I was about to go to bed Xmas evening before I went to have a look if there was any interesting promotions on Pokerstars. Well I noticed they were coming up to the billionth hand dealt so decided to play 7 low limit tables just to see if I could be one of the lucky people who would get $5000 for being in that hand with $50000 for the winner. Just missed out on that one. How lucky was the guy who won $50000. He was playing in a $0.10/0.20 NL Holdem cash game. A good night for him is probably a $20 win. Instead he won $55000. He must feel like he won the lottery. I had to feel sorry for the two players on the table who were sitting out the hand as they get a big fat zero $.
I also noticed there was an EPT qualifier to Deauville which was $360 to enter and there were 4 seats up for grabs so thought I’d give that a shot. Played good poker throughout only really in danger once early when I needed QQ to stand up against AK or I was out. After about 3 hours I was on the final table with 15000 chips which at the time was ranked about 3rd out of 8. The two players directly to the left of me had 25000 chips and all the others were between 5000-8000.
I decided I wasn’t going to get involved in any hands against the chip leaders unless I had KK or AA before the flop. I was in a good position to qualify as the blinds were still reasonably low. It was a case of targeting the small stacks. I knocked one of them out when my KK stood up against their QQ and with 6 people left I felt I was pretty much assured of my seat as I had 25000 chips and only two of the remaining three short stacks needed to be knocked out for me to qualify. I noticed the two other big stacks were getting involved in hands against each other which I just thought was ridiculous. Like me there is no point getting involved. It was like they were playing to win a tournament or something. Then an amazing hand happened when the two big stacks got involved against each other and one went for a big bluff of 18000 chips all in and got called with two pair. That one idiot had gone from 27000 chips and being almost assured of a seat at one stage down to 3000 and was shortly knocked out leaving us with 5 players.
I won another hand when with AA in the big blind I just called the other big stack down without raising at all as I wasn’t going to risk the fact he may have made two pairs. I was chip leader on 40000 chips and the last player to go took a while but eventually I won my seat plus expenses to Deauville which is worth $3600.
It’s amazing how bad some people can play. I think if the chip leader had set himself to away and gone and watched a film he would have won a seat. Instead he played like a lunatic and got himself knocked out.
So Deauville here I come. It was a nice way to end my poker year.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
A few end of year gongs
Pro Poker Player Site of the Year – Daniel Negreanu
http://www.fullcontactpoker.com
The best of the pro players sites by a mile in my opinion. It includes a regularly updated blog and a forum that Daniel posts on sometimes. Plus all sorts of articles that he writes for Card Player magazine.
I do like this article from Barry Greenstein.
http://www.barrygreenstein.com/analysis.htm
He rates many of the well known pro’s on aggressiveness, looseness, limit, No-Limit, side games e.t.c.
Fair play to him for sticking his neck on the line and I am sure his ratings will offend a few of them. The best quote is in his analysis of Phil Hellmuth
“Phil has assured me that he is a much better player than I give him credit for.”
Classic Hellmuth.
Blogs of the Year
I have scoured my way through many good blogs in 2004. I have to pick 3 that are regularly updated. There are other very good ones but I like the ones that post more than once a week.
Mike Lacey - http://luckyblind.blogspot.com/
Andy Ward - http://pokersoft.blogspot.com/
Big Dave D - http://internetpokerpro.blogspot.com/
Muppet(s) of the Year
I wish I could name them but I am just too nice. There are just some people in poker that get a few decent tournament results and suddenly think they are the best thing since slice bread.
Worst Play against me of the Year
Someone calling a 55000 chip raise from me when they had no chips committed on the button with KJ which put us both all in and knocked me out into 5th in one of the Poker Classic tournaments at the Vic. The worst part is that thought it was a good call when they only had a 40% chance of winning the hand.
Best place to make money online
Any game on Party Poker and any other site where you make a good decision about game selection.
Worst online site of the year
Has to be Victor Chandler with the endless problems they have had during tournaments and their notoriously poor customer service.
That’s all I can think of for now.
Have a good Xmas.
Ben
http://www.fullcontactpoker.com
The best of the pro players sites by a mile in my opinion. It includes a regularly updated blog and a forum that Daniel posts on sometimes. Plus all sorts of articles that he writes for Card Player magazine.
I do like this article from Barry Greenstein.
http://www.barrygreenstein.com/analysis.htm
He rates many of the well known pro’s on aggressiveness, looseness, limit, No-Limit, side games e.t.c.
Fair play to him for sticking his neck on the line and I am sure his ratings will offend a few of them. The best quote is in his analysis of Phil Hellmuth
“Phil has assured me that he is a much better player than I give him credit for.”
Classic Hellmuth.
Blogs of the Year
I have scoured my way through many good blogs in 2004. I have to pick 3 that are regularly updated. There are other very good ones but I like the ones that post more than once a week.
Mike Lacey - http://luckyblind.blogspot.com/
Andy Ward - http://pokersoft.blogspot.com/
Big Dave D - http://internetpokerpro.blogspot.com/
Muppet(s) of the Year
I wish I could name them but I am just too nice. There are just some people in poker that get a few decent tournament results and suddenly think they are the best thing since slice bread.
Worst Play against me of the Year
Someone calling a 55000 chip raise from me when they had no chips committed on the button with KJ which put us both all in and knocked me out into 5th in one of the Poker Classic tournaments at the Vic. The worst part is that thought it was a good call when they only had a 40% chance of winning the hand.
Best place to make money online
Any game on Party Poker and any other site where you make a good decision about game selection.
Worst online site of the year
Has to be Victor Chandler with the endless problems they have had during tournaments and their notoriously poor customer service.
That’s all I can think of for now.
Have a good Xmas.
Ben
Monitor or watch?
Hmmm now I have just about got over this hand I am able to write it down. Its amusing because if i have a good night i normally write about it the next day but the bad nights take a bit longer for me to write down. ;-)
I sat down in the £5/£10 NL Holdem last Friday night on Betfair with £1000. I flopped the nuts straight early on when I held QK and someone made a set of Jacks and doubled me up. I then lost a few hands which put me down to £1700 and then this hand happened. I am on the button and find AA. This is a 6 handed table. Under the gun raises £40 to play and then an aggressive player who has raised a lot of pots reraises it to £150 to play. I decide to call and the UTG player passes. Flop 334. He bets £400. Now there is no way in my opinion he can have a 3 after the initial reraise and I have got to be very unlucky if he has 44. I don’t want to scare him out of this pot so I go into the think tank and just call. At this point I have put him on either JJ, QQ or KK. The turn brings another 3 so I now have a full house. He immediately goes all in which has me covered for about another £1150. I call straight away and he has TT. The river brought a dreaded T. Something had to be thrown at that point to vent my frustration and it was either my monitor or my watch. Well my watch got the worst of it and went flying across the room. That damn T cost me a £2700 pot.
After that I was on tilt big style. It really is something that I don’t seem to be able to control online. I don’t play terrible poker on tilt I am just super aggressive and will gamble large amounts on coin flips rather than waiting for a bigger edge. I lost another massive pot for £1300 when I had AK. Flop K37. I check raise my opponent all in. He has KJ and rivers a J. I lost about £2900 in the end and went to bed feeling pretty sick. Perhaps I was due a bit of bad luck.
I woke up Saturday morning and decided to focus on winning at least some of the £2900 back so I started up another £5/£10 NL Holdem game and a $5/$10 Pot Limit Omaha game on Pokerstars. I played really solid good poker for a few hours and managed to turn £400 on the NL Holdem table into £1800 after one big hand where I hit the Ace flush on the turn and my opponent had a Queen flush. Also on the Omaha game on Pokerstars I turned $600 into $2200.
So overall I lost about £700 but felt like I had won. Until I can learn to take the inevitable bad beats that happen in the big games online and not go on tilt I really should not play in them. I think I am gambling for bigger stakes than necessary so am going to change my strategy for the New Year. I can cope with £500 swings but these £3000 swings are too risky.
I sat down in the £5/£10 NL Holdem last Friday night on Betfair with £1000. I flopped the nuts straight early on when I held QK and someone made a set of Jacks and doubled me up. I then lost a few hands which put me down to £1700 and then this hand happened. I am on the button and find AA. This is a 6 handed table. Under the gun raises £40 to play and then an aggressive player who has raised a lot of pots reraises it to £150 to play. I decide to call and the UTG player passes. Flop 334. He bets £400. Now there is no way in my opinion he can have a 3 after the initial reraise and I have got to be very unlucky if he has 44. I don’t want to scare him out of this pot so I go into the think tank and just call. At this point I have put him on either JJ, QQ or KK. The turn brings another 3 so I now have a full house. He immediately goes all in which has me covered for about another £1150. I call straight away and he has TT. The river brought a dreaded T. Something had to be thrown at that point to vent my frustration and it was either my monitor or my watch. Well my watch got the worst of it and went flying across the room. That damn T cost me a £2700 pot.
After that I was on tilt big style. It really is something that I don’t seem to be able to control online. I don’t play terrible poker on tilt I am just super aggressive and will gamble large amounts on coin flips rather than waiting for a bigger edge. I lost another massive pot for £1300 when I had AK. Flop K37. I check raise my opponent all in. He has KJ and rivers a J. I lost about £2900 in the end and went to bed feeling pretty sick. Perhaps I was due a bit of bad luck.
I woke up Saturday morning and decided to focus on winning at least some of the £2900 back so I started up another £5/£10 NL Holdem game and a $5/$10 Pot Limit Omaha game on Pokerstars. I played really solid good poker for a few hours and managed to turn £400 on the NL Holdem table into £1800 after one big hand where I hit the Ace flush on the turn and my opponent had a Queen flush. Also on the Omaha game on Pokerstars I turned $600 into $2200.
So overall I lost about £700 but felt like I had won. Until I can learn to take the inevitable bad beats that happen in the big games online and not go on tilt I really should not play in them. I think I am gambling for bigger stakes than necessary so am going to change my strategy for the New Year. I can cope with £500 swings but these £3000 swings are too risky.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Dammit
Poker can be such a bitch sometimes. I was playing in a qualifier on Pokerstars for the EPT main event in Monte Carlo when the following hand happened. This was a $615 buy in event and we were down to two tables. With the blinds still extremely low and a 30 min clock I was really fancying my chances as I had been gradually increasing my chips from the beginning. Why do people on the internet think that it’s worth risking all their chips pre flop in a big buy in event with AK? I just think this is terrible play. Surely freezeouts are all about waiting till you believe you have a significant advantage in a hand before you commit all your chips. I check raised my opponent with KK and he moved all in and got lucky on the river. I actually broke my abuse rule and gave him some in the chat box. My favorite thing about his response was that he said, “I thought you probably had QQ.” That just made me laugh as if that was his read why would he not just call my original raise of 900 instead of going all in. If he thought I had a high pair he would be at best a coin flip and at worst a severe dog which he was. I would have actually passed QQ before the flop to his raise all in. But hey what do I know?
*********** # 5 **************
PokerStars Game #977104727: Tournament #3908413, Hold'em No Limit - Level
III (25/50) - 2004/12/19 - 19:34:18 (ET)
Table '3908413 1' Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: vuddu (5630 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: milkybarkid (5235 in chips)
Seat 3: dangler (1675 in chips)
Seat 5: noc1111 (1905 in chips)
Seat 6: thebestwon (4785 in chips)
Seat 8: agcpa (5310 in chips)
Seat 9: Lanken (4555 in chips)
agcpa: posts small blind 25
Lanken: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to milkybarkid [Kd Ks]
vuddu: folds
milkybarkid: calls 50
dangler: folds
noc1111: folds
thebestwon: raises 150 to 200
agcpa: calls 175
Lanken: folds
milkybarkid: raises 1000 to 1200
thebestwon: raises 3585 to 4785 and is all-in
agcpa: folds
milkybarkid: calls 3585
*** FLOP *** [Th Jc 9c]
*** TURN *** [Th Jc 9c] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Th Jc 9c 3d] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
milkybarkid: shows [Kd Ks] (a pair of Kings)
thebestwon: shows [Kh Ad] (a pair of Aces)
thebestwon collected 9820 from pot
minnycards [observer] said, "bad beat"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 9820 Rake 0
Board [Th Jc 9c 3d Ac]
Seat 1: vuddu folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: milkybarkid showed [Kd Ks] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 3: dangler folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: noc1111 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: thebestwon (button) showed [Kh Ad] and won (9820) with a pair of
Aces
Seat 8: agcpa (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Lanken (big blind) folded before Flop
*********** # 5 **************
PokerStars Game #977104727: Tournament #3908413, Hold'em No Limit - Level
III (25/50) - 2004/12/19 - 19:34:18 (ET)
Table '3908413 1' Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: vuddu (5630 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: milkybarkid (5235 in chips)
Seat 3: dangler (1675 in chips)
Seat 5: noc1111 (1905 in chips)
Seat 6: thebestwon (4785 in chips)
Seat 8: agcpa (5310 in chips)
Seat 9: Lanken (4555 in chips)
agcpa: posts small blind 25
Lanken: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to milkybarkid [Kd Ks]
vuddu: folds
milkybarkid: calls 50
dangler: folds
noc1111: folds
thebestwon: raises 150 to 200
agcpa: calls 175
Lanken: folds
milkybarkid: raises 1000 to 1200
thebestwon: raises 3585 to 4785 and is all-in
agcpa: folds
milkybarkid: calls 3585
*** FLOP *** [Th Jc 9c]
*** TURN *** [Th Jc 9c] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Th Jc 9c 3d] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
milkybarkid: shows [Kd Ks] (a pair of Kings)
thebestwon: shows [Kh Ad] (a pair of Aces)
thebestwon collected 9820 from pot
minnycards [observer] said, "bad beat"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 9820 Rake 0
Board [Th Jc 9c 3d Ac]
Seat 1: vuddu folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: milkybarkid showed [Kd Ks] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 3: dangler folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: noc1111 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: thebestwon (button) showed [Kh Ad] and won (9820) with a pair of
Aces
Seat 8: agcpa (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Lanken (big blind) folded before Flop
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Review of 2004 and aims for 2005
Well it may be quite early to do a proper review of my year but as I doubt that I’ll play a great deal more this year other than a few games online and maybe one visit to the Vic.
I didn’t play a great deal until June when I started keeping records. I didn’t have a computer before then and was busy traveling around the country doing a job I really didn’t like. I actually gave up that job thinking either I would get an amazing new job or I would try and play poker for a living. Well it took just two days for me to land a job I couldn’t refuse so turning professional has at least been put on the backburner until March next year.
Tournament Review
I have played in 9 tournaments in 2004 with entrance fees of £200 or higher.
European Poker Championships 2004 - London
£250 Pot Limit Omaha
£200 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
Gutshot Club - London
£500 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
European Poker Classics - London
£250 Pot Limit Holdem
£750 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
£500 Pot Limit Omaha
£300 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
£3000 European Poker Tour No Limit Freezeout
Xmas Cracker - Brighton
£500 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
In 6 of these 9 tournaments I have made the final three tables finishing 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 11th and 20th. Tournaments that have entrance fees really seem to focus my poker and I seem to keep bad decisions down to a minimum. I have definitely improved upon my tournament No Limit Holdem as prior to 2004 I had predominantly played Pot Limit Holdem. My 20th place in the European Poker Tour event in London is perhaps the most frustrating. I know that despite playing well throughout day 1 I left myself to short chipped to be able to make an impact on the 2nd day and it isn’t a mistake I will be making again. My 5th place in the £300 No Limit Holdem Freezeout was highlight as there were 198 runners. Its one I could have done even better in but my opponent hit his second pair on the river to send me out.
Overall I paid £7400 in entrance fees to tournaments in 2004. My prize money was £4400. So my tournament loss was £3000. However, half my EPT event entrance fee was paid by backers. My investment in Adam Matusiak for the main event in Brighton in the summer yielded me £6000. So if I include that in my figures I actually made a profit of £4500 in 2004.
Cash Game Review
It seems bizarre that when I look at my figures that despite cash games being my most financially successful area of my poker I have played it the least by far. Obviously with still having a job I can’t manage the late nights and the convenience of playing online can be too tempting. Since June I have played live cash games 18 times. 14 of which were winning sessions. I also have tendency not to play for a while if I have a good win. I think it’s because when I do win it’s normally a £1000+ win due to the level of cash game I play. If I lose I also don’t normally play for a while as my losses are always £1000+ when I lose and I don’t want to start chasing. I know if I do turn professional I will have to play cash 3 or 4 times a week as these are my bread and butter. I don’t think you can be a successful professional player unless you are good at cash games. Tournaments are just a bonus in my opinion and I enjoy playing them.
When I posted a few months back my Live Cash – Overall Win rate (per hour) was + £131.55. I have had two wins and two losses since then and it will finish the year at Live Cash – Overall Win rate (per hour) + £125.27. Overall for 2004 I made a profit in cash games of just over £9000.
Focusing specifically on the games I play live. I am very happy with my Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo game. I need to improve upon my Stud game significantly if I am to truly feel comfortable playing for large amounts of money in Dealers Choice games. I rarely play Holdem cash games as the big games always seem to be Omaha or dealers choice.
Online Poker
I really do have a love hate relationship with online poker. I know that it is probably the easiest area in poker to make consistent money but I often lack focus or choose games that I shouldn’t be playing. I have massive winning runs and then equally as bad losing runs. I gave up keeping proper records of how I was doing because I’d often just play for an hour and not keep results. So I contacted all the sites that I’ve played on in 2004 to gain records of my profit/loss.
I managed to turn what was a £8000 loss just a few months ago into a break even on one site. I have played this year on Betfair, Victor Chandler, Paradise, Party and Pokerstars and after correlating my results together I made a very marginal profit. I could easily say that online poker this year has been a waste of time or has it? I certainly have learnt some harsh lessons about my own personality and a huge tendency to go on tilt when I’ve had a few drinks and have a few bad beats. I have gambled for some serious money as well. On Betfair which I play on the most I have deposited £20000 from my current account. Yikes.
Playing online has definitely improved my NL Holdem game and my Omaha Hi/Lo. I have literally played in every game that online can offer. Big multi table tournaments, Sit N Go’s, Omaha, Hi/Lo, Stud, Pineapple (I won at that somehow), Limit Holdem, NL Limit Holdem and a few satellites to big events.
It shows how ridiculous playing online has made me in the past. I was playing $20/$40 Limit on Party Poker a month back. While I managed to win what the hell was I doing playing Limit Holdem? I have probably only ever played the game for about 20 hours in my life. Yet in my wisdom (on tilt) I decided it was a good choice of game. Probably a good decision as I can’t bet too much playing Limit.
Aims for 2005
Live Tournaments
I will increase the number of tournaments I play in and will definitely travel abroad to play in a few tournaments. I am tempted by the EPT events in both Vienna and Copenhagen but will probably only travel to one of them.
My ranking for Europe for 2004 currently stands at 244th. My aim is too significantly improve upon that. For 2005 I aim to finish in the top 20 in Europe. I know that is a high target but I like to have something to aim for. It keeps me focused.
Hopefully I won’t have as many bubble finishes as this year which is just so frustrating. I’d rather be knocked out after 10 minutes than play for 8 hours and finish on the bubble.
Live Cash
I am going to play more cash live. I will start playing at least once a week. I am going to buy some books to learn to improve my stud game. I don’t know my pot odds well enough to be confident in making big bets in that game yet.
Online
I will continue to play online a fair bit. I have decided I am only going to play the following games Pot Limit Omaha, NL Holdem and Satellites to big poker events.
No more multi table tournaments, Sit n Go’s, Limit poker, Stud or any other crazy game I think I can beat.
Overall I have really enjoyed playing poker this year. I have had an opportunity to play in some very big cash games and tournaments and have had a real buzz from doing so. I have also met many of the well known players. At one point I found myself mixing it on the same table with Peter Costa, Dave Colclough and Marcel Luske. I definitely couldn’t have imagined that at the start of the year. Hopefully I can continue to focus on my game, improve, and have a successful 2005.
I didn’t play a great deal until June when I started keeping records. I didn’t have a computer before then and was busy traveling around the country doing a job I really didn’t like. I actually gave up that job thinking either I would get an amazing new job or I would try and play poker for a living. Well it took just two days for me to land a job I couldn’t refuse so turning professional has at least been put on the backburner until March next year.
Tournament Review
I have played in 9 tournaments in 2004 with entrance fees of £200 or higher.
European Poker Championships 2004 - London
£250 Pot Limit Omaha
£200 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
Gutshot Club - London
£500 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
European Poker Classics - London
£250 Pot Limit Holdem
£750 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
£500 Pot Limit Omaha
£300 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
£3000 European Poker Tour No Limit Freezeout
Xmas Cracker - Brighton
£500 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
In 6 of these 9 tournaments I have made the final three tables finishing 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 11th and 20th. Tournaments that have entrance fees really seem to focus my poker and I seem to keep bad decisions down to a minimum. I have definitely improved upon my tournament No Limit Holdem as prior to 2004 I had predominantly played Pot Limit Holdem. My 20th place in the European Poker Tour event in London is perhaps the most frustrating. I know that despite playing well throughout day 1 I left myself to short chipped to be able to make an impact on the 2nd day and it isn’t a mistake I will be making again. My 5th place in the £300 No Limit Holdem Freezeout was highlight as there were 198 runners. Its one I could have done even better in but my opponent hit his second pair on the river to send me out.
Overall I paid £7400 in entrance fees to tournaments in 2004. My prize money was £4400. So my tournament loss was £3000. However, half my EPT event entrance fee was paid by backers. My investment in Adam Matusiak for the main event in Brighton in the summer yielded me £6000. So if I include that in my figures I actually made a profit of £4500 in 2004.
Cash Game Review
It seems bizarre that when I look at my figures that despite cash games being my most financially successful area of my poker I have played it the least by far. Obviously with still having a job I can’t manage the late nights and the convenience of playing online can be too tempting. Since June I have played live cash games 18 times. 14 of which were winning sessions. I also have tendency not to play for a while if I have a good win. I think it’s because when I do win it’s normally a £1000+ win due to the level of cash game I play. If I lose I also don’t normally play for a while as my losses are always £1000+ when I lose and I don’t want to start chasing. I know if I do turn professional I will have to play cash 3 or 4 times a week as these are my bread and butter. I don’t think you can be a successful professional player unless you are good at cash games. Tournaments are just a bonus in my opinion and I enjoy playing them.
When I posted a few months back my Live Cash – Overall Win rate (per hour) was + £131.55. I have had two wins and two losses since then and it will finish the year at Live Cash – Overall Win rate (per hour) + £125.27. Overall for 2004 I made a profit in cash games of just over £9000.
Focusing specifically on the games I play live. I am very happy with my Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo game. I need to improve upon my Stud game significantly if I am to truly feel comfortable playing for large amounts of money in Dealers Choice games. I rarely play Holdem cash games as the big games always seem to be Omaha or dealers choice.
Online Poker
I really do have a love hate relationship with online poker. I know that it is probably the easiest area in poker to make consistent money but I often lack focus or choose games that I shouldn’t be playing. I have massive winning runs and then equally as bad losing runs. I gave up keeping proper records of how I was doing because I’d often just play for an hour and not keep results. So I contacted all the sites that I’ve played on in 2004 to gain records of my profit/loss.
I managed to turn what was a £8000 loss just a few months ago into a break even on one site. I have played this year on Betfair, Victor Chandler, Paradise, Party and Pokerstars and after correlating my results together I made a very marginal profit. I could easily say that online poker this year has been a waste of time or has it? I certainly have learnt some harsh lessons about my own personality and a huge tendency to go on tilt when I’ve had a few drinks and have a few bad beats. I have gambled for some serious money as well. On Betfair which I play on the most I have deposited £20000 from my current account. Yikes.
Playing online has definitely improved my NL Holdem game and my Omaha Hi/Lo. I have literally played in every game that online can offer. Big multi table tournaments, Sit N Go’s, Omaha, Hi/Lo, Stud, Pineapple (I won at that somehow), Limit Holdem, NL Limit Holdem and a few satellites to big events.
It shows how ridiculous playing online has made me in the past. I was playing $20/$40 Limit on Party Poker a month back. While I managed to win what the hell was I doing playing Limit Holdem? I have probably only ever played the game for about 20 hours in my life. Yet in my wisdom (on tilt) I decided it was a good choice of game. Probably a good decision as I can’t bet too much playing Limit.
Aims for 2005
Live Tournaments
I will increase the number of tournaments I play in and will definitely travel abroad to play in a few tournaments. I am tempted by the EPT events in both Vienna and Copenhagen but will probably only travel to one of them.
My ranking for Europe for 2004 currently stands at 244th. My aim is too significantly improve upon that. For 2005 I aim to finish in the top 20 in Europe. I know that is a high target but I like to have something to aim for. It keeps me focused.
Hopefully I won’t have as many bubble finishes as this year which is just so frustrating. I’d rather be knocked out after 10 minutes than play for 8 hours and finish on the bubble.
Live Cash
I am going to play more cash live. I will start playing at least once a week. I am going to buy some books to learn to improve my stud game. I don’t know my pot odds well enough to be confident in making big bets in that game yet.
Online
I will continue to play online a fair bit. I have decided I am only going to play the following games Pot Limit Omaha, NL Holdem and Satellites to big poker events.
No more multi table tournaments, Sit n Go’s, Limit poker, Stud or any other crazy game I think I can beat.
Overall I have really enjoyed playing poker this year. I have had an opportunity to play in some very big cash games and tournaments and have had a real buzz from doing so. I have also met many of the well known players. At one point I found myself mixing it on the same table with Peter Costa, Dave Colclough and Marcel Luske. I definitely couldn’t have imagined that at the start of the year. Hopefully I can continue to focus on my game, improve, and have a successful 2005.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Running hot
Its a great feeling in poker when you are on a good run and always feel you are going to hit cards!
Started with just $140 on the $2/$5 No Limit Hold em table on Betfair. On the very first hand I called a $10 raise on the button with 24 suited and it flopped A35 and i doubled up against the raiser who held AK. Shortly afterwards i called a $30 pre flop raise with A9 hearts and it flopped 996. Before i could do anything the player under the gun had gone all in for $230. Easy call and i'm up to $500. Shortly afterwards i had A3 of hearts and called a small raise pre flop and it flops 345 with two hearts. Opponent raised $30 i reraised to make it $70 and he goes all in for $300. I figure he has an overpair which means i have any A32 or heart to scoop. I called and the next card was a 3 :-) .... finished up with $850. Isn't poker great when you get lucky?
Started with just $140 on the $2/$5 No Limit Hold em table on Betfair. On the very first hand I called a $10 raise on the button with 24 suited and it flopped A35 and i doubled up against the raiser who held AK. Shortly afterwards i called a $30 pre flop raise with A9 hearts and it flopped 996. Before i could do anything the player under the gun had gone all in for $230. Easy call and i'm up to $500. Shortly afterwards i had A3 of hearts and called a small raise pre flop and it flops 345 with two hearts. Opponent raised $30 i reraised to make it $70 and he goes all in for $300. I figure he has an overpair which means i have any A32 or heart to scoop. I called and the next card was a 3 :-) .... finished up with $850. Isn't poker great when you get lucky?
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Betfair :-D
Had another excellent night playing on the Omaha tables on Betfair. Some of the plays I saw just left me in disbelief. One guy went all in pre flop with K732 off suit for $400 and hit a K which was good enough against two callers. That’s the equivalent of raising $400 in Hold em pre flop with 37. I just played tight aggressive only playing very strong hands pre flop due to the amount of crazy pre flop raising that was going on. I doubled up my $500 early on when the flop came 5c7c2h and I held 6c6d4hAc which gave me the Ace flush draw and up and down for the straight. I raised and was reraised all in and called. Turn brought a 2d and the river a Qh. No help for me I thought but my pair of 6s was good. My opponent obviously thought a Gutshot straight draw and a T flush was good enough to raise me all in. Long may that kind of play continue.
Then this hand happened.
------HAND 44------
Game #21536943: Omaha High Pot Limit ($2.50/$5) - 2004/12/07 - 20:24:05
(GMT)
Seat 7 is the button.
Seat 1: Player1 ($507.75 in chips)
Seat 2: Player2 ($680.75 in chips)
Seat 3: Player3 ($490 in chips)
Seat 5: Milkybarkid ($1023.25 in chips)
Seat 7: Player4 ($559.75 in chips)
Seat 8: Player5 ($543.75 in chips)
Seat 10: Player6 ($438 in chips)
Player5: posts small blind $2.50
Player6: posts big blind $5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [10s As Jh Qh]
Player1: raises to $22.50
Player2: raises to $50
Player3: calls $50
Milkybarkid: calls $50
I like my hand here. With the kind of players on this table it’s almost tempting to reraise here but I just call.
Player4: folds
Player5: folds
Player6: folds
Player1: calls $27.50
----- FLOP ----- [8s 7s 9d]
Player1: bets $50
Player2: calls $50
Player3: calls $50
Milkybarkid: raises to $175
This is a dream flop for me. I have the top straight which I can improve on and the Ace flush draw. I could have reraised as much as $400 here. However, my hand is so strong that I don’t want to drive anyone with small flush draws and small straights out of this pot.
Player1: calls $125
Player2: folds
Player3: calls $125
----- TURN ----- [8s 7s 9d][Jh]
Player1: bets $405.75 and is all-in
Player3: calls $315 and is all-in
Milkybarkid: calls $405.75
Wow. Both of them move all in before me. I have improved on my straight and still have the nuts. I call thinking I may be splitting this pot now.
----- RIVER ----- [8s 7s 9d Jh][Ah]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Player1: shows [3d 9s 10h Ad] (A Straight, Jack high)
Player3: shows [4h 5c 6h 10d] (A straight, Ten high)
Milkybarkid: shows [10s As Jh Qh] (A Straight, Queen high)
Milkybarkid collected $1909 from Main pot
My straight is good. Player 1 decided his J high straight was good enough to commit all his money. He had a 9 flush draw that was drawing dead to my A flush when all his money went in. Player 3 is just a muppet. He calls an all in bet with a 10 high straight. I’ll be adding him to my list of favourite players to play with. The amazing thing about my opponent’s hands is that they were both practically drawing dead on the flop.
I eventually stopped playing with $2500. Although I was very tempted to carry on as there were 4 players out of 7 that are amongst the worst Omaha players I have ever encountered they were all playing crazy and I knew I would go on tilt if one of them outdrew me with a miracle.
My stats below are quite interesting as well. I was the biggest winner on the table and yet probably saw the least flops by a mile. Some of the players must have been up around 60-80% of flops seen. My 12% flops seen statistic is very low but on such a loose aggressive table, pre-flop hand selection is crucial. Most of them were living by the saying, “Any four cards are good.”
games played 153
flops seen 12%
games won 13%
showdowns won 72%
Then this hand happened.
------HAND 44------
Game #21536943: Omaha High Pot Limit ($2.50/$5) - 2004/12/07 - 20:24:05
(GMT)
Seat 7 is the button.
Seat 1: Player1 ($507.75 in chips)
Seat 2: Player2 ($680.75 in chips)
Seat 3: Player3 ($490 in chips)
Seat 5: Milkybarkid ($1023.25 in chips)
Seat 7: Player4 ($559.75 in chips)
Seat 8: Player5 ($543.75 in chips)
Seat 10: Player6 ($438 in chips)
Player5: posts small blind $2.50
Player6: posts big blind $5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [10s As Jh Qh]
Player1: raises to $22.50
Player2: raises to $50
Player3: calls $50
Milkybarkid: calls $50
I like my hand here. With the kind of players on this table it’s almost tempting to reraise here but I just call.
Player4: folds
Player5: folds
Player6: folds
Player1: calls $27.50
----- FLOP ----- [8s 7s 9d]
Player1: bets $50
Player2: calls $50
Player3: calls $50
Milkybarkid: raises to $175
This is a dream flop for me. I have the top straight which I can improve on and the Ace flush draw. I could have reraised as much as $400 here. However, my hand is so strong that I don’t want to drive anyone with small flush draws and small straights out of this pot.
Player1: calls $125
Player2: folds
Player3: calls $125
----- TURN ----- [8s 7s 9d][Jh]
Player1: bets $405.75 and is all-in
Player3: calls $315 and is all-in
Milkybarkid: calls $405.75
Wow. Both of them move all in before me. I have improved on my straight and still have the nuts. I call thinking I may be splitting this pot now.
----- RIVER ----- [8s 7s 9d Jh][Ah]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Player1: shows [3d 9s 10h Ad] (A Straight, Jack high)
Player3: shows [4h 5c 6h 10d] (A straight, Ten high)
Milkybarkid: shows [10s As Jh Qh] (A Straight, Queen high)
Milkybarkid collected $1909 from Main pot
My straight is good. Player 1 decided his J high straight was good enough to commit all his money. He had a 9 flush draw that was drawing dead to my A flush when all his money went in. Player 3 is just a muppet. He calls an all in bet with a 10 high straight. I’ll be adding him to my list of favourite players to play with. The amazing thing about my opponent’s hands is that they were both practically drawing dead on the flop.
I eventually stopped playing with $2500. Although I was very tempted to carry on as there were 4 players out of 7 that are amongst the worst Omaha players I have ever encountered they were all playing crazy and I knew I would go on tilt if one of them outdrew me with a miracle.
My stats below are quite interesting as well. I was the biggest winner on the table and yet probably saw the least flops by a mile. Some of the players must have been up around 60-80% of flops seen. My 12% flops seen statistic is very low but on such a loose aggressive table, pre-flop hand selection is crucial. Most of them were living by the saying, “Any four cards are good.”
games played 153
flops seen 12%
games won 13%
showdowns won 72%
Monday, December 06, 2004
Brighton Xmas Festival Main Event – 104 runners
Day 1
Starting chips of 7500.
I drove down to Brighton feeling pretty confident after my amazing night online the night before. I decided on a change of tactics. Normally I play like a Rock for the first couple of hours and try and hit monsters but for this event I thought I for the first two levels I would get involved in alot of flops whilst the blinds were low. I managed to bluff a lot of hands and was never called down during the first level. Everyone on my table was playing tight and there was no-one on my table except locals I think. It was very quiet as we were upstairs and the only background noise was Paul Parker chatting on the other table. I purposely showed the table AK twice and QQ when raising pre flop to try and maintain a tight image for the hand that I bluffed. A check raise when I had TT on a J34 flop got someone to lay down JQ. I was moved halfway through the second level and decided to sit back for a bit as I had progressed my stack to a healthy 13000 chips. At the start of level three with the blinds at 100/200 I have 73 on the big blind and there are two callers plus the small blind. The flop comes 732 and the small blind bets 800 and I just call. The button raises it to 2500 and the small blind passes. I reraise another 4000 chips and the button thinks for a few minutes then shows 99 and passes. That was a nice pot to pick up. Level 4 and 5 I wasn’t really involved in many big hands and managed to get my stack up to 23000 chips and am above the chips average. My table is broken up again and I’m moved to the main table that is used for the final. Hopefully I won’t be moved again now. My cards went cold for ages but I managed to maintain my chip count with a couple of moves. By the time the blinds had reached 500/1000 we were down to three tables and my chip count was about 25000.
I find 66 on the big blind and all pass round to the small blind that went all in for 6000. I call and he flops over 6A. Perfect I think till the evil A is first card down on the flop. That hand really harmed my stack as 31000 would have kept me around the chip average but instead I am down 19000. Stole a few blinds to stop me being blinded away and was on 20000 chips by the time we were down to two tables and blinds were 1000/2000. I liked one hand I played just because of the reaction it caused at the table. I am on the button and under the gun calls the 2000 blind. I think for a minute and raise all in for 20000 chips. Small blind and big blind pass. UTG caller M Latiffe who is the chip leader goes into the think tank and eventually passes and shows AT and says you got me! I turn over 25. He goes mad and I just smile away happily. Other notable hands saw me lay down 77 when I raise to 4000 and someone goes over the top for another 10000. Soon it was 3.15am and I have 20000 chips with blinds of 1500/3000. I decide that I am not coming all the way back from London with such short chips for the second day so I raise all in on 3 of the last 4 hands and manage to steal the blinds with 2K, 27 and 33. So I ended the day with just over 30000 chips. Not great but we were down last 15 runners.
Day 2
Brighton management decided to give us a full 45 minute clock with blinds of 1500/3000 so at least I had a few rounds that I could watch the action pass by if I got no cards.
I started off very well winning a small pot in a small blind v big blind when I milk 6000 chips when I hit a flush on the flop. Also a few of my pre flop raises are not contested so I get up to a reasonable stack of 45000 and a few players have hit the rails. Then this hand did me some damage. With blinds of 2000/4000 I find 88 one seat of the button. I raise to 12000 and the small blind goes all in for 40000. I eventually pass after figuring that this player must either have me in a very bad position with an overpair or AK. He had been playing quite tight as well. A few round go by and I am down to about 15000 chips and find KK and a someone raises pre flop and calls my all in. I double up v AT. We were down to 12 players now and I have about 30000 chips when my tournament effectively ended. I pick up 99 and under the gun raises to 10000. I think and move all in and everyone passes. UTG says “You may have me in bad shape but I’m calling.” He shows AT. Two people say they passed Aces so I figure I’m in very good shape. Flop 25T. No help on the turn or the river and I am down to a measly 2500. However I hit two miracle flushes on the river and get back to 20000. Maybe this could be my day. I pick up JQ suited in position and go all in again. Big blind calls and shows 44. I am out in 12th.
Overall I know I played well throughout the tournament. I rarely had good hands and most of pots I picked up through bluffing. Before the last few hands I only called twice all in and both times I had my opponents dominated. However, my frustration at these big events is growing. I have been in the money in 3 of the last four big events I have entered. Each time I have gambled on a really major hand for all my chips I have lost. My AQ v AJ affectively ended my chances in the EPT in London costing me over half my chips making my position impossible for the second day. I lost with AT v KJ to go out in 5th in the £300 freezeout during the Vic festival. This time I lost two coin flips 99 v AT and the losing to 44 when I had JQ. Its just so frustrating playing for so long and in the end feeling like it was a waste of time and effort.
Starting chips of 7500.
I drove down to Brighton feeling pretty confident after my amazing night online the night before. I decided on a change of tactics. Normally I play like a Rock for the first couple of hours and try and hit monsters but for this event I thought I for the first two levels I would get involved in alot of flops whilst the blinds were low. I managed to bluff a lot of hands and was never called down during the first level. Everyone on my table was playing tight and there was no-one on my table except locals I think. It was very quiet as we were upstairs and the only background noise was Paul Parker chatting on the other table. I purposely showed the table AK twice and QQ when raising pre flop to try and maintain a tight image for the hand that I bluffed. A check raise when I had TT on a J34 flop got someone to lay down JQ. I was moved halfway through the second level and decided to sit back for a bit as I had progressed my stack to a healthy 13000 chips. At the start of level three with the blinds at 100/200 I have 73 on the big blind and there are two callers plus the small blind. The flop comes 732 and the small blind bets 800 and I just call. The button raises it to 2500 and the small blind passes. I reraise another 4000 chips and the button thinks for a few minutes then shows 99 and passes. That was a nice pot to pick up. Level 4 and 5 I wasn’t really involved in many big hands and managed to get my stack up to 23000 chips and am above the chips average. My table is broken up again and I’m moved to the main table that is used for the final. Hopefully I won’t be moved again now. My cards went cold for ages but I managed to maintain my chip count with a couple of moves. By the time the blinds had reached 500/1000 we were down to three tables and my chip count was about 25000.
I find 66 on the big blind and all pass round to the small blind that went all in for 6000. I call and he flops over 6A. Perfect I think till the evil A is first card down on the flop. That hand really harmed my stack as 31000 would have kept me around the chip average but instead I am down 19000. Stole a few blinds to stop me being blinded away and was on 20000 chips by the time we were down to two tables and blinds were 1000/2000. I liked one hand I played just because of the reaction it caused at the table. I am on the button and under the gun calls the 2000 blind. I think for a minute and raise all in for 20000 chips. Small blind and big blind pass. UTG caller M Latiffe who is the chip leader goes into the think tank and eventually passes and shows AT and says you got me! I turn over 25. He goes mad and I just smile away happily. Other notable hands saw me lay down 77 when I raise to 4000 and someone goes over the top for another 10000. Soon it was 3.15am and I have 20000 chips with blinds of 1500/3000. I decide that I am not coming all the way back from London with such short chips for the second day so I raise all in on 3 of the last 4 hands and manage to steal the blinds with 2K, 27 and 33. So I ended the day with just over 30000 chips. Not great but we were down last 15 runners.
Day 2
Brighton management decided to give us a full 45 minute clock with blinds of 1500/3000 so at least I had a few rounds that I could watch the action pass by if I got no cards.
I started off very well winning a small pot in a small blind v big blind when I milk 6000 chips when I hit a flush on the flop. Also a few of my pre flop raises are not contested so I get up to a reasonable stack of 45000 and a few players have hit the rails. Then this hand did me some damage. With blinds of 2000/4000 I find 88 one seat of the button. I raise to 12000 and the small blind goes all in for 40000. I eventually pass after figuring that this player must either have me in a very bad position with an overpair or AK. He had been playing quite tight as well. A few round go by and I am down to about 15000 chips and find KK and a someone raises pre flop and calls my all in. I double up v AT. We were down to 12 players now and I have about 30000 chips when my tournament effectively ended. I pick up 99 and under the gun raises to 10000. I think and move all in and everyone passes. UTG says “You may have me in bad shape but I’m calling.” He shows AT. Two people say they passed Aces so I figure I’m in very good shape. Flop 25T. No help on the turn or the river and I am down to a measly 2500. However I hit two miracle flushes on the river and get back to 20000. Maybe this could be my day. I pick up JQ suited in position and go all in again. Big blind calls and shows 44. I am out in 12th.
Overall I know I played well throughout the tournament. I rarely had good hands and most of pots I picked up through bluffing. Before the last few hands I only called twice all in and both times I had my opponents dominated. However, my frustration at these big events is growing. I have been in the money in 3 of the last four big events I have entered. Each time I have gambled on a really major hand for all my chips I have lost. My AQ v AJ affectively ended my chances in the EPT in London costing me over half my chips making my position impossible for the second day. I lost with AT v KJ to go out in 5th in the £300 freezeout during the Vic festival. This time I lost two coin flips 99 v AT and the losing to 44 when I had JQ. Its just so frustrating playing for so long and in the end feeling like it was a waste of time and effort.
Fantastic Friday on Betfair
Well I pretty much played poker all weekend. On Friday night I played on Betfair and managed to have my most successful online night to date. Started on the £2.50/5 Omaha table and was in for £1000 when my hands started to stand up and my draws were coming in. One remarkable hand saw me call a £300 bet on the turn with 4 other players calling and I had a Gutshot and an Ace Flush draw. The flush comes and I bet £600 and get 4 callers! Wow I couldn’t have dreamt of that. That put a few on tilt and I finished up on the Omaha table with £4500.
About midnight I decided to also start playing a $5/$10 NL Hold em game as well. Started with $700 and had a few interesting hands. Second hand in I manage to double up when I flop a set with my 77 on a 7Q2 flop when my opponent had QK. That put me up to $1500. Won a few more smallish pots and soon found myself with $2000. Then this hand happened. Two limpers and I have got 9hTh on the button. I decide to try and steal the blinds and pop in a raise to $100. Three callers yikes. Flop come 2s3c8h … not good but it checks round to me and I think a reasonable bet here could win the pot representing an overpair. I bet $300 and get two callers… hmmm I don’t like this hand now. Turn brings a 7h… just about the dream card for me. I am up and down for the straight flush and there is $1400 in the pot. Assuming my flush is good I now have a monster draw with 17 cards that I think will give me the winning hand. It’s checked round to me! I think that one of my opponents is either slow playing a very high pair or has flopped a set and so a raise from me and they could set me in for my remaining $1500. I also figure that if one of them does have a high pair or a set they are going to call me down if I make it. So I check. Last card is a 6d to give me the absolute nuts. Both check again and I now have to decide how much to bet. I’m sure now with this board that a high pair may call and a set thinks they have me trapped. I bet the $1500 and get instantly called by the under the gun player. The other player also gives it the think tank. I have to be happy with one caller here though and scoop a monster $4500 pot. The guy who called had 33 and gave me a tirade of expletives in the chat box. I don’t think I played the hand wrong and it shows why slowplaying is so dangerous. If he had bet the $1500 on the turn when the dangerous flush draw appeared I may have passed. The other guy typed into the chat box that he had QQ. The guy who lost the massive pot started playing like a lunatic and I found AK and called his pre flop raise of $100. Flop comes down K56 rainbow. I check and he bets out $300 and I raise him $450 which would put him all in. He starts swearing at me again in the chat box and finally calls and shows 79. He called $450 with a Gutshot. He misses and I pick up another pot of $1750 and finish on the table with $6500.
About midnight I decided to also start playing a $5/$10 NL Hold em game as well. Started with $700 and had a few interesting hands. Second hand in I manage to double up when I flop a set with my 77 on a 7Q2 flop when my opponent had QK. That put me up to $1500. Won a few more smallish pots and soon found myself with $2000. Then this hand happened. Two limpers and I have got 9hTh on the button. I decide to try and steal the blinds and pop in a raise to $100. Three callers yikes. Flop come 2s3c8h … not good but it checks round to me and I think a reasonable bet here could win the pot representing an overpair. I bet $300 and get two callers… hmmm I don’t like this hand now. Turn brings a 7h… just about the dream card for me. I am up and down for the straight flush and there is $1400 in the pot. Assuming my flush is good I now have a monster draw with 17 cards that I think will give me the winning hand. It’s checked round to me! I think that one of my opponents is either slow playing a very high pair or has flopped a set and so a raise from me and they could set me in for my remaining $1500. I also figure that if one of them does have a high pair or a set they are going to call me down if I make it. So I check. Last card is a 6d to give me the absolute nuts. Both check again and I now have to decide how much to bet. I’m sure now with this board that a high pair may call and a set thinks they have me trapped. I bet the $1500 and get instantly called by the under the gun player. The other player also gives it the think tank. I have to be happy with one caller here though and scoop a monster $4500 pot. The guy who called had 33 and gave me a tirade of expletives in the chat box. I don’t think I played the hand wrong and it shows why slowplaying is so dangerous. If he had bet the $1500 on the turn when the dangerous flush draw appeared I may have passed. The other guy typed into the chat box that he had QQ. The guy who lost the massive pot started playing like a lunatic and I found AK and called his pre flop raise of $100. Flop comes down K56 rainbow. I check and he bets out $300 and I raise him $450 which would put him all in. He starts swearing at me again in the chat box and finally calls and shows 79. He called $450 with a Gutshot. He misses and I pick up another pot of $1750 and finish on the table with $6500.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Betfair Promotions
I see Betfair have some very good promotions for December. Click on the banner above to have a look. If i had the time i would have a go at the leaderboard as you get points for winning £1 SitnGos and the winner gets a package to the WSOP 2005.
Lack of poker action
Not much to report this week. Been to busy celebrating the beginning of the Xmas month to play any poker. I am going to play in the £500 freezeout in Brighton on Saturday. My first live tournament poker since I was knocked out of the EPT event in London. Talking of EPT events I see they are holding one in Denmark. Hmmm well that tempts me as I’ve always wanted to go to Copenhagen.
I have a new strategy for the Brighton freezeout this weekend. Will report back on how it goes.
I have a new strategy for the Brighton freezeout this weekend. Will report back on how it goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)