Happy Belated 1 Year Poker Anniversary to Me!!

September 26, 2005 marked my one year anniversary as a player. I initially deposited my first $50 to Party Poker (a site on which I no longer play) on 9/26/04. I cashed in my first tourney there the $1 new player tourney finishing 13th of 413.

I've been remiss about posting to the blog cause Ive been busy playing.. To summarize the last few months:

I've won two legs of the Online Poker Tour... Later this year, I believe in December I will play for one of the WSOP seats being awarded. Believe they are $1000 seats. Right now there is one dude with 3 wins and about 6-7 of us with two wins each. If I can win one more, I am eligible for a share of a $500 bonus. I've final tabled a bunch of times besides my two firsts, so it is possible. My wins came on Fair Poker and Royal Vegas Poker. Visit www.onlinepokertour.com for upcoming events.

July saw me finish as runner-up in the Poker Analysis Freeroll league to Doekiller. I was a little disappointed because I had two wins a and a fourth but my fourth and fifth scores werent enough to give me the title.

August started off poorly. I had a bad week getting stung by a yellow jacket, threw $1000+ into my SUV for new brakes all around and was just getting no cards at the tables. On the Saturday of August week #1 we had a $10 buyin on Absolute Poker for the buy-in league. I wasnt going to play and waste $10 but decided if I got back from the recycling center in time I would play. We had Mark Seif (AP's resident pro) playing with us (two time bracelet winner at this years WSOP). Besides Mark... Billinga leading or was leading the Bluff Poker Tour, Regit and Racking Guy both WSOP qualifiers from PA, and Mitchell/Zacaroni who had just cashed for $20k at Tunica WSOP circuit event (getting bounced in 14th or 15th by Kathy Liebert).. Throw in old pro Shadrak and it was a murder's row of PA poker excellence... My motto is fear no one and respect everyone, including a two bracelet winner!!.. .Well I never got to play against Mark he was polished off by Regit I believe but I did win the whole darn thing for $135.55 payday. After the week I had, I had a Annie Duke moment and shed a few happy tears

September was a great month.....I started off strongly in the PA buyin league(www.pokeranalysis.com) with a win and runner up finish and won the Freeroll league. Unfinished business from July I might add. I had no overall wins but had a #2 at Omaha Hi, a #3 at Omaha Hi/lo and a 4th and two 7ths at No limit. The championship is determined by the best total score over about 11 league games with top 5 counting and you have to have 5 scores to win. It came down to the final event on Gaming club poker with Hench having to finish 4th or better to overtake me. He couldnt do it and I held the lead I pretty much had from mid month on. As a matter of fact I had 8 scores of 11 in the top 25 so I was pretty pleased with my consistency.

As I started blogging this entry I was entered in the revamped CD tour event on CDPoker. They had changed the format to a raked hands requirement and new players auto entry from the original $1 buyins. I wasnt too pleased since Im not a ring game player yet. So I didnt play August and September. Now you can buyin for $3.30 and there are 6 buyin qualifiers. Top twenty move on to the weekly and monthly finale. Well, interspersed with blogging I managed to pull the win out of the old arse. I was so intent on qualifying I pitched JJ from EP and QQ from EP just to make top twenty. Good thing on the JJ because one dude had AA and the scenario would have been ugly..... Getting much better at short handed and heads up play and use of suited and gapped connectors.

To close and summarize my first year consisted of 12-13 MTT wins. 15-16 MTT runner up finishes.. Lots of final tables...One monthly League championship. A love for the Omaha's and No-limit.. Progress at 7 card stud. Up around $2k in freeroll and $1-$10 buyins, with one $25+$2 fizzle.

I kicked off month 1 of year two with a win already. I see good things in store for 2005-2006. Next year WCOOP and Aruba here I come... Caffeine and Tilter pack your sun tan lotion and board shorts... WOO HOO!!