Showing posts with label Just Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Just Blogging. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Need Guidance in Setting Up a Challenge/Goals?

Ran across this thread while surfing.

Very good, pick one from the list. Have several with different games (cash, SNG Single, MTT). Different bankrolls (from 2NL to 200NL and beyond). Good read. While visiting forums, why not register, and take a peak in the strategy section? Great info there also.

Build a BR 4: Graph Hard with a Vengeance For this forum, Firefox users (and maybe some others), in order to register, may need to click on post, hit the reply button, and then the registration page shows up.



Regarding my previous post, forgot to mention:

SHARKSCOPE HUD IS BANNED SOFTWARE
!! While I do subscribe to the service (hope they keep letting me do so after my posts in their forum, or non posts?), and strongly suggest others do too (Boku87 does), PLEASE do not subscribe simply to get their HUD. As noted in the previous post, drastic things can happen if your software is caught. AND, there is a problem with them keeping up with updates that renders the HUD useless.

Poker Education, Free Online Coaching, Brought to You By - Web Surfing


Yesterday and Today was an Internet surfing forage. Started in the Full Tilt Forums. They are having deposit, withdrawal issues, and someone noted the Regulation Authority (which gets a little confusing on the bottom of the page). So, I went to googling of the actual owners of FTP (whom are supposed to be in the US, hence the crackdown of the Feds more on FTP than the rest of the Poker sites).

This led to - indeed, Filco is located in the US. And, they seem to have switched main regulation over to the UK from Kahnawake. Which led to a forum and topic later in this post. Which led to revisiting the FTP forums, which led to finding some REALLY great Videos on YouTube (from more googling).

Now, there are many aspects to furthering your study of Poker. As one popular site said, Phil Ivey does more studying of the game (or at least he Used to), offline, than actually playing. As such, us low limit players can use ALL the edge we can get. Analyzing your own game is very good (one blogger is playing during the day, and analyzing at night). You can read this blog and other blogs (they are really helpful, and the blogs I study are listed at the bottom of the blog, under the Copyright notice), and frequent forums - such as 2+2. There is also the Full Tilt Academy, which is free to those with A full Tilt Account, and as you earn Points, more Videos and Challenges are open to you.

Others advocate books, DVDs, Online Videos, and personal Coaching (though the latter should really be reserved for those new to the scene). As to coaching and Online Videos such as those offered by Cardrunners, Stox, and Sharkscope - they are good, but self proclaimed pros are popping up all over the place (such as moi). I say, why pay for it when you can get it for free? I've also discovered, that surfing through the different sites I get my info from, I've come close to getting the same information as reading the Harrington Books (though those are still probably on my list).



Our first catch, is a channel on YouTube from Tight Poker. I haven't visited the Web Site Yet, but its STRONGLY suggested you watch all the videos. There's a segment on Huds, but his use of Holdem Manger to review stats via the Hand Replayer is very informative. All those using Holdem Manager should watch all the Videos. Those looking for basic low limit (microstackes from 2NL to 100NL) should watch all the Hand Review Videos (or just watch them all). Now, as stated before, I don't really use the Huds, but this may get me started as I climb the limits. I am, however, with "microstakes bankroll builder" on not relying so much on Huds, as direct observation of your opponent (you will notice the difference when you watch the videos, as to what the Huds can tell you, and what you can see in 50 hands of play against your opponent - his blog is good for education too, but remember, as in my blog, its still an opinion - we differ on buy in strategies and bankroll managment).

Check out tightpokerdotcom's Channel, and start from the bottom of the list (PS, the Pokerstars video has to download fully before playing).

My next find, I haven't watched many videos yet. After each video with Tight Poker, you get some related videos, and I clicked on this one to check out the channel. Looks to be good, and worth a study (I will file a later report if this is not the case).

sitngogenius's Channel (ps, also contains videos on lotto, roulette, etc). I'll collect and post more channels as I continue the Web Search.



Two forum posts Submitted for your Approval, long reads, but interesting:

Banned from FT without evidence - full disclosure. While I haven't read the entire thing, I did skip to the end for a cliff notes version (which prompted me to re read the thread). Apparently, he proved to be cheating (for those wondering about programs such as PT3 and HEM, don't be scared, they are allowed on Full Tilt, PokerStars and UB. Cake Poker-and all sites on the network- disallow the use of Huds, and they won't work).

Another Long Read (but the beginning of withdrawal issues), Full Tilt Poker Seized 25K from my account. This guy also proved to be doing some cheating with a friend, though haven't read the full scoop. For more on banned software, and how to avoid these problems, read my posts under the label Banned Software.

I have plenty of resources listed along the sidebar of this blog, and at the bottom. The serious Poker Player will do in depth research, as opposed to a newbie who complained about losing over 1k, and when asked what he did to help study/better his game, said he bought a HUD. Please judge accordingly, and read more of my blog on the matter.

Now, off to watch some videos (PS, you can also get a lot of info from watching Poker After Dark, they don't water down the play when folks keep folding or go in the tank, shows the full play for both Cash Games and Single Table SNG play).

Monday, March 8, 2010

ZOMG - Its Snowing Outside

Was plugging around the forum and blog land, decided to step outside for a smoke, and walla, those rain drops be WHITE.

Nothing stickable (is that a word?), but just a reminder that its STILL FRIGGIN COLD in the Pacific Northwest.

Another reminder, for a wayward computer traveler whose tired, that now is a good time to stay inside, watch some of those sci-fi and poker shows (excellent training btw), taking up space on the ole DVR.

Will return to Poker and Blogging Tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

So, What the Heck Have I Been Up To? Study and Tweaking.

Well, its been a few days since I've posted. Want to cover a few topics, and catch the readers up with What's Going On.

I've been sick for a few days, throwing my daily life into a little bit of an off array. Didn't play any poker, because the medication made my mind a tad fuzzy. I recommend to everyone, DO NOT PLAY POKER if you find your mind is not up to the game. This isn't WOW, this is real money against real opponents with skill and huds vs. your abilities. Ergo, no points have accumulated on Full Tilt, so I won't be vying for the point a day Freeroll next month.




Another aspect of the game I would like to discuss is observation. Even though I have holdem manager, I do not record observed hands. For one thing, at the level I'm playing, it is HIGHLY unlikely that I will run into repeat opponents over and over again. So, I will have created a large database without real meaning. However, I have played online, and observed many different types of games at ALL stake levels over and over since 2003. This gives me a distinct advantage to recognizing patterns, even as PRNG's or TRNG's evolve for different Poker sites. Therefore, when I start to see a certain sequence of cards being dealt in a tourney, I can tell when a LOSING STREAK is about to happen. It is simple Mathematics. and the ability to recognize patterns in a pseudo random environment. While observing, I WILL keep notes on players, AND I highly recommend keeping notes on Players while at the table. HuDs will be useful at the higher levels, but your opponents are probably using them also. And, as I've seen repeatedly in other blogs, despite High VPIP readings, the Villain tends to win a big pot anyway. So HUDS can be off.




Are you folks doing the computer Maintenance as described in this post? Its very important to SHUT the machine down, at least weekly. Hibernation is not the same thing. Desktop users will want to unplug the Desktop for 1 to 2 minutes in order to clean out Memory, as opposed to Laptop users removing the battery. Windows builds up a lot of residual, the Service Host Process being the largest, and for Vista/Win 7 users, DWM, Desktop Windows Management, keeps using up larger and larger amounts of memory as you do more playing, and visit more websites, etc., without clearing the Memory. Rebooting does not clean all this residual out, only clearing the memory by disconnecting the Power Supply will work.




As to the question of adding RSS feed to the Sidebar of your blog, I downloaded firefox last year when I got my new puter, and transferred the settings and add ons from my old Computer. I also have the Sage Reader add on (others can do a quick look for different subscription readers, as Sage may be outdated for the current version). For IE users, I do not know how you would accomplish the same thing. When I reach a site I want to add for feeds to other posts, I open up Sage, and click on the Search for Feeds, add RSS feed, and then right click the new link in sage, select properties. In separate window, tab, I select Edit Layout, Add Gadget, and the the RSS Feeder shown. It will ask for the URL, which I copy and Paste from the Properties box (or you can simply copy and paste to notepad), and upload the Gadget to Layout. Place the Gadget wherever you want it to show up, and then Save Layout. I then Delete the link from Sage (unless I want to keep the site in there), and I am done. IE users, please comment as to your methods for doing this. I have switched to Firefox since a potential Nasty tried to hit my old computer in 2008, and with Vista Use, very rarely use IE for anything. So other browsers with blogs, feel free to help a commenter out with how to add RSS, Atom feeds through the Gadget for BlogSpot.




Now, for the Current Status of my Poker Playing. I am tweaking a new Low Buy In Multi Table Tournament Strategy. As described in my Turbo Tournaments post, Turbos are a pre-flop Game. My finished page will have strategies for all kinds of tournaments, but Turbos are the strategy I wish to start with. So, I have made a preliminary list of pre-flop hole cards to work with at different stages of the Game. Another Study is the Pre-Flop Strategy by Chris Ferguson (though the challenge is for ring games, its meant to translate into tournaments also). I will be observing some games, to see how these hole cards hold up at different stages. I will play approximately 10 Turbos, and then analyze the games and Pre Flops in Holdem Manager (maybe between 3 or 4 games at a time). As I tweak the findings, I plan on being more in the money (which is the goal here anyways). So research and study has been the duty of the day (which is a necessary part of Playing Online Poker).

Boy, my posts just keep getting bigger than earlier days. Hope you find them useful. My current status is played 19 tourneys on Stars since start of challenge, 2/7/2010. My current bankroll is $6.04 (I think). Last played on 2/23/2010, because of the losing streak feeling I had coming on. So hopefully, new play at later date will have dropped the streak.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Life of Poker and Blogging, Where is the Time?


Well, haven't played nor blogged this weekend. Yesterday, took off time to wait for Sis and a visit to Reber Ranch for cheap Premium Cat Supplies (a conundrum there - I feed Wellness Canned and Eagle Pack dry, if you have cats, Google is your friend). As part of scheduling my life, I couldn't get into blogging nor tournament play during the time Sis might show up, only to find out that she wouldn't show up till today (note, she is NOT into Poker).

Spent time in the Full Tilt Forums, to find out some with check depositing issues, which I followed up on. Looks like I am safe (whew). Got lost in other forums too, Two plus Two had some interesting reads over 300 pages long (so bookmarked, but probably won't be able to finish). Did some posting in all my fave Forums (links on sidebar), watch out in the Holdem Manager Forum, folks willing to Pay for Datamining!! Once again, if you are needing this data so bad, or are using others like Poker Edge or Sharkscope HUD, you ARE NOT PLAYING POKER, YOU ARE PLAYING A VIDEO GAME!! A True Professional should be able to play on ANY SITE and in ANY Card Room, and many of the players relying on HUDs WON'T play on the Cake Network, because the Huds aren't allowed (and some other sites are producing issues, so folks won't play till they get that HUD working?) Nuff said.




Speaking of Poker Tracking Software, I layed down the $54.99 to activate my trial version of Holdem Manager. I love the stats in this software, and can only see my game improve. I also spent some time changing the format of the blog from 2 column to 3 column, not sure if I like it yet (so please don't get bug eyed if I change it back). My blog list needed to be redone, thank god for automation. If you are interested in 3 column templates, look under the Copyright test at the bottom of this blog (that's also where you will find the other Blogs of note).

As to Blogs of note, I do try to read and keep up with my faves. Part of my study includes following the live blogging at the Venetian for the beginning of the North American Poker Tour (plenty of big names in there). Refresh this page, and check out the Sidebar for links to the latest RSS feeds. For the Rigged theorists out there (or those just woeing that they can't win at MTT tourney's, please read this blog for Bad Beats - such as QQ against AQ and KJT flop, KK against 77 for a 7 on the Turn, etc). My favorite Blogger Covering this is found at Hard Boiled Poker, check him out.

Other blogs of note, there are similar challenges to mine - one for snyder321, and this new one I found for Nomad. Do stop by and give them a shout. I have several down below, all good reads.



Today's schedule: write up and article for Low Buyin MTT strategy, a little around the house stuff (including the Trip to Reber), and I swear, I will try to get in some Poker (though I must catch up on some reading for the NAPT).

PS, there will be a contest later when I reach between $12 and $50 in Bankroll. Be ready, I already know what the prize will be (and the rules).




So I changed the Template back, still working on the settings, I lost some functionality I was unaware of.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Holdem Manager Again- Destruction, Tweaks, and Improved Performance



Well, yesterday didn't go as planned (but so is life). I performed a tweak on my computer to get rid of an error message in Event Viewer (turns out I was right, more on this later in post). Besides having to research and solve my problem (still on the trial version), I needed to bus some Paperwork to a State Agency. By the time I was done, blogging and Poker were the furthest things from my mind. I hopped on UB, and played some free money casino games (I like the challenge of Pontoon). I also observe and chat with the Blackjack Players. Recently, one was able to turn $20 into 1k (he's done it a few times), and another turned $80 into $2k (but I think he lost a bit). Personally, I would like to try that as a side challenge, but don't have time right now, and kinda feel like chicken (a lot of folks were losing last night).

But, enough with the rambling. I kept getting an error message in Event Viewer (its gone now, since there were so many, I cleared the log), but research had narrowed it down to a user sign off issue. The only new users on my machine was Postgres from Holdem Manager. So to test my theory, I blindly deleted postgres from net user. Walla, the error was gone. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH, there's no way without indepth study to add the user back, and Postgres SQL, along with Holdem Manager, will no longer work.

I Found the error:
Message: The COM+ Event System could not remove the EventSystem.EventSubscription object {CEB8B221-89C5-41A8-98CE-79B413BF150B}-{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}-{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}



Now its true, this is a fairly new installation, and reimporting hands, plus getting the tourney info from Stars for the last 13 tourneys (or even manually entering the data), would not be overwhelming. But by God, I was intent on fixing this WITHOUT disassembling my database. I had limited time for research (even though the deadline for getting my paperwork in was today, part of my new Poker Life includes keeping up with schedules and other outside issues). So a quick search of the Holdem Manager Forums, and some googling, brought me some answers. The redo of Postgres lead to a whole new improvement in performance, and easier reinstalls on this machine and others. The latest configuration has also rid the machine of the error regarding Users signing in and out.

First off, the newest Combo Installer for Holdem Manager has 8.4x Postgres SQL with a blank password downloaded and automatically configured on your machine. So, to reinstall Postgres SQL without losing my database, I needed the 8.4x version, do an installation WITH a password - its required, but the version offered on the HEM site is 8.3x. Now, a few folks have reported in the forums that they downloaded 8.3x and installed, then installed 8.4x, and everything was okey dokey. But I didn't have that kind of time. I downloaded 8.4x directly from the Postgres SQL site (the download for windows x86 machines, the non-64 bit version of Vista).

I then put a copy of the data folder under HEMdata off the main branch of my file structure (that is, directly off of the C; direcotry). This proved useful later, since from my earlier Win2k Network Certification days, I knew NTFS systems work better with file structures directly off the main branch, as opposed to deep filing under Program files, pseudo My Documents for users, etc. In fact, on my other Computer running Win2k pro, I had moved all the folders to the Main Tree.


I also left a copy of the Data for HEM under the current Program Files Postgres folder. I then uninstalled the Postgres that came with Holdem Manager, and installed the Full Version 8.4x using the Program Files directory as the data folder. This did not work. So I uninstalled, and resinstalled using the HEMData folder. This folder also contained my previous tweaks, and they were maintained as part of the reinstallation. With the new version, you need to set a password. THIS WAS A KEY TO SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, AND THE ERROR MESSAGES IN EVENT VIEWER. I use the XP Menu style in Vista, so pull up Postgres SQL, Start Server, right click Run As Administrator, and walla, we are up and running. Now, with my Data directory located where it is, the speed and Memory performance of Postgres and HEM are greatly improved. I thought I was missing hands, so did a test reimport from files for last three tourneys. Got Error messages saying that the HH's already existed (totally fun to learn about this kind of stuff, but that's just me).

Lessons learned: when download the Combo Installer, uninstall the version of Postgres that came with HEM, and reinstall from Postgres site with Password. To keep the Database, simply move to a file folder under the main directory tree. If need to move or place on a new machine, simply copy this database from the separate file folder over to new machine (may need to make new copy, if password info stored in old directory). No need to EVER RE IMPORT HANDS!! No more error messages in Vista when logging on and off Computer, or when starting, stopping Postgres (I have the service set to manual, not AUTOMATIC, so I can run when I want to, no need to use System Resources when not using Holdem Manager).

Hope you found the Above Post Useful. PPS, I have McAfee firewall set to Standard, no ports open, and SHOW SMART RECOMMENDATIONS. Therefore, when a program attempts to go in or out of computer, I can allow access. I have never had to manually configure McAfee as the HEM site instructs (just allow access when the Pop Up window appears), and have never had to disable UAC (User Account Control).

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Evening Post - Read All About It Again

I played some today, knocked my own self out. More on this tomorrow. Had some errands to run, and more articles coming up. But I am tired, and its time to rest.

Tomorrow's plans, bus an errand, a little housework, some more tourneys, and some more blogging.

Got a tad bit of surprise for you:


If you find this Avatar on Stars, You find me.

PS, the winner will get something as soon as I have it, lol. (Since I don't want to deposit, spoils the nature of the challenge).

Off to evening chores, spike up the TV and my non-poker game play, and everyone have a good night.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Yeah - A Successful Deposit, The Money is Mine!!


Finally, I checked Pending ACH for my Bank, and they are withdrawing the money. One obstacle down for Full Tilt. Whew (this was a lot easier on Stars).

Working on Laundry and Shopping, Visiting and Commenting on some Blogs, might hop on some forums, but plan to get a few tourneys in on Stars today.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Evening Post - Read All About It


Well, I started to feel a bit tired when it came to playing some MTTs on Stars. Been working on the site, and reading up on some blogs I've been following.

Noted: someone mentioned his play and bankroll went down when playing tired. So, I decided just to observe a few games (at that level, I don't bother to record hands observed). I started working on backgrounds, and I can tweak this one some more later.

A word on the tools I use to track my games, and improve results.

I use Holdem Manager, though have to manually enter tourney stats. Better for cash games. I have the bare subscription to Sharkscope, so can get tourney results and graphs better than Holdem Manager. Downloaded a spreadsheet, that automatically calculates bankroll, and keeps tabs on tourneys (and other games if you wish). Manual entry, graphs aren't that great. Obviously, you need your Poker Client to save Hand Histories.

Tomorrow, life may crack into my Poker play. Errands to run, and phone calls to make. Might try in the evening, but again, if feeling like sleeping, won't play. (Never hurts to watch and take notes though).

Good Night to All, its a back to work week.

Another Day, Another Dollar?

Well, whether they liked it or not, the Cats allowed me to sleep until aournd 7:30 am this morning. The sun was actually out (well, in Seattle, there was daylight). This has usually not been the case.

Keep my TV on CNBC (Dunno why when Stock Market not running). Just an observation.

SO, will play later today, but decided to work on Blog this morning.




A Computer Geeks observation for those playing Online Poker:





  • Even with 3gb Memory - your machine will run best if you reboot at least once a day.
  • At least once a week, shut your laptop down. Leave off over night.
  • I have a Targus Stand Alone Cooler (fans the Laptop from the Bottom, best for Toshibas that have the cooling fan on side). Add some cooling to your system for online stretches.
  • You will want to defrag your machine at least once daily or every 2 days. I use Auslogics, which is free. I then use the Windows defragger (you need to use both), to keep the MFT (Master File Table) pointer up to date, and helps with the registry.
  • Laptop users, occasionally dump your prefetch files except readyboost directory (that actually holds the xml file used in Event Viewer), maybe about once every three months or less.
  • Also, when you turn off your laptop, take out the battery, and continually press on the Power Button (hold down). Repeat for about 2 mins. This will clean your memory out.


Hope the above helps.



PS, got the time wrong for the FTP academy Freeroll yesterday, so only played one hand. Apparently, it starts at 15:01 eastern time, which is 12:00 my time. Thought it was 16:59. My bad.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Well, Starting to get a Little Tired

As you can see, did a little tweaking of the site. Hope you like some of the Blogs at the Bottom. Some of the Newbies need your Support, (just like me), so give them a cheer. Others are great from everything to stats, strategy, and rush poker. Something for everyone out there.

While trying to get to one of the blogs, "areallybigfish.com", Avast sent off a JS:Small-C Trojan warning. This site must be using Wordpress, because googling has shown an exploit in the older programs. Would have loved to read it, but it redirects to oriental porn sites, NOT exactly what I was looking for. So if you don't have Avast, please don't follow the link (unless you have a Mac). And if anyone knows the site owner, might want to email them (I may start a chain later on that, but fairly busy).

Tomorrow is Full Tilt day, because of the freeroll for the FTP Academy. Starts at 1:59 PST (I think). Happy Valentines Day to everyone. I have a purchased movie, and some TV to catch up on. Might play another game on Stars, or not. Might just observe some small play or large play. Pizza is in my future I believe.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Just Dealing with Life Here

There are a ton of Poker Blogs out there, decided to follow a few. This takes time and research. If you check my profile, you will find some good reads.

Decided for a small subscription to Sharkscope (200 searches, plus your 5 free a day, for 9.99). This allowed for some more searches above and beyond, plus I can do advanced searches on myself.

Played tweaks on Holdem Manager and Postgres SQL, will be changing those. Might switch to Poker Tracker 3 Trial, see what it is like, if I can get the databases to cooperate.

Usually, I tend to rest after 12 or 1 pm pst. So if doing research, not much time left for poker.

Check out the Full Tilt Poker Academy. My game has greatly improved because of them. Work the challenges, not just the sit n gos. I personally am not in rush to earn points (as some are), so I work them one at time.

P.S. Rebooting, cleaning Temp Files, and defragging are very important. Not only do these actions extend the life of your system, helps to keep memory optimal, and helps those constant connection client (Full Tilt, PokerStars, any online Gaming Client, Holdem Manager, Poker Tracker, etc.) to run optimally on yur machine. Just an FYI.

Links Useful to This Article:


P.S. - Sharkscope is not allowed while you are playing on site, Stars checks if you are at a table when you run it. Once again, it is a centralized database.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Wow, the Blog More than the Play

Now I'm tired and hungry (did up the Simplified Mathematics Page). Did some scouring for other Poker Blogs, seen some good ones, but most don't allow you to follow. More eager to get to the play. Want to add some links. Need to reboot computer. Waa, Waa, the list goes on (what a whiner).