Basically c-betted my 4500 stack into 5700 really quick. Then lost some stupid hand to runner-runner something and was down to about 2100. Then a monster hand comes up. I have K5cc in the BB and the player UTG+1 raises and gets like 6 callers. So I decide do the squeeze play and go all in since there is like 1100 in the pot. It folds around to the very last player who calls with, lol, K3dd and the board comes x5xx5 and just like that I'm in 10th/180 and 14k right before the first break. Cool yo.
Official results after the first break:
12th/180
Me: 19895, Avg: 10283, CL: 32920
Level 6: 50/100
Fold, fold, fold.
Level 7: 75/150
Hand 1: A6o in the BB. Check/fold to 9TJx board.
Hand 2: A9o in the CO, one limper. Raise pot and take it down preflop.
Level 8: 100/200
Hand 3: A7dd in MP w one limper. Raise to 900 and limper calls. Board comes JT6 he bets pot and I fold.
Hand 4: 9Thh in MP I openraise to 700. Button calls and board comes A28 with 2 clubs. I bet out and he reraises and I fold.
Level 9: 150-300
Hand 5: Limp with JQdd UTG and call a raise with one caller. Board comes 248 and I check/fold.
Hand 6: Limp 9Thh with 2 other limpers. 5 handed flop of 923 with two diamonds and a club. I bet 900 and SB calls. 8c on turn and he checks again. I bet 2800 and he calls. River is 6c and we check-check and he shows AKdd for busted draw, I win.
Hand 7: AJdd in the SB. MP raises to 750 and along with one other player I cal.. 3 handed flop of 745 with 2 clubs. Check-fold.
Level 10: 150-300-25
Hand 8: ATo in the CO-1 with one limper. Raise to 1600. Limper folds.
Hand 9: AJo UTG raise to 1300. Folds around.
Hand 10: Folds to the SB who competes. I put him all with T8o and he folds.
Second hour complete; on break.
35th/83
Me: 21070, Avg: 22101, CL: 97550
My table has tightened up a lot. Majority of players are sitting back while a group of 2-4 players run the table. I'm going to loosen up and try to pick up pots against them in position as well as take advantage of the tighter players. We should be close to the bubble after this next coming hour.
Level 11: 200-400-50
Hand 11: Folded to me in the CO w 5Jo in the CO. I raise to 1850 to steal but SB repops and I fold.
Hand 12: KQo UTG, raise to 1850 and CO calls. Bet 3200 into 96A, all diamond board and take it down.
Level 12: 300-600-75
Hand 13: Openraise QJo in MP and take it down.
Hand 14: 77 in MP I limp/call a raise see 3 handed flop of TJ3 with 2 hearts, which I check/fold.
Level 13: 400-800-100
Hand 15: 79hh from the button with one limper. Raise pot and take it down.
Hand 16: KTo from the button-1 with one limper. Raise pot for the second time in a row and SB minraises. I'm tired of him minraising so I put him all in and he calls with KJ. I turn a flush draw but can't suck out on the river. Down to ~3k. :(
Hand 17: Crippled, I push Q2ss for 3250 and double up against A5o. x2x2x board
Hand 18: Push JQo in MP and take the blinds.
Hand 19: Push 94cc in the CO-1 in an unopened pot and take the blinds.
Hand 20: Find ATdd in MP and push. Button calls and shows 99. TJ764 for the double up. Up to ~25k. 31st/50.
Level 14: 600-1200-125
Hand 21: KK on the button. Folds around so I decide to just limp and the SB folds and BB checks. J44 flop. I bet 1200 and take it down. I should have just raised preflop and taken it for the same amount of chips. Why give free cards?
Hand 22: AQ in the SB. Call an all in raise and he shows A6 and doesn't improve.
Hand 23. AJ as the dealer. Call a 4k raise from player who showed AJ his last raise. Board comes 4J8 and he bets half pot. I call. Q on turn, he checks and I push for 23k and he folds.
Hand 24: AK in the CO. Raise to 6400 with one limper. Button pushes for 2k more. I call and he shows AA. JQJ22.
Hand 25: A8 in the CO-1. I raise to 5200 and SB calls then pushes on a xQ8 board. I hate that play.
Level 15: 800-1600-150
Hand 26: Raise UTG+1 with A7s and steal
Hand 27: Raise UTG with AA and steal. (What a sick run of cards just now, look at that. 5 aces, AA, and KK in ~10 hands, no joke)
Hand 28: Raise MP with JQ and one limper and take it down.
Hand 29: Raise AQss UTG+1 and steal blinds. There is a player named Bird32 where all he does is just limp into the pot and you steal and he folds. How wonderful.
** MOVED TO NEW TABLE, 40 remain ** (yay I skipped the blinds, lol)
Third hour complete; on break.
22nd/38 (30 cash)
Me: 38180, Avg: 49223, CL: 179440
I'm at a new table so we'll see what I decide to do. 4th and 6th place are sitting at my table and I'm not really worried about anything else. I've got position on 6th and another big stack so I may try to push over the top of their raises occasionally if they get too frisky with their raises.
I'm still really lucky to be in this after being down to 3k in the 13th level.
Level 16: 1000-2000-200
Hand 30: 43o in the BB. Check/fold to the KA9 board.
Hand 31: 77 in the CO. One limper then a SS pushes for a few k more. I reraise all in and get HU with him and he shows AJ. Board K458K. 48k in chips, 15th/35.
Hand 32: Push A2o in the SB and BB wakes up with JJ. Why does this always happen? I feel like I have to push here because there is T3600 in play preflop and usually he won't have a hand that merits calling.
34th place, just outside the money. I feel I played pretty well overall.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Long post. Good read.
What can you do? I'm getting out-flushed and 3-outed left and right. I'm being hit by gutshot straights and those are next-to-impossible to see at times. Especially 6-tabling. What makes me sick is that I don't think I'm being outplayed.
I can play small pot poker to a "T": raise preflop, get a caller, c-bet, and take it down. If I get checkraised, I'm probably beat. I rarely get checkraised so I don't mind folding top pair top kicker if I have to. Eh, tough decisions but they are rare. But still, they add up. It is one aspect I am struggling with: being checkraised. I don't know if they are just tired of me c-betting (I do it a lot) and are willing to go down with MP or TPLK. Or maybe they checkraised a set or 2-pair or TPTK. There are so many possibilities. If I call, there is a chance they keep on better, and since it is NL I could all of a sudden be drawn into a huge hand with nothing much.
If my c-bet gets called, I don't really know what to do. I should probably continue to bet my made hands, I guess. I just get so worrisome of people having flopped sick, sick things. But its rare, right? I gotta bet the turn as I've heard it is the most profitable street. Many people are unwilling to continue to chase with just one card to go. If they call, I guess they have some sort of hand and I don't mind checking down the river and I'm sure they don't either.
There is only a 10% chance of flopping a flush draw with two suited cards. I don't know why I continue to play them. Even after that 10% chance of getting a draw, I'm drawing to no more than 9 outs which is ~38%. Eh, the odds aren't that great but I guess if I get 2-4 outed constantly then 38% is golden. LOL. Suited cards are still a confusing part of my game and I'm not quite sure what to do with them.
Some memorable hands of the day:
Raise TJ from the button and get a caller. Board AKQ, nuts. We get all in and he shows KQ for 2P and the board finishes A-A. Since when did flopping the nuts mean absolutely anything?
Raise AK in position and get a caller. Board xxx, check-check. 7 on the turn, check-check. A on the river, he calls a bet and shows A-7 for 2P.
Raise AK in position and get a caller. Board ATx. He checkraises me and I call. He bets pot on turn and river almost instantly each time and I call him down. $25 pot. He shows AT for 2P. I hate when this play gets pulled on me. "This play" being the insta-bet pot. I guess I should know I'm beat if they are that comfortable and careless of what cards come out on the turn and river.
Also, hitting T-high flushes. I just don't know what to do! Am I ahead or drawing dead? Does my opponent have that perfect combination of cards that has me just barely beat? Decisions, decisions. Sometimes, I just don't know.
Another thing I have problems with: I raise pf in position and get a caller. He check-calls. We check-check the turn. And as soon as the river comes out he bets pot. Am I ahead or behind? Did the river really help him or did he slow play something all the way from the flop? I guess I should start taking notes on some players. I should probably call a player the first time this happens (if have some sort of a hand, obv) and see what he has. Did he try to trap me on the turn or get frustrated with me and hope to catch on the river?
There are too many ins and outs of poker. Ugh. Its a frustrating game but I'm completely determined to make the most of it. I think I've started the day down $15 but I feel like I'm playing well. My biggest problem isn't winning big pots, its losing pots. Anybody can play wired Aces but the great players distinguish themselves by knowing if their mid pair is ahead or behind. Those are the decisions that add up in the long run and I need to learn.
Meh, I want to run hot I hate running as cold as I have been. Especially when I feel like I'm not playing horrible.
I'm trying to clear 1000 UB points to make that stupid $50 bonus. I've already lost almost $200 in not even 12 hours but there is no point in stopping trying to get the bonus now.
I'm setting a floor. I can't dip below... $150. After that, um.. we'll rethink our strategy here. Something woul dobviously be very, very wrong if I dropped $300 just like that.
I can play small pot poker to a "T": raise preflop, get a caller, c-bet, and take it down. If I get checkraised, I'm probably beat. I rarely get checkraised so I don't mind folding top pair top kicker if I have to. Eh, tough decisions but they are rare. But still, they add up. It is one aspect I am struggling with: being checkraised. I don't know if they are just tired of me c-betting (I do it a lot) and are willing to go down with MP or TPLK. Or maybe they checkraised a set or 2-pair or TPTK. There are so many possibilities. If I call, there is a chance they keep on better, and since it is NL I could all of a sudden be drawn into a huge hand with nothing much.
If my c-bet gets called, I don't really know what to do. I should probably continue to bet my made hands, I guess. I just get so worrisome of people having flopped sick, sick things. But its rare, right? I gotta bet the turn as I've heard it is the most profitable street. Many people are unwilling to continue to chase with just one card to go. If they call, I guess they have some sort of hand and I don't mind checking down the river and I'm sure they don't either.
There is only a 10% chance of flopping a flush draw with two suited cards. I don't know why I continue to play them. Even after that 10% chance of getting a draw, I'm drawing to no more than 9 outs which is ~38%. Eh, the odds aren't that great but I guess if I get 2-4 outed constantly then 38% is golden. LOL. Suited cards are still a confusing part of my game and I'm not quite sure what to do with them.
Some memorable hands of the day:
Raise TJ from the button and get a caller. Board AKQ, nuts. We get all in and he shows KQ for 2P and the board finishes A-A. Since when did flopping the nuts mean absolutely anything?
Raise AK in position and get a caller. Board xxx, check-check. 7 on the turn, check-check. A on the river, he calls a bet and shows A-7 for 2P.
Raise AK in position and get a caller. Board ATx. He checkraises me and I call. He bets pot on turn and river almost instantly each time and I call him down. $25 pot. He shows AT for 2P. I hate when this play gets pulled on me. "This play" being the insta-bet pot. I guess I should know I'm beat if they are that comfortable and careless of what cards come out on the turn and river.
Also, hitting T-high flushes. I just don't know what to do! Am I ahead or drawing dead? Does my opponent have that perfect combination of cards that has me just barely beat? Decisions, decisions. Sometimes, I just don't know.
Another thing I have problems with: I raise pf in position and get a caller. He check-calls. We check-check the turn. And as soon as the river comes out he bets pot. Am I ahead or behind? Did the river really help him or did he slow play something all the way from the flop? I guess I should start taking notes on some players. I should probably call a player the first time this happens (if have some sort of a hand, obv) and see what he has. Did he try to trap me on the turn or get frustrated with me and hope to catch on the river?
There are too many ins and outs of poker. Ugh. Its a frustrating game but I'm completely determined to make the most of it. I think I've started the day down $15 but I feel like I'm playing well. My biggest problem isn't winning big pots, its losing pots. Anybody can play wired Aces but the great players distinguish themselves by knowing if their mid pair is ahead or behind. Those are the decisions that add up in the long run and I need to learn.
Meh, I want to run hot I hate running as cold as I have been. Especially when I feel like I'm not playing horrible.
I'm trying to clear 1000 UB points to make that stupid $50 bonus. I've already lost almost $200 in not even 12 hours but there is no point in stopping trying to get the bonus now.
I'm setting a floor. I can't dip below... $150. After that, um.. we'll rethink our strategy here. Something woul dobviously be very, very wrong if I dropped $300 just like that.
Let the games begin
Well, I finally decided to buy in to Ultimate Bet for real money last night. And, well, let's say it's going pretty well... I turned $50 into about $60 in 5 or 6 hours last night, racking up 60 Ultimate Points.
So my plan is to play hours of ring games and build up the bankroll, as well as Ultimate Points. Ultimate Bet has this promotion where if you get at least 750 Ultimate Points in a week, they will turn it into real money. They pay by the point, and while it only yields about $20-$50 depending on how many you have, free money is free money. The week started at midnight last night, so we shall see how this goes.
Then I logged on this morning. Yahoo. Huge ring session for about 3 or 4 hours i just finished. As it stands, I've got $90.21 in the bank roll, and have 138 Ultimate Points, or about 20% of the way there to get the weekly changeover.
So my plan is to play hours of ring games and build up the bankroll, as well as Ultimate Points. Ultimate Bet has this promotion where if you get at least 750 Ultimate Points in a week, they will turn it into real money. They pay by the point, and while it only yields about $20-$50 depending on how many you have, free money is free money. The week started at midnight last night, so we shall see how this goes.
Then I logged on this morning. Yahoo. Huge ring session for about 3 or 4 hours i just finished. As it stands, I've got $90.21 in the bank roll, and have 138 Ultimate Points, or about 20% of the way there to get the weekly changeover.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
.25/.50 online
Not much to talk about except that I am raping ring games. Of the maybe 3-4 times I've re-bought today only one has been a direct result of me sucking. All else is me being sucked out on. So, I'm happy. As I told someone earlier: I lost $40 but played well so I'm happy.
I dabbled in some .25/.50 tonight since .1/.25 was too easy. Apparently I'll be moving up to .5/1 soon because I made $58/1o5 hands in half an hour.
This was probably the highlight of my day today:
.1/.25 NL
Birds n Bees posts the small blind of $.10.
wjmx posts the big blind of $.25.
colton66: -- --
KravenMorhed: -- --
Birds n Bees: Jd Kd
wjmx: -- --
math_guy: -- --
Pre-flop: (Obviously I want to see a flop with these cards and all the limpers just makes it more delicious. I didn't contemplate raising because its suicide to play KJ oop.)
math_guy calls. colton66 calls. KravenMorhed folds.
Birds n Bees calls. wjmx checks.
Flop (board: Td 6d Qd): (Hey there beautiful flop. I've survived 1:99 odds to flop you. Um, check?)
Birds n Bees checks. wjmx bets $1. math_guy calls.
colton66 calls. Birds n Bees raises to $6. wjmx
calls. math_guy calls. colton66 calls. ($1 bets are weak plus I want isolate someone. I re-raise but still get called by all 3? Please, no diamond and don't pair the board.)
Turn (board: Td 6d Qd 5h): (Safe card. I don't know why I checked here. Probably a bad mistake since I was putting someone on the A high diamond draw)
Birds n Bees checks. wjmx bets $12. math_guy goes
all-in for $22.22. colton66 folds. Birds n Bees
goes all-in for $40.66. wjmx goes all-in for $31.47.
Birds n Bees is returned $9.19 (uncalled). (Well.. wjmx continues to play back at me so I've got him pinned at a made hand. Probably a set of 6s because he only limped preflop. math_guy has the A high flush draw)
River (board: Td 6d Qd 5h Js):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
Birds n Bees shows Jd Kd.
Birds n Bees has Jd Kd Td 6d Qd: flush, king high.
wjmx shows 6h 6c. (Called it)
wjmx has 6h 6c 6d Qd Js: three sixes.
math_guy shows Ad 5c. (Called it)
math_guy has Ad 5c Qd 5h Js: a pair of fives.
Hand #42331927-17820 Summary:
$2 is raked from a total pot of $110.16.
$2 is raked from the main pot of $91.66.
$0 is raked from side pot #1 of $18.50.
Birds n Bees wins the main pot $89.66 with flush, king high.
Birds n Bees wins the side pot $18.50 with flush, king high.
(Thanks for playing)
In other news, my bankroll is at a record high. I would have $500 if I didn't give away free monies to friends so I'm not doing that anymore, lol. Actually I still am but I'm probably going to charge something like 25%-50% juice on it.
Goals:
Goal: $484.83/$550
Will I hit $550 before June?
I dabbled in some .25/.50 tonight since .1/.25 was too easy. Apparently I'll be moving up to .5/1 soon because I made $58/1o5 hands in half an hour.
This was probably the highlight of my day today:
.1/.25 NL
Birds n Bees posts the small blind of $.10.
wjmx posts the big blind of $.25.
colton66: -- --
KravenMorhed: -- --
Birds n Bees: Jd Kd
wjmx: -- --
math_guy: -- --
Pre-flop: (Obviously I want to see a flop with these cards and all the limpers just makes it more delicious. I didn't contemplate raising because its suicide to play KJ oop.)
math_guy calls. colton66 calls. KravenMorhed folds.
Birds n Bees calls. wjmx checks.
Flop (board: Td 6d Qd): (Hey there beautiful flop. I've survived 1:99 odds to flop you. Um, check?)
Birds n Bees checks. wjmx bets $1. math_guy calls.
colton66 calls. Birds n Bees raises to $6. wjmx
calls. math_guy calls. colton66 calls. ($1 bets are weak plus I want isolate someone. I re-raise but still get called by all 3? Please, no diamond and don't pair the board.)
Turn (board: Td 6d Qd 5h): (Safe card. I don't know why I checked here. Probably a bad mistake since I was putting someone on the A high diamond draw)
Birds n Bees checks. wjmx bets $12. math_guy goes
all-in for $22.22. colton66 folds. Birds n Bees
goes all-in for $40.66. wjmx goes all-in for $31.47.
Birds n Bees is returned $9.19 (uncalled). (Well.. wjmx continues to play back at me so I've got him pinned at a made hand. Probably a set of 6s because he only limped preflop. math_guy has the A high flush draw)
River (board: Td 6d Qd 5h Js):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
Birds n Bees shows Jd Kd.
Birds n Bees has Jd Kd Td 6d Qd: flush, king high.
wjmx shows 6h 6c. (Called it)
wjmx has 6h 6c 6d Qd Js: three sixes.
math_guy shows Ad 5c. (Called it)
math_guy has Ad 5c Qd 5h Js: a pair of fives.
Hand #42331927-17820 Summary:
$2 is raked from a total pot of $110.16.
$2 is raked from the main pot of $91.66.
$0 is raked from side pot #1 of $18.50.
Birds n Bees wins the main pot $89.66 with flush, king high.
Birds n Bees wins the side pot $18.50 with flush, king high.
(Thanks for playing)
In other news, my bankroll is at a record high. I would have $500 if I didn't give away free monies to friends so I'm not doing that anymore, lol. Actually I still am but I'm probably going to charge something like 25%-50% juice on it.
Goals:
Goal: $484.83/$550
Will I hit $550 before June?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
iRape
So, I put together a very, very solid performance at cash games today. I don't know what made me do it, but I bought into 4 .1/.25 NL ring games. Those of you who play with me know I like to buy in deep. 100BB has become my standard buy-in for any NL cash game. So, basically I was in for $100.
I played flawless and most importantly, I didn't play scared. I didn't fold a single pocket pair all night. I wanted to hit that set. I called with the SCs (suited connectors) and the SGCs (suited gapped connectors). I raised from the button a lot with all sorts of hands.
Hand of the night:
I find AJcc and open raise. The button calls and the BB repops. I call pretty loosely as does the button. I'm either hitting this or I fold, that simple. We see a flop of KcQcXx. Yahtzee! I flopped the nut flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. The player in the BB leads out for a pot sized bet and it basically put me all in. I happily pushed for whatever for a few cents more. I figured I had, at least, 12 outs, even if he had AA, which meant we were at a coinflip. He calls and shows AA and I hit my club on the river. $45 pot. The guy was steamed, haha.
An improvement in my game:
You really don't want to bluff me. I've learned a lot about the science of bluffing. You really can't just, all of a sudden in the middle of a hand decide to bluff. That isn't how you bluff. Bluffing requires some cooperation from the board. Scare cards need to come out. The board needs to pair or that 3rd heart needs to come out. Then you bluff at it.
I called the buttons raise w wired 8s from the BB and we saw a 3-way flop of AXX. It went chk-chk to the raiser and he checked as well. Bad check, horrible check. Because now, I knew, he was scared of that Ace. I put him on a big pocket pair. The turn came a 4. It went chk-chk and this time he decided to lead out. Wrong move again. I sure as hell no that fucking 4 did not help you. Anybody smell a check-raise coming his way? Mhm. I repopped and won the pot there, getting a "lmao, nice bet" from him afterwards.
I think that was one of my best played hands of the night.
I played 600 hands in an hour and a half and finished the night up $75.01.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $446.53/$550
I played flawless and most importantly, I didn't play scared. I didn't fold a single pocket pair all night. I wanted to hit that set. I called with the SCs (suited connectors) and the SGCs (suited gapped connectors). I raised from the button a lot with all sorts of hands.
Hand of the night:
I find AJcc and open raise. The button calls and the BB repops. I call pretty loosely as does the button. I'm either hitting this or I fold, that simple. We see a flop of KcQcXx. Yahtzee! I flopped the nut flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. The player in the BB leads out for a pot sized bet and it basically put me all in. I happily pushed for whatever for a few cents more. I figured I had, at least, 12 outs, even if he had AA, which meant we were at a coinflip. He calls and shows AA and I hit my club on the river. $45 pot. The guy was steamed, haha.
An improvement in my game:
You really don't want to bluff me. I've learned a lot about the science of bluffing. You really can't just, all of a sudden in the middle of a hand decide to bluff. That isn't how you bluff. Bluffing requires some cooperation from the board. Scare cards need to come out. The board needs to pair or that 3rd heart needs to come out. Then you bluff at it.
I called the buttons raise w wired 8s from the BB and we saw a 3-way flop of AXX. It went chk-chk to the raiser and he checked as well. Bad check, horrible check. Because now, I knew, he was scared of that Ace. I put him on a big pocket pair. The turn came a 4. It went chk-chk and this time he decided to lead out. Wrong move again. I sure as hell no that fucking 4 did not help you. Anybody smell a check-raise coming his way? Mhm. I repopped and won the pot there, getting a "lmao, nice bet" from him afterwards.
I think that was one of my best played hands of the night.
I played 600 hands in an hour and a half and finished the night up $75.01.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $446.53/$550
SNG leak
Today I found a big leak in my SNG game and I'm hoping I will be able to adjust ASAP. It doesn't have to do with certain hands in particular, per se, but more about my attitude on the bubble . I've always heard that aggression on the bubble is the key to being a successful SNG player. I push a lot when the blinds are 50-100 and up, especially when there are multiple players left. I just feel that if I fold and wait around for premium hands, I will fall below to 10BBs and be shortstack and I just hate being SS. Well, I think in MTT play, 7-10BBs = shortstack. In SNGs, I think you can get away with 5-7BBs because of that pressure of the bubble. 5BB is still a very sizeable bet to push all in with. So, now that I've basically halfed my definition of "shortstack," I can push a whole lot less which basically means I can be more selective about the hands I raise/push with. If I am winning a SNG with 4 to go I can take a backseat approach and let the other players knock themselves out hopefully. Perhaps I can throw in a raise or two or a re-raise steal but besides that I should be getting ready for the Top 3.
I hope this works, I'm going to be trying it out all night.
I hope this works, I'm going to be trying it out all night.
Monday, May 21, 2007
.1/.25 live
I hosted .1/.25 6-handed max tonight and walked away with $28. The night could have been catastrophic as I suffered a sick beat in one of the first few hands. I bought in for $25 and the average buy-in was probably around $20 or so.
The player in the CO raised and I reraised from the BB w AA. He reraised, I rereraised, and he pushed. I fell out of my chair and he showed QQ. I dealt myself a painful xxQQx and just like that I was $20 down. Tilt? No, not this time. I was able to control myself and bounce back. I played virtually flawless poker the entire evening.
I raised JKcc from the button and got a caller from a player who I'd never played with before but had already shown a few sick bluffs. We saw a flop of J9T and when he checked to me for some stupid reason I decided to check back to him. The horrible horrible 7 came on the turn and he led out. I tanked for about a minute before calling him. His bluffs on previous hands just wouldn't allow me to believe that he had the 8. The river came x and he led out again, immediately announcing that he was putting me all-in. Again, he had done this only a few hands earlier in the exact same manner. I tanked for 2 minutes and finally called with just a pair of Jacks. Surprisingly, they were good as he mucked 7X face up. That was probably the second biggest hand of the night, roughly $30 or so.
I finished the night up $28 which I am pleased with. Most important was being able to bounce back from that sick, sick beat I took.
Afterwards, I played UB's $1K Guarantee and busted in the 3rd hour w QQ v A3s. I was short after giving away all my chips in the second hour and a double up would have put me back in the mix of things but it just wasn't meant to be.
I also played two SNGs and finished 1-2 for a $29 profit. It feels really good to make the same amount of money online as you did live but in like a tenth of the time, lol.
There is hopefully a .25/.5 or .5/1 game being played Tuesday at a buddy's house that I will attend if it happens. I've had good success over there and although .5/1 would be new to me I think I'm capable of playing at this level. I've played with all of the guys before anyways and am fine. Plus I would feel like a straight pimp buying in for $100.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $434.15/$550
The player in the CO raised and I reraised from the BB w AA. He reraised, I rereraised, and he pushed. I fell out of my chair and he showed QQ. I dealt myself a painful xxQQx and just like that I was $20 down. Tilt? No, not this time. I was able to control myself and bounce back. I played virtually flawless poker the entire evening.
I raised JKcc from the button and got a caller from a player who I'd never played with before but had already shown a few sick bluffs. We saw a flop of J9T and when he checked to me for some stupid reason I decided to check back to him. The horrible horrible 7 came on the turn and he led out. I tanked for about a minute before calling him. His bluffs on previous hands just wouldn't allow me to believe that he had the 8. The river came x and he led out again, immediately announcing that he was putting me all-in. Again, he had done this only a few hands earlier in the exact same manner. I tanked for 2 minutes and finally called with just a pair of Jacks. Surprisingly, they were good as he mucked 7X face up. That was probably the second biggest hand of the night, roughly $30 or so.
I finished the night up $28 which I am pleased with. Most important was being able to bounce back from that sick, sick beat I took.
Afterwards, I played UB's $1K Guarantee and busted in the 3rd hour w QQ v A3s. I was short after giving away all my chips in the second hour and a double up would have put me back in the mix of things but it just wasn't meant to be.
I also played two SNGs and finished 1-2 for a $29 profit. It feels really good to make the same amount of money online as you did live but in like a tenth of the time, lol.
There is hopefully a .25/.5 or .5/1 game being played Tuesday at a buddy's house that I will attend if it happens. I've had good success over there and although .5/1 would be new to me I think I'm capable of playing at this level. I've played with all of the guys before anyways and am fine. Plus I would feel like a straight pimp buying in for $100.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $434.15/$550
Saturday, May 19, 2007
5th in the $1000 Guarantee for $65
I just remembered another hand that got me on tilt yesterday. AK v AQ aipf and the first card to peel of the deck is the glorious K but of course the flop completes JT giving him the nuts. Tilt. Can't do anything about either of the hands I played in. Oh well. I'm going to try my best next time I play live to rake the first pot I play in that way I will be good to go for the entire night.
Meh, I played great in another MTT today. I participated in the $1000 Guarantee w/ $1 rebuys and busted in 5th place for $65 after 5 hours and 40 minutes of play. The final hand found me shortstacked and when it folded to me I pushed JTo into the blinds. The BB called after a very long time and showed A7. I was a 45/55 dog and couldn't hit. Oh well. 5th/200+ entrants? I'll take it. It just sucks that after surviving 200 people I couldn't survive just 4 more players and 20 minutes longer and made $200 more. Oh well, I wouldn't play a single hand differently. I played very well.
For the hell of it, I am playing in the Full Tilt freeroll that starts at 10:40. I've always liked Full Tilt and making money on that site would be a dream come true. They also have PPA Freerolls with really big prize pools that run multiple times per day. Apparently you are given free entry into only one of those so hopefully I will find a quiet day next week and play in that.
Also, fuck the UB hat; they have plasma TV screens and iPods now
Goals:
SNG Goal: $376.12/$550
Determined
I'm through trying to qualify for the $200k, at least for now. I'm not playing well and my logic is that if I can't even qualify into the stupid thing, what makes me think I'm going to be able to do well in the actual event. Good logic. I'm done spending $5.5 per satellite for nothing.
As far as MTTs are concerned, I'll only be playing in the $1 Rebuy Guarantee's that take place twice per day, at 4PM and 1AM. That'll be $10/day which I can make easily in SNGs.
SNGs are being a bitch right now so I think I'm going to 2max until I start to feel comfortable in them again.
I'm also going to start playing cash games. I'm going to 4max .05/.1 6handed and see how I fare. I want to start taking advantage of UB's Points-to-Cash promotion that they always have every week.
My bank is at $320 right now. If I lose $70 in the next few days, I'm cashing out $100 and starting again at $50 with the $1.10 SNGS.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $319.25/$550
UB Hat: 104/4000
$200k: 1/7, 0/1
As far as MTTs are concerned, I'll only be playing in the $1 Rebuy Guarantee's that take place twice per day, at 4PM and 1AM. That'll be $10/day which I can make easily in SNGs.
SNGs are being a bitch right now so I think I'm going to 2max until I start to feel comfortable in them again.
I'm also going to start playing cash games. I'm going to 4max .05/.1 6handed and see how I fare. I want to start taking advantage of UB's Points-to-Cash promotion that they always have every week.
My bank is at $320 right now. If I lose $70 in the next few days, I'm cashing out $100 and starting again at $50 with the $1.10 SNGS.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $319.25/$550
UB Hat: 104/4000
$200k: 1/7, 0/1
Tilt, to say the least
I'm so upset at myself I'm sweating. No exaggeration, I am steaming right now.
I think I played well live today even though I lost $40. I lost a huge hand early when me and another opponent both flopped flushes except mine was one rank lower than his. Tilt. I guess I have to win a big hand early on like that if not I've noticed that I go on tilt for the entire night. That is pretty much what I did. I was also trying something new against certain opponents and unfortunately they just kept hitting sick cards. I'm able to outplay the majority of the people there but I can't do anything about it when they flop pair and turn aces up. Tilt. Another hand I had ATss in and open raised and was called by the blinds. The flop came A7x and the SB bet out for $1. The BB called the dollar and since she was short stack I decided to put her all in. They both called and the SB showed 77 for trips. Tilt. And I'd been correct in my read, I had the BB beat (had A2)
So, I get online looking to play a little more. Tilt. I don't even remember all the hands. Th\ worst has to be just the frequent coolers. Being shortstacked and pushing ai and the SB waking up with AA. The worst beat of the night came in the $1000 Guarantee. I limped with 7s in an unopened pot and about 6 of us saw a flop of J7x. I opened the pot with 1/3 of the pot and was called by one player. We took a turn of 3 and again I bet out. He pushed all in for about 10k total and instacalled. He showed J3 for a turned two pair. Of course the river came a J and I lost a sick 15k pot that would've put me in the Top 5. Tilt.
I've finally calmed down and are no longer all clammy and steaming and pissed, lol. Gah, I don't know when I'll play again but I'm definitely only 4-maxing tomorrow. A possible reason I did so poorly online today is because I was 6-8 tabling. Plus maybe I was tired.
Blah, I'm getting mad at myself again, lol. Ciao.
PS Why the fuck am I complaining about being up $380 for the summer.. Someone tell me.
Summer:
Online: ~$270
Live: $110
Total: ~$380
Goals:
SNG Goal: $342.86/$550
UB Hat: 72/4000
$200k: 1/4, 0/1
I think I played well live today even though I lost $40. I lost a huge hand early when me and another opponent both flopped flushes except mine was one rank lower than his. Tilt. I guess I have to win a big hand early on like that if not I've noticed that I go on tilt for the entire night. That is pretty much what I did. I was also trying something new against certain opponents and unfortunately they just kept hitting sick cards. I'm able to outplay the majority of the people there but I can't do anything about it when they flop pair and turn aces up. Tilt. Another hand I had ATss in and open raised and was called by the blinds. The flop came A7x and the SB bet out for $1. The BB called the dollar and since she was short stack I decided to put her all in. They both called and the SB showed 77 for trips. Tilt. And I'd been correct in my read, I had the BB beat (had A2)
So, I get online looking to play a little more. Tilt. I don't even remember all the hands. Th\ worst has to be just the frequent coolers. Being shortstacked and pushing ai and the SB waking up with AA. The worst beat of the night came in the $1000 Guarantee. I limped with 7s in an unopened pot and about 6 of us saw a flop of J7x. I opened the pot with 1/3 of the pot and was called by one player. We took a turn of 3 and again I bet out. He pushed all in for about 10k total and instacalled. He showed J3 for a turned two pair. Of course the river came a J and I lost a sick 15k pot that would've put me in the Top 5. Tilt.
I've finally calmed down and are no longer all clammy and steaming and pissed, lol. Gah, I don't know when I'll play again but I'm definitely only 4-maxing tomorrow. A possible reason I did so poorly online today is because I was 6-8 tabling. Plus maybe I was tired.
Blah, I'm getting mad at myself again, lol. Ciao.
PS Why the fuck am I complaining about being up $380 for the summer.. Someone tell me.
Summer:
Online: ~$270
Live: $110
Total: ~$380
Goals:
SNG Goal: $342.86/$550
UB Hat: 72/4000
$200k: 1/4, 0/1
Friday, May 18, 2007
Crushed .25/.50 live
Uh, where do I start? I tried to get a .05/.10 game together today and was bummed when that fell through. Salvation came in the form of a text message while I was at work. My friend Tony was hosting a .25/.50 cash game. I headed over there at around 10:30 with a friend of mine.
We played ~8 handed the majority of the night although the last half hour or so we were 5-6 handed.
The style of play was about 30% tight players who shouldn't have been there because it was obvious they were too scared to play for so much money. The other 70% of the players were lag (loose aggressive) and man oh man did I punish them.
The first hand of the night was a sick +$40 pot. This was the first of many.
I played pretty horrible the first hour. I was pretty much card dead. The majority of the action happened in the last hour and a half of play.
My first big hand came with QTo in the SB. With 4 limpers I completed and 5 of us saw a flop of Q24 with 2 spades. I got cute and checked and it checked to the player in LP who threw in $2. I repopped to $6 and it was folded to him. He thought for over a minute and hesitantly called. The turn brought another Q and I almost instantly threw in $10. I really just wanted the hand to be over, haha. He thought for about 2 more minutes and then put me all-in. I called and showed the trip Q's and he mucked. Ship the +$60 pot.
Moments later I found 89cc on the button and limped. 4 saw a flop of T7x rainbow. I re-raised a guy from $2 to $6 with my OESD and he hesitantly called. The turn brought a K. He checked to me and I checked behind. In retrospect I should have continued betting hard, but I was glad for the free card. Chances were that he wasn't going to check/raise me on the turn so I would have gotten to see the turn anyways. A bet on the turn would've possibly won me the pot there or set me up to win it on the river. I missed my straight draw on the river and he checked back to me. I threw out a $8 bet and he thought for a minute before calling with a pair of 7s. I felt sick that I had just won a huge hand then bluffed off $8 but whatever.
I did it again the next hand, lol. Except this time it worked and I basically made back what I had lost.
A pot gets open-raised by a really lag player and another lag player calls the $3 behind. I find AA in the SB and reraise to $12. Player 1 thinks a bit before calling (once he's invested money in the hand he rarely folds) and the other guy hesitantly calls. The pot is already over $36 and I'd be more than happy to take it down there. Since I was the SB, I announced that I was all-in blind. The flop came Q9A and Player 1 folded. Player 2 pretty much insta-called with... 94?! He was dead to running 9's and the turn brought a K lock me in for the scoop. I don't know exactly how much was won that hand but there was $36 in before the flop and I must've pushed for somewhere around $20. that makes a... lets say $80 pot.
The final big hand of the day came when we were 5 handed and on our last revolution of play. I found KK in the blinds and repopped in preflop and got a caller. The flop came 7T7 and I threw in 1/2 the pot. He pushed all in for abour $35 dollars more and I pretty much instantly called. I couldn't see him having a 7. He showed T5?! Thanks for playing.
Overall I finished the night as the big winner and $100 richer. The game is really easy because towards the end of the night the LAG players were basically willing to go broke if they connected with the board in any way whatsoever. Tony is to get a weekly Thursday game going at his place and I'm down if those crazy rich asians show up again. I was dying, just dying, to limp with KK or AA in EP and re-raise once someone raised and got 3 callers behind him. I know exactly who I want to sit next to next week. I plan on executing the squeeze play a lot, especially when a certain asian opens the pot. It'll work the majority of the time because the majority of the time he does not have a hand worth calling a reraised all in with. As long as I avoid the misfortune of him holding AA or KK or a big PP I'll be fine and should be able to easily make over $10/hand without even showing a card.
Anyways, I crushed this game and I'm really happy. I'm having an incredibly successful summer and I do hope I can continue on this sick, sick, tear.
Summer:
Online: ~$370
Live: $150
Total: ~$520
Goals:
SNG Goal: $409.86/$550
UB Hat: 1457/4000
$200k: 0/2, 0/0
We played ~8 handed the majority of the night although the last half hour or so we were 5-6 handed.
The style of play was about 30% tight players who shouldn't have been there because it was obvious they were too scared to play for so much money. The other 70% of the players were lag (loose aggressive) and man oh man did I punish them.
The first hand of the night was a sick +$40 pot. This was the first of many.
I played pretty horrible the first hour. I was pretty much card dead. The majority of the action happened in the last hour and a half of play.
My first big hand came with QTo in the SB. With 4 limpers I completed and 5 of us saw a flop of Q24 with 2 spades. I got cute and checked and it checked to the player in LP who threw in $2. I repopped to $6 and it was folded to him. He thought for over a minute and hesitantly called. The turn brought another Q and I almost instantly threw in $10. I really just wanted the hand to be over, haha. He thought for about 2 more minutes and then put me all-in. I called and showed the trip Q's and he mucked. Ship the +$60 pot.
Moments later I found 89cc on the button and limped. 4 saw a flop of T7x rainbow. I re-raised a guy from $2 to $6 with my OESD and he hesitantly called. The turn brought a K. He checked to me and I checked behind. In retrospect I should have continued betting hard, but I was glad for the free card. Chances were that he wasn't going to check/raise me on the turn so I would have gotten to see the turn anyways. A bet on the turn would've possibly won me the pot there or set me up to win it on the river. I missed my straight draw on the river and he checked back to me. I threw out a $8 bet and he thought for a minute before calling with a pair of 7s. I felt sick that I had just won a huge hand then bluffed off $8 but whatever.
I did it again the next hand, lol. Except this time it worked and I basically made back what I had lost.
A pot gets open-raised by a really lag player and another lag player calls the $3 behind. I find AA in the SB and reraise to $12. Player 1 thinks a bit before calling (once he's invested money in the hand he rarely folds) and the other guy hesitantly calls. The pot is already over $36 and I'd be more than happy to take it down there. Since I was the SB, I announced that I was all-in blind. The flop came Q9A and Player 1 folded. Player 2 pretty much insta-called with... 94?! He was dead to running 9's and the turn brought a K lock me in for the scoop. I don't know exactly how much was won that hand but there was $36 in before the flop and I must've pushed for somewhere around $20. that makes a... lets say $80 pot.
The final big hand of the day came when we were 5 handed and on our last revolution of play. I found KK in the blinds and repopped in preflop and got a caller. The flop came 7T7 and I threw in 1/2 the pot. He pushed all in for abour $35 dollars more and I pretty much instantly called. I couldn't see him having a 7. He showed T5?! Thanks for playing.
Overall I finished the night as the big winner and $100 richer. The game is really easy because towards the end of the night the LAG players were basically willing to go broke if they connected with the board in any way whatsoever. Tony is to get a weekly Thursday game going at his place and I'm down if those crazy rich asians show up again. I was dying, just dying, to limp with KK or AA in EP and re-raise once someone raised and got 3 callers behind him. I know exactly who I want to sit next to next week. I plan on executing the squeeze play a lot, especially when a certain asian opens the pot. It'll work the majority of the time because the majority of the time he does not have a hand worth calling a reraised all in with. As long as I avoid the misfortune of him holding AA or KK or a big PP I'll be fine and should be able to easily make over $10/hand without even showing a card.
Anyways, I crushed this game and I'm really happy. I'm having an incredibly successful summer and I do hope I can continue on this sick, sick, tear.
Summer:
Online: ~$370
Live: $150
Total: ~$520
Goals:
SNG Goal: $409.86/$550
UB Hat: 1457/4000
$200k: 0/2, 0/0
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Advice: Don't play tired. Sleep then rape.
I actually reached my $400 bankroll goal for yesterday at around 6:30PM. As unbelievable as it sounds I see it extremely plausible to bring in $50/day.
Something that I am going to have a problem with is continuing to play after I make the $50/day. Granted, that is my goal.. but after I reach it, should I stop playing? Hell no. I seriously feel for every second I'm not playing poker I'm losing money. Even if I made money 51% of the time I'd be wanting to play as much as possible because in the long run I'm a winner. I know I'm good enough (more than 51%, lol) to sustain a profit over any time period. It is common sense that the more I play the more I make. And the less I play the less I'm making.
Anyways, I played some more late last night and ended down $35 after blanking in SNGs, the $1500 Bounty Guarantee, and a $200k Qualifier. Don't play tired.
I woke up today feeling completely refreshed and played 4 SNGs and crushed them, finishing first in 3/4 of them and losing 99 v AT 5-handed in the other. In just 4 SNGs, I made $53.
I'm planning until playing until around 4PM today and possibly later again tonight depending on whether or not I'm tired. I also might play live as things have been going fairly well there as well. I'm up $50 over the summer (3 days of play).
Goals:
SNG Goal: $418.86/$550
UB Hat: 1433/4000
$200k: 0/2, 0/0
Something that I am going to have a problem with is continuing to play after I make the $50/day. Granted, that is my goal.. but after I reach it, should I stop playing? Hell no. I seriously feel for every second I'm not playing poker I'm losing money. Even if I made money 51% of the time I'd be wanting to play as much as possible because in the long run I'm a winner. I know I'm good enough (more than 51%, lol) to sustain a profit over any time period. It is common sense that the more I play the more I make. And the less I play the less I'm making.
Anyways, I played some more late last night and ended down $35 after blanking in SNGs, the $1500 Bounty Guarantee, and a $200k Qualifier. Don't play tired.
I woke up today feeling completely refreshed and played 4 SNGs and crushed them, finishing first in 3/4 of them and losing 99 v AT 5-handed in the other. In just 4 SNGs, I made $53.
I'm planning until playing until around 4PM today and possibly later again tonight depending on whether or not I'm tired. I also might play live as things have been going fairly well there as well. I'm up $50 over the summer (3 days of play).
Goals:
SNG Goal: $418.86/$550
UB Hat: 1433/4000
$200k: 0/2, 0/0
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
5.5s are easy too; new goal?
The $5.50's are easy too, lol. The only tough part I guess is that more people seem to be familiar with the "play tight/solid early, play loose/aggressive late" strategy.
I took a little crash course in $5.50's last night and cashed in 4/6 of them with 3 1st places and 1 second place.
Today I've played only a few but haven't had much success.
I also played my first $1 Rebuy $200K Qualifier. With BB200 and 6 limpers, I shoved A7o from the BB to try to steal the 1200 pot. Of course, the player UTG reraises all in and shows KK. I made his horrible play into a profitable play because he was screwed as KK vs 7 random hands isn't very successful at all.
Oh, and new goal? I want to make $50 a day playing SNGs. With 1st place paying out $25, I could ideally do this by finishing 1-1-1 or 1-1-2 in 3 SNGs. Obviously, that is a little optimistic but I'm still down for trying. For the sake of simplicity I'm going to pretend I started today out at $350 and have pushed it to $363.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $363.66/$550
UB Hat: 1376/4000
$200k: 0/1, 0/0
I took a little crash course in $5.50's last night and cashed in 4/6 of them with 3 1st places and 1 second place.
Today I've played only a few but haven't had much success.
I also played my first $1 Rebuy $200K Qualifier. With BB200 and 6 limpers, I shoved A7o from the BB to try to steal the 1200 pot. Of course, the player UTG reraises all in and shows KK. I made his horrible play into a profitable play because he was screwed as KK vs 7 random hands isn't very successful at all.
Oh, and new goal? I want to make $50 a day playing SNGs. With 1st place paying out $25, I could ideally do this by finishing 1-1-1 or 1-1-2 in 3 SNGs. Obviously, that is a little optimistic but I'm still down for trying. For the sake of simplicity I'm going to pretend I started today out at $350 and have pushed it to $363.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $363.66/$550
UB Hat: 1376/4000
$200k: 0/1, 0/0
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Goals for the rest of May
Well, I've shattered my goal of making $110 this month. Time for new ones as we've still got 15 days left in May.
I'm moving up to $5.5's. I've got both the bankroll and the skill to play at the level, which as I've already seen isn't so much better by any means. There are lots of idiots who $5.5s and I'm sure I'll even find them at the $11's should I ever get there.
My new goal is to make $550 by the end May.
Another goal is to play in the Sunday $200k Guarantee. Right now it reads "0/0, 0/0" because I have to beat 2 MTTs to make it to the $200k. The first "0/0" are the amount of $1.1 that I've beaten/played. The 1.1's qualify you for the $21.50, which pays actual spots to the Sunday $200k.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $335.66/$550
UB Hat: 1350/4000
$200k: 0/0, 0/0
I'm moving up to $5.5's. I've got both the bankroll and the skill to play at the level, which as I've already seen isn't so much better by any means. There are lots of idiots who $5.5s and I'm sure I'll even find them at the $11's should I ever get there.
My new goal is to make $550 by the end May.
Another goal is to play in the Sunday $200k Guarantee. Right now it reads "0/0, 0/0" because I have to beat 2 MTTs to make it to the $200k. The first "0/0" are the amount of $1.1 that I've beaten/played. The 1.1's qualify you for the $21.50, which pays actual spots to the Sunday $200k.
Goals:
SNG Goal: $335.66/$550
UB Hat: 1350/4000
$200k: 0/0, 0/0
Won the $1000 Guarantee!
I played a $1000 Guarantee $1 Rebuy MTT last night and received the first place prize of $260
I'll have a write-upish later today because I'm still exhausted from the 5 and a half hours of playing.
[EDIT: Tournament Summary]
I never know how deep I'm going to run in a tournament, so I never write down all the significant hands because more times than not I'm going to have a lot of significant hands and end up not finishing in the money and therefore not writing a tournament summary. Yesterday was no different but I actually won the tournament and now I only have my memory to rely on. Its okay though because as many of you know my knack for remembering poker hands is absolutely sickening.
I have a love/hate relationship with the first hour of rebuys. This is because honestly no one gives a shit about their two cards and push all in and call all ins with all sorts of crap. My table was absolutely wild thanks to all these players. People were shoving with Q9 and calling with KT and oh my it was just wonderful.
So, as is the norm, I immediately double rebuy to build my starting stack to 4500 and I tighten up the first hour of play and try to take advantage of this wild and crazy play. The first hand I played was AJo and a player who had already rebought numerous times reraised me all in. He had shown junk like Q9 and AX and PP and so it was a pretty easy call for me. He showed KT and (thanks poker Gods) I won the race and propelled to 9th place with 7500. I would never leave the Top 12 again.
I played fantastically. I had a pretty sick stack in the mid game and used it to my advantage. One of my favorite big stack plays is being either the button, sb, or bb, and pushing all in when there are like 3-5 limpers. When the blinds are something like 1500-3000-300, you can easily make over 10k in chips regardless of your hand.
I stayed in the top 10 in the middle stages and top 3 in the later stages of the tournament. My table image was great and people were definitely not wanting to get involved with me in pots. I took advantage of this timid bubble play and when the bubble broke I had over 150k chips more than second place.
I remember a situation where I limped with KK and along with the blinds saw a AKT rainbow flop. They check checked to me and I threw out a bet. The SB called and the BB folded. The turn brought a painful Q on the board and he checked back to me and I also checked. I put him on a K or a T on the flop but the Q could've easily given him the straight. His check on the turn kinda solidified that for me. The river brought another T, giving me Kings full of Tens, and he threw out about a fifth of his stack. I was going to only minraise him, but then thought that he probably had a straight and probably thought he had the best hand or at least would split with me. There is no way he see's me having a boat. I pushed all in and he instantly called with KQ for the straight. Money in the bank. That propelled me to 1st place with about 15 to go and nearly 200k in chips more than 2nd place.
There was a player who was short stacked and seriously limped into the money. He also limped into the final 2 tables. People were ridiculous and wouldn't call his all-ins when they weren't even x2 above the big blind!! Seriously, it is an autocall when someone pushes all in for like, 1.9 the BB, especially if you're a blind.
Anyways, I'm actually glad it turned out this way because I ended up playing this guy HU. There was a $105 difference between 1st and 2nd place and I was not about to miss out on that. It was around 6AM and I had already been playing for over 5 hours and was exhausted. My parents were already getting ready to go to work, lol.
I entered HU with about a 5:2 chip lead over the guy. In one of the first hands, we both got all-in preflop with AQo and wouldn't you know it, the flop gave him the nut flush draw and he hit it on the turn. Sick.
Luckily though, it didn't really matter. He was a horribly passive HU player and I was furiously aggressive. I would limp/x2/x3 alternately on the button with any 2 cards and he would usually fold to the raises and be outplayed postflop.
There was a hand I had raised with AQ out of position and the flop came 43939 and I completely bluffed him off the hand on the river after he had invested a pretty sizeable amount into the hand.
The final hand came when he was down pretty shortstack and had already pushed a few times. It was apparent that my aggressive style of play and periodic, seemingly random all-ins had gotten under his skin. I found QQ in the SB and completed. He shoved with A7o and he bricked.
It was a great tournament win today and definitely made me feel better about dumping $15 in live poker earlier in the day.
I will write up something later as far as goals go now that I have more than tripled my $110 goal for May.
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $332.66/$110
UB Hat: 1338/4000
I'll have a write-upish later today because I'm still exhausted from the 5 and a half hours of playing.
[EDIT: Tournament Summary]
I never know how deep I'm going to run in a tournament, so I never write down all the significant hands because more times than not I'm going to have a lot of significant hands and end up not finishing in the money and therefore not writing a tournament summary. Yesterday was no different but I actually won the tournament and now I only have my memory to rely on. Its okay though because as many of you know my knack for remembering poker hands is absolutely sickening.
I have a love/hate relationship with the first hour of rebuys. This is because honestly no one gives a shit about their two cards and push all in and call all ins with all sorts of crap. My table was absolutely wild thanks to all these players. People were shoving with Q9 and calling with KT and oh my it was just wonderful.
So, as is the norm, I immediately double rebuy to build my starting stack to 4500 and I tighten up the first hour of play and try to take advantage of this wild and crazy play. The first hand I played was AJo and a player who had already rebought numerous times reraised me all in. He had shown junk like Q9 and AX and PP and so it was a pretty easy call for me. He showed KT and (thanks poker Gods) I won the race and propelled to 9th place with 7500. I would never leave the Top 12 again.
I played fantastically. I had a pretty sick stack in the mid game and used it to my advantage. One of my favorite big stack plays is being either the button, sb, or bb, and pushing all in when there are like 3-5 limpers. When the blinds are something like 1500-3000-300, you can easily make over 10k in chips regardless of your hand.
I stayed in the top 10 in the middle stages and top 3 in the later stages of the tournament. My table image was great and people were definitely not wanting to get involved with me in pots. I took advantage of this timid bubble play and when the bubble broke I had over 150k chips more than second place.
I remember a situation where I limped with KK and along with the blinds saw a AKT rainbow flop. They check checked to me and I threw out a bet. The SB called and the BB folded. The turn brought a painful Q on the board and he checked back to me and I also checked. I put him on a K or a T on the flop but the Q could've easily given him the straight. His check on the turn kinda solidified that for me. The river brought another T, giving me Kings full of Tens, and he threw out about a fifth of his stack. I was going to only minraise him, but then thought that he probably had a straight and probably thought he had the best hand or at least would split with me. There is no way he see's me having a boat. I pushed all in and he instantly called with KQ for the straight. Money in the bank. That propelled me to 1st place with about 15 to go and nearly 200k in chips more than 2nd place.
There was a player who was short stacked and seriously limped into the money. He also limped into the final 2 tables. People were ridiculous and wouldn't call his all-ins when they weren't even x2 above the big blind!! Seriously, it is an autocall when someone pushes all in for like, 1.9 the BB, especially if you're a blind.
Anyways, I'm actually glad it turned out this way because I ended up playing this guy HU. There was a $105 difference between 1st and 2nd place and I was not about to miss out on that. It was around 6AM and I had already been playing for over 5 hours and was exhausted. My parents were already getting ready to go to work, lol.
I entered HU with about a 5:2 chip lead over the guy. In one of the first hands, we both got all-in preflop with AQo and wouldn't you know it, the flop gave him the nut flush draw and he hit it on the turn. Sick.
Luckily though, it didn't really matter. He was a horribly passive HU player and I was furiously aggressive. I would limp/x2/x3 alternately on the button with any 2 cards and he would usually fold to the raises and be outplayed postflop.
There was a hand I had raised with AQ out of position and the flop came 43939 and I completely bluffed him off the hand on the river after he had invested a pretty sizeable amount into the hand.
The final hand came when he was down pretty shortstack and had already pushed a few times. It was apparent that my aggressive style of play and periodic, seemingly random all-ins had gotten under his skin. I found QQ in the SB and completed. He shoved with A7o and he bricked.
It was a great tournament win today and definitely made me feel better about dumping $15 in live poker earlier in the day.
I will write up something later as far as goals go now that I have more than tripled my $110 goal for May.
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $332.66/$110
UB Hat: 1338/4000
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
lol, did i seriously just see this?
Getting Hand History Information...
----------------------------------------------------------------
Hand #42284011-37 at Wed2amA-015 (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 09/May/07 02:47:24
lboog23 is at seat 0 with 3025.
THEJDM is at seat 1 with 4310.
bigbaby25 is at seat 2 with 5920.
jtravels24 is at seat 3 with 7945.
Moodminder is at seat 4 with 1865.
bahrnone is at seat 5 with 4610.
Birds n Bees is at seat 6 with 5905.
sammy787 is at seat 7 with 1090.
toe_knee is at seat 8 with 3230.
chibosfla is at seat 9 with 2600.
The button is at seat 7.
toe_knee posts the small blind of 20.
chibosfla posts the big blind of 40.
lboog23: -- --
THEJDM: -- --
bigbaby25: -- --
jtravels24: -- --
Moodminder: -- --
bahrnone: -- --
Birds n Bees: Th 7h
sammy787: -- --
toe_knee: -- --
chibosfla: -- --
Pre-flop:
lboog23 calls. THEJDM folds. bigbaby25 calls.
jtravels24 folds. Moodminder folds. bahrnone folds.
Birds n Bees folds. sammy787 calls. toe_knee
calls. chibosfla raises to 240. lboog23 folds.
bigbaby25 re-raises to 2940. sammy787 folds.
toe_knee folds. chibosfla goes all-in for 2600.
bigbaby25 is returned 340 (uncalled).
Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
bigbaby25 shows Kc Kh.
chibosfla shows Js Jd.
Flop (board: Jh Qs Jc):
(no action in this round)
Turn (board: Jh Qs Jc Kd):
(no action in this round)
River (board: Jh Qs Jc Kd Ks):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
bigbaby25 has Kc Kh Qs Kd Ks: four kings.
chibosfla has Js Jd Jh Jc Kd: four jacks.
Hand #42284011-37 Summary:
No rake is taken for this hand.
bigbaby25 wins 5320 with four kings.
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Hand #42284011-37 at Wed2amA-015 (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 09/May/07 02:47:24
lboog23 is at seat 0 with 3025.
THEJDM is at seat 1 with 4310.
bigbaby25 is at seat 2 with 5920.
jtravels24 is at seat 3 with 7945.
Moodminder is at seat 4 with 1865.
bahrnone is at seat 5 with 4610.
Birds n Bees is at seat 6 with 5905.
sammy787 is at seat 7 with 1090.
toe_knee is at seat 8 with 3230.
chibosfla is at seat 9 with 2600.
The button is at seat 7.
toe_knee posts the small blind of 20.
chibosfla posts the big blind of 40.
lboog23: -- --
THEJDM: -- --
bigbaby25: -- --
jtravels24: -- --
Moodminder: -- --
bahrnone: -- --
Birds n Bees: Th 7h
sammy787: -- --
toe_knee: -- --
chibosfla: -- --
Pre-flop:
lboog23 calls. THEJDM folds. bigbaby25 calls.
jtravels24 folds. Moodminder folds. bahrnone folds.
Birds n Bees folds. sammy787 calls. toe_knee
calls. chibosfla raises to 240. lboog23 folds.
bigbaby25 re-raises to 2940. sammy787 folds.
toe_knee folds. chibosfla goes all-in for 2600.
bigbaby25 is returned 340 (uncalled).
Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
bigbaby25 shows Kc Kh.
chibosfla shows Js Jd.
Flop (board: Jh Qs Jc):
(no action in this round)
Turn (board: Jh Qs Jc Kd):
(no action in this round)
River (board: Jh Qs Jc Kd Ks):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
bigbaby25 has Kc Kh Qs Kd Ks: four kings.
chibosfla has Js Jd Jh Jc Kd: four jacks.
Hand #42284011-37 Summary:
No rake is taken for this hand.
bigbaby25 wins 5320 with four kings.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Tuesday SNGs
I had a breakout day today and made +$10-- the second most I've made in an SNG-only day. I also 2-tabled .05/.10 earlier today and finished -$4. No bueno. Oh well. I consider myself a better SNG player right now anyways and am not too terribly concerned with my ring game until the live summer games pick up.
Looking back at last Tuesday's post, I've made $50 in the past week, playing solely $1.10 SNGs. Guys, that is amazing, especially because I don't play very much at all imo. It's also amazing that I'm doing this at the $1.10's, lol. I'm excited about hitting a $110 bankroll and diving into some $5.50's. I'm expecting that to happen in less than a week. If things go as well in the $5.50's as they've been going in the $1.1o's, I'll be pulling in $250/week, minimum. Ah, the thought excites me and I'm going to try my very hardest to beat this game. It took awhile to become comfortable at the $1.10's and I'm sure there will be a slight increase in opponents skill when I make the jump to $5.50. I think, however, that I am a lot more patient than before and with the rules I've set for myself, my bankroll will be forever safe. Hopefully everything goes very well for me. I'm optimistic and feel like I'm playing pretty fantastic, for the most part.
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $72.23/$110
UB Hat: 1464/4000
Looking back at last Tuesday's post, I've made $50 in the past week, playing solely $1.10 SNGs. Guys, that is amazing, especially because I don't play very much at all imo. It's also amazing that I'm doing this at the $1.10's, lol. I'm excited about hitting a $110 bankroll and diving into some $5.50's. I'm expecting that to happen in less than a week. If things go as well in the $5.50's as they've been going in the $1.1o's, I'll be pulling in $250/week, minimum. Ah, the thought excites me and I'm going to try my very hardest to beat this game. It took awhile to become comfortable at the $1.10's and I'm sure there will be a slight increase in opponents skill when I make the jump to $5.50. I think, however, that I am a lot more patient than before and with the rules I've set for myself, my bankroll will be forever safe. Hopefully everything goes very well for me. I'm optimistic and feel like I'm playing pretty fantastic, for the most part.
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $72.23/$110
UB Hat: 1464/4000
Monday SNGs, +8
I played 4, 1hr+ sessions today and made ~$8. I can't count how many times I lost AT v KT and other dominating situations. Like, I honestly cannot count. You have no idea. I'm happy with how I played all day and finished the day with 4 consecutive cashes.
My hard final is tomorrow (accounting) and then basically I'm done with school. I'm not too terribly concerned with Geology and will probably only review briefly on Wednesday. I take my final on Thursday, chill and pack, and then leave for New Orleans on Friday and Houston on Saturday.
Poker crew: we just about start playing upon my rival. In other words, asap.
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $62.12/$110
UB Hat: 1447/4000
My hard final is tomorrow (accounting) and then basically I'm done with school. I'm not too terribly concerned with Geology and will probably only review briefly on Wednesday. I take my final on Thursday, chill and pack, and then leave for New Orleans on Friday and Houston on Saturday.
Poker crew: we just about start playing upon my rival. In other words, asap.
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $62.12/$110
UB Hat: 1447/4000
Monday, May 7, 2007
Goodness
Hand #42241547-11 at TurboSnG-7305s (No Limit Hold'em Sit and Go)
Started at 07/May/07 21:51:22
phragalicous is at seat 0 with 1410.
whitetiger717 is at seat 1 with 4835.
birds n bees is at seat 2 with 1090.
six sigma 08 is at seat 4 with 4335.
mnmfe4e2 is at seat 5 with 1450.
itsonlyus6 is at seat 7 with 1880.
The button is at seat 2.
six sigma 08 posts the big blind of 40.
phragalicous: -- --
whitetiger717: -- --
birds n bees: Jc Js
six sigma 08: -- --
mnmfe4e2: -- --
itsonlyus6: -- --
Pre-flop:
mnmfe4e2 folds. itsonlyus6 folds. phragalicous
calls. whitetiger717 calls. birds n bees raises to
200. six sigma 08 folds. phragalicous folds.
whitetiger717 goes all-in for 4835. birds n bees goes
all-in for 1090. whitetiger717 is returned 3745
(uncalled).
Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
whitetiger717 shows Qh Kh.
birds n bees shows Jc Js.
Flop (board: Kc 7d 9c):
(no action in this round)
Turn (board: Kc 7d 9c Tc):
(no action in this round)
River (board: Kc 7d 9c Tc Qc):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
whitetiger717 has Qh Kh Kc Tc Qc: two pair, kings and queens.
birds n bees has Jc Kc 9c Tc Qc: straight flush, king high.
Hand #42241547-11 Summary:
No rake is taken for this hand.
birds n bees wins 2260 with straight flush, king high.
Started at 07/May/07 21:51:22
phragalicous is at seat 0 with 1410.
whitetiger717 is at seat 1 with 4835.
birds n bees is at seat 2 with 1090.
six sigma 08 is at seat 4 with 4335.
mnmfe4e2 is at seat 5 with 1450.
itsonlyus6 is at seat 7 with 1880.
The button is at seat 2.
six sigma 08 posts the big blind of 40.
phragalicous: -- --
whitetiger717: -- --
birds n bees: Jc Js
six sigma 08: -- --
mnmfe4e2: -- --
itsonlyus6: -- --
Pre-flop:
mnmfe4e2 folds. itsonlyus6 folds. phragalicous
calls. whitetiger717 calls. birds n bees raises to
200. six sigma 08 folds. phragalicous folds.
whitetiger717 goes all-in for 4835. birds n bees goes
all-in for 1090. whitetiger717 is returned 3745
(uncalled).
Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
whitetiger717 shows Qh Kh.
birds n bees shows Jc Js.
Flop (board: Kc 7d 9c):
(no action in this round)
Turn (board: Kc 7d 9c Tc):
(no action in this round)
River (board: Kc 7d 9c Tc Qc):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
whitetiger717 has Qh Kh Kc Tc Qc: two pair, kings and queens.
birds n bees has Jc Kc 9c Tc Qc: straight flush, king high.
Hand #42241547-11 Summary:
No rake is taken for this hand.
birds n bees wins 2260 with straight flush, king high.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Halfway to Goal
I finally am back above $50. It is a slow grind but as I said earlier, easily feasible. I am 100% positive I will break $110 this month and will be playing the $5.50's in a few weeks. I can't wait. I played for about 40 minutes and made ~$5, lol. Not a whole lot but at this stage, I'll take it. Thats like a 10% increase on my entire bankroll!
The Rockets broke my heart yesterday and I learned today that Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy won't be returning next year. What a disappointing season. There is still much work to do before we are a championship caliber team. One of the West's second round matchups is Utah/Golden State, which is almost laughable. I'm rooting for Golden State for the remainder of the playoffs.
I'm going to Birmingham to help a friend with her Battle of the Bands. I might play when I get back at midnight, we'll see. No rush.
- Saeid
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $54.45/$110
UB Hat: 1408/4000
The Rockets broke my heart yesterday and I learned today that Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy won't be returning next year. What a disappointing season. There is still much work to do before we are a championship caliber team. One of the West's second round matchups is Utah/Golden State, which is almost laughable. I'm rooting for Golden State for the remainder of the playoffs.
I'm going to Birmingham to help a friend with her Battle of the Bands. I might play when I get back at midnight, we'll see. No rush.
- Saeid
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $54.45/$110
UB Hat: 1408/4000
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Saturday SNGs
Funny how SNGs work. I feel like I have to have a "warm up" session before I playing. The only way to do this is by playing though, lol. I lose the first 4-6 SNGs though but then warm up and go on pretty sick heaters.
I think I made $7 in 15 or so SNGs today. This took about an hour and a half. I wish I had more time to play. I just want to grind for hours and hours until I get up to $110. Unfortunately I've got finals and junk to study for. And friends to see and stuff.
The Rockets play Game 7 of the first round at the Toyota Center tonight at 9:30. Completely needless to say, I'm nervous. Until tip off, I'll be doing a mix of poker, seeing friends, and eating.
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $49.34/$110
UB Hat: 1401/4000
I think I made $7 in 15 or so SNGs today. This took about an hour and a half. I wish I had more time to play. I just want to grind for hours and hours until I get up to $110. Unfortunately I've got finals and junk to study for. And friends to see and stuff.
The Rockets play Game 7 of the first round at the Toyota Center tonight at 9:30. Completely needless to say, I'm nervous. Until tip off, I'll be doing a mix of poker, seeing friends, and eating.
May Goals:
SNG Goal: $49.34/$110
UB Hat: 1401/4000
Friday, May 4, 2007
April Review, May Goals
Bankroll in April: $210
Bankroll in May: $42
Ouch!
So, I lost a lot of money this month. I practiced horrible bankroll management that I hope to never duplicate to any degree whatsoever. I tried to play too many MTTs and burned money away.
I know May has already started, but here are my goals for May starting now (the 4th):
SNG Goal: $42.33/$110
SNGs Played: 0
UB Hat: 1384/4000
Bankroll in May: $42
Ouch!
So, I lost a lot of money this month. I practiced horrible bankroll management that I hope to never duplicate to any degree whatsoever. I tried to play too many MTTs and burned money away.
I know May has already started, but here are my goals for May starting now (the 4th):
- Bankroll Management- I'm following Chris "Jesus" Ferguson's advice here. I'm going to play games that I can afford. Right now, that only includes $1.10 SNGs and .05/.1 cash games. I'm going to play anywhere from 2-6 SNGs at a time and 2-4 cash games at a time. The max buy-in for the cash games at this point is 25 big blinds, or $2.50. If at any point I have over 10% of my entire bankroll at any one table, I leave the game when the big blind gets back to me.
- SNGs- I'm sticking to $1.10 SNGs (10 and 6-handed turbos) until I build my bankroll up to $110. This is easy but tedious-- it'll take a lot of time and a lot of SNGs to get there. However, hopefully I can do it this month. If I do achieve $110 by the month, that means I'll have the bankroll for exactly 20 $5.50 SNGs, which I think is safe enough. If I fail to cash in any of the first 5 $5.50's I play, I'll jump back down to $1.10 until I build back up to $110. Then repeat.
- Ring Games- I'm a little scared of cash games at the moment, but I'll like to see myself practice good bankroll management and know when to leave tables.
SNG Goal: $42.33/$110
SNGs Played: 0
UB Hat: 1384/4000
Friday Evening SNG
I extended my SNG game to include 6-handed turbo's, which actually went really well for me today. I wish I kept stats, but I'm too lazy to do so right now. Maybe one day I'll buy one of those SNG programs off the internet, but I doubt that. The only stat I've got is the one I care about more. I'm creeping back up to my original investment of $50.
Available Real Money: $42.33
Uiltimate points for Team UB Hat: 1,384/4,000
Available Real Money: $42.33
Uiltimate points for Team UB Hat: 1,384/4,000
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
SNGs, thanks.
I played until about 2 hours and profited $11.36. I could probably do a lot better too, as I had a lot of 4th place finishes. I try to steal from big stacks with hands like K9 and a call by even something as weak as A2 has me needing to hit 6 outs or hit a sick straight or something. Anyways, I need to just pick on the shortstacks, and maybe it's okay to shove only AX/PP against the bigs.
Anyways, I'm going to play some more. Wish me luck.
Available Real Money: $33.60
Anyways, I'm going to play some more. Wish me luck.
Available Real Money: $33.60
SNGs are EASY.
Read: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/tip-email-100-nondeposit.php?utm_id=90
SNGs are really, really easy. You play tight, solid poker the first few blind levels, and then apply a ton of pressure to the short stacks on the bubble. Its sick to shove with basically any hand and put the short stacks all in. They don't want to go bust in 4th place and finish OTM. If they don't have an Ace or PP, they are pretty much guaranteed to fold. Blinds for me.
Anyways, it is 2:30 and I plan on 4-tabling until 5.
I'm also taking Ferguson's bankroll management advice: never buy-in for over 5% of my entire bankroll. So, I'm sticking to $1.10 SNGS until I hit about $100.
Available Real Money: $22.24*
* Low because I played an MTT I shouldn't have, lol. No worries.
SNGs are really, really easy. You play tight, solid poker the first few blind levels, and then apply a ton of pressure to the short stacks on the bubble. Its sick to shove with basically any hand and put the short stacks all in. They don't want to go bust in 4th place and finish OTM. If they don't have an Ace or PP, they are pretty much guaranteed to fold. Blinds for me.
Anyways, it is 2:30 and I plan on 4-tabling until 5.
I'm also taking Ferguson's bankroll management advice: never buy-in for over 5% of my entire bankroll. So, I'm sticking to $1.10 SNGS until I hit about $100.
Available Real Money: $22.24*
* Low because I played an MTT I shouldn't have, lol. No worries.
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