I decided to give the tournament a go despite thinking the structure wasn't exactly player friendly.
Had an interesting table to say the least... Jan Boubli, Mafews (big net player) who I have probably played more against that any live player I know, Steve Vladar, Sonny Nijran, John Gale (who seems to stalk me wherever I sit), Willi Tann and another couple of players I don't know by name. I got really lucky early on against Willie. Blinds of 50/100. Few limpers and Willie makes it 600 from from late position. I call as do the others limpers. Flop A49. I had put Willie on AAxx but it got checked to me on the button. Now I convince myself he either has AKQJ or KKQQ or something like that. So I bet 1600. He moves in for 3200 after the others pass and I call. Oops... he does have AAxx but of course the 2 pops up on the turn to give me the nut straight.
Lost my chips on this hand but I must say "I WAS RIGHT"
Not with the play in particular, but with the discussion afterwards.
A few limpers and I had quite a lot of chips so made it 600 to play with 4578 one suit. Tight player to my left raised the pot leaving him with about 5000 chips. Now I know he has Aces. Everyone else passes. I think then decide I can take a flop and get away from it easily enough. Flop 67J rainbow. I put him all in. He calls immediately. He has AAQK one suit and calls. I have any 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 or 9. All of which practically kill the hand dead. 19 cards in all.
Turn and river are evil for my hand and I lose a 16000 chip pot.
Cue some friendly banter between me, mafews and sonny about my odds when I move in. At first I said 70/30 in my favour and they laughed. In fact, Sonny was willing to bet me £10000 that it wasn't over 60%.
The more I thought about it I was convinced it was nearer 70%. Well here it is... straight from the Hendon Mob calculator.
My hand was 69.47% chance of winning after the flop.
Its the EPT main event draw today at 2.30pm. Fingers crossed i get to play today.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Wow Part 2
I managed to win the £250 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. So chuffed... i love tournaments again! :-)
I can't really remember that many hands.. well a few from the final mainly. Day 1 was a bit of a grind. Had a table full of tight players except for John Gale to my left who is was involved in alot of hands and he built up a healthy stack. Despite talking a good game (I'd had a few drinks), i think must have only raised about five hands the entire evening preflop. I just can't bring myself to raise with trash in Hi/Lo as you always get callers and i wasn't seeing many good cards.
I didn't rebuy and i can remember winning two big hands. First one, i ended up in a three way pot with A2T4 ds against Gryko and one other guy. All my chips in preflop as i was short. Me and Gryko had the nut straight with a card to come but i made the Ace flush to scoop. I think i had about 9000 when Richard Ashby aka Chufty raised or limped in early position and moved half my chips in with AAJ6. It flopped 24T. Hardly ideal, but i was committed. He had A3xx. Luckily the board paired and a high card on the river doubled me up. I managed to get up to 40000 at one point. However the blinds were 2000/4000 and i was soon back down to 20000 by the time we reached the final table.
Final table had Woody Deck who came second in the last one, Ian Turner the winner of the last one, John Gale, Greg Raymer, and Chandra who is one of my Vic boks, and a few others i don't know the names of. The blinds were 2000/4000 for day 2 so i had hardly any play with my 20000 chips (5 BB). I decided the first semi decent hand i would move in. I must have been all in about 15 times throughout the final table and survived, getting lucky twice. I was in huge trouble with seven left when i committed my last 28000 with KKT4 and faced AAxx, and i made Kings over on the turn.
I never amassed a big stack but whenever i moved in and i was called, my hand prevailed. I got very lucky against Woody once. I had KJT4 in the SB and called the big blind which was 6000. He raised 12000 and i called. Flop J23 rainbow. I hated my hand but as over a third of my chips were already in the pot i decided to gamble. He had AAxx and i made two pair and split the pot.
With four remaining me, Chandra, Woody and John Gale all had similar chips. Chandra then raged a path of destruction and outdrew Woody and John and we were heads up. I had 90000 and he had about 350000. My tactic was to try and play as many flops as possible. Blinds were 4000/8000.
I made up the SB on the button with QQ52. He raised. My hand is ok heads up so i call. Flop Q55. What a hit. He checked surprisingly and so did i. Turn a J. He checked. I put a small bet of 20000 out and he passed. Damn.
I won the blinds a few times when we got involved in a huge pot. I had 160000 by now to his 280000. I had 39JK ds. I limped again. He raised. I thought about passing but decided to see a flop. Flop AT2 all diamonds to give me the Jack flush. He bet 48000 and i moved in. He called. He had a an A and a low draw. Turn and river both high and i scooped a huge pot with my flush.
It wasn't long before it nearly ended. He raised on the button and i called with A3TQ with A flush draw in spades. He raised. I took a flop which was 9T3 two spades. I checked and he bet the pot and i moved in. He called with 9K25. So my two pair was in great shape. Turn 6 spades to give me the nut flush. River a low to split. I feared the tide had turned again.
I think it was the next hand i found my best starting hand of the whole tournament AA2K. I limped hoping he would raise the blinds as usual. He did. I put him all in and he called with KK94. Please no case King. He missed and i picked up the first prize and the trophy.
I probably have missed out loads of key hands but there were so many that its a bit of a haze. When i blogged here i said one of my main aims in the next six months was to win a ranking tournament. To have done it so quickly after setting the target feels very good, especially in PL Hi/Lo Omaha.
My tournament form hasn't been that great in the last few months so hopefully things will get better from here.
I can't really remember that many hands.. well a few from the final mainly. Day 1 was a bit of a grind. Had a table full of tight players except for John Gale to my left who is was involved in alot of hands and he built up a healthy stack. Despite talking a good game (I'd had a few drinks), i think must have only raised about five hands the entire evening preflop. I just can't bring myself to raise with trash in Hi/Lo as you always get callers and i wasn't seeing many good cards.
I didn't rebuy and i can remember winning two big hands. First one, i ended up in a three way pot with A2T4 ds against Gryko and one other guy. All my chips in preflop as i was short. Me and Gryko had the nut straight with a card to come but i made the Ace flush to scoop. I think i had about 9000 when Richard Ashby aka Chufty raised or limped in early position and moved half my chips in with AAJ6. It flopped 24T. Hardly ideal, but i was committed. He had A3xx. Luckily the board paired and a high card on the river doubled me up. I managed to get up to 40000 at one point. However the blinds were 2000/4000 and i was soon back down to 20000 by the time we reached the final table.
Final table had Woody Deck who came second in the last one, Ian Turner the winner of the last one, John Gale, Greg Raymer, and Chandra who is one of my Vic boks, and a few others i don't know the names of. The blinds were 2000/4000 for day 2 so i had hardly any play with my 20000 chips (5 BB). I decided the first semi decent hand i would move in. I must have been all in about 15 times throughout the final table and survived, getting lucky twice. I was in huge trouble with seven left when i committed my last 28000 with KKT4 and faced AAxx, and i made Kings over on the turn.
I never amassed a big stack but whenever i moved in and i was called, my hand prevailed. I got very lucky against Woody once. I had KJT4 in the SB and called the big blind which was 6000. He raised 12000 and i called. Flop J23 rainbow. I hated my hand but as over a third of my chips were already in the pot i decided to gamble. He had AAxx and i made two pair and split the pot.
With four remaining me, Chandra, Woody and John Gale all had similar chips. Chandra then raged a path of destruction and outdrew Woody and John and we were heads up. I had 90000 and he had about 350000. My tactic was to try and play as many flops as possible. Blinds were 4000/8000.
I made up the SB on the button with QQ52. He raised. My hand is ok heads up so i call. Flop Q55. What a hit. He checked surprisingly and so did i. Turn a J. He checked. I put a small bet of 20000 out and he passed. Damn.
I won the blinds a few times when we got involved in a huge pot. I had 160000 by now to his 280000. I had 39JK ds. I limped again. He raised. I thought about passing but decided to see a flop. Flop AT2 all diamonds to give me the Jack flush. He bet 48000 and i moved in. He called. He had a an A and a low draw. Turn and river both high and i scooped a huge pot with my flush.
It wasn't long before it nearly ended. He raised on the button and i called with A3TQ with A flush draw in spades. He raised. I took a flop which was 9T3 two spades. I checked and he bet the pot and i moved in. He called with 9K25. So my two pair was in great shape. Turn 6 spades to give me the nut flush. River a low to split. I feared the tide had turned again.
I think it was the next hand i found my best starting hand of the whole tournament AA2K. I limped hoping he would raise the blinds as usual. He did. I put him all in and he called with KK94. Please no case King. He missed and i picked up the first prize and the trophy.
I probably have missed out loads of key hands but there were so many that its a bit of a haze. When i blogged here i said one of my main aims in the next six months was to win a ranking tournament. To have done it so quickly after setting the target feels very good, especially in PL Hi/Lo Omaha.
My tournament form hasn't been that great in the last few months so hopefully things will get better from here.
Wow
I managed to make the final table of the £250 Omaha Hi/Lo. This has been some kind of personal mission of mine since i have been so unlucky here and here in the last two of these events..... it doesn't even matter if i go out eighth or ninth which seems very likely as i have only about 7 big blinds when i return. When playing hand for hand with ten players left i lost about half my stack due to the size of the blinds. I passed some hands i probably should have played but finishing 10th would have forced me to retire from Hi/Lo tournaments forever.
Greg Raymer was also there and made the final nine players.
My run finally ended on the tables of Betfair. Dropped £4500 on Monday which is ok considering the form i had been in of late. It was due to happen sooner rather than later i suppose.....
Greg Raymer was also there and made the final nine players.
My run finally ended on the tables of Betfair. Dropped £4500 on Monday which is ok considering the form i had been in of late. It was due to happen sooner rather than later i suppose.....
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Run continues... but only just
I played yesterday for a few hours on the £5/£10 NL Holdem and $10/$20 PL Omaha tables.....
I was hitting cards big style in the NL Holdem... well compared to whenever i play tournaments these days i was. Playing six handed i hit a queen flush, king flush v lower flushes both times. Had set over set... higher straight over smaller straight! I was down to £450 from my starting £1000 so was happy to finish up with £1800.
The PL Omaha it was an extremely strange session. Four handed. There was an absolute lunatic playing that i have never played with before and he did get me on tilt i have to admit... i did make one call i was very pleased which i will come to. I don't often brand players lunatics, but i defy anyone who has the pleasure of facing this player to think otherwise.
- I lost $2000 almost immedietly. Called a raise with 79TJ double suited. Flop 89J with two of my suit. Second nut straight, flush draw and top two pair all in v bottom set. Turn K. River K.
- Reloaded again for $2000. Held A678 with A flush draw in hearts. Flop 59Q with two hearts. All got in again and lost to a full house. Fair enough.
- Reload number three. Built up to $3000 when this happened. I held 5QKA preflop. Call a raise before the flop on the button. Flop 55A. Original raiser bets $200. I make it $600. He calls. Turn T. He bets $600. Hmmm i call. River 9. he bets $800. I call. He shows ATT9. I may have typed lucky fish into the chatbox. Oops.
- Managed to get back up to $3600 again. Maniac got me again. I held TTA9. Bare Ace hearts. I raise. He reraises. I call. Flop T45 with two hearts. He checks. i bet $400. He calls. Turn 9 hearts. He checks. I bet $1000. He check raises me another $2000. Very irritated by that hand. I pass.
- I was now sitting on about $2000 and the maniac had $8000. Most of which was my money. I made $1000 of him when he couldn't lay down Aces on a 567 flop. I then called him down with the King flush when he bet flop, turn and river. He had the 7 flush. I was up to $4000.
- Probably the key hand of the session. I held 9dTdQhKh. He made it $90 on the cut off. I made it $200 on big blind. He called. Flop 2hJhKc. A decent flop for my hand. I bet $300. He calls. I put him on some kind of draw. Straight draw or flush draw. He wasn't the slowplaying type so i could rule out a set immedietly. Turn 2c. Not a great card. I still think my King may be winning and he may pass to the scare card. So i bet $500. He calls. River a Qc to bring the backdoor flush. Horrible card for me. I check. He bets $1300 into a pot of $2010. I am losing to any flush, ATxx, any house and even a rag 2. I quickly process the information in my head and am convinced he had a busted Ace flush draw in hearts. It was a question of whether he had a Ten with it. I call. He shows 3c6s5hAh and i win a pot of $4610 with the small straight. There are very few times i would make that call, but after playing with that opponent for two hours i just had to call.
- The hand that wiped him out came not so long after. I held JJQK and reraised him preflop from the button. Flop T55. He checked. I bet $400. He calls. Turn J. He checks. I bet $400 again. He calls. River 8. He bets $2000. I go all in. He calls and mucks.
Considering i was in for $6000 i was very pleased to finish with $9000.
Today i think i am going to play a few tournaments just for a change.....
Next week is the Vic festival. Normally i aim to play in as many tournaments as possible. Not this time though. The £1000 NL Holdem just doesn't have a structure that appeals to me and the £1000 PL Omaha has been made a one day event apparantly due to the start of the EPT on Friday. A £1000 tournament a one day affair? You can make your own minds up about that.
I will play in the £250 Hi/Lo again. I obviously want to build up a huge stack and go out to a miracle on the bubble like has happened the last two times i have played it. Playing the £3000 EPT main event as well. After the Vic festival i fly directly to Austria to play in the 4000 Euro EPT main event in Baden as well. I may play the Gutshot main event as well if the Vic EPT doesn't go to plan. I came 3rd in the last festival main event and i could do with some of that form returning.
I was hitting cards big style in the NL Holdem... well compared to whenever i play tournaments these days i was. Playing six handed i hit a queen flush, king flush v lower flushes both times. Had set over set... higher straight over smaller straight! I was down to £450 from my starting £1000 so was happy to finish up with £1800.
The PL Omaha it was an extremely strange session. Four handed. There was an absolute lunatic playing that i have never played with before and he did get me on tilt i have to admit... i did make one call i was very pleased which i will come to. I don't often brand players lunatics, but i defy anyone who has the pleasure of facing this player to think otherwise.
- I lost $2000 almost immedietly. Called a raise with 79TJ double suited. Flop 89J with two of my suit. Second nut straight, flush draw and top two pair all in v bottom set. Turn K. River K.
- Reloaded again for $2000. Held A678 with A flush draw in hearts. Flop 59Q with two hearts. All got in again and lost to a full house. Fair enough.
- Reload number three. Built up to $3000 when this happened. I held 5QKA preflop. Call a raise before the flop on the button. Flop 55A. Original raiser bets $200. I make it $600. He calls. Turn T. He bets $600. Hmmm i call. River 9. he bets $800. I call. He shows ATT9. I may have typed lucky fish into the chatbox. Oops.
- Managed to get back up to $3600 again. Maniac got me again. I held TTA9. Bare Ace hearts. I raise. He reraises. I call. Flop T45 with two hearts. He checks. i bet $400. He calls. Turn 9 hearts. He checks. I bet $1000. He check raises me another $2000. Very irritated by that hand. I pass.
- I was now sitting on about $2000 and the maniac had $8000. Most of which was my money. I made $1000 of him when he couldn't lay down Aces on a 567 flop. I then called him down with the King flush when he bet flop, turn and river. He had the 7 flush. I was up to $4000.
- Probably the key hand of the session. I held 9dTdQhKh. He made it $90 on the cut off. I made it $200 on big blind. He called. Flop 2hJhKc. A decent flop for my hand. I bet $300. He calls. I put him on some kind of draw. Straight draw or flush draw. He wasn't the slowplaying type so i could rule out a set immedietly. Turn 2c. Not a great card. I still think my King may be winning and he may pass to the scare card. So i bet $500. He calls. River a Qc to bring the backdoor flush. Horrible card for me. I check. He bets $1300 into a pot of $2010. I am losing to any flush, ATxx, any house and even a rag 2. I quickly process the information in my head and am convinced he had a busted Ace flush draw in hearts. It was a question of whether he had a Ten with it. I call. He shows 3c6s5hAh and i win a pot of $4610 with the small straight. There are very few times i would make that call, but after playing with that opponent for two hours i just had to call.
- The hand that wiped him out came not so long after. I held JJQK and reraised him preflop from the button. Flop T55. He checked. I bet $400. He calls. Turn J. He checks. I bet $400 again. He calls. River 8. He bets $2000. I go all in. He calls and mucks.
Considering i was in for $6000 i was very pleased to finish with $9000.
Today i think i am going to play a few tournaments just for a change.....
Next week is the Vic festival. Normally i aim to play in as many tournaments as possible. Not this time though. The £1000 NL Holdem just doesn't have a structure that appeals to me and the £1000 PL Omaha has been made a one day event apparantly due to the start of the EPT on Friday. A £1000 tournament a one day affair? You can make your own minds up about that.
I will play in the £250 Hi/Lo again. I obviously want to build up a huge stack and go out to a miracle on the bubble like has happened the last two times i have played it. Playing the £3000 EPT main event as well. After the Vic festival i fly directly to Austria to play in the 4000 Euro EPT main event in Baden as well. I may play the Gutshot main event as well if the Vic EPT doesn't go to plan. I came 3rd in the last festival main event and i could do with some of that form returning.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Insane Form
I am on a run at online poker like nothing i have ever had in my life at the moment. After i blogged here on September 4th with my six month results, things have just got better and better. Playing $10/$20 PL Omaha 90% of the time, my figures since that day for when i have played are +$2070 per hour. I mostly play one or two tables, so i work it out that i have been winning between 60-80 big blinds per hour.
I am almost afraid to play as the run must end with some horrible losses surely. I have won 16 days on the trot when i have played which is just completely ridiculous. Also since i had my worst ever online day which i posted here, i have had 24 out of 26 winning days. This madness must end. At such a high variance game such as Omaha the swings can't just keep going up and up.
After i wrote my poker blog yesterday i had a couple of sessions. The first on the £10/£20 NL Holdem and the second multitabling at Omaha. I won £6000 by the end of the day.
The £10/£20 NL Holdem
- I started with £1750. I was treading water for about an hour and had £1850 in front of me when this happened. I called a raise to £40 with 4h5h and four of us saw a flop of 2d3d8s. I bet £45 and on player check raised it to £120. I called. Turn the Ah to give me the nuts. He bet £200. I thought about slowplaying then decided not to. So i made it £666. He moved in and i called. He showed 88 for a set and it didn't pair so i was up to £3800.
Didn't play a hand that i lost more than £150 on and ended up leaving with £3350.
The $10/$20 PL Omaha. 5 or 6 handed for the session.
- Ridiculous first hand. Someone raised. I called with TTA9. A few of us saw a flop of T65 with two hearts and i had the Ace flush draw and TTT. All the money goes in three way. One player had 66xx. The other 789x. Turn 7. River rag. I thought that was the start of a downswing.
- I held QQ44 and made it $100. to Play on the button. Flop 44A. I was hitting quads lots. Checked to me. I bet $100 into a pot of $500. One call. Turn 3. He checked. I bet $200. He made it $400. I called. River 3. He checked. I bet $500. He called and showed AKxx.
- Early position raiser. I had AA35 ds. After a couple of callers i managed to make it $530 to play from the SB. One caller. Flop 36J rainbow. I bet $1000. Opponent goes all in for $1300. I call. He shows JQQ3. Turn 2. River a 4 to give me the straight.
- I have AA43. I raise to $60 in early position. Another player reraises it to $200. I decide to just call. Flop 667. I check. He checks. turn a 2. I check. He bets $400. I make it $1000 and he passes. I show my hand and he said he had Aces as well.
- Another lucky aces hand for me. I have AAJJ double suited. Get into a raising war with one opponent. He has $1100 and it goes in preflop. He shows AAK9 double suited. Flop J43 rainbow and i win another big pot.
This one happened on the $5/$10 table. I had turned my second $1000 buy in into $3000. 5 handed.
- I called a raise with 5d8d3cAd on the burron. Yes garbage i know but i was hitting. Four of us see the flop of 552. Original raiser bets $200. I decide to make it $600 as there was a flush draw there. He calls. I think he must have a 5 now. Turn a 3. He checks. I bet $550. He calls. River a 5 to give me quads. He checks. I bet $2000 and he moved in for $1670. Nice.
I am almost afraid to play as the run must end with some horrible losses surely. I have won 16 days on the trot when i have played which is just completely ridiculous. Also since i had my worst ever online day which i posted here, i have had 24 out of 26 winning days. This madness must end. At such a high variance game such as Omaha the swings can't just keep going up and up.
After i wrote my poker blog yesterday i had a couple of sessions. The first on the £10/£20 NL Holdem and the second multitabling at Omaha. I won £6000 by the end of the day.
The £10/£20 NL Holdem
- I started with £1750. I was treading water for about an hour and had £1850 in front of me when this happened. I called a raise to £40 with 4h5h and four of us saw a flop of 2d3d8s. I bet £45 and on player check raised it to £120. I called. Turn the Ah to give me the nuts. He bet £200. I thought about slowplaying then decided not to. So i made it £666. He moved in and i called. He showed 88 for a set and it didn't pair so i was up to £3800.
Didn't play a hand that i lost more than £150 on and ended up leaving with £3350.
The $10/$20 PL Omaha. 5 or 6 handed for the session.
- Ridiculous first hand. Someone raised. I called with TTA9. A few of us saw a flop of T65 with two hearts and i had the Ace flush draw and TTT. All the money goes in three way. One player had 66xx. The other 789x. Turn 7. River rag. I thought that was the start of a downswing.
- I held QQ44 and made it $100. to Play on the button. Flop 44A. I was hitting quads lots. Checked to me. I bet $100 into a pot of $500. One call. Turn 3. He checked. I bet $200. He made it $400. I called. River 3. He checked. I bet $500. He called and showed AKxx.
- Early position raiser. I had AA35 ds. After a couple of callers i managed to make it $530 to play from the SB. One caller. Flop 36J rainbow. I bet $1000. Opponent goes all in for $1300. I call. He shows JQQ3. Turn 2. River a 4 to give me the straight.
- I have AA43. I raise to $60 in early position. Another player reraises it to $200. I decide to just call. Flop 667. I check. He checks. turn a 2. I check. He bets $400. I make it $1000 and he passes. I show my hand and he said he had Aces as well.
- Another lucky aces hand for me. I have AAJJ double suited. Get into a raising war with one opponent. He has $1100 and it goes in preflop. He shows AAK9 double suited. Flop J43 rainbow and i win another big pot.
This one happened on the $5/$10 table. I had turned my second $1000 buy in into $3000. 5 handed.
- I called a raise with 5d8d3cAd on the burron. Yes garbage i know but i was hitting. Four of us see the flop of 552. Original raiser bets $200. I decide to make it $600 as there was a flush draw there. He calls. I think he must have a 5 now. Turn a 3. He checks. I bet $550. He calls. River a 5 to give me quads. He checks. I bet $2000 and he moved in for $1670. Nice.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Some NL Holdem
I have started taking some tentative steps back into playing the NL Holdem cash games on Betfair. I have played some $10/$20 and £10/£20 short handed games.
So far i am about £1100 up.... so not bad.
Some hands i have played.
£10/£20 - Six handed. I have £1100. I raise UTG with AK to £66. Middle player makes it £200. The button calls. I call. Flop A22. Unless the unlikely scenario that one of my opponents has AA or 22 i probably have the hand locked up at the moment. I check. Middle position raiser makes it £200. Button passes. I call. Turn 3. I check. Middle position makes it £200 again. I call. River 7. I check. He bets £200 again. I go all in. He calls and mucks.
£10/£20 - Five handed. I have £2300. UTG limps. Cut off limps. I have AQs. I make it £120 to play. UTG limper calls and we are heads up. Flop 6QK. He checks. I bet £125. He makes it £250. I call (should have passed there). Turn A. He has just £500 left in front of him. He checks again. I bet £250. He goes all in. I call. He shows 66.
$10/$20 - Seven Handed. I have £1700. UTG makes it $50. I call with 6s7s as do five others. Flop 3s4s5h. Woohoo. Original raiser bets $150. I call. Button makes it $450. Passed to me. I move in. He calls with 5d6h. Turn blank. River a 7h to split the pot. FFS
$10/$20 - Five handed. I have $1400. I raise UTG to $66 with 8h9h. One caller. Flop JhQh2d. I bet $100. He makes it $200. I call. Turn a blank. I check. He bets $200. I call. River a heart. I bet $500 and he calls and shows J6.
I think the short handed tables are what appeals to me most. So i will continue to play a bit more Holdem unless i take a huge hit.
My form is still ridiculous on the Omaha tables. Two hands is all it took to wipe out three players.
$10/$20 - Four handed. I start with $1600. I raise on the button with AhQh6d7d. Everyone calls. Flop As6h2h. Checked to me. I bet $400. One caller. Turn Th. He checks. I bet $400. He moves all in. I call. He's drawing dead with a jack flush.
$10/$20 - Three handed. I have $3400. I raise it to $80 the big blind with KhKs9h9d. Button who had $400 in front of him makes it $175. SB calls. I raise it to $375. Button moves all in for $400 in total. SB calls. I now decide to reraise the pot to try and isolate the button and make the SB pass. So i reraise $1200. He calls. Not exactly what i was hoping for but i know he doesn't have Aces. Flop T62 rainbow. He checks. I put him all in for another $400. He calls. Cards on there backs. Button has JQKA and SB has 9JQQ. So i am in great shape barring a Q or runner runner. Turn a 2. Looking good. River a K just to make sure.
So far i am about £1100 up.... so not bad.
Some hands i have played.
£10/£20 - Six handed. I have £1100. I raise UTG with AK to £66. Middle player makes it £200. The button calls. I call. Flop A22. Unless the unlikely scenario that one of my opponents has AA or 22 i probably have the hand locked up at the moment. I check. Middle position raiser makes it £200. Button passes. I call. Turn 3. I check. Middle position makes it £200 again. I call. River 7. I check. He bets £200 again. I go all in. He calls and mucks.
£10/£20 - Five handed. I have £2300. UTG limps. Cut off limps. I have AQs. I make it £120 to play. UTG limper calls and we are heads up. Flop 6QK. He checks. I bet £125. He makes it £250. I call (should have passed there). Turn A. He has just £500 left in front of him. He checks again. I bet £250. He goes all in. I call. He shows 66.
$10/$20 - Seven Handed. I have £1700. UTG makes it $50. I call with 6s7s as do five others. Flop 3s4s5h. Woohoo. Original raiser bets $150. I call. Button makes it $450. Passed to me. I move in. He calls with 5d6h. Turn blank. River a 7h to split the pot. FFS
$10/$20 - Five handed. I have $1400. I raise UTG to $66 with 8h9h. One caller. Flop JhQh2d. I bet $100. He makes it $200. I call. Turn a blank. I check. He bets $200. I call. River a heart. I bet $500 and he calls and shows J6.
I think the short handed tables are what appeals to me most. So i will continue to play a bit more Holdem unless i take a huge hit.
My form is still ridiculous on the Omaha tables. Two hands is all it took to wipe out three players.
$10/$20 - Four handed. I start with $1600. I raise on the button with AhQh6d7d. Everyone calls. Flop As6h2h. Checked to me. I bet $400. One caller. Turn Th. He checks. I bet $400. He moves all in. I call. He's drawing dead with a jack flush.
$10/$20 - Three handed. I have $3400. I raise it to $80 the big blind with KhKs9h9d. Button who had $400 in front of him makes it $175. SB calls. I raise it to $375. Button moves all in for $400 in total. SB calls. I now decide to reraise the pot to try and isolate the button and make the SB pass. So i reraise $1200. He calls. Not exactly what i was hoping for but i know he doesn't have Aces. Flop T62 rainbow. He checks. I put him all in for another $400. He calls. Cards on there backs. Button has JQKA and SB has 9JQQ. So i am in great shape barring a Q or runner runner. Turn a 2. Looking good. River a K just to make sure.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Barcelona - Update 2 EPT main event
Hmmmm... i thought my tournament form couldn't get worse. But it seems to have found an all time low.
Got my chips up to 14000 after level one after i called a big bluff with the second pair on the board. For seven levels/five hours i saw AK once... highest pair was 99 which i had to lay down preflop... 77 once and 66 once. No AQ, AJ or even AT. Never had a hand where i actually wanted a caller at any point so that says it all.
Lost most of them on this hand. Early position raised to 500. Five limpers and i call on the button with JsQs. Flop 9sTsAh. Checked to me. I bet 3000. One reluctant looking caller. Turn Ac. He checks. I bet 3700. He calls. River a blank of course. Check...check. He shows A4.
Got my chips up to 14000 after level one after i called a big bluff with the second pair on the board. For seven levels/five hours i saw AK once... highest pair was 99 which i had to lay down preflop... 77 once and 66 once. No AQ, AJ or even AT. Never had a hand where i actually wanted a caller at any point so that says it all.
Lost most of them on this hand. Early position raised to 500. Five limpers and i call on the button with JsQs. Flop 9sTsAh. Checked to me. I bet 3000. One reluctant looking caller. Turn Ac. He checks. I bet 3700. He calls. River a blank of course. Check...check. He shows A4.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Barcelona - Update 1
I arrived and headed down to the casino to play the 500 Euro Pot Limit OHold'em. We started with 3000 chips and i doubled through on level 1 with QQ on a jack high flop. Card dead and missed everything for a couple of levels. I then bluffed off 2400 of my chips to someone i thought could lay down the hand i had correctly put them on. The last lot went in on a 9 high flop with J9 against 9K and i was out. Still, its the Pot Limit Omaha today so i should do slightly better i hope.
I'm still buzzing on the 10/20 tables. A few players were telling me just how bad the play is in the 10/20 Euro in the casino. At the moment though, i just can't do a thing wrong online so why change?
Richard Gryko is always amused that i always seem to flop the nuts and get paid off, so it was almost incredible that when he sat at the table last night the first hand i had was Quad Aces on the flop. Last night i must have raised with AAxx over ten times and at least 1/2 an Ace was appearing on the flop. I also had AAKK three times which is a record. Playing on the 2/5 i turned $500 into $4000 and on the 10/20 i wasn't doing so well, and was in for $5000 and then hit a few huge hands.
- I held KK88. There was a raise and reraise so i just called in the small blind. I had $3500 in front of me. Flop KT5 rainbow. I check and one player bets $400. The other passes. I call. Turn 9. I check... he checks. River a 9 to give me the house. I check... he bets $800. I reraise the pot and he calls and mucks. TTxx or 55xx surely.
- I then got lucky against Gryko. I held As 3s Ad Ks and he held Ah Ac 2s 6d. All the money went in the middle preflop. Flop 2d 5c 8h. Turn Th. River... yep of course 4s to give me the straight.
- I then won $4500 on this hand. I had 9TAQ. I raised preflop. two callers. Flop JQ5 rainbow. Checked to me. I bet $300. Turn 8 to give me the nuts and bring spade flush draw that i didn't have. I know this player always raises when i bet weak. He checks so i bet just $300 into a pot of $900. He pot reraises to $1500 to play. Hmmmm. I could easily move in here but he has a huge stack as well and could be freerolling me with a flush draw and straight. So i call. River a 6 and he bets just $700 and i reraise and he passes.
I'm still buzzing on the 10/20 tables. A few players were telling me just how bad the play is in the 10/20 Euro in the casino. At the moment though, i just can't do a thing wrong online so why change?
Richard Gryko is always amused that i always seem to flop the nuts and get paid off, so it was almost incredible that when he sat at the table last night the first hand i had was Quad Aces on the flop. Last night i must have raised with AAxx over ten times and at least 1/2 an Ace was appearing on the flop. I also had AAKK three times which is a record. Playing on the 2/5 i turned $500 into $4000 and on the 10/20 i wasn't doing so well, and was in for $5000 and then hit a few huge hands.
- I held KK88. There was a raise and reraise so i just called in the small blind. I had $3500 in front of me. Flop KT5 rainbow. I check and one player bets $400. The other passes. I call. Turn 9. I check... he checks. River a 9 to give me the house. I check... he bets $800. I reraise the pot and he calls and mucks. TTxx or 55xx surely.
- I then got lucky against Gryko. I held As 3s Ad Ks and he held Ah Ac 2s 6d. All the money went in the middle preflop. Flop 2d 5c 8h. Turn Th. River... yep of course 4s to give me the straight.
- I then won $4500 on this hand. I had 9TAQ. I raised preflop. two callers. Flop JQ5 rainbow. Checked to me. I bet $300. Turn 8 to give me the nuts and bring spade flush draw that i didn't have. I know this player always raises when i bet weak. He checks so i bet just $300 into a pot of $900. He pot reraises to $1500 to play. Hmmmm. I could easily move in here but he has a huge stack as well and could be freerolling me with a flush draw and straight. So i call. River a 6 and he bets just $700 and i reraise and he passes.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
£10000 hand
Its been a while since i won a 10k sterling pot as I usually play the 10/20 dollar table. Four handed on Betfair's new six pac table......
On the button i raise to £80 with 8899 double suited. I get reraised to £200 and three of us see a flop of 57T with two of my suit. Checked to me. I bet £600. Pick up one caller. Turn 6 to give me the nuts. He checks. I bet £1800. He reraises it to £4500. I move all in for £3300. Just £600 more to him and he passes. How he can pass for £600 in a pot over £10000 i will never know. Still i hardly wanted to see the river card given my usual form in huge pots.
I fly to Barcelona tomorrow. These are the events i am going to play.
Monday - €500 Pot Limit Holdem
Tuesday - €300 Pot Limit Omaha
Thursday - €4000 No Limit Holdem EPT event
Really looking forward to the start of the EPT again. Hopefully i can take some of my cash form to the tournament.
On the button i raise to £80 with 8899 double suited. I get reraised to £200 and three of us see a flop of 57T with two of my suit. Checked to me. I bet £600. Pick up one caller. Turn 6 to give me the nuts. He checks. I bet £1800. He reraises it to £4500. I move all in for £3300. Just £600 more to him and he passes. How he can pass for £600 in a pot over £10000 i will never know. Still i hardly wanted to see the river card given my usual form in huge pots.
I fly to Barcelona tomorrow. These are the events i am going to play.
Monday - €500 Pot Limit Holdem
Tuesday - €300 Pot Limit Omaha
Thursday - €4000 No Limit Holdem EPT event
Really looking forward to the start of the EPT again. Hopefully i can take some of my cash form to the tournament.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Blondepoker Tourney
I played in the Blondepoker forum tournament on Tuesday night which was good fun. I build my chips up partially thanks to hitting a Gutshot against another blogger Ben. Cruised into second place out of 13 left and was sitting great in second when with blinds of 400/800 and running antes i raised to 3300 on the button with AhTh. BB moved in for about 8000. I called as i knew he had me on a steal. He had TsQs. Flop rags but running spades gave him the flush. Back to the drawing board. Next hand (on tilt obviously i pick up AA). Small raise in late position and the BB calls. Flop 56J. He bets 4000. I go all in for 9000. he thinks and calls with 34. Turn a 7. Wooooooo ... that was that.
Was playing the PL Omaha 10/20 at the same time. There were 4 or 5 players that i had never seen before which is very strange as i normally know everyone. I turned $1700 into $4700 mainly because one of the newbies couldn't lay down the second best flush against me - fair enough. Then this hand happened. Raise and reraise preflop and its $200 to play. I called with 5678 in late position. 5 of us see the flop. Flop 45T rainbow. Checked to me and i bet $1000. Foe who checked originally goes all in for $1700. I call. He shows T99K for one pair. Of course his solitary ten is stands up to win a $4400 pot. Playing his hand that way he is either in a whole load of trouble, alot of trouble or just trouble. No justice.
Still got back up to $5000 through this hand. Held TTxx. Flop KT7 rainbow. I bet $200. One call. Turn 4 to bring flush draw. He checks... i bet $600. River rag 3, He bets $1800. If he holds 56 with his hand then he is just too good. I call. He has A high.
Was playing the PL Omaha 10/20 at the same time. There were 4 or 5 players that i had never seen before which is very strange as i normally know everyone. I turned $1700 into $4700 mainly because one of the newbies couldn't lay down the second best flush against me - fair enough. Then this hand happened. Raise and reraise preflop and its $200 to play. I called with 5678 in late position. 5 of us see the flop. Flop 45T rainbow. Checked to me and i bet $1000. Foe who checked originally goes all in for $1700. I call. He shows T99K for one pair. Of course his solitary ten is stands up to win a $4400 pot. Playing his hand that way he is either in a whole load of trouble, alot of trouble or just trouble. No justice.
Still got back up to $5000 through this hand. Held TTxx. Flop KT7 rainbow. I bet $200. One call. Turn 4 to bring flush draw. He checks... i bet $600. River rag 3, He bets $1800. If he holds 56 with his hand then he is just too good. I call. He has A high.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
WCOOP - $200 PL Omaha
Hmm started very well in this and the structure was great. Got a load of chips early when i called a raise preflop with 89JQ. Flop JQ4. On player moved all in for about a third of my chips and two others called. I then moved all in and they both called with draws. They missed and i had 10000 chips from the 2500 starting amount. Some of the play was just terrible but i wasn't hitting any cards to get any of the chips that were flying around on my table. Called down some bluffs and managed to get to 20000 chips.
Lost a few hands and after playing for 4.5 hours i limped with AAJQ double suited UTG (blinds 300/600)... knowing that one of the loose players would raise in late position. One raise... one call and i moved all in for 11000. Call... call. I was in such good shape against AKQJ and KKJT with only one flush draw live that could beat me. Flop Q44 :-). Then runner runnered by spades and tumbled out in 200th out of 900 odd that entered. Agggggggh
Cash has been going very well on the 10/20 tables so i can't complain i guess.
Lost a few hands and after playing for 4.5 hours i limped with AAJQ double suited UTG (blinds 300/600)... knowing that one of the loose players would raise in late position. One raise... one call and i moved all in for 11000. Call... call. I was in such good shape against AKQJ and KKJT with only one flush draw live that could beat me. Flop Q44 :-). Then runner runnered by spades and tumbled out in 200th out of 900 odd that entered. Agggggggh
Cash has been going very well on the 10/20 tables so i can't complain i guess.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
So how has it gone?
I guess six months is long a long enough time playing poker for a living to see how its gone. Reading Rob Sherwood's review on his blog made me think about doing a review.
I'm not going to count Monte Carlo as i still had a couple more days to work after that and it kind of distorts how i've done.
Tournaments
It hasn't gone great to be honest. I had a decent result coming third in the Gutshot main event scooping about £10000 and couple of money finishes on my last trip to Barcelona, but other than that its been a bit of a famine. Doing some calculations i've spent £19800 on tournaments and recouped £11700. Not great but not awful either. I have been out of form of late. Its not entirely the cards fault, i have made some mistakes as well. I've been very close in a couple of festival main events only to go crashing out just outside the money. Most frustrating moment was the $10000 Omaha in the World Series in Vegas. The cards were just horrible for hours and although i knew it was going to be a tough event, i'd back myself on any Pot Limit Omaha table.
Overall -£8100
Live Cash
I think i have fallen out of love with playing live cash. I still generally do well when i play but i find it slightly boring as i'm so used to constant action online. I won a bit in the cash games in Vegas but that cancelled out losses in Barcelona and the London festivals. If there was a really juicy Dealers Choice or PL Omaha at the Vic i would play more.... but there isn't.
Overall +£2400
Online Cash
Despite some severe swings the last six months have been good online. Getting my head round the size of some of the pots i now often play in has taken some doing. In $10000+ pots i have played in i have been extremely unlucky. I have lost over 3/4 of them despite being a favourite in 90% plus of them when the money went in. In four hands worth a combined total of $70000 i had over 75% chance in each and lost all four. Online PL Omaha will hopefully continue to be my main source of income.
Overall +£41000
Other stuff
Getting sponsored by Betfair and being asked to write a poker column for the Telegraph were both highlights of the last six months. Hopefully they will both continue.
Its been a great six months to be honest. If it doesn't last forever and i go back to work it won't be the end of the world. I have a couple of other things in the pipeline as well that should give me a more constant stream of income i hope.
A few targets for the next six months
- To win a ranking event.
- To play in a WPT event.
- To continue to play 10/20 PL Omaha. If i am still playing at that level in six months time it will be good news as it will have meant i haven't dropped down to save the banrkoll.
- To win enough to buy a top quality car.
- To choose another cash game online and win consistently at it. Trying to decide between NL Holdem and Triple Draw.
- Play in big online multi table tournaments more often. Starting tonight with the $500 NL Holdem WCOOP on Pokerstars.
- Double my bankroll. I'll settle for that even if all the other targets fail :-)
Its almost a year since i started up this poker blog as well. How time flies. I do love reading other people's blogs, although i don't comment that much. Its one of the first things i do when i go online. If anyone knows any really good ones that i haven't linked let me know. I've just linked Ben and Tom to my list.
I'm not going to count Monte Carlo as i still had a couple more days to work after that and it kind of distorts how i've done.
Tournaments
It hasn't gone great to be honest. I had a decent result coming third in the Gutshot main event scooping about £10000 and couple of money finishes on my last trip to Barcelona, but other than that its been a bit of a famine. Doing some calculations i've spent £19800 on tournaments and recouped £11700. Not great but not awful either. I have been out of form of late. Its not entirely the cards fault, i have made some mistakes as well. I've been very close in a couple of festival main events only to go crashing out just outside the money. Most frustrating moment was the $10000 Omaha in the World Series in Vegas. The cards were just horrible for hours and although i knew it was going to be a tough event, i'd back myself on any Pot Limit Omaha table.
Overall -£8100
Live Cash
I think i have fallen out of love with playing live cash. I still generally do well when i play but i find it slightly boring as i'm so used to constant action online. I won a bit in the cash games in Vegas but that cancelled out losses in Barcelona and the London festivals. If there was a really juicy Dealers Choice or PL Omaha at the Vic i would play more.... but there isn't.
Overall +£2400
Online Cash
Despite some severe swings the last six months have been good online. Getting my head round the size of some of the pots i now often play in has taken some doing. In $10000+ pots i have played in i have been extremely unlucky. I have lost over 3/4 of them despite being a favourite in 90% plus of them when the money went in. In four hands worth a combined total of $70000 i had over 75% chance in each and lost all four. Online PL Omaha will hopefully continue to be my main source of income.
Overall +£41000
Other stuff
Getting sponsored by Betfair and being asked to write a poker column for the Telegraph were both highlights of the last six months. Hopefully they will both continue.
Its been a great six months to be honest. If it doesn't last forever and i go back to work it won't be the end of the world. I have a couple of other things in the pipeline as well that should give me a more constant stream of income i hope.
A few targets for the next six months
- To win a ranking event.
- To play in a WPT event.
- To continue to play 10/20 PL Omaha. If i am still playing at that level in six months time it will be good news as it will have meant i haven't dropped down to save the banrkoll.
- To win enough to buy a top quality car.
- To choose another cash game online and win consistently at it. Trying to decide between NL Holdem and Triple Draw.
- Play in big online multi table tournaments more often. Starting tonight with the $500 NL Holdem WCOOP on Pokerstars.
- Double my bankroll. I'll settle for that even if all the other targets fail :-)
Its almost a year since i started up this poker blog as well. How time flies. I do love reading other people's blogs, although i don't comment that much. Its one of the first things i do when i go online. If anyone knows any really good ones that i haven't linked let me know. I've just linked Ben and Tom to my list.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Bankroll Booster
I've settled into a schedule at the moment of playing Mon - Thurs and giving myself the rest of the week off. At the moment i guess its keeping me fresh for when i do play. Sometimes i am playing for 10 hours without a break and by the time Monday comes round again i am looking forward to playing again. When i enjoy my poker i generally play better.....
Doing some calculations in August i increased my bankroll by 40% which i am extremely happy about. Playing in games too big for my bankroll is bound to have that effect when things are going well i guess.
This week i have lost two horrendous hands and am still in decent profit. Both were in approximately $10000 pots on Tuesday. The first i held QQTT double suited and there was $1000 in before the flop. I had $4900. Flop T82. I bet out $1000 in first position and the second player made it $4000. I go all in and he calls with 8895. Turn J. River a 7. I did feel extremely sick after that hand and after six hours more playing i was up again. Then i held 52JA and got into a raising war on a 552 flop. Half of my $5500 went in on the flop. Turn a J. It all goes in. Opponent turns over 22JJ. Sick again.... did the most sensible thing i had done in ages and stopped playing immedietly.
The biggest pot i have won this week isn't very exciting but it was still a tough decision. Five of us see a flop of J66. I hold 6J9T. Early position original raiser pre flop bets $300 into a $500 pot. I had slow played on that kind of flop earlier and allowed someone to hit their over pair so i wasn't going to make the same mistake again. I bet $1000. Aggressive player behind me makes it $3000. Hmmmm could he have JJ? Conventional play would be just to call with JJ but this was a very erratic player. I had $4500 in front of me after the $1000 bet. I moved in eventually and he called with AQ76 and fortunately the turn and river were blanks. It was the same player who had done me the day before with middle trips v my top trips so maybe revenge was on my mind.
I have started playing a bit on the £10/£20 No Limit Holdem table and am generally doing well on there. I only play short sessions as i find playing too long gruesome and i hate the trouble that the all in button can get me in to. One big pot i won. I held Qd9d. Early position makes it £60 to play. 5 limpers.... i call in the big blind. Flop KdTd7h. I fire a bet of £250. One player calls. Turn 6d. I check. He bets £400. I call. River a Th. Now i am not going to pass even if he moves all in here so decide to move in myself as i may get called by hands that he would check down like trips or a smaller flush. So i move all in for £900. He calls with 8h9d and i scoop a nice pot.
Betfair have opened six pac Omaha tables. So i no longer have to endure playing 10 handed which i hate......
Doing some calculations in August i increased my bankroll by 40% which i am extremely happy about. Playing in games too big for my bankroll is bound to have that effect when things are going well i guess.
This week i have lost two horrendous hands and am still in decent profit. Both were in approximately $10000 pots on Tuesday. The first i held QQTT double suited and there was $1000 in before the flop. I had $4900. Flop T82. I bet out $1000 in first position and the second player made it $4000. I go all in and he calls with 8895. Turn J. River a 7. I did feel extremely sick after that hand and after six hours more playing i was up again. Then i held 52JA and got into a raising war on a 552 flop. Half of my $5500 went in on the flop. Turn a J. It all goes in. Opponent turns over 22JJ. Sick again.... did the most sensible thing i had done in ages and stopped playing immedietly.
The biggest pot i have won this week isn't very exciting but it was still a tough decision. Five of us see a flop of J66. I hold 6J9T. Early position original raiser pre flop bets $300 into a $500 pot. I had slow played on that kind of flop earlier and allowed someone to hit their over pair so i wasn't going to make the same mistake again. I bet $1000. Aggressive player behind me makes it $3000. Hmmmm could he have JJ? Conventional play would be just to call with JJ but this was a very erratic player. I had $4500 in front of me after the $1000 bet. I moved in eventually and he called with AQ76 and fortunately the turn and river were blanks. It was the same player who had done me the day before with middle trips v my top trips so maybe revenge was on my mind.
I have started playing a bit on the £10/£20 No Limit Holdem table and am generally doing well on there. I only play short sessions as i find playing too long gruesome and i hate the trouble that the all in button can get me in to. One big pot i won. I held Qd9d. Early position makes it £60 to play. 5 limpers.... i call in the big blind. Flop KdTd7h. I fire a bet of £250. One player calls. Turn 6d. I check. He bets £400. I call. River a Th. Now i am not going to pass even if he moves all in here so decide to move in myself as i may get called by hands that he would check down like trips or a smaller flush. So i move all in for £900. He calls with 8h9d and i scoop a nice pot.
Betfair have opened six pac Omaha tables. So i no longer have to endure playing 10 handed which i hate......
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