End of year review

As I am winding down operations and hardly playing between now and the New Year, I thought it would be a good time to look back on 2007.

This year has definitely been a lot tougher than 2006. When I gave up my job in March 2005 with a small bankroll, I just couldn’t stop winning for most of 2005 and 2006.

Between January and June I definitely got close to going busto. I had losing day after losing day, and I never thought it was possible to run so bad, for so long. Of course alot of it was my fault. Playing games that were too big when out of form. Poor game selection, and lots and lots of tilt. I think at one point in April I was about $400,000 down for the year… yikes.

Tournament form throughout the entire year hasn’t exactly been good either. I’ve gone deep in a couple of EPT events without making the final. The lowest point of the year came when I bubbled in the $5000 rebuy PLO in Vegas. My bankroll was battered and I had a massive chance to win the tournament being in the top five in chips with twenty players left. My AAxx failed to beat KKxx and that was that. Tournaments have huge variance though, and I don’t play very many, so I have to hope 2008 brings better luck on that front.

As terrible as the first six months of the year were the next six months have been amazing. I’ve been running the opposite of the first six months of the year, and when I’m confident and winning I play better.

I just calculated that I am over $1 million up in PL Omaha cash games for the year, and about half that down in NL Hold’em cash games. Most of the Omaha profit coming at $25/$50 and $50/$100 … with some wins at $100/$200 as well. If only I hadn’t played Heads Up Hold’em big stakes at the start of the year, then a very good year would have been an amazing one.

I definitely feel like I should be playing the $200/$400 PL Omaha game on Full Tilt. I just can’t face putting my entire bankroll on the line so we shall see.

Some aims for 2008

- Number one aim to practice better bankroll management and game selection. I will not allow myself to make the same mistakes that I did this year.
- Play some high stakes cash games in Bobby’s room at the Bellagio.
- Get luckier in tournaments.
- Crush the big PL Omaha games online.
- Have a winning year at NL Hold’em cash.
- Play less poker.
- Don’t lose over 50% of my bankroll in January as I have for the last two years.

Playing the big tables!

I have had a big rollercoaster in the last 4/5 days. Been playing $50/$100 up to $250/$500 PL Omaha and NL Hold'em. Here is a pot i played in $250/$500 NL Hold'em...

Big Call

I played Heads Up $100/$200 PL Omaha yesterday and reached my biggest ever stack on a poker table, as you can below. I did lose $55000 on a couple of other tables but won $130,000 on the session. A nice Xmas bonus!

I was going to go to EPT Prague, but am so busy over the next week i just don't have the time. Was looking forward to it as well, as i have never been to Prague.

GUKPT Final

It didn't go to plan! We started with 15000 chips and i lost a fair chunk on the opening hand. Blinds 25/50... i faced a raise and reraise to 600 to play before i looked down at AsKs in the big blind. I called and the flop was Qs4s5h... opponent checked and i bet 1000. He made it 2000. I considered reraising but i was a little concerned he had QQ. Turn was an offsuit J. So i had a Gutshot too now. He bet 2500 which obviously priced me in. River was a blank and if he checked i was going to push, but he bet 3000 and i folded.

After that without really hitting very much i managed to get up to 25000 practically playing every hand. I won a big pot on a 9T37A board with 68... that was the high point.

My exit hand was slightly bizarre. I pushed when i really shouldn't have with Kc2c after floating on a Ac3d3s flop the 4c on the turn, seemed a good spot to check raise all in. My opponent was probably pot committed though and called with A4. If the 4 hadn't arrived on the turn i'm sure my plan would have worked!

Back to the old days

I have been having huge swings just as i did at the start of 2007, when i was playing a fair bit of 50/100 and 100/200 PL Omaha and NL Hold'em. Had quite a few +/-$50k days lately without doing too much damage to the bankroll.

Here are some of the bigger pots i have played lately!

Big pot from back door flush
Move on the turn works out well against my old enemy
Didn’t really know whether I was winning in this hand
Most of my outs were covered here
This tilted me
Running good in a Hold’em hand
Making a big move that works out

I'm playing the GUKPT final which is at the Vic later this week... haven't played a tournament in a while so looking forward to it!

There is only a couple of days to register through this blog for the rake challenge (see a couple of posts below details)

Omaha Tourney

Hehe you can now take me on in an Pot Limit Omaha tournament - exclusively on Betfair Poker.
ALL admirers of this fantastic four-card game thinking that their Christmas has come early.

The tournament will carry a big old $5,000 Guarantee as well as a bounty worth $100 for knocking me out on my home soil!

TOURNEY DETAILS

What: MILK THE KID - $5,000 GTD PLO
When: Every Monday at 7:30pm (GMT)
How much: $55 with rebuys in the first hour and add-on available
Finer details: 2,500 starting chips, 20 minute levels
Bounty you say? Indeed, Ben “Milkybarkid” Grundy will have $100 on his head!

Had a pretty sick week online. Had a stack of over $100k on a $50/$100 table and still ended the week down due to a two hour session of $100/$200 NL Holdem where i didn't win a single decent pot!

Blog rake challenge with prizes

1st Prize - Package to EPT San Remo in Italy - Entry plus £500 spending money. Worth about £4000.

2nd Prize - Entry to a GUKPT event - Entry into event of your choice in season two. Worth £1000.

3rd Prize - Mystery prize to be decided.

Competition information!

Whoever rakes the most between December 1st - March 15th on Betfair Poker can win the prizes. You are already eligible if you already signed up for an account through this blog.

All new sign ups between now and November 30th who sign up through this blog or on this link can also win the prizes.

If you rake a decent amount on Betfair you have a great chance of taking down the first prize. I will put the leaderboard on this blog of the top five rakers at the end of each month, until the competition ends on March 15th. So the prizes are decided by who rakes the most over a 16 week period.

If you do sign up and want to take part in this promotion drop me an email (bengrundy@hotmail.com) to confirm your new Betfair username. Just so i can double check that you registered through this blog. You will also receive 30% rakeback.

I get 10% in you in the tournaments as an interest, as i am giving away these free entries out of my pocket!

If you cannot make EPT San Remo for some reason then the prize can be swapped for a tournament of a similar value. It can't be exchanged for cash.

Any questions post in the comments......

EPT Dublin

I just busted on Day 2. Had a below average stack going into the second day and was looking to make some moves early to try and get some more chips.

Two hands led to my bust out. Blinds 400/800. I had 17000 stack. Mid position pushes all in for 7300. I look down at AhQh on the button and push. He has A9 and a 9 comes on the flop. My stack would have been ok if i won that hand.

Then i was down to 8000 and i pushed all in from the cut off with A5 and got called by AQ. No help from the board and i was out. I keep making Day 2 of these events so hopefully a decent result isn't too far away!

MTT's arrghhhh

I played the $150k guaranteed on Betfair yesterday, which actually ended up with a $174k prize pool! Wow i was steaming by the end. I was in the top 5 chips all the way to the bubble. Then in 20 hands i had KK v AA, then JJ v QQ on JQx flop, then QQ v JK to a fishy Rob Sherwood! lol

From hero to zero in no time at all.

Joey Lovelady won and Rob came third. Congrats. Joey was a total card rack in the final and the result was never in doubt. He only played because i told him it was on without twenty minutes till the start!

Off to play EPT Dublin this week. I play Day 1(b), which is Wednesday!

LAG

Since WPT Barcelona i've been playing aload online including two 16 hour sessions last week. I've managed to get some monster stacks at $25/$50 PLO ... my biggest was $78k and i lost a flip to make it very close to $100k so called it a day. Mind you i think in that particular session i was in for $40k anyway!

Here are a few hands i've played lately.

Donkish draw that was winning all the way! lol

Bad misread

A much better read

One word - TILT

Next up on the tournament circuit is EPT Dublin. After that the GUKPT final and EPT Prague. Hopefully i can get a result in one of them!

Also i forgot to blog about this before, congratulations to Dusk Till Dawn on securing their license to open a poker club in Nottingham. Hopefully there will be some big festivals held there. It will definitely be good for all poker players, as they will run tournaments for all buy in ranges.

WPT Barcelona day 2

Steaming... just busted out.

Playing 16k stack (blinds 200/400) ... I called the BB with 67 suited after two callers to a raise. Flop 67T with two clubs. I led out for 2500. Guy who raised preflop called. Turn a T. I bet 3000. He called. He seemed weak and its tough to put hom on a T. He may have an overpair in distress. River a Jack and i pushed all in. He dwelt for ages and i was sure he would fold. He finally called with 88. lol. I found a calling station.

Another Tourney

Heading over to Barcelona to play the WPT tournament this weekend. I love Barcelona so never mind travelling there for a tournament. Kind of recovered from my tilt from EPT london. These tournaments are so big now, that you don't get that many opportunities for a top three finish, and i definitely think that was one that past me by.

Still its kind of a consolation that cash games have been going so well. My $25/$50 PLO stats have been really good for the last few months. I've played about 30000 hands with a BB/100 hands of over 20, which is definitely unsustainable long term. But i can enjoy the rush while it lasts :-)

WSOPE articles

Before the WSOP Europe main i did an hour or so coaching for a Telegraph journalist Martin Johnson. They make a good read and the links are here Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

lol i sepecially like this extract:

I told him about the Oriental, and Kirk said: "Oh no, that's Kenny Tran. He's not someone to mess with. Just don't talk to him. Don't talk to him at all. He's trying to read you, and if you've got him as baffled as you got me on the first day, we wanna keep it that way."

It proved to be an impossible tip. I was involved with Kenny again after everyone else folded on the pick-up, and he bet 5,000. I had King-Five unsuited, and thought I'd at least see the three flop cards. Nothing to help there, but something told me Kenny's urge to nail me might have outweighed him waiting for a decent hand, and I stayed with him until his final bet of 10,000.

I called. "You've got me man, if you can call me, you got me." I flipped in my K-5, and the entire table gasped. Kenny had indeed been bluffing, and, as he said, I'd got him. But the sight of the K-5 made his eyes pop. His mouth opened, but nothing, for once, came out. If I never played another hand, I could dine out on that one.

EPT London Bustout

I made day three of EPT london 2nd in chips with 40 left. Anything short of making the final table and i was always going to be very disappointed but the way i went out was the worst way yet.

I had just under 190000 chips... blinds 2500/5000. Player who had me just about covered made it 17000 from the button. Tony Cascerino was in the big blind and had been playing very tight so i knew he was auto raising the button. I looked down at AQ. I reraised 17000 with 41000 more so 58000 to play. He thought for five minutes then the clock was called. I was going to pass if he pushed and was just hoping he passed. He eventually said call and threw in 14000 more chips. The dealer told him it was 41000 more and now he wanted to fold. The floor was called and because he announced call he had to put the 41000. I knew it wasn't a moody as he genuinely wanted to fold when he realised it was 41000 more.

So now i knew he was weak. He either had a couple of pictures or a medium pair. So i decided i would push any safe looking flop because there was 130000 available in the middle. It flopped 823 and i pushed, he insta called with 88. Sick. Only way i could go out at that point.

If he genuinely calls the 41000 i don't push the flop. If he hears the dealer i never go out of the tournament at that stage..........

Home

Its good to have some time back in the UK. For the last three months i think i've been away playing poker or on holiday about 80% of that time. Its hard to get into a run of putting decent results together online. My results have been quite good of late... in the last 20 sessions i have played i've won 17 times. That makes my pokertracker look a bit healthier :-)

The WSOPE is over and i really hope that next year there will be at least 6 events. I think the fields will get bigger when people have more chance to plan and qualify online.

Its EPT London next week and i'll probably play the £1000 PL Omaha tournament this Sunday as well. The WCOOP is also running and i'll probably play 2/3 events including the main event that i final tabled in last year.

Also Tillerman has started blogging again. It's one of the best blogs when he updates it!

WSOPE £5000 Omaha

Had a massive rollercoaster day going down low in chips then up to about 65000... felt like i was in good shape with double the average the took two big coolers.

400/800 - Durrrr from Full tilt made it 2000 to go i called with A6QT double suited and the small blind called too. Flop A63 giving me top two and the second nut flush draw. Small blind went bet 3500. Durrrr called. I reraised the pot as the small blind had just 3000 more and i wanted the pot HU. Durrrr called with AAxx. Main pot was 22000. Side pot 35000 ish. Turn brought me the flush though the small blind had the nut flush... i was happy to win the side pot. River paired the board!

400/800 - I made it 2000 from early position with AA57 with one ace flush draw in clubs. Two callers. Flop 2c4sKc. First guy to speak leads out for the pot. I reraise the pot to 24000 as i am at least 40% against any had he can have plus i've got fold equity. He calls with a set, and pairs the board on the turn.

Was really low after that and couldn't make a comeback.

Congrats to Buzzer on winning the £2500 HORSE.....

WSOPE £2500 HORSE

I busted out late in the evening of day one in level five....

I started well and by the end of level 2 i must have been one of the chip leaders with around 20000 chips. It was fun to play all the games as well..... i had a disastrous level three i went an entire orbit of the games without winning or chopping a single pot it was brutal. That put me back to my starting stack.

I got back up to 20000 chips again in level 4 and here is how i lost a chunk of them...

Razz 400/800

(A)(2)3 i three bet against a (x)(x)6

I pull a Q... he gets a K

I bet again and get called

I pull a 9... he gets a J

I bet again and get called

I pull a 6... he gets an 8

I bet and get called

Last card no improvement for my 9 low and my opponent made an 8 low on the river!

I also lost a big pot in the same level when i three bet prelop in Omaha Hi/Low with AA3T double suited. It flopped what appeared a monster for my hand 5s6s7h as i had the As3s.. I bet and got called. Turn a 5d.. i bet and got raised. I called. River a blank 3 which was the worst card in the pack for me and i got scooped by 248J lol.

Both those pots were around 10000-12000 and i didn't recover after them.

Its the £5000 PL Omaha tomorrow. Please can i run good just one time......

WSOPE begins

The World Series of Poker Europe starts this week in London. Its an exciting time for poker and hopefully this event can go on to match the WSOP in Vegas. I'd love to see even more events next year! I'm sure the first prize for the NL Hold'em tournament will be the biggest ever paid out in Europe.

I'm only able to play the £2500 HORSE which starts Thursday and the £5000 PLO which starts on Saturday. Wish i could play the main but too committed to stuff which was organised before the WSOPE was announced. I've been playing some HORSE online, and its always fun to play mixed games so i am looking forward to it all starting now....

I played a qualifier on Sunday with a bounty on my head for $1000 if you knocked me out. There were about 250 runners with 8 seats guaranteed. I was doing good and then walked AK into KK, and a bit later busted out with AK into QQ! The guy who got the bounty also won a seat. They have a last chance qualifier scheduled for Wednesday with five seats guaranteed. Details are here.

I've aslo been playing a fair bit online! Had a really sick spell at $50/$100 when i didn't win a pot for like 150 minutes even though i managed to get all in with the best hand a load of times. Was in for $50000 at one point and ended the day $14000 down which was ok considering i thought i was losing my mind!

Some hands... looks like a only play Aces from these!

Aces part 1

Gutshot only way to lose stack

Aces part 2

Aces part 3

EPT Barcelona

Yuck

Had a decent table and reached 14000 towards the end of level 4.

Then this hand happened. Tight ish player opened mid position for 650 (blinds 100/200). I decided to call with QQ. Flop QT7 rainbow. He checks. I bet 1000. He made it 2300. I pushed all in. He pondered for a while and called another 6000 with JK. 5 on turn, Ace on the river of course.

Got back up to 6500 and got all in preflop with TT v AK. Board 222K9.

If I can't win a big pot in the early stages with top set then its probably not going be my day!

EPT Season 4 - Barcelona

I play in a few hours. I see the beginning of the EPT season as the start of the poker season. There is a exciting programme of tournaments in the next few months... hopefully i can get off to a decent start!

Random Stuff

I've just got back after a three week holiday in Cuba. Really interesting country to visit with loads to see... only played a few hours poker whilst i was away. Nothing interesting to report on that front!

Before i went away, I did some travelling around the UK to some pubs where the winner of each single table tournament got an entry to a satellite for the WSOPE main event ... its called the Betfair Poker Hit squad! Here are a selection of the clips! Part 1 and Part 2. I do like the Midlands really! God i hate watching myself on TV.

I'm excited about the next couple of weeks. I'm off to Barcelona for the start of EPT season 4 on Tuesday. I am playing Day 1(b). It will be interesting to see how much the bigger buy will affect the numbers.

Pooooooooker

I decided to take a close look at my Poker tracker to see where my money has gone this year lol. Here are the results!

Betfair Pot Limit Omaha

$250/500 6 handed max

Hands Played 267 Result +$31000

$100/$200 6 handed max

Hands Played 1920 Result +$90000

$50/$100 6 handed max

Hands Played 1031 Result -$62000

$50/$100 Heads Up

Hands Played 1400 Result +$27000

$25/$50 6 handed max

Hands Played 21000 Result +$174000

$25/$50 heads Up

Hands Played 3600 Result -$36500

Overall PL Omaha - +$223500

Betfair NL Holdem

$100/$200

Hands Played 172 -$21000

$100/$200 HU

Hands Played 2200 -$61000

$50/$100

Hands Played 116 -$21000

$50/$100 HU

Hands played 1740 -$41000

$25/$50

Hands Played 4500 - $67000

Overall NL Hold'em - $211000

Crypto PL Omaha

$25/$50 6 handed max

Hands played 13000 - +$102100

$50/$100 6 handed max (actually is a £25/£50 table)

Hands Played 4100 - +$62000

Overall PL Omaha +$164100

Crypto NL Hold'em

$25/$50 6 handed max

Hands played 2030 +$21000

$80/$160 6 handed max

Hands played 3100 -$44000

$200/$400

Hands played 220 -$105000 (was such a sick day)

Overall NL Hold'em -$128000

Full Tilt PL Omaha

$100/$200

Hands played 1560 -$61000

$200/$400

Hands played 700 -$39000

Overall PL Omaha -$100000

2007 PL Omaha +$287600

2007 NL Hold'em -$339000

I've missed out $10/$20 games but i'm pretty much even on the year. At one point i was down around $300000 ish ... sick! At times this year its gone very badly online, but considering the runs i've had i don't feel too bad about the results so far.

Clearly Hold'em has gone very badly this year. Last year i won about $250000 playing Hold'em and this year i'm down about $300000. A $550000 swing! I've definitely played badly at times and haven't been as focussed at Hold'em cash as i once was (far too easily tilted). The general standard of players has definitely got better!

Seems my best results by far have come at $25/$50 PL Omaha 6 handed. I'm up close to $300000 at that.... maybe thats what i should stick too :-D

There are a load of big tournaments scheduled from September onwards.... here is what i am hoping to play!

EPT Barcelona August 28th - Sept 1st €7700 NL Hold'em
WSOP Europe Sept 8th - 10th £5000 PL Omaha
EPT London Sept 25th - 29th £5200 NL Hold'em
WPT Barcelona Oct 11th - 16th €7500 NL Hold'em
GUKPT London Oct 18th - 21st £1000 NL Hold'em
EPT Dublin October 30th - Nov 3rd - €7700 NL Hold'em
GUKPT Final 29th Nov - 2nd Dec - £3000 NL Hold'em
EPT Prague December 10th - 14th - €3700 NL Hold'em

Online

Been playing a load online since i got back from Vegas. Probably put in about 90 hours in the last two weeks and things have been going good. I've mainly been playing $25/$50 PL Omaha.... had a few shots at $50/$100 as well, and even a bit of Hold'em.

Looking back on my tracker i had really good results at short handed NL Hold'em last year and i have hardly played this year, except for an unsuccessful period of playing Heads Up $50/$100 and $100/$200 on Betfair. Anyway, i played two tables of $25/$50 yesterday 4-6 handed for a while and did well despite running bad. Maybe i've found my enthusiasm to play NL cash again!

Tournament wise... there is nothing before the WSOP Europe that i'm going to play. Going away next weekend for a non poker holiday! You can buy in for the WSOP Europe on Betfair's poker site now... there is even a small discount because we are running good against the dollar right now!

WSOP Europe

As you may have seen Betfair Poker are sponsoring the WSOP Europe. This is the schedule:

Thurs September 6th H.O.R.S.E Buy in £2500 (3 day event)

Saturday September 8th Pot Limit Omaha £5000 (2 day event)

Monday September 10th WSOP Europe Main Event No-Limit Texas Hold'em £10000 (6 day event)

The main event is sure to create the biggest prize pool ever seen in Europe. All the details can be found here. Betfair are guaranteeing to hand out a $1.5 MILLION in prize money and packages before September 6th!!!

The link also includes details of all the casinos its going to be played in, hotels to stay at, online qualification routes and how to buy in direct.

I've had a nightmare the WSOPE has fallen on the worst week of the year for me to be able to play because of stuff i organised before it was announced. I may be able to play the Pot Limit Omaha, but the main event looks unlikely at the moment!

WSOP Over

Hmmmm built my stack up to 60000 by the end of level 3. Was cruising. Average was 28000. Then lost with 47 v 79 all in on a 47K flop for 30000. Got back to 65000 when the following hand happened. Couple of limpers (blinds 200/400) I make it 1600 with KK in the BB. Two callers. Flop JQ7. SB check... i bet 6000. Other guy folded.... SB makes it 15000. I call. Turn a 7. He moves all in for about 37000. Its almost impossible for me to be losing given the preflop action so i insta called. He showed JQ. At this point it was a 110k pot for the chip lead. Off course i got four outered....

NH GG WP

WSOP Update 8

Back in Las Vegas. Got here a few days ago and have generally been chilling. Been out for a couple of decent meals and bars.

I'm playing today (Day 1b) which seems to be a popular day to have chosen. Hopefully i will get a decent table.

Betfair qualifier

For those after some value there is a World Series of Europe package available this evening on Betfair! Details are here.

The package is worth $23k and there are just three players registered at $780 a go with 7 hours to go. Last week there was a decent overlay i expect this weeks to be even bigger, with so many players in Vegas.

Remember to download through this link if you want rakeback and a bonus.

Back to Vegas

Fly back on Tuesday for part two of this year's WSOP. Only going to play the main event and possibly the WPT at the Bellagio if i get knocked out of the WSOP main early enough! Think i may have gone crazy by now if i had stayed there for the whole six weeks.

Been playing a fair bit online 25/50 PLO and doing pretty good. Won 7/8 days that i have played since i have been home.... but the games have been fairly dead, due to most of the people i normally play against being in Vegas.

I expect the games to be really good again in a few weeks when the WSOP ends... so hopefully i can keep up my decent run!

For anyone looking for updates - pokernews has the best coverage i have found!

WSOP Update 7

I'm back in the UK now...

I did play a couple more events the $5000 NL Hold'em and the $1500 PL Hold'em.

The $5000 NL Hold'em i probably played my worst tournament of the Series and was a bit tilted after the second hand that i played.

Blinds 25/50... i raised the cut off with AK. The SB reraised me to 600. I called. the flop came K62 rainbow. He led out for 600... i made it it 1900... he made it 4200. Hmmm ... i folded. Its tough to think of a hand i can actually beat. Think given i have no reason to think he is making a move on me its like 35% we have the same hand or i am ahead, 65% chance i am behind. I mucked!

I missed two flush draws in big pots then busted with JJ v KK when i limp reraised in late position as my stack was dwindling!

The $1500 PL Omaha hand i lost most of my chips on was kind of interesting. My second hand everyone limped in for 50 chips (we started with 3000). I made it just 75 more with 4JQK DS. I then declared i wanted to find the Aces. One guy called and Andy Black made it 750 to play. I called. Flop 47J rainbow. I bet the pot and he went all in. He had QQT2 lol. He made his 4 outer on the turn of course. I was a bit tilted and was ranting how bad he played the hand... hehe

I then turned my 75 chips into back to 2000 by winning the next four pots... then busted in a 4000 chips pot the very next hand with TQxx v KKxx all in on a JKA3 turn. Wanted to rebuy but of course i couldn't! Doh...

Back to the grind online for a few weeks and then to Vegas for the main event and maybe the WPT championship. Can't make the $10000 PL Omaha unfortunately. It will be the first time i have missed it since the event started....

WSOP Update 6

I played three more tournaments since my last update....

WSOP $5000 Limit Hold'em. Think i did ok and busted about half way through... but suffered a really cold deck and also managed to lose two big pots to less than 10% chances.. guess that is Limit. Found it a pretty boring tournament.

Bellagio Cup $1500 NL Hold'em. Managed to get a big stack in this early and the standard was pretty bad. People open raising in early position with A4 off then calling all ins, and more stuff like that. I played one fun pot against the other guy on my table with big chips. Blinds were 200/400 and i made it 1100 on the button with ThJd. He called. The flop was 258 with two diamonds. He led out for 2700. I decided to call to attempt to take it away later. Turn was a 7d completing the flush and he bet 4500. Again i called... this time instantly. River and off suit Ace. He checked. I pushed all in for 12000 he folded after a dwell. Its fun when a plan works out.

I was above average chips when we made the money. Then it went wrong in a couple of hands. It had become a bit of a crapshoot with average stack on about 13BB. First i walked AQ into AA... then i defended my big blind with 9cKc and it flopped 923 rainbow. The preflop raiser had 33 and that was that. I won a few hundred $$$ for my effort!

$1500 WSOP NL Shootout. Had a fun table for this one. Brandon Adams, Grinder, Rousso, Seif and a couple of other decent players. Starting stack was 3000 and i got up to 4500. Only one guy had been knocked out and we were in level two. I flopped the nuts with AK on a TJQ flop... only for my opponent to make a house with his TT on the turn.

Today i have the $5000 NL Hold'em... and if i bust from that tomorrow is a $1500 PL Omaha freezeout. Heading home for a break for a few weeks after those events ... then back for the WSOP main event and possibly the WPT event.

WSOP Update 5

Sick again

I played the $5000 PL Hold'em... 390 runners and i never had my chips in the middle in bad shape/coin flip situation as i got up to 70000 chips with 60 left just over average. The biggest pot i won was fairly sick... i defended my SB blinds 600/1200 with 4h8h for a raise to 3200 with Robert Williamson calling along too. Flop 7TJ with two spades. Checked to Robert on the button and he checked. Turn a 4. I checked .. preflop raiser check again and Robert fired 9000. I figured he couldn't check behind with a made hand on such a dangerous flop so i reraised the full pot which put me all in. He dwelt and called with QK and the river bricked.

In the last level i lost a 70k pot with JJ v TT all in pre.... and then a 100k pot with AQ v KK when the flop brought an Ace. Both pots would have put me double the average with 50 left.

I lose motivation to play when this keeps happening.

WSOP Update 4

I think i am off tilt now from my PLO bust out hand. Though it is marginal. I never risked all my chips in any hand prior to the one i went out on and felt like i was cruising. Guess that is poker. I was so steaming i couldn't sleep at all when i got back to my room... and my sleeping pattern has been terrible since i have been here.

I played my second event today... the $1500 short handed Hold'em. Something like 1500 runners showed up for this one. You do really have to play good/run exceptionally well to beat a field that size. I managed to get my starting stack up to 9000 on a pretty good table. Everyone was quite ABC and i was cruising till i lost a QQ v A9 hand for seventy big blinds all in preflop.

Haven't played any live cash since i have been here. Not much PLO action in the poker room every time i have looked.

One interesting thing from the $5000 rebuy Omaha tournament. One of the players at my table thought he could use 3/4 cards from his hand... in a $5000 tourney... lol

He was all in against Brian Townsend for 20000 chips (blinds 50/100) ... on a 899 flop with KKK4 v 99xx. Brian has been playing Sammy Farha in the high stakes room $500/$1000 PLO heads up... sick stakes!

WSOP Update 3

So sick

Busted 20th in the $5000 PLO

Blinds 4000/8000 i have 190k stack. Few limpers guy makes it 40000 to play. I have AAxx .... i raise the full pot 160k to play leving me just 30k behind. He calls with KKxx and hits a king on the flop. Such a bad play by him. I can only have AA in that spot... so on tilt!

Vegas Update 2

I made day two of the $5000 rebuy PL Omaha tourney about 11th out of the 45 left. Rough chip counts are here.

So knackered now after a long day playing and jetlag. Hope i can run good tomorrow.

Vegas Update 1

Arrived in Vegas last night. Managed to have some sleep though i woke up early a bit jet-lagged!

Going for breakfast and then to the Rio to register for this afternoons PL Omaha event.

Will do some more updates tomorrow.

Vegas countdown

Decided rather than have a break from online i'd have a crack at the 25/50 PL Omaha games on Betfair, which have been crazy in the last few weeks with 3/4 6 handed tables going sometimes. Turned out to be a good decision as i won $80000 on the day. I was up $105000 at $25/$50 at one point which must be my best ever day at those levels.... then i lost a bit back and some at $50/$100 and quit. Loads of hands... here are some of the bigger ones:

Didn’t think the sevens were outs

Spiked the river

Set over set

First real big pot of the day

Chase the Aces

Pair of nines wins $9k

Dominating hand

If this call had happened live in a $16k pot may have mucked before he showed

First of a few losses to quads

Running pretty good

I thought I had lost this one

Top two are good

Outdrawn

Nice turn

Stack over $50k

Last hand of the first session which I played like a DONK

Quads over quads to tilt me

Trying some $50/$100

More $50/$100 … six outered of the river

Just four days to go now till Las Vegas.... bring it on!

Blog Cull

I was taking a look through all my links and noticed a load of blogs seem to have been retired... so i will deleting them off in the next few days if they haven't been updated in the last 6 weeks. I added a few new ones as well. Having a break from online before the WSOP as i don't want to be on tilt before i even start playing tournaments...... i have never cashed in America so that will be the first thing to put right!

Big Stakes

I blogged a while ago asking if anyone was interested in backing me to play the big Omaha games online.... 50/100 and bigger. There were a few people very interested but i never got round to meeting them and sorting something out. I feel like i really want to get involved in those big games again as they bring out my best game, and i reckon i can beat them if i am bankrolled properly. So if anyone is interested drop me an email (bengrundy@hotmail.com)

Vegas

Well i busted out the Betfair masters of Poker with a bit of a dodgy move. Tried bluffing Ram who had a made straight.

Its Vegas soon. Just about two weeks till i fly. Having looked through the schedule i'll be playing most of the following events:

4 June $5,000 pot-limit Omaha with rebuys (2 day event)

6 June $2,000 no-limit hold’em (3 day event)

7 June $1,500 no-limit hold’em six handed (3 day event)

8 June $5,000 pot-limit hold’em (3 day event)

11 June $2,500 no-limit hold’em (3 day event)

12 June $1,500 no-limit hold’em shootout (2 day event)

13 June $5,000 no-limit hold’em (3 day event)

14 June $1,500 pot-limit Omaha (2 day event)

15 June $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. (3 day event)

17 June $3,000 no-limit hold’em (3 day event)

19 June $5,000 no-limit hold’em heads-up (3 day event)

21 June $1,500 no-limit hold’em (3 day event)

1 July $10,000 pot-limit Omaha (2 day event)

6 July $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event (11 day event)

I'll update my blog as often as possible.

One other thing. I can't play on Betfair whilst in the States. Anyone know any way around this?

Stuff

I have another televised tournament this weekend. The Betfair Masters of Europe. Looks like i found myself in an interesting heat. Here it is:

Ben Grundy
Roland De Wolfe
Marc Goodwin
Ram Vaswani
Jan Olav Sjavik
Peter Smyth

It should make for a good heat. Its definitely the toughest one i think!

I haven't posted any hands for a while so here are a few:

Its nice to run good part 1

Its nice to run good part 2

Firing three bullets that worked

Firing three bullets that didn't work

Heads Up sick beat

Heads Up the very next hand FFS

A cold deck

Moderate Tilt

Still running pretty sick though i am not losing which is a consolation. Earlier i was up £20000 and playing good, and then lost two really brutal pots where i was over 85% in both of them when the money went in. These things happen but these came in consecutive hands. I quickly had to switch the computer off.

I had a very good rakeback spin up though :-) .... I turned my rakeback from £1000 to about £40000, before going backwards just over £10000 and cashing out. Felt good though as i didn't have to deposit!

Its not long to go till the WSOP. Less than a month till my flight anyway. Hoping to play in around 10-15 events in my first stint between June 3rd-23rd! Will definitely be taking a well deserved break from cash games in that period!

Man Utd lost as well which was pretty sick. Should win the league though maybe this weekend!!

Betfair Poker Plus

Betfair are launching Betfair Poker Plus tomorrow with loads of changes to the software. You can see full details if you click here. You can also email me (bengrundy@hotmail.com) if you are interested in rakeback. A few of the details are below as well:

Betfair Poker Plus is a new version of Betfair's poker software that allows you to generate multiple tables in separate windows and then stretch, shrink and arrange them around your screen to suit you.

This break from the rigid display options of earlier versions of our software will give you much more freedom over how you want to play your poker. If you like to focus on one table then you can choose to fill your screen by playing at 200% standard size, alternatively you could shrink down to the smallest 70% size and get on with other things on your PC at the same time.

And for those of you who like to multi-table, it's a real treat as you can now "comfortably" operate up to 15 windows at the same time with quick and easy layered table formatting.

On top of all these developments, there are also additional usability changes such as being able to scroll the lobby with your mouse "track wheel" which will make finding your desired game even easier.

Grafting ish!

Been playing a load since my last post and managed to have had a decent recovery. Decided not to go to the Bellagio because i needed to concentrate on the games online, and also the WSOP is just six weeks away so i can look forward to playing a load of tournaments there..... and hopefully a final table or two.

Haven't been playing any bigger than $25/$50 apart from the odd short stack attack at $50/$100. More than anything i just hate to lose at the bigger games, because i know i am not properly bankrolled to play them yet. It probably makes me play differently as well becuase i know i play too tight compared to my usual game.

My next tournament is the Betfair.com Poker Masters which is an invite only 36 player field which is going to be at Hammersmith studios down the road. I haven't played too many TV tournaments but i hope to start playing some more soon. Betfair also have a news blog now which is here.

I stumbled across Brian Townsend's blog as well which shows some of the monster swings and wins in the biggest games online.

Sick March

January was my worst ever losing month online, followed by my best ever month in February... followed by a new record worst month in March. I won't bore anyone with hand history's but it got to a point where i couldn't even look at the screen, because i knew i was going to lose every big pot i played whether my opponent had a 70% or 5% chance.

Bankroll has taking a bit of a battering. So i'm going to avoid playing so big for a while. Definitely no $100/$200 kind of stakes. I had a nearly 10 days off playing because i needed it.

I am meant to be going to play the bellagio WPT Championship next week...but its 50/50 because i'm not sure whether to concentrate on recovering online, or take a shot at a huge prize pool.

Monte Carlo

I busted towards the end of Day 1 with KK v KK v AA. The other KK won lol. Really nothing i could have done as i didnt have huge chips before the hand anyway. Having a few weeks break from poker including a non poker holiday (must leave the laptop behind!) :-D

William Hill Grand Prix final

Its on tonight on Skysports 2. Off to Monte Carlo to play the EPT final today. Prize pool is going to be a cool 6 million euros. I play tomorrow (Day 1a) ... hopefully i can play well!

William Hill Grand Prix Semi Final

Its on tonight at 10pm on Skysports 2.

I played Warsaw EPT a few days ago. got through Day 1 with above average chip count. Near the start f Day 2 i raised to 3800 with JsKs in the cut off (blinds 600/1200) with my stack at 34000. A player with 19000 pushed all in from the small blind. I called because i felt before the hand he was looking to reraise with any two, as he had just about the right stack to make the move. He had Q7 and hit and i didn't recover!

EPT Dortmund - part 2

I'll try and remember some interesting hands if i can. I played like 19 hours so will see what the memory bank can pull up.

I got off to a good start and my table seemed quite tight with not much action. I managed to get my stack up to about 13000 when i moved tables. I got seated next to Fabrice Soullier and he took most of my chips of me in level 3 when i held KK v 56 (thats what he told me he had) on a 55QT6 board. The interesting thing about the hand was that after i had already commited about 8000 of my stack, Fabrice bet out 4000 on the river when the flush arrived as well, after earlier just calling my bets. After thinking for about two minutes if i could beat any hand, the dealer told me to hurry up. I have never had that happen in a big event before. His reasoning? Well... the other tables had played a few hands whilst i was thinking. He called the clock on me. By this time i already knew i was folding, and did so. I was a bit annoyed and asked him to find out after if he can ask me to hurry up and call the clock on me. He later came back and apologised.... and said he was wrong which was good of him.

I went to the dinner break after 5 levels with just 3600 chips after dropping as low as 2000. For some reason though i still had a good feeling about coming back from such a low chip stack. I built up to about 6000 when i doubled through of Christer Johannson. Blinds were 150/300 and i limped in late position with QK after another limper. Christer limped as well. It flopped 69T.. and i bet 1200 when it was checked to me. Christer called. The turn was the J to give me the nuts. I counted my chips as if i was about to bet and at the last minute checked as if i had changed my mind. Christer put me all in and i got my double through as he had a pair and a straight draw.

I managed to bluff someone of Aces a bit later with J4. He had limped UTG and it flopped 259. I bet out and he called. Turn was a 3 i bet again and he called. River paired the 3 and i bet again he folded AA. That got me up to about 25000.

I had QQ v JJ for for another 10000 chips and was on about 35000 when i got a big double through towards the end of Day 1. Blinds were 600/1200 and i raised in late position with JJ to 4000. The small blind reraised me to 15000 and i pushed for my stack. He thought for a while and i knew my hand was ahead, at worst he had two overs. He eventually called with TT and i finished Day 1 with 63000 and average was about 42000.

I felt pretty good going in to Day 2 about my chances given my stack size and i felt i was playing good. Had a horrendous start to Day 2 though. I doubled up two short stacks when they both 3 outered me, which put me back down to about 37000. I remember looking at the clock and realising i hadn't won a hand and we had played 53 minutes. Time for some action... i like this hand. I am UTG and decide to make it 5000 to play without looking just to try and win a hand and pick up some much needed blinds/antes. Late position pushes in for about 12000. I probably have to call any two cards. I squeeze my cards and find AA amazingly, and he has AQ and i get back to my starting stack.

As much as i have always enjoyed playing EPT events the blind structure seemed to go wrong from about Level 13/14. I had remained on about average stack and found that i had just about 12/13 big blinds. This for me meant i was not putting a raise into the pot, and leaving it behind. So i played all in poker from there on. From my memory when i have been average stacked at a similar position in EPT events before, i have always had 18-25 big blinds which is fine. There was very little flop play or limping for the rest of the tournament.

There was also a problem around the bubble. We played about 7/8 hands in 80 minutes due to the dwell ups occurring on the 7 tables we were playing hand for hand on. This was very frustrating for most of the players. We entered a new level during the bubble and it was 10-12 minutes before the first hand was even dealt in the new level.

After the bubble finally broke i continued my all in or fold poker. I was totally card dead so most of my all ins were with marginal hands/rags that i didn't want to be called with anyway. I got my only double up of day 2 luckily with about 30 left. Blinds were 4000/8000 and i had 80000 and pushed all in with 57 off. The big blind called after a while with AT after saying i was going to push with any two (which was correct). We both flopped a pair but i turned two pair to get back to about average stack again.

I wanted to keep my stack at a level where if i reraised preflop, i had enough to push players off the first raise without them being pot committed. I did it once with T4 when the button raised, and again with QQ which was the only time i wanted a call in the last 3/4 levels.

I kept going as i was never called when i pushed all in.... but this gave me no chance of a much needed double up either. I moved in three hands on the trot when we were 7 handed with 21 left to try and get something going with AJ, 47 suited and JQ. That got me back to an ok stack. I had to pass to a reraise all in though, when i opened with AT suited and the small blind pushed all in.

When we broke down to two tables i had 150000 and the average was 300000. Blinds were 8000/16000 with a running 2000 ante. So there was 40000 if i could push and not get called. I decided to push in the cut off with Kh2h and the button woke up with AK. I actually flopped a flush draw and was dreaming of a double up but it wasn't to be.

Wasn't too disappointed compared to other big tournaments when i have come close. I never held the kind of stack i needed to have a real shot at winning. I don't think there was anything else i could have done considering how Day 2 went. I always try and win, so often in the late stages i will be very busy trying to accumulate chips and may get caught ;-)

I am trying to get registered for EPT Poland but it may be too late. I have just booked flights for Bellagio WPT in April as well, and am planning on playing three warm up events plus the main. With Monte carlo and perhaps Cardiff in between the next 6 weeks look very busy!

EPT Dortmund

I busted 16th out of 493 runners after playing for 19 hours for €16,500 . A few breaks and it could have been a really big result. Felt i played as well as i have for a while in a tournament, so not too disappointed. Will write some more when i am not so tired.

Will Hill Grand Prix

Just watched my heat. As it was a fair few months since i played it i had forgotten most of the action on the table. Keith was really unlucky in the hand against me but it played itself. Once Yusuf had minimum raised by mistake after a ruling from Thomas Kremser. I don't think i had any option but to push because Keith hadn't showed any particular strength, and Yusuf clearly didn't want to raise in the first place.

I didn't seem to get involved in too much bluffing, and played a bit too tight. It was my first TV tournament, other than final tables in multis, so i was probably not at my best.

If i had won the final hand with the KK v Q2 on a 239 flop against Antonio, i would have had 20000 chips to 60000, which would have given me at least a chance. Overall though the player who played the best won though, simple as that!

Both of the articles i have written for Cardplayer Europe are here if anyone is interested.

William Hill Grand Prix

My heat is on Skysports 2 at 10pm this Tuesday!! Still in Goa... no good in the tournament. Off to Dortmund for the EPT event a day after i get home. Maybe i will run better in that one.

Ground Zero

Finally i made it to the break even point for the year. Feels pretty good considering i was massively down at one point. Hopefully i can kick on from here and actually start winning :-)

I arrived in Goa a few days ago. Hotel is nice and the weather is scorching. A few drinks in the bar which you can swim up to isn't a bad way to spend a week. Tournament kicks off tomorrow. Looking forward to it. I have only played one tournament in the last three months.

Anyway just a quick update. The pool is calling......

Badda badda boom

Well things haven't changed that much since the last post. Things haven't got worse though which i guess is ok. I keep having alternate winning/losing days. Had a couple of massive losing days last week when i did a few buy ins on the 100/200 PL Omaha on Betfair. I am actually feeling more positive and have been playing alot better (i think).

This year i have played the biggest pots of my life. Here are the biggest winning and losing ones.

- $100/$200 6 handed NL Hold'em on Betfair. I have $60000 stack. I make it $700 to go with AK. One caller in small blind. Loose aggressive player with big stack. Flop AAK. How does this become a $120000 pot? Ridiculous. He checks... i check. Turn 5. He checks... i bet $1600 he calls. River a Q. He leads for $2000. I make it $8000. He makes it $24000. I push all in expecting a split pot. He calls and mucks. Yikes.

- $100/$200 PLO Heads Up. I have $55000 stack. Opponent has me covered. He raises his button to $600. I reraise to $1800 with 6677 double suited. He re re raises to $5400. I call. Flop 6s8s5d. I check he bets $10000 i go all in he calls with AAxx and the ace flush draw. Turn 3. River Ace. That was $110000 pot.

I decided a few weeks ago to go to Goa next Tuesday for the Asian Poker Classic. There is $250000 added minimum and the resort looks cool. I'll do an update from there....

January sucks

Yuck January ended very badly. I got back from Australia ready to go for it online, not realising i was about to encounter my biggest streak of losing sessions in my life. Played around 10 sessions 25/50 50/100 and 100/200 and lost every time. Some of them more brutal than others. Losses ranging from $10000-$80000 each time. I ended up losing something like 35% of my bankroll which was not good. I lost two Hold'em pots of $80000 when i had over 80% chance when the money went in. If i'd won those the figures would have been nowhere near as bad.

I've since staged a mini recovery reducing the loss to a more manageable figure, and have won 7 out of the last 10 sessions which has made me feel a bit better. I now know what it is like to run badly... i don't think i did before lol.

I'm giving 100/200 a miss at the moment because my bankroll and sanity cannot take the swings.

I am NEVER playing online in January again. The same thing happened last year....

My William Hill grand Prix heat is on Skysports in a couple of weeks. I'll post when i know the exact time/date.

Back in London

After another 28 hour journey i got home yesterday. Feeling a bit jetlagged and woke up at 4am today. I should be able to sort out my sleeping pattern soon enough though being a poker player.

I really enjoyed Australia. I mostly had a relaxing time, and only played about 10 hours live and about the same amoubt online during the trip. I've had decent results online so far this year, but in the next 4/5 weeks i'll be playing alot more so i expect the swings to return!

The next few weeks i'm going to be playing $25/50 and $50/100 NL Holdem and PL Omaha. I really want to step up and play higher but just hate the $100k losing days too much to take the risk. I want to get back in the $200/400 PL Omaha at some stage this year. Maybe if i buy in for $20000 a go and don't multitable, then that could be something i can do in a few weeks.

I've added a few more blogs and links on the right hand side as well. People need to update their blogs more often :-)

Oz Update 3

I busted out of the main event on Day 1. I'm reasonably happy with most of the decisions i made, i get much more annoyed when i play badly.

The only real hands of note were these:

- I had AK 4 times and lost each of them. Twice i gave them up after missing flop, twice i continuation bet them, and gave up on the turn. So i decided i was going to play them like Aces or Kings if i missed the flop. Blinds 100/200. I made it 650 UTG. Button only caller. He hasn't been too busy so far. Flop J45. I bet 700 he calls. Turn a 5. I fire the second bullet of 2100. He thinks for a while and calls. River a 9. Now more often than not i will check here, but i fired the third bullet of 5500 and again after a dwell i got called. He had TT. Fair enough good call but i am beating him like 80% of the time given the action. That put me down to 12000 (we started with 20000)

- I limp in mid position with QT suited. Another limper and BB raises to 500 to play. Aggressive player so i see a flop. Flop 55T. He bets 1100. I call. Turn a 6. He checks and i bet 1700. He called. River a Queen and i bet 2700. He called and mucked. Difficult to put him on a hand there.

- The exit hand. I had dribbled down to about 10800 chips. Mid position made it 600 to play. Two callers so i call with JsQs. Flop 3d8s9s. This was the second flop i liked all day. I checked. Preflop raiser checked. Tight player bet 800 into a 2400 pot and the an aggressive Scandie made it 2400 on the button. I thought his range was big, and i could get him to fold if i pushed so i did. I also didn't want to just call 25% of my chips. He had a good hand though a set of threes and i couldn't catch any of my outs.

Hate busting out of tournaments but a few hours later it doesn't seem like the end of the world anymore. Had a good 6 hour session online so all is good with the world :-)

Fly home on Saturday and will be playing alot in the next 5 or 6 weeks online, as there is a break in tournaments before the EPT resumes.

Oz Update 2

Haven't played live since my last post... unless you count Chinese poker :-) Not much online either... just enough wins to cover my spending!

This is definitely the best poker trip in my opinion factoring in everything that makes a poker trip good. Weather, hotel, restaurants, price, bars, gym, spa, tournaments etc. It scores highly on all those. Only downside is the gruelling journey over here. They need the net on these long haul flights. I saw EPT Deauville got cancelled. Not too bothered about that... too boring there. Plus its also a pain to get too. At least there are a couple of other EPT events in Dortmund and EPT Warsaw that i'll be going to.

You get to meet some sick gamblers in this poker world. I was chatting to a couple of Scandi players that i know. One of them had a $2 million roll in December. He lost it all in two weeks. Was down to $10000 and now has $1 million again. The other one once lost $380000 in one night over 50% of his bankroll playing drunk a week or so ago.

Ali Masterman won the $1500 side event. Played very good. Loose aggressive to the extreme. He was like calling raises with 72 off to make a move on any flop. A nice cash at around £80000 i think.

I see the schedule for the WSOP 2007 is out. Its not to long till it starts. Very excited about it this year. They have added a bunch of $5000 tournaments and less NL Hold'em events which is a good move.....

I play Day one flight two on Monday. I've have tweaked my strategy a bit for multi tournaments so i'll see how that goes.

Oz Update 1

Its good to be back at the Crown in Melbourne. I've been to loads of hotels around the world, but this remains my favourite hotel that hosts a poker event. Great restaurants/spa/gym etc and you don't have to walk past the people gambling to move around like in Vegas.

Played the PL Omaha event yesterday - no good. Only had one rebuy and a top up which was a result condsidering that it was $3000 a pop (£1200 ish). Field was hard... guess not many people who play an Omaha rebuy that high are going to be fish. My table was incredibly tight so it wasn't too much fun. I eventually busted in a big pot when i ran 69TJ into 97JQ on a 997 board. One day i will stop donating in PL Omaha tournaments. I am a lifetime loser of about £20000 in them.....

Trying to have as much fun as possible this year, because last year i was in my room most of the time watching my bankroll slide away. I didn't even make it to the beach! The Omaha cash games are going and they are pretty big. $600/$1200 limit high Omaha was going, and a $100/$200 PL game as well. Will play one of those before the main event which starts for me on Monday which is flight two. Think there is going to be around 600 players and we get 20000 chips to start so it should be a good tournament.

Hong Kong

Just stopped off en route to Melbourne for the Aussie Millions. I haven't played a hand of poker in about two weeks so looking forward to playing again. My first tourney is a $3000 rebuy Omaha in a couple of days, so i will be donating a few rebuys to that i reckon.

I'll do some more updates when i actually get around to playing some poker :-)