I really need to update this more and I keep saying that but it never really happens.
Poker is going okay. Currently in a couple of challenges. First challenge is the King of the 45 man SNG's. This starts tonight at midnight. We have to midnight 2/27 to complete 20 45 man turbo sng's. You get points based on your finish and the top 3 scores with the prize pool.
The next challenge I am in is the Feb. $4.40 challenge. We are on teams, $50 a team. We have to play 30 $4.40 180 man SNG's on Stars between 2/1 and midnight 2/29. Drop the lowest 5 scores. We have about $1200 in the prize pool right now, tomorrow is the last day to register but so far so good. My team is in 6th after 8 games. I won one this past Sunday which helped. Looks like my partner had a bad day today but we have a long way to go and the early leaders have played a lot more games than we have so if we can keep it going we should have a good shot at a top three finish.
Other than that it's been the same old same old. Working, taking law courses, reading up on Buddhism, and playing Rock Band and Call of Duty 4.
Showing posts with label Poker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poker. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Back in the Game
Well things worked out and I won a little contest on FCP that got me $50 put on my Full Tilt account. That was good because I was missing poker a lot.
I had money on Stars but it was the money I was holding for the Sickie Threads Fantasy Football pool. Pat said he would be forwarding my money last Monday so I was home sick and decided to jump in a $4.40. It went well...
That helps. That night Pat put $50 over at Full Tilt and I let it sit there and I played a bit at Stars with the $216 I won. I played a couple more $4.40's and finished near the bubble. I was feeling good, playing smart, confident, etc.
So this weekend I decided to jump back on Tilt and see if I can build that up.Played in a $3.30 Knockout. Some 800+ players, knocked out 3 to get $1.50 back and then finished somewhere in the money for another $6 or something pathetic. Then I played a couple low limit SNG's and won some more money. Played a Sat into the Midnight Madness. Finished 76th for $32. Not bad. Was doing really well for awhile. 1600+ started but I really wanted to get deeper.
Sunday I played a few $750 and Sunday Million Sats with no success. That is fine since a fellow FCPer took down the Sunday Million last night. I jumped in a $5.50 MTT with 450 players and sadly again finished 44th for like $8.xx. just can't seem to finish these things.
Jumped into 2 $2.25 180 person SNG's. Finished one in 50th and won the other for $97.50. So that brough up my FT account to $166. So in one week I turned the $50 into close to $400. So that means I get to play some more.
Tonight I played a $7 Sat. Won that for a seat in FT's $55 $50K Guaranteed. That didn't go well. Got it all in early with a very aggressive Bruce Buffer (Ringmaster of the UFC) with AK vs his 66. Tough spot. I raised in EP to 90 (4xbb) and I got two MP callers and he repopped on the Button for 680. He had been doing this and either folding to more aggression or taking the pot down there with no showdown. So I reraised all in, the others folded and that was that. He is a "pro" so if i beat him I would get the buy-in back and have a decent stack early. Figured it was the right play. Left with about 355 after that. Doubled up with KK two hands later. Then doubled again later with 66 and then lost it again with AK<66.
Jumped into a Midnight Madness Sat and took that down and jumped into another $2.25 180. MM was a mess and I finished 17th in the 180 for some little stupid amount.
I am getting deep and playing pretty well I think. Some missteps here and there but nothing I can't work on. Good to have a roll again as I love this game.
I had money on Stars but it was the money I was holding for the Sickie Threads Fantasy Football pool. Pat said he would be forwarding my money last Monday so I was home sick and decided to jump in a $4.40. It went well...
That helps. That night Pat put $50 over at Full Tilt and I let it sit there and I played a bit at Stars with the $216 I won. I played a couple more $4.40's and finished near the bubble. I was feeling good, playing smart, confident, etc.
So this weekend I decided to jump back on Tilt and see if I can build that up.Played in a $3.30 Knockout. Some 800+ players, knocked out 3 to get $1.50 back and then finished somewhere in the money for another $6 or something pathetic. Then I played a couple low limit SNG's and won some more money. Played a Sat into the Midnight Madness. Finished 76th for $32. Not bad. Was doing really well for awhile. 1600+ started but I really wanted to get deeper.
Sunday I played a few $750 and Sunday Million Sats with no success. That is fine since a fellow FCPer took down the Sunday Million last night. I jumped in a $5.50 MTT with 450 players and sadly again finished 44th for like $8.xx. just can't seem to finish these things.
Jumped into 2 $2.25 180 person SNG's. Finished one in 50th and won the other for $97.50. So that brough up my FT account to $166. So in one week I turned the $50 into close to $400. So that means I get to play some more.
Tonight I played a $7 Sat. Won that for a seat in FT's $55 $50K Guaranteed. That didn't go well. Got it all in early with a very aggressive Bruce Buffer (Ringmaster of the UFC) with AK vs his 66. Tough spot. I raised in EP to 90 (4xbb) and I got two MP callers and he repopped on the Button for 680. He had been doing this and either folding to more aggression or taking the pot down there with no showdown. So I reraised all in, the others folded and that was that. He is a "pro" so if i beat him I would get the buy-in back and have a decent stack early. Figured it was the right play. Left with about 355 after that. Doubled up with KK two hands later. Then doubled again later with 66 and then lost it again with AK<66.
Jumped into a Midnight Madness Sat and took that down and jumped into another $2.25 180. MM was a mess and I finished 17th in the 180 for some little stupid amount.
I am getting deep and playing pretty well I think. Some missteps here and there but nothing I can't work on. Good to have a roll again as I love this game.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Busto!
Yup. It happened. Busto. Terrible but oh well. I just don't get it. Was running great. Making strides in my game, winning by playing good more than getting lucky and then boom, the hammer fell and it has just been a sick long ride to $0. Yesterday was pretty much the end of it. KK lost to 45 when I got all in on the flop of 24Q. A on turn, 3 on river. All in preflop near the money of an MTT with 66 all in preflop against 98o. Board was QJQ4J. Last week I lost 4 times with KK and the best hand I was up against was JTo. Yeah, bad beats, blah blah, we all deal with them. Yes we do, trouble is that is all I have experienced the last month and a half is bad beat after bad beat.
I realized when it started sometime last week. I was at my monthly home game and it struck me...I was in the BB short on chips. SB was aggressive and playing at me all game long with his nice large stack. It folds to him and he raises 3xBB. I look down and see 66. I call. Flop comes 556. He immediately pushes all in. He flips over 77 and I flip over 66. Turn, 7. GG me. 2 outs and he hits and knocks me out. Since then I have gone busto.
Oh well. I will be back. Still an overall winner the last 4 years but I need a nice long break. Guess I go back to playing WoW and my new Xbox360. I still have a $26 token sitting on Full Tilt. Have not decided what to use it for yet but I will use it soon.
I realized when it started sometime last week. I was at my monthly home game and it struck me...I was in the BB short on chips. SB was aggressive and playing at me all game long with his nice large stack. It folds to him and he raises 3xBB. I look down and see 66. I call. Flop comes 556. He immediately pushes all in. He flips over 77 and I flip over 66. Turn, 7. GG me. 2 outs and he hits and knocks me out. Since then I have gone busto.
Oh well. I will be back. Still an overall winner the last 4 years but I need a nice long break. Guess I go back to playing WoW and my new Xbox360. I still have a $26 token sitting on Full Tilt. Have not decided what to use it for yet but I will use it soon.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Bubble Boy
I swear to go I am tired of finishing on the bubble or short of the bug prize. Played 2 $5.50 MTT's at Full Tilt. 29th and 57th. 27th and 54th paid. The first one was the killer though. I was top 9 stack for over 2 hours. Playing great, picking my spots well, etc. Then I get half my stack all in against another who has TT to my JJ. He spikes his ten. I then get AT suited and lost half my stack to A8o who hits his flush. 2 hands I go from top 9 with 30 left to 28th. And soon after I was out. Sometimes it is just better to bust on the first hand.
Then yesterday I played a $3.50 Triple Shootout for the Sunday Million. Top 2 get a seat. Crush the first two tables and as expected finish 3rd. Sure it was for $70 but I want the $215T! Gah!
So Saturday was the final month of the Grand Prix at my monthly home game. I have explained this before but quickly, we play 2 games 1 Saturday out of a month for 6 months. We gets points based on our finish. Buy in is $25. $22.50 goes into that tourney and then $2.50 from each player goes to the Grand Prix. We have anywhere from 7 to 16 players that play. Going into Saturday night I had about a 3 point lead.
The first game had 12 players. Lots of points to be had. We have a guy that comes that plays the big games like the Belaggio Cup and such. He finshed well last year and got a big head over it. We were on two tables and he was on mine and he was just killing our table which is opposite of how he usually runs at this game. I got into a big hand with him with JJ on a T high board and he played it well just letting me do all the betting then showing me his KK at the end to take 60% of my stack. I was pissed. I was on tilt. Next hand I get Qs9s. I limp and see the flop which comes 942 one spade. John bets, Danny (who is 2nd in points) thinks and makes the call and I push for 420. All fold to Danny who quickly calls and flips over 22 for a set of ducks. I hit runner runner spades to win the hand. I would have been out 12th at that point. Not good for the points!
I tighten up and slowly build my stack. With 5 left I look down at AA. I raise it 3xBB and get 3 callers. Flop comes 672. Gary leads out for about half the pot leaving him with just about 400 behind. It folds to me and I take some time and then push all in. He goes into the tank for awhile and eventually says there is only two hands he thinks can beat me as he believes I don't have a set. So that means obviously, he has QQ. He finally gives in and calls I show the AA and they hold. Eventually I get heads up with Ray who has the monster stack and lose with 75s vs AK. I finish 2nd for 7 points and $81.
So the start of game 2 has only 7 players. For Danny to win he needs to win this game and I need to end up last. Well without going into much boring detail, I finish last and Danny wins. I end up losing the Grand Prix by .39 points. .39!!!! Ugh.
I hate this game.
Then yesterday I played a $3.50 Triple Shootout for the Sunday Million. Top 2 get a seat. Crush the first two tables and as expected finish 3rd. Sure it was for $70 but I want the $215T! Gah!
So Saturday was the final month of the Grand Prix at my monthly home game. I have explained this before but quickly, we play 2 games 1 Saturday out of a month for 6 months. We gets points based on our finish. Buy in is $25. $22.50 goes into that tourney and then $2.50 from each player goes to the Grand Prix. We have anywhere from 7 to 16 players that play. Going into Saturday night I had about a 3 point lead.
The first game had 12 players. Lots of points to be had. We have a guy that comes that plays the big games like the Belaggio Cup and such. He finshed well last year and got a big head over it. We were on two tables and he was on mine and he was just killing our table which is opposite of how he usually runs at this game. I got into a big hand with him with JJ on a T high board and he played it well just letting me do all the betting then showing me his KK at the end to take 60% of my stack. I was pissed. I was on tilt. Next hand I get Qs9s. I limp and see the flop which comes 942 one spade. John bets, Danny (who is 2nd in points) thinks and makes the call and I push for 420. All fold to Danny who quickly calls and flips over 22 for a set of ducks. I hit runner runner spades to win the hand. I would have been out 12th at that point. Not good for the points!
I tighten up and slowly build my stack. With 5 left I look down at AA. I raise it 3xBB and get 3 callers. Flop comes 672. Gary leads out for about half the pot leaving him with just about 400 behind. It folds to me and I take some time and then push all in. He goes into the tank for awhile and eventually says there is only two hands he thinks can beat me as he believes I don't have a set. So that means obviously, he has QQ. He finally gives in and calls I show the AA and they hold. Eventually I get heads up with Ray who has the monster stack and lose with 75s vs AK. I finish 2nd for 7 points and $81.
So the start of game 2 has only 7 players. For Danny to win he needs to win this game and I need to end up last. Well without going into much boring detail, I finish last and Danny wins. I end up losing the Grand Prix by .39 points. .39!!!! Ugh.
I hate this game.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Just more Poker ramblings
So let's see. What poker adventures have I gone on since last posting?
$4.40 and came in 6th. I wished I finished higher but I was card dead once I hit the final table.
Full Tilt just started some 180 mans and I tried one out at the $2.25 level. Little tighter than Stars' $4.40's but they get the job done. I finished 11th for something weak. Need to make the Final Table to make any real money.
Played a $6.60 Super Sat to FTOPS $1,000,000 Tourney. Was doing well early on. Doubled up on the very first hand and was good to go and was down to 3 out of the starting 20 or so. The chipleader was pretty aggressive and I got QQ on the button, decided to limp hoping one or the other would push or raise. SB folded and on cue the BB raised and I repopped him for my remaining chips. If I win we would be close and the SB was really short. He showed A5o and hit his wheel straight on the river. So I won something like $14.xx. Bah!
Played a $1.25 90 person Deepstack SNG. Finished 10th i beleive for a whopping $1.80 or something. lawl
Played in a $5.50 MTT. 534 players and I finished 143rd I think? Somewhere around there. Was doing good and just played on hand stupid and that killed me.
Played a $3R to the Sunday Million. Finished 9th. Top 8 got a seat. *sigh*
Played a $2.25 18 person tourney. Was sitting 2nd out of 12 when I got it all in after an A high flop with AK vs AQ. Q hit on the river. Then I got it all in preflop 10 hands later with AK vs AQ who hit runner runner runner for the flush. Yup.
Big home game this weekend. Last month of the Grand Prix and I am holding onto a slim lead. I will let you know the results when I can.
$4.40 and came in 6th. I wished I finished higher but I was card dead once I hit the final table.
Full Tilt just started some 180 mans and I tried one out at the $2.25 level. Little tighter than Stars' $4.40's but they get the job done. I finished 11th for something weak. Need to make the Final Table to make any real money.
Played a $6.60 Super Sat to FTOPS $1,000,000 Tourney. Was doing well early on. Doubled up on the very first hand and was good to go and was down to 3 out of the starting 20 or so. The chipleader was pretty aggressive and I got QQ on the button, decided to limp hoping one or the other would push or raise. SB folded and on cue the BB raised and I repopped him for my remaining chips. If I win we would be close and the SB was really short. He showed A5o and hit his wheel straight on the river. So I won something like $14.xx. Bah!
Played a $1.25 90 person Deepstack SNG. Finished 10th i beleive for a whopping $1.80 or something. lawl
Played in a $5.50 MTT. 534 players and I finished 143rd I think? Somewhere around there. Was doing good and just played on hand stupid and that killed me.
Played a $3R to the Sunday Million. Finished 9th. Top 8 got a seat. *sigh*
Played a $2.25 18 person tourney. Was sitting 2nd out of 12 when I got it all in after an A high flop with AK vs AQ. Q hit on the river. Then I got it all in preflop 10 hands later with AK vs AQ who hit runner runner runner for the flush. Yup.
Big home game this weekend. Last month of the Grand Prix and I am holding onto a slim lead. I will let you know the results when I can.
Monday, July 30, 2007
My sad weekend of poker
Right off the bat I will say that I played pretty well this weekend. Sadly though I got nothing much out of it.
Friday night I played a $5.50 90 man deepstack SNG on Tilt and played well and finished 19th. 18 get paid. JJ < QQ.
I played a whopping 281 hands in one session of .01/.02 NLHE while nursing a huge headache on Saturday evening. I started with the usual $3 and got it up to $5.65 then all the way down to .56 and then finished off at $3. So no lose no win, just even. Oh well.
Yesterday I felt adventurous and jumped into a $500K sat on Full Tilt where the winner wins a seat to the $50+5 qualifier that was giving away some 200+ seats. I of course did what I do in every sat I play well in, finish 2nd.
Then I jumped into a $24+2 $17.5K Deepstack. Got nowhere fast and finished somewhere around 62x out of 1199. That was just bad cards IMO.
Then I was upset and jumped into a $4.40 where I promptly got knocked out 15xish when my flopped set of J's got runner runnered by a dude chasing a Q high backdoor flush draw. *sigh*
Finally I jumped into the FT $5.50 at 8pm and played wonderfully till it got close to the money. I raised with 99 and had the SB push all in on me. If I fold I was going to lose 60% of my stack in the next two blind rounds so I called. He had KK and I was done even though I flopped an OESD. Oh well. 67th out of 576, top 54 get paid. I played well I think so I am fine with it but it just sucks being on the bubble so much this weekend.
Taking a few days off I think and then get back in it. Maybe.
Friday night I played a $5.50 90 man deepstack SNG on Tilt and played well and finished 19th. 18 get paid. JJ < QQ.
I played a whopping 281 hands in one session of .01/.02 NLHE while nursing a huge headache on Saturday evening. I started with the usual $3 and got it up to $5.65 then all the way down to .56 and then finished off at $3. So no lose no win, just even. Oh well.
Yesterday I felt adventurous and jumped into a $500K sat on Full Tilt where the winner wins a seat to the $50+5 qualifier that was giving away some 200+ seats. I of course did what I do in every sat I play well in, finish 2nd.
Then I jumped into a $24+2 $17.5K Deepstack. Got nowhere fast and finished somewhere around 62x out of 1199. That was just bad cards IMO.
Then I was upset and jumped into a $4.40 where I promptly got knocked out 15xish when my flopped set of J's got runner runnered by a dude chasing a Q high backdoor flush draw. *sigh*
Finally I jumped into the FT $5.50 at 8pm and played wonderfully till it got close to the money. I raised with 99 and had the SB push all in on me. If I fold I was going to lose 60% of my stack in the next two blind rounds so I called. He had KK and I was done even though I flopped an OESD. Oh well. 67th out of 576, top 54 get paid. I played well I think so I am fine with it but it just sucks being on the bubble so much this weekend.
Taking a few days off I think and then get back in it. Maybe.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Poker Poker Poker!
Really that is all that I have to talk about these days as it has been pretty much sleep, little World of Warcraft, sleep, headaches, sleep, GTA, and poker. The most exciting bit of news I guess would be the fact that I one a tourney. Not anything monumental, just a small one. It was the Full Tilt $3.30 HOSE tourney. What is HOSE some of you may ask? Well it's a mixed game tourney, after each 10 minute blind level you change games. In HOSE you play:
Limit hold em = H
Omaha Hi/Lo = O
7 Stud = S
7 Stud Eights or Better (Hi/Lo) = E
Now I thought I was in a HORSE tourney where Razz is played after the O and before the S! I was quite surprised when that didn't happen as I can honestly say Razz and hold em are my two strong games. But 3 hours later I finished the winner out of 68 person field. I started heads up with 22K in chips and my opponent had 80K and I quickly widdled him down to 0. It was quite impressive I believe. I don't really remember. He was easy to push around actually.
It was good to get this win. Add it to a final table earlier in a MTT and I seem to be on a good run. Let's hope it holds for a bit.
Haven't played much of the .01/.02 NLHE. There is only one new session of 85 hands and only a .18 profit so I am up $7.18. Blah!
I think I am going to play a couple semi-big tourney's this weekend and will post my outcomes. Wish me luck!
Limit hold em = H
Omaha Hi/Lo = O
7 Stud = S
7 Stud Eights or Better (Hi/Lo) = E
Now I thought I was in a HORSE tourney where Razz is played after the O and before the S! I was quite surprised when that didn't happen as I can honestly say Razz and hold em are my two strong games. But 3 hours later I finished the winner out of 68 person field. I started heads up with 22K in chips and my opponent had 80K and I quickly widdled him down to 0. It was quite impressive I believe. I don't really remember. He was easy to push around actually.
It was good to get this win. Add it to a final table earlier in a MTT and I seem to be on a good run. Let's hope it holds for a bit.
Haven't played much of the .01/.02 NLHE. There is only one new session of 85 hands and only a .18 profit so I am up $7.18. Blah!
I think I am going to play a couple semi-big tourney's this weekend and will post my outcomes. Wish me luck!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Weekend of Poker
Got a little poker in. In regards to the .01/.02 Challenge, I only played one session. 147 hands and lost the $3 buy in. So I am up $7.
At FCP TB17 started a fun thing to do to go along with Star's in $11 100K Tourney on Sunday. He got 10 people to become captains of a team and pay $50. They would hold a draft, send out stakes, and then the team with the most money won at the end of the tourney wins $400 and 2nd gets $100. Ten captains quickly signed up and they held the draft Thursday evening.
I was drafted 29th by Zsta's Flying Assholes. I decided to keep the stake instead of buying myself in and seeing if I could do better on someone else's dime. 17500 people start this tourney, 2625 is when the payouts begin. I had finished about 10K the first two weeks of this tourney.
Started off slow. Played tight. 10 minute levels are fast but you start with 3000 in chips so I think I have time to find good spots. I finally got dealt a decent hand, 99 UTG. I decided to limp as someone in MP just got donked and I want him to make a move. A few callers and my guy on tilt wasn't and folded. The SB raised it 3x the BB and three of us went to the flop. Flop came A9K two diamonds. SB bet 300 and I raised to 900 and the other guy folded. SB pushed. Please don't have AA or KK. Whew. HE had AQ, no diamonds. Shortly after I raised with KQ suited and a low stack pushed, one called and I called. Flop came KJx. I bet, the other guy called. Blank on the turn and I put him all in and he called with J7. The other guy had J9 and I knocked them both out and was sitting nicely with about 10K in chips. Then the cards went cold. I got through the second break, already into the payouts when I was UTG with KQs and an M of about 2. I pushed and got one called by one player who had KTo. Of course as the you would expect it was all good till the river when he spiked his T and I was out in 2150th.
By that point there was only 2 of my team left. Seacucumber dropped out around 1850th and it was left up to Donkmeister.
Well the wife jumped on the computer and I did something else and I came back an hour or so later to find Donk looking good. About 300 left and he was in the top 50. Make a long story short, we are down to 18 players. Donk is still playing and tobeytobey who plays for Naismith's Unmentionables is left. Donk has to finish one payout higher if we want to win. A deal is made between both captains to chop the payout. Each team gets $200 and $100 is left for the winning team instead of $400 for 1st and $100 for second. Soon after, tobey exits in 18th. Donk needs a final table to win it for his team and he does so in impressive fashion. He ends us sadly though finishing 7th after his QQ runs into AA. Still a great achievement to finish 7th out of 17,500. He as kind enough to send $250 of his winnings to our captain to be split amongst us. Class act. Sadly we redraft this week. :(
At FCP TB17 started a fun thing to do to go along with Star's in $11 100K Tourney on Sunday. He got 10 people to become captains of a team and pay $50. They would hold a draft, send out stakes, and then the team with the most money won at the end of the tourney wins $400 and 2nd gets $100. Ten captains quickly signed up and they held the draft Thursday evening.
I was drafted 29th by Zsta's Flying Assholes. I decided to keep the stake instead of buying myself in and seeing if I could do better on someone else's dime. 17500 people start this tourney, 2625 is when the payouts begin. I had finished about 10K the first two weeks of this tourney.
Started off slow. Played tight. 10 minute levels are fast but you start with 3000 in chips so I think I have time to find good spots. I finally got dealt a decent hand, 99 UTG. I decided to limp as someone in MP just got donked and I want him to make a move. A few callers and my guy on tilt wasn't and folded. The SB raised it 3x the BB and three of us went to the flop. Flop came A9K two diamonds. SB bet 300 and I raised to 900 and the other guy folded. SB pushed. Please don't have AA or KK. Whew. HE had AQ, no diamonds. Shortly after I raised with KQ suited and a low stack pushed, one called and I called. Flop came KJx. I bet, the other guy called. Blank on the turn and I put him all in and he called with J7. The other guy had J9 and I knocked them both out and was sitting nicely with about 10K in chips. Then the cards went cold. I got through the second break, already into the payouts when I was UTG with KQs and an M of about 2. I pushed and got one called by one player who had KTo. Of course as the you would expect it was all good till the river when he spiked his T and I was out in 2150th.
By that point there was only 2 of my team left. Seacucumber dropped out around 1850th and it was left up to Donkmeister.
Well the wife jumped on the computer and I did something else and I came back an hour or so later to find Donk looking good. About 300 left and he was in the top 50. Make a long story short, we are down to 18 players. Donk is still playing and tobeytobey who plays for Naismith's Unmentionables is left. Donk has to finish one payout higher if we want to win. A deal is made between both captains to chop the payout. Each team gets $200 and $100 is left for the winning team instead of $400 for 1st and $100 for second. Soon after, tobey exits in 18th. Donk needs a final table to win it for his team and he does so in impressive fashion. He ends us sadly though finishing 7th after his QQ runs into AA. Still a great achievement to finish 7th out of 17,500. He as kind enough to send $250 of his winnings to our captain to be split amongst us. Class act. Sadly we redraft this week. :(
Friday, July 20, 2007
$2.67 to $?????
I like poker still, just don't play it as much or study it as much as I did. Actually I have been much more successful since not thinking and reading it all day at FCP and TK. So I have some money in my Stars account and decided to take $2.67 ( I think I did that because it made my BR an even number lol) of it and sit at a $.01/$.02 NLHE table and start playing to see how much I could run it up to. I have tried this before but got bored and played that Smash style and it got boring. This might too but we will see what happens. I started on the 18th and I am keeping a spreadsheet of the action. Here are my current stats:
7/18 103 hands +3.58
7/19 239 hands +5.26
7/19 115 hands +0.84
7/20 114 hands +0.32
571 hands +$10.00
So from this point on I will update and discuss anything interesting as I play.
7/18 103 hands +3.58
7/19 239 hands +5.26
7/19 115 hands +0.84
7/20 114 hands +0.32
571 hands +$10.00
So from this point on I will update and discuss anything interesting as I play.
Monday, March 26, 2007
The Poker Gods Have Finally Smiled Upon Me
Yes, the poker gods took a little hiatus but returned to my part of the world yesterday. After entering yet another tourney on Stars with the intention of keeping myself entertained for an hour or so I ended up playing in it and winning the damn thing. I have been obsessed with winning this tourney for months now. I have finished 2nd twice, came in 3rd 3 times, 5th twice, 9th, and a handful of 10-18th place finishes, but the coveted 1st place just never came.
Started out like any other tourney, not very exciting. I seem to play a few hands early and then shut down and go into tight mode in this thing. The play is horrendous and you can accumulate chips by being extra patient and wait for your spot. It's not hard to get paid off nicely with your good hands. I got to the first hour without a hitch. Sitting a little under average and about 86 people left.
Second hour was a roller coaster. Got up quickly to above average and then slowly bled off chips for a half hour till I blew all but 800 chips or so on a race with a shorter stack. I obviously lost that race and was I believe 51st our the 53 remaining. I had a full round before the blinds came around so I tightened up and hoped to see something pretty before the blinds caught up and I would be pretty much forced to push. Sadly nothing came and I was in the BB w/ T8o. Got to the flop cheap and saw an 8 hit and pushed. three callers and was happy to see another 8 on the river and I tripled up to over 3200. From there the cards were not cooperating and I got moved to another table with someone from FCP. I got dealt AA shortly after the move and got a couple callers on a big raise and one caller when I pushed with my flopped set. I was now up to around 10K and was looking to hit the money.
In no time at all we were down to 18 and in the money. Nothing to get excited about but I felt a little good about it since the day before I finished 19th and 24th. Sadly I don't remember much of how it all went down from here to heads up but I remained patient and made sure not to put myself into any sketching situations. Soon enough we were down to 5 and me and the other guy from FCP were still alive and running well. With 2 people from FCP on the FT we had some railers from the site cheering us on. I think knowing people are watching who know me makes me play better. Makes me not make the usual dumb moves I make in the end game. My boy left in 4th or 5th after his AQ ran into Ben's AA. He was pissed but there was no way to think he had AA in that spot. Unlucky, nothing to hang his head on.
I ended up heads up with Ben. I will state right off the bat I hate heads up and the pressure to be here at this juncture again made me uneasy. I wanted to win this. I am tired of 2nd. I like the the second place $ but for me, I wanted to win. I have not won anything over 18 players in a looooong time and I wanted it badly. Luckily Ben was very passive. Usually I get heads up with maniacs and I can't get any decent cards to fight back and eventually push with crap and lose. This was different. I was getting terrible cards and he had the deck hitting him in the face every hand for the first 20 minutes of heads up but since he was passive he would fold to many raises and fold to me preflop a lot so I knew I was not in any rush. We started off pretty even, then I was down to around 50K to his 220K, then I get back to around 100K. It was a teeter-totter for a good 40 minutes. But the time came after taking the lead and then blowing it that I had almost given up. I was dealt A8 and pushed my 90K in. He insta called and I though I was done. He flipped over 88 and I knew I made my one stupid move. But right there on the turn was an Ace and I sucked out and had a good chip lead. Two hands later I flopped a trip 7's and took all but about 14K of his chips and then finished him off in the next hand to win.
It was a good feeling. I liked my play all up to the push with A8. I still had plenty of chips and no reason to do it but I was on tilt and was getting tired. But I am happy to have some money to play with online and happy to get that monkey off my back. Here are my personal stats on the tourney to prove how tight I am. Also, before heads up my won at showdown was at 89%, a 45 minute heads up match killed that.
You finished in 1st place (eliminated at hand #9085015484).
453 hands played and saw flop:
- 27 times out of 120 while in small blind (22%)
- 35 times out of 118 while in big blind (29%)
- 28 times out of 215 in other positions (13%)
- a total of 90 times out of 453 (19%)
Pots won at showdown - 26 out of 38 (68%)
Pots won without showdown - 90
Started out like any other tourney, not very exciting. I seem to play a few hands early and then shut down and go into tight mode in this thing. The play is horrendous and you can accumulate chips by being extra patient and wait for your spot. It's not hard to get paid off nicely with your good hands. I got to the first hour without a hitch. Sitting a little under average and about 86 people left.
Second hour was a roller coaster. Got up quickly to above average and then slowly bled off chips for a half hour till I blew all but 800 chips or so on a race with a shorter stack. I obviously lost that race and was I believe 51st our the 53 remaining. I had a full round before the blinds came around so I tightened up and hoped to see something pretty before the blinds caught up and I would be pretty much forced to push. Sadly nothing came and I was in the BB w/ T8o. Got to the flop cheap and saw an 8 hit and pushed. three callers and was happy to see another 8 on the river and I tripled up to over 3200. From there the cards were not cooperating and I got moved to another table with someone from FCP. I got dealt AA shortly after the move and got a couple callers on a big raise and one caller when I pushed with my flopped set. I was now up to around 10K and was looking to hit the money.
In no time at all we were down to 18 and in the money. Nothing to get excited about but I felt a little good about it since the day before I finished 19th and 24th. Sadly I don't remember much of how it all went down from here to heads up but I remained patient and made sure not to put myself into any sketching situations. Soon enough we were down to 5 and me and the other guy from FCP were still alive and running well. With 2 people from FCP on the FT we had some railers from the site cheering us on. I think knowing people are watching who know me makes me play better. Makes me not make the usual dumb moves I make in the end game. My boy left in 4th or 5th after his AQ ran into Ben's AA. He was pissed but there was no way to think he had AA in that spot. Unlucky, nothing to hang his head on.
I ended up heads up with Ben. I will state right off the bat I hate heads up and the pressure to be here at this juncture again made me uneasy. I wanted to win this. I am tired of 2nd. I like the the second place $ but for me, I wanted to win. I have not won anything over 18 players in a looooong time and I wanted it badly. Luckily Ben was very passive. Usually I get heads up with maniacs and I can't get any decent cards to fight back and eventually push with crap and lose. This was different. I was getting terrible cards and he had the deck hitting him in the face every hand for the first 20 minutes of heads up but since he was passive he would fold to many raises and fold to me preflop a lot so I knew I was not in any rush. We started off pretty even, then I was down to around 50K to his 220K, then I get back to around 100K. It was a teeter-totter for a good 40 minutes. But the time came after taking the lead and then blowing it that I had almost given up. I was dealt A8 and pushed my 90K in. He insta called and I though I was done. He flipped over 88 and I knew I made my one stupid move. But right there on the turn was an Ace and I sucked out and had a good chip lead. Two hands later I flopped a trip 7's and took all but about 14K of his chips and then finished him off in the next hand to win.
It was a good feeling. I liked my play all up to the push with A8. I still had plenty of chips and no reason to do it but I was on tilt and was getting tired. But I am happy to have some money to play with online and happy to get that monkey off my back. Here are my personal stats on the tourney to prove how tight I am. Also, before heads up my won at showdown was at 89%, a 45 minute heads up match killed that.
You finished in 1st place (eliminated at hand #9085015484).
453 hands played and saw flop:
- 27 times out of 120 while in small blind (22%)
- 35 times out of 118 while in big blind (29%)
- 28 times out of 215 in other positions (13%)
- a total of 90 times out of 453 (19%)
Pots won at showdown - 26 out of 38 (68%)
Pots won without showdown - 90
Monday, October 23, 2006
Monthy Home Game -- Month 2
Yes, the home games are back. Missed month one as it took place while I was in DC. The Grand Prix has started up again and I came into month 2 with a whopping 2 points. 1 Point for each missed game. Time to get back in the hunt.
The first game was a big one with 14 players registered. This is nice since the more players, the more points and money to be had. We had two new guys with us this night which usually means they will win since the new guys traditionally do.
Started out on the main table and just played a new style. I usually play ridiculously tight in these games but I decided to open up my hand selection tonight. Play more suited connectors in later positions and make more aggressive post-flop plays. The biggest hand before we were down to 10 players and moved everyone on to the main table was when I entered a pot in the SB with 9h 6h. Mark was the player to my left to likes to bully me. He took his chance to play back at me and raised it another 80. I called hoping for a good flop. Board came 96J. I checked knowing full well that he will bet out. He did the expected and bet out 75. I re raised to 300 and he thought for a minute and called. The turn was a blank. I bet 150 and he called. River was a blank and I took some time and fired out a measly 200 bet hoping he would take it as a sign of weakness. I guess he did as he called and I flipped my two pair and he mucked.
Once it was down to 10 the game changes. You go from playing with 5 or 6 at your table and then you have 10 so I need to tighten up a bit, especially since the two new guys were now at the table and the one directly to my left was the chip leader making some huge calls and folds from what I was told.
Few hands in I had ATs in MP and raised. New guy on my left called and couple others and we went to the flop and it came AT3. Nice Aces up. It was checked to me and I bet half the pot and new guy called quickly and everyone else folded. Turn came a 6. I checked hoping he had something juicy like AQ or AK and would fire out but he checked. River came a blank and I fired out a big bet and he called. I showed my Aces up and he mucked and muttered a "good hand".
Two hands later I get dealt 77 and limp as I usually do with small to medium pocket pairs. I believe we had about 5 callers and the flop came 3 6 T. Checked around to the new guy who bet out a 100 into a 300+ pot. It folded back to me and I decided to pay the 100 to get lucky. I did, as a 7 hot the turn. I checked and he bet out a little bigger and I raised. He thought for awhile and called. river was a blank and I bet out a small amount to give him a chance to call and after going in the tank he did and I flipped my 77 and he mucked with a more annoyed "good hand".
I was now the chip leader and was feeling good. Later on I made a mistake in a hand. I had AsTs again and raised preflop. My only caller was my new friend to my left. Flop was looking good with Ac Td 4d. I bet out about half the pot and he called quickly. For some reason I put him on two diamonds right away. My experience, and it could be deal wrong, when someone bets quickly in a situation like that, they are on a drawing hand. Turn came the Qd. I became passive and checked and he fired out a nice size bet. About 2/3rds the pot I believe. I went into the tank. I was about to call but I talked myself out of it. Many times playing I will make calls knowing that I am beat and this time I decided not to do it. I folded my AT and they flipped over and he was about to muck his and decided to show me his Ad 9s. Bah! He still had 9 outs to the nut flush so that will be my reasoning. lol
From there nothing really happened. I was in an out of pots, maintaining a good stack in relation to the competition. It was now 4 handed. 3 get paid. Two regulars and the other new guy. This guy acted as if he was some pro player and he was far from it. Complete ass and a complete donkey. Plus he wouldn't shut up about the Tigers game that was on. He was the quintessential poker star/Hall of Famer Baseball Manager. He was new to this game and trying to run it. All night long he wanted to change the rules and act like a jerk if someone did something he thought was wrong. Frank, father of Kevin, who playes with us once in awhile doesn't stack his chips. This isn't a casino, it's a night with the guys. We never cared. The new guy just wouldn't shut up all night about it. He was being rude and confrontational with him and it just didn't sit well with me. What an ass. My favorite moment was when I was in a hand and he was in the BB he tried to get all bad ass on me and said how many chips you got left. I replied, "A lot more than you". He got angry and said there was no way, his stack was larger than mine, and I had to point out the 4 purple chips I had that equaled more than the 14 black chips he had in front of him and he just folded. What an ass.
Anyway, he was playing on a shortstack and he just wouldn't go away. I was in the SB with 55 and decided to push all in on him. He called excited and flipped over his Ax. I don't even remember, like a 6 or a 7 I believe. My 5's hung in there and knocked him out. He shook every one's hand except mine. I love people like that.
From there I got messed up in a hand with a weaker kicker and eventually busted out in 3rd. Made a nice little profit and got some good points to get myself back in the hunt.
Game 2 was 9 players as most left to go watch the rest of the Tigers game at home. Only the ass new guy was playing, the other guy left. Within 5 or 6 hands Kevin and the new guy got into a raising war preflop and ended up all in with Kevin holding AA and new guy holding KK. K spiked on the turn and Kevin was out. He was pissed but kindly congratulated the new guy and shook his hand and the new guy wouldn't shut up about how crazy that was and he knew he was up against AA but he had no choice and how crazy it was. I could tell Kevin was getting annoyed. Just shut up, you won, Kevin now is the dealer for the next 2 hours probably, and you won't shut up about the hand. He wasn't making too many friends.
I was playing pretty bad. I was busy watching the Tigers game and being annoyed by the new guy to even care. About 6 people left and I was down to 700 from the starting 1000. Blinds were 100/200 and I was in UTG+1. New guy was UTG and raised. I grabbed my chips and said, "All in, 700". Immediately he gets all uppity and swearing about what a dumb play it was. I just kept staring at the TV ignoring him. It folded to him and he was still grumbling and then said in a cocky way, "Well I gotta call" and I flipped over AK while not looking at him at all. He threw his AJ out with disdain and I held on to double up on him. Never said a word to him but he was trying to talk to me about my play.
I don't remember much but I ended up in 4th on the bubble and watched as Matt got heads-up with new guy and literally dominated him. It was just sick. I was positioned to see every hand Matt had and it was just like he said, "shooting fish in a barrel." Matt raised all but I think 2 hands the entire time heads up. Seeing a flop was rare, as new guy folded 90% of the time he was raised. It was hilarious. Good to see Matt win it.
So I got some points and should be up in the top 5 with 4 months (8 games) to go.
The first game was a big one with 14 players registered. This is nice since the more players, the more points and money to be had. We had two new guys with us this night which usually means they will win since the new guys traditionally do.
Started out on the main table and just played a new style. I usually play ridiculously tight in these games but I decided to open up my hand selection tonight. Play more suited connectors in later positions and make more aggressive post-flop plays. The biggest hand before we were down to 10 players and moved everyone on to the main table was when I entered a pot in the SB with 9h 6h. Mark was the player to my left to likes to bully me. He took his chance to play back at me and raised it another 80. I called hoping for a good flop. Board came 96J. I checked knowing full well that he will bet out. He did the expected and bet out 75. I re raised to 300 and he thought for a minute and called. The turn was a blank. I bet 150 and he called. River was a blank and I took some time and fired out a measly 200 bet hoping he would take it as a sign of weakness. I guess he did as he called and I flipped my two pair and he mucked.
Once it was down to 10 the game changes. You go from playing with 5 or 6 at your table and then you have 10 so I need to tighten up a bit, especially since the two new guys were now at the table and the one directly to my left was the chip leader making some huge calls and folds from what I was told.
Few hands in I had ATs in MP and raised. New guy on my left called and couple others and we went to the flop and it came AT3. Nice Aces up. It was checked to me and I bet half the pot and new guy called quickly and everyone else folded. Turn came a 6. I checked hoping he had something juicy like AQ or AK and would fire out but he checked. River came a blank and I fired out a big bet and he called. I showed my Aces up and he mucked and muttered a "good hand".
Two hands later I get dealt 77 and limp as I usually do with small to medium pocket pairs. I believe we had about 5 callers and the flop came 3 6 T. Checked around to the new guy who bet out a 100 into a 300+ pot. It folded back to me and I decided to pay the 100 to get lucky. I did, as a 7 hot the turn. I checked and he bet out a little bigger and I raised. He thought for awhile and called. river was a blank and I bet out a small amount to give him a chance to call and after going in the tank he did and I flipped my 77 and he mucked with a more annoyed "good hand".
I was now the chip leader and was feeling good. Later on I made a mistake in a hand. I had AsTs again and raised preflop. My only caller was my new friend to my left. Flop was looking good with Ac Td 4d. I bet out about half the pot and he called quickly. For some reason I put him on two diamonds right away. My experience, and it could be deal wrong, when someone bets quickly in a situation like that, they are on a drawing hand. Turn came the Qd. I became passive and checked and he fired out a nice size bet. About 2/3rds the pot I believe. I went into the tank. I was about to call but I talked myself out of it. Many times playing I will make calls knowing that I am beat and this time I decided not to do it. I folded my AT and they flipped over and he was about to muck his and decided to show me his Ad 9s. Bah! He still had 9 outs to the nut flush so that will be my reasoning. lol
From there nothing really happened. I was in an out of pots, maintaining a good stack in relation to the competition. It was now 4 handed. 3 get paid. Two regulars and the other new guy. This guy acted as if he was some pro player and he was far from it. Complete ass and a complete donkey. Plus he wouldn't shut up about the Tigers game that was on. He was the quintessential poker star/Hall of Famer Baseball Manager. He was new to this game and trying to run it. All night long he wanted to change the rules and act like a jerk if someone did something he thought was wrong. Frank, father of Kevin, who playes with us once in awhile doesn't stack his chips. This isn't a casino, it's a night with the guys. We never cared. The new guy just wouldn't shut up all night about it. He was being rude and confrontational with him and it just didn't sit well with me. What an ass. My favorite moment was when I was in a hand and he was in the BB he tried to get all bad ass on me and said how many chips you got left. I replied, "A lot more than you". He got angry and said there was no way, his stack was larger than mine, and I had to point out the 4 purple chips I had that equaled more than the 14 black chips he had in front of him and he just folded. What an ass.
Anyway, he was playing on a shortstack and he just wouldn't go away. I was in the SB with 55 and decided to push all in on him. He called excited and flipped over his Ax. I don't even remember, like a 6 or a 7 I believe. My 5's hung in there and knocked him out. He shook every one's hand except mine. I love people like that.
From there I got messed up in a hand with a weaker kicker and eventually busted out in 3rd. Made a nice little profit and got some good points to get myself back in the hunt.
Game 2 was 9 players as most left to go watch the rest of the Tigers game at home. Only the ass new guy was playing, the other guy left. Within 5 or 6 hands Kevin and the new guy got into a raising war preflop and ended up all in with Kevin holding AA and new guy holding KK. K spiked on the turn and Kevin was out. He was pissed but kindly congratulated the new guy and shook his hand and the new guy wouldn't shut up about how crazy that was and he knew he was up against AA but he had no choice and how crazy it was. I could tell Kevin was getting annoyed. Just shut up, you won, Kevin now is the dealer for the next 2 hours probably, and you won't shut up about the hand. He wasn't making too many friends.
I was playing pretty bad. I was busy watching the Tigers game and being annoyed by the new guy to even care. About 6 people left and I was down to 700 from the starting 1000. Blinds were 100/200 and I was in UTG+1. New guy was UTG and raised. I grabbed my chips and said, "All in, 700". Immediately he gets all uppity and swearing about what a dumb play it was. I just kept staring at the TV ignoring him. It folded to him and he was still grumbling and then said in a cocky way, "Well I gotta call" and I flipped over AK while not looking at him at all. He threw his AJ out with disdain and I held on to double up on him. Never said a word to him but he was trying to talk to me about my play.
I don't remember much but I ended up in 4th on the bubble and watched as Matt got heads-up with new guy and literally dominated him. It was just sick. I was positioned to see every hand Matt had and it was just like he said, "shooting fish in a barrel." Matt raised all but I think 2 hands the entire time heads up. Seeing a flop was rare, as new guy folded 90% of the time he was raised. It was hilarious. Good to see Matt win it.
So I got some points and should be up in the top 5 with 4 months (8 games) to go.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
My Whiny Poker Post
I hate to do it but I need to vent and this looks to be the best place for that. I know I can play this game. There is no question I can. Sure I have some leaks but all players do, but for the life of me I can't seem to win a damn thing. My first year playing was great. Made decent amounts of money but this year has been atrocious. Still way ahead of the game but not making the stack larger, only smaller.
Today for example, playing a Triple Shootout and doing very well until one hand while heads up I raise with A6 and he pushes. He was erratic and loved to come over top of everyone all game long, so I called and there it was Q3. Of course he hits a 3 at one point and takes a large lead and I can't crawl back.
I have made some good decisions, played some good TAG poker the last couple weeks and I have been getting railed by instances like that. Yesterday I was the chipleader in a 180 SNG from hand one till about close to the 2nd hour. Cards were falling, donkeys were pushing when I had the nuts, etc. Then one play I get crippled when I went in a 4:1 favorite. I end up finishing 2 off the money. Bah!
I know I can play this game and I know that the donks are my friends in the long run but in the short run it is killing me and my bankroll.
Today for example, playing a Triple Shootout and doing very well until one hand while heads up I raise with A6 and he pushes. He was erratic and loved to come over top of everyone all game long, so I called and there it was Q3. Of course he hits a 3 at one point and takes a large lead and I can't crawl back.
I have made some good decisions, played some good TAG poker the last couple weeks and I have been getting railed by instances like that. Yesterday I was the chipleader in a 180 SNG from hand one till about close to the 2nd hour. Cards were falling, donkeys were pushing when I had the nuts, etc. Then one play I get crippled when I went in a 4:1 favorite. I end up finishing 2 off the money. Bah!
I know I can play this game and I know that the donks are my friends in the long run but in the short run it is killing me and my bankroll.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Pub Poker
Decided to go to one of the local sports bars last night and play some pub poker. Tried it a few months ago and enjoyed it and decided that the new season started I would try to make some of the games and see if I can't squeak into the top 100.
Game started at 7pm with 27 players on 3 tables. Seems everyone knows everyone and I was one of the new guys. Everyone was pretty cool and it was interesting just sitting back and observing them. One of the guys at my table was a would not shut up. He would critique every single play made at the table. He kept saying that he hated playing with terrible players but don't worry, none of us were that bad. Of course at this point I have yet to play a hand. He was good for some entertainment at least but his poker knowledge was not all that impressive. I had to at one point correct him on an analysis of one of his hands when he incorrectly calculated his outs.
So first hand I played was 33 in the BB. 3 players to the flop and it was pretty ragged. All checked to the turn and checked all around again. I took a stab at the river but got reraised and let it go.
About 30 minutes in I was down to about 2900 from my starting 3875. I was dealt JJ in MP. UTG who was on the final table the last time I was there raised to 800 when the blinds were 100/200. Folded to me and I called. Everyone else folded. Flop came 862. He bet He bet 500 and I reraised to 1200. He called. Turn was a 5. He checked and I bet 1800 and he folded after taking about 4 minutes.
Very next hand I am dealt As6s. Folded to me and I limp. Button calls and the BB (the guy I beat last hand) checks. Flop comes Qs 3s 4s. Flopped the nuts. BB checks, I check, and Button bets 800. BB thinks and calls, I take sometime and make a call. Turn is the 5s. BB bets 1000. I take sometime and then raise to 2000. Button is pissed and folds. BB calls. River is the 3h. He checks and I tell him I will put him all in and he calls showing a J high flush. I flip my cards over and scoop the large pot. Mr Poker can't get over how well I played the hand (though I don't think I did anything all that special. Not hard when you flop the nuts) and how I got all the value I could out of it. Top class play. LOL. Okay, whatever.
A few hands later the 3rd table broke putting us down to 18. I had about 12.6K at this point. I got into a hand with the new guy at our table who was the chip leader. I was in the BB and he was the CO. Play folded to him and he raised to 1200 (200/400 level). Folded to me and I called with KcJc. Not my favorite hand, but I wanted to defend my blinds and figured it was good enough to see the flop. Flop came Qc Jc 3h. I checked hoping he would make a continuation bet and I could check raise but he checked. Weird. Turn came a Kd. Now I have top pair J kicker, straight, striaght flush, and flush draw. I bet out 1800. He thinks for a bit and makes the call. Hmmm. Not feeling good about this, I need a big river. River came a 6h. Blah! I checked and he checked and I flipped my K and he showed AJ for the straight. If only a club hit. Oh well. Could have lost a lot more if I played it more aggressively. As that happened 3 people busted out on the other table and I was sent over there.
The chip leader was now at this table after busting 3 people with 2c3c. I didn't get the whole story but those were his cards he called 3 all ins with. Heh. I sat back from a playing a few hands to get some reads on players. Two were shortstacked and pretty much blinding themselves out. I saw one in the BB with 300 left with KQs and she checked it all the way and lost to a pair of 2's. So not a ton of skill going on here. I was down to about 6500 at the 400/800 level and put it all in with AKo. I got one caller who I figured for a pair on how fast he called and he flipped over AQo. Whew. That held up and I was back in business.
Finally we made it to the final table or 9 and I was sitting on about 10K with 400/800 blinds. Stole a few blinds early to help me out and finally got my chips in UTG with AJs. Sadly I got two callers, AQ and AK. The AK hit a pair on the flop and took us both down. I finished in 7th.
It wasn't too bad. I can play with these guys, everyone seemed nice. I was tired and didn't stay for the second game but will next time.
Game started at 7pm with 27 players on 3 tables. Seems everyone knows everyone and I was one of the new guys. Everyone was pretty cool and it was interesting just sitting back and observing them. One of the guys at my table was a would not shut up. He would critique every single play made at the table. He kept saying that he hated playing with terrible players but don't worry, none of us were that bad. Of course at this point I have yet to play a hand. He was good for some entertainment at least but his poker knowledge was not all that impressive. I had to at one point correct him on an analysis of one of his hands when he incorrectly calculated his outs.
So first hand I played was 33 in the BB. 3 players to the flop and it was pretty ragged. All checked to the turn and checked all around again. I took a stab at the river but got reraised and let it go.
About 30 minutes in I was down to about 2900 from my starting 3875. I was dealt JJ in MP. UTG who was on the final table the last time I was there raised to 800 when the blinds were 100/200. Folded to me and I called. Everyone else folded. Flop came 862. He bet He bet 500 and I reraised to 1200. He called. Turn was a 5. He checked and I bet 1800 and he folded after taking about 4 minutes.
Very next hand I am dealt As6s. Folded to me and I limp. Button calls and the BB (the guy I beat last hand) checks. Flop comes Qs 3s 4s. Flopped the nuts. BB checks, I check, and Button bets 800. BB thinks and calls, I take sometime and make a call. Turn is the 5s. BB bets 1000. I take sometime and then raise to 2000. Button is pissed and folds. BB calls. River is the 3h. He checks and I tell him I will put him all in and he calls showing a J high flush. I flip my cards over and scoop the large pot. Mr Poker can't get over how well I played the hand (though I don't think I did anything all that special. Not hard when you flop the nuts) and how I got all the value I could out of it. Top class play. LOL. Okay, whatever.
A few hands later the 3rd table broke putting us down to 18. I had about 12.6K at this point. I got into a hand with the new guy at our table who was the chip leader. I was in the BB and he was the CO. Play folded to him and he raised to 1200 (200/400 level). Folded to me and I called with KcJc. Not my favorite hand, but I wanted to defend my blinds and figured it was good enough to see the flop. Flop came Qc Jc 3h. I checked hoping he would make a continuation bet and I could check raise but he checked. Weird. Turn came a Kd. Now I have top pair J kicker, straight, striaght flush, and flush draw. I bet out 1800. He thinks for a bit and makes the call. Hmmm. Not feeling good about this, I need a big river. River came a 6h. Blah! I checked and he checked and I flipped my K and he showed AJ for the straight. If only a club hit. Oh well. Could have lost a lot more if I played it more aggressively. As that happened 3 people busted out on the other table and I was sent over there.
The chip leader was now at this table after busting 3 people with 2c3c. I didn't get the whole story but those were his cards he called 3 all ins with. Heh. I sat back from a playing a few hands to get some reads on players. Two were shortstacked and pretty much blinding themselves out. I saw one in the BB with 300 left with KQs and she checked it all the way and lost to a pair of 2's. So not a ton of skill going on here. I was down to about 6500 at the 400/800 level and put it all in with AKo. I got one caller who I figured for a pair on how fast he called and he flipped over AQo. Whew. That held up and I was back in business.
Finally we made it to the final table or 9 and I was sitting on about 10K with 400/800 blinds. Stole a few blinds early to help me out and finally got my chips in UTG with AJs. Sadly I got two callers, AQ and AK. The AK hit a pair on the flop and took us both down. I finished in 7th.
It wasn't too bad. I can play with these guys, everyone seemed nice. I was tired and didn't stay for the second game but will next time.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Poker Post
Not doing too much with Poker since I was gone the whole week. Played a couple $4.40 180's on Stars yesterday and finished 13th and 40th. I was doing well in the latter till I lost with AA vs. 66 when he hit a 6 on the turn after we both got all in after the flop came 284.
Watched some FCP guys play in the WCOOP #1 Limit Razz. Hanguk from FCP finished in 13th which was an amazing finish. I tried to stay up for the whole thing but fell asleep sometime around 1:30am-2:00am. Even got me in the mood to play razz but since I feel it is not a strong game of mine I only played a $1.50 SNG. Finished 3rd though for a whopping $.35! LOL. So good job Hanguk, you should be proud!
Today I felt like crap but had a craving for poker. Played a 45 man SNG and was top 3 from start till about 11 players left when I got my KK sucked out on by 78s who hit a straight by the river. Finished 10th. Played 3 6 Max SNG's tonight and won one, bubbled the other and dead last in the third after losing with KJ vs AA after flopping two pair. Oh well.
Also played a Moneymaker $2.5 Million Stage 1 and finished 306th out of 58xx and some. It was pretty funny,
But my head hurts too much to continue playing today. Just watch some football and keep an eye on a few FCPers in the WCOOP #2 $1.5 million tourney.
Also a shout out to Ray Powers who did well today in a FCP Protege Qualifier Event. Go get em in the next stage!
Watched some FCP guys play in the WCOOP #1 Limit Razz. Hanguk from FCP finished in 13th which was an amazing finish. I tried to stay up for the whole thing but fell asleep sometime around 1:30am-2:00am. Even got me in the mood to play razz but since I feel it is not a strong game of mine I only played a $1.50 SNG. Finished 3rd though for a whopping $.35! LOL. So good job Hanguk, you should be proud!
Today I felt like crap but had a craving for poker. Played a 45 man SNG and was top 3 from start till about 11 players left when I got my KK sucked out on by 78s who hit a straight by the river. Finished 10th. Played 3 6 Max SNG's tonight and won one, bubbled the other and dead last in the third after losing with KJ vs AA after flopping two pair. Oh well.
Also played a Moneymaker $2.5 Million Stage 1 and finished 306th out of 58xx and some. It was pretty funny,
But my head hurts too much to continue playing today. Just watch some football and keep an eye on a few FCPers in the WCOOP #2 $1.5 million tourney.
Also a shout out to Ray Powers who did well today in a FCP Protege Qualifier Event. Go get em in the next stage!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Full Tilt $30K Tournament
I decided last night to use one of my $26 tokens and play in Full Tilt's $30K Guaranteed Tourney. Wasn't expecting much as I am not a great MTT player but latey my MTT stats have been decent so I gave it a go. 1566 players were registered and the top 153 made the money.
Started out well, won my 1st pot in the second level with AA. I won a small pot with the Krablar in the 3rd level so I knew things were going well. lol.
Took a small hit in the 3rd level when I checked the BB with J8. Got to the river cheaply with and OESD and hit my straight but lost to a straight. Ahh, now that seems familiar to me. Later in round 5 I was able to get some of it back with KK. Overall I have been card dead except for a couple hands and staying around average in chips.
In the 7th round I got all in with JJ against a lagtard and knocked him out when he didn't hit with his AK. That is when things started to go downhill. Losing to a shortstak with AJs vs. KK and then stupidly called a raise against a better player with ATs and had to bail after the turn.
By the 120/240 level I had KJ and was low on chips. A donktastic player who had been going all in and showing horrific cards raised my bet on the BB and I called. He showed a hand I was expecting, Q4. Winning this hand should get me back to average and give me the chance to start playing again. Sadly he completed his 7 high straight on the river putting me down to about 1400 in chips with around 300 players remaining.
Now things start looking up. I stay around till the 250/500 level and get lucky to have a calling station with a stack to play with. I go all in with A3s with 2700 in chips and get called by KQ and trip aces. That puts me at 6,666 in chips. Shortly after that I am in the BB with ATs and the same guy raises to 2200 and I push. He calls and shows 33 and I win with Aces up. I am now back in the game and sitting about 87th out of 175.
Finally in the money and I get JJ in the BB. Again, the same guy above raises to 4000 and I push with 12K. He calls and shows AJ and I double up again and now sitting really well.
People start dropping like flies and I am just playing tight and stealing when I feel it is good. Then the bottom drops out. Blinds are now 800/1600 200 ante and I raise to 7400 with 77 in MP. It gets folded to the BB who eventually pushes all in for 10K. I call and he flips up Q9. 9 hits the flop and I am down to 18K. Next hand I get ATs and I limp for 1600. It gets folded to the table bully. He has half as much chips as anyone and has been stealing like crazy. He raises to 8000. I go into the tank. Is he stealing or does he have a hand. If I call I am left with less than 10K which is not good as the blinds go up. I decide to push all in and he calls showing 66. Bah! Nothing hits and I am out in 78th.
So all in all I am happy. I was all but dead with 300 or more to go and I stayed alive and gave myself a good chance of getting far. I don't play these tournies often so I am pleased. I have played this, a $12k and a $6.5K and finished in the money in 2. Maybe I should play them more huh? I won $58.25 for my $4.40 buy in and made my way through a large field. I have to be positive about it right? :)
Started out well, won my 1st pot in the second level with AA. I won a small pot with the Krablar in the 3rd level so I knew things were going well. lol.
Took a small hit in the 3rd level when I checked the BB with J8. Got to the river cheaply with and OESD and hit my straight but lost to a straight. Ahh, now that seems familiar to me. Later in round 5 I was able to get some of it back with KK. Overall I have been card dead except for a couple hands and staying around average in chips.
In the 7th round I got all in with JJ against a lagtard and knocked him out when he didn't hit with his AK. That is when things started to go downhill. Losing to a shortstak with AJs vs. KK and then stupidly called a raise against a better player with ATs and had to bail after the turn.
By the 120/240 level I had KJ and was low on chips. A donktastic player who had been going all in and showing horrific cards raised my bet on the BB and I called. He showed a hand I was expecting, Q4. Winning this hand should get me back to average and give me the chance to start playing again. Sadly he completed his 7 high straight on the river putting me down to about 1400 in chips with around 300 players remaining.
Now things start looking up. I stay around till the 250/500 level and get lucky to have a calling station with a stack to play with. I go all in with A3s with 2700 in chips and get called by KQ and trip aces. That puts me at 6,666 in chips. Shortly after that I am in the BB with ATs and the same guy raises to 2200 and I push. He calls and shows 33 and I win with Aces up. I am now back in the game and sitting about 87th out of 175.
Finally in the money and I get JJ in the BB. Again, the same guy above raises to 4000 and I push with 12K. He calls and shows AJ and I double up again and now sitting really well.
People start dropping like flies and I am just playing tight and stealing when I feel it is good. Then the bottom drops out. Blinds are now 800/1600 200 ante and I raise to 7400 with 77 in MP. It gets folded to the BB who eventually pushes all in for 10K. I call and he flips up Q9. 9 hits the flop and I am down to 18K. Next hand I get ATs and I limp for 1600. It gets folded to the table bully. He has half as much chips as anyone and has been stealing like crazy. He raises to 8000. I go into the tank. Is he stealing or does he have a hand. If I call I am left with less than 10K which is not good as the blinds go up. I decide to push all in and he calls showing 66. Bah! Nothing hits and I am out in 78th.
So all in all I am happy. I was all but dead with 300 or more to go and I stayed alive and gave myself a good chance of getting far. I don't play these tournies often so I am pleased. I have played this, a $12k and a $6.5K and finished in the money in 2. Maybe I should play them more huh? I won $58.25 for my $4.40 buy in and made my way through a large field. I have to be positive about it right? :)
Monday, August 14, 2006
Home Game Woes
I don't think I have talked about it but I frequent a home game. We have roughly about 15 or so guys who get together on the 2nd Saturday of each month and play poker. We have a thing called the Grand Prix. Grand Prix is a leaderboard type setup where you get points based on your finish and number of players in the tourney. We run this for 6 months where we play 12 games and you take the best 8 finishes so that if you miss a month it won't hurt you that bad. The buy in for each tourney is $25 and 10% of the prize pool is pulled out of all 12 games and then divided out to the top 3 point leaders at the end of the 6 months. Then we start all over. This past Saturday was games 11 and 12 of this Grand Prix. I went into game 11 about 12 points behind the leader and about 4 points ahead of 3rd place. Only 8 people showed up for game 1 so it was known that Mark had solidified his spot at number one for this season. Now it was a race for 2nd and 3rd between myself, Kevin (3rd) and John (4th). So let the games begin.
Game 1 started well for me. I was hitting some good cards and slowly building my stack. I was dealt T8 of clubs and limped from MP. There were a couple of callers and we went to the flop. 5s 8s 3d. Okay flopped top pair on an ugly board. So I bet out and Matt next to me raises all in. Now Matt is good but Matt is a maniac. When he does this early he has one of two thing, the nuts or nothing at all. It's folded back to me and I start thinking this out. Against Kevin or Mark I fold and move on. Against Matt I am willing to think long and hard about it. His all in will cost me about 600 on chips and if I call and lose I am still left with 1000 which is what we started out with and it is early, 2nd round I believe. If I win I take him out and be sitting good. I eventually put him on a draw and decided to take the plunge. I call and flip over my T8 and he flips over AQ no spades. Turn and River both miss him and I win.
Shortly after I get into a pot with Kevin. 2nd place vs. 3rd place. I limp in MP with Jc8c. It gets to him in the sb or bb, can't remember and he raises it up. I call hoping to hit that miracle flop and he likes to push me around a lot. He knows I think he is good and when we get heads up he knows how to push me into submission. I admit it, he has my number. But tonight I wasn't going to be pushed around. Anyway, the flop comes Qc 9c Xh( I can't remember). So I am looking good. He bets out the pot and I call immediately. Turn is a Xc. Didn't the straight flush but had a Q high flush. He checks and I bet half the pot. He thinks for awhile and eventually calls. River is a Q. He checks and I bet close to half the pot. He folds. Yay. Now I am looking really good. But a couple hands later Kevin goes all in vs Danny for a 2000+ chip pot and wins and he now has me covered.
From there is goes all down hill. I start trying to attack the small blinds and get it all in with AJ vs. A6 and TT vs. QQ. Soon I am shortstacked and end up pushing with KJ of diamonds and run into the BB's AA. Out in 6th. Kevin goes on to finish 1st and now holds a 1.07 point lead on me for 2nd going into the final game.
I lost composure in this one. I was still steaming over the last game and couldn't get my head into it. I tried something I have never done and that was flat out bluff. I was dealt 43o in MP and raised. 4 of us went to the flop which was AK. Checked around to me I and bet out. 1 folded, 2 called. 5 on the turn. Checked to me so I bet out. 1 called. 6 on the river, checked to me, I bet out and he called flipping over AQ. BAH! At that point I was down to about 300 in chips. I tried, I failed and I didn't care. I liked being short anyway, big stack in the previous game didn't work so maybe being short early would be good. So I tightened up and waiting for monsters. I can't remember but I got back up to 650 by stealing blinds and got it all in and lost and was down to 150. I was in the small blind with 75 of that and it was folded to me and I put my 75 in and flipped over 96o. BB showed AdJd. Flop hit 78T and I went on to double up to 300. Got 99 in the BB and reraised the SB and he folded and was now sitting on 750.
Blinds are 75/150. UTG raises to 450. I look down in UTG+1 and see two Kings. I go all in for 675 total. Folded around to the SB(Matt) who takes a long time and calls putting himself all in for 675 as well. UTG calls the 225 and we flip the cards over. Matt has Ad 3d. I have KK and Mark shows AQ. John and James both say they folded an Ace so Aces are no longer a worry card. I can get back in this and be sitting on stack of 2175 in chips and back in it. But of course two diamonds hit the flop and the river completes it. I go out in 8th out of 9.
Matt goes on to win game 2 and we are done. I end up 3rd in the Grand Prix and take home an extra $60. Oh well. We start over again next month.
Game 1 started well for me. I was hitting some good cards and slowly building my stack. I was dealt T8 of clubs and limped from MP. There were a couple of callers and we went to the flop. 5s 8s 3d. Okay flopped top pair on an ugly board. So I bet out and Matt next to me raises all in. Now Matt is good but Matt is a maniac. When he does this early he has one of two thing, the nuts or nothing at all. It's folded back to me and I start thinking this out. Against Kevin or Mark I fold and move on. Against Matt I am willing to think long and hard about it. His all in will cost me about 600 on chips and if I call and lose I am still left with 1000 which is what we started out with and it is early, 2nd round I believe. If I win I take him out and be sitting good. I eventually put him on a draw and decided to take the plunge. I call and flip over my T8 and he flips over AQ no spades. Turn and River both miss him and I win.
Shortly after I get into a pot with Kevin. 2nd place vs. 3rd place. I limp in MP with Jc8c. It gets to him in the sb or bb, can't remember and he raises it up. I call hoping to hit that miracle flop and he likes to push me around a lot. He knows I think he is good and when we get heads up he knows how to push me into submission. I admit it, he has my number. But tonight I wasn't going to be pushed around. Anyway, the flop comes Qc 9c Xh( I can't remember). So I am looking good. He bets out the pot and I call immediately. Turn is a Xc. Didn't the straight flush but had a Q high flush. He checks and I bet half the pot. He thinks for awhile and eventually calls. River is a Q. He checks and I bet close to half the pot. He folds. Yay. Now I am looking really good. But a couple hands later Kevin goes all in vs Danny for a 2000+ chip pot and wins and he now has me covered.
From there is goes all down hill. I start trying to attack the small blinds and get it all in with AJ vs. A6 and TT vs. QQ. Soon I am shortstacked and end up pushing with KJ of diamonds and run into the BB's AA. Out in 6th. Kevin goes on to finish 1st and now holds a 1.07 point lead on me for 2nd going into the final game.
I lost composure in this one. I was still steaming over the last game and couldn't get my head into it. I tried something I have never done and that was flat out bluff. I was dealt 43o in MP and raised. 4 of us went to the flop which was AK. Checked around to me I and bet out. 1 folded, 2 called. 5 on the turn. Checked to me so I bet out. 1 called. 6 on the river, checked to me, I bet out and he called flipping over AQ. BAH! At that point I was down to about 300 in chips. I tried, I failed and I didn't care. I liked being short anyway, big stack in the previous game didn't work so maybe being short early would be good. So I tightened up and waiting for monsters. I can't remember but I got back up to 650 by stealing blinds and got it all in and lost and was down to 150. I was in the small blind with 75 of that and it was folded to me and I put my 75 in and flipped over 96o. BB showed AdJd. Flop hit 78T and I went on to double up to 300. Got 99 in the BB and reraised the SB and he folded and was now sitting on 750.
Blinds are 75/150. UTG raises to 450. I look down in UTG+1 and see two Kings. I go all in for 675 total. Folded around to the SB(Matt) who takes a long time and calls putting himself all in for 675 as well. UTG calls the 225 and we flip the cards over. Matt has Ad 3d. I have KK and Mark shows AQ. John and James both say they folded an Ace so Aces are no longer a worry card. I can get back in this and be sitting on stack of 2175 in chips and back in it. But of course two diamonds hit the flop and the river completes it. I go out in 8th out of 9.
Matt goes on to win game 2 and we are done. I end up 3rd in the Grand Prix and take home an extra $60. Oh well. We start over again next month.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Finally, a little MORE hope!
Played yet another $4.40 180 man SNG today to see if I can keep the streak alive. Started out the usual, building my stack up nice in the first hour and sitting in the middle of the pack come the first break. No big hands to speak of, nor that I remember, just some small ball and picking up pots here and there and avoiding any crazy situations. That seems to be the key.
2nd hour was good as well. I was on a pretty passive table and used some aggression to push people around and when it got down to 11 things got interesting. UTG I was dealt 33. I limped as I do with most small pairs hoping to see a cheap flop. This table was not very scary in terms of skill so I was willing to call a raise if I felt it was a player I could play post flop against. Only the SB and BB went to the flop unraised. Flop came TJ3. Whoo hoo hit my set. SB bet 2400 and I raised to 4800 hoping to do one of two things. Take the pot or hope he hit something and he will reraise me. He did the latter and went all in for 15.5K more. I called and had him covered. He showed a J9 and my set hung on for the win and we went to the final table and I was the chip leader with around 55K.
I started playing tight once we hit the final table due to not wanting to screw up and just get a feel for how everyone was playing. Yesterday the action was brutal so I hoped to see a few people exit quickly. That was not the case. I started playing some hands and was really getting pushed around. There were 7 players left and UTG raised to 6400. I was next looking at AK and decided to not be pushed around and made a donk move of going all in for my remaining 38K. Folded around to the BB who pushed with his remaining 24K and UTG called with his remaining 25K. Damn!
UTG showed AJ and the BB showed JJ. Luckily an Ace hit the river and I was sitting pretty with 5 players left.
When it got three handed I was second in chips but only about 10K behind the chip leader. I made some really bad decisions and at one point I was down to 40K but then this hand came up...1500/3000 blinds, `50 antes, BB with KK. Both players call and I raise to 9000. Button calls and SB folds. Flop comes 256. I check and the button bets 9000 and I reraise all in and get a call. That puts me back in second near the chip leader.
Then a crazy hand I was glad to have gotten out of. Button calls 3000. I raise to 9000 with 99. BB reraises to 15000, button reraises to 24000 and I fold. Button calls and the flop comes 7d 6h 8d. BB checks and button goes all in (shortstack). BB calls and shows Ah Qh. Button shows KK. Th on the turn which would have given me a straight but then the 5h hits the river and we are now heads up but I am now a shortstack.
Couldn't get much going. The cards finally went cold for me. I hung on for about 30 hands but ended up losing with K4 vs 43 on the flop of 234. So all in all I am happy with the finish. Great to be back on a final table after just one day and hopefully the upswing will be here for a little while longer. Thanks for reading!
2nd hour was good as well. I was on a pretty passive table and used some aggression to push people around and when it got down to 11 things got interesting. UTG I was dealt 33. I limped as I do with most small pairs hoping to see a cheap flop. This table was not very scary in terms of skill so I was willing to call a raise if I felt it was a player I could play post flop against. Only the SB and BB went to the flop unraised. Flop came TJ3. Whoo hoo hit my set. SB bet 2400 and I raised to 4800 hoping to do one of two things. Take the pot or hope he hit something and he will reraise me. He did the latter and went all in for 15.5K more. I called and had him covered. He showed a J9 and my set hung on for the win and we went to the final table and I was the chip leader with around 55K.
I started playing tight once we hit the final table due to not wanting to screw up and just get a feel for how everyone was playing. Yesterday the action was brutal so I hoped to see a few people exit quickly. That was not the case. I started playing some hands and was really getting pushed around. There were 7 players left and UTG raised to 6400. I was next looking at AK and decided to not be pushed around and made a donk move of going all in for my remaining 38K. Folded around to the BB who pushed with his remaining 24K and UTG called with his remaining 25K. Damn!
UTG showed AJ and the BB showed JJ. Luckily an Ace hit the river and I was sitting pretty with 5 players left.
When it got three handed I was second in chips but only about 10K behind the chip leader. I made some really bad decisions and at one point I was down to 40K but then this hand came up...1500/3000 blinds, `50 antes, BB with KK. Both players call and I raise to 9000. Button calls and SB folds. Flop comes 256. I check and the button bets 9000 and I reraise all in and get a call. That puts me back in second near the chip leader.
Then a crazy hand I was glad to have gotten out of. Button calls 3000. I raise to 9000 with 99. BB reraises to 15000, button reraises to 24000 and I fold. Button calls and the flop comes 7d 6h 8d. BB checks and button goes all in (shortstack). BB calls and shows Ah Qh. Button shows KK. Th on the turn which would have given me a straight but then the 5h hits the river and we are now heads up but I am now a shortstack.
Couldn't get much going. The cards finally went cold for me. I hung on for about 30 hands but ended up losing with K4 vs 43 on the flop of 234. So all in all I am happy with the finish. Great to be back on a final table after just one day and hopefully the upswing will be here for a little while longer. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Finally, a little hope!
Played in a $4.40 180 man SNG at Pokerstars. As usual when I play this SNG I get through the first hour in good shape. Quickly picking good spots and accumulating chips to be sitting in the top 30 at the first break. Felt good, was playing smart, didn't get stuck in any bad situations.
2nd hour things went a little sour when I made some bad calls and got nailed. For most of that second hour I was sitting around 2300 in chips which is no good. But then I hit a nice rush and some helpful rivers to pull out of my hole and into the top 10. Twice I was all in with AJ and both times after the flop hit I was behind only to catch an Ace on the river each time to take down the pot. From there I was sitting on about 9800 in chips and cruised while people dropped out. Found the players who I thought were good to steal against or bluff against and used that to maintain my stack and even build on it. I never got into any real confrontations the latter half of the second hour. Played small ball and stole blinds and antes when I could.
Finally towards the end of the second hour I made it to the final table and was 4th in chips with 23K thanks to a large pot I won when I flopped two pair against someone who caught top pair with a K kicker. As usual the cards went cold but luckily this table was completely LAG that in no time we were down to 5. I was in the BB,1000/2000 blinds +100 ante( I believe). I held QcJc. UTG folded and the chip leader bet out to 6400. all folded to me and I called. This left me with about 18K in chips. Flop came Qs6h6s. I bet out 9K and he raised to 18K and I called. I figured he had the flush draw or AQ. I was right, AsTs. So it was a race. Turn was an Ace. River was another Ace. Oh well. Finished in 5th and that is all right by me. Been a while as previously mentioned in a past blog that I have not reached a final table in quite some time. So I am happy for the finish and have now finished in the money two times in a row in this SNG (finished 15th yesterday).
2nd hour things went a little sour when I made some bad calls and got nailed. For most of that second hour I was sitting around 2300 in chips which is no good. But then I hit a nice rush and some helpful rivers to pull out of my hole and into the top 10. Twice I was all in with AJ and both times after the flop hit I was behind only to catch an Ace on the river each time to take down the pot. From there I was sitting on about 9800 in chips and cruised while people dropped out. Found the players who I thought were good to steal against or bluff against and used that to maintain my stack and even build on it. I never got into any real confrontations the latter half of the second hour. Played small ball and stole blinds and antes when I could.
Finally towards the end of the second hour I made it to the final table and was 4th in chips with 23K thanks to a large pot I won when I flopped two pair against someone who caught top pair with a K kicker. As usual the cards went cold but luckily this table was completely LAG that in no time we were down to 5. I was in the BB,1000/2000 blinds +100 ante( I believe). I held QcJc. UTG folded and the chip leader bet out to 6400. all folded to me and I called. This left me with about 18K in chips. Flop came Qs6h6s. I bet out 9K and he raised to 18K and I called. I figured he had the flush draw or AQ. I was right, AsTs. So it was a race. Turn was an Ace. River was another Ace. Oh well. Finished in 5th and that is all right by me. Been a while as previously mentioned in a past blog that I have not reached a final table in quite some time. So I am happy for the finish and have now finished in the money two times in a row in this SNG (finished 15th yesterday).
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
What Poker Means to Me
I was bored so I thought I would post about what Poker means to me and my life. Where I have been, where I want to go with it. Should be a boring read but maybe not. Guess you will just have to read it and go from there.
I started getting interested in Poker when most people did. During the 03 WSOP. Watching that donktastic Moneymaker win it. I didn't like him then and not a fan now but watching that got me intrigued about the game. So I started playing on Pokerroom around Sept of 03 I believe. Play money and freerolls. Never played much poker growing up except for maybe 5 Card Stud. This Hold Em thing was completely alien to me. So after some months of dilly-dallying I decided to take my first step into online gambling. I can be a very paranoid person at times and if not for my fear of something going awry like people always tell you I might have been playing for real money sooner.
So I deposited $40 and started playing $5 SNG's and MTT's. No success. Lose it and wait till next month and try it again. Watched a lot of poker on TV and read some stuff in books but never really was terribly serious about it. Then on 10/28/04 I had $11 in my account and decided to play a $10+1 SNG and call it quits if I lost. Luckily I had won and was now sitting on a massive $50 bankroll.
From there I was just tearing it up. I was on such a nice upswing that I didn't deposit more money into an account for over a year. By the end of 05 I was up $2K. Not all that impressive when compared to some of these young phenom stories you see on poker forums, but for a guy playing strictly .25/.50 LHE, and $5 SNG and MTT's. It's not that bad. I won a few MTT's but the best for me was a 397 player $5 MTT that I won for $500.
06 has been a different story all together. I play a lot more than I did but I am not getting better results for the most part. I have moved up and am playing .50/1 or 1/2 LHE. I play $10 MTT's and lots of satellite tounries. I have not won a MTT all year. Best was a 7th in a 2000 person tourney but the payout structure sucked so hard I only tripled my buy in if I remember correctly.
I am part of a large home game that I look forward too each month. Great competition and good times. I do well in that game. I also play 3/6 LHE at Casino Windsor from time to time and am up in that game as well.
At one point this year I was down to $14 online and $50 for live play. And within a month I grinded it out to $800. Felt good about that. Sadly the poker trip that is one of my blog posts cleaned out $350 of that. Still sitting on about $350 online and $50 off but I am just not happy.
I talk poker with other players a lot. I read a lot of strat posts on FCP and Thunderkellers site. I have my hands analyzed and I analyze other peoples hands. I love the game. But I feel like I am in a total rut this year. I need that one big win to get me feeling better but if you are looking for that one big win you might overplay and then play worse.
Where do I want to go with poker. I guess right where I am at. Not looking to go TP/MM (Turn Pro/Make Millions for you non-FCP'ers). I am looking to do well enough not to dive into my bank account and have fun. So far so good I guess, but I know I am better than what my 06 results show me. But I gotta keep grinding away and see what happens. Luckily I have a few good efriends who talk poker with me and are honest with me and I have a very supportive wife that is there cheering me on every step of the way.
So that's it. A brief history of my poker career. Flame away. :P
I started getting interested in Poker when most people did. During the 03 WSOP. Watching that donktastic Moneymaker win it. I didn't like him then and not a fan now but watching that got me intrigued about the game. So I started playing on Pokerroom around Sept of 03 I believe. Play money and freerolls. Never played much poker growing up except for maybe 5 Card Stud. This Hold Em thing was completely alien to me. So after some months of dilly-dallying I decided to take my first step into online gambling. I can be a very paranoid person at times and if not for my fear of something going awry like people always tell you I might have been playing for real money sooner.
So I deposited $40 and started playing $5 SNG's and MTT's. No success. Lose it and wait till next month and try it again. Watched a lot of poker on TV and read some stuff in books but never really was terribly serious about it. Then on 10/28/04 I had $11 in my account and decided to play a $10+1 SNG and call it quits if I lost. Luckily I had won and was now sitting on a massive $50 bankroll.
From there I was just tearing it up. I was on such a nice upswing that I didn't deposit more money into an account for over a year. By the end of 05 I was up $2K. Not all that impressive when compared to some of these young phenom stories you see on poker forums, but for a guy playing strictly .25/.50 LHE, and $5 SNG and MTT's. It's not that bad. I won a few MTT's but the best for me was a 397 player $5 MTT that I won for $500.
06 has been a different story all together. I play a lot more than I did but I am not getting better results for the most part. I have moved up and am playing .50/1 or 1/2 LHE. I play $10 MTT's and lots of satellite tounries. I have not won a MTT all year. Best was a 7th in a 2000 person tourney but the payout structure sucked so hard I only tripled my buy in if I remember correctly.
I am part of a large home game that I look forward too each month. Great competition and good times. I do well in that game. I also play 3/6 LHE at Casino Windsor from time to time and am up in that game as well.
At one point this year I was down to $14 online and $50 for live play. And within a month I grinded it out to $800. Felt good about that. Sadly the poker trip that is one of my blog posts cleaned out $350 of that. Still sitting on about $350 online and $50 off but I am just not happy.
I talk poker with other players a lot. I read a lot of strat posts on FCP and Thunderkellers site. I have my hands analyzed and I analyze other peoples hands. I love the game. But I feel like I am in a total rut this year. I need that one big win to get me feeling better but if you are looking for that one big win you might overplay and then play worse.
Where do I want to go with poker. I guess right where I am at. Not looking to go TP/MM (Turn Pro/Make Millions for you non-FCP'ers). I am looking to do well enough not to dive into my bank account and have fun. So far so good I guess, but I know I am better than what my 06 results show me. But I gotta keep grinding away and see what happens. Luckily I have a few good efriends who talk poker with me and are honest with me and I have a very supportive wife that is there cheering me on every step of the way.
So that's it. A brief history of my poker career. Flame away. :P
Monday, July 31, 2006
$12,000 Guaranteed @ Full Tilt
So this is the largest Tourney I have ever played. Had a few $26 tokens and decided to give it a shot since my SNG game has been on fire as of late. Winning 3 or my last 4. Felt confident, playing good solid poker, not being a donk. So I registered for last nights 8pm tourney.
Started off blah. Not getting anything good. First hand I played outside the blinds was 56 suited. It was folded to me in the 6th spot and I raised raised 2.5xBB. Only the SB called. Flop came 988. SB checked and I bet 100. He called. Spiked a nice looking 7 on the turn and bet 250 and he called. River was a blank and he checked and I bet 475. He used up most of his time and called(A9). That put me in a good confident mood.
Few hands into the 3rd round I picked up JJ in UTG+1. UTG raised 3xBB and I called. I hate jacks. I looked at the paper I have taped to the wall that says "Smart, Disciplined, Aggressive, Patient, JACKS SUCK!". Two other people called and we went to the flop. JdJh8c. Nice. Now how can I get the most money out of this? SB checks, UTG bets 235. I take some time and call. Everyone else folds. I put him on AK, AQ, medium pp. Turn comes a Qc. He checks. I check quickly hopefully showing him weakness and he will take a stab on the river. River comes a club. He thinks for sometime and checks. I take some time of my own thinking how much I can bet and get a call. I gotta hope he at least has a piece of this. Hopefully AQ or a flush. I bet out a litter over half the pot and he calls. He had AK.
Took down a few more posts with AA, KK, and TT twice and was sitting pretty well at 5000 at the first break. 666 people started and now I was in the top 60 with 272 left.
Then the cards went cold. 82,J3, Q2, K2, 23, 25, 27, 74, 83, etc. Bah! Soon I was down to 3200 in chips with the blinds at 200/400 and an ante of 50 I think. Things were getting ugly and I moved to a very maniac table. Every pot seemed to be raised 3-5xbb preflop and some odd holding were being show down. One of the maniacs raised UTG to 900. Folded around to me, I held two black 6's. I figured he could be stealing as he had been the previous 10 out of 20 hands and put it all in. It was folded to back to him and he called with about 2 seconds left on his timer and showed TT. Bah! Nothing good hit and I was out in 166th.
Not bad I guess for my first shot at a non $5 tourney. I played really well in the first hour. I made some good bluffs at pots with good reads and maintained an above average chipstack. Sadly the cards got cold and the players got maniacal. What can you do. Still have more tokens so maybe next time.
Started off blah. Not getting anything good. First hand I played outside the blinds was 56 suited. It was folded to me in the 6th spot and I raised raised 2.5xBB. Only the SB called. Flop came 988. SB checked and I bet 100. He called. Spiked a nice looking 7 on the turn and bet 250 and he called. River was a blank and he checked and I bet 475. He used up most of his time and called(A9). That put me in a good confident mood.
Few hands into the 3rd round I picked up JJ in UTG+1. UTG raised 3xBB and I called. I hate jacks. I looked at the paper I have taped to the wall that says "Smart, Disciplined, Aggressive, Patient, JACKS SUCK!". Two other people called and we went to the flop. JdJh8c. Nice. Now how can I get the most money out of this? SB checks, UTG bets 235. I take some time and call. Everyone else folds. I put him on AK, AQ, medium pp. Turn comes a Qc. He checks. I check quickly hopefully showing him weakness and he will take a stab on the river. River comes a club. He thinks for sometime and checks. I take some time of my own thinking how much I can bet and get a call. I gotta hope he at least has a piece of this. Hopefully AQ or a flush. I bet out a litter over half the pot and he calls. He had AK.
Took down a few more posts with AA, KK, and TT twice and was sitting pretty well at 5000 at the first break. 666 people started and now I was in the top 60 with 272 left.
Then the cards went cold. 82,J3, Q2, K2, 23, 25, 27, 74, 83, etc. Bah! Soon I was down to 3200 in chips with the blinds at 200/400 and an ante of 50 I think. Things were getting ugly and I moved to a very maniac table. Every pot seemed to be raised 3-5xbb preflop and some odd holding were being show down. One of the maniacs raised UTG to 900. Folded around to me, I held two black 6's. I figured he could be stealing as he had been the previous 10 out of 20 hands and put it all in. It was folded to back to him and he called with about 2 seconds left on his timer and showed TT. Bah! Nothing good hit and I was out in 166th.
Not bad I guess for my first shot at a non $5 tourney. I played really well in the first hour. I made some good bluffs at pots with good reads and maintained an above average chipstack. Sadly the cards got cold and the players got maniacal. What can you do. Still have more tokens so maybe next time.
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