Full Tilt, that is. Well, not quite 100%, but let me explain.
I have had a Full Tilt account for a while, but literally never used it. However, I have a backing arrangement with a player who grinds away at the tournaments on FT so I have some kind of interest in it. And, I thought, why not give it a spin. So, I deposited and had a quick look around for something cheap and quick to play.
I alighted on a 45seat $10+1 SNG. I play that format on Stars and quite like it. Well, to cut a long story short, I won it. QQ vs JTo in the last hand. One big difference to the events I often play on Stars was the pace -- I'm used to the 5minute turbo blinds. It was more like proper poker and I don't know if it was a coincidence that I did well, but I'm not arguing.
So - 100% win record ! Obviously I thought of cashing out and never playing again, but I have played 3 more: a $2+0.25 180seat SNG, another 45seat $10+1 and also an MTT $24+2.
In the 45seat, my AA was cracked by KJ in a raised pot. He flopped two pair and I could not get away from it on the KJ2 flop (2clubs). In the $24+2, I got off to a strong start -- I picked up some good hands and they stood up, but most importantly the other players just seemed to want to stick their chips in when miles behind on the flop. Weird. In that one, I eventually bubbled (well, 126th/1129 with 108 to pay). I got it aipf with 88 vs AA. I was making a move on an EP raiser. Perhaps should have waited till the bubble burst.
In the $2, I won it ! What impressed me was how seriously they all took it - it lasted hours and the play was all pretty sensible. With about 4 left, I had a HUGE lead 2/3rd of all the chips), but the micro stack with < 2k chips got back to over 100k and would have taken it down had I not won a race with AKs vs 33. Anyway, even though it was only $97, I was delighted to win.
So - in 100% of FT events I either won it or went out holding or facing AA. 1000% ROI or something silly. 50% ITMF. Well, we know this cannot last but I have a clean track record on FT so I will try to keep it like that - my mission must be never to reload!
Tuesday 22 January 2008
Sunday 20 January 2008
Tournament Rollercoaster
I thought I might get a chance to report on a real "chip and a chair" story. Alas it became more on an "ashes to ashes" tale.
I was playing the "Nightly Hundred Grand" on pokerstars: $10+1 to enter. Twenty thousand runners (!). $20k first prize (pretty impressive for $11 investment). Top 3,000 places pay.
I think in this type of event, super-tight hand selection is the way to go and then you have to be prepared to go all the way with your strong hands.
So it was that I hadn't been involved in many hands, when I picked up KK in UTG+2. The player to my right limped, and I raised to 800 (blinds 100/200). Flop came out all low. He checked, and I bet 1,200. He raised all-in and I called for only 565 more.
He showed AQ with no flush draw. I was a bit surprised, but looking forward to raking in the pot when, of course, an Ace fell on the river and left me with only 220 chips. Not only that, but the blinds were up this hand to 300/600 with a 25 ante !
But, all was not lost: I had ATo in that very next hand - good enough to throw it in with. 5 people saw a cheap flop, which was 10-high. I quintupled up to 1,155.
On the next hand, I had QQ UTG but folded by mistake (oops) !!
Next hand: A2s on the big-blind. I got it all in vs TT and rivered the Ace myself this time (against that same player who cracked my Kings).
Next: AK vs AK (chop) and then AQ vs 22. From 195 chips I now had 5,596 !
I folded AJ on the big blind in the face of an all-in from mid-position and THEN I picked up AA. Before me there was a raise from a short stack and a re-raise all in from another short stack. I re-raised and us three saw the flop. The other hands were J9o and KTs. Board 56K. Still winning. Turn T (losing, but got outs). River Q - I finished in third place in the hand !
If my Aces had held up I'd have been back above average but instead, after that hit and with the blinds as they were, I soon pushed with A6 and lost to AJ to finish about 7,000th.
I guess in such a large field, even this amazing ride in the space of just 20 hands may not even be all that remarkable !
I was playing the "Nightly Hundred Grand" on pokerstars: $10+1 to enter. Twenty thousand runners (!). $20k first prize (pretty impressive for $11 investment). Top 3,000 places pay.
I think in this type of event, super-tight hand selection is the way to go and then you have to be prepared to go all the way with your strong hands.
So it was that I hadn't been involved in many hands, when I picked up KK in UTG+2. The player to my right limped, and I raised to 800 (blinds 100/200). Flop came out all low. He checked, and I bet 1,200. He raised all-in and I called for only 565 more.
He showed AQ with no flush draw. I was a bit surprised, but looking forward to raking in the pot when, of course, an Ace fell on the river and left me with only 220 chips. Not only that, but the blinds were up this hand to 300/600 with a 25 ante !
But, all was not lost: I had ATo in that very next hand - good enough to throw it in with. 5 people saw a cheap flop, which was 10-high. I quintupled up to 1,155.
On the next hand, I had QQ UTG but folded by mistake (oops) !!
Next hand: A2s on the big-blind. I got it all in vs TT and rivered the Ace myself this time (against that same player who cracked my Kings).
Next: AK vs AK (chop) and then AQ vs 22. From 195 chips I now had 5,596 !
I folded AJ on the big blind in the face of an all-in from mid-position and THEN I picked up AA. Before me there was a raise from a short stack and a re-raise all in from another short stack. I re-raised and us three saw the flop. The other hands were J9o and KTs. Board 56K. Still winning. Turn T (losing, but got outs). River Q - I finished in third place in the hand !
If my Aces had held up I'd have been back above average but instead, after that hit and with the blinds as they were, I soon pushed with A6 and lost to AJ to finish about 7,000th.
I guess in such a large field, even this amazing ride in the space of just 20 hands may not even be all that remarkable !
Sunday 13 January 2008
The sky is falling
Bit of an update on the skypoker situation. Not entirely surprisingly, in pursuit of a rapid multiple spin-up I have given back my gains. As anticipated, this is because I tried to short-cut the process. I feel highly confident that a patient approach would be a sure-fire winner.
I have discovered one new problem. Because the standard of play is so bad, one finds oneself starting to play badly oneself, especially in respect of playing poor hole cards and chasing draws.
The right approach, clearly, is to stick to patient, sound poker and then - surely - it's just a matter of time for the money to roll in. The problem with that is two-fold. Firstly, as we said, the play is really slow which makes it more difficult to be patient. Secondly, I find playing with such bad players rather corrosive so I'm not sure I really want to stick around on the site even if I'm right that it is a winning proposition.
On the other hand, as I am saying it is such easy money, I feel obliged to show a profit before moving on. I guess I'll probably settle for banking a small profit and then leave well alone.
I have discovered one new problem. Because the standard of play is so bad, one finds oneself starting to play badly oneself, especially in respect of playing poor hole cards and chasing draws.
The right approach, clearly, is to stick to patient, sound poker and then - surely - it's just a matter of time for the money to roll in. The problem with that is two-fold. Firstly, as we said, the play is really slow which makes it more difficult to be patient. Secondly, I find playing with such bad players rather corrosive so I'm not sure I really want to stick around on the site even if I'm right that it is a winning proposition.
On the other hand, as I am saying it is such easy money, I feel obliged to show a profit before moving on. I guess I'll probably settle for banking a small profit and then leave well alone.
Thursday 10 January 2008
Sky's Not The Limit
I have no intention of scouring the whole internet for the best or most interesting "deals" out there - there just is not enough time. Even as it is, I reckon I only would have time to actively play on one or two sites.
However, I was reading some really bad comments about skypoker.com. The people complaining about it were vociferous in their complaints about the terrible players and the horrendous outdraws, and so on.
Obviously this sort of moaning goes on all the time. I am a devout non-skeptic, so I don't pay the slightest attention to any claims that such-and-such a site is fixed etc. What caught my attention was that if the play was as bad as the posters said, then surely there had to be value.
So, I thought ... let's have a little look. The sign up process was very slick, I must say. The GUI itself isn't too bad either. The players on the site are absolutely horrendous like you just can't believe.
I have never really gone in for trying to select sites for their bad players, because I assumed that differences would tend to be competed away. But to say "soft as butter" would be a woeful understatement. The poker use of the term "ATM" would be aptly applied here.
I virtually tripled my buy-in in the space of an hour.
There is one big problem. The gameplay on the site is unbelievably slow. On a 6-handed NLH table, the hand rate is 8 - 10 hands per hour !! That is half the speed of a self-dealt live cash table. It is 5 - 10 times slower than I'm used to in online poker. It's a crushingly boring pace.
The fact that it is almost impossible not to make money is some considerable compensation but I'm not sure I will be able to stand playing there for long.
We'll see. One secondary problem is that now I would be terribly ashamed to lose money there. I could imagine how this would happen, though. I would notice that it's so incredibly soft that I'd want to take as much cash out as possible, as quickly as possible and start playing bigger limits to speed up the process. This is especially likely you happen because of the slow pace - it makes you want to find ways to accelerate the game.
Then, your standard poker variance can kick in and wipe me out. Of course, if we believe the detractors, then the site is bent as a coathanger and in that case I will be even more likely to go bust (cash-out curse) I can't imagine re-loading if this did happen !
I'll let you know ....
However, I was reading some really bad comments about skypoker.com. The people complaining about it were vociferous in their complaints about the terrible players and the horrendous outdraws, and so on.
Obviously this sort of moaning goes on all the time. I am a devout non-skeptic, so I don't pay the slightest attention to any claims that such-and-such a site is fixed etc. What caught my attention was that if the play was as bad as the posters said, then surely there had to be value.
So, I thought ... let's have a little look. The sign up process was very slick, I must say. The GUI itself isn't too bad either. The players on the site are absolutely horrendous like you just can't believe.
I have never really gone in for trying to select sites for their bad players, because I assumed that differences would tend to be competed away. But to say "soft as butter" would be a woeful understatement. The poker use of the term "ATM" would be aptly applied here.
I virtually tripled my buy-in in the space of an hour.
There is one big problem. The gameplay on the site is unbelievably slow. On a 6-handed NLH table, the hand rate is 8 - 10 hands per hour !! That is half the speed of a self-dealt live cash table. It is 5 - 10 times slower than I'm used to in online poker. It's a crushingly boring pace.
The fact that it is almost impossible not to make money is some considerable compensation but I'm not sure I will be able to stand playing there for long.
We'll see. One secondary problem is that now I would be terribly ashamed to lose money there. I could imagine how this would happen, though. I would notice that it's so incredibly soft that I'd want to take as much cash out as possible, as quickly as possible and start playing bigger limits to speed up the process. This is especially likely you happen because of the slow pace - it makes you want to find ways to accelerate the game.
Then, your standard poker variance can kick in and wipe me out. Of course, if we believe the detractors, then the site is bent as a coathanger and in that case I will be even more likely to go bust (cash-out curse) I can't imagine re-loading if this did happen !
I'll let you know ....
Wednesday 9 January 2008
Triple up
Well, not literally you understand, but I had the following triple whammy at the club on Wednesday night:
Firstly, I made a score in the £75 Freezeout. I finished 3rd/58 for £522 and whilst I would have preferred to come through for the outright win, I am obviously pleased to have had some pukka success there. It was really just a solid night's play - I avoided almost entirely the over-active play that usually gets me into trouble. I was lucky in the sense that I did well in the race situations, and avoided any bad beats.
It all started well in only about the 5th hand of the night. Blinds 25/50 (we started with 4,000). I was in the small blind and completed with 6h8h. The board came down Kh-7h-9c. There were three players in - one was a real maniac, then there was one straightforward player, and me. The maniac bet 500. The SP called. I have the up and down and the flush draw.
I think I could justify calling but I'm concerned someone could have a better flush draw (esp. the SP) and I don't necessarily put the maniac on any hand. I raised to 1,800. Maniac re-raised. SP reluctantly folded and I now had a decision. I called and was shown Q7 ! So I have all the 8s, Tens, 5s and hearts to win.
8 on the turn, and then a heart on the river as well. The SP actually did have a better heart draw. This doubled me up, anyway.
I was quiet after that until my next double up was with my QQ vs AK. I also won races with my KQ vs 88 and again with my 99 vs KQ. None of my races was for my tournament as I was always at the top end of chips. Once we were down to 2 tables, I was pretty cautious and so when we reacehd the final table, I had only 19,500 out of a total of 232,000.
Mind you, the chip leader had 71,000 with the next largest around 26,500 only ! So I was average of the remaining stacks.
The key hand on the final table was only the second hand. I had AsQs on the big blind. MP player raised to 6k [blinds 1k/2k no ante]. I pushed for 19,500 and he called with AhQh !!
The flop contained one heart and one spade, and then running spades doubled me up and left the other player on 6,000. He finished 9th soon afterwards. Meanwhile I moved into a clear second place.
It came to be pretty close amongst the last 4 of us. Once 4th was taken out, I lost most of my chips when pushing in the SB with 78 to be called by 66. I had one BB left (8,000) and put it in with K3 next hand. I tripled up (hit three pair). Next hand, SB pushed and I called with A3. He had Q8 and hit both.
Out in third. The remaining two did an even chop a few minutes later.
So - that was part 1 of 3 !
But I also (ii) made a few $ playing on line cash (I only played for 15 minutes or so but was practising super tight play !) and (iii) did not lose any money playing live cash. This was despite bluffing off £300 in two insane hands. Don't ask.
So, all in all I felt it was a victory for solid play although, to be fair, I don't think anyone thinks I am a rock yet !
Firstly, I made a score in the £75 Freezeout. I finished 3rd/58 for £522 and whilst I would have preferred to come through for the outright win, I am obviously pleased to have had some pukka success there. It was really just a solid night's play - I avoided almost entirely the over-active play that usually gets me into trouble. I was lucky in the sense that I did well in the race situations, and avoided any bad beats.
It all started well in only about the 5th hand of the night. Blinds 25/50 (we started with 4,000). I was in the small blind and completed with 6h8h. The board came down Kh-7h-9c. There were three players in - one was a real maniac, then there was one straightforward player, and me. The maniac bet 500. The SP called. I have the up and down and the flush draw.
I think I could justify calling but I'm concerned someone could have a better flush draw (esp. the SP) and I don't necessarily put the maniac on any hand. I raised to 1,800. Maniac re-raised. SP reluctantly folded and I now had a decision. I called and was shown Q7 ! So I have all the 8s, Tens, 5s and hearts to win.
8 on the turn, and then a heart on the river as well. The SP actually did have a better heart draw. This doubled me up, anyway.
I was quiet after that until my next double up was with my QQ vs AK. I also won races with my KQ vs 88 and again with my 99 vs KQ. None of my races was for my tournament as I was always at the top end of chips. Once we were down to 2 tables, I was pretty cautious and so when we reacehd the final table, I had only 19,500 out of a total of 232,000.
Mind you, the chip leader had 71,000 with the next largest around 26,500 only ! So I was average of the remaining stacks.
The key hand on the final table was only the second hand. I had AsQs on the big blind. MP player raised to 6k [blinds 1k/2k no ante]. I pushed for 19,500 and he called with AhQh !!
The flop contained one heart and one spade, and then running spades doubled me up and left the other player on 6,000. He finished 9th soon afterwards. Meanwhile I moved into a clear second place.
It came to be pretty close amongst the last 4 of us. Once 4th was taken out, I lost most of my chips when pushing in the SB with 78 to be called by 66. I had one BB left (8,000) and put it in with K3 next hand. I tripled up (hit three pair). Next hand, SB pushed and I called with A3. He had Q8 and hit both.
Out in third. The remaining two did an even chop a few minutes later.
So - that was part 1 of 3 !
But I also (ii) made a few $ playing on line cash (I only played for 15 minutes or so but was practising super tight play !) and (iii) did not lose any money playing live cash. This was despite bluffing off £300 in two insane hands. Don't ask.
So, all in all I felt it was a victory for solid play although, to be fair, I don't think anyone thinks I am a rock yet !
Tuesday 8 January 2008
Finally One
I was beginning to think I'd never win anything, but I did place 1st in a $60 45-seat SNG MTT on pokerstars today. Not exactly a bonanza ($767) but makes my online tournament position look a bit better. As far as the action went, I won a couple of races, and had a couple of big hands stand up in multi-way pots and avoided being unlucky. It was pretty straightforward in fact.
I like these 45-seat SNGs. They fill up very quickly (within a few minutes) and they don't take long to play (I have not timed them but it feels like only about 45mins). The only problem, I suspect, is that the standard is very high so it may be tough to beat them long-term.
Unfortunately, the live cash games have been a big hole so far. I need to fix that, most especially because I like playing live and I don't want it to be a constant losing proposition.
The main features so far have been that I lose the lot suddenly in one or two big hands. Some (not all) of those actual situations have been a bit unlucky at the individual hand level but the real underlying story is probably simpler - not playing tight enough pre-flop. The one piece of good news there (I think) is that I'm aware of the error. What is going to be more problematic is if I am unable to fix it, or if fixing it doesn't lead to better results.
I like these 45-seat SNGs. They fill up very quickly (within a few minutes) and they don't take long to play (I have not timed them but it feels like only about 45mins). The only problem, I suspect, is that the standard is very high so it may be tough to beat them long-term.
Unfortunately, the live cash games have been a big hole so far. I need to fix that, most especially because I like playing live and I don't want it to be a constant losing proposition.
The main features so far have been that I lose the lot suddenly in one or two big hands. Some (not all) of those actual situations have been a bit unlucky at the individual hand level but the real underlying story is probably simpler - not playing tight enough pre-flop. The one piece of good news there (I think) is that I'm aware of the error. What is going to be more problematic is if I am unable to fix it, or if fixing it doesn't lead to better results.
Thursday 3 January 2008
Cat O'Nines Tales
London Poker Masters 2008, £200 Freezeout 3rd January. 90 runners, and a pretty strong field at that. Obviously I was hoping to get the 2008 tournament career off to a good start.
To cut down on the suspense, I will say now that I finished 26th. Finishing at that in-between stage (where there are a lot of fallers in a short period) is always frustrating. Some will say that it's probably better to be 86th - saves time and achieves the same result.
I used to think that as well, but at the moment I'd take 26th over 86th even though it means 5 hours "wasted", because I want that experience of how to play in the critical phases.
I'd say I had about average rations from the poker gods. Nothing too dramatic, no outrageous suck-outs (for or against me). OK cards - pockets 9s was my best hand. Actually pocket 9s featured quite heavily at key points for me.
It was 6,000 chips to start - with 25/50 blinds. So, lots of play. At first, I was tempted to get involved in some marginal situations. A few mis-fired attempts saw me rather quickly drift down to 4,000. This is a known tendency of mine, and one that I need to actively guard against. Fortunately, I did stop the rot and got back up to 12,000 which was a little less than twice the average, and was obviously a good position at that time.
At that stage, I fell foul of another common flaw in my tournament game (or is it a flaw? this is an important question). I had a good lead over most of the stacks at the table, so I was in no danger of being eliminated. This was a factor in two hands that quickly saw me return to average chips.
In the first (150/300 blinds, 25 ante) I was in the big blind with 3h5h. The UTG player (pretty tight by his play so far) made a modest raise to 800. I certainly credit him with a good hand but when it is folded to me it is only 500 to call into a 1,500 pot so I do so figuring I can hit, or push this tight player off certain flops. He only has about 2,600 left but I do believe he can pass.
The flop is K-4-2, with 2 clubs.
I reckon this flop is worth a semi-bluff and I push. He insta-calls with AK, and his pair holds up.
Soon after, I have 8h9h in the small blind. There are 4 limpers to me. I call. The big blind - who has only 2,400 more -pushes. This seems to be a textbook play that could mean a hand of unlimited strength, but could easily be based almost entirely on the situation.
When it is folded to me, I am looking at calling 2,400 into a pot of 4,450. I believe his range definitely includes AK, AQ etc that I am only 2/1 behind and also small pairs where I am level. Naturally it includes 88+ as well that have me crushed, but I called pretty quickly.
"Nice Call" he says, and shows K6o. The flop was scary for him - Qh-Th-X. However, he dodges all the 8s, 9s, Jacks and hearts on the next two cards, and now I am down to about 7k.
Now I am thinking - aarrrghhh! All that hard work tripling up from 4k to 12k, and now this. I'm thinking I didn't need to even call pre-flop with either of those hands. Mind you, I do not think the play was hopeless, or definitively wrong and it is absolutely consistent with my natural style.
From here, I drifted down to not much more than 4k again when pocket 9s came to my rescue - I won a race vs AQ. I also beat 9s with my KQ in another hand.
I was on around 11k when I picked up AQ in UTG+2. Blinds 200/400 with a 50 ante. I raised to 1,800. Player to me left called, and the button called. Pot 6,500. Flop Q-9-7 of three suits. Bingo! If one of the players just made a set, c'est la vie. Otherwise, I am surely winning. I check. The first pf caller bet 4,000. Now I feel even more confident he doesn't have a set (although, I would probably bet if I had a set in his spot).
The button now dwelled for a long time. I remember thinking that if he eventually calls then I would consider that a hollywood-set is a definite possibility, but I'd still not be folding. He folded, finally. Now I only have to decide what is the best way to get all the chips in. I opted for route 1 - I raised all-in for 4,975 more.
My opponent called , verbally hoping I was on a draw. To be fair, I suspect he knew my likely holding. I was a little surprised to see only 8h9h. The other fella claimed he had folded 9dTd which was a middle pair (better kicker), with a backdoor flush and straight.
My top pair was good, and now I had over 20,000 chips and was amongst the top stacks in the tournament. I started to feel rather optimistic !
Alas, the same thing happened. Instead of moving on to build a really useful stack, I took some dents. First, I had 99 (again) in the big blind. One limper, then the short-stacked player in the small blind pushed. He had been making plenty of verbal action making out he was desperate, but to be fair he had already been seen to be talking loose, and playing tight.
Still, I was certainly not folding 99 when I had him covered 5x. I was a little worried about the other player so I just called, allowing myself to get away if there was a monster behind me. After some time, that player called as well.
Flop Q-X-X. I'm not happy about the overcard, so I check, figuring I may have to fold to a bet but hoping that he's happy to check it down. Check. Ace on the turn. Oh dear. Check/check. OK.... River is a blank.
"I missed" says the other active player - and table 8d9d ! I'm mentally scooping the 15k pot when the small blind turns up AA !!
Oh well. 16k left - about average by now.
The table breaks - we're down to about 35 players. I have a habit of often losing a chunk of chips just after a break, or just after moving tables. It may be that I selectively remember these happenings, but actually I think this is a real problem where I subconsciously feel a need to get involved at these times.
So it was that I was raising my 2nd hand at the new table with 8c8s. nb - there was some interesting pre-pre-flop action. The dealer had accidentally shown the Kh that had been dealt to the big blind. I felt this would make him marginally less keen to defend, and I raised to 2,100 from middle position. Blinds 300/600, 75 ante.
The BB called. Flop Kc-7c-3c. Checked to me. Well, now I think I am probably winning (because of the missing King, plus I have a club). I bet 3,000.
Now, the BB check-raises all-in. He has me well covered. I am kicking myself for not taking a free card. I may be winning, and if not I may have ten outs. But if he has KdQc, for example, I am in a world of pain.
To be honest, my instinct was (and often is) that he is making a move based on reading my bet as weak. But, I am not prepared to go out calling here so I meekly fold.
Now, I have only just over 10k and my promising position is no more.
I manage to stick around, keeping up with the blinds, for a period but with 26 left I was out with the following hand:
500/1000 with a 100 ante. I am the big blind with 7h5s. The UTG player limps. The small blind calls. I certainly considered pushing - I had 8,200 left and the pot is already 3,800. The UTG player has a hand, no doubt, but with only about 10k chips himself, does he really want to call off his tournament ? I decide he may well do, so I check.
Flop is 8s-7s-2c. Middle pair and some vague backdoor chances. I push. The UTG player doesn't waste much time calling with 99 (that hand again !) and although a 6 on the turn was scary for him, I was out.
This is quite an interesting hand, I suppose. 99 is very much the type of hand the limper should have - AA/KK/QQ/JJ/AK presumably raise pre-flop. 66 and below, or AT, AJ probably don't call. So I suppose I am hoping he has a hand like AQ, or KQs, JTs etc. Or, that he credits me with a big-blind kind of hand like 72 !!
When I decide to bet, I suppose I'm thinking that I don't want to see a bet and have to fold my pair when AQ bets. Once I decide to bet, I'm always pushing. Maybe, though, a check-raise is better. Perhaps a check-fold is best of all.
For sure, once I am out, I regret my haste !
How happy am I with the outcome ? Somewhat. To be in the top third of the field is probably full value for my skill relative to the field. But it did feel like a missed opportunity.
Next time ....
To cut down on the suspense, I will say now that I finished 26th. Finishing at that in-between stage (where there are a lot of fallers in a short period) is always frustrating. Some will say that it's probably better to be 86th - saves time and achieves the same result.
I used to think that as well, but at the moment I'd take 26th over 86th even though it means 5 hours "wasted", because I want that experience of how to play in the critical phases.
I'd say I had about average rations from the poker gods. Nothing too dramatic, no outrageous suck-outs (for or against me). OK cards - pockets 9s was my best hand. Actually pocket 9s featured quite heavily at key points for me.
It was 6,000 chips to start - with 25/50 blinds. So, lots of play. At first, I was tempted to get involved in some marginal situations. A few mis-fired attempts saw me rather quickly drift down to 4,000. This is a known tendency of mine, and one that I need to actively guard against. Fortunately, I did stop the rot and got back up to 12,000 which was a little less than twice the average, and was obviously a good position at that time.
At that stage, I fell foul of another common flaw in my tournament game (or is it a flaw? this is an important question). I had a good lead over most of the stacks at the table, so I was in no danger of being eliminated. This was a factor in two hands that quickly saw me return to average chips.
In the first (150/300 blinds, 25 ante) I was in the big blind with 3h5h. The UTG player (pretty tight by his play so far) made a modest raise to 800. I certainly credit him with a good hand but when it is folded to me it is only 500 to call into a 1,500 pot so I do so figuring I can hit, or push this tight player off certain flops. He only has about 2,600 left but I do believe he can pass.
The flop is K-4-2, with 2 clubs.
I reckon this flop is worth a semi-bluff and I push. He insta-calls with AK, and his pair holds up.
Soon after, I have 8h9h in the small blind. There are 4 limpers to me. I call. The big blind - who has only 2,400 more -pushes. This seems to be a textbook play that could mean a hand of unlimited strength, but could easily be based almost entirely on the situation.
When it is folded to me, I am looking at calling 2,400 into a pot of 4,450. I believe his range definitely includes AK, AQ etc that I am only 2/1 behind and also small pairs where I am level. Naturally it includes 88+ as well that have me crushed, but I called pretty quickly.
"Nice Call" he says, and shows K6o. The flop was scary for him - Qh-Th-X. However, he dodges all the 8s, 9s, Jacks and hearts on the next two cards, and now I am down to about 7k.
Now I am thinking - aarrrghhh! All that hard work tripling up from 4k to 12k, and now this. I'm thinking I didn't need to even call pre-flop with either of those hands. Mind you, I do not think the play was hopeless, or definitively wrong and it is absolutely consistent with my natural style.
From here, I drifted down to not much more than 4k again when pocket 9s came to my rescue - I won a race vs AQ. I also beat 9s with my KQ in another hand.
I was on around 11k when I picked up AQ in UTG+2. Blinds 200/400 with a 50 ante. I raised to 1,800. Player to me left called, and the button called. Pot 6,500. Flop Q-9-7 of three suits. Bingo! If one of the players just made a set, c'est la vie. Otherwise, I am surely winning. I check. The first pf caller bet 4,000. Now I feel even more confident he doesn't have a set (although, I would probably bet if I had a set in his spot).
The button now dwelled for a long time. I remember thinking that if he eventually calls then I would consider that a hollywood-set is a definite possibility, but I'd still not be folding. He folded, finally. Now I only have to decide what is the best way to get all the chips in. I opted for route 1 - I raised all-in for 4,975 more.
My opponent called , verbally hoping I was on a draw. To be fair, I suspect he knew my likely holding. I was a little surprised to see only 8h9h. The other fella claimed he had folded 9dTd which was a middle pair (better kicker), with a backdoor flush and straight.
My top pair was good, and now I had over 20,000 chips and was amongst the top stacks in the tournament. I started to feel rather optimistic !
Alas, the same thing happened. Instead of moving on to build a really useful stack, I took some dents. First, I had 99 (again) in the big blind. One limper, then the short-stacked player in the small blind pushed. He had been making plenty of verbal action making out he was desperate, but to be fair he had already been seen to be talking loose, and playing tight.
Still, I was certainly not folding 99 when I had him covered 5x. I was a little worried about the other player so I just called, allowing myself to get away if there was a monster behind me. After some time, that player called as well.
Flop Q-X-X. I'm not happy about the overcard, so I check, figuring I may have to fold to a bet but hoping that he's happy to check it down. Check. Ace on the turn. Oh dear. Check/check. OK.... River is a blank.
"I missed" says the other active player - and table 8d9d ! I'm mentally scooping the 15k pot when the small blind turns up AA !!
Oh well. 16k left - about average by now.
The table breaks - we're down to about 35 players. I have a habit of often losing a chunk of chips just after a break, or just after moving tables. It may be that I selectively remember these happenings, but actually I think this is a real problem where I subconsciously feel a need to get involved at these times.
So it was that I was raising my 2nd hand at the new table with 8c8s. nb - there was some interesting pre-pre-flop action. The dealer had accidentally shown the Kh that had been dealt to the big blind. I felt this would make him marginally less keen to defend, and I raised to 2,100 from middle position. Blinds 300/600, 75 ante.
The BB called. Flop Kc-7c-3c. Checked to me. Well, now I think I am probably winning (because of the missing King, plus I have a club). I bet 3,000.
Now, the BB check-raises all-in. He has me well covered. I am kicking myself for not taking a free card. I may be winning, and if not I may have ten outs. But if he has KdQc, for example, I am in a world of pain.
To be honest, my instinct was (and often is) that he is making a move based on reading my bet as weak. But, I am not prepared to go out calling here so I meekly fold.
Now, I have only just over 10k and my promising position is no more.
I manage to stick around, keeping up with the blinds, for a period but with 26 left I was out with the following hand:
500/1000 with a 100 ante. I am the big blind with 7h5s. The UTG player limps. The small blind calls. I certainly considered pushing - I had 8,200 left and the pot is already 3,800. The UTG player has a hand, no doubt, but with only about 10k chips himself, does he really want to call off his tournament ? I decide he may well do, so I check.
Flop is 8s-7s-2c. Middle pair and some vague backdoor chances. I push. The UTG player doesn't waste much time calling with 99 (that hand again !) and although a 6 on the turn was scary for him, I was out.
This is quite an interesting hand, I suppose. 99 is very much the type of hand the limper should have - AA/KK/QQ/JJ/AK presumably raise pre-flop. 66 and below, or AT, AJ probably don't call. So I suppose I am hoping he has a hand like AQ, or KQs, JTs etc. Or, that he credits me with a big-blind kind of hand like 72 !!
When I decide to bet, I suppose I'm thinking that I don't want to see a bet and have to fold my pair when AQ bets. Once I decide to bet, I'm always pushing. Maybe, though, a check-raise is better. Perhaps a check-fold is best of all.
For sure, once I am out, I regret my haste !
How happy am I with the outcome ? Somewhat. To be in the top third of the field is probably full value for my skill relative to the field. But it did feel like a missed opportunity.
Next time ....
Wednesday 2 January 2008
New Year, Old Mistakes
It's the London Poker Masters at the Gutshot this week. The £500 main event is at the weekend, but I can't really play then. Instead, I will probably play the £200 NLH event on Thursday.
Today, as a warm up, I played some cash PLH. Unfortunately, it went by the usual pattern. I thought I played OK - admittedly very loose pre-flop - and was up significantly.
I was really trying to tighten up at that stage to bank an elusive winning session, but then 2 hands finished me off. In the first, I had 67o. I had posted the £5 straddle and nearly everyone called. I checked my option, and the flop came 772. Checked around. Turn J. I bet just £5. There was a raise, then a re-raise, and now I bet the pot (£189). Called all-in. The caller has 72 !!
Then, a short while later, I called a £7 pre-flop bet with 3s5s. Flop 235 with 2 clubs. It all went in and I was shown a set of 2s.
Up, to down&out in the space of 30 minutes. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid this year. I can't really say that I shouldn't have been in those pots in the first place because it was hands like 62o, 98s etc that produced my win to begin with. It's true that in both losing pots, I faced a big re-raise and perhaps I should lay down but if you are going to play 76 or 53 then can you really lay down when you hit trips, or 2 pair ?
So:
a) unlucky ?
b) what do you expect if you play those hands ?
c) respect the re-raise ?
To do better next time, what can I do ? I really can't see myself tightening up too much pre-flop. At live cardroom hand-rates, you just don't see the really premium hands often enough. I suppose I will have to see if I can control the pot size a bit better post-flop so I don't go broke in those situations.
Today, as a warm up, I played some cash PLH. Unfortunately, it went by the usual pattern. I thought I played OK - admittedly very loose pre-flop - and was up significantly.
I was really trying to tighten up at that stage to bank an elusive winning session, but then 2 hands finished me off. In the first, I had 67o. I had posted the £5 straddle and nearly everyone called. I checked my option, and the flop came 772. Checked around. Turn J. I bet just £5. There was a raise, then a re-raise, and now I bet the pot (£189). Called all-in. The caller has 72 !!
Then, a short while later, I called a £7 pre-flop bet with 3s5s. Flop 235 with 2 clubs. It all went in and I was shown a set of 2s.
Up, to down&out in the space of 30 minutes. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid this year. I can't really say that I shouldn't have been in those pots in the first place because it was hands like 62o, 98s etc that produced my win to begin with. It's true that in both losing pots, I faced a big re-raise and perhaps I should lay down but if you are going to play 76 or 53 then can you really lay down when you hit trips, or 2 pair ?
So:
a) unlucky ?
b) what do you expect if you play those hands ?
c) respect the re-raise ?
To do better next time, what can I do ? I really can't see myself tightening up too much pre-flop. At live cardroom hand-rates, you just don't see the really premium hands often enough. I suppose I will have to see if I can control the pot size a bit better post-flop so I don't go broke in those situations.
Tuesday 1 January 2008
End of pattern
$11 Pokerstars MTT. Was rather short-stacked after getting too involved with AQs and laying it down. Pushed on the hijack with 97 and was called by Q7 !! Actually, I did hit a 9 but not before he hit a Queen to really make sure.
A pattern ?
Played in a $22 Pokerstars MTT (2,110 runners). Was out fairly early in 1,371st when slow-playing KK. I limped in early position, there was a raise (good ...), and when this was folded round to me I felt is was OK to just call heads-up. Flop came Q87. It all went in on the flop and he had Q8o.
Oh dear. I am not unhappy with the play though. I was somewhat short-stacked so I felt a need to double up. If there was one more caller pre-flop I would have re-raised.
Right, so far I have exited with AA and KK ....
Oh dear. I am not unhappy with the play though. I was somewhat short-stacked so I felt a need to double up. If there was one more caller pre-flop I would have re-raised.
Right, so far I have exited with AA and KK ....
Omens
So, it's the 1st of January. I feel I ought to play something but I don't want to get too heavily committed time-wise. So, I sign up for a 50-seat speed MTT SnG on Party, $3 entry.
First hand I get dealt AA !! The karma is incredible.
Four limpers to me (20/40 blinds). I make it 240, get two callers.
Flop 789 with 2 hearts. The Small Blind pushes all-in. I simply cannot bring myself to fold.
He has 78 of spades and his 2-pair holds up !
First hand I get dealt AA !! The karma is incredible.
Four limpers to me (20/40 blinds). I make it 240, get two callers.
Flop 789 with 2 hearts. The Small Blind pushes all-in. I simply cannot bring myself to fold.
He has 78 of spades and his 2-pair holds up !
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