Redemption at Quan's

Okay so this is version 2 of this post... I don't know HOW.. but it got erased while I was working on finishing it the first time.

Wowowow... What a night last night at Quan's... but before I get to that folks.. I'm just gonna let ya'll know that I've OFFICIALLY started my online cash game grind. Most of you guys know that I'm pretty much mainly a live game player. I'm only 4 days into the grind but things are going well so far. I'm not at the baller limits yet.. I'll get there. I'm currently playing $50 NL (.25 / .50) and I'm earning at an hourly rate of $32.39/hr (I want to get this up some more). I'm playing good poker and I'm taking down MOST of my big hands / big pots... I lost a set over set while all-in yesterday (sucks) but hey that's the way it goes sometimes.. There's all types of craziness online (hell.. live too) but below is an example of some of the crazy hands that I've been involved in:

#Game No : 3482705729
***** Hand History for Game 3482705729 *****
$50 NL Texas Hold'em - Thursday, February 02, 17:03:59 EDT 2006
Table Table  68618 (6 max) (No DP) (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: rubosworld ( $89.16 )
Seat 2: Stonebank ( $158.45 )
Seat 3: boblet24 ( $66.36 )
Seat 6: HipHopCEO ( $92.64 )
Seat 4: aumsents ( $71.40 )
Seat 5: Vete6 ( $0 )
aumsents posts small blind [$0.25].
HipHopCEO posts big blind [$0.50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to HipHopCEO [  As Ac ]
Vete6 has left the table.
rubosworld folds.
Stonebank folds.
boblet24 calls [$0.50].
aumsents calls [$0.25].
HipHopCEO raises [$0.75].
boblet24 calls [$0.75].
aumsents calls [$0.75].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9d, Ts, 7d ]
aumsents bets [$2].
HipHopCEO calls [$2].
boblet24 folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9h ]
aumsents checks.
HipHopCEO bets [$4].
aumsents calls [$4].
** Dealing River ** [ Ah ]
aumsents bets [$2].
HipHopCEO raises [$6].
aumsents raises [$12].
HipHopCEO raises [$16].
aumsents calls [$8].
HipHopCEO shows [ As, Ac ] a full house, Aces full of nines.
aumsents doesn't show [ 7c, 9c ] a full house, Nines full of sevens.
HipHopCEO wins $57.75 from  the main pot  with a full house, Aces full of nines.
Tylertkw has joined the table.
Game #3482713695 starts.

Before I get to Quan's game... I played in Darm's D.C. tourney on Wednesday and got busted out pretty early.. I was playing okay but I got impatient and got busted when my AJ offsuit didn't improve on dude's flopped pair of 3s.. Blah.. I need to watch pushing on "gambling types" when my hand isn't made yet... I still had enough chips to grind with to stay competitive in the tourney. ARGH!

Now to the game at Quan's last night.. WOW!.. It was my largest cashout at a home cash game to date... I bought in for $30 and left with $243 (+$213). I knew that it was gonna be a wild night when the first hand I see when I walk in is a 3-way all-in with someone holding AA, another with KK, and the last person with JJ... The JJs made a straight and held up. My cards were hot from the jump. I got aces twice (didn't get paid one time with them when they ran into Tree's flush or straight), kings once, and queens when I first sat down (sorry Calvin). The fireworks came when after I worked my stack up to around $60 and I looked down at AQ off... I was in early position and raised to $1 hehe... a couple folks called then Joe re-raised me $6 on top.. I put him on a medium pocket pair... When it got back to me I pushed all in... Now the strange thing is that Ramel called my all-in with pocket 10s and of course Joe calls with pocket kings... I end up hitting two pair and taking down the pot of $160+.

I even flopped quad Aces against Joe but only made a few bucks out of it. Now I'm not saying that the ONLY reason why I won big was because I was getting some nice cards - that certainly helped but it wasn't the only reason... I did my fair share of bluffs, semi-bluffs, grinding, and blind / limp stealing last night (hell that's how I make most of my money in normal sessions). I want to ALWAYS remember the difference between and NEVER confuse simply catching good cards in a session and skill at the table. Skilled players know how to maximize their profits by getting their opponents to put most or all of their chips in the middle while getting most or all of their chips in the middle.. and that I did well. It won't be like that every night so I want to work even harder on playing outside of my cards.

But ya'll know me... NEVER satisfied. I'ma keep on studying, learning, and grinding. I'm waiting for my latest eBay purchase - a DVD set featuring Gus Hansen, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, and Andy Bloch.

I'm off to NYC ya'll on business. Go Steelers (I guess) - It'll be nice to see The Bus, Hines, Troy, Big Ben, and Cower take home the Lombardi.. The Seahawks need to pay some dues first... I'M OUT!

Peace and Blessings,
Chris Craft