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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)