Hey Guys,

I've played a little poker since getting back home.  So far, I'm just about even.  The action has been really good, and I've been loving playing.  So that's cool.

I've been thinking a lot about PLO.  The game has progressed and people have gotten much better in the last year.  Still though, I think there's a lot of room for improvement.  I'm going to experiment with some things.  I feel like people are still unbalanced and exploitable in a lot of ways.  The problem is, it's hard to balance many spots (such as check-potting the turn for half your stack) because you're going with your hand every time you do that.  

I think raises need to be smaller in many spots for play to be optimal, at least some of the time.  Maybe you'd have a few raise sizes, depending on the board and stack sizes.  I'll let you guys know if I figure anything out.

I actually got to play a little bit of NL the last couple of days, which I haven't played much of in the past year outside of videos.  I really do enjoy the game.  It's honestly a little bit harder of a game than PLO, in my opinion.  Deep stack HU NL is as tough as it gets, as far as a game format. 

I've played a little bit of 7game.  I still enjoy it a lot, even though I'm not that good at it.  I'm willing to take the worst of it in some games because I need to learn, and I enjoy playing and the learning process.  It's too boring and difficult for me to focus at low stakes.

Hope you all are well.  Good luck.

-Phil

 Hey Guys,

I just got back from 2 weeks in Europe.  I'm SO happy to be home.  I really don't like travelling, although it was a good trip.

I've got a lot of stuff to do this week on the business side of things, but this trip made me really excited for some reason about poker and BFP and everything.  I know that my poker and my blog have been slow lately, though I still have been working hard on videos.  Anyways, I'm feeling like I'll be rededicating myself to everything soon.

So, starting in a few days, expect to see more from me on and off the tables.  We all know poker players are terrible at blogging, and I'm not making any long term promises, but hopefully you'll enjoy reading this more for at least the next month or so.

Talk to you soon.  Good luck.

-Phil

 Hey guys,

I am SUPER busy at the moment.  I just wanted to pop in and update you on all I've been doing.

I was in Switzerland for a week, and now am in London.  English people sound so cool and smart.  The first part of the trip was a vacation, but I'm now working hard for BFP.  I've been meeting and doing some work with PKR, and doing lots of interviews.  I can tell you more about all that next week when I have more time.

I'll hopefully be able to post some pics from the vacation as well.  

No poker this week or last.  I'll likely get back into things in February, and be able to update you on poker for once.

Hope you are all well.  Talk to you soon.

Take care.

-Phil

Hey Guys,

I played two more sessions this week.  The first went fairly well at 25/50.  The second went pretty badly, though not buyin-wise, but $$ wise, since it was at higher stakes.  I started out at 25/50, but games started running that looked really good, so I hopped in.  I don't know exactly how much I lost, but I know it was more than I wanted to lose when I set out to take a small shot in the bigger games.

I want to stick more closely to my plan of playing lower stakes.  We'll see though.  I have no one to report to but myself, so it's hard to argue with myself when I want to play bigger.

All for now.  Talk to you guys soon.

Good luck.

-Phil

Hey Guys, 

I just had some free time (for the first time in a while) and played a few hours of poker.  The good news is, I won a little bit.  The great news is, I enjoyed playing a lot, which hasn't been the case for a long time.  I think maybe my extended break has gotten me excited about playing again.  Being lazy worked out for me, as usual.

I played 3 tables of 100/200 cap plo for only about 15 minutes.  A couple people left and the games broke.  I ran well in those 15 minutes and won a few 8k buyins.  Then I played 4-7 tables of 25/50plo for a few hours, and managed to squeak out 2 buyins there.  The PLO games have clearly gotten tougher in the past year.  My ego wants to think it's because I started making videos a year ago, but it probably isn't.

That brings me to another topic:  Bluefirepoker.com just had its 1 year anniversary.  Thanks to everyone who's joined, followed my blog, or participated in any way.  Especially the pros who have made some amazing vids.  I'm really happy with how far this company has come and how well it's been received in just one year.  We are still working hard and planning many improvements to the site and the content.

The one big thing I've learned from this experience is that putting an idea into action takes about 5x as long as I thought it would, and 30x as long as I want it to.  We are looking at all the feedback we get, and we are trying hard to keep improving.

Happy 1 year, BFP.  Also, happy birthday to me soon.  I'll be 25 next week.  I think I'll be officially too old to be considered an online young gun, if anyone even calls anyone that.

Take care, everyone.  Good luck.

-Phil

Hey Everyone,

I just got back to NYC before new years, and I've had people in town since.  I haven't played a hand of  poker in a while.  I think I may play a little in the coming weeks, but probably won't get back to full time until February.

I've been getting a lot of requests for some 6m NL vids.  It's hard, even making a video every week, to keep people happy, since there are so many different types of videos I can make.  

I'll start working on more 6max nl vids.  Please keep letting me know what you want to see.  I'll do my best to keep everyone happy.

Happy New Year everyone.  Good luck in 2010.

-Phil

Hey Guys,

Happy Holidays to everyone.  I'm about to head back to NYC, and looking forward to it.  I made a different kind of video this week for the holidays.  A little less strat heavy and a little more entertaining, I hope.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the members think.  

I hope you all are enjoying friends and/or family.  I am, and I'm looking forward to getting back to playing next month (although I have a lot of people in town until late in the month, so it will be a little while till I'm back in full swing).

Talk to you soon.  Take care.

-Phil

My Dad is going through old videos and converting them to DVDs.  He emailed me this today:

Training

(I'm still working on embedding the vid.  I'll do that when I figure it out)

Hey Guys,

I ALMOST played today for the first time in a while.  I just keep finding myself not in the mood to play.  Today I was on lists and sat in some good games, and I realized that I was really tired and shouldn't play.  I've learned from past experience that playing when I don't want to or don't feel ready and focused is a bad decision.  However, this is the first time that I've not wanted to play for an extended period of time.

Usually I'm very eager to play more often than not.  I'm not sure how this is going to change, but, especially while I'm traveling, I'm not going to push myself to play when I'm not focused.

If it continues like this for a couple months, I may need to setup some rules for myself as far as getting hours in.

Luckily I'm not in the position of having to force myself to play to pay the bills, but I have stressed a little bit about that lately.  My expenses over this past year and a half have been WAY higher than any other time in my life (Mostly due to moving, buying a home, doing major construction on it, and traveling a lot).  I probably will be doing a lot less of all of those next year, which will leave me with fewer expenses and more time to play. 

Hope you are all doing well.  Good luck.

-Phil

Hey Guys,

I haven't played since my last post.  I don't plan on playing a ton through the rest of 09.  I've got a lot going on through then, and into most of January as well.

I've been watching the nosebleeds from afar lately.  I miss the action, but I like the stress free (relatively) life I've lead since the last time I've played.  I'm sure I'll be back soon, but I actually would be proud of myself if I didn't play about 50/100 until March.  I doubt I'll be able to hold out that long though.

Congratulations to Brian Hastings, who crushed Isildur for 4 million and some change.  He's an extremely good player, and from my experience, a really good guy.  Whenever someone wins huge, I feel at least a tinge of jealousy.  I think most people are that way.  Maybe I am more than most because it actually very easily could've been me.  Or maybe I'm just a bad person.  But, I can honestly say that while I wish it was me, I am genuinely very happy for Brian.  He deserves it as much as anyone else.

I'm very curious as to whether Isil will be returning or not, and with how much money.  That might shed a bit of light on the mystery of who he could be (though there are theories already)

All for now.  Hope the upcoming holidays are fun for you guys.  Take care.

-Phil

Hey Guys,

So I am finally back in NY, but I'll be out of town again starting tomorrow, maybe for a while.  I only got a couple days worth of playing in, and my results were unspectacular.  2009 has been a slow year for me, both in my luck on the tables, and my time spent on them.  I've had a lot going on this year, and I know next year things will be settling down for me, and I'll be able to get back into my normal routine.

I think that, although my results haven't been what they were last year, the fact that I've had a lot more going on in my life has made it very easy to handle.  I've said this before, but when poker is your whole life, and it takes all of your focus, you base a lot of your happiness and self worth on your results.  Putting that much of yourself in the hands of something you can't fully control is risky.  When poker is going badly, your life is going badly.  

It's a strange balance you need to keep.  I've found that everyone who makes it to the top is at one point or another completely obsessed with poker.  I was that way for a few years.  But it's really important to have balance and other aspects of your life that you derive happiness from, for the sake of your poker results, and your personal emotional stability and quality of life.  

As poker players, we think about money all the time, and some of us might even confuse this as our top priority.  It isn't.  At the end of the day, quality of life is what we value.  Maybe the money we make playing poker can add to it.  Maybe for some of us it's a big part right now of what makes us happy.  But don't lose sight of the fact that you can be really happy without it.  And don't focus so much on poker that you let all your other sources of fulfillment and happiness suffer.

I put in way more hours and made substantially more money in 2008 than in 2009, but I have absolutely no regrets.  I'm so happy with my life, my new home, my work on Bluefirepoker, and this has been my best year yet.

This holiday season, take a few days off.  Enjoy your friends and family.

Good luck.

-Phil

Hey Guys,

Going back to NYC tomorrow after a little vacation. 

I cheated a little and sat in some 300/600plo games today.  They were pretty good and I was bored.  I made a modest buyin and a half before games broke.  I'll definitely take it.  That's a lot of buyins at 25/50.

Despite my temporary lapse in discipline, I'm gonna stick with grinding for the next month at least.

As I said before, I'll be busy this month, so I won't get a TON of hands in, but hopefully the grinding will go well enough that I'm ready to get back in the big games soon.

I had a great Thanksgiving with a bunch of family.  Even played some Thanksgiving football without injuring myself.

All for now.  Talk to you soon.

Good luck.

-Phil

Hey Guys,

So it's been 3 days since I decided to play lower.  So far I've stuck to it, though I've been very tempted to sit in some 2k/4k 7games or 500/1k with Isildur.  I almost just did, but decided to blog instead.  Thanks guys.  You're my gambling nicorette.

I've played probably somewhere in the realm of 20-24 hours the last few days, averaging about 9 tables of 25/50.  Good job, Phil.  Good job.

I've enjoyed it.  I actually get to play PLO, which I love, and I get to play against tough players, but at stakes that don't stress me out at all.  I'm up around 12 buyins, but I don't even feel like I've been running well.  I guess that's how everyone feels though.  The last two days I ended my sessions dropping 6 buyins within the last hour of play.  I think it's just a function of variance, but perhaps I'm losing focus after 6-8 hours of that many tables.

I'm also playing on a laptop.  I used to never play more than 8 tables, even on my desktop.  For some reason, I'm more comfortable now with all the tables.  I was playing 11 on my laptop most of the day yesterday.

I probably won't be playing for a week.  Mini vacation and then Thanksgiving with the fam.

Talk to you guys soon.

Take care.

-Phil

Hey Guys,

I know I keep disappearing from action for a week here and there, but it looks like it's gonna continue.  I'll still be playing from time to time, but I have a lot going on from now until 2010.

With the holidays coming up, I'll be doing a lot of traveling.  I'm in LA right now.  I actually got a call on Friday asking to come in and play on High Stakes Poker.  It was pretty last minute, but I really wanted to play, so I took the flight there the next morning at 11am, landed in vegas, played till around midnight, stayed up and flew back out at 7am.  It was very hectic, and I definitely didn't play my best, but it was a lot of fun.  I think I'd forgotten how impatient I get playing live these days.  I definitely got involved way too deep in some hands I shouldn't have.  Hopefully my terrible play will make for some good TV, and my loyal BFP members won't judge me for it :)

Poker isn't going very well right now.  Well actually, that's not true.  It's strange.  What I should say is that my financial situation isn't great right now.  I've been very happy with the way I've been playing, and my results have been pretty good, but due to some investments, staking, taxes, and mostly expenses on my new place, I've found my self a little short on cash.

I'll probably be playing lower for a little while.  I still COULD play in some bigger games, but I really think it's a bad idea.  A small bad run could get to me in a big way right now.  It will be nice now that I think about it, especially since I'll have less time to play the rest of the year than usual.  

I'll be less stressed overall.  It's hard playing 2k/4k 7game when you only have 3 hours to play and then a couple days off.  The swings get to me much more than if I were to be playing steadily every day.  I'll do a little grinding, catch up and get ahead on making some videos, do a little more coaching, and hopefully study up a lot on my HORSE games.

It's weird.  This is the first time in my career that a drop in stakes isn't coinciding with me losing a lot of money.  Normally in a downswing, I'd be losing confidence in my game and questioning my play, but I actually feel great about my game, so this step down will be much easier for me, I think (hope)

I would absolutely LOVE to do some type of challenge where I have to make $x in 1 month, or something like that, but unfortunately I don't have the time to grind 80 hour weeks right now, or even close to it.  I guess I'll just play when I have a chance, and see how it goes.

I hope everyone is doing well.  Happy, almost holidays.

Take care.

-Phil

Hey BFPers,

A lot of people have been asking me my take on the lsildur v Durrrr match.  Obviously I am good friends with Tom, so I've been rooting for him.

Yes, I have watched some of it, and have been following, but I actually haven't seen most of the action first hand.  I've read through many of the hand histories, and I actually watched almost the entire first day.  I've also played a few hours with lsildur myself, and countless hours with Tom.

Who's the favorite?  I can't be sure.  I've never played against someone who I thought had an edge on Tom at hunl.  However, after 25k hands and big results, Bayesian probability insists that I at least consider the fact that Tom could be a dog here.

From my experience with lsildur, my impression was that he was a very good pro, but not unbeatable.  His style was different than many of the opponents I've played, but adjusting to new game dynamics has always been one of my strongest skills as a poker player.  I was very happy to be getting new high stakes action, but certainly didn't consider him a fish.

After watching the match, my opinion of his game has risen.  Not many people can handle a style like Tom's at nosebleeds with stacks that deep for very long.  You have to remain on your A game constantly or risk getting completely picked apart.

lsildur has shown that he can stay on his A game for many hours, across 6 tables, without much sleep.  Something I don't think I could do.  Yes, running well at nosebleeds will help a lot with your focus.   Adrenaline and the thrill of beating the best probably has made it easier for him to stay focused.  And everyone is familiar with the concept of 'momentum' though people's opinions on its effect differ.

I've read a bit about theories on who he is, and the way he got to where he's at right now.  Seems like no one is positive about him or his backstory, at least publicly.  No, I don't have any more info than you guys do.

People probably assume, based on my reputation recently as a game selector and bankroll manager, that I think anyone risking huge portions of their roll against the best in the world is stupid.  Far from it.  I came up that way pretty much.  I played in games I had 10 or less buyins for.  I've lost half my roll in a night, and much more than that over certain chunks of time.

Playing against tough competition when you have a lot on the line is a great way to learn the game.  It motivates you more than anything else can.  It's not shocking that lsildur has made the progress he has (based on the stories I've read).

I personally don't want to put myself at risk like that anymore.  I'm content with my current life situation, and I'm not willing to jeopardize it yet.  However, I definitely don't look down on anyone who approaches poker differently.  I have a TONNNNN of respect for both Tom and lsildur.  In many ways, I'm extremely jealous that I'm not a part of a match this epic.

How good is lsildur?  I'm not sure yet.  I'd need to play against him myself much more.  He's probably an excellent player, based on what I know.  Even while running extremely well, very few people could come out far ahead against Tom over that many hands of 6 tabling 500/1k.  Even fewer people would dare to try it.

If he were playing against almost anyone else, I'd be rooting for him, but I hope Tom is able to turn things around.  

I've been playing for around 5 years now, and I've never seen anything like this.  I'll be on the rail with the rest of you.  Enjoy it.

-Phil