LOST is the best...

I love LOST, it is such a great show. I know that it has been receiving a lot of criticism, but last night was excellent. I can't wait until next week's episode. Yesterday was a pretty good day, very stressful at work though. After work, I went to see my elderly uncle, who forgot I was coming and visibly upset because he always prepares dinner for us when he knows we will be visiting.

After that, we went home and watched Law & Order and had dinner. Jon is a wonderful cook, he made seasoned Cod on a bed of onions and snopeas. It was delicious. I straightened up the apartment and then, I played online. I played a TEC and won the entry. I gave it to Jon to play the 8pm. I decided to stop playing MTT less than 100$ buy in, and concentrate on online cash and big tournaments. I made 255$ playing cash and then shut my comp off. If I can make average of $200 a day, that would be amazing. I feel really good about my game and I also feel like I am completely in control of every table I am at. I also played a $3 reuy for cash and played crazy, it was fun. That's it. I have a meeting tonight for our new business venture which I am excited about.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C

A Very Constructive Day....topped by an unfortunate Two Outer.

Yesterday was a good day, with a few ups and downs. I finished a big project at work and had lunch with my mother. I thought lunch would be difficult. I decided that at lunch, I would inform my mother that Jon and I were moving to New Jersey and selling my apartment. I thought she was going to flip out and get upset, but she was actually really supportive. And while we have many reasons for relocating- Jon's "work", cheaper cost of living, my desire to work from a home office, etc., one of the main reasons is to be closer to Atlantic City. Jon and I have both proven to be profitable poker players and its just a matter of time.

I explained to her that I was sick of the 8am-5pm routine, Monday thru Friday. I need freedom. I also told my mother that I am starting a new business venture with two colleagues of mine (besides a chic poker player, I am also an attorney) to handle very lucrative types of cases that may potentially lead to our retirement. This new business venture is going to require me to answer the phones on a daily basis. I will be able to do that from a home office that I will not be able to do from my work office. As far as my current job, I am in charge of compiling and developing real estate reports and managing real estate development pre-purchase projects, a job very easily done from home. So we will see if working from a home office is an option for my employer, if not, I am prepared to walk away and move. My decision to move to New Jersey, play poker professionally and develop my new business is priority. However, I am not quitting my job, I am giving them the option to let me work from a home office and telecommute. Then the ball is in their court. Nothing can happen until I sell my apartment, and I told my mother as much. In any case, she was super supportive and it was great.

After work, Jon and I went on a three mile walk- haha. I am not big on exercise, but have really been trying lately. And yesterday was such a beautiful day that it was a shame not to walk. While we were walking, the weather was perfect and I felt completely free. It was great.

At about 7p.m., I began my second job- playing poker online. I play primarily on Ultimatebet, it is my favorite site. I played a $38 mtt which I donked out of after getting a bad beat. I won a TEC (for the $100MTT), and I lost KK v. AA (AGAIN!) in satellite for 25k guaranteed. I also play $1/$2 NL cash to sustain my bankroll for tournaments. I was down $130 right away. In the meantime, I entered the $30k guaranteed bounty at 8p.m. that I play a few times per week. Finished 72/265 when my pkt 10s ran into 8s preflop and he hit 8 on the river (ANOTHER 2 OUTER). I have not cashed in top 3 in the 100$ mtt since Sept, which is insane, and I am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. Hopefully this blog will provide some insight over time. I finished cash up $7 which was good considering the debacle in the beginning. More tomorrow....

Lucky C.

Inaugural

Hello All. Welcome to Garnet's Poker Lounge. This lounge will be a record of all of my poker experiences, life experiences and how they relate to each other. Anything else of importance will be in this Lounge.

Foxwoods Poker Classic 2007

Quote of the Day: "The only way you are getting out of this tournament is if you get incredibly unlucky."

This is what my boyfriend, Jonathan, said to me while we are on the dinner break of the Ladies Only Foxwoods Poker Classic tournament, where first place was a grandiose $38,000.00. Unfortunately, his words became a nightmarish truth in the hours to come.

Let me back up and tell you a little bit about myself. I am 28 years old and have been playing poker for 9 years. I love the game, i love everything about it and I have always dreamed of becoming a professional for a long time. The last four years, with the explosion of no limit games and tournaments, this dream may very soon become a reality. I have also found my niche. It is the proverbial Ladies Only events. I used to hate these events. Good female players, pros even, tell me how much they hate women's only events. When I ask why, I am told- women are so hard to get a read on, they don't fold, they don't bet their hands...blah blah....

Well let me tell you my take on Ladies Only Events. They are a joke. They are so easy, it is almost unfair. Women wear the cards they are holding on their sleeve. Reads are elementary. And if that's the case, it is almost a beatable game...albeit bad luck. That being said, I have cashed in five out of the last seven ladies' only I have played. The other two I bubbled, and I mean one or two spots out of the money bubbled, with extremely bad, unavoidable luck. Of the five, I have two firsts, chopped two and 29/455. Foxwoods Poker Classic was supposed to be my next first place. Oh well.

The day started out very well. We woke up, checked out of our hotel, and got to Foxwoods by 9:30 a.m. Tournament start time: 10 a.m.- started with 462 entrants. The first two hours were pretty uneventful, except I did have AA v. AA against a tight tight player that could only have AA also when she reraised my original raise. Predictably, we chopped the pot.

I got moved three times in the first 4 hours of the tournament, which is annoying because now I have to readjust, however I found there were a few stereotypical women at each table. There was the older women who would raise with any pocket pair and pay you off all the way to the river; there were the oriental women who were typically aggressive; and then the rest were just super weak weak tight.

So then I got moved to my fourth table. That's where things started happening. I had built my stack to 9200 from original 5000. It was pretty volatile for the first hour at my new table, and I was short stacked with 4000 at the end of the hour. I made a move with KQ and almost doubled up. And then the blinds went up to 200-400 with 50 ante, and if it is at all possible, my tight table, tightened up. So i raised, and then raised the next hand, and then raised again, and so on...and built up from 8,000 to 19,000 without showing down a hand.

And then the following hand occurred. The woman in the one seat was tight, naturally, but she was one of my stereotypes- older lady who over valued pocket pairs all the way to the river. We will call her Blanche because she looked like Blanche from Golden Girls.
So now I have about 20k in chips. I limp with Ac10c. There were two limpers before me, blinds are 400-800. Blanche raises to 2000, which is not enough because now the pot is over 4000 with blinds and antes. So the chic on my right calls and I call. Flop comes out 5sJc8c. So the limper on my right leads out for 2k. I have the nut flush draw, which I think is good for a raise. No one is pushing without top set for sure, as ridiculous as that may sound. I wasn't too concerned about Blanche, because her range is so wide. I raise to 8k. Blanche practically screams call from behind, which shocked me. Now I have to put her on a big hand, like KK or AA, but I still have outs. The original bettor folds. Now Blanche only has 6500 behind. I have to put her all in on the turn because I'm committed. The turn was the 9h. Now I am opened ended with the nut flush draw, so I don't really care at this point. I announce all in, she calls with KK and a beautiful Q on the river locks it up for me. Now I have over 40k in chips. Almost the dinner break and I continue to build and get to about 54k. I am almost chipleader with 75 chickies left. We go to dinner, I feel good. My table is easy and we are almost in the money.

And then, after dinner, the nightmare began...

Now I have been playing for nine years, so this is not just another bad beat story. This is two consecutive hands that made me physically ill. And the probability of these two hands happening consecutively have to be greater than 1/100,000.

Hand #1- KK in the bb. Middle position raiser to 5500, blinds are 800-1600. Now this chic is tight and obvious. It took her awhile to figure out her raise. I was almost sure she had AA but not 100%. The small blind calls. Now if the SB folds, its easy for me to min raise or just fold. Even though I have KK, second best hand, I had a feeling. But sm blind calling made it impossible for me not to raise. So I pushed all in. I can't raise any less because I am committed anyway. I talked about this after with Jon and he and I concluded that its possible to min raise and if she pushes, fold. I typically hate min raises, but that seems like the right play for this particular situation. So I lose this hand to her AA (sm bld folded QQ). Now I have 12k.

Hand #2. Immediately after the KK hand above, I am in the small blind and look down at AA. Woo Hoo. Now I can start rebuilding. I am all set. Oriental chic raises to 3700. I reraise to 8k, making it look like I am steaming from the last hand. The bb pushes all in. Wippeee, I can triple up. Oriental pushes, I push. Me, sm blnd with AA, bb with KK and Oriental with QQ.....and of course, K on flop. what the f??????? If I triple up there, its as if I did not play either hand. Sadly, my tournament ends. I was reasonably upset for hours to come...and even though I am a chic, I usually take things well and don't get all crazy. I take losses in stride....this wasn't just bad beats, it was a tortured nightmare that should never happen. Only way I lose that tournament is to a two outer and AA v. KK. So goes life. I am still comforted by the fact that I was definitely one of, if not, the best player in that tournament.

Next time will be better. So I went out in 60 something...a second bubble for me.