So it's been a little while, short quick update on the past few months.
First my baseball team made some "run good" at the end of the season and actually started winning games. I hit a bunch of triples, which would of been home runs for most of the guys/girls on my team but I was tired as I hit 3rd. Time to hit the bike and get in better shape for next year. We made the finals of the playoffs and lost a close back and forth game in extra innings when our right fielder dropped a routine pop up and both the guys at 3rd and 2nd came around to score. Ugh there is always next year, but I was happy to even make it into the playoffs let alone the final championship game.
Work is good, I haven't gotten into too much trouble and the ladies in the office are a great bunch of women.... Who doesn't enjoy being the only guy on a 15 person team... It helps me get my ass out of bed and into work each day.
Halloween is over and no sooner that the decorations came down do I have x-mas trees and lights and presents out on the lawn being lite up each evening. I asked the Dutch es about it and said "Is it Christmas already? I mean come on...!!!", she replied "At least I waited until after Rememberance Day".... Well I can give her that much and when the electric bill comes in and I hand it to her to pay I will remind her of her enthusiasm to put the lights up so early in the season.
The kids had fun trick or treating and went out as a storm trooper and Annican (sp) Skywalker with full body outfits, masks and weaponry to boot. I got to stay home and answer the door and hand out candy for the evening which was a blast and gave me exercise in between eating candy after each time the bell rang. I have raided my kids loot bags so much that there is no chocolate bars left and they have hidden it away from Daddy in their respective bedrooms.... LOL. It's okay though I made it up to them by buying "on sale" Halloween bags of chocolate each from the store a week later.
For my birthday, November 11th (also Rememberance Day in Canada) the ladies at the office took me out for lunch, my kids made me 15 birthday cards at school, my 15 yr old told me "happy birthday" with some persuasion and my parents bought me dinner and my favorite ice cream along with a crisp $50 bill. They don't "do" cards anymore as they are a waste of money as my mom says.
My dog had puppies, Chihuahua and Shih Tzu mixture and we are keeping one, maybe two if my wife will agree. I promised her I wouldn't ask for sex for the next 3 months if she let me keep them and even have forgone birthday sex to prove my determination. She is sick right now anyway and I don't want to catch what she's got, so it helps give me reason to not have to get to close.... :)
Poker is poker, same old same old, study, practice, repeat. I have been watching all the videos I can on both training sites and participating in the forums, looking at HH's and trying a stab here and there at higher buy in games with mixed results. Some days I just run great and others I run so bad that I almost expect my KK to be rivered by A3o on the bubble of the tournament. But it is all good, I don't usually tilt and when I feel frustrated I simply turn off the games for a bit or for the night.
I gave in and got the 1K Mansion bonus as my bank roll had dipped below 1K and needed the $ to feel okay about playing the levels I was for the buy in to be the right % of my roll. I am going to move up on Full Tilt playing slightly higher and starting December I "may" put more focus on playing at Pokerstars if things continue the way they are at Mansion. I mean I don't get rake back at Mansion and I am basically breaking even and running bad on that site so why not cash out 2K and put the same or more volume in at a site that has better rewards... right?
The World Series of Poker Main Event 2010 Final Table has now come and gone. Congratulations to fellow Canadian Johnathan Duhamel for taking the almost $9 million in prize money and probably double that in possible sponsorship deals over the coming years. I was happy to see the way it panned out and was even happier when Cheong "done blowed up real good" to give him the 6-1 chip lead going into heads up play against Jon Racener.
It makes me pumped even more about building my role and getting to the point of heading down to Vegas to play in the events in the future.
I played a hand at a home game the other night and woke up with AA in the BB with 3 players left, paying the top 3 and everybody had equal chips, but I was slightly covered by both people in the match. the B limps, SB calls I raise the AA, B shoves all in SB folds and snap call.
It turns out he was limp trapping me with Q10o and when the flop came out QQQ it demonstrated what a superb trap it was. I got knocked out in 3rd and made double my buy in back and went outside for a smoke as he commented that he was very lucky. I told him it was a great hand, and 3 handed a very good play to limp shove all in... he smiled and thanked me for my insight and hopefully it will ensure he makes this play many times over in the future. Hopefully.....
Cheers and good luck at the tables all.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
I want to chop, 8-ways... Mr. Choppy
I had a Choppy short stack at a tournament I played at Caesar's in Vegas this past week... he wanted to chop it 8 ways so everybody got like $220 or so... Ummmm not me thanks!
So the table felt the same and waited it out until the final 4 then it was suggested and agreed to offer the buy in back to 4th as it payed top 3 only... Ummm let's be nice and make it $75 instead of buy in back so they make a $5 profit for the 5 hours play I suggest.
Only one guy at table was even good enough to be considered good... and on break when there was 8 left he and I discussed the chances/odds/skill levels of others at table and decided that if we got heads up we would do an even chop if our chip counts got to be the same"ish".
Unfortunately for him I ended up knocking him out in 3rd when he raised SB and I shoved BB, I won AKs>J10s... Yay ME!
Mr. Choppy was the one who got 4th-buy in back plus $5
Then it was me and the only girl/woman at the final table... HU with me...
She wanted an even chop, Ummm I had her 3-1 in chips so I said I would give her an extra $40 on top of what 2nd paid....She declined/well she said she needed to think about it for a few moments (If we got even in chips I MIGHT chop it evenly-Maybe- I thought to myself).
While she was in thought about my deal I had offered in counter to her even chop... She starts going all in every hand, I fold 23, 49, 72,29 and then call her PF ALL IN w/K8s on the 5th hand of HU, she has 22 both red flop blanks XXXdd, turn 8d, Yay I'm in the lead, river Xd she makes flush and now is slight chip leader.
My wife walks in to the poker room, wants to go for dinner as I have been playing for 5 hours, I look at the Lady and say Okay I'll chop it with you, she smiles and agrees... we chop $520 each.
After wards the Lady says to me, how come you are so calm the whole time, never getting excited or upset, always smiling and happy.... You don't get over excited?
I laugh and tell her that it was simply another game and that I was having fun the whole time... of course knocking out players and making the FT with chip lead doesn't hurt either.
We shook hands, smiled and parted ways after I gave her the side money when the cage paid me 1st and her 2nd and it was a sincerely enjoyable experience.
Nice first trip to Vegas, and won't be my last.... Has rejuvenated my thirst to play in live Casino's and will be making the trip to Niagara, Brantford and Windsor a lot more in the near future....
Cheers!
So the table felt the same and waited it out until the final 4 then it was suggested and agreed to offer the buy in back to 4th as it payed top 3 only... Ummm let's be nice and make it $75 instead of buy in back so they make a $5 profit for the 5 hours play I suggest.
Only one guy at table was even good enough to be considered good... and on break when there was 8 left he and I discussed the chances/odds/skill levels of others at table and decided that if we got heads up we would do an even chop if our chip counts got to be the same"ish".
Unfortunately for him I ended up knocking him out in 3rd when he raised SB and I shoved BB, I won AKs>J10s... Yay ME!
Mr. Choppy was the one who got 4th-buy in back plus $5
Then it was me and the only girl/woman at the final table... HU with me...
She wanted an even chop, Ummm I had her 3-1 in chips so I said I would give her an extra $40 on top of what 2nd paid....She declined/well she said she needed to think about it for a few moments (If we got even in chips I MIGHT chop it evenly-Maybe- I thought to myself).
While she was in thought about my deal I had offered in counter to her even chop... She starts going all in every hand, I fold 23, 49, 72,29 and then call her PF ALL IN w/K8s on the 5th hand of HU, she has 22 both red flop blanks XXXdd, turn 8d, Yay I'm in the lead, river Xd she makes flush and now is slight chip leader.
My wife walks in to the poker room, wants to go for dinner as I have been playing for 5 hours, I look at the Lady and say Okay I'll chop it with you, she smiles and agrees... we chop $520 each.
After wards the Lady says to me, how come you are so calm the whole time, never getting excited or upset, always smiling and happy.... You don't get over excited?
I laugh and tell her that it was simply another game and that I was having fun the whole time... of course knocking out players and making the FT with chip lead doesn't hurt either.
We shook hands, smiled and parted ways after I gave her the side money when the cage paid me 1st and her 2nd and it was a sincerely enjoyable experience.
Nice first trip to Vegas, and won't be my last.... Has rejuvenated my thirst to play in live Casino's and will be making the trip to Niagara, Brantford and Windsor a lot more in the near future....
Cheers!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Vacation!!!
Finally back to work for a year and getting my 2 weeks of relaxation and off time! What am I going to do... well 1st it's off to Jamaica for a week of hot sun, white sandy beaches, all inclusive to ensure I don't go over board spending on meals and drinks with "the Dutch es", no kids!!!!! (Yee haa) - they are spending time with the parents, of course some other kinds of fun including recreational "stuff".
Then it's in the air to fly to Las Vegas for the first time in my life to spend the 2nd week of vacation, again childless (I love them and all, but time without them will be "better" for vacation). The wife is happy about the trip to Vegas even more than me I think.... If that's possible. She expects me to see some shows with her and not just go play poker :(
Things are well on all accounts in life and online, baseball is okay (my team sucks real bad, but I am still having fun playing), however we have yet to win a game this summer and are holding all the victories for the start of the play offs... At least that is what I tell myself to keep the "pain" to a minimum after each loss.
I made the final table in a bunch of Rush poker tournaments on Full Tilt this past week but haven't managed to take one down yet. I find the play is actually softer than a normal tournament with people trying to make plays all the time and 4 betting with hands like J7o. On the tone of poker I have managed to build a bunch of Step tickets that I can use to buy into larger tournaments but have been corrupted by the Super Turbo format that starts with 300 chips, I am almost finding myself not wanting to play a tournament because to make the final table would take over 6 hours and I don't feel like playing that long.
Oh yeah I also came 6th in a 1600+ player field for a $14 KO Super Turbo MTT on Tilt, it was fun, intense, exciting and finally disappointing to not take it down for the victory.
To think I used to play only larger field, slow level tournaments every single night and when I would go to the Casino I would play for an average of 16 hours easy... I hope Vegas will bring that bug back into the picture.
I am ready to start playing larger buy in tournaments, but like I had a hard time "kicking" the free roll bug in the past I am having a hard time taking advantage of the easy low buy in satty's to slowly build my bank roll... actually it's kind of pathetic when I put it into words and read it back to myself. Time to move up and get more money, more chances at being able to play for the bigger payouts and free seats to the Main Event of the WSOP next year and maybe a few others along the way.
I am going to play some satty's at the local Casinos in Southern Ontario and win a seat into a bigger event like I did many years ago and take advantage of all I have learned over the past year online while training and playing more than I had in my first 4 years of poker. The dust I must have building up as far as playing live needs to get cleaned up and I have to get that urge to hit it big again, being comfortable playing small limits is just unacceptable!
Cheers to all, best of luck at the tables!
Then it's in the air to fly to Las Vegas for the first time in my life to spend the 2nd week of vacation, again childless (I love them and all, but time without them will be "better" for vacation). The wife is happy about the trip to Vegas even more than me I think.... If that's possible. She expects me to see some shows with her and not just go play poker :(
Things are well on all accounts in life and online, baseball is okay (my team sucks real bad, but I am still having fun playing), however we have yet to win a game this summer and are holding all the victories for the start of the play offs... At least that is what I tell myself to keep the "pain" to a minimum after each loss.
I made the final table in a bunch of Rush poker tournaments on Full Tilt this past week but haven't managed to take one down yet. I find the play is actually softer than a normal tournament with people trying to make plays all the time and 4 betting with hands like J7o. On the tone of poker I have managed to build a bunch of Step tickets that I can use to buy into larger tournaments but have been corrupted by the Super Turbo format that starts with 300 chips, I am almost finding myself not wanting to play a tournament because to make the final table would take over 6 hours and I don't feel like playing that long.
Oh yeah I also came 6th in a 1600+ player field for a $14 KO Super Turbo MTT on Tilt, it was fun, intense, exciting and finally disappointing to not take it down for the victory.
To think I used to play only larger field, slow level tournaments every single night and when I would go to the Casino I would play for an average of 16 hours easy... I hope Vegas will bring that bug back into the picture.
I am ready to start playing larger buy in tournaments, but like I had a hard time "kicking" the free roll bug in the past I am having a hard time taking advantage of the easy low buy in satty's to slowly build my bank roll... actually it's kind of pathetic when I put it into words and read it back to myself. Time to move up and get more money, more chances at being able to play for the bigger payouts and free seats to the Main Event of the WSOP next year and maybe a few others along the way.
I am going to play some satty's at the local Casinos in Southern Ontario and win a seat into a bigger event like I did many years ago and take advantage of all I have learned over the past year online while training and playing more than I had in my first 4 years of poker. The dust I must have building up as far as playing live needs to get cleaned up and I have to get that urge to hit it big again, being comfortable playing small limits is just unacceptable!
Cheers to all, best of luck at the tables!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Send the cookies!
So I took down the prop bet for May... it was close at the end, but the results basically looked like this:
So since I was the only player to end up with a profit I took it down... Dixie ended up with 2nd as she a) lost the least and b) actually played the full 100 games.
Oh yeah we agreed to make the bet for 100 games instead of 150 since nobody looked like they would have gotten 150 played. I was doing it slow to get an idea of the competition and wanting to play against them in same tournaments to, I feel, increase my chances of being on top.
So I have had 3/4 softball games rained out so far this season... why does it always rain on a Thursday night... Ugh
I have hit the 10K mark ($10,000) with all of my bankrolls combined on all of my sites with an initial investment of $50 per site total of $200 since Mansion poker's $50 start up was provided by Pokerstrategy, link is on the right top portion of my blog.
Most volume currently played on Full tilt and Mansion due to bonuses and rakeback, plus my interest in playing at Betfair and Tigergaming (action poker network) has gone down since Annette_15 left and joined Team Full tilt and the fact that the selection of games on both sites is pretty poor. I might just ignore bank roll management and play higher buy in MTT's on both sites and hope for a big score. On the other hand I might just try and do a crazy bonus whore on Tiger depositing $50 each week for 10 weeks then turn around and withdrawal $1000 and leave my account at a very minimal amount. Yet my "loyalty" to them is the highest since they got me started playing online, winning money, winning 1 year of free training at PokerVT which lead to everything about more sites, more volume, start of training, more $$, more $$ more $$.
I keep watching lots of training videos and playing almost every day, one of my new favorite coaches making videos (I have many of course) is Jonathan Little on Pokerstrategy. I have watched every video I can at my current level and am encouraged to play more to get the member points to watch all of his platinum videos as I am currently only gold status. But hey the membership was free and still is, I can get rakeback at sites I haven't yet signed up to, and after completing a simple test they gave me $50 which I have turned into $1,900 with a Mansion bonus of 3K coming in the near future. Whooot wooot!
No real goals for this month or most of the summer, I plan on spending a lot of quality time with the family, play a lot of poker, build my experience and hopefully my bank rolls then slowly move up the buy in levels. I have been dabbling in the Steps tournaments on Full Tilt starting only at the Step 0, 99 man super turbo (which costs a buck) then grinding my way up the steps, holding at 3 and 4 for the time being. Last week I was at 3 Step 3 and 1 Step 4, this week I am at 1 Step 1, 1 Step 3, 4 Step 4's all for a total of maybe $20 buy in at the Step 0 level. Step 4 is worth $75 buy in so even if I only had 1 I would feel happy about the situation. Oh yeah and I have only been playing the Super Turbo Sng's that start with 300 chips. The way I figure it there is more money in the prize pool, less in rake, hence more opportunity for profit.
Have a great one everybody and best of luck at the tables, and always remember:
Step 1) Study Poker
Step 2) Play Poker
Step 3) ????
Step 4) Profit!
So since I was the only player to end up with a profit I took it down... Dixie ended up with 2nd as she a) lost the least and b) actually played the full 100 games.
Oh yeah we agreed to make the bet for 100 games instead of 150 since nobody looked like they would have gotten 150 played. I was doing it slow to get an idea of the competition and wanting to play against them in same tournaments to, I feel, increase my chances of being on top.
So I have had 3/4 softball games rained out so far this season... why does it always rain on a Thursday night... Ugh
I have hit the 10K mark ($10,000) with all of my bankrolls combined on all of my sites with an initial investment of $50 per site total of $200 since Mansion poker's $50 start up was provided by Pokerstrategy, link is on the right top portion of my blog.
Most volume currently played on Full tilt and Mansion due to bonuses and rakeback, plus my interest in playing at Betfair and Tigergaming (action poker network) has gone down since Annette_15 left and joined Team Full tilt and the fact that the selection of games on both sites is pretty poor. I might just ignore bank roll management and play higher buy in MTT's on both sites and hope for a big score. On the other hand I might just try and do a crazy bonus whore on Tiger depositing $50 each week for 10 weeks then turn around and withdrawal $1000 and leave my account at a very minimal amount. Yet my "loyalty" to them is the highest since they got me started playing online, winning money, winning 1 year of free training at PokerVT which lead to everything about more sites, more volume, start of training, more $$, more $$ more $$.
I keep watching lots of training videos and playing almost every day, one of my new favorite coaches making videos (I have many of course) is Jonathan Little on Pokerstrategy. I have watched every video I can at my current level and am encouraged to play more to get the member points to watch all of his platinum videos as I am currently only gold status. But hey the membership was free and still is, I can get rakeback at sites I haven't yet signed up to, and after completing a simple test they gave me $50 which I have turned into $1,900 with a Mansion bonus of 3K coming in the near future. Whooot wooot!
No real goals for this month or most of the summer, I plan on spending a lot of quality time with the family, play a lot of poker, build my experience and hopefully my bank rolls then slowly move up the buy in levels. I have been dabbling in the Steps tournaments on Full Tilt starting only at the Step 0, 99 man super turbo (which costs a buck) then grinding my way up the steps, holding at 3 and 4 for the time being. Last week I was at 3 Step 3 and 1 Step 4, this week I am at 1 Step 1, 1 Step 3, 4 Step 4's all for a total of maybe $20 buy in at the Step 0 level. Step 4 is worth $75 buy in so even if I only had 1 I would feel happy about the situation. Oh yeah and I have only been playing the Super Turbo Sng's that start with 300 chips. The way I figure it there is more money in the prize pool, less in rake, hence more opportunity for profit.
Have a great one everybody and best of luck at the tables, and always remember:
Step 1) Study Poker
Step 2) Play Poker
Step 3) ????
Step 4) Profit!
Monday, May 17, 2010
May prop bet challenge, mid way
So this is what it looks like for now... With over half the month gone nobody has even hit 50 games played yet. The contest is for 150 games and we are all slacking huge, I mean they are even talking of placing bets on the forum to see if anybody will even complete the 150. I felt like I wasn't doing so good but according to the above chart I am doing just fine, especially considering nobody else is even making a profit. I am going to try and play 10 games a day to finish them off, only thing that will stop me will be pure laziness.
I didn't do so great in the sng challenge this month 4 cashes out of 8 games but I am currently behind first place again and doubt my score can hold in the top 5 anyway.
Lot's of study on videos, watching a couple a night, playing games, reading forums and little sleep. I am looking to going on vacation sometime in the future.
Talked the dutches into letting me take next year's vacation time to play in the WSOP events, and I think my bankroll will allow me to start cracking higher buy in games leading to satty's for tickets to events on all the poker sites.
This prop bet has one thing going for it... building my role and encouraging me to play more.
Friday, April 30, 2010
April over already?
Well April is in the books, fast month this was. A roller coaster on the tables, I love having days when I think I did bad and find I broke even... Even better I love the days I thought I broke even and actually made a profit.
I am able to get the $1000 bonus on Mansion now, but was thinking in 6 months from now I might be able to get another 1K but if I add all the points together I can get 3K instead. So IF a guy came up to you and said instead of me giving you 1K now and 1K in 6 months how about I just give you 3K in 6 months... what would you say? Hell Ya! Where do I sign up? You wanna move into my garage? So I really have nothing to think about, I mean if I was playing real bad and my original start up bank roll on Mansion from last year of $50 donated to my account by Pokerstrategy (Link is on the right >>) was hurting I would take the 1k now for sure, but I am a bank roll NIT and am playing at a level where I have 200 buy ins so I can easily wait. I have even debated moving up in levels recently.
Last time I moved up in levels my bank roll took a $500 hit in a short period of time so I moved back to the $10 +1 games and have been basically not moving, but slowly digging my heals in and haven't gone down so much but up a little down less. (2 steps forward 1.5 steps back for months now :( )
I haven't played much on Betfair or Tiger or Pokerstars, yet just enough to not get penalties to points or bank rolls... so they are in the same spot they were like 8 months ago, LOL, I suck!
I did come in 2nd for the 2nd straight month in the Sng Challenge put on by Derk, a PokerVT.com Pro, with the same person coming in 1st again. I have been steady but nothing that breaks out and takes the lead. After this month the contest is on hiatus for the WSOP, so that gives me 6 more chances this year to take first. Once I do get first I will only play 7 games a month to give other members a chance to win it as well.
I didn't join the prop bet that some forum members from PokerVT played in last month, my bank roll on Poker stars doesn't allow me to play in $6 Sng's right now nor the 500 games members had to play in the 30 day period, cheers to all who competed and congratulations to Puyan for taking it down. I DID join the prop bet coming up for May though...
Right now there are about 6 other members, the bet is to play 150 games at the $3.25 level of only 45 man turbos on Poker stars. I don't usually play stars except for PokerVT events and free rolls but I can fit these games into my schedule.
Watched a lot of crappy movies this month and a few good ones, I bought Avatar for my kids, can't believe it didn't take down the Oscar in a tone of categories. Baseball season for old folks like myself starts in May. My middle son turns 7 on the 2nd, having a party at the bowling alley with his friends from school and the close relatives.
Watched a lot of training videos on both PokerVT and Pokerstrategy, like over 30 hours on top of what I regularly watch. I found a coach on Pokerstrategy who makes a lot of great reads on hand ranges a lot of solid play.
Been sick last few days, need to take some pills and get the traditional 12 hour rest before going bowling with the family tomorrow... I feel a 120 average over 2 games coming, just toss it straight and hard, straight and hard.... (That's what she said)
I am able to get the $1000 bonus on Mansion now, but was thinking in 6 months from now I might be able to get another 1K but if I add all the points together I can get 3K instead. So IF a guy came up to you and said instead of me giving you 1K now and 1K in 6 months how about I just give you 3K in 6 months... what would you say? Hell Ya! Where do I sign up? You wanna move into my garage? So I really have nothing to think about, I mean if I was playing real bad and my original start up bank roll on Mansion from last year of $50 donated to my account by Pokerstrategy (Link is on the right >>) was hurting I would take the 1k now for sure, but I am a bank roll NIT and am playing at a level where I have 200 buy ins so I can easily wait. I have even debated moving up in levels recently.
Last time I moved up in levels my bank roll took a $500 hit in a short period of time so I moved back to the $10 +1 games and have been basically not moving, but slowly digging my heals in and haven't gone down so much but up a little down less. (2 steps forward 1.5 steps back for months now :( )
I haven't played much on Betfair or Tiger or Pokerstars, yet just enough to not get penalties to points or bank rolls... so they are in the same spot they were like 8 months ago, LOL, I suck!
I did come in 2nd for the 2nd straight month in the Sng Challenge put on by Derk, a PokerVT.com Pro, with the same person coming in 1st again. I have been steady but nothing that breaks out and takes the lead. After this month the contest is on hiatus for the WSOP, so that gives me 6 more chances this year to take first. Once I do get first I will only play 7 games a month to give other members a chance to win it as well.
I didn't join the prop bet that some forum members from PokerVT played in last month, my bank roll on Poker stars doesn't allow me to play in $6 Sng's right now nor the 500 games members had to play in the 30 day period, cheers to all who competed and congratulations to Puyan for taking it down. I DID join the prop bet coming up for May though...
Right now there are about 6 other members, the bet is to play 150 games at the $3.25 level of only 45 man turbos on Poker stars. I don't usually play stars except for PokerVT events and free rolls but I can fit these games into my schedule.
Watched a lot of crappy movies this month and a few good ones, I bought Avatar for my kids, can't believe it didn't take down the Oscar in a tone of categories. Baseball season for old folks like myself starts in May. My middle son turns 7 on the 2nd, having a party at the bowling alley with his friends from school and the close relatives.
Watched a lot of training videos on both PokerVT and Pokerstrategy, like over 30 hours on top of what I regularly watch. I found a coach on Pokerstrategy who makes a lot of great reads on hand ranges a lot of solid play.
Been sick last few days, need to take some pills and get the traditional 12 hour rest before going bowling with the family tomorrow... I feel a 120 average over 2 games coming, just toss it straight and hard, straight and hard.... (That's what she said)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
March in the books...
Well March is done and I have increased my play just a little, trying lots of different games.
Played a handful of Mini-Ftops and cashed in 1,
Played a few HU Razz and 7-game matches lately and doing alright (slightly ahead anyway),
Moving up (slowly) to $28 sng's on Full Tilt by adding some to my game selection,
Almost reached the bonus for 1k on Mansion,
Came in 2nd in Derk's (a pro at PovkerVT.com) 10 game sng challenge,
Didn't play in the cash game on Poker stars to be reviewed by Jon E (a pro at PovkerVT.com) leaving a space at the table for other members on the forum who actually play cash games as I am mostly a tournament player,
All bank rolls on all sites whet in a Northward direction,
Studied and watched videos while thinking a little deeper about my play,
Started participating more seriously in forum discussions about hands played and situations,
Had some guilt about not taking down a cash over 1k yet (but it will come in time),
Didn't get into too much trouble at my full time job (always a ++),
Had a run of surprise bills and car problems like I haven't had in over 3 years (like almost 4K which is a lot to me),
Gained about 15 lbs.... (I know, just in time to play softball for the summer ;) ),
Considered joining a prop bet with a pool of $600 to play 500 $6 sng's on Stars for the most profit (but can't my Stars roll is to small-now if it were on Tilt I'd be in in a heartbeat!),
Railed a lot of members and pro's going deep in MTT's which was fun and educational,
Kids are great, family is great, wife is great, poker is great,
Have a Happy Easter weekend everybody!
Played a handful of Mini-Ftops and cashed in 1,
Played a few HU Razz and 7-game matches lately and doing alright (slightly ahead anyway),
Moving up (slowly) to $28 sng's on Full Tilt by adding some to my game selection,
Almost reached the bonus for 1k on Mansion,
Came in 2nd in Derk's (a pro at PovkerVT.com) 10 game sng challenge,
Didn't play in the cash game on Poker stars to be reviewed by Jon E (a pro at PovkerVT.com) leaving a space at the table for other members on the forum who actually play cash games as I am mostly a tournament player,
All bank rolls on all sites whet in a Northward direction,
Studied and watched videos while thinking a little deeper about my play,
Started participating more seriously in forum discussions about hands played and situations,
Had some guilt about not taking down a cash over 1k yet (but it will come in time),
Didn't get into too much trouble at my full time job (always a ++),
Had a run of surprise bills and car problems like I haven't had in over 3 years (like almost 4K which is a lot to me),
Gained about 15 lbs.... (I know, just in time to play softball for the summer ;) ),
Considered joining a prop bet with a pool of $600 to play 500 $6 sng's on Stars for the most profit (but can't my Stars roll is to small-now if it were on Tilt I'd be in in a heartbeat!),
Railed a lot of members and pro's going deep in MTT's which was fun and educational,
Kids are great, family is great, wife is great, poker is great,
Have a Happy Easter weekend everybody!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Owning a SnG on the bubble.
So I have been playing almost everyday with only 1 day off here and there over about a 6 month period now. Mixing in Sng's that are turbo, super turbo, 1 table, 3 table and 5 tables. Most larger MTT have been specifically satty's or mixed games.
Oh and I also played like 6 of the mini-ftops events on Full Tilt over the past week or two and some Canada/US free rolls on Poker stars.
Trudging along as my bankroll slowly increases, I can't seem to fathom just yet how come it keeps moving up on Full tilt and stays almost the same on Mansion. I do get way more bad beats on Mansion as well as the rake being a tiny bit more as it's $1 for every $10 entry fee and other sites not so bad. Yet I have almost the 480K Mansion points needed to cash in for a $1000 bonus.
Been doing okay in Mixed games too, cashing more than I probably should be while I am learning the games but I don't mind.
I came in 20th place in a 2,015 player HORSE MTT in event #14 of the mini-ftops which was nice, but if not for a few bad flops giving some short stacks hands to beat my KK and AA respectively I would have made the final table and had a chance at the $19K prize for first.
(Now for my pathetic attempt to share/give any kind of Sng advice while I am still learning to play and am NOT a consistent winner.... yet)
Lately I have also been finding myself getting to be the big stack near the bubble of some 1 table super turbos and love when the short stack is to my left. I can fold my small blind into him every round and take turns picking on the other two medium stacks until they get fed up, wake up with a hand or end up as small as the short stack. Even if one of them does wake up with a hand and doubles up no matter because then I can fold the other two shorties and raise the guy who just doubled up for a couple rounds again and make the bubble last longer. A situation came up today that was just that and I had every body at the table to 3 big blinds 2 separate times. Then when one of them finally shoved, I over shoved the BB who was at 1.2 big blinds and he folds hoping to make the money. If the guy beats me no worries I steal the blinds the very next hand, but he didn't and I shoved the next shorty with 2.6 big blinds who folded because the small blind was all in for his last 15 chips. If he hits I still add to my stack and do it again on the next hand, of course he didn't and then going into heads up I had a 10-1 chip lead and then took it down within a few hands.
Same thing happened in a satty to the mini-ftops main event today, I raised like every hand near the bubble (like literally 25 hands in a row) because I was the chip leader at my table and I could! Every body else just wanted to make the money and get the satty seat to the main event and didn't want to challenge me. I got re-raise shoved like 2 times and called very light because I had stolen so many chips from the rest of the table. I was getting like 2K in chips every hand and could gamble knowing they probably had AA or something super strong. When I started bubble raising I was at 22K in chips and the closest guy at my table with 18K was on my exact right and was playing tight passive, so every time he folded I raised, when he limped I min-raised and got heads up for most pots with position or simply took it down pre-flop. By the end when the bubble finally popped I was around 44K in chips, since like 244 players got tickets and the tournament had about 1200 runners to start everybody was happy to fold and fold and fold.
I feel my game is improving more and more, I only owe my skills to the videos, pros and forums that have given me extra insight to my game. Past trainers that are gone and moved on, current ones that still actively help out members weekly and practice, practice, practice. I feel if I was putting in volume of like 3-5K games per month I would be making around $3-4K since I am up about $8K in my last 7000 games over the past year (13 months, baker's dozen ;) ). I see it like this; If I was playing that much volume I would only be improving faster and faster, seeing things more, beats and wins, analyzing hands quicker and becoming way better with practice, on top of the training, forums, books, magazines, blogs and videos that I put my time into every month... I currently only play about 500 games on a slow month to 1000 games on a busy month, so times that by 3-5 and giving myself more time for studying my game and I can only get better, faster and in turn make more money at my most favorite hobby POKER! Currently my full time job puts a kink into that plan though... cheers to hopefully winning a satty into a big event and getting some cards to make a final table, a super large cash and a chance to take a shot at the big times... It's the thought that counts right! Right??
Anyway really quickly back to owning the bubble, one final thought is that when you are in a spot when there are two of you with large stacks and 2 with medium to short stacks, you can put pressure on the other large stack who will only play back at you with a monster. The 1/5 times he does play back at you, it's simple fold, then play the bubble safely but the 4/5 times he doesn't puts you into a perfect spot to start super abusing and owning the bubble setting you up to have a monster stack going into 3 handed or heads up play.
I don't raise every single hand when 4 handed and doing this, or the other players will pick up on what I am up to rather quickly, but to select each middle stack each round, folding for one raising the other and always folding the short stack especially if they end up on your left to eventual chip dominance and a huge advantage to winning the tournament. Most players won't realize that you are doing it selectively and will also put more faith into the raises you do make.
On another note work is okay, kid's are great, LOST rules the T.V. airways and my wife is learning to cook some new meals... well she bought some cook books and is thinking about learning to cook some new meals, it's the thought that counts right! Right??
Oh and I also played like 6 of the mini-ftops events on Full Tilt over the past week or two and some Canada/US free rolls on Poker stars.
Trudging along as my bankroll slowly increases, I can't seem to fathom just yet how come it keeps moving up on Full tilt and stays almost the same on Mansion. I do get way more bad beats on Mansion as well as the rake being a tiny bit more as it's $1 for every $10 entry fee and other sites not so bad. Yet I have almost the 480K Mansion points needed to cash in for a $1000 bonus.
Been doing okay in Mixed games too, cashing more than I probably should be while I am learning the games but I don't mind.
I came in 20th place in a 2,015 player HORSE MTT in event #14 of the mini-ftops which was nice, but if not for a few bad flops giving some short stacks hands to beat my KK and AA respectively I would have made the final table and had a chance at the $19K prize for first.
(Now for my pathetic attempt to share/give any kind of Sng advice while I am still learning to play and am NOT a consistent winner.... yet)
Lately I have also been finding myself getting to be the big stack near the bubble of some 1 table super turbos and love when the short stack is to my left. I can fold my small blind into him every round and take turns picking on the other two medium stacks until they get fed up, wake up with a hand or end up as small as the short stack. Even if one of them does wake up with a hand and doubles up no matter because then I can fold the other two shorties and raise the guy who just doubled up for a couple rounds again and make the bubble last longer. A situation came up today that was just that and I had every body at the table to 3 big blinds 2 separate times. Then when one of them finally shoved, I over shoved the BB who was at 1.2 big blinds and he folds hoping to make the money. If the guy beats me no worries I steal the blinds the very next hand, but he didn't and I shoved the next shorty with 2.6 big blinds who folded because the small blind was all in for his last 15 chips. If he hits I still add to my stack and do it again on the next hand, of course he didn't and then going into heads up I had a 10-1 chip lead and then took it down within a few hands.
Same thing happened in a satty to the mini-ftops main event today, I raised like every hand near the bubble (like literally 25 hands in a row) because I was the chip leader at my table and I could! Every body else just wanted to make the money and get the satty seat to the main event and didn't want to challenge me. I got re-raise shoved like 2 times and called very light because I had stolen so many chips from the rest of the table. I was getting like 2K in chips every hand and could gamble knowing they probably had AA or something super strong. When I started bubble raising I was at 22K in chips and the closest guy at my table with 18K was on my exact right and was playing tight passive, so every time he folded I raised, when he limped I min-raised and got heads up for most pots with position or simply took it down pre-flop. By the end when the bubble finally popped I was around 44K in chips, since like 244 players got tickets and the tournament had about 1200 runners to start everybody was happy to fold and fold and fold.
I feel my game is improving more and more, I only owe my skills to the videos, pros and forums that have given me extra insight to my game. Past trainers that are gone and moved on, current ones that still actively help out members weekly and practice, practice, practice. I feel if I was putting in volume of like 3-5K games per month I would be making around $3-4K since I am up about $8K in my last 7000 games over the past year (13 months, baker's dozen ;) ). I see it like this; If I was playing that much volume I would only be improving faster and faster, seeing things more, beats and wins, analyzing hands quicker and becoming way better with practice, on top of the training, forums, books, magazines, blogs and videos that I put my time into every month... I currently only play about 500 games on a slow month to 1000 games on a busy month, so times that by 3-5 and giving myself more time for studying my game and I can only get better, faster and in turn make more money at my most favorite hobby POKER! Currently my full time job puts a kink into that plan though... cheers to hopefully winning a satty into a big event and getting some cards to make a final table, a super large cash and a chance to take a shot at the big times... It's the thought that counts right! Right??
Anyway really quickly back to owning the bubble, one final thought is that when you are in a spot when there are two of you with large stacks and 2 with medium to short stacks, you can put pressure on the other large stack who will only play back at you with a monster. The 1/5 times he does play back at you, it's simple fold, then play the bubble safely but the 4/5 times he doesn't puts you into a perfect spot to start super abusing and owning the bubble setting you up to have a monster stack going into 3 handed or heads up play.
I don't raise every single hand when 4 handed and doing this, or the other players will pick up on what I am up to rather quickly, but to select each middle stack each round, folding for one raising the other and always folding the short stack especially if they end up on your left to eventual chip dominance and a huge advantage to winning the tournament. Most players won't realize that you are doing it selectively and will also put more faith into the raises you do make.
On another note work is okay, kid's are great, LOST rules the T.V. airways and my wife is learning to cook some new meals... well she bought some cook books and is thinking about learning to cook some new meals, it's the thought that counts right! Right??
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Who needs memory anyway?
I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat.
After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.
Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod .
Funny e-mail I got so decided to share with you all.
After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.
Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod .
Funny e-mail I got so decided to share with you all.
Holy E-mail
One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the rascally behaviour that was going on. So he called one of His angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time.
When he returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on Earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not."
God thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion."
So God called another angel and sent him to Earth for a time.
When the angel returned he went to God and said, "Yes, it's true.The Earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good."
God was not pleased. So He decided to e-mail the 5% that were good, because he wanted to encourage them, and give them a little something to help them keep going.
Do you know what the e-mail said?
Okay, I was just wondering, because I didn't get one either.
A little message I was asked to pass on....
When he returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on Earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not."
God thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion."
So God called another angel and sent him to Earth for a time.
When the angel returned he went to God and said, "Yes, it's true.The Earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good."
God was not pleased. So He decided to e-mail the 5% that were good, because he wanted to encourage them, and give them a little something to help them keep going.
Do you know what the e-mail said?
Okay, I was just wondering, because I didn't get one either.
A little message I was asked to pass on....
Monday, February 22, 2010
My Poker Goals 2010
I have adjusted last years goals to suit this years goals nicely. I accomplished every single goal last year and figure I am going to set the bar a little higher this year. Understanding that I am back to work full time and can really only play a little each night and on the weekends. I do have a family and 3 boys that all want to spend time with me and I with them so I will make sure not to consume my spare time with goals and poker yet still giving me something to strive for.
1. to play $14 sng's to increase my bankroll on FullTilt past $6000 and begin $20 sng's, and progressively increase the limit played by $10 per $1500 increase to bankroll.
2. to play $11 sng's to increase my bankroll on Mansionpoker past $2500 and begin $22 sng's.
3. to play $3 sng's to increase my bankroll on Betfair past $300 and begin $5 sng's,
5. to play $3 sng's to increase my bankroll on Pokerstars past $500 and begin $5 sng's,
6. to play $5 sng's and MTT's to increase my bankroll on Tiger gaming past $1000 and begin $10 sng's and MTT's,
7. to continue to expand my poker skills and knowledge by broadening my chances to learn.
a) stay with PokerVT for the next 11 months and continue to learn, watch all videos 2x, and 5 times for videos about Sng and MTT's, participate in member tournys. Decide after 1 year if I want to continue.
b) learning through PokerStrategy, reading all the articles and materials available to me.
c) to take poker seriously, not just a hobby anymore, expand in as many areas possible and listen to my advisors and follow there advice.
d) to purchase some poker software to expand my ability to play the game. i.e. SnG wizard,
8. begin expanding into 45 and 90 person sng's, play satellites as they have great value and become a better Sng player.
9. to win one of the monthly Sng contests run by Derk a pro with PokerVT.
10. to reread 3 poker books in my collection and purchase 3 new poker books and read them. Also to purchase 2 books that are about life lessons or theory or chance that can teach me and help me understand that little thing called "Variance"
11. to increase my multi-tabling ability, currently 6 at a time, to 10 tables at a time using proper bankroll management and only go out of my super nitty bankroll comfort zone for PokerVT member tournaments or events related to PokerVT.
12. Get away from free rolls unless they are "special events"
13. To take my wife away on vacation to wherever she wants for a week in the summer.
14. To play a total of 3000 games this year, by end of December 2010.
15. To win entry via satellite to a major tournament online.
I hope to become a professional poker player within the next 2-4 years, after building enough bankroll to pay the bills for 2 years and still have enough to play and have a 1 year bad run/loosing streak at the higher levels.
never forget that a sound strategy and ability to encompass as much information as possible into my game play will be my ticket to happiness.
1. to play $14 sng's to increase my bankroll on FullTilt past $6000 and begin $20 sng's, and progressively increase the limit played by $10 per $1500 increase to bankroll.
2. to play $11 sng's to increase my bankroll on Mansionpoker past $2500 and begin $22 sng's.
3. to play $3 sng's to increase my bankroll on Betfair past $300 and begin $5 sng's,
5. to play $3 sng's to increase my bankroll on Pokerstars past $500 and begin $5 sng's,
6. to play $5 sng's and MTT's to increase my bankroll on Tiger gaming past $1000 and begin $10 sng's and MTT's,
7. to continue to expand my poker skills and knowledge by broadening my chances to learn.
a) stay with PokerVT for the next 11 months and continue to learn, watch all videos 2x, and 5 times for videos about Sng and MTT's, participate in member tournys. Decide after 1 year if I want to continue.
b) learning through PokerStrategy, reading all the articles and materials available to me.
c) to take poker seriously, not just a hobby anymore, expand in as many areas possible and listen to my advisors and follow there advice.
d) to purchase some poker software to expand my ability to play the game. i.e. SnG wizard,
8. begin expanding into 45 and 90 person sng's, play satellites as they have great value and become a better Sng player.
9. to win one of the monthly Sng contests run by Derk a pro with PokerVT.
10. to reread 3 poker books in my collection and purchase 3 new poker books and read them. Also to purchase 2 books that are about life lessons or theory or chance that can teach me and help me understand that little thing called "Variance"
11. to increase my multi-tabling ability, currently 6 at a time, to 10 tables at a time using proper bankroll management and only go out of my super nitty bankroll comfort zone for PokerVT member tournaments or events related to PokerVT.
12. Get away from free rolls unless they are "special events"
13. To take my wife away on vacation to wherever she wants for a week in the summer.
14. To play a total of 3000 games this year, by end of December 2010.
15. To win entry via satellite to a major tournament online.
I hope to become a professional poker player within the next 2-4 years, after building enough bankroll to pay the bills for 2 years and still have enough to play and have a 1 year bad run/loosing streak at the higher levels.
never forget that a sound strategy and ability to encompass as much information as possible into my game play will be my ticket to happiness.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Thinking about poker.
I hear a lot of crap on some forums about donkeys, getting sucked out on, variance, playing poker against losers or winners. When will it be my turn? Is a question I have heard.
Just some quick short thoughts I have about the whole thing,
Folding 1 pair good/great kicker is tuff, folding AA on a board that either could be crushing you or buddy is straight up bluffing is something learned from experience.
When you are playing a good thinking player then you can give more credit to his moves/play/line and maybe fold some hands.
When against a loose random donkey you sometimes have to close your eyes and flip a coin.
Drawing odds, starting hand strength, putting opponents on ranges, folding winners and bluffing losers are all part of the learning experience we go through while navigating to become a better player.
Taking the risk and getting into events that can give you a chance to be "my turn" are also the next step once you think you have what it takes.
Online tournaments (MTT's) with 5K+ players are also such high variance that you need to make sure you have all aspects of your game worked on... playing a lot of smaller tournaments with less runners, finishing at final tables, working on HU play, high blinds with antes, shoving ranges, calling ranges, positional advantages, studying, practicing are just a small potion of becoming a great player.
Poker takes a few minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.
Don't think that putting in a few months is going to change your game and make you a winner, if you hit a bad streak it's either variance or your play, figure out which.
Playing part time isn't going to get you the experience of an online grinder, playing out of your bankroll is the quickest way to not having any money.
Baby steps, earn the money, move up slowing, pay your dues, it will all come to those that deserve it and trust in your inner voice. (unless that voice lies alot)
Just my 2 cents worth a penny.
Just a small ramble from me.... hope it makes you think a little.
Just some quick short thoughts I have about the whole thing,
Folding 1 pair good/great kicker is tuff, folding AA on a board that either could be crushing you or buddy is straight up bluffing is something learned from experience.
When you are playing a good thinking player then you can give more credit to his moves/play/line and maybe fold some hands.
When against a loose random donkey you sometimes have to close your eyes and flip a coin.
Drawing odds, starting hand strength, putting opponents on ranges, folding winners and bluffing losers are all part of the learning experience we go through while navigating to become a better player.
Taking the risk and getting into events that can give you a chance to be "my turn" are also the next step once you think you have what it takes.
Online tournaments (MTT's) with 5K+ players are also such high variance that you need to make sure you have all aspects of your game worked on... playing a lot of smaller tournaments with less runners, finishing at final tables, working on HU play, high blinds with antes, shoving ranges, calling ranges, positional advantages, studying, practicing are just a small potion of becoming a great player.
Poker takes a few minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.
Don't think that putting in a few months is going to change your game and make you a winner, if you hit a bad streak it's either variance or your play, figure out which.
Playing part time isn't going to get you the experience of an online grinder, playing out of your bankroll is the quickest way to not having any money.
Baby steps, earn the money, move up slowing, pay your dues, it will all come to those that deserve it and trust in your inner voice. (unless that voice lies alot)
Just my 2 cents worth a penny.
Just a small ramble from me.... hope it makes you think a little.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Hand from a recent PVT member Sng
Does this hand sound about right, or did I play it too weak?
2 people knocked out, everybody playing pretty solid poker in position and out of position.
I had both large stacks to my right and small stacks to my left.
Everybody's VP was under 20 and PFR was under 15 so it was a solid strong game vs good playing members.
Did I simply get outplayed in the following hand? Or is it pretty obvious he has the flop hit real hard?
Full Tilt Poker Game #17942772133: PokerVT (133983758), Table 1 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:20:49 ET - 2010/01/26
Seat 2: dafalenangel (6,125)
Seat 4: strnr004 (2,705)
Seat 5: dwvw (2,100)
Seat 6: Cratos8 (2,435)
Seat 7: Spadezaspade (5,525)
Seat 9: Aczey (5,110)
Cratos8 posts the small blind of 40
Spadezaspade posts the big blind of 80
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 40/80 Blinds (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (MP) (t6125)
CO (t2705)
Button (t2100)
SB (t2435)
BB (t5525)
UTG (t5110)
Hero's M: 51.04
Preflop: Hero is MP with A
, A
1 fold, Hero bets t205, 3 folds, BB calls t125
Flop: (t450) Q, 4
, Q
(2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t305, BB raises to t610, Hero raises to t915, BB calls t305
Turn: (t2280) 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t1120, BB raises to t4405 (All-In), Hero folds
Total pot: t4520
dafalenangel folds
Uncalled bet of 3,285 returned to Spadezaspade
Spadezaspade mucks
Spadezaspade wins the pot (4,520)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,520 | Rake 0
Board: [Qd 4s Qc 5h]
Seat 2: dafalenangel folded on the Turn
Seat 4: strnr004 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: dwvw (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Cratos8 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Spadezaspade (big blind) collected (4,520), mucked
Seat 9: Aczey didn't bet (folded)
Did I simply get outplayed in the following hand? Or is it pretty obvious he has the flop hit real hard?
I mean if I was in his position and I hit the Q for trips on the flop I would have played it the same way he did.
If I check behind on the turn to see a free river and maybe hit the A then fine, but if I check and miss and he bets huge or all in on the river I almost have to call if I check behind on the turn as if to say "I have nothing, PLEASE STEAL the pot from me!"
He also could have had 44's or 55's with the way he played it.
In hindsight he could also of had JJ or KK or AA but I don't think he raises my turn bet with those hands unless he is absolutely thinking on a super mega game level and simply knows I would have to fold without a Q.
A few replies I got about the hand are this: from sJacob (PVT member)
Sup with flop minraises? This is a pretty weird hand from both of you.
I obv don't know anything about this opponent, but on average I'd expect a c/c if he has a Q, mid pocket pair or a 4. Minraise looks bluffy to me, I'd call it and reevalute, probably call at least one more street. When you 3bet, you can't expect him to call you with a worse hand (although when you min 3bet I guess he can call you with worse). Good thing about flatting is that it will let him fire more bluffs if he is indeed bluffing.
But you don't have nothing, you have a decent hand; you want him to try to steal the pot with worse hands.
As played I'd be tempted to call, because he's really not repping that much, it's tough to put him on a reasonable hand... maybe 55 exactly.
And this: from Alternativ (PVT member)
It would be really hard for him to play the hand this way with anything worse. You know how often he is defending his blind? Some PVT members have picked up blind defending from DN and will defend way to wide for their skill level.
I disagree with sJacob on the c/c with a Q, I think a random opponent would c/r most of the time with a Q here.
And your min 3bet on the flop is really wierd, I would never do that. You bet 305 into a 1975 pot. And you build the pot. if you flat, check behind the turn (if he do check), the pot will be 1625 on the river, he is a PokerVT member right? So I don't expect him to overbet, so you can catch a lot ore bluffs in this situation, because he will be bluffing here way more often then he would the way the hand played out. And you can call a lot cheaper. Since you both are so deep I don't think pot control is to bad an idea.
If you flat and he keep firing, you could think of letting your hand go imo.
You really think he is bluffing here often enough to make this a call? I really agree with falenangel, a lot of people would play their Q like this. And falenangel has played solid as well, and 3bet flop (even tho it was a tiny 3bet that woulden't make him fold to many hands), and fired again on the turn. This would be a really hard spot for him to bluff. I just don't think he is bluffing often enough here. People bluff way less then you would think.
And this: from puyan (PVT member)
Flat the flop raise and see what he does on the turn. Try and small ball it to showdown. Why go nuts against the big stack when your almost guaranteed money spot? Sort out your reraise sizing too, they should be at least 2.5-3x the previous bet. Min reraises don't work because your not really getting the information you need since the sizing is so small they're never folding to those odds.
My ending thoughts... for now on the hand are:
After thinking it through after the fact I think that I have to agree in hindsight I should have flatted the flop raise and see how much he leads for on the turn. I could maybe have called to river for the same amount that I 3bet and bet on the turn.
The same player also bet huge pot on river in other hands so I guess I was thinking he might shove the river if we got to it and I wanted as much information as possible.
I am really looking forward to the possibility of this tournament being put together by Dixie with all the HH's so I can see what the player had.
Yet I still firmly think he had my AA beat with the line he took even if my line seemed awkward and weak.
Cheers and Shambone
The fun part is, since it was on Full Tilt I am not familiar with the PVT screen name for Spadezaspade and am not sure who it was, but later in the tournament he said that he did have the Q back in the hand posted above.
2 people knocked out, everybody playing pretty solid poker in position and out of position.
I had both large stacks to my right and small stacks to my left.
Everybody's VP was under 20 and PFR was under 15 so it was a solid strong game vs good playing members.
Did I simply get outplayed in the following hand? Or is it pretty obvious he has the flop hit real hard?
Full Tilt Poker Game #17942772133: PokerVT (133983758), Table 1 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:20:49 ET - 2010/01/26
Seat 2: dafalenangel (6,125)
Seat 4: strnr004 (2,705)
Seat 5: dwvw (2,100)
Seat 6: Cratos8 (2,435)
Seat 7: Spadezaspade (5,525)
Seat 9: Aczey (5,110)
Cratos8 posts the small blind of 40
Spadezaspade posts the big blind of 80
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 40/80 Blinds (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
Hero (MP) (t6125)
CO (t2705)
Button (t2100)
SB (t2435)
BB (t5525)
UTG (t5110)
Hero's M: 51.04
Preflop: Hero is MP with A
, A1 fold, Hero bets t205, 3 folds, BB calls t125
Flop: (t450) Q
, 4, Q (2 players)BB checks, Hero bets t305, BB raises to t610, Hero raises to t915, BB calls t305
Turn: (t2280) 5
(2 players)BB checks, Hero bets t1120, BB raises to t4405 (All-In), Hero folds
Total pot: t4520
dafalenangel folds
Uncalled bet of 3,285 returned to Spadezaspade
Spadezaspade mucks
Spadezaspade wins the pot (4,520)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,520 | Rake 0
Board: [Qd 4s Qc 5h]
Seat 2: dafalenangel folded on the Turn
Seat 4: strnr004 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: dwvw (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Cratos8 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Spadezaspade (big blind) collected (4,520), mucked
Seat 9: Aczey didn't bet (folded)
Did I simply get outplayed in the following hand? Or is it pretty obvious he has the flop hit real hard?
I mean if I was in his position and I hit the Q for trips on the flop I would have played it the same way he did.
If I check behind on the turn to see a free river and maybe hit the A then fine, but if I check and miss and he bets huge or all in on the river I almost have to call if I check behind on the turn as if to say "I have nothing, PLEASE STEAL the pot from me!"
He also could have had 44's or 55's with the way he played it.
In hindsight he could also of had JJ or KK or AA but I don't think he raises my turn bet with those hands unless he is absolutely thinking on a super mega game level and simply knows I would have to fold without a Q.
A few replies I got about the hand are this: from sJacob (PVT member)
Sup with flop minraises? This is a pretty weird hand from both of you.
I obv don't know anything about this opponent, but on average I'd expect a c/c if he has a Q, mid pocket pair or a 4. Minraise looks bluffy to me, I'd call it and reevalute, probably call at least one more street. When you 3bet, you can't expect him to call you with a worse hand (although when you min 3bet I guess he can call you with worse). Good thing about flatting is that it will let him fire more bluffs if he is indeed bluffing.
falenangel wrote:
"If I check behind on the turn to see a free river and maybe hit the A then fine, but if I check and miss and he bets huge or all in on the river I almost have to call if I check behind on the turn as if to say "I have nothing, PLEASE STEAL the pot from me!""
But you don't have nothing, you have a decent hand; you want him to try to steal the pot with worse hands.
As played I'd be tempted to call, because he's really not repping that much, it's tough to put him on a reasonable hand... maybe 55 exactly.
And this: from Alternativ (PVT member)
It would be really hard for him to play the hand this way with anything worse. You know how often he is defending his blind? Some PVT members have picked up blind defending from DN and will defend way to wide for their skill level.
I disagree with sJacob on the c/c with a Q, I think a random opponent would c/r most of the time with a Q here.
And your min 3bet on the flop is really wierd, I would never do that. You bet 305 into a 1975 pot. And you build the pot. if you flat, check behind the turn (if he do check), the pot will be 1625 on the river, he is a PokerVT member right? So I don't expect him to overbet, so you can catch a lot ore bluffs in this situation, because he will be bluffing here way more often then he would the way the hand played out. And you can call a lot cheaper. Since you both are so deep I don't think pot control is to bad an idea.
If you flat and he keep firing, you could think of letting your hand go imo.
sJacob wrote:
"As played I'd be tempted to call, because he's really not repping that much, it's tough to put him on a reasonable hand... maybe 55 exactly."
You really think he is bluffing here often enough to make this a call? I really agree with falenangel, a lot of people would play their Q like this. And falenangel has played solid as well, and 3bet flop (even tho it was a tiny 3bet that woulden't make him fold to many hands), and fired again on the turn. This would be a really hard spot for him to bluff. I just don't think he is bluffing often enough here. People bluff way less then you would think.
And this: from puyan (PVT member)
Flat the flop raise and see what he does on the turn. Try and small ball it to showdown. Why go nuts against the big stack when your almost guaranteed money spot? Sort out your reraise sizing too, they should be at least 2.5-3x the previous bet. Min reraises don't work because your not really getting the information you need since the sizing is so small they're never folding to those odds.
My ending thoughts... for now on the hand are:
After thinking it through after the fact I think that I have to agree in hindsight I should have flatted the flop raise and see how much he leads for on the turn. I could maybe have called to river for the same amount that I 3bet and bet on the turn.
The same player also bet huge pot on river in other hands so I guess I was thinking he might shove the river if we got to it and I wanted as much information as possible.
I am really looking forward to the possibility of this tournament being put together by Dixie with all the HH's so I can see what the player had.
Yet I still firmly think he had my AA beat with the line he took even if my line seemed awkward and weak.
Cheers and Shambone
The fun part is, since it was on Full Tilt I am not familiar with the PVT screen name for Spadezaspade and am not sure who it was, but later in the tournament he said that he did have the Q back in the hand posted above.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Just playing 10-20 a day...
What a time for me to start feeling like playing poker is WORK! I have bonuses on 2 different sites for as much as $450 that I only have until the end of January to play out and the middle of February for the other. I almost decided to play enough to guarantee that I will get $100 of the $250 on 1 of the sites and $150 of the $200 on the other. By playing about 10 games a day on each...???
What am I thinking, it's free money and to give up $200 in free money is just plain STUPID IMO. I am running/have been running not so great and am basically breaking even or losing in SNG's as of the last 2K games or so and have been dabbling in super turbo's and mixed games just trying to change things up a bit. I have a winning session 1 day and a losing session the next. Back and forth for the past couple of months.
I think it's time to admit I have learn to use a new software program. SnG Wiz seems to be the most popular suggestion from anybody I talk to on the forums or who plays online poker. My fear of not getting a new program for fear of incompetence is just plain sad, pathetic and old. I am never going to have a chance at being a consistent winning player if I don't put in the hours to work on my game a become better. I am a poker tool and need to get better and I know I will start having more fun.
I used to take a couple of days a week off and play like 50 games or so on the days I did play. That's like 250 games a week, lately at about 20 games a day I am playing like 140 a week and am needing some time to myself. I don't need the extra bonus, which is small, that is provided by some online poker rooms (for playing everyday) so I think I need to go back to my old ways of 2 days off per week. I am still studying by watching videos and am actually going through PT3 to see what I can work on to become better in given positions with given hand ranges.
I am following a few more blogs and anticipate seeing how some old PokerVT friends and members are doing with there ongoing growth and training in the poker world. Good Luck to all of you, I wish you all the best in your journey!
I liked the movie Avatar so much the wife and I went to see it again but in 3-D and it was worth every penny. Can't wait for the last season of Lost to start up again. Looking forward to a new year with new strides in my poker game. I will post some goals for the year in the next few weeks. I am also going to try and earn a $1K bonus on the Ipoker network.
Plus I have pre-paid for a year in advance until January 2011 on PokerVT as I can't imagine becoming better without at least a couple of poker sites and forums to learn and become better from. I also qualified for the final event of the 12 week +EV tournament they have been running for the past 3 months and am looking forward to a strong performance in a few weeks when it takes place.
Cheers and Shambone!
What am I thinking, it's free money and to give up $200 in free money is just plain STUPID IMO. I am running/have been running not so great and am basically breaking even or losing in SNG's as of the last 2K games or so and have been dabbling in super turbo's and mixed games just trying to change things up a bit. I have a winning session 1 day and a losing session the next. Back and forth for the past couple of months.
I think it's time to admit I have learn to use a new software program. SnG Wiz seems to be the most popular suggestion from anybody I talk to on the forums or who plays online poker. My fear of not getting a new program for fear of incompetence is just plain sad, pathetic and old. I am never going to have a chance at being a consistent winning player if I don't put in the hours to work on my game a become better. I am a poker tool and need to get better and I know I will start having more fun.
I used to take a couple of days a week off and play like 50 games or so on the days I did play. That's like 250 games a week, lately at about 20 games a day I am playing like 140 a week and am needing some time to myself. I don't need the extra bonus, which is small, that is provided by some online poker rooms (for playing everyday) so I think I need to go back to my old ways of 2 days off per week. I am still studying by watching videos and am actually going through PT3 to see what I can work on to become better in given positions with given hand ranges.
I am following a few more blogs and anticipate seeing how some old PokerVT friends and members are doing with there ongoing growth and training in the poker world. Good Luck to all of you, I wish you all the best in your journey!
I liked the movie Avatar so much the wife and I went to see it again but in 3-D and it was worth every penny. Can't wait for the last season of Lost to start up again. Looking forward to a new year with new strides in my poker game. I will post some goals for the year in the next few weeks. I am also going to try and earn a $1K bonus on the Ipoker network.
Plus I have pre-paid for a year in advance until January 2011 on PokerVT as I can't imagine becoming better without at least a couple of poker sites and forums to learn and become better from. I also qualified for the final event of the 12 week +EV tournament they have been running for the past 3 months and am looking forward to a strong performance in a few weeks when it takes place.
Cheers and Shambone!
Friday, January 8, 2010
WBCOOP 2010
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! Bloggers can register for to play for free in the WBCOOP, if you don’t have a PokerStars account you can get your Poker Download here.
Registration code: 396376
Okay so I am going to give this event a try, I have been playing alright as of late and have been getting better at the mixed games. If you have a blog and play poker and have an account with PokerStars I highly suggest and recommend signing up for this event. You can also create an account on Stars anytime and if you have a blog sign up for this event.
The field ratio should be small and the payouts huge for ZERO investment.I have been moving away from my addiction to free rolls except when the prize is way worth it.
Like playing the million dollar challenge free rolls to have a shot at Daniel N.
Cheers and best of luck at the tables, I will update my progress along the way.
Here is a cut and paste of the information available about this event.
The WBCOOP returns for 2010!
It’s time for all poker-playing bloggers to put down the keyboard and mouse and get ready for action, because the annual PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker (WBCOOP) is back once again. This time round the seven-day event includes six preliminary tournaments, running January 25-30, 2010. The action culminates with the Main Event on January 31, and you can register for all of the events now. What’s more, the WBCOOP is completely free-to-enter for all verified bloggers.
Every year the WBCOOP gives bloggers from all over the world the chance to play tournament poker for great prizes. It’s the perfect way to challenge other poker writers, and compete to prove that you are the best in the business. This year you can win seats to the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP)*, plus SCOOP Steps satellite tickets. We’ll also be awarding spot prizes during the event for the best live blogs and Twitter posts. See below for more about what you can win.
Simply register as a verified blogger to take part. Once you’re in, use your blog to tell everyone that you’ll be playing, and then keep them updated on your progress. It doesn’t even matter if your blog isn’t about poker or if you’re new to the game - everyone is welcome to play.
How to Enter
For your blog to be eligible, it needs to have been online for at least two months and updated on a regular basis. Blogs created specifically for this promotion, or that only have a few posts, will not be granted entry to WBCOOP. If you have been eligible in the past for WBCCOP but have not updated your blog on a regular basis since the last event, you will not be eligible to play. All decisions about eligibility rest with WBCOOP management and are final.
Visit the registration page to find out how to submit your blog for verification. Once you are registered, you can play in any or all of the free WBCOOP preliminary events and the Main Event.
Preliminary Events
The preliminary tournaments are free-to-enter and run daily from January 25-30, in a range of different games at the times listed below. You can find them listed in the PokerStars lobby, under ‘Tourney’ & ‘All’.
Game | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| No Limit Hold’em | January 25 | 17:00 ET |
| Pot Limit Omaha | January 26 | 17:00 ET |
| No Limit Hold’em | January 27 | 18:00 ET |
| No Limit Hold’em | January 28 | 18:00 ET |
| 8-Game Mix | January 29 | 19:00 ET |
| No Limit Hold’em | January 30 | 15:00 ET |
Prizes
Each preliminary tournament will award $6,038 worth of SCOOP Steps tickets, as follows.
Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $1,050 |
| 2-9 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $215 |
| 10-27 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $33 |
| 28-45 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $16.50 |
| 46-136 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $11 |
Main Event
The 2010 WBCOOP Main Event takes place January 31 at 15:00 ET. Find it in the PokerStars lobby under ‘Tourney’ & ‘All’.
Prizes
Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $3,150 |
| 2-9 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $2,100 |
| 10-27 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $215 |
| 28-45 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $55 |
| 46-136 | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $22 |
Spot Prizes
During the WBCOOP, you can also win spot prizes, awarded to bloggers who write the best posts and Twitter updates about the action taking place.
Achievement | Prize |
|---|---|
| Best Live Event Blogging | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $425 |
| Highly Commended Blogger (three of these will be awarded) | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $33 |
| Best Tweeter | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $425 |
| Highly Commended Tweeter (three of these will be awarded) | SCOOP Tickets to Value of $33 |
WBCOOP 2008
The last WBCOOP took place in 2008, with 369 bloggers from around the world playing in the Main Event. Imric_est took the title, walking away with a PokerStars live event package. Priitk and Lesage88 also won big for finishing in the top three. Hundreds of other players took part in the preliminary events, all of which were free to enter. Go to the PokerStars Blog for full coverage of the 2008 Main Event.
Contact support@pokerstars.com if you have any questions about the WBCOOP.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Took down $20 Horse tournament!
The title of the post says it all! 
151 runners!
I was chip leader from 15 left until 3 handed, at one point was down to as low as 3rd. During HU had the lead then was down to 4-1 disadvantage in chips and made the comeback.
Back and forth battle HU, played 3 handed hold em, then omaha 8.
Went Hu during Razz and finished off the game on Stud Hi.
$906 for the victory.
Studying the mixed games is slowly paying off, had a lot of cashes recently and satty wins but this was my first 1st in a simple MTT with a buy in of over $10.
Most thanks to PVT and Devo for bringing him on and having videos on mixed games!
Cheers!
Sorry Tan, Just short of 1K.... but I am getting to it! LOL and I haven't forgot!
Shambone
151 runners!
I was chip leader from 15 left until 3 handed, at one point was down to as low as 3rd. During HU had the lead then was down to 4-1 disadvantage in chips and made the comeback.
Back and forth battle HU, played 3 handed hold em, then omaha 8.
Went Hu during Razz and finished off the game on Stud Hi.
$906 for the victory.
Studying the mixed games is slowly paying off, had a lot of cashes recently and satty wins but this was my first 1st in a simple MTT with a buy in of over $10.
Most thanks to PVT and Devo for bringing him on and having videos on mixed games!
Cheers!
Sorry Tan, Just short of 1K.... but I am getting to it! LOL and I haven't forgot!
Shambone
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