April 27th, 2009
BSPT9 - exactly 3 years since the first one (26 runners), and one year since the "last ever" Bear poker event.
When the idea of this reunion / anniversary tournament first occurred to me after a chance conversation, I really wasn't sure how much interest there would be. Former colleagues and participants in the previous 8 events were now scattered all over the City.
Quite a few were now posted overseas and most of those were unable to come (but Valer Zetocha showed up from Madrid to defend his title).
However, interest was very strong and a record field of 104 battled for the title.
A full report is to long for this blog. If you want to see it, send me an email and I will send it on to you. There will be photos as well - John Chukwuma took over 1,000 shots apparently.
Last year's BSPT8 was supposed to be the "last ever". You wouldn't want to bet against another re-running, not least because I need to keep hosting them until I win again !
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Tuesday 21 April 2009
And All That Razz ..... TV Poker
I wasn't too disappointed with the £300 NLH Main Event at the Spring Festival despite not making the money. As I couldn't play any of the other events, my last chance came in the £50 HORSE. I always intended to try this one, in fact, even though it meant coming into London again especially.
I chose to drive in, unusually, predicting that I would not be in long enough to justify staying till the trains restarted in the morning. Of course, this line also means I didn't think I would be out soon enough to catch a train back on the same evening ! That was more a comment on the limit betting structure than anything else. 6,000 chips and initial blinds of 25/50 in LIMIT poker means it is hard to go bust any time soon.
As much as I know I should tighten up in NLH tournaments, I realised that in a Limit HORSE event tight was the new loose, and I needed to find the super-tight switch.
Somehow I did just this, aided by the fact that I picked up some premium hands. I played no hands in the first Holdem rotation but then in my first hand of "O" - Omaha Split Hi/Lo - I picked up AA63 double suited, and AQ23ds in the second !
I made up my mind early on that I was playing ultra-simple today. T.V. poker I called it. T for Tight hand selection, and V for Value betting all the way.
Razz had proved my undoing at the last HORSE event. In the first Razz rotation I found no playable hands (given my newfound tightness) until the very last one when I picked up the pot with a 7532A low to pip 7632A !
I was on 9k at the end of Level 5 - above average. Average was still not much more than 6k as we had lost only two players.
In Level 6 my 8,500 was above average but only a relatively small number of big bets. So, when I was dealt (A2)3 in Razz I played it for a raise in a multiway pot. I kept betting my good 4th street but then eventually got pipped and had to give up a large pot. Next hand I have (A2)6 and get dealt QQ on 4th and 5th. Aarrrgggh!!
I am down to 1,700 chips with betting limits 500/1000
I get all in pre with (32)8 and treble up even though I eventually have only a Queen low.
Now I go on a tear - making Queens up to beat split Aces in the Stud Hi round, and then finding rolled-up deuces in the same game. I had to bring in of course and announced "I haven't even checked to see if I have rolled up deuces" but, lo, I did !
I called the raise from (88)4 pre. Check-called 4th but lost my customer when I check-raised 5th street.
After a couple more wins I stood on a handy 17k with about half the field left.
I was still playing really tight. Too tight ? Presumably there comes a stage where we have to open up but I was folding AJ pre flop in HE to action and I was gutted to fold 2335 from UTG in O8 only the find the flop come A74 !!
I reached the giddy heights of 30k chips when my AJ43ss in Omaha-8 scooped on the 578A2 board. I bet my low for value all the way and rivered the high as well. Nice.
Next hand is an interesting one. I raise AQQ2ds UTG and am 3-bet by a good player (albeit he does not play this game much more than I do!)
The flop is horrible: J97 all spades (I am all red). I check-call but I check-fold the 8 on the turn.
My opponent held AK52 - so I was in great shape. On reflection I think I must call, and at least call any river except an Ace or King.
Now my world falls apart. I still am in good shape with 24k. 14 of us remain from 48.
I have (A3)8 in Razz. My Opponent bets a (XX)4 and I raise. He calls.
I pick up a 4, and he is dealt an 8. I bet, he calls.
I am now dealt a 5, making me an 8 low. He receives a King. I am massive. I bet, he calls.
I improve my 8 low to a 7 low on the next street. He shows a three. I bets, he raises, I reraise, we cap it.
I move in blind on 7th street. I have a 7 low or better. He has at best an 8low on 6th street. He calls saying "you are massive". No kidding.
I simply cannot believe what happens now. My last card is a 6 as it happens so now I have a tremendous Razz hand: 6543A. He picks up his cards and turns up A25.
His hand developed as (A2)48K3(5). Mine as (A3)8457(6).
I had a winning 8 low on 5th street, improved to a 7 low then made a 6 low. He hit a miracle 5 on the last card.
It seems to me he put in relatively little money when he was winning on 3rd and 4th, and lots on 5th and 6th when he was drawing thin.
If I hold up in this hand, I have the chip lead in the tournament and a free pass to the final table.
As it is, I have a few thousand left. I actually manage to get it all in with (A3)97 to (64)79 and (78)2Q and a triple up there would see me back in action but I am overtaken and busted in 14th. Reg, who rivered me here, went on to chop first prize. He said he didn't feel he could fold his hand and I daresay he's right but I am still fuming about it !
The consolation is I really feel I played as well as I could. I only played extremely straightforwardly to be honest but that was the plan, so I am pleased.
I also really enjoyed the games. More HORSE please !
I chose to drive in, unusually, predicting that I would not be in long enough to justify staying till the trains restarted in the morning. Of course, this line also means I didn't think I would be out soon enough to catch a train back on the same evening ! That was more a comment on the limit betting structure than anything else. 6,000 chips and initial blinds of 25/50 in LIMIT poker means it is hard to go bust any time soon.
As much as I know I should tighten up in NLH tournaments, I realised that in a Limit HORSE event tight was the new loose, and I needed to find the super-tight switch.
Somehow I did just this, aided by the fact that I picked up some premium hands. I played no hands in the first Holdem rotation but then in my first hand of "O" - Omaha Split Hi/Lo - I picked up AA63 double suited, and AQ23ds in the second !
I made up my mind early on that I was playing ultra-simple today. T.V. poker I called it. T for Tight hand selection, and V for Value betting all the way.
Razz had proved my undoing at the last HORSE event. In the first Razz rotation I found no playable hands (given my newfound tightness) until the very last one when I picked up the pot with a 7532A low to pip 7632A !
I was on 9k at the end of Level 5 - above average. Average was still not much more than 6k as we had lost only two players.
In Level 6 my 8,500 was above average but only a relatively small number of big bets. So, when I was dealt (A2)3 in Razz I played it for a raise in a multiway pot. I kept betting my good 4th street but then eventually got pipped and had to give up a large pot. Next hand I have (A2)6 and get dealt QQ on 4th and 5th. Aarrrgggh!!
I am down to 1,700 chips with betting limits 500/1000
I get all in pre with (32)8 and treble up even though I eventually have only a Queen low.
Now I go on a tear - making Queens up to beat split Aces in the Stud Hi round, and then finding rolled-up deuces in the same game. I had to bring in of course and announced "I haven't even checked to see if I have rolled up deuces" but, lo, I did !
I called the raise from (88)4 pre. Check-called 4th but lost my customer when I check-raised 5th street.
After a couple more wins I stood on a handy 17k with about half the field left.
I was still playing really tight. Too tight ? Presumably there comes a stage where we have to open up but I was folding AJ pre flop in HE to action and I was gutted to fold 2335 from UTG in O8 only the find the flop come A74 !!
I reached the giddy heights of 30k chips when my AJ43ss in Omaha-8 scooped on the 578A2 board. I bet my low for value all the way and rivered the high as well. Nice.
Next hand is an interesting one. I raise AQQ2ds UTG and am 3-bet by a good player (albeit he does not play this game much more than I do!)
The flop is horrible: J97 all spades (I am all red). I check-call but I check-fold the 8 on the turn.
My opponent held AK52 - so I was in great shape. On reflection I think I must call, and at least call any river except an Ace or King.
Now my world falls apart. I still am in good shape with 24k. 14 of us remain from 48.
I have (A3)8 in Razz. My Opponent bets a (XX)4 and I raise. He calls.
I pick up a 4, and he is dealt an 8. I bet, he calls.
I am now dealt a 5, making me an 8 low. He receives a King. I am massive. I bet, he calls.
I improve my 8 low to a 7 low on the next street. He shows a three. I bets, he raises, I reraise, we cap it.
I move in blind on 7th street. I have a 7 low or better. He has at best an 8low on 6th street. He calls saying "you are massive". No kidding.
I simply cannot believe what happens now. My last card is a 6 as it happens so now I have a tremendous Razz hand: 6543A. He picks up his cards and turns up A25.
His hand developed as (A2)48K3(5). Mine as (A3)8457(6).
I had a winning 8 low on 5th street, improved to a 7 low then made a 6 low. He hit a miracle 5 on the last card.
It seems to me he put in relatively little money when he was winning on 3rd and 4th, and lots on 5th and 6th when he was drawing thin.
If I hold up in this hand, I have the chip lead in the tournament and a free pass to the final table.
As it is, I have a few thousand left. I actually manage to get it all in with (A3)97 to (64)79 and (78)2Q and a triple up there would see me back in action but I am overtaken and busted in 14th. Reg, who rivered me here, went on to chop first prize. He said he didn't feel he could fold his hand and I daresay he's right but I am still fuming about it !
The consolation is I really feel I played as well as I could. I only played extremely straightforwardly to be honest but that was the plan, so I am pleased.
I also really enjoyed the games. More HORSE please !
Sunday 19 April 2009
Minding the T&Cs
Returning from 2 weeks' holiday in Spain, I have the Spring Festival at The International to look forward to.
It was just long enough since the disappointments of the previous festival for me to be full of renewed hope that I could break my duck in major tournaments.
The definition of a "major" in my mind is somewhat fluid. It obviously includes WSOP, GUKPT or EPT type events but I also consider the main event of a poker festival to count so long as the buy-in is significant for that venue, and it a 2+ day tournament.
At this "mini festival" the main event was a very reasonable £300 buyin but it was a pukka main event nonetheless with a 45minute clock and 10,000 chips and two long days of play. The field was packed full of known players, including quite a few top notch tournament regulars.
Quite a few of my past disappointments have stemmed from my own errors (poker is a game of errors in many ways - it's a competition to make the fewest). At a very basic level, my failure to play sufficiently tightly in the early stages has often cost me a chance to put in a good performance.
I put my mental focus on the Ts and Cs of tournament poker:
T for TIGHT - it's far from natural for me to play as tight as I should. Of course, Tight is not the only way. You can make a case that it's not the best way, but it is the right way for most players most of the time and it's what I must do.
T for TEMPO - I'll be trying to consciously pace my actions in the hands. Take a little time to take note of all the game conditions. The cards we are dealt are just one of a host of factors, and not necessarily the most important. In extreme cases, the cards do not matter at all.
T for TENACITY - It's so easy to lose one's head after a bad spot in these tournaments. The reasons can be many but the response has to be to hang in there. There is so much TIME in these deep structures.
All of these should help me with my main objective: T for TOMORROW - that's when I still want to be playing!
To help me with Target Tomorrow I will need to use the Cs as well:
C for CONTROL - I often find that a pot or hand has escalated and I face a very awkward decision. To try to avoid this I need to look at controlling the evolution of the hands by thinking ahead.
C for COMMITMENT - I have sometimes arrived at points in a pot where suddenly I get worried about exiting the tournament. In many of those cases I have taken the wrong line at the beginning of the hand and created a tough spot but now I compound the error by taking a weak line when the right response to the situation is to bite the bullet and make that call, or that all-in 3-barrel bluff !
C is also for COUNTING and CONCENTRATION and CHIP management - all of which are essential.
It's a beautiful day. Some would say that playing cards in a packed basement is not the way to take advantage, but I'm happy with where I am !
I take my seat at "L5". Lucky 5 that says to me. And with the button starting in seat 5 I feel like a winner already.
I play tight - one very aggressive raiser at our table actually makes it easy for me to fold all kinds of marginal hands that I might have opened !
I have about 11,000 in Level 2 and have only played a couple of hands when the first key pot comes up.
With KsJs in Early-Mid position I feel I have enough of a hand to raise given how quiet I have been. I make it 300 (blinds: 50/100) and only the SB calls. He is the very active player that I mentioned.
The flop is JJ6 rainbow. I feel like I have flopped the nuts but I proceed cautiously. When he checks I elect to check behind hoping this will encourage him to take a stab on the turn. The 4d puts 2 diamonds and a possible low straight draw out there. He still checks (suspicious) and when I bet 500, he pops it to 1,250.
I choose to call again. The 7d river makes a possible flush or a straight for 5-8 or 5-3.
We check it down and he shows me AJ. I lost the minimum, but did I lose the plot there ?
Nothing goes my way after this. My chips drift lower and lower. I think I am playing tight, and I am trying to be selectively aggressive. The slow structure means I am not feeling extreme pressure yet but I eventually get pushed down to only 1,650 chips having posted my 150 small blind.
2 limps are followed by a push from another short-stack (who has 4,600), With KJ I simply must put my chips in and hope. The other hands fold and I am amazed to find I am in great shape to treble up vs KT !
The first card out is a Ten (aarrghh!) but the full board is TJKAJ ! Full house (overkill) and back in an upwards direction. When I find QQ UTG a short while later it is literally the first pair I have been dealt in the tournament.
I push for 4,475 (150/300 still) and the button (Andy Achillea) finds a close call with AJ. He's obviously played with me before!
The first and second cards out are Aces !! I curse my luck and when a Queen hits the river I don't immediately realise I have won with Queens full.
I find a couple of 3-bet all in spots and improve to about 15,500 chips before the 2nd interesting spot.
I find AhTh in the Big blind at the 300/600/75level. Andy Achillea raises to 1,550 in the cut-off. I hope a raise to 4,100 will see him off but he thinks about the situation and calls 2,550 more. He has my 13,700 stack covered a bit less than 2x.
The flop is K93 rainbow. On reflection, my best line in this pot was to push pre flop. Now, my best line was to push - he should not have a King here.
However, I checked and I believe Andy sensed weakness and set me in. I can't call and am left on about 15BB.
He shows the 6 of Spades !
I fight a decent rearguard action with this stack, but with about 2/3 of the field gone I eventually fall in 28th spot (28/95) when I am down to 9BB and push with A5-suited and get looked up by Queens. GG.
Overall, we can take the frustration and disappointment as read. I didn't seriously threaten to make day 2 but I did outlast 2/3 of a strong field and lasted around 9 hours.
I think I made mistakes in both the pots I describe above. In the first one, my mistake in not getting more chips in with top trips saved me a tone of chips (possibly all of them). In the second, my weakness cost me a pot and some valuable momentum.
OK ... next !
It was just long enough since the disappointments of the previous festival for me to be full of renewed hope that I could break my duck in major tournaments.
The definition of a "major" in my mind is somewhat fluid. It obviously includes WSOP, GUKPT or EPT type events but I also consider the main event of a poker festival to count so long as the buy-in is significant for that venue, and it a 2+ day tournament.
At this "mini festival" the main event was a very reasonable £300 buyin but it was a pukka main event nonetheless with a 45minute clock and 10,000 chips and two long days of play. The field was packed full of known players, including quite a few top notch tournament regulars.
Quite a few of my past disappointments have stemmed from my own errors (poker is a game of errors in many ways - it's a competition to make the fewest). At a very basic level, my failure to play sufficiently tightly in the early stages has often cost me a chance to put in a good performance.
I put my mental focus on the Ts and Cs of tournament poker:
T for TIGHT - it's far from natural for me to play as tight as I should. Of course, Tight is not the only way. You can make a case that it's not the best way, but it is the right way for most players most of the time and it's what I must do.
T for TEMPO - I'll be trying to consciously pace my actions in the hands. Take a little time to take note of all the game conditions. The cards we are dealt are just one of a host of factors, and not necessarily the most important. In extreme cases, the cards do not matter at all.
T for TENACITY - It's so easy to lose one's head after a bad spot in these tournaments. The reasons can be many but the response has to be to hang in there. There is so much TIME in these deep structures.
All of these should help me with my main objective: T for TOMORROW - that's when I still want to be playing!
To help me with Target Tomorrow I will need to use the Cs as well:
C for CONTROL - I often find that a pot or hand has escalated and I face a very awkward decision. To try to avoid this I need to look at controlling the evolution of the hands by thinking ahead.
C for COMMITMENT - I have sometimes arrived at points in a pot where suddenly I get worried about exiting the tournament. In many of those cases I have taken the wrong line at the beginning of the hand and created a tough spot but now I compound the error by taking a weak line when the right response to the situation is to bite the bullet and make that call, or that all-in 3-barrel bluff !
C is also for COUNTING and CONCENTRATION and CHIP management - all of which are essential.
It's a beautiful day. Some would say that playing cards in a packed basement is not the way to take advantage, but I'm happy with where I am !
I take my seat at "L5". Lucky 5 that says to me. And with the button starting in seat 5 I feel like a winner already.
I play tight - one very aggressive raiser at our table actually makes it easy for me to fold all kinds of marginal hands that I might have opened !
I have about 11,000 in Level 2 and have only played a couple of hands when the first key pot comes up.
With KsJs in Early-Mid position I feel I have enough of a hand to raise given how quiet I have been. I make it 300 (blinds: 50/100) and only the SB calls. He is the very active player that I mentioned.
The flop is JJ6 rainbow. I feel like I have flopped the nuts but I proceed cautiously. When he checks I elect to check behind hoping this will encourage him to take a stab on the turn. The 4d puts 2 diamonds and a possible low straight draw out there. He still checks (suspicious) and when I bet 500, he pops it to 1,250.
I choose to call again. The 7d river makes a possible flush or a straight for 5-8 or 5-3.
We check it down and he shows me AJ. I lost the minimum, but did I lose the plot there ?
Nothing goes my way after this. My chips drift lower and lower. I think I am playing tight, and I am trying to be selectively aggressive. The slow structure means I am not feeling extreme pressure yet but I eventually get pushed down to only 1,650 chips having posted my 150 small blind.
2 limps are followed by a push from another short-stack (who has 4,600), With KJ I simply must put my chips in and hope. The other hands fold and I am amazed to find I am in great shape to treble up vs KT !
The first card out is a Ten (aarrghh!) but the full board is TJKAJ ! Full house (overkill) and back in an upwards direction. When I find QQ UTG a short while later it is literally the first pair I have been dealt in the tournament.
I push for 4,475 (150/300 still) and the button (Andy Achillea) finds a close call with AJ. He's obviously played with me before!
The first and second cards out are Aces !! I curse my luck and when a Queen hits the river I don't immediately realise I have won with Queens full.
I find a couple of 3-bet all in spots and improve to about 15,500 chips before the 2nd interesting spot.
I find AhTh in the Big blind at the 300/600/75level. Andy Achillea raises to 1,550 in the cut-off. I hope a raise to 4,100 will see him off but he thinks about the situation and calls 2,550 more. He has my 13,700 stack covered a bit less than 2x.
The flop is K93 rainbow. On reflection, my best line in this pot was to push pre flop. Now, my best line was to push - he should not have a King here.
However, I checked and I believe Andy sensed weakness and set me in. I can't call and am left on about 15BB.
He shows the 6 of Spades !
I fight a decent rearguard action with this stack, but with about 2/3 of the field gone I eventually fall in 28th spot (28/95) when I am down to 9BB and push with A5-suited and get looked up by Queens. GG.
Overall, we can take the frustration and disappointment as read. I didn't seriously threaten to make day 2 but I did outlast 2/3 of a strong field and lasted around 9 hours.
I think I made mistakes in both the pots I describe above. In the first one, my mistake in not getting more chips in with top trips saved me a tone of chips (possibly all of them). In the second, my weakness cost me a pot and some valuable momentum.
OK ... next !
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