk for a long time.

The smart thing for me to do would be to take this Friday to get into shape for the rest of the weekend. But I want to take a shot at the FTOPs, Full Tilts poker series. The first of the tourneys starts in a couple of hours, so I might be able to squeeze in a brisk walk before I get to work.

JJ in Middle Position: This kind of felt sick when I saw the AA. I thought this was just the kind of opponent to make this kind of raise with AT or a similar hand, and I thought I would get a quick call if I didn't leave him time to think about it and just shove.
Surprisingly I turned out the sucker. I normally don't lose a full stack with JJ, but his call before the flop lured me in.

Needless to say $5/$10 is starting to feel very comfortable. I believe my stay there will be a very profitable one, if I can keep focus and Lady Luck on my side.

February 8th - A small break.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $4.678
Change: $1.217

Another great day of poker and I am ahead of schedule with my monthly goal. I didn't play that many hands yesterday. I felt I deserved a break, after my big win two days ago. The few hands I play were good though and I cashed in another buy-in.

I think I am playing better now. I don't feel in any hurry to win a big pot, so I can safely duck the marginal situations that come up. That didn't stop me from blowing $150 on a bluff though:

T5o in the Big Blind: The small blind had been very annoying, raising each time it was folded to him. I should have picked a better spot to play back at him though.

Full Tilt Poker is going to host a number of big tourneys these coming days. Perhaps I will give one or two of the a try. I usually don't like playing poker for that many hours in a row, but I feel like giving some big tournaments a try.

February 7th - I can be lucky too.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $3.461
Change: $5.093

Wow, what can I say. I had a crazy session yesterday. Never before have I won this much in one day. I didn't get crazy good cards, but whenever the money went in the middle my hand held up.

I usually complain to my friends about sitting at a table and watching some guy win 5 buy-ins. That never happens to me, I tell them. Well not until now.

I think I have lost my complaining rights for some time now. I still think I have been unlucky these last couple of months,but there is no questioning that I was very lucky yesterday.

QQ in the Big Blind: Even though I played quite a few large pots yesterday, the hands were not so interesting. This one is kind of a tough decision though.

February 6th - A bad day.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at -$1.632
Change: -$1.077

Yesterdays session was a bad one. I didn't get many good hands and I didn't connect with a lot of flops. Although I didn't play any big pots, I slowly bleed money away.

KQo in the Big Blind: For some reason it is hard to put a LAG short stack on a big hand, perhaps because they so seldom show one down. I don't know if I should have played this hand differently, but my read was in any case off.

99 in the small blind:This was my worst moment of yesterdays session. I clearly should have folded the turn, or even better I should have pushed on the flop.

The loss so far still isn't bothering me too much. I am confidant that I am beating the level and I want to keep fighting it out on $5/$10.
One more day like this though and I think it will be time to abandon this months goal and move down to $2/$4 and $3/$6 and aim at getting back to even. My bankroll is quickly approaching the $3/$6 mark.

On the bright side though, I still think it is more likely than not that I'll come out ahead. One good session or two and I could be right on schedule again with my monthly goal.

February 5th - A turn for the worse.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at -$555
Change: -$750

I am not off to the start I was hoping for this month. Yesterday I was looking forward to writing about my $1.400 win, but today's session left me more than $2.000 in the red.

The reason I usually post the hands where I make a mistake, is because I think it will help my play. But this month, I think posting the biggest pots I play instead will help me more.

AA in the Cut Off: The call wasn't easy on the flop, but I was pretty sure this player would have slowplayed a set, so I figured that a draw was very likely.
This pot is a decent months salary here in Faroe Islands.

T9s in the Small Blind: I was very sure he had a flushdraw on this flop and that he would bet it on the turn.

QQ from Under the Gun: This one kind of sucked.

I feel OK about the ups and downs. So far the big hands haven't bothered me that much, not yet. I am able to go about my daily life without constantly thinking about how much I could have won if the cards fell differently.

As much as I hope I'll get a break and be able to reap some much needed profit from my play. I more so hope that I will be able to not be bothered by the next big loss I will inevitably face this month.

February 3rd - A short break.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $195
Change: -$474

Today was another tough session, wrought with large all-ins, aggressive play and gut wrenching suck-outs. The bad beats and the cold cards did get the better of me today and after two big losses I wasn't playing my best game.

TT on the Button: I make two bad bluffs at this pot, where I should have known better. This kind of hand is a pretty standard sight nowadays, with the current style of play.
I have seen these hands go down several times before and should have known that I was in a bad spot to bluff.

I am happy though that I am still up for the month, to be honest I expected to be down a bit more than a grand before I checked the results.

It is Saturday today and my friend Jan just called to see if I was up for a board game. I think I can use the break and if I feel up to it I'll try to get a couple of hundred hands more in when I get back.

February 3rd - Getting back into $5/$10.

Monthly goal: $10.000
I am at $669
Change: $669

Not reaching my monthly goal last month isn't gonna stop me from aiming higher this month. I think $10.000 is well within my capabilities, I just need to put in the time and effort required.

Reviewing last month I see now that I am still suffering from bad beat fright after the short bad run I had in November. Variance is a killer, not because of the strain it puts on my bankroll, but because of the strain it puts on my mind.

To easier explain how hard it is to take, I'll show a couple of hands from todays session. All these hands are form the 1000 hands I played today and keep in mind that I ended the day up $669:

Q3s in the BB
66 from Under the Gun
AA in the Small Blind
A8o in the Cut Off
JJ from Under the Gun

Every on of those hands feels like a punch in the stomach. In October last year, I was in fine shape and was able to take the punches that fall in the higher stakes tables. But since November, I have been out of training and I need to get back into shape.

I feel focused and ready, so this month I aim to play and to win at $5/$10.

February 1st - End of January results.

Monthly goal: $7.000
I reached $4.124

January is over and although I didn't reach my goal for the month, I am happy about what I did manage to make.

These last couple of months have been trying. Perhaps I am not as good at poker as I rate myself, perhaps I have been unlucky or maybe the competition is getting harder. Whatever the reason for my declining results I am happy that they are at last on their way up again.

Here are my Poker Tracker Hold 'em results:

Hold 'em results for the month of January

From rakeback I made about $700 and I also played a tournament or two to get the total result up to $4.124.

Thirteen thousand hands is less than I was hoping for, I'll try my best to reach twenty thousand hands in February. I will also try to play more hands at $3/$6 and $5/$10.