A Wonderful Ride...

We had an amazing, spectacular vacation! First off, the weather was beautiful for all but two days. The ship was gorgeous- modern, spacious and luxurious. My only disappointment is that I have to return to work on Tuesday.

Poker on the cruise was very good. I definitely felt that I was one of the better players there. I received a ton of compliments on my play, which was very nice. I met so many people, including several Scandanavian players. I learned a lot from them, to say the least. Generally speaking, they share the same tight, aggressive style with some unique aspects to their game, which I will try to inculcate into my strategy.

I bubbled in three of five tournaments that I played: 7th, 11th and 12th, with five spots and then nine spots paying, respectively. Each time I busted, I had unavoidable situations. When I finished 7th in the $340, I had AK. A player pushed in middle position (with KJ), I raised all in (I had 9x the bb), and the bb picked up AA. Unavoidable. In the 150$ buy in the first day, I got beat in two consecutive hands, and became short staked with 2.5 the bb, and pushed with K5 suited, and got called by the bb with AQ. I do not regret the play, it was the right push. In the satellite I played for Jon for the ME, I had pocket 88, a weak player had min raised, and I pushed out of the small blind with my eights. He thought about and called, regretably with A10. Flop, Q89, I flop a set. JACK on the turn, and I am out when a measely deuce of clubs hits the river. Ok, fine, I played well, outcome should not bother me.

And then the ME. I was playing pretty much, flawlessly all week. I made the right calls on the river when I thought I was best, I minimized my bluffing against unbluffable players and I made great folds (two pair against a set, top pair-Ak,against a set of KK, etc). I built up a nice stack in the first four hours of the tournament and I was sitting on 22k in chips. The following hand occurred: I have JJ in the small blind. Jason, a 19 year old kid (Mkind0516 on UB) is in the bb. I have been raising his blind almost everytime, but I always have a hand- AJ, AQ, etc. So I have JJ. Frenchy guy (weak tight) limps on the buton, which I found out later was 1010. If he raises, I insta win the hand with a massive re-raise. But he limps. So blinds are 150-300, and I raise to 1100. Mkind looks at his hand, thinks about it and reraises to 3500. I put him on mid pair, maybe AQ, but most likely a marginal hand, that he is trying to take it down, because he knows frenchy is weak, and puts me on a move because I am a good player. I also respect his raise, because he is a very good player, capable of having a big hand (AK, 10 10, etc) or just playing creatively. I definitely did not put him on AA or KK because I believe he just calls for value.

Frenchy of course folds. I think about it and decide to call, and if no ace or k comes, I am sure I am way ahead, and am going to play it as best as possible. Flop comes out 3 4 4. So I check raise all in. Mkind insta calls with 3 3. UGH. I am tortured. I told ya he was playing creatively =) So i lose my big stack and am left with 3450, and start the next day with 5x the bb. So I did not cash, but I played well.

Have to go now, tourney starting, will write more later!
Good luck and peace,
(un)Lucky C =)

Countdown to Cruise....only 7hrs left of work/30 hrs to takeoff...

Good Morning All. I bubbled in the 11p.m. last night. I made a good play and ran into a monster- AK with no pair no draw on the flop against my flush draw, that makes me feel good. Seriously. People call no pair no draw on the bubble of $109 tourney because they physically, literally CANNOT fold AK. But I think I played a great tournament, I was very patient and went extremely deep in the tournament.

Jon and I are having serious issues with UB. We did a wire transfer over a week ago, that is supposed to take 1-2 days to process, and we have yet to see the funds. Apparently, because the money is being transferred from overseas, it takes longer because it has to go through the Federal Reserve, but you think they would at least tell us that. In any case, we have been calling UB and I am confident that the funds will come through any day now.

Other than that, everything else is going well. I am still looking forward to selling my apartment in the near future and getting down to New Jersey. I think Jon and I are goin to be very happy there..

I will try to post while I am away, but I am not sure how much internet access I will have, or for how long.

Enjoy your week!

Good luck and peace,
Lucky C.

Final Table Fun!

Good morning all. It is Wednesday already, weeee! Two more days until we leave for our splendid vacation. I am very excited. I vow to play the best tournament ever on the cruise. I want first more than anything. It is going to be awesome. I want to become the player that it is impossible to play against. I have to work on my live tournament strategy in order to accomplish that and conform it to more of my online strategy.

Yesterday was a good day online. I played the 9k $109 MTT and placed 4 out of 96, which is good. I was chipleader for a while, but the final table was rough. Players were re-raising all over the place, yet I don't believe they had much of hands when they were reraising, based upon later showdowns. I also made $120 in cash which is very nice.

I am getting more and more antsy about playing full time. I dream about it, I think about it day in and day out. I am like a chic obssessed. It is so sick. I cannot wait to make the move, it is going to be great.

I am also very excited for the Ladies Only event in Las Vegas. As soon as we get back from the cruise, I am booking the trip. I think it is going to be very awesome.

I have also decided that while on the cruise, I am going to take a lot of time to reflect on my life and really evaluate what I have done and where I am going. I have done very little introspection and I believe this is very important.

Other than being happier, I also want to be healthier. I want to exercise more often, eat healthier, get more fit, get more sleep, etc. I feel like I have two full time jobs, poker and my daytime job. It leaves very little room for anything else. I am excited for the future, very excited.

Finally, I am in the best relationship ever. I have a boyfriend who loves me very much and who would do absolutely anything for me. He is so caring and loving- I feel very lucky. My emotional rollercoaster that is the girly girl in me, I am sure, can drive him crazy, but he is always sweet, calm and reassuring. I feel truly blessed.

That's all for now, enjoy your day.

Good luck and peace,
Lucky C.

Monsoon Outside...Desert Inside.

This was an amazingly rough weekend in poker. Friday night, we went down to Atlantic City to hang out with Dragon. Dragon treated us to Ruth Chris for a late dinner, and then we headed over to Tropicana for some $2/$5 NL. Friday nights are either very profitable or very disasterous in AC. The 2/5 game, in the words of Dragon, is like a glorified 1/2 NL. People chase every draw, never fold, no matter how much money it will cost them. It is quite nauseating, but good if they don't suck out. Unfortunately for me, they did. I made kind of an internet play with 10 10, and my over aggression cost me $100, into a player who had JJ (I put him on being able to fold preflp, or at least me being ahead, neither of which came true). Then I flopped two pair and ran into runner runner flush, haha. And then, I turned a straight, bet the pot and got rivered by a flush, but had to call because I only had $70 behind. So I lost one buy in, and that was it. Since we are going on the cruise and I am not particularly fond of how the 2/5 plays on Frid nights, I decided to cut my losses and walk away.

On Saturday, Jon and I both played the $340 Borgata tourney. I got out with 6 of original 18 tables left, and Jon got out in 20 something- down to three tables. However, after I got out, instead of playing 2/5, I decided to simply watch Jon. He played amazingly. He made plays with hands that- well, it never crossed my mind to make such plays with these particular hands, including A7 off suit in the blind, 3 5 suited, and AJ for a huge re-raise, when he read the original raiser for weak. Very smart, very wise plays, all of which worked out beautifully for him.

Jon survived the whole tourney and was able to build a stack, except he had a few hands that were really tough- top two against the nut straight, and AJ v. two small pairs. Other than that though, he was simply the best player in that tournament hands down.

We drove home Sat night and we both played Sun's 200k event on UB. I sat'd in and Jon bought in. Jon was doing really well and then had two disasterous hands that cost him the tournament. I, predictably, got out within first 2 hours, set v. nut flush draw. How can I get him to fold the nut flush draw for all his chips, I thought? Apparently there is no answer to this question because he was simply not folding. I bet pot on the flop and puhsed on the turn. Call, call. No reraise, just call call. Haha. It was funny.

Then I lost $600 in cash in the course of two days on UB, which is also nighmarish. However, I am consoled by the fact that I am a very good player and will be able to rebuild nicely. I will drop down to $.50/$1 for a few days and rebuild. Once I do that, I will move back up to $1/$2 NL.

Work is relatively boring this week, and dragging, because I am looking forward to the cruise so much. It is going to be divine, I can hardly wait.

I also have found a remedy to when I get crazy about the insecurity that comes from the thought of playing full time - I look up my name on Cardplayer, and see that every year since 2003 I have had a nice sized cash in some tournament (>$3,000). While the cashes are typically less than $13,000 with exception of one, that is from only playing a few live tournaments per year with a buy in greater than $500. If I can increase that, then I think I also increase the probability of more frequent and larger cashes. I am so looking forward to that. Additionally, I am going to focus on chic tournaments, my new founded cash cow. I will be scheduling a trip to the WSOP Ladies Event in June.

So while it was a down pour outside, my bankroll pretty much dried up on line (I cut it in 2/3). However, I am determined to rebuild to greater than it was before the cruise. I am so excited to do that.

I have already added $150 in cash winnings from today, which is awesome.

More later.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

OHhhhhh Friday the 13th...

Last night poker was a complete disaster, however should not have been unexpected. First, I deficited $405 in cash. That is not completely terrible considering the run I have been on, but the hands I lost were sick. I lost heads up, KK to QQ. I lost two pair to someone who could not fold a flush draw, and I lost AA to an open ended straight draw when I put him all in for $135 n the flop and he CALLED on a draw, lmao. But that's fine, so be it. It is because of these very same players that I am so profitable at online cash.

Tournaments- another horrendous nightmare. I bubbled in the 9k guaranteed, 26/111, with 20 paying. In the 30k 8 p.m., I lost top set, to a higher set on the river and I played the guy so good, because I knew he could not fold an over pair. Then I played the 9:30 p.m. And I lost with open ended straight flush draw and a pair to QQ. Terrible, so I deficited a total of $345 in tournaments yesterday.

Because of my withdrawals, my online bankroll is cut in half, but I will not despair. I still have a healthy amount in my account and it is definitely workable. I am excited to build it back up.

This afternoon, we leave for New Jersey. Yeaahhhh! I am so excited to be in Atlantic City, I cannot wait. It is going to be such a great weekend.

In any case, plans are moving along in life. I spoke to a new real estate agent about listing my apartment with her, so we will see what happens.

That's all for now.

I will update this on Monday and let you know how the poker weekend went.

Good Luck and peace,

Lucy C.

Feeling Good!

Good morning- it is Thursday, one more day until the weekend, yea, I am so excited. Tonight I have a meeting with my colleague to work on website development and tomorrow, after work, we are leaving for Atlantic City.

Pete (aka "Dragon"), Jon's very good friend, and now a friend of mine, who is an amazing cash and tournament player and plays full time, is doing business with us for the Saturday tournament. He came in 4th in a $500 WSOP Circuit Event last month and cash for $23,500. We are all going to play the $340 at Borgata and exchange percentages. I am very excited, I have not played a live tournament, other than chic event, since January. I think I am having withdrawal. The weekends are so hectic that it is hard to get away, especially between having the co-op on the market and family obligations.

Poker Report from Yesterday

I truly feel like I am playing great poker and the best poker of my life. I am in the top 10 in the 8 p.m. almost every night at some point in the tourney. Yesterday, I finished 25/330, for a cash of $195 plus $100 in bounties. Even though I did not cash for much, it feels amazing to be placing in top 10% of most tournaments. I also satelllited into the Bellagio super, built a big stack early, was in first for awhile and then lost some very tough hands to finish 21/90. I did not feel bad though because, other than one major mistake, I played flawlessly. That particular hand, when UTG raised to 1250 and blinds were 150/300, and I had 77 in middle position. Being the big stack, I should have raised to discourage action behind and be heads up. UTG only had 2400 behind, and I knew from how he was playing he had over cards. One other player behind calls, flop comes out 889. UTG bets small, I raise him huge and the guy behind pushes, UTG calls, but the raise from behind was only 1100 more, so I had to call, it was over a 17k pot! The player behind flopped quads, blek, with 88. However, had I re-raised preflop, I am almost positive that player would have folded. So that was my only mistake in the hand. (UTG had KJ, surprise surprise, a bad player raising UTG with KJ, haha). That cut me down to about 8,000. Then I had AJ, 10s, and JJ, all of which I had to fold pre-flop, so sick (I was behind huge every time).

Profit/Loss Report for the Day

I broke even in cash, maybe profitted $30 or something. Made net about $200 in tournaments which is fine. I also made another withdrawal of $500 to keep the checks coming in for when we get back from the cruise.

I am so looking forward to our trip, it is going to be amazing. I cannot wait to go. Hopefully, when I come back, the apartment will sell quickly and we will get to New Jersey soon.

More later.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C

From Third to THIRD! =)

Yesterday was another good poker day. I played the 9k guaranteed on UB and alas, finished 3/119, for a net profit of $1167. My bust hand was 10 10 v. 6 10, who somehow flopped trips and I was down to 7 outs to the river.

Poker has been good the last two weeks, however I do not want to be enamored with the success. I have to determine if it is my playing better, just a good run, or a combination of the two. I do believe my cash game has improved tremedously. I also feel that I am playing a much more tight-aggressive style of tourney. Yesterday, I did deficit $155 in cash and placed 62/283 in the 8 p.m. Against my better judgment, I also played the $30r and was in for $150....I ended up playing too aggressive at the end, which got me out in 42/135 with 20 spots paying. Yet I was committed to not bubbling at 2 a.m. and feeling tired the next day.

Total Profit/Deficit

My total profit/deficit for yesterday, cash and tournaments combined was +$762. This is very good considering how many tournaments I played and my cash game debacle.

On another note, "Classyploppy" a player on UB, is hysterical. I was laughing out loud so much yesterday. HE cracks me up. People play so bad and he is so sarcastic to them that it is truly a pure form of entertainment. So, thanks for the entertainment Classy.

The apartment for sale thing is very slow. Not many people have been to look at it. The good thing is that we are the only ones with a one-bedroom for sale in our building, so there is not much competition for my particular building. I cannot wait to get to New Jersey and start our lives together. I feel like I am wasting time in New York.

That's it for now. Hopefully, today will be another profitable and enjoyable day!

Good Luck and Peace,

Lucy C.

Going going gone....From Third to 63rd

Good afternoon all. It is a quiet Tuesday afternoon at work. Just an update on last night's second job. I got home from work and rested for an hour (I think I am getting sick). Then I played a turbo rebuy for Aruba entry and came in 11th, yuck, top 4 got seat. Then I played cash and earned +$210. I also played the 8 p.m. and the 10 p.m. (30$ rebuy).

In the 8 p.m. I played really well and built my stack to 13,500. I was in third place for awhile. Then I had QQ v. a really bad player, who pushed with AK (that play did not make him bad, he was just really bad and happened to pick up AK) and won, cutting me down to 7000. But I was determined to build my stack. Blinds are 300-600, button min raises. I have J9 sp. I push in for 7000 to go. My opponent, tnsstud, who I thought was a good player, but turned out to be a complete donk, INSTAcalls with A5 hearts. I make a great play to have an idiot call, and proceeded to win the hand. It was 60% of his chips, no joke. He started that hand with just under 13,000. What is wrong with players. At least have the courtesy to take the time and think about folding. How do you call with A5? How is that ever a good call? Even with my hand, I am 40% to win. Players are so bad, it is not even funny. I do not regret the play I made, and if I knew his hand ahead of time, I would make the same play, again and again. In any case, I finished 63rd, which is not great, but not bad considering that there were 350 players in. Top 20%. I always like to look at percentages, because I think it is important to determine how you are playing over the long run.

Other than that, everything else is great. Jon is in AC for two days, hopefully he will profit well.

More later.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Cash Cows and Tournament Domination....

Tournament domination:
Good morning all! What a great weekend it was in poker! First things first- congrats to Ostrichman aka my boyfriend, Jon, for placing 5th in the 11p.m. 18k guaranteed last night for another 4-figure win, woo hoo! That's four final tables in three days- I think he has the makings of an online pro, whatda you think?

On a similar note, my new found friend, Flaaaaaaava, an up and coming player from the mid-west gained noteriety by placing in the top 80 of 6657 in the PokerStars Million- top 1.3% is pretty awesome! So keep an eye on him, I predict great things for him as well. He did run into AA twice when he had less than 10x the bb, the first time he pushed in the sm blind with Ak, and the bb picked up AA, and then about 1/2 hour later, someone raised, caller in between and he is on the button with AJ, however, even though caller in between is pretty scary, cannot fold AJ with less than 6x the blind. So, it goes. AA v. AJ, which caused Flaaava's elimination. However, the key to winning a tournament, besides building a stack, I believe, especially when it gets down to the wire, is not getting unlucky- having your big hands hold up and you yourself not running into big hands while you are trying to buid your stack.

I did witness the sickest hand of my life last night on PokerStars while railing for Flaaava which caused me to say oh my god out loud on each street. Pre-flop, two short stack players are all in: 88 v. 99. Flop is K 8 9, so they both flop a set, not such a big deal. Turn is an 8, i said oh my god. And then, da da da....the river is a 9!! Quads over quads- definitely the sickest hand I ever witnessed, especially because of the progression of the hand.

One more noteworthy observation- Jon has been donked out of three tournaments in the last two days- by getting called with NO PAIR NO DRAW because people will not fold AK/AQ when they don't hit flop. It is not because they think they have the best hand, they just can't lay it down- TV poker has rotted their brains. They see players play these hands being played aggressively pre-flop on TV andd that's it. They take that with them to their online game and become the player that calls an all in with AK no pair no draw, illustrating their complete ignorance about poker.

Jon made two great reads to reraise these idiots all in and then they call. So sick I tell you, so sick. So to all you players out there, for the one time you win when you CALL an all in with no pair no draw, there will be 999 times you lose. All I have to say is good luck to you, you will need it.

Cash domination:
Yesterday was a great day in cash for me. I earned approximately $500 in 1/2 NL cash games. I did attempt the 2/4 NL game for a little while, but I would really like to have a substantially larger online bankroll before I play that. We were at my family's house for Easter and I downloaded UB on my cousin's laptop and played 10-15 min intervals of cash, which resulted in +$300, and then cleaned up for another $200 when I got home.

I also played the $30 rebuy which has tortured me of late. So I played that and came in right inside the money 20/187, not bad. I was determined to make the money because I donked out early the two other times I played it. It feels good to cash in that particular tournament because so many great online players were in it.

From Friday until today, Monday, I have grown my account by over $1200, which is amazing. Cash has been really good online. I do not think I am getting phenomenal hands. I feel like I have figured out the secret and now I am going to exploit all of the bad players with my knowledge.

Tonight, I am going to try and sat into Aruba super, play cash (of course) and the 8 p.m. I may play the 30$r again, we will see.

That's all for now. Congratulations again to FLaaaaava and Ostrichman!

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Buona Pasqua (Happy Easter)....

Happy Easter everyone! I couldn't wait much longer to tell you all, but Jon aka "Ostrichman" on UB cleaned up last night. Chopped the WSOP cash and 8th in the 30k guaranteed for almost 1k. Very nice, so a huge congratulations to him.

Me, on the other hand, not so good. I got donkey konged in both tournaments, WSOP, which I sat'd into and the 8pm by having AA cracked, both times by K8 suited. Uncanny I tell you.

In any case, Happy Easter and more later.

Good luck and peace...

Lucky C

Poker Saturdays...

Hello all. It has been a few days since my last post, I apologize to my avid readers, lol, which is probably about 2, me and one random person obsessed with poker blogs. In any case, here is the run down since my last post. Jon and I forgot to watch LOST on Wed- hahahaha. IT is hilarious because we look forward to it all week, and then bam, 10pm comes and we forget, and realize at 10:55 p.m. ! We will watch it tomorrow on abc.com.

Poker has been wonderful. Thursday night, Jon and I both final tabled the 8 p.m., which was nice, for a total net profit of $1600 including bounties. We both have done extremely well in cash games in the last week. Yesterday, Friday, I made about $400 in 1/2 NL cash. So many bad players, it is great. Only have to worry about getting sucked out. Then today, I went on to win my entry for the WSOP super tonight.

Last night, in the 8pm, 30k guaranteed, I was 5th in chips for a really long time and made one really bad play...against a player i should have known would not fold second pair and cut my stack in half. And then, I lost 99 to a donk, who was making fun of me for my bad move, who called my all in for 1/2 his stack with A 10 and flopped trips. And then I laughed.

Today, we had people come look at the apartment and tomorrow is Easter. I am going to go out in a little while and make Jon an Easter Basket.

That's all for now...more later....

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Earned -$300 in 20 minutes...Go me.

So my screen name on UB is Garnet, hence the name of the blog. I realized that I never fully explained it.

Last night I had a hectic schedule- after work, go home, shower and play a forty minute session before leaving to visit with my grandmother and cousin 1 hour away. I sit down for my 40 minute session and bam...my two pair v. rivered trips wtih bottom pair, bad player has overpair when I have top pair (which I can't put him on because he is a maniac- called a huge reraise with AJ a few hands earlier against my KK and sucked out beautifully), and so on... So I deficited

-300$ in less than 30 minutes, cutting my session short. I was in for a total of $400 so I took the remaining $100 and cut my losses.

When I returned home at 10:00 p.m., I attempted to play the $30 rebuy with my limit of $60. I think I have to revamp my formula for this tournament because I just waste $60. I think I should buy in for a double of $60 and cap my investment at $120 (with double add on). And if I go broke before rebuy period is over, then I don't rebuy. I made $78 in cash, which was decent and forgot to watch LOST! Ugh, so we will have to watch it tonight on abc.com.

The plan for tonight is to visit my eldery uncle, Uncle Vito. Yes, I truly have a real, FOB (fresh off the boat) uncle named Vito. So I will visit him, and then, most likely, buy into the 8 p.m., unless I have time to win a TEC before then. And then, I will play $1/$2 NL cash and build the account hopefully.

I am having lunch today with my good friend/employer, Robyn. I like going out with her and talking, she is a good listner, and we always have great conversation.

That's it for now, I will be on tomorrow to report results.

Poker Daily Profit/Deficit Report:

-$302 with tournament and cash. Not terrible considering my recent successes.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

The Best Comeback Ever ....

What is the best comeback ever you may ask? Let me start by saying I played a great tournament and lost a sick hand to a guy who called for all his chips with AQ ( I had jj), after I lost a few sick hands already. It worked out for the AQ guy when he hit a straight against my set, but calling an all in for all your chips w/ AQ from the BB is horrible, disgusting and terrible. So I was ready to walk away from my computer because I thought he had me covered, when I was dealt another hand- I had 100 chips left! Granted the blinds were 150/300, but I had a glimmer tiny teeny minutia of hope. I won the first hand, 9 10 v. a set when the flushy came on river with my ten of spades. Wheee! Now I have 420 chips, but now I am BB, ugh. So I push with j10 and only have one caller, with QJ, and i hit a straight, weeee again. Up to 980 chips. I push two more times, no callers and build up to 2200. Then I doubled up with AA, and before I knew it, I had 10,500 in chips and we were in the money! It was so excellent. And then...i started getting short staacked and pushed in the blind with A6 hearts, against a late position raiser who called with K 10 and flopped a King. Nothing I can do, I think that I played great. I think I made the right play also because I was ahead with a chance to double through a big stack and have a shot at the final table.

Letting go of fear...

On a similar note, an acquaintance of mine, Jim "KrazyKanuck" Worth wrote a great article for UB about letting go of fear in tournaments and poker in general. That is probably been the most difficult hurdle for me to overcome. Lettiing go of the fear that comes with poker; all of the fears: fear of losing, fear of getting outdrawn, fear of suck outs, fear of going broke, either in a tournament or otherwise. Between Jon's great advice that I have to "just do the math" and Kanuck's advice "to let go of the fear" will make me a much stronger player once I implement that advice. I think I am more the halfway there, though. Everytime I thought I had the best hand in the tournament, I called and/or pushed. In cash games, I have already let go of the fear and the profit has been overwhelming.

Daily Profit/Defecit Report...

I profitted over $550 total yesterday in cash, and I placed 26/274 in the tournament, for a grand total of $220 (with one bounty, I took someone out for $20), but I bought into the tournament, so my net profit for the day was approximately $600. I withdrew $300. Jon and I are going on a cruise in 2 weeks (that Jon won through a satellite on America's Cardroom under my name so I get to play tournament) and we want to accumulate as much money as possible for the trip. There will be a plethora of poker tournaments, cash games and satellites. I am already playing the main event $2,500 buy in, but get this catch- I split my winnings with the website. Still a freeroll pretty much for cash, as well as a free trip.

Tonight, I do not know how much of my second job I will be doing, I have to visit my cousin so I will not be home until after 9 p.m. I will most likely play cash and maybe the rebuy at 10:00 p.m. More updates tomorrow...

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

A Catholic's Passover...

Last night, we went to Jon's family's house to celebrate passover. I am, by birth, American-Italian, and by relationship, American-Italian-Jewish. Thereofore, the year is not only filled with secular holidays, but multireligious as well. In any case, we had a wonderful dinner and dessert including delicious matzoh ball soup, green beans and potatoes and gourmet fruit salad. (If you hadn't guessed already from previous posts, I am a fish eating vegetarian that loves food).

We got home relatively late and my little baby, Jon, was/is sick. So he rested and I played $1/$2 NL. I profited approximately $100 on UB and $30 onFull Tilt. It was a good evening, and I feel my NL cash game improving tremendously. I decided to also play the $30 rebuy and only invest $60, and I lasted 15 minutes. If I wasn't so tired, I wouldve played it like a real rebuy and not limited myself to two buyins, but I think self discipline is one of the most important attributes to playing poker full time and if I do not set limits for myself, then my bankroll will gradually diminish instead of grow. Once I make a plan as to what I am going to do, I am determined to follow through with it.

My plan for this evening is to try and win a TEC for the 8p.m. and play cash and build my account. I might make another withdrawal tonight, we will see. My goal has been to withdraw a minimum of $150 per week, and I am right now, way over my goal (approximately $300 per week). The plan is to consistently increase the amount over time, and profitability.

I still strugggle on a daily basis with the concept of playing full time without having a job with benefits, but by the same token, I am excited and I anticipate the day it will happen (after the apt is sold), that I will be able to support myself and benefits by playing full time. Jon describes it as Freudian's inner egos theory battling with each other. My explanation is a bit more academic- I am a paranoid worried chic that makes overanalyzing her life to death three times a week a part time job.

I think that I have babbled enough for today...I will post results of my evening session tomorrow...

Good luck and peace,
Lucky C.

Another Monday morning.

Good morning all. It is Mon, April 2nd. I just realized yesterday was April Fools' and I did not play one single joke, what a waste! In any case, yesterday was Psalm Sunday and we had a lovely lunch with my family out in the country, on the eastern end of Long Island. Jon and I got back around 5ish and as you know from my post yesterday, it was an interesting evening of tournaments. So I promised an update on the 11p.m. I was down to 470 chips twice- first when I lost top set to nut flush on the river against a complete donkey, and then when I lost AQ to A9, when he hit 9 on river for two pair- I thought my check raise was brilliant, and then he donked me out. But anyways, then I had jj and AA and Aj, and was able to build up to 4100. I lost when a very good player slow played AQ in the blind and I flopped a flush draw and turned a pair and pushed all in on his weak bet, and he called with top pair, which was a good call. Unfortunately I did not hit one of my 12 outs and I was done, with 60/153 left. Oh well, I know I am going to cash big soon, my game is getting better and better.

Well back to work...I will post more later.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

The Weekend Rollercoaster..

This has been a very up and down weekend. Jon and I actually final tabled the WSOP satellite on Sat night, which was awesome, out of 100 people, but one seat and two other places pay cash. I won a satellite for each of us to get in. We got out 5th and 6th, when we both lost races against the most terrible players ever. It is amaing how bad players can make the top 8% of a tournament like that. I did excellent in cash on Sat night as well. I felt like I was playing so good, and ended up profitting +550. Very awesome. Today was a good day as well. I am up a few hundred in cash and I won an entry to the $500, 75k guar tournament, unfortunately i lost a race there as well, 10s to AK. However, the play was so amateur in that tournament, it was simply astounding, especially considering that it was a $500 buy in.

I am still in the 11p.m. 17k guarantee, which means tomorrow will be a hard day at work because of lack of sleep. I am so looking forward to the day when I no longer have to be at the office at 8a.m. and have someone looking over my shoulder. I am told day in and day out by online players how good Jon and I are, and how we are going to be successful, and we should definitely go for it. I am convinced, that as variable as poker is, and whatever struggles we may endure, that Jon and I are goin to be rich one day because of it. We are too skillful not to. We also have the security of the law practice that I am starting up with my two colleagues and the income from that. So, like I said, I can't wait to sell my apartment and start playing full time.

That's it for tonight, I will post more tomorrow, with results of tonight's tournament. I am short stacked, with 11x the blind, so we will see what I can do with my stack.

Good luck and peace.

Lucky C.