I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary!!

To my parents, who celebrate 36 years together today! Congratulations!

Also to my wife – and myself – as we reach the 4 month mark! Woohoo!

Filed under: Personal
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FTL!!!

It was something that I read in the chat box several times while I was playing in the tournament Sunday night – mostly coming from airpooh (JFLO) and firewoman (Heather). I’m sure when seeing that other players were asking themselves, “WTH?” Carrie herself asked me the other day, “What is this whole FTL thing? I don’t get it.”

I have to give credit to JFLO for starting the FTL movement (if that is what you want to call it) – I’m not sure if he came up with it himself, but he definitely propagated its use.

So, what is FTL? It’s Fire – Thunder – Lightning!!!

Which I’m sure clears up everything now.

Basically it started as a poker thing – most people type “gl” for “good luck” when you are starting a tournament or want to give encouragement to someone else. But JFLO and I – and others that we play poker with – we abhor “good luck”!! We don’t want luck at all – because if you have “good luck” then you have to take “bad luck” along with it!

Ok – so maybe it’s kind of lame, but it’s caught on within our small circle of poker degenerates and as soon as one of us wins the WSOP you’ll be hearing it everywhere!

I think that FTL is more than just applicable to poker though – it’s an approach to life. Too many people blame “bad luck” for all their woes and problems. Luck is certainly a factor in life, that’s true. But it’s more true that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.

It’s amazing to me how the “lucky” people are often the ones that worked the hardest.

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird made a lot of “lucky” shots at the end of games – but in reality they actually practiced harder than any of their teammates and other players in the league – that’s not luck, that’s FTL!

Mark Cuban got “lucky” by starting Broadcast.com, which he later sold to Yahoo! for billions – but he had started another company before that and was already a retired millionaire, plus since then he has transformed the Dallas Mavericks from a perennial loser into an NBA powerhouse – that’s not luck, that’s FTL!

You may have seen the story about the guy who found a $1 million lottery ticket in the trash and thought “Dude! That is so lucky!!” – but if you read the article more closely you discover that he found the ticket while “searching through the trash at a local convenience store for discarded winning tickets, something he regularly did” – again, FTL!

FTL is about creating your own luck – not sitting back and waiting for something good to happen to you. It’s about working harder and longer, pushing yourself, setting goals, and striving to achieve them.

So, FTL to you in all your pursuits!!

Filed under: Poker, Personal
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Well, this might be my last poker post on this blog… I think I may have to start another one just for poker!

There are definitely more poker-related items that I would post, but a lot of family and non-poker friends stop by here and they are pretty much bored with my poker posts, so I’ll see if I can’t find another place to house them.

Anyway – on to the poker post! Many of my poker friends already know this (and by “poker friends” I mean friends that I play poker with – not people that are only friends because of poker), but for the benefit of the rest of you, I had a pretty good showing in a huge online tournament tonight.

At the end of every month Full Tilt runs a $200K guarantee tournament — that means that there is a guaranteed $200K in the prize pool. As the buy in is $200, it actually ends up being more than that after enough people enter – if you look to the right, you’ll see that this one had a prize pool of $277K – and, yes, first was $61,028!!!

I was about 8th in chips and was being very patient when an early position player raised to $40K (blinds $5K/$10K/$1K antes) – standard opening raise really. I had AQ on the button (two players behind me) and it was folded to me. I pushed the $147K in my stack in and he called with AJ!

I’m a pretty big favorite here to win — 66.5% to his 28% chance of winning (there is a chance that we chop – “tie” in poker lingo) as well, which is why the percentages don’t add up to 100). The flop came with two aces and a king — putting me way out in the lead — 70% chance to win! He had only a 10% chance of winning here, but spiked the jack on the turn. The river brough no queen (the only card that would now win for me) and I was out in 17th (1,387 players entered this event, so that is not too shabby!)

If I doubled up that hand I would have been in a good position to make the final table and make a run at it. As it was, I got in with the best hand – big time – and got unlucky. As they say “That’s poker!”

I didn’t actually pay $200+$16 (the $16 is the fee that goes to Full Tilt – the $200 goes in the prize pool) to enter… I won my way in through a $24 “satellite”, so I still left with a nice payday for my efforts — $1250 — that’s $3500 for the weekend  — and yes, mom (and Aunt Chris), I am keeping track… trust me!

Thanks to all that came by to watch and said hi either online or via texting! I only wish that I could have taken it down… Special thanks to JFLO who came over and played in the tourney as well. (Note: We will have an in-depth review of JFLO’s play when I launch my poker blog, including how he was able to bust out in a spectacular 15 minutes, the highlight of which was somehow losing with pocket nines to 10 3 soooooted.)

There’s always next month and I will win one of these things soon. But you’ll have to read about it on my other blog.

Filed under: Poker
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Played the Full Tilt $20K guarantee tourney again tonight. 1,116 entrants and it paid 108 — I busted 109th – that is known as being the “bubble boy” (in poker when you are just about to get “in the money” they call it being on the bubble).

I had AJ in the cutoff (which means that there were only 3 players behind me). I raised to 3K and had 8K left in my stack — I really needed to double up to have a chance at winning. The SB called and then the BB pushed… I insta-called. I figured that I am possibly up against a pair here, any ace, or high cards. The big stack player could have definitely been pushing back at me thinking that I was just on a steal (trying to pick up the blinds and antes). However, he turned over AA. It’s hard to beat AA with AJ

At one point in the tournament I was 2nd in chips and flopped two pair, but ran it into a flopped straight. It was a play from the SB where I just completed the SB with 34o. I’m not sure if I should just fold that there or what… Blind hands always seem to get me in trouble.

You have to play MTTs (Multi-Table Tournaments) to make the final table – you can’t play just to “cash”. To illustrate, I took 14th in one of these about a week ago – it paid $190. Compare that to my 4th place finish yesterday for $2260. I think you see my point

Play to win or don’t play at all.

Final Table >>>>>>>> In the Money – and it’s not even close.

Filed under: Poker
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Finished 4th out of 1,142 in an online tournament tonight (buy-in was $24+2)

Or, as Aunt Chris and Kelli would say…. “Yawn!”

Bustout hand for those that are interested…

Four players left and I’m in 3rd with 180K – other stacks are 113K, 718K, and 700K.

I’m UTG with A6o and the blinds are 12K/24K with 3000 ante. This is a no-brainer, automatic push if I want to have any shot at winning (I was patient to let the 5th and 6th place bust and that earned me an extra grand!)

I push and get called with KTo – I’m ahead, but not by much – 57.23% to be exact, but who’s keeping track?

He spikes a ten on the flop and I’m done. If I double up here I would have 360K and a real shot at winning, so I like the play — at this point you can’t fold to move up a spot any more – the blinds will eat you alive. Besides, 3rd only pays $500 more than 4th, but 2nd was $3900 and first over $6K – so I am going to take a shot at the top two.

I like his call with KTo too — he has a huge stack and I am probably pushing any ace, any pair, and big cards here — so KTo is a pretty good hand against my range and he has the stack to call. The rest is up to the “poker gods” as they say

And is you are keeping track… yes, this is my biggest win.

So far.

Filed under: Poker
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