Debo34
Monday, February 8, 2010 - Debo34
UB came out with a great schedule of tournaments this year for UBOC 4. I decided this year I was going to jump in with both feet and play as many tournaments as I could stand for the 11 days. My tournament volume had not been very high for quite some time. I turned away from playing huge volumes and was concentrating on trying to become a better cash game player and play a large volume of sit-n-go’s as well. So coming in I was determined and focused to stay under control and not let anything get to me or my mood as the series unfolded. I didn’t have any specific goals as far as cashes or money, just rather to play my game and play well for the entire 11 days.
So now that it is over I’m looking back and am really happy with the way I played. I didn’t have a ton of cashes but I was deep in almost everything I played and gave myself opportunities to have a chance to win late.
My highlights from the past week:
In the same day I made 4 final tables. I won the $20 rebuy during the day. Then that night I was at 3 final tables at once. I ended up 2nd in the 10k $25 freeze out. I finished 7th in the mini UBOC 13, and a few minutes later finished 4th in UBOC 13.
During the last day of UBOC I saw all my money go in the middle pre flop in the 1k championship event holding QQ vs. JJ only to see a jack hit the flop. At the same time I happened to be accumulating a lot of chips in the 7.5k 1$ re buy pro bounty. Four or so hours later I had all the chips outlasting 1622 players. I was really stoked about this one in particular. It’s always great to win a tournament but to win one with that many players is pretty cool. After a week like this I’m going to catch up on some sleep and then jump back in to more tournaments. I feel like I have fixed a few leaks in my tournament game, and am playing very well right now.
Good Luck,
Debo
Tags: Play Poker, Poker Poker Poker, UBOC, ultimatebet
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Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - Debo34
No matter how long a person plays poker, or no matter how good they get they are not immune to playing bad from time to time. I don’t know a single player that thinks they have their “A” game 100% of the time. So what causes it and what can be done about it? I can’t say for everyone, but for me sometimes it is lack of sleep, or just my mood in general. By now I realize early on into a session or tournament whether I should even be playing. The sad thing is I find myself often playing even when I don’t feel like I have my best game. This is something I have been really working on improving in my game. It is also very easy as an online tournament player to get lulled into just pointing and clicking rather than playing poker.
So the past several months my poker game has been pretty poor overall. My results have been average at best for me and I wasn’t sure what the reason was for this. Sometimes it can be a big problem with your poker game or strategy or sometimes it may be something very simple. Sometimes it might be a new idea to try, or sometimes it may be something you know, and have been doing for years but suddenly for no apparent reason you have stopped doing it. Case in point…last week when teaching at the Hellmuth tour, I was listening to Phil and Brandon’s course after mine was over. Brandon was talking about how important it is to take the “free chips”. Now this is something pretty basic and something I’m usually good at. At that moment it occurred to me that I haven’t been doing a good job at this lately. Rather than taking the pots that nobody seemed to want, I was giving them away. This was a reminder to me that my game is always in need of monitoring and improvement. That night in Eugene I decided to get back to taking the free chips and I ended up winning the tournament. Since then I have had much better results over all. You can show old dog new tricks, and you can also remind them of the ones they seemed to have forgotten. Sometimes it is just the little things.
Debo
Tags: Brandon Cantu, online tournament, Phil Hellmuth, Play Poker, Poker Poker Poker
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Thursday, December 17, 2009 - Debo34
This past weekend I was invited to join Phil on his Oregon portion of his tour across America. The Oregon portion of his tour were the first stops, and were sort of a trial run. We did two stops, Eugene and Portland, over the course of 3 days. Each stop had two objectives, teaching poker, and the promotion of Phil’s new book called Deal Me In. I was excited to be invited, especially since the first stops were in my home state of Oregon.
On Friday morning I took the 2 hour drive to Eugene and met up with the group at the downtown Hilton which was to serve as host to the seminar that night. We all walked over to a downtown card room called Full House Poker where Phil signed books for 45 minutes or so. I knew a lot of the faces there having played with many of them over the past several years. After the signings we walked back to the Hilton where we did some seminars. The first seminar was taught by Mike “wisco” Murray, Jordan Rich and myself. We taught an hour of online play tips and strategies. The second seminar was done by Phil and Brandon Cantu and was a very well done entertaining and informative two hours. After the seminar we went back to FHP to play a $200 invite only tournament for the 5 pros and the people at the seminar. There were about 50 people in the tournament which lasted until almost 4am. The pros represented quite well in this tournament with 3 of the final 4 being pros who taught in the seminar. Wisco finished 4th, Jordan 2nd and yours truly got 1st.
The next morning we all drove to Portland and spent Saturday going to three different places for book signings. The turnout was really good at all of the places. That night we all went out to a great dinner at El Gaucho in Downtown. Afterwards we played some cards in the Cigar room at El Gaucho then headed to a downtown bar. I called it a night around 1am knowing I had to do a seminar at 9am the next morning. The Portland turnout was really good and we did a repeat on our seminars from Eugene. The second go around was a bit smoother for us having had a little experience working together. The seminars were followed by a tournament which was fun. Phil had offered Jordan and I 3k a piece if we could get close to a repeat and each finish in the top 4. we gave it a run both making the final couple of tables, and for quite awhile I had the chip lead before running my AK into AA.
I think for a trial run the turnout was pretty good, and we had a lot of fun doing these. As usual when involved with Phil, it was first class all the way. I don’t think it could have gone any smoother for a first run either. Phil’s tour manager for this Troy, was really great. He kept it moving smooth the entire time and kept us on task.
Thanks for allowing me to be a part of this great weekend.
Debo
Tags: Brandon Cantu, deal me in, Jordan Rich, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Poker Poker, Poker Tips, wiscomurray
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Thursday, December 10, 2009 - Debo34
Saturday a storm rolled in and dumped close to a foot of really dry snow. I guess that’s the kind of snow you get when it is 15 degrees out. We had a day trip planned to go into the woods and get a Christmas tree with some friends and families of ours. The snow made it fun and adventurous, as well as a pain in the ass. We had a good time doing it though.
Let me tell you the tree we got looked a whole lot better standing there in the forest with a bunch of snow on it. Once I cut it down and knocked the snow off it looked a lot like the tree on the Charlie Brown Christmas special show. Oh well, we only had one tree permit and would have felt bad if we didn’t take it home with us, so I think some creative decorating is coming tonight. Oh and I forgot to mention that last night the outside temperature dropped to minus 9 degrees. The high today is supposed to be 12…hahaha.
I’m in the process of planning a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. I’ve been looking for tickets but haven’t found any good seats for the right price yet. First time since 1995 that the Oregon ducks are playing in the Rose Bowl…woohooo.
On Friday I will be heading to Eugene, OR to meet up with fellow UB’ers Phil Hellmuth, Brandon Cantu, Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon, and Mike “Wisco” Murray. We will be doing a seminar in Eugene on Friday, and then one in Portland on Sunday. Phil will be doing book signings at several places over the weekend as well. I am looking forward to seeing the boys and doing the seminars. You can see the schedule here: http://pokerbrat.com/events/
Debo
Tags: Brandon Cantu, Charlie Brown, christmas, P0ker H0, Pasadena, Phil Hellmuth, Rose Bowl, ub, wiscomurray
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Friday, December 4, 2009 - Debo34
That’s the nickname given to the college football game when Oregon plays Oregon State every year. This rivalry began over a century ago in 1894. Over the years there haven’t been too many Civil War games played that had Rose Bowl implications. Every now and again one of the teams has a shot to make it to the Rose Bowl with a civil war win. Take last year for instance, If Oregon State wins they go to the Rose Bowl, but instead get trounced by the Ducks 65-38 on their home turf and find themselves in El Paso for the Sun Bowl instead.
It’s actually rare that one of the Oregon schools gets to the Rose Bowl. In fact it has happened 1 time in the past 44 years. Hard to believe that only once in my lifetime had an Oregon school been to play in Pasadena on New year’s Day. That leads me to now, where something magical is happening this week in the state of Oregon. For the first time in the over 100 year history of the game the winner of the Civil War automatically goes to the Rose Bowl. To say that there is a buzz going around would be an understatement. I would estimate 80% of the people walking down the street this week have either some form of Ducks or Beavers gear on. I will be there in my usual seats rooting for the Ducks on Thursday, and if they win I will go to Pasadena on New Year’s day for the game. I might even go if the Beavers win, who knows. Either way it’s a nice feeling to know that a school from the state of Oregon will be representing the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl. Either way I will be rooting for whoever wins this game to crush ” THE” Ohio State University in the Rose Bowl.
Tags: College Football
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Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Debo34
I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving weekend as usual. I will be spending the day with my wife and son as well as my 3 sisters, four nephews, one niece and my Dad. That right there is a lot to be thankful for, but throw in a massive amount of food, and three football games on T.V and it shapes up to be another great Holiday with the family. My family has always been a game playing family. Over the years this has been a standard. We play anything from card games like spades, poker and 31, to outdoor games like beanbags , washers, and hillbilly golf. We may even throw in some Wii bowling as well. Should be good times as always.
Sometimes during the daily grind of life you can lose track of what’s important and what you are thankful for. The Thanksgiving weekend always seems to remind me how blessed I really am, and how many things I am thankful for.
What I am thankful for…
A loving wife and son, who always support me and pick me up when I am down. They support me no matter what and give me the freedom to pursue my dreams.
My Dad.. Through thick and thin he has always had my back. Even when I was screwing up left and right as a kid he would find a way to support me and help me learn from my mistakes. I am very thankful for him.
Poker – Even though I always bitch and complain and act like I hate the game, I am very thankful for it. Poker has led me to so many friends and opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise. It has given me freedom to work when I want and the flexibility to do many other things.
Friends- You know who you are. Thank you for always being there through the good and the bad.
Have a great Thanksgiving.
Debo
Tags: Poker Poker Poker, thanksgiving, Wii
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - Debo34
So what’s going on in my life? Surprisingly not a lot. It actually feels kind of strange not being insanely busy. Truth be told, it feels awesome. I have been home since I got back from Aruba and have been playing quite a bit online and trying to work my online game back in shape. I have turned my focus away from playing mostly tournaments, and have been playing small limit cash games, and a bunch of sit n go’s. I have found recently that my patience level has been far below what it usually is, which is a problem when playing 6-10 hour long tournaments. This has happened to me in the past, and I know with a little break from the tournament grind, I will come back and be playing a regular schedule very soon. I did manage to run fairly deep in the UB 200k two weeks ago. I ended up busting in 40th after moving my last 9 big blinds in with A10 and running into K7. It is crazy how having a bounty on you opens the range of hands people will call you with.
So Halloween was a fun night. I was up in Eugene watching the Ducks stomp USC 47-20. It was a really big win for the Ducks. Unfortunately, this past Saturday they had a huge letdown and got beat at Stanford 51-42. Our defense decided to take a week off I guess. Oregon was in great shape to win the Pac 10 after beating USC. Now with the loss to Stanford they are still in first place but made it much more difficult on themselves. This weekend my good friend Pat Poels is coming up from Arizona to visit. I am taking him to the Oregon vs. Arizona State game on Saturday. Pat, I apologize in advance for the beating your Sun Devils are going to take on Saturday, but I promise you will have a great time.
Like I said, not much going on with me right now. The rest of the year will consist of a ton of family time, and playing online. I’m hoping to make it out somewhere to play a few live events before the end of the year. I am already chomping at the bit.
See you all at the tables.
Debo
Tags: Aruba, Debo34, halloween, Poker Poker Poker, ub
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Saturday, October 31, 2009 - Debo34
I say that because at the moment I’m writing this it is 28 degrees outside my front door. Fall is turning to winter in a hurry around here. We have already had snow twice this year. We got 8 inches in a day while I was away in Aruba. Last year the snowfall came 5 or 6 weeks late and it really hurt the economy in my area. The central Oregon area is dependent on tourism because of the local ski resort. When there isn’t good snow, all the local businesses suffer, especially the hotels and restaurants. So although it seems very cold at the moment, it’s actually a very good sign. I can’t wait for there to be enough to get my snowmobile out again.
So what’s in store for me in the late fall/ early winter? The ducks have 3 more home games. This week is a big one. The 5th ranked USC Trojans are in town the face off with the 10th ranked Oregon Ducks. It should be crazy game since it is a night game on Halloween. Besides that I plan on getting back into playing a ton of poker. The winter months have always treated me well playing online. I think It’s because I totally engross myself in it, and have the least amount of distractions during this part of the year. I know something that has been hurting my game as of late is not maintaining a schedule. I plan on getting back on a set schedule and sticking to it. I am going to try to get to 1 more live event before the year is up and I am leaning towards the circuit events in Tahoe.
Other than that not much is going on with me. I am fully recovered from the wonderful Aruba trip and glad to be back home. Bring on the snow!
Debo
Tags: Aruba, halloween, Poker Poker Poker
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Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - Debo34
A few days ago this were my thoughts… three days from now I will be on a plane heading to Aruba. This year it really snuck up on me. I can’t believe that this will be my 7th time going there for the APC. We are taking the red eye 10:30 pm flight out of Portland on Wednesday with 1 stop at JFK in the wee hours of the morning on Jet Blue. I’m sure we will be a bit tired when we get in but will fight the temptation of taking a nap as soon as we run into all the old faces. I see an Aruba Ariba and a crazy 1/2 NL game in my future. So how about them Ducks. Saturday I went up to Eugene to watch Oregon absolutely stomp #6 ranked Cal 42-3. This was the first time in almost 2 years that Oregon was a home underdog. They were a 6 point underdog and won by 39! All I can say is welcome to Autzen Stadium. What was amazing is that they held Cal’s stud running back Jahvid Best to 55 yards on 16 carries. Despite losing, Jahvid was a pretty good sport, and gave us a little attention and took a picture. Congrats to Joe Sebok on recently signing with UB. I don’t know Joe all that well yet, but he has always been a good guy at the tables and a terrific player. He will be a great fit for the team, and I am looking forward to getting to know him better in Aruba. Time for me to get packing for Aruba, and of course watch The Amazing Race that I tivo’d last night. Can’t wait to see team UB’s own Tiffany Michelle kick some butt. Goooooo Tiffany!! Hope to see you in Aruba Debo
Tags: Aruba, Aruba Poker Classic, The Amazing Race, Tiffany "Tiffany M" Michelle, ub
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Saturday, September 19, 2009 - Debo34
and football season is upon us. Of course for me this means Oregon ducks home games. Last Saturday was the home opener in Eugene. The Ducks first game was on the road against Boise State in which not only did Oregon play terrible, but managed to embarrass themselves as well. If you follow football in the slightest then I’m sure you saw what happened after the Ducks 19-8 loss when starting running back Legarrette Blount punched a Boise player after the game and got kicked off the team. Not a great start for the team. So last Saturday was game #2, their home opener in Eugene against Purdue.
Luckily for me the game was a 7:15 start since I had a commitment to do a charity walk in my hometown at noon. The walk was a benefit for ALS also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Twice in a 2 year span I have had a good friend lose their father to this horrible disease, so supporting this cause and raising money for the fight was a no brainer. The turnout was great, the weather was beautiful and a lot of money was raised. There were many teams walking in memory of someone, and I was on “Chucks Crew” walking in the memory of Chuck Bergelin. Here is a photo of myself , my wife Erin, and my good friend Steve, son in law of Chuck Begelin.
After the walk a group of us headed up to see how our beloved Ducks would respond against Purdue. It was an entertaining game with lots of scoring, in which Oregon came out on top 38-36. As in years past the Ducks defense was the same, giving up huge chunks of yardage and big plays. They also did what they normally do in making big plays and scored 2 defensive touchdowns. This is no secret and was expected. What was surprising is how bad the offense looked at times. The offensive line really seemed unable to run block or protect the quarterback which is a huge problem. They seemed out of sync for most of the game besides a few plays. I hope they can turn this around before the next 2 weeks in which they host #18 ranked Utah and # 8 Cal. I can’t wait for these games. Here are a few photos from last week’s game. As you can see were are very close to the action, and from time to time get the visiting players to react, which is always fun. The one to give us the most attention was #5 linebacker Antwon Higgs. We had a good time talking trash back and forth, but of course we kept it clean 
.
Debo
Tags: Debo, Football
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