Poker Poker Poker

Sorry its been 3 weeks since my last post. I have actually been busy grinding away on the virtual felt at FeltStars. The games have been good so I've been putting in work! Since my last post I've played about 50k hands with mixed results.

Building on my last post, I decided to move up in stakes. Lets just say this venture was not very successful. While I felt like I was as good if not better than the players, I had trouble adjusting to the overall money swings in the bigger games. I had a few medium winning days, and then had one awful day which erased those profits in a matter of 6 hours. After giving the bigger games a 15k hand trial, I decided that the extra stress in dealing with $5k+ swings in a day just wasn't worth the added benefit of increasing my hourly raye. I live a very comfortable life playing my current stakes, so ultimately I decided to drop back to my normal stakes and really work on my game, and try moving up again in a few months. This way, hopefully, I will grow my bankroll to the point where I can have 250+ buy ins for the next level and really be able to play and not worry about the money at all.

Since dropping back to my normal stakes I have absolutely crushed over the last 15k hands. I think after playing higher for a while, even thought it didn't technically "work out," I think playing verse better players really helped my game improve, which in turn will increase my winrate in my current game. Speaking of that, I recently had my best day ever in online cash games in terms of buy ins won, culminating in a nearly 18 buy in winning day (and the pretty graph to go along with it, with results tallied in big blinds). I truly believe that I will be moving back up and beating the bigger games soon.

In an effort to get better I have started doing training sessions with friends online. This is something that I wish I would have started doing earlier in my poker career. I always heard about the young players giving credit to the forums and their online buddies for really helping their game and now I know what they mean. For anyone out there who is serious about poker, find players who have similar abilities to yours and help each other out. In my opinion, there's no better way to get better than to watch each other play and then discuss how you would have played the hands differently from each other, and then explain why. You'd be amazed how much you can learn from each other.

In other poker news, I'll be playing a few events at the WSOP Circuit event at the IP Casino in Biloxi over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I can have a deep run or two and maybe even win one of those WSOP Circuit rings to put in my office.

Til Next Time....

My Thoughts on Bankroll Management

Well my sorry excuse of an internet connection is down again, so I figured it would be a good time to write a blog. I'm just writing it in notepad and saving it until I can get online again to publish it, so no telling when that will actually be. (Edit: It was 5 hours later!)

I have still been playing a lot of poker lately and been having pretty good results. The games on FeltStars have been very good lately, with lots of loose action and bad calls. I have experimented playing a little bigger, mixing some 2/4, 3/6, and 5/10 in with my standard 1/2 games with mixed success. I'm not doing bad, but my hourly is no where near what it is when I 8-12 table the 1/2 games. I'm sure in time, once I see more hands and get used to the flow better, I will excell at those limits and surpass my current winrate. Until then, I just have to keep grinding the 1/2 games and mix in a few higher stakes ones until I really start to feel comfortable there.

This poses a good question concerning bankroll management for people who play or are considering playing for a living. Some people have lots of gamble in them, and others (like myself) don't. So, when to move up in stakes? Well, I think it is a very loose question with no definitive answer. The "book" states 200-500 big bets for limit poker as an adequate bankroll. When I played limit for a living, many moons ago, I leaned more towards 300 big bets plus 6 months living expenses on the side. By playing a little shorter than the 500 big bets, I of course had to deal with bigger swings in my bankroll. What saved me was that I was more than willing to drop down in limits if need be. This style may suit some but not others. If you don't like the idea of dropping down in limits after a few losing sessions, then I would recommend using 500 big bets and 6 months living expenses on the side as a proper bankroll. But then again, why am I talking about playing limit for a living?? I'm assuming anyone taking the time to read this plays much more No Limit than Limit!

No Limit poker is a different animal than Limit is. When discussing bankroll and bankroll management for no limit there are several schools of thought. No specific "bankroll" is correct for everyone. It is best to look at the different bankroll guidelines and decide which is right for you. The general rule that Andy Bloch gave me several years ago when speaking with him was 40 buy ins for live poker plus living expenses. Assuming you play $2-$5 NL with a $500 buy in, I would make sure you have $20k bankroll plus 6 months living expenses in reserve. This will give you a great shot at succeeding in poker (assuming you are already a proven winning player with minimal "life" leaks). Do you need this amount? Of course not. I have friends who have no problem playing these limits on a $5k bankroll with no living expenses behind. Does this mean they can't make it? Nope. All it means is that their "risk of ruin" is higher, meaning they have a higher chance of going broke and being out of the game if they run bad than the guy who is playing the same limits on the $20k + living expense bankroll. Some very well known players like Durrrr and Phil Galfond have admitted to taking shots early in their career, sometimes even with 25%+ of their bankroll in one sitting. It worked for them. For countless others though, this was an avenue to financial ruin and even an early end to what could have been a prominent career in poker.

My general bankroll rules, the ones that work best for me, are somewhere in the middle. When it comes to online I am very conservative, often playing with a 400 buy in bankroll for a specific limit. I am also willing to take shots at times with 50-75 buy ins, but I know that if it doesnt go well I have no problem dropping down to my normal stakes the following day. But in general, I feel very comfortable playing with 100 buy ins. I would suggest online players have a minimum of 50 buy ins when multi-tabling just to endure the swings and make life easier. Of course, it can (and I have been guilty of this) be done with less buy ins, but I think trying to sucessfully multi-table with less than 20 buy ins is asking for trouble.

As I stated over and over, these are just general guidelines and the ones that I use, but you need to experiment and see where you feel comfortable. No matter which route you take, make sure that you are a proven winning player who can handle the pressure of working for days, weeks, months, or even a year without making money. If the thought of that makes your stomach turn, you may want to continue using poker as a hobby rather than a sole means of income. Also, if you just use poker as a hobby and have a normal 9-5 job, then throw these considerations out the window. Play whatever you want and feel comfortable playing, but like with any other type of gambling, only bring to the table what you can afford to lose.

As always, join me on the tables at FeltStars. Click on any of the banners on my sidebar to create an account and email me at bootnteepoker@yahoo.com for rakeback deals. Use bonus code BootnTee for a 300% deposit bonus up to $3000. Many new promos as well as multiple deposit and withdrawal options in our new updated cashier system.

Til Next Time....

FeltStars Video and a few Hand Histories

Just wanted to do a quick update and say hello. I have been playing a ton of hands at FeltStars and been doing pretty well. It's always nice to run good! Still waiting on DSL to get hooked up but in the meantime I've been using a VirginMobile wireless hotspot from RadioShack which uses the Sprint towers to pick up a 3G signal. Works OK, but still not "high speed."


FeltStars has been trying to promote its team pros lately by making videos of us playing. They are short clips but kinda neat. I wish I could have produced some bigger hands for them to add but this will do for now. Check it out at the bottom of this post. Hopefully they will be a bit longer with some real cool hands in the future.


I'll leave you with a few cool hand histories, and as always join me on the tables at FeltStars. Click on the word FeltStars or any of the banners to create an account. Also, use bonus code BootnTee for a 300% deposit bonus up to $3000 and email me at bootnteepoker@yahoo.com to get setup for rakeback IF, and only IF, you signed up through me!


Very aggro dynamic between myself and "lifegood". Funny the kinds of hands people show up with when you constantly 3 and 4 bet them.

FeltStars, $1/$2 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 4 Players

LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $325.83
BB: $203
Hero (UTG): $386
BTN: $167.46

Pre-Flop: K A dealt to Hero (UTG)

Hero raises to $6, 2 folds, BB raises to $22, Hero raises to $48, BB raises to $201 and is All-In, Hero calls $155

Flop: ($407) 9 K A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($407) 6 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($407) 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $407 Pot ($2 Rake)

BB showed T 7 and LOST (-$201 NET)

Hero showed K A and WON $405 (+$202 NET)



Really weird hand where I call a 4bet with garbage. It all has to do with my history with player "lifegood."

FeltStars, $1/$2 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players

LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: $269.72
Hero (BTN): $200
SB: $134.53
BB: $266.62
UTG: $249.59

Pre-Flop: Q 3 dealt to Hero (BTN)

UTG folds, CO raises to $6, Hero raises to $18, 2 folds, CO raises to $44, Hero calls $26

Flop: ($91) 8 8 Q (2 Players)
CO bets $51, Hero calls $51

Turn: ($193) 5 (2 Players)
CO bets $4, Hero raises to $105 and is All-In, CO calls $101

River: ($403) 5 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $403 Pot ($2 Rake)

CO showed A 9 and LOST (-$200 NET)

Hero showed Q 3 and WON $401 (+$201 NET)



And lastly, a little river run good never hurts, especially in pots where you're 200 big blinds deep each.

FeltStars, $1/$2 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $70
MP: $448.97
CO: $423.15
BTN: $200.50
Hero (SB): $399.54
BB: $215

Pre-Flop: K K dealt to Hero (SB)

2 folds, CO raises to $7, BTN folds, Hero raises to $24, BB folds, CO calls $17

Flop: ($50) 4 8 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets $36, CO calls $36

Turn: ($122) Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $74, CO calls $74

River: ($270) K (2 Players)
Hero bets $265.54 and is All-In, CO calls $265.54

Results: $801.08 Pot ($3.50 Rake)

CO showed Q Q and LOST (-$399.54 NET)

Hero showed K K and WON $797.58 (+$399.04 NET)



Also, big thanks to my friend John "Nicolak" Kim who helped me post the Hand Histories. He's an awesome guy, a good friend, and a great poker player. Get some insight into his life by reading his blog "JK's Blog" located at http://nicolakpoker.blogspot.com/, and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nicolakpoker.


Til Next Time....

Playing with a Clear Head

Things have really been crazy around here lately. My wife and I love our new home, but we are still fighting with AT&T about getting high speed internet. I'm currently writing this blog on a wireless network card which honestly works like crap. But back to that later.

The point of this entry is just to stress to any of my readers the importance of playing poker only when you have a clear head. Currently their is a tourney series going on at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS which I have been planning on playing in for the last few months. With all that's going on in my life with the new home, lack of internet, unpacking the house, etc. I have decided to pass on playing this series. I have played a few online sessions, always with a clear head and only when I really am in the mood to play, but I don't feel comfortable playing on the unstable and slow AT&T network card. After 6 years of playing professionally I have learned the importance of having a clear head everytime you sit at the table. If you're thinking about other things like unpacking your house, lack of internet, a fight with your significant other, an upcoming test, or anything of the sort, you're better served studying the game during those times than playing it. If you can't focus at 100% you're just hurting yourself in the long run. Since I'm trying to follow my own advice I have been doing some studying and a lot of coaching in my free time. I find that coaching a few of my friends is both rewarding when I see them "get it" and helpful for me as I can't just say "I do this because I know it's right." I have to explain to them why I'd make certain plays in certain spots and explaining it to them helps refresh my memory and reinforces the basic principles of my game. Email me at bootnteepoker@yahoo.com if you are interested in cash game lessons. I specialize in 6 max no limit but also teach 9 handed no limit as well.

On the home front, I am so disguisted with so many people/companies. First off is AT&T. After saying they could set up high speed DSL for me, they showed up at my home and said that they had no such order and only set up home phone. When I called them back they told me that they could no longer set up DSL at my house. They said that there is only one internet port and it is already at maximum capacity of lines running out of it. In laymans terms, I cant get internet until they come out and build another port. When will this happen? The best answer I got was "Engineering has exhausted its budget for this year, so hopefully sometime early next year." Yeah, next frickin year. You gotta be kidding me. So since I received that terrible news, I have contacted the HOA and the builder to no avail. I even threatened my builder by saying I was going to put a sign in my front yard telling people not to buy any of the new homes because they won't be able to get internet. I was bluffing of course but hoping that the threat of possibly not selling new homes could get him to put pressure on AT&T to come put a port for me. The worst part is I do feel it is the builders responsibility, because when I had the house built I paid $500 extra to get the home pre wired for internet, and they had no problem taking my money to do this. I feel that I should have been informed that I was getting this done for no reason because internet wouldn't be available. Now I'm in a quandry and have no idea what to do next. Please leave any suggestions in the comments area if you have any ideas or a better understanding of the telecommunications business and how it works.

Last, play poker online at FeltStars.com. We are launching a new Mac client sometime in September for those of you Mac users out there. A whole lot of awesome things coming in the new software release slated for September 7th including a new cashier with quicker withdrawals, late registration for tourneys, new interface, bigger guarantees on daily tourneys, better promos for cash game players, and of course the monthly 100k Pro Bounty Challenge. See ya on the tables.

Til Next Time....

Gimme me a break!!!!

Sorry about not updating in 2 weeks but its been really busy. We moved into the new home in Alabama 2 weeks ago and then my wifes parents came visit for 9 days. Her Dad helped out a bunch around the house doing handywork that I'm totally clueless at doing. We are almost all unpacked now except for my wifes sewing room. Since I have no idea where anything goes in there, she'll unpack it whenever she has time. It's great being a homeowner but a lot of work (and many trips to Lowes and Home Depot), especially since it's a new build. I thought new builds would be totally done, but we needed to do things like seal the tile flooring, screen in the weep holes around the house, and other odd jobs. I did purchase my first ever riding lawnmower so that was pretty cool!

Bad news going forward is that we are having trouble getting high speed internet. My wife picked up a network card from AT&T so that we could at least pay bills, and I guess write blogs, LOL. I played poker using it for like 5 minutes but the cards dragged pretty bad and I almost timed out repeatedly. Hopefully they can get our internet hooked up soon. I do have my office all set up and ready to go. It's pretty awesome with my 3 monitor setup like I had in Houston. The coolest part of my new office is the dedicated TV with game systems hooked up for "recreational gaming". I have an original Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and PS2 hooked up to it currently. I have a 75 or so original Nintendo game collection which I love playing when I find free time. I just finished framing and hanging all my posters today which inlcude an original Rounders movie poster, a blown up poster of a 2005 CardPlayer magazine cover with Stu Ungar on the cover, and an original 2003 WSOP event poster that I bought at Binions Horseshoe the first year I attended the WSOP after moving to Las Vegas. This poster is cool because it has a picture of all the "Millionaires Club" on it (people who won $1 Mill or more at the WSOP LIFETIME) and it's only like 30 or so people. I'm guessing half that many join the club each year now at the series.

This Wednesday I'll be a bounty again in the FeltStars 100k Pro Bounty Challenge. Come take a chance at winning 100k by knocking out all 4 Team FeltStars pros for only $5 buy in. Last month one lucky FeltStars player won $1000 by knocking out 2 of the pros! If you don't have an account yet, click on any of the banners on my page and create one. Use bonus code BootnTee for a 300% deposit bonus up to $3000. Email me at bootnteepoker@yahoo.com with questions or for rakeback deals on FeltStars.

Sorry this was so short and lacked poker content, but I promise as soon as I get real internet and start playing thousands of hands a day there will be more. I will even post hands if I can figure out how. I know my buddy JK does it so maybe I can ask him. If you're looking for a good read check out his blog at www.nicolakpoker.blogspot.com for awesome poker content and lessons in the life of a pro poker player and family man.

Til Next Time....

Hectic Weeks and Coaching

Hi All,
Man these last few weeks have been hectic. We closed on our new home in Alabama on Tuesday then headed out to Texas to finish packing. Been here a few days and the house is starting to look like we're ready to move. Funny how when it's time to move you always find more and more stuff that you forgot you had. I think I spent 30 minutes today reading Christmas/Birthday/Easter/Valentines cards from my wife and my parents that I had apparently saved from the past 3 years. The movers come Monday morning to pack up the house, and then load up on Monday evening. After that it's back to Alabama to meet them and unload the truck. We also ordered all kinds of stuff online that should arrive mid next week as well. We're super excited and can't wait to finally move in to our new home.

As far as poker goes, I've barely played any lately. When I have it's been a few sessions at the Dog Track in Pensacola, FL and one session at the Amelia Belle in south Louisiana when I went home to visit my parents. Pretty much broke even over the 3 sessions due to an ugly run in Pensacola during my last session. It was just one of those where I lost with AA once, lost with QQ twice, and won the blinds only when I had KK. Sometimes thats the breaks of the game. It is unbelievable how much I am missing the online grind and can't wait to get back to 9 tabling across all the limits at FeltStars. We may have company next weekend if my wifes parents come in from Houston, so my ultimate goal poker wise is to be playing full time again by mid August. Hopefully I can add some more poker content to this blog then and even post some hands for analysis.

I've been sort of "coaching" a friend of mine for a while now. He's a very good guy and I normally stay at his place for weeks at a time when I go to Las Vegas. He's nearing retirement and has a goal of beating 9 handed no limit online for 1BB/100 plus make his rakeback so that he can supplement his retirement. We talked poker a bit through the years, but I haven't really helped him much until recently. After about 250k hands over the past 3 years he is close to break even counting his rakeback. I think we've finally hit a turning point where he is starting to "get it" and I hope to see results from his effort soon. The biggest thing that I wanted to mention, not just for his sake but for anyone who is reading this, deals with being results oriented. I truely believe this is what is holding his and many other peoples games back from really excelling. He thinks just because he runs KK into AA that Kings should be folded 100 big blinds deep. He thinks just because he gets all in preflop with AK vs TT and doesnt win that he should just flat call and play fit or fold. He thinks just because he gets it in with the nut flush draw and middle pair on the flop out of position and runs into a set that he should just check call and see if he turns the flush. And it's not just him! Many of us do this all the tiume and this type of thinking is wrong. I agree that there are times that you don't want to become machine like, making the same plays over and over, but in general playing passive when aggression is obviously the better line is a losing proposition. If you ever feel like you may be falling into that passive rut and want to shake yourself out before you compound your losses with more mistakes, ask yourself this question: Will I even remember losing this hand next week? Next month? Next year? If the answer is no, then play the hand correctly and forget about the short term results. If the answer is Yes, then you are probably playing above and beyond the limitations of your bankroll. In general, one hand should never define your month or year. Back to my friend, I think that if he can learn to let go of individual hand results, that he will see his 1BB/100 winrate become a reality in the very near future. I respect him very much and plan on doing my best to help him achieve his goal.

Guess I'm going to keep this short as I have a ton to do tomorrow before the movers come on Monday. As always, join me at the tables on FeltStars. Click on any banner to create an account, and use bonus code BootnTee when registering for a 300% deposit bonus up to $3k. Awesome promos going now and even better ones are ahead in the near future. Hope to see you on the virtual felt there soon.

Til Next Time....

FeltStars.com 100K Pro Bounty Tourney Madness

Hey guys/gals, I just finished playing in the monthly FeltStars 100k Pro Bounty Challenge Tourney, and it was a big success. This was our first post WSOP tourney and we drew a strong field of about 150 players for this $5 tourney. The way it works is there are 4 Team FeltStars Pros who play in it as "bounty" pros. Knock 1 of us out and get $100. Knock out 2 of the 4 and get $1000! Knock out 3 of the 4 and get a cool $10k, and knock all 4 of us out for a whopping $100k..yes, thats right, $100,000 for a $5 buy in with only 150 people. Seems almost impossible, but tonight when we were down to 18 players, 3 of the 4 pros were still in as well as the player who knocked out the 1st pro. After I busted in 12th, 2 of our pros "HotAusChick2" and "DrCheckRaise" (Click their names to redirect to their blogs/websites) went on to make the final 5 along with the player who knocked me out. That meant that the player who knocked me out had the chance of winning $10k for his $5 buy in if he was able to knock the both of them out. Eventually he won the tourney but didn't knock out any other pros besides me. On the other hand, his opponent knocked out both the remaining FeltStars Pros and collected $1000 in bounty money for his $5 buy in! Thats a pretty sweet deal if you're trying to build a bankroll.

Bottom line is that if you don't have an account at FeltStars now's the time to sign up. Click on any of the banners on my blog page or go to http://www.feltstars.com/ and use Bonus Code BootnTee to get a huge sign up bonus as well as rakeback. Feel free to email questions about signing up at FeltStars.com to bootnteepoker@yahoo.com.

Normally I just dedicate one paragraph per blog to endorse my deal with FeltStars.com, but I really thought that this deal is too good to pass up for players looking for great value! If you are unfamiliar with FeltStars, we are on the Merge network. You can read more about the Merge Network at their website, http://www.mergegaming.com/. We are currently the fastest growing skin on the network and have big plans for further growth in the near future. The games on the network are super soft and there is a lot of no limit action to enable higher volume players the capability of multi tabling. During peak hours we have 15+ $0.50-$1NL tables, 10+ $1-$2NL tables, 8+ $2-$4NL tables, several $3-$6NL tables, and 3-5 $5-$10NL tables running. There are also many daily guaranteed tourneys as well as the weekly 50k guaranteed tourney ($109 buy in) every Sunday. Hope to see you on the tables soon!

Til Next Time....