I was about to go to bed Xmas evening before I went to have a look if there was any interesting promotions on Pokerstars. Well I noticed they were coming up to the billionth hand dealt so decided to play 7 low limit tables just to see if I could be one of the lucky people who would get $5000 for being in that hand with $50000 for the winner. Just missed out on that one. How lucky was the guy who won $50000. He was playing in a $0.10/0.20 NL Holdem cash game. A good night for him is probably a $20 win. Instead he won $55000. He must feel like he won the lottery. I had to feel sorry for the two players on the table who were sitting out the hand as they get a big fat zero $.
I also noticed there was an EPT qualifier to Deauville which was $360 to enter and there were 4 seats up for grabs so thought I’d give that a shot. Played good poker throughout only really in danger once early when I needed QQ to stand up against AK or I was out. After about 3 hours I was on the final table with 15000 chips which at the time was ranked about 3rd out of 8. The two players directly to the left of me had 25000 chips and all the others were between 5000-8000.
I decided I wasn’t going to get involved in any hands against the chip leaders unless I had KK or AA before the flop. I was in a good position to qualify as the blinds were still reasonably low. It was a case of targeting the small stacks. I knocked one of them out when my KK stood up against their QQ and with 6 people left I felt I was pretty much assured of my seat as I had 25000 chips and only two of the remaining three short stacks needed to be knocked out for me to qualify. I noticed the two other big stacks were getting involved in hands against each other which I just thought was ridiculous. Like me there is no point getting involved. It was like they were playing to win a tournament or something. Then an amazing hand happened when the two big stacks got involved against each other and one went for a big bluff of 18000 chips all in and got called with two pair. That one idiot had gone from 27000 chips and being almost assured of a seat at one stage down to 3000 and was shortly knocked out leaving us with 5 players.
I won another hand when with AA in the big blind I just called the other big stack down without raising at all as I wasn’t going to risk the fact he may have made two pairs. I was chip leader on 40000 chips and the last player to go took a while but eventually I won my seat plus expenses to Deauville which is worth $3600.
It’s amazing how bad some people can play. I think if the chip leader had set himself to away and gone and watched a film he would have won a seat. Instead he played like a lunatic and got himself knocked out.
So Deauville here I come. It was a nice way to end my poker year.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
A few end of year gongs
Pro Poker Player Site of the Year – Daniel Negreanu
http://www.fullcontactpoker.com
The best of the pro players sites by a mile in my opinion. It includes a regularly updated blog and a forum that Daniel posts on sometimes. Plus all sorts of articles that he writes for Card Player magazine.
I do like this article from Barry Greenstein.
http://www.barrygreenstein.com/analysis.htm
He rates many of the well known pro’s on aggressiveness, looseness, limit, No-Limit, side games e.t.c.
Fair play to him for sticking his neck on the line and I am sure his ratings will offend a few of them. The best quote is in his analysis of Phil Hellmuth
“Phil has assured me that he is a much better player than I give him credit for.”
Classic Hellmuth.
Blogs of the Year
I have scoured my way through many good blogs in 2004. I have to pick 3 that are regularly updated. There are other very good ones but I like the ones that post more than once a week.
Mike Lacey - http://luckyblind.blogspot.com/
Andy Ward - http://pokersoft.blogspot.com/
Big Dave D - http://internetpokerpro.blogspot.com/
Muppet(s) of the Year
I wish I could name them but I am just too nice. There are just some people in poker that get a few decent tournament results and suddenly think they are the best thing since slice bread.
Worst Play against me of the Year
Someone calling a 55000 chip raise from me when they had no chips committed on the button with KJ which put us both all in and knocked me out into 5th in one of the Poker Classic tournaments at the Vic. The worst part is that thought it was a good call when they only had a 40% chance of winning the hand.
Best place to make money online
Any game on Party Poker and any other site where you make a good decision about game selection.
Worst online site of the year
Has to be Victor Chandler with the endless problems they have had during tournaments and their notoriously poor customer service.
That’s all I can think of for now.
Have a good Xmas.
Ben
http://www.fullcontactpoker.com
The best of the pro players sites by a mile in my opinion. It includes a regularly updated blog and a forum that Daniel posts on sometimes. Plus all sorts of articles that he writes for Card Player magazine.
I do like this article from Barry Greenstein.
http://www.barrygreenstein.com/analysis.htm
He rates many of the well known pro’s on aggressiveness, looseness, limit, No-Limit, side games e.t.c.
Fair play to him for sticking his neck on the line and I am sure his ratings will offend a few of them. The best quote is in his analysis of Phil Hellmuth
“Phil has assured me that he is a much better player than I give him credit for.”
Classic Hellmuth.
Blogs of the Year
I have scoured my way through many good blogs in 2004. I have to pick 3 that are regularly updated. There are other very good ones but I like the ones that post more than once a week.
Mike Lacey - http://luckyblind.blogspot.com/
Andy Ward - http://pokersoft.blogspot.com/
Big Dave D - http://internetpokerpro.blogspot.com/
Muppet(s) of the Year
I wish I could name them but I am just too nice. There are just some people in poker that get a few decent tournament results and suddenly think they are the best thing since slice bread.
Worst Play against me of the Year
Someone calling a 55000 chip raise from me when they had no chips committed on the button with KJ which put us both all in and knocked me out into 5th in one of the Poker Classic tournaments at the Vic. The worst part is that thought it was a good call when they only had a 40% chance of winning the hand.
Best place to make money online
Any game on Party Poker and any other site where you make a good decision about game selection.
Worst online site of the year
Has to be Victor Chandler with the endless problems they have had during tournaments and their notoriously poor customer service.
That’s all I can think of for now.
Have a good Xmas.
Ben
Monitor or watch?
Hmmm now I have just about got over this hand I am able to write it down. Its amusing because if i have a good night i normally write about it the next day but the bad nights take a bit longer for me to write down. ;-)
I sat down in the £5/£10 NL Holdem last Friday night on Betfair with £1000. I flopped the nuts straight early on when I held QK and someone made a set of Jacks and doubled me up. I then lost a few hands which put me down to £1700 and then this hand happened. I am on the button and find AA. This is a 6 handed table. Under the gun raises £40 to play and then an aggressive player who has raised a lot of pots reraises it to £150 to play. I decide to call and the UTG player passes. Flop 334. He bets £400. Now there is no way in my opinion he can have a 3 after the initial reraise and I have got to be very unlucky if he has 44. I don’t want to scare him out of this pot so I go into the think tank and just call. At this point I have put him on either JJ, QQ or KK. The turn brings another 3 so I now have a full house. He immediately goes all in which has me covered for about another £1150. I call straight away and he has TT. The river brought a dreaded T. Something had to be thrown at that point to vent my frustration and it was either my monitor or my watch. Well my watch got the worst of it and went flying across the room. That damn T cost me a £2700 pot.
After that I was on tilt big style. It really is something that I don’t seem to be able to control online. I don’t play terrible poker on tilt I am just super aggressive and will gamble large amounts on coin flips rather than waiting for a bigger edge. I lost another massive pot for £1300 when I had AK. Flop K37. I check raise my opponent all in. He has KJ and rivers a J. I lost about £2900 in the end and went to bed feeling pretty sick. Perhaps I was due a bit of bad luck.
I woke up Saturday morning and decided to focus on winning at least some of the £2900 back so I started up another £5/£10 NL Holdem game and a $5/$10 Pot Limit Omaha game on Pokerstars. I played really solid good poker for a few hours and managed to turn £400 on the NL Holdem table into £1800 after one big hand where I hit the Ace flush on the turn and my opponent had a Queen flush. Also on the Omaha game on Pokerstars I turned $600 into $2200.
So overall I lost about £700 but felt like I had won. Until I can learn to take the inevitable bad beats that happen in the big games online and not go on tilt I really should not play in them. I think I am gambling for bigger stakes than necessary so am going to change my strategy for the New Year. I can cope with £500 swings but these £3000 swings are too risky.
I sat down in the £5/£10 NL Holdem last Friday night on Betfair with £1000. I flopped the nuts straight early on when I held QK and someone made a set of Jacks and doubled me up. I then lost a few hands which put me down to £1700 and then this hand happened. I am on the button and find AA. This is a 6 handed table. Under the gun raises £40 to play and then an aggressive player who has raised a lot of pots reraises it to £150 to play. I decide to call and the UTG player passes. Flop 334. He bets £400. Now there is no way in my opinion he can have a 3 after the initial reraise and I have got to be very unlucky if he has 44. I don’t want to scare him out of this pot so I go into the think tank and just call. At this point I have put him on either JJ, QQ or KK. The turn brings another 3 so I now have a full house. He immediately goes all in which has me covered for about another £1150. I call straight away and he has TT. The river brought a dreaded T. Something had to be thrown at that point to vent my frustration and it was either my monitor or my watch. Well my watch got the worst of it and went flying across the room. That damn T cost me a £2700 pot.
After that I was on tilt big style. It really is something that I don’t seem to be able to control online. I don’t play terrible poker on tilt I am just super aggressive and will gamble large amounts on coin flips rather than waiting for a bigger edge. I lost another massive pot for £1300 when I had AK. Flop K37. I check raise my opponent all in. He has KJ and rivers a J. I lost about £2900 in the end and went to bed feeling pretty sick. Perhaps I was due a bit of bad luck.
I woke up Saturday morning and decided to focus on winning at least some of the £2900 back so I started up another £5/£10 NL Holdem game and a $5/$10 Pot Limit Omaha game on Pokerstars. I played really solid good poker for a few hours and managed to turn £400 on the NL Holdem table into £1800 after one big hand where I hit the Ace flush on the turn and my opponent had a Queen flush. Also on the Omaha game on Pokerstars I turned $600 into $2200.
So overall I lost about £700 but felt like I had won. Until I can learn to take the inevitable bad beats that happen in the big games online and not go on tilt I really should not play in them. I think I am gambling for bigger stakes than necessary so am going to change my strategy for the New Year. I can cope with £500 swings but these £3000 swings are too risky.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Dammit
Poker can be such a bitch sometimes. I was playing in a qualifier on Pokerstars for the EPT main event in Monte Carlo when the following hand happened. This was a $615 buy in event and we were down to two tables. With the blinds still extremely low and a 30 min clock I was really fancying my chances as I had been gradually increasing my chips from the beginning. Why do people on the internet think that it’s worth risking all their chips pre flop in a big buy in event with AK? I just think this is terrible play. Surely freezeouts are all about waiting till you believe you have a significant advantage in a hand before you commit all your chips. I check raised my opponent with KK and he moved all in and got lucky on the river. I actually broke my abuse rule and gave him some in the chat box. My favorite thing about his response was that he said, “I thought you probably had QQ.” That just made me laugh as if that was his read why would he not just call my original raise of 900 instead of going all in. If he thought I had a high pair he would be at best a coin flip and at worst a severe dog which he was. I would have actually passed QQ before the flop to his raise all in. But hey what do I know?
*********** # 5 **************
PokerStars Game #977104727: Tournament #3908413, Hold'em No Limit - Level
III (25/50) - 2004/12/19 - 19:34:18 (ET)
Table '3908413 1' Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: vuddu (5630 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: milkybarkid (5235 in chips)
Seat 3: dangler (1675 in chips)
Seat 5: noc1111 (1905 in chips)
Seat 6: thebestwon (4785 in chips)
Seat 8: agcpa (5310 in chips)
Seat 9: Lanken (4555 in chips)
agcpa: posts small blind 25
Lanken: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to milkybarkid [Kd Ks]
vuddu: folds
milkybarkid: calls 50
dangler: folds
noc1111: folds
thebestwon: raises 150 to 200
agcpa: calls 175
Lanken: folds
milkybarkid: raises 1000 to 1200
thebestwon: raises 3585 to 4785 and is all-in
agcpa: folds
milkybarkid: calls 3585
*** FLOP *** [Th Jc 9c]
*** TURN *** [Th Jc 9c] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Th Jc 9c 3d] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
milkybarkid: shows [Kd Ks] (a pair of Kings)
thebestwon: shows [Kh Ad] (a pair of Aces)
thebestwon collected 9820 from pot
minnycards [observer] said, "bad beat"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 9820 Rake 0
Board [Th Jc 9c 3d Ac]
Seat 1: vuddu folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: milkybarkid showed [Kd Ks] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 3: dangler folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: noc1111 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: thebestwon (button) showed [Kh Ad] and won (9820) with a pair of
Aces
Seat 8: agcpa (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Lanken (big blind) folded before Flop
*********** # 5 **************
PokerStars Game #977104727: Tournament #3908413, Hold'em No Limit - Level
III (25/50) - 2004/12/19 - 19:34:18 (ET)
Table '3908413 1' Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: vuddu (5630 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: milkybarkid (5235 in chips)
Seat 3: dangler (1675 in chips)
Seat 5: noc1111 (1905 in chips)
Seat 6: thebestwon (4785 in chips)
Seat 8: agcpa (5310 in chips)
Seat 9: Lanken (4555 in chips)
agcpa: posts small blind 25
Lanken: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to milkybarkid [Kd Ks]
vuddu: folds
milkybarkid: calls 50
dangler: folds
noc1111: folds
thebestwon: raises 150 to 200
agcpa: calls 175
Lanken: folds
milkybarkid: raises 1000 to 1200
thebestwon: raises 3585 to 4785 and is all-in
agcpa: folds
milkybarkid: calls 3585
*** FLOP *** [Th Jc 9c]
*** TURN *** [Th Jc 9c] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Th Jc 9c 3d] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
milkybarkid: shows [Kd Ks] (a pair of Kings)
thebestwon: shows [Kh Ad] (a pair of Aces)
thebestwon collected 9820 from pot
minnycards [observer] said, "bad beat"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 9820 Rake 0
Board [Th Jc 9c 3d Ac]
Seat 1: vuddu folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: milkybarkid showed [Kd Ks] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 3: dangler folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: noc1111 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: thebestwon (button) showed [Kh Ad] and won (9820) with a pair of
Aces
Seat 8: agcpa (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Lanken (big blind) folded before Flop
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Review of 2004 and aims for 2005
Well it may be quite early to do a proper review of my year but as I doubt that I’ll play a great deal more this year other than a few games online and maybe one visit to the Vic.
I didn’t play a great deal until June when I started keeping records. I didn’t have a computer before then and was busy traveling around the country doing a job I really didn’t like. I actually gave up that job thinking either I would get an amazing new job or I would try and play poker for a living. Well it took just two days for me to land a job I couldn’t refuse so turning professional has at least been put on the backburner until March next year.
Tournament Review
I have played in 9 tournaments in 2004 with entrance fees of £200 or higher.
European Poker Championships 2004 - London
£250 Pot Limit Omaha
£200 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
Gutshot Club - London
£500 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
European Poker Classics - London
£250 Pot Limit Holdem
£750 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
£500 Pot Limit Omaha
£300 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
£3000 European Poker Tour No Limit Freezeout
Xmas Cracker - Brighton
£500 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
In 6 of these 9 tournaments I have made the final three tables finishing 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 11th and 20th. Tournaments that have entrance fees really seem to focus my poker and I seem to keep bad decisions down to a minimum. I have definitely improved upon my tournament No Limit Holdem as prior to 2004 I had predominantly played Pot Limit Holdem. My 20th place in the European Poker Tour event in London is perhaps the most frustrating. I know that despite playing well throughout day 1 I left myself to short chipped to be able to make an impact on the 2nd day and it isn’t a mistake I will be making again. My 5th place in the £300 No Limit Holdem Freezeout was highlight as there were 198 runners. Its one I could have done even better in but my opponent hit his second pair on the river to send me out.
Overall I paid £7400 in entrance fees to tournaments in 2004. My prize money was £4400. So my tournament loss was £3000. However, half my EPT event entrance fee was paid by backers. My investment in Adam Matusiak for the main event in Brighton in the summer yielded me £6000. So if I include that in my figures I actually made a profit of £4500 in 2004.
Cash Game Review
It seems bizarre that when I look at my figures that despite cash games being my most financially successful area of my poker I have played it the least by far. Obviously with still having a job I can’t manage the late nights and the convenience of playing online can be too tempting. Since June I have played live cash games 18 times. 14 of which were winning sessions. I also have tendency not to play for a while if I have a good win. I think it’s because when I do win it’s normally a £1000+ win due to the level of cash game I play. If I lose I also don’t normally play for a while as my losses are always £1000+ when I lose and I don’t want to start chasing. I know if I do turn professional I will have to play cash 3 or 4 times a week as these are my bread and butter. I don’t think you can be a successful professional player unless you are good at cash games. Tournaments are just a bonus in my opinion and I enjoy playing them.
When I posted a few months back my Live Cash – Overall Win rate (per hour) was + £131.55. I have had two wins and two losses since then and it will finish the year at Live Cash – Overall Win rate (per hour) + £125.27. Overall for 2004 I made a profit in cash games of just over £9000.
Focusing specifically on the games I play live. I am very happy with my Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo game. I need to improve upon my Stud game significantly if I am to truly feel comfortable playing for large amounts of money in Dealers Choice games. I rarely play Holdem cash games as the big games always seem to be Omaha or dealers choice.
Online Poker
I really do have a love hate relationship with online poker. I know that it is probably the easiest area in poker to make consistent money but I often lack focus or choose games that I shouldn’t be playing. I have massive winning runs and then equally as bad losing runs. I gave up keeping proper records of how I was doing because I’d often just play for an hour and not keep results. So I contacted all the sites that I’ve played on in 2004 to gain records of my profit/loss.
I managed to turn what was a £8000 loss just a few months ago into a break even on one site. I have played this year on Betfair, Victor Chandler, Paradise, Party and Pokerstars and after correlating my results together I made a very marginal profit. I could easily say that online poker this year has been a waste of time or has it? I certainly have learnt some harsh lessons about my own personality and a huge tendency to go on tilt when I’ve had a few drinks and have a few bad beats. I have gambled for some serious money as well. On Betfair which I play on the most I have deposited £20000 from my current account. Yikes.
Playing online has definitely improved my NL Holdem game and my Omaha Hi/Lo. I have literally played in every game that online can offer. Big multi table tournaments, Sit N Go’s, Omaha, Hi/Lo, Stud, Pineapple (I won at that somehow), Limit Holdem, NL Limit Holdem and a few satellites to big events.
It shows how ridiculous playing online has made me in the past. I was playing $20/$40 Limit on Party Poker a month back. While I managed to win what the hell was I doing playing Limit Holdem? I have probably only ever played the game for about 20 hours in my life. Yet in my wisdom (on tilt) I decided it was a good choice of game. Probably a good decision as I can’t bet too much playing Limit.
Aims for 2005
Live Tournaments
I will increase the number of tournaments I play in and will definitely travel abroad to play in a few tournaments. I am tempted by the EPT events in both Vienna and Copenhagen but will probably only travel to one of them.
My ranking for Europe for 2004 currently stands at 244th. My aim is too significantly improve upon that. For 2005 I aim to finish in the top 20 in Europe. I know that is a high target but I like to have something to aim for. It keeps me focused.
Hopefully I won’t have as many bubble finishes as this year which is just so frustrating. I’d rather be knocked out after 10 minutes than play for 8 hours and finish on the bubble.
Live Cash
I am going to play more cash live. I will start playing at least once a week. I am going to buy some books to learn to improve my stud game. I don’t know my pot odds well enough to be confident in making big bets in that game yet.
Online
I will continue to play online a fair bit. I have decided I am only going to play the following games Pot Limit Omaha, NL Holdem and Satellites to big poker events.
No more multi table tournaments, Sit n Go’s, Limit poker, Stud or any other crazy game I think I can beat.
Overall I have really enjoyed playing poker this year. I have had an opportunity to play in some very big cash games and tournaments and have had a real buzz from doing so. I have also met many of the well known players. At one point I found myself mixing it on the same table with Peter Costa, Dave Colclough and Marcel Luske. I definitely couldn’t have imagined that at the start of the year. Hopefully I can continue to focus on my game, improve, and have a successful 2005.
I didn’t play a great deal until June when I started keeping records. I didn’t have a computer before then and was busy traveling around the country doing a job I really didn’t like. I actually gave up that job thinking either I would get an amazing new job or I would try and play poker for a living. Well it took just two days for me to land a job I couldn’t refuse so turning professional has at least been put on the backburner until March next year.
Tournament Review
I have played in 9 tournaments in 2004 with entrance fees of £200 or higher.
European Poker Championships 2004 - London
£250 Pot Limit Omaha
£200 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
Gutshot Club - London
£500 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
European Poker Classics - London
£250 Pot Limit Holdem
£750 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
£500 Pot Limit Omaha
£300 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
£3000 European Poker Tour No Limit Freezeout
Xmas Cracker - Brighton
£500 No Limit Holdem Freezeout
In 6 of these 9 tournaments I have made the final three tables finishing 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 11th and 20th. Tournaments that have entrance fees really seem to focus my poker and I seem to keep bad decisions down to a minimum. I have definitely improved upon my tournament No Limit Holdem as prior to 2004 I had predominantly played Pot Limit Holdem. My 20th place in the European Poker Tour event in London is perhaps the most frustrating. I know that despite playing well throughout day 1 I left myself to short chipped to be able to make an impact on the 2nd day and it isn’t a mistake I will be making again. My 5th place in the £300 No Limit Holdem Freezeout was highlight as there were 198 runners. Its one I could have done even better in but my opponent hit his second pair on the river to send me out.
Overall I paid £7400 in entrance fees to tournaments in 2004. My prize money was £4400. So my tournament loss was £3000. However, half my EPT event entrance fee was paid by backers. My investment in Adam Matusiak for the main event in Brighton in the summer yielded me £6000. So if I include that in my figures I actually made a profit of £4500 in 2004.
Cash Game Review
It seems bizarre that when I look at my figures that despite cash games being my most financially successful area of my poker I have played it the least by far. Obviously with still having a job I can’t manage the late nights and the convenience of playing online can be too tempting. Since June I have played live cash games 18 times. 14 of which were winning sessions. I also have tendency not to play for a while if I have a good win. I think it’s because when I do win it’s normally a £1000+ win due to the level of cash game I play. If I lose I also don’t normally play for a while as my losses are always £1000+ when I lose and I don’t want to start chasing. I know if I do turn professional I will have to play cash 3 or 4 times a week as these are my bread and butter. I don’t think you can be a successful professional player unless you are good at cash games. Tournaments are just a bonus in my opinion and I enjoy playing them.
When I posted a few months back my Live Cash – Overall Win rate (per hour) was + £131.55. I have had two wins and two losses since then and it will finish the year at Live Cash – Overall Win rate (per hour) + £125.27. Overall for 2004 I made a profit in cash games of just over £9000.
Focusing specifically on the games I play live. I am very happy with my Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo game. I need to improve upon my Stud game significantly if I am to truly feel comfortable playing for large amounts of money in Dealers Choice games. I rarely play Holdem cash games as the big games always seem to be Omaha or dealers choice.
Online Poker
I really do have a love hate relationship with online poker. I know that it is probably the easiest area in poker to make consistent money but I often lack focus or choose games that I shouldn’t be playing. I have massive winning runs and then equally as bad losing runs. I gave up keeping proper records of how I was doing because I’d often just play for an hour and not keep results. So I contacted all the sites that I’ve played on in 2004 to gain records of my profit/loss.
I managed to turn what was a £8000 loss just a few months ago into a break even on one site. I have played this year on Betfair, Victor Chandler, Paradise, Party and Pokerstars and after correlating my results together I made a very marginal profit. I could easily say that online poker this year has been a waste of time or has it? I certainly have learnt some harsh lessons about my own personality and a huge tendency to go on tilt when I’ve had a few drinks and have a few bad beats. I have gambled for some serious money as well. On Betfair which I play on the most I have deposited £20000 from my current account. Yikes.
Playing online has definitely improved my NL Holdem game and my Omaha Hi/Lo. I have literally played in every game that online can offer. Big multi table tournaments, Sit N Go’s, Omaha, Hi/Lo, Stud, Pineapple (I won at that somehow), Limit Holdem, NL Limit Holdem and a few satellites to big events.
It shows how ridiculous playing online has made me in the past. I was playing $20/$40 Limit on Party Poker a month back. While I managed to win what the hell was I doing playing Limit Holdem? I have probably only ever played the game for about 20 hours in my life. Yet in my wisdom (on tilt) I decided it was a good choice of game. Probably a good decision as I can’t bet too much playing Limit.
Aims for 2005
Live Tournaments
I will increase the number of tournaments I play in and will definitely travel abroad to play in a few tournaments. I am tempted by the EPT events in both Vienna and Copenhagen but will probably only travel to one of them.
My ranking for Europe for 2004 currently stands at 244th. My aim is too significantly improve upon that. For 2005 I aim to finish in the top 20 in Europe. I know that is a high target but I like to have something to aim for. It keeps me focused.
Hopefully I won’t have as many bubble finishes as this year which is just so frustrating. I’d rather be knocked out after 10 minutes than play for 8 hours and finish on the bubble.
Live Cash
I am going to play more cash live. I will start playing at least once a week. I am going to buy some books to learn to improve my stud game. I don’t know my pot odds well enough to be confident in making big bets in that game yet.
Online
I will continue to play online a fair bit. I have decided I am only going to play the following games Pot Limit Omaha, NL Holdem and Satellites to big poker events.
No more multi table tournaments, Sit n Go’s, Limit poker, Stud or any other crazy game I think I can beat.
Overall I have really enjoyed playing poker this year. I have had an opportunity to play in some very big cash games and tournaments and have had a real buzz from doing so. I have also met many of the well known players. At one point I found myself mixing it on the same table with Peter Costa, Dave Colclough and Marcel Luske. I definitely couldn’t have imagined that at the start of the year. Hopefully I can continue to focus on my game, improve, and have a successful 2005.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Running hot
Its a great feeling in poker when you are on a good run and always feel you are going to hit cards!
Started with just $140 on the $2/$5 No Limit Hold em table on Betfair. On the very first hand I called a $10 raise on the button with 24 suited and it flopped A35 and i doubled up against the raiser who held AK. Shortly afterwards i called a $30 pre flop raise with A9 hearts and it flopped 996. Before i could do anything the player under the gun had gone all in for $230. Easy call and i'm up to $500. Shortly afterwards i had A3 of hearts and called a small raise pre flop and it flops 345 with two hearts. Opponent raised $30 i reraised to make it $70 and he goes all in for $300. I figure he has an overpair which means i have any A32 or heart to scoop. I called and the next card was a 3 :-) .... finished up with $850. Isn't poker great when you get lucky?
Started with just $140 on the $2/$5 No Limit Hold em table on Betfair. On the very first hand I called a $10 raise on the button with 24 suited and it flopped A35 and i doubled up against the raiser who held AK. Shortly afterwards i called a $30 pre flop raise with A9 hearts and it flopped 996. Before i could do anything the player under the gun had gone all in for $230. Easy call and i'm up to $500. Shortly afterwards i had A3 of hearts and called a small raise pre flop and it flops 345 with two hearts. Opponent raised $30 i reraised to make it $70 and he goes all in for $300. I figure he has an overpair which means i have any A32 or heart to scoop. I called and the next card was a 3 :-) .... finished up with $850. Isn't poker great when you get lucky?
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Betfair :-D
Had another excellent night playing on the Omaha tables on Betfair. Some of the plays I saw just left me in disbelief. One guy went all in pre flop with K732 off suit for $400 and hit a K which was good enough against two callers. That’s the equivalent of raising $400 in Hold em pre flop with 37. I just played tight aggressive only playing very strong hands pre flop due to the amount of crazy pre flop raising that was going on. I doubled up my $500 early on when the flop came 5c7c2h and I held 6c6d4hAc which gave me the Ace flush draw and up and down for the straight. I raised and was reraised all in and called. Turn brought a 2d and the river a Qh. No help for me I thought but my pair of 6s was good. My opponent obviously thought a Gutshot straight draw and a T flush was good enough to raise me all in. Long may that kind of play continue.
Then this hand happened.
------HAND 44------
Game #21536943: Omaha High Pot Limit ($2.50/$5) - 2004/12/07 - 20:24:05
(GMT)
Seat 7 is the button.
Seat 1: Player1 ($507.75 in chips)
Seat 2: Player2 ($680.75 in chips)
Seat 3: Player3 ($490 in chips)
Seat 5: Milkybarkid ($1023.25 in chips)
Seat 7: Player4 ($559.75 in chips)
Seat 8: Player5 ($543.75 in chips)
Seat 10: Player6 ($438 in chips)
Player5: posts small blind $2.50
Player6: posts big blind $5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [10s As Jh Qh]
Player1: raises to $22.50
Player2: raises to $50
Player3: calls $50
Milkybarkid: calls $50
I like my hand here. With the kind of players on this table it’s almost tempting to reraise here but I just call.
Player4: folds
Player5: folds
Player6: folds
Player1: calls $27.50
----- FLOP ----- [8s 7s 9d]
Player1: bets $50
Player2: calls $50
Player3: calls $50
Milkybarkid: raises to $175
This is a dream flop for me. I have the top straight which I can improve on and the Ace flush draw. I could have reraised as much as $400 here. However, my hand is so strong that I don’t want to drive anyone with small flush draws and small straights out of this pot.
Player1: calls $125
Player2: folds
Player3: calls $125
----- TURN ----- [8s 7s 9d][Jh]
Player1: bets $405.75 and is all-in
Player3: calls $315 and is all-in
Milkybarkid: calls $405.75
Wow. Both of them move all in before me. I have improved on my straight and still have the nuts. I call thinking I may be splitting this pot now.
----- RIVER ----- [8s 7s 9d Jh][Ah]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Player1: shows [3d 9s 10h Ad] (A Straight, Jack high)
Player3: shows [4h 5c 6h 10d] (A straight, Ten high)
Milkybarkid: shows [10s As Jh Qh] (A Straight, Queen high)
Milkybarkid collected $1909 from Main pot
My straight is good. Player 1 decided his J high straight was good enough to commit all his money. He had a 9 flush draw that was drawing dead to my A flush when all his money went in. Player 3 is just a muppet. He calls an all in bet with a 10 high straight. I’ll be adding him to my list of favourite players to play with. The amazing thing about my opponent’s hands is that they were both practically drawing dead on the flop.
I eventually stopped playing with $2500. Although I was very tempted to carry on as there were 4 players out of 7 that are amongst the worst Omaha players I have ever encountered they were all playing crazy and I knew I would go on tilt if one of them outdrew me with a miracle.
My stats below are quite interesting as well. I was the biggest winner on the table and yet probably saw the least flops by a mile. Some of the players must have been up around 60-80% of flops seen. My 12% flops seen statistic is very low but on such a loose aggressive table, pre-flop hand selection is crucial. Most of them were living by the saying, “Any four cards are good.”
games played 153
flops seen 12%
games won 13%
showdowns won 72%
Then this hand happened.
------HAND 44------
Game #21536943: Omaha High Pot Limit ($2.50/$5) - 2004/12/07 - 20:24:05
(GMT)
Seat 7 is the button.
Seat 1: Player1 ($507.75 in chips)
Seat 2: Player2 ($680.75 in chips)
Seat 3: Player3 ($490 in chips)
Seat 5: Milkybarkid ($1023.25 in chips)
Seat 7: Player4 ($559.75 in chips)
Seat 8: Player5 ($543.75 in chips)
Seat 10: Player6 ($438 in chips)
Player5: posts small blind $2.50
Player6: posts big blind $5
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Milkybarkid [10s As Jh Qh]
Player1: raises to $22.50
Player2: raises to $50
Player3: calls $50
Milkybarkid: calls $50
I like my hand here. With the kind of players on this table it’s almost tempting to reraise here but I just call.
Player4: folds
Player5: folds
Player6: folds
Player1: calls $27.50
----- FLOP ----- [8s 7s 9d]
Player1: bets $50
Player2: calls $50
Player3: calls $50
Milkybarkid: raises to $175
This is a dream flop for me. I have the top straight which I can improve on and the Ace flush draw. I could have reraised as much as $400 here. However, my hand is so strong that I don’t want to drive anyone with small flush draws and small straights out of this pot.
Player1: calls $125
Player2: folds
Player3: calls $125
----- TURN ----- [8s 7s 9d][Jh]
Player1: bets $405.75 and is all-in
Player3: calls $315 and is all-in
Milkybarkid: calls $405.75
Wow. Both of them move all in before me. I have improved on my straight and still have the nuts. I call thinking I may be splitting this pot now.
----- RIVER ----- [8s 7s 9d Jh][Ah]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Player1: shows [3d 9s 10h Ad] (A Straight, Jack high)
Player3: shows [4h 5c 6h 10d] (A straight, Ten high)
Milkybarkid: shows [10s As Jh Qh] (A Straight, Queen high)
Milkybarkid collected $1909 from Main pot
My straight is good. Player 1 decided his J high straight was good enough to commit all his money. He had a 9 flush draw that was drawing dead to my A flush when all his money went in. Player 3 is just a muppet. He calls an all in bet with a 10 high straight. I’ll be adding him to my list of favourite players to play with. The amazing thing about my opponent’s hands is that they were both practically drawing dead on the flop.
I eventually stopped playing with $2500. Although I was very tempted to carry on as there were 4 players out of 7 that are amongst the worst Omaha players I have ever encountered they were all playing crazy and I knew I would go on tilt if one of them outdrew me with a miracle.
My stats below are quite interesting as well. I was the biggest winner on the table and yet probably saw the least flops by a mile. Some of the players must have been up around 60-80% of flops seen. My 12% flops seen statistic is very low but on such a loose aggressive table, pre-flop hand selection is crucial. Most of them were living by the saying, “Any four cards are good.”
games played 153
flops seen 12%
games won 13%
showdowns won 72%
Monday, December 06, 2004
Brighton Xmas Festival Main Event – 104 runners
Day 1
Starting chips of 7500.
I drove down to Brighton feeling pretty confident after my amazing night online the night before. I decided on a change of tactics. Normally I play like a Rock for the first couple of hours and try and hit monsters but for this event I thought I for the first two levels I would get involved in alot of flops whilst the blinds were low. I managed to bluff a lot of hands and was never called down during the first level. Everyone on my table was playing tight and there was no-one on my table except locals I think. It was very quiet as we were upstairs and the only background noise was Paul Parker chatting on the other table. I purposely showed the table AK twice and QQ when raising pre flop to try and maintain a tight image for the hand that I bluffed. A check raise when I had TT on a J34 flop got someone to lay down JQ. I was moved halfway through the second level and decided to sit back for a bit as I had progressed my stack to a healthy 13000 chips. At the start of level three with the blinds at 100/200 I have 73 on the big blind and there are two callers plus the small blind. The flop comes 732 and the small blind bets 800 and I just call. The button raises it to 2500 and the small blind passes. I reraise another 4000 chips and the button thinks for a few minutes then shows 99 and passes. That was a nice pot to pick up. Level 4 and 5 I wasn’t really involved in many big hands and managed to get my stack up to 23000 chips and am above the chips average. My table is broken up again and I’m moved to the main table that is used for the final. Hopefully I won’t be moved again now. My cards went cold for ages but I managed to maintain my chip count with a couple of moves. By the time the blinds had reached 500/1000 we were down to three tables and my chip count was about 25000.
I find 66 on the big blind and all pass round to the small blind that went all in for 6000. I call and he flops over 6A. Perfect I think till the evil A is first card down on the flop. That hand really harmed my stack as 31000 would have kept me around the chip average but instead I am down 19000. Stole a few blinds to stop me being blinded away and was on 20000 chips by the time we were down to two tables and blinds were 1000/2000. I liked one hand I played just because of the reaction it caused at the table. I am on the button and under the gun calls the 2000 blind. I think for a minute and raise all in for 20000 chips. Small blind and big blind pass. UTG caller M Latiffe who is the chip leader goes into the think tank and eventually passes and shows AT and says you got me! I turn over 25. He goes mad and I just smile away happily. Other notable hands saw me lay down 77 when I raise to 4000 and someone goes over the top for another 10000. Soon it was 3.15am and I have 20000 chips with blinds of 1500/3000. I decide that I am not coming all the way back from London with such short chips for the second day so I raise all in on 3 of the last 4 hands and manage to steal the blinds with 2K, 27 and 33. So I ended the day with just over 30000 chips. Not great but we were down last 15 runners.
Day 2
Brighton management decided to give us a full 45 minute clock with blinds of 1500/3000 so at least I had a few rounds that I could watch the action pass by if I got no cards.
I started off very well winning a small pot in a small blind v big blind when I milk 6000 chips when I hit a flush on the flop. Also a few of my pre flop raises are not contested so I get up to a reasonable stack of 45000 and a few players have hit the rails. Then this hand did me some damage. With blinds of 2000/4000 I find 88 one seat of the button. I raise to 12000 and the small blind goes all in for 40000. I eventually pass after figuring that this player must either have me in a very bad position with an overpair or AK. He had been playing quite tight as well. A few round go by and I am down to about 15000 chips and find KK and a someone raises pre flop and calls my all in. I double up v AT. We were down to 12 players now and I have about 30000 chips when my tournament effectively ended. I pick up 99 and under the gun raises to 10000. I think and move all in and everyone passes. UTG says “You may have me in bad shape but I’m calling.” He shows AT. Two people say they passed Aces so I figure I’m in very good shape. Flop 25T. No help on the turn or the river and I am down to a measly 2500. However I hit two miracle flushes on the river and get back to 20000. Maybe this could be my day. I pick up JQ suited in position and go all in again. Big blind calls and shows 44. I am out in 12th.
Overall I know I played well throughout the tournament. I rarely had good hands and most of pots I picked up through bluffing. Before the last few hands I only called twice all in and both times I had my opponents dominated. However, my frustration at these big events is growing. I have been in the money in 3 of the last four big events I have entered. Each time I have gambled on a really major hand for all my chips I have lost. My AQ v AJ affectively ended my chances in the EPT in London costing me over half my chips making my position impossible for the second day. I lost with AT v KJ to go out in 5th in the £300 freezeout during the Vic festival. This time I lost two coin flips 99 v AT and the losing to 44 when I had JQ. Its just so frustrating playing for so long and in the end feeling like it was a waste of time and effort.
Starting chips of 7500.
I drove down to Brighton feeling pretty confident after my amazing night online the night before. I decided on a change of tactics. Normally I play like a Rock for the first couple of hours and try and hit monsters but for this event I thought I for the first two levels I would get involved in alot of flops whilst the blinds were low. I managed to bluff a lot of hands and was never called down during the first level. Everyone on my table was playing tight and there was no-one on my table except locals I think. It was very quiet as we were upstairs and the only background noise was Paul Parker chatting on the other table. I purposely showed the table AK twice and QQ when raising pre flop to try and maintain a tight image for the hand that I bluffed. A check raise when I had TT on a J34 flop got someone to lay down JQ. I was moved halfway through the second level and decided to sit back for a bit as I had progressed my stack to a healthy 13000 chips. At the start of level three with the blinds at 100/200 I have 73 on the big blind and there are two callers plus the small blind. The flop comes 732 and the small blind bets 800 and I just call. The button raises it to 2500 and the small blind passes. I reraise another 4000 chips and the button thinks for a few minutes then shows 99 and passes. That was a nice pot to pick up. Level 4 and 5 I wasn’t really involved in many big hands and managed to get my stack up to 23000 chips and am above the chips average. My table is broken up again and I’m moved to the main table that is used for the final. Hopefully I won’t be moved again now. My cards went cold for ages but I managed to maintain my chip count with a couple of moves. By the time the blinds had reached 500/1000 we were down to three tables and my chip count was about 25000.
I find 66 on the big blind and all pass round to the small blind that went all in for 6000. I call and he flops over 6A. Perfect I think till the evil A is first card down on the flop. That hand really harmed my stack as 31000 would have kept me around the chip average but instead I am down 19000. Stole a few blinds to stop me being blinded away and was on 20000 chips by the time we were down to two tables and blinds were 1000/2000. I liked one hand I played just because of the reaction it caused at the table. I am on the button and under the gun calls the 2000 blind. I think for a minute and raise all in for 20000 chips. Small blind and big blind pass. UTG caller M Latiffe who is the chip leader goes into the think tank and eventually passes and shows AT and says you got me! I turn over 25. He goes mad and I just smile away happily. Other notable hands saw me lay down 77 when I raise to 4000 and someone goes over the top for another 10000. Soon it was 3.15am and I have 20000 chips with blinds of 1500/3000. I decide that I am not coming all the way back from London with such short chips for the second day so I raise all in on 3 of the last 4 hands and manage to steal the blinds with 2K, 27 and 33. So I ended the day with just over 30000 chips. Not great but we were down last 15 runners.
Day 2
Brighton management decided to give us a full 45 minute clock with blinds of 1500/3000 so at least I had a few rounds that I could watch the action pass by if I got no cards.
I started off very well winning a small pot in a small blind v big blind when I milk 6000 chips when I hit a flush on the flop. Also a few of my pre flop raises are not contested so I get up to a reasonable stack of 45000 and a few players have hit the rails. Then this hand did me some damage. With blinds of 2000/4000 I find 88 one seat of the button. I raise to 12000 and the small blind goes all in for 40000. I eventually pass after figuring that this player must either have me in a very bad position with an overpair or AK. He had been playing quite tight as well. A few round go by and I am down to about 15000 chips and find KK and a someone raises pre flop and calls my all in. I double up v AT. We were down to 12 players now and I have about 30000 chips when my tournament effectively ended. I pick up 99 and under the gun raises to 10000. I think and move all in and everyone passes. UTG says “You may have me in bad shape but I’m calling.” He shows AT. Two people say they passed Aces so I figure I’m in very good shape. Flop 25T. No help on the turn or the river and I am down to a measly 2500. However I hit two miracle flushes on the river and get back to 20000. Maybe this could be my day. I pick up JQ suited in position and go all in again. Big blind calls and shows 44. I am out in 12th.
Overall I know I played well throughout the tournament. I rarely had good hands and most of pots I picked up through bluffing. Before the last few hands I only called twice all in and both times I had my opponents dominated. However, my frustration at these big events is growing. I have been in the money in 3 of the last four big events I have entered. Each time I have gambled on a really major hand for all my chips I have lost. My AQ v AJ affectively ended my chances in the EPT in London costing me over half my chips making my position impossible for the second day. I lost with AT v KJ to go out in 5th in the £300 freezeout during the Vic festival. This time I lost two coin flips 99 v AT and the losing to 44 when I had JQ. Its just so frustrating playing for so long and in the end feeling like it was a waste of time and effort.
Fantastic Friday on Betfair
Well I pretty much played poker all weekend. On Friday night I played on Betfair and managed to have my most successful online night to date. Started on the £2.50/5 Omaha table and was in for £1000 when my hands started to stand up and my draws were coming in. One remarkable hand saw me call a £300 bet on the turn with 4 other players calling and I had a Gutshot and an Ace Flush draw. The flush comes and I bet £600 and get 4 callers! Wow I couldn’t have dreamt of that. That put a few on tilt and I finished up on the Omaha table with £4500.
About midnight I decided to also start playing a $5/$10 NL Hold em game as well. Started with $700 and had a few interesting hands. Second hand in I manage to double up when I flop a set with my 77 on a 7Q2 flop when my opponent had QK. That put me up to $1500. Won a few more smallish pots and soon found myself with $2000. Then this hand happened. Two limpers and I have got 9hTh on the button. I decide to try and steal the blinds and pop in a raise to $100. Three callers yikes. Flop come 2s3c8h … not good but it checks round to me and I think a reasonable bet here could win the pot representing an overpair. I bet $300 and get two callers… hmmm I don’t like this hand now. Turn brings a 7h… just about the dream card for me. I am up and down for the straight flush and there is $1400 in the pot. Assuming my flush is good I now have a monster draw with 17 cards that I think will give me the winning hand. It’s checked round to me! I think that one of my opponents is either slow playing a very high pair or has flopped a set and so a raise from me and they could set me in for my remaining $1500. I also figure that if one of them does have a high pair or a set they are going to call me down if I make it. So I check. Last card is a 6d to give me the absolute nuts. Both check again and I now have to decide how much to bet. I’m sure now with this board that a high pair may call and a set thinks they have me trapped. I bet the $1500 and get instantly called by the under the gun player. The other player also gives it the think tank. I have to be happy with one caller here though and scoop a monster $4500 pot. The guy who called had 33 and gave me a tirade of expletives in the chat box. I don’t think I played the hand wrong and it shows why slowplaying is so dangerous. If he had bet the $1500 on the turn when the dangerous flush draw appeared I may have passed. The other guy typed into the chat box that he had QQ. The guy who lost the massive pot started playing like a lunatic and I found AK and called his pre flop raise of $100. Flop comes down K56 rainbow. I check and he bets out $300 and I raise him $450 which would put him all in. He starts swearing at me again in the chat box and finally calls and shows 79. He called $450 with a Gutshot. He misses and I pick up another pot of $1750 and finish on the table with $6500.
About midnight I decided to also start playing a $5/$10 NL Hold em game as well. Started with $700 and had a few interesting hands. Second hand in I manage to double up when I flop a set with my 77 on a 7Q2 flop when my opponent had QK. That put me up to $1500. Won a few more smallish pots and soon found myself with $2000. Then this hand happened. Two limpers and I have got 9hTh on the button. I decide to try and steal the blinds and pop in a raise to $100. Three callers yikes. Flop come 2s3c8h … not good but it checks round to me and I think a reasonable bet here could win the pot representing an overpair. I bet $300 and get two callers… hmmm I don’t like this hand now. Turn brings a 7h… just about the dream card for me. I am up and down for the straight flush and there is $1400 in the pot. Assuming my flush is good I now have a monster draw with 17 cards that I think will give me the winning hand. It’s checked round to me! I think that one of my opponents is either slow playing a very high pair or has flopped a set and so a raise from me and they could set me in for my remaining $1500. I also figure that if one of them does have a high pair or a set they are going to call me down if I make it. So I check. Last card is a 6d to give me the absolute nuts. Both check again and I now have to decide how much to bet. I’m sure now with this board that a high pair may call and a set thinks they have me trapped. I bet the $1500 and get instantly called by the under the gun player. The other player also gives it the think tank. I have to be happy with one caller here though and scoop a monster $4500 pot. The guy who called had 33 and gave me a tirade of expletives in the chat box. I don’t think I played the hand wrong and it shows why slowplaying is so dangerous. If he had bet the $1500 on the turn when the dangerous flush draw appeared I may have passed. The other guy typed into the chat box that he had QQ. The guy who lost the massive pot started playing like a lunatic and I found AK and called his pre flop raise of $100. Flop comes down K56 rainbow. I check and he bets out $300 and I raise him $450 which would put him all in. He starts swearing at me again in the chat box and finally calls and shows 79. He called $450 with a Gutshot. He misses and I pick up another pot of $1750 and finish on the table with $6500.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Betfair Promotions
I see Betfair have some very good promotions for December. Click on the banner above to have a look. If i had the time i would have a go at the leaderboard as you get points for winning £1 SitnGos and the winner gets a package to the WSOP 2005.
Lack of poker action
Not much to report this week. Been to busy celebrating the beginning of the Xmas month to play any poker. I am going to play in the £500 freezeout in Brighton on Saturday. My first live tournament poker since I was knocked out of the EPT event in London. Talking of EPT events I see they are holding one in Denmark. Hmmm well that tempts me as I’ve always wanted to go to Copenhagen.
I have a new strategy for the Brighton freezeout this weekend. Will report back on how it goes.
I have a new strategy for the Brighton freezeout this weekend. Will report back on how it goes.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Its Monday
Not much poker action over the weekend. Did have a go at the EPT qualifier for Deauville on Pokerstars but on a flop of K82 I ran into 88 when I was holding AK. No escape for me on that one. Not going to try another qualifier for Deauville as I’ve pretty much made my mind up that I’m going to Vienna in March so will give France a miss. The structure there for the main event looks excellent plus I’ve heard good things from other players. Why is it that the structure of the main event at festivals in the UK is so secretive? I’m sure I’m not the only player who would like this information posted along with the schedule. If you are going to be paying a lot of money to enter the structure should be available on the Poker In Europe website or on the Hendon Mob tournament database.
Away from poker. Good to see Arsenal lose. Always puts a smile on my face :-)
Away from poker. Good to see Arsenal lose. Always puts a smile on my face :-)
Friday, November 26, 2004
Party muppets
I love Party poker at the moment. I had left $70 after cashing out $2300 a few days ago and thought I’d blow it on the $100 Pot Limit Hi/Lo table. Well the players were just rubbish and I managed to turn $70 into $500 in about 45 minutes before going to bed. I got reraised to $90 to play when I had AA24 by someone with TJQK. Do they not realize this is Hi/Lo Omaha? Think I will use the $500 on some $100 Sit N Go’s to try and turn it into a nice amount to cash out again.
Overall online I have at least managed to turn one of the American sites I play on into profit. Party is now up and Paradise is still a bit down.
May go and play some more live poker Sat night. This time I’ll be sticking to Omaha. I do like playing dealers choice but when the games of choice are generally Stud and Omaha Hi/Lo it’s frustrating because of the amounts of split pots. I sat for 3 hours last weekend and remained even till a slight moment of madness.
Overall online I have at least managed to turn one of the American sites I play on into profit. Party is now up and Paradise is still a bit down.
May go and play some more live poker Sat night. This time I’ll be sticking to Omaha. I do like playing dealers choice but when the games of choice are generally Stud and Omaha Hi/Lo it’s frustrating because of the amounts of split pots. I sat for 3 hours last weekend and remained even till a slight moment of madness.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
A poker article i wrote a while ago
Online Poker Tournament strategy
Below is some tips I wrote a while ago for online poker tournaments and thought I’d add them to my blog.
Pay Attention
This is something we can’t stress enough when playing online poker tournaments. It is easy to get distracted whilst playing poker on the internet but this is just playing in to your opponents hands. Remember poker is about learning the strategy of all your opponents therefore its crucial that you analyse all the hands on the table even the ones you are not involved in. Look at which players are getting involved in a lot of hands and which are the tight players. You don’t want to get caught putting all your chips in the middle against a player who very rarely gets involved in a hand as this player is likely to be holding a premium hand like AA, KK, QQ and AK.
Any edge you can get over your opposition can be the difference between winning and losing a big tournament. So stop talking on the telephone, reading emails and watching TV.
Don’t play too many starting hands
This will always be one of the most fundamental strategies of any successful online player. Yet very few players demonstrate the knowledge and/or patience to play good starting hands.
Playing fewer hands will always give you an advantage over your opponents in the long run. Everyone has seen poker on TV and seen the professionals throwing their chips in the middle, bluffing and going all in with relatively weak hands. What you don’t see however is the hours of hard work and concentration that these players put in to make the final table.
Think about this, if your opponents play 50% of their hands and you only play 25% of yours you will have an advantage in the majority of the hands that you play. When you hit pairs your kicker is likely to be higher, your straight will beat lower straights e.t.c. By playing fewer hands you will continue to put yourself in the best position to win the hand.
Patience, patience, patience
One thing that is clear in big poker tournaments online is that a number of players think that it is crucial to increase their chip stack as soon as possible. What you need to remember is that a big poker tournament is a marathon not a sprint. With hundreds of players in a tournament you are not going to be able to win it in an hour but what you can do is lose it. So if you only play a few hands in the first two hours and you manage to double your chip stack then that is excellent progress. The other players on the table may think you are boring but I guarantee that any player who got overexcited with an average hand and got knocked out early would swap position with you right now.
Make Notes on Players
With so many players in an online tournament you aren’t going to be able to remember how your opponents are playing just by their name so make notes on them. Any small advantage you can gain in a tournament can be the difference between staying in and getting knocked out. Take a look at the following scenario. You have just been moved to a new table where two players whose poker nicknames are TeddyB and Moneyman. You look and see that you made the following notes about these players from playing with them previously.
TeddyB – Extremely careful player. Only ever raises with a high pair.
Moneyman – Likes to gamble and bluffs a lot.
These kind of notes are crucial in a tournament. If TeddyB raises you can assume the player has a strong hand. Whereas if Moneyman raises there is a good chance that it is a bluff.
With hundreds of players in a tournament making notes will give you an edge over your opponents.
Keep learning
Good players are constantly learning. They read books, poker articles, magazines and are always watching other players to help them improve their game. Poker is a game of skill, and its no coincidence that many of the best poker players in the world are degree educated and often have run successful companies. You can search for articles and poker books online which can help you significantly improve your game.
Below are a few recommended books with a brief description of how they may help you.
Doyle Brunson’s Super System – Doyle Brunson
This is known as the bible of poker. Written by 2 time World Series of Poker Champion Doyle Brunson along with tips and advice from many other poker experts it is an excellent read for all poker players.
Killer Poker Online: Crushing the internet Game – John Vorhaus
This book is dedicated to online poker and gives helpful tips and advice on how to improve your internet poker.
The complete book of Hold’em Poker: A Comprehensive Guide to Playing and Winning – Gary Carson
A poker book full of hints and tips which is useful for both beginner and advanced players.
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players (Advance Player) – David Sklansky
A book for players who are looking to improve there game even further. Acknowledged as one of the best poker books around and it gives excellent poker tournament advice.
Realise when you are beat
Sometimes you have to let go of a good hand. It’s not easy but some of the best play in poker is realizing when your opponent has a superior hand. Say for example you raise with QQ before the flop and you get three callers and it flop comes down A87. It is highly likely that one of the three callers has an A. Sure you can make a bet but if you get re-raised it’s almost certain your hand is beaten so you just have to chuck it away.
Remember the difficulty of Bluffing online
Players are far more likely to call your bluffs online than in a real card room. It’s much easier to click a button on a computer screen to call a big bet than it is to reach your chips in a card room and put in most of your chips. This means that your bluffs are often likely to be called online so you should be more selective on the hands you try and bluff. Another reason is that a player may be embarrassed to make a bad call in a card room whereas online it is faceless so that player is not scared of looking stupid.
Only play if you are in the right mood
This can not be stressed enough. If you are feeling tired, unhappy or have a headache there is no way you are going to be able to play your best game. To win in the long run at poker you must always play to the top of your abilities. So if your mood isn’t right quite simply wait till another day or take a rest and play later.
Calling bets to hit cards that won’t help you
One of the most common mistakes in poker is assuming that if you hit your cards you will win. Look at this situation. If you hold AQ and there is a flop of 9104 and you decide that the odds justify you calling to hit a Q or an A on the next card which is about 7/1 to improve your hand. The problem with this method of thinking is that your opponent may already have you beat even if you do hit a Q or an A. You are in major trouble if your opponent has any of the following hands TT, 99, 44, T9, A9, AT, KT, A4, TQ, AK, JK. These are all fairly typical hands that your opponent will play with. Although you can justify that you are 7/1 to improve your hand the odds on you actually winning the hand are far worse especially if you are up against a few opponents who are betting.
Have fun
Poker is meant to be fun. Remember this is why you started playing the game. Make sure you play with money that you can afford to gamble. Poker is an extremely exciting game. It feels great when all your opponents fold when you were bluffing. There is also nothing more satisfying than knowing you are playing extremely well and outplaying your opponents. Just play your strongest game and enjoy yourself and you never know what may happen. Only one person can win but plenty of players can make the prize money and enjoy themselves in the process.
Below is some tips I wrote a while ago for online poker tournaments and thought I’d add them to my blog.
Pay Attention
This is something we can’t stress enough when playing online poker tournaments. It is easy to get distracted whilst playing poker on the internet but this is just playing in to your opponents hands. Remember poker is about learning the strategy of all your opponents therefore its crucial that you analyse all the hands on the table even the ones you are not involved in. Look at which players are getting involved in a lot of hands and which are the tight players. You don’t want to get caught putting all your chips in the middle against a player who very rarely gets involved in a hand as this player is likely to be holding a premium hand like AA, KK, QQ and AK.
Any edge you can get over your opposition can be the difference between winning and losing a big tournament. So stop talking on the telephone, reading emails and watching TV.
Don’t play too many starting hands
This will always be one of the most fundamental strategies of any successful online player. Yet very few players demonstrate the knowledge and/or patience to play good starting hands.
Playing fewer hands will always give you an advantage over your opponents in the long run. Everyone has seen poker on TV and seen the professionals throwing their chips in the middle, bluffing and going all in with relatively weak hands. What you don’t see however is the hours of hard work and concentration that these players put in to make the final table.
Think about this, if your opponents play 50% of their hands and you only play 25% of yours you will have an advantage in the majority of the hands that you play. When you hit pairs your kicker is likely to be higher, your straight will beat lower straights e.t.c. By playing fewer hands you will continue to put yourself in the best position to win the hand.
Patience, patience, patience
One thing that is clear in big poker tournaments online is that a number of players think that it is crucial to increase their chip stack as soon as possible. What you need to remember is that a big poker tournament is a marathon not a sprint. With hundreds of players in a tournament you are not going to be able to win it in an hour but what you can do is lose it. So if you only play a few hands in the first two hours and you manage to double your chip stack then that is excellent progress. The other players on the table may think you are boring but I guarantee that any player who got overexcited with an average hand and got knocked out early would swap position with you right now.
Make Notes on Players
With so many players in an online tournament you aren’t going to be able to remember how your opponents are playing just by their name so make notes on them. Any small advantage you can gain in a tournament can be the difference between staying in and getting knocked out. Take a look at the following scenario. You have just been moved to a new table where two players whose poker nicknames are TeddyB and Moneyman. You look and see that you made the following notes about these players from playing with them previously.
TeddyB – Extremely careful player. Only ever raises with a high pair.
Moneyman – Likes to gamble and bluffs a lot.
These kind of notes are crucial in a tournament. If TeddyB raises you can assume the player has a strong hand. Whereas if Moneyman raises there is a good chance that it is a bluff.
With hundreds of players in a tournament making notes will give you an edge over your opponents.
Keep learning
Good players are constantly learning. They read books, poker articles, magazines and are always watching other players to help them improve their game. Poker is a game of skill, and its no coincidence that many of the best poker players in the world are degree educated and often have run successful companies. You can search for articles and poker books online which can help you significantly improve your game.
Below are a few recommended books with a brief description of how they may help you.
Doyle Brunson’s Super System – Doyle Brunson
This is known as the bible of poker. Written by 2 time World Series of Poker Champion Doyle Brunson along with tips and advice from many other poker experts it is an excellent read for all poker players.
Killer Poker Online: Crushing the internet Game – John Vorhaus
This book is dedicated to online poker and gives helpful tips and advice on how to improve your internet poker.
The complete book of Hold’em Poker: A Comprehensive Guide to Playing and Winning – Gary Carson
A poker book full of hints and tips which is useful for both beginner and advanced players.
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players (Advance Player) – David Sklansky
A book for players who are looking to improve there game even further. Acknowledged as one of the best poker books around and it gives excellent poker tournament advice.
Realise when you are beat
Sometimes you have to let go of a good hand. It’s not easy but some of the best play in poker is realizing when your opponent has a superior hand. Say for example you raise with QQ before the flop and you get three callers and it flop comes down A87. It is highly likely that one of the three callers has an A. Sure you can make a bet but if you get re-raised it’s almost certain your hand is beaten so you just have to chuck it away.
Remember the difficulty of Bluffing online
Players are far more likely to call your bluffs online than in a real card room. It’s much easier to click a button on a computer screen to call a big bet than it is to reach your chips in a card room and put in most of your chips. This means that your bluffs are often likely to be called online so you should be more selective on the hands you try and bluff. Another reason is that a player may be embarrassed to make a bad call in a card room whereas online it is faceless so that player is not scared of looking stupid.
Only play if you are in the right mood
This can not be stressed enough. If you are feeling tired, unhappy or have a headache there is no way you are going to be able to play your best game. To win in the long run at poker you must always play to the top of your abilities. So if your mood isn’t right quite simply wait till another day or take a rest and play later.
Calling bets to hit cards that won’t help you
One of the most common mistakes in poker is assuming that if you hit your cards you will win. Look at this situation. If you hold AQ and there is a flop of 9104 and you decide that the odds justify you calling to hit a Q or an A on the next card which is about 7/1 to improve your hand. The problem with this method of thinking is that your opponent may already have you beat even if you do hit a Q or an A. You are in major trouble if your opponent has any of the following hands TT, 99, 44, T9, A9, AT, KT, A4, TQ, AK, JK. These are all fairly typical hands that your opponent will play with. Although you can justify that you are 7/1 to improve your hand the odds on you actually winning the hand are far worse especially if you are up against a few opponents who are betting.
Have fun
Poker is meant to be fun. Remember this is why you started playing the game. Make sure you play with money that you can afford to gamble. Poker is an extremely exciting game. It feels great when all your opponents fold when you were bluffing. There is also nothing more satisfying than knowing you are playing extremely well and outplaying your opponents. Just play your strongest game and enjoy yourself and you never know what may happen. Only one person can win but plenty of players can make the prize money and enjoy themselves in the process.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Mansour Matloubi v Stu Ungar
I remember the days when I was in my early teens when Mansour Matloubi used to tell me about his heads up battles against Stu Ungar and I found this interesting story on Phil Hellmuth’s website of all places. I often wander if I would have been playing poker if it wasn’t for Mansour. I did have a naturally tendency to gamble so I think I would have found it in the end. My dad buying me a gambling machine for my 12th birthday to try and get me bored of gambling probably says it all.
Mansour Quits Stuey forever!
Back in 1992 at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), World Champions Mansour Matloubi and Stuey Ungar faced off in a series of $50,000 buy-in heads-up freeze outs. Mansour tells me he was at the top of his game at this point in his poker career, having just won the WSOP in 1990. The game they were playing that day was no-limit Hold'em, and the blinds were $200-$400 when the following hand came up. Stuey opened for $1600 in the small blind, and Mansour called with 4-5 off suit. After a flop of 3-3-7 rainbow (no suits), Stuey bet $6,000--he started the hand with $60,000 to Mansour's $40,000--and Mansour called the $6,000 bet. On fourth-street a K came off and both players checked. On the river a Q came off to make a board of 3-3-7-K-Q, and Mansour, smelling weakness in Stuey, bet his last $32,000 or so. Stuey looked "right through" Mansour, and within ten seconds he said, "You have 4-5 or 5-6, I'm gonna call you with this." Stuey then flipped up 10-9, and called the $32,000 bet with merely ten-high! Wow, what an unbelievable call! Stuey can't even beat a jack-high-bluff with his hand, never mind any pair. In fact, Stuey could only beat 4-5, 4-6 or 5-6 in this scenario.
Give Mansour some credit. He did read Stuey right and made a great bluff. But Stuey deserves even more credit! He not only read Mansour right, he then made an amazing call. After Stuey called, Mansour looked up at the ceiling thinking, "I feel so crushed, it's almost like a bulldozer just ran over me. I still love Stuey, but what the heck is going on!" Mansour tells me now, "When a guy makes a call like that against you, you just give up. It's like he's taken all the steam out your sails. I decided that I couldn't play him anymore heads up no-limit Hold'em, at least on that day, if not forever." Indeed, it proved to be the last hand that Mansour ever played with Stuey heads-up.
Another day at that WSOP in 1992, Stuey was playing in a 5-handed $600-$1200 game with Mansour on table 59, while Bobby Baldwin and "Chip" Reese were playing gin at table 60. All of a sudden, Chip turns to Stuey at the other table and says, "How did you like the way I played that hand?" Stuey, who again, was busy playing $600-$1200 at the table next door, says, "I would have knocked four draws ago with five (points)." Chip then says, "Thanks" and rolls his eyes back in his head. Of course, Chip knew that Stuey was right, because Stuey was considered all but unbeatable in gin. In fact, he was so good at gin, that he couldn't even get a game from anyone anywhere for many years. But Chip didn't roll his eyes back in his head because Stuey was right, rather, he rolled his eyes back because he couldn't believe that Stuey was watching his every move while simultaneously playing high-stakes poker!
In the 1980's Stuey was considered the best in the world at gin (in fact he was the best for two decades), the best no-limit Hold'em player ever (by then he had won two World Championships, with one more to come), and one of the best backgammon players in the world as well. To be at the top in any of those games is quite a feat, but to be at or near the top in all three at once, was truly unbelievable. There are many other great stories about Stu Ungar and the amazing abilities that he had; soon there will be a book coming out about Stu; and a movie about Stu is currently being shot as well. I'm looking forward to both.
Mansour Quits Stuey forever!
Back in 1992 at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), World Champions Mansour Matloubi and Stuey Ungar faced off in a series of $50,000 buy-in heads-up freeze outs. Mansour tells me he was at the top of his game at this point in his poker career, having just won the WSOP in 1990. The game they were playing that day was no-limit Hold'em, and the blinds were $200-$400 when the following hand came up. Stuey opened for $1600 in the small blind, and Mansour called with 4-5 off suit. After a flop of 3-3-7 rainbow (no suits), Stuey bet $6,000--he started the hand with $60,000 to Mansour's $40,000--and Mansour called the $6,000 bet. On fourth-street a K came off and both players checked. On the river a Q came off to make a board of 3-3-7-K-Q, and Mansour, smelling weakness in Stuey, bet his last $32,000 or so. Stuey looked "right through" Mansour, and within ten seconds he said, "You have 4-5 or 5-6, I'm gonna call you with this." Stuey then flipped up 10-9, and called the $32,000 bet with merely ten-high! Wow, what an unbelievable call! Stuey can't even beat a jack-high-bluff with his hand, never mind any pair. In fact, Stuey could only beat 4-5, 4-6 or 5-6 in this scenario.
Give Mansour some credit. He did read Stuey right and made a great bluff. But Stuey deserves even more credit! He not only read Mansour right, he then made an amazing call. After Stuey called, Mansour looked up at the ceiling thinking, "I feel so crushed, it's almost like a bulldozer just ran over me. I still love Stuey, but what the heck is going on!" Mansour tells me now, "When a guy makes a call like that against you, you just give up. It's like he's taken all the steam out your sails. I decided that I couldn't play him anymore heads up no-limit Hold'em, at least on that day, if not forever." Indeed, it proved to be the last hand that Mansour ever played with Stuey heads-up.
Another day at that WSOP in 1992, Stuey was playing in a 5-handed $600-$1200 game with Mansour on table 59, while Bobby Baldwin and "Chip" Reese were playing gin at table 60. All of a sudden, Chip turns to Stuey at the other table and says, "How did you like the way I played that hand?" Stuey, who again, was busy playing $600-$1200 at the table next door, says, "I would have knocked four draws ago with five (points)." Chip then says, "Thanks" and rolls his eyes back in his head. Of course, Chip knew that Stuey was right, because Stuey was considered all but unbeatable in gin. In fact, he was so good at gin, that he couldn't even get a game from anyone anywhere for many years. But Chip didn't roll his eyes back in his head because Stuey was right, rather, he rolled his eyes back because he couldn't believe that Stuey was watching his every move while simultaneously playing high-stakes poker!
In the 1980's Stuey was considered the best in the world at gin (in fact he was the best for two decades), the best no-limit Hold'em player ever (by then he had won two World Championships, with one more to come), and one of the best backgammon players in the world as well. To be at the top in any of those games is quite a feat, but to be at or near the top in all three at once, was truly unbelievable. There are many other great stories about Stu Ungar and the amazing abilities that he had; soon there will be a book coming out about Stu; and a movie about Stu is currently being shot as well. I'm looking forward to both.
This will be updated onto my poker hot or not soon!
Quick gripe about the gutshot homepage.
The Bully!
Does he really know what he is talking about?
Also watched a few of the Pacific UK Open tournaments and its possibly the worst poker programme i've watched along with Celebrity Poker Club... Yawn!
The Bully!
Does he really know what he is talking about?
Also watched a few of the Pacific UK Open tournaments and its possibly the worst poker programme i've watched along with Celebrity Poker Club... Yawn!
I hate poker sometimes!!
After a pretty bad week both online and live over the weekend I set about attempting to retrieve my losses last night. I had done my usual, “I am not playing poker for a few weeks.” after my losses Sunday night online. Sunday was just one of those horrific online poker nights I would like to forget. I played in the £2.50/ £5 Omaha game on Betfair and lost each and every big pot I was involved in. So I took a fair few £500 losses to say the least. I lost a £2000 pot early on when I got reraised all in by someone with trips on the turn when I had the nut flush. I had 9TAK and got £800 in on a flop of TT9 against some muppet with JJQK and he hit his only out the J to give him a full house. My computer nearly got thrown out of my window on that last hand because it just summed up the whole evening.
It’s amazing how fortune changes so quickly because playing last night my good hands were actually standing up. I started again on the £2.50/£5 Omaha with £320…. I hit a few draws and scooped one major pot that went as following. I had Ac6c8h4h and called a £20 pre flop raise. Its flopped 4c7c2d. I bet the £100 as I have a gutshot, middle pair and the ace flush draw. Loose aggressive player reraises to £400 to play and player on the button goes all in for £600. I have £450 left and there is no way I can pass with the odds that this pot is now laying me. I could have passed the hand head to head but can’t pass three way action with a gutshot and the nut flush draw. Three of us all in. Cards over I see I am up against two sets of 4’s and 7’s. Turn brings an 8 and the river an 8 of clubs that gives a flush but pairs the board. The money moves towards me…. What? I look again at my hand and see a beautiful 8 that has given me an 88844 full house J and a £1750 pot. After that I played tight aggressive because my table was full of calling stations and finished the night with £3000.
Meanwhile over on Party I was playing the $10/$20 Hi/Low Omaha and managed to turn $300 into $2000 after a brilliant run of cards and immediately cashed out after my good fortune.
Its weird how poker messes with my mind. Sunday night when I finally went to bed about 4am I was vowing not to play again for a while and two days later I like poker again.
It’s amazing how fortune changes so quickly because playing last night my good hands were actually standing up. I started again on the £2.50/£5 Omaha with £320…. I hit a few draws and scooped one major pot that went as following. I had Ac6c8h4h and called a £20 pre flop raise. Its flopped 4c7c2d. I bet the £100 as I have a gutshot, middle pair and the ace flush draw. Loose aggressive player reraises to £400 to play and player on the button goes all in for £600. I have £450 left and there is no way I can pass with the odds that this pot is now laying me. I could have passed the hand head to head but can’t pass three way action with a gutshot and the nut flush draw. Three of us all in. Cards over I see I am up against two sets of 4’s and 7’s. Turn brings an 8 and the river an 8 of clubs that gives a flush but pairs the board. The money moves towards me…. What? I look again at my hand and see a beautiful 8 that has given me an 88844 full house J and a £1750 pot. After that I played tight aggressive because my table was full of calling stations and finished the night with £3000.
Meanwhile over on Party I was playing the $10/$20 Hi/Low Omaha and managed to turn $300 into $2000 after a brilliant run of cards and immediately cashed out after my good fortune.
Its weird how poker messes with my mind. Sunday night when I finally went to bed about 4am I was vowing not to play again for a while and two days later I like poker again.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Ridiculous
Playing Betfair No Limit Holdem $2/$5 at the moment. I raise $35 to play with AK and small blind calls. Flop 33A. I raise to $60. Small blind goes all in for $40 more so i call. He turns over 23 off. Absolutely ridiculous.
Just venting my frustration even though i didn't lose too much!!!
Just venting my frustration even though i didn't lose too much!!!
Mixed Weekend
Went to the Vic on Friday and played in the Dealers Choice. Was only there for a few hours but I managed to lose what I sat down with. I was getting inpatient and lumped it in on 5 card Omaha Hi/Low hand with the nut low draw and a high flush draw after being re-raised. Really didn’t see more than one or two good hands all night though. Still I shouldn’t have got involved in the hand that I did.
On Saturday afternoon I thought I would continue with my Sit n Go test and move up to $200. I managed 1st twice and busted out early twice so got $2000 back for a $845 investment. I played in the Omaha game on Betfair at the same time and despite being $1500 up at one point ended up $700 up.
The aspect that I consider is my biggest downfall as a poker player is that I am very inpatient. Its part of my real life personality as well. I want to win and win quick. It sometimes leads to poor decisions. The curse normally strikes the most when I am losing. I seem to think I need to win back my losses ASAP.
One amusing point from the Vic. I few people asked me if I am the Poker Bastard. I was on the table with a few of his biggest victims.
On Saturday afternoon I thought I would continue with my Sit n Go test and move up to $200. I managed 1st twice and busted out early twice so got $2000 back for a $845 investment. I played in the Omaha game on Betfair at the same time and despite being $1500 up at one point ended up $700 up.
The aspect that I consider is my biggest downfall as a poker player is that I am very inpatient. Its part of my real life personality as well. I want to win and win quick. It sometimes leads to poor decisions. The curse normally strikes the most when I am losing. I seem to think I need to win back my losses ASAP.
One amusing point from the Vic. I few people asked me if I am the Poker Bastard. I was on the table with a few of his biggest victims.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Bad night
Had my first really bad night online in a while the other night. A mixture of poor play and bad luck.
Played in the £2.50/£5 Omaha game on Betfair. Lost three big hands of significance costing me £1100. Yuck. Had good pot odds to call in all of them and worked out that the odds of losing all three were about 3-5%. Still I should have known it wasn’t going to be my night when I walked into Quad 9’s when I hit an Aces over full house on the flop.
Heading to the Vic on Friday. It’s the best night to play in the big Omaha game usually as you get a few players over celebrating the weekend if you catch my drift.
I rang Rendevous to find out how I can guarantee a seat in the £500 Freezeout early next month. The useless person who took my call preceded to tell me that I had to come to the casino if I wanted to register. I told her I lived in London and she said, “Why are you coming down to Brighton then.” Tsk…. Some people!
Played in the £2.50/£5 Omaha game on Betfair. Lost three big hands of significance costing me £1100. Yuck. Had good pot odds to call in all of them and worked out that the odds of losing all three were about 3-5%. Still I should have known it wasn’t going to be my night when I walked into Quad 9’s when I hit an Aces over full house on the flop.
Heading to the Vic on Friday. It’s the best night to play in the big Omaha game usually as you get a few players over celebrating the weekend if you catch my drift.
I rang Rendevous to find out how I can guarantee a seat in the £500 Freezeout early next month. The useless person who took my call preceded to tell me that I had to come to the casino if I wanted to register. I told her I lived in London and she said, “Why are you coming down to Brighton then.” Tsk…. Some people!
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