Texas Hold 'em Poker - a Game, an Attitude

First, I'll update you on stats. I went stupid for a while and lost about $500 in ONE DAY. Putting me in my place for a while. I am NOT READY for higher stakes.

So I started back with a $50 deposit 4 days ago and have staying "within my means" online. Playing $1 - $2 sometimes $2 - $4 and I'm up to just a bit over $300 right now.

Now the RANT: Teaching Poker must pay bad.

Don't you love these guys online that "teach" poker while they are playing you.

TEACHER: "You stayed on a pre-flop raise with 10-J suited?"
Rockker: "Yeah, I was in the big blind and what's another $1 to see 3 cards?"
TEACHER: "You are a jack ass and will never beat me"
Rockker: "If you are so good, why are you playing in low limit?"

I have played higher limits and it seems no one at a $5 - $10 or higher table teaches poker.
At the .50  - $1   $1 - $2 tables, you can get full lessons for cheap money.

It's quite funny though, most of these guys only have $20 or $25 bucks at the table.

Like I said "A Poker Teacher's salary must be terrible.

E-Mail Rockker

Well, I'm very happy this Monday. For myself and GotJules. GotJules played in the big Ohio WPT poker tourney Friday night and I played on Sunday afternoon.

BOTH OF US MADE THE FINALS!!! GotJules actually was chip champion for his qualifier and won a nice trophy. I ended up in 3rd for my qualifier "the top 28 got to the finals out of 280 participants."

I was seated at Table 27 Seat 9. I hate early and late seats because I have to lean to see everything. I won't complain anymore about seat selection. From my table, I was the only one that never moved. That's very rare in a large tourney like this. They never broke up my table and never moved me.

The blinds started at $25 - $50 and went up every 15 minutes. Very aggressive structure. We didn't make it around the table before the blinds were raised. I played my usual "I am just glad to be with all of you great players" persona and made friends very easily. I had a lady on my left in seat 10 and we small talked quite a bit. I told her when the blinds went to $500 - $1000 that I was only going to play monster hands because I felt I had enough chips to make the finals.

When blinds were $4000 - $8000 I get dealt pocket kings. I double the big blind and look to my left to this lady. Now she has about 20K left and she looks at me and says "I'm sorry, I HAVE to CALL"

Now I think I am dead meat. After telling her I was only playing monsters, she calls me, so I'm thinking she has American Airlines.

The flop comes 3 - K - 3 and I'm jumping in my shorts. Check, check to me. I go all in and look to the lady on my left. SHE CALLS!!!!

Of course I won the huge pot with my full boat, but what struck me was the lady's hand. After all I said to her, she stayed on J - Q suited AFTER a pair and an over card flopped.

I made it to the finals and NOW you guys are gonna be disappointed in me.

I SOLD MY SEAT AT THE FINALS

A guy who didn't make it was talking about how he wanted in and I offered him my chair. He paid me $450 for my seat at the finals.

I only had $120 invested with the entry fee and 3 re-buys and I would of had to place 16th or better out of the 320 people in the finals to win that much, so I sold out poker brothers.

All in all, a great tourney and a bit of profit for ol' Rockker. Maybe I woulda won the 25 G's, maybe not, but remember: Poker is a PROFIT GAME.
E-Mail Rockker

First, stats of course.... I have been playing a little bit. Mainly $1-$2 tables. Trying to regain my stride. Sometimes $2-$4 and I'm up a bit.

Now the news.... Reeces Online is holding a big tourney this weekend and the winner gets either $25,000 or a seat at the WPT and air fare and hotel.

GotJules is playing TONIGHT "Good Luck!"

I am playing Sunday at 12:30 and the finals are Sunday 6:30pm.

They pay the top 50 so wish me luck. The last big "LIVE" tourney I was in was at The Sands in Atlantic City. 181 people started, I got 9th.

One last note. I have been checking our web stats and we have a reader from Princeton University reading our blog. Welcome, we are honored.
EMail Rockker

First, my stats........I SUCK.. I started playing over my head for a while. At limits I wasn't comfortable playing. $5 - $10 and even $10 - $20. I lost alot of my winnings and now i am taking a break to re-group.

Now, the Rant:
Man, I Love watching TV poker anymore. It's like there's always something about poker on somewhere. I watched the "History Of Poker" on the history channel the other day. Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim talking about how they played from the 1950's on up to today.

I like watching WPT also. Hellmuth got put out by "The Magician" and while "The Magician" was doing his "wave", Hellmuth looked at him and said "Hey at least show some class and shake my hand instead of doing that wave thing"

Pretty funny stuff. I'm still a big Hellmuth fan. AND I still have 43.00 bucks of his money.
COME GET IT PHIL!!!! ;-)
E-Mail Rockker

Well, I think I am finally over my Q - 8 fetish. I swear, it's like smoking. You KNOW you shouldn't be doing it, but then when you hit, you get such satisfaction.

I have been staying about even on UB lately. I'm playing alot in the $1 - $2 rooms and winning $10, $20 there.

My wife "calling station" has been playing more than me as of late, so I try to win back what she loses ;-).

She is very good at 7 Stud and has placed in the top 10 in about 4 tournaments.

We want to welcome Matt's Blog Marketing Web Site to our links. It is very good reading on a variety of subjects. Thanks Matt.

Talk to ya'll soon.
Rockker E-Mail RocKKer

Apparently there's a really good strategy out there that I'm behind the curve incorporating into my game. It's the all-in during a non-tilt situation when you flop 4 to a flush. I lost to this hand 3 times today and I think there's something to it. So, for now on, if you're playing me and you flop 4 to a flush, go all-in. I'll call with top pair and good kicker or an over-pair in the hole. You'll catch your card. And I'll be saying "nh, gg, gl".

First... stats for the last couple of days.

Started playing in some $1 - $2 tables this weekend. I think I like 'em. Won about $130 this weekend.

Of course I gave some of it back in the bigger tournaments. I wanna go to Aruba man.

Now the rant: I'm playing at a .50 $1 No Limit table. I get pocket 10's. Not bad. Now I don't raise alot pre-flop only because I have been beat so many times by bad cards and someone fishing. So I call and WHAM the guy on my left goes all in.

Now of course I'm thinking A-A K-K Q-Q J-J or maybe AK suited or so.

But like I told you before, I'm a fish and I'm stupid when it comes to folding good hands. SO I call him "about $15.00"

Here comes the cards, rags, rags , rags more rags and I win the pot with pocket 10's.

They guy on my left cards are shown and he is ALL IN with K-Q unsuited and NOW THE FUNNY PART!

He is yelling at me saying I shouldn't have been in the hand.

I asked him if he was just trying to steal the $1.50 blinds by risking $15.00 on an ALL IN bluff? He told me no, he wanted someone to call him but not with a hand like 10's.

PRICELESS! E-Mail RocKKer

First of course, STATS!

I placed 50th in a $5 tourney yesterday. I was chip leader for a while, but as usual, I have no control and kept playing loose instead of tightening up and let other guys eliminate each other. I did play in a couple of $10 sit and go's. Placed 1st in one and 3rd in the other. I also played in 2 and lost.

This blog is starting to get hits. If any other bloggers wanna exchange links, E-Mail me

Now the Rant: Phil Hellmuth isn't such a bad guy.

I have him on my Ultimate Buddy list and have even been played at the same table with him. As a matter of fact, I have $43.00 of his money in my account. I try to pop in and tell a joke and he has always been funny and responsive. He has even seen this blog and thought it was funny.

This "Bad Boy" image thing is just his way to get a slight "edge". Anything for you to think about OTHER than poker, even for a moment and all of the sudden, you are at a disadvantage.

Case in point: 2003 WSOP on ESPN. Sam Grizzle beats him a hand, Phil complains, Sam teases, sings songs about Phil, Phil keeps playing "Bad Boy" and Sam keeps teasing all the while his stack is getting smaller. Next shot on ESPN: Sam shaking hands and leaving the tourney.

Analyze any other good player and somewhere you will find their "persona". "Professor" "Jesus" "Cowboy" There are endless personas you can be. "Good Ol' Boy" is my favorite. Throw a little deeper southern accent than God gave me. Tell a couple of jokes about how bad I am at this game. Act like I don't understand the rules. Show a couple of 7-6 suited Blind Calls.

THEN WHAM!!!!!!!!! bust them when they think they got you figured out. In my tourney in Atlantic City, I put out 3 or 4 "college boy genius" personas that shook my hand when they were leaving and told me how "lucky" I was to be at the final table.

I smiled back and said "Yep, It's just my day I guess" "Even someone like ME gets lucky and beats a good player like YOU every once in a great while"

They left happy knowing how much better they are than me, and I stayed there happy and won 9th out of 181 people.

Just Lucky I guess. E-Mail RocKKer

First out, i wanna say hey to Iggy from Party Poker Blog: An exercise in drinking Guinness and flopping the nuts on Party Poker.

His site is MUST reading and you can find anything from there. His site is where we got the idea to start a poker blog. Thanks for the shouts Iggy!!!

I checked out the real money rooms at Party Poker this weekend and I have to tell you. They play tighter there than at UB, BUT they are also not as good of players. At least from my intial experiences.

I chocked in $50, played NL $25 buy in tables for about 4 hours I'd say. My bankroll is now about $130.

Not too bad.

Now the RANT: I'm addicted dudes and dudetts.

Spring is coming and I have to walk outside soon. I have a pond right out back and I need to catch little fishys. I need to walk my German Shepard.

GET THIS... When I hear "Flop The Nuts" being said now, I DON'T EVEN LAUGH ANYMORE!! I don't start thinking of a guy swinging his stuff around or a porn star doing what she does best.

I think of an Ace High Flush dealt, an Ace high straight, A pair of American Airlines under and 2 on the board with "Johnny Tourist" sitting across from me with a pocket pair of J's.

Sad, But true

RoKKer E-Mail RocKKer

I guess 4th times a charm. Got home from a nice evening of partying. Got on UB. And guess who's the big winner? That's 3 first place finishes in 4 attempts on 10-man sit-and-goes. I'm thinking of quitting my job to play $5 hold-em games on UB.

My third attempt was a successful as my first. Got in a 10-man sit-and-go. I once again prevailed with the strategy of tight play up front, then aggressive play heads up. Once it got down to me and one other guy I heard faint rumblings from the front yard. I wasn't sure what it was, sounded like a mic check or something. Once my opponent went all-in with pocket dueces against my A9 of hearts, I heard more noise outside. Upon seeing a heart on the river, completing my flush, I rushed to the window. There it was. One of the many large women from Nationwide broke into song on my front lawn. Though I was ready to celebrate a lot sooner, I guess it's never over til the fat lady sings. And boy she sang.

Yeah, I won my first 10-man sit-and-go. Got up early by taking 3 guys out in one hand with pocket kings. Played tight til it got down to 3 players then I turned on the juice. Got one fool out then I just went on tilt. Once it was heads up, I would say the other guy folded about 90% of the time when I bet up until that one hand. I remember it like it just happened an hour ago. I called the big blind with 8,7. Caught a pair of 8's on the flop. I checked, he checked. 8 came on the turn making trips. I checked, he checked. Bullshit on the river. I bet the minium. He's sick of me buying pots. He raises me big. I put him all in (I'm a big chip lead at this point after coming from behind). He calls and shows a pair of Queens. Then the marching band strikes up the fight song.

Well, another day, another JACKPOT!!!! My first one on UB.


I met Rapideye from the Up For Poker website.
I chatted with him for a bit and we are linking each other.
His site is a must read.

NCAA Tourney going on so more TV than usual this week-end.

No exciting stories "or many victories either"

I gotta stop betting 2 top pair when a pair is showing!

Got burnt 3 times last night with someone having a set.

SOMEBODY STOP ME!!!!!!
RocKKer E-Mail RocKKer

pken04 here
Lost my first tourney. Got shit cards once again. Happened across a pair of 6's down in the big blind. Raised the pot. Asshole calls me all in. He has AJ, catches a jack on flop, and for good measure he gets an ace on the turn. Finished 314th place out of 500 some players. FUCK.

pken04 here

I'm on UB with some cash now. Let the games begin.

The last couple of days have been up and down. I was big up until I got cocky and lost about ½ of my "winnings" bankroll. I am playing solely on someone else's money now.

I was called a "chaser" for the first time yesterday. By 2 different guys at a Low Limit table.

Here's the rant: I'm playing in the .25 - .50 Blind No Limit rooms. Winning small amounts. $20 here $25 there. No biggie.

I get dealt 10 - J I'm on the small blind and I put in a quarter to see the flop. Well "The Professor" raises to $1. I call.

The flop brings 6 - 7 - 10. I check, "The Professor" bets .50. Next card is a J. I check with 2 pair, "The Professor" bets another FIFTY CENTS. River is dealt and a rag comes up. At this time, I have top 2 pair and "The Professor" has not bet more than .50 at any given time.

"The Professor" goes all in for around $24. I think about it and call. "The Professor" has a pair of 10's and I drag the pot with 2 top pair.

NOW IT GETS FUNNY!! He starts cussing me saying I shouldn't even be in the hand. So does another guy. "The Professor" says I shoulda folded when he raised pre-flop with a J - 10.

I told them and I will say it again here. 50 CENTS is not 50 DOLLARS. A very loose player like myself is not going to fold a possible $50 hand for .50 PERIOD

He had the great come back "It's all real money" and now they both had "a good read" on me and was gonna clean me out. "They were talking about cleaning out being $25"

I left the table about an hour later: started with $25 ended up with $112 and still taking notes about how to play poker from them.

RocKKer E-Mail RocKKer

Stats for yesterday: Won a $5 Sit and Go 10 person for a quick $25 and won about $100 on No Limit smal blinds.

"I'm not mentioning the 3 or 4 Sit and Go's I LOST"

I had a very friendly guy ask me online yesterday if I thought you could "read" people online.
I told him you cannot get a full read on anyone but you can see "consistencies".

Playing in a $1 - $2 No Limit room. I'm up about $50 and a guy sits 2 seats to my left. His name is Meathead something. I SWEAR no one has earned a name more than him.

I play a hand with just me and a different guy, get two pair no biggie. I'm betting normal and on the river a 3rd club falls. I check. The guy I was playing raises HUGE. I wait a moment and fold. He is kind enough to show me his flush.

NOW it gets funny: 5 or 6 hands later, SAME THING BUT MEATHEAD is playing me. I had been watching Meathead do MORE THAN 1 bad move so far. Like raising huge with K - J preflop. I bet my 2 pair on the River. Meathead goes ALL IN with about $28 worth. Now, normally I would fold this hand and go on. But this isn't ever other time. I have SEEN Meathead throw good money away.

I call, of course Meathead has absolutely nothing and I pull in the pot.

I asked him why he would go all in when he didn't have the flush. Do you know what he said back?

"I saw you fold to a flush once before"

Thank Goodness for Meatheads

Rockker E-Mail RocKKer

This weekends stats: Saturday = GREAT DAY - could not do any wrong. Won a good bit in the $1 - $2 No Limit rooms. I was lucky enough to be in a room with 2 fine gentlemen who would bet the pot on the turn just to try to hit the flush or inside straight. If they read the Internet, I would like to thank you guys very much. Won a little over $300

Sunday = Very Bad - I woke up very early 7am or so. Now this is how my demented little brain works. I was thinking "Maybe some west coast guys are just getting home drunk and wanna play some cards." I lost like the fish I am. I played so bad, took WAY TOO MANY chances and lost $150.00 like it was chump change. BEFORE BREAKFAST I might add! I lost another $50 in the lower limit rooms. I then told myself I sucked and didn't deserve to walk on the planet with a real poker player. Good news is: I got all but about $30 of it back around dinner time in the $1 - $2 no limit room. I started playing like I normally play. "try to see cheap flops" & "tight in a loose game"

But how did I loose in the morning??

Here's the rant: I HATE QUEENS

I hate drag queens, I hate Dairy Queens "gives me gas", I hate Beauty Queens "just kidding", I hate Queen Bees. If you are a queen... I HATE YOU.

Why do I hate queens you might ask? Because I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! Did you know there are 169 different combination of cards you can get down in Texas Hold 'em. A-A being #1 of course and 7-2 offsuit being dead last at 169.

Q - 9 = 83
Q - 8 = 115
Q - 7 = 131
Q - 5 = 141

Why do I play these hands? Why do I see Q - 8 and say "Cool"? Because I'm STUPID THAT'S WHY!

Q - 8 down Up flops 10 - 8 - 3. I'm IN BABY! Like the fish I am.

Of course the guy across from me has A - 8 or the next 2 cards will be K- A or something that will make me lose.

I LOST 3/4s of my hands I stayed on with Queens this weekend.

Someone please sit me down and tell me to stop playing queens.

Rockker E-Mail RocKKer

OK, I'll start off by giving stats from last night. Played in a $10.00 + $1 tournament "10 player" and got 2nd. Quick $30.

Played in the 9PM $5.00 + .50 open tournament. 587 players I got 24th. Pocketed a whopping $14.81. Had a TON of FUN though and was in 2nd most of the night. It's very cool seeing your name on the little leader board.
Watched my pal primeGPA win not one but TWO tournaments yesterday afternoon. Good job dude!

Now the rant. I'm playing in a .25 - .50 blinds, $1-$2 room. I know, cheap money but I was waiting for wifey poo to finish dinner. I'm in the middle of the table and get dealt a 6-Q off suit. RAGS!!!!!! Well, like I said for a dollar... WHY NOT LOOK!!

I know, fish move but I was already about $55.00 up at the time from the $2-$4 room. Now "The Expert" was on the big blind and I called the buck, so did a couple of others and "The Expert" DID NOT RAISE. So, the flop comes 4 - 6 - 9. Gave me a pair of 6's. STILL RAGS!!!! Big blind checks, I put a buck in just for my little 6's hoping to trip them up. BIG BLIND does not RAISE!

Next card is absolutely nothing so big blind bets 2 bucks, I call. NOW IT GETS FUNNY. Q on the river. 2 pair. Big Blind bets $2. I RAISE him. "The Expert" RAISES back and I Raise him back. Sounds like a TON of money doesn't it?

I got less than $15 in the whole hand. We show and "The Expert" has POCKET ACES and loses a $30 pot or so. He starts YELLING telling me I shouldn't of even been in the hand with Q-6 and what a fool I was for playing them.

I told him HE LET ME STAY IN FOR NOT RAISING THE BIG BLIND, NOT RE-RAISING ME EVER UNTIL THE END. He wanted to slow play those "American Airlines" into huge winnings.

Here's the moral of this story: Rags are NOT RAGS in low limit. People stay to see flops more and will pay that extra dollar or two to get a flush or a straight "or a lucky Q". You wanna play "scientific poker" , go to the $2-$4 ----- $3-$6 rooms or higher.

I'm pretty sure he was still cussing as I was leaving the room going downstairs for dinner. I told him thanks for the lesson and the $15.00!

RocKKer E-Mail Rockker

I'm Rick James B!TCH!

Ihaveachance, you being a journalist, I'd expect something a little better out of you then that...

So what the hell is this all about?

Rockker here.

Wonder why I use two K's in my name? Pocket KINGS of course. KK
One of the 5 "Attitude" guys from Ultimate Bet Poker room.
Come play poker with me.
I could use the extra money.
4 of my friends would appreciate it also.
Yesterday was a GREAT day. Won a $10 10 person tourney for a quick $50 and tried my hand at the $50 buy in $1 - $2 blind No Limit room and ran away with a quick $200.

c-ya soon
RocKKer E-Mail RocKKer