Here's the good news: over two weeks I'm up $30.
The bad: I'm down $70 on the week.
I'm so angry with myself right now. I can't believe how quickly I've lost money. Everyone seems to have better hands than me, hitting amazing straights and flushes on the turn and river cards. It's depressing. I'm chilling myself out on the 2/5c tables, waiting for the storm to pass. The problem is, the weather report is unreliable and I can see dark clouds all the way out to the horizon.
16/06/2009
The Vic was LIVE!
So Pablo and I both played live, along with another friend of ours, Money DJH (don't ask...) at the Vic on Saturday night!
It was an experience to say the least, and having had a couple of days to reflect on this experience I felt I should write what I thought, as I promised.
So did I felt, no not at all, in fact I walked out with 55 bucks profit, which was amazing! I didn't expect to have such a great night, but I did!
I felted out a guy, when he had QQ and I held AA. I opened to 3 x BB and this guy re-raised to 10. I smooth called and the flop came down with 3 bricks. I checked to him and he continuation bet 20 and I raised him to 40, he called. The turn came down and he shoved all in. I knew at this point he was totally playing his hole cards and his hole cards only. I hollywooded and looked at my aces, as there was a heart flush draw on now after the turn and I had the ace of hearts. I called and the river was another brick, he asked if I had a nine, I showed pocket Aces, he showed queens... He put me on nines, which would have completed a set.
Then the real fun started, when his Phil Hellmuth wannabe mate, called my 3 x BB with aces gay! This guy loved checking in the dark and now for some reason, he and his other friend, decided it was time to felt me out! Luckily I could see that they were whispering against me, and I made sure not to play another pot with them again all night. He seemed a little pissed off at the end.
So I enjoyed the actual play of the poker, but these two cocky young poker wannabes made it feel like I was in a war zone. Maybe this is what live poker is like, and after more playing live I'll realize this. We'll have to wait and see.
It was an experience to say the least, and having had a couple of days to reflect on this experience I felt I should write what I thought, as I promised.
So did I felt, no not at all, in fact I walked out with 55 bucks profit, which was amazing! I didn't expect to have such a great night, but I did!
I felted out a guy, when he had QQ and I held AA. I opened to 3 x BB and this guy re-raised to 10. I smooth called and the flop came down with 3 bricks. I checked to him and he continuation bet 20 and I raised him to 40, he called. The turn came down and he shoved all in. I knew at this point he was totally playing his hole cards and his hole cards only. I hollywooded and looked at my aces, as there was a heart flush draw on now after the turn and I had the ace of hearts. I called and the river was another brick, he asked if I had a nine, I showed pocket Aces, he showed queens... He put me on nines, which would have completed a set.
Then the real fun started, when his Phil Hellmuth wannabe mate, called my 3 x BB with aces gay! This guy loved checking in the dark and now for some reason, he and his other friend, decided it was time to felt me out! Luckily I could see that they were whispering against me, and I made sure not to play another pot with them again all night. He seemed a little pissed off at the end.
So I enjoyed the actual play of the poker, but these two cocky young poker wannabes made it feel like I was in a war zone. Maybe this is what live poker is like, and after more playing live I'll realize this. We'll have to wait and see.
12/06/2009
Pre-Flop Shove! Oh Yea...
One thing about micro to low stakes online poker players, they love a pre-flop shove! What is it that they like about it? Poker is a game of skill, information and dis-information. It's about making the right decision, and being able to value the information that you have obtained from your opponent. That is why it is so popular, because using this skill can earn you a lot of money.
When you shove your stack pre-flop, before you have even seen a card on the table, you take all that skill, every single last drop of it, throw it outta the window and make poker a coin flip. And why oh why do these low limit players love to do it? Well, simple really, they don't have the skill to play poker even at these fairly uncomplicated levels. So they think if they can get their stack in, within a few seconds they could have doubled what they had. It's frustrating and boring to play against. But this is how it is, so you just gotta ride it out.
Pablo and I are off to the casino to play live, not online, tomorrow evening. I feel it may be brutal and disturbing, no doubt we will be writing about it in due course. If we survive.
When you shove your stack pre-flop, before you have even seen a card on the table, you take all that skill, every single last drop of it, throw it outta the window and make poker a coin flip. And why oh why do these low limit players love to do it? Well, simple really, they don't have the skill to play poker even at these fairly uncomplicated levels. So they think if they can get their stack in, within a few seconds they could have doubled what they had. It's frustrating and boring to play against. But this is how it is, so you just gotta ride it out.
Pablo and I are off to the casino to play live, not online, tomorrow evening. I feel it may be brutal and disturbing, no doubt we will be writing about it in due course. If we survive.
11/06/2009
Winning Makes Me Tilt!
Following in the footsteps of ollyscope, I left the 2/5c tables behind and headed to the 10/25c tables about a week ago. I had had enough of the bet-bet-shove, bet-bet-shove mentality...I wasn't winning, and more importantly, I wasn't learning. So, down to a bankroll of $22, I stepped it up - Chris Ferguson would have had a heart attack!
I pretty much took ollyscope's advice - on the 10/25c tables don't go in on a ridiculous pre-flop bet, keep it fairly tight but bet fairly aggressively when you have the best hand. You can pretty much read what a player has on the strength of the bet (there are a few exceptions, but compared to the 2/5c tables it's much easier to predict hands).
Long story short: I'm one week into playing to 10/25c tables. Started with $22, haven't bought back in, and currently stand at a bankroll of $107. So, I've increased my bankroll over five-fold in less than seven days. Obviously, I'm a happy boy. I firmly believe that this increase in wins is because I'm playing better, reading the game better, not being afraid to fold out a decent hand. And of course, a tiny amount of luck. But I have a problem...
When I get one part of my game sorted, I discover a flaw somewhere else. My problem is perhaps slightly unusual: when I win, I start to tilt. Yep, stupid I know. Shortstackers tilt. Donks tilt. And so does Pablo_Bueno when his stack gets so large he can't see the felt from the chips. For example, last night I won a monster pot in up around the $30 mark, so I'm sitting with a stack of $43 (my usual buy in is $20). My tight play goes out the window...I'm awesome now, I'm untouchable...let's have a go on this hand that I'd never dream of playing if I wasn't up...oh, what a rubbish flop, let's try and bully this other guy off the table...oh dear, he has the best hand.
So I lost part of my stack to the guy I won big from (despite ollyscope warning me I was a POW), and then I found myself in a pot with another guy (who had felted out twice already) after hitting a set of 3s. I bet big, despite the flush being on. Ollyscope warns me not to be a POW again. I don't listen. I call the flop. He shove all in on the turn. I call. Damn, he has the flush. But wait, is that another J coming down to give me a full house! An undeserved win. I couldn't function after that and I turned the computer off. Although I won the pot, I felt dirty because I did exactly what those 2/5c players did to me. Retribution, perhaps? I don't know.
What I do know is that I need to keep my head when I start winning big.
I pretty much took ollyscope's advice - on the 10/25c tables don't go in on a ridiculous pre-flop bet, keep it fairly tight but bet fairly aggressively when you have the best hand. You can pretty much read what a player has on the strength of the bet (there are a few exceptions, but compared to the 2/5c tables it's much easier to predict hands).
Long story short: I'm one week into playing to 10/25c tables. Started with $22, haven't bought back in, and currently stand at a bankroll of $107. So, I've increased my bankroll over five-fold in less than seven days. Obviously, I'm a happy boy. I firmly believe that this increase in wins is because I'm playing better, reading the game better, not being afraid to fold out a decent hand. And of course, a tiny amount of luck. But I have a problem...
When I get one part of my game sorted, I discover a flaw somewhere else. My problem is perhaps slightly unusual: when I win, I start to tilt. Yep, stupid I know. Shortstackers tilt. Donks tilt. And so does Pablo_Bueno when his stack gets so large he can't see the felt from the chips. For example, last night I won a monster pot in up around the $30 mark, so I'm sitting with a stack of $43 (my usual buy in is $20). My tight play goes out the window...I'm awesome now, I'm untouchable...let's have a go on this hand that I'd never dream of playing if I wasn't up...oh, what a rubbish flop, let's try and bully this other guy off the table...oh dear, he has the best hand.
So I lost part of my stack to the guy I won big from (despite ollyscope warning me I was a POW), and then I found myself in a pot with another guy (who had felted out twice already) after hitting a set of 3s. I bet big, despite the flush being on. Ollyscope warns me not to be a POW again. I don't listen. I call the flop. He shove all in on the turn. I call. Damn, he has the flush. But wait, is that another J coming down to give me a full house! An undeserved win. I couldn't function after that and I turned the computer off. Although I won the pot, I felt dirty because I did exactly what those 2/5c players did to me. Retribution, perhaps? I don't know.
What I do know is that I need to keep my head when I start winning big.
10/06/2009
SER-WWWIIING
Oh man, me and my poker buddy (author in waiting) Pablo Bueno both play the 10/25c, but we both play a completely different game. I asked him what the biggest pot he had played recently was and he replied "$8 I think"..... Oh I wish!
I enjoyed (or didn't enjoy) a $40 swing last night.... I lost $20 when I got it all in with queens against aces, and I just played that hand horrible... When I first started playing, it was always oh I played that hand perfectly, oh I did this and he played 5 2 os after calling my 3xBB pre-flop raise... as I have played more hands, I have realized that I play bad sometimes... hey we all do.. go watch a Phil Hellmuth game, he tells everyone!
I berated myself, knowing I had lost all my weekends' work and then some...
I sat down and got aggressive... I was on a slight tilt... but I started re-raising when I had a hand instead of flat calling... I made people pay to beat me if they had a better hand... and then I hit cards... I hit a lot of cards.. I had KAos twice and KK four times! The pinnacle of it all was when I won a $26 pot with KAos and the flop came down A 7 A... so sick... after I won that hand, I retired from the cash games for the night and played a 6 max SnG... and I won that! So even though I went on a $48 winning streak, I'd rather be playing small pots for like $4 here and there, like Pablo does, I really would. Perhaps we could swap poker souls for a night, I think he'd like to experience one of these $40 pots.
No really, I think he really would!
Don't forget to check all of the latest WSOP news.
I enjoyed (or didn't enjoy) a $40 swing last night.... I lost $20 when I got it all in with queens against aces, and I just played that hand horrible... When I first started playing, it was always oh I played that hand perfectly, oh I did this and he played 5 2 os after calling my 3xBB pre-flop raise... as I have played more hands, I have realized that I play bad sometimes... hey we all do.. go watch a Phil Hellmuth game, he tells everyone!
I berated myself, knowing I had lost all my weekends' work and then some...
I sat down and got aggressive... I was on a slight tilt... but I started re-raising when I had a hand instead of flat calling... I made people pay to beat me if they had a better hand... and then I hit cards... I hit a lot of cards.. I had KAos twice and KK four times! The pinnacle of it all was when I won a $26 pot with KAos and the flop came down A 7 A... so sick... after I won that hand, I retired from the cash games for the night and played a 6 max SnG... and I won that! So even though I went on a $48 winning streak, I'd rather be playing small pots for like $4 here and there, like Pablo does, I really would. Perhaps we could swap poker souls for a night, I think he'd like to experience one of these $40 pots.
No really, I think he really would!
Don't forget to check all of the latest WSOP news.
08/06/2009
An Up, Down and Up Runner Runner Flush Weekend!
WOW! I simply seem to get flushes at the moment (not the red and hot kind).... and seemingly for some big cash! It's weird I played all weekend, got trips once, flopped a full house once, but got about 4 or 5 flushes? Weird hey?
Friday, from what I remember was a successful night, the odd pot here and there, but I remember being up around $15 by the time I retired for the evening.
Saturday was a different day completely. It all started when I called a big pre-flop re-raise with QA suited. The flop gave me a nut flush draw (surprise surprise) and by the river I managed to get my complete $20 stack in the middle. Needless to say I missed the flush and I was down $20 to start the day. The profit I had grinded out on Thursday and Friday and - GONE in 25 mins... I walked around the house berating myself for playing so poorly, my friend said I was acting like Phil Hellmuth, if only I had, I wouldn't have lost $20!
So I sit down and start playing a little steaming, but not to much.... After about another 10 mins or so, I get AJ so I go to the flop with some other dude... and the flop comes down AAQ... OK i've got trip A's here... great.... He checks... I fire out a barrell... he calls.... OK.... turn comes... I fire another barrel.... he calls again.... Hold on whats going on here... I check the river... he fires out a weak, defensive bet... I call.... and bam he's got QA... oh thats a great beat to have after I played so poorly the hand before!?
So I was about $34 down now... and it wasn't even lunch.... oh man.. all that hard work, when I wasn't catching cards and running cards dead the days before... and it had gone in 2 hours of play....
So i had some lunch... and I came back and started playing again... I managed to get some luck.. and hit trip Kings against trip 6's on the flop... and the dude got it all in on the river... that was for a $32 pot.. so I was about half to getting my money back... I lost about another $7 by the end of the day.. leaving me $30 down for the day.
Frustrating was not the word and as I already knew, easy come, easy go.... and so Sunday... I did well in my first post-lunch session and made about $5 profit....
After this session I started again and this time, it seemed a little like the god's were against me... I was hitting hands but other players had better hands... and I lost the $5 pretty quickly....then i got really lucky and but also had my gamble re-paid!
I got Jc 10c dealt to me and I post a min raise to 50c... the other dude re-raises me to $1.50... and I had noticed that he had been re-raising pre-flop a lot... maybe I was a little pissed off as well, but I called... flop came down 4c 9h Qh.... Ok so I've got an open ended straight draw... he fires out $1.50, so at this point I put him on queens with a good kicker QK, QA, QJ... so I decided that this guy is gonna have to pay for his two pair and I re-raise him to $3... the next play was weird but also a massive tell.... (each of us have about $20 stacks btw) he fires out a 3 bet of $12... so I'm like WTF is that? $12 dollars.... OK this guy has a hand... he must have trip Queens... or Kings or Aces... but he has to have two pair in his hand to bet that hard and that strong.... Well I've still got my flush draw.... and he hasn't put me all in on this street, though I might have to shove the rest on the turn... but that much money, speaks of desperation to me..if he did have trip Queens (or even trip 9s) would you really shove that much... surely you'd want to get the maximum out of me?... and he knows I'm playing tight.... thats it; he doesn't want me to call him... so I call the $12 and bam on the turn, Qc... oh right this guys got quads... no way has he got quads.... he shoves me all in.... I've still got outs and now I've got a flush draw as well.... I called and BAM a 9 of clubs on the river and $40 ships itself my way.... his hand; pocket Aces!....
So all in all I am in profit again, good healthy profit..... right I gotta go now and see if kid poker has got another bracelet!
Friday, from what I remember was a successful night, the odd pot here and there, but I remember being up around $15 by the time I retired for the evening.
Saturday was a different day completely. It all started when I called a big pre-flop re-raise with QA suited. The flop gave me a nut flush draw (surprise surprise) and by the river I managed to get my complete $20 stack in the middle. Needless to say I missed the flush and I was down $20 to start the day. The profit I had grinded out on Thursday and Friday and - GONE in 25 mins... I walked around the house berating myself for playing so poorly, my friend said I was acting like Phil Hellmuth, if only I had, I wouldn't have lost $20!
So I sit down and start playing a little steaming, but not to much.... After about another 10 mins or so, I get AJ so I go to the flop with some other dude... and the flop comes down AAQ... OK i've got trip A's here... great.... He checks... I fire out a barrell... he calls.... OK.... turn comes... I fire another barrel.... he calls again.... Hold on whats going on here... I check the river... he fires out a weak, defensive bet... I call.... and bam he's got QA... oh thats a great beat to have after I played so poorly the hand before!?
So I was about $34 down now... and it wasn't even lunch.... oh man.. all that hard work, when I wasn't catching cards and running cards dead the days before... and it had gone in 2 hours of play....
So i had some lunch... and I came back and started playing again... I managed to get some luck.. and hit trip Kings against trip 6's on the flop... and the dude got it all in on the river... that was for a $32 pot.. so I was about half to getting my money back... I lost about another $7 by the end of the day.. leaving me $30 down for the day.
Frustrating was not the word and as I already knew, easy come, easy go.... and so Sunday... I did well in my first post-lunch session and made about $5 profit....
After this session I started again and this time, it seemed a little like the god's were against me... I was hitting hands but other players had better hands... and I lost the $5 pretty quickly....then i got really lucky and but also had my gamble re-paid!
I got Jc 10c dealt to me and I post a min raise to 50c... the other dude re-raises me to $1.50... and I had noticed that he had been re-raising pre-flop a lot... maybe I was a little pissed off as well, but I called... flop came down 4c 9h Qh.... Ok so I've got an open ended straight draw... he fires out $1.50, so at this point I put him on queens with a good kicker QK, QA, QJ... so I decided that this guy is gonna have to pay for his two pair and I re-raise him to $3... the next play was weird but also a massive tell.... (each of us have about $20 stacks btw) he fires out a 3 bet of $12... so I'm like WTF is that? $12 dollars.... OK this guy has a hand... he must have trip Queens... or Kings or Aces... but he has to have two pair in his hand to bet that hard and that strong.... Well I've still got my flush draw.... and he hasn't put me all in on this street, though I might have to shove the rest on the turn... but that much money, speaks of desperation to me..if he did have trip Queens (or even trip 9s) would you really shove that much... surely you'd want to get the maximum out of me?... and he knows I'm playing tight.... thats it; he doesn't want me to call him... so I call the $12 and bam on the turn, Qc... oh right this guys got quads... no way has he got quads.... he shoves me all in.... I've still got outs and now I've got a flush draw as well.... I called and BAM a 9 of clubs on the river and $40 ships itself my way.... his hand; pocket Aces!....
So all in all I am in profit again, good healthy profit..... right I gotta go now and see if kid poker has got another bracelet!
05/06/2009
Flushes and the WSOP....
So I didn't play Wednesday, I had to do other stuff with real people...
But I played last night and I had about a $15 swing, ending in a $5 profit! Last night was a really satisfying night of poker, didn't really catch any big hole cards pairs, only queens all night, and I got jacks about 4 times... made a flush off one of them... but I didn't hit a straight all night, no trips, no two pair and no full house... so with that in mind it was cool - no, very cool - to walk away with $5 profit, considering at one point I was $10 down.... concentration is the key!
I grinded all night, and I had two big hands, which got me even and then put me into profit for the night. The first hand was a little bit tricky from me and I guess a little lucky as well. I had 6h 4h UTG and I min raised. I got called by this dude who had re-raised me a few hands before, when I was sure he was bluffing, but I laid down that time.
The flop came Ad 10h Qh and I have a flush draw. I bet like 50c into a $1.20-ish pot and he re-raises me again to $1.50... I have to admit it kinda pissed me off... but I thought to myself.. this guy either has AQ or trip Qs, something like that... the pot odds weren't great but not that bad either, with that all floating around in my mind, I called.... an interesting card for me, a Js.... now he could have completed his straight with a king... I felt well and truly beaten now and checked... expecting a bet from him... but he checks too... I now knew he didn't have a king, so no straight for him.... so what comes on the river Kh!!!! OK so I've made the flush... and he had $4 left and the pot was $4 dollars, so any bet he's gonna raise to all in... so I put him all in and he flips over Ah 10s... I don't know if he thought it was a split pot...but he obviously didn't see the flush... and I did.... never won a flush on two low cards like that before though.....
I had QQ against him later and he got his short stack in there pre-flop (he was tilting at this point) he has A 10 and my queens held up and I was in profit! Woo-Hoo!
I had to really grind and make sure my focus didn't slip for one hand and waited for a bit of luck and a bit of tilt and I got some profit! Hopefully tonight I can catch a few cards on the flop and it won't be as much of a struggle as last night was!
PHIL IVEY braclet number 6... this world series of poker is great... lots of competitors... and seems that Ivey is in good form.... It must be so cool right now to be in the Rio with all the best players in the world... must be like star spotting... Doyle says that he can feel number 11 coming in the mixed 10k... now that would be sick!
Check out Poker After Dark's hecklers week... Sam Grizzle and of course Phil Hellmuth are so funny!
But I played last night and I had about a $15 swing, ending in a $5 profit! Last night was a really satisfying night of poker, didn't really catch any big hole cards pairs, only queens all night, and I got jacks about 4 times... made a flush off one of them... but I didn't hit a straight all night, no trips, no two pair and no full house... so with that in mind it was cool - no, very cool - to walk away with $5 profit, considering at one point I was $10 down.... concentration is the key!
I grinded all night, and I had two big hands, which got me even and then put me into profit for the night. The first hand was a little bit tricky from me and I guess a little lucky as well. I had 6h 4h UTG and I min raised. I got called by this dude who had re-raised me a few hands before, when I was sure he was bluffing, but I laid down that time.
The flop came Ad 10h Qh and I have a flush draw. I bet like 50c into a $1.20-ish pot and he re-raises me again to $1.50... I have to admit it kinda pissed me off... but I thought to myself.. this guy either has AQ or trip Qs, something like that... the pot odds weren't great but not that bad either, with that all floating around in my mind, I called.... an interesting card for me, a Js.... now he could have completed his straight with a king... I felt well and truly beaten now and checked... expecting a bet from him... but he checks too... I now knew he didn't have a king, so no straight for him.... so what comes on the river Kh!!!! OK so I've made the flush... and he had $4 left and the pot was $4 dollars, so any bet he's gonna raise to all in... so I put him all in and he flips over Ah 10s... I don't know if he thought it was a split pot...but he obviously didn't see the flush... and I did.... never won a flush on two low cards like that before though.....
I had QQ against him later and he got his short stack in there pre-flop (he was tilting at this point) he has A 10 and my queens held up and I was in profit! Woo-Hoo!
I had to really grind and make sure my focus didn't slip for one hand and waited for a bit of luck and a bit of tilt and I got some profit! Hopefully tonight I can catch a few cards on the flop and it won't be as much of a struggle as last night was!
PHIL IVEY braclet number 6... this world series of poker is great... lots of competitors... and seems that Ivey is in good form.... It must be so cool right now to be in the Rio with all the best players in the world... must be like star spotting... Doyle says that he can feel number 11 coming in the mixed 10k... now that would be sick!
Check out Poker After Dark's hecklers week... Sam Grizzle and of course Phil Hellmuth are so funny!
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