2025 In Review

Thus far my play in 2026 has started out in the pits, so my mood to talk about what happened in 2025 is a little tainted. While the end results were another positive year and I ended up making more than $20 per hour, I feel I could have done better.

I started out pretty hot with a trip to Las Vegas last January with Joanna and the Veceras. After playing five different sessions at the Horseshoe Casino, I ended up leaving town up $845. Only five days into the year and I was on one of the fastest starts to a winning year I've ever had.

I then went into what is probably the worst losing streak I've ever had. At my lowest low, I turned that $850 profit into a a loss of $400 by the end of February. Luckily, I had a great night in Weatherford that turned that around and I never looked back.

In just one month I went from down $390 to up $1,220. And there really wasn't a win larger than $500 in that timespan. During the month of April I then bounced up and down and ended up at nearly the same spot, up $1,095.

At the very end of May I broke the $2,000 profit mark and finished up $2,440. And by June I had broken the $3,000 mark.

In July, August, and September I had some wins and losses that kept me right around the $3,000 profit point. It wasn't until October that I was able to finally hit $4,000 in profit. However, that didn't last and I dopped back down to $3,000+ in November.

I finished the year in December with some good wins and ended up with a total of $4,600 in profit. I played a total of 219.75 hours and my hourly total was $20.93. My largest win in a single session was $765, played in Weatherford, and my largest loss was $600, which was at WinStar.

Since 2022, I have started profiting at a higher rate than I had for the decade before that. From 2009-2021 I averaged an hourly rate of $10. However, in the last four years, I have averaged $20 per hour or higher. This is mostly due to making more calls and bluffing at a more frequent rate. I was a very tight, aggressive player and since becoming a little looser, but less aggressive, I have pretty much doubled my hourly rate. My best year was 2022, where I profited $6,150 and averaged $33.65 per hour.

I'm still working to find the right balance of aggression, tight play, and mathematically correct decisions that will optimize my hourly rate. I've challenged myself to implement some new strategies and after only a couple of games it has not worked out well. I will post next week about some hands that haven't gone the way I'd hoped, but poker isn't a grouping of multiple sessions, but one long game. Even if I am losing now, I have to keep plugging away and believe it is going to turn around for the better.

I've got my year-end tournament coming up in a week and that could result in a very big win if I can pull off the victory. I won it all in 2019 and hope this year is when I get my name on the plaque for a second time. As I prepare for the tournament I will make a post of where everyone stands in chip counts and what my odds are. With only 10 players making the freeroll tournament, I feel confident I will at least make the money.

More Frequent Posting

I made a "resolution" on my other blog that I would post more in 2026, and I think that needs to carry over to this site as well. In recent years I've simply posted my totals for the amount won, played, and hourly rate. I will likely do that again for 2025, but I need to also make some regular notes and post about recent sessions to figure out how I can become a better player.

Certainly in the past couple of years I have started maximizing wins and minimizing losses, but there is absolutely some progress to be made. One area of my game I need to get better is when I go on tilt. I'm an emotional player and I let the hands that don't go my way impact future decisions. It especially kicks in when I either have gone card dead or a suck-out happens when I was a big favorite. While I've gotten better with handling the rage, I still let it influence me.

A specific goal I am setting for myself this year is to handle my tilt better. Whether that is taking a walk when things aren't going my way or just calling it a day and cutting any losses I may have, I need to find an outlet for my frustration at the card table. Again, I am light years ahead of where I used to be. It used to be so bad my nickname was Arcade Hall, because there was an arcade room with games and pinball machines in our area called Tilt. Although I no longer worry about it being that bad, I can definitely keep it in check even more than I already do.

A second goal this year is to try and implement specialized tactics, and to even use those tactics on specific players. I attend a game pretty regularly in Weatherford and play against the same people every week. I have two guys who challenge me the most and I want to find strategies that will work against them to tilt the odds in my favor.

Now that Emery is about to go off to college and the boys are old enough to be at the house by themselves, I think I will start trying to play at our local poker house in Burleson a little more frequently. Normally if I'm not playing in Weatherford, I drive across the Red River border to WinStar, but that is a 90-minute trek and there is a card room just 20 minutes from my house. It is one of those clubs that you have to pay an entree fee and hourly rate, but I have frequently struggled with the WinStar crowd. So if I can save myself an hour's drive one-way and find a game where I have a better edge then it surely will be a win-win situation.

Hopefully I will be posting more this year and see an improvement in my game as I work on strategy throughout 2026.

2024 Year-End Weatherford Tournament

Starting off tied for second in chips didn't have the ultimate result I was hoping for. I finished the tournament in eighth place and made no money (my lotto ticket was a bust).

Things started off okay with me winning a few small pots here and there and I built my starting stack up from $10,075 to about $12,000. However, three hands in about 10 minutes brought a lot of that progress crashing down. I was rivered by a set after flopping two pair. I was out-kicked with top pair. And the worst one of all was when I held pocket aces and one of my three opponents flopped three of a kind. I made a continuation bet and after he smooth-called me I knew he had me beat. I didn't improve and when he made a bet on the river I had to fold face up. At the time he said he only had a pocket pair that was worse than the aces, however, later that night he said that was a lie and he did have K-9 and out-flopped me.

I ended up clawing my way back to about $9,000 in chips and when we combined tables I wasn't in a terrible spot. However, I had let the 10-minute run of bad luck dictate how I continued to play and I wasn't making the best decisions. I did run into some more bad luck when my pocket tens doubled up Meyser, who was holding pocket queens. That hand left me with few chips and I decided to take a stand with some middle-suited cards that were certainly live against Baird, who was on a heater that night. He held K-J and I never hit any of the cards needed to double up.

Baird ended up wining the tournament and pocketed $1,300 to start the year off. My good run in Vegas didn't flow over to the tournament, so I will have to wait another year and work toward getting my name on the plaque again next year.

2023 Year-End Weatherford Tournament

Despite finishing in fifth place this year, you could consider how I did a success. I began the tournament right in the middle of the pack with $4,500 in chips. We had 13 players qualify, but Troy wasn't able to attend. Therefore, there were $54,000 in chips at play and I was sixth out of 12 players. Even though I didn't really move up the ranks that much, I would consider it a success because I never got above $5,000 in chips throughout the tournament.

Any time I would win a small pot, it would dwindle down back to where I started or even a little below. At one point I was even down to about $3,000 in chips while we were still at two tables.

The play was very different from the normal Thursday night tournament as there were no rebuys and everybody was playing extremely conservative. The only hand that got out of control between two large stacks was Randall and Danny, who were the two big stacks at the time. Randall had pocket aces and Danny flopped top pair and a flush draw. The money went into the middle and Danny wasn't able to hit a better hand on the turn or river. At that point it was Randall's tournament and we were all just playing for second place.

I was hoping to outlast Scott F., who was very close to me in chips as we were on life support at this point in the tournament. While in the big blind at the $400-800 level, I was left with $2,000 in chips. Scott, on my left, had called the blind and only had $2,200 remaining. Randall raised it up to an amount above both of our starting stacks and I looked down at 8-6 offsuit. Although I knew I was beat at the time by higher cards, I figured this was a good enough hand to try and double up (or even triple up if Scott came along as well). We did end up going to the flop three ways and I hit the six. However, that didn't hold up and Randall hit one of his high cards on the turn or river. Because I started with less chips than Scott, I ended up in 5th and he got 4th.

Had I known how things were going to work out, I could have folded pre-flop and I would have moved up a spot in the standings and made an extra $150. However, if Scott had won the hand and I was left with only $2,000 in the small blind, I most assuredly would have still finished in fifth and not have had a chance to get myself back in the game. Pretending that my 8-6 had won, my stack would then have been at $8,800 and Scott would have been out of the game. With four players left, my stack would still have been below the average ($13,500) and I would have still needed to be in the fold or go all in style of play, but I could have worked with what I had and possibly gotten back into it.

It is disappointing that I wasn't able to get my name on the plaque again and I have to wait another year for the next opportunity. I've made great strides in the last few years with increasing my win totals and hourly rate. So hopefully I can build on that success and become even better over the course of 2024.

2023 In Review

Although not as financially successful as 2022, this past year was a great one for me in the world of poker. I ended up profiting $4,530 for the year and finished at $21.42 per hour.

The largest single session win in 2023 was late in year when on December 7 I won $1,205 at my local Weatherford cash game. It was a great night and everything seemed to be going my way with draws and coolers. My biggest loss in the year was my first one when I dropped $800 at WinStar on New Year's Day.

I don't think I established any goals last year for myself, but finishing with the second most winnings and second highest hourly rate (not counting a small sample size in 2009) would have most certainly exceeded any goals I could have set. I also finished with more than 211 hours of playing time. This was by far the most I've ever played in a single year, with the previous high being nearly 183. As my children get older and they can watch themselves a little more, I've found additional days and times to play in Weatherford or at local poker clubs, like the ones in Aledo or a new one in Burleson that I've yet to give a chance.

Looking ahead to 2024, I'm hoping to meet the similar success I've had in the last two years with highs in profitability and hourly rate, but that is certainly going to be difficult as I already put myself in the hole almost $1,000 after only four sessions at WinStar and in Weatherford. It will be an uphill climb going forward, but I've got the End of Year Freeroll Tournament in Weatherford coming up on Saturday that hopefully will get me back on the profitable path.

I'll write something up on the End of Year Freeroll Tournament soon. Hopefully I can get something in writing before the tournament happens on Saturday, but I will definitely provide results and possibly have a few examples of hands that took place during the tournament or cash game.

WinStar Grind Part II

And the high of doubling up after some grueling hours of play were quickly dashed by a second trip two days later that resulted in catastrophe.

It was an evening of K-2, K-4, and K-8 offsuit. I got those three hands more times combined than other hands total. However, the only three hands of consequence were the following ones.

While holding A-7 suited under the gun, I limped for $3, along with a handful of other players. The flop came out A-6-5 with one of my suit. The small blind led out for $15, which was about the size of the pot. I called expecting to see a turn and if I improved I would hang around. If I didn't I would get out of the way. If folded around to the button, who raised to $45. The small blind then re-raised to $115. With it now $100 to call and me obviously being in second place at best and third place at worst, I elected to fold and become a spectator. The button contemplated for a bit and finally made the call. The pot now had $260 in it.

The turn was a seven and made my stomach twist. The small blind moved all in and the button made a quick call, but made it sound like he knew he was beat. The small blind had A-5 and the button had 6-5. Had I stuck around to the turn I would have tripled up with my better two pair. I made the correct decision at the time, but it still hurts to know what I would have won had I been a terrible player.

That leads me to one of the most infuriating hands I've ever been a part of. A young woman sat on my right and bought in for $300. She made it clear she was not a regular casino card player as she didn't know many of the house rules about the betting line. Within 20 minutes of her arriving I was dealt A-Q offsuit and raised it up to $15 after a few players limped (the young woman included). Nearly the entire table called and we went to the flop with seven players and a pot of $100.

The flop was A-9-2 rainbow. It checked to the young woman and she led out for $15. With top pair and a very good kicker I elected to make it know that I was sitting on something pretty good and I raised it to $65. It folded back around to her and she didn't take long to make the call. The pot was now at $230.

The turn was a 6 that did not give any flush draws. The young woman to my right checked and I thought about it for a few seconds. I was still very confident I had the winning hand and I wanted to make a decent-sized bet that would be called by worse aces. If she was doing a great acting job with A-9 or A-2 then I would give her props and let the river dictate what happened next. She didn't take long again and started counting out the $90 in $10 increments. She finally stacked up enough and moved it forward (again I emphasize she wasn't aware that she could speak her actions and speed things along). The pot was now at $410.

The river was a jack, making a board of A-9-2-6-J. She took now time and pushed forward the rest of her chips, even having to leave behind about $30 because she didn't say all in and hadn't included it in her initial push of the chips. It didn't matter though as what she pushed out there originally had me covered by about $10.

My first impression was I obviously was beat by either a flopped set or two pair (and had played me for a fool) or rivered two pair with A-J. I couldn't see what she could be holding that I beat other than A-10 offsuit or A-X suited. However, there was now $535 in the pot and I had $125 left. I only have to be winning 1 out of 4 times to make the crying call, which I eventually did. I didn't like it though.

She showed J-2, which means she called me down for a raise on the flop and nearly $100 on the turn with bottom pair. I was livid and gut punched from how lucky she had gotten to hit her two pair with such a terrible hand. I would have definitely handled A-J a lot better.

With my final $100 I should have hit the road as my mental state was not in a place that was going to do anything productive, but instead I put it in play and tried to make something good happen. After a few limps that went nowhere I got 10-9 offsuit in the big blind and after a guy two seats to my left raised it up to $16 and got five callers, I elected to try a squeeze play and went all in for $85. It worked so well, I got two people to fold and was now against four opponents. With $450 in the pot I was praying for a miracle flop. It came out jack high and I never improved from there. The original raiser eventually went all in and got called by one player. He showed A-J for the best hand and I went home very, very, very upset.

WinStar Grind

I took a drive up to WinStar last night having been inspired by some friends recently posting their gigantic winnings in a text thread. I figured if they could have such success then why not me. While the evening ended in a profit, although not as large as my buddies, it was a struggle in the beginning to get there.

I arrived and sat right down at a $1-3 table at 8 p.m. and didn't have to wait long to get something worth playing. I was dealt pocket aces and raised it up $15 after one or two limpers came into the pot. I was called by at least two players. The flop came out with two spades and I made a continuation bet of $25. Two opponents called and the turn was another spade. I made one more bet of $40 and was called by both players again. At this point I was going into check-call mode. The river was a fourth spade and I didn't hold the ace of spades. The second player bet and I had to fold. The other player folded also, so we didn't get to see his spade, but I'm sure he had one. That meant I was now down $80 after only the fourth hand at the table.

Within 30 minutes of sitting down I then turned a straight that gave someone else a flush. And after another 30 minutes I lost with pocket queens and pocket jacks on back-to-back hands.

It took 75 minutes to win my first hand, which was a double-up with pocket kings against a crazy gambler that would move all in blind. He happened to look at his hand this time when he shoved my pre-flop raise. I didn't hesitate to call. The flop came with two aces and I thought I was surely dead, but he said he was likely way behind without knowing I didn't have an ace. That made me feel really good about my hand. But it ultimately didn't matter because a king came on the river giving me a full house. I showed and he showed the case king. He didn't show his other card, but I suspect it was a suited face card.

Another 15 minutes went by and I won my second hand of the night, which got me back to even, which was now $400 as I had added an additional $100 to my initial buy-in since things were going so poorly.

I hovered between $400-500 for most of the night once I got back to even. I would win a pot that put me up and get a little confidence to play more aggressive, but then get knocked down a peg and go back into conservative mode as I really couldn't afford to lose anything on this trip. Playing scared is not the recipe for success, but it was a priority last night.

Willing to hang around for a few more hours, the table dynamic changed pretty drastically when most of the big money winners left and we were six-handed for about 20-30 minutes. I was planning to leave since most of the money had left the table, however, then they broke up another $1-3 game and we got three new players, two of which were holding $900 and $800 each. That enticed me to stay a little longer and see what I could do.

As it was coming up on midnight I was dealt pocket jacks on the button when it had been straddled under the gun. Once the new players from the other table arrived, the straddling became pretty frequent and at least half the hands were $6 to come in. Something in me said to just call with the jacks and see what the final three blinds did before committing more chips. Whatever spider-sense I was feeling, it paid off as the big blind, who was only sitting on about $100, raised it up to $52 total. That bet was called by two larger stacks (one of which was a little less than my $500 starting stack and the other was the chip leader). The other players folded around to me and I decided now was a good time for a large raise and make them think I was doing a squeeze play.

I re-raised another $200, leaving myself approximately $250. No matter what the flop was, I was likely moving all in with the next bet if called. The original raiser called for his final $50. The other two players struggled mightily with the play I had made, but both ultimately folded. They didn't end up showing their hands, but they claimed to be holding pocket fives and pocket eights. Neither hit the board and my jacks would have beat both of them.

I tabled my jacks and the short-stacked opponent flipped his wrist to show a single ten. I didn't know if that meant he had pocket tens, ace-ten, 10-9 suited, etc. The first card in the window was a ten and I immediately was on high alert. I quickly looked back at my opponent to see if he was going to show a pair of tens in his hand, but he wasn't showing the second card yet. The turn was a random card below the ten. The river was a king. So now I was waiting to be slow rolled by a king-10 or pocket tens. Yet, it never came. He mumbled something in a foreign language possibly (English was his second language and he was wearing a mask), but never showed the other card. I scooped a $300+ pot and was now up $305 for the evening.

I played one more round and folded everything as I was determined to leave up and healthy. The only real mistake I made for the night was when holding A-K suited I flopped top pair on a K-6-2 rainbow board and made a continuation bet of $50 after raising pre-flop to $25 (again it had been straddled) and got two callers. One opponent thought for almost a minute but finally folded. The other player immediately folded. The first guy said, "Good bluff. I folded a six with an ace." If I had made a smaller continuation bet that would have likely enticed him a little more to play one more street and he was drawing to two outs. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I bet so big on the flop when there was about $80 in the pot and I came out firing $50. Normally when I hit and make a continuation bet I keep it a little under half the pot. Making it $40 probably gets at least one call and maybe even has him try something goofy on the turn.

The takeaway from last night is that no matter how bad things are going, they can turn around at any point. You just have to be patient and keep making good decisions. Don't let bad luck or a bad beat dictate poor decision making. Also, I need to take more time thinking out my bet sizing. That is one area I haven't improved as I make decisions and take action very quickly and need to slow things down.