Jena Delk’s Blog

On Sunday, November 21st at 4:00pm EST, @FallenHeroesUSA is offering a charity poker tournament for a $10 buy in, half of which goes back to the FallHeroesUSA.org fund.  Fallen Heroes raises funds to help the families of U.S. Law Enforcement Officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.  The $5+5 buy in tournament will host a number of bounties on various players, plus additional prizes and giveaways from a host of different companies.  Help us raise some money for this great charity. For more details follow: @FallenHeroesUSA and @DeputySD.

Register for this event and show your support! Full Tilt Poker Event ID: 190775719  |  Password: FHUSA

1. When and how did you get started playing poker?

I was having some significant health problems in late 2005 and was not able to get out much. I was basically on bed rest for about six months. So my husband bought a laptop to help me pass the long days. In early 2006 after I got bored with hacking around on the internet, I found my way to the free games on Full Tilt Poker. The rest is history, so to speak. As my health improved, my first outings were to play live poker.

2. What would you consider to be the defining moment in your poker career thus far? The defining moment in my poker career was when I finally learned the hand rankings. I remember being in a live tournament trying to decide if a full house beat a straight or not. It’s humbling to admit I played video poker for years without knowing what comprised a flush. Who knows how much money I gave away by not recognizing the need to save cards of the same suit? 3. With 4 children how do you effectively balance poker and life? Since all of our children have graduated high school and moved out of the house balancing life with the kids really isn’t much of an issue anymore.

6. If you were asked to give a room full of young poker hopefuls one piece of advice what would it be? Know yourself and act on that knowledge to protect your game and bankroll. Identify anything that adversely affects your game and take steps to minimize its effects. It is a great sign of maturity to know and act on physical, mental, and emotional limits. If you are feeling angry, don’t play. If you are sick, don’t play. Listen to yourself and take care of your body.

7. How did you feel the day you won the New Orleans Bayou Poker Challenge? There were 269 entrants in this WSOP ladies event called the “Cajun Queen Classic”. In addition to the prize money and circuit title; I got my first piece of poker jewelry! The day started happily as I chatted it up with my table mates.I really enjoy the social side of the ladies events.Many of the less seasoned ladies will tell you how and why they played a particular way, if you have been friendly and ask. I struggled the first half of the day with no good spots or significant luck to build a stack. I headed to dinner break feeling somewhat defeated and short on chips. My friend Jack gives me a pep talk of a lifetime over dinner.I returned from dinner refreshed with a sense of determination. I doubled up on my first hand after dinner when I flopped a set of eights against an aggressive lady, who overplayed her top pair, good kicker.From there I literally did not lose a hand I selected to play.I was catching cards like I never had before in my short poker career. Talk about being a LuckBox! I knocked players out so fast that I did not have time to get my chips stacked between hands. It was so surreal.

10. I like to leave this open to you, is there anything you would like to say to those reading today? I am developing a relationship with Poker Pros Network. While we are in the early stages of development, I feel comfortable inviting you to check out my poker room on The Poker Pros Network. Just click on this link and choose “RUN” and Install. This will load your connection to the Jena Delk players lobby and my private offerings and games. Come Play with Me! Private games and educational opportunities are being developed. Please visit my website at www.jenadelk.com to keep up to date on my current happenings

I played in the Battle of the Bloggers Invitational tournament tonight.  The Invitational Series is a special event for poker’s writers. It is not available to the general public, shocking, I know, for something named “Invitational” .  Somehow I was able to score an invite at the last minute and got to play.  This double stack freeroll tournament drew 111 players.  NYRambler took first place and TexansBaby placed second.  I went out 29th (pout).

There are two other Battle of the Blogger Tournament series: the Mookie and the Poker from the Rail.  The Mookie is played on Wednesday nights at 22:00 EST.  The entry to this event is $10 +$.  This series runs through May 26 with radio commentary at Buddy Dank Radio.  The Poker from the Rail series runs on Mondays through May 24th.  Entry into this event is $24 + $2 at 22:00 EST.

It was a lot of fun to play with so many of my poker friends.  I look forward to playing more of the BBT events offered at Full Tilt Poker. Check out more details here: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/battle-of-the-bloggers

LEVEL 6

OMg!  I just folded my queens when I timed out trying to type a 2.5X BB bet.  And why do I insist on simply calling from the blinds with speculative hands.  I need to be raising or folding here. I suck at this.

Wow! They just let me steal the blinds twice this round.  I called a standard raise that was called by one other player from the button.  I am trying to play more hands in position.  When the flop is checked around to me, I bet two thirds of the pot.  Everybody folds.   I am really good at this.  

Two hands later, I open for 3xBB and get three bet by the button. I fold because this bet represents 30% of the button’s stack.  I can only continue with this hand if I am willing to play for the buttons entire stack.  Since I have 9 10 off suit, I fold, intended to find a better spot later.  I suck at this.

The better spot comes three hands later.  I am able to get heads up with a good player. My bluff was successful because I created a believable story.  And the fact they missed on the wet board really help.  I am good at this.

We are nearing the end of level 10.  Here are my current vital stats:  11K chips; average 9k, 302 players remain; 90 earn some money.

LEVEL 12 150/300/25

I just overplayed the last two hands and my stack has eroded to 4K.  I suck at this. 

I shove with 10 J suited after a nit opens.  The nit calls with AK.  I flop a pair and the AK does not improve.  I double up and think I am good at this.

I fold the next two hands. The next hand I play is [Ac, 5c] from the big blind.  The button opens with a bet of  1,065 (obv. steal), so because I suck at this, I flat call.  The flop is  [9d, 5d,8s].  Excited to hit bottom pair, I shove my remaining $7K.  The button calls with [Qd, 6d].  The turn is [Qs].  The river [Jh]. 

I am prepared to shove my 282 remaining chips immediately if not sooner, because I am good at this.

I win the next two hands by luck and luck alone because I suck at this.

I finish in 215th place when my third hand is not able to hold up. 

The time is 3:42 am. Time for bed. 

I am playing the $17K guaranteed tournament on FTP.  The buy in for this tournament is $24+2 and drew 907 players, giving us a prize pool of $21.8K.  This tournament features 12 minute levels and 3,000 starting chips.  The play has been as expected –bad.  We have lost 132 during the first level of play.

On-line play is not my strong suit.  It is difficult to keep my mind from wondering.  So I am writing this blog while playing.  It is my hope that my writing here will help to keep me in touch with the action on the table.  Unfortunately I type way to slow to provide commentary on every hand, so this experiment seems to be a failure thus far. 

Dag open limped from utg+1. Mr. R rose to pot and it is folded around to Dag.  Dag ends up taking the pot on the river with a large bet.  No show down.  He is UTG now and open limps again.  Mr. R pot raises and I fold my 4 7 off-suit from the cutoff.  The blinds fold and they are heads up.  Each street is checked down.  Board shows 2 K J K 10.  Dag wins the 900 pot after calling a river bet from Mr. R with pocket eights.

Just folded my K6 suited.  The same two players are in this hand with .  A turn bet gets Hia to fold. 4 4 A A J on the board and a river bet gets Dag to release his hand.

Mr. R limped and I raised to 4 bb with KQ off-suit and Mr. R calls.  Mr. R leads out on the flop and I reraise. Mr. R folds.

Mr. limps again with 800 chips and gets reraised for his trny life by Dag.  Mr. folds! Dag shows AJ suited and looses to AK suited . Mr. R has played 23/24 hands.  He just doubled up with the 78 suited vs. QQ, staying in with a gut shot draw after the flop.

The next hand Mr. R is moved to a new table.  It’s folded around to me in the small blind, and I raise pot with A8.  The big blind insta-folds.

It’s amazing how long two minutes is when you have to pee….

At the first break I have 5390 in chips.  The average is 4748.  There are 573 players remaining.

It’s Tuesday and my third day of play at the Beau Rivage Gulf Coast Championship. I have not had any success to write about. I have played three events now and only once got past the dinner break.  It makes me wonder what’s wrong with my game.

I am playing 1/2 NLH right now with my last bit of cash. I have been severely under rolled since I played the WSOP main event. I know I really couldn’t afford to play the main event, but I did it anyway. The main event is THE event of the year.  It was my best chance to further my fledgling poker career. Then I failed to cash. And the footage of me playing on the feature table did not make it to the TV screen. I would have been paid for wearing Full Tilt Poker gear. Thank you FTP for the opportunity!!

I don’t recognize any of the players at my table. The first hand I selected to play is pocket sixes. I am in the cut off. Middle position 2 opens for $10. 

The high jack seat calls and I bump it up to $30. Both players call and I flop a set.  It’s checked around to me and I push the remainder of my $100 into the middle. The original opener calls with pocket jacks. I was able to fade the flush draw to double up. The grind is on. I need to earn enough to enter tomorrow’s tournament.

Not having an adequate bankroll can really affect your game.  I find myself leery of playing big pots. I have missed some payoffs because I couldn’t risk my entire stack.

I arrived in Reno yesterday after a rather bumpy airplane ride.  I am here to play with the LIPS team in the Jennifer Harmon Charity Poker tournament.  This tournament benefits the National Kidney Foundation and is being held at the Grand Sierra Resort.  There are a truckload of top notch sponsors, such as Full Tilt Poker,  DreamTeam Poker, CardPlayer, Curtis & Co. Watches (and many more). We are anticipating a great turnout!

My sis is joining me for this trip, so I anticipate less poker than usual.  Lisa does not play poker, nor does she have any interest in learning.  However, as the best Sis in the world, she supports me in whatever I do—so she came along.  Love you!  Let’s hope she finds the Throw Down cocktail party more to her liking.