thecortster's Poker Blog

All good things must come to an end

2010-02-14T11:24:00.004+01:00

Short and sweet: I am closing my blog.

After more than four years of blogging, I am throwing in the towel. Some of you may have noticed that my motivation for blogging has gradually lessened over time and I think now is an appropriate time for me to end it. This blog has been great for me as it has allowed me to put my thoughts into words but I've hit a point where it's really only turned into trip reports anyway. I may write somewhere else in the future but as of now I have no plans whatsoever. Sorry for anyone who was living vicariously through me, you'll have to get your poker fix elsewhere :)

There are only so many things that can be said before poker blogging just becomes incredibly dry and boring. I mean in all seriousness, who really wants to see more hand histories of AK vs QQ all-in preflop? Downswings, upswings blablabla...unless it's really degenerate, no one really cares anyway. Strategy posts have become pretty much nonexistent in today's world where you have to pay to get good strategy advice. Nobody hands out their secrets for free anymore and I'm not about to divulge my reads vs other regulars for everyone to see.

I am quite proud of my blog. I have kept it active for more than four years when nearly every other poker blog has either died or become a ghost town. I'm also proud of the fact that I remained independent and did not go to one of the mass-blog poker communities. A lot of poker bloggers blog to get their name exposed in hopes of scoring a sponsorship deal. The sponsorship boat has definitely sailed, right now the only way you can hope for a deal is if you win several big tournaments or if you happen to be an attractive female that knows the difference between a flush and a full house. What used to be fairly easy to come by (any good final table in EPT season 1) now is pretty much hopeless.

Just to make it clear, I'm not quitting poker. I really like the balance I have between online and live poker and that's something I want to maintain in the future. I have plans for EPT Berlin, EPT San Remo, EPT Monte Carlo and then the WSOP this summer.

Finally, I'd like to thank all the readers who have kept coming back over the years. It was nice to know that some people (even the haters) were interested enough to check for updates. I realize most people just came for the pictures and hopefully I was able to deliver! I appreciate all the comments you have made, they really added to my motivation to keep it going so long. Thanks again!

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good bye!

End of trip wrapup

2010-02-02T10:30:00.003+01:00

A lot has happened since my last entry. Let's start with the Main Event. Day 2 started well for me, I had my 70k up to 250k pretty quickly after an early set-up with KK vs AKs. I was playing with Gus Hansen, John Juanda and James Akenhead. As a result, it wasn't very surprising when they made us the first tv table. It was fun to play for the cameras again, though it was a pretty short experience (2 hours). When we got moved back down away from the cameras, I started bleeding chips pretty badly and lost about 100k in the next level.

Gus Hansen was annoying the crap out of me, as was this bwin qualifier. I just couldn't seem to win a pot without getting played back at and when the cards are not coming your way, losing chips is pretty inevitable. I was eventually left with 90k after more plays were not working, then blinded down to 60k (20bb) before restealing Gus Hansen's cutoff open with 52hh. He made the call with ATo despite my tight image (maybe I am a live read fish?) but I hit gin on a 56hJh flop, 6x,Qx to double up to 120k. Then I was moved to a new table for the last few minutes of play and managed to double up again, this time with KK vs 66 in a button vs SB situation. A few 3bets later I ended the day with 270k in chips!

Day 3 started of very well for me as I was able to completely run my table over at the bubble. Some guy stacked off to me with JT vs my AJ on a Jhi board and I was smooth sailing with 550k chips as we entered the money. From there things went downhill but the players were busting pretty quickly so before I knew it, we were down to just 36 players and the format switched to 6 handed.

Obviously shorthanded is much more up my alley but I was pretty shortstacked with 25bb so my options were limited. Right off the bat I got it in with A9s vs QQ SB vs BB and lost, leaving myself with just 10bb. I got those in with 77 vs TT and spiked a 7 for tournament life, lucky me! With around 28 players left I got it all in with QQ vs 99 for a 750k pot but the board ran out AATTT, unlucky me! Soon after I got it in yet again, this time with Ah2x vs AQo on a QhTh2h flop. 43% equity was not enough for me to win the 900k+ pot and I was eliminated in 25th place for $40k AUSD. Still, it was a really fun sweat and felt great to run semi deep in something again, but it just wasn't meant to be.

welcome to the good life

The $2k shorthanded a couple days later also wasn't meant to be, seeing that I lost my stack on a AA7 flop with A8 vs QQ, we got it all in but he hit me with a backdoor fläsh. At least it happened somewhat early in the tourney so I didn't have to waste too much time.

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah Phil celebrated his birthday a few nights ago at a nightclub called Seven. Despite a warning from the cute girl at the spa reception who said it was ASIA NIGHT, he went ahead with his plans and got two tables at the club. When we got there, I kid you not, there was not a single non-Asian in line. Inside the building, I spotted a total of two white guys (must be Asian lovers, hi Larry!) in the whole club. As you can imagine, it was an incredibly awkward experience to stick out and be stared at like that. Needless to say, we drank for about an hour or so and then hit the road. Oops!

have a close look, I wasn't exaggerating!

On Sunday we decided to do a helicopter tour of the Great Ocean Road, which turned out to be a really awesome experience. It was a little pricey (though I didn't have to pay, ty credit card roulette) but it's something I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to get the best view of the coastline and the 12 Apostles. Driving the Great Ocean Road is one thing, but you don't get to see nearly as much as you do from the helicopter's perspective, plus you don't waste so much time driving. We took a ton of pictures I even recorded a short video, check it out.

From there we flew back just in time for the Australian Open mens final. This time I actually did have to pay (we didn't cc roulette it) but it was totally worth it. To be honest I would have liked to see one or two more sets but Federer just wouldn't allow it. He was really at the top of his game and it seemed like Murray struggled to find his rhythm, which was kind of unfortunate especially since I bet on him. Still, the beer was great, the match was great and the experience was great!

the helicrew. ramin me igor tom fabi tini

Today is my final day in Melbourne and I'm all alone because the others are doing a two week trip through Australia. I would have loved to join but I really wanted to get back home to Berlin for a couple weeks before I need to hit the road again to Kansas on Feb 22nd. Melbourne this year has been probably the most memorable trip yet and I am 99.99% sure that I will be returning next year. That's it from me, now it's time to close my eyes and pray that my runbad on airline travel doesn't carry over to my flights home!

this was at the final, the clouds were really sweet

Happy Australia Day!

2010-01-26T01:48:00.003+01:00

Good day mate! I really like the way Australians are. The way they talk, their positive (yet not fake) attitude, just the general atmosphere in Melbourne is something that keeps me coming back year after year.

our chef at Koko, a very nice Japanese restaurant at the Crown

I went 0 for 2 in the nightly $1k satellites to the Main Event, which isn't a surprise considering the ridiculous structure. The funniest thing about them though are the things that the other players say at the table. They try to use words they've read in a book or magazine like fold equity or bluff catcher but put them so out of context it's hilarious. I should have brought my headphones because I'm pretty sure I lost brain cells while listening to some of it.

The Main Event began terribly for me, I started losing chips right off the bat and after level 3 I was left with just 5k chips and blinds of 100/200/25. I was able to double up with AKs vs QTs and then chipped up to 20k. When I had around 24k I got it all in with AA vs AK on a 885K board, which catapulted my stack up to 50k. I was playing pretty loose but did not get played back at much so that allowed me to build up to 70k without much variance. That's where we ended the day, so I'm pretty optimistic going into Day 2 tomorrow.

Ramin, Sonja & Seb at the Wawrinka-Cilic match

Away from poker, we've been keeping very busy with the Australian Open. So far I've been there three times (Haas-Greul, Wawrinka-Cilic, Haas-Tsonga) and have had a blast. Obviously we've been hitting up some nice restaurants in the Crown. Nobu was a pleasant experience as always, Koko (photo above) was great and just last night we ate at Rockpool, which was my favorite meal yet. We've also been pretty active ourselves, playing tennis once and beach volleyball twice thusfar. Today we're off to St. Kilda beach to enjoy the beautiful weather and celebrate Australia Day. I'll post another update when I find some more time!

Schlaaannnndddd! Philbort, just a few days before his $250k cash at UB

Nasr was cold so he bought an authentic jacket from a ballboy for $100

our seats weren't the best but it was still a great match

PCA recap

2010-01-16T07:03:00.004+01:00

My first PCA trip did not quite live up to my expectations, pretty much only as a result of the poor weather. Of the 10 days I was there we only had one sunny day, one decent day and eight meh days. When so much of the Atlantis experience is based on outdoor/pool activities, it really takes a lot of options away as far as what you can do other than grind it out in the casino. I try plan these trips as more of a vacation with poker on the side rather than vice versa whenever possible. If I had to pick a highlight of the trip it would certainly be the food. Nobu & Mesa Grill were both phenomenal as always, the rest of the food at Atlantis was pretty good and the couple times we left the resort to eat locally (seafood & Greek) it ended up being very tasty.

Some people have asked if we felt any part of the Haiti earthquake but the answer is no. There was a tsunami watch for the Bahamas that night but nothing ever materialized afaik. The whole earthquake is so tragic, it could not have hit a more unfortunate country. I flew to Miami with an American who survived it (the building he was in did not immediately collapse) and hearing his stories about all the bodies on the side of the road was pretty shocking to say the least.

Moving on, our trip to Australia started off on the wrong foot in Nassau because our plane was delayed, meaning we missed our connecting flight in Miami and when we got to LA, everybody got their boarding passes for the direct flight to Melbourne except me, wtf??? I got rerouted through Sydney, so my journey from gate-to-gate ended up being 31 hours. It feels sooooo good being in Melbourne and finally being able to strech my legs and relax. I need a private jet so I can avoid all these travel fiascos.

The Main Event doesn't start until January 26th so now we have some time to catch up on some sun, tennis and anything else Melbourne has to offer! The internet sucked in the Bahamas so I couldn't upload pics, but here you go!

group dinner @ Nobu. a few people are hidden and not everyone was prepared for the pic

my fried shrimp & snapper at a local seafood restaurant in Nassau

we need to get this patio furniture for vegas. comfort deluxe

blending in with the locals

giant strawberry margharitas from senor frogs

yup. he even travels in his puma jacket

Bahamas

2010-01-06T23:03:00.002+01:00

My trip to the Bahamas did not go very smooth at all. First, my plane in Kansas City was delayed two hours due to a failure with some generator (?) and consequently I missed my connecting flight in Dallas. Because there were no more flights from Dallas to Nassau, I was rerouted through Miami. However, all the flights from Miami were booked out until the next morning, so I had to spend the night in Miami. This was quite tilting as you can imagine!

The next morning I flew to Nassau and it turns out that I grabbed the wrong suitcase from the conveyor belt! Some guy had the exact same suitcase as I did. Same manufacturer, same color, same size, no name tag. It's obv my fault, but what are the odds that someone has the same suitcase on a flight with just around 70 people on it? I brought it to the hotel, opened it up (my key worked to unlock his suitcase!) and the first thing I saw were pink sandals, at which point I was just thinking wtf??? So I had to go back to the airport, return his suitcase and pick up mine. They just have the suitcases lying around to be taken and do no security checks, so if anyone needs some new clothes, hit up Nassau airport.

Today I played the Main Event and to make a long story short, I busted at the end of Level 4. I had to fold a set on the river in level 3 which took a big chunk of my stack, then I had around 50bbs and got in a 3bet pot with AA from the SB vs the CO, who was Shane "Shaniac" Schleger. He had the good old J3s and on a board of K93J, it was pretty easy for him to call my turn shove. River blanked and I am out, it happens. I'm not upset about it at all, I'm actually even in a pretty good mood. Maybe it's because today is the first day of decent weather since we've been here.

I'm not sure which, or even if I'll play the side events that are running every day. If the weather stays nice tomorrow then I'm pretty sure I'll just soak up some sun and slurp on some Bahama Mamas. Pictures to come!

A Whole New Year

2010-01-01T17:53:00.002+01:00

2010 has arrived! I can't believe that the millennium is now 10 years in the past! It's something I'll never forget because my mom forbade me to go to the Brandenburg Gate with all my friends and I still tease her about it to this day. She thought it was too dangerous, but for 14-year old me I could think of nothing more fun! My new years this year was actually quite weak. I stayed home and chilled indoors, alone, and even played some poker! It's ironic because I preach about getting out and being social and then I turn around and do something like that, oh well. It was very relaxing, I had time to sit back and think about things and I enjoyed it very much!

I recently had my first ever visit to see a chiropractor and I gotta say, totally worth it! People do not take enough care of their backs and though I get fairly regular massages, I've never had someone do an actual spinal adjustment to me. There was really no pain involved and afterward I felt great, which was the whole point. It's a goal of mine to take better care of my posture so that I don't have back problems when I get older but I constantly find myself slouched over my computer chair anyway, that's just the way it works.

PCA Bahamas is fast approaching, I already leave for it on Sunday. A ton of Germans are going to be there this year, so I'm sure there will be plenty of credit card roulette bills where I'll need a little rungood. There are so many that I'll just decide spontaneously which tourneys to play in other than the Main Event of course. Also, I'm hoping that we can rent some kind of boat and take it out to sea one of those days. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures!

On a final note, I'm so stoked that Pokerstars announced EPT Berlin! Though I'm not necessarily convinced that the organization will be stellar (based on Spielbank Berlin's history, certainly not Pokerstars) I'm sure that the event will be a lot of fun and what better place to play than on my home turf!?! I'll have to fly back from my sister's wedding a couple days earlier than planned which kinda sucks but I couldn't miss out :)

2009: My Year in Review

2009-12-24T01:48:00.002+01:00

In what is starting to become somewhat of a tradition, I have a couple sentences to write about each month this past year and a little bit about looking forward to the future. Enjoy!

January 09: I began the year in the Philippines with my sister on a trip that I will never forget. From there we went on to Australia, starting in Sydney but then taking a 5 day driving tour down the eastern coast to Melbourne. I managed to make the final table in a side event of the Aussie Millions for $25k. Get in plenty of Australian Open action. Australia is simply the nuts.

February 09: I got a last minute invitation to play in the first German Highrollers cash game for DSF. I didn't run very well and dropped a couple stacks but the experience was awesome! Saalbach is a great location, it's no wonder it was chosen to host an EPT this year.

March 09: Both EPT Dortmund and the Vienna Spring Festival end up without cashes, though I am totally content with my play. Thank God for sebbau sucking at squash otherwise I would have lost a lot more money this month :)

April 09: Online grinding for most of the month, then San Remo at the end of the month, yet another non-cash at an EPT.

May 09: Continue the trip through Italy to Milan for a few days followed by Monte Carlo for the EPT. Have an amazing time (trip report here) and even manage to cash in Monte Carlo. Wheeeee!!! At the end of the month I arrive in Vegas for the WSOP!

June 09: Vegas Vegas Vegas! In what is undoubtedly the best Vegas trip yet, I make a small cash in the $2500 shorthanded event, immediately followed with a cash in the $5k shootout, where Nasr goes on the make the final table only to get rigged out in 5th place. A couple picture galleries here and here.

July 09: My WSOP Main Event unfortunately ends on Day 3, but Nasr, Chris and Marco all go on to make deep runs. I had my first skydiving experience! After Vegas, I go to California for a short trip to get away from poker. What a summer.

August 09: Made a quick trip to Munich to visit my sister and her fiancee and spent the rest of the month just lounging, catching up on tv shows and playing a little bit of online poker. Made a $10k tennis bet with Seb for a match to be played next September, gl me!

September 09: Started the month in Barcelona for the EPT. Had a good time but did not have success in the tourney, that's just the way it goes. Later in the month I went to Hamburg to see the touring Cirque du Soleil show, good times!

October 09: For a change I spent my birthday in Berlin for the first time in years. Our Halloween party turns out to be a blast! From this point on the year gets pretty boring as I decided not to take any more trips until the end of December for Xmas. It feels great to stay home for more than a few weeks at a time, though.

November 09: I get sick twice (!) in one month, good thing I was home for it. Plenty of time for online poker. After all, it is my job!

December 09: Same old same old. Get in as many hands as possible without overdoing it. In my daily routine until just a few days ago when I flew to Kansas for Christmas. I'll spend the rest of the year here before leaving for the Bahamas on January 3rd!

All in all it's been yet another fantastic year, both in poker and other aspects of life. It amazes me how fast these years are flying by, it's almost scary. I often wonder if these will be the years I look back on and just say "Man those were the times!" I want to enjoy them as much as possible and think that I'm doing a pretty good job of it so far. I have never been happier in life and can honestly say I'm living my dream!

As far as goals for the upcoming year are concerned, I would still like to see a significant 6 figure cash at a live tournament. This was something I actually had planned for 2009 but it just wasn't meant to be. Considering I play less than 10 live tourneys a year the odds are obviously against me but I'll do my best!

Thanks to all my loyal readers, I wish you guys a prosperous 2010!

Procrastination

2009-12-11T15:53:00.003+01:00

I feel like I procrastinate my blog posts more and more these days. Ever since I was a kid I have always procrastinated things as long as possible. Whether it be school projects, homework or anything that had a deadline, I was pretty good about waiting until the last minute before putting any effort into it. Somehow I was still able to get by with decent grades (for the most part, lol chemistryaments) and when I finished high school in the States I even graduated with honors thanks to classes like Advanced German or Radio & TV. Maybe getting by so easy taught me a wrong life lesson, that too much can be achieved with minimal effort.

Someone asked me what my typical day looks like so here it goes. Depending on the day, I'll wake up sometime between 10am - 1pm. I'll then take a shower and then usually go downstairs to the local coffee shop for breakfast that is conveniently located only a few seconds away from my apartment. After breakfast I load up my computer and catch up on news/emails/etc and then I'll play poker for a couple hours in the afternoon. Lunch/dinner varies every day (I won't quit really good games for dinner) but my roommates usually help me out with this if they see I can't get away from the PC. Having cool roommates is awesome.

We have guests over pretty much every evening so my nights consist of either movie nights, playing Fifa10 (and crushing), playing poker or just socializing about all kinds of random stuff. I usually call it a night sometime between 1am-3am and sneak in an episode or two of whatever series I'm watching (right now it's 24, season 5). Tuesday and Thursday evenings I have soccer practice, every Sunday morning I have a soccer game. I probably play poker 5-6 days a week, though I do take a few days off every once in a while when I am low on motivation.

My daily routine is actually quite predictable when I'm home but that's something that I enjoy. Some may think it's boring but I get plenty of variety when I am traveling. Speaking of which, we managed to get the same mini castles for the 2010 WSOP locked up. This'll be the first year that we return to familiar properties but seeing as they were pretty much ideal for the size of our group, I'm really stoked that we got them back. Having the World Cup and the WSOP at the same time is going to make for a memorable summer indeed!

Sick again

2009-11-29T14:05:00.002+01:00

I hate being sick. I've been in bed since Thursday with some type of cold that won't seem to go away. The worst thing about it is that there is absolutely nothing productive I can do during the day while I'm awake because I lack the energy to stay focused, so really I am just lying around like a bum watching TV all day waiting for the moment when I start to feel better. It's only when we're sick that we realize that we should be more thankful during the times we are healthy.

I'm sure I'll get over it soon and quite honestly I have to because I have a big couple months ahead of me. My upcoming schedule:
Dec 22 - Kansas for Christmas/New Years
Jan 3 - Bahamas for PCA (EPT)
Jan 14 - Melbourne for Aussie Millions
Feb 3 - back home to Berlin, but not for long
Feb 23 - Kansas again for my sister's wedding

The trip should be tons of fun, there are just sooooo many things I am looking forward to. First off it'll be great to see my family again as always around Xmas time. I've never been to the Bahamas before and from what I've heard, it's really awesome. Australia is going to be amazing for sure again, this time I've budgeted in enough time to stay there for the Australian Open men's final on Feb 1st. Then it's back home for a couple weeks to recoup before flying back to KS for my sister's wedding. It's going to be a lot of traveling but it's nothing I can'd handle! Stay tuned for trip reports!

It's not all sunshine and roses

2009-11-14T12:09:00.002+01:00

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about the upsides and downsides that playing online poker professionally entails, some more obvious than others. Being your own boss and answering to no one is something that many people aspire for and I must say, it feels pretty darn good. Then comes the fact that you can sleep in every day of the week and make your own work hours. Waking up naturally is one of the most satisfying feelings out there and undoubtedly has a positive effect on daily energy/focus levels. Finally, the freedom to travel whenever (and in most cases wherever) you please is something that is not very normal for 18-30 year olds.

I can't tell you how blessed I feel that I found poker. In a way it worries me that I am too spoilt right now because honestly I can never imagine having a conventional job that gives me a boss to report to, dictates what time I wake up, etc. I know this thought is something a lot of other players struggle with. I hope that doesn't come off as too arrogant or sound like shameless bragging because that is really not my intention.

Moving on, there are some negative aspects that poker brings with it that are too often overlooked in my opinion. Obviously there are exceptions and not everyone can be pushed into one category, as is the case with most things in life. For starters, playing poker professionally can lead to very high stress levels, especially with the guys who can win or lose a large % of their bankroll on a daily basis. Downswings can be very difficult to deal with emotionally and I think the stress is too much for some people to handle which is why they blow up and eventually go broke.

Also, online poker players have very little social interaction by default. As a result, poker players can be some of the most awkward people you'll ever meet. Many lack even the most basic of social skills and I think this is the reason so many get literally addicted to places like the Spearmint Rhino. Poker players really should make an effort to try and have more actual conversations (Skype convos don't count, nor do conversations with the pizza delivery guy) and I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they would start to feel more comfortable in their social interactions.

Another thing I have briefly touched upon in the past is physical activity. I'm a firm believer in that being physically fit has a direct positive effect on the mind and its ability to make decisions. Unfortunately, tons of poker players totally ignore this. I really can't blame them, either. Why leave the house when it's cold outside and I could make $xxx/hour staying inside? What they don't realize is that in the long run, that hour spent exercising is going to potentially pay off exponentially. Also, your body will thank you! My advice: join a team sport and kill two birds (social interaction + physical activity) with one stone.

Halloweeeeeen

2009-11-05T00:22:00.002+01:00

My roommates and I threw our first annual Halloween party that turned out to be quite a blast! There were just over 20 people over at our apartment and though we were planning on having around 30, the turnout was still pretty good. I get the feeling that most people, myself included, waited until the last minute to get their costumes and as a result, several people canceled at the last minute or some showed up 3.5 hours late *cough Nasr cough*

I went as Hugh Hefner but was pretty disappointed in my costume. I managed to order 3(!) different Hugh Hefner robes from various online stores and obv the worst one was the only one that arrived on time. After I ordered the first one I realized that they would not get it to Germany on time, then ordered a different one a day later and they promised to get it to me two days before the party. When I saw that that was not happening, I rush-ordered a third costume which only came in black and is something Hefner himself would probably never wear. These sort of things tilt me beyond belief! Almost as tilting as the real robe being delivered at 9am on the first business day after the party!

don't have a higher resolution, sry! notice the shower in the back, he of course won the best costume award!

There were definitely some hilarious costumes at the party in addition to the costumes that made you realize that Germans don't really celebrate Halloween (or attend many Halloween parties). Stereotypically Halloween is supposed to be scary or gruesome but in reality for people my age in the States, Halloween is generally an excuse for girls to dress with as little clothing as possible and for guys to come up with funny costumes.

I didn't get very wasted at all but I did pick up some kind of food poisoning or virus that had me puking 7x the next morning/afternoon and spending the following two days in bed unable to eat. I felt like death so I obv missed my soccer game on Sunday morning and even now my stomach is not back to 100% yet. Getting sick tilts me, too. I haven't been playing any poker the past week because I've had company in town + the sickness has kept me out of business. In my downtime I've been doing a lot of thinking about my future so it's been great to get my head on straight, I will get back to the grind over the next couple days! Btw for anyone interested in Ivey and his crazy baller lifestyle, check out this ESPN E:60 video!

Do you go all in a lot?

2009-10-26T11:35:00.003+01:00

There are a couple thinks that can be very tilting about blogging. The number one tilt-creator is writing out a blog only to have it accidentally deleted (just happened to me) and the number two is coming up with a fitting blog title. Sometimes I sit here for what seems like an eternity staring at my screen trying to come up with a title, I think all fellow bloggers will agree with me that it's probably the most annoying thing ever.

Anyway, really the only things I've been doing lately have been either lounging or playing soccer. Poker has not been running too well lately and as a result I haven't been playing much. I seem to lose my motivation when things are not running smoothly, even though it makes no sense. Still, because I skipped the EPTs this month I probably wound up playing more hands than I would have and really all it is is the number of hands you play and gathering Sklansky bux, the rest evens itself out over time.

Soccer on the other hand has been going phenomenally well and my team is currently on a 6 game winning streak! It's certainly an upswing but it feels good to be able to compete with the top teams in our league after usually playing the part of the punching bag the past few years. I mainly play just for fun anyway and to keep myself fit, plus the social aspect of a team sport is an important part of a balanced life imo. Our game each weekend is usually the highlight of my week as sad as it sounds :)

One final note that I wanted to jot down because it's funny was a recent exchange I had with an old classmate of mine who asked me what I was doing with my life. I told him that I play poker, been doing it for a few years now etc. His response: "Well are you sure that you win?" That almost topped my all-time favorite question I've been asked, which went down like this:

Random: "I heard you play poker?"
Me: "Yeah a little bit"
Random: "So like, do you go all in a lot?"

Of scandals and miles

2009-10-16T14:32:00.002+02:00

A recent commenter pointed out tons of topics that I could blog about so for the most part he is going to get his wish. Someone also suggested a video blog but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon, it's really not my thing. I have to admit though, I also use to look forward to Seri's video blogs just as much as the next guy. Still, I think it's better for me if I put thoughts into written words and like I've said before, this is pretty much all the writing I do nowadays anyway.

I just recent had an "aha" moment where it struck me how much I've been missing out when it comes to airline miles. I've been traveling the world for several years now being a member of just one frequent flyer program. I finally got the motivation to sign up for the big ones (StarAlliance, oneWorld, etc) so now I should at least be getting max value out of the already overpriced airline fares. It's kind of ridiculous how much people miss out on just by being lazy.

Someone asked what I thought about the Pitbull Poker scandal. Tbh I think it is a total disgrace. For those who are not familiar with what happened, basically people discovered that the site employed superusers and once that information became public, the owners tried to shut the site down and disappear before being arrested by Costa Rican authorities. Now they say that people will be able to cash out their funds but it would not surprise me if this ended up not happening.

The simple solution would be to avoid these small networks. I've played on some myself and have had to deal with ridiculous cashout delays (2 months+) where I have honestly had to worry if I was ever going to see my money again. You have to understand that several of the smaller skins/networks out there are not operating a profitable business and are still pumping money into their systems, so really if the investors ever pull the plug it would be gg for a lot of people. However, not just the smaller networks have to deal with various cheating scandals. Both UltimateBet and AbsolutePoker had individual superuser scandals, the big irony is that they joined forces and created their own network! Why anyone would play there I have no idea, I have been boycotting both since I heard about the scandals. "New ownership" blablablabullshit, neither company has ever been honest from the start, these companies have only ever released information after the poker community found out about it in the first place.

At the end of the day we as poker players have pretty much no rights anyway. Any of these sites could pack up and disappear any day and there's nothing we could do about it. That's just unfortunately one of the risks involved in the industry. It's a scary thought but it would be naive to think that all money held online (Neteller/Moneybookers/other ewallets included!) is safe.

Anyway, also per request, I also dug up some hands that I recently played. The first one is a hand where I got pretty heavily owned while playing NL5k hu against an aggressive, herocally opponent. He was up a few stacks when this hand went down.

They say that a 6bet is always for value. That's what this guy was going for and he got there.

Here's an example of what constant 3betting and 4betting can get an opponent to do. You won't find his play in any strategy books.

I am pretty sure that I want to play EPT Portugal coming up in November. Not only is it going to be pretty good value, but I haven't been to Portugal in years and I'm sure the weather is bound to be a bit warmer than here in Berlin. I'd say it's like a 70/30 chance of me going as of right now, I'll know for sure pretty soon. That's it for now, I'll go over some other random stuff next time!

Time's a flyin'

2009-10-07T10:55:00.004+02:00

Lately I've been finding it more and more of a drag to write out these entries. Perhaps I'm getting blogged out? I guess after almost 4 years of blogging there just really isn't all that much to say anymore without getting incredibly repetitive. I definitely don't plan on quitting anytime soon but I suppose my entries will gradually become fewer and far between unless I am traveling to some tournament. There's just not enough to blog about from home and a lot of things from my home life I would never include in this blog anyway.

Hmmm let's see. I did throw a birthday party a few days ago that ended up being a ton of fun. A little bit too much alcohol was consumed (of course) but for the most part everyone survived it. We're gonna host Halloween party at our apartment later this month that also should be pretty legen...wait for it...dary. I'll definitely post some pics afterward because I know there are gonna be several hilarious costumes that make me lol when I even think about them!

Pokerwise I haven't been nearly as motivated as I had hoped I would be to play mainly because I've been distracted by other things. Also when I have been playing things haven't been running too smoothly, actually even had my biggest losing day ever last week. Obviously that was pretty frustrating but I think I handled it quite well. The way you handle swings really shows a lot about your professionalism and I think too many pros get caught up in the negative spiral when things aren't going too well. Also, maybe it's such psychological but I really do think that positive thinking (in all aspects of life) has a direct effect on results.

A brief update

2009-09-27T23:05:00.003+02:00

The mini trip to Hamburg was of course awesome. The Varekai show turned out be much better than expected, I would even dare to say that it topped most of the Cirque du Soleil shows in Vegas! I think they're only in Hamburg for a few more days so anyone who lives in the area should do themself a favor and go see the show!

Shows and musicals are something I've only recently been able to appreciate for some reason. I remember my mom forcing me go see Les Miserables in London back when I was 13 and me hating it, whereas given the opportunity now I would of course love to see it! I have only been to New York once when I was a kid but when I do finally go back I know that Broadway will be one of the main highlights on my to-do list. I wonder if I'll develop a similar appreciation for museums and cathedrals?

Not sure if I mentioned this but I opted to stay home and not go to London this year. For starters, longtime readers of my blog will already know that London is not my favorite city (bad weather, bad traffic, terribly expensive). In addition, I am not in the mood for another live donkament right now. Plus this will give me a chance to finally be in Berlin for my birthday (Oct 4) for the first time in 5 years. And last but not least, I won't have to miss my soccer game on that same day either. All tallied up it's a pretty easy decision imo.

That will give me more time to relax at home and grind it out online, which is probably a lot more profitable for me anyway rather than spew off another EPT buy-in. On that note, over and out!

Boredom relief

2009-09-18T23:28:00.002+02:00

It's Friday night and I'm blogging. Yeah, I'm that cool! I really don't even have all that much to write about being that nothing exciting has been going on lately. I know I say that a lot but almost always it's true. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and I'm certainly not bored with it, it's just that not all that many blogworthy things on a daily basis (the obvious exception is when I am travelling). I could write about what I ate for breakfast (shoutout to Horror!) but I highly doubt that anyone would be interested in that.

This weekend I have a soccer game on Sunday, then on Monday I am going to Hamburg with my roommates to hang out for a few days. A Cirque du Soleil show is making a stop there and Sebastian was able to get tickets so that should be awesome! We'll also get plenty of chances to play tennis while we're there, especially considering that Seb has increased our bet to $10k for our match next August, meaning he is looking for every opportunity he can get to scout out my tennis game :)

After that it's back to Berlin and then off to Frankfurt for Marco's birthday party on the 26th. Since he shipped $350k+ at the WSOP I'm expecting him to ball out so I definitely don't want to miss it! I'll try and take some pics as it's been a while since I've uploaded any and I know that the stalkers out there need their picture fix every once in a while. Until then, adios!

To Barcelona and back

2009-09-09T00:36:00.002+02:00

First off, thanks for the comments from my last blog entry, they were well thought-out and certainly got me thinking about a lot of things. No, I definitely won't be writing a book though! My blog started as a pure poker results thing but has developed into more of a journal to a certain degree. To be completely honest I don't even enjoy blogging all that much but I do take pride in the fact that I have been able to keep it updated for years now when several of the blogs that I enjoyed reading have died off over time. Most lose the battle against laziness, I haven't given up the fight yet.

Barcelona was obviously a disappointment on the poker front but was definitely enjoyable as a whole. I built up a 90k stack pretty quickly on day 1 only to drop back down to 52k by the day's end due to a questionable 4bet shove with TT against a Russian spewbox. On day 2 I had the pleasure of eliminating Daniel Negreanu when I completely owned him. Well, maybe not owned him but I definitely taught him a lesson. Well, maybe not that either but my 99 was good enough to hold against his 85s when he openshoved 11BB from the CO and I reshoved the button.

I had around 100k when I got into a blind battle with Joram Voelklein on a 662 flop. His A6o obv had my JJ crushed and I lost all but 10bb that went in an orbit later with TT vs the AA of my neighbor to the left. All standard as far as I am concerned. Anyway, enough poker talk.

I had the opportunity to play tennis outdoors twice in Barcelona, once on clay and once on a hard court. Both were firsts for me and I gotta say that I still prefer playing indoors on carpet or astroturf more. There are just less things that need to be factored in like sun or wind making the game much more fair for both players imo. Getting used to how much the ball slows down on clay took a little while for me but once I was got in the groove it was pretty enjoyable. Ok, enough tennis talk.

My plans for the rest of September are to relax, finish watching seasons 2+3 of 24, finish reading Fooled by Randomness, plan/coordinate my winter trip to USA/Bahamas/Australia and hopefully in the meantime recover from my online poker downswing. It's easier said than done!

One final note: Congrats to my sister who just found out she passed the bar exam and finished her first day of work as a lawyer!

Rambling

2009-08-30T00:12:00.004+02:00

It feels like every time I get settled back home the next trip is just around the corner. This time it's Barcelona that is sneaking up on me, which is a trip that I am particularly looking forward to. I was originally going to fly right home after busting out of the main event but I just realized I have no soccer game that weekend so I'll probably stick around in Barcelona for a week or so to really take in some of the city this time. It feels like a vacation but something about it is weird because I don't feel like I deserve a vacation because that's pretty much all I've been doing since May.

Anyway, I'm long overdue for a big live tourney success IMHO so bring it on! I've been pretty inactive with online poker lately but that is something I will really focus on for the rest of September when I get back home. I need to stop making excuses and start showing some discipline. I don't really want to set a goal or anything silly, I really just want the will to play to come naturally.

Poker is not getting any easier. Matter of fact, quite the opposite is true. Like most professional poker players my age, I realize that this is not a permanent job and that someday this whole poker thing will end. Whether that is in 2, 5, 10 or 20 years is just speculation but the fact remains that the games are getting more difficult by the day and as a result making money with poker is nowhere near as easy as it was just a few years ago. What will come after poker? Who knows!?!? Often times I wonder where I will be in 5 or 10 years and even more fun is predicting where my friends (specifically poker friends) might be at the same time.

It was 5 years ago that I graduated from high school. Looking at what my classmates from then are doing now is funny enough on its own. They are spread out all around the world, anywhere from Dubai to Tokyo to Kansas. Most have graduated college or are finishing university soon. Some are at war in Iraq. A few are ~~struggling~~ striving to be professional musicians. One founded one of the biggest video streaming sites online. One even became a porn actress (don't even ask, no pics). One girl has been in a coma since graduation, another girl even died (don't drink and drive!).

Not really sure where I am going with this, mainly it's just my own curiosity as to where today's poker players will be in 5 years that excites me. I'd like to believe that I will still keep in touch, social networking sites allow for that pretty easily. I've made some really great friends through poker and we are all heading down the path of uncertainty together. Most people you talk to have a similar plan: Make enough money now with poker to set themselves up financially for the future.

Besides the fact that that is waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy easier said than done, where is the line that dictates when you are "set up financially?" Is it $500k, $1m? $2m? I suppose everyone has their own definition of what they consider set up. Phil Galfond said something about $10m if I remember correctly, saying he would quit poker if he had a networth of $10m. Really? I don't really believe him, because once you have $10m, why would ever quit instead of going for another $10m?

This is what tilts me when people say things like "Oh wow he won $1.5 million in 2 months and then lost it all back, if I were him I would have cashed out and never played again!" LOLOLOL You think someone who won $1.5m in 2 months is gonna quit the game? Yeah right! I'm pretty sure stock markets are the same way and actually I just began reading a book called "Fooled by Randomness" about how people underestimate the importance of luck in the stock market. I haven't read much so far but it's interesting to read about the traders who run hot for a year or two and think they are the financial gurus when in fact they hit a massive heater and have no idea that the big downswing awaits. Again, not sure where I am going with this.

That got kinda long and I am kinda tired so I am kinda gonna stop this entry. As always, comments are appreciated. Adios!

No poker

2009-08-21T12:21:00.002+02:00

This past week I've been doing everything except playing poker. Seb and Ramin came into town for Jonas' birthday party so I've been spending a lot of time just hanging out with them. Seb has gotten really into tennis (private trainer, been playing 2-3x a week) since Vegas but as of right now he can't win a single game versus me. This led us to a longterm tennis bet that could get interesting. The bet is a 3-set $5000 tennis match to be held next year in August. Until then, he can play as often as he wants, whereas I am only allowed to play two times a month and not use any coaching. He still has until the end of September to decide if he wants to bump it up to $10k, it all depends on how much money he wants to lose to me :)

In other not-so-fun news, my bank called me yesterday to tell me that someone has been using my credit card to make weird purchases at online merchants. I'm actually very careful as to where I enter my CC information so this kinda worries me, but they assured me that the "leak" could be from anywhere and is usually stolen on the merchant's end. Still, super frustrating because all the legit transactions since then have been blocked and now I need to fill out some forms to hopefully get my money back.

As if that isn't stressful enough, my main computer somehow got infected with a ton of viruses and trojans. I haven't even been using it lately so I have no idea where it all came from but I am praying that the damage isn't bad enough that I need to reformat it. I'm going to call in an expert to make sure it is thoroughly cleaned because I'm worried that the standard anti-virus and spyware programs won't get them all and I need to be 110% sure it's safe before using it again. Like I said though, I haven't been playing much anyway lately so I'm not missing out on much right now.

In Munich

2009-08-11T11:53:00.000+02:00

Right now I'm sitting on the train on my way to Munich for a few days to visit my sister and her fiancee for a few days. I've only been to Munich a couple times and still haven't seen much of the city (thank you Oktoberfest!) so this time I'm looking forward to doing some of the touristy things that Munich has to offer.

Other than online grinding I haven't been doing too much and online grinding itself is hard to blog about, mainly because I don't use any tracking programs. I used to use HEM but when my last computer died 6 months ago I never bothered to redownload it on my new computer. In some ways I think this is a good thing though because it sharpens your observation and brain memory skills when you are forced to pay attention and not be dependant on stats, not that I was ever a big stat freak anyway.

As far as live poker is concerned my next trip will be to Barcelona for the EPT on September 3rd. I missed Barcelona due to the rake race last year so I made sure that I would make it out there this year! I haven't made any travel plans for the rest of the year but with London/Vienna/Portugal all as options I'm sure I'll find some interesting places to go to.

In regards to my tv watching habits, thanks for the recommendations. Season 1 of "24" was pretty awesome I must say. Once I finish that show I'll move on to Lost since that seems to get mentioned quite often, even though I've heard mixed reviews about it before. All in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

Cort's Ultimate Guide to TV

2009-08-04T03:07:00.000+02:00

I really like TV shows. I usually wait for the shows to come out on DVD because it is so much more convenient. No commercials, can watch it any time with stops and pauses etc in a higher definition than on TV. The only real downside is that I am usually around 6 months "behind" people who keep up to date with the shows, so don't send me any spoilers! I thought I'd write up a little rundown on what I've seen and can recommend. I'd love to hear comments/thoughts/recommendations for these and other shows from you guys!

The Wire - Seb gave me the dvd collection last year for my bday (thx again) and I gotta say, this show is the absolute nuts! It's about the drug war in Baltimore and is written by a former homicide detective and a police reporter so they keep the storylines as realistic as possible. Words can not describe how great this show is, the amount of work they put into details mind-boggling! Be sure to start from Season 1 and I promise you will be hooked after three episodes. The show runs for 6 seasons, I will most likely be rewatching this in the near future, that's how good it is! 9.7/10 rating at imdb, need I say more?

The Sopranos - Similar to The Wire, this show gets very addicting very fast. Throughout the six seasons you see a New Jersey Mafia family develop as characters are killed off the show and get replaced by a new generation of Mafiosos. The core group remains the same, all built around Tony Soprano. The slow transition of original friendship between the NJ and NY mafias that eventually becomes a big rivalry is phenomenal. This is without a doubt my second favorite tv show of all time.

The Office (UK version) - The original Office has been the backbone for several copies (like Stromberg in Germany) and I think it is genius. Some people may have problems with the British accents but I got used to them pretty quickly. I suppose I missed out on several jokes that only Brits would understand, but there's not much I can do about that. Ricky Gervais (the creator and also main actor) is so hilarious in his role as the boss David Brent, you have to see it for yourself! Unfortunately it was only made into two seasons and a Christmas special. The seaons are great, the xmas special is meh.

The Office (American version) - They really struck gold landing Steve Carell to star as Michael Scott, the awkward, outrageous boss of a small paper company in Pennsylvania. I've only finished up through season 3 so there's still plenty for me to look forward to :)

Dexter - Creepy, bloody, smart and awesome. This is definitely one of my favorite shows because of the well thought-out plots and regard to small detail. It's about a blood splatter analyst who chases serial killers for the Miami PD. Ironically, he is a serial killer himself but he only kills people who "deserve it." The writers do a great job of making him a likeable character, I can't wait to watch the third season!

King of Queens - A lot of people I know don't really like Kevin James which I can understand because he's not the world's greatest actor but I can somehow relate to his character Doug Heffernan in King of Queens. Particularly his laziness and selfishness and the way he deals with them make for great storylines that I think were evenly balanced out between all 9 seasons. I've watched most episodes more than once and will probably end up seeing most of them again.

Prison Break - Season 1 is really awesome (meaning go watch it if you haven't already), season 2 is incredibly unrealistic and season 3 gets a little better but still is very hard to believe. They should have just made it a one-season series imo, but they decided to keep it running regardless of how ridiculous the stories would have to become to keep the show going. I'll watch season 4 just for personal satisfaction, but my expectations are not very high.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Larry David was the guy who created Seinfeld and this was his next big project. Basically it's like a fake documentary about Larry David's life where he shows no regard for human emotions. He picks out almost every awkward thing that happens in his life and turns it into an episode. Basically he just comes off as an incredibly selfish, but somehow very likeable guy. He has said in many interviews that the show is not his real life, but rather the way he wishes it was sometimes. Comedic gold!

Extras - Also from Ricky Gervais, the creator of The Office. Two seasons about extras on various film sets in England. Though the show is hilarious, I think it's because I've had a little experience with the film industry that it is so appealing to me. I tried showing a couple episodes to my roommates and they weren't feeling it, oh well.

Entourage - Though it's pretty light entertainment, I really enjoy watching Entourage. I assume most people like it because it is about a lifestyle most people wish they had (including poker players) where you can throw around money with no regard, have gorgeous looking girls surrounding you and constantly be meeting celebrities while enjoying your own fair bit of fame. I've seen seasons 1-4 and am really looking forward to season 5, hopefully it will come out soon.

Two and a Half Men - Charlie Sheen plays a single bachelor whose brother Alan moves in with him in his Malibu beachhouse. His brother brings his adolescent son Jake with him as well, so watching the three of them trying to get along without driving each other crazy becomes really funny. Charlie is a total player, Alan is a total loser and Jake is totally lazy. I've watched the first four seasons and the 5th season is already ordered.

Las Vegas - If you can get past at how terribly unrealistic the show is, some episodes aren't even all that. My roommates are more into the show than I am, I've watched single episodes from most of the seasons but never sat down and watched them in order. Las Vegas casino security is sick in real life but they exaggerate it to the point where it becomes almost pathetic with their zoom ins from the security cameras that can zoom so close to read tiny notes in people's hands. Not my favorite but overall decent.

How I Met Your Mother - So far I've only seen season 1 but it impressed me a lot! The cast is a perfect fit and the dialogue is beyond funny at times. Barney delivers line after line of awesomeness, can't wait to get the next seasons!

When they're all written down like that it makes me realize how much time I spend with these shows. Kinda scary, actually. Watching tv shows is pretty much the classic definition of wasting time. If I had used all that time for poker instead...then again, the same can be said for a lot of things. I guess it's all about balance right? On that note, my next series that I'm starting is "24" with Kiefer Sutherland. That should keep me away from the computer for a while :)

Guess who's back

2009-07-27T03:08:00.002+02:00

8 weeks in the States sounds like a long time but it went by in lightning speed. Still, it feels great to get back to Berlin and sleep in my own comfortable bed again. Most likely I'll be spending all of August at home before my next poker trip to Barcelona in early September for the EPT. I haven't put much thought into my EPT plans for this year but I think I'll usually just decide spontaneously if I feel like traveling and donating another buy-in shortly before each tournament starts.

The nice thing about being away so long is that I always come back extremely motivated to put in a lot of online hours. The weather has been crappy these past few days (I even picked up a cold) so I'm hoping to really get in a ton of hands over the next month. The action on Boss seems kinda slow so I'll probably need to spread out to a couple new sites in order to get enough action.

In other news, I just finished watching the Sopranos and I'm pretty bummed that there are no more episodes for me to watch. When I get some time I'll write up some reviews of the TV series that I have watched so far (I have wayyyyy too much free time). Most of the great series that I have seen have been recommendations from friends so maybe I can pass on some good TV advice.

In closing, here's a pic from my recent skydiving adventure in Las Vegas. Notice the view of Lake Mead!

Vegas/LA

2009-07-19T19:40:00.002+02:00

The summer of Las Vegas 2009 is now officially over. Almost all the guys are back in Germany. One guy spent his first night back straight from the airport to jail (lol Baueraments). Most returned home safely and can look back on a pretty epic summer. Time seems to fly by in Vegas, the actual 7 weeks I spent there certainly did not feel like anything more than 2 weeks.

During one of our last evenings together we all went to Hofbrähaus Las Vegas for a big German meal that got pretty funny. Once everyone had a few beers (and Jäger shots) in them we all got pretty loud and began singing along to the songs that the live band was playing. "Lebt denn der alte Holzmichl noch?" was definitely the highlight of the evening and an experience I won't be forgetting anytime soon. The food was borderline but the entertainment was awesome.

No one wanted to waste the buzz from the restaurant so we decided to go out to Stoney's, a local country bar that is pretty close to the houses we rented. Florian had been begging us to go even last year but nobody ever wanted to, this year the tides have changed. The country atmosphere in the bar reminds me a lot of the kinds of bars in Kansas so I welcomed it as a nice change to the typical Vegas club scene. Unfortunately I drank a little too much so I don't remember all the details but I took some pictures as evidence of the evening.

here is Flo doing the group line dancing, the lessons really paid off

Benny, Nik and Nico

None of us rode the bull or at least I wasn't around for it but next year count me in!

He says he's gonna marry her. riiiiiiight

So then most guys went home on the 12th and Marco "Expekter" Mattes decided to run really deep in the Main Event. I spent Days 7 & 8 at the Rio railing him and eventually he made it all the way to 23rd place for $350k. Not bad at all. He spent quite some time at the featured table so I'm sure he'll get plenty of ESPN coverage when they start showing the Main Event.

During our last day in Vegas we did a helicoptor tour through the Grand Canyon that was literally breathtaking. I don't have the pictures yet but I will post some when I get the chance. If you are ever in Vegas and haven't done it, you HAVE to HAVE to HAVE to take the helitour! Once I get some pictures online you will see why I am so ecstatic about it.

Now Sutti and I are in LA/Hollywood for a couple days visiting some old friends and doing other tourist stuff. Yesterday we hit up Venice Beach, today we're off the Malibu Beach, then tomorrow we head to San Diego for a couple days before driving back to Vegas for a night and then flying home on the 22nd. It's been a big trip thusfar but I don't regret a single minute of it!

Carpe Diem!

Busto in Main Event

2009-07-11T02:53:00.002+02:00

I did all I could in preparation for Day 3 but it just wasn't meant to be. The day started well for me, within the first two hours I had built up to 130k, but things went downhill from there. Key hand of the day was when I check/raised the river on a 3-flush board in a spot where I am almost never bluffing but got called anyway and just so happened to be bluffing.

After that I was really short and eventually got it in with A9s against AK from the button vs the big blind. As a whole I'm not terribly unhappy with my play but I wouldn't call it my A-game either. If my river check/raise hand would have worked out things certainly would have been different and I would probably be saying I had my A-game on but I guess that's just the way results oriented poker works.

Anyway, I now have a few more days left in Vegas and then I'll be touring California for a few days before I finally leave to go back home on the 22nd. I'll post a Vegas review and some more pictures in the near future!

Short and sweet

2009-07-09T23:38:00.002+02:00

Don't have too much time right now but just wanted to post a quick update saying I ended Day 2 with 90,500 chips. I got lucky with my table draw again though it did get noticeably tougher as the day progressed. I think I have around an average stack (though people put WAY too much emphasis on having an average stack) which is around 75bb so all is good for now.

In other news, I went skydiving for the first time in my life this morning. 7am(!) was an early wake up call was rough but it was totally worth it! I should be getting a video of my jump in the mail within two weeks so I'll see if I can upload some footage. Thanks again Heiko! If anyone remembers, he owed me a free skydive from the challenge we did almost two years ago. The only crappy thing was that I got a traffic ticket from some bum cop who was camping out in front of a useless stop sign waiting for people to roll through, which I did. $187 for a stop sign violation, achsooo!!!