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October 21, 2012
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May Week 4 ending 6/2/13 MTD
39 games $456 ABI $26
Volume
Played 4 tourneys on Merge yesterday. Played like 10 WSOP STTs and like an hour of cash.
Study
Im up to date on all the TPE and TP podcasts. Watched every satellite video I could find including Marc's DON vids.
Good
All I can say is wow. The TPE guys are awesome. First off I didnt realize that some of them actually check this post so in the future, I will try to do a better job blogging about my experience. But not today because I am going to play my first MTT here. Just wanted to do a quick update since I dont think I have missed a week. Gotta keep the streak. When I get back I will blog about how I got to see TPE Live…live.
As expected, the STTs are soft especially at night when the drunks are out. Unfortunately, I didnt bring a huge roll and these things have a decent amount of variance because they go so fast. I was down like a 1/3 of my roll. Now I am up slightly. After watching Marc and KB play the Venetian, I am bored to tears with these short stacks. My new plan is to play the series at Golden Nugget every day and hit some sits at night. I won like $200 at 1-3 NL, but I probably wont play cash again because I find the static blinds and lack of antes to be boring as hell.
Bad
Finally found a room from this crazy ass Brazilian lady. She is hilarious. I will blog about it here too. She talks non stop about all kinds of outrageous things. She has stories for days and I can hardly understand a word she is saying.
As far as my play, I have made a few rookie mistakes. My main leak is calling rivers with top pair when I know I am beaten. I thought I had that beat, but I some times act before I think it through properly.
Another spot was in a STT. Active big stack opens button. Short stack calls in SB. I pick up JTs in BB with like 15bbs. BTN folds. SB calls with QJo. My mistake in this hand was not paying attention to SB's stack. If she was deeper, I would snap shove it in and be happy about it. (that's what he said)
On Merge I had A2s with 19bbs post ante in the SB. Like 3 guys limp. Im supposed to shove there, but for some reason I just complete. This wasn't too bad until the BB shoved. Now im thinking that he is just trying to buy up all the dead money like I should have. I made the dumbest call I have ever made because there is so much overlay and he could have broadways in this range. What put me over the top is the thought that had I shoved like I was supposed to, he would have called me with his big hands anyway so we would be in the exact same spot. So stupid. He had QQ.
Life
My goal going forward with the blog is to do a better job keeping stats. I brought 3K and I am at 3500 now. I know this is not great BRM, but this is all I have for live shot taking. If I lose it all, I still have a life roll and an online roll. Also, Marc asked me where I was for the year. I believe it is close to 10K which is a third of my goal. I will do an accurate update on this with graphs at the June 30th halfway point.
Also, I am going to post pics and tell more stories to make it more interesting. I changed the Live section to Life and I will use it as a trip report since most of my play here will be live anyway.
I was mainly using this blog for my own motivation, but since you guys are actually reading it, I will make it less boring.
August 23, 2012
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Keep it up, I love reading this every week.
May 8, 2013
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Great read. How long you you out in Vegas for?
TPE Management
April 6, 2010
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always a good read! looking forward to hanging some more Carlos!!
October 21, 2012
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Ok. I know I missed my Monday post but I have a good excuse. I was railing Marc and Casey and they sneak-a-staked me to play the nightly at the Venetian. Somehow I luckboxed my way to a mincash like 6 hours later.
I promise I will write an update tomorrow and that it will be the best post I ever wrote. This summer has been great and I have Todds to tell you guys.
Later chirps.
October 21, 2012
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What up Nation?
I gotta actually greet you guys now that Im not just writing for myself. I am also changing the format to just stream of conciousness for the summer since I will not be playing much online.
What's my story
First of all, let me just say that if you ever have an opportunity to meet the TPE guys in person, snap do it. Best decision I ever made. These guys are all top notch human beings. Every last one of them. No soft spots. So down to Earth and welcoming. They have made me feel like part of the family. I expected good customer service, but this is way over and beyond that. Walking through the Rio with TTwist the other day he asked me, “what's your story? everyone has a story.” I didnt know what to tell him. I thought about and I really dont have an interesting one. This is it in a nut shell.
Despite the sound of my online name, I am not a small white girl. On the contrary, I am a large black man named Carlos. My nickname growing up was Lo and my jersey number from football was 22 hence Lo XXII (roman numeral for double burgers with cheese). When I was a young teenager, I was an idiot and let my friend tattoo that on my shoulder with a household needle, some thread, and something he called Indian ink. See…
So yeah, I played football in the pee wee leagues and also in part of the 9th grade until I had a disagreement with the coach and quit. Next I did what all ex football players do, I joined the Academic Team. This where I developed my nerdy love for trivia and it was a nice fit for me since math came very easy to me. Fast forward a few years later to 2003. I was watching late night TV and noticed a game called Texas Hold Em on TV. They said it had something to do with poker, but I was confused as to why everyone only had 2 cards. At the time, I was in college studying Finance and Real Estate. I considered becoming an accountant and I heard them say that an accountant named Moneymaker made money playing this Texas game. My first thought was, who writes this shit? Then I found out it wasnt scripted and I was hooked.
I bought all the books and signed up for Party Poker. At the time, I worked for UGA and had an office so I would close the door and play STTs at work and made almost more than my check with no clue what I was doing. After UIGEA, I moved to PokerStars and mass multitabled 2 or 3 games at a time to certify my baller status. I signed up for 2+2 and learned that I wasnt doing shit. I eventually got up to 21 tables comfortably playing the $16 9 man turbos. By this time, I selling real estate and was in a tough spot once the housing bubble burst. Poker supported me for a while, but in 2007 I took a job teaching and only played part time. After a while I was tired of public education and wanted to try poker again until I hit a massive breakeven stretch in 2010. Variance is real. The blue line is what I should of had with rakeback. The green line was real ****ing money and the rent was due.
This is when my fellow grinders like TheLipoFund, Spacegravy, Abarone, and Vers (all cool guys) suggested that 9 mans were dead and I had to move to MTSNGs. So at the end of 2010, I found TPE and watched the BankrollBuilder vids by Bigdog and Panda. I tried the $12 180s and the 90s on FT and started crushing again until Black Friday. It seemed like every time I felt ready something happened. I told myself, not this time. Eff the DOJ. Im a pretty cheap guy, so I took all my savings and moved to Jamaica for the summer to try and get my money off FT. I established a residence there in the summer of 2011 and had them mail me the check. Two days later, they filed for bankruptcy or whatever. Really? What a galactic trag. So I left Jamaica and came to the WSOP in 2011. I crushed the STTs, took 3 million pictures of the TV pros, ande came back home to my boring life. I was in Vegas for 10 days that summer and made 2K. I came back and gave half of to away to my 2 grandmothers and to my buddies kids as graduation gifts to help with college books. Dude, I gave each of my grandmothers $300 which almost brought them to tears. That is like half a month's expenses for them because they are on Social Security. The look in their eyes let me know that I have to make this poker thing work. I am the only one in my family to ever graduate college and I should have been the bread winner for them by now I keep getting derailed. Not this time. I decided to quit my job (which I can get back with one phone call any time I want) and head back out to Vegas this year after a successful time at the NC circuit event in April. I have no plans on giving up. I need to give them $500 each this time. That is if I dont get murdered by a psycho in Vegas…
There's a lot of ****ing psychos in Vegas
Ok, so I told you how frugal I am. The reason is because I care more about my freedom of time and space than I do about luxury or even First World standards of comfort. This outlook comes with many opportunities to meet crazy ass people. For starters, I am renting a room off craigslist from a Brazilian lady in Vegas for $360 a month. (As fate would have it, this makes me a next door neighbor of the TPE house. Sweet.) This damn lady talks none stop about nothing. She is actually a very cool and caring person. She is super annoying with the talking, but I like her a lot. She reminded me of my grandmother. I think some older people get so lonely that they cannot control themselves when they get a chance to talk to someone. I understand that, but since she insists that we are family then I will continue to rag on her ass like I would anybody else I care about. Here at the list of things that make me question my good friend's sanity.
1. She is renting me a room walking distance from the Rio for $360 a month during the WSOP. This alone made me afraid I would wake up with no kidneys the first night I slept there.
2. She randomly asked me if I believe in telepathy.
3. She says that she almost had a chance to marry Kenny Rogers. She is obsessed with him.
4. She says her friend got acid thrown in his face from a speeding car in a neighborhood I was going to rent in. All he was doing was walking down the street.
5. She says she came to the US 20 years ago with 100K after she left her relationship with the president of Brazil once she found out he was bisexual.
6. She says she takes a vitamin that cures cancer.
7. She is friends with a doctor who has Michael Jordan and David Letterman as patients.
8. She has a friend who used to teach with Laura Bush so they went to a party at the Bush's house.
feature=youtu.be
As crazy as she is, she has a heart of gold and I wouldnt trade her for the world. We will be friends even after I leave, but I will wear headphones around her 80% of the time.
Now as far as the random crazy people you meet in the city of Las Vegas, I just have to try and ignore them so I dont end up in jail. I bought a montly bus pass for $65. I was coming back from the Golden Nugget one day and this deranged dude on the bus tells me to look out the window. I look and see nothing. He stares at me all mean and intense and mumbles something like “my picture.” I say huh I don't see any your picture. I get closer and he'd really said “my patience is wearing thin” and starts flipping me off really aggressively and punched the side of his seat. I put my headphones back on and hoped I wouldnt have to choke him out. When he got of the bus, the police chased him and took him down.
The very next day, I come out of the buffet and this lady asks me if I told them to set a plate for her. I give her the fake courtesy laugh, you know. This bitch gone cuss me out and say she can't stand me and I get on her ****ing nerves. BBBBIIITTTTCCHHHHH! You got problems! I was minding my own business and you stopped ME with this bullshit. How am I getting on YOUR nerves? I think the whole damn city of Vegas is a mental facility.
Wooo sah. Back to poker and TPE
But other than all of this, this summer has been amazing. I have had the time of my life. I am up like $2000 in STTs, I cashed my first live MTT, and I have met some awesome people. Canadian are super cool. Casey and I were chilling and watching Marc crush the WSOP when we had this conversation.
Casey: So what's your nationality
Carlos: American
Casey: No I mean Im Canadian but my family is originally from Poland
Carlos: (puzzled look) My ancestors were slaves. Africa I guess but I have no idea which country because they were not allowed to keep records on that kind of stuff.
Being in my little American box, I just assumed everyone knew this about black Americans but he was totally surprised I didnt know this information. I think that was kind of cool. Also, TTwist seemed to just learn about American slavery after recently seeing the movie Django Unchained. He was as pissed and passionate as the rest of us were when we learned about this stuff in like what, 8th grade? Again, I think that is awesome that they dont have these issues in Canada. We talked about how a lot of people use stuff like that as an excuse, but I refuse to. Im not bitter. I dont hate white people and I am not waiting around for some type of reparations for what was done to my ancestors. Instead, I just play ABC poker with tables full of old white men and give the money to my grandmothers. gg later.
TPE Family
I am really starting to feel like part of the TPE family. I have meet pretty much everybody like Diego, Andrew, Benwa, TTwist, and all the other members from the TPE meet up. They all have been super welcoming. KB has been awesome since I meet him in NC 2 months ago. Marc is amazing and it's awesome to watch him play with such an intense focus. He seems to crush every other tourney he's in. Casey is unquestionably the man. I watched him 3 barrel bluff a guy with T high no draw without blinking and show it. I was going crazy on the inside while trying not to yell “T high, later!” when the guy folded. When he gets his hands on some chips, everybody better watch out. I'm actively looking for a good spot to yell Stuffy Baker.
Even the friends of TPE are great and so many people are crushing. Marc, KB, Mike Leah, and Chris Moon have all made deep runs. I feel like the Nation is going to have a great summer. Watching Marc progress from where he was a year ago to now makes me feel like I can do the same thing, but I know it wasnt magic. This dude works hard. I am just trying to hang around these beasts as much as possible and soak up the knowledge just like he did. His work ethic is contagious. I know a lot from the vids but watching them do it live is giving me the courage to pull the trigger more. I hope they keep letting me observe and ask questions. They say when the student is ready the teacher will appear. I'm ready. I hope to do you guys proud. Even if I lose, I want to always go down swinging instead of nitting sweaters. As long as we dont quit and continue making better decisions than our opponents, we have nothing to hang our heads over and eventually we will win with 100% certainty. It takes time, but that's why it's called a grind.
If not today, then tomorrow. Rinse. Repeat. (But dont floss too much.)
Take it down one time for the good guys.
(BTW, check out the picture thread for some shots I have taken this summer.)
August 23, 2012
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Great read. Well worth the extra wait. Sounds like a great time. Couldn't quite make out the #s on your graph though.
October 21, 2012
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After 13K sngs, I was down 4K when I should have been up 10K. In hind sight it was a good thing because that downswing led me out of 9 mans and straight to TPE. I absolutely love being a member of this site. It's the only one I know where you not only get the best MTT vids but you are instantly part of a poker crew. These are great guys and when I am playing the thought goes through my mind that I have to play well so that I dont let them down. Never had that on any other site.
I'm having the time of my life.
November 19, 2012
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Haha nice post man, sounds like its all working out in a funny but good way for you. All the best for the rest of the summer, gl run good.
October 21, 2012
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Up until yesterday, I was up like 3K in STTs. I lost like 800 of that last night in STTs so im still up a bunch but a good bit of my profit as spent on MTTs that I made deep runs in but only min cashed one. Still looking for a final table. Here is a good tip for those of you walking around Vegas at night with wads of cash like me. Chevron sells money orders for a buck. Just buy them and make them out to yourself. This is a good way to condense the size of your wallet and to prevent yourself from blowing money. And if you get robbed, you can just call and have them canceled if you keep the receipt in a seperate place. If you go busto, you can just cash them in one at a time.
I spent some time railing Andrew Brokos this week. He played the Mix Max event and had a deep run in tough field. He was on a short break and didnt have time to place his order at the poker kitchen so I did it for him. This strikes me as a valuable service. The Rio gets busy at times and players need a concierge to do little things like that for them while they focus on playing. I would love to help out any of the TPE guys I rail when I am not playing. This is Andrew with the orange hat and Vanessa Selbts on the end. Also, I loved the fact that Andrew ordered milk from the cocktail waitress so taht he could dunk his cookies. So balla.
While railing him, I look over my right shoulder and see a guy frog leap from a standing position over the barrier they use to section off the tournament area. Impressive. It was Jason Koon coming over to talk to some guy that was chirping behind me. Of course, it was Mark Herm. If you remember the Chirp Herm episode where Jason was guest, this was basically a live version of it. Koon was telling a fight story and putting his fists side beside for comparison so people can see how much it hand swolen from punching a dude a few night before. I also heard Mark explain the new term DOTTs which is the opposite of TODDs. All in all, the whole railing session kinda ravaged. Mark's in the pink and Jason's in the glasses. Oh and I guess that's Helmuth in the back trying to sneak into my picture. Didnt even notice him until now.
For those that know me from the Music Thread, you know how much I love Hip Hop music. My twitter handle is @HipHop101Trivia. Yesterday was kinda special for me because it was Tupac Shakur's birthday. It was also father's day and this man did more to raise me than any other man so I celebrated him for both. I listened to his music all day and visited the spot where he was shot 17 years ago and the spot on the strip where he took his last independent breath without the aid of a breathing machine. It happened at Las Vegas Blvd and Harmon. You can still feel his presence there. Check it out if you're interested.
May 30, 2012
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Hey Loxxii, First off I just wanna say that I am enjoying this thread and hearing about your Vegas experiences. I am coming out next week and planning on playing some STTs at the Rio, among other things (Venetian DS and maybe a $1500 WSOP). I posted on Marc's “Ask Me…” thread this same question but I am a little ADD at times (today) so I thought I would post the same question here – Can you outline the structures and various buy-in options of the SnGs at the Rio during WSOP… thanks in advance and good luck with your summer grind in Vegas!!
October 21, 2012
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Spyderweb said:
Hey Loxxii, First off I just wanna say that I am enjoying this thread and hearing about your Vegas experiences. I am coming out next week and planning on playing some STTs at the Rio, among other things (Venetian DS and maybe a $1500 WSOP). I posted on Marc's “Ask Me…” thread this same question but I am a little ADD at times (today) so I thought I would post the same question here – Can you outline the structures and various buy-in options of the SnGs at the Rio during WSOP… thanks in advance and good luck with your summer grind in Vegas!!
125s, 175s, 225s all have 1000 starting stacks and 15 min levels
275s, 325s, 525s, 1Ks have 1500 starting stacks and 20 minutes levels (I think, haven't played these)
Blinds are
25/25
25/50
50/100
100/200
150/300
200/400 (usually chops are made by this point)
May 30, 2012
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Thank you Loxxi!!
October 21, 2012
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Well, it's Monday which means it's updating time. (correction. I am finishing this on Tuesday morning at 4 AM) Im not prepared for this right now so I will just rattle off some thoughts from the little I can remember.
This past week started out horrible with me bricking 5 STTs in a row which ate up a good bit of my profit for the summer. I was bummed out and sick off short stacks after that. I decided to go play the Binions 160 on Wednesday and final tabled it. I was out in 7th for a small cash, but it got me back to winning which I desperately needed at the time.
On Friday, I went back to STTs and bricked another 3 so now I was like FACKKKK! This pretty much wiped out the rest of my profit because I was doing $100 last longers every time. I think I have been missing so shove spots while short and not getting paid off with big hands. I decided to start limping more early instead of playing 0% of my hands and having a guy make a statement to the table like “watch out everybody” when I finally do open a hand. I dont mind you getting a read for yourself, but dont share it with the whole freakin table and kill all my action.
Afterwards, I when down to Caesar's to meet Mike Tyson who was making an appearance at some shop. Problem is, you had to buy a picture of him for like $200 to meet him. With all the free mug shots of him online? Screw that. I caught a glimpse of him and when I walked passed where he was sitting. I considered biting his face tattoo but thought better off it.
So now I'm walking back home after stopping at Wendy's to destroy my diet with a frosty waffle cone. As I am walking, I hear a voice say my name and it's Marc. The TPE guys are looking for a barber shop and invite me to hang with them for a minute. We found an awesome shop with, a pool table, free popcorn, and hot air balloons. I shit you not. It was awesome.
I played Danny in pool, listened to some 2pac, and canceled my pity party. Everything happens for a reason and I was in the right place at the right time to run into them. I felt much better. The next day, I just decided to win. It real seemed that easy and I haven't lost since. I chopped 2 STTs for like a 1500 profit, then final tabled a Binions 160 for another 300. The next day I grinded Lock with the guys which was cool.
That brings me today. I go down to Binions again and play the 160 and chop it for $1290. I officially got 2nd place since we gave the big stack first and then chopped the rest. I consider that my first live win. It felt great.
I told myself I would not disrespect the TPE patch by wearing it before I won something (FU a chop is a win, lol!). Now I feel like I have earned the right to fly the flag and spread the gospel. This is hands down the best tournament poker training site in the galaxy. I will forever be loyal and grateful to these guys. I seriously play so as not to let them down. They have done so much for me that I wouldnt have dreamed of. I am going to recruit as many people to this site as I can.
Follow me on Twitter @HipHop101Trivia
May 29, 2012
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Really enjoy reading your updates. I totally agree what you say about this site, the owners and pros…..they are all great! I have met some of the guys myself and they are so down to earth!
One thing though, please to don't recruit everybody you talk to…we still need some soft spots in tournaments!!!! 
June 29, 2012
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hey carlos, just heard the TPE live podcast. had no knowledge of ur thread in the goals and challenges section. after hearing the podcast i instantly called it up read it all the way through from ur first post on jan 2, till the most recent. I can honestly say its some of the most inspiring reading i have seen in a while. your passion for poker has no bounds. i envy ur dedication. if we all approached this game and life as u do, wow what a great world we would live in. i havent been playng much latey. ive been kind of depressed and dont have a big roll online anymore. but after reading ur thread i wanted to play so bad. i remembered a local bar has a league that plays fri and sun. thought it was only for points and money off ur bar tab but i didnt care just wanted to play. showed up and they were doing a last longest 5$ bet. the pot ended up 75 bucks not much at all but u made me want to win. grinded for a couple hours to get heads up and chop for 35$. i dont think i ever felt better about winning such a small amount of money.thank you for making me love the game, the grind, the life again. you are the “poster child” for a site like TPE. a guy like you, i believe is the reason KB, Diego, Casey, and all the other pros on the site do it for. to see someone blossom into a true poker “player” not just someone who plays the game of poker.
thank you so much. you made me love the game again. good luck for the rest of the summer.
P.S. if you're ever in pittsburgh, pa you got a couch to sleep on free of charge(lol)
P.S.S good luck to the rest of you guys from TPE out there in vegas
October 21, 2012
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First let me thank mfgjensen and all the other people who have read this post, followed me on twitter, listened to me on the podcast, or shaken my hand in person. You all are motivating me to go hard with this poker thing.
Ok, so today is July 1st. I have sucessfully posted 26 week updates and now it is the half way point. Here is where we stand so far.
That's almost exactly $5000
To that, we will add the $1000 that I made in at the WSOPC Cherokee stop
and $2587 I have made so far at the WSOP. So the grand total is $8486 which is half of what my goal was at the beginning of the year. This looks awesome to me because I know my volume sucked, I was working for the first half of the year, and I have gotten better (and will continue to do so). I know I will reach my goal of $30K over the next 6 months now that I have a bigger bankroll and I can devote all my time to playing. My principal called me to ask me to come back to the school to teach full time but I told him I was OI.
Guess, I'd better take the semi back out of the title of this thread chirp.
Another thing that gives me hope is how amazed everyone seems with how frugal I am. That motivates me to pinch my pennies even harder. I have roughly $1500 a month in expenses and my withered poker winnings almost covered it during the first half of the year. I still have another $10K saved outside of my bankroll so I feel super comfortable right now. If we can get rid of the balla/degen stereotype that poker has, more people will see it as a way to have freedom of space/time and as a healthy vehicle for competition and lifelong education. Minimum wage in poker is much better than the same at McDonald's with vastly better opportunities for growth. That's the message I hope to spread to people.
Yeah, so that's the halfway point update. Now as far as the last week in Vegas…
A few days ago, I grinded online with the TPE guys and ended up getting to dual final tables in a $60 2.5K Gtd and a $33 5K Gtd. I got 2nd in one and 3rd in the other. For a total of $1175 so that was kinda sweet.
Here is the best part about the week, but I have to tell you the back story first…
Three years ago, I had the best summer of my life. On my birthday, I went to see Nas and Damian Marley in concert. That show was like an out of body experience for me. Very spiritual. I felt a close connection to the whole Jamaican vibe. The next year, Black Friday hit and it was a no brainer for me to go set up residence in Jamaica to get my money off Full Tilt. After school ended, I went for the summer and it surpassed the last one. I visited Bob's birth home and touched his tomb. The son lead me to the father. So much energy in that room. I also made a good bit of money playing poker in the casino down there and on Full Tilt. Never did get my money off though. I decided to leave and go to Vegas for the main event that year. I made like $2000 playing STTs. I gave half of it away to my grandmothers and 2 recently college freshmen I've known since they were kids. I decided to put the rest online to start my MTT journey.
So that brings us to last summer. I didnt make it out to the WSOP or see any great concerts, but the seed had been planted. So now this summer, I quit my job, continued grinding live/online MTTs, and met KB who used to work in the music industry which enabled him to make a call to hook me up with tickets to see Damian and Stephen Marley at the Hard Rock Casino a few days ago. Wow! Everything has come full circle and I am seriously considering moving back to Jamaica to play online now that I am completely free. That was just the icing on the cake to this summer, which has again surpassed all the others. Damn. I cant wait for June 2014.
***PS. Let me apologize for winning the TLB every week (typo leader board). Still haven't decided if I wanna improve that or not. Maybe I should.
December 7, 2012
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Really enjoyed reading your updates mate. I’m sure I speak for a lot of the TPE community when I say that you are providing inspiration to a lot of guys who want to realise their potential in this game.
Keep grinding, keep working, and enjoy the success that you’ve worked so hard for.
October 21, 2012
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Ok, so I am back with 2 hours left in this mundane Monday. This is plenty of time to update the Nation on this week's events.
I only played one tournament this week and have decided I am done playing live for the summer. For my last hoorah, I had to revisit Old Faithful aka the Binion's $160. As expected, I had a long night and we decided to chop it evenly once we were 5 handed at the final table. I was comfortably in the middle of the pack when they decided to discuss a deal. Every one ended up getting $2100 which was basically 2nd place money. I consider this a win because I almost wanted to play it out and it was the big stack that asked for the deal since he was tired (unwritten EV of sneaking into senior tournaments). That made 4 for 4 final tables in each of the Binion's tournies I have played. I should probably just move there. Like the nit I am, once again I got full value from my $65 monthly bus pass by using it to get home with $3000+ in my pocket at 3:00 AM from a rough part of town. Twice I was able to do this without getting robbed simply by wearing thrift store clothes (not including the TPE shirt) and frowning a lot so as to blend in with the robbers.
The other good thing about this week is that it was my first UFC Fight week. I went to the open workouts to see the fighters. People around me were like “Ooh, there's Anderson Silva!” I was like “Where!” I was glad to get to see him and the other fighters, but nobody seemed to care when I said “Ooh, there's Jason Somerville!” The guy beside me was like “Who?” Apparently, I was the only one in my area who knew him as a professional poker player. Everyone else just saw a random UFC media guy down on the floor close to the fighters (lucky SOB!) This is Jason up front in the hat. He has been helpful in increasing my aggression at the tables.
I also went to the famed MGM for the pre fight press conference. This was my first time there. This is where all the great fights have gone down including the one where Mike Tyson hugged my adopted father, Tupac Shakur, right before he was killed near the strip in 1996. Surreal to say the least. This is UFC President Dana White at the press conference.
Well Anderson played around at the fight like he always does and it finally caught up to him as he was knocked out by little more than a jab. This may have moved another fighter, GSP, up in the P4P rankings. I got a chance to see him play in the main event.
But enough of that fighter crap. Let's talk about some real studs. I was fortunate enough to hang out with Andrew Brokos and Nate Meyvis of the Thinking Poker podcast. And to my utter shock and amazement, they asked me to be a guest on their show. I was beyond honored. We talked about my journey from quitting my job to becoming a professional poker balla on a budget. Apparently this is very interesting to people because between the TPE Live Podcast and my Twitter photo, people have been recognizing me left and right like a celebrity or something. Just the other day Phil Ivey asked for my autograph. I refused to smile as I told him he'd have to wait because I was in the middle of clipping coupons.
The #nitcast guys are awesome. They bought me lunch/dinner on two occassions (just like the TPE guys who have generously contributed to my Vegas 15 or however many pounds they say you gain here). I thank you all for teaching me the definition of hospitality and that says a lot coming from a southerner.
I was fortunate enough to rail Andrew at the feature table as Doyle Brunson takes the seat to his immediate left. He almost skipped the WSOP this year as he is kicking cancer's ass for the 4th time. I am glad he reconsidered.
Well now I am down to 4 more days in Vegas. I cannot wait to get home as I have been here since May 27th. I had no idea when I got off that plane how my life would change. Today at the main event, I stood in the crowd as the WSOP took us all back 10 years to the moment when Chris Moneymaker changed the trajectory of the game forever. I am still a fan of this game and the players in it and I am not ashamed to admit that tears welled in my eyes as they played footage of “The Bluff of the Century” and revealed a bust of Moneymaker in that moment before introducing him to give the “Shuffle Up and Deal.” My mind wondered what it would be like to have a “Carlos Welch effect” that would bring more regular joe players into the game and force the government's hand in moving forward with regulation. We are not criminals. We are men. Granted we are mostly white men, but we welcome any and everybody with open arms regardless of gender, race, or creed. I experienced this myself and it is more than I can say for the mostly segregated religious and political institutions that have decided that we are immoral. The people that gave me a fish AND taught me to fish this summer are far from immoral. They changed my life and made me a better man. I want to be like them. All I needed to join this fraternity was a chip and a chair. A dollar and a dream. Yeah, im leaving with a couple more dollars than I brought (half of which will go towards getting my mama a brand new 15 year old Toyota Corolla with #todd miles on it, lol #nitcast), but the connections I have made, the knowledge/inspiration I have gained, and the love that I was shown have made me feel like I am leaving with a million bucks.
Thank you TPE Nation and Thinking Poker Nitcasters. I will never forget what you guys have done for me. I will constantly comment on your websites and I will work hard over the next 365 days to make you proud from where ever in the world I end up. The possibilities are limitless, but we will always have our summers in Vegas. They cant take that away from us. See you at WSOP 2014.
TPE Management
April 6, 2010
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enjoyed reading this all summer, and even living a bit of it with ya! see you soon sir!
March 21, 2013
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Great read and fun to see someone being that enthusiastic, good luck at the tables!.
October 6, 2010
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that last post is probably the best on this site period. you are an inspiration to us all loxxi, especially those of us who wouldnt think it is possible to live your dream.
i look forward to seeing you final table something huge one day.
Also im not sure where i found this, it might have even been on TPE somewhere, but this makes me think of you haha. you prolly posted it somewhere!
November 19, 2012
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Love your work loxxi, can't wait to hear you on the Thinking Poker podcast too, gl with the main if you're playing it. Looking forward to your updates as always 🙂
Sick read man. And how do you get Jason Somerville coaching you?? #rungood
October 21, 2012
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Benny – Yeah Hip Hop is the other major major love in my life along with poker. I love that Nappy Roots song. Thank you for your kind words about the posts on this site. That means a lot coming from you as you have created most of them. I'm trying my best to catch you and KB.
NBG – I only have a little more than $10,000 total to my name so there is no way I would play the main, especially with Marc Alioto in the field. I'd probably just chop 60 Binion's then go buy an island.
Davey – I watched his video series on another sigh (gasp!) which can only hope to be half as good as TPE one day. I hope he reads this. I've never talked to him but I did joke about the UFC with him and talonchick on twitter. I love how accessible my senseis are on Twitter. Just the other day I discussed hip hop with Eric Seidel.
TPE Pro
August 3, 2011
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Loxxi did you post the hand where you said you made a call because of a conversation with me before I left? Would love to see it/hear about it. Keep up the great work brother!
October 21, 2012
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Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me Danny.
“3bet aggro guy with AJo. Flop was Axxdd. I cbet. He calls. Turn diamond. I check. He shoves 2x pot. I snap. Shows K7o with Kd. I hold.”
@davey86t, this is the hand you asked about on twitter…
I had about 65 bigs and this guy had about 50.
Preflop, he opened to 3x from the CO, I 3bet to 6x from the BB with AJo.
On the flop, there is ~12bb in the pot. Flop comes Axx with two diamonds. I cbet 5bb and he calls.
On the turn, there is ~22 in the pot. He has 39bb behind. The turn is a diamond completing the flush. I dont have a diamond. I check the turn because I wouldnt know what to do if he shoved over my turn bet. Also if I was ahead on the turn, I was a huge favorite to still be ahead by the river if no diamond hit. My plan was to go check check and then get value on the river from second or third pair because these guys call with those if you check any street on an A high flop.
Ok, so instead of checking behind, he shoves 39bb into a pot of 22bb. I tank for like 1 minute. First off, he is aggro so his range is wide open. Second, I remembered the conversation DannyN13 and I had at the TPE house. He told me that if you 3bet a decent A and an A flops, then you are probably good because most villains will reship AK pre and fold weaker Axo. The only aces they are flatting is AQ, possibly AJ, and Axs. I am ahead of most of these besides AQ (ace of diamonds is on the flop btw). So I dont think the guy has top pair beat unless he flopped 2pair or better, but if he did he probably isnt just calling the flop.
When the flush is completed on the turn, I check which looks like weakness. If I look weak, why would he want to blow me off my hand if he turned a flush? Danny's advice told me that my AJ was probably good unless the guy turned a flush and his turn shove told me that he probably didnt turn a flush. So I call and he shows K7o with the K of diamonds and I hold. That hand put me over 100 bigs and was pivotal to me making it to the top 5 and chopping this tourney.
Had it not been for that conversation with Danny at the TPE house, I probably would have convinced myself to fold thinking that the guy had AQ or AK and shoved because he was afraid that I was drawing to a four flush.
Thanks TPE and thanks @daveyt86 for asking about this on Twitter.
TPE Pro
August 3, 2011
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Great logic. Love your reasoning and where your head is at. Glad that conversation stuck with you. You're goin places kid but I don't need to tell you, you already know that! Keep listening, applying what you learn, and growing as a player/person. #boss
DannyN13 said:
Great logic. Love your reasoning and where your head is at. Glad that conversation stuck with you. You’re goin places kid but I don’t need to tell you, you already know that! Keep listening, applying what you learn, and growing as a player/person. #boss
+1 vwp loxxii. Soon enough ill have to add to your nitroll and hire you as a coach!!!!
October 21, 2012
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I am absolutely loving all the encouragement from everyone. I am ready for like a month off from serious grinding to catch up with family and friends, but you guys make me very excited to begin planning which path I will take in the poker world over the next 365 days. I just need to earn a little money for rent, fruits, and veggies and work hard to make you all proud.
April 16, 2013
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You were great on Thinking Poker podcast too. Everyone should check that out. I like to think that I share your passion for the game. It's like when I watch Marcs videos, I just want to play a huge session as his love for the game is contagious.
By the way 4 final tables in a row in any tournament is ridiculously sick. Keep it up dude
June 27, 2012
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Top read bud!
April 16, 2013
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I had the same “he wants me to fold – so i call” logic on a river decision yesterday.
Basically, this hand is in a cash game but I feel the logic behind my river call still applies. I 3bet TT from bb against a button raise. I cbet Kd8d9s, he calls and the turn is 7c. I bet again very small as I felt if I checked he would bet his entire range and if he had KQ or a set (unlikely when he just called on a wet board), I still have a straight draw for some extra equity. He floats a lot and rarely folds to 3bets so I dont jump to the conclusion I'm beat just yet.
The river is 3s which changes nothing. I check to give up and he shoves 35bb into 25bb. I feel like he would 3bet AK pre and never shove KQ on this river so I feel he is polarized to a set or nothing. I was thinking, what is my perceived range? Does he think I will fold or is he looking for value? I decide he would never shove a set here. I tank tank tank call and he shows AdJd for the missed flush. I concluded that he wanted me to fold.
The logic behind the river call is summed up in Loxxis post as well as in Phil Galfonds philosophy series that I watched the day before. Essentially, if he checks I'm beat, if he bets small/medium size then I'm probably beat but I felt like the shove made no sense. Phil Galfond explains it pretty well here =
August 23, 2012
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Just listened to the latest Thinking Poker Podcast with Loxxii and it was great. I'm a dude and I found your voice very soothing and likeable. Great stories as well.
October 21, 2012
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Nice hand Michael. Yeah, it was similar to that.
Packallama, if you like my smooth baritone voice, you'll love my washboard abs. Im like the Snoop Dog of poker.
TPE Management
April 6, 2010
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loxxii said:
Im like the Snoop Dog of poker.
But the Vanilla Ice of swimming.
TPE Pro
June 14, 2012
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Wish I'd gotten the chance to meet you in Vegas. I was really busy a lot of the time and never had the opportunity to track you down. Impressive thread, impressive podcasts. Best of luck to you!
October 6, 2010
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i know i said this on twitter, but for the benefit of everyone else, go check out the thinking poker podcast, the lastest one with loxxii is awesome.
May 30, 2012
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Glad I had the chance to meet you Carlos. glgl in future tourneys. Hope to see you back in Vegas next year.
Pierre
TPE Management
April 6, 2010
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bennymacca said:
i know i said this on twitter, but for the benefit of everyone else, go check out the thinking poker podcast, the lastest one with loxxii is awesome.
def this!
October 21, 2012
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Rivermen,
I think by the time you got to town I was done playing for the summer. I did follow your tweets though. Unfortunately, I will have to meet you several times on Revolution later today. I really hope you are not on my direct left.
Pierre,
Im glad to have met you. I am in awe that you took the plunge and regged the main for the first time this year. I wanna follow in your foot steps by 2015.
KB,
I laughed so hard when I read that Vanilla Ice line. I appreciate you all trying to encourage me to try it at the TPE house but I'd probably be much more comfortable in a raging house fire than water. I had visions of the TPE pros saving me like this idiot. I mean why jump if you know you cant swim? I will eventually get professional lessons, maybe.
August 21, 2012
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Been lurking this thread a bit and the thinking poker podcast was a great listen. good luck in your ventures bro.
funny sha stimuli story that you might find amusing. i was always a big fan of him and his mixtapes back in the day living in NYC. one day a young puerto rican kid came up to me on the street (i was kinda looking like a dumb corporate yuppie at the moment with my khakis, collared shirt) and tried to sell me a mixtape. he let me know he was on it and gave me the whole speech. i entertained him and asked who he was on the mixtape.
his response : “sha stimuli”. i started laughing and spit out my favorite sha verse and he just looked at me dumbfounded. i told him good try and walked off.
again good luck Loxii!
April 2, 2013
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Hey Carlos I make 66 this year and I been a fan of Tupac for a long time. I got all his recordings and hold them dearly.
Then I went to Thailand with Tone Loc to do a film in Chiang Mae up north that was a great experience. But Tone couldnt handle Thai food.Your posts kept me in good spirits. Keep on keeping on.
April 16, 2013
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My friend had the hiccups at 4am while we had some beers last night. I think it was on Killingbirds twitter, he said that loxxi has the best hiccup cure. Basically turn your head upside down and have a drink like that? Basically he tried this and they disappeared instantly. Loxxiis got skills!
October 21, 2012
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Chuck,
Ima make sure I tell Sha that. We are pretty good friends.
Johnny,
I was wearing my Makaveli branded shorts in Vegas. As I got into the elevator, a young white cleaning lady saw his face on my leg and recited one of his verses. She couldn't have been more than 25. I guess the truth appeals to us all.
Michael,
Im trying to tell yall! I basically cured hiccups. Im pretty much like a medical miracle worker. The Nobel prize probably got lost in the mail or something.
October 21, 2012
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Im going to go back to this format with the raw data unless you guys tell me you prefer the unstructured stories and picture format better.
July Week 2 ending 7/14/13 MTD
14 games -$200ish ABI $30ish
Volume
Played 14 tourneys on Revolution yesterday. I dont have the correct details because PT4 is screwed up and HM2 freezes my computer. I am going to get a laptop in the next couple of weeks and use it exclusively for poker. Hopefully that helps.
Study
I have been reading and re-reading the two most recent Ed Miller books. Great stuff in these things. I planned to review 4 of yesterday's games but the PT4 files wont play in universal replayer and they wont post to the TPE forum. I gotta get back to HM2 asap. I will watch the latest TPE videos instead.
Good
I had 2 final tables yesterday. I got a 5th and a 9th, but I dont remember the details because I depended on PT4 to do that for me. I may save hands in notepad and MTTs in Excel as I go next time I play which will probably be Wednesday.
I went to my grandma's house and gave my mama a picture of me holding $100,000. They liked that a lot. When my money orders clear, I will give them some money and take pictures of it for this post. That should be pretty cool.
Bad
I have discovered a leak where I check back turns and call rivers on certain boards with marginal holding because I expect villains to bluff me on the river due to my constant aggression. I think that they think I must be giving up when I check because most of the time I am betting. Yesterday, they had it a lot when they bet the river. I need to get back to bet folding until I see evidence of them adjusting as opposed to assuming that they have adjusted. I probably explained this completely wrong. I really which I had saved the hands now.
I lived in a one bed room efficiency before I left for Vegas. It is perfect for me. Unfortunately, my place was rented by someone else when i got back so I had to move to one that is like 10 minutes down the street. It is slightly more ghetto over here which is ok for me but a little less comfortable for any female company I may have. I had the other place “aka The Boom Boom Room” decked out with a black light and everything. I could do that here, but I am hoping to only stay here a week to see if something will open up at the other place. Slight hassle, but it's a small price to pay for super low monthly expenses.
I am continuing to eat junk until Wednesday which will be after a dinner I need to attend. I will document my Vegas weight loss here as well. I am an expert at this. Once I start, I will eat one or two huge salads a day for a month with an occassional cheat meal here and there IF needed. I will include some pics as well. If Big Dog is losing some weight, then I will too. I love how a lot of poker players are starting to become more healthy. But I will be ravaging some Little Debbies until Wednesday.
Live
I am going to join a local home game league to get in some more live play as well. I dont wanna get rusty in that department. I may play twice a month or so. Also, I am considering going to the event in Hollywood, FL at the end of August. We shall see.
July 12, 2013
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Fun read man! Keep it up!
October 21, 2012
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Holy Shit!
I just re read every post from the beginning. I can see why you guys like it because I enjoyed reading it myself.
But in all seriousness, I am going to work on my writing skills and try to get better at it. I actually find my own writing hilarious and laughed all the way through this thread. Maybe I have a rake free future in this field.
March 21, 2013
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the boom boom room
October 21, 2012
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July Week 3 ending 7/21/13 MTD
0 games
Volume
I did not play poker this week because I was able to move back into my old spot.
Study
I watched all the latest TPE vids, read more of Ed Miller's book, and read some of the Thinking Poker website in addition to the latest podcast. I found hours of Jack Links Wild Card hands on youtube. Excellent hand reading practice foe free right there. I watched some Sunday Million replays on youtube and the PS client too. There are tons of free tools to get better in addition to the invaluable resources at TPE. If you suck, it is because you dont want to get better.
Good
I spent all week taking things out of storage and getting everything set up. I really like it here. The price is $800 for 5 weeks and it includes phone, cable, internet, lights, gas, weekly cleaning, security guard, handy man, laundry, and it is completely furnished.
The Boom Boom Room
I did well on my diet this week at first. I ate fruits and veggies for like 3 days and lost like 10 lbs of Vegas water weight. 
Then my friend was so happy that I was home that she brought me cookies which she knows I am addicted to. 
WTF? That's like 20 lbs of cookies. Needless to say, I gained over the weekend, but I am back on track now.
In writing news, Andrew has encouraged me to start a blog and also submit articles to 2+2 magazine. This is an awesome opportunity and I am so honored to even be considered. This is not something I could have imagined 2 months ago. I have to work on becoming a better writer though as it relates to conventions and typos. Still, I do not want to lose my humorous side or my cultural lingo. I want my personality to come across in my writing.
Well, today I went and gave away $1050.
$150 to my best friend's daughter for her college books
. 
$500 to my mama towards her brand new 15 year old Toyota Corolla
The pre-poker Corolla.
$400 to my grandmama just because.
She was going to get this money anyway, but it was a nice coincidence that today just happened to be her 77th birthday.
No way would I have ever been able to do all of this without poker and the wonderful people who have taught me this game. Thank you guys. This will be an annual tradition for me hopefully.
Bad
After being able to give away that money, what could I possibly have to complain about? See you guys next Monday.
P.S. Here is a framed photo I gave to my mama of me with a fake 100K. I hope to give her a real one with some of the cash in the next 3 to 4 years. This is my anti-“hookers and blow.”
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