YEAH! A great day at the tables!

I entered an FTP 9-person satellite tourney (~300 pts) and won 2300 pts, then finished 2nd in another, then 1st in a 3rd tourney for a $55 1st prize.  I'm learning that I play my best poker when I don't focus on the money and instead, focus on poker fundamentals. 

I'd apologize for not having posted in over a week, but......

I don't think anyone is reading this blog.

That's better.

  I finished in the top 18% tonight in a satellite tourney.  I played some of my hands really well, I think.  Somewhat similar scenario in the end however.  I was only about 1000 below the chip average when my 2 pair lost to a set on an all-in.  Oh well... still trying to figure out where exactly i became pot-comitted.  At any rate my short-term goal is to consistently place in the top 10% again (I've been in and out of them recently).
  For a change of pace, after my tourney, I played TWO ring games and played them simultaneously.  It was actually fun because, between the two tables, I received more playable hands and it kept me more occupied.  I'll be sure and try that again soon (perhaps with four games).

My woes in the nightly freeroll continue...

I don't know what it is recently.  I got one bad beat (gutshot straight on the river), one call I shouldn't have made (but it got a little personal), and then one tonight (an all-in call with AK against a loose aggressive player who HAPPENED to be holding 88).  I play really tight for about an hour and then in literally ONE HAND, I'm out.  I'm not sure what's going on.  Maybe I get tunnel vision on good hands.  I think I just need to work on my concentration and keep reminding myself, "You can't win this tourney with one hand, but you can sure as hell can lose it." 

Random quote to think about.

"The education of a man is never completed until he dies."
- Robert E. Lee

Ace-Queen : It was the best of times, It was the the worst of times.

One of the first things I 'un-learned' when I began playing poker was the misleading value of Ace-Queen.  In a number of poker sites, it's listed as a Top 10 hand, mathematically being the sixth best.  It dominates almost any Ax hand.  But I quickly learned it's by no means a 'premium' hand. AA, KK, QQ, AK (because of the K kicker) all dominate AQ.  And in a tight game, not many players are going in with any Ax combo, so that advantage is somewhat lessened.  Furthermore, smaller pairs 22 - JJ are a coin flip because of the small likelihood you flop a pair with your AQ.  The only instance where you win is if you flop a top pair and he misses on his set.  I've found myself folding into most early and middle position raises while holding an AQ.

However, I don't consider AQ to be a crap hand either.  AQ dominates AJ, KQ, and QJ for the same reason it's dominated by premium hands. There's just a smaller number of outs with these smaller hands.  Also, AQs is good for the nut flush!

toppoker.org has some interesting statistics on AQ:

AQ v. random hand = 65% favorite
           87s, KTs = 60% favorite          
           22 = 48% favorite (coin flip)
           TT = 45% favorite
           KK = 28% favorite
           AK = 23% favorite
           AA = 7.3% favorite

So personally, I tread lightly when holding an AQ.  Seems to me like your chances are 50/50 overall, but let me know if you differ and why.

How to stack your chips ... Who knew there was a method to it?

I've always wondered how a player determines the method for stacking his/her chips. It seems to be an imperfect science.  Some players are messy w/ no rhyme or reason.  Some players are clearly anal and have all their stacks the same  height and are color coordinated. After scrapeing the web, I've found some common tendencies.

• Stacks of 20 chips are frequently used.
• These stacks of 20 are then placed in rows to form a pyramid, up to 5 wide (see below).

  O

  O  O

  O  O  O

• Keep higher denominations in the FRONT of your stack, in plain sight.  Placing them in the back can be deceiving to another player making bets based on your stack size.  They have a right to know how many chips you have.
• When you have enough chips, most players 'color up'.  This the term is used when you have a large number of chips and want to consolidate them to a higher denomination of chip.  For example, you have 100 $10 chips.  You can 'color up' to have 10 $100 chips instead.
• I have no opinion on this yet, but most internet comments infer that 'tight' players tend to stack their chips more neatly than 'loose' players.  I'm not prepared to let this solely decide how to play an opponent, but it's something to note.

Of course, who gives a crap if you only play online.