Saturday, July 19, 2008
Downswong
I heard stories of running bad and having dry spells that lasted months and months. I'm experiencing one of these periods right now and I plan on using bankroll management (100 BIs) to ride this downswing out. Its annoying and can get into my head at times, but at the same time I still playing great.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Lalalala
The more and more I play the Sundayments the further I convince myself that one day I'll take one of those bitches down. With about 80 players or so remaining in I think the Sunday Mulligan (bubble had already burst at 90), the following hand came up. I had just finished running up my stack from 32k to 90k in 4 hands and was feeling confident and cocky in 2nd place overall. I held KQo in LP and faced a raise from a slightly-laggish player in MP. I elect to 3bet (feeling confident =\)and it folds back to him and he called. We see a board of KQx and after being checked to, make a c-bet of about 2/3 pot. Villain instashoves, and I instacall and am well ahead of his AA. Turn, A and I'm drawing dead. Sigh Sundays.
Every passing Sunday, playing these events becomes a poorer and poorer decision for me. I feel like I'm +ev in them but feel like I'm lighting money on fire at the same time. I understand that variance plays a large factor in these massive $200+ buy-in, 2000+ entrant events, but I don't have the bankroll to keep at it. So, unless I 1) find a backer or 2) satellite in, you shouldn't see me playing these events in the future. Of course things change when its Sunday and registration closes in 2 minutes and first place is well over $100k.
I am trying to tighten up on playing within my bankroll right now, especially since I've experienced the high-variance nature of these middle-stake MTTs are. So, for the meanwhile I feel extremely comfortable playing the $24s & $50s, as well as the occasional $69 event on Tilt.
I find if very difficult to take these events seriously however. I seem to have really fucked up my sense of money because because I look at tournaments with first place prizes of $2k and scoff. Its ridiculous to think this way though and I hope to snap out of it soon. I want to play solid poker from here on out, trying equally as hard in a $10 MTT as I do in the Sunday Brawl.
Have played a few events today and am 0-for with 5 remaining. These include the 28k, the 50k, the Daily Double, the 11.5k, and the Midnight Madness. Wish me luck, will post results later.
- Saeid
Every passing Sunday, playing these events becomes a poorer and poorer decision for me. I feel like I'm +ev in them but feel like I'm lighting money on fire at the same time. I understand that variance plays a large factor in these massive $200+ buy-in, 2000+ entrant events, but I don't have the bankroll to keep at it. So, unless I 1) find a backer or 2) satellite in, you shouldn't see me playing these events in the future. Of course things change when its Sunday and registration closes in 2 minutes and first place is well over $100k.
I am trying to tighten up on playing within my bankroll right now, especially since I've experienced the high-variance nature of these middle-stake MTTs are. So, for the meanwhile I feel extremely comfortable playing the $24s & $50s, as well as the occasional $69 event on Tilt.
I find if very difficult to take these events seriously however. I seem to have really fucked up my sense of money because because I look at tournaments with first place prizes of $2k and scoff. Its ridiculous to think this way though and I hope to snap out of it soon. I want to play solid poker from here on out, trying equally as hard in a $10 MTT as I do in the Sunday Brawl.
Have played a few events today and am 0-for with 5 remaining. These include the 28k, the 50k, the Daily Double, the 11.5k, and the Midnight Madness. Wish me luck, will post results later.
- Saeid
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Out of MSOP ME in 3rd hour in 1,011th place.
HOUR ONE
Raised KK from LP and got a caller from the blinds. Flop came nasty TTx and it went check-check until the river where I decided to fire a small less than 1/2 pot bet. Obviously it was minraised and he showed ATo when I called. Standard. Down to 4k from starting stack of 5k.
Ended Hour One with 3.1k in chips, average is 6k.
HOUR TWO
I get dealt 33 in the BB and after 2 callers, MP raises tiny to less than x3 pot. With 2 limpers this is an extremy poor/tiny raise. I call and we see a 4-5 handed flop of 2K3 with two spades. It checks around to the raiser who bets a little over 1/2 pot. I reraise him and get a coldcaller. Raiser folds. Cold-caller left himself with only 800 and the pot was over 3.5k at this point. We get it in on the turn and he shows QTss for the spade draw. He blanks on the river, I double up to 6.4k.
I dribble down to 20+ BBs or so and reshove a few times to take 5k to the second break. Average is 9k.
Friend Michael busted after openlimp/calling 22 OTB and got all in on a A289 board. Villian had turned the magical 2-outer on the turn, showing 99. Nasty cooler that left us both physically ill.
HOUR THREE
I hold KdQh OTB and it folds to the HJ who opens to 630 at 120/240. CO calls and I decide to ship it in for 4.6 total. HJ folds and CO calls with JJ. Board came the absolutely perfect ThKh2h leaving my opponent drawing solely to the Jack of Clubs or a runner runner straight.
Double up an opponent, KQ v 88. Chip down to less than 20 BBs, keep getting cards like 66 and 44 which I don't want to raise/fold, so I just muck 'em pre.
Hold TT in the SB. EP player minraises to 800 and shortstack shoves for 5k total. I reshove to 6.6k and EP folds. Shortstack shows 55 and board comes 8AAKJ to double me up. Now have about 13.3k, which is a bit above average.
I bleed down and lose some hands and once again become shortstack.
I hold 55 in LP with about 7.9k at 400/800. A player in EP opens to 1100 and after much much thought about shoving/folding, I elect to fold and wait it out. The hand still bothers me but I still feel its slightly better to fold there than to reshove.
Next hand, it folds to be OTB with KJ and I have an easy shove for my last 7.8k or so in chips. The SB snap re-shoves and I'm lucky to be very live versus his AQo. Sadly the door card is an Ace and therefor ends my MSOP run.
Overall I feel like I played very well. My friend BigPapi1827 busted in a sick hand that I'm sure will haunt him for a while. He openlimped 22 OTB and called a raise from the BB. He saw a gorgeous AT2 rainbow board, and correctly decided to play it super slow. He called the cbet. Turn was a 9 and they got all their chips in. The BB showed the cruel 99 for bigger set and eliminated BigPapi. These two guys were massive chip leaders at the time. Really sick cooler.
MSOP was fun, I played roughly 5-6 events and cashed in one, which I FT'd and took 3rd in for my largest cash at the time of 4.5k.
Raised KK from LP and got a caller from the blinds. Flop came nasty TTx and it went check-check until the river where I decided to fire a small less than 1/2 pot bet. Obviously it was minraised and he showed ATo when I called. Standard. Down to 4k from starting stack of 5k.
Ended Hour One with 3.1k in chips, average is 6k.
HOUR TWO
I get dealt 33 in the BB and after 2 callers, MP raises tiny to less than x3 pot. With 2 limpers this is an extremy poor/tiny raise. I call and we see a 4-5 handed flop of 2K3 with two spades. It checks around to the raiser who bets a little over 1/2 pot. I reraise him and get a coldcaller. Raiser folds. Cold-caller left himself with only 800 and the pot was over 3.5k at this point. We get it in on the turn and he shows QTss for the spade draw. He blanks on the river, I double up to 6.4k.
I dribble down to 20+ BBs or so and reshove a few times to take 5k to the second break. Average is 9k.
Friend Michael busted after openlimp/calling 22 OTB and got all in on a A289 board. Villian had turned the magical 2-outer on the turn, showing 99. Nasty cooler that left us both physically ill.
HOUR THREE
I hold KdQh OTB and it folds to the HJ who opens to 630 at 120/240. CO calls and I decide to ship it in for 4.6 total. HJ folds and CO calls with JJ. Board came the absolutely perfect ThKh2h leaving my opponent drawing solely to the Jack of Clubs or a runner runner straight.
Double up an opponent, KQ v 88. Chip down to less than 20 BBs, keep getting cards like 66 and 44 which I don't want to raise/fold, so I just muck 'em pre.
Hold TT in the SB. EP player minraises to 800 and shortstack shoves for 5k total. I reshove to 6.6k and EP folds. Shortstack shows 55 and board comes 8AAKJ to double me up. Now have about 13.3k, which is a bit above average.
I bleed down and lose some hands and once again become shortstack.
I hold 55 in LP with about 7.9k at 400/800. A player in EP opens to 1100 and after much much thought about shoving/folding, I elect to fold and wait it out. The hand still bothers me but I still feel its slightly better to fold there than to reshove.
Next hand, it folds to be OTB with KJ and I have an easy shove for my last 7.8k or so in chips. The SB snap re-shoves and I'm lucky to be very live versus his AQo. Sadly the door card is an Ace and therefor ends my MSOP run.
Overall I feel like I played very well. My friend BigPapi1827 busted in a sick hand that I'm sure will haunt him for a while. He openlimped 22 OTB and called a raise from the BB. He saw a gorgeous AT2 rainbow board, and correctly decided to play it super slow. He called the cbet. Turn was a 9 and they got all their chips in. The BB showed the cruel 99 for bigger set and eliminated BigPapi. These two guys were massive chip leaders at the time. Really sick cooler.
MSOP was fun, I played roughly 5-6 events and cashed in one, which I FT'd and took 3rd in for my largest cash at the time of 4.5k.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
About to play MSOP Main Event
In 10 minutes I'll be playing the MSOP Main Event. It seems like the event is going to bring in roughly 4,000 players. Although the number of entrants is rising so quickly I may be under-calculating. There are a handful of Full Tilt Red Pros playing the event, as well as a lot of regulars. Overall however, this field has to be extremely soft with its low buy-in and cheap satellites. I expect to see a lot of sub-par play for the first few hours and hope to stack a few fish in the early going.
I'm excited about the event and have been for months now. All the time leading up to it has me a bit nervous right now.
Good luck as well to my friend BigPapi1827, who'll be playing as well.
- SH
I'm excited about the event and have been for months now. All the time leading up to it has me a bit nervous right now.
Good luck as well to my friend BigPapi1827, who'll be playing as well.
- SH
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Update on the learning and such
It is such a refreshing feeling when you realize that all your hard work and practice is paying off. I still haven't deposited money online (freaking Full Tilt is spazzing on me) but I have been reading a lot and using my play chip account for massive practice haha.
Two of the books that I'm reading I strongly recommend to everyone. The first one is Alan N. Schoonmaker's Master the Mental Game: Your Worst Poker Enemy. It's all about psychology and is meant to help us realize why we do certain things that hurt our play like tilt, or call against our better judgement, etc. I'm only about halfway through but it's already been so helpful. The second one is David Sklansky and Ed Miller's No Limit Hold 'Em Theory and Practice. True to form, Sklansky and Miller have written for the advanced player. While most of this book is way over my head and very heavy on the formulas, I still find it helpful. I have found that on the first read (it has become clear to me that I'm gonna have to read it several times lol) simply grasping the basic concepts, even if I don't understand the more complex bits, has really upped my game.
So to the amazing moment of truth for me that proved I'm making some progress. I can't remember the hand exactly unfortunately but it went something like this: I had J10 in the hole so I raised preflop and everyone folded but the person to my left. Flop comes JxK so I'm thinking "sweet, I have a pair of Js and a somewhat straight draw". I lead out betting about 70% of the current pot size and he just calls. Turn comes Q and for some reason I decide to push because I feel like he can't possibly have a higher pair than me. Well he turns over pocket Qs and I am well and truly screwed. To make matters worse the river is the final Q, you know just to twist the knife that's already embedded in my heart. Well of course I quit playing immediately because I am seriously on tilt. The miracle here is that I was NOT angry because I was cheated by the cards or had bad luck or anything external like that. I was mad because I had done something wrong and for once, I realized what it was lol. I was OOP the whole time, I had no reason to push because I had plenty of big blinds left, I made a move based on gut feelings and not logic, I clearly hadn't paid attention to the board if I thought I had the highest pair, etc. So basically I discovered I am actually learning something, I just need to learn to apply it better and constantly be aware.
Just needed to share that haha :)
Two of the books that I'm reading I strongly recommend to everyone. The first one is Alan N. Schoonmaker's Master the Mental Game: Your Worst Poker Enemy. It's all about psychology and is meant to help us realize why we do certain things that hurt our play like tilt, or call against our better judgement, etc. I'm only about halfway through but it's already been so helpful. The second one is David Sklansky and Ed Miller's No Limit Hold 'Em Theory and Practice. True to form, Sklansky and Miller have written for the advanced player. While most of this book is way over my head and very heavy on the formulas, I still find it helpful. I have found that on the first read (it has become clear to me that I'm gonna have to read it several times lol) simply grasping the basic concepts, even if I don't understand the more complex bits, has really upped my game.
So to the amazing moment of truth for me that proved I'm making some progress. I can't remember the hand exactly unfortunately but it went something like this: I had J10 in the hole so I raised preflop and everyone folded but the person to my left. Flop comes JxK so I'm thinking "sweet, I have a pair of Js and a somewhat straight draw". I lead out betting about 70% of the current pot size and he just calls. Turn comes Q and for some reason I decide to push because I feel like he can't possibly have a higher pair than me. Well he turns over pocket Qs and I am well and truly screwed. To make matters worse the river is the final Q, you know just to twist the knife that's already embedded in my heart. Well of course I quit playing immediately because I am seriously on tilt. The miracle here is that I was NOT angry because I was cheated by the cards or had bad luck or anything external like that. I was mad because I had done something wrong and for once, I realized what it was lol. I was OOP the whole time, I had no reason to push because I had plenty of big blinds left, I made a move based on gut feelings and not logic, I clearly hadn't paid attention to the board if I thought I had the highest pair, etc. So basically I discovered I am actually learning something, I just need to learn to apply it better and constantly be aware.
Just needed to share that haha :)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Two weekends ago I took down two tournaments in one night, one of the Daily Doubles for $1.9k and the Fifty-Fifty for about $10k. Obviously my biggest night ever.
However, since then I've seen my bankroll decrease nearly 33%. Its quite alarming that I've lost all this back through MTTs but I suppose its just standard? I feel like I'm playing quite well, if not better, but just need to win a few more key races per tournament to be able to do anything serious.
Since I am losing money though I'm going to try to employ stricter bankroll management rules this week. My roll is at $10kish. Thats 100 buy-ins of $100 events. Its 66 buy-ins of $150 events and I really like playing the nightly $65k. I suppose I'll try satelliting into that event from now on, as well as the Sunday Majors.
I'm going to avoid playing the $50 rebuy for sure and possibly the $30r although probably not actually, haha. I still think I can swing that one for now.
Also, I really wanna only play a handful of events per day. I feel like I play too many at times and auto-pilot quite often.
Tournament line up:
$150, $65k Gtd
$50, $50k Gtd
$24, $32k Gtd
$24, $28k Gtd
There are a few more. I'll edit later.
However, since then I've seen my bankroll decrease nearly 33%. Its quite alarming that I've lost all this back through MTTs but I suppose its just standard? I feel like I'm playing quite well, if not better, but just need to win a few more key races per tournament to be able to do anything serious.
Since I am losing money though I'm going to try to employ stricter bankroll management rules this week. My roll is at $10kish. Thats 100 buy-ins of $100 events. Its 66 buy-ins of $150 events and I really like playing the nightly $65k. I suppose I'll try satelliting into that event from now on, as well as the Sunday Majors.
I'm going to avoid playing the $50 rebuy for sure and possibly the $30r although probably not actually, haha. I still think I can swing that one for now.
Also, I really wanna only play a handful of events per day. I feel like I play too many at times and auto-pilot quite often.
Tournament line up:
$150, $65k Gtd
$50, $50k Gtd
$24, $32k Gtd
$24, $28k Gtd
There are a few more. I'll edit later.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sorry for lack of updates, etc.
Sorry for the lack of updates fellas. Wow, its been over 2 months since my last post.
Since shipping $1100 in the UB $200k, I've actually switched poker rooms and now play nearly exclusively on Full Tilt. The tournaments are larger and I feel like there is more money to win there. Sadly with this comes bigger playing fields as well, but I'm surviving. My roll is at $5.2k right now.
Last Sunday I finished 3rd/~5200 in MSOP Event #15, good for the largest cash of my career at $4,500. The event lasted over 8 hours and at the end of it I fell over fast asleep. I plan on writing a Tournament Report sometime in the near future.
Currently, I'm playing $10 and $20 rebuys as well as any tournament over $24+2. I say that with my bankroll, the highest I should be playing are the $69+6s, but I am dabbling fairly occasionally in a few $100+9s as well.
Overall things have been super-swingy and while yes I did have the largest cash of my career a week ago I still don't think I'm playing consistently well. I have flashes of excellence but I think overall I'm just not bringing my A-game to the table at all times. Meh. But I'll continue grinding.
Cash games have been meh and I really only dabble in them now. I was losing a ton playing NL100 and while I still may go back after some review, I'm done with them for now and focusing solely on tournaments.
Thats all for now. Today I'm playing a ton of events highlighted by the $30+3 MSOP Event #29. Hopefully I can run like the sun again.
Since shipping $1100 in the UB $200k, I've actually switched poker rooms and now play nearly exclusively on Full Tilt. The tournaments are larger and I feel like there is more money to win there. Sadly with this comes bigger playing fields as well, but I'm surviving. My roll is at $5.2k right now.
Last Sunday I finished 3rd/~5200 in MSOP Event #15, good for the largest cash of my career at $4,500. The event lasted over 8 hours and at the end of it I fell over fast asleep. I plan on writing a Tournament Report sometime in the near future.
Currently, I'm playing $10 and $20 rebuys as well as any tournament over $24+2. I say that with my bankroll, the highest I should be playing are the $69+6s, but I am dabbling fairly occasionally in a few $100+9s as well.
Overall things have been super-swingy and while yes I did have the largest cash of my career a week ago I still don't think I'm playing consistently well. I have flashes of excellence but I think overall I'm just not bringing my A-game to the table at all times. Meh. But I'll continue grinding.
Cash games have been meh and I really only dabble in them now. I was losing a ton playing NL100 and while I still may go back after some review, I'm done with them for now and focusing solely on tournaments.
Thats all for now. Today I'm playing a ton of events highlighted by the $30+3 MSOP Event #29. Hopefully I can run like the sun again.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Brag or Bad Beat, idk: 25th in UB $200k for $1100
I tried really hard not to go into the 200k today expecting to do well. But I couldn't help but hope and imagine taking it down for $45k. I envisioned playing solid poker and running as deep as I possibly could. That became a reality today, but sadly I couldn't go all the way, finishing 25th/800+ for $1100.
I understand how twisted it is to complain about this but I think people fail to realize is what I'm complaining about. I'm not upset about winning $1100, lol. I'm upset about not running deeper. Its sickening to me that I had to survive just 24 more players for the first place of $45k. Coupled with the fact that I lost with AK vs AJ all-in pre and had him dead to a gutshot on the river in a massive 100k pot, pardon me for ranting.
Anyways, I feel like I played really well overall, with just one hand that I'm still kicking myself for. But I'll try to live with misplaying one hand out of 300. I think I can deal. I played as a shortstack for nearly an hour and a half (half of Hour 3 and nearly all of Hour 4) but managed to stay patient and steal enough to keep my head afloat until I could double up. I played solid and because of that I really didn't find myself in a lot of tricky situations so I'm grateful for that.
I also made a new friend while playing and I weigh things like that pretty heavily for whatever reason. Poker has a social aspect to it and I feel that making allies in the community is important. Anyways, he seems like a very good player and I'm very much looking forward to picking his brain and keeping in touch.
With this cash I'm rolled for 1/2 although I'm still not sure how I feel about playing with almost 25 buy-ins. I feel like I'm becoming a bigger nit the higher I move up, which is great on one hand but on the other hand is potentially costing me money. Anybody have a problem 6-tabling 1/2 6-max with a 25 buy-in roll?
Anyways, thanks for reading.
- BnB -
I understand how twisted it is to complain about this but I think people fail to realize is what I'm complaining about. I'm not upset about winning $1100, lol. I'm upset about not running deeper. Its sickening to me that I had to survive just 24 more players for the first place of $45k. Coupled with the fact that I lost with AK vs AJ all-in pre and had him dead to a gutshot on the river in a massive 100k pot, pardon me for ranting.
Anyways, I feel like I played really well overall, with just one hand that I'm still kicking myself for. But I'll try to live with misplaying one hand out of 300. I think I can deal. I played as a shortstack for nearly an hour and a half (half of Hour 3 and nearly all of Hour 4) but managed to stay patient and steal enough to keep my head afloat until I could double up. I played solid and because of that I really didn't find myself in a lot of tricky situations so I'm grateful for that.
I also made a new friend while playing and I weigh things like that pretty heavily for whatever reason. Poker has a social aspect to it and I feel that making allies in the community is important. Anyways, he seems like a very good player and I'm very much looking forward to picking his brain and keeping in touch.
With this cash I'm rolled for 1/2 although I'm still not sure how I feel about playing with almost 25 buy-ins. I feel like I'm becoming a bigger nit the higher I move up, which is great on one hand but on the other hand is potentially costing me money. Anybody have a problem 6-tabling 1/2 6-max with a 25 buy-in roll?
Anyways, thanks for reading.
- BnB -
Won UB $2k ($10r, 6-max); won $200k seat
I woke up yesterday with little memory of getting home and the events of the night. My laptop was on my chest (how it didn't fall off my bed and die, idk) and dead since it was unplugged. Ridiculous. I stood up to use the restroo... whoooooa there thats a hangover. Fuck.
I grabbed a soda since it makes me feel better after a night of drinking and sat down at my computer and did the usual routine: Facebook, Gmail, 2+2, TwoRags, and some friends' blogs. I had planned on playing a marathon like 18-hr day yesterday (kidding, ish) but at that point in the day the thought of 6-tabling made me physically ill.
I knew I wanted to play poker though so I jumped in the first tournament I saw, the UB $2k Gtd $10r 6-max holy hell thats a mouthful. I figured I could deal with one table whilst I remedied myself back to a decent condition.
After 6-tabling for so long, I can't tell you how easy it was just having this one tournament open. I watched nearly every hand and had a pretty good feel for the metagame of the table, blah blah blah. I also felt that my opening ranges were pretty solid for a 6-max table. I noticed a lot of players who were playing like it was full ring, as well as others who were playing like it was 3-handed. So, to be cliche: I was patient, picked my spots, played solid, etc... and ended up taking the event down.
When we were down to the final 3 tables, I noticed a player who was beginning to run as hot as fire and was playing amazingly well. I felt like he was going to be my biggest threat. I don't know what it is or what he did, but no one gave him credit for anything and ended up shoving middle pair versus him like 3 times and all of a sudden he has this sick chip stack that was minimum like 8x above the average.
I end up getting HU with this player and after one hand it immediately becomes apparent that he is the worst HU player I've ever played against. I'd say he bet pot about 75% of the time, regardless of position, who raised pre-flop, or texture of the board.
I wish I had the hand history for this but I remember a hand in particular where I raised KK OTB and he called and led out for pot-sized bets on the flop and turn and culminated in him shoving the river and showing nothing but like 7 high. I'd seen this play from him before and I don't know if it was necessary on my part but I was using up all of my time clock. I've no idea if this actually gave him the false idea that I was weak and strongly debating what to do, or if he just was that poor. I ended up taking the event down for about $960.
Later in the day, I joined a $10r that gave away guaranteed 25 seats to the Sunday 200k. I love rebuys because they're deepstacked and I just sit back and essentially coast, not getting too involved and really sitting and waiting for solid hands. I mean, there is time for that. Of course as the bubble approaches I put the pressure on a bit more but generally speaking, you just have a sick amount of chips and I personally don't see the point in risking them early on. The event drew 100 people and I was actually worried with about 30 left that I wasn't going to make it. The bubble was lasting a little longer than usual and I was folding premium hands when folded to since I didn't want people left to act to wake up with real hands. In the end though I won the seat and I'm looking forward to playing that event today.
I grabbed a soda since it makes me feel better after a night of drinking and sat down at my computer and did the usual routine: Facebook, Gmail, 2+2, TwoRags, and some friends' blogs. I had planned on playing a marathon like 18-hr day yesterday (kidding, ish) but at that point in the day the thought of 6-tabling made me physically ill.
I knew I wanted to play poker though so I jumped in the first tournament I saw, the UB $2k Gtd $10r 6-max holy hell thats a mouthful. I figured I could deal with one table whilst I remedied myself back to a decent condition.
After 6-tabling for so long, I can't tell you how easy it was just having this one tournament open. I watched nearly every hand and had a pretty good feel for the metagame of the table, blah blah blah. I also felt that my opening ranges were pretty solid for a 6-max table. I noticed a lot of players who were playing like it was full ring, as well as others who were playing like it was 3-handed. So, to be cliche: I was patient, picked my spots, played solid, etc... and ended up taking the event down.
When we were down to the final 3 tables, I noticed a player who was beginning to run as hot as fire and was playing amazingly well. I felt like he was going to be my biggest threat. I don't know what it is or what he did, but no one gave him credit for anything and ended up shoving middle pair versus him like 3 times and all of a sudden he has this sick chip stack that was minimum like 8x above the average.
I end up getting HU with this player and after one hand it immediately becomes apparent that he is the worst HU player I've ever played against. I'd say he bet pot about 75% of the time, regardless of position, who raised pre-flop, or texture of the board.
I wish I had the hand history for this but I remember a hand in particular where I raised KK OTB and he called and led out for pot-sized bets on the flop and turn and culminated in him shoving the river and showing nothing but like 7 high. I'd seen this play from him before and I don't know if it was necessary on my part but I was using up all of my time clock. I've no idea if this actually gave him the false idea that I was weak and strongly debating what to do, or if he just was that poor. I ended up taking the event down for about $960.
Later in the day, I joined a $10r that gave away guaranteed 25 seats to the Sunday 200k. I love rebuys because they're deepstacked and I just sit back and essentially coast, not getting too involved and really sitting and waiting for solid hands. I mean, there is time for that. Of course as the bubble approaches I put the pressure on a bit more but generally speaking, you just have a sick amount of chips and I personally don't see the point in risking them early on. The event drew 100 people and I was actually worried with about 30 left that I wasn't going to make it. The bubble was lasting a little longer than usual and I was folding premium hands when folded to since I didn't want people left to act to wake up with real hands. In the end though I won the seat and I'm looking forward to playing that event today.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
I hate titles. Just read.
Cash games have been good lately. I really wish PT worked and I could have stats to look at though. Apparently my computer is so full that PT can't even compress the database anymore. Tilt. I've erased everything which I don't use, which apparently is nothing and unfortunately doesn't include large programs like Photoshop and Flash. I'm planning on on buying a rather large external hard drive from Radio Shack soon and moving a lot of my files over there. In fact, I'd love to move everything over there and completely restore my machine to its just-out-of-box state. The thought of playing poker without PT locking up my machine sounds too good to be true, but hopefully I'll be able to say "dream come true" in a few days.
After suffering an absolutely disgusting massive downswing over the past few days, I decided to turn things around and made about 6 buy-ins yesterday. It probably should have been closer to 10, but I remember 3 separate instances yesterday where I lost set under set. Being on the losing end of that makes my heart cringe at the thought of it. I honestly can't say I know how I put up with it on three separate occasions yesterday.
I've got plans to visit friends in College Station, TX this weekend, and I don't know what their internet situation is like. If they have wireless, I may put in a session or two earlier in the days. If not, well whatever. Hand me a brewski.
Gonna try and get in about 3k hands now before lunch. Peace.
- BnB
After suffering an absolutely disgusting massive downswing over the past few days, I decided to turn things around and made about 6 buy-ins yesterday. It probably should have been closer to 10, but I remember 3 separate instances yesterday where I lost set under set. Being on the losing end of that makes my heart cringe at the thought of it. I honestly can't say I know how I put up with it on three separate occasions yesterday.
I've got plans to visit friends in College Station, TX this weekend, and I don't know what their internet situation is like. If they have wireless, I may put in a session or two earlier in the days. If not, well whatever. Hand me a brewski.
Gonna try and get in about 3k hands now before lunch. Peace.
- BnB
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
So I'm currently watching the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament: Elimination Match 13, and I just need to take this opportunity to vent about how much I hate Phil Hellmuth.
Six people were sitting at the table this round including some familiar faces like Gus Hansen and Mike Matusow and, unfortunately, our good friend Phil. This guy is a total douche bag. Not only does he act like a child at the table talking ridiculous smack and insulting the other players' play but he gets up from the table at one point to go listen to his music on the other side of the room and pout. At one point Matusow is talking to other players, not even Phil I might add, and Phil starts saying things like "Mike, how many times have I told you not to talk while I'm thinking?" and "I already warned you about this for an hour yesterday." Completely serious, no smile, he's not kidding. Well excuse us Phil, but who made you King Douche Bag? No one. Don't sit there talking the whole time and directing insults at people and then expect all to be silent when your dumb ass is thinking. So Matusow, my new hero starts talking loudly about the weather occasionally looking directly at Phil. Did I mention they were sitting next to each other? Hahaha take that Phil Fuck-up!
Poor Hansen gets knocked out first after withstanding what I'm sure in real time was hours of Phil's shit and finishes 6th with no points to add to his total. And what does Phil do the minute Hansen walks away? Starts talking shit about how Hansen shouldn't have been here anyway and blah blah blah.
A little time goes by and finally Phil is knocked out in 5th place after all of his shit and I am ecstatic. However, just when we all thought it was over, Mary Strong on the sidelines begins to interview him and here comes the pouting again. He keeps saying "I'm not happy about where I'm at" (even though he has 20 points and is in I believe 6th place overall - something like that) and "Well, I had to play with Gus who has no knowledge of the game so what can I expect?". Um, excuse me but didn't Hansen win this whole thing last year? Oh right, he did, so get over yourself Hellmuth. It got so bad that there was a good 10 seconds of awkward silence before she sent the cameras back to Chris Rose and Howard Lederer. Even they stepped out of the realm of professionalism and said "Well good try Mary, but when someone decides to act like a 10 year old there's not much you can do".
And then later, during Mike Matusow's interview (after finishing 2nd), Phil comes over and hogs the lime light once again insulting Matusow's play and saying he knows nothing about the game. Even though he was smiling at had a slightly nicer tone to his words, they were still completely unnecessary and condescending. Thankfully Matusow came back with the fact that he tried to read Phil's book but realized one chapter into it that Phil knows nothing. Balla! Matusow 2, Phil 0.
Oh and as a side note, Eli Elezra ended up winning lol.
In short, Phil Hellmuth clearly can't be a bad player because of his 11 bracelets and whatever other awards I'm sure he carries pictures of in his wallet, but if you act like a total and complete ass whole and embarrass yourself on national television all the awards in the world become null and void. Play the game hard, have the passion, be competitive, but also be a gentleman.
** P.S.
I apologize for all of the cursing through out this post, it just burns me up when people get so damn cocky and childish.
Six people were sitting at the table this round including some familiar faces like Gus Hansen and Mike Matusow and, unfortunately, our good friend Phil. This guy is a total douche bag. Not only does he act like a child at the table talking ridiculous smack and insulting the other players' play but he gets up from the table at one point to go listen to his music on the other side of the room and pout. At one point Matusow is talking to other players, not even Phil I might add, and Phil starts saying things like "Mike, how many times have I told you not to talk while I'm thinking?" and "I already warned you about this for an hour yesterday." Completely serious, no smile, he's not kidding. Well excuse us Phil, but who made you King Douche Bag? No one. Don't sit there talking the whole time and directing insults at people and then expect all to be silent when your dumb ass is thinking. So Matusow, my new hero starts talking loudly about the weather occasionally looking directly at Phil. Did I mention they were sitting next to each other? Hahaha take that Phil Fuck-up!
Poor Hansen gets knocked out first after withstanding what I'm sure in real time was hours of Phil's shit and finishes 6th with no points to add to his total. And what does Phil do the minute Hansen walks away? Starts talking shit about how Hansen shouldn't have been here anyway and blah blah blah.
A little time goes by and finally Phil is knocked out in 5th place after all of his shit and I am ecstatic. However, just when we all thought it was over, Mary Strong on the sidelines begins to interview him and here comes the pouting again. He keeps saying "I'm not happy about where I'm at" (even though he has 20 points and is in I believe 6th place overall - something like that) and "Well, I had to play with Gus who has no knowledge of the game so what can I expect?". Um, excuse me but didn't Hansen win this whole thing last year? Oh right, he did, so get over yourself Hellmuth. It got so bad that there was a good 10 seconds of awkward silence before she sent the cameras back to Chris Rose and Howard Lederer. Even they stepped out of the realm of professionalism and said "Well good try Mary, but when someone decides to act like a 10 year old there's not much you can do".
And then later, during Mike Matusow's interview (after finishing 2nd), Phil comes over and hogs the lime light once again insulting Matusow's play and saying he knows nothing about the game. Even though he was smiling at had a slightly nicer tone to his words, they were still completely unnecessary and condescending. Thankfully Matusow came back with the fact that he tried to read Phil's book but realized one chapter into it that Phil knows nothing. Balla! Matusow 2, Phil 0.
Oh and as a side note, Eli Elezra ended up winning lol.
In short, Phil Hellmuth clearly can't be a bad player because of his 11 bracelets and whatever other awards I'm sure he carries pictures of in his wallet, but if you act like a total and complete ass whole and embarrass yourself on national television all the awards in the world become null and void. Play the game hard, have the passion, be competitive, but also be a gentleman.
** P.S.
I apologize for all of the cursing through out this post, it just burns me up when people get so damn cocky and childish.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
FTP $100 Freeroll, End
Alright, doin great, ready to move on and get closer to the mo--what?
*sigh* oh well.
Full Tilt Poker Game #5548706553: $100 Freeroll (42118124), Table 142 - 1200/2400 Ante 300 - No Limit Hold'em - 6:18:05 ET - 2008/03/08
Seat 2: All-in 123123 (49,860)
Seat 3: MerMaid12 (21,134)
Seat 4: BigSlick3188 (100,277)
Seat 5: shah419 (27,490), is sitting out
Seat 6: KingBlaza (131,117)
Seat 7: nyyankeefan1948 (52,041)
Seat 8: moosegreen (60,779)
Seat 9: SlowskyBill (111,652)
All-in 123123 antes 300
MerMaid12 antes 300
BigSlick3188 antes 300
shah419 antes 300
KingBlaza antes 300
nyyankeefan1948 antes 300
moosegreen antes 300
SlowskyBill antes 300
All-in 123123 posts the small blind of 1,200
MerMaid12 posts the big blind of 2,400
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BigSlick3188 [Ad Kc]
BigSlick3188 has 15 seconds left to act
BigSlick3188 raises to 7,000
shah419 folds
KingBlaza has 15 seconds left to act
KingBlaza calls 7,000
nyyankeefan1948 folds
moosegreen folds
SlowskyBill folds
All-in 123123 folds
MerMaid12 folds
*** FLOP *** [Ah 6s 3c]
BigSlick3188 bets 12,000
KingBlaza has 15 seconds left to act
KingBlaza calls 12,000
*** TURN *** [Ah 6s 3c] [5d]
BigSlick3188 bets 25,000
KingBlaza calls 25,000
*** RIVER *** [Ah 6s 3c 5d] [Jc]
BigSlick3188 bets 55,977, and is all in
KingBlaza calls 55,977
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BigSlick3188 shows [Ad Kc] a pair of Aces
KingBlaza shows [Js Ac] two pair, Aces and Jacks
KingBlaza wins the pot (205,954) with two pair, Aces and Jacks
BigSlick3188 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 205,954 Rake 0
Board: [Ah 6s 3c 5d Jc]
Seat 2: All-in 123123 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: MerMaid12 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: BigSlick3188 showed [Ad Kc] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 5: shah419 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: KingBlaza showed [Js Ac] and won (205,954) with two pair, Aces and Jacks
Seat 7: nyyankeefan1948 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: moosegreen folded before the Flop
Seat 9: SlowskyBill (button) folded before the Flop
Nothing I could do aside from pushing earlier, but my stack was too big for that.
Oh well, I'll take 39th out of 2700... i guess.
*sigh* oh well.
Full Tilt Poker Game #5548706553: $100 Freeroll (42118124), Table 142 - 1200/2400 Ante 300 - No Limit Hold'em - 6:18:05 ET - 2008/03/08
Seat 2: All-in 123123 (49,860)
Seat 3: MerMaid12 (21,134)
Seat 4: BigSlick3188 (100,277)
Seat 5: shah419 (27,490), is sitting out
Seat 6: KingBlaza (131,117)
Seat 7: nyyankeefan1948 (52,041)
Seat 8: moosegreen (60,779)
Seat 9: SlowskyBill (111,652)
All-in 123123 antes 300
MerMaid12 antes 300
BigSlick3188 antes 300
shah419 antes 300
KingBlaza antes 300
nyyankeefan1948 antes 300
moosegreen antes 300
SlowskyBill antes 300
All-in 123123 posts the small blind of 1,200
MerMaid12 posts the big blind of 2,400
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BigSlick3188 [Ad Kc]
BigSlick3188 has 15 seconds left to act
BigSlick3188 raises to 7,000
shah419 folds
KingBlaza has 15 seconds left to act
KingBlaza calls 7,000
nyyankeefan1948 folds
moosegreen folds
SlowskyBill folds
All-in 123123 folds
MerMaid12 folds
*** FLOP *** [Ah 6s 3c]
BigSlick3188 bets 12,000
KingBlaza has 15 seconds left to act
KingBlaza calls 12,000
*** TURN *** [Ah 6s 3c] [5d]
BigSlick3188 bets 25,000
KingBlaza calls 25,000
*** RIVER *** [Ah 6s 3c 5d] [Jc]
BigSlick3188 bets 55,977, and is all in
KingBlaza calls 55,977
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BigSlick3188 shows [Ad Kc] a pair of Aces
KingBlaza shows [Js Ac] two pair, Aces and Jacks
KingBlaza wins the pot (205,954) with two pair, Aces and Jacks
BigSlick3188 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 205,954 Rake 0
Board: [Ah 6s 3c 5d Jc]
Seat 2: All-in 123123 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: MerMaid12 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: BigSlick3188 showed [Ad Kc] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 5: shah419 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: KingBlaza showed [Js Ac] and won (205,954) with two pair, Aces and Jacks
Seat 7: nyyankeefan1948 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: moosegreen folded before the Flop
Seat 9: SlowskyBill (button) folded before the Flop
Nothing I could do aside from pushing earlier, but my stack was too big for that.
Oh well, I'll take 39th out of 2700... i guess.
$100 FTP Freeroll, 3rd Break
Well, I'm still going strong at the third break! A couple of big hands near the end of the last level have helped boost me up in the standings. I'm feeling great, and I guess I'm just not gonna sleep before the school tourney starts (in 4.5 hours! hahaha). It might actually be better, though, cuz I'm running good and making good decisions, but sleep might kinda reset my brain. Anyway, here's the stats right now:
21st/50; 65,426 stack; 81k average
21st/50; 65,426 stack; 81k average
$100 FTP Freeroll, Pt. 2
Well, I've reached the 2nd break. 90/185, 2700 started... stack of 17,945; average at 21,891; blinds to become 250/500 after the break. (And for those who scoffed at my other post i.e. playing 7-3 like it was the nuts, i say this: big blind, was limped around, pure read on the turn that turned out right... pardon the pun.)
FTP $100 Freeroll
So right now I'm running great in a Full Tilt $100 Freeroll... I like playing these because they help me hone my MTT skills. I'm actually practicing for tomorrow, when i'll be playing a free buy-in 600 player live tourney sponsored by the university... More on that tomorrow. But anyway, here's an example of just how good i'm running:
Full Tilt Poker Game #5548156983: $100 Freeroll (42118124), Table 111 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 4:35:40 ET - 2008/03/08
Seat 1: Walker6or7 (24,682)
Seat 2: BigSlick3188 (13,660)
Seat 3: X Mr Allin X (8,610)
Seat 4: bucks2303 (20,215)
Seat 5: Frank_White_520 (10,755)
Seat 6: pokerangy (19,675)
Seat 7: river horse r (13,630)
Seat 8: Timm11_32 (14,525)
Seat 9: sbxkoa (16,365)
Walker6or7 antes 25
BigSlick3188 antes 25
X Mr Allin X antes 25
bucks2303 antes 25
Frank_White_520 antes 25
pokerangy antes 25
river horse r antes 25
Timm11_32 antes 25
sbxkoa antes 25
Walker6or7 posts the small blind of 150
BigSlick3188 posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BigSlick3188 [7h 3c]
X Mr Allin X calls 300
bucks2303 folds
Frank_White_520 folds
pokerangy folds
river horse r folds
Timm11_32 folds
sbxkoa folds
Walker6or7 folds
BigSlick3188 checks
*** FLOP *** [3d Kc 2d]
BigSlick3188 bets 900
X Mr Allin X calls 900
*** TURN *** [3d Kc 2d] [5c]
BigSlick3188 bets 1,800
X Mr Allin X raises to 7,385, and is all in
BigSlick3188 calls 5,585
X Mr Allin X shows [Ad Th]
BigSlick3188 shows [7h 3c]
*** RIVER *** [3d Kc 2d 5c] [3h]
X Mr Allin X shows a pair of Threes
BigSlick3188 shows three of a kind, Threes
BigSlick3188 wins the pot (17,545) with three of a kind, Threes
X Mr Allin X stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 17,545 Rake 0
Board: [3d Kc 2d 5c 3h]
Seat 1: Walker6or7 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: BigSlick3188 (big blind) showed [7h 3c] and won (17,545) with three of a kind, Threes
Seat 3: X Mr Allin X showed [Ad Th] and lost with a pair of Threes
Seat 4: bucks2303 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Frank_White_520 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: pokerangy folded before the Flop
Seat 7: river horse r folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Timm11_32 folded before the Flop
Seat 9: sbxkoa (button) folded before the Flop
Anywho, more updates to come
Full Tilt Poker Game #5548156983: $100 Freeroll (42118124), Table 111 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 4:35:40 ET - 2008/03/08
Seat 1: Walker6or7 (24,682)
Seat 2: BigSlick3188 (13,660)
Seat 3: X Mr Allin X (8,610)
Seat 4: bucks2303 (20,215)
Seat 5: Frank_White_520 (10,755)
Seat 6: pokerangy (19,675)
Seat 7: river horse r (13,630)
Seat 8: Timm11_32 (14,525)
Seat 9: sbxkoa (16,365)
Walker6or7 antes 25
BigSlick3188 antes 25
X Mr Allin X antes 25
bucks2303 antes 25
Frank_White_520 antes 25
pokerangy antes 25
river horse r antes 25
Timm11_32 antes 25
sbxkoa antes 25
Walker6or7 posts the small blind of 150
BigSlick3188 posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BigSlick3188 [7h 3c]
X Mr Allin X calls 300
bucks2303 folds
Frank_White_520 folds
pokerangy folds
river horse r folds
Timm11_32 folds
sbxkoa folds
Walker6or7 folds
BigSlick3188 checks
*** FLOP *** [3d Kc 2d]
BigSlick3188 bets 900
X Mr Allin X calls 900
*** TURN *** [3d Kc 2d] [5c]
BigSlick3188 bets 1,800
X Mr Allin X raises to 7,385, and is all in
BigSlick3188 calls 5,585
X Mr Allin X shows [Ad Th]
BigSlick3188 shows [7h 3c]
*** RIVER *** [3d Kc 2d 5c] [3h]
X Mr Allin X shows a pair of Threes
BigSlick3188 shows three of a kind, Threes
BigSlick3188 wins the pot (17,545) with three of a kind, Threes
X Mr Allin X stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 17,545 Rake 0
Board: [3d Kc 2d 5c 3h]
Seat 1: Walker6or7 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: BigSlick3188 (big blind) showed [7h 3c] and won (17,545) with three of a kind, Threes
Seat 3: X Mr Allin X showed [Ad Th] and lost with a pair of Threes
Seat 4: bucks2303 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Frank_White_520 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: pokerangy folded before the Flop
Seat 7: river horse r folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Timm11_32 folded before the Flop
Seat 9: sbxkoa (button) folded before the Flop
Anywho, more updates to come
Monday, February 25, 2008
Week in Review
I read Doyle Brunson's blog on tworags.com last night and he posts these pieces called "Week in Review," where obviously he just shares his thoughts on his past 7 days. Intrigued, I've decided I'm going to try and do the same here.
This past week was a mental challenge, I think. I think I set the unfair, yet not unrealistic goal, of trying to one up my previous two weeks. This way of thinking is double edged. On one hand, setting such lofty goals can cause one to feel disappointed when they fail. On the other hand, however, one has an unquenchable desire for more and this will ultimately lead him/her to success.
In hindsight, I think its silly to think that this week was a complete failure solely because it didn't live up to last week. I still made money (I'll edit this with net profit/ROI% later), and any week where I make money should always be a good week.
This week, I'd like to do the following things:
Since February 4th,
- I've spent $1966.2 in MTT buyin and fees.
- I've won $4580.61 in MTT monies (for the record, pokerdb is ~$1300 for some reason)
- The total net profit is $2614.41.
- 133% ROI (err... wow)
I need to stop playing cash games because wow a lot of my bankroll is gone due to them.
- BnB
This past week was a mental challenge, I think. I think I set the unfair, yet not unrealistic goal, of trying to one up my previous two weeks. This way of thinking is double edged. On one hand, setting such lofty goals can cause one to feel disappointed when they fail. On the other hand, however, one has an unquenchable desire for more and this will ultimately lead him/her to success.
In hindsight, I think its silly to think that this week was a complete failure solely because it didn't live up to last week. I still made money (I'll edit this with net profit/ROI% later), and any week where I make money should always be a good week.
This week, I'd like to do the following things:
- Play fewer tournaments. This one is going to be hard, haha, but right now it sounds like a good idea. The true reason behind it is that I'd just like a decent sleeping schedule since I'm a student. Other reasons include me just not wanting to feel burnt out like I sporadically did throughout the later parts of last week. I think I averaged about a dozen tournaments a day, which I guess must've gotten to me. I'm going to try to only play the following daily tournaments:
- 7:00 $5 Rebuy $1500 Guaranteed (if I leave work in time)
- 7:30 $35 Bounty $7500 Guaranteed (if dinner permits, lol)
- 8:30 $5 Freezeout $1500 Guaranteed
- 9:00 $11 Bounty $4500 Guaranteed
- 9:00 $3 Rebuy $2500 Guaranteed
- Completely avoid ****ing cash games. This is a huge leak in my bankroll management that causes me so much frustration. I convince myself that I'm going to play level headed for the entire session, and of course by the end of it all I'm stuck 3 buy-ins and calling someone down with a flushdraw + gutshot. I really want to stop playing them altogether.
- Research staking. Every good businessman has his investments, doesn't he? I think I'd like to stake some good players and work out a deal where we split any winnings 50/50 and I'm responsible for the losses. Hopefully I'll study very hard and not waste my money on some donkey. I'll be on the lookout though, for sure, because this really interests me.
Since February 4th,
- I've spent $1966.2 in MTT buyin and fees.
- I've won $4580.61 in MTT monies (for the record, pokerdb is ~$1300 for some reason)
- The total net profit is $2614.41.
- 133% ROI (err... wow)
I need to stop playing cash games because wow a lot of my bankroll is gone due to them.
- BnB
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Refocusing.
Sorry for the recent lack of updates. I realized today that this blog is an account of my poker life, not just of my poker successes. I'm going to try to post with more frequency from here on out, regardless of how I'm doing.
Lately, I feel like I've been in a funk. This past week has been slow and painful, with no true results to show. For what its worth, I've cashed in something every day of the week, but always come short of the big bucks. Its frustrating to me to continuously run deep and still not have much to show for it. At the same time, I'm trying to remain positive by telling myself that at least I'm still running deep. I've made $786 in gross winnings since Monday.
I've taken stabs at cash games once again this week, which I hate myself for. I spew so much money at those tables. I guess its a lesson that I'm literally paying to learn. I'm not worried though as I've definitely cut down a whole lot. I feel like I'm weening myself away from the ring games. Soon I hope I am never tempted by them. I just look to players such as PearlJammed and P0ker H0, who are solely MTT players, for inspiration. Maybe they suck at cash games as much as I do and are just more disciplined in staying away from them. I'll get it right soon, I'm sure.
Anyways, lately I've played any tournament under $25. I'm not really happy with things the way they are now however and am instead going to focus on all tournaments under $15, with the occasional stab, of course. I do plan on playing the $20+2 $10k Gtd tournament every Saturday/Sunday... if only I could wake up in time, lol.
I became friends with Shannon "bluffforrent" Shorr today on UB. I sent him an email as well as chatted briefly on a NL2500 table (which by the way, I felt totally awesome being able to buy in for $1k, lol). Obviously I sat out however and just introduced myself to him. I'm looking forward to him answering my email as I just kinda picked his brain about his poker beginnings online as well as a few bankroll management questions.
Good luck at the tables,
BnB
Lately, I feel like I've been in a funk. This past week has been slow and painful, with no true results to show. For what its worth, I've cashed in something every day of the week, but always come short of the big bucks. Its frustrating to me to continuously run deep and still not have much to show for it. At the same time, I'm trying to remain positive by telling myself that at least I'm still running deep. I've made $786 in gross winnings since Monday.
I've taken stabs at cash games once again this week, which I hate myself for. I spew so much money at those tables. I guess its a lesson that I'm literally paying to learn. I'm not worried though as I've definitely cut down a whole lot. I feel like I'm weening myself away from the ring games. Soon I hope I am never tempted by them. I just look to players such as PearlJammed and P0ker H0, who are solely MTT players, for inspiration. Maybe they suck at cash games as much as I do and are just more disciplined in staying away from them. I'll get it right soon, I'm sure.
Anyways, lately I've played any tournament under $25. I'm not really happy with things the way they are now however and am instead going to focus on all tournaments under $15, with the occasional stab, of course. I do plan on playing the $20+2 $10k Gtd tournament every Saturday/Sunday... if only I could wake up in time, lol.
I became friends with Shannon "bluffforrent" Shorr today on UB. I sent him an email as well as chatted briefly on a NL2500 table (which by the way, I felt totally awesome being able to buy in for $1k, lol). Obviously I sat out however and just introduced myself to him. I'm looking forward to him answering my email as I just kinda picked his brain about his poker beginnings online as well as a few bankroll management questions.
Good luck at the tables,
BnB
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
It's Been A While
It's been a while since my last post. In the mean time, I fell from $100ish all the way down to $26 with some money still at tables. It was a combination of bad, overaggressive play and terrible, terrible luck. However, I managed to claw back and somehow find my way to $80. That's when everything started clicking. It all began with the 1:15 $3 freezeout, no guarantee. It's probably my favorite tournament, seeing as I've cashed I think 3/5 times playing. This particular night I grabbed a 3rd place for $70. I should've gotten more, had it not been for one hand. My 2nd to last hand, I'm the big blind, and the small blind raises into me when I had AQo. Being relatively short, it was an easy decision to push, and called and showed 67ss. Of course, he hits a 7 on the river and I'm more than crippled. Not a big deal cause it gets the roll to $150. That allowed me to buy into the $5 buy in, $1k guaranteed tourney starting at 2:30. While it forced me to skip my last class of the day (the late night from the $70 cash forced me to skip the others, so lazy), I was quickly ok with it when I managed to get heads up in the end. As the cl, the guy reraised me when I had Q8ss. Since I had been playing really aggressive up to then, I figured he was just tired of it, and called. He showed A3o. After an 8 hit on the flop, this was the result:
Needless to say, I was pretty amped about seeing my roll rise to $420. To ignore a lot of the middle of the story, I skip to tonight. I decided to play the $5 freezeout at 11:15. There was one nasty hand, where because I was shortstacked, I pushed preflop with A7o and was called by KK. Ouch. Even more painful when a king hit on the flop. Then, in one of the nastiest suckouts ever, the board came runner runner hearts, giving me a flush with my 7 of hearts. So disgusting. From there, there was no looking back. I final tabled, and absolutely dominated. When it was finally heads up, it was my AJ against my beloved 7s. Here's the result of that one:
So, when it's all said and done, I've had back to back days with tourney WINS. I'm playing really well and running just as good right now. Love seeing that roll get fat. I'll keep ya posted on whether or not the luck continues!
UB roll : $631. So crazy!
BigPapi
Needless to say, I was pretty amped about seeing my roll rise to $420. To ignore a lot of the middle of the story, I skip to tonight. I decided to play the $5 freezeout at 11:15. There was one nasty hand, where because I was shortstacked, I pushed preflop with A7o and was called by KK. Ouch. Even more painful when a king hit on the flop. Then, in one of the nastiest suckouts ever, the board came runner runner hearts, giving me a flush with my 7 of hearts. So disgusting. From there, there was no looking back. I final tabled, and absolutely dominated. When it was finally heads up, it was my AJ against my beloved 7s. Here's the result of that one:
So, when it's all said and done, I've had back to back days with tourney WINS. I'm playing really well and running just as good right now. Love seeing that roll get fat. I'll keep ya posted on whether or not the luck continues!UB roll : $631. So crazy!
BigPapi
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Birds n Bees finishes 7/678 in $4 Bounty $3k Guaranteed for $105
Third consecutive day with final table cashes. Unfortunately, today (Tuesday), I won't be playing very much since I go out with my mom to take salsa classes with her. How sweet, I know.
Also, I opened an account on Absolute Poker. I wasn't really planning on playing there, but it seems like they run some good tournaments and since I can transfer money seamlessly between UltimateBet/Absolute, I figure I might as well. If anything I'm just worried about playing too many tournaments, so maybe I'll just play the bigger events. We'll see, I really have no idea. For those curious, I'll be playing under the moniker b1rds_n_bees. Yeah, I'm starting to use that on all the sites I'm playing at. I want it to be recognized everywhere I go.
Edit: There are pretty much two tournaments I can play on AP during the regular week. They have massive prize pools and I'm really impressed. The tournaments are:
- $50 Freezeout $10k Guaranteed
- $3 Rebuy $8k Guaranteed
Currently there are no plans to play on PokerStars or Bodog... but, haha, we'll just have to see.
I withdrew money from UltimateBet yesterday so have $1931 sitting in my account right now. I'm decently content with that.
- BnB
WTF DO I HAVE TO DO?!?!?!?!
Alright, had a bit of a bad run in the afternoon, couple of semi-borderline bad beats, but nothing out of the ordinary on UltimateBet.
Then Saeid banked me into the $3 tourney. I was running great! Average stack or so with about 15 to go, with the final table paid. Feeling great, getting confidence, just what I needed as I'm having a bit of a dive right now. I'm feeling fantastic, ready to final table and cast off the curse UB seems to have on me...Then it happens.
I get AKo in early position, bet it up, guy calls. Flop comes 8A7 - YAHTZEE! - i bet out, he pushes, i almost autocall, putting him on AQ or some garbage like that. Well, well, well... 88. Surprise. Out. There it goes.
Then Saeid banked me into the $3 tourney. I was running great! Average stack or so with about 15 to go, with the final table paid. Feeling great, getting confidence, just what I needed as I'm having a bit of a dive right now. I'm feeling fantastic, ready to final table and cast off the curse UB seems to have on me...Then it happens.
I get AKo in early position, bet it up, guy calls. Flop comes 8A7 - YAHTZEE! - i bet out, he pushes, i almost autocall, putting him on AQ or some garbage like that. Well, well, well... 88. Surprise. Out. There it goes.
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