I quit.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, they do. -4k in 4 days.

I'm taking the rest of the month off, and conceding my worst month of the year.

I think I made $2k.

See you in may.

First, I'm glad my story(see last post) got so much love. I x-posted on 2+2 and got a lot of props for it there. I wrote it at about 7 in the morning when I couldn't sleep after a super long, losing session.

Which brings me to my next point -- things havn't been going too hot. I hit a pretty nasty downswing, coupled with those failed shots I mentioned in previous posts.

Almost zero chance I hit the 10k mark, and I'll be happy if I end up over 5k the way things are going.

But to put things in prespective, that's still quite a bit of change. Monetary goals in poker are stupid anyways, b/c you can't predict how well you will run. I think from here on out, I will just set hand goals (i.e 'play 100k hands/month'). This is what I've done in the past, and it puts a lot less pressure on myself, which is definitely a good thing.

Whatever, when the 10k month comes, AND IT WILL, I'll do the freeroll.

FREEROLL INFORMATION:

Right now, I'm thinking of running a private $1.10 tourny on stars. The money won't be important, but I'll give the winner a 1hr coaching session. We can use skype (or msn), and I can sweat you, or you can sweat me... whatever. Or I can review a hand session of yours. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT. If no one cares I'll just scrap the idea.



Lastly, a shout out to my buddy Sina (simsina or stars) who came in 3rd in a $30 tourny for about $1.5k. I sweated him through the last half of the tourny and he played awesomely. Really wish he could've taken it down, because if anyone deserves a little good luck, it's him.

Anyways, to thank me for sticking out the tourny with him, he shipped me $100 to play a tourny where we'd split the winnings 50/50. I didn't cash though, sorry bro. ;) Thanks for your confidence regardless.

I'm gonna play a tonne of hands this weekend. April numbers will be forthcoming...

I don't know where else to begin, but at the beginning. Forgive me in advance if my story is confusing, as it's all still very foggy to even myself.

As poker players, we dream of finding the biggest fish, and the juiciest games. I'm primarily an online grinder, playing $200NL almost exclusively. Even when I find the fish, I'm usually only busting them $200 at a time.

Well, last night was a different story altogether. Last night, I found my game.It all began with a phone call. My very good friend, a self-made, relatively wealthy individual, called me up.

"You still play poker right?"

Of course I do."

Would you be interested in a really big game tommorow?"

Well, how big are we talking?

"The buy-in is $25k"

Hrmm.. just a BIT out of my leauge there.

"I'll cover you completely, and we spilt whatever you win. I've heard some crazy fishy stories about the...."

Stop. You had me at 'cover you completely', sir.

Fast forward to last night.

I show up, and meet my friend outside a pretty snazzy looking cigar club. He tells me not to worry, the place isn't shady and I don't have to worry about getting robbed or anything.

"Just play your game, and don't stress if you lose, OK?"

Ok.

As soon as I walk into the card room, I feel he is right. It is really brightly lit, and everyone seems to be happy. It all feels very classy, and... well, 'rich' for lack of a better word. You can just feel money oozing from every corner of the place.

I sit at the table and say hello, as a beautiful woman brings me a couple racks of chips.

$25,000.

This is probbaly 10x more than I have ever held in my hands, and oh yeah, pretty much the size of my entire bankroll. I start to get a little nervous.

My nerves die down however, after about the first orbit. Blinds are $100/200, when I pick up ATss on the button and raise 2 limpers in front of me to $1k. I sort of laugh in my head, as I'm making a PF raise as big as any pot I've ever won. Everyone lays thier hand down and I take down my biggest pot ever... a whopping $695 profit!

The game goes on for about an hour. I havn't really been shying away from any action, and have been playing my solid aggressive game. The game was soft, with lots of limping, and general loose/passive play. I'm up to $30k, and feeling on top of the world. I'd honestly have been happy to leave right then. But I was freerolling, and hugely +EV in the game.

What happens next is incredible. There is no better word to decribe this moment in time.

A sharply dressed man in early position raises to $1,000. I had this guy pegged as the biggest fish at the table, when I saw him go waaaay to far with a draw against a set. He hit on the river and scooped a $50k pot. He's sitting on about $60k now, and easily has me covered. There is one caller between us. He's not important.

I pick up Th 9h in late position and call.

The blinds fold.$3.3k in the pot.

The flop comes:Kh Qh As

Sharply dressed man fires $2k into the pot pretty quickly. The man between us calls, and it's to me with a flush draw and gutshot.

I noticed when the man in between us called, the sharply dressed man was not pleased with it. I thought I might have a chance to squeeze both these guys out and semi-bluff my way to a $7k pot. I muster up all my courage, and stack 3 $1k chips ontop of a $5k chip.

Raise.I say it confidently, as I throw the $8k into the pot.

Sharply dressed man considers my raise for all of 5seconds before locating $6k and throwing it into the pot. The man in between folds.

$21,300 in the pot.

The dealer burns a card, and drops down the turn.

J h

My heart began to pound so hard, I was sure it was visable through my shirt. I just made the immortal nuts, and there is over $20,000 in the pot. Over 100 buyins for my normal stakes.

Before it can sink in, sharply dressed man annouces "bet".

He severely underbets the pot and throws $5k in.

I didn't think. I don't know why. I have an unbeatable hand, but somehow before I can stop the words from coming out of my mouth, I declare "I'm all-in", and push all of my chips accross the white line.

Sharply dressed man tanks.

It's 15k more to him, and there is over $30k in the pot.

OMG OMG, why did I do that? Why didn't I just call? There is NO card that can come to beat me, and I just insta-shoved like an idiot.I try to maintain my composure.

What seems like 5 minutes passes, when sharply dressed man flashes a card at me from accross the table. It's the Ace of hearts . He thinks he has a draw to the nuts.

I've played enough live to know that when a player picks up his cards, and especially when he flashes one, he is folding almost 100% of the time.

"I know you have it..." he says. "...I'm not getting the right odds to call and suck out."

I know my hand is unbeatable. He could draw 5 more cards, and never have a hand that beats mine. He can't make a royal because the 10 is in my hand.

So, for the first time since saying hello at the beginning of the game, I speak.

"Ok, how about I give you odds? The dealer can put out 5 more cards, and you use the 9 board cards to make your best hand, and I'll only use the first five. Deal?"

He looks stunned. Everyone at the table does, especially the dealer.

"Are you serious? Wait, do you have a full house?"

Lol, impossible. But I say nothing. And he reiterates what I just told him.

"So I get 5 more cards to make my best 5 card hand, and you only get the river. You're going to give me 5 chances to hit my flush?"

I nod and tell him yes.

We verify with the dealer that this is ok, and after some great hesitation, she calls the club manager over.She expalins the situation to him, and he is clueless. He says if both players agree, then we may do what we choose with the money.

I look accross the table.

"Do we have a deal?"

He shakes his head in disbelief, tells me I'm insane, and agrees.

What an angle shoot. My heart is racing. I wonder what the reaction is going to be when I table my cards.

$60,000 in the pot.

The dealer burns a card, and puts down the river:

3d

The next 4 cards come down in this order, if I remember correctly.

10s

10d

10c

10h

The table goes nuts.

He just made a royal flush.

But wait. The 10h ? Isn't that in my hand?

I double check my hole cards.

10h 9h

Umm. Yep, there it is. I table my hand in the commotion.

The dealers eyes fill with confusion. Other's at the table begin to notice the oddness of seein 5 tens on the table.

An eerie silence slowly fills the room

.After much discussion, the dealer declares a foul deck, and all stacks are to be returned to thier original size before the hand was dealt.I'm in shock.

Too many thoughts are running through my head. I just cost myself the biggest pot in my life. And seriously, a foul deck? Are you kidding me?

None of this makes sense to me. This is just too incredible. And usually when I find myself in this situation, it only means one thing.

Incredible indeed, I'm dreaming.

Ugh.

I'm back from a failed shot at some 10/20NL.

I bought in for $750, and lasted about 15hands.

I got all my money in preflop with 2kings versus AK, and dude spiked an Ace on the river. GG ME! I'm about a 70% fav. there, but obv. I can't hold up when it counts.

For what it's worth, this is probably close to twice as much as I've ever lost in a single hand.

I suppose the only positive I can take from this is that I didn't even flinch. I didn't yell, curse, or do anything. I just kind of rolled my eyes and smiled. I got my money in as a big favourite, and I'll look at this as just something evening my luck out (see last post).

I'm thinking my $10k month is a little out of reach now, but time will tell.

I don't want to look, but I'm probably around:

$5500/$10,000

Sorry about the teaser post eariler... I started to post and got pulled away.

This software I mentioned is a really cool way to see if you're "lucky" or not.

Let me explain. Often in poker, the skill factor is removed, and your fate is in the cards. We put our faith in math, hoping that in the long run our good decisions will be rewarded with fourtunes.

An example:

I have 2 queens vs As8s on a board of 2c-2s-5s-6h
We both go all-in for $100.
I have the best hand, but of course, my opponent can get an Ace or any spade (except the Q of spades because it make me a full house) and win the pot. That's 11 outs if I'm counting correctly.
So I should win this hand 75% of the time, but 25% of the time, my opponent will win.

So we calculate the equity of this hand. If we played this hand a million times, some times I would lose $100, other times I would win $100, but I would average a win of $75 per hand (75% of $100 is $75).

We call these things "sklansky bucks", named after the famous poker author. So anyways, I found a program that calulate your sklansky bucks. How much money SHOULD I have (if the percentages always evened out, which they wont in the short run).

So I ran my numbers. Am I lucky!? Comon, please be lucky!

found 2529 headsup allin situations
won: 1566 lost: 900 tied: 63
average potsize: 173.50$
average ev: 0.6052
money won: 266722.49$
money expected (based on allin equity): 263013.03$
money difference: +3709.46$
max money diff: 2007-01-13 00:59:32+09 at +5015.01$
min money diff: 2006-09-13 11:49:21+09 at -201.53$
total_bet: 212662.07$

LUCKY!

Hahaha. So yeah, I'm up $3709.46 more than I should be! I'll take it!
It's also interesting to note, that when I get all my money in, I'm generally a 60% favourite to win. If I keep that up, the money should continue to flow in.

Instructions on how to set this up for yourself (from TheProdigy on 2+2)

D/L this file and put it in a folder with the rest of these
files:http://www.johnhartery.com/Allin.zip

you have to put pokenum.exe into the same directory**

Download Pokenum.exe in this link**http://download.gna.org/pokersource/archives/poker-eval/windows/windows/xp/poker-eval/examples/

and also the postgres jdbc drivers (im using 8.2)http://jdbc.postgresql.org/download/postgresql-8.2-504.jdbc3.jar

put everything into the same folder, edit settings.txt and run the bat
file

have fun

This was made by advis0r, his name is the same on stars if you want
to donate. I assume you need to have your database in postgresql to do
this.

So go ahead and give this a try. Let me know if you're lucky or not!

Some of my close friends know that I've been saving a lot of money and I'm seriously considering purchasing a condo. With the looming housing bubble bust, I think I'm in a great position to profit from the real estate down swing while, at the same time, taking my professional poker career to a whole other level. I came acrosss this book How to Profit from the Coming Real Estate Bust: Money-Making Strategies for the End of the Housing Bubble and will definately be doing some more research to time my investment right.

Oh man, I found the coolest software ever!

I'm gonna make an interesting post at some point tommorow with the details.

Sklansky released his 10th book No Limit Hold 'em: Theory and Practice and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it. This time around he is joined by co-author Ed Miller, who last wrote with Sklansky and Mason Malmuth back in 2004 when they published Small Stakes Hold'em.

I hear this is a very good book that actually takes you beyond his classic Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players. For example, he introduces the concept of "Multiple Level Thinking". Most good players know that bluffing a calling station is not a positive EV move. This would be an example of first level thinking: the calling station calls the 2X and 3X and even the all-in bet, so don't bluff. But during the course of the evening you notice that this is not just a 'call every bet' player but rather a player who recognizes your play and distinguishes it from the maniac on your right. So you know if the maniac is in the hand the player is more likely to call but if you are the lone raiser, he will lay it down. So, you have moved him to a second level thinker and now can use higher level play to take his chips.

Sklansky can be a tough read but, again, I highly recommend reading his books if you havn't already.

Check out:

The Theory of Poker

and

Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players (Advance Player)

bonus cleared

$6600/$10,000

freeroll is looking possible!

edit:

fun poker video i was looking at :

The Real Hustle - The Poker Scam

I had a great weekend. Saturday was good for poker (see last post) and then i went uber-romantic for my g/f. No details, for fear of being made fun of.

SUnday was filled with soccer and video games. I'd like to try to get in better shape, but 1 day of activity isn't gonna cut it. Although, everything sort of balances out here. I walk a lot more here, and eat a lot healthier, but don't get nearly as much weight training done. I havn't been on a scale in 8mos, but I'd assume I'm around the same weight, or maybe even less, from when I left. At least I'm not turning into a fatass playing poker everyday. ;)

Anyways, I didn't play much today.

I had a really bad/strange dream last night where I got into a bunch of trouble. I woke up with zero desire to play. I just felt strange.
Eventually, I was about to start playing when I got a phone call to go for some lunch, and I opted for that instead. Took it as a bit of a sign.

I went with a bunch of friends to a tuna place that is easily the best value in korea. $5 for a huge meal, with tonnes of good fish and side dishes.

ANyways, my buddy Chris came over and I decided to play a few tourneys while he watched. I went really deep in a 360man $33 tourny and ended up finsihing 6th for about $500. So the day wasn't a complete loss. I'm going to put in a 3k hand session in tonight and see what happens.

Another good day at the tables for me.

Today was topped off by a sweet three way pot where I flopped quads. If that wasn't good enough, one player turned the top boat, and the other rivered the nut flush. Everyone got it in on the river, and I scooped the $650 pot. :D

$3,987/$10,000 -- still no bonuses cleared, should be soon which will add another $1500.

What a difference a year can make.

A year ago today, I walked away from my final university class. I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do with my life, and I guess that much has remained.

Not much else has stayed the same, however.

After graduating, I left my parent's home in Mississauga(toronto), and set out with my buddy Tommy to teach english in asia. I left a lot behind. Great friends, a caring girlfriend, very supportive parents and simply, a really easy life.

I'd never been on my own, and hell, I'd never even been to asia. It's been a learning experience. It hasn't always been easy, but it's a good feeling knowing that you're a man and can handle yourself in the world.

It wasn't long before the school I taught at went bankrupt, and I was stuck in Korea with no job. That's when I decided to go pro, and try to pull as much money from this game as I could before it was too late.

I managed to take two pretty sweet vacations since I've been here. Cambodia and Japan. Both were incredible, but I really enjoyed cambodia. It's a very eye opening experience when you're in a third-world country. The trip really reshaped some of my views on the world.

And that brings me to where I am. Grinding every day from my apartment. I have new friends, new job, a new girlfriend, and the feeling that I'm on the right track. Of course I still love and miss everyone back home, but it's been a challenege to keep in touch with everyone. I think about you guys all the time, and will certainly be throwing a big jam whenever it is that I come home. And yes, thats still how I see it. Home. No matter how long I live here, I don't think I'll ever consider this country my home.

So when will I be coming home? I'm not sure exactly. I should be home at some point during the summer. Whether that trip will be my return or simply a vacation is up in the air. It depends on a lot of different things, which are impossible for me to analyze at this moment.

So lets reflect on this whole poker thing for a moment. When I started this blog, I set out some goals for myself.

I'm going to make $4000 in June, or ~ $1000/week for the rest of the year.... My ultimate goal is to make $100,000/yr, which is both reasonable and attainable, as absurd as that may sound to some. It wont be this year, and it may not be next year, but it will happen.

Well, the first one I have accomplished. In the last 52 weeks, I've made about $50,000USD profit from poker. Check.

Maybe more importantly, my ultimate goal is now in my sights for 2007. It will happen, you can book it.


So I guess that's about it. I had a great year.

I think I really accomplished a lot. I'm proud of myself for having the balls to get up and do something different, and that I've positively taken on the challeneges my new environment has presented.

So what about next year?
Well, like I said. $100k in 2007 for sure.

Other than that, I'm not positive what other goals to set.
I definitley want to see more of asia, like china and thailand.
I also want to get my money in some good investments, likely real estate.
I guess I just want to keep doing what I'm doing. Not getting too far ahead of myself, and being positive and constructive about any other issues that come my way. That's all I can hope to do.

Thanks for reading my brain dump. I'll talk about poker next post, i promise. ;)
Hopefully you stick with me through what will likely be another exciting year. I'll do my best to keep everyone entertained and informed.

cheers,

John

Done for the day, I think. Expect reflection post in next 24hrs.

32k hands so far:
$2679/$10,000 ($1500 bonus to be cleared by saturday)

Last episode of high stakes poker was last night :(

Here's my favourite hand from the last show:



Oh, and tommorow will be my 1yr anniversary of graduating from university. I'll take some time to reflect on some of the successes and failures I've had, and where I want to go from here.

Games are getting tougher!

This is my favourite hand of the month.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

saw flopsaw showdown

MP2 ($202.45)

THE_MAIN ($197)

SB ($38)

BB ($152.85)

Preflop: THE_MAIN is MP3 with Kc, Ac.

3 folds, MP2 calls $2, THE_MAIN raises to $10, 2 folds, SB calls $9, BB calls $8, MP2 calls $8.

Standard stuff....

Flop: ($40) 3c, As, Ad (4 players)

SB checks, BB checks, MP2 checks, THE_MAIN checks.

Not so standard. There is easily a case made for betting here, but I'm trying to make someone with AQ or a baby ace more comfortable. So i check.

Turn: ($40) 4d (4 players)

SB checks, BB checks, MP2 checks, THE_MAIN bets $22, SB folds, BB calls $22, MP2 calls $22.

Okay, no more checking, as flush draw and straight draw are on the board now. Also, I'm pretty sure no one else has an ace. So I make a small bet.

River: ($106) Th (3 players)

BB checks, MP2 checks, THE_MAIN bets $55, BB folds, MP2 calls $55.

Ok, everything missed. Only hand I'm worried about is Ace-ten. This guy just called, so he must have a scared ace with a small kicker.

Final Pot: $216

Results below:

MP2 has 5h 6h (one pair, aces).

Hero has Kc Ac (three of a kind, aces).

Outcome: Hero wins $216.

Oh... or... maybe he rivered a draw?
Umm.... nice call sir? Sorry, 6high's no good.

This was also not an accident by him... he thought about it for like 30seconds.
The very next hand I pushed AQ preflop and he called with A8. My hand held up.

<3 poker...



oh, p.s., I'm running hot

$1,615/$10,000

Not much to update with. I pretty much took the weekend off to relax and enjoy myself.

Friday night started off slowly, but eventually got a little nutty. I wont go into great details, but I've since had to make a few repairs around the house.

Saturday was awesome. I took my g/f to this african musical called Umoja.

It was incredible, as it took you through the evolution of african music. Tickets were a bit on the expensive side, but we both had a blast.

Sunday, I played some soccer with the other foriengers in my area. Decent game, but poor turnout b/c a lot of people were out boozing hard the night before. Then we went into seoul for some awesome greek food.

Interesting weekend overall.

I played a bit of poker this morning (3k hands) and won some cash. I'm probbaly gonna play a bit before before I sleep. I should have a nice $1500 bonus cleared by the end of the week.
But for now:

$955/$10,000

$650/$10,000

The perfect way to end a session!

So today I ran pretty badly. One of those days where nothing goes right. Draws don't come in, people flop better sets than yours, and of course, your KK runs into AA preflop. The latter happened twice over the session, and I lost stacks on both occasions.

Anyhow, I'm down $600 or something for the day, and down $400 for the month. SO I'm feeling like crap, it's 5am, and I want to sleep. So I start closing down all my tables, waiting for the big blind to come my way before I leave.

If you don't want to automatically post your blinds, you have to click off a button. Well, I must've missed one on a single table, because up pops a table. And on that table, I have two black kings.... and everybody covered (more money than anyone involved).

I had bittersweet feelings about seeing these sexy cards, because I've been killed wth them today. Anyhow, a loose-ish player raises to $6 from middle position and gets 3 or 4 callers, including the maniac in the small blind. I just want to take down this pot now, because I'm tired and just want to end the session. I got to put in a huge raise, but realize I'm at a pot limit table, and not no-limit. Great. So I pot it. About a $26 raise.

Instantly, the original raiser makes it $90, and my head sinks into my chest. I close my eyes and curse my luck for having ran into aces AGAIN.

When I look up, I see somehting I didn't expect. The maniac in the small blind called this $90 raise. What the fuck?

So it's time to try to figue out waht people have.

There is no way the small blind has me beat. He wouldn't just call twice with aces, so he must have AK, AQ, or a smaller pair, which I'm a huge favourite against.

The original raiser's range is much smaller. He likely has aces, QQ, or maybe AK. Even less likely, but also possible is that he has KK too.

If the original raiser has AA, and the maniac has a small pair, I'm still about 20% to win this hand. So with, ~$200 already in the pot, and the chance that the original raiser has QQ, I close my eyes and push all in.

Original raiser insta-calls, and maniac thinks.....thinks......thinks...... and calls his last $110.

$623 in the pot ($50 side pot between me and original raiser).

The board comes out lke this.

Td - 4d - 3s - Jd - 5h

Decent board for me, as the only thing that I'm worried about is AA(obviously) and maybe AK with 2 diamonds.

Oh yeah, and of course 5-5.

Yes, the maniac in the hand had 55, and hit a set on the river to scoop up the pot. The original raiser had QQ, so the pot was mine until the river.

I was about 66% to win this hand before the flop, and instead of being even for the month, I'm now down $600.

:(

-$600/$10,000

go me.

sick, wicked, nasty hand from the last esp. of high stakes poker. enjoy



i would've shown

I put in a man-sized session today of like 8k hands.
I was down ~$800 for the month, but I booked a $1k+ win today.


So I'm at $232 for the month, with some serious bonuses to be cashed in if I put in enough hours.

$232/$10,000

March Results

Cash Games:
$200NL - 54k hands for $3,536.25
$400NL - 400 hands for $605.65
$200PL - 1k hands for $378.70
$200NL(6max) - 30 hands for $46.50

Totals: 55,154 hands for $4,567.10 [$54.99/hr]



Tournaments:
Totals: 16 tournies for $201.44 [roi of 50.06%]

Bonuses:
Stars bonuses: $1500
Rando bonus from stars : $76.57
Total: $1576.57

March Net profit:$6,345.11
----------------------------------------------

Year to date: $19,335.59

Some thoughts....
I'm lazy. I only played 83 hours this month. This might sound like a lot, but I played 187 in janurary.
There is only one way to right this, and that is to do a marathon month in april. I am going to play so many hands, it's going to be sick. My goal is to hit $10k for april, which is very doable. If I do hit the 10k, im going to do a freeroll tounry for 1% of my winnings. That's right. My loyal readers will have a chance to share in some of this money. More details will be forthcoming, but you will need to sign up for pokerstars to take advantage of it. There will also be a bounty on my had for an additional sum of cash, as I'll be playing in the tourny.