I created my own step challenge on Pokerstars last night. I have played Heads Up quite a bit in the past with good results and always fancy my chances against any regular Pokerstars player.
Here is how it worked:
Step 1 - $100
Step 2 - $200
Step 3 - $500
Step 4 - $1000
The only gap in the system being that I had to pay an extra $100 even when I win Step 2 to move to Step 3.
I tried it four times and managed to complete my step challenge once. Once I lost on Step 2, once on Step 3 and once on Step 4.
So it cost me $700 plus all the juice I was paying moving up the steps so probably more like $1000.
My return was $2000 for the one I won. It should have been $4000 though. The time I lost on Step 4 I was against possibly the worst player I played all night heads up. I had him all in 7 times and he survived each and every one. Sure he was favorite on about half of them but I still reckon the odds to survive 7 all ins were about 128/1 working on a coin flip basis. Very frustrating and the one time I was all I lost... damn typical.
I was looking back over my records and noticed that I haven't played any Live Cash since February 5th. I guess when my online results are going well which they have been then it’s less tempting to go and play with people who actually have a decent grasp of the game. The situations that pay you off at the Vic are far less frequent than online. I will be returning to the Cash scene with a bang though during the festival the week after next.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Yikes... its just a week away!
It was a pretty cool package I won in the Betfair satellite to the EPT final starting next Wednesday. Included in the package is 5 nights in the luxury Hermitage Hotel, €2000 spending money and €750 drinks/food allowance.
I am also getting a Helicopter with the Betfair crew from Nice to Monte Carlo.
It’s hard to think about anything else at the moment. I just checked the official EPT Final website and the prize pool currently stands at €1360000. I expect that it will be over €2000000 by the time we kick off. It may be a while before I get the opportunity to play for such a big prize pool again.
It’s a four day tournament and I found the tournament structure for day 1 which is below and wow is it slow. I have never played in a tournament with such a slow structure. I have the next week to devise my strategy. I imagine with the entry being so big that the field will be very strong and I will have to be at my very best and get lucky as well.
Starting Chips 10000
90 Minute Clock
Level 1 25/50
Level 2 50/100
Level 3 75/150
Level 4 100/200
Level 5 150/300
I am not sure whether to provide blog updates or not at the end of each day. Guess if I am still in after Day 1 I may but if I have been knocked out I probably won’t.
So far my form this month has well and truly been in. I haven’t had a losing session online and I played four £50 STT’s on Sunday finishing 1st, 1st, 1st and 2nd. For the first time in my poker life on the flop I hit set over set over set and tripled up on the very first hand. If only that could happen in Monte Carlo…. Well one can dream can’t they?
I am also getting a Helicopter with the Betfair crew from Nice to Monte Carlo.
It’s hard to think about anything else at the moment. I just checked the official EPT Final website and the prize pool currently stands at €1360000. I expect that it will be over €2000000 by the time we kick off. It may be a while before I get the opportunity to play for such a big prize pool again.
It’s a four day tournament and I found the tournament structure for day 1 which is below and wow is it slow. I have never played in a tournament with such a slow structure. I have the next week to devise my strategy. I imagine with the entry being so big that the field will be very strong and I will have to be at my very best and get lucky as well.
Starting Chips 10000
90 Minute Clock
Level 1 25/50
Level 2 50/100
Level 3 75/150
Level 4 100/200
Level 5 150/300
I am not sure whether to provide blog updates or not at the end of each day. Guess if I am still in after Day 1 I may but if I have been knocked out I probably won’t.
So far my form this month has well and truly been in. I haven’t had a losing session online and I played four £50 STT’s on Sunday finishing 1st, 1st, 1st and 2nd. For the first time in my poker life on the flop I hit set over set over set and tripled up on the very first hand. If only that could happen in Monte Carlo…. Well one can dream can’t they?
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Sklansky v Negreanu
Not normally a fan of cut and paste but thought this was interesting.
Apparently at the recent heads up world championship Daniel annoyed Sklansky by saying that he was a 1/2 dog to both Ivey and Chan who Sklansky knocked out.
Here is Sklansky’s response:
"I have several points to make about a variety of things that have been recently written about me, much of it in regard to the recent heads up tournament.
It is important to read what follows because I am not only defending myself, but in some cases I will be talking about some important concepts that poker players need to know.
First in regards to Mason's Doyle, Ivey, Chan, post. It was misconstrued by some because Mason didn't use the suggested phraseology "need I say more?" which would have suggested a bit more tongue in cheek playfulness than his actual wording. Of COURSE short term results don't prove much. On the other hand I did win four out of ten soon to be televised sit n gos against top players, and got a bad beat or it would have been five. That IS getting to statistical significance. And while the three for three headup victories are not statistically significant, they WOULD be if you were testing the hypothesis that I was a 2-1 dog in these matches. See why?
On a personal note I want to say that even if it was true that I was the world's best theorist, but only a pretty good player, I would still much prefer that to being the world's best practitioner but only a merely good theorist. That goes not only for poker but almost any thinking type of field. Dr. Debakey didn't save anywhere near as many lives as Dr Salk. But that is off the subject.
First lets get to the comment I made that when the blinds get high I would be favored over Phil Ivey or Johnny Chan. Some on this forum took issue with that statement but I doubt that Chan, Ivey or even Daniel would. Laying even 15-1 odds on preflop raises is not wrong with awfully mediocre hands in headup situations, because of the two ways to win nature of that play. When to do it against a random hand is something only me, Chris Ferguson and a few others know well. So is knowing when to call getting 7-5 odds or so given a menu of hands that the opponent might push with. When the stacks are thirty times the big blind or less, it is impossible that a player who is not intimately familiar with this stuff could be favored over me regardless of how well he plays. And that situation was reached pretty quickly in the tournament.
Qualitatively, Daniel's comments about me perhaps had some validity. Quantitavely he was way off. He does that a lot, confusing his degree of certainty of something with the odds he could lay. I'm almost a two to one underdog against Ivey and Chan? I'll play right now under the same rising blinds format a series of freezouts getting $16,500 to $10,000, agree not to quit until I'm 100K loser but they can quit whenever they want. Let me hasten to add that there is NO WAY that either Johnny or Phil would lay 3-2. They do not share Daniel's opinion. I doubt I could get 1.30 from them. In fact Phil specifically said he wouldn't lay me any price before the match started. That's not to say he didn't think he was favored.
In actual fact I thought I was about 48% in those matches. If we had equal chips when the blinds rose I put myself at 52%, more if they would fold quite a bit too many hands when I moved in. But since I thought I would have on average 45% of the chips when the blinds rose, I was indeed probably a small underdog.
Here's the irksome part: I am sure that with big stacks and small blinds I am a lot closer to these fellows than some give me credit for. But the right strategy for me was to play in a way that would give my detractors fodder for their criticisms. It was in my overall best interest to play a very meek game early on (that would likely leave me with a smaller stack barring a nice cold deck) even though I am a lot better at playing otherwise than most people think. In other words, if there was never to be a increase in the blinds I would have played a lot differently and still, in my opinion, held my own. I'll gladly take 1.80 under those conditions.
The reason I chose not to mix it up early was not because I thought I was clearly overmatched but rather because being even a small underdog made it the wrong thing to do. The main reason was, as already stated because of the soon to be increase in blinds. The other reason was TV face time. And avoiding the business disaster of early elimination. So I played the first half hours exactly as my critics predicted, not letting ego get in the way of business.
The concept that I was the favorite once the blinds got bigger was echoed by Barry Greenstein and Huck Seed. Perhaps they were being polite. But I doubt it. Daniel's comment that I would "gamble madly" hoping to get lucky is absurd. The fact is that Phil Ivey made a critical preflop mistake, (that I would have never made), failing to move in preflop with two eights, that probably cost him the match. (To his credit he quickly realized his error and is not likely to repeat it.)
As to this quote:
"Name a pro that hasn't read his book.
Just one? Chau Giang, Eli Elezra, Ming Ly, Lee Salem, Johnny Chan... shall I continue?
--Daniel Negreanu"
I'm sure Daniel believes this. But two of those players have told me otherwise. And one of them paid me $800 for four hours of limit holdem lessons about ten years ago.
I know for a fact that some high rollers flat out lie when they tell people they haven't read my stuff. Phil Ivey has been quoted as saying he never read anything but when interviewed by NBC (I'm told) said that Theory of Poker was the first poker book he ever read. Maybe he was just being nice.
As to Daniels assertion that Phil would be favored over me in "any poker game known to man", that's ridiculous. I'm uncomfortable expounding on this too much because Phil himself didn't say it. And Daniel himself must know he is exagerating. For instance what about straight five card poker, no draw, one round of betting? What about hi-lo split where the low hand gets 60% of the pot? What about almost any game where the rules are such that neither one of us has never played it before? Less contrived examples are regular high draw and regular high low. Straight lowball and even eight or better stud are games that its hard to imagine that he could be any better than even with me.
What's exasperating though is not that Daniel would disagree with the above. He would concede those things, perhaps claiming a tiny edge for Phil, but then go on to say his words were not to be taken so literally. He would probably admit that games with a strong "mathematical" component are not what he was talking about. What he would say though is that Phil would crush me in the other games. And he is wrong. He might be a small favorite but not a big one. There are two reasons. One is that he underestimates me. With very little to go on he thinks I don't have a good feel for where my opponent is at. He mistakes the fact that I play on automatic pilot in middle size games for an inability to get off it if I really need to. But that is not really here or there. I will admit that my skills at reading are not as high as most world class players. (They should thank their lucky stars for that.) The important error that Daniel makes is equating that flaw with big underdog status in head up games against world class players. He forgot about something: Game Theory.
There is no doubt that being a great reader is valuable. But it is only valuable when the opponent is readable! That means that a great reader will win more from readable mediocre opponents than a mediocre reader who plays well otherwise. That's why, as Barry Greenstein has said, Daniel out does the best players in tournaments even though he doesn't beat them in side games. He is great at reading readable opponents. But great players are almost impossible to read. In fact a mediocre reader might do better against them if he resited any inclination to try.
Let me put it another way. If Daniel played a pretty good player a 100 hour session head up, and then I did, he would out perform me by a nice amount, especially if he is right about my reading abilities. But if we both played Phil Ivey the difference would be less. (Assuming I did some game theory studying and would careful not to exude physical tells). Because against great players reading is as apt to backfire as not. If instead you play like a computer, randomizing both your bets and your calls you can't make great reads but you can't be tricked either. Of course playing perfect game theory is not yet possible for complex games. If it was, a computer would be the best player. But you can come close enough that you can negate this "people" aspect of your oppnents skills to a large extent. If he doesn't know his fundamentals well you might even be the favorite. In games like single draw lowball, IBM could design a world champion computer in a year. Phil Ivey would lose to it. And he would lose to me if I knew the computer's algorithms. (Space does not permit me to expound on these concepts fully.)
Here's a secret. Those who watch the TV show carefully may notice that I did not always fully look at my cards. It is the best way to implement a quasi game theory strategy because you have no tells. Math is more than just numbers and probability. Throw in game theory and it takes away opponents edge in many people skills as well. That's a scary thought to some but the fact remains it is true. But some people don't want to deal with it."
Apparently at the recent heads up world championship Daniel annoyed Sklansky by saying that he was a 1/2 dog to both Ivey and Chan who Sklansky knocked out.
Here is Sklansky’s response:
"I have several points to make about a variety of things that have been recently written about me, much of it in regard to the recent heads up tournament.
It is important to read what follows because I am not only defending myself, but in some cases I will be talking about some important concepts that poker players need to know.
First in regards to Mason's Doyle, Ivey, Chan, post. It was misconstrued by some because Mason didn't use the suggested phraseology "need I say more?" which would have suggested a bit more tongue in cheek playfulness than his actual wording. Of COURSE short term results don't prove much. On the other hand I did win four out of ten soon to be televised sit n gos against top players, and got a bad beat or it would have been five. That IS getting to statistical significance. And while the three for three headup victories are not statistically significant, they WOULD be if you were testing the hypothesis that I was a 2-1 dog in these matches. See why?
On a personal note I want to say that even if it was true that I was the world's best theorist, but only a pretty good player, I would still much prefer that to being the world's best practitioner but only a merely good theorist. That goes not only for poker but almost any thinking type of field. Dr. Debakey didn't save anywhere near as many lives as Dr Salk. But that is off the subject.
First lets get to the comment I made that when the blinds get high I would be favored over Phil Ivey or Johnny Chan. Some on this forum took issue with that statement but I doubt that Chan, Ivey or even Daniel would. Laying even 15-1 odds on preflop raises is not wrong with awfully mediocre hands in headup situations, because of the two ways to win nature of that play. When to do it against a random hand is something only me, Chris Ferguson and a few others know well. So is knowing when to call getting 7-5 odds or so given a menu of hands that the opponent might push with. When the stacks are thirty times the big blind or less, it is impossible that a player who is not intimately familiar with this stuff could be favored over me regardless of how well he plays. And that situation was reached pretty quickly in the tournament.
Qualitatively, Daniel's comments about me perhaps had some validity. Quantitavely he was way off. He does that a lot, confusing his degree of certainty of something with the odds he could lay. I'm almost a two to one underdog against Ivey and Chan? I'll play right now under the same rising blinds format a series of freezouts getting $16,500 to $10,000, agree not to quit until I'm 100K loser but they can quit whenever they want. Let me hasten to add that there is NO WAY that either Johnny or Phil would lay 3-2. They do not share Daniel's opinion. I doubt I could get 1.30 from them. In fact Phil specifically said he wouldn't lay me any price before the match started. That's not to say he didn't think he was favored.
In actual fact I thought I was about 48% in those matches. If we had equal chips when the blinds rose I put myself at 52%, more if they would fold quite a bit too many hands when I moved in. But since I thought I would have on average 45% of the chips when the blinds rose, I was indeed probably a small underdog.
Here's the irksome part: I am sure that with big stacks and small blinds I am a lot closer to these fellows than some give me credit for. But the right strategy for me was to play in a way that would give my detractors fodder for their criticisms. It was in my overall best interest to play a very meek game early on (that would likely leave me with a smaller stack barring a nice cold deck) even though I am a lot better at playing otherwise than most people think. In other words, if there was never to be a increase in the blinds I would have played a lot differently and still, in my opinion, held my own. I'll gladly take 1.80 under those conditions.
The reason I chose not to mix it up early was not because I thought I was clearly overmatched but rather because being even a small underdog made it the wrong thing to do. The main reason was, as already stated because of the soon to be increase in blinds. The other reason was TV face time. And avoiding the business disaster of early elimination. So I played the first half hours exactly as my critics predicted, not letting ego get in the way of business.
The concept that I was the favorite once the blinds got bigger was echoed by Barry Greenstein and Huck Seed. Perhaps they were being polite. But I doubt it. Daniel's comment that I would "gamble madly" hoping to get lucky is absurd. The fact is that Phil Ivey made a critical preflop mistake, (that I would have never made), failing to move in preflop with two eights, that probably cost him the match. (To his credit he quickly realized his error and is not likely to repeat it.)
As to this quote:
"Name a pro that hasn't read his book.
Just one? Chau Giang, Eli Elezra, Ming Ly, Lee Salem, Johnny Chan... shall I continue?
--Daniel Negreanu"
I'm sure Daniel believes this. But two of those players have told me otherwise. And one of them paid me $800 for four hours of limit holdem lessons about ten years ago.
I know for a fact that some high rollers flat out lie when they tell people they haven't read my stuff. Phil Ivey has been quoted as saying he never read anything but when interviewed by NBC (I'm told) said that Theory of Poker was the first poker book he ever read. Maybe he was just being nice.
As to Daniels assertion that Phil would be favored over me in "any poker game known to man", that's ridiculous. I'm uncomfortable expounding on this too much because Phil himself didn't say it. And Daniel himself must know he is exagerating. For instance what about straight five card poker, no draw, one round of betting? What about hi-lo split where the low hand gets 60% of the pot? What about almost any game where the rules are such that neither one of us has never played it before? Less contrived examples are regular high draw and regular high low. Straight lowball and even eight or better stud are games that its hard to imagine that he could be any better than even with me.
What's exasperating though is not that Daniel would disagree with the above. He would concede those things, perhaps claiming a tiny edge for Phil, but then go on to say his words were not to be taken so literally. He would probably admit that games with a strong "mathematical" component are not what he was talking about. What he would say though is that Phil would crush me in the other games. And he is wrong. He might be a small favorite but not a big one. There are two reasons. One is that he underestimates me. With very little to go on he thinks I don't have a good feel for where my opponent is at. He mistakes the fact that I play on automatic pilot in middle size games for an inability to get off it if I really need to. But that is not really here or there. I will admit that my skills at reading are not as high as most world class players. (They should thank their lucky stars for that.) The important error that Daniel makes is equating that flaw with big underdog status in head up games against world class players. He forgot about something: Game Theory.
There is no doubt that being a great reader is valuable. But it is only valuable when the opponent is readable! That means that a great reader will win more from readable mediocre opponents than a mediocre reader who plays well otherwise. That's why, as Barry Greenstein has said, Daniel out does the best players in tournaments even though he doesn't beat them in side games. He is great at reading readable opponents. But great players are almost impossible to read. In fact a mediocre reader might do better against them if he resited any inclination to try.
Let me put it another way. If Daniel played a pretty good player a 100 hour session head up, and then I did, he would out perform me by a nice amount, especially if he is right about my reading abilities. But if we both played Phil Ivey the difference would be less. (Assuming I did some game theory studying and would careful not to exude physical tells). Because against great players reading is as apt to backfire as not. If instead you play like a computer, randomizing both your bets and your calls you can't make great reads but you can't be tricked either. Of course playing perfect game theory is not yet possible for complex games. If it was, a computer would be the best player. But you can come close enough that you can negate this "people" aspect of your oppnents skills to a large extent. If he doesn't know his fundamentals well you might even be the favorite. In games like single draw lowball, IBM could design a world champion computer in a year. Phil Ivey would lose to it. And he would lose to me if I knew the computer's algorithms. (Space does not permit me to expound on these concepts fully.)
Here's a secret. Those who watch the TV show carefully may notice that I did not always fully look at my cards. It is the best way to implement a quasi game theory strategy because you have no tells. Math is more than just numbers and probability. Throw in game theory and it takes away opponents edge in many people skills as well. That's a scary thought to some but the fact remains it is true. But some people don't want to deal with it."
Monday, March 07, 2005
Qualifier to EPT final in Monte Carlo
I decided to have a go at Betfair's € 500 satellite last night to try and win one of the two € 14000 packages to Monte Carlo.
Starting chips were 2000 with a decent clock and 39 players with two seats available the value was pretty good.
Made a terrible start when the blinds were 10/20 holding KK on the button I raised it to 100 to play after a couple of early callers. Both limpers and the blinds called and it flopped 23Q. It checked to the last limper who made it 300 to play. I reraised it to 900 to play and then the small blind woke up and went all in for 1350. Limper passes and I smell a set but can't pass for just 450 more and he had 22 which held up. My current bogey hand KK loses yet again.
So after level one I hit a low point of about 375 and was sitting nicely at the bottom of the chip count I could see in the tournament lobby. I then found 9T in the small blind and made up the blind after a few limpers. Flop 964 with 2 diamonds. No choice here with my low stack but to push, so I go all in. Get a quick caller and he shows JdKd for overcards and a flush draw. I dodged a fair few bullets there. So I was back up to just over 1000 chips which wasn't terrible considering the blinds were still 25/50. I then managed to steal some blinds and pick up a few decent cards and get up to around 1700 chips when I pick up KK again. I made it 200 to play and pick up one caller. Flop KTT. Managed to squeeze another 500 chips out of my opponent and soon I am in a reasonable position with 3000 chips.
We were down to two tables by now and average chips were about 4000 so I wasn't in bad shape. I won a few more very small pots to put me chip count at 4000 and with the blinds at 100/200 I limped on the button with TQ and 4 players saw the flop. Flop TTK. I checked hoping it will disguise my T. Definitely a risky play but it worked out this time when a Q came on the turn to give me a house and I raised 600 and a foe reraise me all in. I called instantly and he had Q6 and was drawing dead.
That was the double up I had been seeking since we started and I was up to 9000 chips which was about the 5th most chips of the 18 players that were remaining. I then went on a rush of picking up the blinds and bullying the shorter stacks and by the time we were down to the final table I had the second most chips with 15000. On a side note I was chatting away to a regular Betfair player Ariston and he was chip leader for much of the tournament. We were on the same table all night and I told him that he would double me up at some point. He replied, "He would but only when we were down to the final two."
I did pick up AA when the blinds were at 200/400 and raised under the gun to make it 1000 to play. Two callers... It flopped K23 and I was pleased when both players passed to my 2500 bet. I can't ever remember getting any monsters but with the blinds at 400/800 and 600/1200 and running antes just picking up the pot without any callers was very worthwhile. At one point I won 5 pots on the trot raising each one and when we got down to 5 players I was a clear chip leader with 30000 chips. I then lost a few pots to Ariston who clearly got sick of me stealing his big blind and flopped the nut flush v my top pair. I raised 3000 on the turn and he reraised me to 6000. I smelt a rat and passed.
Soon we were down to four players and we must have been playing four handed for quite a while. Eventually the blinds reached 1200/2400 with running antes of 250 and with just 78000 chips in play it became more down to luck and timing than anything else. Three of us were on about 23000 and the short stack was on 9000. The short stack eventually lost to TT when making a move on the blinds and we were down to three. I had feared that i would finish third all along and with the blinds so large it was now anyone's game. Then the final hand of the tournament soon happened. I was sitting with a 29000 chips, Ariston with 35000 and the other player with 14000. I found A2 in the big blind and predictably the short stacked small blind made a raise to 6000 to play. I decided to make a stand as I also knew that even if I lost this hand I was still in with a chance so I reraised him all in. He thought for a while so I knew my A was probably winning. He called the rest of his chips and showed JK. Now it was time for a sweat. The sweat got even worse when it flopped TQ7. I now had to dodge a 9JK or an A. Yikes. Turn was a blank..... I stood up from my chair. River.... another blank. I scream YES. I think most of my neighbours must have heard me. Ariston held true to his word that he would double me up when we already both had won our seat and my A9 beat his QK.
I can rarely remember being as ecstatic as I felt for a few minutes after that. Managing to come back from such a bad start and my chips were never all in the middle with the worst hand in the whole tournament. So a week tomorrow I shall be making my way to Monte Carlo for a tournament where the buy in is greater than the WSOP. Just bring it on………….
Starting chips were 2000 with a decent clock and 39 players with two seats available the value was pretty good.
Made a terrible start when the blinds were 10/20 holding KK on the button I raised it to 100 to play after a couple of early callers. Both limpers and the blinds called and it flopped 23Q. It checked to the last limper who made it 300 to play. I reraised it to 900 to play and then the small blind woke up and went all in for 1350. Limper passes and I smell a set but can't pass for just 450 more and he had 22 which held up. My current bogey hand KK loses yet again.
So after level one I hit a low point of about 375 and was sitting nicely at the bottom of the chip count I could see in the tournament lobby. I then found 9T in the small blind and made up the blind after a few limpers. Flop 964 with 2 diamonds. No choice here with my low stack but to push, so I go all in. Get a quick caller and he shows JdKd for overcards and a flush draw. I dodged a fair few bullets there. So I was back up to just over 1000 chips which wasn't terrible considering the blinds were still 25/50. I then managed to steal some blinds and pick up a few decent cards and get up to around 1700 chips when I pick up KK again. I made it 200 to play and pick up one caller. Flop KTT. Managed to squeeze another 500 chips out of my opponent and soon I am in a reasonable position with 3000 chips.
We were down to two tables by now and average chips were about 4000 so I wasn't in bad shape. I won a few more very small pots to put me chip count at 4000 and with the blinds at 100/200 I limped on the button with TQ and 4 players saw the flop. Flop TTK. I checked hoping it will disguise my T. Definitely a risky play but it worked out this time when a Q came on the turn to give me a house and I raised 600 and a foe reraise me all in. I called instantly and he had Q6 and was drawing dead.
That was the double up I had been seeking since we started and I was up to 9000 chips which was about the 5th most chips of the 18 players that were remaining. I then went on a rush of picking up the blinds and bullying the shorter stacks and by the time we were down to the final table I had the second most chips with 15000. On a side note I was chatting away to a regular Betfair player Ariston and he was chip leader for much of the tournament. We were on the same table all night and I told him that he would double me up at some point. He replied, "He would but only when we were down to the final two."
I did pick up AA when the blinds were at 200/400 and raised under the gun to make it 1000 to play. Two callers... It flopped K23 and I was pleased when both players passed to my 2500 bet. I can't ever remember getting any monsters but with the blinds at 400/800 and 600/1200 and running antes just picking up the pot without any callers was very worthwhile. At one point I won 5 pots on the trot raising each one and when we got down to 5 players I was a clear chip leader with 30000 chips. I then lost a few pots to Ariston who clearly got sick of me stealing his big blind and flopped the nut flush v my top pair. I raised 3000 on the turn and he reraised me to 6000. I smelt a rat and passed.
Soon we were down to four players and we must have been playing four handed for quite a while. Eventually the blinds reached 1200/2400 with running antes of 250 and with just 78000 chips in play it became more down to luck and timing than anything else. Three of us were on about 23000 and the short stack was on 9000. The short stack eventually lost to TT when making a move on the blinds and we were down to three. I had feared that i would finish third all along and with the blinds so large it was now anyone's game. Then the final hand of the tournament soon happened. I was sitting with a 29000 chips, Ariston with 35000 and the other player with 14000. I found A2 in the big blind and predictably the short stacked small blind made a raise to 6000 to play. I decided to make a stand as I also knew that even if I lost this hand I was still in with a chance so I reraised him all in. He thought for a while so I knew my A was probably winning. He called the rest of his chips and showed JK. Now it was time for a sweat. The sweat got even worse when it flopped TQ7. I now had to dodge a 9JK or an A. Yikes. Turn was a blank..... I stood up from my chair. River.... another blank. I scream YES. I think most of my neighbours must have heard me. Ariston held true to his word that he would double me up when we already both had won our seat and my A9 beat his QK.
I can rarely remember being as ecstatic as I felt for a few minutes after that. Managing to come back from such a bad start and my chips were never all in the middle with the worst hand in the whole tournament. So a week tomorrow I shall be making my way to Monte Carlo for a tournament where the buy in is greater than the WSOP. Just bring it on………….
Thursday, March 03, 2005
This could be handy!
This could be handy!
Click here for a useful little odds calculating tool you can use for working out odds at Omaha 8/b… I have never seen one before. I thought I would use it to attack Tom McEvoy assertion that if you hold 4567 with one suit in middle position with two limpers that you should call. I made the assumption that there would be 5 players in the pot as there are already the big blind, early two limpers, McEvoy and probably one other. Against a random set of hands which were by no means great starting hands this handy little tool gave me the following stats that proves McEvoy to be the fish that Big Dave claimed he is.
Scoop: 4%
Hi: 15%
Lo: 7%
LoTie: 0%
EE: 0.127
EE (expected equity): Actual returned fraction of the pot for the hand.
Click here for a useful little odds calculating tool you can use for working out odds at Omaha 8/b… I have never seen one before. I thought I would use it to attack Tom McEvoy assertion that if you hold 4567 with one suit in middle position with two limpers that you should call. I made the assumption that there would be 5 players in the pot as there are already the big blind, early two limpers, McEvoy and probably one other. Against a random set of hands which were by no means great starting hands this handy little tool gave me the following stats that proves McEvoy to be the fish that Big Dave claimed he is.
Scoop: 4%
Hi: 15%
Lo: 7%
LoTie: 0%
EE: 0.127
EE (expected equity): Actual returned fraction of the pot for the hand.
This is what you call true form
Despite my recent form at PL Omaha my luck is still way out as far as NL Holdem goes. During my marathon Omaha session last week i thought that i would give the £2.50/£5 NL Holdem a crack and sat down with £350.
First hand i was dealt QQ. Nice start.... i raise it to £20 to play and the big blind wakes up and raises it to £50. I call. Flop QK7. For some reason i just feared he had KK. He made a small raise of £20 and i reraised it to £50.... he called. Next card a 7 to give me a house. He bets all in. I called and he had KK. Is there any way i could have passed this hand?
I had to laugh as for the third successive time i had hit a set on the flop i lost (albeit one of those times was my fault). That would be bad form in Omaha never mind Holdem.
First hand i was dealt QQ. Nice start.... i raise it to £20 to play and the big blind wakes up and raises it to £50. I call. Flop QK7. For some reason i just feared he had KK. He made a small raise of £20 and i reraised it to £50.... he called. Next card a 7 to give me a house. He bets all in. I called and he had KK. Is there any way i could have passed this hand?
I had to laugh as for the third successive time i had hit a set on the flop i lost (albeit one of those times was my fault). That would be bad form in Omaha never mind Holdem.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Some PL Omaha strategy
One of the things that I have noticed recently that has improved my PL Omaha results is not giving up the pot on the river if my opponent has called raises/semi bluffs from me on the flop and the turn.
To look at this in greater depth I have used the following example. Milkybarkid v Anon (both players have £750 before this hand) Stack size is extremely important. If you are going to bet with a draw on the flop and the turn you must ensure that if you miss and decide to bluff on the river that your opponent is not left so short stacked that he will call for value and that you have enough in front of you to make a reasonable sized bet.
I hold 7TKA and it flops JQ2 rainbow. I decide to bet £50 on the flop with a straight draw and one opponent calls. The turn is a 4. What is the best strategy now? Regardless of position I still think it is best to bet again. By doing this you are attempting to represent two pairs at least. So if I bet £150 and your opponent calls again and the river is a 6 you are left with an awkward decision. There is now £450 in the pot and you know that if you check you are going to lose. In the past I may have given up on pots like this online because of the crap that I have been called down but this was clearly the wrong strategy. In 2005 betting on the river has been picking up pots like this easily enough of the time to make it profitable. The difficulty I find is how much to bet? There is £450 in the pot and both you and your opponent have £545 in front of you. Do you bet the pot in this situation? Normally I will bet between 50-70% of the pot but whether that is correct is another matter. Considering you can write off this pot if you check then a bet of 50% of the pot would only have to be successful over 33% of the time for it to be the correct move. If you bet full pot then you would have to win over 50% of the time for this kind of play to be correct.
I was playing PL Omaha last night and for the first time I was sat at a table when I had made notes on every single player. Extensive notes on many of them as well. I have only made a concerted effort to make notes on players in the last 2-3 months and the advantage it has given me is massive. If you don’t make notes. START NOW.
Another tip for PL Omaha players online is how to play the second best flush. I think this is a far better tactic than calling down an opponent if you think they are bluffing. Not that I like particularly playing the second best flush myself but if you find it difficult to lay down then this may be a good strategy for you. For example, if you hold KcTc9h8h and it flops 2c7c9c and one of your opponents bets the pot which is £50 I would actually consider reraising. This may sound crazy but if you raise £100 you will probably find out straight away whether your opponent is holding the nut flush. If he raises you back he almost certainly has it. Hardly any players would reraise again with just a bluff as they probably think you are crazy after raising them in the first place and will call them down. In this scenario it is costing you £150 to find out whether you are facing the nut flush whereas calling your opponent down would cost up to £600.
To look at this in greater depth I have used the following example. Milkybarkid v Anon (both players have £750 before this hand) Stack size is extremely important. If you are going to bet with a draw on the flop and the turn you must ensure that if you miss and decide to bluff on the river that your opponent is not left so short stacked that he will call for value and that you have enough in front of you to make a reasonable sized bet.
I hold 7TKA and it flops JQ2 rainbow. I decide to bet £50 on the flop with a straight draw and one opponent calls. The turn is a 4. What is the best strategy now? Regardless of position I still think it is best to bet again. By doing this you are attempting to represent two pairs at least. So if I bet £150 and your opponent calls again and the river is a 6 you are left with an awkward decision. There is now £450 in the pot and you know that if you check you are going to lose. In the past I may have given up on pots like this online because of the crap that I have been called down but this was clearly the wrong strategy. In 2005 betting on the river has been picking up pots like this easily enough of the time to make it profitable. The difficulty I find is how much to bet? There is £450 in the pot and both you and your opponent have £545 in front of you. Do you bet the pot in this situation? Normally I will bet between 50-70% of the pot but whether that is correct is another matter. Considering you can write off this pot if you check then a bet of 50% of the pot would only have to be successful over 33% of the time for it to be the correct move. If you bet full pot then you would have to win over 50% of the time for this kind of play to be correct.
I was playing PL Omaha last night and for the first time I was sat at a table when I had made notes on every single player. Extensive notes on many of them as well. I have only made a concerted effort to make notes on players in the last 2-3 months and the advantage it has given me is massive. If you don’t make notes. START NOW.
Another tip for PL Omaha players online is how to play the second best flush. I think this is a far better tactic than calling down an opponent if you think they are bluffing. Not that I like particularly playing the second best flush myself but if you find it difficult to lay down then this may be a good strategy for you. For example, if you hold KcTc9h8h and it flops 2c7c9c and one of your opponents bets the pot which is £50 I would actually consider reraising. This may sound crazy but if you raise £100 you will probably find out straight away whether your opponent is holding the nut flush. If he raises you back he almost certainly has it. Hardly any players would reraise again with just a bluff as they probably think you are crazy after raising them in the first place and will call them down. In this scenario it is costing you £150 to find out whether you are facing the nut flush whereas calling your opponent down would cost up to £600.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Poker hot or not
I did one of these a while ago and it was fun so thought I’d give it another crack.
Hot
EPT – just gets better and better and expect fields in excess of 300 for the second season.
Blonde Poker – Excellent tournament reports and a promising looking forum.
Daniel Negreanu’s Blog – A lot of good content and its interesting to read about the $4000/$8000 game that is played.
Bloggers – Luckyblind and The Camel achieving decent results in big tournaments so far in 2005.
Deauville – Good location for a tournament and I met a load of nice people.
Not
The Hendon Mob Forum – Seems to have gone downhill and the days of me checking it a few times a day are long gone.
Annie Duke – She just irritated me a lot when I watched her play recently.
Poker Bastard – Was on my hot list. Give us some more posts and some juicy gossip please.
Pokerstars – Just for still not allowing players to deposit by switch even though nearly every other poker room does now.
Hot
EPT – just gets better and better and expect fields in excess of 300 for the second season.
Blonde Poker – Excellent tournament reports and a promising looking forum.
Daniel Negreanu’s Blog – A lot of good content and its interesting to read about the $4000/$8000 game that is played.
Bloggers – Luckyblind and The Camel achieving decent results in big tournaments so far in 2005.
Deauville – Good location for a tournament and I met a load of nice people.
Not
The Hendon Mob Forum – Seems to have gone downhill and the days of me checking it a few times a day are long gone.
Annie Duke – She just irritated me a lot when I watched her play recently.
Poker Bastard – Was on my hot list. Give us some more posts and some juicy gossip please.
Pokerstars – Just for still not allowing players to deposit by switch even though nearly every other poker room does now.
Monday, February 28, 2005
February 2005 Summary of Month
Here is my poker result’s for February. I am carrying on with the theme of evaluating each month like I did for January.
Online
Sessions 7
Hours Played 34
Overall Return (per session) +$1073
Win Rate (per hour) +$221
Overall Profit / Loss +$7514
I should stick to the PL Omaha online. If I remove my NL Holdem results I would be +$15000 for the month. There isn't really much more to say when things are so obvious.
Live Cash Games
Sessions 1
Hours Played 4
Overall Return (per session) +$900
Win Rate (per hour) +$225
Overall Profit / Loss +$900
I should have played more live cash games. It’s been a busy month with Deauville and my birthday week which is a partial excuse.
Festival Tournaments
Tournaments Played 5
Hours Played 15
Overall Return (per tournament) –$621
Win Rate (per hour) –$207
Overall Profit / Loss -$3107
I won my seat for the EPT main event in France on Pokerstars so these stats are made up by 3 Sit N Go's that I finished 3rd in and two side tournaments at the festival. Despite my form being out and making a few key mistakes I am still looking forward to playing in many of these upcoming tournaments.
February Profit/Loss +$5307
Yearly target +$2972
2005 Overall Profit/Loss +$16372
I was heading towards a poker loss for February until the last few days of the month when I managed to have a couple of very good online sessions on Betfair. It hasn’t been the greatest month so I am just happy to have made a profit and have hopefully learned from a few costly mistakes in tournaments and through my game selection this month.
Online
Sessions 7
Hours Played 34
Overall Return (per session) +$1073
Win Rate (per hour) +$221
Overall Profit / Loss +$7514
I should stick to the PL Omaha online. If I remove my NL Holdem results I would be +$15000 for the month. There isn't really much more to say when things are so obvious.
Live Cash Games
Sessions 1
Hours Played 4
Overall Return (per session) +$900
Win Rate (per hour) +$225
Overall Profit / Loss +$900
I should have played more live cash games. It’s been a busy month with Deauville and my birthday week which is a partial excuse.
Festival Tournaments
Tournaments Played 5
Hours Played 15
Overall Return (per tournament) –$621
Win Rate (per hour) –$207
Overall Profit / Loss -$3107
I won my seat for the EPT main event in France on Pokerstars so these stats are made up by 3 Sit N Go's that I finished 3rd in and two side tournaments at the festival. Despite my form being out and making a few key mistakes I am still looking forward to playing in many of these upcoming tournaments.
February Profit/Loss +$5307
Yearly target +$2972
2005 Overall Profit/Loss +$16372
I was heading towards a poker loss for February until the last few days of the month when I managed to have a couple of very good online sessions on Betfair. It hasn’t been the greatest month so I am just happy to have made a profit and have hopefully learned from a few costly mistakes in tournaments and through my game selection this month.
Stars $500 NL Tournament
Thought I would have a go at the Pokerstars $500 tournament on Sunday evening. I was cruising along and above chip average with less than 300 players from 1500 remaining when I decided to give a very good example of how to play a hand badly all the way through.
Transcript for last 5 games requested by
Milkybarkid
*********** # 1 **************
PokerStars Game #1280039080: Tournament #5285433, Hold'em No Limit - Level
IX
(300/600) - 2005/02/27 - 19:37:43 (ET)
Table '5285433 3' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: SNM1018 (36980 in chips)
Seat 2: ClayListon (28980 in chips)
Seat 3: milkybarkid (13447 in chips)
Seat 4: Rosebudd (37532 in chips)
Seat 5: PICKLED EGG (4905 in chips)
Seat 6: lucky karma (5200 in chips)
Seat 7: VO Viv (19116 in chips)
Seat 8: l'artiste (18250 in chips)
Seat 9: swirly (4198 in chips)
SNM1018: posts the ante 50
ClayListon: posts the ante 50
milkybarkid: posts the ante 50
Rosebudd: posts the ante 50
PICKLED EGG: posts the ante 50
lucky karma: posts the ante 50
VO Viv: posts the ante 50
l'artiste: posts the ante 50
swirly: posts the ante 50
milkybarkid: posts small blind 300
Rosebudd: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to milkybarkid [Kc Ks]
PICKLED EGG: folds
ragu46 [observer] said, "nh clay"
lucky karma: folds
VO Viv: folds
l'artiste: folds
swirly: folds
SNM1018: folds
ClayListon: folds
milkybarkid: raises 600 to 1200
Rosebudd: calls 600
*** FLOP *** [Kh 3h 2c]
milkybarkid: bets 1200
Rosebudd: raises 2400 to 3600
milkybarkid: calls 2400
*** TURN *** [Kh 3h 2c] [Qh]
ClayListon said, "fell into one"
milkybarkid: checks
Rosebudd: checks
*** RIVER *** [Kh 3h 2c Qh] [Js]
milkybarkid: bets 8597 and is all-in
Rosebudd: calls 8597
*** SHOW DOWN ***
milkybarkid: shows [Kc Ks] (three of a kind, Kings)
Rosebudd: shows [8h 4h] (a flush, King high)
Rosebudd collected 27244 from pot
Transcript for last 5 games requested by
Milkybarkid
*********** # 1 **************
PokerStars Game #1280039080: Tournament #5285433, Hold'em No Limit - Level
IX
(300/600) - 2005/02/27 - 19:37:43 (ET)
Table '5285433 3' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: SNM1018 (36980 in chips)
Seat 2: ClayListon (28980 in chips)
Seat 3: milkybarkid (13447 in chips)
Seat 4: Rosebudd (37532 in chips)
Seat 5: PICKLED EGG (4905 in chips)
Seat 6: lucky karma (5200 in chips)
Seat 7: VO Viv (19116 in chips)
Seat 8: l'artiste (18250 in chips)
Seat 9: swirly (4198 in chips)
SNM1018: posts the ante 50
ClayListon: posts the ante 50
milkybarkid: posts the ante 50
Rosebudd: posts the ante 50
PICKLED EGG: posts the ante 50
lucky karma: posts the ante 50
VO Viv: posts the ante 50
l'artiste: posts the ante 50
swirly: posts the ante 50
milkybarkid: posts small blind 300
Rosebudd: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to milkybarkid [Kc Ks]
PICKLED EGG: folds
ragu46 [observer] said, "nh clay"
lucky karma: folds
VO Viv: folds
l'artiste: folds
swirly: folds
SNM1018: folds
ClayListon: folds
milkybarkid: raises 600 to 1200
Rosebudd: calls 600
*** FLOP *** [Kh 3h 2c]
milkybarkid: bets 1200
Rosebudd: raises 2400 to 3600
milkybarkid: calls 2400
*** TURN *** [Kh 3h 2c] [Qh]
ClayListon said, "fell into one"
milkybarkid: checks
Rosebudd: checks
*** RIVER *** [Kh 3h 2c Qh] [Js]
milkybarkid: bets 8597 and is all-in
Rosebudd: calls 8597
*** SHOW DOWN ***
milkybarkid: shows [Kc Ks] (three of a kind, Kings)
Rosebudd: shows [8h 4h] (a flush, King high)
Rosebudd collected 27244 from pot
Friday, February 25, 2005
Omaha Loving
Stayed up all last night and plowed through a full table of Omaha players on Betfair. By 8am this morning they had all disappeared and all lost except me and one other guy who won about £2000. The table was extremely loose. I was down £2500 at one point and finished with just short of £6000 in front of me. Considering the max sit down is £500 that is a monster stack. I also hit a Royal Flush which gave me a £300 bonus. Here were the three biggest pots I was involved in. I had started my end of month report yesterday... this result has helped no end for my February figures.
Hand 1
The first hand I took a major risk just calling with top set on the flop but it reaped dividends.
Omaha High Pot Limit (£2.50/£5) - 2005/02/25 - 03:59:20 (GMT)
Table "Iris" Seat 2 is the button.
Seat 2: Mervbluff (£936 in chips)
Seat 3: jimmywan (£1354.22 in chips)
Seat 4: Milkybarkid (£2691.04 in chips)
Seat 5: Slushie (£904.50 in chips)
Seat 6: dubchambr (£1395 in chips)
Seat 7: spkatrsl (£732 in chips)
Seat 8: moras (£1498.32 in chips)
Seat 9: the-fire (£624.50 in chips)
Seat 10: silver17 (£422.50 in chips)
jimmywan: posts small blind £2.50
Milkybarkid: posts big blind £5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [7d 9d Kc Kd]
Slushie: folds
dubchambr: calls £5
spkatrsl: folds
moras: calls £5
the-fire: calls £5
silver17: calls £5
Mervbluff: calls £5
jimmywan: calls £2.50
Milkybarkid: raises to £22
dubchambr: calls £17
moras: calls £17
the-fire: calls £17
silver17: calls £17
Mervbluff: folds
jimmywan: calls £17
----- FLOP ----- [2d Ts Kh]
jimmywan: checks
Milkybarkid: checks
dubchambr: checks
moras: checks
the-fire: checks
silver17: bets £137
jimmywan: calls £137
Milkybarkid: calls £137
dubchambr: calls £137
moras: folds
the-fire: folds
----- TURN ----- [2d Ts Kh][3h]
jimmywan: bets £685
Milkybarkid: raises to £2532.04 and is all-in
dubchambr: folds
silver17: folds
jimmywan: is all-in £510.22
Returned uncalled bets £1,336.82 to Milkybarkid
----- RIVER ----- [2d Ts Kh 3h][9s]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Milkybarkid: shows [7d 9d Kc Kd] (Three of a kind, Kings, Ten high)
jimmywan: shows [4c 2h Td 5c] (Two Pairs, Tens and Twos, King high)
Milkybarkid collected £3072.44 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £3075.44 Main pot £3072.44 Rake £3
Board [2d Ts Kh 3h 9s]
Seat 2: Mervbluff (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: jimmywan (small blind) lost
Seat 4: Milkybarkid (big blind) showed [7d 9d Kc Kd] and won (£3072.44) with Three of a kind, Kings, Ten high
Seat 5: Slushie folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: dubchambr folded on the Turn
Seat 7: spkatrsl folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: moras folded on the Flop
Seat 9: the-fire folded on the Flop
Seat 10: silver17 folded on the Turn
Hand 2
Here is a huge pot that I lost. He probably read me for the flush draw on the flop or a steal but he was pot committed once he had reraised me.
Omaha High Pot Limit (£2.50/£5) - 2005/02/25 - 05:23:43 (GMT)
Table "Iris" Seat 5 is the button.
Seat 2: DevilFitz (£493 in chips)
Seat 4: Milkybarkid (£3777.01 in chips)
Seat 5: Slushie (£456.50 in chips)
Seat 7: spkatrsl (£1034 in chips)
Seat 9: the-fire (£1538.50 in chips)
Seat 10: Kovax (£484.50 in chips)
spkatrsl: posts small blind £2.50
the-fire: posts big blind £5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [Ad Qd 4c As]
Kovax: calls £5
DevilFitz: calls £5
Milkybarkid: raises to £27.50
Slushie: folds
spkatrsl: calls £25
the-fire: calls £22.50
Kovax: calls £22.50
DevilFitz: calls £22.50
----- FLOP ----- [5s 3h 2h]
spkatrsl: checks
the-fire: checks
Kovax: checks
DevilFitz: checks
Milkybarkid: bets £137.50
spkatrsl: raises to £550
the-fire: folds
Kovax: folds
DevilFitz: folds
Milkybarkid: raises to £1787.50
spkatrsl: is all-in £456.50
Returned uncalled bets £781 to Milkybarkid
----- TURN ----- [5s 3h 2h][4h]
----- RIVER ----- [5s 3h 2h 4h][5h]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Milkybarkid: shows [Ad Qd 4c As] (A Straight, Five high)
spkatrsl: shows [8h 5d 3d 3s] (A Full House, Fives full of Threes)
spkatrsl collected £2147.50 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £2150.50 Main pot £2147.50 Rake £3
Board [5s 3h 2h 4h 5h]
Seat 2: DevilFitz folded on the Flop
Seat 4: Milkybarkid lost
Seat 5: Slushie (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: spkatrsl (small blind) showed [8h 5d 3d 3s] and won (£2147.50) with A Full House, Fives full of Threes
Seat 9: the-fire (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 10: Kovax folded on the Flop
Hand 3
Amazingly he gave it all back and more on the very next hand. My call on the flop was loose. I had a big smile on my face when he called my river bet :-)
Omaha High Pot Limit (£2.50/£5) - 2005/02/25 - 05:25:27 (GMT)
Table "Iris" Seat 7 is the button.
Seat 2: DevilFitz (£465.50 in chips)
Seat 4: Milkybarkid (£2743.01 in chips)
Seat 5: Slushie (£456.50 in chips)
Seat 7: spkatrsl (£2147.50 in chips)
Seat 9: the-fire (£1511 in chips)
Seat 10: Kovax (£457 in chips)
the-fire: posts small blind £2.50
Kovax: posts big blind £5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [6h Ac 3s 3d]
DevilFitz: folds
Milkybarkid: raises to £17.50
Slushie: raises to £60
spkatrsl: calls £60
the-fire: folds
Kovax: calls £55
Milkybarkid: calls £42.50
----- FLOP ----- [Jc 5d 4d]
Kovax: checks
Milkybarkid: checks
Slushie: bets £242.50
spkatrsl: calls £242.50
Kovax: folds
Milkybarkid: calls £242.50
----- TURN ----- [Jc 5d 4d][3h]
Milkybarkid: checks
Slushie: checks
spkatrsl: checks
----- RIVER ----- [Jc 5d 4d 3h][2s]
Milkybarkid: bets £970
Slushie: folds
spkatrsl: calls £970
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Milkybarkid: shows [6h Ac 3s 3d] (A Straight, Six high)
spkatrsl: mucks hand
Milkybarkid collected £2907 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £2910 Main pot £2907 Rake £3
Board [Jc 5d 4d 3h 2s]
Seat 2: DevilFitz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Milkybarkid showed [6h Ac 3s 3d] and won (£2907) with A Straight, Six high
Seat 5: Slushie folded on the River
Seat 7: spkatrsl (button) mucked
Seat 9: the-fire (small blind) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 10: Kovax (big blind) folded on the Flop
Hand 1
The first hand I took a major risk just calling with top set on the flop but it reaped dividends.
Omaha High Pot Limit (£2.50/£5) - 2005/02/25 - 03:59:20 (GMT)
Table "Iris" Seat 2 is the button.
Seat 2: Mervbluff (£936 in chips)
Seat 3: jimmywan (£1354.22 in chips)
Seat 4: Milkybarkid (£2691.04 in chips)
Seat 5: Slushie (£904.50 in chips)
Seat 6: dubchambr (£1395 in chips)
Seat 7: spkatrsl (£732 in chips)
Seat 8: moras (£1498.32 in chips)
Seat 9: the-fire (£624.50 in chips)
Seat 10: silver17 (£422.50 in chips)
jimmywan: posts small blind £2.50
Milkybarkid: posts big blind £5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [7d 9d Kc Kd]
Slushie: folds
dubchambr: calls £5
spkatrsl: folds
moras: calls £5
the-fire: calls £5
silver17: calls £5
Mervbluff: calls £5
jimmywan: calls £2.50
Milkybarkid: raises to £22
dubchambr: calls £17
moras: calls £17
the-fire: calls £17
silver17: calls £17
Mervbluff: folds
jimmywan: calls £17
----- FLOP ----- [2d Ts Kh]
jimmywan: checks
Milkybarkid: checks
dubchambr: checks
moras: checks
the-fire: checks
silver17: bets £137
jimmywan: calls £137
Milkybarkid: calls £137
dubchambr: calls £137
moras: folds
the-fire: folds
----- TURN ----- [2d Ts Kh][3h]
jimmywan: bets £685
Milkybarkid: raises to £2532.04 and is all-in
dubchambr: folds
silver17: folds
jimmywan: is all-in £510.22
Returned uncalled bets £1,336.82 to Milkybarkid
----- RIVER ----- [2d Ts Kh 3h][9s]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Milkybarkid: shows [7d 9d Kc Kd] (Three of a kind, Kings, Ten high)
jimmywan: shows [4c 2h Td 5c] (Two Pairs, Tens and Twos, King high)
Milkybarkid collected £3072.44 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £3075.44 Main pot £3072.44 Rake £3
Board [2d Ts Kh 3h 9s]
Seat 2: Mervbluff (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: jimmywan (small blind) lost
Seat 4: Milkybarkid (big blind) showed [7d 9d Kc Kd] and won (£3072.44) with Three of a kind, Kings, Ten high
Seat 5: Slushie folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: dubchambr folded on the Turn
Seat 7: spkatrsl folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: moras folded on the Flop
Seat 9: the-fire folded on the Flop
Seat 10: silver17 folded on the Turn
Hand 2
Here is a huge pot that I lost. He probably read me for the flush draw on the flop or a steal but he was pot committed once he had reraised me.
Omaha High Pot Limit (£2.50/£5) - 2005/02/25 - 05:23:43 (GMT)
Table "Iris" Seat 5 is the button.
Seat 2: DevilFitz (£493 in chips)
Seat 4: Milkybarkid (£3777.01 in chips)
Seat 5: Slushie (£456.50 in chips)
Seat 7: spkatrsl (£1034 in chips)
Seat 9: the-fire (£1538.50 in chips)
Seat 10: Kovax (£484.50 in chips)
spkatrsl: posts small blind £2.50
the-fire: posts big blind £5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [Ad Qd 4c As]
Kovax: calls £5
DevilFitz: calls £5
Milkybarkid: raises to £27.50
Slushie: folds
spkatrsl: calls £25
the-fire: calls £22.50
Kovax: calls £22.50
DevilFitz: calls £22.50
----- FLOP ----- [5s 3h 2h]
spkatrsl: checks
the-fire: checks
Kovax: checks
DevilFitz: checks
Milkybarkid: bets £137.50
spkatrsl: raises to £550
the-fire: folds
Kovax: folds
DevilFitz: folds
Milkybarkid: raises to £1787.50
spkatrsl: is all-in £456.50
Returned uncalled bets £781 to Milkybarkid
----- TURN ----- [5s 3h 2h][4h]
----- RIVER ----- [5s 3h 2h 4h][5h]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Milkybarkid: shows [Ad Qd 4c As] (A Straight, Five high)
spkatrsl: shows [8h 5d 3d 3s] (A Full House, Fives full of Threes)
spkatrsl collected £2147.50 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £2150.50 Main pot £2147.50 Rake £3
Board [5s 3h 2h 4h 5h]
Seat 2: DevilFitz folded on the Flop
Seat 4: Milkybarkid lost
Seat 5: Slushie (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: spkatrsl (small blind) showed [8h 5d 3d 3s] and won (£2147.50) with A Full House, Fives full of Threes
Seat 9: the-fire (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 10: Kovax folded on the Flop
Hand 3
Amazingly he gave it all back and more on the very next hand. My call on the flop was loose. I had a big smile on my face when he called my river bet :-)
Omaha High Pot Limit (£2.50/£5) - 2005/02/25 - 05:25:27 (GMT)
Table "Iris" Seat 7 is the button.
Seat 2: DevilFitz (£465.50 in chips)
Seat 4: Milkybarkid (£2743.01 in chips)
Seat 5: Slushie (£456.50 in chips)
Seat 7: spkatrsl (£2147.50 in chips)
Seat 9: the-fire (£1511 in chips)
Seat 10: Kovax (£457 in chips)
the-fire: posts small blind £2.50
Kovax: posts big blind £5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [6h Ac 3s 3d]
DevilFitz: folds
Milkybarkid: raises to £17.50
Slushie: raises to £60
spkatrsl: calls £60
the-fire: folds
Kovax: calls £55
Milkybarkid: calls £42.50
----- FLOP ----- [Jc 5d 4d]
Kovax: checks
Milkybarkid: checks
Slushie: bets £242.50
spkatrsl: calls £242.50
Kovax: folds
Milkybarkid: calls £242.50
----- TURN ----- [Jc 5d 4d][3h]
Milkybarkid: checks
Slushie: checks
spkatrsl: checks
----- RIVER ----- [Jc 5d 4d 3h][2s]
Milkybarkid: bets £970
Slushie: folds
spkatrsl: calls £970
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Milkybarkid: shows [6h Ac 3s 3d] (A Straight, Six high)
spkatrsl: mucks hand
Milkybarkid collected £2907 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £2910 Main pot £2907 Rake £3
Board [Jc 5d 4d 3h 2s]
Seat 2: DevilFitz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Milkybarkid showed [6h Ac 3s 3d] and won (£2907) with A Straight, Six high
Seat 5: Slushie folded on the River
Seat 7: spkatrsl (button) mucked
Seat 9: the-fire (small blind) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 10: Kovax (big blind) folded on the Flop
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Surfing around ......
I was reading Daniel Negreanu's blog and he wrote the following "In two days I'm down $441,000 which is nowhere near the biggest loser over that stretch. In fact, you can win half a million in an hour in that game, or lose it of course...... So while $441,000 is a lot of money in the real world, in that game it's not much of a figure at all. I'm totally comfortable with the figure personally and genuinely not worried about it. "
It got me thinking about how much money the players in that game have. Surely to play in a game where a game where you can win or lose $500000 in an hour then you need a huge bankroll. I am thinking $25-50 Million or something along those lines. Whilst i know there is alot of money floating about amongst the top players i just don't see where they get that kind of bankroll from. Assuming that the level of skill in the $4000/$8000 game is extremely high any player could surely go broke if they had a really bad couple of months.
My boredom in work reminds me why March 24th is such a big date in my calendar.
It got me thinking about how much money the players in that game have. Surely to play in a game where a game where you can win or lose $500000 in an hour then you need a huge bankroll. I am thinking $25-50 Million or something along those lines. Whilst i know there is alot of money floating about amongst the top players i just don't see where they get that kind of bankroll from. Assuming that the level of skill in the $4000/$8000 game is extremely high any player could surely go broke if they had a really bad couple of months.
My boredom in work reminds me why March 24th is such a big date in my calendar.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Omaha Questions
I was scouring the net and i came across 20 questions by Tom McEvoy on Omaha Hi/Lo Split. I scored 16/20. On three i could see how my answer could be wrong but I think he is wrong on the following question.
You have 4-5-6-7 with one suit in middle position with two limpers. Your play is?
a) Call
b) Fold
c) Raise
Your Answer: Fold
Correct Answer: Call.
For me this is a clear fold before the flop. Does anyone else agree?
Ok so i am bored today so here is a little Omaha quiz i have put together.
The game is nine handed on Pokerstars. Each player starts with $1000 in front of them, blinds are $5/$10. I know this doesn't go in to detail on how each particular opponent may play but that would have been too complex. Assume the players are average/good aggressive players.
1) There is a small raise to $30 and you call on the button with 6d7d8c9c and 5 players see a flop of 7h10hJs so you have flopped the nut straight. Small blind bets $150, two players pass, and the player to act before you reraises to $400. You are sat there with $970. Do you?
a) Raise all in
b) Call
c) Fold
2) You are in the small blind. Pre flop under the gun raises $25 to play and there are 3 callers before the button who makes it $150 to play. You hold JcQdKcKd what do you do?
a) Fold
b) Call
c) Raise
3) You are on the button. Five players including you see the flop, one raise to $60 to play, pot size $300. You hold AdJdJh7c and the flop is 4d5d6c. First to speak bets $200 and another player moves all in for $700. You have $900 in front of you... your move?
a) fold
b) call
c) Raise all in
4) You in the small blind with Ah 9h Ac 6d and raise to $50 to play and all 9 players see a flop of AdThJh. Pot size is $450. You are first to speak .... what do you do?
a) Bet pot
b) Make a bet less than the pot
c) Check and if someone bets call any amount
d) Check and if there is a bet raise
e) Check and if there is a bet pass
5) You are in a late position and call $40 to play with JdQdKc8c. There are 3 other players who see the flop which is JcQc4h. First to speak bets $160, both other players call. Its on you.. do you?
a) fold
b) call
c) Raise less than the pot
d) Raise the pot
You have 4-5-6-7 with one suit in middle position with two limpers. Your play is?
a) Call
b) Fold
c) Raise
Your Answer: Fold
Correct Answer: Call.
For me this is a clear fold before the flop. Does anyone else agree?
Ok so i am bored today so here is a little Omaha quiz i have put together.
The game is nine handed on Pokerstars. Each player starts with $1000 in front of them, blinds are $5/$10. I know this doesn't go in to detail on how each particular opponent may play but that would have been too complex. Assume the players are average/good aggressive players.
1) There is a small raise to $30 and you call on the button with 6d7d8c9c and 5 players see a flop of 7h10hJs so you have flopped the nut straight. Small blind bets $150, two players pass, and the player to act before you reraises to $400. You are sat there with $970. Do you?
a) Raise all in
b) Call
c) Fold
2) You are in the small blind. Pre flop under the gun raises $25 to play and there are 3 callers before the button who makes it $150 to play. You hold JcQdKcKd what do you do?
a) Fold
b) Call
c) Raise
3) You are on the button. Five players including you see the flop, one raise to $60 to play, pot size $300. You hold AdJdJh7c and the flop is 4d5d6c. First to speak bets $200 and another player moves all in for $700. You have $900 in front of you... your move?
a) fold
b) call
c) Raise all in
4) You in the small blind with Ah 9h Ac 6d and raise to $50 to play and all 9 players see a flop of AdThJh. Pot size is $450. You are first to speak .... what do you do?
a) Bet pot
b) Make a bet less than the pot
c) Check and if someone bets call any amount
d) Check and if there is a bet raise
e) Check and if there is a bet pass
5) You are in a late position and call $40 to play with JdQdKc8c. There are 3 other players who see the flop which is JcQc4h. First to speak bets $160, both other players call. Its on you.. do you?
a) fold
b) call
c) Raise less than the pot
d) Raise the pot
Monday, February 21, 2005
Deauville Trip Report
Main Event
It all started so well. I was placed on a table with 6 American Online qualifiers 3 of which had never played live. The only decent one was to my left and I think he went on to win it........
Starting chips were 10000 and I picked up a number of pots early on with some well timed bluffs as I was hardly seeing a hand. I think because they traveled so far to play they were very reluctant to call and sort of raise on the early levels. I was up to 20000 chips and called a raise from the only French player at the table who had slightly less chips than me with 88. I flopped a full house on a board of 8TT. I decided to lead out aggressively as I knew he would be less inclined to believe I had a made hand. I raised 1500 and he reraise me 3000.. :-) The tactic had worked. Turn brings a 4 and he bets 3500. I call after a short dwell and the last card is a 2. He bet 3500 again and I moved all in. He though for about two minutes and called and flipped over 44. What a nice turn that made him his losing full house. I was up to 40000 chips which at that early stage can't have been too far short of the chip lead. Then I had a terrible level when I lost with QQ twice and JJ twice... which set me back to about 30000 chips.
A young Scandinavian player then moved to the table and started raising alot of pots and he had about 27000 chips in front of him. After a few battles between me and him I limped under the gun. Blinds were 200/400. I am not going to say what hand I had as I want anyone who reads this to decide whether I played this hand badly or whether he did. I had not limped before this hand under the gun all night before this hand. He limped as well and the small blind passed leaving three of us in the pot. Flop KJ4 with two diamonds on the board. It’s checked to him and he bets 1000. I check raised him another 2500 and he then reraised me another 4000. I called immediately. There were now about 15000 chips in the middle. Turn is a T and I moved all in for nearly 20000 chips...... he thought for about 2 minutes before calling and flipping over KT for two pairs which held up on the river leaving me crippled and I was out about 5 minutes later. Considering my limp and check raise on the flop I could easily have held KK, JJ, KJ all of which would have him drawing dead.... but maybe I read too much into these things. I definitely wouldn't have called a reraise on the flop with top pair T kicker. I also know had the turn brought anything but a T or a K that he had decided to muck his hand if I moved all in (he told me that later). Incidentally he was 5th chip leader going into the second day and he was out after about an hour.
Time for a moan
My tournament form is seriously out at the moment. In the last 5 live tournaments I have played I have not once had AA or KK once which accumulating the hours played is probably 25-30 hours. I know that getting those hands is not the making of a tournament but it would help sometimes. In Deauville I had QQ no less than 6 times. I didn't win with them once. My favorite moment which sums up my form at the moment was during the 1000 Euro tournament. I had built my chips up from 5000 to just over 12000 chips and I was against a player with about 5000 chips. I had QQ in the big blind and reraised him all in after his initial raise. He flips over AK and hits an A on the flop. Fair enough it was a coin flip so no bad beat there. Very next hand I pick up AK suited. It’s folded round to me in the small blind and I raise a small amount and the big blind moves in for 7000 chips. I call and he shows QQ. First card out on the flop a Q and I am out. AK is another of my big moans at the moment. In France and Luton I have not once hit a single A or K when I have committed any chips with it preflop.
Place and People
The tournament was very well run and there was a giant cinema screen so you could see how many players were left, the prize pool, blinds and any other useful information whilst you were involved in a tournament. I finally met fellow blogger Mike Lacey who had a very good result in the main event. I'm sure he will write a full report on his blog soon. I think the people that travel around and play on the tournament circuit are far nicer than those you meet in the card rooms in the UK. Deauville is a nice venue for a poker tournament as well. It’s kind of like the Cannes of the north with lots of designer shops and nice restaurants. I think the EPT will grow and grow and before long the main events will be attracting 300-500 runners.
Oh and before I forget. French poker players are miserable gits.
Highlight of the week
After finishing 3rd in 3 250 Euro Sit n Go's I played in a 30 Euro Hi Low Stud Sit n Go with Julian Thew, Bad Girl, Steve Vladar and Mike Lacey and after studying High Low Split Poker for Advanced Players by Ray Zee on the way over I can say that I decimated the field and picked up a whopping 270 Euros for my troubles. lol. It was great fun and I am definitely going to be able to utilise my new found knowledge in that game when I play in the Dealers Choice at the Vic.
Talking of the Vic. I am going to have to play a few cash games before the end of February if I am going to turn around my figures for February which are not looking great at the moment. Online and Live are +$$$ but bad tournaments in Luton and Deauville mean that I am looking at a slightly negative month as things stand.
It all started so well. I was placed on a table with 6 American Online qualifiers 3 of which had never played live. The only decent one was to my left and I think he went on to win it........
Starting chips were 10000 and I picked up a number of pots early on with some well timed bluffs as I was hardly seeing a hand. I think because they traveled so far to play they were very reluctant to call and sort of raise on the early levels. I was up to 20000 chips and called a raise from the only French player at the table who had slightly less chips than me with 88. I flopped a full house on a board of 8TT. I decided to lead out aggressively as I knew he would be less inclined to believe I had a made hand. I raised 1500 and he reraise me 3000.. :-) The tactic had worked. Turn brings a 4 and he bets 3500. I call after a short dwell and the last card is a 2. He bet 3500 again and I moved all in. He though for about two minutes and called and flipped over 44. What a nice turn that made him his losing full house. I was up to 40000 chips which at that early stage can't have been too far short of the chip lead. Then I had a terrible level when I lost with QQ twice and JJ twice... which set me back to about 30000 chips.
A young Scandinavian player then moved to the table and started raising alot of pots and he had about 27000 chips in front of him. After a few battles between me and him I limped under the gun. Blinds were 200/400. I am not going to say what hand I had as I want anyone who reads this to decide whether I played this hand badly or whether he did. I had not limped before this hand under the gun all night before this hand. He limped as well and the small blind passed leaving three of us in the pot. Flop KJ4 with two diamonds on the board. It’s checked to him and he bets 1000. I check raised him another 2500 and he then reraised me another 4000. I called immediately. There were now about 15000 chips in the middle. Turn is a T and I moved all in for nearly 20000 chips...... he thought for about 2 minutes before calling and flipping over KT for two pairs which held up on the river leaving me crippled and I was out about 5 minutes later. Considering my limp and check raise on the flop I could easily have held KK, JJ, KJ all of which would have him drawing dead.... but maybe I read too much into these things. I definitely wouldn't have called a reraise on the flop with top pair T kicker. I also know had the turn brought anything but a T or a K that he had decided to muck his hand if I moved all in (he told me that later). Incidentally he was 5th chip leader going into the second day and he was out after about an hour.
Time for a moan
My tournament form is seriously out at the moment. In the last 5 live tournaments I have played I have not once had AA or KK once which accumulating the hours played is probably 25-30 hours. I know that getting those hands is not the making of a tournament but it would help sometimes. In Deauville I had QQ no less than 6 times. I didn't win with them once. My favorite moment which sums up my form at the moment was during the 1000 Euro tournament. I had built my chips up from 5000 to just over 12000 chips and I was against a player with about 5000 chips. I had QQ in the big blind and reraised him all in after his initial raise. He flips over AK and hits an A on the flop. Fair enough it was a coin flip so no bad beat there. Very next hand I pick up AK suited. It’s folded round to me in the small blind and I raise a small amount and the big blind moves in for 7000 chips. I call and he shows QQ. First card out on the flop a Q and I am out. AK is another of my big moans at the moment. In France and Luton I have not once hit a single A or K when I have committed any chips with it preflop.
Place and People
The tournament was very well run and there was a giant cinema screen so you could see how many players were left, the prize pool, blinds and any other useful information whilst you were involved in a tournament. I finally met fellow blogger Mike Lacey who had a very good result in the main event. I'm sure he will write a full report on his blog soon. I think the people that travel around and play on the tournament circuit are far nicer than those you meet in the card rooms in the UK. Deauville is a nice venue for a poker tournament as well. It’s kind of like the Cannes of the north with lots of designer shops and nice restaurants. I think the EPT will grow and grow and before long the main events will be attracting 300-500 runners.
Oh and before I forget. French poker players are miserable gits.
Highlight of the week
After finishing 3rd in 3 250 Euro Sit n Go's I played in a 30 Euro Hi Low Stud Sit n Go with Julian Thew, Bad Girl, Steve Vladar and Mike Lacey and after studying High Low Split Poker for Advanced Players by Ray Zee on the way over I can say that I decimated the field and picked up a whopping 270 Euros for my troubles. lol. It was great fun and I am definitely going to be able to utilise my new found knowledge in that game when I play in the Dealers Choice at the Vic.
Talking of the Vic. I am going to have to play a few cash games before the end of February if I am going to turn around my figures for February which are not looking great at the moment. Online and Live are +$$$ but bad tournaments in Luton and Deauville mean that I am looking at a slightly negative month as things stand.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Time to give up NL Holdem cash
Well I was going to have a poker break before Deauville but my weekend in Jersey was cancelled by fog at the last minute. So effectively I had a totally free weekend to put in some hours playing poker.
I spied one of the worst Omaha players on Betfair £2/£5 PL game sitting on his own just waiting to dump some money to me. So I sat down to play heads up and he got so lucky against me that half an hour later he had taken about £700 of me. Then he left not surprisingly as his luck couldn't last. Every draw he hit and every draw I had I missed... that’s poker I guess.
So I decided in my eternal wisdom that the best place to play next would be the £5/£10 NL Holdem. I can honestly say that I actually didn't make a really bad play in any pot but 2 hours later I had lost £2000. One player was £5000 up and playing the worst poker I had ever seen. He was raising 90% of hands preflop to £70-£100 to play. My highlight was when I was in the big blind and he was on the small blind he predictably raised my blind to £100 and I RR him with KK and he went back over the top for another £500 to put me all in. Surely he couldn't have AA. I called and he showed a monster. JQ suited. The first two cards down on the flop were JQ and no help for me on the turn or river... leaving me fuming again. So after a few hours of play I found myself down £3000. This was not a time to start chasing or going on tilt so I decided to head of to the gym and take my frustration out on a squash ball which I did.
These valuable lessons are certainly expensive but I just cannot beat the big NL Holdem cash games at the moment. Every time I hit a big hand everyone passes and if they do call me or raise they keep hitting miracles to outdraw me. I have only played about 6 hours online on the £5/£10 tables but I am nearly £5000 down. Its not that I am playing badly it’s just a bad run but I am not going to risk trying to reverse these figures for the time being.
So I returned to my best game PL Omaha determined to try and put the mornings terrible session to the back of my mind. I was multi tabling on a £2/£5 and $2/$5 and after 6 hours of solid play I was £3800 up!
I ended the day £800 up. I should read these figures below every time I decide what game to play online.
2005
Online NL Holdem -£5200
Online PL Omaha +£7800
I should keep looking at those figures over and over again till my brain finally processes the information.
I am setting a bounty. Should anyone find me playing on the £5/£10 NL Holdem game on Betfair I will send you a cheque of £50.
My ID is Bennyboi
I spied one of the worst Omaha players on Betfair £2/£5 PL game sitting on his own just waiting to dump some money to me. So I sat down to play heads up and he got so lucky against me that half an hour later he had taken about £700 of me. Then he left not surprisingly as his luck couldn't last. Every draw he hit and every draw I had I missed... that’s poker I guess.
So I decided in my eternal wisdom that the best place to play next would be the £5/£10 NL Holdem. I can honestly say that I actually didn't make a really bad play in any pot but 2 hours later I had lost £2000. One player was £5000 up and playing the worst poker I had ever seen. He was raising 90% of hands preflop to £70-£100 to play. My highlight was when I was in the big blind and he was on the small blind he predictably raised my blind to £100 and I RR him with KK and he went back over the top for another £500 to put me all in. Surely he couldn't have AA. I called and he showed a monster. JQ suited. The first two cards down on the flop were JQ and no help for me on the turn or river... leaving me fuming again. So after a few hours of play I found myself down £3000. This was not a time to start chasing or going on tilt so I decided to head of to the gym and take my frustration out on a squash ball which I did.
These valuable lessons are certainly expensive but I just cannot beat the big NL Holdem cash games at the moment. Every time I hit a big hand everyone passes and if they do call me or raise they keep hitting miracles to outdraw me. I have only played about 6 hours online on the £5/£10 tables but I am nearly £5000 down. Its not that I am playing badly it’s just a bad run but I am not going to risk trying to reverse these figures for the time being.
So I returned to my best game PL Omaha determined to try and put the mornings terrible session to the back of my mind. I was multi tabling on a £2/£5 and $2/$5 and after 6 hours of solid play I was £3800 up!
I ended the day £800 up. I should read these figures below every time I decide what game to play online.
2005
Online NL Holdem -£5200
Online PL Omaha +£7800
I should keep looking at those figures over and over again till my brain finally processes the information.
I am setting a bounty. Should anyone find me playing on the £5/£10 NL Holdem game on Betfair I will send you a cheque of £50.
My ID is Bennyboi
Thursday, February 10, 2005
February fraggles
I haven’t played too much poker of late. A couple of major suckouts in online cash games that cost me over £2000 when I had less than 5% chance of losing both hands earlier in the week prompted my decision not to play again until Deauville. Hopefully opponents have used up there 1 card miracles against me for February. I also want to be ably to play with a positive attitude so a few days break will do me good. If I get knocked out early then there are some other tournaments and I am hoping the cash games will be good.
I still am not playing as much live as I would like. Like 2004 my Live performances have reaped far greater rewards than online. I am not too worried about not playing much because as soon as the end of March arrives I will be able to put play wherever and whenever I choose.
I am also going to celebrate my new found freedom by playing every event at the Vic festival in March/April as it starts the week after I finish work. This could potentially be a 3 weeks of poker mayhem for me…. Possibly a very expensive one too.
The Vic
Mon, 28 Mar Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Unlimited Re-buys £250
Tue, 29 Mar No Limit Holdem Freezeout £750
Wed, 30 Mar Pot Limit Holdem Unlimited Re-buys + 1 Add-on 90 £200
Thu, 31 Mar Double chance Pot Limit Omaha Freezeout £1000
Sat, 02 Apr Championship Event No Limit Holdem Freezeout £1500
Sun, 03 Apr No Limit Holdem Freezeout £300
The Gutshot
Tue, 05 Apr No Limit Holdem Freezeout £150
Wed, 06 Apr Pot Limit Omaha Unlimited Rebuys £100
Fri, 08 Apr Pot Limit Holdem Unlimited Rebuys £100
Sat, 09 Apr Main Event No Limit Holdem Freezeout £750
Luton Grosvenor
Mon, 11 Apr Pot Limit Holdem Unlimited Rebuys £150
Tue, 12 Apr No Limit Holdem Rebuys £150
Wed, 13 Apr Pot Limit Holdem Freezeout £300
Thu, 14 Apr Double ChanceNo Limit Holdem Freezeout £500
Fri, 15 Apr Pot Limit Holdem Unlimited Rebuys £250
Sat, 16 Apr Main Event No Limit Holdem Freezeout £1000
I still am not playing as much live as I would like. Like 2004 my Live performances have reaped far greater rewards than online. I am not too worried about not playing much because as soon as the end of March arrives I will be able to put play wherever and whenever I choose.
I am also going to celebrate my new found freedom by playing every event at the Vic festival in March/April as it starts the week after I finish work. This could potentially be a 3 weeks of poker mayhem for me…. Possibly a very expensive one too.
The Vic
Mon, 28 Mar Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Unlimited Re-buys £250
Tue, 29 Mar No Limit Holdem Freezeout £750
Wed, 30 Mar Pot Limit Holdem Unlimited Re-buys + 1 Add-on 90 £200
Thu, 31 Mar Double chance Pot Limit Omaha Freezeout £1000
Sat, 02 Apr Championship Event No Limit Holdem Freezeout £1500
Sun, 03 Apr No Limit Holdem Freezeout £300
The Gutshot
Tue, 05 Apr No Limit Holdem Freezeout £150
Wed, 06 Apr Pot Limit Omaha Unlimited Rebuys £100
Fri, 08 Apr Pot Limit Holdem Unlimited Rebuys £100
Sat, 09 Apr Main Event No Limit Holdem Freezeout £750
Luton Grosvenor
Mon, 11 Apr Pot Limit Holdem Unlimited Rebuys £150
Tue, 12 Apr No Limit Holdem Rebuys £150
Wed, 13 Apr Pot Limit Holdem Freezeout £300
Thu, 14 Apr Double ChanceNo Limit Holdem Freezeout £500
Fri, 15 Apr Pot Limit Holdem Unlimited Rebuys £250
Sat, 16 Apr Main Event No Limit Holdem Freezeout £1000
Monday, February 07, 2005
Change of Omaha tactics
Made my first visit to the Vic for a while on Friday and eventually got a seat in the £100 PLO. Surveying the scene they were rocks, rocks and more rocks.
Ok time for a change of tactics me thinks. I decided to sit down with the most money on the table and raise pre flop on every hand blind if there hadn't been a raise before it reached me. I knew the players and the majority would be very happy to see every flop as cheaply as possible. I was actually raising most of the time before the flop blind. Whilst many would see this tactic as crazy i know that post flop play is far more significant in Omaha and a good pre flop strategy doesn't necessarily make you a good player. In an instant i had changed the table from one that would often only have £10-£15 in the pot on the flop to one where there was always over £50 on the flop. My persistant raising also made it very difficult for the short stacks to play because having £100-£200 is not going to get you far when every hand is £10-£20 to see the flop.
The result...
Well i sat down with £1000 and stopped about an hour later with £1450. My tactic had worked. I picked up a lot of £50 pots on the flop because my opponents knew i was playing blind and therefore could literally represent any hand on the flop. If i had played my usual game on that table i would have ended up about even. It also seemed to force my opponents into calling me with more marginal hands than they usually would.
I also played in the Dealers Choice for a while but nothing interesting to report there..... ended up +£450 to put me in profit for February for the first time.
Ok time for a change of tactics me thinks. I decided to sit down with the most money on the table and raise pre flop on every hand blind if there hadn't been a raise before it reached me. I knew the players and the majority would be very happy to see every flop as cheaply as possible. I was actually raising most of the time before the flop blind. Whilst many would see this tactic as crazy i know that post flop play is far more significant in Omaha and a good pre flop strategy doesn't necessarily make you a good player. In an instant i had changed the table from one that would often only have £10-£15 in the pot on the flop to one where there was always over £50 on the flop. My persistant raising also made it very difficult for the short stacks to play because having £100-£200 is not going to get you far when every hand is £10-£20 to see the flop.
The result...
Well i sat down with £1000 and stopped about an hour later with £1450. My tactic had worked. I picked up a lot of £50 pots on the flop because my opponents knew i was playing blind and therefore could literally represent any hand on the flop. If i had played my usual game on that table i would have ended up about even. It also seemed to force my opponents into calling me with more marginal hands than they usually would.
I also played in the Dealers Choice for a while but nothing interesting to report there..... ended up +£450 to put me in profit for February for the first time.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
They say old habits die hard....
Well it had to happen. I did manage to go through a month and not go on tilt online.
Till this happened.
I was cruising along in the £5/£10 NL Holdem on Betfair when the following happened.
Sitting with AA in the big blind I was pleased when my foe raised it to £50 to play... I called and just the two of us saw a flop of AJT rainbow. I check and he bets out £500. A massive overbet. It’s really an easy re-raise though because there is no way I thought this player would bet so much with the nuts and even if he does have QK I still have 35% of winning this hand. I reraise him his remaining £200 and he types "oops" in the chatbox and then calls. He turns over AK. Q on the turn and no pair up and he wins a pot of £1500.
Later I did the following analysis of hand that he could have had.
Worst case scenario
AA v QK = 35% chance of winning
Other more likely scenarios
AA v any two pair = 97%
AA v trip J or T = 93%
Gutshot draw = 88%
So I lost to a 12% chance. I think I can cope with bad beats now but not horrific 12% ones in £1500 pots.
So yes I went on tilt.... at one point I was down £2000. Thank god for Omaha and heads up......
At least when I am playing ultra aggressively in Omaha I still only commit my entire stack when I have the right pot odds unlike in NL Holdem when my play is generally very bad if I am tilting.
I also played heads up £2/£5 NL Holdem after I gave up on the ring game..... I actually thought I played very well and turned my £300 on there into £700.
Overall I ended up £500 down if I include a small win on VC but it could have been much worse.
Till this happened.
I was cruising along in the £5/£10 NL Holdem on Betfair when the following happened.
Sitting with AA in the big blind I was pleased when my foe raised it to £50 to play... I called and just the two of us saw a flop of AJT rainbow. I check and he bets out £500. A massive overbet. It’s really an easy re-raise though because there is no way I thought this player would bet so much with the nuts and even if he does have QK I still have 35% of winning this hand. I reraise him his remaining £200 and he types "oops" in the chatbox and then calls. He turns over AK. Q on the turn and no pair up and he wins a pot of £1500.
Later I did the following analysis of hand that he could have had.
Worst case scenario
AA v QK = 35% chance of winning
Other more likely scenarios
AA v any two pair = 97%
AA v trip J or T = 93%
Gutshot draw = 88%
So I lost to a 12% chance. I think I can cope with bad beats now but not horrific 12% ones in £1500 pots.
So yes I went on tilt.... at one point I was down £2000. Thank god for Omaha and heads up......
At least when I am playing ultra aggressively in Omaha I still only commit my entire stack when I have the right pot odds unlike in NL Holdem when my play is generally very bad if I am tilting.
I also played heads up £2/£5 NL Holdem after I gave up on the ring game..... I actually thought I played very well and turned my £300 on there into £700.
Overall I ended up £500 down if I include a small win on VC but it could have been much worse.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
I'm bored in work today
I have been through the tournament schedules on Poker In Europe for the forthcoming months and noticed that the Vic have published their schedule for The Poker Classics 28 Mar - 03 Apr 2005
One thing that struck me in particular is that they have scheduled in the following tournament:
Thurs March 31st
£ 1000 + 30
Double chance Pot Limit Omaha Freezeout
They have obviously noted that during recent festivals that the Omaha Tournaments in particular seem to be dying. Recently in the Luton festival there was only 49 runners.
Perhaps making it a freezeout is the way forward. Many players avoid the Omaha tournaments simply because a lot of people are willing to buy in 3 or 4 times plus a top up especially when they have sponsorship. Making it a freezeout will certainly make it a lot more popular in my opinion. This is one tournament that I am very much looking forward to playing in.
Deauville is only a couple of weeks away. Unless I get a decent result there then I am going to struggle to reach my financial target this month. It is literally manic in work plus I have a birthday weekend and two weekends abroad including Deauville so will have less time than usual to get some decent poker playing time in.
I also watched the EPT London event last night that was shown on Eurosport which I had taped. Whilst I can see that the EPT is a great thing for the poker players in Europe I have to question the quality of a few things. The commentary was very bad, they gave no indication of how big the raises were in relation to the blinds and also due to the highlighting John Falconer had managed to make it down to the final two and I can only remember them showing one pot that he had won to get there.
One thing that struck me in particular is that they have scheduled in the following tournament:
Thurs March 31st
£ 1000 + 30
Double chance Pot Limit Omaha Freezeout
They have obviously noted that during recent festivals that the Omaha Tournaments in particular seem to be dying. Recently in the Luton festival there was only 49 runners.
Perhaps making it a freezeout is the way forward. Many players avoid the Omaha tournaments simply because a lot of people are willing to buy in 3 or 4 times plus a top up especially when they have sponsorship. Making it a freezeout will certainly make it a lot more popular in my opinion. This is one tournament that I am very much looking forward to playing in.
Deauville is only a couple of weeks away. Unless I get a decent result there then I am going to struggle to reach my financial target this month. It is literally manic in work plus I have a birthday weekend and two weekends abroad including Deauville so will have less time than usual to get some decent poker playing time in.
I also watched the EPT London event last night that was shown on Eurosport which I had taped. Whilst I can see that the EPT is a great thing for the poker players in Europe I have to question the quality of a few things. The commentary was very bad, they gave no indication of how big the raises were in relation to the blinds and also due to the highlighting John Falconer had managed to make it down to the final two and I can only remember them showing one pot that he had won to get there.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Well it wasn't quite the end of the month
Online
Sessions 8
Hours Played 20
Overall Return (per session) +$505.00
Win Rate (per hour) +$202.00
Overall Profit/Loss +$4040.00
Whoops a last minute adjustment to my January figures. Played on Betfair for a few hours last night and lost $500. I seem to have gone completely card dead playing Hold em at the moment. I played 4 hours in the festival at Brighton last weekend and 3 hours on two tables last night. During that time I have not once seen AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT and had AK just once. That is about 10 hours of play when you include playing on two tables last night. During that time I have also not once hit the flop in a major way. No sets, straights, flushes…………
Luckily I managed to triple my buy in on the Omaha table or I would have lost $2000.
I’m definitely hoping that my cards improve significantly for the EPT event in Deauville in a few weeks.
Sessions 8
Hours Played 20
Overall Return (per session) +$505.00
Win Rate (per hour) +$202.00
Overall Profit/Loss +$4040.00
Whoops a last minute adjustment to my January figures. Played on Betfair for a few hours last night and lost $500. I seem to have gone completely card dead playing Hold em at the moment. I played 4 hours in the festival at Brighton last weekend and 3 hours on two tables last night. During that time I have not once seen AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT and had AK just once. That is about 10 hours of play when you include playing on two tables last night. During that time I have also not once hit the flop in a major way. No sets, straights, flushes…………
Luckily I managed to triple my buy in on the Omaha table or I would have lost $2000.
I’m definitely hoping that my cards improve significantly for the EPT event in Deauville in a few weeks.
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