I knew coming into the year, that with a new baby, life and priorities were going to change a little…and so my hiatus from the felt was planned, accordingly. After the birth of baby Ashlynn, the 1st girl to be born in the Mason family in over a century, the focus began to shift towards the poker schedule for the year. To that point, the only events with dates were the HPT events at the Golden Gates – but the WSOP schedule and other events were calling. This year would be different, too, in that I would be putting together a schedule in which family/friends could invest in me. When it was all said and done, I put together a limited travel schedule made uo of 18 events/series, withn’options’ for more depending on my results.

First up, though, the HPT which aimed to rewrite the record books with attendance and prizepool through the roof, once again. I planned to take a single shot in a qualifier to get into the Main Event on the cheap, which didn’t go my way. Knowing there wouod be ‘rust’ after not having played poker in months, I set out to minimize the damage from mistakes, and took a pretty conservative line through the day. I busted about 26 spots from the ‘money’ out of 130 people, but gained confidence for the Main Event.

I was so excited to play the Main Event, it may as well have been Christmas week for a 7 year old. Apparently, the game wasn’t anywhere near as anxious for my return. The first few levels were a grueling lesson in peak and fold, with limited hands/spots to play, and when I did, there was nothing on the flop for me, or I would showdown 2nd best. With few small victories, it was a steady spiral in the wrong direction. Eventually, about midway through level 5, I was left with almost 10 big blinds, and was forced to shove my pocket 10s in early-middle position. Oddly enough, I would exit the Main Event with the same hand thst finished me off in the qualifier. I got a caller in a typical ‘race’ for my life against AJ. The flop hit all 3 of our cards, but he hit a J on the river to fill up.

It’s disappointing to bust any tournament, but this one particularly hurt since I had such high hopes for a good result right out of the ‘gate’ for the year. You know what they say about ‘the best laid plans’ – so, it’s on to the next one. Which will be a little stretch until I make it out to Vegas for the WSOP; as with the rest of the year, I’m doing things a little differently and not planning on any direct buys into a WSOP event, but grinding the daily deepstack events at the Rio…with some solid play, and a little lick, I’ll ‘earn’ a buy-in or two to WSOP events, and parlay the bankroll.

Until then, it’s back to MyTdad, with a home game or two and a wedding mixed in there.

Stay MyT!

And that’s not all…I’m trying to remodel this blog, at some point, too. Oh yeah, and keep up with the rollout of the Patriot Poker Players (shameless plug) – Ahhh, good times.

On top of it all – the responsibilities – I’m still trying to layout a poker ‘plan’ for 2012…since the WSOP schedule was recently released, more variables get filled in, but the ‘baby’ still complicates planning…I knew coming into this year that poker travel would be limited, and I would need to keep a focus on events closer to home; what’s that they say about planning???

THEN not one, but TWO friends announce wedding dates within 4 weeks of eachother – both in CA…well, that’s FOUR roundtrips for all the debauchery that will ensue…so, the poker travel I was trying to ‘limit’ just turned into ‘wedding’ travel! It’s all good though – it’ll get figured out, and by the time the calendar flips to December, I’m sure I’ll look back on all of this and laugh…hopefully, with a little more ‘green’ in the pocket despite the reduced poker schedule.

All for now – stay tuned…some good stuff being announced in the coming weeks!

Tail tucked between my legs, I came home deflated and unsure of my future on the felt…should I just sit out and try and let this ‘funk’ pass, or should I strong-arm my way through it, and be ready to catch the ‘Hail Mary’ pass, if it gets close? The ‘Gates scheduled another CO Poker Championship series in August, so I figured I’d try and #JustHaveFun on my home turf…the 1st event I played was a grind…but there were glimmers of hope throughout the day. I didn’t cash, but I regained a little confidence in my game, and my goals. A couple days later, I’d play another event, and bubble the final table (by making an unnecessary shove with AQ from the SB into the BB’s AK -oops!)…I’d won the buy-ins back from the previous two events, and was now free-rolling the next 2 events…The 3rd event was another one of those ‘close, but no cigars’ results – I bubbled the money, once again – but I could feel that I was close to something…and that something would be in the 4th pre-lim event. I would cash for a little over $4k when I finished 2nd to a guy who refused to chop – we played heads-up for about 2 hours, making it a 14+ hr day; by the time it was finally over, I wasn’t event upset about not taking it down. I had my buy-in to the Main Event, and my full confidence back.

The Main Event, though, ended in brutal disappointment. AQ would teach me another lesson, in late position, against the KK of the monster stack on the button, in the last level of the day. It was almost a 1/2 million pot, and I hit top-top on the flop – to give me all of the false sense of security I needed to ship my stack and end my dreams of a deep run. Oh well…the series was still profitable, and the all important confidence was back – maybe the tides were turning.

Up next was an unscheduled trip back out to Vegas for the HPT and Epic Poker’s inaugural event. I went out to soak up some of the party atmosphere from the ‘marriage’ of HPT and the Epic Poker League…I knew the Pro/Am would be super-saturated with Pros trying to ‘qualify’ for the $20k Main Event, so I didn’t feel like the $1500 buy-in was a wise investment, at that point. I decided to play some cash, and take a chance in a $180 qualifier, to see if I could win my way in to the Pro-Am…the qualifier was a dream – I won the races I needed to win, and folded the tough spots, and eventually found myself in one of the 2 spots for a seat into the Pro/Am the next day.
Of course, the Pro-Am was way more PRO than AM, and my day ran out about mid-way through…not b/c I made any mistakes, but because I never got any good spots to do anything with…oh well.

Next up was the HPT’s return to Blackhawk…but after playing 3 qualifiers and running my confidence into the ground, I decided a full buy-in wasn’t in the cards for me…I could/would take one more chance at a qualifier, if I made it, I’d play – if not, I’d lick my wounds on the sidelines…….I bubbled…LITERALLY…it was devastating, but I kept my promise to myself and set my sights on the next event: the WPT was coming to town, for the first time ever, with their Regional Series, but before that I had a trip booked out to Daytona for the HPT’s first ever stop in Florida.

I gave myself one qualifier shot, before I’d bite the bullet and just buy-in to the Main…the qualifier didn’t work, so I bought my seat…the Main Event went a lot like the qualifier – it was impossible to push people off their mediocre hands, and I found myself leaking my stack with 2nd best…I wouldn’t even make Day 2.

Time was running out in the year, and I was growing tired of the wishy-washy, back and forth confidence swings…I did my best to maintain my focus on the WPT series, as I’ve had my eye on this one since the rumors of their visit first started flying earlier in the year. I picked out 2 pre-lim events to try and win the $1100 buy-in, and I cashed in on the 2nd chance…I grinded my way to the final table, and finished 2nd in a mult-way chop for $6600…it was on for the Main Event. Unfortunately, once again, my ‘rungood’ seemed to run out, and I never got any traction – I was busto before the end of Day 1.

There was one more series before the end of the year…the final CO Poker Championship. Following the same recipe, I picked out a handful of ‘pre-lim’ events to try and give me a chance at winning the $1100 buy-in for the Main Event. In my 2nd event, I ended up chopping for 1st and a payday of $4k…I was in the Main Event, once again…and like deja vu, the Main Event crumbled before it ever really got going, and that was that.

Looking back, I ended the year better than I started – cashing for almost $17k in the last 4 months…but the big score eluded me (funny – 2 years ago, cashing for $17k in 5 scores WOULD be a ‘big’ score…lol). All things money aside, I think I learned a lot this past year…it’s NOT always about the money (b/c I’m not a pro, nor have aspirations of being one)…when I #JustHaveFun, then the results eventually show up; and NO expectations set the table for NO disappointment.

We’ll see if I can apply/maintain those lessons this year, and see what happens…

February was set for the WPT LA Poker Classic – where I would play 3 events in the hope of cashing enough to buy-in to the $10k Main Event…the first event was brutal – with my mom on the rail, bad beat after bad beat sent me packing before the dinner break. The 2nd event wasn’t much better, failing to make Day 2 again. By this point, my mom (superstitious like a baseball player) was blaming herself, and I was on my own for the 3rd and final shot…my first ever Shootout event (where you play a single table at a time, with the winner advancing to the next round). I proceeded to blow-up a 3:1 chip lead to a WSOP bracelet winner (I later found out). Sigh…I changed my flight, and came home a day early – frustrated and disappointed, to say the least.

At the insistence of a couple friends to quickly dust myself off and fight through the ‘funk’ with an impromptu tournament, I tried to jump right back on a flight to Oklahoma for an HPT event; 2 cancelled flights and a nap later, I shrugged those plans off as NOT meant to be, and when on to evaluate my upcoming schedule. I was slated to play in a WSOP-C event outside of San Diego in 3 weeks, but didn’t have the confidence to spend another $2,500 in travel money (plus buy-ins) only fall short of making any of it back. I found myself fixating on the money, and results, rather than the #JustHaveFun mentality that got me that far to begin with. So, I went back to my roots – I cancelled San Diego, and booked a trip to Minnesota for an HPT event…and what a decision THAT was!

For the first time in 2011, I’d actually gotten myself to relax, let loose, and just play the game I loved to play. Wouldn’t you know, I found myself in Day 2 with a healthy stack, and drove it into the Final Table??? I Final Table of 10 that featured a handful of HPT Titles, and plenty of cashes – alas, I fell short of ‘TV’ when I lost a race in a key spot and got crippled. I flew home with my first FT of the year, and just under $4k – but it was a confidence builder!

I took that confidence into another HPT event, this time in Iowa…again, playing as well I possibly could’ve, when a brutal beat cracked my KK when the Small Blind tried to get cute with a steal; he was rewarded, and went on to finish on TV, while I (once again) changed my travel plans to come home early, bubbling the cash (again). I had every intention of extracting my revenge at the HPT’s next stop, in my backyard up in Blackhawk, though…

Sigh…not so much…never got anything going, and I was out by the dinner break; My 1 year title defense fizzled out before it ever really got going. The confidence was fading, once again, but at least I was having fun…in events with atmospheres that mirror your monthly home games. I knew I had to stay ‘balanced’ with my approach, carefully selecting which event(s) to play, and planning my ‘attack’ for each trip. Of course, we all know what happens when you try to plan things too much…(they NEVER go according to plan)…and the HPT stop in Reno was much of the same – once again, bubbling Day 2 on a brutal beat by a clown making a move. By now, I was starting to feel like maybe *I* was the clown, and all of the jokes were on me.

But I had the World Series of Poker coming up in a month…the perfect stage for me to get the last laugh…

The good news is, I’m up almost $10k on the felt during my unplanned ‘hiatus’ from the blog, finishing 2nd in both a WPT-Regional event in October for $6600 and again at a CO Poker Championship event this past Monday for another $4k…I also manage to string a couple heads-up finishes in the home games, as well. So, as busy as ‘life’ has been, what poker I have been able to play has been successful for me.

The next ‘big’ event is the CPC Main Event, next weekend…with my score earlier in the week, I’ll take the $1100 shot at the $50k first place prize and see if I can keep this little streak going into 2012. After that, though, poker will head to the back-burner with the wife due in March, and the push to finish the nursery remodeling before the calendar says ‘February’ – the HPT returns to Blackhawk towards the end of April, so I’ve got my sights set to return to the felt around then.

There are also some big things in the works with the organization I’ve co-founded – Patriot Poker Players…been getting a little press lately, so punch it into the google search bar and enjoy!

Update to follow the CPC Main Event, at the conclusion of Day 2 on January 8th, along with a 2011 Year in Review…I think my blog stands to receive a makeover again, perhaps after the nursery makeover.

Thanks for following, and see you in the New Year!

It’s Monday evening now, and that’s all in the past…you can’t win ‘em all, and sometimes, the game will, in fact, beat you.

All of the focus has to shift now, to the next event on my schedule – another Heartland Poker Tour stop, this time in Daytona Beach, FL. I’ve said it all year – this year WAS going to be bigger than last…which wasn’t a small feat. With 3 months left on the calendar, the clock is starting to tick a little louder in my head. That’s neither here, nor there, though – as long as someone shuffles, and peels the cards off, the deck knows nothing of time. Nor does it remember the rough and tough road I’ve navigated over the last 9 months to get to where I am, frustrated or otherwise. I need to keep everything in perspective, not try to force the impossible, and remember the most important lesson I’ve learned in life – it’s just a game.

And that brings me to a new section I’m going to launch on this blog…mostly for me, and my sanity, but something that folks will probably get some good incite from. I’m going to call it, ‘Lessons from the Felt’ – I’m not sure how I’m going to organize it, just yet, but I’ve got the first 2 lessons in my head already. Look for those shortly.

As it turns out, I will be playing in Blackhawk (of course), but now will be flying out to Daytona the following weekend for HPT’s inaugural event in the State of Florida…followed by the World Poker Tour’s inaugural event in Colorado the following weekend. THREE events in consecutive weekends! (thankfully, there’s only 2 flights involved…) I’m calling it the MyTmase 1/2 Milly Blitz, since the combined first place prizes are estimated to come in at around $500k…not that I could pull a 3-peat of titles together like that to win that much, but stranger things have happened…lol

So far, this year, I’ve played 18 events, and cashed in 6 of them…with 2 of those cashes being final tables, and a 2nd place finish; all year I’ve been saying that THIS year was going to be bigger than last – not out of hopes and dreams, but a ‘feeling’ — like the one I had when I took down the HPT in Blackhawk 2 Aprils ago…October will be as good a time as ever, especially with ‘mini-Mase’ on the way early next year, and a nursery to setup/furnish!

Stay tuned for more details as things draw closer…

Of course, a cash in the Main Event would’ve made it all that much sweeter – but let’s be honest, I didn’t want to cash…I wanted to final table that thing, and make a serious run at taking it down!

It started a little like how it ended…I got caught in a couple ‘perfect storm’ hands where I was narrowly out-flopped, or forced to pick a different spot to aggressive 3-/4-bets. I entered the first break (after only 2 levels of play) down almost half my starting (50k) stack…sometimes they say breaks and table-changes come at the most opportune times in a tournament (if you’re aware)…and it proved true for me, once again. After re-grouping during the break, I used the next two levels to carefully, and methodically, build my stack back up to over 60k. With my confidence back, I’d continue to chip up over the next 4 levels, heading into the last ‘session’ of the night with a stack over 100k…

And, that 2nd to last level of the night started off even better, as I added almost 75k to my stack in 30 minutes – just shy of 200k, now. And then it happened…

A HUGE stack moved to the seat on my left, forcing me to tighten up a little more…(apparently, not tight enough)…until I looked down at AcQc in the cutoff (button -1). I open-raised to 7,500 (blinds at 1/2k+300), and the button re-raised to 25k…if I was him, with his stack of well over 450k – I’d play back at a ‘tight’ player too, to see exactly where I/he was at…so, with this ‘read’ I opted to flat his re-raise and see the flop. Now there’s 55k (25k + 25k + 1k + 2k + 2700) in the pot…and the board comes out Q 2 4 w/ 2 spades…and I check, rather than leading out (which would’ve later given me the info I needed). He immediately bets out 50k – a big bet into that pot. So, I’m still leaning towards he’s just playing back at me – rather than stopping to REALLY think about what he might be trying to tell me. Could he have gotten lucky and hit a set of 2s, 4s, or even Qs? (Qs unlikely, b/c I know I’m holding one, and one flopped…); Could he really have woken up with AA or KK on the button??? (Note: THESE thoughts never REALLY came into my mind, b/c I was giving TOO much credence to the ‘playing back at me’ read…) After thinking about it for about 15-20 seconds, I re-shoved him all-in…to send the message: ‘if you want to play back at me, you’re gonna have to risk doubling me up’ — when he snapped called me, ‘oh, ok’ — I knew I was in BIG trouble…and then he tabled KK.

I’m not drawing dead, but drawing extremely thin to 2 Qs and 3 As…unfortunately, I’d brick the turn and river, and that was the end of my night/series/run. If only I’d led out on the flop, 32k-ish, he would’ve re-raised me to 75-100k and I could’ve decided to pick a different spot (exactly how I’d played things earlier in the day…); Oh well, that’s the shoulda, coulda, woulda game that most ALL poker players become experts in after they bust a tournament, LoL.

Like I said, I may not have made the money I hoped for when I started the series, but I continued the cool, calm, and collected perfect-poker I’ve been playing for much of the year…and the tides started to change. If I make the right read/decision in that last hand, there’s no telling what happens from there. And now, I’ll have to wait until the next time – which will be the return of the Heartland Poker Tour to my home turf up in Blackhawk. Can I make my 2nd HPT final table of the season, and make a run for my 2nd HPT title on TV??? I’m liking my chances with the ‘power in 2s’ behind me!

It’s no secret (if you’ve been following), I’ve been playing pretty solid poker all year…I just haven’t had things ‘align’ for me, yet. If Saturday’s ‘bubble’ was any indication, the tides may be slowly turning…I’m hoping that continues tonight, and through the weekend – let’s build some momentum heading into the HPT event here, right around the corner!