Slightly Discombobulated Adventures of a Novice Poker Player
Join me on my trek to Poker stardom!  I am L8Bloomer.  I work 40 hours a week at a “regular” job,  have my awesome son three evenings, one day, and one night a week, and still find time to win money playing poker online!  I enjoy playing online Texas Hold’em poker more than anything else.

This is my Hold’em Blog.  In fact, I only blog about No Limit (or NL) Hold’em.  It is not my purpose to become famous (yes it is), or make lots of money (riiiiiight!), or help you become a better player (although that would be cool by me if you did), or pick up hot chicks (I may be 40, but…).  My sole purpose is to become a better Hold’em player.  I find that anything I teach, I become better at.  So I write this purely for selfish reasons.  Just want to make sure I get that out in the open

Hey – leave comments!  I read them.  And sometimes, I respond to them.  And don’t forget to check out the weekly donk2shark on the sidebar over there on the left side.  It is a fun time for all!
In a Very Deep, Dark Place with Poker
Poker and I are in a very deep, dark place.  I have made a total ass of myself with my online friends.  I am sincerely just about ready to quit the game.  But I have decided that as long as I have this bankroll, I am going to play it.  And I am going to continue to play within my bankroll.  For that reason alone, it should last forever, even if I end up at the .01/.02 limit games.   I think I can break out of this.  However, I am going to do it by myself.  I am going into my cave, so to speak.  No chat, no nothing – just me and poker.  Duking it out for first prize.

donk2shark will continue on Thursdays, but I may not be playing.  Sorry.  Just gotta get me together first.  I hope the rest of you can carry it on while I am away.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 10/29/2006 7:58 PM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
How Eleven Weeks Humbled Me
You know what happened eleven weeks ago?  I won $5.400.  I was on top of the world.  Pretty impressed with myself.  I had a huge bankroll, by my terms.  I could just gradually build my bankroll by maintaining it in SNGs and building it with big tourney wins.  Great plan in theory.  Except for one thing.  Sometimes you don’t get the cards or play them right, or both.  In my case, it was both.

Starting in January, I had an awesome run throught the end of July.  I was on top of the world.  I was ranked one of the best SNG players on Stars for awhile.  Top 20.  I thought I had arrived.  I thought it was all uphill from there.  It may be uphill, but it is starting with a huge slide.  An eleven week slide.  A slide that does not appear to be over yet.

What happened?  It was a combination of things, first, pokerstars is conspiring against me because I have been too successful lately.  Also, my tables have been stocked by pokerstars with donkeys who will call anything  raise.  Thirdly, I had made a recent withdrawal and the next day pokerstars had a new software upgrade that was designed specifically to identify me as a good player who needed to be put in his place.

What???  You don’t believe me???  Thank gawd!!!

Seriously, what did happen.  Well, one thing I have realized is that I was quite lucky, in spite my success, for eight months.  I did play well, but I had some pretty miraculous finishes in several tournaments.  And, well, because I was lucky, my luck finally caught up with me.  How do I know I was lucky?  Well, I was maintianing a 32% ROI in $30 SNGs.  Over the long haul, that is not a mathematically sustainable ROI over the course of 1000 games or more.  THIS was VERY difficult for me to accept, as you might imagine.  And I probably would never have accepted it if not for my mastermind group.  In fact, I almost left the group because of it.  So, in the first, say, three weeks of this slump, I was in denial.  I just believed I was unlucky – I was, but I was also lucky… before I got unlucky.  Better to be lucky than good, yes? NO!!!  Definitely better to be good.  I am glad I was lucky for awhile.  But luck is not sustainable.

Backtrack a bit.  I was a broke player for the first 12 months I played, break even for three months, and positive for eight.  Yes, I paid my dues before I saw some success, but I was NOT a true student of the game.  I read books, but not that frequently.  I mostly learned just from playing – baptism by fire.  Gut instinct.  i did not study my hand histories after I played.  I did not read strategy tips regularly.  This happened right up through the third week of this slump.  THEN, because of the success of my mastermind group, I became MORE of a student of the game.  I am still nowhere near the student I want to be, but I am closer.  I still don’t study my hand histories everyday like I should, but I know that when I do, it is going to make me a better player.  I still don’t read a chapter from a www.twoplustwo.com book everyday, but I know that when I do, it will make me a better player.  I still don’t post in my blog everyday, but when I do, I know it will make me better.  I am better, but doing these things consistently is going to make me MUCH better.

Okay, so I realized what I needed to do three weeks after my slump started, so why no improvement yet?  Because, “It happens.”  WB tells me that every chance he gets.  It just happens.  He tells me I am a better player, I am just not hitting the cards or the flops now.  The frustration has built, and I am the first to admit that it has tilted me at times, and I have made poor choices.  That just deepens the slump.

I am sure it is not lost on many of my most loyal readers that I have not been posting much lately.  I hate writing about bad stuff.  I love bragging.  But I can’t help you all if I don’t share the good with bad, right?  And I have let down some of you in a bad way – promising interviews to the winners of the donk2shark, then not delivering.  I am sorry.  I will not let it happen again.  I will be updating everything this week – no poker till Sunday this week.  Should give me enough time to get up to date.

Pupkin (aka Snagglefood) of www.plusev.net and I have decided to combine our Sunday private tourneys.  We both were catering to the European players (his readership is 60% European).  Since we start our games 30 minutes apart, it just seemed logical to combine the two.  So I will be promoting from here, and he from his blog.  Should be a great time, especially since Pupkin and I publically hate each others guts.   The Thursday night donk2shark will continue as always!

Okay, got side-tracked there a bit.  Here is the part I don’t want to really talk about.  The last eight weeks has filled me with rage at my misfortune.  Unhealthy rage.  I scream, I pound on my desk till my hands and wrists are sore, I want to break things.  It is sick.  But domination is not winning for me of late.  As much as I understand conceptually that, “It happens,” I don’t like it emotionally.  Three people have come to me in the last two days and said, “You need to take some time off.”  I figured that probably meant that I needed to take some time off.  So no playing till Sunday.  Play with son, Study, blog, sleep, work, exercise, repeat.

Rage has been a problem for me on and off throughout my life.  Only therapy, and more recently, meditation, has been able to help me control it.  It may come as no surprise that I haven’t meditated much since I started playing poker.  Who has time for meditation when you could be playing a poker game!!!  But now, I have no choice.  If I don’t get a handle on my rage, I am going to continue tilting on occassion.  Tilting, I have found, is not very profitable… To say the least!

Wish me luck – this poker thing is harder to make work than i could have ever imagined.

Oh, I leave you with a quote from WB – can’t quite conceptualize if myself yet, but if he says it is so, I know it is:

“If you can fall in love with the dark side of the game,  then you understand it.”
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 10/25/2006 8:11 PM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Euro donk2shark 3 Champion’s Interview – Ace_7Dust
First, tell us how it feels to win the donk2shark. Still getting over the shock but, I feel now I am a true poker god to be reckoned with.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 10/12/2006 7:06 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Euro donk2shark 2 Champion’s Interview – Sean Sargeant
SeanSargeant was the 2nd winner for the Euro donk2shark! Congratulations SeanSargeant!
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 10/5/2006 12:19 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
donk2shark Champion’s Interview – SargeAZ
SargeAZ won donk2shark 12. Below is his Champion’s Interview. Congratulations SargeAZ!
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 10/5/2006 12:10 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
donk2shark Champion’s Interview – DemonEyez
DemonEyez views himself as the weekly returning champion for the donk2shark, so it is only fitting that he is the first interviewee for the donk2shark. This was DemonEyez second win. He is only one of two whom have been repreat winners of the donk2shark.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 10/5/2006 12:00 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
donk2shark 11
Funny things heard at the table: sreda001: 7dust, you made it Ace_7Dust: shhhh Ace_7Dust: the wife may hear
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/28/2006 6:03 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Took A Step Back to Take a Step Forward
After my $5,400 win on July 28th, I was obviously walking on cloud 9. August brought me back to earth and, so far, it looks like September has gouged my heart out of my chest cavity. But it actually hasn’t, the results only make it seem that way.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/24/2006 11:06 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Inaugural Euro donk2shark – Ryder Cup of Holdem?
After an unsuccessful attempt last week, I was able to round up enough interested parties for the second attempt at the Inaugural Euro donk2shark. Fourteen players got started, and in honor of the Ryder Cup that had just concluded with Europe trouncing USA in Ireland, we kind of adopted the same mindset, though there was certainly no organized team-building really. But we did end up with some stellar poker. It took over an hour and ten minutes to get to the final table from only FOURTEEN players. That has become a standard expectation in the donk2shark, tight early, and tight late. It is readily apparent that these players have learned a little something from PXF instructors, sheets, johnnybax, and Rizen. I certainly have.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/24/2006 12:26 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
donk2shark 10
We have hit double digits! The 10th donk2shark featured a small but diehard group of regulars. Fourteen players who make up the core of the donk2shark (The competition scares some off, but the desire to see their name emblazoned on the donk2shark Champions List keeps the others coming back. DemonEyez came roaring back from a late bad beat (at the hands of yours truly) in last week’s donk2shark with a vengeance and outlasted both zapper1000, who came in second for the second week in a row, and jhammond10. Three PXFers in the money including Fuzz and Zapper (who really need to get off their duffs – this is a family site! – , stop observing Madden Holiday, and get their website finished!)
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/21/2006 6:04 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Sign Up for donk2shark 10
Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of donk2shark! Come and play Thursday AND Sunday this week! Thursday, of course, is the Original. Sunday is the Euro version, however all are welcome.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/21/2006 12:40 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Welcome Guinness and Poker Fans!!!
I’ve been pimped!!! One of the most well respected poker bloggers on the internet, IGGY of the famous Guinness & Poker was kind enough to include my blog in his list of new poker blogs! I am truly honored! Simply by mentioning me in his blog, he has catapulted to the head of my Top Referrers list in a matter of two days.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/20/2006 1:14 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Just Getting Started? Think of Poker Like Baseball
I have been playing poker regularly for two years this month. NOTHING cracks me up more when a new player says, “I don’t understand, I am playing good cards, I am getting good reads, I have read all the books (watched all the videos, read all the forums), and I still can’t seem to win.” FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!! YOU JUST GOT STARTED!!! There is a reason that after Doyle Brunson says, “Holdem takes a minute to learn,” he follows it up with, “but a lifetime to master.” I don’t know what it is, but so many people assume that they can watch a couple of hours of WSOP late one night and play a few games of $20 SNGs, and start winning. It just doesn’t work like that. I to that I say, thank gawd! I would hate to put all my hard-earned work to waste if new players could just come in and start beating me left and right. Granted, some genuises are able to join in the game and start playing masterfully soon after starting. But those players are few and far between.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/19/2006 11:02 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Winning the Game I Host – donk2shark 9
You know what. I will take a suckout any day of the week. I get sucked out of my fair share of games, but MAN it sucks to suckout in the tourney you host. Yes, I won the donk2shark. And three-handed, I beat two very good players and fellow PXFers – DemonEeyez and Zapper1000. If you are willing to subscribe to pokerXfactor.com for free, you can watch my entire game here. (FREE registration required if you are not already a member of PXF)
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/14/2006 9:33 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
donk2shark 9 and WWdN: Not The L8Bloomer Invitational
Don’t forget the donk2shark 9 this Thursday evening 21:00 EST!!! And also remember that on Sunday, we have the Inaugural Euro donk2shark! Password is “bloomer13″ for both tourneys.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/13/2006 12:33 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
The Old Guy and The New Kid
So one of the fun things about becoming moderately successful at poker is that people start to watch you play because they want to become better players. Or maybe that is just all in my head. I will say however, that being a proponent of “playing within the bankroll” has created been one of my more satisfying endeavors. One of my best online friends, alwaysgqn, is a very good poker player. He and I have been watching each other play for a long time. alwaysgqn is the “Old Guy” in this story – not because he is old, but because he has been playing poker almost as long as me. He had a huge win early in his poker experience, and gradually lost it all. For the greater part of this year, he has been dropping $50 every week or so, playing, in my opinion, games that were out of his bankroll. Mind you, he could play at this level, it is just that variance would rear it’s ugly head and take it all away from him. He became one of those online poker consipiracy theorists we always see saying, “Only on Party Poker” or “RiverStars Special.”
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/12/2006 6:22 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
donk2shark 8 and WWdN
Chipolino beat me in the donk2shark with this hand. Has this become the shark2donk? Out in 22nd of 25. GG me! Twenty-five players – our third highest total. I am still quite impressed with the number of players who are making this a regular home on Thursday nights. Everyone wants to be a d2s champion – me included!
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/7/2006 7:27 PM | View Comments (10) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Re-Reminder to Self: When Someone Re-Raises You…
…You are probably beat. This has been my Achilles heal this week. Calling re-raises. Killing me. However, it has been a VERY interesting and educational week.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/5/2006 11:09 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
WOW! A Day Away From Poker??? Nope, Two Days
Okay, been running bad. REAL bad. And yesterday was the worst of the bad. Outlasting the downswings is what this game is all about, right? Bankroll is down by 1/3rd since my big win. Can’t complain. I have MOSTLY been playing good cards. Not always, but I let myself donk a few games over the past week. Not recommended at anytime. But we are human.
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Posted by L8Bloomer at 9/1/2006 10:20 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
donk2shark Crowns a New Champion – Snagglefood (a.k.a. Pupkin)
Snagglefood pushed his way to his first win in two tries in the donk2shark this evening. Whenever anyone wondered why he hadn’t pushed all of his chips in the middle in awhile, he would say, “I am not bored enough to push them all in yet. Invariably, on the next hand, he would suddenly become bored and push all his chips in the middle! Finally getting to heads up play after busting out jhammond10 (he created the future donk2shark.com website banner) in third, Snagglefood slowly chipped away at danadeez 2X chip lead. All three players call www.pokerXfactor.com home.