The Formac Experience

After watching X-3: The Last Stand at like 3 pm for some reason, I decided to go to Formac, since a lot of people ahve been talking about it. Well, I took a bit out of it, but mostly the fact that people that play in bars (even for real money), generally stink. After posting the ridiculous rake ($5 for a $20 tourney?), and 42 players later, I was ready to go.

6k in chips, 25-50 to start. The cards werent with me tho, as a couple of calsl with suited connectors and mid pairs didnt happen. I got wittled to around 4k by the time the blinds were at 100-200, and this happens:

A guy who was playing really well, probably the only good player at the table, raised to 600, DONKEY shoves for 3000 (this guy was playing about 75% of the hands, just calling and such), and Good player calls. Players show:

Good: AsJs
Donkey: Jc-6s

Well you should know how this story ends, Donkey spikes a 6, and doubles up, and here comes the beatdown.

A guy who was constantly shoving with mediocre hands when he hit the flop and SHOWING everytime decides to call for 200 (he had about a 5500 stack), Donkey calls, and the flop is j-4-2 with 2 diamonds. Mr. Mediocre doesn't shove but bets 200, and donkey calls. Turn hits the flush, he bets 200 again, and donkey shoves. A quick call foro 5500 when he was obviously playing the flush, and he shows...j-5. Sigh. Donkey is now a force to be reckoned with.

I pick up 8-6 suited and limp after 3 limpers, take a flop of j-j-3. The good player bets 600, and he was the only person i was willing to bluff against. Anyone else I felt woulda called me with a 3. I pop it to 2k, basically showing I'm committed, and he folds 4-4. He's now obviously on tilt and downto 2k. I told him I had 6s to make him feel better.

After that I started to push and splash around more often. I bust a player with K-5 on a K-J-3 flop when I overplay the hand and he calls with..Ace...Jack? Ok, I hold, and I'm up to 8k.

I raise it up the next 4 hands and people are getting sick of it. I pop it to 600 again with A-Q,and antoher decent player raises it to 1600. I call, and flop is Q-10-2. He bets out 1500 and I push, and he folds, and I say "J-J isn't good", and he looks at me and calls me a "fuckin bitch",then shows J-J. I decide to be nice and show the A-Q.

My stack is around 15k at the 200-400 level, and donkey who is still playing 75% of hands, busts out about 5 people. The first one he calls 2500 with A-4, and he busts the good player's A-K.

Then with the blinds at 200-400, the guy with JJ shoves, and he calls with A-5 again for 4600 this time, up against A-9. I deal the 5 ont he river, and people are starting to get sick in their stomachs. The guy is smiling and saying how easy poker is, and I think the remaining people just wanted to punch him in the gut and leave him gasping for air.

The next guy he busts out, he re-raises 4k when the guy already put 5k in with Ac-7c against a guy with sunglasses and basically looked like one of those hotshot young guys. He had K-K.

Flop had 2 clubs, and you know how it ends. Well the twist is that he hit running 7s.

After that, he busts out 2 players on the most sickening hand I've seen.

He raises to 2k with Ad-Ah, and old chatty lady calls with Js-9s, and another old guy calls with 6-6.

Flop is 6s-10s-Qc. Everyone gets their money in, and 6s looks like he's taking it. Turn is a 9, no help to anyone, and the MIRACLE ONE OUTER hits, the Ace of Clubs. Unbelievable. Donkey is now up to 35k at the 300-600 level, and I'm the only one left at the table that he hasn't busted out. The new guys that arrive are just in disbelief.

Break time comes and I watch the hockey game and discuss with the railers what a lucky guy he is. Since blinds are going up to 500-1000 and I had a measly stack of 10100, I was in short stack ninja mode, and willing to get my chips in, especially against donkey.

Oh how stupid I am.

The first hand back, I get dealt Ah-9h, donkey raises to 3k and I shove. He calls 7k with...K-4 os. Beeeeeeeautiful.

Flop is 8-10-J. I'm cheering for 3 acrosses (7s,8s,9s,10s), because that would basically lock it up for me. Turn is a sweet sweet 4, and I'm sick to my stomach. However all is not lost, I still have 14 outs (3 aces, 3 9s, 8 outs for the straight), and I get the THREE ACROSS THAT I WANTED.

It was the 10c. I shove the chips to him, and for the first time in a while, have a cigarette cuz I am steaming, talk with a couple people for about 10 more mins, I come back and 2 more people are leaving and shaking their heads, the donkey just busted two people out with 3-7 suited.

So...19th out of 42. Not bad, not good. Right before I leave, I see the kid's mother talking to him and they are smiling. That damn smug smile of his. I hate poker.

PokerXFactor

I finally caught up on the lectures. Watched all 8 parts of the $10 rebuy, and Sheets' UB win. About 6-7 hours of poker watching/listening. Tomorrow I plan on watching all the turbo tourneys on the site, and the "short stack ninja" tourney, and the March PXF tourney commentary which I donked out of in about 20 mins.

June 1st I'm gonna redeposit 600. Gonna shoot for 3 FTs, and 10 cashes for June. I think the bad run is finally over.

VINDICATION (It's starting to come together)

While I wouldnt say it was the best poker of my life, I felt it was quite near the top. And it was only a measly 20 SNG too. But since I cashed out all my online money until I can get my livegame in check, I thought it was fine.

Plan (as usual) was to play TAG until the blinds were up and 2 people were gone, LAG until the money, and SLAG shorthanded. All those acronyms are Tight-Agg, Loose-Agg, Super-Loose Agg.

Took a couple nasty hits at the start (1500 chips blinds up every 20 mins starting at 5-10). Raised with 9-9 UTG to 30 and got flat called by a guy I THOUGHT at first was very loose. Flop comes j-4-3. Bet 50 at the pot, get called. Turn is a 3rd low diamond. I bet 80 and he calls. Turn is the 4th diamond (I have the 9d). And we check it down. Loose guy shows...Kd-Ks?! What?

3 Hands later, I pick up As-Js and raise on the button to 30, Mr KK calls, and we're heads up. Flop is A-2-9. Make a contuation bet and AGAIN get called. turn is a blank, I bet and get check-raised. Now barring from my read, if he had a real hand, he wouldnt bet it out right? He must be the standard slowplayer. So I call it. Turn is a 2, He bets 250 and I call. He flips over...A-2? So much for any sort of reads from this guy.

I skip the next round basically to get my mind back and think. I tighten up and don't play a real hand until the blinds are 20-40 and I get K-J. I call on the button for a miniraise, planning to outplay on the flop. Flop comes pretty terrible with A-2-4. He bets 200, I raise to 600, and he folds. Tilt hand, but for once I didnt get caught. A sign of things to come.

I'm still short at this level when I pick up Q-10. UTG raises to 200..and...4 people call? Sigh. I make a crying call and see a nasty flop of K-9-7. Miracolously it gets checked around, and the turn is a Q. I bet 200 for value since I'm pretty sure no one has a K, and only the SB calls. Note on this guy, he's a bluffer who LOVES to call bluffs and call them on shit. I wasnt really thinking straight, but when the harmless river came, I could've made another really good value bet, but I wussied out. Q-10 was good by a mile, and I'm almost back to even.

As Mr Miniraiser and Mr. Bluffer get knocked out, I start to pick it up. I catch some decent hands and am mixing up really well. I knock out someone when I push a shorty all in with A-10 against Q-8 and it held. I'm near the top with about 5 people left. I call a shorty's all in with 10-10 (for about 50-60% of my stack), and A-K wins the raise when a magical A came on the turn. The last hour of so of great play, shattered again by a race. It seemed automatic that I was going broke soon.

I decided I couldnt wait and just be LAG. I had to be REALLY agressive. The blinds were 50-100 and I had just about a stack of 1400. (Avg being at 2400) I then raised all in about 75% of the hands I got, rags or riches. I almost got caught with 5-5 against A-J, but I won the race. I went all in one more time with A-Q, and that ended my all in fest...for now.

I watch as the shorty who busted me with A-K bust out another shorty with a super flush/straight draw against midpair. After that I take a ton of little pots and building up my stack really well (I more than double up at this stage). I pick up A-A, and shorty pushes on me (which is a change, the last 2 months I've gotten so little value from big hands it was scary), I call, and he has J-J.

Flop is 2-J-5. Somehow I saw that coming. It was the standard work hard for a couple hours and then get it drained. However, I spiked an A on the turn, and almost had a heart attack as a paint black card came (the Jc was the case), it was only the K though, so I became a massive chip leader with about 2/3 of the stack in play.

I wish I could say I coasted the rest of the way, but we didn't. The 3 of us agreed to a 100-40-20 chop (beforehand), so we all made the money. The super agressive started to take it's toll, as at 100-200, I got played at a lot more than usual. However, in the final 3 was Mr KK (Who I now noted as Super Passive and Super tight, a poker player's dream), and a tight-agressive player who can't really change gears...yet. So I felt I was in a great spot.

Mr KK got really short stacked, and had 1000 or so, and was more than willing to wait. Which kinda pissed me off, but ok. I pick up A-10 and raise to 600 and get called by Mr KK. Flop comes 7-2-2. Since he has 800 left, I decide to push, he calls with 7-7. Turn is a 7, and I double him up for free.

Next hand, I pick up K-2s, I open push on him in the BB, He wakes up with Aces, catch a King, nothing more. All of a sudden he's at 4k, and I'm the shorty.

However I continued to pick up the small pots. When I was short, I was incredibly agressive, and today it got me to get back to a respectable amount. I finally get Q-Q, and tight-agg player pushes on me...with Q-2. Win the "race", and we're heads up with me at about 8k, and Mr. KK at 4k.

Heads up blinds were 300-600, it was becoming very poker superstars II like. BUt it only lasted 3 hands or so.

1st hand - Pick up K-6. Raise to 1200, mr KK calls. Flop is j-4-3. Check/check. Turn is a 7. C/C. River is a 10. C/C. K high is good.

2nd hand - KK calls, I have 5-6. I check. Flop K-5-2. Check. Turn. 3. Check. River Ace. Check. 5s are good.

3rd hand - Pick up A-K. Raise to 1200. Mr. KK calls. Flop K-j-10. Mr. KK pushes, I call, he shows up Q-7. 7 outer no good, and I win.

It seems like everything I have learned from Harrington on Holdem and/or JohnnyBax/Sheet's site is finally starting to take effect. Both advocated a very agressive shortstack play, especially Harrington with First in Vigorish. Up to now, it was a strategy that got me constantly picked off, or in a race situation that I co uldn't win.

It was a good confidence booster, but not ready for the online tourneys...yet.

I'm bored.

Bored of getting rivered when I'm a favourite

Bored of grinding out 5 hour sessions for $2 or -$500

Bored of playing tournaments for 2 hours just to bubble

Bored of playing perfect poker to lose in a race.

Bored of poker in general.

I cashed out the remaining k I have. I'm done with online for another month. April and May are sickening. It's not because I'm losing, it's because it's just boring for me.

The thrill of turning the cards and flopping isn't there. I don't care anymore if I win or lose. It feels like I'm playing because I have to, which makes me play worse. I need to get the fun back, but I don't know where to start.

Last night I played the $50+5 DS on FTP, 18 paid, 21 were left,I picked up A-Q and pushed on the chip leader who busted me with A-3 suited. I should've thrown shit, I should've been pissed, but I wasn't. I dunno if that's good or not, but it's scary for me. There was no "Fuck that retarded donkey", no throwing my keyboard on the floor, not even a "I'll note this fuckhead and break him next time", just "whatever". I didn't care.

Either way, I have no money on thesites for the rest of the month. I probably will forget about playing live too, because even that is getting really boring. I'll work on trying to beat that punk noob Tiger Woods in his game, and pitching a perfect game in MVP Baseball 05.

Time to drink myself to sleep.

10000 hands of 5-10

10000 hands

I'm glad I'm a winning player...well hopefully this wasn't the luckiest 10k hands ever.

I decided to show my top 5 losing hands. No surprise about #1...but the rest kinda shock me cuz I dont play them that much.