The Sunday Million last night was a $1,050 buy-in, certainly too much for the direct approach.
I have, in fact, never managed to qualify via a satellite despite coming close on several occasions but it still seems like a good idea to try, and I decided to have a crack at three different routes.
One was my favoured double-shootout: 6 tables of 6 with the winners of each table forming a final table of 6 - winner takes all. ($33 buyin - usually it is $8.8 for the $215 buyin events)
Another was a variation thereof: the TRIPLE shootout - same idea but 216 tables to start with and three tables to win. The flipside was, only $5.50 to enter (fantastic leverage if you do it).
Lastly, a classic satellite: 234 runners by the time it kicked off. 4 to qualify. Free to enter (1,000 frequent player points).
I played these simultaneously which was quite hectic whilst I was still in all three - which turned out to be much longer than I expected - well over an hour.
The FPP satellite was actually very well structured - long blind levels and 10-handed, so quite a steady standard of play. The DS and TS were turbo 6-seaters, but still being taken quite seriously by the players.
I was allowed by the poker gods to appear to be in with a chance. In the FPP sat, I played very tight and was on average chips with 2/3 of the field gone. In the the DS and TS I got to heads-up on the first table - so looking to close it out and move on.
In the TS, I thought I was there when I had 80% of the chips and got him all in with 65o to my AQs, especially when I hit the Ace on the flop. However, runner-runner straight got him out of jail. Next hand, I flopped trip-Aces, only for him to recover with running hearts for an 8-high flush. However, I did eventually succeed there.
In the DS the heads-up battle was also drawn out but I eventually was seen off.
Meanwhile, in the TS, I was out early on Table 2: my AK vs QQ.
And, finally, with just the FPP sat left, I was getting a little short and got it in with 66 vs QQ.
So 0/3. Try again next week.
Monday 31 March 2008
Friday 28 March 2008
Opportunity Knocked
Decided to have another go at the $25 rebuy on gutshot.com. After the rebuy period, during which I really played very badly, I was as usual on a bit less than average chips. Really, I think the best way to play this part of the tourney is to play premium hands only. If you get those hands and multi-up, great. If not, take the rebuy and add-on and you're in OK shape anyway.
But, I rarely do as I say. So, same result, but more money invested.
OK - into the freezeout - whole different story.
Took a few chances early on and got away with it, and after finding AA vs an A8 push and AQ v an AT push, I was on 34k (20th place). Now I found AcJc in the small blind and was involved in a weird hand with the BB. I raised to 2,900 (500/1,000/75). He called. Flop QcJd8c. I bet 2,400 which he called. Turn Kd. I checked. Now he bet 5k or so and I called (possibly a bad call). River a blank. I checked, and faced an 11k bet. I called, expecting to lose tbh, but he showed A8. Result ! Up to 56k and 6th place.
Alas, I really squandered this good fortune. Simply, I put my chips in jeopardy in some marginal spots and got punished.
My last hand was pretty bad as well. I started with 21k chips and found 77 in mid/early position and decided to raise to 4,200. The correct move was probably to fold. Now the button (short-stack - pushed for 9,900 total. The small blind (twice my stack) just called. I figured that with a strong hand, the SB would push and so reckoned I could get heads-up with the short-stack with all the dead money in the pot.
So, I pushed and was not happy to get a call !
I was facing TT and JJ which was much worse than I feared, and I did not suck out.
So from 6th (actually 5th was my best) to out in 15minutes and really a big waste. I felt that the other day I played really quite well (until near the end) whereas here I lost my way earlier and was out 82/478 - 45 paid.
Still, lessons learned I suppose.
But, I rarely do as I say. So, same result, but more money invested.
OK - into the freezeout - whole different story.
Took a few chances early on and got away with it, and after finding AA vs an A8 push and AQ v an AT push, I was on 34k (20th place). Now I found AcJc in the small blind and was involved in a weird hand with the BB. I raised to 2,900 (500/1,000/75). He called. Flop QcJd8c. I bet 2,400 which he called. Turn Kd. I checked. Now he bet 5k or so and I called (possibly a bad call). River a blank. I checked, and faced an 11k bet. I called, expecting to lose tbh, but he showed A8. Result ! Up to 56k and 6th place.
Alas, I really squandered this good fortune. Simply, I put my chips in jeopardy in some marginal spots and got punished.
My last hand was pretty bad as well. I started with 21k chips and found 77 in mid/early position and decided to raise to 4,200. The correct move was probably to fold. Now the button (short-stack - pushed for 9,900 total. The small blind (twice my stack) just called. I figured that with a strong hand, the SB would push and so reckoned I could get heads-up with the short-stack with all the dead money in the pot.
So, I pushed and was not happy to get a call !
I was facing TT and JJ which was much worse than I feared, and I did not suck out.
So from 6th (actually 5th was my best) to out in 15minutes and really a big waste. I felt that the other day I played really quite well (until near the end) whereas here I lost my way earlier and was out 82/478 - 45 paid.
Still, lessons learned I suppose.
Thursday 27 March 2008
Result, NOT !
Travelled into London to play at the club. I didn't set off till about 9pm and the journey was going OK until I came upon the Highbury area just after 10pm. As far as I could tell, a Brazil vs Sweden friendly at the Emirates stadium had just finished and it was chaos. That delayed me by about 30 mins but, in fact, the Omaha game hadn't started anyway when I arrived at 10:30 or so.
I was really hoping for a good result. Perhaps just feeling the need for a result was in itself a bad mental state to be in. Certainly I wasn't playing my favourite free-wheeling aggressive style. It worked out in the end to be a pretty expensive session but I did not feel I played particularly badly.
I didn't feel I was outrageously unlucky either, but it's true that I lost several big pots that were quite even in odds. On another night, perhaps I may have won those and gone on to greater things.
I had bought in for a total of £500 and pulled up another £500 when that was exhausted. I had played the first £500 in smaller pieces but I decided to play the second £500 as a single buy-in. Mentally I was looking to get a double up, and it was that attitude which cost me on the last hand I played. It was definitely a hand I played in a gambling style.
I had AdKdTs7h and just called the £2 blind pre-flop. the flop was Qd9h8d putting a straight on board if anyone started with JT. I had the nut flush draw, two overcards and a up&down straight draw as well as backdoor high-end straights. I had plenty of that flop I felt.
I checked, looking to check-raise. A loose player on my left bet most of the pot, called in one spot, and now I re-raised the pot, called by the loose player. I think a straight is a real possibility but so is a set and in fact with this player certain weaker holdings as well.
Unfortunately, the turn was a blank. I checked, and now he bet the pot. It seems pretty likely he has the straight, but with a draw to the nuts and the prospect of doubling up, I decide to stick it all in now. He calls and has the straight with no back-up. The river was an Ace, so no flush and no split.
I reluctantly stuck to my 2-buy in rule, and called it a night.
I suspect I will lay off the Omaha for a while. My Omaha game is weaker than my Hold'em and it's also probably the case that the Omaha game is tougher as well.
In fact, last night there was a juicy £2/5 NLH game at the club that I probably should have played instead.
I was really hoping for a good result. Perhaps just feeling the need for a result was in itself a bad mental state to be in. Certainly I wasn't playing my favourite free-wheeling aggressive style. It worked out in the end to be a pretty expensive session but I did not feel I played particularly badly.
I didn't feel I was outrageously unlucky either, but it's true that I lost several big pots that were quite even in odds. On another night, perhaps I may have won those and gone on to greater things.
I had bought in for a total of £500 and pulled up another £500 when that was exhausted. I had played the first £500 in smaller pieces but I decided to play the second £500 as a single buy-in. Mentally I was looking to get a double up, and it was that attitude which cost me on the last hand I played. It was definitely a hand I played in a gambling style.
I had AdKdTs7h and just called the £2 blind pre-flop. the flop was Qd9h8d putting a straight on board if anyone started with JT. I had the nut flush draw, two overcards and a up&down straight draw as well as backdoor high-end straights. I had plenty of that flop I felt.
I checked, looking to check-raise. A loose player on my left bet most of the pot, called in one spot, and now I re-raised the pot, called by the loose player. I think a straight is a real possibility but so is a set and in fact with this player certain weaker holdings as well.
Unfortunately, the turn was a blank. I checked, and now he bet the pot. It seems pretty likely he has the straight, but with a draw to the nuts and the prospect of doubling up, I decide to stick it all in now. He calls and has the straight with no back-up. The river was an Ace, so no flush and no split.
I reluctantly stuck to my 2-buy in rule, and called it a night.
I suspect I will lay off the Omaha for a while. My Omaha game is weaker than my Hold'em and it's also probably the case that the Omaha game is tougher as well.
In fact, last night there was a juicy £2/5 NLH game at the club that I probably should have played instead.
Wednesday 26 March 2008
Withdrawal Symptoms
I have never actually tried to cash out from my gutshot account before (can anyone guess why?)
So, in light of last night's win and in anticipation of needing to do so in the future, I actually withdrew some dollars to test it out - and it worked !
Obviously it should work, but it can prove tricky to get money off online gaming venues. I found this out recently when I deposited $500 at partypoker. Not to play poker, in fact, but as a stake to use in their casino as part of an experiment Jim wanted to try out.
So, we did that, then I wanted to take the money back off to use it elsewhere. Party rejected my request saying that it wasn't the purpose of the online cashier function to transfer money in and out and that I had not clocked up enough "play" to validate my request.
I queried this - saying that fairly self-evidently that WAS the purpose of the cashier and that clearly I should be able to withdraw MY money - especially money that I had not even won.
To be fair, they did then allow the transfer, and urged me to understand that they policy was to protect one and all. I suppose it is to do with anti-money laundering measures, although withdrawing my own money back to where it came from wouldn't be a very effective laundering technique anyway.
Anyway, I have put in a request to increase my withdrawal limits in the hope I shall need them ....
So, in light of last night's win and in anticipation of needing to do so in the future, I actually withdrew some dollars to test it out - and it worked !
Obviously it should work, but it can prove tricky to get money off online gaming venues. I found this out recently when I deposited $500 at partypoker. Not to play poker, in fact, but as a stake to use in their casino as part of an experiment Jim wanted to try out.
So, we did that, then I wanted to take the money back off to use it elsewhere. Party rejected my request saying that it wasn't the purpose of the online cashier function to transfer money in and out and that I had not clocked up enough "play" to validate my request.
I queried this - saying that fairly self-evidently that WAS the purpose of the cashier and that clearly I should be able to withdraw MY money - especially money that I had not even won.
To be fair, they did then allow the transfer, and urged me to understand that they policy was to protect one and all. I suppose it is to do with anti-money laundering measures, although withdrawing my own money back to where it came from wouldn't be a very effective laundering technique anyway.
Anyway, I have put in a request to increase my withdrawal limits in the hope I shall need them ....
Result !
Although I am clearly now on "official" poker retirement and should therefore be increasingly serious and scientific in my approach, I still have to admit to a certain amount of laziness. One excuse I can offer for this is that I have yet to buy my new PC and/or laptop. As a result, I have not yet installed the appropriate tracking software and therefore I'm not really in a position to do really thorough analysis.
It's not a high-quality excuse, to be sure, but that's how it is. The upshot is that I find myself getting involved in a few low-stakes cash games and a few small-buy in tourneys somewhat at random. No particular stories to relate.
Until last night.
I signed up for the $25 rebuy on gutshot.com and started playing it (7:30pm) whilst helping Matt with his revision. So it is fair to say I was not paying full attention. However, I was on average chips at the start of the freezeout period, and was now able to concentrate on the game.
I stayed between average and 50% of average for a long period and eventually the bubble approached. I really wanted to cash in the event, so I pretty much folded my way into the money at this stage (including folding AQ-suited on the button - at that time there were 56 players left, with 54 to pay).
However, as soon as the bubble burst, there was a clear loosening up all around and I made a very conscious decision to try to move up the leaderboard or bust out.
I called a button push with KQ-suited in the BB. Button had A3 of the same suit, and a Queen on the river saw me double up. 2 hands later, I raised on the button with KJo and called a push from the BB. His Tens failed to stand up as three more Kings came on the board.
This put me 4th in chips and I now became very active. I moved into the chip lead when, with KQ, I raised pre (1 caller). Flop JJQ. Check/Check. Turn 6. Check/Check. River Jack. Unlikely he has a Jack or a higher pair, but not wanting to see him check behind, I bet 15k. He raised to 27k and I called. My Jacks full was easily beating his A3-offsuit.
I moved upwards in chips fairly steadily until with 16 left I had more than 700k (more than twice the chips of second place).
I continued to be very aggressive but I did make the mistake of calling some re-raises when I was likely to be well behind (and was). In this way I ran A9 in to TT, AT into AA etc. Still, I was 2nd in chips when the final table formed (about 5 hours in).
The money really started to kick in at 9th and better. I finally busted (my KT vs his J9, making a 9high straight) in 5th for $2,015 which was a decent result overall. Having said that, I was disappointed at not making the most of my big chip lead. Of course, towards the end, the blinds were massive: 20k/40k with a 3k ante. So, perhaps I may not have been able to convert the victory even without making the mistake of calling re-raises preflop in marginal situations.
I believe this particular tournament runs every day at 7:30 so I may try to play it a few times and see if I can replicate or improve on this result.
It's not a high-quality excuse, to be sure, but that's how it is. The upshot is that I find myself getting involved in a few low-stakes cash games and a few small-buy in tourneys somewhat at random. No particular stories to relate.
Until last night.
I signed up for the $25 rebuy on gutshot.com and started playing it (7:30pm) whilst helping Matt with his revision. So it is fair to say I was not paying full attention. However, I was on average chips at the start of the freezeout period, and was now able to concentrate on the game.
I stayed between average and 50% of average for a long period and eventually the bubble approached. I really wanted to cash in the event, so I pretty much folded my way into the money at this stage (including folding AQ-suited on the button - at that time there were 56 players left, with 54 to pay).
However, as soon as the bubble burst, there was a clear loosening up all around and I made a very conscious decision to try to move up the leaderboard or bust out.
I called a button push with KQ-suited in the BB. Button had A3 of the same suit, and a Queen on the river saw me double up. 2 hands later, I raised on the button with KJo and called a push from the BB. His Tens failed to stand up as three more Kings came on the board.
This put me 4th in chips and I now became very active. I moved into the chip lead when, with KQ, I raised pre (1 caller). Flop JJQ. Check/Check. Turn 6. Check/Check. River Jack. Unlikely he has a Jack or a higher pair, but not wanting to see him check behind, I bet 15k. He raised to 27k and I called. My Jacks full was easily beating his A3-offsuit.
I moved upwards in chips fairly steadily until with 16 left I had more than 700k (more than twice the chips of second place).
I continued to be very aggressive but I did make the mistake of calling some re-raises when I was likely to be well behind (and was). In this way I ran A9 in to TT, AT into AA etc. Still, I was 2nd in chips when the final table formed (about 5 hours in).
The money really started to kick in at 9th and better. I finally busted (my KT vs his J9, making a 9high straight) in 5th for $2,015 which was a decent result overall. Having said that, I was disappointed at not making the most of my big chip lead. Of course, towards the end, the blinds were massive: 20k/40k with a 3k ante. So, perhaps I may not have been able to convert the victory even without making the mistake of calling re-raises preflop in marginal situations.
I believe this particular tournament runs every day at 7:30 so I may try to play it a few times and see if I can replicate or improve on this result.
Thursday 20 March 2008
Short Story
Omaha Wednesday yesterday. Played a little Hold'em earlier on and won enough to pay for my entry into the £75 freezeout. Lasted less than one orbit - on the button with Q8 and called a pot-sized raise by the big blind. Flopped middle pair and a Queen-high flush draw on the all spade K83 board. Checked to me (3 players saw the flop). I bet the pot, big blind folded and now the other player raised all-in and I called. He had black 9s and his hand held up.
So on to the Omaha. To keep a short story short, I started a loser and kept losing. Not good ! A bad week of cash results in fact.
So on to the Omaha. To keep a short story short, I started a loser and kept losing. Not good ! A bad week of cash results in fact.
Tuesday 18 March 2008
2's Company
Firstly a quick update on the forum league: after a St. Patrick's day Stella or four, I played the forum MTT on Monday night and finished 5th - once again I managed to hit the chip lead at the final table stage but let that slip somehow. Still, I remain in first place for the month and year overall.
On Tuesday, I decided to take a trip to the Vic to play some £1/3 NLH cash. I didn't use the sat-nav this time so the journey was more tolerable. One thing that always strikes me about that place is how quiet it is. Not to say it was empty (there were six or seven tables running), but that literally the noise levels seemed really low. Maybe it's the acoustics.
Anyway, bought in for £300 and in due course lost that in unspectacular fashion. Undoubtedly seeing too many flops. The game this time was certainly not as soft as my previous two visits but I nevertheless pulled up again for a second £300. Quite a volatile period followed and I fluctuated between £200 and £500 mostly until this hand ...
I had about £450 at the start of the hand and picked up Td9d on the button. It was raised to £10 with a couple of callers to me. I called and the blinds called.
Flop Th4d2c. It was checked to me and I bet £50. I thought everyone had folded, and went to muck my hand but the dealer pointed out that the big-blind (a very loose player) had called.
OK. Turn 2d. Now I have a flush draw as well as top pair. Checked to me, and I bet £100 which is called.
River 2s.
Suddenly, the big blind insta-pushes for £600. Since I only have about £300 left, that is really the size of the bet and it's about the size of the pot also.
Oh dear. I have a full house, of course, but I am beaten if he has a Two or if he has been slow-playing a bigger pair.
My instinct says that he may well have the Two. Overbets on the river often are the nuts. Except when they are bluffs of course ... I have been bluffed off the river a couple or more times already today.
He can't have JJ+ surely ? He surely would have raised pre-flop or earlier in the action. But can he have a two ? In the end, it is too tempting to see what he has and hope he's bluffing.
Of course he had 2h3d .... which is good for the £900+ pot and wipes me out.
I rarely carry on after losing 2 buy-ins which is a good rule for avoiding really big losses but it does seem to mean that I often just play till I'm bust.
This was quite an interesting pot, really. Should I have folded on the river ? Should I have kept the pot smaller earlier ? Surely I have to bet Top Pair on the flop ? On the turn, maybe I can check because I have a flush draw myself ? Then on the river I can easily folded if he bets £400 or call a smaller bet.
In a number of pots on the night where I felt I was outplayed, I was out of position. Here, I was in position but maybe did not take sufficient advantage ? Thing is, this player was so loose that I could imagine him paying me off on flop and turn with a pair of fours, say. On the river though ? Of course, he was so loose that I thought he could easily be bluffing which is the power of that style I suppose.
Hmm.... Omaha Wednesday tonight .... must do better !
On Tuesday, I decided to take a trip to the Vic to play some £1/3 NLH cash. I didn't use the sat-nav this time so the journey was more tolerable. One thing that always strikes me about that place is how quiet it is. Not to say it was empty (there were six or seven tables running), but that literally the noise levels seemed really low. Maybe it's the acoustics.
Anyway, bought in for £300 and in due course lost that in unspectacular fashion. Undoubtedly seeing too many flops. The game this time was certainly not as soft as my previous two visits but I nevertheless pulled up again for a second £300. Quite a volatile period followed and I fluctuated between £200 and £500 mostly until this hand ...
I had about £450 at the start of the hand and picked up Td9d on the button. It was raised to £10 with a couple of callers to me. I called and the blinds called.
Flop Th4d2c. It was checked to me and I bet £50. I thought everyone had folded, and went to muck my hand but the dealer pointed out that the big-blind (a very loose player) had called.
OK. Turn 2d. Now I have a flush draw as well as top pair. Checked to me, and I bet £100 which is called.
River 2s.
Suddenly, the big blind insta-pushes for £600. Since I only have about £300 left, that is really the size of the bet and it's about the size of the pot also.
Oh dear. I have a full house, of course, but I am beaten if he has a Two or if he has been slow-playing a bigger pair.
My instinct says that he may well have the Two. Overbets on the river often are the nuts. Except when they are bluffs of course ... I have been bluffed off the river a couple or more times already today.
He can't have JJ+ surely ? He surely would have raised pre-flop or earlier in the action. But can he have a two ? In the end, it is too tempting to see what he has and hope he's bluffing.
Of course he had 2h3d .... which is good for the £900+ pot and wipes me out.
I rarely carry on after losing 2 buy-ins which is a good rule for avoiding really big losses but it does seem to mean that I often just play till I'm bust.
This was quite an interesting pot, really. Should I have folded on the river ? Should I have kept the pot smaller earlier ? Surely I have to bet Top Pair on the flop ? On the turn, maybe I can check because I have a flush draw myself ? Then on the river I can easily folded if he bets £400 or call a smaller bet.
In a number of pots on the night where I felt I was outplayed, I was out of position. Here, I was in position but maybe did not take sufficient advantage ? Thing is, this player was so loose that I could imagine him paying me off on flop and turn with a pair of fours, say. On the river though ? Of course, he was so loose that I thought he could easily be bluffing which is the power of that style I suppose.
Hmm.... Omaha Wednesday tonight .... must do better !
Tuesday 11 March 2008
Deep Frustration
More on the constant tribulations of tournament play.
The rewards for winning a large-field MTT are undoubtedly substantial, especially online (where there can be thousands of entries). Unfortunately, the payoff structure is highly weighted to the top few places. The result is that one can place high in the field for scant return.
Still worse is to play for hours and fall short of the money altogether, but in monetary terms there is little to choose between just in vs. just out of the money.
The biggest payouts are, certainly, in events like the pokerstars Sunday Million, but even low buy-in MTTs yield large prizes in some cases.
Last night, for example, I was online for the gutshot forum league MTT. Now, that is not about the money. nb - I won it again. It's hard to explain how it is that I have such a strong record in this competition: 5 tourneys so far of which I have won 2, and placed 2nd and 3rd.
Anyway, as I was online, I had a look to see if there were an MTT that I should play simultaneously. There was nothing really suitable, but there was a $5 rebuy on stars due to begin later on during the forum comp. So, I registered, and virtually forgot about it.
When the start time came around, up popped the table and I " sat out" to concentrate on winning the forum event. When I had done that, I wondered whether to even bother with the $5 rebuy. But, I made some good headway in the rebuy period, without ever needing to rebuy, and was in the top 200 at the break.
I carried on, and played aggressively (figuring on a few key occasions that it was pointless just limping along so if it came to a probable race, I raced). It was one of those nights when out of 6 races (of the AK vs TT variety) I won 5 and kept moving up.
Eventually, I was in the money (504 places out of 2,630 to pay). Still, with the bottom rung of the money being about $35, this was largely symbolic. The top end was far from notional, though. $8k for first.
I had advanced to 15th/100 or so when I made a horrible bluff with King-high on the river against a strong player who had shown strength on every street. This pushed me way back down to < 50% of average chips after having been at 2 - 3x average for hours.
However, with the aid of some bold moves and some more race-winning, I eventually peaked at 7/58 and started to really think I could make the final table.
Sadly, I let my guard down and also LOST some key races. Actually, first I lost a couple of races, then I tried to force the action and lost more chips. Ironically, in between hands where I played some big pots (winning some, to be sure) with marginal hands, I also picked up KK UTG twice and each time the whole field folded to a single raise.
In any case, I was down to 225,000 chips which was about 60% of average when the chipleader was moved to our table on the cut-off. Blinds 6k/12k with a 300 ante. He raised to 48,000. I pushed from the SB with JT and he called with QT, which held.
6-hours for a top 2% finish and a 600% ROI, but at the end of the day it was a win of only $75 which is an average sized pot at a $1/2 game.
I'm pleased to have got this deep, but the fact is I need to go on to the top places to make it worthwhile. I certainly learnt from the tournament, and it's certainly a reminder (if any were needed) that 100% concentration and 0% mistakes are the magic mixture. You need luck as well, of course. One can always be luckier, but I have no complaints on that score.
The rewards for winning a large-field MTT are undoubtedly substantial, especially online (where there can be thousands of entries). Unfortunately, the payoff structure is highly weighted to the top few places. The result is that one can place high in the field for scant return.
Still worse is to play for hours and fall short of the money altogether, but in monetary terms there is little to choose between just in vs. just out of the money.
The biggest payouts are, certainly, in events like the pokerstars Sunday Million, but even low buy-in MTTs yield large prizes in some cases.
Last night, for example, I was online for the gutshot forum league MTT. Now, that is not about the money. nb - I won it again. It's hard to explain how it is that I have such a strong record in this competition: 5 tourneys so far of which I have won 2, and placed 2nd and 3rd.
Anyway, as I was online, I had a look to see if there were an MTT that I should play simultaneously. There was nothing really suitable, but there was a $5 rebuy on stars due to begin later on during the forum comp. So, I registered, and virtually forgot about it.
When the start time came around, up popped the table and I " sat out" to concentrate on winning the forum event. When I had done that, I wondered whether to even bother with the $5 rebuy. But, I made some good headway in the rebuy period, without ever needing to rebuy, and was in the top 200 at the break.
I carried on, and played aggressively (figuring on a few key occasions that it was pointless just limping along so if it came to a probable race, I raced). It was one of those nights when out of 6 races (of the AK vs TT variety) I won 5 and kept moving up.
Eventually, I was in the money (504 places out of 2,630 to pay). Still, with the bottom rung of the money being about $35, this was largely symbolic. The top end was far from notional, though. $8k for first.
I had advanced to 15th/100 or so when I made a horrible bluff with King-high on the river against a strong player who had shown strength on every street. This pushed me way back down to < 50% of average chips after having been at 2 - 3x average for hours.
However, with the aid of some bold moves and some more race-winning, I eventually peaked at 7/58 and started to really think I could make the final table.
Sadly, I let my guard down and also LOST some key races. Actually, first I lost a couple of races, then I tried to force the action and lost more chips. Ironically, in between hands where I played some big pots (winning some, to be sure) with marginal hands, I also picked up KK UTG twice and each time the whole field folded to a single raise.
In any case, I was down to 225,000 chips which was about 60% of average when the chipleader was moved to our table on the cut-off. Blinds 6k/12k with a 300 ante. He raised to 48,000. I pushed from the SB with JT and he called with QT, which held.
6-hours for a top 2% finish and a 600% ROI, but at the end of the day it was a win of only $75 which is an average sized pot at a $1/2 game.
I'm pleased to have got this deep, but the fact is I need to go on to the top places to make it worthwhile. I certainly learnt from the tournament, and it's certainly a reminder (if any were needed) that 100% concentration and 0% mistakes are the magic mixture. You need luck as well, of course. One can always be luckier, but I have no complaints on that score.
Monday 10 March 2008
Sunday Million
The pokerstars Sunday Million is an iconic tournament on the weekly internet calendar of events. As the names suggests, the prize pool is guaranteed to meet or exeed $1Million. Sadly it does not guarantee that the winner takes down a $1Million prize, but it does tend to be north of $200k. The tournament is famous for very large fields and long running times
I think the best value way to participate is to satellite in (good value) but last night I decided to buy in directly and give it a spin. $215 entry (some weeks it is more) didn't feel too bad after stumping up £1,060 at the GUKPT
7,349 entries. 1,080 places to pay. I can't remember what my previous best performance is, but this time I got off to a relatively good start early on I picked up KK and made a standard raise pre-flop, which was called.
The flop was KKT !! I checked to allow the other player to catch up, and I made a small bet when the turn put a flush draw on board (hoping he has the draw, or puts me on a draw). The river put a straight on board, and my opponent bet $1,000 which I raised to $3,000 (wondering how much he would call).
He actually did have the straight and called, so perhaps he can call more, although it was the low end. Mind you, since he called a pref-flop raise o.o.p. with J8, maybe he would call an all-in ! Who knows.
I wasn't playing many hands. I had JJ hold up against AQ-suited (a Queen flopped but I made a straight). I lost with KQ vs AK but then had my AK overtake KK (flush). I ran QT (top pair) into AA (which didn't raise preflop) but then doubled up with 99 vs A5 (???).
I was eventually out in 1,771st after about 3 hours. I am not sure how much longer it takes to get into the low end of the money. Top 25% of the field doesn't seem too bad but no return of course.
My exit hand was KT-suited. A short stack in mid-position min-raised. I thought his range can easily include under-pairs and so I called on the button. The big-stack on the SB now raised which I felt could be a move, so I re-raised all in figuring that he needs a big hand to call 1/3 of his stack.
He had QQ ....
I think the best value way to participate is to satellite in (good value) but last night I decided to buy in directly and give it a spin. $215 entry (some weeks it is more) didn't feel too bad after stumping up £1,060 at the GUKPT
7,349 entries. 1,080 places to pay. I can't remember what my previous best performance is, but this time I got off to a relatively good start early on I picked up KK and made a standard raise pre-flop, which was called.
The flop was KKT !! I checked to allow the other player to catch up, and I made a small bet when the turn put a flush draw on board (hoping he has the draw, or puts me on a draw). The river put a straight on board, and my opponent bet $1,000 which I raised to $3,000 (wondering how much he would call).
He actually did have the straight and called, so perhaps he can call more, although it was the low end. Mind you, since he called a pref-flop raise o.o.p. with J8, maybe he would call an all-in ! Who knows.
I wasn't playing many hands. I had JJ hold up against AQ-suited (a Queen flopped but I made a straight). I lost with KQ vs AK but then had my AK overtake KK (flush). I ran QT (top pair) into AA (which didn't raise preflop) but then doubled up with 99 vs A5 (???).
I was eventually out in 1,771st after about 3 hours. I am not sure how much longer it takes to get into the low end of the money. Top 25% of the field doesn't seem too bad but no return of course.
My exit hand was KT-suited. A short stack in mid-position min-raised. I thought his range can easily include under-pairs and so I called on the button. The big-stack on the SB now raised which I felt could be a move, so I re-raised all in figuring that he needs a big hand to call 1/3 of his stack.
He had QQ ....
Friday 7 March 2008
Constant Disappointment
That's what tournaments are about.
Everyone has been telling me what good tournaments the GUKPT events are, and I can now confirm that I agree. I must spoil the end of the story by saying that I didn't make it to day 2, but the process of not getting there was fun.
I met up with Nik Persaud and a few other degenerates for coffee before the 2pm start. "Are you nervous?", Nik asked. I honestly answered "No", but I was concerned about putting in a good performance. I certainly did not want to be donking my way out of the event.
One thing the fans of GUKPT say is that the fields are soft. Well, on my starting table I had Lucy Rokach, John Kabbaj and Ben Grundy as well as at least 3 other experienced players that I recognised. That doesn't count as soft, surely ?
Very long structure in this event - 10,000 chips and a one hour clock - so steady as she goes in the early stages. I picked up a few small pots to be on 11,675 at the end of Level 1 - only 4 players out at this juncture. Then in level 2, the following key hand came up:
Blind 50/100 and I'm on the button with 3d6h. Three players limp, and I make it 450 to play. They all call (the blinds fold). 1,950 in the pot. Flop K-6-3 rainbow. Jackpot ! Checked around to me and I bet 1,300. One fold, then one of the pre-flop callers limit-raised me 1,500 more. Huh ???
I must surely be winning - it seems a stretch for him to have the case pair of 3s or of 6s, and surely he would have made further action pre-flop with KK. Likewise K3, K6 or 63 seem very unlikely to have called the pre-flop raise. AK seems unlikely as well. KQ maybe ?
Assuming he has one pair of some kind, my hand is winning but can be counterfeited. My hand is pretty disguised, but in any event I decide there is enough in the pot to take it down. My opponent had a similar stack to me, and after taking a moment to consider that this could be my whole tournament, I moved in.
Ah, the serenity of being all-in with no further decisions. The dwell was considerable, and I opted for the staring-into-nothingness approach to giving nothing away. As soon as my opponent hesitates I know I am winning. So if he folds, I'm happy, and if he calls, I'm ahead. If he outdraws me, c'est la vie. Eventually he folds, and claims to have had QQ (???).
Up to 16k - a pretty good stack at this stage. From that time on, I continued to try to play pretty tight, with an emphasis on position. A couple of times I let my guard down. I made a bad call with bottom 2pair for 1,500 chips on the river, and another time was re-raised all-in when I bet pre-flop out of position with KJ and made a continuation bet. This saw me down to 12,000 at the end of level 4.
Well, not quite the end. 2 players had already left, thinking we were on the break, but there were actually 7 seconds on the clock when the dealer started the shuffle. So, one more hand.
Countless times, I have done massive damage to my stack just before or just after a break, so I'm thinking I'm just binning medium-strength hands. However, I look down at pocket Queens. OK, I have to play.
I'm in the cut-off and, as I start to consider what to do, the UTG player (a short stack with 2,250 chips) moves all-in. Call or isolate ? If I don't just call, do I raise or shove ?
I decide calling is too risky and I also think I can MAYBE fold the QQ if the big stacks behind me over-push. I make it 5,000 and the others fold. 89-suited for the all-in player. Although he picked up a gutshot by the turn, the Queens are good and I advance to 15,250.
I still struggle to acquire more chips, and I have to lay down AQ to an all-in re-raise. Back to 12k again. However, I make a new high in chips with AK-suited on the big-blind. MP (short stack) player raised to 1,800, called by the button (huge stack). I push. Again, huge dwell until eventually the raiser makes the call with AQ-suited. No change on the board and I'm at 18,600.
Blinds are now 200/400 with a 25 ante so they're starting to bite. This is where it all started to go pear-shaped. In retrospect, I think I failed to properly account for the 3 S's of Poker - Situation, Stacks and Survival.
This kind of level (or the rough equivalent) has been my limit in multi-day tournaments so far - a couple of hours before the end of day 1 when the blinds and antes really kick in. I have just about average chips now but an M of only 10 - 15).
I can certainly survive a reasonable amount of time by folding a lot, but on the other hand I need to keep somewhat active to stay ahead of the blinds and antes.
4 hands in the space of 20 mins saw my demise. In the first spot, I have 18,000 chips and 7's on the button. A loose player in mid-position, made a small raise to 1,000 (200/400-25) which I did not rate as a big hand. Maybe I could call, or even fold, but I think it is too passive and I raise to 2,700 hoping to take it down or see a flop in position.
Now the big blind, who has 30k+ and has not played a hand that I have seen, makes it 8,700.
Foded back to me. Now, I opted to read this bet-raise-reraise as very strong. I think I really can't just call for > 1/3 of my stack and if I felt that if I push then the BB has 2.5:1 to call. So I decide I must fold and and slip back to 15,000.
Maybe I should have pushed. In hindsight, I wonder if the BB can be making a squeeze here. He knows that I know that the MP player is probably not strong, so my raising hand can easily be too weak to call the re-raise. Maybe he sees it that way, and if so my all-in reraise will see him able to fold to my apparent monster?
He claims to have had Aces, but as we know poker players lie all the time.
Shortly afterwards (into Level 7 now) I find pocket nines. UTG player limps, I raise, and now the limper re-raises. In the bin they go. He also claims to have had Aces. Marvellous.
OK. Just a few minutes pass until I find 99 again in UTG+2. A new player in UTG+1 makes it 2,200 (300/600-50).
Maybe I should just pass. The position is not great. However my decision at the time is to play. Again, I do not think I can just call (starting the hand with 13,000 chips). I try to work out what is the right amount to raise to make sure I'm putting a proper decision to the original raiser but still leaving enough behind in case I need to fold. I raise to 6,200.
Back to the raise who moves all in and has me covered.
This is where I think I now make a really bad decision. I really don't want to call off all my chips when presumably the best case is I am slightly ahead of AK/AQ and quite likely facing an over-pair given the UTG+1 raise and the re-raise. I think that 6,800 chips still gives me some chance if I fold.
I fold, and the player shows AK. If I knew he had AK then at this point it's an easy, easy call - I have to all 6,800 into 20,600. It's only now working it out that I see that I should have insta-called. Partly because he needs to have the over-pair far too often to make it a bad call but also because I failed to appreciate that AK (and possibly even some weaker hands) are definitely in his range because HE has realised he needs to get going and take some risks.
It's actually a really terrible fold now I analyse it. I perhaps should have open-folded anyway, and I perhaps should have shoved (the reason I did not do that was in case someone behind me has a monster - but this perhaps is the wrong thing to worry about). But once I make this raise, I must call the re-raise.
Imagine I make the call and win, then I have 27,400 chips and back above average. Even if I call and lose then I made a good call. I need to be a little lucky if I call because it is very unlikely he has an underpair, but I'm going to need to be lucky with 6,800 chips left.
The only good thing is that I realise now just how bad it was to fold here, so perhaps I will avoid this mistake next time.
I managed to advance to 8,650 chips but my last hand came less than 10 minutes later. A loose player in early position raised, called by the button who had many, many chips. I have AK on the big blind. 5,000 in the pot. Easy shove. The button called with TT and I failed to hit.
The moment just after the river when you realise it's over after 8 hours is a very low point.
In time, I hope I will feel able to play again ....
Everyone has been telling me what good tournaments the GUKPT events are, and I can now confirm that I agree. I must spoil the end of the story by saying that I didn't make it to day 2, but the process of not getting there was fun.
I met up with Nik Persaud and a few other degenerates for coffee before the 2pm start. "Are you nervous?", Nik asked. I honestly answered "No", but I was concerned about putting in a good performance. I certainly did not want to be donking my way out of the event.
One thing the fans of GUKPT say is that the fields are soft. Well, on my starting table I had Lucy Rokach, John Kabbaj and Ben Grundy as well as at least 3 other experienced players that I recognised. That doesn't count as soft, surely ?
Very long structure in this event - 10,000 chips and a one hour clock - so steady as she goes in the early stages. I picked up a few small pots to be on 11,675 at the end of Level 1 - only 4 players out at this juncture. Then in level 2, the following key hand came up:
Blind 50/100 and I'm on the button with 3d6h. Three players limp, and I make it 450 to play. They all call (the blinds fold). 1,950 in the pot. Flop K-6-3 rainbow. Jackpot ! Checked around to me and I bet 1,300. One fold, then one of the pre-flop callers limit-raised me 1,500 more. Huh ???
I must surely be winning - it seems a stretch for him to have the case pair of 3s or of 6s, and surely he would have made further action pre-flop with KK. Likewise K3, K6 or 63 seem very unlikely to have called the pre-flop raise. AK seems unlikely as well. KQ maybe ?
Assuming he has one pair of some kind, my hand is winning but can be counterfeited. My hand is pretty disguised, but in any event I decide there is enough in the pot to take it down. My opponent had a similar stack to me, and after taking a moment to consider that this could be my whole tournament, I moved in.
Ah, the serenity of being all-in with no further decisions. The dwell was considerable, and I opted for the staring-into-nothingness approach to giving nothing away. As soon as my opponent hesitates I know I am winning. So if he folds, I'm happy, and if he calls, I'm ahead. If he outdraws me, c'est la vie. Eventually he folds, and claims to have had QQ (???).
Up to 16k - a pretty good stack at this stage. From that time on, I continued to try to play pretty tight, with an emphasis on position. A couple of times I let my guard down. I made a bad call with bottom 2pair for 1,500 chips on the river, and another time was re-raised all-in when I bet pre-flop out of position with KJ and made a continuation bet. This saw me down to 12,000 at the end of level 4.
Well, not quite the end. 2 players had already left, thinking we were on the break, but there were actually 7 seconds on the clock when the dealer started the shuffle. So, one more hand.
Countless times, I have done massive damage to my stack just before or just after a break, so I'm thinking I'm just binning medium-strength hands. However, I look down at pocket Queens. OK, I have to play.
I'm in the cut-off and, as I start to consider what to do, the UTG player (a short stack with 2,250 chips) moves all-in. Call or isolate ? If I don't just call, do I raise or shove ?
I decide calling is too risky and I also think I can MAYBE fold the QQ if the big stacks behind me over-push. I make it 5,000 and the others fold. 89-suited for the all-in player. Although he picked up a gutshot by the turn, the Queens are good and I advance to 15,250.
I still struggle to acquire more chips, and I have to lay down AQ to an all-in re-raise. Back to 12k again. However, I make a new high in chips with AK-suited on the big-blind. MP (short stack) player raised to 1,800, called by the button (huge stack). I push. Again, huge dwell until eventually the raiser makes the call with AQ-suited. No change on the board and I'm at 18,600.
Blinds are now 200/400 with a 25 ante so they're starting to bite. This is where it all started to go pear-shaped. In retrospect, I think I failed to properly account for the 3 S's of Poker - Situation, Stacks and Survival.
This kind of level (or the rough equivalent) has been my limit in multi-day tournaments so far - a couple of hours before the end of day 1 when the blinds and antes really kick in. I have just about average chips now but an M of only 10 - 15).
I can certainly survive a reasonable amount of time by folding a lot, but on the other hand I need to keep somewhat active to stay ahead of the blinds and antes.
4 hands in the space of 20 mins saw my demise. In the first spot, I have 18,000 chips and 7's on the button. A loose player in mid-position, made a small raise to 1,000 (200/400-25) which I did not rate as a big hand. Maybe I could call, or even fold, but I think it is too passive and I raise to 2,700 hoping to take it down or see a flop in position.
Now the big blind, who has 30k+ and has not played a hand that I have seen, makes it 8,700.
Foded back to me. Now, I opted to read this bet-raise-reraise as very strong. I think I really can't just call for > 1/3 of my stack and if I felt that if I push then the BB has 2.5:1 to call. So I decide I must fold and and slip back to 15,000.
Maybe I should have pushed. In hindsight, I wonder if the BB can be making a squeeze here. He knows that I know that the MP player is probably not strong, so my raising hand can easily be too weak to call the re-raise. Maybe he sees it that way, and if so my all-in reraise will see him able to fold to my apparent monster?
He claims to have had Aces, but as we know poker players lie all the time.
Shortly afterwards (into Level 7 now) I find pocket nines. UTG player limps, I raise, and now the limper re-raises. In the bin they go. He also claims to have had Aces. Marvellous.
OK. Just a few minutes pass until I find 99 again in UTG+2. A new player in UTG+1 makes it 2,200 (300/600-50).
Maybe I should just pass. The position is not great. However my decision at the time is to play. Again, I do not think I can just call (starting the hand with 13,000 chips). I try to work out what is the right amount to raise to make sure I'm putting a proper decision to the original raiser but still leaving enough behind in case I need to fold. I raise to 6,200.
Back to the raise who moves all in and has me covered.
This is where I think I now make a really bad decision. I really don't want to call off all my chips when presumably the best case is I am slightly ahead of AK/AQ and quite likely facing an over-pair given the UTG+1 raise and the re-raise. I think that 6,800 chips still gives me some chance if I fold.
I fold, and the player shows AK. If I knew he had AK then at this point it's an easy, easy call - I have to all 6,800 into 20,600. It's only now working it out that I see that I should have insta-called. Partly because he needs to have the over-pair far too often to make it a bad call but also because I failed to appreciate that AK (and possibly even some weaker hands) are definitely in his range because HE has realised he needs to get going and take some risks.
It's actually a really terrible fold now I analyse it. I perhaps should have open-folded anyway, and I perhaps should have shoved (the reason I did not do that was in case someone behind me has a monster - but this perhaps is the wrong thing to worry about). But once I make this raise, I must call the re-raise.
Imagine I make the call and win, then I have 27,400 chips and back above average. Even if I call and lose then I made a good call. I need to be a little lucky if I call because it is very unlikely he has an underpair, but I'm going to need to be lucky with 6,800 chips left.
The only good thing is that I realise now just how bad it was to fold here, so perhaps I will avoid this mistake next time.
I managed to advance to 8,650 chips but my last hand came less than 10 minutes later. A loose player in early position raised, called by the button who had many, many chips. I have AK on the big blind. 5,000 in the pot. Easy shove. The button called with TT and I failed to hit.
The moment just after the river when you realise it's over after 8 hours is a very low point.
In time, I hope I will feel able to play again ....
Wednesday 5 March 2008
The 3 P's
I just made this up, but it's surely not new. I've been thinking about tomorrow's GUKPT main event. I understand there are 1hour levels, blinds at 25/50 and 10,000 starting chips. So, the 3 P's will be the order of the day:
P1 - Patience. Easier said than done, but it's absolutely essential to be prepared to wait and wait for the right opportunity.
P2 - Position. When the opportunity comes along, it is so important to consider your position relative to the button and also to think about how position is affecting the way the others see the hand.
P3 - Players. We know that poker is only partly about the cards. If we're following P1 and P2 then we are most of the way there, but it is vital to understand who else is in the hand and how they're thinking about it.
Everyone keeps telling me that with solid patient play, it is relatively easy to do well in this tournament. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I suspect I am going to find it pretty tough !
I'll let you know how I get on.
P1 - Patience. Easier said than done, but it's absolutely essential to be prepared to wait and wait for the right opportunity.
P2 - Position. When the opportunity comes along, it is so important to consider your position relative to the button and also to think about how position is affecting the way the others see the hand.
P3 - Players. We know that poker is only partly about the cards. If we're following P1 and P2 then we are most of the way there, but it is vital to understand who else is in the hand and how they're thinking about it.
Everyone keeps telling me that with solid patient play, it is relatively easy to do well in this tournament. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I suspect I am going to find it pretty tough !
I'll let you know how I get on.
Queen Vic
I haven't been to the Grosvenor Victoria casino for a long, long time. It certainly remains one of the foremost and most famous poker venues in London (or anywhere, really) but I consider gutshot to be my home ground so I rarely go elsewhere.
However, I plan to play the GUKPT (Grosvenor UK Poker Tour) main event there: 6th-9th March. Max 400 runners (2x day 1), £1,000 buy in.
So, I needed to go to buy in. Technically I didn't have to go in person - a friend offered to take care of it, or I could have even phoned it in. However, I thought it prudent to check out the logistics since it's been a while since my last visit.
So, indeed, I learned that (i) TomTom satnav is really, really irritating for driving in London especially when you have a pre-conceived idea of what the route should look like. (ii) valet parking can't cope with 100++ poker players filling up the casino. (iii) you can't take a bag onto the floor. Must wear a jacket with lots of pockets next time !
Of course once I was there, and had bought in, I had to play a little. Lots of games, most of them too big to seriously consider. I settled on the £1/3 NLH. My mental picture of cash games at the Vic is that they are tough but I think that really applies to the bigger ones.
This particular game that I sat down in was the most passive NLH game I can ever remember. The table comprised of one part rock to two parts fish. I didn't play particularly well and was lucky to get away with some moves before I realised that no one at the table knew how to fold.
Came away a few-hundred up. I'd be cautious about extrapolating one session too much, but I'll certainly play the cash games again if I'm knocked out of the tourney early tomorrow.
However, I plan to play the GUKPT (Grosvenor UK Poker Tour) main event there: 6th-9th March. Max 400 runners (2x day 1), £1,000 buy in.
So, I needed to go to buy in. Technically I didn't have to go in person - a friend offered to take care of it, or I could have even phoned it in. However, I thought it prudent to check out the logistics since it's been a while since my last visit.
So, indeed, I learned that (i) TomTom satnav is really, really irritating for driving in London especially when you have a pre-conceived idea of what the route should look like. (ii) valet parking can't cope with 100++ poker players filling up the casino. (iii) you can't take a bag onto the floor. Must wear a jacket with lots of pockets next time !
Of course once I was there, and had bought in, I had to play a little. Lots of games, most of them too big to seriously consider. I settled on the £1/3 NLH. My mental picture of cash games at the Vic is that they are tough but I think that really applies to the bigger ones.
This particular game that I sat down in was the most passive NLH game I can ever remember. The table comprised of one part rock to two parts fish. I didn't play particularly well and was lucky to get away with some moves before I realised that no one at the table knew how to fold.
Came away a few-hundred up. I'd be cautious about extrapolating one session too much, but I'll certainly play the cash games again if I'm knocked out of the tourney early tomorrow.
Monday 3 March 2008
Forum League Update
We had quite a few new runners in the MTT on Monday night although the overall turnout was still fairly low - I think this is because the league itself appeals to quite a specific intersection of players. It makes most sense to those who are very active on the gutshot forum and who (of course) actually play on gutshot.com.
So it was 22 players this time - 54 unique players so far in the 4 weeks.
I came 3rd. I held the chip-lead on the final table after picking up a timely KK on the big-blind vs TT for the button player. I was in decent shape all the way to the 3-handed stage when I stopped raising and played more passively. This was a mistake.
It was especially damaging in the hand I went out on. I only limped with A2 on the small blind, and the BB checked. Flop K99 with 2 diamonds. I led out and was called. The turn was a 7 so I thought I'd better make any flush or straight draw pay, so I made another significant bet, which was called.
When the river was another 7, I reckoned my Ace could be good so I moved all in and was insta-called by 97 ! Oops.
Obviously I am still leading the YTD league. My objective will be to lead the league from start to finish. Because the new scoring system favours regular players, I think there is a good chance of this, in fact.
So it was 22 players this time - 54 unique players so far in the 4 weeks.
I came 3rd. I held the chip-lead on the final table after picking up a timely KK on the big-blind vs TT for the button player. I was in decent shape all the way to the 3-handed stage when I stopped raising and played more passively. This was a mistake.
It was especially damaging in the hand I went out on. I only limped with A2 on the small blind, and the BB checked. Flop K99 with 2 diamonds. I led out and was called. The turn was a 7 so I thought I'd better make any flush or straight draw pay, so I made another significant bet, which was called.
When the river was another 7, I reckoned my Ace could be good so I moved all in and was insta-called by 97 ! Oops.
Obviously I am still leading the YTD league. My objective will be to lead the league from start to finish. Because the new scoring system favours regular players, I think there is a good chance of this, in fact.
Sunday 2 March 2008
In a League of My Own
Well, in a sense.
The gutshot forum league continues on Monday. With a new month starting, there is a fresh chance for players to earn a place in the year-end final to play off for the WSOP 2009 package.
I have agreed to take over the admin for the league. First task was to change the scoring since there there been demand for a revised scoring system that wasn't so top-heavy.
I put something together based on the apparent requirements, which seemed to be that the system should:
- be less top-heavy than the original approach
- but still reward players who go deep in the tourneys
- and also favour the regular players
- and award more points in bigger fields
- be basically sound and reasonable
- and consistent with the expected field sizes
I had a look around on the web at other league systems as well, and came up with a system which pays points to all participants in each game, but favours the top 20 (last two tables).
There is a fixed set of points from 20 to 200 on a rounded 1/(1+x) system for the base case where there are exactly 20 runners. When there are more than 20, the points for the top20 are scaled up by (runners/20) whilst all the others get a flat 20 points.
Where there are less than 20 runners, the points are scaled down so that the last-placed runner scores exactly 20.
I reconstructed the points retrospectively for February and (not surprisingly) I still won !
Although the league runs month-to-month I intend to keep a running-total going throughout the year for the amusement of one and all.
The gutshot forum league continues on Monday. With a new month starting, there is a fresh chance for players to earn a place in the year-end final to play off for the WSOP 2009 package.
I have agreed to take over the admin for the league. First task was to change the scoring since there there been demand for a revised scoring system that wasn't so top-heavy.
I put something together based on the apparent requirements, which seemed to be that the system should:
- be less top-heavy than the original approach
- but still reward players who go deep in the tourneys
- and also favour the regular players
- and award more points in bigger fields
- be basically sound and reasonable
- and consistent with the expected field sizes
I had a look around on the web at other league systems as well, and came up with a system which pays points to all participants in each game, but favours the top 20 (last two tables).
There is a fixed set of points from 20 to 200 on a rounded 1/(1+x) system for the base case where there are exactly 20 runners. When there are more than 20, the points for the top20 are scaled up by (runners/20) whilst all the others get a flat 20 points.
Where there are less than 20 runners, the points are scaled down so that the last-placed runner scores exactly 20.
I reconstructed the points retrospectively for February and (not surprisingly) I still won !
Although the league runs month-to-month I intend to keep a running-total going throughout the year for the amusement of one and all.
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