Awesome week!!

Wow, I really had meant to keep on top of this but living life has a way of intefering with the best intentions. So, this will be a quick recap of a pretty uneventful winter.

I got off the Snide in Omaha Hi/Lo. After many final tables, seconds etc. I have now won two Omaha Hi/LO tourneys to go with the NL's and Omaha Hi's. I even got a chance to throw out some questions to GANK on Omaha strategy thru Caffeine who is going to Ganks poker school and who was looking for Q&A one Sunday nite. I must say the answers to the questions helped me reel in the win. I also was pleased to hear that Gank (Bret) listens to the same tunes that I do when playing. I think i should plug:

http://www.gdradio.net/

So far, three shots at a WSOP seat and... NO ENCHILADA. The first attempt for the Online Poker Tour 2005 wins was held on Poker Host, a site I loathe. Not only do I feel that Poker Host is unreputable but the software is horrible. I am not a fan of the Dobrosoft platform. A few disconnects while playing got me so frustrated that I went on mini TILT. Jayke tried to calm me down but there is no reasoning with a stubborn Italian gal. I began to play extremely aggressive which did double me up nicely a couple of times but proved to be my undoing. The sad thing was I didnt care. Needless to say I feel OPT could have found a better host site for the finals and Ive kind of decided to move away from the DONKFEST of the OPT (although I have done some of the money events). Instead, Ive joined the Bluff Tour which I passed on last year due to the $30 buyin level which I didnt think I was ready to undertake.

My other two WSOP sats came on Absolute Poker and Titan Poker thru Poker Analysis. I made a critical mistake in the AP game and that was giving it too much focus. I was playing the CD tour finale and was at the final table. Sitting in 2nd chip position with about 5 left. First prize is $750 almost 3/4 of the value of the WSOP seat. I mention I have a WSOP satellite coming up in 20 minutes and its time to make a move. Well, I take on the big stack with my smaller 2nd stack with a decent hand but of of position and run into his bigger pockets. Ouch...payday $135 instead of $400-$700. Yes, IG has an Achilles heel, its called bad timing. SIGH... Of course the WSOP sat turned out to be anticlimatic with me going out about halfway in the field. The Titan Satellite saw me raking hands and losing $30 in about half an hour at .25/.50 NL the day of the event to qualify . I figured that attempt was the equivalent of a $40 buyin that my bankroll suffered. Ive since learned NLRG play is not the same as tourney play. The losses came when my flopped set got outdrawn by a str8 when I was all in and on the other hand, my big pockets got setted. I did learn a valuable lesson.... Value bet your hands in the ring games. Dont heave your chip stack in... DUH...We all know at some point in a tourney you may be forced to make a decision for all your chips, not so in NLRG play...

I got staked in two Pokerstars 180 person sngs.. The first one out in 26th short of the cash but the second I made 15th and the money. I would have been bound for the final table and a nice payday had my AK not been sucker punched by Ace-5. Did I mention I hate AK? Did I mention I hate AQ?

Fast Forward....Poker Analysis (El and Syn you guys rock) had a WSOP gig going thru PokerTime (prima site). 4 $5.50 buyins with the top 5 moving on to play for a $2500 WSOP package and four $50 freerolls where the top three move on... In the final buyin I am at the final table 9th of 9,with an okay stack but killer blinds.. Im dealt AA in the BB.. Angie has raised big from EP. She gets called by Stachyruk. I go over the top all in with the bullets...Not a squeezeplay. Both call. Angie JJ, Stach 33 (omfg) and I get tossed when the three hits the river. POKER IS NOT FAIR!! Now down to final freeroll. Guess what... Im at a table with sitouts----6 of them and two live players. The Euros have gone to daylight savings time before us, and all the tourney start times have adjusted on Prima for BST....We know poker isnt fair and life isnt either. I knock out one of the live players and that leaves me up against a good friend Catzeyez/Alika (Bonnie). I have double her chips. We are directly across from each other and sitouts between. Since she was on my right and acted first if she folded, I raise the blinds to steal. This pattern began to repeat itself with me actually folding a couple times to the ghosts. I wasnt going to jeopardize my final table shots and if she raised me I folded. We did see a couple of flops which I was more then happy to drop if the flop didnt hit me. On the flip side If i raised, she laid down (and a few times I did raise with junk just to keep my stack ahead of hers. There were murmurs from others that what we had going on wasnt fair. As I said life isnt fair. We had nothing going on. Unfortunately, for CE she took someones remarks to heart that we were colluding and called off all her chips bubbling in 4th. I finished number two and now have attempt 4 going for a seat on April 8th. I had turned off my table chat because the PAers who missed the game were upset and asking questions and making remarks and it was distracting. So apparently, I missed the remark that CE took to heart about our table. As it turned out a similar situation had unfolded at another table until one of the live wires got moved and the other player was left with ghosts. El made it all good and has scheduled another Freeroll. Instead of 32 playing for the seat there will now be 35.

That was Monday. Tuesday I took an off night and drove down to Poughkeepsie to see RatDog with BFF (Best Friend Forever), Kim and my old Blackjack buddies/cruisemates: Tom and John and another dude Lou. John has moved onto Poker also, but pretty much is playing live in AC. A night of spacedancing with Kim and Chinese food eaten outdoors pre-concert on a day where you know Spring is around the corner proved to be a good break from the poker Grind.

Wednesday nite, I'm missing Jayke as Golf season is in full swing and he has decided to avoid the Sunday donkeyfest of freerolls by playing 36 holes of golf. We didn't talk Monday or Tuesday with me out of town but reconnect Wednesday nite and he rails me in my buy-in. Long distance isn't easy especially with a time difference.. Im in the Poker Analysis $20 buyin on Absolute Poker. Ive bitten the bullet and moved up. Mark Seif (he may be my lucky penny) is playing with us once again. Last August I had my first big cash as well as a win in a tourney that he played with us as a guest. Tonite he plays again (his schedule has forced him to cancel a few of the other times hes supposed to join us ) I play some of the most spectacular poker of my career to finish 2nd for $180+ out of 36 (not a bad turnout for our first $20 buyin. Mark even comes back to give me a shout out and cheer me on. Being the last woman standing does have its merits!!... On to Thursday nite and we have a $10 buyin on RVP.. I double up really early on a lucky turn.. I hit two pair on the flop and so does my aggressive opponent on my left. MY A9 in the sb vs the BB AQ.. flop AQ9, I bet big. Reraise all in. HMMMMMMMM. I dont figure Grady for a set of Aces or queens, not even nines, Actually I make a stupid call not realizing Im probably beat. As luck would have it the turn boats me with a 9. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... Poker isnt fair. I'm chip leader..........Lou Krieger is playin with us tonite we both final table. I go on to finish fourth ahead of Lou, for a not so good payday but I do double my investment. Maybe I should just play in events that Mark and Lou are in. I won my first Pa buyin when Lou Played and my first $100+ tourney cash/win when Mark played. A remark is made that I think Im being bulleyed by any guy that goes over the top of me. As Jayke would say WHATEVER. I must admit thats a call i dont want to make anytime soon but there is a reason its called gambling.

And I forgot to mention that I was accepted to No-Limit-Ring game school. Two lectures so far and I think im proving an adept student.Im getting it. My world has been turned upside down on MTTs vs NLRG. Apples and Oranges baby!!! The guys bring one thing Ive parked. EGO. Thankfully, DM is an ex-Marine and he wont take shit from his students. Im a sponge gratefully absorbing his knowledge and grateful that he has chosen me to learn what he was taught. All I know is the pro that taught him is well known to us all and whose name wont be disclosed. I can live with that, there are some things I dont need to know!!!

Time to finish the taxes (final review and transmit to the IRS). Big refunds coming. BooYeay!!! Later today I'm booking room reservations for Jayke and I at TI (Treasure Island) for July 9th thru the 13th. Were going when Poker Cartel will be out there. Should get to meet Shya and Jokers as well as El Ing. Still on the fence about a direct buyin to the NLHE event on the 10th. Do I really want to spend up to three days playing poker when my Phil Laak is with me... I dont think so....But if I win big I can get him tee time at ShadowCreek as a thank you for railing me for $500. There you go Babe. You wanted me to mention you more so I have...XOXOXOXO!!