I won the FTP 750K!

Last Fall I made a conscientious effort to start playing more online - specifically on Sundays. I've probably been playing 2-3 times a month since last August. That may not sound like a lot to the regular online pros, but that is a lot more than I have played since 2003. For the regular readers of my blog, I've had lots of good deep runs, but would frequently finish just short of the "real" paydays. Now all that effort has finally resulted in a big win.

I won the FTP 750K good for $132K. There were a little over 3500 players in the event. I have done particularly well in this specific tournament. I've probably played in it 9-10 times this year and now have 3 top 100 finishes, 2 final tables, and one win. The other final table I finished 6th good for $26K. It is fun to finally have broken through and won one of these really big tournaments.

It is my biggest poker win to date. My 2nd was for 80K in the 2004 WSOP when I finished 33rd. My biggest online win before this was for 29K last year when I won one of the Poker Stars nightly tourneys.

I checked my online ROI a couple of months ago and it was about 75%. This win should make it skyrocket! I don't play nearly as often as the online pros do, but I am pretty happy with the success I have had in the limited number of tournaments I am playing.

I think there is no question that working with Rizen, Pearljammer, and Apestyles has been a tremendous help to my game. I feel like I have improved my game every year, but every year I never have played as much as I would like and I've always felt a little "rusty". But this last year has been different. I am playing at least once every couple of weeks, while at the same time I have been in constant dialogue with the 3 guys on the Hands book. The discussions I have had with them have definitely helped my game out,as well as perusing in detail what they have written for the book. It just takes a few little tricks here and there to have a dramatic impact on your results.

I'll post later this week a little more details about my win and some of the hands.

I'm ready for it to be Sunday again!

Cover Design Contest for Pearljammer, Rizen, and Apestyles book

We are getting very close to completing the first volume of the hands book. If any of you are interested in trying to design a cover for the book, go to this link to the ITH poker forum to get details. I am awarding $300 or a $300 stake into his WSOP winnings to the winning design.

My daughter Isabel!

Well, I know I haven't posted in a while. Isabel Teresa Hilger was born April 2nd, coming in at 7 lbs 20 inches. Both mother and daughter are doing great.

I've played once since the birth so haven't had much time for posting.

It has been fun seeing my 4 and 2 year old boys react to Isabel. They are very excited and truly love her, although Joshua keeps asking when Isable will be big enough to play with him

It is getting close to WSOP time and I'm starting to get excited. Thanks to my friend Rizen, who also has a blog, I've discovered podcasts. I'll be calling in updates every break during the WSOP so make sure you subscribe to my podcast before June to keep up with what I hope will be my breakthrough summer.

Latest update on Rizen, Pearljammer, Apestyles book is approximately a June 15th to 2oth release date.

My new Podcast

My buddy Rizen has enlightened me to the ease and magic of gcast, which allows anyone to easily publish a podcast by making simple phone calls. I'll be using this podcast primarily to give updates this summer during the World Series of Poker, but may also call in from time to time on other things. You can find my podcast at my blog, or I will have it up at ITH right before the WSOP.

ITH Born

Isabel Teresa Hilger was born April 2nd at 2:58 PM. She came into the world at 7 lbs and 20 inches. Both mother and daughter are doing great. I'm hoping the next few months goes just like the last 24 hours - Isabel has been fantastic. She barely cries, is on a good schedule, and feeding well. She has a full head of very black hair. I think she has her mother's nose. Most importantly (at least for Grandma and Mom), she has very long eyelashes.