Introduction

Hi. My name is Jason D., and this is my poker blog.

I am 23 years old, and live in Miami, FL. I was born in NYC where effectively my entire extended family is from, lived between NY and NJ until I moved to South Florida when I was 10. I lived in Boca Raton until I was 18, then moved to Miami permanently. I am enrolled as a second year student at the University of Miami, majoring in Business (undecided). I'll save the story of how I'm 23 and only a second year student for a later date :)

My hobbies include poker, NFL, and NBA.

-Poker

I've been playing poker since I was around 20 or 21, a little after the poker boom started when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series main event. I considered myself a "serious" player even when I first started, but I did not really become good until around a year and a half ago. My first big score came at a nightly Bellagio $1000 multi-table tournament, where I won $16,500 after a six-way chop at the final table. I wrote a trip report about this score on the 2+2 Poker Forums here.

Up until that point I had been playing mostly micro and small stakes poker online, occasional live sit and go's at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, and generally not having a clue about being a serious poker player (from strategy, to bankroll management, etc.) My dad actually staked me in the Bellagio tournament, as I was on Christmas vacation with my family in Vegas, and he surprised me with the buy-in as my Christmas present.

So after this score, I really wanted to pursue my poker career further. My dad and I had an agreement to chop up what I won at the Bellagio, but he actually let me keep 10k. This would be my first real poker bankroll.

Unfortuantely, I still did not have a real concept of bankroll management, being mostly a tournament donk. At the beginning of 2006, I moved some money onto Paradise Poker, and tried my luck at cash games. This is where my poor bankroll management comes into play.

Looking back at this point of my career from where I'm at today, I can say I was pretty much clueless. I knew a little about strategy from browsing 2+2 occasionally, along with reading the first two volumes of Harrington on Holdem. However, I was still unaware of several key concepts and practices of a true, serious poker player. Pokertracker, PokerAceHUD, etc. were all foreign to me. Once I did discover Pokertracker, amazingly I did not really know about HUD until at least 6 months later.


To explain my poor BR management further, once I had money on Paradise, I was playing quite overrolled. That's not that big of a problem, but I wish I had started higher had I known 25 buyins was standard for a level. I was playing mostly the $100 games to start, along with various MTT's that Paradise offered. In the MTT's, again no BR management, probably playing real underrolled, but don't really remember to be honest.

I actually ran pretty good to start off on Paradise, winning almost 5k somehow. My luck would change, and once I started to run bad, I ran real bad. I was doing all sorts of stupid shit like playing Paradise BJ for like $300 a hand, taking shots at the biggest game on Paradise (500nl), and just running like crap.

At this point, I discovered how to get money on other poker sites (RIP Neteller) like Pokerstars and UltimateBet. Again, no bankroll management. Whatever money I would run up (would make a couple of K usually), I would go busto soon after, either taking shots or spewing at BJ. Pretty soon, my Bellagio money was gone, and I was asking my parents for cash again.

I went busto to robusto back to busto countless times really. Kind of pathetic looking back, but I attribute it solely to not being fully knowledgeable about the game of poker.

This brings me to Fall of 2006, still playing poker. At this point, I'm getting rakeback, I understand how to use Pokertracker, and I finally began to use PokerAceHUD. Now I can feel my game starting to improve, despite still being undisciplined mostly.

I mentioned at the beginning of this introduction one of my hobbies was NFL. Well I made a nice clip betting on NFL for the 2006 season. I made $3500 playing fantasy football, and a few hundred betting on Wong teasers. Of course I'd use this money to play poker, and finally I'd have as much stability as possible playing poker, or as much as my discipline would allow.

This brings me to the beginning of this year, 2007. I had some money online at this point, running well at UB, as well as running well on my sportsbook's pokerroom (can't use Pokertracker, but god, so many donks). At this point my net worth is around 4.5k.

My friend was having a bachelor party in Vegas during the middle of February, and invited me out (he plays poker too, but is just a donk pretty much.) I asked my dad if he wanted half my action, and he gave me 3k, as I wouldn't be comfortable playing 1/2, 1/3, or 2/5 out there with the BR I had. I made like 1k for myself on the trip, running good at the beginning, bad at the middle (lol blackjack), and super hot at the end. I won 2 of my biggest pots live (maybe online too) on the trip as well, making me very happy.

The two pots: First one was at a 2/5 table at the Wynn (where we were staying). Of course I was playing 2/5 because I was stuck, but whatever. It's an uncapped game, and I have around $750 after playing for a few hours. I am even at this point (bought in for $500, lost a few small pots at the beginning of the session). Earlier in the orbit I got back to even after flopping two small pair on a dangerous board and calling down my opponent who had an overpair.

To the hand: Live straddle, I'm dealt JJ UTG+1. This was my last hand at the table, too, I was literally racking my chips up as the hand was being played. I raise to $40 and start talking about how it's bad luck to play your last hand, and how I hate the hand I have (who doesn't hate JJ?). I get 3 callers, including the eventual villain in the SB. Flop comes J82, two hearts. Checked to me, I bet $120. Folds to SB who check raises to $300. I don't have a read on him (not that I need one), all I know is he has me covered after winning a huge pot set over set, where he hollywooded his villain all in on the turn. Anyway, I just insta-push because I don't wanna get sucked out to a straight or flush on my last hand. He tanks, and as he's tanking, I say "this one's for you" to the guy my villain stacked before. The guy mouths to me (JJ) and I slightly smirk. My villain's not even paying attention, just with his head in his hands debating whether or not to call. Finally he calls, turn is a heart, river pairs the board, so final board is J82x2 3 hearts. I declare "full house" and flip over my JJ, and villain sadly flips up 88. Talk about getting lucky, with villain having one of the only hands possible to pay me off.

The next big pot was the next day (my last day out there), and I'd been playing for a few hours at the MGM back to 1/2 (lol unstucko). Weirdly enough, this pot was again the last hand for me at the table. I had been playing pretty solid, with my stack around $350 (in for $250). The two villains in this hand: Button seems like a good player, definitely capable of making moves, and he and I had tangled a few times before this hand. SB is just a mega-donk, I forget the hand, but he sucked out so hard on someone and has around $300, as does the button.

So it's my last hand, and I'm feeling frisky, so I raise 10h8h UTG to $10. Two villains call, three to the flop of: QxJh9h. Jackpot! SB bets out $20, I raise to $80, Button deliberates and raises to like $200 or something. Megadonk in SB calls fairly quickly, and I just shove for the rest of whatever they had. Button tanks of course, unable to put me on a straight b/c I raised UTG, but finally calls, and SB comes along. Turn was a blank, and the river was the Qh. I proudly declare "straight flush", Button sadly flips over 108 off, and SB had 109 (lol).

So I left vegas hot, and went back home to the online grind. I was playing $50nl on UB mostly, and decided to move up to $100nl. Ran good for a bit, then for whatever reason decided to take shots after a 10 BI downswing or something, and busto'd the 3k+ I had ran up over a month from a $100 initial deposit. Shit. Why can't I be disciplined???

Now it's the middle of March, and I'm trying to get a BR going on either FullTilt or Pokerstars. I came 2nd in a 20/180 on PS and played with that money for a week or so, but busto'd playing cash games there, like an idiot.

Somewhat simultanelously, I'm trying the 100nl cash games at FullTilt, and for the first time ever, actually running well there. This brings me where I'm at today, pretty much exclusively grinding the FT 100nl 6max games. I made a $100 deposit on 3/22, and as of today have almost $3300, playing 100nl and only 100nl. I also have a tiny bit of money on PS, trying to grind the $25 6max sit-n-go's they have there, but I'm mainly focused on my cash game play.

This is why I'm creating this blog, to try to keep myself disciplined. If I update my progress here, hopefully it can motivate me to not play like an idiot. The two things that are stunting my growth as a poker player are tilt and poor BR management, and hopefully this blog will improve it.